"We're having an intervention." Evie said sternly at breakfast. Mal blinked, genuinely wondering why they all thought breakfast was the best time to corner her, a meal most of the school didn't partake in, but she wouldn't question it right then and there. Instead, she smiled lowly.

"An intervention about what? Care to join my evil group? It's not too late, I'm still looking for members,"

"You're not truly evil, don't pretend like you are," Carlos said.

"Yeah!" Anxelin pushed her way to the front of the group. "I know it's sappy and most of you VKs don't do sappy, but it's the truth. I've seen you change these last few months here. You barely think about your mom. You like classes, you like your friends here!"

"She's right. We've all changed." Jay said.

"You're going to throw it away for this?" Ruby's eyes shimmered. "Don't."

"You're not the ones who cursed the most popular girl in school. If she ever wakes up, do you think she'll be thankful towards me?" Mal said. She didn't want them to get through to her. She tried to push through the group to get a tray, but Evie pushed her back, staring her down.

"It was an accident! We all know it was! But you can reverse it, like all accidents," she said.

"And how do you know?"

"All magic is reversible." Jay reminded her.

"Seriously, you're not like you used to be. You're different. You're not an extension of your mother anymore, you don't care about making her proud! You're a good person." Evie continued. "Even if you don't believe it, others do,"

The Fitzherbert twins nodded, but so did Lonnie and Arabella. Some other Villain Kids were there too, the nicer ones, and much to everyone's surprise, Snowdrop walked to the front of the group and took Mal's hands.

"You're good, and what you did was a stress-related accident. You still have more growing to do, but just know, I stand with you. You're my stepsister's close friend and I can't hate or fear someone like that," She trembled and had trouble making eye contact, but her voice remained strong.

Mal looked over the whole group. "Audrey is your best friend,"

"And I do want her back! But it's not right to dislike you for no reason either,"

If she were holding a tray at the moment, Mal was sure she would've dropped it. Not just her friends coming to her defense, but some of the more popular Auradon Kids, including Princess Snowdrop herself? She didn't want to admit it, but they were right. She might've arrived at the school with ulterior motives, but she did actually grow to like it. She enjoyed the classes she had, she was good at them even. She branched out and made friends with the Fitzherbert twins, some of the most princess-y Auradon Kids ever and genuinely liked them. She wasn't even really feared or worshipped here, here, she was...just Mal. Not even Malevolent Bertha, just Mal.

But what of her other group? She longed to make mischief sometimes, and Mad Maddy was another genuine friend of hers, even longer than she had known Evie, Carlos, and Jay. She couldn't just abandon them either, not with everything she promised, not with how much they looked up to her.

Maybe she could play her cards right and please both of them simultaneously.

"Alright, you guys win with your super sappy act." She said, and the girls cheered. "But, we still have to wake Audrey up. She may be a lot to handle, but she doesn't deserve eternal slumber. I don't want her parents to be upset either,"

"That's where I come in!" Evie gasped happily. "Meet me in the chemistry room after school, we'll look through my spellbook! I'm sure there's something in there to help us!"

Mal nodded and the group dispersed, leaving her alone. She didn't have much of an appetite, so she just headed to her first class, sorting her thoughts together in her head of what she was going to do next.

She knew Evie had a spellbook and told her as such the second classes ended, watching her flip through it.

"The spell was mine, not yours or your mother's. Why would it be in there?" Mal asked impatiently as Evie kept flipping.

"If not, there's other options. I'm far from the only one with magic, you know," She stopped at a page about the Sleeping Death and ran her fingers along the text. "Do you think this would work? Close enough, right?"

"We have to try anything," Mal reminded her, and Evie nodded and started gathering the things she needed to brew the antidote.

"I can get the tools but you need to get the ingredients."

"Which are?"

"A pale pink flower petal, singular of course, fresh off the blossom. A perfectly-cut slice of the reddest apple. A lock of black hair. A scream of fright." Evie recited.

"None of that really makes sense. I mean, it does if you're trying to curse someone," Mal said. "But how is any of that supposed to reverse it? And how am I supposed to get that stuff?"

Evie shrugged. "Magic is the way it is. I've never really questioned it," She sorted out the vials and bottles and other tools she needed. "For the first two, I imagine any petal and red apple would do, magic can be bent. For the third, there's plenty of students with black hair here, say you're going to charm it and cut a lock off when they're distracted. And for the fourth...that's when magic gets specific. A scream of pure fright, which means you're going to have to scare somebody really good."

"Why not you?" Mal smirked.

"Funny. But I don't scare easily."

"Alright, I'll find these things. Surely they can't be that hard," She left the room and Evie looked over her things again, awaiting her.

She figured the reddest apple was really up for interpretation and thought it'd be the easiest to find, so she headed into the cafeteria, seeing some students there either having an after-school snack or catching up on their studies, sometimes both. Mal walked around, trying to peek at each and every tray, startling some of the students. She saw plenty of green and yellow apples, even one that was somehow pink, but no red ones.

Huffing, she walked into the kitchen, pulling open every cabinet and throwing open the fridge.

"Hey, where is the rush?" Louis teased as he saw her. "What are you looking for? I could help,"

Mal rolled her eyes. "None of your business,"

He held up his hands. "I can take a hint. I just enjoy helping pretty girls,"

She did need help, but she wasn't about to admit it to him. She didn't want anyone to know about the reversal, because what if it didn't work somehow? What if he tricked her? She went back to her search.

"If you're looking for fruit, the school actually hasn't gotten their shipment in yet." Louis continued, like she asked him to. She stared at him.

"How do you know that?"

"Uncle Ralphie is the teacher for Cooking, remember? I'm privy to tons of stuff thanks to him," He smirked. "We just ran out and won't get them until another week."

"And where might I find a fresh supply on hand? Of any fruit?" Mal tried her best to smile but knew she looked and sounded strained.

"Queen Aurora and Queen Snow White are famous for their apple trees in their respective kingdoms, but if you don't want to make the trip, there's a grocery store downtown that has anything you could think of. Apples too,"

She noticed how he singled out apples specifically and stared at him. "Come with me."

"Huh?"

"Come with me to the store to get the apples. You seem to know a lot about them,"

"Well who doesn't? Especially me," Louis defended.

She walked out of the kitchen and simply left the building itself, shocked that no teachers or other staff tried to stop her. Maybe they were just as uncaring as she felt in that moment towards their students. The two rode the bus together and Louis pointed the store out, a quant red store with flashing lights.

"The reddest apple..." Mal mumbled to herself as she picked through every apple on display. Most were green, and the few that were red didn't have the shine she needed.

"If you don't mind my pryin', why are you so adamant over apples? Need more nutrition?" Louis teased her.

She almost said Evie needed it for a spell before she bit back the comment at the last second. She has to be careful with those kinds of words now. No matter how nice Louis seemed, he was still an Auradon Kid, and she was sure all of them harbored some form of dislike for her after what she did.

"Yes. The brighter the apple, the healthier it is!" Mal forced herself to smile a chipper smile.

"What about this one?" Louis picked one up and tossed it into the air before tossing it to her. Mal caught it perfectly and rolled it over. "So shiny you can see yourself in it. And what a pretty image it is!"

Mal rolled her eyes, still transfixed on the apple. It shined brightly and smelled crisp; the sort of apple one thought only existed in stories. It was the sort Queen Snow White would've longed for in her youth. It was perfect.

"Yeah, it'll do." She nodded and rushed off, not wanting to spend any more time with Louis. She had a mission she needed to fulfill.

She hid the apple under her bed and recalled her next item was a lock of black hair. Sounded easy enough, she would just grab it from the first person she saw whose hair matched. Plenty of the student body had black hair, so all she needed to do was wait. She grabbed a pair of scissors and hid them in her jacket, wandering the halls and lounges as she waited. Some students looked up at her from what they were doing, but she ignored them because they didn't have the proper hair colour.

"Someone with black hair..." She kept looking, wondering why somehow every student with black hair had vanished from her sight.

"What's on your mind?" Lonnie asked suddenly, startling Mal. She caught the scissors at the last second, wincing subtly at grabbing the blades.

"Nothing."

Lonnie just stared at her. Mal realized she hadn't really seen much of Lonnie throughout the whole school year despite her hanging out a lot with Jay. And yet she still vouched for her.

"I need a lock of your hair," She finally admitted. "Just one!"

"Okay, but first I need to ask. You're not going to spell it or me, right? I know once fairies have their hair they can curse you," Her tone was serious, yet Mal caught a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

"It's to help A...someone. A person. It's a potion that requires a lock of black hair and you're the first one I saw,"

Lonnie ran her hands through her bob. "My hair is so short already though! Actually...I've always admired Jane's hair and the other styles you've done around the school. Don't pretend that wasn't you, we all know! Hair for hair, how about it?"

"Don't you know you shouldn't make offers to fairies?" Mal said halfheartedly.

"My realm doesn't have them, so I think you'll have to enlighten me," Lonnie plopped herself down on a nearby chair and Mal ran her hands through the bob, eventually taking out her scissors and snipping a large strand off. Pocketing it securely, she then took another look at Lonnie, deciding what would look best on her. Maybe something layered?

Not wanting to spend an eternity there, she conjured up something in her mind and waved her finger around, giving Lonnie a mirror and leaving. "Hope you like it, goodbye!"

She didn't see Lonnie running her hands through her hair in awe, gasping at the waves and how her hair piece rested delicately on top. Her hair took the colour of caramel and flowed past her chest. It was amazing.

Jane was right, nobody mean would ever consider doing such a thing.

###

Mal thought the rose would be one of the hardest to get, simply because Queen Aurora was the most famous for her roses, and no way was Mal going home after everything that happened. Evie didn't specify a rose, but they were the most powerful and well-known of flowers, so she figured it'd make the most sense. Who else had roses though? She sat in the library during her whole free period, just aimlessly staring at a textbook about flora.

"What's up?" Ben asked her, making her look up with a jolt. "Obviously something is bothering you,"

"Surprised you want to be around me," She stabbed.

"What happened on Family Day wasn't your fault. It was Queen Leah and her granddaughter and Chad. Nobody else's," He said instantly.

"I cursed her. I couldn't stop myself."

"But you're fixing it, right?" Ben pointed to the book she was looking at. She closed it. "I get it, I'm not here to pry. I trust you. Audrey is...a lot, but she's my childhood friend and I want her to recover from this. And if it's a rose you need, I know where to find them,"

"I need a pale pink one, not a red one,"

"I know," Ben gave her a subtle smile and gestured for her to follow, which she eventually did. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think she'd be following a prep school boy, let alone the future king, out of school on a mission to save the daughter of her mother's worst enemy, and yet she was.

She expected him to take her to the town, but he instead organized a carriage and slipped her a lavender polonaise dress with a sheepish smile. "I know it's not your thing, but you need it for a few minutes."

"Okay, I'll bite. Where are we going." Mal said flatly, not voicing it as a question. "I thought you were taking me to Auradon City to buy something from a shop,"

"Magic is exact and must be used with only the best ingredients," Ben just continued to smile at her. "And pile your hair on top of your head too,"

She did exactly as she was told, doing her hair to the best of her ability and slipping the dress on over her regular clothes. The change took most of the ride, and once she adjusted her shoes Ben gently escorted her out of the carriage in front of a glamorous yellow palace. Her breath caught in her throat. "Don't tell me.."

"Welcome to my humble home, Mademoiselle," He couldn't stop his silly grin from stretching on his face, something Mal tried to fight from forming on her own.

"You took me all the way to your palace just for a rose?" She tried to take everything in. The decorations were white marble angels and the tops were red. Huge flower gardens blossomed both outside and around the entryway, and the sun caught the proper angle of the castle, making it shine.

"We're known for roses." He offered his hand to her, and Mal surprised herself by taking it. He led her up the walkway to the palace and through the door, letting her take in the sweeping staircase and huge ballroom. "Sorry it's so quiet. My dad doesn't have many servants, actually. But that's not what we're here for, you need a rose,"

Mal kept following Ben, afraid of getting lost in the huge castle. Even the stairway gave her motion-sickness. Most of the doors were closed or led to longer hallways, and Ben stopped in front of a smaller wooden door with a polite knock. "Grandfather?"

"Come in! Come in! Don't mind the mess!"

Mal's eyes widened at the sheer mess and cramped space in the room. Half-finished steel and wood messes littered the floor and tables in piles, with steam clocks ticking away overhead merrily. An old man was leaning over what looked like a compact stove, poking it numerous times before it spewed out black smoke. Mal coughed and waved her hand in front of her face.

"Hard at work, I see," Ben teased. The man looked up and gasped, pulling off his glasses and pulling Ben into a hug.

"My dear grandson! It's been so long since the last time you visited! And who's this? A lady friend?"

"Just a friend," Ben looked back at Mal, whose face heated up.

Ben considered her to be a friend of his? The Prince Ben? They hardly ever interacted and here he was, introducing her to a close family member as a friend of his. What had she done to deserve this?

"The name is Maurice, pleasure to meet you too," He shook her hand firmly and left an oil stain on it, which she nearly wiped off on her dress before she thought better of it. "Hope the mess doesn't bother you, I'm in the middle of a breakthrough!"

"We just need a rose from you," Ben said.

"A rose?" Maurice paused in his movements. Now that Mal could see him better, she saw a short man dressed in simple clothes with an oily apron on top and goggles on his head. "Like the flower?"

Ben nodded.

"A pale pink one! Not a red one!" Mal chimed in.

Maurice nodded and left the room, promising to be back in a moment. Mal looked around the room some more.

"He seems very...eccentric," She finally offered. Ben giggled before he caught himself.

"That's a word for it. He'd prefer the word 'visionary' though. Mom says he's always been like this. She was never bothered by it, but the villagers were, no matter where they moved. Eventually, she got tired of it and moved him here in the castle with her," He explained.

"And he was just okay with it? Uprooting his whole life?" Mal tapped the hands on one of the clocks.

"I think he was secretly tired of the backlash too. Once they even tried to throw him in a mental asylum over it. Even if it was a huge change, I don't think he minded,"

Maurice came back into the room then, carefully handing Mal a rose. True to her request, it was so pale pink it was nearly white, with soft silky petals. "Whatever you need it for, I hope it does well by you,"

"Thanks Grandfather!" Ben waved and Mal waved too, keeping a tight grip on the rose. Once they returned to the carriage, she looked it over carefully and saw he even tied a purple ribbon to it. Not lilac or lavender, but the dark purple of her hair.

"Does he grow these?" She asked to kill time.

"Yeah. Inventing is his true passion, but once he moved in he took up painting and gardening. Roses are his favourite, obviously," He smiled again.

"He likes me, even though I'm different. He had to have suspected my true nature," She twirled the rose around in her hands.

"What about it? My family wouldn't judge over that, they're not those types of people. They founded Auradon on those principals," Ben leaned forward to look in her eyes. "It's why from day one I've supported you and knew you were a good person. Now you get to show everyone else what I knew you were capable of,"

She blinked and looked away, glancing out the window.

Once they arrived, Mal threw the dress off, laughing at Ben's scandalized face. "I'm sorry! I'm just not good with huge dresses," She smoothed out her jacket and pants. "Oh, do you know anybody who startles easy?"

Ben stared at her as he folded the dress up, finally sighing. "Is this for the same thing you needed the rose for?"

"Yes,"

"A lot of the dwarf kids do. So does Jane. Snowdrop. Ummm...Edmund."

"Edmund?" Mal raised an eyebrow. "Never heard of him,"

"He's actually not an Auradon Prep student, not yet anyway. But his mom's best friend is a teacher here so he visits a lot and is in the middle of a visit right now." Ben said. "He just startles easy because he's young,"

"Best I go with the person who I'll likely never see again," She decided. "And thanks for the rose!" She then ran off before Ben could say anything and make it weird. She did appreciate him doing that for her, she really did. She liked how he saw her as a friend and always trusted her. She knew she was softening, and it scared her. She didn't know what to do.

She was halfway through the wings before she realized she probably should've asked who Edmund was or where he'd be, knowing she never heard that name before. But surely someone else had to know too, right? She didn't want to walk all the way out for Ben again.

"No no no! Don't scrub the boards so aggressively! Here, let me Edmund!"

Mal stopped in her tracks at the sound of the name, the voice coming from the math class. She hid and peeked inside to see Mrs. Phillip standing on her tiptoes, one leg posed gracefully behind her as she pointed to spots on the chalkboard that needed to be erased. Next to her was quite possibly the most perfect-looking prince Mal had ever seen, and that was saying a lot at a school filled to the brim with perfect princes. He was still young, even younger than Celia, with black hair that fell just right and a shirt with huge puffed sleeves.

"I'm just not used to boards!" He huffed.

"You've cleaned before?" Mrs. Phillip asked in surprise, gently guiding him.

"Yeah! Mom wants us to do a lot of work around the castle. She says she'll never be used to servants...or helpful animals,"

Mrs. Phillip laughed merrily at that.

Mal ducked away, running back to the chemistry lab and grabbing a bottle with a cork, trying to think of the best way to scare him. His realm had evil magic, right? She wasn't sure of the details. She kept hanging around the door, waiting for the right time to strike.

"Alright, I'm going to put these cloths up." The moment she turned her back, Mal struck, jumping in front of Edmund and transforming herself into the image of a large black-green bat, stretching out her arms.

"Boo! I got you!" She laughed wildly.

Edmund screamed loudly and Mal grabbed the bottle, swiping it under his mouth and corking it. She transformed back to herself and fled, still grinning when she came back to Evie.

"Someone had fun," She teased, looking down at her book still.

"I got everything!" Mal laid out all the treasures she got throughout the day, still grinning. "I'm still energetic from the scare,"

Evie assessed everything carefully, nodding. Without a word, she begun to work, Mal watching her. She made a bottle of boiling water, peeling a petal off slowly and tossing it in, turning the water green. She smoothed out the strand from Lonnie's hair, throwing that in too, turning the heat up. She stirred up the mix, churning up bubbles. Next came the apple, which she sliced and mashed, pouring the pieces in. Lastly she pulled the cork off the scream, releasing the shriek into the bottle. She stirred and shook it once again, watching it slowly change from green to black to soft pink.

"You're so good at this, it's almost scary." Mal whistled.

Evie smirked proudly. "We have to let it simmer for a day, then it'll be ready. I can do that in my dorm. For now let's clean this up,"

Mal put the bottles up, pausing at the rose. The trip to Ben's kingdom, getting some new scenery, meeting an Auradonian who didn't judge her...it was nice. And fun. She tucked the rose away, telling herself she'd get rid of it once she went back to her dorm. Her mind was split between Ben, her friends, and her new gang with Mad Maddy.

How had her life suddenly become so complicated?