For Now and For Ever

(Day 85: Sunday Morning)

When Mal opens the door Ben slightly frowns, "Sorry. Did I wake you?"

Mal runs her nails through her messy hair, "It's fine. Ten o'clock in Auradon, I should probably be getting up anyway." She tilts her head to the side, mischievously smiling as she sees his hands behind his back, "What's that?"

"What's what?" Ben tries not to smile.

"That," Mal changes position but fails to see it. "What are you holding?"

Ben takes one hand from behind his back to gesture, "Who says I'm holding anything?" before he grins.

"Come on," Mal laughs. "Before I have to pin you down and take it from you."

He chuckles, "Alright. Alright." before he shows her the small, purple, cloth bag. She tries to snatch it from him, but then he pulls it away. "Aren't you going to ask what it's for?"

Mal sighs, "What's it for?"

"Well," Ben's eyes move over her shoulder, "A little bird may have told me it was your birthday today."

Mal looks back at Evie and frowns, "You didn't."

"Come on, M," Evie enthuses, before she walks over to her and places a hand on her shoulder. "You deserve a good one." She smiles at Ben, "And who better to do it than a handsome prince."

"I mean, technically I'm king now," Ben can't help but correct.

"Which only makes you more grand," she reassures before turning to Mal. "You're going to have the best day ever. We planned it all out for you."

She lets out a protesting breath, "Guys."

"At least let me give you this," Ben ensures, as he hands her the bag again.

She looks in it and sees the number of plastic and paper containers, "What are these?"

He notices her confusion, "Well, it's become apparent to me that you guys didn't have a lot of fruit on the island." before she meets his eyes and he smiles. "The mints you can suck on, and the gum you should chew but not swallow." He glances towards the bag, "They should specify which." Ben looks at her again, "I thought it would be a good way for you to test out different things that you may not have had access to before." When she merely frowns in unsureness he opens the bag and finds a mint case, before he hopefully smiles at her, "I even got you strawberry."

She lets out a breath, "Ben. This is nice and all, but—"

"But you can't wait to try them," Evie helps.

Mal gives her a look, "What I was going to say." before she turns back to Ben. "Is, you really don't have to try to make me happy today. Like, don't go out of your way just for me."

Ben wets his lips before slightly laughing, "I'm not doing this for you." before he points towards the bag. "There's some orange flavored ones in there. If you don't want them, I do."

"I don't want them," Mal immediately responds.

He pauses, "Correction. I want you to try them. If you don't like the orange ones, then I will happily take them for myself." but she still seems unsure. "It could be a group experiment." He looks at Evie, "I made sure to put some Altoids in there too. Three mints for that brand is only five calories, compared to how mints and gum are usually five calories per mint or stick."

"What about the sugar?" Evie inquires.

Ben folds his hands, "I'm not sure about the amount, but the type of sugar has changed since it was first developed. Your body should be able to process it properly." She nods and he turns back to Mal, "I know this is all very new to you, but I just thought I should give you the opportunity to see if you like anything other than strawberries."

When Mal fails to speak Evie smiles, "She's so glad to have you." and then Mal uncomfortably grins.

Ben kisses her on the cheek, "I'll be back at one to pick you up for the museum."

"The museum?" Mal asks.

"The art museum," Ben's smile widens. "I thought we could have a quiet walk around the place and you could throw out terminology for which I have absolutely no clue how to follow."

Mal's eyebrows rise in thought, "That actually sounds kind of nice."

"Good. See you later, then."

"See ya," Mal says, and with a final look Ben turns to walk back down the hall.

They step back into the room and Evie shuts the door, "Mal. It's your birthday. You should really just let him pamper you for once."

"He pampers me enough the way it is," Mal complains, "and now he's spending who knows how much money on me?"

Evie moves her up against the door and whispers, "He's king. I think he can afford it." before she kisses her.

Mal smiles, "I can't believe he planned this with you."

She shows her whitened teeth, "No. I just thought that maybe we should get your temperature up before you have to write it down."

When she kisses her again Mal grumbles, "Come on. I'm a mess. You have to at least let me brush my teeth."

Evie glances at the purple bag, before she kneels down and finds some mints, "Here." She stands back up and hands them to her.

"Strawberry Ice Breakers," Mal reads as she takes the plastic off, and she brings three of the mints to her mouth. "Well. It sort of tastes like strawberries." She accidently bites into one and finds where part of the mint had stuck to tip of her tooth, before she uses her tongue to get it off; however, as soon as it touches it, it dissolves. In fact, all of the mints are dissolving fairly quickly. She offers Evie a speculative expression, "I don't know if they were supposed to go that fast. It was like they melted."

"I think I read somewhere about carnivores having an acidic digestive systems," Evie recalls, before she picks up the mint case. "But I don't know if that would affect carbs. Is this carbs? You would think it would have starch."

"Hey," Mal grabs her attention. "Do you think you could stop paying attention to that label for a minute and pay a little more to me?"

Evie smiles, "Sorry." before she drops the case back into the cloth bag and goes in to kiss Mal again. "I'm all yours."

"Hey. That castle looks like yours."

Ben follows Mal to an oil painting and frowns, "That would be because it is." before she gives him an inquiring look. "That is, uh, before the curse broke." He looks at the dark painting, and he feels an internal sense of cold just looking at the dreary landscape. "This painting has been here for as long as I can recall. I don't know who painted it, but they must have been awfully brave." His expression shifts, "Or they had a good memory."

"The colors," Mal notices. "Was it really that dark or is it supposed to symbolize fear or sadness or something?"

Ben observes the lifeless trees and the wetness of the ground, "The curse caused the entire area to change for the worse. It was colder, the wolves were desperate for any food they could find— even attacking my parents a few times— and when spring finally arrived it never seemed to do anything but rain." He turns and sees her frown, "My parents can't help but reminisce how bad the weather used to be whenever it gets nice out." and then his eyes shift in thought. "Apparently snow storms were fairly common at the time."

"Is that why you're always so hot?"

Ben stares at her for a moment, "What?"

"Well, if you're hotter than normal in temperature, then wouldn't that make it easier for you to be in cold weather?" she hypothesizes.

It takes him a second to respond, "I don't know. Maybe." before he looks away from her, pretending to observe the painting again. "My father's body temperature is a little high too, but it's nowhere near where mine is."

"And it's not good for you," Mal remembers.

Ben turns back in slight panic, "Pardon?"

Mal slides her left thumb into her pocket as she pulls her bangs behind an ear with her right hand, "At the hospital before court started." and she unsurely continues. "You said that it wasn't actually good for you to be so warm." Mal sighs, "You said we would talk about it later." Ben doesn't speak, so she steps forward and takes his hand. "I think it's later."

"It's nothing for you to worry about," Ben excuses, before he smiles and places a hand to her cheek. "It's your birthday. Today is about you. Not me."

"I would like to know," Mal continues to frown.

Ben awkwardly grins, "You see." before he takes her other and raises them both up and together. "I could complain about my life to you, or…" He takes a step back and pulls her towards him, "I can give you your surprise."

"My surprise?" Mal cautiously inquires.

He guides her over to the staircase, "It's down here."

She groans as she rolls her eyes, "Fine." before she slightly shakes her head, smiles, and walks down the spiral staircase with him.

Ben half laughs, "You won't regret it." and as they walk Mal notices people carefully touching up paintings.

"I don't think we're supposed to be down here," she furiously whispers.

He faces her and places his hands on her shoulders, "It's okay." and when Mal lets out a long breath he places an arm over her shoulders and walks her towards the back room.

When they enter the room a brown haired man bows, "King Ben."

"Is it ready?" he questions.

Mal notices the large canvas and nervously hisses, "Ben, what's going on here?"

"The acrylic paints are off to the left," the man gestures. "Although, I would ask— if I may— that you use the sinks to clean up when you're finished here."

"Of course," Ben reassures.

The man smiles and then nods, "Good day, my king."

"Good day," Ben smiles back, before the man passes by them and exits the room.

Mal grabs his arm and heavily breathes, "What did you do?"

Ben grins as he takes her tightly gripped hand from his arm, holding it as he gestures to the canvas, "I gave you a blank slate to work with." He sees her anxiety. "Hey. It could be worse. I was going to go with the traditional oil paints, but Jay mentioned that you didn't have much of that on the island."

"Even the acrylic paints we got were either dried up or half used. Forget color." She worries, "No one's going to see this, are they?"

He pauses, "Not if you don't want to." before he cups her hand with his other. "But if you think it's good enough, then there is a blank piece of wall you can claim." He sees her about to speak, "And you don't even have to say who you are. It can be anonymous."

She relaxes, running a hand over her forehead and over her hair, "Okay." Mal looks at the left of the room and sees a numerous amount of paint colors and brush types scattered about the table. She takes a brush from the cup, "No way."

Ben walks over to her, "What is it?"

"This isn't plastic," Mal notes in wonder, as she tests the end of the soft bristles with her thumb but then remembers not to.

He sees her quickly pull back from it and then laughs, "What? Afraid to touch it?"

"Skin oil can ruin brushes," she recalls, before she shakes her head. "So can getting paint inside the metal part, and water. I think there was something about water." She urgently looks at Ben, "I can't be trusted with this stuff."

"Mal," he reassures, "you already know how to handle these things a lot better than I do." His smile widens, "Go ahead and paint. If you break something, I'll buy it."

"That doesn't make me feel any better," she comments in annoyance, before she lets out a stressed breath and scans the table. "So many colors!" Ben chuckles as she eyes over them again. "Ooh. The green. This green looks really green." She sets aside another, "And this blue. I like this blue." before looking over the warmer colors. "And this red."

Ben sees her take a brown, black, and white as well, "Do you even know what you're going to paint yet?"

She mischievously smiles, "I have an idea."

"So long as it's not a portrait of me in the nude," Ben comments before suddenly frowning. "It's not, is it?"

Mal grins and then tugs on his tie, "Why? Is that something you would be interested in sometime?"

Ben flusters, "Er, uh, no." before he squeezes his hands together. "It's just, I know that art students do that sometimes and uh…" He watches Mal turn back to examine the brushes, "Even if I wanted to, I rather think I wouldn't have the patience for it." He wets his lips, "And, of course, as a public figure I really shouldn't be doing something like that anyway."

"You get all wordy when you're nervous," Mal notices.

"Do I?"

Mal looks back at him, "I rather think you do." and when Ben laughs with unease she goes over to the sink to fill up a cup with water.

"What are you doing?"

"If you don't soak the brushes, then the paint will dry to them and get clumpy and then it's just about impossible to get off." She pauses, "Then again, the island didn't really have that much hot water, sooo." Mal takes some paper towels, "With brushes like this I shouldn't be soaking them, though. I should just dip the tip in the water and then dry it right away." Ben watches as she sets the plastic cup on the small table next to the easel, before she walks back over and picks up a palette. "I've never worked with such a big canvas before, not unless you count spray painting."

"Well, you have all afternoon to finish it," he reassures.

She gives him a look, "That's great, considering it's already three."

"Yes, well," Ben glances at his watch, "there's that."

When Mal dips the brush into the mediterranean blue she hears Ben shift in his stance, and she gives him a look, "You don't have to stay, you know. I know art isn't really your thing."

"My sketching is actually half decent, I think," Ben says aloud, before he meets her eyes. "No. I want to watch. I do." He glances around, "I was just thinking that I might need a chair."

Mal grins with raised eyebrows, "Ben. If you need a chair thirty seconds into watching me paint, then it's not about the chair. It's boredom."

It takes him a moment to respond, "No. I want to watch. Really."

Mal nods in thought, "Okay." before looking him in the eyes. "I will let you watch me paint if you let me watch you play piano."

Ben stops himself from frowning, "That will be inevitable."

"Good," Mal smiles, before she looks back at the canvas and applies her first stroke. "You can get your chair now."

"You know," Ben observes the piece on the wall, "I think it turned out well." He smiles at Mal, "What's it supposed to be?"

She nudges him on the shoulder and huffs in disbelief, "Shut up."

Ben laughs, "No. It's, uh." He looks back at it, "I mean, I don't know what it's exactly supposed to represent, but it's the island and Auradon with Fairy Godmother's wand dividing the two, right?"

"Yes." Mal grins, "It is." but then her expression falters. "I'm not entirely sure what it's supposed to symbolize either." She pauses, "I just felt like painting it." before she thinks for a second. "Maybe… You see how the colors contrast, but how it's also the lighting?"

It takes a moment for Ben to unsurely reply, "I suppose."

"Maybe it's about how different the two worlds are," she speculates. "How neither is really perfect, what with Auradon being so bright and hard to look at and with the Isle being so dark and… uninhabitable."

Ben faces her in concern, "Uninhabitable?"

Mal deeply frowns, eyes looking off, "Yeah… Lifeless. And unsurvivable."

"May I interest you in a beverage tonight?" a voice is heard, and when Mal turns around her mouth slightly gapes at the platter of wine glasses filled with a sparkling, yellow liquid.

Ben sees Mal's hand reach out for it, but he takes her hand and holds it before she can. He smiles at the server, "No. Thank you, but we're not part of the event."

"Oh," the man shocks, before he bows his head. "I'm sorry King Ben. I just assumed—"

"It's perfectly alright," Ben holds up a hand in reassurance, before he looks at Mal. "It's going to get crowded soon, and we do still have dinner with my parents. We should go."

"Oh." She watches as the server walks over to another couple, "Okay."

They're quiet as they exit the building, but after they get into the car and Ben instructs the driver to go he lets her know, "I didn't just make us leave because of the Champaign. You know that, right?"

Mal remembers how it had sparkled in the light, "It was shiny."

"Shiny?" Ben inquires, before he remembers. "Oh. Right." He searches his pockets for the three blue and green pebbles, and he opens his hand, "What do you think of these."

"Those are shiny too," Mal smiles as she examines them. "I like this green one." She takes it and holds it in front of her eyes, "It's shiny like the sea. Or maybe moss." She looks back at him, "What do you think? Sea or moss?"

Ben takes her other hand to test her temperature, "I think you're a little cold." before he scoots closer to her and smiles. "Would you like me to warm you up before we head inside?"

She grins before kissing him and placing her hands onto his neck, "You're so hot."

When she goes in to kiss him again Ben moves out of the way and reaches out for the com button, "Travis. We'll let ourselves out. Thank you." but before he's able to finish the last word Mal pushes him back towards the seat and moves on top of him.

"You're mine."

Ben's quiet for a moment as he observes her features, "For now and for ever." before he kisses her.

- Yanderesklave If by an over species you mean that there must be some humans that are technically not human, then you would be correct. By the time you get here there have been a couple times where I mentioned how witches and fairies are legally recognized as humans, which may or may not be due to Belle having been accused of being an enchantress at the time that the legislation, laws, or what-have-you would have been being drawn up. There are other species that should really be considered as humans instead of hybrids under that reasoning—such as angels, let's say— but if it wasn't thought of at the time that the documents and laws were put into place, then they would not have created an exception for that species.

- DeathCrawler Thank you for your unwavering dedication. It seems like you're usually the first person to leave a comment, and although I sometimes wish you could specifically say what you liked or disliked about the chapter, leaving a general comment is nice just the same... I know some people have a holistic perception on liking or disliking what they read without getting into the details of it. I don't know if that's the way your mind works or not, but if you are coming from a holistic perception, then I'm going to have to accept that. Thank you again for reading and commenting. It's nice of you, as it is with anyone who takes that extra step to leave their thoughts.