Chapter 14:
Phillip led Maleficent and Diaval into the old iron shop that his mother had kept from his father. Once the battle his mother so vied for had died, the iron kilns were extinguished and the shop went cold. Now, as the three of them walked the floor of the shop, the fires were stoked once more and metal pounded into weapons. Maleficent stayed to the outside, Diaval between her and the iron worked kilns. In a closer look, she noticed it wasn't human workers who wielded the tools, but dwarves. Dwarves that had once lived in the deep mountains of the Moors nodded to them as they passed through. They weren't quite fairy, or much of any kind of magic either as they were quite immune to it. They were apart from humans though, and that was enough in generations long past to ostracize them to the dark tunnels of the Moors.
"I have not seen many of dwarvish descent since I was a child," Maleficent spoke as she nodded her head toward those who threw a nod or wave at the small group, "Part of me thought that they may have died out."
"They have been living peacefully on their own until now. The sorcerers have promised the dark ones full reign over their homes underground. I think that the sorcerers may have used one of their tunnel systems to hide you when they had captured you, Diaval," Phillip explained and walked with his arms behind his back, "The dwarves may be looking out for their own, but they knew instantly what side to back in this war."
"How did this come to be?" Maleficent asked.
"A messenger came a few days past and they quickly followed," Phillip looked at the small workforce, "They didn't want to be seen and I followed their wishes. In return, they promised us help. Weapons."
"Weapons?" Diaval asked and looked at the processing of iron and brass.
"Aye, weapons," a dwarf came forward with a few different options and laid them out on the table, "Coudn' be avoided any longer, lad?"
"I'm afraid not," Phillip smiled sadly to the dwarf.
"Why didn't we know?" Maleficent asked with a frown.
"No one did. Only me," Phillip frowned, "It killed me to keep it from Aurora as well. She knew I was hiding something."
"So that's what it was," Diaval let out a breath, "A bit of a big secret to keep."
"I hope she forgives me."
"And the need to hide it?" Maleficent asked.
"It be part o' the deal," the dwarf answered for Phillip, "We would stay secret until the time 'e 'ad te bring more into the fold. When this war be over, we jus' wan' te go back home as if we was never 'ere."
"When this war is over, you may go where ever you wish," Phillip said sincerely, "I would not fault you to want to go back to the Moors, but you are welcome anywhere in our kingdoms. You do not need to hide any longer."
"Appreciated," the dwarf nodded and waved his hand at the tabletop. He pointed to the short and long swords first, "Best of dwarven make. Iron blades, but brass handles an' guards. Both fairy an' human can wield it. The Dark Ones may be a bit different, but iron 'urts 'em all the same."
Maleficent looked at the sword and reached out. She felt the warmth of the iron, but no pain and no hissing from her skin as she picked up the handle. She nodded at the claims and put the sword back down. There was also a spear with an iron head and brass or copper handles along the shaft. Smaller daggers sat at the end where their tips were dipped in molten iron to only coat the blade underneath and sharpened to points.
"Will they work?" Phillip asked Maleficent as she scanned the weapons.
"Yes. The sheaths will have to be made thick for those who carry them, but they will work well against the Dark Folk," Maleficent nodded and then turned to the dwarf metal worker, "Phillip is right. There is no need to hide any longer. Moors or human kingdoms, you have a right to step into the sun."
"We thank ye."
"And I thank you," she nodded to him, "How many do we have ready?"
"Enough to cover the army at the ready," Phillip announced.
"Already?"
"We work fast," the dwarf smirked.
There were guards and sentinels on watch all night toward the Moors and the waters that shared the border. The last of the Moor Folk that could make it crossed the border and the bridge was closed. The thorn wall stood silent and strong against the impending battle to come.
Diaval made one last loop over the border and then down to the courtyard where both men and Fairy were learning with the new weaponry. Luckily most were already proficient in weapons and only needed to compensate for the weight difference. Percival walked up and down the lines of men and would shout technique or corrections. Shrike seemed to mirror him with the Dark Fey that had stayed. Most of them were pulled from the Moors as they knew where the enemy was heading. Percival and Shrike would pass one another, their shoulders only briefly touching. Then Shrike would continue tips against the Dark Folk to the men and Percival would contribute to the use of force to the fairy.
At the far side of the courtyard, against the thorn wall, the tree warriors had special made spears in hand to use. Diaval even spotted young Simon among them as he practiced with a short sword in one hand and then would switch to the dagger in the other. Leaf and then other trees would mumble and nod at his technique. It would seem, the young man was a welcomed addition to their circle.
"Lord Diaval?"
Diaval turned from the training and saw Lord Elwine with a regular short sword at his side. Diaval nodded his head to him and eyed his weapon, "Lord Elwine. That's not one of the new swords."
"Family sword," Elwine explained and put his hand to the hilt, "It still carries an iron blade."
"You know how to use it?"
"Of course. Every Lord has been taught swordplay," Elwine nodded and looked back at the thorn wall and then to Diaval, "Are we really headed for war?"
"As much as I detest the idea, it looks like that is where it is heading," he nodded and began to walk again through the courtyard and toward the sanctuary, "Has been for a while now."
Elwine fell into step with him as he walked, "Is it smart to train everyone against the Dark Ones if some people may be traitors?"
"We will not dissuade any who wish to join the fight. We will make sure that they will be ready. We are not going to send in more people to die," Diaval frowned at the idea, "There may be traitors- in fact, I am sure there are."
"And yet you train them?"
"Along with the other hundred that are loyal, yes," Diaval shrugged. He looked over the lord at his side and stopped to look closely at him, "I have a question for you."
"I am an open book," Elwine offered.
"Why did you oppose the re-sending of Warwick's council seat earlier?"
"The lords are all well-knit with one another. Hemmet's cabinet has always backed the Warwicks. The Elwine's being a part of that cabinet has followed suit. I may not follow his line of thinking, but I do have respect for traditions and loyalties."
"Even if they may be wrong?"
"Let me ask you this: did you ever do something despicable under Maleficent's orders?"
Diaval thought back to his servitude under Maleficent. He thought of everything that she had asked of him and he did without argument. The spying on the court was his main objective for the most part. Anything that was 'despicable' she had done on her own, by her own hand. She held all the fault and sheltered him from blame even then.
"No," Diaval shook his head, "She did her evil deeds, yes. I collected information for her to do those deeds, yes. But the actual despicable act? She kept me blameless. I never really noticed until now."
"But if she had asked you to do so, would you have?"
"If she had, she wouldn't be Maleficent," Diaval answered and shook his head, "But I would not have had a choice."
"Then I guess you could count me as a servant to tradition," Elwine concluded. He sighed heavily and looked at the sky, "It's hours still until sun up. I think I should at least rest my eyes."
"When they attack, it will be in the night," Diaval reminded him.
"As all things of the dark must," Elwine nodded in understanding and walked away.
Diaval watched the man with a bit of trepidation. Elwine never struck him as a fighter or much of a voice in the council. A small cog in a bigger machine in the working of the lords of Ulstead. Either he was a very small part, or he only presented himself that way.
The walk back to his pod was met with many stops along the way. He checked on all who he could as they prepared themselves or their families for the coming battle. Maleficent and Phillip had made an escape plan for those who would not be able to fight with the help of the Dwarves. There were crypts under the castle that would be able to be navigated out into far fields where they would be able to run toward Perceforest. There, they would take supplies and run again. If Ulstead falls, there was not much hope for Perceforest. The thought of loss felt heavy on Diaval's heart. Too many lives and too many people depended on a win.
He walked into the pod and was pleasantly surprised to see that Maleficent was there already. He thought that the planning with Aurora and Smiling John would have taken up her time through the majority of the night. She was curled in the nest, her hair already loose from the wrap from earlier, her gown was one that she used mostly for evening rest and her eyes closed. Her head was nestled over her folded arm as the other laid lazily over her middle. Her breath was slow and even as she slept soundly in their makeshift home. He sat next to the nest so that his face was level with hers and let her sleep without intrusion. Her wings fluttered in her sleep and he wondered if she dreamed of flying above the clouds with him as often as he did with her.
After sitting down, he finally felt the weight of the day settle in his body. She needed sleep because of the slight draining from earlier and he needed it from the flying and the short fight with a Redcap. His hand went to his throat in memory, but he rubbed the skin only once and then pushed himself up. He took off his shoes and loosened the cuffs on his shirt before he sat at the edge of the nest. He put a light hand over the one on her waist.
She woke with a large inhale and blinked up at him. She settled immediately and touched his hand that had reached for hers, "Diaval."
"I didn't want to wake you, but I didn't want to be blasted by magic trying to climb into our nest without you knowing it was me," he told her and ran his hand over her waist.
"Good thinking these days," she nodded sleepily and pulled at his arm, "Come then."
He climbed into the nest, facing her as always, but had to stop and rearrange his wings behind him. He never had problems with sleeping with wings before. Now it was one more thing to think about before he had to lay his head down. At his third attempt to get settled, Maleficent reached around and placed one of his wings against his back and guided the other one to his side where it would cover both of them comfortably. Her arms wound around his middle and her head found its usual place on his chest. He shook his head with a huff and wrapped her up in his arms and his wing.
"How are you?" he asked with his lips to the top of her head.
She closed her eyes for a second and looked up with a large sigh, "Aurora has forgiven Phillip for the secret, though has given him quite the reprimand for it. She is the only one outside of us original three that now know of the dwarves' involvement. The battle plans are drawn and kept only to the loyal generals to use as the battle plays out. I hope that we don't have to use most of our contingencies that were laid out. I am still a bit exhausted over the draining from earlier in the day and that makes me worry about how much these charms are actually going to help those who fight. Are they walking into a slaughter? Should they go to the battlefield at all?"
"I am hearing stress," Diaval noted and kissed her forehead, "They want to take the chance to save their home. Charm or no, they will fight. Aurora and Phillip both are resolute to stop the war from taking more lives than not fighting would do. We will do what we can to stop it."
"Are you certain that I cannot force you to lead the retreating force of civilians?" Maleficent asked from under his chin.
"No more than I can you," he kissed her nose with a small smile on his lips.
"You're infuriating," she muttered.
"Determined, some would say," Diaval announced proudly and hugged her close. He ducked his head and nuzzled her cheek before he spoke against next to her ear, "Said determination won me you, so I should not complain."
"It was not your stubborn determination," she slowly moved her arms between the two of them, her hands flat against his chest to feel his heartbeat.
"Oh?" he cocked his head to the side and smiled at the new game they were playing. It got her mind off of other things. He looked up at the ceiling of their pod in thought as his hands moved to clasp one another at the small of her back, "Was it my irresistible charm? My bewitching demeanor? My beautifully preened feathers?"
"It was your faith," she said quietly.
"Faith?" he quirked an eyebrow and returned his gaze to hers.
"In me," she explained and cupped his cheek in her hand and looked into his eyes and scanned across his face, "When everyone else wrote me off as being lost to evil, you saw a hint of good. When I pushed away affection, only you believed that I deserved any when I was in despair. When everyone thought that I had cursed King John, you trusted that there was another explanation."
Diaval furrowed his brows in confusion at how she knew.
"Aurora told me how you tried to talk her out of blaming me for his sleeping death," she admitted, "And how you kept the Moors together in my absence."
"Aurora was falling apart, someone had to be there for her and the Moor Folk."
"You were the one who loved me even when I had no love to give back," she now brought both hands to cup his face, her forehead touched his, "...and the patience to wait until I did."
"I will wait forever again for you if I need to, but I will never leave you," he promised against her lips as they were so close, one hand stroked her hair and then down her back to her wings, "Faith is just a part of it. So is patience- and determination. It's love, Maleficent. It always has been. I love you."
Her lips closed the minuscule distance between the two of them. Her hands pulled at his shirt to meld her lips against his. His hands pushed at her back, careful to avoid her wings as her feathers spread and draped over his wing that covered them. His mouth opened in a gasp against hers and she took the opportunity to introduce her tongue to his again. He didn't shy away much to her pleasure. Her hands began to roam as they had done a few times before. One reached into his shirt as the other ran up to his hair to push through the soft feather-like strands. A growl from the back of his throat vibrated through his chest. Her hand that traced his chest scrapped her nails lightly over his scars and skin in response.
She pulled his head back from her by his hair and pushed him fully back against the nest. He shifted and pulled his wings to spread at either side of him so he wouldn't be right on them. She straddled his lap, one hand still in his hair while the other gripped lightly at his shoulder. His hands framed her hips as she pushed down against him, her knees to either side of his own hips.
"I thought that you said you were still exhausted from the draining," he reminded her in a breathy voice.
"Complaining?" she asked after she pressed a quick kiss to his lips.
"Shutting my mouth," he shook his head at himself and leaned up to kiss her again.
"Good," she smiled against his lips and began to pepper his lips and jaw with short nips and kisses.
Her hands pushed him back again into the nest and she sat up, her hands on his chest for support. With a flick of her hand, the light that filled their pod went out, the faint moonlight streamed in and lit the contour of her skin from behind. The light was not the only thing that disappeared with the flick of her hand. Her hair fell over one shoulder and tickled his now bare chest. His hands didn't feel the earthy, woven fabric of her night shift over her hips. His skin met hers and skimmed lightly from under her ribs down to curve over her buttocks.
"New trick?" he asked and felt her heated center above him.
"For when I am a bit restless," she agreed and pushed herself against his lap. He moaned loudly at the contact and felt himself twitch at her thigh. She chuckled darkly as his hands clenched at her hips to push up against her. Her own hands ran over his and up his arms to his elbow, "...or when you may be a little low on your outstanding patience."
"A teachable trick then?" he asked in a pant and pushed up against her.
"We shall see," she chuckled again.
She pulled his hands up to her chest while she rolled her hips against his, her heat prevalent. A sigh of indulgence fell from her lips as his fingers and thumbs flicked and massaged her breasts. Her hand ran through her hair to keep it over one shoulder and out of the way of her quivering wings. One of her hands found support against his chest as the other lined him up at her entrance. Her legs pushed her up just far enough and lowered her carefully over him. A moan then escaped her as he pushed into her from below. Her large wings extended behind her as her head was thrown back in rapture.
His own head was forced back into the plushness of their nest by the pressure of her around him once more. Large hands went back to her hips and pushed her down to engulf him fully to the hilt. Her hands went to his chest, flat against his skin as she adjusted to the luscious stretch of her inner muscles. They both held their positions for a moment longer before Maleficent moved her hips up only to slide back down.
"Oh... oh my..." Diaval muttered and gripped tighter at her hips. He didn't know if he was going to survive the rest of the night with her killing him like she was.
She pushed up again and then down with a little more force than from before. She bit at her bottom lip and moaned above him. He heard her wings thrash in the air behind her with every drop back down on him. They both gasped for air heavily as bliss engulfed them both. Her rhythm above him which began tentative and slow, now turned sharp and built up in speed.
"Kiss me," she huffed into the air, her hands still against his chest to keep her upright.
He instantly sat up and wrapped his arms around her. His lips connected with hers as she had asked of him. Their tongues dueled as he was now the one to push up into her. Her legs shifted and wrapped around his waist, her arms coming up under his arms to grip at his back. His wings folded back out into the small space behind him and almost vibrated in ecstasy. Her heels dug into the lowest part of his back to push him further into her with every downstroke. Her chest pressed flush against his and dragged against him in delicious friction with each thrust. Another moan erupted from her and flowed into his mouth.
"Mistress," he whispered against her lips. A desperate plea to her.
"Take me, Diaval," she whispered back and licked at his bottom lip before she nipped it.
"You are already mine," he growled and claimed her lips instantly.
He put his hands under her as he leaned forward and was able to position her under him, her wings spread out against the nest as his was when he was under her. He kept her legs around his waist with one hand over her right thigh. He pushed hard into her, his wings flapped behind him with each thrust against her to push deeper than before. She gasped and moaned loudly at each drive into her. Her nails scratched along his back for some kind of purchase and found his wings.
"Oh, don't stop..." she gripped at the black wings and pulled.
"Ah, Mistress!" he nearly yelled into the air of their pod. He pushed hard and forward, never relenting from his new and inflamed need for her. His arm folded under him and his face fell into the crook of her neck and shoulder. His tongue laved over his old love mark and his teeth bit tenderly down her shoulder.
Her own mouth found that familiar spot under his ear and nipped at his earlobe, "That's it, Diaval. That's it, love. Don't ever stop. Don't hold back... don't hold back from me..."
One hand still gripped at the outside of her thigh as the other cradled her back between her wings. His breath puffed over her shoulder and neck as rhythm began to crescendo. He felt like he was soaring and about ready to fall into a dive. The exhilaration of the wind and the fall rolled through him while his hips pounded relentlessly into his mate.
"Mistress... Maleficent!" he bit down on her shoulder as he came undone.
The simple and primal act threw her over the precipice as well. Her hands gripped at his back and shoulders as her body completely tensed and fell apart all at once, "Diaval!"
He slumped forward, his forehead connected at her shoulder. He still felt her pulsing around him as he filled her completely. Her soft body shook in the after tremors of her climax and he held her tenderly as she rode it out. He kissed at her neck, her jaw, her lips as she panted and mewed through her release. Once he felt her relax and her breathing evened out, he let her leg down carefully from where he had held it over his hip.
He leaned back to pull out from her, but her hands stayed steady at his back.
"Maleficent?" he asked and looked down at her.
"Just stay..." she asked and barely opened her eyes to look up at him, "Please."
"As long as you want," he nodded and kissed her softly before he found a position where he was not to crush her or her lovely wings. His own wings draped over them both.
She turned her head to place her forehead against his, "Promise me, that when all this silly war nonsense is over, we will make love like this again. That you and I will hold each other as we fall apart and know that the other will catch them... promise me."
He nodded against her head, their noses touched and he huffed a small chuckle, "I promise you. Every night if that is what you desire. I promise."
They wrapped up in one another and let the quiet noises of the sanctuary lull them into sleep as the sun began to take to the sky.
