Chapter 4:
Ben's POV
"Hey, Watch it" I heard. It was a male voice, quite deep and rough. I looked up to see a muscular boy with tanned skin. He was wearing a yellow leather jacket, blue trousers and a red beanie.
"You watch it" I responded, pulling myself up and brushing myself off. I tried to make a run for it, but he quickly grabbed my wrist, yanking me back.
"I know you, don't I?" he said, looking at me very closely.
"No, no you don't", I said back, but I could hear the fear in my own voice, he looked at me closer, and then it finally clicked.
"You're Prince Ben, the King's son. The one exiled to the Isle" I tried to pull my wrist back, but he only tightened his grip. I felt a presence approach from behind me.
"Let him go Jay." I was relieved to hear it was Evie.
"Oh no, my father wants a word with this young man" he shouted, glaring at me. I could feel the fear building inside of me, and I knew there was only one way I would get out of this.
"Jay, come on" Carlos chimed in"After everything we've been through, can't you just trust us." Jay's grip started to loosen, but as I still couldn't yank my wrist away.
"Evie, Carlos, stand back." I said, staring at them, and they could see what I was about to do. They took a couple steps back, whilst trying to stop me from doing so. Jay continued to taunt me"Aww, what's the little prince gonna do huh?"
Before long, I had transformed into a wolf, and freed myself from his grip. I stepped back toward Evie and Carlos, whilst threatening Jay, by snapping at him, and lunging. The look on his face quickly turned into fear, and he started to step back into the alley.
"Woah, Okay, calm down" he repeated as I started to push towards him. I had no intent in hurting him, but I needed a show of force. He quickly backed himself against a wall, and a proceeded to push closer and closer. "Okay, Okay, I'm sorry, I'll leave you alone" I heard him say, and I quickly reverted back into my human form, before continuing to push towards him.
He seemed less frightened, but I doubt he would have laid a fist on me out of fear.
"Woah" Evie and Carlos said, as they started to approach Jay and me.
"I don't think you need any training in self-defence" Carlos piped up, making both him and Evie chuckle.
I'd backed away from Jay at this point, and he had slowly gotten off of the wall. "Ben, this is Jay" Evie said, "Son of Jafar, and one of the best thieves on the Isle." Jay, still slightly frightened, just nodded at me.
"Best thief on the Isle huh? Maybe he could train me?" I said, motioning towards Jay.
"Not a bad idea" Evie said, before wrapping her arm around Jay, whose colour had finally returned to his face.
"Jay, you'd be willing to help Ben right?" she said, smirking as she already knew the answer.
Jay quickly piped up, with the question I was expecting "What the hell was that man?" he said to me, his voice filled with curiosity.
"Due to my father's curse, I have the power to morph from beast to man as I please. To be perfect honestly, that was the first time I had used it in a real life situation. Don't worry, I didn't intend to hurt you" I said, smiling at him, "But I could have, if I wanted too" I added, trying to instil a little more fear into him.
"That's… impressive. I know someone who would love that" he said, with a slight smirk on his face. "And sure, I'm willing to help you steal, if you promise not to use that against me again?"
I was starting to notice something about these VK's. They weren't exactly the villain type. Each of them were willing to help me, which is not what I expected. As Jay led me to this mysterious person, I finally asked "What's up with you guys. You don't exactly seem like the Villain type" They all looked at each other, quite sheepishly.
"Let's just say that we've bonded with each other, and realised that sometimes it's best not to be evil. We certainly enjoy doing it, but it's…" Jay said, before Evie interrupted "Someone once said, listen to your heart, and let's just say we took that advice to heart."
I quickly realised that I was the one that had said that in one of my speeches. "You guys are following my advice?" I asked, before seeing all of them blush. Carlos finally chimed in. "Evil is fun, but when you're stuck on an Isle full of it, sometimes you just want more, you know."
They quickly broke off the conversation when we arrived at what seemed to be the largest building on the Isle. It was more impressive than the Evil Queens castle, and that was saying something. But there was something about this place that made my guts turn inside out.
"Where are we?" I asked, gulping as I did.
"Bargain Castle" Jay answered, but the name didn't seem familiar. "And who lives here?" I continued to question.
Before any of them could answer, I heard a powerful voice from above "I do" she said, leaning off the balcony. I looked up to see a purple haired with, wearing a purple leather jacket, mixed with shades of green, and green trousers.
"Mal" Jay shouted, "Get down here, we have something to show you." The girl above quickly left the balcony, and started to head outside. There was something familiar about that name 'Mal, Mal' I thought to myself, before it finally dawned 'Maleficent.'
I quickly started to step away from the tower, before walking into Carlos and Evie, who were stood behind me.
"Mal, as in Maleficent" I said, shaking at the thought of her name. Evie nodded her head, "This is Maleficent's daughter" as the purple hair girl approached. I carried on stepping back, but it quickly stopped when she grabbed my arm, causing me to jump.
"A little jumpy aren't we?" she began. "My mother told me about you, Prince Ben of Auradon. Exiled to the Isle for murdering that poor boy huh?" Evie and Carlos had a look of guilt on their faces, whilst Jay was very confused.
"Pretty impressive" was what she said next, as she released my arm.
"How did she know?" I asked, realising that when I first reached the Isle, she had already knew, before I had told anyone. "The reason for why exile wasn't released" I said with worry in my voice.
"She's the mistress of Evil" Mal responded "She felt it. Felt you take a life. Murder that poor boy" She said. I was getting better at managing my emotions, as I didn't break down crying when I repeated the word murder, instead I just gulped. "Why bring him here, my mother is out" She said, questioning Jays motives.
"You have no idea what this boy can do" he responded, before nodding at me. She glared at me, waiting for me to act, like some trained seal in the circus.
"Show me then. I'm getting impatient." I knew what she wanted to see, but I didn't want to show her. The Mistress of Evil's daughter knowing my secret. It didn't seem to bode well for me.
I didn't want to become a lackey, I just wanted to survive. 'Maybe becoming a lackey was the best way to survive'. I was quickly snapped out of my thoughts when Mal slapped me around the face. Shaking off the pain, I looked at her. I felt like the slap was reason enough to pin her up against the wall, like I did to Jay. I needed to instil fear into her, like I did Jay, to show that I was not weak.
I quickly transformed into a wolf, and started to walk towards her, snapping my jaw, and lunging. She had a similar reaction to Jay, fear filling her eyes, as she started to back away from me. But I knew this wasn't enough. I quickly lunged at her, and pushed her to the ground. She was now below me, and I was staring her in the eyes. Watching as she started to get all flustered with panic and worry. After a good few seconds of this, I slowly climbed off of her, and revert back to my human form.
I stared at her, and snapped "Don't you ever lay a finger on me again. Or next time, you'll get something much worse."
She slowly stood up and brushed herself off. She could see the power I had, and did not want to risk aggravating me any further.
"O-O-Of Course" she said, looking down at the floor. I was quickly pulled away from her, by Carlos and Evie, who made me form a huddle.
"Ben, what the hell was that?" Carlos snapped, Evie agreeing with him.
I quickly responded "She is the daughter of Maleficent, I need to show her how powerful I am. I don't want her mother after me and-."
Evie interrupted "And you thought the best way to avoid her was to pin her daughter to the ground?" She said, with an almost sarcastic tone, making me realise what I had done.
"You're right, now she will be out to get me. I'm gonna die of this Isle, and it's all my fault. I had pissed off the daughter of the most evil person on the Isle, and now she will be out to get me" I said, starting to get all flustered. My emotional barrier was starting to break down piece by piece, and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. "I have to apologise for what I have done. Show her I don't mean her any harm. I need to recover from this" I carried on rambling, before Carlos grabbed me with both hands on my shoulders, and shook me.
"Snap out of it" he said, "Firstly don't apologise, because that'll show how weak you are. Secondly, Mal is like us. She's not gonna rat you out to her mum, because she'd rather listen to her heart. Why do you think she didn't beat you the moment she saw you?"
"You're right, I'm sorry" I turned around to see Mal eavesdropping on the conversation.
"Ben, don't worry, I won't tell my mum, and I'm sorry for slapping you. I thought you were as weak as everyone else on this Isle, and I have an impression to keep up. Come inside and we'll explain everything"
I followed her inside her castle, and to no surprise Maleficent wasn't there. "Where are your Parents" I asked "Cruella wasn't at Hell Hall, The Evil Queen wasn't at her castle, and Maleficent isn't here." I heard a crow caw, and that quickly freaked me out. "And what is Diablo doing free, I thought he was frozen in stone?" I continued before Mal quickly ushered me into her bedroom with the rest of the gang following. "Someone please say something" I asked, once the door was locked.
Mal was the first to speak. "It started a week ago. Carlos was tinkering with one of his inventions, and managed to blow a small hole in the dome. It was enough to allow him to access Auradon's restricted TV channels, but what he didn't realise at the time was that it also allowed a small amount of magic to enter the Isle. We found out the day after, when my mother was sat with Diablo, and she tasked us to find her Dragon Eye Spectre. Long story short, Jay decided to join me, as he wanted to steal the staff, and I told Evie and Carlos to join, as I had… plans for them" Mal commented, her voice filled with regret. "Anyway, along the journey, we bonded and became close friends. We found the forbidden fortress, and managed to retrieve the Dragon Eye Sceptre for my mother."
Carlos interrupted "Well, technically Diablo retrieved it, we just did all the work" he said with a scoff at the end of his sentence.
Mal stared at him, and continued "Since then, our parents have discovered the contraption that Carlos made, and plan to replicate it, in order to bring the dome around the Isle down. We need your help." She finished, looking at me. "I understand, you want me to help stop them from bringing down the dome." I said to her.
"What?" all four of them yelled in unison, looking at each other "No, we want you to help us bring down the dome, so we can be the most feared villains in all of Auradon. And with you at our side, we will have a blood claim to the throne allowing us to rule!" Mal said, her eyes glistening green.
"No no no no. I will not help you" I said, slowly standing up and pacing around the room. "That's completely evil! I want no part of it"
Mal stood up and approached me calmly. She started to reason with me, "Ben, your family exiled you to the Isle, and the royal guards threw you out of the Limousine, not even willing to help you. The King and Queen were frightened of your power, and instead of helping you nurture it, they cast you away, after blaming you for an act you were not responsible for. If it was not for my mother, you would be dead now, at the hands of the villains. Then, your parents publicly shamed you on TV, claiming that they would have to find an heir with a rightful claim to the throne. They are not your family any more Ben, we are. Carlos helped you in a time of need. He led you to safety, when no one else would. Evie helped you recover from your injuries, and encouraged you to control your powers. Jay is going to train you on how to become one of the best thieves on the Isle, and I will offer you protection from anyone on this Isle, not that you need it" She finished, chuckling to herself.
Whilst she was talking, I could feel the anger growing toward my 'family'. She was right, they had abandoned me, with a care in the world, and had instantly replace me afterwards. "
You're right" I said, in a slight sigh. "I'll help, but that contraption won't work. When Carlos broke the barrier, it set off alarm bells all across Auradon. I remember it well. Fairy Godmother was quick to patch the hole in the dome back up. And after extensive discussions, the dome was strengthen further. Magic is discouraged in Auradon, but this was an exception. Fairy Godmother was joined by the 3 fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather as well as the Genie, Merlin and a load of other magic users. The dome is at least 10 times stronger now. Nothing from the inside will be able to penetrate it. If your parents attempt to use their device, the dome will send a feedback loop down the stream, blowing it up, and practically incapacitating anyway in the area. It won't kill them, but, funny enough, it will place them into a sleep." I chuckled at how ironic the last statement was. "That's what was decided at the meetings. They would be placed into a 10 year sleep. Enough to encourage them not to try again."
The four VK's looked at me in shock. "I-Is that true?" Mal asked, you could hear the doubtfulness in her voice.
"Every word." Ok, so maybe it wasn't all true, whilst the dome would produce a feedback loop if it was targeted, it was not actually any stronger. Only the Fairy Godmother repaired the dome, and it was a secret kept between her and the king. However, one day I overheard them talking about it, when I wasn't supposed to. If their parents did succeed in creating this device, it would definitely shatter the dome a little bit, before the feedback loop was activated. This might allow enough time for one of the villains to escape, which would cause chaos.
I still wasn't 100% in on Mal's plan. 17 years I'd lived in Auradon, and I was not willing to throw that away now.
"We need to warn our Parents" Carlos stated, snapping everyone out of their thought process.
"No" Mal responded quickly. "We let them continue. Once they are put into the Sleep, the five of us rise in their place, and take control of the Isle. When Ben comes to leave in 10 years' time, we hijack the Limo, and all make our way out of here. That way our parents will still be stuck on the Isle, and the five of us become the most infamous villains in the land. Ruling over Auradon, whilst our parents watch in their failure." Mal's plan seemed to place a smile on everyone's face, including my own.
It provided me with a little bit of hope. I had 10 years to convince them to become good, so when we left the Isle, we could show everyone that the children on the Isle of the Lost were not their parents. I would return to Auradon, with four reformed VK's, and show everyone that I was worth of being King, like intended.
"Deal" I said, placing my hand into the middle of the circle. I was followed my Mal, Evie, Jay, and eventually Carlos, who seemed reluctant at the plan. I could see he would be the easiest to convince, so he became my first target. Mal revealed their parents plan, stating that they were at the forbidden fortress, her mother's old castle, and that they were attempted the break the dome tonight. Her Spectre was to be used as the lightning rod on the larger device.
We sat and waited for the event to happen. All of us were unsure of when it would take place, but until then, we sat and bonded. I told them what it was like to grow up in Auradon, telling them about the food, and the parties, the clothes and the castles. Evie's eyes lit up when I talked about the Princes, whilst Mal was the least interested. It was then that I realised that I hadn't eaten for 3 days.
"Mal, have you got any food" I asked, hoping for something to clench my hunger.
She responded sarcastically of course"I'm sure there's some rats about, if you want to nibble on them. I'm sure you could use the practise in your wolf form" she said with an evil smile.I glared back at her
"Fine, I'm pretty sure there some popcorn in the cupboard, and an apple or two." I was excited by the prospect of fresh fruit, as it was my favourite. It was quickly replaced with disgust when I realised what she meant. The cupboard has stale popcorn, and the apple was rotting.
"This is all you have?" I asked, looking at the rotting apple in my hand.
"Sorry, Your Highness" she remarked "We, Isle Kids, only get the left overs of Auradon, so I'm afraid that we don't have any fresh fruit." She said, cackling at her own remark. Jay joined in, and Carlos and Evie shared a chuckle.
"Fine" I said, before reluctantly biting into the apple. I spat it out as soon as it entered my mouth "This is disgusting" I said, throwing the apple onto her bed.
"We know" she responded. "You just have to swallow it" she said, before biting into it, and swallowing the piece. I just to follow her lead, but quickly gagged on the apple before swallowing it.
"Wait, you can't control your gag reflex?" Carlos asked, also taking a bite out of the apple.
"No, can you?" I responded, still trying to recover from the taste of the apple.
"Everyone on the isle can" said Evie, "You get used to it, when you have eaten this for your whole life"
Before I could respond, we saw a large beam of light shoot up into the sky. The beam was quite thick, indicating the size of the machine. Everyone in the streets stopped and gasped over what they saw. After a few seconds, you could see a visible pulse traveling back down the beam, "That's the feedback loop" I said, pointing towards it.
The dome held strong, whilst the pulse slowly lowered itself back toward the machine. A few more seconds passed, and a shockwave was sent out from the Forbidden Castle. We were on the edge of the shockwave when it hit, but it was still enough to render us all unconscious.
I woke up a few minutes later, and pulled myself toward the window. The people in the streets were also beginning to awaken, and I could hear Carlos starting to make grumbling sounds, along with the rest of the crew.
"What the hell was that" Jay asked, as he slowly sat up with the rest of them. "The feedback loop. It sent out a shockwave containing the spell. As the shockwave expanded, the power of the spell disseminated, so it was more powerful at its-." I started
"Yeah yeah" Mal said, "More powerful where it struck, less powerful to us," as she pulled herself of the floor. The dome quickly started to recover from the beating it took, and looked like it was fully repaired.
"What happens now?" Carlos asked.
"Now we take control" Mal stated before opening her balcony door and started to shout. "People of the Isle, Our Parents have failed once again to free themselves from the Isle, and this time they have been punished for it. We are now in control of the Isle of the Lost", she said, ushering the four of us to follow her. "Obey us, or you will receive punishment of our own." She turned away from the balcony and walked away. We followed, closing the balcony behind us.
Evie then make a rather good point. "The older villains are not gonna be happy that we are in control now. Many of them may try to revolt."
Mal turned to me and said "Ah, but we have something they don't" looking me directly in my eyes. "Ben here is our guarantee that we stay in control. If anyway threatens our rule, Ben will simply frighten the life of out them, like he did me"
"And Me" Jay chimed in.
"Anyway it's getting late" Mal began. "I want you to return to your homes, and get some sleep. Tomorrow we have a rather…big day ahead of us. Although I claimed control, I need to enforce it." We all agreed, and started to make our way out of her castle.
Before I could leave, she grabbed my wrist. "Ben, you can stay here if you want. I have plenty of…room" She said, in almost a flirty matter.
"Nah, I'm good, I'm gonna stay with Carlos, if that's alright with him" I said, yanking my arm back from her. Carlos agreed, and started to lead the way.
Mal grabbed my arm once again. "Ben that was not a request" she snapped, pulling me towards her.
I quickly pushed away from her, before snapping back "Do I need to remind you, that I'm the one with the power not you. I told you Mal, never lay a finger on me again. Don't test my resolve. I'm not afraid." I realised that my eyes were starting to glow a golden colour, I'm guessing due to the curse. She, in turn, made her eyes glow green, and stared at me. I remained strong, staring back at her, until she finally gave in.
"Fine, go with him" she said, backing away from me slightly.
Once we had left the castle, Jay finally said something. "Wow, no one has ever stood up to Mal like that. Her mother was deterrent enough."
I was quick to respond. "I realised something when we were watching the beam. Maleficent may be the Mistress of Evil, and Mal may be her daughter. But on the Isle, they have no power. There is no magic here, so they are powerless. However, I have real power on this Isle, and they are unable to stand against me. I am in charge of this Isle, not her and soon enough she will realise that." I heard Evie gasp after my little speech, and Jay and Carlos had a look of fear on their faces. I could feel the power coursing through my bones.
'Maybe the Power is getting to my head' I thought to myself, but quickly dismissed it. 'Relax, I haven't actually acted on it yet. You're Fine'. We continued to walk the rest of the way, making small talk. Jay left about half way through, and Evie left when we reached Hell Hall.
"See you guys tomorrow" Evie said, before making her way down the street. "Carlos, can I ask you something" I said, grabbing his wrist, before he walked away. "A-Am, I, ugh, going power mad?" I asked, with a look of nervousness on my face. His reaction was enough to answer my question. I dropped to the ground and broke down once more in front of him.
"What have I become. Who am I anymore? One minute I'm exiled to the Isle, and the next in planning to rule it. What is happening to me" I continued to sob whilst he sat down next to me.
"This is just your way of coping" he said in a calm voice. "You'll eventually find yourself in this place Ben, whether that is to remain good or not."
"But what if I don't. What if I continue to fall deeper into this hole? What if I'm consumed by power, and turn evil? I'm not evil Carlos, am I?" I turned to him, tears streaming down my face.
"Ben, you're not evil. You were raised in Auradon. And no matter how far you fall, you'll always be from Auradon. You will always strive for what you believe in, and what is good. Don't worry. Maybe you need a couple of days to adjust. Now that my mother is gone, you can move into the house. We can share her bedroom, its big enough" He said, as he slightly blushed.
"Yeah, I'd like that" I replied, as I pulled myself of the floor, and we made our way into his home.
The interior of the house matched the exterior. Old pieces of furniture were scatter around the place, with a thick layer of dust on top of everything. Collapsed bookshelves and scruffy furniture occupied what I could only assume was the living room, and we made our way into the kitchen. Similarly to the rest of the house, the kitchen was run down. Door were hanging over the cupboards, and cobwebs occupied every corner in the room. The same thick layer of dust was present, apart from one worktop, which showed signs of use.
Carlos quickly pulled me from the gaze, when he said "Cosy, huh". I just smiled back, trying not to offend the boy. Carlos started to rummage through some of the cupboards, and eventually pulled out a few backs of crisps. 'Oh, thank god, finally some decent food', I thought to myself, only to open the bag and find that they were stale. I let out a slight huff, before continuing to eat them.
The room, was silent, so I tried to start a conversation. "So, how did you guys meet" I asked, hoping it wouldn't be a touchy subject.
Luckily it wasn't "Surprisingly we met at school. Evie had been castle schooled for the last 10 years, and this year was her first time back. She sat next to me in one of the classes, and we got quite close. Mal and Jay had always been friends, I think because she saved his life." That sentence intrigued me. It didn't sound very villain like to save another's life. Then again, Carlos had done that to me, so I couldn't really judge. I nodded, as Carlos continued. "When Mal was tasked to find the Dragon Eye Sceptre, she invited us three along. Jay originally intended to steal it, and Mal invited Evie as she planned to place her into a 1,000 year sleep. The contraption that broke the barrier could be used as a compass, as I was dragged along as well. After everything we went through, you just automatically become close, you know. Since then, we've stuck together, and Mal as sort of been ringleader for our group." As Carlos finished, I let out a yawn, and he noticed. "Boring you huh?" he said, with a sarcastic undertone.
"No, no, no, it's just I haven't slept since I was dumped on the Isle" I said, continuing to yawn. Carlos just looked at me, with the blankest expression on his face. To him, what I just said must have sounded ridiculous.
He then spoke, "I haven't had a proper night's sleep since Wednesday" he said sighing. 'It was five days ago' I thought to myself.
"Well, we best get some sleep. You heard Mal, we have a big day ahead of us." I said her name with a little bit of spite, and I think Carlos noticed. "Follow me then," he said, leading me upstairs.
We walked into Cruella's bedroom, and it was the most pristine room in the house. Every piece of furniture was polished, and looked almost new. There was no layer of dust covering any of the surfaces either. I gasped when I saw it, whilst Carlos just smirked at me. The room contained a large king sized bed, with white quilt covered in black polka dots, and there were at least half a dozen pillows on the bed, each white with a red pattern. 'Typical De Vil' I thought myself.
I continued to explore the room, whilst Carlos readied the bed. He pulled the quilt back, and readied some of the pillows. I tried to act as innocent as possible, and started to shuffle some of the pillars on the couch around, as I didn't want to assume he wanted us to share the bed. Carlos quickly noticed, and said through his blush "We can share the bed you know. I think it's big enough for the both of us."
A smile grew on my face. Ever since I first saw him, I had started to develop a small crush on him. He wasn't like the rest of the VK's. He was caring, and smart, opting to help me instead of kicking me whilst I was down.
"Really, thank you Carlos" I said, moving to the opposite side of the bed to him. We both started to get ready for bed, taking our tops off. We both blushed slightly, as we looked at each other.
He had a very nice body. A defined chest and six-pack, though it wasn't as defined as mine. After we awkwardly chuckled to each other, we got into bed, probably as far away from each other as possible. We exchanged good nights, and the room fell silent.
I laid there trying to review the day's events. To think, it started with Carlos and I escaping through a set of tunnels, to visiting Evie, Jay and Mal. It was one hectic day. That's when Carlos decided to break the silence.
"Umm, Ben?" I heard him say, he was obviously nervous at what he was about to say. "Was it true, what you said at Evie's, that you like…"
"Guys, yeah, it's true" I quickly finished his sentence, trying to make him as comfortable as possible.
"How did you know" was his next question, and that threw me quite a bit. "I just did, I suppose. I just started looking at guys differently than before I suppose. It's perfectly normal" I added onto the end. I heard a sigh of relief as I finished.
Then he started again "B-Ben" he said, stuttering whist he did so. I knew this was going to be difficult for him to say. "I-I-m G-G-gay" he said with a copious amount of fear in his voice, showing he was nervous to admit it, out of fear of my response.
"Really, Carlos that's great!" I said, which so much enthusiasm in my voice. I rolled over to him, and pulled him to a big hug. "I am so proud of you for admitting it" I said to him, trying to comfort him. I could tell he was still fearful of my response. I felt Carlos hug me back, and snuggle into my arm, which I found rather cute.
He quickly broke of the hug soon after, and rolled back over. "Goodnight" he said, rather nervously, and didn't try to make any more conversation. I knew what had happened, as I was having a similar experience, but I tried to hide it as best as possible. I rolled over, so we were facing opposite ways, knowing that both of us were trying to hide our hard-ons.