Mal's Struggles

[Mal and Evie's home. 8:20 am]

Evie's POV

Our new home. This is absolutely amazing. After getting up and using the bathroom, I put my nightdress on and walked to the kitchen. This is an exciting moment for me. I can make breakfast. Not just for myself, but for my Mal as well. Before we went to bed last night, we made a quick run to a store and bought over two hundred dollars worth of stuff. Most of it was food to fill our refrigerator, freezer and pantry. The rest were on supplies: dish soap, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, a few small kitchen appliances, some pans, utensils, a few glasses, some plates and bowls. You know, the basic needs to get our home started.

I opened the refrigerator and took out a carton of a dozen eggs along with a package of bacon. I'm going to make us some omelettes. That sounded really good. So I did. I made us a total of six omelettes with some cheese and chopped up bacon bits sprinkled on each of the omelets as they were cooking. After the sixth one was done, I put it on the large plate that had the others and turned off the stove. I quickly washed a couple glasses and put them aside as I stood in front of the open refrigerator trying to think what we should have to drink. Should we have orange juice? Maybe milk? Or should I make us some coffee?

"Good morning, Evie."

I turned around and saw Mal looking beautiful in her nightdress.

"Hi. Good morning, Mal." I said.

I closed the refrigerator and ran up to Mal, grabbing her and hugging her tightly.

"Whoa, E. Easy." Mal said.

I laughed and let her go.

"Sorry, baby. I'm just happy to see you." I said.

"You say that like you haven't seen me in a long time."

"Yeah. But hey, it's our first morning in our new home." I said.

"It is." Mal said.

We put our arms around each other and had a nice kiss on the lips.

"Oh, baby." I softly moaned.

"What?" Mal asked.

"Oh, nothing. Every kiss feels so good." I said.

"It indeed does." Mal said.

I cleared my throat and showed Mal what I made.

"I made us omelets."

"I see. And they smell good." Mal said.

"Did you wake up to the smell?" I asked.

"I think so." Mal said.

We laughed a little and kissed again. But then Mal looked around and looked worried.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Where are we going to eat?" she asked.

"Well...hmm...umm "

We didn't have anywhere. The dining table and chairs were still unassembled in their box, as well as the coffee table. And the couch was still in its packaging of plastic and shrink wrap. We could eat in our bed, but we've done that many times already back at our former dorm. I looked to my right and saw the window that had a view of the backyard. That gave me an idea.

"Let's eat outside." I said.

"Outside?" Mal asked.

"Yeah! We'll eat on the porch. It's such a beautiful morning out." I said.

Mal looked like she wasn't liking that idea.

"Please, baby? Do it for me?" I asked with a sweet tone.

It didn't take long for a smile to be seen forming on Mal's lips.

"Okay, my princess." Mal happily said.

I love it when she calls me her princess. And sweetness. Mal wanted to drink orange juice so I decided that's what I'll have too. Mal carried the glasses of juice and I carried the large plate of omelettes to the back porch. We sat on the top of the stairs leading to the ground.

"What a beautiful morning." I said after releasing a relaxing sigh.

"I'm glad we're finally here." Mal said.

"Me too. How are you? I bet you feel really happy now." I said.

"I am. I feel more relaxed too."

"Good. Let's eat." I said.

We ate our omelettes together, sometimes feeding each other small bites. After eating, we walked down the stairs, across the large pebbles of rock, and stood on the grass. The grass felt very soft against our bare feet and we held hands as we looked at the harbor.

"So, what are we going to do today?" Mal asked.

"Well, we have a lot of work to do in this house. But I was thinking, let's start with something easy. Let's get some paint and give the inside of this house some color. But what colors should we get?" I asked.

"I got some ideas." Mal said.

"I'll let you lead the way."

Mal pulled me along as she scurried back to the porch. I could tell she's excited, and I love seeing her excited. I grabbed the empty plate and glasses and followed her back inside to the kitchen. I put the plate and glasses on the counter and followed Mal as she was explaining her ideas.

"Here in the dining area, I think one wall should be gray to serve as an accent wall." Mal said.

"Gray?" I asked.

"Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

"A lot of contemporary homes have gray colors." Mal said.

"Oh, okay. Then I'm alright with that." I said.

Mal grabbed my hand and took me to the living room.

"I'm thinking the living room should be a brighter white than this." Mal said.

"Yeah, this is more like a cream white. Okay. What else?" I asked.

"The two bedrooms and bathrooms on this floor are fine for now. But let's go upstairs." Mal said.

I followed Mal up the stairs and we went right to the bonus room which will soon be my sewing room.

"What shade of blue should we go with?" Mal asked.

"You're asking me?" I asked.

"Well, yeah. This is your room. You choose." Mal replied.

I sighed and looked around with my hands on my hips.

"I love it when you pose like that." Mal said.

"Quiet, I'm thinking." I said with a smile.

What shade of blue should I go with? I wear dark blue a lot, but occasionally light blue. However, the nightdress I wear is dark blue. So maybe I should go with a dark blue?

Midnight blue? Or maybe lapis blue? Or should I go with a lighter shade like azure? "Gosh, I don't know." I said.

Mal laughed and gave me a comforting hug.

"I know you'll have it figured out." she said.

"Yeah." I said.

Mal grabbed my hand and led me to our bedroom.

"Now this is where I don't know what to choose. I was thinking it could be a combination of purple and blue, but I'm not sure how that would work." Mal said.

"How was it in your dream?" I asked.

"There was one blue accent wall. But I can't remember what else. I need my sketchbook." Mal said.

As Mal walked over to her suitcase to dig out her sketchbook, my phone started ringing. I looked at it and saw it was Gabi.

"Who is it?" Mal asked.

"It's Gabi."

"Why would she call you on your day off?"

"I don't know. Hold on."

As I was also wondering why she would call me today, I picked up the phone and answered it. After exchanging greetings and how are you, Gabi asked if I can come in as soon as possible. The design manager of one of the teams called out sick and the design room was becoming a "disaster", as she put it. And since I'm good at fashion, Gabi thought I would be the perfect candidate to cover. She also said she felt bad about asking me to come in on a day off, but she'll pay me a little extra.

I looked at Mal, wondering if I should or not. But Mal nodded yes.

"Are you sure?" I whispered to her.

"Absolutely. I'll continue unpacking and and will build our furniture. Remember, you're going to get extra money. So go for it." Mal whispered back.

I smiled at her and told Gabi I'll be there as quickly as I can. After hanging up, I went to the bathroom to get myself ready. Mal picked out an outfit for me and pretty soon I was dressed and looking pretty.

"I'd ask if you're going to be alright, but I know you will." I said.

"I will. Have a good day, sweetness." Mal said.

"Thanks, baby."

After a few kisses, I was out the door.

Mal's POV

Now it's just me. I gazed at the living room and part of the dining room and kitchen and sighed. There's a lot to do still. But I know in time, this home will be similar to the one in my dream. But maybe I can speed that time up a bit.

I ran back to the bedroom, back to my suitcase, and dug out my spellbook. It's been quite awhile since I used magic and I'm excited to see what it can do around here. I can't do really big magic, but maybe something small like changing the color of the walls. Yeah, I'll start with that. With my spellbook in hand, I returned back to the living room and stood in the center of the room, flipping through the pages until I found a spell worth trying. I walked into the dining room and stood in front of the wall that I thought about making it gray. I read the spell aloud and waved my right finger and lastly pointing it at the wall after I finished reading the spell.

Excited to see a new gray wall, I looked up, but got quite a shock. The wall didn't change at all.

"What?"

I read the spell again, and waved my finger, but nothing happened.

"What the hell?! This doesn't make anysense. Why isn't my magic working?"

Is that spell too big for me? It shouldn't be. Painting walls. How hard is that? I flipped through my book and found an even smaller spell. There's a spell to use to locate someone using a mirror. Quite similar to Evie's magic mirror she used until she gave it up. I walked to our bathroom and looked at a small free standing mirror sitting on the countertop. I picked it up and stared at myself in it.

"Mirror mirror in my hand, locate my Evie in the Canadian land."

Nothing happened..

"What the fuck?!" I exclaimed.

I put the mirror down and walked into the bedroom.

"This-this doesn't make anysense. How? How come I can't use my magic? It should work here! It should work anywhere except the Isle! There's no barrier here! It should work!"

I started to feel intense anxiety, as well as my heart beating faster. I laid in bed, trying to get myself to calm down as I took many deep breaths.

"This doesn't make anysense. This doesn't make anysense."

I kept saying that a lot. Because it really didn't. However I wasn't feeling any better. The thought of me not having my magic and not having Evie by me caused me to believe I was having a panic attack.

"It's okay. It's okay." I kept repeating.

After a few minutes, my heart rate returned to normal and I felt better. However, as I turned myself in bed, I felt an excruciating pain in my head which caused me to bury my head in the pillows and groaned in pain. But luckily the pain went away. But then somehow, before I knew it, I ended up feeling very tired and felt like sleeping. I turned myself around and went to sleep. And I ended up having a weird dream which involved me, Evie and for some reason, Carlos too.

It was a little after sunset, almost dark. And we were at a house here in Canada, but not the house Evie and I bought. And not the houses we looked at either. Not sure where we were, but it was almost dark and it seemed like Evie and I were still house hunting. But it was just me and her. No realtor. No Kelsey. No one but us. It was an okay looking home, but it looked old as it had old wallpaper and floorboards. It looked like it was built in the eighteen hundreds. And the environment or vibe felt bad.

We walked through a hallway leading to the living room. The floor plan of this house was very different. There wasn't much light on throughout the house. Light fixtures were on the walls, and not many on the ceiling. We saw Carlos in the living room, but he wasn't the only one. I saw a dark shadow person run behind him from one doorway to another, disappearing into the other room. And Carlos wasn't his happy self. He was quiet and serious.

I followed Evie to a room that had the backdoor. She opened the door and I followed her down some stairs to a small grassy backyard similar to ours. However, this is where things get a little sketchy. There is a brick wall that surrounds the property. Not very high as I was able to see over it and the ocean was seen beyond the short beach. Evie and I heard a noise which made us turn and look back at the house. Carlos was seen standing at the doorway, leaning against it. And that shadow person was seen running behind him in the doorway from right to left. Now I can't remember what exactly he said, but he said something about parenting like:

"You both will need to live in this house if you want to be parents."

Or something like that. But one thing I was certain on, the way he spoke convinced me he was possessed. And it was easy to figure out by who. If we want to be parents, we would have to live in a house with an evil supernatural being? That could be worse than living with my mom again.

For some reason Evie followed me as I jumped over the wall to the beach. I didn't know why, but it quickly made sense. Carlos followed us and after he jumped over the wall, he looked at us with his eyes narrows. That entity was controlling him. I looked at Evie and told her:

"Evie, we must get Carlos into the ocean so the salt water can lift his possession."

Evie nodded at me, but then Carlos told us:

"I can't go in salt water. I'm allergic to it."

That didn't make anysense. How could someone be allergic to saltwater? Well, I guess it is possible. Swimmer's itch is one thing. But before Evie or I could respond, Carlos grabs Evie and restrains her. Evie screamed as she tried to break free. But Carlos' grip was too strong for her. Normally I would help her, but for some reason, I jumped over the wall and ran back into the house.

"Where are you?!" I yelled.

I would never go after something that is more powerful than me without a plan and the right resources. But yet I did. I kept hearing noises throughout the house and I ran to each location where I thought I heard the noise. And after that, I got a glimpse of the shadow being running away to a different area of the house.

"Coward! Why don't you stand and face me?!"

I ran into this large old kitchen. Only a few lights were on, which created dark spots in the room. Perfect hiding places for the entity.

"Yeah. You know I'm after you, don't you?" I asked.

Glass breaking was heard in the living room. I quickly ran to it and saw the entity running into a bedroom past the living room. I stood in the doorway of the bedroom and stared into the room. I didn't say anything else or even do anything else except walk back outside to where Evie and Carlos were. After I jumped over the wall, I saw Carlos laying on the sand on his stomach and Evie sitting on the sand, but with no emotion on her face.

And that is when I woke up from that horrible dream. I hope to god there won't be a part two. I don't need that crap happening to me. I sat up in the bed, while rubbing my forehead. My headache was gone and I felt fine again. I got off the bed and walked downstairs to the backdoor. I had the urge to go outside. I opened the door and walked to the end of the porch. It was nothing like the backyard in that dream. Except it was grassy. But the water ahead wasn't an ocean, it was a harbor. Plus it was at least a mile away. Not just over a wall or fence. I sighed and felt much better.

I made myself a cup of coffee and returned back upstairs to the bedroom. I opened all the blinds so more sunlight can come in and brighten the room. I took a sip of the coffee and sat the cup on the floor and started unpacking the suitcases. I started with Evie's first. Going back and forth to the closet numerous times. We don't have a dresser, so everything clothing will have to be stored in the closet for the time being. But it's really big, so I think that won't be a problem at all.

Twenty minutes later, I had all of Evie's clothes stored away in the closet except for one pair of pants. That was all that was left.

"Last one."

But little did I know, I was about to make another shocking discovery. After I picked up the jeans, something was heard dropped back into the suitcase. I looked down and gasped.

"Oh my god! She had this?!"

I could not believe my freaking eyes. Evie packed the rock. The rock. That little piece that made me...well you know.

"Why the hell does she have this?! And why did she bring it here?!"

After the night we made up, it was never brought up again. I was going to ask her about it when we were packing, but I assumed she got rid of it. Never assume things. That can be a big mistake. And it was a mistake to bring that thing here, Evie. When she gets home, we're going to have a talk. I need to know why she kept it. I'm trying to start a new life and I don't need that in my presence.

But I had thought. Could that thing be what's keeping me from using my magic? But then I quickly realized it couldn't be. There is no way this rock could affect my ability to use magic. It's dark magic dissipated. Gone. It was just an ordinary rock now. Besides, depending where Evie had it when I turned our Auradon money into Canadian dollars and turning our school ids into Canadian ids, it didn't keep me from doing that.

"Whatever, I'll deal with you later." I said to it.

I put it aside and focused on putting my clothes away. We didn't have enough hangers for our tops, so until we get some more, I kept my shirts and stuff folded and placed on some shelves. Within time, I was finished unpacking. I decided to go downstairs to see if I can put together our dining set. The table was easy, just had to attach the feet to the table with some screws. But the chairs were an absolute bitch. So much, I don't feel like talking about it.

However in the end, they turned out nice. The table was big. Seven feet long and three feet wide. Definitely big enough for our entire family. More chairs will be needed of course. I moved on to the coffee table which was a little more complex, but not as much as the chairs. This coffee table was black with two shelves. One at the top of the table and one near the bottom. It didn't look too bad with our gray couch after I removed the plastic packaging from it.

All that took a little over three hours and afterwards, I felt like taking a bath. So I went back upstairs to our bathroom, filled the tub up with water and bubble soap, took off my nightdress, and let myself relax in the soothing warm water.