"So I just….flap? Like this?"
Diaval chuckled to himself at Aurora, who was furiously flailing her wings up and down without much result. She gave up after a few more seconds of stubborn determination, sitting with an exasperated huff and straightening out the golden crown on her head.
In the few weeks since the discovery of Aurora's wings, and more importantly, since Maleficent fainting, the trio have been trying to adapt to this new turn of events with as much ease as they could. The rest of the Fair Folk were delighted, congratulating their queen on fully becoming a part of the moors with extravagant parties and celebrations that went well into the night.
Maleficent was still wary, however, afraid that this had all been her fault, and was determined to understand where all this had started. Fear that the humans would eventually grow suspicious of whether or not Aurora was really still sick as she had been telling them and demand her to return their queen grew within her every moment that passed without word from the human kingdom.
In the meantime, though, she wasn't going to deny how amusing it was to watch Diaval trying to coach Aurora on how to fly.
The young monarch had been determined for the past week to learn to fly, practicing all day and building up the strength in her flight muscles. Often, she worked herself to exhaustion and would fall asleep in Maleficent's arms as she flew them back to her oak tree.
Still, something in her stomach was uneasy about how eager Aurora was. At night, when the girl was sound asleep after a day of practicing, Maleficent was awake and hoping that her desire to fly was nothing but eagerness to use her wings.
Yet something in the back of her mind still blamed her for what had happened and suggested that perhaps learning to fly was something more, something her precious Aurora would use to get away from Maleficent for good.
She fretted over this idea from her current perch, watching as Aurora tried once more to take flight, holding her breath as the girl maintained her height for a few moments, and then wincing once more when she hit the ground with a thud, her wings slightly askew.
With one fluid motion, Maleficent slid from her tree and landed beside the two with a soft whir of feathers.
At the sound of her approach, Aurora sprang up to meet her, wrapping her up in a hug while the feathers of her wings brushed Maleficent's own before she went on to explain about her day of flying lessons with Diaval.
"I just can't seem to figure out how to stay up any longer than a few seconds," Aurora explained with a huff, frustration clear on her elfin face as her cheeks flushed. "My feathers just catch all the wrong angles."
"Perhaps you haven't the strength to be flying just yet," Maleficent suggested, hoping the girl would give in for the night. "Just as when you were born you hadn't yet the strength to walk. Flying is something you must ease into."
Aurora said nothing, only glared at the faery. Maleficent's wings shifted restlessly under her gaze before she realized how incredibly ridiculous it was that she was so unnerved by the young girl.
"All I'm saying is that maybe you're pushing this too soon," Maleficent began. "You're only just a fledgling now—"
"Do not lie to yourself, Godmother. You know well that I am no baby in a cradle and that I am more than strong enough," Aurora interrupted, narrowed golden eyes holding Maleficent's own in steady defiance. "Or at least do not try to deceive me; I can see the truth in your eyes." She paused once more, observing, then continued, "There's something else there as well."
Damn those keen senses of hers, Maleficent thought to herself as she forcibly tore her eyes away to stare at the ground.
But in a way, Maleficent knew Aurora was right. Since she had awoken from her illness, Aurora's senses were heightened to rival those of her own. And just as her own body empathized with the living essence of the moors which she drew her magic from, so too had Aurora been gaining an empathy for the moors and an even stronger one for the creatures living there, Maleficent included.
And even in her own physical strength, Aurora had grown. No longer were her wings small and useless, covered in nothing but down feathers of a creamy white and the spines of mature feathers just beginning to show.
Now, strong honey gold plumes shone brilliantly in the light. They tapered to delicate rounded tips of a deeper gold, and were accented with whites and creams everywhere. The shaft of each feather gleamed with a pearly radiance. And on the underside, gentle golds, creams, and whites blended together in a mosaic of feathers.
They had grown in power as well, the muscles at her back and shoulders almost fully formed. Her wings were no longer flimsy but rigid in their strength, substantial enough for her to be comfortable using for flight even if she didn't yet possess the confidence or skill. When she flapped them hard, the gust of wind from matched Maleficent's own, easily knocking Diaval to the ground.
Maleficent drew another breath before raising her eyes to meet Aurora's own again, ignoring the burning of her cheeks at such an unwavering stare from the girl before she continued once more.
"I just think maybe you should slow down. You might be pushing yourself too soon," she insisted. "Just give it a bit of time."
"But I don't have time!" Aurora exclaimed furiously, her feathers ruffling all around her. "I have to do it now! I'm running out of time!"
It was Maleficent this time who snapped.
"Why do you insist on learning now?" She hissed, fear of her response suddenly giving rise to anger. "Have you already numbered your hours here? Is your time here really running so short? Are you that eager to leave the moors? To leave me?"
Aurora's wings reacted before she herself did, retracting and curling around her protectively. Aurora followed soon after, her eyes widening and glistening with tears before her gaze fell to the ground in front of her. She bore no resemblance to the determined and confident woman she was moments before, shrinking in on herself like the innocent child she truly was before uttering something inaudibly.
"Speak up, child!" Maleficent demanded.
She looked up at Maleficent, who had seemed to grow in her fit of rage by a few inches and whose eyes were now flashing deep shades of green. But still Aurora remained silent, watery eyes begging for Maleficent to not ask her again.
"Diaval!" Maleficent called out to her companion, who had been a silent observer throughout the exchange.
He straightened up immediately. "Yes Mistress?"
"I'm relieving you of your duties. I'm taking over her training for the day," she informed him. "Leave us."
Aurora perked upslightly, confusion etched clear on her face, while Diaval himself hesitated.
He started to protest, speaking to her quietly like he would to a dangerous animal. "I don't think-"
She silenced him with a glare. "NOW."
Nursing a fake hurt pride, he looked over at Aurora, who was slowly expanding once again. "No one was getting anywhere with her anyways!" he teased, and was met with a half-smile that was enough to break anyone's heart.
"Check the borders, speak with the sentries," Maleficent ordered. "Report back later tonight, unless in the case of something urgent."
The two made brief eye contact, and Diaval understood what she could not say in the flash of yellow that swam into her eyes before it was drowned out once more by amber and green.
A nod of the head, a flurry of feathers, and he was off on his duties, leaving the two to themselves as they watched him leave in tense silence.
Maleficent turned to Aurora once more, agitated with worry and guilt, and ready to insist that the girl answer her.
"I said, I want to learn so that I can fly with you."
Oh.
Maleficent lost all bravado, wings drooping down on each side as guilt stole over her at the sight of Auror. She made as if to reach out and lay a gentle hand on her cheek but faltered, unsure of whether she had any right to comfort her.
But Aurora met her halfway and stepped closer to Maleficent, leaning into her touch like she had so many nights ago before things had fallen into chaos. The faery stiffened, trying to reign herself back from indulging in the moment but instead found herself pulling Aurora into a tight hug.
Aurora tucked her head snugly under Maleficent's chin and held her just as firmly back; Maleficent wished desperately that Aurora wouldn't hear her heart fluttering wildly in her chest as she did. Their wings both pulled in closely around them, gold and white feathers brushing against amber ones tenderly.
The two remained this way, hidden from the rest of the moors behind their encircling cloak of feathers, until Maleficent felt a wetness against her neck. She pulled back enough to look at Aurora's face, frowning when she saw the tears once more.
"Oh Beastie, why are you crying?" she asked, using her thumb to wipe away one of the tears while never once tearing her eyes away.
Aurora's eyes swam with a kaleidoscope of many colors, something Maleficent had never seen before. But before she could question it, the girl spoke, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"I would never leave you, Maleficent," she assured her. "I am far happier anywhere with you than I ever could be elsewhere."
Aurora gave in to the smile she was hiding, but it faded a moment later. "If I want to learn to fly, it's more so that I can always fly back to you, should I ever be taken away," she added, and her words hung tensely in the air between them.
Trying to ignore the growing apprehension, Maleficent linked her arm with Aurora's and slowly led her to the base of her oak tree.
"I suppose it's time I stop pretending like you're still just my little helpless Beastie and try to help you with flying," she sighed exaggeratedly.
"After all," she continued, flaring her wings out proudly from either side of her, "who could possibly be a better teacher than the Protector of the Moors?"
She grabbed Aurora around the waist and hoisted them up to the tallest sturdy branch of her tree, urging the smaller blonde to move her wings in sync with her own before they settled down comfortable on the branch hanging over the cliff's edge.
"So what are you going to teach me first?" Aurora asked excitedly. She removed her crown and tossed it into their nest below her, eager to prove how ready she was to learn. "Wing exercises? Or are we going to jump from branch to branch in the trees like is see the little birds do? Oh, maybe we could try practicing take-offs; I'm truly awful at those…"
"Oh no, none of that," Maleficent chuckled darkly, inching slightly closer to Aurora.
The faery could see Aurora's pulse quicken and delighted in the reaction, a dangerous feline with her cornered fledgling.
"Oh ok," Aurora replied nervously. She tried to search for anywhere to look other than at Maleficent, but she found her eyes drawn to the faery's eyes, and, even more so, her deep blood-red lips. "So what will we be doing?" she asked as she leaned closer.
Maleficent moved closer still, their foreheads almost touching, and laughed darkly once more, trying to convince herself that it was only in her mind that Aurora's eyes were darting between her own and her lips.
"Little Beastie, we're starting with learning how to fly."
Before Maleficent could act on what her mind was urging her to do, she nudged Aurora off the branch, down the enormous cliff-side.
In the same instant, Aurora felt her stomach drop as she leaned in even closer, expecting something as she closed her eyes, but instead of what she had expected she found that her stomach had dropped because she herself was falling.
Maleficent found herself frozen for half a second, her hand reaching up to touch her lips in disbelief at what almost happened.
She was going to kiss me…
She dove after Aurora down the cliffside, wings tucked close as she raced to meet her. And still, that one thought ran through her head over and over again, lifting her higher than her wings ever could.
She was going to kiss me.