By the time Diaval reached the Moors, it was nightfall. He went to the meadow, and swooped around, trying to find Maleficent and the sorceress. When it became obvious that Maleficent was missing, he actually fell out of the sky.
"Maleficent!" he screamed. He hadn't realized he had transformed. "Maleficent, where are you?!"
Diaval ran around the meadow, searching in the dim light from the dying sun for any signs of where the sorceress could have taken Maleficent. He paled when he found the site where Maleficent had been. It was heavily disturbed with grasses and flowers flattened. A few plants had actually shriveled up and died.
How could he have let this happen? Diaval should never have let Maleficent try the time spell, should never have allowed that strange child near Maleficent, should never have given the Guardian the copy of the sorceress' necklace. Maybe he should go back and beg the Guardian to give him the necklace back….
No. First, he would check the Moors. Someone must have seen something. Diaval shifted into a bird, grabbed the flowers again, and flew in the direction of the Rowan Tree.
Two Tree Warriors stood guard by the Rowan Tree. Had he been human, Diaval would have cried out in relief when he saw Maleficent in her nest. His happiness was short-lived, replaced by panic when he saw the faerie had aged several years, and judging by the bright golden aura that stood out in the dusk, was still at the mercy of the spell.
"There you are! Thank the gods," said Robin, rising from his spot by Maleficent's side. Diaval dropped the flowers and transformed into a man.
"Has she been like this all day?" Diaval asked, his voice trembling. He already knew the answer, of course, and it didn't make him feel any better when Robin confirmed that Maleficent's condition had been unchanged. He knelt next to Maleficent, wishing desperately he could take Maleficent's pain for himself, if it meant she would be alright.
"D-Diaval, you're b-back."
Diaval's head snapped up. The sorceress cringed when he locked his furious gaze on her.
"Why did you move her?" he said harshly. "I thought - "
"Diaval, they were attacked," Robin said gravely.
"What?" His heart dropped like a stone.
"Lydia attacked Katherine and Maleficent in the meadow. She tried to kill both of them, and would have succeeded had the Tree Warriors not arrived in time to chase her off," said Robin. Diaval gaped.
"Lydia? Katherine? Maleficent's friends when she was young? But you," he looked at the sorceress, Katherin, "you're not Maleficent's age."
It hit Diaval. "Wait. You made the time spell! You did this to Maleficent!"
"I didn't mean to!" squeaked Katherine, and she began to cry. "It was never meant for Maleficent, I didn't want to hurt her! I didn't want to hurt anyone! I made the spell for Lydia! She was insane, and I wanted to take away her memories and make her young again so we would have a-another ch-chance at being close again! So she wouldn't be so - so mean! I-I used the spell on myself to try it out, but I m-made a potion so I wouldn't f-forget everything! And I can't reverse the spell!"
Diaval was stunned into silence. Katherine had made the spell. And she could not reverse it.
"There, there," Robin said, flying over to her and rubbing her shaking shoulder with his small hand. "Diaval brought back the Healing Azar, we can help Maleficent now."
Katherine nodded, sniffling and gasping as she fought to regain control of herself. "O-of course. I-I'm sorry," she said. She stood up and fetched the flowers Diaval had brought. "Five flowers?"
"I was asked to bring back an extra and plant it in the Moors, but I'll explain that later," Diaval said stiffly.
Nodding, Katherine set the spare flower aside and said, "A-alright, then. I-I need water and a c-cauldron. I suppose I can maybe make the cauldron myself if someone will get me a r-rock."
The Tree Warriors nodded and set off. Balthazar, a close friend of Maleficent's, returned in a minute carrying a large rock. Katherine hopped out of the tree and stood in front of it. She concentrated, squeezing her eyes shut until a trickle of sweat dripped down her forehead. A moment later, the rock groaned, and began to shift into the shape of a bowl with high sides. It quickly became what Diaval assumed to be a cauldron.
Katherine sighed once she had finished the spell. "I'm sorry, but I need wood, for a fire," she said guiltily. Balthazar didn't look pleased.
"Use the fifth flower," Diaval suggested. "We can just plant it beneath the cauldron and set it on fire. It won't die once it burns out, right?"
"It should be fine, unless we take it out of the ground," said Katherine. "That's a good idea."
Robin brought Katherine the flower, and helped to plant it in the ground a little way from the Rowan Tree. Katherine pushed the cauldron over. She had to make the legs on the bottom a little longer so it would stand over the Healing Azar without crushing it. The other Tree Warrior - Birchalin - returned with the water, which was poured into the cauldron. Katherine muttered a spell, and the Healing Azar caught on fire.
It was a beautiful sight. The Healing Azar's petals fell open. They were long, their length exaggerated by the flames trailing off them. They swayed in the night breeze, and if one didn't look too closely, all they would see would be a bright, flickering fire. On closer inspection, they would notice the Healing Azar, its center glowing gold.
"Robin, bring me a leaf from the Rowan Tree. I'm sorry, but take it right off the branch," Katherine instructed. Robin obliged. "Thank you. Diaval, would you mind donating a feather?"
"Of course not," said Diaval. He turned into a raven, and pulled a black feather from his wing. It hurt for a moment, but it was worth it. He brought it to Katherine, then went back to Maleficent's side, once more a man.
"And I need a feather from Maleficent's wings, I'm afraid," Katherine said, looking down. Diaval frowned. He looked over Maleficent to see if she had any loose feathers he could take without hurting her too much more. A long, glossy brown feather on the inside of her wings was beginning to loosen, so Diaval gently coaxed that out of it's place. He handed it to Robin, and began to stroke Maleficent's wings, hoping to soothe her some.
"D-Diav…" Maleficent trailed off, gasping slightly. Her fists clenched and unclenched. "H-help. It - h-hurts."
"We're trying," Diaval murmured to her, smoothing her hair back. He noticed her dress, which had been much too large on her that morning, was now stretched tight. He suddenly worried that if Maleficent grew anymore, she wouldn't be able to breathe.
"Hurry!" he urged Katherine. She nodded.
Katherine used a sharp rock to cut off the stems of the Healing Azar. "I only need the actual flowers," she explained. She held the flowers above the water and said an incantation. The flowers levitated about her hand and caught on fire. She added, "Sanitas quippe Azar, converterent alica dano mei. Subsisto effectus carmine." The flowers dropped in the cauldron.
There was a hiss as the flaming flowers fell in the water. The fire wasn't immediately extinguished, as one would have guessed. The flames and petals spread out in the water, stretching toward one another, turning the liquid orange and gold. Katherine took the leaf and feathers and said, "Home, familiae, mox et stridentia, exhortatur. Finem Maleficent's afflictio."
Katherine released the items in her hands. The potion sparked, then gradually the orange faded. A gold liquid was left simmering in the cauldron.
"Bring me another rock," Katherine said, sounding relieved. "The potion is done."
Balthazar handed her a rock, which she used her magic to turn into a cup. She dipped it in the potion, then headed over to the tree.
She handed the cup to Diaval, then climbed in the tree. "Hold her, she'll squirm," said Katherine.
Diaval positioned Maleficent's head in his lap, feeling nervous. He tensed, then cried, "Wait!"
"What?"
"What if it doesn't work? What if it makes her worse?" Diaval said. "No offense, but I - "
"You don't fully trust me," Katherine finished. "But you have to. I might not be the most powerful sorceress, but I'm an excellent potion maker. And I'm on Maleficent's side, I'm not trying to harm her. I promise."
Diaval nodded, not entirely convinced that Katherine's potion could cure Maleficent. After all, Katherine wasn't even able to reverse the spell she had placed on herself. She was timid and nervous, except for when she was making the potion. She seemed to find strength, or at least, be able to push aside her own emotions when someone else needed her help.
Katherine opened Maleficent's mouth slightly, and gently began to tip the contents of the cup between her lips. At first, Maleficent didn't move. Then she began to writhe a bit in Diaval's lap, her wings giving feeble flaps of protest as she tried to spit the potion out. Katherine shut her mouth and covered it. She and Diaval both cringed in pity for Maleficent. When she was forced to swallow that mouthful, Katherine gave her another.
"Ro-bin!" Maleficent coughed around the potion. "Diaval!"
"Two more mouthfuls and it'll be over," said Katherine.
"Maleficent, calm down, it's alright, it's alright," Diaval said, trying to keep the faerie still as Katherine continued to force the potion into her mouth. "Halfway done, and then you'll be fine, I promise. Calm down."
One mouthful to go. Maleficent was yelling and flailing, her green eyes open but not registering anyone in front of her. "It's almost over lass, you can do it, just finish drinking the potion!" encouraged Robin. Katherine turned Maleficent's face toward her and put the cup to her lips. Maleficent fought, until the potion went down her throat, and she went limp. Her eyes fell shut.
"Is she alright?" Diaval asked in a hushed voice, taken aback by Maleficent's change in manner.
"I - I think so…."
"You think so?"
"Well, uh, we won't know until she wakes up…"
The golden aura that had been covering Maleficent started to dim. Diaval held his breath, searching Maleficent's face for any signs of pain or relief. He noted that she now looked like she was twelve, or perhaps even thirteen. Finally, the gold light faded away completely. Maleficent did not move.
Then, she took a deep breath and quietly asked, "Robin?"
...
Greetings, Malefifreaks. :) Hope you liked this chapter!
Have you guys seen the deleted scenes for Maleficent? They were great, except I wished we had more of, you know, MALEFICENT in the scenes. I need more of Angelina as Maleficent! So I can't wait to find out if the rumors of her playing Maleficent in Kingdom Heats 3 are true. I don't actually play that, but still. I do play Disney Infinity, and I'm excited for Maleficent's figure to be released to Disney Infinity 2.0.
Please review! Constructive criticism and randoms jokes welcome!
Thanks for reading!
Kitty