I know, it's been four months since my last chapter. Let me explain myself: I had gone through a period of intense studying and exams and then jumped straight into the second semester, which also is an awful lot of work. As a result, I did not have (and still do not have) a lot of time to write and for a brief period of time, I also was stuck writing this chapter, which is a terrible combination. So, I apologize it took me so long, but let me get one thing clear: I am not the type of person who abandons a story, and I absolutely hate it when an author decides to just quit without letting anyone know. Anyway, looking at the bright side, I hope to spend less time writing the next chapter and hopefully will have it up at the end of April or the beginning of May. I thank you for your patience and now, here is the long-awaited next chapter. But, as usual, first there are my responses to your reviews

CaptainMansBabyGirl: Here is the next chapter.

PurpleNicole531: Yes, hopefully. We'll see if she grows to be a good person, though only time will tell. I'm pretty sure that, when Jay sees them the next time, he's still very pissed at them. Yeah, good always prevails, though it always comes at a cost. I'll try to get next chapter up as soon as possible. Thanks for reviewing!

Jes: Thanks for reviewing! Well, it's here because it's necessary for drama. Maybe there'll be more of it, maybe not.

Enjoy! And again, I'm sorry it took so long.

-Writer207

Mal, Evie and Carlos arrived back in Neverland. After their small encounter, they had called Philip, who then brought them back to the alliance.

"Thanks," Mal said and Philip nodded.

"You're welcome," he said, "Ben's waiting for in the main cabin." He pointed in the general direction of the cabins in the distance. He then walked off, further away from the cabins. Mal didn't ask what he was going to do, but it sure had to be important. Maybe one day, she'd know what was down there (if something even was down there) but for now, she'd had to go with Evie to Ben.

That was the plan: keep Jay and Evie as leverage for Maleficent should things go wrong in the future. So far, they already had Evie with them. She didn't know about the plan yet, but she didn't have to, either. She stayed out of free will, which made her – according to Mal – more than just a hostage. Maybe, in the future, she could join, too. But that was for the Fates to decides.

As soon as they had arrived, Evie was looking around in wonder. Since Mal and Carlos had been here before, they didn't really pay much attention to the view anymore, though they still appreciated it. But this was the first time Evie walked around in Neverland. She had only heard tales of its beauty, and recognized it immediately.

"Neverland…" she said in wonder.

"Yep," Neverland," Carlos told her. Anticipating any further questions, he then added: "No, Hook doesn't know 'bout this. And this isn't where they stay permanently. That was where we were before."

Evie nodded, thankful for those answers. They began to walk in the directions of the cabins. As they got closer, she became more nervous. Why should I? she thought. After all, she was not only a villainess but also a princess in her own right, Snow White's step sister. Even if Henry's last words clearly had resonated onto her, she was doubting her rash decision. She could've stayed behind, but this was better than having to come anywhere near Jay. Just lay low, she told herself. Don't stand out and get out of here when you have the chance.

"So," Evie then said, "What's the plan?"

Mal turned her head to Evie. "You'll need to stay here for a while. There may be a situation in which they might threaten to kill you, but you're completely safe. You may not be allowed to go everywhere, but I'll try to keep you out of a cell."

They. She spoke of 'they', not of 'we'. Was Mal trying to downplay her role with the resistance or did she really have no influence here at all?

"Also," she continued, "some of your victims may be walking around here."

Evie nodded, now rethinking her decision even more. Going on and following Mal was easy – those victims were a whole different story. Some were docile lambs, others became bitter and swore to get their revenge for what she's done to them.

It only added fuel to the fire, to the internal fight going on. Two sides in her head were arguing, both with opposing mindsets and arguments. The first demanded she'd stay evil since nobody here would give her a chance and the other suggested she'd stick around and try out living like a stereotypical good person. The more dominant voice urged her to charm a boy, any boy (just not Carlos) as soon as she found one, to get out of here, to betray the location and go back to being the person she's always been. The weaker voice, that had gained some strength after hearing Henry's last words, used those words to try and talk her into giving this lifestyle a chance, to at least know how he had lived and how he had been around here.

Evie made her decision once they passed the first cabin. All around, people briefly stopped their activities to see Mal and Carlos arrive with Evie. If Carlos alone already gathered some stares, seeing Evie coming with them made everyone stand still and look. Some did continue walking, but not before taking their time to wonder and whisper to whoever stood closest. One or two spectators shouted something random and rude at the newcomer – she couldn't recognize them, but she was certain they were once victims of her. Though one other victim stood out like a sore thumb.

"YOU!" The three stopped in their tracks when they heard the loud yell. Mal sighed briefly and Carlos looked around in confusion. The three then turned their heads to the left – where the shout had come from – and watched Chad try to come at them, looking furiously at Evie.

"You witch!" he shouted, "You messed with my head!" It wasn't all he said, and many more rude and graphic insults were thrown at her. Luckily for her, Lonnie was around to stand in his way, to keep him away from her. She did sent a glare in the princess' direction, but only barely kept Chad from physically hurting Evie. They passed the two without further ado, sparking another tirade about how Evie didn't have the right to walk away like that, among other things.

"Don't mind him," Mal said once the distance between them and Chad was big enough. "He's quite grumpy most of the time."

"And angry," Evie added, reminding herself of their first encounter. He shouldn't have tried to be the hero, she thought. If he'd been smart, he would have stayed away and he would not be too messed up. And you shouldn't have seduced him, the weaker voice added, but she didn't pay much attention to it.

"Just stay away from him," Carlos said, "That always works." Evie nodded at him in agreement as an answer.

Not much later, the three reached a cabin that seemed to be bigger than the ones they had just passed. This lead Evie to believe this was either considered town hall or the leader's residence. Before the three completely came to a halt, a boy walked out of it and remained in from of the door. It took Evie just a few seconds to recognize him as the teenage boy from the village square, the one Mal had saved earlier. Since then, his face has hardened and he had matured, though she was not in a position to say that, as she only saw him for the second time in her life.

"Mal. Welcome back," he said, looking mainly at Mal and Carlos. He looked relieved to see her again. "I'm glad you're okay." He briefly glanced at Evie before turning away from her again. "No Jay?"

"He ran off," Mal said, "We couldn't keep up with him. He's quite fast."

"But Evie's here now, Ben" Carlos said, pointing at her, "That's something. A willing volunteer, might I add." The look on the leader's – Ben's – face suggested he was taken aback by that piece of information. He turned his attention to Evie again.

"You came willingly?" He asked her and Evie nodded, even if she regretted deciding to come with her friends so quickly.

"I wanted to see the place where Henry lived." She was having trouble saying this out loud. Not just the mention, but also the mere thought of Henry's demise broke her. Even if they had never seen each other too much, from his letters she knew what type of person he was and slowly she'd fallen for his heart.

Ben nodded at her. "Thank you for coming," he said, "I'm sorry, but because of safety measures, we'll have to place you in a secure location. It's not just for my friends' safety, but yours as well. I hope you'll understand."

Evie nodded. After witnessing Chad's reaction minutes ago, she thought it was in her best interest to stay behind bars, if not just for her own safety. As soon as she had answered the question non-verbally, Ben turned his head to the others again.

"Mal, will you bring her away?"

"Sure," she said.

"Good," Ben replied, "Then, we have some important matters to discuss." Mal nodded and after getting the confirmation, Ben then continued his walk, wherever he had wanted to go before he'd seen Mal and co. arrive.

And so, Mal guided Evie to another new place in this small village. Carlos followed as well and Evie presumed he'd rather stay close to Mal than to run around freely. This lead her to realize he may not have a choice in the matter and probably has to stay close to Mal.

After a short walk of maximum five minutes, they reached a more heavily guarded part of the village, complete with walls built around a group of cabins. Two girls, both holding weapons, stared at them as they came closer. Mal stopped when they were about four meters away from the guards.

"I came to place her here," Mal said, looking at Evie. "Ben's orders."

The girls nodded in confirmation and opened up the gates. The three walked inside and all Evie could see was another street of cabins, like the ones they just passed, only the cabins were smaller and most did not have any windows. It also was eerily quiet, with one voice from the other side crying for help.

Mal brought her to the third cabin on the left.

Evie already knew she wouldn't like it here. The cabin was just one room, complete with bed (albeit an old one), a chair, a lightbulb attached to the ceiling and a barred window in the door. Evie looked from the room at Mal.

"I'm sorry," Mal said, "but this is where you'll have to stay for a while. I'll try to get you out of here as soon as possible."

"Thanks," Evie said in response. She took a deep breath and then walked into the cabin, even if it looked more like a shack on the inside. Mal shut the door behind

"We'll see you soon," Carlos said. Then, they walked away and left Evie there, in the cell. Even if they refused to call it a cell – or anything else, for that matter – she was aware she was being locked up until further notice. The weaker voice in her told her she deserved it, for everything she's done in her life, especially those boys. The stronger voice in her head suggested walking out of there, since she had never seen Mal use a key to lock the door. Evie tried pushing it open, yet it wouldn't budge. Maybe there was a mechanism or spell to prevent any prisoners from leaving the premise. No, not maybe – they had to be one. Otherwise, she wouldn't stay here.

She heard some noise outside, as if something had fallen to the ground. Once she looked out of the barred window in the door, she noticed she was right. Outside, a boy with glasses had dropped something and he was now picking it up. She kept staring at him, getting the feeling she had met and possibly seen him before. He couldn't be an inmate here – the ability to walk around freely was the biggest giveaway.

He looked up once he gathered all his stuff and he stopped moving as soon as he noticed Evie. She made an attempt to smile at him, which succeeded.

"Hey," she said. So, she startled him even more.

"Hey," he replied. He didn't smile and tried his hardest to sound indifferent, but he could not hide his fear, especially illustrated by him gulping.

"I'm sorry," she began, "but do I know you?" She just had to ask – if he confirmed or denied meeting her, she knew whether she's really met him before.

Reluctantly and after a while, the boy nodded. "Yes, you…" he trailed off, then took a deep breath before he continued. "You messed with my mind." Despite the distance, she could feel him glaring at her with those fearful eyes.

"Oh," was all Evie could say. She remembered the name now. Doug. Unless she was wrong, this boy had to be Doug. And she definitely met him before. Experience taught her no boy would mention it without feeling fury or fear to a certain extent.

Doug broke off eye contact and proceeded to walk away from her.

"Wait!" To her big surprise, Doug stopped in his tracks after she had said that. She took her chance. "I'm sorry for that. I… I apologize, I shouldn't have done that." She had given in to the weaker voice, while the stronger voice wanted her to take advantage of him to get out of her cell. So far, she just talked to him without further plan.

For a moment, nothing happened. She was about to walk away from the door, certain he would not respond, when he turned around to face Evie again. His facial expression hadn't changed much, though he now looked more grateful than before, leaving her to wonder why he was so grateful.

"What are you looking at?" she said when he kept staring at her. Doug shook his head.

"It's nothing, I just…" he paused for a brief moment, after which he continued. "I needed that. You apologizing. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Evie told him. When she realized she was smiling at him, she quickly stopped. He wasn't smiling and, in this context, it felt so unfair – they were victim and aggressor, not old acquaintances. Doug looked at her for a few more seconds before finally turning his head and walking away with the stuff he'd picked up from the ground earlier.

Evie walked away from the barred window, deeper into the room she'd have to call 'home' for the next couple of… days? Weeks? Or maybe months or years? Either way, she would not allow them or herself to stay any longer than necessary. For now, she was glad to stay away from Jay and to rethink her decision and make one later, not based on irrational and emotional arguments, such as Jay's outburst and Henry's death.

After all, it wasn't that bad. Only the accommodation could be better, and maybe they should consider giving their prisoner some better matrasses, but the way she looked at it, they would not just put her down. No, she was too valuable for that. All she had to do, was wait for someone to come see her. And by the time someone will have arrived to talk to her, she will have decided where her allegiance lies.

After bringing Evie to the cells – they didn't like to leave her there, but they had no other choice – they went back to the leader's office, to Ben's cabin, where the meeting would be held. They entered the hallway and once they wanted to walk in the general meeting room, the guard – a young boy – told them Carlos was not allowed to go inside for unspecified reasons. So, Carlos stayed behind while Mal walked through the doors.

Mal was a bit surprised when she entered the room. For starters, some other people – all council members – were present in the room. She had believed Ben had wanted a private conversation, but she could throw that assumption through the window. For every person there was one chair, and also some more. They were placed in a circle.

Ben sat between his father and his mother. Next to the Beast sat Chad and Lonnie, who had calmed down after their encounter with Evie. Though they had been informed she (and Jay) would be coming here, they could not have predicted how they would react – they could have only guessed. There were two empty spots between Lonnie and Alice, who had also shown up. there were three more empty seats between Alice and Belle. There were enough seats for the remaining council members (Shanti, Hiroki, Philip and Doug) and Mal herself. She opted to sit down next to Belle, as she had accepted her more easily than the other members.

A few minutes passed in which nothing happened. Lonnie and Chad were quietly talking to each other, as were Ben and his father. When Mal was about to ask Belle what they were waiting for, the door opened again. Doug walked inside the room.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he apologized, "I got help up." He took the seat next to Lonnie, leaving only three seats empty.

"It's okay," Ben told him. he wasn't too late, anyway. "Now we're all here, let's start the meeting."

"Where's Philip?" Alice immediately asked. Mal guessed Shanti and Hiroki would not show up here today, since Alice did not mentioned the two. Nobody else spoke of them, too, so it was safe to assume they wouldn't come today. Mal also noticed Ben's expression slightly changed, and Chad bowed his head, avoiding eye contact with everyone but Ben.

"He's looking for Audrey," Ben responded, "She hasn't been spotted since Maleficent attacked."

An uneasy silence fell upon the room. Though Mal had not noticed Audrey hadn't been around since the creatures attacked, she had been aware someone was missing. As she looked around, she saw everyone was presuming the worst and hoped for better, especially Chad. Yet, somewhere, Mal knew Audrey survived the attack. There was no evidence pointing in that direction yet, and still she strongly believed Audrey was still alive somewhere. She can't have died, not then, not now.

"So?" Alice began, breaking the silence and getting back on topic. "What do you want to discuss with us?"

Ben cleared his throat, thankful they could go back to the reason why he called them all together, thankful they could be distracted from Audrey's fate. He said: "As you know, I sent out a call to arms to our members and supporters all over Auradon. The response has been overwhelmingly positive." He then turned his head to his father.

"At least five hundred people have confirmed they are willing to fight, not counting those who cannot contact us," Beast explained, "Some of them already are on their way to Maleficent's castle. We expect those numbers to grow even more in the next few days."

"More than five hundred already?" Chad said, briefly trying to forget his step-sister and what she could be by now. A small smile crept upon his face. "Auradon is finally going to fight back."

"Can we really ask them to fight for us?" Alice asked them. "They can lose their lives out there!"

"So can we if this plan fails," Ben said, painfully aware of the imminent danger above their heads, above everyone's heads. "I know you're against this, Alice. We won't force you to come along."

Alice nodded in response and agreement. Ben waited for any questions, but none came. So he took a deep breath and then continued to address the group as a whole.

"We've only got two days to prepare ourselves for the attack. Alice, you can stay here and take care of the kids and seniors. Nobody under sixteen or above sixty is allowed to fight. Doug, you find your medical students and put them aside. Ask them to gather as many resources as they possibly can. Once we're fighting, you'll have to act fast. Lonnie, Chad, you two rally all others and prepare them for battle the best way you can. If they prefer to stay behind, they will stay behind. You cannot force them to pick up a weapon. Is that clear for everyone?"

He looked at the group. Alice bowed her head briefly, as a confirmation of her role. Lonnie and Chad nodded their heads once, and so did Doug.

"Then let's start. We've got not time to lose. You're dismissed." Everyone stood up from their seats and left the room, ready to prepare for battle. Belle and Beast both congratulated their son for handling this short meeting well before leaving as well, out to help those who needed that. before Mal left, she had one more question for Ben.

"Why did you want me to be here?"

"Excuse me?" Ben said, confused by said question.

"I'm not a council member," she explained herself, "So why did you want me to be here?" She was grateful to have been at the meeting, yes, but she just needed to know. there was a brief pause, in which Ben searched for the right words.

"It's your mother," Ben eventually said, "I wanted… you had every right to be here."

"And what if I had any bad intentions left?" she then asked him. There always was a risk, trusting a villain or their kids. She could not understand why Ben would want to take that risk, as she could have feigned goodness all this time.

Ben answered without hesitation, looking at Mal. "Then I made a mistake." What he implied was to her far more valuable than what he'd said. He trusted her enough to let her know these kind of things. He recklessly cared less about the safety and the fidelity that nobody would give said information to the villains. Typical Ben, always the optimist, even when things could still turn out to be worse than expected.

Mal left the building after Ben had given her that honest answer. She passed Carlos, who had to quickly follow her, as she was walking pretty fast.

"Hey!" he said, "How was the meeting?"

"Good," Mal responded, turning her head to him. "We have work to do." Of course, they too had to prepare for the upcoming battle. After all, they too were expected to fight or hep I any way.