Truth Or Fiction

Chapter Seventy One

Li'l Shang leaned forward to pick up his scroll and frowned slightly as he noticed two new scrolls.

"What's wrong?" Lonnie asked.

"Two more scrolls are here but...they're different from the rest."

Emir tilted his head. "How can you tell?"

"They're sealed with blue wax and have a flame stamped on it for starters."

"Ah."

Li'l Shang sighed. "Well, I guess we'll find out about those scrolls later."

Mal sighed as she left one of the multitude of meetings Natalie had her attend.

Hades growled under his breath at the mention of Natalie.

"Right off the bat? So much for this being a good scroll," Li'l Shang sighed.

Thankfully it was the last one of the day and it was a good thing too because Mal felt like she was at the end of her rope.

"This is sick," Sammy muttered and shook her head. "It can't go on!"

Lately it felt more and more as if her handler was trying to drive her insane rather than help her become a Lady of the Court. Something that apparent was going to happen at Cotillion now instead of a private ceremony.

Benji sighed. "I should have offered to do your induction in private after everything."

"Didn't we end up doing that?" Malinda asked. She didn't remember getting inducted at Cotillion. Freddy she remembered but not her induction.

Whoever decided to make this a public thing should be shot, Mal thought.

"Mal, as older me said, if you want we can have yours in private," Ben said, looking over at Mal.

Hmm, maybe not shot but definitely slapped. Was it Wonderbreath? Was this revenge on dad kidnapping him as a baby? No wait, he's all brawn and no brains.

"Cotillion has always been public," Hercules said, shaking his head. "Furthermore I wouldn't do that."

If it wasn't for the fact that he sounds like a sweetheart from the few stories Macaria's told me, one might think he'd get along well with Gaston.

"Hey!" Hyllus exclaimed.

Hercules shook his head as both Mal and Malinda opened their mouths. "No, no, don't apologize. I get it."

Oh yeah, that had been a fun discovery, finding out that her becoming a Lady of the Court was going to be in public rather than in private like Mal had thought.

"Well at least we know she hasn't lost her sarcastic thoughts..." Hadie said, sounding as if he was trying to stay positive.

Ben had told her about that at one of their rare date nights—so rare they were practically endangered. Thankfully Mal had no qualms about spending time with Ben in his office so it wasn't as if they never got to see each other.

Just almost never.

Ben shook his head. "I'm fixing this. We should get time to be with each other."

"Ben, what do you mean I'll become a Lady of the Court at Cotillion? I thought it was just going to be a small thing. You, me, Fairy Godmother and my mom when she gets off the Isle?" Mal asked, looking at Ben with slight trepidation in her voice.