Chapter Thirty Nine
A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to either Disney or the Greek Myths.
Guys, we're four reviews away from overtaking Watch and Learn for the spot of the most reviewed story on my account! Thank you all so much! :D
Marcus Emrys: That's a good point, dragons are always dangerous. Ooh yeah I caught that the minute I published it—and speaking of publishing, I read the Price of Silver and I can't wait for the next chapter! :D
61394: I agree, I don't think Estelle could have handed any more shrieking. I…I guess it would lead to a third timeline.
JaclynnM: Oh I'm so happy you're enjoying the chapter and the story! :D
Katt Kiki: So glad you enjoyed the chapter!
AmethystDragon14: Yay! Heh Audie probably learned that from working in the soup kitchen! And Ben definitely needs to keep thinking that!
DS Rider: I'm sure there will be plenty of ridiculous jokes!
Urmimala Hazra: Just taking a guess but chivalry is something that's generally associated with men—and it's a class that's canonically only for men. You'd have to talk to the author of the books for that.
Anonymous Reader: In all honesty, after everything that happened to them, I don't blame Ben for being a bit overprotective. Also…why must you give me ideas?! lol!
Guest: Oh they really are aren't they?
Flaresouth: Nope, not really. For a lot of the characters I'm lucky because I can pull from the Watch and Learn series since they're my OCs anyway and then just play it by ear there.
HufflepuffInDaHealingCoven: So glad you enjoyed it! :D
Monkeymama1516: Oh something tells me they'll need earmuffs in order to keep their hearing when Audrey hears that! Hmm…would I be incredibly cruel if I made her read that scroll..
jessaminego5134: Yeah they'll know but because it'll be revealed in the reading. After all, Leah herself thinks about it in chapter fifteen of Choosing Love.
twilightgirl587: Poseidon's grandson is Virgil and his nephew is Hadie—and of course Audrey's in danger of being smote! She wouldn't be Audrey otherwise!
Quil: Oh I have no doubt Audie will show them that! And I can't wait to see your drawings of the scenes! And no, unfortunately, I don't have a character outline. Going off of memory.
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you think!
"Wonder what this scroll will have in it?" Carlos mused as he unfurled it.
The weekend came before Mal knew it, and she found that she was actually excited to watch Jay and Carlos try out for Tourney.
"Who wouldn't be?" Kitty grinned. "Tourney's the best thing to watch!"
It would at least be more entertaining than watching Blueberry do Chad Charming's homework for him.
"I'm sorry, what?!" Cinderella and Kit exclaimed.
"She's…I'm not…"
Rachel shook her head. "I think most of the girls here have done your homework for you Chad. History report for a date sound familiar?"
"Life Skills without Magic paper," Elle said, holding up her hand.
"Basic Chivalry essay," Robin added, shaking her head in slight disgust. "In my defense, Will was going out with someone else and it was mom and dad's holiday party. I couldn't not be with someone."
Mal rolled her eyes before looking at Fairy Godmother. "So what? You don't recognize that the papers and homework are in different handwriting styles than Charming's?"
"All our papers are typed up," Ben said, looking at Chad with his patented puppy dog eyes of disappointment. He didn't really realize what he was doing, but he was doing it.
"Of course they are," Uma muttered.
Kit sighed. "Young man, your mother and I are going to be having a talk with you about this!"
"…yes dad," Chad muttered.
Honestly, what is she thinking? That Charming would just go out with her if she does his work? Mal thought with an eye roll.
"Considering that's Chad's MO from what we've heard around school? Yes, more than likely," Lucy said, nodding her head.
Mal and Uma's eyes narrowed at that. They were the only ones who got to mess with Evie. Er…Blueberry.
Still, a small part of her couldn't help but be a little amused by the whole thing. Blueberry was getting played by the same stuff she would pull on the Isle. Mal would always have a front row seat to that sort of thing since she and Blueberry were often in the same class at Dragon Hall.
"Mother always said that boys don't like smart girls," Evie said, her voice soft as she looked down at the ground.
"Your mother's an idiot," Emma snorted. "Er…no offense mom."
Snow White shook her head. "Watch the attitude Emma but my daughter has the right idea Evie. If a boy doesn't like you for who you are, then they're not worth it."
"Yeah right," Audrey scoffed. "Everyone knows it's looks not personality that—."
"Well yeah, no one would like you for who you are because you're ugly on the inside," CJ snapped at her.
"CJ!" Harriet exclaimed.
"Runt's not wrong," Harry nodded.
"Harry!"
Karma was sweet. Or at least it would if Mal didn't feel a small tug on her conscious every time she saw Evie at work.
"Wait…how long has Evie been doing this?" Rowyn asked. "Normally with Chad, it's a one and done situation."
That tug was the reason why Mal spent more and more of her time throughout the week hanging out in Jay's room. She couldn't feel the tug if she didn't see Blueberry.
"So basically if you don't see Evie, you don't feel the guilt?" Macaria asked.
"Are you sure we have to do this?" Carlos asked that Saturday as Mal once again sat in the boy's room, smirking in amusement.
"Well I mean you don't have to do anything," Meg pointed out. "But if you don't do it, you'll get detention."
"It's either we do this or we have detention DeVil," Jay told him.
"I believe I stated earlier that as VKs we don't shy away from detention!"
"And you know, really, how bad could detention in Auradon be?" Carlos mused.
Mal looked over at Jay and the two of them shared a smirk. DeVil truly was coming into his own—or at least felt more comfortable around Mal and Jay. To be fair to the younger boy, he mainly saw them when one of them checked in on him and Gil—and if it was Harry, well let's just say there was a reason why Mal or Jay handed the check ins.
"I deal with Fish for Brains for the recommended amount of time. Anything over that and I make no promises about his status as a living person," Harry stated.
"What is the recommended amount of time for dealing with Gil?" Uma asked.
"However long the Captain tells me to deal with him."
Now all DeVil needed to do was lose a lot more of the timidness around people who weren't Mal or Jay and he'd be just fine.
"And I think the pup's doing just fine on that," Harry muttered to Uma, who nodded.
Meanwhile, over at the girls' side of the building, a certain prince was making his way down the hall.
"Oh dear Gods, I think Eros must have struck him with an arrow or something," Hera chuckled.
He hadn't had a chance to talk to any of the VKs that day and he wanted to make sure they were doing alright.
"Oh really? Any VK in particular you were thinking about checking on?" Abby grinned as she teased her brother.
Ben figured that they were probably all in one location. He didn't know why but he wanted to start with Mal's room.
He had a good feeling about it.
"A good feeling about Mal's room? You don't say?"
"Well Emir, don't forget. He does dream about our young friend Lady Malinda here."
"That he does Akiho. That he does."
Aziz sighed. "One of these days, you two are going to wind up slapped. You realize that?"
"Our insanity is our cross to bear," Akiho grinned.
Mal and Malinda shook their heads. "I'm not a Lady!"
"Um…Mal…technically you're a Queen," Benji told Malinda.
Knocking on the door, Ben felt his good feeling disappear as Evie answered the door. That wasn't to say that he wasn't happy to see Evie but…he had kinda wanted to see Mal.
Benji shook his head. "I'm so sorry Evie."
"You can't help how you feel," Evie said with a slight shrug, hiding her own disappointment. It'd…it'd be nice to see that she at least would get a friend in the future instead of reading about how the Prince wanted Mal.
"Evie! Hi!"
"Hello Prince Ben," Evie said with a small smile, clearly remembering the incident from their first day since her voice lacked the flirtatious nature it'd had at their first encounter.
"Good. Honestly she shouldn't even be talking to Ben," Audrey sniffed.
"There's nothing wrong with her being friendly, Audrey," Ben sighed.
"You don't have to use the title Evie. Just Ben is fine," Ben said gently, smiling as he saw the books spread out on the table behind her; a small handheld mirror holding down some of the papers.
"In my defense," Benji said as everyone looked over at him. "I didn't know that was Chad's homework. I just thought I found another bookworm like me. You know, someone hard at work on a Saturday?"
"Huh," Emma said. "That does sound like something Ben would do."
"I just wanted to stop by, see if you and Mal needed anything. Where, uh, where is Mal by the way?"
"Probably collapsed on her bed from how she's running through your mind Benji," Chip chuckled.
Lucas shook his head. "No matter the timeline, your pickup lines are probably the worst anyone's ever heard."
"You might want to try Jay's room," Evie told him, the smile still on her face but Ben could hear a slightly resigned tone to her voice. Were...were they not friends on the Isle? Ben thought. Mal wouldn't purposely exclude Evie would she?
"Is it that obvious?" Malinda quipped and shook her head.
"It's where she always is," Evie added as Ben didn't comment, lost in his thoughts. Ben nodded though he felt his heart sink to his stomach. Oh. Mal was with Jay. Any thought or belief that Ben had that Mal and Jay were just good friends was slowly deteriorating.
"Okay I can kinda see how he's getting that impression," Hyllus said with a small nod.
"Thanks Evie," Ben told the blue haired girl, hoping his disappointment didn't show in his voice. "Do you need anything?"
"I'm good," Evie told him with a small shake of her head. Ben nodded and gave her a small smile before turning to go make his way to Jay and Carlos' room. Even though the door was shut, Ben could still hear their voices from his spot in the hall.
Malinda chuckled. "Ben's even added to that list."
"What list?" Akiho asked.
"Name one stupid thing I've ever done!" Ben heard Jay exclaim and he couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about. Certainly seemed interesting.
"I have a list. It's alphabetized," Mal's dry tone responded and Ben had to bite back a chuckle as he knocked on the door.
"Oh," Akiho said, nodding his head.
"Can we hear the list?" Emir asked.
Mal shook her head. "There's not enough time. Besides, that was when Jay had Harry with him. If you and Akiho found out…I don't think Auradon would stay standing."
You don't have a shot. After all, your dad's the one who created the Isle. Even if you did break it off with Audrey, why would Mal even want to go out with you? You've known her for like a week!
"And Ariel knew Eric for three days before they got married," Abby pointed out. "I think the only royal couple who got to know each other for a long span of time before winding up together was mom and dad."
"Hey Bennyboo," Mal's voice broke through his thoughts as she opened the door and Ben couldn't help but chuckle at the nickname, even if he hated when Audrey used it. There was just something…different when Mal used it. Ben couldn't put his finger on it.
"Hmm, could it be because she doesn't use it in place of your actual name?" Akiho suggested.
"Hey! I was just…uh I was just wondering if you all needed anything? I hadn't seen you all day so I just wanted to check in," Ben said.
"How about a room change?" Mal chuckled.
"Malinda!" Persephone scolded. "I know you're not crazy about rooming with Evie but you've been told you're getting a room change when we finish the readings. You don't need to beat a dead Pegasus."
"…yes mom."
"You're going to be seeing us in about thirty minutes," Mal said. "Jay and Carlos are trying out for Tourney."
"And you?"
"Moral support and/or mocking," Mal said with a smirk. "Probably about thirty percent support, seventy percent mocking."
"I'm surprised you can count that high," Audrey sniffed.
"Audrey!" Ben and Aurora exclaimed, Ben out of disappointment and Aurora out of shock.
Audie shook her head. "Just go ahead and give her another month on that grounding," she said to Phillip Sr.
Ben chuckled. "Hey, do you…do you all want to walk down together? I've got to head down to practice early anyway to help set up, part of the perks of being captain."
Mal looked over at the boys and then back to Ben with a shrug.
"Just throwing out a guess but I'm pretty sure Ben wants to go down with just Mal," Chip chuckled.
"Sure," Mal said and the three VKs followed Ben down to the Tourney field. Mal wasn't going to lie, it was a little weird seeing Ben away from the two parasites known as Chad and Audrey.
"Hey!"
"I beg your pardon!"
Akiho shook his head. "Chad, your parents just found out that you get girls to do your homework. I think 'parasite' is the perfect word to use to describe you."
"And we could go into a more fitting description for the Banshee here but we don't really have time," Emir added.
Sleeping Brat especially seemed to be more determined to remind Mal that Ben was her's, constantly clinging to Ben's arm and loudly showing affection whenever Mal passed them the hall.
"Oh yeah," Audie sighed. "Forgot I used to do that."
Mal honestly didn't care. Ben was an ally, nothing more. The only reason she wanted to see if there was a way to get Beastie Jr. out of the betrothal contract was to wipe the smug grin off of Audrey's face.
"And if we know Mal, she won't rest until she does just that," Harry said, nodding his head.
No one should be stuck with the brat as a future bride. Not even someone who's father was the reason she had been stuck on an Isle with nothing to eat but rotten food for sixteen years.
"You know, it would be rather hypocritical of us to blame Beastie Jr. for Beastie making it so we were all trapped on the Isle," Harriet pointed out.
Thank the Gods for her mother and her access to Auradon otherwise Mal and her crew probably would have been in worse shape.
"I only wish I could have done more for you kids," Persephone said with a small sigh.
But anyway, seeing Ben away from those two…it was like seeing a completely different person. He was more relaxed, more carefree. If it wasn't for the suit, Mal would have assumed Ben was a regular teen.
"If you're heading to practice, why are you in your regular suit?" Dizzy asked.
"We always walk down in our regular clothes," Ben explained. "We keep our pads and stuff in our lockers, makes it easier for us to move from class to practice without forgetting anything."
"That locker room must reek," Uma chuckled.
"It's pretty pungent," Akiho nodded. "Reminds me of Sven's stable sometimes."
Speaking of which, is that all he owns? Mal thought. I mean, I can understand wanting to make an impression on our first day but I don't think I've seen him in anything else—and considering he tries to stop by either my locker or my room once a day to make sure I or the other VKs don't need anything, that's a little…concerning.
"I think we can count on one hand the number of times we've seen Ben wearing clothes that aren't suits," Lonnie said, shaking her head.
"Tourney and R.O.A.R. uniforms don't count," Emir said as Ben opened his mouth.
"Gil could probably make you something," Carlos offered. "You know, if you don't have anything and don't want to go to the store for security or bother the royal tailor."
"Why would Fish—?"
"He sews, his mom taught him."
"…Fish for Brains can sew?"
"He made his brothers' vests."
Mal chuckled. "I think you broke Harry, DeVil. He doesn't know whether to rant about Gil or praise him."
"I do have casual clothing you know," Ben said with a small sigh.
"Then wear it," his friends said in unison.
She shook her head slightly—why did she care exactly what Beastie Jr. wore? If he wanted to look like a miniature of a businessman, more power to him.
"You keep sticking your nose into his business for someone who doesn't care," Audrey snapped.
Audie sighed. "It's called being a friend. You should try it sometime. People might not hate you as much."
They made their way down to the Tourney field and the boys broke off, heading over to the locker rooms to get changed into their pads while Mal climbed up to grab a spot in the bleachers.
"You know you don't have to climb all the way up to the top of the bleachers to watch practice," Emir said.
Gods I wish I had my sketchbook, she thought as she looked out at the empty field. The canon especially seemed like it would be an interesting thing to draw—and it would stave off some boredom as she waited for the boys to come back out.
"Why didn't you grab it?" Mal asked Malinda.
"I was there to support Jay and Carlos, not draw something," Malinda said.
Mal didn't have to wait long as the team quickly ran out from the locker room, Jay and Carlos at the rear.
Gods Jay, I hate to even think it but look out for DeVil, Mal thought.
"Hey if he's under our protection still, I'll keep an eye out for him," Jay promised.
The younger boy's height difference was more pronounced than ever when he was surrounded by the other players, his arms and torso covered by the pads. It didn't help matters when, maybe half an hour into practice, Mal heard the coach yell at Carlos to get out of the 'kill zone'.
"Oh great," Carlos muttered. He just loved making himself look like an idiot in front of others.
Akiho gave him a small smile. "Hey at least you're not Emir. He didn't realize he was in the 'kill zone' until someone barreled into him."
"That someone was Chad," Emir grumbled. "And it was a Tourney summer camp and we were ten!"
Okay, DeVil, we need to get you into something more…tech based, Mal thought, remembering the device the younger boy had made that had gotten them some more channels on their televisions. Granted it also blasted a small hole in the barrier which allowed Mal more access to her magic.
"Tech would be good," Carlos said with a small nod of his head.
"I'll make sure to get you into some tech classes," Ben said. "Or you can talk to Will. He's on the Tourney team with me, he's Wasabi's son. Will keeps talking about forming a robotics league at Auradon Prep, you can talk to him about that."
She couldn't help but smile as she saw Jay move through the team, running like he was sprinting across the rooftops of the Isle looking to get his next score. The smile faded as she watched Carlos throw his stick at Jay and then ducked down as to avoid the impact.
"Jay!" Uma snapped. "DeVil being under our protection does not mean you jump over him and leave him to the wolves!"
I get it's a sport but DeVil's under our protection Jay! Ruthless yet Loyal! What in the world are you thinking?!
"Sometimes you just get in the zone," Emir said, Akiho, Chad, and Aziz nodding in agreement.
"What do you call that?!" Mal heard the coach yell and she realized that he had called Jay over. "Raw talent, that's what I call it. Come see me later, I'll show you something you probably haven't seen before. It's called a rule book."
Harry glared at the scroll in Carlos' hands. "Jay knows how to follow rules. He just chooses not to."
Mal scowled as she made her way down in case they needed her should a fight break out. Jay knew what a rule book was, the Isle had its own rules. Unwritten, sure but they existed.
How else could Maleficent rule the Isle with an iron fist?
"I'm pretty sure Maleficent rules purely through fear," Celia said with a small shrug.
"You ever think about band?" The coach asked Carlos and Mal had to bite back a snort as she reached the bottom of the bleachers. There was no question that someone as timid as Carlos would be devoured by this sport.
"Not necessarily," Benji said with a small smile.
Harry'd do well here, but he'd probably prefer something with more swords, Mal thought. That's that's if he can keep his attention away from the cheerleaders. And of course Sleeping Brat's a cheerleader—because why not?
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Rose exclaimed. "What? All cheerleaders are the same or something? Just because we wave pompoms and do cheers doesn't mean we're all vapid airheads with our sights set on crowns above our stations!"
"I'll work with him coach," Ben promised and was it Mal's imagination or did Emir and Akiho just look at each other in concern? Seriously? They were concerned about Ben being alone with Carlos of all VKs? Blueberry would be more concerning if Mal was being honest.
"From what we know about those two and from what we know about Benny's schedule, they're probably more concerned that Beastie Jr. was adding another thing to his plate," Uma said.
"Take a break you lot!" Ben called as he walked off with the coach.
"Mal!" Akiho waved as Mal walked over, the blond handing Mal a rather nice looking phone. "I got what you were asking for."
"It's my phone you idiot!" Emir shouted but shook his head in amusement. "Passcode's 1-1-2-5."
"Just a bunch of random numbers?" Ashaki chuckled.
"Hey it works," Emir shrugged. "Though I'll have to change it now."
Mal nodded and, after typing in the passcode, looked at the photo Emir had of the contract. Honestly, there had to be a way out of this thing—no royal worth their salt would have signed it without a way for them to get out of it if the need arose.
"Honestly I still don't see why such a clause was necessary," Leah sniffed. "It's not as if they'd want to—."
"Yes well forgive me Queen Leah if I wanted to ensure my son's happiness in the event that he did find love with someone who wasn't Audrey," Belle told her.
And the fact that Ben stiffened every time Audrey touched him was enough of a reason in Mal's book. If she didn't think the brat wasn't capable of it, Mal might have thought that something a bit darker was going down between Ben and Audrey.
Malinda turned to Benji with a sigh. "Since I know younger you probably won't answer this, at least not honestly…she never hit you back then did she?"
Benji shook his head. "No, though honestly if it wasn't unseemly for a Princess or a Queen to do so, I wouldn't have put it past her."
It was Beast's turn to shake his head. "Right, that's it. Ben, you're not staying in that relationship for another minute. Princess Aurora, Prince Phillip, though we know that the contract is already void thanks to Lord Hades, I still feel the need to extend you the courtesy of asking. With your permission, I'd like to ask that Ben be released from the contract."
"Adam, I was going to talk to Ben about that in private," Belle said softly.
"I know Belle but…after what my father did to me, the thought of Ben going through that…" Beast whispered back to her.
Ben jerked his head toward Beast upon hearing that. "What? Dad, no it's fine! Nothing happened anyway! It's not worth risking Auroria as a trading partner!"
"Prince Ben, it has become very clear from both these scrolls and watching your reactions in the room that the contract isn't what you truly want. You don't need to worry about Auroria feeling any ill will, how can we when the contract was set up when you were so young? If you want to be released from it, you have full consent."
"As for you young lady, we're going to be having a talk about how you act in your relationship with Prince Ben," Phillip Sr. said to Audrey.
Ben shook his head and looked at his parents. "Mom…dad…the contract…after losing Abby because of it…I can't just remove my consent."
"Ben, you think I want you spending your whole life being miserable with her because of me?" Abby asked. "You don't owe me or anyone anything. In fact, you kinda owe it to me to get out of Queen Bat's contract. After all, she put so much pressure on mom that she lost me! Don't give her the satisfaction of knowing she's getting what she wants!"
Benji looked over at his younger self. "I'm not going to try to influence you since it does need to be your decision but just pointing out, I'm living proof you can get out of that contract and it won't be the end of the world. In fact, I highly recommend it."
"What? You can't! Ben can't do this!"
"Okay Brat, if you want to put that much value on the relationship, name one thing you like about him," Mal stated.
"I don't see why that's any of your business," Audrey sniffed.
"Well considering there's an older me sitting next to him with a wedding ring on, it's pretty clear that he becomes my business! Answer the question!"
"Audrey, she has a point," Phillip Jr. said. "It's not that hard to say what you like about Ben. I'll even spot you one—he's friendly to everyone he meets."
"He's well read," Rowyn chuckled.
"A hard worker," Elle added.
"The most loyal friend you'll ever have," Emir and Akiho nodded.
Malinda smiled and kissed Benji's cheek. "He always tries to see the good in others, no matter what," she said softly.
Audrey rolled her eyes. "Honestly. Why am I the one being interrogated anyway?"
Ben sighed and just motioned to Carlos to read some more, hoping that his parents would forget about all that'd happened in the scroll.
Sadly though, he didn't think he'd get lucky twice and the next break would more than likely contain an awkward conversation with his parents.
Seriously, the Princeling stiffens the way Carlos does every time Jay slaps him on the back or pats his shoulder, Mal thought as she scanned the contract, not realizing that she had referenced Carlos using his first name rather than his last.
"You see?" Chip said. "Second time in a row it's been noted! It's not just us who see it!"
"Well?" Akiho asked after a minutes.
"Whoever made this contract is good," Mal sighed, handing Emir his phone back.
"Grammy knew what she was doing," Audrey said, straightening up in pride.
"Oh dear Gods, I complimented Leah?" Malinda groaned. "Well this might be the first time in three months I throw up from something not related to morning sickness."
"But like I said earlier, deals are kinda my dad's thing. How old did you say Ben was when this was made?"
"Three," Emir said as he pocketed his phone and Mal stiffened. Three? What, were Beast and Belle content to trade away their only son like he was some sort of prized stallion to be sired? The irony that Sleeping Beauty's daughter and Beast's son being bound by a betrothal contract while their parents got to marry for love was not lost on Mal.
Mal couldn't help the slight hiss that escaped her lips before looking at Belle and Beast. "The question stands. What, was Ben put under magical influence to keep him in this contract?"
"Ben can't be spelled, at least not anything that affects his mental capabilities," Malinda said, shaking her head. "It was one of his three christening gifts."
"There you go then," Mal said, trying to keep the anger out of her voice. Ben's an ally, nothing more, she thought.
"Uh huh," Jay said with a small smirk.
"Keep telling yourself that Mali," Uma chuckled.
"There was no way Ben could consent to this at the age of three. Even if Belle and Beast consented for him, if he removed his consent now the contract's null and void. My dad always says that when it comes to a deal, consent matters. Otherwise, you have a hostage situation."
"I feel as if we should draw up rescue plans," Jay noted.
"We can help with that!" Emir and Akiho spoke up, grinning ear to ear.
Aziz shook his head. "My brother and his best friend will never change."
"I believe I once described them as 'two halves of a whole idiot'," Chip chuckled.
"We love you too Chip!"
"Huh, that's an oddly apt description for what Ben's in," Akiho snorted.
"And he won't break it why?" Mal asked.
"Because he's an honor bound workaholic who ties his happiness to the happiness of others," Chip said with a sigh and a shake of his head.
"He considers it a promise made on his behalf and Ben keeps his promises," Emir shook his head. "Never mind the fact that he's clearly miserable. And exhausted."
Belle shook her head. "Ben…honey…say something if you feel like that."
"It's fine Mom," Ben said, his voice soft. "Emir exaggerates."
"So, you two going to just gab all day or are you coming back to practice?" Ben's voice cut in causing Emir and Akiho to jump.
"Sorry captain!"
"Yes sorry captain," Akiho nodded. "We were just getting to know our new classmate and getting your future wife into position."
Ben shook his head in amusement. "Sorry about them Mal. They mean well."
"It's my fault," Mal said with a chuckle. "Akiho was just getting me some information I asked for."
"We could have said no," Emir pointed out.
"Oh?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at his best friend.
"The subject of your betrothal contract came up when Mal and I were leaving class earlier in the week," Akiho said and Ben honestly couldn't find it in him to be angry. Mal…Mal was asking about his betrothal contract?
Seriously, you've known her for a week! Pump your brakes Princey, as Emir would say, Ben thought.
"Meh," Malinda said with a small shrug. "With all the examples of love at first sight in the room, a week is more than enough time."
"Ben, you realize you can get out of it. Right?" Mal asked.
"Yeah dude, didn't you tell us that your mom had mentioned that if you wanted out, you could just tell her?" Emir asked. "I think she told you that back when we were twelve?"
"You talked to Ben about the contract when he was so young?" Ariel asked Belle.
Belle sighed. "We had to. He was at the age where a facts of life talk was necessary but seeing as someone already gave it to him three years prior…"
"For the fifth and final time, I'm sorry! I didn't realize Ben had read my paper when I left to go to the bathroom and forgot to lock my laptop!" Chip exclaimed.
"It's Ben! You know he'll read anything you put in front of him," Lonnie said, shaking her head.
Beast nodded. "He used to read the shampoo bottles when we gave him a bath."
"Okay, now that this conversation had veered into the embarrassing," Ben muttered, motioning for Carlos to keep reading.
"Well yeah but—"
"So why are you staying in a relationship where you're clearly miserable?" Akiho asked and it was clear to Mal that they'd had this conversation many a time before.
"We have," Emir and Akiho nodded.
"They've included the Tourney team as well," Chad added. "We've come close to having an intervention for him."
"Surprised you're not just doing it so that Audrey's free for you to date," Kitty scoffed.
Chad shrugged. "Look Ben's clearly miserable for some reason dating Audrey, I want to date Audrey. If my best friend gets out of something that makes him miserable and I get to date Audrey? Win win honestly."
"Look guys, Audrey's…she's not as bad as you make her out to be—"
"Ben, you keep saying she's 'not that bad' but name one thing that Audrey has done purely for you in the year you've been together," Chip said.
"Dragging you on shopping dates every Sunday when it's your only day to relax says otherwise. Dragging you on a shopping date two days after you got knocked out in the Imperial Academy game three weeks ago definitely says otherwise!"
"What?!" Belle and Beast exclaimed.
"You're getting checked out by a doctor young man!" Belle said, looking at Ben. "No arguments."
"But…I'm fine!"
Beast shook his head and looked at Shang. "It was a home game for Imperial Academy. Why didn't you tell us? Parent to parent?"
"…I asked him not to," Ben said, his voice no higher than a whisper. "I…you had too much to worry about with the coronation and I know you were always worried about something happening to me after Abby…I didn't want you worried over that."
"Yeah see, they're our parents. They're going to worry," Abby said. "And judging by Chip's reaction, he didn't know. Keeping it from mom and dad? That's almost a normal teenage thing to do. But keeping it from Chip? I may not have been born but even I can tell that he's our older brother."
Aurora looked over at Audrey. "Young lady, I think you've got more than enough clothes that you could have postponed that trip."
"Ben canceled on me twice!"
"Because of practice!" Emir shouted. "It's not like he didn't want to go Audrey! He. Had. No. Choice!"
"I'd rescheduled with her two times already! I didn't have a —"
"I swear, Ben, if you say you didn't have a choice, I will whack you over the head with my Tourney stick! The fact that you already had a concussion this year be damned!"
"Wouldn't that give him another concussion though?" Lil' Shang asked, tilting his head.
Beast pinched the bridge of his nose, his glasses now resting on his head. "We are definitely having a talk about this Benjamin."
"I'm fine—."
"Benjamin. Florian. Le Bête. I will ban that phrase from your vocabulary," Belle warned.
"…yes mom."
"Bennyboo, is there a problem?" Audrey's voice broke through the commotion and Mal had to roll her eyes. Of course, someone like Audrey would notice when Ben was talking to another girl.
"No! You don't say?! I think I am going to have a heart attack and keel over, that's how much of a shock that was!" Ashaki exclaimed.
"She's just insecure," Rowyn muttered, shaking her head.
"No problem Audrey," Ben said, the stiff, unnatural smile back on his lips. "I was just talking with Akiho, Emir, and Mal."
"Which she will see as a problem," Emma muttered. "Everyone knows she can't stand the fact that you're friends with them Ben. Plus the fact that you're talking to a girl who's not her."
"Hmm, well, maybe it's not a good idea to have Mal distract you. She might put a curse on you Bennyboo and we'd lose the Championship," Audrey simpered as she started to put her arm around his.
"Ben can't be—."
"Shh, shh, let her idiocy just sit there," Emir said, shushing his best friend and partner in crime. "We're just going to let it age like a fine wine."
"You know I have to say, you certainly beat my first impression of you Audrey," Mal said, matching the princess' insincere tone and Audrey paused.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh this'll be good," Harry grinned as he and Jay leaned forward in their seats in anticipation.
"I never struck you for the type of princess who wouldn't mind the sweat and grime of Tourney practice rubbing against their perfect skin," Mal said innocently, giving a small shrug. "Guess I was wrong."
Audrey jumped back and glared at Mal, who simply smirked while Akiho and Emir were biting back their snickers.
"I mean…I hate to defend Audrey here but I'm with her on that," Rose said. "You ever hug someone who's all sweaty and disgusting from practice? Not a good feeling."
"You just can't stand to see someone happy can you?" Audrey snapped. "Just like your mother."
"Oh, you mean Lady Persephone?" Mal said. "Why, I consider that a compliment Audrey."
Hades smiled as he heard that. "As you should," he said, kissing Persephone on the cheek.
Audrey scoffed. "Sooner or later that lie will catch up to you Mal. Bennybear, I'll see you after practice."
She leaned up to kiss his cheek but Mal saw that the princess' lips never touched Ben's skin. For the second time that day, anger ran through her body yet Mal wasn't entirely sure why. All she knew was that she needed a way to get Ben out of that contract and wipe the smug grin off of Audrey's face.
"Why not reach out to Queen Belle?" Melody asked.
Malinda opened and then closed her mouth as she realized her cousin had a point. "I…I didn't think about that."
That's when it hit her. Maleficent's spell book—it was still in the bottom of her bag. She hated to do it, her dad wanted her to behave and keep her nose down.
But…watching Ben stiffen with every touch, watching him change before Mal's eyes whenever Audrey was near him. Mal had to do something.
"Well I mean…magic is all about intent," Jane said, her voice soft. "I think having the intent to do good would eliminate any evil nature of the spell."
"Hey, I'm just saying it now. I did not want to do it," Malinda stated. "If my dear husband would have grown a spine before I met him when we were teens, it wouldn't have been necessary."
"I had a spine!"
"You just didn't use it."
What are you doing for Beastie Jr.?
Uma?
The one and only! Thought you forgot about me cuz!
I wasn't sure if our mind thread would work, considering we're descendants of the Gods.
"Why…why would that impact anything?" Macaria asked.
"I have no idea," Malinda shrugged.
Aunt Steph's and mine work, why shouldn't ours? Anyway, you're changing the subject.
I need a way to convince Ben to break his betrothal contract to Sleeping Brat.
…why?
"No, no it's a fair question from someone who's never met the Brat," Harriet nodded.
Because he's miserable.
I thought we relished the misery of any member of the royal family?
Mal looked over at Uma and raised an eyebrow. "We relish the misery of the person willing to take kids off the Isle?"
We did. And then I met this one. Watching him be miserable is like watching Estelle beg for scraps at the table. You know, the big puppy dog eyes that just melt your heart?
Estelle looked over at Ben, giving him said puppy dog eyes as if to demonstrate his human's point.
Plus we need him as an ally if you and Harry have any shot of coming over.
"He was an ally the second you all stepped out of the limo though," Celia said with a shrug.
Didn't Jay give you Maleficent's spell book? Use something in that.
I was toying with that. But dad wants me to behave.
Hades shook his head. "Mali, it's clear that using that book wouldn't be disobeying my advice."
"Yeah," Hadie nodded. "You'd be doing a public service if you used it!"
You're a VK. Since when do you behave? Besides, think of this as service to Auradon. I'm sure the only people who want Beastie Jr. in a relationship with Sleeping Brat is Sleeping Brat and possibly her parents.
"Even the people who haven't even met Audrey are calling her that," Phillip Jr. muttered to himself with a small sigh.
She…she keeps saying Maleficent's my mom and that I'm just like her. I don't want to prove her right.
Mali, Maleficent would use that spell book to try to take over Auradon. You're using it to save a prince from what sounds like a really bad relationship.
"Yes!" Emir and Akiho exclaimed.
Yeah, so we're not going to mention what Mal and the others used that spell book for in my timeline, Audie thought. Lord knows Leah would deafen us all.
…I haven't even told you any details.
Don't need them. I hear the name Sleeping Brat, that's all I need. They want to cast judgements on us, turn about's fair play.
"Oh dear Gods, does anyone have ear plugs?" Lucas sighed as he glanced at Leah, who was in the midst of ranting and raving about how unfair they were being toward Audrey. "I think they could hear her on the Isle."
"What was it our Chip called her at the viewing?" Audie asked. "Oh yeah, a geriatric waste of oxygen."
Chip looked impressed. "I know it wasn't me but that does sound like something I'd say."
Mal smirked as Jay walked up, Carlos on his heels.
"Coach wants to meet up with me later," Jay said, slightly shocked. "I…I think I might be on the team."
"Congrats Jay!" Evie said with a big smile. Sure the Rotten Four might hate her but that was still something big.
"Err…thanks Blueberry," Jay said, looking a bit confused but giving Evie a small smile in return.
"I'm a reserve apparently," Carlos said softly. "Until Ben can work with me."
Mal nodded and the three of them went back to their dorms, Mal heading to hers for the first time since they arrived in Auradon.
"Seriously? You just left Evie on her own?" Emma asked, looking at Malinda.
Malinda sighed and shook her head. "I was used to either being with Jay, Harry, and Uma or being in my own room. No matter how you sliced it, I wasn't exactly used to sharing a room with just one other girl."
"Ben was looking for you," Evie said when Mal walked in.
"Think he found her!" Neal said with a small chuckle.
"He found me," Mal told her, grabbing Maleficent's spell book out of her bag and Evie gasped.
"How'd…how'd you get that? If you're Lady Persephone's daughter…?"
"Don't poke that bear Evie," Emma said, shaking her head. "Just don't."
"It's none of your business, princess but you ever hear of adoption?" Mal snarked, still flipping through the pages until she found one that she thought might work. "Maleficent is still my birth giver making this mine by right. However, that is all you need to know. I'll be over at Jay's."
"But that doesn't mean that I'm going to keep it after this," Mal stated.
"What else is new?" Mal heard Evie mutter as the purple haired Godling shut the book and walked out the door to the boys' dorm.
"Ooh Princess has some bite," Uma said with a small smirk.
"Jay!" Mal called as she strolled in.
"Yes Mali?" Jay chuckled from his spot on his bed, Carlos in the shower. Mal held up the spell book and wiggled it a little.
"You want to make some cookies?"
"I mean they'll probably get burnt considering how little baking practice we've had, but if we must," Jay said with a small smile.
"How dare you! You can't just spell Ben!" Audrey exclaimed.
"Did I say anything about spelling Ben?" Mal asked, tilting her head. "All I apparently said was I was going to bake cookies."
Carlos shook his head. "Who wants to read next?"
"I'll read," Naveen said.