An Unexpected Turn

Chapter 3

The next morning, Mal opened her eyes and immediately looked around at her surroundings. She had stayed the night in Harry and Gil's dorm, but they had moved her into Harry's bed while he slept on the sofa. A small smile appeared on her face as her eyes landed on the sleeping pirate. There was something calming about the soft snores leaving his lips as he slept.

Mal quietly got out of bed and walked over to him, pressing a soft kiss against his forehead, "Thank you, again." She whispered before slipping out of the room.

As she walked up the stairs towards her own dorm, she heard Jane and Evie discussing where Mal could've been the night before. She quickly turned to walk in the opposite direction, but ended up running into someone.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't-" She stopped talking as her eyes met those of her fiancé. "Ben, what are you doing here? I thought you would've been working or something."

Ben let out a chuckle, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I was actually looking for you. Fairy Godmother is starting to plan the wedding, and she needed your input on a few things. I asked Evie and Jane if they had seen you, but they said they hadn't since breakfast yesterday." He tilted his head, worry in his eyes. "Is everything okay?"

Mal nodded, unsure if this was a good time to bring up what she and Harry had talked about the night before. "Yeah, I just hung out with Harry and Gil last night. They wanted to have a movie night but couldn't figure out how to get the television to work, so I came in and helped. Ended up staying for the movie and then crashed on the couch."

Something flashed in Ben's eyes. Anger? Jealousy? "You are not to do that again, Mal. You can't go around sleeping in some other guy's room. People talk. What if someone had seen you? You are about to be the Queen of Auradon, but you don't seem to grasp the fact that you aren't on the Isle anymore. You can't go around doing whatever you want. You have an image to uphold. You have my reputation to worry about, not just yours."

Mal just stared at him as he reprimanded her for doing nothing but spend time with a friend. If only he knew exactly what was said last night. She wanted nothing more than to scream at him for talking to her the way he did. She wasn't a child that needed to be disciplined.

"Maybe I don't want to have to worry about your reputation or your image." She blurted out.

Ben raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying..." She looked around to make sure no one was within earshot. The last thing she needed was more rumors. "I don't know if I want this. I never wanted to be queen. I never wanted to be on television or go to fancy balls." Her nerves started to get the best of her. Why couldn't she say what she did to Harry? Why was she more comfortable with the pirate than the man she was set to marry?

"Well, you know that being with me comes with those things. I'm sorry, but there's no way around that. You'll get used to it, I promise. But for now, I think it's best if you stayed away from Harry and Gil for a while, just in case anyone saw you leave their room last night."

There it was. The blatant act of him taking another part of her away. First it was the Isle, then her spellbook, now he was telling her not to see two of her friends simply because people might talk? Let them talk, she thought to herself. She wasn't going to lose Harry.

"No." She said with a small laugh. "Ben, I care about you, I truly do. But I don't think I'm in love with you. I don't know if I ever was. Our relationship started with a lie and it's been built on lies ever since. I don't fit into your world, and that's perfectly fine by me, but it seems to be an issue for you. If you want a girl who will do whatever you say, make you look good with the press, and will give you that future that you want, go find her. It's not me. It never was me. Find a princess that can make you happy. Hell, Audrey would probably still want that spot by your side. You need a princess, and I can't be that for you. I can't give up who I am just to have a big castle and tiara."

Ben took a step towards her, wrapping his arm around her waist. "You're just nervous about the wedding. Come on. Let's just go see Fairy Godmother, and you'll forget everything when you start to plan the wedding."

Mal pulled away from him, taking a step back. "Ben, you don't get it. I don't want any of this. Just go."

A low growl erupted from Ben's chest as he grabbed her wrist. "Mal, we are leaving now. Let's go."

"She told you to go." Harry said, turning the corner. "Now take your hand off of her and walk away."

Ben narrowed his eyes. "This doesn't concern you. This is between Mal and myself. Leave."

Harry raised an eyebrow, sauntering over to him. His hand quickly grasped the wrist of the hand that was holding onto Mal while the tip of his hook moved dangerously close to Ben's throat. "I captured you once, boyo. Those threats I made before are still fresh in my mind and I will follow through on any one of them if you don't let go of her."

Ben swallowed hard, staring back at the pirate, trying to show as little fear as possible. Without another word, he let go of Mal's wrist, feeling Harry's hand drop from his, as well. He looked between the two VKs before turning around and walking off.

Harry immediately turned around, gently taking her hand to examine it. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" He asked, noticing the slight red marks that Ben's fingers left behind on her wrist.

"I'm fine. It's nothing. You know I had much worse on the Isle, especially against you and Uma." She said with a small smile. "You know, for a pirate, you act more like a knight in shining armor sometimes."

Harry cringed at the memory of the Isle, washing Mal's blood off of his hook when she had gotten too close to him in a fight. He had never meant to hurt her, but she had fought harder than anyone expected her to. For once, he had drawn blood on accident. He could still see the scar on her cheekbone when the light hit her face.

"I'll walk you back to your room. Calm Evie down. You and I will talk about what happened later."

They walked in silence up the stairs to Mal and Evie's dorm. "Don't get into any trouble while I'm not here, okay? Can't let you have all the fun." Harry said with a smile.

Mal moved to her toes and pressed a kiss to Harry's cheek. "Got it." She said before slipping into her dorm.

Harry just stood there for a minute, his hook tracing the place Mal's lips had just been. There was a tightness in his chest that he had never felt before, but it wasn't painful. He chuckled as he turned to walk back down the stairs. He didn't want to think too much into it, but he couldn't help but wonder if maybe his feelings for Mal weren't so unrequited.