tradition and excellence

Mallory hesitated as he spoke what she had been fearing since she took the wand.  That her mother had been using her desire to reach out to her mother, to get to know her, against her.  She wanted desperately to believe that her mother had the capacity for good, too.  But Ben was right, Maleficent would no doubt want revenge for everything that had happened these last twenty years.

Slowly, Mal’s hand that had the wand fell to her side.  “I want to listen to my heart, too,” she said quietly.  “And I am not her.”

"Whatever you do it’s going to be a lose-lose. Don’t give her the wand.”

Mal’s eyes widened when she realized the connection.  “Right… yeah.  Youngest son, actually.  There’s Gaston Junior and Gaston the third as well.”  Did that make it worse?  “But those two are far more concerned with how muscular and how they look to worry about starting anything.”  Did Gaston make Gil think he had something to prove?  It was the only thing that made sense.

Mal rolled her eyes.  “He must be desperate to have someone order him around if he’s just here.  He was always a pushover before, I doubt that’s changed.”

And that’s when she had an idea.  She cleared her throat.  She knew Harry’s voice well enough that she could mimic it in her sleep.  One of the perks of him having a not so secret crush on her, wasn’t it?  “Gil, get in here,” she called out, her voice eerily like Harry’s.  “Get in here or I’ll tell Uma you’ve been calling her Shrimpy again.”  She had no idea whether that was something that he had an issue with or not, but she knew Uma hated the nickname.

Of course, it got his attention, and he ran right past them, as if they hadn’t even been there in their half-hiding state.  Mal walked quietly behind him, and knocked him out with the bud of her sword like she had with Harry.  She went back to Ben.  “Did your mom ever mention how stupid Gaston was?  Because I’m pretty sure it’s a genetic disease for them.”

Ben tried to not let the news of more of them phase him. No they were innocent, he had to remind himself. They didn't do anything wrong, they didn't deserve to be here. Sure their father did some awful things, and tried to murder his father but he could over look that. He had to, or he was just as bad as his parents who allowed children to live here. 

@bettergrabablazer

Mal supposed this was what she deserved for running off to the Isle of the Lost on her own after Ben and her fight.  What she deserved for all of the horrible stuff she had done to people on this isle while growing up.  But she never thought that someone would actually stab her because of it.  No doubt whatever dagger was used with it was beyond rusty.  She knew she had to get out of here, get back to Auradon as soon as possible, but she couldn’t find the strength to push herself up off the slab she had slid onto, as she tried to put pressure onto the wound to keep herself from bleeding out.

Mal had nearly allowed herself to slip into unconsciousness when her head turned toward where she came from and she saw a figure.  At first, she couldn’t tell who it was, but then she realized she knew that blue.  It was definitely a bit more… Isle-y, but it was definitely the royal blue that Ben tended to wear.  Mal blinked several times, forcing herself to make out more details of the person.  Was she hallucinating?  Or was Ben really there?

“Ben?” she called out uncertainly. After their fight, she felt sure she’d never see him again.  There was no way he’d be stupid enough to follower her in here… would he?

Ben heard that Mal had gone back to the Isle, he heard that she was upset. What he couldn't understand was the why. Why had she gone back without talking to him? Why had he pushed her? Why couldn't he just take his mind off his work for a second? He pushed himself too hard to be a good king that he pushed away the best thing that had happened to him. Now Mal was running off into the face of danger and he was here in the safe grounds of Auradon. He had to follow her, and he didn't have time to rethink. 

Telling his driver that he needed to leave, Ben didn't bother to change. He had to get to Mal, he had the feeling in his gut that this wasn't going to end well for her. That people on the Isle would be as mad at her as they were at him, she gave them hope. She gave them the hope that she would free them and instead she chose good. She made the right choice and went back to the bad people. The drive wasn't long and it was only minutes after geting out of the car that Ben found blood. The feeling in his stomach wasn't a good one and he followed it for a few steps until he found her. Lying on the ground with a wound in her stomach. He couldn't stop thinking to himself how this was his fault. 

@bettergrabablazer​ from here .

          ❝   ben ,   i know   . it’s mine ,   ❞   mal sighs . she shouldn’t have slipped away   —   of course , her friends would’ve worried .   always thinking about herself   .   &   then ben   &   her friends only got hurt   &   uma almost destroyed all of auradon , because of   HER   . lady of the court more like lady of   disaster   . all she wanted was to help the kids stuck on the isle , but probably only made it worse .

          she places a hand on ben’s for reassurance ,   ❝   &   i’m definitely not mad at you . i’m sorry , for everything .   ❞

Ben shook his head at Mal as she took the blame. “It isn’t your fault, you were stressed. It is understandable that you wanted time for yourself.” Ben knew that wounds would heal and with time everything would be okay again. Besides she had already done so much good, no one could truly be upset with her. 

[ @bettergrabablazer liked for a starter ]

“You look a lot scrawnier in person. Gil said as looked the other boy up and down. “I guess they were right. The Tv does add a couple pounds huh? or was it the camera?”

Mal turned the corner, but, a moment later, she was back on their side, hiding behind the wall.  “What the hell is Gil doing on a pirate ship?” she all but mumbled.  Now, that was a clash of stories that just seemed even more stupid than the pirates they were meant to be fighting.  Had she really been gone that long?

She looked back to Ben, then peaked out the way out again.  Gil seemed utterly confused, as if he was just waiting for Harry to return to him or something so they could go topside.  She got the distinct feeling he wasn’t very good on the water.  At least she wasn’t the only one.

The mention of the villain kid's name caused Ben to look back at Mal. "The son of Gaston?" He asked quietly. The son of the person who wanted to marry his mother and kill his father? Ben knew that when he brought the villain kids from the Isle that some people would be uneasy. Yet he never had to feel the feeling himself, that the child of the person who wronged your parents was right in front of you. It wasn't the best feeling, and honestly Ben wasn't sure what to do. 

Mallory backed up a step when she saw him stepping closer to her.  She was feeling far more cornered than she wanted to be.  “And… and what if all she wants is to be with her daughter?  What if she doesn’t want to destroy?”  Like she made her think over there.  Was she the only person that could possibly believe that Maleficent could change because of something like this?  Or was she being far too naive for her own good?  She couldn’t tell right now.  

She looked over to Ben when he said that she was good.  “How do you know that?” Could he tell how much she had been thinking about all of this, what being Maleficent’s daughter made her, how people would see her once the news came out, what he must be thinking about all of this.  Everything.  Could he tell that she had hardly slept since that day they went to the Isle?

Ben let her step back, he wanted to give her space, this wasn't something he could force her into. No she had to do this on her own. "I know you want to believe that, and I wish it was true myself. But do you really believe that she would come off the Isle and not get revenge?" Ben tried so hard to believe that everyone is a good person, but he knew that it wasn't always the case. 

Mallory watched them for a few seconds and her eyes widened in surprise, and perhaps slight anxiety.  “They’re wearing dragon pendants.  How many people could turn into dragons here?  Two?”  That sounded about right.  Madam Mim and Maleficent… She doubted Madam Mim cared who came and left the Isle.  Which left her mother.

Now that she was facing what was undoubtedly her mother’s goons, she suddenly felt a whole less sure about this idea of hers, going to go see Maleficent.  She was trying to keep a brave face, but she figured that Ben would realize she was having second thoughts now that these goons were there.

Ben wasn't sure what to do when she pointed out the dragon pendants. He knew that they were here from Maleficent. She knew Mallory was here, she wanted to meet her daughter. This could either go really well for them, or end badly. Honestly Ben wasn't sure what to expect. "They're from her." He said as he looked back up at the two figures. 

Mal smiled, a more of a nice smile when she heard Ben say that they might be able to do this.  It felt good to hear him confident about this.  “Okay, just… keep in mind that these are pirates and not, you know, sparring partners on a team.  They’re not afraid to cheat, and they’re not afraid to kill, so… make sure you’re on your guard.”

She walked over to the door, but she didn’t open it.  She was still looking at Ben, trying to make sure he was ready, and that he was well aware of the dangers that would face them on the other end.  She needed him to be able to protect himself for his life instead of simply thinking these people would play the same in his sparring partners.  He needed to fight like he’s never fought before in his life.

The idea that they could kill him wasn't something that Ben wanted to think about, that if they did this wrong then one of them could get hurt. He knew that he had to protect Mal even though she was leading this thing, she was the one who had to get back to Auradon, she was the one who had to return. No matter what happened to him. "I'll keep that in mind." 

Mallory hesitated for several seconds.  She felt like she needed to do something to help her mother, to get to know her.  “Do you blame her for being angry?”  She took a deep breath, trying to clear her head.  She didn’t want to destroy things, she just wanted to get to know her mother.  That was what she had thought this had been about.  But… what if it was?  “I want to be good,” she said quietly.

Mal hesitated when Ben asked what to say.  “No idea,” she said quietly.  “I never thought to ask Evie on how to actually talk to someone on the Isle.”  She imagined that she could hardly be blamed for that, either.  It’s not like anyone in Auradon really thinks they’d ever end up over here.  In Auradon all the kids from the Isle have been doing their best to blend in, after all.  “She just said the nastier the personality, the more people left you alone.”

She watched as the two people kept walking closer, and she tried her best to contort her face into a nasty look.  The most she likely got was a slightly angry look.  As they approached, an interesting thought crossed her head.  “You know, they don’t really look like villains themselves.  More like goons.”

A rather scary thought crossed her mind at that thought.  Did Maleficent already know she was here?

Ben knew that he had to hide the fact that he was scared, hide the fact that he was worried. It was time for him to fake his confidence, to pretend that he was able to gather his thoughts. He was the king and right now he needed to act like it, or at least more than he had before. Bringing this shoulders up and straightening his back, Ben kept his face straight as they approached.