Did I Mention?

The Royal Affairs of Queen Mal

Summary: Mal isn't unfamiliar with the way the older generations of Auradon view her. The distrust, hatred, and bias she had to deal with daily was not uncommon even around Auradon Prep. Now, though, as Ben's wife and the Queen, Mal has to face it in a much more real way when trying to conduct meetings or do business with the other royals.

Mal was sick of this. Sick of the passive-aggressive comments, sick of the clear distrust in her as Queen, and sick of the hotheaded royals she was forced to sit with every so often.

It wasn't always so bad; sometimes Ben would be with her when she had to attend conferences or hold meetings for whatever reason. However, Ben had his own duties and couldn't always be at her side and those were the days she hated most. First and foremost, she hated not being able to wander into Ben's office whenever she wanted just so she could enjoy his presence or assist with all the paperwork. Secondly, any time she had to attend a meeting Ben did not, the way other royals treated her worsened.

She'd tried to ignore them, she had. For years while she went to Auradon Prep then the year between graduation and getting married to Ben, she'd managed to avoid going to meetings without Ben by her side. As Queen, though, sometimes she was forced to leave her husband's side to do her own work and she couldn't always ignore the passing comments or passive-aggressive treatment many of the other royals gave her.

Today had been particularly rough as it had been three days since she'd last seen Ben and tensions were high in trying to find a solution to supplying the Isle with adequate food and resources. As she had the most experience, Mal was sent to head any Isle oriented projects. This was both a good thing and a bad thing as she knew best what help the Isle really was receiving, but other royals didn't seem to like her bringing up the fact she had more experience than them in anything. Having to work with Chad Charming and a few other royals who already hated her hadn't made things any easier.

"Welcome home, Your Highness," Lumiere greeted, offering her his hand as she stepped from the carriage. She gave him a tired smile and allowed him to lead her up the palace steps while a servant grabbed her bag from the back of the carriage. "How was your trip?" he asked, looking at her once more. "You don't look well."

She wasn't surprised by this. She'd have been more surprised if Lumiere had told her she looked radiant after spending half the journey home sobbing quietly on the floor of the carriage.

"It was rough," Mal admitted. She refused to say more, knowing Lumiere would go right to Ben and inform him of her state even if she begged him not to. It was always worth a try, though, and she turned to Lumiere to ask, "Would you please not tell Ben I'm here if he's busy? I know how much he worries, but he can't ignore every meeting he has just to check on me."

"I will do my best," Lumiere promised.

Mal thanked him softly and didn't say another word as he led her up to her and Ben's room. They passed more servants and maids than Mal had expected and it wasn't until Princess Aurora passed her with nothing more than a look of displeasure that Mal remembered Ben had invited many of the royals to the palace to celebrate the unity of their states. Suddenly, Mal wanted nothing more than to escape from the palace and hide away until they were all gone.

She said nothing, though, even when Lumiere left her at her room and the servant set her bag on the bed. Mal stood in the middle of the room for a minute before slipping off her shoes and turning to unpack her bag. Usually, a maid would come and do it, but at the moment, she simply wanted to be alone. As if the universe had it out for her, a knock came to her door. Mal held back a whine and walked to the door, pulling it open slightly before recognising Ben in front of her and pulling it open the rest of the way.

New tears sprung into her eyes as she looked up at Ben and he quickly pulled her into his arms. She folded her arms between them, tangling her fingers in the front of his shirt as she started to cry once again. Her eyes were tired and they stung, but she couldn't keep back the extra tears upon seeing Ben's face.

Ben gently reached down and picked her up, shifting her so she could wrap her arms around his neck and bury her face in his chest. He walked further into the room, kicking the door shut behind him and not bothering to flick on the light. Wandering to their bed, Ben rested Mal on his lap as he sat down and hugged her tightly. For a while, the only sound in the room was Mal's crying. As Ben started to feel his heart break more and more at the sound, he tried to comfort her more by peppering her head in kisses or humming softly. Nothing seemed to work and he was left to just hold her until she stopped crying.

"I'm sorry," she whispered a few minutes after quieting down. Ben just hugged her tighter and pressed his lips to her temple. "I told Lumiere not to disturb you. I promise I was alright."

"I wasn't busy with anyone," Ben whispered back. It was a lie and he knew Mal probably knew that but the Duke of Weselton was annoying. Besides, he'd pretty much finished up the meeting when Lumiere had peered his head in to say Mal had returned and was a little worse for wear.

However horrible it was, Ben had not been surprised by Lumiere's report. He knew Mal hated being gone for more than a day and she hated being alone at meetings, so he wasn't surprised to hear she'd had a rough time. As soon as he'd heard Chad would be attending the meeting, he'd almost thought about cancelling his own plans and going with Mal if only so she had someone to return to her room with. Nevertheless, she'd had to go alone and spend a few nights away from home. Now that she was home, though, Ben had no intention of letting her leave again anytime soon.

"What happened?" he asked her, pulling back so he could look at her. Her eyes were red and tears stained her face, but Ben still thought she looked beautiful. He gently brought his hands up to cup her face and she immediately leaned into his touch.

"Nothing I haven't heard before," she murmured, closing her eyes. Ben gently rested his forehead against hers, keeping his hands on her face soothingly as she said, "It was just the combined forces of Chad and his father plus the lack of sleep the past two days. I really am okay, I promise."

"You don't need to be," Ben replied, moving to wrap his arms around her once more. "Chad can be horrible and his father can be just as bad. You don't need to make excuses for why their words hurt you."

There was silence for a while and Ben thought she'd fallen asleep, but then she was moving to press a gentle kiss to his jaw before snuggling closer to him. Ben smiled, tugging her back to lay down on their bed and pulling Mal close to his chest. For a brief moment, Ben allowed himself to hate the Charmings; to wish nothing but ill things on their family. But then, Mal was shifting and her head was tucked next to his and he relaxed, focusing instead on Mal in his arms and making sure he projected all his love onto her. Perhaps he could not protect her from everything the others thought of her, but he could be there when she needed him to be and he could love her when she needed it most. If he couldn't do anything else, at least he could do that.