Quiet footfalls led her closer to the edge of the treeline, her gaze glued to the sky. The air was filled with the acrid stench of burnt everything. She didn’t need to guess how much of it was bodies. Frankly, she didn’t exactly care. She was certain whatever these people had done to incur Maleficent’s wrath had been more than deserved. That hardly meant that she wanted to be counted among their ranks by foolishly traipsing out into view.
Catching sight of a shadow sweeping over the smoldering and singed ground below, Regina drew in a deep breath willing it to bolster her courage. Stepping out into the clearing, she craned her neck to watch Maleficent soaring over all the death she had wrought. A faint, almost adoring smile, curled up her lips as she watched on, still immensely awed by the sheer power her… friend possessed. Her smile grew even more gentle — until the beast turned in its path, flame filled jaws easily aimed at her slight form. She wasn’t exactly clear on how well a dragon’s sight could be, especially from such a height, so she raised one arm and waved.
❝ Maleficent! ❞
There was no real way to describe it, not in words any human could understand, and there was no speech in dragon’s tongue to explain it either. It was a feeling there were not words to match, and she’d never bothered trying to create them herself. It was nothing one would expect it to be, and everything they’d not even take time to consider it could be. What it was, was all she’d always been meant for. And that was as good an explanation as any.
She does not feel wind on her wings, they make the wind for all others to flee from. She does not feel heat on her face from the fire she spews, nor feel the ground beneath her feet when she lands and it cracks. She does not smell ash or kindling, burning homes leave little impression on her senses, as she is fire herself and so accustomed to the smell that it all but fades away. But from high above the tree line she can see all the ruckus she is causing, just barely make out the screaming from below.
It had been a long time since any village was foolish enough to send anyone to claim her life, and like every one before they failed, and not only that, but brought her wrath back for supper. If only they could see how she was smiling as she took her time, making certain even hut, every cottage was alight, destroying all that would have destroyed her. Though even with twenty some fires burning in her wake, she was already growing bored, and quite ready to return home.
With one final gust created by outstretched wings, flying fast and free with fire bubbling in her throat, she set her sights one last time on the center of the village, a snarl twisting the dragon’s features into something even more frightening. She barreled toward the town, focused on little else but her final wave of destruction, only to be interrupted suddenly by a familiar scent and then a familiar sound. Her eyes narrowed to spot where it was coming from, focusing on what little wasn’t burning, and spotting her standing just in the center of it. There was no time to stop, no place to land, and frankly she didn’t wish to waste another mouthful of fire.
Faster and faster she flew, low to the ground, knocking burning homes flat before her fire could accomplish it, one talon reached out as she came closer, then scooped her up and everything burned. She clutched the girl tight, flying off and above all her work, the faint sounds of screaming still heard behind her. She flew only a short distance, until a grassy hill came in to view, far from where the fire could reach. Landing with a small thud, she set the girl down gently – as much as a dragon could – and then the dragon was no more. The woman emerged, breathless and smiling, collapsing into the grass, arms outstretched as she took in the scent of fire so prevalent in the air. A comforting musk she would wear for weeks to come.
“I’d love to hear what your plan would have been had I not spotted you,”
she remarked in a still breathless, almost happy tone. Her chest heaved up and down, adrenaline surging through her. It was a high even her watered down sleeping curse could never bring her to. And it was the first time anyone had ever stayed alive to witness it.