Descendants Meets OUAT

Chapter 22

Henry and Mal wander Storybrooke, seeing what triggers her memories and what doesn't. They make it to the pirate ship belonging to Uma. 

"Am I supposed to remember this?" Mal boards the ship and makes her way to the wheel.

"No, but you rode this ship here. So maybe?" Mal nods along and starts spinning the wheel absentmindedly.

"So, does it trigger anything?"

"Yes, that I don't like boats and we should eat something." Henry gives her a disappointed look, but there is nothing he can do.

"Alright, let's get home and order in pizza or something." Mal follows Henry off the boat and to his house. When they get there, Carlos is sitting on the steps.

"Didn't we already tell you to go?" Henry asks. Carlos rolls his eyes and Mal notices the necklace in his hand.

"Where did you get that?" Mal hisses.

"Jay, he swiped it from Gold's shop. Jay said it was in a safe that was cloaked with a spell. But apparently that doesn't ever matter to Jay. Anyways, Jay said that it looked like something you would like."

"What the hell, that's my mother's necklace!" 

"Oh shit." Mal takes the necklace from Carlos and shoves it in her pocket.

"Carlos, please go," Mal sighs. Henry unlocks the door for Mal and follows her inside. 

"Hey, where were you guys?" Emma asks. She is at the island sorting clothes into bags. 

"You really didn't need to get me clothes, honestly, I probably won't stay long."

"Maybe, maybe not. But as long as you don't have your memories, you'll stay here so we can fix it." Mal thanks Emma, and takes the bags. She heads upstairs to the room she is staying and throws the bags on the bed. She takes the necklace out of her pocket and stares at the swirling smoke in the sphere. 

"Why did he have this? And when did she give it to him?" She hates the necklace, but it's the only thing that she can remember. She looks at the mirror and watches herself put the necklace on. As she does, the sphere changes from purple to green. Her head is hit with every memory and she feels like she is going to faint. 

She takes off the necklace and she is back to not remembering anything, except that if she puts on the necklace she'll remember things she can't now. She shoves the necklace in the side table drawer and decides to not do anything with it. She doesn't want to remember right now, it might be too painful.

She notes a mop of blue hair out of the corner of her eye and sees Evie standing outside her window. Mal purses her lips and wills herself outside and she arrives in a puff of green smoke. 

"Ben, Carlos, and Harry had a strange idea. They want to get your mother? What could have possibly given them that idea?"

"Henry."

"Ok, well you need to tell them it is a terrible idea." 

"They wouldn't listen to me anyway."

"Ben would, M, I know you don't remember, but he loves you so much. He just wants you back. And Carlos is your friend. Harry, Harry might not listen, but M, please talk to them."

"Evie, I can't, Ben looks at me like I'm broken or he's just staring at me. What am I supposed to do? What if this is how it's supposed to be? Maybe it was destiny that I lost my memory and now you guys will return to Auradon and I'll stay here."

"You've lived with them for one day! And now you are think this is destiny? That this is what you are supposed to do? Abandon the people who love you because...of what?"

"I can't remember you!" Mal thinks back to the necklace, this might hurt more if she remembered. She knows that she needs to get rid of that necklace.

"Well, when you do, I will forgive you for all of this. But don't think I will forget. Remember rotten to the core? We forgive, but never forget." Evie leaves Mal with a weird feeling in her chest. Those words resonate with her, but it doesn't make sense. Rotten to the core? Children of fictional characters who are actually real? 

"How is this possible?" Mal starts walking in the opposite direction of Evie and thinks about everything. Why  did she say that? This can't be then end. This is just a break from whatever she's needed for. Why is she depended on? Why did she let herself be depended on? If she saw her mother, would she recognize her? Could her mother bring her back? What was she going to do about the necklace? Mal knew in her bones that she shouldn't give it back to Gold. She knew that nothing was right with Gold. One question ran through her mind. What the hell was wrong with this town? What made it so she didn't want to leave? 

Mal ended up somewhere in the woods and she started to freak out. Not knowing this town was a problem and the woods were more daunting than the town. Nothing looked familiar and everything looked the same. Her mind wandered to terrible possibilities and just wanted to be safe. Talking with Evie made her doubt who made her safe, but she had to go with what she felt. And she doesn't know what that is.

Mal tried to will herself back to a safe place, but she couldn't envision one. She let out a frustrated yell and slumped against a tree. Her arms felt heavy and her body was numb. It had been colder than she thought and she started to feel tired. Night had fallen and she was alone. It was cold and dark. Everything felt like it was closing in on her, getting ready to swallow her. 

While sitting in the dark, Mal tried to figure out where she came from, but she couldn't see any light. There was no point. 

The cold feeling started to disappear and she felt warm. Mal leaned against the tree and closed her eyes. Would anybody find her? 

Before Mal passed out, she thought about Ben. If he knew she was in trouble, he would find her. He would do everything to find her and assure her that things would be ok. While her feelings for Ben were complicated and she couldn't remember them, this she knew in her bones. Ben loved her. She imagined his arms around her and telling her that she would be ok and he would do everything to help her.

- - - 

Ben sat in his room at Granny's Inn. Evie just left, telling him what Mal said. While it hurt him, he wouldn't give up on her. He couldn't afford to give up on her. Everyone had their own rooms, and while not everyone stayed in their own rooms, they had them. 

After a while, Ben doesn't want to think anymore. He turns off his lights and climbs under his covers. He imagines the day before this adventure, where he and Mal spent the night in each other's arms and just talking. Talking about their future and their plans. 

Ben's heart ached, but he couldn't do anything right now, tomorrow is a new day. Ben almost falls asleep, when something cold appears in a cloud of smoke under his arms. Mal. Ben reaches for a lamp and sees that her lips are tinted blue and her skin is almost translucent. Ben covers her with the blanket and grabs his jacket from the chair. He lifts the covers and puts the jacket over her body. He throws the blanket back on top of her and cranks the heat up. He stops caring if he overheats or if Granny's bill is threw the roof, Mal needs to warm up. He climbs into bed and turns off the lamp. He tries to add another layer or warmth using his body heat and hopes that she will be ok. 

He falls asleep worrying about Mal, but her skins has started to feel normal and has become increasingly less cold.

There is only one thing in the world that could stop Ben from helping Mal.