I don't think too much about it. As soon as I'm human again, my hand shoots forward and I grab the back of the man's collar, pulling him away from Aurora. I raise my knee and hit his stomach. He doubles over in pain, his bow forgotten on the ground. Rage is a hot fist twisting my insides and urging me to keep hitting. "Touch her again, and I'll kill you."
It takes me a moment to realize I'm not joking.
A second man has already approached Aurora, but she is moving fast, and manages to put a tree between her and her attacker. Without thinking about what I'm doing, I search the man next to me for weapons, while he's still weak. He's got a knife.
I stab his thigh. Better to be safe than sorry,. But I don't have the guts to do any more, now that the rush is wearing down. I turn to find Aurora picking some dirt from the ground. She throws it at the man's face, then stumbles forward and kicks his groin. Clumsily, but it had the effect she wanted.
"Diaval, what do I do now?!" She looks between me and the man with such a panicked expression it's almost comical.
"This will... this will never be over until we have a true... leader on the throne," The man croaks out.
I snap out of my daze and move to hit the back of the his head wih the hilt of the knife. He lands heavily on the ground by our feet. It's just then that I allow myself to notice my heart, beating as if it's about to leap out of my chest.
My gaze slides to the princess, no, queen's face. She looks horrified.
"You're bleeding. Let's go," she grabs my uninjured hand -the one that hadn't been cut by the blade of the knife-, and leads me away. Dread settles on my stomach, because I know we can't keep keeping things from her.
xxx
I want to bandage that hand. I can tell it's bothering him, even though he won't admit to it. But it would be wiser to wait until we're at a safer distance from those dangerous people. We should probably head home.
A headache threatens to overwhelm me when I remember I no longer have a home. I have nothing. The image of the castle scratches at the back of my mind, but I ignore it. That place had never appealed to me, and it probably never would.
"Do you feel okay?"
Diaval's hand gently squeezes mine. And the dam breaks.
I turn, and blindly wrap my arms around his middle. "No. Please just hold me."
xxx
"Okay." I pull her close, willing my body to give her the confort she needs. It's hard to make things better for someone who is lost, when you're lost yourself. Something tugs at my heart, hinting at that I could do better than to hold her, but I don't know. I'm... Conforting is for humans, I tell myself. But then again, why am I so desperate for the answer to make everything in Aurora's world alright again?
She has always seemed so happy, and cheerful, that I don't know what to do with confusion, and pain. Aurora is not crying, but her arms tightening around me are like heart-wrenching sobs.
With one hand, -the one that is not bleeding-, I smoothe her hair. It's all over the place, but still lovely. I rest my cheek ontop of her head. "It's over."
"Don't be silly. It's not over. Those people..." She pulls back just enough to see my face. "Those people hate me. Because I'm a useless queen. What do I do now?"
I avert my gaze.
"What? Why do you-" she pauses, and I don't have to look at her face to see what's there. "This is not the first time they've tried to hurt me, right? It can't be... And you... And Maleficent..."
Silence.
"Diaval, answer me. Right now."
I sigh. "It was for your own protection. We didn't want to-"
It is amazing how quickly her face turns red. This time, Aurora pushes me away, at arms' lenght. "My own... My own protection? You... You have no right... She has no right to decide that! It's my life! My life!"
She turns around, her hands rubbing her temples.
xxx
I simply can't believe it. It's outrageous! How dare them plan everything without telling me a single thing?
I shake my head, and whirl around to face Diaval. "Don't you think I should know if someone wants to kill me?" Words filter out of my mouth, and I can't seem to be able to stop them. "I mean, if one day I left my house to collect berries, and someone shot an arrow to my heart; wouldn't have it been better if I'd known?"
He looks down, and I realize I'd been yelling. Red liquid drips from one of his hands. Color drains from my face. "Oh, no, I forgot... Let me see that."
.
We didn't want to risk being caught again, so Diaval didn't let me take care of his wound until we had put a river between us, and them. We stopped at a small stream to sit by it.
I work in silence, and he isn't saying anything either, his only responses being the occasional flinch. It'd have been alright, if his eyes weren't focused on my face.
"Hmm... Diaval?"
"Yes?"
"Please, could you stop staring at me?"
Two bright splotches of pink appear on his cheeks. "I wasn't-"
I quickly change the subject. Suddenly, I'm no longer brave enough to follow that line of conversation. "I know what I'm going to do."
He leans forward with his elbows on his thighs. "What?"
"I must return to the castle."
