Her Royal Highness

by WanderlustandFreedom

30 years after war ends, King Ben is about to ascend the throne, but there's one major roadblock - a child of Maleficent cursed to become his Queen, or else. Now, the two need to rule an increasing number of kingdoms, including Auradon, in uproar over a new Queen, an Ancient land desperate to survive, an Island severed off Auradon permanently, and war going on over their heads.

34. Chapter 32

ON THIS CHAPTER - Mal sings a rendition of 'Evil Like Me' in this chapter. It is shorter than the original. The chords are all the same except for an extra added bar in between where 'you should thank your lucky stars that you were born the girl you are' and 'the daughter of an evilicious queen like me' are. I'm debating on recording myself singing it and putting it up on Tumblr for you all to get an idea of what's going on. I will let you know if that happens(I have a cold so idk) - my tumblr blog is under my username 'WanderlustandFreedom'.

"You think Auradon is mostly okay with me now?" Mal asked through a yawn. The sun was filtering through the window and casting hazy patterns on the carpet. She rolled over to face Ben, who had been busy running his fingers through her hair and curled herself closer to his bare chest. She put her arms around his neck and began running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.

"It's far too early to be thinking of that," Ben mumbled. His breath was close to her hairline. He carefully put his arms around her and began to trail his fingertips up her back in cool, comforting strokes.

"Yeah, but what do you think?" Mal asked. She dropped one of her hands and brought it to rest on his sternum. The corner of his mouth twitched.

"I hope they like you now," Ben whispered. "There haven't been any protestors for a little while, and you've been working very hard between the Isle and the Moorlands."

"No kidding," Mal groaned. She kissed his jawline and laid her head against his collar. Their bodies felt cool, pressed together with their skin both a little icy. "I want you again."

"It's far too early to be thinking of that," Ben repeated with a smile in his tone. He did reach down and cup a hand at her thigh. His cool touch felt like some sort of healing balm. She closed her eyes as Ben's warm breath tickled her ear. "Besides," he whispered. "We need to get protection before we do this too often more."

It was a fair, if unfortunate point. Mal sighed in acquiescence.

He pulled her even closer to him and their legs became entangled in the cool sheets. She winced as pain ran up her spine, and then relaxed. Somehow, the covers had fallen off the bed, but he was so warm she hadn't noticed until now. "You okay?" He whispered.

"Yeah." She whispered back. She curled her toes up and poked his foot with them. He chuckled and wrapped her up in a large bear hug. She smiled and closed her eyes as she laid her heavy head on his chest. "Think everyone would notice if we took another hour to get up?" She whispered.

Ben let out a guffaw. "Of course." He laughed. "They're probably already jumping to conclusions. It's eight."

"Eight?" Mal mourned. She sat up to glare at the alarm clock on his side. Sure enough, the blinking numbers read 8:17. She growled and slumped back into Ben's skin. "No, it's not time to get up." She told him. "Three more hours."

"The boat to the Isle leaves at ten," Ben reminded her with a smile.

"No, it doesn't," Mal complained.

"Audrey will be waiting for you." Ben laughed.

"Audrey's a big girl," Mal mumbled. She folded her arms under her head on top of Ben's chest and closed her eyes. "She can find her way to the wharf and back."

Ben laughed. He picked her up off of him, untangling their legs in the process, and laid her back in the covers. Heavy stabs of pain ran through her. Mal whined and pulled the covers up over her head as Ben climbed out of bed. "Come on, your majesty." He chuckled, pulling her out from under her cotton guard. "You have to shower and get dressed still."

"No, I don't," Mal growled. She sat up and glared at him.

"Yes, you do." Ben laughed. He looked around the room and shook his head. He found their pajamas where they had fallen and pushed hers into her hands with a laugh.

"Ugh." Mal sighed as she tried to force her arms through her pajama top. "What if I get dressed in my pajamas and then just don't shower?"

"Then you'll smell like me the entire day and people will give you and I weird looks," Ben told her.

"Sounds normal." Mal shrugged. She pulled on her pajama pants and walked to the door. It was even brighter outside. She squinted through the living room and went to check on her mom. Maleficent was lying on a little rock in the terrarium, shivering under her lamp. A little puddle of lizard blood surrounded her, and more was oozing out of sores on the poor lizard's skin. Mal bit her lip. "On second thought, maybe I should just stay here all day." She sighed, turning back to the bedroom, where Ben was carrying a change of clothes for both him and her in his arms on his way to start the shower. "For real." She added.

Ben frowned. He flipped the light on in the bathroom, set the clothes down, and came to kneel beside her at her mother's terrarium. When he saw the state Maleficent was lying in, he winced. "Oh, god." He whispered.

Mal nodded. "Yeah." She sighed. "I'm going to stay here and do work in my office for the Isle. Do you know where my phone is? I need to text Audrey and let her know I'm staying in."

Ben put his arm around her as they watched Maleficent take ragged breath after ragged breath. Mal sighed and shook her head. She stood up and started walking away. "Are we showering together today?" She asked.

"If you can handle it?" Ben replied, remaining sitting as Maleficent opened an eye and examined him like he was something dirty she didn't want to be associated with.

"Sounds good," Mal called. He heard the water start running from the bathroom and the door swung closed but didn't lock.

Ben watched Maleficent's tail flick back and forth. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I wish there was something we could do to help."

The little lizard flicked her tongue out and hissed at him. Ben snorted. "Yeah, I know you hate me." In response, Maleficent closed her eye and curled up a little on her rock. Ben let out a sigh and got to his feet. "Thank you." He whispered. Maleficent didn't respond. "For everything." He clarified. "Mal and Madison, and the curse." He swallowed. "I love her a lot. I don't know if you can understand that, but I do."

She still didn't respond, so Ben sighed and headed back to the bathroom, pulling his shirt back off as he walked. He sidestepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him, and completely missed Maleficent flick an eye open before she snorted and curled up miserably on her stone.

---

Mal stilled her breathing as she watched the light shine through the lizard's pearlescent skin. Her mom opened one eye lazily and then closed it again. She took a last breath and stilled.

For several seconds, Mal sat and observed. Her legs started to go numb beneath her. She held her breath to make sure it wasn't a trick of the light, and then carefully turned off the heat lamp and opened the cage. She took the lizard in her hands as tears filled her eyes. Her hands shook. Maleficent's body was already going cold. Mal carefully put her mother back down, knowing her eyes hadn't fooled her, and that Maleficent was now dead.

Everything felt different. She curled her legs up to her chest, leaning back against the couch, and buried her face away from the sunlight streaming in from the windows. She was motherless. The woman who had raised her was gone. Mal searched through her memories to try and re-discover a single happy memory, but none came to mind.

The door to the bedroom opened with a swishing sound. Mal lifted her head and watched Ben appear with a frown on his face and a stack of books in his arms. His eyes immediately fell upon Mal.

"I came up to check on you." He said. "Is everything alright?"

Mal sniffled and shook her head. Ben immediately shut the door behind him and strode towards her, letting the books thud onto a side table and then slide onto the floor as he passed. Mal heard papers hitting the carpet as he reached the couch. When he saw the heat lamp off and the terrarium's lid removed, he knew immediately. His face softened.

"Oh, Mal." He rounded the couch and hit the floor next to her, reaching for her hand. Mal wiped her eyes as tears began to fall.

"I'm okay." She told him, told herself. "It's okay." He squeezed her hand and she turned to fall into his chest. Mal put her arms around his neck and let her head drop in between his neck and shoulder as she sobbed. The tears felt like they were being pulled up her throat and out her eyes as she mourned everything she had lost. Ben kept one comforting arm around her back and another on the back of her head, where he gently rubbed her scalp and waited for her to soften her cries.

"I'm okay." She repeated into his shoulder. "I'm okay; I have you."

Ben chuckled. "I don't have to be enough. You're allowed to depend on more than one person." He hugged her tightly. "Want me to go get mom?" He asked, referring to Belle. "Do you want to talk to her?"

"No." Mal gasped as she wiped her eyes and began to take deep breaths. To be honest, she didn't want to see Belle for a little while, and wished, in a backward sort of way, that Ben hadn't referred to his mom – the person who had shown Mal more matronly love than her own parent – as her mom because that was wrong. She had a mom. Or, rather, had had a mom. Her mom made her who she was. She was her mom's daughter. Not Belle's. Belle was Ben's mother and Maleficent was hers and Mal was Ben's wife and there should be separations. "No, you are enough. Thank you; you're always there when I need you."

Ben kissed the crown of her head as she began to release her hold a little. "Will you be okay?" He asked.

She nodded but didn't pull away from him. Ben knew it would be a while still. He wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could and rubbed her back while she dealt with all her sorrow.

---

Maleficent would be cremated at her childhood home of the moors. Mal and Ben announced they'd be traveling to the moorlands. Two days before they left, people in the moorlands called to inform Mal of a decision that had been reached in light of the recent death – the moorpeople, despite still prepared for war and angered with Auradon, would allow Auradon people behind the borders to see the event.

On August the seventeenth, Mal returned to the moorlands. With help of some fae folk, a path was paved, tables and pavilions were magically erected, and the proceedings were arranged. Ben went with her, and they took Madison with them. Belle and Adam would follow separately.

"I knew her as a child," One of the rock trolls reminded Mal in a crumbly voice as she put a bowl filled with fruit down on a table with shaking hands. Ben was sitting down, holding Madison, who was dressed in a little yellow dress with a daisy clip in her hair, up to his face and teasing her, but turned to watch her exhale as she rested her palms on the table. "She couldn't be kept in one place! She flew all over these lands, every day."

"Thank you for telling me," Mal acknowledged the troll. Many of the creatures were attempting to break out the Auradon languages they knew – Ben had been able to hold a conversation with a flying fish that spoke French with a muddied accent, but others wouldn't be able to converse with whoever came from Ben's country.

Mal pushed herself back up as if the initial exertion would keep her going, but Ben caught her arm as she passed and held her in place. "Sit," He whispered. "You're going to wear yourself out."

Mal shook her head. "If I sit, I'll be still, and I… don't want that."

"Rest," Ben commanded. He pulled her down onto the bench beside him and put his hand on top of her hand. "Everyone will be here soon."

Mal shook her head. "Do you really think Auradon will come to remember a villain?"

Ben shrugged. He put his hand in front of Madison's face, and she furrowed her brow up as she tried to reach his fingers. Mal couldn't look right at the little girl. She looked too much like Maleficent. "I didn't think I would… I mean… I never really pictured her dying. Fae usually live for a pretty long time."

"You seem the kind of person who wouldn't think about death very much," Ben nodded. "I, um, don't know what to say. Maleficent has always been kind of a mystery to me. When you showed up, you insisted you didn't care for her. But it's clear now that that was wrong."

Mal shook her head. "I don't know what changed. Maybe I just wished she would have been a better mom so much I wanted to let her back in so she could try again. And then she died." She clasped her hands together and shook her head. "I wish… I wish so many things."

Ben exhaled a little, and then hooked his fingers under her chin to pull it up. She expected some sort of speech, but he pointed down the pebble path to where the edges of Auroria's fields were visible almost a mile away. "Look," he whispered, and Mal's breath caught a little eat what she saw.

People were coming. People in gowns and in boots and in suits and dresses. Poor people, rich people, royals, and commoners. Some marveled at the trees and the creatures and the scenery as they passed, and others kept their faces straight, observing the event with the grace the event called for. Mal couldn't believe it.

People came into the clearing and fae people came up slowly, cautiously, to bid them hello. Mercy, Myth, and May were among the front bearers of the group. The Fae were the prominent group helping Mal organize things because Maleficent had been one of them. Mal watched one younger fae child wave to another small, human child, and then tried starting a conversation in rocky English. Some people took notice of the King and Queen sat at one of the tables under the pavilion, but Mal turned her head to the ground and people assumed she wanted her space. She knew that, sooner or later, she'd have to interact with some of them.

"My parents are here," Ben narrated softly, setting his hand on her back and rubbing circles on her spine. "Do you want me to-"

"Ben, I love your mom," Mal sighed, pulling down on her skirt a little. She was wearing a short, sleeveless black mourning dress and had chopped her hair back to be chin-length again. It was odd to have her blunt hairline tickling her jaw. Ben, meanwhile, had dressed in a suit despite the heat. "But she's not my mom and I don't want her to try to be right now,"

Ben nodded, withdrawing his hand. "Okay," He whispered.

"There you are!" Someone explained, walking up to them. At first, Mal thought it might be Belle, but then she glimpsed for blue high heels and her head snapped up.

"Evie," She whispered, rising to her feet a little. Jay and Carlos were right behind her, dressed in a darker color scheme, and Sophia and Stewart were coming up behind them. Evie wrapped her arms around Mal, squeezing her tightly, and Mal felt problems falling off of her shoulders as she buried her face away in the Isle Girl's arms.

"Is she okay?" Jay whispered to Ben, coming up to shake his hand and wave at his sister while Evie held onto Mal.

"She says she is, but it'll take time," Ben responded in a lowered tone as if he were pretending to hide the fact that they were talking from Mal.

Mal looked at Carlos and her mouth unhinged from her jaw. "Is that a dog?" She asked, blinking in shock at the brown-haired furry creature in Carlos's arms.

Carlos blushed a little and nodded. "Yeah," He agreed. "I, uh, met him when we were touring the campus with Ben. He was a service animal, but he was having a hard time in obedience class, so I asked if I could take him."

If you had told Mal back on the Isle that Carlos would one day go away to college and find a dog… well, she supposed anything about her life now would have startled her old self.

"Are you okay?" Evie asked, holding onto Mal's hands as Mal sat back down beside Ben. Ben was playing with Madison's feet a little, though he didn't do much else to pretend he wasn't listening to every word of their conversation.

"I, uh, sort of feel like I'm going to throw up," Mal admitted. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Hey, we're with you, okay?" Jay asked, bending down to be on eye level with her a little.

"Ben!" Someone called from the crowd. A small group appeared behind Carlos's head. Mal's eyes flicked over the newcomers, and she was displeased to see Chad Charming approaching, looking like he had just encountered a particularly unfavorable creature. Mal counted backward in her head. Her temporary restraining order was supposed to last six months… so Chad still wasn't supposed to be around her. She turned to stare at Ben, whose face had brightened up upon seeing the group.

"Lonnie!" He exclaimed, standing up and securing Madison close to his chest. He gave his old friend and one of the people who'd helped them on the Isle a one-armed hug before immediately moving to the next person in line, who was a dark-haired girl with a wide nose and doe-like eyes that Mal didn't recognize. "Jane! Aziz!" He hugged another dark-skinned Arabic boy who didn't look too different from Jay. Audrey was next, and then Ben went to hug Chad, paused, and his expression crumpled distastefully. "Chad," He deadpanned. "Are you here with family?"

"Yeah, my mom wanted to come and support the crown," Chad nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets and glaring at Mal's shoes.

"You need to stay away," Ben reminded his old friend in a stern tone. "We were forgiving last time. We won't be this time." Chad crossed his arms and huffed. He gave Mal a wide berth, though. He was still technically in violation of the restraining order, but Mal grit her teeth, took a deep breath, and decided to ignore the fact just for a few moments so Ben could socialize with his old friends.

"Jay, Carlos, and Evie," Lonnie smiled at the three villain kids. "It's good to see you again!"

"You too, Lonnie," Jay nodded, looking a little amused at her excitement.

"Jane, Aziz, you weren't on the Isle with us, but this is Carlos De Vil, Jay, son of Jafar, and Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen," Ben introduced, gesturing to each person in turn. "Guys, this is Jane, daughter of Fairy Godmother, and Aziz, son of Aladdin." Ben paused, realizing the connection. He glanced cautiously between his friend and Mal's, but Aziz held out a hand with a little smile and Jay shook it without comment.

"Is your mom here?" Mal asked Jane softly. Jane nodded and turned to raise her hand to summon Fairy Godmother, who had already begun walking to them anyways. She was an odd, quiet, insecure young girl who looked nervously over her shoulder every so often.

"Dude," Aziz declared, shaking his head as he examined Madison with a raised eyebrow. "This is so trippy."

"What?" Ben laughed, holding Madison even closer and kissing the top of her head. "This is Madison."

"Last Christmas you were just married and now you've got a kid." Aziz declared. Mal snapped her head up to signal to Ben she wanted Aziz's point of view corrected as quickly as possible.

"She's not ours," Ben shook his head. "Mal's sister; my sister in law. My mom and dad are raising her." He smiled down at her though, and it was clear to everyone around that he adored the small child. Mal was starting to wonder if maybe he regretted her choice, though he insisted he didn't.

"It looks like it could be yours," Chad grumbled, squinting through narrowed eyes at the almost three-week-old. "You sure it isn't?"

"Chad, you saw me in April," Mal snapped in such a brutal tone that Jane jumped and Evie and Jay exchanged glances. "If you could teach your two brain cells to count, maybe you'd realize how ridiculous that sounds before you let it out of your mouth."

"You could have been hiding it with magic!" Chad spat, balling his fists up as an ugly vein popped out in his forehead. "Wouldn't be the first thing you've hidden!"

"What have I hidden?" Mal responded, jumping to her feet. "What would be the benefit of hiding anything?"

"Couldn't let Ben know it happened so quickly? Had to keep your frame nice for him?" Chad proposed his equally preposterous ideas. The moment the words passed into Jay's ears, he was snapping into a battle-ready position.

"Wait, what?" He shouted, putting himself between a livid Mal and a foolish future king. Aziz, too, looked blown away by the ideas and he balled his fists as he prepared to fight Chad.

"That's enough!" Ben interrupted, stepping in between the two and holding an arm out to Chad. "We're done here. No more."

But Mal had found her voice, shaking and sputtering in rage as it was. "I live with him," She stressed. "How long do you think I could have possibly hidden something like that? That's preposterous!"

"Mal," Ben stopped her, paused to hand Madison off to Evie, and then kept his hands outstretched between Jay and Chad, who looked like they might leap into a fistfight at any given moment. "Chad, you need to leave. You're not allowed around her, remember?"

A rolling sound came from the tree line and a group of seven stone warriors stepped into the area. The crowd hushed a little as they stepped toward the group under the pavilion, but there were lots of magical creatures around, some which looked threatening and others that didn't, so they were soon ignored. "Queen Mal," One requested her attention. "Is this man bothering you?"

Mal furrowed her brow. She didn't tend to inform her Moorlanders of her proceedings in Auradon but figured this could be a one-time simple explanation. "This man isn't supposed to be coming around me," She informed them. "Please keep him away from me for the evening." She glared at Chad. "If you approach me again here, there is nothing that can stop me from turning you into a toadstool until you leave," She threatened.

Chad scoffed and made to push one of the warriors away with his foot. They came up to his waist, about. The warrior poked him with his spear, which looked like a very long, thick toothpick, and Chad cursed and then turned to walk away. Two followed him, but the other five remained by Mal's side. "Anyone else?" They asked.

Mal shook her head and leaned down to shake their hands. "No, thank you," She whispered.

One of the warriors looked up at Ben and then, turning his head to the side, asked: "Pouvez-vous parler français?"

Ben raised his eyebrows considerably and nodded. "Seulement comme langue," He replied.

Mal shook her head. It was still odd to hear him speak something other than English. "Since when do you speak something that I don't?" She teased.

Ben laughed, taking her arm and looping his through it. "Auradon languages. My granddad spoke it a lot. There's a lot of things I can do that you don't know about." He leaned down and whispered in her ear: "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Mal grumbled, taking Madison from Evie even though Ben immediately held out his hands to take her back.

"Who does that… jerk think he is?" Jay thundered, glaring at Chad's retreating back.

"Chad Charming," Ben wrinkled his nose in response. "He grabbed her at a meet-and-greet last April. We have a restraining order against him. Shame we used to be friends."

"What kind of friends do you have?" Carlos asked, putting his dog on the ground and watching as the stone warriors gathered around him and began to pet his fur awkwardly.

"Good ones now," Lonnie snorted. "Especially since you guys dragged Audrey out of princess world – congrats!"

"Queen Mal," Fairy Godmother called, hurrying through the last of the crowd a little and dipping into a low curtsey that made Mal feel extremely uncomfortable. "How are you, dearie?"

"Well," Mal sighed, slipping out from under Ben's arm and reaching out to shake Fairy Godmother's hand. "Fairy Godmother, I was wondering if you could assist me – my mother is still in lizard form and I'd rather she not be for this."

"Let's go take care of it," The Fairy Godmother nodded in understanding. She pressed a hand to Mal's upper arm and the two women began to walk away, with Mal pausing to wave quickly at the group she was leaving behind as she walked.

Twenty minutes later, Maleficent was back to her human form. Instead of the black robes she'd worn throughout Male's youth, they covered her in a heavy white gown and removed her head covering to reveal her long brown hair. On the edge of a riverbank, underneath the withering, knotted tree where Maleficent had been born, they arranged a burning pyre. Mal displayed her horns and her wings for the first time around the Auradon citizens, much to their unease and amazement.

As the sun went down, crowds wondered at the glittering moors and moving to see the pyre surrounded on one side by the river. People either grabbed moorfood – fairy cakes, nuts, some types of jerkies and other meats – from the tables or picked fruits from the trees. Pixies flit back and forth to ensure no greedy person was stealing from their lands. As the lands grew dark, Mal knew it was time to say goodbye to her mother at last.

Mal stood on the bank with the empty pyre in front of her and the rippling waters at her back. Ben and all of Mal's 'extended family' had gathered along the riverbanks, but they seemed to understand that Mal wanted to carry this alone. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate their help, she just wanted to lay the last remains of her old life to rest the hard way before she turned away for the last time.

Many of the visitors were royals. Mal recognized Aurora and Phillip, who had journeyed with Audrey to watch the Evil Dragon be laid to rest. She had to be introduced to Henry and Ella Charming, who were much kinder than their rotten son. Mal could see quite clearly the pain in 'Cinderella's' eyes as she spotted Madison. Mal hadn't seen a woman who cared more for children than Queen Ella, though the glass-slipper heroine only had one.

As the barrier began to glow brighter than the actual sun, everyone grew silent. The crowd parted as six Moorish pallbearers carried Maleficent towards the empty pyre on a polished wooden board. Mal saw Sophia dab her tear-filled eyes out of the corner of her vision as Stewart wrapped his strong arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder. Mal dug through the vast expanse of her mind to find the hardened kid who'd lived with this woman on the Isle of the Lost. She might need her tonight,

They placed Maleficent's body on top of the pyre and people gathered around to look at her. Mal didn't move as people brushed her shoulders and arms in condolences. After about twenty minutes, Adam handed her a torch.

With the sunset fading rapidly behind her, Mal lit the torch. Everyone backed away respectfully. Ben stepped up behind the pyre and put his hands on Maleficent's head. He smoothed her hair back around her horns and glanced at Mal to make sure he still had her permission to speak for her. Mal had no idea what sort of goodbyes he had to say to a villainess who had almost cost him his crown, but she kept quiet as she backed away two or three small steps.

"Lady Maleficent." He announced, immediately capturing the crowd's attention. He stood tall as he spread an arm over her mother's dead body. "Mistress and Embodiment of all Evil. Fairy Witch. Ruler of the Forbidden Mountains, Supreme Leader of the Goblins, Founder and Leader of the Council of Villains. Protector of the Moors. Captive of the Greater Isle of the Lost. She was born and raised here, in the moorland. Upon the age of twenty-four, she rose to be a villainess who closed off the moors and wreaked havoc on the neighboring kingdom, now present-day Auroria." Ben gave a short nod to King Phillip and Queen Aurora. "After being assumed dead with former King Stefan for many years after the discovery of his body, she appeared to lead the villains' side in the War of Villainy. She suffered two of the Unspeakable Punishments of Auradon upon the defeat of Villainy and the unification of the Kingdoms of Auradon. She resided on the Isle of the Lost for thirty years and is succeeded by her two beautiful daughters." Ben paused to smile over his shoulder at Mal. "In my unbiased opinion." He added. The crowd chuckled softly. Mal let out a short laugh. Ben returned his gaze to the gathered and concluded: "May her spirit rest in peace hereafter."

"Amen." Chorused a large portion of the crowd. Mal sniffled and focused her gaze on the pearlescent barrier above everyone's heads.

Ben dropped his arm and twiddled his thumbs together. "On a more personal, non-official remark, I'd like to share something with you all. When I first began to prepare something to say at-" He paused and gestured towards Maleficent. "-My Mother-in-law's funeral, I asked Mal, my lovely, talented, thoughtful wife, what she thought her mom's greatest accomplishments were." Ben paused again and looked at the ground as tears misted his eyes. "And she told me… without hesitation, that her mother's greatest accomplishment was having her sister, Madison, who is also here with us tonight." Ben waved a little to the infant now in Belle's arms. Ben took two paces forward and clasped his hands behind his back. "And while I agree wholeheartedly that Madison is one of the brightest rays of sunshine in the dark abyss of Maleficent's world, the same should be verbally extended to cover her older daughter, Mal. I want you all to know that I have infinite respect to Maleficent for raising my wife."

There was no sound throughout the crowd except for the running of the creek water, the crackling of the torch, and Madison's incoherent gurgling. Ben cleared his throat. "Somehow, on an Isle run rampant with villainy, Maleficent managed to raise Mal, a girl stronger than anyone I know, who was fit for not one throne, but three. A girl with more compassion and grit than I thought possible for one person to possess. I have no idea where she learned the forgiveness that she offers to everyone she comes across, but she definitely came to Auradon with those qualities." Ben laid a hand on Maleficent's shoulder. "So, for that, I thank Maleficent."

Ben turned towards Mal and made a gesture to offer the stage to her. "Mal?" He asked.

Everyone turned their attention to Mal as she squinted the tears out of her eyes. "Smoke." She whispered, only loud enough for her friends to hear. They chuckled sadly. Mal walked over to Ben and they shared a one-armed hug, careful of the burning torch in Mal's hand. Then Ben retreated to his parents and Mal stood alone behind her mother's funeral pyre. With nothing more than a sigh, she bent down and let the flames of her torch begin to lick the wood. Within seconds, the flames had started to spread. Mal let her torch go to burn alongside the rest of the wood. She moved away from the flames as the heat began to burn her legs.

As the fire grew and began to singe Maleficent's body, Mal turned her gaze away and straightened up. This was something she had wanted to do, that she had planned, that Ben was worried about her for. She took a deep breath and began to sing to the crowd with her mother's body beginning to burn beside her.

"Look at you, look at me, I wonder if you could be… happy." She took a deep breath and wiped a stubborn tear out of her eye. "Were you wrong? Were you right? To throw me into the night, Mother! I wish you were here…"

The flames mounted and Maleficent's clothes began to burn. Everyone backed away from the increasing heat. "I wish I had known you before, back when you were a kid." Mal continued her song. "I could use your friendly smile and the advice you'd give. Before you put your heart aside and you lost your head. If you could've seen me now, what would you've said?"

Ben took Madison from Belle and cradled her, carefully shielding her from the intense flames. Belle hovered around his shoulder to fuss over her. Mal choked on her next phrase as more tears suddenly popped to her eyes. "Don't you want to be happy like me? Don't you want to be free? To have someone support you in all your dreams? Now you've spent your whole life doing less than more. Rich in reputation, but in spirit you are poor. Don't you want to be joyful, energetic and content? Don't you want to be faithful and protected until the end?"

Mal raised her voice as high as she could and stretched the limits of her vocal range as she sang with tears flooding her eyes. From the smoke, she told herself. Only from the smoke.

"I don't want to be evil or awful. I just want to be free. But I thank my lucky stars that I was born the girl I was. You taught me what I needed; how to dream and to believe it. You're a beautiful fairy-licious queen… like me." Mal resisted the urge to cry as she finished her song and went to stand beside Ben. He handed Madison to her, which was the equivalent of fourteen hugs all at once and put his arms around her for added effect. All of her friends quickly fell upon her, guarding her from all corners, no matter where danger or heartbreak spread from.

It would take all night for Maleficent to burn. Upon the morrow, her ashes would be spread into the river waters to run free once more upon the moorland. An era had ended. The first great Queen and Protector of the Moors was gone.

People came and went throughout the evening, and Mal eventually managed to convince Ben she was fine enough to walk off on her own for a little bit. She went to the river and then headed upstream, west and further away from the Auradon border. When she'd gotten far enough away that she thought she couldn't be seen or heard, she dropped to the ground and let her built-up tears come. She could still see the pyre all that distance away but felt it as if it were still next to her.

The area she'd fallen into actually held some underbrush. Mal checked for fairy homes and then sat down, scrubbing her eyes and hiccupping a little. The soil had silver pieces in it that stuck to her jeans like tiny burrs. She brushed them away and then, pausing to look at the ring on her left hand, realized through the tiny reflection that something was behind her. She turned slowly and discovered a woman in a greet forest dress, stunningly familiar.

"You're Ben's family enchantress, aren't you?" She asked as the woman took a seat beside her.

"I don't belong to them," The enchantress shook her head. "I don't belong to anyone. I'm like you," She spread her palm out on the ground and a stunningly purple flower sprouted in between her middle and ring fingers.

"I belong to Ben," Mal shrugged. "The same way he belongs to me. We're each others. And I belong to Belle and Adam by extension, and to my people because I'm queen."

"Yes, but you chose all those things," the enchantress reminded her, picking the flower and handing it to Mal. Mal took it with her fingertips. The stem felt like fuzzy felt between her fingertips. "For your mother. My condolences."

"Did you know her too?" Mal asked, rolling the flower in her fingers and then bringing it to her nose to smell it. It smelled like sweet honey and sea salt.

"No," the enchantress shook her head. "No, I only knew of her. I saw some of her stories through you, though."

Mal's eye twitched and she involuntarily pursed her lips together. She remembered all too well, in perfect detail, how her last meeting with the enchantress had gone. She remembered her bare feet on the heated floor and the shock of the wedding traditions like ice creeping down her spine and the enchantress squeezing her hand like she was trying to mold it into a new shape. "Yes," She hummed. "Your prophecies. You showed me her scales."

The enchantress shook her head. "No, I showed you the ship. The ship on its side and the city of Perfect."

"Perfect?" Mal asked. "We only call it 'the City' or 'the Isle City'. Is that what it will be called?"

"I do not know the word," The enchantress furrowed her brow. "You English speakers use such strange words… I knew the royal tongues before they faded out." Mal had no clue what 'the royal tongues' could be, and she was a royal. She supposed she should be used to the enchantress throwing her off, though.

"You also showed me other things that still don't make sense. Horses and sands. Remember?" Mal asked, setting the flower down on her leg. "Can you explain them to me?"

"No," The enchantress shook her head. "If I explained them, then they would no longer stand as true." She set her hand down next to Mal's on her leg though, and Mal saw the images again, intense and vivid. The city burning, thick sands swallowing her whole, and cutting grains slicing her skin open. She withdrew her leg and blinked as her vision came back.

"Is this a specific power?" Mal asked. "None of the magical creatures I've spoken to can procure prophecies."

"Most of us keep silent. We have learned that those without the gift don't understand it well enough," The enchantress explained. She ran her hands through her hair and a beautiful braid appeared all on its own, sweeping her hair up and off her neck. "You can't do it if that's what you're asking. You've grown to be very powerful, but even with the crown blessings, foresight is not your forte."

Something hit Mal like a slap and she leaned back a little, wondering how she'd forgotten. Her dad, examining her as the waves lapped at her feet on the Isle. 'They do far more than just give you the ability to talk fancy.' She set her hand on the Enchantress's shoulder, unintentionally receiving a cluster of vivid images of all of the people and conversations down in the clearing, which she blinked away. "What do the Moorland Blessings incur?" She asked.

The enchantress brushed her hand away as Mal got a vision of Ben putting Madison up to his shoulder and looking around to see if she'd come back yet. She'd have to head back down soon. "There are many," the enchantress began in a tone like a rippling brook. Bouncy and reflective and calming. "You are given the ability to lead, to know the places of the moorlands and the different inhabitants. You receive the ability to interact with the border walls and to speak the languages here, as I know you've discovered extremely helpful. And there are renewal spells that allow you to safely heal the magic here without you gaining magical sickness – you should be a lot more grateful for those enchantments now that you've had experience with the disease."

Mal flinched. The jibe, however small, had stung. The enchantress glanced at her, pausing in her musings, and then continued.

"You are given the power to make decisions for us, the responsibility to watch over us, and then there are other things that, well, no one knows what they do." The enchantress picked at something underneath a nail that looked like it was causing her some pain and huffed irritably at it. "We generally refer to it as an endowment of power, and I think – assume – that it will be different for every leader who receives it, but no one will know what it is until you use it. It's usually the ability to perform an incredible feat of some sort, or several."

"Like breaking a barrier from the inside without a focus?" Mal asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Your mother used hers to hide herself and her actions," The enchantress suggested. "She did build that mighty wall, and her blessing might have contributed to that, but she could have done it herself given enough time." She leaned back into the brush and closed her eyes to consider. "I do not believe that the particular act you did was part of your blessing. I think you are just very powerful. You have very wise advisors who let you grow without straining you, and you are more powerful than you realize."

"I know how powerful I am," Mal protested. "I fought against my mother and almost reached the end of my magic-" She stopped talking as the enchantress burst into laughter.

"That wasn't the end of your magic!" She exclaimed, wiping amused tears from her eyes. "More than you've used for sure, but not the end. You were only tired because you went without sleep." She shook her head, sat up on her knees, and held out a hand to hover by Mal's cheek. Mal somehow knew that she'd see in gross detail exactly how far she could get if she were to touch this woman's skin. "The coming months will be hard," The enchantress whispered. "You will reach the end of your magic. You will know what it is like to die of the uncurable thing we call magic sickness. There is a war coming, as I'm sure you know. You will give everything you have and when it is all over, you will know when you have nothing left."

A warm, overbearing feeling settled onto Mal's chest, like she was drowning in a hot spring. She leaned away from the enchantress's hand. "Are you saying that I'm about to die?" She gasped. "Because… that can't be right! My Auradon Crown Blessings… they say I have years!"

"Do they?" The enchantress furrowed her brow. "I never heard them say that."

"Well, it says 'your relationship with your husband will one day be your greatest achievement'!" Mal sputtered, trying to find some sense in what she'd just been told.

"And is it not now?" The enchantress asked softly, examining Mal's features as if she wouldn't soon be seeing them. Mal sat down hard. She didn't have a sole kingdom anymore… the Isle had been healed… her mother's woes corrected… grievances in Auradon… seeing those she'd left behind…

"I still have to unite Auradon," She gasped. "I can't die until that's happened." 'Unless,' a nagging voice considered in her head, 'it's a martyr's death that brings about the unification.'

"Yes," the enchantress nodded. "And good luck to you on that as well. Your husband's people are ridiculously close-minded." She rolled her eyes, completely unaffected by Mal having an existential crisis beside her. "You needn't fear running out of magic anytime soon, though. You have a lot – much more than you should, really. Maybe that was your endowment. Increased power. You grow exponentially every time you come here. Or maybe it is – ah! I've figured it out." She leaned back into the brush again, satisfied.

"What is it?" Mal demanded. She grabbed the Enchantress's forearm. "What is my-" She was cut off by the pictures. Visions of unmoving people with their mouths frozen in horror, screaming in pain they couldn't manifest. Fear alight in darkened eyes and green fire underneath skin and a silent girl begging for something Mal couldn't hear.

The enchantress pushed Mal off of her with a frown. "I wouldn't recommend doing that much more," She reprimanded. "There will be things you will not want to see. Your friend Stewart, for example?" She patted Mal's cheek and a horrible nightmare manifested itself in front of Mal's eyes. Her partner, the person who'd watched over her since she'd been taken from the Isle, was holding his face, crouched over, and there was blood seeping through his hands. "Just remember, one often finds their destiny on the road they take to avoid it. You already know you can fight fate all you want, but you still ended up loving a man you never wanted to marry and burying a mother you'd never thought you'd need."

"Who escapes?" Mal gasped. "My friends – does Ben-"

The enchantress held a finger to her lips – her own lips, which was good because Mal wasn't sure she ever wanted to touch the woman again. "You don't want to know what happens to Ben," She promised.

Ice. Cold. Her joints froze and her skin made littered with raised goosebumps and she stared at the enchantress with growing horror. The enchantress got to her feet. "I know you don't want much else," She hummed. "Which is disappointing, because you listen more than other people listen to me. So let me tell you these last things: the best thing you can do to keep yourself safe? Do not go north. And to keep Ben safe? Do not let him go north. But, come eight weeks, you will give anything to get away. Come eleven weeks, you will give anything to keep Ben alive. Come twelve weeks, he will give anything to die."

"Stop," Mal begged, closing her eyes and clasping her hands and moving onto her knees. "Stop. I can't hear anymore. Stop."

"Just remember that the universe has had a way with you before," the enchantress hummed, examining the young queen before her, "It gives you what you want by giving you something you really don't want."

That was true, Mal considered. She had been betrayed by her mother but had left the Isle. Forced to be married and had received the moors. Her friends for Ben. Peace for her mother's life. But this? Her death for Auradon's unity? That was a price she didn't know if she could pay.

"Agathe," A voice came from down the path. Both women turned, one notably less surprised than the other, to see a blonde-haired man walking up the path with a purple-haired child in his arms. Mal's limbs felt weak as she brushed herself off and got to her feet. Ben, who hadn't seen her on the ground when he'd glimpsed his dad's curser, looked a little worried as he took in her expression. "Mal?" He asked, speeding up on a direct course for her.

Her hands were shaking. She knew her face couldn't be a few shades far from white. Tremors ran through her chest with every breath as she reached out for him – just to know he was there. "Are you alright?" He whispered, cupping her cheek with her hand. And she wanted to cry: 'no, no no,' but couldn't even find her voice.

"I predicted her," The enchantress hummed, smiling at Madison. Mal wanted to grab the baby and run with her and take her far away where she couldn't be touched by the awful visions and prophecies. She understood, now, why Sophia had been afraid of this woman. The power of prophecy was so strong…

"Really?" Ben asked, his tone strained. He was worried for her, she knew, but wasn't dumb enough to incite an enchantress with a history against his family in a magical land far from home. "How long ago?"

"Your wedding night," the enchantress hummed, pressing her lips together. "Strange, though, I thought she had a twin brother. I could have sworn I saw Belle with a baby boy. Maybe something changed and the prophecy fell out of joint."

The sentence lit Mal with some hope. Prophecies could be disjointed. There was still time. She could save Ben, save Stewart, save herself. Her fingers found his beside hers and twisted them together.

"I'm going to go down to the party," The enchantress decided, smiling again at tiny Madison, who had fallen asleep slumped against Ben's chest and was now cradled into his arm. "Maybe we'll see each other again before your time is at hand?"

Mal's legs shook and she almost lost the ability to stand as the enchantress brushed past her and soon vanished out of sight, heading down and following the river. The last visions raced past her eyes – Sophia fiddling with an engagement ring, Jay, Carlos, and Evie at the palace, and Ben packing his things on their bed.

"Are you okay?" Ben whispered urgently in her ear, shaking her a little to bring her back down to earth. Mal stared at him, the enchantress's harsh words reverberating in her head like someone swinging a crowbar against her skull from the inside. 'Come eleven weeks, he will give anything to die.'

"No," She sobbed, burying her face in his chest and grabbing onto his suit and sobbing. As long as he was here, she'd hold onto him. 'Please god," she begged, 'Don't send him north.'

Behind them, the burning pyre continued, illuminating the night and the people from Auradon. The light did not reach the two rulers on the hill.

---

In the morning, it was all over. Everything was quiet. Maleficent's pyre had burnt to ground level. A mushroom woman brought Mal a cup of fruit tea which she sipped on as she carefully went over the clearing, healing the areas that had been downtrodden and growing new flowers where the old had been picked. Ben sat underneath the pavilion, waiting for her. Madison had returned to Auradon with her parents and the rest of the country, so his arms were empty as he waited for her to be done. Finally, there was nothing else she could use to delay herself, and so she turned and went back to him. He didn't stand and she didn't sit as they both twisted their hands and waited for the other to say something. Mal spoke first.

"She said that in twelve weeks, you will give anything to die," She began, voice cracking like paper. She turned to couch a little and turned back to see that Ben's face had gone a little white.

"That'll be new," He whispered. "I, uh, can't imagine wanting that." His fingers were shaking a little.

"She said that I would do anything to keep you alive," Mal continued. "And she said that the best way to stay safe was to not go north, but she showed me so many visions of things hurting me in the north… I can't see myself staying in Auradon for the entire war."

"I need you here," Ben shook his head. "I won't be able to cover your countries for you."

"You could if I needed you to," Mal shrugged, though the words felt lame on her tongue.

Ben ran his hands through his hair. "Maybe it's… guilt? Survivor's guilt? Maybe there'll be people from Auradon in Jack's land by then and she's just talking about me dealing with guilt."

Mal sniffled and reached down to take his hands. She observed, again, their rings glinting in the early morning light. It had been so long since she'd been here with him. "I need you," She whispered. "Please, please don't go north."

Ben's eyes were dim as he nodded. "I'll try and stay," He promised. They both knew it was the best he could assure her.

---

August ended. September first, Mal was leaving Beast Castle again for the moorlands. Meanwhile, representatives and royals from all over the country were arriving, filling the palace to the brim with new faces.

Mal was silent as she packed up her clothes and zipped her suitcase up. Ben was leaning against the doorframe in silence. Usually, he would be in office, but today was the first day of the emergency conference, so he would be entering a meeting around 1:00 instead. She glanced over at him, pushing her hair out of her face, and then sighed. "I guess that's everything. I'll be back in a month." She walked over, brushed a bit of imaginary dust off his shoulders, and sighed. "Try and keep in Auradon, okay?" She leaned up to kiss his cheek and then released him.

Ben grabbed her arms. "You're going to leave me with that?" He asked.

"Well, I-" Mal began, but Ben cut her off with a kiss. She closed her eyes and melted into him, holding his arms for balance as he leaned her back a little. They didn't break apart right away, alternating between stealing more kisses and leaning their foreheads against each other. Mal sighed, wrapping her fingers around his tie. "Maybe I can spare a few more minutes. When do you have to be down?"

"I have to go soon," Ben sighed. "But hey, I'll miss you, okay?"

"I'll miss you too," Mal sighed, setting her hand on his cheek and giving him a heated stare. "I'll call you, okay?"

"It won't be the same," He mourned, pressing his mouth onto hers and then onto her cheek quickly. Then he took her suitcase from off the bed, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and began to lead her out.

The hallways were bustling with people. Ben and Mal had to be careful not to run into people flitting in and out of rooms, servants who were trying to find misplaced baggage, and those who were socializing against the walls.

Queen Elsa and Ericka were walking up the stairs outside when Ben and Mal slipped out. Mal's face lit up. "Hey!" She smiled, and the two queens paused to exchange hugs.

"Are you heading out?" Elsa asked, examining Mal's suitcase and travel outfit.

"Yeah. I'm escaping before meetings get bad," Mal laughed.

"Ah," Elsa hummed, glancing surreptitiously at Ben. "Yes. I can't wait to see why we're being summoned."

Ben furrowed his brow. Surely Elsa already knew? Mal, however, laughed and didn't catch on. "Well, I'm sure you're better informed than most," she decided, patting her friend's shoulder. Then, it was Elsa's turn to look confused as Mal hugged Ericka and then took her suitcase from Ben. She hugged him again and they shared another kiss before she whispered in his ear "I love you," and let him go for the month.

Ben watched her walk down to the car and get in. She drove off, and he was officially on his own. It was harder to let her go this month than last month, he thought. Thirty-one days and his entire life was different.

He blew off the rest of his morning by alternating between pretending to get all his things ready for his meeting and missing his wife and then made his way down to lunch before arriving in the meeting room. This room hadn't been used since the first council of Auradon had gathered after Adam's coronation to set up the laws of Auradon and dictate what was to happen next. It was one of the largest rooms in the palace and could sit almost three-hundred people. It consisted of grand wall sculptings from before the Beast's time that depicted large-scale battles and glorious victories. Ben sat at the head of the table as everyone gathered around the table and took their seats. There were so many rulers that Ben had asked Lumiere for a microphone.

Belle wasn't present in the meeting, but Adam was. He sat to Ben's left, with Audrey right beside him. Chad had sat across from Audrey. There was also Li Shang and Mulan, Merida, whose husband Lachlan was at home looking after her twin sons and their younger sister, and Rapunzel of Corona, who had grey streaks forming in her long, golden hair. Her hair had been mysteriously regrown due to some sort of magic crystal Rapunzel had touched. Rapunzel, however, hadn't been able to use her healing powers since Auradon had united against magic. Ben wondered how much longer until she'd be able to sing and heal again.

He was a bit sad that Mal wasn't able to meet Invisigirl, the eldest daughter of Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible. He had a feeling Mal would have liked her, but oh well.

When the room was full enough, Ben swallowed and drew the room to attention. Everyone quieted as he stood up and planted his hands on the table. He was dressed in his second-best official suit. His best one was the one he'd been coronated and married in, and he had a feeling he wouldn't wear it again until his kids were coronated. "Thank you for coming, everyone." He began. "We have a lot of developments that will be shocking to you all here, but the Queen and I have been in discussion with our advisors and we have made plans for the future and protection of Auradon."

People exchanged glances. Chad's mouth pinched into a frown at the mention of Mal. His blonde hair fell in his eyes as he scowled and then spoke up. "Is this about the moorlands or the Isle?"

"Neither," Ben shook his head. "This is about Auradon and a new land none of us were aware of until a little less than a month ago. We have learned that Auradon has neighbors in the far north. There's another new continent up there – a land similar to ours. They have their heroes and their villains, and their great war even started around the same time as ours did. The difference is that they were unable to overcome their villains and remain in war with them now." Ben reached forward and folded his tablet screen up to show it down the length of the table. Doug, who was standing beside the door, handed him a cable and within a few seconds, Ben's tablet screen was being displayed on other screens down the length of the table. On the table was a rough map that Jack Frost had brought back from the north. To the far south was a cluster of blackened, jagged rocks labeled 'Nightmare Islands'. Other places were marked "Bergens," "Swamplands," "Syracuse," and "Berk". Brown scribbles demonstrated damaged and pillaged areas, or areas overtaken by villains.

"They've known about us for years and have kept us a secret from their villains, but recently the villains have discovered Auradon, so they've abandoned efforts to keep them from learning about us in favor of throwing the rest of their dwindling resources into keeping them back." Ben declared. "A man by the name of Jack Frost, who is not the man currently imprisoned on the lower portion of Mal's territory, approached me to ask if I would bring Auradon into their war to keep the villains back. After consulting advisors and my wife, we've agreed that it is in Auradon's best interests to join."

The room erupted into protests. The former King Adam looked shocked. He couldn't believe something so large and important had been decided under his nose in his own household. "Ben!" He exclaimed.

"Silence!" Ben called, raising a hand above his head and locking his jaw. People quelled their anxieties and looked towards the young king for answers. "I know we are a peaceful nation. I know many of you remember the war of my parents and abhor bloodshed and violence. And those are the exact reasons we should enter this war. The villains who have already come down have damaged our lands. A sea monster has pulled an entire island into the sea and attacked our navy, inadvertently causing Auradon to attack the magical Moorlands as well. That was one creature. Who knows what an army of nasties could bring us? These people we would be fighting with know their stories and have fought them for upwards of forty years. We would be fools to wait for precious allies to be wiped out and then try and defend our own lands against a villainous superpower. If we want to keep Auradon safe, we need to acknowledge this threat before our own lands and cities are put on the line."

People fell silent, nervously exchanging glances with their neighbors. Some nodded along to Ben's thoughts. Others looked too terrified to answer. Ben's gaze hovered on Audrey, who looked uncertain, and Queen Elsa, who was pretending to examine her nails and ignoring him.

"Jack Frost says they will be wiped out in months with the rate they are falling," Ben informed them all in a low, steady tone. "I wonder how long the villains would wait before they decide they want Auradon too?"

"Who are we up against?" Queen Ella asked. She closed her eyes and brushed her blonde, curly hair behind her shoulder. Her blue eyes were like gems against her porcelain skin. Ben's skin felt a little icy as he examined her – something about Cinderella always made him feel sad.

"I've been given a lot of names," Ben began, drawing up his notes on his computer. "Two villains, in particular, lead the front lines – Pitch Black and Eris. A Guardian of Fear and a Goddess of Chaos and Discord."

"A Goddess of Chaos?" Ericka repeated. Elsa put a hand on her daughter's shoulder with a quiet shake of the head. The two sat isolated with empty seats on either side of them.

"She has constellation monsters as pets and her sands are imbued with chaos magic. It's an incredible moral killer, not to mention the fact that Pitch Black has the ability to conjure nightmares and fear storms." Ben sighed. "We want to send Auradon resources to protect Upper World citizens and support the hero's battle. This… will include sending Auradon volunteers and conscriptions."

"I don't see the use of sending people to die for a continent we've never known of," Chad declared, standing up and spreading his palms on the table as Ben had earlier. "We have borders around Auradon for a reason. Close them and let the others fight for themselves. A nation of villains can grow quickly but won't stand for long. It'll collapse by itself eventually."

Ben, Audrey, Ericka, and Elsa looked the most immediately alarmed by Chad's words. "We cannot in good character allow innocent people to die to an enemy we can fight!" Elsa declared. "We have the ability to help and to gain valuable partners and outside trade routes. Perhaps there may also be ideas and substances we could find of use in our lands after the fact."

"If we wait for the villain's nation to simply crumble, then those trade routes will still be open to us after the fact," Chad argued. "We do not have to send our citizens to die!"

"It would be a notable suggestion if not for the infallibility of the Auradon Barriers," Ben announced, commanding the room's attention back to him the moment his voice sounded around the room. He gave a stern look to his old friend and made a motion at him to sit down. With a grumble, Chad retook his seat. "Mal and I have discovered a problem as of late with the barriers. They are not informing me when people of that nation pass through, and I believe they didn't inform my father either, as we have had passerby's going through the nation for several years." Ben resisted the urge to glance down the table at Elsa, though he could feel frosty air circulating through the room. He took a deep breath. "She will be examining the borders, but for now it has been assumed that the barrier was created to keep people we already knew of in – not people we didn't know about. Besides, Elsa is correct; we cannot allow a nation of good people to collapse when we can step in."

"Villains cannot run a nation," Chad stressed, pressing the tips of his fingers together as his face became a bit flushed. "Give it two years and their entire system will collapse!"

"What do you know about lands under the law of villainy?" Audrey demanded. Ben examined his old girlfriend as she straightened in her chair with her parents turning to look at their daughter. Her hair had recently been dyed blonde on the Isle, and she had colorful pink and blue streaks running through it. Her preppy princess dresses had been replaced by something more functional that allowed her to run, jump, and move quickly in. It was made of leather, as well. "I have visited former villain lands," Audrey continued, meeting people's eyes as she spoke in defense of Ben's system. "They do not simply collapse. Someone will become a dictator and the population will live under fear. On the Isle of the Lost, people were locked into buildings to prevent escape. I personally ventured underground to rescue people who had been left for dead because Maleficent felt she could not trust them to fight for her. Legions will die and other legions will live for an evil cause and given that villainy did not simply die out after twenty years of isolation on an island, I doubt it will be any different on a continent."

"Agreed," Queen Ella nodded. "It's clear we have to step in – for the safety of Auradon."

"This is preposterous!" Chad declared. "You will send hundreds of our own to die for a country that has never done us anything! Fix the borders – ready our army to defend our lands but don't send them away!" He looked around, but not very many people seemed to be sharing his opinion. Even his parents were wrinkling their brows as if they saw several faults with his simplest ideas. Chad looked around and, seeing no one backing him up, grew even more incensed. "At least send that fairy queen you're so proud of and have her erect a new border!"

Audrey's entire frame tensed like she was ready to leap at Chad. She dug her nails into her knees as she glared at him. Ben stared at the ceiling for several long seconds and sighed. Beside him, Adam bristled. "I find it funny how you take every chance you can to oppose Mal, yet you still expect her to save you," he growled, voice rumbling like a beast was in his throat.

"Will Mal be joining the fight?" Aurora asked, reaching across Audrey's seat to squeeze Phillip's hand.

Ben pursed his lips together. "I know she is keeping the Isle out," He began. "They're at too new a stage of development and many of the citizens are dealing with the intense and jarring trauma that moving out of a dangerous situation involves. As for the moorlands… we haven't discussed it. I have made the decision to lead Auradon forward, however. Whether or not the other two follow us isn't going to affect my decision as High King."

"If I were King, this never would have happened," Chad announced. The change of subject was so startling that there was the sound of chairs moving as everyone turned to face him. "We could have had months to prepare for something like this, not weeks. A proper standing army instead of wasting resources with the Isle of the Lost. Increased outside politics with this nation! It's like I've always said – it's about globalization. If we'd invested more into science and technology-"

"Your kingdom has some of the most outdated equipment in the country," Ben interrupted in a flat tone. "We've increased foreign politics by opening borders with the moorlands and gained the Isle as an industrial ally. The new continent was unknown to us until this month, and as for globalization… What, do you think the fact that you've gone through seventeen smartphones makes you an expert on interconnectivity?"

Honey-Lemon, from San Fransokyo and the Big Hero Six team, snorted and turned to hide the smile on her face. Chad's face burned bright red with shame. "Well," He grit out, curling his nails into the table, "I wouldn't have let Maleficent's daughter have any ruling power!"

Ben felt every single pent up emotion he'd been bottling up since April rushing through a single cortex in his head moments before his hands reacted without him. He stepped away from the table, seized the back of his chair, and slammed it forward into place, creating a screech so loud that several people gasped, and that was before he leveled a crimson stare at his old teammate and friend. "Can you go five minutes around me without insulting her?" He challenged the younger man boldly. "Perhaps you've forgotten your place, but no one insulted my mother the way you have devalued and repudiated my wife during her reign, and I will not allow anyone to do so again!" His voice, which had risen to a shout, echoed off the walls of the room with the appeal of thunder. Mal might have the godly parent, but Ben was the one who could demand power by voice alone.

Ella looked like she would prefer if the castle guards came in to escort her away than to spend another moment sitting beside her son. King Henry, too, wouldn't meet anyone's eyes, clasping his hands together and squeezing his eyes closed. Everyone looked away uncomfortably. Elsa took a deep breath and looked at her daughter, who was examining the grains in the table.

Ben counted to ten, pulled out his chair, and retook his seat. He scrolled through his notes and continued speaking. "There exists a small navy, a number of soldiers that dwindle every day, trained dragons, some magical creatures, and a collection of specialized individuals who are currently fighting them off. I have intentions to send the Auradon standing army, some of our specialized ground troops, and as many supplies as we are able to safely transport over. They have vast transportation means available – Jack Frost, I know, can gain passage from the wind and others can open portals and magical tunnels in the ground. Not to mention the dragons, of course."

"Yet they're still losing?" Invisigirl asked.

Ben sighed. "The villains have grown wise to them, and some of their powers are based on contingencies."

Merida blew a lock of curly hair out of her face. "We'd need to raise an army." She said quickly.

"Auradon hasn't fought for thirty years." Li Shang remembered. He shifted in his seat. Mulan took his hand. "No one is ready for the kind of immediate action you need."

"Give us two months at the least to rally people," Invisigirl requested. "I'll even see if I can bring my mom and dad out of retirement. But you can't spring this on the kingdom. After peace for so long, no one will want to go to war."

"We're no' ready." Merida agreed. "No army, no spirit, not'in at our sides."

"People are dying!" Audrey raised her voice suddenly. "We must do something!"

"Well, it's not our fault!" Chad exclaimed. "Why should we focus on other countries? We should work on building up our own. Instead of throwing our cards in with the heroes on that side, why don't we work on fortifying Auradon on our home front?" Ella set a hand on his forearm to try and get him to stop talking.

"We can't do that now; we need immediate action!" Audrey sputtered. "We need to organize ourselves to prepare for war as soon as possible. The sooner things have reached consensus in government planning, the sooner we can begin defending our lands and theirs!"

"We don't owe them anything," Chad asserted. "Our loyalties lie to our country. I stand with Auradon, perhaps you've forgotten what it means to stand up for your own country while you've been shirking responsibilities with the resident clown queen?"

Audrey jumped to her feet and in the same motion pulled out a hot pink pocketknife, which she shoved into Chad's face. His cheeks went whiter than powdered sugar. "How dare you!" She yelled. "I refuse to hear another blasphemous word against the queen! She has made this land better for all of us! We have found a new partner in the Isle, and if you were king, the moors would still be closed!"

"Don't even deny you were mad when the moors first opened!" Chad yelled right back at Audrey. "You were alight on social media for a week! And she's your mother's enemy's daughter! You were almost killed when you went to the Isle to rescue Ben, who the queen stole from you!"

"I was wrong." Audrey hissed. Her knife inched closed to Chad's face. "Mal is my friend, and I would follow her to the ends of the earth. If you had been there Chad… I saw her head almost cut open! I almost saw her brains scattered on the timbers of the Jolly Roger. I almost saw Ben walk the plank and I witnessed Mal defend us from a shooting gunman. She broke through the barrier with nothing and rescued us all by breaking her sword to cut the ship from the wharf. She can erase hurt and heal wounds and return things to their former glory. We all call ourselves heroes here, but we will never be able to compare to the enchantress who forgave Auradon for a horrible childhood, endured every judging word thrown her way, and still remained the strongest, kindest woman to walk this earth." Audrey's eyes filled with tears. "She's the only person who saw a fighter in me and who forced me to acknowledge her. I would follow Maleficent's daughter to the edges of Auradon, the moors, the Isle and beyond, but I wouldn't trust you with my nails, much less my kingdom."

"Let's just calm down," Ben said carefully. He was quickly learning that Chad wasn't worth the effort. "Audrey, can you put the knife away?"

Audrey sat back down with another glare to Chad and carefully folded the knife back up. Aurora and Phillip looked stunned.

"My wife aside, this is a time for communication." Ben returned the meeting to its task. "And Chad, it's a good thing you stand with Auradon because I stand for Auradon. I call shots. We're going to war. It's a good thing you stand with us – with me." He turned to the rest of the room. "What would you all need to start raising your own specialized battalions from each of your kingdoms? I want at least a thousand people from each kingdom, more if you can spare them."

"Metal," Merida answered.

King Phillip looked down the table to the fiery-headed queen. "In our castle, there is still a lot of metal workers and a large blacksmith area from when Stefan took his plight against Maleficent Sr." He glanced up the table to Ben. "We would be willing to process and build whatever the kingdom requires there."

"With all due respect, sir," Merida spoke up. "Our swords are a wee bit different from yours."

"Auradon is vast." Ben agreed. "Some countries do not fight like others."

Investigator Nick Wilde took off his sunglasses. "Zootopia has forces," He said. "How many, I don't know. I'd have to commune with Mayor Bogo to find out our exact resources. "

"I agree with Chad on one item," Ericka said from down the table. Audrey whipped around with a glare, but her icy stare didn't faze the snow princess. "Why don't we just sic Queen Mal at them? She could take them with one hand behind her back."

Audrey cracked a smile and King Adam snorted. Ben squashed his own smirk down. "While I do not doubt my wife's power, I think her magic is a bit too broad to quash every single villain in their land without her burning herself out."

Elsa folded her hands on the table for a few seconds before she raised her right hand for his attention. "I throw my weight in support of joining the war effort as soon as we are able. It simply doesn't make sense to waste perfectly good allies." She announced. Her voice quivered only a little, but Ben would be willing to bet that no one else would know or realize. He knew there was a bit more to it behind her words, but he didn't say anything.

King Henry quickly jumped on the bandwagon before Chad could say anything else. "I also support joining the war." He said. "And I am willing to rouse a war draft as soon as the meeting is adjourned."

"Dad!" Chad exclaimed.

"We as well." Aladdin raised his hand. His Aziz nodded silently beside him, though he fidgeted like he wanted to join the conversation.

"And us!" Rapunzel decided. She and Flynn shared a nod.

Honey-Lemon, in full hero costume, lifted her visor. "Our citizens in San Fransokyo are bright." She said. "Between Phillip's ironworkers and our technology labs, we can begin mass-producing gear to keep our army safe while giving them the amazing capability to fight."

"Will the Big Hero Six team be fighting?" Invisgirl asked.

"Gogo will want to." Honey sighed. "But Hiro is Dean of the college now. We have classes to teach. I don't know what we'll end up doing."

"Consider it," Ben advised.

"What about you?" Chad asked Ben. "And the queen? Will you fight as well?"

"Of course." Ben nodded. "We've already written up a sign-up for an army, and we've already started production on supplies. And while I've already explained the current stance of the Isle and the Moorlands, Mal is still, technically, the Queen of Auradon. I have a feeling she'll find her own unique ways to turn the war in our favor." Chad glowered. Everyone was looking a bit flustered,

"Let's adjourn the meeting for now," Adam suggested. "And give everyone time to communicate back to their kingdoms and discuss their next actions."

Technically, his dad was still trying to call shots for him, but Ben decided to let it slide, just this once. He nodded. "Alright, everyone. You're all dismissed and may leave at your own time."

King Henry planted a hand on his son's shoulder and steered him out of the room. Queen Ella quickly followed. One by one, everyone disappeared out the door. In a matter of minutes, it was only Doug, Ben, and Adam. Ben watched out of the corner of his eye as Adam loosened his ties slowly, taking deep breaths. He had a feeling his dad had stayed behind for a reason that Ben was going to have to shut him down on.

"I thought you said you would continue to seek counsel from your mother and me," Adam began, leaning his head onto his hands.

"I did say that," Ben nodded. "And in this case, I asked you what your experience was in leading the last war. You did not have much. Li Shang and Li Mulan were the generals and forfeited the right to rule to mom on contingency they remained the official generals of Auradon. Mom had strategy experience and the foresight to rule the kingdom. They knew she'd be able to establish a good system. You fought a few battles but were never involved in any higher planning. You have no leadership experience in war times."

"We had no idea you were planning on throwing our country into war," Adam protested. "I can't believe you would make a decision of this gratitude without telling us or even warning us." He looked up, staring forlornly at his son. "Can Auradon even enter a war?"

"Mal isn't the only person with foresight," Ben shrugged. "I was rearranging things during my first month in office. I pushed for a little more military focus and rearranged things so that science and technology labs got a little more funding. Originally, I was anticipating problems on the Isle of the Lost that Mal might need help with. Now, I think that it all worked out quite well to give our army a little bit more of a punch."

"You're really going to do this?" Adam whispered. "Send people to die?"

Ben shook his head. "No, I'm going to send people to save lives." He folded up his tablet and ran his hands through his hair before he left the room. He, too, had some numbers to run.

---

"Will they go?" Jack asked, flitting anxiously above the ground in his office as Ben shelved a book of finances back onto a shelf in the back of the room.

"They'll go," Ben nodded, returning to his desk to examine a short response that had been sent up by the local authorities in Auradon City when the draft had been posted. "I am the king. Everyone in the country swears loyalty to the crown."

"Your father didn't seem too pleased," Jack pointed out. He landed on the carpet near the window nervously and glanced down to the grounds, where royals were rushing too and fro, socializing with people who had come up from the city hoping to speak to him. Maybe he would have time in an hour or so, before he had to return to meetings to see what information everyone had been able to gather about their home kingdom's standings.

"He doesn't have to be. I'm not exactly pleased either, but I understand what's at stake. He's just hurt that the country is functioning without him examining every aspect of it." Ben replied. He took a seat and began examining a couple of other papers - other letters, reports about resource spreads, something from someone who didn't understand why Auradon hadn't reclaimed the Isle of the Lost now that it was 'all better'...

A hard knock thudded against the closed door. Ben didn't look up - he looked at his watch. "Why are they trying to bother me right now?" He complained. "I'm scheduled to be in here - I can't afford to take meetings every moment of every day whenever someone had a problem!"

"Ben," Jack whispered, looking a bit cautious. "It's your dad."

Ben looked up and spotted his dad's unmistakable frame crowding the doorway. He sighed, pushed his chair back, and opened the door. Adam moved to take a step inside, but Ben stopped him with a hand. "Sorry, what do you need?" He demanded. Behind Adam, Belle was standing and looking very worried as she passed a book back and forth in her hands. Madison was down in their room, asleep.

"Can we come in?" Adam demanded softly.

"Guys, I'm in office time. I have, like, fifteen things to get through before dinner and before my next meeting with everyone. How long is this going to take?" Ben sighed, running his hands through his hair. Mal, he knew, could have assured them they'd speak later and shut the door, but Ben couldn't find it in him to be so cold to his parents, and the same concept of space didn't exactly exist between him and his parents. With Mal, there were boundaries. Her phone, her office, her time, and herself. With him... not so much.

"Not long," Belle assured him. "And we know you're busy. We're sorry for interrupting you."

Ben sighed and stepped aside. Both his parents entered the office, shivering. Ben shut the door behind them. "It's so cold in here!" Adam declared. "Are you trying to bring on winter early?"

"It's just Jack," Ben replied, nodding his head to the corner where Jack was standing still, examining the newcomers in silence. Belle and Adam shifted their gazes over, and then returned them to Ben as if they were unsure of what they were searching for. Jack flinched.

"They can't see me, Ben," he called. "It's a belief principle. I think you were only able to see me because your eyes are open to magic, and you believe anything is possible."

Ben stopped, hands hovering on a file as he took in Jack's words. He looked up at his parents, who were still confused, and realized they couldn't hear him either. Belle opened her mouth, probably to start the conversation, but Ben held aloft a hand to stop her. "Jack Frost is a snow spirit who has winter magic," He explained. "He came searching for me about last July, while Mal was gone. He refused to speak with me until she returned because he was afraid, because of you two, that I would be impartial to magic. I think his fears held merit. Your ignorance to magic has closed your eyes to him."

Belle blinked in surprise and then turned to face the corner again. Two more blinks, and then she leaped into the air a little, gasping. "Oh! Have you been there the whole time?"

Ben wasn't surprised that Belle, who had so readily accepted a castle full of enchanted objects and a mysterious floating rose in her youth, had decided to believe in Jack so quickly. He also wasn't surprised when Adam, who had been cursed and spent the last thirty years trying to protect anyone from ever having to share an experience with him, looked at both Belle and Ben like they were crazy. "There's no one there!" He exclaimed.

"No, there is," Belle disagreed, crossing the room to shake Jack's hand. She paused, examining his face. "My, I feel like I've seen you before!" She declared.

"Probably in Ericka," Jack nodded, shaking her hand and smiling nervously. "She's my daughter. Jessie too."

"Ericka..." Belle marveled. Her mouth fell open a little as she pondered this revelation. "Yes, that makes sense. Then... you've been coming to Auradon for many years?"

"I have," Jack affirmed. "Elsa and I have known each other for many years. Since she was younger than Ericka, actually. I, uh, I don't age."

"Can someone explain to me what's going on?" Adam demanded, looking from the window to Belle and to Ben frantically.

Ben sighed, shaking his head as he discarded a complaint and began reading the letter underneath it. "I can't force you to believe, dad. Now, I really am busy, so you'd better hurry and tell me what you came up here to tell me. I assume you're upset with the reason I called this emergency council."

"Yes!" Adam snapped to attention. He opened his mouth as if he were about to deliver a thesis and then thought better of it. He turned to Belle, who had turned away from Jack to face Ben with a mournful frown.

"War, Ben?" His mother asked in a tone that sounded a little heartbroken. "Are you sure that is the right answer?"

"Yes," Ben replied immediately. "Jack, please explain while I respond to this." He shook his computer mouse and, keeping focused on the paper, began typing up a letter in response to the person who'd reached out to him.

"Oh," Jack jumped into action. "Mrs. Benson, I do apologize for pulling your country into this, but it really was our last resort. You see..." He continued, but Ben mostly tuned him out. It was odd to hear "Mrs. Benson" referring to his mom again - even though he'd grown up hearing people call her that. He'd become accustomed to hearing it and thinking of Mal.

As he ended his addressee paragraph, he glanced up to see Jack ending his spiel with: "We're trying to avoid future conflict for Auradon, and we're trying to save what's left of my country." Adam, who had been standing in baffled, confused silence, watched Belle's face grow impassioned and agreeing.

"I see," She announced finally. "That makes perfect sense. It is a good thing that the crown change happened when it did. I'm afraid that you might have had a harder time trying to get ahold of Adam or me."

"Fate has been rather funny as of late," Ben muttered, typing without looking away from the paper he was responding too. "A crown change right before the moorlands would have died out... Mal meeting me before she could decide to court Jay and right when she'd been having thoughts about whether or not she was truly evil... A magical queen takes the throne of Auradon with someone who isn't tainted by the history of it... You get a daughter right after gaining all your free time..." He shook his head and sighed, still spacing paragraphs. "Mom, you'll have to re-explain all of that to dad, though he heard some of it in the meeting today. He just can't open his eyes wide enough." He sighed and paused in his work to look up and meet his dad's eyes. They had never quite seen eye-to-eye, this he had known. But he'd never realized how much so until Mal had come along. Now, he knew, they led completely different destinies and were related with nothing more than looks, love, and blood. Their ideas and their kingdoms were eons apart. "I guess the curse didn't really end when you and Mom fell in love," He said softly. "I wish I could make you see magic the way I see it, but I understand how that could be hard for you."

Adam's mouth twitched, but he said nothing. A deep sense of hurt welled up in his eyes. He glanced back to the corner where Jack stood and squinted as if he wanted desperately to see what his wife could see. Still, no revelatory light made his composure brighten. He gave up, staring at the carpet and looking like Auradon had already lost the war. "Is... that why you're not asking us for advice anymore?" He whispered. His voice cracked a little, like a teenager's would.

"No," Ben disagreed, leaning back in his chair. "I just... don't really need a lot of help. You raised me right and I know what I'm doing. And what I don't know... I have my wife for. She's got a good head on her shoulders and her two kingdoms. Her advice alone has so far helped unravel everything I was mildly confused on. If I needed the extra help I would come to you, but I haven't needed it so far."

"Not even with taking the country to war?" Adam asked. "You didn't need any advice?"

Ben shook his head, pursing his lips together. "No," He replied. "Jack explained everything to us, I explained all my thoughts to Mal, she explained all hers to me, and I decided we needed to do this. She supported me."

Adam's shoulders fell like a set of deadweights had been dropped onto them. He took a ragged breath and turned his face away, nodding. "Okay," He agreed. "You sound like you've got this under control. And Mal... good on her for making you pick your fights. You've really come into yourself since she came around."

Ben nodded. "Yeah," he agreed.

Belle moved to Adam's side, looped her arm through his, and patted his arm. "It's over," She smiled. "We don't have to rule anymore. We're retired. He's got this."

Adam nodded. "Yeah," He confirmed.

He glanced to the side of the room and studied it, looking for any hint of Jack. Jack came forward and Belle extended her hand to shake his once. Adam saw right through him. He shook his head in defeat. Ben picked up a pen to make a note on a paper, and his parents took it as a dismissal. They headed towards the door, though every step looked excruciating for Adam. Just as they opened the door and stepped out, Ben stood up. "Mom, Dad?" He called. The two turned back, pausing to see what he needed. He folded his hands in front of him and inclined his head. "I love you guys. I can't thank you enough for the way you brought me up."

Especially after knowing Mal's childhood stories. Especially after the Isle.

A smile as soft as a summer breeze blew onto Belle's face and Adam relaxed. "We love you too, son. You've made a fine king."

---

"Wow," Mal said the day she returned from the moors, on the first of October. Royals still skirted to and fro, hastily saying hellos and goodbyes before they rushed away. The decision had been made, and Auradon was heading to war. "You really got things going."

"Did you not think I could without you?" Ben asked as he led Mal away from where people were carrying various types of maps of Auradon to and fro. His hands, much to Mal's amusement, were dropping a bit low on her frame as she put an arm around his back. He guided her through the entryway, to the stairs.

"Not really." Mal winked to let him know she was joking.

"Har, har." Ben sighed, leaning down and taking a strong whiff of her hair. "I missed you." He whispered

"Did you actually miss me, or did you miss the benefits of having me around?" Mal chuckled. Ben rolled his eyes.

As he leaned forward to kiss Mal's cheek, a voice shouted: "King Ben!"

It was Chad, rushing down the stairs and stopping directly in front of Ben. He ignored Mal, who raised a delicate eyebrow at the prince's attitude. She sighed, putting her hands in her pockets, and pointedly looked away as Ben's expression grew guarded.

"Yes, Chad?" Ben asked.

"I wish to offer my services as a general to the army," Chad said with a gleam in his eye.

Ben stared at the blonde-haired boy. He glanced at Mal, who gave him the impression she would be rolling her eyes if she wasn't trying to keep the peace. Ben glanced back at Chad. "You're about to be crowned King, Chad, are you sure?"

"Yes." Chad nodded.

Ben tilted his head to the side and hummed. "I'm not too interested in working with you," He declared, shrugging a little. "Do you honestly expect me to make you a General after two confrontations and all the rude, incessant comments you make in our meetings?"

Chad pinched his lips together and said nothing. Mal wondered if this was a conversation she really wanted to overhear.

Ben shook his head with a baffled smile like he couldn't believe Chad's audacity. "Let me think about it and discuss it with General Shang." He decided. "But I will not allow you to have any sort of leadership position in my war if you can't even command and control your own outbursts. Now, if you'll excuse us, please, Chad, I have to catch Queen Mal up on what's going on around here." He took Mal's arm and led her around Chad in a small circle. The insulant boy kept his head lowered and fists clenched in anger as they passed. Ben had a feeling he wouldn't have any more problems with Chad in meetings.

"Bad month?" Mal asked with a smirk as soon as the blonde was out of earshot.

"Ugh," Ben replied.

"Better you than me," She smiled and kissed his cheek. "I would have barbecued him."

"I shut him down a few times," Ben admitted. He rested his chin on her shoulder for a few seconds and felt her laugh. As she did, the thought occurred to him: October. Six weeks had gone by. He stopped, looking down at Mal. "Come eight weeks, you will do anything to get away," He reminded her. The end of the eighth week would land on the twelfth of October.

Mal waved him aside. "I am just fine," She whispered. "Everything is okay."

Ben examined her. Her skin was aglow, her hair was long again, and she looked relaxed for a woman who had just spent a month discussing war with her country. Which, speaking of, he needed to know how that had ended up going, but she did look relatively relaxed. "Okay," He agreed. "I missed you."

"Missed you too." She told him, leaning into his frame for a few seconds.

"We need to catch up." He told her quietly. Mal didn't miss the double meaning in his words as his hand landed on the small of her back and he began guiding her through the corridors.

"You're acting needy." Mal reprimanded softly as she bit his ear in a teasing manner.

"I need you." Was his only response as his hand dipped a few inches lower.

"Hmm." Mal rolled her eyes and slipped out of his grasp. "Only if you can keep up." She told him before she sprinted away.

"Hey, wait!" Ben laughed as she vanished around the corner. He balled up his fists and ran after her. He'd follow her to the ends of the earth, after all.