Wow, this took way longer than I wanted it to. So I am sorry for making you guys wait so long. This chapter is kind of long, you've been warned.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
ALI
Carlos and I walk onto the boat for cotillion. The party was already started, and we quickly made our way over to jay and Lonnie.
"Ali," Lonnie hugged me, "You look beautiful!"
I smiled as we separated, "Thanks! So do you!"
"Alissa." I heard someone use my full name and turned to see Belle standing a little bit behind me.
I smiled at my friends and went over to her, "Your majesty," I curtsied to her.
She smiled and bowed her head back to me, "I want to thank you for going with my son over to the Isle. I know things didn't go as planned but I know you volunteered to go. You are a fierce friend and you always have been."
"Thank you, Queen Belle but it wasn't just me that went to the Isle."
She nodded and never lost her smile, "I know, but you were going into unknown territory just like Ben. I am going to thank the others as well, but there is something else I would like to tell you," her smile fell as she looked to the ground for a second, but it quickly returned as she looked back up at me.
I knew the smile wasn't as warm as it was before, and I mentally prepared myself for what she was about to say, "We have met with your parents and they have been notified about what happened and, quite frankly they aren't very happy about it. My husband and I tried our best to reassure them, but I just wanted to let you know that they plan on calling you tomorrow." She placed her hand on my shoulder.
I nodded, "Thank you, I was going to call them tomorrow and tell them about what happened," it was a lie. I wasn't planning on telling my parents anything. Belle smiled, but she knew it was a lie too.
"One more thing," she waved a guard over who was holding a box, "Your mother wanted to wait to give this to you, but she thought you should wear it tonight." She lifted the lid off the box, still in the guard's hands and gingerly lifted something out of it. The guard turned and left as Belle showed me what was inside.
I gasped, my hands flying to my mouth, "Is that…" Belle was holding a golden crown, solid gold with jewels laid into it. One point formed at the top with cut-outs around it and an intricate design etched into it. Anyone would easily recognize it as Sleeping Beauty's crown. My mother's first crown. The one given to her as soon as she returned to the Kingdom.
Belle nodded," Yes, it was your mother's crown. She wants you to wear it."
I nodded shakily as Belle gave a small laugh and placed it on my head. She gave me a small hug and walked away. I didn't move, I stood there and staring at nothing. I can't believe that I got my mother's crown. My mom never talked about giving it to me before. I wonder why she suddenly decided to.
"Ali!" I heard Carlos calling for me and heard him coming up behind me. He placed his hand on my shoulder, "What's wrong?"
I shook my head and smiled at him, "Nothing is wrong," I pointed to the crown on my head, "Look."
His eyes widened, "Is that Aurora's?"
I nodded, "Yeah, she gave it to me."
He smiled and pulled me in for a hug, "It looks beautiful on you, baby."
"Thanks," I smiled as we separated, "It's time for Mal's entrance, come on."
We moved to stand next to our friends and watched as Lumiere announced, "The Future Lady Mal."
Mal came into view at the top of the stairs and people gasped. Evie did an amazing job on the dress. I was high in the front and the bottom looked like it was ripped to shreds. I was Auradon colors and yet had and Isle vibe to it. Mal's dress was the perfect version of Auradon and Isle combined. She slowly walked down the stairs. It was easy to see how nervous she was as she walked. She looked at our group and we smiled at her. Our group was pretty large, consisting of Evie, Doug, Jay, Lonnie, Jane, Carlos, and myself. I hope Mal could see how many people were here for her.
She stopped and talked with Belle and Beast before Evie came forwards to get her. She smiled at us and gave a nervous laugh as she joined us. We all looked back up as Lumiere announced Ben. Ben walked down the staircase, carrying himself like the King he is. I looked into his eyes, and I knew that something was off.
I nudged Carlos gently, "Something is off about Ben," I whispered to him, trying not to alarm anyone else.
He gave a confused look, but before he could answer Ben spoke to Mal, "I'm sorry, I wish I had time to explain."
What was he talking about? I heard everyone gasp and I looked to the top of the stairs. Uma was standing there, smiling at everyone. Oh no. She started walking down the stairs and Ben took her hand and kissed it. Right where his ring was placed on her finger.
He turned back to Mal, "Something happened while I was on the Isle. A connection- "
Mal shook her head, "Ben. What are you saying?"
Uma stepped forwards, "It was love!"
Wow, okay. That came out of nowhere.
"Ben, did you…did you go back for her?" Mal asked, it was heartbreaking to hear how her voice sounded so small and broken.
Uma shook her head, "He didn't have to. I jumped through the barrier before it closed, and I'm a good swimmer."
Ben dreamily responded to her, "You are."
Uma giggled and turned to him, "Thank you," She then hugged Mal, which Mal did not look like she enjoyed, "Mal, I just really want to thank you, I do. For everything."
Mal's eyes had tears gathered in them when she turned to look at Ben, "Mal, you were right. You knew we weren't meant to be together, that's why you never told me you loved me. Thank you."
Before Mal could say anything, Ben took Uma and they started dancing, looking as happy as could be together. I looked over at Mal, she was crying. Evie held her hand and Jay moved next to Mal's other side. Carlos and I mover behind her.
Carlos started menacingly at Ben, "I'm not too thrilled I risked my life for him."
Lonnie placed her hand on Mal's shoulder, "We're with you, Mal."
I placed my hand on her other shoulder, "You have us, don't forget that."
Jay looked over at all of us, "Let's get out of here."
We all nodded and moved towards the stairs, Beast pulled Mal aside before she could get very far up them, "Mal. We had no idea."
Belle appeared next to him, "Honey, we are so sorry."
Beast nodded, "We are going to talk to him."
Mal just nodded as she tried to hold back more of her tears. Jane ran up the stairs to Lumiere.
"Lumiere, unveil the gift! They need to see it!"
Lumiere quickly shouted, "And now, the unveiling of King Ben's masterpiece! Designed especially for his lady." He made it a point to motion to Mal.
The curtain dropped across the boat and it reviled a stained-glass picture of Ben and Mal. Except Mal had her purple hair and bright green eyes. It was breathtaking. And it also meant that Ben loved Mal for who she really was, not who she was pretending to be.
Mal stared at it and sniffled, "Ben did that?"
Evie nodded, "Yeah, he did."
Mal responded, "Evie, Ben's known who I was all along."
Evie turned away from the picture and looked at Mal, "He loves the real you. It's true love!"
Carlos smiled and pulled me closer to him, "Told you." I smiled and leaned into him, feeling him place a kiss on my forehead.
Just then, Uma stormed up the stairs and yelled at Lumiere, "Cover that back up!"
Lumiere stood tall and stared right back at her, "I will not." I love this guy.
Uma closed her eyes and took a breath. She turned back to Ben, "Why don't you tell everyone the present you have for me?"
I picked my head up from Carlos's shoulder and looked at him. He looked back at me and we both knew that this wasn't going to go well.
Ben cleared his throat, "I have an announcement! Uma will be joining the court tonight as my lady."
Beast stepped forwards, "Son."
"Not now, dad!" Ben shouted and then grabbed his head, like he was in pain. That's weird, something is wrong. "So," Ben continued, "As my gift to her, I'm bringing down the barrier once and for all!"
The crowd gasped, and Carlos gripped me tighter, pulling me completely against him. "No," I whispered, I looked down at my arms, scars covered by the black lace, and all I could think about was what would happen if Harry found me again.
"Fairy Godmother!" my head snapped back up at the sound of Ben's voice, "Bring down the barrier!"
Fairy Godmother looked appalled, "I most certainly will not."
Ben growled, "I am your King."
Uma glared at Fairy Godmother, "Obey him."
I got out to Carlos' arms and gently pushed my way in between Mal and Evie. I walked up to Ben and Uma and could see that Carlos had followed me down the stairs.
"Ben," I started, and he looked at me, a hard cold look, "Think about this for a minute, okay?" I placed my hand on his shoulder, hoping to get through to him.
"No!" He shouted at me. Then Ben did something that I didn't think he was capable of. He grabbed my wrist, pried my hand off his shoulder, and pushed me back so hard that I fell in front of the stairs.
Evie and Carlos quickly helped me up. Once I was standing again, I looked at Carlos and saw the same look in his eyes from the pirate ship. The same look when he saw what Harry did to me. He made a step towards Ben, but I put my arm in front of him to stop him.
"Don't bother, Carlos." I looked at Mal, "That's not Ben, he would never do that. To anyone."
Mal looked at Ben for a second then back to me, her eyes widened, "Ben's been spelled."
"Uma found your spell book," Evie nudged Mal.
As Mal made her way to Ben, Carlos pulled me to the side, turned to me and placed both his hands on my arms.
"Are you okay?" I could see the concern in his eyes.
I smiled softly at him and nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay. It was just a little fall."
He nodded, "I just don't want to see you hurt again."
"I know," I placed a hand on his cheek, "I love your concern for me, but I'm okay, I promise."
"Good," and with that he leaned down to give me a short kiss.
We both turned back to watch Ben, Mal and Uma, I stood next to Evie and listened.
"Ben, I never told you I loved you because I thought I wasn't good enough and I thought that it was only a matter of time before you realized that yourself. But Ben, that's me," Mal pointed to the glass, "I'm part Isle and part Auradon."
Uma tried to interrupt, "Ben, eyes over here."
Mal kept going, "and Ben, you've always known who we are and who we can be."
"Don't listen to her!"
"I know what love feels like now. Of course, I love you. Ben, I've always loved you," and with that Mal gabbed his hard in both hands and kissed him.
They pulled apart after a minute and Ben smiled, "Mal,"
Evie smiled, "True love's kiss."
"Works every time," I said in unison with her, we looked at each other and gave a small laugh.
"Guards seize her!" Fairy Godmother shouted, as Uma tried to run away.
"No!" Mal yelled out as Uma reached the railing, we all followed and stood behind Mal and Ben in front of the crowd. "Uma, I know you. You are so much more than just a villain and you have to believe me because I've been there. Do not let your pride get in the way of something you really want."
Uma paused, the necklace started glowing, but she turned and jumped over the railing. We all rushed forwards and tried to see her through the water. Suddenly water started swirling around, it rose up and revealed Uma, as an octopus. This can't be good.
Water splashed over all the boat, everyone tried not to lose their footing, but it didn't end well. I grabbed onto Carlos as I fell to ground, it didn't help though because he fell too. For the second time that night I found myself on the floor of this boat, only this time I was soaking wet. Carlos quickly helped me up and everyone ran over to the railing.
"True love's kiss won't defeat this. The world will know my name!" Uma shouted. She laughed as she taunted Mal. All of a sudden, she swung a tentacle at the boat. Everyone ducked, and before we had a chance to recover she swung again.
Mal walked away from us and Uma laughed in the water, egging Mal on. Mal was breathing heavy and before I even knew what was happening, in a big puff of purple smoke, she turned into a dragon.
"Woah," I breathed. I whispered to Carlos, "Did you know she could do that?"
He shook his head, "I don't even thing she knew she could that."
"Watch out!" I heard someone yell as I saw another tentacle swinging over us, followed by Mal in dragon form. She shot fire at Uma and Uma lashed back, rocking the boat with her retaliation. Carlos grabbed onto me to try and stop me from falling for the third time. It probably would've worked if Doug hadn't tried to do the same thing, I went down into the puddle of water on the floor.
"You are very clumsy today," Doug teased as he and Carlos got me back up.
I smirked, "I can't help it, the floor is comfy."
Suddenly, Ben let out a roar when we raced back to the railing. Oh no, don't tell me he's going to turn into the Beast. But he didn't, Ben shrugged his jacket off and handed it to Jay, handed his crown over to Carlos, ran forwards and jumped of the boat.
"Ben!" We were all shouting as he dove into the water.
He quickly resurfaced, "Mal, Uma, stop."
Uma just laughed, "What are you going to, Ben, splash me?"
"That's enough, this has to stop. Fighting isn't the answer. Nobody wins this way, you must listen and respect each other. It won't be easy, but let's be brave enough to try." He stared at Uma as he continued, "Uma, I know you want what's best for the Isle. Help me make a difference."
He held out his had to her, and Uma stared at it for what felt like forever. Then, she slowly lifts a tentacle out and place, what I assume to be his ring, into his open hand. I'm too far away to see what it is. Uma goes back into the water and swims away. Carlos and Jay got the rope ladder and threw it down for Ben to climb up.
Mal flew above the ship, landed and in a puff of smoke, turned back into herself. Only she looked exactly like the stained glass behind her. Her dress, shoes, hair, everything looked the same. She was beautiful. She looked at her dress and put out a few spots that were smoking on her dress. She looked and Ben and smiled. They bowed to each other before Mal was escorted down the stairs and Evie met her at the bottom.
Mal smiled at her, "Didn't know I could do that."
Evie laughed, "Tell me about it. That makes two of us." She blew out another spot on the dress and held out her hand to Mal, "Shall we?"
Mal grabbed her hand, "We shall."
They walked up to Ben, he placed his hands on her waist and pulled her into a kiss. Shouts and claps came from the crowd of students and Carlos patted Ben's shoulder, "Alright, alright."
Ben laughed and looked around at all of us and smiled, "I owe you guys so much."
We all laughed and nodded, "Yeah."
"Yup."
"You got that right."
Ben laughed, "If there is anything you need, or anything I can do for you."
Evie raised her hand before Ben could finish, "Actually, there is Ben. I know a girl who would love to come to Auradon. It's Drizella's daughter Dizzy. She's like a little sister to me."
Ben nodded, "Then she should come."
Evie smiled, "Okay, great."
Ben looked back at Mal, but Evie cut in again, "Actually, theres a lot of kids who would really love it here in Auradon. Kids just like us who also deserve a second chance. Could I maybe get you a list?"
"Yes, absolutely," Ben nodded vigorously, "Please."
A guard appeared next to Mal, "Lady Mal, we found your spell book below deck. Uma had it."
Mal gingerly took it from the guard, turning it over in her hand and opening it to a random page. Carlos and I looked at each other, unsure of what she was going to do.
"You know, this seems like the kind of thing that belongs in the hands of Fairy Godmother. Fairy God mother?" Mal called her over.
Fairy Godmother quickly pushed her way through the crowd, "That's me. Thank you!"
Mal handed the book to her, "This belongs in the museum."
Fairy Godmother took it from her and smiled, "It does, yes, and I'm gonna take it."
Mal nodded as Fairy Godmother walked away, "I'm not gonna be needing it anymore." She smiled at Ben they shared another kiss.
We spent the rest of the night dancing, laughing, and splashing around in the water on the boat. Momentarily forgetting about the fact that Uma was somewhere in the ocean. By the end of the night, everyone was thoroughly soaked though their clothes. Carlos, of course, walked me back to my dorm at the end of the night. Audrey was finally back, and I actually missed her. We talked for the rest of the night, and I filled her in on what happened when she was gone.
Little did I know, that this would my last weekend at Auradon Prep.
What could that last line mean? Find out in the next chapter!
