Once again, everyone gathered in the fairy courtyard. When Mal and Ben came, some didn't know what to feel, whether to be happy or desperate for Mal's life. The couple may have been holding hands, but they didn't have a smile on their faces; on the contrary, they looked at the ground as if they couldn't look at each other.
"So, what's it going to be?"
Cirse took the floor and asked.
"Is that the only solution?"
Adam asked looking at Mal and she just nodded.
"All right... all right by us Mal."
Jay said almost voicelessly. He stuck to his unemotional ways as best he could.
"Yeah, nobody's going to be able to stop you anyway."
Carlos said, earning a smile from his friend.
"What about you Ben?"
Evie asked and anyone who looked at her face would find that a few tears had fallen. Adam's son couldn't say anything either. When his sister-in-law asked, he just left the table and went to the counter to take their food orders.
"He agreed."
Mal answered for him, his voice a little slurred.
"So, if everyone agrees, tomorrow we'll go to our first destination."
Demetrius said. The former general hadn't said anything for a long time and for all that had been thrown at that family, they didn't even mind him saying it.
"No, Demetrius, Cirse and Helena won't be going, you're under sentence for using magic inappropriately. When King Ben retakes the throne, he'll decide what to do with you."
Queen Clarion ordered everyone, scaring them.
"What? As for Rashid?"
Demetrius shouted, unwilling to accept the queen's words.
"He's going to be Mal's guardian."
"So Mal, is it all right for us to go tomorrow?"
Rashid asked her, who wasn't even paying attention to the whole conversation because she was paying attention to Ben, who was standing on the other side of the table.
"We're going too."
Jay said, already stating that Carlos was also involved.
"What?"
Jane and Loonie were startled by their words.
"Jay, no!"
Mal said with authority.
"We agreed to that, only if we went."
"Evie's going too."
Doug spoke on behalf of the woman who was immediately startled.
"What?"
They were sitting together and when she heard him say that, she just turned around, startled.
"I know you Evie, if you don't go, you'll feel guilty and worry all the time."
Doug reassured her, showing that he knew her well
"And Tommy?"
"I'll look after him, I'm his father remember?"
"How long will you be away?"
Evie directed the question at Rashid.
"Excuse me."
Ben walked away, Mal looked at him and she wanted to get up and hug him.
"Well, I thought since we're in Pixie Hollow we'd go to Neverland, is that all right with you Mal?" Rashid asked, but the future queen was still thinking about Ben and wasn't even paying attention to the world around her. "Mal?"
"What? Huh? Okay, fine."
"So, Rashid, Mal, Jay, Carlos and Evie." Clarion said and everyone nodded. "There's one more thing. After each spell is absorbed, you must return here, okay? Mal will get very tired and it's necessary for her to rest here, the portal will always open for you."
"Okay." Rashid agreed, already knowing that. "I'll make a teleportation potion."
"See you at 9:00 tomorrow."
Jay said and everyone scattered to think about the crazy thing they were going to do, but Maleficent's daughter didn't even move.
"I thought Ben had agreed."
Evie spoke to her sister, sitting down next to her.
"He said yes, but didn't agree. He knows it's our only chance, so he said yes."
She said smiling, but still crying.
"Accepting doesn't mean agreeing. We all know you have to do it, but we don't stop worrying. You've just got married, it's natural for him to worry that his best friend is taking such a risk."
Evie spoke with emotion.
"E..."
She tried to say, sobbing into her friend's side.
"You know what? You can keep crying and whining or you can go after him and spend the night with him. Doug told me he's in West Lake." She encouraged her friend and tried to advise her. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to stay with my two little princes."
(...)
Ben just wanted her to understand that it wasn't fair. He wanted Mal to see that he was dying inside, that he couldn't bear to see her at risk, that he understood that she had to go, but that didn't make the pain go away, yet all the king did was watch the pebbles he threw into the water.
"Can I play too?"
The purple-haired girl, after watching him do that for a while, took courage and turned to him.
"Is the meeting over?"
He turned back and saw her, but didn't pay much attention and just went back to what he was doing before.
"Yes, the boys and Evie are going with me."
She went over to him and started throwing the pebbles too.
"Good, I'm glad."
He gave her a quick smile.
"Ben, come on!"
She was upset to see that she wasn't even getting any attention from him.
"What's wrong, Mal?"
"Please listen to me."
She asked nervously.
"What?"
He surrendered to her request, dropped the pebbles and finally turned to her
"Ben." If there was one thing that got to Mal, it was seeing those eyes. "Please don't do this to me."
"Don't do what Mal? Do you want me to be happy? Do you want me to give you a hug and say 'have a good trip'? Tell me Mal! What do you want me to do?" His eyes were watery. "I'll take it, no..." She put an end to the short distance and threw herself at him for a kiss. Although it frightened her at first, Ben slipped his hands around her waist, drawing her closer to him.
Mal let go of him, while their foreheads were pressed together to say what needed to be said.
"I know you'll never agree to this and that it's too much to ask for you to support me, but just today, please, let's forget about it. Tomorrow you'll scream and hate me for it, but now just stay with me, that's all I'm asking, stay with me."
Ben looked into those green eyes and, knowing her like no one else, knew that she was as scared as he was. As she said this, he thought that his girl was going to start this crazy adventure tomorrow, and that every minute from now on should be unique
She simply resumed the kiss from before, but even more intensely. Mal slipped her legs around his waist and slowly lowered her body to the grass near the tree.
Someone might say that a fairy could arrive, that this was no place, that it was uncomfortable, but they seriously didn't care.
The next few scenes were of them taking off each other's clothes without even taking their eyes off each other...
When they finally let go of each other, Mal was lying on his chest and they were both looking up at the sky without exchanging a word.
"I want to support you."
Ben said sincerely to her.
"I love you."
She didn't want to talk about it now, so she interrupted him with a kiss before he continued. That's how they spent the night, kissing and cuddling to make their moments unique, before it became too late.
