Ben was jumping on the spot, he was trying to see if the little bus was coming
Mal: "Stop it, for the love of Gothel!"
Ben turned to her: "What?"
Mal looked at him sideways: "You are making me want to punch you in the face"
Ben chuckled: "You are always so sweet"
Mal: "Stop being so nervous"
Ben: "I can't help it"
They were waiting in front of the orphanage for the kids to arrive
Merryweather: "They are almost here"
Mal: "3 minutes"
Ben: "We can do this, right?"
Mal and Merryweather looked at eachother and sighed
Mal: "Ben, we have talked about this already. You are going to be just perfect"
Ben nodded
3 minutes later the bus arrived, it stopped, the kids came out and stopped in front of the trio, Carlos was with them, he winked at his sister
Mal smirked and winked too
Ben took a deep breath: "Goodmorning guys. I'm Ben"
Merryweather: "I'm Merryweather, the principal of this facility"
Mal: "I hope you remember who I am, or you will be in trouble"
The kids finally smiled an chuckled
Ben looked at Mal and she nodded at him: "Why don't we go inside? There's food, we can talk and you can introduce yourself"
Once the kids heard the word food, Mal knew she had to step in
Mal: "There is enough food for everybody, no need to steal or eat too fast. So, what you will do is this: you will follow us in an organized line and wait for your turn, understood?"
The kids nodded
Merryweather: "Well then. Let's go"
Merryweather and Ben were in front of the line while Mal and Carlos stayed behind to check the kids, they entered the cafeteria and they stopped
Ben smiled at everyone while Mal went at his right and Merryweather was at his left, Carlos went to bring to the dorms the stuff the kids had brought with them
Ben: "As you can see we have a buffet, one at a time you can grab a plate and pick the food. When everyone has their food, we can start with the introductions, ok?"
The kids looked at Mal, who nodded, one after the other they picked the food and sat at the table
Mal was sat near Ben: "Leave them eat first, then we can talk"
Ben: "Ok, should I say something?"
Mal: "I've got this" she looked at Jian, since he was the oldest and nodded, he nodded back and gestured the others. They all started eating
Ben: "I still can't believe how good you are at silent conversation"
Once the kids finished eating, Carlos had come back and Jian got up
Jian had black hair and brown eyes: "I'm Jian, the youngest son of Shan Yu" he looked at his right and nodded
A girl with fair skin, brown eyes, auburn and curly hair, who wore a colourful dress, got up and bowed: "My name is Dizzy, daughter of Drizella. It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty"
Ben: "The pleasure is mine" he bowed too
The dark-skinned girl next to her had curly dark hair and brown eyes, who wore a shirt and a skirt, who didn't got up: "I'm Celia" Mal smiled at her
A girl with dark and straight hair, green eyes and fair skin got up, who had a dirty black dress: "Francine, Gothel is my mother"
A blonde and curly haired girl, with fair skin and blue eyes, she wore a red dress, got up and bowed: "Your Majesty, my name is Queenie, daughter of the Queen of Hearts"
Jian now looked at his left
Two little boys got up, they both had blonde hair and fair skin, one had brown eyes and the other had green eyes: "We are Squearky and Squirmy, twins of Mr Smee"
Mal told who was who to Ben
Another boy with tanned skin, brown hair and green eyes, he got up: "Francesco, son of Mangiafuoco, her borther" he pointed at the girl next to him
The girl with tanned skin, brown hair and eyes, got up: "I'm Martina"
Jian had waited for all the introductions to be over, then with a look at Mal and Ben he sat down
Ben got up again: "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all. You can call me Ben, unless it's a formal occasion. You will be staying here for now, I hope you will like it, we will do a tour now"
Mal nodded
They all got up and started the tour, Ben showed the kids the classes, they walked through the garden, once they arrived at the dorms Merryweather intervened, they were at the end of the hallway, one room on each side
Merryweather: "Here we have two rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls. Your bags are already in here, why don't you go inside and take a look?"
The girls entered the room at their left and the boys entered the one at their right
Mal: "I think it's going pretty well"
Carlos: "Yeah, no fighting since they arrived. It's a victory"
Ben sighed in relief
Mal looked at him: "You alright?"
Ben nodded
Then, they heard some noises from the rooms, Mal sighed and entered the girl room
Carlos: "I spoke too soon" and entered in the boys room
Merryweather followed Carlos while Ben went with Mal
In the boys room
The four boys were yelling
Carlos: "Guys!" the yelling stopped "What is going on?"
Jian: "Those two can't decide where to sleep!" he pointed at the twins
Squearky and Squirmy: "I want to stay in those fluffy things"
Merryweather sighed sadly
Carlos: "Guys, there are four beds, you are four. Yes, they are beds. I'll decide where you sleep, so we are done with this, ok?"
The four little boys nodded
Carlos: "Squearky and Squirmy will sleep on the beds that look like boats, Squearky you sleep on the blue one, Squirmy on the red one" the twins nodded "Francesco and Jian, you take the bunk-bed, can you decide who stays up and who stays down?"
Francesco: "I'll stay down"
Jian: "Fine by me"
Carlos: "Great. You will be together here, Mal and I won't be here everyday so you gotta stick together. No fights. You got it?"
They all nodded
Carlos: "You like your room?"
Francesco: "Yes"
Merryweather smiled happily: "I'm glad, now that is all set, let's go to my class and I will explain how this is going to be"
In the girls room
The girls were yelling too, except for Celia that was sitting on the ground
Mal: "STOP IT!"
They all stopped and stared at her, Celia too
Mal: "Good, what the hell is going on? Celia explain"
Ben looked at Mal and then at Celia, it seemed that even though they weren't on the Isle Mal's leadership was still recognised
Celia: "Queenie wants the pink bed, but so does Martina, they started fighting. Then Francine tried to stop them but Queenie attacked her and then Dizzy stepped in. And it all went to hell"
Dizzy was currently on the floor, she had a clear slap mark
Mal nodded: "Okay, Dizzy are you alright?"
Dizzy nodded and got up, she went in front of Mal who looked at the mark, she touched Dizzy's cheek with her cold hand and the little girl sighed in relief, Mal had healed her
Mal: "Queenie?"
Queenie: "I'm sorry! I didn't mean too, I was just so nervous..." she looked at Dizzy "I'm sorry Dizzy"
Mal: "Francine, Dizzy, the next time someone starts fighting you come to me, or you call Merryweather. She is ok. Celia..."
Celia: "I know I should have done something"
Mal sighed: "No, I wanted to say that at least you didn't start with curses, good job"
Celia: "Oh... yeah, of course"
Ben: "Curses? She has magic?"
Mal: "Not my kind of magic. Don't worry"
Queenie and Celia shared a look and then looked at Mal who sighed in resignation
Mal: "Fine, come here" she opened her arms and the girls went to trap her in a group hug
Queenie: "We missed you so much"
Francine: "Nobody would read with me!"
Martina: "Nobody would hear my poems!"
Celia: "The Isle is so boring without you!"
Dizzy: "I missed our night talks!"
Mal chuckled and Ben saw a single tear rolled down her face, if he hadn't been surprised by the hug surely the tear shocked him enough
Mal: "I missed you too, girls" she pulled back "But now we have to go to Merryweather's class"
All the kids were seated, Merryweather was in front of them, between Mal and Carlos
Ben was answering a phone call
Merryweather: "So kids. Here we are. I'm going to explain to you what this is. You are in a special kind of school. It's for kids without parents or with parents who work all day long, so they bring them here. You will be in every classes you like, there a few that are mandatory and others that are optional. On your desk you have a list" the list appeared magically and the kids were in awe, they had never saw magic "You have a lesson with me, it's called Remedial Goodness 101. Once a day, at the end of the school-day"
Mal saw that Jian was about to protest: "You don't really have to study how to be good, but you will learn other ways to do stuff. Carlos, Evie, Jay, and I also have this class at Auradon Prep"
Queenie: "Why can't we be with you?"
Carlos: "You are too young to be in Auradon Prep"
Francine: "And why can't we be in Remedial Goodness with you?"
Mal: "Guys, the four of us will be here as much as we can, we will even teach some classes, and there is a bus just for you. You can come whenever you want to visit us. During the holidays we will be together at the Castle, ok? That's in 2 weeks"
Celia: "Sounds good to me"
And the others kids nodded, but Queenie and Martina didn't seem very happy
Mal: "Girls, what's wrong?"
Queenie: "I would like to have Remedial Goodness 101 with you"
Mal and Carlos looked at each other and sighed, Mal went near the girls and crouched down in front of the desks
Mal: "I'll talk with FG about it and we'll see what we can do. But I don't promise anything, ok?"
The two girls smiled and nodded
Mal smiled too: "Good"
Evie and Jay entered the room
Evie: "Did we lose something?"
All the kids turned around to watch them and got up but stood still
Jay: "Geez guys, one at a time please"
Then Dizzy ran and jumped at Evie's neck, Evie fell backwards, the boys went to hug Jay and the girls helped Evie and Dizzy up and hugged, then the boys went to Evie and the girls to Jay
Dizzy and Queenie were crying, the little twins were on Jay's shoulders, Francine and Martina were talking about clothes and shoes with Evie, Celia was trying to talk with Jay but so were Jian and Francesco. Mal and Carlos went there too and all the Isle kids started talking to eachother, there were hugs, kisses, pats on the back, and smiles
Ben was looking at them, wondering
Merryweather: "It makes you think, huh?"
Ben: "Yeah... I wonder.."
Merryweather: "What their lives were like?"
Ben shook his head: "I just.. they seem so sweet. How could he do that?"
Merryweather smiled a sad smile: "He did what he thought was right"
Ben chuckled: "Please, say what you really think"
Merryweather: "Speaking as a magic user, what your father did was.. awful. Putting the villains there might have been a good idea but... leaving them like that... and not checking on them?" she shook her head and then pointed at the kids with the four vks "Those kids are more innocent then those we have here, they have a pure heart... And the laws he imposes on us magic users.. that was just plain torture"
Ben looked at her confused: "What laws?"
Merryweather looked at him: "You don't know?" she looked at Mal "I thought... I mean surely you must have heard of them"
Ben looked at Mal who turned to look at him, her eyes were sad, she sighed and went to him and looked at Merryweather
Mal: "I didn't tell him. And his father... well you know him" she grabbed Ben's arm
Ben: "What are you talking about? What laws is he still imposing? I'm the King now... I don't understand.. I.."
Mal: "Ben" she smiled "You have been King for 2 weeks, the documents are still being transferred to your office... and this laws... they are really old, 20 years old. They are still valid because... I'm not even sure you can change them, Ben"
Ben was shocked: "Why shouldn't I be able to change them?"
Mal: "Some kind of laws... you can't change them. For example, the laws that says that killing someone is not right? You can't change those kind of laws"
Ben got a little closer to her: "Why didn't you tell me?"
Mal put her hand on his cheek: "Because I wanted you to focus on more easy stuff... like bringing here the kids? Reorganizing the situation of the Isle? And other stuff that we are doing... plus, your father is the one who should tell you these kind of things"
Ben pulled away: "You lied to me"
Mal sighed
Ben: "What? You used me to bring here the kids? You wanted to make the Isle better and then you all would have gone back there? Is that why you are with me?" he was getting angry
Mal whispered: "Ben..." she tried to touch him but he took a step back "I'm with you because I care for you.."
Ben: "Do you? What you said the other day, did you mean it? Can you feel it?" he said that with hatred, he was angry at his father, he knew it but right now he couldn't think straight
Mal was hurt, she understood why he was angry but she couldn't believe he would say something like that to her, she took a step back: "Ok, I think you need some alone-time to think about this.." she looked at the floor, then at Merryweather who had went to the kids but had heard everything, like Carlos, Jay, and Evie "I... I'm going back to school. When you cool down, maybe we will talk" she left the room
Ben looked at her, then he turned and punched the wall: "Damn it"
Everyone looked at him
Carlos: "Merryweather, bring the kids in the yard so they can play, we don't have playgrounds on the Isle"
The kids looked a little mad at Ben, they hadn't heard what he said to Mal but they had seen how hurt she looked, and Mal never showed her feelings
Carlos, Evie, and Jay went to Ben
Carlos: "What the hell was that?"
Ben turned around, still angry: "None of your business"
The trio looked surprised
Jay went closer to Ben: "You sure you want this conversation to go this way?"
Ben: "Or you'll do what?" he looked at Jay, daring him to make a move
Jay chuckled and then looked serious: "You are a dead man" he punched Ben, who fell backwards
Evie: "Jay!"
Ben got up and tried to punch Jay, who clearly used to fight, was faster and had moved, Carlos punched Ben in the stomach and the King growled but fell again on his knees, his right hand was sustaining him, his face turned to the ground
Carlos: "You feel like talking now, little beast?"
Ben looked up at Carlos and growled, his eyes were getting darker, he got up again: "No"
Evie: "Guys stop"
Carlos: "Evie, he deserves it"
Evie: "Maybe, but you two could kill him"
Ben chuckled darkly and sarcastically said: "Sure, you guys always talk about how bad you are, how great at fighting you are, how tough your life has been" he was breathing heavily, his mouth was bleeding a little "It's all a bunch of words. I get why Maleficent is so disappointed in you"
Evie took a step towards him and punched him on the temple, Carlos kicked him on the knee so that he would fall, and Jay grabbed him by the throat
Jay: "Listen to me, I know you are doing this to provoke us but we don't care"
Evie: "You should have stayed silent. See, forgiveness is still difficult for us. And I can assure you that we will make sure that Mal will never forgive you"
Carlos: "Never"
Then they let him go
Carlos: "I thought you were different" with disappointment
Mal came in the room, tears on her cheeks: "What have you done to him?"
Evie: "What he deserved. You deserve better then him"
The trio moved towards Mal
Mal: "No, you didn't" she made to go to Ben, who was on the floor, she gasped seeing him bleeding
Carlos: "Mal, let's go"
Mal's eyes glowed angrily: "NO!" her scream seemed a roar, she moved away Evie and Carlos and ran to Ben, she hold his face "Ben? Can you hear me?"
Ben took one of her hands: "Don't bother"
Mal shook her head, crying: "No" she touched the cut on his temple, she closed her eyes and said a few words, a wet cloth appeared and she used it to clean of the blood from his neck
Carlos and Jay grabbed her from the shoulders and pulled her away, she tried to fight back but it was useless
Mal: "Let me go!"
Carlos: "No, we are going"
They dragged her away from him, they said goodbye to the kids and then called a car to go back to Auradon Prep
Mal
She left the room, the first tear rolled down and was quickly followed by others, she ran to the woods and fell to the ground
She was angry at him but mostly hurt. She understood that he needed to let off some steam, he was angry and stressed, but those words had hurt her like she had never been hurt before
And she had bled to death
She had been killed
Mal thought back at when she had told him she loved him... it had come so natural... she meant it, she felt it, right?... why would he bring her insecurities back like that?
Then she heard Evie, Jay, and Carlos fight with him
Why should I care? He deserves it
But then she felt his pain, it was like it was hers
She got up and ran to the orphanage to stop the fight
When she arrived at the entrance of the room and saw her friends hurting him... she was shocked and couldn't move, she didn't even heard them talk to her, she ran to him and then she was dragged away
The last thing she saw was Ben sitting with his back to the wall, crying, then she was on the car headed to the school
Mal: "Why would he talk like that?"
Evie was calmer now: "He was very upset. He got what he wanted, now let him calm down. When he is Ben again, we'll talk"
Mal nodded, they had arrived
She went immediately in the bathroom to take a bath and then straight to bed, Evie layed down with her, the boys went to explain to the group what had happened so that they knew why they were angry at Ben
Evie: "What did you say to him the other day?"
Mal looked at her best friend: "Don't tell anyone"
Evie nodded
Mal: "I told him I loved him"
Evie: "Oh my God"
Mal: "Yeah, I know. I wanted to tell you today... but then..."
Evie: "I'm sorry, Mal..."
Mal: "I don't know what to do..."
Evie: "Sleep. Rest a little. These few weeks have been... difficult to say the least. Now, let's do one thing at a time, ok? Now we sleep, we'll think tomorrow"
Mal nodded and closed her eyes, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep. She was exhausted
It was like 1 a.m. when she woke up, she decided to take a walk
Ben opened the door of the Castle and when his mother saw him, he knew that his face didn't look too well
Belle: "What happened to you?"
Ben: "Where is he?"
Belle: "Who?"
Ben: "My father"
Belle was confused: "In his office, why? What's wrong?"
Ben ran up the stairs and entered his father office without even knocking, Adam was there and when he saw his son looking so upset got worried immediately
Adam: "Ben, what happened? Is it Mal? Did someone attack you while you were out? Is she okay?"
Ben laughed darkly: "Mal? She hates me right now..." he shook his head "I think I lost her... forever"
Belle was behind him: "Why would she hate you?"
Ben: "Because I got angry.. really angry. And I said some things..." he explained what had happened "Something similar happened the other day... Mal.. she helped me... It was like I was changing in some kid of animal..." he looked at his father
Adam was shocked: "The curse... it got to you too? But FG..."
Ben: "It doesn't matter now"
Belle: "Why were you so angry at Mal today?"
Ben: "I wasn't angry at Mal. I was angry at you" he looked at Adam again "Will you care to explain me why you didn't tell me about some laws you imposed on the magic-users 20 years ago? And more specifically, why are they still valid?" his eyes were darker, both Adam and Belle recognized the signs of the transformation and got nervous
Adam: "Ben, I need you to calm down"
Ben: "Calm down? I'll calm down when you stop lying to me!" he hit the desk with his closed fist
Belle: "Ben?" he looked at her "We didn't lie. We told you about those laws many years ago... you were 11 years old, I think, when you started asking questions about magic... and we answered. We told you everything"
Ben was shocked, his eyes turned to their normal colour: "You did? Then why I don't remember them?"
Belle: "Maybe because it happened 6 years ago? You need a little help to remember it. Sit down and we can talk" he did as told
Adam took a few documents from a drawer: "I made a mistake... I was so afraid of magic... that I made these laws. The magic-users need a special certificate to use their magic, that certificate needs to be sign by me. I control their magic. These are the laws you are talking about. They are still valid because you didn't changed them. They aren't in your office, probably because you have already so much work to do..."
Ben was looking at his father in complete shock
Belle was worried: "Ben? Where is Mal?"
Ben looked at his mother: "I don't know... she left me... she was crying.. Evie, Jay, and Carlos... they weren't exactly happy with what I said to Mal, and they did this to me... but I asked for it.."
Adam: "What do you mean with 'I asked for it'?"
Ben: "I said bad stuff to them too... like.. really mean stuff"
Belle: "And they punched you? And Mal didn't do anything?"
Ben: "She wasn't there when it happened... and when she saw what they had done she tried to help but they dragged her away..."
Adam and Belle shared a look, it was weird
Adam: "Ben, what did you say to them? They adore you, they would never hurt you"
Ben looked at his father with tears in his eyes: "I was so mean... I said... I said that I understood why they were a disappointment to Maleficent..."
Adam and Belle gasped
Belle: "Ben! Why would you say something like that?"
Ben started crying: "I wanted them to hurt me... like I had hurt Mal.."
Belle: "Oh dear..."
Ben was clearly desperate, he hold his head in hands and kept crying, his parents went to sit on his sides and hugged him
Belle: "It's going to be alright, honey. Everything will be alright, I promise" she kissed him on the head and then looked at her husband, who smiled sadly at her
When Evie got up and didn't see Mal, she wasn't worried, she thought her friend had probably went to the cafeteria
When she went to check and she didn't found her, she thought that maybe she was in the art class. Nothing to worry about
When she went there and she didn't found her, she thought that maybe she was with Audrey
She was at Audrey's door, trying not to worry
Audrey opened the door and was surprised to see Evie there: "Hey Evie, you needed something?"
Evie smiled: "Hey Audrey, is Mal here?"
Audrey frowned: "No, why?"
Evie took a step back, she started to pace back and forth, now she was worried
Where are you Mal?
Audrey: "Evie?"
Evie kept pacing
Audrey looked at Lonnie, who was inside the room, she was putting on her shoes, she shrugged
Evie tried to find her magically, her eyes glowed gold. She couldn't find her anywhere
Audrey: "Evie!" the girl looked at her "What is going on?"
Evie: "Can I come in?"
Audrey step away and Evie got in, she stopped in the middle of the room
Evie: "I can't find her. She fell asleep next to me but when I woke up, she wasn't there. I looked in the cafeteria, the art class.. here..."
Audrey: "Ok, let's think. She was really upset about what happened with Ben. Maybe she is with him?"
Evie shook her head: "No. I know her, she is too upset to confront him now. Mal doesn't do well with feelings"
Lonnie: "What about the gym?"
Evie: "I didn't think about it. I'll go check there"
Audrey: "I'll try the Tourney field"
Lonnie: "I'll try again the cafeteria. Maybe she was at the gym earlier and now she is getting breakfast"
The three girls left the room and went searching for their friend
Mal woke up and at first she didn't know where she was: "What the...?" but then she recognized the ruins
She was at the Enchanted Lake, she remembered flying in the sky to get there. She got up, it was still dark. She decided to get in the Lake. She couldn't swim, but she felt like she needed to get in there. She took off her shoes and the jumpsuit and entered. Immediately she felt better
She looked up at the sky and saw the stars and she felt at peace
The water was warm, and even if it was December she didn't feel cold, she closed her eyes and relaxed
Her thoughts went to Ben, she wasn't exactly angry but she was disappointed. She wanted to forgive him but she wasn't really good at that, she had been hurt so many times by so many people, but from him it was different, he was her home, she had confessed her greatest fears, she had let him see her vulnerability...
Why would he do something like that?
Ben had always been nice, gentle, patient, understanding, selfless, trustworthy...
Ben... why did you have to hurt me like that?
She could feel him on the edge of her consciousness, he was thinking about her too
He was sorry and hurt and angry at himself, but she wasn't ready to talk to him and he knew it, so he wasn't trying to reach for her. He was giving her space and time, and she appreciated that
In that moment she was in her magic form, she could see her reflection on the water but there was something different. She didn't seem angry or evil. She looked a lot like her mother did before meeting Stefan
It seemed like the Lake had heard her thoughts because the image of her mother appeared in front of her
Mal whispered: "Mom..."
The Maleficent in front of her was beautiful, she didn't seem angry either. Her eyes were a beautiful green, her full red lips were curved in a smile. It was clear that she was powerful and she could be dangerous but she had a peaceful aura
Nothing like the Maleficent of the present
Mal, like the image of her mother, had an aura of power and danger. But her eyes were showing her hurt
Mal sighed: "I wish I had met you then..."
The image of her mother couldn't answer but the look that Mal received wasn't the usual glare Maleficent gave her, and for a moment she was happy just like that
Mal looked at the full moon and then closed her eyes, she took a deep breath and let her senses work their way through the forest
She could hear the animals sleeping, the wind moving the leaves of the trees, the water falling from the waterfall. She could feel the wind in her hair, the warm water on her body, the light of the moon on her skin, the magic all around her relaxing her mind and working her way through her body making her feel the electricity of her powers
She had never been more at peace since coming to Auradon
She took a deep breath again and then completely immersed in the water, she stayed under the water for a few seconds and then emerged from the water
She magically dried herself, dressed again and flapped her wings and took off
Evie, Audrey, Lonnie, and Jane were waiting in the garden for Mal, they saw her figure approaching from the Tourney field
Mal was surprised to see them there: "Hey, is everything all right?"
Evie: "No. Why did you leave in the middle of the night without telling me?"
Mal: "Because you were asleep. I don't understand. Didn't you find my note?"
Evie was taken aback: "Note?"
Mal: "Yeah, I left it on your nightstand. I also told Carlos that I was taking a walk... didn't he tell you?"
All the girls looked surprised and embarrassed now
Jane: "We didn't really talk to the guys... we didn't want to worry Carlos.."
Mal raised an eyebrow: "Ok... Now, can we go to the cafeteria? I'm starving"
Evie: "Sure, let's go"
They went to the cafeteria and ate their breakfast, then Mal and Lonnie decided to play football and Jane joined them, Jay, Carlos, Chad, and James joined the girls in the Tourney field and decided to play too while Doug joined Evid and Audrey at the bleachers and they did their homework
