A/N: So sorry for the delay on publication here! I wanted to get the rough draft of Chapter 45 done before I posted this! Of course, I had writer's block. And my shitty week didn't help. So again, I apologize for the delay. I hope this isn't affecting you guys reading my fic.

Also, shout out to the guest who noticed that I took some lyrics from Selena Gomez's "Same Old Love" all the way back in Chapter 17. I never mentioned it in the author's note because it was such a small part of the chapter and because I had altered it. Plus, my author's note was long enough as it was. Now that it's out there, I take no credit for that part. All rights belong to Selena Gomez.

Another shout out to Icybird999 for the awesome review. That was very kind of you to leave that, as well as the other long review you gave me. Much obliged.

Anyway, here's Chapter 36, titled "Mal vs. Audrey."

Mal was walking to her Zoology class as she thought of what happened over the last week or so. She and Ben had been having a lot more heart to heart talks lately. Living together this past month had given them the chance to learn even more about each other, especially now that they had a reasonable workload. She still hadn't fully opened up to him about her PTSD, but she was getting there. However, he had been seeing some new things in Mal that he had never noticed before.

Ben always knew Mal was wicked smart, but living with her, he had realized that she had an insane ability to memorize almost anything. She was practically a walking encyclopedia. However, he did start to realize she was very sensitive to certain sensations. She was particularly sensitive to loud noises and certain kinds of materials bothered her skin. Mal's sense of smell was as strong as a bloodhound's, and she was extremely sensitive to spices. However, one thing stood out more than anything: her ability to recognize social concepts was limited. There were little things that she would do that wouldn't necessarily be acceptable in social situations, but somehow, that was only at home. Mal had some kind of social struggle that he hadn't known about, but he knew that she didn't know about it either. Ben figured it would be best not to mention it to her until he understood what it was she was going through. He had some research to do, but didn't quite have the time.

As for Mal, she had noticed things about Ben too. He was a very tidy man, one who always kept the apartment spotless. Everything was placed in a particular spot throughout the apartment and clean. In fact, he enjoyed cleaning. It was one of his stress relievers sometimes, though Mal wasn't sure why, but she did appreciate having a clean home. Coming from a life where she lived in filth, a neat home was a welcome treat. She also noticed that he was an avid reader, particularly young adult novels, despite his age. He could read a 300 page book in a day if he wanted to. Additionally, Ben was a very generous man, but she had always known that, but she hadn't known the extent of it. He had given her so much in a matter of five years and was still giving more. However, he donated a lot of money to charity and volunteered at various local organizations like the food bank and animal shelter. He considered such things a part of his kingly duties, so that was another reason why he needed less homework; he needed to be able to give. That was just how he was. He wasn't just a kind, but rather, a benevolent man. That was one of the things Mal loved about Ben; he had the biggest heart.

Just the thought of his kindness made Mal smile. She was just thinking about it, making her too distracted to notice other people coming toward her. She accidentally bumped into someone, her books falling to the sidewalk. She bent down to pick them up quickly, not wanting to be late to class.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you," Mal said apologetically, not looking up at the person she ran into. However, as she reached for her Zoology notebook, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Suddenly, she found herself falling backwards and landing on her butt, her school supplies falling from her hands again as she tried to catch herself. The fall stung her tailbone a bit, making her grimace. She looked up to see none other than Audrey.

"What the hell was that for?" Mal asked angrily as she stood up to look Audrey in the eyes.

"For what you did to Chad awhile ago!"

"Oh, you mean when I put him in his place? He treated Ben like bullshit. He got what he deserved."

"That isn't for you to decide, especially some piece of Isle trash like you!"

"Well, at least I'm not a skank that cheated on my boyfriend twice!"

"I did no such thing and for now, you're just Ben's bitch until he finds a real princess and gets over this bad girl phase," Audrey retorted as she looked Mal up and down,"and I can't even tell what he saw in you in the first place. Small tits and ass, and you aren't fooling anyone by hiding those scars sweetheart. Everybody knows you were mommy's little punching bag."

This took Mal aback. How in the world did Audrey figure that out? She was not only hitting on her physical appearance, but every single other insecurity Mal had. She was just starting to get over those insecurities, but now Mal was stepping back to square one again, thanks to Audrey forcing Mal to doubt herself again. However, Mal wasn't going to let her see that. Her eyes glowed bright green as she gave Audrey a hard lethal stare. Mal's body stiffened, her fists clenched at her sides as she stomped closer to her arch nemesis until she was nose to nose. Audrey may have been an inch taller than her, but make no mistake, Mal was the bigger person here. She had more strength in her than Audrey could ever dream of having.

"You have a lot of nerve talking to me like that," Mal spat,"and you have no right to bring up my past! I've made mistakes, but so have you. At least I have the strength and morality to admit that I've done wrong. However, you don't know what life was like for me on the Isle and what I went through! Don't judge a book by its cover Audrey. I'm stronger than you'll ever be. I survived the Isle. You wouldn't even last a minute. Talk about my mother like that again and I'll burn your sorry ass with my dragon breath. So why don't you go home and cry to your big strong boyfriend about how mean I was to you and get the f-ck out of my way!"

Mal then turned around and gathered up her books before pushing past Audrey, bumping shoulders as a show of dominance. Audrey just stared back at Mal as she walked, not entirely sure what just happened. She thought to herself about what she could have said to that. In reality, nothing Audrey could have come back up with could have hurt Mal. Secretly though, Mal was hurt on the inside, but she stood tall and never looked back.

It was late afternoon when Mal walked into the apartment to find Ben on the couch reading one of his textbooks and taking some notes. She stopped for a moment and admired how focused he was. She could see how detailed his notes were, and he had a look of deep concentration lit up his face. He was a lot smarter than he gave himself credit for. Closing the door quietly, Mal snuck over to the couch and quietly sat next to him, careful not to distract him. She watched attentively for a solid ten minutes as Ben scribbled things into his notebook, still not noticing that she was right next to him. As he turned the page he looked up, wanting to know what time it was, but instead locking eyes with Mal.

"How long have you been sitting there?" Ben asked, a smile appearing on his face, happy to see his wife after a long day.

"Only ten minutes. Not too long."

"Now who's the creeper?" Ben smirked.

Mal blushed as she thought of the time he watched her sleep the morning after they had made love for the first time at the enchanted lake. That felt like ages ago.

"Anyway," Ben continued,"how was your day?"

Mal just nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't too keen on telling him about what had happened with Audrey.

"Don't shut me out, Mal. I can see it in your eyes. Something happened today."

Mal really needed to learn how to hide her feelings better around Ben. For years she had been able to stonewall him, and just about anyone. Now, being around him so much, she was transparent. Then again, did she really want to hide what she felt when she was around him? Did she need to?

"It isn't that big a deal."

"It may not be to you, but it might be to me. I don't want to push you here, but I also don't want you keeping me in the dark. What happened?"

"I ran into Audrey today."

Ben's normally friendly demeanor changed instantly at the sound of his ex's name. Hearing her name was like the sound of scratching a chalk board: painful. That woman had been a pain in his ass for such a long time.

"What did she say?"

"It's more like what she did if you're really that interested."

"I am. Please continue."

"Well, I was walking to my Zoology class in a bit of a rush, not wanting to be late. I was kind of staring into space when I bumped into someone, making my books fall out of my hands. As I bent down to pick them up, I apologized for bumping into that person, but I wasn't paying attention to who it was. Suddenly I found myself being pushed over backward. I tried to catch myself, but I landed on my butt. I looked up to see that it was Audrey who had done it."

"Why the hell did she do that?" Ben asked angrily, a bit of his hateful rage toward her showing.

"Calm down, Ben. I took care of it. She was just upset about how I had put Chad in his place that one time he taunted us."

"That was weeks ago. She's still angry about it?"

"I guess so. It was kind of petty, but I dealt with it."

"There's something you're not telling me, Mal," Ben noted,"please don't keep it to yourself. I can see that it is bothering you."

"How can you tell?" Mal asked curiously.

"I know you. I can tell when you are hiding something that hurt you emotionally."

Mal just sighed. What could she do? He had her all figured out. At least he was asking because he cared and wasn't just trying to be nosy like the media who stalked her all day. She was surprised she managed to shake them after the incident and that none of them had recorded it.

"It was actually kind of weird," Mal explained,"she insulted me using almost all of my insecurities. I don't know how she could have known about them."

"What exactly did she say?" Ben asked, his irritation with Audrey apparent in his voice.

"She called me a piece of Isle trash. I was angry, so I responded by saying I wasn't some skank that cheated on my boyfriend twice. I know I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up."

"I'm more concerned about how she treated you. I could care less if you brought that up. I bet she was still in denial wasn't she?"

"Yes, she was."

"Typical. Anyway, what else did she say?"

"She said that, for now, I was just your bitch until you find a real princess and gets over this bad girl phase. She also said that she couldn't even tell what you saw in me in the first place. She told me I had small boobs and butt. That wasn't even the worst thing she said though. None of that stuff bothered me too much, as you and I have been slowly working on helping me realize that stuff like that isn't a problem. She really hit me hard when she said that I wasn't fooling anyone by hiding my scars. She told me everybody knew I was, and I quote, 'mommy's little punching bag.'"

"I'm going to f*cking kill her!" Ben roared,"I'm going to kill her! She had no right to talk to you like that!"

"Calm down, Ben. Please," Mal urged him,"I handled. Please don't do this again."

"Do what again?"

"Don't bring out that beast like anger out of you again. You promised you wouldn't."

"You're right. I'm sorry," Ben sighed,"I'm just very protective of you."

"I know you are, and I appreciate it, but as I've said before, I can handle myself. I did. I handled her."

"She still never should have said that stuff to you."

"I agree, but I took care of it," Mal stated before describing to him how she had responded by telling Audrey of her strength and how Mal had threatened to burn her if she ever brought Maleficent up again.

"You really said all that?" Ben smiled, proud of his wife's toughness. Mal really was a force not to be reckoned with.

"Absolutely. No one treats me like that."

"Damn straight. However, there is something else that is bothering me about that conversation."

"And what is that?"

"How in the world did she even know about your insecurities? And how did she know that your mother abused you?"

"That's a good question. I have absolutely no idea. It's not like I go around talking to people about stuff like that. I know you nor Evie, Jay, or Carlos didn't say anything. However, I can't think of any other way she'd know about that?"

"Do you think she would be working with your dad?"

"Impossible. My father hates everyone in Auradon. He'd never work with someone who came from a place of goodness. Audrey may be rotten, but she was born into goodness. My dad wouldn't work with someone like that. Besides, he wouldn't tell anyone about that. It's odd, but I know he loves me, so I know he'd never try to hurt me by telling anyone that. So no, my father wouldn't have said anything."

"Then I don't know, but it is something we should look into. She obviously got that information from somewhere."

"Honestly, I don't care if she does know."

"Okay, but what if the media found out about what your mother did to you. Imagine the things they'd say or do."

"I'd rather not."

"We need to talk to the royal lawyer," Ben decided.

"What for?"

"I know she isn't going to tell us her source, but we can try to get her to sign a form of confidentiality stating that she won't release any of that information of the public. I think it is critical we do that ASAP. I'll call him right now. He should be able to have her sign it by tomorrow morning."

"What makes you think she will sign it?"

"I'll tell the whole world that she cheated on me if she refuses to sign."

"Don't you dare resort to blackmail, Ben," Mal snapped,"You're better than that."

"I told you, I'd do anything for you. I don't want the media to get ahold of that information and hurt you. I can't think of anything else. I'm not going to bribe her, and I'm certainly not going to try to get rid of her. What else can I do?"

"We can try to appeal to her. Let her know that releasing that information is wrong and unreasonable."

"She's not a reasonable person."

"What if we talked to her mother then? See if she'll help. We don't have to tell her what the information is, but I've talked to her before. Aurora is kind, and more than reasonable. She'd help us appeal to her daughter."

"And this is why you are the smart one."

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Ben. You're pretty smart too. It's one of the things I love about you."

"Really?"

"Absolutely," Mal smiled,"you've got enough brain to run an entire kingdom and go to school. I'd say that is pretty impressive."

"Thank you Mal for pointing that out. Anyway, we can talk about this later. I'm going to call the lawyer."

"Okay. You do that. I'm going to go take a shower."

"Can you wait a few seconds so I can join you?" Ben asked suggestively.

"I suppose so. I'm going to get the water running then."

"Alright. I'll be there in a few minutes!"