Hooked

1. It Starts with a Hook

King Benjamin.

The first of his name. Not King Benjamin the second or the third. But King Benjamin. The King Benjamin.

You could place the word King in front of the most basic name and it would somehow transform into a sound mightier than the most unique of alias'. Basic names, in Ben's opinion, made a King sound nobler. You could throw all kinds of syllables together and be as complex as you'd like, but it's the common names that hold weight. King Henry. King Charles. King Arthur. Those were all names of Kings to be remembered. His Father's name was Adam. King Adam. See how it transforms? These names are clear and confident. You heard the King's name and you knew what to expect.

King Benjamin.

He liked how it sounded.

He liked it; however it was in the same way a child liked their made-up superhero name. Running around the backyard with a blanket tied to their back to mimic a cape. In a fantasy world, the child truly was a superhero, but in reality they understood that they couldn't possibly live up to the title.

Ben truly was a King. He was the King of Auradon and he had been for four years since his coronation at 16 years old. You would think after four years of holding the title everything would make sense and you would be sure of your position, but like the child and his superhero name, Ben felt like he was pretending. It's not that he was scared of the position. Ruling was in his blood and he very much wanted to rule. It wasn't having all the power and responsibilities of the world on his shoulders that made him insecure... it was what he couldn't have that left him feeling like the title of King wasn't truly right for him.

And what was it that he couldn't have?

Did Ben even know?

It was an answer to a question he didn't know how to ask. He didn't even know the question existed.

He knew something was missing.

Ben turned over, his soft defeated eyes falling to the form beside him. The morning sunlight that peaked from the window formed a spotlight on the girl laying beside him. Her purple hair was vibrant and beautiful and so close to his nose he was worried the tickling sensation would make him sneeze and wake half the castle. He brushed her hair out of his face with his finger.

Queen Mal.

King Benjamin.

'My soon-to-be Queen. I love you.' Ben thought, his fingers dancing through her purple hair. The words in his head were monotonous. He had repeated them a thousand times now in a hundred different ways, he may need to learn a different language if he wanted to feel something different when he said them. Ben didn't like the fact that every time he looked at Mal, the words "I love her" played in his head like an alarm reminding him to do a chore. He did love her.

The girl from the Isle that he chose to bring to Auradon only four years prior, now lay beside him in his bed. Who would have thought Ben's heart would elect the daughter of the infamous Maleficent as the future Queen of Auradon? Love is such a strange matter. It's a blind demon that has lived beside you your whole life, waiting silently and stalking. Then out of nowhere, it jumps out at you and before you know it, you're falling for what was supposed to be your star-crossed enemy from the Isle. A natural- born villain.

He had fallen so quickly.

Was it the spell?

When they had first met, Mal had casted a spell on him to control his heart into falling for her. Any good love story would start with such manipulation, wouldn't it? Ben certainly had convinced himself of that over the last four years.