Ben had driven Ruby toward the edge of the forest and parked the bike, letting her get off before doing the same himself. He gestured to the woods and gave the redhead an expectant look, which Ruby answered with a flat, unimpressed one.
"So, what do you think?" Ben grinned. Ruby raised an eyebrow at the smiling boy.
"I'm wondering what part about me gave you the impression that the woods are the place to take me for a date." Ruby smiled sarcastically. Ben chuckled, not at all offended because he didn't expect any other reaction from the girl.
"Come on. We're not there yet." Ben held out a hand for her to take and Ruby looked at it with narrowed eyes.
"Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise."
"I don't like surprises," Ruby muttered. Nevertheless, she took Ben's hand and let him lead her into the woods. Ben grinned at her.
"Trust me. You'll like this one."
"And what if I don't?" Ruby challenged. Ben gained a thoughtful expression and then looked her way.
"If you don't like it, and I mean honestly don't like it, then I'll let you give me a lesson in knife-throwing," Ben proposed. Ruby started grinning widely. She had offered to teach Ben multiple times before, but Ben always said no, not being too fond of the whole idea of knife-throwing. He was okay with Ruby doing it—or at least he didn't try to stop her—but he didn't want anything to do with it himself, not liking the idea of throwing knives at anything.
"Really?" Ruby asked. Ben nodded, a bit reluctantly. "Alright deal."
"But only if you don't like it. But you will, so..." Ben said a bit smugly. Ruby just smirked.
"Whatever you say, Beastie."
The couple continued walking through the woods for a few minutes, talking about idle little things. Well, mostly Ben because small talk was still far from a quality that Ruby possessed. Especially when that small talk couldn't involve violence or 'bad' things. So, Ruby opted to listen to Ben talk, something she found herself enjoying more than she knew she should. For some reason, listening to Ben talking or telling a story was comforting to Ruby. She could listen to Ben talk for hours and she wouldn't actually mind.
During their walk, Ben had tripped over roots multiple times when he wasn't paying attention, while Ruby didn't even have to look to keep her balance. She could run through uneven cobblestone alleys in her heels, slowly walking through the woods in them was nothing. When Ben tripped for the fourth time during their walk, Ruby couldn't help but bark a laugh as she caught the back of his shirt before he fell down.
"Thanks." Ben looked down at her when he stood on his own again and shook his head. "How have you not fallen once in those heels, while I have nearly face-planted the ground four times now?"
"Maybe you just have poor balance," Ruby smirked, passing Ben to keep walking. They reached a narrow bridge and Ruby started walking across it, Ben following behind.
"You'd almost think so." He chuckled. He grabbed onto Ruby's hand and linked them together as he walked behind her on the narrow bridge. Ruby glanced back, only to see Ben smile, looking somewhat innocent. A tiny smile tugged at her own lips and she turned back to face the front without saying anything before Ben could notice the slight upturn of her lips.
Once the two left the bridge, Ben pulled Ruby to a halt. Ruby shot him a questioning glance, but before she could open her mouth, Ben had put his hands in front of her eyes.
"And what do you think you're doing?" Ruby asked, her tone letting Ben know that she was getting annoyed.
"We're almost there," Ben said, unaffected by her annoyance.
"So?"
"So," Ben said, dragging out the 'o'. "I don't want you to see anything before we're there. It's a surprise. Do you trust me?"
"In general or right now with being my eyes in the same woods where you've nearly fallen four times already?" Ruby asked, her voice sweet. Ben rolled his eyes, not that Ruby could see.
"Forget I asked," Ben muttered, making Ruby snicker quietly. "Come on."
"Lead the way. Literally."
Ben slowly directed Ruby towards where he had set up his entire date. He was praying to whoever would hear him that Ruby liked it. He had been confident before, but now he was becoming nervous about whether she would truly like it or not.
Being so caught up with his worry, he forgot to pay attention to where they were walking and Ruby, who still couldn't see anything because of Ben's hands, fell forward. She let out a small shriek and Ben was quick to catch her before she could hit the ground.
Ruby let out a breath when she was standing again, her eyes now opened as she was glaring at Ben, and she slapped his arm repeatedly.
"I am never letting you close my eyes and guide me again," She said, pointing a finger towards his face with an arched eyebrow. Ben held up his hands in defence.
"Sorry, sorry. That one was on me."
"Damn right it was. Now, where are we going? Are we almost there yet?" Ruby huffed. Ben glanced over the redhead's shoulder and turned back to the girl with a small smile. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her gently to face the spot that Ben had in mind from the moment he had asked her out.
Ruby's eyes widened, the sight taking her breath away. "Woah."
"I guess that means you like it?" Ben mused. Ruby tore her eyes away from the sight before her, looking his way.
"Yes. Yes, I like it. You outdid yourself, Ben," Ruby said quietly, quickly looking back at the spot Ben had chosen for their date.
In front of Ruby was an old, half-broken marble gazebo surrounded by a small lake. It looked like something plucked out of Greek mythology, and, despite being worn with age, it looked magical. Beautiful purple flowers were climbing up the marble pillars and surrounded the stone plateau on which a blanket and picnic basket was placed. The surrounding lake was completely clear and Ruby could see all the stones resting at the bottom of the lake, something completely opposite to the water Ruby knew around the Isle. The water shimmered and reflected the sunlight that managed to make its way through the surrounding trees. Ruby had always believed that places like this only existed in stories and imagination, let alone that she would be able to see one in person.
Gently, Ben took hold of her hand and led her to where the picnic blanket and basket were neatly placed. He sat down and Ruby followed suit, her eyes still roaming her surroundings in quiet admiration. Ben got out the food stored in the basket and set them out around them.
"How did you even find this place?"
"I didn't. My father did. He took my mom here for the first date. You know, once he wasn't Beast anymore. It was always one of my mother's favourite spots, she can't stop talking about the 'Enchanted Lake' whenever my dad takes her here. So I figured you would like it as well."
Ruby smiled, scoffing lightly, "Because your mother and I are so alike," she quipped. Ben pursed his lips.
"You're both headstrong. You've got that in common." Ben shrugged. Ruby just looked sceptical but decided not to ruin the moment by arguing.
Ben offered Ruby a muffin and the two of them fell back into their earlier conversations, with Ben doing most the talking and Ruby leaving a sarcastic comment here and there. After a while, Ruby had no clue how long, Ben finished his story about his vacation last summer.
"So, what about you. I feel like I've been talking this whole time. You must be getting sick of my voice by now," Ben said. Ruby shook her head.
"I'm not."
Ben smiled at that. "Well, either way, I want to hear something about you. Tell me something."
Ruby let out a long breath, "Uh... Like what?" Ben playfully rolled his eyes at her, which made Ruby swat his arm.
"I don't know. Tell me something I don't know about you yet."
"Oh, Darling, there is so much about me that you don't know," Ruby smirked as she got closer to his face. Ben didn't shy away from her close proximity and leant in himself.
"I figured, which is why I want to know more. I feel like you hardly tell me anything about yourself. Like you don't let me in," Ben pointed out. He wasn't accusing her of anything, he was merely curious about her. Ruby glanced down and pulled back a bit.
"Yeah, well, don't take it personally. I don't really let anyone close," the princess muttered. Ben tilted his head to the side a bit in curiosity.
"Not even your friends? You guys seem close."
"We are, but no. Even they don't know everything about me. There's plenty I've never told them. The reason we seem as close is because we've hung out for years. We've been through most things together, but not everything," Ruby explained. She was a bit surprised at how much she shared with Ben. She normally wouldn't have. Then again, her situation was far from normal. For her, at least.
Ben's focus was solely on her as he watched her carefully. He saw emotions in her eyes that she didn't show on her face, but he couldn't place them. From what she said, Ben got the impression that Ruby never really talked about anything that was going on in her life.
"So, why don't you tell them?" He asked. Ruby shrugged and her gaze drifted to the water.
"I guess it's because of how I was raised."
"What do you mean?"
Ruby looked back at Ben again.
"My mother is... Well. I don't really know how to describe her. I just know that she expects everything I do to be perfect and that showing emotions or talking about myself never went appreciated. The Red Queen always wants to be heard and seen. She doesn't want a daughter who talks about her own problems, she wants a daughter who listens to hers."
"That's unfair." Ben frowned. He didn't like anything he was hearing so far and the fact that Ruby talked about it with such a lack of care, didn't do those feelings any good.
"That's my mother." The princess shrugged. Her eyes drifted to the water again and Ben noticed from her demeanour that she wanted to drop the conversation. And her gaze on the water gave him just the idea of how to do it. He sprung up from the ground, startling Ruby, and held out a hand to her.
"Come on."
"Where are we going this time?"
Ben jutted a thumb to the lake. "We're going for a swim."
"Ha! Yeah, no." Ruby shook her head. Ben's eyebrows furrowed.
"Why not?"
"Uh, because I don't know how."
"You live on an island," Ben said in surprise.
"You remember the barrier around it, right?"
"Alright. So, then I'll teach you," Ben offered. Ruby shook her head with a smile.
"No. You go right ahead and I'll watch."
"Oh, come on."
"No, I'm serious. I do not feel like drowning so you go ahead and maybe I'll think it looks like enough fun to learn at some point," Ruby said, pushing Ben towards the water.
"Are you sure?" Ben had to ask. Ruby sighed in exasperation.
"Go," she ordered. Ben chuckled sheepishly and held up his hands in surrender. He left the gazebo part and soon appeared on a nearby cliff—if you could call it that since it was quite low—wearing nothing more than swimming trunks. He waved enthusiastically, making Ruby laugh as she got up and leant on a pillar, watching him.
"Nice shorts, Beastie!" She yelled.
"Thanks!" Ben waved. He roared like a beast, making Ruby roll her eyes, and then dived into the water to have fun. What an idiot, Ruby thought, an amazing, loving idiot. She turned on her heel and sat down, her back leaning against the pillar. There was a small smile tugging at her lips at the thought of a certain prince.
'Some nerve you have
To break up my lonely
And tell me you want me
How dare you march into my heart
Oh how rude of you
To ruin my miserable
And tell me I'm beautiful
'Cause I wasn't looking for love, no
Nobody asked to get me attached to you
In fact, you tricked me
And I wasn't trying to fall in love but boy you pushed me
So all that I'm asking
Is that you handle me with caution
'Cause I don't give myself often
But I guess I'll try today
'Cause I've had my heart
Broken before
And I promised I would never let me hurt anymore
But I tore down my walls
And opened my doors
And made room for one
So baby I'm yours
Oh, baby I'm yours
Oh, baby I'm yours
Oh, baby I'm yours
Oh, baby I'm yours
But I tore down my walls
And opened my doors
And made room for one
So baby I'm yours
I'm mad at you
For being so cute
And changing my mood
And altering my rude
What's wrong with you?
You make me sick for being so perfect
What did I do
What can I do, oh
And I wasn't trying
To melt this heart of iron
But the way you hold me makes the old me pass away
And I would be lying
If I said I wasn't scared to fall again
But if you promise me you'll catch me
Then it's okay
'Cause I've had my heart
Broken before
And I promised I would never let me hurt anymore
But I tore down my walls
And opened my doors
And made room for one
So baby I'm yours
Oh, baby I'm yours
Oh, baby I'm yours
Oh, baby I'm yours
Oh, baby I'm yours
But I tore down my walls
And opened my doors
And made room for one
So baby I'm yours
Oh, I hate that I
Spend my days just wasting time
Daydreaming till I see you again
I'm not used to this
Oh I used to be so used to boys just using me
For you to be you to me
Feels new to me
'Cause I usually cheer for the bad side
Love under a bad sign
So it makes me mad I'm
Falling again
Falling again
But I tore down my walls
And opened my doors
And made room for one
So baby I'm yours
Oh, baby I'm yours
Oh, baby I'm yours
Oh, baby I'm yours
Oh, baby I'm yours
But I tore down my walls
And opened my doors
And made room for one
So baby I'm yours
Oh, baby I'm yours'
Ruby blinked a couple of times and shook her head. There was a smile tugging at her lips, the kind that love-sick people wore. She rid herself of it quickly, pretending it was never there and returned to her spot next to the pillar, where she could watch Ben swim and have fun in the water.
However, when she searched for Ben, he was nowhere to be found. She took a step closer to the water, scanning the surface rapidly with her eyes.
"Ben!?" She yelled.
No response.
"BEN!?"
Again nothing.
A constricting feeling settled in her chest and her throat tightened as panic set in. Without thought, Ruby stepped into the water. "Ben..." She whispered, desperate. When she heard nothing she waded further into the water, glad to find that she could still reach the bottom. She searched the water for any sign of Ben, but nothing came. She kept walking further until suddenly the bottom disappeared and she'd gotten herself into the deep part of the lake.
Ruby's head went under and she desperately moved her arms and legs around trying to reach the surface as she sunk deeper into the lake. She reached the surface for a moment, drawing in as much air as she could before she went under again.
She felt someone grab onto her, but in her panic and struggled against the grip. The person holding her was stronger, especially since her struggles were weak with lack of oxygen. The person got her to the surface and held her in her arms. Ruby started coughing out the water that had entered her lungs. Her chest burned from the feeling, but she was otherwise okay. She wiped the water out of her eyes and saw that her rescuer had been Ben.
Ben set her down on the ground of the gazebo, looking her over with worried eyes. Ruby slowly regained a normal breathing pattern and smacked Ben's chest.
"Where the hell were you?! I thought you had drowned or something!" She yelled.
Contrary to Ruby's voice, Ben's was soft, "And you still went after me even though you could've drowned yourself?" Ruby faltered and looked up at Ben, whose eyes seemed different now, but not enough for Ruby to be able to pinpoint why.
"Well, I—Uh... Never mind that! Where were you?" Ruby turned the conversation back around again. Ben got out a shining rock from the pocket of his swimming trunks and held it out for her.
"I was getting you this pretty rock from the bottom," Ben said. Ruby pushed the rock back.
"I don't need a stupid rock." She grumbled. "Just don't scare me like that." She got up from the ground and went back to the picnic blanket, embarrassed. Ben set the rock aside and joined her. He wrapped his jacket around her shoulders when he saw her shivering and sat down beside her.
Ruby was feeling annoyed. She was cold, wet and she just made a fool out of herself for going into the water and nearly getting herself killed.
"Hey, Ruby?" Ben started, gaining the soaked redhead's attention, "I've told you that I love you. Do you love me?" Ben asked, but his voice sounded off. Ruby narrowed her eyes. First, his eyes and now his voice was off. Or rather than off, they were different somehow, though she had a strange gut feeling someone else wouldn't have noticed the change. The question sounded strange to her and she was a suspicious person by nature. She wasn't sure what was going on, but something wasn't right.
Then she remembered something. Something Ben had said.
"Enchanted Lake..." She whispered, her eyes widening as she looked at Ben.
"What?" Ben frowned, not having heard her.
"The Enchanted Lake. The spell's gone, isn't it?" She asked. Her voice was low and her face showed apprehension. Ben pursed his lips and nodded.
"Why did you do it?" He asked. Ruby could see the hurt in Ben's face but also something else that she couldn't place.
Ruby wasn't sure how to answer Ben, but eventually, she decided to settle on the truth. Or at least a half-truth.
"I don't know. It wasn't really my idea. Mal and Evie came up with it, the guys agreed. I didn't really get it, but they insisted on it and I eventually went along. I guess that in hindsight they saw something there, between us. Something I didn't see. At least, not at the time." Ruby explained. She felt no regret about throwing her friends under the bus just now. They were the ones that insisted it be her and, now that she thought about it, she was pretty sure that their reasoning had been the exact same as what she'd just told Ben. The only thing she lied about was their other, alternative motive.
Ben stayed silent for a few moments, taking time to gather his thoughts about the situation. Eventually, —and it shouldn't have surprised Ruby but it did—Ben focussed on one specific thing she'd said.
"You mean that you do see something between us now?" He asked slowly. Ruby blinked and looked down at her hands for a moment. She looked up at Ben again and Ben was taken back by the vulnerability that Ruby's eyes portrayed. He hadn't seen that look in her eyes before.
"I don't know, Ben... I'm not good at any of this, you know, emotional stuff. I've never in my life been really good at figuring out how I feel unless it was something... negative, I guess. All I know is that I feel different around you. And it's weird and I don't get it, and it freaks me out sometimes, and—" Ben grabbed hold of her hand, stopping her ranting and making her look up. Ruby let out a breath. "But I like it. A lot. And I quite like you too, Ben. I'm sorry."
Ben had already started smiling and looked at her fondly. He reached up and cupped her cheek, rubbing a thumb across it.
"Don't be sorry, it's okay. We can figure it out. Together," Ben assured. Ruby breathed out a small laugh and nodded.
"Together." She grabbed hold of Ben's hand and pulled it down into her lap, holding it in hers and playing with his fingers a bit.
She was wet and cold and her hair was sticking all over her face, but she hadn't felt this good in a long time. She shouldn't be, but she was glad that Ben wasn't spelled anymore. It quieted down the doubts she had about every sweet little gesture he made.
She felt Ben's gaze on her as she stared down at their intertwined fingers and she had to suppress the rush of blood towards her cheeks. Ben had stared at her in this way countless times before, but every time he had she had convinced herself it was the spell. This time she couldn't and it changed how she felt about the gesture entirely. She wiped the hairs stuck to her face away and pushed them back over her shoulder.
Ben tensed and when Ruby looked up she knew why. The blissful moment was gone in an instant when she saw the horrified look on Ben's face. Ben's gaze wasn't directed at her face anymore.
It was directed at her neck.