At the Enchanted Lake
Ben finally found Mal at the enchanted lake. When he got closer to her, he saw that she was laughing and speaking. He'd seen she was alone when he was at the top of one of the surrounding hills and didn't notice until he was even closer that she was on her phone.
"No, Mason, I deserved that A in Manners & Mathematics, no magic involved..." There was a pause before she added with a chuckle, "I do have manners."
Ben cleared his throat and Mal turned to him. Ben gave her a small wave and she waved back.
"Can I call you back in a sec?" Mal asked. "Thank you, my day isn't going as horrible now. Later." She said before hanging up. "Hey, stranger." She said to Ben with a smile.
"Stranger?" Ben asked, looking a little hurt.
"It's a joke." Mal clarified reassuringly. "Although I haven't seen you in four days."
"We spoke on the phone," Ben said. "And texted."
"Yeah, but seeing you in person is better," Mal said as she approached him.
"Agreed," Ben said, grabbing Mal's hands now that she had gotten closer. "What were you saying about having a horrible day?"
"Ugh. Don't get me started." Mal said with a grimace. "I woke up on cloud nine and was dragged kicking and screaming back to earth in third period."
"What happened?"
"An annoying teacher. Manners & Mathematics."
That made Ben grin. "I remember you saying she stopped being so 'annoying' and started being ridiculously nice to you, but..."
"Yeah, yeah. I said that the fact that I was dating the king was no reason to treat me so differently. But now..." She sighed. "I wish I didn't say anything to her and let her keep bringing pies to me in class."
"Want me to tell her to start doing that again?" Ben asked jokingly. "I could have it typed up on royal letterhead with a seal and everything, even send a bunch of emissaries to deliver it to her during school."
That got a laugh out of Mal. "Imagine the look on her face. But, no. I got through classes with Cruella back in elementary, I can handle strict teachers."
"Of course you can. And, at least, you woke up feeling happy. What was so great?"
"Just a good weekend, that's all," Mal said dismissively.
"That's nice. What was so good?" Ben asked, trying to see if he could prove to himself that Audrey was probably misinformed.
"Nothing. I just spent some time with a friend."
"Evie? Did you go to Chad's party?"
"Evie is permanently banned after she accidentally burned off his precious eyebrows. He even hired a bouncer and hung up her picture. Why're you so interested in my weekend?" Mal asked, her instincts causing good ole Isle suspicion to kick in.
"Nothing, it's just this crazy thing. Audrey's friend thought she saw you having some kind of romantic dinner in New Orleans over the weekend. Funny, right?"
"Yeah, that's crazy," Ben felt a weight lift off of his shoulders. Only to come back when she said, "it wasn't even romantic."
"So, you did have dinner with a guy late last night."
"Yeah, but it's nothing serious. It was only late because it took so long to fly to New Orleans, and we just ate and talked. It was fun."
"Oh," Ben said, not intending for it to sound so bitter.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"You're not mad, are you?"
"It's just that...wouldn't you be a little upset if I had dinner with a girl without telling you?"
"Dinner? I don't know. Coffee dates? I could see that." Mal said.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. I don't want to do this today. My day was already bad enough."
"I want to know," Ben said. "What did you mean by 'coffee dates'?"
"Just that you've done the exact same thing."
"You mean my study sessions with Amelia? That's completely different. I'm just trying to catch up on my schoolwork."
"And you go to restaurants where you laugh and chat with another girl. But if I do the exact same thing, it's a problem?"
"It...it's not a problem. I just...you didn't tell me."
"And why should it matter? Do I demand to know when...nevermind," Mal took a deep breath and let go of Ben's hands. The electric feeling was coming back and she was fighting to keep her eyes from glowing. If Ben saw her so close to losing control, she wouldn't be able to keep him from worrying. "I so do not wanna argue today."
"But we have to discuss this, Mal. We can't just ignore this, we have to work through it together."
"I love you, and I love how you always want to be all diplomatic. But there is plenty of time to work through this another day," Mal said, backing away toward the stairs that would lead up to the forest. Maybe she could go to that clearing and let out the lightning that felt like it was crackling in her veins.
"Mal, my mom always told me you shouldn't walk away from someone you love holding negative feelings," Ben said, approaching her. "You remember what happened the last time we got into an argument without resolving it."
"Really?" Mal exclaimed with a roll of her eyes. "I promise I'm not going to run back to the Isle this time."
"What I meant is that-" Ben started, instantly regretting the comment.
"Ben!" Mal yelled "Not today!" Now the electric feeling was so bad that she didn't even notice the face that appeared in the water behind Ben.
Uma's Perspective (Which I imagine being in Hawkmoth's tower)
"Hmm," Uma said, gazing into her tub. Somehow, Carver thought that she just had a habit of taking long baths. The scene she was watching in the water showed Ben and Mal's fight. And she just got the most diabolical idea. The nautilus ring glowed as she said,
"See this little fairy princess with all her anger,
she doesn't even know her precious prince is in danger
See her fury like the churning oceans,
unleash her powers through her emotions"
Back to Ben and Mal
In a second, the electric feeling in her blood doubled. It was so bad that she was dimly aware of her hair starting to crackle with electricity. "I just had a really bad day! And the second it got a little better, you came asking about something that doesn't even matter!" Without Mal's knowledge, a wave of force made Ben stumble back. "Because it doesn't matter when you spend time with other girls, does it?" Mal yelled, unwittingly causing another wave of force to nearly knock Ben off of his feet. "And the only reason that hurts is because you claim to be busy almost every day I ask to spend time with you, but you're free enough to 'lose track of time' with her!" A single tear fell down Mal's eye and another, powerful wave of force.
Ben was knocked backward through the air so fast Mal hadn't fully comprehended what had happened until she heard the splash as he fell into the enchanted lake.
"Ben!" Mal called, running to the water. She wanted badly to dive in for him, but, unlike Evie, she'd never had the time to take swimming lessons. The electric feeling had subsided slightly, from the shock or the use of magic she didn't know. Then it dawned on her. She had the power to cast spells. She could bring him to her. Bring him to me...me...what rhymes with me? It took a second or two before she said,
"I've always been better with lightning or fire than the sea
But, please, water, bring Ben to me"
It all happened as she imagined it would. The water shifted, a giant bubble forming around Ben that rose into the air before hovering over to the floor of the gazebo. The bubble slowly lowered to the ground, leaving Ben to stumble to his feet, coughing up water, before it popped, sending water showering everywhere. That part was a little less controlled than she imagined.
"Ben, are you alright?" Mal asked. He paused his coughing and looked up at her. His eyes look so green today, she thought when she got close to him. When he quickly covered his eyes, she chastised herself for having such a stupid, stupid thought at this moment. Until she realized that his eyes didn't look especially green. They were reflecting green light. And he was covering them like he had been looking at the sun. She put a hand in front of her eyes and saw a green glow on them. Her eyes were still glowing. Brighter than usual, in fact. They were lit up like lighthouses. And the electric feeling was coming back. "Ben?" She asked, backing away from him, back to the stairs of the gazebo to put a safe distance between them.
"I'm fine," Ben said, coughing a little before his voice turned a little less raspy. "What happened? What was that?"
"I'm so sorry," Mal said. "I'm so, so sorry." The electric feeling got worse. It was like her blood had turned into a thunderstorm, lightning ready to strike at any moment. "I didn't mean to." She had to get away from him. To go somewhere she couldn't hurt anyone else. "Beware forswear, bring me from here to there," Mal said, disappearing in a cloud of smoke crackling with green electricity.