The Past-Reading the Isle of the Lost

Chapter Three

“ It has to be a dream, Mal told herself. This couldn’t be real. She was sitting by the edge of a beautiful lake, on the stone floor of an ancient temple ruin, eating the most luscious strawberry…”

Audrey became suspicious as she narrowed her indigo eyes at Mal.

‘I wonder what kind of dream is this? From the looks of it, I don’t like where this is going,’ Audrey thought.

Mal pursed her lips and flushed. She remembered this dream as clear as day.

“ “ Where am I?” she asked aloud, reaching for a plump grape from the gorgeous picnic set before her…”

“My, my. You’re in Auradon!” Cinderella said, slightly surprised.

Audrey gaped, and so was Leah.

“ “Why, you’ve been in Auradon for days now, and this is the Enchanted Lake,” answered the boy seated next to her...”

Curiosity washed over Belle as she asked, “I’m wondering which boy is this?” She then cast a side-eye glance at her son.

“ She hadn’t noticed him until he spoke, but now that she had noticed, she wished she hadn’t. The boy was the worst part of all this—whatever this was—tall, with tousled honey-brown hair, and painfully handsome with the kind of smile that melted hearts and made all the girls swoon...”

“Ben,” most of the Auradonians said in unison.

Audrey fumed. Why did Mal have a dream about Ben?!

At the same time, why would Audrey care? She and Ben broke up. So she shouldn’t care if Mal dreamt about being in Auradon and meeting Ben.

Now, after thinking about it, Audrey sunk herself in the bean bag, sighing. Chad watched his friend sadly.

But seriously though? Why Chad should feel bad for Audrey because Ben cheated on her? It was not like he was any better. Chad had dated 11 girls all at once and played with their emotions and treating them as if they were some property. Not to mention that he used Evie and almost got her expelled.

Hey, at least Chad wasn’t under any love spell, goes in front of everybody at a game, and sings how much he loved a girl who he just met a few days ago while his girlfriend was cheering without realizing that he was cheating, right?

Now that he realized that he was guilty of his actions in the past, Chad tore his hazel eyes away from the brunette princess and focused his attention on the goddess reading.

“ “ Who are you?” she demanded. “Are you some kind of prince or something?” She looked askance at his fine blue shirt embroidered with a small golden crest…”

“Yup, it’s Ben,” Emir nodded.

“ “You know who I am,” the boy said. “I’m your friend…” ”

“Your friend, eh?” Anxelin said, suspicious as she tapped her chin with her finger.

“ Mal was instantly relieved. “Then this is a dream,” she said with a crafty smile. “Because I have no friends.” ”

Most of the Auradonians felt bad upon hearing Mal’s statement, especially Lonnie as she remembered that time when she asked the VKs if their parents loved them.

Even Audrey felt a little bad for Mal, but she shook her head and buried that emotion immediately.

What was she thinking? Feeling bad for a girl who spelled your boyfriend and took him away? Pfft!

“ His face fell, but before he could answer, a voice boomed through the peaceful vista, darkening the skies and sending the water raging over the rocks…"