The Tale of Two Kingdoms

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Maleficent takes Aurora from the fairies at the edge of Wicked Range Forest. Parting the thick vines with a swish of her hand as she walks through they separate and fold back as they pass.

For, the first time in a long while the grass turns green as Aurora walks. Flowers grow quickly and bloom in front of her. Butterflies, pixies, and other creatures fly around as the green of the forest comes to life.

Maleficent walks Aurora into a giant oak tree that was her home years before. It is where Aurora was born. This was Maleficent home when she was born.

“Mother, what is this place? It is so beautiful.”

“It is your home my child. This is where you and I were born. Your grandfather built this hundreds of years ago for my mother, your grandmother. We are the protectors of the forest. You are the princess of Wicked Range Forest. Something you never knew until today.”

Aurora gets the biggest grin on her face.

“Come, my dear the creatures want to see their new princess after all these years.”

Maleficent takes Aurora’s hand and they walk out towards the pond with the waterfall. Water fairies flying in and out of the water with joy. The little brownies peek around the trees, under the stones and any dark place to watch Aurora. She bends down looking at a few hiding behind a stone. “I won’t bite I promise. Please come out.” The brownies slowly emerge they are very shy.

Fauns, centaurs, minotaur’s, mermaids, elves, and all the other creatures gather around the pond to see Aurora’s arrive home.

But little did Maleficent know she was being hunted again by her worst enemy in the land. The happiest day of her life since she gave birth to Aurora will soon be shattered once again.

Maleficent watches Aurora from her throne made of tree roots. The one her father sat in when he was king of the forest.

After a few hours pass Aurora lays in the meadow and falls fast asleep from the excitement of being back home. Seeing things, she’s never seen before, filling the love from all the creatures around her and feeling the happiness she always yearned for from her father.

Maleficent stands from her throne a feeling raises up her spine sending a chill right through her. Quickly she spins around and looks towards Moors city. She calls upon Thelanie a female Centaur Queen of her kind.

“Thelanie, watch over Aurora with your life. Something bad is coming and I need to end this once and for all.”

“Yes, your majesty.” Thelanie says as she bows.

Maleficent rushes off towards Moors city. Parting the vines as she walks through and closing as she passes making it impossible for man or beast to enter she moves her had upward making the vines grow larger and the trees stand guard.

They greet her at the edge of Moors city by the King himself as he heads to find her.

“Just the person I was looking for. Grab her men!”

Maleficent raises up and spins in midair, using her cape she slices through the armor of the kings’ men knocking them away from her and to the ground.

In the background, Diablo watches the fight.

Maleficent puts up a good fight before one man spear her in the abdomen with a sword. The iron makes her burn and her magic will not work. They quickly rush in and grab her tying her up.

When Diablo sees what they are doing, he rushes over. “King Stefan she isn’t the one that is doing this. You have the wrong person.”

“Mind your own business human, this is something personal.”

“Bring her to me!” King Stefan says.

“You thought you could cast a spell upon all of us with your green fog? Did you think I wouldn’t remember? Did you think I wouldn’t find you?”

“You are wrong you i***t! You have no idea what you have done. But I do!!”

“Bring her to the castle and chain her up in the dungeon.”

Diablo watches them ride away. “King Stefan wait!” He yells.

In anger that King Stefan took Maleficent, Diablo decides to go ahead and arrest the ones he believes that are behind the spells that have been cast on the humans that knew of the halfling's technology. He walks into the Kiss and Tale Dating Service up to the desk where Anastasia is demanding to see Tarzan.

“Where is your boss? I want to see him now!”

Anastasia looks at Diablo noticing he is furious she fumbles for the phone.

“You better get down here fast.” She hangs up.

“He will be right down, sir. You can wait over there if you’d like.” Diablo walks away from the desk pulling his hair out of his face with his hand. Pacing back and forth waiting for Tarzan to enter the lobby.

When the elevator door opens, Tarzan walks out unknowing what he is about to face.

Out of nowhere they shove a gun into Tarzan’s back and his left arm twisted behind him.

“Go to your office now!” Diablo yells.

Security rushes around him as he has Tarzan. “Back the f**k off or I will shoot him!” They stand down and slowly walk behind.

Diablo slams the office door locking it behind him. Shoving Tarzan away from him and holding a gun at him Diablo asks Tarzan. “Where is the lab?” “What lab? What the hell is going on?” Diablo gets closer to him with the gun. “Tell me where the lab is that you're making the lenses at now!” “What? I do not understand what you’re talking about. This is a dating service.” “Don’t give me this s**t I have been watching this place for months I know you are bartering with the halfling's groups that are making lenses to pass as humans into the human kingdom. I know you are running the organizations behind it all. The surgeries, the lenses, the robberies, the spells to keep anyone that knows about it, you can trust. I know everything and you tell me where it is or I will start shooting bullets into each leg and you then each arm if that doesn’t work I will put a bullet in your spine and you will never walk again. So, you better tell me who they are, where the lab is, and who is casting the spells NOW!”

“Ok, fine.” Tarzan says putting his hands up in front of him. Banging on the door from his security team trying to enter. “Tell them to back off.”

Tarzan yells. “Stand down I am fine.” The banging stops.

Diablo grabs his phone with one hand and dials. “Yeah, I am at the Kiss and Tale Dating Service get over here fast. I found the lab and the people running it.”

“Ok, the lab is underground.” “I know that, where underground? Here under another building?”

“No, under here.” “How do we get to it?”

“Special key in the elevator. I am the only one that has one.” “Who is casting the spells on the humans to make them look dead. You know the ones you want to keep quiet about all this?”

“It is Jafar he is the Djinn.”

 A knock on the door. Diablo gets up still holding a gun on Tarzan. “Who is it?” Detective Hubert. Diablo unlocks the door. “Hurry and get in here.”

“Who is this?” “This is Tarzan the one who running the whole organization of Halfling’s and the lenses manufacture. Tell him what you told me.”

“Yes, I have been manufacturing and distributing the lenses.” “And….”

“And hired Jafar to cast the spells on people that know too much that couldn’t be trusted.”

“Well, this is the perfect place to do it. I mean really.”

Detective Hubert laughs. “You have an endless supply of halfling‘s, human and fairytale folks coming and going. The perfect setup, well almost perfect.”

“Let’s go take us down to the lab.” Diablo waves the gun at Tarzan motioning him to walk.

“I must tell you now you will not make it out the elevator doors once they see you behind me. The halfling's are extremely protective and ruthless.”

“That’s fine I have a few tricks up my sleeve we will be fine.”

They walk out the office both holding guns on Tarzan. Everybody stands and watches as they walk to the elevator. Before Diablo enters, he turns and says.

“Don’t follow us the authorities will be here shortly.” The door closes.

Tarzan inserts a small gold key into the keyhole in the panel. He turns it and the elevator goes down. The numbers count down from 13,12, 10,….. to they hit 1.

“I can only imagine if each floor we passed on the way down isn’t full of illegal merchandise for this whole operation.” Diablo says looking at Tarzan.

“Before we open this door put him in handcuffs.” Diablo tells Huber.

The door opens and they look out across a huge area full of Halfling workers, making, boxing and stacking merchandise they have manufactured. They look over at the door opening and see Tarzan with two humans.

“Humans! Humans!” One Halfling yells out and runs. Diablo pulls a metal object out of his jacket pocket throwing it into the working area. White smoke fills the room quickly. He throws another one.

Out of nowhere two large troll halfling's race towards them leaping in to the air to tackle Diablo and Hubert, but Hubert shots them and they fall to the ground. Tarzan coughs from the smoke. “What the hell is that s**t?” Tarzan says before passing out. “Come on, handcuff him to this poll.” Diablo says as they drag him over to a metal pole in the room. Once the smoke clears there are bodies lying everywhere. Hubert and Diablo stand looking at the place.

“This is bigger than I ever imagined it was. This is a huge operation.” Diablo says.

“Now what? We got him and all these halfling's we will need an army to come get them all.” “Yes, that is pretty much what I was thinking.” “Let’s see if there is another way in and out of this place.” They walk the whole area and find one door but it’s locked. “I bet he has the key.” Diablo runs back to Tarzan and grabs a roll of keys from his pocket. Flipping through to find a key that looks like it would match the lock he tries several before it unlocks. “They open the door slowly not sure what they will find on the other side.

A tunnel is on the other side of the door. “How much do you want to bet that leads straight into our kingdom?” “I would bet you’re right!” Hubert says.

“Ok lock it up and let’s get the authorities here to clean this place up and shut it down.” Hubert says walking back to Tarzan. “How long before these guys wake up?” “In about seven hours twenty minutes.” “Holy s**t, you used the strong stuff.” Ha haha, they both laugh. “Well, they will wake up behind bars and feeling like they have one hell of a hangover.”

“One more person to find.” “Jafar?” “Yes, Jafar. I will have to give Tarzan a shot to wake him up. I need to get him before the word gets back to him and we don’t find him at all.”

A few hours pass the authorities seized everything, and the halfling's arrested. Tarzan says he doesn’t know where Jafar is. He meets him when he calls upon him. Diablo forces Tarzan to call him.

He dials the phone hitting the speaker so they can hear the conversation. Diablo tells Tarzan that the target will be King Stefan.

“Tarzan? I assume that you are calling me for a damn good reason other than saving you ass.” “Jafar I need another favor done.” “What is it or who is it?” “King Stefan I need you to take down King Stefan?”

“This one will cost a lot more than my normal price of 50 gold coins. This will cost 1000 gold coins.” “I will have it here for you when you come.”

“Consider it done. I will be by your place in a few hours.” Diablo shakes his head no not here.

“I probably will be out this evening how about Hades café?” “I will be there.”

“Ok so now we wait. I am sure they will make an announcement once they find their king unconscious.”

The tunnel was the perfect place to move everything out and into the human kingdom for the authorities. This way nobody seen anything that was happening other than Diablo and Hubert with Tarzan.

“I think it is time we make our way to Hades café for dinner.” Diablo motions Tarzan to walk first as they head down the sidewalk to the café.

“You sit in the booth in front of us so we can keep an eye on you.” They take their sits and order drinks waiting for Jafar to come in.

Diablo leans back in the booth turning his head slightly. “How will I know him?” “He is big, bald, has lots of tattoos and has a goatee. Never wears a shirt. Can’t miss him.”

The door chimes as it opens when people come and go. Diablo is getting a feeling that Jafar has caught wind of the bust. Looking down thinking of Maleficent wrongly accused by King Stefan for doing all this he thinks to himself he can’t save her if they don’t get Jafar. About that time, the door chimes and he looks up. A bull of a man walks in ducking under the door frame to fit in. Bald, tattoo’s, goatee and no shirt. Diablo kicks Hubert’s feet under the table. Jafar passes right by them and when he sits down both booths move.

Diablo looks at Hubert. “How the hell are we supposed to take that thing down?” Hubert says with wide eyes.

Diablo pulls a syringe out from his pocket with a large needle and glowing blue fluid in it.

Hubert nodes his head. Diablo gets up and walks by Tarzan and Jafar, he sees Tarzan hand a red pouch to Jafar the pouch is full of gold coins.

“It’s done.” He hears Jafar say. Diablo turns back around as he passes Jafar and stabs him in the neck with the needle injecting the fluid fast and pulling it out before Jafar even knew what happened.

The beast of a man falls face first into the table cracking it.

Hubert jumps up and calls for backup to come get Jafar. They will need several men to carry this guy out.

Diablo grabs Tarzan. “Time to go.”

“Wait, I helped you shouldn’t that help me?” “Yeah, it helped you get put away for a long time. Now come on I have other things I must do.” He pulls on Tarzan’s arm to get up and walks him out of Hades café.

Outside the Human government is waiting to take them both into custody.

“Diablo we couldn’t have done this without you my friend. Thank you.” Detective Hubert says shaking his hand. “That is my job my friend. Now I must go save someone else.”

Diablo races off to the castle. Once he arrives at the gate, he met by several of King Stefan’s guards.

“I need to speak with the King it is very important.”

The guard says no. “I must it has to do with the investigation on the halfling's.” Finally, after speaking to several of the guards they allow him in with a guard. They take him to the great room and tell him to wait here while they get the king. Diablo walks the room looking at the artwork on the walls. History of Kings through the centuries. 

He hears a bunch of commotion guards racing back and forth not even paying attention he is in the great room. Giving him time to slip away to find Maleficent. Hurrying through the halls he over hears a few guards saying the king and Aurora are missing put the castle on lock down.

He continues his search for the dungeon trying to dodge through the people running around. Finally, at the end of the corridor he notices it goes down stairs so he races down as far as it will take him. Getting darker as he goes further down till he can smell a foul odor, moisture on the stone wall surface and the musky smell of filth.  It must be the dungeon he thinks as he slowly turns the corner of a great stone wall and looks down a long dirt walkway. On both sides laced in the stone, iron gates hang locking in something in each hole carved out of the rock. Straw scatters the ground in each cell. The cries and moans from creatures and town folk that are locked up inside. How depressing and sad of a place. It fills the atmosphere with the pain and sadness.

Diablo calls out. “Maleficent, where are you?” He waits for a response. He calls again. “Diablo?” A voice comes from way down the dirt pathway. Diablo runs towards her voice. “Maleficent, where are you?” “Here!” He spins back around and there she is still with a sword stuck in her belly, shackled and chained to the stone wall.

“OMG, Maleficent! Hold on I will get you out.” Diablo takes his pocket knife and jimmies the lock till it unlocks the door. Doing the same he unshackles her hands first and then her feet. She falls to the ground Diablo catches her before she hits. “Get the sword out.” She says. “What? You will die?” “Get it out it’s weakening my powers.” Diablo grabs the handle of the sword and pulls quick and hard. The sword comes out, and she falls to her knees.

“Come on Maleficent we must go.” Diablo grabs her arm and tries to get her up. “No! wait give me a few minutes. Now the sword is out I will heal fast and be able to get up.”

Green light glows from under her. Diablo watches. Within a few minutes, it stops and Maleficent gets up. Her face has color coming back in it, her eyes are brightening up he can tell she feels better already. “Come on, we have little time we need to go.” “How did you get in here?” “They let me in and left me alone in the great room. Then all the guards rushed around saying the king and Aurora are missing. “King Stefan missing? He went after Aurora that son of a b***h I will kill him this time.” Maleficent grabs Diablo’s hand and races towards the stairs. “Hold on.” She yells. Diablo grabs her arm tight as long black wings emerge from under her skin on her back. He watches the feathers flow out and down to the ground. Huge magnificent wings stretch out across both sides. She jumps up and flaps her wings with Diablo in tow she heads up and out the nearest window. Back to Wicked Range Forest.

In minutes, they arrive and Maleficent finds Thelanie still watching over Aurora while she lays sleeping in the meadow under the light of the night sky.

They land by the old oak and Diablo takes in the forest's beauty. He has never seen or been to a place so beautiful.

“This is my home, and this is my daughter Aurora.”

“This is a beautiful place, and she is a beautiful girl Maleficent.”

From that day on Maleficent had changed not just in her heart, but her looks. Her hair had split into two colors one side white and one side black and her horns. She had rose-colored cheeks again and her eyes emerald green.

After Aurora wakening the green fog never came again. And they lived happily ever after…….

The End..