Mal and Ben sat up against a tree. Ben with his back against the tree and Mal with her back against his chest. The king absentmindedly stroked her hair, placing kisses on her temple every now and again.
But even with her fiancé, Mal had never felt as alone as she did now. They had all left her, including the people she thought would never leave her. But then again, she lied to her family, breaking their trust and refusing to stand up against the oppressive system. In all honesty, she had seen it coming. She wasn't mad at them, she was more mad at herself for letting it get this far. She's the one that didn't say anything to them when she had the chance, and now she was facing the consequences.
"What's on your mind?" asked Ben, softly stroking his fiancée's hair.
"I screwed up," muttered Mal before letting out a deep sigh. "I screwed up big time."
"Don't beat yourself up too much. We both should've said something when we had a chance. We both made the decision to wait until after this situation with Maleficent blew over to tell them about the program," pointed out Ben, reminding her that he was also to blame for what just happened. He also chose to stay silent on the matter and not say anything, and he had to take responsibility for that.
"Yeah but I also didn't do anything about it."
"Mal, our hands were tied. There was nothing we could do about the High Council's decision."
"Maybe so, but my mouth shouldn't have been quiet. I could've spoken up, said something and voiced my disapproval. It may not have done anything but it would've let people know that I didn't agree with them." Mal paused, feeling the guilt and regret grow inside her chest. "But I didn't do any of that ... because I agreed with them. That's why they're all so mad at me. I'm a VK that turned her back on her own people. And now, Auradon and Olympus are both done for."
And perhaps the biggest consequence of all meant that Maleficent couldn't be defeated. Sure, Mal and Ben could try to do so on their own, and they probably would after taking this moment. But the prophecy already gave them an insight into how that would go. The prophecy was clear: it was a group, not a duo, that would save Olympus and Auradon. And without that group, they wouldn't stand a chance against her mother.
"That's not true. We're still here and the others are still out there. So, we'll find a way to move on from this and save the kingdom in the end, all of us."
Mal cracked a smile at that. "Love your optimism, honey."
"It's the truth," Ben answered with a slight laugh. "It's not over till it's over, okay? You'll find a way to make things right with them."
"How do you know that?"
"Because the five of you all love each other too much to stay at odds with one another like this."
Mal let herself relax against Ben but their moment was short-lived. The clouds darkened, lightning surging across the sky as thunder boomed. The earth began to rumble them, the pair struggling to stand on their feet.
"What is this?" asked Ben, one hand holding onto the tree for balance as the other gripped onto Mal's. "What's going on?"
Mal wondered the same but soon got her answer when an all-too-familiar cackle sounded through the air that sent shivers down Mal's spine. "Mother."
"What?"
"My mom, she must've done something," reasoned the dark fairy. "She made her big move, and I guess the gods aren't happy."
"What could she have done that would've provoked them like this?" Ben asked, letting go of Mal's hand as the rumbling finally came to a stop.
"I don't know but we need to find a way to stop her before she does something else."
"How?"
"I don't know," admitted the daughter of Maleficent. "I don't know what to do anymore."
Mal ran a hand through her hair to relieve frustration. She glanced around the forest, only to do a double take when she spotted something. A gasp left her mouth at the sight of a small, fiery blue light floating in the air just a few feet away.
"What is it?" asked Ben, following her line of sight to see the flame. His hand reached out to grab his fiancée upon seeing her take a step forward. "Mal, I think we should -"
"No, Ben. It's okay," She replied, keeping her eyes on the light in front of them. The dark fairy let go of the king's hand and took small steps forward, afraid that the light would disappear if she dared move faster.
But instead of fear like her fiancé, Mal felt a sense of reassurance. She recognized the light, it was the same one from her dreams. But here it was in real life as bright and clear as ever. There was just something about the flame that was so compelling, so mesmerizing that it was drawing her in the longer she stared at it. The flame was practically calling out to her, beckoning the young girl to come closer.
"Mal..." The light said in a whispery voice when the daughter of Maleficent finally stood in front of it. Whether it was truly speaking to her or if it was all in her head she wasn't quite sure. But she knew that voice. It was the same voice that's been haunting her dreams. The voice of her father.
She reached out to the flame, to her father, only for it to disappear in a flash. But soon, other fiery lights appeared one after the other, seeming to form some sort of trail that would take them further in the forest.
"I think this is where we have to go," the dark fairy said firmly, but the king didn't share her confidence.
"Mal, I don't know about this."
She turned her head around over her shoulder to look at him. "It's okay, Ben. This is what I've been seeing in my dreams. This is how my dad's been talking to me," She explained, gesturing to floating blue lights.
"He's a Will O' the Wisp?"
"A what?"
"From Queen Merida's tale." The king stepped forward, joining the VK at her side and slowly letting go of her hand as she did so. "You know, some say that Will O' the Wisps can lead you to your fate."
"Then forward to fate we go" Mal said as she took a large step forward once again, watching her fiancée carefully. "Besides, we don't have any other options."
"I hate how that's true," muttered Ben with a sigh before he walked forward as well, jogging a little to catch up with her. With the king at her side once more, the couple settled into a comfortable pace as they walked together through the forest with Will' O' the Wisps as their guide.
Though neither had said it aloud, both Mal and Ben were apprehensive as they followed the wisps. Neither had any idea where the wisps were taking them or what they would face when they finally arrived at their destination. But regardless of what the location was, the Will' O' the Wisps led Mal and Ben to one thing they couldn't escape: their destiny.
When the last Will' O' the Wisp vanished, both Mal and Ben stopped in their tracks at their sudden disappearance. The two shared a look with each other before beginning to look around, searching for some sort of clue in the surrounding forest. "Where are we?" questioned the dark fairy.
"Well, we're still in the forest," stated the king, albeit a little redundantly. "But where exactly, I couldn't tell you, but there has to be something here."
"Something?" repeated Mal, questioning his choice of words.
"The wisps led us here for a reason. You know, I've heard a lot of tales about them from DunBroch. When Queen Merida was young -"
But Mal didn't hear much of what the king was saying after that. She inadvertently tuned him out after spotting something sparkling onto the forest floor nearby. Following it, she bent down to dust all the leaves and dirt away with her hands, and her eyes widened at the sight.
"And I think I just found out what that reason was," she shouted, hearing the sound of the leaves crunching get louder as Ben grew closer to her. She turned around to face him, now holding Fairy Godmother's wand in her hand.
Ben shook his head, not believing what he was seeing. "But Jane has the wand. And there's no way that she would just dump it like that unless -"
"Unless my mother came for her, and she threw it before my mom could get her hands on it."
"Maleficent has her?" Ben asked, scared that one of his best friends was now in the hands of one of the most dangerous villains in the land.
"I'm sorry, Ben." Mal told her genuinely, seeing the sadness behind his eyes. "And it can be safe to assume that she probably has Hector too. There's no way that he would just stand aside and watch it happen."
Ben ran a hand down his face, Mal tucking the wand away in her jacket. "W-Well, we have to get them back."
"I agree."
"So, we need to find them and free them from wherever they're held up."
"My mother's not going to give them up so easily."
"Well then, we'll defeat her."
"How? The two of us alone aren't enough of a match for her."
"I don't know. I'm kinda just spitballing here."
Mal opened her mouth to respond only to immediately close, both she and Ben covering their ears as a loud screech cut through the air. The two looked around for the source of the noise, their heads away as a large gust of wind came their way.
A creature flew through the sky and landed a few feet away from the royal couple. The creature seemed to be a woman with bat-like wings, glowing eyes, and various weapons in its possession. She looked up at them as she stood up both Mal and Ben taking a step back.
"Wait a minute, I know you," said Mal, recognizing the woman before them. "You were there at the Cotillion. You brought back Helena when she fell in the water."
The woman nodded, "I am Alecto, lieutenant of Hades and one of the Spirits of Vengeance. King Benjamin and Lady Mal, my master demands your presence."
Ben's eyes widened. "Your master? Hades?"
"You two must come with me at once."
"But how-" The king began, only for the Fury to abruptly fly up in the air, leaving the son of Adam and Belle absolutely dumbfounded. "I still have questions."
"Look," Mal said as she pointed up in the sky, Ben following her gaze to see Alecto above their heads. And though she was in the air, she was still visible to the royal couple on the ground even with the trees partially obscuring their view of her. "I think she wants us to follow her."
"And maybe then she could answer some of our questions," He muttered hopefully, both he and his fiancé taking off again.
The two walked through the forest, once again unsure of their destination. It gave them a time to think, especially for Mal. Her mother had taken Jane in an effort to get the wand. Luckily, the good fairy was smart enough to dump the wand before the villainess could get her hands on it, but it now meant that things had escalated between. Mal now had the one thing her mother has been desperately trying to get her hands on for years, the item that would allow all of her evil plants to come to fruition. It would only be a matter of time before Maleficent figured out that Jane didn't have the wand and who did. But Mal couldn't defeat her mother on her own, she needed help.
Mal snapped out of her thoughts for a moment as she did a double take, recognizing the path they were on. And soon enough, they reached a place that was all too familiar to them. Maybe it was a sign for them all.
"We're at the Enchanted Lake," breathed out Mal.
Ben looked around, the decorations still up for the birthday party that was supposed to be held here. A feeling of sorrow swept over him. "It's a shame Jane never did get a chance to celebrate her birthday."
"We'll get her back, Ben," Mal reassured him softly, coming up behind him and placing a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "Both her and Hector."
Hearing the sound of leaves crunching, Ben and Mal turned to see Evie, Jay and Carlos coming their way. The trio froze upon seeing the couple, all unsure of what to do next. Things were bound to be awkward between them after what happened when they saw last each other. But then again, so much had happened in the short time they had been apart.
"Hey," muttered Jay with a wave, Evie and Carlos saying nothing as they moved forward to the lake.
Mal waved back shyly, "Hi."
The daughter of Maleficent understood that things were going to be awkward between them. But my God, she never thought it would be this awkward. Things were like this between them since they first went on that mission to get the Dragon's Eye.
Ben furrowed his eyebrows upon spotting something strange. "Hey, where's Helena?"
Carlos whimpered upon hearing the Greek girl's name, turning his face away and moving to hide behind Evie. Mal watched her friends' carefully, seeing sadness written all over their faces and only growing more concerned when none of them answered.
"Guys, where is she?" Mal asked, though at this point she was practically demanding an answer. Why wasn't Helena with them?
Jay only sighed, "She-"
The group paused upon hearing voices bickering, and soon Celia, Uma and Harry appeared from out of the trees. The sea witch did a double take seeing her old companions and rolled her eyes. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me," she grumbled, clearly annoyed at seeing them all again.
"What are you guys doing here?" questioned Celia, ignoring the royal couple and focusing on the other three VKs.
"Us? What are you guys doing here?" asked Evie, who was just as confused. What were they all doing here?
"We just got here too, guys," replied Ben, though soon grew shrunk into himself as the reunited group fell into an awkward silence. "Just in case you wanted to know..."
"Look, one of Hades' Furies showed up outta nowhere and told us to come with her because Hades wanted to see us," explained Uma. "I think she said her name was Tisiphone."
Carlos' head popped up at that. "The same thing happened to us but with Megaera."
"Alecto came to get us," finished Mal.
The group looked around to each other, both curious yet confused. It seemed as if Hades had personally sent a Fury to retrieve them and lead them over to the Enchanted Lake. There were so many questions they had, yet there was one on the forefront of all of their minds.
Uma's eyebrows furrowed, "Why would Hades do that?"
Mal glanced sideways at Evie, Jay and Carlos, noticing how their expressions changed and they had yet to comment on Helena's absence. Whatever reason Hades had for summoning them, it seemed as if those had the answer.
Ben looked up, spotting the Furies flying above their heads. "Excuse me," He called out to them. "Could you please tell us-" But the spirits merely turned sharply and dove down toward the Enchanted Lake at high speed, disappearing underneath its waters. The king could only sigh, "Every time."
"So now, what do we do?" questioned Harry, more or less what everyone was thinking.
The large group of VKs and the king stood on the platform of the Enchanted Lake, dumbfounded at what to do next. Yet, the answer to the question would soon come in the strangest of forms.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I know it's been a while since you guys have heard from me. I had a lot going on in my life personally from my work to my studies that I just didn't have time to focus much on anything else. It's only after everything settled down that I had time to myself again and time to really focus on writing. So, I'm sorry for my long absence but rest assured that I'm back and writing again.
I truly didn't expect finishing this story to take as long as it's taking but in a way, I'm not upset at it. I had so many ideas for this book in particular (since the movie itself was a major letdown - but that's for another time), so I've really used this time to try and figure out how to make it all work, and still have a coherent story. That being said, I am going to finish this book soon as it doesn't have many chapters left.
On an additional side note, I have a lot of stories in my drafts that I'm excited about publishing. Honestly I have a lot of potential stories in drafts, but I have a few that are the most developed so far: Disney's Zombies, Hwarang, The Umbrella Academy, and MHA/BNHA.
Note that all stories will be published sometime in the future, but one out of this bunch will be published first. I have no idea which one it'll be, but one of these will be published when Phoenix is done. And if you want, you guys could let me know which one you would like to see the most by me in the near future either on my profile in the comments.
As always, feedback would be appreciated. I hope you guys are enjoying the story and the next chapter will be up soon.
With love,
Thalia x