[4] Phoenix | Descendants 3

TWENTY: Forward to Fate

Mal and Ben sat up against a tree. Ben with his back against the tree and Mal with her back against his chest. The king absentmindedly stroked her hair, placing kisses on her temple every now and again.

But even with her fiancé, Mal had never felt as alone as she did now. They had all left her, including the people she thought would never leave her. But then again, she lied to her family, breaking their trust and refusing to stand up against the oppressive system. In all honesty, she had seen it coming.  She wasn't mad at them, she was more mad at herself for letting it get this far. She's the one that didn't say anything to them when she had the chance, and now she was facing the consequences.

"What's on your mind?" asked Ben, softly stroking his fiancée's hair.

"I screwed up," muttered Mal before letting out a deep sigh. "I screwed up big time." 

"Don't beat yourself up too much. We both should've said something when we had a chance. We both made the decision to wait until after this situation with Maleficent blew over to tell them about the program," pointed out Ben, reminding her that he was also to blame for what just happened. He also chose to stay silent on the matter and not say anything, and he had to take responsibility for that.

"Yeah but I also didn't do anything about it."

"Mal, our hands were tied. There was nothing we could do about the High Council's decision."

"Maybe so, but my mouth shouldn't have been quiet. I could've spoken up, said something and voiced my disapproval. It may not have done anything but it would've let people know that I didn't agree with them." Mal paused, feeling the guilt and regret grow inside her chest. "But I didn't do any of that ... because I agreed with them. That's why they're all so mad at me. I'm a VK that turned her back on her own people. And now, Auradon and Olympus are both done for."

And perhaps the biggest consequence of all meant that Maleficent couldn't be defeated. Sure, Mal and Ben could try to do so on their own, and they probably would after taking this moment. But the prophecy already gave them an insight into how that would go. The prophecy was clear: it was a group, not a duo, that would save Olympus and Auradon. And without that group, they wouldn't stand a chance against her mother.

"That's not true. We're still here and the others are still out there. So, we'll find a way to move on from this and save the kingdom in the end, all of us."

Mal cracked a smile at that. "Love your optimism, honey."

"It's the truth," Ben answered with a slight laugh. "It's not over till it's over, okay? You'll find a way to make things right with them."

"How do you know that?"

"Because the five of you all love each other too much to stay at odds with one another like this."

Mal let herself relax against Ben but their moment was short-lived. The clouds darkened, lightning surging across the sky as thunder boomed. The earth began to rumble them, the pair struggling to stand on their feet.

"What is this?" asked Ben, one hand holding onto the tree for balance as the other gripped onto Mal's. "What's going on?"

Mal wondered the same but soon got her answer when an all-too-familiar cackle sounded through the air that sent shivers down Mal's spine. "Mother."

"What?"

"My mom, she must've done something," reasoned the dark fairy. "She made her big move, and I guess the gods aren't happy."

"What could she have done that would've provoked them like this?" Ben asked, letting go of Mal's hand as the rumbling finally came to a stop.

"I don't know but we need to find a way to stop her before she does something else."