Chapter Eighteen
A/N: I do not own anything with the exception of my OC's. Everything else belongs to Disney.
*takes a breath* Whoo! We've made it over the half way point you guys-just five more months of 2020 to go. That being said, how are there still five months to go before this year is over?!
Well, there's one good thing 2020 gave me: Hamilton on Disney+ with the original Broadway cast...PHILLIPA SOO WAS ROBBED OF HER TONY!
Okay, okay, I'm cool, I'm calm :D
Also apologies for the delay in posting: while I dislike the 'Ben spelled' scenes, this scene held me up for one reason: Mitchell Hope in that freaking beanie! Every time I'd get distracted looking at him and then have to back up what had played and the whole saga would repeat. Don't ask me how I got around it, I *still* don't know.
AmethystDragon14: Oh I'm so glad you liked the chapter! It was probably one of my favorites to write and the most frustrating because of how little dialogue there was. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Tracie: Sorry that it's a little late but I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Hufflepuffgirl95: Yeah, that wasn't one of my better endings. Hope you enjoy this chapter! By the way, you're right with your theory!
ashley1985: You're welcome!
danifan3000: ...how does Sher Kahn run a pawn shop? He's a tiger! *shakes head* does he eat people who try to argue with him?
Mythology216: Well I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!
estherramsayaa22: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!
Guest: So I actually had to look up Wicked World to understand that reference but now I do and you're right.
twilightgirl587: I'm so glad you liked it! Hope you like this one!
Grace: Yes, the smoke bomb reference is a tie to when Mal, Jay, Uma and Harry were 'allies' if you want to call it that. Since Mal and Uma were friendly when they were young and Harry's devoted to Uma, it wouldn't make sense that Harry and Mal wouldn't be on the same terms. It certainly makes it easier to find things to make comments on-nine times out of ten, the comments characters make are just things that pop into my head when I watch the movie.
manticore-gurl071134: To quote another reviewer, Ben got hit with the idiot stick in D2.
SlytherinAvengerPrincess: *looks innocent* what heartbreaking and soul crushing cotillion scene? I just see an adorable Mal/Ben kiss followed by Mal turning into a dragon.
Kaybugg1: Thank you! Yeah, I really don't like those scenes-they get skipped whenever I watch it. I did! Hope you did too!
Mal Faery: Descendants 3: King Ben isn't in the dog house with anyone! :D
Thank you! I'm glad you like it!
Guest: Happy Belated Birthday!
lilyflower101: Oh I'm sure there's still time for that to happen!
Charm: *hands Charm another cookie* I understood that reference! And agree with its usage!
I mean, it's possible! They're both French-unfortunately that's about all I know about Adrien Agreste.
Technobabble1: Oh thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it and I'm glad you like my OCs!
DOAWOTA: There will be a third viewing. The 'break' story I have planned for after this will hopefully tie the loose ends together. I mean, it probably won't be perfect but it'll probably be better than what the movies did.
CrystalKaouri: Oh hi! That is a very interesting theory and one that could be right. I mean anything's plausible and the Core 4 didn't do the best job at hiding the limo. The only question I've got is how Uma was able to get around the barrier. Still, a better explanation for how Uma got off the Isle than the movie gave...which was nothing. To quote the Nostalgia Critic: EXPLAIN MOVIE, EXPLAIN!
Ayakitten83: Eh, I give them a pass just because it's not like Ben's a random kid. He's the King. Even if this hasn't happened yet, they're still going to be concerned.
Guest: Oh thank you! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you guys think!
"Here we go," Jay said as the limo approached the bridge. Pressing the button to open the barrier, the limo was a-washed with bright yellow light as it drove over the bridge.
"Oh thank Gods," Mulan muttered under her breath. Yes she knew Lonnie could handle herself in a fight but that didn't mean she wanted her little girl spending any more time than necessary on the Isle.
As the kids made their way back to Auradon, Lonnie and Jay looked at each other; Lonnie sighing in relief.
'Why don't you stop by practice later?" Jay said, breaking the silence.
"Jay, what are you thinking?" Mal asked. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
"If I knew, I'd tell you," Jay responded, shooting her a smirk and Mal rolled her eyes.
"What, in the mood to break some rules?" Lonnie asked, smirking as she turned to face him.
"That's Jay every day," Carlos chuckled.
"No." Jay scoffed and Lonnie faced forward again, chuckling a little. They drove up to the school and the six of them made their way onto the quad;
"And of course no one is questioning why everyone's dressed in Isle garb, especially Ben," Kitty shook her head at the obliviousness of her school mates.
"Not gonna lie, Ben looks good in that beanie though," Lucy muttered. Mal was definitely a lucky girl.
Mal smirked, having heard the younger girl's mutter. "Have to agree with Lucy there Ben," she told him, keeping her voice soft so Lucy didn't hear her. Mal didn't want to embarrass the poor girl.
Ben flushed but chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind," he told her.
Mal walking with her head down and arms crossed.
Macaria frowned at seeing her cousin's body language. It's clear that Mal needs to talk to someone. Where am I? I wouldn't have left school grounds, unless I'm getting ready for Cotillion.
"I'll get these back to the gym," Lonnie said.
"Thanks."
"See you later," Lonnie told Jay as she walked off.
"No one's going to question Lonnie walking through the quad with a bag of swords?" Aziz asked.
"It's Lonnie," Emir told him with a small shrug of his shoulders. "We call that a Tuesday."
Jane, meanwhile, walked up to Ben and Mal.
"Ben! There you are," she said. "Cotillion's tonight."
Akiho chuckled. "There you are," he repeated. "Like you're a kid who's mom's been looking for him, not the king of Auradon."
"Hey, I practically grew up with Jane," Ben said, shaking his head in amusement. "She, Chad, Lonnie and Audrey have been in my life since I was an infant."
"Still amusing though dude," Akiho told him. "Also, if Jane's been in your life as long as you say she has, why is she not questioning your Isle attire?"
"Oh I'm sure if we weren't on the quad, she'd be peppering me with questions," Bel told him.
Jane motioned for Ben to come closer as she showed him what was on her tablet.
"So, I don't want to be that person," Eugene said, "but Mal's right there. She could see what's on the tablet if she wanted to."
"Come here," she said. "Look, this is the stained glass window for Mal. Isn't it beautiful? She's gonna love it."
Mal smiled. "It really is beautiful Ben," she told him. "I'm just sorry your surprise got ruined."
"Hey, you're more important than some surprise," Ben told her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Besides, there's two days til Cotillion. I'm sure I can think of another surprise."
Ben, however, leaned over to Mal and muttered to her. "Do you want to cancel?"
Mal looked at Ben in shock.
As did most of the kids watching in the theater.
"Seriously?" Rowyn exclaimed. "There are hours until Cotillion and you ask her if she wants to cancel?"
"Never mind the fact that the Gazelle would have a freaking field day if you showed up alone, but this is supposed to be Mal's induction into the court," Emma added. "She can't cancel."
"Guys!" Elle shouted. "This hasn't happened yet. Let's stop jumping down Ben's throat and focus on that."
"Plus, at least he asked Mal," Melody pointed out. "He could have just stood her up."
"I feel I should be worried that was the first place your mind went," Elle told her little sister.
"Um, you know what? I can come back," Jane said. "Uh, but, like, really, really soon."
"Poor Jane. That's got to be awkward," Gil said softly, making sure Uma didn't hear him. He knew he was supposed to hate Mal and the others because of what Mal did to Uma but he couldn't. Mal was always nice to him, or at least as nice as one could be on the Isle. She didn't judge him because of his father failing to kill Beast and therefore allowing the ruler of Auradon to round up all the villains and stick them on the Isle.
Plus she was friends with Carlos, who had been his friend once upon a time; before he became friends with Mal and Gil had become friends with Uma. Anyone who looked after the smaller boy was alright in Gil's book.
"No, no, no," Ben told Jane. "No, no, no. Now's fine. Um…"
"Now is not fine," Emir said, giving Ben a look. "What you mean is 'okay I'll catch up with you later. I need to have a talk with Mal.'"
"Emir?" Ben asked.
"Yes?"
"Is the golden border around the screen still glowing?"
"I'm going to get off your back now."
"Thank you." Ben chuckled. He couldn't help but be touched by his friends' concern even for events that hadn't yet happened.
He glanced at the tablet before leaning back toward Mal. "Do whatever you need to do," he muttered. Mal and Ben looked at each other with Ben's hand resting on Mal's hip before Ben walked off with Jane.
"Something's wrong with him," Akiho muttered, shaking his head. "That's not Ben."
"He's probably just sleep deprived. I mean he was held hostage. Call me crazy but I don't think hostage takers allow their captives to get a good night's rest," Emir muttered back. Just because he had promised Ben he'd get off his back didn't mean he wasn't concerned.
"Did you hear any random French usage?" Akiho asked. "Cause I didn't. You know Ben unintentionally slips into the French when he's sleep deprived."
"It doesn't help that he's bilingual, the whole slipping in and out of French," Emir nodded. "But you're jumping to conclusions. It's like you're assuming Ben's spelled or something."
"Emir, my grandparents are rock trolls who can alter memories." Akiho told the prince of Agrabah. "That's the first conclusion I always come up with."
"How many times have you been right?"
"That's besides the point!"
Meanwhile, Hades was glaring at Ben. It didn't matter to him that this hadn't happened yet; that was still his daughter.
"Dear, ease up on the death glare," Persephone whispered, resting a hand on Hades' shoulder. "This hasn't happened yet and by the looks of things, it won't happen."
"We need to talk," Evie said, walking up to Mal.
"Yeah," Mal said as the two of them began to walk off on their own.
"Finally, someone's communicating!" Macaria sighed. There were so many problems that could be avoided if Mal had just talked to someone. Okay, maybe she should revise that statement. After all, Mal had tried to talk to people; people just didn't listen.
"No." Carlos told them.
"Oh come on!"
Mal couldn't help but smile a bit at Carlos. It was rare for him to tell someone 'no', let alone her and Evie.
"No?" Evie asked, as if shocked Carlos had been the one to tell them that.
"You guys are always going off in a huddle," Carlos told them, "whispering your girl talk stuff or whatever, and Jay and I are tired of it."
"I'm not." Jay said quickly as of trying to avoid getting dragged into the conversation.
"Sure you're not, Jay," Mal chuckled.
"I'm used to it Mal," Jay said with a shrug. "You've done it since you were five after all."
Mal sighed and gave him a small smile, trying to not think of another life where she would sneak off to talk with a different blue haired girl. That life disintegrated when they were nine. Evie, Jay and Carlos, they was her family.
"We're your family, too," Carlos said after a few minutes of silence. "We've been through a lot. Together. I'm not stopping that now. Okay?"
"Everyone, sit," Carlos said and sat down on the grass, Dude woofing a little as he did so.
"Woof!" Neal said, laughing a bit at the command.
"Good boy!" Emma praised. "Now roll over!"
"Emma!"
"You gave me the opening," Emma chuckled.
"Come on," Carlos said as everyone else remained standing. The girls and Jay sat down on the grass and Dude whined. "You too," Carlos told Dude who sat in Carlos' lap. The four of them looked at each other.
"So is someone going to talk or are you just going to stare at each other?" Uma asked, rolling her eyes. Whatever was going on was a waste of time; honestly she wanted to see what her new plan was going to be to get off the Isle since the wand was a fake and Mal had gotten Beastie Jr off the Isle.
"I don't know how to start girl talk," Carlos said after a moment of silence and looked at Jay.
"Don't look at me," Ashaki said. "I've got two brothers and both my parents are only children."
"I have two sisters and still don't know how to start girl talk," Kitty told her with a chuckle.
"What up?" Jay asked, giving a small shrug causing Evie to chuckle.
"I'm so starting girl talk with that when I talk with Paige from now on," Lucy giggled.
"Um, well…" Mal said, chuckling nervously and her voice breaking; Evie resting a hand on her shoulder.
Ben frowned and the arm he had wrapped around Mal's shoulders tightened a little in comfort. He had never wanted to be the type of boyfriend that Mal couldn't come to, couldn't talk to.
"I'm a mess. I'm such a mess. I mean, six months ago, I was, you know, stealing candy from babies, and now everybody wants me to be this Lady of the Court. And I have no idea how to keep up the act."
"She's got a point," Anastasia said softly. "It's unfair to expect Mal to be able to flip a switch after sixteen years of being told there's only one way to act."
"Yeah well since when has my life been fair?" Mal muttered.
"Mal, there's no right way to be a Lady of the Court," Aurora said gently. "Sure there's the stereotypical Princess way, which I know I'm one of them."
"But there's also ones like Ariel and Belle," Cinderella added. "Jasmine as well."
"Tiana too," Mulan added, the aforementioned princess blushing a little at being mentioned. "I don't know any other royal that owns her own business."
"Says the woman with a body count," Tiana said with a smile.
"The point they're trying to make Mal," Aladdin said, "is you don't have to be anyone but yourself. And I think we all owe you an apology. The whole point in bringing you in to the Learning to be Royal club was to help you navigate the perils of royal life. We should have been more attentive."
"You all had your own lives," Mal shrugged. "I mean, about a third of you either gave birth or learned you were expecting kids."
"Believe it or not, we can handle multiple things at once," Eugene said in a deadpanned voice. "Comes with the territory of being parents as well as rulers of kingdoms."
"Eugene!" Rapunzel scolded.
"Am I wrong?"
"Then don't." Carlos told her.
"Oh what great advice," Harry scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"Can it, Hook," Carlos said, glaring at the older boy. "I don't see you offering anything helpful!"
Harry growled but one look from Uma stopped him from confronting Carlos even further. He'd get his chance at some point.
"See? This was dumb," Jay said as he prepared to stand up.
"Emotional range of a teaspoon," Rose muttered, shaking her head.
"Maybe it wasn't," Evie told him and Jay sat back down. Evie grabbed Mal's hand as she turned to look at the boys. "We're always gonna be the kids from the Isle. I tried to forget it. I really tried, but those are our roots."
Doug grabbed Evie's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, while Snow White gave her a small smile.
"E, it's easier for you," Mal said softly. "You were raised to be a princess. You were basically already an Auradon girl."
"I'm still a girl from the Isle," Evie told her. "No matter what, it's a part of me."
"And we all did what we had to do to survive. But it made us who we are. And we're never gonna be like anybody else here. And that's okay. That's okay."
"And we can't fake it," Carlos added.
"Exactly," Eugene nodded. "Being yourself is a lot less stressful than trying to play a part."
"Says the guy who invented an entirely different persona because he hated his name," Evan muttered under his breath.
It wasn't as quiet as he thought as Ruby whacked him over the head.
"If these are your 'sullen teenage years', warn me now so I can stay far away from you," she told him.
"No."
"Yeah. I mean, especially without my spell book," Mal said.
Mal stared at the screen in shock. "I know it's missing? Why in the world am I not freaking out?! It's only the most powerful object imaginable—Fairy Godmother's wand notwithstanding."
"Mal, is that really the part we should be focusing on?" Macaria asked.
"Oh you mean that Uma now has access to Maleficent's spell book considering I left it on the Isle and the future version of myself apparently knows it's missing and isn't acting accordingly?"
"You know what, maybe that is the right thing to focus on," Macaria nodded.
"Except for the fact that Uma's on the Isle," Hyllus pointed out, giving his younger cousin a comforting smile "and as we've mentioned multiple times, there's still a magical barrier around the Isle. Uma wouldn't be able to use the spell book even if she wanted to."
"Mal, if Ben doesn't love the real you, then he's not the one," Carlos told her.
"Mal, the only thing that matters to me is that you're happy," Ben said, looking at Mal. "If the real you is the leather clad, purple haired, blunt, smirking girl you were when you arrived in Auradon, the girl who used to have no issue marching into my office when she felt I'd worked too long, then of course I love her. I never wanted you to feel like you had to change yourself for me."
"Ben, what if the kingdom turns on you for dating a villain instead of a proper Lady of the Court?" Mal asked, turning to Ben with worry evident in her eyes. She didn't even care that she was revealing a weakness in front of Uma; all the scenes they had watched had been so emotionally draining that Mal could barely keep her walls up anymore.
"Mal, I'm French," Ben told her, gently brushing a bit of hair behind her ear. "We practically invented dealing with political unrest in the kingdom. As long as we do it together, I don't care what happens."
"Besides, like we said before, there'd be a line of people anyone would have to go through before they got to either you or Ben," Emir said.
"I have a giant snowman who would be happy to lend his services to teach anyone who wanted to harm you two a lesson," Akiho told Mal. "Marshmallow's a sweetheart except for when someone wants to harm Aunt Elsa, mom, dad, me or my friends."
"I know some Gods who would be happy to lend a hand," Macaria said with a smirk. "Uncle Ares is never one to turn down a fight."
"Uncle Yao, Uncle Ling and Uncle Chen-Po would be more than happy to help as well," Lonnie chimed in.
"So are we proud that our son is standing by his friends or concerned that his first thought is to offer aid in the form of his aunt's giant snowman?" Kristoff muttered to Anna.
"Can we be both?"
"I like that," Evie said with a small smile.
"Give him a chance," Carlos added.
"I'm gonna make some changes to your dress," Evie told Mal. "And if you're up for it, only if you're up for it, it will be waiting for you, okay?"
"What changes could you possibly make on it?" Rachel asked. "It looked pretty complete when we saw it."
"Trust me, it wasn't," Evie said, thinking about the dress. The blue and gold coloring it had now would clash with Mal's purple hair, not to mention it needed to be resized so Mal didn't possibly faint from the dress being too tight. Did she have time to make a new dress in a different color? Or maybe she could work with Jane to change the color magically? Evie wasn't in favor of that option but if it made Mal happy, she'd do it in a heartbeat.
Mal gave a small, almost microscopic nod and Evie gave her a hug from the side while mouthing 'thank you' to Carlos. Carlos gave a small nod in return while mouthing 'no prob'.
"Come on, buddy," Carlos said as he, Evie and Jay got up; Dude whining in his arms. The three of them began to walk off while Mal stayed seated on the grass.
Zeus frowned; while it was nice that they had taken the time and talked to each other he wasn't thrilled about the fact that they were just going to leave his niece sitting on the grass by herself.
Jay stopped as he noticed Mal and sat back down.
At least one of them didn't leave her, Zeus thought and looked over at Hades. Zeus knew that if it had been Hercules in Mal's place, he'd be going mad; watching his child suffer and not being able to do anything.
"Come to Cotillion tonight, all right?" Jay told her. "If Ben isn't smart enough to love you and you can't stand another day, I'll drive you back tomorrow myself."
Mal looked at Jay in shock. If she was honest, she hadn't expected that.
"Hey, you know I'd do anything for you Mal," Jay said softly, noticing the look. "Do I like the idea of you being on the Isle without us? Not in the slightest. I'd still take you there in a heartbeat though if you asked."
Mal nodded and gave Jay a small smile, which he returned.
"Okay." Jay said, patting Mal on the shoulder as he stood back up; the smile fading from Mal's face as he left.
Meg frowned; Mal was only sixteen. She shouldn't have perfected the art of wearing a mask to disguise her true emotions yet. That was supposed to happen if, Gods forbid, she got her heart broken in her twenties and left her jaded and disillusioned. Not that Meg spoke from experience of course.
Mal: If only I knew what my heart was telling me
Don't know what I'm feeling
Is this just a dream?
Ah oh, yeah
If only I could read the signs in front of me
I could find the way to who I'm meant to be
Hadie sighed. If it hadn't been for stupid Uma, Hook and Gil, he would have been able to give Mal a big hug. After all, everyone else in the room knew they were siblings.
He didn't know it but the same thought was running through Persephone and Hades' heads as well.
Ah oh, if only
If only
If only
Ben moved his arm from around Mal's shoulders and placed his hand on hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. The on-screen Mal may have been the future but that didn't mean that his Mal didn't have the same thoughts running through her mind.
All Ben wanted to do is show her that he would be there for her. No matter what life threw at them, he would be at her side.
"Girl talk? Crushed it," Dude said as he and Carlos walked through the quad.
"You really did do a great job Carlos," Elle told him.
"Helps that I've been around Mal and Evie since I was a kid," Carlos said. "I probably couldn't do 'girl talk' with anyone else."
"Yeah," Carlos chuckled, "except when it comes to asking Jane out. Then I'm a total chicken."
Jane flushed but gave Carlos a small smile. "Well you don't have to worry about that now," she said.
Carlos grinned. "That's definitely a relief."
"Gag me with a spoon," Harry muttered to Uma, who smirked while Gil just smiled at what was on the screen.
"I'm gonna paraphrase one of the bravest boys I know," Dude said as they stopped and he looked up at Carlos, clearing his throat. "If she does not like you, then she is not the one for you."
"Man's best friend, right there," Hadie said with a grin while Rodger and Anita couldn't help but smile at the interaction between Dude and Carlos.
"You really are a man's best friend," Carlos said, scratching Dude under the chin as bells began to chime in the distance. "Come on, buddy, let's go."
"Let's bring it in, boys," Jay said as the scene changed to inside the amphitheater. "Let's bring it in."
"Awesome, more sword fighting," Robin grinned.
Jay sighed as he stood in the middle of the circle, his team mates surrounding him. "All right. You all know I come from the Isle, right, where things are pretty whack."
"Understatement of the century," Emir chuckled.
"But there is one thing the Isle's got on Auradon. If you're strong, we want you by our side. Girl or boy."
Mal smirked as she realized where Jay was going with this. Attaboy Jay, she thought.
"Hey, Jay, hold on here," Chad said, moving to Jay's side. "We don't... We don't break the rules here in Auradon. That's over on the Isle."
"Hey Lonnie, wasn't there a rule about dressing up like a man and joining the army if you're a woman?" Lil Shang asked his sister.
"Why, yes. Yes there was." Lonnie said with a smirk as she followed her brother's train of thought.
"So I guess our mother lived on the Isle when she broke that rule then?"
"I guess so."
"Oh, and there was also the rule about merpeople not saving humans," Elle added, "but I'm pretty thankful my mother broke that rule."
"So am I!" Eric spoke up, causing those around him to chuckle.
"The team shall be comprised of a captain and eight men." Jay said, pulling out the rule book.
"Where did you get that?" Chad asked.
"First off, every team member has a copy of the rule book," Jay said. "Second of all, I probably lifted it off of you since I don't carry mine on my person all the time. You keep it in your back pocket Chad. Rookie mistake."
"So, uh...give it up for your new team captain," he said as Lonnie walked out.
"Congrats Lonnie!" Li'l Shang said, a grin threatening to split his face in two.
"Nice use of a loophole!" Rowyn said with a smirk.
"Coach!"
"What Chad?" Coach asked. "Jay's perfectly within his right to name whoever he wants to take over as Captain, as long as he gets my approval and clearly he did."
"Don't think I'm going to give up my captain spot now since you're on the team," Jay teased Lonnie.
"Oh that's alright because I'll be taking it," Lonnie teased right back.
"Whoa! What?!" Chad exclaimed as Lonnie jogged up to Jay with a small giggle.
"Thank you," she said as Jay gave her the whistle. Jay led the team in applause before bowing to her. Lonnie turned to Chad, the only one still remaining upright.
Kitty shook her head in amused exasperation. Her brother would never change.
"Fine," Chad said and joined the team in the bow.
Cinderella couldn't help but give her son a proud smile. It was clear that all Chad really needed to do was some growing up. She could see the sweet little boy she knew was still in there amid the smokescreen of an entitled teenager.
"Give me 10!" Lonnie said as she blew the whistle. "Come on, guys!"
"I hope that's a new whistle!" Alexandria exclaimed. "Otherwise, that's got Jay's spit and stuff all over it!"
"Alexandria!" Kit scolded. There was a time and place to talk about stuff like that and in front of the king was not one of them.
"Am I wrong?"
"1, 2…"
"Pick it up, Chad," Lonnie said.
"Your foot is on my back!" Chad exclaimed. "How am I supposed to 'pick it up' when I've got more weight to deal with than the other guys?"
"You calling me fat?" Lonnie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Is this a test?"
"What do you mean?"
"Oh you know, the written thing our teachers put a grade on that tells our parents we're idiots?"
Lonnie snorted in amusement. "Maybe for you Chad," she said. "But no, I'm just messing with you."
"3, 4…"
"Nice form, Jay."
"She is not wrong," Rowyn muttered
"6, 7, 8, 9, 10."
"Okay, practice is over," Lonnie said with another blow of the whistle. "Get out of here. Go get ready for Cotillion."
"That's it?!" Robin exclaimed. "But I thought there was going to be more sword fighting!"
"That might have been the end of practice," Rachel told her, "or it could have been a short practice due to Cotillion."
Robin sulked. While she liked dances, the sword fighting had been a lot more exciting.
The team left the amphitheater, with Jay being the last to leave.
"Hey, Jay!" Lonnie called Jay back.
"Yeah?"
"Wait until I tell my mom," Lonnie said with a proud smile.
Mulan smiled. "I am so proud Lonnie. I know that has to feel amazing."
"It does," Lonnie said. "It just kinda stinks that it won't be happening but at least I'm on the team now. That's what I wanted, not the captain spot."
Jay smiled and patted Lonnie on the shoulder.
"Let's get out of here," he said as the two of them left the amphitheater.
"Ooh!" Emir teased. "So, Jay, you finally going to break your promise of going stag?"
"You guys act like going stag is the worst thing in the world," Jay said. "What could be better than being able to dance with all the girls at Cotillion?"
"Actually having a date?"
Akiho sighed and whacked Emir over the head. "Sorry about him Jay, he takes a couple minutes to reboot."
"What was that for?!" Emir asked, rubbing the back of his head.
"Remember what Mal said in the last viewing?" Akiho asked, keeping his voice low. "They don't do dates on the Isle. It's only been six months since the four of them came over, why would Jay all of a sudden want to find a date?"
"...I'm an idiot aren't I?"
"Yep, but we don't mind," Akiho told him, wrapping an arm around Emir's shoulders.