Hello lovelies! Here is chapter 8 of Painfully Beautiful. Please comment, favorite, and follow fore they give me warm and fuzzies inside. I'd love to here from you all.

CHAPTER 8

"Any idea on where he is?" Beast whispered to Belle. Antoinette was calling Ben, who seemed to have decided at that very moment to disappear into thin air.

"I'm not sure. He was asking about the enchanted lake," she replied. Beast sighed.

"That's 30 minutes from here, and the press is already starting to get antsy." This prompted the older couple to look out at the crowd of journalists in the main room. Many were talking amongst themselves as well as looking at their wrist watches.

"I really hope Antoinette can figure something out, fast," Adam had said to his wife. Belle glanced at him, her face slightly pinched.

"She always does." Antoinette approached the royal couple.

"I don't know where he's at, but hopefully it's important enough," she muttered, partly to herself. Antoinette looked up at the older man.

"Your majesty, he is your son, and you understand the material as well as how to handle the press. Would you like to proceed with the conference?" Antoinette asked. Adam had a pained look on his face. She knew she had asked a lot, for he never said he disagreed with the proclamation, but Antoinette saw his actions.

"No. You will," he responded. Antoinette's face drained to a pale, sickly white.

"Sir, I can't speak in front of the public. They never received me well before, and I can't-"

"Always live your life in fear." Adam cut her off. Antoinette looked at him.

"Not everyone will approve of you, so you can only speak the truth so they can't smear your name." Adam had finished. Antoinette glanced behind her and saw the cameras. She knew the end was there. Antoinette licked her lips and nodded.

They guided her out of the side chamber to the opening doors to where the conference would be held.

"Chin up, shoulders back," Belle whispered. Antoinette followed her instructions. When the doors opened, Antoinette wanted to stumble back at the sheer force of energy with the crowd of journalists.

"Antoinette, where is Prince Ben?"

"Your majesties, is the prince in danger?"

"What news do you have of the villain kids?"

"Antoinette, is it true you went on a date with one of the visiting students?"

Antoinette walked steadily up to the podium, ignoring the questions. She carried her phone in her hand, and set it down on the podium once she reached her destination. Antoinette settled her notes down with the phone, and rested her hands on the podium. She glanced over the crowd, the king and queen had settled in the front row, staring at her.

There were plenty of people staring. Eyes boring into her, watching her every move. Distantly, she heard the cameraman say that they had started rolling. Antoinette had forgotten she had made it a live press conference.

"Hello, everyone. Welcome. As of right now the children from the Isle have been showing growth, through academics and through their extracurricular activities. The two males who joined us, Jay, son of Jafar, and Carlos, son of Cruella De Vil, are learning teamwork through tourney. The members of the tourney team have welcomed them. Evie, the daughter of Evil Queen, has been enjoying working on dresses for the princesses for everyday wear. Mal, daughter of Maleficent-"

"Is there any suspicion Mal or the others are responsible for the attempted robbery at the Cultural Museum?" called out a male in a blue hat. The room fell silent.

"The Cultural Museum has gone on record to report the supposed attempted robbery was nothing more than an electronic error," Antoinette responded smoothly. "As well as several other businesses in the same district have been having the same error in the same week, both before and after the arrival of the students."

A buzz caught her attention momentarily. The name Beast Bro popped up.

Date with Mal took longer than expected. Watch out for the guy in the purple jacket, he's a jerk.

A cough caught her attention. Purple jacket spoke next.

"Where is our brave soon-to-be king anyways?" Antoinette fought against her instinct to raise her eyebrow at him. Taking a calming breath she decided to approach the question.

"His Majesty Prince Benjamin is safe. He had another meeting with a guest from a visiting region in which the meeting went over. I'm sure he appreciates your concern." Antoinette glanced down at her buzzing phone.

Have I told you you're the best, lately?

"At this moment we'll open the floor for more questions," Antoinette said, choosing to ignore her phone. Several hands raised simultaneously.

"Yes, you in the green dress."

"Agatha Monroe, with the Atlantic Press. Do you, specifically, feel a connection with the new group of students?" Because you're a villain's kid, those words didn't need to be said to allow her to hear them. She had to be careful. Delicate. Don't be brash.

"Absolutely," Antoinette said before she could stop herself, a whisper fell on the crowd and some cameras flashed. "I feel a connection to each and everyone of them because we're the same age, and we're in an environment where not everyone is going to agree with us. Yet, the students from the Isle continuously proved to the school and to the royal court that our preconceived ideas are not true." King Adam shifted for a moment. Several cameras flashed more, getting pictures of the girl behind the podium. The girl with a steady voice, and fired up eyes.

"Yes, you in the blue shirt with polka dots."

"Marcus Andrews, with the Cinderellasburg Tribune. Has there been any discussion of bringing more villain kids over or taking the boundary down?"

"As of right now, we are looking over applications for the next group of kids to come over from the Isle, we won't be bringing them over until after the coronation." The cameras flashed, and several wrote down what she had said.

"Yes, you in the orange tie."

"Charles Smolnes, with the Southern Isles Commentary. Is it true Prince Benjamin has asked one of the villain kids to the coronation?" Antoinette eyed the individual for a moment.

"Does Prince Benjamin have someone to wait for him at the end of the coronation? Yes, for many of us will be excited for Prince Benjamin to take on his birthright of becoming King Benjamin of Auradon. No further questions at this time. We appreciate your time," Antoinette said, closing the conference only after a half and an hour of answering questions. She picked up her phone and saw Beast Bro was not the only one contacting her.

Oh my FAIRIES! You're speaking on behalf of the kingdom! Are you okay? A text read from Jane, who was lovingly named Godsister under contacts.

Where did you get the dress? Totally adorable. One from Audrey, who was simply Audrey, read.

I totally did not just see you sass that Agatha lady, right?! Best cousin ever. Moron Cous had written to her. Obviously, Chad was still trying to get on her good side.

However, she ignored all of these texts, and dialed her last contact. The cameras still flashed as she walked down through the aisle of people who wanted nothing more than to watch the proclamation and by extension, her, fail.

"You did great!" Ben said on the other end.

"And your toast, you better be in your bedroom by the time I get there," Antoinette responded. She hung up before he could respond. Her hair bounced as each step became more and more forceful. Heels clanked behind her, and her dress swayed by her knees. In short, several servants moved out of her way in fear of being in her merciless wrath.

"I could do it! Cris' only going to be gone for a year, maybe two years, right? And I know you guys well. I've been in all sorts of marketing classes, and I've been shadowing Cris for the past six months," Antoinette explained. She was wearing a button down pale purple shirt tucked into a darker purple pencil skirt. The purple matched her braces. Her red hair was pulled into a tight bun on top of her head. By some miracle, she wasn't a super awkward 14 year old, but she was still a little strange.

"We understand, Antoinette, but one of the most important things you have to do is speak in front of the reporters, and with your parentage-"

"I can't always live my life in fear," Antoinette said. King Adam stared at her, he distantly heard his wife and others in the court try to deny her.

"She'll do the job until Cris comes back," King Adam said with a final note. Antoinette smiled brightly at the king. Others tried to protest, but Cris agreed. Afterall, she couldn't always live her life in fear.

She knocked harshly on Ben's door. He opened it with wet hair and his mouth open ready to make his argument. Antoinette shoved him into his room.

"We agreed when I started that I would not speak in front of the reporters. On your part for the fact of my parentage being unpredictable in any conference room. On my part, I agreed, for my fear of speaking in front of any large group," she finished. Ben had been watching her as he dried his hair. Enchanted water tended to stay wetter on the surface it touched, hair included.

"But you did amazing!" He exclaimed. "You handled purple jacket like a pro, and you didn't stutter or backtrack. You were amazing, because you are amazing."

Antoinette stared at him. He was right, of course. She didn't have any issues fighting for her voice, but she stood in place of him. Antoinette shook her head, the reflection off of her hair piece shimmered around the bedroom. She sat on the ottoman at the end of the bed.

"I can't. I'm not interested in this position anymore. I'll contact Cris later today, but after that I can't," she finished. Antoinette felt her eyes well with tears. Ben sat down next to her on the ottoman, holding the towel. He let out a sigh.

"You know Cris won't measure up to you anymore. He's great and all, but," he sighed again, "You were hell, and you gave hell."

"I don't want to be hell anymore. I want to be Antoinette Baker, intern of the International Water Observational Center." Ben turned to her.

"You got the internship!" Ben threw his arms around him and clutched her. Ben began to pull away only to be stopped by the red head still hugging him. Then he heard her sobs, little ones that were merely sniffles. He began whispering in her ear as he continued to hug her.

"You did amazing. You always did amazing, and you are going to be amazing with this internship. You did beautiful," he finished. Antoinette smiled to herself.

"And you were a beast." The two friends laughed at the joke. He started stroking her hair and for a long time that's all he did. He gazed around the room, and thought of how much had changed since she had started being his personal assistant.

She had been a gangly little thing with little to no interest in people, and was nothing but strange to society. The reason she was able to get the shadowing with Cris originally, to have her grow around those who denied her. Now, she had become someone who could handle a press conference without hesitation.

"Don't worry about calling Cris. I'll let him know the situation, and ensure he's here before the day is over," Ben explained to her. The soft fabric under her fingers kept her grounded.

There were days where she felt nothing more than the need to fly away. As if a pair of wings would be lended to her from some kind soul. Antoinette wanted nothing more than to fly high above the castles of Auradon, and to float with the clouds. She held on tight to Ben's shirt though, for once she did not want to float, but to stay grounded on earth.

Ben stroked her hair, and before long her sobs had subsided. He listened closely, and cautiously looked down at her. Antoinette had simply cried herself to sleep. Ben gently unwrapped her arms away from him and laid her down on his bed. Instinctively, she curled up into herself.

Ben closed the door behind him slowly. A servant of the castle was walking by when Ben called out to them.

"Yes, sir?"

"Please, ensure nobody comes into my bedroom. Especially my parents or friends. They'll be searching for Ant, and she needs privacy."

"Of course, your royal majesty."

"Glad you could finally join us," Beast said, as his son entered the one of many private libraries. Beast and Belle watched as their son sat in one of the chairs across from them.

"Are you okay, dear?" Belle asked. Ben nodded.

"Where were you?" Beast asked, he sat patiently, waiting for his son to give him a reasonable answer.

"I was on a date," Ben replied. Beast closed his eyes to maintain his temper. Belle sighed deeply. "Antoinette is asleep right now. She got the internship she wanted."

"That's great news. Tell me, son, have you contacted Cris?" Beast asked. Ben glanced at his father before shaking his head.

"No. Not yet."

When Ben was little he would crawl into his parents room while they were in meetings with representatives from other states. He would walk past the towering wardrobes, and giant bed. His chubby legs took him to where his mother's private library was hidden from everyone, except the family and a few trusted individuals. Crawling up into the chair facing the door, he would grab the nearest book and look through it. Sometimes he would recognize words, and as he grew older he recognized more and more words. His mother would come in and explain to him what each answer was to his questions. One stuck out.

"Mom, what is kindness?" He had asked her. He had been sitting on her lap, and the queen raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, you're kind."

"But what is kindness?" He said, not giving her the luxury of an easy reply. She sat for a moment, trying to decipher the best way of explaining the answer to a five year old.

"Kindness is doing something for someone and not expecting anything in return. Kindness is giving your last cookie to Cinderella's mice," she said, looking down at him with a critical eye. He hid his face in the book, fascinated with how many big words were there.

"Kindness is when you say something or do something when someone needs help. Kindness can be a strength if you let it. Do you understand?"

"Yes, mom," he said. Ben had said it a long time ago, but didn't really get it until now. Kindness was strength. Strength was Antoinette. For she had given everything she had for a temporary job, and had expected nothing in return. Now it was his turn to be kind.

"Hello, your royal majesty."

"Hello, Cris. Are you ready to come back to work?" Cris chuckled on the other end.

"Shame, she decided it was time. She was just getting good, too."