Into the Depths

Chapter 2

"Yeah Mal?"

Mal sighed, tapping her pencil on the side of the sketchbook. "This is going to sound odd coming from me but I want to do something for Ben. I mean, he's done everything for us. He brought us from the Isle, he's working to improve the life for the kids on the Isle, he sees me for me not just as some lady of the court or some Isle hood rat."

"Well what did you have in mind?" Evie asked, looking over at her.

"I don't know," Mal sighed, pushing the sketchbook away and sitting up. "I mean, I thought maybe a painting but then I just think about that stained glass window that's waiting for Cotillion. I mean, he said he worked with Jane and Rapunzel to have it commissioned. How could a painting I did compare?"

Evie sighed. Of course any insecurities Mal felt wouldn't have been eliminated by a simple viewing. At least she was talking about them now—and Evie wasn't going to just brush these aside like she had Mal's Isle question.

"M, it's Ben. You could probably perform Hellfire in front of him and he'd consider it an amazing gift," Evie said gently. "As long as it came from you, he'd love it."

Mal sighed and nodded. "You know he wants to take a vacation after all this?"

"Really?" Evie asked, a little shocked. "But isn't he...you know, the king?"

Mal chuckled. "You know, that's what I said too. All Ben said to that was he was basically under his mother's orders to take a break. He wants me to join him."

"Well, it'll be an unofficial trip so I doubt there'll be any press," Evie said with a smile.

"That won't stop the Gazelle," Mal sighed.

"At least they won't be able to come into the dorms any more, now that Fairy Godmother knows at least," Evie pointed out. "Plus they shouldn't be allowed on campus anyway. Press is only allowed for special events or if there are press conferences scheduled."

"How'd you know that?"

"I'm one of Ben's councilors," Evie said, sitting up in pride. "Or at least I will be if Ben offers me the position."

"You'll get it E," Mal said. "Why wouldn't you? You've got the most knowledge of royal life of all of us after all. Your mom did raise you to be a princess and the Isle does need the representation."

Evie shrugged. "Mal, I don't know. Between council meetings and my business, I wouldn't want my grades to suffer."

"Knowing Ben, he wouldn't ask that much from you," Mal said. "He's been in that position E. He wouldn't put someone else there too."

Sighing, Mal went back to her drawing; adding more and more detail to it until one might think it was an actual dragon.

Hmm, that's not bad actually, Mal thought as she looked at it, rubbing her finger over some of the scales to add a bit of smudging. But it's missing something...

Or someone.

If Ben's going to have a stained glass window of us in human form, then why not a painting of the two of us as animals? Mal thought. I could have the Isle and Auradon in the background?

Mal bit her lip as she considered it. There was only two days until Cotillion and that was a lot to ask of her. She hadn't done something that detailed when it came to her art before, and she still had all her other Lady of the Court things to do. Besides, Ben in a beast form? What if he didn't find it funny or something? Mal was sure that was probably one of the few things Ben's family didn't want to be reminded of.