There is a disturbance at the palace
Evie had only been informed of Mal's capture the morning after. Since then she's sent dozens of her guards and lieutenants down to her cell to question her. Mal has not said anything useful yet, and patience is growing thin throughout the castle. Carlos has spent hours in his workshop trying to figure out Mal's plan and her intentions. Evie herself was curious as to what Mal was feeling. She'd been there a week and nothing was found. She fears they will have to go to more extremes if information isn't revealed soon.
Now Evie sat on her throne quietly listening to a few merchant representatives. There seemed to be a disturbance in the marketplace among the shopkeepers and now the Queen had to step in. Not literally, of course, she wouldn't be caught dead in a place like that. With a simple dispute and a few promises, the matter was resolved and the merchants were on their way. Jay escorted them out of the throne room. Evie noticed something different about him ever since the night he brought in Mal. He was more distant and less talkative. He avoided her at any turn and they only seemed to speak on professional terms.
"Jay?" She spoke, he quickly turned his head to look at her.
"Yes, your majesty?" He responded.
"Come here, closer to me." She beckoned him forward with her hand, he obediently complied with her request.
"Is there something you need?" He asked her with a worried look, he stood at the top of the stairs that lead up to her throne but still remained a few steps back from her out of respect.
"You seem troubled, are you unwell?" She asked him.
"I don't know what you mean." He said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.
"You're practically sweating, Jay," Evie gave him a reassuring smile, "there's no need to be nervous around me. We're friends, are we not?"
"Yes, of course," he said quickly, "I just haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately; that's all."
"I know the feeling," she said looking into his eyes that refused to meet hers, "are you sure that's all that's bothering you?"
"Absolutely sure." He said, hoping she'd drop the subject.
Evie sighed heavily while placing a hand on her chest, she could still sense something was terribly wrong, "remember when we would tell each other everything, Jay?"
"Perhaps that wasn't always a good thing, your majesty." He said, still avoiding her eyes.
She felt betrayed and untrusted. She felt like this was a complicated puzzle she had to delicately work her way around. She chose her next words carefully.
"Look me in the eye, Jay," she told him, "and then you can leave."
He suddenly felt trapped, he wanted to leave more than anything but every fiber of his being told him not to look in her eyes, "I can't do that, your majesty."
"Why not?"
"I just can't. It's not right."
"Jay, you were never one to follow the rules." Evie said kindly, in fact this whole time her voice has been nothing but soft and caring.
"Don't say things like that," he suddenly became frustrated, "I'm sorry, your majesty, I can't; I won't."
"Jay, nothings going to happen, just tell me what's wrong," she said with growing concern, then suddenly everything became clear. Those exact words they all used to hear so many times. "Is this about her?"
"It's just… she used to sit there, your majesty," He said with shame weighing his words down.
Evie suddenly became enlightened by what he said. She looked down at herself on the throne and sighed shakily. The puzzle was becoming clear to her.
"I'm sorry," she said and then stood up from her throne, "I know her presence can be haunting better than anyone."
"I'm not scared," Jay told her, "I can't help but think… I don't know."
"Have you seen her?"
He shook his head, "Not since the night I captured her. She wasn't… she was just fighting to survive. She wasn't doing anything wrong."
"Jay." Was all she said as she put her hand on his cheek. Her worry and freight was painted all over her face.
"We did the right thing, right?" He asked desperately, "she had it coming, right?"
"Carlos told me about your concerns," she said, "and I feel more guilt than you could imagine, but beyond that I firmly believe that we did the right thing. Mal was out of hand and out of forgiveness. You saw what she has become at the ball, she's a monster."
"Have you seen her down there?" Jay asked.
She faltered a bit, not expecting to have to answer that question, "No, I haven't. Carlos believes it's best that I don't engage her for now."
Jay grabbed her hand and pulled it away from his cheek, holding it firmly in his hand, "Evie, I can't keep living this lie."
"What are you saying?" She asked with worry.
"I'm going to my room to rest," he told her, "I need some time to think."
Before he could even move Evie stopped him and lightly touched his chest, "Jay… you don't sound like yourself."
"I haven't felt like myself in a long time." He told her.
Her eyes filled with sadness. Despite him standing right in front of her, she felt like he was fading away.
"I…" she struggled to speak, "I can't lose you."
She then swiftly placed her lips on his. Aggressively asserting herself onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck in an effort to distract him from leaving. She won't let someone else slip through her fingers again. Jay pulled away from her after a moment with a look of grief on his face.
"I'm going to my room." He told her, like she didn't have a say in the matter, then jerked away from her, leaving the throne room and Evie to stand there alone.
She was overcome with doubt and worry. The Queen looked around the empty throne room with despair and fell back into her throne, placing a hand on her hand. Her eyes trailed on where Jay once stood. She could feel her emotions taking over, she felt hopeless for a moment before taking a sharp inhale and quickly rising to her feet. Determination filled her eyes as she exited the throne room. It was all her fault.
She marched through the castle delicately and careful not to draw attention to herself, she made her way down into the lower levels of the castle. Maleficent wouldn't build anything without a dungeon. The lower levels of the castle weren't exactly underground, it was about halfway into the earth. Though that doesn't stop each cell from looking just as dark and dingy as ever. The smell of the dungeon would overtake anyone, it was hardly ever cleaned and hardly ever used. This was actually the first time utilizing the dungeon in a couple years. The only prisoners they needed to keep were the occasional assassin and trespassers. It was always an exciting day when there was a prisoner to torture. Evie's footsteps echoed down the stone hallway as she walked. She met with a cell that had two guards standing either side of it, both with makeshift weapons and armor.
"Open it." Evie sneered, not looking at them but instead inside the cell that had barely any light getting into it.
"Your majesty, I don't-" the guard tried to speak before The Queen's eyes met his and he saw her unbridled anger in them.
"I said open it." She snarled at him and he quickly fumbled with the keys. Upon finding the right one and jamming it into the lock, he slowly opened the rusty iron cell door with an eerie creak.
The Queen just stood in the doorway for a moment, "leave us." she ordered.
Both guards bowed to her and then made a swift exit, not wanting to anger her majesty even more.
Evie continued to stand at the door for a moment, trying to find the courage to cross the threshold into the lion's den. She then swallowed her fear and stepped into the cell. Waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, she saw a slumped over figure in a chair. Her hands were tied to either arms of the rickety wooden chair. Her head hung over her body limply. Long blond hair with purple tips hung over her face. She looked more like a caged animal than her once trusted friend.
"I thought you would never come." The figure spoke in a raspy, tired voice. Her head lifted up, and Evie saw those terrifying green eyes through her hair.
"Mal." was all she could say. She had significant cuts and bruises all over her. Her clothes were ruined with cuts and burns. Evie had just now realized that the ground was stained red. Even after all this time she didn't feel right in Mal's presence, as if she was out of control.
"What brings the illustrious queen down to visit with me?" Mal spoke in a cocky tone, it made Evie's anger burn, "alone?"
Mal threw her head back, her hair falling to either sides of her face, both could now see each other clearly. Evie saw the visibly painful looking cuts, bruises, and burns all over Mal's face. A gash followed down from her lower lip all the way down to her chin. Her right eye had a large burn mark on the side, the skin was red, charred, and blistered. Deep blue and purple marks embedded themselves on her neck in a finger pattern, like she had been strangled. It made her uneasy to see the state Mal was in.
"What did you do to Jay?" Evie didn't phrase it like a question, more like an accusation.
"Jay? I don't think I follow."
"Don't play dumb, Mal, I know you did something to him."
Mal simply laughed into the air. Evie snarled in anger and balled her fists up. She wasn't in the mood for games.
Mal met her eyes again, "is the queen suddenly realizing her perfect family isn't as perfect as she thought? A pity."
Evie growled and put a hand on the back of the chair, leaning into Mal and looking her dead in the eyes.
She spoke in a low, deadly tone, "What did you do to him?"
"I didn't do anything," Mal met Evie with her own anger, "are you that stupid to think that maybe I am not the cause of all your problems?"
"I know you did something you just won't admit it." She snarled, then she began to pace around the chair while looking around the room. She saw an array of sharp blades and pointed metal ends leaning on the wall. A small furnace was also in the front corner near the cell door. The door was closed, not much more than a faint orange hue could be seen from it.
"Fine then, believe that I had something to do with your court falling to pieces. You'll never admit you're too weak to rule." She said.
"I don't mind you going after me but don't involve Jay and Carlos." she told her.
"I think I'll do whatever I damn well please," Mal retorted, "it's not like you ever spared them in your crusade."
"I did what I had to!" She defended.
"You did it because you wanted to! You did it because you wanted to drive the knife further in me, just so it would hurt more."
Evie circled back around to come face to face with Mal, her face was riddled with desperation.
"How many times must I tell you that I never wanted to hurt you?" She pleaded.
"You can tell me as many times as you like but that won't stop me from exacting my revenge."
"Oh yes, and what a glorious revenge it will be from a prison cell!" Evie shouted back at her, "what's your end goal here, Mal? What throne will you have to sit upon when you stand against the entire Isle?"
"Not the entire Isle," Mal spat, "just you."
Those words cut deep into Evie. It took every bit of herself to keep her composure.
"I…" her voice threatened to crack, "I can't believe I ever harbored feelings for you."
Mal then hung her head and looked down at the floor.
"I don't know what to tell you, princess." she spoke solemnly.
"Mal, it doesn't have to be like this." Evie spoke desperately as she stepped closer to her.
Then she heard a whimper coming from the monster that sat in that chair. She didn't even know if she heard it correctly.
"I just want things to go back to the way they were." Mal's voice broke as she spoke, then she let out a sob.
Evie didn't know what to do; she was stuck frozen there in shock. She could hardly believe what was happening. Mal doesn't cry. She slowly took a few more steps toward her.
"Mal?" She spoke cautiously.
"We were just kids back then, stupid kids." she began to breath unevenly as the tears continued to flow down. She had to do something, she couldn't just stand there ideally as Mal broke down in front of her.
Evie didn't know what else to do but lean into her for comfort. She'd never considered how broken Mal actually was. She never considered how long she's been alone with only her revenge to comfort her. Evie couldn't resist placing her forehead on Mal's and holding onto the side of her head. She closed her eyes and allowed her friend to let her feelings out, perhaps for the first time ever. Mal moved her head down to Evie's shoulder, she could feel her tears on the neck and shoulder. They were so close she could feel her trembling.
"Oh, Evie." Mal said, only this time in a different, more sinister tone. She didn't have time to realize her intentions before a white hot paint surged through her abdomen. She gasped in pain and slowly pulled away from Mal, only to look down and see the bloodied knife she had in her hand and the gaping wound in her stomach.
Evie could only hear Mal laugh lightly as the panic started to set in. The knife clambered on the floor.
"You played right into my hand," Mal said with a sinister grin on her face.
"You," Evie growled, the rage boiled up in her again, "you'll regret that."
She backed away but as she stood up straight she faltered in her stance. She placed a hand on her head for balance but her legs gave in again.
"What's the matter, princess?" Mal said in a conceited tone, "feeling a little light headed?"
"What?" Evie's vision started to blur and her eyelids were growing heavy, "what did you do to me?"
Mal chuckled darkly in response.
"Guards! Guards!" Evie cried out as a last ditch effort to save her life.
After a few moments of agony she heard footsteps coming from down the hallway. The same two guards came rushing in to find their queen on her knees wounded and their prisoner smiling devilishly at the scene before her.
"Your majesty!" One said as he got down on his knees to examine her, "go get the lieutenants, and the doctor!"
The other guard nodded and ran off in a full sprint.
"By the devil," the guard said as he put his hand on her wound to stop the bleeding, "what has happened to you, my queen?"
Evie tried to respond but only a faint incomprehensible whisper left her lips. She then fell into his shoulder, struggling to keep consciousness. All she could do was look up at her saboteur with resentment. Mal continued to smile with victory, looking down at her victim. She didn't know how much time passed before two more men came up to her in doctor's garments and rushed to examine her. She couldn't make out what they were saying, their voices were low and distorted. That's when she blacked out and lost consciousness completely.