AN: Another TWIST is upon us!
NymhadoraTonks: No, Carlos doesn't have magic. The magic that ran through him just gave him a small glimpse of the future before it returned to its magical host. I wanted to add it in there so we could have a sweet Carvie moment and a sneak peak at the kids that will be in the miniseries I'm writing after this. ;) And your on the ball with Charlotte or Evan having magic...but that'll be reveal in What Reality Could've Been.
Thank you for your continued support!
A decision had been made. Mal wasn't allowed to the meeting since the conflict of interest. She didn't mind, she was already nervous enough for what was to happen. Everyone would gather in the square garden to hear what Ben and the council had decided. Mal hadn't heard anything from her fiancé, he said the matter was pretty divided. He had spent a lot of time with Rose talking about logistics. Rose was quite wise on the matter.
As Mal stood on the overlooking balcony alone, a crowd began to form. Evie suddenly clasped her hand. Mal looked to the blue-haired princess-who was accompanied by Carlos- and smiled. She loved having the support from her friends after all of these years. Jay placed an arm around her; his other was around Lonnie. Uma and the other VKs were still in the castle, awaiting their fate.
Mal swallowed when she heard Evie's soft voice. "We're going to go down to the garden, but no matter what, we'll support you." Mal hugged Evie before watching them go. Soon enough, their faces appeared along the others. The crowd was filled with excited chatter. Everyone was wondering what was to happen. Mal couldn't help wonder herself as the doors behind her opened.
Her green eyes flickered to the figures. Ben, Belle, Beast, and Fairy Godmother all strode out onto the platform. They were followed by Rose, who was sporting her enchantress look once again. Mal felt a smile come to her lips as her eyes connected with Ben's. He took her in his arms and planted a kiss on her. Mal usually didn't like to show public affection, but after the proposal, she didn't mind as much. They hadn't shared many moments since the war ended.
"Hey," Rose's voice called. "Best not to give the tongue in front of all of Auradon." Mal and Ben pulled apart. The couple looked nervously at each other as well at Rose. They both laughed a little.
"Sisters," Ben rolled his eyes at Rose. She stuck out her tongue at him before she smiled. His hands still gripped Mal's waist as he turned back to her. "Hey." His kind eyes connected with hers.
"Hey," Mal repeated. "Good choices?" She was asking about the decisions.
"You'll find out in a minute," Ben grinned. The royal trumpets played as the citizens stopped their chatter and turned to the royals. Ben cleared his throat as he let go of Mal. He placed is hands on the rail of the balcony. As the trumpets died down, Ben spoke. "People of Auradon! I know many of you are still readjusting after the big sleep. What is to come next after all of this battle. Well, I can at least say...it's all over."
Everyone cheered. Ben continued. "The council has met on three certain matters. The fate of Audrey, the cause of all this. She shall be put in trial in a few weeks. There, Auradon will hear her case and give her a fair punishment. Second, the fate of Rose. With her sole defiance of evil, and saving the kingdom, she shall rejoin the royal family." There were blank stares all around. No one seemed to know what to think. Mal looked to Rose; she was frozen in place.
"And finally," Ben carried on again. "The fate of the Isle...We had talked about closing it for good. But after reconsideration, we have decided to let down the barrier...for good."
That's when the crowd erupted. They were angry, furious, and curse. Ben obviously didn't expect that, his eyes were wide. Mal was so happy she could just cry. When the crowd began to yell at Ben, saying nasty things, guards came up next to Ben. They were about to escort him away. Guards came up around Mal too. The crowd was getting restless. But then, Rose threw out her hands. "Silence!" she called. Her voice echoed.
Everyone had fallen quiet. Their eyes looked up to her. Rose cleared her throat. "I understand why you all are angry, but you have to see reason. The Isle is no place to make a life for kids. I've been there. No one should be there."
"You're just one of them!" somebody called out. Others began to agree. The rioting began again. Mal had never seen people this furious before. It was truly terrifying.
"Quiet!" Rose called again. There was about a minute of silence. Mal could see Rose trying to come up with a solution. "We're at a cross roads. I propose...we have a trial for this as well. That way, everyone can get their votes." She looked to Ben, who nodded in agreement with her plan.
"That will be great," Belle said after a moment. Mal looked to the older woman, she herself looked torn in some way. "Then we can hold you to a trial, too." Rose looked to her mother in shock, which then turned to hurt. She thought Belle was on her side, but it seemed she was still hesitant.
"Let the people choose!" someone screamed. Everyone began to yell again. Mal looked to her friends, they looked scared. She was scared too, she had never seen this side of Auradon. The guards were beginning to push people back as they tried to storm the castle.
Ben held his hands up, and it was quiet again. "Fine, we shall hold two hearings. One, for the fate of the Isle. The other, for the innocence and the guilt of Audrey and Rose." There was no more rioting after that. With these words, this brought a new ear to Audradon. The Trials of Good and Evil.
"What does this mean for us?" Uma asked. "Are we going back?" Mal, Ben, Rose had gone up to the conference room where the VKs had been held. Celia, Dizzy, and the twins were sitting on the couch together, they seemed just as scared as Mal.
"No," Ben shook his head. "I'll arrange a trial as fast as I can. This needs to get settled quick. I'm tired of all of this fighting. You're going to have to testify on behalf for the Isle. All of you will. For Rose and Audrey, we'll have to relay the actions of the war." Harry and Uma nodded in agreement to the plan.
"Ben," Mal sighed. "Did you really expect everyone to love the idea of opening the barrier?" The more she thought about it, the reaction of the people made more sense.
"I was hoping for a little better response," Ben shrugged. "I knew no one would truly be onboard, but we'll have to convince them. Surely, since they trust you, they can learn to trust the decision."
"They better," Uma said, folding her arms. "I'm not going back there." Mal looked to her friend. She didn't want Uma to go back. They had finally decided to work together again. She couldn't loose that ever again. She wouldn't.
"You don't deserve to go back there," Rose said from the corner. Everyone turned to look at her. Her eyes were distant. She had been quiet ever since she entered the room. She was obviously thinking about what Bell had said. "It's the people in Auradon who belong on that Isle."
"Rose," Ben raised his eyebrows. He was scolding her a little. She looked at him with a blank expression.
"They do," Rose rolled her eyes. "I don't care if I'm good now, it doesn't mean I have to put them on the pedestal they don't deserve." Uma laughed at that. But when she caught Mal's eye, she stopped.
"You don't deserve a trial either," Mal crossed her arms as she looked to Rose. She remained emotionless.
"Yeah," Gil agreed. "She's the reason we won the war." He shot a smile at her, but Rose didn't return it.
"It doesn't matter," Rose shook her head. "They'll always see me as a predator, never prey." She was the victim, they all knew that, but other's still didn't believe her. Belle's actions to contain her were never accounted for. That was the flaw in the system, the people refused to believe the truth.
"Not if we can prove it," Evie said from the door. She, Carlos, Jay, and Lonnie all walked in the door. "Think about it, if we all testify for you, people have to believe you're good now. The only one who can testify against you is Audrey. That's twelve to one."
"Maybe," Rose folded her arms, "but it's a slim chance I'll get off scot free. What's going to happen when Audrey reveals that I wrote that letter? Everyone's going to think that it's her fault for poisoning the kingdom? No. They're going to turn the heat back on me. Considering my past crimes, I really should have been sentenced to death a long time ago." Ben was about to say something, but Carlos beat him to it.
"No," Carlos walked to her. "Look at you now. You're a pure soul, remember? The Enchantress told you that you have the power to make things right. Well, I think you can make things right in next week's trial."
"Really?" Rose asked with an eyebrow raised. He brown eyes looked at her with hope. He smiled as he answered:
"Really."
That night, Mal stayed at the castle. She had been writing down everything she could remember from the last week since the proposal. She needed to help the Isle, and Rose. She needed to pull herself up and speak for both Auradon and Isle. She wanted to be queen of both, not just one. She was determined to make other's see what she saw.
"Still working?" Ben asked from across the desk. He was just putting his won files away. They had been working in silence for about two hours. It was well into the night, but Mal didn't care.
"Yes, and I don't plan on giving up," Mal said as she wrote more down. Ben grabbed her moving hands. Mal looked up at him. It was only now did she realize how much her wrist hurt. The king looked tired and weak, but he still had a convincing smile on his face.
"You can't just throw yourself into this," Ben said as he ran a finger over her engagement ring. "We only defeated Audrey about a week ago, our announcement was earlier today, and you're already working on the case."
"It's what's important right now," Mal admitted. "First, If we can open the barrier, I can finally feel free. My dad and I can finally get along together. Uma and the others deserve to stay so I'm going to fight for them. Second, Rose is important to you, and I want to make sure she stays. I know what happened to you the last time she was locked away. I'm not letting that happen again."
"But you're letting go of everything else," Ben said simply. "Whatever happened to the wedding prep? The engagement party that was planned to be Sunday?"
"I really don't think we should be going to parties," Mal shook her head. "We've got a case to support next week. Everything's just being thrown together, and I will not just throw this together. It needs to sell the people. They need to understand. I cannot be a queen of a country who's discriminating against my home."
"I know what we have to do, but we never even celebrated our victory. Don't you want time to just relax? Maybe get back to our wedding at the end of the summer? Or just get back to...you and me?" Mal had to admit, he had a point. She had been busying herself most of the time. They had drifted in their work this last week, they hadn't spent much time together. She needed a break. Even thought wedding plans could be just a stressful, she would rather be doing that.
"Well...I suppose it wouldn't be the worst thing to go to the engagement party," Mal admitted. Ben smiled as he rose from his desk. Mal stood up before he hugged her. They continued to embrace as Mal asked, "What do you think will happen if they find Rose guilty?"
There was a long silence from Ben. He took several deep breaths. She could tell he didn't like to think about it. Everything had changed in such little time. It was still hard to process everything.
"I don't know," Ben whispered, "Nothing good."
"Did Ben send you down here?" Audrey asked. Her pink hair was styled over one shoulder. Her eyes were as cold as ice. Anger was swirling within her. They were in Rose's old prison cell, accept this time, Audrey was the one in cuffs.
"No, and he doesn't need to know," Rose said as she looked at her tattoos on her wrists. "I just thought you should know what's happening is all. It wouldn't be fair for you to not know who you're up against. I suppose since I filled you in, I'll be going." Rose was about to teleport out of the cell, but Audrey called to her.
"Wait," Audrey held out a hand. "Are you serious? The people are going to decide who stays and who goes between us?" Rose shifted her weight. She hated to admit what was to happen, even after all of this fighting.
"Yes," Rose folded her arms. "It's going to be you against me again. One final battle of trial. I think we both know who's going to win that one. You used to be the pride and joy of Auradon. Always in the spotlight when you dated my brother."
"Well, that's over now," Audrey said with an angry tone. "Thanks to you."
"How is that my fault?" Rose asked.
"You were the one that inspired Ben to open the barrier," Audrey stood from the bed. "It lead to him meeting Mal and casting me aside for that villain. You were the one that convinced me I should use my hatred. It's your fault for ruining my life!" She yelled in Rose's face. The girl didn't flinch. She was too used to being yelled at.
"You were the one that acted on my words," Rose said simply. "Maybe to other's that will work. You acting as if I were the one that made you do all of those things. But you will never get the satisfaction of making me think it was me to blame for all of this. Audrey, it's always been you."
Audrey looked puzzled, but Rose continued. She took a step closer to her, and Audrey took a step back. Rose's voice was calm. "You were the one who always treated the VKs badly. You were the one that told Jane about Evie kissing Carlos' cheek. Which had led Jane to hitting Evie, sending her over the edge what fueled her to go to the Isle, where I took matters into my own hands. You were the one that exposed Evie of her lack of control of her powers during the Halloween Ball. It later sent Evie to prison where I had captured her. You were the one that grabbed Maleficent's scepter and casted a sleeping spell over Audradon. "
"What does it matter?" Audrey asked defensively. Rose had cornered her. "You were the one that burned the castle down, possessed Evie, tried taking over the kingdom twice, kidnapped Evie and other kids for your army, convinced me to do your bidding, and escaped from your prison."
"It matters because you're just as guilty as I am," Rose said simply. "You may not have possessed Evie or kidnapped her, but you had a hand in it. I never considered you as a pawn in my game I never used you for anything. You did it all yourself. I had never convinced you of anything, I had only reminded you of your thoughts. It was all you. You know why that is? Because you've always been jealous of them. You wish you could be like on of them Maybe then people would pay more attention to you, maybe they would have looked to you and know who you were. Well...maybe it wasn't what you expected, but you definitely got your wish."
Audrey's face was shocked. She had backed up against the wall. She then furrowed her brows after a moment and pushed Rose by the shoulders. "Get away from me! Leave!"
"I won't," Rose said as she collected herself. "Until you hear this. I was like you once. I had refused to accept that I was the bad guy. That I was the one to blame for everything. Then, once I was put away, I continued to think like this...until...in this very room I was convinced otherwise. Ben had come to visit me like how I visit you now. He told me over and over again that I could be good, and over time, I finally let myself believe him. I later believed in myself. I am good now, but I won't deny my past. So I tell you this now. You have the power to own up to your mistakes and make things right. Even if everyone doesn't see that is enough to make you innocent, at least you can be free of the burden that weighs you down inside...because once you're free from that...you discover a magic that's more powerful than anything."
"What's that?" Audrey asked. She looked at Rose with curiosity.
"The magic of your choices. It's in you, and it's in me. Everyone has it, but it takes some a while to finally realize how much power a simple choice can hold," Rose took a breath. "My choice, was to come here and try to help you while I still can. Even though I am your enemy, I hope that you use what I told you wisely." Without another word, she burst into pink flames and left Audrey alone with her thoughts.
Rose reappeared in her room. She loved the look of it now, it was a place to actually call home...accept she didn't truly feel it was her home. She went to the window and propped it open. She took a deep breath of all the summer air. It smelled much better during the cool night than it did during the warm days. Rose liked it cold anyway. Her favorite season was fall.
She thought about how Belle looked at her today. She had seen that look before. When she had apologized to Rose on graduation day. Rose wondered if her mother would ever truly trust her ever. It didn't matter really, but Rose still wondered. She wished this palace could be her home, but she felt like she was just visiting in some way. So many bad memories happened here, but many good ones too. Rose had always wanted to take over the castle, but now she's here and her mission didn't feel complete.
It was no doubt the trial. She was already worried about her fate. What could she do? She can't run anymore, she knew that. She had to make things right. Carlos reminded her of that. The Enchantress choose her for a reason, so she had to be here for that reason. Even if she had won her freedom, wouldn't she still be confined to the castle, her royal family and the duties that came with it? That's what Rose had been running from since the beginning. But now, maybe Rose would like the life, and she would be accepted back to her birthright place in the kingdom.
That's all Rose ever wanted. To be accepted. She had chased her own approval, and for what she thought, she had achieved it. Now, it was time where she had to convince others of her intentions. She new she could do it though, she just had to be sure she made the right choices. After all, they will be most powerful. She had to take her own advice and move on, and fix the mistakes she had made before. She had made many, but they didn't matter now. All that mattered was that she had the power to move forward. Hopefully that would be enough.