Although not entirely truthful about her intentions, Mal did need some air to help collect her thoughts and calm herself. She never intended to make so many confessions: the incident, her father, and what truly transpired during the coronation with her mother. If Ben hadn't interrupted her the first time, she would have told him about Mallory.
That idea made Mal realize she needed a few hours away from everyone. She needed a place where she could be isolated and harden her resolve on keeping Mallory secret, just for a while longer.
What could be a better place than the Isle of the Lost?
Now, Mal knew her absence would be noticed with cotillion mere hours away. So, after changing into her old Isle garb so she wouldn't stand out, the fairy left a note on Evie's sewing desk. It was only one sentence, stating she was going to the Isle and would be back before cotillion.
Against her better judgment, Mal left behind the golden ring gifted to her by Ben. Although she was confident no one could steal from her—except for the best Isle and Auradon thieves—a dark thought throbbed in the back of her mind, guilting her for losing it if she took it to the island. She just hoped no one would get the wrong idea if they saw it on her bedside table.
Once everything was where it needed to be, Mal was ready for the trip home.
Travel to the Isle of the Lost could only be possible with magic—
Which was one of the many reasons why Mal took back her spell book, thankfully with no protest from her beloved.
After enchanting a beautiful purple scooter, yet another gift from Ben, the fairy drove through the mainland, on the sea, and into the impenetrable barrier. The harsh jolt from the magical clash severely damaged the motorbike. Scratched and dented beyond repair, the scooter sputtered erratically before it died, luckily just around the corner from Mal's destination.
She'd have to find other transportation to get back to Auradon.
Shoving the damaged vehicle in an abandoned alley, Mal slipped through the various twists and turns of the dangerous streets until she approached the double doors of a small, modest salon. The weathered sign above the doors was shaped like giant scissors and a perfume bottle and bore the words 'Lady Tremaine's Curl Up and Dye'.
Since she took the impromptu trip, Mal may as well be productive by having her hair fixed by the best hairstylist she knew.
Gazing at her surroundings cautiously, Mal crept through the entrance, careful not to make a sound.
After living on the mainland with pristine buildings, the fairy realized how dangerous the place was. Pipes and wires hung from the broken ceiling. Hair dryers were made from pieces of different machinery. Steaming glass vials with bubbling colorful dyes ran through a pipe system over a bathtub used as a makeshift sink. Broken mirrors and splatter paint did little to hide all the cracks in the walls.
How on earth has the place not collapsed yet?
A young teenage girl wearing massive headphones swept the salon floor, not knowing the fairy had entered. Twirling to her music, the girl jumped when she finally noticed Mal standing just a few feet away.
"Mal!" Dizzy Tremaine—granddaughter of Lady Tremaine—exclaimed, her freckled face lighting up while she pulled off her headphones. "Is Evie back too?"
Knowing how much she loved the blue-haired princess, Mal shook her head gently. "Evie doesn't know I'm here," she informed softly, trying not to hurt the girl's feelings. "But I know she would love what you've done with the place, especially with all the splashes of color. Speaking of color, I need my hair done. Is your grandmother here?"
"She's busy upstairs, mending dresses," Dizzy answered with a careless shrug. "Grammy only does hair a couple hours a day because of it and teaching at Dragon Hall. The dresses look like they're made from Celia's old clothes, but they're the size of a toddler. Granny won't say who she's making them for, but I think the Faciliers are having another baby. Celia's acting completely clueless about it."
"Don't pry too hard," Mal slightly scolded, but her heart warmed at the villains keeping their promises. "Maybe they are keeping the baby a secret so they don't get their hopes up. Miscarriages are very common. Your aunt, Anastasia, had one a few years ago."
"I remember." Dizzy sighed softly at remembering the devastation the loss caused. "She hasn't been the same since. So, why are you here again?"
"I want my hair back to its purple roots before Cotillion, with some modifications here and there." Mal smiled wickedly at the young teen. "Do you think you're up for the challenge?"
Eyes growing wide with excitement, Dizzy squealed, "Really?!"
"Absolutely," the fairy confirmed. "Your grandmother is the best teacher I know. I'm confident she taught you everything she knows about hairstyling. Everyone will know you if you ever come to Auradon because of how well you did my hair. So, what do you say?"
"Let's get started!"
A massive amount of work went into making Mal's hair look perfect, mainly because of all the makeshift supplies Dizzy had to use.
First, the purple tips needed to go since no Isle dye could match the fairy's natural hair. Using large garden sheers for scissors, the hair was cut about an inch above where the purple started. Next, the ice-blonde hair was covered in a color similar to the natural purple, so there wouldn't be much difference when the hair grew. The processing took place in the bathtub for nearly an hour before Mal could sit under a sketchy dryer that Dizzy assured worked well enough. Once thoroughly dried, Dizzy trimmed the fairy's hair for the final touch-ups.
Finally, after so many hours, Dizzy spun Mal around in the salon chair for the big reveal.
With a bright smile on her lips, Mal dramatically hopped out, peering into the cracked fragments of the shattered mirror. Her new lavender hair reached below her shoulder blades, just like before she had her daughter. Mal beamed, her sparkling green eyes twinkling below bluntly cut bangs.
"Heeey." Mal smiled approvingly at her reflection. "There I am."
Sporting the biggest smile imaginable, Dizzy cheered proudly, "Viola!"
"Voila," Mal agreed, magically producing a small stack of cash, offering it to the teen.
Dizzy clutched her chest in disbelief, having only seen it on the television screen. "Is that real?"
"Of course," Mal insisted with a genuine smile. "And it's all yours. You earned it for the terrific job you did. I can't wait to tell everyone in Auradon about the best hairstylist on the Isle."
Giggling happily, Dizzy carefully took the money from Mal's hand before hurrying upstairs to show her grandmother the foreign money. Shaking her head in amusement, Mal was about to leave—
Until the devil made an appearance.
"Well, well, well."
Tensing up at the voice that haunted her nightmares, Mal whirled around to face the monster that destroyed her. "Harry."
Harry Hook grinned maliciously at the fairy he hadn't seen in years. "What a nice surprise."
"Still running errands for Uma?" Mal taunted, trying to trick him into thinking she wasn't affected by his presence. "Or do you get to keep what you steal?"
His smile only grew at her words. Harry stepped toward her, but Mal bravely stood taller, not once flinching. The sick bastard had the audacity to snicker.
"Just WAIT until Uma hears you're back." Harry's eyes roamed her body, like he was trying to remember what she looked like on that fateful night. "She's never going to give back your old territory."
"I don't care," Mal retorted bitterly, a snarl on her delicate features. "I only came for a quick visit. I don't even have time to visit my daughter."
Harry's smile was quickly replaced with a scowl. "You've been gone for over a year, yet you're still happy with having her? Auradon didn't change your mind?"
The fairy raised a cautious brow. "You said 'her' instead of 'it'," Mal noted carefully. "Are you finally feeling guilty for what you did?"
"Why can't you let it go?"
"You raped me!" Mal reminded through a whisper, so little Dizzy couldn't hear. "You forced me to drink until I was wasted. You took advantage of me for your disgusting pleasure. I had Mallory the morning of my fifteen birthday!"
"Have you told your Auradon friends—"
"Evie and Carlos still don't know anything," Mal snapped angrily. "Jay is the only one in Auradon that knows about Lory."
Harry raised a suspicious eyebrow at the phrasing. "But someone knows about our one-night stand?"
"You mean my night in hell?" Mal corrected stubbornly, though she sighed in annoyance. "I told my boyfriend hours ago. He was angry, because I went through such horror. Even though I probably broke his heart by telling him as little of the events as I did, his love for me never wavered. When I decide to tell him about Mallory, I know he will love her unconditionally and do everything he can to make her happy."
Harry scoffed at the fairy's pathetic rant. "Yeah, right. You're just whoring yourself out to that worthless king so you can get the brat out of here soone—"
POW!
Without realizing what was happening, Harry lost his breath as he felt a sudden, immense pain in his stomach. As the pirate moved to clutch his abdomen, someone swung him over the cash register counter, knocking him and various objects to the ground.
As Harry tried to comprehend the pain and the last few moments, Mal towered over him. "I don't care if you ever feel guilty," Mal informed, eyes flashing green to show her anger and her raw power. "You are never allowed by my daughter. Stay away from me and Mallory. If you come near either one of us, I'll use your hook to castrate you and shove your dick so far up your ass so you might feel the same pain you inflicted on me."
Mal crouched to the fallen pirate's height. "Disrespect my king one more time," she warned maliciously, "and I'll cut out your tongue so you can no longer speak ill of my beloved again."
Fearful for his life, Harry scrambled to his feet before running away like a selfish coward.
At that moment, Dizzy rushed downstairs to see what caused the noise. The first thing the young teenager immediately noticed was the mess on the ground, causing her to sigh in annoyance. "Great," she commented sarcastically. "More sweeping."
Meanwhile, on the mainland, the King of Auradon was in the middle of a private phone call at his school office.
"Mal told me," Ben informed, gripping the wooden desk with one hand to control the Beast bellowing inside of him. "About the rape, her father, nearly everything. If I hadn't cut her off because of him, she would have told me about Mallory without meaning too."
"I'm guessing you didn't tell her that you already knew?" Aziz assumed correctly. "She literally confirmed everything your dreams showed you. Why didn't you say anything?"
"I caught her off-guard when I found her spell book," Ben insisted with a sigh. "Mal claimed she was going to tell me but was so nervous that she used magic to conjure everything on the date to make it perfect. I didn't need to add any more stress or pressure to the situation when she was already so emotional. I'm just glad she trusted me enough to tell me without me saying anything. I think this incident is one step closer—"
SLAM!
Flinching at the loud sound of the door swinging open, Ben abruptly stood, keeping the phone to ear as he barked, "I'm in the middle of—"
"It can wait," Evie interrupted stubbornly, strolling forward. "Mal's gone back to the Isle."