Hi everyone! I'm excited for this story because it will not be a retelling of the movie, so I hope everyone will be adequately surprised at all the twists and turns! This will feature some part of the plot from Angelina Jolie's Maleficent, but not too much. That is quite important to point out, though. Also, I'd like to ask for a little help. I am 100% convinced of the reasons that Mal loves Ben, but I'd like to know your opinions on the opposite. Why does Ben love Mal? How does she show him she loves him? How does she make him feel? I would love to get some new perspective on this!

Anyway, onwards. The Fire In Her Eyes -

The royal family sat in hushed silence after hearing the news from one of their most trusted nobles. A distressed and anxious Lord Stefan appealed to the king, "Your Majesty, I have been your family's faithful servant these many years. Therefore I beg of you, entrust your best men with this mission. My granddaughter must be found!"

King Adam and his son, Prince Benjamin, exchanged worried looks. The Lady Audrey had never made it home from a visit to her paternal grandparents in Ulstead. The carriage had mysteriously arrived at Lord Stefan's castle empty, save for the disoriented horses pulling it and an unconscious maid. The driver had disappeared along with Audrey.

"Father," said Ben, rising from his throne off to the side of his parents. "Please allow me to take a team of guards to search for the Lady Audrey."

"Thank you, Prince Benjamin," murmured the Lady Aurora, clutching her husband Phillip's arm. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. "I am certain that in her heart Audrey hopes her betrothed will come for her."

"Yes," Adam agreed, "Your presence may speed the search, and you are well poised to respond to any ransom demands, should there be - " Queen Belle stilled his tongue with a look, though the ensuing wail from Lady Leah, Audrey's grandmother, would likely have done the same.

Ben lost no time in gathering his five strongest soldiers. The small number would allow them to move quickly and stealthily, but he trusted each of them with his life and felt that both he and Audrey would be safe in their hands.

"The maidservant remembers nothing," Ben told them. "She is convinced the sky 'darkened' before she fainted, and insists that is important."

"What of the driver?" asked the captain of his guard, Lonnie Li.

"The horse driver was not known to them. The maidservant describes him as a short, thin man with white hair - though he was not elderly. Lord John of Ulstead sent word that the original driver has since been found tied up in the horse stables, and he also describes the perpetrator as I have previously stated. This was a premeditated kidnapping. It is unlikely this man worked alone."

"We must retrace her steps," said Captain Li. "At dawn we ride for Lord Stefan's lands."

They rode hard, reaching Stefan's castle in a little over a day and a half. They questioned the poor maidservant, whose guilt and depression was only compounded by having lost her job. She had nothing new to add. From there, they continued at a slower pace through the nearby towns, seeking answers at taverns and churches.

Their canvassing revealed nothing. Grimly, Ben gathered his group and said, "Her journey took her through the Enchanted Forest, which is the last location the maid remembers traveling through. The forest is vast and there are innumerable hiding places, but that is likely where she is being kept."

"We may need to split into three parties," observed Chad, one of his knights. "Though it will be far more dangerous than traveling in a group."

"If each of us was alone, we would cover more ground," Ben pointed out.

Captain Li began to argue, "Your Highness, I cannot allow you to - "

"Captain, I am just as skilled in combat as many of your guard," Ben countered. "Speed is of the utmost importance; the Lady Audrey's situation could be deteriorating as we speak. Jordan - return to the capital and assemble as many soldiers as the castle can spare. We will return to Stefan's castle in one week's time, where we will meet you if our search proves fruitless. If that is the case, we will determine a new strategy to best utilize the additional men and women." Jordan acknowledged the prince's order with a bow of her head and dug her heels into her horse, turning the animal around and riding off. "Those of you who remain, we will travel along different forest paths. Remember, one week's time - return to Stefan's castle."

The captain begrudgingly followed him and the other four guards, but did not question his command. Within a few hours, they had reached the treeline. The five of them rationed supplies before going their separate ways. Before long, the only horse Ben could hear was his own.

He wandered aimlessly for the rest of the day, coming upon nothing even resembling a clue. Eventually, he set up camp, ate some of the rations, and fell asleep. The next day, maddeningly, was exactly the same. But of course it was. The Enchanted Forest stretched for hundreds of acres, most of it as of yet undisturbed by man and undocumented by cartographers. Audrey could be anywhere. It was foolish to hope the others had had more luck.

The Lady Audrey was not one for the great outdoors. She had spent her life surrounded by luxury. Ben might have done the same, had he not been insistent on training with squires and apprenticing with various tradesmen in Auradon. A king should know his people, after all. Audrey had long disagreed with him on this fact, but never argued. He was grateful for this - he knew his marriage could have been arranged with someone far less willing to let him invest heavily in the good of his subjects, someone who would see it as weakness and irresponsibility. She would be a passive queen, but a diplomatic one, and he would be able to count on her to handle the traditionalist members of the court with ease - so long as this experience did not scare her away from the dangers of a powerful position. And, of course, assuming he could find her.

Ben stalled for a moment to let his horse rest and feed. This far off the forest path, it was slow going through underbrush and mangled branches. The only landmark that assured him he wasn't going in circles was a small mountain range miles and miles away. He could see it every once in a while between the treetops. That was where he looked now, lamenting that the frosted peaks appeared no closer than they had a few hours ago.

Something in one of the trees caught his eye. It sparkled in the dying sunlight, tangled in one of the highest boughs. Ben tied his horse to the trunk of this tree and awkwardly began to climb, sliding back down an embarrassing number of times before reaching the lowest branch.

Eventually the object was in arm's reach. It was a necklace - and a fine one at that. With a little tugging, it unwrapped itself from the branch and he was able to study it closely.

It was Audrey's. His heart jumped to his throat. He couldn't mistake it. He himself had gifted it to her on the formalization of their engagement less than a month ago. The clasp was broken, as though it had been ripped off her neck. What attacker would do such a thing, and let such expensive jewelry go? And why was it in a tree?!

He climbed higher, until he could peek above the green roof of the forest. The sea of foliage stretched in every direction, nearly uniform in color this midsummer's day. That was why, he supposed, it was easy to spot what appeared to be a small, lilac piece of fabric several hundred feet away - also, somehow, in a tree.

It took him all of thirty seconds to deduce that the captor had been traveling above the treeline - flying - and yet had allowed Audrey to leave a trail. There was a chance that Audrey had been able to do so without the perpetrator noticing, but he doubted that. So Ben was dealing with an aerial villain who wanted to be found.

He returned to his horse, rode to the approximate location of the handkerchief, and climbed the tallest tree in the vicinity. Sure enough, a dainty white glove rested on the leaves of a far-off elm. The three points made a definitive line, though. The path pointed straight towards the center of the mountain range, at the tallest peak.

Ben knew he should have gone back. He should have shared his discovery with the others, and led the entire force Jordan would have gathered over to this mountain. He also knew that it would be days before said force would be assembled at Stefan's castle, and even longer before they would be able to traverse the forest and climb the dizzying height. He had to try.

The prince scribbled a note and tucked it into the horse's saddle once he reached the base of the mountain, and then picked up the pack of rations and his sword before sending the horse on its way. He wasn't sure the animal knew its way back home, but the horse would be useless while he was climbing, and at least this way there was a chance one of the others might learn where he went.

The ascent was brutal. He was strong and lean, but it took a different kind of athleticism altogether to scale a mountain. Most areas he could climb like stairs or like a hillside, but sometimes he was left with no choice but to find perilous handholds and hope they didn't give out on him. Three full days Ben spent climbing, resting only to sleep and eat. Between the fire in his muscles and the thinning air, he was in no condition to fight whomever had taken Audrey.

So steep was the mountain nearer to the top that he hardly noticed the yawning cave entrance before he was nearly upon it. His hand latched onto a flat surface and he pulled himself up only to realize he was in an enormous cavern. Though the sun shone brightly outside, the light did not pervade the entire depth of the cave - blackness of unknown depth waited in front of him. A feeling in his gut told him that something large lurked in that darkness.

Ben flattened himself against the wall and inched deeper. The ground began to slope downwards, into the heart of the mountain. He proceeded more carefully, but the slope grew steeper and steeper. He kept looking back at the shrinking entrance to make sure he could still get himself out, but when he turned back for the last time, he lost his footing and fell.

The slope carried him like a slide, so far down he was sure at least half his journey up the mountain was in vain. At first, startled, he'd cried out. Then his voice died as he scrambled to find a hold on the smooth ground. It was to no avail. Still, he was at least slightly reassured that, a second before he crashed, someone familiar responded to his unintentional shout. "Is someone there? Help me!" Audrey.

BAM! He landed on his backside with a complete lack of grace, and groaned before pulling himself up to examine his unnaturally warm surroundings. He was in an equally large and very long cavern, with high ceilings and poor lighting - but lighting there was. At least two fires burned that he could see - one, unattended, and another inside a makeshift jail cell that held the missing noblewoman.

"Audrey!"

"Ben!"

He ran towards her, his hands clasping at the wooden bars - wood. It would be child's play to cut her out with his sword. His betrothed beamed up at him, covering one of his hands with her own. Her hair was a mess, her face dirty, and her clothes ripped. Various accessories were missing, probably flung across the Enchanted Forest.

"Oh Ben, you came for me!"

"Of course. Now let me - " Suddenly, the ground trembled. Once, then again, and then again. The blood drained from Audrey's face.

"Hide. You must hide!" she hissed. "She is coming!"

"Who?" Ben asked, though he lowered his voice as well. "Who is coming?"

"ME." A harsh, booming voice rang out. Audrey whimpered in response. Ben whirled around, belatedly realizing the the earth was shaking due to heavy, heavy footsteps. From the shadows that edged the open fire emerged a colossal dragon.

The prince took an involuntary step back, fear clawing at his insides. The dragon was at least forty feet long, with fangs the size of his arm and armor made of glinting purple scales. Its sleek form gave its movements a slithering quality. Its bright green eyes were trained on him.

The dragon's long throat began to glow and redden. A fireball was forming in its neck and traveling up to its mouth. Before Ben could react, it let loose a mighty flame that lit a large number of high-mounted sconces that had previously been shrouded in darkness. He barely had a second to recover from the fact that he'd nearly been as roasted as a hunt's end duck before the dragon lowered its head to study him.

"WHO ARE YOU?"

He was shaking. Nothing in the world would ever have prepared him for this. Yet, Audrey's life depended on him, and that gave him a minuscule amount of strength. "My name is Benjamin Florian, First of this Name, Prince of the Kingdom of Auradon. I am here to recover the Lady Audrey," he answered loudly and clearly.

The dragon snorted, the smoke from its nostrils making him cough. "YOU FOOL. YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE COME." It shook its head. "NOW YOU ARE MY PRISONER AS WELL."

Still shaking, Ben nonetheless managed to unsheathe his sword in one fluid motion. "Dragon, I do not wish to fight you. But I will if I must. The Lady Audrey must be returned." Very slowly, he laid the sword down in front of him. "You and I both know I am no match for you. Even so, I humbly beg of you to release this woman, and in return Auradon will repay your mercy with whatever you desire."

The dragon considered him with those glowing eyes. More smoke rose from its scales - but this wasn't the transient sort from before. The smoke thickened until it was nearly an opaque purple. Ben stumbled back further, unsure of what was happening. The entire dragon became obscured for a few seconds before the smoke began to dissipate. Before the wisps dispersed it was clear that the monster had disappeared.

In its place remained a slender woman, shorter than Ben, with hair the color of the dragon's scales and wide eyes that still shone a bright green. She dressed like a commoner, but possessed an ethereal beauty that nearly brought Ben to his knees. Her pale, creamy skin looked as though a blemish had never touched it; Ben was irrationally envious of any word that fell from those cupid's bow lips. Now his speech failed him for an entirely different reason, but thankfully Audrey was able to intervene.

"You are human?" she cried incredulously from her cell.

The other woman threw her a mildly irritated glance. "Fairy." Then her attention returned to Ben, whom she approached with her arms crossed over her chest. "There is one thing you can give me, for which I will allow your release."

"Name it," said Ben earnestly, perhaps a little too eager to please.

"Bring me Lord Stefan."

I forgot how much I hate writing exposition. I'm sorry for the slow start. But again, would love to hear your thoughts on why Ben loves Mal!