Maleficent & Diaval: A happily ever after?

Chapter 13

"What did I say?! I said to keep her safe in seclusion!" Borra yelled, and several guilty eyes swept to the floor as they received his wrath of roaring straight in their faces. "Borra, you have to lower your volume. The healers are trying their best, but if you keep on with this shouting, they will easily be distracted." A messenger from the healers arrived in the room, and Borra glared at the poor messenger, who retreated instantly.

Stretching his neck, the veins bulging from both sides, Borra finally calmed down, and he rolled his eyes one final time at the guards assigned to Maleficent before flapping off to the healing room. "How is she?" Borra snapped at one of the healers writing down a report, and the healer jumped up in shock.

"She's healing well. In fact, she should be waking up, but it seems that she's in denial to wake up. Her powers, however, are already functioning, and she seems to be subconsciously channeling her powers to heal Diaval, therefore making it very dangerous for herself if she does not wake up soon." The healer reported, and Borra's limits snapped.

Storming to Maleficent's side, he forced his magic into her mind, and he soon found her magical presence. "What do you think you're doing?!" Borra barked in her mind, and in the distance, he sensed her consciousness like a cloud of mist, avoiding him. "Do you know what you're doing could harm the Moors?" Borra barked, and the little cloud shrank back even further before, remaining silent.

Seeing as how Maleficent had chosen not to respond, Borra advanced further. "What about us? The Dark Fae? Or what about it? Your unborn-" Borra taunted, but Maleficent screamed in agony, and she resisted against the several healers that pressed her down, sending Borra out of her mind and into a daze as he watched her slowly wake up.

The tears in her eyes formed a mixture. Of anger, of sorrow, of pain, and of fear. Maleficent looked at Borra, only able to move her head by the slightest. Her mouth was only slightly parted as she whispered softly, "Do you think I do not know? I know. But I still choose to do it. What's the point of having a child if its father won't survive? Should my child know of me choosing not to rescue its father, what would it say?"

"You-" Borra's eyes were blazing with anger, "You dare place the fate of the entire Dark Fae in the hands of a mere raven with the power of free shifting?" Long silence. "I dare." Was all that came from Maleficent after that long pause, and Borra screamed angrily, punching the nearest wall as Maleficent shuddered.

She could hear the pain and anger in his voice. How he was torn between trusting this person who was still nought but a stranger. How, even though she was the only heir of the Phoenix, she was emotionally swayed, influencing her judgement. How could he possibly trust her?

Choosing to turn her back to Borra, Maleficent knelt right next to the neighbouring bed, where Diaval laid, and the healers retreated as Maleficent grabbed Diaval's hand, the healing power of the Phoenix once again flowing, glowing golden through her veins and shining through her skin.

Suddenly, strong hands fastened around her collarbone, and they pulled her away from Diaval, throwing her onto the nearest wall, sending pain shooting up her limbs and back as Maleficent staggered, blood dripping from her mouth as she gripped her stomach weakly, dropping to the floor as she was unable to stand.

"Borra, what are you doing?!" One of the Dark Fae that had rushed to pin him back shrieked, the others attending to Maleficent, and Borra's wings flared out as he tried to flap his way out of their grip but failing. "I am trying to discipline a Dark Fae. Let go of me!" Borra roared, and another handful pinned him down to the ground.

"You may be the leader, but the authority given to you simply cannot be abused like that!" Another one retorted, crouching down beside Maleficent as she offered assistance to the Phoenix, who was coughing up so much blood that she even began vomiting up her stomach acids.

Just at the perfect moment, the unattended Diaval gave a groan, and Maleficent instantly froze, looking towards him as he slowly stretched and sat up, wincing in pain as his bones cracked in reformation. "What happened?" Diaval's eyes were wide with shock and confusion, and he struggled against the healers as he tried to get to Maleficent.

"We can't have you as leader anymore, Borra." Someone suddenly spoke up, and Borra instantly changed to a more persuasive tone, "What do you mean? I'm doing my job! I'm making a Dark Fae obey my orders! It's for the better of the Dark Fae!"

"No. You're forcing her under your will and abusing her. And in case you have forgotten, she has a higher authority than. She just chose to prioritize other responsibilities. But she's nonetheless our true leader, the only descendant of the Phoenix." Another one began to circle Borra, who was shaking his head, refusing whatever they were trying to say.

"One more thing: what if your actions had caused the demise of the next descendant of the Phoenix? Surely we can't have that." The one who had knelt beside Maleficent retorted again as Maleficent still hunched over, her hand firmly pressed against her belly, as though harm would still befall upon her and the fledgling.

"Therefore, as the council of the Dark Fae, you are no longer the Leader of the Dark Fae." They chorused, and Maleficent looked up, just as Borra gave up his fighting and struggles, just as they all turned around and looked at her, and they suddenly bowed down to her, even the healers, releasing Diaval to come to her side, and they echoed four words before her.

"All hail our leader!"

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