The next morning, Ben awoke with a smile on his face. Usually, when he had had to do a lot of the kingly duties with his father, they had been boring and he would rather be somewhere else. As King, and with Mal there with him, he was almost excited for it.
Mal could watch making paint dry exciting, and then she would probably add a bit of graffiti, for good measure.
He smiled as he dressed, and as he went down the east wing steps toward the sitting room where his parents usually spent the morning before breakfast was served. He half wondered if Mal would be there too.
She was not. It was just his mother, reading over the morning paper, his own face, fresh with a crease in the paper, on the front page, smiling back at him, and his father, playing a game of chess with himself. He was just about to ask if anyone had seen Mal, when a shriek erupted from the upper levels of the castle and only got louder. Ben instantly turned on his heels, hoping it wasn't Mal. Though he had never expected her to shriek like that in her life.
It ended up being one of the ladies in waiting his mother had no doubt assigned to Mal shrieking about how Mal's bed had been empty, only none of the staff preferred to use her name. La fille de violette was what they called her. He figured there were worse things to call her.
"She probably fell asleep in the library last night." He told the lady in waiting before him between her bows, and before he could warn her that Mal did not like to be woken without her fists in the air, the lady was off.
"You told her about the library?" His mother asked, barely looking up from the daily paper. She seemed more surprised than displeased as she looked up at him over her reading glasses.
He was just about to tell his parents about some of the promises he had made, if they didn't already know, when the same scream erupted from the upper levels again.
That time he ran for the library, to find the same lady in waiting holding her cheek, crying about how la fille de violette had hit her. That was what Ben had been afraid of. Of course, in a strange place, with someone speaking to her in a strange language she would be more likely to strike, and probably harder than usual.
"Let me see it." He commanded of the lady, her cheeks already pink with tears. She moved her hand away to reveal a reddening mark and from the looks of it, Mal had struck with his ring on her finger. He pulled her back into the library, but told her to stay back.
She had fallen asleep with her nose in a book, on the floor of all places. Stacks and stacks of books, some open to pages with mysterious markings and dark pictures, others closed and piled high, like a fortress around her. She lay there, her hair spread around her like a dark halo, her fists beneath her. He could help but let out a short laugh. How badly he wanted to wake her with a kiss like the ones he had heard in almost all of the fairytales. But he knew he couldn't.
Instead, he teased her.
Leaning close to her ear, he began to sing softly.
I know you,
I walked with you once upon a dream
I know you
The-
Before he could get any further, her fists began to swing and he dodged, grabbing a wayward wrist when it got close enough. Mal opened her eyes after that and looked around, a little stunned at where she was.
Then she saw Ben. "My mom hates that song." She told him, sitting up from the floor with a small smile. "She used to call me absolutely evil when I would wake her up with it."
Even he smiled at that. "So even the VKs grew up with lullabies." He guessed. "My mom would sing their theme song." He laughed, then hummed a few bars.
"Not exactly." She answered, running her fingers through her wayward hair. "I grew up with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Janis Joplin and Stevie Nicks."
That made Ben laugh. He could totally see Maleficent rocking out to the female rockers of the earlier decades. He was about to ask more, then he realized why he was there.
"Did I hit you?" She asked him, and he shook his head. Then she noticed the lady in waiting near the door. "I hit her." She realized.
Ben tried not to make it sound so horrible, but he nodded. "Think you could do a little healing magic?" He asked her, his voice low, "It might get her on your good side." He suggested.
"Your parents-" she tried to counter, but in reality she had been dying to do a little magic, even he could see that.
"I won't tell them if you don't." He countered before he called the lady over. She came over with shaking steps and he explained it to her, that la fille de violette was going to heal her cheek but she couldn't tell his parents or anyone else.
"Je suis desolee" Mal formed the words before she beckoned the girl closer, and placed the same hand that had struck her back on the girl's cheek.
Ben was impressed. Not only had she apologized, which might have been a first for a VK, but she had done it in his native language without having been taught. Then he saw the open French language book close by in her stacks.
It didn't take very long for Mal to send the girl off, the only trace of the accident, a thin silvery scar below her eye. Then she and Ben were alone again.
"So what is your issue with the chairs, or the settee?" He asked her, helping her up from the floor and out from her fortress of books.
"They were too comfortable." Mal answered, and Ben realized he should have known better. Growing up on the island she must have had the garbage the seven kingdoms and Auradon threw out. Mattresses with springs missing, torn bedsheets, half stuffed pillows. And that must have been the best of the stuff.
Ben placed his hand against her cheek and pulled her toward him into an embrace. "You'll enjoy the carriage on the tour then." He laughed. "Hours and hours and even the cushions become uncomfortable." He explained. "If you are still going." He added.
Mal smirked. "It's a hard choice." She told him, "Spending hours of etiquette lessons with your mom, or sitting in a carriage watching you kiss babies and shake hands. I'm going to have to go with the uncomfortable carriage on this one." She decided.
Ben smiled. "We leave in an hour." He told her, releasing her from his arms. "I'll come and get you then." He told her before he left her in the library.
He had yet to clear that with his parents. Not that he needed to, but since the kingdom was still in transition from his father's rule to his, it was probably not the best idea to release the beast.
It had been an hour and ten minutes and Mal was beginning to worry. Ben had never been late to pick her up when he had told her a time. If anything, he had always been early. Maybe he had changed his mind and not wanted to take her with him?
She checked herself one last time in the mirror, and chided herself for becoming vain like Evie, then turned her attention back to one of the books she had borrowed from the library. Figuring she might as well put her time to good use.
The only book she had been able to find on short notice was a book of fairy tales. With just a few mentions of faeries, it wasn't much to go on, but it was better than nothing. Of course the faerie was evil, and she had promised a princess the love of a prince, but had gone back on her promise and had been pulled apart from the inside out. Apparently that was the origin of pixie dust.
Mal didn't know how much stock she put into that idea. She had heard of what happened to faeries that broke their promises, but she had never seen it in person. She just knew it was bad news and apparently there was no way she was going to risk Ben in the whole thing.
A knock came at the door and made her jump. She put the book down, hiding it under her pillow for safe measure and tried not to appear so jumpy as she opened the door to reveal Ben, with a smile on his face.
"Sorry I'm late." He said with a slightly embarrassed smile on his face, looking like a small child, with the golden crown atop his head. "There was a slight disagreement with the security detail." He explained offering her his arm. Instead, she tipped his crown askew on his head with a naughty smile.
It was something that would never get old. "Debating whether you should wear the crown or not?" She asked as she fixed it to be straight again, brushing his bangs down.
"Nope." Ben answered. "You." He explained taking her hand. "My security team seems to think that having you with me will be too many people to protect." She took his arm and he led her down the hallway toward the stairs.
She laughed. "Did you tell them that I can save you?" She asked with a smile, remembering the events of the coronation.
"Not a chance." He answered, "It's my turn to save you." He reminded her as they walked down the stairs and toward the front doors.
She laughed again. "Just keep telling yourself that, Bennyboo." She told him, gently tapping his nose.
"You just watch." He told her as they exited into the bright sunlight. "One of these days I'm going to save you." He turned and leaned closer to her, almost attempting a kiss, "Then you'll be dying to want to kiss me come Summer Solstice." He teased.
She rolled her eyes. "Great word choice, Ben." She told him as they reached the path to the stables. "That's what we're trying to avoid." She reminded him, her hand to his cheek.
In an instant, he straightened up and became Kingly before her. She turned to see a tall man in a dark suit and sunglasses looking quite serious. "Bruno," Ben started, moving between the tall serious man and Mal, "C'est Bon. Elle est Mal." He told him. "Ma petite amie."
The guy still didn't seem to ease up, but he did give them more space. "That's Bruno." Ben told her, turning back to face her "Security detail on the tour of the provinces" He explained. "If something happens, he protects me and I protect you." He booped her nose and she wanted so bad to pull him into a noogie, as she used to do with Carlos, just to see his bodyguard's reaction, but she resisted.
She knew he just wanted to show her that he could protect her, and she appreciated that, somewhere deep deep down. He led her toward the carriage, her arm in his.
"So why the carriage if we could ride in a fancy limo?" She asked once they entered the stables, and spotted the exquisitely shined carriage, with two white horses ready to roll.
"Tradition." Ben answered. "For hundreds and hundreds of years, kings and queens have done the first tours of the summer in an open carriage." He sounded like he was quoting a history book as he helped her up into the carriage first. "It promotes honesty and openness." He continued, taking the seat next to her as Bruno climbed in behind them, still as stone faced as ever.
Mal could feel her evilness peeking through. "How much trouble would I get into if I played a trick on Bruno?" She asked in a whisper.
"Beaucoup." He answered, "A lot." He rephrased, leaning into her as the carriage began to move, "Bruno tends to take his job a little too seriously." He explained, pulling a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket and slipping them onto his face.
Mal laughed. "Those really complete the look." She told him. The glasses made him look even younger and she was tempted to pinch his cheeks. "Look how cute you are!" She exclaimed as she pinched his cheeks.
"Just wait," he answered with a smile and reaching into a compartment in front of them. "There's a matching pair for you." He handed her the pair of sunglasses. "I have to protect my princess in any way possible." He continued as she put them on. "And you're saved." He told her, wanting so bad to prove to her that he could be her savior.
"From wrinkles." She answered, "So brave my king." She told him as the carriage passed over the drawbridge. "And who do you think you're calling a princess?"
"I try." He answered with a laugh, avoiding her question entirely. "So, feel like working on your French between provinces?" He asked her. "I'll make it worth your while." He continued.
"It is better than being stuck in a library all day learning from a book." She decided. French lessons with Ben could be considered fun, especially the way he peppered phrases throughout their time together. Just the way his mouth moved and formed the words made her love the language that much more.
The first few miles flew by like they were nothing, with Ben pointing out landmarks and colors and teaching her simple phrases. Nothing too complicated, and she really couldn't hold conversation quite yet, but it was a start.
The first province was the nicest, the closest to the castle and therefore the richest. It didn't take a lot of brain work for Mal to see that. Even growing up on the island, she knew that those closest to the leaders and the royalty got the best of the best. As if proximity mattered. She also noticed that Bruno seemed more calm in that province than the others.
In that province, the people didn't even seem like they were interested in Ben as the king, but more the gossip of the kingdom and Ben as a potential bachelor. Typical rich princess types. It was like Auradon Prep all over again. Still, she didn't let the drama get to her, and neither did Ben. He just held her hand and gave the usual speech about being their new king and that he would listen to their concerns. Or so she guessed.
She could pick out some words, so it was pretty much blah blah blah, King, blah blah blah, Duty, blah blah blah Honor. She knew when to smile and wave when he mentioned her name and the term girlfriend.
She loved watching their faces fall when he mentioned that. It made her evil little heart beat just a little sweeter, and it made her smile.
In that first province, they did not receive many gifts. In the provinces that followed, the ones that didn't have as much as the first few, they received more gifts such as fresh cheese, or fresh baked bread. It seemed the less the provinces had, the more they gave, and the more Bruno seemed to get uncomfortable.
Ironically, Mal became more comfortable. It was easier to relate to the people of the poorer provinces, since she had been there herself. She could see herself in the dirty hungry faces of the children that chased the carriage and made Bruno seem to twitch. Several times she almost stopped the carriage to give the dirty malnourished children the bread from earlier or the cheese that was melting in the hot sun. She knew Ben definitely wouldn't eat it later, but she stopped, knowing the provinces would only get worse the farther they traveled.
Ben warned her before they reached the last province. "This village is the worst" he spoke quietly, as if he would scare awake terrible demons if he spoke louder. "I would have passed through, but that is not very king like." He decided.
It wasn't a huge shock when they pulled up to the town square and no one came out to greet them. As they traveled through each province it seemed less and less people came out. The small village itself looked deserted. The walls, dark and dingy, graffiti everywhere, Windows smashed and dark with years of grime it seemed. It reminded her of the isle, in several ways.
The driver was about to continue on, no use staying in the dingy dark town if there was no one to orate to, and the sun was beginning to make its descent toward the horizon. It didn't seem like the best place to be when the darkness of night came. Mal wished she could do more as the carriage lurched forward, then she saw a pair of eyes that quickly disappeared behind a dingy curtain.
She didn't know what had come over her, but she jumped over Ben and out of the moving carriage, chasing the small child, hitching up her skirts to make her feet move more efficiently. Ben's voice shouting behind her to come back, she imagined Bruno holding him back.
"Wait!" She shouted in English, then rephrased in French. Catching up the the child and grabbing her arm quickly before she could slip away.
The child couldn't have been older than ten and skinnier than a rail. Judging by what Mal could see, and how she acted, she hadn't eaten for days, possibly even weeks. Judging by her screams, she was scared out of her wits.
"It's ok." Mal told her, her voice shaking with uncertainty between pants. "I know you're hungry" She spoke slowly. "Everyone is hungry?" She asked, hoping the child would understand.
The child nodded and Mal knew that look of devastation. She had the feeling that she should do something. Though Ben and his parents might not be happy about it.
"Wait." Mal told her before she walked back to the carriage slowly and deliberately. She just hoped the little girl would wait.
Ben's face seemed to relax as soon as he saw her returning. "Give me the bread." She asked, standing below the carriage steps, Ben staring at her as if she was crazy. "You're not going to eat it anyway." She told him and she knew she was right. Still he stared.
"Mal," he spoke after several long seconds, his fear unmistakeable "Get in the carriage." She stayed where she was. "If you give them food, they will expect more." Spoken like a typical king that didn't understand, would never understand what it was like to be hungry. "If we cater to them, everyone will expect something. We can't upset the delicate balance of the provinces."
His words only made her more angry, and she began to understand why his home country was once in turmoil over the royalty and chopping off their heads like it was going out of style.
"Give me the damn bread or leave me here." She argued, one hand on her hip, her eyes glaring at him. She had never wanted to cast evil magic on him more than she wanted to at that moment, damn Bruno, his eyes trained on her like a hawk.
After a long wait, glaring and all, he finally handed over the bread. She knew she could probably argue for the cheese and some of the fruit too, but instead, she took the bread and ran, leaving Ben shouting her name again as she darted through the alleyway.
The child had stayed in the alley, hidden behind a collapsing cardboard box. Mal handed over the bread and the little girl took it hesitantly.
"It's ok" Mal repeated, "I will bring more when I can" she said, knowing that the summer castle threw more food away in one night than that entire province could eat in a week. "But not purple," she said, indicating to her hair, "red." She tried to convey the message, then ended up chromosome shifting before the girl. "My name is Bertha." She told the girl who had screamed when she shifted. It was the first name she had thought of, and the girl seemed to understand.
Mal shifted back into herself, and walked back toward the carriage, the sudden exhaustion of the day hitting her. She collapsed into the carriage seat next to Ben. Things were silent and tense between them for several long minutes, but she stood by her choices.
She knew she had to go back when she could.
