All right everyone. I am finally back. And I have a lot to say personally.
First, sorry to everyone for the MAJOR delay with this chapter. Let me start by saying that I live in Texarkana, Texas. While my town was not actually hit by Hurricane Harvey, one of the reasons for the delay was that I took a trip down there to help with relief efforts. The second reason was that this chapter was entirely unplanned. In my original plans, I found a gap in the story between two points that I really wanted to cover and felt that I owed it to you to fill that gap with story rather than just bounce over it. So this chapter and the next couple are all from scratch. I am hoping that they meet your expectations and that you like them. Because the third reason for this delay is that I lost a steam for this project the last couple of weeks. I have been really distracted and part of me didn't want to finish this story. But I am going to finish this story for you guys. Let me know if there is anything that I need to work on or change.
Second, thanks to Maliffacter0605-XxKINDSOULSxX, Eves, malfoyravenclaw555, and my mystery guest for reviewing my last chapter. Please continue to send me your reviews, questions, comments, and concerns. Good luck out there everyone and if you are in the path of hurricanes or have been hit by one already, I will continue to pray for you.
The Day of the Prank was also not easy on Ben. He had not slept well the night before because he was concerned about how easy it was to convince Mal and Jay not to try and steal the wand again. Then, after lunch, he had been summoned to Fairy Godmothers office to help deal with a teacher who had been knocked over by a student. Ben had not been expecting to find Carlos, Evie, Doug, and Lonnie in the office. After a very long conversation, with Grumpy calling for Carlos to serve two hundred hours of detention, they had finally managed to work things out and Carlos was let off with a warning and an apology about not being warned that the school mascot was a dog, which was Carlos biggest fear up until Doug and Lonnie had convinced him otherwise. While everyone was about to leave, Fairy Godmother asked Ben to stay behind. Ben had barely closed the door when Fairy Godmother began speaking.
"Prince Ben, I cannot say that I am happy about how this whole thing is turning out." Fairy Godmother said in a downtrodden tone.
"What do you mean?" Ben had liked the progress the VK's seemed to be making.
"Since their arrival, Mal has been casting spells on girls hair, Jane has asked me to use the wand to make her look prettier, there has been a sharp increase in the number of student items that have gone missing, and now Carlos has trampled one of our most vocal teachers."
"I do see what you are saying, Fairy Godmother, but with all due respect, I don't think that things are going that badly. Carlos has joined the Robotics Club, Evie is quickly becoming one of the smartest students in the school, and Jay has improved our tactics in the Tourney Team." Ben gave Fairy Godmother his most confident smile. But in the back of his head, he was also becoming a little wary. The more he gained Carlos' trust, the more he learned about the VK's, which was proving to not be a good thing. Ben was almost certain that, despite everyone's insistence to the contrary, Jay and Mal had been involved with Dude chasing Carlos. Dude was known for being playful and curious, but Dude rarely wandered into the classroom areas, as that usually led to him being shooed out by both students and teachers. The last time he had done it was when the Coach had forgotten to give Dude a treat after a game. Dude had followed the Coach's scent all the way to Fairy Godmothers Office.
"Regardless, I am not sure I like how…eventful things have become in the school lately. If there is anything you can do to calm things down, please do." Fairy Godmother was playing nice because it was Ben who had signed the proclamation that the Villain Kids be allowed to come to the school, but Ben understood that she was not interested in figuring out how deep the rabbit hole went.
"I will try my hardest to prevent any further incidents." But even as Ben made the promise and was excused from the room, he had a growing suspicion that things were just starting up.
So when Ben found Audrey waiting in the hall for him, he was not in the least bit looking forward to any conversation with her.
"So, are the VK's going home finally?" Audrey asked with just a little too much glee.
"No? Why would they be?" Ben responded.
"Seriously, Benny-boo? One of them tackled a teacher. How are they not all being sent home?"
"Carlos," Ben emphasized, "Was being chased by a dog. Apparently, he has a fear of dogs."
"So he says. His mother is Cruella De Vil. I bet he just wants to turn Dude into a fur coat."
"Audrey please," Ben snapped before he could stop himself, "just leave them alone." Ben walked off, trying to keep his exhaustion and frustration at her at bay. He knew it wasn't just Audrey who felt that way and he knew it wasn't her fault. It was just the way Auradon as a whole had become. There was no possible way that villains could be good. But Ben knew better and was willing to fight all of Auradon for the chance to help those in need. He was just hoping that it wouldn't come to that.
As Ben stormed away, Audrey became furious. She knew that Ben was not going to give up on the Villain Kids. So it was time for her to intervene.
Carlos, Evie, and Doug were in the Robotics Club the next day, discussing the reappearance of all the stuff that had gone missing when Audrey came into the room. Her forced smile that she usually wore around the villain kids was gone and in its place was a stern look that showed that she meant business. Carlos had seen a similar face on his mother countless times. Evie and Doug both shivered slightly at the look.
"Alright you two, listen up." Audrey didn't yell or raise her voice because that was un-ladylike, but her voice held no waiver in it. "I want the two of you to stay away from King Ben."
"Why?" Evie asked, exchanging a confused look with Doug.
"Because ever since you VK's showed up, everything has been going wrong. All the girls are starting to look prettier than me, Ben is caring more about you guys than me, and you tried to steal Fairy Godmother's wand."
"When did you guys try to steal the wand?" Evie asked, turning to Carlos and raising her brow.
"Jay and Mal did a couple of nights ago. I just tried to make sure we didn't get into trouble for it." Carlos was getting nervous and starting to shiver uncontrollably. Audrey was reminding him too much of his mother.
Evie could tell something was wrong and decided that this conversation needed to end quickly.
"Alrighty. Well other than Carlos here, none of us VK's have spent any real time with Ben…"
"Prince Ben."
"With Prince Ben and last I checked that wasn't even Carlos' doing. It sounds like you need to talk to Ben."
"Don't tell me what I need or don't need to do. I can handle Benny-boo all on my own. It's you villains who are the problem. Everything you touch turns evil and everyone you come into contact with changes for the worse. Soon all of Auradon will be contaminated and then it will be up to people like me to clean it all up."
"Their villains, Doug. What do they know about fair?" Audrey asked him.
"These villains," Doug started, making quotation marks with his fingers, "Have so far treated me than some of the Royals I know. At least they don't come up to me asking me to do their homework for them."
Audrey looked aghast at Doug's outburst, but she quickly turned back to the VK's.
"See what I mean. Doug used to be quiet and nice. Now he is yelling at me. This is all your fault." Audrey accused, pointing at Evie. Evie glared deeply and rose from the table when both Carlos and Doug each put a hand her arms.
"Don't even bother. She wouldn't listen anyway." Doug continued to glare at Audrey as he spoke. Audrey simply shook her head as if Doug were rambling nonsense that she couldn't understand.
"It's time for me to put a stop to this nonsense. I am telling those other two this as well. If you want to stay in Auradon, stay away from Ben." With that final looming threat, Audrey left the room.
Evie immediately turned to Carlos, concern replacing the glare that she had been wearing.
"Carlos, you alright?" She asked as the boy collapsed into a shivering fit.
"Yeah, she just reminded me a lot of my mother." Carlos rubbed his gloved hands against his arms. Evie grabbed his jacket from the chair he had hung it on and wrapped it around him like a blanket.
"I need to warn Ben. He is already on thin ice as it is." Doug spoke quickly as he rose from his seat and made his way to the door.
"What do you mean?" Evie asked. Doug stopped at the door. His face was full of debate. After a second he turned to her.
"Ben's proclamation was not met with a good response. If you all are sent home, then his proclamation will be considered a failure. If it fails, the people of Auradon will question his every move for his entire reign." With that explanation, Doug left quickly. Evie took a second to wonder if this was how Alice felt when the bunny ran off singing "I'm late, I'm late."
As Doug raced to find Ben, Audrey made her way to the outside cafeteria. Mal had spent the last couple of days there doing her magic on girls that Lonnie brought to her. When she arrived, she saw Mal and Jane sitting at a table eating while Lonnie spoke to Jay underneath a nearby tree. Audrey noticed that while Mal wasn't currently casting spells on girls' hair, there were several girls nearby that had really fabulous looking hair. This observation did nothing to calm her mood. She slammed her hands against the table top, shaking the trays and silverware and gaining the attention of everyone in the immediate vicinity.
"I want you villains to stay away from Ben." She said, ignoring the stares of everyone nearby. Jay and Lonnie approached the table while several girls nearby began to whisper. Jane got a worried look, but Mal smiled.
"Excuse me?" Mal's smile may have looked natural, but it was taking everything in her not to retaliate right at that second.
"I want you and the other VK's to stay away from Ben."
"Why? You worried I'll put Benny-boo under a spell that will let him see how beautiful you actually are?" Mal mocked. Audrey seemed lost for a second before realizing the implied insult.
"No! You VK's are making him act differently and I don't like it. He spends more time worrying about the four of you then he does hanging out with me. You four are corrupting him and it is up to me to stop it here and now before Benny-boo, I mean Prince Ben, decides that you four are more important than the rest of Auradon."
"Let's get something straight Princess. I can count on one hand how many times I have talked to Ben since I arrived. I am not interested in your boyfriend or his worries or how he treats you. If you ask me, it sounds like he doesn't care about you anyway." Mal's smile never faded, and her tone was joking, but there was a cruel edge to her speech and movements. Audrey leaned in real close so that only she and Mal could hear.
"Stay away from Ben or I will tell everyone what you and the others did at the museum." It was Audrey's turn to smile cruelly as the smile finally disappeared from Mal's face. But the look that replaced it was not fear or surrender like she had been expecting. It was a look of fury the likes of which she had never seen before. The likes of which only a villain could muster.
"You think I care about that?" Mal whispered darkly, "I am the child of the most famous and powerful villain in all of Auradon. Of course, I tried to steal the wand. But you know what else I am good at? Curses. So threaten me like that again and I will make you the laughing stock of not just Auradon Prep, but all of Auradon." To emphasize her point, Mal made sure to shove her spell book into the side of Audrey's hand. "Unlike you, I have no problem using magic to get what I want."
Mal rose from the table quickly, causing Audrey to back up quite a bit out of fear.
"How about you go do your makeup. It looks like everyone here is outdoing you in the beauty department." Mal's insult earned gasps and laughs from the students around them and a humiliated glare from Audrey.
"This isn't over," Audrey replied before storming off. As the students around her started to cheer and laugh more freely, Mal watched Audrey's retreating figure.
"You're right. It's not over, not by a long shot." Mal whispered under her breath.
During the confrontation outside, Doug found Ben in the Library. Ben had just barely managed to open up his school book when Doug quickly and uncharacteristically sat down across from him.
"Ben, we need to talk." Ben set down his pencil and gave Doug his full attention. No matter how hard he tried, Ben couldn't hide his exhaustion and annoyance from Doug. Doug felt bad but knew that Ben was the only one who could keep things from getting worse.
"What about?" Ben asked as politely as he could muster.
"Audrey is threatening to expose how the Villian Kids tried to steal Fairy Godmother's Wand if they don't stay away from you." Even as Doug spoke, Ben covered his face with his hands. His annoyance had bloomed into full-fledged frustration. When he had learned that all the missing items had been returned during the night, he thought that today was going to be easier. But Doug's single sentence had sent that dream down the toilet.
Ben, without uttering a word to Doug, began to gather up his stuff and put it in his bag. After that was done, he threw the bag over his shoulder and looked at Doug.
"Come on, you can explain it to me on the way to find Audrey," Ben said as he headed for the door. He ignored the voice in his head that was telling him that this was not going to end well.
They found Audrey with several of her own friends at a table in the inside cafeteria. When the girls saw Ben coming, all but Audrey seemed excited. Audrey's face dropped to concern, especially when she saw Doug following closely behind Ben.
"Hey, you girls mind if I talk to my girlfriend alone for a minute?" Ben asked politely to Audrey's friends. The girls moved to another table with a giggle.
"Benny-boo, shouldn't you be doing homework?" Audrey asked in her most innocent voice while holding her hands across the table to try and hold Ben's hands.
"I was until Doug here brought me some very interesting information. Something about how you are telling the Villain Kids to stay away from me or else?" Ben explained his tone even. This was not a conversation he wanted to have, but part of him knew that this was eventually how things were going to have to go.
"Benny-boo, I am doing this for us. Those Villains will only bring trouble and they need to keep their distance from us before we start acting like them. We need to be the shining example of goodness for the entire school and we can not do that if we are seen hanging around their kind."
"You wrong. I invited them here to help them get away from real villains and see what life is like in Auradon, not to ostracize them because of where they come from. Goodness, True Goodness, is giving everyone a chance, regardless of where they come from." Audrey's face dropped and she retracted her hands.
"You shouldn't have invited them at all. They will tear apart the very fabric of Auradon and only we are the only ones who can stop them from spreading their taint."
"Just because they come from the Isle of the Lost does not mean they are tainted. It just means that they have been raised differently than us. I will not abandon them just because they remind people of times long past."
"So are you choosing to side with the enemies of Auradon?" She asked this a lot more loudly than she had intended drawing the attention of the crowd around them. But she needed Ben to realize what he was choosing. Unfortunately, Ben met the challenge in all but outrage. He spoke loudly enough for most of the cafeteria to hear him.
"I am choosing to stand for all the citizens of Auradon. I am not just going to protect the Royal families while their subjects and the children of their enemies suffer for crimes they didn't commit. The Sidekicks and Villain Kids are just as important to Auradon as any of the Royal families. Possibly even more so."
"If you choose them, then you can say goodbye to me forever." Audrey challenged as she rose from the table. By this point, the entire cafeteria was quiet. Even the staff had halted working to watch the affairs.
"Don't make me choose Audrey. That will only hurt people." Ben pleaded, ignoring the crowd around them.
"Choose Ben. Me or the VK's?" Audrey yelled.
Ben glared at her before grabbing his bag and storming toward the cafeteria exit.
"Answer me, Ben."
"I am," Ben yelled without looking back. Silence overtook the cafeteria for a moment as Ben left, followed closely by Doug. Audrey fell into her seat as realization overtook her. Ben had chosen them over her. She shook off her friends consoling hands as they tried to comfort her. Eventually, things returned to normal in the cafeteria, but a lot of people stayed away from the table where Audrey sat. Some stay away out of concern or respect. But some stayed away out of anger, their scornful looks the only way that Audrey could tell that they were not happy with what she had done. Audrey grabbed her stuff and left the cafeteria, convincing herself that those scornful looks were from people who didn't know any better. She refused to believe otherwise.