XF → Harry Hook [2]✔

Beast

XJ felt a hundred different ways towards the king of Auradon.

Back on the Isle, when it had first been announced that, under the decree of the king, villain kids were slowly going to be allowed to leave the Isle to go to Auradon for reeducation, XJ had been ecstatic. Ben had said that they would start with the worst of the worst, and there was nobody worse than her. She began formulating a plan to take the crown for herself and fulfil her lifelong dream, all the while jeering at Ben's ignorance.

And then it turned out that XJ had overestimated them, for they took four of the least evil villain kids. She remembered standing on top of the roof of her house, glaring at the limousine as it drove away from the Isle, her only escape from the wretched place where she had grown up in. In that moment, XJ wanted nothing more than to rip the crown off the stupid king's head.

A couple of months passed, and word got around to the Isle that Ben was in love with Mal. XJ had been both envious and irritated – envious because it could have just as easily been XJ, and she wouldn't even have had to use a spell to charm him; irritated because she could see how Mal was growing increasingly in love with the future king of Auradon as the days went by – she wouldn't have the willpower to go along with the plan to take down the barrier. XJ thought it was a waste of precious time, and half-hoped that Ben would drop-dead.

Finally, she was invited to Auradon, and her thirst for a good challenge returned. But throughout all these shifts and changes of events, XJ had never cared much for the king, unless she had something to gain from it.

Even though Ben was just another piece on the chess board, XJ couldn't just let him roam around the place as a beast. Perhaps she could use Mal's distress at hearing her fiancé's situation as a distraction, simplifying the task of stealing the ember, but she didn't know Ben's state of mind. He could try to find Mal, and in doing so, might come across XJ's cottage.

XJ trusted Harry to hold his own against the king, but Jane might pose a problem. Her Auradonian-bred, brainless sympathy meant that she wouldn't want to hurt Ben, even if Ben wanted to hurt her, and Jane getting the way might result in Harry getting injured.

Strategies usually called for sacrifices, but XJ made damn sure that Harry wasn't a part of that, even if it made things harder.

What wasn't hard, though, was finding Ben. XJ didn't have to follow his signature this time; the beast's musk was prevalent, as was the trampled plants he left behind, the hedges serrated as if a machete had hacked through them.

XJ didn't bother masking her footsteps. Leaves crunched beneath her shoes as she flew through the forest; no longer a ghost, but rather a huntress that wanted its prey to know she was coming. She wanted Ben to hear her and turn, although she knew she was close to catching up with him. Ben was faster as a beast, but XJ was a better runner by far.

A guttural roar of pain sounded from up ahead. XJ propelled her legs towards Ben, her breaths careful and controlled. She wasn't hurrying out of concern for Ben – as long as the king wasn't dead, XJ didn't mind – but she was hurrying because one of the only people that would dare to attack him, as a beast or a king, was Harry. Which meant that Jane was nearby. Which meant that Harry could get hurt.

Sure enough, as she approached, she heard a flurry of voices.

"Stop it!" came Jane's high-pitched squeak.

Ben's snarl, and then an annoyed growl that XJ would have recognized anywhere.

"Shut up, Jane!" a Scottish accent hissed. "You're not helping!"

XJ burst through the vegetation. On her right, Harry was slashing at Ben with his cutlass, the beast growling and swiping back with his pointed claws. The two were a tornado of crimson and brown, a ferocious dance in which Harry was taking the lead. XJ watched with pride, knowing that she was the reason behind Harry's combative advantage. Similarly, Jane watched, but with distress as she cowered behind a tree.