We Will Take Care of Each Other

Wings

Neither the kingdom of humans nor the kingdom of fairies had ever seen quite so intense a battle before. Neither side refused to budge an inch. It seemed like the battle would carry on until only Maleficent or Stefan remained. At least until Stefan finally revealed what it was that had been strapped to his back this entire time. It was not a shield, as Maleficent had first thought. It was-

"My wings!" the pain in her voice had to be heard to be believed. Who would've ever thought a creature could sound so delighted, hopeful, agonized, broken and outraged all with two short words? And yet Maleficent had done it. Eyes filled with tears as hands reached out. Stefan's smile was a terrifying sight as he touched the wings with his iron gloves, burning them. Even though they were not attached to Maleficent, she could almost feel that familiar torture and she gave a howl of pain. Stefan laughed.

But the battle wasn't just happening outside the Moors. There was a smaller one happening within.

"Diaval! Let go!" Aurora thundered, pounding against the dragon's giant, scaly chest. She received a headshake in return. She had been screaming, crying, fighting, arguing and attacking him for the past hour straight, but he remained unmoved. He had to protect her, at all costs. And he would.

"You have to let me go to her! To Maleficent! You have to let me help her!" Aurora continued to sob.

And just what do you think you could do to stop this war? Diaval asked her silently, his dark eyes seeming to pierce her very soul with sadness. Were it as simple as letting Stefan see that Aurora had truly chosen Maleficent over him, Diaval would've personally escorted her to him, but they all knew Stefan would never accept defeat because he was literally no longer able to understand any concepts that went against his own.

Even if Aurora were to verbally tell him, and then write it down and sign it, that she had chosen Maleficent over him, Stefan's brain would only rewrite the story to convince himself that Aurora was being forced to say this because of Maleficent's magic. And even if Aurora were to hold this stance after he would, hypothetically, kill Maleficent, he would still figure out a way to deny the truth and insist that Aurora secretly wanted to go home and be his child. She was just addled by the Moors, that was all!

So no, going to Stefan was not an option. He literally was no longer able to see reason. Besides, he seemed like the kind of guy to lash out and kill anyone who angered him enough, even his own daughter, and Diaval was absolutely NOT going to risk Aurora's life for anything. Maleficent wasn't the only one who loved Aurora like a daughter. Diaval felt the same and he would've sooner had his feathers plucked out one by one before he let any harm befall the young human. You couldn't bargain with guys like Stefan. Letting Aurora near him would only end in blood.

But after enough arguing, Diaval suddenly felt that magical flow decrease. He could still control his shape, but something felt... different.

"Something's wrong, isn't it, Diaval?" Aurora gasped softly, ceasing her struggles. Whether he knew it or not, Diaval had accidentally made a face when he felt Maleficent's power within him waning. Aurora saw that look didn't need any explanation to understand. Her own blood ran cold. Even when Diaval tried to deny it, shaking his head again, Aurora refused to let it go this time.

"No! Something's wrong! I can see it! I can feel it! We have to go! Now! We have to help Maleficent!" and as she continued to beg, Diaval felt his resolve crumbling. He knew Maleficent would be beyond furious, but he loved Maleficent too and his worry for her was no less than his worry for Aurora. In his perfect world, Aurora would stay behind while he went to go save Maleficent, but he knew full well Aurora would never stay back. Not while her friends and family were in danger. So finally, Diaval caved. He placed Aurora on his back and took off...

The pair arrived just in time to see Maleficent on her knees in front of Stefan, but not because she was at his mercy. Instead, he was plucking the feathers off of her wings and all she could do was watch in tormented horror. Aurora and Diaval both made the most horrified and disgusted faces that the world had ever seen. There was something so wrong, so cruel, so vile about watching Stefan torture Maleficent in such a despicable way. Both Aurora and Diaval saw red.

"STOP!" Aurora screamed. Her voice was not very loud, but it was so distinctive that it caught both Maleficent and Stefan's ears.

"Aurora?!"

"Beastie?" and there was another difference, the name they chose to address Aurora with, and the tone with which it was spoken. While Stefan sounded outraged and betrayed, Maleficent only sounded broken and ashamed. Aurora wanted nothing more than to run to her and scoop her up in her arms and never let her go again, but that could not happen. Not yet at least. They had someone else to contend with first...

Even though Aurora had said nothing, it was like Diaval could read her thoughts. He stomped over to Stefan and growled, smoke curling up from his throat. He managed to ignore all the weapons thrown at him by other nearby guards.

"Aurora!" Stefan thundered. "Come home at once!"

"I am!" Aurora snarled back at him. "I am home and I am never going to let you take me away again!"

"You have been bewitched by this sorceress!" Stefan hissed at her, looking down at Maleficent contemptuously.

"No. She set me free. She saved me," Aurora spoke with a deadly calm so uncharacteristic to her usually sunny disposition. "Can you say the same?" then she gestured all around them to the chaos of the battle Stefan had started. "No matter what you say, Maleficent is my mother. You had your chance to be my father, but you were so consumed by vengeance that you shut me out when I needed you the most. You proved where your loyalties lay the moment you valued your revenge over my life! You are not my father and you NEVER WILL BE!"

Then right as Aurora said this, Diaval finally unleashed the inferno he had been holding back up to that point. By sheer dumb luck, Stefan managed to dodge the inferno by a hair. Rage matching the heat of Diaval's fire, he drew his sword again and screamed.

"SLAY THE DRAGON!" and even though his daughter was still sitting on the dragon's head, he lunged forward at Diaval. So did all of his men.

In the ensuing chaos, a nearby Tree Warrior managed to save Aurora before any of Stefan's men could accidentally hit her. He hid the princess within a gap in his wooden body while Diaval was finally free to fight back to his full extent without worrying about hurting Aurora.

"Wait! Put me down!" Aurora cried desperately to the Tree Warrior, pointing to Maleficent. The Tree Warrior seemed reluctant, but he obeyed Aurora's command nonetheless and set her down beside Maleficent, who was staring brokenly at her mangled and maimed wings.

"My wings," she gasped. "My wings..." and Aurora shuddered, for she had never heard Maleficent sounding so weak or lost or hopeless before.

"Godmother?" she reached out to touch Maleficent, but the fairy jerked away the second their skin made contact.

"My wings!" she cried again, bitter and broken. Aurora felt tears pricking her own eyes, but as much as she hated to say it, they did not have time to grieve. They were still in the middle of a war. As much as Maleficent deserved the right to cry, now simply could not be the time.

"Please, Godmother, please! Get up!" the human whispered to the fairy. "We can take your wings with us, but please! We must go now!" then she picked the wings up off the ground gingerly, before handing them to Maleficent. At first, she jerked away from them as if worried they would burn her. But at the same time, feeling those familiar and supple parts writhing under her touch, however weakly, seemed to return a spark into Maleficent's heart and immediately, her face cleared.

"You are right, Beastie, we are not finished yet..." she whispered, then she turned a murderous gaze to Stefan. She removed her hand from her severed wings again, but this time, she could still feel their phantom feathers under her fingertips.