The raising moonlight reflected off her porcelain skin as she sat there, eyes trained on the sky as she was lost in thought.

Diaval couldn't help but stare as he walked through the trees toward her, his mind filled with wonder as he walked over to where his mistress was seated.

"Did she get to sleep well?" Maleficent asked, her tone as soft as silk as she spoke though her eyes never adverted from the clouds.

"yes." he answered as he sat down beside of her, his eyes following her gaze toward the partially covered sky.

The fairy only nodded, her wings lightly twitching as the cool night breeze blew through their feathers.

The silence was unsettling as it set over the two, the sounds of the night filling the area as the moon slowly rose higher in the sky.

"it looks like it may rain." Diaval stated, hoping to break the silence that had overcome the fae.

"That it does." Maleficent responded, though she showed no interest in making conversation at that moment.

After a few more minutes the raven-man yawned a bit and stood up, stretching a bit before he stated.

"Mistress...it's getting late..." However before he could finish his sentence Maleficent cut him off, her voice softer than it had ever been when addressing him.

"Diaval...you are no longer in my service." she reminded him simply, though her tone held no hint of emotion.

As she said his name he felt his heart flutter, as if it had grown wings itself and was now fighting to escape his body.

'what on earth is wrong with me?' he wondered, panic settling in for a moment however suddenly he was disrupted from his thoughts as Maleficent rose to her feet, her wings lightly brushing his arm as she stood.

"I'm just use to calling you Mistress is all." He answered, hoping he sounded calmer than he felt in that moment.

She only nodded before walking off toward the tree that she had called home.

'she is so graceful...even while walking.' the raven man stated as he followed her from a distance, surprising himself by the thoughts.

Why was he having these thoughts? Surely he didn't feel that kind of emotion toward her? He thought, shaking his head slightly in an attempt to erase the thoughts however as he saw her glance toward him, a slight smirk on her face he knew it was no use...he couldn't stop the feeling that was spurting inside of him.

"Are you sleeping here again or are you just going to stand there like a stone all night?" the fairy called in a playful tone as she easily flew into the tree, her florescent eyes catching the pale moonlight, allowing him to see the merriment that was concealed there.

Feeling heat enter his face he quickly walked over, taking his spot at the base of the tree, wondering when he had stopped walking as he had watched her.

He was too busy with his thoughts to notice that the low hanging branches had woven into a water tight canopy above him until a shower of leaves fell around him, tickling his cheek slightly and causing him to look up.

"Maleficent...why..." he began to ask however again he was cut off.

"Do you want rained on?"

He chuckled at that and responded with a soft "no and thanks."

He could hear her scoff in response though he imagined the look of amusement that would sometimes grace her features.

Long after she could hear Diaval snoring lightly below her Maleficent lay staring up at the leaves, cursing herself mentally for the feelings that she was beginning to feel toward the bird turned man and she wondered slightly why he had began to choose to spend most of his time as a man now besides his true form of the winged beast that he had held so dear before.

'It's not possible Maleficent,' she mentally scolded herself 'there is no way that he feels that way about you.'