Author's note: Here we are ! This is the chapter were we finally learn what happened to Mal !

We haven't focused on her since the beginning of this fic, so the next few chapters will be through her point of view.

Enjoy !

Chapter 21 - Invisible

Mal was cold. Scared. And lonely. She had been feeling like this for more than a week now. Ever since Ben's coronation day.

That morning, when she first woke up, she thought everything was fine. But she quickly realized that Evie - her roommate and best friend - was incapable of seeing her. And everytime she tried to shout to catch her attention, her words got stuck in her throat. Something had happened to her. Someone had casted a spell on her. She tried to reach out to Evie's shoulder but only to see her hand go through it like a hologram. That's when she started panicking.

Her body was invisible, her voice had disappeared and she passed through things like a ghost would. Was she dead ? She turned around to see if her body was still in her bed - lifeless - but her covers were empty. She then put her hand on her chest, and felt her heart beating - pretty fast actually. At least, she was still alive. But that was only a short time relief.

Soon, she witnessed her friends walk away without her; her fiancé dance with another girl for his first dance as King; her disappearance be officially announced; Evie cry and worry for her; Audrey take advantage of the situation to gain Ben's trust back - with no idea as to why this was happening to her. She had a feeling it had something to do with the stolen spellbook but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't pronounce any formula to try to cancel the spell she was under.

So, time grew long. Cold and lonely. She started being really scared, as guards passed through her, searching the entire campus. No one would ever find out what happened to her. The researches were expended, people started looking for her outside of the castle when she was right next to them the whole time. And the most painful thing out of all of this was to watch Ben cry himself to sleep every night without ever been able to caress his hair or kiss his cheeks.

She felt useless. Weak. And she had no idea how she could get herself out of this situation. Usually, she always had a plan. But usually, she always had her friends by her side.

That's why, when Mal saw Celia lay down tarot cards in front of her - her heart jumped and she regained a little bit of hope. Dr. Facilier's daughter was famous for her gifts and her surnatural sight. Maybe she could see her. So, she waited impatiently, sitting down in the circle of VKs who couldn't see her - right between Evie and Ben - her fingers crossed. When the card of the spirit gate got turned over, Celia asked for silence, lit up a circle of candles around her and started meditating. Mal's heartbeat fastened.

For a while, nothing changed. Celia had her eyes closed, her legs folded over each other, and everyone in room was sitting still. But then, right as Mal started losing hope again, a third eye on Celia's forehead - invisible to everyone else - opened. And the girl looked right at her.

"Mal ?" she whispered, relieved and shocked at the same time

And the princess nodded, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks. Finally, someone had found her.

"Oh my god, you've been here all along… What happened to your body?"

"I don't know, I…"

Mal stopped, shocked to hear her own voice. Celia smiled to her kindly, but soon, her smile disappeared. She looked around them, scared. And Mal finally noticed the dark shapes and shadows that had been gathering around them.

"I need to bring you back now" said Celia "No one is supposed to stay in the spirit's world for that long".

"Can you do that ?"

The girl seemed to take a second to think before answering.

"Yes. But it will be expensive. I'm going to have to ask them for help."

On those words, the shadows got even closer. In just a second, their hands would wrap around Celia's wrists, throat, ankles… But she gave them a hard look and they jumped away. Slowly, but with determination, she extented her hand in front of her, as if she was waiting for someone to shake it.

"I only need one of you" she said.

And already, spirits were battling against each other, to reach her hand first. It looked like they had been waiting for the moment the girl would finally let down her guard and ask for their help. A dark and chubby spirit wrapped his finger around hers.

"Bring her back" said Celia "I will the pay what I have to."

And she took the creature's hand. Drums started playing in Mal's head.

"Are you ready ?" were singing the ghosts

She felt shivers go down her spine and her legs started tingling. A strong wind ruffled her hair, and she watched - in awe - her body become solid again. It suddenly looked like the world was becoming brighter; its colors stronger. And soon, Ben's voice ringed to her ears.

"Mal !"

Before she could even understand what was going on, the boy had his arms wrapped around her and his lips pressed against hers. Then, it was Evie's turn to hold her. Then, Jay's, Carlos' and finally Celia's.

Heavy tears rolled down Mal's cheek and she let herself cry, holding her friends as tight as she could. She had started to think this day would never come. But they were together again - they saw her, they heard her. She was back.

"Oh Ben" she cried with a shaky voice "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I missed your coronation…"

But the boy put a finger on her lips, and wiped her tears away with his thumb.

"Don't you apologize. It was not your fault. I'm sorry I even thought you might have left. I should have known right away…"

He thought of Celia's prediction and added:

"Someone is trying to hurt us."

That day, none of the VKs could focus on their classes. If Mal's return was a relief for everybody, they knew that something even worse was about to happen. Ben had ordered to the royal guards to increase the security of the museum, but nothing could calm down his stress. The Kingdom's safety depended on him - but what could he do against an unidentified enemy in possession of Mal's spellbook ? Sure, they had Fairy Godmother and her wand, but if the thief successfully stole Maleficent's scepter, even the fairy would not be able to stop him.

Mal did not go to class that day, and Evie skipped to keep her company. The two girls spent the day lying on their beds, holding each other hands and talking through everything that was happening.

"Who could do something like that ?" kept wondering Evie

And every time, Mal would answer "Uma".

"But what about the rose ?" Evie would then say

And every time, Mal shrugged. She was so focused on her fear and hate of the sea witch that she was totally blind to all the evidence that was laid in front of her. Yet, she had seen Audrey dance with Ben, she had seen her sneak off to the King's office every time she had the opportunity to do so. But who could have thought that such a perfect girl could turn into a villain ? No one. Not even Mal.

Around eight in the evening, the VKs gathered around in the King's office. Ben was going over his orders for tonight. 50 guards had been requisitioned to watch the entries of the museum. Fairy Godmother had her wand in her possession, ready to use it, in case of need. The scepter had been hidden away in a safe - that only Ben knew the code of. They had done everything they could. Now, they could only wait and watch from their windows.

Celia still had a bad feeling. The same one she had woken up with. She thought that doing a reading would calm her down but it hadn't, as if she had missed something. She was still thinking about the cards that had been drawn. Something seemed off. Harry and Evie's cards had only given them hints - as they were supposed to. They did not exactly tell them where Mal and Uma were, but showed them the way to get there. However, Ben's card had explicitly told them the future.

"Tonight, someone will steal the scepter."

She suddenly understood. The cards never lied. Which meant that tonight, someone would steal the scepter. Nothing they would do could change that. It was already written. Therefore, their goal wasn't to protect the scepter. It was only a hint.

But already the sirens were ringing. It had already started. The thief had entered the museum. The guards had been defeated by dark magic.

Celia bit her lips, panicked. What had she missed ?