Chapter 10:
Carlos POV
We drove off the Isle, and as soon as we were back in Auradon, I called Belle. "Is he awake" I asked, waiting for her response."No, we didn't know if you had done it yet." She replied.
"Belle, you need to get out of there now, Mal has escaped the…" Before I could finish, I heard screaming and shouting coming from the other end of the phone. It lasted for about 10 seconds, before the phone cut off. "We need to get to the hospital now!" I shouted, causing Lonnie to put her foot down.
When we arrived, it was not a good sight. The hospital looked like it had been raided. The lighting was off, and the corridors were filled with clutter as if a hurricane had rolled through it. We made our way to Ben's room, only to find Belle, Fairy Godmother and Jane. Ben was gone. I ran over to Belle, helping her up. "C-Carlos, I'm so sorry" she said, rubbing her forehead. "Mal came, and took Ben. He didn't wake up Carlos, I'm so sorry." She said, crying into my arms.
"Where have they gone" I asked. At this point, I was too angry to be sad. "To the school. Mal wanted to meet you at the tourney field" she said, standing up, and sitting on the bed. I stormed out of the room, Evie and Lonnie following shortly behind. We made a break for the school, Lonnie not caring about the speed limits at all. I was fuming, reading myself for the battle that was going to take place. I was not going to lose Ben for a second time, and I knew Evie and Lonnie would have my back.
2:00pm
When we arrived at the school, Ben was just laid there, in the middle of the field. I ran over to him, holding him in my arms. I leaned in for a kiss, but before I could, Mal threw me away from him. "Did you think it would be that easy huh?" she remarked, and I was quick to respond.
"I'd hoped not, you need to pay for what you've done" At this point, I was ready for anything. Well, at least I thought I was.
"Oh Carlos, you stupid boy, you have much to learn. This is my kingdom now" she said, as green smoke surrounded her. Within seconds, she was no longer there, and we were faced with a dragon, a rather large purple dragon. She roared at us, causing the three of us to freak out. But we tried to stand our ground, however that didn't last long.
She purposely targeted Lonnie first, clawing at her and using her tail to pull her to the ground. Lonnie slammed into the ground pretty hard, but Mal wasn't done just yet. She clawed across Lonnie legs, causing them to bleed immensely. "Guys, I can't get up" she shouted at us, before pulling herself away from the battle.
Next, she went for Evie, trying a similar tactic. Evie was able to dodge Mal, and Evie used her magic mirror to blind her. It worked for a short amount of time, before Mal started to breathe fire at Evie. She retreated, running over to Lonnie, and helping her get away.
Mal was now two for two, and I was her last target. But I wasn't going to give up that easily. I ran towards the forest bordering the school, hoping I could lead Mal into it, giving me the advantage, the amount of trees in the area would make it difficult for her to navigate, allowing me to sneak up on her. However, the complete opposite happened.
Mal started to burn down the trees, and used her tail to clear the forest. I was able to hide behind a tree, causing Mal to look for me. I picked up a sharp twig from the floor, with the plan of jabbing her in the eye with it. I could hear her breathing come closer, and I saw the snout appear round the tree first. She could smell me, but couldn't see me, not just yet. Once her eye came into view, I lunged towards her, stabbing the stick into it. She quickly retreated, screeching in pain.
I thought I had the upper hand, but in her pain, she knocked the tree I was using for cover over. I rolled out of the way of the main trunk, but my leg got caught under of the smaller branches. I hit the floor with some force, causing my vision to go all blurry. With my last breath, I kissed the ring Ben gave me, before saying "I'm sorry I failed you" I blacked out soon after.
Evie POV:
I had managed to drag Lonnie away from the fight, and we had met up with Belle, Jane and the Fairy Godmother, who were still trying to recover from the hospital incident. Fairy Godmother cast a spell on Lonnie, healing some of her wounds, allowing her to use her legs again. Whilst she was doing so, we heard a large screeching sound coming from the forest, and we could see Mal flailing about.
I ran towards her, hoping to see Carlos emerge from the forest, but instead I saw a tree fall, and I knew he had gotten stuck. I ran towards him, but by the time I'd reached him, he was already blacked out. I held him in my arms, crying, before I saw his ring starting to glow. There was a huge flash of light from the ring, and it looked like another part of Ben's soul was released from the ring. It flew over to him, and struck his body. A large ball of light formed around him, and body started to rise into the air.
Ben's POV:
I felt something strike me in the side, and when I opened my eyes, I was blinded by a very bright light. I shielded my eyes, and could see that I was on the tourney field at Auradon Prep, but I was about 2 metres into the air. The ball of light exploded around me, and I landed back on the ground, surveying the area. It seemed like all my injuries had healed. The cast on my leg was destroyed, and the wounds of my chest had healed fully. I could see Fairy Godmother, my mum, and Lonnie holding each other sobbing to my right, and straight in front of me was my worst fear. I saw Carlos in Evie's arms, she was crying over his body. Before I ran up to her, I heard a large thud to my left, and what I saw, I did not expect. A massive purple dragon had landed, with only one eye open. The dragon snapped at me, before speaking up, and it was a voice I recognised quite well.
"Ahh, Ben, I'm so glad you could join us." Mal hissed, walking towards me. "You've missed a lot, but don't worry, I'm sure Carlos will catch you up. If he wakes up of course" I growled at her statement, and once again, I let anger consume my body. I ran at her, transforming to a wolf in the process.
I managed to dig my claws into the side of her neck, and used them to pull myself onto her back. I started to bite, grabbing chucks of scale in my mouth, and ripping them from her body. But it wasn't working, it wasn't doing any damage. That's when I targeted her wings. I saw that the skin was thinner there, so I bit deep, ripping up the skin, and that did some damage. I was able to form a hole in her left wing, meaning that she couldn't fly anymore. She shifted her body, allowing her to grab my tail in her mouth, and she flung me to the ground.
But I wasn't going to give up that easily. I ran back at her, managing to dodge her fire, and run under her body. This time, I clawed and scratched at her soft underbelly, causing serious damage and tearing chunks out of her flesh. She used her tail, and whacked me with it, causing me to fly towards Belle. I saw her staring at me, with pure fear in her eyes, but she shouted "Come on Ben, you can do it." Trying to provide as much support as she could.
The Fairy Godmother had joined the battle, using her wand to heal me, and trying to hold Mal down, but it wasn't much help. Mal easily broke free of the restrains, and shot a fire ball towards the Fairy Godmother. She was able to protect herself from it, and continued to help in any way she could. Evie also joined in. I had forgotten that her mum was a witch, so Evie was casting spell after spell trying to inflict damage onto Mal. She had her mother's spell book in her hand, and was casting anything, just trying to help.
At this point, most of the school had come out onto the field to see what was happening. Many of them huddled around Lonnie and my mum, scared of what was happening. The Fairy Godmother, wary of the student's safety cast a dome around Evie, Mal, herself and I protecting them from any harm. I saw someone had gone over to Carlos, and had freed him from his restrain. He was now safely with Belle, Lonnie and Jane, who were trying to patch him up.
Mal continued to breathe fire towards us all, and the Fairy Godmother was able to reflect some of it, with the help of Evie's magic mirror, inflicting some damage on Mal. While they did so, I snuck behind Mal, climbing up her tail, and onto her body. I continued to claw, bite and scratch at her, trying to cause as much pain as possible.
As I did so, I noticed something on Mal's neck. It looked like gills, and I could see a light coming from inside of it. 'A weakness' I thought to myself, as I made my way closer towards it. It was an oxygen intake to allow her to breathe fire, but for me, it was a way to inflict serious damage. I waited until she breathed fire at Fairy Godmother and Evie once again, causing it to open. When I did, I sunk my teeth into it, and ripped out a large portion of flesh. Mal screeched in pain once again, before flinging me off of her. She was getting very aggravated, and began to breathe fire almost constantly.
Luckily the Fairy Godmother was able to protect me, putting up a protective barrier spell. Evie was still casting spells at her, puncturing her skin with shards of rock that she was conjuring. It wasn't doing a lot, but it was enough to keep Mal distracted. I tried my tactic once more, waiting for her to breathe fire, before I lunged at her other size, sinking my teeth into the flaps, and ripping chunks of skin away. Once again, Mal screeched in pain, and tried to fling me off, but this time, I held on. I clawed at it, lacerating section of her skin, inflicting further damage.
She sharply jolted her neck, throwing me into the barrier surrounding us. She turned at faced me, staring into my soul once again, her eyes glowing a luminous green. I stared back at her, my eyes glowing a golden colour. I heard fairy godmother start to chant. "The strength of Evil is good as none, when stands before three hearts as one" I heard Evie, join the chant, later followed by my mum, Jane and Lonnie and my father. The number had gone up, and they were now chanting, seven hearts as one. I could feel the strength build inside of me, as they were chanting, allowing me to maintain my stare growling at her, but I could see Mal was weakening. She was able to hold out for a few more seconds, before she was surrounded by a large puff of smoke, and reverting back into her human form.
Fairy Godmother quickly dropped the barrier surrounding us, and the Auradon guards came and arrested her. I heard Fairy Godmother shout "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" waving her wand in the area, and reverting the area back to before the battle had begun. The trees in the forest, rose upright and returned to their previous positions, and the patches of grass that Mal had burnt regrew. The bleachers had knocked down began to construct themselves once again, and in the distance, you could see the barrier reform fully around the Isle, returning to one solid dome.
Some of her spell also targeted Mal, and she explained that it would prevent her from using magic in the future. I reverted back into human form, before running up to Carlos, and holding him in my arms. I cry onto him, holding him into my chest.
"Please, come back to me Carlos" I said, holding him tighter. Evie had kneeled down in front of me, and my parents had placed their hands on my shoulder. He still had a pulse, and I could feel his breath against my jacket, but he wouldn't wake up "I'm so sorry I left you. I promise if you come back to me, I'll never leave you again." I sobbed.
Evie had joined me in sobbing, and I could hear my parents sobbing behind me as well. When all hope was lost, I pulled Carlos into a deep and passionate kiss. I didn't care if the entire school was watching, Carlos had already lost me once, and I was not going to lose him. I pulled away from the kiss, and heard him inhale sharply.
He started to cough before saying "Ben" tearing filling his eyes away.
"That's right, I'm here", I said before pulling him into another deep hug. I wasn't going to let me go. I could feel he was crying into my chest, and he spoke up "Keep that promise Ben, never leave me again. I have been to hell and back trying to get you back to me, and I'm not going to give that up now" I let him go slightly, and pulled him into another passionate kiss. Everyone around us was crying, including the Fairy Godmother.
At this point, the Fairy Godmother dismissed the students, telling them to return to their classes. Evie and I helped Carlos up, and we went back to my parent's castle, along with the Fairy Godmother and Lonnie. I can imagine that we have a lot to discuss.
We got into the limousine, and my father drove us back to the castle. I sat in the back with Carlos, Evie, Lonnie and my mum, whilst my dad and the Fairy Godmother sat up the front. The screen separating the front and the back was up the whole time, so I imagine that they also had a lot to discuss.
The back of the limo was filled with an awkward silence. I held Carlos in my arms the entire time, whilst Belle and Evie exchanged looks with each other. No-one dared say anything, it was just a minefield of questions that was just waiting to go off.
3:00pm
We finally arrived at the castle, and made our way to the dining room. My parents and the Fairy Godmother sat on one side of the table, whilst the four of us sat on the other side. Everyone was exchanging glances, before the King finally spoke up. "I suppose we should return the three of you to the Isle" he said, with the sternest look on this face. The four of us just stared at him, with disbelief whilst the Fairy Godmother and Belle gasped.
I responded, rather sharply at the statement. "Really, you haven't seen me in four months, and that is the first thing you say. Not even how are you? Or are you alright? Instead you get ready to ship us back to the Isle" The king retorted, "The three of you are villains. You don't belong in Auradon. You belong on that Isle, with the rest of your lot." Anger grew on not only mine, but also Evie, Carlos, and even Lonnie's Face.
But it was Belle who said anything first. "HOW DARE YOU!" she yelled, frightening everyone in the room. "These children just saved the entire of Auradon from falling, and you want to ship three of them back to the Isle? Without them, Mal would have terrorised and plagued these lands" and before she could finish, Beast interrupted "Without them, Mal would have never reached Auradon."
Evie spoke up, "Actually, she would have. She has been planning this for years, exacting her revenge on Auradon. God, even Carlos and I were part of the plan before Ben came along. With or without us, she would have escaped that Isle, and you would have been powerless against her. You are lucky we were here to help. And I'm not going back to that Isle. I would rather die" her statement shocked the entire table, but Carlos agreed with her.
"I would too. If you must punish us, fine. Lock us in the dungeons for the rest of our lives. We don't care. Just don't send us back there." I held Carlos closer, and spoke up as well.
"You have no idea what it's like to be on that Isle. It turns good people bad. I know I cannot be absolved of my crime, but if you must send me back, at least let Carlos and Evie stay. They do not deserve to be punished for the crimes of their parents. These two have done nothing, but fought for me this entire time. They have always saw the best in me, even when I didn't, and have so much goodness in their hearts."
Fairy Godmother spoke up "All their teachers have said how well they have settled into the school, and they are excelling in every one of their classes. I hear Carlos had a particular talent for Chemistry, and we have all seen the outfits Evie designs. These talents shouldn't be suppressed, they should be nurtured."
Belle spoke up once more laying it on thick to the King. "It was your curse that caused Ben to act the way he did. If we had told him about it, and helped him control it, then we could have avoided his whole situation. But instead, YOU decided to ignore every warning that the Fairy Godmother gave us, hoping that nothing bad would happen. I will not allow you to send my son back to the Isle, and will fight for him to stay. No matter the cost" she finished.
The King knew he was clearly outnumbered in this situation. His wife, and chief adviser was willing to challenge him in order to get what they wanted. "Fine" the King huffed. "Evie and Carlos, you are permitted to stay in Auradon, and have the same rights as any other who lives here. Dorms will be provided for you at Auradon Prep, where you will continue to study. I expect you to achieve great things."
He then turned to me "Ben, I will have a discussion with my councillors to further decide your course of action. If you are forgiven, you will be permitted to live in Auradon just like Evie and Carlos, but you will not be royalty. You will have no claim to the throne, and you will not be part of this family."
Belle tried to protest, but the King quickly spoke over her "Either, this is agreed, or he will be sent back to the Isle right now. At least this way, he was a chance of remaining in Auradon. I am the King, and my word is final" he roared, slamming his fist on the table.
Everyone went silent, and agreed to the King's statement. He then spoke up again. "Tonight, the four of you will return to Auradon Prep. The Fairy Godmother will set the three of you up with some dorms, and Lonnie, you already have yours" We all nodded, before the King got some guards to escort us off the premises.