Ill Prepared

(Thursday-Friday Night, June 27th-28th)

Mal cracks open the door and notices Belle sitting at the dining room table alone, before she widens it and Belle quickly wipes her tears away. "Mal," she comments in surprise. "I wasn't expecting you so soon."

She shakes her head, "I should have done something."

"No," Belle strongly counters, and Mal meets her wide, brown eyes. "Using magic would have only made him more paranoid. You did the right thing." Mal opens her mouth, but she's unable to admit just how much it had scared her. "Why don't you take a seat," she gestures to the chair, and Mal moves to sit across from her. "I imagine you have questions. Or accusations."

"Why don't you leave?" the question springs to Mal's mind. "I mean, it's not like you're dependent on him, not like us and our parents."

Belle takes a moment, "His, uh, paranoia has actually caused quite the financial restraint." before she faces her. "Even if I wanted to leave, I wouldn't have the means. I have not been allowed to make any money of my own, and the amount he does offer me just barely covers the luxurious life we live."

Mal thinks, "Ben's king now. He gets paid, doesn't he?"

"Technically, the money is supposed to be divided amongst the entire family," Belle frowns, "and he is still a child. I do not believe he's even created his own banking account yet."

"His father controls it," Mal assumes.

"He saves for emergencies," she informs, "and he's prepared for us to leave should Adam get worse, but he's ill prepared for any long-term solution."

"So, Ben does know?" Mal eyes her.

Belle folds her hands, "Ben knows his father is unwell, but I do not think he knows just how unwell he can get."

"Unwell?" Mal's eyebrows furrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm no expert," she slowly says, before she meets Mal's jade eyes. "Ben can explain it much better, I'm sure. How about you take your friends to the East Wing, and I will send him your way once I see him."

"You mean, if I don't find him first," Mal reminds her.

"Yes," Belle accepts. She turns around, "And Mal." before she faces her again. "I would appreciate it if you and your friends could keep the extent of this incident to yourselves."

"You want to keep the truth from Ben?" Mal disbelieves.

"Please, understand," Belle stresses. "Ben has yet to accept the situation of his own being. If this information were to cause his anxiety to get worse, then he would be too preoccupied with his father and me to focus on himself."

Mal breathes, "Okay. I get it." before she eyes over her. "I won't tell him." Mal's eyes widen, "Yet. He deserves to know."

"I know," Belle nods. "Thank you."

"I don't understand," Evie shakes her head. "He knows what we've been through. If he was going to tell anyone, it should have been us."

"That's the point, isn't it?" Jay counters. "He never told anyone before."

There's a knock, and Evie calls, "Come in."

Ben slowly enters the room, and Mal notices his hands are folded just as his mother's had been. He's uncomfortable. "Look," he shuts the door and moves forward. "Staying here, there is something you should know." He opens his mouth, but it takes a moment for the words to come out, "My father, he isn't well."

"Yeah," Carlos's eyes narrow. "No kidding."

Ben wets his lips, "I know this must be hard for all you."

"Hard?" Jay disbelieves. "You take us from our home, convince us that our parents are bad to us and to betray them, and now you're having us stay here with yours."

"I know this must be bringing up some painful memories," he acknowledges.

"Your mother said he's not well," Mal gulps, her eyes wide. Ben faces her, and she questions, "What's that supposed to mean, exactly?"

Ben finds the desk chair and sits, "My father has some anger problems."

"Aren't there classes for that?" Carlos interrupts.

"What makes him sick," Ben attempts to explain, "is that he can't control it. Sometimes… Sometimes it happens for no reason."

"No reason," Jay questions, "or just a reason you don't understand." Ben looks at him. "It would nice to know if he's doing it on purpose or not."

Ben glances down, "There can be reasons." before he shakes his head. "But… It really can just be small things that he wouldn't say anything about normally or…"

"Or?" Mal prompts.

Ben faces her, "The big things can seem bigger to him." and he notices them look at each other. "It's easy to know when he isn't well if you know what to look for."

"Like what?" Jay crosses his arms.

Ben let's out a breath, "I can't give… specifics right now."

"Of course, you can't," Evie sighs.

He leans forward, "My father does the same things, says the same things, when he isn't doing well. You're smart. You'll be able to pick it up."

"Before or after he beats the crap out of us?" Jay angers.

"Jay," Mal hisses.

"What?" he turns to her. "You saw him. You heard him. What if he hurts you?"

Ben looks from Jay to Mal, "What am I missing?"

Mal's quiet for a moment, and Jay speaks for her, "He threatened her. He said that he should have killed everyone like her off when he had the chance."

"He did not say that," Mal sternly remarks.

Jay leans back in his chair, "It's what he meant."

Ben eyes down, "If you don't feel safe here, I get it if you want to leave."

"We have nowhere to go," Evie's mouth gapes, and when Ben looks at her, she folds her arms. "At least on the Isle we knew how to survive."

"Everyone hates us here. On the Isle we were gods," Mal comments. "Now that I can control my powers, I would be the most powerful one there."

Ben grows quiet, "You want to go back."

"No," Mal laughs, and he notices her tear up. "God, Ben. No, I don't want to leave."

There's a long silence, before Ben inquires, "What do you want, then?"

"To be safe." Mal asserts, "You talk a big game, about how this is such a great place and that we will have it good here, so make it good for us." The tears leave her eyes, "I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave you. I just want us to have a chance." She eyes over the room and solemnly laughs, "All of us."

"Well, you will be safe this weekend," Ben frowns. "It's Aziz's birthday, and my family is invited. My father will be going, but you cannot." He looks over them, "Anyone who wants to stay at the castle can."

"I'm staying with Mal," Jay comments.

Ben nods and then turns, "Carlos?"

"It's Az's birthday," he disbelieves. "Of course, I'm going."

Jay eyes him, "He's your new friend?"

Carlos narrows his eyes, "Like you care."

Ben looks away, "Evie? What about you?" and she hesitates. "Do you need to come?"

She hesitates, "Birthday, like food and stuff?"

"They're vegetarian," he informs. "I'm sure you would be fine."

She widens her eyes, "No meat? How do you plan to survive a weekend there?"

Ben eyes off, "I'm bringing snacks." before he faces her. "The cake will probably be something healthy, like that white one with the strawberries."

"Angel food cake," Evie corrects. "Not actually that healthy."

"You wouldn't be," his eyes shift in annoyance, "told to eat as much, because the pieces for that one is smaller."

Evie gives a look, "You're not okay."

"So, you're going?" he continues.

"Yeah," she accepts, eyeing over him. "But I want you to see a doctor."

"Don't worry," Ben bypasses. "It will happen."

"Good," she asserts, "because I'm tired of talking to a wall."

Ben stifles a laugh, grinning, "Did you just call me a wall?"

Evie tilts her head and smiles, "Yes, I did. Because, you're just as smart as one."

Jay oohs, "You got burned."

Ben frowns at him, "Burned?" and Mal rolls her eyes.

Evie and Ben glance at each other, before Ben eyes over the meatless meal. He watches his father place the potatoes and sage stuffing onto his plate, and he continues to frown at his options. He could have some cheese bread, but it's overly crispy. It might become one of those issues, where he can feel the sharp edges as his stomach tries and fails to digest it. "Ben?" He faces Aziz as he's asked. "Is something wrong?"

Ben meets his mother's concern, before he attempts to smile, "No. No, nothing's wrong." He frowns again, before he takes a breath and decides on the potatoes and stuffing. If he mixes them together, then maybe it won't taste too bland or horrible. "Evie, is it?" Aladdin asks.

She looks up, "Yes?"

"What about you?" He frowns, "Can you have this?"

She eyes over it all in stress, "I, um, feeling a little nauseous, I guess."

Ben turns to her, "How do you feel about carrots?"

She slightly nods, "I think I could do that."

Aziz stands, "I'll get one." and he watches as he walks through the arch to the kitchen.

"Ben." He turns, and his mother comments, "Your dinner's going to get cold."

"Right," he looks back at it, before he pushes the mixture around with his fork.

"Ben?" the Sultan questions, and he looks at Aladdin. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He excuses, "Just not that hungry." before he takes a bite from his plate.

Aziz sits down and hands Evie a small container, "Here. Carrots and ranch."

Ben watches as Evie opens the package, pick a tiny carrot from it, and take a small bite. She's getting away with eating nothing, while he has to eat a plate full of grain. He looks back at it. It could be worse. He faces at Aziz, and when Aziz smiles, he attempts to smile back. At least they knew well enough not to give him raw vegetables. He looks back at his plate again. It's probably just luck, though. "Ben?" his mother says again, and after meeting her concern, he takes another bite of food.

Aziz watches him place a hand to his mouth, "Ben?" and Ben forces himself to swallow it. Somehow, it's not so much bland as it is too flavorful. There's so much flavor and texture to it, he can't help but find it disgusting. Aziz watches his eyes water, "What's wrong?"

He shuts his eyes for a moment, "Nothing." before he shakes his head. "It's just… This is my first meal today, and it's not… It's not settling well."

Jasmine watches Evie push the rest of the snack away, "We'll show you two to your rooms so that you can rest."

Aziz eyes Ben, "Mom."

She turns to him, "Az, show them."

Aziz stands and mumbles, "Okay." before he looks between Evie and Ben. "Come on, and I'll show you."

- Posted: 04/09/2019