When Maleficent opened her eyes, the magic stopped flowing from her. She stepped back and nodded. The wall wasn’t pretty, but it would have to do.
Satisfied with her work, Maleficent went back to her throne on the Mound. She glanced at the landscape around her, reveling in the beauty and tranquility of the Moors, which had been restored in her time as ruler there. The other Fair Folk even seemed more comfortable around her, going on with their daily activities without shuddering or flying away whenever she was close by. However, her old friends, Robin included, continued to stay away. Maleficent strangely understood this. She’d lost her friendships as soon as she’d lost her wings and her old sense of self. She was a new faerie now.
In the peaceful silence of the Faerie Mound, she found her mind wandering outside of life at the Moors. She now had time to reflect upon the day’s events. It had felt oh so nice to see Stefan suffer. And casting this curse would help the Moors, too. A weakened human kingdom meant less threat to them, and there was no way Stefan hadn’t been weakened by the curse placed on his only daughter.
Feeling a judgmental gaze, Maleficent looked to her side. Diaval, in his human form, stood there, staring at her. She ignored him and went back to relishing her revenge. But Diaval continued to glare at her, silently chastising her for what she had done. A part of her wanted to try to explain to him that she wasn’t being mean to the baby. She wanted to tell Diaval how badly Stefan had hurt her and how much it still ached, every day, and that that was why she had done what she did. But she couldn’t admit that to him. And she certainly couldn’t wait for him to start expressing his disapproval. So instead, she simply waved a hand and transformed him into a raven. He could caw all he wanted but he wouldn’t be able to reprimand her.
WHILE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO KEEP DIAVAL AS A RAVEN FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME, MALEFICENT KNEW SHE NEEDED HIM TO INFORM HER OF GOINGS-ON IN THE KINGDOM. In the wake of her christening present to Aurora, Maleficent was eager to hear what Stefan would do to protect his infant daughter. So she continued to send Diaval on his reconnaissance missions and transform him when he returned.
She didn’t have to wait long for news.
A few days after Aurora’s celebration, Diaval flew back to the Faerie Mound. He landed in front of Maleficent’s throne and hopped around, flapping his wings furiously until she transformed him. When he was human once more, he quickly filled in his mistress on what he had witnessed.
Stefan, it seemed, was not taking Maleficent’s “gift” lightly. He’d ordered his men to gather all the spinning wheels in the kingdom and lock them in the dungeons. While the queen was not pleased, the king also had ordered the three pixies to whisk Aurora away from the kingdom. His hope was to keep her hidden and safe, protected by faerie magic and a lack of spinning wheels. Stefan thought no one but his closest advisors knew his plan. But of course, he was wrong. For Diaval had seen Knotgrass, Thistlewit, and Flittle on their way out of the kingdom. He had seen them use their magic to make themselves grow to the size of regular humans, and he had followed them while they made their way to a small cottage in the middle of the woods that surrounded the castle. Then, he told Maleficent, he had flown back to the Faerie Mound as fast as he could.
When Diaval finally stopped talking, Maleficent shook her head. “Idiots,” she said. Diaval nodded in agreement and then paused. He wasn’t sure who she meant—the king and queen or the pixies themselves. “Those three raising a baby? What a disaster! I must see this for myself.”
Maleficent stood, grabbing her staff, and began walking. Diaval hurried to catch up. But he was used to flying, so his gait was slower and he kept tripping. Raising a hand, Maleficent turned Diaval back into a raven so he could keep up, and quickly made her way to the Thorn Wall at the edge of the Moors.
Maleficent was capable of parting the thorny branches to allow herself passage between the human and faerie worlds. While she didn’t like to leave the Moors, she had found herself beyond their borders too often of late. I don’t want to make a habit of this, she thought as she walked through the Wall and let it close behind her. I’ll just take a quick look at the baby and that will be all. Then I will be done. I’ll let the curse play out and that will be that.