Hurt.
Mal sneaked back into the castle without being caught and quickly showered. She threw her hair into a high bun and got dressed in a pair of jean shorts, a black v-neck shirt with a long gray cardigan and brown boots. Just as she finished getting ready the door slammed opened and in the mirror reflection, Queen Leah and King Stefan entered the room.
"Audrina Phillipa Stefanie Rose!" Leah barked. "What in the world is going on with you!?"
"Grandma!" Mal rose up from her seat after tying her boot. "I—"
"We get a call from Cinderella, who had to pick up Chad from the police station, and she went through his cell phone and found photos of you drunk, drinking and stripping your jacket!" Leah exclaimed. "This is not how a princess should act! This is not how a girl should act, let alone!"
"Grandma—"
"And," Stefan spoke up. "I just received a call from Sultan. You slept with his grandson!?"
"Before marriage!?" Leah questioned loudly. "You are to not be with that boy! He's not good for you!"
"But grandma I can explain!"
"Hush now Audrina!" Leah shouted. "I am so disappointed with you right now. We've raised you better and this is how you repay all of us? Your grandparents? Your parents?"
Mal started to sob. She was doing it again, ruining things. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean too! It was all just a huge mistake!"
"You have been disobeying lately and you are hurting this family!" Leah shouted. "I've been informing your parents about this and they are not happy about this at all."
"Please, grandma!" Mal cried out. "I'm so sorry." She was getting angry now. She wasn't sure why, but she was growing angry by the second.
"If you don't start acting like your old self, you are going to military school! You are ruining the family name!"
Mal, sobbing and now fully angry, she screamed loudly. She picked up the nearest object near her, a silver hairbrush, and threw it in Leah's direction. Leah dodged it rapidly. "Audrina!"
Within a second, Mal felt a harsh slap across her face that burned. She looked at the slapper and saw the stern, cold, angry, crossed expression on his face. Within a second, although, Mal saw her own mother's upset, angry, crossed face.
"Stefan!" Queen Leah yelled in shock.
"She deserves it, Leah." Stefan said.
Mal sobbed. She picked up her school back and shoved passed them, sobbing and her heart breaking with every step she took out of the room and the castle. Mal felt her heart breaking. Or was it the other girls' heart?
Who's heart was breaking?
Audrey finished getting ready for class; black skirt with violet flowers, purple leggings with black ankle boots and a pink top with a pink jacket, and sauntered to class. Her body still ached from the fight and her head still ached from being hungover. She still couldn't believe she got so drunk last night. She'd never drink that much before.
Audrey turned a corner and bumped into Lonnie. "Oh, hey Mal. How are you?"
"I'm...fine. Still a little hungover." Audrey replied. "I blacked out so much last night."
"Yeah, it was killer. The only people who got arrested though were a couple of college kids and Chad."
"Chad?"
"Yeah. He got so drunk he ran into the front of a cop car." Lonnie giggled. "I saw videos of it, it was funny."
"Whoa, people took videos last night?"
"Oh yeah." Lonnie said. "Did you talk to Ben yet?"
""bout what?"
Lonnie looked at her baffled. "You... really don't remember, do you?" Audrey shook her head. "Oh Mal," Lonnie sounded upset. "You, uh, were making out with a couple of different guys."
"Oh...shit!" She muttered.
"Yeah. I thought you might of told Ben before anyone told him or before he saw the pictures and photos."
"Oh crap...photos!?" Audrey cried out too. "Uh...did you see Audrey there too?"
"Yeah, she's a bit wild too. I've never seen her that wild." Lonnie told her. "Audrey made out with a few different guys as well and stripped her jacket off. Which, it's not too bad, but what if she did more, ya know?"
"Oh...yeah." Audrey muttered. How dare that Dragon do that to me! Sure, I made out with different guys, but that's all! "Well, she must be a good drinker, I guess."
"Sure." Lonnie said, thought didn't sound too convinced. "So, did you do anything yet?"
"Do what?"
"About the thing with the person."
"Oh...uh, not yet." Audrey replied. Lonnie sighed and looked reasonably distressed. "What?"
"It's been, like, a month now. It can't be that hard, can it?"
Audrey wished she knew what Lonnie was talking about. She really did. Now she wished she asked Dragon if she could say anything. "Well, I just...wanna make sure...it's all the same." She said. She had no idea why she said those words, but something in her told her to say that.
Lonnie took that as a answer, as she smiled. "Okay. Just please hurry. Please?"
"No problem." Audrey said with a sweet smile.
Audrey walked down the steps and reached the last step before she heard her, er, the other name she carried call out. "Mal!" It roared. It was Ben. She turned to see him jogging down the hallway. He looked a little mad. Audrey tried to be nice, knowing what might have ticked him off.
"Hi Ben." She said.
"Hey," He said to 'Mal' with his hands on his sides. "First, I'm sorry I wasn't there last night. I got stuck with work."
"Oh, no worry."
"Second," He said and his voice lowered. "I found out about this from videos, pictures from the council who called me at five this morning to inform me about all of this occurrence. I'm not happy about any of that. The drinking, the wildness that you showed last night and making out with several different guys who are older than you."
Audrey felt her heart breaking. Or was it the other girls' heart?
Who's heart was breaking?
"I'm sorry," She said in a low whisper, avoiding eye contact with him. "I...I don't know what came over me."
Ben sighed sadly. "I know you've been over stressed with a lot of things, but drinking is not going to solve any. It'll make them worse, Mal."
"I know." Audrey replied, still looking at the ground to avoid eye contact. "Is the council upset?"
"They are, with everyone who was at the bar party. Most of the college kids were arrested. Chad was too, but let off the hook since it was his first offense. Lucky for him that his family isn't like Audrey's grandparents who are part of the council, at least her grandmother is."
"How is Queen Leah?" Audrey wondered about her Grandmother's feelings.
"She's really upset with Audrey." Ben told her.
"What happened?"
"You didn't hear? I don't believe it, I don't believe things like this until I hear it from the person themselves."
Audrey was at a loss now. "What happened to Audrey?"