She loved to peek into that room, shrouded in darkness. She would watch him in secret as he brought to life another hellish creature, which writhed at his feet with a cacophony of noise. She observed his face—focused, grim, and gray.
No human had ever been so close to her, even though they hadn't spoken much. Yet he fascinated her to the point where she could watch him for days. He was proud, intelligent, a creator... No king or monarch, willing to give up their treasures for a mere glimpse of her attention, could compare to him. He had no wealth, only talent. Oh, but what talent it was.
"You are magnificent," she finally spoke, seeing Hector set down the hammer on the stone table and straighten himself with a heavy movement. She stepped deeper into the room, and he gave her a tired glance. "I didn’t mean to interrupt, but truly, you are fascinating. What you do is fascinating."
"I saw you watching me," he replied at last, crossing his arms over his chest. He leaned against the stone counter and measured her with his eyes, from her feet to the top of her head. She wore a purple gown that shimmered faintly in the moonlight. Her hair, partly styled in intricate braids at the back of her head, partly flowing down her shoulders, framed her pale face. Her lips were accentuated by dark lipstick, which emphasized the whiteness of her sharp, dagger-like fangs—something that had caught his attention when she had laughed with a delicate, pearly sound at his words.
"I must admit, I thought I could get away with it," she shook her head as if somewhat embarrassed by the fact she had been caught in the act. "But why didn’t you say a word?"
The man lowered his gaze from her and fixed it on the stone floor. A silence settled, interrupted only by his steady breathing and the rustling of her precious gown. She studied his pale hair, simple robe, calloused hands, and couldn’t escape the thought that they were so very different from one another.
"Your gaze flatters me," he admitted in a soft, deep voice, and she felt a sudden shiver run down her spine. She smiled instantly and walked even deeper into the room, maneuvering between the patches of dried blood staining the floor.
He saw her figure glide toward him like a swan over the calm surface of a lake, but she only seemed real when he felt her presence beside him. Usually, vampires stirred feelings of unease and disgust in him, maybe a specific kind of fascination, but she was different. Just one of her glances, sent through a small crack in the door, could give him so much confidence and spread through his body a warm, unexpected wave of safety and love he had never felt before. He wasn’t even sure if it was love or if he simply didn’t want to name that feeling.
"You’re kind to me," she suddenly said, placing her cool, delicate hand on his rough, warm one. He looked into her dead eyes, noticing sadness and worry in them—feelings he hadn’t expected. She was a cheerful soul, which was rare in their times. That made her even more special and fascinating to him. "Know that I know very well what Carmilla advised you to do. I knew from the very beginning."
He didn’t know why he was surprised. Her and Carmilla were sisters. They ruled together in Styria, came to Dracula’s castle together, made decisions together, and planned every step together. He realized that she must have known about the dishonorable proposal that Carmilla had made to him and that he had been pondering so intensely.
He was surprised, however, that she had also brought up this topic with him. He couldn’t reconcile her delicate, pleasant nature with betrayal, war, and death.
"If you ask me, I will agree without hesitation," he whispered at last, confessing all the feelings he carried inside him, feelings he hadn’t dared name. He felt her slender fingers tighten on his hand and sensed her exhale heavily as she traced her thumb along his wrist.
"Don’t agree, Hector," she finally said, closing her eyes. She released his hand and sighed deeply. "Carmilla is an excellent strategist and a woman of great intellect, but her heart is as hard as stone. Beware, she will use you without mercy and treat you like a dog when the time that favors her comes. Don’t let her deceive you, and leave this castle as soon as possible. Flee the land of Wallachia."
Her words seemed not to reach him. How many times had he thought about how he could start a new life, with her by his side? Maybe it was naive thinking, but that hope was the only thing that could bring even a shadow of a smile to his face.
"And forgive me," she sobbed, swaying on her feet. Hector caught her almost limp body and held her tightly to his chest, not letting her fall. "Forgive me for agreeing to be a part of this plot. Carmilla was my whole world, I knew nothing but her. This may not be an excuse, but know that I wish neither anger nor death upon you. So I advise you to flee, and it would be better if fate never brought you across my path again."
Her despair seemed almost theatrical, but he knew it was sincere. He pulled her tighter to his body, squeezing almost all the air out of her. The woman breathed heavily again and quietly cried, pressing her hands to her chest.
"Run away with me," he suddenly proposed, pushing her away from him by the length of his arm. She staggered in his still strong grip like a doll, struggling to regain her balance. "I know you don’t desire war and conquest. I know you don’t need fame and power. So run away with me."
She heard footsteps on the stairs and immediately broke free from his embrace. They both carefully watched the entrance to the room, expecting the appearance of an unexpected guest or someone who, with ill intent, had overheard their emotional conversation. And it didn’t matter whether it was someone connected to Carmilla or Dracula, in both cases, they would be deprived of their lives.
"We are too reckless," she finally said when the last echo of the footsteps disappeared into the darkness of the gloomy corridor. "If I run away with you, I will remain your problem for a long, long time, if not for eternity. Are you ready for that sacrifice, Hector?"
Two souls. One destiny. Secrets written in the stars.
Lost Legacies: Book 1 by Marie Nye-Shutt is a captivating journey of love, mystery, and hidden truths waiting to be uncovered. When fate intertwines past and present, legacies long buried begin to awaken and changing everything.
If you love stories filled with romance, destiny, and unforgettable twists, this is your next must-read.
Story summary: Aurora reaches 21 summers and her council is demanding she seek a husband. Maleficent is looking for a mate and her beastie catches her eye. Her instincts tell her to take the beauty for her own but she fears that she would not be accepted by the one she cares for most. Meanwhile war brews between the Moors and human kingdoms. Gonna be dark start at 9(blood, war, the whole shabang)
Maleficent awoke to the sensation of lips kissing her neck softly. She released a soft groan and rolled over to her side, an arm and wing wrapping around the body next to her, pulling her closer. She felt lips now kissing her cheek and a warm hand playing with the gap where her robe parted on her chest. She squirmed as sleep began to leave her, groaning again when the warm hand left her robe.
Aurora leaned back as far as she could without causing a ripple effect in the hammock to look at handiwork. The fairy would open her eyes soon. Soon was not quick enough. She pressed her lips against the brunette's and heard her give a whimper. She pulled back and hummed when the fairy instinctively lifted her head to follow the lips.
Green eyes opened lazily and she saw her mate staring down at her with an unmistakable look in her eyes. She smiled and pulled her back down to kiss her deeply, her tongue granted access immediately without her asking. After a few seconds she broke the heated kiss, pleased when she heard slight panting from the younger woman. "What a lovely way to wake up," she commented as her fingers played with golden hair.
Aurora shrugged as Maleficent continued to play with her hair. She leaned down to brush their lips together. "I was just bored," she stated.
Maleficent frowned at the way her voice wavered a bit at the end. She looked closely at the blonde and saw a hint of dark circles under blue eyes. She tilted her head and cupped her mate's cheek, concerned with the way that Aurora leaned into the touch desperately, as if she had been starved of human contact for her entire life. "Beastie, what is wrong?"
"You haven't called me Beastie in a great while. I was starting to think that you no longer saw me as your little Beastie," she replied.
Maleficent's frown deepened, Aurora did not answer her question. She moved out from under the young queen so she could study her fully. Her cheeks were flushed but they were always like that after they kissed. She gazed into the blue eyes and saw the hidden pain in her depths. She shook her head with a sigh. "You will always be my little Beastie, I thought you knew that Aurora."
Aurora shrugged again and crawled over to Maleficent, concerned that the eyes she loved did not begin to glow red as they should. She fisted her hands into the fairy's robe and pulled her closer, trying to end their conversation with her lips. "Just shut up and love me," she whispered huskily.
Maleficent did not argue but she did not give into Aurora's request. She rolled them over so she was on top and trapped the blonde with her wings. She broke the kiss and gently pushed Aurora back down with her fingertips when she tried to lean up to recapture her lips. "Tell me what is wrong Aurora," she said.
"I hate this," Aurora whispered. She saw a flash of pain in the fairy's eyes and quickly shook her head. "No, I didn't mean," she trailed off, not sure in the first time of her life how to express her feelings. She looked down and bit her bottom lip in concentration. "I hate the fighting, the bloodshed. Too many people have died Maleficent and all because we fell in love." Tears came unbidden to her eyes and she angrily wiped them away.
Maleficent looked down sadly and sighed. "I know Aurora, but this will all be over soon." She sat up and pulled the blonde into a hug. She felt Aurora bury her head into her mahogany locks and hummed as she rubbed the queen's shuddering back. "You should not hide your pain in sex however. In the end the pain will return and along with it regret." She whispered, "I should know."
"I just want to forget the pain, if only for a few minutes." Aurora pulled away from the comforting embrace. "Please Maleficent, please make me forget," she pleaded.
Maleficent knew that they were treading on very thin ice but the look Aurora was giving her was heart wrenching. Instead of answering, she gently pushed Aurora down so her back was pressed against the hammock. She kissed her when a gasp came out of the blonde's mouth.
She tried to think that this was going to help Aurora as she felt desperate hands roughly pull at her robe until it fell away. She tried to convince herself that Aurora will feel better as she made the woman under her gasp and moan without restraint. She tried to believe that Aurora was not hiding behind ecstasy so she wouldn't have to deal with the fact that more blood needed to be shed as she felt fingers grab at her back and wings for support. But when she gazed at the slumbering form afterwards, she could not try to be blind to the pained whimpers and the quiet 'please' as the blonde battled another nightmare.
The two did not discuss their desperate lovemaking when Aurora finally got out of the hammock. As they dressed slowly, Aurora did not offer any comment on what her nightmare was about, not that either of them did not know. The fairy had heard the aunt's name stumbling out of her mate's lips. Maleficent opened her mouth occasionally but it shut without a word coming out. Aurora seemed to be distracted as she did not acknowledge the fairy whatsoever.
The quietness became too much for Maleficent. She walked over to Aurora, her back facing her as she gazed at the human kingdom in the distance. She wrapped her arms loosely around her waist and felt the blonde tense for but a moment. She looked over to the kingdom and then down. She breathed in her mate's scent for courage. "Please do not be distant Aurora."
"I cannot be distant even if I wanted to. We are still mates, are we not?"
It was true, Maleficent could feel the unease and hurt radiating from Aurora through their link. She shook her head and tried again. "That is not what I meant and you know it." Her voice softened as she kissed the younger woman's bare shoulder, glad that she did not pull away. "Please Aurora, speak to me."
Aurora turned around quickly much to the fairy's surprise. She stared into green eyes as she shook her head angrily. "I just want this entire thing to be over with! A-and I feel so useless, while you and everyone else goes off fighting I'm forced to hide and I-I'm just sick of it!"
Maleficent did not react to Aurora's outburst immediately. She slowly took a step closer and pulled her into a tight hug. She kissed the crown of her head as she whispered. "I know, I know. But we have to hide you, you must understand why." She felt more than heard the blonde nod. She grabbed the queen's chin and forced her to look at her eyes. "And don't you ever say you are useless. You are the only reason why I am still here today. You brought light back into my heart and led me off the dark path I was traveling on." She brushed her lips against Aurora's before continuing, "You give my life meaning and I cannot begin to comprehend a world worth living in without you. You are the queen of both the Moors and human kingdom and your people need you, I need you. That is why we hide you away, no one can bear the thought of you hurt."
"But if we just show my kingdom that Phillip and I are alive then we will expose the advisors for the traitors they are! The human army will fight for us, just like those soldiers here!" Aurora argued back.
"It is too dangerous," the retort was swift and given without any real thought. Maleficent shook her head and explained, "The advisors will do whatever it takes to make the humans believe that you and King Phillip are dead. If we simply bring you two to them, they will declare that I used some dark magic to make copies of you. We have to capture them first before we can bring either of you to the castle."
Aurora did not like the reasoning but she knew that it was sound. She reluctantly nodded and leaned into the fairy. She felt arms and wings circle around her, shielding her from the outside world. She sighed, she hated having to stay on the sidelines while everyone risked their lives.
They stayed in that position for a long time, their breathing the only noise that broke the silence. Maleficent was the first to break the embrace, she kissed the younger woman's lips before pulling away. "Come, we need to speak to the others about what we are going to do now," she said.
Aurora sighed but followed the other willingly. She did not want to face the harsh reality of more war but she also knew that the sooner they attacked, the sooner all the fighting will end.
When they reached the war room, everyone was already present. Diaval smiled sadly at the two and Aurora was shocked to see how tired he looked. Maleficent felt the surprise and whispered to her mate, "Balthazar and Diaval were close. When you were younger and he spent most of his days as a raven, Balthazar would give him berries occasionally. When I left him as a human for long periods of time, Balthazar would teach him his language."
Aurora nodded and walked over to the table. She ran her fingers through her hair, she did not want to deal with this now. She looked around the room with a small frown. "Where's Phillip?" she asked.
Tory was the one who answered. "He said he wasn't feeling well and wanted to be left alone." Aurora nodded to the answer.
Michael cleared his throat to catch her attention. "While you were uh gone, Roy and I were talking. We believe a surprise attack soon would be the best course of action. The kingdom will still be in a state of shock over their defeat and they will not have enough uh," he hesitated with a glance to Aurora, "replacements to efficiently guard the castle."
Aurora only nodded in agreement. "Do we have enough warriors to execute the plan?" she asked.
Diaval nodded. "Yes," he said, his voice hoarse, "we have about two hundred able warriors waiting for orders."
Maleficent shook her head. "That will not be enough. If we storm the castle, we must deal with peasants as well. We need the soldiers who gave their oath to protect us. Disguise them and have them take the human kingdom for us."
Roy grunted his disapproval. "Is that your plan? Have thirty of my men, some injured mind you, fight against more than one hundred of their own brothers. Yes, that plan will work exceedingly well." His words dripped with sarcasm and Maleficent had to contain herself lest she attack him.
Michael shook his head at his friend's display. He looked at Maleficent, "Ignore him, many of the men that died were his friends." He looked back at the map of the human kingdom and pointed to the market place. "Whoever we decide to send can hide here. The guards will be spread too thin that they won't even notice one hundred extra people doing nothing here."
Aurora nodded. "We'll need another attack happening at the same time though. We don't know if King John's army is still there."
"I can fly over and see if you wish Aurora," Diaval said.
Maleficent shook her head. "Don't be a fool," she said. "They catch one glimpse of a raven and they will shoot it down. Besides, it is too dangerous for me to turn you into a raven for a few days time. The magic I used to heal you could be unraveled if you transformed."
Diaval looked like he wanted to argue but he held his tongue.
Maleficent glanced at Aurora before cautiously stating, "We can have the pixies cause another distraction." She noticed how the blonde sucked in a breath and straightened her already rigid back. She continued, "They can still create a powerful wave even without Thistlewit," she whispered the name but it was heard by everyone nevertheless.
Aurora ran her fingers through her hair again. "They might be expecting another magical attack. We need something else, something we didn't use before."
Diaval looked up excitedly, his sadness momentarily forgotten. "The eaglesprites!" he exclaimed. "They're big and they can fly silently above the clouds! They'll be able to take out the archers before the groups on the ground attack. Without those pesky arrows, we'll take the kingdom easily!"
Roy raised an eyebrow. "Uh, can anyone tell me what an eaglesprite is?"
"They're basically giant grey creatures with a fish's tail for half of their body and some sort of insect for the other half. They have an eagle's beak and two arms to grab things," Aurora tried to explain what the eaglesprite was to the best of her ability but the three human men seemed to only get more confused. "They also have these long, thin tubes that look like their beard and hair, it's kinda cute," she added lamely.
"They are dangerous when provoked and extremely strong. That is all you need to know," Maleficent said.
They nodded in understanding and they thought about the battle strategy. Michael glanced at Maleficent. "We can also hide some of the tree men in the market place, they're human looking enough with a thick cloak. The guards will be confused as to why Moor and human are fighting alongside which will make it easier for us to take them down."
Roy added, "We have five archers as well. They can ride these eaglesprites," the word felt strange on his tongue, "and shoot at the guards who are controlling the Northern Gate. Once we take control of that, we can sneak in our army without incident, any other patrol will see the guards and believe they are on their side."
Tory looked at the general. "What about the other advisors?" he asked.
Michael pointed to the castle. "They'll be hiding in the council room, it is where they will give orders to the human army."
Aurora added, "There will probably be a few guards posted there but once we take the castle, they should surrender quickly."
Maleficent looked at Aurora. "I will take care of those bastards once we take control."
"Don't kill them," Aurora said seriously.
"No, they deserve to be exposed to everyone for the traitors they are. Afterwards they should be hung in public, not given a warrior's death," Maleficent replied.
Everyone agreed to the fairy's logic but Aurora did not say anything else on the subject. She sighed. "Okay, so we will take the Northern Gate with some of our eaglesprites and archers. The rest will fly onwards and take care of the archers stationed around the castle. Once that's done, we will quietly move the other fit soldiers and several tree men into the market place. They will wait there until Knotgrass and Flittle create some sort of wave to distract the guards," she swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. "While that is happening the ones stationed at the marketplace will charge at the castle. Without the reinforcements from above, the guards will be too confused to know what to do and surrender. And while all of that is happening I will be here being protected by Phillip and Tory" Aurora added bitterly. She looked at everyone before they could react to her last comment, "Who will be in charge of what division?"
Roy scratched at his beard with his wooden hand. "I may have one good arm but I can ride that eaglesprite. I'm curious what they look like anyways. No offense," he added with a shrug to Aurora.
Michael volunteered to be in charge of the division hiding in the market place.
Aurora looked at Maleficent. "And you?" she asked, already guessing the answer.
"I will be with the eaglesprites taking out the archers stationed around the castle. And afterwards I will ensure that the advisors are taken possession of personally." She could feel Aurora's displeasure through their link but did not comment on it. She wanted to see the advisors before her mate and perhaps beat Marcus to a bloody pulp for all the trouble he caused.
Tory looked between the two women before clearing his throat. "After the human kingdom is under Moor control I think it will be beneficial if Queen Aurora, along with King Phillip and I, go to the castle. If the people see us, then they will know that the advisors were lying to them and thus be on our side." He saw Maleficent looking like she might protest and quickly added, "We can even have an escort to protect us from any unforeseeable harm."
"Knotgrass and Flittle," Aurora said with a sad smile. "They will not physically be a part of the invasion, they can stay at the Northern Gate hidden with the three of us. Once everything is said and done, you can give us a signal and they can escort us through the kingdom."
"How do we know they will have enough power after creating a second wave to be able to protect you if need be?" Maleficent knew that desperation leaked into her words but she did not care. She simply couldn't allow Aurora to go into the battlefield once more, she couldn't risk it.
Aurora frowned and glared at the fairy. "I am not a child and I can more than handle myself in a fight if they are too weak. You know that I can."
Maleficent's eyes narrowed. Yes, she knew exactly what Aurora could do if cornered, but that was a problem. She had no quarrel having blood spilled by her hands if it meant protecting the Moors or her mate. But Aurora, she was far too pure to have her hands bloodied more than they already were. She had no doubt that the fighting was changing her, but she could not allow it to change Aurora too. She opened her mouth to tell her that but she didn't get the chance.
"We are stronger than you think Maleficent," Knotgrass said as she flew into the room with Flittle close behind. She turned in a mini red windstorm that only affected her and a second later she stood in her human form. Flittle did the same and she looked anywhere but directly at anyone's eyes.
Both women looked like they have been through Hell and back. They had dark circles under their eyes and, they had not slept the night before. In human form, their clothes were saggy as if hastily thrown on and their hair was unkempt, looking as wild as Thistlewit's was.
"We have enough energy to create a tsunami made of fire and protect Aurora," Flittle said with Knotgrass nodding in agreement. She could only manage a strangled whisper, her throat was too sore to speak any louder.
Maleficent still shook her head. "No, you two cannot be trusted to fight after dealing with Thistlewit's death so soon."
"We can say the same for Balthazar's," Knotgrass retorted but her usual venom was missing. She glanced back and saw Flittle's shoulders shudder once as bloodshot eyes left the ground to look at the fairy before gazing at the floor once more.
Maleficent bristled, her wings rising an inch from the ground. "Do not pretend to know my affairs pixie," she spat.
"And don't you pretend to know ours overgrown pixie," Knotgrass shot back, her ire showing in her red face.
"Alright enough! Both of you!" Aurora yelled as she physically got between them, her arms held up in case they actually began a fight which looked like they were seconds away from. She glared at her lover and her aunt. "All of us are in pain and fighting amongst ourselves will not change anything! We need to stop the advisors from causing any more destruction than they already have! So will both of you please calm down and listen!" Aurora was breathless after her shouting but she still looked at Maleficent and Knotgrass as if daring one of them to continue their childish shouting-match.
Knotgrass was the first to deflate, she released a deep breath and nodded. "You're right, fighting will get us nowhere." Maleficent only nodded and the tips of her wings were once again resting on the ground.
Aurora smiled but it lacked humor, "Good!" She turned to her aunties and began to explain their plan of surprise attack. They did not like the idea of bringing Aurora, Tory, and Phillip into the human kingdom right after they conquer it and were quick to voice their objections. "It is the easiest way. If the commoners see that I and everyone else are alive then they will not have any reason to attack the Moor army. Even the human army will be less inclined to revolt if they know that the advisors were lying to them."
Knotgrass and Flittle shared a glance that held their reluctant agreement. They both nodded and Flittle pulled Aurora into a surprise hug. "We are so proud of you and we swear that we will do everything to make sure that you are safe." A sob escaped her throat. "We can't lose anyone else."
Misty eyed, Aurora returned the hug and stepped back. She looked at everyone in the war room and saw the determination in their eyes. "Today we shall prepare for the final battle. Once night has fallen, we will head to the human kingdom and at dawn we shall attack. We will show the human kingdom that we are not some kitten who had their claws taken away and their fangs filed, but a fearsome lion. We will show them that they have not only poked the lion but hit it with a rock. And we will retaliate with a vengeance worthy of the dragons of old! When the sun rises in a day's time we will conquer the human kingdom and release the citizens from the advisors' poisonous grip!"
All around her cheers erupted. Roy and Michael bellowed and looked as if they could not wait to prove themselves in battle once more. Diaval and Tory were hollering as if children playing with swords for the first time and not young men. Maleficent kept silent but her even without looking at her eyes, their link betrayed her excitement for battle. Knotgrass and Flittle were reluctant to join in the uproar but soon they were grinning viciously, eager to make the humans pay for taking away Thistlewit from them.
Aurora watched them and felt a stirring of sadness in the pit of her stomach. War was changing them into people she did not recognize and this frightened her. She could only pray that the fighting will end soon enough that they can become the people she knew and loved. She acted excited as well and walked quietly past her aunts whom she used to believe could not hurt a single fly. She now knew that they could crush one hundred men with a simply flick of their hands. She also pretended not to see the green eyes looking at her curiously as she walked out of the war room to be alone with her thoughts.
Story summary: Aurora reaches 21 summers and her council is demanding she seek a husband. Maleficent is looking for a mate and her beastie catches her eye. Her instincts tell her to take the beauty for her own but she fears that she would not be accepted by the one she cares for most. Meanwhile war brews between the Moors and human kingdoms. Gonna be dark start at 9(blood, war, the whole shabang)
Phillip continued to laugh and cry, whispering 'thank you' to the fairy. To say that Aurora was disturbed about the display in front of her was an understatement. She thought King John cruel, but that was only because she saw him in the battleground. She did not know the man personally and could not think of any reason why his own son would be happy about his death.
Sensing his friend's confusion, Phillip looked up with a small smile as tears still came down his eyes. His smile faltered as a relieved sigh left his lips when his eyes gazed at Maleficent. "You have no idea how much I wanted him dead." He shuddered as he looked at Aurora, "There was a reason why our fathers got along so well. They were equally cruel and mad with power," he said.
Maleficent's eyes narrowed, her confusion still not sated. Aurora felt the same puzzlement but dread bloomed in her belly as her instincts whispered that King John did something unspeakable to his son.
Phillip sighed again and struggled to get on his feet, realizing that he had to tell them his secret. He glanced at the two women and left the war room, stumbling a little with every few steps. The two looked at one another and then at the others in the room. They held different emotions, Diaval sadness; Roy irritation; and Michael curiosity. They bowed to the fairy and queen and went back to the maps, knowing that whatever Phillip had to say to them was important.
They went outside of the war room and followed the king a little ways away. Phillip led them to the back of the war room and made sure that no Moor creature was around to see them. He grabbed his shirt and took a deep, shuddering breath before pulling it up. He looked away as he heard gasps of surprise from Aurora and even Maleficent.
There were scars littering his chest and stomach with some ending abruptly where his pants began. Each was placed very carefully so that his clothes would hide them. They were some that were large like the one on his abdomen where the advisors had tortured him. What caught their attention were the smaller and thinner marks. Some looked as if they were years old. Others seemed as if they were only a few months aged. The newest of the thin scars formed a large cross across his chest, many small lines overlapping one another to create an inch-thick mess of a streak.
He traced one of the lines of the cross with disgust on his face. "I-I knew that you didn't want to be with me. I told father that I didn't wish to force you into a marriage before knowing you more and" he gulped, "he didn't like it."
Aurora took a step closer as she studied the scars. She frowned, he got hurt because he cared for her. If she had never met him, none of this would have happen. She shook her head to rid of the darkening thoughts, none of that will change the past. She reached out and gripped the man's wrist to stop his fingers from playing with the grotesque cross. "Why didn't anyone stop this?" she asked.
"No one knew or didn't care enough. When father punished me, he always took me to an empty court yard with the pretense of training me in swordsmanship. He always made sure that he only injured me where no one would see," he whispered, his eyes glazed over as he remembered the sting and heat of the blade slicing his flesh repeatedly.
Aurora gave the man's shoulders a quick shake to wake him from his dark memories. He smiled appreciably as he let go of his shirt, once again hiding his father's misdeeds. "Thank you Aurora, I wanted to tell you about father's punishments for so long but" he glanced at Maleficent, "there was never a good enough time."
Aurora pulled the man into a hug as she sighed. "I'm so sorry Phillip. If I had known I would," she ended her sentence, what could she have done? Even if his transgressions came into public knowledge, would there truly be an uprising? She couldn't risk an open opposition against the mad man, King John had many allies that could crush even the Moor army after a day of fighting.
Phillip looked down at the woman and sensed her regret. He forced her to look into his eyes. "Don't you ever think that you could have done something to stop this. Father is cunning and many of his advisors probably already knew of his punishments. I hid this from you because I knew that there was nothing you could do, you would only end up blaming yourself for something that you had no knowledge of," he said.
Aurora frowned but did not argue against the king. She heard the wisdom in his voice but a small part of her brain whispered that Phillip simply didn't trust her enough to tell her about his scars.
Phillip grimaced at the queen's expression. She was blaming herself… again. He glanced at Maleficent and saw the fairy shrug with a frown of her own. The brunette knew as well as the king that Aurora would always see herself less than what she really was.
Maleficent walked over to Aurora who still was hugging Phillip. She knew that the embrace was not romantic but comforting in nature. She placed a hand on her mate's back and cast a calming tide over the blonde. She felt the younger woman stiffen once but relax afterwards, accepting the tranquility happily.
Phillip felt the difference in Aurora and nodded towards Maleficent, the blonde had told him how she could calm her thoughts through their link. He looked back down and gave the young woman a squeeze before letting go. He looked at the fairy with a glance to Aurora. "My father's sword, he never leaves the castle without it. Do you still have it?"
Maleficent's eyes soften in regret as she shook her head. "No, I did have possession during of the weapon during the fight but I lost it sometime. If you hadn't found it now then I fear that it is forever lost." She bowed her head to the king. "I am sorry," she whispered.
"Good. I never wanted to see that damn thing ever again," Phillip muttered as his eyes glazed over with dark memories once again. He shook his head as a hand reached up to grab at his hair. "That sword is better lost for all eternity, too much blood has been spilt by its blade," he whispered.
Aurora wanted to comfort her friend but she didn't know how. So she placed a hand on his shoulder and stayed silent. Phillip looked at her and his hand unclenched his brown locks and rested on top of Aurora's. He squeezed her hand once and smiled at her. "I'm okay," he said.
The blonde nodded and moved her hand from her friend's grasp. She saw the flash of disappointment in his eyes but it was gone before she could try to say something to appease him. He looked at the fairy and coughed, seemingly forgetting that she was there for a moment. "We should head back," he said. He looked at Aurora, "I really am fine. I just-" he took a deep breath, "I just wanted both of you to know that I don't harbor any ill will against either of you for what you did."
Maleficent narrowed her eyes as a thought occurred to her. "There is one thing I do not understand." Two pair of eyes looked curiously at her. "Why did your father marked you so? Surely he knew that if you two had married, Aurora would have seen the scars."
Phillip shook his head. "He didn't care if Aurora saw," he said bitterly. "Father knew that even if Aurora knew what he did she could do nothing. Once I married her, I would have control of the kingdom, thus giving Father control of it." He shuddered, "He threatened me that if I didn't do as he says then he would punish Aurora for my disobedience."
Maleficent's eyes flashed bright green as hands curled into fists, the nails biting her flesh. The animal within her roared and stampeded around her veins, demanding the fairy to kill whatever was endangering her mate. "What!?" she barked. She shook her head angrily and tried to control her temper as she felt dark magic swirling around her hands.
"Maleficent, its okay! I know that you would never allow anything to happen to me!" Aurora was quick to respond to the rage suddenly washing over her. Her heart raced with adrenaline as she tried to calm her lover. She stared into her eyes as she gripped her shoulders. "Maleficent look at me, only at me." Glowing eyes met her own. She gave a smile but it did not reach her eyes. "I'm right here and King John is not going to hurt me. He can't hurt anyone anymore," she whispered.
Slowly, the green mists stemmed into nothingness. Her hands uncurled as her body slumped against the blonde's, exhaustion the result of her anger leaving her. She buried her head into the crook of her mate's neck, choosing to ignore Phillip as she whispered tenderly, "I know, but the thought of you hurt sickens me and makes me lose control over the beast."
"I understand, really I do," Aurora whispered back. She gently pushed the woman's arms to tell her she wanted to see her face. When she saw her eyes, she smiled, they no longer glowed. She gave the fairy a quick peck on the lips before turning her attention back to Phillip. "We have to go back to the others. They're probably wondering what's taking us so long." She glanced up at the lazily setting sun.
Phillip nodded in agreement and the three began to head back. Maleficent stayed close to Aurora and their arms brushed up against one another's with every few steps.
When they entered the war room it was obvious that everyone was waiting for them. Roy and Michael stopped talking to one another as soon as they came in. Roy glanced at Diaval who shook his head with a grimace. He ignored the guardian and looked at Maleficent. "When do you wish to attack? The sooner the better in my opinion."
Maleficent shook her head. "I do not wish to discuss things now. It is tradition for the Fae Folk to mourn the loss of our brethren the night after a battle has occurred. It is forbidden for us to speak of fighting anytime from the moment night has fallen to the morning after," she said. She saw Diaval nod in agreement.
Roy frowned as did Michael but neither questioned it. The fairy looked down and offered a hand to Aurora. "Come, as queen you should oversee this," she said somberly.
Aurora gulped and took the hand. The fairy led her out of the war room and towards the Moor fields. Only Diaval followed and he did not speak a word. The silence was filled with sadness as they continued to walk deeper into the magical land. Even the surrounding plant life seemed to mourn. What were once brightly glowing flowers and fungi were now emitting only the smallest of light, only enough for the group to see the way ahead of them.
After a couple of minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the Moor fields. The entire field was covered with Fae Folk, all of them silently weeping for their fallen brothers. Each dead Moor creature was laid down on a raised column of tree bark and vine with beautiful white roses creating a perimeter around the bodies. Many simply held lumps of flesh, the body too mutilated to distinguish one limb of a creature from another.
Aurora walked over to the smallest of the columns. She stood next to her weeping aunts in their pixie forms as she looked at Thistlewit. She seemed so peaceful, with not a single hair out of place from her wild curls. There was no marking or injury anywhere on her body. She smiled as tears slipped out of her eyes, it looked like she was only taking a nap. A nap that will last for all eternity. A sob was ripped from her throat and she felt the air next to her swirl in a mini tornado. She felt two pairs of arms engulf her as her remaining aunts clung to her.
"S-she's so beautiful," Knotgrass choked out. "I-I never told her h-how beautiful she was. I always m-made fun of her and bullied her." She placed a hand on the dais. "I-I'm s-so sorry! I didn't mean a word of any of it! Y-you're n-not stupid, o-or u-ugly! You are the most a-amazing person anyone could know Thistlewit and I-I'm so glad that I could c-call you a friend," she stammered through her tears.
Flittle released her niece to walk over to the dais. She sniffed and wiped away some of her tears for new ones to replace moments later. She smiled despite her tears. "I never told you this but I always t-thought of you as a little si-" her voice stole away as she tried to stifle a cry with little success, "a little sister. I watched out for you and I-I tried to be there whenever you called for help." She sobbed and a tear fell onto one of the white flowers. "I am so sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me! I was so close and you were right there and I-"
The rest of her sentence ended as Knotgrass pulled her into a hug. "It's not your fault Flittle. It's not your fault," she whispered as tears washed from her eyes.
Aurora joined her two aunts in front of Thistlewit's opened coffin. She reached out and grabbed Flittle's hand as she looked at the yellow pixie. "Y-you were a l-little forgetful sometimes b-but you were the pe-perfect mother for me. Y-you kissed away my bruises a-and always sang a song for me when I had nightmares. Y-you made gorgeous flowers grow for me to pick and you blew away clouds when I wanted to go outside. I love you Thistlewit and I-I," she sobbed, the pain in her heart becoming too much to bear, "I wish you were here!"
A few yards away, Maleficent watched as Aurora and the remaining pixies mourned their lost family. She looked to her right where Diaval was standing with his head bowed. He glanced up and gave a slight nod before continuing his silent grieving.
She looked down to the dais in front of her. Unlike Thistlewit's, vines surrounded the raised body with a broken spear lying next to the tree man's hand. She smiled sadly at Balthazar's corpse as she reached out and grasped his hand. She bowed her head as well, a few tears flowing from her eyes. "You were a good friend Balthazar," she whispered. "When my parent's left this world, you were there to take care of me and raise me like your own. You shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be seeing your grave and you" she took a steadying breath as more tears slipped out, "you shouldn't be dead." She shook her head, "You shouldn't be chopped up like some butcher's meat. I swear to you Balthazar as the Protector of the Moors, I will make those advisors regret ever conspiring with that imp King John." She squeezed the lifeless hand, feeling the dried moss flake off of the bark and onto the dais bellow. "I will never forget you, even if I live a thousand lifetimes."
Maleficent took another deep breath and did not bother to wipe away her tears. She looked around at the Fae Folk and they all gave her sadden nods. She closed her eyes and raised her arms into the air, gold mists of magic swirling around the limbs. They flowed slowly to each of the fallen Moor creature's coffin and covered the corpse. The bodies began to disintegrate into golden dust that lazily floated up into the air and the heavens above.
Once all of the fallen had been transformed into the magical dust, Maleficent lowered her arms. She opened her eyes and looked at all of the mourning Fae Folk. "It is done." The sentence was but a whisper but it was more than enough for everyone in the clearing to hear.
One after another, the Moor creatures left the fields with glances towards the sky. Aurora walked over to Maleficent with a hidden question in her eyes. Before she could voice it, a tree man burst into the clearing and ran to the fairy. He spoke quickly and kept gesturing to the far side of the Moors. The fairy shook her head at his words. "Leave them be," she said.
The tree man nodded and glanced up into the sky for a moment before heading back to what Aurora could assume was the wall of thorns. She looked at Maleficent after the warrior disappeared. "What's going on?"
Maleficent looked sadly at her mate. "Families have come to claim their dead. Gabriel did not know if he should make them leave." She sighed, "They have the right to bury their family where they wish, they pose us no harm."
Aurora nodded and leaned into the fairy as she gazed into the sky, trying to find any trace of the golden dust. When she found none, she pulled at Maleficent's sleeve softly. "What did you do before?"
Maleficent glanced down and shook her head. "I will tell you when we arrive at our bed," she said. "It is tradition that after we send our fallen brothers to the sky, we retire to our homes and dream of them."
This only served to make Aurora more curious but she held her tongue. She followed the fairy out of the Moor Fields and towards their home. They past some Fae Folk but none spoke a word to either of them, they simply kept their heads down and walked on.
When they reached their tree, Maleficent helped the younger woman into the hammock before settling in herself. She held open an arm and wing and Aurora crawled over to her. Once the wing was snugly wrapped around the queen, the fairy looked up into the sky. "I used magic to turn the bodies into the Gods' Dirt, the dust you saw. It will flow up into the sky and eventually back down into the Moors lands and become a part of it." She looked down at her mate and pulled her closer. "Do you know why this land is magical?"
Aurora shook her head. "I don't know," she replied.
"It is because of the God's Dirt. You see my love, being the Protector of the Moors is much more than being a guardian of some plot of land. Everyone who has ever passed in this realm to move one to the next has left their bodies behind. In those bodies is a tiny sliver of the one thing that makes them who they are. For as long as time has moved, humans have called this the soul. Every Protector has converted that part into God's Dirt and slowly the Moors grew in magic. We fight for the Moors not only because it is our home but because our ancestors are here in every tree and flower." She stroked the tree lovingly as she whispered, "Every Protector's soul resides in this tree Aurora and eventually so will mine."
Aurora covered Maleficent's hand and looked at her face. She looked so peaceful and yet so pained. She threaded her fingers through the fairy's and rested her head against her shoulder. "Do you think your parents are here?" she whispered
She felt the older woman tense up and knew that she should not have asked that question. She glanced up and saw the stoic face Maleficent wore whenever she was forced to think of something she did not want to. Slowly, she shook her head. "No," she replied so softly Aurora almost did not hear her. "We only had their wings and I could not create God's Dirt at that time, I was only a babe." She rested her head against the hammock. "I can only hope that their souls have somehow made it to this tree," she said.
Aurora nodded and snuggled closer to the fairy. Maleficent responded by gently pulling up the blonde's chin and kissing her deeply. Aurora broke the kiss after a minute and laid her head down, her eyes turned up to scan the skies. As her eyes closed, she could have sworn that there were two stars shining brighter than a moment before.
Story Summary: Aurora reaches 21 summers and her council is demanding she seek a husband. Maleficent is looking for a mate and her beastie catches her eye. Her instincts tell her to take the beauty for her own but she fears that she would not be accepted by the one she cares for most. Meanwhile war brews between the Moors and human kingdoms. Gonna be dark start at 9(blood, war, the whole shabang)
Author's notes
I would just like to give a very special thank you to Maloraerrrday. I was having trouble deciding on a certain piece of this chapter and you helped inspire me to go deeper and finally I settled on going a certain way. I must admit that I was actually going to can this idea before I talked to you about it. You probably have no idea what I'm talking about (most of the time I don't either) but you'll see... soon.
Disclaimer: THERE'S GOING TO BE A SECOND MALEFICENT! I REPEAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A SEQUAL TO MALEFICENT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL THIS IS NOT A DRILL! ahem. Oh, and I don't own Maleficent or its characters
Maleficent awoke with a start, someone was tugging at her feathers. She hissed softly in pain but the frown melted from her face when she saw her sweet Aurora sleeping next to her, a hand fisted in her feathers. The blonde whimpered and gave the wing a tug. The fairy hissed again and tried to remove her wing from her mate's grasp.
The queen felt the wing move from her and she whimpered in her dream, pulling the feathers closer to her.
The pain radiating from her abused wing disappeared from the older woman's mind as she heard the whimper. She moved over to the blonde and pulled her closer so her head rested against her chest. A hand reached up to stroke through the golden curls as she whispered sweet nothings into her ear.
After a few minutes, the younger woman stopped squirming and slowly opened her eyes. Aurora smiled at the woman above her and leaned up to brush her lips against the fairy's.
The brunette hummed at the kiss and broke it after a moment. "What was your dream about beastie?" she whispered.
Tears sprung into the blonde's eyes as she hid her face in the crook of the fairy's neck. She felt the woman under her tense in shock but quickly relaxed. Aurora shook her head as she cried. "T-they visited me last night. Before you arrived."
"They?"
"M-my aunties." She looked up and stared desperately into the fairy's eyes. "They're wrong, right Maleficent? Auntie Thistlewit is okay, right?"
Maleficent's eyes softened in sadness as she pulled the woman closer. "Oh Aurora, I'm so sorry," she sighed. She held on to the now sobbing blonde and rubbed at her back in small circles. She knew that the young woman would find out eventually but now was too soon. Far too soon.
She tried to whisper soothing things and send a calming tide to her mate but the blonde pushed her away. The fairy looked shocked and hurt at the sudden response.
The queen shook her head, "I don't want to be soothed, I want to be hurt. I want to be angry." Her body shook with all the emotions she couldn't handle. Loss, sadness, anger, and even bloodlust swirled around her mind. She allowed it to cloud her rational thoughts as she sobbed.
Once again the brunette tried to touch her. This time the queen did not pull away and Maleficent blew magic into the air so their hammock rocked to and fro. She did not try to send any emotions to her mate again but simply held her. She basked in the storm along with her mate, allowing the feelings to wash over her as well.
They stayed like that for a long time. It could have been minutes or even hours but neither knew how much time had passed. Slowly, the sobs died down to hiccups and quiet tears. She pulled away from the fairy's embrace for the second time to wipe at her eyes. They hurt after crying for so long.
The older woman did not say anything, she didn't need to. She got out of their bed to fetch her robe. Once the sash was tied tightly around her waist, she bent down to grab Aurora's dress. She frowned at the dried blood that coated the white fabric. She looked down to see similar stains on her own clothing. With a wave of a hand, both sets of clothes were cleaned of any evidence of bloodshed.
Aurora looked out from the hammock and watched as her lover cleaned her clothes with magic. She reached out and grabbed the offered dress. She quickly put it on and climbed out of the sling, still sniffing. The blonde did not meet the fairy's eyes but she did lean against her with a sigh.
Maleficent looked down and offered a sad smile. She pressed her lips against the blonde's forehead in a quick kiss. "I have to go see the pri- soldiers," she said.
The queen nodded. "Okay, just give me a minute," her voice sounded extremely hoarse and this worried the brunette but she did not call attention to it.
The brunette did not want the other to come with her but knew that Aurora needed something to do. She wanted to not think about her aunt's fate. Maleficent's eyes closed as she released a sad sigh, this was not going to be easy.
The fairy waited patiently for the blonde to get her thoughts in order and push away her feelings. She needed to behave as a queen now: detached and powerful, not an emotional woman. There will be plenty of time to grieve later. She gave her lover a nod and the two began to walk towards the cells.
They did not say anything to each other and it was different from the quiet peace. There was tension between them, being born from grief that neither knew how to deal with. Maleficent fought the urge to take the younger woman into her arms and hide her from the pain. Aurora kept on a stoic face but inside she was still weeping over her aunt's death. Out of the three pixies, Thistlewit was the most aloof and silly and she loved her because of it. Even if that meant that she was fed spiders once.
She almost found herself smiling at the memory. Now that she was recalling the past, she remembered a gold mist circling around the bowl of spiders, scaring away the little insects before she could eat them. That night someone had left her a bowl of strange fruits. Now she knew that they were the most delicious and exotic berries from the Moors.
Aurora looked up at the fairy. "That was you wasn't it? The one who saved me from eating those spiders Thistlewit gave me?" she asked.
Maleficent looked down and nodded. "Yes, I still cannot even begin to fathom why she would think that those little monstrosities were good for you." She made a disgusted face but humor danced in her eyes. "When I questioned her, she said that she thought the spiders would have a lot of protein in their tiny bodies."
This time a laugh did escape the blonde. Soon, she was leaning against the brunette for support as she clutched her sides. She wiped tears of laughter from her eyes as she giggled. "She was a good auntie though," she said seriously.
The fairy nodded, "Yes. Even if she almost killed you on accident several times."
Aurora giggled. "On accident," she emphasized.
The humor that sprung out of the silence was quickly replaced with tension as they saw a limping Diaval. They looked at one another before hurrying over to the injured man.
The shape-shifter's entire torso was covered in bandages, many already stained from his blood. He was gasping for breath and almost collapsed if it weren't for the two women.
Before she could better think, the brunette hissed, "You mustn't push yourself so much! You're lucky enough to survive so don't get yourself killed because you wanted to move about!" Her eyes quickly went to the blonde, realizing that her choice of words might have brought unwelcome thoughts to her mate.
Aurora did not seem to have heard her, or at least acknowledge the words. She was too busy wondering why Diaval was a human and not a dragon. She struggled to keep the man upright as he leaned his weight against her.
The fairy took the burden from her mate and shifted Diaval's body so it was leaning against her side.
He groaned as he body ached from being moved. "I know mistress but I can't stand being fretted upon by those tree men. They're so rough that I think that they caused me more wounds than they healed," he complained in between pants.
The two women moved his body to a nearby tree. They gently sat him down, halting whenever an agonized whimper or groan escaped Diaval's mouth. Once he was situated, the blonde looked over him. He was far too pale from the loss of blood and his eyes were dull with pain. She looked up at the fairy and asked a question with her eyes.
Maleficent understood what her mate wanted and was too happy to oblige. She kneeled down and placed a clawed hand on the man's chest. She closed her eyes and magic flowed from her body into the other's.
Diaval sighed in relief when some of his pain was taken away. He felt his more severe wounds stitch together and his eyes closed at the feeling of his broken body being repaired. He opened them again and saw the fairy's body trembling in fatigue. He quickly covered her hand and gently pushed it away. "I'm better now, thank you," he said with a bow of his head.
Maleficent shook her head. "No, you're not fully healed yet." She tried to call on the golden magic but felt a hand clasp her shoulder. She looked at Aurora in confusion and was shocked to see sweat beaded against her forehead.
"Take your own advice Maleficent, don't push yourself," she whispered.
The man nodded in agreement with the blonde. He stood up, grunting only once as his body argued against the motion. He slowly unraveled the gauze from his chest and traced the new scar near his heart. He believed that the tree man that looked after him said he was truly lucky that King John hadn't killed him, but he wasn't so sure if those were the creature's words. Their language was so hard to understand.
He looked back to the two women and bowed, smiling when the action did not terribly hurt him. He straightened his back still grinning. "I feel good now. Well as good as one can be when they were a dragon being picked on by a hundred soldiers," he joked.
Maleficent pouted at the jest. "It was more like forty soldiers," she replied.
Diaval shrugged but his face still held his grin. "Whether it was one hundred or forty, they still did quite a number on me."
Aurora smiled at the playful banter between the two. Even if they would never admit it to anyone, they were the closest of friends and cared deeply for one another. She did not feel jealous at the fact. She knew she was the same way with Phillip.
After a few minutes of them wittingly going back and forth, she cleared her throat. She grinned at the two as they looked at her. "We should go now," she said.
Maleficent nodded and glanced at Diaval, "I still was able to save little Aurora more times than you. You simply cawed at her like a stupid bird."
"That's because I was a bird! You didn't make me into a man most of the time, you just blew magic at Aurora." He pointed a finger at her, "And those don't count. You have to physically save Aurora to count."
The person of subject rolled her eyes. She had no idea how they ended talking about her almost-tragedies as a child and whether one saved her more than the other. She led the still bickering friends through the Moors, sighing as the banter rose to an all-out match of wits. The blonde will never admit it to either but she knew that Diaval won their little debates as much as Maleficent.
To her horror and relief the cells were spotted a few feet away from them. She frowned when she saw how small it was, the soldiers must be cramped in there. She knew that those were the men that attacked her home but they were still her subjects.
Yelling erupted from the cells and Aurora was shocked to see that Michael was there. He was bellowing to someone in the prison and made wild gestures with his hands, his axe bouncing at his hip. The soldier he was arguing with was shouting with as much rage and he was jabbing his finger into the guardian's chest.
The two women glanced at each and made their way over to one of the guards, Diaval limping close behind them. The tree brute gave a quick bow and exchanged a few words with the fairy. She nodded and frowned at Michael.
The blonde looked at the soldiers who huddled close together, none of them at the edges of the cells. The only one who didn't seem afraid was the man who was yelling at Michael.
Michael ignored the fairy and queen as he continued to yell at one of the soldiers in the cells. "You fucking moron! You trust those greedy jackasses more than me! You were fucking tricked, you worthless excuse for a man!"
"At least I didn't betray my own kind, you pile of horse shit!" the man roared back.
He stabbed the man's chest again with his finger and now that she was closer, Aurora saw that it was made of wood. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of the red ribbon on his sleeve, he was one of her generals.
"Besides, did you even see what that fucking bitch can do!? She made the fucking thorn vines come to fucking life and she killed my men with them! Did you know what she did next then?" He didn't wait for Michael to respond before yelling, "She laughed! She fucking laughed when the ground got soaked with my men, our brothers', blood!"
Maleficent walked up until she was directly in front of the bars and the general. She glared at him and a flash of fear entered the man's blue eyes. "I never laughed," she growled. She leaned forward so she was eyelevel with the general. "I did what I had to do to protect my home and don't you ever accuse me of being some bloodthirsty beast." She smiled but it was full of malice, "Because you might be right."
Aurora placed a hand on her lover's shoulder, "Don't say things like that."
She heard whispers emitting from the cells and she looked as the soldiers stared at her.
The queen stood tall and proud as she looked at the vanquished soldiers. "The advisors have lied to you." She waited for the gasps of surprise and anger died down. "I am alive as you can plainly see." She looked at the fairy and smiled, allowing the love she had for the woman to show in her eyes. "Maleficent never raped or hurt me, neither did she did those awful things to King Phillip or Sir Tory. They're here in the Moors as well and being treated like an honored guest. I love her and I chose to be with her."
Once again gasps of shock were heard from the soldiers. Even the general was silent as he glanced back and forth between the two women.
She met their eyes as she spoke clearly, "The advisors tried to kill me by burning me at the stake when they found out."
Now cries of outrage reached her ears.
Aurora glanced at the fairy and smiled. "Maleficent saved my life and not because I am her queen but because she loves me too." Her gaze went back to the men and watched as several expressions played across their faces, but to her relief, understanding was shown on most of them. "You have two choices and you must choose now. One: you can be assumed as an enemy to the Moors and therefore to me. You will not be killed but become a prisoner of war to be dealt with later. Or two: you can help me take back my kingdom."
She waited with baited breath as all the men thought about their options. After a minute of silence, the soldier that first saw her in the battleground walked up to the queen and kneeled down, his head bowed. "The advisors are cruel and demand absolute loyalty from each of us. If there is a sliver of doubt, we are killed. My brother was hung in front of me," he whispered. He lifted his head and nodded, "I will fight for you."
Soon, one after another, each soldier kneeled and bowed her head. The general looked at Michael who only smirked. He gulped and kneeled. "Forgive me for saying such terrible falsities about you Protector of the Moors."
Maleficent looked at the man and waited for a moment before responding, "You are forgiven. But as I said before, I will kill you if you ever speak like that again in front of my mate."
The general nodded and Michael gave a hearty laugh, "Oh this is precious! The great General Roy with his balls chopped off! Ha!"
General Roy growled under his breath but did not say anything to the guardian. He looked up at the queen and fairy. "We didn't want to fight either. We only followed those pussies' orders because we thought you had" he glanced at Aurora, "forced yourself on our queen and killed her."
The fairy narrowed her eyes, "I would never harm her." She looked at Aurora who gently tugged at her arm and then the cells. With a wave of her hand, the vines and bark began to move back to free the men.
The soldiers cautiously took a step out of their prison. The guards walked forward and helped move those who were injured.
The blonde looked at the nearest guard. "Find the pixies," her heart gave a painful pang, "and ask them to heal the injured please. Also take those strong enough to the river bank so they can wash themselves." She locked eyes with General Roy, "Come with us, we need to talk to you."
The graying man nodded and followed the queen as she left the scene. Maleficent glanced at Diaval and they began to follow the blonde, along with Michael.
Once they reached the war room, they went inside. Tory was already there and his eyes widened in fear when he saw the fairy. He bowed his head to her as he trembled with fright. "I-I'm sorry we could not convince Aurora to stay in the Moor fields as you planned. She said you were hurt and we thought that she should go a-"
The brunette halted the man's speech with a raised hand. She surprised him when she gripped his shoulder. "Thank you. I know Aurora would have found a way to the battlefield somehow. She's stubborn like that," she chuckled. Her eyes grew serious as she looked at her mate, "If she hadn't come, I would not be here now."
The young man looked up and nodded. He was grateful that the fairy had not smote him for disregarding her strict orders. He moved back to the table as the others followed. He glanced at them and swallowed the lump in his throat as they saw the new markings on the maps. "I-I took the liberty of showing how many we and they lost."
Diaval spoke up, "I told him when I was coming back to the Moors as a dragon. I just hope I never have to do that again," he shuddered.
"How did you turn back into a human?" Aurora asked. When she saw him, she was curious as to why he was not a dragon. She knew that Maleficent did not turn him back but did not get the chance to ask until now.
The man did meet her gaze as he shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. I passed out from the blood loss and woke up as a human." He frowned, "Why I hadn't turned back into a raven, I do not know."
The fairy's brows furrowed as she pondered on Diaval's situation. She looked at him, "Perhaps you are simply more man than bird."
The servant made a face at that. "I prefer a bird thank you very much."
Maleficent shrugged. "It's not you who decides which species is best suited, it's the magic."
Diaval grumbled, "Well then there must be wrong with your magic."
Before she could argue that there must be something wrong with him, a cough was heard. She turned her head to see Aurora frowning at them, "Can you two please stop bickering and concentrate."
The fairy's eyes widened, her beastie rarely lectured her. She glanced at Diaval and saw the same surprise on his face. She looked back at the maps and studied them. Just as Tory had said, there were new markings. Red ink circled where the fights were and in them were the number of casualties, both human and Moor.
After awhile she frowned, "They were concentrating their forces here." She pointed to a big circle right in front of the Moors. "Why?"
Roy looked over the fairy's soldier and scoffed. "It's because of those advisors, that's why." His face twisted in disgust, "They didn't care how many of our men died."
Michael quickly caught on and finished the general's thought. "They wanted to send a message." His cheek reddened with rage as he shook his head. "All of this just to say hello. What a fucking load of shit!" he roared.
Aurora shook her head. "No, something's wrong," she said. She looked at the casualties. "Most of the soldiers that died were from my kingdom, in every instance. Why?"
The others looked at the numbers and realized that the queen was right. Something wasn't adding up.
Roy spoke, "Well maybe it was because we were unprepared. We didn't realize how strong you were or even that the wall of thorns was back up. All of our scouts and that little party we sent were killed," he muttered bitterly.
Maleficent raised an eyebrow at this. "We never killed any of your scouts. Also, fifteen of your men survived their pitiful attack against my wall." Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "None of them came back?"
The general shook his head as he rubbed at his graying beard. "Then how di-" he left off mid-sentence as realization bloomed on his face. Quickly following was rage and he slammed his fist against the table. "That fucking king!" he roared.
Michael was the first to catch on. "Don't tell me that that old fucker killed those men." Roy simply nodded his head as he brushed his fingers through his hair in a nervous habit. The guardian shook his head, "Un-fucking believable," he whispered.
The fairy frowned as the gears in her head worked. "It makes sense now. King John's forces were much more organized than the other's." She shook her head in confusion. "Why would he do that to his own kind?"
"Because he wants my kingdom," Aurora said angrily. She gestured to her castle, "Ever since I took the throne, the advisors have been pestering me to marry Phillip. I thought it was because they wanted a man to rule them," she ignored Maleficent's snort, "but maybe they were allied with King John from the beginning. King Stephan and he were very close and did a lot of trade with one another but King John wanted more. He asked me to close all trade with any kingdom except his and in exchange he said he would pay me and the advisors handsomely." Her face was twisted in a sneer, "The advisors begged me to agree but I never gave the ridiculous offer a thought."
Diaval frowned, "So he decides to usurp the only ones who supported him?" He rubbed at the bridge of his nose, "Humans are cruel."
The general nodded in agreement. "Yes, but we aren't stupid. After losing their King, I suspect Austen's army will pull out." He looked at Maleficent with a half grin. "You won't be attacked anytime soon but" he added when everyone except Michael looked relieved, "when you do, there's gonna be hell to pay. You thought they were determined before? Well, you just killed hundreds of brothers, fathers, and sons. When they come back they'll be demanding every head in this strange land."
Maleficent shrugged at the comment. "Then we must end the war before they come."
Before anyone could respond, thumping footsteps reached their ears. They looked over to see Phillip practically dragging himself into the war room. He was drenched in sweat and his hands were covered in mud. He tried to wipe them off on his pants but they were even filthier. He slumped against a wall and tried to catch his breath. He didn't meet anyone's eyes as his chest heaved. "I just came back from burying my father," he whispered.
Aurora rushed over to the man as he started to fall over on his side. She held him upright in his sitting position and quickly undid her water canteen. She passed it to Phillip and he gulped down the water greedily. He nodded his head in thanks and gave back the empty canteen.
The fairy walked over to the dehydrated king and placed a gentle hand on his forehead. She willed only a little bit of magic into him, knowing that a lot could cause his thumping heart to go into a frenzy and result in a heart attack.
Slowly, Phillip's shallow breathing deepened as the nausea of lack of water left him. He murmured, "Thank you," to both women.
Maleficent looked away as shame bit at her. "Thank only Aurora," she whispered. She saw the confusion in his eyes and the warning in the blonde's. The brunette sighed as she stared into his eyes. "I'm the one who killed your father."
"She only did it to protect me Phillip," the queen quickly added. "King John thought I was a traitor and he-"she stopped talking when a peculiar sound reached her ears.
Everyone stared at Phillip in shock as his shoulders heaved. He lifted his face so everyone could see the tears running down his face. What disturbed them was the sound coming from his mouth. He was laughing as if he just received the greatest gift anyone had ever given him. He smiled at Maleficent as he wept tears of joy. "Thank you!" he cried. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Author's notes
And before anyone asks, yes Maloraerrrday helped me decide what to do about Phillip's reaction to his dad being killed by Maleficent. You made me think really hard on his reaction and I thought that this would be a more significant approach and add meaning to his idea that he and Aurora were more alike than the woman knows. I hope I made the right decision and hadn't disappointed anyone.
Story summary: Aurora reaches 21 summers and her council is demanding she seek a husband. Maleficent is looking for a mate and her beastie catches her eye. Her instincts tell her to take the beauty for her own but she fears that she would not be accepted by the one she cares for most. Meanwhile war brews between the Moors and human kingdoms. Gonna be dark start at 9(blood, war, the whole shabang)
Chapter summary: Aurora’s POV during the war scene
Aurora struggled to stay behind the two men left to guard her. They ran through the Moors, away from the roars and screams of pain. She glanced behind her and saw Diaval from the very tops of the trees, his snout opening to blow blue flames. She gulped, the only time she saw the shape-shifter as a dragon was when Maleficent was protecting her from her father.
She yelped as her foot got caught in a root of some tree. She fell down on her chest and felt all the air escape her lungs. The blonde gasped and coughed as Phillip helped her up on her feet. They staggered farther away from the wall of thorns and the war.
After a few moments, oxygen was once again allowed passage into her lungs. She took a shaky breath and looked behind her. She could see Diaval flying away towards the battle, her lover close behind him.
"Please be safe," she whispered into the wind, a childish hope growing in her chest that the fairy would hear her words.
Aurora turned her head to continue running with her friends. Her lungs began to burn and sweat poured down her body, but she knew that not all of it was from her running. Most of it came from someone else. She gritted her teeth and pushed herself harder, running in front of Phillip and Tory despite of their protests.
Don't get tired Maleficent! If you do then you will surely get hurt!
She was concentrating on her run so much that she did not hear Phillip yell for her to slow down at first. But the shouting persisted and she looked over her shoulder to hear him cursing with Tory limping alongside him, "Damn it Aurora, Tory can't run that fast!"
The blonde immediately slowed down so her friends could catch up. The poor man was wheezing dreadfully and clutched at his side. He gave his queen a light nod and mouthed, 'cramp.'
Aurora slowed down further and offered a shoulder to her friend. Tory smiled gratefully and allowed his arm to be pulled over the queen's shoulders. The blonde gave him a smile in kind, "Do not worry Sir Tory. The Moor fields are only a little ways away."
As the last word left her mouth, she screamed. She let go of her friend and grabbed her side, whimpering as she felt something being pulled sharply from her flesh. Ignoring the shocked and embarrassed looks from the two men, she grabbed her white dress and pulled it up until her aching flesh was revealed. There was nothing there and she tenderly placed a hand on her side, pulling it away with a gasp as her flesh gave a pang of agony.
She fell to her knees and held onto her side to stem the nonexistent blood. She tore through the mists of pain in her mind as she stared at the missing wound. Her eyes widened as her head snapped back to look at the direction of the war. "Maleficent," she whispered in terror.
She unsteadily got onto her feet and stumbled towards the wall of thorns. She barely felt two pairs of hands on her, pulling her back towards the Moor fields. What she did hear was Tory murmuring, "Don't my queen, we have to keep you safe."
Phillip nodded in agreement, "You can't go back there! You'll get hurt or worse, killed!"
Aurora shook her head and turned around to face her friends. "No, I won't," she said with absolute conviction. "Maleficent is hurt and I need to find her!"
With that, she turned around and started to pace herself, knowing that she could not sprint to her love's side as she wanted. She needed every ounce of her strength for the fight.
The king jogged alongside the woman, "I can't let you do this." He tried to grab her arm to pull her back but missed. He ran faster than the blonde and stopped in front of her. When Aurora slowed to a stop, he slowly shook his head. "Maleficent made me swear an oath to protect you and I plan on keeping my vow."
"I didn't ask for any protection!" Aurora screamed. She threw a hand out to point at the distant wall of thorns, "I should be out there, helping my people protect their home!"
Sir Tory caught up with the two, panting and wiping the sweat off of his brow. He bent over and grasped his knees, fighting against a wave of nausea. "We're your people too, and so are the ones we're fighting," the youngest advisor wheezed. He straightened his back, "You can't hurt your own people my queen."
The blonde looked at Tory and pleaded, "My mate, my love, is out there injured and I have to save her!" Her gaze went to Phillip, "Please, let me go."
"You don't even have a weapon!" Phillip argued. He knew that it was a lame reason, there would be plenty of weapons that don't have a master on the battlefield. He just couldn't let the woman leave, he cannot allow her to get herself in harm's way.
"I will find one and don't either of you dare say I cannot wield a blade. Michael taught me everything, even tricks that my own generals thought were too dangerous and deadly for me to learn." She whispered, "I know how to kill."
"But do you know how to live with yourself if you take another's life?" Tory whispered back.
Aurora looked into her friend's eyes before shrugging, "I don't know." She walked to Phillip and cupped his cheek, smiling sadly. "Let me go Phillip, I need to do this."
"I promised."
"I know you did but it was wrong for Maleficent to ask so much from you." She whimpered as her side ached, something was agitating the fairy's wound. She looked down back to her imaginary wound, half-expecting to find blood covering her dress where the injury was.
Phillip's eyes followed Aurora's and his mind was clouded with indecision. A whisper was barely heard in his head but the words ranged cloud as a church bell, Let the fairy die. Then Aurora would be all yours, imagine how heartbroken she will be and you'll be the one to comfort her. You and her can live happily ever after like you're supposed to.
His body tensed and threw that suggested out of his head, Never! I am not that cruel… I am not like him. He looked back down and reluctantly took a step sideways, "Go to her."
Aurora smiled and even though she knew it would confuse the kind king more, she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his cheek. "Thank you Phillip, I promise that I will be safe," she vowed.
The blonde resumed her steady run, glancing back to see the king staring after her, regret for his decision already in his eyes. She chose to ignore the look and concentrated on running without wasting her precious energy.
After a few minutes of jogging, the wall of thorns was looming over her. There was a giant hole in the middle and fear raised up in her belly. She glanced around the circumference and released a breath she was holding, the thorn vines did not have any scratches or breaks anywhere. Maleficent moved them, not the human army.
She took a cautious step forward and she had to swallow the bile that rose in her throat. There was blood, there was blood everywhere. It was just like her nightmare. Human and Moor alike were struggling to stay alive and each were killing one another without any mercy. Blood and guts soaked the ground, both from Moor and human.
Aurora walked into the battlefield. Just like her dream, no one paid attention to her. She looked around and numbly picked a sword that was near the soldier's dead body. She tried not to look at the man but her eyes still saw his crushed face, one of the tree brutes must have hit him with their club. She shook her head, this war should never have happened.
She walked deeper into the fray, her eyes never staying at one spot. Luckily, none of the soldiers or Moor creatures paid any attention as she walked passed them. Her hands clasped at the handle, her knuckles turning white from the strain.
Finally, after walking into her nightmare for a minute, she saw a familiar face. Michael was fighting valiantly in front of his dead war boar. He did not allow any human soldier to lay a finger on his fallen steed, all those who came into his range met a quick death. He yelled at the men, calling each a coward and a dumbass for thinking that they could win a fight against him.
Aurora watched as he decapitated a man, a bloodthirsty grin on his face. This was a side of the farmer that she knew of but a part of her denied ever existed. The same man, who offered her free rides just because her hair and smile reminded him of his precious Alice, was killing while grinning and laughing. The same man, who refused her most gentlest of offers to help around the farm, was fighting like he didn't care whether he lived or died.
The queen gasped as the puzzles finally fit together: Michael wanted to die. He was reckless with his attacks, swinging his axe impulsively, something he warned Aurora never to do.
He even gave a booming laugh when a sword narrowly missed his throat. "You gotta do better than that if you want to kill this old man!" He brought his weapon around, burying it into the soldier's arm. The poor man squealed as he fell to the ground, grabbing his bloody stump. "Which one of you fuckers is next?" he roared, slamming his fist into his chest.
Five soldiers quickly responded, each wearing a lion's head on their shoulder. They were synchronized, obviously trained to fight together in order to overpower one person, or rather, to overpower one thing. They took turns slashing at the farmer, trying to find a weakness. Michael never gave them a chance, he swung his axe around and around, keeping the men at bay.
Aurora shook her head as tears stung her eyes and ran over to the guardian. She went behind a soldier who was raising a blade while Michael turned his back towards him to dodge a soldier's arrow. She yelled as she brought her sword down, severing the man's spine and killing him before he could hurt her friend.
Michael looked behind and saw the soldier falling down, Aurora's hands still holding the grip of the sword buried in the man's back. His attention went back to the other four, redoubling his efforts to kill them. They all continued to fight with everything they got but with one man down, their defenses quickly crumbled. The guardian made quick work of their lives, making sure that each hit was a kill shot, his queen had already seen enough people suffer needlessly.
When he kicked the last soldier off of his axe, he turned around, glaring at the young woman. She met his gaze steadily and gripped her bloody sword as she lifted her chin. She marched over to her friend and slapped him across his face. "How dare you!?" she screamed. Her hand stung badly but she refused to show the man her pain.
"How dare I!? What the fuck are you doing here!? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he bellowed back. He dropped his axe and gripped her shoulders, completely ignoring the fact that there was fighting going on all around them. He whispered, "You need to leave."
The queen shook her head. "No." She poked Michael's chest, "You were trying to get yourself killed!" His eyes glanced away and she knew she was right. She felt the tears that threatened to spill over slide out of her eyes. She slapped a fist against the man's chest, "Don't ever do something like that again! You're my family Michael, and I've already had to endure so much. Don't make me have to deal with your death too."
Michael's eyes closed as he sighed. He opened them and nodded. "Fine," he whispered. He bent to grab his axe from the bloody ground. He gave the queen a grim bow and ran off to help another warrior.
Aurora watched him disappear in the fights and began to run back towards Diaval. Now that she was closer to the dragon she almost gasped. Blood leaked from several gashes that marred his body. It was obvious that he was tiring and when he shifted his wings, she saw the tears in the webbing. She looked at the soldiers and screamed for them to stop but they did not hear the woman.
She took a deep breath to yell again but the air escaped her lungs in a scream. She gripped at the back of her head as her vision blurred, there was so much pain. She stumbled to a stop and dropped her sword as she touched tenderly at the skin. She felt no blood but that meant only one thing: Maleficent was hurt. Bad.
Aurora scooped up her weapon and sprinted towards the dragon, reasoning that the fairy was somewhere near him. The pain in her head grew to unbearable levels and the blonde bent at the waist to throw up. When vomit no longer escaped her mouth, she shakily wiped her hand across her lips in disgust and staggered into a run again.
She slowed to a sudden halt as she finally saw her lover. She was lying on the ground barely conscious with a brute of a soldier stood above her, a tree brute's club in his hand. He was grinning wickedly and Aurora screamed for him to stop. He raised his arms to finish the fairy off and she ran towards him.
Just as she reached him, the soldier was bringing the weapon down to kill her beloved. She acted on instinct; she thrust the blade through his chest, blood splattering against her dress.
The soldier dropped the club and looked behind him dazed. He looked down at the blade's tip protruding from his chest. He touched it gently as if confused how it got there. His eyes went back to the blonde and she watched as the light dimmed and died in the soldier's eyes. He fell forward on the ground next to her lover.
Aurora gulped and kneeled down. "Maleficent!" she yelled as she pulled the body close to her. She gasped as the eyes lazily opened and she saw the red irises. She looked at the sharp teeth and the claws before she buried her head into the chestnut hair. "You need to get up Maleficent," she whispered in the pointed ear.
The fairy stirred before opening her eyes fully, slowly taking in her position and the fact that her beastie was in the middle of the battlefield. She felt her teeth and claws shrink back to their original lengths. When her brain finally processed the information, she shook her head as she hissed, "You shouldn't be here Aurora!"
The blonde smiled at the angry tone, her love was going to be alright. She kissed the older woman's lips desperately before pulling back to retort, "I should always be by your side Maleficent."
The brunette growled but did not push the queen off of her. She looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to them. She quickly placed one hand on her bloody hair where the wound was and the other on her side. She fed magic into the injuries and sighed when they began to close. When they were fully healed, she got up on her feet shakily.
She looked at the younger woman but was met with determined blue eyes. She sighed again, Aurora would not leave the battlefield, no matter what she would say. The brunette looked around her and saw Balthazar a few feet away, struggling against a soldier who was blocking his every attack with his iron shield.
Maleficent glanced at Aurora and the younger woman nodded. The two ran at the soldier, the blonde gripping her sword and the fairy calling on the dark magic. The older woman threw a fire ball at the man and the queen slashed at him horizontally. The soldier brought up his shield to block the magic but he did not count on the blonde's attack. The blade caught his abdomen and crushed the armor, rupturing his internal organs. Blood trickled from his mouth as he fell to the ground, withering in agony. Balthazar gripped his spear and buried the end into the man's eye, ending his misery.
The chief nodded in gratitude to the two women. The brunette gave a quick order, "Protect Aurora." She did not wait to hear her mate's complaints; she turned around and launched herself into the air. She sped to Diaval's side once more and landed near the dragon, releasing a battle cry as she began to fight against the soldiers. She felt exhaustion creep up her bones but she pushed the feeling away, concentrating on the magic she was controlling.
There were fifteen men around the dragon but none of them were King John. She cursed her luck but fought on, feeding dark magic into the soldiers' armor and causing it to heat up. She watched as the body armor begin to burn the men inside it alive. They shrieked and tried to get the metal off of them but they were too slow. After a few minutes, the screeching died down as they fell to the ground, their protection serving as their demise.
Diaval shook his large head and looked worryingly at his mistress. Killing them by blade, even by giant thorn vines, was one thing, but cooking them alive in their own armor was quite another. He gave a soft huff, swallowing the blood that pooled in his mouth.
Maleficent turned her head up to see the concern in her servant's eyes. She shook her head, "This is war, and we cannot show any mercy." She looked down at the dead men. "They haven't shown it to us," she muttered.
With that, she launched herself back into the air away from the dragon. Her eyes scanned the battleground, the Moor army was once again winning. There were about one hundred fifty of her warriors left while the human army had only one hundred soldiers left. She narrowed her eyes as she caught sight of some of the men running away from the battleground. "Cowards," she growled.
She tried to find Aurora but could not. She felt fear claw into her heart, where was she? She continued to search desperately and finally saw her with Balthazar, minutes away from where she hovered. She gasped as horror took root, King John was there, fighting against her chief as Aurora tried to help. The king slapped her mate and she fell to the ground a few feet from where she stood moments ago. The tree man only had an arm left and he was losing the fight quickly.
The brunette sped towards the struggle but she was too late. Balthazar glanced up and yelled his leader's name as John's blade passed through his stomach. The warrior looked down and gripped the wound as the sword was forced out of his body. He fell to his knees, choking on his blood. Balthazar looked up as the king brought his weapon down, decapitating the chief of the Moor army.
King John spit blood on the dead creature's body, "Fucking freak." He wiped the blood from his blade off on the moss that grew on Balthazar's body. He ran his hand through his grey hair as he looked at Aurora. His face twisted in disgust. "So this is where you've been hiding you cunt," he growled.
The blonde scrambled backwards, her hand trying to grasp onto any weapon that was near her. Finding none, her fearful gaze went back to the king. "K-king John, it's me Queen Aurora," she said franticly. Surely if he knew who she was, he would stop all this fighting.
He laughed at her pathetic attempt to stall him. "I know exactly who you are, you stupid bitch!" He pointed his sword at her, "I should've known that you would end up fucking some animal when word reached me of your little truce with these … beasts. Like father, like daughter eh?" he sneered.
Aurora gulped as she tried to defend herself, "I-It's not like that. The advisors, they betrayed me!"
"Bullshit," the king yelled, "you chose beasts over your own kingdom! My fucking idiot of a son told me that it simply wasn't true, that you value both kingdoms equally." He laughed, the sound itself was filled with bloodlust. "Only a fucking fool would choose them" he pointed his blade at Balthazar, "over us," he pointed his weapon at the human kingdom.
The blonde blurted out, "Your son is still alive!" She saw the king hesitated in his advance for a moment, but that moment was all she needed to continue, "Phillip is in the Moors, he knows what I am saying is the truth! End all of this now and I'll take you to him, I swear!"
King John halted and seemed to be thinking. Slowly, he smiled, "Then he is as much of a traitor as you." He brought his blade up, green blood sparkling as the sun hit the steel. "I should've known he would betray us too, he was as much as a coward as his mother," he whispered delightfully.
"AURORA!" Maleficent flew in front of her mate just as the sword was coming down. She threw up a hand, gold mists swirling around it. As the blade made contact with her skin, the magic created a bubble, causing the sword to rebound back to the holder.
The great King John of Austen did nothing as his own sword stabbed his chest. He fell to the ground, grasping the sword and trying to dislodge it from his body. He looked up to see the fairy staring down at him, hatred oozing off of her. He stuttered through the blood, "You, I'll see you in hell."
The fairy lifted her chin, "I look forward to it." She looked around her and saw that several soldiers were looking next to her. They saw her mate. She lifted her wings and bent to grab the king's blade. She tugged it once and with a loud squish of a blade going through bloody meat and shriek of metals rubbing across each other harshly, she held the sword high. She did not know how to use it properly but she could sure as hell kill a few humans with it.
The five soldiers that were staring at the two did something she did not expect. They dropped their iron weapons and shields before falling to their knees in surrender. They did not bow their heads as they were too busy staring at their 'dead' queen.
Maleficent scoffed at the human's behavior and looked up to Diaval. The dragon bowed his head and spewed blue flames at the ground near a soldier. The human dropped his weapon and began screaming that he surrendered. The others followed the man's example, knowing that they could no longer defeat the dragon. Many more were running away and towards the human kingdom. "Retreat!" they screamed.
She looked back at the battleground and saw thirty or so soldiers throwing their blades down, finding themselves surrounded by the Moor army. She walked over to her mate and helped her to her feet. The entire place was quiet now, and she wasn't sure if that promised peace or more death.
Aurora wasted no time in lunging herself into the fairy's arms. "Maleficent!" she sobbed.
The fairy's eyes softened as she ran her fingers through blonde locks. She kissed her love's forehead before gently pushing the younger woman off of her. When she saw the look of hurt on her beastie's face, she quickly reached out with her free hand to grab the other's.
The blonde gave a soft smile before her attention was pulled to the five soldiers in front of her. One of them had risen from his kneeling position and stumbled towards the queen. His eyes were wide and staring intensely at her, as if she would vanish if he looked away. "M-my queen," he whispered, joy evident in his voice, "you're alive."
Aurora nodded. "Yes I am." Her eyes held the regret she felt. "I'm sorry but you are now a prisoner of war," she said.
One of the tree brutes walked over to the soldier and roared. The man looked between the creature and the queen, his eyes pleading for the blonde to do something. When he only received an apologetic shrug, he bowed his head again and allowed the brute to lead him back.
The blonde watched as the surrendered soldiers were pushed into a large group. The Moor creatures stood at the edges and guided them into the Moors. She looked back to the brunette in shock.
Maleficent shook her head. "Prisoners of war," she said simply. She walked over to her mate and placed a hand on the small of her back, gently pushing her forward. "Come, let's leave this terrible place."
Slowly, the two made their way back to their homes, ignoring the dead men and Moor creatures they passed. The fairy held the blonde close to her side, a wing wrapped securely around her.
Aurora looked up and saw the tension in her love's body. She rested her head against her arm as she gripped her hand, squeezing softly.
The brunette glanced down and shook her head to rid herself of dark thoughts. "Don't ever scare me like that again," she whispered.
It was only then that the blonde saw the tears in her lover's eyes. She gasped as one slipped out of an eye. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, feeling tears prick her own eyes.
Maleficent nodded once and the two continued without saying anything. She glanced down and gave a shaky breath, she would have to tell her that her aunt died. She dismissed the thought, not tonight. Tonight was hard enough as it is.
Once they passed the hole in the wall, the fairy guided the younger woman to the side. She gave a sad smile before kissing her lips gently. "I have to close this and help the others make prison cells for the soldiers," she murmured against the blonde's lips. She kissed the queen again when she was about to say something. "Wait for me at out tree."
Aurora wanted to say something to make the older woman allow her to stay by her side but she nodded instead. She did not have the energy nor will to argue now.
The fairy watched as her mate walked away from her. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she raised her arms. Green mists flowed from the limbs into the thorn vines. Slowly they covered the hole as if it was never there. Exhaustion clawed at her body but she ignored it as her arms rested against her sides. She walked in the direction the prisoners had taken.
After several minutes she saw some of the tree men chanting in union in a circle around the humans. Slowly green vines rose from the ground and the bark from nearby trees grew to form sturdy cells. She walked towards them and allowed her magic to go to them, fueling their own tree magic. Fatigue bloomed in her chest and throughout her body but she gritted her teeth and pushed harder.
Soon, the cells were complete and the confused and tired soldiers incarcerated. Maleficent wiped the sweat from her forehead and began to walk towards her tree without a word to her army. She wanted to collapse and sleep for days wherever she happened to fall, but she knew if she did, Aurora would be up all night worrying for her.
She shook her head and staggered up the cliff where her tree stood. Aurora was waiting for her of course and when their eyes met, she ran straight towards her. She slammed into the older woman and the two fell to the ground, Maleficent not having the strength to stop them.
As soon as the world stopped spinning, she registered that she was being kissed, quite desperately. She groaned and found the energy to push the blonde off of her. She saw the tears spilling out of her mate's eyes and flow down her cheeks. "Aurora, don't cry, I am here," she said softly as she pulled the woman to her.
The younger woman gave a hiccup and cried, "I was so scared that I was going to lose you." She held tightly to the fairy as she sobbed. "Wh-when I felt the pain in my side and saw that soldier standing over you, I thought you were going to die." She pressed their lips together again, her hands fumbling to get the robe off of her lover.
Maleficent sighed into the kiss and pulled the queen closer. She rolled them over so she was on top. "I thought I was never going to see you again when I saw King John walking towards you," she whispered. Her clawed hands gripped at the now bloody dress and she lifted it up above the blonde's head before leaning down and claiming her lips. She knew it was dangerous for her to do something like this when she felt like she could pass out at any moment but she needed to feel Aurora, to make sure she truly was here with her.
The two showed the other how scared they were through desperate touches. When both were sated, they held onto each other tightly, afraid that if they loosen their grip the other would disappear forever. They fell into fitful sleep, every hour or so one would wake screaming or trembling as the other whispered how they were safe now in their home. Eventually, they gave up on trying to go to sleep purposely and simply held one another throughout the night until exhaustion pulled them into another nightmare.
Story summary: Aurora reaches 21 summers and her council is demanding she seek a husband. Maleficent is looking for a mate and her beastie catches her eye. Her instincts tell her to take the beauty for her own but she fears that she would not be accepted by the one she cares for most. Meanwhile war brews between the Moors and human kingdoms. Gonna be dark start at 9(blood, war, the whole shabang)
Chapter summary: Shits. About. To. Go. Down.
There was blood, blood everywhere. On the ground, on the trees, and even on her white dress. Aurora looked around, all around her was fighting. Moor and human clashed again and again, each time one landed a blow a spray of blood was added more to the horrific scene.
The blonde looked desperately in the group of fighting men and creatures. "Maleficent!" she screamed. No one answered her or even spared her a glance, the struggle between the two races simply continued.
She ran into the fray, screaming her lover's name. Everyone ignored her and fought with one another. Blood and gore splattered the woman but she trudged on. She saw her lover and King Stephan in his bloody armor exchanging blows a few meters away from the blonde. She screamed as her father's blade stabbed into the fairy's side. She began to run at the two, yelling for them to stop.
A thump was heard behind her and Aurora turned her head around to look. She screamed, Diaval was lying lifeless in front of her, his stomach ripped open and his eyes missing. A spear was still buried into his back and the soldier responsible smiled at the young woman, blood and teeth dripping from his mouth. He grunted as he pulled the spear from her friend's body and started to march towards the young woman. She ran away from the grisly scene, shrieking the fairy's name in hopes that she would save her.
As she ran, she tripped over a limp body and crashed hard into the ground. Instead of meeting dirt, she fell on top of guts. She shakily got on her hands and knees as she emptied her stomach. Her body trembled and she gripped at her stomach as she heaved but nothing came out. She looked up to watch as her mate, her lover, was stabbed through the heart by her father's blade. Maleficent fell to the ground, staring with unseeing eyes at the queen.
It took her a moment to realize something that chilled her heart: there was no sound. She looked up and saw everyone, both human and Fae, staring at her with disgust and hatred on their faces. They all pointed at her, some only with stumps with blood spurting out in the rhythm of their hearts. They spoke in one voice, the voice of her father, "This is your fault!"
"Aurora! Aurora love, look at me!" Maleficent held onto the thrashing and screaming blonde. More than once a fist met her body but she continued to call out her mate's name, not bothering to dodge the blows.
Finally, blue eyes snapped open and glanced around, searching for the soldiers and Moor creatures. When she only saw the brunette, she clung to her, weeping silently.
The fairy simply held onto the younger woman, whispering soothing things into her ear. She rubbed at her back as she whispered, "It's okay, I am here love. I am right here and I won't ever leave."
The blonde hiccupped and held onto the taller woman tightly. "I-I tr-tried to g-get to you b-but I couldn't. Th-there was so much bl-blood. So much blood."
Maleficent frowned and shook her head sadly, "I am okay, it was simply a nightmare Aurora. It wasn't real."
It was Aurora's turn to shake her head. "Maybe but it seemed so real." She sobbed, "Diaval was killed and I couldn't do a thing about it!"
The brunette kissed away the tears, "He won't abandon you either. No matter what happens, he will still be here, bothering me until the end of time." She smiled at the little giggle emitted from the blonde.
The queen looked up and tried to get comfortable again. Her nightmare still ranged clear in her head however, and after a few minutes she gave up. She rested uneasily against the fairy's side and looked at her inhuman features. She knew that her lover worried over her, since she gave the fairy her permission to fight in the war a week ago, every night was met with a night terror.
Needing to distract herself, Aurora reached up and gingerly touched the tip of Maleficent's horn. She was rewarded with a raised eyebrow but she did not explain herself to the older woman. She simply allowed her fingers to glide down the horn, feeling the rough texture and the soft spirals. Once hair brushed against her fingers, Aurora moved on to the fairy's ear. She grazed the tip of the pointy ear, watching with interest as the other squirmed slightly under the inspection. She traced the shell of the ear and leaned forward to kiss at the sharp cheekbone.
Maleficent sighed in relaxation at the action, she knew that the blonde wanted to focus on something else instead of her night terrors. If that meant that she was to touch and explore her unique physical features then so be it.
The blonde moved her searching hand to the brunette's wings. She touched the talon, noting the other's immediate tension in her body and the feathers bristling. She quickly moved away from the hard tip and the fairy noticeably relaxed. She brushed her fingers against the feathers, they were always so soft and clean. She knew that her wings were Maleficent's pride and she liked it when the blonde touched them in awe.
After awhile her hand moved away from the wing and she leaned against her love. She smiled when an arm wrapped around her shoulder, pulling the queen closer.
Maleficent looked down, "Do you feel better now?"
"Much better," Aurora murmured sleepily as she looked up at soft green eyes.
The fairy hummed and rested back against the hammock as she allowed her fingers to stroke her mate's arm.
The queen settled back down against the older woman, her head resting comfortably against her shoulder. "When do we have to leave?" she asked, not wanting to leave the calming woman.
The brunette shrugged, "Whenever you wish my sleeping beauty." She began to run her fingers through blonde curls, careful that her claws do not scratch at her fair neck and head.
Aurora nodded and snuggled deeper into the bed, sighing happily as she was petted.
"Good. I don't want to leave just yet." She yawned, "I want to stay here, only with you for a little longer."
Maleficent opened her mouth but was interrupted by a soft snore. She smiled down as she wrapped an arm around the younger woman's shoulders. "Sleep well Aurora."
She watched the blonde sleep for a long time. She would nuzzle against her neck and whisper sweet nothings into her ear whenever a whimper escaped her mate's lips or a tremble passed through her body.
When the body resting did not move or make a sound besides snoring after ten minutes, Maleficent looked up pass the leaves and into the sky. It was a beautiful day, the skies were clear of all clouds except one that floated lazily from the human kingdom. She looked around her tree, the birds and mysterious creatures of the Moors were all active, chatting away at one another, completely ignoring the fairy and her love.
She felt the blonde stir next to her and looked down. Aurora yawned into her hand and stretched, reaching high above her head and making an adorable sound. When she finished stretching, the fairy quickly gave her a kiss.
The blonde giggled and blushed at the kiss. "What was that for?"
"That sound you made was simply too delectable for me to pass up."
The younger woman blushed harder at the answer.
The fairy chuckled at the reaction and brushed her lips against the blonde's. "We have to go and see what Diaval has discovered."
Aurora closed her eyes and sighed, "Probably more scouts." Since the first confrontation, scouts had been irregularly spotted watching the Moors and wall of thorns from a safe distance away. In the last few days however, no scouts were seen and the man could not safely go near the castle without a few arrows shot at him.
Maleficent nodded, "Most likely but we still need to hear the reports." The older woman left the warm bed and looked up with an offered hand. The queen held it as she got down from the hammock, not half as graceful as the fairy.
Together, the two walked to the war room, all thoughts on Aurora's nightmares pushed away as they always were during the mornings. When they entered the room, Michael and Phillip were there along with Balthazar and another guardian. Diaval was nowhere to be found. The brunette frowned at this. "Where is my servant?" she asked.
Shrugs and shaken heads were her answer. The frowned deepened as the little hairs on her neck rose, something was not right. She looked down at the blonde and saw that her mate was thinking the same thing.
Maleficent walked over to the table and looked at the chief of the Moor army. "How are the pixies?"
Balthazar spoke in his native tongue about the three progresses. They were fully rested and their magic fully charged. They will be ready for the fight at a moment's notice.
The fairy relayed the information for the humans and she saw the relief in their eyes. She looked back down at the maps. "After the initial attack, the humans stopped getting reinforcements," she muttered to no one in particular.
Aurora placed a hand on the fairy's back, "Maybe they realized they can't win this war?" Her voice was hopeful but everyone in the room knew that it was a snowball's chance in hell that the advisors would accept defeat so graciously and so early in their game of war.
Michael leaned down and scratched at his beard, "I have no idea what those pussies are doing. If I was the one in charge, I would attack this place a day after that group came and got the shit beat out of them. Let the enemy think that they intimidate us and celebrate, and then hit them with everything we got." When everyone stared at the new guardian, he shrugged with an unapologetic look. "What? I'm just saying that's what I would do."
Maleficent shook her head at the answer, "Well, let us just be grateful that you no longer serve those greedy advisors."
A caw was heard and everyone immediately quieted down. Diaval flew into the room as fast as he could in his raven form, startling all those in the war room. He was unable to slow down his flight and crashed into a wall with a loud thud. When he fell to the ground, he jumped back up and cawed loudly.
The fairy turned him into a man a second later, something was dreadfully wrong. Diaval stood up and panted, blood weeping from the cut on his forehead that he gained when he crashed. "They're coming!" he shouted.
The entire room stood still as their minds processed the shape-shifter's words.
Michael was the first to break out of his stupor. He slammed a flat palm against the table with a wicked grin. "It's about fucking time!" he yelled. He grabbed his iron axe resting against one of the walls and nodded to Balthazar, "I'll meet you in the battlefield my friend. If you die then take several of those fuckers down with you." He ran out of the room, screaming for someone to bring him his fungi boar.
Maleficent shook her head at the guardian. "Bloody fool," she cursed under her breath. She noticed that everyone else was looking at her expectantly. "What are you waiting for? Go to your stations and follow the plan! Wait until you see the pixies' wave to attack!" she yelled at the remaining guardian and chief.
When they had left, she looked at her servant. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his head. She allowed magic to flow into the cut and seal it. Her hand moved down to rest on his shoulder. "Come, we will stay at the river bank until they need us." She looked at Phillip and the love of her life. She walked over to her and ignoring all eyes on her, she leaned forward and captured the blonde's lips, pouring all love she had for the other in the kiss. After a moment of shock, Aurora responded with her own desperation as she wrapped her arms around the fairy's neck.
The brunette broke the kiss, "I love you, never ever forget that," she whispered. The blonde simply nodded, her throat too choked up from fear and other emotions to say the words back. She kissed the fairy again to express what she could not say.
When the younger woman broke the kiss, the Protector of the Moors looked at King Phillip. He was looking everywhere but the couple, his fists clenched at his sides. She let go of her mate, "Go take Aurora and Sir Tory to the Moor fields, Aurora will show you the way." She waited for the man to meet her gaze. "Protect her with your life, I beg of you."
"Of course I will! You aren't the only one who loves her, you know," he spoke unkindly to the woman but his eyes held unyielding determination.
Maleficent nodded, "Thank you." The group left the room, the fairy and Phillip at the back. As Aurora and Diaval were making their way to Tory and the river bank respectably, the fairy held the king back. When confused and slightly agitated eyes met hers, she explained, "If I were to die, make her happy once more."
"W-what!?" the king stammered, unable to believe what had he just heard. Did the fairy just gave him permission to freely love Aurora and try to make her love him?
Seeming to read the man's thoughts, she nodded. "Yes," she whispered, "all I want is for my beastie to be happy and if I die, I want her to be in good hands." She fought against the tears in her eyes and the animal that roared at her to shut up. "I give you my permission to court Aurora if I should be killed in the battle today. You must swear to me that if you two do end up" she couldn't help the growl, "being together, then you will do everything in your power to make sure she's safe."
Phillip stared at the Protector of the Moors as a tear slipped out of her right eye. She knew that death was a possibility but it was now apparent to him that she believed it was a probability. He nodded numbly, "Yes," he vowed, "I swear to protect Aurora and make sure she is happy once again if you die." After a moment he growled, "So you better not die." He ran off after the blonde before she could respond.
She stayed rooted to the spot for another moment before shaking her head and making her way after the shape-shifter. When she reached the waters, she saw that Diaval was already there and waited semi-patiently for her. Without a word, she sat down next to the river and waved her hand over the water, gold mist flowing into it.
After a few moments, she saw her Moor army waiting silently behind the wall of thorns. She heard marching but nobody from the Moors was moving. Her eyes closed as she released a tired breath, it was from the human army. If she could hear it from the image as she was watching the Moor creatures that only meant one thing: the human's army was huge.
She watched with baited breath as the three pixies silently flew up high above the wall. Thanks to their small bodies, none of the humans saw them. Maleficent gulped in fear as her magic eye followed the three woman and was granted a view of the human army. It was two thousand strong, much larger than the army she fought all those years ago. She spied King John in his gold armor, sitting on a gold-plated horse. He even had gold beads woven throughout his scraggily grey beard. His muddy brown eyes held the Moors in contempt, his mouth twisted in a disgusted sneer.
Her eyes were drawn back to the three pixies when she felt the zap of a large amount of magic being released at once. She watched as a giant wave made of fire and earth crashed down upon a hundred humans, the fiery and rocky waters lapping at a hundred more.
She closed her eyes and forced green mists to travel much further than she ever had before. She felt sweat begin to cover her brow, and the mists hadn't even reached the wall of thorns yet. The fairy began to tremble from the exertion but the magic had finally reached the ends of the waiting Moor army and traveled harmlessly between the warriors. She gritted her teeth as the wall of thorns slowly opened up. She felt as if she were to pass out and looked up as Diaval placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Think of her, think of Aurora and how she's waiting for you," Diaval whispered urgently.
Maleficent closed her eyes and pushed past her limit. She felt the wall give and a huge hole began to open up at the wall. Once the hole was big enough for the tree-men and their boars she cut off the supply of magic, collapsing against her servant. She gave a weak nod to his questioning eyes, "I-I did it. Our guardians and their warriors should have enough room to attack the human army."
As the human screeching of pain and shock met their ears, a much louder roar was heard above all else. Both sets of eyes went back to the magic eye in the river, their breathing stopping as they watch the war play out in front of them.
Maleficent watched as several guardians followed Balthazar's battle cry. The giant Moor earthworm rose from the ground and released its own roar before crashing back down into the earth. It resurfaced a few seconds later in a throng of frightened soldiers, rising up to grasp one with its teeth and flinging it to the others nearby, skin and armor clinging to its teeth as it burrowed itself once more before anyone could attack it.
Tree brutes rose from the ground and slammed their clubs into the earth before charging the humans in front of them. They showed no remorse or hesitance as they pummeled the soldiers and rip them apart. Maleficent averted her eyes as several human soldiers surrounded one of the brutes and managed to get it on its knees with a few slashes of a blade to a leg. The Moor Creature still fought vigorously to its last breath, decapitating a human with his bare hands before an iron-tipped spear was thrown into his eye. Green blood sputtered out of the wound and the brute clutched at the weapon before falling down on its back, crushing two unfortunate humans, dead.
A second later after the tree brutes had risen, the tree boars with its tree men riders came into the battle through the hole in the wall of thorns. They held their spears down in front of them as they charged, stabbing the humans who got in their way. Balthazar and his guardians were at the front of the pact, each yelling viscously as they killed those in front of them. Michael was the only one who did not have a spear but swung his axe around, decapitating all the soldiers who came near his range. Several humans had stopped fighting in shock at the appearance of a human fighting for the Moor creatures, but their confusion cost them their lives at the hands of the Moor warriors.
The fairy's eyes darted all over the warzone. She spent a second watching the pixies use their magic together to keep the soldiers at bay as the tree brutes disposed of them. Her attention focused on the chief of her armies as he saved a guardian's life by throwing his spear into the soldier that was about swing his blade down on the tree man. She watched Michael continuing to fight his own brethren from the Moor boar, he threw a string of curses as one of the soldiers managed to nick his thigh with a dagger. He quickly returned the favor by burying his axe into the man's soldier, his armor being sliced through like a knife through melted butter. He grunted as he retrieved his weapon, blood splattering all over his body and his steed from the action. He simply wiped it off and urged his boar to continue running further into the human ranks.
Through all of the screams from both Moor creature and human alike, the fairy frowned, all of this was so similar. It was under different circumstances but the woman saw the parallels between this war and the one with King Henry. Both sets of humans wanted something, only now the reason was more just, even if it was a blatant lie told by the kingdom's advisors. The Moor creatures were only trying to protect their land and their queen.
She shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts as she felt the hand on her shoulder squeeze. She looked up at Diaval and saw his horrified face. Her attention immediately snapped back to the looking water.
She looked at the pixies and sucked in a breath, she only saw waves of fiery water, but no earth in the liquid. "Thistlewit" she gasped in horror. She shook her head in denial, "N-no, no way." But as she continued to watch the battle she did not see the little green pixie. What she did see were the other two cursing the human soldiers as they killed many of them ferociously. The two broke their magical connection, Flittle using her water magic to drown and throw around the soldiers as Knotgrass simply burned them. Each had tears streaming down their enraged faces.
Maleficent turned her gaze elsewhere and watched as a soldier shot an arrow at Michael. The guardian was too busy cutting down a soldier in front of him and did not see the other sneaking up behind him. The boar saw the arrow and reared up, throwing the farmer off of its back, allowing the soldier in front to cut deep into its belly as the arrow buried itself into its back. The boar squealed as blood poured from its back and its guts spilled from the gash on it stomach. Michael screamed in fury as he lopped the head off of the soldier in front of him and running at the other who shot the arrow. The archer was too shocked at the battle roar that he only lifted his arms as Michael brought down his axe. He cut through the arms effortlessly but the axe lodged itself into the soldier's head. The body twitched and convulsed under the weapon and Michael kicked it off with a grunt.
The scene changed as she searched for the rest of the guardians. Balthazar was still alive and fighting well but she could only find two more of guardians. One had green blood oozing from its head, one of its antlers being cut off. It roared and stabbed a soldier through his chest, throwing the body at another soldier to daze him before killing him as well. The other was fighting with his chief but it was obvious that he was tiring. She scanned the human army, there were at least two hundred more archers, one hundred horsemen, and three hundred common soldiers. She looked at her army, there were only about two hundred in total.
The fairy bowed her head before looking up at her loyal servant. She gave him only one order, "Come, our home needs our strength." She got up and began to move towards the wall of thorns. She glanced at the man and was glad to see determination in his eyes and his face stoic of all emotion. She nodded in approval, emotion was what killed warriors and soldiers more than any weapon or magic spell.
Diaval nodded at the woman. "Stay safe my mistress and don't you dare die on our little Aurora. She has suffered enough," he spoke seriously. He knew that there was a huge possibility that this was the last time the two would see one another. "It was the greatest pleasure to serve you Maleficent."
Neither cried or had any remorse of what they were heading to. Once the trees spaced out and they entered a large enough clearing, the fairy stopped walking. The man looked at her in confusion but the green eyes only held wisdom. She lifted a hand and twirled two fingers, gold mists of magic flowing from her body to her servant. "Into a dragon," she murmured.
Diaval grew in size and spouted wings from his back. He went on all fours and felt his hands become dragon hands as spikes grew from his spine and head. He looked down at himself after the magic left his body, he saw a sprinkling of black feathers adorning his scales around his wrists and ankles but he did not pay attention to his horrific beauty. He wiggled his clawed feet, watching with satisfaction how easy it was to gorge the ground. The dragon reared his head and roared a terrifying battle cry, blue flames spewing out of his snout. He slammed his mouth close, feeling his razor-sharp teeth with his forked tongue.
Dragon Diaval bowed his head to the brunette before leaping into the air, his giant wings flapping so he could speed to his brethren's aid. Maleficent watched the dragon fly and blow fire onto the ground, presumably at the humans.
She was quick to follow Diaval's example. She ran with her staff tightened in her grip. The fairy jumped into the air, her wings carrying her through the wind as she flew to the war.
Once she reached the perimeter, she quickly scanned the battleground. She flew into the fighting, using her wings to create gusts of wind to throw soldiers onto their backs as the Moor army moved in to kill them.
She saw one of the tree brutes backed up against the wall of thorns. He was still fighting, slamming his club down when a soldier got too close but there were too many to be held at bay. An iron-tipped spear landed into the creature's foot and he roared in pain. He stumbled backwards and a thorn pierced into his arm, green blood flowing out of the deep wound.
Maleficent growled and flew to the warrior's rescue. She had dark magic brewing in her palms and as she reached him, she poured it into the vines. They moved away from the tree brute and lashed at the soldiers, tearing them to shreds. What was once strong twenty soldiers was now nothing but piles of minced meat. The tree brute bowed his thanks, his hand covering the gash. The green mists turned into gold as she touched his arm, the wound closing up. The tree brute looked at his healed arm and nodded before picking up his club and running back into the war with a bellow.
The fairy looked back at the battleground and her eyes landed on a group of soldiers killing the wounded guardian. She roared and raced to them. She landed onto the bloody ground in front of the ten soldiers as one removed his bloody sword from the tree man's head. She gave a battle cry and rushed them. She gave a nasty blow to a young soldier to her right with her staff, grimacing as blood and teeth came out of his mouth as he fell unconscious. She stabbed her staff into the ground, knowing that she would need both hands to win this fight.
One of the soldiers ran at her, his iron shield and sword up. She sidestepped him and grabbed onto the shield, hissing as the metal burned her hand. She used her inhuman strength to pull the man back to her. The soldier stumbled back, momentarily dazed at the sudden tug. She let go of the shield and grabbed the man's head almost tenderly, looking the other way as she twisted his head, a loud crack being produced as the body slumped forward. She let go of the soldier and he fell into the ground.
Maleficent looked to the remaining eight soldiers. They were older than the first two and by the looks of them, this was not the first war they had been in. On their right shoulder was an emblem of a lion's head roaring flames. Her eyes narrowed, these were King John's men.
They slowly circled the woman, all weapons poised if she were to attack. She allowed them to surround her, her eyes never straying from the soldier's advance. When one screamed out and rushed forward, she leapt into the air, kicking the man's head to gain leverage. The soldier fell onto his face and Maleficent hovered above the men. She roared as she poured green magic into the ground. Vines grew out of the earth and wrapped around the shocked men. Soon, they were immobile and many were forced to drop their weapons.
The fairy's head snapped to the right when she heard a loud cry of pain coming from a large beast. She saw Diaval struggling with a large group of humans surrounding him. He blew fire at them and whipped his tail around, but most of the soldiers had crossbows or spears that they threw at him from a safe distance. Many pierced his body despite his best to block them. He lifted his wings but there were already too many tears in the thin membrane that he couldn't fly away to safety. Another spear dug itself into the dragon's chest, close to his heart. He staggered away and tried to breathe fire but only blood spewed from his mouth.
Her eyes followed were the spear had come from and saw King John yelling with triumph as he made a gesture for one of the soldiers to hand him another spear. He had his helmet off, the cocky bastard, and he was smiling sadistically as the dragon struggled to stay alive.
Maleficent cried out as pain pierced her side. She looked down and saw that a red blotch was growing in her robe as an arrow protrudes from her flesh. The brunette growled in rage as she snapped the arrow in half and pulled the rest out of her body, gasping in pain once as it exited her side. She looked to the soldiers still encased in the vines, one of them had a crossbow in his hand. She sneered as she threw up an arm, green mists coming from the extended limb. She grimaced as the soldiers screamed as the vines closed around them but they only last a moment. She allowed the magic to cease as the bodies fell onto the battleground, red pools developing around them. She retrieved her staff and turned her back at the dead men.
She began to make her way to the cruel king on her feet, she could not spend any precious energy by flying. All soldiers that were foolish enough to get in her way met their end quickly and brutally. Two blocked her path, both holding duel blades curved and glistening with green blood. It was obvious that they had killed many of her warriors. She spared them a glance as her wings shot out from behind her, the talons burying themselves in both heads. She flung the men away from her and continued to make her way to save her friend. A hand now gripped her side as she felt the blood trickle from her robe onto the ground.
She was ten feet away from the dragon and he saw her. His eyes widened in relief but his attention was pulled as a sword dug into his left front paw. He roared and crushed the soldier, flinging the mess away afterwards. He turned his head and snapped down on a human close in his range. He lifted his head as the soldier gurgled from the blood coming from his mouth. He shook his head and the gurgling stopped with a sickening crack. Diaval flung the body at one of the soldiers that aimed a crossbow at him.
Maleficent was near him now and fought against the soldiers. They were overpowered by her and she used her now gory staff to pummel their chests or heads. Her wings served as guards against iron shields and she hissed each time one connected with her feathers.
One had an iron mace connected to a foot-long chain that he used to keep the fairy at a distance away from him. She was slowly backing away from Diaval and she tried to call for his help but he was preoccupied with a group of archers to his left. Her eyes snapped back to the soldier as he gave her a swipe, the spikes of the mace missing her face by an inch. She jumped back to get more distance from the man and held up her staff in a defensive position.
"That little stick isn't going to save you, you beast!" the soldier sneered as he made another move to an opening at the woman's side. She barely dodged it, hissing as injured her side protested the sudden move loudly. A hand gripped at her wound to stem the bleeding, she couldn't heal herself, not now.
The soldier snickered at the fairy's pain, "What's wrong? Can't fight against a real man!?" He took another lunge and this time his mace made contact with the staff, shattering it into useless pieces.
Maleficent stared at the ruined wood. Her body went rigid as she gently held onto one of the ends. Slowly her eyes lifted to the smug soldier, green mists flowing from red irises. She gripped onto the end and felt her claws grow longer as her teeth sharpen into fangs. She roared, "That was a gift from my beastie!"
The man dropped his mace, the chain rattling as it settled on the ground, in terror as he watched the fairy's transformation. He didn't even raise his hands to defend himself as the woman stalked over to him and buried the end of the staff into his chest, the armor doing nothing to stop the wood from piercing his body. He sputtered out blood, his eyes never leaving from the others. He fell to the ground, the end of the ruined staff forced through his back as he landed on it.
The fairy was busy watching the blood pool around the soldier when she felt a hard whack on the back of her head. She fell onto her knees as red liquid dripped from her mouth. A shaky hand went up to touch the back of her head, she felt something warm and sticky. The brunette brought the hand in front of her to inspect the substance; it was blood, her blood. Maleficent looked behind her in a daze as another soldier, equally brutish as the man she had just killed, lifted one of the clubs from her own warriors, and brought it down. It connected with her head and she was laid out on the ground, gasping for breath. Her vision darkened at the edges as the soldier calmly walked closer to her, raising the weapon to end her life. She murmured something incoherent as blood splattered on her face. She struggled to keep her eyes open as the club landed harmlessly next to her face, closely followed by the legs of the soldier holding the weapon. When the torso fell to the ground, a sword was lodged into his chest. Her eyes closed as she heard the most beautiful voice, "Maleficent!" She would have frowned if she had the energy, that melody sounded so terrified.
Story Summary: Aurora reaches 21 summers and her council is demanding she seek a husband. Maleficent is looking for a mate and her beastie catches her eye. Her instincts tell her to take the beauty for her own but she fears that she would not be accepted by the one she cares for most. Meanwhile war brews between the Moors and human kingdoms. Gonna be dark start at 9(blood, war, the whole shabang)
Chapter summary: You learn things about Maleficent (hint bring tissues)
Maleficent glared at the maps, Diaval had just informed everyone that more soldiers were spotted at the Southern Gate. She growled under her breath, every day the human kingdom were getting more soldiers for their army but the group decided the defensive strategy was still their best bet of winning the war.
She glanced to her right; Phillip and Michael were next to her, gesturing to the market on the map next to hers. The farmer had his pipe and tapped it against the spot, "We need supplies and I can still get them here."
The fairy huffed, "We have enough food in the Moors to last us for all eternity and we can create strong weapons. Do not forget that we have magic at our disposal."
Michael looked at her for a moment before shrugging, "Fine but I better not die without eating another steak."
The brunette shook her head and concentrated on the maps, "I still say we should take the Southern Gate, stop the reinforcements from coming and force their hand into attacking us."
The general shook his head, "No, even if we take the gate how long do you think we'll last? Two, maybe three weeks but that's only being attacked on one side. On two, we wouldn't last even a fucking day." He waved his hand toward the drawing of the gate, "Let them come, let's just hope that the new generals are cocky enough to attack the Moors without a legion."
Maleficent nodded in understanding but she frowned, the longer they wait, the more lives would be lost in the battle!
Her head lifted from the maps as she heard footsteps coming. Aurora came into the room and went straight to her love. She leaned against the older woman with her head resting on her shoulder. She grinned when she felt an arm wrap securely around her waist, "Sir Tory is doing much better, his broken arm is almost completely healed and he can walk short distances now." She sighed, "Auntie Flittle said it would be wise if she stopped using her magic on him and let him heal naturally now."
The fairy nodded, "That is good. Our magic was never supposed to mingle with humans for so long." She chuckled and reassured the blonde, "Except for mates of course."
The queen nodded and looked at Phillip, he was now completed healed and able to walk around freely. Flittle even said that he could fight in the war. She frowned at the thought and glanced at the fairy, they still needed to talk.
Aurora knew that Maleficent wanted to fight in the battle and on some level she could comprehend why. She was the Protector of the Moors and as such, it was her duty to fight to the death if anyone harmed the magical land. She nuzzled against the brunette, she was still her mate and as such it was their duty to be there for one another. If she went off to fight in the war and got hurt, the blonde would feel the pain. She shuddered, hating that their bond would allow the other to feel one mate's agony.
She looked up and saw green eyes looking expectantly at her. Maleficent felt the confusion and conflicted feelings within her mate and she cupped her cheek, her eyes telling Aurora that she wanted to talk to her afterwards. Her thumb slid across her bottom lip before she kissed her chastely. When she pulled back, her eyes softened as she felt the new calmness within the blonde's mind.
The fairy turned her attention back to the group. They were discussing the possible positions of the human army would take when they come to attack the Moors. Michael was insisting that they would place the most inexperience soldiers in front so the Moor army would be tired taking them out when the battle-hardened knights reach them. Maleficent lifted her chin to speak up, "I do not doubt that reasoning but how many undisciplined soldiers will they have? If we charge them first, wouldn't the more experienced soldiers attack us while we are busy scattering them?"
Michael scratched at his beard and thought for awhile. He took out his pipe, "That's why we rely on your magic so much. When the first waves go out of the Moors, hopefully it would have enough juice to slice far back into the army that even the old generals will shit themselves."
The brunette nodded at the reasoning but Aurora spoke up, "What about the pixies? They used a lot of magic to heal Sir Tory. By the time the human army reaches us, wouldn't they be too tired to make that big of an attack?"
Phillip was the one to answer the blonde, "Well, they stopped healing Tory so they can rest and replenish their magic." He looked at the fairy and the other saw some of the hesitance in his eyes as he asked her, "They should be fine, right?"
Maleficent shrugged, "I do not know. They should be well rested within a week but we can only hope the humans do not decide to attack us by then."
The youngest advisor nodded, "What about you?"
The fairy's eyes narrowed, "What about me?"
Phillip's eyes widened and he gulped as he recognized the challenge in her tone. He made a gesture towards the woman, "Weren't you hurt when uh-" his eyes glanced at Aurora who was still in the brunette's arms.
The fairy shook her head, "I felt her pain, that is all."
Aurora looked up and placed a hand on her clothed back as she whispered, "I think he means the fall."
Maleficent glanced down and then looked back at the human male, "I am fine now, thank you."
She felt more than heard her mate sigh, "No she isn't. She's still weak but she's getting stronger now." She looked at the disapproving woman and whispered, "They need to know the truth." She leaned against the woman she loved, "Don't worry, I know you can still protect me."
A hum was her only reply. She leaned down and brushed her lips against the blonde's forehead. When she straightened, she walked over to Michael, "What if they place the experienced soldiers and generals in front of the line?"
The farmer chuckled but it was void of humor, "They would never do that. The ones in charge of the armies are always in the back of the lines." He grimaced, "I never understood that, in every battle I was with right in front with my soldiers, where a man should be."
The fairy glanced at Balthazar, the tree man and the other guardians seemed disgruntled at the information they heard. Balthazar muttered under his breath how cowardly the humans were and Maleficent gave a slight nod, not bothering to translate for the others in the room.
She turned her head to look at Aurora who cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. The blonde opened her mouth to say something about the war when loud banging was heard outside the room. Maleficent's wings bristled as her body tensed, the alarm!
The brunette nodded to the guardians and chief, "Go to your stations and protect your divisions!" The Moor creatures ran out of the room and to their positions, bellowing orders to their subordinates to follow and help them. She looked at Phillip and Michael, "Stay here and protect Aurora." Her eyes focused on the king, "If anything happens, take her to the river bank and stay hidden, the river trolls know where to take her."
She spared a glance at her mate before running out of the room, flinching when her name was called desperately. She launched herself into the air and flew high into the sky. She scanned the perimeter and saw a group of humans of no more than fifty at the eastern border.
The fairy flew fast and true to the perimeter and looked closer at the group of soldiers. They had three catapults and each was firing fiery debris at the wall of thorns. She growled under her breath, "Humans will never learn."
Maleficent reached the wall as one of the guardians was ordering his group of tree men and brutes to put out the fire. The Moor creatures struggled to get water and dirt over the fire without getting burned or impaled by the thorns. The fairy nodded to the guardian and he bowed his head. She ordered him, "Get your warriors out of here, I will take of the humans."
The guardian's eyes widened in shock and he quickly began to argue against the order. He was saying that his brethren can deal with the flock of humans without any casualties. The tree man even went as far as to point out the brunette's healing process hindering her magic.
The fairy growled, "I am strong enough to deal with a few bumbling idiots." To prove her point, green mists of magic circled around her hands and caused her eyes to glow emerald. She pointed at the thorns and watched as a vine disentangled itself from the others and crash onto the soldiers on the other side. The Moor creatures listened to the breaking of wood and terrified screams following soon afterwards.
The guardian continued to stare at his leader for a few more moments before jerking his head to the Moors with a roar. Immediately, his brethren fell back and ran behind the fairy. He told the woman that they will split into two groups behind her and if she were to fall, they will surprise attack the humans.
Maleficent nodded, "That is acceptable." She waited until the last of the Moor creatures was hidden within the trees before leaping up into the air. She hovered above the wall of thorns and shook her head at the sight before her.
Soldiers were scattered about and screaming bloody murder at the fairy. She tuned out what they were saying, all of them were yelling about how they would avenge their poor queen and king and that she would pay for her crimes. She grimaced; it was obvious that all the humans believed the treacherous advisors. Upon further inspection she noticed that most of the soldiers were young, just beginning to enjoy manhood.
She forced down her misgivings and flicked a wrist, gusts that were nonexistent blew against the vines, putting out the fire until the vines only glowed with heat. She then poured her dark magic into the vines. She released a battle cry as she attacked the soldiers viscously, not showing any mercy to those who would dare harm her land. More thorn vines untangled themselves and slammed down on the soldiers. She flinched at the screams when several thorns torn through the humans, gore splattering onto the vines and the ground.
She quickly disposed of the two remaining catapults, not before one threw another fireball at the wall, shattering them into splinters. Several jagged chunks of wood buried themselves into unfortunate soldiers. The men gagged on their blood and with their dying breath, cursed the fairy and wished for her to burn in the darkest pits of hell.
Maleficent grimaced as the soldiers continued to attack the walls. They were much more determined than the last time. Her heart ached as she realized the reason: they were fighting for someone they cared for. Aurora was their beloved queen and if they thought that the fairy had harmed her in any way, they would go through hell to avenge the blonde.
Her stomach twisted into ugly knots but she fed more magic into the vines. They snaked around groups of soldiers and slowly tightened, the men trapped. She turned her head away as she squeezed her right fist, doing her best to block out the shrieking and then the crunching of bone as the circle of thorns closed around the soldiers.
She looked down and saw the remaining soldiers staying put. They screamed their hatred for the fairy while beating their iron swords against their wooden shields. Her eyes closed as she flicked her wrist, one of the vines slapping down to crush five soldiers. Another thorn vine wrapped around a soldier and lifted him up in the air to fling him miles away from the Moors.
Maleficent felt fatigue drag at her movements but she continued to pour magic into the vines. Sweat gathered on her brow but she did not hesitate in her fight against the humans. As she made a thorn rip a man in half, an unfamiliar feeling crept into her heart. She shook her head and gritted her teeth as another human was impaled through one of her vines. She flung him away, splattering nearby soldiers in their friend's carnage. That emotion persisted with the fairy as she watched the body bounce against the ground twice, the man's entire body being ripped in half in the process. Intestines dragged against the ground from the upper half as the body stilled, a pool of blood growing around the soldier as he dead eyes pierced into the fairy's heart.
She gulped but it was not from the image of the dead man. She had identified the foreign feeling nagging at her. It was one of excitement, of bloodlust. Maleficent shook her head and concentrated on the battle, there were only fifteen soldiers left. She made all the vines rise up high from the ground, blood and gore dripping from the thorns. As the soldiers looked up at the monstrous sight, she slammed them all back down with a roar no human could make. The soldiers screamed in terror and covered themselves with shields or their arms, each dropping their weapon of choice as death loomed in front of them.
Ten seconds went by before the first man opened his eyes. What he saw shook him to his core. The thorn vines buried themselves in a perfect circle around the men, one for each human. As the others opened their eyes and look at the death trap, they heard a light thud. They turned their eyes to look up and coward at the sight.
Standing on one of the bloody vines was Maleficent. She was calm as ever as she stood on the blood soaked plant. She lifted her chin and all the men gulped in fear when they saw her eyes. They were blazing emerald with red irises that held no empathy or regret for the carnage she wrought. Green smoke emitted from the eyes and her entire body seemed to be made of the dark magic. Her wings were snug against her back with the tips dipping into the gore of the battlefield that still clung onto her vine's thorns.
She spoke clearly for the trembling men, "This is my home and I its protector. As long as I live, no one shall dare harm my queen or this magical land." She saw confusion within some of the soldier's eyes and she sneered, "I will do whatever it takes to protect my heart and my home, no matter how many lives I must reap!"
The men watched in fascinated terror as a green smoked-covered hand was lifted. Their eyes flashed back at the thorn vines that surrounded them as they began to move. They unwind themselves from the soldiers, setting them free. She growled loud enough for the men under her to hear, "NOW LEAVE!" She snapped her fingers and the vines crushed the ground before the men.
They all turned and ran, screaming in horror, leaving behind all their weapons and shields.
Maleficent stayed standing on the vine as the green mist slowly dissipated and died. She flapped her wings and flew to her side of the wall. Awaiting her was the division of the Moor army, its guardian staring at her. She waved a hand and the wall groaned as the entire barrier moved to make a hole for the division. The fairy did not look at her brethren as she whispered, "Dispose of the bodies and heal the ground please."
No one moved for a full minute before the guardian bowed his head. He gave a few words to his men in his tongue and they marched out to clean the battleground.
Maleficent turned her head as the tree brutes grabbed the bodies of the soldiers she killed to create a pile. She felt vomit rise in her throat at the sight but she managed to control herself. Her eyes turned to watch the tree men pour their own magic into the grass, making it drink the blood and erase the evidence of battle.
She turned her back to the grisly scene and began to make her way to her tree. She ignored the Fae Folk that came out after the alarm was given. They gasped and gestured at the fairy and her bloody wings. She kept her gaze straight as her jaw clenched, she had to kill those humans, they were going to harm her land and as the protector, she could not let that happen. Even if that meant her hands needed to be dirtied with gore.
"Mistress?"
Maleficent stopped walking but did not turn around to face her servant. Diaval gulped and slowly approached the fairy, his eyes trained on the bloody ends of her wings. He stopped when he was near the woman and tried again, "Mistress?"
The brunette looked over her shoulder and gave the man a slight nod, "The humans have been dealt with."
His gaze lowered to the ground as his eyes closed with a regretful sigh. After a moment, he looked up at the woman, "How many?"
A shoulder lifted in a short shrug, "I do not know. There were about fifty soldiers when I arrived." She swallowed the lump in her throat as she continued, "Only fifteen remained."
Diaval shook his head in shock as she whispered, "Thirty-five dead? By the greatest of gods Maleficent," he grasped onto her shoulder as he asked urgently, "are you okay?"
The fairy finally turned around to face her friend. She stared at his concerned face for a long time before she shook her head, "I don't know." She gave out a shaky breath as she tried to calm herself, "I know I had to protect the Moors but they were only doing what they were ordered to. They thought that I hurt Aurora and they were trying to avenge her." She growled, "When I get my claws into that fucker Marcus I swear I'll-"
Diaval stopped the woman, "Don't. Your hands will already be bloodied after this war, don't add another name to your body count."
Maleficent looked at her friend, "My hands are already bloody." She closed her eyes as she steeled her resolve, "Find Aurora and tell her I wish to speak to her at our tree." When she saw hesitance in his eyes she said softly, "That's an order Diaval."
The shape-shifted nodded and bowed before walking away from the fairy. She watched him walk in the direction of the war room before making her way to the river bank.
When she finally reached the waters, the river trolls gurgled and whispered to one another. She ignored them as she dipped her feet into the river, watching with a sad interest as the blues became infected with the red of blood. She scrubbed at the soles of her feet even after all the gore was gone and her feet hurt from the abuse.
Maleficent looked at her wings and shuddered at the dried blood that coated her feathers. She carefully went into the waters and allowed her wings to dip into the river. She shook them slightly as the blood began to be washed away. After ten minutes of allowing the natural current clean her feathers, she stepped out of the river. The fairy bowed to the river trolls, murmuring a thank you, before walking toward her tree. She dared not shake her feathers to dry them in case any hidden blood dirties the beautiful land. She did however use magic to make her robe dry, not wanting the blonde to fret over her possibly getting a cold.
Once her tree was in sight, her heart leapt into her throat, Aurora was already there and waiting for her. The queen had her back to the fairy as she looked out over to her human kingdom. She took a deep breath before walking up to the blonde, the younger woman completely unaware of the fairy's presence. "The humans are gone now."
The blonde jumped at her lover's voice and spun around. She looked over the older woman, searching for any injuries that she may sustain in her scuffle. When she found none, the blonde launched herself at the surprised woman, "Oh Maleficent, I was so scared." She pulled back to look into her eyes, "Is the wall okay? Has anyone been hurt?"
The brunette looked away, of course Diaval wouldn't tell her about the human fatalities. The thought both relieved and irritated her. She glanced back at her mate's eyes before shaking her head, "All the Moor guardians and their warriors are safe and the wall has not been breached."
Aurora knew that the other was hiding something but she was so relieved none of her friends were hurt. She rested her head onto the older woman's chest, "Good." She hesitated for a moment before whispering in a small voice, "How many?"
The older woman gulped and looked down at eyes that held so much love for her. She closed her own and whispered back, "About thirty-five humans were killed in the battle and fifteen escaped."
The blonde looked back to the human kingdom and nodded, "Okay." She looked back at her lover, "You were protecting your home Maleficent." She reached up to cup the fairy's cheek and frowned when the elder flinched from the touch. "You were being the Protector of the Moors, no one can blame you for that."
Maleficent looked down and sighed, starting to lean into the younger woman's hand as her own covered it, "They were trying to avenge you Aurora. The advisors told the human army that I had killed you and they want my head."
The queen glanced back to the human kingdom before licking her lips, wondering if she should express her thoughts. When the older woman's eyes looked at her, she knew she must voice her question. She licked her lips again before continuing, "Why didn't you tell them I was safe and that the advisors were lying?"
The fairy shook her head and looked at her mate, desperate to make her understand, "Even if I told them, what good would that do? Even if they believed me, what can they do? If they tell the other soldiers and word reaches the advisors, they will kill each and every one of them to keep you being alive a secret."
Aurora heard wisdom in the older woman's voice and nodded reluctantly, "Humans are cruel." She wrapped her arms securely around her love's waist and worried at her bottom lip, "Maleficent?" She felt the other hum as an affirmative for the younger to voice her question. The blonde tucked her head as she asked, "While I was back in the war room, I felt something." She swallowed the lump and continued, "It felt like excitement for battle." She looked up at her love's sad eyes, "Were you bloodthirsty?"
Maleficent looked down at her mate and closed her eyes. She rested her forehead against the blonde's as she scrambled to get her thoughts in order. She sighed, "Yes, but only for a moment." She stared into the eyes she loved so much, "I am not a human Aurora. There will always be parts of me that are ruled by instincts, you know that better than anyone else."
The blonde looked away and nodded as she held the brunette tighter, "I know," she hesitated, "it's just kinda scary, ya know?"
The fairy hummed in agreement, "I know beastie." She kissed Aurora's forehead as she whispered, "It sometimes scares me too."
Aurora looked up and smiled softly, "Let's stop talking about this." She moved her hands to cup her love's cheeks as she pulled the older woman's face closer. She captured Maleficent's lips, feeling the other tense in surprise. After a moment though, the fairy responded, albeit a little hesitantly. The blonde broke the kiss to stare into the eyes she adored so much, "I want to forget about everything, at least for one night."
A blush spread across the queen's cheeks as she moved her hand down, opening the brunette's robe slightly, her eyes watching as pale skin was revealed to her. Her eyes glanced back up and she saw specks of red in the fairy's green eyes. She leaned back up to nibble at her love's bottom lip. When she leaned back she noted that crimson dominated the eyes' color.
A soft growl resonated in the older woman's chest as she leaned forward to kiss her mate. When the other turned her head so ruby lips met a silky cheek, her eyes narrowed, "Beastie, what is wrong?"
Aurora glanced away as her teeth worried at her bottom lip, her blush growing to cover the tips of her ears. She swallowed and whispered shyly, "I- uh, I want to" she murmured the last part of the sentence.
Maleficent cocked her head to the left, "Speak up love, I cannot understand you when you mumble."
Blue eyes drifted to rest on the fairy's tree as she spoke clearly, "I want to make love to you." She looked up at the brunette, "I love you Maleficent, and I want to show you how much."
Red eyes widened as a flash of green entered them. She took a deep breath, whenever they were intimate, she was the one in charge. She knew that the blonde understood her need to be in control, too long she felt that her power had been taken away from her, especially when it came to love.
Aurora lifted a hand to cup her love's cheek, "I- Is that okay?"
The fairy hesitated a moment before giving a tense nod, "Y-yes, that is acceptable." She allowed the younger woman to back her up until bark brushed up against her back. When the other kissed her, a whimper of fear escaped her mouth.
The blonde immediately pulled back as she felt fear pass through her heart, "Did I go too fast?" She knew that she was asking quite a lot from the brunette right now and she wanted to make she sure was comfortable enough to let her control their pace.
Maleficent took a deep breath before shaking her head, "No, I am fine." Even though she meant the words to sound confident, they came out shaking with nervousness.
Aurora glanced away before sighing, "We don't have to do this if you don't want to." She smiled sadly at the older woman, "I would understand Maleficent, really I would, if you want us to stop."
The brunette's heart gave a pang as she saw the understanding and undying acceptance in blue eyes. Even after knowing what she was capable of, the other woman still loved her. She looked away and gave the smaller woman a shy squeeze as she whispered, "Just please be gentle."
The blonde's eyes widened before she gulped. She really was about to make love to Maleficent. The older woman was giving away all of her control and her heart soared at the knowledge that she trusted the queen enough to do that. She leaned forward and brushed her lips against the fairy's, the small gasp from her lover making her knees weak. She whispered against those lips, "I will always be gentle with you. I love you Maleficent." Her lips moved to graze against the other's throat. She glanced back up to see the fairy staring at her, her eyes wide and her mouth opened softly panting. Aurora smiled up, "I love you even when you don't love yourself."
The Morning After
Maleficent was careful as she moved her wings under her mate to make herself more comfortable. Last night was … magical. She leaned her head back against the hammock, when had they gotten there? Her head shook, the answer was useless anyways. She looked to her right at her love, Aurora looked so peaceful as she slept, if a bit messy. She was snoring softly with her hair all mused up. The fairy made a face as she saw a bit of drool leave her mouth. She reached out to wipe away the spit from her love's lips.
Aurora was so kind to her. She smiled softly as she replayed last night. It was the first time she had let anyone touch her like that, to take control like that. The blonde did not ask for anything or took anything from the fairy, she only gave. Her head rested against the bed as she continued to watch the younger woman sleep, by all the gods she loved the woman.
Her eyes flitted away as realization tampered with her happiness. The humans are coming, that she knew. The soldiers from the attack before had probably made their way to the castle by now, and are probably telling the other soldiers how vicious the Moor creatures were. When the human army finally reached the magical land, they will be strong and determined to avenge their fallen brethren.
She felt her mate stir at her side and she rolled over, resting an arm around Aurora's waist. She had hoped the other would sleep more but it seemed that her thoughts were waking her. Their bond was getting stronger, and that both elated Maleficent and terrified her.
The queen yawned as her eyes lazily opened. She smiled at the woman next to her and moved closer to her, "Morning."
Her eyes softened at the greeting and she kissed Aurora's lips softly, "Good morning beastie." She nuzzled against the woman, "Why aren't you still asleep?" She smirked to hide her worry, "Surely you must be tired from our activities last night."
A vibrant blush bloomed on the queen's cheeks as she nodded shyly. She did not meet the woman's eyes, "W-well yes I am, but" she looked back up, "I felt your anxiety and it made me concerned." She moved closer to rest her head against the older woman's shoulder, one of her hands playing with chestnut hair, "Are you as scared as I am?"
Maleficent's immediate thought was to shake her head and deny the question. But as blue eyes stared into her own, she sighed, "Yes." She licked her lips as she pulled the woman closer, "I want to fight."
Aurora sighed and buried her head into the older woman's hair as she murmured, "Why?"
The fairy looked down in shock, "Because I am the Protector of the Moors, it is my duty."
The blonde looked up as she whispered, "It is also your duty as my mate to stay safe, isn't that right?"
"Yes but, this is my home Aurora."
Blue eyes stared into green, "It's my home too and what if I wanted to fight in the war too?"
A flash of fear entered the older woman's eyes as she shook her head, "No. I forbade it." She whispered, "I don't know what I will do if you get hurt."
Aurora pulled back and rested her weight on her hands, "And what about me? They are demanding your head and if they see you, every soldier will be attacking you at once!"
Maleficent's eyes closed as she released a deep breath, "No they won't, the Moor army will see to that." She tried to touch her love's face but the blonde moved back in the hammock. Her eyes looked away, "I need to do this."
The blonde asked again, "Why? Why do you have to fight so bad?"
"Because they hurt you!" She hadn't meant to yell but she did.
Aurora flinched from the shout and looked down at the fairy. She was still naked and she rested a hand on her chest, right above her heart. She felt it beat loud and fast and this caused the blonde to sigh, "They didn't hurt me, my advisors did."
The fairy growled, "I know that but I-" She left off, not knowing what she could say that would persuade the woman above her to go to war. Her eyes squeezed shut as she confessed, "Humans are cruel Aurora. They have taken almost everything from me, my innocence, my blood, my wings" she looked at the blonde as she caressed her cheek, "almost my light, and-" tears came unbidden to her eyes, "and my parents." She heard the blonde gasped but she continued, "The Moor and human kingdoms were once friendly towards one another. We traded our precious gems for human knowledge, we were so curious about the world outside of our land. The commoners of the human kingdom thrived whenever we made a successful trade and in exchange we learned about so many human mysteries." Her eyes finally opened to see her mate listening to her every word. A hand reached up to pull the queen on top of her.
Aurora came willingly and made herself comfortable, knowing that what Maleficent was telling her was important and hard for the fairy to say. She rested her head against the brunette's shoulder as her hand rested against the woman's stomach.
The fairy looked down as she continued her tale, "King Henry was not satisfied with our treasures, he wanted magic. My parents told him that some things were not meant to fall into human hands and this upset him. He persisted that they tell them their secrets; he even went so far as to call on the pixies, but each time they all refused, no matter what gold and goods the king offered them. Finally, they refused trade with the human kingdom altogether, realizing the greed within the king's heart."
She released a shaky breath, "One day King Henry called upon my parents. I was only a babe then, not even weaned of my mother's milk. The king wrote to my parents that he wanted to apologize for his greed and wanted to reopen trade so his people could flourish once again."
Maleficent reached up to wipe away tears that had somehow managed to escape her eyes. She smiled softly at her mate when the blonde turned her head to kiss her shoulder, "They were strong Aurora, stronger than me." She shook her head and swallowed against the lump in her throat, "But they never came back. A few days later Balthazar found a large box waiting on the outskirts of the Moors." A sob ripped through her throat as a hand flew up to cover her mouth. She couldn't look at Aurora as she finished, "Inside were two pairs of fairy wings."
Aurora gasped as tears streamed down her face. She held the sobbing woman as her own shoulders heaved as she wept, she had no idea.
The two held and comforted one another and the fairy felt a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders. Only Balthazar and the pixies knew the truth of her parents, everyone else was told that they simply left to protect another magical kingdom far away.
After ten minutes, Maleficent sniffed and leaned back out of the embrace. She kissed a tear soaked cheek tenderly, "Thank you. I know that hearing such things are terrible and it's terrible that I harbor a grudge against all humans because of what one did but-"
Lips stopped the rest of the fairy's sentence. Aurora kissed her love, pouring every ounce of affection and acceptance into the kiss. When she broke it, she rested her head against the crook in Maleficent's shoulder, "Don't ever think that what you feel is terrible. Anyone would feel the same way if" her throat closed as she swallowed a sob, "if that happened to them." She shook her head, "I am so sorry that humans killed your parents."
The fairy nodded and looked to the right as a sad smiled lifted her lips. She raised a hand that was holding the blonde and twirled two fingers. Slowly two figures rose up from their hiding place, they were the only playthings she had as a child. When they floated close enough, she grabbed them, holding them as if any sudden movements would crush them.
Aurora sniffed and looked at what the fairy had in her hand. In it were two figures made of wood and grass. One looked like a woman and another a man. They had twigs for arms and legs and grass for hair and clothes. She wondered what kept the grass from turning brown and rotten but figured it was magic. She glanced at Maleficent and when the older woman nodded, she reached out to brush her fingers against the girl figurine.
The brunette smiled, "These are the only things I have left of my parents. Knotgrass told me that my mother spent days making them for me when she realized she was pregnant with me. She made ten pairs before she finally decided that these two were perfect enough for me. She and my father spent another two days pouring magic into the two figurines so they never grow old and rot."
Aurora nodded as she continued to touch the playthings. She worried at her lip as she looked up, "Fine."
"What?" The fairy did not know what the queen was talking about.
The blonde looked back at the figurines before gazing back at the brunette, "You can fight, I won't stop you." Her lower lip trembled, "But you have to promise me that you won't go into the war unless they need you okay?"
Maleficent's eyes softened as she carefully placed her treasures back in their hiding space. She wrapped her arms around the queen and breathed in her scent, as if it was last time she would ever see her, "I promise. I will stay next to the river bank and use magic to watch the battle."
The brunette whispered, "But you have to promise that no matter what, you will not fight." She held her tighter, "I can't lose you, if I do then I will truly have nothing."
Tears pricked at her eyes as she nodded, "I promise." She looked up to see the sun still rising. She nuzzled against the fairy, "I love you."
Maleficent looked down and smiled adoringly at the blonde, "And I you beastie."
