Mal and Evie looked over each other before breakfast with the boys and several adults they probably wouldn't have interacted with if Fairy Godmother hadn't politely suggested they attend. It wasn't even a suggestion - more of the teacher throwing the idea out in the open and saying attending wasn't a requirement if they didn't want to.
Reading between the lines left Mal assuming there would be several outcomes. The first was the royals assuming they would disregard their message and not show up. If that was right, their arrival would serve as a surprise. If they thought they would take the offer, it was likely with the expectation that they would behave poorly. Regardless of the alternative, she was still anxious about needing to deal with people that may have known her or her group's parents.
Evie deemed their outfits appropriate then the two went off to find the boys. They were surprised to almost walk into Jay on the opposite side of their door. The girls took a step back and Evie gave each boy a calculated look.
"Jay, pass me your tie," She clicked her tongue. "Or better yet, stoop down so I can fix it for you."
"I'll never understand why you gave me one when you know I don't know how to—" He trailed off when she neatly tied it, head tilting in confusion. "Okay, that's not fair that you can and I can't."
"Mom added it into princess training," Evie rolled her eyes. "She always had a feeling the princes out here wouldn't know how to do it themselves."
"Pop referred to it as a waste of fabric," Jay chuckled. "It's not part of Agrabah's traditional clothes. Not that I have much of an idea toward what that looks like anyway but still."
"I'll see if I can come up with something closer to your roots for the next event if you want." Evie shrugged.
"Nah," Jay shook his head. "I'm not all that attached to them since we didn't have a lot of info on the Isle."
"Looks good," Evie tugged at his tie then took a step back. She then turned to Carlos, head tilting while she looked him over.
"Los, your shoes," She sighed. Carlos glanced down then paled, shoulders rising in acknowledgment of what she said. "You never touched the pair Ben gave you?"
"N-N-No," Carlos stammered. "I shouldn't. They're not... Mum wouldn't want me..." Evie held her hand up to stop him from rambling.
"She's not here," Evie shook her head. "How many times are we going to need to reassure you of that?" Her expression faltered when Carlos shrunk into himself and didn't answer.
The clothes were one thing since he was used to Evie coming up with outfits for him. His shoes were the only things that were truly ever his back home.
"I d-don't need the new ones," He grumbled and looked down at his feet. Evie gave an exasperated sigh.
"They're going to be offended you don't have a new pair on," She muttered. "Ben had to specifically request to get new ones for us and ones sent to the Isle. I'm certain they know about that."
Carlos's eyebrows furrowed together while he thought things over. There was a beat of silence then he muttered 'fine,' and ran back to the dorm to switch into the new pair.
His arrival back to the girls' dorm was marked by his looking down at his feet and making a face.
"They feel weird," He complained. Mal and Evie gave a soft laugh at that. "There's some - I don't know but the middle... I don't..."
"You'll get used to it," Mal rolled her eyes. "Plus we'll be seated for breakfast so it shouldn't be much of a bother."
Carlos muttered something under his breath then stepped behind Mal and Jay. The two exchanged a look then took off in the direction that the breakfast was being held in.
The banquet proved to be overwhelming well before the teens set foot through the doors that lead to it. They showed up a little early in the hope of being able to get a space to themselves away from the rest. The entrance to the room was shut and several adults were milling about outside of it.
Mal stopped halfway down the hallway. The hair on the back of her neck stood upright when she spotted a group of unfamiliar adults happily talking to each other. She tossed her arm up to stop Jay and Evie from going any further. The two stopped short and Carlos nearly tripped over Jay. Thankfully, neither boy made a production out of it.
"We'll wait here," Mal breathed out in a whisper. There was no Ben, no Jane, and no Fairy Godmother. None of them would have been her first choice in someone to latch onto but one familiar face was better than none.
The four teens stood close together, cautiously eyeing the adults from their space away from them. They had yet to draw attention to themselves and intended to keep things that way until the last moment.
There was a couple with blonde and brunette hair that was happily talking with Aladdin and Jasmine. The latter couple was easily recognizable since the few tv stations they got occasionally threw on programs about the royal families that weren't connected to Belle or her beast.
Another glimpse down the hall revealed a kind-looking woman with short brown hair chatting with a blonde-haired woman in a pink gown.
Mal and Evie exchanged an uneasy glance when the brown-haired woman's gaze met theirs. They sucked in a sharp breath then stood behind Jay and Carlos, gazes immediately falling to their feet.
"You don't think..." Jay muttered then shook his head. "No, they couldn't have. But that doesn't explain— Fairy Godmother said benefactors, right?"
"Uh-huh," Mal whispered and chanced another glance in the adults' direction. "I just wish she'd mentioned which ones since I'm regretting having agreed to come to this at all."
The door to the banquet hall opened and Mal was relieved to see Ben appear. He greeted the adults and allowed them to enter before approaching the group of teens that looked like they wanted nothing to do with being there.
"You made it," He sighed in relief, eyebrows furrowing together when the four didn't say anything. "I have you split between a table with Jane and a table with Aziz."
"Why are they here?" Jay wrinkled his nose. News of a familiar face was a relief but he didn't like either of the two enough to converse with them.
"Uh, I'll let Aziz explain that to you," Ben ran his hand through his hair. "They're waiting so we better head in." His words were met by the four shaking their heads and tossing cautious glances in Ben and the room's direction.
"Did any of you happen to think it was a good idea to let us know the benefactors were people our parents wronged?" Mal narrowed her eyes at Ben. The prince gave a sheepish look and didn't say anything.
"Wait, what?" Carlos's eyes widened. "B-But there aren't any dogs. Mum n-never said anything about p-people." He grimaced and leaned into Jay, gripping onto his hand in an attempt to calm his nerves.
"Most of our parents neglected to mention key pieces of their history," Mal rolled her eyes. She looked her group over then stood up straighter. "We'll go in but it isn't on us if we don't impress them."
"Fair enough," Ben nodded. There was no use arguing since the breakfast was announced as a surprise toward the end of the week. If anything, he was shocked the teens had taken the optional part of it meaning they should show up. "Can I take your hand, Mal?"
Mal's nostrils flared and she clenched her jaw, needing a steadying breath to keep from snapping at Ben. Another breath then she shook her head.
"I don't do public displays of affection," She didn't do dates as it was but Ben didn't need to know he was the first person to properly ask her out. "There aren't cameras, are there?"
"No," Ben shook his head and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I made sure of that. Mum wanted them but I said we don't need to broadcast this one."
"Good," Mal glowered then took a step closer to Ben, glancing back at her friends before she looped her arm around his and moved forward.
A hush went over the room when the transfer students from the Isle stepped inside. Mal kept her gaze on her feet. Evie held her head up high and took on the stance and walk her mother spent years on having her perfect. The haughty expression she wore was a way of masking her nerves. Carlos squeezed Jay's hand then released him, ears going red when he brought his arm back to his side.
"We can do two of you with Aziz, two of you with Jane," Ben murmured once they reached the center of the room. Mal risked looking at how the tables were set up then sighed.
"I suppose it makes sense to have me and Carlos with Jane and Evie and Jay with Aziz." She murmured and released Ben's arm, turning to face her crew.
They all had their heads down with their gazes focused on the floor. She could see Carlos mouthing the elements from the periodic table. Jay kept clenching and unclenching his fingers into a fist. Evie was the one that worried her since her expression was unreadable beneath the mask she wore.
"Fifteen minutes," Mal whispered. The words earned a nod from the three. "We need to make it through fifteen minutes without anything going wrong then we can go. Got it?"
"Yes," Jay nodded then looked at Evie. He gently nudged her when she didn't say anything. "Are you ready to go face our parents' demons?"
Mal watched as Jay and Evie left, not appreciating that they were separated from her. It took a whimpering sound from Carlos to remind her that they still needed to face the other table.
"We got this, pup," Mal whispered then approached the table where Jane sat. She was relieved there were two open chairs next to each other, gripping Carlos's hand to show she wouldn't be sitting beside Ben.
Carlos didn't say anything, gaze promptly dropping to his lap. The adults stopped talking and looked at the two. Mal pressed her lips together to suppress a scowl and looked at a spot over Jane's shoulder. The table had Jane, Ben, the couple from before, the blonde woman she refused to glance at, and the queen. Jay and Evie had the luck of the king and Fairy Godmother sitting at their table.
When neither teen said anything, Ben took it upon himself to clear his throat. Mal and Carlos briefly looked up at where he sat then glanced back down at the empty plates in front of them.
"We should go ahead and introduce ourselves," Ben nodded. "As you know, I'm Ben. I sort of spearheaded the idea of giving children from the Isle a chance at visiting Auradon." He ran his hand through his hair when Mal and Carlos didn't say anything. Their silence was unsettling — not that he could blame them since the whole situation was a little uncomfortable.
"These are a few of the citizens that agreed to help in making your stay a little easier." He paused to look at his mother. "I presume you recognize my mother. Mal has a knack for artwork and made a few changes to you and dad's portraits."
A soft laugh escaped through Belle's lips before she spoke, eying the two teens with a curious expression. Having expected outbursts or them not showing up at all made their silence feel rather unnerving. She did catch a smirk from Mal at the mention of the portraits.
"Ah, I do believe one of the guards mentioned that after dropping supplies off," She offered a small smile. They still wouldn't look at her or the others. "He appreciated the addition of the horns on my husband. I may need to commission you to make a new one of the family."
The statement was met with silence. Mal's only form of acknowledging her words was a sideways glance and her shoulders rising up in a shrug.
"Right," Jane laughed nervously. "You both know me. I'm Jane. My mom is the headmistress and I- I'm just happy seeing that things are working out so far."
There was a moment of silence after she spoke since the direction the table started in had Carlos as the next one to speak. Jane lightly elbowed him and he looked up at her, expression unreadable for a few seconds.
"C-Carlos de... de Vil," He mumbled and briefly looked up at the adults, gaze quickly taking each of them in before he looked back down. "Th-Thank you for this opportunity."
"Mal," Mal added, then forced a mask of disinterest. She slowly took in each adults' appearance and gave a calculated look, eyes resting on Belle for a few seconds before she went back to looking at her lap.
"I'm Anita and this is my husband Roger," The woman beside Mal spoke. "Our curiosity piqued when we heard Carlos was one of the students Ben wanted to bring over." Carlos wrinkled his nose when his name was brought up. He had no idea who the two were since his mother hadn't explained anything. Anita was one of the names that got tossed around when she went off the deep end but he never had the chance to look into it. Roger was the most recognizable name to him.
"W-Wait," Carlos's eyes widened and he looked up at the gentleman. "Roger as in— You wrote the song that momma can't stand?"
Roger looked confused for a moment then slowly nodded his head. "The one with her name?"
"Yeah," The teen nodded, gaze back on his lap. "Your sheet music got me out of trouble a few times. M-Makes her mad enough to n-not want to deal with me."
"My sheet music," Roger raised a brow. "May I ask how that ended up with you?"
"I d-don't know, sir," Carlos mumbled and began to tap his foot against the ground. "She g-got really m-mad — like madder than usual one day and it- it just... appeared in ma— my closet."
He got quiet after that and looked at Mal. Feeling the teens' unease left the woman to the right of Roger cautiously looking them over.
"I'm Aurora," The blonde spoke softly once certain the two weren't going to say anything else. "I believe you know my daughter Audrey. She wouldn't stop talking about you last time she was home for the weekend."
"Nice to meet you all," Mal studied her nails then threw a cautious look at each adult, gaze resting on Aurora. "May I ask why we're doing this?"
"I'm sorry, what do you mean?" Belle tilted her head to the side. Mal suppressed the need to roll her eyes and scoff by taking a deep breath and looking at Carlos before she spoke again.
Carlos shifted uncomfortably in his seat, gaze never leaving his lap since he had a bad feeling about the direction Mal was having the conversation go.
"Just this," She gestured at the table and elaborate setup of plates and cutlery. "Are we meant to be some feel-good story where you took in four kids from the Isle that Auradon has been neglecting instead of doing work to better it from within?"
The adults were silent. Jane and Ben exchanged a look of unease and kept quiet, waiting with bated breath to see which adult was going to answer. Aurora and Anita were looking at Belle. Roger was the one to break the silence by whistling when a minute passed of nothing being said.
"It's the start of a series of changes." Belle answered rather diplomatically.
"That took your son expressing an interest in getting anything done." Mal narrowed her eyes. There was a beat of silence then Belle shook her head.
"No," Mal stated through gritted teeth when Belle went to speak. "It's inexcusable. Twenty years should have been more than enough time to make sure the place was inhabitable and not overrun with kids."
She was sent flinching backward when food and drinks appeared on the table out of nowhere. The look of panic on her face was short-lived and added to proving they weren't used to magic since Carlos ended up on the ground from it. His chair fell backward from how badly he flinched. Evie and Jay yelped in shock from the other table.
The room was silent while the four teenagers recollected themselves. The table Jay was at was quick to start talking again since he and Aladdin were chatting before the interruption.
Mal and Carlos stared at Belle, waiting for her to speak. Carlos turned toward Anita and Roger when the queen opted for getting a cup of tea instead of saying anything. He needed a deep breath before he risked looking Roger in the eye.
"Would you have tr-" He paused to take a steadying breath, not wanting the stammer to come out since he needed the question taken seriously. "Trusted my mother with one of your puppies if they didn't stick her in jail?"
Mal cast a sideways glance at Carlos and pressed her tongue against her cheek to keep from saying anything. Roger and Anita exchanged a look with each other then shook their heads.
"No," Roger answered. "We wouldn't have." Carlos cocked his head to the side and looked to Anita instead.
"Why not?" He managed to casually ask the question then reached for a piece of toast. The answer was likely going to ruin his appetite but it still felt necessary to ask.
"Why not?" Anita repeated his question. Carlos nodded to show he was being serious.
"She planned on skinning them to make a coat," Roger wrinkled his nose. "She wouldn't have treated it well."
"So why was she allowed to have me?" Carlos's gaze shifted from Anita to Roger then to Belle. He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. His teeth dug into his lower lip in an attempt at keeping his emotions back. Mixed feelings of anger and sorrow were trying to appear and he wasn't about to cry in front of the royals or his classmates.
"It would be best if you asked her." Belle wrinkled her nose. She didn't know much about what was happening with the Isle since her husband was the one that came up with the idea and maintained control over things.
He claimed everything had been going well on it so it was a bit of a shock when their guards returned and said they only had enough supplies for half of the children on the Isle.
"Okay, gross," Mal shook her head. "But I can promise Cruella hasn't had anyone interested in her and Carlos is nothing like her henchmen's sons. It's kind of fishy. Same thing with Evie. Grimhilde never answered questions about her father and Cruella only ever said Carlos's dad is just as useless as he is."
"Hey," Carlos made a face. "That's only okay when I'm the one that says it."
"They needed to hear it," Mal shook her head. "All I'm saying is the idea of someone sleeping with them or the stork dropping innocent babies off to villains doesn't add up."
"Perhaps it's a private matter," Belle suggested. "Most parents don't think it is appropriate to discuss how their child was made."
"Our parents aren't like most parents," Carlos muttered and stuck his untouched toast on the plate in front of him. "Especially my mother."
The other adults had taken to listening while the teens and Belle spoke, silently picking at breakfast since the things Mal and Carlos were saying did not match up with the illusion the King tried to maintain about the Isle.
"How are you liking school?" Belle asked in an attempt to smooth things over.
"Forget this," Mal grumbled and stood up, growling before she continued. "This is a waste of time. We're leaving."
Ben reached out to grab Mal's hand and quickly brought his arm back to his side when she glared at him. There was a green glint in her eyes that would have been mesmerizing if he wasn't terrified of the glare that came with them.
"Thank you for the opportunity to chat but no thanks for breakfast," She shook her head then pulled at Carlos's sleeve. "We're leaving."
Carlos didn't say anything and threw a glance in Ben's direction, shoulders rising in a shrug before he stood up and followed Mal out of the room.
"Wait, so pop's stories about the Cave of Wonders are mostly true?" Jay chuckled. "He made it sound like you begged him to leave you in there."
"That part is a bit of embellishment from his end," Aladdin shook his head. "He tricked me but it was certainly worth it." He looked away from the teen and caught his wife's gaze, smiling at her when their eyes met.
"Jay, I'm begging you," Aziz groaned from across the table. "You need to change topics — You'll get him going on about it for hours."
"He offered to let me visit Agrabah before winter break," Jay scoffed. "The least I can do is listen. Especially if it means learning a thing or two from him."
"He won't be encouraging the thieving behavior that was brought up." The king interrupted. Aladdin, Aziz, and Jay wore almost identical looks of disgust.
"I don't recall Jay asking him to," Evie allowed a small scowl to form along the edge of her lips. Her mother always mentioned wrinkles so it wasn't worth using a full one. "Insinuating that he would want to know seems rather presumptuous to me."
"Mind your manners." Adam narrowed his eyes at her. Evie didn't shrink back from his look, meeting it with a steely glare of her own.
"Mother made sure they're ingrained in me," She stuck her nose up before continuing. "School has me realizing I can think for myself though. Excuse my impertinence, your highness, but I will not allow you to make accusations without proper reason to do so."
Jay's jaw hung open when Evie finished. She had taken on the behaviors that were usually reserved for when she was in public with her mother. A better than you attitude, a proper way of speaking, and a way of carrying herself that oozed confidence she didn't have were all mannerisms her mother had drilled into her from a young age.
"My apologies," The King spoke through gritted teeth. "You may carry on with the conversation, Jay."
Evie sniffed then turned to Snow White, her charade breaking slightly so she could ask her question without her voice being loud enough to be heard by the others.
"Is he always like this?" She whispered. Evie was taken aback because Snow seemed relieved by her not trying to talk down to her.
"He may have woken up on the wrong side of the bed today." She cracked a smile then took a bite of sausage. The King was keeping a close eye on everyone's interactions and his calculating gaze zeroed in the moment she turned to address Evie. He didn't appear to like that the table was mostly well mannered.
"What's he like when he —" Evie's thought trailed off since Jay started waving his arm at her. "What is it, Jay?"
"Uh, E, the others aren't at the table," He answered. "Ben said they left a while ago."
"What?" Her whole facade dropped to reveal a concerned look. "That can't be right." She turned around and found the original occupants of the second table there minus two empty chairs where Carlos and Mal had been.
"We have to go," She stated then looked around at the adults. "Thank you for breakfast. Maybe we can do this again sometime?"
"We would like that," Jasmine answered. "I will be sure to speak to Belle about scheduling another.'
"Thank you." Jay offered a smile and pushed his chair in, taking the lead in exiting the room.
"They aren't a bad pair of kids." Aladdin spoke once the door shut behind Jay and Evie.
"Fairy Godmother and I have been trying to tell you all that." Aziz frowned and looked at Fairy Godmother. She hadn't spoken at all during the breakfast past a greeting to each person. The only thing she did was toss warning glances in the King's direction if he appeared to be making biased statements about the Isle and the two teenagers that were from it.
"He's right," Fairy Godmother nodded. "I take it you all understand what I meant by saying their mannerisms are of interest?"
"Grimhilde appears to have gotten into Eveline's head," Snow White frowned. "She's using a mask as a defense. It's almost identical to what her mother used with my father. I hope being away from her does some good."
"How long are they here until?" Aziz asked. The question earned a groan from the King.
"Ben is pushing for the whole school year," He announced through gritted teeth.
"That was the original plan," Fairy Godmother reminded him. "Need I remind you the invitation was to finish off school here?"
"No," Adam shook his head. "I don't need any reminders. The outburst from Maleficent's daughter shouldn't have happened."
"Outburst?" Jasmine cocked her head to the side. "That was hardly an outburst. The only reason I heard anything was because she happened to have her seat close to mine."
Adam fell silent after that since Belle approached the table. She placed both hands on his shoulders and gently squeezed him.
"We have work to do, love," She leaned down to whisper in his ear. "I think their children may be worth listening to."
Ben, Aziz, and Jane ducked out once the adults congregated around one table to discuss how their interactions went. The three were silent until they reached the end of the hallway and started up the flight of stairs that led to the dormitories.
"We should apologize," Jane broke the silence that settled over them. "It wasn't a good idea even with us mixed in."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Aziz shrugged. "Jay and my dad got along pretty well. He accepted an invite to a weekend spent in Agrabah. Under the condition that Carlos be allowed to join him but that's way more progress than my attempts earned."
"Seriously?" Ben looked impressed. "That's nothing like how our table went."
"Carlos asked why he was in his mother's care if Anita and Roger wouldn't trust her with one of their dogs," Jane murmured. "It got me wondering what his relationship with her is like."
"Mal fixed mum with one of the most terrifying looks I've seen her give." Ben added.
"Try not to seem too smitten about her," Aziz chuckled and elbowed Ben. "You haven't told your father about your little announcement from yesterday."
"Yeah, and let Aurora know the betrothal is off?" Ben shook his head. "Not on family weekend when she and her mother are up. I don't need the whole day to be a total disaster."
They arrived at Jay and Carlos' dorm soon after and lightly knocked on the door, looking a little alarmed when then wasn't an immediate answer. The sound of the lock shifting was heard when they didn't move.
Evie cracked the door open and glared at Jane since she was closest, smirking when she shrunk back behind Ben. "What do you want?"
"We are here to apologize," Ben spoke softly, hoping the even tone would be enough to keep the door from slamming in his face. "Do you mind opening up so we can give a proper one?"
The question was met with muffled groans from the others but the door eventually opened.
"You can step through the doorway but that's it." Mal hissed out. The three stepped in and let the door stay open.
"Look," Aziz held both hands up. "We tried telling them it wasn't a good idea to do it with no warning."
"And we weren't expecting you to show," Ben murmured. "That was an underestimate on my part."
"Yeah we figured that much," Mal rolled her eyes. The others nodded in agreement. "So that's why we came."
"I'm sorry it was too much," Ben took a step closer to Mal. "I'll make it up to you — All of you."
"Don't make promises you don't intend on keeping," Mal shook her head then quickly changed the subject. "Are we supposed to go to today's festivities?"
"They're optional," Jane looked down at her feet. "Only catch is the cafeteria is serving food outside for it."
"You're joking." Mal deadpanned. Groans chorused from Carlos and Jay when Ben and Aziz shook their heads.
"Sadly we aren't." Ben grimaced. "I may be able to see if food can be sent up here."
"We would appreciate that," She grumbled. "No point in going to family activities when our parents aren't here."
"Right," Aziz nodded. "Well, we'll see you around. Just holler at one of us if you need anything."
The three left after that and went off to find the adults. Jane and Aziz were unaware that their parents were having a conversation that voiced similar concerns toward what they were worried about.
"We're going to need to do a meeting." Aladdin ran both hands through his hair, pacing the length of the mostly empty room the breakfast was held in. It was him, Jasmine, and Fairy Godmother left. They offered to clean up instead of sending one of the maintenance workers in to do it as a way of buying some time to talk.
"School board and sponsors," He shook his head. "Anita was concerned because Carlos insinuated his mother shouldn't have been able to have him. I have to give him credit since he asked if they'd trust her with a puppy."
"And Aurora said Mal claims the Isle is overrun with children that aren't being properly cared for," Jasmine added with a frown. "Aziz has been keeping me in the loop with the concerns about them and I think things may be worse than any of them are making them seem."
"I'll see what I can do," Fairy Godmother sighed. "We have been documenting everything but there hasn't been anything that screams we need to get them all off the Isle."
"Adam has been making it sound like everything is well," Jasmine's frown shifted to a grimace. "But they're all too skinny. Too quiet. Did you see how they all jumped when the food appeared?"
"They grew up without magic," Fairy Godmother reminded her. "That doesn't explain Carlos landing on the ground. I can only assure you we are taking the necessary steps in making sure they are okay here."
"The meeting?" Aladdin quirked a brow at her then took Jasmine's hand in his.
"I fear I'll have to talk to Belle before we drag Adam into it," The headmistress answered. "Adam may be hiding information from her."
"Anita said Belle seemed just as surprised when he made the comment about being born," Jasmine winced. "I don't know what the teens are trying to insinuate but it certainly left us with something to think about."
"I know," Fairy Godmother gave her a sad smile. "And I hope my gut feeling is incorrect, but we may be in for an interesting end of the semester if it turns out the teens' rumors are true."