Bridging the Gap

Chapter 8

Mal slipped into her room at Auradon Prep, ready to get out of the dress she was in and change into the clothes she was going to wear to the celebration. However, that was in a couple of hours. Despite the excitement, it still took a while to set up and Mal was more than happy to slip away for a few minutes to get away from everyone.

Hadie was with his parents, probably getting the lecture of the century for leaving the Isle and not telling them where he was, so Mal felt comfortable finally leaving him alone. There was no use being the over protective sister when the overprotective parents were there. She may hate her father but she couldn't deny that he was trying with Hadie.

The way he didn't try with her.

Shaking her head to clear the thought, Mal grabbed a brush and began brushing her hair. It wouldn't be enough to get the layer of hairspray out but at least she would be able to move her hair and be comfortable.

She looked at her bed, longingly. The amount of magic she had released was more than anything she had done previously, so she was tired. It went all the way down to her bones. Yet she knew she couldn't skip Ben's celebration. Ben was so excited about it, it would be like disappointing Carlos or Hadie or Dizzy.

This would also be the first official celebration as them as a couple and while Mal really didn't care about that sort of stuff, she knew the kingdom would. The last thing Mal wanted was for Ben to get any flack because his girlfriend missed the celebration. A couple cups of coffee and she would be right as rain.

A soft knock came from her doorway and Mal whirled around to see Aurora standing, looking unsure as to whether she could come in. All thought of coffee was driven from Mal's mind as she raced to try to remember protocol. But was there protocol for when a member of a royal family knocked on the door to your bedroom?

"Your highness?" Mal asked, trying to get into a suitable enough curtsey but Aurora quickly shook her head. Honestly, Mal had no idea why Aurora was here, or how she even knew which room was hers. Though Mal assumed that Evie, Jay or Carlos told her or possibly even Ben.

"There's no need for that Mal," Aurora told her, holding up a hand to stop the curtsey attempt. "I'm not here in a royal capacity."

"Oh," Mal said as she straightened up. "Then why—?"

Aurora gave her a small smile. "I wanted to make sure you were okay. I know that was a bit of powerful magic you would have to have done to turn Maleficent into a lizard."

"Apparently, she did that to herself," Mal shrugged and stepped to the side; a non verbal offer for Aurora to come in. Aurora stepped through the door but kept it open; something Mal was relieved about. She was not ready to have closed door meetings with the people of Auradon. Especially the royals of Auradon.

"Fairy Godmother told us. I hope you don't mind," Aurora said, sitting on the edge of Evie's bed; answering the unasked question about how Aurora knew what had happened when she was frozen. "Phillip was rather amused by the whole thing. When he came back into the room that is."

Mal snorted—of course he would be. Then again if she had seen a giant dragon get turned into a lizard, she would have felt amused by it too.

Oh wait, she had.

Yeah, she was a little amused as well. She couldn't lie about that.

"I also wanted to apologize once again for my mother," Aurora said, bringing Mal out of her thoughts. "She was out of line at the coronation, just as she had been at Family Day. I thought she would behave herself today but I was clearly wrong."

Mal shook her head, about to tell Aurora that she didn't need to apologize but Aurora held up a hand again.

"I know what you're about to say but I do owe you the apology, since my mother is too stubborn to admit when she's been wrong," Aurora told her, setting her hand down on her lap. Mal couldn't help but wonder how Aurora was still prim and proper after being attacked by a dragon. "Losing her council position was a blow she didn't see coming and so she'll be nursing her wounded pride for months. If her attitude doesn't change, it will be a long time before she sees either Audrey or Phillip unsupervised again. But of course I never said that."