Mal tapped her pencil on her desk nervously waiting for the instructor to pass out the history exam. They all knew it was going to be an essay, but the prompt was a mystery. Mal hated essays, but so did everyone else. That wasn't the only thing she was nervous about. Ben was sitting three seats behind her, still under another love/lust spell. Not only that, but Audrey was sitting next to him, practically drooling.

But Audrey was a potential problem for another time. First, the history exam, the last final of the semester. Then everything else.

Mal held her breath as the teacher placed the exam on her desk. She hoped it would be an easy prompt, or somethings she could BS her way through. She tore into it with another deep breath.

In a well written, in depth essay: Describe the economical and historical effects that resulted from Prince Adam's transformation from the beast and the changes that followed on the Seven Kingdoms. Provide several specific examples.

Mal wanted to laugh. If the prompt were any easier, it would be too easy. Mal had never been so thankful to hear Ben drone on and on about his dad and his rule and all the boring meetings he had to go to once he was crowned king and the changes he was planning to make.

Not only that, but as a VK she knew all about life on the isle and the "precautions" that he had placed to keep them living in squalor. Tossing the hand me downs and spoiled food to them to just barely keep them alive, keeping the barrier strong, caging them like animals to protect those deemed most worthy of the royal court. Prince, and later King Adam was once the villain of his own story, but the history books would never paint him that way.

Mal tried to keep her essay civil, just the facts, but she was sure that some of her personal feelings entered her essay. The two hours they had to do their essay flew by in a flurry of words. Before she knew it, the instructor was telling them to pass their papers to the front.

She figured Ben would be out before her, since he was sitting closer to the back, but somehow she beat him out into the hallway. She knew she could just go up to her dorm and meet him there with the rest of them, but she wanted to wait, really see the effects the spell had over him before she allowed him to be around the others. She leaned against the far wall, empty of any blemishes and for the first time in months, she wished for a can of spray paint.

She watched as all the other students filed out into the hall, going their separate ways and chattering about the exam. She blinked in surprise when Audrey stopped in front of her, a scowl darkening her usually pretty face.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing." Audrey threatened. "It's cruel to keep him under a love spell, and you of all people should know that."

Mal just stared for a few long seconds. "What are you talking about?" She said, "Ben isn't under the love spell." She lied, knowing it was better than going into a long in depth explanation of what was really going on. "And what do you mean I of all people should know?" She asked.

"Ask your mother, everyone else already knows." Audrey spit out, "And leave Ben out of it." She said before she stomped off and left Mal standing alone with her thoughts and still waiting for Ben.

Leave Ben out of what?

Ben came out a minute or two later and instantly spotted Mal, not a hard feat with her violently violet hair. He joined her in the nearly empty hallway. "Have I told you how radiant your hair looks under the fluorescent lights?" He asked her with his signature cheesy smile as he linked arms with her. "Have I also told you that I know whenever I'm being spelled?" He added, his tone changed, darker somehow as he pushed her into an empty classroom and locked the door. "And I hate that I can do nothing about it." He added, backing her up into one of the desks, his eyes holding the same brand of mischief as before, his hands practically burning her like fire.

Mal could hear her heart beating loudly in her chest, as Ben rushed her, his hands wrapping around her hips and sliding up her sides, his lips getting that much closer to hers. "Ben" she whispered, unsure of her voice for the first time in a long while. "Ben." She tried a little louder, trying to get his attention as his hands roamed her skin and his lips threatened to do the same. "Ben stop!" She shouted when he didn't seem to hear her before. She wasn't sure which hurt more, the desk at her back or his hands unable to obey.

"Come on Mal," he whispered seductively in her ear, his hands finding the bare skin of her hips and snaking under her shirt. "We have hours before we have to leave for the summer palace. You've kept me waiting for weeks." He said with a whine. "It's just one kiss." He whispered, his lips close to her neck, the heat of his breath and the closeness making her shiver, his hands against the bare skin of her hips and climbing higher igniting a fire in her bloodstream.

It was all too much at once. Something clicked inside of her and the heel of her hand flew to his face, coming in contact with his nose and producing a loud crack, sending him stumbling backwards. Before she could fully grasp what she was doing she had her knee in his back, one arm pinned behind him and the other pinned below him, his face and his dangerous lips forced into the carpet, his most likely broken nose staining the expensive fibers.

That seemed to wake him up. "Mal? What the hell happened?" He asked, struggling slightly against her, his voice heavy with the blood he swallowed and the carpet fibers.

"You're spelled." She explained, "Pretty powerful too." She continued, easing some of the weight off of him and letting go of the arm she held back. "It's a strong one and I'm not sure how to break it yet." She stayed, pinning him down with half her weight for several long silent seconds, giving him time to take it all in. "I need you to close your eyes." She instructed, thinking about what she had done and how he had ended up in the carpet.

"Why?" Ben asked, the frustration evident in his voice, thick with the sound of a broken nose. She had him pinned in a way that he couldn't escape on his own and she was sure that frustrated him too.

"I need to fix your nose, but I don't want to be attacked again." She said bluntly, straight to the point. "I'm not totally sure, but it seems to be when you see me, you go full caveman." Even that made her laugh a dry laugh.

She could feel Ben sigh beneath her after a few long seconds of waiting. "My eyes are closed." He told her, "And when I find whoever spelled me, they are getting the stocks."

Mal laughed at that, a welcome relief from the anger she expected from him. "Going medieval?" She asked as she shifted some of her weight and rolled him over. She kept him secured under her, with a knee to his chest. "If you open your eyes, Benjamin Florian, I will put you in the stocks." She threatened, trying to keep her tone balanced. He was a gruesome bloody mess, his blood covering his face and cheeks and her hands. It was brutal, like a murder scene almost.

She put one hand on his forehead and the other on his nose. She knew she could magic it, and it would come out perfect, but she kind of liked the idea of Ben not looking so perfect. She took a deep breath and popped it back into place with a loud snap.

"Ow, fuck!" Ben blurted out and that made Mal giggle.

"The mouth on you!" Mal exclaimed in mock shock. "What would the kingdom think if they knew their King was such a potty mouth?" She asked.

"They'd think his girlfriend was a bad influence." Ben answered with a signature smile before he winced. "Hey Mal?" He asked after a few short seconds of silence, his eyes still closed. "Can you explain what I did to make you so violent?" He asked.

"Do you remember our first date?" Mal asked him, having no doubts that he would. "What I said about why we don't date much on the island?" She continued a little quieter, it wasn't something that she or the others liked to share.

"It was more like gang activity." He answered, quoting her nearly directly. Then the realization seemed to hit him and hard. "Mal, did I-?" He asked, "Were you ever-?" He rephrased.

Mal stood up and took his hand to help him to his feet. "Not me or anyone close to me." She answered, "but others." She explained quietly. "That's the difference between Auradon and the island." She continued. "There, girls are taught to run like hell and not fight back. Here, I bet it's nothing like that." She guessed.

"First kisses will lead to other firsts." Ben quoted flatly, and Mal had no doubts that was as far as their education on adult matters went. "Mal, I had no idea." He continued, trying to sit up from under her, or at least get an arm free "but I will fix it." He said.

"Don't make promises you can't keep." She warned. They were in the mess they were in because of too many wayward promises.

"I'm serious." Ben answered. "As King I want to improve things my father put in place. It's my duty." He reminded her, closing his hand around hers with a tight grip.

"Let's break this lust spell first." Mal suggested, pulling him toward the door and out of the classroom once she determined there was no one hanging around in the hallways. "I don't think I'm going to like being your seeing eye dog forever." She said flatly, leading him toward the dorms, her eyes scanning for any other students of faculty, her mind trying to find a good excuse.

"Hey Mal?" Ben asked again, several minutes later, as they walked across the campus under the warm mid-afternoon sun. "I've kissed you before. Your hand on the way to to coronation." He reminded her.

"That was before you were king." She explained, having already given it a lot of thought over the weeks before he knew anything about it. "It wasn't your kingdom to give at that time." She said, dragging him into the shadows of the aged building.

"So what is the definition of a kiss?" Ben wondered for the second time. "Would it be just lip to lip contact, or lip contact anywhere?" He was starting to overthink things and they had already had that conversation before, whether he remembered it or not.

"I don't know." Mal answered exasperated, "but I need you to open your eyes and navigate the steps." She said, as they reached the staircase in the dorms, luckily not running into any other students yet. "I'll be right behind you." She told him, still keeping his hand in hers.

"I'm sorry." He said as he opened his eyes and began to ascend the stairs, gripping her hand gently, even though he couldn't look at her. "If I hadn't promised my kingdom for just a kiss we wouldn't be in this situation."

Mal shrugged, apologies couldn't make it all better. "I'm sure Audrey's a better kisser anyway." She said before she even thought about it. Both she and Ben had reached her floor and she could see him stop. She was sure he was about to turn back. She let out a relieved sigh when he didn't. It was easier to try and forget the bloody mess that was his face if he wasn't looking at her.

"Audrey and I never kissed." He admitted quietly. "It wasn't really a relationship like ours." He continued. "Our parents set us up from birth. I would get the crown, but her parents would be part of the royal family when Audrey and I-" he stopped.

"Married?" Mal finished for him and he nodded slowly. "Well my love spell must have ruined that plan." She laughed, taking a little satisfaction from ruining the plans of Sleeping Beauty's daughter. Perhaps history did repeat himself. "I stole her Bennyboo." She laughed before he turned to face her, his eyes closed, his face bloody and starting to swell.

"It wasn't anything you did." Ben explained softly, moving his hand to try and pull her closer as they reached the door to the dorm that she and Evie shared. "It wasn't working out between Audrey and I." He continued. "Even before the love spell, you intrigued me." He admitted as she turned the handle to find it locked.

"Keep your eyes closed." She instructed as she searched for her dorm room key. "We're the first ones back." She explained, unlocking the door. "You can clean yourself up in our bathroom." She told him once she pushed the door open and led him inside. "You won't be photo perfect for a few weeks though." She explained with a half smile.

She turned him toward the bathroom and gave him a gentle push, sighing as soon as he disappeared. She sat on her bed and waited for the others as she heard the sink start running. She was tempted to go help him, but instead began to flip through her mother's spell book looking for any kind of answer, or a spell that could overpower the spell Ben already had over him. She jumped as she saw something fly past her bed and land on the floor. She laughed when she realized it was Ben's tie and then his jacket, followed by his button up shirt.

"What are you doing?" Mal asked him, her eyes focused on the large blood drops on his white shirt, crumpled on the floor. Could it be another effect of the lust spell over him? Was he trying to tempt her into other things besides kiss?

"I have to do something to distract from my black eyes." He answered, his voice muffled by the faucet and what sounded like a washcloth.

That made her laugh, apparently things weren't as bad as they seemed. "Your plan is to distract my friends by getting naked?" She asked. "You are definitely evil" She continued, her tone flat, her attention only half on her spell book, more on the possibility of what could come flying out of the bathroom next.

"Mal?" His voice came closer, minutes later, making her jump. She looked to see his eyes closed, his perfect bare chest hard to avoid. "What are we going to do around the others?" He asked, putting his hands out to try and find her.

She took his hand and pulled him to her bed, and into a sitting position. "Tell them the truth?" Mal suggested. "Evie already knew." She explained, tracing a design or two on his palm. "So did Audrey apparently." She added, pausing briefly to lean into him. As long as his eyes were closed, she was safe from any attempts.

She relaxed into him as she felt his hand wrap around her protectively. "How are we going to break it?" He asked after several seconds of silence. "Can we break it?" He asked and she didn't miss the subtle fear in his voice.

Mal didn't know how to answer right away. She continued to trace the lines on his hands gently. "Delicate hands." she told him, absentmindedly. "Yet your fingers are calloused." She continued, grazing over those gently. "You play a stringed instrument?" She guessed.

"Twelve and a half years of violin." He answered.

Mal snuggled into him further. "You took twelve and a half years of violin." Mal voiced, "I imagine you're pretty good." She guessed and he nodded. "My mother taught me dark magic theory before I could talk. I am excellent." She explained. "If anyone can find an answer it's me." She assured him. She gripped his hand tightly and then continued, realizing she hadn't answered him. "I can do small spells to block the effects of the lust spell, but until it's broken or we find the counter spell we're stuck." She explained.

"I'm willing to try anything." Ben admitted. "As long as I can still see you." He paused and then rephrased. "Just don't turn me into an animal." He pleaded.

"Turn him into a puppy, like the beast his father once was." A small voice came from the corner, "Tell him Maleficent sends her regards." Mal stood from the bed and moved over to the desk, picking up her mother's cage and taking it into the bathroom, her rage starting to surge through her like electricity.

Ben opened his eyes for a brief moment while Mal was away. His brain was clear for several seconds and he tried to decide what to do next, if he could do anything to counter the spell himself. He leaned back and his hand found the leather binding of Mal's spell book, but before he could even think to pick it up, she returned.

"We are not doing that." Mal voiced, shutting the bathroom door and looking over to Ben, who looked back at her. "Close your eyes!" She shouted, terrified and turning toward the widows. When he didn't pounce, she turned back and found his eyes closed.

"You don't have to be scared of me, Mal." He told her gently, and she could feel the genuineness in his voice, the gentleness of the innocent king half naked on her bed. "I would never treat you like the others on the island." He went on.

"You don't know what you'll do under a lust spell." She countered, trying to stay rational. "Need I remind you of 'my love for you is ridiculous'?" She asked.

"You spelled me with a cookie." Ben defended, "And it was delicious." There was a silence between them as Mal took her seat on the bed again "Are there other ways someone can be spelled?" He asked.

"Tons." Mal answered. "But for a longer lasting spell, you want something that is either used daily, like soaps or lotions, or something that lasts a long time, like food." She explained. "Something quick, a scent, or a pin prick." She stayed quiet for a long while. "A love or lust spell you would want to last for a long while. What did you eat today?" She asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary." He explained. "Just what the royal cooks brought me. And half of the strawberry croissant I brought you."

"Where did you get it?" Mal asked him, leaning back on the bed and closer to Ben. "Did a stranger offer it to you, promising that it would solve all your problems or something?" She asked, hoping it would be that easy, but knowing that he wouldn't be that naive and take food from strangers. Would he?

"I asked the kitchen staff to make it." Ben answered, "I thought it would cheer you up before finals." He explained. "But you ate half," he continued. "Shouldn't you be all handsy and weird too?" He asked.

Mal let out a short laugh. "I don't get handsy and weird." She told him. "I am as cool as a cucumber." She continued, stealing another one of his cutesy phrases. "It's powerful magic," she explained. "It needs a target and a pursuer, like the love spell did. The only one to really master it was my mother and-"

She hopped up from the bed and stomped into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her hard. "What did you do?" She shouted, "How did you do it?!" She continued to shout at what Ben imagined was the cage that held her mother. "Tell me how to break it, or I will shake the magic out of you!"

Ben's eyes popped open at the sound of the door to the hallway opening. There he saw Evie and Doug, looking quite shocked. He realized why as his shirt and jacket currently resided on the floor and his eyes were probably swelling to the size of tennis balls, if not larger.

"The yelling at her mother, I'm used to," Evie explained, looking from Ben to the bathroom door and back "Half naked, bloodied up King, I could get used to." She teased and even Doug laughed. "What did we miss?" She asked.

Then Ben tried to explain, but didn't really do it any justice. Minutes later, Mal exited the bathroom looking quite frazzled for fighting with a small reptile.

"Aww sweetie." Evie cooed at Mal's less than pristine state, and rushing forward to her "Did the horns have to come out?" She asked, trying to smooth Mal's hair. Doug made small talk with Ben, mostly about finals, as he kept his eyes from Mal. "And what happened to poor Ben?"

"Long story." Mal explained, panting slightly, "but I know who cast the lust spell." She revealed. "And I know how to break it." She revealed.