Maleficent leaned against the Rowan Tree, watching the end of another day. It had been a month since she'd seen Stefan, the longest time yet. The other Fair Folk had noticed her growing more solemn and quiet, but she was too ashamed to admit she was feeling a little lovesick, particularly for a human boy. She distanced herself from them, preferring to be alone in case she grew tempted¹ to tell them about her companion, or in case Stefan suddenly appeared.

As the sun set, Maleficent's thoughts grew dark as well. She wondered where Stefan was. If he was okay. If he missed her, even a little. Try as she might, Maleficent couldn't shake the sadness that filled her. Was she wrong to trust a human? Had her parents been wrong, too? Not for the first time, she wondered what things would have been like had her parents lived. She could just picture the scene—running home to the Rowan Tree and finding her mother sitting there, her back against the warm trunk. Maleficent would cry and tell her everything, and then her mother would kiss her forehead and tell her it would be all right. And it would be. Somehow.

Maleficent shook her head. It was silly to get caught up in a fantasy. She sighed and gave herself a mental shake. She had to snap out of her melancholy².

Suddenly, there was a sound like thunder. Looking over the precipice³, Maleficent let out a gasp⁴. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the approaching army. It was charging toward the Moors⁵, King Henry's banner flying in the wind. Her heart sank in her chest. It was happening again. Another war. Quickly, Maleficent took to the sky.

In the countryside at the edge of the Moors, King Henry sat on his horse, addressing his army. Henry was a man long past his prime. His beard was gray and the wavy⁶ hair on his head was thinning. His waist had thickened over the years and his fingers ached with arthritis⁷. Despite all that, he held himself proudly, comfortable in his heavy armor. This was not the first time he had gone to war. A kingdom was only as strong as the king who sat on its throne, and Henry had, on more occasions than he could count, proven his strength.

But that day was different. More was at stake than ever before. The land in the Moors was vast and, from all reports, full of riches beyond imagining. There were natural resources, such as fresh water and plentiful⁸ forests. And it was rumored⁹ that the streams were filled with jewels. Taking over the Moors would make his kingdom much more powerful.

But those were not reasons why Henry now stood in front of his army at the edge of the Moors. The reason Henry was about to go to war was that the Moors posed a huge threat. The creatures who lived there had magic. And there was no telling what they might someday do with that magic. So Henry wanted them destroyed. And if a consequence of that destruction was access to rich lands, all the better.

As his mount pranced¹⁰ nervously¹¹ under him, Henry gestured behind himself. "There they are," he began. "The mysterious Moors. No one dares to venture there for fear of the magical creatures that lurk¹² within." He paused, scanning the crowd for the telltale signs of weakness and fright. Seeing only a handful of men who looked ready to turn back, he went on. "Well, I say ... crush them!"

The army let out a loud cheer. Emboldened¹³, King Henry lengthened¹⁴ his pep talk. "We're not afraid of 'magical' creatures!" he cried. "We have swords!" The men waved their weapons high in the air and let out another cheer. "We will take the Moors and kill anything that stands in our way!"

He threw the signal and the men charged forward. The first men reached the bottom of a hill covered in mist. They began to climb, the ground shaking under their pounding footsteps. And then they came to a screeching¹⁵ halt.

From the other side of the hill, two enormous black wings appeared through the mist. Then a pair of sharp, twisted horns. Slowly, Maleficent rose into the air, looking like a creature from hell. Behind her, there was only mist. No army of her own. No faeries or creatures. Just Maleficent.　

For a moment, Henry was worried. He had been prepared to take the Moors unawares. And the creature hovering¹⁶ in front of them was rather scary. But then he smiled. There appeared to be only one.

"Go no further," Maleficent instructed, sounding braver than she felt.

King Henry smirked¹⁷ at her gall¹⁸. "A king does not take orders from a winged elf."

"You are no king to me."

Henry yelled to his troops, "Bring me her head!"

Once more, the army thundered forward, the sound of hoofbeats mixing with the clinking of armor. As Maleficent watched them approach, her heart thudded in her chest. She couldn't help thinking this was what her parents must have seen and felt during their final moments. But she would do anything to protect the Moors, just as they had. Lifting her wings higher, she let out an ear-piercing shriek¹⁹ and began to fly forward.

And then, from behind her, she felt a surge of magic. Turning, she watched as a malevolent²⁰ army appeared. They clawed and climbed their way up the hill. Some of the creatures were scaled, others had feet turned backward, while others had leather wings. Some snarled²¹, while others slobbered like diseased hounds. There were ones who walked upright and others who crawled along on four legs. But they all had one thing in common: they wanted to protect their home. And they had defended this place from invading humans many times before.

As the hodgepodge army of creatures approached, Maleficent nearly cried in relief. She had been so scared that she wouldn't be able to rise to the occasion to fight at the front lines if it had ever come to this. But now she had her army, who had no doubt rushed to her aid when they had learned of the trouble, and she felt braver with the creatures behind her. She had become their makeshift leader. And they were ready. Giving a signal, she watched as they began to attack viciously.

Confident that the creatures could take care of the larger army, Maleficent set her sights on King Henry. As soon as he had seen the Moorland army, the king had turned his horse and begun racing²² for home. But Maleficent wasn't going to let him go that easily. He was one of the monstrous²³ humans. The kind who came to destroy everything she cared about for his own gain. The kind who had killed her parents. Her fury rising as she took to the air, she flew after him.

It took her only a moment to catch up to Henry. From above, she battered²⁴ the king with her wings until he fell off his horse. She landed and stood looming²⁵ above him. "You will not have the Moors now or ever!" she cried, her voice booming.

Frightened, King Henry raised his armored hand, trying to protect himself from Maleficent. As he did, the iron gently brushed Maleficent's cheek.

She let out a gasp and raised a hand to her face. Where the iron had touched her skin, it burned painfully. Noticing that his enemy was distracted, King Henry scrambled²⁶ to his feet and hobbled away, wheezing²⁷ in pain. All around him, the rest of the army retreated as well, running as fast as they could from the terrifying creatures.

Sighing, Maleficent gave a signal, and her army ceased its attack. Maleficent saw more familiar faces among the ranks. Balthazar nodded at Maleficent and she nodded back, hoping she was conveying the gratitude²⁸ she felt. 　

As she headed back into the Moors, Maleficent was left alone with her thoughts. A human attack. Could they dare to hope that this would be the end of it? That peace could still be possible? How she wished she could talk to Stefan. Maybe they could make a plan to form some sort of treaty between the faeries and the humans. But a nagging²⁹ notion interrupted her other thoughts: What if all the humans banded together against them? What if Stefan sided with King Henry?

 

玛琳菲森靠在龙湾树上，看着太阳又一次落山。她和斯戴芬有一个月没见了，这是最长的一次分别。其他精灵发现她变得越来越严肃、安静，但是她羞于承认自己是得了相思病，尤其对方还是一个人类的男孩。她远离他们，常常独处，以防自己会忍不住把她的这个同伴告诉别人，又怕斯戴芬会突然出现。

太阳下山了，玛琳菲森的思绪也跟着黯淡了下来。她不知道斯戴芬在哪儿，他还好吗，他有想她吗，哪怕只是一点点也好。尽管竭尽全力，玛琳菲森还是无法摆脱她内心充满的悲伤。她不应该相信人类吗？她的父母也错了吗？她不止一次地想象，如果父母还在世，一切会怎样？她只能想象那些场景—她跑回家，发现妈妈就坐在龙湾树上，背靠着温暖的树干。自己可以向她哭诉所有的事情，母亲则会亲吻她的前额，告诉她一切都会过去。而且无论如何是会过去的。

玛琳菲森摇了摇头，沉浸于幻想中可不是明智之举。她叹了口气，想将脑海中的一切甩开。她得从忧伤中走出来。

突然，一阵雷鸣般的响动传来。从悬崖上往下一看，玛琳菲森不禁倒吸一口凉气。她太沉浸于自己的世界而没有注意到有军队正在靠近。他们正向摩尔森林行进，亨利国王的旗帜迎风飘扬。她的心沉了下去。又一场战争开始了。玛琳菲森迅速飞上了天空。

在摩尔森林边界的乡间，亨利国王骑在马上，正向他的士兵发号施令。亨利早已过了鼎盛时期。他胡须斑白，一头卷发也所剩无几。这些年来，他的腰粗了不少，手指也患上了关节炎。尽管如此，穿上沉重的盔甲还是让他感到舒适又骄傲。这已经不是他第一次参战了。国王有多厉害，国家就有多强盛，而亨利已经无数次向世人证明了他的实力。

但这一次有些与众不同，它比以往任何一次都要危险。摩尔森林有着广袤的土地，而且多方事实表明，其财富多到令人难以置信。这里蕴藏着丰富的自然资源，比如纯净的水和大片的森林。还有传言说连这里的河底都铺满了宝石。拿下摩尔森林绝对会让他的国家更加强盛。

但这些并不是亨利现在带着军队站在摩尔森林边界的原因。亨利决意开战是因为摩尔森林已经构成了一个巨大的威胁。居住在那里的生物都有魔力。谁都说不清他们今后会用魔力做些什么。所以亨利想把他们毁掉。当然，如果与此同时又能占据这片丰饶的土地，那就更好了。

他的坐骑不安腾跃着，亨利指了指他的身后，开始说道：“他们就在那，神秘的摩尔森林。没有人敢前来进犯，是因为害怕里面潜伏着的有魔力的生物。”他停下来，扫视着士兵，看看有没有人表现出软弱或惊恐的神情。发现只有少数士兵有撤退的意图，他继续说道：“但是，我要说……粉碎他们！”

士兵们发出一阵响亮的呼声。亨利得到了支持，继续鼓舞士气，他喊道：“我们才不怕那些‘魔力’生物！我们有刀剑在手！”士兵们高举武器，再次高呼：“我们要拿下摩尔森林，所有挡路者必亡！”

亨利手一挥，军队就向前冲去。第一批士兵来到迷雾环绕的山脚下。他们开始往上爬，在他们强有力的步伐下，大地都在摇晃。然后，他们突然停了下来。

山另一边的迷雾中出现了两只巨大的黑色翅膀，紧接着是一对尖利扭曲的犄角。玛琳菲森慢慢地升到空中，好似来自地狱一般。她身后只有一片云雾，没有成群的军队，没有精灵或动物。只有玛琳菲森。

有那么一会儿，亨利很担心。他原打算趁其不备攻入摩尔森林。而且这只盘旋在她们面前的生物确实太吓人了。不过紧接着他又笑了，因为她是孤身一人。

“统统止步。”玛琳菲森命令道，声音听起来比她想的还要勇敢。

亨利国王觉得她不过是胆大妄为，得意地笑了起来：“国王可不会听令于一个长着翅膀的妖精。”

“在我眼中，你才不是国王。”

亨利对着他的队伍呐喊道：“给我杀了她！”

队伍再次前进，马蹄声和盔甲的撞击声混合成雷鸣般的巨响。玛琳菲森看着他们越来越近，她的心在胸口怦怦直跳。她忍不住想，这必定是她父母在生命最后一刻的所看所感。不过她会像父母一样，为守卫摩尔森林不惜牺牲一切。她振翅高飞，发出一声刺耳的尖叫，向前方冲去。

接着，她感到身后魔力大涨，转身一看，一队带有敌意的大军出现了。他们向山顶攀爬，有些生灵浑身长满鳞片，有些脚向后生长，有些还长着皮翼。他们有些在咆哮，有些像患病的猎犬那样流着口水。他们其中有直立行走的，也有四脚并用的。不过他们有着共同的目标：那就是保卫家园。他们为保护这片土地已经在此和入侵的人类交战多次了。

随着生灵混合军的到来，玛琳菲森松了口气，几乎要哭了出来。她太怕自己不能独自应对战场上的局面。不过现在，她有了自己的军队，他们一听到有危险就义无反顾地过来帮她，而她也因为身后的那些生灵而变得更加勇敢。她成了他们的临时首领。她的部队已经准备就绪。一声令下，他们就毫不留情地发起了攻击。

玛琳菲森相信那些生灵们足以应付人类大军，于是她将视线转向了亨利国王。自从看到摩尔森林的军队后，亨利就掉转马头，想要逃跑。不过玛琳菲森才不会让他走得那么容易。他是人类中最可怕的一类。是那种为了一己私利而毁坏她所在乎的一切的人类，是那种杀害她父母的人类。她心中燃起了怒火，腾空而起，向他追去。

片刻后她就赶上了亨利。她用双翅向下狠狠地拍打，直到把国王击落马下。她落到亨利国王面前，逼近他：“你永远也得不到摩尔森林，现在不能，以后也不能！”她大声喊道，声音低沉而有力。

亨利国王害怕极了，他举起戴着盔甲的手，想要阻挡玛琳菲森的袭击。他一挥手，铁质盔甲轻轻地扫过了玛琳菲森的面颊。

她倒吸一口气，用手捂住了自己的脸。她脸上被铁器触碰过的地方烧灼得厉害，疼痛不已。亨利国王看到他的敌人乱了阵脚，挣扎着爬起来，痛苦地喘息着，一瘸一拐地逃走了。在他周围，剩下的士兵也撤退了，他们都在以最快的速度逃离这群可怕的生灵。

玛琳菲森叹了口气，打了个手势，她的军队立即停止了攻击。她在其中看到了很多熟悉的面孔。巴扎沙朝她点头致意，她也同样回礼，希望能传达她的谢意。

当她回摩尔森林时，她的脑海中充斥着万般思绪。一次人类的进攻。他们可以希望这是最后一次吗？和平还有可能实现吗？她多想和斯戴芬说说这事啊。说不定他们可以计划着为精灵族和人类的和平制定出一些条款和约定。但是脑海中有个不安的想法打断了她全部的思绪：如果所有的人类都联合起来对抗他们怎么办？如果斯戴芬站在亨利国王那一边，又该怎么办？

点击收听单词发音