Safe is a Subjective Term

(Monday Night, July 29th)

"Evie," Mal sighs, as she enters the East Wing kitchen. "You can't keep cooking, if you're not going to help us eat it."

"What?" she leans on the counter and smiles. "You don't like having a feast every day?"

"How are you even paying for this?" Mal complains, as she walks over to her.

"You," she simply says. "Selling your drawings online. I made my own social media page, and it blew up. Bad." She hands her a plate, "Here. Have a strawberry crème."

"You can make fancy chocolate now?" Mal's brows furrow.

"Carlos asked me to," she informs. "Too bad no one can complement me now."

Mal eats the strawberry chocolate and frowns, "It's wonderful, Eves."

"That doesn't sound like a compliment," Evie complains.

She faces her, "The police are here. They're talking to Ben, and they want to talk to me."

"Oh, yeah," Evie nods. "They're here to see if Ben's being abused."

Mal's mouth gapes, "And how would you know that?"

"It just makes sense," she supplies, before she moves over to the oven, takes out the muffins, and shuts it off.

"Uh, yeah," Mal scoffs. "So does an invisible, all-seeing being. 'Cause there's no other reasonable explanation at all."

"Why else would they be here?" Evie points out.

"I don't know," Mal stresses. "Maybe, since my sentence is ending soon, they don't want some carnivorous fairy with hypnotism free to roam the country."

"They're here for Ben," Evie reassures. "Not you."

Mal strides over to take a chocolate muffin from the pan, "You sure about that?"

"Have I ever been wrong?" she inquires.

"Uh, yeah," Mal emphasizes.

"Give it five years," Evie requests.

"Whatever you say, E," Mal entertains, before she sees Evie still and stare ahead. "Eves? You okay." She frowns at her, and Mal questions, "Maybe you should sit down."

"You can't tell them," Evie insists.

"Tell who what?"

"The police," Evie reminds her. "Whatever you're planning on telling them, you can't."

"I don't even know what they want to ask me," Mal uneasily laughs.

"If you tell them, Ben could die." She tears up, "Please, Mal. You can't say anything."

"Hey." Mal stands and steps towards her, "It's okay."

"No," Evie shakes her head hard. "If you tell them, he'll get hurt. He'll—He."

"E." Mal places one hand to Evie's arm, as she uses the other to wipe the tears away, "Ben's going to be okay."

"Not if you tell them about his parents," Evie's eyes widen. "He won't be. I know he won't."

"And how do you know that?" she frowns.

"I just do." She grabs her hands, "Mal. This is Ben. If there's even a five percent chance that he could die, do you really want to risk it?"

"His father punched him in the stomach," Mal informs. "What if the next time is worse? What if I don't tell them, and next time he dies?"

"We never told anyone," Evie sadly reminds her. "There are reasons why we don't. Are you really going to turn on Ben now?"

"I wish we'd been able to get help sooner," she disagrees. "This isn't The Isle, Evie. The cops can help Ben, and he will be safe."

"Before or after he gets stabbed," Evie nearly yells.

"I really wish you'd just eat something," Mal grits her teeth. "If you were thinking right, you would know I'm right. Adam is half a foot taller than him and probably two hundred pounds heavier. If he stays here, he's a goner."

"If he stays here, he will be safe," Evie counters.

"From what?" Mal disbelieves. "Some stabbing? You're an empath, Evie, not a damn psychic. You can't tell me you know Ben will be safe here."

"No," Evie agrees. "I know he's not safe if he isn't." Mal eyes over her, before her attention is brought to the footsteps nearing them.

When the officers appear, Rinehart inquires, "Can we speak to you now?"

"Yeah." Mal hurries past them, "Come on." and they follow her to the living area. She turns around, "So. What's this about?"

"After Prince Chad's interview, we'd like to address his claims to King Ben's safety."

"You want to make sure he's not being abused," she understands.

"I know you want what's best for him," Officer Kolinski suggests.

"As we were all nicely pointed out when we got here," Mal counters, "I don't know what abuse is when I see it."

"It's simple enough," Rinehart informs. "Just tell us, do you think he's safe here?"

"Safe is a subjective term," Mal whispers as her eyes shift, and she recalls Evie's insistence that Ben wouldn't be safe if she'd said anything.

"Have you seen him get hurt here?" Kolinski simplifies.

"No," Mal stares down. Ben's family is royal. For all they know, Adam could get away with this, and the next time he outrages, he could take it out on Ben for questioning his character. He could try to stab Ben as Evie had predicated, and he could die.

Rinehart mentions, "Abuse can also be psychological. Have you seen his father or mother make him behave out of fear or emotionally manipulate him?" Ben would do anything for his mother. He loves her too much not to, but that's not Belle's fault. She might have used it a few times, but most of those times seemed to his for his safety or the family's benefit. "Mal?"

She looks at them, "His father is critical and his mother can be emotionally involved, but I don't think they can help it." Mal shrugs, "And who says those are bad things? If my mother cared about what I was doing and actually loved me, then she wouldn't be a lizard."

"What do you mean by emotionally involved?" Kolinski questions.

She shrugs, "I don't know. It just sometimes seems like she's counting on him for comfort or something."

"What do they talk to about each other?" he asks.

"Mostly his father, his health, and being king," Mal slowly answers. "Why?"

"Does Belle talk about her relationship with Adam?" Rinehart continues.

"I think so." Her eyebrows furrow.

"Does she talk about her sex life with her son?" Kolinski furthers.

Mal's mouth opens to speak, but she sighs in realization, "I don't know."

The officers give each other a look, before Rinehart faces Mal again, "Have you seen anything that suggests Adam could be hurting Belle?"

Mal hesitates, "I've seen things, but…"

"But?" he prompts.

She unsurely states, "I get the impression that Belle likes having a beast for a husband. I feel like if the stuff he's done was bad enough to counter that, she would have left him already."

"A lot of people find it hard to leave their partners," Rinehart informs. "Emotional manipulation causes them to either stay or come back. It doesn't mean they like it."

"All I'm saying," Mal points out, "is that if Adam is as large and tall as he is, then maybe he's big in other places too. And maybe she's not willing to give that up over some fit her husband sometimes gets."

"Alright," Rinehart nods, before he turns to his partner. "If we can confirm with her that he has hurt her, that might lead to the king opening up about anything that might've happened to him."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Kolinski confirms. "Let's find her."

"Ma'am," Rinehart addresses, after they find her in the alcove area. "We'd like to speak with you again, please."

She sets the book down and stands, "Of course, officers."

They walk closer to her, and Rinehart comments, "In situations where there's suspected abuse on a child, it's often seen that the partner of the abuser is also being mistreated."

"I'm fine," she reassures.

"So, your husband never hurts you?" Kolinski questions.

"You saw him earlier," Belle frowns. "He lacks emotional intelligence, but I know he would never want to hurt me."

"Has he?" he firmly repeats.

"Nothing serious," she dismisses. "I promise."

"I hate to suggest this," Rinehart starts, "but you're not enduring spousal abuse are you, for the benefits of the relationship."

"Everyone likes to point out that I married Adam for the library," she uneasily smiles.

"No, ma'am," he disagrees. "I was actually trying to ask if you're staying with him for the sake of keeping a good sexual relationship."

"Honestly," she discloses, "the sex isn't all that great anymore. With age I've bruised easier, and Adam is still so aggressive. It was fun when we were young. Less so, now."

"Have you told him that?" he inquires.

"Half of the time I'm not even in the mood," she answers. "It wouldn't be fair of me to tell him not to enjoy himself fully, if it has little impact on me."

"Is the sex consensual?" Kolinski questions.

"What?" she disbelieves. "Of course, it is."

"You said you aren't always in the mood," he explains himself.

"I do it for him," Belle tiredly expresses. "Sex relieves stress, and I'm not going to deny my husband that relief just because I'd rather read."

"Alright," Rinehart accepts, "but do remember that you're not obligated to do it."

"Adam doesn't ask for sex if I'm ill or injured," she informs. "I reassure you, it's fine."

"We need confirmation," Kolinski comments. "Are you sure you're safe here? If you're not, we can call backup to place him into custody, until we can get your official statement."

"The only thing that's going to put me in danger," Belle's eyes widen, "is if Adam becomes frightened of losing me and Ben. He's no danger. I promise you that, but he does not understand his strength and he cannot control his emotions. He needs a calm, stable environment." She nods to the door, "I'm going to need you to leave. Please."

Rinehart nods, "We're going to be back in a week to check on Ben again. If you have not taken steps to get him a prescription for his physical illness and therapy for his depression, then we will deem you and Adam unfit to take care of him."

"I understand," she acknowledges. "I'll take care of it."

- Posted: 01/06/2020 (Happy New Year, everyone!)

- Darthamster12 Thank you for your offer. I sent a PM going further into detail. Let me know if you didn't get it.

- This is the chapter where the alternate timeline fic starts. Make sure to go read it.