Hey everyone, here's the next chapter. You can already gues what might happen, based on this chapter's title, so I hope I did this scene justice. Also, sorry for the (kinda) late update - I went on a vacation with my family. Anyway, first I'll reply to your reviews and then you can read this chapter:
PurpleNicole531: Thanks for reviewing! Yes, they do. We'll see both rather soon. Yes, things are going to become quite dark in this story and some things may happen.
Kingson24601: Technically, he's under Evie and Jay's control since Carlos has nothing to do with them anymore - but he's certainly one step ahead of everyone when it comes to finding the wand. Thanks for reviewing!
Decembra1998: Thanks for reviewing! I didn't really think about that... but him being related to the di Angelos seems plausible if they shared the universe (which is, unfortunately, not the case since this is just Disney - it would be awesome, though). There will be some sort of monster in a future chapter, but none of them will be mythological. She'll still mainly use rhymes since it works best for her, but I was just trying to make sense of the magic in that universe. Yes, Chad made some bad decisions, just like the one last chapter. I think Carlos must be really smart - smarter than we think he is.
pinksakura271: Philip bothered with him because he raised the boy. Chad is still a prejudiced, llittle jerk who still has to learn a lot about Mal, her friends and the world around him. Yes, Evie could have done that, but the way she chose may be just as effective, maybe even more effective than torture. If things go well for Carlos, he may be the one who gets the wand first. Thanks for reviewing!
jaleftwich: Thanks for reviewing! We'll meet her within a few chapters. Evie goes as far as she wants and/or needs to go to get the results.
Enjoy!
-Writer207
Thirteen days had passed since Chad left the alliance to take a break. Today was the day he was supposed to return, but he hadn't come back yet. Not that anyone but Philip, Ben, Audrey and some of friends cared about when he was supposed to return. Everyone agreed the days had become slightly more agreeable without the grumpy Charming around.
Mal and Philip always met each other at the alliance's center at two o'clock, never at another time or another place. Those who passed by everyday could see the progress she made. The first thing she did during her second lesson was open the door and now, with lesson fourteen, she was choosing random (harmless) spells from her spell book and tested them. She had been doing this for the last hour, discussing the spells with Philip, who just watched how she cast each spell with perfection.
Ben came walking to the square. He had finished all of his work for the day and now Philip had to do his part of the shared job. Ben came early, so he could see Mal cast spells. The last spell she cast was one which completely changed Jane's hair into something beautiful. He heard how Mal asked if she had to change it back, but Jane liked what Mal had done. When Jane walked away, Philip came closer to Mal.
"That was great," he said with a smile on his face, "I don't think I can teach you anything else. So from now on, there will be no more lessons. Just don't forget to practice every once in a while," he added before walking away, going to the place where he was needed. Ben then took his time to walk towards her. Soon, she noticed he was coming to her.
"Hey," Ben greeted her.
"Hey," Mal said back, putting a smile on her face. Every day since her first training, Ben always came to see how well she cast her spells. It was always the last five minutes of the training, and during those five minutes each day Ben had seen her become better and better.
"You're doing great," Ben then said, "I'd never be able to do what you can do."
"I don't know about that," Mal said, turning her head to see Philip walk at a steady pace to where he was needed, "I guess some people can learn to do magic if they're born without it." Ben turned his head as well, seeing Philip leave. As a friend of the family, he knew how hard Philip trained to become a magician.
"I guess you're right," he responded, then turned his head to her. "So, I would like to show you something."
"Okay," Mal said nodding, "what is it?" Ben started to grin.
"You'll see. Let's go." He already turned around, ready to take Mal there. Yet, Mal had to ask one more thing.
"You mean, right now?" she asked, taken aback by his words. She thought he wanted to show her at a later time. Ben turned around to face her and nodded.
"Yes," he said, "Are you coming?" Mal didn't hesitate to say 'yes' and follow the leader of the alliance. There haven't been many opportunities to talk to him the past weeks. Whenever Philip was teaching her, Henry would make sure there was something she could do for the community, sometimes going on missions like when Henry still was her guide.
But now she had a chance to talk to him. She could trick him into telling her things he shouldn't tell anyone. She still had her spell book with her – she could suggest casting a spell without telling him the effects of said spell. She could make him tell the truth, she could completely change him. There was a possibility of torture, but she quickly excluded that option. She was evil, but that didn't mean she had to be extra wicked. Besides, he never did anything with wrong intentions, so it would be cruel to hurt him.
She was still thinking about a strategy when Ben told her they had arrived. He pushed away the leaves that blocked their view and once Mal saw where they were, her jaw dropped. It was one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen and probably one of the few places that wasn't affected by evildoers and dark magic.
They were at the shore of a small lake. It was different from all other lakes she's seen. The water was clear enough to see rocks lying at the bottom and it reflected the sunlight. Right in front of her, when water touches land, there were ruins of what could have been a small temple or shrine. The roof – if there ever had been one – was gone and all that still stood were some pillars which were supposed to carry it. However, there was no debris to be found.
"What do you think?" Ben said with a smile, waiting for her reaction.
"Ben…" she said, being left speechless for a short amount of time, "this is wonderful! Where are we?" She immediately asked him, wondering what this place was called and how the villains hadn't found and polluted it yet.
"We are at the Enchanted Lake," Ben said, looking at the water and the ruins.
"Enchanted" she then said, "Why is it called the Enchanted Lake?"
"Some people say the water have magical attributes," Ben explained, looking at her, "Nobody has officially confirmed it yet. Would you like to go any closer?" Mal nodded at this request and together, they walked until they stood at the center of the temple. They sat down on the cold stone, side by side, looking at the water. They remained silent until Mal wondered how far they had walked.
"Ben?" she began, "How far from the alliance are we?" Ben turned his head to her.
"We're still within alliance borders," he explained, then pointed at a tree at the other side of the lake. "Do you see those trees over there? They lie on the border. We're safe as long as nobody can cross it." Mal nodded, taking in all details in peace. The birds were singing in the distance, the wind blew softly in their faces and Mal stared into the water.
"So… she began again, hoping to have a longer conversation now, "Why did you bring me here?"
"I just wanted to show this to you," he said. Mal turned her head to him. She had the feeling that wasn't the only reason why he brought her here.
"Is there a second reason, too?" she asked him and he nodded, turning his head to her.
"There is," he then said, "If you need some alone time, this is the best place to go to. Only a handful of people know about this place." Mal nodded, quickly formulating a response to keep him talking.
"Then someone must've shown you this," she said. She figured nobody in the alliance would just stumble upon this place, considering they walked over fifteen minutes to the Enchanted Lake. Someone must've brought him here.
Ben nodded, staring off in the distance as he talked. "My parents did. They used to visit the lake often with me. We spent a lot of time together here." he began to smile again.
"Really?" Mal asked out of curiosity. Spending time with the parents other than eating and the usual meetings during the day was a concept she was not familiar with and only heard of.
"Yeah," Ben responded, "It wasn't always fun, though. Dad and I sparred sometimes and I spent a lot of time swimming with mom." Mal listened and that last part caught her attention.
"You can swim?" she asked him. Ben nodded.
"Mom thought it would come in handy. When people want you dead, you might have to swim to stay away from the goons who want you dead." He paused for a few second, "Can you swim?"
"No. nobody taught me," Mal said, "I asked mother about it once. She told me I shouldn't learn how to swim. She convinced me it was useless when you have magic to avoid having to swim. She thought it was a waste of time." She could remember the way Maleficent spoke to her and how she had been too afraid to contradict her mother. Some things never change, she thought. Has there ever been a moment when she wasn't afraid around her own mother.
"If you want," Ben said, "I can teach you how to swim."
"Really?" Mal said for the second time this day. Ben nodded.
"Yes," he said, "The water isn't too deep here. You can always give it a try," he said. Mal couldn't believe her ears. This boy, whom she barely knows for two months, wants to teach her how to swim, while Jay had always refused to let her try, probably because at that time, he too was afraid of Maleficent.
Mal smiled. "I'd love to." He smiled back at her. He's cute, she thought. Too bad he may have to die.
As they continued to talk about other things, Mal thought about the near future. Once she had the wand and gave it to her mother, she would rule supreme. Nobody, not even the gods, would be able to stop her. And, Mal added, if her mother found the alliance, she would definitely kill every single member she found. Not that she wouldn't do that if she didn't have the wand. Then, a thought popped up in her mind and she was unable to push it back.
Do they really have to die? No, they don't. Her mission was to retrieve the wand, not to kill, so she wouldn't. But if she found it, their chances of survival diminished.
Do they deserve to die? Absolutely not. They were just trying to survive in a world where villains ruled.
Do you like the way they operate? That depended. They had to do everything in the shadows, but they were doing the right thing and then, it didn't matter how they helped others.
Do you like what they're doing? She did. They helped people wherever and whenever they could, with the risk of being killed. To be completely honest, she had never met braver people.
Do you like being good? That was the trickiest question her brain could ask her, one she didn't know the answer to. She definitely wasn't a good person yet, but she also wasn't completely evil anymore. Her time at the alliance has changed her, though she had no idea if those changes were for the better. She did know it would take time to undo what this place had done to her.
She started to doubt. What should she do? What is the better choice: listening to her mother, or listening to her heart? The only difference was that her heart would at least be merciful towards everyone she had met the past months.
Mal sighed. If only she knew what her heart was telling her. If only she could read the signs. That way, things would be easier. She'd know what to do. She'd know who she was meant to be.
Eventually, she made her decision. Mal would find that wand and deliver it to her mother. But there was no rush, right? She was already doing everything to find it. It already took a few months – her mother might have to wait four more months until Mal saw the wand. Until then, she could stay and do more good. She knew she'd be procrastinating, but at least she gave herself time to make a final decision. She already guessed she would make the decision once she stood face to face with the wand.
Behind them, they could hear how someone was running closer. Ben and Mal turned their heads in the direction of the noise. Ben stood up to take a closer look. Eventually, they could see who was coming closer: it was just Doug.
"Hey Doug," Ben greeted his friend, walking a little closer to him.
"Hey," he said, looking from Ben to Mal and back to Ben. He decided he wouldn't ask what they were doing and instead got to the point. "I already figured you'd be here."
"What is going on?" Ben asked, starting to get worried, "Are we under attack?"
"No," Doug said, shaking his head, "No, but I have some good news."
"Okay," Ben nodded, sighed in relief because nothing bad was happening. "What is the good news?" he then asked.
"One, Chad's back," Doug said, "But that's not the most important thing. Ben, your parents have returned."
"My parents are back?" he asked, unable to believe it, staggered by the news. Doug nodded in response.
"Yes, they are. They're waiting for you in the Camp Square." Ben didn't hesitate. He immediately walked back to the camp, closely followed by Doug. Mal had no choice but to get up and follow them. It would be nice to meet Ben's parents. Even if the boys were walking faster than her, she followed their traces all the way back to the camp.
Eventually, after a fifteen-minute walk, she was back in the alliance center and ready to meet the parents.