Ch 10:

Chloe took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching her sweaty fists before knocking on the door, not giving herself a chance to back out.

"Come in!" a familiar voice called. Chloe squared her shoulders and stepped into the room.

She'd never been in King Ben's office before. It was big with an ornate desk in front of the large windows. There was a set of matching, brown leather armchairs in front of the desk. Ben was sitting at his desk, Mal leaning against it next to him. At the sight of the purple-haired girl, Chloe hesitated and almost backed out of the room again.

"Chloe!" Ben grinned, standing from his seat. "What can I do for you?" he asked kindly.

"Um," Chloe glanced at Mal, "if you're busy, I can come back later." she told him.

Mal sighed. "Chloe, please stop avoiding us. In the very least, talk to Carlos. He's really upset."

Chloe pursed her lips, agitated. "Like how I was upset when I found out you all went on some secret mission on the Isle and didn't bother to tell me?" she asked sarcastically.

Turns out, Evie and the others hadn't been sick at all on the night of the dance. Apparently they'd all received messages that they needed to return to the Isle Saturday night. So they'd planned their little mission days in advance to return to the Isle to find out what was going on.

Days that they could have filled Chloe in, but didn't.

Chloe didn't know all the details, just what Carlos managed to get out before she slammed the door in his face, as well as what was public knowledge. Something about Madam Mim escaping and attacking Camelot as a giant dragon. And a group of VKs on the Isle called the Anti-Heroes, and having to stop some of their parents from escaping the Isle using underground catacombs.

"Chloe, we just wanted to protect you." Mal explained, exasperated. "You have fits just walking through the hallway at school, do you really think taking you to the Isle would have been a good idea?"

That stung, even though Evie and Carlos had said the same thing when trying to beg for her forgiveness.

"It still should have been my choice." Chloe glowered. "But it's nice to know how weak you all think I am." Turning back to Ben, she added, "You're busy. I'll come back later."

"No, Chloe, wait. If you need to talk to me, I can make time. Please." Ben urged, waving her toward the desk.

"I probably don't need to talk with you about it." Chloe hedged. "You're busy, and I really should talk with Fairy Godmother about it."

Ben tilted his head curiously. "If you're sure, but you can still talk to me if you'd like. Maybe there's some way I can help?"

Chloe chewed her lip, glancing once more at Mal before relenting and sitting at one of the leather armchairs in front of the desk.

"Well,…I wasn't sure about the school's rules regarding this, but…I'd like to look into getting a service dog." Chloe admitted.

"A what?" Mal asked, confused.

"A service dog." Ben explained, looking up at Mal. "Animals who are trained to help people with certain problems or tasks. Such as guide dogs who lead the blind."

"But you're not blind." Mal looked at Chloe in confusion.

Chloe sighed impatiently. "Obviously. If you want to know about service dogs so badly, why don't you go ask Carlos since you all like talking behind my back?" she suggested bitterly.

Mal pursed her lips, looking slightly upset but hiding it rather well. Ben glanced away uncomfortably, clearing his throat before turning to Chloe.

"Well, like you said, you'll need to discuss it with Fairy Godmother. But I do know a bit about the requirements for service animals here in Auradon Prep. As you've seen with Dude, dogs are allowed to live with students on campus, and are allowed on the grounds, but they typically aren't allowed in class. Service animals are the exception, they are allowed in classes. However, it's more complicated if they're still in training."

Chloe leaned forward, worried. After all, if she got a service dog she'd be training it for a while. Maybe even two whole years. "Complicated how?" she asked worriedly.

"Well, it's different with every school. For Auradon Prep, I believe we do allow Service Animals in Training to be in classes, and any other place service dogs are allowed, but I think Fairy Godmother has to have proof that the dog is in control and won't be a danger or distraction to other students. I'm not sure how much training that usually takes, but I would think at least a few months."

Chloe swallowed the lump in her throat, nodding slowly. She knew this wouldn't be easy. Was it even worth it?

"Anthony said I need to be diagnosed by a doctor before I can even be considered." Chloe announced quietly.

Ben nodded. "That makes sense. Would you like me or Fairy Godmother to set up a doctors appointment for you to do that?"

Chloe thought for a second before nodding. "That would be nice. Thank you. Anthony also offered to show me around the Plantation, to see some of the dogs. Depending on when I see the doctor, maybe I could do that this weekend or next?"

"This weekend is the Seaside Festival." Mal pointed out. "You wouldn't want to miss that."

Chloe glared slightly. "If you were present on Saturday, you'd know why the idea of going to another crowded party-like event does not sound fun to me."

Mal looked away uncomfortably.

Ben cleared his throat again. "If you'd like, Chloe, I can have someone set up an appointment for you. I'll let you know when the appointment will be. And I'll make sure you have a ride there, and perhaps someone to go with you?"

Chloe nodded. "That would be nice. Thank you. I'll leave you two now." she announced, standing and leaving the room before Mal could say anything else.

With Ben being the King, he was able to pull some strings to get Chloe an appointment the following Friday. By that point Chloe was talking to Carlos and the other VKs again, but she still hadn't completely forgiven them. She understood why they did it, she would endanger the mission if she went and had a panic attack on the Isle. And if given the choice, she probably wouldn't have wanted to go anyway. But it still hurt, knowing they thought so little of her that they didn't even tell her what was going on.

The doctor diagnosed her with Panic Disorder, confirming what some suspected. With that diagnosis, Fairy Godmother gave them her permission to get Chloe a service dog, though it was a slow process. Just because Chloe could pick a service dog didn't mean the dog had free range, so to speak. Like Ben mentioned, Fairy Godmother would want to test the dog before allowing it into classes.

The main events of the Seaside Festival Mal mentioned was taking place on Sunday, so Anthony had suggested they visit the Plantation on Saturday. It would just be Anthony, Chloe, Carlos, and Ben. Ben wanted to come along to learn more about the process and about the Plantation itself, as King and all. And Chloe didn't want all their friends coming. She felt it was embarrassing enough without making a spectacle of it.

So, that was why Saturday morning found Chloe, Carlos, Anthony, and Ben piled into one of the royal limos, making the couple-hour long drive through Auradon City and around Belle's Harbor to Stately Chateau. They stopped at a small diner for lunch before finally making it to the Dalmatian Plantation.

As they drove down the dirt country road, cobblestone walls on either side, Chloe looked out the limo windows and smiled at the sight that came into view. In the middle of the rolling country hills sat a beautiful farm. There was a beautiful, old-style, two-story farm house with a brick chimney and some plants growing up the walls. There was a beautiful pond on one side of the open lawn, and on the other side of the lawn was an old water well, and a huge tree with a tire swing.

Not far from the house was a large barn and a brick silo, both appearing to have been repurposed, and a large fenced in area stretched out behind the barn. There was a small chicken coop in a pen near the house. And Chloe could just catch a glimpse of another building past the house before the limo parked in front of the house, hiding the other building from view.

"Whoa." Chloe breathed, staring up at the house in amazement as Anthony opened the door to get out of the car. The others followed suit, gazing around at the property.

"It's not much, but it's home." Anthony shrugged, gazing around with a fond smile.

"'Not much' my foot." Chloe muttered. The Dalmatian Plantation was almost the total opposite of Hell Hall. In it's prime, Hell Hall had been a huge, magnificent mansion with iron gates, expensive statues, and more rooms than you could use. It spoke of wealth. Now, though, it was dilapidated with crumbling walls and broken windows, corners filled with cobwebs. This property was much smaller and spoke of love and family, well-worn but well cared for. In simple terms, this place was warm where Hell Hall was cold.

Chloe was cut out of her thoughts by a chorus of loud, rambunctious barking. She flinched and suddenly, she wasn't at the farm anymore.

Flashback

Small branches whipped at Chloe's face and cut her arms as she ran and jumped and dodged through the trees of the woods. She could hear the flurry of barking echoing through the woods over the pounding of her heart and loud breaths, and in the distance the familiar cackling of her mother and booming laughs of a man.

Her eyes frantically scanned the area as she ran, searching for an escape. She knew they couldn't outrun the dogs for long.

Finally, Chloe spotted a tree with sturdy branches just above her head.

"Carlos!" she called, picking up her pace in the direction of the tree. At the right moment, she launched herself upward, her hands latching onto the branch, and she used the momentum of her run to propel herself up the tree in record time. She scrambled her way higher up the tree so she'd be out of her twin's path before looking down. Carlos was right behind her, scrambling desperately up the tree with the two dogs literally snapping at his heels.

Keeping one hand clinging tightly to the branch she was perched on, Chloe reached down and grasped the back of her brother's jacket to help pull him to safety. Once Carlos was safely perched on the branch below her, hugging the trunk with both arms, both 10 year olds looked fearfully down at the ground below. Two huge Dobermans, named Roscoe and Desoto, were leaping up at the tree, snapping their slavering jaws at the twins' feet and barking viciously.

End of Flashback

"Chloe, relax." Carlos' voice cut through the barking, and Chloe blinked her eyes, finding herself once more under the warm sun in front of the Radcliff's farm house. She took a deep breath, trying to ignore the worried looks Ben, Carlos, and Anthony were directing at her. "You good?" Carlos asked, lightly holding her arm. "Where'd you go just now?" he asked worriedly. She hadn't had a full-fledged panic attack, but she'd gone pale and her breathing had picked up.

Chloe swallowed thickly, licking her lips to try and wet her dry mouth. "Roscoe and Desoto." she admitted quietly.

Carlos paled slightly himself and glanced awkwardly toward the other two boys. "Um, there's a couple Dobermans on the Isle that our mom would sic on us sometimes." he admitted.

Anthony turned sympathetic eyes on Chloe, who avoided his gaze in embarrassment. "I'm sorry you both had to go through that." he told them genuinely. "Dogs aren't vicious by nature, it's how they're raised. And I swear to you that every single dog on this farm is friendly." He grinned slightly. "The worst they'll do is knock you over and slobber all over your face."

Despite herself, Chloe giggled softly, and Carlos gave Anthony a grateful smile.

"Come on." Anthony waved them toward the house. "We're supposed to meet with my parents inside."

They headed toward the front door of the house, Chloe trailing near the back of the group. She slowed after a few steps. Her footsteps sounded weird. Like they had an echo, a scuffing of feet against the dirt. Then she felt a presence behind her and looked over her shoulder.

She gave an embarrassing yelp, whipping around and staring down toward the ground behind her. A Dalmatian was standing there, staring up at her with it's head tilted curiously. She stared back at it, half-shocked and half-terrified.

"Chloe, it's okay!" Anthony hurried to her side, resting a hand on her shoulder for a moment. "She won't hurt you." Turning to the dog, he scolded, "Motley, you're supposed to be in your pen."

The dog merely sat down, wagging her tail happily as she glanced between Anthony and Chloe.

"Motley?" Carlos repeated curiously as he reached Chloe's other side. "Like 'motley crew'?"

Anthony shrugged. "My dad named her. She's fairly well-behaved, but she has a bit of a talent for escaping her pen. We have no idea how she gets out."

Motley whined quietly, scooting forward and lifting her paw toward Chloe. Chloe eyed it warily.

"She just wants to shake your hand." Anthony explained quietly.

Swallowing nervously, Chloe reached down and gently took the raised paw, shaking it carefully before releasing it.

"I've never met a Dalmatian, but isn't she a bit small?" Carlos asked curiously. The dog couldn't be any taller than two feet tall, her head coming up a few inches past their knees.

"She's only eight months old, still technically a puppy. She'll likely be fully-grown by the time she's a year, year-and-a-half." Anthony explained before lifting a hand to wave over a volunteer walking from the barn. "Hey, could you take Motley back to her pen? She escaped again." he explained to the girl, who nodded and grasped Motley's collar. Chloe expected the dog to tug or put up a fight, but she went willingly with a glance back at Chloe and the others.

"Now we can go in." Anthony joked, gesturing toward the house once again.

They all walked up the couple steps to the front door, Anthony leading them into what appeared to be a sitting room. It was small and cozy, with hardwood flooring, and the walls that were half green wood paneling on the bottom and half yellow wallpaper on the top. There were dozens of family photos hanging on the wall around the room. There was a small, old TV tucked into the corner by the staircase on the left of the room, and the right had a doorway that lead to the kitchen. A worn sofa and armchair were perched in front of the TV. There was also a large square hole in the floor in the middle of the room, which seemed slightly out of place to Chloe. It had wood railing around it and appeared to have a staircase that lead down to what she assumed was the basement. She could hear music floating up from whatever was down there.

"Hello?" Anthony called into the house. "Anyone home?"

"Oh! Is that my little Anthony?!" an unfamiliar voice called from the kitchen before a short, elderly woman came tottering toward them at an almost-alarming speed for someone her age. Her white hair was up in a bun and she was dressed in a black dress with a white apron. She immediately yanked Anthony down into what looked like a painful hug, but he was smiling and returned the hug good-naturedly.

"Hi, Nanny. How've you been?" Anthony asked, letting her kiss his cheeks repeatedly.

"Oh, wonderful, dear, wonderful. I'd be better if you visited more often." she scolded him lightly, making Anthony grin sheepishly as he stood to his full height, nearly a head taller than her.

"I know, but I've been busy with school. You understand." he told her. "Are Mum and Dad around? We have a meeting."

"Oh, yes, yes. Anita should be upstairs. Said something about some paperwork. I was just about to bring her up some tea and scones. You lot head on up, and I'll bring up the food. Lovely to see you again, Your Highness." she added, seemingly not even taking a breath as she curtsied to Ben. "How is dear Mrs. Potts?"

Ben smiled kindly. "It's wonderful to see you again, as well, Nanny. And Mrs. Potts is doing well."

"Lovely." Nanny beamed, moving about the room and grabbing a broom from the corner. "You all head on up. I'll send your father up and bring the food when it's ready." she told them before banging the wooden handle of the broom on the floor next to the basement stairs. "Roger! Your son is here!" she hollered.

Chloe covered her mouth slightly to hide her amusement before turning and following Anthony up the staircase to the second floor. They moved down a hallway past a few doorways, at least one of them being a bathroom. They reached a closed door at the end of the hall, and Anthony knocked a couple times before pushing the door open.

Inside it looked like a home office of some sort, one part professional, two parts homely. There were photos all over the walls, a few contained people but most were of dogs, mainly Dalmatians. There was a desk in the middle of the room, a bookcase in the corner, and a dog bed nearby. A Dalmatian was curled up asleep in the bed, and sitting at the desk was a familiar woman.

Anita looked much more professional then the last time Chloe saw her. Her strawberry-blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun, strands framing her face, a pair of black reading glasses perched on her nose, and dressed in a light yellow dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. It was like the perfect combination of professional and casual.

At the door opening, the dog's head popped up and Anita glanced up from the laptop she was looking at on the desk. A beaming smile spread across her face, and she stood from the desk almost as quickly as the Dalmatian hopped up from the dog bed.

"Anthony!" Anita exclaimed happily, rounding the desk and pulling her son into a tight hug.

"Mum!" Anthony whined lightly. "You just saw me a week ago."

"Oh, hush. I don't get to see you often enough. Let me have this." she ordered lightly, kissing him on the cheek before finally pulling away. She smiled at everyone else in the room while Anthony crouched down to greet the slender Dalmatian who was so happy to see him.

"Ben, it's wonderful to see you again." Anita greeted warmly, giving the King a hug. "I was disappointed I didn't see you at the dance last Saturday."

Ben gave a rueful smile. "I wanted to be there, and for the game, but I had some King duties to attend to."

"Of course. How're your parents? Did Belle like the book I suggested last time I saw her?" Anita asked curiously.

"They're both doing well, enjoying their free time. And yes, Mom loved the book. Raved about it for a solid week." Ben answered, chuckling.

"Wonderful, I thought she might." Anita smiled before turning to the last two teenagers in the room. "Chloe, it's good to see you again. And you must be Carlos." she added, shaking hands with both De Vil kids. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too." Carlos returned the greeting after Chloe did the same.

"Anthony!" A tall man who looked like a blonde-haired, blue-eyed version of Anthony waltzed into the room, a wide grin spread across his face and another Dalmatian on his heels. "I'd meant to meet you all at the door, but, well, I lost track of time." he admitted sheepishly, looking even more like his son.

"Working on a new song?" Anthony grinned knowingly.

"Of course!" Roger beamed. "I was reading the paper this morning, they were running an article for the Seaside Festival, and I was just hit by inspiration! So,-"

"Roger, darling, maybe you and Anthony can discuss that another time." Anita interrupted gently. "We do have some important things to go over right now." she added, gesturing to the other three teenagers in the room.

"Oh, right! Right, of course." Roger agreed hurriedly.

"Dad, you remember Ben." Anthony waved between them. "And this is Carlos. And this is Chloe." he added. "Carlos, Chloe, this is my dad, Roger Radcliffe."

Carlos shook hands with Roger first before Chloe did the same, smiling nervously up at the tall man. She noticed that despite the smile, Roger was watching them with a guarded look in his eyes. Chloe swallowed the lump in her throat. She could understand him being suspicious of Cruella's children, but it still stung.

"It's nice to meet you, Sir." Carlos greeted Roger.

"You as well." Roger returned with a small smile.

"Roger, why don't we bring in a couple more chairs, and we can all sit down and begin?" Anita suggested.

Within five minutes, Roger brought in a couple chairs to add to the chairs that were already in the room, and Nanny stopped in to deliver a tray of tea and scones. Roger and Anita sat behind the desk, while the others sat across from them on the other side of the desk.

"So, Chloe, you're thinking of getting a service dog." Anita stated, smiling at Chloe from across the desk.

Chloe nodded. "Um, yes, Ma'am. I'm thinking about it."

"Why?" Roger asked abruptly. His wife threw him a warning look, which he ignored. "It's nothing against either of you." he added, glancing at Carlos before focusing on Chloe. "Anthony has vouched for both of you. But you can understand why we might be wary of giving a dog to one of Cruella's children, given everything she's put our family through."

Chloe nodded. "Of course I understand."

"But we're not our mother." Carlos cut in, grabbing his sister's hand in his.

"Carlos." Chloe whispered. She needed to do this. She didn't want to hide behind her brother, despite how tempting it was right now.

Turning back to the Radcliffe's, she went on. "You have every right to be wary. This is your family, and you want to protect it. I respect that. I don't want to offend you at all, but Cruella has hurt me and my brother about as much as she's hurt your family. I hope I never see her again."

Carlos squeezed her hand and Chloe realized her breathing had picked up. She forced herself to take a deep breath to calm what she recognized as the beginnings of another panic attack. "I've been diagnosed with panic disorder. I have panic attacks. And honestly, a lot of the panic attacks I've had seemed to have been triggered by something that reminded me of my mother or something my mother did to me and my brother. Not all of them, but several."

Anita looked concerned and Roger looked torn between sympathetic and dubious.

"Like outside?" Anthony questioned quietly. "With the dogs?"

Chloe nodded, while Anita asked, "What about the dogs?"

"The dogs barking outside almost triggered a panic attack." Chloe admitted, looking down in shame. "There's a…I think he's a loan shark, Sykes. Our mother would sometimes do business with him. He has two vicious Dobermans, and they used to sic them on me and Carlos for entertainment."

"It's one of the reasons we used to be so scared of dogs." Carlos admitted, glancing over at Ben, who nodded in understanding.

"And despite that, you think it's a good idea to get a service dog?" Roger questioned dubiously.

"She fell in love with Dude." Anthony admitted, grinning while Chloe blushed. "And he adores her."

"Yeah, more than he loves me." Carlos laughed. "I've been replaced." Chloe lightly swatted her brother's arm while her cheeks burned bright red. "In all seriousness," Carlos went on when his laughter quieted, "it's her relationship with Dude that made me think this was a good idea for her. Just holding him, having him in her lap or close to her chest, calms her down. It makes her happy and she feels more at ease. I really think a service dog would benefit her in a lot of ways."

Chloe peaked up from beneath her eyelashes to see Anita and Roger exchanging a look, silently communicating.

"And you're aware this will be a lot of work? And it won't be cheap?" Anita urged.

Chloe swallowed, nodding her head. "I know I'll need to put in the work to train the dog. But…I don't have any money." she admitted, looking down.

"I've been talking with Fairy Godmother and Anthony about that." Ben spoke up. "The school has helped cover a portion of the costs for a student's service dog in the past. Maybe not a lot, but it's something. And I was thinking we could put together some kind of fundraiser to raise some money, as well."

Chloe gaped at Ben, completely shocked they'd want to help her in that way.

"And the Plantation has a couple grants, so we could help Chloe out in that way." Anthony pointed out. "And she's open to training the dog herself instead of having a professional trainer, and I'm willing to help her with that."

Anita's lips twitched slightly as she shot her son a knowing glance before looking down at a notebook she'd been jotting down notes on.

"Well, on average adopting a service dog from our organization costs about $30,000, between the adoption, training, and the general care and vet appointments. If you're serious about training the dog yourself, that could easily cut down the cost by close to $10,000 on it's own."

"And the smallest grant the plantation offers is $3,000. Between those two, that could cut the cost down by about half." Anthony pointed out.

"And that's not including anything the school or any fundraisers could contribute." Ben pointed out.

"But that could still leave close to $15,000 to pay." Carlos pointed out worriedly. "And we don't have any money ourselves. How would we be able to pay for it?" he asked, glancing worriedly at his sister.

"Well," Ben interrupted, "that's something I've also been discussing with Fairy Godmother and a few others. Since we did bring you all here, away from your families and homes, I'm planning on starting a savings account for each of you. It won't be much, at least to start, but it's just a way for all of you to have some money to spend if you need anything. Again, it might not help much now in regards to paying for a service dog, but…"

"Well, Chloe wouldn't have to pay everything up front." Anita pointed out. "At first it would mostly just be for the adoption and a vet appointment. And we do offer payment plans, as most people can't just pay $30,000 upfront. You could just make payments as you can. We can work out any details at a later time, once everything's been figured out."

Chloe nodded, relieved. This was seeming more and more possible.

"Now, do you have the documentation from a doctor stating you would benefit from having a service dog?" Anita asked.

Chloe nodded, digging the doctor's letter from her backpack and passing it over. Anthony had told her she'd need the letter beforehand.

Anita opened the envelope and scanned over the letter, nodding as she read. Roger read the letter over her shoulder.

"Well, that settles that. You certainly qualify medically for a service dog. How about we introduce you to some of the dogs?" Anita suggested, passing the letter back to Chloe.

Chloe hesitated but nodded. Anthony had said none of the dogs would hurt her, so she shouldn't be nervous, right?

Sensing her hesitation, Anthony spoke up, "The dogs we're planning to train as service dogs are kept separate from the rest of the dogs. Most of our dogs are kept in the barn out front, but there's a smaller shelter behind the house where we keep the dogs we're training for things like that. There're only six of them, and most are puppies."

"Five." Anita corrected, smiling. "Lillie got adopted a couple weeks ago."

"Okay, five." Anthony nodded, smiling. "You okay with that?"

Chloe nodded. After all, she needed to get over the last of her fear of dogs if she was going to adopt one.

"Alright." Roger stood up straight. "Let's go meet the dogs."

AN: I had to split this chapter into two because it was getting too long.

A couple notes: Sykes, Roscoe, and Desoto are the villains in the Disney movie Oliver and Company, one of my favorite Disney movies growing up. Also, the farm house that Anthony and his family live in, which I described earlier in the chapter, is largely based on the farm house the Radcliffe family moved to in 101 Dalmatians 2: Patch's London Adventure if you want to look up any images for reference. I made some additions and fixed things up on the farm house since this story is set about 20 years later.

Please review to let me know what you all thought of this chapter. Is Chloe justified in being angry at her friends for leaving her out of their plan? Any thoughts/guesses on the service dog she might get?