Raven Of Magic

Chapter 3: Running Away

Fall came quickly that year and the snow had not yet fallen. Diaval was in his raven from, sleeping peacefully in the nest. His mistress knew that it was a very special day. It was his birthday and it was the only time that he was allowed to sleep in. She stroke his feathers gently as she carefully turned him into his human form. His hair was ruffled and out of place. Normally he won't allow her to see him with morning hair until he was properly groomed. She lifted him up with her magic and took him towards the river. In her hand was a large towel and a bar of soap that smelled like wild flower. With her magic he floated in the air to the deepest part of the pond. She removed her magic and he fell into the water. Diaval came out of the water shaking his head and gasped desperately for air. He knew exactly who had done this to him and he dove down to the water. He held his breath for a long time. The air bubbles stopped appearing from the surface of the water. Maleficent notice this and yelled out " Diaval! Diaval where are you!". No answer and she left the rock that she was sitting on and went into the water after him. She called out his name but no answer again. By this time she was starting to panic. When suddenly someone grabbed her foot and dragged her underwater. She hit the force that was pulling her down with her horns. She went to the surface of the water and gasped for air. Soon after reaching land she noticed that Diaval's black shirt was floating in the water. That made her regret her evil prank. She took his shirt out of the water and looked shocked at it. Suddenly a splash of mud hit her from the side. She turned and saw Diaval laughing at her. With a wave of her hand she sent a wave of mud to his face. He stopped laughing once the mud hit him by surprise. Then it was her turn to laugh and he just smiled as he washed away to mud. She soon joined him in the water as they began the bathe in different parts the pond. Diaval was the first one to dry off and then Maleficent.

As they walked down a beautiful light path, Maleficent suddenly stopped. She looked at him with a sweet smile and lead him down a darker path through the Moors. They walked for several minutes without speaking a word. The light of the sun was seen through the otherside of the dark path. The path lead to large cliff in which you could see a large part of the Moors. The view simply took one's breath away. As Diaval stared off into the beautiful view before him. Maleficent sighed deeply as she turned to him and said, " Diaval. I would like to tell you that I have a few special gifts for you. I hope that it comes to good use to you". He turned to look at her and waited patently. She took out a folded fabric that was folded neatly and handed it to him. He smiled happily and carefully unfolded the fabric. Within the fabric was a small dagger with a raven on the hilt. He looked up at her and said, " Thank you mistress". Maleficent smiled and told him that there was more. He completely unfolded the fabric and quickly it was a beautiful black cloak. The cloak had a fine silver clasp that were molded into ravens. The cloak itself had black feathers on, from the shoulders to the back. Maleficent took out a black dagger belt and looked questionly at Diaval as if asking for permission. He gave her a small node and she stepped closer and tied the belt around his waist. Diaval placed the dagger in its place as he took his mistress' hands and kneeled on one knee, handing her the cloak. She placed the cloak around him and clipped the claps together. She kneeled down beside him and placed her hands on his strong shoulders. He looked into her eyes as their heads gently touched. She took a deep breath and said, " Diaval of the Moors. My companion and most trusted friend. My gift to you is the gift of many forms. Into a man! Into a raven! Into a horse! Into a dragon! Into whatever you desire!". She closed her eyes as gold magic slipped from her fingers and onto Diaval's body. The magic stinged as it entered and invaded his body. Diaval shapeshift into many animals as quickly was you could blink an eye. A cloud of gold and purple dust surrounded them. Finally, she removed her hands from his soldiers and gave him a gentle hug. Diaval kindly accepted her hug as she felt him tremble a little. He got up slowly and helped her up as well.

As they walked back to the nest, Maleficent leaned against Diaval for support as she got her straight back. A loud cry was heard from the distance. Diaval wanted to go and see what the loud noise was but his mistress suggested otherwise. She told him to return to the nest and she would go investigate. Before he could protest against her decision, she transformed him into his raven forme. He flew off to the nest waited for her to return. He waited for at least ten minutes but it felt like hours. He soon saw two horns in the distance and flew in her direction. Shapeshifting quickly into a man he approached her. She seemed to be caring something in her arms but he couldn't get a good look because it was covered with a dark fabric. He looked at her curiously and said, " What is it mistress?". She removed the fabric to reveal a young golden saken falcon. She looked at him for a reaction but all she could see in his eyes was horror. " What's wrong? She asked with a questioning grin. Diaval ran his an threw his hair and said, " Mistress you have no idea what you have in your hands. It's a monster from across the southern border. They are show offs, know it alls and believe that they are better than us ravens. All because they stand on the hands of kings". Maleficent shook her head and said, " Diaval this bird is hurt and will stay with us for a few days. Maybe we might even keep it as a second servant". At this he lifted his head angrily and followed slowly behind his mistress. Diaval shapeshifted into his raven form and went up to his nest and looked at his mistress with the other bird. The other bird has ravishing gold and white feathers. The exact markings of a golden saker falcon. Maleficent looked at him and said, " By any chance, can you tell if this bird is a male or female Diaval?". He shapeshifted once again and laid back against the trunk of the tree. He glanced at it for a second and said, " It's a female golden saker falcon". Maleficent believed that he must be wrong because he burly even looked at it. Diaval could see the disbalife in his eyes and he went down and sat next to her. He extends his hand and grabbed the bird from its side. He tilted it and groaned as he said, " This bird is a female because her tale and body feathers are lighter and she is much smaller than a male". He looked at the bird and said, "Excuse me" as he slipped his finger under her to find her female parts. After doing so Maleficent was shocked at what Diaval had done and this time believed his words. Diaval shapeshifted and left that night. It wasn't like him to do so without her permission but he had to because he felt his blood boil. He did not like sharing his mistress and sharing her attention. Winter was coming soon and Diaval flew to the cave in which they always spent the entire winter. He began covering the floor with soft moss and glow in the dark moss. Making sure that there was plenty of food and water for the winter. He also collected wood and gathered as many tea leaves as he could because he could feel in his bones that it was going to be a cold winter. The cave was ready in two days but he felt replaced as he saw the other bird take his place in the morning patrol. Diaval felt jealous and flew to the farm to see Rose. He greeted her with a loud caw. Spapshifted infront of her, she felt a bit shocked but quickly wrapped her arms around him.