I do not own Descendants, Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Frozen, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, 101 Dalmanations, Aladdin, the Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Bambi, or Mulan.
Mal chose to have her interview in the library where Ben had had his a few months ago, before they'd gotten married. The reporters and camera crew showed up at two in the afternoon, after Elsa and her family had left in the morning, but at two-ten, Mal was hiding in her old room staring at her reflection.
Sophia had given her a black dress to wear with her now-dirty Isle jacket, but her hair seemed too long to go with the ensemble. Mal examined it with a frown. A pair of scissors and a collection of hair ties sat on the table in front of her. Mal carefully picked up the largest, black hair tie and gathered all her hair up at the nape of her neck. She tied it with a few inches beneath her scalp and managed to wrap the tie a whopping six times around.
Carefully, she used smaller hair ties all the way down to where her hair ended around her thighs to keep the strands in line.
Finally, she picked up the scissors and held them in front of the highest tie as she examined herself in the mirror. "Goodbye long hair." She thought as she began to cut.
It took a little grinding and moving her hair around in its ponytail, but at long last, about four feet of hair fell from her head into a rope on the floor. Using a comb and the mirror, Mal evened out her new haircut. It looked similar to when she'd first come to Auradon, a little longer in front, a little shorter in back, only hanging about four inches in the longest places. She ruffled the top up a little and swished her head around. Her head felt lighter. She picked up her rope of purple hair off the ground and found it to be heavy.
She knew there were places in Auradon and on the Isle where you could donate hair to be made into wigs and figured someone somewhere would be able to use it, so she curled it up and resolved to find a place after her interview. She cleaned off the scissors in the sink and shook her head in the mirror once more, admiring the way the uneven, freshly cut edges felt on her skin.
She went up to her bedroom and found her jacket hanging on the back of a chair. She put it on, flipping her now-short hair out of the collar as she did so.
The door opened. She heard footsteps but didn't turn around as she fixed the cuffs on her sleeves. When she heard someone chuckle, she turned around. "What?" She asked as Sophia walked over.
"That's quite the improvement." Sophia laughed, tracing her own black, braided hair as she examined Mal's. "It's not straight, though."
Mal shrugged. "It wasn't meant to be." She pulled the rolled-up hair out of her pocket to show Sophia with a smirk.
Sophia looked impressed. "How long until the fairies grow it all back?" She asked with a laugh. Mal could only groan in response.
"Everyone's been looking for you," Sophia mentioned as she adjusted Mal's sleeves, which was her way of telling Mal it was time to head down.
"Why?" Mal asked. "I told them we were doing it in the library. They don't need me to set up everything."
Sophia put a hand on her arm with a smile. "No, but they wanted to make sure you were ready to be onscreen."
"Am now." Mal shook her head again to feel the cut locks tickle her neck.
"Feel weird?" Sophia asked as she watched her.
"Very," Mal confirmed. As they walked towards the door, it opened even wider and a head of sandy hair appeared.
"Mal?" Ben asked, poking his head inside. "Oh, hello. You found her, Sophia." He noticed Mal's hair and smiled. "Oh, I see." He hummed, nodding in understanding.
Mal cocked her head. "You're not going to ask any questions?" She asked.
Ben laughed and shook his head. "Nah. I knew it was coming." He retorted as he opened the door for them and let them slip through. The three began to head down to the library. Ben put an arm around Mal's shoulder and then began to thread his fingers through the hair at the back of her neck. She shivered.
"Wow." He commented. "This feels weird."
"I know." Mal agreed. "It feels almost rough when it's first cut." She shook her head again. She hadn't even realized how heavy her hair had been getting.
"Yeah." Ben agreed.
Inside the library, camera crews were rushing to and fro. Everything was already set up even though the interview wouldn't start until three. When the production manager saw her, she threw her arms up into the air. "Goodness gracious!" She exclaimed. "There you are!" Then, her eyes zeroed in on Mal's hair. "You cut your hair!" She shrieked. Everyone in the area turned to see.
It was as if someone had turned the dial on Mal's isle sarcasm all the way up. She fingered her hair, and then looked up with a smirk. "Huh. I didn't notice." She drawled. "I wonder who did that."
"It's not even straight." The productions manager despaired. "Do any of the makeup artists have a pair of scissors on them?" She asked as she hurried over and began to fret.
"Thanks for noticing." Mal interrupted. "Anyway, everything's fine, don't worry. Anyone have the time?"
"Two-forty." Said Adam as he appeared from behind them. He examined Mal. "You look like when you first came here in that jacket." He said.
Mal nodded thoughtfully. "I thought so too. Crazy how long it's been, right?" She examined the set around them and was pleased to note she wasn't as nervous as she thought she'd be.
"Very." Adam nodded. "Well, go ahead and sit down then."
"Wait." Ben turned her around by the shoulders and threaded his fingers through her newly-chopped locks. Mal put her arms around his neck and pulled him down so that their lips touched, and then pushed him away playfully.
"Bye now." She waved. Ben rolled his eyes and waved as she quickly wove through the crews and made her way to where the interviewer sat in a stuffed armchair, anxiously tapping his leg and shuffling through fistful of flashcards. Beside him was a matching armchair separated by a small table.
"Hello," Mal greeted as she sat down. She stuck out a hand to the interviewer. He was a tall, balding man with hazel eyes. He had a long neck, a round nose, and large eyes. "I'm Mal, and you are?" She asked.
The interviewer relaxed and took her hand. "My name is Elias. It's nice to meet you, your highness."
Mal laughed. "Oh, I'm not really a highness. I mean, look how tall I am. But you can call me Mal. Are you asking me questions today?" She leaned back into her chair with her knees apart a little.
"I am." Elias nodded.
"You look pretty nervous. Anything I can help out with?" Mal asked.
Elias let out a little breath. "I am a little nervous. I don't usually interview the royals, but our other reporter is on vacation. Say," He paused. "Want to do a few practice runs? Just before the interview starts?"
"Sure." Mal nodded. "Maybe you can explain to me a little how this is supposed to go as we go. I've only ever watched Ben do this."
"Okay." Elias straightened up and put his cards on the table in between them. "So, first the man in black over there will count us in." He pointed at a figure dressed all in black with glasses and a microphone taped to his chin. "Right now, the channel is finishing up other shows, but soon they'll switch to a commercial break, and then we'll start our interview. They'll play a little jingle, and Jillian, who is the lady in the slacks with the red blouse, will announce where we are and that I'm about to interview you. Then we start."
"Got it." Mal nodded.
"Ten minutes to airtime." Someone called across the room. Elias sucked in a breath.
Mal reached over and patted his forearm. "Hey, chill out. Everything's going to be fine."
Elias smiled. "Thank you." He unclutched his white knuckles and glanced at his cards on the side table. "Okay, the first question I have is more of an icebreaker. How's life in the palace been lately?"
"Busy." Mal nodded, keeping her eyes on him like she was actually on camera. "Queen Elsa, who is like, my new best friend, just left to go home. It's been really nice to have a magical queen around who I can take pointers from."
Elias nodded, examining her carefully. "Usually," He paused. "well, the royals tend to have this pattern of avoiding the questions to steer the interview the direction they want. We reporters hate it."
"I know." Mal nodded. "Ben did it in his interview last August."
Elias nodded. "I just want you to know that if you're intending on following that pattern, you might not want to mention anything about magic, because I can immediately jump on that."
Even though it was advice, Mal felt an underlying sense of sarcasm. She tilted her head. This poor man didn't even know how much he was about to bite off. "Go ahead." Mal urged. Elias stared. He looked for a second like he was going cross-eyed as he tried to decipher the meaning behind her sudden words. Mal got the feeling he'd never been invited to invade, despite being a reporter. "Be a shark." She teased.
Elias set his jaw and squared his shoulders. Mal did the same, which made him laugh. "Were you and Elsa practicing magic inside the palace while she was here?" He asked.
Mal laughed. "I conjured a flower for Jessie, but that's it. I'm not very good at conjuring. She conjured a snowflake, and I think Ericka sneezed and caused a snowstorm, but that was about all the magic activity that happened while she was here. I'm going to be doing more on the Isle these next few weeks than I ever have at the castle."
"You say you've done magic before at the castle?" Elias asked. Mal studied his expression. He did not seem angry, or fearful. Only determined. Mal smirked.
"Yes, actually. I blew up a can of glitter when Ben tried to wrestle it away from me, and I tried to be lazy and clean his dad's office with magic and ended up throwing twenty-years' worth of dust into the air and blowing all the lightbulbs out in the room." She announced. A nearby reporter gave her a cautious look.
"I find it very interesting how you describe yourself using magic." Elias probed. "Compared to your mother, you seem to use it as a practical joke or a shortcut. Not a bad thing at all."
"Exactly right." Mal nodded. "I don't actually share a lot of similarities with my mom. Except for my eyes. And maybe my skin color." Mal examined her skin playfully.
"No horns or anything?" Elias teased.
"I actually do have horns." Mal smiled, putting her hands down.
Elias's composure broke. "No way." He said skeptically. "I think you're playing me."
"I do too!" Mal insisted.
"No." Elias shook his head. "I am looking at your head, and I can see quite clearly you do not have horns." He examined her hairline.
"It was a surprise for me too," Mal patted his arm as she pretended to be sympathetic.
Elias stared at her, looking for evidence to call her bluff. "You seriously have horns?" He asked.
Mal bent forward and pulled her hair flat before she felt the top of her head shift a little. Someone yelled in the room, and it went deathly silent as Mal sat up.
Everyone had gone silent and was staring at her, but Elias was glaring. "For real?" He complained. "You seriously have horns?"
"I told you I did!" Mal rolled her eyes. She shook her head and they disappeared back into her skull. "I have wings too." She added, taking up an overall relaxed pose.
Elias turned away in falsified disgust. "I am not calling that bluff." He spotted Ben across the room, who was tense and staring at Mal in a quiet panic. "King Ben!" He called, standing up. "Does she have wings?"
After several seconds of Ben shifting his weight and everyone's eyes on him, he nodded. Elias picked up his cards off the table and threw them to the ground. "Screw this interview!" He declared, pointing a judging finger at her. "You're a dirty trickster!"
Mal laughed. "Quitting already?" She teased.
Elias sat back down. "Heck no." He said. "But that's the last time I try and play the queen for a fool."
The tension in the room was fading fast. Ben looked incredibly tense, but Mal had a feeling he'd be fine. Meanwhile, Adam was pulling him aside with a lot of tense whispers. It occurred to her that Adam hadn't known about the horns. Or the wings.
Elias took a deep breath. "Let's not put that in the interview." He decided. "I'm going to steer away from horns and…" He waved his hand tiredly.
"Things with wings?" Mal supplied. This only made Elias glare harder. Mal could hardly contain her laughter.
"Let's go back." Elias said, quickly recomposing himself. "You mentioned that you're going to be doing magic on the Isle."
"Yes." Mal agreed. "New citizens in the utopian city will be registered with me. I'm not going to do the whole thing with fake identities and stealing and gangs. If you're in that city, you'll need a card to go back and forth. The cards will be magically encoded to you, so they can't be stolen, lost, or used by someone else. When new children start to be born, they'll get new cards. By the end of this month, builders will leave the area and return to Auradon. From then on, you must have an active card in order to be in the area, even if you're visiting from Auradon. The airspace will still be restricted, but less restricted than before. Magic will be allowed because we're going to need it. Isle citizens who choose to live there have to agree to my terms before I give them a card. I've made it very clear, especially in the case of previous villains such as Gaston, Claude Frollo, and my mother Maleficent, that I am not above a death penalty if you think you can evade my laws on this."
"You sound like you have things figured out, but how will your utopia become self-sufficient?" Elias asked.
"Each new person coming into the city over Auradon age of consent has to pick a profession, even if it's temporary. I know there are many people on the Isle who truly want a better lifestyle. I will assist in opening up opportunities for schooling, food production, and even an advisory council for myself, and they will be expected to actively search for opportunities for growth." Mal explained calmly. "If they think they can get away with being lazy and living off charity, I will send them back to the villain's part of the Isle until they are ready for the privilege."
"Thirty seconds to air." The man in black called. Everyone sent up the call.
Mal stuck out her hand. "Great practice." She congratulated.
Elias smiled and shook her hand. "Thank you for it." He said. "I was honestly worried about interviewing you. You're really nice. Hopefully, we can do this again later."
Mal gave a thumbs-up. "Sounds good. I think you're my new favorite reporter. You honestly thought you could call me out."
Elias groaned. "Not a mistake I'll make again." He mumbled.
Mal laughed. "I'd hope not."
"Live in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." The man counted down. Mal and Elias quieted down and folded their arms across their chests.
Jillian stepped in front of the camera. "We're live now from the historic Beast's castle, where Queen Mal of Auradon, the Isle, and the Moors, has agreed to an interview. Here on Live TV, please welcome Elias Georgia and Queen Mal."
Elias waved at the camera. "Thank you, Jillian. I'm Elias Georgia, and this beside me is the Queen of Auradon, the Isle, and the Moors, Mal Bertha Benson. Good afternoon, Mal."
Mal's brain short-circuited. "Oh, uhm, good afternoon." She fumbled. There was an awkward pause. "I'm sorry, I'd never actually heard my last name read out loud before and," She whirled around and sought out Ben's eyes in the crowd. "Is our last name really Benson?" She asked. The studio laughed as Ben nodded his head and gave her two thumb's-up. "Oh, okay then." Mal turned around. "Mal Bertha Benson. That's fine, whatever." She said, then mouthed: 'Mal Bertha Benson' to herself. Elias laughed at her. Already, this interview was filled with lots of lessons.
"What a startling revelation." He snorted. "Mal, if you don't mind, we're going to start with some icebreakers."
"I do mind," Mal interrupted very seriously. Elias froze and stared at her before someone on the sound crew played a negative-sounding beep, like he'd lost a round of some sort of game show. Mal burst into laughter. The camera crews laughed along with her, quietly.
"That's mean." Elias told her disapprovingly.
"Sorry, sorry." Mal apologized, waving her hand a little. "Go on, what's your icebreaker?"
"But now it sounds lame," Elias protested with a sigh. "Whatever. How has palace life been lately?"
"Well, it was peaceful until you showed up this afternoon." Mal replied, setting her chin on her hand.
Elias turned and stared into the camera with the most deadpan expression Mal had ever seen. The camera crew started to giggle as Mal pulled her leg up onto her knee and maintained a sweet smile, well aware she was on Live TV.
Before Elias could ask another question, Mal said "We've had Queen Elsa here at the palace. She's kind of like my new best friend at this point. It was super nice to have another magical queen around."
Poor Elias relaxed. For a few minutes, they carefully went down the path they'd rehearsed, until Elias took an abrupt detour. "You know," he began, leaning down a little and picking up a magazine from where it'd been laid beside his chair. "The kingdom has been alight with all these rumors lately," He held it up in view of the cameras and Mal leaned forward to skim the title. Immediately, she groaned. "Unable to have children?" A headline on the cover read with a picture from her blog underneath it. "Do you know anything about this?" Elias asked, chuckling a little at her reaction as Mal slumped into her chair in disbelief.
"Give me a second. I rolled my eyes so hard I might have given myself brain damage." Mal grumbled. She rubbed her brow line, shaking her head at the article. "I know about it. I think it's stupid."
"So, it's not true?" Elias affirmed, still holding the magazine up for the audience to see.
"If I'm infertile, I have no idea." Mal scoffed. "And there is no physical way you can survive self-mutilation on the Isle of the Lost. It's hard enough to keep alive if anyone else beats you up. There's so much stuff in the air that it's dangerous to even have your skin uncovered, let alone an open wound. I mean, seriously, the air is acidic and burns your skin in the summer when the sun warms the barrier up."
"The air is acidic?" Elias's shoulders slumped in shock, and he set the magazine back down.
"Yeah. You have to be careful to cover yourself up when you sleep because you can get clouds of pollution scattering from place to place." Mal nodded. "But, going back to those stupid rumors, you need to just let them go. We actually know where they come from and everything."
"You do?" Elias asked. From offstage, Ben signaled her to stop talking.
"We do." Mal affirmed. "But I won't tell you. All I'll say is that they're the same person who's had a mental breakdown in our entryway three times and who told me not to expect to stick around for long."
Elias snorted. "Sounds like a personal problem." He laughed. Mal nodded, rolling her eyes and straightening up with her legs splayed. He cleared his throat, fell a little sullen, and turned to her like he was ignoring the cameras and it was meant to be between the two of them. "Tell us more about the Isle." He requested.
"You want to know more of the conditions?" Mal probed. Elias nodded, and Mal felt the cameras zoom in on her face as she thought. Everything felt very… fragile. Mal could feel Ben and Adam's eyes on her. "There's no clean water." She mumbled. "Nothing except for the occasional bottled water Auradon send over, but sometimes you also send filters. Carlos, who was my friend and who was good at building things, filtered water for us and others. He wasn't the only one. The dirt is hard. There are trees and grass, but they grow in bad colors and barely help the air quality. There aren't many animals. I know… there's frogs that mutated fast enough to survive. They have poisons in their skin and most of them have worms in their bellies. Five legs, three eyes, horrible mutations. And the air, in the winter… you'll have things solidify straight from the air onto your skin and it'll freeze onto you. In the summer, that all melts and goes back into the air, and then suddenly there's acid clouds that float around and take forever to dissipate. Nothing edible grows and if you try and eat things off the trees or ground, you'll die, so… you know the trash barges that Auradon sends over? That's what everyone lives off of."
Ben lowered his head, using a hand to shield his eyes from those around him, and Adam turned away. Mal drummed her fingers on her knees. She wondered who'd been the first to come up with that marvelous idea. 'Let's send all the trash to the Isle so that our other trash can use it!'
"There's sinkholes." Mal continued. "And the water down by the docks will kill you if you get it in your mouth. It'll cause infections in your ears and in your eyes and in your nose. It's so thick to swim in that some people just can't ever come back up. Anything made of wood rots from the ground up, and things collapse every other day. Stone and metal lasts longer. Our stronghold was designed by Carlos and built by Jay and I… so we were mostly safe." She exhaled, looking around and shaking her head. "I'm sorry, can we change the subject? I… I don't need to go back there today."
Elias looked very, very pale. He was so stunned Mal didn't even want to look around the room at everyone else's expressions. He made a sound in the back of his throat, and Mal knew he was fumbling for what to say. Mal glanced to the cameras. "I could always talk about Ben." She offered. From across the room, she heard a thump, and glanced over to see Ben had hit his head against the wall.
"But this is about you." Elias protested with a shaky smile appearing on his face. "Not about Ben and his weird anti-sock habits." He cleared his throat and glanced to the side, to his cards. Mal burst into laughter and could feel Ben's glare from yards away. "What, um, what happened at Auradon Accelerated?"
"I discovered my sarcasm is a lot funnier to Auradon than it was to the Isle." Mal grumbled. "If our two countries ever go to war, the Isle will win because Auradon will be too busy laughing at everyone's snarky responses."
Elias raised an eyebrow. "Let's not test that theory." He suggested.
"Agreed." Mal nodded.
"What are your thoughts on the young Prince Charming's restriction from the throne until he's twenty-four?" Elias asked. Mal sighed. The door to the library opened and Lumiere appeared. He skirted behind the interview crew and went to where Ben and Adam were watching her interview. Mal watched as he tapped Ben's shoulder and began to talk urgently to him. Ben nodded, glanced to Mal, and continued to talk. Mal watched as Ben's face contorted into a frown. He began to walk away.
"Mal." Elias started. He drew her attention back to him as Ben left the room.
Mal cleared her head. "Am I supposed to have an opinion? All you need to know is that he was imprudent and offensive. I got my restraining order, so I don't really see a need to comment on it any further."
"A restraining order?" Elias's eyebrows shot upwards.
"He grabbed me." Mal deadpanned. "He grabbed me after saying that anyone would want to slam me and that he'd go down hard on me. Besides spelling him into a lizard, what would you have expected me to do?"
Elias fell silent, again. Mal could see him regretting almost everything that had been said in the last thirty seconds. She exhaled. Hopefully Ben wouldn't condone her for shaming Chad like that. Elias swallowed. "You mentioned two weeks ago, before Elsa arrived, that you have several ideas and plans you hope to share with Auradon. Can you open up on that here, now?"
"Absolutely," Mal said softly. She set her shoulders back and focused on Elias. "As a fore note, it's a little late in the month, so everything I'm talking about here will probably occur when I return for the moors in June, maybe even stretching out to August." Mal folded her hands in her lap. "Ben and I have decided to invite Auradonians to the Isle for two days in August. People will have the opportunity to see the Isle and the city, and converse with people there. We're going to be administering medical aid to those who need it and helping set up residences and businesses, if we're lucky. There are entire places of people in need of help, and we need to save them. Auradon caused so many problems throwing everyone onto the Isle. Especially since you threw the weaker villains and criminals there over the last twenty years. Many of them have died and been left to rot. Innocent people have been born and grown into adults there. People like…"
Mal was going to say herself, but she abruptly remembered other faces. She paused and looked at her hands. "People like Jay." She said, meeting Elias's eyes. "He was… he was my best friend on the Isle. And his dad is Jafar, and so he runs around, stealing the same things over and over to make his dad happy, knowing Jafar doesn't care about him, and trying not to starve to death in the process. He's Ben's age, and he'll live under his dad's thumb for the rest of his life, just like I lived under my mom."
Mal twisted her fingers together and stared directly into the camera. "How much has Auradon hurt us? You carved out Ursula's eye, Stephan stole my mother's wings from her. Everyone is going insane in a place so polluted people lose their sense of smell and touch. The people there have the capability to be good. The villains made their choice, but would it be right to let their children waste? I have so many plans to make things different. We're talking schools, and jobs, and opportunities to travel and see other places. I don't want happily-ever-after to be an Auradon-only concept anymore. My goal right now is to make opportunity accessible to everyone."
There was silence in the room. Elias sniffled and wiped his eyes. Then he leaned forward on his knees. "Mal," He said. "That was beautiful."
The door opened. Ben walked back in. He looked up and met her eyes. Mal drummed her fingers.
"Last question," Elias said as she turned her attention back to him. "What do you have to say on the goodness of the people on the Isle?"
Mal smiled. "They are good. They help each other and form both alliances and friendships. Many of them fall in love. I could name Uma and Harry off the top of my head." She cocked her head as she delved into memory land. "They have the super strong connection… I think they're probably the purest case of true love on the Isle." She sought out Ben in the crowd once again.
Many people in the room sighed. Elias smiled, and let out a breath. "Well," He said. "Thank you so much for that. I can't express how enlightening this all has been. I feel a lot more connected to you and…" He smirked at Mal. "I had no idea you had such a brilliant sense of humor."
Mal raised an eyebrow. He mirrored her, and people around the room chuckled. Elias threw his head back a little and laughed. "Thank you for allowing this interview…" He started, leaning forward and extending his hand.
"Thank you for doing it." She nodded, leaning forward to shake it.
Elias smiled and turned to the cameras, presenting her one last time. "That's all the time we have, unfortunately. Thank you, Auradon, for tuning in."
Mal waved at the camera before the camera crew counted out, and officially ended the interview. Crew members flooded the set to congratulate each other on a great job well done. Mal shook as many hands as she could and was pleased to see many people were comfortable around her. Despite the wings, the horns, they liked who she was.
She shook Adam's hand before she realized who he was. He pulled her into a hug with a laugh.
Ben stood behind her with his hands in his pockets, laughing as people swarmed her. He didn't say anything as the crews began to pack up. Elias shook her hand and thanked her again before everyone began to file out. It took a while, but finally, the library was empty except for her, Ben, and Adam.
"You did well." Adam congratulated her, pulling her under his arms and hugging her again.
"Thanks," Mal laughed. She turned to Ben. "Did something happen?" She asked. "Why were you pulled out?"
Ben shook his head, hiding a smile. "I had an inquiry about something, and Lumiere caught wind of it and pulled me out to question me on it. Nothing to worry about though."
Mal stared. Ben raised his eyebrows underneath his gaze. "You cannot not expect me to ask more questions if that's the kind of explanation you're going to give me." Mal deadpanned.
Ben held up his hands in defeat. "Sorry, but I can't really share at the moment. I promise, though. When you see it, you'll love it."
Mal nodded, scrutinizing Ben. "I'll hold you to that." She warned.
Ben laughed and kissed her head. "I know you will." Abruptly, he picked her up and spun with her in the air. Mal shrieked, hitting his shoulders lightly and squeezing his eyes closed. "Come on!" Ben cheered. "You did great, and my phone has been buzzing in my pocket for the last five minutes with the news, and we need to go out to celebrate!"
"Okay, okay. Put me down." Mal ordered. He let her down. She met his eyes. His cheeks were flushed and he looked excited.
"Let's go out." He smiled, breathlessly. "You know, like normal couples." He made air quotes around the words.
Mal laughed. "Where's Belle and Sophia and Stewart? Can we take everyone, please?"
"Of course." Ben waved her forward, towards the door. "I know the perfect place; they have a chocolate fountain."
Mal's mouth dropped open. "That's a thing?" She asked.
Ben nodded, leaning forward as if he were telling her a secret. His eyes were sparkling. Whatever news Lumiere had interrogated him on, it must have been good. "And, you can dip strawberries in the chocolate."
Mal kissed Ben's cheek with a bright smile. You really are the best." She told him.
"I know." He shrugged, tossing his hair a little bit as he entwined his fingers with hers. "Now come on, let's see what Auradon thinks of you after all this." He guided her through the door, still smiling brightly. Adam followed them with a smile frozen on his face.
Mal's phone buzzed against her desk. She glanced up from where she was reviewing an official statement for the city mission and noticed it was a message from Ben. She let out a little laugh of disbelief as she skimmed it. "ROYAL SUMMONS – You'll never guess what actually turned up in my office." Three winking emojis were attached to the end of the message.
Mal stood up, pushed her chair in, and turned off her computer. Then she flipped off the light and wandered down the hall, to the left, and through a winding corridor before she paused in an open doorway and knocked against the frame. Ben looked up from his work and smiled brightly to see her. He held up a yellow paper bag – the kind that had padding inside of it – and raised an eyebrow at her. "Your request came through." He told her.
"Sweet." Mal hummed, stealing a mint from a little bowl that had been set beside the door and wandering in. She kissed Ben's cheek and took the package from him before stealing a letter opener that was sitting on his desk. She took a seat on the edge of his workspace and upended the contents into her hand. A rock, heavy, black, and rough, fell into her hand. She frowned, pinching her lips together into a white line, and turned it over in her hands. Immediately, she saw why they'd chosen to bring this rock to the palace. On the underside was the outline of a circle. It had been cut in a perfectly symmetrical manner.
"This is from the island that disappeared, right?" Mal mumbled as she traced the rock with her fingertips.
"Yeah. Can you get anything off of it?" Ben asked, folding his hands together as he watched her work.
Mal ran her fingers on the surface of the rock and something smooth and silt-like brushed off. She examined it and lowered her hand to show Ben. It was sand and had been stuck in the crevice of the rock. They both watched as individual grains flashed a dim gold in her hand for a few seconds before the magic left the sand and sunk into her skin, leaving a feeling like little prickles. Magical blending. Mal hummed. "I doubt your sea creature is still in a physical form." She told him. "Something tells me the fact this was left behind means something." She pointed to the crevice. "You said it had tentacles? I bet it has some sort of jagged suction cups or something. Maybe one of them got stuck and it vanished to get free?"
"That… makes sense?" Ben shrugged, pressing the tips of his fingers together. "Can you tell anything about where it came from or where it went?"
Mal scoffed. "I'm still considered stunted by that barrier, Ben. I can't do that yet." She hummed though. The magic lingering on the rock seemed extremely familiar. "Could it be from the moors?" She hummed, flipping the rock around in her fingertips and closing her eyes as she focused, trying to feel for the magic like she had when she'd reformed the barrier.
"If we have creatures coming over from the moorlands and dragging Auradon islands into the ocean after I opened that section of the barrier, we're going to have problems, Mal," Ben warned.
"I know. I'll take care of it on our end if it is." Mal sighed irritably. "I know this magic, I just can't place it."
"How hostile are the moors to Auradon, exactly?" Ben asked. He looked annoyed.
"It depends." Mal sighed hollowly. "Some of them are still angry and others like that we're married and just want to see you make changes in your international policies." She bit her cheek a little. "On second thought, I don't know if this is Moorish." She put the rock down on a paper from Charmington, apologizing for Chad's behavior, and squinted at it. "It's so, so familiar though."
The magic was unusual, harshly built, and even in this small increment, powerful. Mal chewed on her cheek. It almost had the same presence as…
Mal smirked. "Did you figure it out?" Ben asked, sitting up a little straighter.
"A large pile of cinderblocks." Mal hummed, running a finger down the side of the rock. "Ben, you still have Elsa's phone number, right?"
"Queen Elsa?" Ben furrowed his brow. "You think Queen Elsa had something to do with our monster? She was here when it happened."
"Only one way to find out." Mal hummed, picking up the rock and slipping it back into the envelope. "I need her number. Do you have it or not?"
Ben stared at her and shook his head. "Let's call her later tonight." He suggested. "She probably has lots to catch up on after being here the last two weeks."
Mal shrugged. She hummed and leaned the rock against Ben's desk on the floor before glancing over his work. "Still fighting Audrey at all?"
Ben scoffed. "No. I'm not, sorry. She's not going to back down and the more I fight her, the more it'll look like we're covering up something. I'm trying to protect against more rumors and questions."
Mal frowned. "So… we're going to let them continue to slather me, you, your parents and my mom?" She asked, putting her hands in her pockets.
"Please don't get mad at me again." Ben sighed. "I know you want me to do a big, official statement where I revoke everything, but I really don't want to draw more attention to the problem. And really, in the grand scheme of things, will it matter? I'm not saying Audrey's rumors aren't crap, and I have no possible way of knowing how much they're hurting you, but I'm trying to save your image as someone who doesn't strike back whenever someone says anything slightly criticizing of you."
Mal sighed and nodded. "Okay, I get it." She agreed. "And it doesn't matter too much. It's not like she's right."
Ben glanced up at her, and then he started pulling something up on his computer. After several seconds, he turned the screen towards her. Headlines were listed down the screen, all with her name attached. Mal's breath caught when she skimmed the first one. "Maleficent's Evil Spell – The REAL Reason Mal became Queen." Others read: "Powerless to Protect the Kingdom: The story of Belle and Adam's last days as monarchs", "How Queen Mal scammed her way to the throne", and "The Real Reason a Sixteen-Year-Old Became Queen."
"Have they… figured it out?" Mal asked, mouth dropping open a little.
Ben shook his head. "These are the conspiracy theories. No one is giving them much credit yet. But really, they're not too far off the mark." He turned the screen back towards him, clicked on a few things, and then read aloud. "When you take into account the rushed feeling of the situation and the sudden interest in the Isle, it makes sense that a curse would be involved. Perhaps Maleficent managed to open the barrier to curse her daughter and the crown Prince together."
"Wow." Mal hummed. "That's… really close."
"Yeah, people aren't really buying it though. They think the palace would have informed them if something had happened with the barrier. But, um, the rumors picked up a lot since I sent that email to Auroria. I think Audrey's leaving her fingerprints across the newsreels." He sighed and began shutting browsers. A knock at the door made them both glance over. It was Lonnie, dressed in a pink tank top and white shorts. Ben straightened up. "Hi, Lonnie. You're a little early."
"Hey, Ben!" Lonnie greeted. "I can wait outside if you need."
"Nope, Mal and I just finished up." Ben smiled, standing as Lonnie entered the office and nodded to them both. "Ready to be a general?"
"Are you ready for me to be a general?" Lonnie laughed.
Ben chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Mal, I've got to interview Lonnie and approve her to start training with Auradon's general. Can I ask you to leave?"
"Sure." Mal shrugged, leaning forward and bumping fists with Lonnie. "I still need that number, okay?"
"Got it." Ben sighed. "We'll call tonight. Good luck in the office today."
"You too." Mal laughed. "Don't hurt him, Lonnie." She turned to leave, and Ben's hand snaked out to grab her hand.
"Hey," He rolled his eyes, leaning in and kissing her cheek. "There. Now you can go." He sat down and Mal raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything. She shut the door as Ben and Lonnie began to talk and returned to her office in silence.
The phone buzzed once, twice, and then there was a click. "Arendelle?" A feminine voice asked.
"Yes, this is Queen Mal from Auradon palace," Mal responded, fumbling in the drawers in the bathroom for a hairbrush and a hair tie. "I know it's late, but is Queen Elsa of Arendelle available?"
"Oh! Your Majesty, I apologize. The queen left the office about an hour ago, but if you can hold for two minutes, I can try and send for her." The secretary, or at least one of the servants, replied.
"That would be wonderful, thank you." Mal hummed. She walked out of the office and spotted Ben sitting on the couch, still in his work clothes, and with a small glass of amber liquid in front of him, which he sipped as he read a large book of laws that was laid across his legs. She walked behind him, ruffled his hair, and set the phone down beside his glass.
Ben raised his eyebrows at her lazily. "That on speakerphone?" He asked. Mal checked, then leaned into the couch, nodding. He hummed and turned the page. "Elsa?" He clarified.
"I'm on hold." She hummed.
Mal picked up his glass and made to take a sip, but he caught the rim and carefully pulled it out of her grasp, so as not to spill any. "No." He reprimanded with a semi-stern look. "You're not allowed."
"I'm the queen of Auradon." Mal wrinkled her nose. "I can do what I want."
"You have no power in Auradon." Ben shook his head. "Sorry, sweetheart, you listen to me."
Mal sighed irritably. The door opened behind them and Sophia appeared with a basket of laundry under her arm. Ben made a motion to Mal to take the phone off of speaker as her best friend waved and opened the door to the bedroom. Mal sighed and brought the phone up to her ear as Sophia rummaged around. The line remained silent for several minutes, and then there was a click.
"Are you still there?" The servant asked.
"I am," Mal affirmed.
"Queen Elsa of Arendelle has agreed to take your call. We will be connecting you to her personal line momentarily." The servant explained. Mal hummed in agreement, and the line clicked. After several seconds, there was a rustle.
"Hello?" Elsa asked, sounding like she was smiling.
"Evening." Mal smiled. "How is Auradon's favorite magical queen?"
"I don't know." Elsa laughed. "How are you?"
Mal rolled her eyes. "We're… great here, I guess. How are things at home? Are you terribly behind from being away so long?"
"Not quite." Elsa hummed. "I missed a few visitors, but Kristoff mostly covered the paperwork for me. I'm just having to reschedule a few things."
"That's wonderful. I hate having to go back and forth between my two kingdoms. There's always so much to catch up on afterward." Mal sighed. Sophia came out of the bedroom and waved again before she vanished into the hallway, shutting the door behind her. Mal brought the phone down from her ear and activated the speaker function. "Well, Elsa, Ben and I actually are calling with some… official questions tonight." She sighed.
"Oh?" Elsa asked. "About Arendelle?"
"About Auradon, actually." Mal corrected. Ben shut his book beside her and picked up his glass, swirling his drink in his hand. He leaned back into the couch, looking relaxed, and his hair fell in his eyes a little. Mal elbowed him a little and made a motion like scissors on her hairline. Ben chuckled softly.
"Elsa, while you were here, we had a call come from the far north," Mal explained, letting her voice take on an official tone that did, in all honesty, make her cringe. "Off the coast of the Great Forest, an entire island collapsed into the sea."
Silence stretched over the line. Elsa exhaled. "Just… vanished?" She asked. "Was it an earthquake?"
"A sea monster." Mal corrected. "Something large, with tentacles." A sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line made her glance towards Ben and raise her eyebrows. Ben pinched his lips together and sat up straighter. "We're still searching for it."
"Why are you telling me this?" Elsa asked. "I'm nearer the center of the continent, remember? Unless you want me to go up and-"
"No, I could do that myself if we didn't already think it's moved on to somewhere new." Mal reasoned. "Actually, I'm calling because some rescue ships managed to bring me back a rock with some magic dust-like substance stuck in it. Golden in color, very powerful. I read the signature on it." Mal paused, listening for Elsa's reaction. All that was on the other end was heavy breathing. Mal drummed her thumbs on her knees. "The magical signature was immediately familiar. Reminded me of, well, two someone's, but one in particular who left the castle just the last week."
"You can trace signatures?" Elsa asked, sounding intensely stifled.
"Not trace, yet. I can read and remember, though." Mal hummed.
"And you're calling me because…" Elsa trailed off.
"Ericka," Mal told the queen. "The signature matches Ericka's magic. And even Jessie's, a little bit."
"My daughters were both at the palace with me." Elsa hissed, suddenly hostile and cross. "I don't know what you're trying to insinuate."
"I'm not trying to insinuate that either of them could have pulled it off." Mal's tone became equally clipped as she spoke. "Believe me, I had so many leads on Ericka that there wasn't a room she went in that I didn't know. But that doesn't mean that they – or you – might not have clues as to what happened. Or, say, who it was."
"I don't know what it was." Elsa insisted. "I won't lie to you, Mal."
"Do you know where it came from?" Mal asked. "Or if there was anyone… specific involved?"
"I reserve the right to remain silent." Elsa snapped. "No one in my family was involved in the fall of the Island."
"Present or otherwise?" Mal asked.
"Present or otherwise." Elsa agreed, sounding very strained.
Mal drummed her fingers and looked at Ben. She held the phone out, and Ben exhaled. "Elsa?" He asked. "Do you know where the monster went, or where it came from?"
Elsa let out a ragged, exhausted sigh. "I don't know where it went." She sighed. "And I'm… sworn to secrecy." Her voice broke a little. "I had no knowledge of this event and no way or preventing it. I don't know of any illegal activities. My daughters are innocent."
"But the magical signature matches." Mal pointed out. "You obviously know a little bit about magical inheritance. If I could speak to Ericka and Jessie's father, then-"
"We're done here." Elsa cut her off. "I refuse to speak on the subject, even to you, Queen Mal. I give you my word, we are innocent. I can't help you any more than that. Good night."
"Elsa-" Ben began, but the line clicked, and Mal's phone indicated a canceled call. The two young rulers looked up at each other. "She knew," Ben mumbled in a shocked tone.
"She's sworn to secrecy." Mal hummed. "That signature, though… It was so similar." She leaned back into the couch, and her phone buzzed against her knee. She glanced down.
"Look into magical typing." Ben read aloud over her shoulder. "I promise the magic is nothing like Ericka or Jessie's."
Magical typing… Mal narrowed her eyes. Ben looked over at her. "What is it?" He asked.
"Pretty basic stuff." Mal sniffed. "There's different types of magic. I have nature-based, which is about as natural as you can get. Elsa has ice, Fairy Godmother, I think, has iron." She leaned back into the couch. "The rock had sand-based magic. Ericka and Jessie are ice-based, like Elsa. But Jessie takes more after her mom and Ericka take more after her dad. Same powers, built differently. Elsa's trying to point out that because there is a different type of magic involved, it can't have anything to do with them, but I just remembered that typing also works for certain areas. Almost everyone in Auradon has similar types of magic because we all come from the moorlands. We're all related if we go back far enough. But Ericka… she's different. Her dad comes from somewhere else." She looked over at Ben. "The same place your monster came from."
"Elsa was very specific to say she wasn't doing anything illegal." Ben reasoned. "Could it be that someone escaped from the Isle? Or ducked under the law and is avoiding citizenship?"
"Maybe…" Mal sighed. "I don't know of anyone besides Elsa with Ice magic."
"Jack Frost had ice powers… he's the villain who tried to upstage Santa Claus." Ben deliberated. Mal opened her mouth, but Ben held a hand to her mouth. "Don't ask." He shook his head. "We have confirmation he's still on the Isle though. Frozone… he's married and retired with grandkids. I can't think of anyone else." He slumped back into the couch.
Mal huffed. "Well, give it some more time, and I'll see if I can trace them." She ran her fingertips through her hair and leaned her head back, ruffling her short hair over the couch. Ben rolled his eyes and sipped his drink as he opened his book back up. She poked him with her foot and asked: "Why can't I have brandy again?"
Ben snapped his book closed and glared at her. "It's not a brandy!" He hissed. "Don't. Call. It. That."
"I want this on camera." Mal snorted, reaching for her phone. "Come on, Ben, do it again."
"No." Ben turned away from her and opened his book – again – refusing to look at the camera as she started filming him.
"This is Ben with his book of useless procedures and his favorite brandy." Mal narrated to the camera and jumped out of Ben's grasp as he made a swipe for her phone. "He's trying to be official, hence the brandy."
"It's not a brandy!" Ben exploded, throwing his hands into the air. "That's – you're – it's called a Cognac! Cog-nac. It's French!"
"Brandy, brandy, brandy." Mal babbled, jumping off the couch and darting closer to the door to the hall as Ben threw the book down and shook his finger at her.
"I don't care what Sophia told you! She's German, she doesn't get it!" Ben snapped. "Whatever she says, she's lying!" He tried to dodge around the couch, and Mal feigned left before bracing her body against one of the arms of the couch with a bright smile spread across her face as she continued filming his irate reaction.
"I'm going to wear socks to bed." Mal snickered. "And I'm going to leave the living room light on so you have to turn it off. And I'm going to bribe everyone in the palace to say 'brandy' around you."
"My parents love me more than you." Ben furrowed his brow. "They'll see things my way."
"Your dad and I were teaming up to gang on you the first month we knew each other." Mal snorted.
"Turn off the phone, Mal!" Ben demanded, jumping in front of the couch as she jumped behind it.
"Can I have your sword if I do?" Mal asked.
"You already have a sword!" Ben exclaimed in an exasperated tone.
"But yours is gold and pretty!" Mal protested.
Ben curled his lip at her, crossed his arms, and glared at her. Then, he jumped onto the couch, reached out, and snatched the phone. Mal tightened her grip on it, and he pulled her over the back of the couch and onto the floor by his feet. "Let… go!" He demanded, trying to wrench the screen from her fingertips. Mal snickered, keeping a tight hold on the phone, and stopped the video. She shut her phone off, effectively protecting her recording, and let go.
Ben whipped the screen around and glared at the passcode-protected screen. Mal snatched up the glass, half empty, and Ben snatched her wrist. "No." He told her. "Don't you dare." He examined her phone. "Did you record anything?" He asked.
Mal shrugged innocently, and Ben sighed and tossed her phone back to her. She caught it between her hands. He took the glass back from her and finished it with a glare. He set the empty glass down and put the book on the coffee table. Mal didn't turn her phone back on. There'd be plenty of time for her to post her clip of Ben lecturing her on his pet peeve later if she wanted. She watched him sit back down in front of her, and then laid her feet on top of his legs.
"You're in a joking mode tonight," Ben grumbled, setting a hand on her leg with an eye-roll. He leaned back into the couch. "What are we going to do about Elsa?" He mumbled.
Mal hummed and leaned over, squeezing his shoulder. "You'll figure it out. And really, give me like, two more months in the moors and I'll hunt your monster myself. It'll work out. Remember, you're going to be the best king Auradon will ever have."
Ben opened one eye and snorted at her. He patted her hand and leaned towards her. She obliged him, and they shared a quick kiss. Mal wrinkled her nose at the taste in his mouth. He tasted way, way too sweet. Almost like he was some sort of fruit candy or something. She withdrew, wiping her tongue with the back of her hand. "Ew." She grumbled. "Cognac is gross."
Ben's mouth dropped open and a hand flew to his mouth. "Did you… did you just kiss me for that?" He demanded.
"No." Mal shook her head. "And boy, am I regretting not thinking about that." She pushed his arm a little and shook her head. "I don't know why you like that stuff. It's nasty. Go wash your mouth out." She leaned back into the couch, rolling her eyes beneath her lids.
"Why? So you can kiss me more?" Ben snorted. He was staring at her with the corner of his mouth crooked up.
Mal opened an eye. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she caught Ben's gaze on her. "Unless you don't want to?" She asked.
Ben stood up and disappeared around the couch. A few seconds later, she heard the water start running in the bathroom. Her cheeks felt warm. The water shut off in the next room and she listened for footsteps across the carpet as Ben returned to the couch. He sat back down, making the cushions shift towards him, and Mal found his hand and tangled their fingers together. Ben, instead of leaning over to kiss her, twisted her ring on her finger. Mal opened her eyes and looked down. She didn't ever really pay attention to the diamond on her left hand, but she watched as Ben twisted it around on her finger, besides his. He pulled it off, examined the inside of the band, and made to put it back on. Mal stopped him, took the band, and examined the inside as well. Something like a scratch caught her eye. It was the word 'forever', engraved into the inside. Mal's stomach twisted, and she carefully replaced it without saying a word to Ben. He hummed in the back of his throat and leaned his head on hers, twisting their left hands together.
"Are you really going to let me go?" Mal whispered, feeling bitter as she exhaled softly. "If the curse was broken next month, would you make me stick around?"
Ben swallowed. "No, I'd let you go." He whispered.
"Why?" Mal asked. "Aren't you supposed to hold onto the things you love?"
"Sometimes. Sometimes not." Ben ran a hand over hers and set her palm down on her knee. "If you love someone, and they want to leave, you let them go. Because if you don't, it means you only loved having them around."
A chill like ice-cold set into her spine. "But… what if they don't come back?"
Ben dropped an arm around her shoulders and buried his nose in her hair. He took a deep breath, and she knew he was trying to memorize the way she smelled. She, too, closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of him, his office, and of ink and paper. She almost missed his last remark.
"If they don't come back, you love them enough to hope they found something that made them happy, even if it doesn't involve you."
Mal moved her hand to Ben's knee and curled her head into his chest, feeling her eyes grow heavy. She couldn't tell the difference between her heartbeat and Ben's. He ran his fingertips through her curls and hummed meaninglessly as she fell asleep. This felt safe. This felt real. This felt strong. Not weak, or ridiculous. Just really, really amazing. And when Mal finally fell in love, it was like she'd opened the curtains to a bright, sunny morning. It was like she was finally waking up.