After leaving the hideout Mal and Ben walked with no particular direction in mind. They wandered through the market place in a comfortable silence, something Mal had never found she could have with anyone except her siblings. The purplette still wondered about the familiarity of the brunette boy next to her but for now she chose to ignore it. Her body was beyond sore and she simply didn't have the strength nor energy to worry about where she had seen him before.

"What's up there?" Ben asked as he noticed a small pathway leading to a wooded area. The pathway was connected to a bridge a few steps in front of them which stretched over what clearly used to be a deep river of some king but was now nothing more than a gorge/ditch.

Following his line of sight mal couldn't help but feel a little bad. "That's where the Evil Queen lives, where Evie used to live until she moved into the hideout." Hearing Mal's tone of voice Ben turned to face her and found a sat and guilty expression on her face. Eventually Mal turned to face the teen prince and found him looking confused. "I guess I should explain." She stated as she led them over to a nearby railing which they both sat on. With a sigh Mal began her story. "It started when we were all six years old. Evie had a huge birthday party and the Evil Queen invited all the children from the Isle, except for me, Amy and Malice."

The purplette's gaze drifted down to her fingers as she began to fiddle with her dragon bracelet Evie had made for her. She didn't want Ben to think bad of her for this story. She didn't know why she cared what he thought of her but she did, something that both confused and annoyed her. "I was stood on the balcony outside my bedroom window watching the party going on in the street below when my mom found me. She asked what was happening and I told her that Evie was having a birthday party and we weren't invited to it. She didn't take kindly to that and stopped the party before banishing Evie and her mom to the castle in the woods. My mom would have one of her goons send them food but that was the only time they ever saw anyone until Evie turned up at Dragon Hall a few months ago."

Ben was stunned. Not at the fact that Maleficent had banished Evie and the Evil Queen for a birthday party but at the amount of time Mal and the others had known Evie. "Wow." Ben said, gaining Mal's attention immediately. "So you've only known Evie for a couple of months? All of you?" He questioned.

"Yeah, why?" Mal asked. Out of all the questions the prince could have asked Mal wasn't really expecting that one.

Shrugging Ben responded. "You guys are so close. I thought you'd known each other from being kids." He explained and Mal couldn't help but smile.

"I guess having crazy ass, evil mothers can help you bond quickly." The purplette said and the pair immediately started laughing. The more Mal was around the prince the more she was growing to like him, she wasn't sure she would be happy when he returned to Auradon. He had only been there a day but Mal already liked him and wanted him to stay, completely unaware of his proclamation he would be announcing when he returned to Auradon.

The pair were broken out of their happy little bubble by a voice. "Well, look what we have here." Turning Mal couldn't help but groan as she noticed Scarlett walking towards her with Scott and Shane only a step behind her. Mal slid off of the railing trying her best not to show that she was feeling anything but her best, Ben immediately following her example. "I wouldn't have expected you to be out alone in the condition you're in Mal." The black haired teen sneered. "You're making this too easy for me."

"Mal isn't alone." Ben snapped at the trio, his anger starting to get the better of him. First the Gaston twins thought they would target his sister not these three are hinting at attacking Mal. It was certainly bringing out his beastly side.

Scott chuckled at the prince and looked him up and down. "And what is a spoilt, pampered prince like you going to do about it?" He questioned, immediately recognizing the teen as the prince of Auradon. He would have questioned what the prince was doing on the Isle of the Lost but his sister had a plan and if he intervened he would certainly be in for it when they got back to their hideout.

Smirking Ben stood a little taller. "Touch Mal and you'll find out exactly what I'll do about it." Mal couldn't help but give a shocked look to the teen. He was stood here defending her against three other VK's and he barely even knew her.

Before either Mal or Ben could react Scarlett ran at Mal forcing her through the railings. But as Ben moved to help her he found himself surrounded by Scott and Shane. The prince could see Mal attempting to fight Scarlett but due to her injuries he could see she was finding it difficult. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Shane throw a punch his way and was thankfully able to dodge it. As Ben ducked to avoid being hit he kicked one of his legs out, smirking as his foot connected with Shane's knee.

The prince didn't know how long he had been fighting the two villain kids. All he knew was that he had a fair few bruises and possibly some bruised ribs but he refused to give up. He noticed Scarlett was walking towards him and he couldn't help but worry about the purplette. He couldn't see her and he couldn't hear her, which wasn't good. Scott took that opportunity to knock Ben to the floor and the brunette prince had expected blows to reign down on him but they didn't. As he looked around he was relieved to see help had arrived.

Malice had tackled Scott to the floor and definitely had the upper hand, Henry and Jay were fighting Shane, who Ben noticed appeared to be stronger then Scott, and Amy was fighting with Scarlett. Since they had met Ben had assumed Amy was kind and gentle, which she was, but as he looked at her now he almost didn't recognize her. Her eyes glowed red and an evil smirk spread across her face as she began to get the upper hand. But Ben still couldn't see Mal.

"Mal." Ben called out to the seemingly empty street.

Almost instantly Ben heard a response. "Ben!? Ben!" Mal shouted out to him.

It took a few minutes for Ben to find where she was and he gasped as he looked at Mal. She was barely hanging on to the edge of the gorge/ditch which Scarlett had clearly pushed her down, and she was not bruised and swollen then she had been previously. The brunette prince dropped to his knees and reached down to the purple haired teen. "Grab my hand Mal. I'll help you up." He told her, his mind remembering the dream he'd had a few months ago causing him to realize the girl in his dream that he had helped out of a ditch was Mal. Ben breathed a sigh of relief when he felt her hand grasp his and he pulled her up so she was knelt in front of him.

On instinct Ben reached out and pulled the purplette into a hug, something Mal was surprised to find that she accepted, welcomed and liked. "Are you both okay?" Amy and Malice asked in unison. The pair nodded to them as they broke their embrace. "Come on, let's get you both home." Amy said. The pinkette and Malice helping and supporting Mal while Jay and Henry helped and supported Ben.

"You beastie twins sure are feisty." Malice stated, causing everyone to chuckle.

Author's Note: Hope you guys like this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think x