Not That Evil

Chapter Twenty Four

  I was awoken early in the morning by Mal, hovering over my bed and looking more nervous than I had ever seen her in my life. I literally rolled out of bed and smacked onto the floor, red and black hair in all directions.
"Hera, come on." Mal's voice was shaky, and yet it held its caring sternness. "We have to get ready for the coronation. They want us there early because the hair and makeup is going to take a while." I rolled around some more, the finally stood and followed Mal out of the room. The men and women in charge of attempting to make me look pretty yanked and tugged at my hair in various directions and slapped makeup onto my face from every angle, and even put it on some places of my face that I didn't know were supposed to have makeup on them, like my eyebrows, which they had decided to pluck, might I add. When they were finally done, my face and scalp were sore, my body was constructed into a tight binder, and my dress and gloves itched against my skin. 32
"All right, Hera. Are you ready to see yourself?" One of the ladies asked me with a permanently etched smile.
"In all honesty, no, but I know you're not going to leave me alone until I do." They turned me around and I looked into the full-length mirror, not wanting to admit that I was impressed. My hair was tired into a fully curled bun, wrapped around many times. My face, caked in makeup, looked perfect. Black lipstick matched the midnight eyeliner, and perfectly complemented the red eyeshadow. My dress just looked like a longer version of the one that I wear normally, minus the heart in the center, paired with black lace gloves. I nodded to show that they had done their job, then walked out to greet Mal. Evie had made her dress: made of a lavender material that was layered beautifully and matched her hair, which was pinned up against her head.
"Wow, Hera. They made you look not as threatening," she joked.
"I could say the same to you." We both chuckled, then our excitement faded into nervousness. "Mal, what if we can't pull this off?" Mal looked at me as if I had taken one of my mother's severed heads and sewed it onto my own neck.
"What are you talking about, Hera? We're going to rock this! And if we don't... we'll just never return home. Our parents are trapped behind the barrier anyways. If we stay here, they can't hurt us." I nodded, but I wasn't one-hundred-percent sure. Our parents were powerful, terrifying, unnatural beings. They would find another way to get out of there, and the first thing they would do when they did was come for all of us.
"I trust you for now. But if anything goes south, I'm abandoning ship." Mal linked her arm with mine and we walked out to greet Ben and Jon for the procession. Mal's carriage would be in the front, and mine right behind. If anything went wrong, she would be too far away to help me at all, which worried me beyond belief. Jon looked at me with wide blue eyes.
"Wow Hera. You look..."
"Nice to see you're only being a good person when I'm attractive," I sneered at him, not ready to put up with this two-faced liar this early in the morning.
"What? Hera, what's with the sudden hostility?" I sighed. You have to keep the act up, Hera.
"I'm just tired, that's all. When I'm tired, I lash out at people for no reason."
"Are you sure that's all?"
Of course that's not all.
"I'm sure. I'll be all right once I wake up in a little bit." Jon climbed up into the blue carriage, then helped me up into the vehicle. The seats were plush and quite comfortable, and my body easily sunk down in them. My slouching posture caused Jon to chuckle soft enough so that only I could hear it.
"What?" I asked with a slight smirk.
"Your slouching isn't very royal," he sat down and did the same, "but I think I can excuse that. Just until we arrive in town, though." I laughed at the sight of a prince, who usually seemed very royal and strict.
"Alright, what are you laughing about."
"Oh, you know, just the fact that the prince of the entire kingdom is slouching, not sitting, mind you, next to the child of one of the most fearsome villains while she wears a dress and is generally not in the best mood."
"It seems like something that would only happen in the movies, huh?"
"The movies, or maybe even a story." The laughter died down, and the carriage began moving, following at a great distance behind Mal and Ben's. A constant, slightly irritating itch clawed at my brain, and I had to know. "Why did you choose me?" I couldn't stop myself from asking, even if I had tried.
"I'm sorry... what?"
"Why, out of all the pure-hearted, wonderful, pretty girls in your own kingdom, did you pick me?"
"Pure-hearted? Wonderful? Pretty? I think we're talking about different people here, Hera. All these girls might seem all nice and perfect on the outside, but every single one of them is more evil than any of your parents will ever be, and it seems the ring leaders of all this horribleness are Audrey and Aria." I dropped my gaze and attempted to keep myself from crying, so my makeup wouldn't run and smear.
"Everyone laughed when Aline killed herself. No one felt remorse. They acted like it around adults, but I heard what they were saying. They were saying that she deserved what she got, and some people even told me to go join her." I felt a hand touch mine and squeeze it. "I felt so helpless up there on the roof."
"You weren't helpless. You tried to get her to come down. The words just fell deaf on her ears because she was so used to being insulted that she didn't believe any compliments she received." There was a silence that could have suffocated even the strongest of lunged people. "You know, Aline has a twin sister."
"She does?" I looked at Jon with interest, completely forgetting the off-putting fact that he was holding my hand.
"Yes. Her name is Ally. Even though her sister died, she looks at you with admiration because you tried to save Aline."
"How come I didn't know about Ally."
"She doesn't go to Auradon Prep. Her parents decided to send Aline there to see how things were. Something tells me that Ally won't be going here any time soon."
"Well, Aline was also mentally unstable, so who knows."
"How did you figure that out?"
"The way that she acted and talked, and the way she looked at the world. It was pretty clear she was already mentally unstable by the time people started making fun of her, which only made things worse."
"See, this is why I chose you."
"What?"
"You're labeled as the child of a villain, but you have a heart more pure than any one in this kingdom. You really are a good person, Hera, and that's why I chose you." He began to lean closer to me, but I pushed away and yanked my hand from his. I had made up my mind.
"Jon, I'm really sorry. You're a good person and all, and I admire your persistence, despite my best efforts, but I don't love you."
"What? Why, Hera? I thought that you..."
"No. I had to act like it for the sake of my friends, but I've decided I don't want to be evil, and I've decided who I really love."
"Who would that be?" I took a deep breath.
"I choose Carlos." Jon seemed taken aback, but his shock eased into a supportive smile, hiding his sadness and anger.
"As long as you're happy, Hera, I don't care who you choose. As long as you'll still accompany me to the coronation, but just as friends." I looked down and around at the rapidly moving carriage.
"I don't think I really have much of a choice here," I joked. Jon laughed and we both sat up straight as we approached the town.
This is it.