Diaval's POV

As Maleficent had turned me into my original form...specifically a raven...all I could do was caw.

For several minutes I attempted to scrape human words from memory but they were leaving me too fast to retrieve...trying to pull human words from a tongue that could not cipher such code...

I was a creature who could no longer speak the same words as Mistress did.

So....

I didn't try any longer as I stood on a branch that belonged to a small oak tree.

All I could do was watch.

All I could do was be a motionless bystander who could only watch.

I felt quite useless for Maleficent right now.

And for once, agitated toward her.

I told her I wished to protect her...

I told her...and yet she was only showing how weak I was to protect her...

Turning me into this bird form I use to call myself...

But because of her....

Because of my Mistress...

I was starting to misplace my sense of being... I was stuck between two worlds of who I truly was.

A man...or a Raven...

And as I thought these thoughts...a commotion began to stir.

That was...Maleficent was about to kill Borra.

I knew she wouldn't care...I knew if she had a chance to kill him she wouldn't hesitate to end him...and she'd have no remorse toward him...

So even though I had been on her side, I...

I still didn't wish for Borra to be beaten to death by her. Even if he had done that same action toward me...I didn't want that to weigh on her mind.

I didn't want her to regret anything...I didn't want her to suffer, not even of the consequences.

And besides...as for Borra...

I could see the pain in his eyes.

Every word Mistress spoke to him, as I would have imagined, would be no closer than a arrow piercing his heart.

An inevitable pain.

Words he could not escape filled his heart as he held back...

And after a short while, he could hold back no longer.

——

As the conversation became to be aggression between the two, I wanted to keep Mistress away from him.

And as if by pure coincidence, Mistress had turned me back into a man.

And I kindly turned to Borra, advising him to step away from her in my own way.

But he did not heed my warning.

Instead, he made contact with my face with his fist.

I knew Maleficent's mercy was hanging by a thread for him then.

I knew she began to hate him more than anything and even more than anyone...but I still wanted mercy for him.

He was hurt more than anyone here right now.

I could see it in his eyes.

In his very soul.

And if I had been him instead of where I was...I couldn't fathom how he was even handling this right now.

And in a blink of an eye....as if by reflex to protect Borra from potentially dying by the hand of Mistress...

I had kept Mistress's glowing hand away from Borra.

Instead of him getting injured I took the hit for him.

But by my surprise he seemed more heated and angry than before.

He despised me...loathed me even.

Unfortunately enough...I couldn't tell wether my sacrifice was worth making for him or not.

And my Mistress spoke.

"What Diaval has just done for you is far more than you'll ever deserve. So, remember, this day...he has saved your wretched life."

And just like that Borra was speechless and walked away after kicking up dirt in my face.

"I will never stop hating you."

As Borra said those very words to me, I could hear the quiver in his voice.

He had been defeated.

——

Maleficent then turned to me as she knelt down beside me.

"What have you done." She said this as though she was asking...as if she had no clue.

But I knew she knew actually why I had done so.

"His heart was broken. He could bear no more." And at that...realization hit me...he was strong...very strong...even stronger than I could ever be.

"You are too kind." Her eyes gleamed gold as she held me in her arms.

"Was it wrong for me to save him?"

"No, not at all. You made a wise choice. You even saved me from doing wrong. In honesty, I could have regretted taking his life if you hadn't stopped me."

She embraced me gently, aware of the burn on my back she had created accidentally.

I then felt tears on my shoulder.

"You're hurt because of me. I'm truly sorry."

She gave me a gentle squeeze as I gave her a hug back as well.

"Don't worry, it's nothing I can't handle. I will be fine. After a few days of resting and tending to the wound I'll be as good as new my Mistress."

I laid my hand beside her face.

"I promise you, I'll be more than just ok." I reassured her as we shared a kiss.

She then parted from me, shying away.

"We must go back inside, your wound will need immediate attention if you'll be wanting to get back on your feet again any time soon."

"Seems to me we'll have more time to spend together." I teased, smiling at her as she helped me stand.

She rolled her eyes playfully as she kept quite for a few moments.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. You might sprain an ankle." Her voice was surprisingly soft...I had thought she would've disregarded my comment.

I thought maybe she would've considered correcting me, but she played along with the friendly banter.

"I think my pace is just fine." I remarked, quite brazen in my words.

"I do not like to run."

"Then a walk with you is just fine."

She gave me a gentle smile as we headed back inside our nest.

"Alright. You've had your fun. Now it's time to rest."

"Yes, my Mistress."

She said nothing more as she had lost words to oppose mine.

And a tender look laid upon her face as if she thought pleasant of my words.

As if she had finally read between the lines of the name I had given her ever since we met.

The very words that, in my own language toward her, meant 'My Love'.