I am not good at writing battle scenes so this is not my best chapter.

Chapter 6

Maleficent hovered over the army. It had been three days since she had woken Aurora and she was amazed with the turnout. She had made her way throughout the Moors, apologizing to each group. Now she gazed at everyone who had come. As far as she could tell, all who were capable of fighting had shown up that morning.

She could see Stefan's army approaching in the distance. Diaval had returned the previous evening with the news of the early morning attack. He had spent the last couple of days spying on the king so he could warn the Moors.

She had reassured Aurora the morning after her nightmares. After that the two had made their way through the Moors meeting with the rest of the inhabitants. They had done that until Diaval had returned.

Aurora and Maleficent were walking along the bank when the familiar black raven landed on a nearby tree branch. Maleficent waved her fingers without a word.

"Stefan is planning to attack in the morning," Diaval informed them.

"We're prepared," Maleficent replied. "We will just need to tell everyone to be ready in the morning."

Aurora looked between the two. She noticed the tension between them and began to walk away. "I need a few minutes," she said over her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Maleficent asked.

"Yes, Godmother. I'll be back."

The faery watched her go worriedly. She knew this was stressful for the teenager. Despite what the girl said, Maleficent knew the upcoming battle was making Aurora nervous.

"Mistress?" Diaval's voice broke into her thoughts.

"What?" she snapped. She was still angered by the argument from the other night.

"I'm sorry for what I said," he spoke softly.

"No, you're not." She laughed harshly. "It doesn't matter. We are not going to discuss this. We are going into battle in the morning and Aurora needs us right now."

She had walked off without waiting for his reply. They had found the princess and returned to the nest to get a good night's sleep before the battle.

Now as Maleficent hovered over the army, Diaval was with Aurora at the castle ruins. She did not want the girl anywhere near the battle and knew she would try to come so Diaval was in charge of keeping her safe.

As the army approached the wall of thorns, she landed near Balthazar. "Let them destroy the wall of thorns. We must save our strength for after they make it through."

It took several minutes but the army made their way through the thorns. As they came into view the true fighting began. As she watched, Maleficent was reminded of the last time she had battled with a king's army. This time, however, there were more fighting on the side of the Moors and the fact that the battle was taking place within the Moors.

Maleficent saw several faeries go down and quickly removed the men responsible. Then she found herself face-to-face with Stefan.

"Hello, Maleficent," he spat. "So you have your wings back."

"Yes, I do."

"Where is my daughter? What have you done to her this time?"

"I have her in a secure place."

"Where?"

Instead of answering, she launched herself into the air to oversee the battle. Before she could fly away a burning sensation filled her wrist. Stefan had thrown a chain around it. She landed and removed the chain. As she did, Stefan was able to get close enough to wrap his hands around her neck.

She cried out in pain before forcing out. "If you kill me you will never find your precious daughter."

Releasing her throat, Stefan used the time she took to recover to drag her deeper into the Moors, away from the battle. He did not want anyone to come to her rescue.

Once she had recovered enough to move on her own, Maleficent jerked herself out of his grasp. She straightened and took a quick glance around. They were not far from the castle ruins. It was the last place she wanted Stefan but knew she needed a few minutes to recover.

She swung her fist and connected with Stefan's face. Turning, she stumbled toward the ruins, hoping she had hit him hard enough to buy a few minutes. She could hear Stefan behind her and forced herself to quicken her pace. She just had to make sure the king did not see Aurora.

At the ruins, she had put enough distance between her and Stefan that she took a moment to lean against a crumbling column. She was not recovering from the iron as quickly as she normally did. Of course, she had never had iron gloves wrapped around her neck before.

A single footfall was her only warning before the chain encircled her neck from behind. She immediately reached up to try to pull it away.

"Where is my daughter?" Stefan demanded.

Maleficent gasped, unable to answer. She clawed at the chain and the gloved hands holding it. She knew she would not last much longer like this, especially as Stefan suddenly tightened the chain.

Just as everything began to turn black, her wings instinctively opened. The pressure on her neck disappeared and she stumbled forward, falling to her knees. She was overcome by coughing as she struggled to recover.

A groan caused her to turn to face Stefan. He was climbing to his feet murder in his eyes. She was unable to do anything as he approached her. Nor could she stop the hand from connecting with her face. She slammed into another column and leaned against it, feeling dizzy.

As Stefan approached her once again, she knew he would kill her this time. He was no longer interested in finding his daughter, he just wanted her dead. She waited until he was close and with her remaining strength and a burst of magic, threw him away from her. She collapsed to the ground, unable to hold herself up as she heard the sickening crunch.

"Godmother?" Aurora's voice kept her from losing consciousness.

"Beastie," she managed to whisper.

The princess dropped to her knees next to the faery. "What happened?"

Diaval joined them, casting a look at the fallen king. "Did you kill him?"

"I don't…know." She forced out. "Help me…up."

With Aurora on one side and Diaval on the other, Maleficent managed to stand. The three made their way over to where Stefan lay bleeding on the ground. He stared up at them, eyes widening in shock when he saw Aurora. His mouth moved but no words came out.

The girl stared back at him unmoving as the light faded from his eyes and he drew his final breath. Then she turned to Maleficent and rested her head on the faery's shoulder.

Maleficent brought her hand up to cup the back of her head.