Aurora barrelled down the steep slope with some force, plunging into the darkness below.
She hit the bottom with a thud, and for the longest time she dared not move as she listened to the voices of the men way up above her.
Eventually, they faded into the distance, and Aurora struggled to sit up, satisfied that they had likely given up, if only for tonight.
Using both hands to support herself, she winced as shards of something sharp cut into them. Squinting in the dark, Aurora guessed the ground beneath her was some kind of shale.
Managing to stagger to her feet, Aurora pulled her cardigan tighter around her and began to walk. She wasn't sure where she was going, and her whole body ached from the journey downwards, but right then, she knew she had to keep moving.
And so she walked and walked then – for what felt like a lifetime – until eventually the steep incline levelled out and the heavy darkness lifted, telling her that she was coming closer to the edge of the forest.
That was when she heard it – the sound of hooves in the distance.
Ducking behind a tree, Aurora held her breath, wondering if Darius had gone back for a horse to cover more ground.
Closer.
Closer.
Aurora exhaled in relief when the black, feathered horse came into view.
"Diaval…"
He moved toward her, allowing her to grab a handful of mane and scramble aboard with very little elegance.
Aurora simply held on tight and said nothing further. She knew she didn't need to, as Diaval turned in the direction of the moors, to deliver her back into the arms – and wings – of her Godmother.
Ω Ω Ω Ω
Maleficent could not shake the feeling of unease within her.
She had tried – she had tried to tell herself that Aurora was old enough to make her own choices and live with the consequences. She had tried to sleep, too, but couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad had happened.
And so she had left her tree and wandered aimlessly around the moors for what felt like an eternity – all the while, something pulling her closer and closer to the edge where the wall of thorns lay. Finally, when she heard the thunder of hooves prick the silence that lay heavy in the air, she knew her instincts had been correct.
When Diaval came into view and nobody was sat astride, Maleficent changed him immediately.
"Mistress," he panted, before she could even open her mouth. "You need to come quickly. It's Aurora."
Maleficent's blood ran cold. "What is it?"
"I'm not quite sure, Mistress. But something happened back there. I got her out but she's not in a good way," he told her. "We got as far as the marshes, just east of here, and she passed out and fell from my back."
"Take me there," Maleficent told him, and he was a raven again.
Ω Ω Ω Ω
It didn't take them long to reach the marshland, but long enough for the heavens to open.
Maleficent managed to land safely, but the heavy rainfall made it difficult to see more than a few inches in front of them.
Diaval continued to circle overheard, and she followed his general direction, an unfamiliar feeling rising within her very core.
Panic, she realised. Sheer and utter panic.
Yet no sooner had she thought it, she made out a familiar shape in the distance.
"Aurora!"
The girl had come to now, and was sitting in the boggy marsh.
As Maleficent drew closer and the rain let up a little, she could see that Aurora was more than just a little wet. Her dress, torn in several places, was covered in mud and apparently, the blood that appeared have made its way down from the gash on her forehead. The child's hands were bleeding too.
"Godmother," she sobbed, seeing the fairy in front of her and holding out her arms as she might have done as a small child wishing to be held.
Any anger Maleficent had felt was gone in that moment, replaced by an overwhelming urge to scoop the girl up and protect her.
"I'm here," she said softly, kneeling down in front of her and taking Aurora's hands in her own, assessing the damage.
"You were right," Aurora continued to sob, gasping for breath. "He isn't my Uncle. He only wants to… to hurt you and to claim the throne. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone… I shouldn't have…"
In that moment, Maleficent faced an internal battle like no other.
On the one hand, she wanted nothing more than to wrap the girl in her wings and tell her that it was all going to be okay. But something gnawed at the back of her head and told her that, despite everything Aurora had been through that night, she was still to fully understand the greed and evil that humans were capable of.
And was it not Maleficent's place to show her?
"Can we go home?" Aurora pleaded, reaching out for her desperately. "Please…"
Maleficent took the girl's head in her hands and stroked back her hair. But she shook her head.
"Not just yet, Beastie."
With that, she blew a breath of golden magic Aurora's way, sending the girl into an instant sleep.
Aurora's head flopped against Maleficent's shoulder and the fairy wrapped her in her wings, placing a hand to the girl's head and creating a further flurry of light, this time silver in colour.
Diaval landed beside her, letting out a questioning croak. He had seen Maleficent do this only once before, yet he knew exactly what she doing. He had learned early on in their partnership that his Mistress had the ability to put images inside people's heads – to show them things that happened long ago.
"What?" she asked, seeing the way the raven was looking at her. "You think me cruel?"
Diaval watched her in silence. It didn't much matter what he thought at this point – Maleficent had already sent Aurora somewhere back into the past.
And he had a fairly good idea where.
Ω Ω Ω Ω