Set after ben pulls mal out of the enchanted lake during their date in the first movie.

Mal couldn't see Ben anywhere. She had been too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice where he had gone, and she was starting to panic. In a despite attempt to locate him, she ran out into the lake. Mal had severely misjudged how deep the water really was, causing her to thrash around, trying to keep her head above the water.

Just as Mal's head was about to go under she felt two strong arms around her, lifting her out of the water. Mal reached out to grab the edge of the picnic area they had been on, but this only caused ben to hold her tighter too him. If Mal had been paying attention, she might have heard the low growl coming from the future king.

"Ben! Put me down!" Mal tried unsuccessfully to wiggle from his grip, which had gotten so tight it had started to hurt.

"you spelled me." The words froze mal's movements. Her thoughts raced with how he could have found out. There was no way for him to know.

"The lake. It washes off all spells." Ben said as though reading her thoughts. "so, tell me, why did you spell me, Mal?" Mal had never heard the prince speak in such a tone, it reminded her of when her mother asked her why she had failed to do her biding.

Mal stayed quiet, wondering how she should play the situation. She thought staying quiet was the right choice when Ben started to lower her to her feet, but quickly realized she was wrong as, the moment her feet touched the ground, Mal was slammed into one of the surrounding pillars with a hand wrapped around her neck.

Mal's breath caught in her throat as she fought for air. She clawed at Ben's arm and face, not leaving so much as a scratch on his thick skin. Mal realized that ben might be more beast than he let on. Black started to seep around the edges of Mal's vision and she thought she heard someone from far away yell, "WHY DID YOU SPELL ME?"

Before mal could slip into blissful unconscious's, she found herself thrown onto to ground, to gasp for breath on her hands and knees. Her reprieve didn't last long as she felt a hand twist her purple hair and yank on her head so that she was looking up. Mal looked in shock at Ben's face, the one so often painted with a gentle and caring expression, now showed an enraged snarl. Mal began to recite a defense spell, but she could only get out the first few syllable before a hand cracked her across the face and knocking her onto her back.

Mal struggled to focus on her surroundings as her writs were pinned on either side of her head. When the stars cleared from her vision, Mal saw been towering over her, a viscous smirk across his face, which was only inches from her own. Mal resumed her struggle but was unable to free her wrists from the prince's iron grip, nor could she get a good angle with which to kick him. Ben simply held the isle girl down waiting for her to stop.

It was several minutes before Mal stopped fighting and yelling at the prince. Mal settled for a glare at the boy on top of her. This glare would have scarred the crap out of any kid on the isle, however, it just made ben laugh.

"Finally done?" mal didn't respond to ben's question and just continued to glare, causing ben to laugh even more.

"I'll take that look as a yes. Now tell me what you thought you could accomplish by putting me under a love spell."

Mal knew that she was caught but there was no way that she was going to let this prissy prince get the better of her. "Go to hell" Mal then spit in ben's face for good measure. Ben snarled as he wiped the spit off his face.

"Fine. Guess we use magic then." Mal's heartrate tripled when ben said this. She had no idea what kind of magic he meant. Would it bind her? Would it hurt her until she told ben what he wanted to know? Would it just send her back to the isle of the lost? Mal remained frozen where she was as ben reached into his nearby backpack but snapped out of her stupor when she saw him pull out a needle.

"I had planned to use this so that you would finally believe me when I said that I love you, but this is a far better use." Mal caught ben's wrist in her hand as he brought the needle closer to her neck. They were both only using one arm as ben was still holding down mal's dominant hand. Mal's eyes flashed green as she tried to force Ben's hand away, but his beast strength proved too much and mal cried out in outrage as the needle plunged into her neck, emptying its contends into her.

Mal wasn't naive, she had seen what happens to girls on the isle when a man manages to drug them, and she was going to be damned if she let that happen to her. Mal released ben's wrist, freeing her hand to jam her thumb into his eye.

Ben instantly released her and cradled his eye, groaning in pain. Mal launched herself to her feet and thanked all evil that she was wearing her combat boots and not the heel's Evie wanted her to wear. She couldn't hear Ben behind her but continued to run until she was passed the bridge where she and Ben entered. Mal's lungs burned, and she could feel her legs cramping, so she decided to stop to survey her surroundings. Something that quickly turned out to be a mistake, as a large, hairy beast launched itself out of the bushes and wrapping its limbs around the VK, and begins dragging her, kicking and screaming, back to the picnic area.

"Get the hell off me!" Mal yelled as she found her back pushed up against a pillar again. The beast does so, revealing the tattered clothes of the future king hanging off his frame.

"You have come far in your magic in the last few days," Ben was practically growling out the words into Mal's face. "But I have had a lifetime to master my abilities. You stand no chance." Mal settled to glare at ben as he shifted back into his mor princely form (thankfully with his underwear still in tack). "Now let's get back to these questions." Ben backed off Mal but left her cornered so she couldn't run.

"Why did you put a love spell on me?" Ben kept his gaze fixed on mal as he asked his question. Mal intended to stay silent, but began to feel an uncomfortable, burning sensation in her chest and stomach. The longer Mal stayed silent, the worse the burning got until Mal couldn't see straight and was swaying on her feet, as if about to fall.

Mal heard Ben's chuckle through her pain filled haze. "You are lasting far longer than most, but it will only get worse until you answer."

"Needed to become your girlfriend to sit closer to the wand." The words tumbled from Mal's mouth without her permission, as though pulled out by magic. Mal's pain faded, and she realized she had fallen to her knees and was unable to get up. "What did you do to me?" Mal grimaced at how weak her words sounded.

Mal saw Ben's shoes and then his knee as he kneeled down next to her. "It's a truth potion. It compels the user to tell the truth and to tell it fast. Burns like a bitch if you take too long, doesn't it?" Mal's breathing picked up as the gravity of her situation. She clenched her fists in the dirt, leaving blood smears where her fingers were. "Why did to need to sit closer to the wand, Mal?" The pain started to come back when Ben asked her another question.

This time the answer fell from Mal's mouth faster. "Gonna steel it to take down the barrier and free our parents." Ben's laugh rang out loudly, confusing Mal.

"That was your plan? I knew your parents were out of practice but geez, I though they would have at least come up with something that would have assured they couldn't be sent back." Mal looked up from her spot on the ground to shoot a confused glance at the future king. "Mal, we have tons of heroes here, not to mention all the new heroes just itching for their own fairytale fight. Every villain would have been back on the isle before the sun went down. You and your friends included." Mal looked back down at the ground, just now realizing just how ridiculous her mother's plan was.

"Come with me." The prince turned away from the isle girl on the ground and began to walk back to where he had parked his bike. "And don't make me chase you through the forest again." Mal followed, not having any other choice.