I had this idea in my head for a while, but was really struggling to get it on paper. And I swear, once I get on Youtube, I'm there the whole day.
With that aside, I couldn't stop thinking about Fairy Godmother and Ben. How does she refer to Ben now? Does she call him King Ben, or just Ben?
It's been a while since I've written and 3 months since I've watched both movies, so I'm sorry if Fairy Godmother's characterization is off.
She heard the ruckus before she saw it. Fairy Godmother had been signing summer travel forms for the students until she heard the distinct sound of complaint outside her office in Auradon Prep. Taking a quick look at her schedule, Fairy Godmother frowned. She wasn't supposed to be expecting any visitors at this time of the day.
She rose from her seat and walked over to the double-door entrance. Upon pulling them open, the first thing she saw was her secretary Charlotte arguing with Lady Chia, no doubt about seeing her without an appointment.
Fairy Godmother let out a silent sigh. Lady Chia had always been somewhat of a thorn in her side ever since her daughter enrolled in Auradon Prep. Except for Lonnie, who was acting as an ambassador, not many parents sent their children from China due to how far it was.
But not Lady Chia, no her daughter Xia had to have the best education the world could offer.
Fairy Godmother's head was starting to ring, and she had only been listening to Chia's rants for about 30 seconds. Fearing for her sanity, she decided to step in.
"Lady Chia! What a surprise to see you all the way here in Auradon! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Fairy Godmother asked, mindful to be respectful. Although Lady Chia could be a handful at times, she was still a part of China's Royal Court.
Lady Chia, on the other hand, had no qualms about letting her disdain be known. With a face that was red from both anger and shouting, she directed her attention to Fairy Godmother.
"Fairy Godmother, I assume you've already heard about what happened to my daughter and her friends?"
Fairy Godmother paused for a second, scrambling for some recollection of anyone messing with the Royal Gowns. Although she'd heard of the reputation they'd built, she doubted anyone would cause trouble with them. She hope no one would, because it would conclude with a headache on her part.
"I'm afraid I've been quite busy with the student travel request. After all, summer vacation is right around the corner," said Fairy Godmother as she pointed towards her desk. Lady Chia made no move to follow her gaze, instead choosing to place all her attention on Fairy Godmother.
"The poor girls were assaulted out in the market district! Now Xia's dress is completely ruined because someone thought it'd be funny to launch water balloons at her out in the open! It's going to take weeks to re-apply the dye!"
Fairy Godmother took note of how quickly Chia's concern went from the Royal Gowns to strictly her daughter, but made no move to comment on it.
"I'm very sorry to hear that Lady Chia, but perhaps this is something you should bring to Auradon's law enforcement rather than Auradon Prep."
"Oh I assure you I would have if I didn't already know who the culprits were!" Lady Chia exclaimed.
Before Fairy Godmother was conscious of it, Mal's face blew up in her mind sporting a sly grin that said she was plotting something.
"...And how do you know who the culprits are exactly, Lady Chia?" Fairy Godmother asked slowly. If it really was a student to blame, then she had no choice but to find out.
"Well who else but Maleficent Mal Bertha and the Villain Kids? Xia saw the group herself!"
"That's not true!" Charlotte, Fairy Godmother's secretary jumped in and denied Lady Chia's claim. Before Fairy Godmother could chide the young lady on her manners in front of foreign royalty, Charlotte went on.
"Xia said she saw a flash of purple in the trees and assumed it was Mal! Nobody else saw it though, and certainly none of us saw Mal! You can't just blame it on them with that kind of evidence!"
Hearing that, Fairy Godmother exhaled, not even realizing she had been holding her breath. "Is this true Lady Chia? Did Xia actually see Mal and her friends at the scene?"
Lady Chia seemed off put by Charlotte's denial and Fairy Godmother's question. "Well who else would it be? Mal is the only student in Auradon who dresses in all purple, and what with their background, it makes complete sense!"
Fairy Godmother had a feeling that it actually was Mal and the VK's. People don't change that quickly, and just because they were no longer evil doesn't mean they wouldn't enjoy a good prank here and there.
Nevertheless, she played the role of ignorant headmistress for their sake, alongside Ben's as well. Still, she did feel sympathetic for the fate that befell Xia and her friends.
"Well I'm afraid unless you and Xia come up with some hard evidence, I cannot accuse Mal or her friends of doing anything. I'm truly very sorry Lady Chia," Fairy Godmother said with utmost sincerity.
Apparently, just being genuine in her apologies wasn't enough to tame Lay Chia, whose face was turning a darker shade of red every second. But a moment later, Lady Chia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I'll have you know, Fairy Godmother, that not everyone is as gullible as to believe those children have turned over a new leaf. Children who've spent their whole lives on the Isle can't possibly reform so easily."
And with that, Lady Chia turned her back to the two and walked down the halls. Fairy Godmother watched Lady Chia as she walked down the hall and turned the corner. With that taken care of, she turned around and looked Charlotte dead in the eye.
"Now I wonder who would be mischievous enough to play pranks on the Royal Gowns. Especially since everyone at Auradon Prep knows about dear Xia's heritage," Fairy Godmother said knowingly as she stared at Charlotte with a poker face.
Charlotte just shrugged in response, not trusting herself to speak. Seeing the look in Fairy Godmother's eyes, it seemed like she had a good idea of who was responsible. But Charlotte wasn't going to be the one to confirm her suspicions.
The last thing she needed was for Fairy Godmother to know she was the one who told Mal about the Royal Gown's routinely walks.
Seeing how Charlotte refused to say anything, Fairy Godmother gave up and decided to go to the source of her suspicions.
"Well now, let's see if I can't get to the bottom of this by the end of the day…Unless you have something you'd like to say?" Fairy Godmother asked as Charlotte gestured to halt her.
With Fairy Godmother's gaze back on her, Charlotte shut her mouth and shook her head vehemently. And with that, Fairy Godmother walked down the hall with a single destination in mind.
Having arrived at the dorms of Auradon Prep, Fairy Godmother gave the door 3 rapid knocks. Almost instantly, the door swung open and Evie's enthusiastic face appeared. Except her enthusiasm practically vanished once she saw who was at her door.
"Fairy Godmother," Evie said quickly, still caught off-guard.
Noticing Evie's stiff composure, Fairy Godmother's skepticism went through the roof. "Were you expecting somebody else?"
Evie took a moment to respond. Her mind was running on overdrive, piecing everything together. Based on the recent events, there could only be one reason why Fairy Godmother would be here.
From what Evie recalled learning, the students of Auradon Prep weren't prone to pranks from one another, which meant everyone could be a suspect. So how did Fairy Godmother know to come here so quickly, literally a day after the incident?
Almost instantly, Evie reminded herself that they were the VK's. For a second she was slightly offended that Fairy Godmother, of all people, still didn't trust them.
But then she recalled the sly grin Mal had been sporting for the past week of planning. That, mixed with Mal's and Jay's track record in Auradon, made it a lot more reasonable to suspect Mal. And of course when it came to Mal, it made sense to assume the rest of the VK's were roped in.
Evie realized that she had been awkwardly staring at Fairy Godmother for quite some time and smiled, gesturing her to come in.
"I was actually expecting Mal to come back soon," Evie said as she sat back down in front of her sewing machine.
Fairy Godmother sat down on Mal's bed and perked at the teenager's name. "And where is she at the moment?"
"She's down at the Enchanted Lake with King Ben," Evie said with a laugh as she continued sewing. Seeing Fairy Godmother's questioning gaze, Evie elaborated.
"Ben plans on teaching her how to swim today. I get the feeling that it's not going to be as easy as he expects it to."
Fairy Godmother made an 'ah' gesture, understanding Evie's amusement. Now it made sense why King Ben had made that strange request to add to Mal's summer homework. Most likely the King was expecting his girlfriend to fight back.
"The poor boy is in for quite the fight, isn't he?"
Evie paused her work and thought about it for a moment. "Actually, I don't think so. I think Mal's been interested in swimming for a while now."
Fairy Godmother seemed skeptical, and considering who they were speaking about, it was understandable.
"The child won't even go near the swimming pool in P.E. if I understand correctly, poor Jane has been very persistent, but to no avail," Fairy Godmother remarked in disbelief.
"Well she won't admit it, but she's always wondering what it's like to actually swim…And because she wants to fit in of course!" Evie added, recognizing an opportunity to sway Fairy Godmother's suspicions. Seeing how her eyes perked up, Evie knew Fairy Godmother had been baited, and mentally gave herself a pat on the back.
"Mal wants nothing more than to fit in with everyone else here in Auradon, especially after Cotillion," Evie said with a dramatic flair and excessive emotion. She was going slightly overboard on the enthusiasm, but Fairy Godmother didn't notice. She was completely hooked.
"At this point, Mal – and this goes for the rest of us – just wants everyone to like her. And learning how to swim would just make her one step closer to being like everyone else. After all, the last thing we'd want is to give anyone a reason not to trust us."
Evie made sure to add the last part and took note of Fairy Godmother, who was overcome with emotion.
At this point, Fairy Godmother had completely forgotten about her initial purpose in coming to Evie and Mal's dorm. She was completely overwhelmed with emotion at Evie's sincerity and admiration for Mal's attempt at getting closer with her fellow pupils. Mal had always been quite the handful in school, being stubborn about her homework and community service. Fairy Godmother didn't know Mal was trying to hard to get everyone to like her.
"But enough about us, what can I help you with?" Evie asked with an innocent smile as she resumed her sewing.
And just like that, Fairy Godmother's world came crashing down. She finally remembered that she came here to question the two girls on their involvement in the water balloon incident. But the more she thought about it, the less logical it sounded.
If Mal was willing to going this far just to get closer with the students of Auradon, then why would she jeopardize that by antagonizing the Royal Gowns? And by no means would Evie or Carlos ever want to start such a thing.
And Jay? No, Jay was more into pickpocketing and sneaking around.
Good god, Fairy Godmother felt horrible for suspecting the them. Mal was trying so hard to get on everyone's good side, and here she was, Fairy Godmother of all people, suspecting them of foul play.
"Oh never mind child. It seems I've completely forgotten why I came here," Fairy Godmother said with a smile. After complimented Evie's most recent gown, Fairy Godmother excused herself and walked out of the dorm.
As soon as Fairy Godmother walked out the door, Evie let out the breath she was holding in and mentally whooped at her success. She played her part perfectly, so well that even Mal would be impressed.
Evie really did feel guilty about tricking Fairy Godmother, who only wanted the best for them. But in all honesty, they really were trying to get everyone to like them. They just went about it their own ways.
One of those ways just happened to be playing a prank on a group that was the focus of everyone's disfavor. Now that she thought about it, Evie wondered if Fairy Godmother was still going to try and find the perpetrators.
But after recalling how emotional Fairy Godmother seemed, she shook off the thought. Most likely Fairy Godmother was going to look elsewhere and Evie doubted anyone was going to rat them out.
At the sound of a knock outside his office, Ben looked up from his desk. "You can come in."
At the sight of Fairy Godmother, Ben smiled and stood up out of respect. He may be King, but Fairy Godmother had been teaching him etiquettes and morals since the moment he could stand.
"Before you saying anything about the Royal Gowns, I want you to know I'm taking care of it."
Fairy Godmother paused in her tracks, caught off-guard by Ben's comment. For some reason, she'd assumed Ben wasn't aware of the incident. "How so?"
"I'm forcing Mal to learn how to swim. It's not really a punishment, but she certainly isn't too happy. As for the other VK's, I'll figure something out," Ben answered in satisfaction. Seeing Fairy Godmother's stunned look, Ben faltered.
"That look means one of two things. Either you're shocked by how I'm dealing with this, or…or you didn't know it was Mal," Ben said slowly. It seems like he may have dug Mal's grave for the summer.
"I should've known better," Fairy Godmother said with a sigh as she closed her eyes and massaged her temple.
"They're just having fun Fairy Godmother," Ben reasoned quickly. "It's their way of transitioning to the new lifestyle-"
"At the expense of others. Namely, the Royal Gowns," Fairy Godmother added. Ben just shrugged in response with half a smile.
"It was practically 90 degrees yesterday and Doug said that half of them looked like they were going to collapse from dehydration! Mal and the others did them a favor of cooling them down."
Fairy Godmother gave Ben a knowing look, telling him he was doing it again. Every time Mal had slipped up in the past, Ben was quick to justify her actions and mishaps. Needless to say, nothing has changed.
"You are now the King of Auradon. You cannot get them past this one, King Ben. Lady Chia is searching for the perpetrator."
That seemed to stop Ben in his tracks. "Lady Chia is here, all the way from China? How come no one told me?"
"Well considering Xia's expensive new dress is now ruined, it seems like Lady Chia has things of more importance on her mind," Fairy Godmother reminded Ben. He thought about it for a moment, sitting in silence as he contemplated what to do.
"We'll tell her that we found the person responsible and are dealing with it accordingly," Ben said with an air of finality. "And if Lady Chia still wants to get involved, then she'd be interfering with private affairs, which goes beyond her jurisdiction."
"Benjamin Florian!" Fairy Godmother exclaimed. "Are you really going to cover this up, young man?"
"Fairy Godmother, Mal and the others didn't bear any ill will! They're just having fun, and besides the Royal Gowns need to loosen up a little. It was 90 degrees! 90!"
Fairy Godmother stared at Ben, deep in thought. True, Ben wasn't necessarily lying to Lady Chia, but he was beating around the bush. Covering up pranks, hiding the truth and acting all sneaky; this all seemed very unbecoming of the Ben she raised in Auradon Prep.
As if reading her mind, Ben relaxed and dropped into his chair.
"I'm fine Fairy Godmother. I just feel like everyone in Auradon is becoming so…stuck up and stiff," Ben said as he struggled to look for the word. "Since when did playing a fun and harmless prank on one other become a crime? Not everything is so black and white when it comes to splitting bad from good."
Fairy Godmother sighed at Ben's arguement. She didn't deny that the people of Auradon had become somewhat narrow-minded over time. She'd seen people – old and young – treat things as simple as mispronunciation as a huge crime and offense to their family.
Not that they'd penalize anybody of course, but it went to show how misguided the people of Auradon had become. The only reason it hadn't been reformed is because unraveling the changes wasn't as simple as explaining to people that small mischief doesn't make a person an evildoer.
"Mal, Jay, Evie and Carlos? They're starting to learn the difference between being evil and good, and they still have their mischievous streak from the Isle. They're bringing back a sense of fun that we've lost over time. This might be the best way to have everyone loosen up."
Fairy Godmother was still somewhat skeptical on Ben's idea. "And exactly how will the four of them playing pranks on people do that?"
Ben was quiet for several seconds, but perked up the moment an idea struck him. "By getting the people of Auradon involved. And that's exactly how we'll fix this problem with the Royal Gowns."
Fairy Godmother's jaw nearly dropped open. "Benjamin!"
"Think about it!" Ben said in excitement. "If the Royal Gowns get payback on Mal and the others, then they'll be happy. And you and I both know that Mal and the VK's would love a challenge."
"Benjamin Florian, do you mean to spark chaos in Auradon?" Fairy Godmother was on the edge of her seat. "The mess that would come about could be a nightmare!"
"See, you need to loosen up too Fairy Godmother!" Ben said with a laugh. Even though Fairy Godmother's blood pressure was going through the roof, Ben seemed to be having the time of his life.
"Everyone doesn't need to be going around pranking one another. Just trust me on this one, please. Let me show you how capable I can be as King," Ben urged Fairy Godmother to trust him, putting her in a dilemma.
Fairy Godmother never knew Ben to ever give up on one of his crazy ideas. The fact that four kids from the Isle of the Lost inhabited Auradon was proof of that. Even if she refuted Ben's proposal, she was well aware he'd find one way or another to get it done.
"Just…please," Fairy Godmother said as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Please just…speak to you father about this. See what he says on the matter."
Ben smiled and nodded his head before powerwalking out of his office, completely ignoring whatever errand he was working on before their conversation. Fairy Godmother watched him leave and lay back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling in defeat.
Ben was certainly a fine young man and he'd become a fine King, if he wasn't one already. But the boy was too optimistic, believing in the bright side of everything. Perhaps former King Adam could reason with the young boy and calm him down.
Back in her office at Auradon Prep, Fairy Godmother was signing papers before pausing at the sound of…what is that sound?
Squelch….Squelch…Squelch
Looking up, Fairy Godmother looked up and saw Ben standing in front of her completely soaked from head to toe. Water was dripped from his hair and sleeves, forming a puddle of water where he stood.
Fairy Godmother was speechless and merely looked the boy up and down. Looking at his shoes, Fairy Godmother assumed that the sound she heard came from Ben's footsteps.
Ben on the other hand, had a huge – and dare she say playful – smile on his face. Sticking his arms out, he looked at himself from left to right before looking back at Fairy Godmother.
"Dad seems pretty enthusiastic about my idea."
"….Oh dear."