A/N: It's another prison scene!
Enjoy!
Ben truly did not know how long he had been down in the dank dungeons of Agrabah Palace. Time had lost all meaning and his only forms of light were the candles that either Mal or the guards would bring to him. That wasn't often. All he knew was that he hadn't seen anyone in this dank expanse of dungeon.
He had shed the heavy armour he'd been kidnapped in, and often sat as still as he could, moving every so often to a cool patch of wall to stop the sweat dripping down his body. He knew he was deep enough beneath the earth for the heat of Agrabah not to bother him, but the humidity in the room was almost unbearable.
He had started to crave Mal's visits because she brought with her fresh air and some kind of air conditioning spell that would cool the air around him. She usually also brought food. She had taunted him at first, gloating as the bars separated them and her wicked green eyes would dance with mirth but Ben had stoutly ignored her. Well he had until one flick of her wrist brought him from the other end of his cell crashing him up against the cast iron bars so he faced her.
"Never ignore me." She said silkily, grabbing his chin between her fingers and staring at him with a smirk.
"Like I could anyway." He shook off her touch and she let out a cold laugh, it had unnerved him because it was a laugh that promised something. That had all been at the start, now whenever a guard announced Mal's presence he would turn dutifully to face her and the pair would talk. Talking wasn't the right word, her gloating as she updated him on the Invasion of Auradon was hardly small talk. She told him gleefully that the western side had fallen, and then that the entire northern territories were hers. But Ben had noticed something. He had noticed a change in Mal.
At first she had shoved the food through the bars at him and watched him snaffle at it in case she suddenly took it away, (she did occasionally for own amusement). Then she came inside the cell with him, waving a hand at the guard who hovered. The prince was entirely mortal and unarmed, he posed little threat to her. While Ben wolfed down whatever food she brought him, he would watch her posture, and noted it became less arrogant and more and more relaxed around him. It was strange, as though she found his presence calming. Maybe it was his vulnerability that relaxed her, or that he had not tried to attack her, not even once. But Ben accidentally on purpose started touching her more, holding a hand out for the food she would bring, letting his fingers brush hers while keeping his face totally impassive. If she read minds, she didn't let on and instead Ben was pretty sure that she wasn't even aware of the shiver that would pass through her at his touch.
This time was different, she stormed into his holding cell and glared furiously at him. He could feel the anger roll off of her in waves but she said nothing. Instead she stood opposite him and fizzled with energy. Taking his moment, Ben decided what any good Prince should do … he kissed her. He kissed her hard. He had crossed the gap in two strides, pressed his lips to hers and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her closer until she was flush with him. He dimly registered her gasp but his neurons were firing and dancing in amazement at the feel of the fae in his hands. She tasted and felt so good.
Mal's brain had short circuited. She had come down to torture Ben into subservience and was entirely taken aback by his kiss. It melted her insides and fried her mind. All she could feel was his chapped lips on hers and then she felt the light bulb moment. Prince Ben was finally hers to command. She accepted his kiss and willingly gave one back, nipping his lip to remind him who was boss. When they drew back Mal briefly wondered if she looked as affected as he did; his dishevelled clothing was worse, his hair already greasy was now a mess, his lips were swollen and his pupils blown back as he stared hungrily down at her.
"We need to get you showered." She said, feeling his grime and sweat on her new outfit (Evie would roast her for it). He let out a dry chuckle that earned him a sharp look and he fell silent, holding his wrists out for the chains before allowing Mal to lead him from the dank cell up many stairs to a bathroom. The light was harsh and he wasn't used to either the glaring sun or the sparkling white marble of the bathroom. He rushed to shield his eyes as Mal tugged him towards the small pool that pretended to be a bath.
Neither of them spied Evie at the door. Despite her harsh words, her heart hurt for the purple haired fairy. But she knew Mal would not have reacted well to kind words and instead Evie had stepped into more authoritative shoes. She had not expected Mal to have hauled Prince Ben to the more elegant bathrooms, she would have expected her to have sluiced him down with a hose and bucket in the courtyard.
Evie narrowed her eyes and with a soft spell murmured from dark lips she saw the weakness in Mal's mental armour. The rent that had been caused by her mother's death had allowed affection to seep in. No, Evie looked harder at the other woman's aura; the affection had always been there but it had finally been released when Maleficent had died. The armour had cracked and it was an emotion, usually spurned that had been freed.
Interesting. Evie was not one to judge; she couldn't judge, knowing she was well and truly in love with Jay, she had given her heart to the dark haired man and had received his in return. The pair often put on a pompous act when with company, but with one another they gave themselves freely, sentiment and all. Though it had scared the hell out of them at first, they worked their way through the foreign emotions and now had a very strong bond. She couldn't help but smile at the strange sight, as Mal seemed disinterested in the Prince that was washing about two months of grime off, Evie slipped away, back to her boudoir to await Mal when she was good and ready.