Author's Note: Trigger warning for mentions of abuse and implied sexual assault this chapter and throughout the story.

Also for those asking, I try to update about once a week but that can always change.

Thanks for reading. Hope everyone is staying safe out there.


Carlos exits the grandiose doors of Dragon Hall to find Mal and Jay waiting for him at the bottom of the school's spiral stone steps. He's not sure how the two managed to beat him outside but he imagines it involved a lot of shoving of other students and threatening people in the halls.

Carlos pulls at the straps on his backpack and begrudgingly walks up to the pair. "I thought I told you I didn't want you guys coming with me."

Mal stands unapologetic, a challenging glint in her eye. "Too bad. We're coming."

"Don't look at me, Mal insisted," Jay shrugs. "I'm just tagging along to see what kind of cool shit the Evil Queen might have laying around that creepy castle of hers. And maybe to take another go at the princess since you two are definitely not banging," he finishes with a smirk.

Jay didn't exactly object when Mal informed him that they'd be ignoring Carlo's request and going along to Evie's castle anyway, but he sees no need to expose his own guilt or interest in Evie's well-being just yet. He'd much rather just hang back and watch Mal twist in her own confusing inner-turmoil.

"You are not stealing from Evie's Mom! Or hitting on Evie," Carlos warns flatly.

He's annoyed with Mal and Jay for disregarding his previous decision and insisting on joining him, but he can't deny that an ally like Mal could potentially change Evie's life. If he's right about Mal's hostility towards Evie stemming from her confusion and stubborn rejection of her own romantic feelings for the blue-haired girl, then perhaps a reality check concerning Evie's castle life is just what Mal needs to snap her out of her infuriating denial.

It may be a risk but after years of being allies, Carlos feels he can read Mal pretty well and her appearance in front of him at the moment only serves to reinforce his suspicion. But Mal's propensity for being a clueless dummy isn't the only reason for his reservations; Evie will no doubt be upset by the exposure of her deepest secrets. He has absolutely no intention of causing Evie any additional grief but Carlos is willing to suffer the consequences of betraying Evie's trust if it means keeping her safe in the future. He just hopes Evie won't hate him for too long.

"Have you met me? Stealing's kind of my thing," Jay says with a roll of his eyes. "Pretty girls are also my thing," he adds with a grin.

"Well, not today it isn't," Carlos declares seriously. "Do you know what that witch will do to Evie if she finds out one her schoolmates stole from her castle? So you better keep your hands to yourself, Jay, and if you don't think you can help yourself then don't come!"

Carlos's voice is hard and filled with bite Jay is unaccustomed to hearing from the boy. He's actually kind of impressed with Carlos for standing up to him.

Green eyes shift to cast a cautionary glare in the older boy's direction. "Jay, behave," Mal commands mildly as if she's reprimanding a small child.

"Alright, alright. Relax. I won't take anything," Jay agrees with a half-hearted huff, throwing his hands up in surrender as he shakes his head at Carlos. "Gees have you always been this uptight?"

"Oh, before I forget," Mal starts, interrupting the boys' tense staring contest. She shucks her messenger bag off her shoulder and pulls the zipper open, holding it out so Carlos can see the contents. "I got some granola, a piece of bread, a few almonds, and half a container of orange juice," she lists. "For Evie."

Carlos nods. "That's good. Thanks." Suspicion confirmed—Mal cares about Evie and is just too pig-headed to admit it. The feeling of relief is fleeting. Mal may not be a threat to Evie, but he still has no idea what condition he's going to find the girl in or how she's going to react to him betraying her trust.

Thanks to the Isle's permanent lack of sunshine, daytime is brief and dusk greets the trio as they make their way to The Castle Across The Way. The only thing that kept Carlos from leaving school early to reach Evie was the need for the cover of nightfall. Carlos knows the Evil Queen to be perceptive and paranoid, particularly when Evie is confined to her room, and the dark is a necessary ally if they're going to be successful in avoiding detection.

They walk is long and quiet, with only Jay's occasional observations or silly questions interrupting the silence. Carlos leads the way, walking the same path he and Evie walked days earlier with newfound dread and determination.

Mal follows without complaint, quietly soaking in the surroundings as they near Evie's castle. She's been to The Castle Across the Way once before—when she had been so coldly and callously turned away from Evie's 6th birthday party all those years ago. The memory, once a source of great anger and bitterness for Mal, now only solicits a dull sense of sadness within her. Mal's not sure why hearing Carlos say Evie likely hasn't eaten in five days upset her so much, or why she felt compelled to tear through the school grounds looking for food she could bring the girl, but the need to see Evie—to look upon her face and know that she's okay—is overwhelming. The pressure to alleviate fears Mal didn't know she was capable of entertaining pushes down on her chest with a sense of urgency she can't seem to mollify. It's all a little scary and disturbing and new—Mal can practically feel the fractures tearing through her self-made armor as she marches closer to her destination.

"Okay. That's Evie's window," Carlos says, coming to a stop in front of an old crumbling tower and pointing up towards a darkened window several stories high.

Evie's castle is not as stately as Mal recalls. The stones are broken and covered in moss, the windows are dirty and cracked, and thick knotted vines have overgrown the facade. Broken shutters hang carelessly from glassless windows and leaky gutters make eerie dripping sounds that echo through the darkened forest. It's less posh and more decrepit than she remembers and Mal wonders if her childhood memories are somewhat misinformed.

Carlos cautiously scans the grounds, his eyes surveying every window and door in view before he pushes through the brush that surrounds the castle. Watching an anxious Carlos charge towards Evie's castle despite his obvious fear, Mal becomes acutely aware of the fact that it isn't just the state of Evie's castle she has been wrong about, but the state of Evie's life overall.

"What are you doing?" Jay asks, curiously watching Carlos search for something.

"Climbing," Carlos answers plainly.

Jay looks to Mal for backup but the girl seems more focused than curious, her brows furrowed and lips pursed as she watches Carlos feel along the tower's stone wall.

"Yeah, I can see that," Jay deadpans. "Why are you climbing?"

Carlos turns back to Jay, his expression tight and inpatient. He knows he's only seconds from coming face to face with Evie and he's nervous about how he'll find her.

"'Cause we can't exactly knock on the front door and ask the Evil Queen to let us in to visit the daughter she's keeping locked up," he snaps.

"Okay, so let me get this straight," Jay drawls, picking up a fallen branch from the ground and swinging it at the bushes in front of him. "I can't steal anything and now I have to scale a three-story castle and break into some crazy old witch's house to give your girlfriend a piece of bread?"

"It's four stories," Carlos amends, grabbing the branch out of Jay's hand. "And in case you forgot, no one asked you to come!"

Carlos blows the air out of his cheeks and turns back to his search.

"What's the problem, Jay?" Mal interjects, wanting to keep the bickering to a minimum. "You love breaking and entering. And climbing."

Jay nods and shrugs. "That's true. Alright, lead the way, Carlos."

"Okay, there should be a…" Carlos trails off. "Oh, here it is." Carlos pulls on a worn knotted rope hanging along the castle's old iron drainage pipe.

Jay raises his brows. "Do this often?"

"When I need to."

Mal wants to ask how often Carlos needs to sneak Evie food but she lets the question die in her throat. Carlos starts his ascent up the rope and Mal only takes a moment to shake off her unease before following him up.

"Okay, now that was fun," Jay declares as he swings a leg over the window sill and steps inside Evie's darkened room behind Mal.

Mal snaps her head around to hush the boy. "Shut up!"

"Be quiet, both of you," Carlos chastises, voice just a scratch above a whisper as he moves about the familiar room unhindered by the darkness.

"Evie," Carlos calls out softly. "Evie, it's Carlos. And Mal and Jay."

Mal stands awkwardly in the dark, unable to see much beyond Carlos's moving shadow.

"Jay, the lamp," Carlos instructs. "Turn it on, not swipe it."

Jay grumbles under his breath but follows Carlos's order, using the moonlight peeking in through the open curtains to find the lamp sitting on Evie's vanity.

Once switched on, the lamp casts a soft glow of light over the room and Evie's bed comes into view. Carlos at its side, face twisted with concern.

"Is she okay?" Mal asks, staring at the unmoving lump on what she can only assume is Evie's bed. From her spot, Mal can make out the shape of Evie's body under a thin white sheet and a mess of unruly blue hair peeking out from the top.

"Rise and shine, Princess, you got company," Jay greets, awkwardly shuffling closer to the bed. He attempts to peek over Mal's shoulder but Evie's back is turned to them and he can't see her face.

Carlos takes a seat on the edge of Evie's bed and clears his throat. "Evie, hey, it's Carlos. I'm going to put my hand on your shoulder, okay? It's just me."

Mal watches anxiously as Carlos attempts to rouse the unmoving princess. Carlos is far from aggressive and easily the most timid of their group, but still, she's never seen him be so gentle towards another person.

"Hey, come on Eves, can you look at me?" Carlos prods softly.

Evie groans but makes no attempt to move. "Carlos, it hurts."

It's a weak pitiful cry and Mal's ears burn at the sound.

Carlos moves his head as if he's searching for injuries but he can't see much beyond the white sheet. "Where? Where are you hurt?"

Slowly Evie rolls her body over to face him.

"Oh, Evie," Carlos whispers, reaching for her face but not actually touching her. "What did she do to you?"

Evie is almost unrecognizable—with swollen blackened eyes, a busted bloody lip, and bruised and broken skin overtaking her normally picture-perfect face.

Mal takes a step back, bumping into Jay's chest in her haste. Jay places his hands on her shoulders to steady her as a hushed "my gods" slips from her lips. A profound heaviness settles in the center of her chest and Mal's heart aches at the sight of the battered girl in front of her.

"Her mom did that?" Jay asks, his voice quiet. Despite the lack of his usual playfulness, he sounds more child-like than Mal has ever known him to in the past.

Carlos's shock seems to wear off the quickest, perhaps because he's most accustomed to the sight. He quickly shifts into caretaker mode, extending a hand to Evie. "Can you sit up? We brought food."

"We?" Evie repeats groggily as she tries to push herself up against the headboard with Carlos's assistance.

"Mal and Jay, from school. They're here too," Carlos explains, hoping the information won't be too ill-received.

Evie pulls back from Carlos as sharply as her weakened body will allow. There's no trace of betrayal in her expression, which Carlos is thankful for, but the frightened wary look on her face breaks Carlos's heart.

"Hey, calm down. It's okay," he attempts to soothe her.

"We're not gonna hurt you," Jay says, still standing a safe-distance behind Mal. He's been on the receiving end of plenty of beatings from his father but never had he been left in such bad shape. He can't imagine it'd take much physically to knock Evie down or keep her restrained, so her mother, or whoever was responsible for her injuries, must have taken pleasure in inflicting such great pain on the girl. At the thought, Jay's fists clench at sides and he finds himself exhaling sharply and shaking his head.

Evie jerks her head back. Her darkened eyes peer at Carlos with apprehension. "They shouldn't be here."

"They were worried."

"M-Mal hates me! They…They're gonna …" Evie's voice is hoarse and she struggles to push words passed cracked lips. "They shouldn't be here!"

The ache in Mal's chest twists and throbs at Evie's broken words. It's unlike any pain she's ever known before—deeper and more intense. Guilt and anguish overwhelm her, stretching to fill every inch of her body. Hadn't she wanted Evie to fear her? To run home and cower in her castle? So why does the hurt and fear in Evie's voice feel like a million devastating jabs to her heart.

"Evie, calm down. Please. You're gonna hurt yourself," Carlos pleads. He looks back at Mal and Jay with a frown, his mind working overtime as he second-guesses his decision. He never meant to cause Evie any distress by allowing Mal and Jay to follow him, but he truly believes Evie can benefit from their protection—he just needs to get everybody on board. "They're not here to harm to you. Trust me, okay? They're my friends, they wouldn't hurt you. I wouldn't let them."

Evie relaxes ever so slightly against the mattress at Carlos's reassurance, her tired eyes falling closed to appease her weakened body.

Carlos does his best to set his emotions aside and refocus on the task at hand: helping Evie. "Mal, help me get her up."

Mal's eyes go wide at the request. Certainly, Evie doesn't want her anywhere near her at the moment.

"Evie you have to sit up and eat," Carlos instructs firmly but gently. "When was the last time you put something in your stomach?"

Evie gives a soft whine, squeezing her eyes shut tighter. "I can't. Please. I don't feel well."

"We'll take it slow. Okay? Just a few bites. For me?" Carlos prods.

He gives Mal a pointed look and she reluctantly comes around to kneel on the other end of Evie's bed. She still thinks her helping is a terrible idea but Carlos apparently gets bossy when he's worried and she doesn't want to test him at the moment.

Mal attempts to slide a hand against Evie's back and guide her into a sitting position but Evie flinches violently at her touch, curling towards Carlos with a strangled cry. Mal rips her hand away like it had been licked by fire and jumps back from the bed.

"Shit! Sorry!" Mal sputters. "I didn't mean—"

"Hey, hey, it's just Mal. Okay? Just Mal. You're okay," Carlos interrupts, directing his words to Evie with patience and tenderness. "You have to warn her before you touch her," he says to Mal before turning back to Evie. "Mal's going to help you get up, okay? Evie? You're gonna feel her hand on your back but it's okay. It's just Mal."

Just Mal. Normally that would infuriate Mal. She isn't just anything. She's Maleficent's daughter, the badest villain kid on the Isle. She's worked hard to be feared, to be a name that strikes panic in people's hearts like her mother's— but right now, all she wants is for Evie not to be scared of her.

Mal attempts to touch Evie again, this time clearing her throat loudly and awkwardly announces what she's doing. Carlos does most of the work, gripping Evie under the arm and pulling her up but Mal keeps her hand protectively braced against her back, feeling the warmth of Evie's body through her nightgown as she guides the girl into a seated position. Evie ends up propped against the intricately carved headboard of her old mahogany bed, sweating and out of breath, and Mal cringes at the smattering of blood visible on Evie's white bedsheets now that she's moved.

Carlos spreads the collection of food he and Mal had gathered out over the sheets as Evie looks on wearily.

"Just a few bites," Carlos repeats his earlier promise.

Mal can't help but be pleased when Evie carefully selects the almonds she swiped from her teacher's desk last period.

Evie takes small deliberate bites as Carlos smiles at her encouragingly, holding one of her hands with his own and pressing one almond at a time into the other. The moment feels almost intimate and Mal finds herself looking away to give Evie her privacy. She catches Jay's eye over the bed and notices the somber expression on the boy's usual grinning face. Jay has been her right-hand man for years now and Mal can read the question on his mind—the same one that's been plaguing her since Carlos revealed the truth behind the Evil Queen's treatment of her daughter. Mal supposes she should be the one to step up to the plate.

"What-what happened?" Mal finally asks once Evie has given up on eating.

Evie turns her head slowly towards Mal, her eyes seeming to struggle to focus. "My mom wasn't happy I lost the necklace she gave me."

Mal's heart drops at the truth and she feels like she might be sick. There's a nauseating churning in the deepest part of her stomach, and shame sends a flush of heat rolling up from her chest to her cheeks. Her head feels foggy and feverish, but despite every survival instinct she's acquired telling her to run, she can't seem to make her wobbly legs move or take her eyes off Evie. Her fears are confirmed—this is her fault and she won't turn away from Evie now.

When Carlos said Evie was being starved as punishment by the Evil Queen, Mal was of course horrified. And maybe momentarily confused by her own horror. But she was also selfishly hoping the punishment was for something Evie did when she returned home from school. She didn't want to acknowledge the possibility that Evie might have suffered the consequences of Mal's own vindictive act. Her intention had been to upset Evie, she never wished to cause physical harm to the girl. In fact, Mal had a hard time imagining physical punishment and Evie in the same sentence. Evie was supposed to have the charmed perfect life of a princess, not the hopeless bleak existence of the most unfortunate of the Isle kids.

"Shit, princess, we didn't mean to get you into trouble. It was just a joke," Jay says, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking at the floor in shame.

"Mother didn't find it funny," Evie replies tiredly, her slow languid words like daggers to Mal's cracking heart.

Worse than Mal's own self-inflicted misery is the fact that Evie doesn't even sound angry with her. There's no bite or malice in Evie's words, no accusations or blame behind her eyes. Maybe Mal would feel less guilty if Evie had the energy to conjure up such fiery emotions, but instead, Evie looks resigned to her fate, like she's been here a million times before and knows she'll be here again. Mal feels an inexplicable burning urge to make sure that doesn't happen.

"Take a few more bites, please," Carlos's voice breaks through the tension, his almond-filled hand outstretched to Evie. "And drink the juice Mal brought. It's good for you."

Evie gives Mal a long questioning look at the mention of her name before rolling her head back towards Carlos. "I don't think I can keep it down."

Carlos shakes his head sadly, his hands falling to his lap. "I should have come sooner. I didn't know about the necklace, Eves. I didn't know she'd be this mad. I'm sorry."

Evie moves her hand to cover Carlos's. "C, it's okay. I'm okay," she says, doing her best to muster a reassuring smile and a firm hand squeeze. But she can barely get the muscles in her mouth to twitch upward and her grip is so weak, her fingers merely flex against Carlos's.

"Thank you all for coming but you should go now," Evie declares. "I have an appointment tonight and I need to get ready." Evie attempts to cement her dismissal of the group's concern by pushing herself off the bed but the pain radiating through her chest makes her wince and fall back against the mattress with a defeated sigh.

"Appointment?" Mal asks curiously. "Like a doctor's appointment?" Mal had never actually seen a doctor but she thought maybe the Evil Queen might know someone, a witch doctor perhaps.

Evie's eyes widened at Mal's question, realizing what she just said. Her frantic eyes lock with Carlos who flies up from the mattress with a cry.

"Damn it! No! No! She can't! I'm not leaving you! You're not doing that!" Carlos rants as he angrily paces the floor at the foot of Evie's bed.

"Carlos," Evie pleads, doing her best to sound calm despite the drumming of her heart in her ears. She knows she screwed up and she can only hope to control the situation at this point. It's bad enough Mal and Jay have seen her injured, she can't allow them to know the truth in its entirety—it's much too dangerous. She's not mad per-say, she knows Carlos always has her best interest at heart, but next time they're alone she'll certainly be asking him what the hell he was thinking bringing them along. Carlos must know something about Mal she doesn't because this is the second time he's made the questionable decision to involve the purple-haired girl in her life and Evie can't help but be baffled.

"What's going on? What kind of appointment?" Mal asks more pressingly this time. She had never seen Carlos get so upset so quickly and she needs to know what's causing a member of her crew so much distress.

Carlos rushes to grab his bag from the floor, standing at Evie's bedside with a look of wild determination in his eyes. "You're coming with us. You can crash at the hideout until we figure out something more permanent."

Evie shakes her head softly. "I have to get cleaned up before he gets here."

"Evie, no! This has to stop!"

"It won't be so bad tonight. It's only Jasper. He's not so rough."

Carlos cringes at her attempt to reassure him. Her voice is soft and sweet-sounding and she smiles at him like she's not about to endure an unimaginable horror at the hands of one of his mother's lackeys.

Jasper—that lanky bumbling idiot who is always looking to leech off his mother. Carlos hates all the men who come to Evie's room, but he holds a special hatred in his heart for Jasper. He had reacted particularly bad when Evie mentioned one day that Cruella's henchman was one of her regulars visitors. He can't help but feel somewhat responsible—if Jasper wasn't coming and going to his house to see his mother, maybe he'd never have come across the Evil Queen and Evie.

"Evie—" Carlos chokes out, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Is this what's been happening since Friday? How many appointments have you had?"

Evie's face falls at the question. "Mom was so mad about the necklace. She said I had to earn back it's value. She even lifted her rule about visible marks. My last appointment really went with it."

"Does anyone wanna tell us what the hell you two are talking about?" Jay questions. The boy has been so uncharacteristically quiet that Carlos almost forgot he was there.

Evie is quick to dismiss the question, once again slipping her mask on. "Nothing. Now if you'll excuse me I have to—" She throws the sheet aside and attempts to stand yet again but hisses sharply once her feet hit the floor.

"Evie!" Carlos calls out, attempting to reach her.

Carlos is just a step too far and Evie finds herself falling backward with a frustrated cry, only to be caught by strong arms.

"I got ya," Mal breathes against Evie's back, helping to ease her back onto the mattress. She feels Evie tense in her arms and then pull herself out of Mal's embrace.

"Sorry, I just got up too fast, I think." Evie directs her apology to Carlos, refusing to look back and make eye contact with Mal.

Carlos sighs, he's been on edge all day and things are as bad as he could have imagined. "Just take it easy. What is it? Your ribs again?"

"I don't think they're broken this time, just bruised," Evie answers, chewing her lip to keep the pain from showing on her face.

"Let me see."

"Carlos."

"Let me see. Lie back," Carlos insists.

Evie relents, knowing it'd be quicker to indulge Carlos than argue with him. It's only a matter of time before her mother is at her door with Jasper in tow and she'd rather be alone when that happens.

Carlos gently guides Evie down onto the mattress, carefully situating the sheet so that she is covered from the waist down. He then guides her hands as she pulls up her pale blue nightgown to just below her chest.

Beside them, Mal mutters something unintelligible under her breath and Jay looks away in anger. Maybe it's because he can't picture Evie fighting back, or maybe he's just a chauvinistic asshole, but Jay hates seeing Evie so badly battered. He suspects Mal feels the same judging by the murderous look in her eye.

"That looks bad," Carlos notes with a deep frown. He pushes his fingers not-so-gently against Evie's chest. "Does this hurt?"

"Carlos!" Evie whines sharply, twisting away with a painful wheeze.

"Sorry," Carlos says, pulling her nightgown down and stepping back. "I think they may be broken. And you probably need stitches for that gash on your head."

Evie touches her hand to her forehead, where the back of her mother's ring-adorned right hand has torn up her ordinarily unblemished skin.

"You don't think it'll scar, do you?" Evie asks. "Mother would be so upset with me if it scars.

"If your mother doesn't want you covered in scars, maybe she shouldn't beat the living shit out of you for losing a stupid necklace!" Jay snaps, his chest heaving with frustration.

Evie looks taken aback by the boy's blunt statement and Carlos is quick to scold him for his insensitivity.

"Shut up! What was that noise?" Mal asks, disrupting the boys' budding squabble.

A hush falls over the room as the four teens strain to hear Mal's mystery sound.

"Sounds like the door," Jay notes. "Guess not all visitors take the long way up like us."

A grim expression passes over Evie's face. "That must be Jasper. I'm not prepared for him. Mother will—"

"Fuck your crazy-ass mother," Jay cuts her off with a huff of annoyance. He doesn't know the lady but he definitely hates her.

"Who's Jasper?" Mal implores. She wants answers and she's getting awfully annoyed at being ignored.

"We have to get you out of here. We can go to our hideout," Carlos suggests, glancing in Mal's direction to see if she'd dare object. They have strict rules about who is allowed inside the hideout—it's meant for crew members only—but Carlos doesn't give a damn.

"Carlos, no!" Evie cries, shaking her head furiously. "You know running away doesn't work. How many times have we tried it? She'll find me. She always finds me."

"She doesn't know where the hideout is. She doesn't even know it exists," Carlos argues. He leans forward to grab ahold of her hand again, his eyes dark and desperate. "Come on, Eves, please. I can't leave you here knowing what's going to happen to you tonight."

Evie is crying now and Carlos is pleading with her with the gravest expression Mal has ever seen on his face. She's still very confused and when the timing is right she'll demand answers, but she knows whatever it is has to be bad. Carlos doesn't exactly have it easy himself at home, so for him to be in such a frantic state over whatever awaits Evie—it has to be bad.

"What's going to happen? Who is that guy?" she tries to demand. She knows her attempt at commanding power falls flat, but it's sort of hard to exert leadership skills when your knees feel like they're going to give out.

"Evie! Evie, dear!" the Evil Queen calls from down the hall. The woman's voice is loud and unnecessarily high-pitched, and it bounces off the empty walls of the castle with disconcerting fervor. "Jasper is here. I hope you're decent, my dear. Well, more than decent of course."

A shrill peal of laugher echoes through the door and Evie goes rigid at the sound. Carlos is starring at the door as if he's capable of keeping it locked with the force of his mind alone.

"I told him about that terrible fall you took down the stairs at school," the Evil Queen's boisterous voice continues, growing louder as she nears. "Such a dreadfully dangerous place. I knew sending you there was a mistake. But we were able to work out a deal. Jasper will overlook those hideous bruises for tonight and next week when you're feeling better, you'll make it up to him."

Mal watches Evie tremble as her mother's voice floats down the hallow hall and through the old cracked door.