Chapter Twenty One

As she picked her way through the trees, the sound she was listening for finally met her ears, and she growled before following it. Her sharp green eyes watched the shadows as the sun began to set, trying to discern the shadows of the trees from the others. The man in question was lurking behind one of the large trees, only moving when he was certain she wasn't watching. She walked right past the tree he was hiding behind, only stopping when she heard him take off at a run behind her.

"Damn it!"

Maleficent turned and narrowed her eyes when she again didn't see him. It wasn't long before the sun set completely, throwing the forest into darkness. The fairy sighed and gave up her search, moving back to her horse and heading back to the castle. Within the tree-line, the would-be assassin released a breath and relaxed. When she returned, she went to Aurora's room and sighed, shaking her head.

"He got away..."

Diaval moved over and slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her against his side as she let out a frustrated sigh. He kissed her cheek and led her over to sit on one of the padded benches in the room.

"We'll get him."

The horned fairy sighed and let herself relax against her lover's side, smiling a bit when Aurora settled down in bed and tried to sleep. When the blond continued to toss and turn, grumbling to herself, Maleficent stood and walked over, sitting on the edge of the bed. After a soft conversation, she did something Diaval had never heard, she started to sing. The song was in the ancient fairy tongue, so neither of them could understand her, but soon, the young Queen fell asleep with a small smile on her face. The fairy smiled as well, kissing her forehead before moving back to her previous seat.

"What was that?"

"It was a song my mother sang to me when I was young. I thought it might help."

"It was beautiful."

"Thank you..."

Once situated, it wasn't long until the pair of them were sleeping as well. The only disturbance through the night was Philip slipping into the room to check on his wife, before letting them know he was going out first thing the next morning to look for her attacker. After Diaval's insistence of going with them, the King nodded and left them in peace again. A grumble escaped the horned woman, causing a chuckle to escape the man next to her. He laid his hands on her shoulders, rubbing gently, hoping to relax her a bit. Feeling the gentle touch, she smiled over her shoulder at him and let her eyes fall shut again. His wings rustled as he wrapped them around her and pulled her close, her head resting on his shoulder. The two of them spoke softly for a while, not wanting to disturb Aurora, until Maleficent fell victim to sleep once more. When the sun rose, Philip, Diaval and small force of the castle guard moved out into the forest to search for the man who'd attacked the blond the day before.

Aurora busied herself by asking the horned fairy about the residents of the Moors, laughing when she heard of the exploits of the three pixies who'd raised her. They wandered around the castle, at one point stopping to have a brief conversation with Stefan before he headed out to help the search team. The mention of the attack the previous day caused the young woman to shiver, and Maleficent slipped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a gentle hug.

"Don't worry, beastie. We'll find him, and when we do...well...it may not be wise to let me near him."

"Thank you, for staying here. I know you don't like to leave the Moors for long periods of time."

"It's no problem. The Moors won't burst into flame without me, after all, they have Balthazar to protect them while I'm not there."

The young woman nodded, and wandered down the hall into the library, her godmother close behind her. The fairy took her mind off the pressing matter by asking about her relationship with Philip, to which the Queen blushed. The older woman chuckled softly and shook her head when told of how adorably protective the young man was.

"At least he's treating you well."

"Oh, of course. I don't think he has a mean bone in his body."

"I'm sure he could be mean if he had to be."

The two spent the majority of the day in the library, Aurora recommending several books to the fairy. When the search party returned at sunset, both of them anxiously met them in the main hall, only to be disappointed when they had no-one with them. Maleficent left the Queen's side when Philip approached, the two of them moving off to talk in private.

"That man is like a snake. Slippery and hard to find."

Diaval growled as he moved over to stand next to his mate, wings twitching in agitation. She reached over to take his hand, smiling a bit before moving to look out the large window, only to blink in confusion as a rather large shape could be seen in the sky. The wing-span of the thing in flight was much too large to be a bird, which caused the fairy to lift an eyebrow.

"What in the..."

Diaval moved over to the window as well, catching sight of the shape in the moonlight as it passed in front of said moon. When whatever it was circled and landed outside the castle gates, the two of them immediately moved outside to confront it. When Maleficent's eyes landed on the figure, a tall male fairy, her jaw nearly hit the ground. The figure in question folded his dark brown wings against his back and smirked, giving a near wicked smirk before he spoke.

"Hello, sister."

AN: WHAT?! Our favorite fairy has a brother?! Oh what family drama will unfold?! Anywho, sorry for this chapter being so dang short, but I wanted to give you guys something before the end of the day today. I more than likely will not be updating tomorrow, because I have a whole day planned with a friend. Merry Christmas, faithful readers! Reviews make me a happy wolf!