𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒

03. 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀

"𝕬uradon Prep," started Ben, gesturing to the school behind him.

The royal friends smiled once more before turning around and directing the villain kids toward the middle of the grounds, a giant statue of King Beast standing proudly in front of the castle. Rilynn felt a light tug on her arm, and she automatically curled her arm around Chad's, letting him lead them after Ben and Audrey.

"Originally built over three hundred years ago and converted into high school by my father when he became King."

The group rounded the side of the statue as the royals stared expectantly at the figure, and the villain kids raised their brows in confusion and heavy judgment. Still, then, when Ben clapped his hands, the magical statue groaned as the bronze statue morphed into something different. What was once the King had transformed into a beast just as he once became the night a witch stumbled across his castle, bewitching him with a curse that left him lonely and hideous.

Now, the statue symbolizes something other than becoming the monster you are, but the character builds up after humbling your ego--the King can agree.

Carlos screamed in fright with a terrified cry, caught off-guard when the statue morphed right before his eyes, but the beast terrified the boy; he was so scared that he nearly jumped out of his shoes, landing in Jay's arms and holding the thief close. Unfortunately for Jay, he was the only one closest to Carlos, forcing him to deal with a scared Carlos. Now, Jay cradled a frightened Carlos in front of everyone, making the thief feel like a joke in front of all these royals. However, Jay wasn't the only one who was embarrassed by Carlos' reaction; Mal's eyes widened in disgust at the younger boy's behavior, the way he was whimpering like a scared dog, all because he was terrified of an inanimate object.

I can't believe what I'm seeing; Mal hissed in her thoughts, so much for being rotten.

However, Rilynn looked to be the only one concerned for Carlos. The princess frowned to herself as she watched Carlos with an apologetic smile. Rilynn couldn't imagine how deprived they were of a bit of magic, including a statue that could morph from beast to man; however, Rilynn was certain the Isle hadn't been good to them either. She didn't want to judge who they were and where they came from, but Rilynn thought Carlos' mother had something to do with his jumpiness.

Ben looks over. "Carlos, it's okay," assured the prince. "My father wanted his statue to morph from beast to man to remind us that anything is possible."

Mal stared at the statue. "Does he shed much?"

"Yeah. Mom won't let him on the couch," joked Ben.

Ben and Mal share another moment that they unknowingly knew about, and neither is trying to smile too obviously. Ben shared his smile with the other villain kids to avert the attention between him and Mal, constantly feeling his brain turn to mush whenever she laughed at his jokes or played along. Ben couldn't explain why he was feeling this way; he blamed the dreams he'd had about the girl with purple hair and green eyes, but it possibly couldn't be, could it?

Rilynn glanced at Carlos and Jay, who didn't look too happy with the younger boy, and managed to contact the older boy; his eyes nearly widened when he remembered he was carrying Carlos in his arms, but Rilynn laughed softly like it was some kind of joke. Chad tried not to look bothered while standing next to Rilynn, not bothering to include himself in the welcoming wagon, not appreciating how his girlfriend acted around Jay. It was weird. Rilynn hasn't stopped giggling or sparing glances at the villain kid since he arrived, and it was beginning to irritate Chad.

Although there wasn't an ounce of jealousy cooking in his veins, Chad didn't like the idea of a villainous kid taking something up from him; Rilynn was his, and seeing that Jay was attracted to the princess, he felt like he got the higher up. Unlike Jay, Chad got himself the princess first.