Maleficent and all its content belongs to Disney. References and other mentioned names, products, brands and all other licenses belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC's and storyline. This story is purely written for entertainment and hobby purposes. English is not my native language.
Thank you for giving this read a chance, and I hope you'll enjoy reading this.

Summary : When Stefan takes her wings, Maleficent vows her revenge on all things human. When she wanders alone and wounded she encounters another victim of his betrayal. The only problem : this victim is human and he decides to stick around. A human who is so tempting to take, to kill, to destroy… But to betray? Never. AU; eventual Maleficent/OC

Mainly follows Maleficent, but from third person perspective. I prefer to write in that.

A.N./: should the rating be moved up towards M? some of the things in this chapter are quite graphical and disturbing. I try not to let language go too far and leave most of the dark parts open for interpretation but I'd like your advice on this. Warning, a bit gore at the end and mentions of other foul things in the language.

Hominis Proditam.

The treants, the warriors of the Moors were as loyal as ever to her and seemed to inspire the same loyalty from all others present with their threatening presence.

The loyal raven who had been transformed back in his original form cawed and landed next to her arm. A lightning bolt shook everything as it illuminated the pale face of the new dark queen.

Chapter 4 : A Party of Murder and Mayhem.

It was a few weeks later on a foggy morning that Diaval came flying in to Maleficent in a very distressed state.

"Mistress! Mistress! There are humans on the border busy making their way in the Moors!"

That brought Maleficent out of any slumber, her mind snapping to a highly attentive – and temperamental state.

"How many are they, are they soldiers of the kingdom and what are their intentions?" she fired off towards her servant who needed a moment to think it over.

"Only one man, and no soldier I think. He looks average but is armed. And he has a monster with him!" the last part really distressed him.

"What kind of monster?"

"It's huge! It's even bigger than the one you chased away when you saved me mistress! It's incredibly hairy, and stinky, its mouth filled with long teeth, its eyes both stupid and hellish and its tongue is slobbering its way across everything! I've no doubt that anything his disgusting drool touches will wither and shrivel and die and-

"Diaval. I do believe that you're describing a dog." She said drily.

"A dog! All dogs are monsters! It's a simple fact of nature and life! Those stinky mangy mutts exist only to torment other poor creatures!"

"Diaval" Maleficent said annoyed but it went unnoticed as her servant continued in his rant.

"It ruffles my feathers just to think about the very fact that they exist at all! My black feathers would lose their shine simply from being in their accursed presence! Everything in their aura is cursed to dull and be drenched in their poisonous drool, their stinky breath and smelly odour pollute all surroundings and don't even get me started on their need to pee against every tree they encounter, or sh-

"Oh shut up, you blasted bird!" she snapped, her temper flaring up.

Diaval might have a fierce hatred against all canines, but Maleficent's glare made him gulp and shrink. He wasn't that stupid.

Meanwhile, the dark queen seemed to think things over. Suddenly, something came to her mind.

"What did the man look like?" she asked.

"Um, he seemed young, blond hair and carried a bow. Green and grey clothes mainly."

"And did his dog look more like a wolf than a simple dog? And don't you dare to start a rant again!" she broke him off when he opened his mouth.

"Yes, the disgusting hairy beast look like a wolf." He confirmed.

Maleficent made no further comment and simply took off towards the border. She had, shortly after taking her throne created an enormous wall of thick thorns and spikes. It should be near impenetrable for any human or even animal. The magic embedded should keep them off too.

But of course Evan, the most annoying and infuriating human being in the world had to try to make his way through it and cause her trouble. Was he actively trying to get murdered by her or something? Any sane human would have understood by now that if she could slaughter seventeen armed and trained humans in an incredibly weakened state she would not have any qualms about killing them in the height of her power. Except him of course. He wasn't stupid. He was crazy.

A bit later she found the person she was looking for. He was however not inside the Moors as she'd expected by now. He sat calmly against a tree, ruffling the fur on his Fergus' head who seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.

"Hello again, Maleficent" he greeted her as if it was the normal way of things. She didn't return the greeting.

"Why are you bothering me again, pesky human?"

He let out a laugh. "Wow! Straight to the point aren't you?"

"I have no time or value for idle chitchat. Now, why are you trying to invade the borders of my lands?" she snapped back.

"I wasn't. I merely needed to grab your attention. Do you really think that I would go and trap myself in a forest of spiky points and ends? You could impale me from hundreds of positions with a flick of your wrist. No thank you, I like my body the way it is currently."

"Then why did you feel the need to grab my attention, brat?" By the ancients, why did she have to drag everything out of him? Why couldn't he just say what he had to say short and simple without her needing to ask every blasted question again to steer the conversation? It was almost as if he did it on purpose to annoy her.

"Why, because I longed to see you again! I do so like annoying you." As if it was obvious.

"Yes, and you're doing a magnificent job at that, you loathsome brat." She hissed out though her teeth.

"There is another reason though" he brought out, the funny look on his face gone now. "There is a battalion of soldiers from the king coming this way. Soldiers that have had a party on our border in a Silvan village. A party that ended with them murdering most of the villagers and burning it down. They also have taken a group of fifteen to twenty people captive."

She cocked her head sideways. "And why should I bother to interfere with the humans their business? Why should I not leave them to their pitiful ways?"

"Supposedly the village was plotting against the kingdom by breaking their trading agreement, which is ridiculous. It's Silvan territory and thus not their business and those villagers were mainly farmers who have better things to do than plotting against a strange country or breaking trading contracts. They're going to camp two nights on the border of the Moors. I intend to free those people but I cannot do so on my own. You could do as you please to them to satisfy your urge to destroy some humans and I would use that opportunity to free my kin."

"So that king has attacked the village for no reason better than a lousy trade excuse?"

"That seems to be the word around, but I don't understand that part fully. It seems a way too blatant attack and why we are not particularly close to the kingdom in term of friendliness, there's way too much trade for both to suddenly interrupt them. My best guess would be semi-deserters or bandits wearing soldier garb. Most people in this kingdom are not particularly fond of my kin. Either that, or a very brutal lord in the court has ordered this." He reasoned.

'a decent reasoning. This isn't a move he would quickly commit. It is too open and blatant, he is too cowardly for that.' She mulled in her thoughts.
"Why are they prisoners? What purpose has been intended for them, and what have they done?"

"For what purpose, I don't know. But it can't be good. Especially since most of them are young girls or children. So ransom in the best of cases." He said. This time he didn't hide his slightly scared face. He preferred not to think about such a possible fate for them.

Maleficent scowled in disgust. "And then they dare to call me the evil one…" she muttered. "Still, it only proves the sick nature of your kind. I still see no reason to interfere. 'Tis not my problem."

Now Evan was starting to look a bit desperate. "But I need your help in this! Are you that uncaring that it doesn't matter that those brutes are going to assault and possibly rape those girls? And what afterwards? Selling them to the highest bidder? Keeping them in the dungeon as toys? Do you not care that with one flare of magic you could help them avoid such a fate? These are innocent girls we are speaking of, younger than I am! Children still!" he pleaded.

The queen faery seemed to hesitate but showed no outward emotion. Her face was unreadable. "I still don't see how that is my problem. It doesn't happen on my lands and to the folk under my protection. I bear no love for humans at all. I hate them. While I will destroy them should they be so foolish as to enter the Moors, I do not concern myself with what happens outside of the Moors."

With those words she turned around and walked back into the magical territory.

"Wait! What about the debt?" she heard a frantic voice call after her. She turned around with a blank face and a cold look in her eyes.

"What debt?" she asked lowly, as if warning him to not voice it further. He didn't heed it.

"The one you owe me! I saved your life. Help me in this, help me save their lives and I call that debt forfeit and fulfilled. Or at least, you have to save my life in return to get rid of the debt, no? If I die during this, you can never redeem it."

"Debt? Oh you measly worm, do you think I care about your imagined debt? I am under no obligation whatsoever to help you in this or to protect your life. What do you think I am, some fairy godmother? A guardian angel? Wake up boy. I acknowledge that I owe you because I haven't killed you yet, even if you do your utmost best to motivate me to it. And if you should die than at least I would no longer owe you or be annoyed by your childish shenanigans." She answered with a sneer.

Even stood there, dumbfounded. He didn't know what to say anymore. He had reckoned on at least a bit of her help, perhaps indirectly. But it was clear that she was as cold as the impression she had given him. It wasn't just an act. It was her true self. His hopes were quite brutally shattered. How could someone care so little? He didn't understand.

"And one more thing, brat. Should I come with you now, and should I save your life I have no reason anymore to show you mercy. And I would do what I have wanted to do ever since I heard you speak : I would destroy you. And I would slaughter the soldiers, because I hate those pathetic men. And the screams would probably annoy me so much that I would kill the other humans there too. In short, every human would die, including you. So you're better off on you own, really. Hopefully I won't see you again, brat."

And with that she left, uncaring that the seventeen years old boy was left to fend for his own for a hopeless task.

Evan watched her disappear again in the thick wall of cruel thorns and pikes. He was at a loss. He could act as an adult but he was still seventeen only. And his seventeen old self simply couldn't comprehend how someone was capable of not doing anything. She almost seemed to wish cruel fates upon others. How? How could you do that?

Oh, he understood what it was to hate someone. There was a fair share of people he didn't wish a happy fate too. But she clearly had never met these people, they had done her no wrong. How could you want innocents to suffer, be they human or any creature really?

The insults he had expected. Frankly, he was amazed at the amount of insults she could so easily invent for him. It was clearly in her nature that she didn't like him and that she was very proud. Him helping her didn't exactly help that. But not having a nice personality was just that. This judgement… this was bad. Like, really bad. Perhaps she was lazy? Or egoistical or selfcentered that she didn't want to help? No, that wasn't it. It was more like she hated everyone for being human. But that was ridiculous of course. You couldn't hate someone just for being human. Then you would only spend your life in hate misery.

But he was quite hopeless now. He frankly didn't know what to do. He had counted that she would be eager to get rid of the debt and everything would be fine afterwards. He couldn't do nothing. But on his own he couldn't do much. He wasn't strong enough. He was very good with a bow, yes. Always had been. Father had thought him that since he was a child. But he could barely fight with a sword. The soldiers would cut him down very quick and he'd have to run again.

He stared at the wall again. It was hopeless, wasn't it? It wasn't like those soldiers would throw themselves on those sharp ends and he wa-

He stopped his train of thoughts and smiled. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance of everything working out. He couldn't do this without the tall faery. She didn't want to. But he was not planning on giving the winged woman a choice in this. If she wasn't going to help him willingly then he would just have to find the right motivation. Now all he had to was find the right path and opening.

Oh, and not getting killed by swords or magic. That too.

Five hours later it was getting dark and the shadows grew as the sun began to disappear behind the hills. A squirrel family was quickly gathering the nest again and preparing for the night in their tree-hollow. When a loud ruckus made itself known, they quickly scurried together and fled back in the small safety of their home.

The ruckus was made by stomping boots, loud shouts and curses and the sound of chains and cries. A group of large men, at least twenty strong were clad heavily in armour and armed to the teeth. The other fifteen however were the very opposite. Chained or tied together, small and dressed in torn rags. Fifteen children, aged between ten and eighteen they were. Eleven girls, four boys. The boys were mainly the younger ones.

"Right e'ryone! We'r gonna camp 'ere fo' the night. Tie 'em whiners to a tree an' ge' a fire going, an' you two go an' take a look 'round! We don' wonna 'ave a gutter nearby when we'r sleeping. Ain't very far to the blast'd Moors, this place is." said the apparent leader in his strong accent. His men obeyed a bit grumbling and followed their orders, to satisfied they could rest and eat now.

An hour later the men sat roaring and laughing around a fire, drinking and eating. The children sat a bit quivering on the side, tied to some of the mighty trees. One of the men got up and threw mockingly something that was supposed to be soup in their faces.

"Eat up, pipsqueaks! Delicious, ain't it! Wouldn't want you to go hungry, would we!" he laughed and the rest roared crudely with him. No one was paying a lot of attention to their surroundings, and close to the fire and light, it made it a lot more difficult to see anything in the dark. That's why no one saw a figure moving carefully between the trees

Evan knew this would be very difficult to pull off. Right now, they were all tied up right in their sight. He wouldn't have a chance. So, they needed to be preoccupied. And he planned on throwing a bit of chaos around. Hopefully it would do the job and distract them enough to do it all. If all else failed he did have a backup plan but that one was even far more dangerous for all sides involved, so not exactly his first choice. With a little sigh he started to move.

Aline was scared. She had never been so scared as she was now. Only a few days ago, everything was as it should be. Dad and mom held open the tavern and she, being seventeen, helped and worked there. She knew she was considered pretty with her slender figure. The usual crowd complimented her often enough on it but she tried not to let such things go to her head. Most of the boys and men who gave them were scared of her big dad anyway.

But now, all was wrong, wasn't it? They were still tied painfully to these hard trees, they were hungry, thirsty and tired. Some were in pain too. The little ones were easiest off. They couldn't keep up easily and were exhausted but were not really hurt. Although that was mainly because some of the older like her were focused instead.

She shuddered by the thought of their rude comments and lusty stares. She was old enough to understand what some of these men were no doubt thinking of doing and hoped that they were instructed not to stoop to such levels at least. So far they hadn't gone beyond some foul touching and desperately prayed that they wouldn't go further.

Aline looked to the side again. Her little sister, Isabelle was whimpering in her drowsy state, too tired to stay aware but too frightened to really sleep. She had to stay alright, it was her duty as the older sister to protect her. She would have to stay strong for her. Ultimately she tried to follow the conversations of the men. It wasn't as if there was anything else to occupy her mind. Escaping was impossible. With some difficulty, she managed to understand it through their strong accents.

"So, did all o' you 'ear 'bout that new criminal the king 's been chasing?" asked one to the group.

"What criminal? It's not like there's only one of 'em" they responded with jeers.

"Aye, but this one 'as the king really unnerved, 'e does. A servant told me the king is 'bout to put bounty on that 'ead o' his. A bounty o' a thousand pieces o' gold mates. That's a rather large reward for 'just' a criminal, innit?" he continued smugly.

Now he had their complete attention. "A THOUSAND pieces of gold? By Jove, what did that blighter do?" one asked.

"Image what we could do with a thousand gold pieces ey…" it sounded elsewhere.

"I dunno what 'e 'as all done, but I know some things, I do." The speaker said carefully.

"Well, come one then, spit it out, tell us!"

"o'right. Apparently, 'e comes from Silva too. We dunno much, but it's said that 'e's sworn to kill the king and destroy the kingdom."

"Who issie then? Explain clearly." the captain came in. Even he couldn't hide the gleam in his eyes.

"'E 'as many names, 'e does. Demon, kingslayer, cursed one, the list goes on. Many say 'e's completely 'round the bend. Gone insane. Some say e' was always a criminal, and a ruddy brutal one. Until good king Stefan stopped that gang of 'is. And now 'e wants 'is bloody revenge."

"But others say e's insane due to a tragedy. Some say 'e's a man whose wife was murdered. On their wedding night, no less. And that 'is children were cursed and that 'e 'ad to slay them himself. Or that 'e was cursed too."

Now the men began to look somewhat disturbed. A bloody criminal was simple. An insane cursed man another thing entirely. But the speaker went on.

"Others again that 'e was an experiment for the perfect soldier. Raised without emotions. That 'e feels nothing when 'e kills, and that killing is all 'e knows. And now king Stefan tried to stop him from killing, so 'e turned 'is sights on 'im. Most seem convinced that it's all a dirty Silvanian plot, it is."

More murmurs arose with this new information. Accusation towards the Silvan people seemed to be the most popular. That didn't sit well with Aline. She was of Silvan birth and descent, and these men were clearly prejudiced against her country for some reason.

"Either way, 'is name is Agdar."

"I've 'eard of tha' buggah! Was the talk of the tav'rn, it was! Says 'e moves like shadows, killing where 'e goes and leaving no survivors… ever" another added.

"AWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" it suddenly sounded, like a harrowing cry through the darkness.

"Was that a wolf?"

"Bloody hell, ye never told us that there be wolves here govna'!"

"R'lax e'rybody! A couple o' wolves can't do us shit." The leader commanded his group and the tumult decreased, but after the discussion of the 'Agdar' and the presence of wolves no one felt very comfortable.

Suddenly some disgusting vomiting sounds were produced followed by affronted shouts. "Oy, who made this crap? It's even fouler than my mother's armpits! It's disgusting!"

"Watch what ye'r saying ya big lump!" the "cook" responded warningly. "Ye just don't have taste fo' the finer quisine."

"No, he's right, never eaten something so foul, I'm starting to feel sick by the taste alone!" another joined in. The first one was already vomiting by now.

With that an uproar began in the camp. Aline counted her lucky stars and hoped that the ruckus would keep them distracted for a long time and give them some reprieve. But then she saw something very strange. At first she thought it was a mere flickering of the play of the light and shadows, but the second time she was sure. Someone was sneaking around the edges of camp and causing the current chaos. After some hesitation, he clearly threw something straight into their big pot of… well, whatever that "food" was supposed to be. Whoever it was, she was hopeful that it was part of a plan of freeing them. But she wouldn't dare trying to catch his attention. If those bastards caught on he would be hurt as well, as would they. So she did the only thing she could.
She watched. And prayed.

Chaos was by now running rampant in the camp. For unexplainable reasons things were running rampant and soon all the men were fighting and shouting against the others.

"Wa didya do with my money, ey, ya big lump!"

"I didn't do anything you idiot! You must have misplaced it!"

"Oh, I misplaced it accidentally in ye pockets, did I? Sounds like bollocks to me, ye know!"

"Why does the soup taste so foul? Did you all want to poison us, Tommie?"

"I didn't do anything wrong with my soup! Someone of you lot must have dropped something foul innit you blighters!"

"Oh, so ye can't cook and now ye blame us ey? After our money were ye? Lads, I think 'e needs to be taught a lesson!"

"E'RYBODY CALM DOWN, YOU FILTHY SHITS!" the leader tried to desperately gain hand again. It was a lost cause and the ire of his men was now turned against him.

"Ye shounot be speakin' govna'! Ye keep denying us a go with them missusses over there!"

"Yea, there are plenty of young girls over there, and you don't let us have some little fun with them!"

"'Cause they'd be a hell of a lot less worth then! Use yer brain, ye maggot!"

"Ye say tha', but I ye yerself have already had a go, didntya? Yer just denying us 'cause yer higher in rang!"

The argument went on and on and on and began to get more and more violent. When the fire got unstable and burst bigger and a lot of their clothes and sleeping gear caught on fire, the fight got more heated than ever, and knives began to be pulled. Men burned by the fire were screaming and men sick by the food were wailing. The ruckus was so very loud, a hundred cats and dogs skinned alive was nothing in comparison. But Aline managed to make out a single harsh whisper. Especially because it was a whisper in Silvan language.

"Don't react to my voice, make no sound or sign that you are hearing me. Listen closely because the chances of getting you all out of here are small and we must move fast and careful. I've already cut most of the ropes from behind the trees and hung them loosely back so they appear intact. There's a small knife near your feet. Take it and cut the remaining two general ropes loose. Whisper what's going on to the others. Then, one by one we will have to slip away before the wrong crowd notices. Got it? Just nod if you got all that."

She nodded and grasped the knife with her feet after some feeble attempts. Cutting the ropes proved to be though, but manageable. She then quickly whispered to the others what was going on and slowly, one by one they began to shuffle away, slowly stepping backwards between the dark trees. Where to now? She didn't know the land here. Heavens, she had never been outside her village or some neighbouring ones, let alone another kingdom. She and the others now stood only a thirty, forty feet away from their captives but had no idea where to go to and clearly the others had no clue either.

"What do we do now? Where do we go to?" some whispered "Let's just get away from here, then we see further said an older girl who was trying to keep herself together. Just when they decided just to make a run for it another soft voice stopped them.

"Wait, I can help but please be quiet!" The only reason everyone did that was obviously because it was in their own language. The only form of trust they would get here. Aline looked at their "friend" now with the little light that was present. Blonde hair, tall and around her own age, she guessed. One of his cheeks had distinctive and ugly burn wounds on them. She winced at the sight of that. It had to be hard to be so young and already disfigured. Otherwise, he would have been quite handsome but no one would just ignore those scars.

At his side was a large dog or a wolf. She supposed that had been the howling earlier. He didn't look very threatening with his tongue happily out of his mouth. More importantly, he had two big loaded horses with him.

"Listen, you can get all out of here, but it'll be difficult. Put the youngest ones who are too tired on the two horses and get out of here as quiet and as fast as you can. Go straight in that direction," he pointed to their right, "and keep going like that, straight through the forest. It should not be too obstructive for you all. Keep going like that for a few hours and change the riders to those who need rest the most, as long as you keep moving. Use the moon as an orientation point, and the northern star too.
When you've done that you should come close to the border of the forest. Rest there till sunrise. Then, when the sun rises, go to the east until you see a giant border of thorns, almost a wall. That's the border of the Moors. Few humans go there. Follow that then and you should cross the Silvan border at the end of the day. Then it's up to you, but you should find a way home then.

The horses are from these dear men, and the others are loose so they can't chase after you quickly. Don't put up a torch for the first hour or it'll give away you position, and even then only when you're blind otherwise. There's a bit of dry food and two water sacks to last you a single day, but no more. I'll do my best to keep them busy and grant you some time. I'll.. I'll try to lead them away, towards this side of the Moors. You're taking a longer way around, but that is safer or you'll risk running into patrols or others. Oh, and don't attempt to cross the borders of the Moors." He finished hastily.

"Thank you, thank you so much" Aline gushed with a few tears. "What is your name? you can come and visit us later! I'm sure mom and dad would want to thank you too!"

A rue smile. "My name is Evan. And this is Fergus. But I'm not sure when o if I can ever come back to our homeland. I'm stuck here for a while."

Aline wanted to say more but her heart clenched when she heard a loud shout that turned her blood to ice.

"OY, THE PRISONERS ARE ESCAPING! THEY'VE CUT 'EMSELVES LOOSE, THE RATS!"

"They know you're gone, hurry now! Run! Run and don't look back, run as fast as you can and as I told you! I'll hold them busy." He hissed. She didn't need to be told twice. The youngest ones including her little Isabelle were already on the horses and the others started running as she joined in.

"Aline? I'm cold and tired." She heard her sister whimper. "Hush now Isabelle, we're getting out of here, hang on for now." She quickly whispered, trying to keep everyone running. She looked one last time behind to see that Evan had knocked an arrow and was aiming towards the camp. She tried to ignore it and the coming shouts, but couldn't help but wince when she heard blood curling scream, confirming that Evan's arrow had hit. She shook it off, hoped he would escape safely too and ran away, into the dark eerie night.

Maleficent was pacing. The little annoying brat on her mind. Why was he even on her mind? He was just a stupid boy, thinking he was already a man. An idealistic naïve fool. A filthy, traitorous human. She had particularly enjoyed that abashed look on his face. He had expected her to comply with his demands, that she would simply aid him like that. Saying "No" had been so satisfying. So why was there this lingering of doubt within her?

Oh, a vague part of her knew it was cruel what she had done. To let those little girls, even children to such a fate. She could easily have tricked those men away and blasted them to smithereens. It would have been fun actually. Perhaps that was it? That she had let go such a good opportunity of doing a little strike against that little king of theirs by blasting a battalion into bits? Or was it the fact that she knew those little humans would have a grave fate and that she did nothing to change that?

She kept mulling over it in her mental debate, her main thoughts being that children or not, they were still humans. And human affairs were not her business or concern. Her only responsibility was fully towards the Moors, and the kingdom had placed itself an enemy of her lands.

What confused her even more was why she was not enjoying that heartbroken look on Evan's face more. In fact, it didn't sit completely well with her and it put her for a mystery. He was annoying, naïve, arrogant and either very stupid or crazy. He was young and unexperienced and already was demanding things. Wasn't he? No, he wasn't really. He had not asked her help for his sake, bur for those others because he acknowledged that he himself could not do it on his own.

So that was it then perhaps. That he was still a young person, inexperienced by the cruelty of the world, much like she was at that age. And that he was trying to save others, to do a brave and right but stupid thing and that she cut him off ruthlessly. He was of course not going to give up so easily. He would try on his own and such a thing would most likely result in his death. Was that it? Had she sent him off to a way too early grave so she could have the meagre pleasure of insulting a boy who had saved her life and made a few jokes because he didn't know any better? When she thought about it that way, she didn't feel satisfied at all. It didn't feel bad per se, he was only human after all, but she knew something about it gnawed at her – and she didn't like it at all.

She was mused out of her inner turmoil by the shrill and hasty cawing of Diaval. He proved to be an excellent servant and information source. At least, on information that his birdbrain could comprehend. Politics were not his forte, to name a thing.

"Mistress, a large group of soldiers is trying to make their way in the Moors! They're crossing the barrier as we speak and hacking their way through a thinner point!"

Now that was disturbing. "How long 'till they break through?"

"Not long. They'll be in by the time we get there." Disturbing indeed.

"Well, then let's go and welcome them, shall we?" she said with a rising smile. The kind of sinister smile that showed all her white sharp teeth and would give people nightmares, that is. With that she marched upwards the act as the welcome committee.

Diaval gulped when he followed her. He had a vague idea what kind of welcome they would be getting. He just hoped he would have something to shield him from the blood splatters.

"Tom, we told ye already, 'e went to the right 'ere!"

"Inside more thorns? Oh use yer brain, ye overgrown maggot! 'E's obviously inside! And we're gon'a make 'im pay!"

"Well, well, what have we here?" a calm voice asked. Too calm.

Tom and the others looked aside. Right there suddenly stood a lady. A tall, beautiful, pale lady with some stick, long robes and-

"by jove, are those horns?"

"What are ye? What ye be doing 'round these parts, eh?" 'Tom' asked suspiciously. That wasn't just any lady. That was a scary lady. Not that he'd ever admit being scared by a lady.

"'Tis no concern of you. In fact, since these are my lands, I should be asking you those questions. Now, start explaining. Why are you intruding here?" It was a voice that couldn't help but sound commanding.

"Some foul Silvanian rat 'as let loose our slaves and stolen horses and shot us when we wanted 'em back and to teach 'em a lesson to make 'em squeal!" an overenthusiastic henchman shouted out.

The leader could only facepalm himself. Really, how stupid could they be…

"Is that so? But it still doesn't explain why you came on my land." Her voice now interested, carefully coated in malice.

"'E came in 'ere on these blasted swamps, we followed 'im in, 'cause we gonna kill 'im!"

"Oh dear, I'm afraid I can't allow that."

"Whadeyya mean, freak?"

"Because that person is reserved to be my kill, as he is on my lands. Also, humans have to pay a toll for entering my lands." She said with a predatory grin.

"A toll?" the leader asked suspiciously.

"Yes, a toll." She repeated happily as if he were a small child who said his first words.

"And waddis dis… toll? Wha do we got'a pay?"

"Oh, it's nothing complicated. You must entertain me." She exclaimed, showing even more of her brilliant smile. She had her entertainment right there, and playing with them was proving to be very entertaining indeed.

"How do we "entertain" you then?" they asked.

'really, you would think one had the brains to at least ask what it is I'm doing rather than following blindingly following a request of a complete stranger.' She thought. But she responded in the same nice tone "Oh, 'tis nothing much. I want you all to attack me."

"Attack you?" they repeated dumbly. This was a very strange lady. Most ladies they mugged wanted them not to attack them…

"Yes, attack me, you blithering sycophantic fools. Amuse me, give me a game!" she snapped a bit. Honestly, they were so dim-witted it was no longer funny. They didn't even attack her. And them attacking her first was the plan after all. Otherwise it would be far less amusing.

"Oh, I know a game! It's called Hide-'n-seek, it is, and you play it by-" "shut up, Tom, let's mug her!" the leader snapped him off before raising his mace and storming towards the dark faery.

"Finally, som'thing to smash!" he grunted.

Maleficent in her turn looked very unconcerned. She merely noted as the brute ran to her before being brutally crushed between two tree trunks that twisted and creaked around him. She counted out loud when he was screaming and very disturbing sounds came forth.

"Hmm, I counted seventeen broken bones, not including you spine. Is that correct?" she asked the man curiously who could only produce a pool of blood that streamed out of his mouth. He obviously was no longer with the living.

"Oh, well, than not." She continued with a disappointed pout. Then she cocked her head sideways and observed the remaining scared men, to terrified and rooted to the spot in fear to do anything but stare in horror.

"Well, I told you I required a game." She said with a cruel grin, baring her teeth once more. "And a game I shall have. 'T shall prove to be a most entertaining one." She went on, the promise of pain and malice, dripping from her voice. In her hands the men saw her gather what looked like magic and green fire. There was nothing calm about the green. The green seemed the demonic green of poison.
The green of hellish death.

High above them, a crow was trying to shut out the screams beneath him as his mistress was having her "fun". She could just as easily have killed them in a jiffy, but she needed some dramatics. She enjoyed toying with her prey like a cat with a mouse. Especially when that mouse still tried to escape, not realising it had been caught long ago.

Further away, a figure of a young blonde man with a scarred face and a running wolfhound hastily took their retreat, eager to get out of here.

More OC material! And Maleficent has definitely gone dark now. Dark things will be dark.

For the record. The region Evan is from is named Silva, the people are Silvans and the adjective is Silvan, as in "the Silvan border". However, in the kingdom, it is usually reffered to as "Silvanian", to the more complex old name. You could say Silva/Silvan are simplified forms used by the people who actually live there. To avoid confusion as to the different terms.

Thank you once again for reading, and please leave a review! I appreciate them greatly, each and every one of 'em.

Also guys, extra message here. Unless I can poop out another chapter real quick you'll have to wait quite a while for the next one. I'm still working crazy the coming week and then I'm off to Mexico (which is like, the other side of the world for me considering I live in Belgium) for four weeks, visiting my oldest friend and travelling around the country. Can't wait to climb the volcanoes and to see the ancient Aztec/Maya temples! Peru was awesome in the past, this time it's just me and friends I'll be gone till the end of July, I guess.

PS: Proud to be a Belgian here. I'm a bit footballcrazy (or soccer for the USA'ers) and currently entire Belgium goes collectively crazy because we've been placed for the last 16 in the World Cup when we didn't even qualify the past twelve years! I swear, it's madness here. But it's the good kind of madness. never seen so many flags and never seen my country so united! To feel the fever of the mad crowd at the winning goal in the last minutes is indescribable. It is truly a wonderful thing how one sport can unite so many people over the whole world. If only the FIFA started being decent, that'd be nice too.