Dear Little One

.:Nine:.

"I thought you loved me, Mal!"

"Well, you thought wrong!"

"Then what's the meaning of all of your doings? Why are you playing with me?"

"Playing? Marcellina, dear, I apologize but I must tell you that I never desired to do this!"

"Never desired to do what? Kidnap me and play with my feelings? What are you talking about Mal?"

"This game is just an attempt for me to forget another woman! There, I said it!"

"Who?"

"Who that woman is, Marcellina, I tell you are none of your concerns. I demand you to get off my land before I do something worse!"

"I don't even know--"

"JUST GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Marcellina stared at the sorcerer with disbelief, mixed with a hint of hurt and regret in between her irises. She ran like she never ran before, she storms out of the hall and shuts the door closed loudly before continuing to run again, taking all the runs to get to reach the stairs, since she's done enough wandering in this castle, she feels as if she already lived under these walls long enough until she knows how to get through this maze.

"Ugh," Mal grumbled underneath his breath, stomping towards the window. He leans against the stone window sill and attempts to not destroy the hall like he usually does when he's stressed out over something. "Diaval," he calls.

The boy had turned into a raven a few hours after his turkey transformation since his master was a little annoyed by him. The bird flapped its way over to his master with a loud caw. "I don't think this is working, I have to find her and bring her here, Diaval. For now, I demand you to search for the girl, report back to me after you've done so."

The bird cocked his head around as he opened his dark, feathery wings, readying himself to fly. He let out a loud caw before flapping his wings and gliding through the window and let the strong wind take him to where Carina was at the time. Flying pass the large thorny gates, Diaval frowned at his old home, The Moors.

Long ago, before Mal was heartbroken by Stephenie who betrayed him, The Moors were his home. His friends and all the enchanted creatures lived here peacefully, even Maleficent, the sorcerer liked being here and he became The Moors' guardian, with his wings and powerful magic, he could protect his home.

Diaval used to be a poor raven caught under a hunter's net until Mal stumbled upon the two and casted a spell on the bird to turn into a human. The hunter ran and left Diaval there with Mal, where he took the boy with him and made him his human friend. And that's when The Moors became his new home instead of flying from tree to tree, only to get kicked out by other birds that already inhabited that tree.

The raven cawed again, seeing all his enchanted friends living amongst the trees who now were under the curse of Mal's broken heart, after Stephenie sawed off his wings, he felt weak, his magic dissolved into something more powerful, however, they became evil.

Mal's heart of gold began to rust and was now just a lump of coal under his rib cage, until Carina came. Diaval could see that lump of coal began to shape itself again to its original form, though still rusty, it wasn't as dark as how Stephenie left him.

The raven, determined, glide through the air, the wind carrying his wings as he zoomed through the forests and see a familiar steed gallop between the oak trees and green grasses. The very same long, dirty blond hair caught his eye flying in the wind. Diaval subtly flew above the huntress who had his master wrapped around her finger, capturing his heart whilst she was at it.

He could see Carina with a quiver on her back, pulling out a sharpened arrow from it and began to withdraw it with her bow. She commanded Dragon to halt at his steps as she aimed to what seemed like a deer she was hoping could be her dinner tonight, the bird watched her carefully.

Carina aimed for the elder deer as her finger loosened the grip on her arrow. It zipped through the air and stabbed the deer's side, the animal collapsing as the blood came running. It whimpered out in agony, embracing its death fate. Carina smiled as she hopped off of her black steed as she neared the dying mammal, she takes it and brings it home with her.

She said to Dragon, "Well, that's enough for you today, buddy. I'll go fetch some food for you when we get home, okay?" The horse neighed and nuzzled its nose into Carina's hands, she giggles as they made their way home.

Diaval followed Carina, which he assumed she was going to return to her old house in the middle of the forest where she was already used to roaming around in.

Diaval could still remember where her house was located but he wondered why Carina wasn't heading that way, he thought, "Didn't she say she was going to go home? Maybe she still wants to hunt some more, then again, the day is getting dark, it could get dangerous if she still hunts at this time, still, I have to follow her before Mal turns me into a turkey again, I didn't like how that came out!" He shakes his head and continued to follow Carina.

She continued to gallop through the forest with her dead animal she was going to use as her dinner and probably for tomorrow too. Diaval grew confused when Carina didn't go to the direction of her home, long after, she really did go home, but no longer her old home.

The raven stopped dead at his tracks and decided to land on a branch because he knew it was a bad idea to continue his journey. He watches Carina enter her new home and disappeared inside.

"What am I going to tell Mal now?! He'll be heartbroken again if I tell him! And I surely do not want him to curse Carina too!" The raven wondered, troubled as he began to flap back to Mal's castle, where his master was waiting for his report.

Along his flight, he thought over and over what to report to him and if he was planning on lying to him at the end, he was going to have to practice to not appear nervous and shaky so Mal wouldn't be so suspicious.

The night fell deeper and Diaval decided to nest on a branch to rest and decided to return later early in the morning. Even so, he imagined Mal's face if he told him about Carina, yes, she's fine, but . . . this was hard, Diaval didn't even want to think about it!

He attempted to get that good night's sleep, yet, there he was, wide awake still troubled by the fact Carina was going to break Mal's heart and make the curse on The Moors worse! And he's more likely going to make Diaval into a turkey for eternity for not telling him sooner.

"I'll just tell him she's absolutely fine," he thought to himself before hearing some bushes under him rustle loudly. He grumbled when he thought there was an animal who was going to shoo him out when really, it was Carina! He looked down to find her rather frustrated, grumbling something under her breath.