A/N: Hi all! I'm back. I know I said I was going to update three chapters at a time but I've only had time to edit one. This chapter is one of the longest I have ever written for anything. The contents for this had been swimming around in my brain for quite a while. I was happy with the way it turned out. This chapter originally over 13,000 words long but I was able to cut out over a 1,000. Now, I got a comment in a review for one of the previous chapters about one of the dwarfs not agreeing with Ben's proclamation. Please keep in mind that it has been a while since I read Isle of the Lost and I simply forgot that Grumpy I think it was, agreed with Ben. Also, this story is slightly AU from the contents of the film, the novels and Wicked World.

This chapter introduces a few of the parents and Rayna, an OC who is Tiana and Naveen's daughter. Take a guess as who she is named after. Be sure to comment on who you think Rayna is named after. There is also a couple of mentions to Freddie in this chapter. She will pop up very soon and I can't wait for you guys to know what she gets up to when she re-enters Auradon.

One last thing, I was also asked by a couple of people, whether Jay and Lonnie were going to be an item in this story and unfortunately, I have to say no. I was never a fan of them as a pairing and I'm not really a fan of Jay and Audrey together either but I can give or take it. I see Jay falling for a girl who is TOTALLY out of his league. This chapter addresses that a little bit but will go into further detail in later chapters.

Enjoy!


Chapter Four: Summer


The rest of the school year had come and gone like any other year had. The excitement of Ben's coronation and the arrival of Mal and her friends from the Isle of the Lost had been two of the biggest highlights of the year. For most though, summer was always the biggest highlight.

"I cannot believe we're spending our first summer in Auradon!" Evie squealed with excitement.

She and Mal were sitting in the Cathedral courtyard under the shade of a large tree watching Carlos sweat it out as he taught Dude new tricks.

Mal hadn't put much thought into the summer break.

Summer back on the Isle of the Lost was nothing compared to summer in Auradon. On the island, summer wasn't … well, summer-like. It was never hot or humid and there had never once been a true sunny day.

Now that Evie had brought the subject up, Mal had to admit spending her first summer in Auradon wouldn't be so bad seeing as she would probably spend most of it with Ben. She could almost sigh dreamily at the idea of spending the whole time getting Ben to relax and not stress about anything that involved Auradon for a while.

"Earth to Mal! Earth to Mal!"

Mal snapped out of her daze at the sound of Jay's voice. She hadn't realised he had joined them. "Huh? Sorry, Jay. I didn't know you were sitting there."

"He's been sitting there for ten minutes, M," Evie frowned. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Mal said, clearing her throat. "What were you saying, Jay?"

"I just asked what you were doing during the summer." Jay frowned.

Mal shrugged. "Spending the whole time with Ben, I guess."

"Ah, yes," Evie said. "Your first summer as the girlfriend of the new King of Auradon."

"What about you, Ev?" Jay asked Evie. "I thought you were going with Doug to meet his family."

"I was but we decided to put it off." Evie said with a disappointed sigh.

"Why?" Carlos asked as he walked over with Dude.

"Well, I didn't want to start any unnecessary fights among the dwarfs. After all, my mom tried to kill Snow White."

"So you declined?" Mal questioned.

Evie shrugged. "Doug mentioned something to me before he left for the summer."

"And what was that?" Mal asked.

"He said that his dad and his uncles are paranoid."

"About?" Jay prodded.

"This is going to sound really hypocritical and stupid," Evie started slowly. "Doug told me he got a text message from his dad telling him that Ben told him and the other dwarfs during a council meeting that Doug and I were going out."

"Yeah, so?" Mal said, clearly confused now. Ben had told her about that council meeting. "Ben had to. The council of sidekicks was criticizing us and I mean the four of us."

"I'm not blaming Ben," Evie said defensively. "But since that meeting and Dopey's text, Doug has had to report all our dates to his father to approve of first." She scoffed in disgust.

Mal didn't seem at all put out by Evie's tone. She knew Evie didn't mean any offense but there was some part of her that wanted to be offended.

"Does Dopey ask for specifics?" Jay prompted.

Evie threw him a dirty look.

"Knock it off, Jay." Mal hissed.

The friends sat in silence for a moment.

"Come on guys," Carlos said. "We've only been on summer break less then twenty-four hours and we're already at each others' throats. Can we please make this first summer a memorable one?"

Mal, Evie and Jay bowed their heads. They couldn't deny Carlos anything. He was the youngest of the group and he had the biggest heart of them all. He had really come out of his element this past year and that was all thanks to Jane.

Mal, unable to take the tension any longer, groaned. She got to her feet, picked up her sketchbook and pencil before sliding her bare feet into her sandals and stormed off.


"Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?" Ben repeated as he raided his wardrobe. He threw things over his shoulder, not bothering to see where they landed.

The door to his bedroom opened revealing Gia. "Ben? What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Ben went to move his head but bumped it on something above him. "Ah! Ow!"

"Have you seen the book I borrowed from mom's library last week?" he asked.

Gia walked over to the nightstand and picked up the two books that were sitting on top. "Which one?" she teased. "Les Misérables or Oliver Twist?" She held them up.

Ben gave her a hard look. "Very funny." He walked over and grabbed Oliver Twist. "I have spent the entire morning looking for this."

"Let me guess," Gia snorted. "Your mother wants it back in its rightful place?"

"Yeah." Ben admitted as he headed to the door.

Gia put Les Misérables back on the nightstand and followed the king to the door. "Wait a second." She and Ben turned to see the pigsty that was currently Ben's bedroom. Wrinkling her nose and raising her hand, she chanted, "Reverse this mess to its former reservoir." Just like that, the room became spotless. Not a thing was out of place.

Ben looked at her, amused. "I thought you didn't think highly of verbal spells."

"Normally I don't but seeing as I've been hanging out with that girlfriend of yours so much lately, I thought I'd give it a shot."

Ben placed a hand on her shoulder.

"So, where are you headed after you return that?" Gia pointed to the book in the king's hand.

"I was thinking of heading to the Enchanted Lake." Ben replied with an easy smile.

"Ah, the place that holds the most special memory of all. Your first date with Mal."

"So you have been listening to me." Ben smiled.

"I aim to please." Gia grinned as she flourished her hands.

"You're more then welcome to come with me."

Gia thought for a moment. "You know what?" she said. "I think I will. Got nothing else to do."

"Great. I'll see you outside." Once outside the door, the pair parted ways with Ben heading for his mother's library and Gia heading back to her room.


Evie, Jay and Carlos were frantic. They had looked everywhere for Mal and couldn't find her.

They arrived at the castle just in time to see Ben and Gia walk down the stairs.

"Ben! Gia!" Evie called to their friends.

"Hey Ev. Carlos. Jay. What's up?" Ben greeted as he and Gia stepped closer to the trio.

"Have you seen Mal?" Carlos asked, his tone defining how worried he was.

"No, why?" Ben asked.

"We had a bit of a… disagreement with her earlier," Jay explained. "She got the shits with us and stormed off."

Ben and Gia look at each other, thoughtfully.

"We think we might know where she is," Gia stated. "Come on."

Jay, Evie and Carlos turned around and headed after them.


Mal sat on the ruins of the stone gazebo with her sketchbook in her hands. She froze before relaxing when a familiar set of arms wrapped around her.

"Miss me?" Ben breathed in her ear.

Mal giggled as Ben pulled her into his lap. "How'd you find me?"

"It was pretty easy to guess," Ben told her as she put her sketchbook down next to him. "I hope you don't mind but I brought company."

As if on cue, Gia walked dressed in denim shorts and a black tank top into the clearing followed by Evie.

"Wow! This place is beautiful."

A bark sounded and Dude ran into the clearing.

"Way to keep us in the dark about this place, Ben." Jay said as he and Carlos entered the clearing, being mindful or Dude chasing after his ball.

Dude paddled back and climbed up onto the stone base of the gazebo and dropped the wet ball in Mal's lap.

Picking the ball up, Mal threw it, causing Dude to bark and chase it again.

Gia plopped down a little ways away from Ben and Mal and pulled a book out of her bag.

Evie lay down in the sunniest spot she can find while Jay pulled off his shirt.

From where she was sitting, Gia blushed but kept her head down.

Carlos paid no attention to anything going on around him and threw the ball into the water for Dude again.

Gia's head suddenly, an idea forming in her head. Slamming her book shut, she stuffed it back into her bag and slipped her sandals off. She jumped up and headed for the hidden path that lead to jump Rock.

Gia's sudden disappearance caught Ben's interest. "G?" he called. "Where'd you go?"

"Up here!"

Ben and Mal looked up to see Gia now standing at the top of the rock.

Mal couldn't help but laugh as Ben had been standing in the very same spot on their first date. That was when she had teased him about the little crowns on his shorts.

Jay, Carlos and Evie were now paying attention.

"You have got to be kidding." Carlos muttered.

"Is she gonna jump?" Jay asked Ben.

"Just watch." Ben muttered.

Gia stepped further out on the rock and started to do sweeping hand gestures, causing the water to rise up out of the lake before dropping back down. She even started to hum what sounded suspiciously like 'Let it Go'.

"No!" Ben yelled up to her. "ANYTHING but that!"

Gia cackled wickedly. "Make me Benjamin!" she continued to hum the song, despite the fact that it was incredibly off-key.

"You're going to pay for that." Ben called to her. Mal slid out of his lap so that he could stand up.

Pulling off his own t-shirt, Ben bolted up the short path up to the rock.

There was minimal room on the rock for Ben to stand once he reached the top.

With Gia preoccupied in her little act, Ben took the short amount of time he had to come up with a plan to get her down off the rock without minimal injury.

Mal took the time to admire Ben. She still could not believe that the king with the strapping good looks and perfect body was actually her boyfriend.

"Eyes on the prize, M. Eyes on the prize." Evie muttered in her ear, causing Mal to jump in surprise. Mal turned her head to see Evie point toward the rock.

Ben knocked Gia's legs out from under her so that he was cradling her before he threw her over his shoulder.

Gia kicked, screamed and threatened to curse him if he even thought about throwing her into the water.

Getting down from the rock was an issue with the extra weight Ben now was now carrying. He held Gia's legs so she didn't kick him in the chest as he moved down the path and reappeared on the main path to the gazebo. Walking past Mal and Evie, Ben carried a still screaming and cursing Gia over to Jay who took her without a second thought.

"Put me down! Put me down!" Gia continued to scream.

Jay simply smirked and threw her with all the strength he could muster.

Gia was sent flying (and screaming) through the air. She hit the water with a mighty splash.

"I cannot believe you did that!" Mal said going over to hit Jay in the chest. "We're suppose to be good and you've just gone and ruined it!"

In the water, Gia kicked her way to the surface. She gasped as she swam her way to the concrete slab. Carlos helped to pull her up onto the concrete. "Thanks Carlos." She said kindly.

"Are you okay?" Evie asked as she hurried over to check Gia for injuries.

"I'm fine, Ev." Gia chuckled as she allowed Evie to check her over.

"As long as you're sure." Mal said, stepping over to join her best friend.

Gia turned her gaze on Ben and Jay who were struggling not to laugh. She could feel her eyes flash green in anger. "Do. NOT. Do. That. Again!" she spat.

"Come on, G," Jay sniggered. "We were only having a bit of fun."

Raising her hand in Jay and Ben's direction, Gia made them rise into the air.

The wind suddenly picked up speed, blowing everybody's hair into disarray.

With a sweeping second hand gesture, Gia hurled the boys through the air. The force of the gesture was so strong that it threw both Ben and Jay into the water.

The others were surprised they weren't getting wet.

"How are we not getting wet?" Carlos asked.

"I've got a shield spell in force." Gia said simply. She then turned to Mal. "Mal, can you please dry me off?"

"Sure."Mal did a sweeping hand gesture. A moment later, Gia was dry

"Thanks." Gia said with a sigh.

Behind the Carlos and Evie, Ben and Jay surfaced.

"Was that really necessary?" Ben yelled.

"Yes!" Gia called over her shoulder as she stormed over to grab her bag.

"Aren't you going to dry us off?" Jay yelled.

"Nope." Mal shook her head as Ben and Jay pulled themselves out of the water. She turned with Evie, Carlos and Dude following her out of the clearing.


The group arrived back at the castle to find Adam and Belle waiting for them.

"Hi mom. Dad." Ben said a little nervously. "What's up?"

"'What's up?'" Echoed Adam. "We'll tell you 'what's up'. Gia just stomped into the library fuming because Jay threw her into the Enchanted Lake." The former king's eyes floated over to Jafar's son before going to his own son.

"She then went on to tell us that you, Ben, picked up her up and carried her back to the gazebo so that Jay could throw her in."

"It didn't go down quite like that." Ben said awkwardly.

"Whatever the case," Adam went on coolly. "It is never to happen again."

Ben gulped. "It's not like I provoked it. I – we were just having fun with her."

"Well, clearly," Belle said sternly. "Gia doesn't see it that way."

Ben bowed his head, shamefully. He hated disappointing his parents. But most of all, he hated disappointing his mother.

"Go up and apologise to her," Adam said pointing to the castle doors. His eyes then returned to Jay. "Both of you."

"Yes, sir." Jay said before he followed Ben up the stairs.

Adam and Belle issued apologetic smiles to Mal, Evie and Carlos.

"We must apologize for Ben's behavior. He's not normally this reckless. We really don't know what's come over him." Belle said.

"It's fine, Belle," Mal said, giving her boyfriend's mother a smile. "Everyone's prone to reckless outbursts. We all still have them from time to time."

Evie and Carlos smiled and nodded.


Ben and Jay walked silently side-by-side as they sought out Gia's room.

"Here we are." Ben murmured as they stopped outside Gia's room. Jay stopped and motioned for Ben to knock.

The king did as requested and knocked. When no response came, he opened the door.

Gia stood at her floor-length mirror examining the sample dress that Evie had given her a week ago to try out but hadn't gotten around to trying on. She looked over to the door to see that Ben and Jay had stuck their heads in.

"Get out." She said her voice was poisonous enough to make Ben's skin crawl.

"Dad sent us up." Ben said as he and Jay slipped into the room.

"I bet he did." Gia turned back to her mirror.

"We came to apologize, Your Ladyship." Jay said sincerely.

Gia snorted. "Has Fairy Godmother been teaching the VKs chivalry?"

"He's being serious, Gia." Ben said using his best voice of reason.

Gia turned to face Ben and concentrated on accessing his thoughts.

Gone were the thoughts of Mal and in were the apologetic thoughts that now flooded Ben's mind. While the thoughts weren't exactly overwhelming, they were a little… under-baked. However, when had Gia ever been able stay mad at Ben?

Allowing her shoulder tension to lessen, Gia allowed her head to lull to the side as if she was observing her foster brother and Mal's friend. She groaned and rolled her eyes. "You are both forgiven… for now." She eyed them both for a moment before heading over to her mirror-less vanity and grabbed one of the earring clips that were sitting on the table and clipped it over the outer part of her ear. She picked up the other one and did the same with the other ear.

"You know I love you Ben, right?"

"Ah, yeah." Ben nodded.

"You're my little brother in all but blood but I would really appreciate it if you never breathe a word of what happened to anyone outside our little group and your parents. Clear?"

"Got it." Ben nodded.

Gia turned to Jay. "Jay?"

"Oh, ah, yes, Your Highness." Jafar's son bowed his head.

Gia laughed. "Cute. Really cute."

"My lady?" Jay frowned.

"Cut the Formalities. You know as well as Ben does that I am not a royal by birth."

"I know but you're Belle and Adam's ward so that makes you royal, in a good sense of the word."

Gia hadn't expected to be as flattered as she thought. "You forget I'm adopted by former monarchs. I'm no more their daughter then I follow the path of evil."

"Mom and dad love you, G," Ben said gently. "To them, you are their daughter."

Gia had always known Belle and Adam loved her as their own but sometimes she wondered if they were just being nice to her because Belle had been friends with her mother.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Jay pulled his phone of his phone out of the pocket of his jeans and read the message on the lock screen.

"What is it?" Ben asked upon seeing his friend frown.

"Evie says your mom wants to see us." Jay said turning to Ben. He then turned back to Gia. "You have to come too. It's not a request. It's a demand."

Gia rolled her eyes. "Well, what are we waiting for? We don't want to keep Belle waiting." She turned to walk towards the boys, taking Ben's arm before the trio headed for the door.


Ben, Gia and Jay found Mal, Evie and Carlos in the throne room with Belle and Adam.

"What's going on?" Ben asked his parents as he, Jay and Gia entered.

"Your father and I are going to the Summer Palace for a few weeks. Since you've chosen to stay here for the summer, we just wanted to say our goodbyes." Belle said. She wasn't angry anymore with Ben, which was a great relief.

"Have fun." Gia said as she and Ben stepped forward to hug Belle and Adam.

"We will and if any of you ever need a break throughout the summer, please call before you come and join us."

The villain kids exchanged smiles.

"Gia, my dear," Adam said. "If you will."

Gia stepped away from Ben and waved her hand at Belle and Adam making them disappear.

"Wow," Mal said impressed. "A transportation spell. You have to teach me how to do that."

Everyone in the room laughed.

Ben stepped to Mal's side, wrapping an arm around her.

"Transportation spells are… tricky," Gia said with a curt nod "But nonetheless, I can teach you."

"More school work? Summer has only just begun." Ben said in mock disbelief.

Gia glared at him. "I wasn't going to teach Mal now, Benjamin," Gia said teasingly. "When school returns for the year I will."

Ben blinked and shook his head. "Ouch, headache."

"Oh stop complaining Benny-boo." Mal laughed as she punched him in the shoulder.

Jay, Carlos and Evie rolled their eyes in annoyance.

Ben cringed as Mal's fist connected with his shoulder. Who knew a girl could punch so hard? Yet, he had grown up with Gia.


"Sorry for punching you before." Mal apologised as she walked hand-in-hand with Ben across the Cathedral Courtyard.

"It's okay," he smiled. "I grew up with Gia, remember?"

"Ah, yes. She-who-knows-karate."

Ben snorted. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It's not," Mal laughed. "I never thought a villain-turned-hero child would need to know defense techniques."

"Well, when you're the child of a villain you need such defenses to show you aren't weak." Ben debated.

"Oh. Gia's not weak. She's a strong chick, I'll give her that." Mal said in amusement.

"I agree." Ben chuckled.

They walked in silence for a moment before Ben pulled her to him. Mal giggled as Ben kissed her forehead. She smiled as she rested her head against his chest, his arms tightening around her. The couple stood that way for an even long moment, just happy to be together.

Mal had never felt happiness the way she did when she was around Ben. He had shown her so much and yet, she wondered why he would even consider being with her when there were other worthy girls, notably princesses out there that were more worthy. Audrey had been right about one thing: Ben really was too trusting. He had had taken a gamble in inviting her and her friends to Auradon and it had almost unraveled.

She thought back to her time on the Isle of the Lost and her childhood and wondered what it would have been like if her mother had actually cared about her. Had Maleficent ever loved her? Was the Mistress of Evil's current size a reflection on her love for Mal or for herself? Mal didn't want to know. She had enough love surrounding her with her true family. Ben. Evie. Jay. Carlos. Lonnie. Jane. Doug. Mal knew how much they all loved her.

She had formed a sisterly bond with Evie who had become her main confidante when it came to her relationship with Ben and with fashion. Evie had even been willing to go to her when she had trouble with her cupcakes. She hadn't thought about the cupcake/digi-image incident in a while.

First Evie's cupcakes had exploded all over Audrey and then Ben had told Mal that the cupcake incident had put her digi-image in jeopardy as the photo of Audrey covered in cupcake had been tagged under the hashtag: Princess-aster. So much for making it up to Sleeping Beauty's daughter with a 'harmless' painting of Audrey as her mother. Then there was the whole backfiring spell Jane had cast on Audrey's hair. Talk about Audrey having issues with the VKs. It was obvious that Sleeping Beauty's daughter was jealous.

The bond Mal had with Carlos and Jay was similar to the one she shared with Evie. They were protective of her but they didn't dish out advice so Mal didn't ask. She already knew that they had given Ben a 'stern' talking to.

While she might not have been the forgiving type before her adventures in Auradon, Mal had forgiven Jane for her cruel comment during the aftermath of Family Day. She knew she was to blame for Jane's ego going to the daughter of the Fairy Godmother's head. She was surprised that Jane and Fairy Godmother had forgiven her at all. As a token of her forgiveness, Mal had returned Jane's hair back to the way it had been before the Family Day drama.

Ben looked down at Mal to see that her eyes were closed and a smile had taken its place on her face. In the short time he had known her, he had very quickly realised that she knew how to keep him on his toes. From the flirting to the little recent acts of devotion, Ben knew Mal was the one for him. Sure, she was the daughter of one of Auradon's greatest enemies but what did he care? He was in love.

He had seen the goodness in Mal from the start and he knew that he had been smitten with her the moment he had seen her in the dream he'd had months earlier.

"Answer this for me," Ben said finally causing Mal to look up. "How would you feel if Gia taught you to control your magic?"

Mal thought about that for a moment. "But I know how to control my magic."

"I know that but maybe Gia can teach you good magic."

"If you're talking about the digi-image thing and the painting of Audrey that I did, I think it was one of my best works," Mal caught the look of seriousness on Ben's face. "And yet I apologised." She said smoothly. "Isn't that enough?"

Ben pursed his lips. "Anyway, what do you think?"

"I think it might be handy." Mal said begrudgingly.

Ben smiled inwardly. He knew Mal felt uneasy about someone else helping her with her magic.

"You'll be in good hands." Ben promised as he gave her a tight squeeze.

"How does it work exactly?" Mal asked.

"How does what work?" Ben asked in confusion.

"How does the whole magic locket thing work? Auradon doesn't have that much magic does it?" Mal elaborated.

Ben bit his lip. "There are only a select few who have access to magic but not all of them use it. It is used sparingly."

"Like Fairy Godmother used her wand at your coronation?" Mal guessed.

"Something like that. Gia's locket, it's a little bit different."

"How?"

"Well, like it was mentioned before, Gia was born mortal and was given the locket when she was a year old."

"To serve you as your majordomo." Mal put in.

"Yeah, don't interrupt." Ben scolded with a smile.

Mal went silent and returned her head to Ben's chest.

"Gia only has access to magic via her locket. Without it, she's powerless but there could be a chance that because she has been wearing it for so long, her magic could be engrained in her DNA."

"Is that even possible?" Mal asked.

"Fairy Godmother seems to think so."

"What does mean exactly?"

"I would assume that any children she has in the future would be born with magic in their DNA as opposed to having artificial magical abilities."

"Artificial." Mal snorted in amusement. "Nice."

"There's a lot about magic you aren't aware of. If you're willing to try, Gia can teach you." Ben knew that talking Mal into something was useless but he had to try.

"I never thought anyone would ask me to learn magic. I always assumed that because I had magic I would be able to control it."

"Dark magic you would be able to control because it's who you are. Good magic is something you're still learning." Ben told her knowingly.

"You've been planning this talk a while, haven't you?" Mal asked an eyebrow rising.

"What would you do if I said yes?"

Mal smiled and leaned up to kiss him.

"So much for me making the first move." Ben murmured in her ear.

Mal smiled against his shoulder. "You tried and failed." She whispered playfully in return.

Ben kissed her forehead again before moving his arm to rest around her shoulders. "Come on, let's go find the others."


Evie sat on the floor of her and Mal's dorm room with a roll of fabric and a look of determination on her face. Carlos, Jay and Gia all sat watching her.

The roll of fabric was a sparkly purple (Mal's favorite shade).

"Hey guys." Ben greeted as he pulled Mal into the room by the hand.

"Hey." The four on the floor replied half-heartedly.

"Wow," Mal said flatly. "I have never seen any of you look quite so…"

"Determined." Ben finished for her.

Evie threw Mal a look of distaste that Maleficent's daughter simply ignored.

"Please don't tell me that whatever you're making, E is for me." Mal said, grimacing at the sight of the sparkly roll of fabric.

"Relax, M. It's not for you." Evie said prompting Mal to sigh in relief. "It's for Lady Gia."

All eyes turned to Gia.

"Me?" Gia frowned.

"Yeah, your Set It Off routine with Ben and his parents the night we," Evie pointed to Mal, Jay, Carlos and to herself. "Returned to Auradon inspired me to help make costumes for the Auradon City Dance Company."

Ben bowed his head to hide the fact that he was smiling.

"That's so sweet of you, Ev." Gia cooed.

"I spoke to the royal seamstresses and they were kind enough to give me your measurements." Evie smiled.

"Remind me to go to you for a wedding dress whenever and if I ever get married." Gia laughed.

Evie squealed with glee at the idea and clapped her hands before returning to her work.

Carlos had moved from the floor to the desk and was tinkering with something.

"What's that?" Mal asked turning to Carlos.

"A new remote control for the TV in the Student Lounge."

"What happened to the one in the Student Lounge?" Ben asked.

"Someone broke it," Jay said. "And before you start accusing us, it wasn't. Carlos decided to make a better one."

"What's everybody up to this weekend?" Ben asked, ignoring Jay's explanation.

"I was hoping to get Dude to master our newest routine." Carlos said from the desk.

"Which is?" Jay snorted.

"The rollover, drop and play dead." Carlos said simply.

"That's what that was? I thought it was just as series of rollovers." Mal teased.

Carlos ignored her and continued to tinker.

"I'm staying here," Evie sighed. "I've got plenty of sewing to keep me occupied for like two years."

"Jay?" Mal said turning to Jay.

"Just chillin'." Jay said with a smooth gesture of his hands.

Gia snorted. "Really? That's not exactly a weekend worthy plan."

"And about you, my lady?" Jay said flirtatiously.

Gia merely stared at him, an eyebrow shooting up her forehead. "I have two days worth of meetings with allianced kingdoms."

"Meetings?" Mal said, confused. "I thought Ben had to be present for any meetings."

Gia pursed her lips and shook her head. "Nope. A majordomo can temporarily take a monarch's place within a political meeting. Just ask Cogsworth and Zazu. Normally it's best if a monarch is over the age of eighteen."

"I didn't exactly sign up to be king," Ben said. "Dad could have waited until I was eighteen but no, he put his foot down and said, 'No, you're becoming king at sixteen. I want an early retirement.'" He rolled his eyes.

"How kingly of you to roll your eyes." Mal giggled.

"Yeah, well, he's right," Gia said as she jumped to her feet. "I had best get ready. First meeting's in an hour and if I'm not ready, they're going to be cutting into me and blaming my lateness and lack of style on Ben."

"Who're you facing?" Jay asked.

"The Charmings, Aurora, Philip, Stefan and Leah. Go figure." Gia rolled her eyes.

"Anyone else?" Evie asked as she picked up a pair of scissors and started cutting. "Yeah, Queen Tiana and King Naveen who both incredibly lovely and of course, Aladdin and Jasmine, Agrabah's Sultan and Sultana."

Jay perked up at the mention of his father's enemies. "What are they like?"

"Who?" Gia asked.

"Aladdin and Jasmine."

"They're lovely people. You already know their son, Aziz." Ben said.

"I do?" Jay frowned in confusion.

"He's on the Tourney Team with us. He's number eleven." Carlos said, putting down his screwdriver.

"Oh him! Yeah, I thought he looked familiar."

"I'll leave you guys to it. See you later." Gia and turned to left the dorm.

"Bye." The group chorused just as the door closed behind her.

After a moment, Carlos returned to his tinkering while Jay looked around awkwardly. He caught the look Ben was giving him.

"What?" Jafar's son said, frowning.

"You're in love with Gia." Ben said bluntly.

Evie, Mal and Carlos looked over to see the varying expressions that passed over Jay's face. They knew he could deny everything but even they knew there he couldn't keep his feelings bottled up forever.

Jay looked at Ben. "You're not going to give me the 'brother talk', are you?" he asked nervously.

Evie and Mal gasped.

Carlos looked over to see that Jay had gone incredibly pale.

"I won't unless you want me to." Ben said sincerely.

"We want deets," Mal cooed excitedly. "Out with it." She all but ordered.

Jay rolled his eyes. Mal had come a long way since their days as the top villainous offspring on the Isle of the Lost. "You really do sound like your mom." He muttered.

"Why thank you." She beamed.

"I've had the attraction to her from the moment she and Ben welcomed us back."

"And you've never acted on it?" Ben asked.

"How could I?" Jay said. "She's out of my league. She's the Lady of Auradon and I'm Jafar's riffraff son."

Ben and Mal exchanged looks.

Evie put down her scissors.

Carlos put his screwdriver down again.

"Jay, you are NOT out of Gia's league. I mean, look at me. I'm totally out of Ben's league and he still loves me." Mal looked over at Ben who nodded in argeement.

"Yeah, Doug loves me for simply being me." Evie put in.

"Jane and I are the same way." Carlos added.

"Ah," Mal said turning to Carlos. "You and Jane aren't official."

"We are going to make it official, Mal." Carlos clenched his jaw in annoyance. "We're just trying to work out when we can make the 'announcement'." Carlos did air quotation marks.

"Well, I don't see any point now," Evie said. "You've already told us and from I heard from Lonnie before she left for China, Jane told her mom so I would say it is pretty much official."

Carlos' shoulders slumped. "Well, okay then."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure Fairy Godmother is thrilled to know that her daughter is dating a VK." Mal joked.

"Mal, you aren't helping." Ben warned.

"It's fine," Carlos said brushing off the king's concern. "No one ever expects much from me. I'm nothing special."

"That's not true," Ben said. "You are special in your own unique way."

"He's right, C. You are special." Mal said. "Jane is special because she knows how to pick a good guy." She issued Carlos with a kind smile.

"Thanks guys." Carlos said. "You guys are the greatest."


Gia made her way towards the council chamber dressed in the lightest sundress she owned. Sure, royalty had raised her but she was nothing more then a pauper. Adam might have given her the title of Lady of Auradon when he and Belle had adopted her.

Sitting upon her slicked back black hair was a ceremonial silver circlet that she very rarely got to wear. It was custom for any ward, princess or queen to wear a circlet during ceremonies or meetings whenever they sat in the king's place. Adam had made sure it was protocol and he had made sure anyone that sat on any of the councils knew that.

When Ben was old enough to marry then his queen could lead the meetings but Gia knew that if Ben's queen happened to be Mal, those who hated the idea of a VK sitting at Ben's side would certainly try to start a war. Now was not the time to ponder on that. Ben was still a teenager, a child at best. Marriage wasn't on the cards for him, just yet. He still had high school and college to consider.

Stopping at the council chamber doors, she took a deep breath.

"Ready, ma'am?" Cogsworth asked politely.

"Yes, Cogsworth." Gia nodded.

Cogsworth pulled open the doors and announced her. "All rise for her Ladyship, Lady Gianna of Auradon."

The council rose; some of them were hesitant. Gia didn't need to look to know who the hesitaters were.

"Welcome all," Gia began as she stepped to the head of the table. "I know this must be a massive inconvenience to you all as it is now summer. There are better things to be done, I am sure."

"Where's Ben, my dear?" King Stefan asked kindly.

"He has other things to contend with which is why, I am heading today's meeting."

From his place next to his father, Chad snorted before muttering, "Yeah, probably screwing his villainous hag."

Gia's head shot up. "Is there something you wish to share, Chad?" she said, her voice acidic.

"No, my lady." Chad hissed.

Cinderella gave Gia a sympathetic look before giving her son a look of disgust.

Next to her mother, Audrey smirked.

Gia didn't miss the look on Audrey's face.

"Philip!" Gia hissed, her voice loud and demanding. "Please keep your bitch of a daughter under control."

"How dare you!" Queen Leah shrieked as she shot out of her chair. "How dare you insult my granddaughter?!"

"Your granddaughter is the reason I'm here, Leah." Gia barked. "She is the reason why Ben spent a week away from Mal." Gia then turned her rant on Charming. "And you, Charming. You ought to be ashamed. You raised a son that I know Ella is appalled to call her child." Gia turned, addressing the rest of the table. "A hero offspring should be kind, regal and just." Gia turned to Mulan and Shang. "Lonnie is the perfect example. She was willing to accept the fact that villain kids were going to be at Auradon Prep. She even took it upon herself to introduce herself and befriend them."

Mulan and Shang smiled. Their daughter had done them proud.

Gia's gaze turned to Chad and Audrey. "Take Lonnie's example to heart my dears because no one will dare bow to you when you reign."

Chad and Audrey bit back retorts. They had been taught, as monarchs-to-be that experience and kindness was everything.

Gia sat down. Queen Leah remained standing.

"Mother," Aurora murmured. "Please, sit down. You have said your part."

"I have not, my darling. Don't you remember that it was Mal's mother that put you under that sleeping curse?"

Gia looked between the mother and daughter.

"Grammy, please don't do this here." Audrey murmured. She had already been humiliated enough today.

"No, I will, Audrey. If that girl takes the throne as queen when Ben is ready to marry then there's going to be one hell of a war."

Gia shot out of her chair before she could stop herself. "You think threatening war before something has even happened is going to get you what you want?"

Chad rose out of his own chair. "What say do you have to say such a thing? You aren't even royalty and have no place among us."

"Chad!" shrieked Cinderella, grabbing her son's wrist in a vain attempt to get him to sit down.

"Enough please!" Jasmine cried. When her pleas were unsuccessfully heard, her husband patted her hand while Naveen and Tiana gave them sympathetic smiles.

Cinderella and the other council members who weren't participating in the verbal slinging match, looked visibly uncomfortable. They all admired Ben and they were willing to stand by him even if the Charming men and Aurora's family weren't.

For ten minutes, the argument continued.

Aladdin looked dizzy.

Jasmine looked nauseated and pale.

Mulan and Shang had their heads down, hoping to block out most of what was being said.

Tiana and Naveen looked about ready to throw things.

Cinderella sat back in her chair and shook her head.

Gia lowered herself into her chair and just listened to the words being slung back and forth like an out of control game of paintball. After another few minutes, she had had it with the arguing. "ENOUGH!" she boomed causing all around the table to cover their ears.

Once the room was quiet she sighed in relief. "That's better. Can we please," she clenched her teeth. "Start our meeting?"

Cinderella pushed Charming back into his seat.

Stefan gave his wife, son-in-law, daughter and granddaughter each a dirty look.

"Thank you Stefan for putting leashes on your family." Gia gave the aging former king a kind smile.

Stefan bowed his head, allowing himself to smile.

Stefan's family looked at each other and grumbled amongst themselves as they sat down.

"Fine," Charming snapped. "Let's get onto the main agenda."

Everyone at the table gave him pointed looks.

Gia sat at the ready with the pile of notes Ben had given her that morning.

"Okay, the reason why Ben called this meeting is to address the issue of what some parents are saying about the VKs."

Those opposed to the VKs rolled their eyes.

"We were just talking about that!" Leah hissed.

"No, we were talking about the way the VKs are being treated by many that are sitting at this table." Stefan interjected, looking at each of those opposing figures.

Leah leaned back in her chair, unhappy with the fact that her husband had stood up to her.

Gia forced back a grin. There was no doubting now that even after so many years, Stefan had finally learned to stand up to his wife.

"There is a difference." Mulan put in.

Leah turned to look at her, malice written all over her old face.

Mulan didn't seem fazed by Leah's look of malice. She had seen a lot of it during her time in the Chinese Army.

Score one for Team VK, Gia smirked as she sat back in her chair.

"What difference is there, Mulan?" Leah snapped.

"We all have enemies, yes. Your family's enemy is Maleficent NOT her daughter. Lonnie's mother turned to Cinderella and her family. "Ella, your enemy is your stepmother and stepsisters who are, thankfully on the Isle of the Lost. Your husband and son should have no reason to have anything against Mal and her friends."

"You know them by name?" Aurora exclaimed.

"Yes, for a matter of fact. I've met them and I've seen what my daughter has seen."

"And what was that?" Aurora raised her head defiantly.

"They have goodness within them. I've seen it. Mal and Evie are not their mothers. Sure, Mal looks like Maleficent but that's it. Ben dotes on her every word as does her friends. Evie is so sweet and gentle and bubbly. Carlos is a little shy but once you get to know him, he is kind and is willing to go above and beyond to help his friends."

"And what of Jay, Jafar's son?" Aladdin asked curiously. Jasmine nodded in agreement with her husband. Aziz had told them many things about Jafar's son.

"He's a delight, Aladdin. He's quick-witted, a bit of a lady's man but is a gentle giant. Aziz was right to speak highly of him. He's a bit like you, actually."

Aladdin allowed himself to smile.

Gia bowed her head, hiding the smirk that had formed on her face.

"Well, I certainly like the sound of them." Naveen said approvingly. "They sound like fun kids."

"They are fun kids, Naveen." Gia said. "If it wasn't for Ben inviting them here then many of the kids at Auradon Prep would not have learned what it's like to associate with villainous offspring."

It was good to see that Tiana and Naveen were on side. Their daughter, Rayna was one of Gia's best friends and had the same views as she did.

For the next two hours, the tension still hung in the air even as the topic changed to other more pressing issues.

By the time the meeting ended, Gia felt incredibly drained. She had kept all her rage bottled up. It was something she did a lot. It was painful but as Ben's majordomo Gia knew she had to keep up appearances.

While she hadn't been trained to be Ben's advisor, she had always had this urge to shield him whenever things got heated. She knew Cinderella had kept her end of the deal they had made. They'd tried keeping Ben out of it but they'd told him to keep his distance from Chad. Ben had asked why with Gia simply telling him she'd explain later.

Watching the meeting disperse from the room, Gia was surprised when Tiana and Naveen stopped next to her.

'That was a brave thing you did, Gia." Tiana said with a kind smile.

"You think so?" Gia asked.

"We know so." Naveen said, exchanging looks with his wife. "Your loyalty to Ben has never been questioned by any of us."

Gia looked to Tiana who nodded in agreement. "Naveen's correct, my dear. Ben is a great kid. Belle and Beast raised him right. Them raising you to be his advisor was a smart move." Tiana winked.

"Oh, and Rayna will be up tomorrow." Naveen said.

"She is?" Gia asked.

"She's missing you like crazy," Tiana said. "She's still a little put out that you didn't go to college with her."

"Yeah, well my duties as Ben's majordomo come first."

"We understand." Naveen said, placing a hand on Gia's shoulder.

"Rayna's incredibly proud of you. She even comments on how well you're handling things as Ben's advisor."

Gia allowed herself to smile. The way Belle and Adam had raised her had everything to do with her being Ben's majordomo. She couldn't have been more thankful to have such wonderful guardians.


Mal and Ben lay on the cool concrete of the stone gazebo at the Enchanted Lake. They had dismissed themselves from their friends a half hour earlier, after Jay and Carlos had gotten into an argument. Evie had tried to stop it but had ended up in the middle of it leaving Ben and Mal to get up and leave.

Mal's head rested on Ben's chest as they listened to the peaceful sounds of the lake moving down stream.

"I wish we could do this more often." Ben sighed.

Mal lifted her head and looked down at him and smiled. "So do I. We have the rest of the summer to do this."

"Yeah, but it won't last forever. We'll have to return to school sooner or later."

"Maybe we should have taken your parents' offer." Mal said as she sat up.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked.

"We could have gone with them to the Summer Palace." Mal elaborated.

"Bit late now." Ben said. "Gia isn't going to send us without letting my parents know first. You know what she's like. Rules and regulations."

"Then persuade her to let us go."

"How?"

Mal shrugged and quickly gave up her argument before returning her head to his chest. "Life sucks."

Ben laughed. "Says the girl that accidentally sent us, Evie and Audrey to the Isle of the Lost."

"That wasn't my fault. I didn't even know that it was going to turn into a wish that came off Jordan's lamp."

"That is why Gia has to teach you."

"Does she know she has to teach me?" Mal teased.

"No," Ben sighed. "But I have an idea that I think will benefit you both."

"And that is?"

"Not going to tell you. It's a surprise."

Mal groaned causing Ben to chuckle and kiss her forehead.


"Will you both shut up?!" Evie yelled at Carlos and Jay as they continued to argue.

The boys ignored her.

"…No, its mine!" Carlos yelled.

Evie looked between her two male friends before throwing up her hands. She couldn't spend one afternoon in her own dorm without Jay and Carlos ruining it.

"Okay, you know what?" she said as she got up and left the room.

Jay and Carlos didn't even acknowledge her as she left to the room and slammed the door shut.


Stomping down the corridor, Evie was surprised to find Ben and Mal coming towards her.

"Hey!" she greeted in a vain attempt not to show how flustered she was.

"Hi." Mal said. "How are Jay and Carlos now?"

Evie groaned. "Don't ask."

"That bad, huh?" Ben said.

"Where have you two been?" Evie asked, curiously, despite already knowing.

"The Enchanted Lake," said Mal with a shrug. "We had to get away from those two."

"Next time," Evie said, grabbing Mal by the shoulders. "Take me with you."

"We'll put that into consideration." Ben promised.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Evie fished around inside her skirt pocket for her phone. Pulling it out, she squealed when she saw that she had a message.

Evie giggled. "I just got a message from Doug."

"How is he?" Ben asked.

"Good. Here's what he has to say." She turned the phone around so its screen was facing Ben and Mal.

The message read:

Hey Evie, it's Doug.

I just wanted to check in and see how everything was back at school. I'm having a blast with my family but it's not quite the same without you here. My dad has thought over what Ben said about the VKs and understands that not all kids are their parents. He finally has come around to the fact that you are not your mother.

I don't know whether Ben or anyone at school has told you but there is a special day, similar to Family Day where parents get to visit their kids. It's a much smaller event to Family Day and only parents of overachievers are invited meaning my dad is coming, along with my mother, uncles and aunts and they would love to meet you. The day, I think, is a couple of weeks into the new school year. Don't panic, my dad is pretty forgiving, so he doesn't hold a grudge against you because your mother tried to kill Snow White.

I hope to hear from you soon,

Doug xxx

"Aww!" Mal cooed. "That's cute."

"The dwarves are pretty forgiving." Ben said, agreeing with Doug's text message.

Mal knew better then to question other people's beliefs. She knew exactly how Ben must have felt.

"We'd better let you get back to Doug." Ben said as Evie continued down the hall.

Once Evie was out of earshot, Ben turned to Mal. "We can't go back to your dorm."

Mal nodded. "Then where are we going to go?"

Ben thought for a moment. "I think I know. Come on."


Gia sat on her bed, her phone in her hand.

"G? You in here?" She heard Ben call from the other side of her door.

"Yeah."

The door opened revealing Ben and Mal.

"Hi." Gia greeted.

"Hey." Mal said with a smile.

"What're you guys up to?"

"We were going to go back to the dorm but Evie said that the guys are still arguing so we decided to come and see you instead." Ben explained quickly. "What are you doing?" He sat down beside her.

"Just messaging Rayna." Gia shrugged as she looked down to find another message.

"Rayna?" Mal questioned. She looked to Ben. "Do we know her?"

"You don't but I do. She's Tiana and Naveen's daughter. She's about Gia's age."

"Tiana and Naveen. Tiana and Naveen. Why do those names sound familiar?" Mal mused.

"You know their enemy, Doctor Facilier."

"Oh yeah! Doctor Facilier the headmaster and founder of Dragon Hall. Those were some fun times."

"Is it true you and Ben know his daughter?" Gia asked.

"Yeah, we do. Freddie. She's just as mad as her father. Witch doctors must run in that family."

"I met her when Mal accidentally sent us, Evie and Audrey to the Isle of the Lost. She ended up in Auradon when Mal wished us back to Jordan's lamp but Freddie went back to the island." Ben cringed.

"It wasn't that bad." Mal said with a roll of her eyes.

"Can we not argue about it now?" Gia butted in. "Rayna's comin'."

"When?" Ben asked.

"Tomorrow. She's spending a couple of days with us before she has to head home."

"A couple of days?" Mal frowned. "Doesn't she live in Auradon?"

"She use to. When we graduated from Auradon Prep last year, she wanted to attend college back home in New Orleans."

"Wait, I thought Naveen and Tiana were from Maldonia." Now Mal was confused.

"They are, or rather that's their part of the kingdom," Ben explained. "Tiana is from New Orleans and they live there but they also divide their time in Maldonia."

"And I thought my life was complex." Mal muttered.

"So, we up for tomorrow's adventure with Rayna?" Gia asked.

"You bet." Mal smiled. "It's not everyday a VK meets an AK who use to live in Auradon."

"Trust me, you are going to love Rayna. In fact, you remind me of her." Gia said.

"I do?"

Gia nodded. "She's sassy, fun and nowhere near as self-absorbed as a said Sleeping Beauty wannabe."

Mal grinned.

"You've got nothing to worry about when it comes to Rayna." Ben said.

"I'm sure I don't." Mal said in amusement.


The next morning, Ben and Mal joined Gia on the front steps outside the castle. Evie, Jay and Carlos said they were going to join them but Mal wasn't betting on it the way Evie had stared daggers at the boys the night before at dinner.

A black limo donning the Maldonia crest pulled up in front of the stairs. It stopped before a man got out of the front passenger seat and went to open the back door.

"Introducing Her Royal Highness, Rayna, Princess of Maldonia."

A young woman with milk chocolate coloured skin emerged from the car. She appeared to be Gia's age and she was dressed in lilypad green. She had black hair that sat at her shoulders and large sunglasses sat on top of her head, like a tiara.

"Gia, my dear," the young woman said. "I must sincerely apologise for the last minute call. Life has been crazy lately."

Gia smirked as she stepped down the couple of steps to meet her longtime friend. "When have you ever been punctual?"

"Since never."

The pair hugged.

The sound of Ben's chuckle brought the pair out their hug.

"Ah, Ben, my dear. My, haven't you grown."

Ben chuckled as he stepped down to join Gia. "It's good to see you again, Rayna."

"Don't just stand there. Give ol' Rayna a hug."

Ben shook his head, laughing as he embraced his old friend.

Pulling back, Rayna went down in a quick curtsey. "Your Majesty."

"You know how I feel about formalities, Ray."

"I know but ma and pa said that it is, 'mandatory'." Rayna scoffed as she did air quotations. "Mandatory my fanny."

Rayna looked up see Mal standing awkwardly on the top step. "You must be Mal." She mounted the steps so that she was standing at eye level with Mal.

"You know my name?" Mal asked, incredulously.

"Girl, everyone knows your name. Maleficent's daughter. The girl who trumped Audrey for Ben's heart. The girl who, with the help of her VK friends, defeated Maleficent. That is what I call an achievement."

Mal couldn't help but feel pride rushing through her. "What can I say?" she sighed dramatically. "I'm unique."

At the bottom of the steps, Ben and Gia exchanged grins. To them, it looked like Mal had found yet another hero friend. They climbed the steps to join her and Rayna.

"I see you have taken a real liking to my girlfriend." Ben grinned.

Rayna turned to give Ben a smirk. "I wish my boyfriend were here. You'd really take a liking to him."

"Really? Why? He got some southern spunk?" Gia joked.

"Ah, yeah." Rayna said enthusiastically.

"Ah! Get off me Jay!"

"Will you two give it a rest?"

The trio turned to see Evie trying to pry Jay away from Carlos.

"About time." Mal muttered.

"I blame these two." Evie said jerking a thumb over her shoulder at Jay and Carlos.

"Nice." Rayna said.

"Hi, you must be Rayna. I'm…"

"Evie, Evil Queen's daughter, right?"

"That's right." Evie smiled. "And the two idiots behind me are Jay and Carlos."

"Sons of Cruella De Vil and Jafar, respectively, right?"

"You're good."

"I aim to please."

"Now you sound like me." Gia smiled.

"Come on. We have a lot of catching up to do." Ben said as took Mal's hand and turned towards the castle.


"So, you're a future queen." Rayna said as she and Mal took a walk through the castle garden. It was a few hours after Rayna's arrival and the foreign princess wanted to get to know the king's girlfriend better.

"I wouldn't say that. I haven't known Ben all that long."

"I have known Ben a very long time, Mal. I have never seen him look at a girl the way he looks at you."

"I've heard that a lot in the last few months." Mal sighed.

"Well, it's true. You've brought him so much happiness. Everyone deserves a happily ever after and I think, maybe you'll give Ben his."

Mal pondered over this. Did she have a full-fledged future with Ben or was their relationship only going to bring them sorrow? No. She could see herself at Ben's side as his queen.

A memory suddenly came flooding back to her as if it had occurred yesterday. It was one that she was surprised that had come to her at all as it had to do with Ben's father.

As much as Adam was intimidating, Belle had often said he was actually a big pussycat once people got to know him. Mal had started to believe she was right.


Flashback


Ben had asked his parents to keep Mal company while he was in a meeting. Evie and the boys were all out doing their own thing, leaving Mal to occupy her time. She found herself sitting under a large tree in the castle garden with a book in her hands. Ben had said that the garden was one his mother's favorite places and Mal realised why. The places was quiet and peaceful and talk about beautiful.

"Mal?"

Mal looked up see Adam walking towards her.

"Adam," she said hesitantly. "Hi."

"Aren't you supposed to be in class at this hour?" Adam asked as he sat down beside her.

"I've got a free period. Ben said I could spend as much time out here as I liked." She caught the sly look Adam was giving her. "I hope that's okay with you." She said, stumbling over her words.

"Of course." Adam had nodded. "What's ours is yours too."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"I just wanted to thank you, Mal." Adam said.

This took Mal by surprise. "What did I do?" she asked.

"I just wanted to thank you for making my son happy."

"Oh, ah, you're welcome?"

Mal hadn't been sure as to how to respond to Adam's praise.

"I have never see Ben so happy before, even when he was with Audrey. In all honesty, I think you did Ben a real favor with that love spell."

"Let me guess: Belle told you about the spell?"

Adam laughed and shook his head. "I know my son and I know he wouldn't just burst into song like that."

"Everyone's been saying that."

"I wasn't a big Audrey fan," Adam admitted. "I had to keep my mouth shut because her parents and the good fairies are on a few of the councils I overlooked. They were thrilled when Ben and Audrey announced they were dating. Belle and I on the other hand, weren't thrilled but we had to be supportive."

Mal had thought Adam's words over. Every parent had to be supportive of their child's partner, even if they didn't like them.

"What was your reaction when you discovered Ben and I were going out?" Mal found herself asking.

"I wasn't happy about it to begin with but over time I came to accept it and I realised that once I got to know you, I regretted believing you were like your mother."

"Ah, my mom. Yeah."

"No child can help who their parents are, Mal. I know Ben has always thrived to live up the legacy that Belle and I created but I feel, as his father, that he will leave his own personal touch on the history of Auradon."

Mal had looked at him, questioningly.

"You are that history."

Mal's eyes widened.

Upon seeing the look on Mal's face, Adam felt he had to elaborate. "I'm sure a lot of people have told you this but I believe that in years to come, you could be the woman sitting as Ben's queen."

While this hadn't surprised her, Mal was beginning to believe that a future with Ben mightn't have been such a bad thing. She adored Ben in every sense of the word and would have done anything for him. She knew Ben loved her in every possible way but did what would people think if she became Queen of Auradon?

"Ah, Adam, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"What do you think people would think if I ever became queen?"

Mal was surprised that the question hadn't caught Adam off guard.

"There will be those that will hate the idea of a villain's child on the throne next to Ben but then there will be those who will be thrilled. Not everyone will agree."

"If it happens, will you accept me as queen?"

Adam didn't have to think twice. "Yes, I would. I've seen the impact you've had on Ben. I've seen your love for him and his for you. You'll be powerful and beloved rulers. Don't let others tell you otherwise."

Mal smiled. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For accepting me."

Adam smiled.

"I thought I might find you both out here."

Adam and Mal looked up to see Ben walking towards them.

"Hi." Mal greeted with a broad smile as she pulled herself to her feet. Adam rose with her.

Mal practically threw herself at Ben. He caught her, pulling her close.

"How was the meeting?" Adam asked his son.

"The usual." Ben said with a roll of his eyes. "I wish Queen Elsa's advisors didn't cut in every five seconds."

"Oh and Gia doesn't?" Adam teased his son.

Ben pursed his lips and gave his father a look of annoyance as his arms tightened around Mal. "I hope you behaved yourself for dad." He murmured in her ear.

"Always son, always." Adam chuckled. "We had a good chat, didn't we, Mal?"

Mal nodded enthusiastically. "We got to know each other a little better."

"I'm glad. Can't have my father and my girlfriend fighting now can we?" Ben grinned cheekily.

"You're in a good mood," Adam observed. "Any reason why?"

"For once at least one of the councils are agreeing with me."

"That is a massive turnaround." Mal said with a smile.

"While it is something, don't expect it to last, son." Adam said wisely.

"Oh believe me, I don't think for a second that it is going to last."

Adam gave Ben a look of reassurance. "I shall leave you both to it." He started back towards the castle.

Ben held Mal tighter as if he hadn't seen her in years.


End Flashback


"You okay?" Rayna said waving a hand in front of Mal's face, snapping her out of her daze.

"Yeah, fine."

What were you thinking about?"

Mal smiled. "The last time I was out here, Ben had assigned his parents to keep me company while he was in a meeting. I was reading and Adam came out and sat with me. We talked and he admitted that I could very well be a contender to be queen."

Rayna beamed. "I thought as much. Gia mentioned a lot of people have said the same thing."

"It's too soon to be making assumptions of things that might not happen." Mal said, trying to brush the subject away.

Rayna sighed. "Mal, I know you don't want to think of any kind of future with Ben at the moment, but you just never know."

Mal wanted to roll her eyes. She had heard the same thing over and over again but everyone she had spoken to spoke the undeniable truth. There was a future for her with Ben. She had to embrace her destiny as the future Queen of Auradon.

"You know what?" she said turning to face her new friend. "I am just going to embrace my possible future."

"That's very good news." Rayna said with an approving nod. "Let's just keep that to ourselves for now. We don't need Ben getting any ideas."

"Don't worry," Mal chuckled. "Evie has been thinking the exact same thing."

"She has?"

"Hmm." Mal nodded. "If and only if Ben ever proposes, I agreed to have Evie as my maid of honor."

"Nice move. You know, my mom had a similar pact with my Aunt Lottie."

"Really?"

"Yeah, You see, mom and Charlotte grew up together and Aunt Lottie always dreamed of marrying royalty."

Mal thought about Tiana and Naveen's story when something she remembered from Auradon History class came back to her. "I remember. Something about some guy that was fed up with your dad's naivety aided Doctor Facilier in getting your aunt's father's fortune or something."

Rayna nodded. "Yeah, Doctor Facilier squashed my parents firefly friend Raymond or Ray as he was known and the poor little guy died all because he was trying to stop him from hurting my parents." Rayna shook her head sadly. "Anyway, long story short, when my mother found out she was pregnant with me, she and my dad wanted to honor Ray in some way so they agreed to name me after him."

"Rayna. Raymond. Hmm. I think they did the right thing." Mal said. "My mom named me after herself. She said I could only take the name 'Maleficent' if I proved to her that I was just as evil as she was. But I couldn't bring myself to be like her. I am proud to say, I will be forever known as simply, Mal."

Rayna smiled. "You sound like Ben. You know, when Gia and I were growing up, we use to babysit Ben when he was younger. We always use to joke that he would be forever known as 'King Ben'. He always hated his full name."

"I can understand that," Mal said with a nod. "Evie was born Evelyn but has always been known as Evie because you know, her mom's the evil queen in Snow White's story. Evie hates her full name with a passion."

Rayna smiled as the pair walked in silence for a moment. "You know, my darling, this is might just be the start of beautiful friendship."

Mal smiled as she nodded. "I think I'm starting to agree."


Rayna walked through the dining room doors, a huge sly on her face.

"What's got you so happy?" Gia asked. She and Ben were sitting at the table with a chessboard sitting between them.

"I just had the most interesting chat with Mal." Rayna told them.

Ben and Gia looked at each other as Rayna sat down.

"I hope you didn't get yourself into trouble." Ben said as he examined his remaining chess pieces.

"When have I ever gotten myself into trouble?" Rayna snorted.

"Ah, remember when we were ten?" Gia said. "Adam and your dad told us to stay put while they went to investigate a dispute between Cogsworth and that worm Lawrence? You decided to follow them anyway and dragged me into it. I ended up grounded for three weeks."

"That wasn't my fault!" Rayna protested. "How was I to know that there was security guards parked outside old Larry's room?"

Ben looked between his two old friends. "Okay, you two knock it off." He chuckled. "What did Mal say?"

"She told me about the time you entrusted your parents to keep her company while you were in a meeting. She even told me that your dad has really warmed to her." Rayna smiled.

"Yeah, he has," Ben nodded, a proud smile on his face. "It was surprising actually. When I told him and mom about the meeting and how I didn't want Mal to be by herself, mom said she had to meet with the cafeteria staff at school so imagine my surprise when dad put his hand up."

"We can imagine." Gia said. "From what your mother told me, your father wasn't exactly happy when you announced you were dating Maleficent's daughter. But she said that she was glad you chose someone who wasn't that snob Audrey."

Ben groaned. "You say that every time the subject of Audrey is brought up."

"So it should be," Rayna said. "Audrey is a good-for-nothing cow who likes to make others who are beneath her feel worthless. Audrey deserves everything she gets."

Ben sighed. When Rayna and Gia teamed up, there was no stopping them. "Can we get on with our game?" he asked Gia.

Gia grinned. "Of course."


A couple of days later, it was time for Rayna to return home. Ben, Mal and the others stood on the castle steps. The limo donning Maldonia's crest was parked down in front.

"We hope you enjoyed your time home." Ben said as he hugged Rayna goodbye.

"It was good to be come home," Rayna said as she pulled back from Ben. "You're becoming a great king, Ben. Never lose faith in that."

Ben beamed and hugged her one last time before allowing her to move over to Gia. "Congratulations on your promotion as majordomo, dear."

Gia snorted. "I've always been Ben's majordomo."

"Never mind that then." Rayna chuckled.

"It was good to see you." Gia murmured.

Rayna smiled before pulling back. She turned to see Mal and her friends step towards her. "It was a privilege to meet you all."

"It was an honor to meet you Your Highness." Carlos said with a wide smile.

Ben, Gia and Rayna laughed.

"Just Rayna, my dear Carlos. Now come here all of you." Rayna held out her arms for a group hug from the villain teens.

The VKs didn't hesitate as they hugged their new friend.

"Be sure to visit again soon. I'd love to talk fashion with you." Evie said brightly causing her friends to roll their eyes.

"I'd like that very much Miss Evie." Rayna said with an equally bright smile.

"Your Highness, it's time to go." Said the driver.

"I'll be right there." Rayna called over her shoulder. She turned back to the VKs. "I hope to be back in Auradon soon. Don't worry, my lovelies."

The car horn sounded.

Rayna looked over her shoulder before turning to wave her final goodbyes to her assembled audience.

Mal stepped to Ben's side and slipped her hand into his as the others stepped over to them, waving their goodbyes.

"Well, that was an interesting experience." Jay said as they watched the car disappear around the corner.

"Certainly was," Evie said. "I like her. She's a bundle of fun."

"I grew up with a lot of fun people in my life." Ben smirked aiming a well-aimed look at Gia who had stepped to Ben's left side. She raised her eyebrows before turning and heading back towards the castle.


What a chapter. I do have to apologise for Rayna's short appearance. I know cut her appearance really short but I had to otherwise the chapter would have gone forever. I have a 20,000 word limit per chapter and I don't want exceed that. I can assume you, however that Rayna will play a massive part later in the story and she will pop in and out. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I will see you soon with the next one!