Not That Evil

Chapter Nineteen

          The others had all gone to the Tourney game, but because I was asked to the coronation so late, I had to have my dress made now. I had tried to argue with Jon about it, secretly wanting to be closer to Carlos, but he had been adamant on his point, almost being a little too defensive.
"Jon..." I had whined.
"Hera, it takes a while to make these dresses. Please just trust me on this." He had kissed my forehead, and as much as I had hated it, I had to pretend that I loved him, so I caved.
"Fine, but you owe me for this."
Now, here I was, getting tool and satin hemmed onto a basic dress template that was on me for some reason. I rolled my eyes and huffed, blowing some of my bangs out of my eyes. I looked down at the seamstresses, all of whom seemed afraid of me, tiny hands trembling. I attempted to make conversation with some of them.
"How do you all like living in Auradon?"
They all looked at me with hollow eyes, seeming shocked and afraid that I had talked to them. I waited for their response, making my red eyes look wider and more innocent. After seemingly realizing my guard was down, one of the girls, small and hair of a raven, answered.
"I-it's fine... How are you liking it?"
"It's quite a nice place, but it's not really my style, you know? Everyone's really... perky, and they all wear bright colors."
"Well, people here were raised differently from your people. We were taught to be nice to everyone, and you were taught..."
"Oh, uh, nothing in particular, really. Just that if any of us disobey my mother, our heads will end up on her wall within the span of ten seconds." A look of sympathy flashed over the young girls' faces for only a few moments, as if seeing it wasn't worth feeling sorry for the child of a villain. One of the seamstresses, young with bright blonde hair, tied a final knot and offered me something that seemed close to a smile, but just fell short of its sincerity.
"All finished. Would you like to see yourself in it?"
I shook my head, red and black hair flying wildly.
"I want to be surprised on coronation day. It will be a nice shock when it happens, I'm sure." The girls smiled at me, and allowed me to go change. Once I had slipped on a casual, red tee shirt, black, leather pants, and some white sneakers, I was free to leave. I walked out of the doors, bright light shocking me for a moment, seemingly knocking me back. I quickly recovered from the shock, however, and continued walking. I got close to the dorm rooms, when the phone I had been given buzzed in my back pocket. I pulled it out to see an urgent message from Mal.
Ben just asked me out! Need major help! What do I do?
I rolled my eyes and replied to Mal's text.
You're expecting me to know about this stuff! Come on!
I could practically hear Mal's frustrated sigh through my phone. I put it back into my pocket and continued walking. Everyone seemed to want to get in my way, however, as Aline stopped me and pulled me into her arms, a hug for seemingly no reason.
"Uh... Aline, are you alright?"
"They want me to kill myself, Hera!" She wailed loudly, choking on tears. "They want me to die!"
"Whoa, Aline! Calm down!" I peeled her off of me and looked her in the eyes. "Don't listen to them, okay? You have done nothing wrong! You have no reason to kill yourself. Do you hear me? If you think you're all alone, just remember that you have me, Carlos, Jay, Mal, Evie, and Prince Ben, alright?"
Aline nodded shakily and wiped her bloodshot eyes.
"Okay, Hera. I'll try to be strong." With that, she walked away, heading into her room, probably to cry. I sighed, frustrated. Aline was really being driven to the point of insanity, and if we weren't careful, she would probably kill herself. I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders, and looked back in disgust as I saw it was Prince Jon.
"What were you doing talking to Aline?" His voice was harsh and angered, as if it were some sort of crime.
"She's having mental health issues. I'm helping her."
"You can't be talking to her, Hera. She's crazy. If you're going to do anything with me, or any of my friends, you can't talk to her, understood?"
Stick with the plan, Hera. Stick with the plan...
"Understood, Jon."
"Thanks, love." He kissed my cheek and walked away, and I was left there, disgusted and not sure what to do.