Aurora paced the castle. For all her best efforts, the separation anxiety was creeping in again. This time what caused its resurgence was Maleficent. Or rather, her absence.

"She was supposed to be home by now!" Aurora fretted.

"She may have needed to visit the Moors first," Philip tried to advise his wife. His words, though kind, only seemed to make things worse.

"That wasn't part of the plan! She agreed to come straight home! She promised!" Aurora cried. A part of her mind knew she was being silly.

For one, yelling at Philip was undeserved and useless. For another, he'd drawn a perfectly rational conclusion and there was no need for her to get so personally attacked. Maleficent was a queen, remember, and sometimes the queen had to step in even if she didn't first intend to. Subjects always came first. Aurora knew she was being selfish and foolish for forgetting, but the majority of her brain was still flooded with the separation anxiety and even if that one part of her mind remained clear, the rest refused to listen to it. Instead, she could only continue to fret.

It remained like very late in the evening. Aurora was drained, having spent nearly the entire day anxiously thinking about Maleficent and constantly looking towards every door and window for the telltale sign of the fairy queen flying home. It was right as she had shut the window for the night, however, that something changed. But it was not a good change. Instead, like a reflex, Aurora suddenly gave a soft cry that sounded both wounded and terrified. Philip heard it and came running.

"Aurora? What's wrong?" he noted with worry that she looked very pale and on the verge of collapse. "I'll get help!" he said.

"No!" Aurora grabbed his arm to stop him. The wild look in her eyes did not help her case, but the two of them trusted one another deeply and Philip, reminding himself of the trials they had gone through together before, took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down as well. It wasn't like getting stressed would do anyone any good. Instead, he silently promised himself that he would give Aurora time to collect her thoughts and explain. Then he would call for help.

But first, he would force himself to be patient and put his faith in his new queen. She had already proven before that even if she got a bit muddled and confused along the way, she always knew exactly what she meant and exactly what was needed at the end. He just needed to give her a chance. And giving her a chance had never let him down before so he was more than happy to give her another one now.

"Alright, my love, alright," he said in his softest, gentlest voice. His arms were still wrapped securely around her, but the previous sense of urgency was gone and, for that, Aurora was eternally grateful. Although the anxiety was still going strong, just being subtly reminded to take a deep breath and try to focus on something was enough to at least give Aurora a goal, like having an anchor while being trapped on a stormy sea. Even if the wind howled and the rain lashed and lightning flashed, that anchor would keep her grounded and would give her a peace of mind, if nothing else.

"I can't help but feel like something bad has happened to Mother," she said. Philip's eyes went wide, but he said nothing, waiting patiently for her Aurora to continue. She did so after another brief pause to collect her thoughts. "Just now, I can't help but feel as if she's been hurt…" And little did Aurora know, but the story she was relating to Phillip was playing out in real time…

Maleficent had indeed been held up in court, but not by her own. Instead, the Dark Fairy leader whom she had gone to visit needed more help than he first let on and it wound up keeping Maleficent behind by an extra day. She stayed willingly, though, feeling enough of a kinship to him to wish to spend the extra time helping him get organized. As soon as she was finished, however, she flew home.

"Won't you spend the night?" the Fairy Lord asked, looking bashful and ashamed as he asked Maleficent to stay back one more time.

"No, there really is someone I must get home to," Maleficent replied, then with a polite tilt of her head, she flew off into the shadows.

In her haste to get back home to her daughter, apology already forming in her mind, the Fairy Queen decided to take a shortcut over a small human village that stood between her and Ulstead. This proved to be a big mistake. Even though most of the humans were learning to accept fairies, there were still a few who carried with them decades of a bitter rivalry. Likewise, although this village wasn't too isolated, because it was not directly connected to any local kingdom, the stories of Maleficent's heroism and love had not quite reached their ears yet, further spurring them to hold onto past prejudices. When they saw her dark form flying overhead, the peaceful town sprang to life and became an angry, roaring monster in the dark. Their arrows did little in the way of wounding Maleficent, but they definitely threw her off course and she wound up being forced to land. A few had struck her wings and while they were only flesh wounds that didn't mean they didn't need treatment.

It had been the arrows that Aurora had "felt" in her mind, even if she didn't quite understand what exactly had happened.

"We need to get help!" she cried.

"What sort of help do you think would be best?" Philip replied, actively telling himself not to remind Aurora of how late it was getting.

"I think Moor Folk would be best," she replied, starting to shake with nervousness again.

"Do you think we'll be able to send a message in time?" Philip questioned her gently again, keeping his own head.

"What do you mean?" now Aurora sounded shrilly.

"I mean, it is very late and dark. Even if we could reach the Moors tonight and send the fastest scouts out, it will still be very difficult to find Maleficent," he said patiently, carefully edging in his question about the time.

Aurora gave him a devastated look, but Philip was not going to give up on her just yet.

"I would be more than glad to accompany you if you really think this is something serious that needs our immediate attention, but I implore to remember first who and what Maleficent is. She is the Queen of the Dark Fairies and a direct descendent of the Great Mother Phoenix herself. If there is anyone out there who can handle herself, it is Maleficent," he said. "Now, that's not to say she couldn't still need our assistance. Even the strongest of heroes need help sometimes and it only makes them stronger for asking," he added quickly, before Aurora could interrupt him. "I merely wish to remind you just how strong your mother is. I will still be more than happy to aid you in whatever way I can, but I first implore you to remember and fight your doubts…"

While Philip carefully tried to clear Aurora's head so that she could some to a more rational decision, Maleficent was miles away, cleaning her wounds. She cursed under her breath as she removed the stone and iron heads from her wings and limbs, using her own magic to seal the wounds. Luckily, none of them were too serious and they did not seem like they would get infected, but that did not stop a small, burning rage to catch fire in her heart. A tiny trace of the wicked witch she used to be silently begged her to morph into a phoenix (or a dragon) and kill them all for their insolence. But a much larger part of her only shook its head in annoyance and insisted that it would be better to keep moving forward than waste anymore time than necessary. Besides, the last thing she wanted was another "fair vs human" war!

Maleficent had spent the entire past few days helping that Fairy Lord broker for peace in his native lands. How hypocritical would it be for her to go back on her own words and lash out now? This particular problem could wait for another day. First, she had to get home to her daughter. Her daughter. Maleficent felt a twinge of guilt sharper than an arrowhead. She hoped the girl wouldn't be too mad or anxious that she'd needed to extend her stay at the other Fairy Kingdom. Although she knew in her heart Aurora would forgive her, that didn't make her feel any better.

"The poor girl," the Dark Fairy sighed to herself as she slowly rose to her feet, stretching and testing her wings. If she'd had more time, she might've tried to find a tree or somewhere else to hole up for the night. "She is so sweet and strong and brave and kind. I hope she had not been too worried…" then she took off again. She was a bit louder and clumsier than normal, but her wings still worked, so that was all that mattered.

"Don't worry, Aurora," she whispered to herself. "I'm coming…" and then she shut her eyes as she continued to soar through the night, silently willing her good thoughts to reach Aurora somehow, carrying her love to the girl faster than her wings ever could.

At the same time, then, Aurora felt a sudden rush of calm wash over her. Was it that good and reassuring thought Maleficent had sent her? Philip's own attempts at keeping her calm? A natural passing of her little anxiety attack? A bit of all the above? She would never truly know. What she would know, however, was that the calmer, clearer side of her brain had suddenly seemed to have gained an upper hand over the worrying side. It was like she could hear her own voice, clear and queenly, telling the rest of her body to calm down.

"Mother will be home soon. Just give her a chance. Philip gave you a chance to prove yourself. Extend the same faith to your mother, just as he said. Give her until morning, give her until morning. It will be of no use sending a search party out now. It would be better to wait for a few hours more and give Mother the benefit of the doubt, rather than wasting so much time and energy on something that may not be necessary at all. Besides, that strange twinge did not feel threatening, did it? It did not feel urgent or fatal. Uncomfortable, perhaps, but Maleficent can survive discomfort. She will be ok. And so will you. Just take a deep breath, girl, and keep on moving forward."

Aurora took a few deep breaths to stabilize herself.

"Very well," she said at last. "Let us just give her until morning. I'm sorry for overreacting.

"No, no," Philip kissed her forehead. "Never apologize for the way you feel. There is no shame in emotions. There is no shame in letting those emotions show. If anything, I'm proud of you for facing it head on rather than bottling it up. And I'm proud of you for reaching out and articulating your worries rather than letting them consume you. You have been so brave and genuine! If anything, I am sorry I could not be of more help."

"More help?" Aurora gave him a sad smile. "You have been the best help I could've ever asked for! You've done more than you could ever know. And I hope you know that and I hope you are proud. Your big, compassionate heart and your willingness to always listen no matter how crazy it seems is exactly what makes you such a great king."

"That's only because I have an even better queen," he promised, kissing her again. She kissed him back warmly. Once they broke the kiss, Aurora looking much calmer now, Philip smiled down at her once more.

"Like I said before, even the mightiest of heroes sometimes need help and, in my opinion, the bravest deed of all is to find the wisdom and courage to know when to reach out and ask for help," he said and Aurora only gave him another adoring smile because there were no words in her tongue, or any other, that could express just how glad she was to have him for a husband.

Aurora woke up the next morning to the sound of something beating steadily over her head.

"Hmmm?" she asked sleepily. "Who's there?..." then her eyes shot open when she realized that the noise was coming from Maleficent's wings.

"Mother!" she cried with joy and launched herself into Maleficent's arms.

"Hello, Beastie," came the warm reply as Maleficent swiftly wrapped arm and wing around her child. Philip woke up from all the noise and let out an undignified shriek of surprise at seeing his horned, winged mother in-law standing right besides his bed.

"Good morning, Philip," Maleficent smirked at him.

"Good morning," came the polite, respectful reply as Philip cleared his throat embarrassedly. Aurora gave the first laugh she'd uttered in days, so delighted to have her family back together again. It was a sound so sweet that Philip quickly forgot his embarrassment and Maleficent quickly forgot her amusement at Philip's expense.

Instead, Maleficent and Philip both smiled in response to Aurora's laugh and after a moment, Philip found himself being dragged into the group hug by Aurora. He still felt a bit shy and nervous around the intimidating Dark Fairy, but when she seemed willing enough to wrap part of her wing around him, he relaxed at once. He could see the appeal, and he could understand why Aurora loved being hugged by Maleficent so much. The wings were incredibly comfortable. He smiled and chuckled a little as he wrapped an arm around his wife.

"Glad to have you home, Maleficent," he told the Dark Fairy.

"Glad to be home," she responded. For once, there was nothing but warmth and sincerity in her voice as she addressed the human king. With her arms still around the human queen, she gave him a polite nod which he returned with a smile, inwardly shrieking with delight that Maleficent was warming up to him (if only by a little).

But that was only because, during the first portion of the hug, Aurora had whispered to Maleficent about how helpful Philip had been in managing her anxiety, fighting away her cares and concerns as if they were dragons and he was her knight in shining armor (which he was). It was these words from Aurora that made Maleficent look upon the young king with the first ever smile and she had been willing to accept him into her embrace (but just this once!). It was so good to have the family all back together again!

AN: gabie_cam, you bullied me into another chapter (JK, JK, I'm teasing!) I'm sorry if it was more Aurora/Philip than Aurora-Maleficent, but I still hope you liked what I was able to do with it.

For everyone else, to clarify, this takes place after "Mistress of All Evil" with the idea that King John "retires", leaving Aurora and Philip to rule Ulstead while Maleficent holds the Moors. (And then Aurora's unnamed kingdom, I'm assuming, became something of a "democracy" because she said she gave up the castle to the people).