The very next day, just as planned, Aurora and Diaval were back for another tea party.

"I got some real tea this time!" the girl whispered excitedly as she poured out their drinks. Diaval tilted his beak towards his cup and inhaled. Mmm! That did smell pretty good! Of course, nothing beat Moorland tea because that came straight from the freshest herbs and plants that nature could offer, but whatever Aurora had managed to scavenge smelled pretty promising too.

For a time, the two drank in silence, just enjoying each other's company. Like before, Aurora had set up a third, extra seat at their little table making it a table for three, but there was no third guest in sight. Her eyes flitted back and forth between the trees that surrounded her cottage. Today, she could find no sign of the shadow anywhere. Her shoulders slumped, but she said nothing. Instead, she continued to drink in peace.

After a while, however, Diaval raised his beak from his cup and hopped over to the third, empty seat. Aurora didn't used to put out that third chair, but it was becoming a recurring thing and he wanted to know who else Aurora was trying to invite to the tea party. He was willing to bet that it was an imaginary friend she might've conjured up, but the fact that she never once talked to or about the imaginary friend did puzzle Diaval. He may not have known much about human life, but he was pretty sure that the entire point of having an imaginary friend was to interact with it. He hopped over to the third seat, hoping Aurora would understand his silent question. She did.

"Oh! That's for the shadow!" she said merrily. Diaval cocked his head. "The shadow," Aurora repeated. "I notice it following me around. Usually, it comes with you, but sometimes, it comes alone. I assume you two are friends and I've always wanted for that shadow to come join our tea party, but it never seems to want to…" Aurora trailed off to do another perimeter check. Still no telltale signs of the shadow. Diaval, meanwhile, fluffed up in alarm. At first, he had not understood what Aurora meant by "shadow" and he had grown worried that perhaps there was a stalker in their midst. After Aurora described how the shadow seemed to be a companion of Diaval, however, he made the connection at once.

"Maleficent!" he cried to himself. "She means Maleficent!" and then it took all of his self-control not to laugh. Even if she refused to acknowledge any sort of positive regard for Aurora, it seemed that Aurora was more than happy to admit fondness for her.

"I did think about asking you to bring the shadow along, but I didn't know if that would be rude or not," Aurora continued. Diaval cawed to get her attention. He gestured to himself with his wing, then pointed to the woodlands beyond and then cocked his head back towards the third seat. It was an obvious offer and Aurora's eyes lit up at once.

"Oh! Would you?" she sounded hopeful. "That would be delightful! I'll pour the tea while you go get the shadow!" she clapped once before hastily and excitedly picking up her tea pot and pouring contents out into a third cup for the first time ever. Diaval watched her enthusiasm with a fond little caw before taking flight from the table and heading back over to where he knew Maleficent was watching.

"Did her aunts scare you off already?" the Dark Fairy gave Diaval a smirk as she turned him back into a human.

"No, actually, Aurora's come calling," Diaval replied with a genuinely happy smile.

"What?" Maleficent narrowed her eyes, smirk fading instantly.

"You've got an invitation," Diaval replied, and his eyes twinkled with happiness.

"Ok. No. No. No. No. And no," Maleficent said the moment she managed to wrap her head around Diaval's message. "I absolutely will not be dining with that wretched little beastie!" the Dark Fairy shook her horns in disgust at the mere suggestion.

"Well you're the one who complained about the last time you weren't invited to a party!" Diaval shot back. "Now you finally got an invitation!"

"That was different! And you know it!" Maleficent snarled.

"Well try to see this as… a return of sorts. Her father failed to invite you to his party, now she's inviting you to hers!" Diaval cried.

"That's not the same!" Maleficent snarled again.

"Gah! Nothing ever pleases you, does it?" the raven-man demanded. "First you get mad when you aren't invited, then you get mad when you are!"

For a moment, the two continued to bicker, but as Maleficent continued to shoot down Diaval's request, he grew more and more serious.

"Please, Mistress!" he pleaded, sincere. For once, he wasn't trying to tease Maleficent into anything. For Aurora's sake, he really wanted Maleficent to stop being such a stubborn jerk and make the girl's day. "She really wants to see you. She's already set up a table for three!"

"That's out of the question," Maleficent said, with a very final tone.

"You could at least do something prove that you've come," Diaval replied.

"And why should I do that?" Maleficent asked rudely.

"Because she's asking for you!" Diaval replied stubbornly, passionately, advocating for Aurora.

"And why should I care?" Maleficent snorted, finding their entire argument to be very tedious, petty and silly.

"Because she's a sweet girl!" Diaval continued, not quite as ready to give up.

"And that's supposed to affect me how?" Maleficent pretended to yawn.

"Because I know you already care for her, Mistress," Diaval's face became entirely serious and when Maleficent snarled at him, eyes literally glowing with anger, he only looked right back into her eyes with an unshakeable calm. "All humor aside, you and I both know full well you're starting to care for the girl. And she already cares for you, so the least you can do is go on and play with her! Just this once!" Diaval pleaded.

"She cares for me?" Maleficent's face contorted into a wary snarl. Diaval only nodded calmly, that look of conviction still upon his face. He explained to her that Aurora was aware of her existence. Even if Aurora didn't know everything, she did know that a certain shadow was never too far away and was always there to help her out of a tough spot. Aurora didn't need to know more than that to be grateful, and now she wanted to meet her silent savior and invisible friend.

Diaval's message to Maleficent stirred up quite a few conflicting emotions. The first was disbelieving amusement that Aurora could've somehow noticed her shadow, noticed it frequently, and mistaken it for some sort of guardian angel. If only the little girl knew the truth… But behind the amusement at the irony and humor of the situation, there was something much darker and more serious at stake. Maleficent was vary wary of humans. Even the seemingly good ones could easily go bad. In fact, Aurora was the child of the prime example of this in Maleficent's book! So not only was she wary of Aurora just because she was human, but because Aurora was the direct descendent of one of the worst humans that Maleficent knew. Of course, Maleficent knew that blood did not determine fate, but she certainly was going to exercise extra cautious around the child of the most evil human she knew.

But underneath even that, Maleficent felt a little bit touched. There was nothing sweeter than the honest innocence of a child. Even if Aurora was incredibly misguided in her beliefs, they were sweet nonetheless and her intentions were pure and touching. She wanted to meet her hero and make a new friend. How could Maleficent not find something charming in that? But the problem was, who knew how Aurora might react once she actually got to her hero face to face. Maleficent wasn't exactly a pretty sight…

"So no. I'm not going. And you can tell her I said that," Maleficent flicked her head back down to where Aurora was waiting below.

"Mistress," Diaval tried again. He honestly wasn't trying to anger her or goad her into doing something she didn't want to do, but he felt like this time, they both needed to put their own desires aside for Aurora's sake. She was just so sweet, kind, gentle, thoughtful and innocent. This wasn't about what he or Maleficent wanted, for themselves or each other. This was about what Aurora wanted. Today, Diaval was fighting for that. For Aurora. And he wasn't going to let Maleficent get out of it this time. This wasn't just about her anymore. It was about Aurora too…

So for a time, Maleficent and Diaval continued to argue. At least until Aurora cried out.

"Pretty birdie, where did you go?" she cupped her hands to her mouth and cried out worriedly.

"Oh, great, now look what you've done!" Diaval cried in frustration and sympathy. "You've made her worry! I've taken too long with you!"

"Good," Maleficent replied coldly. Diaval shot her a genuinely disgusted and angry look. It was actually so full of venom and disappointment that it honestly caught Maleficent off guard. For once, Diaval wasn't joking around.

"You know, Mistress, I know you've been hurt before, but so have I, but you don't see me ever acting this bitter. And I don't take my bitterness out on other people either," he said, truly contemptuous of his mistress. But before either of them could say another word, Diaval reached out and grabbed the tip of Maleficent's scepter, pointing it towards himself and turning himself back into a raven before flying back down to Aurora. Maleficent watched him go, too stunned by his words and actions to rebuke him for either.

"Ah! There you are!" Aurora sounded relieved when she caught sight of Diaval flying back over to her. Diaval felt his heart ache at how genuinely relieved she sounded that he had come back for her after all. "Where is your friend?" she asked him hopefully, but after a quick look-around, Aurora came to realize that the shadow still had not come. "Ah. Still too shy?" her question was sincere, but the ignorance in it almost made Diaval laugh. He managed to catch himself, though, and nodded at her, pantomiming that the shadow still didn't feel comfortable coming out into the open for something like a tea party, even if it was only going to be a table for three.

"Oh well. That's ok," Aurora said, being quite sincere in her remark. Although it was obvious that she was disappointed (which Diaval hated to see), she genuinely would've preferred that the shadow stay away and stay comfortable then come out and feel unsafe. "Maybe some other time. Just let it get to know that I won't hurt it. I am safe. The shadow can trust me," she suggested, and once again, Diaval had to stifle a laugh. Poor, sweet, innocent Aurora. She honestly thought Maleficent was refusing to come out and play just because she was scared and didn't trust Aurora. Nothing could be further from the truth. Maleficent was just a grumpy old curmudgeon. And no, Diaval was not going to take that back! He could tolerate Maleficent's temper and mood most of the time, but there was no excuse to be mean to a sweet little girl who had never done a thing wrong in her life! That was where Diaval was going to put his talon down.

"Let the grumpy old witch stew. Aurora and I will have fun all on our own!" he thought stubbornly to himself. Even if Maleficent was too mean to be nice to a poor little child, Diaval certainly wasn't! So on the tea party went, Diaval making a big deal out of drinking the tea that was supposed to have gone to Maleficent. The Dark Fairy really didn't know what she was missing!

But barely 15 minutes later, while Diaval and Aurora were locked in a game of tag, they both noticed the third chair at the table scooting away from the table itself. An oily black figure took a seat in it. Both Diaval and Aurora gasped, halting right in the middle of their game to watch. It was Maleficent. Or rather, her shadow. Quite literally, it was her shadow. Having taken inspiration from Diaval's stories about what Aurora had said, the Dark Fairy used her magic to transfer her mind into her own shadow and move it away. While her real and corporeal body still remained hidden in the trees several distances away, her mind was now present at the tea table, carried in the vessel that was her shadow, literal and living.

While Diaval could only stare open-beaked at his Mistress' shadow, Aurora smiled and took a cautious step forward. One could see it on her chubby little face that she was bursting at the seams, but she managed to control herself and remain polite and gentle.

"Hello. My name is Aurora," she greeted softly as she continued to walk slowly to her third and final guest. At long last! What a moment this was! The table for three was finally complete! But since Aurora didn't want to scare her guest, she forced herself to remain calm, quiet and slow…

The shadow only nodded back. Since it was not a corporeal being, although Maleficent could use it to experience a world outside of and away from her body, she could not really interact. She couldn't say or touch anything. Not as a shadow.

"Oh, you can't talk, can you?" Aurora asked, catching onto why Maleficent couldn't speak at once. The shadow shook its head. "Well that's ok!" Aurora cried merrily. "We can still be friends!" and despite herself, the barest of smiles flickered across Maleficent's face (not that anyone could see it). This kid was something else. Maleficent still found her vaguely annoying and uncomfortable, but she couldn't deny that the girl was very well-meant. It was kind of refreshing, when it wasn't embarrassing.

"Oh wait! Does this mean you can't drink tea either?" Aurora asked a second later, a look of dismay flickering across her face. For a little kid, she was very sharp and very fast. But she looked so embarrassed and upset with herself that Maleficent found herself actually feeling kind of bad for the child. She nodded, but shrugged, a clear sign that while Aurora was correct in her assessment, Maleficent didn't mind at all.

"Are you sure?" the child wrung her hands together worriedly. "I am sorry…" Maleficent only shrugged again and nodded, trying to get the kid to see that it was fine. She didn't need to fret over something so small. She really was something else…

Five minutes later, the tea party had recommenced. Even though one of their ranks could not drink tea, she still did her best to engage in the activity. She spoke through gestures and symbols written in magic in order to talk to Aurora and the girl didn't seem to mind at all. Maleficent's muteness hardly even registered with Aurora because the two had found a way around the communication barrier and she watched Maleficent write out her story with rapt attention. Of course, the story was all a lie, Maleficent claimed to be a rare shadow-creature that met and befriended Diaval while they were both out exploring late one night, but it was the only story Maleficent felt comfortable telling the young Aurora and, for once, Diaval agreed. The girl didn't need to know the full or true story. At least not yet.

So for a time, while Maleficent wrote out symbols and words on the table cloth in shadows, Aurora and Diaval read them all with rapt attention, occasionally pausing for a sip of tea. Despite herself, Maleficent actually began to have a decent time. Tea parties, especially with children, still weren't quite her thing, but this table for three hadn't been terrible! In fact, when the sound of Aurora's three aunts calling forced the party to come to an end for the day, Maleficent halfway debated on coming back for another party in the future. Maybe she wouldn't attend every single one, but coming back was not totally out of the question…

"Goodbye, new friend!" Aurora waved farewell to the shadow as she made her way back towards her house. "It was great meeting you!" and Maleficent waved back. Aurora beamed like the sun and that was the last either Maleficent or Diaval saw of her before she turned around to go inside. Maleficent and Diaval continued to watch the door for a moment more before they both made their exit.

"Ha ha, what did I tell you?!" Diaval asked excitedly as Maleficent returned him to his human body and herself to her physical one.

"Oh please, I was only being polite," Maleficent scoffed. "Don't get any ideas.

"But that's just it! You were being polite!" Diaval cried, sounding delighted and proud. "I told you that you'd like her!"

"Don't get any ideas!" Maleficent repeated with a scowl, but it was too late. Diaval looked far too happy.

"I told you you'd have fun and you did!" he cried. "I hope this isn't the last time you come to a tea party either!"

Maleficent's scowl deepened, but because Diaval was in such a good mood, he ignored her completely as they both went on home. He was on an afterglow both from the party and from proving Maleficent wrong about her worries. While he strutted ahead, Maleficent rolled her eyes and trudged on after him. She had to admit, though, that the tea party really hadn't been too terrible. Nor had its hostess. And in fact, once Diaval was far enough ahead, Maleficent paused to turn around and look at Aurora's cabin one last time.

"Goodbye, Beastie. Maybe we will meet again someday," she whispered, the barest of smiles flickering back onto her face again, but like before, no one was around to see it…

But then her tender smile became dry. "And maybe next time, I shall bring some better tea, real Moorland tea," she smirked, so despite all of her best efforts, Maleficent was already making plans for the next time she and Aurora would meet. Diaval would never let her live it down.

AN: Assassin Akame, here's your sequel where Maleficent finds out about the third chair and joins in on the next tea party (albeit very reluctantly). Hope you enjoyed!