A/N: I love adorably stupid Chad, and I also love cross-polinated yellow-pink roses. I have some at home. (I hope I did a good job writing Ben's train-of-thought pov in this chapter)

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"I can't stay here, Ben." Chad had whispered after the broadcast was over, and the talking heads were back, chatting about the latest development.

"What are you planning to do?" Ben asked, and was distracted from the answer by a courier, who approached him warily, as if there were assassins around every corner.

"Your highness, I have news. It would have gone to your parents, but..."

"But they are indisposed at the moment. I understand." Ben replied solemnly.

"As you know, your father arranged for three ships to head for the Isle as soon as the barrier dropped, to prevent future catastrophe such as the one we suffered last month." The courier explained, referring, of course, to the first time the barrier fell, and scared them all into doing something.

"Right. And?" He hoped they hadn't gotten to poor Evie and Carlos, alone on the island with no defenses. His stomach dropped with the thought of it. Surely they'd be kept alive as bargaining chips in the negotiations with Mal?

"And, well... This is hard to say out loud, milord, but all three ships are sunk. The crew barely made it back with their lifeboats." The courier explained, embarrassed, as if the sinking of the ships was his fault, personally.

"Oh goodness. I see then. Um... Did my father say anything about what to do after that attack?" Ben asked in his most authoritative voice, to hide how he unprepared he felt. How unworthy to stand in the place his father stood.

"No, sire."

"Well then..." Ben thought for a moment, biting his cheek in concentration, before nodding to himself. "Alright. Can you get a message to the troops? Tell them to stand down, and not cause any trouble with fhe new rulers?"

"Not cause any trouble!? Ben, she locked up our parents!" Chad exclaimed from the background, making Ben remember he was actually still there.

"Chad, if you recall, your own mother won her fortune through right of conquest when she usurped House Tremaine. It's not just legal, it's necessary, and if Mal Morgana uses the law for her benefit, we'll have to fight her through the channels of the law."

"Okay...? And, how do we do that?" Chad asked with that vacant expression he usually wore, the one that Ben often wanted to smack off of him.

"Fight fire with fire, Chad." Ben explained, and the vacant look remained firmly in place.

"But if we did that... Wouldn't the fire just get stronger? You should fight fire with water. Or maybe dirt."

"We won't be using literal fire, you doofus. We'll be using right of conquest, just like she did." Ben explained, and enjoyed watching the light in Chad's eyes as it clicked.

"Oh, right! We just have to assemble an army and return with our pikes out and swords swinging!" Chad exclaimed. "Let's go!"

"Not us Chad, you. I have to stay behind and deal with what my father did while he's gone." Ben explained.

"Aw! Wouldn't be a road-trip without my best bud, but I guess I still see the logic." Chad sighed. "I'll be back, Ben. I'll be back soon, and I'll bring you an army!"

That had been a full week ago, and through texts and phone calls, Ben got the impression that Chad wasn't having much luck, which was about what he'd expected. He had suggested the idea as a way to get his friend out of trouble and away from the capital while he was planning his next move. He couldn't visit his parents (the guards at the dungeons wouldn't let him in), and the next option was to speak with Mal, who would know what was going on, at least.

He made an appointment through Jane, and Mal agreed to meet with him, deciding on a walk through the park for the venue of their discussion. On that day, the roses were in full bloom, and all colors. Because of the well-kept palace bees, there was a lot of cross-polination (on purpose of course), so white roses had splashes of red, like the painted blooms in Alice's memoir, and yellow roses had streaks of pink. Red roses were slowly becoming purple roses, and were Mal's favorites.

"What did you want to talk to me about, Ben?" The woman asked sweetly, almost making Ben forget about his inner conflict, the thoughts that felt like they'd rip his chest apart if he focused on them for too long.

Who do I choose? Mal or my father? The woman I love (who may be using me), the man who raised me (whom I will never live up to)?

The thoughts chased each other around in his head, one leading to another, again, and again, until he wanted to hurl, like spinning too fast on a playground carousel.

"What is going to happen to my parents?" Ben asked, nearly choking on the words. He felt hot and cold at the same time, pale and flushed.

"What do you want to happen to them, Ben?" Mal asked, and it was the prettiest sound in the world. She said his name like it meant benevolence and benefit, and all the good things b-e-n could become.

"I- I want..." And he didn't know what he wanted. Mal could make it so that his father never looked at him with disapproval again (he knew how she'd cowed the Evil Queen). And she could also kill them. And she could free them, and he could introduce her to them, right? This could all still be okay.

"I want you to let them go." Ben finally replied. Mal's back was turned to him, but he could tell by the stiffness in her shoulders that she wasn't pleased. Finally, she turned to face him, and the look she gave Ben made his heart stop, and rise in his throat, made him feel like the colour green and the scent of old copper.

"No, Ben darling." Her voice explained, like ringing bells. "I think you need to let them go."

All the disappointment washed away and his heart beat again, as he realized she was angry at his parents, and not at him.

"I love you." He whispered. "You know that, don't you?"

(A smile that Ben, with his rose-tinted, lovesick eyes couldn't tell was too hollow, too brittle to be genuine.)

"I know." Mal smiled. I know because I made the strongest love spell in history and wove it into your soul. I used the tears of my true love to ensnare you.

"Chad is gathering an army." He blurted, unable to keep his thoughts straight around her. It was like the time Aziz offered him pot ('It's for finals, man. Take a chill.') and everything seemed amusing and scary at once.

"And how is that working out for him?" She giggled.

"About as well as you'd think." Ben replied.

"Yes, indeed." Mal purred, pressing a light kiss to Ben's forehead. "Everything is turning out exactly as I thought."

Things were easier when he wasn't in such close contact with Mal. He could think clearer, he wasn't so distracted by her beauty. As soon as he left Mal, Li Lanying fell to her knees before the new queen and begged her family to be spared. Not her parents of course, who'd already been hauled away, but her little brother and sister, who were both five. Mal simply smiled graciously at her, and said,

"You're already on the safe list." With a knowing smile.

"Me? Why? What did I ever do to deserve your notice?" Lonnie had asked, and the new High Queen gave her a wink.

"You were Jane's only friend, Lanying, and I value the friends of my followers. You came to talk with me over tea, and confided your fears and innocence." Mal grinned in a true smile, the welcoming of a new follower into her fold. "Rise, Li Lanying, and take your place in the new world order."

"What is my place, Queen?" The girl asked, and Mal got a far-off look in her eye.

"Whatever you want. This is a new world. You can be anything you want to be."

And she spoke to Li Lonnie, but looked into Ben's soul.

The next day after his talk with Mal, the first from the Isle came over. Evie with her mother and entourage, Mal's goblins and servants, and all who were employed by House Morgana. The girls met in the courtyard and kissed with the passion of lovers who'd been separated for too, too long (she's never kissed you like that, a little voice in Ben's mind taunted him). And the sickness rolled around in his stomach (she loves you, she loves you not). They kissed like soulmates.

Carlos would come the next day, with the rest of the army and all the retainers of House DeVil. Any people left on the Isle were not a member of the court, and Mal didn't care about them. They could stay there and rot, or leave and find a better life. She had cared for her own, and that was the best Mal had ever had to offer. Carlos and Jay were locked in an embrace like they'd been apart for years instead of weeks, and Carlos whispered something into the older boy's ear with a wicked smile that made Jay match his smirk with a smouldering kiss.

("You're mine, Jahid Jafarson. Mine, mine, mine." He'd whispered. "Yours, always, forever." Jay had murmured after the kiss, against Carlos' neck with a frantic kind of love that can only be known by those who've been parted.)

The new arrivals were swiftly integrated into castle life, and Grimhilde finally got her mother-in-law wing where she lived in comfort, and Evie never had to see her unless she wanted to. Mal's servants began working with the Auradon servants, and Mal began making arrangements for a grand coronation, all while she dug through page after page of legislation, cutting spending and raising the budget for helping those who needed it most. She and Evie and Jay and Carlos talked about what any ruler most needed, and they chatted about it long into the morning, because they were young, and they had everything they ever wanted (a safe home, hot cocoa by the fire, cuddling next to one's true love), not knowing they would lay the groundwork for a future meritocracy.

(They were still just teenagers, save Jay who was on the cusp of twenty.)

Messages from Chad kept coming, even when Ben wanted to crush his phone with beastly strength, and the thought of choosing between his best friend and his (unrequited?) love made him so sick with nerves he could barely keep down food.

"My family's own personal bodyguard told me the only reason he signed up was because his brother was sent to the Isle, and he needed a guard's salary to feed his sister-in-law and kids! Can you believe it?" Chad had asked, and Ben typed back,

"No way," Even though he could believe exactly what Chad was going through. On one tour of the gardens, a peasant had actually thrown a tomato at him! Him, prince Ben, the only one of the old royals who ever tried to do something!

But when he thought about it, what did he actually do but fall in love with Mal? He brought her gifts and resources (because he loved her) and helped her get into the council (because he loved her). Did he ever do anything that was good for the people, for any reason other than obligation or his blind and rosy love? The answer scared him, and it was the very reason Ben would never get out of his father's shadow. Not until he did something incredible to mark him down as a true hero.

"Thee truth is," Chad had written, "I'm going to have to go this alone."

"What do you mean?" Ben asked.

"I've got no one. The only one who'd even sell me supplies was a mercenary who might actually be from the Isle in the first place."

"What supplies did you need, Chad?" Ben asked, sort of impressed that Chad of all people had come up with a plan.

"Crossbow with iron tipped bolts."

Iron.

The only thing that could harm a Fae.

Mal hadn't told him if it could kill or not, but she didn't have to. She shied away from the stuff and everyone knew that iron kept away witches and Fae.

"When is the next time she'll be in public?" Chad asked, and Ben knew. He knew, but could he tell his friend, who planned to kill her? Once the awful deed was done, Ben thought he might put the next bolt through his own heart, and burn the beast (a fae curse) out of his bloodline forever.

"The coronation." He didn't need to say what day it was. There'd been ads on the television for days now. Chad would know, and he'd be in the audience with the only thing that could stop her now.