Disclaimer: I do not own the Maleficent movie.

A/N: Hi, everyone! I'm SO sorry for the delay of this story. I've been super busy with school and work, but I was able to get back into it. Please let me know what you think, and thank you so much to everyone who has been reading this story! Have a good one :)

Innocence

o6.

"Where is she going?" Half-veiled behind a tree, Maleficent peered down at the cottage and at Aurora, who was being hurried along by the caregivers. "Diaval, go take a look. I want to know why they're leaving."

Cruelly, it seemed, Diaval fluffed his feathers and then took off, headed toward the small group voyaging across the river. His mind free, Diaval soared with the wind, closing his eyes as he spiraled down to just outside the group's sight. He always felt the freest when he was flying, and though he was in all reality kept a prisoner in his raven form, he still liked it. Of course it was because it was his original form, but it was the fact that he could fly and be free that truly made it stand out to him.

Once across the river, Aurora and her caretakers took a sharp steer to the right. They were headed toward the thickest part of the forest that eventually thinned out. A faded twinge of alarm raced through Diaval's system as he realized that, once through the forest, the group would enter into the grandeur of King Stephen's land.

That name was not unfamiliar to Diaval. Stephen was the name of the young boy who had befriended Maleficent and who had grown up to betray her. Seducing her and taking advantage of her, he had put her to sleep only to pry loose her large, enchanted wings. Diaval had not had the honor of knowing Maleficent when she had her fairy wings, but apparently they had been very beautiful, just like Maleficent before her heart had blackened.

Human grievances were too complicated of a concept for Diaval to contemplate in his raven form, but there was one thing from the situation that he could understand perfectly: Aurora mustn't stray into the lands of Stephen.

Picking up speed, Diaval flew to her. He kept his beady black eyes trained on the back of her golden head, and he felt the wind soar through his wings as he flew faster and faster and got closer and closer. Soon he was flying high above the group, and while pondering on what to do, he heard a voice ring through his head:

Get to the edge of the clearing. I'll take care of it from there.

Maleficent had very unusual powers, one of which allowed her to communicate with him telepathically. Diaval knew that she must have been prowling around nearby, hidden in the shadows of the forest, yet he didn't know what she had in store or what was going to happen.

But as all loyal bird must do, Diaval obeyed, and he flew straight ahead without looking back.

Once at the edge of the clearing, Diaval fluttered in the air and watched as the group approached the thicket of thorns that served as the wall between worlds. Aurora started running just then, excited at the feat of exploring new lands and learning new things, but her caregivers sped up to hold her back, whispering in her ear. Aurora's pace slowed then, as any obedient child's would, and as they were just about to walk through the threshold of the gate, it happened.

Clouds materialized in the blue skies of spring and a loud clang of thunder echoed across the clearing. Green light beamed from the gray, ravenous clouds, and thorns began to weaves themselves through each other until they sewed an impenetrable stitch directly across the entrance to Stephen's kingdom.

Allowing himself to glide lower to the scene, Diaval saw her face for the first time. Her light brown eyes were wide, and her face reflected the most tragic of all living expressions. Diaval suddenly felt his heart explode into a frenzy of flutters, and he didn't understand why he felt so sad and so hopeless as he stared down at the little girl and at the tears that streamed down her cheeks. One of the caregivers pulled her to them and stroked her hair, and after a few moments, they gathered her up and then turned around, pacing hurriedly back the way they had come.

Aurora. The thought rang desperately through Diaval's mind and resounded painfully in his heart. Aurora. Come back.

Without thinking, without feeling, he flew forward. He sensed the wrath of Maleficent in his wake as he soared down to the group, but more importantly, he felt the pitter patter of his heart as he landed on the girl's shoulders and as her head turned to look at him.

"Birdie." She smiled just then, like a rainbow at the end of a storm. Their eyes connected, and for the first time in a long while, Diaval felt an emotion that almost paralleled that strange human one that had completely captivated his heart. "Birdie. You're still here with me."

Regardless of what Maleficent would do and regardless of how much trouble he would be in, Diaval felt content. As he fluffed his feathers and pecked lightly on her ear with his beak, evoking her giggles and a soft hand to caress his head, Diaval knew where he belonged, and he vowed to somehow make it so that he could be there forever more.