I couldn't go back there. I loved Ben but it's not where I belonged and I knew it. He was the only part of Auradon that had ever felt real to me. But being in that place, surrounded by people who wanted nothing more than to transform me into another carbon-copy princess... I couldn't stand it. It made me feel like I couldn't breathe. It was terrifying, suffocating. But on the flip side of that, being without Ben was like suffocating, too...
So I made a choice between Ben and the Isle. And the Isle won. Deep down, I knew that I wasn't what Ben needed. He needed a strong princess by his side, to help him rule. That could never have been me. So with tear-filled brown eyes, I slung a knapsack over my shoulder laden with my few belongings and headed to the Isle.
Breaking through the boundary wasn't the easiest thing but I managed. I picked my way through the crowded streets - throngs of VKs blocking the way. Everywhere I looked was run-down, grimy buildings, tattered banners, and debris - home sweet home. I eventually found the old, abandoned apartment building I used to call home and slipped inside. It was ransacked and dirtier than when I had left but some remnants remained. Like the music box dad had given me before he'd passed.
I fingered the tiny jewels encrusted on the side and frowned. I had no memories of my father. I had been so young when he'd been killed. My mother had been a flighty thing and sent me to a foster home as soon as she got the news. She just couldn't wait to live her life without me or my father in it. When I was a child, I'd told myself it was because I'd reminded her too much of him and it was painful for her to be reminded of the loss.
But when I got older, I stopped kidding myself. She just never wanted me in the first place. She hadn't accepted me as a child and Auradon didn't accept me as a teenager. And that was just the fate of Clayton's daughter, I suppose. I brushed back a strand of mousy brown hair with my fingers as I crawled into bed. My mind raced then and the wall I'd built inside my head to keep out the memories of Ben came crashing down.
He was gone - all of it, our life together, love we'd shared - all of it was gone for good. A sob bubbled up from my throat and I covered my mouth to stifle it. No, villains didn't cry. I was tougher than that. Much tougher. Tears were for the weak, the broken, the...heroes.
They weren't designed for people like me. But no matter how much I told myself this, the tears just kept coming, cascading down my cheeks in waves. I would never see Ben again. Had I made a mistake by leaving? By abandoning him and leaving nothing but a letter to explain why? Suddenly, something hit my window.
I bolted upright in bed. I waited a moment, straining my ears for the sound. Pop! I jumped. There it was again. That sound!
Carefully, I got up out of bed and opened up my window. Glancing down below, my eyes landed on a silhouetted figure standing there.
"Hey! Quit throwing rocks at my house!" I screeched down at the person angrily, "Show yourself!"
With hesitant motions, the person moved into the light and my mouth formed an 'O'.
"Ben?" I breathed out in a small voice, completely taken aback.
He'd come for me? He nodded slowly, indicating he'd heard me speak his name. He motioned for me to come down and I did, slipping outside. I didn't even hesitate, didn't even think about the reasons why I'd left Auradon in the first place. On wobbly legs, I ran before crashing into him. He let out a sigh of relief as he held me, placing kisses in my dark hair over and over again. I breathed in the scent of lavender and soap from his clothes, soothing me. His heart pounded furiously in my ear and I smiled as I looked up at him. With gentle hands, he brushed a strand of hair away that had fallen in my face.
"Let's get you home, my princess." he whispered to me softly before capturing my lips in a soft, sweet kiss.