The two blonde women, one also hunched over, stared at the faerie in disbelief. The small male faerie let out a frustrated yell and the handsome dark haired man groaned, turned, and began to repeatedly hit his head on the trunk of a tree.

"Don't do that, Diaval, I don't appreciate my home being abused like that."

Diaval immediately stopped, small pieces of bark clinging to the front of his black hair. "Maleficent?!"

Maleficent smirked, standing upright. "It's me."

"Godmother!"

Bolting to her godmother, Aurora embraced her tightly. Then she stepped back and tried to glare at Maleficent. "Don't do that, you scared me!" she cried, then hugged her godmother again.

"I'm sorry, I simply couldn't resist," Maleficent laughed lightly, holding Aurora closer.

"Good gods, Maleficent," Diaval shook his head before also hugging Maleficent.

"I taught you well," Robin said, joining in the hug. Maleficent enjoyed the moment. It felt good to be back to normal. Looking back at the last few days - well, Maleficent couldn't believe all that had happened. It made her head hurt a little. And her stomach.

"Hi," said a voice in Maleficent's ear. Maleficent turned and looked at a grinning blonde woman, who was a part of the group hug.

"Katherine," Maleficent smiled. She moved her hand so she could embrace her long-time friend. "Oh my goodness, you look wonderful - I'm so glad you're here."

"Do I really look alright?" Katherine worried, inspecting the ends of her hair, which had grown a few shades darker. "I don't suppose you have a mirror?"

"Ask Diaval. He must have a few lying about."

"Oh yes, you're definitely back to normal," the raven muttered. Maleficent grinned, but then it faded, and she shook her head, stepping back from the group.

"I apologize, I should have never tried that spell," she said, rubbing her temples. "That was such an insane experience, and I'm sorry for all the trouble I involved you four in."

Aurora reached out and squeezed her hand. "It's alright, Godmother. We're all fine."

Hesitating, Maleficent told Katherine, "I'm so, so sorry about Lydia. I should have - "

"Just stop right there," Katherine said, holding up her hands. "You know it wasn't your fault."

Maleficent's nest was crowded that night, with two adults, one teenager, one raven, and one tiny faerie, but Maleficent didn't mind. She absent-mindedly stroked Aurora's hair as the Beastie slept. On Aurora's right, Katherine shifted.

"Spirits above, Maleficent, your nest has appeared to have shrunk," she mumbled..

"Oh, no, it's Robin. He's gained weight."

"Hypocrite," Robin sighed sleepily.

"Are you calling me overweight?" Maleficent faked an affronted tone.

"Course not, love, but you did just grow several years."

"Now you're calling me old. It's as if you don't even like me anymore."

"Stop trying to fluster me, I'm trying to sleep, and I can't do that coming up with witty retorts."

The others fell asleep, but Maleficent's sparkling eyes didn't shut for quite some time. Eventually, Diaval - who Maleficent hadn't realized was still awake - shifted into a human, crouching at Maleficent's head. "Is everything alright?"

Careful not to disturb Aurora, Maleficent sat up. "I'm only giving myself a headache, thinking over everything that's happened over the past few days."

"Is anything particularly causing you grief?"

"I can't believe that I didn't try harder to save my friendship with Lydia, when we were teenagers," sighed Maleficent. "I knew that my relationship with Stefan made her unhappy, yet I never discussed it with her. I was too afraid that we would end up in an argument, and hurt our friendship." Maleficent gave a small, strained laugh. "Eventually, I made the decision to confront her. But then Stefan kissed me, and the next day…. Lydia's mother died. Perhaps, desperate after Stefan very obviously expressed his interest in me, Lydia asked her mother for help on what to do, how to attract Stefan, and she wasn't satisfied with her answer, Lydia killed her mother."

Maleficent shuddered. Amaryllis had been a good faerie, and had almost been to Maleficent as Maleficent was to Aurora. Ever since she was was a teenager, Maleficent had feared her relationship with Stefan had influenced Amaryllis' death.

"It wasn't your fault, there was something wrong with Lydia mental health."

"Perhaps. But I should have extended myself to her. And I wish I could have prevented her death, for Katherine's sake." And Stefan's death, Maleficent added to herself. For Aurora's sake. However, Maleficent now felt an air of relief regarding Stefan's death. It was a little sick, but she was relieved, now that her memories weren't affected by anyone's magic, to realize that Lydia had tampered with Maleficent's memories to make her believe she had killed Stefan.

"I don't know what you could have done without risking the well-being of our family."

"We would have found something, given time."

"Maybe."

Changing the subject, Maleficent said, "Thank you, Diaval, for helping me when I was under the influence of the time spell. I don't know how I can repay you."

Diaval scoffed. "Maleficent, that's not how it works. We're family. You don't have to repay family for looking after you. That's what family is. You look out for one another, because you love them, not because you expect something in return."

"I cannot believe all the trouble I caused."

"It was fun."

"You thought that was fun?"

"You make a cute eleven-year-old, Maleficent."

"Don't call me cute," said Maleficent with a small glare. But she actually didn't mind. It was sweet of Diaval.

"How about adorable?"

"How about you sleep in a different tree tonight?"

Diaval laughed, and Maleficent, smiling, hushed him. "There's no need to wake Beastie."

"Of course. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

"There are a few things on my mind. I don't want to let go of my mistakes, and then make a similar mistake. But if I don't make peace with myself, then I'll make another mistake anyway."

"I've heard a saying 'forgive and forget.'"

"Diaval - "

"I'm not saying you should forget your mistakes! Just acknowledge they were mistakes, there's nothing you can do to change that, learn from them and make sure to not repeat them, and forgive yourself. You'll never accomplish anything good unless you move on with your life without a cloud of guilt hanging over you."

"That's easier said than done."

"You're strong."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment, it was a fact," said Diaval. Maleficent was touched. She stood up, stepped over to Diaval as he stood, and embraced him. He wrapped her arms around her, and they stood like that for a minute.

Maybe she could forgive herself. She would try.

….

Maleficent's wings beat less frequently as she slowed down and let Diaval take the lead. Grateful for the warm cloak she had been warned to wear, she watched the raven scout the mountaintop, cawing. Her eyes flickered to the snow beneath her. She could only see white - no, there was a spot of orange.

At the same moment, Diaval called out to her, and glided down toward the flower. Maleficent followed him, landing next to him as he transformed into a man.

"Hello? Guardian?" Diaval announced as Maleficent kneeled and inspected the flower at her feet. "It's Diaval."

"Diaval," a quiet voice said, and Maleficent stood up. A pretty young woman had materialized out of nowhere. She looked at Diaval with a quiet amazement. "I'm not sure whether to be surprised you're here or not."

"I did say I was going to come back," said Diaval.

"You must be the Guardian," Maleficent nodded. "I am Maleficent."

"Diaval's previous mistress," the Guardian said, approaching the pair. "It's nice to meet you. I see you're well after your accident."

"Yes, I am fully recovered."

Diaval gave a small snort. "This bloody faerie gave her family a great scare when she become adult again. She pretended that she had forgotten everything all over again. Robin really influenced you too much as a child."

"Please, it was hilarious," Maleficent smirked. "You're only jealous you weren't in a position to pull such a joke."

"You think you're so funny, don't you?"

"I know I am funny," countered Maleficent. Then she turned to the Guardian and said, with a small smile of gratitude, "Thank you, very much, for helping Diaval and me. What can I do to repay your kindness?"

"Please, you mustn't worry about repaying me. I was only doing my small part in making the world a better place. Kindness isn't something you have to repay, it's something you share," the Guardian said. She gave Maleficent a sort of wistful look, then asked, "What brings you both to my mountain?"

"We wanted to thank you for your help. Also, we want to take something back with us," Diaval explained, looking at the Guardian hopefully.

The Guardian smiled sadly. "That is very sweet of you. But… the world is still not ready for me."

"Why do you stay here?" Maleficent asked.

"The world is not ready for me."

"Could you be a little more descriptive?" said Diaval, frowning.

The Guardian sighed. "There isn't much else to say. The world doesn't need me. In fact, it sent me here because I made a grave mistake that could have been the death of many people. I don't know. I never got to find out."

"I'm sorry," Maleficent said softly. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Do faeries believe in gods, Maleficent? How about the birds, Diaval? Are there any legends either of you grew up listening to?"

"Birds don't really give any thought to superhuman beings," Diaval said.

"Faeries do share legends involving beings such as gods, but we never believed the stories real," Maleficent told the Guardian.

"My sisters and brothers and I are immortal, and our powers helped shape the world. We, the Guardians, inspired the tales of the Greek gods."

"What does a Guardian do?" Diaval asked, his dark eyes shining with curiosity. A snowflake drifted onto his shoulder, and another hit Maleficent's cheekbone..

"We represent a power, and our existence ensures the existence of our power." The Guardian's gaze fell upon the flower between the trio.

"Do you represent that flower, the Healing Azar? Do you represent nature, or health?"

"I don't represent the flower. If anything, it represents me. And I'm sure you have many questions for me, but that's not what you came here for. As you've noticed, it has begun to snow, and it could very quickly escalate into a nasty blizzard. I don't wish for either of you to come to harm."

"Well, we did want to see if you would return to the Moors with us," Diaval said, raising his eyebrows, but the Guardian gave a tiny shake of her head. Diaval sighed. "Alright. But since you don't want to - or can't, whichever - we would like to take another flower. We ended up having to use the flower you gave me to plant in the Moors for a different purpose than intended."

The Guardian nodded. "Of course you may have one." Maleficent and Diaval watched as she used her magic to pull a flower out of the earth, and she handed it to Diaval. "You should leave now."

"Do you still have the necklace I gave you?" Diaval asked.

The Guardian pulled something out of her skirt. Maleficent gave the skirt a closer look. There weren't any pockets.

"Yes."

Diaval held up a matching piece of jewelry. "I have the necklace that one is connected to, so if you do decide you want to leave this mountain, you can find me."

The Guardian nodded. Maleficent shivered a little as the wind picked up, throwing snowflakes between the feathers of her wings.

"Thank you, Diaval, Maleficent. Good-bye," the Guardian said. She gave them one more smile, then walked away. Though the snow wasn't thick enough to hide her, she seemed to disappear after a few seconds.

Maleficent blinked the snowflakes from her long lashes. "That was interesting."

"I wish I knew what her story is," said Diaval. He slipped the necklace back into his pocket.

"Do you like her?" Maleficent asked in a low tone, glancing around. She thought that perhaps the Guardian was still listening to them.

"Yes, she seems nice."

Maleficent pressed her lips together, trying not to roll her eyes. He was hopeless. "I mean, do you have a romantic interest in her?"

"What? No, of course not. She's nice, but I wouldn't want to court her," Diaval cocked his head, squinting at Maleficent through the snow. "She reminds me of you a little, when we first met."

"How so?" Maleficent raised an eyebrow.

"She's suffering from loss. There are people she misses, and it just seems like she could use a friend."

Smiling at her friend's thoughtfulness, Maleficent said, "Maybe she'll visit the Moors someday. She won't stay on this mountain forever, especially since you've offered her your friendship."

"I certainly hope we see her soon. But we better go home now." Diaval transformed into a raven and glanced around once more before flying off. Maleficent followed, smirking at his indignant caw as she sped past him. Together, they flew home.

...

Wow. This was the last chapter. I can hardly believe it.

Thanks so much to all my lovely reviewers, especially Niker, fandebones, and IOU1882. You guys reviewed the most and stuck with to the end. Thank you.

PLEASE INFORM ME IF THERE ARE ANY ISSUES I LEFT UNRESOLVED!

I'll be editing this book, and correcting a few minor things, but then I plan on posting two more stories. One of them - a collection of Maleval one-shots - I hope to publish by Valentine's day. The other - a one-shot featuring Maleficent and Aurora - I plan on writing up this week. If you want to keep an eye for them, I'd appreciate that.

A big thanks and hug to everyone who's reviewed, followed, favorited, and gave this book a chance!

Please review! Constructive criticism and random jokes welcomed!

Thanks for reading!

Kitty