Chapter Text
“Your Queen has arrived.” Mal announced with a smirk as she threw open the door to the meeting room, which was empty save for two people, Ben and Evie. Evie greeted her in turn as Ben looked up from the piles of papers he was sifting through in relief.
“Oh Mal, thank goodness you’re here.” He sighed.
“Sorry I’m late.” She said as she sat down next to Evie, quickly exchanging a kiss as she did so. “I got stuck talking with conservation about the invasive unicorn problem down in Arendelle.”Problem was putting it lightly, if Mal so much as had to look at another unicorn again, someone was going to suffer for it. At least she’d been able to get over here quickly, turning into a massive fire-breathing dragon had its perks occasionally. Ben just nodded sympathetically. Mal looked around taking note of the person absent from the equation “Didn’t you say Uma would be here?”
“She’s at the hospital checking on the girl, Red. we got a call last minute that she was awake again and semi coherent.” Ben remarked.
Mal winced at the thought, when she’d checked her phone to find that not only was she needed for an emergency meeting, it was about a child? Safe to say she’d been shocked. “God poor girl, How's she doing?”
“Better than we thought she would.” he replied. “According to the doctors she most likely passed out due to exhaustion and dehydration, and her head injury was minor. Uma and the nurse said head wounds always look worse than they actually are.”
Evie and Mal nodded, They’d both had their fair share of experience with head injuries on the isle after all. “So you wanna tell me why finding a random girl in the woods needed the king and queens full attention? And why couldn't you explain it over text?”
Sure it made sense for Uma and Ben to be involved since they found her, and Evie was in charge of VK affairs, but what was the point of calling her?
Ben sighed and went back to sifting through papers. “Sorry about all the secrecy, we kind of need to keep this under wraps for now. Me and Uma agreed it would be best to explain in person.”
“You still haven't told us what you’re explaining.” Evie reminded him.
Mal raised an eyebrow. “He hasn’t told you yet?”
Evie shook her head. “Not really no, he wanted to wait until you got here so he didn't have to explain it twice-“
“Aha!” he exclaimed suddenly, cutting her off. He looked slightly sheepish for a second “Finally.” He held out the file to the other side of the table. “Here, take a look at this.”
Mal took the paper and angled it so Evie could see, but only felt her confusion rise. “...Ben, why are you handing us a file on wonderland?”
Ben looked her in the eye with a slightly annoyed expression. “I’ll give you one guess.”
“Ben you know I hate when you’re-“ Mal continued staring at the page in confusion as Evie's eyes widened beside her.
“Oh my god, she's from Wonderland isn't she?”
“Not just from wonderland,” Ben replied. “If she’s to be believed, that girl is Red of Hearts, daughter of The Queen of Hearts.”
Mal’s jaw dropped as Evie sighed beside her.
“Please tell me you’re fucking with us.” Mal pleaded.
Ben shook his head. “Wish I could say that I was.” he replied with a grimace.
Mal sighed in defeat, leaning back in her chair. “Of course not, when are we ever that lucky.”
Evie continued scanning the document. “Are you sure? Wasn’t the entrance to Wonderland closed of years ago?”
Ben sighed. “We’re fairly certain. Before she woke up we checked the school registry, the news, databases on runaway or missing kids, and there was absouloutly nothing. It’s like she appeared out of thin air. And trust me, she looks exactly like her mother.” He pointed to a picture of The Queen enclosed in the file, The picture was of a fairly large portrait, Mal recognized it as the one hanging in The Hall of Villains. She bore an intense look of disdain, as if the mere act of having to sit still for a painting was beneath her.
“Ok, so we know how she got here, but whats the plan exactly?” Evie asked.
Ben sighed again. ‘That's the problem, even with relations with the Isle being mostly stable, Wonderland is still technically an enemy nation. Which means if we handle this wrong-“
“It could mean war.” Mal finished.
“I mean- I wouldn’t go that far.” Ben said quickly. “But yes, it could mean trouble.” Mal certainly would go that far. Growing up on the isle, she’d heard many whispers about the mad queen of wonderland, about how she was so ruthless and cruel that King Beast hadn’t been able to capture her. She’d never paid it much mind, scary stories didn’t hold much weight when you were living out your own nightmare after all. But now? The very thought of someone like that being in charge of a whole kingdom was enough to make her skin crawl.
Mal groaned “Have we alerted the council?”
Ben nodded “I sent out a message, we’ll be meeting with them in a few days if all goes according to plan. But this isn’tjust a risk of war. If we do this right, it could mean peace with wonderland.” Mal fought back a grimace. Ben may not be the naive kid she’d met when they were 16, but he was still ever the optimist. It was something she simultaneously admired and concerned her. She glanced at Evie, who she was sure was having similar doubts.
“But how are we even planning to get a message to The Queen?” Evie questioned, trying to change the subject. “Even before they were closed off, Wonderland was crazy hard to reach, and it says here that theres no way to reliably track rabbit holes.”
“Thats the other issue. Once the council comes to a decision, I can try talking to Fairy Godmother and Jane, but until then we won’t know.” Mal bit back a groan. She could tell that they all had a long, long few weeks ahead of them.
“So where is she staying?” Evie questioned, obvious concern leaking into her voice. Mal smiled, Evie had always had a soft spot for kids. “The transfer program is specifically set up for Isle kids and built around attending Auradon prep, not to mention the school year almost being over anyway.”
“Excellent point Evie, which brings me to my proposition. Me and Uma talked, and we were wondering if…” His eyes flit between the two of them nervously. “…You two would be willing to house her for the time being.”
Ok that was not what she was expecting.
“Why?” Mal asked before she could stop herself. “I mean- why us specifically.”
Ben sighed, “Well one, I had to talk to the two of you anyway about this anyway so I might as well ask, And two, you both have already had Vk’s stay at your place before.”
“But those were Isle kids, Ben.” Evie pointed out. “We grew up with them, and even then it was mostly just Celia and Dizzy having sleepovers.”
“She’s also not just a regular Vk, she’s a princess.” Mal added. *“*Surely she’d be more at home with you in the castle?”
Ben nodded. “I did think about that, but the castle is so big and I’m so busy, I’d have to have a guard on her at all times to keep an eye on her. Which just felt… invasive. I’m also not exactly… good with kids.” Mal could vouch for that. Ben had absolutely no backbone when it came to children. She still remembered how awkward he was when he met the second batch of Isle kids. Dizzy had almost convinced him to let her dye his hair bright pink. Something which Mal was thankfully able to talk him out of (despite how difficult it had been to hold back her laughter).
“I don’t know Ben.” Evie sighed. “We’re not exactly swimming in free time.”
Mal was inclined to agree, they both had full time jobs after all, but Mal would be lying if she wasn’t considering this. This poor kid was far from home, most likely against her will, and she was injured. The thought of her being alonethrough all that was… disturbing.
“Alright, I’m in if Evie’s in.” She finally without thinking.
Evie raise her eyebrow at her. “Well that was fast.”
Mal shrugged in a way that she hoped looked calm and collected. “Bens right, we’re probably the best option we have right now. Besides, how hard could babysitting a teenage girl be?” Evie’s looked at her with an expression she couldn't quite read before sighing and turning back to Ben.
“Well, if I were to close down the shop to focus on my orders, and switch some of my meetings to virtual….” Evie mused. She glanced back at Mal and then to Ben before nodding seriously “Ok, lets do it”
…
“-Mal are you listening?” Mal jolted and looked away from the medical report Ben had provided them on the way out. It was pretty sparse, but aside from the kids incoherent ramblings it was all the information they had on her.
Mal blinked. “Sorry say that again? I zoned out for a sec there.”
“I said, we’ll have to clean the guest bedroom once we get home, theres still dog hair everywhere from last time Jay and Carlos were over.” Evie said deceptively calmly, her eyes never leaving the road ahead of them.
Mal nodded. “Sounds good.”
“And we’ll have to dig up some clothes for her to wear for a couple days at least, we’ll probably have to buy her clothes if she stays long enough though.”
“Got it.”
“…and I told Carlos that we’d foster 15 dogs for him.”
“Mhm”
Evie sighed and snapped her fingers. Mal jolted, but Evie continued before she could say anything. “Okay, I’ve given you enough time to brood, whats bothering you.”
Mal blinked in surprise. “What? I have not been-“ The look Evie sent her told her it was no use in lying. “….Was it that obvious?”
“Sweetie, the day you learn subtlety is the day I voluntarily wear flannel. Also you’ve been smoking.”
“I have? God fucking-“ Sure enough, smoke was curling from her nostrils. She groaned and tried to calm the fire that was apparently building in her chest, Evie snickering in the drivers seat. Mal sent her a weak glare that only served to make her laugh harder.
After the windows had been rolled down and neither of them were in danger of suffocating, Evie cleared her throat. “I don’t suppose that you’re going to tell me what you’re thinking now?”
“I don’t know, I’m just worried? I guess? It’s just- this is so different than anything we’ve dealt with before. We have no idea what Wonderland is like or what she’s been through, or how-“
“Or how the queen treats her.” Evie finished grimly.
“…yeah that.” It was a possibility that had been hanging over their heads since Ben had revealed her identity. Villains didn’t tend to make for stellar parents, so child abuse wasn’t exactly uncommon. They both could speak to that.
“Like- look at this.” She continued. “It says here that she has signs of malnutrition.”
“And that couldn’t be because she’s been in the woods?” Evie questioned.
Mal shook her head. “They don’t think she was there for that long, judging by her clothes and shit. And some of these injuries do not sound like they came from a fall.”
“Okay, I love that you’re taking initiative with all this. But maybe we wait to go over this?
“What, why?”
“Because you’re going to get yourself worked up about it, and then our car is going to be set on fire again.”
Mal scoffed. “I did not set it on fire. I just… melted it slightly.” Slightly was an understatement and they both knew it. But now was not the time to go down that rabbit hole. There was a different, more pressing rabbit hole to deal with. “You’re acting like you’re not also freaking out.”
Evie scoffed. “Excuse me, I am not ‘freaking out’.”
“Oh yeah? Tell that to the death grip you have on the steering wheel.“ Mal said, gesturing towards Evie’s hands. Her knuckles had turned almost completely white, you’d be forgiven for thinking she was trying to strangle the damn thing.
Evie bit her lip and manually loosened her grip. “Ok, fine. I’ll admit, I’m concerned, you just listed off a bunch of reasons why there might be child abuse going on. For gods sake.” Before Mal could say ‘I knew it’ Evie continued. “But I am trying to not be jumping to conclusions right off the bat. We haven’t even met the kid yet, and we have work to do. I’m trying not to get distracted”
Mal sighed. “Ok, you have a point. We can wait to go over the medical report after we’re done setting up her room when we can both be nervous together, Deal?” Evie looked at her blankly. “And where theres less risk of me melting our car into a puddle. Again.”
“Deal.” Evie said, but she was still clearly perturbed. Mal sighed and took her hand, squeezing it slightly.
“Hey, we’ve got this, talking to kids is literally your job. You’re probably the most qualified person in the damn kingdom for this.” Being the head of the Vk program, it was Evie's job to help Vk’s and their families navigate Auradon and getting them the resources they need, which had her talking to kids and teens quite a bit.
Evie smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Since when are you the optimistic one?”
Mal smirked back. “Since when are you not*?”*
“Touché.” She said as she rolled her eyes.
”Now, what were you saying about the clothes?”