The axe hits wood with a solid thunk.
Blood flies through the air.
The crowd stands silent.
The witch is gone.
Literally.
The axe had flown through the air, nicking King Ben on the neck, before it embedded itself in the wood beside his head. The executioner had thrown it at him, taken the prisoner, and run. The crowd was shocked. This had happened in the first week of the King's coronation.
People in the crowd started to talk, whispering to each other;
What happened?
She cursed us, right?
Is it beginning?
What kind of King is this?
Why's he still sitting there?
The whispers grew in volume until there were people shouting at the stage, demanding answers.
The previous King rose up and walked to the front of the balcony and raised up a hand. A silence fell over the crowd as they waited for him to speak.
"Dear citizens," he began, "What has transpired here was not caused by the witch. She had instructed someone to rescue her. This was mere coincidence. We will send troops to recapture her and anyone who assisted her. Do not worry. We will protect this kingdom!"
A cheer rose up from the crowd, roaring throughout the castle. The sound spills out to the surrounding town, catching up with four figures. They hop into a car and drive away.
Mal closes her eyes. She can hear the axe whistle through the air. But she doesn't die. She's yanked to her feet, and dragged off of the platform. She opens her eyes, and looks at the person dragging her along.
"Jay?"
"Hi, yeah, we gotta go. We can talk later."
He continues to drag her along, a firm grip on her wrist. Mal stumbles, struggling to keep up. She trips and falls, but Jay swings her up into his arms and keeps running. They burst out through a set of doors, and then they're out. Two more people are waiting.
Mal's tired, almost asleep by now, but she manages to say, "Evie. Carlos. You're here."
"Of course we are," Evie says, "But shhhh. We have to get you out of here."
They hustle her into the car as a loud cheer rushes down the street. The door slams, and Jay hits the gas, driving away as fast as he can.
Mal feels a bit terrified. Why did they rescue her? What did they want with her?
Mal tries to stay awake, but she was so exhausted from, well, everything. Her eyes close on their own, and she is thrust into a dreamless sleep.
When Mal wakes up again, she's laying in a bed. Someone moves beside her, and she flinches away.
"Mal, it's just me," the person says.
Evie.
"Mal," she says, "Can you tell me what happened to you? Did Ben do this?"
Mal looks down at her blanket and runs her fingers along the edges. Why is Evie worried? She left Mal on her own.
"What's wrong?" Evie asks, sounding concerned.
Mal just shakes her head. She's not going to trust her. Not going to trust anyone ever again. She only ends up getting hurt because of it.
"Alright. Do you want Carlos and Jay to come in? They're worried about you."
Mal thinks about it for a moment before nodding her head slightly. Despite the fact that she no longer trusts, she still wants to see them. They were precious to her, after all.
Evie calls, "Okay guys, you can come in."
Mal flinches as the door to the room bangs open, but she manages to sit still as Carlos runs over and hugs her. Mal expected this. Carlos would have been worried about her, even though he abandoned her. They all did. Jay walks in, and he sits beside her on the bed. He seems slightly relieved upon seeing her.
"It's good to see you Mal," Jay says.
Carlos just hugs her tighter. Mal's starting to feel trapped. She's being held in place with no escape. Her breathing starts to pick up.
"Carlos," Evie says, "She needs to breathe."
Carlos lets her go, saying, "Sorry," but he looks so happy and relieved that Mal can't hold it against him.
But why would they care?
"What happened? At the ballroom?" Evie asks.
Mal shrinks back, into the corner that the bed is pressed up against. She pulls the blanket up, as if it could protect her. She doesn't answer, studying the blanket. She can't bring herself to answer. She doesn't want to be hurt again.
"Mal?" Jay asks, "You okay?"
Mal doesn't answer. She doesn't trust them. She doesn't trust her voice. She doesn't trust.
"Mal, sweetie," Evie says, "Could you please tell us?"
Mal stays quiet, still looking down at her lap. She fiddles with the bandages on her arms. She can feel a lump in her throat, but she doesn't want to cry. She's not supposed to. She shouldn't. Tears start to gather in her eyes, and it takes a lot of effort to keep them back. She's trying her hardest not to cry, especially not in front of them. She can feel them staring at her.
Just when she feels like she might start crying, a little notebook and a pen are shoved into her line of vision. She looks up, startled, to see Carlos offering them to her. She shakes her head. She doesn't want to share. She's still got a lump in her throat, but at least she's not going to cry anymore.
"Just one word?" Carlos begs.
Mal remembers that they had done this to get Carlos to talk to them after Cruella went overboard.
"Please?" Carlos begs.
Mal sighs quietly, and then sticks out her hand. It's hard to deny Carlos anything. Carlos' face lights up again as he hands the notebook and pen to her. Mal takes it and sets the pen on the paper, but she doesn't know how much she wants to reveal.
She starts to argue with herself.
They'll understand.
They left you.
They came back.
So what. They can leave you just as fast.
No they won't. They're the people I trust.
Did trust. Not anymore.
Too bad. I'm going to tell them.
Before she can think herself out of it, she writes down a word, shoves it at them, and then she ducks under the covers. It's dark and warm and safe under here. She doesn't have to face them. She doesn't have to talk about what she wrote. She tunes out the rest of the world, trying to forget everything.
Someone touches her knee, and she tenses, afraid they'll corner her and force her to talk, but Evie's voice asks, "Do you want to be alone?"
She nods. She doesn't know if anyone will be able to see it, but she can hear the door shut, so she assumes they did. She waits for a few more moments, straining to hear anything. She can hear a few clatters outside the room, but the inside of the room is silent. She lowers the sheet just enough so that she can see the room. No one is inside.
Her sadness hits her like a rampaging bull, bringing up anything painful that she can remember. Ben. The failed plan. Abandonment. Loss. Hurt. Anything that could possibly make her sad resurfaces, intent on causing her as much pain and suffering as possible.
Her shoulders start to shake, and tears stream down her face. She's trying not to cry, trying to hold the tears in, but they overflow from her eyes. She can't hold them back. She's not making any noise yet. She's glad for that. She doesn't want anyone to be around her. To worry about her. Why would they? She's evil.
She's tired of people.
She grabs her blanket and heads to a corner of the room, on the other side of a dresser, and sits down, wrapping the blanket around her. The floor feels more comfortable than the bed at the moment. It feels more appropriate. She pulls the blanket back over her head, and the tears keep streaming down her face.
But now, she wants to scream. She wants to scream and let out the pain and the misery, to let the world know what it has done to her. But that would draw attention. Sobs start to make noise, accompanying her exhales. She puts her hand over her mouth, muffling the small noises that are starting to get out. She can't let anyone know. The closest people are just downstairs.
Her other arm curls around her middle and clutches her side, like it's the only thing keeping her together. Her breathing is shallow, and her sobs are shaking her body now. Horrible thoughts are running through her mind, full of anguish, self-hate, anger and a deep, bone aching sorrow.
A knock sounds on the door, frightening her. Please don't let someone enter. Please don't let them see. Mal abruptly cuts off her sobs, holding her breath. Her shoulders tense.
"Dinner's ready," Evie says, "If you want to come down."
Mal hears footsteps walking away. She swipes at her eyes, wiping away tears. She's angry at herself now, angry that she let herself cry. Someone almost found out.
There's a delicious smell wafting up from downstairs. Mal hears her stomach growl, but she doesn't feel hungry. Right now, all that she feels is hollow. She almost decides not to go down, but then realizes that she hasn't eaten for a while, not including the time she was asleep, and that she probably should.
She's supposed to stay alive, right?
She stands up, and looks in the mirror hanging on the door. It's easy to tell that she's been crying. Her eyelashes stick together, and her cheeks are flushed. She presses her cold hands to her cheeks, willing the red color to fade. No one should know that she's been crying. Crying is for the weak.
After a few moments, when her cheeks are pale again, Mal opens the door. She walks into the hallway, the blanket still draped over her shoulders. It drags behind her. Her feet make no noise on the wood floor, other than an almost inaudible creak when she reaches the stairs.
She notices that everyone's downstairs, and she's grateful for that. She doesn't want anyone to see her. Not until she chooses to let them. She walks quietly down the stairs and turns the corner, entering the kitchen. Mal hears her stomach growl again.
She hears someone approaching, and she pulls the blanket tighter around her. Mal watches as Evie walks into the kitchen and spots her.
"Mal!" she exclaims, "It's good to see you down. Here, the table's this way."
Mal lets herself be led to the table, where Jay and Carlos are sitting, tearing into chicken and mashed potatoes. Evie leads her to a chair, and sits beside her. She hands Mal a plate, which already has food on it. Mal starts to eat.
She watches as Carlos and Jay joke around, and she's glad that they're not acting different around her. She doesn't want to be treated as fragile. She doesn't want to be treated with concern. She doesn't deserve it. She's evil. Evil doesn't get good. Doesn't get love.
"Wait!" Evie cries, jumping up, "I forgot!"
She runs to the kitchen, disappearing from view. Mal can hear the fridge open and bags rustle as Evie looks for whatever it was she needs. Evie runs back into the room carrying a little box.
"Here you go!" she says, giving it back to Mal as she sits back down.
Why would she give Mal get something?
Mal opens it, and inside lay ruby red strawberries. They bring back so many different, conflicting, emotions and memories. She stares at them, and she zones out. Strawberries. Ben. The Enchanted Lake. Date. Picnic. Love. Loss. Hurt. Pain. Pain pain painpainpainpainPAINPAINPAINPAINPAIN.
PAIN.
Mal blacks out.