Chapter 1:

Months passed by as the Dark Fey came back to the Moors, settling in the many different areas of the magic lands. Not all of the Dark Fey came back home, but very little decided to stay in their long time refuge on the island. They no longer had any real reason to hide. Phillip was crowned king two months into the new merged kingdoms. Now with Aurora, both Queen and King brought much needed stability to their people.

The Moors were expansive enough to give homes to all the different races of the Fey. The desert Fey settled in the dusty plains in the South West, the jungle Fey in the marshlands of the East, the forest Fey flew over the many trees of the fair forests and even the tundra Fey had a home in the high mountains in the North. All the Fey still met for celebrations and meetings, but they stayed for the most part with their own clans. The head of each clan would come to the Heart of the Moors where Maleficent and Diaval could always be found if they were needed. Often, even the young queen of the Moors herself took some time away from her castle home in Ulstead to help in the integration of her new subjects. But it was her mother and her mother's raven who handled the majority of the bigger changes and disagreements. Aurora may be Queen of the Moors, but it was Maleficent, the guardian of the Moors, the Phoenix, who kept the peace.

Diaval soared over the forest trees toward the outer South rim as he had just finished with some flying advice for the younger Fey. He had been very hands-on in teaching them where the best headwinds were for those with smaller wings. Not all of the children were used to flying the the open air, and if not careful could be blown off course by the high winds around the mountains. He played games with them that taught them the best way to catch the wind and worked closely with Udo on where to find the best training grounds for the newest fliers. The last thing he wanted was for a young one to become lost or hurt on his watch.

He turned to check on a few of the Mushroom fairies that had some problems with their harvest last week. It was the last errand that he had been asked to complete by Maleficent and he was eager to head back to the nest. He was a bit smug over the fact that his voice carried as much weight as Maleficent's in most decisions, but he still missed the patrols and routines that he once had at her side. He missed the flights above the Moors, the circles that they would fly around one another and the feel of breaking over the clouds and the sun warming his feathers with her just a breath away. A long sigh flowed from his beak before he reminded himself that it was getting better with the Fey and that everything will go back to their normal everyday once they all fall into their own routines and roles in the Moors.

Suddenly there was a loud roar from below. Diaval swooped lower and saw one of the many rivers that bordered the desert lands that had become home to the Desert Fey. On the bank was none other than Borra who seemed to be yelling at some of the water nymphs that worked along the stretch of the flowing waters. Two of his clan were behind him, a male and female, with skins for the collection of water to take back to their growing village. Diaval cawed and dove toward the dispute. As soon as he was able, he shifted to human and walked toward the towering Fey.

"What is the problem, Borra?" he asked and stepped between Borra and the smaller water nymphs still half submerged in the water.

"They are taking one of the few sources we have for water," he shoved his open hand toward the water nymphs as if Diaval didn't see them, "They are taking all the water here! This is the desert! We need water!"

"They are laying no claim to the water itself," Diaval cross his arms over his chest and tilted his head to the side. He looked at the others of the desert clan and nodded toward the river, "You are free to take what you or your clan may need."

The two other Fey nodded and began to move toward the water's edge.

"They never leave it," Borra growled out as his eyes focused back on the nymphs even as his clan mates begin to fill their water skins.

"Their element is the water, just as yours is the desert and the dry winds," Diaval tried to explain, "Would you want to be forced from your lands as you wish for them to leave theirs?"

The nymphs smiled up at Diaval in appreciation and began to swim and work their magic once again as they were sure the raven had the issue under control. One even swam to the side and began to help shift the water flow to fill the water skins of the other two Fey.

Borra grunted and his top lip curled back, "Why should I bow to these beasts?"

"They are not beasts and they have been here in these waters for years, doing their part. I ask you not to bow, but to compromise as we all must do to keep the peace."

"Why am I even listening to you? A mere bird who thinks he is a man!" Borra turned his simmering anger at Diaval and stepped up to him as he expected Diaval to step back.

He did not. He stood his ground, his arms still crossed over his chest. If the closed minded Fey thought that he would scare him, he still has yet to face any of Maleficent's true wrath. Nothing scared Diaval outside of a few things that concerned his past mistress. With an exasperated sigh, a hand lifted to pinch the bridge of his nose and he slowed his voice as if he was to explain something to one of the young ones, "They are the reason you have water to drink. They clean and filter the water for consumption of us all."

"What?"

"We each have our parts to play. We share things here, Borra. Water, food, safety- we are a family. It's not about one clan or one creature. It's about all of us."

Borra's mouth pressed into a fine line, growled loudly in his face and then took off straight into the sky. Once through the clouds, Diaval saw his form head toward the center of the Moors.

"Oh yes, that's the way to solve this," Diaval shouted after him and threw his arms into the air in frustration, "Just growl, they'll get the message or wet themselves in fear of the great Borra! And I'm a raven! Not a bird..."

He took another breath and looked at the river's edge. The other two desert Fey were almost done with their collection with help of a couple of the water nymphs. Both of them looked at each other and then back at Diaval, unsure what to do next.

"Look, they are more than happy to give you clean water, it's what they do," Diaval motioned toward the working nymphs and some of the small figures nodded from the water with their own smiles, "Just be aware that this is a change for everyone. It will take time, don't push. Moor Folk tend to want to push back at a point."

"Well, thank you," the male Fey bowed his head in thanks to the water nymphs before they waved and jumped back into the water.

"And thank you, Diaval," the female Fey nodded to him and hugged the now full water skin to her front. She smiled shyly at him and rocked back on her heels, "My name is Saoirse and this is Talom."

"You're welcome, Saoirse, Talom," he looked to the sky, "Now I have to see to some mushroom fairies and then I can finally have a rest for the day. Get that water back to the clan. Let me know if there are any more problems."

"I will do so personally," Saoirse nodded vigorously.

Diaval nodded and without another thought jumped into the sky, back into a raven and back on track with his errand.

"Don't even think about it, Saoirse," Talom push her in the shoulder with his own, "You know he belongs to Maleficent."

Saoirse tilted her head in thought, but then turned to the village to finish her own tasks.


At the center of the Moors, Maleficent paced by the base of one of the large willow trees that framed the Moor palace. Aurora had just left back for Ulstead as she and Phillip had to agree on those that would serve on the council, just like the one she had set up in Perceforest. The advisers of Ulstead seem more competent than those that had been in power during Stefan's reign, but Maleficent still warned her daughter of the role that power played in men's minds. She assured her that she remembered and was more than aware of the possible pitfalls that power brought.

That left Maleficent to think over some of the choices for the council of the clans in the Moors. Some of the clan leaders have been more than a bit... forceful with the original occupants of the Moors.

"Maleficent!"

Speaking of, there was one now.

Maleficent looked over her shoulder were Borra just landed and stalked toward her. She lifted a single brow when she noticed his mood and turned from him to refocus on the list she had built in her mind, "Borra. What do I get to thank for this tantrum?"

"Your bird man is meddling in things that he should not!" Borra stopped a foot from Maleficent and clenched his fists to remember to watch his words, "He has too much sway in the ways of your Moors."

"My Moors?" she smirked, but held no amusement in her eyes as she turned to face him completely, "The Moors has a queen, but I am not her. The Moors do not belong to any one person or creature as she well knows- and you should do well to learn. We belong to it as we are all a part of it."

"You even sound like him," Borra grumbled.

"He is my right hand, Borra. Like it or not his voice is my own. And if it should ever come to pass that our voices contrast, I will find a solution," her voice held a hint of a threat as she passed him. She held his eyes for a moment until he looked away. Once past him she reached for a sapling that was bent too far to one side. She let her gold magic wrap the sapling and it stood straighter and stronger under a beam of sunlight from above.

"He supported the small beasts in the river. My people cannot drink that water!"

"Ah, I thought that this may come up from you," she nodded and turned back to him, her hands folded over the top of her staff, "The water nymphs stay in all water holds and rivers in the Moors. They do so because they must be present to clarify the water to enable us all to drink safely. They are not encroaching on you and yours, do not do so to them. Just take the water you need from the banks. They ensure that it is safe."

Borra shook his head in his stubborn way and growled more, "Your bird man does not order me."

"No, he is better than that. He asks. I order," she fixed her gaze on him, "Do not push."

Borra's lips tighten and his jaw clenched.

"Any other concerns you may have?" she asked with a cold, controlled tone.

"No, Maleficent," he grumbled and took off into the canopy of the trees and to the sky.

"Brutish fool," she mumbled under her breath and took a seat on a rock nearby.

A couple of hours later, Diaval landed on a rock to the side of where she sat, still in thought over the council members. Her hands swirled gold tendrils of magic between and through her fingers as she weaved the different combinations in her head. She only shifted her eyes toward him before she gave his back a single stroke with her closest hand. Her fingers lingered along his wing for just a moment before she brought it back to her other hand to continue her work.

"Borra was by," she mentioned in a nonchalant tone.

She felt the magic shift around him as he turned back into a man. He picked up a small stick and waved it in the air in front of his face as if to distract himself before he tossed it gently back onto the ground where he found it, "Of course he was."

Maleficent turned to look at her raven and noticed the sour note in his expression. She also noticed his frustrated furrow of his brow. She stopped her magic weaving and turned to him, "Thank you."

He turned to her with a deeper confused frown, "For what?"

"For talking with him. He told me what he thought was an issue and I talked to the water nymphs. They told me what you had said and how you explained it to the frustratingly stubborn Fey," she explained and put a hand over one of his, "So, thank you. You have been invaluable."

He huffed out a small laugh and looked at her hand over his, "Well, you're in a good mood. Most of those last words aren't in your vocabulary."

"You want me to take them back?" she asked with a tilt of her head and her hand left his.

"No, no," he held his hands up with a smile. He looked up to squint through the tree branches overhead toward the sky, still bright with the day's sun, "Let me soak them in for a little while longer before you take them away."

Maleficent turned from him, her wings settling behind her heavily. They need to be preened and she hadn't had the time yet to get to them. She heard him shift himself behind her and then there were familiar hands and fingers that combed her feathers. She turned her head to look over her shoulder and saw him focused on straightening her feathers where they were meant to be with a calm smile on his face. He had done it many times before when she had asked it of him. He was a bird. Who better to know how wings should work and look?

"Just how did you get them so messed?" he asked her and moved to the next row.

"They do it to themselves," she muttered. Her wing spread out without any thought of her own to make it easier for him to weave his fingers through. She turned back to her magic weaving, but made sure that he had an easy time in preening her stubborn feathers, "How were the Mushroom fairies? What is wrong with their harvest?"

"Some of the land seemed a bit drained of it's magic," Diaval reported and pulled at a loose feather before he continued, "The rest of their crop is growing perfectly well. Told them to section off the affected land and try a few of the treatments that Knotgrass had come up with for the Hedgehog fairies two weeks back."

"We will have to check on its progress in a few days," she nodded at the news, "You never know what something from that empty headed pixie will do."

He only hummed in affirmation as he continued. Both of them calmed in the innocent routine that they had done many a time before. Though he teased her about her words, he appreciated the thank you more than she could ever know- and through his progress on her wings she felt his silent 'you're welcome' with each pass of his careful touch. No further words needed between them.


The kingdom of Ulstead barely held any physical scars from the ill fated war that had almost destroyed the fragile link between humans and the Fair Folk. Maleficent and Diaval landed on the balcony of Aurora and Phillip's private chambers as they had done more and more when they visited the young king and queen. There was no need to come through the front gates and be announced like strangers from a far off land. They were family and Aurora and Phillip knew this well. Aurora looked up from some documents that had been left from one of the last meetings with the newly formed council as she heard the sound of her mother's wings. She smiled as she opened the windows and engulfed her mother in a hug.

"I hope that this is a social call," she raised her eyebrows in question as she stepped back.

"More of a slight escape," Diaval said as he shifted back to his human form, "A break for us to visit. How is my fledgling?"

"I am fine," she rolled her eyes and hugged Diaval as well. She waved at them both, "Come in, come in. Maybe you can give me a break from my newest workload."

Aurora walked to her desk, but only pushed herself to sit on top to face them instead of rounding the large desk to sit in the chair on the other side. Maleficent made herself comfortable in a chair with a very low back that didn't bother her wings- a chair that she has suspicions that her daughter had brought it in especially for their visits. Diaval threw himself over a dark lounge and made himself comfortable, while still able to see both of the ladies in the room.

They talked of Ulstead, the council, the trading that was progressing nicely with Perceforest and the Moors. They spoke of the small troubles that have crossed the minds of the creatures of the Moors and the people of Ulstead and how they would sooth the fears of both. Then they turned to talk of memories and future plans of visits and a planned outing with the four of them to relax once the Dark Fey finally claimed their roles in the united kingdoms of fairy and man.

Maleficent turned her head to peer out to the Moors from Aurora's window.

"Is there something else on your mind?" Aurora asked as she saw the hesitation in her mother's talk.

"How did you do it, Beastie?" Maleficent chuckled dryly and looked back at Aurora who looked a little confused. Maleficent shook her head and shrugged her shoulders a little, "It's just a little on the difficult side with the last of the Fey acclimating with the other creatures of the Moors. Combining two kingdoms into one... you made it look like less of a headache than what it is."

"As you well know, it was all a bit of a mess bringing the Moors and Perceforest together after I took over for... the prior king," Aurora frowned slightly.

"You did it with grace," Diaval complimented her from his lounge.

"At least you don't have an abhorrent adviser," Aurora scrunched her nose at the thought of Lord Ortolan and even Alain.

"I wouldn't go that far. There are a couple of voices that want to be heard as advisers or even council," Maleficent muttered.

"Borra trying to fit the part again?" Aurora gave a sympathetic face.

"Every chance he gets," Maleficent returned her expression.

"I keep telling you," Diaval spoke up and looked at both Aurora and Maleficent, "Either of you say the words and I will go for his eyes."

"Diaval!" Aurora chastised him, but amusement alight on her face.

"No, no, Aurora, I think he may have a point," Maleficent waved at her daughter and Diaval's face lit up. He loved the few times that he got to see Maleficent in a relaxed and even playful mood.

"Oh! We did have another piece of news," Diaval added and leaned forward, "Summer Solstice is coming again."

"I almost missed it!" Aurora put her hands to her mouth, "How could I forget?"

"That's what you have us for."

"Come to the Solstice celebrations. You and Phillip," Maleficent asked from her chair, "I really would think it would do the Moor Folk some good to see you again in a celebration instead of kingdom matters."

"I have missed the celebrations of the Moors," Aurora said in a dreamlike voice, "And it would do Phillip some good as well to see more of the happy bits of the Moors and the Fair Folk. Not to mention our new council."

"If you make sure your husband comes, I'll make sure that there are plenty of mice hearts," Diaval lifted his brows with a smart smile on his face.

Before Aurora could come to her husband's aide, he came into the room himself, "That was ONE time!"

"Phillip! Finally come to join the fun?" Diaval asked and shared a laugh and a smile with the young king.

"As I remember, the mouse heart was a catastrophic play on my part to impress the both of you," Phillip kissed his wife as he laid out more scrolls over the desk. He walked over to Maleficent and kissed her lightly on the cheek before he turned to point at Diaval, "Over five years ago now."

"And we will never forget it," Diaval put a hand over his chest where he heart was.

"We will leave the mouse parts for those who enjoy such delicacies," Maleficent threw an amused look to Diaval who nodded to let her know he would stop his teasing.

Diaval looked over at Aurora who was laughing easily at the teasing and playful taunting between her husband and himself. He really had missed her laugh being heard through the Moors. With her attention on a full three kingdoms, it was becoming more and more infrequent to see her in the Moor Palace. Then he looked at Maleficent and how she seemed to be almost glowing. She was happy when it was the three- or even four of them. She had grown closer and closer with Phillip in the past months. She had never truly hated the boy who grew into a man, but her ever cautious nature sometimes overrode any other feelings she may have had. After all, there was nothing more powerful or pure than a mother's love. Even when it turns to her protectiveness of her child.

Maleficent wondered and watched her daughter interact with her husband at the desk. They looked happy and very much in love still. With all the stress and problems they faced with merging kingdoms and people, they stood strong together. It was good to see. If it should ever change dramatically she was sure that Diaval would not be against avenging his daughter's honor.

Maleficent shook her head a little at the sudden thought. She always knew that Aurora was her daughter- even if it took her some time to realize that was the truth on the beginning. It was true even if it wasn't by blood. To think of Aurora also as someone else's child... it was more comforting than she thought it would be. She turned her head slightly to Diaval and watched him as he laughed with the young couple and even cackled at something that was said. It was there on his face. He loved Aurora just as much as she did. After all, he was the first to show her how a parent should be. The thought that Aurora was his daughter as well as hers really shouldn't have caused her to pause. Aurora, their sweet beastie, always saw Diaval as her father. As she should.

"The last council member finally put forth their plans of rebuilding," Phillip mentioned and pushed at the rolled parchment that he came into the room with.

"Council finally settled?"

"They are behaving for now, which helps immensely," Aurora blew some of her hair out from her eyes, "We have come to many an agreement. Thank you for letting us borrow Robin once again and apologize to Udo for taking him from the children more than we initially meant to."

"I'd much rather that you deal with Udo as he is more level headed than that of someone like Borra," Maleficent shrugged her shoulders, "Besides, it gives Diaval time to play with the little ones."

"Horrid little things," Diaval muttered with a well meaning smirk.

"It must be truly awful for you," Aurora smirked back at him.

"You can thank Udo yourself when you come to the Solstice," Maleficent smiled and looked at both Aurora and Phillip, "I am sure that Robin will be there too. He can never turn down a reason to celebrate."

"I suppose you are right," Aurora nodded.

"Any talk of heirs yet?" Diaval asked suddenly, which earned him a magical prick in his side from Maleficent at the blatant question, "What? Isn't that royals do quickly after marriage?"

"Eager to become a grandparent?" Aurora giggled.

"I... I wouldn't mind another little one to hold," he admitted, a little shaken by the title of grandparent.

"We have discussed it, but we are waiting for a little while longer," Aurora put her hand in Phillip's.

"We really would like things to settle first," Phillip added and turned his hand to capture her fingers with his.

"Then you are waiting forever?" Maleficent blinked at them as they stared blankly back at her. She shrugged and looked aloof, "Nothing ever quiets down enough. It never comes a time where everything settles."

"There will come a time that it will be enough," Phillip promised.