Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since updating, this chapter didn't come easy, but it is here at last. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, it really means a lot to hear what you guys think and I'm glad you're enjoying. To my guest reviewer, Loz, here is a direwolf puppy, just as promised. (even if you aren't a GoT fan ;))

Anyway, about this chapter. It's a bit longer for you guys, and features that flashback I promised you last time, as well as another POV shift, but with a twist. You'll see when you read, but do let me know if it's too confusing. I did my best to clarify through the chapter but I know it may seem a bit weird.

No warnings here, just a good deal of fluff and feels towards the end. Hope you all enjoy and don't be afraid to let me know what you think in the reviews!

- Raven

He was lying on his back in a tree when he opened his eyes. The tree's branches curled around him protectively as he nested, and looking straight up, he could see the sky, clear and bright blue above him. A shimmering of gold caught his attention, and his eyes focused on the light flow of magic, which rippled gently and smoothly as it lifted something into the air. He shifted his weight and focused on it a bit more, and realized it was a doll, or two dolls, rather. Crudely made from twigs and leaves and odd bits of hay and wire and cloth, but Diaval still recognized them as fairies; a girl and a boy holding hands and dancing as the magic lifted them further and further into the air.

The wind picked up suddenly, rustling the leaves, but the dolls continued to spin cheerily, unbothered by the gale. A dull, sharp crack sounded, and the dolls dropped into the nest. The tree shivered, and Diaval felt more than heard the hushed whisper of pain. He scrambled up, inching along the branches on all fours, feet pressing surely against the wood, hands pulling him forward, and wings flapping gently to help keep his balance.

What? Diaval thought. I don't understand…wings, and feet, too? But I'm… A bird, he wanted to say, but somehow he knew that wasn't right.

He was at the edge of the branch now, and he could see where the wind had broken one of the smaller limbs in two. His hands came up to cup the break, and he saw that they were smaller than his own; paler and almost-childlike? His eyes closed, and he could feel something stirring inside him, a gentle pulling, rippling sensation like Maleficent's magic when felt it changed him. He opened them again and smiled when he saw the branch, healed and perfectly straight, leaves gleaming once more in the sun.

"There you go."

He had said it, but he was startled to hear that his voice wasn't his. It was softer, younger, and distinctly feminine. He didn't have time to understand, because another voice was nudging at him, gentle and excited, playful and so happy.

Let's go!

He stood straighter on the edge of the branch, his wings flapping briskly, one, twice. He leaned forward, and a cry of alarm was on his lips but too late because he was already falling, the cliff face a grey blur as it zipped past him.

Go!

The voice was like a child's, carefree and light, full of a happiness so pure that Diaval's alarm changed to exhilaration, and his wings beat steadily, pulling him out of his dive just before he hit the water, sending up a wave of mist on either side of him.

Fly! Fastfastfast! Go! Go!

He whooped, and was all too happy to oblige, his wings beating harder, the wind whipping in his face and sending his hair flying back behind him like a flag.

He felt another thrill of confusion, and a sudden shove sent him tumbling away as a raven. He flapped his wings as hard as he could to avoid falling out of the sky, but then he ducked as another, larger winged form charged over him. His first, instinctive thought was that it was a hawk or some other bird-of-prey, and he had a fleeting memory of all the times he'd been bullied by the larger birds.

But it wasn't a bird at all. It was a girl, nut-brown hair streaming in the wind, parting easily around a pair of dark, twisted horns.

And then he understood.

There was a pulling sensation, and he was soaring as Maleficent once again, twisting and turning through cliffs and rocks, tumbling to avoid muddy missiles. And all the while, the voice whispered in his ear.

Fly! Fly! Fly!

He was cruising over one of the pools now, having pulled up from flying alongside the Water Dragons. A high trilling noise reached his ears, and he saw some of the smaller fairies flitting around on a rock, apparently in the midst of an argument.

Down? The voice asked with a tremor of disappointment.

Down. He confirmed, and he dropped gently and smoothly, feet hitting the stone with barely a slap, wings flapping hard to brake and balance before settling back against his shoulders.

The fairies didn't even look up at the intrusion, but continued firing back hotly at each other, their dresses a blur of green, blue and pink color as they zoomed around in agitation.

'These three again.'

It was Maleficent's thought, Diaval realized, as he watched the fairies argue about the rules of telling, and he was glad he wasn't the only one who seemed to find them irritating.

"Tell me what?" he snapped, and the fairies began talking over each other before Knotgrass finally started.

"Maleficent, the border guards ha-"

"The border guards have captured a Human thief at the Pool of Jewels!" Flittle finished excitedly, then paused, shrinking back from the angry gazes of her sisters with a whispered: "Sorry."

'A thief? Here?'

His wings beat frantically, launching him into the sky and racing towards the Pool as fast as they could go. Diaval though that it was significant, somehow, that Flittle had felt the need to mention that the thief was human. He wondered if thievery was really so common here; the way she emphasized that the thief was human made him think there had been other, non-human thieves. Or maybe she just thought the fact that it was human was enough to warrant attention.

He saw Ronin and Balthazar by the edge of the Pool, spears raised and poking around a thick tangle of vines, grunting and grumbling ominously to each other as he landed. His wings fluttered a bit, lifting him just enough so his feet rose to his toes.

Run! Up! Up, up! Danger!

'Stop that,' Maleficent thought sharply, and his wings settled against his back, though he sensed some reluctance, as well as a readiness to fly at the first sign of trouble.

"I'm not afraid," she said aloud. "Besides, I've never seen a human up close before…"

Balthazar grumbled some more, but his words were muffled somehow, sounding far away, and Diaval realized with a tremor that the scene had become dark, a thick mist coming up and coiling around their ankles. He stumbled when he was shoved outside Maleficent again, and he stood on two feet this time, squinting through the fog to try in vain to see. He tried taking a few steps, but his feet seemed to slide, mud or some other thick sludge slipping between his toes and dragging him down.

A muffled splashing reached his ears, and the mist became liquid, and lights were dancing in front of his eyes. First blue, then green, then purple and gold, and as he gazed around he recognized the Pool of Jewels; the back half near the caves with the giant willow tree. There was the tree now, and resting peacefully beneath he could just make out two shadowy forms, one unmistakably being Maleficent.

Diaval wasn't sure what was happening, or who the other person was, but there was a general feeling of happiness and peace that made him smile. He watched Maleficent and the other person as they watched the fairies dancing on the lake, until Maleficent settled against the figure in sleep. He drifted closer, his fingers trailing idly through the waters, trying to figure out who….

Up!

He started at the voice, sounding urgent and terrified, and he waded closer as it cried louder, becoming a desperate scream.

Up! Get up! Away! Fly!

The voice faded on the last word, a mere whimper before dying out completely, and Diaval shivered, not liking the feeling in the air. Even the fairies on the lake had gone silent and still, their lights no longer reflecting in the pool. Then suddenly, the other figure stood, and a sharp grating noise reached his ears.

The sound only lasted a second, but in that second, the figure turned, and its face just caught the edge of moonlight. Diaval's blood went cold, then hot, then cold again as he stared into Stefan's eyes, glinting darkly in the night as he gripped the knife tightly in his fist, ready to plunge it into Maleficent's back.

"No." The word was barely more than puff of air on Diaval's lips.

The knife was lowered briefly before being brought back up. Stefan's hands were shaking, the blade trembling oh so slightly before it was suddenly thrown away in favor of something else.

A chain.

An iron chain.

"No!" Diaval threw himself forward then, thrashing against the writhing water that held him back, keeping him in place.

"No, no, no! Please, no!" Diaval struggled uselessly as a rough wave of water shoved him even further back, and he lashed out, striking the water a vicious blow in retaliation for its cruelty. He brought his hands up to his face, pressing his palms over his eyes and whimpering, helpless to stop what couldn't be undone. He was even helpless to defend himself with blindness, for even with his eyes shut he could still see Stefan raising the chain.

He shouted, but his own scream was drowned by another's, and a sudden, ripping, searing pain sent him reeling. He clutched his head as everything suddenly pitched on its axis, and the world around him crumbled away.

He wasn't falling, however. He was flying, back in his own body this time, though everything around him remained shrouded in fog. He didn't know where he was going, but the wind ruffled through his feathers in the same manner the wind had ripped through Maleficent's tree.

There had been nothing good in that wind. Diaval had felt it, and shivered just remembering. But Maleficent hadn't seemed to notice, or if she did, she abandoned the thought in favor of healing the tree. He was sure that meant something, too, but he was still too shocked to fully process. His wings moved automatically, taking him wherever the destination was without his full participation, and he tried to clear the images from his head, but they wouldn't let him go.

A sudden flickering of light caught his eye, and he squinted at the sun, just beginning to rise through the clouds. He blinked suddenly, recognizing where he was. It was the Cliffs of the Moors, or at least, one of the many cliff faces that inhabited the place. This particular cliff was the one that overlooked the Valley, and Diaval could see the various waterfalls and forests dotting the open space below.

He landed on a tree just bordering the forests that gave way to the Cliff itself, and wondered why he was here. His answer came in the form of voices, hushed and full of excitement as they drew closer.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"Just tell me!"

Diaval started, recognizing Maleficent's voice instantly. It sounded younger, much younger than she currently was. He looked around but couldn't see her, even as the voices drew closer.

"Tell me!"

"You'll see," the other voice, a young male, responded, a laugh in his words. "It's a surprise."

"I don't like surprises, Stefan. You know that!"

Diaval squawked, a distorted noise of alarm and dread as he was once more faced with being a witness. The trees near him shifted, rustling as branches were gently tugged or lifted out of the way to allow passage.

"You'll like this one, I promise."

Maleficent laughed, a soft sound; equal parts scoffing and amused. "I'd better."

"You will." Stefan finally appeared, stepping out into the open space of the cliff face and stretching to hold up the branch he'd just walked under. He was older now, no longer a child, but not quite a man yet. He was thin and lithe, just beginning to lose that boyish clumsiness that came with his age. His hair wasn't as dark anymore, and no longer curly, instead starting to fall straight, ending just below his ears in length. He was smiling, Diaval saw, even as he strained to keep the branch above him, his eyes were light and…dare he say it…innocent.

Maleficent stepped from the trees, a laugh playing about her lips as she passed beneath the branch, which was well above her head. She moved with an elegant grace, her wings tucked neatly in the fold of her back. She, too, had aged considerably since the last moment Diaval had seen her, entering that mid-way point to womanhood. She was taller, but not quite as tall as Stefan yet, even with her horns. Diaval could tell by the mischievous look in Stefan's eyes as she approached that he was contemplating releasing the branch and letting it swing, but Maleficent had already cleared the gap by the time he'd prepared to do it.

"I'm not that tall, silly."

She grinned at Stefan, brushing his side with a wing as she passed him, making him laugh and drop the branch anyway. He started to brush away the leaves clinging to his hands, but a soft gust of wind blew them from his palms and into Maleficent's own. She smiled at his confused look, and began folding the leaves with delicate fingers, rolling, twisting, folding again. Stefan drew in for a closer look, but a wing came up and blocked his view.

Diaval could see, however, and he marveled as the leaves suddenly took the form of a rose, nestled neatly in the palm of her hand. She laughed to herself, and her wing fell back as she turned and walked smoothly back to Stefan, tucking the flower into the corner of his hair by his ear. He frowned, but it melted at her laugh, and he reached up, gently tugging the flower from his hair to examine it before placing it back, much to her amusement.

"I thought I was supposed to be the one giving gifts," he said, chagrined.

Maleficent's eyes light up with excitement, but it was quickly hidden and replaced with a coy smile as she turned and walked further into the clearing.

"Oh? So this isn't just a random walk along the Cliffs; you really have remembered."

"Of course I remembered!" his affronted tone was undermined by his laugh as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms gently around her waist. "How could I forget your birthday?"

Birthday? Diaval thought, but it was a distant one, his head reeling from everything he was seeing.

It was strange to see Maleficent, and even Stefan too, he supposed, so young and carefree. Her laughter came easier, her smiles more frequent, and showed in her eyes as a warm light of gold. Stefan's smiles had yet to turn cruel, his eyes bright with happiness instead of malice. And maybe, there was something more there, if one looked hard enough. But Diaval didn't want to look, didn't want to believe what he was seeing. And yet, it was impossible to deny.

"Well?" Maleficent's voice drew him back, and he focused once again as she raised her head to peer over her shoulder at Stefan.

"Well?" he said back, trying to contain his grin.

"The surprise," she cried, turning on him, and Stefan laughed even as her wings slapped his face.

"I thought you didn't like surprises," he teased, and Maleficent huffed, her eyes flashing once in a warning that would have been stern if it weren't for the smile pulling at her lips.

Stefan took the hint anyway, and reached into his pocket, pulling a small leather bag from it, tied off with a piece of gold ribbon.

"Happy birthday, Maleficent." He stood almost shyly as Maleficent's eyes lit once more, and she eagerly took the bag from him, carefully undoing the ribbon and opening the bag.

"Stefan did you…?" Her question trailed off in a gasp as she drew the items carefully out from the wrapping.

Diaval fluttered just a little closer to look, and saw two small rings; one a band of twisting metal and smooth wood, with a large piece of a purple jewel nestled into the center; the other, a thicker black band of metal and a patterned leather, half of a small bird's skull carefully secured in the center of the ring. The skull alarmed Diaval, but Maleficent laughed, a breathy noise of joy and awe.

"Did you make these?"

Stefan nodded, still a bit shy, but emboldened by her smile. "I found the bird a few weeks ago, and I thought about burying it, but then I thought I could make something out of it, and with your birthday coming up..." He trailed off a little as she tried it on, the ring a perfect fit, the beak of the skull resting neatly along the length of her finger.

"Is this metal?" she asked, eyeing the black band.

He nodded again, beginning to share in her excitement once more. "The blacksmith's apprentice help with the band for both rings. That one's steel," he motioned at the ring she was currently wearing before pointing at the one with the jewel. "And that one's a bit of steel and brass. They won't rust."

Clever, Diaval thought, in spite of himself. Impressive, too, the skill. Thoughtful and…clever.

"Leather?" Maleficent asked, carefully slipping the bird off her finger and examining it closer.

"Snakeskin, actually," he confessed with a nervous laugh. "I thought I'd stepped on the actual snake when I found it, but turns out it was just the skin. Good thing, too."

She hummed in agreement before placing the ring gently back into the bag before trying on the other one. The jewel glinted in the light of the rising sun, sending rainbows dancing across their faces.

"It's a piece of the jewel from when we first met," Stefan explained, stepping closer. His voice had gone quiet all of a sudden, and Diaval was having trouble identifying that look in his eyes.

"I remember," Maleficent said softly, staring at the ring with deeper awe. "I thought I put it back." She glanced up at him with a hint of suspicion.

"You did" he assured quickly. "I…found it again."

"How?"

"A lot of swimming and holding my breath," he grinned sheepishly. "Plus the sprites helped, once I told them it was for you. The bit of wood holding it is from the willow tree. Um, I thought, this way…no matter what happened…you'd always have something to remember our time together. Remember me by."

"Stefan," Maleficent gasped, blinking hard as she stared at the ring. He shuffled anxiously when she faltered, his brows furrowing in worry.

"Do you…like them?"

She laughed a watery sort of laugh before throwing herself forward, her wings steadying her for a moment before she collided with Stefan, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders.

"I love them," she murmured sincerely in his ear. I love you. It was an unspoken whisper carried by the light from the sun, and Diaval started, ruffling his feathers in the tree above them.

Stefan's face melted with relief, and he smiled broadly, returning her hug, his eyes alight with pleasure. "I have one more surprise," he said quietly as they pulled away, and Diaval noticed that the distance between them had lessened significantly, their hands entwining with each other's.

"Another?" Maleficent laughed again, her voice choked with emotion. "I really don't think I need anything else."

Stefan smiled, but there was a nervous look on his face as he spoke. "Close your eyes."

Diaval cawed in alarm above their heads, but neither heard him. Maleficent's smile tightened slightly, her eyes sparking warily. "Why?"

"You trust me, don't you?" Stefan said, and though his tone was light, Diaval thought he heard genuine concern in his voice.

"Of course," Maleficent replied, and Stefan's smile returned when she closed her eyes.

Diaval cawed again, trying to give a warning. Warning of what, he didn't know, but his cries died in the air as Stefan leaned forward, his own eyes closing as he pressed his lips to Maleficent's in a gentle, chaste kiss. The kiss didn't last long, but it was enough to leave Diaval feeling numb, questioning everything he believed. The sun had risen completely when they pulled away, flushed and breathless and bathed in golden light.

A light that was steadily getting brighter, he realized with a start. The whole scene was being washed away in it, the cliffs and the joyful figures atop it disappearing in a flood of light. Diaval cried in alarm, and tried to fly up to escape it as it approached him, but his wings were gone, his human feet stuck firmly to the ground and refusing to let him go anywhere. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly as the warmth of the light washed over him, tossing him back like a wave and slamming him down.

The first thing he was aware of when his eyes opened, was that he was still human, and that he was back in the nest, grey light just beginning to filter in through the branches. The next, was that the place was still full of magic, though it was rapidly dissolving around him in shimmering bursts of green and gold. The last, and most pressing, was the pair of bright green eyes, boring into his own and promising to be the last thing he ever saw.

Not sure if this counts as a cliffhanger, but I apologize for it anyway. I wanted to include one more moment between Stefan and Maleficent, but decided to do it in a later chapter so as not to be too info-dumping, so I'm sorry if the transition back to reality felt a little jarring.

In case anyone is interested, links to the rings that inspired the ones Stefan gave to Maleficent will be posted on my profile page. Just copy and paste without the spaces. :)

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

- Raven