𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚 || maleficent

| 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 |

The melodic chirps of nearby birds calm Elenya's burning ears. 

She'd been following her brother for about an hour now, and she doesn't recognize where she is. She knew she should've stayed home and let Stefan get into whatever trouble he wants. 

But, Elenya loves her brother; she wants what's best for him. If that means needing to follow him into a mystical forest to make sure he doesn't do something stupid, then so be it.

Elenya looks up to make sure she can still see Stefan. When she doesn't catch sight of his brown cover or short black hair, she becomes frantic. She opposes yelling out his name, knowing she could bring unwanted attention towards herself. Instead, the youthful girl quickens her pace. 

Suddenly, she's tackled from the side. As she lands on the ground, she opens her mouth to scream, but a hand covers it. 

"What do you think you're doing, El?"

At the familiar sound of her brother's accent, Elenya calms down. She writhes under Stefan's weight, successfully getting him to remove his hand. 

"I wanted to make sure you didn't get into any trouble." Stefan stands and offers his hand to the downed girl. "I'm fine, you dobber. I should be worried about you." 

"And why's that?" 

The older boy gives his sister a look. "You know why." He begins to walk down the secluded path once more, prompting a scoffing Elenya to follow. 

"Me being younger than you doesn't mean I can't take care of myself." The siblings make it to a small creek. Stefan points to the protruding boulders before jumping onto them and making it to the other side. 

Elenya begins to do the same, but her foot slips on the last rock. Luckily, Stefan reaches his arm out in time for her to grab. "Yeah, you can definitely take care of yourself."

Elenya furrows her brow in irritation. "I slipped. That doesn't mean --" 

"Okay, Elenya. I understand. You're a big girl who can take care of herself. I'm assuming you wanna know why I'm a ways from home, don't you?" Stefan's face holds a knowing look, one that irks every last one of Elenya's nerves as she nods. 

"I came to... look for something. Something that can help us back at home." Now it's Elenya's turn to have the savvy facial expression.

Stefan shakes his head and sighs, trudging up a steep enclosure. "I came to borrow it." His tone of voice signals his finality with that statement. Elenya decides to drop that topic, not wanting to ruin her brother's mood. The adolescents stay silent throughout the rest of their journey.

Elenya can't help but feel incredibly curious about the surrounding foliage. It's like nothing she's ever seen before. The trees arch in a dramatic, yet empowering way, the flowers on the mossy ground seem to sparkle with joy, and sunlight trickles through the leaves of every tree, dancing on the floor. 

She never knew her world held such amazing places. She only knew of one place she heard of that sounded remotely similar. 

"Stefan? Where exactly are we?" Her brother sighs and looks forward, blatantly ignoring her question. That's all the answer Elenya needs.

"Please don't tell me we're in the Moors."

"If you don't like it, then go back home, fiend."

"Stefan! We're not supposed to be here! This isn't our territory. We could literally begin another war!" She rushes forward and seizes her brothers' arms, stopping them both. 

"Let go of me." Elenya shakes her head. 

"We must turn back. Now, Stefan." 

The ragged boy jerks his arm out of the accusing girl's grasp. "I'm going to get the gem, whether you like it or not. You can either stay here, alone, or you can come with me. Matter of fact, we've already arrived at the place."