She's no stranger to exhaustion. It was normal to go days on the Isle without food or sleep, sometimes both, and being Maleficent's daughter hadn't shielded her from those harsh realities. In fact, it hadn't been unusual for her mother to forbid her from sleeping until she completed a task or just to test her strength by seeing how long she could remain awake. Her fae blood had helped her on those occasions but not by much and she'd often find herself crashing at Evie's place for an hour or two just to get the double vision that she was experiencing to ease up. Black circles had been a permanent feature under her eyes for the majority of her life and were almost impossible to cover up, a fact that her blue haired counterpart constantly complained about. So yes, Mal had plenty of experience with exhaustion. She'd even go so far as to say that she's spent a good portion of her sixteen years on this earth in a constant state of fatigue. That said, the feeling that she's experiencing now? It's a different beast entirely. If she had to describe it, she'd relate it to the sensation of having her life force syphoned from her body. Her head is pounding and her vision is hazy around the edges, not that she would be able to see much in her current surroundings anyway.
The room that she finds herself in is pitch black, the only source of light being a sliver under a door about ten feet away. Her arms are shackled to the ceiling by what she assumes to be iron chains if the burning pain in her wrists is anything to go by, and she can just touch the cold stone floor with the tips of her toes. There is blood trickling slowly down the side of her face from a gash that she can feel just above her eyebrow and her shirt and jacket are nowhere to be found, leaving her in just a thin tank top and ripped jeans. She can hear voices just outside the room and she doesn't know why but her body has an intense reaction to one of them. It sounds vaguely familiar but she can't focus on it. Her blood is boiling as a feeling of nausea rips through her stomach and hot tears begin a steady stream down her face and mix with the blood that has started to harden there. Her brain filters through words like 'no' and 'run' and 'get out' and the hinges on the door seem to vocalize her thoughts as they groan in protest under the weight of the heavy wood sliding open. An agonizing scream tears from her lips as the light streams in and the figure in doorway becomes fully visible. She jolts awake drenched in a cold sweat and staring into concerned brown eyes.
Evie hears the scream and is up and out of bed before her mind has fully registered that she's awake. Her eyes quickly scan the room for any immediate danger before landing on her girlfriend when they come up empty. Purple hair is damp with sweat and a pale face is scrunched up in an expression of pain. She can feel the bed quiver under the faerie's shivering form as she crawls back onto the mattress and scoots closer to her. It's not that their not used to dealing with one another's nightmares, they've spent many nights coaxing each other back into a fitful slumber with gentle kisses and feather light touches. But Evie can count the amount of times that she's heard her girlfriend scream on one hand and still have two fingers left over. Mal has always been the type to suffer in silence, a brief whimper or growl coming out occasionally when she's particularly distraught but even those are rare.
"Mal," she speaks calmly and quietly when she calls her name and makes sure to keep a few inches of distance between them. She knows Mal and she knows not to initiate contact when the faerie is unaware and afraid. Her girlfriend has a habit of getting defensive when she's spooked and the last thing Evie needs right now is to be flung into the wall by her wayward magic. "M, c'mon."
Green eyes jolt open and emit an intense glow as the purple haired girl shoots up from her position on the bed. The princess waits a few minutes until Mal's eyes begin to flicker and dim before reaching out a hand and brushing a loose strand of violet out of her eyes. Neither one says a word and Evie reacts quickly when she sees the signs of panic start to settle onto the younger girl's face. They know each other's triggers well and it's become common practice to deal with them before anything is even said. Mal's claustrophobia is pretty severe and Evie knows that waking up covered in sweat and gasping for breath on a mattress that's far too soft will make her feel smothered. She doesn't hesitate in pulling her girlfriend to the cold floor and making her way to their bathroom to get a cool washcloth. She's back on the floor in seconds and she simultaneously places the cloth on the shorter girl's forehead and grabs for her hand so she can lay it above her own heart. It takes about five minutes for Mal's breathing to slow to match her own and for her eyes to open from their previously scrunched up position.
"Okay?" Evie keeps her wording short and concise, her lover's focus is scattered and she needs her to hear her right now. Mal shakes her head no so the blue haired girl continues, "okay, what do you need?"
"I'm- I can't," She stops for a second and tries to focus on getting the words out, "I'm hot and I'm sticky and it's too much."
Evie knows the feeling. Its equivalent to being stuck under a dozen blankets on the hottest day of the summer and it makes her feel agitated and like she wants to tear at her own skin. She gets it when she feels nauseas or like she's choking and she relates it to the feeling of her mother's fingers being forced down her throat in an attempt to get her to bring what little she'd eaten that day back up. Mal makes a point of steering her away from any bathroom when she feels this way and will usually lead her outside. From there they either sit and talk until she realizes that she couldn't be forming words if she were back on the Isle with her mother hovering over her and forcing her to throw up, or they run until she feels like she's far enough away from her issues.
Mal get's the panicky-hot feeling when she feels trapped or when she's overheated. She relates it to the rank and hot breath of her mother's disgusting lackeys as they held her down and to the burning sensation of iron cuffs being placed around her wrists and neck when she disobeyed her mother. If the anxiety is related to feeling trapped, then Evie will bring her to the most open space available and avoid touching until the faerie initiates it. But if it's related to feeling overheated, then the older girl knows that Mal needs to be physically cooled down.
She can tell that her girlfriend is stuck in her own head as she leads her into the bathroom and turns the shower nozzle to a colder setting before turning it on. She's quick to strip them both of their pajama tops and shorts but she makes sure to leave their bras and underwear in place. Mal is vulnerable right now and she's not going to make that any worse for the sake of spearing a few pieces of cloth… if only her mother could see her now.
The water is freezing when she guides them both under the spray but she's had to do this enough times now that she doesn't gasp or make any noises of protest. Evie can see the tension start to ease from the faerie's shoulders and it doesn't take long before she's resting her forehead on the taller girl's shoulder and allowing her to play with the tips of her hair. A strangled sob makes it way out of Mal's mouth and blue haired princess is quick to pull her as close to her body as she can as she presses a light kiss into purple locks. Tears are better than silence but they still break her heart.
"Baby," Evie speaks when the hyperventilating starts up again, "you need to breathe, okay? Look at me. Breathe."
Green eyes lock onto brown and she's quick to catch her breath this time. Evie wants to know what worked her girlfriend into such a panicked state but she doesn't ask. Talking is for tomorrow, when it's light out and Mal's demons can't hide in the shadows. Tonight is for healing.
A/N: So this story is obviously going to have multiple chapters and a pretty intense plot, but the main focus is on Mal and Evie's relationship and on the girls as individuals. I love this ship and I think these two balance each other out really well so I'm excited to write for them. For now, this story is doesn't have a beta so any and all mistakes are my own. I plan to go pretty dark with this and I have put trigger warnings in the tags so please don't read this if it is going to have a negative effect on your mental health. I love constructive criticism and idea sharing so feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think and what you want to happen.