Ben lead the way back to his bike with mal trailing a few feet behind him, doing her best to simply figure out what was going on.
"Walk faster. I'm not trying to be out all night." Mal rolled here eyes at Ben's order, but complied nonetheless.
When they reached Ben's bike, Ben threw his leg over and got situated on it. Mal remained where she was until Ben threw his extra helmet at her and said a gruff "get on."
The ride out to their date had been enjoyable for Mal, the prince had taken it slow, took careful turns, and only gave a few safe swerved in an effort to get his date to hold on tighter. Now, Ben drove fast and recklessly, not caring if Mal hung on tight enough not to be flung off the bike in the strong wind. They drove for what seemed like hours to Mal but was actually only a few minutes outside the kingdom. They finally stopped at what looked to Mal like an old shack, not all that dissimilar to most houses on the isle of the lost. Mal moved to get off the bike after Ben, but apparently didn't move fast enough as he grabbed to back of her dress and tossed her forward, causing her to stumble closer to the shack.
Mal swatted Ben's hands away when he tried to shove her forward a second time, walking to the shack with her head held high and her shoulders back.
They entered the facility without a word and Ben started rummaging around as Mal took in her surroundings. The shack looked the same on the inside as it did on the outside, just a run down, abandoned shack with some farmers old junk laying around. Mal discreetly searched the area for a weapon, but everything was ether useless or rotted.
"Mal" Ben yelled Mall's name to get her attention. When she looked at him, the royal simply snapped his fingers and pointed to the ground in front of him. Mal knew a summoning gesture when she saw one but this made her blood boil. The VK debated not complying but her curiosity at what the future king might be hiding convinced her to swallow her pride and stand by her date.
Once Mal was standing at his side, Ben punched a few bottoms in the control panel in the wall, signaling for the floor the lower into the secret bunker below the ground. Mal stayed quiet as they where lowered into the dark bunker, until her eyes adjusted to show her what decorated the room.
"Fucking hell!" Mal leaped up to grab the ledge on the shack floor but was pulled back down by a clawed hand on her arm.
"Let go of me! You're fucking crazy!" Mal tried and failed to wrench her arm out of the prince's grasp. She used her free hand to strike at Ben's eye again but he had learned from her last struggle and caught her hand before it could reach him. The boy then twisted Mal's arms across each other so her struggling would only serve to hurt herself.
With a sadistic smile, Ben pushed the fairy into the wall of the cage behind her. Mal screamed as her back came into contact with the iron bars of the cage. Ben's smile grew on his face as his comrade continued to scream, the smell of burning flesh soon reaching both of their noses.
Ben threw Mal to the floor after a few seconds. Mal struggled to breathe on the floor, reaching her hand around, she touched one of the places where she had come into contact with the iron bar. Mal brought her hand back and saw it covered in blood and burnt skin.
While the frightened VK checked her injuries, Ben began to prep something inside the cage. Satisfied, he walked over and gabbed the isle girl by vet velvet hair and dragged her into the cage. The future king then clasped a set of shackles around his dates wrists and hoisted her up so she was dangling just above the ground.
The shackles dug deeply into Mal's wrists and they caused a small burning sensation, not as bad as the pure iron bars, but still enough to hurt like hell. Her new injury stretched painfully as she was lifted into be air by her wrists.
Once his prisoner was situated, Ben decided it was finally time to explain. "You really think I would invite the children of the greatest villains to my kingdom without and preconditions? I have a few on these facilities throughout my kingdom, all with different holding capabilities. As you can tell this one was designed for fairies what with the iron bars and steel shackles."
Mal did her best to glare at him even though she could feel her strength leaving her because of all the iron surrounding her. Ben chuckled at her attempt as he could see the fear behind her eyes.
Ben approached the dangling girl and said, "I really don't like to look like a fool in my own kingdom, Mal. Your little love spell made me publicly dump my old girlfriend, as useless as she was, and sing a stupid song in front of the whole school. I really don't appreciate that." Ben grabbed Mal's chin and cracked her neck at an odd angle to look at him.
Ben sighed and pushed Mal's face away, causing her to swing on the chain. Mal tried desperately to get her feet underneath her but only managed to touch the tops of her toes to the ground, doing nothing for the building pain in her shoulders.
"I suppose I'll have to send you back to the isle of the lost. Damn! I really wanted this to work, it was a brilliant first proclamation and I doubt any future king would have been able to top it." Mal's eyes snapped open in fear at the idea of returning to the isle. Surly the wicked four's parents would kill them for failing to bring back the magic wand. Ben noticed Mal's panicked expression. "Oh right your parents will probably kill you for failing them, even if their plan was idiotic…" the soon to be king stoped talking as a look of inspiration came across his face.
"Maybe you don't have to go back." Mal looked confused at Ben's statement. "You said you four were planning to steel the want at my coronation, right?"
The potion must have still been in Mal's system because a "yes" fell from her mouth before she could stop it.
Ben looked gleeful at her response. "You could publicly renounce evil there, confess what your parents asked of you, and swear your loyalty to the kingdom in front of everyone! And your friends would follow suit as you are their leader."
Mal simply hung there in shock, not knowing what to think. Ben narrowed his eyes at her lack of enthusiasm about his decidedly brilliant plan. "You know, I bet no one in the kingdom would notice if one of the villain kids I sent back went missing on the way." Mal didn't want to know what this crazy prince was talking about. "After all I would be saving you life and I could just keep you here for my own… pleasures."
Mal shuddered at the thought of leaving her only friends to face the isle alone and to spend the rest of her life in the hell she was currently trapped in. Ben could see by the fairies expression that her will was breaking, now she just needed a final push.
"Maybe if the kingdom saw you as the First Lady of aradon then they would expect more of your kind here." Ben finished off his pitch snuggly, waiting for Mal's answer. Mal though about all the kids stuck on the isle of the lost, worked to the bone then beat be their parents. If she took the deal, they would be freed but Mal would become imprisoned.
"Screw you" she finally said. The price walked closer to her and Mal braced herself, ready to be hit, but the boy surprised her by laughing.
"You have such a fighting spirit Mal." Ben said as he stoked her hair. Mal flinched at his touch but couldn't manage much more because of her restraints. "Everyone in auradon seems to bend over backwards to please me, especially Audrey. She would always just roll over and accept it if I said I wanted something. But not you Mal."
Mal began to have a sinking feeling about where this conversation was going. "So I'll but it to you like this; you can ether be my First Lady up there," Ben walked over to the chains holding Mal up and grabbed them. "Or down here." With those words Ben yanked down on the chains causing Mal to be yanked upwards again, just up to Ben's eye level.
"What do you say?" Ben smiled menacingly as he asked the question, walking closer to the stuffing girl while slipping an iron ring onto his finger. He then laid his hand with the ring along Mal's cheek, leaving a trail of burned skin.
The combined pressure of the cuffs, iron trailing across her face, and potion compelling her to answer snapped Mal's resolve. "YES! Fine yes." A single traitorous tear escaped Mal. "I'll do it." The last three words came out at barely more than a whisper, but they pleased Ben nonetheless.
"Excellent!" His voice and face had returned to his public facade, but now Mal knew better. She looked into his face to see his charming, boyish smile but it was his eyes that gave him away to her. They had the same wicked gleam that she had when her and jay came up with a new way to rob the shops on the isle. Mal shuddered at the knowledge that she was the one on the receiving end of that look and couldn't do anything to stop him.
Ben released the chains holding Mal up, causing her to crumble onto the bunker floor. "Better get you back so you can sleep. We have a lot to work on tomorrow, little dragon."