Here is the next chapter!

Don't forget to vote in the poll that's posted on my profile. You can choose three options, but only the top two will be the stories that I work on. First place has a major lead—as I suspected it would—while there was a three-way tie for second for the last day. Be sure to vote! Only thirteen users have right now.

Now a lot of things happen in this chapter wasn't originally in the movie. Some of you may like the differences, or you may prefer the movie version. I added one scene to have a couple characters have more involvement with the story—do they even speak in the movie?—while another scene was added because I felt another True Love's Kiss was needed.

I'm thinking . . . two chapters from now . . . you will finally see the idea that made me want to create this entire story.

By the way, there is a scene in here that is a small throwback to the first chapter of this story. Figure it out within thirty minutes of this being posted, I will post the next chapter Wednesday and the other chapter Friday or Saturday—depending if I finish in time.

Enjoy.

Once the group of six humans and a talking dog approached the starter castle, the owner quickly stepped outside with her boyfriend following close behind her—having woken up from the sleeping spell with True Love's Kiss.

"Hold up," Evie ordered before they could get any closer. "Ben, how is your temper?"

"It's going to get worse if you don't let me in," Ben threatened as he continued forward. "I'm going to see my queen. Now move!"

Not giving her a chance to speak, the beast-king pushed the 'princess' aside and charged into the castle in search of his queen. Somehow, when he finally gazed upon his beloved in her frail state, Ben fell in love with her all over again.

His Mal laid on her stomach on the kitchen table, wearing only a black sports bra with matching black boy-shorts. Her purple hair was draped over shoulder as she had her arms crossed in front of her, using them as a pillow to rest her head. In her current position, Ben could see the trail that the iron chains took on her pale skin, having left behind their imprinted burns. The first word that Ben could think to describe the injured fairy was beautiful.

His temper subsided for now, Ben knelt before his queen to place a simple kiss on her forehead. Eyes fluttering open at the familiar action, his queen smiled softly as she cooed, "Hello, my king."

Chuckling softly at her words, Ben greeted just as softly, "Hello, my queen. You look as beautiful as ever."

Mal's smile grew at the compliment, though her face fell when she mumbled, "I promised the pirates . . . I would free all . . . the Isle children."

Ben nodded in understanding, vowing just as quietly, "And we will keep that promise, somehow."

Running a hand flirtatiously across Ben's scruffy beard to distract the others from the conversation they couldn't hear, Mal teased in a normal voice, "I could . . . get used to . . . this."

Out of thin air, Uma appeared next to the couple as she gestured to another new feature on Ben. "What about those?"

Mal's eyes widened slightly as Ben revealed his long sharp fangs, surprised that she didn't notice them when he kissed her before. "No," she denied with a slight shake of her head. "Definitely . . . not."

If they had been in a different situation, Ben would have chuckled at her reluctance. However, he just happened to notice that his beard was feeling slightly wetter than before. Taking her hand in his, Ben sighed when his suspicion came true. "After how careful you were," Ben began with a sad tone in his voice, "the cut on your hand still managed to open back up."

"It's not . . . as bad as . . . it used to be," Mal reassured as she tried to maintain her hopeful attitude. "I'll just . . . have to try again . . . like my mother with . . . her back."

"Jane brought you something to help with that," Carlos slightly intervened as the rest of the group trailed inside—Gil carrying a duffle bag over his shoulder while Jay and Harry carried gallon jugs.

Celia tilted her head in curiosity at the unusual objects. "Why and how did you get all that?"

"The containers just appeared out of nowhere while I was at the Enchanted Lake," Jane explained as she slowly began to revert into her timid behavior from a couple years ago. "Audrey had put this sleeping spell on everyone, but I managed to avoid it by diving into the lake. I was going to leave with just a water gun, but a voice in my head said I needed to grab as much as I can carry so their grand-daughter could use it to help their niece."

Like somebody had snapped their fingers, Uma's eyes widened in realization as she let out a small gasp as well. "That was my grand-father, Poseidon, who is Mal's uncle!" She determined. "He knew the enchanted water would help Mal with her burns and I'd be able to make more appear if necessary. He must have known Audrey would cast another spell, so he had you fetch the water so you could avoid being turned to stone."

"That would . . . make sense," Mal concurred knowingly. "The gods do have . . . limited insight on . . . future events thanks to . . . the Fates. While my mother . . . was pregnant with me . . . Uncle Zeus told my . . . father that I would . . . one day come to . . . Auradon."

"Ben, take Mal upstairs and place her in the bathtub," Uma instructed before setting sights on the other three lackeys. "Boys, bring the water to that bathroom and start emptying all the containers. I'll take over in a minute."

While three of the four did as they were told, Harry handed his jug to Gil to carry before interrogated a little harshly, "What about my twins? Where are they?"

Uma sighed to release her frustration, having known Harry would question about them. "They're asleep in the living room," she informed softly so he wouldn't get too riled up. "Wait a few minutes before you wake them. You don't want to scare them by seeing Mal in her current state. Evie said they were traumatized when the chains first appeared."

"How is he going to wake them?" Evie wondered quite curiously. "True Love's Kiss—"

"Doesn't have to be between lovers," Uma retorted before the 'princess' could finish. "After all, Maleficent woke Aurora from the curse when she kissed her on the forehead because it was a kiss of a mother's love. And don't forget, Cruella goes on and on about her 'true loves', who just happen to be Carlos and you. Harry loves the twins like they are his brothers, so Harry can wake them. I'm sure you can wake Dizzy since you love her like a sister."

Finished with her rant of an explanation, Uma reverted her attention back to Harry. "I will tell you when to wake them," she promised. "Just give me a few minutes to start on Mal."

Not waiting for a response from her first mate, Uma ran upstairs to help her cousin. When she arrived at the designated bathroom, she was somewhat surprised to see that the process was going so slowly. From the looks of it, the boys had only managed to get one-gallon jug poured into the bathtub with the Isle Queen before they stopped.

"Mal started complaining when we poured the first one," Gil explained before Uma could lash out at them. "Said her skin felt like it was on fire."

Uma huffed in aggravation. "I'll take over from here," she said before forcing Gil and Jay out of the small bathroom. "One of you tell Harry he can wake the twins, but don't have them come anywhere near here until I say so."

Once the duo was gone, Uma focused on the engaged couple, more specifically the severely burned fairy, who looked ready to pass out at any minute. "You will feel hot until you're completely submerged," she warned calmly. "And it's not guaranteed that the water will heal you all the way. It is Enchanted Lake water, but there is only so much it can do."

Mal nodded softly as she laid her against the side of the tub. Before the sea witch could actually begin, Ben requested, "Can you save a bottle? We were going bring some to her mother today since she's been feeling worse, but that obviously didn't happen."

"I will keep a bottle on me," Uma promised, though she also advised, "but it's going to take a lot more than that to help my aunt."

Downstairs, Harry had just received the signal to wake his twins. Walking over to the couch they laid on, Harry kissed the twins' foreheads before kneeling next to the large piece of furniture. Slowly but surely, their eyes fluttered open. Sitting up, Squeaky and Squirmy took a moment to stretch before they noticed someone sitting in front of them. Throwing their tiny arms around the obviously older teenager, the twins exclaimed happily, "Harry!"

Chuckling softly, Harry gladly returned the hugs as he greeted, "Hello you two. Glad to see that you missed me."

The remainder of the group couldn't help smiling at the touching scene, not taking Harry for such a softy. However, there was only four humans and a talking dog that watched the somewhat unusual scene.

During all the commotion, Carlos led Jane outside to the patio table so they could be alone for a few moments. "I have something for you," Carlos revealed as they sat next to one another at the table. He slid a small black-and-white polka-dot box with a periwinkle bow across the way. "Your birthday present."

Jane perked up at seeing the gift. "I thought you forgot . . ."

"I've been planning this gift for months," Carlos denied with a smile. "I hope you like it."

Jane carefully opened the box, slightly afraid of what the gift could be. She pulled out a gold necklace with a little pink accent bow with the word Jarlos, written in beautiful gold script letter, hanging in the middle of the chain.

"It's beautiful!" Jane complimented, her smile growing as Carlos helped to fasten around her neck. It was the more thoughtful gift she's ever received, and definitely the most romantic. "It must have taken you forever to make it."

"Actually, my mother made it," Carlos corrected as his own smile grew at his girlfriend's reaction. "I wanted to keep this secret from you, so I had her make it so you wouldn't find out. By the way, my mom can't wait to meet you."

That comment surprised Jane more than she realized. "Me?" she repeated nervously. "Why does she want to meet me?"

Carlos shrugged, like the answer was obvious. "Because I love you."

Unsure of what to say, Jane thought action would speak a little louder than words. Leaning forward, Jane kissed him, smiling in the kiss when Carlos placed a gentle hand on her cheek to make the kiss last a little longer—

Neither one realizing that his sister had seen the whole thing.

About an hour or so later—after Evie also woke Dizzy with a True Love's kiss to the forehead—Mal was mostly healed of her injuries. Of course, the burns were still there, but it wasn't nearly as bad as they were the hour before. Mal could finally speak without having to pause for breaths, could walk without the others worrying about her unexpectedly fainting, and the cut on her hand closed once again—though they suspected it could open again.

Once the group was outside—Harry instructing the twins to stay in the castle with Evie doing the same to Dizzy—Ben became in charge as he focused on situation at hand. "Doug, go with Jane to find Fairy Godmother," he ordered. "The rest of us will go to the Fairy Cottage to find Audrey."

Uma sized up Doug with a skeptical eyebrow raise. "They will need some muscle."

"Well, I'll go," Gil volunteered with a shrug, flexing his arms for good measure, or probably to show off how fit he was.

"I'd feel better if he went," Carlos commented as he tightened his grip on Jane's hand.

Doug puffed up his chest, trying to match Gil's brawn before he shrugged. "Yeah, I would too."

Gil threw his thick arm around Doug and gave him a brotherly squeeze. "Alright man. Let's do this! Let's go, Jane."

Giving her boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek, Jane quickly followed the boys so she wouldn't get left behind. Mal placed her head on Ben's shoulder for a moment as she watched the group take off down one path while the rest of them went down another. It was time to knock some sense into a princess—

Though she wouldn't be one for much longer.