"I don't see any sign of them.." Henry muttered to himself as he looked around him. It's been a while since he entered the Moors forest, and after seeing a few hoof prints on the muddy ground he was following, it suddenly got messy in the middle.
Henry crouched and traced the two highly identical hoof prints on the mud, one was heading west while the other was the opposite, "There are prints all over the place, as if the horses turned back and ran away…"
'Perhaps they realized the place is pointless and decided to go back? But if it is, I would've bumped into them earlier…' Scratching the back of his head, Henry decided to continue moving forward.
However, it didn't take long for his questions to be answered, as the hoof prints slowly transformed into footprints.
Well, obviously the horses couldn't have turned into humans, so Henry's conclusion was that they started walking on foot, abandoning the horses completely—maybe it's the opposite, the horses leaving their riders.
'Makes it much easier for me to catch up to them…' The moment Henry muttered this to himself, a huge pillar of green flames suddenly erupted a distance away from him.
The tower of flames was so high that a few birds in the sky were caught and turned into crisps. Meanwhile for Henry, as soon as he saw this, his eyes widened.
"Or maybe not…" In a hurry, Henry climbed atop Boy, and they bolted forward deep into the forest, following the direction of the pillar of green flames.
"Hopefully, she's not pissed off that much yet." Although he whispered these words of hope, deep inside him, he knew it was just wishful thinking. Knowing his brother's personality and Maleficent's temper.
Their conversation probably went like this:
Alex: Bend your knee and serve me!
Maleficent: How dare you, mortal! Begone!
Or something like that.
"I just hope he's not charred too much to the point he'd be unrecognizable. Would be hard to bring him back to Lioncrest in one piece."
Normally, he could've gone there much faster by himself through flying with his flames, however, just in case the chances that Alex has successfully angered Maleficent—highly likely—a fight will definitely break out and he needed to be in a top condition to stand a chance.
———
Everywhere he looked, there was nothing but green flames consuming everything. Several charred bodies lay on the floor, their melted pieces of iron were infused with their burnt flesh, making up disgusting disfigured corpses.
'Maybe not everything…' Henry whispered to himself and took a closer look. The green flames weren't actually burning anything. The trees were intact, and so were the grasses and plants.
He looked around again and the charred bodies were still being burned by the green flames. That was when the realization struck him, "Fascinating. She only burns what she wants to burn…"
Henry then started walking on foot all by himself. He already instructed Boy to stay behind, somewhere far from the green flames.
The more he walked, the wider the green flames became. They were everything, and yet at the same time, they weren't burning anything. It's like they act as normal flames—sticking and spreading through wood and grass, lighting everything up in flames, but at the same time, they're not burning them.
"They're just…there." He murmured in fascination.
'Is this what true mastery of flames really looked like? Perhaps, if I didn't slack that much, I could've learned how to burn the things I only want to with my flames.'
Henry was tempted to stretch his hand and touch the green flames, but the sheer heat it emanates steers him clear from such a dangerous impulse.
Finally, after wandering for an entire minute, he finally came across a scene he would never forget.
There, kneeling on the ground with burn marks all over his body and melted armor that contributes to his suffering, was his brother, Alex.
He was breathless, his sword snapped in half, the two separate pieces resting on the ground on his left. He was already half-balding, as more than 50% of his hair was definitely burned.
The entire scene looks exactly like the one Master Elias told him about.
And standing in front of him was the real unforgettable sight. Maleficent stood on a higher ground in her entire glory. A simple black robe made of unknown material hid her body beneath, a wooden staff with intricate carvings held by her left hand, and standing atop it was a raven whose eyes were staring directly at him.
Not his brother, Alex. But at Henry himself.
As for Henry, he doesn't care about it. Instead, he was rejoicing inside his mind as soon as his eyes landed on Maleficent's face. Deep sunken cheeks, dark eyes, red lips, and last but not least, her hair was made up on two curved horns that look both menacing and intimidating to anyone who looks at it.
'Hell yeah! It's Angelina Jolie! The live-action version. Which means, there's a high chance of convincing her.'
However, his thoughts came to an abrupt stop when all of a sudden, the green flames around him moved in illogical ways. They first unstuck themselves from the trees and grasses, clearing them off of the flames, then suddenly, they struck him.
A sea of green flames suddenly swarmed all over him. With little to no space to react, Henry subconsciously spread his arms wide, fiery blue flames erupted from both of his open palms, circling around him and deflecting the green flames in a matter of seconds.
Despite producing flames that are clearly hotter than the green flames, his blue flames seemed to be at a stalemate with Maleficent's.
"Fascinating." This was Henry's reaction to the scene. He had never seen flames looking like they were having a battle of their own.
To his surprise, an even larger green flame suddenly appeared from behind, fully submerging his and if that wasn't enough as a shock, his blue flames, upon losing, quickly shifted forces, turning their shades from blue to green.
"Wait what?!" Henry couldn't help but voice his surprise.
The green flames, now ten times larger than before after combining with a new one and his flames, surged towards him like a tsunami.
With quick thinking, blue flames erupted from the soles of his feet. Instantly bringing him up in the air.
He raised his hands in a surrendering manner and yelled at Maleficent, who was now looking at him with dead cold eyes, "I'm not here to fight! I come with good intentions!"
In response to this, Maleficent raised her right hand lightly, just a tiny bit. And that was enough as a gesture for the green flames on the ground to suddenly take interest in the sky.
'Come on, you gotta be kidding me.' Henry mentally grumbled. Thankfully, the flames weren't that fast, so Henry came up with the best course to decide on in his current situation.
He targeted Maleficent. Not to hurt her or anything, that might just further complicate his situation. Instead, he wanted to approach her, the best way to talk to someone is face to face, on the same level and on the same ground.
That's why when the flames on his foot soles turned more fiery than before, his figure vanished, turning into a blur as he made his way towards Maleficent.
Only for the raven perched on her staff, suddenly flap his wings and flew towards him, intercepting him with a bellow.
"Kawww!" With its talons, the raven attempted to strike his face mid-air. It's already fascinating enough that the bird was able to discern his blurred figure, much more, accurately target his face while speeding.
Henry simply maneuvered with practiced ease, dodging the talons while still maintaining his speed.
When he finally arrived in front of Maleficent, the latter stood calm while still bearing a stone-cold gaze.
"I'm here to talk." Henry stepped forward and introduced himself, "My name is Henry Charming, Crown Prince of Lioncrest. Though I doubt you care about any of those things, so I'll go straight to busin—"
Before he was able to finish his sentence, Maleficent finally spoke, "Are you here to save him?" She was referring to Alex.
Speaking of Alex, the boy has been grinning for a while after seeing Henry earlier. Something that Maleficent took notice of earlier, hence her attack on Henry.
Contrary to her expectations, Henry shook his head and replied, "Oh him? No. As a matter of fact, the reason why I'm here is simple." He pointed at Alex, whose grin crumbled after hearing his words, and continued, "That boy is no longer affiliated with Lioncrest Kingdom. A few days ago, his action against me and the crown caused him to be stripped of his royal prince status."
He turned towards Alex, "At the same time, my father, the King, has announced his verdict regarding his situation. That boy is exiled from our Kingdom." His loud announcement made the exiled prince freeze in shock.
Even Maleficent was surprised by the sudden turn of events. Though her reaction to it was just a small crease of her brow.
Henry shifted his attention back to Maleficent, "That's why whatever his actions may be, I hope it wouldn't extend to the Lioncrest Kingdom. The same goes for whatever happens to him, Lioncrest Kingdom wouldn't retaliate nor make an action out of it. Hence, you can do what you want with him."
The moment he finished his words, Alex finally recovered from his shock, "What are you talking about, Henry! I-I'm your brother! Y-You can't just leave me like this!"
Henry simply smiled in front of Maleficent, ignoring the cries of Alex, a mix of begging and cursing. He doesn't know what happened behind him, or how Alex's voice came to an abrupt halt.
He only knows the answer to why Alex's shouting and cursing came to a stop.
Maleficent turned around and whispered, "You may go now." After that, she left. The raven from earlier descended and perched on his usual spot on the wooden staff.
Meanwhile, Henry turned around and only saw a charred body where Alex was supposed to be. Clearly, she killed him while in front of him and waited for his reaction. Only when he remained impassive did she finally agree to what he was implying. Sort of.
'Well, that's one less problem for me, I guess…' While he whispered this to himself, he couldn't help but look back at where Maleficent had disappeared to. The trees seemed to have a mind of their own, bending slightly towards the ground as if trying to cover Maleficent's back.
'The entire forest serves her will. Her title as its protector is not for naught.'
However, his short but meaningful battle with her earlier made him realize just how weak and pitiful he is compared to the likes of the world's real powerhouses. She didn't even move an inch, or transform into a huge dragon.
Henry raised his left forearm and stared at the burnt flesh near the wrist, which was already healing slowly, 'Yet, she was able to inflict damage on me without taking me seriously…'
He couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if she actually did take him seriously. Perhaps his fate would've ended right here and then, lying side by side with his brother's charred corpse.
'And here I thought I was already someone special. How can I be one when there's someone in this world who can strike me down even at my highest point?' He stared at his palm for a few good seconds before closing it into a fist.
'I need to get stronger.' He muttered to himself.
'Speaking of getting stronger.' Once again, he stared at where Maleficent left to, 'A good teacher is already just within my reach if I played my cards right…Not to mention her cruel fate.'
Maleficent was filled with vengeance, anger, and almost all the negative emotions one can feel in their entire lifetime. All because of one man and one betrayal.
Sure, she'll eventually overcome all these challenges and come out stronger and a winner. But in exchange, she'll experience more suffering and pain.
However, Henry believes she can still get all those things without having to experience the bad sides.
'Not to mention, it would be best to have her as an ally rather than an enemy or a neutral party, especially with the cruel fate this world is about to go through. I can work with that now that I'm here…'
————————————
[Just a short clarification to a few (horny) readers. Maleficent won't be part of the harem, nor is Aurora. This entire arc is going to be about Henry's character development.]