Chapter Twenty
A/N: I do not own anything with the exceptions of my OCs, who as always are free to play with if you so wish!
*lies on the floor, twitching* Twenty two pages. That's how long this chapter is in my word doc. I was going to make it longer but at page twenty two my sanity started slipping past 60% so for safety sake, it ends where it ends!
Special thanks to AmethystDragon14 for being my sanity sounding board, since this chapter contains the scene nominated for 'Most Likely the Cause for Ginnyrules27 to Run Away Screaming'. Seriously, I learned a valuable lesson writing this chapter. Don't watch the Cotillion scene when drinking anything with caffeine. It will cause the reaction to intensify and I'll also start laughing at random things.
Tracie: Hope you enjoy the chapter! :D I love seeing Mal in her dragon form too and as much as I wish I could have, there was no skipping this chapter.
HufflepuffGirl95: Aww, I'm so glad you liked the chapter! Ah, got it! :D Hope you enjoy this chapter!
danifan3000: Well, you just broke my brain. Congrats :D I mean I'm happy for Mama Odie but that makes no sense!
61394: I mean I get it that he should be punished but then Audrey gets no punishment for cursing the king, putting a sleeping curse over the kingdom and kidnapping a child and holding them hostage on the roof of the school. Ben needs to learn to issue punishments is what I'm saying :D
AmethystDragon14: Oh I'm so glad! :D One can only hope that this Ben is wiser than the one on screen. Thank you for all your help this chapter! Hope you enjoy! :D
estherramsayaa22: Chad is an idiot but in that scene he's a harmless idiot. Glad you like my OCs and thank you for liking my stories! :D
OceanBlueSeaEyes: Thank you! Can't wait to write the reactions to their fight! :D
Grace: Thank you! Yeah Ben really does have a pattern of breaking up with his girlfriends in public doesn't he? Then again, he also has a pattern of getting love spelled lol. Definitely needed more Dragon Mal.
manticore-gurl071134: Glad you enjoyed!
Ayakitten83: The reflex to skip Cotillion was strong while writing this. Literally whenever I watch it, it doesn't exist.
lilyflower101: A whole nother story :D There's going to be a 'break' story after this one, promise.
twilightgirl587: Ask and you shall receive!
SlytherinAvengerPrincess: No, Mal's sitting with Ben. As for your heart...well I hope I gentle? PS: Love your username!
Buzzemzs: Glad you enjoyed it! Please don't die-here's an update :D
Guest: I'm so glad you like it! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Guest: Yeah, this is not one of my favorite scenes. Though to be fair, Mal's had a pretty stressful few days. She can be forgiven for a lack of smarts right now.
Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think!
The scene opened up on a shot of the ocean, music playing in the background while Beast and Belle's castle could be seen on the hill. As the camera pans up, it's shown that Cotillion is held on a yacht and that people had already started to enjoy themselves by dancing.
"Why is Cotillion always on a yacht?" Lucy asked. "Why can't we mix it up?"
"The ocean's easier to control than the land," Elle said with a small smile. "There's never been any major storms or wild waves during Cotillion. We can't promise that there wouldn't be any earthquakes."
"Plus it's always funny when some drunk idiot falls off the yacht," Emma chuckled.
"Emma!"
"I mean, concerning," Emma said as her parents shot her a look. "Definitely meant concerning and not funny."
"Nice save," Emir said with a chuckle. "Though they might be more concerned about the fact that you said that the idiot was 'drunk' than the fact that you think him falling off the boat was funny."
Inside, the press was busy snapping photos of arriving guests.
"The worst part," Rowyn grumbled. She hated how she looked in photos; somehow they always managed to get her from an unflattering angle.
"Evie, you look beautiful!" One of the reporters/photographers exclaimed as Evie stepped forward on the blue carpet.
"I see we're stating the obvious this Cotillion," Rose chuckled. "You do look amazing Evie."
"Oh thank you," Evie beamed. She loved her dress—she had just gotten started on it a couple of days ago as she'd been busy creating the orders for the other Cotillion dresses and finishing up Mal's dress. It wasn't her best work but she could still feel proud about it.
"Thank you so much."
"Did you design the barrette?" Another reporter called out.
"It's beautiful, isn't it? Uh, no, it's not my creation. Many of the hair accessories this evening are by a fabulous new designer, 'Dizzy of the Isle'," Evie stated, touching the barrette.
Dizzy squealed in delight. She couldn't believe that something she made was going to be viewed by all of Auradon! That Evie would actually mention her name as a designer!
The scene cut to Dizzy, watching the Cotillion from the Isle as it was being televised.
"That's me! I made that!" Dizzy exclaimed, squealing in delight and causing her grandmother to pound on the ceiling.
"Whoops," Dizzy blushed and Anastasia chuckled.
"Honestly mother," she shook her head and then smiled at Dizzy. "Congratulations Dizzy. I hope it actually comes to pass."
"If Dizzy can send me some of those barrettes, it will," Evie promised.
"Knock it off!" Lady Tremaine exclaimed.
My stepmother seems to have lost some of the eloquence behind her commands, Cinderella thought. Throughout her childhood and early to late adolescence, Lady Tremaine could inspire quiet with a well placed 'silence' and it would be so.
"I'm sorry, Granny!" Dizzy called back to her before turning back to the television as Evie introduced Doug as her date.
Evie beamed, happy that she was showing pride in her relationship with Doug by bringing him onto the blue carpet.
"Aren't you worried about your mother finding out?" Doug asked. "After all, I'm not a prince."
"What can she do from the Isle?" Evie asked gently. "Besides, Doug, you make me happy. Why would I want to trade that just for a prince?"
Doug smiled and Snow White couldn't help but be happy for her step-sister. She deserves happiness, Snow thought. Especially after living on the Isle.
Back at Cotillion, the celebration continued as Jane and Carlos walked in; Carlos gently holding on to Jane's elbow
"You seem to be having fun," Aziz told Ashaki with a chuckle, noting the younger girl dancing by the DJ.
Audrey and Lonnie smiled, happy for Jane. She deserved the chance to actually enjoy Cotillion and not get stuck at the punch bowl all night.
"Jane!" Fairy Godmother said, walking up to her daughter. "There you are, my dear. Well, everything looks beautiful, my love. But we just need to ladle out the punch before the sherbet melts."
"Everything does look beautiful," Cinderella nodded. "Including you Jane dear. That dress is stunning."
"Oh, thank you Queen Ella," Jane smiled. While Cinderella was practically a second mother to Jane, it still felt weird to refer to her by her first name in public.
"Mom, I have a date," Jane said gently, causing Fairy Godmother to turn back to her daughter as she had begun to head back to the table.
"Pretty sure you could have called ahead to let her know that," Evan pointed out.
"A date? Really?" Fairy Godmother asked and then turned to Carlos.
"Love the faith in me mom," Jane chuckled.
"Do you have a date, too?"
"No. I just walked into Cotillion with your daughter because she's meeting her date there," Carlos shook his head in amusement.
"Yeah."
"Really?" Fairy Godmother gasped in delight.
"Fairy Godmother's a bit slow on the uptake," Lucy chuckled. "If Jane has a date, and Carlos has a date, and they walked into Cotillion together…"
"Hey at least she's happy for Carlos," Kitty pointed out. "She could have just walked away after finding out Jane had a date or roped him into sherbet punch duty."
"True."
"Yeah."
Fairy Godmother sighed in delight and looked out on the celebration.
"Awkward," Robin sang.
"Mom?" Jane prompted and took Carlos' hands. Fairy Godmother looked between the two of them with a smile.
"Bippity boppity!" she gasped as she realized that Carlos was her daughter's date. "Oh!"
"By George, I think she's got it!" Alexandria said with a giggle. Jane smiled at her mother's reaction; happy that she seemed to at least like the idea of Jane and Carlos together.
Carlos and Jane smiled at one another, lost in each other's eyes.
"Awww!" Rose sighed.
"After you," Carlos said, gently tilting his head to the left toward the dance floor. The music ended as Lumiere arrived at the top of the stairs amid the fanfare of trumpets as the Cotillion goers applauded the DJ.
"Oh that stinks that you and Carlos didn't get to dance," Lonnie said with a frown.
"I don't really like dancing anyway," Jane said with a small smile. "As long as I get to spend time with Carlos, I'm fine."
"The future Lady Mal!" Lumiere exclaimed to the awaiting crowd of Cotillion goers
"And that didn't sound awkward at all!" Hadie chimed in with a chuckle making Mal laugh. Hadie smiled, the whole point of his comment a success. He could tell that his sister was nervous about what the future held so if he could make her forget about some of those nerves, he would.
and Evie grabbed Doug's hand as she smiled; Carlos and Jane running to get closer while Jay and Lonnie approached as well.
Mal couldn't help but give a small smile as her friends rushed to support her. After all I put them through by running to the Isle, they're still there to support me, Mal thought. The only thing that could be better would be if Steph was there.
"You look beautiful, Lonnie," Mulan said with a small smile.
"Thanks mom," said Lonnie.
The crowd gasped upon seeing Mal in her blue and gold Cotillion dress, her purple hair braided and draped over her shoulder. Her shoulders were covered by a blue cape and her hands were covered by fingerless leather gloves that went up to her elbows. On her head was a small gold tiara with blue gems.
"Oh Mal, you look gorgeous!" Dizzy exclaimed.
"Is it just me or does it look a bit…busy?" Kitty asked softly, as if trying to not upset Evie. Kitty knew the blue haired girl worked hard on the dress but with the cape and the design and the gloves…
Evie frowned, her suspicions had been confirmed. The blue and gold definitely clashed with Mal's purple hair. I'll have to work on a new design and do so quickly. After all, Cotillion's only two days away, Evie thought. But what would go well with Mal's new hair color?
"You really do look beautiful," Ben whispered to Mal, rubbing the small of Mal's back to make sure she knew he was there. His future self may have been acting like a jerk but that didn't mean he had to.
Hades stared at the screen in shock. There was no way that was his daughter; she was so grown up. Seeing Mal in her Cotillion dress, all dolled up like a princess, only made it more obvious to Hades exactly how much of Mal's life he had missed out on.
Persephone rested a gentle hand on her husband's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. She was sure what was on Hades' mind and wanted to remind him she was there if he needed her.
"You work it, girl," Lumiere leaned over and told Mal, who chuckled at that.
"All those in favor for Lumiere to never say 'work it' again, say aye," Emir said.
"Aye!" Evan, Neal and Akiho exclaimed. Ben rolled his eyes. Lumiere got Mal to laugh, meaning he got her to relax. That was more important than what he said. Besides, they could blame Chip for teaching Lumiere the term 'work it'. The only thing worse was when Chip taught Lumiere the phrase 'jiggy'.
Her friends began to cheer, started by Evie who was quickly followed by the rest of the VKs and their dates. Beast smiled at the group before turning his head back toward Mal who had begun to descend the stairs.
"Aww, he likes us! He really likes us!" Jay exclaimed with a smile, having noticed on-screen Adam/Beast's smile at their on screen antics.
"More like I'm sure he's grown used to you guys by now," Lonnie chuckled.
"Hi," Mal said as Beast walked up the stairs to walk with her down the rest of the way.
Ben couldn't help but smile as his dad accompanied Mal down the stairs. There was something about the image that just looked right to Ben.
Meanwhile, Hades was holding back a low growl at the sight of Beast walking Mal down the stairs the way a father would a daughter. Paws off Fuzzy! Hades thought with an inward glare toward Beast.
"Hi," Beast said back as they finished the descent down the stairs. "Hey, Ben is on his way."
"Ben is on his way?" Emir frowned. "Why wouldn't he be there? It doesn't take him that long to get ready."
"Yeah, it's not like he's Chad," Lucy said, lightly teasing her brother who rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Actually why wouldn't he get ready at Cotillion? It's on a yacht so there are probably plenty of spare rooms," Rachel pointed out.
"I can neither confirm nor deny the thoughts or decisions of my future self," Ben stated with a chuckle.
"Okay."
"And you look beautiful."
"You really do Mal," Melody nodded.
"Oh, thank you," Mal told him, giving a nervous laugh.
"I know we were shocked at first, but you... you are exactly what Ben needs," Belle told Mal.
Mal couldn't help but smile at that. While she didn't need Ben's parents' approval, knowing she had it still felt like a weight had been taken off her chest. Maybe I can do this, she thought. After all, Belle and Beast like the idea of Ben and I together. That should matter more than what some stupid newspapers say.
"And lucky for me, she doesn't go by first impressions," Beast added causing both Belle and Mal to start laughing
"Dad," Ben shook his head in amusement. His dad had been making that joke since Ben could remember.
as Evie approached, giving a small half bow upon seeing the former monarchs.
"Of course," Beast said gently as Mal turned to Evie, who gently grasped both of her hands.
"I'm not going to run out of there, E," Mal lightly scoffed but couldn't help but smile at her friend's behavior.
"Hi."
"Hi."
"How eloquent," Uma scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"How are you?" Evie asked as she led Mal onto the dance floor.
"Uh, sort of feel like I'm gonna throw up," Mal told her.
"I see we're going for brutal honesty now," Macaria chuckled but still looked at her cousin in concern.
"Yeah? Okay. That's okay," Evie said as she and Mal walked toward the rest of their friends sans Ben. "Look, we're right here with you, okay?"
"For now and always," Evie promised.
"We've got your back Mal," Jay nodded. "No matter what we're facing."
"Family sticks together," Carlos said. "Isn't that one of the sayings here in Auradon?"
"That goes for us too," Emir chimed in. "I don't know why we're not on the screen but Akiho and I, we've got your back."
"And I've got your front if necessary," Lonnie joked, causing Mal to laugh.
Ben grabbed Mal's hand. "I'll be at your side," he said softly. "We're in this together, no matter what."
"Okay," Mal said, letting out a nervous breath. She and Evie held hands once more as Mal squealed a little as the trumpets began to play once more.
Ben couldn't help but smile as he heard Mal's squeal. Even with his future self acting strange, Mal was still happy to see him.
Lumiere stood, once again, at the top of the stairs; a spotlight beaming down on him just as it did when he announced Mal.
"Whoever's running the spotlight at Cotillion better get a break soon," Travis chuckled.
"Ben's the last person to arrive," Nero pointed out. "After that, the spotlight won't be needed."
"King Benjamin!" Lumiere exclaimed. Everyone started to cheer as Ben appeared in the doorway near the top of the stairs. Mal looked on with a smile and chuckled softly as Evie cheered next to her. Ben walked to the top of the stairs and everyone gave a small bow with the exception of Mal.
"Why am I not surprised?" Ben teased, gently squeezing Mal's hand to remind her he was still there. No matter what happened in the future, he would always be there.
"Go get him," Evie told Mal as the crowd began to mutter amongst themselves. Mal walked forward as Ben descended the stairs,
"Aren't those the pants Ben wore to the Isle?" Rose asked, tilting her head. "I mean, I assume Isle garb is more comfortable than our normal stuff but I'm surprised any of the stylists or Evie would have allowed Ben to wear those. Especially to a televised event."
"Ben insisted on reusing the outfit from his coronation and told me to just add some embellishments," Evie said with a sigh. "Plus those pants are close enough that no one would notice if they didn't know those were the pants he wore to the Isle."
Ben shrugged. "Why waste money creating a new outfit? The one I wore at my coronation was still clean and still fit," he said.
"Besides guys have it lucky in that they can reuse their outfits," Kitty chimed in. "You know perfectly well that if one of us tried to rewear a gown, the Gazelle would have written five articles in about an hour stating why we were horrible people who were going to suffer for the cruel indecency we inflicted upon our people."
"She speaks from experience," Lucy added with a chuckle.
Fairy Godmother giving a small bow. Ben walked up to Mal and bowed, Mal following suit; their friends looking on.
Periwinkle frowned; there was something awkward about Mal's bow to Ben. Like she hadn't expected to have to do it. Weren't there rehearsals for this part of Cotillion? Peri thought.
"Mal, I wish I had time to explain," Ben said
"Explain what?" Emir frowned. "I mean, did something change in the program very last minute or something?"
"Also, aren't you the king?" Akiho pointed out. "You could very easily ask for a moment with your girlfriend before Cotillon started and explained whatever you needed to explain."
Audrey frowned. Something wasn't sitting right with her about this.
as a door opened in the background and the crowd gasped as Uma stepped out into the spotlight at the top of the stairs.
"What?!" Jay exclaimed.
"What is Uma doing there?" Carlos shouted as Mal and Evie stared at the screen in shock. Uma, though, couldn't help but smirk. She'd done it! She'd actually gotten off the Isle—and she didn't need to take the invitation of a pansy prince to do it! Take that Mal!
But what was she wearing? She looked like a prissy Auradon princess, not a pirate captain!
Harry couldn't help but frown. Where was he? He was Uma's first mate—she wouldn't leave him behind. I'm probably guarding someone or keeping Gil from doing something stupid and ruining Uma's plan, Harry thought with a nod of his head.
"You can say it," Elle told Akiho, who was almost shaking in his seat in an attempt to keep it in.
"For all that is good and pure, why has no one called the royal guard?! Or hell just the regular guard?! Where's the security for Cotillion? Were they given the day off? Oh wait, knowing Ben, of course they were!"
"Whoa, calm down Akiho," Ben said.
"No! She tried to kill you!" Akiho said, jabbing a finger toward the screen where the on-screen Uma was present. "And the you that's on-screen isn't calling for the guards? I know you have no sense of self preservation but that goes too far Ben!"
"Um, if you're always the one to suggest calling the guard now, then why aren't you suggesting it on screen?" Gil asked.
Akiho sighed. "To quote Ben, I can neither defend nor explain the actions or decisions of my future self."
Mal gasped in shock upon seeing her and the Cotillion goers began to murmur, Beast and Belle quickly turning their heads to the top of the stairs.
"Wasn't the Cotillion guest list approved about three months in advance?" Rapunzel muttered to Eugene. "How could Uma just walk in?"
"Maybe she snuck past the guards?" Eugene muttered back. "Maybe she bribed them? Maybe she used magic? We'll never know."
Akiho rubbed at his temples. "It's official, we have no security at this event," he muttered.
Ben walked toward Uma as Uma made her way down the stairs; Fairy Godmother looking on in confusion while Jay, Lonnie and Carlos looked at each other in confusion and disbelief.
"Okay, maybe he's going to seize her himself," Akiho muttered, feeling a little hopeful. Gods, tell me that's the case. It's probably not though.
Ben met Uma on the stairs and took her by the hand, leading her down the rest of the stairs. Mal gasped in shock once more and her jaw dropped.
"I'm with Mal on this one!" Emma exclaimed. Mal stared at the screen, still in disbelief. What was Ben doing? How could he be so welcoming to Uma? The Isle wasn't that long ago for the on-screen them!
"Look." Belle said through her smile.
"Didn't even move her jaw," Rowyn said in amazement. "That's dedication to smiling there."
"More like that's twenty years of being a royal," Robin corrected her sister with a chuckle.
"Hi." Beast said as Uma and Ben passed them going down the stairs.
"Almost makes me wish your mother was here," Phillip muttered to Aurora. "We may all have lost our hearing at this point but she wouldn't have stood for that. Uma obviously escaped the Isle and yet all Beast can say is 'hi'?"
"The day you agree with my mother is the day I test you for your sanity," Aurora stated. "Mal's already dealing with what's going on on-screen. She doesn't need my mother caterwauling in here too. Not to mention on-screen Beast doesn't know Uma's from the Isle. Why shouldn't he say hi?"
"Briar, when's the last time you saw anyone around here with teal colored hair?"
"You never know, Mal and Evie could have inspired something."
"Even though Mal's been blonde until right now?"
Once at the base of the stairs, Ben turned to stand facing Uma and held one of her hands. Bending down, he kissed the ring that was on her hand that on closer inspection was his signet ring.
"Wait, why is Uma wearing Ben's ring?" Melody asked. "Uma being there is bad enough but wearing Ben's ring? You'd almost think she was Ben's date to Cotillion, not Mal."
"I think that's her plan Mel," Elle said, glaring toward Uma as she saw the doubt and heartbreak start to shine through their Mal's face. It was clear that she was still trying to hide it but Elle knew it had to be hurting the purple haired girl.
That's our cousin, Uma, Elle thought. You don't date your friends' ex, you don't go after your friends' significant others and you especially don't go after family's significant others! And yes, I'm aware that you don't know Mal's your cousin but that shouldn't matter! Just…don't go after people in relationships! Gods, why does that seem to be the M.O in your family? First your mom with my dad and now this?
Lucy sat forward with a frown. Her sister might give her grief for being a bit 'romance obsessed' as she called it, but that wasn't something Lucy was ashamed of. Hence why she tended to pay closer attention to the 'softer' moments of both their viewings. Ben didn't kiss the ring when he put it on Mal's hand last viewing, she thought. He kissed her hand.
Maybe he changed, a voice that sounded like her sister's rang in her head. After all, if he can surprise Mal with Uma's appearance, anything's possible.
Ben wouldn't have changed that much, Lucy thought, shaking her head slightly. The king was practically another brother to her since he was around Chad so much. Hell, Chad and Ben had been friends since infancy so Ben had been around all of Lucy's life. Something's wrong with Ben.
The crowd gasped once more as Mal stared on in heartbroken shock.
"Someone is getting a trip to the Underworld," Hades promised with a growl, seeing the hurt look on his daughter's face. Whether it was Uma or Ben, didn't matter. Hades wasn't picky. "I can't promise they'll return!"
Uma giggled as Ben smiled at her, taking her other hand and leading her to Mal who was standing in the center of the floor.
"You know, say what you want about your break up Audrey. At least Ben wasn't this sadistic," Phillip Jr muttered to his sister.
Audrey shook her head. "Something's wrong Phillip. When Ben was under Mal's love spell, he still acted like himself. He's never acted like this that I can remember."
Phillip Jr frowned but nodded. "Okay, I'll follow your lead on this Audrey. After all, you've known Ben longer."
"I'm sorry. It all happened so fast," Ben said as Uma stood by his side, smiling. "Something happened to me when I was on the Isle with Uma." He turned to look into Uma's eyes. "A connection."
A connection? Akiho thought with a frown. How could you get a connection from someone trying to kill you?
He shook his head but in the back of his mind, his great-grandpabbie's favorite quote rang like a bell on a clock tower.
The heart is not as easily changed but the head can be persuaded.
Head. Connection…it couldn't be another love spell could it? After all, the brain was what created the chemicals of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin which created attraction. The heart just got all the credit.
"I think Ben's spelled," Akiho whispered to Emir.
"You're sure?" Emir asked. "That's pretty much your go to for when people are acting weird though."
"Trust me this time," Akiho told him. "Ben loves Mal so much that he's willing to go to the Isle, risking his life if he's discovered, just to apologize for a fight but now he shows up to Cotillion with a girl none of the on-screen us have seen before and starts talking about having a connection with her?"
"Shit, I think you're right."
"Trust me, I don't want to be."
Eric frowned as he came to the same realization as Akiho though he hadn't heard the hushed conversation of the two teens; hazy memories of his own time under Ursula's hypnosis coming back to him. He was thankful he didn't do anything he would have regretted while under Ursula's control. Here's hoping Ben can say the same, he thought.
"Are you okay?" Ariel whispered, grabbing Eric's hand. "You're awfully quiet."
"Ben's spelled," Eric whispered back. "Or at least the on-screen Ben is."
"You're sure?"
"There's just a lot that reminds me of…that time in our story as the kids call it," Eric whispered, rubbing his face with his hand. Ariel frowned and rubbed the back of his hand. She knew how hard the hypnosis had been on Eric; he had suffered from nightmares for months afterwards. In fact, the night of their wedding was the first night Eric had slept without a nightmare.
"Do you want to step out?" Ariel asked, her voice so quiet that the only way Eric knew she asked a question was due to her lips moving.
"No," Eric said, shaking his head. "I'll be fine. Phillip didn't leave in the last viewing when Maleficent turned into a dragon. Just…just don't be alarmed if I'm quiet."
"Of course," Ariel nodded. "I'll let the girls know what's going on so they're not harsh toward Ben. They've developed a bond with Mal after all so they'll be protective of her."
"What are you saying?" Mal asked, the pain slightly evident in her face.
"I'm saying…"
"It was love," Uma said with a giggle, cutting Ben off as Mal stared at her, jaw slightly opened and eyes wide.
"Okay, something's up," Evie muttered. "Uma gushing about love?"
"She might have changed," Carlos told her, still leveling a glare toward both Uma and Ben.
"In the hours between holding Ben over a plank and Cotillion?" Evie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"…touche."
"It was. I just... I realized how alike Ben and I are, you know?"
"Oh you mean how you both want to rip out Mal's heart and stomp on it?" Jay growled, only stopping when Mal shook her head. She just wanted to get this part over with. If Ben was going to get together with Uma in the future that was one thing. But that didn't mean she had to sit through it now longer than she had to.
"We are," Ben said in a near whisper.
"How?" Neal asked. "Ben's never held someone captive and tried to ransom them off for something that could be used to destroy all of Auradon."
"Technically neither has Uma," Emma pointed out. "Well, that Uma," she amended, gesturing over to the Uma that was in the room. "The on-screen Uma has."
"I know," Uma said with a small laugh.
"You're so beautiful," Ben told her, his tone soft as he stared at Uma;
"Where's that spoon Hook wanted to be gagged with?" Carlos muttered. "I think I might need it now."
"Ben's not usually this…cutsey," Audrey muttered to herself.
not noticing how hurt Mal looked.
"Hades, this hasn't happened yet," Persephone said softly, resting a hand on her husband's arm. "Hurting Ben right now would only cause Mal pain."
"What about hurting Uma?" Hades growled.
"That may cause your brother pain considering she's his granddaughter," Persephone pointed out. "You've already got a rocky relationship with Zeus, do you really want to strain your relationship with Poseidon?"
"You know I hate it when you're right?" Hades sighed. "But Steph….gods, the look on Mal's face…"
"I know," Persephone said, gently grabbing his hand. "But judging by the look on Ben's face, what's on the screen won't happen. Not if he has anything to say about it."
Hadie shot a glare at Ben, having noticed the hurt look on his sister's face. He didn't care that there was a six year difference between them, or that Ben was king or that Hadie didn't have control over his powers. If this actually happened, Ben was going to pay for hurting Mal!
"Ben." Mal said faintly but Ben didn't seem to hear her. "Ben." Mal said louder, causing both Ben and Uma to look at her.
"Umm…she said Ben," Alexandria said, crossing her arms and glaring at Uma.
"Yeah, no one likes a busy body," Alexi nodded.
"Did you go back for her?" Mal asked.
"Yes because Ben is that much of an idiot that he went back into the territory of someone who tried to have him killed to bring her to Aurad…wait a minute that is something Ben would do!"
"Emir!"
"Don't deny it Ben!"
Ben stared at Mal for a moment, as if seeing her there for the first time. Uma looked at Ben before turning to Mal.
"Umm…the question was for Ben," Elle pointed out. "Last I checked, Uma, you're not Queen Belle and King Beast's son. Nor are you dating Mal. Hence, you can not be Ben."
"He didn't have to," Uma told her. "I dove through the barrier before it closed, and I'm an excellent swimmer so…."
"Harry, wouldn't that mean we're still on the Isle?" Gil whispered. "None of us are as good of swimmers as Uma."
"Hush you guppy," Harry snarled. "If Uma kept you on the Isle, it's part of her plan. She wouldn't leave you lot there permanently."
She wouldn't right? Harry thought, a tiny nugget of doubt wiggling its way into his brain.
"You are," Ben agreed with a smile.
"Wait, how would Ben know that?" Melody asked. "I mean, yeah she's the daughter of Ursula but that's making a pretty big assumption that Uma would be an excellent swimmer because of it."
"Aw, thank you," Uma told him with a small laugh before turning back to Mal, who looked like she was about to start crying.
In any other case, Audrey would have probably made some comment about making a 'ex's of Ben' club with Mal. But seeing the hurt on the on-screen Mal's face, Audrey held her tongue. Besides, she knew in her heart that the Ben she saw on the screen was not the same Ben who had been in her life since she was a toddler.
Uma walked toward Mal and took her by the hand, stepping between Mal and Ben.
"She keeps blocking Ben's eye contact with Mal," Zarina muttered with a frown. "Doesn't Mal deserve an explanation from Ben and not Uma? After all, Ben's the one who dated her for six months."
"Listen, Mal. I just really want to thank you, I do, for everything." Uma leaned in and gave Mal a hug but Mal continued to look devastated. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
"Nope! Nope, nope, nope! We're not doing this!" Ashaki exclaimed. "I get as royals we can't make a scene but could someone stop staring like they've got sand thrown in their eyes and do something? Not everyone in that crowd is a royal!"
"Ashaki!" Jasmine scolded. "Settle down!"
"Actually I'm with her on this, mom," Emir frowned. He'd interacted enough with Audrey back when she was dating Ben to recognize the 'fake' act when he saw it.
"Don't you see, Mal? You were right," Ben said, stepping closer to Uma. "You knew that we weren't meant to be together. That's why you never told me that you loved me," he told Mal and then sighed. "Thank you."
There was total silence as everyone with the exception of Harry, Gil and Uma turned to stare at Ben.
"Dude," Emir said, shaking his head. "Not. Cool."
"I know this is the future but whatever's going on has to not happen," Akiho told Ben. "We've been friends for twelve years but if it came down to it, and you actually said that, I'd be siding with Mal and you'd be dumping ice out of your shoes until Arendelle ran out of ice. And with who I have for an aunt, that'll never happen."
Ben, though, wasn't listening to Akiho's promise. Oh, he heard it and and knew his friend meant every word. But Ben was staring at Mal, looking at the hurt on her face trying to break through despite her best efforts to maintain her cool facade.
"Mal, I promise," Ben said softly. "That's not us. That'll never be us. I don't know what's going on—"
Mal looked at him and nodded but the doubt was still present in her mind. After all they had gone through on screen, were they still destined to break up? Did Ben really prefer Uma over her? If that's what Ben wanted, Mal wasn't going to stop him. She had already tried to change herself once for him, even if he didn't ask her to. She wasn't going to do it again.
Still, the sight of him with Uma…
"Ben, I…" Mal said softly and looked over at an empty seat. "Please?"
Ben felt his heart break but nodded as he got up and sat in an empty seat a few rows away. He knew it was the future, he knew he would never do anything to hurt Mal. But if Mal wanted space right now, he would do anything to make sure she was happy.
Well maybe happy was the wrong word. Maybe supported was a better choice?
Ben took Uma's hand and moved away from Mal. Uma handed her clutch to a nearby Cotillion goer and began to dance with Ben while Mal watched in shock.
"That's 'Kiss the Girl'!" Elle exclaimed, sitting up in her chair as she recognized the tune. Bad enough you couldn't have an original plan and had to steal from your mom Uma, but you had to steal my parents' song? "How has no one caught on yet? Hell, why haven't I said anything? I'm right there!"
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.
"Does no one pay attention in history around here?" Elle shook her head in frustration. "Kiss the Girl—one of the more famous songs from my parents' story? The story where Ursula…"
"Hypnotized your father!" Kitty gasped, loud enough for the people around her to hear. Oh Gods, Ben's spelled! Kitty thought. That…that actually explains a lot now that I think about it.
"Got it in one," Elle nodded as she looked at her father in concern. She didn't know what the viewing was bringing back for him but she wanted to be sure he was okay. She smiled, though, as she saw her mom rub her dad's shoulder and whisper in his ear.
Dad's going to be fine. I hope.
"How is it you knew that?" Lucy asked Kitty. "You hate history."
Kitty gave her twin a look. "Queen Ariel and King Eric's story is one that ends with a fight with a giant octopus woman who ends up getting impaled on the carcass of a ship. Just because I don't pay attention to the stories you like, like mom and dad's where it ends with mom trying on a shoe, doesn't mean I hate history."
Evie walked up to Mal.
"Come on Mal," Evie said gently and led Mal back to the group.
"Crazy idea but why not lead her out of there?" Ruby asked. "What's exactly to be gained by having her watch Ben and Uma dance, knowing that was supposed to be her?"
"Not too thrilled I risked my life for him," Carlos growled, his arm wrapped around Mal to comfort her like a brother would a sister.
"Don't be so overdramatic DeVil," Harry scoffed. "The only ones risking their lives were Benny boy and Mal. Even Gil could have told you that."
"Hook, when pirates are running at you with swords, then you can tell me how to identify the ones that are and aren't trying to kill you," Carlos shot back.
"We're with you, Mal," Lonnie told her, walking up to Mal as Doug watched, slightly judging Ben.
Harry scoffed. As much as he didn't like the idea of Uma being with Beastie Jr, if that was what his captain wanted then he'd support it. That was loyalty.
Seems Auradon doesn't know the meaning of the word if they're just going to side with Mal over their king, he thought, rolling his eyes.
As Ben and Uma danced, Belle and Beast watched with a heartbroken expression on their faces.
"You know, instead of watching the thing unfold, they could pull Ben to the side," Mulan muttered.
"How do they do that without compromising Ben's effectiveness as king?" Shang asked her. "You know Chi-Fu hates the idea of people getting anywhere based on who their parents are and he's on the council. If Beast pulled Ben to the side, it might look like Beast was still ruling through Ben."
"They're still his parents," Mulan told him. "No matter what the perception of Ben as king would be, he's still their sixteen year old. Actually he's seventeen now I think. Doesn't matter, he's still their son. They may have retired from the throne but you don't retire from being a parent."
The group continued to watch the dancing until Jay quickly walked up to Mal.
"Let's get out of here," Jay whispered to her.
"Finally!" Ruby sighed. Honestly, there was staying for appearance sake and then there was just torturing yourself. If you couldn't guess, watching your ex(?) boyfriend dancing with your rival was certainly the later.
"Okay," Mal whispered back, the pain still evident on her face as Jay glared toward both Ben and Uma. The group cut through the dance floor, the dancing couple paying them no mind as Jane rushed ahead.
"There had to have been a better way to get from point A to point B without walking through the dancing," Lil Shang muttered to himself.
"Jane, what are you doing?" Carlos asked, noticing the on-screen Jane rushing ahead of their group.
"Maybe I'm rushing to get the door?" Jane suggested. "Honestly I have no idea."
A few of the Cotillion goers nodded their heads slightly toward Mal but most just continued to stare in shock.
"Mal!" Beast called as Mal walked past him and Belle.
"I know what they're doing but I think Mal probably just wants to get out of there," Aladdin muttered.
"It's nice they care though," Jasmine muttered back to him. "Where's Emir in all this though? You'd think he and Akiho would have dragged Ben off by now to figure out what's going on."
"Well there's two possibilities. One: our son decided to skip Cotillion or two: he's off enjoying time with his date," Aladdin listed.
"Honey, we're so sorry. We had no idea," Belle told her.
"I think it's safe to say no one had any idea," Hercules muttered.
"I'm gonna talk to him," Beast promised but Mal just turned away, her will to not cry nearly breaking as she gasped, her voice shaking.
Oh you'll talk to him about how he broke up with Mal but not how he broke up with me? It's not like he broke up with me without warning in front of two schools or anything, Audrey thought, her bitter inner voice reminding her of her grandmother for a second. She paused and shook her head. Mal was more important right now; she could indulge her bitter thoughts when they weren't watching the future unfold.
"Lumiere, unveil the gift," Jane urged. "They need to see it!"
"That painting?" Daniel asked. "What good is that going to do? Actually wouldn't that hurt Mal now, seeing that after seeing Ben with Uma?"
Jane, though, gasped as she realized exactly what her future self was up to. Gods I hope this works, she thought with her fingers crossed.
"And now for the unveiling of King Ben's masterpiece, designed especially for his lady," Lumiere announced, looking at Mal, as the trumpets played and the crowd gasped upon seeing the stain glass painting of Mal and Ben before applauding. Ben stared at the painting and stepped forward a couple of steps, as if in a trance.
Mal stared at the painting, the feeling of doubt and insecurity gone the instant she saw it. She had already seen it when Jane showed it on the tablet to Ben earlier in the viewing but it was still nice to see again. It was like a reminder that no matter what was going on, Ben loved her.
But then why was Ben acting like that? Mal thought, softly biting her lip. If he truly loved her…
Love.
I think it's time that Bennyboo got himself a new girlfriend. And I need a love spell.
The voice of her past self entered her mind and Mal had to bite back a gasp of realization. All the doubt and pain she felt was gone, only to be replaced with anger toward her cousin. Ben had been nothing but nice to her, even offering her a way off the Isle when she was holding him captive and Uma put a love spell on him?!
Mal didn't even care that it was technically Uma's on screen self who did all that. It was still done by Uma.
Unbeknownst to Mal or anyone else, her eyes started to glow green and thin whiffs of purple smoke began to surround her body.
"Ben did that?" Mal gasped, staring at the stained glass painting in shock.
"No it was Abu," Emir rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile. "Yes of course it was Ben."
"He started working on it about two months into your relationship," Jane told Mal as Ben's cheeks flushed a little at all the attention. He hadn't done it for any reason other than to show Mal he loved her. Mal stared at Ben in shock; Ben somehow missing her glowing eyes.
"You really like art so I thought that might be something you would like," Ben said with a small smile, his cheeks still tinged with a faint pink. "I worked with Rapunzel and Jane to get it set up."
Mal couldn't help but smile a little at that.
"Yeah, he did," Evie nodded.
"Oh! Evie. Ben's known who I was all along," Mal said as she and Evie walked closer to the painting. "Oh!"
Persephone stared at the image in the screen, happy for Mal yet worried for Ben. The boy who had made that painting was not the same boy dancing with Uma. The boy who loved Mal enough to see the real her wouldn't have made that comment.
Unless…
"Hades," she whispered. "Mal's spell book. Wasn't it left on the Isle?"
"Yes," Hades nodded.
"And who escaped the Isle?"
Hades stared for a minute, as if not understanding what his wife was saying.
"Oh Hades," Persephone groaned. "Ben's spelled!"
Meanwhile Anna gasped as she came to a different realization. "They're true love," she whispered, a smile coming to her lips.
Kristoff shook his head. "It's not the same when you're not almost hitting me in the head with a lute," he said with a chuckle.
"Kristoff!"
"He loves the real you, M," Evie said gently as the group gathered at the base of the staircase staring at the painting.
"A true love," Mal said gently.
"Yeah."
"Told you," Carlos said causing Mal and Evie to laugh.
"No one likes an 'I told you so' Carlos," Akiho said with a chuckle.
Ben continued to stare at the painting while Uma turned away to march toward the group.
Emir tensed, not knowing what the on-screen Uma was going to do. Ben was obviously not in any danger since Uma was stalking away from him, but Mal? Evie? Those two could handle themselves but Uma had magic.
"And this is where we go in and whisk Ben away right?" Akiho muttered. "Surely by now, we've realized what's going on?"
"If we haven't, then we're idiots," Emir sighed.
"Cover that back up!" Uma growled, storming to the staircase as the crowd began to mutter in shock.
"I will not!" Lumiere exclaimed, as if offended Uma had made the demand of him.
"Good for Lumiere," Belle said softly with a small smile. She knew she would probably be seen as a hypocrite, after all Mal had spelled Ben as well. However, Mal had grown to develop feelings for Ben and eventually made the choice to remove the love spell despite it already being removed by the Enchanted Lake.
Uma, however, not only spelled her son but made the closest thing Belle had to a daughter nearly cry. The daughter of Ursula would have a long ways to go before she found her way in Belle's good books.
"He needs a raise after this," Adam/Beast muttered. "I don't care that it hasn't happened yet, I'll make sure he gets one."
"Um, uh... " Uma said, chuckling nervously. "Why don't you tell everyone the present you have for me, Ben?" Uma asked, switching back to the sweet tone of voice she had been using.
"Faker," Hadie coughed into his fist, causing Uma to glare at her little cousin. Mal shot her own glare at Uma as she noticed the glare that the squidling was leveling toward Hadie. The thin whiffs of purple smoke grew thicker and continued to be unnoticed by the viewing audience as they surrounded Mal's body.
"Why would he even have a present for you?" Rowyn asked. "Technically you weren't even supposed to be at Cotillion so no one would have expected Ben to present you with a gift. Meanwhile he and Mal have been dating for six months and the whole point of Cotillion was to present Mal as a member of the court."
Ben stared at her for a moment, as if trying to remember who she was.
Guess your spell's not as strong as you thought it was, huh cuz? Elle thought with an inward smirk. If a symbol of Ben's love for Mal can cause Ben to react like that, I wonder what actually talking to Mal would do?
"I have an announcement!" Ben stated. Belle stared at her husband in concern as Beast took his glasses off in shock.
"An announcement so shocking your father has to take his glasses off to prepare for it," Emir chuckled. Oh he knew the moment was serious but if he didn't find something to laugh at, he was going to go crazy.
Ben walked forward and held out his hand for Uma to take."Uma will be joining the court tonight as my lady."
"Why? Just…just why?" Emma groaned. "I mean, I know Ben's spelled. Anyone with a pulse could have figured it out at this point. But we're just standing there? Did we all take stupid pills in the future?"
"Hey, I'm just trying to figure out where I am," Emir told her. "Akiho and I should be trying to rush Ben out of there by now."
"Maybe your future selves thought that Ben would throw you in the dungeons if you did that," Ashaki pointed out. "You know, since it seems like no one on screen has figured out that Ben's spelled."
"No!"
"Okay, whoever said that is now officially my favorite person," Herkie said with a chuckle.
"Five bucks says it was Akiho," Macaria muttered to Hyllus.
"Nah, five bucks says it was Emir," her brother muttered back.
"Why not both?" Meg, who had heard the muttered conversation, leaned in and asked her kids.
"Son…" Beast started to speak but Ben cut him off.
"So, how were you going to talk him out of this?" Hades asked. "Since he's spelled, he's going to do whatever Uma wants him to."
Eric nodded, his memories of his time under Ursula's spell still in the forefront of his mind. "If Uma's spell is anything like her mother's was, Ben will be cognizant of what's going on but won't be able to control his actions. He'll basically be like a puppet."
A small growl came from Mal's direction.
"Not now, Dad!" Ben shouted and Beast stared back in shock, as if surprised Ben had raised his voice to him.
"If I wasn't so shocked, you'd have been pulled up those stairs before you could blink for talking to me like that, Ben," Adam/Beast warned.
"Yes dad," Ben nodded, staring at his on-screen self in shock. He never thought he would ever raise his voice to his father.
Belle tilted her head in confusion as well and Fairy Godmother looked on in concern while Mal looked at Ben in shock and Evie looked on with a touch of fear in her eyes.
Ben frowned, seeing the fear in Evie's eyes. The last thing he wanted was for his friends to be afraid of him. What was going on? Why am I acting like that?
"Uh, so, as my gift, uh, to her," Ben said,
"Smooth," Chad muttered, rolling his eyes. He knew it would shock people that he had figured out something was wrong with Ben but Chad was able to pay attention to things that didn't involve him. Besides, Ben was his best friend. Chad knew something was up from the moment the on-screen Ben took Uma's hand. Bouncing around from girl to girl was Chad's thing. Ben was Mr. Loyal—staying with Audrey even though he was clearly miserable.
trying to recover from the outburst as Beast backed up from his son, "I'm bringing down the barrier once and for all!"
The crowd gasped as they had been doing a lot of that evening, as Fairy Godmother's jaw dropped and Beast immediately put his glasses back on in shock as Belle looked over at Fairy Godmother in concern.
"Mateys, we ride with the tide!" Harry exclaimed from the Isle, the pirates watching and celebrating at Ursula's restaurant.
Harry stared at the screen in slight shock. Uma had left him behind. Him. Her first mate. It was one thing to leave the crew and to leave Gil but him?
Wait a minute, Uma needs you there to make sure the crew is ready to move when the barrier's down. You don't think she trusts Gil with that job do you? He thought and nodded to himself. That made a lot more sense than Uma just forgetting about him.
Meanwhile, back in Auradon, the crowd was still reacting to Ben's announcement as Mal and the others stared at each other in shock.
"Seriously?" Hyllus groaned. "There needs to be more of a reaction to Ben taking down the barrier than just gasping!"
"Actually, that's probably the most normal action on-screen Ben's done throughout the viewing," Macaria pointed out. "He was the one to start the VK Initiative after all."
"But there's a difference between bringing VKs over who haven't done anything wrong and taking down the barrier and allowing villains like Maleficent and Jafar access to their powers," Hyllus argued.
"Fairy Godmother." Ben said, gesturing to her as Fairy Godmother looked at Ben, still in shock. "Bring down the barrier," Ben told her.
"I most certainly will not!" Fairy Godmother declared.
"Go mom!" Jane cheered. She was one of the few people doing something after all.
"I am your king!" Ben exclaimed.
"Oh yeah, something's definitely wrong with him," Evan nodded. "Mr. A Crown Doesn't Make You a King wouldn't have pulled rank like that."
"Evan, I think we've all figured that out by now," Rose said. "Get with the program!"
"Obey him," Uma stated causing the crowd to gasp once again.
"Is that all we do? Gasp?" Emma asked, rolling her eyes. "Where's the Tourney team to whisk Ben away while Mal hands Uma a can of whup ass?"
"Emma!" Snow scolded. "Wherever did you learn a phrase like that?"
"Dad."
"Ferdinand David…."
"Wow, even dads aren't immune from the double name things moms do," Neal chuckled.
"Ben's been spelled!" Mal exclaimed, glaring slightly in Uma's direction.
"And they finally caught on!" Kitty exclaimed with a chuckle. Ben sighed and got up, beginning to make his way toward Mal but found himself getting pulled in the opposite direction.
"Akiho!" Ben exclaimed as he found that the person who was yanking him away from Mal was indeed one of his oldest friends.
"Mal's a dragon," Akiho said simply and Ben rolled his eyes.
"Yes, she is the daughter of Maleficent but I still need to talk to her."
"No. I mean if you had stayed where you were or continued to make your way toward Mal, you would have been in the path of a dragon," Akiho told him and Ben followed his gaze in shock. Sitting where Mal had been was a medium sized purple scaled green eyed dragon. And it was glaring directly at Uma.