Chapter 3

Diaval and Evanora walked through the trail's leading up to the mountain. It was quite the trek, but Evanora walked it with ease. She was used to walking so much, and though she was asleep in a cave a couple of hours ago, she didn't show it. The raven man wasn't as physically inclined to walk up something so steep. He was rather breathless as he walked, but he was determined to keep up. Who knows what lurked on this side of the Moors.

"What are you, half mountain goat?" Diaval asked out loud, feeling sweat dripping down his back.

Evanora just laughed at this. "You don't walk a lot, do you?"

"Not like this. I'm a raven half the time."

"Well, you should when you're in your human form. Exercise is good for the soul."

Diaval just sighed at this, to which he was earned with another laugh. He had spent years learning how to act more like a human, and he still had no clue why anyone would want to walk around on their two legs all the time. Being a raven was easier. He could just fly everywhere and not be bothered too much.

The girl walked alongside him and noticed the silence between them. She would glance over at Diaval and noticed him looking at the sky periodically and she got the feeling that he missed the skies. It made Evanora feel both sorry for him he has to be in his human form half the time, but she also felt envious over his ability to fly. Evanora always felt this with the other fairies and often wondered why she wasn't born with wings.

"Hey Diaval?"

Her voice broke him out of his thoughts, and he would look up at her. "Uh, yes? Sorry."

"I was wondering, when you transform into a human, are you fully formed like a human?" Evanora asked curiously, as she hadn't really ever seen a fairy turn an animal into a human before.

"Uh..." He knew that the question was relatively innocent, but it was also an awkward one. "I have the human parts."

It was a good thing for Evanora that her hair was so long, as it covered most of the blush on the tips of her ears. "Oh." She said and with that, they walked in silence. Continuing on for several miles more until they finally reached a flat plane on the mountain's edge. In the olden days, the Moors were one singular patch of land. But once the war between the light and dark fae started, the Moors got broken into two planes. The light fae lived along the mountains, where they would be closer to the sun. Thus, their half was known as the Upper Moors. Meanwhile, the dark fae and the others lived at the bottom of the mountains. Which became known as the Lower Moors.

"Come on Diaval, we're nearly there!" The echoes of Evanora's voice could be heard all around them, even through the trees. "Just wait until you see the plants that grow up here. The pasqueflowers, prickly pear's, and red hyssop's are especially beautiful." Evanora said enthusiastically, pushing through some tree branches. The girl was about to say more, but stopped as something caught her eye. These trees were newer, there were none she recognized. "This is odd.."

"What is?" Diaval asked as he walked behind her.

"These trees.. I don't recognize them.."

There was an obvious confusion in his voice. "How is that possible?"

Before she could respond, another thing caught her attention. Without a word, Evanora was running into the distance. Diaval called after her and she could hear his grunting as he tried to catch up. However, she didn't stop. Not until she came out of the blockage from the many tree branches and saw what was on the other side. When she did, her face contorted in ultimate despair. The land before her was barren, and there were no signs of life anywhere. Something happened, something terrible. It looked as if the land hadn't been lived on for years.

Heavy breaths could be heard behind her as Diaval caught up to her. "Evanora! You-" Whatever he was about to say, he didn't finish. As he saw the surrounding desolation.

"I… I don't understand.. they should be here.."

"Maybe they're on another part of the mountain." The words were hollow and even he knew it.

She almost considered it, but then she saw the stems in the dirt. Evanora bent down to get a closer inspection and saw something familiar. A drooping flower that only rose to cast its glow at night. The fae flowers of the dead. Heart quickening, quick gasps for air, the beginning of a sob escaped her lips, and she fell to the flower as a loud, anguished scream escaped her lips. Whatever happened in this part of the Moors, Evanora knew she was the only survivor.

Standing behind her, Diaval felt the wave of anguish radiating off of her. He felt horrible for her, for he had seen those flowers many times and knew what it meant. When she had quit screaming, Diaval took a step towards her and bent down to the ground next to her. Slowly raising his hand towards her, he would gently pull her to him in a comforting embrace. Letting Evanora shed her tears on him as he rocked her back and forth. This was all he could do for her to comfort her. Even though it wouldn't make the pain go away.

When she had shed her tears, the raven man felt the need to speak. "I know this is hard.. but you're not alone, Evanora."

Her voice was shaky and weak as she spoke. "How can I not be alone when my people are dead?"

"You can come with me to my side of the Moors. I'll talk to Maleficent about what happened. I'm sure shed let you stay. You won't have to worry about the feud there, plus you would be safe. And I'll help you find out who did this to your family."

"Why would you do this? You don't owe me any kindness.." Tears ran down her cheeks, it was difficult to make them stop. Her heart was broken, and she didn't know if it could ever be healed.

His hands were soft as he reached up to wipe the tears from her face. "Because nobody deserves to be alone. Plus, I'd feel terrible if something happened to you if I left you here." He says gently, trying to comfort her as best as he could. "Please come with me Evanora, please let me help you."

Many thoughts ran through Evanora's mind as she thought about everything. Her people were killed while she had been asleep in a cave. A cave that she somehow ended up in on the other side of the Moor's. Being the last of her people, made her feel so alone. Her mother was gone, her one source of comfort and guidance. Thoughts of the last time she saw her mother flooded through her mind and it made her feel so guilty. If only she didn't say those words, if only she told her mother how much she loved her. But she couldn't, and being alone meant she had nowhere to go. But here was Diaval offering her a place to call home. A place filled with the fae that her people were against for as long as she could remember. However, they seemed to be kind and Diaval was the kindest man - or raven that she knew. He made her feel welcome and didn't treat her as an outsider. He seemed to show genuine care towards her and Evanora knew she needed someone to care for her. All she could do, was give a small nod to tell him she would go with him. It didn't take long before he was walking with her back to where they came from, with an arm draped around her securely in a way the girl hadn't known before. And despite the pain she was feeling, she couldn't help but lean into him.

Author's Note: Hello everyone! It's been a while, I know, but I have finally got this chapter done! I hope it was worth the wait and I hope you will leave a review to tell me what you think! Love you guys!