Collaboration with Xez2003

The authors acknowledge this chapter is very short with an apology and a promise that you really don't want to mix the happy contents of this chapter with the not-happy contents of the next.

"This is disastrous!" Adam mourned as he thumped his head against the mantle of the fireplace in Mal's room. Mal watched the shell-covered frame set there shake. It was like Belle's smile was wavering in the photo every time it moved. Ben had been set on Mal's bed with only one sheet and one long blanket. He was asleep now - the coughing had grown worse and Mal had knocked him out to avoid him jostling his chest. An Auroria product made from morphine and alcohol and administered in tiny amounts. She'd also given him some coca-wine to numb the pain. Despite the fact Adam and Audrey both knew he was asleep, they seemed rather inclined to believe he was on his deathbed. "Assassins in the court, assassins in the guards, everywhere! How do we even know who to trust?"

"It was only the people who've been mad at Ben," Audrey soothed. She was standing beside Carlos and patting down his hair as she thought. He didn't seem too bothered by it. All of Mal's other bedding had been 'donated' to Carlos's personal fort on the floor by Ben's feet, leaving the minimum amount of space for his older brother to be worked on. "We should appoint new people and then weed out the rest by who hated him."

"That was everyone! No one liked Ben's ideas! He was unruly and brash and rude. You couldn't argue with the boy!"

"He's still here," Mal said. "He's not dead."

The fact that he looked half-dead was another matter - at least he was breathing.

Adam, of course, ignored her. Not surprising. He turned to Audrey and ran a hand through his hair. "Your own father was involved," he sighed. "And King Florian, Queen Jasmine, and King Naveen. We have no way of knowing who could have died in the fire until our next meeting - whether they were in the court or not. What are we supposed to do? Let them continue to keep their seats?"

"They're traitors," Mal said. "Ben wanted everyone locked up. If you continue to-"

"Would you shut up?" Adam demanded. "Are you on the court? No, so your opinion is irrelevant."

"With all due respect, my opinion matters a whole lot more to your son than-"

"Perhaps we ought to release Mal early?" Audrey sneered. "I doubt she'd be missed by anyone."

Mal froze. She couldn't do that. Belle would be furious. Then again, Belle wasn't exactly coherent. Neither was Ben.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Adam said."Give you your final pay and we can provide you a carriage to take you back to your hometown."

"There are plenty of servants who can continue caring for Belle," Audrey continued. "I'm sure you can find another job - somewhere."

"Ben will be furious when he wakes up."

"We don't even know if Ben will pull through."

"He will, unless you leave him unguarded again."

"Who said I left my son unguarded? How dare you!"

"She's not going," Carlos said from his place on the floor. He stood up and crossed his arms. "If Mal leaves, we'll tell the entire town what's happened."

"Tell them what?" Audrey demanded.

"Who's 'we'?" Adam snapped.

"Ben thought you might try this behind his back. So he and I have been telling my friends stuff every time they came. And they just left this morning." Carlos could hardly keep the triumphant smirk off his face as he delivered his blow. "If Mal leaves, you'll find that the town will somehow figure out that the courts have revolted against their beloved king. That the old king has stepped up instead and he's getting rid of the person who's been helping Ben make changes. I'm not sure they'd like that."

"Ben is not very well liked in the city, Carlos," Adam said slowly. "I know it may seem that way, but-"

"Ben said you could take that chance if you want," Carlos interrupted.

Adam shut up.

Perhaps Audrey and Adam suffered the same blood issue, because she looked about as red as a cherry and Carlos hadn't even been talking that long.

Adam turned in a fit of fury and left the room, slamming it behind him. There was no silence - the space was filled with a guttural scream of frustration. Audrey sent them both a scathing look and then followed Adam out. She, too, slammed the door and Belle stirred. She opened her eyes. "You here?" she whispered.

Mal took her hand and rubbed it between her own. "I'm here, Belle,"

"Good." Belle closed her eyes.

Carlos sat down. "Is she gonna die soon?" he whispered.

"Soon," Mal whispered. She patted Belle's hand and set it back down. Her gaze flicked across the room, to where Ben lay.

"What about Ben?" Carlos asked.

"He should be fine. We just have to make sure this doesn't get infected and let him rest." Mal got up and went to tug the blankets tighter around Ben. His hand was caught underneath the covers, so she pulled it up and set it by his side. The sapphires in his ring flickered in the firelight. "He'll be fine, Carlos."

"Can't you heal him? With magic?"

Mal pursed her lips. She didn't want to risk unwrapping Ben's wound since it had bled badly the last time and they'd just barely applied the alcohol two hours ago (making sure Ben was fast asleep to do so). But she put her hands on Ben's chest and tried to imagine everything stitching back together, healing, and the wound vanishing. If Adam got mad later, fine. Ben was in charge anyway and he wouldn't protest.

Unfortunately, nothing really happened. Mal tried to focus harder, tried to conjure up that feeling of the magic in her palms, but got nothing. It was like she was pushing against the palace, trying to budge the entire thing a few inches. Useless.

"I'm sorry Carlos," she said. "I can't. I think he's just going to have to get better the normal way."

Carlos sighed but didn't protest further. "Okay," he agreed and flopped back into his fort on the ground. Mal waited until he was hidden with his face tucked out of view before tucking her hair behind her ear. She leaned down and kissed Ben's forehead before turning to sit at Belle's side.

Mal gave Ben one more dose of sleep stuff before she turned in for the night. She didn't give him much at all - this stuff was effective, but would kill him if she was stupid with it. She only needed enough to keep him asleep and out of it while he healed. She checked on the wound briefly and then took up a place on the floor. She'd stolen a bunch of pillows and blankets and she and Carlos had built themselves a proper nest on the floor with four or so headrests and three chairs supporting a little overhead cover. Unnecessary? Absolutely. Helpful for Carlos and somewhat sentimental for Mal? Equal affirmative.

After Mal'd refused to let him experiment with the laudanum, Carlos had fallen asleep out of boredom before the sun had gone down. He'd woken up to eat, and then snuggled into the fort with one head on a pillow under a chair, his arm twisted entirely around him, and one foot propped up on the pillow headrest next to him.

Mal laid down beside him, reaching out to pet his curls a little, and then rolled over and closed her eyes. She was already half gone, but didn't know how much rest she'd be able to get if she was listening for both Ben and Belle.

It felt like she'd only just drifted off when Ben's coughing brought her straight back. She could tell the passage of time by the light of the moon through the window. Mal struggled out of the nest, trying not to topple anything or jostle Carlos, and got to her feet. "Hey," she whispered, getting to Ben's bed. He was awake, but completely out of it. His head swung from side to side as he tried to look around him to see where he was. His eyes didn't focus on anything and slid from one side of her to the other without stopping.

"Hey," she put a hand on his shoulder. His head snapped around and he began trying to jerk off her hand. "No, no, don't do that." With two hands, she guided his shoulders against the headboard. He'd managed to move up too far for her to just push him into the pillow. "It's me, it's just me."

"Mal," Ben said. His breath was all gasp and barely any volume. "Mal."

"Yes, it's Mal."

"I need Mal. Go get Mal."

"I am Mal."

"Yes, Mal."

He kept turning his head back and forth and swaying it on his neck like he was dizzy and trying to figure out which way was right. He must have no idea where he was or who she was. She leaned forward. "Okay Ben, here's Mal. She's right here." She reached down and took his hand to squeeze it. Ben began opening and closing the opposite hand, trying to snatch hold of her. Mal sighed and sat down beside him. She put both of her hands into his hands and squeezed softly. "Here I am, Ben."

"Mal?"

"That's right."

"Mal, I need you to go get Mal."

Welp, that certainly sent that idea into retirement. Mal exhaled. "Do you even hear yourself?" she asked.

"Please, it's really important…"

She pursed her lips. At least she knew he cared. "What do you need her for?"

"I have to tell her something."

"Tell her what?"

Ben wasn't focusing and his expression was almost entirely numb, but when he spoke, his voice betrayed the anxiety of his head. "I have to tell her something," he whined. "Really, really important."

"About what? You need to rest. I can tell her when she comes back."

This time, Ben's face twisted up like he was hurt by her words. Mal tilted her head. It was cute to see him in such a panic. She took one of her hands away and put it on his bandage. He was in no position to hold them anyway. He could barely flex his fingers in his panic. "Do you hurt?" she asked. "Do you need more pain medicine?"

"Please just get Mal," he begged. "I need to tell her - the gun - the library - it was on fire."

"I know. I was there." Mal's smile dropped. "I mean - she was there. She already knows."

"I was shot," Ben told her as slowly as he could. His words were slurring though, so it wasn't any easier to understand. "Someone - they shot me. I saw… the bullet…" His head lolled and he gasped for breath. Apparently speaking slowly was hard on his lungs. He definitely needed more sleep medicine.

Mal brushed her hand across his collar. "Just relax," she murmured. "Relax." She leaned forward to kiss his cheek. Just as her lips grazed his skin, he whipped his head around and his cheek was replaced by his mouth. Mal barely held back a squeak. His mouth was underneath hers. Their mouths were touching. And every muscle felt like it'd been turned to ice.

Ben had no such paralysis. The moment he realized she was there, the contact turned from accidental to him kissing her. She couldn't even explain the difference but it was there. There in the way he'd started squeezing her hand and he was leaning in like he'd finally figured out which way was up and it was through her. No more looking around for her and seeking her out.

Something was different in her too. She wasn't seeking for anything anymore either. He was her center of balance. A pivotal point that was somehow holding the world steady. And now she was squeezing his hand back just as hard and closing her eyes as Ben reached out, found her shoulder, and pulled her with him as he rested his head back against the wall.

Crap. This was really happening.

Shoot. She wasn't prepared for this.

And the unthinkable - had she really fallen in love with the King of Auradon?

Not surprising, in hindsight, but a shocker when it was staring her in the face like the accused.

His hand traveled up her shoulder to her neck before he tilted his chin down and broke the kiss. His chest was still heaving. Mal's was too. Funny, how important air could be. She tried to pull back but Ben's hand behind her head kept her from moving. He leaned forward to kiss her again. Mal searched but couldn't find a protest.

Now that the panic had faded, he was dropping off though. His lashes fluttered up and down and scratched against her face. He gradually became less responsive until he drifted off all over again, succumbing to the drugs.

Mal's entire mouth felt numb. She put his hand down on the covers beside his legs and prodded her swollen lips, trying to decide what to do with… everything. The sensory overload, the shock, this new information that Ben was a really, really good kisser… Shoot.

In the end, she put another drop of the medicine onto his tongue and went straight back to bed.

Collaboration with Xez2003