Frenzy
Title: After All This Time
Song: Something I Need by One Republic
"You know he's waiting for you in there. If we go in there now, we'll never come out alive" Diaval whispers to Maleficent. The castle stands ominous in front of them, huge and foreboding. Still, the only guard it has against outsiders is a wall of iron thorns, a grotesque imitation of the wall she has constructed around the Moors.
Of course Maleficent knows Stefan is waiting for her. She knows there is a large probability of her dying tonight. However, there is no need to drag her companion into this. He's paid his life debt with almost two decades of servitude. Diaval deserves a life for himself.
"Then don't go," she advises coldly. "This isn't your battle."
He scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Really? After all this time?" he retorts grumpily. "Don't go, Diaval! I need you, Diaval! I can't do this without you, Diaval!" Diaval mutters under his breath, mocking his mistress whilst they trudge on towards the castle.
"I can hear you." Maleficent says dryly.
What she doesn't admit is that if this is the day she dies, she won't mind so much as long as Diaval was by her side.
They succeeded.
Aurora's curse was broken, Stefan is dead, and they are now walking out of this castle alive. Not unscathed, no, but alive.
With his mistress' wings back, they flew back home, to temporarily escape the repercussions of what has just occurred. They took Aurora with them, because she was too shaken to be left in the castle by herself.
Aurora, the poor girl, had fallen asleep on his back (he was still a dragon, which is pretty fascinating) on the way back to the Moors. Upon landing, Maleficent hauls Aurora and sets the beastie down on her nest. She then transforms Diaval to his human form, to better assess the damages he has incurred.
"We did it, mistress." He smiles at her, while her magic works on healing his wounds.
"We did it." She reiterates, body finally relaxing. Diaval surmises his mistress finds it a little hard to believe, after being trapped under the same burden for so long.
"You've done a good job, Diaval." She quietly says to him. He raises an eyebrow at her.
"It was all you, mistress. After all, you were the one who had the sense to turn me into a dragon."
"Did you enjoy that particular form?" She asks, a smile of amusement on her lips.
"I'll admit it was awesome, but I wish the circumstances were different." Both their expressions turn thoughtful, and silence ensued for a while.
"What happens now, mistress?" Diaval voices the query, breaking their musings.
Maleficent takes a moment to construct an adequate response. "I suppose Aurora will have to ascend to the throne her father left empty. I also plan on crowning her queen of the Moors and relinquishing the title I had forcibly taken, to unite the fae and the human kingdoms."
"That sounds wonderful, mistress. But what about you? What are you going to do now?"
"I will be a guardian and protector to this place just like I once was."
Diaval gives her a nod of understanding, and asks another question. "How about me? Where do I fit in all of this?"
Maleficent furrows her brows, biting her lower lip in hesitation. "Since your duty to me has been fulfilled, it is only right that I release you and let you do as you please from now on."
Diaval feels his body grow rigid at the implication of her words. "Are you… are you sending me away, mistress? Are you dispensing of me, because you've gotten your wings back and I'm of no use to you anymore?"
Maleficent is taken aback by the bitterness in his words. "I only wish for you to have the freedom of doing whatever you desire from now on. I am not sending you away. I am merely saying that you no longer have to obtain my permission about anything you might think of doing or anywhere you may aspire to go."
"I do not wish to go anywhere, mistress. If I want to stay here and continue my life in the Moors, am I free to do that?" He tries to steady his tone, but a hint of yearning escapes and intertwines with his words.
Maleficent stares at him with an undecipherable emotion in her expression. "You may stay. This is your home now as much as it is mine, and I have no right to turn you away from the Moors."
He breathes a sigh of relief. It's Maleficent's turn to raise an eyebrow at him.
"I would imagine after all the years you've spent under my authority, you would have grown weary of me by now."
He only shakes his head and smiles gently. "Never, mistress. I would never tire of you."
Maleficent scoffs, disbelieving.
Diaval almost smacks his forehead in frustration. One would think after all this time, Maleficent would learn that he's never dishonest with her. But no matter, Diaval concludes- he has all the time in the world to convince her of his words.
A/N: This goes out to linoayn, who suggested the song! I loved the song and a minute into listening, I was already inspired to write this. Thanks!
I might do a Modern AU for the next couple of chapters. Is that okay?
Cheers!