Ben knew something was up the instant his body hit the water.
It was like walking through a room in your home only to realize something was different. A portrait moved an inch, a couch shifted slightly, subtle and barely detectable but you just felt something was not right.
The soon to be king pondered this while he swam through the waters of the enchanted lake.
When he realized it, he almost laughed.
Oh, she had gotten him good, no doubt about that. There was a reason you should never accept gifts from villains, or children of villains too apparently.
He probably should be mad at her, she did brainwash him after all. But people always did say Ben was just too nice for his own good.
It wasn't the first time someone had used an underhanded tactic to gain his affections though. When he was single, princesses from all across the land all but attacked each other in pursuit of his hand. Sure in public they were prim and proper, but behind closed doors it was a warzone.
It reminded Ben of the story of Cinderella. Women from everywhere tried on the slipper and were all repulsed until the real one was found. Only Ben was a prince not a slipper, and he had to accept someone to make it stop. Or at least attempt to curb the horde.
Audrey had been the most persistent of the bunch. If he had to be completely honest, he didn't really like her all that much. She seemed a bit clingy and all too eager to show off who her boyfriend was to anyone who would listen. Exactly like how when the four from the isle arrived for the first time in Arendelle.
Only under the most severe duress, or in the safety of his own mind, would Ben admit he had been smitten with the purple haired daughter of Maleficent the instant he saw her step out of that limousine. All snarky sass rolled into a sixteen year old ball.
Ben had done his best to appear regal and conceal his nervousness. But it had all came tumbling out when he went a little over the top with his welcome speech. He had meant to appear grandiose but the sight of Mal completely blew that plan.
Audrey of course detected a threat to her territory and stepped in. Ben learned a long time ago when women were on the cusp of attacking each other. The giggles made by the two were more terrifying than the mental image of Maleficent reading bedtime stories to children.
In truth he really should be thanking Mal. Ben didn't want to be with Audrey and really only was because his parents all but demanded he have a date for the coronation ceremony. Being the nice guy he was, Ben didn't know how to let Audrey down gently enough.
Mal's use of the love spell was a golden opportunity he couldn't pass up.
A insane thought had occurred to him that Mal might be interested if he were free of Audrey. Mal might think she concealed herself well but Ben had grown more adept at reading people than most thought. It came with the training to be king his father put him through.
He could see the way she looked at him. At the same time she seemed torn. Like she had something bothering her but Ben didn't know how to broach the subject. He wanted to know but at the same time didn't want to seem too pushy. Ben assumed she had a crush on him but was taken and she didn't know how to deal with it.
Being the daughter of Maleficent, and having grown up on the Isle of the Lost, she only knew of one solution to the dilemma. It was how she was raised, Ben couldn't fault her for that.
One love spell later and the Audrey problem was solved. Ben would have felt guilty for his now ex but she had been all to happy to show she already had someone new, Chad Charming. Which proved Ben's theory that Audrey only wanted a prince for the sake of having a prince. She wasn't the only girl like that.
It hadn't taken long for Ben to see for himself that Mal wasn't like normal girls. He knew that from the start but didn't really see it until he saw the look on her face when he asked her on a date. A combination of terror, delight, and absolute shock. She used her normal confident mask to accept but as soon as Ben had his back turned she all but sprinted off. No doubt to track down her fellow islander Evie for help.
Once they were actually on their date, for the first time since her arrival to Arendelle, Ben saw Mal relax. All the sarcasm faded away to be replaced by someone much more cheerful and happy. Granted Ben was under a love spell but even if he hadn't of been he would still be ecstatic to see her like this. He got the feeling it was a side of herself no one ever saw.
Mal had allowed herself to open up to him. Ben figured he had to do something nice in exchange. Seeing the glowing stone at the bottom of the lake had been the perfect chance. He should have realized how long he had been gone though.
Finding Mal drowning in the lake was not what he expected to return to.
"You scared me!" Mal slapped Ben on the chest after the latter deposited her on the edge of the shore. It came as a surprise to Ben, Mal did not seem the type of person to admit being afraid of anything.
"You can't swim?" Ben questioned. If he was honest it was a thought that never occurred to him. Swimming was something that came naturally, everyone could do it, couldn't they?
"No." Mal sounded almost embarrassed.
"You live on an island." Ben said it before he let his mind think about it.
"Yeah with a barrier around it remember?" Mal shot back.
"And you still tried to save me." Ben hadn't meant to say that out loud but it happened anyway. He was quite surprised. Mal couldn't swim and yet she still went after him thinking he was in trouble.
Mal was indeed quite the girl.
"Yeah and do you thank me? No, all I get is soaking wet." Mal was falling back on her normal defense mechanism, sarcasm. That was definitely embarrassment written all across her face.
Ben shyly offered her the stone he found in the lake. "And uh this fancy rock. It's yours. Make a wish and throw it back in the lake."
No sooner had the words left his lips, Mal hurled the stone back into the water. Ben highly doubted she had made a wish but it also made Ben understand something else about the lavender haired beauty.
Unlike her friend Evie, Mal was not someone who valued pricy things like gold and jewels. Ben knew many girls who would have squealed like children at the sight of the glowing stone. Mal's countenance held zero interest in it. Something told Ben had she not been so mortified she would have been happy to accept the gift from him, but only because it was from him not because it was valuable looking.
Mal sat up before moving back to the blanket they had been resting on before. Groaning and shivering with every step.
Just before she sat down, Ben was already there wrapping his dry jacket around her slender frame. The gesture was obviously alien to her judging by the look of amazement on her face. And by the way she refused to meet his eyes.
At least until he started playing with the violet locks of her hair. Then she was instantly focused on him once more. Mal seemed as if no one had actually touched her hair in such a way.
Telling her he loved her was not something he intended but like he did moments before, his mouth ran faster than his brain.
Mal instantly flushed scarlet, her voice caught in her throat. This puzzled Ben though, as far as the girl knew, he was still under the effects of her spell. She should have expected he would say something like this. But why was she acting so shocked?
Mal again turned away from Ben's gaze. At first Ben thought he had said something wrong but he knew it wasn't that when she spoke her next words. "I don't know what love feels like."
Mal was raised on the isle of the lost, her mother was considered the evilest of all the villains. Ben had hoped, more for Mal's sake than his own, that even considering who Mal's mother was she still loved her daughter. Seeing the way Mal's voice broke and the way she looked away told Ben that if Maleficent did love her, she either never showed it or didn't know how.
Ben's heart broke at both the sight and the thought of Mal's childhood. Were he not so afraid of her bolting away at the gesture, he would have hugged her.
The soon to be king gently took her chin in his hand so that she was facing him again. "Maybe I could teach you."
