MALEFICENT

I landed gracefully on a cliff overlooking the diamond lake. I was so ashamed of myself that I could not bear to be near anyone. I sat for a while in silence. I had treated Diaval very badly. And I wasn't talking about today. That was nothing compared to the endless orders I gave him, the countless times he obeyed without any objection, and the way I constantly brushed him off as if he was nothing to me.

As I spoke to him moments before, I realized that he was not nothing to me. In fact, disregarding Aurora, he was everything. He was the only being who talked to me. The only one who didn't shy away when he saw me coming. Diaval was my only friend, if I even had the right to call him a friend.

And while I sat there pondering my past, I understood what Diaval's service had really meant to me. I understood that he was a part of me and I would not be whole without him. My shadow, my confidant, my companion, my friend.

I felt a feeling that I had not felt for years. A feeling that had so long ago clouded my judgement and turned to hatred and anger. A feeling that I never ever believed I would feel again for any man.

I finally understood why I had been so afraid of releasing him and losing him forever.

I was in love with him.

I was in love with him, and this love was doomed to die before it began. For a one way love never works out in the end. And I could not ask for Diaval's love after all I had done to him. What a disgrace that would be. What a horrible person that would make me.

I felt my tears fall down my cheeks as I tried to trace back time. When did I begin to love Diaval? Why did it take me this long to notice? I cried and cried, knowing I had lost something dear to me because I had been too oblivious and arrogant to even care.

I sat for a long time, until the sun started to set and I began to get cold. But I could not make myself get up.

As I looked into the darkening sky I saw movement. A small black thing in the distance, headed my way. As it got closer, I realized it was a bird. And before the realization fully kicked in, Diaval was standing before me, transforming back into a man.

I looked up at him and tried to think of something to say. I could not. I stood up and looked at him, taking in everything I had failed to acknowledge about his body, his stature, his eyes, his hair. He was beautiful. Rugged, slightly tattered, but beautiful. Suddenly, he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Maleficent, for speaking so rudely. You just wanted your space."

I felt my face contort into a sort of confused expression. He was sorry? When I should be the one apologizing?

"Diaval, I-"

He cut me off.

"No Maleficent. It's okay. I don't want your apology. I just want… to be treated as your equal. I don't want to be your servant, I want to be your friend. Your companion. I want to stay here, with you, if you'll let me."

I felt more surprised than I would have if the ghost of Stefan had suddenly appeared to me.

"What?" I asked.

Diaval stepped closer to me and brought his hand to my cheek. He cupped my face with his palm and brushed his thumb across my chin. I felt a shiver go through me, not from the cold air, but from his touch.

Diaval stared into my eyes as his fingers brushed over my lips. I became instantly frozen. As he came closer to me, and brought his face toward mine, I could not move. But I didn't want to, either.

My eyes closed before his lips touched mine, but I didn't need to see. For the senses are an amazing thing, and when one turns off, the others become more attuned.

His lips closed over mine. They tasted mildly sweet, as if he'd been chewing on a sap-covered branch. They smelled of pine. They were soft, gentle, and yet strong and firm.

As he pulled away, I realized I had placed my hands on his chest.

DIAVAL

I kissed her. I kissed Maleficent, because she was so utterly beautiful in that moment, and I could not restrain the temptation. I pulled away after a few moments, unsure of her coming reaction. She had placed her hands on my chest.

But they didn't remain there for long. For as she looked up at me I saw something in her eyes that I never thought possible. She didn't wait for me to ask.

Her arms extended, and reached up past my shoulders and to the base of my neck. Her hands pulled me down toward her and she kissed me.

It was something I could never describe with words. Her lips caressed mine lightly before opening and closing over them. I reached for her waist, pulled her in closer and kissed her back.

A soft sigh escaped her lips as they moved gently with mine.

Maleficent broke the kiss after several long moments.

"Diaval, I am the one that should have apologized," she said. "I was selfish, and rude. I was scared to let you go for I feared I would never see you again."

I looked at her, puzzled. "And why on earth would you think that?"

She stared up at me, her beautiful eyes holding mine, until she could no longer stand it. She looked down as she said. "I thought you hated me. For all the bad things I have done. I was scared of rejection."

Rejection? The thought had never occurred to me.

I took her hands. "Maleficent," I said, "You are right. You have done some things that no one would be proud of. But look deeper. You have also done many things that are worthy of praise! Look at what you did for Aurora. That was absolutely amazing! The way you care about these moors and everything inside of them is truly tremendous. I have never seen such love."

Maleficent brought her eyes to meet mine.

I continued. "You can change Maleficent. You already have changed. In a few years, the good things you will do will outnumber the poor choices you made. No one will remember, and if they do, they won't care about the past anymore. They will only see you, the old you that you used to be. They will see the you that I see every day."

"And which me is that?" she asked softly.

"The you that I am madly in love with," I said.

And I kissed her once more. She kissed me back with such passion that I had to work hard to keep my legs from going weak. I felt her tears on my face as she held me tight, so tight that I could never escape, even if I wanted to. I liked being her servant, and even though I was free, I would serve her for the rest of my life.

After we broke apart sometime later, we spent the rest of the night together on that cliff. Moment of talking, moments of silence, holding hands and looking into each other's eyes. Moments that I will never forget. As she fell asleep with her head on my chest that night, she whispered that she loved me. I knew I would never feel happier.