Hello guys! It's been a long time. I decided to quit one or two years ago, but recently I found myself wanting to return. So here I am. After reading my old works, I felt ashamed and the need to redeem myself arose. So here I am as a much better writer. Hope you enjoy!
Under the Love Spell Ch. 1
He looked down at the light blue-haired girl, love stricken, as the girl who used to receive that same gaze shook with incoming sobs. Mal redirected her eyes up to the sky. Night had come again. The stars didn't shine that night.
Her friends huddled around her, whispering their apologies that were meaningless to her. Sparing the new couple one last look, her eyes glowed green. Uma shot a smirk her way that didn't go unnoticed by the daughter of Maleficent.
"Let's get outta here." Jay whispered.
She nodded at his suggestion. Mal walked right past the new couple as they danced. She wiped her eyes as she did and resisted the urge to give him one last look before she left. She ascended the stairs with heavy steps after being stopped for an apology by Ben's parents. Mal stopped upon hearing the cry of Jane.
"The mural! Unveil the gift! They need to see it!"
She inhaled and exhaled, then escaped from her hesitant friends' comforting presences. She'd had more than enough surprises for the night.
Evie turned just as the curtain fell from the shining stained mirror and scurried off after Mal. Jay and Carlos ran off behind her, only catching a glimpse. Lonnie turned as the warm presence of her friends had left and followed.
Ben peered at the glass panel he had spent so much time designing. He felt his heart weigh down and it didn't feel so empty anymore. The tug on his heart never left. Even as Uma commanded the glass to be covered again. Even as Uma demanded he reveal his surprise for her.
With one glance at Uma's face, though, all those thoughts disappeared. He felt all his emotions leave, but his supposed love for the daughter of Ursula.
He declared that Uma would be his lady, ignoring the outbursts and dirty looks from the crowd. His second announcement only angered the guests even more as they protested.
"Fairy Godmother, take down the barrier."
She looked taken aback, but managed to find words, "I most certainly will not!"
"I am your king!" He roared in anger.
The former king stepped in, "Being king does not allow you to make such large decisions. The government of Auradon is a hybrid between a monarchy and a democracy. As such, the king must represent the people. Seeing your failure to do so, you are at risk of removal."
The young king opened his mouth to argue, but stopped himself. His father was completely correct. He looked down in defeat.
Uma looked around helplessly, unsure of what to do now. Ben looked down in shame, knowing he had failed to be the king he had dreamed of being. The one that always looked out for the county and put Auaradon above all.
Sensing the end to the disappointing occasion, guests filtered out slowly as they took part in angered and sympathetic murmurs.
~OoOoO~
Mal slipped into her dorm room, hot, heavy tears running down her face.
Seconds later, Evie entered. The royal blue-haired girl's eyes shot around the room. It stopped, catching sight of its target.
"Mal." She reached a hand to her sister's shoulder, "I'm sorry for what happened."
"You don't need to be, E. It's not your fault." Mal let out with a sob, "If anything, it's mine. I guess Ben finally realized I wasn't good enough."
Evie looked down, tears for her close friend almost spilling out. "Mal. You're amazing, okay. You don't have to be perfect. You're so much more than enough. And yeah, you have your flaws, but so do I. So does Jay. And Carlos. And Doug. And Jane. And Lonnie."
Mal let out a sad chuckle at her friend's last three words.
"But you know what, Mal, we all try to get better. And as long as we try, we're so much better than what we are. It's okay to be flawed, that's just a part of life, but an even bigger part of life is improving. Okay? And if Ben can't appreciate your efforts, your flaws, and all the other things that make you amazing, that's on him."
Mal allowed herself a small smile.
"Alright? So Mal, no matter what, don't give up on yourself. If you're not perfect, fine. But stop beating yourself up about it and just try to change."
Mal leaned against her friend and finally took off her mask, "I guess I always just thought I was never good enough for Ben. No matter how hard I try, I still want to be... evil. And Ben... he's the nicest person you'll ever meet. It's just... he's like perfect and then there's just me."
Evie nodded as she motioned for the purplette to continue.
"And now, I don't know what to feel. I should feel betrayed, but instead I feel ashamed. I'm just so mad at myself for thinking that maybe things would change from here on out. I wouldn't have to struggle with who I am and who I'm supposed to be. I thought I would finally be happy, but I was wrong. And now... I just don't know what to do. As soon as I put away my identity as the evil daughter of Maleficent, I became the King of Auradon's girlfriend. But now, I don't know who I am and how I'm supposed to act."
Mal turned to the two figures at the door, painting shadows in the hallway. "Just be Mal." Carlos advised, "That's enough for me. That's enough for Jay and Evie. If that's not enough for Ben or everyone else, who cares? We don't live to impress people."
Mal smiled at his words. A comfortable silence weaves around the room.
"So... do you want me to take you back to the Isle or what?" Jay murmured.
"I think," Mal started, earning anxious looks from Evie and Carlos, "I think I can stay here."
They exhaled in relief. Mal looked down. If she had decided to go, they'd be pressured to follow her. And if they didn't go with her, they'd always have to worry about her. She couldn't do that to her friends.
Lonnie and Jane soon entered the room. "Hey, Mal, are you okay?" The daughter of Mulan moved past the two boys and went to sit next to her on the bed.
Mal nodded, "I'll be... fine."
~oOoOo~
With an uneasy smile, she entered the classroom. Her math teacher greeted her. She muttered a "hello" in return and took her seat. She ignored the looks of pity on her classmates' faces.
Mal took in a shaky breath as a figure stopped in front of her table. "Is anyone sitting here?"
She looked up in shock, having realized it was not who she expected, "You're not Ben."
The blond-haired teen in front of her chuckled, his blue eyes glistening. "No, I'm not." He answered. "Can I sit here?"
Just as the words left his mouth, the king briskly entered the room, habitually moving towards his usual seat next to her. Mal turned to the guy.
"Yeah sure. Please, sit." She urged him, in a rush.
He raised an eyebrow with a laugh. She ignored her irritation towards this stranger for laughing at her sorrow.
Ben stopped in front of the seat and directed his eyes downcast towards her. "Look Ma-"
The guy next to her broke out into song, stopping the young royal from speaking. Mal couldn't help the small, thankful smile that came to her lips. As much as she hated to admit weakness, she knew she couldn't bare talking to him right now. When he abruptly cut his song, Ben attempted to speak again, only to be stopped again by another round of painfully loud singing.
"Mal..." His words were inaudible under the blond's loud singing, but he insisted on continuing anyways. Finally the stranger's song subsided and his last words were heard, "So yeah."
Mal blinked in confusion. "Um sorry what?" She was shocked at herself for finding the courage to look him in the eye and speak, but seeing a stranger willing to embarrass himself for her encouraged her.
"Take a seat, Ben." Their teacher requested as she leaned against the front table. "Class will start soon."
The teen wanted to protest, but chose against it and scanned the room for an open seat.
Mal exhaled as soon as he had began to walk away.
"You okay?" The blue-eyed boy next to her whispered as he leaned a bit closer to her.
She nodded, muttering a thanks.
"No problem." He beamed and extended a hand, "Chance Charming."
Mal made no motion to take it and instead repeated his surname, "Charming?"
He nodded slowly.
"Chad's brother?"
Chance rolled his eyes, "Unfortunately. Why has he bothered you? My younger brother tends to do that sometimes."
Mal didn't answer, but instead introduced herself, "Well nice to meet you, Chance. I'm Mal."
"There's not a single soul in Auradon that doesn't know you." He pointed out, "Of course I know who you are."
Their conversation was cut short as the teacher started class.
When the bell rung, students threw their backpack straps around their shoulders and thinned out of the classroom. Mal shoved her notebook into her bag, failing to ignore the doodles on the cover. Her green eyes burned as she sniffled.
When her emerald green eyes rose back up, she was shocked to see Chance, standing there with a patient grin.
"Haven't left yet?"
"Well it's my first week here, so I was kinda hoping you'd help me find my next class?" He rubbed his hand sheepishly at the back of his neck.
Mal nodded with a sigh.
~OoOoO~
Days passed since then. Days turned into weeks. And soon six painful weeks had passed. Not much had changed. She continued to be a moving mess. Ben and Uma continued to date. Evie continued to cancel her dates with Doug every once in awhile to comfort her after a particularly hard day. She continued to glance at Ben during Tourney Games.
The only thing that had changed was the older son of the Charmings. Slowly, he went from stranger to acquaintance to friend. Eventually, he had become one of her closest friends.
Students pushed, shoved, and slipped through each other to get out of the rather large door of Auradon Prep and into the courtyard. She had been fortunate enough to be one of the first few out and leaned back onto the tree, enjoying the protection it provided her from the sun's merciless rays. The clouds slowly danced across the blue sky, forming abstract shapes.
Mal pushed herself forward and fell back onto the soft grass of the school's courtyard.
Her cheeks were wet as she laughed bitterly. She recalled all those times she and Ben had gone cloudwatching.
*Flashback Start*
"You want to watch clouds?" She had looked at him as if he was crazy.
He chuckled and reached for her pale hand, "Come on, Mal. It'll be fun."
"I don't see anything fun about watching clouds."
"Please." He pout.
She looked at him and instantly melted, "Fine."
He jumped up slightly, shaking in excitement. Mal's lips spread into a large grin upon seeing his enthusiasm to something as silly as cloudwatching. He climbed up the palace's steps, disappearing at the top.
In minutes, he was lugging a picnic basket. Mal raised an eyebrow at his preparation. "I thought we were just going cloudwatching?"
"Well I thought it'd be harder to convince you so I packed strawberries."
Mal threw her head back as she let out a melodious, free laugh. The feeling felt so new, but so so nice. Being able to laugh at the smallest things with someone you love.
He grabbed her hand with a bright grin and lead her out of the palace. The couple glowed with pure happiness in the daylight. The king lead her to the center of the palace's garden. He gingerly laid a picnic blanket and gestured for her to lay down.
She complied and he soon followed.
"So what... do I just look at clouds?"
He chuckled, "Basically."
"Sounds boring."
"Look at that cloud!" Ben pointed up at the sky, "Doesn't it look like a man?"
Mal wrinkled her nose, "Where? Which one?"
"That one!"
"That doesn't help, Ben!"
He laughed and took her hand, guiding it so it would point to the cloud.
"That does not look like a man, Ben."
He replied, "Yes, it does!"
"No, it doesn't."
They bickered with joyous grins painted on their lips. The two happy teens laying in the center of the famed garden from which Belle's father had taken a rose. The picture they made so much more beautiful than anything the sky could paint.
He turned to his side and gazed at her as she pointed excitedly at the clouds. It was funny how loved ones made such seemingly boring things so fun.
The roses blossomed beautifully in the bushes, but they paled behind her, or at least in his eyes. He tucked a loose purple lock behind her ear without thought.
She tapped him, a childlike awe on her face, "Ben! Ben! Ben! Look! Doesn't that one look like a rose?"
He smiled and said thoughtfully, "It does."
She grinned proudly and turned to look at him. After seconds, she returned her gaze to the white puffs.
"Mal."
"Hm?" She hummed in response.
He bit his lip, but said the words, "Do you want to be my lady of the court?"
She shot up from the blanket, "What?!"
"Do you want to be my lady of the court?" He repeated.
"Yes." The purple-haired beauty hugged him and pulled back, "Wait... what exactly is that?"
Ben laughed, "You said yes without even knowing what it was?"
"Anything for you, Ben."
"I thought I was supposed to be the cheesy one." Ben's eyes twinkled, "It's basically this ceremony where I officially declare you as mine."(A/N: I don't really know what a lady of the court is and Google isn't helping either so.)
"You are the cheesy one." Mal retorted upon hearing his second statement.
*Flashback End*
The joy associated with the fond memory had left with Ben and she partially wished the whole memory would have gone too. At the same time though, she knew that if she had the chance to do it all over again, she'd make the same choice.
"A penny for your thoughts?" A familiar voice slipped through her thoughts smoothly. He sat down next to her.
"Hey Chance." She nodded.
He looked at her intently. "You're crying." He whispered as he reached a hand to wipe the wetness of her rosy cheeks.
The daughter of Maleficent looked down in embarrassment. She had cried many times in the last month and a half, but the embarrassment she felt as she did never eased.
"Thank you." She mumbled. He nodded.
She looked back up at him and regretted it immediately. Uma had a hand, clutching Ben's arm, as they crossed the courtyard.
When she turned back to her friends, she felt at ease again. And for a second felt that maybe things would work out.
That's it for the first chapter. It was about 600 words longer than I intended it to be and slightly underwhelming, but whatever. Please look froward to the next chapter as I continue to prove myself as a better writer than I was before! Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated. Thank you!