Call Me A Freak

Truth, Beauty, and Love

Auradon was truly beautiful. As I rode on the back of Ben's bike, I couldn't help but stare at the gorgeous forests and clear skies. Everything about this place was perfect.

I wanted to be angry. How dare they keep all this to themselves and send us off to such a small, gross island? But I couldn't truly be angry. Because in my heart I knew that Auradon was beautiful because the people here made it beautiful. They took care of their world. We didn't.

He slowed down. "We're going to have to walk from here."

I was about to ask him why, when I got off the bike and saw the long, rope bridge which connected the paths between hills.

He must have seen my look of astonishment, because he quickly asked, "Are you afraid of heights?"

I shook my head. "I don't mind. I've just... never seen anything like this before."

He grinned and gestured for me to continue. So, slowly, I made my way across the bridge.

It shook slightly underneath us. As we walked, I held onto the sides, swinging myself from left to right, like a child playing.

"Tell me something about yourself that you've never told anyone," he prompted.

My shoulders tensed up slightly at the thought. I knew that it wasn't his intention to try and get information from me. He was just making conversation. But it brought up so many bad things in my mind.

I pushed aside the thought and settled on telling him something that very few knew about me.

"My middle name is Bertha."

"Bertha?" He sounded like he didn't totally believe me.

"Yeah," I sighed.

"Bertha," he repeated, letting the sound roll over his tongue.

I chuckled. "Just my mom doing what she does best! Being really, really evil." I paused in the middle of the bridge, staring down at the canyon below us. "Mal Bertha..."

He stopped beside me. "Mine's Florian."

"Florian?" I laughed as he confirmed it. "How princely. That's almost worse."

"I mean, it's better than Bertha," he shot back. "But it's still not good."

We stumbled to the end of the bridge and I paused, not sure where to go next. There wasn't a clear road, like the one that we rode on.

"Alright," he said, stepping around me. "For the last part of the journey, you have to close your eyes."

My brain went into fight or flight mode. "No, No. I think I'm good-"

"No, it's fine!" he insisted. "It's not that far and-"

"Ben, I'd really rather not-"

"What do you think is going to hap-"

"Please Ben!" I interrupted.

His eyes went wide, but he didn't argue with me anymore. He shrugged it off and said cheerfully, "Okay. Watch your step!"

We walked quietly through the forest, my feet sliding over the moist leaves on the ground. It was peaceful. The woods were enchanting and the leaves let in just enough light that it wasn't cold.

Ben paused, turning to grab my hands and bring me closer to him. I didn't even realize that he was turning me to face a clearing until he had me positioned right in front of it.

My jaw dropped open. We had made our way to the bottom of the canyon, where a shallow pond had formed. Situated on the edge of the water was a small pavilion. It was old, with vines running up the stone columns and destruction around the top ring.