Before we move to the exciting stuff, let's settle down and see what is happening in Auradon.
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I'd like to thank the following users who reviewed the previous chapter: DragonEmperor999, Bal-Breelice04081998, top story, TheLifeStruggleIsREAL, Gracekim1
The sun was shining on a brand new day in Auradon. One place the sun didn't shine was a dorm in Auradon Prep that belonged to Mal, daughter of Maleficent, and Evie, daughter of Evil Queen. The pink satin curtains were covering the windows, preventing light from the sun from coming in. Mal loved it that way. Even after several months in Auradon, she still prefers the dark. It was her comfort zone.
Normally, Mal would be feeling as sunny as the morning in spite of the curtains, but today, she was feeling as dark as the room. She was just sitting down on her bed, staring at the fire she magically lit up on her hand. Despite having a wonderful time at the End-of-the-Year Celebration last night, Mal couldn't sleep peacefully. Her mind was plagued with dark thoughts and the same mysterious dream she keeps having every night.
What does it mean, she asks herself repeatedly.
Suddenly, a small gust of wind extinguishes the fire. Mal looks to her left and sees Evie, wide awake and giving her the look she gave her when she lectured her about using her spell book to fit in Auradon. Mal tried putting on a fake smile, but it didn't work. Evie kept looking at her like a disappointed mother.
"I know you have this strange love for fire, but I thought you said you were through using magic," said Evie.
"I didn't sleep well. I needed to calm myself down. I thought a good fire would do that," said Mal.
"Same wicked dream, again?" Evie guessed.
"Something worse," said Mal, hanging her head with fear and confusion on her face.
Evie sits down next to her friend and gives her best friend a hug. Mal leans on Evie's shoulder, accepting the act of comfort.
"You've got to stop worrying about the future, Mal," said Evie, gently brushing Mal's hair. "Nothing bad is going to happen."
"How can you be sure?" Mal asked, feeling doubtful.
"Because you have too many good things in your life for anything bad to happen," Evie smiled. "Even if something bad does happen, you can count on the people you love to help you through it."
"But what if you can't?" Mal wondered fearfully. "What if I'm alone when it happens?"
"You will never be alone," said Evie.
Evie continues to hug her friend until she turns her frown upside down. It was working. Mal begins to smile as she returned the hug. After the hug, however, Evie dropped her smile, still worried about her friend's mysterious behavior this morning. She's seen Mal feel depressed before, but this was different.
"What is it that you keep seeing?" She asked. "If you tell me, maybe I can help you."
Mal wasn't sure if she should tell Evie what she had seen. Before she could utter a word, someone knocked on the door. Seeing this as the opportunity to avoid talking about her feelings, she gets up from her bed and answers the door. She sees the smiling face of her handsome kingly boyfriend. Just seeing him is reason to put on a smile of her own.
"Good morning," Ben greeted.
"Morning," Mal greeted.
"Hi, Ben," Evie greeted.
"Hey," Ben replied.
"Is this about another surprise?" Mal asked.
"You can say that," said Ben.
"Should I leave you two alone?" asked Evie.
"No, this surprise for the two of you, as well as the rest of the villain kids," said Ben.
"What is it?" Mal asked.
"Now that the school year is over, all the students are going home for the summer," said Ben. "I'm aware that you and your friends don't have a place to live here. So, I talked to my parents and they agreed to my choice to offer all of you a place to stay in the castle."
"Really?" Evie sounded excited.
"We have fifteen guest rooms, including one big enough for all of you," Ben added. "What do you say, Mal?"
Mal was struggling to answer. Evie, meanwhile, was about to say yes, until something popped in her head.
"You know what, Ben, I think maybe only Mal should move in with you," said Evie.
Mal and Ben were both surprised by Evie's response. Did she really just turn down an offer to know what it's like to live in a castle?
"This is a big step in your relationship," said Evie. "I think the rest of us should give the two of you some space."
Mal laughs nervously. "C'mon, E. I'm just moving in. It's not like Ben and I are gonna share the same room or whatever."
"Regardless, I think it's best if you go alone," said Evie.
"But what about you?" asked Mal. "Aren't you gonna feel lonely here?"
Evie turns to Ben and asks, "May I request that Dizzy Tremaine be moved here for the remainder of the summer?"
"Request granted," Ben replied.
"I'll be fine," Evie said to Mal.
"I guess I better start packing," said Mal.
"Let me help," said Evie, pulling Mal by the arm.
Evie takes out her large suitcase that she saved for special occasions. She empties it of her stuff and replaces them with Mal's belongings. Mal rolls her eyes at her friend's enthusiasm, but she was also touched by it. Evie had refused to live in a castle in order to let her best friend spend more time with her boyfriend without anyone ruining this chance for them. It only showed Mal just how much Evie has grown from the self-obsessed narcissist she knew from the Isle of the Lost.
However, Mal couldn't help but feel that she was hiding something.
Later that morning, it was time for Mal to move from Auradon Prep to Beast Castle. Evie had asked Jay and Carlos to carry the giant suitcase to the limo outside the school, where Freddie and Dizzy were standing by the royal limousine.
"I thought I'd come see you off," said Freddie.
"You'll be alright this summer?" Mal asked.
"Ben found me a place in Bayou de Orleans, so I'll be fine," said Freddie.
"Don't go shrinking any heads," Mal joked.
"No promises," Freddie joked back.
The two girls laughed together, amused by each other. Mal decides to give Freddie a hug, which she felt uncomfortable with but hugged her back anyway since it was the right thing to do.
"Is that Evie's suitcase?" Dizzy asked, eyeing said suitcase that Jay and Carlos were carrying.
"Mal needs it more than I do right now," said Evie.
"I wish she didn't have to move," Dizzy said sadly.
"Don't be sad, Dizzy. It's not like I'm moving away forever. You can and visit me any time you want," said Mal. "After all, the castle's only, like, a twenty-minute drive from here."
Dizzy runs towards Mal and gives her a hug. Mal did the nice thing and hugged her back.
"You promise you'll be a good little girl to Evie?" Mal asked.
"I will," Dizzy promised.
Jay and Carlos load the suitcase into the limo's trunk. Carlos puts one hand on his aching back and his other on his shoulder, clearly feeling sore from carrying the heavy suitcase.
Jay approaches Ben and says, "Be good to her. You don't want to know what I would do if you hurt her." He then gently, if not too gently, punches Ben in the chest, giving him a glimpse of what would happen if he didn't heed his warning.
"In that case, I'll do best," said Ben.
"I can handle him myself, Jay," said Mal.
"Just lookin' out for you," said Jay. "That's what friends do, right?"
Mal responds by punching Jay in the shoulder. Unlike Jay's punch on Ben, she wasn't being gentle.
"Ow!" Jay reacted.
Mal giggled, glad that she showed Jay how it feels when someone uses his own sign of affection against him.
Suddenly, everyone heard a beep. It came from Carlos' phone.
"It's from Jane," said Carlos. "She's been texting me for the past two hours."
"Why don't you two just see each other face to face?" Jay asked.
"Because she's helping her mom with her final day duties," said Carlos.
Evie takes a look at Carlos' phone. Jane texted, "Can you come and help me later?"
Carlos texted back. "Sure. Anything for you."
Jane replied. "I love you." She even added a heart emoji.
Carlos texts, "I love you, too," adding a heart emoji as well.
Jane replies with a blushing face emoji, followed by a kissing face emoji.
Evie teasingly nudges Carlos on the shoulder. Carlos blushed, embarrassed that Evie had to see the texts.
"Take care of yourself, Snowball," said Mal, petting Carlos like a little puppy.
"I'll manage," said Carlos, adjusting his hair.
Mal then plants a quick kiss on his forehead, which baffles him and confuses everyone who saw it.
"I wish I could whistle because that was cute," said Dude.
Carlos rolls his eyes, as he always does when Dude says something honestly embarrassing. Mal giggles as she pets the campus mutt.
"Well, time for you to go," said Evie, opening the door for her best friend.
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Mal asked.
"I have Dizzy, so yeah," said Evie. "But I will admit, things won't be the same without you."
"Again, I'm not going away forever," Mal said. "But I will miss you."
"And I'll miss you," said Evie.
Mal and Evie share another hug, making everyone around them smile, touched by how close they are, like sisters.
"Just don't mess with my artwork," said Mal, referring to the "Long Live Evil" graffiti in her dorm.
"After what you did to Carlos, I wouldn't even dream of it," said Evie.
"Wait, what?" Ben was confused about what they're talking about.
"There are some things about my past you're better off not knowing," said Mal.
"Trust me," said Carlos, shivering at the memory and rubbing his right shoulder.
Mal and Ben enter the limo. As the limo left the school grounds, Mal opens the window and sticks her hand out, waving at her friends. They wave back.
Twenty minutes later, the limo arrives at Beast Castle, where the former rulers of Auradon, Belle and Beast, are waiting by the front door. They bow to Mal as soon as they see her. She bowed to them in return. It was one of the royal traditions that she didn't mind honoring.
"Not necessary, Mal," said Belle. "Adam and I are just the king's parents. You, however, are the future queen."
Beast, for some reason, nudged Belle's shoulder. Belle lightly smacks Beast's arm in response. Mal was confused and suspicious at the same time by the royal couple's strange behavior.
"I'm not sure I'll ever get used to people bowing before me," said Mal.
"Isn't that what you always wanted?" Ben joked.
Mal laughed happily and awkwardly. She didn't know whether to kiss Ben or punch him for bringing up her evil desires from the past.
"We're happy to hear that you'll be moving to our lovely home, Mal," said Beast. "I promise you that you will have beautiful day every day."
"It's Auradon. Isn't every day a beautiful day?" Mal replied.
"I guess so," Belle agreed.
Two servants from the castle helped bring down Mal's big suitcase as the Lady of the Court enters the castle with her boyfriend and her parents. Even thought she's been in the castle before, she is still astonished by how beautiful it is on the inside. While she's more into dark interior decorating with graffiti all over the walls, she admits that Beast Castle's interior design is wonderful.
"We've prepared our biggest guest room for you," said Beast. "Ben asked us to make some changes to it so you'd feel more at home."
"To put it simply, everything in there is purple," said Belle.
When Mal opened the doors to her room, she was more than wowed by the design. Purple curtains covered the windows, keeping the room dark, just the way she liked it. The bed, pillows, couches, walls, even the flower vases were all colored purple. A bit of black and green were added so the room didn't look too plain. Mal immediately takes off her tiara and starts jumping up and down on her new bed, wearing a big smile on her face.
"I told you she'd love it," Ben said to his parents.
"She certainly has a unique taste," said Beast.
"You have to admit, this room does look wickedly good," said Belle.
"Did you just say wicked?" asked Beast, surprised.
"Isn't that what the Isle kids say?" Belle replied.
After all the jumping, Mal lands on her back. She was still breathing in and out from all the excitement. Ben starts running and jumps on the bed, landing on his back next to Mal.
"I see you're enjoying yourself so far," said Ben with a smile.
"I can't believe you did all this for me," said Mal.
"Why wouldn't I? I love you," said Ben.
"You always say that," said Mal.
"Is it bothering you?" Ben asked.
"No, I love it when you say it," said Mal.
Mal was about to kiss Ben, until she remembered that his parents were in the room.
"Mind giving us some space?" Mal asked.
"Sure thing, dear," said Belle.
After Belle and Beast left the room, Mal proceeds to kiss Ben, who happily returns it.
"Hey, after you're finished unpacking, would you like to have lunch at the Enchanted Lake?" Ben asked.
"Only if you bring the strawberries," said Mal.
"They're already in the basket," Ben replied.
Mal smiled. Ben always knew what she wanted, which is another one of the reasons she loves him so much. Is there such a thing as loving someone too much, she wondered. Ben would probably say no to that question, she guessed.
The Enchanted Lake was where Mal and Ben spent their first date. Mal was wowed by the beauty of the lake the first time she saw it. Although, she loved the picnic more than the view, especially the strawberries. It was that day that Mal knew that the dream she had back on the Isle of the Lost about a handsome prince taking her to a beautiful lake for a picnic was no dream at all. It was a vision of her future. It had happened. She would never tell Ben, though. She would rather keep it to herself.
Almost a year after that life-changing day, Ben had set up almost the exact same picnic for their date. This time, he packed chocolate-coated strawberries, which Mal absolutely loved. He also brought donuts with strawberry filling. No matter what form, Mal loved strawberries.
"What?" Mal caught Ben staring at her.
"You look beautiful when you smile like that," said Ben.
Mal was tempted to drop her smile just to mess with him, but she couldn't. She felt like his words have cursed her to smile for the rest of her life.
"Can you believe it's been almost a year since we first met?" Ben asked.
"It's kinda hard to believe," said Mal. "Sometimes, this all feels like a dream."
Ben leans in and plants a kiss on Mal's strawberry-flavored lips.
"Does it feel like a dream?" Ben asked.
"No," said Mal, smiling wider than usual.
"I'm really glad that you're happy," said Ben. "It's all I ever wanted for you since you came here."
"Well, I'm happy that you're happy that I'm happy," said Mal.
Nearby songbirds caught Mal's attention. While Mal listened to their beautiful song, Ben reached into his pocket and takes out a small box.
"Mal, there's something I need to ask you," he said.
"What?" Mal asked.
Ben appeared nervous as he cleared his throat, trying to speak. "Mal, ever since I first saw you, I knew that there was something special about you. My heart told me that there was something special about you. There was something inside me that was just screaming to get out. When you spelled me, I found the courage to tell you how I really feel about you. When you told me that you loved me, I felt like I finally found the one."
As Ben continued, Mal saw something in the sky. She couldn't make it out from the distance, but it appeared to be heading straight for them.
"Ben!"
Mal grabs Ben and pulls him into the Enchanted Lake with her as a black projectile falls from the sky and crashes into the picnic, destroying the stone floor of the old pavilion. Mal and Ben resurfaced to see their picnic ruined. The food was scattered and the picnic basket was, somehow, knocked into the water. They see a black round object in the middle of the pavilion.
"Is that a cannonball?" asked Ben.
"Yup, it's a cannonball," said Mal.
"Let me guess. Uma," Ben assumed. "She was a pirate back on the Isle, right?"
Mal can see red paint on the cannonball. She turns it over to see the rest of it. There was a message written on it.
"I don't think it's Uma," said Mal.
"Why?" asked Ben.
Ben takes a look at the red writing on the cannonball. It says:
Hey, Malsy!
Miss me?
Ben started going through his pockets, looking for something. He looks at the lake to see if what he's missing had fallen in. Mal noticed this and wondered what he was doing. She then catches a sparkle in the corner of her eye. Mal looks to the direction of the sparkle and sees something that made her gasp.
It was a diamond ring. But why would Ben bring this to their picnic? Did it have something to do with what he wanted to ask her about?
I'm sure you know that there is only one person who calls Mal, "Malsy". If you do know, then you know it's going down (pun intended).