The rest of the week after the video call seemed to spark tensions. Ben was more on edge than ever, needing constant comfort from Carlos as his nightmares of his father became more prevalent. Chad's homesick feelings returned tenfold leaving him more down and depressed than before. Lonnie was practically isolating herself aside from Mal. She wasn't talking to anyone unless she had to. She was stone cold silent at lunch. Audrey was the only one still doing perfectly fine. She got her wish and her dream, she was living it and she was happy with Evie, she tried to help the others but ultimately, she felt useless. Nothing she did seemed to make things improve and she refused to let it ruin things for her. While she worried about her friends, she hoped this would soon pass and that everything would work itself out with time.
Sadly for Audrey, that wasn't meant to happen. The weekend came and so did Family Day. It was mandatory for all students even the ones who lacked visiting family members. It was a posh event with croquet and catered lunch. Hades and Maleficent were even there. So the Beast Gang put on their best outfits, and reluctantly joined the celebrations. Everyone was eventually separated to visit parents with their significant others. The simplest was Carlos and Ben as they were more than familiar with Cruella De Vil. She was excited to see them both and they sat together chatting pleasantly over finger sandwiches and tea.
Chad was taken to meet Captain Hook and Ursula. Captain hook was working as a fishing and cruise company baron of sorts. He was wealthy and well known for his lavish cruises. Ursula, on the other hand, was a wealthy woman known for her Cauldron Concoctions Beauty company. It was a vast range from makeup to skincare to even bathroom essentials. Captain hook welcomed them with open arms, familiar with odd couples as the captain himself was in a relationship with his first mate, Smee. Ursula was much more like Uma, Chad could see where she gets it from, in the sense that she was more reserved but kind. They seemed to welcome Chad like family and the whole group played coquet together before lunch.
Much like Ben and Carlos, Evie's mother already was supportive of her and Audrey's relationship. So there wasn't much of a surprise when Audrey was accepted into the Fair Queen's embrace and graces. The three shared tea and sat people watching, commenting on how good everyone looked and talking casually about fashions.
The real problem for Family day first began with Lonnie and Mal. Mal had brought Lonnie up to meet Maleficent and Hades. To say their reaction was poor would be an improvement. Both Hades and Maleficent were somewhat cross with Mal, pulling her aside to speak in hushed but aggressive tones. Lonnie couldn't tell what they were saying but it was obviously about her.
"Come on mom and dad, Can't she at least have lunch with us," Mal asked looking on the verge of rage and tears both. Maleficent scoffed and dismissed the idea though Hades didn't seem to care. Mal went to turn back to Lonnie but the girl was gone. Lonnie ran from the party, frustration and hurt bubbling in her gut. Tears spilled from the corner of her eyes no matter how much she tried to fight them. She had been trying so hard to fit in here. She was trying so hard to stick through this with Mal but she couldn't do it any longer. Mal came running over to Audrey and Evie in tears. They all stood up immediately.
"What's wrong Mal? What happened?" Evie asked concerned and Mal only sputtered out what happened. Audrey quickly dismissed herself, despite being in heels and a dress, she grabbed her dress and sprinted towards her dorm.
Meanwhile, Gil came over to the table with Carlos and Ben with a woman Ben didn't recognize but the look on Carlos and Cruella's face told him this wasn't good. The woman didn't appear to want to be there but Gil was prodding her. She finally looked at Ben, avoiding his eyes. "Hello, Benjamin. I'm Belle…" She said plainly and Ben could only blink. Looking at her now he could see where he got his eyes, cheeks, and lips. His anger already burning in his chest was momentarily tamed by Carlos's hand.
"Mother… What could you possibly want?" Ben said bitterly looking like barely contained rage. Belle scoffed and looked to Gil who urged her towards Ben with a hard look.
"Look, I know what I did all those years ago to you was wrong, but I had my reasons. Your conception wasn't… voluntary Ben. As harsh as that sounds, I wasn't ready to be a mother. I'm sorry I did that to you." Belle said barely half-heartedly. The whole thing felt sour to everyone hearing it. Carlos frowned and Cruella scowled at Belle. Gil himself looked on the verge of pissed off at how little she seemed to care. This was Ben's last straw. This broke him and like the beast himself, Ben stood up, towering over her, frightening her.
"Sorry? You sound about as sorry as a plank of wood. Wrong? WRONG? What you did was fucking inhuman. I don't care how I was conceived; you could have done so many other things other than sending me to the god damned isle. You're a heartless bitch who doesn't even have it in her to give me a proper fucking apology for ruining my fucking life. You know damned well what the Beast was like and you left a CHILD. A GOD DAMNED CHILD with that monster. Your own fucking child." Ben roared angrily in her face, everyone had stopped and was watching and listening. "You could have left me to die and I would have been better off you. You don't care about me and you don't care about what you did." Ben spat angrily and Belle's temper flared just as much despite her fear.
"You're right. You're just a big beast like your father. I'm not sorry for what I did. Whatever hell you were put through you clearly deserved. You belong on that god damned isle with the rest of those villains." Belle spitefully spat back at Ben who raised his hand ready to hit her but stopped himself growling loudly. She flinched at his aggression taking a step back.
"I'm nothing like that beast. I have decency and compassion, something you horribly lack. You're the one who truly belongs on that isle, not me. You're a horrible person. You're just a heartless bitch and I never want to see you again in my life." Ben growled forcefully controlling himself despite the burning and painful rage building greater and greater inside his chest ready to explode. Belle huffed and turned to Gil.
"I don't have to stand here and listen to this. Come on Gil." Belle started to leave but Gil didn't move an inch.
"I'm not going with you mother. I don't want anything to do with you if you can't even realize how badly you messed your own son up. Mistake or not he is my brother and I will be sure father knows Ben was only defending himself. Disown me if you want, I don't care. I won't let anyone talk like that about my brother." Gil moved to stand by Ben. Belle was speechless. She just stood blinking for a second before leaving. Ben, however, was still full of rage. He didn't say a word he just sprinted off into the forest with a loud roar that made everyone jump. Carlos quickly got up and rushed after him. Thankfully Carlos was fast enough speed-wise to eventually catch up to Ben by the enchanted lake. When Ben finally stopped he started pounding his fists into one of the crumbling stone columns, bruising and scraping up his knuckles in the process letting out screams of rage. Carlos stood watching, tearful and worried until Ben tired himself out his knuckles bloodied and bruised looking. The moment the rage was gone Ben crumpled to the ground, breaking down completely. Carlos came and pulled him into his embrace, but it wasn't enough to stop the torrent of pain that had built up over sixteen years. His pain too great to bottle up anymore. Family Day had made things so much worse and things were only destined to get worse.
