Descendant's Consequences

Worry and Fear

Ben keeps calling. I have probably over one hundred "missed" calls from him. I told Evie and Carlos not to talk to him, either. It's been another three days since Mal's birthday and she's almost constantly in the fugue state where she tries to get away.

I get back from taking a quick shower to see Mal having a seizure. "Help!" I scream. "Somebody help!" I run over to her and roll her onto her side.

The nurse runs in and tries to help. She gives Mal another injection through the IV and slowly, Mal calms down. The nurse starts to examine Mal before looking at me. "There's not much I can do to help her."

"What are you saying?" I demand. My voice shakes slightly.

"I'm saying that if there is any family or friends that are close to her, you may want to bring them in as soon as possible. Her fever is too high for someone to survive for too long. Her magic is blocking me from figuring out what's wrong." The nurse sighs and looks at me. "I'm not sure how long she has."

I nod and the nurse leaves the room. Standing up, I walk to a table and rest my hands on the edge. I scream and flip the table over before leaving a hole in the wall with my fist. Taking a few more deep breaths, I pull out my phone. "Ben," I say.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~❶Ben❶~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I sit with my parents at dinner. It's been six days since we talked. "I just don't get it. We were planning on talking every day but no one will take my calls. I'm worried about her."

"I'm sure they'd call if something was wrong," Dad points out. "They wouldn't want to worry you if it's just a little cold."

"It's like they're closing ranks. They've only done this when one of them is sick or hurt. Like when Carlos got that concussion during a tourney game. We didn't see any of them for two days after that and even then, they all stuck together, skipping classes to be with Carlos. Mal even skipped a date once to take care of him."

"Ben, they'll tell you if something's wrong. If it's bothering you so much, call Fairy Godmother and ask her for an update," Dad suggests. I look at him for a moment and he nods. "Go and do it. You're not going to relax until you know, anyway."

I nod and pull out my phone. As I type in the number, my cell rings. "It's Jay." I stand up and walk off a bit. "Jay, what's up? Why is everyone avoiding my calls."

"Ben," he starts. He takes a deep breath and says, "Ben, you need to come home."

"What- why? What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"I- um- Mal made me- I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone but the- um- the nurse said she's not sure- h-how long Mal has," Jay stutters out.

My knees start to buckle and I brace myself against the wall. "What do you mean?" I ask.

"Come home," Jay says. "I- um- I have to go."

"Wait, what's wrong?"

"Just get here, alright?" Jay says. His voice is raising. "Please."

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Just- tell her to hold on, o-okay?" I ask. My voice cracks.

"Hurry." Jay hangs up without another word.

I walk back towards my parents and they see something's up immediately. "What's wrong?"

"I- I need to get back to Auradon, now," I tell them. "Jay said- he said they're not sure how long she has. He won't tell me what's wrong but- but he's worried- scared almost. He's never sounded like that before."

Mom and Dad look at each other before Dad pulls out his phone. He makes a call before leading me upstairs. "We'll meet you there in a day or two. A helicopter is going to pick you up in a couple minutes."

I nod as Dad helps me into the helicopter. Mom kisses my forehead and they wave goodbye as I take off.

The flight feels so long but I try to stay calm until I get there. We land just after midnight and I jump out, running to the nurse's office. I hear small cries coming from down the hall. When I get there, Jay is sitting beside Mal trying to calm her down. I see small flashes of green when her eyes flutter open. "MAL!" he yells. "Mal, you need to calm down. Please! Mal!"

I watch as Jay tries everything, myself being frozen in place. Her eyes stop glowing but she keeps crying out in pain. "J-Jay," I call softly. He turns to me and smiles slightly.

He walks over; the look on his face makes me worried. "Ben, we need to try and calm her down. She's exerting herself with energy she doesn't have and it's making her condition worse. I don't know what to do anymore."

I walk over to the side of the bed and run a hand through her hair, letting it rest on her cheek. She feels so warm. Her eyes flutter open and she looks at me, confused. "Hey Sweetie. You weren't exactly being truthful over the phone, were you?"

She shakes her head and leans into my hand. I pull away, crawling over her so I can lean against the wall and pull her into my lap. She curls into me, her bad arm resting on her stomach. I immediately notice the restraints. Jay sees my look. "She's been delirious at times. Her magic will flare at times." He shows me his arms covered in burns. "Be careful."

I nod and look at Mal. Her hand shakily raises and Mal lets her fingers hook onto the corner formed by the buttons of my shirt. I run my hand through her hair and she seems to calm down in my arms. "How do you feel, Mal?"

She shakes her head before letting it fall against me. Her breathing sounds so shallow. "I'm gonna go talk to Fairy Godmother, alright? If anything happens, just scream for the nurse."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~❶Jay❶~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I start my walk to Fairy Godmother's office but by the time I get there, it's empty. Her spell book is opened to a page that's showing how to make a talisman. I walk back to the room and find the light flickering. Ben's just getting up from the floor. Fairy Godmother's against the wall. "What happened?" I ask.

"Mal attacked us," Fairy Godmother says. "She walked right out of here. Her eyes were glowing."
"Hey, why didn't you tell us Mal was feeling better?" Carlos says, walking in.

"Fairy Godmother, did you give Mal that talisman you were working on?" I ask. She nods. "What does it do?"

"It is a magic suppressor, it was to keep her magic in check," Fairy Godmother says.

"No!" I cry. "No, no, no, no, no! Carlos, where was Mal headed?"

"She was leaving campus. Jay, what's wrong?" Carlos asks.

Ben stands in front of me, grabbing my shoulders. "What's so bad about suppressing Mal's magic?!"

"Her magic was the only think keeping the curse in check. We need to get to the museum!" I take off running and they follow.

"What curse?" Ben demands. "What's going on?!"

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