Maleficent's POV

All seemed to grey around me as each step I took furthered me into a deeper trance of thought.

And then I heard commotion and hid myself in the shadows of the trees.

Waving to Diaval, he came closer to me as if to protect me.

"What do you make of it?" Diaval asked me as he stood close without realizing so as his warm fluttering breath neared the skin of my neck.

I just let him be as I thought little of it.

"Just foolish and untamed children wanting to trap fairies, as usual."

"You mean humans steal away your kind?"

"And why do you think they need a protector? If I wasn't here...this place would be over run already by lowly humans who know nothing other than their lustful greed for power and money...fame and glory...they have no honor...and they never will. If they ever lay a finger on this land...they will destroy everything."

"Even if there's just one good human?"

I looked at him sharply.

"Good?"

He looked away in regret of his words to me.

Such foolish words.

"Good..." I say again as I trailed the word across my lips as like an echo.

"No one is good. Nothing is good in a world where humans exist. Nothing but chaos comes from them. You should know, you were almost pitched forked by one of them yourself."

With a bit of magic I made Diaval into a wolf to scare the children off as they ran back the way they came.

Once Diaval came back he pouted about how gross and disgusting wolves were.

After a few more minutes of his pestering words I stopped him from saying anything further by turning him back to a raven.

A little while later Diaval still continued to flap his wings as he followed me by the border of The Moors.

As I refined the black thorns Diaval only pestered me with his ceaseless squawking.

"For the love of- would you shut up." I transformed him into a human as he dusted his pants.

"Apologies Mistress but you seem to have forgotten something."

I hid not my annoyance with him as I ignored his words to me.

"Umm, Mistress?"

"What is it Diaval?"

"You forget to smile." He reached over my horn and placed a rose as white as freshly fallen snow.

"Frowning so much, you'll age faster Mistress."

Maybe it was the way he smiled at me...or the way his hand felt so gentle as it brushed past my horn.

Whatever it was...the kindness that this Raven man was giving me, made my thoughts stop in their tracks.

His unforeseen gesture toward me made my mind whirl in a million thoughts with my heart racing just as fast.

"Mistress? You alright? You're looking a bit faint."

Before he could get any closer I stopped him with my hand pushing slightly against his chest.

"Don't come any closer." I had a slight sharpness to my voice as not to show any weakness or vulnerability to him.

"I just need a moment."

I felt water hit my face as rain started to fall from the clouds.

"Was the rose too much?"

"Don't speak another word." My voice was faint but still enough to hear.

"My apologizes Mistress."

"Don't apologize, just don't speak please."

When I said that he looked at me oddly.

It seemed my 'please' gave me away...unfortunately.

"Are you-?"

His eyes widened and maybe for a moment, even for a mere moment he took in the realization of what he did and how it might've affected me.

By his reaction...most definitely he realized what he had done.

And with another wide eyed look he backed away and walked off into the fog, leaving muddy foot traces in the wet grass as his hair grew darker and heavier from the rain.

I couldn't move myself.

He had totally immobilized me.

Frozen like an ice sculpture in the dead of winter.

I would have been fine and would have gotten over this but now that he's realized how he made me feel...I'm afraid I might not get over these unusual feelings as soon as I had wished to.

How was a to face a raven half man so nonchalantly when he took a glance at my heart like he did.

Sly as a fox he was even if all he meant by it was kindness.

And although he only wished for me to smile...my eyes only felt tears.

As if a part of me, the broken part of me I thought had been healing was breaking yet again....wanting to be fixed properly by the right person.

My hand went to my face as if to rub away these ridiculous thoughts.

No way was this happening, no way was I even thinking to consider him.

Him? A raven?

I chuckled as I walked on.

"What a ridiculous idea."