Hey guys, sorry for the delay in getting these chapters to you. The reason for it, I know I blame this a lot, is a combination of writing future chapters and taking a two week break from this story to complete another on my fan fic. Sorry, I swear I am trying to get better at this, much love RSD xoxoxo.
Inside the box was a purple ring that looked like a dragon, it was covered in dark purple stones that covered it's body but there were two emerald stones in the place of its eyes. I heard Evie gasp when she saw it.
"Mal it's beautiful" I heard her say.
"It is" I agreed as I pulled it out of the box and looked at it closer. I noted the weight of it and I smiled when I looked at it closer; it was going to look that I had a dark purple dragon wrapped around my finger when I wore it. I loved it! I handed it over to Evie so she could have a closer look.
"I know where I want to put this" I said as I pulled my two rings of my left pointer finger and moved them onto my right.
"A dragon for his dragon" she teased as she handed it back.
"Behave" I warned as I slid it on my finger. I wiggled my finger to get the light to hit it and I smiled at it as I watched it.
"I love it" I said.
"It's beautiful" she agreed.
"Give me two seconds and then I can show you them photos" I said happily.
"What are you going to do?" She's asked.
"I"m going to thank him" I answered as I picked my phone up from my bed.
"Ok" she said. I quickly took a photo of my hand and sent him it with the caption:
"Let me guess, a dragon for your dragon? I love it! Love you loads Beastie Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx".
"I think it's cute that he didn't want to get you overwhelmed" Evie said reading the card again.
"Well he knows that I think he doesn't need to give me things, but he says he wants to spoil me" I said as I wiggled my finger to get the light to catch my dragon ring again.
"Ben's always been like that" Evie noted.
"Yeah it's what makes him amazing, but it doesn't stop me reacting the way I do" I advised as I looked up at her.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well I kinda cried when he gave me this" I said as I picked my locket up.
"You cried?" Evie asked.
"Yeah, even after all this time Ben is making me feel all these emotions that still feel a little strange" I admitted.
"Yeah there was a time when you would say 'I don't cry" she said mimicking my voice.
"Well I didn't used to" I countered.
"I know how it feels, Doug makes me feel the same way; every now and again it feels strange and I just stop myself and start to think about it. When I start thinking about things when I am around Doug he instantly thinks there might be something wrong bless him" she said with a smile. I knew that smile all to well; it was the smile that Evie did when she was thinking about Doug. Evie teases me when I'm thinking about Ben because apparently I have my 'Ben smile' showing. At the start it used to make me get all embarrassed and flustered but now it doesn't. Ben was right what he said this morning; I shouldn't let it get to me as much. I'm very proud that I'm in such a long, strong and loving relationship.
"Your thinking about Ben" I heard Evie tease which brought me out of my daydream.
"Well I had to think about something to pass the time, you started drooling over Doug" I teased back.
"Was not" she stated.
"So am I ever going to see these photos?" She laughed.
"Ok, hang on" I said rolling off my bed. I quickly reached into my bag and pulled my camera out.
"I'll put them on my laptop, you'll see them better" I said getting up and walking towards my desk.
"Ok, I hope they are clean" she teased.
"There are" I said as I walked back to my bed with my camera, laptop and USB cable in my hand.
"Well if you don't mind looking at Ben lying in a sleeping bag, then yeah there clean" I said as I opened my laptop and turned it on.
"Don't worry he's covered" I said looking at her when I saw her eyes widen.
"I was going to say, I thought you said you didn't need to take those type of photos" she laughed.
"I don't. I wouldn't anyway, hackers and the press can get hold of things so easily" I said sighing.
"But I would like to point out" I said as I released what I had just said.
"I don't need them type of photos" I said looking at her.
"I believe you" she said as I quickly typed my password into my laptop. I heard my phone go off and I smiled; as I unlocked my phone I noted how long it took to answer back but smiled when I read Ben's reply:
"Sorry baby, I would have answered way before now but as I was texting you back my phone went dead! I'm glad you like it, yes a dragon for my perfect dragon. Thanks for the photo; it's nice to see you wearing it. It's a custom piece I had made; it took longer than I would have liked to make and get delivered, so my plan backfired. How's girl night going? P.S Thank you saying what I needed to hear. Love you B xxxxxxxxxxxxxx".
"He's such a sweetie" I said out loud.
"What's he said?" Evie asked.
"He's just saying that he would have answered before now but his phone went dead" I advised. I put my phone down for a few seconds and quickly plugged the USB cable into my camera and computer. I waited for it to load and selected the folder when it popped up on my screen.
"Here you go" I said to Evie who took it from me. As I picked my phone back up I watched as Evie found the first photo of the pool.
"That looks so beautiful" she noted as she looked at the next one, which showed a closer view of the pool.
"Yeah it was, the waterfall made quite a noise though" I advised.
"Waterfall?" She asked and I knocked the next button and it now showed a photo of the pool and the larger waterfall in the background. As Evie started to look through the photos of the chamber slowly I quickly text Ben back:
"It's ok baby - all is forgiven ;). I don't like it Ben, I love it! I can't stop wiggling my finger to get the light to catch the jewels in the right way. You spoil me far too much! As it is a custom piece that must mean I'm the only one who has one like this right? That makes it even more special. Thanks for making me feel more special by giving me this ring. What plan backfired? Girls night is going ok, we are waiting for our food to be delivered and I'm just showing Evie the photos that I took. Ben I will always tell you what you need to hear - as it is the truth! Love you loads M xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx".
"I can see what you mean about Ben lying in the sleeping bag" Evie said which caused me to look up as I pressed send.
"Yeah he wouldn't get up and put some clothes on" I said absentmindedly as I looked down at my phone. I quickly froze and knew that I was about to get questioned by Evie.
"Mal are you telling me that Ben is technically naked in this photo?" She asked.
"Technically yes. Technically no" I admitted slowly.
"Well that confirms a few things" she laughed.
"It confirms what?" I asked.
"Well when you come back from spending time with Ben you always 'try' to maintain a mystery around whether you and Ben have slept together" she started.
"I know it is a big deal for you, but I don't know why you bite so much" she said as she clicked onto another photo but this time it was showing the hole at the side of the chamber.
"Because it is a big deal" I told her.
"But I'm trying not to let it get to me as much" I added.
"But you don't like me teasing you about you sleeping with Doug" I countered.
"I know, it's probably something that we both need to work on" she advised.
"So you've been adventurous" she noted.
"What do you mean?" I asked as she started to look at my photos of the surrounding forest.
"Well outside and inside a mountain" she said as she flicked onto the next photo of the forest.
"Yeah I suppose it it" I said.
"So you're not denying it then" she teased.
"You want me to say it don't you?" I stated as I looked at her.
"No" she said slowly.
"I'll only say it if it stays in here, I mean it Evie no comments in front of people or anything" I warned.
"I promise" she said.
"Fine" I laughed.
"Me and Ben slept together this weekend a number of times, most of them were in that chamber, happy?" I quickly asked as my phone went off again.
"Yes" she laughed.
"I kinda feel better after saying that" I admitted.
"See talking about it helps" she replied.
"Yeah we will get onto you and Doug soon" I laughed as I watched as her face drop. I laughed at her again and quickly started to read Ben's reply:
"Thank god I'm forgiven! I don't know what I would have done if it wasn't. I probably would have had to come back to you and make it up to you ;) Thank you for the amendment; I'm glad you love it! Mal you are my girlfriend, one of my roles as your boyfriend is to spoil you and I want to. Yes you are the only person in Auradon who owns a ring like that; yes I know that makes the ring special. But that's what you are to me Mal, you are a special rarity so it only fitting that you should have the ring to show this. I always will try to make you feel special Mal; I want you feel that way so you know how much you mean to me. Well my original plan was to give you the locket on our date and give you the ring on our anniversary but I couldn't wait so I decided to give you it on the morning before you went home. But it didn't arrive when I wanted it to so I couldn't give you it then. Instead it arrived when you were at college today so I decided to hide it in your bag so when you opened it so you would get a surprise. Do I get massive boyfriend points or what? I hope Evie isn't teasing you too much :p Love you loads too baby B xxxxxxxxxxxxxx".
"You just want any excuse to come back you do ;). I know you like to spoil me Ben; but you really don''t need to. You already give me so much without all of this. You know that I am with you for you - not because of all the material things that you can give me. Sorry Ben; I know I'm still bad at receiving things from you; but hopefully I am getting better. I'm a special rarity? Erm thanks Ben; I think that is a compliment. If it's not, then we will be having words; is this getting me back for calling you simple the other day? JK :P. I do know what you mean though; you do mean a lot to me and everything about you and everything that we do is special to me. That was quite a good plan; even with all the changes along the way. I'm glad I have it now but you could have waited until our anniversary to give me it. I wouldn't have known any different. Hmmmm how about 10 boyfriend points? :p. Evie has already started teasing me; I hope you don't mind but I told her we slept together in the chamber; it was an admission after some probing. Hope this doesn't upset you. Mal xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx".
"Finished typing your essay?" I heard Evie tease.
"Yeah" I laughed back as I looked up at her. I noticed that she was now looking at the last picture of the forest before it was going to change into photos of me and Ben. I watched as she changed the photo and she smiled at it.
"That's a nice photo" she noted.
"The next one is better" I said and I watched her move onto the next one.
"It is" she agreed.
"The light compression really helps the balance of the photo" she teased as she mimicked my voice.
"Oi!" I said playfully shoving her.
"Sorry" she laughed as she now moved onto the next photo which was Ben grinning at me as I was laughing as he was tickling me.
"It's ok" I answered sarcastically as she moved onto the next photo of Ben kissing me on the top of my head.
"I'm happy that you found someone" she said as she flicked onto the photo of Ben now kissing me on the cheek.
"So am I" I agreed as she moved onto the photo of me kissing Ben on the cheek.
"That's a lovely one" she advised as she found the one of me and Ben staring into each other's eyes.
"I love that one" I said grinning. I heard my phone go off again and I unlocked it once more to read Ben's reply:
"Darn you got me ;) Can you blame me? :p I know you think I don't need to spoil you but I'm sorry baby you are going to just have to deal with it. I am going to spoil you; that is what you deserve. You give you me everything that I want and need it is the very least that I can do. Your getting better at recieving gifts Mal, you just need more practice ;) You are right I probably could have waited until our anniversary but I took one look at the ring and decided that I couldn't wait. I'll have to think of something else to give you for our anniversary now :P It is a complement, why would I say anything else? I'm glad you were joking as I would worry. Just ten? I expected at least a hundred! I feel quite short changed. I guessed she would, just ask her about Doug; that should work. That doesn't upset me at all as long as it is only between you and Evie. I knew she would kind of get some information out of you; especially when she saw the photo of me lying in the sleeping bag. I know you don't normally speak about us being like that but I know that there may be times that you need to speak to Evie. Don't worry I won't speak to anyone about us; the only person I would speak about us would be my best friend - you. Love you Ben xxxxxxxxxxxxx".
"I don't think I need to ask what happened after this as it is the last photo" she laughed. I looked up from my phone and saw the last photo that happened to be me and Ben kissing. I couldn't help but smile at the photo as it started to make me relive the memories of the weekend in my mind.
"Probably not" I muttered which made her laugh.
"Hang on I'll just send him them" I said slowly sliding my laptop from her lap and attaching the photos to an email. I quickly typed an email:
To: King. Benjamin. Auramail. At. Dis. Uk
Cc/Bcc:
Subject: Quarantine Lockdown Photo Shoot
Hey baby,
Just thought you might like these.
Love you
Mal
xoxoxoxox.
"He should be happy with those" I said as I picked my phone up again to text Ben.
"No I don't think I can blame you, I guess that it's not your fault that you're hopelessly in love with me ;) I will just have to deal with it? Hmmm ok I'll think about that one. I know you think that I give you everything Ben but there are still times where I feel guilty. Sorry but I do, this is another thing that I am learning to change. I'm also glad I'm getting better at receiving gifts - see I am learning and still growing as a person. I must have a good teacher :p. Yes just ten, I can't really give you more at the moment. I'm kinda all out of points from the weekend ;) I'm just about to ask her about Doug now so the girl talk will commence shortly. Thank you for being understanding. Yes there is times when I might want to speak to Evie about certain things; but I will speak to you about it first. Or if I wanted to speak to Evie about something I would always check with you that it was ok. I also know that there might be times when you need to speak to someone Ben, so don't worry about it. Love you Mal xxxxxxxxxxxx".
"Sorry Evie" I said as I looked up at her.
"It's ok" she answered.
"No it's not. This is girls night" I said and I quickly shut my laptop down. I quickly stood up and put both my phone and laptop on my desk.
"You now have my undivided attention" I said as I jumped back down onto my bed.
"So how was your weekend with Doug?" I asked before she could say anything.
"It was amazing" she said quickly.
"So where did he take you for your meal?" I asked. I watched her start to grin at the memory.
"The Crystal Palace" she admitted happily.
"A palace for his princess?" I teased.
"Something like that" she answered with a smile.
"He treats you like the princess you are" I said.
"I know, and that's one of the reasons that I love him" she admitted.
"He doesn't have to treat me like a princess, I just want him to love me. He knows this but he says he wants me to know that I'm the only girl in his world" she said as her cheeks started to glow red.
"Aww E" I said as I pulled her into a hug.
"Four years ago if someone told us that we would be in love I know I wouldn't believe them. You always wanted to find love, I didn't" I said as I pulled away from her.
"Yeah, but I would have been imagining a prince" she admitted.
"Well Doug is your prince" I stated.
"Yeah he is" she said as she sighed.
"And Ben is your King. You went one step further" she teased.
"Well he was a prince when I first met him" I laughed.
"How did your revision go?" I asked trying to move the conversation back onto her and Doug.
"Yeah we got loads done" she answered.
"I bet you did" I laughed.
"What?" She asked as her face dropped into confusion.
"Well of course you got loads done, there was no disruptions" I teased. I grinned as I watched her eyes widen as she figured out what I was teasing her about.
"Mal" she snapped.
"What?" I asked.
"You tell me that you haven't and I know you lying" I teased. I watched her start to scowl at me.
"Remember we are both trying to get better at talking about this, eventhough you are a lot better at this than me" I added. I watched as she stopped scowling and she sighed.
"I know and I know what you mean it is quite a big deal for the both of us; even after all this time. I guess it's just difficult to let go and decide what is ok to speak about with you" she explained.
"Yeah" I agreed as we heard a knock at the door.
"Food" we both said at the same time as we turned and grinned at each other.
"I went last time" Evie stated.
"Fine" I puffed as I heard her laugh as I got up from my bed.
The rest of the night went really well; when I did spend time with Ben I did miss Evie. I had lived with her since I arrived in Auradon and yes at one point I wanted to hurt her; but now I couldn't be without her.