Beth P.O.V.

Looking into the mirror, I didn't fully recognize myself. Yes, I saw the same brown eyes staring back at me, but everything else was different. My long brown hair was styled into a formal Dutch fishtail up do. The dress was fancier than anything I had ever seen, let alone wore before. The blue silk cascaded down and formed a small train behind me. It had a sweetheart neckline. There was an attached, long sleeved, sheer, and bejeweled crop top. The diamond earrings that I wore hung low and barely brushed my shoulders. The silver stilettoes were slightly uncomfortable, as I wasn't used to wearing them. Most of all, I stared at the small diamond tiara that sat upon my head. I studied it carefully. Followed the intricate pattern with my eyes. Noticed how every sapphire had been carefully placed. I sighed. They really went all out for this coronation. I wasn't sure that I could handle it. I never liked being the center of attention. Now, I was going to be the one that everyone would be talking about, for who knows how long. My parents, King Adam and Queen Belle of Auradon, were going to be announcing the return of their daughter. The return of me. It was a lot of pressure. I wasn't sure if my bruised shoulders could carry it all. There was one thing that I knew for certain, though. I was going to try my absolute hardest to make the kingdom proud. To make my parents proud.

"What are you thinking about?" Asked a soft voice. I had been so wrapped up in my own head that I hadn't even see Queen Belle, my mother, enter the room. She was standing right by the door in a beautiful dress of her own.

"The coronation," I admitted as I turn to face her. She had an understanding look on her face and a kind smile.

"There's nothing to worry about," She reassured as she moved closer.

That's when I started to think about Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos. Damn. They were going to try and steal the wand at the coronation. I know that they didn't want to do it, even if they won't admit it to themselves. I also knew that if their parents ever found out that they were having second thoughts, it wouldn't end well. Mom seemed to sense my change in mood.

"Everything will be absolutely fine. You'll be great. Everyone will love you," She tried to reassure once more. I knew that wasn't true. I could name a few people who certainly would not like me, especially after this. Thankfully, none of them were in Auradon. "I know that this isn't exactly the same, but, I was very nervous during my coronation." I gave her a disbelieving look that caused her to laugh. "It's true. I was terrified."

"How did you deal with it?" I asked as she took my hand in hers.

"I took a lot of deep breaths," Mom joked as we shared a small laugh. "That and something that my father, your grandfather, had said to me. He told me that 'If the people don't love you for who you are, then they are missing out. Just be you and everything else will fall into place.' His words really helped me, and I hope that they will help you too."

I thought about the words that were just recited to me. "They do help. Grandpa Maurice sounds like a wise man. Definitely not crazy." Mom let out a laugh.

"So, you've heard the stories?" She questioned, her eyes were sparkling. I had a feeling that it was a rhetorical question, but I responded nevertheless.

"Oh yeah. Gaston won't shut up about it. Your story was always one of my favorites," I confessed. It felt nice to have someone to talk to, besides my friends. It felt nice to have a real mother. A mother who actually cared.

"I think you'll like him. He's not here unfortunately. He had to take care of some out of country business," Mom explained as I nodded. I understood. People were busy. Now that I knew who my family was, I had all the time in Auradon to spend with them and to get to know them.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it," Mom answered.

"Did you ever stop looking for me?" I questioned, but I was a little afraid of the answer that I would receive.

Mom seemed to stop and think about it. Probably choosing the best words. "Not completely." She finally said. I tilted my head to the side just a little bit, to show that I didn't really understand. She continued. "At first, we sent out every soldier we had to find you." I nodded, remembering Dad's words. "As time went on, we couldn't send out as many, but we would still send everyone that we could spare. We never stopped looking, but I think a little part of us did give up on the thought that we would ever see you again. If it weren't for Ben, I don't think we would be having this conversation right now." I nodded once more. It had been 17 years. I couldn't blame either of them. I was just glad that my brother had such a big heart. Huh. That was something I never thought I would say.

"Well. Thank you for never completely giving up on me," I thanked as she gave me a warm hug.

"I better give you some space so you can finish getting ready, huh?"

I didn't really need to get ready, but it would be nice to have a few moments to myself before I made an appearance in front of all of Auradon. Don't get me wrong, I loved spending time with my mom, but I needed a breath.

"Both of my girls are looking beautiful," Came another voice from the doorway. It was King Adam, my father. Mom and I smiled. "Beth, you look stunning and you'll be great out there." He held out his arm for mom. She took it gently. She turned to me before walking out of the room.

"Just remember to breath. Okay?" She reminded as I smiled. It was refreshing to have parents who genuinely cared about me.

"I definitely will remember that," I waved as they exited the room and disappeared down the hall.

I turned back to the mirror to give myself another look. I knew that it was unnecessary, but I was paranoid. I most certainly didn't want to make a fool of myself in front of the entire kingdom. I was so focused on my thoughts that I didn't even see the orange smoke that was starting to snake around my ankles. I didn't see it until it was completely surrounding me. Even then, I didn't fully register what was happening. I didn't realize until it was too late to stop it.

I tried to link the websites that I used for Beth's outfit, but no matter how hard I tried IT WOULD JUST NOT WORK!

Dutch fishtail up do (#4) - I used [the right hairstyles] website. I Googled 'formal hairstyles for long hair' and it was the first website to pop up.

Beth's dress for the coronation - I used [pinterest] to find the dress. I searched 'prom dresses blue' and it was like the first image to pop up. Just look for the dress that matches the description that I gave, but without sleeves. (The original doesn't have sleeves. It's royal blue, not light blue. There is an image of a light blue dress right next to it that looks very similar.) {/pin/603904631252998976/} that's what comes after the base web address.

Hiya! Thank you all so much for reviewing, favoriting, or following. Thank you for simply reading. Only a couple chapters left! Yay! A lot of you really want a sequel, so that will be a thing. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully the next one will be out soon.