At the end of the day, the Isle had both gained and lost two residents. Queen Ella returned home with a new daughter and a new son, and King Phillip and Queen Aurora returned home tearful empty-nesters, which is something that didn't happen to Kings and Queens very often. King Charming, while he had not been anticipating the second arrival, welcomed them all with open arms.

Mal had discreetly asked Eliza to forward her all the Isle music that had hers, Evie's, Jay's, or Carlos's signatures on it. She figured it'd be a pretty great inside joke for her friends to laugh with. Meanwhile, change was coming to the Isle of the Lost. She'd just approved the first plans for a city council. It was a landmark decision - Auradon was shocked that she'd agreed to give up her power so willingly. There would be one person for every fifty on the Isle and everyone fourteen or older would be able to cast a vote on representation. Originally, Mal had worried about making the age so young, but considering that she'd become an Auradon Queen at sixteen, she couldn't argue age very well. The council would take over most of the day-to-day running that Mal had been trying to accomplish every time she returned from the moorlands. They would arrange for buildings to be put up and pick places for classes and events to be held and while she still held power over them, they'd become a very important group as far as helping her balance her power and cater to all of her citizens.

Votes could be cast from everyone's city cards, and as an incentive, Mal gave everyone an extra five points for casting votes.

Auroria announced changes to their monarchy the day after Mal's changes were announced to the Isle and to Auradon. They were creating a dual-branch system. One Legislative Branch held power over law-making, over the courts, and over the economic side of things. This branch would be made up of elected individuals. The Monarchy was now the Executive Branch, in charge of Auroria's standing militia, the emergency and public services, and law-passing. A system of appeals was set up - if one side handled something incorrectly, the people could petition the other side to take effect. Auroria's ruling family had lost more than half of their ruling power, as now the Legislative side and the people had a greater say in things, and the responsibility shift would make it so that the appointed ruler didn't even have to be in the kingdom to rule it. Audrey was free to live on the Isle.

The changes in both the Isle and in Auroria were inspiring Ben to start making changes. Lots of people thought what Auroria was doing was smart, but others were frowning at the obvious disruption of the monarchy's power. Ben wanted to find a way to give common people a sturdy voice without disrupting the power of the royals and making a lot of people mad at him.

Mal called Audrey again from Ben's office as she waited for him to finish up his work. She wanted to make sure Audrey was doing okay. Audrey picked up as Ben let out a very colorful curse word that made Mal look over with a proud expression. The line was silent for a few seconds, and then Audrey asked: "Was that Ben?"

"That was Ben," Mal confirmed, looking very impressed. Ben looked up and spotted her cell phone up to her ear.

"Who are you calling?" He demanded.

"Sh." Mal rolled her eyes. "It's Audrey. She says she had no idea what a dirty mouth you had."

Audrey giggled and stayed silent on the other end.

Ben grumbled as he raised a pen and made to throw it into the wastebasket beside Mal. "Get it from kissing you." He scoffed as she picked it up.

"Ben says he gets it from kissing me." Mal passed on to Audrey. Ben glared at her.

"Plausible theory." Audrey agreed. Mal burst into laughter. Ben rolled his eyes. He had no way of knowing what Audrey had just said, but he was correct in guessing it wasn't anything flattering. Mal winked at him as he tried to scribble ferociously with another pen. It snapped in two and began to leak all over the desk and Ben's hands. He yelped and jumped back, and sand fell out of his sleeves.

Mal rolled her eyes. "You're messy, Ben." She said as she snapped her fingers. "Hear the tear, remove the wear, fix it up and repair." She recited. The pen and ink jumped back together, but Ben still tossed it into the trash with a grumble. "He just broke a pen and got sand everywhere. This is probably going to have to be a short call. Just wanted to make sure you're in okay?"

"Yeah." Audrey nodded. "Jarrett got me a bat to use alongside my knife, he's picking me up soon so we can go to a party down by the college. I asked Uma and Harry if they wanted to do a group thing, so it's going to be us, them, and Jarrett's friends."

"Sounds fun." Mal smiled. "You guys are cute."

"I think so, too." Audrey giggled. "I'm going to see if I can get him to give me a kiss or something."

Mal cocked her head. "I just had a thought. What's the difference between kissing someone and giving them a kiss? There is none, right?" Audrey hummed on the other end of the phone but said nothing. "What?" Mal asked.

"You just asked an English teacher, honey," Audrey said sympathetically. "Well, like, both the words 'kiss' and 'give' are action words, but when you have 'to give a kiss', give become the primary verb and kiss in demoted to a noun. Then, taking into account the meanings of the two words, to kiss someone is implying a direct course of action and is an immediate and instantaneous motion. To give a kiss, implying it can be rejected, has a different meaning due to the subject-verb switch."

Mal blinked. "Well." She hummed. "I'm not sorry I asked. How do you cram all that information into your head?"

"Languages have always been easy for me." Audrey chuckled. "Maybe I'll write a book one day."

"Yeah, for real." Mal sighed. "You'd be great at it. If I ever decide to write a book, which is admittedly unlikely, you're first on my list to help me out."

"Gladly." Audrey chuckled.

Ben ripped up a yellow lined paper into shreds and pitched it into the wastebasket. A handful of sand followed the arc into the trash, which only made Ben even more cross.

"Okay." Mal sighed. "Ben's losing his crap. I need to put a beast to bed. Stay safe tonight, huh?"

"Yup." Audrey giggled. "Jarrett should be here soon. Good luck with your beast."

"Ugh." Mal scoffed. "I'll need it. Bye."

Mal hung up and went to go pat Ben's shoulder. "I'm calm, I'm calm." He muttered, crossing his hands in front of his face.

"The calmest," Mal assured him.

"Calm." Ben accentuated.

Mal gave him a quick hug. "Does someone need a drive? Or a movie?" She kissed his cheek. "Or sleep?"

Ben sighed and put his head down on the desk.

"You've been really angsty ever since you came back from the Overland," Mal commented. "It doesn't seem to be going away. Do you need to go to one of those, oh what're they called… Auradon emotion doctors?"

"Therapists." Ben supplied. "No, I don't think so. I don't know." He shook his head. His brow bone rocked against the surface of his desk. "I just… really need this to work and go nicely."

Mal glanced over his shoulder. "Maybe you've been looking at it too long." She suggested. "Want to bounce ideas off of me?"

Ben stayed silent for a few seconds, and then slowly sat back up. He exhaled and picked up a paper filled with notes. "I like what you've done with the Isle and what Audrey's doing with Auroria." He started, sounding exhausted. "I want to do something like that here to give the people more say, but the royal families will be mad if I take power away from them. I can't find a balance."

Mal glanced over his shoulder. "Let's start with two, like Audrey's kingdom."

"Two what?" Ben sighed.

"Representatives." Mal elaborated. "One member of the royal family, or the ruling couple, and one elected member of the city."

"But that still divides the ruling party's power in two." Ben sighed.

"Let the royal families pick who they want." Mal shrugged. "Invite people to run for the post, have citizens vote. The two candidates with the highest votes when all is said and done will be the two the royal family can choose to work with."

Ben was still as he squinted at the far wall. "Maybe…" He started, then stopped. "But… when…" He put his head back down. "Maybe I have been looking at this for too long. That was a lot easier than I was making it out to be in my head." It would still divide power in two, but it was a start that wouldn't result in people calling for his head.

Mal rubbed his back with a chuckle. "Yeah, I think you need a break. Come on, let's get you to bed."

"Wait." Ben shot straight back up. "Can we please keep working on this?" He jutted his lower lip out and looked at her pleadingly.

"Can you handle it?" Mal asked skeptically.

"Yes. Just… what would you do as far as who has more sway in the kingdoms? Because these other people would be elected, wouldn't they be more popular?" Ben asked, picking up a pen and testing it carefully.

"Leave the lawmaking and most of the daily running in the hands of the royals." Mal yawned. "And then let things balance out kingdom to kingdom. The elected can serve as representatives to the crown for instances like when you had to call everyone to the war council meetings, and they can argue problems and concerns the people have to the Royals."

"And when that's not happening?" Ben asked.

"Check over past laws and figure out which are outdated." Mal shrugged. "Auradon probably has a lot of those."

Ben nodded in acquiescence. As he wrote down all of her suggestions, Mal started to head towards the door. "Kay, I'm tired and I want to go to bed. Are you coming?"

Ben looked up and nodded. "Yeah. Wait ten seconds for me?"

Mal sighed. "Ten, nine, eight." She started to count back. Ben clicked his pen and put it away. He hurried to make it to the door and flipped off the light on his way out. "We should race to our room," Mal suggested. "See if you can dissolve like Pitch, Eris, and Helena."

"Really rather would not," Ben grumbled, slumping his posture a little.

"No, you seriously should," Mal disagreed. "You'll get more comfortable with your magic the more you use it. Come on." She bumped her shoulder against his. "Try."

Ben frowned but sighed in acquiescence. He'd spent too many hours learning about magical creatures that had been hurt by Auradon's laws to think she was lying. He held up his hand and imagined a sandstorm arising around his knuckles. Immediately, as though it had been waiting for his prompting, it appeared. Thick and swirling, dark indigo sands. Ben imagined his hand disappearing and immediately felt his hand dissolve into the sand. The cloud grew thicker. Ben swallowed and quickly put it back.

"Not bad," Mal said with raised eyebrows and a smile. "Think you can do your whole body now?"

"Mal, please don't make me!" Ben's shoulders slumped.

Mal put a hand on his shoulder. "Why are you so afraid?" She asked. "You can do this."

"I don't want to…" Ben mumbled, covering his eyes with his hands. "Listen, all of this... I hate it. It's burning me from the inside out and..."

"That's because you won't use it," Mal sighed. "If you'd use it, it wouldn't burn." She leaned back against the wall and examined him, tilting her head as she watched the shadows cross her face. "Helena is gone," She whispered. "I know that this magic started hers, but it's yours now. And using it isn't going to let her win. It's going to help you start moving forward and leaving her in the past where she belongs."

"I still feel her," Ben admitted. "I still feel her hands, Mal. I don't like it."

Mal stayed still, watching him clench and unclench his hands. Slowly, she reached forward and took one. They started to walk down the hall together. Mal's throat felt tight as she tried to tell him what she wanted to say. "I still feel hands too," she broke out finally. Ben furrowed his brow at her. "I still feel... my mom's hands on me. People who hurt me. People from the Isle. I still feel their cuts and their hits. I mean - I even still feel Chad's hand on me!" She took her hand from him and twisted her palms against each other in a frantic, nervous motion. "He's dead and I still feel him. I feel them all. You're not like that. You always put everything behind you but when people get hurt the way you're hurt you can't just put it behind you."

She stopped to face him, though it was hard to raise her eyes to look at him. "And I understand what it's like to look in the mirror and see something that someone did to you," she choked. "I see my mom looking back at me all the time. My magic is her magic, and my features are hers. But... they're not. No matter what she did in the past, this is what I am now." She took his hand again now and ran her fingertips over his palm. "You have magic now. And it's not hers. It's yours."

Ben let her hold his hand for a second longer, circling her index finger against his skin. "You move on so easily," he whispered. "How?"

Mal snorted. She took his face in her hands. "Ben, one day, your name will be inscribed as the greatest king in Auradonian History. No matter where you think your talents lie, no matter the things you can will your body to do, no matter who hurts you. Do you really think that will change?" She put her arms around him. "Helena couldn't stop that destiny if she tried. The people love you. I love you. Don't quit yourself, Ben. Magic doesn't change who you are at heart."

Ben took her shoulders and nodded. "Okay." He whispered. He leaned in and kissed her cheek while using her hip to pull her close to him. His thumb skimmed her torso and Mal let out a breath. Sooner or later, he knew, she'd have to get over her anxiety, one way or another. "I'll give you a twenty-second head-start."

Mal smiled brightly. "Proud of you." She kissed him on his cheekbone, close to his hairline. Then she hurried off down the hall, with her wings growing out as she did. Her horns still hadn't naturally retracted from all the magic she'd been performing up north. They stuck out from her skull like odd little curls. Ben chuckled, counted to twenty, and let a small sandstorm form around his hand again. He took a deep breath, and let it expand all throughout his body. The air around him thickened with sand. Then, instantaneously, he felt himself dissolve and dropped to the ground. His body was gone, and he was only sand on wind he could control.

He zoomed through the halls, and as he brushed past Mal, who was soaring through the corridors, he made sure to skim over her wings, so she would know he was beating her. He made it to their room and rematerialized into himself. It felt like a burden had been lifted off of his soul, and he felt better than he had in ages. He felt light, really, and it was because he wasn't resisting something that was, whether he liked it or not, a part of him now.

And it was all because of her. Mal.

Ben issued a royal proclamation before he left that every kingdom was to elect a representative in court from the general populace and that each year, in the week leading up to the summer solstice, they would adjourn at Beast's castle to discuss national laws, how they had affected the citizens, and either abolish or improve upon them all. He and Mal left Auradon before the uprise could occur, directing Belle and Adam to tell everyone to hold on to their questions, remain calm, and they would answer them later.

Mal and Ben paused in Arendelle to pick up Jack and then took off towards the Overland. Now that the heroes were winning, and they weren't being pushed around as much, they had set up permanent headquarters in Turbotown, Indianapolis. Ben, Mal, and Jack flew in to see how things were going.

One of North's yeti's led them upstairs to a grand room that was painted red with gold drywall sculpting. It was octagonal in shape, with sleek black tiles on the floor. A large circular table with many chairs sat in the center of the room. Everyone looked up when North's yeti opened to door and announced the three of them in a series of grunts.

The war tribunal looked strong healthy and relaxed compared to when Mal had first shown up, sassy and angry about her husband being captured. Most of them still didn't know what to think of Mal, but they were grateful for her help nonetheless.

North stood up. "Jack! You have returned! Queen Mal, you look radiant! Absolutely glowing! And King Ben-" North walked over, put his hands on Ben's shoulders, and looked deep into his eyes. "You are feeling well, yes?"

"Yes." Ben nodded with a small smile.

"We were so worried we were going to lose you for a while there!" Toothiana chirped. She was floating about two feet above her chair. Ben waved a little at her. The Sandman was flashing all sorts of worried pictures above his head.

"Yeah," Mal agreed softly. "It was a bit scary."

Ben ducked his head at all the attention and pulled out a chair for Mal. She sat down with a sigh. Like someone had flipped a switch, the attention was all on her.

"How are you feeling, your highness?" Hiccup asked. He was holding Astrid's hand above the table.

"Just Mal." Mal sighed with a yawn. "I'm peachy. Just flew an ocean, guys."

"Her nausea is starting to give, but her back is a little sore." Ben supplied as he sat next to her.

"M'fine. I'll rest as soon as we take out Eris." Mal yawned.

"No news on her, yet?" Jack asked.

"Naw, mate," Bunny said as he painted an egg on the table. "By the way Jack, where'd you go? You weren't hanging out with these two blokes, eh?" He gestured his paintbrush towards Ben and Mal.

Jack shook his head. "They were doing official stuff. I helped Mal take Pitch to the Isle, we went to the Fairy Godmother and gave her and her daughter the remnants of Dama Fortuna's wand, and yeah, I hung out. It was nice."

Mal squinted. Ben exchanged a glance with her and shook his head. He had long since realized that not everyone was as clued into Jack's excursions in Auradon as he and Mal were.

"Sure that's all?" Bunny asked. "These two look like they know you left somethin' out." He gestured again to Ben and Mal, who schooled their expressions.

"That's basically it." Jack shrugged. He refused to budge on Bunny's expression.

"Sorry." Hiccup cleared his throat, changing the subject. He was examining Ben with a bit of an odd expression. "Is that… dragon skin on your neck?"

"I wasn't going to ask, but then you did." Astrid sighed. Ben's hand went to his neck and he shrunk back.

"Yeah." Mal nodded. She held a hand for him to take. "From Helena Apate Troy, Pitch Black, and Eris's daughter. She's the one girl I took to the Isle a while ago? She scratched him, and he got magical poisoning from it. The scales match mine in my dragon form. We think they're the residue of my magic in him."

Tooth crinkled her nose. "Is magical poisoning like magic denaturation? Where the magic turns against your body?"

"Basically." Mal nodded.

"But… there's no cure for that." Bunny squinted at his work.

Mal smirked. "I don't exactly take 'no' for an answer."

Ben cleared his throat. "She burned it out of my system. There were side effects. For example," He held out the hand Mal wasn't holding and conjured a pile of sand in his palm. The Sandman drifted into the air in excitement. Tiny exclamation points appeared over his head as he pointed at the pile in Ben's hand.

"Wait, wait." Bunny put down his egg, which tried to walk away. "You got Eris's magic? Or Pitch's?"

"Both, I think." Ben flushed. "I mean, it's from Helena. We think she had both. Mine's a different color, but-"

"You could get into Tartarus." Hiccup interrupted. "That's why you've come back. You're going to try and… what, rip Eris out of her realm?"

"That sounds like a lot of work." Mal groaned. "Why don't we just chain her inside using her own powers?"

"That'd work." Jack nodded.

"So, is that it?" Astrid gasped. "Just like that? We've been fighting this war for ages, and you're just going to end it in three months?"

Ben smiled. "What can we say? She's too busy to keep fighting a war for too long."

Mal chuckled. She looked up at North. "I hope to not be bothered for like, eight months after this." She warned. "I have two other kingdoms that need me now. Not to mention Ben's." She squeezed his hand.

North's eyes filled with tears. "Aye." He agreed. "Hopefully afterward, we can convince you to come up here and make this land like the Isle is. When do you leave?"

"Soon." Mal turned to Ben. "Then we can go back home." She cheered.

"Soon." He agreed, rubbing her knuckles with a smile.

"How is that big battle going with the nightmares?" Mal asked. "Jack and I left early to track Pitch to his home."

"Ended." North smiled. "You never heard, but when you bound Pitch, the nightmares faded away. Sandy collected their remains." He gestured to the sunny little man, who waved with a jovial grin.

"Sweet." Mal smiled. "What more is there, then?"

"Grimmel the Grisly and Alvin the Treacherous, who lead an army of enslaved dragons in the far north, Kai, who stays mostly in the east and attacks where he sees fit, Hernan Cortes, Colonel James Armstrong in the far northeast, and other villains." Toothiana pointed at a large map that had been unrolled on the table. "None of them are a huge problem though. Would it be okay for us to send them to the Isle of the Lost when we capture them? We're willing to take them back, but it'll help keep them from being rescued."

"I could keep them." Mal shrugged. "They'd probably get along just fine with our nasties." She examined the map. "So, these guys, they don't sound like problems."

"They're not." Jack rolled his eyes. "They're just tedious and fast. Last time we got them by chasing them for two days and trapping them. I got Hernan by freezing his horse's legs."

"If only we had two Jack Frosts." Astrid sighed. "It'd go twice as fast."

The yeti opened the door to the room again and bellowed out an announcement. An icy chill crept into the room. North hummed. "Ask and ye shall receive." He muttered.

It took a moment for her to process that sentiment. Two Jack Frosts? Two people with powers of ice and snow? Well, she knew of some people, but all of them were in Auradon unless-

Mal spun in her chair. In the doorway was Ericka, twisting her new lemon staff in her hands. She wore a dark blue fur parka with white fur lining the collar and hems, just like her mother's. She wore dark grey leggings with snowflake patterns and combat boots. Her hair was braided exactly like her mothers, and she was twisting her staff nervously.

Mal glanced at Jack. He looked even paler than usual, and his eyes were wide as he stared at his twenty-four-year-old daughter

"Who're you?" Bunny asked, standing up and sniffing the cold in the air.

Ericka straightened up. "Sorry, I'm late." She said coolly, curtsying in the doorway. "My name is Ericka. I've come to support the war effort."

"Oh no, you haven't!" Jack snapped. It began to snow lightly in the room.

"How did you get here, Ericka?" Mal asked softly. Ericka swallowed, clutched her staff and rose into the air. Just like Jack. Mal exhaled.

"You were right, Queen Mal. The staff did help me focus my powers. In fact, I decided that it's time to come north and prove myself." Ericka glanced sideways at her father, whose eyes were stormy.

Ben turned to Mal. "You got her a staff?" He asked. "When did you do that?"

Mal only glanced up at Jack.

"This is great!" North exclaimed. "Now we have two ice spirits! And if she is anything like Queen Mal, she will be extremely beneficial!"

"No!" Jack snapped. He landed hard on the table. "I'm sorry, she can't fight. Ericka, go home." He pointed back out the door and down the hall.

Ericka's eyes hardened. "No." She said. "I'm a grown woman. I can choose where I'm going."

"This is a war!" Jack yelled. "Not a playground. Go home, Ericka."

"Jack." Astrid interrupted. "What's your deal? I've never seen you like this."

"Someone's got a crush," Bunny muttered loudly.

Mal squeezed her eyes shut as both Jack and Ericka sputtered. Ben groaned softly. It was almost too painful to listen to.

"No," Jack denied harshly. "Bunny, stop. Ericka, please go."

Ericka, however, looked around at everyone in the room. She focused on Mal. "Do they not know?" She asked her.

The snow falling from the ceiling grew thicker. North coughed loudly. "Jack, shut it off." He called.

"Ya, you gobbey!" Bunny agreed, cradling the eggs closer to his chest. "You're freezing my eggs!"

"Let her fight, Jack." Mal stood up, commanding respect from everyone in the room.

The snowstorm stopped abruptly. Jack stared at her, looking like he'd been betrayed. "Mal…" He trailed off. "You can't possibly-"

"I'm seventeen and pregnant," Mal said through gritted teeth. "She's twenty-one, has the same powers you do, and will be fine. She can take care of herself. She's durable. Besides, look at the mess you're causing." She gestured around the room. Snow drifts were forming in the corners.

"Yeah, d-dude." Ericka stammered. "I can do this!"

Jack clutched his staff tightly, and without another word, left. He flew out the door and down the hall. Frost garnered on the floor down his path. Mal sighed and turned to Ericka. "You flew all the way from Arendelle?" She whispered. Ericka nodded slowly. "And does your mother know you're up here?" She whispered. Ericka shook her head.

"Everyone," Ben stood up beside Mal. "This is Ericka, in case you didn't hear. She's the daughter of Queen Elsa in Arendelle, who has ice powers she passed down to her two daughters."

Bunny snorted. "Two daughters? With ice powers? Yeah, I wonder where Jack has been the last week."

Ericka sputtered in indignation. Mal cleared her throat. "Astor." She said softly. "With all due respect, you have no idea what you're talking about." She sighed and turned back to Ericka. "If you get hurt, your mom and dad will have my hide." She cautioned. "Are you sure you can do this? War isn't a prank game."

Ericka squared her shoulders. "Yes." She nodded. "I know I can do this. I won't let you down.

Mal nodded, suddenly exhausted. "Okay." She turned to Ben. "Let's not go today. I don't think I'd be able to walk straight."

Ben nodded. "Let's figure out where my things went and find you a place to rest." He offered. He stood and inclined his head to those at the table. "It was nice to catch up with you all." He helped Mal out of her chair and towards the stairs. As they passed, he squeezed Ericka's arm. "Be careful." He warned. Mal hesitated by the doors and examined the rigid posture Ericka kept. There was something about that girl that… Mal just couldn't put her finger on. It was like something was off about her existence, and she couldn't figure out what that thing might be.

North and Bunny called them to gather in a lounging area that night, hoping to get some details of their plan, patch up some plans for what they were supposed to do on their end, and catch up more on what had happened to Ben when Mal had taken him back to Auradon. The sun was setting outside and the night air was drifting through the open doors when Ben and Mal wandered inside and he guided her to take a seat on the couch facing the open window. Ericka was sitting in an armchair with her boots set on the coffee table. Sandy immediately soared over to show off his sand skills to Ben, who summoned a few small things to watch the Sandman's eyes light up. Mal closed her eyes and leaned her head back into the armrest of the couch with her legs over Ben's lap.

Two pairs of heavy hands fell onto her shoulders and fur brushed her face. "Ah, here she is!" Someone announced with an accent. "The star of the show!"

Mal sighed and opened an eye. "Where?" She asked in a bored tone. "I must have missed them when I walked in."

Everyone laughed. Hiccup, Astrid, North, and Toothiana all gathered closer. Astrid sat down near Mal on the coffee table and leaned towards her. "So, are you sure you'll be good to fight tomorrow? Aren't you afraid of losing your baby or anything?"

Mal found Ben's hand and squeezed a little. Their skin both felt clammy. She shook her head. "This is one of those things that won't happen if I don't want it to happen," She exhaled. Everyone laughed.

"Everything is like that for you," Bunny laughed, taking his paws off her shoulders. "Queen of Auradon casually deciding she doesn't want a forty-year-old war to go on any longer, casually shapeshifts and destroys all of our major opponents." Everyone laughed and North handed Ben a glass with some sort of amber liquid in it. Other glasses went around. Mal didn't comment when someone put a water in her hand. This was like her wedding reception all over again.

"You know, the person who manages to kill Queen Mal will be neither incredibly lucky or incredibly foolish, but an uncanny mix of both." Hiccup laughed. Mal flinched a little and kept her eyes closed as Ben took his hand from her and put it on her leg. His skin was cold. "Death himself doesn't dare come for this woman. She controls him."

"That's high praise," Mal mumbled, though the words tasted sour in her mouth. Death was, of course, one of the few things she couldn't control.

"I agree. So, tell me, your Majesty, is there anything you can't do?" Ericka asked with a little smile.

Mal opened her eyes and watched Ben raise his glass, swirl its contents a little, and then look over to meet her eyes. She didn't swallow, didn't shiver, didn't do anything to show discomfort as she replied: "I'm sure there's a list somewhere." Everyone laughed. Across the table, Ben closed his eyes and took a drink. Everyone else raised their glasses. Mal took in the scene, watching silently as everyone toasted her inevitable win, and making a list in her head.

1. She couldn't have brandy, or any alcohol, even if she was already of age. She couldn't have it because she was pregnant; carrying Ben's child, and everyone knew it and would stop her. 2. She couldn't bring people back from the dead. Not anyone. Not her mother, a magical person, and most certainly not Ben if he were to die. Once someone was gone, they were gone, and she could only prolong life, not bring it back.

Mal closed her eyes again. 3.) She couldn't, under sacrifice of her mental health, have this baby. And there was no way she could tell Ben that.

"What are your plans after this?" Tooth asked, floating above her head. "Because we'd love to keep you up here. Ben told us you had ways to heal pollution and pillaging?"

Mal took a gulp of her water, trying to stay focused on the conversation. "Not me - we have naturous people in the moorlands. They have plants that just eat pollution up. I could bring some."

"Would you consider being our queen when the war is over and helping us reorganize our cities and communities?" Astrid asked, reaching down to touch Mal's belly. "Or are you going to stay in Auradon for your baby and Ben?"

Youdonthavepermissiontotouchmesodon't. "I don't think I have time to be queen here," Mal smiled through a stretched mouth. WhyareyoumakingitseemlikeIonlyhaveoptionsbetweenhelpingyouandbeingamom? "But I don't know what I'll do yet."

Ben squeezed her leg again. "I hope we can take things easy," he told her, looking at her in this way that made her feel obligated to hold eye contact. "Take a vacation and not worry about Kingdoms or running from place to place. I just want to slow down before things get crazy."

Mal pushed his hand off her leg. She'd never felt so far from him. "I don't know what I want yet," she told everyone. "I might go spend time with my dad or stay in the Moorlands or... something. We'll have to see."

But in the end, she wasn't sure how much her opinion would matter. All these people wanted so many different things for her, and she didn't even know what she wanted herself. She'd been trying to do so many things for so many people... she didn't even know how to help herself anymore.

Mal woke in the middle of the night to the sounds of frost crunching on the roof above her head. She looked over to Ben, but he was fast asleep with a golden dreamsand vision dancing above his head, courtesy of the sandman. The figure of sand was Mal, spinning a little girl with a blunt haircut around in her arms. Mal tilted her head. So, Ben wanted a little girl. Flattering.

She opened the window and a sharp breeze flew in. Ben shivered but did not wake. "Jack? Ericka?" She called.

There was naught for sound on the roof. Mal put her hand back on the latch and made to shut the window, but then Ericka appeared, peering over the edge of the roof. "Mal?" She asked.

Mal frowned. "What are you doing out here?" She asked. "It's deathly cold."

Ericka shrugged. "The cold doesn't really bother me." She whispered. She floated down, further into view. Her lemon staff was clutched in her hand.

"Is it working well for you?" Mal asked, giving it a gesture.

"Yes." Ericka nodded. "But… there's something strange. I don't know if it's strange with me, or my staff, but I can't seem to lay my finger on it."

Mal held out a hand with a furrowed brow. Ericka floated forward and placed her palm hesitantly in Mal's grasp. Mal lowered her eyes into the second realm and examined Ericka's magical makeup. She hummed.

"What is it?" Ericka asked.

"Nothing's off with the staff," Mal reported. "I think it's with you. Most of your magic is functioning normally, like mine, but around your head, there's some stalling. I think it's in your brain."

"Am I dying?" Ericka asked cautiously.

"No, I don't think so," Mal reported. "It's just… maybe it's biological? Elsa or Jack might have the same thing." Behind her, Ben snorted in his sleep and rolled over a little. He remained out of it, though. The little dreamsand girl ran to a dreamsand figure of Mal herself, and Mal waved the vision away before Ericka could comment on it.

"Should I see a doctor?" Ericka asked, pushing her bangs out of her face.

Mal hummed and let Ericka's hand drop back to the girl's side. "Maybe? You might have to go to the Moors though, to find a doctor of magic."

"You think it's magic related?" Ericka asked.

"Well, I just found a lull in the magic around your head." Mal shrugged. "I don't know if it'd show up the same with normal technology."

Ericka nodded. "I'll look into it. Thank you, your highness."

"Just Mal." Mal rolled her eyes. She hesitated. Jack Frost and Queen Elsa's girl starts having problems with the magic flowing through her head less than a week after she starts using the magic she inherited from her father properly and… that just happened? "Ericka?" She asked softly. "What do you know of Jack Frost's abilities?"

"Dad?" Ericka asked with a raised brow. "He and I are pretty similar, mom's told me. Supernatural can conjure or manipulate ice and snow, like mom, can conjure weapons of ice, summon and controls winds, can fly, among other things. He can bewitch people with feelings of joy and happiness, which I can't do, and he's immortal, of course." Ericka tapped off each of her fingers as she listed things. Mal bit her cheek.

"Immortal." She murmured. "Does… the brain have anything to do with aging?" Ericka shrugged.

Mal waved the young adult inside and found the stone basin in her jacket, which was hanging by the door. She found some clean water to fill it with and called the first person she could think of. "Erick of the Isle." She muttered.

Light filled the room, as did loud laughter and music. Mal heard her song 'Ways to Be Wicked' echoing around the room from the far distance. "Erick?" She called. The surface moved, and Evie's older brother appeared in her surface of the water. There was an odd double rim around the bowl. Mal realized she was speaking to him out of a drinking glass. "Sorry to interrupt your party." She apologized. "I have a question about the human brain and you were the first person I thought to ask."

Erick scratched his head. "I musta had too much to drink." He muttered. He shook his head. "Okay, I'm not very good at anatomy and physiology though." He warned.

"Does the human brain control aging?" Mal asked.

Erick perked up. "Yes!" He exclaimed. "Scientists discovered seven years ago that stem cells located in the hypothalamus of mice controlled how fast or how slowly the mice grew. The quicker the stem cells declined, the faster they aged. The hypothalamus also controls reproduction, development, and metabolism."

Mal blinked, trying to process all the information he'd just thrown at her. "Okay." She smiled. "That's all I needed. Have a nice party." She made to end the call but heard Erick muttering.

"Nope." He whispered. "Nope. If you're talking to the queen in a water glass, it's time to go home. No more alcohol for you, Erick."

Mal chuckled as the call ended, presumably because poor drunk Erick had dropped the glass somewhere. She poured the water out the window and dried off the inside of the basin.

"What does that all mean?" Ericka asked.

The sky began to turn colors outside. Mal tapped her nails on the window frame and bit her lip. "Maybe…" she trailed off.

"What?" Ericka probed after several moments of Mal not speaking.

Mal turned and met Ericka's eyes. "Maybe… you're more like your dad than you think. Maybe you're not supposed to age either."

Mal watched amazement and dread fall into Ericka's eyes. "But I have aged. I'm twenty-one."

"But for how much longer?" Mal asked.

Ericka's skin pallor began to shift. She approached the window. "Thank you, Mal. I'll look into it." She hopped up on the window frame and blew away before Mal could even say goodbye. She closed the window and laid back down. Immediately, warm hands wrapped around her frozen fingers.

"How long have you been up?" She whispered as someone took her into their curled arms.

"Not long," Ben assured her. "Everything okay?"

Mal hummed, and a sudden wave of nausea hit her. She sat back up. "Give me two minutes to throw up," She started, covering her mouth. 'And then, it will be." She stood up and hurried out of the room.