Raven Of Magic

Chapter 6: Royal

Diaval has left the Moors without looking back. His dark clothing and horse made him clearly invisible in the darkness. This went on for hours until the first light of day was seen. By then he was miles away from Aurora's kingdom. They never stopped to ask for directions or went to down for food. All they needed was provided by nature and for directions. Diaval relied on his memorie. He passed kingdom by kingdom. Without worry of fearing for his life for he had his magic on his side. He had no where else to go. He wanted to get as far away from Maleficent as possible. She had never hit him with magic before and that made his raven instincts to kick in. That's why he left. He was afraid of the magic that struck him. If he was in his raven form, that blast of magic would have definitely killed him. Thankfully his human form was strong enough to withstand the impact.

Maleficent went to the cave to find that River was not there. The other fairies confirmed that he hadn't returned since last night. He didn't say were he was going and he was clever on hiding his tracks. She flew around the Moors, the nearby farms and around Aurora's kingdom. She even asked Aurora and spoke with Rose but the results were the same. He was nowhere to be found. She regretted letting her jealousy over take her that way. To the point of hurting the one she loved. She never wanted him to leave. Nor was the intention of hurting her beloved bird. She knew that Diaval was hiding from her and he had ever right.

Two weeks passed, since he had left the Moors and he had gotten to another kingdom. This kingdom was heavily guarded and saw the dark clothed man as a threat. Diaval knew were he was and when the soldiers attacked, he fought back. He crossed swords with the ones to the left while River kicked the one's on the right. He had good sword skills for being a bird but once he shaphifted into a dragon. The knights knew who he was. The knights that attacked him fled and warned the queen of the threat that had entered their land. The town's people locked the doors and lit torches. They knew that he was Maleficent's pet and that she wouldn't be far behind. He transformed into a raven once more and few to the castle. He entered threw an open window of the castle. He was not looking for trouble, all he wanted to speak to the queen. The throne room was full of soldiers and queen looked worried. He flew around the room cawing loudly. " Maleficent is here!", one of the guards yelled out. They all took their swords out ready to attack at a moment's notice. The queen lifted her hand up, " Enough! Come forth". Diaval landed on her arm, " Now reveal yourself". He did as he was ordered. A dust of darkness covered him as he transformed into a man. He bowed before her, " Your majesty. Pardon my alarming entry but my reputation perseids me". The queen looked at him, " Is Maleficent here? Why have you come and what is your name?". He looked up at her, " Diaval and no, she is not here. I am no longer her servant. You have no need to fear me, I am no threat to your kingdom. I've journeyed a long way to see your daughter crowned. She told me that this is a local event, that no outside kingdoms are invited". The queen smiled and the rest of the guards relaxed and lowered the weapons. Queen Ella allowed Diaval to stay for a long has he liked. He was given a room and was treated like a real royal. His room was large with a bedroom, bathroom, a walk in closet and a desk. It smelled of flowers and the bed was extra firm, along with the pillows. He had never felt so comfortable in his life.

The crowning ceremony would be taken place in a week. So, yes he was a bit early. Erika greeted him in his chambers. Apparently Diaval needed clothes, so the queen order the taylors of her kingdom to each make Diaval 20 changes of clothes. Including cloaks, shirts, coats, undergarments, socks, boats, belts with sword frogs. By the end of the day he had about 100 of everything. His horse too got a nice stall in the stable and was given the best of everything.

During meal times he learned proper table manners while eating and how to be polite while asking for something that was out of his reach at the table. He learned to excuse himself properly if he had to leave for any reason. This was not just applied at meal time but at anytime. In the evenings Erika and him practiced waltz dancing. They started slowly until Diaval understood the rhythm. He picked up the steps pretty quickly that they were soon waltzing around in a faster pace. By the end of the week he was a perfect gentleman.

Since the night that Diaval left, Maleficent had felt bad on the way she had treated her long life friend and mate. She never stopped searching for him. She would do anything to be bickering with him once again or to be feeling his heat during the night. She missed missed him so much and she wished that whereever her pretty bird was, that he knew that she loved him.

The ceremony was small but one to remember. Erika looked ravishing in her gold crown and when she danced, it was like magic. Diaval had no gift for her and he felt bad about it. " You have given me a gift Diaval. Just being there by my side and giving me my first dance as future queen. You have given me something worth more than jewels and gold. You gave me your friendship", her words sweetened their way into his heart. They hugged one another, taking short breaths. As they separated shortly, " I would like you to stay. But if do, what about Mal...". He cut her off, " She doesn't need me. If she loved me she wouldn't have blasted me with magic. I will stay with you in Zel. I can't promise to be your mate but I can promise to be your companion". The very next day River was branded with hot iron. The iron had the kingdoms symbol which was a sun with a half moon. This did hurt the horse but the next individual to be branded would surely yell in more pain. Diaval layed on his tummy on the floor, with a leather belt on his mouth. The hot iron burner red and when it hit his shoulder blade, it hissed and steamed. He yelled out in pain through the thick belt. 20 seconds seemed like 40 but when it was removed, the splash of ice cold water was a relief. The Queen's lineage seem to possess magical powers. She healed his wound and scared it when she placed her hand on his mark. It scared nicely as all the others.

The most beautiful part of staying in Zel was that he learned to read and write within a short time. After some time passed, he became the Queen's right hand and was of good use to the kingdom. During a patrol he found Diaval spotted a raven nest about a quarter of a mile from the castle. The mother feed her only hatchling and went of to find some more food. A few days passed and a terrible storm blew in. The rain came down hard and Diaval's mind went to the raven family that he saw a few days ago. Without second to waste, he got on his horse went to the tree. When he got there, he found that the hatchling was abandoned. No, she wouldn't have abandoned her baby. Ravens are not like that, something must have happened. He looked around but there was no sign of her. He took the little raven in his arms and rode back.

Once at the castle, he dried it up and wrapped it in a blanket. He looked after it for a few days and it looked healthy. Diaval decided to inject some of his blood into the baby raven, in that way he could take care of her better. The magic of his blood gave her the ability to shapeshift, just like him. The baby had dark drown eyes and raven black hair. She did not cry and was as calm as can be. The little baby was presented to the kingdom as Princess Gin of Zel but not only that. Her adopted father was also crowned Prince Diaval of Zel the very same day. No one ever guesses that one day there would be one who wasn't of royal blood would sit on the throne. A silver crown was placed on his head as he held his new daughter. I did not matter that she was not created from him. All he knew was that there was love in his heart and that he would raise this child as his own.