While Doug was gone, Mal scanned the building once more. It wasn't a cottage. It was a fortress. At first glance, she decided it was about five times more heavily guarded than Ben's castle, and much more fitting for battle. Though, why, she hadn't the faintest idea. What are they so afraid of? Bears? She chuckled slightly at her own joke. There was nothing out there for the dwarfs to fear. Actually, if Mal were being honest, the whole thing creeped her out just a bit. She recalled Evil Queen's description of the cottage perfectly. They made some serious upgrades to the place!
"Mal," Evie's still weak voice whispered from behind her. "What do we do now?"
The others turned to face her as well. She hesitated, refusing to admit that she had no plan, that she was literally just winging it by this point. "We...we need to lay low for a while," she decided. "At least until we have had time to find out a little bit more about what we're up against."
"But what about the villains?" Jay questioned.
"Yeah, I don't think they're just going to stand around and wait for us to stop them," Carlos agreed, shooting nervous looks between them.
"And what about Dizzy, Celia, and the twins?" Evie put in. "If Morgana...or Queenie...goes looking for us, they could be in danger." Her eyes were wide with fright. Mal knew she was right. But was it really a good idea for any of them to go back? Could they make it before the villains? She doubted it. But, still, the new VKs...
"All right," she sighed. "Jay, you and Ben go back to the cottage and get the kids. Bring them here where they'll be safe."
"Yes, of course, right away," Ben said while Jay nodded.
"In that case, here," Mal handed Jay the Dragonstone. "You might need this." He took it in surprise and smirked, holding it out to Ben. "And don't get any crazy ideas," Mal added hastily. "Use it only when there's no other option."
"Got it," Ben assured her. "Jay, let's go."
They turned and took off sprinting toward the trees. Mal then focused her gaze on the two remaining VKs, and heard Doug come running back around to join them. "So here's what we're going to do," Mal explained as they gathered in close. "Doug, do you have a library in this place?"
He looked as if she had just asked whether oxygen was part of an H2O bond.
Mal saw this. "I'll take that as a yes. In that case, Carlos, you start searching for anything you can find about Morgana or the NeoMerling. We need everything you can get."
"Right," Carlos started running toward the house.
"But I haven't-" Doug began to protest.
"It's okay. He'll figure out his way," Mal interrupted.
"Erm...I meant I hadn't unlocked the door yet."
"Oh."
Everyone laughed at Mal's embarrassed expression, and then hurried after Carlos who was already at the door, leaning against it, arms folded, impatiently. The white-haired boy moved aside to let Doug to the keyhole and retreated to stand beside the others. Unlocking the door, he led the way and the others piled in after him.
The inside was pitch black. Mal blinked, her eyes adjusting painfully. She waved a hand in front of her face but couldn't see it. She frowned, reminded too much of her mother's castle after sunset. It was not a pleasant memory.
"Wow," Evie commented from somewhere to her left. "Dark."
"Oh...yeah...one moment...hang on." There was a shuffle, a thump, and the hum of lights firing up. A moment later, the room was flooded with light and they could get their first look at the inside. The primary thing Mal noticed was all of the wood. While the outside looked modern, made with bricks and clay, the inside had more a home-y feel to it. Wooden floors, logged walls, a spiraling staircase made entirely of varnished wood, it was beautiful.
"Whoa, dude!" Carlos gasped. "This place is incredible!"
"It's not bad," Doug agreed, strolling back over to them. "Um...Carlos? Mal said you wanted to use the library, right?"
Carlos nodded.
"All right. Then let's head that way first. This way!" He started up the steps, turning left at the fork and disappearing around the bend a moment later. When none of the others followed, he stuck his head back around the corner. "Uh...'this way' means follow me, guys."
"Oh, oh, right."
Mal took the lead and hurried up the stairs after him. As she went, she noticed all the pictures lining the walls. She spotted a group photo. Wow, there really are a million of them! She chuckled. If she thought Family Day at Auradon Prep had been bad, she couldn't imagine how Doug must have felt at family reunions.
Evie noticed what she was looking at and paused for a glance. "Doug, is that you?" She pointed him out. The tallest, not to mention nerdiest, boy with his pastel green shirt and semi-ugly tie, desperately trying to grab his glasses while being tackled by a rowdy-looking dark-haired teen.
"Yeah," Doug sighed, descending to the stairs, smirking awkwardly. "I had asked that picture be burned. Obviously, my dad liked it. Can't imagine why." He quickly took it down and stuck it under his arm. "Come on, the library is this way."
"Mal," Evie whispered, catching the purplette's arm. "It's the middle of the night. Can't we get some sleep and pick this up in the morning?"
Doug paused. "There are several spare bedrooms," he offered. "You're welcome to stay there." He glanced back at them for an answer.
Mal hesitated. There was so much work to be done. They needed to start looking right away. But, taking one glance at the others' exhausted expressions, she decided they needed the break. And it was only a few hours until sunrise. Surely they had time for a little nap, right? "All right," she sighed. "Let's rest for a few hours and then we'll start again in daylight. Sound good to everyone?"
"Yes," Carlos and Evie said together.
"Okay, Doug, lead the way."
"Right," the dwarf started off again with a little skip in his step. "This way." He turned down a side hallway. "There are guest rooms down that way. I'll let you sort out who's is who's. My room is just down the hall. If you need anything, just let me know."
"Okay, thanks," Evie called after him as he waved and continued on to his room. Then, she turned to Mal with a grin. "Mal, this place is amazing! I had no idea Doug's family was so rich."
"Well, they mine jewels for a living. What exactly were you expecting?" Carlos laughed, slinging an arm around the girls' shoulders. "Now, I don't know about you ladies, but, I'm bushed. I'll see you in the morning." He started down the hall and disappeared in a few moments, leaving Mal and Evie alone.
"Here's your spell book," Evie muttered, handing the book over. "Maybe there's something useful in there that can help us. I know you're eager to start searching for answers. I'll see you later." She turned and began down the hall after Carlos.
Mal sighed and ran a hand over the leather cover. So much had happened in the past day. She was still trying to process it all. What had started out as a simple disappearing act had grown into something so much more. And yet, there had still been no sign of Maleficent. Which made Mal wonder, with all the villains on the loose, she wondered how long it would be before the evil faerie showed up.
No use worrying about it now. Jay and Ben will be back with the kids soon, and then we'll be safe, and we can start working on how to take down Morgana and the others.
She sighed and hurried down the hall after the others, picking one of the remaining rooms. She threw the book down on the bed-stand and fell on the bed. She was asleep in a matter of moments, all worries and questions about the day gone faster than one of Robin Hood's arrows.
But her peace did not last long. One moment she was dreaming of chocolate-covered strawberries, and the next, she was being shaken roughly out of her dream by a frantic Evie. "Mal! Mal, wake up! Come on, it's morning! Get up!"
"What?" Mal groaned, rolling over and opening her eyes, glaring firmly at Evie who was standing at her bedside. "What's going on? Where's the fire?"
"In the kitchen," Evie replied with a small smile. "Doug and the kids tried to fix us breakfast."
Mal wrinkled her nose at the foul odor drifting through the room. "More like burned breakfast." She threw back her blankets and stood up slowly. "What time is it?"
"Almost nine-thirty," Evie answered.
"Jay and Ben?"
"Arrived about two this morning. Doug waited up for them."
"Wait...Doug did?"
"Well...yeah. Turns out, he couldn't sleep either."
"Either?"
"I was awake all night," Evie confessed. "I had this...this nightmare...where...I died. Mal, do you know anything about that?"
Mal neglected to answer as she grabbed her spell book and tucked it underneath her arm. "And what was his excuse?" she questioned, trying to avert her question.
Evie shrugged as they headed for the door. "Worry, I guess. He didn't say. But I get the feeling he was keeping something from me."
"Really?" Mal closed the door behind them and fell in step alongside Evie. "And what makes you think that?"
"He just...seemed overly quiet, you know?" Evie sighed. "Hey, and I even asked him what the capital of Yugoslavia was, and he just kept staring blankly ahead, like he'd seen a ghost or something."
"Hmmm."
"Mal, what is it? Do you know something?" Evie looked at her desperately. "Come on! It's me, your best friend. You can tell me!"
"I...don't know," Mal lied. "Maybe he's just stressed. A lot has happened these past twenty-four hours. Especially to him. Finding out your past may not be all it seems, and that you're the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the face of Auradon...it's a lot to process."
"Oh," Evie frowned deeply. "Yeah...I guess that's a good point."
Mal laughed and gave her a hug. "Don't worry. Doug can handle it. Just...give him a little space...all right? There are some things I think he's going to have to riddle out for himself."
"Like who his mother is?" Evie guessed. "What was it Queenie said, she was a villain? But how is that possible? A villain...with someone like Dopey? Even I find that a little hard to believe."
"I don't know," Mal replied innocently. "I mean, look at the two of you."
Evie sighed. "But Doug is so...different. He's...kind...and...gentle...and...Mal, there's just not an evil bone in his body! He's no villain's kid!"
"But you love him," Mal argued. "Is it not possible that a villain felt the same about Dopey?"
"But, if that is the case," Evie went on. "Who? And how did they get off of the Isle? And did Beast know that one of them escaped?"
Mal shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted truthfully. "But," she added, "As soon as this is all over, I will talk to Beast and Belle and see if I can find his birth certificate or something. That'll tell us for sure, okay?"
"Okay," Evie said with a breathy sigh.
Mal smiled. "Come on," she said gently, putting an arm around her and jerking her head towards the kitchen. "Let's go before they burn the entire place down."
Evie laughed and their worries immediately melted away as they rounded the bend and found themselves in a cloud of smoke. Mal coughed, waving it away frantically, blinking through stinging eyes. "Doug!" she choked. "What...is going on...in here?"
"Er...hold on!" Doug shouted from somewhere in the smog. "Celia! Water!"
"Coming!" the girl came running in through the open back door, a large pale of water in her arms. She handed it off to Doug who frantically poured it on something. "Dizzy! Toaster! Twins, back up, this is hot!"
Evie sighed, grabbing Squeaky and Squirmy as they came running out of the smoke, and pulling them back away from the flames, brushing the soot and ash from their faces. "Okay, what happened?" she asked as Mal dove into the flames to help.
The boys said nothing, just pointed. They hardly said anything, though Evie had grown pretty good at reading their attempts. Mal decided to let her deal with that. She shielded her eyes as she found the source of the smoke, overcooked batter seeping from a small ancient toaster. "Okay," she sighed, grabbing Doug as he attempted to clear the smoke by opening a window. She took a deep breath and she summoned her magic forward into her hands. The smoke immediately reacted to her, blowing together into one large circle and then, with a snap of her fingers, Mal caused it to explode into nonexistence.
Celia and Dizzy fell against the small island with identical sighs of relief. Doug sighed too, though he looked more sheepish than relieved.
"Now," Mal gasped, rounding on him. "What did you do?" She gestured toward the toaster.
"Erm...tried to make breakfast?" Doug offered weakly.
"He used his magic," Dizzy answered. Celia gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth. But it was too late. Doug groaned as Mal's gaze locked on him.
"Is that true?" she snapped.
"Yeah..."
"Okay, first off, what is wrong with you? You don't use magic to make...waffles!"
"Um, actually, Mal, you mean toast..." Evie tried to interject. Doug hung his head shamefully as Mal ignored the bluenette.
"And secondly," Mal went on dangerously. "Are you insane? You should have told someone what you were doing! You can't just...inherit powers...and know how to use them flawlessly! It takes years to master the art of spell-casting! You certainly should not be trying to do such advanced spells on your own! You haven't even had these powers for a day!"
"I know," Doug whispered apologetically. "I just...wanted to do something right for once. I wanted to surprise everyone. I think I succeeded at that at least."
"Hey, guys, what's...whoa!" Carlos nearly gagged and he, Jay, and Ben walked into the room. All three plugged their noses and took a step backwards, reeling. "What happened in here?"
Mal sighed and pointed firmly towards the closet. "You've abused your magic. Clean it up," she told him. "Dizzy, Celia, come on. I'll make breakfast. As for you," she added to Doug. "Don't stop until every speck of grime is gone. Then, come find me and I'll teach you the rules for magic, 'kay?" With that, she turned and started to storm out of the room.
"So...I probably shouldn't use the mop?" Doug called after her.
"NO MOPS!"
Evie sighed and walked up the island as the girls hurried after Mal. "Are you all right?" she questioned, eyeing the mess disapprovingly.
"Fine," Doug answered tiredly.
"Do you want some help cleaning up?"
"Yeah, actually, that'd be great."
Mal left them at that and, after summoning some bacon and eggs and making sure the kids were fed, she headed out into the backyard, electing to stand near the lake and get a take of her surrounding in the daytime. She took a breath, hearing the birds chirping in the trees and the soft rustle of the wind rustling the grass and leaves. It is so peaceful here. She closed her eyes, feeling the sun's warm rays bathe her face with warmth.
She didn't know how long she stood there.
Footsteps crunched across the leaf-filled lawn and she turned as Ben approached.
"Hey," he said gently, wrapping his arms around her and staring out across the water. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," Mal answered automatically.
Ben let go and moved around to stand in front of her. "You sure? You really went off on Doug back there, you know that?"
"Yeah, but, it was his own fault for being so stupid," Mal protested, never taking her eyes off of an old maple tree right across the water. It's golden and orange leaves drifted lazily onto the water's surface.
"Now, come on Mal. You know him better than that. 'Stupid' and 'Doug' do not belong in the same sentence. So, really, what's bothering you?"
"It's...it's complicated," Mal sighed.
Ben gestured for them to sit down. Once they were both seated comfortably on the grass, he took her hands. "So explain it."
"It's like...I spent my whole life knowing who I was. That I was Maleficent's daughter, that I was magical. I had years to learn how my magic worked. Doug...he doesn't have that. We need his magic now, which is entirely unsafe on so many levels, and then there's the question of his mother. Evie's already brought up some concerns about who she might be and..."
"Hey, hey, hey, slow down," Ben cut off her off. "Now, look, I may not know anything about magic, or Doug's mother, but I do know Doug. We've been friends since before he could solve those chemical formulas in that big brain of his, which was pretty young, let me tell you. He's shy, unsure of himself, and freakishly smart, but he's no wimp. And when the time comes for him to defeat Morgana, he will. And he won't give up until he does. Because that's just who he is."
Mal nodded. "I know you're right. It's just...I can't get Queenie's words out of my head. What she said about him-"
"That the magic might cause him to go insane?" Ben interrupted. "That was all just a lie, Mal, a lie to get us to help her. Doug's fine. He's perfectly normal." He stood up and brushed the grass off of his pants.
"Does 'perfectly normal' nearly set the entire kitchen on fire?" Mal questioned.
Ben just laughed and started back up the hill toward the house. His laughter died almost as quickly as it had come, however, and was quickly followed by a murmur of apology.
And that was when Mal realized someone had been standing behind them this entire time. "Doug?" she guessed, feeling the magic radiating off of him like a nuclear bomb. He said nothing as she stood up and turned to find him standing there, shock written all over his face. "How...how long have you been standing there?"
"Mal, be honest," he whispered. Instantly, Mal knew she was going to detest what was coming next. "D-do you think I'm insane?"
"Doug-" she immediately began to cover for her previous words.
"Don't lie," Doug cut her off with a frown. "I'm sorry about breakfast, really, I am. I didn't mean to let it get so out of hand. And, if you think I'm too dangerous, I'll go. Just tell me and...and...I'll find somewhere else to lay low where I can't hurt anyone. The...the mountains...always wanted to see snow any-anyway. O-or the mines. I could hide in the mines. I couldn't hurt anybody there." For some reason, that thought caused fear to flash through his eyes.
"No," Mal said quickly, waving her hands in front of her face frantically. "Doug, just...stop. You're not going anywhere. I don't...think...you're insane. I think...you just made a mistake. You're human. It happens. Forget about it and let's move on."
Doug sighed and nodded gratefully. "So, you said you were going to teach me the rules of magic?"
Mal nodded. "Step back."
He did as he was told. Mal took a deep breath and raised her arms above her head. Thunder rolled in the darkening sky and lightning flashed through the heavens. One streak crashed into the earth, illuminating the clearing and sending Doug falling back with a cry of shock. Fire erupted around Mal, forming a circle of green flames that seemed to curve and slither into a variety of shapes within the ring.
"What...what is this?" Doug gasped.
"This," Mal told him as the sky cleared once more and only the strange ring remained. "Is the Merlin Circle. It is the first step for every sorcerer who ever walked the face of the earth. It is the key to all knowledge, and all power."
"Whoa," Doug breathed, flicking a hand over the flames, watching as they jumped away from him and molded back in the moment he retracted his hand. "So, this thing will help me control my powers?"
Mal shrugged. "In a way, yes. Come here." She held out her hand and helped him through the flame. "Take a breath," she ordered. "Feel the magic running through you." She waited as he obeyed. "There, you feel it?"
"Kinda...I feel like...I don't know what...stronger...I guess."
"Very good. Now, there are rules for using your magic, as with everything. Magic must be a last resort only. That means no using it on petty things like waffles."
"Toast."
"Whatever. Next, magic, like anything, will drain you the more you use it. While smaller spells may not effect you too badly, bigger ones can be dangerous, and potentially fatal. So, until you are sure you can handle a spell, or I tell you too, don't risk it. Got it?"
Doug nodded. "Got it."
"All right." Mal clapped her hands and the flames lunged up higher, lapping greedily for the trees. "In that case, let us begin."