Chapter 63: Her Brother's Keeper
"So, you want to tell me what happened between you and Mal?" Crystal asks, sitting comfortably in the chair, acting almost like Ben's therapist.
The king of Auradon hesitates, leaning forward in his own chair. He looks down at his feet and bites his lip, not entirely thrilled with the idea of sharing what went wrong in his relationship with practically a total stranger, despite their alleged relationship. So much had happened recently that it takes a few minutes for the memories to come rushing back. The look of hurt and pain on his true love's face, her pleading with everyone to believe her that she hadn't done anything wrong, him picking up their betrothal ring after she'd thrown it back to him in anger. He fumbles in his pocket and discovers that the ring is still in his pocket. He examines the filigree designs and the engraved face of his father carefully, still stalling, not wanting to open up to Crystal because of how ashamed and hurt he was over everything.
He felt like such an idiot for letting Mal down, in a sense betraying her by suspending her from Auradon Prep. It certainly wasn't his choice, he was pressured into it by how own parents and the headmistress of the school. Sometimes he wished that he wasn't the king, that he could just be a normal teenager and he wouldn't be put through things like this. He could actually follow his heart without the sake of the kingdom and his subjects getting in the way. If things weren't so complicated, maybe he and Mal would have made up by now and could work together to get everyone home again.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," Crystal says. "I just thought it would be a good idea…"
"How… how did you even know that Mal and I were together?" he asks.
"I'm an observant person. I could actually sense the tension between you two. Plus, when you guys came through the portal, she hardly left your side at all. When Killian offered to cut the ropes from your wrists he asked if you were special to her and she said that you were. When I ask if you were her boyfriend, she kind of hesitated."
Ben grimaces and looks down at the floor again; while it was clear that Mal still cared for him, she'd obviously meant it when she yelled that she never wanted to him again. This breakup was much more serious than their last one, to the point that the son of Belle and Adam wonders if it was permanent this time.
"Stings huh?" she asks sympathetically. "Well, let me just tell you right now, love sucks."
Ben looks up at her with his hazel-green eyes, unsure of how to respond.
"It does, it sucks more than anything and that's because it's extremely complicated."
He nods and puts the ring back in his pocket.
"Would it help if I shared some of my not-so storybook romances? Let you know that your breakup probably wasn't the worst one in the world."
The king shrugs and Crystal go on to tell her alternate brother all about her past romances. From the guy who took her to court, even though she was merely defending herself against the would-be psychopath, to the guy who collected sculptures of 70's male underwear models. From the weirdo with 8 ferrets to another ex-boyfriend with an obsession that there would be a Daredevil 2 to the guy who made macaroni and bead necklaces as a hobby and gave her one for Valentine's Day. She also mentions the "suitor" who tried to mug her and ask her out, planning to use the money he'd stolen for the date. With each passing story, Ben does his best to not laugh, trying to be polite and listen to her, but it becomes harder and harder as the stories become more bizarre. He cannot believe the kind of relationships Crystal has had, each one sounding like something out of a book or weird movie.
"It's okay to laugh," she says when she hears him snort loudly and try to hide over how she lets the ferrets loose on her ex. "I've learned to laugh about it a long time ago. It's much better than getting upset about them."
By the end of her stories, both have been laughing hard enough to cry. As the two simmer down from the burst of happiness, Crystal conjures up two bottles of water and offers one to Ben. He's a little freaked out about the sudden use of magic.
"Do all of you seriously use magic casually like that?" he asks.
"Probably. I know I have a bad habit of using it very often, but I'm pretty sure Regina, Emma, and my Dad use it to do things when nobody's looking."
"Don't you ever think magic is dangerous?"
She gives him a look. "You're talking to the daughter of the Dark One… of course magic is dangerous. Hell, it is how you guys got here in the first place, me experimenting with untested magic. But most people around here just deal with it; it's an occupational hazard of living in a town full of storybook characters. If you want to blame anyone, blame my dad, he's the one who brought magic here in the first place. It does come in handy when fighting villains though, and we've gotten more than our fair share of those."
Ben decides not to push the issue any further by taking a long sip of water; clearly, their laws about magic, if there were any way that it can be useful, despite how dangerous and unstable it could be.
Crystal continues with her stories, doing her best to power through the Mason story. Ben feels great sympathy for her as she wipes away a few tears; the fact that this man told her that he loved her, he helped her discover her true origins, then breaks up with her over a text message and then completely vanishes… none of that can be easy. He reaches out and pats her shoulder as she sucks in a shaky breath to try and compose herself. Compared to her love life, Ben feels as though he got off easy, especially in terms of the breakup, at least his separation was face to face.
She smiles at him for the comfort. "Thanks… the wound is still pretty fresh, despite it being almost a year ago… Love can be so painful if that…" she pauses and takes a long drink of water, this time stalling to help herself think. "Belle keeps insisting that I try to find Mason, but if I'm honest with myself… I'm really just afraid of seeing him and feeling that pain all over again… I'm afraid that he won't want to get back together with me and I'm afraid that he was my one chance at love… I don't know if you can understand fully but…"
"Maybe not fully…" Ben says. "But I can understand why you're avoiding it, to avoid the pain and being afraid that it's truly the end."
Crystal smiles and reaches over to grab Ben's hand. He's surprised by the comfort but then smiles too, appreciating how both of them were helping one another.
"For the longest time, it felt like I'd never feel love ever again. After all, I killed the only person who loved me unconditionally and it just seemed that I attracted freaks and weirdos. I was like a beacon for them. Now, I wonder if it's because I'm the daughter of Rumpelstiltskin, but I'm starting to wonder if I even deserve it. Like my father has always said, villains don't get their happy endings."
"You're far from a villain," Ben says earnestly. "You may be rough around the edges, but you have the soul of a good person. That's what I believe and it's why I let the Villain Kids come to Auradon in the first place, to give them their second chance and let them discover the good inside themselves."
The elder sister sniffs and smiles at him. "Thanks… sometimes I just need reassurance, I guess. Darkness can be a fickle thing that causes doubt about one's true nature."
"Just like love," Ben deduces.
She nods. "Well, I've shared my heartbreak, you ready to share yours?"
The king swallows and takes another long drink of water.
"It is only fair," she says with a mischievous wink. "Take your time."
It's then that Ben realizes what he needs to do. He doesn't need to talk about it or wallow in self-pity, he has to act.
Ben then gets up and hugs Crystal tightly.
"Thank you," he says.
"For what?"
"For helping me realize why I've been avoiding everything about this."
"But we didn't even talk about it…"
"I don't need to talk, I just need to do it. No offence Crystal, but I need to talk about this with someone else… someone who means the world to me."
She smiles, knowing what he means. "And thank you for listening and helping me find the true root of my own problems were."
"I guess we're more like brother and sister now," Ben smiles.
"I've always wanted a brother," she smirks.
"You already have one."
"I meant one that I can have actual conversations with and usually don't end with me changing a diaper or cleaning up vomit."
Ben wrinkles his nose but then lets out another laugh. He gets, up mentally preparing himself for what's going to happen next. While he is afraid, he knows that he has to talk about this with his true love… and whatever happens, will happen.
"Do you know where Maleficent lives?"
A/N: Sorry it's been so long since I updated, but here's a nice chapter where Crystal and Ben bond like brother and sister, while helping each other through their turbulent relationships