A/N: Welcome back :)
As always a big thank you goes to my wonderful beta Wanderlustandfreedom for her precious help with this chapter. And I'd also like to thank my regular reviewers Harry Potter Fan 1994, fresh-BLOOD-was-drawn-2night, AmethystDragon14 and SparkyGurly 227 for having left a review for the last chapter. Any feedback (big or small) is always appreciated and is a great motivational boost for me to continue writing so don't be afraid to leave me a message with your thoughts.
AmethystDragon14: Uuuh I'm so sorry to make you wait so long but I did leave some very small subtle Bal reference in this chapter all for you :) (it's the best I can do for now) Mmmm...you're thinking that Mal will manage to escape before Ben rescues her. I wonder what you'll think after this chapter.
fresh-BLOOD-was-drawn-2night: I'm curious to see whether you'll still be happy that Mal met Dizzy at the mines after this chapter. Thank you so much for your reviews :)
SparkyGurly 227: Yeah...Evie is a great supportive friend to Mal. Even if this is an AU I tried to buildup this great friendship between them - parellel to the canon universe. I'm happy you've noticed this.
Harry Potter Fan 1994: YAY! A Guess the Plot point - must be my lucky day. I'm so happy :D
Carvie16: I hope you're doing okay and keeping safe.
Last chapter, Mal and Evie reunited and together began trying to find her own way of escaping the mines while in Auradon, Gaston and Uma, are back to their scheming selves once again. Will Mal's plan succeed. Will she be able to escape and reunite with Ben. Let's find out:
Chapter 35
Agrabah's people - about a hundred in total - were gathered in a large circle under the shelter of the old Moorish castle's remains. A young man, Ben's age, with short black hair, was standing beside Jasmine. His arm was wrapped up to his shoulder in dry but stained bandages. Ben stood on the edge of the clearing with the rest of the Black Arrow. Tuck clapped his shoulder with a nod and joined Jasmine's side, his eyes flicking back and forth over the crowd in front of him.
"My son, Aziz, would like to address the people's council before we get down to voting," Jasmine began.
"People of Agrabah, two months have now passed from the day the soldiers ambushed us in the valley," he recounted with a shaky voice. "I was lucky enough to have survived the attack, but the same can't be said for some of our brothers and sisters or my beloved grandfather." His spine straightened as his tone hardened. "We've all lost so much since the start of the Great War. Look around you and see what's left of the people of the great Agrabah. Our kingdom, our home, our loved ones are all gone. King Stefan forced us to run for our lives. We weren't able to defend our kingdom then, and Stefan left us with no choice but to go into hiding. But I'm tired of standing by and watching powerless as everything around us crumbles." The outcasts began to murmur among themselves. "Some of our people are trapped in the mines. My wife, Dizzy, is a prisoner in the mines. We've abandoned our homes once. Are we going to abandon what's left of our people to their fate when there is something we can do about it?"
Jasmine smiled, eyes gleaming with pride at her son. She wished her dear Aladdin was still alive to witness the man Aziz had become. The women turned to address the council. "We need to find the courage to face our enemies one other time. Let's stop running. It's the only hope we have to one day defeat Stefan and claim back what has been taken away from us."
Aziz and Jasmine's words struck a chord, and Ben's heart swelled with determination as memories of Robin's dying moments flooded back to him. King Stefan and Gaston had hurt so many people. There was so much more at stake than merely avenging his father's death. He had to reinstate the Black Arrow and bring peace. "Friends," he began. "This mission will be successful, but I can't do it without you. Let us unite, and together we'll be strong enough to free all those innocent people from the mines. Help me bring back hope to the people of these lands."
Silence rested on the ruins for a few seconds. "I, for one," a peasant began, "don't have any family left and no one to rescue from the mines, but I'm tired of running and living like an animal." He stepped forward. "Prince Ben is right. Together, we can win this battle."
Ben waited with bated breath for the council's response and couldn't deny he was apprehensive. "I'm in!" another peasant shouted, and Ben's face broke into a wild grin as one by one, all the council members began shouting and cheering for freedom.
- ̴- ̴- ̴- ̴- ̴- ̴- ̴ ̴- ̴ ̴- ̴ ̴THE BLACK ARROW ̴- ̴- ̴- ̴- ̴- ̴- ̴ ̴- ̴
Mal watched the guard open the large bag in his hands. His eyes bugged out as he examined the contents with a delighted and greedy grin. "Well done, princess," he exclaimed. "I knew I would get a good deal out of helping you." The guard looked up and met her eyes. "Now listen to me very carefully. Every Thursday, I carry the iron out of the mines and take it to the soldier's outpost down in the valley. The wagon I travel with has a small secret compartment underneath the seat where I usually stash the other soldiers' wine. You'll hide there. The plan will work. We'll be long gone before anyone realizes that you've escaped the mines. So get yourself ready and meet me tomorrow at dawn in the courtyard," he whispered before walking away.
True to the guard's words, the wagon's secret compartment was small, but Mal's lithe form still fit perfectly. The guard nudged his horses, and the wagon began to move towards the mines' entrance. Light seeped through the wagon's front loose wooden planks, and Mal watched as the front guard opened the main gate to let them through. "Carle," a voice shouted, breaking the morning's stillness. The wagon stopped, and Mal stiffened. She recognized the voice. It was the guard's captain. Mal flattened herself to the floor of her hiding spot and covered herself with a discarded thick brown fabric she'd found earlier.
"Where are you off so early this morning?" the captain asked. Mal heard at least four different pairs of footsteps run and reach the wagon. A tense silence formed for a few seconds. "But you're shaking, Carle. Are you sick?" the captain laughed. "Search the wagon!" he ordered, and Mal's head started pounding along with her heartbeat. A moment later, someone yanked off her sheet, and Mal shut her eyes against the bright light. "Look what we have here," the captain snickered. "Going somewhere, princess?"
The captain caught Mal by the arm and dragged her out to the ground. "Arrest him," he ordered the other guards, gesturing to Carle, whose face had turned a ghostly shade of white. "And gather everyone out here. I'll show what happens to anyone who thinks he can escape from these mines."
Time seemed to slow down to a trickle as the other prisoners filled the outer yard and Mal's arm began to throb in the captain's vice grip. "Listen very carefully," he began, addressing the crowd around him. Their faces were pale with evident terror in their eyes. "I want all of you to remember this day very clearly. No one has ever escaped from these mines, and anyone who thinks that he or she can defy me is in for a rude awakening." The captain turned to Carle. "Hang him," he ordered.
Carle's screams and efforts to free himself proved futile as the soldiers dragged him to the yard's center beam. Moments later, a deafening silence fell across the clearing and replaced the guard's choking sounds. "As for you, princess," he paused, releasing her. "King Stefan's orders prevent me from physically harming you so Evie will take your place."
"No!" Mal shouted and moved forward, but two guards held her back as a third guard dragged Evie to the middle of the yard. Tears began to fall down Mal's cheeks. The sound of Evie's screams, followed by the crack of a whip, etched themselves in her mind. The captain was right. Mal would never forget this day.
Hours later, Mal was still wiping the wayward tears off her cheeks as she swept the guard's barracks. When she entered the next room and spotted Dizzy, her bloodshed eyes brightened. Dizzy stiffened, and her breath hitched, but Mal didn't notice. She dropped the broom and rushed forward to embrace the girl. "This is all my fault. That guard is dead, and captain whipped Evie because of me," she mourned. "I don't understand how he found out about our plan."
Dizzy's arms wrapped around Mal a few moments later, and Mal drew comfort from her. The girl pulled back without a word and averted Mal's gaze. Silence reigned over the pair, and something clicked in Mal's head. "What are you doing here, Dizzy? You're not rostered to clean the guard's barracks today."
Dizzy's chin dipped to her chest, and her shoulders slumped. All the pieces clicked into place, and Mal stepped backward. "Why aren't you answering me?" Mal asked, as her lower lip began to quiver. "It was you who told the captain!" she stammered. "Why did you betray us all? How could you?"
Dizzy wrapped her arms around her stomach and collapsed on a soldier's bed. "Forgive me," she whimpered. "I had no choice. It was the only way I had left to save my baby." Dizzy burst into tears.
Mal stared at the girl in disbelief and sniffled as more tears began to fall from her eyes. She turned to flee out of the room with a hand pressed over her mouth.
̴- ̴- ̴- ̴- ̴
"Here, sit down, Evie." Mal guided the woman to one of the chairs. "You need to rest." Mal picked up the plates from her hands and walked around the table. "I'll take care of setting up for dinner." The princess stopped and curled her hands around the plates. "I'm so sorry for what happened, Evie. I should've never tried to escape."
Evie shook her head. "It's not your fault, Mal. The plan would have worked if not for Dizzy." She stood and approached Mal with a small smile. "My back isn't hurting me as much already, so stop blaming yourself."
Mal nodded with a sigh. "I feel so alone," she confessed. "I used to dream that Ben would come to save me from here. I used to feel the warmth of his arms around me, but now I close my eyes, and all I see is cold and darkness. It's as if he's forgotten all about me."
The room's door rattled open, and four women dressed in fine clothing entered burst in accompanied by several guards. Mal and Evie's heads snapped up at the sudden noise.
Mal took a step back and swallowed. "Who are they?" she asked.
"Prostitutes," Evie replied. "Gaston's present to the guards."
The courtesans walked around the dining room, and two of them stopped a meter away from Mal and Evie. "Why did we come here? Look around you. This place is a dump. We should have stayed in Camelot."
Mal's head shot up at the familiar name, and she looked at the two women in front of them as they started to argue between them.
"But they're so much work here," the other commented.
"And you call this work? With these troglodytes? It looks like they haven't had a bath in years."
"You always complain, Sarah, but then you end up enjoying it."
"Speak for yourself, Edith. It'll take us days to wash the stench and mud off our clothes." Sarah turned and noticed Mal's stare. She snorted. "If we'd stayed in Camelot, we would be enjoying the wedding instead. That would have been fun."
Mal's gaze fell on the woman's neck, and she tensed at the sight of the familiar piece of jewelry. "That necklace is mine," she exclaimed with wide eyes. Something in Mal snapped, and she charged at Edith and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Who gave you that necklace?" Mal thundered before Evie pulled her away.
"What do you want from me, rube? Get your dirty hands off me." Sarah snorted and brushed off her dress. "It's none of your business. But if you must know the rich are always very generous when they get married," Edith purred with a smirk. "They love to show off their happiness by showering people with gifts."
Mal's face turned a pale shade of white. "Who's getting married?" she stammered.
Sarah began to laugh. "Prince Benjamin of Auradon and Uma, Duchess of Seaside, of course. They've made presents to everyone around Camelot."
Mal fought her way out of Evie's hold and lounged at Sarah again, but the prostitute pulled back. "This was a gift from Prince Ben himself," she exclaimed.
Mal's world came to a stop, and she could feel her legs starting to shake as her knees threatened to buckle under her. She slacked in Evie's arms. "It can't be," she whispered.
Sarah's eyes flitted up and down Mal's shaking frame. "And who are you? What do you want from me?"
"Don't listen to her, Mal," Evie spoke up. "She's lying. It's written all over her face."
"And why should I lie about the royal wedding?" Sarah puffed with a laugh. "What would I gain from it?"
"I don't know, but something doesn't sound, right?" Evie countered.
"Who told you about the wedding?" Mal whispered.
"This royal wedding is all Camelot has been talking about for these last few weeks. But then I forget you're merely a servant girl working in a filthy prison." Sarah laughed. "But ask the other girls if you don't believe me."
"It's true," the other prostitutes, who'd circled them during the commotion, confirmed.
"Prince Ben, the groom, is young and handsome while Uma is rich and beautiful. They're a perfect couple," Sarah gushed. "You know, I'm feeling generous myself. If you like this necklace so much, I'll give it to you. I'm sure the groom will give out other more precious presents." The prostitute unclipped the necklace and dropped it in Mal's hand with a satisfied smirk.
Mal stared at the golden trinket in her hand, the half of the Quadriform Fibula she'd gifted Ben. The world around her turned foggy as her eyes filled with tears. Mal let out a strangled anguish sob.
Evie stepped beside Mal and engulfed her in a hug. "We need to talk," was all Evie said, pulling her away.
A/N: Oh oh...it seems Gaston's plan has worked. Poor Mal...what is she going to do now that her plan to escape has failed (with disastrous consequences) and she's received the devastating news of Ben's marriage to Uma - while ignoring the truth that the prince has successfully rallied the people of Agrabah to help his mission and is days away from launching an attack on the mines in an attempt to free her. You know the drill...you'll have to turn in next chapter to discover what happens next. Mmm...I might even be able to surprise you and earn myself another guess the plot point in the process ;)
I haven't started working on the new chapter yet so I don't promise I'll be able to post it next weekend but I will do so as soon as it's ready. Stay safe out there in the meantime. Till next time :)
