We are going back some time to see Alexandra's point of view of what is happening...
Alexandra came out of the spa with her mother and went to find Ben, who was talking to some friends near the entrance of the palace. They were all laughing at something one of them said so he didn't notice her coming, she put her hands over his eyes "Guess who it is?"
He made a joke and turned giving her a quick kiss on the mouth asking how her date on the spa was. They walk around the palace while she joked about all the torture woman go through to look beautiful. Finally, she mentioned that she had run into Mal and some of her friends and she felt Ben stiff a little, he always seemed tense when she mention any encounter with Mal even tough they were always pleasant.
A week after she arrived at Auradon she met some people and one girl stood up for her "personality", Audrey. Of course Alexandra was well aware that she had dated Ben for over a year and she really wonder how come they dated for so long, Audrey had such an awful personality. She had a rule of never discussing any exes with any of her boyfriends, she was once told that past relationships should stay in the past because they never bring nothing but problems to any relationships.
So she was left to wonder how did that relationship had subsisted for over a year. The end of the relationship was known by everyone, she actually talked to Ben about that before they got together. She was scared that if anything went wrong they would have a horrible and very public break up as the one he had with Audrey. That's when Ben told her the truth about what happened between him and Audrey, Alexandra was appalled, to say the least, what kind of person would do that. Mal destroyed a rock-solid relationship between two people that share feelings for each other, when she started to tell all of this to Ben, he stopped her. He didn't love Audrey and Mal did him a favor helping him to break up with her, yes he would have done it in another way but he was happy with the end result.
He always spoke very highly of Mal and Alexandra knew from the started not to put in doubt any comment he would say defending her. Mal seemed like an incredible person that like her friends overcome a very rough childhood and fought to become a better person. The way he talked about Mal, even when he assure her that he was over her, there was something that didn't quite completely convince her. Ben was always something of a platonic love for Alexandra and when he asked her to be his girlfriend she just couldn't deny herself the chance to try it out. So she was more than a little hesitant to meet Mal after meeting Audrey if Audrey was the longest relationship he had what kind of person was Mal.
However when she met Mal at the cafeteria at first, she thought she was making fun of her, but then everybody was doing the same thing so she let it go. Ben face, when she greet him, though, made it clear that he wasn't over Mal like he thought he was. The day they talked about Mal and he admitted that he needed to have her in his life marked the start of something. He felt responsible for abandoning her after the break up went she basically picked him over her mom, yes she choose good, but he was part of the package. Alexandra felt bad to be happy about it, but if she was honest, she was glad that he felt pity for Mal.
After the game were her friends hit him repeatedly, Alexandra was upset because she was sure that Mal was the one that made them do it. Later Ben told her that she didn't and he even invited them to the castle. Everything started to change in her mind about the kind of relationship Ben had with Mal when all her friends came in without her, she felt him tense. He went out to looked for her and came back a little sad when he knew his mom had taken Mal into the library. That night he kept looking at the door, it was like if he didn't stare she wouldn't come. With time though she could see the difference in his behavior when she saw her and had a good conversation on when she saw her and things went bad. Alexandra could even tell when he didn't saw Mal at all. She sometimes saw Mal walking with her friends and wonder if they could tell when she saw Ben and what type of conversation they had.
He even forgot about her one time that they were supposed to study after his lab class, she waited, but he never came to find her. She went to the cafeteria and found him talking to Mal and they were laughing, Alexandra stood watching them for a while. They weren't doing anything bad there was no hand holding or flirty touches, but still you could see a level of intimacy between them that she envy. Sure she and Ben were close they had been since they met as kids, he was supposed to be king so she knew that inviting to spend lengthy periods of time in her kingdom was out of the question but still he came to visit every year. Yes, they were close but that closeness was achieved after years of knowing each other, he didn't know Mal that long.
Alexandra was about to go to them when Audrey appeared and follow her eyes " I know we don't know each other very much but as princesses we should stand with each other. So let me give you a little advice, ok?. Mal was raised by Maleficent she is devious and has no boundaries when she wants something. Ben is too nice to notice when he is clearly being set up, last year she was this exotic girl from the island that needed his help. I'm sure this year she will play whatever part she needs to steal him back."
With that last thought, she moved forward to sit at a table with the rest of the group of friends that she usually hang out with. After that, Alexandra decided to get to know Mal sure it would be easy to think that Audrey was right, but she was obviously a sore loser. She decided to join them and she was glad to see that it was really easy to talk to them, Mal told her about her friend Azis and all the adventure the group usually got into. From that point on she tried to know more about the group of friends, she knew a little about Cora and Ryder but nothing personal. She usually went for a walk early in the morning and there she notice Ryder and Mal running making fun of each other. He seemed really cool and she could see how protective he was of Mal, her thoughts went back to the game and how ruthless he was with Ben.
Azis seemed more like a flirt when she first met him, but he seem to have a serious side, she usually watched the group talked behind the boys dorms when she went to meet Ben at his afternoon classes. She had a friend that went to school were the majority of them went last year and she asked about them, she found out the reason why they left the school and paid more attention to the kind of loyalty they profess to each other. One day during one of the multiples meetings Ben had she decided to ride his bike to the enchanted lake, she had heard a lot about it from him and was dying to go, but he always had other plans when she asked him.
So when she was near she heard people talking she recognized the voices as Mal and Azis, she wasn't sure what to do and was about to go back when she heard Mal's confession. The sadness in her voice broke her heart a little, Mal was still in love with Ben. She wasn't shocked about the cookie, but she was surprised to see that Azis seemed to know about it, they were really a close group. She felt horrible about hearing something that it was obviously a secret so when Azis started to talk she went back as fast as she could. She found herself speeding to the castle, she didn't know what to do with the information she had just heard. Audrey's words came rushing back, but something in her told her that Mal wasn't doing anything to be with Ben. She actually confessed her love for him and all her actions acknowledge Alexandras as the owner of Ben's heart.
The only problem was that she wasn't sure that she own Ben's heart, she desperately wanted to be, but there was this doubt in her that wouldn't let her believe it. Ben found her passing in her room and asked her what was wrong she made something up and was rewarded with a huge hug and kiss. Those kisses kept convincing her that he did love her and she felt herself relax again. Ben invited her to go for a walk and when they were passing near the entrance they heard Mal talking to Chip, she was going to keep walking, but Ben made his way to the door and open it more.
This was her chance to see if her doubts had any reason for existing she asked Mal about the dance with the excuse of her dress. That week she had found an opportunity to talked to Evie, she was such a breath of fresh air and so knowledgeable about fashion they click instantly. When Azis answer she felt Ben tense and the way he practically threw the door at them shocked her. Yes her doubts had a reason for existing. After that Ben told her that maybe they could just stay and cuddle, she agree, she needed to feel him close to her to make her doubts silence.
On the day of the Ball she felt like a Queen, Ben made her his official date and she was included in all the activities of the Royal Family. Everything was like a dream until the announcer present Azis and Mal, the second Ben heart the way she was presented his mood turned sour. He tried to hide it but he was a horrible liar, he even growl a little. They danced for various songs she tried to make conversation and he tried to continue it, but it was hollow. The opportunity came to change partners and she embrace it, she made her way from partner to partner until she end up with Ryder. He bowed to her and started to dance while making pleasant conversation, she noticed so many things about him from his manners to the way he tried to find a topic that interest her.
Alexandra took a chance and asked him about his views about Ben and Mal, he was shocked and told her that she shouldn't be asking those question to anyone but her boyfriend. Then he directed them to where Ben and Mal were dancing and change partners. She was sad that she messed things up with him. The week-long celebration continue and she finally tricked Ben into taking her to the enchanted lake, it was supposed to be a quick trip, but she manage to get Chip to prepare a picnic for them there. They had a great time even though he seemed lost in thought a few times.
That bring her back to the present, Ben made no effort to asked about Mal and just changed the conversation entirely. They spend the day together in the different events the royal family had to assist including a private dinner with her parents and his parents. The next day was a family day and his dad had insisted that she was to compete with them, he was ok with her spending time with Ben, but this day was for the families. She wasn't surprised to see Mal laughing and having a good time with her friends, but she was a little-taken out of place when she noticed she had joined Ryder's family. After the ball, she had assumed that there was something between her and Azis, but maybe she was wrong. She had seen Ben for a second before the competition started and he seemed sad, Alexandra was sure it had something to do with Mal and her mood agree with Bens.
The last event was a series of musical numbers on Friday she even sang with Ben and his friends for the first one of the afternoon. She knew that the boys band, which was quite famous, was going to play and some of her friends were coming from other kingdoms to listen to them. When she told Ben that after they sang he seemed shocked, the guys told him that they weren't famous or nothing more than a little band of friends.
When Ryder started singing the first song though and the crowd went wild and she joined in. She was holding Bens' hand and dancing with him to the song, he even laugh a little seeing her enjoying herself so much. In a second everything changed, Azis announced a special guest and she just knew that it was going to be Mal. The light focus on her and Ben gasp, still they continue to hold hands until Azis and Mal started acting the song that was something like the story of Romeo and Juliet. At the end of it however Azis "propose" to Mal and Ben let go of her hand and growl she could see how every muscle in his body tense and she wonder if he was going to try to jump to the stage.
The next song came and she couldn't take it anymore, Alexandra started to get out of the balcony, minutes later when she was out Ben caught up with her asking her if she was alright. She wanted to slap him, was he kidding her? Of course, she wasn't ok and she told him so. Alexandra explained how patient she was with him, but it was obvious that he needed to think if he was really ready to be in a relationship with her he tried to cut her off, but she wasn't having any of it. "Really think about it, Ben. You were so upset during a song where there is clearly no true behind any of what was happening, just think if you would be ok if it actually happened for real. Please don't use me as an excuse not to think about what you feel. After you think about your feelings, we can talk but for now I'm going to stay with my parents for the weekend."
She gave him a kiss on the cheek and went to find her parents, that night she cried herself to sleep but woke up the next morning feeling better. Yes, she love Ben but maybe it was more of an infatuation mix with friendship feelings than a couple relationship love.
Notes
Again sleepy here but I really wanted to publish this today, I hope you like it.