Hey everyone. I'm back with the next chapter. As the title suggests, Mal will show some struggles but luckily, a familiar face is there to help her make a decision. But first, here are my responses to your reviews:

pinksakura271: Thanks for reviewing! Glad you caught the Tarzan reference. Well, she didn't really meet Cinderella or Tiana - those were actually Alice and Lilo, but good guess nonetheless. Doug and Chad have their reasons for distrusting Mal. We may see more of Audrey or not. Well, Henry needed to convince the council she would be valuable to the alliance and I really liked writing it. Yeah, Mal will find a way to get close to Ben. I hope it won't disappoint.

jaleftwich: I love Brother Bear too. I just had to give Koda an appearance. Thanks for reviewing!

Kingson24601: Thanks for reviewing! Mal definitely has a good heart, but it will take some time before she accept they made her realize she'd rather be a good guy. Yep - I think that'll be an interpretation of the coronation scene.

PurpleNicole531: Yes, she will. It still follows the plot of the movie (a bit, the big lines mostly) so she will definitely feel conflicted at one point. Yay, a sequel! That's awesome! You probably are not the only one - everyone here probably is, including me! Thanks for reviewing!

Decembra1998: Thanks for reviewing! Now she's in, she will/won't take them down. It will definitely be a little harder because nobody likes her and will probably report all evil things she's doing.

Enjoy!

-Writer207


This afternoon was harder than the others, mostly because everybody stared, pointed and whispered behind her back. They wondered why Mal was chosen as a new official member and doubted Ben's judgement. They wanted to know why they voted her in, the second villain kid in a row. They wondered if they should support Chad instead of Ben, seeing as he is strongly opposed to them while Ben seemed to be far more accepting of their 'enemies'. It continued the entire afternoon and Mal decided to just stick with Lonnie. It could make them think Lonnie had to keep an eye on her. Luckily, Lonnie didn't mind and she introduced her to a lot of other members, including Koda the bear. They apparently had had more animal helpers in the past, but they were all set free and murdered in the most brutal ways, if they weren't poisoned or didn't go crazy. She also avoided being with Henry, as sticking with him may make them think she and him were conspiring together.

During dinner, they stuck together as well. She got a chance to get to know both Jane and Doug, who spoke up a bit more. Henry wasn't there; he preferred to the in the company of Audrey, Philip and a man with red curly hair with his son - Chad was there, too, but he left as soon as Henry arrived. She discovered Jane wanted to learn how to use magic but never dared to ask someone to teach her, as they make the connection between her and her mother. She was more afraid of being tortured for information about her mother's whereabouts than using it for evil. Her father was one of the first to die by Maleficent's hands. Doug, on the other hand, lost his entire family to the villains. Apparently, he could still remember how goons took away his parents. He is only called in when the council has to vote about something and is mainly active in the infirmary as one of the doctors there, being one of the few members the alliance couldn't afford to lose. There weren't many people with that specific skill set who joined. The only other "doctors" were apparently two young boys who both lost at least one family member to the evil side.

Even during dinner, the whispers continued. When she was finished, Mal decided she wanted to be alone for a while. She walked to the edge of the camp, further away from everyone, finally alone after thirty days of Henry keeping an eye on her. She released the breath she'd been holding, sighing out loud when she had reached a distance where they could still see her, but could not hear her. If she were to talk to herself, the others wouldn't hear anything of what she was saying.

For five minutes she was sitting there, looking at the trees and deep in her own thoughts, clearing her head. She was a free woman now. She could do whatever she wanted, as long as it wouldn't make her look suspicious in everyone's eyes. She had to be careful all the time, which would probably make completing this plan a lot harder.

"Hey." She turned around and saw Ben was walking closer to her. She relaxed again and replied by saying 'hey' as well.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked her and she shook her head.

"No, not at all," she replied and allowed him to set next to her. Fortunately, there was about two yards between them – she definitely had to befriend him, but she shouldn't let him go any closer.

"I wanted to congratulate you again," Ben said, "and tell you not to spend too much time thinking about what they say."

"I get it," Mal then replied, "Another villain kid in the alliance. What will she do? What's her secret plan? How will she try to take us down? They're right. They should always be careful. We should always be careful."

"There are some who believe it was the right thing to do," Ben then said to her. She turned her head to him.

"Only seven out of the hundreds." It probably was true. Only the council knew she was here, and only the council had a say about who could stay and who had to leave. Only those six wanted her in – them and Henry, that is, but he was not allowed to vote.

"Please don't take it personally," Ben said, looking at her. "It's just that you remind them of your mother and her associates." Mal shrugged.

"Yeah, that's not personal at all," she replied sarcastically, thinking about the few extreme reactions she's heard that day. She looked up and saw the sun was going down in the west, casting shadows in their direction. She looked down again.

"There was this one person in the council. Chad, I think." When she turned her head to Ben again, she saw his facial expression change once she mentioned that council member. "He doesn't seem happy at all with my arrival. But everyone else reacted that way." After all, she had seen the way they looked at her and Henry, but especially her.

"No, the people are afraid," Ben said, "Chad isn't afraid. He's just angry and sad." Mal looked at him, confused.

"That's a new one. I mean, I don't think someone was ever angry and sad about a villain kid." Most of them were afraid and frightened. Afraid of the power, afraid of the evilness, afraid of everything the villains and their children embodied. Apparently, Chad was a different kind of person. Something must've happened that made him so fearless, that made him so angry at villain kids. She did see something that could be compared to an evil glare when he stared at her and during the time she and the council were in the same room.

"What happened to him?" Mal eventually asked. Ben sighed.

"I don't really know," he said, scratching his head.

"No?" Mal then asked.

"I've only heard stories, I wasn't there," Ben said, starting his explanation. "Chad lost both his parents and unborn sibling to Lady Tremaine. She wanted revenge and got it. If Philip hadn't insisted on taking Chad with him for a few days, he would've been dead, too. Rumor has it he saw his parents' dead bodies. He doesn't hate just you, he hates all villains and their children. Once a villain, always a villain."

"Everyone I once knew would second that," Mal said. There were so many people who would never even consider becoming a good guy and lived with that motto, including herself.

"Everyone you once knew is now your enemy," Ben said with a serious tone, "Even your mother. I know it can be hard fighting against your friends and family, but it's inevitable. It will happen eventually." No, it won't, she thought. Before that happened, she would have handed the wand to her mother and would watch how everyone would be sentenced to death or replaced. Mal had no idea why her mind seemed to make that betrayal one option, the other being to stay with them and not sell them out. There shouldn't be two options – there is only one.

"Ben!" A voice from behind them shouted in their direction, "It's time!" They turned their heads and saw Chad was standing there in the distance.

Ben placed his hands to his mouth. "I'm coming!" He shouted back and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Mal asked him, standing up as well. Ben simply shrugged.

"There are more people who could be accepted today. I have to go to the council, they can't start without me." Ben wanted to turn around and leave, but there was one more thing Mal needed to know.

"Wait!" she said, drawing his attention. He turned his head to her. If she wanted to know, it was now or never. "Is it true that you want to visit the Fairy Godmother? That she'll perform a protective spell with her wand?"

Ben's expression changed. He looked at her with a serious look in his eyes. "Who told you that?" He asked – she'd get that it was supposed to be a secret, but this reaction alone confirmed they were going to do it. Ben then sighed and continued, "Yes, my father wants to let that happen. Please don't tell anyone. It's supposed to keep a secret. You never know who could be a spy."

"Your father?" Mal then wondered out loud.

"The Beast," he answered and she nodded. The Beast. She's heard stories about him, just like she's heard stories about everyone. The beast, a former prince who turned into a beast as a kid because he was rude but found love with a social outcast named Belle and then turned back into a human. People still referred to him as the Beast because that's his best known name. The last thing she heard about them was that they escaped while they could capture the boy with them.

Mal should've known he was Beast's son, but had been too busy with her plans to consider the possibility or think about his connection with the Beast.

"Do you trust me?" Mal then asked. If he was talking about it like that, he had to trust her. He would have denied his father's plans if he didn't. He looked at her.

"Yes," He said, nodding, not hesitating to answer, "For as far as I can trust you, yes, I do."

"BEN!" Chad repeated, now louder than the first time. He sounded impatient.

"See you tomorrow," Ben then said and he turned his back to her, walking towards Chad. Mal turned her head to watch him leave. Once he had reached Chad, the both of them walked further away from her, Chad probably wondering what he was doing with her there. Mal turned her head away from the camp and stared in the distance.

Now she was finally alone, she could start making plans. After these thirty-one days within their ranks, she probably knew the place well enough to figure out what she had to do to grab the wand and deliver it to her mother.

It feels wrong.

She surprised herself with this thought. Why did it feel wrong? It wasn't supposed to. She was evil, she was Maleficent's daughter, she should not feel like it is wrong to treat them like that. Did they show mercy when they persecuted her mother and allies? Did they ever think about not killing the villains? Did they ever regret it when a poor unfortunate soul died? No murderer of villains ever was called evil, because he did 'the right thing'.

They did us wrong; their offspring never did anything.

Mal sighed, feeling conflicted inside. She hated this feeling. It made her feel like she was doing it all wrong, but in her heart she knew this was the only way of doing things, the right way of doing things.

Maybe there's another way.

Mal groaned as she looked in the distance. What was happening to her? She looked in the distance and sighed. She wanted to stick with the original plan and complete it, but apparently she was slowly changing her mind during the past month – with all those 'missions', they made her slowly change her mind. Picking a side once seemed easy, but now was harder than ever. What did she have to do?

What would her mother do?

As Mal stared in the distance, she imagined her mother was standing between the trees, looking at her. She looked behind her – everyone was still minding their own business, standing far enough to not hear her speak. She turned her head away from them and started to talk. "Something's happening, mother. I… I'm doubting. Is this wrong or right? If only you could tell me what to do…"

The figure of her mother she had imagined suddenly walked closer to her. She looked up, surprised the figure was moving closer to her, and looked behind her. Nobody in the background noticed their number one enemy walking closer – mostly because they were too far away too actually see her clearly. Though, they should know if someone walks right into camp.

Mal didn't dare to say anything. It's just in my head, she thought, Mother can't be here. They would've known.

"If there ever was anything I taught you, my daughter, then it is to never doubt about who you are," Maleficent said and Mal turned pale. She really was here. Her mother was here.

"Mother!" she exclaimed in surprise, "How did you…"

"That does not matter right now," Maleficent responded before Mal even had the time to finish that question. "I came only because you doubted. Why?"

"I…" Mal began, unsure what to say. Ultimately, she went with the truth. "I don't know." I don't know why I am doubting.

"Don't know?" Maleficent said, taking one step forward, intimidating her daughter in the process. "I think it is very clear. You are doubting whether to give me the wand or not." Mal already knew that, though she didn't know the reason why she doubted. She decided to nod and let her mother speak again.

"There is no reason to doubt. You will deliver it to me," Her mother said, confident that her daughter would not fail. Mal had different thoughts, though.

"Yes, but…"

"No buts!" Maleficent interrupted her, "Let me talk. As a young girl, there was a moment when I felt insecure. I decided not to follow my heart and to use my head, to do what I deemed best. I have tried my whole life long to do the worst I can and I never gave up. I too have been tempted by those kind of people. They never gave me a chance so why would they give you one? Don't you want to be mean? Don't you want to be cruel? Don't you want to be evil like me?" With every word she spoke, Mal's confidence grew again, her faith in her mother was restored and her attachment to the alliance (or, as she corrected herself, the resistance) she had slowly built up with Henry was crushed. She nodded when her mother asked her these things.

"Yes, I do," she said, wholeheartedly agreeing. The resistance had to go down. They were no good for their own welfare. She was evil and always will be that evil daughter of Maleficent. She showed her mother her most evil grin to show she meant it. Maleficent evilly grinned back.

"That's my nasty little girl!" Maleficent said, "You and I together, we will rule the world. And our reign will start once you give me the Fairy Godmother's wand."

Mal nodded. "I will, mother. I won't disappoint you."

"Good," her mother replied, "I'll see you when the job is done." After saying this, Maleficent turned around and walked away. As she left she faded away, leaving Mal again confused. Was that real or not? At this point, she didn't even care – her mother had been the perfect person to get her back on track.

She pulled out her spell book and browsed, looking for any spells she could use. Maybe she could form a plan based on one of those spells. She stopped browsing when she saw a peculiar recipe in her book. It was a cookie recipe, but when someone took a bite from it, they would fall in love with the first person they saw - which could be her.

Mal considered this plan for a while, before deciding it would draw too much attention to her. She can't cook, and Ben would probably act differently than he normally would, alerting the council and everyone else, and she's a villain so they are already keeping an extra eye on her. So, how tempting it was, it would make her suspicious. And that's the least she wanted to do if she wanted to find the wand.

Other than that, there were plenty of other spells and recipes she could use to get what she wanted. The first step would be to come closer to Ben. She had no idea how she would do it yet, but there still was enough time to figure it out, unless it would happen next week. The rest of the plan would follow soon, she knew, and continued to browse through the spellbook, looking for any useful spells.

"Mal, are you coming?" She turned around and saw Philip was standing there, wearing his signature red hat and cape. "It's getting dark and we have a curfew." Mal walked to him and once she had reached him, she started to talk.

"Philip…" she began, "I'm sorry for what happened to your wife. I should have…"

"No," he said, while they both started to slowly walk back to the camp. "You were a child. You didn't know better. No need to apologize." Mal nodded. She wouldn't have done anything, even if she could have, but at least it would be worth it to stay on Philip's good side as well.

"At least you have Audrey. And Chad," Mal said and she saw his head turn to her, watching her in surprise when she mentioned that name. "Ben explained him to me," she added and Philip nodded, continuing to stare in the distance as they walked into camp, shaking his head.

"A child shouldn't see so much in his life at that age. He never really got over it. I'm afraid that if he continues like this, it may be his end." They were silent for a while. Philip offered to walk her to her room (because it still would be hers until Henry got someone new to guide).

"Is it possible for anyone to come here?" Mal then asked, out of the blue. She needed to know whether her mother was really there or not, though she was leaning more to the latter option. "I mean, does this camp have any borders?"

Philip didn't hesitate to answer. "There are barriers all around the camp, stretching as far as five miles from the camp center. It had to be dark magic because good magic would betray our whereabouts, but it is effective. Nobody has ever passed the borders on foot. Everyone who tries to pass it, will be directed around it or turn around, forgetting what they wanted to do there." That is actually a pretty effective defense system. Mal only wondered where they found those spells and who taught them how to do it. Philip seemed to have a good grasp on magic, despite being a knight in the first place and the husband of her mother's late arch-enemy. Well, at least now Mal knew it couldn't have been her mother. She had just imagined her saying all those things. But that didn't make the speech any less motivating. She would continue to make her mother proud.

"Do you want to teach me magic?" Mal then blurted out. She had no idea why she would begin about that and didn't have much time to think about it. It's what she always wanted, right? Being taught magic. Her mother wouldn't teach her, so why not someone else with the skills?

Philip turned his head towards her. "Teach you?" he asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice. Mal nodded.

"My mother never taught me. She may have feared I would become more powerful than her. I'd love to know how to control it and use it for your cause. And since you're a magician…"

"You want me to teach you how to control it," Philip completed her phrase and then thought about the request. It took about one minute before he responded. "Meet me tomorrow at two in the afternoon at the Camp Square. Take your book." They had reached Mal's cabin in the meantime and her eyes widened when she heard what he suggested.

"You want to publicly teach me how to do it?" Not that she didn't like it, but the others would still stare and watch as Mal practiced. Philip nodded.

"How else do you want to convince everyone of your innocence?" he said, "See you tomorrow." He then turned around and walked away. Mal went into her room, sat down on her bed and opened her spellbook again to look for any more spells. Since she had no idea when the curfew would start, it wouldn't be a wise move to leave her room anymore. Mal continued to plan and scheme until Henry arrived in his room. At that point, she decided she could continue planning tomorrow and went to bed.