On a gazebo overlooking the calm green pond and surrounding lush tree-filled countryside, Mal and Ben sat at a table covered by a gold tablecloth, which boasted all sorts of treats: soup, hors d'oeuvres, beef ragout, cheese souffle, pies, puddings, pastel-colored cakes, fresh fruit tarts, a loaf of warm bread, and tiers of appetizers. All the fixings for a royal picnic to make Ben feel like a cherished guest.

"Would you like a hot hors d'oeuvre?" Mal questioned as she picked up the delicious food, wearing a pale blue dress to blend well with her loose ice-blond hair.

Ben ate the appetizer with a delighted smile. "This is the best thing I've ever ate."

"So, do you like it?" Mal wondered with a curious smile.

"Absolutely!" Ben declared while taking a bite of beef ragout. "This is every single dish Mrs. Potts made for my parents. How long did it take you—three days?"

Mal eyed the picnic basket that sat on the table beside them, the secret behind the meal hidden inside. "Don't . . . even ask."

"Well, it means a lot that you stopped and did all this for me." Ben complimented sincerely. "I wish I could do so much more for you, including surprising you better. It seems like I almost spoil everything."

Mal allowed a scheming smile to grace her lips from recalling an earlier memory. "You can say that again," she teased. "You practically spoiled Aziz's surprise for Jay. Jay is slightly on the fence about it and he doesn't really believe it. Lonnie, on the other hand, told him about Aziz's situation with school."

Ben slumped in his chair at hearing the information. "That's just great. She and I are going to be the reason for their first fight."

"Don't get too upset over it," Mal requested with a slight roll of her eyes. "I almost told Jay earlier today before you showed up and spoiled the good surprise. You know, you are bad at keeping secrets."

Ben didn't bother suppressing his smirk at the accusation. "I'm better at it than you think."

Meanwhile, Mal didn't bother arguing with his claim since she was busy wiping away sauce from the corner of the king's mouth. Ben's smirk turned into a smile as he lightly touched his lip. "Can't take me anywhere, right?"

Mal laughed at the question, recalling their first date over a year ago. Ben had taken her to the Enchanted Lake where she first tried a jelly-doughnut and many more delicious food. Though the strawberries were absolutely delicious, hush-puppies were still her favorite food in the world. On that day, Mal had slightly opened up about what happened to her on the island and her relationship with Ben blossomed into something . . . spectacular.

With that in mind, Mal finally started to relax, enjoying the time with her boyfriend.

But sadly, all good things must come to an end.

That appeared to be the case when Ben sheepishly looked around to find an object to clean himself with. "Do you have a napkin or something?"

"I do!" Mal answered as she instinctively looked down, thinking that the picnic basket was on the ground beside her chair. A look of confusion appeared on her face, until she remembered she moved it minutes before to get it out of her way. When she glanced upwards, Ben was reaching for the basket. "I can grab it—"

It was already too late.

When the king reached into the picnic basket, he pulled out a stack of napkins and Mal's spell book, which had been hidden underneath the napkins. Ben inspected the cover with faint recognition in his eyes. "What's this doing in here?"

Eyes going wide at being caught, Mal stuttered through her lies, "I—I threw it in last minute, just in case it rained or if something bad were to happen."

The fairy tried to make a grab for the book, but the king moved it out of her reach. Flipping through the various pages, Ben read the ones that were marked with post-it notes. "Speed-reading spell. Blonde hair spell?" He paused a moment to gaze at the feast. "Cooking spell?"

Ben adverted his gaze to Mal, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. "You created this meal from magic?"

Unsure of what to do, Mal waved her finger, incanting, "Take back this moment that has passed . . ." She trailed off, the next words slipping through her mind in the stress of the moment. "Replace it . . . Reverse it . . . ?"

Eyes widening in surprise, Ben couldn't stop his jaw from dropping as realization struck him about the current situation. "Are you trying to spell me?"

Like a water breaking through a dam, Mal started sobbing uncontrollably as she had 'another' breakdown. "I'm so sorry, Ben," she apologized through some sniffling. "It has been so hard for me—"

"Hey, hey, hey." Ben reached forward to gently wipe away a stray tear from his beloved's cheek, though he kept hold of her face so she would keep her gaze on him. "I'm not mad, okay? My beast isn't going to come out on you when you are clearly distressed and upset. I just want to know why you did this. Why did you change your beautiful, purple hair? Why did you use magic on this meal instead of trying your best?"

"Because I'm not perfect like I have to be!" Mal declared in her emotional state. "I'm not a pretty pink princess! I'm not what you deserve!"

"Mal, I don't care about tha—"

"I'm a big fake!" Mal shouted hysterically as she burst out of her seat to prove her point, Ben instinctively standing as well. "My hair is fake. This food is fake. Everything about me is fake! We've been together for over a year, yet I still haven't told you what happened—"

"I understand why," Ben quickly and calmly reassured. "What happened to you was traumatic and if you talk about it, the emotions come back. You have PTSD and that is completely normal. I can help you. Let me help yo—"

"No!" Mal denied while backing away from the king, having grabbed her spell-book during the interruption. "N-no. I can't. I can't. Because of what happened to me . . . I don't deserve you."

"Mal," Ben cooed ever so softly, his eyes displaying so much affection that wasn't natural. "Don't say that. No one else can make me feel the way you do. I love you."

"But I-I can't—" Mal cut herself off, unable to say those words.

Unable to break his heart.

Stubbornly shaking her head, Mal tried to walk away, but Ben grabbed her hand before she could. "Mal, wai—"

"NO!" Mal screamed as she rudely brushed him off. "No."

The fairy stormed off, leaving the king all alone.

After watching his beloved retreat, Ben walked to the railing of the gazebo to gaze over the pond. Across the calm green water, Ben could see a faint outline of the island in the far distance. After what just happened with his queen, he was more determined than ever to make the bastard pay for what he did to her—

And that he got his princess off the island.