Did I Mention?

Unfit to be Queen

Summary: Mal loves him, he knows she does, but why she isn't as excited about their engagement as he is, Ben can't be sure. At least, not until he accidentally overhears Mal telling Evie something he probably wasn't meant to hear. Even if he hadn't known the Isle was a terrible place, he's pretty sure now there's no way he'll forget.

Trigger Warning: mentions of past assault/rape.

Ben woke up to an empty room. A couple of months ago, that wouldn't have bothered him, but he distinctly remembered falling asleep with Mal in his arms so why she was gone, he had no idea. He'd actually figured she'd sleep in considering they were up late last night for their engagement party and Mal had offered to help clean up afterward. They hadn't gone back to Ben's room until well past midnight and Mal was always looking for a reason to sleep in. She could, of course, be in the bathroom, but the door was wide open and the light was off. Besides, her side of the bed was cold so he knew she'd been gone for a while.

Frowning, Ben climbed out of his bed and quickly dressed. He didn't bother going downstairs to get breakfast, deciding he'd wait until after finding Mal to eat. A thorough search of the east wing where his room was revealed she was nowhere nearby. He was about to start worrying before remembering Evie, Jay, and Carlos now resided in the west wing of the palace and she had likely gone to find one of them. If he had to guess, he'd assume she'd go to Evie, so he made his way across the palace to her room.

Evie's door was cracked, something he knew she did so that no one felt like they couldn't come visit. At first, Ben had been confused by the strange explanation, but Mal pulled him aside later and explained how Carlos absolutely would not knock on a door, so leaving it cracked allowed him to either walk-in or yell before walking in. Ben hadn't asked anything after that.

Now, though, the cracked door allowed him to hear Mal talking to Evie quietly. Most of her words were muffled, but if Ben really focused, he could hear what she was saying.

"—Evie? What if there's some magic rule that prevents it?"

Evie gently grabbed Mal's hand and Mal squeezed it back tightly. She'd been worried ever since waking up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. After the sun had risen, she'd given up on trying to sleep and wandered around the castle until she knew Evie would be awake.

"How would that even work, M?" Evie asked gently. Mal let out a frustrated groan and wiped at her face as more hot tears started down her cheeks.

"I don't know, but it could," she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in defeat. She sank down onto Evie's bed and grabbed one of the throw pillows. As soon as Evie sat down next to her, Mal dropped her head onto her shoulder. "I can't do this," she whispered, closing her eyes tightly and trying not to think. Right now, thinking would just bring more tears and she was tired of it.

"It's gonna be okay, Mal," Evie said, wrapping an arm around Mal's shoulders. "You don't have to tell Ben if you really don't want to. It's entirely your choice—"

"But it's not!" Mal cried, hugging the pillow tight. How could she make Evie understand that getting married meant things weren't entirely up to her anymore? She'd have to tell Ben eventually, she just hadn't realised that until after her nightmare. "Evie, if I don't, then I'd be lying to him. If I do," Mal paused and Evie's arm around her tightened. "If I do," she said softly, "then he might call off the wedding."

"I don't think he will," Evie tried to assure her.

Mal just shook her head and buried it in the throw pillow. Evie frowned and tried to comfort Mal, but she knew her friend was inconsolable. She would offer to tell Ben herself, but she didn't want Mal to avoid the topic entirely and it wasn't really her story to tell.