Maleficent & Diaval: A happily ever after?

Chapter 14

Warning: This chapter contains certain scenes of childbirth. If you feel uncomfortable reading these scenes, try skipping to the line made from a pattern of squares and circles.

Three months later......

"Today is the day where we stand our ground. The day where we can no longer tolerate these hunters to harm the Moors!" One of the council members yelled, raising his fist, and the Dark Fae all shouted their agreement. "Queen Aurora of the Moors and King Phillip of Ulstead have lent us their soldiers and forces to take down these hunters! We will not fail them!" Another yelled, and the Dark Fae once again cheered.

The bowls of paint were then passed around as they streaked the colours across their faces, and they began drumming their fists against their palms, the slapping sounds increasing the confidence for the battle as the time drew near. High up on her nest, Maleficent watched them slowly get into battle formation, and she stroked her swollen belly absently as she stared at them.

Spotting her loyal raven's short black hair amongst the crowd, Maleficent muttered a silent prayer underneath her breath. She most certainly didn't wish for him to go onto the battlefield just after he had recovered from the fight, but they needed a leader in the battle. And because she had a heavier responsibility than flying into battle, she could only sit aside, praying for victory.

Soon, the roar of a tree spirit dragon signified the arrival of the hunters' army. It turned out that the ones that had ambushed Diaval three months ago were merely lackeys to chop down the wood, and there were more in hiding. It would be a tough fight, with more injuries than Maleficent ever wanted, but they had to settle it once and for all. They had to try annihilating the hunters, for everlasting peace.

With a battle cry, the council leader launched the first batch of Dark Fae forward to the frontline of the Moors, alongside the tree spirits, and Maleficent bit her lip as Diaval prepared the second group for take off. Turning her head back to the frontline of the Moors, Maleficent saw the arrows flying, looking like tiny needles to her, and the Dark Fae avoided them, before they began pulling up vines from the ground, stabbing many and taking down quite a few of the hunters. But as more reinforcements came, Maleficent soon grew worried as many of the Dark Fae began falling out from the sky, plunging down from the air.

Punching the side of the nest in frustration, Maleficent watched as even more Dark Fae joined the fight, but as their forces grew, it also decreased, with several of the Dark Fae thrown backwards by the iron arrows. None landed without being wounded, and it soon became an aerial battle, the victory and defeat still unclear.

Suddenly, a piercing shriek echoed, and Maleficent's eyes widened as there was a sudden explosion in the sky, and many of the Dark Fae were thrown all the way across the sky, slamming into others as they plunged down from the dark heavens, and Maleficent knew that they would lose soon if they still didn't receive help.

More yells were heard, and clashing sounds travelled from the grounds, informing Maleficent that Phillip's men had arrived to their aid at last, and more screams that came thereafter assured Maleficent that many more of the hunters had been gotten rid of. Sighing in relief, Maleficent leaned back, trying to relax when suddenly her stomach lurched forward, and a gasp escaped her lips as a prickle of pain came from her abdomen.

Her fingers were fast to flicker to her lower belly, and a second wave of pain earned another gasp from Maleficent. "What's happening?!" Maleficent thought, panicking at the abnormal occurrence, and just as she opened her mouth to comfort herself, the third round of pain completely robbed her of any air she had left in her lungs, and Maleficent shut her eyes tightly in pain as she literally felt her insides squeeze together painfully.

"Am I going into labour?" Maleficent regained her breath between another contraction and the current one, and she bit down hard on a twig she clamped between her mouth as she fought back a scream. "If you scream, you will cause them to be distracted. Do. Not. Scream." Maleficent warned herself even as fresh tears sprang to her eyes, and she was panting heavily, her free hand gripping the edge of the nest.

With whatever energy she had left, Maleficent pushed herself away from the side of the nest, forcing herself to sit up straight and only allowing her back to lean against the nest. Raising her legs as she took a shaky breath, Maleficent spread them as she bent her knees, propping them up.

Her right hand still on her stomach, Maleficent willed herself to summon her magic. It was nothing new, she had seen some fairy midwives do this before, she had kind of assisted Aurora in Ashley's birth before. She could do this, right?

As the next contraction came, Maleficent clenched her shaking hand, using her magic to push and guide the baby, and a muffled scream escaped through her pressed together lips and clenched teeth on the twig. She could feel that she was starting to get somewhere, and the baby was starting to come out.

Regaining her breath and strength between the next rapidly arriving contraction, Maleficent pushed again, and she felt the head come out all the way. "Just a little bit left..." Maleficent thought to herself through the agony of the tearing and burning sensation, and with renewed motivation, Maleficent pushed with all her might, and the upper torso came out.

But she had accidentally lost her grip on the twig when she took another breath. And her scream echoed off her cave walls, reverberating all across the Moors, all the way to the frontline where a battle was coming to its end.

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They were winning. The hunters' numbers were decreasing rapidly. With a yell, Diaval directed the Dark Fae for one final attack, and at last, all the hunters were dead. "We did it!" Diaval cheered, raising a fist, and the Dark Fae repeated his cheer.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the cheering of the Dark Fae, and everyone turned their attention over to the cave where the scream had come from, and Diaval instantly knew that it was Maleficent. Wasting no time, Diaval took off, speeding towards their nest at top speed.

The screaming only made Diaval all the more worried and anxious. What was happening to Maleficent? And on Maleficent's side, she knew she was coming to the end as she finally squeezed out the entire baby, and she felt a huge weight leave her, literally. Too tired to even move anymore, Maleficent merely brought her eyes wide enough to look at the newborn fledgling.

"Maleficent!" Diaval suddenly appeared by her side out of nowhere, and Maleficent tried to keep her eyes open as she asked him weakly, "Did we win?" "Yes. We did." Diaval nodded, and before he could ask his originally intended question, his eyes travelled to the newborn at the bottom of Maleficent's robes, and he gasped, cradling the newborn in his arms quickly.

"It's a girl." Maleficent didn't have to open her eyes to know. She just knew it. And Diaval cradled his daughter tighter to his chest, "She's got your eyes, Maleficent." Opening her eyes again, Maleficent stared at her daughter, and she spoke softly, "Diaval, what shall we name her?" Shaking his feathers away as he took on human form again, Diaval thought about it, and he replied, "What are your thoughts?"

"I was thinking, perhaps Melinda?" Maleficent was on the verge of closing her eyes again, and Diaval nodded, "Melinda it is." Looking back to his newborn daughter, Diaval smiled, speaking under his breath as Maleficent drifted off to sleep.

"Welcome to the family, Melinda."

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