"Yer know, the security here leaves a lot to be desired," Harry said casually as they broke into the enormous building.
"Yea, you would think with all the riches they have, they'd spare a bit on security," Jay snorted, would make a great test of my skills, the thought, smirking as he imagined using his parkour to dodge lasers and vicious dogs.
Evie just rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the ache in her heart. Her and Doug had previously had this exact conversation many times before, and had even made up an alternative security system. She was proud of it, but even more proud of the fact they had created it together. They had spent hours pouring over it, planning on showing it to Ben when they had finished it. A shadow overtook her eyes as she privately and selfishly hoped it would never see the light of day, not wanting to be reminded of the good they created together every time she stepped forth into the museum.
"Vee, you coming?" Jay asked, just inside the threshold.
Evie shook her head and tried to smile, though she privately thought it would likely look warped and not even slightly genuine. With a nod, she stepped inside, trying to wrangle the memories that flooded her mind. All the hours her and Dough had spent here. All the time he spent patiently teaching her about everything that had happened the last 20 years since the exile. He was always patient, never raising his voice at her. Always the perfect gentleman, was manners so impeccable she could be forgiven for thinking he was a prince in another life.
Jay frowned, the shadows in her eyes not sitting well. It was like him ignoring the itch to steal when it flared; it was possible but unnatural. He waited for her, and wrapped a muscled arm protectively over her shoulders, pulling her to his side. "Come on, Glam, let's go set up camp," he said, squeezing her as he referred to her by the name he gave her when they became friends, referencing her love for fashion.
She smiled and let herself melt into Jay's side. Despite how much she loved Doug, Jay had always been there for her. She had always protected her, and had been her hero numerous times, stopping entitled pigs from touching her inappropriately and taking from her what they thought was theirs. No matter what she knew he would protect her, and would make sure she had time to heal without any disturbance.
Ben kept flickering his eyes to Mal, not liking the deep furrowing of her brows. She kept biting the inside of her cheeks, her mind seemingly miles away. Even Uma was quiet, not badgering Mal and baiting her. Instead she just looked ahead, her mind seemingly in the same place as Mal. Now Ben liked to think he was a smart guy, and he saw the worried expression on Mal's face when Evie remained still at her hug, so could put two and two together. What he wasn't sure of was how to best approach this.
He loved his fiance, he truly did. She was everything he wanted in a woman and more. He was still realistic however, he knew how fierce she became when it involved someone she loved, and he had no illusions that if push came to shove she would choose Evie over anyone else, even him, despite the fact it would shatter her. He knew he had to tread lightly, otherwise he might have to deal with Dragon Mal, and that was not a version of his girl he liked to invoke.
Gathering his courage, he looked at her, trying to order his mind. "Hey, Mal?" he asked, dragging her attention back from wherever it was. "Are you okay?" He asked, deciding to start simple.
Mal growled, her eyes flashing. Ben flinched, despite the fact he knew that it was a reflex and she would never hurt him. "No, I'm not. Evie is upset and I am stuck looking for some stuck up bitch who needs an attitude adjustment rather than comforting her!" she vented, her hair billowing in her unsealed magic.
Uma decided to take pity on the prince. Sure he was stupid and embodied everything she hated but she had been on the recieving end of Mal's temper and she wouldn't wish that on anyone, even the King. "We went to Evie's cottage after scouting the rooms, coming up empty. Though Audrey's diary was very revealing. Didn't know you were a freak in the sack, Ben," she smirked, her amusement deepening when she saw the way he flushed and stumbled around mentally to try to piece together a defense.
Savouring the fact she managed to fluster the King, she carried on, knowing they didn't have the luxury of time. "When we got to the cottage, Evie found her man knocked out coz of the spell, and long story short she tried to give him a true love kiss, but it didn't work." Uma said, trying to keep her voice flippant but some of her concern managed to leak through.
"Oh wow, no wonder she is so upset." Ben sighed, his heart hurting as he imagined the pain Evie, one of the kindest girls he had met, would undoubtedly be experiencing right now.
"The good thing though, is we know she has magic," Uma said, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
"She does?" He asked, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline.
Mal sighed, managing to reign in most of her temper. "Yup, she helped us do the spell to get us out of here. Glowed a really blue-y purple, reddish colour too," Mal said, forcing her mind not to deviate into her friend's pain.
"That's new, how is she feeling about it?" Ben asked, the question making Mal smile a little. This was one of the things she loved most about Ben. Most others would be fuming at the thought of another of them having magic, but here he was just concerned about her mental wellbeing. He truly was a great king.
"She is a bit distracted, but once everything calms down I bet she will be thrilled. Now we better focus, I can feel the lake up ahead," Uma said, making the others focus on what was going on in their present.
"Okay, Uma, you take the back entrance- that is where the lake is," he added, and she nodded, feeling the water calling to her. "Mal and I will go in through the front, and we can check out the place," he finished and the girls nodded, with Uma immediately walking away.
As soon as she was out of earshot, Ben pulled Mal into his chest, knowing that she needed the support. Mal flinched and stiffened, before melting into the hug, allowing a single tear to fall down her cheek. "She is my best friend Ben, and after the hellish torture she endured under her mother, I really thought she would finally get her happy ending," she finished, her voice wobbling.
Ben decided not to try unpack what the hellish torture meant, knowing if Mal was describing it as such, it must be horrific. Instead he focused on trying to imbue his hug with as much love and care as he could, so she knew she wasn't alone. "I'm shocked it didn't work as well babe, but once this is all over we can sort everything out. I actually have a surprise for her that I think will cheer her up and we can postpone our wedding until a time she is feeling better, I know how much she means to you," He said, placing a lingering kiss on her head.
"You'd do that for me?" Mal whispered, her head still buried in his chest.
"Of course, but for now we have to get going. I promise after this is over we can focus on Evie, you two can maybe even go away for a little while, my family has other castles you can stay in," he said, releasing her reluctantly.
"Thank you, and yea, let's go burn this bitch," Mal snarled, her eyes flashing green.
"Maybe not burn babe but we will definitely get her," Ben said, trying to hide the amusement he felt at his girl's impassioned declaration.
Waving him off, Mal ran to the door, looking both sides. Ben jogged up to her, waiting behind her. "This door is a roadblock, help me, and make it unlock," she chanted, her eyes flashing as she worked her magic. With a small grin to Ben she opened the door, finding Uma standing inside.
"Took you both long enough. I checked upstairs, she isn't here," she said, huffing.
Ben was about to reply when they heard a muffled sound coming from a closet. Looking at the two girls, Ben crept closer, his hands grasping the hilt of his sword. He held it in front of him, and slowly eased the door open, only to lower the sword in his confusion.
"Chad?"
"Ugh, this is boring." Celia whined, her eyes locked on the jewels that decorated Audrey's vanity.
"It is a stake out, it's not meant to be fun," Carlos replied, rolling his eyes slightly at her statement.
"Can we make more traps or something to pass the time?" Celia tried again, looking at Carlos with a whiny expression.
Carlos sighed and rubbed his temples, his patience fraying as the events of the day caught up to him. Not only was he stressing about Jane and Dude, though he knew that they could look after himself, but also Evie. Now he knew for a fact she would be physically fine, the girl was a fighter. What was more, she has Jay, the best fighter of them all and Hook, who despite his distaste for the guy, he knew he was skilled with weapons, probably better than any of them No, it was her mental health he was worried about. He was her first friend and she had told him some snippets of the torture her mother put her through, and it still made her queasy to think about it to this day. He knew she had told both Jay and Mal some of it, but he knew that none of them, including him knew it all.
They were all so happy when she met Doug, some of the sadness has seemed to thaw from her eyes. Nothing really upset her these days, she was mentally tough, probably more than any of them. So it must have been something huge to upset her. Something like...Doug.
"Celia, did something happen when you guys were in Evie's place?" He asked, trying to keep the desperation out of his mouth.
"You mean other than Evie having kick ass magic?" she asked excitedly. Carlos froze for a moment but knew that wouldn't have upset her, she had always been slightly envious of Mal for having magic. Deciding to unpack that later, he focused on the task at hand.
"Yea, something that would upset her.
"I dunno, she was acting really weird around Doug. He was asleep and she was acting as if he was dead or something," she said, rolling her eyes a little at her silliness.
Carlos frowned, his analytical mind whirling. He knew it had something to do with Doug, but he couldn't figure out what would have caused her to cry. Sure she was upset he knew asleep, but she knew he would be so what was wrong? Sighing, he knew he wouldn't get an answer until he saw he devoted himself to looking around the room, ready to end this once and for all.
Jay had found Harry lounging around the Hall of Villains as if he owned the place. He rolled his eyes at the pirate before gently untucking Evie from his arm. Stubbornly he ignored the empty feeling he felt when she left, his arm tingly slightly where she touched like when he got the urge to steal. He ignored it and went and sat on one of the seats Hook had somehow found, and watched as Hook gestured for Evie to do the same.
"Do you guys think she will come here?" Evie asked, elegantly folding one leg over the other as she cooly observed the room.
" 'is as gooda place as any." Harry said, shrugging his shoulders.
"I hope Mal is okay," Evie sighed, playing with the end of her long braid and resisting the urge to chew on her lip.
Harry and Jay exchanged a look, before Harry gestured for Jay to take the lead on thus. Jay sighed, and ran his hand through his long hair, wincing when he snagged a knot, "Look, Evie-girl, I'm not good at girl talk or whatever, but we are more concerned about you. Wanna give us a hint as to what's going on?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
Evie stifled a sob that threatened her calmness. You just redid your makeup, imagine how unimpressed mother would be if you destroyed it a second time, she thought, conjuring up her mothers face and internally wincing at the harshness of her mother's gaze.
"Canny hurt to talk aboot it," Harry added, giving her a controlled version of his usual cheeky grin.
"Well, let's just say there has been a role reversal," she sighed, sadness twined in her words.
"Whaddaya mean?" Harry asked, frowning slightly.
"Well, on the Isle, I was the heartbreaker. I was the one that had people wrapped around my finger so I could use them and strip them of everything they had, but now, I'm the one left broken hearted," her voice was so soft and cracked that it broke the boys hearts. The usually confident and outgoing Evie, who they admitted was vain, was reduced to a shy, insecure girl. And it didn't sit well with either of them.
"I tried to give him true love's kiss and it," she paused, taking a shuddering gulp of air. "It didn't work," she whispered, barely audible.
"Oh, Vee," Jay whispered, getting up and picking the girl up so he could cradle her in his arms, moving her legs around her waist.
Despite her best efforts she couldn't keep the sobs back. Her entire body shook with the intensity of her sobs, her voice breaking. She kept muttering inaudible and incoherent things into Jay's vest and he just held her, hoping that he could help her, even just a little bit. He caught Hook's eyes and was startled by the sympathy that shone there. He knew the pirate was fond of Evie, I mean who wasn't? The girl was like a walking ball of sunshine. But he didn't think his care went that deep. He just hugged the girl back, making sure she keow that he was there and not leaving her. He held her firmly, putting enough pressure to assure her that he would neve let her go. She sobbed out her broken heart into her leather, the material absorbing her tears like Jay tried to absorb her pain.
Gradually her choking sobs stilled, morphing into hiccups. Jay still held her to his chest, keeping his hands just under her thighs. Once she calmed down, she moved her legs, and she let go, gently placing her on her feet. She ducked her head and wiped her eyes, internally cursing the fact that she would have black marks on her face.
"Better now?" Jay asked, giving her a lopsided grin.
"I kind of am, my makeup is not though," she replied, letting out a strained laugh that didn't sound quite right, like a slightly out of tune instrument.
Harry got up, taking that movement to interject. "Lucky for ye darlin' I happen to have some eyeliner here that you can use," he said, brandishing it to her like it was an elaborate bouquet.
"And you carry that around with you, why? Better yet, you wear that why?" Jay asked, snorting and rolling his eyes.
"I'll hev ye know, Jay, the ladies luv it," he replied, winking at Evie when he said that, making her chuckle at him. "Besides, ye neva ken when a pretty gurl will needa a touch up," he said, before looking at Evie.
"Thank you Harry, that is very sweet of you. I'll be back soon," she said, reaching out to grab both their hands and squeeze them, complete with a watery smile.
Without another word she turned on her heel, trying to keep her head up high like she was taught. She may be heartbroken, but she was a Grimhilde, and no one, not even someone you love with your whole heart, can keep a Grimhilde down, she would make sure of that.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it a multi chapter one but clearly I have. A big thank you to darkandtwistedmind2.0 and Descendantslover for your reviews and encouragement to turn this into a multi chapter. I had a lot of fun writing the connections between them all, especially Jay and Evie, and the small interaction with Evie and Harry. She isn't as close with Harry due to being on opposing sides, but that will change for sure.
I couldn't resist the diary comment either, just had to add it. Hope it gave you guys a laugh like it did me.
Malvie friendship is gold, so is Carvie, I just adore it. Anyway that is enough rambling, hopefully see you all next time!