Author's Note: Took me a bit to decide where to go with this but I think I got it. Enjoy and remember, I don't own Maleficent!

Maira stared back at the black eyes that were looking at her. They showed fear, but not fear of her. They seemed deep, as if they could look through her and not reflect anything back. They looked pained, and Diaval groaned softly as he struggled to get up. She helped him to sit up and then sat back herself on her heels as they looked at each other. Maira felt like she was being watched by a bird, and that fit with what the guards had said about him. What she had overheard. He was shaking a little, from pain or fear, but looking at her as if expecting something. Maybe more pain or disgust? She broke the silence by whispering to him, in an attempt to calm him down.

"Diaval, I just want to help you."

He seemed to think on that, his eyebrows furrowing with confusion.

"I just want to tend your wounds." Maira tried again, a glance at the door. "Please, let me help you."

"Why?" His response was rough and he went into a mild coughing fit after he spoke. Maira frowned and tried dab at some blood near his mouth and he flinched away from her. "Why?" He said again and hugged his hands against his chest. Maira frowned and rinsed the rag in the bowl of water, trying to clean it before moving to keep wiping his face. He didn't flinch away this time.

"Because this is cruel, and you don't deserve it."

He scoffed and looked away at a corner, letting her clean his face off more. "You don't know me. Everyone knows my Mistress and thinks I will help them hurt her more. Being kind to me won't work."

Now it was Maira's turn to look confused. "I'm not asking you about her, although I've heard stories. I'm tending to you and your wounds. You are hurt, and it's not right and I want to help. If you don't want to talk at all you don't have to. I didn't even know you were a Moorfolk before."

Diaval looked back at her as she rinsed the cloth again and then dabbed some of the blood on his chin. "Stories from that monster you call a King?"

Maira shook her head smiling. "From my grandmother, and my mother, and my aunt. Maleficent was a protector of the Moors. She was kind, playful, and helped when she could. When I lived at home, before living here, my mother use to tell me that the old King was only waging war on the Moors to try and steal their beautiful lands. I use to dream of what they looked like. What Maleficent looked like. I heard she had beautiful black horns, like polished stone. Her wings were strong, beautiful and magnificent. She could make flowers grow, keep goblins from tearing apart crops, and if you wished very hard, on your birth day, she could make it come true."

Diaval tilted his head watching her as she moved to work on his wrist, Maira was moving his hands gently into her lap to clean the area around the shackles. She continued. "She must have been very hurt by the current King for her to have cursed his child. I am sure she will feel the guilt of it before the Princess' 16th Birthday. But as all stories go, it ends happily ever after."

She looked up and saw his black eyes boring into her intently. "You believe that." It was a statement, not a question.

Maira was stunned for a moment and nodded as she tried to put a salve on his wrists. "I do. And I believe that no one deserves the kind of pain and torture that's been inflicted on you. Not to get back at someone who seems to be hurt and angry. You don't fix pain with more pain."

Diaval seemed to think, wincing with a hiss as she finished putting the salve on his wrists. She moved to poke at his sides and he pushed her hand away. "Don't. If you bind them they will just break them again. I will heal quickly enough. But thank you, for my face and wrists." He was speaking quietly, a half smile give to her as she sat on her heels again.

"I think you should let me do what I can. I doubt they will let me back down here, and who knows what they will do to you next. What do they wat from you anyway?" Maira spoke softly, a glance at the door and then back. Diaval followed her glance and then looked at her narrowing his eyes a bit.

"These men want me to tell them where my Mistress sleeps and how to get through the thorned wall. The King, I believe, plans to hostage me to her for the removal of the curse." Diaval spoke quietly. Maira nodded and sighed, knowing there was nothing else she could do for him to help his wounds.

"Well I'm sorry you are in this position. I wish there was something more I could do. " With that, she began to stand up. Diaval staggered to his feet, the chains clanging a little as he leaned on the wall.

"Wait. I want to make you an offer." Diaval tried to whisper and ended up coughing again, almost doubled over. Maira moved to put her hands on his shoulder. There were footsteps in the hallway and Maira looked conflicted at the door and then him. She spoke louder so the person at the door would hear.

"A few more wounds and you will be much better off." As if sensing that he had more time, the guard at the door slowly walked away. She waited, and Diaval was struggling to breath, which was making Maira very concerned. She knew bruised ribs could make it difficult and painful to breath. If the ribs had been broken he would be in much more pain or he would be coughing blood, assuming a lung had been punctured. She tried to ease him back to a sitting position on the floor as his breathing leveled. Still crouched next to him, she spoke softly but stated it simply.

"What kind of offer."

Diaval looked at her and she saw a twinkle like hope in his eyes. "You get me out of here. I will take you to the Moors."

Maira's breath caught and she stared at him. "I can't." Diaval just looked at her intently, trying to make her believe him. "I will take you there. I will show you the Moors. Please."

She looked at the door and then him. She was thinking about whether she could trust him or not. His face looked sincere, and full of hope. As if this would be his only chance. She couldn't sneak him past 4 guards, but she did know these levels better then most. Maira had always dreamed of the Moors, and even just a quick glimpse. There would be no way for them to know it was her. All of this must have shown in her eyes, because Diaval slowly broke into a smile. "Please. I promise I will do this."

"I can't attempt it until tomorrow." Maira hesitantly spoke. "And even then, you can't hurt anyone, you just leave, and take me to the Moors. I'll find my own way home after I see them." Diaval nodded quickly and groaned a bit, bringing a hand to his head. "Deal.

Maira nodded and stood back up. "Until tomorrow evening then. I hope they don't hurt you too badly, because you will need to be able to walk."

Diaval nodded, a relieved look on his face and he smiled, his eyes tired and grateful, and he whispered right before she got to the door. A most sincere and heart felt two words that made Maira's heart ache with the thought of what they would do to him if she failed.

"Thank you."