Disclaimer: I do not own Descendants!
The Cotillion had just ended and Mal and Ben decided that they needed to talk about what had happened over the past two days. They decided to just go to Ben's room on campus as it was private since he had a single room, a perk of being King. Once inside the room the two of them sat down on the bed to talk. There were two questions burning on Ben's mind so once they were settled he asked the first.
"Mal, why did you run to the Isle after our fight?" He asked her. Mal bit her lip before beginning to explain.
"There were a few reasons. Over the past few months I have been feeling a lot of pressure, not necessarily from you, but in general to be the perfect lady of the court. I felt that people would have a hard time accepting that a VK could ever become a Lady of the Court. At first, I wasn't using magic much at all, but over time as the pressure increased I found myself relying on magic more and more. I hated it. I hated that I felt like I had to use magic to feel accepted. I wanted to stop but I didn't know how. I think I felt like going back to the Isle would solve my problems, even if that meant leaving you," Mal explained. Ben nodded accepting that answer. He felt bad that she had felt all that pressure.
"Mal, I'm sorry that you felt that way. I know you said that you didn't necessarily feel pressure from me, but I need to say it. Mal, I hope you feel like you can always talk to me about things that are bothering you and we can work together to fix them. Will you promise to talk to me or someone if you ever start to feel like that again?" He asked her. Mal nodded.
"I can do that," she said. Ben smiled, feeling slightly more at ease.
"I have one more question for you," he said. "Did you know you could transform into a dragon?" He asked. Mal shook her head.
"I had no idea. Now, I have a question for you. When we were on Uma's ship you said that 'whatever I did was gonna be a lose-lose' What did you mean by that?" She asked. Ben's face immediately turned bright red.
"Well…um…to be honest I thought you guys really had Fairy Godmother's wand and were going to trade it for my life. I figured that if you didn't give her the wand I would have been pushed overboard which likely would not have ended well but I figured that if you did give her the wand, she would escape the Isle and everything and everyone in Auradon were in for a world of trouble," Ben said. Mal laughed a little at this.
"Did you really have that little faith in me? I may have believed that I belonged on the Isle, but I also knew I wasn't really evil. Honestly if you hadn't come for me I probably would have tried to find a way off within a few days. I would have never given Uma the real wand. We used Carlos's 3D printer to make a replica. I am considering suggesting to Fairy Godmother and to you as well I guess, that we use the printer to make replicas of any item with significant power in it and put those in the museum instead. That way we don't have to worry about anyone getting their hands on them," Mal said. Ben looked sheepish at her speech. He hadn't even considered that they could have made a fake wand.
"That's a good idea Mal, maybe we could also spell the fakes so that if anyone does some sort of spell to try and find them, they find the replicas instead," Ben suggested. Mal nodded at this, it was a good idea. "I will talk to Fairy Godmother tomorrow," Ben said. The two sat in companionable silence for a few moments.
"I knew Uma spelled me," Ben said.
"What? How?" Mal exclaimed.
"Well, I guess I didn't know that she spelled me exactly, but something never felt right. Especially once I saw you. I was drawn to you, my heart wanted you even as my brain was telling me that I should love Uma. I think that's why I was so easily able to listen to you speaking to me and telling me that you love me," Ben said. Mal smiled shyly.
"I do love you, I think I always have. I just didn't know it. Even after all these months in Auradon, I didn't know exactly what love was until tonight. When I saw the gift that you commissioned for me, I knew what love was and I knew that I loved you and I had to try True Love's Kiss, even if there was a chance it wouldn't work and I could be heartbroken," Mal said.
"Can I tell you a secret? I have felt drawn to you since you first stepped out of the limo. There was just something about you, and I knew it was a matter of time before I asked you out," Ben said.
"I was drawn to you too, although I tried to ignore it," Mal admitted. "I didn't know what I was feeling, just that I had never felt that way before," she continued. The two sat and talked aimlessly for the next hour or so until the clock chimed 11 and they headed towards Mal's dorm so that she would be back in time for curfew. As they walked, Mal ran her thumb across Ben's signet ring, she had missed the feeling of it on her finger when she had run to the Isle. She would never doubt Ben's love for her again between him coming after her on the Isle and the gift that he had given her at Cotillion. They reached her room a little too soon for her likeing and paused at the door. Ben leaned down to kiss her.
"I love you," he said as they parted.
"I love you, too," she said before entering her room, preparing herself for the questions she knew Evie would have.