(A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews! I've been struggling with another fic of mine recently, but this one came a lot more naturally so it's good to see it pay off. I send you all a million loves! And to all of those that favorited/followed the story, I wish for you all to be blessed with the dessert of your choice today! Also, this chapter got to be a bit long, so the next one will just be pure lemon.)

"That was risky today." Maleficent sat next to him, a smile on her lips as she watched Aurora trot down the hill and towards her home. "You were unarmed."

Diaval leaned over and bumped her shoulder playfully with his own. "Ah, but apparently someone was watching over me." He laughed quietly and his mistress joined him.

"Well, that is fortunate. It seems the child might not be the only one that needs a fairy godmother," she chuckled. "Some might even call it...stupid."

He touched his chest lightly and with some bravado said, "I prefer the term 'brave' or even 'dashing'." Her eyes glinted cheerfully in the evening light. It was good seeing her like this. Blissful. These moments never lasted long, but he cherished every second.

Too bad he had to ruin it by bringing up the entire reason for this plan.

"So, does this mean that you'll put an end to turning me into a dog?"

The silence that ensued after his question was tired and heavy. He had expected this, though, Diaval hated silences. But he knew that Maleficent seemed to thrive in them. It was best to let her think things through fully instead of forcing her hand in conversations. He watched the sun dip lower in the sky, and it wasn't until it touched the hilltops that she spoke.

"You have served me well as a dog, Diaval. Dogs are loyal servants to their masters, as you are to me. I think it suits you well. And besides, I turn you into a wolf more often than not."

He felt his cheeks flush and his hands clench. What she had said was not a proper reason for tormenting him. Nor was it an excuse. "You could turn me into something else then. I'm not asking you to abstain from changing me." He shifted so that he faced her but her hazel eyes were fixed forward, staring into the distance. "Maleficent, I cannot bear it much longer." Diaval's black eyes shimmered, his voice was pleading. He was on the brink of tears.

The day his queen had saved him was the day this fear had entered him. The raven had had to confront the fact that he might be crushed between the teeth of some farmer's hound, because he had been hungry. Well, hungry and slow. He had stopped in the field after a long journey and his tired wings had been unable to carry him away quickly enough. Diaval had stared down the jaw of the creature that was about to become his executioner, smelled its stink, and heard its cries for his blood. He couldn't simply recover from that.

But Maleficent had probably never feared for her life, and so she couldn't truly understand his desperation. She was powerful even without her wings, and she had made it clear to him long ago that the only reason she had lost them was because she had been drugged.

Even still, Diaval could not imagine why she would continue to change him into what he hated most. Did she think that it would help him conquer his fear? Or was he wrong about her never being unnecessarily cruel? He didn't want to believe that. He couldn't. So he needed an answer.

Maleficent spoke even as she stood, her tone was more subdued that usual. "I know you cannot." She offered him a hand to help him to his feet, and he took it gratefully. Her skin was cool and smooth. "And you have told me, but I believe that I must confess to you..." She was trying to turn away from him, she was ashamed of something. Diaval would not let that happen. He was determined that she was going to look him in the eyes. So stepped around her.

"Tell me," he said simply.

The fairy waved her pale hand. She still refused to meet his gaze. "I am sorry, first of all, my pet." Now. Finally. She was looking at him, her eyes swimming and her lips trembling as she tried to hold a smile. Maleficent hated looking weak. Seeing her like this made him want to tell her to forget it. Nothing could be that important, right? Her hand cupped his cheek, and his thoughts fled him. "I have been jealous of you for all these many years. I have been...unjust, unkind. I have been..." She paused searching for a word.

"Cruel?" he offered before he could stop himself.

She nodded. "Precisely. I have been cruel. I was jealous of you, you see." He had to bite back an incredulous laugh. Her? Jealous of him? Ridiculous. Her ruby mouth curled into a smile. "I know what you must be thinking, but it's true. Jealous of a simple raven. No offense." Diaval shook his head. "But I...Well, the very task I recruited you for is the reason I was envious. Your wings. I needed yours because I no longer had my own, and some part of me felt that you-you my dear- did not deserve what you had. If I could no longer fly, why should someone like you?"

Diaval was stunned. He couldn't wrap his head around what his queen was saying. She was admitting to having been wrong. Having been cruel towards him. He had never thought of her as being capable of either action. She was perfect. She was far above childish emotions like envy.

She was still speaking. "...But of course, I needed you to fly. I couldn't take that away from you permanently. So I continued to punish you."

He had been wrong about her then. Maleficent was not some angelic being. Diaval had justified her actions towards Stefan and his subjects, because the king had been violent first. He had stolen her wings, and waged a war upon the moors. Of course, Maleficent would punish him, and she had come to realize that her punishment had been unjust. Diaval had heard her attempt to revoke the curse, and had spent the days afterward consoling her.

But never, in his entire life, had he thought that his mistress would act unfairly towards him. That he could be annoying, was no mystery to him. He was also aware that Maleficent would not quietly take his pestering for long. Such was their relationship. But this was different. He did not deserve this, and his queen knew it.

Was that worth anything, though? The fact that she knew that she was in the wrong. The fact that she was apologizing. Diaval was shocked, but was he angry with her? In his heart he felt that the answer was a simple no. No, he was not. He loved her too deeply to be angry at her. But he was angry with himself, for forgiving such a large transgression so quickly. The transformation charm was not the only spell that she had him under it seemed.

But if she was truly repentant, why not milk it?

"Maleficent." Her eyes widened and locked onto his. He hardly ever said her name. "You must promise me three things."

She snorted. "I think you have me confused with my cousins, the djinn."

A smile broke across Diaval's face before he could stop himself. He was supposed to be mad at her, or at the very least, stern. No such luck. And anyways, Maleficent was too smart to buy that act.

"Three things," the raven insisted.

Maleficent looked at him earnestly. "Three things," the fairy repeated.

"One: You will never turn me into a dog or a wolf." She nodded in reply, so he continued. "Two: when this is all over...everything with Aurora and Stefan, I mean, you must grant me the power to shift independently."

"I can do that." Something flickered in her eyes, but Diaval did not question it.

"Three..." Well, he hadn't actually thought of a third thing, but naturally he knew that he must want something else. His queen stood before him bathed in the light of the setting sun simply staring at him with those large sad eyes. He wanted to hold her, to heal her. Despite everything she had admitted to doing to him. He thought of her smile from moments ago as they'd watched Aurora disappear together.

Finally, she grew impatient. "Well? What is the third thing?"

Diaval shook his head. "We'll put that one on hold."

"There isn't anything you want?"

Her persistence surprised him. "Well...Certainly, there is."

One of her fine eyebrows shot up. "Then, what is it?"

The raven tried to come up with something. Something substantial. Something he wouldn't regret, and really there was only one thing.

"I want you," he blurted out. She did not respond and he began chewing his lip thoughtfully. "But not because you owe me. So...I'll get back to you another day with the third request." Oh, this was awkward. His wording had been vague, but Maleficent was far too perceptive to have misunderstood. She would surely punish him, but so far she had not moved.

Suddenly, she inhaled deeply and took a step back. She let her gaze wander along her servant's frame for a few heavy seconds before looking him in the eye. "Then you shall have me."

She rushed him, caught him by surprise, always a master of the surprise attack. First, she was a few feet away from him and then suddenly her body was crushed up against him, her lips seeking his.

Diaval had never kissed before, though he'd seen it done before while wandering Stefan's kingdom. But he'd never seen a kiss like the one he was experiencing. Maleficent's lips were surprisingly soft and they moved with his in a rhythm that he hadn't known was inside of him. He felt her tongue brush against him bottom lip and without thinking, opened his mouth in inviation.

It was seconds (or was it hours?) before he could focus on her hands. Her hands...They moved up along his taut shoulders and to the warmth of his neck, and then she fastened her hands behind his back pulling him closer, pulling him down ever so slightly.

So down he would go...Diaval's lips made their way from his queen's and brushed along her jaw line softly before he latched onto her neck and suckled. The breathy moan she made in response made something stir inside of him. Something familiar. Something from those exceptionally lonely nights that he had spent at the base of her stairs thinking of her and touching his human form experimentally.

He pulled at the skin below her earlobe as he felt himself hardening, some primal instinct driving this new body of his. Well, it hadn't steered him wrong yet. He continued sucking, and biting, and kissing her warm neck, his mistress making sounds that he hadn't even known existed.

It drove him wild. It was like a hunt or a chase. This was life or death right now. He had to dive into this head first. He had to see this to completion. Whatever "this" was.

Maleficent was weaving her elegant fingers through his hair, stroking at his scalp and pushing him further into her skin. But suddenly she yanked his head away and he shivered with...Well, he couldn't quite identify the feeling. But it was good.

"Take off your tunic," she whispered. The expression on her face was intense and serious, but her cheeks and chest were flushed. Something told him that she was acting more in control than she actually was. He obeyed nonetheless.

She shook her head as if something were wrong. "No." Diaval shrunk back ever so slightly. Was there something wrong with him? He had never given much thought to his human appearance. "Take off everything."

The raven became harder than he knew was possible and he swallowed loudly. His mistress stood before him, smiling. It was the way she would have smiled at anything, but suddenly it was so much more intoxicating. Once again, he obeyed, and much to his delight, she did too.

The pair stood naked in front of each other for a few quiet minutes. Diaval was having a hard time taking all of it in. He was curious, and nervous, and oh so turned on all at once. It was hard to bear. But Maleficent stood silently, letting him stare at her. There were many differences between them it seemed. She had breasts, she had no navel, and she did not possess the proud erection that he was currently sporting.

She was gorgeous, of course. From her strong legs to her flowing brown hair. All of her.

That's what he wanted. All of her.

He took the step towards her this time, and he began kissing down her neck again. But this time he did not go up again. He paused at her collarbone and hurtled down her body, planting kisses wherever he could until he was on his knees and had reached the patch of curls just below her stomach. He heard her breath hitch.

"You smell so good," he murmured against her and began slowly kissing even further down. Her reply was a grown as he pushed his tongue between her lips hesitantly. She was already wet. He'd had no idea that there were ways that he could taste her. It seemed almost too good to be true. He tilted his head back and began to lick her steadily. Her hands knotted through his hair again, and she moved her feet apart so that he could go deeper.

By listening to her sounds (as well as a few verbal commands) he found the spot. A small pearl, nested at her very center that he began to pay very close attention to. His legs gripped her inner thighs as she ground against his mouth, aching for more friction. He ran the flat of his tongue slowly against her slit and a bit of moisture dripped onto his right hand. He caught it instinctively on his finger tip...and pushed it back inside of her slowly.

Maleficent groaned louder than ever, "That. Do that again."

And he did. He slid his finger in to its base and then out to the tip again and again until she bucked against him like some wild animal. And still, his tongue circled her pearl even as she unraveled right before his very eyes. It was such a joy to see her come undone like that after so many years of formality. He was determined to see it again.