Two hours after Mal had taken Belle, he and Audrey were hiding in Audrey's room, waiting for more news. Ben wasn't sure how they'd gotten there - only that he'd come back to himself with Audrey asleep on his chest. They were lying width-wise on top of her covers with shoes on and tear tracks down their faces.
He focused on the light moving outside and listened carefully for any trace of sound around them besides Audrey's quiet breathing. Nothing.
Audrey stirred after a long while, opened her eyes, rolled her chin to lay on her hand on top of Ben's chest, and blinked down at him in confusion. "You're here?" She muttered.
Ben raised an eyebrow. "Problem?" he whispered.
Audrey's face fell as she apparently began to remember what had happened and sat up, rubbing her cheeks. "Where's Belle?" She asked. "Has Mal come back yet?"
"No," Ben shook his head. "Nothing yet."
Audrey nodded and turned away. She sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her face, trying to get the stiffness and the sleep to leave her. Ben watched her, almost numb, until she moved her hand and set it on top of his on the bed. Then, he had the urge to move away but sat up instead.
"She'll be alright," Ben muttered under his breath. "Mal… she has lots of experience."
Audrey exhaled and nodded. "I trust her," she agreed. "I'm just… worried. I mean, you never know what's going to happen. I want her to be okay."
Ben nodded. Audrey took her hand away with a breath and so he patted her knee with his hand. She chuckled and glanced up at him before shaking her head. "It's been a long time since we woke up like this," she mumbled.
Ben's mood soured even further. He gave a one-shoulder shrug and got to his feet.
"Ben," Audrey stopped him and then slowly got to her feet. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" Ben repeated.
"I know I was distant. I know I wasn't there. I know you were unhappy." It was hard to keep her gaze up. She kept looking at her feet. "I… I do miss us. The way we were before."
"I'm sorry too," Ben said, though the words felt hollow on his tongue. "Maybe we can get back to that stage again."
But Audrey remained silent and didn't offer up any words of confidence. If anything, she looked like more life was being drained out of her.
A knock came from the door. Ben reached for the handle and swung the door open. Mal was behind it with curly horns still poking out from her hair. Audrey gasped and stepped in front of Ben. "You're here!" She said. "Is she alright?"
"She's in her room now, but asleep still. the sleeping spell I used should probably wear off soon," Mal explained, taking Audrey's arms to steady her. "You can go sit with her. I've wrapped her leg up because it's probably not good for her or-" her eyes flit to Ben. "-Ben to see it."
"Ouch." Ben wrinkled his nose.
"No, she's right," Audrey rolled her eyes. "You probably don't remember, but you went into shock down by the river."
Ben's face turned red. "Oh," he muttered.
Mal rolled her eyes, but there was mirth in her eyes. "In his defense, no parent should have to see their children's bones exposed. Anyways, she, uh, I numbed her. She won't feel any pain. I set the break and she should be fine. But you'll need a proper doctor to look at her. She may need extra help to walk normally again."
Audrey let out a breath and nodded. She stepped past Mal and began heading down the stairs. As she walked away, Ben put a little extra space between him and Mal. "Thank you," he muttered. "For helping her."
"She's a sweet girl," Mal shrugged. "I hope she still likes doctors after all of this." She exhaled and turned to head up the stairs. "I left Xavier when Maleficent struck. He's been alone for too long now. He's probably fine, but I need to go check on him."
"Okay," Ben agreed.
Mal paused with her hand on the barrier. "Ben… I'll be leaving soon. Today, probably. Now that I know where my mother is, it'll be easier to take her down."
"Just tell me when and I'll find a sword and-"
"No, I'm going to leave you here," Mal shook her head. "I can't spare the extra energy to protect us both. You're in charge of Xavier."
"Are you-"
"I'm sure."
Ben grit his teeth. "I can go out with you, you know."
"I know," Mal agreed. "But I need you to stay here. Really, Ben, I do. And I need you to understand that."
Ben exhaled. "Okay."
Mal nodded and headed upstairs. Ben left the room and shut the door behind him. He wandered down the stairs and looked up. He could see Mal's arm on the next stairway up as she headed up, but then she was gone. He sighed and headed downstairs.
The next bedroom down's door was open. He could see Audrey's legs as she sat on the edge of the bed. He walked towards the doorway and opened the door wider to slip in. Audrey didn't look up at him as she ran her fingertips through Belle's mangled, ratty hair and traced the cuts on her face. Belle was pale with dark lips and shallow breathing. She looked like how Ben might have imagined the original Sleeping Beauty.
"Ben, find me a comb in the bathroom, please?" Audrey murmured. She stood and moved so that she could lift Belle's head onto her lap. Ben glanced towards the attached bathroom in the room and then peered inside. There was a comb on the table that he grabbed and brought back to Audrey. Audrey took it carefully and began to pick at the ends of Belle's hair, trying not to pull or rip her hair. Ben sat down on the bed beside their little girl and found Belle's chilled hand atop the covers.
"Where's her doll?" Audrey asked.
"I saw one of the kids grab it. They'll probably keep it for her."
"We should go grab it," Audrey murmured.
"We will," Ben agreed. "I can go out and grab it later."
Audrey hummed and continued picking at Belle's hair. It occurred to Ben that Audrey had always - always - done Belle's hair and he didn't honestly know how to do that much with it. Even when the nannies had been in charge of her, Belle had gone into her mom's room every day to get ready. It was their thing.
About twenty minutes passed before a shadow appeared in the door. Ben and Audrey both looked up. It was Mal, holding a sleeping Xavier to her shoulder. "Can I leave him here?" She asked Ben.
Ben nodded and held out his hands. "I can take him," he whispered. Mal stepped inside and placed the baby into Ben's arms.
"I'll be back," she whispered.
"Be safe," he whispered. She nodded and left.
"Where is she going?" Audrey asked when Mal was far enough away.
"Her mother," Ben replied and Audrey took a little breath.
She finished with Belle's hair and set the comb aside before stretching her hands out towards Ben. "Can I have him?" she asked.
Ben blinked. "Do you want him?" he asked.
Audrey patted a spot on her lap beside Belle's head. I want to compare them," she admitted. "Belle doesn't look as much like you as he does."
Ben tilted his head at Audrey and then slowly laid Xavier beside her. He doubted Audrey could safely lift him. Xavier gave a little sigh as he settled into a fold between Audrey's leg and Belle's head and his fist settled beside Audrey's thigh. Audrey gave a little hum and combed his hair down with her hair before sighing. "He's precious," she whispered.
"You think so?" Ben asked.
Audrey nodded and leaned back towards the headboard. She continued running her fingertips down both children's heads, one at a time and going still whenever either stirred. Ben watched without a reaction for what felt like a long, long time.
Audrey's head rested on Belle's head. "She'll want her doll when she gets up," she said and Ben nodded in agreement. "I know you said you'd do it later, but will you go find it now? Before she wakes up?"
Ben nodded once and got to his feet. He paused and then leaned over the bed to kiss Belle's forehead, then Xavier's, and then Audrey's cheek. Audrey didn't say anything as she continued brushing down the two kids' hair. He left, shutting the door behind him.
The doll had been picked up at the river where the accident had happened, that much he knew. Kids were once again running around in the clearing and when they saw him, the began to maul him about Belle.
"Is she gonna be okay?"
"Is her leg broken?"
"Where's Belle?"
"Belle's going to be fine," he assured them. "But I need to find her doll. Where is it?"
The kids scrambled to the heap of toys and began to pull thins away to see if they could recover it, but Molly the doll wasn't anywhere to be found. One of the older kids sat down to think. "Um…" she said. "Barley took the doll when it fell, but I could have sworn she put it into the pile. Maybe she picked it up afterward and took it to her house to keep safe. The only other place it could be is with some of the other kids who went off on an adventure that way." She pointed downriver, back towards the place where Ben had gone looking for Belle earlier that day.
Ben sighed. He remembered Barley but didn't know where she lived. Maybe it would be easier to go find the other kids first? He thanked the kids and began to head downstream, pausing every so often to see if he could hear whispers. The river once again began to take him closer to the barrier.
He happened past the trail that led to where his empty carriage still waited and squinted at it. It still looked undisturbed. He hoped none of the little ones knew it was there - it wouldn't be good for them to be outside of the barrier at the moment.
Ben crossed the path, tripped over a rock and stumbled before he spotted something pink up ahead. It made him pause - hadn't Belle's doll been wearing a pink dress when they'd left the palace?
A few steps closer and the familiar plastic face came into view. It was laid against a rock as if standing and looked like it had been abandoned. Strange. The Isle kids rarely abandoned anything - they were all paranoid with the idea of things being stolen or taken away from them if they weren't in protected spots. Even stranger was that the area around the doll was undisturbed. No tiny stick teepees for the kid's adventures or heaps of leaves to serve as pretend food. It was as if the doll had been dropped and left.
And strangest of all, it was three feet behind the barrier.
" Don't go out," a voice commanded him that sounded strangely like Mal's. " Don't do it."
But the doll was right there, almost within arms reach, and he had to make sure he knew where the other kids had gone.
"It could be a trap."
Or it could have been a trap. A trap that had already worked. Ben stepped closer to the barrier and looked all around. Everything was calm and undisturbed. If he were to grab the doll, jump back inside, and rush to tell Evie, everything would be fine.
" Leave it there. It's a doll."
Ben pushed a hand through the barrier. He had long arms but still could only reach about halfway. With a deep breath, he poked his head out and reached.
His ears were filled with sweet… music. How hadn't he heard it before? It was beautiful and alluring and made his entire body feel numb and sweet.
"Come with me, child," someone beckoned him from the trees.
Ben straightened up and left the barrier behind. The person gave a hum of approval. "Touch the doll," they encouraged. "Touch it, I say."
Ben looked down. The doll had transformed - it wasn't Belle's prized medical practitioner's equipment but a long and curved sword. When had that happened? He picked it up.
A crooked finger appeared, beckoning him onwards. Ben walked across the clearing towards the trees. Smoke began to billow out of the trees as he neared them. A shadow emerged - someone with curved horns and a thin nose and pink mouth. Cold fingers reached forward and curled around his chin. "Tell me, child, what color are my eyes?"
That was a spell. Hadn't someone used that spell today? He couldn't remember who or what for.
"Green," he answered, and felt his eyes roll into the back of his head.
"A dream is a wish your heart makes," Audrey sang softly, alternating between brushing Belle's hair off her face and brushing down the peach fuzz on Ben's son's head. "When you're fast asleep."
Ben had been gone for a while now and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious where he'd gone. Mal was gone, not that it would matter too much if they were talking alone. All the damage had been done.
"In dreams, you will lose your heartache. Whatever you wish for, you keep." Belle stirred underneath her mom's touch and Audrey sent another frown to the door. Where was Ben?
"Mom?" Belle asked, blinking up at Audrey's tanned hand.
Audrey leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Hello sweetheart," she whispered. "Are you feeling better?"
Belle nodded and turned her head. She smiled when she saw Xavier and leaned her head against his leg before she sat up. She moved the covers aside and found her bandaged leg underneath the sheets, which she ran her finger down. "Is it broken?" she asked.
"Yes," Audrey sighed with her stomach twisting. "We're going to take you back to Auradon to get you checked out just as soon as Maleficent is gone."
"Did Mal fix me?" Belle asked.
"She did," Audrey couldn't stop a smile. "But we want to still get you checked out. You might need some extra help to learn to walk, just like I'll need some help to start not being sick again."
"We can get better together," Belle nodded and fell back into Audrey's side, snuggling up against her torso. Audrey's ribs ached, but she only squeezed Belle tighter and kissed her head.
"That's a good idea," Audrey whispered. "I want to spend lots of time with my little doctor."
Belle patted her hand. "I can take care of Xavier and me and you. And maybe Dad, if he gets hurt."
Audrey chuckled. "Dad has some things he needs to figure out, so it might just be you and me sometimes, baby."
Belle went a little quiet and then tilted her head into Audrey's side. "Mom, how come we all have different rooms at home?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Evie shares with her husband and so does Uma and all my friend's parents," Belle explained. "At first I thought it was weird, but they all think I'm weird because you don't share with Dad."
Audrey chewed on her cheek. "Yeah, dad and I are a little different," she agreed. "We're not like a 'real' married couple, I guess."
"You're fake married."
Audrey laughed. "I guess."
Belle nodded. "That makes sense."
Audrey kissed Belle's hair again. Her little body felt warm against hers. She didn't want to let go.
The door opened. Evie appeared, holding Belle's doll in one hand. "Oh, hey," She smiled. "Sorry, I didn't want to wake Belle by knocking. The kids told me Ben was looking for this? Where is he?"
"I don't know," Audrey frowned. "He's been gone for a while."
Evie looked surprised. "I'll go find him," she decided. "It's not like him to wander off." She gave the doll to Belle and tucked the covers up underneath her shoulders. With a kiss to the head, she was gone again.
Audrey laid a hand on Xavier's head. If Mal had returned, she would have come to check on the baby. Unless she'd found Ben en-route, then she might have stopped to ask where he was. But no one besides Evie had stopped in and that meant Mal was probably out looking for her mom still. Could Ben have gone after her? If he had, he would be in a world of trouble for leaving their son with Audrey and then not bringing back Belle's doll, but that seemed so unlike him.
He was probably still just out looking. He'd hopefully be back soon.