Content warning for dark themes, swearing and minimal violence in this chapter.
"Leah!" I heard Adam, Belle and King Phillip all gasp.
"Mother!" Queen Aurora snapped as my eyes started to water.
"You do not-" I heard Ben start to warn as he quickly stood up as I heard and sensed the Beast part of him roar within me. I was actually surprised that Ben hadn't charged around the table right now, but by the look on his face he was struggling with this - just in case I wanted to deal with this myself.
"Stop!" I advised as I looked over to them and I dropped my right hand from my face. "I can deal with this," I told them all before sharing a glance with Ben for a few seconds. "Please?" I asked him. I then watched as he nodded at this before he slowly sat back down, with the Beast part of him whining as he did so.
"What's the matter Leah?" I questioned darkly as I looked back at her, to still see a smug look on her face. "Don't like to hear the truth?" I stated. "You might have tried to destroy me, and you failed," I told her simply. "But I am going to share something with you," I continued. "Just for old times sake" I added evilly and I watched as her face began to drop at this.
"You would not have lasted the week on the Isle" I mocked. "The strength you so claim to have would not have protected you; and I will tell you why" I insisted and I watched as she grimaced at this. "When you arrived on the Isle it wouldn't take very long before my mother found out you were there-" I began to explain. "She would be overjoyed!" I exclaimed as I threw my arms out dramatically. "She probably would have thought that I sent you over to her" I offered as I knew that this thought probably would have gone through my mother's mind. As I watched her take in what I had just said to her my mind started to spitefully show me what had happened in the past on the Isle. When my mother wanted to make someone pay for some misdeed she would send me out with her henchmen to go and look for them, and when we had located them we would fight against them, capture them, bind them and drag them back very publicly back to Bargain Castle. I felt sick as I remembered how it made me feel dragging any one of my mother's enemies back through the market square, everyone was looking at us - especially my mother from her overlooking balcony. At the time part of me was proud, proud of the fact that she looked happy with what I was doing, however now I knew that she was just manipulating me to do her bidding, she wasn't proud of me - and she never has been. However before I could think about what happened when I had taken our prisoner into Bargain Castle, Lady Leah broke the silence - and for once I was happy about this.
"Because you are just as evil as your mother!" she accused harshly.
"No!" I exclaimed quickly shaking my head. "I am not as evil" I dismissed. "I am far from it," I told her. If only she actually knew what I was capable of then maybe she wouldn't try to antagonise me so much, but then I quickly dismissed this. Due to what was revealed in the trial I knew that Lady Leah knew a lot about me and my family, and Lucifer only knows what else the council records about the residents of the Isle. I made a mental note to check this with Ben later before I continued a heated conversation with Lady Leah. "And if you read my file as you have claimed then you would have seen that, you seem well informed about me and my family" I reminded her. "Too informed for my liking" I sighed as I quickly looked her up and down to see her roll her eyes at me in disgust. "But something you need to be made aware of Leah is that the trial would have been broadcast on the Isle" I stated. "So the Isle would have known all about your little plan, so you would be hoping that my mother caught you before anyone did" I said. "Because I know what they do to traitors on the Isle" I grimaced at her.
"And that speaks volumes!" she fired back. "You are a traitor to your own cause!" she pressed with a sly grin. "How disappointed mommy and daddy must be?" she sang sarcastically as she crossed her arms over her chest. I had to resist the urge to warn her but I thought that this was a very fruitless task, she hated me and my family and she was using this opportunity to show me this.
"I changed, there's a difference" I muttered.
"Ha!" she laughed back harshly. "You haven't changed!" she stressed as she shook her head at me. "You're only acting like a goody two shoes because you don't want to go back, and believe me girl when I say you will be there before me" she threatened me as I felt the Beast part of Ben growl within him.
"No" I replied simply. "I don't think so," I dismissed.
"I know so!" she implored."You are a pathetic waste of space, only good for keeping the King's bed warm" she mocked. "Nothing more, nothing less" she stated darkly. "You will never marry Ben!" she spat. "I will see to it," she insisted. There was part of me that thought that this probably wasn't going to be the end with Lady Leah, she probably was going to fight me right up until mine and Ben's wedding day. I will admit that this did scare me a little bit, as I didn't know what else she was going to attempt to do - while she was currently on house arrest. But I quickly pushed this away, I wasn't scared of Lady Leah. And she would come to learn this, the hard way! Every scheme and plot that she threw up against me and Ben I would endeavour to make sure that we always won. She might have been a Queen Elder of this kingdom, but she isn't a patch of me! She thinks she is so clever! Well she would never, ever win against me - I would see to it!
"Another threat Leah?" I questioned as I crossed my arms over my chest and threw all of my weight onto my right leg. "Are they all empty or do you actually manage to follow through on anything?" I added with a dark flourish that made Ben, Adam, Belle, King Phillip and Queen Aurora all take a deep breath in.
"You really don't want to try it girl" Lady Leah muttered darkly at me. "You don't know what I am capable of" she insisted as she gritted her teeth together as she dropped her arms from her chest.
"And you don't know what I am capable of," I told her as I stepped a little bit closer to her. "You don't know me well enough to know what I can do, and you need to stop" I told her, hoping that she would heed my warning.
"Or else what?" she snapped back. "You can't do anything, the second you try anything you will be sent back home" she told me. "Bye bye!" she stated sarcastically as she waved at me which caused me to laugh at her.
"And what do you think is so funny?" she said bluntly.
"I don't need to do anything Leah" I chuckled at her. "You do everything for me!" I exclaimed as I dropped my arms from my chest so they dropped to my sides. "Your compulsion to try and destroy me is your downfall, every action you make, every word you say goes against you" I elaborated further and I sensed that she started to feel concerned about what I was saying to her.
"Maybe that is what I want you to believe" she finally decided to say after we both stood in silence for a few seconds. "Remember what I did to your mother!" she pressed, obviously hoping to strike a nerve with me."I got her sent away!" she fired at me. "I got her wings cut from her, I am capable of so much more" she grinned as a very dark and playful glint entered her eyes. My mind then started to show me all of the stories that my mother shared with me growing up, telling me this is why we needed to escape the Isle and make the Beauty's pay. I could now see why my mother hated Lady Leah so much, and I just wished I knew what had caused this whole sorry mess to start in the first place - as things may have been totally different, for everyone involved!
"Like what?" I grimaced at her as I tilted my head to the side slightly.
"I think that is enough!" Ben interjected, which caused both me and Lady Leah to look over to him.
"No" I replied polietly. "Let her speak her mind Ben" I urged. "Because let's face it" I added as I looked over to her as I started to feel spiteful. "We're the last visitors she is going to have for a while" I told her, keeping my face blank of all emotions.
"Oh you!" she snapped.
"Oh what!" I snapped back. "I am quite sick of you trying to push me around" I insisted. "I think I have been more than patient" I added and I watched as she pursed her lips together.
"You are weak!" She mocked. "Like you mother!" She jeered. "And father!" She added bitterly.
"Matter of opinion" I mimicked her.
"You dare mock me?" She accused as her eyes widened in shock.
"No" I answered as I shook my head. "Just stating a fact" I shrugged at her.
"I can see why your parents hate you!" she quickly fired back at me. "Look at the state of you!" she exclaimed as she quickly looked me up and down. "Pathetic! Ugly little thing!" she chanted which started to make my mind relive the names that my mother had called me over the years. However unfortunately for Lady Leah I had heard it all before, so it wasn't going to have the desired effect over me. Right now in this moment I was happy for the name calling that my mother had inflicted over me, it made me strong. It made it easier to not let what Lady Leah was saying to me, even though her current actions were hurting me so much.
"Lady Leah!" Ben interjected.
"Oh shove off you!" Lady Leah snapped as she turned and glared at him. "You bring this-" she started as she harshly pointed at me. "Here!" she added bitterly. "And expect me to be all nicey nice" she continued in the same menacing manner. "I hate her!" she shouted as she looked back at me. "I wish she was dead!" she admitted and I froze in shock as I heard gasps echo around the room once more.
"Now we are getting to the nitty gritty" I stated as I bawled my fists up at my sides. "So it's not just me being with Ben that upsets you, it is my pure existence?" I questioned incredulously.
"Yes!" she exclaimed. "You make me sick! You make my skin crawl!" she spat.
"Thank you for the insight" I nodded meekly at her as I started to feel spiteful. "Even though I am really enjoying this personal assassination against me let her back to it" I added.
"To what?" she answered as she pursed her lips together.
"Story time" I sang darkly. "I need you to know the life that you almost had, well shortened life" I added sarcastically. "Or how it was about to end, you pick the title" I directed her and I watched as she bit down onto her bottom lip as she obviously fought against what I had just said. There was a small part of me telling me that I needed to take a step back from the situation, leave the room even. But right now I was being driven to tell her what I think, she had pushed my and Ben around far too much for both of our likings and it was going to end and now! "I can say for a fine fact that my mother would relish in torturing you" I grimaced at her. "Beating the life out of you, I can even tell you every step she would take" I told her spitfully.
"See!" she exclaimed as she looked at the others. "She is evil!" she growled as she looked back at me.
"No I am not!" I shouted as I flung my arms up in the air dramatically. "I have seen my mother kill Leah" I confessed and I watched her face drop into shock. I knew that the mental backlash was coming but this didn't prepare me for how vivid it was going to be, my mind took me back to the worst memory that I had during a dragon roar with my mother. It was with a street vendor, no one in particular, and to this day I don't know why my mother had chosen her. The sound of her voice begging, pleading and screaming echoed around my mind before my mind spitefully showed my mother slitting her throat. I saw the light from her dark brown eyes leave before she lay motionless on the floor of our backyard before my mother's evil cackle echoed around my mind. I didn't understand how Lady Leah could be so dismissive of the fact of what her fate nearly was, she should be listening to me and taking notice - rather than mocking me. "But I do believe you would have been her crowning glory" I told her, trying to pull myself away from my mother's evil deeds that were currently trying to become a permanent feature in the forefront of my mind. "Heck!" I exclaimed. "I know that part of her would want to do it publicly, in the middle of the market square" I cooed. "But deep down she would want to keep it to herself" I decided. "Every hit, every kick, every broken bone" I chanted harshly. "Every cut, bruise and burn!" I continued as I gritted my teeth together. "My mother would have you tied up and bound for the whole thing, cackling in the darkness" I warned her and I watched as a shred of fear entered her eyes. "Make you beg and plead!" I jeered. "And even when you are begging for death she'll not give it to you, she would make your dying breath painful!" I shouted.
"You bitch!" she snapped, and before I could say or do anything she quickly spat in my face.
"LEAH!" Ben roared.
"MOTHER!" Queen Aurora shouted as I picked up a nearby napkin from the table and wiped my face. I really couldn't believe that she would spit in my face. Yes I may have gone too far but right now I didn't care, what I cared about was showing Lady Leah that she couldn't push me around - and she would learn this and now!
"You are nothing more than street trash!" Lady Leah screamed in my face. "A whore who is good for nothing more than keeping His Majesty's bed warm until he gets a better offer" she mocked me.
"I know" I sighed as I placed the napkin back down onto the table. "You said" I stated darkly as I gestured to Ben to let me continue to deal with Lady Leah.
"He will find one" Lady Leah laughed. "Why would he want such a fickle piece of shit by his side?" she sneered at me. "My Audrey should be in your place right now" she said proudly. "She is such a better fit for Ben, she wouldn't be so easy to open her legs at the first opportunity!" she added.
"Leah" I stated as I took a step closer to her and I watched as she looked surprised at the fact that I would do this. "I'm warning you" I threatened her.
"Give over!" She dismissed me. "You can't see what you are doing, I hope that that proclamation does tear you apart" she added spitefully. "People like you don't have happy endings Mal, you don't deserve them!" she snapped further. "The sooner you realise this the better" she cooed. "So why don't you drop dead you evil little witch!" she pressed as she waved her hand to gesture me to leave. "Nobody wants you around, you should have just died at birth! "It would have saved us all this bother!" she continued in her harsh manner. "Saying that-" she started. "It wouldn't take much to send some iron or silver your way would it" she smirked at me.
"BITCH!" I shouted and before I could stop myself I quickly slapped her across the left hand side of her face with my right hand. Again I heard gasps fill the room as both of Leah's hands flew to her face.
"You are going to regret that!" she warned me.
"No you are Leah!" I quickly fired back at her. "You are going to regret threatening me, I will see to it" I promised her. "Because there will be a time when you will need my help, and you may even beg me for it" I added.
"Ha!" she laughed sarcastically. "I wouldn't even ask you to shine the dirt off my shoes!" she mocked.
"True" I nodded. "But when that day comes when you do need my help, you want to hope that I can find enough mercy" I warned her and I watched as her face dropped into shock. "Because your last chance with me was in that courtroom when I interjected for you, I may not do it next time" I told her before quickly spinning around and leaving the room, slamming the door behind me.