Choosing Home

Chapter Nineteen

Mal grit her teeth as she paced Ben's office furiously, feeling like a caged dragon longing to take flight. The constant movement jostled her arm, sending a shooting pain to her brain ever few minutes but she was too angry to care.

Freddy was still alive. He would be going back to the Isle rather than live in torment for the rest of his days in the pits of Tartarus. More importantly, at some point Audrey would be going there with him. There wasn't one aspect of this that was a punishment for Freddy—he'd be in charge of his gang, he'd have his fling, and what's more he could enact a plan to escape once more.

While a logical part of her acknowledge that Freddy's death hadn't been discussed or even an option, that really didn't matter to the rest of her. She. Was. Furious.

"Mal, stop pacing and talk to me," Ben said, his eyes following her every move. It really was late and he was exhausted, ready to head to bed for once but that clearly wasn't an option at that point. "I thought this was a good thing? Freddy's going back to the Isle and...and Audrey will too once we learn whether or not she's pregnant."

"A good thing? Ben, all we did was send an alive and probably bent on revenge Freddy to the Isle! He broke out once, he could break out again!" Mal exclaimed.

"Okay, so why didn't you make the suggestion for a different punishment when Eric asked for it?"

"Maybe because I was a little surprised that you abstained? Ben, how many times have we suggested you take a break from something only to have you say that you're the King and you should be the one to handle it?"

"Hold on, wasn't it you who told me when we were questioning Audrey that no one would look down on me if I did abstain but now you're mad at me for doing just that?!" Ben asked, more than slightly confused.

"There's a difference between abstaining in the questioning of your former girlfriend and abstaining from running the trial of a maniac!" Mal exclaimed.

"Mal's got a point," Uma nodded, lounging on the sofa as Harry draped his arms over her shoulders; Estelle resting his heads on her leg. Ben didn't know if doing that was a way for Harry to show affection or a way for them to prevent him from running after Freddy and hooking him.

Ben sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "If I didn't abstain, Freddy could have argued that the trial was biased against him and petitioned for a new one. And if he didn't, Audrey certainly would have. She's been raised royal since birth, she knows the system inside and out."

"Who would have listened to his petition?! You're the King of Auradon!" Mal exclaimed. "And by the way, can't you offer a harsher sentence than life imprisonment to the guy who tried to kill you?!"

"Should we step in?" Lonnie whispered to Jay, the older boy having run over to Evie's castle to get the others after the trial. That had been an hour ago back when Mal had first started pacing.

"Nah. Mal's ranted for much longer before. She'll wear herself out soon," Jay shook his head.

"It's just not the way we do things here Mal!" They heard Ben say and it was clear that he was getting more than a little frustrated. Though to be fair, it had been a rather long day and they could all use some rest. "If I order a different punishment, I thereby tell the other members of my council that I don't trust their judgment."

"Well considering their judgement was to leave Freddy alive, I'm not so sure I trust their judgement," Mal stated, content in attempting to pace a rut in Ben's office floor.

"We have a system in place for a reason," Ben said, shaking his head. "This...this isn't the Isle of the Lost Mal!"

That proved to be the wrong thing to say as Mal paused, turning to look at him; her green eyes bright with rage.