It takes a moment for her eyesight to return. Evie blinks a few times and even rubs her eyelids to allow them to recover. Her head also needs to stop spinning and her heart racing at an alarming rate.
She takes a deep breath in and closes her eyes once more.
Breathe Evie breathe, she mutters to herself. Just chill for once.
When she finally gets her bearings, the daughter of the Evil Queen opens her eyes and looks around. She's no longer standing amongst her friends and fellow onlookers, those who watched as the kids from Auradon tried their magic for the first time. She's in a wooded clearing, surrounded by towering trees and soft patches of moss and soil beneath her knees. The sun is peeking its way between the branches, creating a warm atmosphere and the only sounds are the birds and their chirps to one another. There were also a cluster of flowers nearby and a large boulder adjacent to a tree. How she got here is beyond what she wants to think about right now, but it was a pleasant area. Pleasing to the eye and it felt comforting and safe... like it was someone's happy place.
She inhales again before getting out of the dirt. She brushes her pants off, glad that they were borrowed and not her own, and she stumbles to the boulder.
Taking a seat, Evie then buries her head in her hands and lets the tears come again.
Why? Why was she given magic? Why couldn't she be normal like Doug or Carlos? Why did she have to have this chaotic and uncontrollable force?
Back in Auradon, the only magic she'd really used was spells and her magic mirror. Spells were easy because you had to recite words to get them to work, but the magic here... you never know when it's going to strike.
She's not sure what Regina, Emma and Crystal are thinking, trying to teach them how to wield their magic because once they go home, it'll be different, and they'll all feel normal again.
"I want to be normal... I don't want this!" she weeps quietly.
Suddenly, blue light enters her vision, and she recoils back from her hands. Again, they are glowing bright blue and it's terrifying. Never had Evie ever thought that she'd want to have no hands. She holds them as far away as she can.
She remembers what Crystal told her about magic being connected to her emotions.
Tears continue to roll down her face and she shakes her hands in an attempt to douse the light.
However, the opposite happens.
Some form of magic exits her right hand and explodes into a nearby tree.
Evie lets out a scream and looks on in horror because a chunk of the tree is gone, and the bark is blackened and smouldering from where it was struck.
"STOP IT!" she yells at her hands like they have a mind of their own.
She faces her palms inwards, but the blue light becomes more intense, almost blinding, and hotter. Her skin feels like it's burning.
She puts her hands on the rock, but the second they make contact, the boulder rumbles before cracking.
The daughter of the Evil Queen screams again and leaps off the rock in fear. She backs away from the now cracked rock, her body shaking erratically in panic, and her breath ragged from crying.
Just make it stop! She begs in her mind. Please make it stop!
She collapses to her knees and buries her hands in the dirt.
"Please..." she whimpers to herself. "I don't want to be like this..."
She closes her eyes, letting her blue hair fall into her face, creating a sort of veil so she doesn't have to look at anything. Her tears fall and drip down into the dirt. The blue light can still be seen, despite the cool earth seeming to soothe the burning sensation.
This isn't me...
Suddenly, a memory from the other day pops into her mind.
"Being afraid of who you are and what you have doesn't help..."
Crystal's words seem to bring her mind back to focus.
"You won't hurt others if you simply accept yourself and think about love." Emma's words chime in.
Easier said than done, the teen thinks to herself. How can I accept myself when I hate what I have?
Another phrase from the other day.
"...the more you hate it, the worse it gets,"
The ground rumbles beneath her like a reaction to her emotions.
It's going to keep getting worse, she mopes.
"Magic is a beautiful thing and it does take a lot to control it..."
"...think about those you love."
Doug's face enters her mind. His earnest green eyes and infectious smile. The sort of awkward way he walked and how he stumbled on his words when he was nervous, while at the same time explaining something at a rapid pace. It usually came out sounding like alphabet soup. The way he stood up for her when she was accused of cheating on a chemistry test with her magic mirror and stopping her from being expelled. How he believed in her when she took the test and she'd been convinced that she'd fail. He was always by her side whenever she was in the throws of designing something and how he was always there to listen. The way he made her laugh and held her close when they were together. Even the other night when they stayed up and sat on the couch, he made her feel safe despite how risky that could have been for him. He seemed to know that she'd never hurt him and trusted her.
Evie thinks of Mal next, her best friend and practically her sister. While the two had originally had a rough start, Mal saved Evie from falling under a thousand-year sleeping curse and that solidified that the daughter of Maleficent would do anything for her. The two of them had such a strong bond and the support they gave each other, especially when leaving the Isle and what was familiar. How Mal tolerated the multiple makeovers Evie would give her or make try on her different designs. When they worked together to rescue Ben and stood by one another despite being torn between their two worlds at the time. Mal also remained strong even though they were in such a strange situation now. Evie would do anything for her sister, and she knew Mal would do the same.
She thinks of Carlos, someone who else was her best friend and brother. She always admired how smart he was and how caring he could be to everyone. She remembers when they first met, Evie had been shoved into Cruella's closet and Carlos rescued her. She then gave him his first pillow and the two had trusted each other ever since. They looked out for each other, and the son of Cruella helped her realize that her past on the Isle was part of who she was.
Jay's laughter enters her mind. The best friend and the most hilarious brother. The son of Jafar never failed to make her laugh, he was a clown and even when he pulled pranks, it was only for fun. She can remember how he originally messed around with her and even stole her necklace at one point, but they did get closer, and she did get the necklace back. Evie knew that Jay would do anything to protect her, and he taught her how to show strength from inside.
A warm glow fills her body and the teen's breathing evens out more. She feels a whole lot better. She stops crying and her whole body relaxes.
Removing her hands from the dirt, she realizes that there is no longer light emanating from her hands.
She breathes a deep sigh of relief.
Suddenly, a might roar echoes through the forest, causing all the birds to take flight, the ground to rumble, and the trees to sway in unnatural ways.
Evie stands up and puts her hand on her forehead to try and see what's happening. She cautiously wanders through the clearing, trying to get a view of what's occurring above her.
Two large shadows can be seen circling in the sky, but the daughter of the Evil Queen can't see much else. A bit of a wing, the end of a tail, a section of horn, followed by more roaring, and then... a burst of fire.
Evie dives to the ground and presses up against a tree to keep herself hidden and safe. It was obvious that there were dragons in the sky, and she becomes worried that Mal is up there. Had her best friend been attacked? How many dragons were in Storybrooke?
The shadows reappeared and a large dark mass swoops overhead, flying in a random direction. It's so fast that she can't grasp what... or rather who it was that passed over the clearing.
A massive boom blasts through and Evie is forced to cover her ears to avoid going deaf. Was that the mass hitting the ground? Another winged and flying shadow blocks the sun briefly before things begin to settle down again.
Despite her fear, Evie knows that Mal was one of those dragons. Why she'd be breathing fire or flying around like this was a mystery and she had to get to the bottom of it. The fear that her best friend was hurt allowed her to get over the inhibitions of this situation being dangerous and going to get to the bottom of it all. She walks off in the direction that she thinks the dragons had seemingly flown and/or landed.
She leaves the quiet little clearing behind, not noticing that a new patch of blue flowers had sprung up from the ground where she'd been kneeling.
...
Mal groans in pain, her hands on her chest. Every breath feels like she's being stabbed over and over. She's doing her best not to cry, but her body is betraying her by letting tears slip from her eyes. She clenches her teeth and then bites her lip to somehow tolerate the pain.
She figures that she has some broken ribs, her shoulder could also be dislocated and she's scraped up to hell, even bleeding in a few places.
She shoots another withering glare at Lily who did this to her for no reason other than jealousy. The woman broke her ribs and could have easily burned or mauled her further out of the need for attention.
Lilith had deep-seated issues that needed to be addressed and had truly given into her dark side by attacking someone who was just trying to get home. The mother and daughter are still hugging, needing the time to recover. However, Mal was in great pain that she thinks that she deserves a little attention right now.
"Mal!"
The voice breaks the silence and even draws Maleficent and Lily out of their embrace.
Despite her injuries, Mal turns towards the voice and she gasps in relief when Evie approaches the women on the road. The daughter of the Evil Queen wastes hurrying over to her best friend.
"Evie!" Mal gasps, smiling. "Where... where...where have you been?"
The two teens embrace, but Mal gasps in pain.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Evie says in concern, backing off from her friend to not hurt her.
"I think my ribs are broken..." Mal says through gritted teeth. "And maybe my shoulder."
"Why? Who would...?"
Evie catches Lily's stare and she immediately stands up. It didn't take a genius to figure out who'd done this. While Evie didn't know this Maleficent very well, she knew that her best friend was getting along well with her alternate mother... with her sister... she knew that Lily hated Mal, why, was a mystery but she knew that this horrible woman would do something. Take her hatred out on someone who didn't deserve it.
"YOU!" she shouts, pointing her finger. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
The blue-haired girl doesn't notice but her hands are glowing blue again.
"A whole lot of things sweetheart," Lily smirks sarcastically.
"DON'T YOU DARE!" Evie screams, tears filling her eyes. "DON'T YOU DARE..." She's so angry that she can't form the words. Her hands curl into fists and are ready to break this woman's nose as retribution for hurting Mal. If anyone was her sister, it was the daughter of the Evil Queen.
She can feel the power burning up inside her, the point where her veins feel like they are on fire, but she doesn't care. All she wants to do is make Lily pay.
The road beneath all of them rumbles a bit and Mal notices cracks beginning to form where Evie is standing. She can also see the blue light radiating from her fists. Despite her wounds and wanting Lily to pay also, she knows she has to stop Evie from doing something she'll regret.
"Evie... it's okay..."
"NO MAL, IT'S NOT OKAY. JUST BECAUSE WE'RE NOT FROM HERE DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN TREAT US LIKE THIS! LIKE WE'RE YOUR PUNCHING BAGS. LET ME TELL YOU, WE DON'T WANT TO BE HERE AND IF PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE MESSED UP ENOUGH TO ATTACK AND HURT SOMEONE YOUNGER THAN YOU'RE... YOU'RE...YOU..."
Evie then throws her hand out in rage and lets out a blast of energy. Fortunately, Lily had seen what was happening and had the good mind to duck, the beam of magic barely missing the top of her head. However, the tree behind her is not so lucky, in a small explosion, there is a hole cleanly burned through the trunk.
While Maleficent is mad that someone tried to hurt her daughter, she has to remind herself that she needs to be the adult and level-headed. Plus, the way Lilith had acted would warrant some form of retribution. It also slightly impresses her how powerful this girl's magic is; she truly was Regina's daughter in terms of strength.
Evie looks at her hands in shock and then backs away, looking at the damage she's done... again.
All her anger is gone and is replaced by guilt when she realizes that she could have killed Lily if the woman hadn't ducked.
The teen collapses to her knees next to Mal and begins to cry.
The purple-haired teen does her best to put her arm around her best friend and comfort her, even though the pain of her broken ribs. Evie leans in and pulls Mal into a full hug, causing a shooting pain to go through Mal's body and she tries to mask her pain to be there for her friend.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." the daughter of the Evil Queen mumbles. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay Eves," Mal murmurs, patting her back. "It wasn't your fault."
"But it was... magic is not worth it. All I do is destroy things... I don't want this! I just wish I could help you..." is all she can manage to say.
The two girls hold each other in their moment of grief and pain. Everything about the situation was scary and unbearable. The two had kept their wits about themselves pretty well, but now the cracks were starting to show. They didn't know what they were doing, and they didn't know how to control the situation. Whether magic or family drama, it just seemed too hard to handle. Why was this happening to them? What had they done to deserve it?
However, after a few moments, Mal begins to feel the pain subside a little bit. Warm energy has filled her body, taking the pain away to the point where it doesn't hurt every time she needs to take a breath. Her ribs feel like they're back where they should be and her shoulder isn't burning. She pushes back from their embrace and notices that the bleeding scrapes where her pants had torn were also gone. She felt so much better.
Unable to comprehend it, Mal looks at Evie and then pulls her friend's hands between them.
They're still glowing, but with a soft blue light; very gentle and warm.
Mal's hands are still scraped raw from using them to protect herself when they landed on the pavement, but as the blue light continues to glow... the scrapes seal up and vanish completely.
Evie gasps and looks at Mal. Tears are still in her brown eyes, but her mouth is hanging open in shock. The light then flickers before going out.
Mal smiles at her best friend, her sister. "I think you just did..."
A/N: Sorry that it's been so long. Here is a new chapter. Please follow and review.