Once Upon a Second Chance

(37) - Dark Chapters

The entire room was silent as Henry finished reading. All eyes turned to Ben. The king was gripping the counter behind him in an attempt to stay upright. His face was unreadable but he was clearly in shock. His breathing was highly accelerated and he looked like it took everything inside him not to break down right there and then. His friends looked at each other, unable to figure out what to do with him in this very distraught state. Not that anybody could blame him. He just found out that his parents basically took away his own and Ginny Gothel's free will, and in the process, either banished or more likely killed his twin sibling that he didn't even know he had.

"Ben?" Mal hesitantly put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I-I need to go," he whispered before rushing out of the pawn shop, leaving concerned loved ones behind.

"I'll follow him," Mal muttered before making her way out to follow her fiancé.

Belle frowned as she adjusted Gideon in her arms and turned to her husband who wrapped and arm around her shoulders. "Rumple, should we..."

"Alas, Belle, this has nothing to do with us. We barely know the boy and his troubles are something we simply cannot understand. But you needn't worry, I'm sure Maleficent the 2nd will comfort him better than we could."

Belle nodded but sighed and couldn't help but grind her teeth in anger. No matter how Ben's behavior might have been influenced by his transference of darkness, nobody deserved to feel so betrayed by their parents of all people.

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He just kept walking, in the dead of night, not even knowing where he was going. He just needed to keep moving, as if he knew that if he stopped moving, the realization would catch up with him and break him down.

"Ben!" he heard a voice call his name, but he ignored it. He just kept walking and walking, closing his eyes as though it will be successful in pushing all his raging and conflicting thoughts out. He had never felt so deceived in his life, by his parents, no less. "Ben!" He continued to hear a voice call out his name until he couldn't push through anymore and realized that he was now in the woods. "Hey?" Mal asked softly, coming over. "Are you okay?" She knew it was a dumb question after everything that was just revealed, but she knew nothing else to say after what had just happened.

Ben sucked in a breath and nodded, and then felt his face contort as his head began to shake frantically. He finally exhaled. "Oh, gods, Mal." He ran his face over his hands as he sat on a nearby rock and tried his hardest to remain composed.

Mal was on the verge of tears herself, seeing Ben's state. She had never seen him so scared. He was always supposed to be the collected one who knew what to do. She bent down and brought him in for a hug, expecting him to pull away, not wanting to be around anyone right now. Surprisingly, he didn't pull away—he didn't really react either. He just nonchalantly wrapped his arms around her and buried his head into her shoulder.

"I don't understand anything."

"I thought we just read the whole story," Mal responded in confusion.

"I understand what happened. But I don't know how, how could they do this to me?" Ben's voice was breaking. "To Ginny?! To my unborn sibling?"

"As much as I want to make this all make sense to you, Ben, that's something only you can answer for yourself. They're your parents, and only you can understand them like no one else."

"Apparently I can't! I was too stupid to see that they've never loved me for who I was. They tampered with my soul. They removed my dark side. I mean, they basically- they basically made me half a man, Mal!"