Chapter: Can I Pick?

It felt like years had passed in the following months after the wedding of Queen Aurora of the Moors and Prince Phillip of Ulstead. Communication and trade between the humans and the Fair Folk had never run as smoothly as it did now that peace reigned. Both Fey creatures and humans were able to say they were of one kingdom and able to live day to day with no fear of one another.

That's not to say that there were no challenges when it came to the change. Many of the Dark Fey still held a grudge toward the humans for driving them into exile, and many humans held a distaste to those who had attacked them on what was to be a joyful day of celebration. There were old ways of thinking that hindered the healing and grieving process for both sides. Borra being the most vocal of his distaste of human actions in the past had ruffled more than one human's feathers. While once-prominent councilmen told old tales of their grandfathers and their wars with the beasts of the Moors.

Aurora and Phillip were quick to quiet the negative talk and most of the time succeeded. Especially when Maleficent stepped into the discussions.

Three months into the new blended kingdom and a large fire bloomed at the border between the Moors and the farms at the edge of the Ulstead Hamlet. The flames were put out in short order with the combined efforts of both the water nymphs of the Moors, three of the Dark Fey that lived near the border and the two farmers and their sons who tended the crops. The combined forces helped one another stop the threat to their homes and the fire never reached what couldn't be replaced.

Maleficent and Diaval landed at the sight just before a large cart of three men made it from Ulstead. Maleficent nodded to the Fair Folk and Dark Fey who bowed their heads toward her and Diaval as they have all now learned of her raven. She then turned her attention to the farmers.

"Are you all uninjured?" she asked calmly as she looked from each of them, "It looked like the fire grew rapidly."

"We were lucky that the nymphs and fey were nearby," one of the farmers smiled gratefully at the Fair Folk and then nervously worried his hat in his hands as he stood before Maleficent. She saw the movement but didn't fault the man any. Many of the Dark Fey have their own nervous tells when they talk with her as well. Most beings do with the exception of Aurora and Diaval. The farmer cleared his throat, "It didn't get to too many of the crops, if at all."

"Good to hear," Diaval nodded and noticed the wagon of men that just pulled up at the roadside. He turned to the nymphs and Dark Fey, "Thank you for your help, but it looks like it's in hand. Go on home."

The Dark Fey nodded and flew into the air while the water nymphs blended back into the vegetation of the Moors and into the small streams just inside the magic boundary. The farmers waved at them as they flew off or disappeared.

One farmer turned to the men from the wagons, "You are a little late, sirs. The fire was taken care of."

The first man on the ground, an older soldier from the look of him, walked past the farmer without a single glance, "We're not here for the fire."

Two other young men came out from the back of the wagon and followed their friend toward where Maleficent and Diaval stood. Maleficent's feathers began to ruffle at the men's approach and her eyes noticed the iron swords at their hips. She turned to the farmer closest to her, "I think you and yours should get to safety. I don't think this will be a pleasant meeting."

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded and pushed at his son toward their home. The other farmer did the same even as he threw a worried glance in Maleficent's direction. She only gave him a subtle nod before her attention turned back to the men ahead of her and Diaval.

"Those are some very fancy iron swords you got there, friends," Diaval started the conversion and stood between them and Maleficent. He opened his hands on either side of him to show that he held no weapons of his own against them, "I would appreciate it if you kept them in their sheaths."

All three men promptly brandished their swords and held them level toward Maleficent.

"Or you can totally ignore me," Diaval huffed, put his hands on his hips and looked over his shoulder at Maleficent, "I don't think they are a listening bunch."

"Or they are in pain," Maleficent noticed the blank, pointed stares from the men. She took only a single step toward the men who all but stopped on her approach. She tilted her head at the action and narrowed her eyes, "Tell me. Who did you lose in the battle at the castle?"

"My brother," the older soldier said and nodded his head to either side to the young men on either side of him, "They both lost their fathers. Just three men out of the many that were slaughtered by you and your kind that day."

"Along with the countless of innocent Fair Folk trapped in a church and Moor Folk running for cover," Diaval reminded him and put his hands back up in a placating manner when the swords shifted toward him, "We all lost someone in that battle."

"Did we?" the man growled and looked at Maleficent, "Because she is still here and so is the Queen of the Moors."

"The Queen of the Moors is your queen now too," Maleficent reminded him.

"That girl is no queen of mine! And I will make sure you and she will both pay for my father!" one of the younger men shouted and lunged toward Maleficent to find himself quickly on the ground to the side of Diaval. Diaval held a foot on his hand to make sure that it couldn't grip the iron sword.

"That is what I believe is called treason to threaten your queen," Diaval hummed and leaned further on the man's hand to make him shout in pain before he stepped back and kicked the iron sword out of reach.

"We are here to finish what Queen Ingrith had begun," the older man announced and took another step forward.

"Not a good idea," Diaval warned him and watched his approach carefully.

"I will have that monster's head!" he yelled and stabbed his sword in the air toward Maleficent.

Diaval stepped in front of him, just an inch from the tip of the man's sword, "I'm trying my best to be polite, but if you move that sword any closer to her, I will tear you apart."

"What is an unarmed bird going to do?" the man asked and pushed his sword ever so slightly forward to rest it against Diaval's chest.

"Diaval," Maleficent warned, her voice held a note of worry.

"Not to worry, Mistress," he smirked at the man and at his sword as it laid quietly on his chest. He took a quick look to her behind him with raised brows, "Can I pick? I'm thinking something bigger than a dog this time."

"No dragons," her hands glowed gold with an almost annoyed look at him, "They just put out a fire."

"No dragons," he nodded in agreement.

Her magic flowed to him and he suddenly wasn't a man anymore. Fur covered him from head to foot and he fell to his hands and knees as a giant beak grew from his face to take a form of a hardened muzzle of a giant black bear. He roared as his frame grew and filled out with muscle and claws. His black eyes opened as a gold color as he focused his gaze on the two boys that were now behind the soldier. He roared loudly over the man's head toward the other two.

The two younger men backpedaled and ran toward the wagon they came in. The older man only took a couple of steps back until he fell back into the grass behind him. His sword fell from his grasp as he tried to crawl away from the massive bear on all fours. Diaval stood on his hind legs and looked down at the man. His eyes narrowed and he fell forward, his huge arms beat the ground under them as he trapped the man in between his substantial arms. The man turned on his back as he stared at the creature above him. Diaval roared again down at him and then sneezed in his face.

"That's quite enough, Diaval," Maleficent called out to him. She slowly walked up to Diaval's side and placed her hand along his back to calm him. Diaval looked at her, his colossal head swung to the side to give her his attention, "I am sure the human now understands what you meant. No need to follow through. Isn't that right?"

Diaval's head turned back to study the human under him. The man only nodded viciously. Diaval growled at the man but then huffed out a breath before he crawled off of the man.

"Take my advice," Maleficent looked at the man still in the grass, "Mourn your lost ones, but let go of the hate. It changes you, but it will not change the outcome of brash decisions. Those of which you may not be able to bear the consequences of."

"My brother is gone," he whimpered and tried to sit up, his eyes focused on the bear at her side, "Nothing can change that. Who is to answer for it?"

"She's currently a goat at the moment," Maleficent commented nonchalantly, "Not sure what the next punishment shall be."

"Lady Maleficent," a voice carried over to them.

Maleficent looked down the road and saw Percival on horseback with a few soldiers behind him. Another two soldiers were down a little further next to what looked like a very familiar wagon.

"Guard Captain Percival," Maleficent greeted with a slight bow of her head, "I see that you found our arsonists."

"One of the farmers flagged us down as we came to see to the fire," he reported and saw the frightened man on the ground and the black bear behind Maleficent, "Everything alright?"

"I think it will be in time," Maleficent answered and glanced down at the man again.

He flinched away and looked at the guard captain, "Please take me out of here, sir."

"Get him into the wagon with the others," Percival ordered one of his men who did exactly that. Percival led his horse closer to her and the black bear as he spotted a couple of the swords nearby, "Iron?"

"Yes," Maleficent answered easily and didn't even look at the offending weapons.

"Are you injured?"

"They didn't have a chance to harm me," she placated him as Diaval rubbed his head against her arm. She smiled softly at him and ran a hand over his head, "Diaval had it in hand."

"I am sure he did," Percival nodded at the raven-bear.

Maleficent snapped her fingers and he turned into a man once again, "I always do."

"Those men lost those close to them in the battle," Maleficent explained, "They needed someone to play their villain."

"I just wish they wouldn't choose you all the time," Diaval muttered.

"You do sometimes give off the impression that you want to murder everyone you look at," Percival offered with a teasing smirk.

"Only when the mood hits me," Maleficent offered back with her own sneer.

"I will leave you two now. Be safe," Percival chuckled lightly and nudged his horse back to his men and their trip back to the castle with new prisoners in tow.

"Well, that was uneventful," Diaval blew some of his hair from his eyes.

"Uneventful? You had a sword at your chest," she frowned at him to let him know she was a little cross with him.

"You said it, I had it in hand," he reminded her, "You wouldn't let him hurt me, just like I wouldn't let him hurt you. Better me than you anyway. I could potentially live after being stabbed by iron."

"You could perish being stabbed by anything, Diaval," she muttered and stretched out her wings, "You are infuriating."

"Don't forget charming," he added and stepped right in front of her, his face in front of her own, "I'm here to serve you until I can no longer do so. That means I protect you in every way that I can. I protect what I hold the most dear to me."

She took a deep breath and looked up into his dark eyes as she reminded herself out loud, "I am cross with you."

"But.." he urged.

"But nothing!" she hissed and then rolled her eyes to look away from him, "Right now, I don't know if I want to kiss you or shove you off a bridge."

There was a long pause until she looked back at him. He tilted his head and furrowed his brows, "Can I pick?"