Mal shoots awake. She is inside the room upstairs, and Jay, Evie and Carlos are sleeping in the bed beside her. So why did she wake up? Mal can hear footsteps coming up the stairs, making the way to the room she was in. She shakes the other three awake and creeps over to the door.
"Wha..?" Evie asks, eyes still bleary with sleep.
"Shhh," Mal hisses.
Mal picks up the lamp on the dresser and raises it as the door creaks open. A girl with black hair walks in and Mal swings the lamp down. The girl's hand catches the lamp, and Mal growls.
"Wait!" Evie cries," Stop Mal!"
Mal pauses, glaring at Evie and demanding, "Who is she."
"I'm Lonnie," the girl interrupts, "And just so you know, I'm not here for you. I'm here for Ben. I found him, but I guessed if he was here, you guys would be as well."
"How did you find us?" Carlos asks.
"I'm a good tracker. My mom taught me. And also, this is her cabin."
"Fine. But we can't just let you leave."
"Mal!" Evie exclaims.
"You've grown soft," Mal snaps, turning back to Lonnie and asking, "Why should I let you leave."
"Well," Lonnie answers, "Everyone in the kingdom is searching for their King. I can bring him back, say I found him abandoned in the woods. It would get the guards off your tail."
"But Ben would remember."
"Yeah. That is a problem."
For some reason, Mal found herself liking the girl. She didn't know if it was her attitude, or the fact that she was competent. Whatever it was, she liked the girl immensely.
"Do you think if we hit him over the head hard or long enough he'll lose his memory?" Mal asks with a smirk.
"Oh, you are gold," Lonnie replies with a matching smirk.
Mal," Evie sighs, exasperated, "We can't just do that, alright?"
"He's a jerk though."
"Mal."
"Fine. I was just joking."
"Mmmm. Sure you were."
"So, what do we do now?" Lonnie asks.
"You can consult me," a cool voice answers.
Mal whirls around, and she sees Maleficent sitting on the bed.
"Mother," she growls.
"Yes, yes," she says dismissively, waving her hand, "Now that formalities are out of the way, would you be a dear and bring your prisoner to me?"
Mal rolls her eyes, and then jumps out the window, storming off.
"Jay," Evie says, "Go get him."
Jay heads out of the room to go get Ben.
"Ma'am," Evie says, "What are you doing here."
"Despite what you all think, Mal is still my daughter. I will protect her. So," she says, looking at Lonnie, "If you hurt her anymore, I will break you."
Lonnie crosses her arms and stares back, saying, "That is not my intention."
"Whatever. I'll be watching you."
Jay comes back into the room, dragging a struggling Ben with him.
"He woke up," Jay grunted, dodging a kick, "When I started to move him."
Maleficent waves her hand, and Ben went limp. Jay tosses him on the bed, and then Maleficent mutters a chant, throwing a handful of something glittery on him.
"I erased his memory," she announces, "And he'll be out for another hour or two.
"Can you help Mal?" Evie asks.
"Unfortunately, I cannot fix something she has done to herself. But do not worry, she will remember on her own."
"Where were you? You left her."
"I will tell Mal when she remembers. She deserves an answer."
With that, Maleficent walks into the shadows, disappearing.
"I should get moving," Lonnie says, "If you need me, give me a call. You can use the phone here. I'll leave my number beside it."
Lonnie hoists Ben onto her back, and then clomps down the stairs. The door slams behind her as she heads off through the forest. Mal comes up the stairs and walks into the room again. She had been listening from outside the window.
Evie turns to Mal and says, "You'll remember on your own Mal. Isn't that wonderful!"
"But," Mal says quietly, "What if I don't want to remember. If it was so bad I blocked it out, then why would I want to remember?"
"You'd be back!"
"You mean, the other me. You don't like me, you want her."
"Mal," Evie says, taken aback, but Mal leaves again.
Evie sits down on the bed, putting her head between her hands.
"I'll go get her," Carlos says.
He runs after her, following her bobbing head of purple. He catches up to her as she sits sits down besides her without saying anything. If she wants to talk, he'll wait for her to start.
Mal debates on telling Carlos or not. She was always there for him when he needed support, and she knew that she needs to trust him too. But it is hard to start talking. She is afraid that he'd leave her.
"I do remember," she starts out, "I remember bits and pieces, but never the whole thing. But it's horrible. I don't want to remember. But…. none of you want me. Not this me. It's easy to tell."
Her arms cross over her stomach, and she rubs her arms. She's not cold, she just wants a bit of comfort, but not from another person.
"I don't… I don't belong. But still, I can't help it. I don't want to remember. All I know is that it was just pain on top of pain. I don't want that anymore."
She turns to Carlos, and looks at him.
"You won't leave me, right?" she asks pleadingly.
"Never," Carlos answers fiercely, grabbing her hand in a firm grip, "I will never abandon you. I promise."
The nod Mal gives him is minute, but Carlos still sees it.
"You know," he says, "The other day while I was out for a walk, I found a cliff. Do you want to go look?"
"Lead the way," Mal says, standing up.
They walk in a comfortable silence to the cliff and sit down. Mal dangles her legs over the edge, swinging them back and forth. An emerald green forest stretches out before them , the golden sun illuminating everything.
"It's beautiful," Mal whispers.
"It is, isn't it," Carlos says back.