Hurricane

A/N: I guess I've never put a disclaimer before so here: I do not own Maleficent. If I did, Maleval would be so canon it would be undeniable.

Chapter 9: Wistfulness

Maleficent and Diaval were back at the castle yet again. Today, they have been invited to witness the christening of Aurora's first born, Prince Angelo. He was so named because he was indeed like an angel sent to make their lives a little brighter, and considering Aurora's delicate pregnancy, he was also their little miracle. Knotgrass, Thistletwit and Flittle had all granted their blessings upon the child. Maleficent was afraid the christening would bring back unpleasant memories for her and Aurora, but her fears were unfounded when Aurora specifically asked her to place her own blessing on the child. She bestowed upon him the gift of wisdom, something he would undoubtedly need as he would be inheriting the throne when he is old enough.

The guests where now taking turns looking at the Queen and Prince Consort's son. Maleficent tried to fade into the background, letting the guests have their first glimpse at the boy, Diaval by her side. Queen Aurora, ever neglectful of the ethics and customs of a royal, approached them instead of staying in the center of the gathering.

"Godmother, that was a lovely gift you have bestowed on my son. I could only wish you would have bestowed the same gift on me so that I wouldn't have had to nearly run this kingdom to shambles before I was able to restore it." Aurora stood in front of Maleficent, clasping her godmother's hands.

'Nonsense, beastie. You have done quite a marvelous job handling all the responsibility that was unceremoniously thrust upon you, and I could not have been prouder." Maleficent declares firmly, as if challenging the world to contradict her. Diaval nods fervently in agreement.

"Tis true, my queen. You have certainly grown up in the same grace that you have shown your subjects."

"Oh, Diaval, Godmother, you are so kind with your words! I am happy that I've made you proud, even with all of my inadequacies. I could only hope that I will be able to raise my child as well as you have raised me!" Maleficent smiles at her thoughts, which she chose to share to her companions.

"Considering you have yet to curse your own child, you are certainly doing a more stellar job being a parent than I have." Clearly, Diaval and the queen are not as amused as she was by her words.

"Stop it with the self-deprecation, Maleficent. Aurora has long since forgiven you. You have been a good parent to her, and that's that." Diaval insists.

"Diaval is right, Godmother. If my child grows to adore me as much as I adore you, then I will know I have done right in raising him." Aurora says with so much warmth that it brings tears to Maleficent's eyes. She shakes her head to hide her moment of vulnerability and pats Aurora lightly on the cheek.

"I assure you, you will be a better mother to him than I have been to you."

"I hope so. I do know that I love Angelo with all my heart already, Godmother. I think that is a good start, no? But there is a downside to it all, I think." Aurora says with faux despondency.

Maleficent raises an eyebrow. "What is it, my girl?"

"It's that now I am a mother before I even become a big sister!"

Diaval chortles in response to her words. Maleficent lightly slaps his arm him with the back of her hand. "Where did you even get the idea that you would become an older sister, beastie?"

"Well, Godmother, now that you and Diaval are together, is it not only right to have a family of your own? A child of your own blood would be nice to have, wouldn't it? It certainly would be different." Aurora's hands are clasped behind her back and there is a teasing glint in her eye.

"No, it would not be different at all. You are as much my child as anyone from my own self would be, and you are certainly too much to handle already for me. Now run along, you have guests to entertain." Maleficent tries to dismiss the beastie and this conversation as nonchalantly as she can. The impudent queen only gives her a playful smile and goes back to Phillip's side.

Maleficent feels Diaval's piercing stare. She attempts to ignore it but when he wouldn't relent, she finally asks, "Well? What is it that you wish to say, Diaval?"

"You want children." Diaval replies bluntly. His words leave Maleficent stunned and flustered, but years of schooling her face into indifference gives her the capability to conceal this. The only indication of her surprise was a magnificently raised eyebrow.

As imperturbably as she can, she questions, "Why would you think I want children, Diaval? Perhaps you are merely projecting your desires on me, in which case we may need to have a serious conversation when we get back home."

Diaval sighs and combs his hand through his hair in frustration. "Really, Maleficent? You seem to have forgotten you are speaking to the only person capable of reading you like an open book. But no matter. If you want to do this the hard way, then we shall." He reaches out to intertwine his hand with hers. "I've seen the way you act toward Angelo. I've seen the way you hold him, as if you'd be perfectly content holding him and staring at him for as long as Aurora will let you. I've seen the way you look at him. It's a look of longing, of yearning for having something like that in your life. You may have raised Aurora, but the circumstances then are different. You were still hesitant and in denial. You never got to hold her or cradle her or wipe her tears away as she cries over a knee scrape. You never got to tell her stories or sing to her before she goes to bed. You were there for most of her life, but not close enough to be there for her first steps or her first word. Those are the moments you never got to experience but I can see that you want to. Am I right, or are we still going to need to fake a conversation about me projecting my desires on you?"

Maleficent looks at the ground in defeat. She whispers, "It's not something I should want. I have Aurora and she's already more than I deserve." She doesn't see Diaval's eyes narrow at her answer. He grabs her chin to lift her gaze up to his. "That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard from you. Having a child isn't a question of deserving at all. If you want one, then we'll try for one! That's all there is to it, really."

"But what if I turn out to be a rubbish mother? What if the child grows to hate me? What then?" Her eyes are so full of uncertainty that it breaks Diaval's heart.

"You have been wonderful with Aurora, despite what you believe. If you can handle raising a child that you were supposed to hate, how can you go wrong with a child that you will instinctively love? Besides, you've already done the worst thing with Aurora, what with cursing her and all. And she still loves you! Anything you might do from now on is nothing compared to that, so I'm sure any child of yours will adore you all the same." Diaval finishes with a smirk. Maleficent laughs at his candid, jesting reminder of her past deeds.

"Sometimes I marvel at your ability to know the right things to say." She steps closer to him, placing her hands on his chest. He wraps an arm around her waist, the other toying with a lock of her hair.

"It's a skill I've perfected during my years of servitude, along with coring apples and trailing behind you without stepping on your incredibly lengthy cloak that only serves to sweep the ground for you."

Her lips form a moue of amusement. "What an impertinent bird you are."

"If that is impertinence, I wonder what you would call my suggestion that we start working on creating that child you so want right away." Diaval waggles his eyebrows in the most ridiculous way, forcing Maleficent to bite her cheek to keep up a scolding, scandalized face. She ends up laughing and pinching his nose anyway.

When their laughter dies down, she grabs the lapels of his shirt, kisses his jaw and suggestively whispers in his ear, "As soon as we get back to the Moors, Diaval. As soon as we get home."

Diaval, the poor smitten raven-man, looked so ready to bolt out the castle doors.

A/N: Hello guys! I've put this up a bit earlier in the day (in my time, at least). So, chapter 9! Please please tell me what you guys think. Thanks in advance to those who will!

In other news, a few of you have given me prompts, and I really wanted to write them. But recently life has been very stressful, because I've got one month left before med school and I need to get my stuff together because I still need to find lodging, buy my school stuff, enroll, and do research (we've been given homework before we're even enrolled!). IT'S STRESSING ME OUT. Because of this, I am unable to focus on my writing. If I don't get the prompts done, this collection is locked to 13 chapters (chapters 12 &13 being original and alternate endings). So at this rate, we only have 4 more chapters to go! This saddens me immensely. If we get to the "Ardor" chapter and I still haven't written your prompts, it means I am not competent enough to meet the challenge and I deeply apologize in advance.

'Til tomorrow, then. In the meanwhile, leave me reviews! Cheers!