All was quiet that night, but anyone with any intuition could feel the tension in the air. There wasn't any particular reason for it, but it nevertheless was very much present as they all sat in their respective places.
It could have been the fact that they were all fried from this difficult, stupid bet. It could have been that they were all stressed after they thought Evie was going to die that morning. It could have been how they were not used to spending so much time together in such close quarters that they couldn't even get a slight bit of alone time outside of a shower or a bathroom trip.
Either way, the tension was most certainly there.
Mal and Evie were sitting nearby one another, Mal looking on her phone while Evie assessed the damage done to her nails. Uma had the puppy upstairs with them once again, and it kept making these little barks as it played. With each yip, Audrey's body stiffened a little more, and she found that she was getting increasingly irritated with the sound and simply the situation with Uma and the pup.
So finally, Audrey couldn't stand it any longer- the tension, the barking, farm life, being together too much for too long. She had enough.
"Would you put that stupid dog down on the floor?" Audrey demanded suddenly, and the three uninvolved girls looked up from whatever they were doing as they gauged Uma's reaction to Audrey's statement. Uma slowly brought up her gaze from the puppy as she stared at Audrey. Audrey maintained eye contact firmly and confidently, and Uma just tilted her head sideways as she gazed at Audrey offendedly.
"What're you talking about? She's staying up here. She's come up here every night," Uma pointed out, and Audrey huffed as she narrowed her eyes somewhat haughtily.
"Yeah, that's exactly my point. It's been up here every night, and I'm sick of it," Audrey told her, and she glared at the puppy as it started trying to play with Uma again, its small barks emanating through the room and grating on Audrey's fried nerves.
"Okay, so let me just ask you, who died and made you Queen?" Uma questioned, offering the puppy the barest of strokes as she watched the pink princess carefully. Audrey took in a breath to respond, but the puppy started to bark, and Audrey grit her teeth.
"Make it shut up!" Audrey raised her voice, and the puppy froze in what it was doing, looking at Audrey somewhat fearfully because of her sudden scold.
Uma's eyes immediately hardened, and her eyes narrowed as she glared at Audrey. Audrey knew she had gone too far with that, but her pride couldn't let her apologize for it as quickly as she should have.
Uma wordlessly picked up the puppy, and she walked over to the ladder before climbing down and putting the puppy on the barnwood floor. It looked at her with a confused expression, and Uma only spared it a slight glance of compassion and love before her eyes turned cold as she climbed back up to face off with the princess.
"Audrey, don't you think you should be a little easier on Uma? The puppy wasn't hurting anything," Jane somewhat weakly defended the pirate, and Uma felt her heart soften toward the meek girl. However, Audrey quickly huffed irritably as soon as Uma got to the top of the ladder.
"Great! You're going against me here, too, huh? Always taking the VKs' sides. Do you ever think about how I feel?" Audrey snapped, her feelings legitimately hurt that Jane didn't take her side and that Jane never did seem to take her side. Jane just clammed up immediately in response to Audrey, turning over to face the wall as she curled into her sleeping bag dejectedly.
Uma felt that same softened heart light up in a pure inferno as she glared at Audrey with fire in her eyes. Mal and Evie shared a glance as they watched the exchange.
"Okay. So you want to tell me what the heck you think you're doing talking to Jane that way?" Uma demanded aggressively, purely angry as she adamantly defended the poor girl.
"This is a fight between us, and she never takes my side or tries to help me in arguments!" Audrey proclaimed, and Uma scoffed, rolling her eyes as she approached the princess more closely.
"Have you ever considered the fact that might be because you're always the one in the wrong?" Uma questioned somewhat cruelly, and the hot-headed facet of Audrey's personality flared as she rose to meet Uma's challenge.
"Oh, you're one to talk, Miss I-Spelled-The-King-Just-To-Get-Back-at-Mal."
"That's funny, as I recall, you were the one that spelled the king just to get back at Mal," Uma pointed out, and Audrey was growing angrier as she started to get much more invested in the fight.
Evie and Mal, neutrally watching, were both experiencing mixed feelings about this entire subject. Evie felt that both of them had thrown blows that the other didn't deserve, and that they needed to get along and discuss their differences. However, Mal felt that Audrey caused this whole thing, they both were being inconsolable brats, and on top of that, Mal wasn't very happy with the fact that they were talking about her in front of her as if she weren't there at all.
So as Mal grew in her irritation and infuriation, Evie grew in her resolve to stop this fight. Finally, Evie spoke up, interrupting both of them before Mal could have her way with the situation.
"Listen, you both need to calm down-"
"Evie, you need to shut up. This is not your fight!" Audrey proclaimed to the brown-eyed girl.
"Don't you tell her to shut up! And if it's not everybody else's fight, then why do you keep dragging them into it?" Uma questioned, boldly defending the bluenette as she verbally attacked Audrey.
"Yes, now both of you, let's just sit down for a minute and-"
"Evie, shut up, would you?" Mal told the girl quickly as Uma continued in her argument with Audrey. Evie huffed in her somewhat hurt emotions as she eyed Mal.
"Hey, don't you tell her to shut up!" Uma piped up suddenly, her irritation now turned to Mal as she spun to face the faerie. Mal glared at Uma determinedly.
"I'll tell her to shut up if I want to. She's mine!" Mal announced, and Evie furrowed her brow, not really sure if she liked this terminology. Sure, she liked for her friends to say that she belonged to them- it made her feel loved, wanted, and needed, after all- but she wasn't sure if it was ideal in this context.
"What if I took her, then? You don't seem to appreciate her. Share the wealth, stingy gut," Uma told Mal quickly, crossing her arms over her chest as she didn't even look at Evie.
"Yes, I do appreciate her! She's mine! And I so won't share her!" Mal practically snarled, almost as if she were fighting over her favorite toy, and Evie finally decided that she really didn't like being referred to as if she could be owned. She liked belonging to someone, but not being owned.
"Guys, I'm not anyone's property! I am my own woman," Evie proclaimed, and Mal rolled her eyes as she waved Evie away.
"Shut up, you're mine," Mal informed her shortly, and the bluenette just shrank back a bit, feeling very much neglected as a result of her opinion being completely disregarded and uncared for in the face of conflict.
"I think we've lost focus on what this whole thing's about!" Audrey cried, and Uma immediately spun around to face the princess.
"Yeah, it's all about you, ain't it, princess?!" Uma announced loudly, and Audrey growled under her breath as she glared at the pirate in pure irritation.
"No, but it's certainly not about Evie!"
"What? You want to be somebody's, too, huh, Jealous?"
"No!" Audrey replied adamantly.
"That was your problem with my puppy! You were jealous because nothing wants to get close to your bratty little self! Everything runs for its very peace of mind as soon as you come into view!" Uma pointed out, and Audrey rose to the occasion as she fought against the pirate.
Mal rolled her eyes in complete frustration as she checked her phone. She realized that it was starting to get late, and if she didn't call one of the boys soon, they'd likely be asleep. Mal furiously tapped at her phone, sick of all of the arguing, hurt feelings, and everything else that they were putting up with right now.
She finally picked Ben out of her calling list, and she started to dial him for a video chat. Audrey and Uma kept picking up in volume, Evie was loud enough with her emotional drama, and Mal finally couldn't stand it anymore.
"All of you just shut up! Every one of you!" Mal screamed at all of them but mostly at Audrey and Uma.
Evie looked at Mal, deeply hurt at Mal's lack of consideration for her feelings, and her emotions started to bubble up as tears began to build in her eyes.
"Hello?" Ben answered, a smile on his face as he gazed upon his wife.
"Hi, we're still here," Mal told him quickly, turning the phone to show off the chaotic atmosphere around her. Uma and Audrey were having a screaming fest, Jane was in the corner crying, and Evie looked like she was about to shed tears over it as well.
"What in the world is going on there?"
"Nothing good. Love you, bye," Mal told him quickly, hanging up as she realized that she was in no mood to conversate. Besides that, she couldn't have even begun to talk because of the girls that were arguing more loudly by the minute.
"Stop! Just stop it now! Every one of you are acting like children! All over some stupid, dumb dog!" Mal screeched at the top of her lungs, her eyes glowing green as she gazed at each girl in turn, and Evie found that she just couldn't take it anymore. Evie stood up, looking at Mal as her eyes flashed with a fury that was not at all characteristic of herself.
"You just don't care! Every one of us is having her own personal issues, and all you can think about is getting us to shut up so you don't have to hear it!" Mal's eyes widened, and she tilted her head as she felt anger boiling in a pit in her stomach.
Audrey and Uma froze as they stared at Evie, their jaws slack as she told Mal exactly how she was feeling. Jane had even stopped crying in favor of listening to the bluenette.
"Moreover, you nor anyone else here owns me! I don't think that you are offering us the respect that we deserve as your friends, Mal!" Evie pointed out loudly, and Uma couldn't decide if she was impressed with Evie standing up for herself or scared that Mal had finally broken Evie's ever-present calmness.
"I love you, but you're being insufferable right now! You need to think about how other people feel! You need tolerance for other people, M."
"Tolerance? Tolerance?! I have to have a whole friggin' boat full every day just to handle you!" Mal announced, and Uma felt something constrict in her chest as she watched Evie visibly shrink at the words. Audrey was a bit dumbfounded at the fact that Mal had actually lost patience with Evie, the one person that she usually never attacked under any circumstances.
"With you, every day is a dang emotional roller-coaster!" Mal informed her, gesticulating at the bluenette standing there in front of her seated form.
"And about how other people feel, don't even get me started on that one. I have to hear how you feel about your stupid fingernails of all things! You whine about everything, and I have to bite my tongue because you're so sensitive that you can't take the truth!" Mal snapped, and Evie swallowed hard, her throat bobbing with the motion as she raised her head up carefully in an attempt to keep her emotions at bay.
Evie then started for the ladder, not uttering a single word. Mal furrowed her brow.
"Where are you going?!" Mal demanded, and Evie shook her head silently.
"I'm sorry. I just can't talk to you right now," Evie finally replied, her voice thick as she spoke.
"That's funny! You didn't have any problem unloading just a minute ago!"
"I can't talk to you right now," Evie repeated her mantra, her voice shaking as she started down the ladder.
"Evie? Evie?! Come back here!" Mal called angrily, still having more to talk about and unwilling to accept the fact that Evie wasn't going to discuss it more at this moment.
After a moment, Mal grew silent, just stewing quietly as she frustratedly thought of how everything had gone wrong and just how sick she was of being at this horrible place.
But she couldn't get too lost inside of her head because Uma finally jumped into action, her emotions getting the better of her as she tried to keep a hold over the intense fury she felt toward Mal surrounding the way the faerie had addressed the bluenette.
"Nice! That's just real nice!" Uma announced, and Mal immediately hopped up from her place on the floor, approaching the pirate.
"Why are you so worried, huh?!"
"Because you don't talk to her like that! I won't let you!" Uma yelled, approaching Mal as the slightly shorter girl's eyes started to glow.
"Let me? I don't need your permission to express my feelings! Nobody in this whole world is the boss of me! I do what I want to, when I want to, how I want to!" Mal screamed, her face only a few inches away from Uma's at this point, green eyes locked onto brown ones.
"Yeah, that's pretty obvious with how you treated your 'best friend,' now ain't it?" Uma mocked, and Mal felt another bout of fury rise in her almost to the point that it blinded her to all else.
"You need to go and mind your own business, Shrimpy! Of course, you've never been great at that, have you?!" Mal demanded, and Uma leaned back from her ever so slightly, scoffing as she stared down the purple-haired girl. They glared at each other for a long moment, and Audrey was honestly a little scared that she was about to witness a fist fight. Jane was just staring, almost traumatized as the two loudest and most hot-headed people were in a fight.
"Okay. I'll mind my own business. I think my business isn't up here anymore with you people," Uma informed her, pushing past the faerie. Some of the anger inside Mal dissipated as she truly realized what she had said to Uma. Mal watched her, some of the pure fury dissipated as she watched the pirate approach the ladder.
"I'm going to go out here with Evie, where I belong, and try to fix this. You think about that, Mal," Uma spat, offering Mal one last glance full of anger and hurt as she climbed down the ladder wordlessly.
Mal breathed in and out deeply as she absently noted Audrey plopping down on her sleeping bag, pulling her knees up to her chest as she closed her eyes. Mal could feel all of the hot irritation escaping her in favor of something so much worse.
Guilt immediately started to eat at her as she slowly eased down on her sleeping bag.
Mal knew that hot-headedness was one of her major faults. It always had been. It was the fault that got her into almost every bit of trouble that she ever managed to find herself in at the Isle. She never thought she'd blow up on Evie or Uma like that, though. She had just gotten so frustrated with everyone, everything, and most of all, their circumstances. She knew it was no excuse, but she hoped that at least Evie could understand.
Evie. Sweet, unconditionally loving and caring Evie. Her most favorite person in the whole entire world outside of the boys. How could she have said those things to Evie when the girl was just trying to calm her down? Mal had been so careless, so hurtful.
The look on Evie's face was burnt into her mind, and Mal couldn't get the sight of the bob of Evie's throat and that slight raise of the head with tears brewing in Evie's eyes out of her mind. She had let herself down. She had promised herself that she would never have another big outburst at Evie after the whole situation with the dog.
As for Uma, Mal knew she went too far with the comment about Shrimpy, and she truly regretted snapping at the pirate that way when Uma was only defending Mal's best friend from Mal. Mal honestly admired her and was grateful of the fact that Uma cared so much about Evie that she would step in and interfere if she thought Mal was being unjust. If she could find a way to express this to Uma, then Mal knew that Uma would soften considerably.
Yes, Mal was mostly sure she could gain Uma's forgiveness.
However, Mal could only hope that she could get Evie to forgive her.
Just outside, Uma was making her way out in the moonlit yard, searching for Evie as she tried to push down her feelings of anger and hurt toward Mal.
She knew that the faerie had just been mad, but it still stung terribly.
Above all, however, she felt awful for Evie. There were certain standards held in Uma's mind, and the first one was to always defend the defenseless person. That's why she had practically attacked Audrey when she messed with Jane. Evie was also one of those people that Uma would defend the most. Especially from Mal, because Mal always seemed to deflate Evie the most when Mal had those moments.
Uma finally spotted a figure out leaning against cow fence, and her eyes softened as she realized it was the bluenette that she had been searching for. She very slowly and carefully ambled up to Evie, watching the girl quietly. Evie was just watching the cattle, still as death.
Uma reached the fence and she leaned on the fence nearby the girl. She looked at Evie. The girl had this strange look on her face, her eyes looking somewhat bloodshot and her face appearing just the slightest bit wet.
Uma was willing to listen to whatever the girl felt that she needed to vent or say, but Evie never acted as if she was standing there, her eyes locked on the group of cows gathered in the pasture. So, Uma then turned her gaze to the cattle as well.
They stood there together for a little while, not speaking, until Uma finally decided that she simply couldn't stand the silence any longer.
"So… You picked a heck of a chick to buddy up with," Uma acknowledged, and after a moment, Evie nodded in agreeance.
"Yeah. But you did, too, though," Evie pointed out.
"That's true," Uma replied. "My friendship with her just didn't start with getting shoved into a deathtrap."
"Yeah…"
"But that's the foundation of every great relationship, right? A conflict? Isn't that what you said to me one time?" Uma questioned, raising an eyebrow, and Evie nodded slightly. However, Uma could easily see that her heart wasn't in it.
"Look, I'm sorry for that whole thing inside," Uma told her heartfeltly, and Evie nodded, smiling just barely as she glanced at the pirate.
"It's okay. It's been a hard week, and we've all been struggling with it," Evie assured her in that calm, wise-beyond-her-years sort of way that Evie always managed to pull off flawlessly.
"You can say that again," Uma agreed wholeheartedly.
"You, um… Wanna talk about it?" Uma questioned, really not good with this whole comforting thing. She could do it, but it was just very awkward for her since she wasn't entirely sure how to make Evie feel better.
Evie was quiet, and Uma could see the gears turning in her head as she considered what to say. She also could see that steely resolve that she had to not cry in front of Uma.
"I don't know, I just," Evie started, her voice almost hoarse as she spoke, and Uma immediately paid attention to what she was saying, silently prodding her to continue.
"I just… I didn't think she minded me telling her all of these things. I didn't know that I irritated her so badly," Evie expressed, her voice shaking as she sniffled ever so slightly. Uma just reached out, placing a comforting hand on Evie's back as she rubbed it gently.
When she was sure that Evie was calmer, she slowly removed her hand from Evie's back in favor of resting her arm on the fence. Uma sighed quietly, considering Evie's statement for a moment as she tried to think of something wise to say.
After only a moment, the perfect piece of advice came to the pirate.
"Well, Evie, let me tell you a little something that I learned back on the Isle. Y'know, a tidbit I picked up along the way," Uma told her, and Evie looked at her, her eyes slightly watery as they still threatened to spill tears.
"Those that mind don't matter, and those that matter don't mind," Uma wisely spoke. Evie nodded, smiling softly as she looked off at the cows in the pasture that were all lying on the ground sleeping.
"That's Doctor Seuss," Evie finally piped up, and Uma tried to avoid looking surprised and embarrassed at having been discovered.
"Huh? Who's that?" Uma questioned, shifting her gaze to Evie as she moved in her position leaning on the fence to better view the other girl.
"The person that originated that quote. Where did you hear it?" Evie asked, and Uma raised an eyebrow at her as she immediately thought of that stupid website on the internet that she had accidentally found one day that had all of those dumb inspirational quotes. To her credit, she kept her face neutral as she avoided telling Evie where she found it.
"Nowhere. He must have stole it from me when I wasn't looking," Uma informed her, and she victoriously noted the grin on Evie's face and the slight chuckle that the pirate had managed to draw from the bluenette.
"So which one is Mal?" Evie finally asked, and Uma pursed her lips as she eyed Evie, knowing that Evie knew the true answer, but was just hurt right now.
"I don't know. That's up to you. But I think you know what she is," Uma told her, and Evie nodded, and just from the look in Evie's eyes, Uma could tell that the girl already knew the answer to her own question. Uma knew that nothing in the whole wide world could come between Mal and Evie.
However, while they were laughing and joking and healing, Mal and Audrey were suffering a much crueler fate.
They had been sitting there in silence for a while when Mal finally couldn't stand the deafening tones of quiet. She could only hear her overwhelming guilt eating at her conscience, and she found she desperately needed to let it out.
"I can't believe I said that to her," Mal announced to the room. Audrey opened her eyes after a moment, bringing her gaze to Mal.
"Which one?"
"Evie! Well, both of them, but especially Evie," Mal answered her, and Audrey pursed her lips.
"Well, I wouldn't worry too much about what you said to Uma. She was being a jerk," Audrey stubbornly pronounced, and Mal knew it was just because she didn't want to be in the wrong. It was an issue of pride.
"Yeah, but it was in defense of herself, Evie, and Jane," Mal explained, gesturing to Jane that was sitting in the corner quietly. Audrey sighed deeply as she considered what Mal said, an impassive look on her face.
"I was such a villain to her," Mal acknowledged, and Audrey shook her head.
"It's okay, Mal. Sometimes the way you were raised gets the better of you," Audrey explained, and Mal would have gotten angry all over again if she hadn't seen that remorseful shift of Audrey's eyes. It told Mal that Audrey was really talking about herself when she made that comment.
"But the way you were raised is no excuse for how you act now. You have to grow up into who you want to be, no matter how hard it might be," Mal explained adamantly, and Audrey furrowed her brow as she thought about Mal's words.
"Evie didn't deserve that," Mal continued, pushing through all of Audrey's defenses for the faerie and the princess. "And I don't mind hearing about her stupid nails! Even if she is overdramatic about them.
"And Uma… She was just trying to defend Jane and Evie from us," Mal pointed out sadly, and Audrey closed her eyes, not enjoying this conversation at all as she gritted her teeth.
"I deserved what Evie and Uma said to me. You started the entire argument, Audrey, which I'm not mad at you for anymore, but I didn't have to add to it," Mal expressed, and Audrey closed her eyes, feeling unbearable guilt creeping into her as well.
They were quiet for a few minutes before Audrey finally growled under her breath in frustration.
"Dang it, Mal. Now I've got to go and apologize to Uma quicker than I meant to! I hate eating crow!" Audrey proclaimed with such emphasis that Mal would have laughed if she had been in a better mood. However, she did crack a small grin at the princess.
Audrey sighed, before turning to face Jane. Jane's blue eyes locked onto Audrey's and Audrey offered her barely a smile.
"Jane, I want to tell you I'm sorry for snapping at you. I know you're on my side, and you have a right to try to reel me in when I'm going overboard," Audrey heartfeltly apologized to the girl, and Jane nodded, her lips curling up in a happy expression as she accepted Audrey's apology. Audrey reached an arm over, and Jane leaned into her as the princess squeezed her fondly.
Mal watched them for a moment before Audrey stood up, Jane following her. Audrey walked over to Mal, her eyes filled with a newfound determination as she gazed at the faerie on the floor. Mal looked up at her dejectedly, her face saddened as she wallowed in her guilt and depression.
"You ready to fix this?" Audrey questioned as she extended her hand to the faerie. Mal just looked at Audrey for a moment, not saying anything for a moment.
"C'mon. You can't let me go out there and get vulnerable in front of Uma without some backup," Audrey told the girl, a sideways smile lighting up her features, and Mal hadn't admired the princess more than she had in that moment.
Mal sighed, nodding to Audrey before reaching up and taking her hand with a slight grin. Audrey pulled her to her feet, and Mal squeezed Audrey's shoulder fondly as Mal, Jane, and Audrey started down the ladder and toward outside.
Before long, they had spotted Evie and Uma leaning against the cattle fence. Mal shared a glance with Audrey, and the princess nodded once, gesturing for Mal to go ahead.
Mal sighed to herself before approaching the two girls from behind. She must have made some sort of noise or Evie had a sick sixth sense, because the bluenette turned to face her quickly. Mal immediately felt a stab of guilt at the fact that Evie had that characteristic look in her eyes that indicated that she had been crying. It was the tremble of her lip, and the puffiness around her eyes that gave her away.
Mal swallowed hard, Audrey coming up beside her as she looked at Uma who had just turned around to face them.
Mal cleared her throat, looking away from Evie as she turned to Uma first. Uma crossed her arms over her chest somewhat defensively as she eyed the girl before her.
"I'm sorry, Uma. I… I shouldn't have told you to mind your own business. Your business is mine. We're friends- great friends- and you have a right to keep me in check," Mal told the pirate, and Uma nodded slowly, her expression softening as she eyed the faerie sympathetically. Mal offered her a slight smile that really didn't meet her eyes. After all, she still hadn't obtained forgiveness from the most important person there with her.
Mal slowly turned to face Evie again, and Evie's glassy eyes met her own for just a moment before she looked away. Mal almost felt like breaking down into tears at the sight of Evie's wet eyes, simply because it hurt her so deeply to know that she injured Evie as she had. Evie bit her bottom lip slightly as her sweet brown eyes locked onto Mal's.
The faerie felt her face and eyes grow hotter as she tried to hold back the tears, and she turned her head firmly as she attempted to keep it together in front of everyone.
"Evie, I am so sorry," Mal finally spoke, her heart aching as a lone tear rolled down her cheek.
"I shouldn't have done this to you. You didn't deserve it. You were just trying to do what's best for all of us like you always do," Mal expressed, not looking at Evie as she moved her head to face her shoes.
"I was stupid, inconsiderate, and uncaring." Mal told her, admitting all of her faults. "A-and I care about everything you do! From dumb nails to dumb boy troubles!"
Mal quieted after a moment, just silently considering what else she could possibly say that could convey just how remorseful she felt for what she had said earlier.
"I'm sorry. I'm just so sorry," Mal expressed as she tried to control the tears that were increasingly attempting to roll down her face.
But before Mal knew it, she was wrapped in warm, comforting arms that cradled her tightly yet gently into the body attached, and Mal leaned into them hard, bringing her arms up so that they encircled the body. Evie's comforting scent surrounded her like a shroud of safety, and Mal sighed deeply, breathing it in as it calmed her down. Evie rested her chin on Mal's head, Mal tucked fully into Evie's embrace.
"Can you ever forgive me?" Mal mumbled, really hoping that Evie could because she needed more hugs like this one.
"Of course," Evie expressed, nuzzling into Mal's purple hair as she pressed her lips softly to Mal's forehead.
"I love you," Evie told her heartfeltly, and Mal let herself fall deeper into Evie's embrace.
"I love you," Mal replied, and Evie just held her there quietly.
"I really missed these hugs," Mal murmured just barely after a moment, hoping to all things above that Uma hadn't heard what she said. Evie just chuckled slightly, squeezing Mal tighter as she successfully made Mal feel so very safe.
Uma had, but she chose not to say anything as she, the pink princess, and Jane watched the two.
"Huh. We ain't topping that one no matter how hard we try," Uma pointed out, and Audrey almost laughed as she turned away from Mal and Evie to look at Uma.
"Uma, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have insisted that you put the dog down," Audrey expressed.
"I was jealous," Audrey informed her, and Uma nodded, agreeing with Audrey's statement.
"And I was rude," Audrey added, and Uma once again moved her head in agreement.
"And I was a total witch," Audrey finished, and Uma raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, you were. But there's something else you were that you forgot," Uma told her, and Audrey recognized that look from just the previous night. She immediately knew what Uma wanted Audrey to call herself.
"No… Please…"
"I want to hear you say it."
"Please, don't make me."
"But I need you to."
"It doesn't even apply to this situation…"
"You want my forgiveness?" Uma questioned, and Audrey huffed, completely irritated, before mumbling something incoherently under her breath.
"What was that?" Uma grinned wickedly, putting a hand to her ear as she pretended as if she couldn't hear the words.
"Oh, for the love of- fine! I was being a Miss Piggy," Audrey told her finally, and Uma smiled, pointing a finger gun at the princess.
"And there it is."
"Do you forgive me now?" Audrey questioned in a huff.
"Yeah… I will," Uma told her, and Audrey growled under her breath as she pushed past Uma to lean on the fence next to her. Uma turned back to the fence quietly, nudging her shoulder into Audrey's as she grinned mischievously. Audrey rolled her eyes, but the slightest hint of a smile came onto her face as she returned the bump playfully.
Evie finally released Mal, but not fully as she kept one arm around her still. Mal held her arm around Evie's middle, and they both leaned on the fence alongside Uma and Audrey. Jane joined in on Audrey's side, and they all leaned there, watching the cows.
It had been a painful night.
But with the way that Evie was holding Mal like she'd never let go, the reservedly affectionate glances that Uma passed the faerie, the camaraderie that she shared with Audrey in this endeavor, and the happy look on Jane's face, Mal found that she was healing from it quite nicely.
Everyone was.
A/N: Well, I just had to throw in a little bit of angst and drama. I hope that you all enjoyed and hopefully won't kill me. Don't worry, though. This is the only really big argument in this whole story. There won't be another blowout like this one, lol.