A/N: Hi all! I know, it's late. I was supposed to have this up a few days ago but I couldn't get it finished. So, as I promised, this chapter does contain a bit of the story from Audrey and Chad's perspectives and picks up where the last chapter finished. Also, this chapter is the first time, Ally, Alice in Wonderland's daughter appears but only very briefly. She will have a very minor role in this story. I also added in Aurora and Hercules in this chapter too. Gia's appearance in this chapter is only very small as this chapter doesn't actually focus on her at all. Also, this chapter is the shortest chapter I have written for this story, thus far. The chapters will get longer again... eventually. Also, there will be a few errors in this chapter like there was in the last one because I only went over the chapter once when I was editing as I wanted to get this up tonight. I do have to warn you all though. There is a bit of coarse language in this chapter but it's not over the top.

Chapter Ten: Worries

"I'm worried about Mal," said Evie. It was lunchtime and the group was gathered at their normal picnic table with the only two not present being Ben and Mal. "I know she's going to be fine but part of me wonders."

"Have you spoken to Ben about it?" Jordan asked. Since Audrey spent the weekends at home with her family, Jordan, who had a good relationship with the VKs and their AK friends hung out with them but only on the weekends to avoid any blow ups that might occur if Audrey knew that she associated with VKs.

Evie shook her head. "No. He's just as worried about her as I am."

"Hey, speaking of Ben, where is he?" Alice in Wonderland's daughter, Ally asked looking around.

"The last I saw him, he was with Mal in our dorm." Evie said.

Carlos rose from his seat. "I'll go check on her if you like, Ev. I've gotta go and check on Dude anyway."

Evie nodded prompting Carlos to move away from the table.

The walk back to the dorms was quiet but Carlos liked the peace and quiet that came from campus on the weekend.

Carlos had found himself changing in the time he and his friends had been in Auradon. He had found himself with an amazing girl who was a lot like him, shy, awkward but fiercely loyal to her friends. He liked that about Jane and had forgiven her after what she had said about Mal in the aftermath of Family Day. He knew that Mal's hair spell had given Fairy Godmother's daughter a negative factor confidence boost and it had gone to her head. Carlos knew of course that his mother would never have approved of Jane like Maleficent would never accept Mal's relationship with Ben.

Finding himself in the dorms building, Carlos went and checked on Dude in his and Jay's room. Seeing that his canine companion was fine, Carlos shut the door and ventured over to the girls room.

What Carlos found in Mal and Evie's room wasn't surprising.

Making sure to be quiet, he slowly pushed the door open and poked his head into the room. His eyes went directly to Mal's bed where he saw Ben and Mal curled up together asleep. Taking out his phone, he snapped a quick picture and sent it to Evie and Jay with the caption, 'Don't send to anyone else. Mal's fine. Ben's with her. Hence Exhibit A. As soon as you read this message, delete it. We don't need this getting out to the public.'

A second later Evie texted back. 'Aww! How sweet! I'm coming up.'

After a moment of waiting, Carlos came to the conclusion that he wasn't going to get a response back from Jay so he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

Five minutes later, Evie arrived on the scene. "Have they woken up yet?"

"Not that I know of. Where's Jay?"

"He said to apologise for not being able to come up. He got a last minute text from Aziz."

"Why would Aziz being texting him on a weekend?"

"Something about Tourney tactics." Evie frowned and shook her head. "Honestly. You boys and Tourney."

Carlos ignored her comment and said, "Did you delete the message and the photo?"

"Yep. I made sure all evidence of the photo is gone."

"Good. Now, look." Carlos turned to the door. Evie stepped to the door and slowly turned the handle before pushing the door open slightly.

"Aww." Evie cooed quietly at what she was seeing. "They're adorable together."

Mal and Ben hadn't moved from their place on Mal's bed.

Evie pulled her head out of the doorway and shut the door again.

"This can't get out." Carlos said. "If the whole school finds out that Ben and Mal are sleeping together, and not in the way you're thinking of, then there's going to be trouble."

"I agree," Evie nodded. "But what can we do? We can't lock them in the room."

"No we can't," Carlos agreed. "There has to be another way to… hold on. Do you have your mirror on you?"

Evie reached for her bag and pulled out her hand mirror. "Yeah. Why?"

"We can use it to keep an eye on them." Carlos said

"There's a flaw in your plan, C," Evie said causing Carlos to look at her. "We can't use the mirror all the time. Plus, what if someone looked over our shoulders, saw what we were seeing, and then told everybody?"

Carlos blinked, apparently not having thought through quite as far in the plan. "Oh, yeah. I hadn't thought of that. Um, now what do we do?"

"We can still use the mirror but we have to be sneaky about it."

Carlos nodded.

Inside the room, Ben and Mal started to stir from their nap.

"We fell asleep." Ben mumbled.

Mal groaned, not wanting the moment to end. Her eyes snapped open when she heard arguing on the other side of the dorm door. She pulled herself free of Ben's grip before heading silently over to the door. Counting backwards, she twisted the handle of the door and pulled it open to reveal a bickering Evie and Carlos.

"…Your idea is now totally invalid."

Mal cleared her throat.

Evie and Carlos immediately stopped their argument.

Mal raised an eyebrow.

"M, you're awake!" Evie exclaimed, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Behind Mal, Ben was just pulling himself into a sitting position at the edge of her bed.

"And a big hello to you too, E," Mal grinned evilly. "What were you two arguing about?"

Carlos and Evie looked at each other like they had just been electrocuted.

Quickly, both relaxed.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Carlos said tightly. "How are you feeling?"

Mal gave him the stink eye. "I'm fine. But thank you for caring." She said sweetly.

Carlos shuddered. If there was one creepy thing he hated it, was Mal being sickly sweet. Being in love had gotten to her.

"Okay, M, sweetness won't get you anywhere. How are you really feeling?"

"Better," Mal nodded. "I feel like I can do laps on the sprint track."

From his place on Mal's bed, Ben chuckled.

"Hi Ben." Evie called into the room not looking at him.

"Hi Evie." Ben said sounding uncomfortable at having been caught out.

"Sleep well, man?" Carlos jokingly called into the room.

Mal grabbed Carlos and Evie by the arms and pulled them roughly into the room, closing the door as they entered.

"What was that for?" Carlos protested as he stumbled into the room.

"Do you two have to be so loud? I'm willing to bet that half the school knows about this by now." Mal hissed at her two friends.

"They don't," Carlos shook his head. "I made sure that Claire didn't print an article on your fainting incident or about anything else for that matter."

Mal gave him a hard look. "Claire? As in Hercules and Megara's goddaughter, Claire? Remind me again who her parents are." She turned to Ben who was now standing beside her.

"Cassandra and Icarus, Herc's two best friends from his days at Prometheus Academy. Great place, I might add."

"You've been there?" Mal asked in disbelief.

"Once. Icarus insisted that mom, dad and I take a weeklong vacation to Greece."

"What no Gia?" Carlos snorted.

"Gia was in the middle of her senior year so she couldn't go anywhere. She was really disappointed as she's a massive Greece fan and I'm not talking about the musical."

Evie, Mal and Carlos looked at each other, confused.

"I'll explain it to you later." Ben brushed off their confusion.

Suddenly there was a bright golden glow causing the group of teens to go temporarily blind for a moment. When they regained their sight, they found themselves standing in front of a handsome man with reddish hair, a headband keeping his hair in place. He was wearing what appeared to Greek armor.

"Hey kids." The man greeted with a smile that Evie would have described as sweet.

"Hey Herc," Ben greeted. "What brings you here?"

"My niece is what brings me here."

"Claire is your niece?" Carlos asked.

Hercules chuckled. "You must be Carlos. Claire mentioned your love of knowledge." He smirked when he caught Carlos blushing. "I also think Claire has a crush on you."

At Hercules' comment, Ben, Mal and Evie exchanged amused looks.

"Don't worry son," Hercules said kindly. "There's a lot more to Claire then her 'all seeing, no hearing' attitude. She's my goddaughter but I see her parents as the brother and sister that I never really had."

"What did Cass and Icarus say when they found out about Claire's near blunder?" Ben smirked, exchanging looks with Mal who giggled.

"Icarus said that Claire was merely going through a phase while Cass wasn't happy. She said she would have come herself but she had a prophecy to deal with and Icarus was too busy helping his dad so they asked me to come instead."

"Well, your godliness," Mal said sweetly. "Allow us to show you to Claire."

"I like you… Mal, right?" Mal nodded. "You remind me a little bit of myself at your age."

"Do I really?" Mal asked in surprise.

"I was always willing to help others regardless if they wanted it. It was part of my training to become a hero. Phil made sure to drum that into me."

Mal looked at Ben who offered her a small smile. "Let me get changed first and then we'll show you to Claire."

"Sounds like a plan."

"But Uncle Herc, I didn't mean-"

Hercules, Mal, Carlos, Evie and Ben were standing in Claire's office in the student newspaper office with their arms crossed. When the newspaper staff had seen that Claire's godfather had arrived, they had made themselves scarce. Something about honoring a god or something along those lines.

"Claire, you know better then to spread gossip," Herc scolded his goddaughter. "Especially when it's about the possible future Queen of Auradon."

Mal's mouth opened and closed but no words came out. She had heard a lot of people say that she was going to be Queen of Auradon someday but until that happened, she didn't believe it. She looked over at Ben who was too busy watching the exchange between Hercules and Claire.

Claire clenched her jaw and bowed her head. "Yes, uncle." She muttered.

"Now, apologise to Mal."

"But I haven't done anything!"

"Claire." Hercules said sternly raising his eyebrows.

"Sorry, Mal. Sorry, Carlos. Sorry, Ben. Sorry Evie."

"Technically," said Evie. "You don't need to apologise to me. You didn't do anything wrong by me. Or by Carlos but I do have something that you might want to publish." She dug around in her bag until she found want she was looking for. She pulled out a USB drive and handed it to Claire.

Claire looked at the USB drive. "What's on it?"

"You'll find out. It's better then posting gossip."

Claire nodded and slipped the device into the pocket of her Greek inspired dress. "We done here?" she asked impatiently.

"Not just yet," Ben said slowly stringing the words out. "I think Auradon Prep could use with a lesson in not spreading gossip and rumors." He looked over at Mal who appeared to know exactly what he was referring to.

Audrey and Chad sat at their indoor breakfast table in the cafeteria. It was now Monday morning and the entire school seemed to be caught up in not only the fashion concepts that Evie had so kindly asked Claire to publish in the fashion section of the newspaper, but the article that Claire had published on the front page as well.

Chad shook his head. He knew who was behind this and apparently, so did Audrey. "I knew this was going to happen." The prince spat.

Audrey had to fight the urge to roll her eyes at her boyfriend. "Of course you did."

"Ben needs to pay."

Inside her heart of hearts, she secretly knew that spreading that rumor the year before hadn't been a good idea. She hated Mal, there was no denying it but there were other ways to make the daughter of her own mother's worst enemy pay. She thought back to Friday's Tourney game where Mal had passed out. What had that been about? The thought that Mal was pregnant was out seeing as Ben was too 'traditional' when it came the whole 'sex before marriage' debacle. Audrey knew of course, that Belle and Beast had drummed that into him from a young age. She also knew that Gia would never let him live it down either. So what could have happened that had caused Mal to pass out? Had she faked it just to get attention? Was it a ploy to get Auradon Prep to sympathise with her and her evil friends?

"Audrey?"

Audrey snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Chad's voice. "Huh?"

"I said that we need to give Ben and that wretch of his a taste of their own medicine."

There was a look on Chad's face that Audrey didn't like but she kept her thoughts to herself. "Like what?"

"Like… another rumor?"

Audrey gave him a disbelieving look. "That is totally unoriginal. We already set off one rumor. Look at where that got us."

"It got you suspended from cheerleading and everything that you love doing."

Gia had every right to suspend me from extra-curricular activities, she thought but said instead, "You're right. We need to make Mal and her friends pay and that includes our fellow Auradonians."

Chad was slightly taken aback by Audrey's desire for revenge. "There is one thing I can't get my head around," he said causing Audrey to raise an eyebrow. "What was with the whole fainting act on Friday? It would be downright sinful if that wretch was pregnant with Ben's kid."

Audrey bit her lip. She wasn't sure if she should speak up but she did anyway. "Mal isn't pregnant."

"What makes you think so?"

Audrey shrugged. "You know Ben as well as I do. He's too pure to knock a girl up. He'll wait until marriage to do that."

"She could have seduced him into bed." Chad said thoughtfully.

Audrey inwardly tensed. "It could have been a number of things." She dismissed. She just hoped that Chad hadn't heard her dismissive tone.

Chad's now hatred for Ben was at an all time high. Once upon a time Chad and Ben had been as thick as thieves. After all, they had grown up together with Audrey, Doug, Jane and the rest of the AKs but since Ben had made his first proclamation, things had been tense between them. Chad had made it quite clear that he hadn't liked the idea of the VKs being in Auradon.

After the incident involving Evie's near expulsion, Ben made it quite clear that no one was to mess with the VKs. Chad hadn't liked that and had taken to trying to show everybody just how like their parents the VKs were by trying to expose them at Family day which had neither succeed but nor had it failed. A lot of people had been left conflicted by the matter with many not knowing which side to pick.

After the coronation, Chad and Ben had ignored each other and it had stayed that way except for the incident involving the rumor and the small tussles on the Tourney Field.

Chad hadn't been happy when Audrey had been suspended from cheerleading but what made him even more pissed was his mother cornering him and pestering him about the rumor and how he had treated the VKs. Though he couldn't prove it, he knew Gia was behind it.

That bitch! Cinderella's son mentally cursed. Why hadn't he realised it before? The woman just wouldn't stay out of royal business. Oh wait. In the eyes of Auradon, Gia was royalty via adoption. She is the Lady of Auradon, after all.

Lady of Auradon. What did that even entail? To Chad, it entailed telling people what to do and acting as the King's personal lap dog. If he were king, he wouldn't even have an advisor the way Ben or his father did. Plus, what guy would even have a female best friend serving as their majordomo? Chad didn't know. To him, girls were merely playthings who had no right to serve as anything when it came to royal protocol.

Audrey watched the troubled expression cloud her boyfriend's face.

Boyfriend.

Chad was more like a rebound from her rather 'brutal' break-up from Ben. Or at least, that's how she thought of it. Thinking back to the way Ben had reacted to Mal's so-called fainting act, he never would have reacted that way if Audrey herself had of faked it.

If there was one thing Audrey had learned over the last year it was to watch what you say around anyone who actually supported Ben's proclamation and his relationship with Maleficent's spawn. Despite Ben being totally over her, Audrey felt cheated out of a relationship that hadn't, at least for her, even ended.

A part of her still loved Ben but also, part of her still wanted to get revenge on Mal for stealing him and constantly foiling her plans to win Ben back. Also, a secret part of her told her that Mal wasn't fully to blame for her foiled plans. The Lady of Auradon herself, Gia, was also partially responsible.

It was no secret that Audrey and Gia had it in for each other. They had hated each other since the moment they had met on Ben's first day of kindergarten. Gia had gone along with Belle and Adam to support Ben on his first day of school. It had also happened to be Audrey's first day too and she had barged into Gia with her backpack and hadn't apologised for it.

All throughout their childhoods, the pair had constantly argued and the rift between them had only grown larger. Ben had tried playing Switzerland between them but it hadn't worked. Also, all hell had broken loose when Ben had announced at dinner one night that he and Audrey had been dating.

Gia had thrown curses at him like there had been no tomorrow. It had taken Belle, Adam, Mrs. Potts, Lumière and Cogsworth to calm her down afterwards while Chip had been sent to comfort a slightly traumatized Ben. The curses had been awful and it hadn't just been verbal curses. It had been actual hexes, jinxes and other magical nasties as well.

Audrey had loved the story that had unfolded from that. Ben had told her that his foster sister obviously didn't approve of them being together. Nowadays, she did whatever she could to piss Gia off. Gia, however, knew her style too well and knew how to kick her ass.

With a defeated sigh, Audrey looked over to where the original VKs sat laughing with their AK friends.

Mal looked down at the newspaper article in front of her. Ben had asked Claire to write an article about how bad creating rumors and spreading gossip could be. She could feel Audrey and Chad's eyes on her back but she ignored them. She had to admit that Claire knew the subject of rumor and gossip all too well. Her mother after all was the prophet Cassandra who, according to her nephew and godson Hank, liked to gossip and spread rumors of her own.

Ben, who was sitting next to her, wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. "I have to admit," he said as he scanned the page Mal was reading. "Claire's outdone herself this time."

"She should get an award." Jay muttered as he too read the newspaper he was sharing with Lonnie and Doug.

"She's won the 'Auradon Young Journalist of the Year' award twice," Lonnie said looking up from her reading. "She knows her stuff."

"Sorry, I'm late," Evie said as she skidded to a halt at the table and planted herself next to Ben. "Miss Flora asked me to help her plan Aurora's dress for King Stefan's birthday party."

Mal's head shot up. "You're helping the Good Fairies make a dress for Audrey's mom?"

"That's what I said, M," Evie said. "Weren't you listening?"

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Lonnie asked.

"What do you mean?" Evie asked.

Lonnie looked at Evie like she had lost several brain cells.

"What?" Evie questioned.

"E, we know you're Flora's best student but remember? Aurora hates us." Mal exploded.

"So?" Evie said. "If I do a good job on this dress, there could be a chance that Aurora might just forgive us. It could even convince Audrey that we aren't all bad."

The gathered VKs and AKs looked around at each other. In a lot of ways, Evie had a valid point. A good word from Flora and her sisters could get the VKs into Queen Aurora's good books and possibly even Audrey's if she saw what a good job Evie had done on her mother's dress. Queen Leah might even change her views but it all could go horribly pear-shaped if something happened or was said out of context.

"Just be careful Evie," Ben warned. "Things with Audrey's family is already tense."

"Does Stefan count?" Doug asked.

"Nope. Stefan will never change his views. He actually believes in redemption. He's on our side."

"I always liked him," Lonnie mused. "He was always really nice to me."

Doug and Ben nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, he knows how tell his family where to-"

"Okay!" Mal interrupted. "Can we get back to the situation at hand?"

"Which one?" Jay snorted. "Evie's dressmaking debacle or Claire's article?"

"How about both of them?"

The group turned to their heads to see Carlos and Jane hurrying towards the table with Dude not fair behind them.

"How much of that did you hear?" Ben asked as the couple sat down.

"Just the bit about Evie making Queen Aurora's dress," said Jane as she practically slammed her tray down one the table, scaring the living daylights out of Doug. "NOT a good idea."

"Why does anyone say that? What could be sooo bad about making a dress for Queen Aurora?"

"She's a picky woman." Jane said.

"So? My mom's a picky woman too. Plus, I've got Flora giving me directions."

Mal snorted. "Since when do you, the great Princess Evelyn, daughter of the Evil Queen need directions in creating a dress for anybody?"

"Since I know this could be our one chance to impress Aurora?" Evie said sheepishly. "Come on Mal, this could your one chance to seek forgiveness from your mother's enemy. Isn't it worth a shot?"

Mal looked at her best friend to see that Evie was practically pleading with her. As much as she loved and adored Evie, she knew her friends were bound to back Evie up in their arguments. Groaning and rolling her eyes, she sighed. "Alright, fine but please be careful, E."

As it turned out, Evie's dress was total success with Aurora. She loved it so much that she had asked who had made it and Flora had told her that it was Evil Queen's daughter who made it. Aurora had been surprised and had decided to pay Evie a surprise visit.

Evie was in the fashion design room when there was a knock on the door. "Come in." she called. It felt strange telling someone they could enter a classroom.

The door opened revealing a beautiful woman who to Evie, looked incredibly familiar. She looked liked an older version of Audrey, only with blonde hair.

"Sorry, I was looking for Evie and I was told she might be in here." Aurora said as she closed the classroom door.

"I'm Evie. How can I help you?" Evie said, unsure of whether she should curtsey.

"My name's Aurora. I was told by my fairy friend Flora that you made the dress I wore to my father's birthday party a couple of days ago."

Evie blushed. "Oh, yeah, that was me."

Aurora could see that Evie was visibly uncomfortable.

Evie bit her lip. She remembered the stories that she had heard from Mal about how much her mother HATED Aurora and had tried to kill her with a spinning wheel needle.

"I came to thank you, my dear," Aurora said gently. "You have an eye for design, Evie. I have never seen anyone design anything quite as unique as you have." Audrey's mother stepped over to where Evie was sitting and took the seat opposite her.

"I'm glad you like it, Your Majesty." Evie gave a small smile.

"Aurora will do, my dear."

"Aurora it is then."

Aurora nodded. "Rumor has it," Evie stiffened. "That you are friends with Maleficent's daughter." She smiled kindly.

"Yeah. Mal." Evie nodded as she absently tapped the end of her pencil on her sketchbook.

"What's she like?" Aurora asked curiously.

Aurora's comment took Evie by surprise. "Mal's sweet. She's one of the best artists I have ever had the privilege of knowing. She's everything you could possibly want in a best friend."

Aurora appeared thoughtful. "She is not like Maleficent?"

"No. She tried to be like her mother but found, she couldn't. She always believed that there was something 'wrong' with her for not being as evil as her mother." Evie found she wanted to say more but suppressed what she wanted to actually say.

"I know there have been a lot of misconceptions about the villain kids," Aurora said thoughtfully. "I myself have thought that all VKs are like their parents."

"We VKs thought the same thing about the AKs at first," Evie blurted before covering her mouth with her hands. Aurora smiled but said nothing. "I guess there's more then meets the eye with the kids of hero and villains, huh?" Evie said as she lowered her hands from her mouth.

"I guess there would be," Aurora said with genuine nod. "I understand the way you think, Evie."

"You do?"

"Yes, I do. I was raised by fairies all because Maleficent wanted to curse me because my own parents didn't invite her to my christening. Honestly, Maleficent had the problem with my parents. Not me. Why she even wanted me dead is beyond me."

Evie knew what Aurora meant. Evil Queen was called what she was for one reason. She had married Snow White's father and become queen only to discover that her husband's daughter was to be the next queen when he died and was deemed 'the fairest of them all.' Evil Queen's vendetta should have been with her husband, not her stepdaughter.

"I agree. My own mother was angry and vengeful because her husband, who isn't my father by the way, wanted his own daughter to be queen as well as the 'fairest of them all'. She should never have taken out her anger on Snow White. She was just an innocent pawn in her plan like you were in Maleficent's."

Aurora was taken aback at how open-minded Evie was when it came to her opinions on her mother and Maleficent. She didn't have to second-guess whether Mal's view on Maleficent was the reason why Evie viewed her with the same distain.

"I don't blame Mal for what her mother did to me."

Evie looked up, startled. "You don't?"

"No," Aurora shook her head. "I don't blame her for anything. If there was something that my fairy friends taught me it was to never blame someone who was never at fault to begin with."

Evie blinked. "Yeah, that's… right."

Aurora smiled warmly. "I never thought I'd say this, but my mother and daughter were very wrong about you and your friends, Evie."

"Did you know that Audrey's 'forgiveness' towards Mal was an act at Ben's coronation?" Evie asked carefully.

"Yes, I did. I knew she was up to something the moment she went down in that curtsey. I am so sorry for the way Audrey has acted towards you all. Like I mentioned before, my parents never got to raise me and they wanted to make up for that with Audrey. My mother, however, has Audrey wrapped around her little finger. I know it's a horrid thing to say about your own mother but it's true. At first, I didn't mind her and my father helping in raising my daughter but now, I think it was a bad idea. Audrey holds a grudge. As does my mother. I remember what happened on Family Day last year and at the time, I thought you all got what you deserved. However, I know now that I was wrong to judge you all because of who your parents are and I will be forever sorry."

"What about Audrey, Queen Leah and Philip?" Evie asked as she tried to take in what Aurora was trying to tell her.

"Oh," Aurora chuckled. "I can handle them. As can my father. I believe that Gia did a noble thing in suspending Audrey from cheerleading. Audrey shouldn't have helped Chad in spreading that rumor."

"So what are you going to do now?" Evie asked.

"I'm going to go see Belle and Adam and see what I can do to help protect Ben and Mal."

Evie nodded, impressed. "You know Mal is incredibly sorry for breaking Audrey and Ben up."

"I know. Also, I think I speak for all people when I say that Audrey's cutesy nicknames of 'Benny bear' and 'Benny boo' were getting a little over the top."

"The nicknames grossed Mal out but she does use 'Benny boo' on occasion." Evie said thoughtfully.

Aurora laughed. "I'm glad that Mal and Ben are together."

"You are?" Evie said in surprise.

"Yes, I saw them together at the coronation and I think they are better together then what Ben and Audrey ever were."

"Well, I think Mal will be very happy to hear that."

Aurora smiled and laughed.

"I'm sorry, Aurora did WHAT?" Mal asked.

It was after dinner and Evie had skipped to get her work completed. She had arrived back at the dorm and spoken to Mal who had just come out of the bathroom with her toothbrush in her hand and toothpaste covering her mouth so it looked liked she had rabies.

"She apologised for everything Audrey has done to us." Evie said for what felt like the four hundredth time. "She's a really nice person. She's not as bad Ben and Gia have made her out to be."

Mal was finding this hard to believe. "E, you really are gullible at times. It could have been an act."

"If it had been an act, Mal, then she would never have given me this." She pulled a necklace from her bag and handed it to Mal.

"What is this? No. Better question. Where did you get this?" Mal asked as she examined it. It was pretty, no doubt. It was silver with a pendant that looked suspiciously like Maleficent's horns.

"Aurora, who else? Look, my point is, maybe we were wrong about Aurora. Maybe Ben and Gia were wrong about her too."

"Maybe." Mal said as she continued to examine the trinket. She walked over to her bed and picked up her new messenger bag that Gia had given her a few days earlier and slipped it over her head.

"Where you going?" Evie asked.

"To get this," Mal held up the necklace. "Checked over by Gia."

"Are you sure that you aren't being paranoid?" Evie asked.

Mal gave her a hard look before marching to the door and slipping out into the hall.

"This is safe. There is no hexes or curses on it."

Mal took the necklace from Gia. They were in the Lady of Auradon's office in the admin office block of Auradon Prep.

"You sure?" Mal said as she stuffed the pendant and chain back into her bag.

"Positive. I triple checked it just in case. Where did you get it anyway?"

"Evie. She had a surprise visit today in the shape of Audrey's mom, Queen Aurora herself."

Gia raised her eyebrows. "I got a call earlier from Belle saying that Aurora had been to see her and Adam. Something about wanting to protect you and Ben from Audrey and Chad's wrath. I was in too much shock to be paying attention quite honestly."

"You know Evie's dress wowed her, right?" Mal asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well aware. The photos from the party have been littering my social media pages all morning. They're all trending too."

"Evie must be really happy about that. She's never had any of her outfits trend on social media before."

"Does what she wore in the image of her almost 'killing' Audrey with her exposing cupcakes count?" Gia teased.

Mal gave her a hard look. "The exploding cupcakes were partially my fault. I was the one that cast the partial spell on the cupcakes."

"True." Gia beamed. "Rest assured that the necklace isn't cursed. In fact, there's going to be a party at the castle this weekend." Gia said, changing the subject halfway through the sentence.

"What's the party for?" Mal asked.

"Nothing special. It's just a get together that Belle and Adam have each year with a few of their closest friends and that includes a few of the sidekicks. The party last year was pushed forward because of my trip away and Ben's coronation. Plus, last year we had to endure Audrey's non-stop chatter about what she was going to wear to the coronation and blah, blah, blah. So, will you come? I think Ben will appreciate it and you can bring your friends. A lot of AKs are going to be there."

Mal thought about it for a moment. "Sure. I could do with a night out." She turned towards the door, her bag swinging with her. "I'll be sure to tell the others. See ya."

"Bye Mal."

Gia watched as Mal slipped out of her office.

Ben sat at his desk in the dorm room he shared with Doug.

Despite the fact he was now king, he had chosen to remain in the dorms at school. He didn't want people to think that he had suddenly turned into a snobby royal who cared little about his subjects.

The door of the room opened, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Hey Ben," Doug greeted as he entered the room. "How's your homework treating you?"

Ben groaned. "Hey Doug."

"That bad, huh?" Doug said as he put his bag on his bed complete with his trumpet case.

"I've got so much stuff I need to get done by tomorrow morning. I never thought being king was going to be so stressful."

"For a sixteen-year-old king it would be. Honestly, I don't know how you manage it." Doug said as he sat down on his bed.

"I honestly don't know how I do it either. I hope this gets easier as I get older."

Doug pursed his lips and nodded. "Oh! I got a text from Evie earlier."

"Oh?" Ben turned around in his chair, interested.

"According to what Mal told her, there's a party at the castle this weekend."

"Oh! Mom and dad's annual hero and sidekick get together! I totally forgot about it. What did Mal tell Evie?"

"From what Evie mentioned, Gia told Mal that she, meaning Mal, needs the distraction and by the look of things, so do you. You need to get out of this room."

"I get out of the room." Ben argued.

"Yes, for classes and meals. That's it. Come on, man. Live a little. Plus, it might lessen Gia's worrying over you."

Ben sighed and looked at his male best friend. He couldn't believe just how lucky he was to have such a great guy best friend in his life. He and Doug had always been close. They had known each other since Kindergarten where Ben had stopped bullies from picking on Doug because he had glasses on the first day.

Now that they were teenagers, Ben and Doug had a lot more in common. They were both nerdy to some degree with them both liking books and knowledge. They were both good at the subjects their fellow classmates considered pointless and stupid, Chemistry and History, respectively. They were both also dating VKs who just so happen to be best friends. Life was good for them.

Doug wasn't like any of the princelings that Auradon Prep had at its disposal. He wasn't royalty at all but Ben didn't care. To him, Doug was one of his best friends. Sure, Gia would always be his best, best friend but it was nice to have a friend that he could talk to who was the same gender. He wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Gia worries about everything." Ben whined.

"Can you blame her?" Doug snorted as he shoved his trumpet case under his bed. "She's not just your best friend, Ben. She's also your majordomo and I might add, your big sister."

"True but she worries too much."

"I can understand why though, Ben. You're king now and I think she feels that she's losing her baby brother."

The thought hit Ben like a ton of bricks. "You really think that's why she's overbearing?"

"I think so. But Ben, don't you think that your parents' party will be the ideal distraction? It will give you the chance to hang out with Mal." Doug practically sang.

The mention of Mal made Ben brighten up. "I think you're right, Doug. I can't let all this stuff get the better of me. It doesn't matter whether my work is school or country based. I need to get out of this room."

Doug smiled. "That's the spirit. Now, I've gotta go."

"Where're you going?"

"I've got a music lesson with Aunt Snow in like ten minutes."

"See you later, yeah?" Ben said as Doug nodded and headed for the door. He failed to notice that Doug hadn't taken his trumpet with him.

Okay so there you have it. So now Ben and Mal need to be de-stressed and a party is ideal for that. So, next chapter is Belle and Beast's party. A lot of this chapter wasn't intentionally written. It just came to me and I had to write it down before I forgot about it. The party chapter wasn't originally planned either but stories change all the time right? Anyway, Cassandra and Icarus will make an appearance next chapter and Aziz will FINALLY make an appearance but it will be very small. Also, there will be a bit of Jay and Gia action next chapter too.

To be continued...