"...Mother?" (A Descendants × Hadeficent story)

Ch.11 - The start

"Spell him, M. You know this isn't going anywhere."

Mal didn't know why she bared her teeth at Evie, but she did. "You don't have to snarl at me. You know I'm right." Evie stared at her pointedly, and Mal made a small growl, before she sighed, "I thought I had him with the charm. Most people fell for it when I used it back on the Isle—" "Mal, when you used that on the Isle, it wasn't a charm, it was a threat." Evie reminded, not bothering to look up for her scraps of cloth, and Mal twiddled her thumbs awkwardly, "Okay, sure, but surely I've got some charm, right?"

"Not so much luck with boys. I'm the one who's generally better with guys, remember, M?" Evie's words were another stab into her chest, and Mal flopped onto her bed in frustration, "How do you even do it? Charm them?" "First, don't scare them away with your split ends." Evie picked up her handiwork with a satisfied grin, and Mal rolled her eyes in annoyance, "If this is about my hair again, E, just give it a rest." "What can I say? I am the second fairest of them all, after all." Evie flipped her hair over her shoulder with yet another radiant smile, at which Mal shuddered, "Stop that, unless it was completely in your intention to seduce me."

"I need someone who's taller than me, so that I can lean on their shoulders like in those crappy romance novels, not someone who needs to wear heels while I'm on flats to be taller than me." Evie smiled sweetly, although her words were meant to sting, and Mal swore a line of words under her breath, "Evelyn Grimhilde. I am going to turn your blue hair into white if you continue blabbering about my dearth."

"I've always wondered what I looked like with platinum blonde." Evie rebutted, twirling in front of the mirror with her newly made dress, "Maybe I should use chiffon...?" "So I assume you're not helping me any further, blueberry princess?" Mal frowned, seeing that Evie had changed the topic, and Evie did not reply, only moving on to sway her dress a little, "I already said, you should spell him-"

Two polite knocks and Mal's immediate jab into her ribs cut the Evil Queen's daughter off, and Mal daringly took the step towards the door, "Who's there?" "It's me." Came Auradon's Crown Prince's voice, "I'd like to see Mal?" "There's only me and Evie." Mal pointed out as she opened the door, and Ben was wearing a smile as he extended his hand to her. "Uh..." Mal took his hand, not knowing what his intentions were, and the moment she slipped her hand into his, Ben dipped his head to kiss the back of her hand, "May I have the honor of inviting you to a date, Mademoiselle Mal?"

"?!?!"

"Of course!" It was Evie who squealed in return, not bothering to remove Mal's surprised hand from Ben's, "Of course 'yes', right, Mal?" And Evie turned her head towards her best friend, batting her eyelashes in the way that told Mal that she had to play along. "Of course." Mal forced her surprised face muscles into a smile, "Of course, Benny-boo. But isn't this a little old-fashioned?" "I knew I shouldn't have asked Lumiere for advice." Ben sighed a little under his voice, earning a slight chuckle from Mal, "But I don't suppose inviting you for a walk would be too outdated as well?"

"A little. But what, right now?" Mal took a step back, not quite sure what Ben had intended, and worried that he had scared her away, Ben quickly reassured her, "Tomorrow. I meant tomorrow, after school, at 3. Is that okay for you? Or maybe I should-" "3 is fine for me." Mal smiled, a genuine one, to her surprise, "Do we meet there?" "I'll pick you up after class." Ben gave a relieved laugh, "Well...I'll be seeing you then."

"See ya." Mal replied, closing the door on him as her smile slid off her face, "For evil's sake, all this smiling is an absolute pain." "You'll get used to it." Evie said smoothly, gliding across the room back to her cupboard, which she reached into and pulled out a dress, at which Mal froze. "I-I am not wearing that!" She sputtered at the amount of sequins Evie had decked onto the brightest dress she had ever seen, and Evie rolled her eyes, before she grabbed a black leather jacket from Mal's closet, "You'll survive. Just get into this dress tomorrow. You don't have any other dresses anyway."