The Prince and The Shadow's Daughter

CHAPTER SEVEN: TRUE FEELINGS

A few hours later, Mal, Evie, and I were all in my dorm preparing for the game. "So, how should I style his jersey?" I asked Evie, seeing she was already dressed. "Oh, definitely pick out some leggings and tuck in the front of the jersey. Now, the real question is, how do you think Audrey will react when she finds out Ben likes you and not her?" she asked.

    "So, Ben told me that he actually called it off with Audrey because he 'did not give her enough attention,' apparently," I said so that way Mal also heard me.

    Once we all got ready for the game, we met up with Lonnie and Perseus to find a good seat on the bleachers before the game started. Once the team started running out, Jay, Carlos, and Ben scanned the crowd, looking for our little group of friends. I will say I am not typically one to watch a sports game, but it has been a tight game all night. Now, there is only two minutes left with them tied with the other team with two points. "Jay passes to Prince Ben. He shoots, he scores!" the game announcer yells, causing the stands to stand up and cheer.

    While the team started to celebrate, Ben scanned the crowd again to see where I was, then grabbed the microphone from the announcer and made his way towards us. "I love you, y/n, will you go to the coronation with me?" he asked. I looked slightly surprised but said, "yes," causing him to pick me up and twirl me around in his arms. When he set me back down, Audrey marched up with Chad in tow and grabbed Ben's mic. "Chad's my boyfriend now," she exclaimed before kissing him. "And we will go to the coronation together, so I don't need your pity date."

    "You know I feel kind of bad for Audrey," I told Evie, noticing her expression once the pink princess was out of earshot. "Yeah?" Evie asked. "Well, I feel like if she were talented like you, and she knew how to sew and knew beauty tips, she wouldn't need a prince to make her feel better about herself," I told her.

    "You are kinda talented, E," Mal said, also realizing her expression. "I guess I am kind of talented." The rest of the night was spent in the dorm rooms with Jay, Carlos, Evie, and Mal, celebrating the game and their winning shot.

    The next day, I was just walking around campus soaking up the rays when I accidentally bumped into Ben. "Oh my Hades, I'm so sorry, Ben," I said, trying to help him pick up what was dropped. "Hey," he said, making me look at him. It's okay, really, y/n. Besides, I was just on my way to find you."

    "Oh, really, did you have something important to discuss?" I asked, kind of scared that he was about to take back his coronation proposal. "Uh.. yeah, actually, there is," he said, starting to get nervous. "I was just wondering if you would like to date me later today?"

    "Oh! Uh, yeah, why not." I said, surprised that that's what he wanted to talk to me about. "Perfect, I'll pick you up in about two hours at your dorm?" he asked before getting a head-nod from me. "Alright, I gotta get everything set up; I really do believe that you are going to love this date," he said before walking away with some pep in his step.

    After watching him walk away, I realized that I had never been on a date, so I did not know what to expect or even what to wear. Deciding to delay my freak out, I instead started to walk around campus looking for both Mal and Evie. After five minutes of searching, I found Mal. "Mal! I need your help. Ben just asked me out... on a date." I said, whispering the last part to her, while she said, "Sarah! I have something I need to tell you. I've been dating Hook for about two years now," at the same time. "Wait, back it up: you have been in a secret relationship this whole time and never told anyone?" "Yes, but my confession can wait a little while longer. What do you mean he's asking you out on a date?" Mal asked, finally registering what I said.  "I will explain that AFTER we find Evie. Come on."

    Ten minutes later, Mal and I found Evie sitting at a picnic table with Doug, talking about some kind of grade. "There you are, Evi. We have been looking for you everywhere," I told her. E, Ben asked her out on a date. Come on, we need your help," Mal explained since I was starting to panic.

    "We can handle this. See you later, Doug." Evie said quickly before grabbing both of our arms and dragging us to my room. "Ok, so did he give any clues as to where he was taking you?" she asked while walking into my closet. "No, he hasn't. All he said was he would pick me up in two hours, and I wasted almost half an hour trying to find you guys."

    "Alright, so you go take a shower and calm down; Mal and I have everything covered outfit-wise," Evie said, pushing me toward my enormous bathroom. An hour and a half later, they had me sitting between them on my bed, Evie finishing my makeup and Mal placing a small braid in my hair.

    Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and they both stopped what they were doing and pushed me off the bed and towards the door. "Go, open it," Mal mouthed to me and motioned me along. Opening the door, I found Ben waiting outside, looking as handsome as ever. "For the first time, I finally understand the difference between pretty and beautiful," he said, causing me to slightly blush. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, holding out his hand for me to take.

    After a few minutes of walking, I asked, "Where are you taking me?" "Oh, that, my dear, is a surprise. Why don't you tell me something about yourself that you've never told anyone."

    "Let's see... oh, I have two younger sisters. They normally stay at home, so no one on the Isle except my father and I know they exist. My middle name is also Nicole."

    "Mine's Florian," he said, "How princely, I know." While walking, I notice the familiar route we are now taking. "Are we heading where I think we are?" I ask, but all I get in return is a playful laugh and a shake of the head. "Do you trust me enough to close your eyes?" he asked, stopping.

    Without saying anything, I closed my eyes and felt him step behind me, putting his hands over my eyes. "Don't open them yet," he said, leading me a few more steps forward. Okay, you can open them now." Once I opened my eyes, I was met with fairy lights hanging from the gazebo and a picnic set up on the gazebo floor.

    We sat down to eat, and I was astonished at how he could pull all of this off in just under two hours. While thinking, I heard a soft laugh escape from his lips. "What's so funny," I asked him. "You've got some... hold on," he said before swiping his thumb across my lips, successfully removing the crumbs off my lip gloss. "Is this your first time?" he asked. "We don't really date on the Isle, so yeah."

    Curiously, I watched him stand up, "Come on, let's dance." he said while grabbing my hands to pull me up to my feet. "Oh, no, I really don't know how to dance," I told him. "That's fine; just follow my lead and listen to the music," he told me before successfully dragging me away from the gazebo. Once we started dancing to the music on his phone, it decided to rain, but of course, Ben would not have let me go back to the cover of the gazebo. "Dance in the rain with me," he asked with those adorable eyes, causing me to give in and let him lead me in a few dances before leading me back to the gazebo. "You know, if I get sick, I'm blaming you," I told him. "That's fine," he said back. "I told you that I loved you. What about you? Do you love me?"

"I don't know what love feels like. Is it the warm feeling inside of your chest and not being able to get that person off your mind?" I asked him. Receiving a nod from him, I spoke up again, "Then yeah, I think I love you too." By saying this, he picked me up again and spun me around in his arms before placing me back down on my feet and resting his forehead against mine.