Author's note: Hey guys ! Welcome back !

Today's chapter is a really important one ! Remember where we left off ?

Audrey read the real story of Maleficent and her mother, and learned that the fairy's scepter had the power to break any spell. So, she decided to take actions...

Mal, Ben and the other VKs had just heard the sirens ring after someone just broke in the museum to steal Maleficent's scepter

Far away from the campus, Harry had just rescued Uma, who insisted on calling Ben to warn him about something...

So let's see what happens today !

Enjoy!

Chapter 24 - Cornered

Audrey was running. She was dressed in all black, the spellbook pressed against her chest. In her other hand, she was holding Maleficent's scepter. Her hands was totally blue, and her veins had turned to a deep purple. It hurted like hell, but she couldn't back down. It was her price to pay. After tonight, everything would come to an end. Everything would be perfect. She could finally rest. And be happy. Finally. After two longs years of suffering.

However, for that to happen, she needed to be flawless tonight. Stealing the scepter had already been hard enough. Because of her previous robbery, the museum's security had been upgraded, and she had to spell more than fifty guards to make sure that none of them would alert the royal family. And still, the alarms rang. So now, she needed to be fast. Scepter in hand, she needed to sneak into the dungeons, without being seen by anyone else.

The sounds of her footsteps were echoing in the stairs. Already, she was almost in the dungeon. Behind the bars of his cell, Beast was growling and roaring - as if he had sensed someone coming. Audrey unlocked the dungeon's door with a spell and closed it carefully behind her. Her heart was beating fast. She was out of breath from running in the stairs. When she saw the former King, a sick feeling invaded her stomach. Gosh, he was scary. Terrifying even. A wild spark was burning in his eyes, and he was pressed against the cage, trying to reach her through the gaps between the bars. It was hard to believe that this monster used to be the beloved and respected King of Auradon.

"I'm so sorry…" whispered Audrey "But don't you worry! I've come to fix this."

She walked up to the cage, the scepter held before her and started reciting a spell to undo the King's curse. This time, she knew it would work. Just like the book said, Maleficent's scepter had the power to make unbreakable curses; but it also had the ability to undo any spell. A double edged sword.

That been said, Audrey might have overestimated her abilities; because as soon as she started invoking magic, her entire left arm started burning. The pain was so intense now, that she had a hard time focusing on her formula; and she had to start over multiple times after mispronouncing a word. Yet, she was doing her best; with just one mistake her attempt to cure the King could be the thing pushing him over the edge. She needed to be careful.

But Audrey did not get the time to successfully finish her spell. A few minutes after she had entered the dungeon, the door slammed open again..

"What are you doing ?"

Audrey turned around in surprise. In a quick, but suspicious gesture, she hid the scepter behind her back. More ten person just had entered the dungeon and were staring at her with fear and anger in their eyes. Guards and VKs were part of the group. And in the middle of them, stood Ben - looking at her like he did not even recognize her face.

"I was just…"

"What are you doing ?" repeated The Prince

He shouted those words more than he said them. His voice was dry, harsh, filled with anger. Audrey stepped back as if he had slapped her. Then, she started getting angry too. Her heart beat loudly in her chest, her cheek were pink. The fear of getting caught made her defensive, and she answered with annoyed tone:

"Don't scream at me !" she said "I wasn't doing anything wrong ! I just thought I could maybe break the spell."

But her words did not have the effect she hoped. Instead, Ben's eyebrows frowned and he walked towards her.

"Break the spell ?" he repeated "How could you break the spell?"

"I…"

"She's the one who stole the spellbook !" exclaimed Mal, suddenly understanding everything "I bet she has the rose too !"

And then, suddenly, everything made sense. The thing that was bothering Ben all this time finally seemed crystal clear. Who would ever steal a rose ? No one. Except Audrey. He remembered all the times he saw her looking at it with envy - through the museum's glass. And he felt his heart break. She was the one who cursed his father ?

"Shut up, bitch, you don't know…" was hissing Audrey at Mal

But Ben interrupted her.

"Is it true ? It was you ?"

The blonde girl stopped talking. Ben was looking at her with despair - like he was trying so hard, trying his best, to remember who she was but couldn't recognize her face. His eyes were strangely glowing - as if he had tears in them. Audrey's eyes started watering too.

"It was an accident !" she said "I didn't want anything to happen to your dad!"

But it was too late. He was looking at her like she was the worst monster he had ever seen.

"How could you do something so mean?" he said in a whisper

She could hear the hurt in his voice. No ! It was starting all over again. Her heart was aching. The world around her was blurry. Her head was turning. She felt like he was slipping away from her. She was losing him. He had never looked at her like that. And she hated it.

"It was not on purpose !" she exclaimed - trying desperately to explain herself "I just wanted the spellbook to help you Ben! I just wanted to help! You're not yourself, Ben."

This time, his spoke with anger, and not sadness.

"Wait, you're trying to tell me that I'm not myself ?"

"Yes !" she screamed "You don't even notice that they all are trying to turn you away from me !"

The boy's face darken. His hands were shaking of fury. Around them, everyone was standing still, silent.

"No, Audrey" he said "You don't need any help turning me away from you."

Audrey stiffened. The fear in her eyes turned into hate, and she straightened up. How could he say that ? How could he be so mean to her ? How could he forget how much he used to love her ? This was ridiculous. Why were they all acting like she was the bad guy? They were all looking at her as if she was crazy - with fear in their eyes... and also a tint of pity. Audrey laughed bitterly. She did not need their pity.

"You're a hypocrite" she said to Ben "You all are. You're acting like I killed somebody, just for a stupid spellbook. I only did what I to do ! And once you'll get your mind back, you'll thank me, Ben !"

Ben opened his mouth but she did not let him speak:

"And don't you dare look at me like that ! What do you want from me, huh ? When I was being nice, did you care ? Did you give a single fuck about me Ben? No ! So don't you dare tell me that "I'm not myself"."

She was breathing heavily - literally on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

"When I use magic I'm the bad guy, but when it's HER everyone acts like its nothing ? Everyone forgives her, and act like she's a perfect little angel when she is NOTHING. BUT. A. BITCH."

"Stop insulting Mal !" Ben screamed

But Audrey answered even louder. Her voice was deformed by rage, high pitched, violent.

"MAKE ME !"

And that's when they got scared of her. Unconsciously, they all took a step back - their eyes fixed on Audrey, watching careful all of her gestures. Even Ben was losing his confidence. At first, he had thought he could talk to her - reason her. But now, he understood that she was not the sweet little girl he had grew up with anymore. All of her body was shaking. Her eyes were red, injected with blood. Her gestures were sharp, jerky. She was breathing heavily, and looking at him like she wanted to punch him. Or hurt him. Calmly, but with a strong voice, Ben asked:

"Audrey… what's behind your back?"

A single tear rolled down her beautiful face. But Audrey did not answer. And so Ben asked the question again.

"Audrey… what did you do ?"

It was too late - she thought. They were all looking at her with the same look. They already decided in their hearts that she was the bad guy. The villain. She could say everything she wanted, they would turn against her.

"Audrey !" shouted Ben

"Fine !" she yelled "You want to know what's behind my back, I'll show it to you !"

And with those words she brandished the scepter in front of her. A gasp of horror came out of the little group. Ben jumped back by reflex, while Mal charged in the direction of Audrey. Already her eyes were turning green. But Audrey was the one with the spellbook and the evil wand. As soon as Mal started talking, Audrey hit the floor with the base of the scepter and Mal got propulsed to the other side of the dungeon - against the bars of the cell. She had just the time to jump away before Beast's claws split the air with his claws, right where she was just a second ago. Evie ran towards Mal - to help her get back up - and Ben would have done the same he was not in shock.

His eyes were going back and forth between Audrey's face and the scepter she was holding in her left hand. Hand who was now entirely blue… Every second she was holding the scepter, more and more dark magic was infiltrating her body. Her entire arm hurt like hell now but she did not let go.

After seconds that felt like hours, Ben spoke out in a whisper.

"Maleficent's scepter… How could you ? After everything she did to your mother !"

Audrey scoffed.

"After everything she did to my mother ?" she repeated "After everything they did to her !"

This time, Ben thought she really had lost her mind.

"What are you talking about ?"

"Right…" Audrey laughed "They haven't told you the real story. They haven't told anyone. They lied to us and tried to made us think Maleficent was the villain."

A weird feeling appeared in Ben's chest, and he got defensive too.

"She IS the villain, Audrey. She cursed Aurora when she was only a baby ! Who does something like this ?!"

But Audrey exploded:

"THEY CUT OFF HER WINGS !" she yelled "Who does something like that ?!"

Evie, Carlos and Jay stiffened. Mal, still lying on the floor, holding her hurting ribs let out a cry. They had heard this story before. But Ben looked shock, lost and scared. What was she talking about ? Did he not know the real story of Maleficent ? Did his parents lied to him about it, just like they lied about Gaston's death?

"He told her he love her !" was shouting Audrey "He lied to her ! He said he was in love with her and he lied, Ben ! What was she supposed to huh ?!"

It appeared then that she was not really talking about Maleficent.

"Everything she did was only payback, for what they did to her !"

With every word she said, Audrey was getting closer - scepter in her hands - to Ben. But once again, as always, someone always got between them. Jay had jumped in front of the King, sword pointed towards Audrey. The guard threatened her with a look but before he ever swing his sword in her direction, she hit the floor with her weapon and Jay fell on the floor, unconscious.

"No !" screamed Gil

But Audrey hit the floor a second time. Her wrist was becoming blue. Her veins had a disgusting purple tint. The white of her eyes had turned black and it was not with her voice that she said:

"Nobody moves ! Nobody comes close to me or I'll kill him next time!"

Her cheeks were soaked in tears. All of her body ached. She had lost control of herself. The world around her was swaying, turning. Her heart hurt and she felt dizzy. The scepter was stronger than her. Soon, she would be entirely consumed by its darkness. And this time, she would lose herself for good. But still, Audrey did not let go. They were all circling her, with horrified expression. And Ben was looking at her like she was the embodiment of evil. She was losing him. Again. Always. Fear took the control of her mind. Fear of what they would do to her if she ever surrendered. Fear that Ben would never love her again. Fear that they were right about her. Fear of what she was becoming.

But Audrey was not strong enough to look at herself honestly, to recognize her wrongs, to even try to backtrack her actions. Instead, she put the blame on them. Again. As always. She told herself it was their fault all of this was happening. If Mal had not stolen her boyfriend, Audrey would not have had to steal the spellbook. If Mal had not broken out of her invisibility curse - and if they had not tried to stop her - Audrey would have cured the Beast and no one would have ever known she was the one who stole the rose. Ben would not have known. If they had not tried to separate them, if they had not came between the two of them, Audrey would still have Ben.

Maybe - she thought. Maybe if she could be alone with him, she could get him back. He would realise that the others had made him lose sight of who he truly was, of what he truly wanted. If they had just a moment together, Ben would realise he was in love with her and not with Mal. Everything would go back to normal. Everything would be okay, right?

And so, Audrey hit the floor with Maleficent's scepter once again - and the two exes disappeared.