Evie was aware that had probably been the first time she had ever said thank you to Mal, terms like that never went down well on the Isle, and the blue princess would usually avoid such things to keep her head down, not bring such attention to her that she, in fact, was too soft for the Isle. But, the reply she had received from Mal was good, at least she hadn’t accused her of being soft, or too kind, instead, she seemed to have accepted it? Choosing not to mention it, Evie instead sent a smile her purple-haired friend’s way, it wasn’t her usual smile which had once lit up her whole face, but it was getting there - slowly.
“I was worried about you,” The princess blurted out, eyes wide as she stumbled over her own words trying to fix what she had messed up “- I mean, we were all worried about you, obviously..” A frown as well as look of concern etching over her expression, as she scanned over Mal’s face, her free hand - the one currently not holding Mal’s hand - reached up to her friend’s face without any kind of hesitation, fingers gently tracing against her face, before quickly trying to play it off as she had been looking for any sign of hurt from when she had been knocked out. “Are you okay?”
Finally, her hand fell back to her side, teeth sinking into her painted red lower lip, did she dare speak up that she would rather stay in her mother’s house? Right now it was where she felt the safest, even though her mother was nowhere in sight - no one would dare step foot into the Evil Queen’s house, right? But she also didn’t want to let Mal down, or be apart from her and the boys - they’d been together for twenty-eight years, at least Evie, it felt difficult to go her own way without them. “I kind off.. might have somewhere?” Her words quiet mumbles, but from the closeness of the two of them, she was sure Mal would’ve picked them up.
The smile still wasn’t quite right. Mal knew Evie almost better than she knew herself; she could tell when the other girl was hiding something, but it wasn’t like Evie to hide things that were bothering her. The faery had no idea what to do - did she try to push it out of Evie, or did she leave her to come to terms with whatever it was on her own? Ultimately, she decided that Evie would tell her when she was good and ready, and if things seemed to be getting worse, then she’d push her into confessing what was going on. Instead, she just smiled in return, squeezing her hand again so she could feel the excitement sparking through her veins at her touch.
Sparks that only flickered quicker as Evie touched her cheek. Mal’s lips parted slightly, a tiny gasp escaping her as the princess’s soft fingers grazed over her cheeks. Evie had been worried about her. She’d made the other girl concerned and her question brought Mal close to confessing everything. How she’d been so scared, looking for the others on the Isle as it began collapsing. The guilt she’d felt when she woke up in the forest, alone and filthy and perfectly safe when her friends could have been dead. How the magic ran through her veins like magma and she’d missed the burn so badly. Instead, she rolled her eyes. “I’m fine, Evie. As bad to the bone as ever,” Mal responded, trying to laugh it off.
Mal did catch her words and her eyes lit up, an approving smile spreading across her lips. “That’s my girl,” she responded before she could catch herself, smile fading into embarrassed horror as she quickly sought to correct herself. “I mean, that’s why we keep you around, isn’t it? You’re just so resourceful and smart, Evie. What would we do without you?” Mal pursed her lips together to stop the rambling, closing her eyes for a moment to centre herself. “Where is it? Are the boys already there?”