- I'd just like to take a moment to clarify a few things:

1) Back at the hearing, the judge may have wanted to hold Mal in contempt at first, but when Ben started listing the reasons why it wouldn't be contempt the judge then remembered the Human's Right of Safety Act and used that as just another reason to hold her (because, yes, he is prejudiced and was looking for an excuse to hold her). However, Mal isn't technically being held in contempt. She wouldn't have had the right to bail anyway, since hybrids who are accused of felonies aren't allowed that right.

2) It seems like a few of you are starting to get a little bored of this, kind of like how I was bored of the first season of Luke Cage until at the end when the villain was given a backstory and everything started to fall into place. But then again, a lot of you seem to be enjoying this, so maybe it's less boredom and more of an excitement to see how things turn out? I don't know, but whatever it is I need to let you know that I'm not rushing this story. As far as a timeline goes, Mal still has a week of jail time and even after that drama is done there's still the trail (which is not going to be a one-and-done thing either). In real life (unless you're having a civil union/marriage) court and legal things in general tend to be long, boring, and... I'm sure I'm missing a word here, but my point is I'm not going to be rushing anything. Which brings me to my next point—

3) I'm really not just trying to be repetitive here. The last couple chapters weren't meant to be interpreted as "Hey. More discrimination. Great." or "Yep. I know there's a trial. Let's get to it." Sure. The trial is going to be talked about in passing, because it is something that's going on and therefore something people would bring up. And, yes, there's going to be discrimination, because that is one of the few topics I'm currently covering right now. However, those things were not intended to be the main focus of the chapters after the hearing. The last couple chapters were more about developing character relationships and seeding in some ideas of a few sub/plots that will be becoming a focus sometime later on. I know what it's like to find some plots annoying when you only really have interest in one or two, but it probably will be another five chapters until the trail and then at least a chapter per each day that the trial is happening. Until then, I suggest that you stop and smell the roses, because you're probably going to see a lot of Ben up until then. (Get it? Because roses are very significant to his family? No? Ugh... Never mind, then.)

Accident

(Day 47: Thursday Evening)

"Hey." Jay quietly stands in the space of the opened door. "I heard you saw Mal today. How is she?"

Jay looks over his shoulder for a second before commenting, "Come in." before he steps to the side and Ben walks past him. "Mal is doing fine. But the lawyer told her to stop threatening the guard, because they could try to… what was that word? Sedate her?"

Ben kneels down to pet the dog, but he looks up at Jay, "Why was she threatening the guard?"

"She wasn't," Jay answers. "She was just standing her ground, letting him know that she wasn't afraid of him."

"If the guard is human, then he's probably more scared of her than she is of him."

"I wouldn't count on that," Jay comments as he walks forward and sits down at the table. "Her mother knew how to tell a scary story, and somehow I imagine that they were all true."

Ben is silent for a moment, before he stands up, "But she's okay, then?"

"Yeah," Jay answers. "She's fine." He nods down to the table, "Now sit."

"What?" Ben questions. "Why?"

"We'd just like to talk for a minute." He looks up, "Isn't that right, Carlos?"

"Totally," he confirms, before he takes three Gatorades from the floor and then sets them on the table.

"Oh," Ben realizes. "You know, I—" He lifts his thumbs up, "I can't stay that long."

"Nonsense," Jay responds, as he slides the blue drink towards Ben. "If you don't finish it here, you can just take it with you." He sees his grim look, "Don't worry. We didn't poison it."

Ben breathes a laugh, "No. Of course, you didn't. It's not that."

"Then what is it?" Carlos prompts as he sits down.

"I'm just not that thirsty," Ben slowly excuses. He watches as Carlos opens his yellow one but looks away before he drinks it, "I had some water already. So—"

"So, just save it for later," Jay solves.

Ben smiles, "You know, that's a great idea."

"Yeah," Jay agrees, "but first you have to claim it."

"Claim it?" Ben frowns.

"Take a drink and then spit it in," Jay instructs.

Ben uneasily comments, "Is that really necessary?"

"If you don't, someone will steal it from you."

"It's true," Carlos lets him know. "It was a huge thing on the Isle."

"Well, this isn't the Isle of the Lost," Ben irritably reminds them. "Who's going to steal it from me?"

"If you don't take a drink from it," Jay evenly comments, "then I could just take it back from you right now." Ben stays silent. "Go on. Drink it," he challenges.

Ben glances at the blue substance, before he looks back up at Jay and then eyes the drink for another moment. The nutrition chart has too much listed, but with a deep breath he opens the drink and then stares at Jay as he takes a sip. "Do I have to spit in it too?"

"No," Carlos answers. "I think we got all we needed."

"What?" Ben looks between the two of them. "What is this?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Jay counters. "I thought you didn't drink Gatorade." Ben's mouth opens slightly. "Or, at least, that's what Evie told us when she came over today."

Ben furrows his eyebrows at him, "So, this was all what? Some kind of trick?"

"You could say that," Jay answers.

He shakes his head before standing from the table, "You're horrible." before he heads for the door; however, Jay blocks it.

"No," he counters, "you're the horrible one. Do you even know what the hell you did?" He steps forward, and Ben takes a step back. "You told Evie it wasn't safe."

"Because it isn't safe," Ben stands on his toes and widens his eyes at him. "It's nothing but sugar. No. Worse than that," he realizes before continuing more sternly. "It's syrup. What you're drinking is nothing more than a bottle of syrup." Jay pushes him, and Ben loses his balance, falling back onto the floor with his forearms catching him before his head can hit the ground. He sees Jay speak as he walks towards him, but it's all too familiar. With his height and his build, he could easily be his father. Ben shakes the thought from his mind. It was only once. I lost my patience. I should have been patient.

"Stop it," Carlos intervenes, as he steps in front of Jay. "You're scaring him."

"Maybe he deserves to be scared," Jay reasons, "after what he pulled." Ben slowly stands, as Jay comes even closer. "Evie hardly even eats, and now you're telling her not to drink things too?"

"I was trying to get her to drink the flavored water I had," Ben attempts to explain as his legs bump against something, and when he glances over he sees the bed behind himself.

"And you just had to dish dirt out on another drink while you were at it, huh?" Jay scrunches up the neck of Ben's shirt and grits his teeth, "Give me a reason not to settle this here and now."

Ben's breathing quickens, "I'm sorry." but he's still in his face. "I'm sorry." He cries, "I swear, I won't do it again."

Jay lets go of his shirt, "You'd better not." before he strides away, grabbing a drink from the table on his way out of the room.

Carlos watches as Ben takes a few deep breathes, his mouth gaped open and tears still escaping his eyes, before he collapses down on the edge of the bed. Carlos walks up to him, "Are you okay?" He stares at the middle of the floor. "Ben?"

He takes a moment to slide his sleeve up, but when he does the rug burn isn't there, "Yeah." Ben wipes the tears from his face, "I'm fine." He gulps before looking up at Carlos, "Thank you."

"He wouldn't have hurt you," Carlos lets him know, before he notices Ben hold onto his forearm. "I mean, if he did, he didn't mean to."

"No one means to hurt anyone," Ben whispers as he pulls the sleeve back down. "It just happens." Carlos doesn't speak. "Don't worry. I'm not going to report him."

"You're not?" Carlos skeptically asks in surprise.

"No." Ben glances down, "It's not like he really hurt me, and accidents happen. There's no reason to make a big deal out of it."

"I mean," Carlos unsurely comments, "I'm not sure if that could actually be considered an accident."

"Still," Ben evenly responds. "He was just upset. There's no reason to punish him for that." He taps his thumbs on his legs, "Besides. If he apologizes later, I'd feel guilty about turning him in now."

It takes a minute for Carlos to say, "I suppose that makes sense."

Ben stands up and points towards the door, "I'd better leave." before he walks out.

"King Ben. What can I do for you this evening?"

"My father set up a reservation," he frowns. "I'm supposed to meet him here."

"Ah," the host responds, before he looks over the roster. "Yes, yes. Here you are." He smiles, "Follow me." Ben looks around, as he sees several stares and phones. He has no doubt that by the end of the night at least a couple dozen photos of him will have been posted online. "Here you go." Ben sits down where Mal had sat previously. "The waitress will be with you shortly." Ben tries to smile, but after he leaves it falls again.

He looks around the closed off area for a minute: the dim, yellow lighting, the red brick wall, and the small diamond cutouts of the room separator. It's private. It's discrete. It's enclosed. What am I doing here? He begins to stand from the table, but when the waitress enters through the opening he sits back down.

She smiles at him, "What can I do for you tonight?"

It takes him a moment to respond, "We'll just have the steak."

The brunette writes it down, "Cola or wine?"

"Actually." Her eyes are so innocently blue, and he contemplates whether she may have some dark secrets of her own. No. She looks too happy for that. "Do you serve milk? I forget."

"We have whole milk, fat free, or coconut."

Ben glances down as he thinks of which his father would prefer, "Whole."

She jots it down, "Anything else?" Ben shakes his head. "Okay, then. I will have that for you soon."

After a moment of her standing there Ben breathes a laugh, "Right." before he gestures. "Thank you, Bridget."

"Are you sure you don't want that wine— or maybe some tea?" she offers. "You seem really stressed."

"It's nothing," Ben slowly explains as he clasps his hands together. "Just a meeting with my father. If I'm lucky, he won't try to change my mind on policy again."

She shows her teeth, "Good luck."

He nods, "Thank you. Really." before she turns around and exits the section. Ben moves his hands over his face and then sets his arms down onto the table, before the second passes and he opts to take out his phone instead. There's a text from his father. Running late. He exits the messages, pulls up his contacts, and his finger lingers over the call button for a minute before he finally presses it.

"Ben?"

"Hey, Mom," he breathes. "How's it going?"

"Fine. You?"

It takes him a moment to respond, "How's Dad? Or, ah, how has he been, I should say. Is he doing well?"

"Why, yes," his mother replies. "He's been relatively fine all week. Well, you know, aside from that little incident last Sunday." Ben nods. "Honey? You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," Ben glances down. "It's just nice to hear your voice."

She laughs. "Aww. It's nice to hear from you too." Ben smiles. "You know, honey… I hope you know I'm still here for you. It was… misguided of me to keep you from that knowledge about yourself. I know that now, but we really were only doing what we thought would be best for you."

Ben evenly responds, "I know."

"Are you okay?" she questions again.

"Yeah," Ben reconfirms. "Dad just wanted us to meet for dinner."

"What?" his mother questions. "He didn't tell me that."

Ben frowns, "Should I be worried?"

"No. Of course, not," he hears his mother smile. "He probably just wants to apologize for not letting us finish our talk yesterday." Ben nods. "Just—" His mouth cracks open. "Try not to test him. If you're in a public place, a scene doesn't need to be made."

Ben half laughs, "Mother. I never try to test him. For God's sake, he tests himself."

"Be patient," she reminds him. "Don't upset him."

Ben is quiet for a minute, before he sees his father through the diamonds of the wood, "I have to go."

"Wait. Ben," his mother urges.

He ends the call and puts his phone away, before his father enters through the opening. He sits down, "Sorry, I'm late. I lost track of time." Ben touches his watch, pressing down the upper right button three times as he waits for his father to continue. "Has the waitress come yet?"

"Yes," Ben answers. "We're having steak and milk."

His father smiles, "Good. It's nice to know you can choose to be healthy on your own."

Ben strains a smile, "Yes. It is." but it turns into a grin when he sees Bridget again.

She takes the steaks off of the platter and sets each in front of them, "Here you go." before she places the two glasses and pitcher of milk in the center of the table. She smiles from Ben to his father and back again, "Will that be all?"

"Yes," Ben nods. "Thank you."

When the waitress leaves his father comments, "Good looking girl, isn't she?"

Ben frowns, "Dad—"

"I'm just saying," he explains, "that if I were your age, then she would be a very respectable choice."

He folds his hands together and squeezes them, "I have a girlfriend."

"Yeah," his father leans in and whispers. "A girlfriend who is in jail pending changes of sexual assault. Even if she is found innocent, it doesn't change how the public sees her."

"Dad," Ben says again before taking in a deep breath, but as he lets it out his father starts to speak again.

"That waitress, on the other hand. She's beautiful. Kind. And if she's working here, then she has to be human, right?"

Ben shuts his eyes for a moment, as he attempts another calming breath, "Father." He looks at him, "Mal makes me happy. You want me to be happy, don't you?"

"Of course," his father frowns.

"Good," Ben glances down for a second. "Then the matter is settled." He takes the pitcher and pours the milk into his glass. "Why did you want to meet here?"

When Ben sets it back down his father does the same, "You used to like it here. I thought it would be a nice place to talk."

"To talk about what?" Ben inquires.

"About the whole us keeping that secret from you," he answers. "I know it can't have been easy finding out the way you did, but you must realize that you're more than what some document says. You're smart. Determined. A lot like your mother like that." He gestures, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that what you may or may not be doesn't matter. In the end you're still you. The lack of you knowing this information hasn't changed anything."

Ben furrows his eyebrows at him, "Is that your idea of an apology?"

"We just wanted what was best for you," his father defends.

"Yeah. I get that," Ben frustrates, before he takes in a deep breath and lets it out fast. "But I still deserve an apology. Mom apologized. Why can't you?"

"I just don't see what I did wrong."

"You lied to me," Ben furiously whispers. "You said you didn't know what was wrong with me. All that time of me questioning whether I'd live or die, and you just said it would be fine, that we didn't need to know why so long as we had the solution."

"Would knowing really have made it any easier?" his father questions.

"Yes," Ben slowly lets out, as he feels his eyes moisten. "You know how scary it is to know that your ailment doesn't have a name, that you're the only one with it?"

"Knowing wouldn't have changed that," he tries to reason. "You still would have been the only child of a person who was once cursed to be a beast."

"At least I would have known why," Ben whispers.

It takes a minute for him to comment, "I'm sorry, but it was the best course of action at the time."

"Was it?" Ben doubts.

"Yes," his father assures. "Now, drop this nonsense and eat. I've said what I had to."

Ben frowns down at the rare steak, before he eyes the section opening; however, when his father looks at him he looks back down at the steak and starts cutting it to pieces. Five squares down and seven across, he counts. That makes thirty-five. He stabs the meat with the fork; however, it's so thick that only two pieces fit at a time, and he watches the red juice drip as he examines it in the air.

"So," his father breaks the silence. "The quarterly budget meeting is coming up."

"I don't feel like talking about politics right now," Ben quickly replies.

"Why not?" his father questions, but all Ben can do is look up for a brief moment with his mouth slightly open, before he shuts it, shakes his head, and stares back down at the plate. "It's important, you know. How you spend that tax money can make all the difference."

"I know," Ben simply responds, before he eats the first square of meat from his fork.

"How are you planning on using it?" his father questions.

Ben continues to frown as he looks back up at him, "Are we really doing this right now?"

"Doing what?"

"Arguing," Ben predicts.

"It's just a discussion," his father comments.

"No. It isn't," Ben responds louder. "It's never a discussion. All it ever is is you trying to pound my head in with how you want it done, until the one to three hours are finished and I finally retreat to go lift weights and cry."

He sees the tears in his son's eyes, "I see now, I've made a mistake. Clearly, you're still too young to be able to handle all of this."

Ben painfully laughs, "The job isn't the problem. You are. If you'd just let me rule the way I think is best, then there'd never be an issue."

"Your idea of ruling," he sternly replies, "is to increase wages and give handouts."

"It's not handouts," Ben denies. "Farmers deserve more incentive for the grueling work they do, and the dwarves— They're the prime income of our economy, and yet all of the money they make goes straight to the government. They deserve more than just one percent of their earnings. It's not fair."

"But then we won't have money for what really matters," his father debates. "What about the money we need for infrastructure, for city maintenance and potholes."

"What potholes?" Ben furrows his eyebrows at the absurdity. "The kingdom already looks perfect. I think it can afford a few hundred dollars less in funding."

"It won't look perfect after you're finished with it. You'll see. Once all that money is spent elsewhere— to places that would be expected to be permanent, mind you— then the kingdom will start to fall apart. This whole country will."

"Look," Ben gestures, "I get that you're obsessed with outward appearances appearing to be perfect, but that doesn't mean anything if the people are suffering."

"This is Auradon," his father counters. "No one suffers here."

"Not even the hybrids who wouldn't be allowed to work here?" Ben questions, but then he gasps and shuts his eyes, as the loud sound is heard.

"You listen here." When Ben opens his eyes they pinpoint to the fork in front of him. "As king, hard decisions have to be made. Not everyone can have everything. There's only so much money to go around, and it should be used to better the entire country, not just a couple job sectors. And appearances. Appearances are key. No one is going to be happy if this place doesn't look happy. It has to look good, because if it doesn't then they would question everything."

"Is everything okay in here?"

Ben looks up from the fork and notices the concern on the waitress's face. He wets his lips, "Yeah. Everything is fine." before his father also notices and slowly moves the utensil away from Ben. "My father was just showing me how different the forks are here to the ones we have." He tries to settle his breathing as he notices the milk running down the red brick and the broken glass on the floor. "He accidently knocked the pitcher with his elbow. I apologize."

Bridget continues to frown, "How about I get someone to clean this up?"

Ben glances at his father before answering, "Yes. That would be great." She slowly moves away, but then Ben speaks again. "Ah. Can I get the check too? I want to pay it before I forget." She only nods before leaving.

His father takes in his surroundings, "I'm sorry. I—"

"It's fine," Ben evenly comments, but then he gulps, as he can still feel the tears burn in his eyes. He tries to settle his breathing, "It was an accident." but his heart still beats fast.

"I was just trying to get you to understand," his father tries to explain, "that you need to think of this country as a whole. You can't make every individual person happy."

It takes a minute for Ben to respond, "I know." before the long haired waitress comes in and sets the check down. Ben reaches for it, but then he sees his father's hand also go on it.

"Let me take care of it." Ben gives him an unsure look. "I'm the one that asked you to dinner. I should be the one to pay for it." Ben looks up past the waitress at the wall opening. He can either pay the check himself and leave now or he could let his father pay and stay longer.

"I have a lot of homework to get done," Ben excuses.

"If you have to leave, I understand," his father responds. "Just let me pay. Please."

Ben takes his hand off of the check, "Goodnight." before he stands and slowly paces away.

- ThatGayNerd Your comments have been very motivating. Thank you very much. Your reviews are always very informative and it's clear that you're reading the author's notes too (Thank you for everyone who is currently doing that! I know they can get a little long sometimes—or in the case of my Harry Potter fic all the time— so it's great to know that people are actually reading them.) I look forward to seeing how you respond to this chapter, assuming you have something to say about it. It was really eventful, but I understand that when it comes to certain topics some people are reluctant to respond and would rather just take the situation/information in (which is also fine).

- Elizabeth Annette I'd like to thank you for all of the responses you have left so far. It's always great to see what a reader thinks of a chapter, even if it isn't always the most positive review. Also, please don't take any offense to my clarifications at the top of the page. It's not personal. I'm just insecure like that, and when I see one person confused or frustrated and it appears to be more towards the writing itself and not the characters and/or their situations, then I feel the need to explain things because if one person is confused or frustrated then that may mean other people are too. However, whether your last response was frustration with the writing itself or just more excitement for a certain plot, your honesty is appreciated and I still really love your reviews. I like how you're able to empathize with the characters. It's sweet. So, please continue. Don't let my insecurities stop you.

- Anyway, I hope everyone liked this chapter... or well, found it interesting. The next one involves Evie... Prepare yourself. It starts out a little strong.