Alone Again

Maleficent sat alone on her favorite hill, looking out over the Moors. She looked over at the castle where her dear beasty was learning about being a queen of the humans. She was happy for Aurora but her loneliness was beginning to come back. She wanted her goddaughter to be happy and the young princess did visit her often but Maleficent knew that soon there would probably be days at a time when she wouldn't see her goddaughter. Aurora was the princess of both kingdoms now and she would need to be in some places more than others and she would have a lot of responsibilities. She could handle it all but she would not have as much time to send in the Moors. Maleficent didn't know it until it occurred to her but that made her saddest of all.

She looked up, suddenly, when a certain raven landed on a nearby tree branch. Diaval squawked at her. Smirking, she scoffed and swirled magic around her fingertips. He morphed back in a man and sat on the ground.

"How things have changed," Diaval remarked.

"Indeed," Maleficent replied.

"Do you think Aurora will be alright?"

"She'll be just fine. She's kind and gracious. Her people will love her. And I will always watch over her."

"Then she has a grand guardian, indeed."

She smiled. "I am going to miss her, though."

Diaval chuckled at that notion. "Miss her? You'll see plenty of her."

"Not like I used to. Not like I would wish to."

He nodded, silently. "I understand. I'm not ashamed to admit I'm going to miss her, too."

Maleficent stared at castle again. She remembered all the times with Aurora and how that was going to end. It put her in a bit of a trance and her next words were whispered so lowly that didn't even realize that she had spoken them. "I'm alone again."

They did not, however, escape Diaval's ears. He looked up at her, confused by that. "Mistress, what do you mean?"

She looked at him, surprised, having not meant to say that aloud. She wasn't sure if she should explain and tried to come up with a way to divert the conversation. "I…" But, for some reason, looking at him, that was all she could muster. Now, he would know if she was lying. She sighed and resolved to confess the truth to him. "I'll be alone, Diaval." She looked back at the castle. "Aurora will rule like a queen should and she will be a good queen, of that I have no doubt." She paused. "But… she'll have responsibilities. She won't be here as much. And… I will have no one again."

"I understand your feelings when it comes to Aurora." He paused. "But… what about… me?"

She looked at him.

"Why do you say that you'll be alone again? I'm here."

"No… you won't be."

"Why?"

She looked at the ground. "Because I'm doing what I should've done long ago."

"What is that?"

All sound caught in her throat. She didn't realize it until she was about to say it but she didn't want to utter these words. "I'm setting you free, Diaval."

He sat up straight. His gave way to shock and offense. "What?!"

She was fighting back at tear. "I'm setting you free." She stood up and took a few steps away from him, turning her back to him. This was hurting her a lot more than she expected. "I had no right to enslave you simply because I saved you from the farmer. You are free to do what you will." A tear fell but she hoped he wouldn't see it. He needed to be free and she needed to set him free. It was only right.

He paused and stood up, scoffing and smirking to mask his own sadness. He looked at her, though she still had her back to him. "You do not wish to be alone but you're setting me free?"

She spoke but he could only barely hear her, "I have to."

"Why?"

She looked over the Moors. "Because you stood by me."

"I don't understand."

She didn't want to explain; this was painful enough as it was. She looked at him, finding it harder to explain while she looked at him but she had to. "I didn't deserve your kindness. Your friendship. Your caring." She stopped. "I may not have allowed myself to see it, let alone acknowledge it, but I know good and well that you could've flown off whenever you were ready." She looked down, "I couldn't have stopped you and I never would've found you."

"But I came back."

"Because you're loyal. And I didn't deserve it. I don't deserve it. Which is why I'm…"

"In what way do you not deserve it?" he interrupted.

She found his question confusing. "In what way, do I?"

He stared at her. "You could've not cared. Aurora would never have made it three days with the pixies had it not been for you."

"You helped greatly in that regard. You watched out for her more than me and you know it."

"Perhaps. But you didn't stop me, either."

She focused the ground, not wanting to admit he was right.

"You spent so long hating Stefan, you began hating yourself for not letting it go."

Again, she knew he was right. "Shouldn't I?"

"If you were so full of hate, if you deserved to be alone, it wouldn't be hurting you so much that you will be."

She was amazed by the points he was making; made even more amazing by the fact that he was making them. "When did you become so knowledgeable?"

He gave a brief chuckle. "Too much time as a man."

She paused, remembering how that was just one more thing that she forced upon him. "I'm sorry."

"I never said it was a bad thing."

"I still need to do the right thing: I am setting you free. You earned it long ago."

"And I stayed because I wanted to," he said, swiftly. It was purely a reaction; he made no plans to say anything, really. But his words carried a lot of weight with them.

Maleficent felt every bit of it as she stared at him. "What?"

Diaval took a deep breath. "I said… I stayed because I wanted to."

"Why would you want to?"

He took a second before answering, not wanting were to mistake what he was saying. "Because… despite how we may have met…" He looked at her. "I can honestly say… that I can't see my life not intertwined with yours anymore."

That caught her off-guard. "Diaval…"

"Because… with all of the time I spent as man…" He walked toward her, "I learned something that I would not have understood had I not met with you, had I not been around you for the past near 20 years."

He stepped closer to her and it was closer than he had ever been before.

"Something… you may have forgotten."

Maleficent had, deep in her heart, kept the fear of letting anyone ever get this close again because of Stefan. But it seemed that Diaval had wielded his own magic on her. She couldn't find a reason or strength to move and she felt that, even if she could, she wouldn't have taken it.

"And… what is that?" she couldn't help but ask.

Diaval could only think of one way to answer her question. He, slowly, brought his hand up to her cheek and, in that instant, Maleficent could feel a warmth she had never felt before, not even with her former beloved. She exhaled deeply almost immediately, closing her eyes to enjoy the sensation. She opened them back up and saw Diaval moving face closer to hers. He tilted his head to side and stopped just short of his lips touching hers. He wasn't sure if he should continue. But that moment in hesitation provided his answer as she moved the necessary half an inch to reach him, completing the kiss.

They both closed their eyes and the amazing feeling and pleasure of the kiss took over. Maleficent dropped her staff and placed one hand behind Diaval's head and another at his side while he wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer. It had been nearly 20 years since Maleficent had experienced anything like this but she swore this was so much better than any kiss she ever shared with Stefan. In fact, when she thought about it, Diaval's loyalty to her, alone, did more and meant more to her than Stefan's love ever did.

They broke the kiss, moving their faces slowly away from one another as they savored the moment. They opened their eyes and looked at each other, in awe of the moment that had just taken place between them.

"You've forgotten love, Mistress," Diaval whispered. "That's what I learned."

She just stared at him, unable to speak.

"You remembered it for Aurora and I thank the fates for that. But you forgot it for yourself. True love does exist. For those who truly believe it does."

She felt another tear threatening to fall. She had no reason to stop it. "Then… it exists. I believe it."

He smiled.

"For the first time in so long…" A few tears fell. "In so long, Diaval… I believe it."

"I'm glad."

"I'm setting you free as my servant, Diaval. But, please… stay. I may fear being alone… but I don't need to fear it ever again as long as you're here. Please, just stay."

"Of course, Mistress."

"You are no longer any servant to me. Call me 'Maleficent.'"

"Yes… Maleficent."

They shared another kiss as, for the first time in nearly twenty years, Maleficent truly felt her loneliness dissolve away and love come back to her heart.

A/N: So, what did you guys think? REVIEWS, PLEASE!