Half and Half

Chapter Twenty Two

Time seemed to trickle by before he and Mal were able to head out and make their way back to the Underworld. Mal seemed to be using alleys again but Ben wanted to explore—there were markets he never dreamed of and he could get something for Abby or his maman!

"Keep up!" Mal snapped as they ducked through yet another alleyway and Ben nodded, yet no matter how fast he walked, he always felt like he was lagging behind Mal.

"Oof!"

Mal turned around to see Ben lying on the ground, having walked into a very familiar someone.

How the heck did I walk past Gaston without him making any sound in his boots? Mal thought as she scurried to get back to Ben.

"Hiya Mal!" Gil said with a grin, looking over from where he was standing next to his father. Mal gave the younger blond a nod as she made her way past Gaston, she knew Harry didn't really care for him but he was harmless compared to his brainless brothers.

He actually cared about his older sisters too which gave him some points in Mal's book.

"Well, well, well what have we here?" Gaston said, his voice low and surprisingly menacing considering how he was slightly slurring his words. Mal would bet dollars to donuts that the man was drunk.

Also, dollars to donuts was a funny phrase. Why would anyone compare money to bits of fried dough?

Focus, Mal told herself as she began to pull Ben up onto his feet, the slightly damp ground from the salt air of the Cove making it harder to get his footing. You don't want to be lost in thought right now...not when Gaston has his gun. Why does he have his gun? Wait, what am I saying? It should be more alarming if he didn't have his gun, he's one of the only hunters on the Isle after all.

"...hiya Monsieur," Ben said, his voice soft as he also noticed the musket that Gaston was waving almost haphazardly. Or at least it would be haphazardly if it didn't seem to stop right in front of Ben.

"Do you know what we do to abominations on the Isle?" Gaston growled as he continued to point the gun at Ben.

"Papa, what...what are you doing? Mal's nice and her friend seems nice too! Plus what if Maleficent hurts us for hurting Mal?" Gil said, his eyes wide in fear though he tried to not let it show. He wanted to be strong like his big brothers...though honestly he thought his big sister Piper was stronger. Piper wouldn't have come crying to their father about Ursula being mean to her like Gaston Jr. did.

"Quiet!" Gaston snapped, glaring at Gil. Mal wasn't going to lie, she was more than a little thankful Gil was there. If anything it gave Gaston someone else to reflect his ire on and if he wasn't looking at Ben, then he couldn't shoot his gun at Ben. "Gods, how did I get a son as soft as you? It's from spending all that time around your mother isn't it?"

"But...I like mama..."

Gaston rolled his eyes and looked back at Ben and Mal, who had finally gotten Ben back up onto his feet. If Gaston was going to do anything, Mal wasn't going to have Ben seen lying down!

Even if they were five and Gaston was supposedly an adult.

Though Mal wasn't going to lie, her heart sank to her stomach as Gaston aimed his gun one more time; the barrel pointed directly at Ben.

"Mal, run!" Gil shouted as he tugged on his father's arm as hard as his little arms could muster. Thankfully Mal pulled Ben out of the way just as the musket went off so neither one of them were in the path of the bullet. And then they ran.

They ran as fast as their little legs could carry them; the dulcet tones of Gaston yelling at Gil fading as they ran. It was only until Mal pulled Ben into a nearby alleyway by the Chip Shoppe that they were able to stop.

"Are...are you okay?" Ben asked, panting slightly. He didn't remember ever running that hard in his life.

"I'm fine," Mal said, trying to ignore the burning of her lungs. They were still in public and if anyone had seen her running... "What about you?"

What? She might have been annoyed, peeved, or vexed by the Princeling but that didn't mean she wanted him shot.

"I'm fine...I think..." Ben said but winced suddenly as a searing pain resonated on his arm. "My...my arm hurts..."

"Let me see," Mal said, gently pulling Ben to her; her vexation forgotten. "Which arm?"

"My...my right one..."

And there it was. Right on his upper arm, a bullet graze fresh as day. Without missing a beat, Mal tore a bit of fabric from her shirt to stop the bleeding. She knew that Steph and her dad would have bandages back in the Underworld, Steph had brought some back when they came back to the Isle along with other first aid items.

But the best thing she'd brought back was something Hades had given Mal that morning.

"Here," Hades said gently.

"What is it?" Mal asked, looking at the item in her hands. It looked honestly like a small mirror, like one Emir and Akiho had shown her during her time in Auradon. And no, she didn't know how they'd gotten it.

Hades chuckled. "Hephaestus came up with it, Steph had apparently talked with him back when you two were in Auradon. As my daughter, you're going to have the ability to teleport from places whenever you want—."

"Neat!"

"Yep," Hades said with a small smile. "However, because of your age and the barrier, there's a good chance you're not going to be able to do it here. That being said...we still want you to be able to get out of tricky situations if you need to. You just press that little button on the top and it'll bring you back here."

"Hold on," she said as she pulled the mirror out of her pocket. Pressing the center button and making sure she had a good grasp on Ben's arm, the two of them disappeared; wisps of blue smoke the only clue that they had been there.