Part II
"So, why did you disappear yesterday?"
Evie was walking with Carlos toward Weird Science, she was not very fond of that class, but her friend was, and the blue-haired girl liked to see him happy, which was the only reason she took the course.
"I got bored," she lied. She hated to lie to her friend, but this was not her secret to tell. "So, I convinced Mal to ditch school. I'm sorry we didn't tell you and Jay to come with us."
"It's okay. I'm sure you guys wanted to be alone." He gave her a knowing look.
Evie rolled her eyes. "You're aware we're not rabbits, right? It's not like we're messing around every time we're alone." Evie sounded harsher than she had liked.
Carlos blushed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."
Evie sighed. "I know you're not." She was on edge after the conversation she had with Mal last night. But obviously, Carlos was not to blame. "I'm just not feeling like myself today. There's a lot in my mind."
"If I can do something to help you, please let me know." Carlos was always eager to please the people around him.
"Thank you, Carlos."
When they got to their classroom, they settled on their usual table. Evie took out her sketchbook, she was not in the mood to pay attention to Yen Sid. She doodled until her mind got lost in her memory.
"No, Evie! You're crazy!" Mal was walking around the hideout. "You seriously lost your mind this time."
Evie only could imagine what her girlfriend was feeling. She, herself, was afraid, but she also knew she could not remotely grasp the kind of panic Mal would undoubtedly feel.
"I know you don't want to believe it. I, indeed, don't want it to be the truth, but there's no other possible explanation."
"Yes, it is." The purple-haired girl dropped herself on the couch, looking at Evie with a frowned look. "I'm just sick. I can't be pregnant. That's not a thing that would happen to Maleficent's daughter."
Since Evie mention the possibility of pregnancy about twenty minutes ago, Mal had been in denial. In the first few minutes, the purple-haired girl looked at the princess as if the latter had just grown a second head. Eventually, the shorter girl found her voice again and began screaming at Evie how crazy the thought was.
Evie took a seat beside her girlfriend. "Baby, I really know you don't want to accept it, but this is the most likely explanation to your symptoms."
"No!" the purple-haired semi goddess cried in a high pitch uncharacteristic voice. "Please stop saying that. I'm not pregnant. I can't be!"
The blue-haired princess hugged her girlfriend tightly, while the half-fairy cried silently in her shoulder. Evie refrained herself from pointing the fact that the purple-haired girl was also displaying mood swings. Nonetheless, Evie also checked that box over her girlfriend's list of symptoms.
"I can't be pregnant. I really can't, but if I am..." Mal paused to look at her princess's eyes. The half-fairy looked like she was about to have a panic attack. "If I'm pregnant, I need to get rid of it ."
Evie felt a sting at her heart. "I will support you whatever you choose." The blue-haired princess took the other girl's hand in her own. "If you want to get rid of the baby…"
"Don't call it that ." Mal interrupted.
"If you really want to get rid of the baby," the blue-haired girl repeated, ignoring her girlfriend. "I will support you. And if you want to keep the baby, I will also stand by you. I will always be here with you, no matter what. I gave you my heart even though I wasn't supposed to, and nothing, not even a child, will ever change that."
Evie spent the rest of the school day in zombie mode. She was not paying attention to anything. Her whole mind was back at the hideout where her girlfriend was. That morning the purple-haired girl was not in the mood for school, and she had insisted on staying alone. The blue-haired princess had argued to remain with her girlfriend, but Mal had politely sent her away.
"Want to go to the market and see what we can take?" Carlos was kicking a pebble while they walk out of Dragon Hall.
"Nope, I have to go back to Mal."
"Oh, right." Jay stopped walking, making the other two paused to look at him. "I still wonder how you can leave her alone if she wasn't feeling well." The look he gave to the blue-haired princess was accusatory.
"First, because she asked." Evie was not in the mood to humor Jay or anyone, actually. She had a lot in her mind, and she was having a terrible day to also have to put up to Jay's antics. "Second, we're not joined by the hip. If she needs time alone, I can give it to her. Third, and most important, this is actually none of your business!"
"Sorry." Jay looked at his feet, visibly guilty.
Evie sighed. "No. I am sorry. I'm not having a good day, but I shouldn't be taking it out on you."
"Trouble in paradise?" Carlos put a hand on Evie's shoulder, trying to comfort the girl.
"Yeah..." the blue-haired girl lied again. She figured it would be easy to tell the boys she was having romantic problems with Mal instead of the truth. She also thought Mal would appreciate her keeping their secret. "We're not in a good place right now, and we need time to figure things out. Maybe we won't be hanging out with you for a while."
"That means we're not allowed on the hideout?" Jay looked at her for the first time since she snapped out at him.
"I think it's better if you hang out at Carlos's treehouse for a while. Just until I can fix things with Mal?"
"Sure, Eves." Carlos gave her a light, sided hug.
"Well, at least let us walk you to the hideout. Even if Mal is upset with you, she will kill us if something happens to you."
"Thanks, guys. You're really the best."
When the blue-haired girl made it to the hideout, she found the half-fairy fast asleep in a bundle of blankets. Evie smiled to herself and took out her boots so she would not wake up her girlfriend. The night before, the purple-haired girl had almost no sleep.
The blue-haired princess got rid of her coat and skirt, leaving herself in a pair of sheer leggings and a thin shirt, then she slipped behind the purple-haired girl and hugged her by the waist.
"You're home." The blue-haired girl could almost feel the smile in her girlfriend's voice.
"Yes, baby girl. I'm here."
The purple-haired half-fairy snuggled back into Evie's embrace and fell back to sleep. The princess could not sleep. She had a lot to think, but she felt happy with her semi goddess girlfriend between her arms. She enjoyed the warmed of Mal's body against her own and the smooth sound of her girlfriend's rhythmic breathing.
"What am I going to do?"
A while later, the purple-haired girl broke the silence between them. Evie had not even noticed when her girlfriend woke up. The princess rolled onto her back, and Mal followed her, resting her head on the blue-haired princess's shoulder. They hugged each other as tight as their tired limbs let them.
"We'll do whatever you want." Evie placed a gentle kiss on the top of Mal's head.
"I've been thinking the whole day." Mal's voice was lower than usual, and it was raspy. The blue-haired princess was sure her girlfriend had been crying for a long time.
"I'm not sure I can be a mother, E. This isn't something I ever dreamt about. By any circumstances, I ever thought about a child. I won't say I hate them because I don't. But I certainly don't feel fond of the idea of having one of my own."
The purple-haired girl paused, and Evie took the chance to make soothing circles on her girlfriend's back with the tips of her fingers. The princess placed another tender kiss on the top of the half fairy's head, encouraging her to keep talking.
"Even though I said it last night, I can't neither bring myself to think about actually getting rid of it." The half-fairy paused again. "If I get rid of it, I would be worse than my mother, than any of our parents actually. Even them, with all their evil selves, didn't dispose of us. I don't know if I can do this, but..."
"You don't have to do it alone." The blue-haired princess interrupted and hugged her girlfriend tighter. "You have me."
"I know, and I think it's really selfish of me to ask, to put this burden on you, but I know I won't be able to do it without you." Mal paused. "Would you promise you will never leave me?"
"Never, baby. There's no way I would ever leave your side. I told you before, you're everything to me. You're my entire life, M. Nothing will ever change that fact. I'll always, always be with you."
"Thank you." Mal placed a kiss over Evie's chest. "Thank you for being with me."
"You have nothing to thank me." The blue-haired princess moved so she could face her girlfriend. "I love you."
The purple-haired girl's eyes slightly watered. They were not very familiar with using the 'L' word. It was actually scary sometimes, but they both knew they loved each other. They went far and beyond every day to prove it to one another. The princess tenderly pressed her lips against Mal's. Lingering on the feeling of being close to her girlfriend. Trying to express through the kiss how much the blue-haired princess loved her purple-haired girl.
"I'm scared, E," Mal confessed once they parted. "I really don't know how to do this, and I'm afraid of the looks, and the talking, and the pity the people will give me when they know."
"We'll figure it out." The blue-haired princess took her place back, beaconing her girlfriend to get comfortable in her arms. "Don't worry, we'll do it together."
Over a year ago, fifteen months to be exact, Evie's fingers brushed the air next to the Dragon's Eye, while Mal's hand closed upon it, and when it did, a blinding flash left the VKs puzzled. Then, the blue-haired princess saw Mal fell to the floor, asleep.
The fourteen-year-old princess had feared Mal would never awake. And she could not understand how the half-fairy had touched the Dragon's Eye knowing she would be cursed to sleep for a thousand years.
"You're awake! But you're supposed to be asleep for a thousand years!" Evie could not conceal her excitement. "How?"
"It couldn't hurt me," Mal shrugged as if it was nothing. "My actual name is Maleficent. Like my mother, I am half-dragon, and so I am immune to the Dragon's curse."
"Lucky you," Jay said.
"You knew the curse was on that scepter, and you had all of us come with you anyway? What was up with that?" Evie placed a hand at her hip and gave an accusatory look to the purple-haired girl.
"Yeah, I didn't really work out the plan very well." Mal kicked a stone with her toe.
"Be honest. You were going to curse me, weren't you? You were going to let me touch that thing and end up taking a thousand-year nap?" Evie sighed.
"I guess that was the plan."
"Is this still about the party?" Mal gave Evie a clueless look, but the princess knew better. "I begged my mother to invite you, you know. But she refused. She was still too angry at your mother for winning the election about who would lead this island."
Mal smiled despite the entirely awkward nature of the conversation.
Evie looked her straight in the eye. "Look, my mom messed up. But the party wasn't that great, really. You didn't miss much."
"Sorry for getting you trapped in Cruella's horrible closet." Mal looked at Carlos. "The one she loves more than her own son."
"Ha-ha." Carlos just looked at all the garbage around them.
Evie shrugged. "It's all right. I didn't get caught in any of the actual traps."
"Cool." Mal had a pink color in her cheeks. She was clearly embarrassed. "Let's get out of here."
It took them a while to figure the way out of the Forbidden Fortress. When the four teens finally made it to the exit, none was in the mood for talking. They had failed, they were going back empty-handed, and Evie figured it was going to make Mal's mother really mad.
And oh, boy, was Evie right!
"So, the prodigal daughter returns." Maleficent's voice was ice cold.
"Mother, I have something to..."
Evie looked for the thing that had made the purple-haired girl stopped. And there it was, the long black staff with the green globe at its top that Maleficent was holding in her hand.
"Yes, it is the Dragon's Eye," Maleficent replied to an unspoken question. "And yes, you did fail me. But thankfully, not all my servants are as useless as you."
Evie's heart gave a painful twinge when Maleficent called her own daughter, her servant.
"But how?" Apparently, Mal was used to it since she just ignored it. "I just touched it -and hour ago! It was in your own throne room."
"You touched the Dragon's Eye? Instead of tricking one of the others into doing it? Such weakness! How many times, Mal? How much more will you shame me?"
Evie could not believe the way Maleficent talked to her daughter. The Evil Queen was mean, she was always telling Evie the little princess was not beautiful enough, or thin enough, or that her hair was not pretty enough, but she did not talk to her with that much distaste.
"Knuckleheads!" Her three henchmen came walking with synchronized moves. "Take Mal to the basement and take those three out of my sight. I can only see so much failure."
Before they saw Mal disappeared into the depts of her home, being harshly handled by one of the minions, Evie could look the panicked gaze the purple-haired girl had. The princess and her other two companions were pushed out of Bargain Castle without any other word.
"What will happen to her?" Evie asked when the door of Bargain Castle had been slammed behind them.
Jay shrugged. "They will probably give her a beating courtesy of Maleficent."
"What?!" Evie was going to lose it. "You mean her mother actually asks her minions to punish Mal."
"Yeah." Jay looked at the ground. "Didn't you just hear?"
"And why don't you do something?!"
"What exactly do you want me to do, princess?" Jay was angry, and Evie could see it.
"I don't know!" Evie wanted to help the purple-haired girl. She could feel the dread in her look the last time she saw her. "Anything!"
"Well, I can't." Jay took a sit on the steps of Bargain Castle. "All I can do is wait and be here when she comes out. Believe me, she will need our help."
"Is that bad?" Carlos spoke for the first time.
"You'll see."
The three VKs waited there, no one talked. They moved just the necessary to prevent their limbs from going numb. They just stared at the dirty steps. It was a long waiting, but none had the energy to say something. When the door of Bargain Castle opened again, it was way after midnight, and they had arrived before dusk.
When the blue-haired princess looked at Mal, she felt so bad. The girl was in terrible shape. She had fresh cuts in her lips and her cheeks. The purple-haired girl was limping and holding one of her arms against her middle. Her clothes looked dirtier than before like she had been drag across the floor. Her purple curls were a mess, and her eyes looked lost.
Jay was the first to move. He snaked an arm around the petite girl. Evie saw her flinched immediately, but she was not sure if that had been dread or pain.
"I can barely walk." The purple-haired girl said in a hoarse voice.
"Do you want me to carry you?" Jay asked.
"No!" Mal abruptly responded.
"Here." Evie moved beside Mal, pushing Jay away. "You're too tall for her to lean on you," Evie explained to Jay while she led Mal's arm around her shoulders.
"I don't need to lean on anyone." The purple-haired girl snarled.
"Of course, you don't." Evie agreed. "You're strong, but right now, you have a bad leg, so please stop being difficult and just let most of your weight on me."
Mal stopped complaining, and Evie felt her relaxing against her body.
"Where should we take her?" Evie asked the boys. "I'm pretty sure we'll need to take care of her injures."
"We could take her to my treehouse." Carlos proposed.
"No, she has a hideout," Jay explained, and then he searched for Mal's approval. "Should we take you there?"
Mal just nodded. The time that took them to reach the hideout was silent. None of the four VKs talked, and that was only making Evie more and more anxious. How could Mal have saved Evie from the thousand-year sleep curse if the purple-haired girl was supposed to hate her? And why would she do it if the half-fairy knew she was going to be punished for her actions. Evie just could not understand.
When they finally reached the place, Evie was exhausted. She practically had to carry the purple-haired girl, and even though she was not heavy, either Evie was used to that kind of effort. The princess carefully placed the other girl on the couch.
"Do you have anything here to clean her wounds." The blue-haired princess asked Jay.
"I want to take a bath." Mal interrupted in a small voice.
"Sure," Jay ignored Evie's question. "I'll boil some water."
Evie saw as Jay dragged Carlos along with him, and the two boys worked together to prepared Mal's bath. The blue-haired princess just stood there. She had a lot of questions, but she figured that was not the time. She felt so wrong with the shape of the purple-haired girl, she kind of felt like it was her fault.
"Stop it." Mal startled her. "I can hear your thoughts."
"Sorry." Evie mumble.
"The water is ready," Jay called from the place Evie figured was the bathroom.
"Here," Evie stretched out her hand to help the purple-haired girl get up from the couch. "I'll help you get there."
They slowly walked, Evie very aware of the pain the other girl must felt. Once they were inside the bathroom, the blue-haired girl helped the half-fairy to sit over the toilet lid. Then she stood there again, not knowing what to do.
"Do you want me to help you?"
Mal looked at her with big, questioning eyes. A pink shade took her cheeks, and then hesitatingly, the purple-haired girl nodded.
Evie ducked in front of Mal; with careful fingers, she undid the laces of her boots. Gently took both shoes away, and then she also got rid of the socks. The blue-haired princess could not help herself with noticing the half-fairy had beautiful feet. The princess stood again and helped Mal to stand on her feet.
Evie took the zipper of Mal's jacket between her fingers but kept still until the other girl slightly nodded. Once she got the go-ahead, the princess lowered the zipper, unhooking it at the end, and tenderly slipped her hands between the leather jacket and the purple-haired girl's shoulders. The garment hit the ground with a light sound.
Then the blue-haired girl, notice Mal's shirt was a little damp in some places. She imagined it was because of the basement, the area where the men took her must have been soggy. Shyly, the princess took the hem of Mal's shirt and smoothly lifted it, freeing the girl of the wet cloth. She could almost swear, she saw Mal sigh in relief, but she was not sure. She was convinced that she felt like crying when she saw all the bruises and scrapes over the smooth skin of the half-fairy. Although she kept herself quiet.
After just a few seconds to collect herself, the blue-haired princess took the waistband of the purple-haired girl's leggings. She waited just a moment to see if the other girl complained. When she heard nothing but deep breathing, she took the courage to softly slide down along with the other girl's pants. The princess's heart stopped when she saw the dried blood staining Mal's inner thighs. She was not naïve enough to think the purple-haired girl was so careless she had not noticed her own period. Evie could only imagine how that blood came to be.
"It's nothing." Mal's voice was smaller than anything Evie had heard.
The blue-haired princess gulped but kept quiet. She had no idea what to say, so she figured it was better to continue helping the purple-haired half-fairy. Evie helped the girl remove each leg from the leggings and then tossed them with the pile of dirty clothes. The princess stood up again and paused for a moment. She was trying to decide if she should take the girl's underwear. Eventually, she thought better not. She resolved Mal would feel better if she was not totally exposed to Evie.
"Come," Evie talked for the first time in a while. She took the girl's hands in her own and helped her get inside the giant bucket that, apparently, worked like a bathtub.
She thought of leaving, letting the purple-haired girl clean herself alone, but the blue-haired girl could not bring herself to do it. Instead, Evie set herself on the floor right beside Mal and tenderly helped her wash her hair and body. The princess had never done this before. It was a little nerve-wracking seeing another girl's almost naked body, but something made her care for the purple-haired girl.
"Jay doesn't know about..." Mal looked to where the bloodstains used to be. "...this." Evie was almost done with the cleaning. "He thinks I'm just beaten up, and if he's around when it happens, he just helps me settle the bath, and then he leaves me alone." They looked at each other's eyes for the first time since they arrived at the hideout. "I would very much appreciate it if you don't tell them."
"I won't. I promise." Evie stood, stretching her legs. "Do you have clean clothes here?"
Mal nodded. "In the corner, besides my bed, there's a little drawer with clothes."
"I'll be right back."
Evie went out, the boys have her a questioning look. She was sure they were wondering why Mal had let her stay inside the bathroom with her, Evie was asking the same thing to herself. But the princess did not stop to talk to them. She went straight to the drawer Mal had told her and took the warmest clothes she could found.
When Evie returned to the bathroom, Mal was already out of the tub, drying herself with a big cloth. "Here," Evie placed the clothes over the toilet lid. "I'll wait outside with the boys. If you need me, just call."
"Thanks."
Evie came out to the living area and dropped herself on the couch between Jay and Carlos. She was really exhausted. The whole fail mission to retrieve the Dragon's Eye, and then the terrible thing with Mal had her totally drained.
"So?" Jay asked, taking her out of her thoughts.
"She'll be fine." Evie closed her eyes. She just needed a little rest.
"She looked pretty bad." Carlos pointed.
"Yeah, it's pretty much as bad as always," Jay explained.
Evie felt her heart ached again. She could feel a tear sliding down her cheek at the thought of Mal getting this bad repeatedly. Discreetly she dried the tear away right before she heard Mal getting out of the bathroom.
"I'll go to sleep." The purple-haired girl announced. "You all should go home."
Jay looked like he wanted to argue, but Mal silences him with one stern look.
"Whatever." Jay got up. "Let's go."
"I'll stay if that's okay with you." Evie was not sure why she did it, but she had already talk. Mal looked at her for a little too long.
"Be my guest." The purple-haired girl drily replied.
Evie gave the boys a slight smile and pointed with her eyes to the exit. "Go home, you need to sleep."
Both Jay and Carlos took off without any other word. Once the girls were alone, Evie got up from the couch and walked toward Mal, who was already lying in her bed.
"I'll patch that nasty cut on your forehead, and then I'll sleep on the couch, okay?"
Mal pointed out where the princess could find the things needed for the patching. The purple-haired girl hissed a little during the process, but Evie looked with sweetness how she did her best to stay still.
"Okay, you're ready." Evie got up from the bed and took the thing away.
"The bed is big enough for both of us." Mal declared surprising the blue-haired princess. "I mean, if you want to properly sleep, you should stay here, but if you insist on the couch, then it's your choice."
"Thanks."
Evie settled beside Mal. Without any other word, the purple-haired girl turned around, facing the opposite place where Evie was. This was a little awkward, just a few hours earlier, the girl sleeping beside Evie hated her, and only a few hours earlier, they had cleared the air between them. This was too much too soon, right? But the princess could not care less. Soon, the blue-haired girl found herself drifting off.
That was the first night Evie spent on the hideout with Mal. She spent a few nights actually there, nurturing the purple-haired girl back to health. Slowly melting the ice around the purple-haired half fairy's heart. That was also the night Evie made a promise to herself to always take care of Mal. A commitment the blue-haired princess had kept since and not even an unexpected baby will make her break that promise.
Evie held tighter her girlfriend. Telling herself how lucky she was that Mal had chosen her. The blue-haired princess would always do anything for her perfect and lovely girl.
"We'll do it together," Evie repeated.