Ben had been sitting at his desk with a pile of paperwork (he wasn't sure if it was school of kingdom related) throughout the whole afternoon, trying to get some of if done. However, being the new king still in school required a lot from him and Ben had lost his focus halfway through the pile. He was now making small scribbles in the corner of the paper in front of him, a habit he had picked from Mal. Of course her doodles were better than his though, he just made random lines, shapes and smudges.
Suddenly there was a knock on his door. Ben quickly sat up straight and scattered some of the papers on top of his desk so it seemed he had been working.
-It's open. – He said with his eyes pasted on the mess in front of him.
-Hey. – A familiar voice called from the door after it opened. Ben turned his head and smiled as Mal closed the door behind her. – Do you know what time it is? – She asked crossing her arms and giving him an accusatory glare.
The young king frowned in confusion until realization hit him. A quick glance to his digital watch mad his jaw drop. 10:55 PM. He was supposed to have met her almost an hour ago to walk together to the cafeteria and Ben never missed his commitments.
Thankfully, Mal's frown dropped as she started laughing, making her way to him.
-You should have seen your face. – The purple haired smirked, standing right behind her boyfriend and resting her hands on his shoulders Ben relaxed into his seat and sighed in relief. At least she wasn't upset but he should apologize nonetheless.
-Sorry Mal. I was so busy with this… - He gestured to the pile of papers on his desk. – And I lost track of time.
-It's okay. – She said calmly, sitting on his lap. Ben snaked hi arms around her waist. – Besides, no one on the Isle arrives on time, I'm used to it. – Mal smiled reassuringly, like it was no big deal.
"You shouldn't be." Thought Ben. Mal, as well as the rest of the children from the Isle of the Lost, shouldn't be mistreated and disrespected as they were by their parents and other villains, and even some people in Auradon, just because they were born on the Isle. Ben knew it wasn't his fault, but that injustice was partially his parents doing and the young kids couldn't help but feel responsible.
Noticing his the guilt on her boyfriend's face, Mal understood that it wasn't just his paperwork worrying him so she ran a hand though his hair to get his attention, making Ben look down at her.
-I'm not upset and you shouldn't either. Besides, I know you have… Tons of work to do. – The purple haired laughed. Maybe avoiding the matter for now was for the best. Ben laughed too and pulled Mal a bit closer. – Seriously now, this is too much for just one person. Don't you have anyone who can help you?
-Technically yes, I could ask my advisors but they don't do this stuff for me. And here between us, they are a tad boring. – He said, making Mal laugh. – And I could ask my parents but… I want to prove I'm a capable king. – Ben admitted, looking out the window.
Mal knew what he meant, she had once wanted to prove herself to mother too. She would be more than happy if she managed to make Maleficent proud. However, Ben came along and showed her that she didn't need to follow her mother's path to be happy. He had given her and her friends a chance of a better life and was the first one to show them something they had never be shown by their parents: kindness. But most importantly, Ben taught Mal how to love and follow her heart, make her own decisions and follow her own path to find happiness. And for that, Mal would be forever thankful.
-You are already are a wonderful king. – She said softly. Ben smiled at her words. It wasn't often that she praised other people, even him. – But even kings need help sometimes. – Mal picked up one of the papers on his desk and analyzed it carefully.
Ben, however, was occupied looking with amazement at his girlfriend. If someone had told him, two months ago, that Maleficent's daughter would be in his arms, telling him supportive words, Ben would have said it was highly unlikely but now he couldn't be happier at how things had turned out.
-Thanks Mal. – Ben leaned and kissed the girl's cheek, making her giggle, something she'd been doing more often.
-Don't thank me yet. – The purple haired smiled, still looking at the sheet of paper in her hands. – I think I can help you with this one.
Ben took the paper from her hands and looked at it for a moment. It was still empty request for the Isle kids who would be transferred to Auradon in a couple of weeks.
The young king had meant to fill it out earlier but he didn't know what kids to pick. Both he and Mal knew that after the incident at Ben's coronation, the people had been (even more) reluctant to have even more villain kids come to Auradon. Sure, Mal, Jay, Evie and Carlos turned good but who could say for sure that the next batch of kids would too? Who could be sure they didn't bring another evil plan, a bigger and better one to take down Auradon? As king, Ben had to make sure his kingdom was safe but also wanted to be fair to those children so choosing the most likely to not have an evil plan was the best option. But how could he do that when he didn't even knew them?
Then it hit him. He didn't knew them, but Mal did.
-Do you happen to know any… calm kids? – Ben asked. Mal thought for a moment before turning to him.
-Well… We don't have "calm" to make people trust us. – She said with a just a tad of sadness, almost unnoticeable but Ben detect it.
She had said "us" as in "our kind" referring to all the children from the Isle, not only herself and her friends. Yes, even after they had embraced goodness, there were still people who thought that was just a façade. Ben tucked a strand of her purple hair behind her ear as a comforting gesture.
-I'm sure you'll win everyone's trust, we just need to be patient. – Ben hugged a bit tighter in reassurance and Mal smiled, thankful to have him by her side. She leaned back and rested her head in his shoulder.
-Yeah well… We do have the next best thing. – She said. – They call themselves "The Troublemakers."
Ben gave her a confused look, just the name worried him and he mentally urged Mal to elaborate.
-Back on the Isle, they were our rivals and… Yeah, they're might not be the easiest people to handle but that's because they don't listen to anyone, not even their parents. – Mal explained.
-So, because they don't listen to anyone, even if their parents had a plan, they wouldn't follow it?
-If they don't feel like it, which probably would be the case because they don't like rules and people telling them what to do. – Mal shrugged. – It is very frustrating for their parents but pretty much leave them alone because their rebellious attitudes fit the Isle standards… Except for one thing... – Mal trailed off and bit her lower lip nervously before continuing – They are allegedly friends.
Ben looked confused. What was the harm of being allegedly friends? But them he understood. Villains saw friendship as a weakness. Mal was mostly embarrassed because she knew they'd been calling it the right name all along. She wasn't proud of once having laughed at them because of their friendship when now she couldn't live without her friends and her boyfriend.
-I think it's worth a shot. – Ben said to avoid focusing on the matter for too long for Mal's sake. – What are their names? – He asked picking up his pen, ready to fill out the request in front of him.
-Francis Facilier, Billy Black, Harley of Hearts and Vicky West. – The purple haired listed as Ben wrote down the names.
The young king then took a better look at them once he finished. The children of Doctor Facilier, Black Beard, Queen of Heart, and the Wicked Witch of the West, who would have thought?
-Don't judge a book by its cover, hun? – Mal laughed Ben's surprised face.
-When have I done that? – He asked rhetorically and they shared a laugh. – Thanks for your help Mal.
-You're welcome your majesty. – The purple haired smirked. She only called him that for the sake of teasing, as well as other names. – Now c'mon, I'm starving. – Mal stood up and started pulling her boyfriend by the hand.
Ben smiled at her as he got up and the two made their way to the cafeteria hand in hand. Maybe asking for help wasn't such a bad idea, and asking for her help wasn't at all a bad idea, they got to spend some more time together which had been difficult due to the young king's new and old duties.
So yeah, kings did need help sometimes, the key was finding the right person to help them and Ben was more and more sure that, for him, the right person was Mal.
Yeah…I don't really know what I did here. First I wanted to do a Bal one shot, then I got an idea for new characters and then I ended up doing this: The first of my Descendants series. Please be nice, it's my first Descendants fanfic. Also, I won't mind if you review, say what you think of the story and my writing, or just to say hi (hint hint?)
I don't know when the second one will be done but hopefully soon.
Have a good day