Chapter Ten
Diaval was awakened near midnight by Maleficent's strangled scream, and her wings brushing against him as they fluttered when she sat upright. He sat up as well, blinking the sleep from his eyes, gently laying a hand on her back.
"Maleficent?"
His touch seemed to startle her, and she turned wide eyes to the raven beside her. When she realized who he was, she let out a sigh, and tried to get her heart-rate to slow down again. She drew her knees up and rested her forehead on them, shaking her head a bit. Once she calmed a bit, she leaned back against the tree again, wincing as a familiar and unwelcome pain flared inside her.
"Forgive me for waking you, birdie..."
"It's alright. What's wrong?"
"Ugh...it's the same stupid dream I've been having since I was freed from those humans."
"I'll listen, if you want to talk about it..."
"I'd rather not, but thank you."
Finally relaxing, after forcing herself to remember that it was /Diaval/ beside her, the fairy let herself lean into his side when he gently slipped his arm around her shoulders. The raven rested his chin on top of her head, gently stroking the feathers of her wings in hopes he could lull her into a more peaceful sleep. After nearly an hour, Diaval's hand stilled as he fell asleep again, leaving Maleficent wide awake and restless. Carefully slipping out of his arms, she climbed down from the tree and wandered off, not really paying attention to where she was going. It wasn't long until she found herself lost, having wandered into a part of the Moors where she never went.
"Wonderful...just what I need..."
As she walked through the darkness, trying to find her way back to her tree, her mind began to play tricks on her, as if she was dreaming again, while fully awake. In an instant, she was back in the small, dark, dingy dungeon cell of the human castle. The door opened, and three men entered the cell, carrying the spiked iron pipe. Two of them approached and held her down, while the third stood at her feet, a maniacal smile on his face as he slowly advanced the torture device up her dress. Just as it touched her, the fairy tripped and fell, knocking herself unconscious on a large stone.
When Maleficent awoke again, she was lying by the lake near her tree, dirt and mud stuck to her in random places. With considerable effort, she pulled herself up to her feet, pain and dizziness slamming into her, causing her to sit again. The fairy lifted a hand to her head, wincing when she felt a patch of dried blood where her temple had contacted the stone when she fell. Hearing Diaval shifting in the nest above her, she looked up, watching as he sat up.
"I'm down here, Diaval."
"Huh? What are you doing down...there..."
He immediately climbed down the tree to sit next to her, examining the dried blood on her skin, wiping away some dirt from her cheek.
"What happened?"
"I couldn't sleep, so I went on a walk. I wandered into a part of the Moors I don't often venture to, and got lost. I must have tripped and hit my head, because the next thing I know, I woke up here."
"Ah. Well...it doesn't look too bad, at least."
She nodded, regretting it as the motion made her vision blur, and she fell against his side, losing consciousness again. Diaval caught her, laying her down on the grass. Not having anything else to use, he tore a sleeve from his shirt and soaked it in the cool water of the lake before laying it on her forehead. When the fairy woke again, she found herself wrapped in the raven's coat, her dress laying over a stone in the sun to dry where he'd washed the mud from it.
"Diaval?"
When she didn't get an answer, Maleficent stood and made her way to her dress, smiling when she found it dry. After pulling it back on, she moved to sit on the stone instead, wincing again as the pain inside her body flared.
"Maleficent? Are you alright?"
The sound of the raven's voice caught her attention, and she looked over as he emerged from some bushes not far off.
"Fine...no, I'm not fine. Something's wrong..."
"Wrong?"
"I shouldn't still be in pain this long after what happened...any internal wounds should have healed by now."
"Do you want me to get the pixies?"
She shook her head and tried to relax on the sun-warmed rock, letting her thoughts wander. Diaval sat next to the rock, offering her some of the berries he'd picked from the bushes. She smiled and took the offered food, hardly moving as some rustling was heard in the trees. The raven, however, stiffened, ready to defend her against an attack, only relaxing when Aurora broke the tree-line. When he saw the man who trailed behind her, however, he moved to stand, only to have Maleficent put a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright, birdie, I invited him."
He settled, though kept a watchful eye on the one who'd betrayed his mate so badly in the past.
"Godmother!"
"Beastie."
The fairy had to hide a wince as the blond came over and hugged her, and wrapped an arm loosely around her in return. Diaval found himself wrapped in a hug as well, which he warmly returned. Having seen the wince, Stefan lifted an eyebrow slightly, though kept quiet. The four of them sat and talked for a while, and when Maleficent rose to walk them back to the border, she let out a gasp and doubled over. The raven quickly moved to her side, catching her before she collapsed to the ground.
"What's wrong?"
"I...don't know. Diaval...get the pixies...hurry."
He nodded, and after quickly, yet carefully, passing her over to Aurora and Stefan, took to the skies in search of the tiny trio. He found them soon enough, and within minutes of him explaining the situation, they were flying back towards the downed fairy. When they returned, a faint glow could be seen under the woman's dress, one that had both Aurora and Stefan staring, dumbfounded. Once the pixies arrived, they quickly had her moved to the cottage where they'd raised the blond Queen, and shut the door in the others' faces. Diaval, still in raven form, flew restlessly around the cottage, landing on the window-sill every now and then, trying to get a look at what was happening inside.
"Diaval?"
He cawed and flew back to where Aurora was sitting, her father having returned to the castle, just in case something was needed, and shifted into a man.
"She'll be alright, Aurora. She's a strong woman..."
She nodded and leaned against him, her eyes locked on the small cottage where she'd grown up. A loud scream of pain causing her to shiver and bury her face in the raven's shoulder. After what seemed like forever, the door opened, and the trio of pixies came out, Knotgrass carrying something wrapped in a cloth. They approached Diaval and Aurora, handing him the cloth-wrapped object. With some hesitation, he unfolded the cloth, and gaped at what he saw. Lying in his hand, were close to a dozen small, iron balls.
"Those were...erm...inside her body. She's lucky...any longer and they would have caused permanent damage."
"Will she be alright?"
"She should be fine in a few days."
A breath of relief escaped the bird, and he sent the three a smile before they flew away. He and the blond stood and entered the cottage, to see the horned fairy sleeping with a small frown on her face. Diaval moved over and pulled a pair of chairs over next to the bed, somehow knowing the blond wouldn't leave until Maleficent woke up. As if sensing them in the room, the fairy turned her head towards them, but didn't open her eyes. It was near sunset before she woke, letting out a soft groan as her eyes fluttered open.
"Mm...Diaval? Aurora?"
The raven smiled at hearing her voice, and reached out to take her hand, nodding to Aurora, who was sound asleep in her chair. She moved to sit up, but quickly reconsidered when pain seared through her body, causing her to /immediately/ lay back again. He helped her get situated again before sitting next to her on the bed.
"The pixies said you should be fine in a few days..."
"What the hell was wrong with me?"
"These were...uhm...inside you, apparently." he said, revealing what was wrapped in the black cloth.
"So even after you freed me, those bastards were torturing me. From the /inside/...lovely."
"What's important is, that they were able to remove them. They said if you'd waited any longer to get help, there would have been permanent damage."
She huffed, taking the cloth from him and flinging it against the wall of the cottage, the little balls scattering, the sound waking Aurora. She rubbed her eyes and sat up straight in the chair, blinking away the remnants of sleep.
"Forgive me, beastie. Didn't mean to wake you."
"Godmother! You're awake...how do you feel?"
"Like I was trampled by a dragon."
Diaval snorted and lifted an eyebrow at her, causing her to give a cheeky little grin in his direction. The blond Queen laughed, and when she looked outside, her eyes widened.
"Oh goodness! It's so late...I should probably get home..."
"You'll leave in the morning. Even the Moors aren't completely safe at night."
After a /very/ brief argument, she nodded and settled back into her chair, simply watching the interaction between the fairy and the raven. Feigning sleep, she listened carefully to their whispered conversations.
"Maleficent...why didn't you tell me they did this?"
"I didn't /know/ they put iron /inside/ my body...I must've been out cold...or in too much pain to notice..."
Diaval stayed silent, reaching to re-adjust her pillows to try and make her as comfortable as possible. She reached up and caught his arm, gazing into his eyes.
"What's wrong, birdie?"
"I shouldn't have let this happen to you. You're my mate...it's my job to protect you!"
"Diaval...no one knew something like this was going to happen. You were injured, anyways, you would've only gotten yourself killed."
"I would happily die for you."
A solid grip on the back of his neck stilled him when he tried to move away, her eyes flashing dangerously.
"Don't you /ever/ talk like that. You are to NEVER put yourself in harm's way to protect me. NEVER. If something happened to you because of me...I couldn't live with myself."
The raven sighed and leaned down, resting his forehead against hers and closing his eyes. She closed her eyes as well, loosening her grip on his neck, simply letting her hand rest there now. Muttered `I love you`'s were exchanged before the fairy drifted back into the land of sleep, the wounds inside her body slowly beginning to heal.
AN: Hi there my faithful readers! Even though this story seems popular...I haven't gotten many reviews, save from the lovely Rose-Writer17. My next chapter is going to have a fair amount of fluff, but if you want to see it, you MUST review! I won't post otherwise! Mwahahaha! Reviews make me a very happy wolf!