Mal snatches the wand from Jane's hand, and then watches as the magic, unbidden, lazily spirals upwards, turning purple. It feels...right. Like it belongs to her. She slowly lifts upward, levitating a few feet off the ground. She smiles. Wind picks up, blowing around the room. She raises the wand and…
And then she stops. What...what was she going to do with the wand? There really was nothing to do with it other than evil. Mal didn't want to be evil. She just wanted a normal life. She wanted to go to school, she wanted Ben as her boyfriend. She wants to have fun and be herself for, like, the first time in her life.
She turns to the crowd, and looks at their faces, gauging their reactions. They all look horrified. Her friends, Jay, Evie and Carlos...they're still in the balcony. Why are they still there? They were supposed to come down and help her. And Ben.
"You lied to me. You betrayed me. Y-you're evil," Ben says from behind her.
She hears a sword being drawn from its sheath. She turns around again to see Ben, the newly crowned King, pointing his sword at her. Ben's looking at her, his eyes full of pain and betrayal and so many questions. None come out though. But what does...
"Drop the wand," he yells, and then after a bit of hesitation, "Witch."
What does hurts. It hurts so so much. The words ring through the air. Mal freezes.
She's...a witch?
The wand clatters to the ground as her insides slowly numb. The wind screeches through the room momentarily before completely disappearing. The new King keeps his sword pointed at her and calls for the guards.
"Take her to the dungeons," he calls.
Mal looks into his eyes and pleads. It's a silent, hopeful plea, one that she hopes Ben will listen to. One she hopes he will understand.
Ben turns his head away, unable to look her in the eye.
Mal stays frozen, staring at Ben in disbelief, until the clanking armour of the guards makes her look up. They're coming to grab her. She tries to run, but somehow they manage to get ahold of her. As they drag her away, she struggles. Mal struggles like her life depends on it, and it probably does. She manages to break free just before they reach a place she was likely not to see the light again. She runs away, just trying to get far enough away. As far away as possible.
She doesn't look to her friends for help. Evie, Carlos and Jay, her friends, or at least she thought they were, have disappeared. They're gone.
Mal runs. She tears her dress so she can run better. She runs and she runs and she runs. She runs as far away as she can, as fast as she can. Her body is on autopilot. She runs, trusting her body to work on instinct. To not trip, to avoid, to escape. An instinct that was ingrained into her on the Isle.
She runs, her mind going into overdrive. It's overloading. Too much has happened. She was betrayed by her friends. By Ben. She tells herself not to cry. Don't cry don't cry don't cry. Her mind repeats the mantra over and over and over and over. Her mind whispers to her. It whispers sweet little nothings that are supposed to comfort her. They don't. She has nothing and no one left. She's on her own. Alone, for the first time in her life.
Like you ever had anyone, a nasty little voice whispers to her.
She wonders if she'll ever see her friends again.
Nice little traitors they are.
She wonders if her mom - no, Maleficent - cares enough to find her.
Love is weak. It makes people weak.
Yes, yes it is. This is why all that she has left is a million pieces of a shattered heart. Her own heart.
Without her knowing, her body brought her to the Lake. The Enchanted Lake. Ben. This is where Ben decided to stay with her even though the love potion washed off. Where her first date was. Where she first tasted strawberries.
She throws herself in the Lake, and desperately starts scrubbing at her skin. It can wash away enchantments, so maybe it can wash away that evil part inside of her. Then she'd never have to worry again. Maybe it would wash her away entirely, leaving a completely new person in her place. Maybe she wouldn't even be there anymore.
She keeps scrubbing. She scrubs her arms, her legs, her face. Any patch of skin she can reach. She scrubs herself with the water and her palms and her nails. Anything to try and wash herself away.
Soon, her skin is rubbed raw, and bleeding from deep deep scratches. She stops because she knows that nothing has changed. Why would it? That would be to nice, to easy. You can't be nice to evil. That's being too nice.
She's still here, she knows nothing has changed. Still numb, and now cold from the water, she walks over to the little white pavilion. She pulls herself up on it, and sits on the edge. Her feet absentmindedly move in the water.
She's so cold now. Both inside and out. There's nothing left inside of her except for sharp edges and broken hearts and black holes. She knows that's all there is because it's all she can feel. The night air brings dropping temperatures and cold wind. She doesn't shiver. She's hollow. There's nothing for the wind to touch, except her own evil. Evil doesn't get cold.
That's all you'll ever be, Rotten to the Core, the nasty voice whispers again.
Is it? Mal doesn't know anymore. Who is she?
She's not a princess. The coronation proved that.
She's not good. She knows that already.
She's not her mother's daughter anymore. Maleficent never showed.
She's not brave. She ran away from everything.
She's not smart. Her plan was so full of holes, holes that led her to ruin.
She's not strong. The guards almost got her to the dungeon.
She's not a leader. Her friends left her alone.
And she's not loveable. Ben... Ben…
Mal finally allows herself to cry. Ben is the breaking point, and in this place, she can't forget anything. All of it reminds her of Ben. She hunches over, and she grabs her middle. She cries and cries and cries. She knows she's already falling apart. She wonders how long it will take to fall apart completely.
As she cries she can't help but wonder if she'll ever get Ben back. It's so selfish. Villains and Witches and Evil People don't get anything nice or special or wonderful. Or anything at all. So why hope.
The sky's so clear tonight that Mal feels even more horrible. It's mocking her. Of course it can't rain. That's what the Witch wants. Villains and Witches and Evil People don't get anything at all.
She tries to erase Ben from her mind. But all she can think of is Ben. Her memories of him are not happy now. They used to be. The words he said seem to echo across the Lake, even though she didn't speak out loud.
Lied to me... Lied to me... lied... me…
She didn't mean to. She never did. But… didn't she?
Betrayed me.. Betrayed me... betrayed... me…
She wonders if she's a traitor now. She betrayed him. Them. Everyone.
Evil... Evil... evil... evil…
She still can't help but wonder how it went so wrong.
Betrayed me.. Betrayed me... betrayed... me…
She… she still wants to be accepted. Could she ever now?
Lied to me... Lied to me... lied... me…
She's still so confused and empty. Who is she anymore?
WITCH