Beth sat on her perfectly made bed with her knees tucked under her chin as she hugged one of her pillows close to her chest. The tears were still flowing, but not as heavily. She was in the same outfit as before: coat, boots, scarf, and all. She wanted nothing more than for her bed to swallow her whole. She wanted nothing more than to disappear. As soon as she had gotten back to the castle she had ran straight to her room and crawled into bed. She didn't stick around long enough to hear her brother yelling in his anger. She didn't wait long enough to see Mal attempt to calm him down. Or to see the anger that was written all over Chris's face. Or to witness her parent's reactions. Or even to see the guilty expressions on all of her friends' faces. She didn't stay for any of it. She felt like such a disappointment. What kind of a princess can't even deal with a few questions from reporters?

She heard a soft knock on her door. "Go away!" She called out before snuggling deeper into her bed.

There was another knock before the door slowly opened. A head of familiar purple hair poked through the small crack. "Are you sure you don't want the company, Sweets? Because I know that I do." The purplette smiled softly before fully entering the room. Beth finally looked over at her; she hadn't heard that nickname before, but she didn't mind it. Mal hadn't changed either. Even her bag was still slung over her shoulder. "Sweets, it's okay."

Beth shook her head as Mal closed the door. "No, M. It's not okay. I'm a complete and utter failure."

"Sweets, no one blames you for anything that happened. You're not a failure. And even if you were, then I would be one too," Mal reasoned as she moved to sit on the edge of Beth's bed. She placed a hand on the other girl's knee.

"No, M. You're not as much of a failure as I am. You actually tried to answer their questions. I couldn't even get a single word out. If you hadn't been there with me, then I probably would have fainted or something stupid like that. Everyone probably thinks I'm an idiot."

"Sweets, it was our first run in with the press. Not to mention that we were by ourselves. No one expects perfection from you. Especially now. They know that you're trying your best. And it would not have been stupid if you had fainted. Everyone would have understood. Okay?" When Beth didn't answer, Mal tried a different approach to ease her friend's mind. "Hey, how about we just get out of here?"

Beth gave her an odd look. "What do you mean? Do you mean run away?" Mal gave a small nod, strands of her purple locks falling from behind her ears. "We can't just run away, M."

"I'm not saying that we run away forever. But what if we just… disappeared for an hour or two? And go somewhere where no one will find us," Mal suggested with a mischievous glint in her eyes as Beth started to uncurl. "How does that sound, Sweets?"

"It sounds like something that I need," Beth replied honestly as Mal gave her a small smile. Mal stood from her seated position before dragging the brunette off of her bed.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Mal joked as she headed for the window. She unlatched and opened it, surveying their surroundings. When she glanced back, Beth was giving her a quizzical look. Mal shrugged. "I figured that it would be better to sneak out the old fashion way, like we would on the Isle, instead of me just transporting us there with my magic."

Beth smiled for the first time since the incident as she grabbed her bag. She had to admit, she really needed this. The familiarity helped her to calm down. "But you have to admit, the magic thing is pretty awesome."

Mal laughed, "Yeah, it is pretty awesome." The purple haired teen carefully swung her leg over the windowsill and used her foot to feel around for a hold. She didn't fins anything, but she spotted some vines that were growing up the side of the castle. She grabbed one of the vines that ran along the walls of the old castle. She gave it a good tug to make sure that it could support her weight. Mal swung her other leg out and wrapped the vine around it. Slowly, and carefully, she pushed away from the window. Beth watched from inside with bated breath. She knew that even if Mal did fall, she would be able to save herself by using her magic, but she was still concerned.

Mal slowly made her way down the side of the castle. Once she was half way, she signaled for Beth to follow. The brunette repeated the other girl's actions with a new vine. It took some time, but they finally reached the bottom. They shared a smile before they continued their escape off of the castle grounds. They snuck past the guards and staff as they made their way through the gardens and towards the nearby woods.

They giggled like little kids when they were finally in the clear. Their hearts beating fast in excitement and their breaths deep and a little uneven from the running.

"That was much more fun than I expected!" Mal laughed as she lead the way.

"It was refreshing to do something so familiar. Everything is still so new here in Auradon. It's a little suffocating."

"I know what you mean. It's like someone's shoving some new thing or responsibility in my face every day," Mal sighed. "I mean, it's great here and I'm really happy with Ben, but…" she trailed off as she stopped walking. She stared into the distance as she took a deep breath.

"But you don't know how to handle it," Beth finished as she moved to Mal's side. She took Mal's hand in hers. The purple haired teen offered the other girl a smile before she continued down the path, hands still entwined. "So, are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"We're going to the Enchanted Lake."

"Isn't that your and Ben's special place?"

"He won't mind," Mal stated definitively as she practically dragged Beth along with her.

It wasn't long before they reached the lake. Beth could feel the magic emanating from the crystal water. She instantly felt calmer as it washed over her. With a sigh she sat down at the edge of the stone gazebo. She removed her boots and rolled up her pants, allowing her feet to dangle in the water. It was cold out, but the water was oddly warm. Beth figured it was just another reason why the lake was considered to be enchanted.

"Thanks for bringing me out here Mal."

"What are friends for?" Mal replied as she sat down next to the brunette. "If not for sneaking out of a bedroom window on the third floor of a castle and running away to an enchanted lake in the middle of nowhere?"

Beth laughed. "I have no idea."

Mal crossed her legs as she stared at the water. She was still weary of it after the incident that had happened during her first date with Ben. "Did you, uh, did you want to talk about it?" In truth, Mal didn't really want to talk about it, but she thought it might help Beth. Mal was never really good at comforting others. Evie was always better at these sorts of things.

"I just want to sit here for a little bit longer, you know? Enjoy the silence."

"Yeah. I know. It's peaceful here. Away from everything."

They sat together and enjoyed the quiet. It was a rare moment for them, and they didn't want it to end anytime soon.

"How long do you think we have until the others realize that we're gone?" Beth asked after a minute of silence. Knowing both Ben and Chris, they would worry if they found the girls to be missing.

Mal hummed as she thought. "Probably not long. You know how they can get. They worry about us. Even when there's nothing to be worried about. It's in the job description, I think."

Beth laughed as she kicked her legs a bit. She watched as the water rippled. "Auradon is so different from the Isle. It's almost like it's too different. Almost."

"Too much new in too little of a time span," Mal agreed as she laid back. She could feel the cool stone, even through all of her layers. It was refreshing in a way.

"Yeah, exactly." Beth leaned back as well, keeping her feet in the water. "So, what happened after I left you guys?"

Mal smiled as she turned to look at one of her best friends. "Oh, you missed quite the show."

"Did I?"

"Yes, you did. Ben was livid. Rambling about how those reporters had no right to ask us some of those questions and how they should have known better than to crowd us. It took me a while to get him to calm down. Chris was his usual quiet, but everyone could practically feel all of the anger that was rolling off of him."

Evie, Lonnie, Jane, and especially Audrey felt so bad. You should have seen them. They looked like they had just kicked someone's puppy! Jay and Carlos were angry as well, naturally. But they had no idea what to do. They just stood there like deer caught in headlights! And your parents… They were angry as well. Adam wanted to lock up those reporters for harassment! When I left, Belle was still trying to talk him out of the idea. I left as soon as I thought that Ben would be calm enough without me there."

Beth couldn't help but smile along with Mal at the sound of how her friends and family reacted. She kind of wished she could have seen it.

"We should go back, shouldn't we?"

Mal looked back up at the sky before she sighed. "Yeah. We should."

The two teens sat back up. Beth dried off her feet as best as she could before fixing her pants and putting her boots back on. Mal stood and offered a hand to the brunette, helping her up. Neither of them wanted to leave just yet, but they knew that they had to. They made their back through the forest and towards the castle that they had just escaped from. Their arms linked together. The pair walked in silence, trying to soak as much peace as possible before they returned.

"I still can't believe that this happened," Ben huffed as he paced. Everyone was still standing in the foyer. They hadn't moved since arriving.

"It's my fault. I should have been with them," Audrey muttered as Lonnie brought the girl in for a hug.

"Audrey, it's not your fault. There was nothing that you could have done," Lonnie reassured as she rubbed the other girl's back.

"I could have warned them! I could have protected them! I could have been there with them!" Audrey cried. "I could have done something!"

"It's not your fault, Audrey. It's no ones fault," Belle said in her calming voice as Audrey only nodded. She watched as her son continued to pace. It was an improvement from how he was earlier. He had been yelling and growling; really letting his beastly side through. Mal, thank god, had been able to calm him down enough before she slipped away. Probably to be with Beth. She wanted to smile at the thought of the two girls together, but now was neither the time nor the place.

"I still think that we should throw them in the dungeons for a day or two," Adam voiced as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Belle quietly scolded him before turning to check on the others. Evie, Jay, and Carlos had yet to say anything. But, they were all tense. They all tried to act as if nothing was wrong. But Belle could see how upset they were. She didn't know if it was because she was getting better at reading them, or if it was because they were getting worse at hiding what they were feeling. She would like to believe that it was the former rather than the latter.

Chris was silent as well, but his anger was obvious. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest, a frown covering his face. Beth could see how much he really cared for her daughter.

Ben continued to pace, his scowl deepening by the minute. Belle sighed, knowing that Mal was the only one who could calm him down.

"Evie, dear," Belle called as the blue haired teen turned to look at her. "Do you think you go get Mal? Ben's temper is flaring… again." Evie nodded and, without a word, headed up the stairs to go get her best friend.

Ben glared in his mother's direction. Not liking how she thought he needed to be handled. He was fine. He was. Belle returned his glare with a calm expression. She gave him a loving smile and hoped that Mal would be down soon.

"Ben, honey, why don't you stop pacing, okay? You're going to wear a hole in the floor. And you know how unhappy Cogsworth will be about that."

Ben sighed as he finally stopped pacing. "Fine. I'll stop. But, seriously, what are we going to do about this?"

"There's nothing we can do, Ben," Chris answered regretfully. It was the first thing he had said since they arrived back at the castle. As much as he wanted to do something, he knew that they couldn't. The reporters technically hadn't done anything wrong. As terrible as it was, it wasn't illegal or anything. They were in the clear. So, they could do nothing about it.

Ben growled. "There has to be something!"

"They're gone," Evie announced frantically as she raced down the stairs.

"What?"

"They're gone," She repeated. "I went to get Mal, but she wasn't in her room. So, I checked Beth's room, but it was empty too. And the window was open."

"They ran away?!" Jane asked. It was more of a rhetorical question. Either answer to that question, yes or no, was not good.

"Yes."

Everyone looked to see who had said that. They saw Mal and Beth standing sheepishly in the door way. The others let out a sigh of relief to see that the girls weren't hurt.

"You ran away?" Ben inquired. He looked hurt. Mal let go of Beth's arm and slowly made her way over to her boyfriend. She gave him a quick hug before backing up to address everyone.

"Not really. We came back, didn't we?" Mal answered quietly as Beth rejoined her.

"We just needed to get out for a little bit. We just needed some fresh air," Beth explained as she reached out to Chris. He gently took her hand without a second thought.

"Yeah, we just needed time."

Ben rushed forward and wrapped Mal in another hug. "You scared me," he whispered into her hair. "Please never do that again."

"I'll try."

"Mal," he pulled away to look her in the eyes. "I'm serious."

"So am I."

"Where did you go anyway?" Jay asked to lighten the mood.

"Sorry, you had to be there," Beth joked as she leaned into Chris's side.

"Yeah, it's our little secret now," Mal laughed as Jay feigned a hurt expression.

"Did you really climb out the window?" Carlos questioned, joining in on the fun.

"What other way would we have done it?"

"That window is three stories off the ground!" Belle yelled, the worried parent in her making itself known.

"Everyone laughed. "Oh please, that's nothing!" Jay informed as he smirked.

"Yeah, just another day," Evie added. Mal looked at her blue haired best friend. She could see how upset she was. Mal knew that Evie was hurt that she had just left without saying anything. Mal silently asked her friend if she was okay. After a minute, Evie gave a small nod.

Evie had thought that she had lost both of her best friends. She had been scared. For the first time ever, she had been truly scared that she wouldn't see Mal again. But Mal could take care of herself, especially in Auradon. She knew that. But she was glad that she had her friend back. And she wanted to keep it that way.

Hey guys and gals! I am so sorry it took so long to update. As you know, I had computer issues. I was literally working on this chapter when my computer decided to die on me. So I lost it and I had to rewrite it. I don't know if it's as good as the original, but it's something.

On top of my computer problems, my sister got her wisdom teeth removed last week, so I had to help take care of her. And then I got my wisdom teeth removed a few days ago, so I couldn't really do anything.

But I'm back now. So thank you all for reviewing, following, or favoriting. Thanks for just reading, it means a lot to me. Of course, you don't have to do any of that it you don't want to. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think.