As the years passed, Atem watched over the young princess and despite his initial hatred for King Stefan's daughter, he reluctantly protected her from afar since the three fairies that posed as her elder sisters were mostly busy and young Persona's curiosity would get the best of her, leading her to get lost, kidnapped, injured, or almost getting killed. One time, the toddler princess nearly fell off a cliff while chasing a butterfly, and to Mana's surprise, Atem used his magic to save her. When Persona was badly poisoned by a snake, Atem gave her antivenom and secretly left her flowers to lift her spirits.

Meanwhile, as the days passed, Stefan darkened, further consumed by paranoia, vengeance and obsession for hunting Atem down. He had his blacksmiths work incessantly to produce iron armory as he is aware that iron is harmful to fairies. Unfortunately, Queen Leila was struck with a grave illness and dies, but Stefan was so consumed by his desire to kill Atem that he showed no grief over his Queen's death.

When Persona turned fifteen, it is easily shown that she grew with grace and beauty, just as Atem said. She also grew with a kind heart and a gentle innocent soul. One winter evening, Persona wondered about the world around her and what lays beyond the fearsome wall of thorns.

"Hmmm. She's quite brave to be this close to my wall." Atem said as he watched Persona from afar while she tried to see through the thorn wall from a distance. Mana is with him in her human form.

Suddenly, a group of soldiers made their way to the Moors for another attempt to destroy the wall. They noticed the young princess and they cautiously approached her with their weapons in hand.

"Bring them to me." Atem turned Mana into a wolf before putting Persona to sleep in the air with his magic.

Mana cornered the soldiers from behind as Atem appeared infront of them. Dark red magical energy swirled out of Atem's hands as the soldiers began to float in the air. They spun around and crashed into each other midair. When Atem was done playing with the soldiers, he dropped them and they fell to the ground unconscious. Some of the soldiers lost their armor and weapons during the commotion. After examining them, Atem quickly realized that they were made of iron. Mana returned to Atem's side, and she was changed back into her human form with a irritated pout plastered on her face. 

"How could you do that to me?" Mana asked, sounding upset.

"You said anything I need." Replied sternly. 

"Yeah, but not a dog."

Atem scoffed then smirked. "You were a wolf, not a dog. Big difference."

Atem got to his feet with his staff in hand and walked away with a floating unconscious Persona and Mana following behind still upset about her earlier transformation. 

"It's the same thing! They're dirty, vicious, and they hunt birds."

"Fine. Next time, I'll turn you into a little mouse."

"Well, I'll be a little mouse, gladly! Anything but a filthy, stinky---"

Before Mana could finish her sentence, Atem changed her back into a bird to stop her talking. He brought the princess into the Moors and set her on the ground gently after hiding somewhere close. The princess woke up with a smile when she laid eyes on the Moors' beauty at night. Her eyes sparkled in wonder as three small glowing fairies came up to her and greeted her warmly. Atem chuckled at the girl's joyful smile as she played with the little sprites. The sprites noticed Atem and quickly flew away in fear. 

"I know you're there." Persona said before turning her whole body to where Atem was hiding. "Don't be scared."

Atem was shocked that she knew where he was, but he kept his composure. 

"I am not afraid."

"Then come out."

"Then you'll be afraid."

Persona shook her head. "No, I won't."

Atem steps out of his hiding spot and into the light so that Persona could see him. Persona's eyes grew wide and she blushed.

"I know who you are."

Atem's eyes widened. "You do?"

The girl nodded and smiled warmly.

"You're the man in my dreams."

"W-what?" A light blush formed on Atem's face. 

"The man of my dreams. You always appear in my dreams, watching over me and protecting me. I've always known you were real and not make believe."

Atem was baffled by her words. He didn't know how to respond, but luckily, Mana landed next to him on a nearby tree branch.

"Oh, hello!" Persona greeted the raven. Shifting her attention to Mana.

"Her name is Mana." Atem said.

Mana bowed to Persona with her wings out, then was shifted to her human form by Atem.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Persona!" Mana greeted as she held both of Persona's hands. 

"It's just as I imagined it to be. It's so beautiful! " Persona exclaimed to Mana with happiness "I've always wanted to come here!"

The girl let go of Mana's hands and turned back to Atem.

"And...I've always wanted to meet you. What's your name?"

Without thinking, and with only a bit of hesitation, he told her a false name. A name Stefan used to call Atem back when they used to be friends. 

"Yami."

Atem allowed Persona to spend more time in the Moors with him. They played games with Mana and Atem showed Persona the other amazing wonders of the Moors and its creatures. They continued this for several months and became very close. Persona gave Atem a familiar feeling that he felt when Maleficent was alive. One night, after returning her home and putting her to bed, a thought crossed Atem's mind. Why did he have to use her for his revenge on her father? She is nothing like her father and has yet to see the world. So, Atem tries to remove the curse from her himself, but unfortunately, he is unable to since no power on earth can change it but true love's kiss as he mentioned before.

To Be Continued...