A/N: Here's chapter 2! Time to get this lil' story of mine out of my head and onto the screen! R&R and enjoy!

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Maleficent studied her for a while, green eyes roving over her face. Belladonna watched her back, just as patiently.

"What are you doing here, Belladonna?" The older faery finally asked. The other's wings ruffled a bit before she shrugged.

"Thought I would go out and see what the world had to offer me." She answered, brushing some bangs away from her eyes. The guardian sighed, shaking her head with an unamused smirk before looking back down at her friend.

"How poetic," she snorted. "Now tell me the real reason why you are here."

Belladonna's nose crinkled annoyance. "What more do you want from me, woman?" she sneered, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "I wanted to leave Spirit Echo! So I did!"

"Is that where you live?" Aurora asked, stepping forward and cutting off the impending argument between the two. The younger faery visibly deflated, looking away from the young Queen.

"Yes," she muttered, cross her arms over her chest and giving a sideways glare at her the other faery. "Maleficent and I lived there with our families when we were younglings."

"And only one of us grew to become a mature adult, obviously." Maleficent teased, earning a growl and an angry flutter of wings. She then became serious once more. "Though our history has nothing to do with why you are here today," she pointed out.

Belladonna shifted nervously, looking down and kicking a few pebbles that lay undertow.

"I had a falling out with Elder Nuva, alright?" she finally conceded, looking away from them with a deep frown on her face. Maleficent stared at her in shock before understanding relaxed her features as she continued to stare down at the sulking faery.

The others looked confused, looking to each other to ensure that they were just as lost in this conversation. Maleficent looked up, feeling the awkward tenseness in the air. The silence was irritating, especially when not even the sound of constant chattering pixies were to be heard. She sighed, gazing back at the confused and expectant eyes of her loved ones.

"Elder Nuva is the umm…" she hesitated, rolling her hand her hand around as though the gesture would help her look for the word faster. "Leader of sorts."

Diaval looked confused, eyes wandering back to the young female, who was throwing herself into a quick depression as her back was turn to them. He watched her quietly before he asked, "What do you mean of sorts?"

"Back at Spirit Echo, there is council of elders leading over the kingdom," she answered, pushing past them and walking toward the upset faery; placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and squeezing in comfort.

"They, along with the Seekers, take watch over the land and all the inhabitants within it."

"And who are the Seekers?" Knotgrass piped up, having suffered from silence in far too long in her opinion.

"They are a group of hand-picked, specially trained warriors to act as guardians to the Elders and their people." Maleficent said, turning the other around gently and grasping her chin. She tilted her head up, looking down into anxious, metallic eyes. Said eyes looked up pitifully at her, such a swarm of emotions burning through them that Maleficent had a hard time sorting them out.

After a while of staring at each other in another awkward silence, Belladonna growled, pushing Maleficent away and walking past her to stop in front of the stream. The sparkling water offered her the perfect reflection of her grimacing face. She then looked back to her friend who was watching her with expectant patience.

Belladonna broke the silence with a heavy sigh, straightening up and running her gaze over the group. Stern, temperamental eyes stopped their travel as they got to Aurora. The young woman felt as if she was pinned to her place with bounds of thick heavy ropes as a heavy cloud enclosed her. She felt as she was drowning in the gaze. It was definitely the gaze of a predator, just as graceful as her Godmother's but with the promise of something. And she was exactly sure if that promise would be one that was well received.

"I'm going through the trials."

Aurora startled, blue eyes shuttering in confusion as she was abruptly pulled out of the trance she just realized she was in. She looked up to see Belladonna was no longer staring at her, but facing Maleficent. The others were too enthralled with the conversation that they were paying no mind to her. She blinked in surprise as she noticed she seemed to be the only one fazed by the exchange between herself and Belladonna.

'Was it all just my imagination playing tricks on me?' she thought, replaying the moment over and over in her head.

Maleficent looked down at the other, her eyes wide and lips parted in shock. She shook it off quickly, however, to fix the younger with motherly concerned anger. "What?"

Belladonna rolled her eyes. "I said: I'm going through the trials." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Thistletwit bit her lip, floating toward them and raising her hand up nervously. "Umm…-"

The young fairy threw back her head and groaned in exasperation. "By all that is powerful…The trials are the tests you must take in order to become a Seeker!" she snapped impatiently, sticking out four fingers in the other creature's face. "There are four of them! Valor, Endurance, Power and Redemption!" she growled, pointing at each finger.

Thistletwit winced, nodding rapidly and moving back to safety in between her sisters.

"Oh! Oh, yes,yes..of course…" she muttered nervously, shaking slightly and clinging to Knottgrass and Flittle who clung back in comfort. Belladonna snorted and looked away, feeling a little bad for hurting the pixie's feelings. Just a little.

Maleficent stepped back directly in her line of sight, clenching her staff harshly. "And how many tests have you completed thus far?"

The other brought a clawed hand to brush through her russet, black and gold-kissed hair. "I only have one left." She sighed heavily, dropping her hand back to her side as her shoulders sagged. The iron cage was starting to become very appealing at this point.

The guardian frowned. The trials went by order, pushing the warrior to their uttermost limits and then some. It was an assurance to see their worth as elite guardians in the eyes of those they protect. But the last trial was different. It sounded honorable enough, but the tasks assigned couldn't be farther from it. This time, you would have to prove your worth not to your people, but to the Elders themselves. They expected nothing less than complete loyalty from those they chose, no words or actions would change their minds of this. You do as you are told, when you are told, and no questions are to be asked. They aren't needed. They are your leaders, and you give yourself to them completely; including complete, undeniable trust.

"You are going through Redemption…" Maleficent murmured softly, feeling her wings droop slightly as her friend nodded, her own frown on her face. The emerald-eyed faery shook her head in disbelief. "Let me guess," she started, looking at the other sadly. "This trial is concerning your father…is it not?"

Belladonna bristled, wings twitching and fangs baring. That was all the confirmation Maleficent needed. She stepped toward her once more, attempting to comfort and calm her only to be swatted away…again.

"I do not need your pity!" the younger snapped. "Or your blessings!"

She turned away, stomping a few feet ahead. Her wings spread wide, ready for flight. She paused, looking back toward Maleficent sternly. "The only thing I need…Is to get this over with."

And with that, she was gone with a gust of wind.

The others looked at each other, a mix of nervous sadness. Aurora stepped forward, wrapping her arms around one of her guardian's.

"Will…Will she be okay, Godmother?" Sleeping Beauty asked. Maleficent tilted her head to her, looking down with a small, sad smile. She patted one of her hands gently.

"She will be," she assured, looking back up in the sky. "I will make certain of that. But for now, we should allow her some time to breathe." She turned, leading her goddaughter and the pixies away.

Diaval hesitated for a moment, feeling a plague of emotions. He was hardly related to any of this, and yet…he felt a strange, powerful compulsion to do something. What? He wasn't so sure, but he had to do it.

Noticing a certain raven-man wasn't following, the large-winged faery turned.

"Diaval," she began, noting as he continued to stare strangely up at the sky. "The little terror will be fine…"

The man turned, nodding to his Mistress but still looking unconvinced. He gave one last look at the sky before following his friends down the slope of grass.

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A large burst of hot, red energy engulfed a bush, turning it into nothing but ash in a matter of seconds. Another blast followed it second later, this time slicing through a thick, old tree trunk. The large shield of nature rocked back and forth slightly in the wind before finally topping over with the sounds of snapping vines, cracking wood and, finally, a loud 'thud.'

Belladonna stood behind it, panting in the picture of anger as her hands were enveloped in the same red, hot energy.

"There are going to be quite a few that are not going to be happy with you destroying their homes."

The female whipped around, ready for battle with…the grinning face of Diaval. She blanched, staring at him unamusedly before growling.

"What could you possibly want, crow." She sneered, straightening herself from her crouch and brushing off some remnants of wood from her black sleeves. She was surprised when she heard a scoff from him, turning to glance at him.

"I am a raven, not a crow." He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It is the same thing!" she rolled her eyes, mimicking his arm crossing.

The man sighed, throwing his hands in the air. "No wonder you and Maleficent are friends! She believes that dogs and wolves are the same as well as crows and ravens!"

Belladonna stared at him with an annoyed look. "Ravens are a type of crow and dogs originated from wolves." She stated simply. Diaval shook his head, waving her off.

"I'm still a raven, end of story."

The female groaned, stalking away. The raven followed. She spun around, catching him off guard as she came face to face with him.

"What, in the name of all that is holy, do you want?!" she growled through clenched teeth and balled fists. Diaval studied her face quietly before his normal grin returned to his face.

"I thought I would brighten your day with my presence." He said smoothly, leaning over her with an even bigger grin. Belladonna's eyes shuttered momentarily in embarrassment and surprise before narrowing. She pushed him away and stomped in the other direction.

"I would rather jump in a blacksmith's cauldron of molten iron." She hissed. She heard a chuckle, pausing to turn around to yell at him only to have him calmly walk passed her. He turned once he got a few feet ahead, smiling.

"Walk with me?" he asked sweetly, bowing and offering his hand as he did when they first met. She stared at it, this time in surprise before swatting it away and walking past him.

"I was walking that way anyway." She said haughtily, nose in the air. He watched her walk away quietly, chuckling and shaking his head as he followed.

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Diaval watched in silence as the young, female faery climbed a large peach tree. Her wings were still injured from her capture and her upset-fueled fly off just made the process of them healing all the more slower. Not to mention they were achingly irritating her if her grumbles and winces were anything to go by.

"Crow!"

The black-cladded shape shifter looked up just in time to catch a round object heading straight for his face. He gave the grinning faery an annoyed look before looking at his hand. His eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the plump, juicy peach in his hand. He then looked back up at the female.

Belladonna's wings twitched as those eyes stared up at her with something akin to awe. She snorted, ripping her gaze away from his.

"Don't look at me like that." She snapped. "It fell from the same branch I was pulling at to get mine…No point in letting it go to waste." She explained, promptly taking a chunk from her prize. Diaval grinned from behind his own peach as he began eating it.

His mind then began traveling back to Maleficent as he sat down with his back against another tree. He drummed his fingers on his thigh nervously before looking back up at his companion. He startled when he saw that Belladonna was already staring at him. She flinched at having been caught, eyes roving around the rest of the forest in an attempt to play it off. He continued to watch her, not sure how to feel about it before he returned to his previous thoughts.

"Maleficent really cares about you, you know…" he murmured, studying her face. Her wings wilted slightly as she frowned, slumping back against the tree trunk.

"I'm…aware of that." She answered back awkwardly.

The raven paused, looking down at his half eaten peach. "How did you two become friends, anyway?"

He sat straighter in surprise as the young female burst out into laughter. The sound was quite melodic and pleasant, considering her snarky attitude.

Belladonna shook her head, still chuckling as her silver stars for eyes twinkled and became distant in memory. "We were just little ones at the time. I was chasing this little salamander I found near a river. I followed it all the way down the bank. I was so distracted with its pretty colors that I didn't notice anyone else around me and before I knew it…I bumped someone into the water."

She burst out laughing again and it was so contagious that Diaval felt himself chuckle. "Maleficent was so angry that she ended up chasing me around the river!"

She grinned throwing her bitten peach from one hand to the other. "Well, until I slipped on one of the river stone paths that I used to try to get away from her." She shook her head in humor. "Me playing near the river was a mother's worst nightmare," she looked down at Diaval with a lazy grin. "I didn't know how to swim."

Russet hair gently caressed her face as she leaned her head back against the trunk, looking up at the fluffy, white clouds.

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A small bundle was shivering under the light brown shawl, quiet sniffs and growls emanating from it. The other watched her quietly, green eyes crinkling from the sides in annoyance and concern.

"That is what you get for pushing me in the river in the first place." The brown-haired, child fairy muttered, sitting beside the other girl. Tiny, silver eyes glared back up at her.

"It was an accident!" she snapped, breaking out into a sneeze and pulling the shawl closer to her body. She squeaked as she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and move her into a warm body; small, yet larger than her, wings shielded her from the chilly wind. She looked up in shock as the other looked back down at her with a giggle.

"You're forgiven," she teased, giggling gain as the other just grumbled. "My name is Maleficent, by the way." She said with a smile.

The other looked up, hesitating before smiling back. "I'm Belladonna."

Maleficent smiled widely, "I think we are going to be best friends."

Belladonna stared back at her in shock. "Really?" she squeaked, eyes puppy-dogging into hope.

Maleficent laughed, pulling her new friend to her feet. "Definitely."

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Belladonna smiled softly, shaking her head. "It sounds so ridiculous! How can you know someone is going to be your best friend just by looking at them?" she paused, wings fluttering as she looked at her lap. "But she was…she was my best friend…we were always there for each other…"

She trailed off, Diaval tensing when he watched the smile on her face slowly melt off her face and mold back into a frown. She growled, throwing the remains of her peach to the ground, startling some animals that were roaming the forest floor.

"We weren't even together that long…before she left," she continued after a seemingly never-ending silence. "Her parents thought it would be nice to 'travel the world' and what not," she sneered, waving her hand as though to smack away the memories. "Things just seemed to go down-hill from there…"

"With your father?" Diaval piped up before he was able to stop himself. And he knew he should have stopped himself as that predatory look returned to the once beautifully smiling face with a vengeance.

He hesitated, standing up quickly as she jumped down from her perch and growled at him. He looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry," he practically whispered. "I did not mean to bring up bad memories."

The sincerity in the voice made her deflate almost instantly, stepping back awkwardly. The raven took that as a good sign, stepping forward and opening his mouth to speak. She cut him off.

"I do not wish to talk about it."

Black hair bobbed as he nodded slowly. He then looked at her and eyes roved over her features. He then placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, wincing as she flinched away from him for a moment before calming.

"Thank you." He murmured kindly.

Her head shot up, eyes wide. "For what?"

He grinned. "For brightening my day with your presence!" he chuckled, stomach flipping as the female giggled. He then smiled softly as she looked back up at him. "And for opening up to me."

Belladonna shrugged, unwillingly feeling her face get hot and praying to everything that it didn't show on her face. She then smirked up at him, eyes twinkling with mirth. "And thank you for gracing me with your person," she teased, punching him gently on the shoulder. "You are a good listener…for a crow." She added, laughing as the shape shifter sighed in exasperation.

"I'm a raven!" he whined, watching her as she walked past him toward the Moors. She looked back at him with a scoff. He cut her off. "I'm better looking than a measly crow!" he said, running up to her.

They walked beside each other in calm silence.

"It's the same thing." Belladonna broke it, grinning wildly and running deeper in the forest, as Diaval stomped in place in frustration before chuckling and running on after her.

Neither seemed to notice the deep black, golden-slitted eyes connected to a shadowed figure that were glowing in the trees above them, watching their every move.