Chapter 2
Diaval had once briefly entertained the notion that one day perhaps there could be something between himself and Maleficent. But despite completing every task she set, even allowing himself to be transformed into a loathsome canine, nothing he did seemed to be able to lift the darkness that engulfed her heart. She thought only of revenge, and when the fairy had cursed an innocent infant, the raven-man had thought she had passed beyond the brink of no return and any good in her was lost forever. At first the dark fairy had not even considered the enormity of what she had done to the child, so consumed by hate was she, and for weeks had taken a twisted pleasure at the thought of what she had done to even the score with King Stefan. He had taken her precious wings; she had taken his daughter.
Her spiteful glee was only interrupted by the piercing shriek of a crying creature just beyond her impenetrable wall of thorns. She had tried to ignore it at first, but soon gave in and sent Diaval to discover what was making the frightful noise. The raven-man had returned with a surprising report, the source was none other than the human infant that Maleficent had cursed. Two days had passed, and still the wailing of the creature continued and could be heard for miles around. Eventually Maleficent could stand it no more, and rose from her skeletal throne of tree limbs out of annoyance, determined to put an end to the racket one way or another.
To begin with, the fairy was irked that the pixies had chosen to bring the caterwauling creature so close to the Moors, and to bring the King's daughter to live almost on Maleficent's doorstep after the curse was downright absurd, unless they planned on torturing her with the constant crying. But the pixies had never been too bright, and were clearly only interested in being as close as they could be to their old home to raise the child than considering what a stupid choice of location it was. To make matters worse, the three buffoons were woefully inept at even managing the simplest of tasks such as feeding and clothing the little beast. Sick of the incessant screaming of the starving baby, Maleficent had ordered Diaval to feed it, if only to shut it up for a few hours. The raven was greatly relieved, he had been afraid that Maleficent would silence the baby for good, or else let her starve to death. Not only that, his sensitive hearing had begun to suffer too and the peace and quiet was a welcome balm.
Curiosity gradually overcame the dark fairy. She had never seen a human child before, and stole to the window of the dilapidated cottage one night to take a look at the creature she had both cursed and saved. It was then that Diaval began to notice a change in the woman. She would take to wandering the paths close to the cottage, under the pretext of healing some damaged plant or other. As time passed and the baby became a toddler, the fairy spent more and more time teasing the pixies for amusement, although the raven was not fooled. The fairy would never admit it, but she was fascinated by the girl, by her innocent wonder at all about her. This could only be a good thing Diaval knew, as without Maleficent's keen attention the child would certainly have perished on several occasions. But every time she saved the girl from injury or death, the woman became gradually more attached to the "Beastie". And so, with painstaking slowness the tortured fairy began to change. She began to surface from her despair bit by painstaking bit.
As Aurora became a young adult, she wondered more and more what lay beyond the thorny barrier. Her love of nature remained, and Maleficent saw something of her younger self in the girl, a self who was free from betrayal and hate. Finally unable to remain a silent observer, the fairy gave in to her inquisitiveness and decided test the girl by taking her into the Moors. The Beastie had reacted exactly as she had hoped, and was enthralled at the enchanted world around her. Revealing herself at last, Maleficent and Aurora began their close relationship in earnest.
As the golden-haired girl spent her nights in the Moors, Diaval could see the happiness with which Maleficent would show her new wonders and new Moor-folk to wonder at and play with. The girl always had a delighted grin on her face and it was contagious. The raven-man himself felt his heart become lighter, and almost fell from his perch cawing in surprise when a small smile first appeared upon Maleficent's normally blank features.
As time passed, Diaval often thought that he was easy to forget, a small black creature perched in the shadowy branches, or gliding overhead out of sight. Or perhaps it was just that the two were so engrossed in one another that they were simply in another world together. It was then that Diaval realized that the horned woman barely looked at him. Her golden-green eyes had become focused on one being alone; the girl that she had so cruelly cursed. How ironic that the dark fairy was being saved by the one who she had consigned to a miserable fate out of pure malice against her father. Of course Maleficent would never admit that she was happy to Diaval, she was quite adept at hiding her true emotions after all she had suffered. But going unnoticed had it's advantages; the raven saw everything that passed between them as time passed, the stolen glances when they thought the other wasn't looking, or the small sighs after they parted. And Maleficent could not hide the golden gleam in her eyes when she heard the girl calling for her each evening.
But after Aurora had discovered from the pixies that her father was alive and that she had been cursed by none other than Maleficent herself, Diaval had seen the anguish writhe within the dark fairy, shattering the fragile heart that had slowly begun to heal. Afraid of what would become of Maleficent if the curse was fulfilled, the raven-man had done his utmost to find the Prince whom Aurora had befriended and raced the fairy to the castle. When the Prince had failed to break the curse, Diaval had given up hope of the girl being awoken and had hung his head in defeat. But even as he stared gloomily at the floor, Maleficent had gone to stand beside the unconscious Princess. He held his breath as the horned woman poured out her feelings to the girl, and then his eyes widened in excitement as the fairy bent to kiss Aurora on the forehead and it dawned on him that Maleficent was the one to break the curse she had placed.
Following the fierce battle to escape the castle and the death of the object of Maleficent's hatred, the raven had hoped that the fairy could continue to heal, especially with the return of the wings so viciously stolen from her. But it seemed that the final hurdle had not yet been overcome. Although Aurora had returned to live in the Moors with Maleficent, the older woman was still wracked by guilt at the pain she had caused, and begged Aurora for forgiveness. Of course, the golden-haired girl had immediately forgiven her with a beaming smile, but still a sadness lingered within Maleficent.
Aurora was crowned the Queen and protector of both the kingdoms and the two seemed to recover their close relationship. And so it took a while for Diaval to figure out why his mistress could still be unable to move on despite Aurora's unconditional forgiveness. That is until one day flying high over the tree tops, he spied the fairy standing upon the edge of a small rise with a spectacular view of the Moors. Swooping skillfully between the branches to land upon the top of Maleficent's staff, he cawed gently in greeting. Expecting the usual command of "into a man", Diaval turned his head to look at the fairy questioningly. Her eyes were a dark green, and focused intently on something below. Surprised at her behavior, the raven swiveled his head to look over the rise and immediately he understood.
Partially hidden by the trees, glimpses of a blue cloak and golden hair flickered between the trees. Prince Phillip and Aurora strolled along the path towards a small pond, chatting with each other as they walked. Maleficent spread her wings suddenly and shot into the sky before the two came fully into view. Diaval squawked in surprise as he was sent tumbling from the top of the fairy's staff as she rose rapidly into the air, and with a few beats from her strong brown wings she vanished into the distance. Landing sprawled in the dust, the bird clacked his beak in annoyance, before shaking his feathers off, and leaping into the air himself. He saw no sign of Maleficent, who he knew by her reaction must think that the Prince and her Beastie would fall in love. Wheeling about in the air, the bird hovered on the thermals as he observed the figures still by the pond below carefully.
Aurora and Philip talked idly but nothing more. There was none of the electricity between them as there was between the girl and Maleficent. He caught a few wistful glances from the Prince, but Aurora was much more interested in the water nymphs that splashed and leaped through the sky blue water of the pond. Diaval had been observing Aurora and Maleficent together for many months now, and he was absolutely sure by the girl's behavior that her heart belonged only to the fairy.
But Maleficent would not be convinced. She refused to believe that she deserved the love of a pure being such as Aurora after all that she had done, despite Diaval's protests that the girl truly cared for her. She was much better with a human Prince to take care of her, the fairy stubbornly insisted. Once again, it seemed that there was nothing that Diaval could do to break the grip of this new darkness. Maleficent slowly began to withdraw back into herself and to make matters worse, the burden of Aurora's crown and responsibilities to her new realm began pull her away from the Moors. Although Aurora was the same happy girl and Maleficent was more like her happier self whenever she was able to come back and spend time with her in the Moors, once she had left, sadness returned to smother the dark fairy once more. Then, whispers reached the Moor-folk of an engagement between a royal couple. Hearing this news, Maleficent would wander alone at night, refusing even the company of her faithful raven friend. Although the rumors tuned out to be greatly exaggerated, Diaval decided that he needed to take matters into his own hands before the Queen's advisors did find the golden-haired girl a suitor to marry "the sake of the kingdom" or some other nonsense. It was clear as day to him how the two felt about one another, but it seemed that fear and guilt on Maleficent's part, and obliviousness and duty upon Aurora's would continue to keep them apart unless he took action.
The raven soared through the twilight blanketing the Moors, skillfully riding the breeze as he spied his destination ahead. The castle rose out of the gloom like a stone behemoth, lanterns glittering in the windows like so many twinkling eyes. Circling the huge building as he descended, he located the young Queen's balcony and glided into the room.