Chapter Two
When the sun rose the next morning, Maleficent woke and stretched, wincing a bit at the slight pain that remained from the iron. Her shifting woke Diaval as well, who sat up and removed his arm from her shoulders, intent on re-examining the wound.
"Diaval...I'm fine. It's just a bit sore."
"Ah...forgive me. I just worry."
"So I've noticed." she said with a smile and a light chuckle, which caused the raven to blush.
Instead of moving away as he'd expected, the fairy simply reclined against his side again. He blinked and looked down at her, his mind a flurry of questions, none of which seemed able to reach his mouth. Just as he was about to speak, she cut him off.
"You've been my loyal companion for so long...and I...feel as though I should finally free you from my service."
"Wha...mistress...you want me to leave?"
"It's not that I /want/ you to leave, but that you deserve to be free."
"I...don't want to leave. I like it here, in the Moors."
Maleficent blinked and peered up at him in confusion, one eyebrow lifting as he continued.
"I've become accustomed to being with you, and I have no desire to change that now."
"Diaval..."
"Nope. I'm not leaving. You'd have to kill me to get rid of me."
"I would never harm you, birdie, you know that."
The man-bird smirked at her and took her hand in his, pressing a kiss to the back of it before relaxing against the tree and closing his eyes again.
"Then I guess you're stuck with me, hm?"
Just as she opened her mouth to speak, a rustle in the plants caught her attention and she turned her head towards it. A small troll stumbled out of the flowers and tripped over a fallen branch, landing right in her lap. Maleficent chuckled at seeing the thing's eyes covered in mud, and wiped it away with her finger. The little troll blinked up at her, and immediately scurried off her lap in fear.
"Now now, no need for that. When have I ever brought harm to any of my friends?"
When he wasn't sent flying by the fairy Queen's magic, the little creature came back over and sat down next to her, offering her a bright pink flower with a grunt and a smile. She took the small plant and smiled, patting the little creature on the head before he ran off again.
"It's nice..."
"Hm? What is?"
"To see you happy again, mistress. To see you not so consumed by hatred and revenge."
The fairy rolled her eyes again and stood up, flexing her wings, before peering down at him. He blinked and stood as well, following her as she started to wander through the trees. The two of them wandered for a couple hours, chatting idly at times, and enjoying the peaceful silence at others. Once they stopped to sit, the raven cleared his throat.
"Mistress..."
"Maleficent. I'm not your mistress anymore."
"Maleficent, then. I've been meaning to speak with you about something, if you don't mind."
"Of course, what is it?"
As he opened his mouth to speak, he was cut off by a cheery voice calling out their names, and chuckled instead.
"Looks as if it'll have to wait. Seems Aurora has decided to pay us another visit."
Once he had been transformed into his true self, he flew off to find the human Queen. Once he was gone, Maleficent reached down to remove the now dried-up plant from her side, smiling at seeing the angry wound reduced to a small scar. Soon after, Aurora and Diaval broke the tree-line, and she changed him back into a man.
"Godmother!"
"A bit early for a visit, isn't it beastie?"
"I heard what happened and had to come be sure you were alright!"
"How did you..."
"It was one of my father's soldiers...he came to us bragging about what he'd done...father beat him senseless and locked him away."
"Did he now?"
"Yes. He said that no-one was to threaten the peace between our kingdoms."
The fairy smiled and patted the ground next to her, Aurora coming to sit immediately, Diaval sitting down on her other side. She batted his hand away when he moved to check her wound, causing the blond girl to giggle. The raven looked away with a light blush, which caused Maleficent to chuckle as well, patting his shoulder.
"You're embarrassed far too easily, birdie."
He cleared his throat and stood again, moving to pick some berries near-by for the three of them. After nearly two hours, thunder sounded in the distance, and Aurora flinched.
"I guess that's my cue to get home. I'm glad to see you're alright. You're still coming to the ball tomorrow night, right?"
"Of course. I gave you my word, didn't I?"
The girl smiled and headed back to the castle, leaving the two of them alone again. The fairy stood and stretched her wings just as another crack of thunder was heard.
"Shall we head back to the tree?"
Diaval nodded and they started the walk back, the raven oddly excited about going to the fancy party at the castle the following night. Once back in the large nest in the tree, she used her magic to create a shield of branches and leaves to keep the rain out, and settled down to wait out the storm. Maleficent looked over at her friend and chuckled at seeing him try to keep some distance from her in the nest.
"It's alright. I happen to find you a quite comfortable pillow."
He chuckled and laid down next to her, the fairy quickly finding a comfortable position with her head resting on his shoulder, a wing stretched over both of them like a large blanket. It wasn't long before rain began to pour, soaking everything and everyone unfortunate enough to be caught in it. As the storm raged, the raven and fairy talked, asking questions and giving answers in return.
"I..."
"What is it, birdie? Something bothering you?"
"I just...I've become quite fond of you over the eighteen years I've served you...I think I love you...and I wanted you to know."
Lifting up on her elbow, Maleficent regarded him with silent curiosity, her bright green eyes studying his face.
"Diaval..."
"I know, I know...I just had to say something."
She simply stared down at him, not knowing what to say in return. The raven reached up and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, letting his hand rest on her cheek. The fairy didn't recoil, but didn't lean into his touch either, she simply continued to stare, a flurry of emotions warring for recognition in her chest.
"I...I need to...ah..."
Before he could protest, she got up and left, flying off into the rain. Diaval sighed and laid his hand over his eyes, muttering to himself how stupid he was. Out in the rain, Maleficent had landed and found a hollow tree to take shelter from the rain in, and give herself some privacy to sort out her thoughts. She sighed and snapped her wings against her back, flinging the water off of her feathers easily.
"Stupid bird...doesn't know what he's saying...that has to be it."
The fairy groaned and buried her face in her arms, shaking her head a bit as his words replayed again in her mind, her feathers bristling, and an unfamiliar feeling swelling up in her heart.
"Lady Maleficent?"
She blinked and lifted her face as the trio of pixies entered the small hollow with her, each looking apologetic for invading her space.
"Oh...Knotgrass, Flittle, Thistlebit...what are you three doing out in this rain?"
"We could ask the same of you."
"It's nothing you need concern yourselves with. Just foolishness...nothing more."
The pixies gave the larger woman a look that told her they knew better, and she sighed. With a bit of persuading, Maleficent told them of her conversation with her raven friend, and of the conflicting feelings rising in her heart.
"With all due respect, my lady, it sounds to us like you love him too. Don't be afraid! Tell him how you feel!"
The horned fairy simply snorted and crossed her arms, adjusting her position and gazing out the entrance of the hollow, fighting with herself not to agree with the tiny, annoying creatures. It was a couple hours until the storm blew over, and the entire time had been spent talking to the pixie trio, who proved to be more intelligent than they let on. When the rain stopped, they flew off, wishing their Queen luck in her coming conversation with the raven.
"Well...I suppose this is it then...foolish, that's what I am. Letting a silly bird capture what's left of my heart. Hrmph."
With that, she took to the sky, flying back towards her tree, and the man-bird that was within. When she landed, Diaval was nowhere in sight, and she sighed, laying back down within the soft leaves to wait for him. She didn't have to wait long, as he climbed back up the tree and into the nest minutes later.
"Oh! Mis...Maleficent...I was wondering when you'd come back."
"You must forgive me for flying off like that, birdie, I needed some space to think on a few things."
"Of course...how is your side?"
"It's fine. Diaval...did you mean what you said earlier?"
He cocked his head a bit, and when he realized what she was speaking of, he nodded and blushed.
"I did. I do. I love you, Maleficent...I think I have for a few years now..."
"Why..."
"What do you mean, why? I...can't explain why to you..."
Maleficent sat up and leaned her back against a sturdy branch behind her, fidgeting with a twig in her hands, doing anything she could to /avoid/ meeting his eyes.
"You must understand my hesitation. After all, the last man to say he loved me stole my wings."
Diaval moved closer, deftly taking the twig out of her hands before cupping her chin and lifting her eyes to his, no longer afraid of touching her without permission.
"I know. I would never harm you. I know I'm just a stupid bird, but...that doesn't change anything."
"I never said you were stupid, Diaval...I never would."
He smiled, moving his hand to rest on her cheek, gazing into her bright green eyes. With some hesitation on his part, the raven leaned forward and allowed himself to press a kiss to her forehead, causing the fairy to close her eyes and her wings to twitch a bit. When he pulled back, she opened her eyes and lifted her hand, allowing it to rest on the back of his neck, resting her forehead against his.
"You...are utterly foolish, birdie. You could do much better than an evil fairy like me."
"You're not evil. You were hurt, and afraid. The only man you had ever loved betrayed you. You had every right to be angry and bitter."
"You're...much smarter than you let on, Diaval." she chuckled.
The raven laughed and brushed his nose against hers, taking a deep breath of the fairy Queen's unique scent. Maleficent let her eyes close again as well, letting her heart get the better of her.
"May I kiss you?"
Her eyes shot open again and she laughed a bit, shaking her head.
"You're not supposed to ask /permission/, you silly bird..."
Instead of a response, the man-bird leaned forward the small distance it took, and allowed his lips to rest on hers. She stiffened a bit, the feathers on her wings standing on end at the feeling his kiss caused. After a few moments, he pulled back and opened his eyes, watching her expressions. Her eyes remained closed, a light blush staining her cheeks. It took the woman a few moments to gather herself, and open her eyes, but when she did, the raven saw a different side of her than he'd ever seen. Her eyes were soft, letting him see a glimpse of the vulnerability that lurked inside her.
"Maleficent..."
She stopped him with a finger on his lips, a small smile working its way onto her face.
"Sh. It's been a long time since someone kissed me..."
"I certainly hope it wasn't horrible."
"No...no it wasn't. It was...wonderful." she said with a light chuckle.
The raven grinned, satisfied with himself, before slipping his arms around her waist, under her magnificent wings, and pulling her close to him. Maleficent let her arms wind around his neck, resting her forehead against his shoulder.
"Aurora is going to have a field day with this, you know."
"Don't remind me, birdie."
He chuckled and laid down in the nest of leaves, pulling her with him. The fairy rested her head on his chest, letting a hand rest next to it, for once feeling safe with someone being so near her. She had no flashes of the past, no fear of losing her wings again, and no fear of being hurt. Her heart was light as it had been when she was young, and despite knowing her feelings for him, her mind still refused to let her say the words she swore she'd never use again. The sun began to set, casting a warm orange glow on the pair nestled together in the tree, and both of them soon fell into a peaceful slumber.