Choosing Love

Chapter Seven

Mal plopped on her bed, completely spent. That fireball that she had let loose after Ben gave that revelation had been bigger than she had been able to produce on the Isle.

Yeah, they claimed that the barrier suppressed evil magic but there was no way to tell if a fireball was being conjured through evil intent or if it was just to keep warm. Besides, she needed a way to keep Zevon and Freddy at bay didn't she?

Gods I hope Gil is okay, she thought as she rolled over onto her back; having plopped onto her stomach. I'll check on him once I'm not so tired. I'm sure Carlos has him covered right now though, him and Dude.

Her exhaustion wasn't helped by Natalie's tirade at her being late to the meeting either. Apparently, having a meeting with Ben didn't matter. A princess was never late to a meeting. Mal sighed as she thought back on some of what Natalie had said.

"You threw a dagger at her? A dagger?! What in the Gods name were you thinking? What if that had hit her?"

"Natalie, I...hang on, how did you even find that out?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow. "It literally just happened."

"She texted me," Natalie said, waving her hand as if to wave off that fact. "But that's not important. Mal, do you know what that would do to King Ben if the tabloids found out his girlfriend nearly killed Princess Audrey with a dagger?"

"Honestly Jay was in more danger of being hit than Audrey was, if he hadn't ducked in time—"

"That doesn't matter Mal!" Natalie snapped. "Honestly, I'm surprised King Ben isn't more embarrassed to be around you if you're pulling stunts like this!"

It was those words that stuck with Mal the most. Was Ben embarrassed to be around her and he was just too polite to say it? Did Natalie have a point?

Mal was trying, no one could say that she wasn't. She had put more focus on her studies, making sure to get to class on time. She made friends outside her VK group and other than throwing the dagger, she hadn't done anything 'wicked' in weeks.

Oh sure, she still did her spray painting but she kept it to canvas rather than spraying it on the lockers or the walls of the school. She kept her style, but Maleficent didn't have a monopoly on dragons.

...did she?

It wasn't a lie to say that, with the exception of Lonnie and Ben, most people in Auradon immediately thought of Maleficent when they thought of dragons. Lonnie's first thought was always Mushu while Ben had started telling people that Mal was the first thought that came to his mind when dragons were involved.

That always earned a good natured eye roll from his Tourney team mates, a chuckle from Jay or Carlos, or a smile from Mal depending on who was around to hear it.

That hadn't stopped The Gazelle, nor did it seem to stop the comments from Audrey and her lackeys. Not that Mal cared about what Sleeping Brat or her gormless sheep thought but if The Gazelle kept printing articles like that, someone at school might send it to their relatives. Adults with the power to actually do something.

The last thing Mal wanted was for Ben to get hurt because of her. Because people thought he was dating a villain.

After all, someone in Auradon had made it so that kids were denied access to decent food just based on where they were born. Mal honestly wouldn't put it past them to try to rise up against their teenaged king just because of who he was dating.

"Mal?" Evie's voice broke through her thoughts and Mal lifted her head to see the blue haired VK walking into the room.

"Hey Evie," Mal said softly as she set her head back down onto her pillow. Honestly, after the whole Coronation debacle, there wasn't any need to put up a front around her roommate. Besides, with their history, Evie wasn't really a pusher when it came to wanting to know information.