Ben caught her before she hit the ground. Carrying her in his arms, he hurried for an entrance to the castle, any entrance, he needed to get her to Mrs. Potts-she'd know what to do. Several servants and nobles in the gardens looked to him in alarm as he rushed past. He ran down to the side door that would enter the kitchens. He dodged around the servants carrying in greens from the more practical gardens surrounding the castle. He carried the fairy girl into the tea room.

Despite the situation, Ben felt at peace almost instantly with the scent of tea steeping. Mrs. Potts sat in a comfy armchair by the stove, watching pots of tea boil. Upon hearing his footsteps, she looked away, and arose in horror, her motherly instincts kicking in as he approached with the fairy girl in his arms.

"Alright now, set her down gently," Mrs. Potts said, and Ben did so on the loveseat in the small lounge set up to go with the tea brewing. Mrs. Potts placed her warm, soft hand on the girl's forehead, and then took a pulse. Ben watched, impatient for the verdict.

"Poor thing," Mrs. Potts said as she tucked a lilac strand away from the fairy's heart-shaped face. "Exhaustion. I don't think she's eaten all day, and by the look of that cloak, she's been traveling for quite some time. I'll have something brewed up for her in a moment."

"Thank you, Mrs. Potts," Ben said gratefully. "So she'll recover?"

"Probably before nightfall," she assured him. "Why don't you sit down and I'll brew you a cup. Then you can tell me all about the party plans. And you can wait for her to wake up."

"That's not necessary, I had to leave Maman's tea early to receive Princess Talia, I really must-"

"It's not a request," Mrs. Potts informed him cheerfully.

Reluctantly, Ben sat down and accepted the mug Mrs. Potts handed him. She sat back down, and they began to talk.

Princess Evangeline was relieved to be in her room. Her first course of action was to lock the door. She then hung up her travel cloak and picked up her carpetbag on the nightstand. She scavenged through it for her magic hand mirror. Upon gripping the cool silver handle with elaborate designs, she raised it, and spoke clearly, albeit quietly.

"Magic mirror in my hand, show me the fairest in all the land," she said. Snow White appeared in the mirror. She was sewing by the window, it appeared, looking off into the mountains, the ones that bordered the Feyrelands and the Moors and Auradon. The Fairest had only gotten lovelier with age, and Evangeline smiled affectionately at her mother.

Snow White and Florian, after all, had taken her in when no one else would have, knowing who her mother was. Evangeline owed what was about to happen to them. Prince Benedict's sixteenth birthday gala was the perfect debut for a princess of age, like herself. It was time a prince saw what she was truly made of. She didn't care if it was Prince Benedict of Auradon or Prince James of Gordaina or even Prince Aziz of Agrabah. She would dazzle a prince and get her happy ending.

"Magic Mirror in my room, that is all, come again soon," she said. She placed the mirror facedown on the table and stood. She needed to get ready for the welcoming feast.

The first thing Mal smelled was lots of boiling tea. For the first time in days, she felt actually warm, and safe. She was coming to, yet she pulled her knees up to her chest, burrowing further into her cloak. A few moments of peace would be nice.

Still, her lips felt unbearably dry and her stomach rumbled like an earthquake. She opened her eyes, and she saw the face of the prince she'd dreamed of before. Startled, she sat up quickly, giving her a pounding headache and throwing her completely off balance. The prince reached out a hand on her shoulder to steady her. She couldn't help but feel a sort of warm, fuzzy feeling upon recognizing her as the prince of her dreams.

She then sat up straight, leaning away from him. She had to be strong, ruthless. That's all that was in her heart. Right?

An elderly woman smiled at her and thrust a steaming cup of tea into her hands.

"Where am I, exactly?" she asked, all-too innocently.

"You're in Auradon, in the castle of King Adam and Queen Belle," the prince said, leaning forward, his eyes intent on her face. She felt as if his steely-blue gaze was penetrating her, reading her thoughts. But he can't. I doubt he has that kind of magic.

Mal took a sip to avoid saying anything else. She immediately lowered the cup, having scalded her tongue.

"Sorry, love," the elderly woman said. "Might want to wait till it cools."

Mal nodded, trying to make herself cold and regal, like her mother. "Who are you?"

"Mrs. Potts, dearie," the elderly woman said.

"Ben," the prince said.

Mal fought to keep a smile off her face. She was exactly where she needed to be.

"What's your name?" the prince asked.

"Maleficent," she lied. "But I prefer Mal."

"I see," Mrs. Potts said, exchanging an infuriating glance with Prince Ben. "Well, just drink your tea and we'll get you cleaned up soon enough."

Mal nodded, ignoring Prince Ben's continued stare. It was as if he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Despite everything her cold, cruel heart should have been telling her, she thought it was sweet.

What in all the land do they have you drinking? She asked herself.

Prince Ben then stood. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave to attend to my guests."

"Is there a party tonight?" Mal asked, barely restraining her panic and desperation.

"Not for another week, but the guests are still arriving, some are even from Agrabah!" he said excitedly. "If you need to stay for that long, we'd be happy to invite you."

"I do," Mal said, perhaps a tad too eagerly. Relief surged through her veins.

"Then we'd be happy to have you, Mal," Ben said with a smile that gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling for no real reason.

She leaked a weak version of her smile and looked down to her tea as he exited. Mrs. Potts smiled and turned to Mal.

"I have some duties to get to, but just stay here and drink your tea, dearie," she said. "I'll be back with warm clothes and I'll take you to the baths. You'll love it, it was Belle's greatest innovation."

Mal smiled again as Mrs. Potts turned to exit into the main kitchens. It unfurled into a truly wicked smile. All was going according to plan.