mal and evie sat on either side of audrey's bed, audrey laying motionless on her back, still unconscious from earlier. "she's slipping away." evie sighed, her and mal sharing a nervous look.
celia sat on the windowsill, clenching a pillow. while cordelia sat in an armchair with her knees up to her chest, waiting for the slight pain in her chest to disappear. carlos stood just behind the chair, pacing back and forth, scolding her for being so 'reckless' and for putting herself in danger.
cordelia rested her head on her knees, focusing on her breathing, every breath getting a little less sharp and painful. jay stood in a corner, opposite harry who sat in an armchair with his legs resting on a coffee table. ben paced back and forth across the foot of audrey's bed.
"there's only one person in the world who might be able to do something about this," mal began, breaking the silence. "and that's hades."
"hades? he wouldn't do it, i couldn't risk it." ben said quickly shutting down her idea, mal sent him a quick glance.
"actually, he might do it for me." mal started, sending a look at evie and cordelia. the two girls smiled and nodded in support and mal took a deep breath in. "he's my father."
ben stood up taller, adjusting his jacket trying to get a grasp on this new information. carlos looked at jay in shock before looking down at cordelia. the blonde grabbed his hand, that was resting on her shoulder and intertwined their fingers, lacking the energy to look up at him she kept her head down.
he looked down at her, watching as she closed her eyes feeling mentally and physically drained. celia had filled him in on the whole, audrey spell thing and now more than ever carlos kept a close and protective eye on cordelia.
"when this is all sorted out, we're going straight home. so you can rest," he whispered, running a hand through her hair and placing a kiss on her forehead.
she smiled and nodded. "okay, well, i'll have to send guards to get him." ben spoke up, looking down at the floor.
"maybe i can hitch a ride," uma said to ben. "the isle is my home, someone needs to be there to protect it."
"well, then, you'll need your first mate." harry spoke up, getting up from his spot and walking over to uma, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"the isle will be in very good hands." mal said, giving them a weak smile.
celia placed the pillow she was holding back down and stood up. "can i go, too?" she stepped forward, closer to mal. "i wish i could be in both places."
"i really think that evie was right," mal began, looking at uma as she stood up from her spot next to audrey. "and, i do think that we could've been friends." uma gave mal, a small nod.
"and i'm really sorry that i lied to all of you guys." she continued. "you deserve so much better than that." jay, carlos and cordelia all got up and gathered around audrey's bed.
"you were just trying to do the right thing." jay spoke, his voice just above a whisper.
"yeah." uma agreed.
"i get it." evie added, standing up from her side of the bed.
cordelia sent a warm, kind smile at mal. mal smiled, seeing the forgiveness in the girls big, green eyes. despite the pain from all the lies, there was an unbreakable bond between the two girls. a bond build on loyalty and friendship.
as they all began to fill out of the room, carlos's grip tightened around cordelia's waist, pulling her closer to himself. he sent a small smile and a nod in mal's direction, showing his acceptance and forgiveness over the situation.
while making their way back to their small home, cordelia stopped and turned to face the white haired boy. she felt as if, there was tension around the two and that all this drama had taken a toll on their relationship, but she just hoped she was getting in her head.
cordelia glanced down at the floor before looking back up at her freckled boyfriend, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "i'm really sorry." she began. "i, i was careless and stupid. i should of stayed with you instead of walking off. i'm sor-"
"don't say it." carlos chuckled wiping the tears from her cheek with his thumb, leaving his hand resting on her cheek. "i'm sorry i didn't go with you. if i had, maybe audrey wouldn't of hurt you."
cordelia smiled. "i missed you."
"i missed you more." carlos teased, pulling her in for a kiss.
cordelia threw her arms around his neck, by now his hand had slid from her cheek to resting on her jaw. she combed her fingers through the hair at the bottom of his neck, his fingers tracing over the line of her jaw.
as they parted, their faces remained close. "so," cordelia chuckled. "how was it being stone?" she finished, with a laugh. he jokingly rolled his eyes and pulled her in for one last peck.
~
cordelia and carlos stood together, waiting alongside jane, jay, evie and doug for ben and mal's arrival, along with the rest of auradon.
the blonde was quickly growing impatient and was fiddling with her necklace. carlos noticed and grabbed her hand, holding it in his and rubbing circles on it.
"you're very impatient." he teased, chuckling softly.
"that's a lie," she laughed, before giving in. "okay, maybe just a tad impatient." cordelia looked around, before her eyes laid on audrey. "i'll be back." she whispered, giving his cheek a quick peck.
carlos watched with a confused expression as she began walking over towards audrey. evie seemed to notice his expression and followed his gaze "what is cords doing?" evie asked, with a small chuckle.
