Disclaimer: I own nothing. Just my fickle muse and notebook.
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The Regret
Diaval was a raven turned into man by magic.
A day or two after the first time it occurred, the black faerie would look at him haughtily but still she was unable to deny the glisten of tears in her eyes.
And then the darkened night came, and with it, Maleficent, his new mistress, would ask him to sit by her side. The ensuing silence was comfortable that her head would lean on his arm before she would demand that he wrapped the already in use arm around her.
Of course, he didn't mind it. It seemed he was there to provide wings and to give comfort as well.
As Maleficent's wings, his responsibilities was to observe Stefan—the new king. Diaval did so diligently as a bird. While as a man, he was somewhat a defiant companion to the lonely faerie.
Really, at first, he was aghast that his beautiful form was changed to that of flightless being...However, as there were times that his human form was given the treat of cuddling next to Maleficent, soon it somehow outweighed his discomfort in his new skin.
She needed him. And that feeling made him swell with male pride—not at all avian like.
But one night, while Maleficent was cradled in his arms, the moon brightened too much that its light pierced the thick canopy of leaves on their tree. Diaval, gazing into his mistress' eyes about to kiss her, saw himself reflected in sheen of her tears.
Diaval, a raven who was turned to human was also turned to Stefan.
"Why?" he whispered his disappointment. His human form—his own human form wasn't the one holding Maleficent all this time. He was her wings and it seemed also king Stefan's stand in.
Maleficent cupped her hand on Diaval's—Stefan's—face. "Because I hate him...because I love him."
"Change me back to a raven and never return me to being a man," Diaval grumbled.
"Why?" Maleficent asked.
"Because, mistress, I hate you...all because you made me love you," retorted Diaval. "When my little bird heart returns it will beat frantically again for that unsuspecting mouse for breakfast. And when my tiny raven eyes see the world, it will not want the extra colors. You have made me appreciate things that a bird doesn't care about. When I'm back in my old form, my heart and my eyes will not wish for more."
"Very well," muttered Maleficent.
For sixteen years, a faithful raven stayed by Maleficent's side. Its life lengthened by magic but magic could only do so much to an already seasoned raven. So it was actually a succession of two other black birds, both of which were also named Diaval. And they never donned Stefan's face, only Diaval's.
Diaval, the raven whose heart had loved her like a man and had it broken by her.
Maleficent would never admit that that unwanted love was the first salve applied to her own broken heart. And that she let him go was because some medicines just tasted too bitter that a churlish child's first reflex was to spit it out.
Might be, part of that heaviness in Maleficent's own heart was that regret she carried for sixteen long, lonely years.
—o0o—
~6 11 14AF P 6 17 14~
A/N: I know, I know ravens do live long...really happily ever after is still on.