Tower of Thorns

Chapter 9

^Outfit above^

Mila's POV

He took me to find everyone else and make sure they were okay. No one said a word. "Hey, I've got to do damage control. Are you gonna be okay?" Ben asked.

"I'll be fine." He gave me a kiss on my cheek before walking away.

"Why did you stick up for us?" Mal asked.

"Us outsiders gotta stick together, right?" I joked. "Our families were different but the island we grew up on was the same. Everyone on that Isle deserves better, no matter what they'd done."

"How long does she think it's gonna last?" Audrey taunted from behind me. "Mila's just the bad girl infatuation."

"Yeah," Jane said. "I mean, he's never gonna make a villain a queen." The two of them left cackling like hyenas.

Mal opened her spellbook and said, "Beware, forswear, undo Jane's hair." Jane's hair returned to its original bob and the rest of the girls from Auradon laughed at her sudden transformation. "There's a lot more where that came from."

"Excuse me, who do you think you are?" Audrey asked.

Mal started flipping through her book and the people from Auradon ran screaming.

"You didn't have to do that," I said.

"We were returning the favor," Mal said.

"Well, thanks." I stood up from the picnic table.

"Wait!" Mal called out. "There's something we need to tell you."

"What is it?" I asked.

The four of them looked at each other, obviously not wanting to explain what was going on. Finally, Mal spoke. "Do you remember the morning of the big tourney game? When Ben declared his love for you?"

I blushed remembering his song and dance. "Yes?" I answered not quite understanding where this was going.

"Before the game, we gave him a spelled cookie."

"Spelled. Spelled how?"

"It was a love potion. When he looked into your eyes he fell in love with you. Everything he feels is because of the cookie."

"I don't believe you. Why on Earth would you do such a thing?"

"That doesn't matter. All that matters now is that you know the truth. We can give you the anti-love potion if you want it."

"I can't..." I backed away from the table and ran to my room.

I slammed the door shut and launched myself on my bed, tears streaming down my face. A few hours and a box of tissues later I found myself standing outside Mal and Evie's dorm. After the hurt left my body and I changed into something comfortable, I thought everything over. It wasn't right for Ben to be in love with me through a spell.

I knocked on the door and Mal opened the door. "I'd like the anti-love potion."

"Come on in." She opened the door wider and I stepped across the threshold.

She walked over to her spellbook and pulled out a spare piece of paper. She wrote down the ingredients and handed me the piece of paper. I could see a small amount of guilt swimming in her eyes. I quickly read over the list and thankfully I could find everything in the kitchen. I gave a small thank you and walked downstairs to the kitchen.

It didn't take long for me to mix everything together. The easiest ingredient to obtain was a tear of human sadness. I let one tear fall into the batter before moving it out of the way as more fell down my cheeks. It took a minute but I regained my composure long enough to finish what I was doing. Once the cupcake was cooled I wrapped it up and cleaned up my mess then went to my room to sleep.