As usual, stepping through the barrier felt like putting on a sweater that was too warm and too tight. She took a calming breath as Ben took hold of her hand. The barrier had seemed to affect him too it seemed.
It was strange, bringing him there, the place they had set up almost exactly like the Isle had been. She imagined it would have felt the same if she had ever taken him to the isle to show him where she grew up.
She squeezed his hand tightly for a brief moment. She knew once everyone realized they were back, they probably wouldn't have too much time alone for a while, if ever.
For a moment, it was quiet. The trees on the barrier were immune to the wind through the forest, standing tall being the guardians of the barrier. They were far enough from the busier parts, so it would take a while for anyone to realize they were back if they didn't move. For a moment, they stood there.
"Mal?"
She got one last lingering look, and then began to guide them through the trees as they began to thin.
People were going to notice she was back. People were going to notice who she brought back with her. She wasn't ready for that yet. She wanted more time, but she knew there was none.
She could already hear the whispers and commotion moving through the barrier Outpost as she and Ben walked closer. People were already spreading the word. Soon everyone would know. For most of their walk, the people were silent, unmoving, whispering their uncertainties about whether it was really true, if it was really the previous king, or just magic.
Mal held her head high. Everyone had to know. She had done what was once said to be impossible. She broke the most complex spell in the history of Auradon. Ben, human Ben, was the proof.
"Ben?!" Belle's voice came first as the continued through the group of gathering people.
"Son?" Beast's voice followed quickly after as they ran forward together, along with Jay and Carlos and Evie and Doug and Chad and Audrey and everyone they had known during their time at Auradon Prep.
In an instant, she and Ben were swarmed by everyone they had ever known.
His parents hugged her hard, but they hugged their son even tighter. Tears streamed down all of their faces and Ben hugged everyone that was even close enough.
He let go of Mal's hand. She slowly slipped through the crowd and back toward the thicker trees. Ben was back, Ben was saved, but her mother, the Queen of Evil still ruled over everything. Maleficent, the origin of her name could still take everything away just as easily.
She had had her time with Ben in the forest before they had returned. As much as she wanted to stay by his side and feel his hand in hers, he could find her later.
She needed to find out how to defeat her mother, again.
She bit back a scream as she bumped into another human. She was the Queen of the Barrier and she would let no one see her fear.
"We have got to stop bumping into each other like this," Fairy Godmother said as she righted herself. She looked over Mal satisfactorily. "You have done the impossible, my Queen," she said with a short bow.
Now that Ben was back, the idea of her being Queen was strange, a heavy weight with more strings attached. Still, she wondered why Fairy Godmother wasn't in the throngs of people to greet Ben.
She saw it as an opportunity.
"Fairy Godmother?" Mal asked, watching everyone still fawn over Ben's return. "Is-" she swallowed hard, watching Ben look so human in the group of people greeting him. "How do I keep him safe?" She asked, instead of the question she really wanted to ask.
Fairy Godmother gave her one of her signature smiles and it felt so warm and caring. "Don't worry about any of that tonight, my dear," She said. "You've saved Ben, and nothing sinister will make it through the barrier." She gave her shoulder a gentle pat before she moved closer to the throng of people, all moving toward the large buildings, where all the supplies were held.
She was sure now that everyone knew Ben had returned there would be a big feast. There would be no talk of her mother for days. The Auradonians liked to party, and focus on the good.
She was the only one who knew her mother was still a threat it seemed.
He had thought it was strange to be the beast, but the more time he spent as a human, the stranger it was beginning to feel.
His parents had taken the largest part of the huge building that everyone slept in, turning it into a loft and saving the best for themselves. As they had when they had ruled.
They had taken one of the roses from the stained glass windows in the castle and had put it in their loft, looking out over the bedrolls and community center of the barrier. He could see the rest of them, going about their daily tasks through a crack in the glass, but there was no trace of that familiar purple that he loved so much.
As usual, his mother was trying to feed him with more food than he would ever need in his lifetime. She was making comments about how skinny he looked and how changed he looked. He wanted to tell her that he didn't need that much food, that he had been eating from the forest creatures, but he held his tongue out of concern for her fortitude.
His father was silent, just watching him it seemed. He knew how guilty he felt about the whole thing. The curse over Ben had been a version of his own, and he had been the one to set it in motion.
Ben realized as he sat there, watching his parents, that he had been more magicked than anyone in the kingdom. Mal would get a kick out of that, but he held his tongue for the time being.
"Now that you're yourself again, come away with us," His mother said, still fussing over the vast array of food across their small table.
"What?" He spit out in shock, his voice mumbled from the smallest amount of food in his mouth. It wasn't polite or regal or kingly to speak with food in your mouth, his mother had taught him that, but he was neither regal or a king, so he didn't worry about it.
"We have to keep you safe," His mother answered, still fussing with more food than he could possibly eat in one sitting. "The kingdom is in ruins, Maleficent rules Auradon and there is no one powerful enough to stop her."
He knew that wasn't true at all. "Mal can," he said, though he wasn't even sure how yet. "She's defeated her mother before, at the coronation." He had faith in her no matter what.
"If she defeats her mother and lives, then we'll come back," His father added. "It's not a good idea to stay here now."
Ben couldn't believe what he was hearing. His parents were giving up. They were leaving it in the hands of Mal.
"We gave her the kingdom," his mother continued. "It's her birthright and if she succeeds, then she should welcome us back when the coast is clear." He still stared at both of them. Did they know they were speaking nonsense? "Fairy Godmother has secured us passage to the isle, it's abandoned now and if we go soon, no one will even notice we're gone."
It all sounded so backwards and impossible.
"No," he said. "My place is here." It was the right thing to do. "You can go to the isle, but my place is here, with all of them." He wanted to say so much more, so much that he had held in when he was the beast, but settled for just one thing. "These people are our friends, if we abandon them now, what does it say about us, Mom and Dad?"
He figured that was enough for them to think about, so he stood from the small table and left them. The idea of leaving for the Isle was just ridiculous. It was absolutely ridiculous and he found himself wanting to tell Mal all about it. She would definitely enjoy it.
"Hey Ben!" Carlos and Jay said as he approached them. As always, the VKs had never treated him any differently than before. It seemed most of the rest of the kingdom, or what was left of it, didn't know how to react around him.
He had done some pretty horrid things when he was the beast.
Evie and Doug were still out and about it seemed. There was no trace of Mal around either.
"Have you guys seen Mal?" Ben asked, hoping they had. Hoping she wasn't off on her own after what had happened between them.
They shook their heads. "She might be in the partition that fairy godmother made for her," Carlos said and Jay elbowed him. He had spilled the secret too soon.
"Hey Ben," Jay continued, making it so he couldn't leave to find Mal right away. "There's something distinctly different about you." He elbowed him gently in the side. "Have you gotten taller?"
Carlos joined him on the other side. "No, no," he said, looking to Ben. "He's definitely got more hair."
The way Jay and Carlos could play off of each other was legendary. Ben had missed it in his years of solitude, so he let them rib him a bit.
"No that's not it at all," Jay answered. "He's definitely taller. There's something in his face."
"You're wrong Jay," Carlos quipped. "Just look at the body his hair has. He's got more hair."
Then they both fell into contagious laughter. "It's more like the body he had in his hands." Jay forced it out through laughter.
"Mal's magic did always seem to benefit Ben most," Carlos said, though it was nearly incoherent through his laughter.
Ben stopped. "You guys know?" He asked. "Did she tell you?"
Jay pat him on the back. "Everyone knows," he told him. "There was this huge beacon of light through the trees and everyone over the age of eight knows it wasn't just any ordinary magic."
Ben could feel himself blushing, but he had more important things to think about at that moment than his experiences in the forest with Mal.
He gave them a simple goodbye and then headed for her partition, only to find it empty.