Hey guys! You'll be glad to know that no, I haven't given up on this one just yet! I changed this chapter about a dozen times, so that's why it took forever, but bright side is I have some scraps ready to use for next chapters or other stories. Sorry for the wait, I hope you'll like it.
Only occasional shooting stars were left to cross the sky when Maleficent and Diaval stood up to head back to their tree. By then, most of the fairies were sound asleep under the numerous leaf-made tepees that were set up near the fire. It was custom to be sleeping here tonight, but Maleficent craved to go home, away from any onlookers. She had felt the accusing gazes of Knotgrass, Flittle and Thistlewit all night and she was tired of it.
Diaval caught up to walk next to his mistress as they progressed away from the fire. He still wasn't sure if he was supposed to walk by her side in the future, or if tonight was just special.
They had just reached the forest when the raven-man finally voiced his thoughts.
The fairy refrained from shivering against the cold air of the night and looked in his direction. She had been expecting him to show some hesitation at first - after all, one of the very first orders she ever gave him was to always walk a few steps behind her - but she didn't think he would be so straightforward on the matter. Another proof he was growing more confident in his man's skin. She was just hoping he wouldn't get too bold with time.
"Is that a problem?" she inquired sternly, tucking her coat closer about herself.
"Not at all, Mistress. I only wanted to make sure it would be acceptable for me to walk next to you in the future."
He wondered if setting up this new habit wasn't because of what was happening between them in the nest and if she wasn't breaking the rules in doing so, but didn't dare mention it. He knew it was hard enough already to keep things as normal as possible when they were sharing such sweet moments together.
"It would be acceptable, indeed," she confirmed quietly. "How am I supposed to enjoy your company when you're walking so far behind, anyway?" she said with a hint of irony.
Diaval looked up at her and chuckled. Her expression was softer than usual, and despite her impassive features, an impish glint made its way into her eyes. He couldn't take the silly smile off of his face at the thought that she openly admitted she enjoyed spending time with him.
"Worry not, Mistress, for I shall never deprive you again of my ravishing self," he declared dramatically.
She rolled her eyes at this, but couldn't prevent her lips from curving up a bit. At least she had managed to somehow justify her decision without any obvious mention of their growing bond, or no further questions asked from the raven-man.
"Vain bird," she accused haughtily.
Half an hour later – and after a quick stop to the water hole – they finally reached the magical moss that grew all around their home. It was spreading only a few meters from the tree, but Maleficent was confident it would eventually cover the whole clearing. She shook her head with an amused look at Diaval, who was walking quite weirdly next to her, his eyes fixed on the soft texture as it gleamed under his feet. It has been almost a week since she'd installed it and he kept doing that every single evening.
The two of them came to a halt in front of the rowan tree and Maleficent raised her eyes toward the last of the falling stars. The night was still young, so they could spend some time reading their new books, as they usually did at this hour. They had acquired them a few days ago, when Maleficent had sent Diaval to the village in his human form with some of the jewels he's been stealing in the castle while spying. No need to say the old book merchant he'd met ended up giving him as many books and parchments as he could carry in exchange for the precious gems. It had been a nightmare for the fairy to create a proper place to store them all, but it was worth it. Whenever she was reading with her raven, she would forget she was crippled, if only for a few moments.
A light breeze made the fairy shiver, and she turned to her servant. She'd been cold pretty much all night, but until now, there wasn't much she could have done about it. She couldn't wait for the hot tea and her servant's closeness to provide the warmth she was craving for.
"Boil the water and join me upstairs," she commanded, handing him the canteen of water.
The raven turned man smiled and nodded. With the cold weather, his mistress was usually drinking hot tea before going to bed in order to get a bit warmer, and since he was now spending his evenings with her in human form, he had naturally volunteered to take care of it. However, even though she'd accepted his offer, she was still very suspicious about the whole thing, watching him intently while he prepared it, and not touching her cup until he has taken a gulp or two of his.
Again tonight, he could feel her piercing gaze from behind the climbers of the nest. He didn't mind, really. He had nothing to hide from her after all. He just wished that one day she could trust him enough to completely relax around him. It was a lot to ask, but he could feel her trust growing a little bit more with every passing day, so there was hope.
The dark fairy was observing him as he carefully chose the leaves she preferred for her tea, and sent a few sparks his way to light the fire next to him. A few minutes later, he was up in the nest with her, pouring the hot beverage in the two cups she presented him.
"Come sit with me Diaval, will you? I feel a bit chilly tonight," she offered as he put the water down.
"I thought I saw you shivering," the raven-man murmured, while sitting against her.
At the time, he had been sure that he'd just imagined it, as she usually wasn't as sensitive to the cold as his human form was, and he'd been fine all evening.
"How come you're cold, tonight? Everything alright?" he asked, before pulling the cover on them both.
The fairy frowned at his behaviour but didn't protest in the slightest. His body was warm against hers, and the blanket actually made her feel quite cosy. Her pet definitely knew how to get comfortable.
"Fairies tend to be cold when they are running low on magic," she explained matter-of-factly, choosing not to mention the other embarrassing side-effects that could occur if her magic levels were to go any lower.
The raven turned man raised an eyebrow at that. He didn't know everything about her magic, but he was quite certain it would take more than what he witnessed from her today to consume it all.
"Surely drying that clearing earlier didn't drain it all, did it?" he inquired before taking a few gulps of his cup.
Maleficent waited for him to swallow the hot liquid before sipping at her own. She knew she was playing with fire ever since she granted him permission to prepare her tea on a nightly basis, but at the time, monitoring him from the warmth of the nest seemed like the best solution. If it hadn't been for this bloody snowstorm and Diaval asking so sweetly if she wanted him to go down and take care of it, she wouldn't be in this grand mess in the first place. At least, in sharing the beverage with him, she had found a way to be sure he wouldn't poison her without drawing too much attention.
She turned her gaze back to him and remembered he was waiting for an answer.
"Of course not," she scoffed haughtily. "I've been magically crafting an object today, that is all."
Well, that was certainly intriguing. He knew changing his raven self into any other living creature was as easy as breathing for his Mistress, so he didn't understand how crafting a simple object could be so draining.
"I thought it didn't require much of your magic to change the shape of something," he said, puzzled.
"It doesn't, indeed. However, it is not about changing something into something else, but creating a magical object from non-magical elements, which is very demanding. Most fairies cannot do it."
The dark fairy took one long gulp of her tea, enjoying the warm sensation that went through her body, and noticed her servant's confused expression, "It would be like changing you into a magical creature with its own magic," she added for his sake.
At this, Diaval nodded pensively. During his daydreaming, he had sometimes wondered how it would feel to be a fairy and use magic, just like his Mistress, but never dared mentioning it in front of her. He wouldn't be of any use to her in that form, anyway.
The fairy interrupted his thoughts as she reached for something in her pocket from under the blanket.
"As a matter of fact, I would like you to try it out," she requested, giving him the mysterious object.
The raven-man observed with interest the piece of wood she handed him. It was in fact a small stick with a pointed tip, where the colour was slightly darker. He touched the root-like limbs on the other side of it and it wriggled slightly.
"What is it?"
"A writing tool, to replace that dreadful feather of yours."
Diaval chuckled and took a last gulp of his tea before putting down the empty cup. He concentrated on adjusting his grip around the little stick and drew an invisible letter into thin air. He knew she would try to come up with something. She'd been asking more and more questions lately about how the quill worked, and he never saw her so interested in something she claimed to despise so much. Well, apart from the king of course.
The raven reached up to touch the big bud above them and watched with a wry smile as it opened, casting a glowing light on them - Maleficent had been kind enough to enchant it so it would respond to his touch, allowing him to close and open it at will. He then grabbed a piece of blank paper and wrote her name along with five dots below it. He paused to touch the ink. It was amazing how fast it had dried. By the time Maleficent had finished her tea, he had written about ten words with the same five dots below them, while she was explaining him how the stick produced its own ink whenever it was planted on soft soil and properly watered.
"Alright, your turn," he said, setting down the board and paper in front of her.
The dark fairy glanced curiously at her servant, but took the writing tool nonetheless. Until now she never tried writing. She wasn't even sure how to hold the stick properly, to be honest. Her discomfort must have shown somehow, because Diaval hurriedly explained everything she needed to know, delicately nudging her fingers around the piece of wood into the right position.
"You should start with the word 'Moors', it's the easiest," he advised.
Still troubled by the feeling of his gentle hand on hers, it took her longer than usual to find the word in question. Since when had his touch become so natural? So… Welcomed?
Chasing away those thoughts, the fairy carefully drew the first letter. It was tricky to form the same smooth lines as he had, but she did her best.
"It doesn't look like yours at all," she said bitterly after writing the whole word.
"It takes practice. You should have seen my first attempts, they were pitiful."
Of course, his first scrawls hadn't been as bad as Stefan's, and compared to them both, his mistress' letters looked quite all right. He gave her some advice on how to improve as she reproduced the word next to the second dot, and by the time she'd finished writing all the words, her writing looked much better already.
"If you allow me, I can go to my nest and let you get some sleep, mistress," he offered gallantly as she stifled a yawn.
"I'm fine, Diaval," she groaned. "Besides, I want you here with me, tonight," the dark fairy added nonchalantly.
The raven-man pressed his lips together in a tiny smile and nodded thoughtfully. He'd expected this. With her magic nearly depleted, she would need safety and warmth, and he was honored if she could find this in his lowly self.
The fairy exchanged a meaningful look with her servant and he snaked his arm around her in response. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, his embrace warming her to the core.
She was thankful he didn't ask what form he'll be sleeping on tonight, because to be honest she hadn't figured out that one yet. She relished in the warmth his human body was providing her, but her magic being so low a part of her also was very wary of this proximity. She wouldn't be able to wake up at any sign of danger like she used to with her magic at full strength, so she would have to trust and rely on him entirely this time. She wasn't sure it was wise…
"Let's read the book, shall we?" she said, in the hope to chase away those dreary thoughts.
Diaval reached for the book about cooking recipes they had started and opened it. His voice was slow and steady as he read, and he was following the words with his finger. The moment was so soothing, Maleficent could have fallen asleep in a minute's time if the raven-man hadn't been stopping and turning to her every few seconds, waiting until she deciphered the word above his finger, before resuming reading.
However, after a while, she felt herself irresistibly drifting off to sleep on his shoulder. His voice seemed to draw away and her thoughts became foggy. Something wasn't right. She couldn't move a muscle, and the last time she had felt this weak and vulnerable was the night her wings had been ripped from her body. Back then, it had been because of the drink Stefan had given her. What if… No. Diaval couldn't have done the same to her. Or could he? He had repaid his debt after all. What if he had stayed and tricked her into trusting him while waiting for the best moment to strike? What if at some point he had realised that it would be more profitable for him to betray her rather than serve an evil fairy forever?
Hope blossomed in her heart when he discarded the book and called for her, but a part of her was certain it was merely to check if the drug had worked. She's been such a fool to trust him. Why did she have to think he was any different from the other men? From Stefan? She should have known what he really wanted from her didn't have anything to do with loyalty or affection. Her weariness turned into fright when she could feel his body pulling away in order to lay her limp form on her stomach. She didn't even care how she knew what was happening to her body while she slept. She was trapped. She had no idea of what was to follow, but she knew it wouldn't be pleasant. He would never have drugged her if his intentions were good.
Her fears were confirmed when she heard a blade being unsheathed, followed by the acerbic smell of iron.
But then a detail came to her mind. He already had the opportunity to harm her once - kill her, even - and instead, he had saved her life and taken care of her. Why betraying her would suddenly be profitable to him? Nothing significant had changed since then. Moreover, what was left for him to take from her, anyway? It didn't make any sense, and as she realised the last thing she could remember was nodding off on his shoulder, relief went through her like a refreshing breeze. Nothing of this was real, she was just having a nightmare.
The fairy turned to the man with dull eyes. "Don't bother. The real Diaval would never hurt me," she said with as much confidence as she could manage.
At this, he raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side. His expression was so alike that of her servant, it made the doubt creep back into the heart of the fairy. No. Diaval was from the wild. He never cared about trivial things such as gold or power, she tried to reassure herself, but upon hearing him chuckle darkly, it barely soothed her fears…
The raven-man raised an eyebrow when Maleficent failed to read the word he was pointing to. He's been sure she knew this one. He turned to her and smiled as he found her sound asleep on his shoulder. She looked so peaceful he decided against lying her down in the nest in case it would trouble her sleep. Instead, he closed the book and reached for the flower above them with his free hand. It closed slowly, leaving the darkness of the night take over. Diaval shifted into a more comfortable position against the sleepy fairy, before pulling the blanket more tightly around them both. He yawned and leaned his head against hers, but as he was about to close his eyes, he felt her body tense.
"N-no. Please," she gasped, her breathing getting faster and faster.
She was having a nightmare, Diaval realised. He held her tighter and whispered soothing words to her ear, but it only seemed to make things worse. She whimpered and struggled weakly against him. Before he could think of anything to chase away her inner demons, she woke up with a start and he let go of her obediently when she jumped away from him.
"Mistress - it was just a nightmare!" He blurted out when she raised her hand to unleash her magic at him.
She stopped the motion, but narrowed her eyes at him while trying to catch her breath. She needed some time to adjust to reality after such a fright. Thankfully, her raven's kind eyes and gentle demeanor helped her forget all about the man in her dream.
She'd been right, she realised with relief. Diaval wouldn't hurt her. He could have taken advantage of her weakness tonight, but he hadn't moved an inch since she fell asleep. He truly cared about her. She could tell by the way he was looking at her with such concerned eyes.
"Diaval," she finally mumbled, lowering her hand.
However, cancelling the spell she was about to throw at him ended up being much more taxing than she thought, and it swallowed the last of her magic reserve. She was suddenly seized by dizziness and her body quivered uncontrollably. She couldn't remember a time when she'd been this low in magic. It was getting harder and harder for her mind to form coherent thoughts, and after a few seconds, the only thing she could register was that she needed his warmth more than ever.
As if he had read her mind, Diaval extended an arm toward her invitingly. He had noticed her shivering, and whether it was because she was cold or still shaken, he was certain holding her close would help. That is, if she would allow it. She's never been very trustful right after one of her night terrors. A second later, he smiled when she leaned back against him without the slightest trace of hesitation. Given the situation, he was glad she felt safe enough around him to do so.
"Are you alright?" he inquired softly.
I am now, she thought, but merely nodded against him. She took a deep, shaky breath and reveled in the warmth and safety he provided her. That was unbelievable how much better she felt already after only a few seconds in his arms. Her heart rate was almost back to normal, and her shivers had subdued. She smiled faintly upon feeling his warm breath fanning over her hair and his thumb stroking the small of her back soothingly.
A familiar warmth blossomed in her chest, and for the first time, she recognized it to be affection for him. A few month before, that could have scared her to the point of sending the offending creature away, but tonight she was quite at peace with it. She may be caring about him the way she once cared about the King, but her servant was nothing like Stefan. He was always there when she needed him, for one, and he never left her to go live in some ugly castle. He had chosen to give up his life to stay with her and had kept serving her even when she'd given him back his freedom. That fact only proved he cherished her way more than Stefan ever had.
The fairy closed her eyes and let his heartbeat lull her into a drowsy state. She was so tired. So cold. Why was she still cold? Diaval was holding her tightly against his side and she still felt like she was freezing from the inside. She needed more of him.
The raven turned man inhaled sharply and his body went rigid when she suddenly moved to sit sideways on his lap and curl up against his chest. What had gotten into her? She'd never made such a bold move toward him before. Even in their rare moments of cuddling, she would always act with measure, always careful of not crossing any line, wary, even. But now? Now, she was throwing herself at him with an eagerness he never witnessed from her. Not that he was complaining, but it wasn't like her at all, and he wasn't sure he was totally comfortable with that.
"M-Mistress? Are you sure you're quite alright?" He asked, still in shock.
She yawned in his neck while absently dragging one of his arms around her waist. He's been so startled by her behaviour he hadn't known what to do with them on the moment and it's only when she reached for them that he realised they've been stupidly hanging in the air all this time.
"Sweepy," she mumbled after a satisfied sigh when he finally held her back.
She was sleepy? Well, that wasn't surprising, considering the late hour and the fact that her magic was almost depleted. Could it be the reason behind her acting so weirdly, all of a sudden? Maybe that was another side-effect, just like being cold. There was still so much he didn't know about her kind. In any case, he was certain that wouldn't last, and in the meantime, his mistress would want him to prevent her from doing anything too silly.
"I'm sure you'll get a better sleep if you would just lie down in your nest, Mistress," he tried to convince her.
"No," she replied decidedly.
The commanding tone of her voice in that simple word dissuaded him from insisting further, as it made her sound very much like herself again. Besides, it wasn't such a big deal. They were only cuddling, and it wasn't like they never did it before. Of course, tonight seemed more intimate than usual, but he figured no matter how light-headed she could feel, she wouldn't be acting like that if she didn't wanted to on some level.
The raven turned man shivered in pleasure when her fingers started tracing the scars on his chest. Their eyes met and she smiled at him sweetly. Diaval never saw her so relaxed and carefree. The sight of her was so beautiful, he couldn't refrain from grinning back. Then her fingers followed the scars up to his neck, brushed his cheek, traveled to his forehead, and finally went down to rest on the tip of his nose.
"Mine," she slurred in a sleepy voice.
He chuckled and gently tugged her hand from his face to take it into his. "Yours, Mistress. Always," he promised.
She smiled up at him again, a feeling of giddiness growing steadily within her. She liked those words. She wanted just that. She wanted him by her side forever. Till death part them, she mused, refraining a giggle at the thought of the human custom. That brought her eyes to his lips. She didn't know where that urge came from but she wanted to taste them. She leaned forward slowly, but he stopped her barely inches from his face.
"Mistress. You're not yourself," he warned her.
He knew the meaning behind touching lips for humans and fairies, and he didn't want to take advantage of her. She trusted him and unlike some human, he wasn't going to let her down. Besides, the whole notion of kissing was totally baffling to him. What was the big deal with exchanging saliva with someone else, seriously?
His reluctance surprised Maleficent to the point that she found herself tilting her head to the side in the same way her raven-man often did. She certainly felt like herself, thank you very much - a bit dizzy, granted - but if Diaval thought they shouldn't kiss tonight, she trusted him. However, the fairy didn't pull out, and they looked at each other for a few seconds, their faces only inches away, before she slowly closed the gap between them once more, this time to lean her forehead against his. He may have had a good reason to refuse her kiss, but she knew for a fact that he couldn't resist this. Their heads gently rubbed together in a familiar dance, breath fanning over flushed skin and noses brushing. By the sky, it felt so good she had to bite her bottom lip not to moan. Why on earth weren't they doing this every single day? She gasped and pulled back a bit as her drowsy mind provided the answer to that question. Stefan. True love. Betrayal. Wings. She looked up at her raven's concerned eyes and gave him a tiny smile. Diaval wasn't like Stefan. At all. But before she could lose herself pondering over their differences, her servant's nose brushed tentatively against hers. The dark fairy couldn't help chuckling at his puppy eyes and eagerly resumed their raven-cuddling. It was incredible how such a simple gesture could make her feel whole again after everything that had happened to her.
She found herself wishing they'd met before her wings were stolen. Back then, her heart had been light. It would have been easy to love him. It would have been easy to be happy with him… She internally raised an eyebrow at such foreign thoughts. Maybe she wasn't quite herself after all.
Diaval couldn't help a blissful sigh as his Mistress kept nudging at his head with her own. They've been tenderly cuddling for a few minutes now, and it felt like warmth was radiating from his chest in slow, delightful waves. I love you, he thought numbly, and froze when he realised the words actually went past his lips in a whisper. Fortunately, the fairy didn't seem to have noticed. She shifted slightly on his lap to find a more comfortable position and settled her head on his shoulder. The raven turned man let out a relieved breath. That's been close. What has he been thinking? He couldn't blurt it out just like that. He had that inexplicable feeling that those words were a big deal to humans - and fairies. He wasn't even sure what it meant, to be honest, but it felt right, like all these times his human mind had managed to put a name on something he didn't know as a bird. He would tell her, eventually, but not today.
The raven-man let go of her hand to tuck the blanket back up her shoulders and observed the sleeping fairy for a few seconds. She looked so innocent and vulnerable in his arms, he couldn't understand how on earth anyone could be such a monster as to want to hurt her. Even in the form of a man - the same kind that was trying to hunt her down - the only urge he had toward her was to hold her close and spill kisses down her face like a fountain. He nearly rolled his eyes at such peculiar thoughts. Being in the skin of a human was so weird, sometimes…
As usual, many thanks to DancingKitKat for making sure the story is written in proper english. And thank you all for your lovely reviews (do you guys know why some accounts have been renamed "AccountKillerRemovalRequested" and such? What the hell is going on on this website?). Also I changed the summary as suggested by one of the reviews (thanks for the tip!). So... the next chapter will definitely NOT take as much time as this one (if you want to know where I am on my writings, I give regular updates on my profile page), and in the meantime I might publish an additionnal story from the scraps I told you earlier. Also I have big plans for "Reborn", but I haven't started writing more than the general plot of a few chapters.