Revealing the rot
It's been done I'm sure, but I had to make my own. During Parent's day, when Chad attacks Mal and her friends. Things are a bit different, they've given up on getting the wand.
Mal was angry but, somehow, unable to say anything to defend herself as Chad, after attacking her verbally, started attacking Evie and Jay. She didn't know if Chad hadn't found anything to say against Carlos or if he had simply forgotten him due to the fact that he was a bit behind them but she was glad. She felt protective of him, like she would of a younger brother and she knew that Jay and Evie felt the same way, she didn't want him to be attacked as well, she knew that he wasn't as strong as she and the other were.
They had been raised to be rotten to the core but, even though she pretended nothing had changed, she could tell that her friends and her had changed here. They were learning, trying to be better people. Shaking herself after Evie's mirror revealed that Chad was, indeed, the biggest jerk in the land, Mal declared:
"You know what, Chad? You're right, we're just rotten to the core. We were raised this way. You think you know everything about us, don't you?" Mal had spoken in a loud but calm voice.
Everyone could hear her and she intended to let them all know how prejudiced they were.
"I know enough." Chad smirked arrogantly.
"You don't know anything! You act like you're so much better than us when you're really the worst one here. I mean, Evie might have cheated on her science homework but that's because her mother raised her to think that using her brain was unattractive and the sure way to lose a man's attention. She was raised to believe that only her looks mattered, that getting a rich husband was the only goal of her life. Whenever she studied, she was punished. She only cheated because she was raised not to trust her brain. What's your excuse for getting girls to do your homework for you in exchange for some of your attention? Do your parents know that you use your inherited charm to get girl to do your homework for you? And what if they found out, which, let's face it, they just heard me, so they know now. What will they do? Scold you, maybe ground you a little and tell you just how disappointed they are? When our parents are disappointed in us, we don't eat for a week, we get beaten or locked up in a dark room without any company or anything to do but think about our actions and what we should have done differently." Mal declared, trying her best to keep an even voice.
She could tell that she had everyone's attention, she could feel Ben's supportive hand around her waist and she knew that he was encouraging her to continue. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Cinderella and Prince Charming frowning and slowly walking toward their son.
"How dare you!" Chad exclaimed, getting ready to punch her when his father held him back.
"You'll listen to what she has to say, son. And then we'll talk about your behaviour and the punishment you deserve." Prince Charming declared, a strong hand on his son's shoulder.
"You're all so quick to judge and condemn us... You're right Chad, our parents didn't teach us kindness and fair-play. Where we come from, you do whatever you need to do in order to get what you want. When someone opposes you, you strike them down, that's what we've always been told. We were raised to believe that love and friendship were unnecessary and weaknesses. When I told my mother that Evie was my best friend, I was locked up in a dark cell for a week without being able to eat, just some water to drink before she let me out and decided that since I got close to Evie, I'd be able to spy for her and warn her if the Evil Queen was planning on making a move against her. Kindness is something we learned here, something we knew nothing about before coming here. Something as simple as parental love... Lonny told us how her mother was, comforting her when she was sad, hugging her, trying to make her feel better... We didn't have that. When we were sad, we had to hide it, power through it or we'd be punished. We were told that being sad was being weak. And being weak is the first step before being dead." Mal explained, tears in her eyes.
"Some of our parents kind of love us, or they try to make us think that they do... But when we grow up we realize that it isn't love. They don't love us like a parent loves his child, they love us like a master loves his servant. What we provide them is an opportunity to leave something of theirs behind, to have their name, their legacy, last longer. Tell them the story behind your name Mal." Evie added, knowing that her friend needed some time to gather her thoughts.
"What about her name?" Audrey asked in a defensive tone before her mother's warning glance made her look down.
"My name is Mal, but... My real complete name is Maleficent, like my mother's. But she forbade me to use my full name until I deserved it. I have to live up to her name before I can use it. Do you know how it feels when you grow up with your mother telling you that you're not worth a complete name, that all you deserve is a three letters syllable? When you're told over and over again that you're not mean enough, that you won't satisfy your mother and make her proud until I acted just like her and cursed several kingdoms? You have no idea what it does to someone's self confidence to know that no matter what you do, your mother, your only parent, will never be proud of you, will never truly love you." Mal replied, tears silently rolling down her cheeks.
"Mal..." Ben whispered, hugging her closer to him.
"You accuse Jay of being violent when he first got here but you don't understand that violence is the only thing we knew before coming here. On the Isle of the Lost, if you're not strong, you die. You have no idea how many children don't finish elementary school because they die before the end of it, simply because they were too weak or they disappointed their parents. You're all so lucky to have parents who only want the best for you... Do you know that Carlos was scared of dogs before Ben showed him that they weren't rabid pack animals trying to kill him but nice creatures looking for some love? His mother fed his fear so she could use it to manipulate him. What happens when you're afraid of something? I bet your parents help you get over it or they comfort you whenever you have to face your fear. It's so easy for you to judge and condemn us, but you have no idea what it's like for us. Even now, we might be away from our parents but they still try to control us, to get us to do whatever they want. Your parents care for your happiness, ours don't. They don't know or care about what makes us happy, they only care about what they want and what's the easiest way to get it." Mal told them all, appreciating Ben's comfort.
"We might have our defaults, but we're learning, trying to see things differently. What's your excuse?" Evie asked Chad and Audrey.
Mal now turned to Aurora's mother:
"You know, I'm really sorry for what my mother did to your daughter. It wasn't the best response but you need to admit that you had your faults too. You could have invited her to this christening. She'd have been a bit loud and obnoxious but she wouldn't have done anything as evil as cursing your entire kingdom. I heard once that Evil wasn't born, it's made. Maybe you should all think about that and try to keep in mind that our parent's faults are their own. We might have inherited their DNA, we didn't inherited their dark souls and their past actions. I have nothing to do with what my mother did to Aurora, so stop treating me like I'm the one who cursed her asleep." Mal said the last piece looking directly at Audrey, who couldn't meet her eyes and looked down while her grandmother looked pensive.
"As for Ben, I'll just say this Audrey: if you really loved him, you wouldn't have jumped on Chad the second he broke up with you. Kind of makes me wonder who the real Gold digger is here. Where you with Ben because you loved him or because he was about to be crowned King and you liked the glory that provided you?" Evie asked Audrey who didn't answer, her silence telling more than her words could have.
"Oh Audrey..." Aurora sighted, shaking her head.
"I don't really see what the big difference is between you and us, some of you are nastier than we ever were but anyway... don't worry, the minute we're sent back to the Isle of the Lost for the next school break, you'll be done with us because if we survive going back there, they won't let us leave the dark wet cell they'll lock us in for the rest of our lives." Mal snapped, shocking everyone.
"If we survive? Because you actually think that our parents won't kill us for not even trying to get them that wand?" Jay exclaimed darkly.
"What do you mean?" The blue fairy asked, recovering quickly from everything they had just learned.
"When our parents learned that we'd come here, they immediately started plotting. They gave us a mission: steal your wand and get it back to them so they could escape." Carlos explained.
"We're actually happy here, and so we quickly stopped planning to try and get it, which, by the way, would be quite easy. We stopped planning because we grew to love this place and because we made friends and we didn't want our parents to destroy everything that was good and beautiful here. We protected all of you from our parents, and it's going to get us killed. You're welcome." Mal snapped before she turned around and left, crying.
"Who's rotten now? Some of you guys are so spoiled that you've become rotten without realizing it." Evie snapped at everyone before she Jay and Carlos followed Mal.
"I'll be right there." Ben told Jay who nodded.
Looking around him Ben could see that Mal's words at touched them all.
"Son, what's this about you getting girls to do your homework for you?" Prince Charming asked Chad with a frown while Aurora, her husband and her mother took Audrey aside to question her behaviour and her feelings toward Ben and Chad.
"Oh, come on dad, you can't possibly believe what that horrible girl said!" Chad argued, doing his best to look sincere.
"Please! Just admit it already! You got Evie to do your science homework, telling her that once she did them, you'd have time to spend with her but instead you got with Audrey in front of her, knowing that it would hurt Evie! You always do that. Just be honest for once." Lonny argued.
"I was there when he told Evie that if she did his homework, he'd date her." Doug added.
"You're just a bunch of traitors." Chad snapped.
"Unlike you, they're honest." Ben shook his head.
"Well, I think that, as a punishment, you'll stay in the library, on your own, until you've redone all the homework that have been assigned to you since the beginning of the school year. Once you're done, you'll write a letter of appology to every girl in school for using them, even the ones you haven't used. You'll apologize publicly to the female gender in general." Prince Charming declared before guiding his son toward the school's library, ignoring Chad's complains.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if my girlfriend is feeling well enough to have lunch with me. I chose to believe you'll all find the time to apologize to them before the end of the day." Ben declared.
"I'll come with you. I need to talk with Evie." Doug declared and Ben nodded.
"Son, if she feels up to it, we'll wait for you at our usual table for lunch." King beast told his son with a proud smile on his face.
Ben nodded and hurried, followed by Doug.
They found them in the girl's room. The door wasn't closed all the way and they were all quiet inside.
"Can I come in?" Ben asked, nodding on the door.
"Sure. We left the door open for you." Carlos' voice told him.
Mal was on her bed, drying her tears while Jay was comforting Evie and Dude was at Mal's feet.
"How are you feeling?" Ben asked his girlfriend, sitting by her side.
"Is it weird that I actually feel better?" She asked him with a small smile.
"Not at all. You all got a weight off your shoulders, it's a good thing and it got everyone down there thinking. You have nothing to feel sorry about." Ben assured them.
Doug and Evie quickly left the room, soon followed by Jay and Carlos.
"I do feel sorry... I... There's something you need to know, about us." Mal told him, deciding that if she was coming clean about her life on the Isle, she could come clean about the love spell.
"Are you about to tell me that you put a love spell on me so I would date you," He asked her lightly.
"Yes, I... Wait, how do you know?" She asked him, surprised.
"Your spell washed off when I jumped in the Enchanted Lake." he explained.
"But, I... I'm sorry... I...What... Why didn't you say anything? Why did you keep on pretending it was on you?" She asked him, speaking quickly.
"First off, don't feel sorry, I get it. You had a crush on me and I was with Audrey, you didn't think it could happen on its own... I get it. You probably didn't think I'd think of you this way without a spell, or you simply didn't even think about asking me because that's not how you were raised to act. Don't worry, I get it." he told her with a smile.
"You do, really?" She asked him, surprised.
"Of course I do. And to answer your other question, I wasn't pretending anything. I was always sincere, Mal. From the moment I saw you... Now, do you feel well enough to join my parents for lunch or you'd rather we eat alone here?" he asked her, understanding that she wasn't ready to share her true feelings yet.
"Do you think they'll actually want to eat with me after my little scene?" She asked him doubtfully.
"I know they would. They know I love you and they would love to get to know you more." He assured her.
"If you're sure... Okay, let's go and eat with your parents." She nodded.
"Good. Though before we go I'd like to ask you something."
"Sure, what is it?"
Mal hoped that he wasn't about to ask her if she loved him back. She was pretty sure she did but she didn't feel ready to tell him that at the moment.
"Would you wear my ring?" he asked her, showing her the ring he had on his right hand.
Mal knew what it meant. It was a statement that she was with him and that they were serious. Wearing it would be like telling him she loved him back without actually saying the words.
"I... Are you sure?" She asked him.
"Of course I'm sure." He smiled and there was so much love and hope in his eyes that she couldn't help but agree.
"Okay then I'd love to wear your ring." She nodded, letting him place it on her finger.
On the way down, Ben told Mal how Prince Charming punished his son and how everyone looked sorry about the way they had acted toward them.
"I'm sure your little scene will change everything and you know, when the vacations come, you won't have to go back to the Isle. Of course the school will be closed but we'll find a solution. You'll be able to come home with me and if your friends don't make other plans they'll be able to come with us too, don't worry. I'll make sure you're safe." he promised her before adding:
"I don't want you to think that you'll die soon, I won't let that happen. I wouldn't be able to handle it if you do, I won't let it happen, ever." His tone held a promise and made Mal feel better.
She trusted him. It was a strange feeling for her but she liked it. She loved Ben, he loved her back and she could trust him with her life.
Quickly, they arrived where the lunch was served and Mal was forced to realize that something had changed around her. People were smiling at her and Ben's parents were, truly, waiting for them.
"So Mal, we've heard that you had a real talent for arts. Have you always had it?" Belle asked her to put her at ease and to show her that they were open to the idea of her dating their son.
They were actually proud of the way his son had handled things, he had proved to them that he was ready to be king and that they had done a good job raising him. Looking around them, Mal could see that most people were thoughtful. Carlos was eating with Jane and some of her friends while Jay was sitting with some other Tourney player and their families. Ben was right, her little scene had broken the ice between them and the other people of Auradon present. Things would be different now, better.
I hope you liked it. It's short and similar stories have been done but I had to do my own, to get it out of my head.
Review please? Let me know what you honestly think.
Lorelei Candice Black
