Mal was looking in the distance

She had heard Ben through their connection, but she still needed time and he knew it

Ben had approached Jay, Carlos, and Evie two days after their fight, he had apologized. They told him they would wait for Mal's decision

Pst decision... it's not like I can be mad at him forever

The truth was Mal had had time to think about a lot of stuff in the past few days, she knew she could potentially live without him but she didn't want to, she loved him, and for what FG had seen of their connection she had let them know that their relationship was going to be a huge change for Auradon

Mal couldn't care less about Auradon, but she could feel the magic about her future with Ben, she had decided to visit the Moors, she wanted some advice and she found exactly what she needed

Between peace and comfort, the fairies told her a lot of stories about Maleficent and they gave her the advice she needed

So when she came back she knew what she needed to do

That's how she found herself going to the Enchanted Lake and calling Ben, his answer came immediately, he was already going there

Mal smiled, they both found peace in the place where so many of their dreams had taken place

Ben arrived and cautiously walked towards her, she was facing the Lake, her feet in the water. He sat near her and waited for her to talk first

Mal: "Thank you for letting me have my space these past few days. It helped a lot"

Ben simply nodded

Mal turned to look at him: "I love you" Ben smiled a little "And I understand why you were so upset, I understand that you needed to let it out and I'm glad you chose me because it means you trust me. But what I don't understand is why you said all those awful stuff. I've never been so hurt... and I died like a hundreds times.. so you know.."

Ben looked at her, his eyes were puffy and red: "I'm so sorry, I can't find the right words to tell you how sorry I am. FG visited me because my parents were worried it was somehow connected to my father's curse... and they were right" he looked away "Apparently, his curse left some traces in me. The anger. It is no excuse for those words.. and I don't expect you to forgive me but I just wanted you to know that.."

Mal smiled: "Ben, look at me" he didn't so she raised his chin and turned his face gently towards her "Ben? Of course I forgive you. I forgave you immediately after those words came out of your mouth. I love you, I always will no matter what. Do you believe me?"

Ben: "I love you too"

Mal kissed him lightly and then backed away a few inches

Ben: "I missed you so much" he hugged her and she put her head under his chin "You really forgive me?"

Mal lifted her head and kissed him again, this time with more passion, Ben didn't expect it so he fell on his back bringing Mal with him

They separated and chuckled

Ben kissed Mal's cheeks, her nose, her chin, forehead, eyelids and between every kiss he repeated "I love you"

Mal: "Are you up for a swim?"

Ben was surprised: "You can't swim"

Mal: "Who said I will be the one swimming?"

Ben laughed and nodded

They took off their clothes but kept their underwear, Ben stared a little at Mal's body

Mal noticed and smirked: "Are you enjoying the view?"

Ben blushed: "Very much"

Mal laughed and went in the Lake, Ben followed her immediately, they stayed where Mal could touch the bottom of the Lake, they kissed for a while

Everything was perfect


It had been a few weeks since the fight and the experiment with the kids of the Isle was going great, so Ben had already programmed the arrival of the others Innocents

Mal was planning the school project, the works for the hospital had already began

Jane and Doug were helping the kids in the orphanage with some subjects like maths or science

Carlos and Lonnie were taking care of the baking class

Jay and Mal were taking care of the gym class

Evie and Audrey were in charge of the Fashion lessons for some of the girls


Celia: "Mal? Could you help me with this essay?"

Mal sat with the girl on her bed: "Sure"

They worked on the essay for a few hours

Celia: "Thanks Mal"

Mal: "Of course"

Celia: "Mal?"

Mal: "Yes?"

Celia: "How did you forgive Ben?"

Mal: "Well... I... uhm" she sighed "I love him. And what he did? Well, it wasn't pleasant of course but he didn't mean to hurt me... he wasn't being himself"

Celia: "Was it easy?"

Mal: "Forgiving him, yes. But here is the thing, you can forgive and still have the right to feel mad. I forgave him almost immediately, but it took me a few days to stop being mad at him"

Celia nodded


Mal and Ben were in what had become their office, working

Mal was writing down the details for the school project, Ben was signing some documents, checking the laws, then he turned to look at his girlfriend

Ben caressed her cheek and Mal turned to look at him

Mal smiled: "What?"

Ben: "I love you"

Mal chuckled: "Thanks"

Ben laughed

Mal: "I love you too"


Carlos and Jane were in the kitchen baking some biscuits

Jane looked at Carlos, it had been a few weeks and it was almost Christmas, and she wanted to say something to him

Jane: "Carlos?" he turned to look at her "I have to tell you something"

Carlos got worried Is she trying to dump me? I have to tell her...

Carlos: "Wait! First I have to tell you something"

Jane was surprised: "Uhm... okay"

Carlos sighed: "Jane, you know my life hasn't been normal.. and I haven't actually had any kind of relationship like the one I have with you but... when I look at you" he looked at her in the eyes "I feel at peace and at the same time I feel like my heart is going to explode. And I love that feeling because I have never been more happy" he looked at the oven "What I'm trying to say is... I think... i mean I'm pretty sure that what I feel for you is... love.."

Jane gasped, she didn't expect this, she felt the same of course but she didn't think he was ready to say it

Carlos: "If you don't feel it too.. it's totally ok"

Jane shook her head: "I love you too!"

Carlos was surprised, he smiled: "Really?"

Jane chuckled: "Yes!"

They both took a step forward without noticing, they had never kissed because Carlos knew it would have been Jane's first kiss and he wanted it to be special, respecting her time

Carlos: "Jane?"

Jane: "Yes?" she was blushing

Carlos: "Could I kiss you?"

Jane simply nodded. And they kissed. It was perfect


Christmas was approaching, Auradon Prep and the orphanage were already decorated, there was mistletoe everywhere (something that shocked the Isle kids because they knew it for being poisonous), there was a tree in the hall, the cafeteria, the common room...

Mal: "Why do they decorate so much?"

Evie: "I simply love it! I already organized our closet with the perfect outfits for every day"

Mal, Carlos, and Jay sighed under their breath: "Of course you did"

Ben arrived running in the cafeteria, Jane, Audrey, Chad, Lonnie, and Doug were right behind him.

The vks were surprised, they got up, searching for danger

Mal was worried: "What? What's wrong? What happened?"

Ben: "They are coming"

Jay: "Who?"

Jane: "From the Isle" she was trying to catch her breath, Carlos went near her with his chair and she sat "Thank you"

Mal: "What? Who's coming?" she was getting more worried

Ben: "The kids from the list"

The vks sighed in relief, sat down, and glared at the aks

Evie: "You worried us, for the love of Gothel"

Jay: "Couldn't you start the sentence with that?"

Mal shook her head: "Why do you always need to be so dramatic?"

James and Azura arrived in that moment and sat

James: "Have they already done their dramatic entrance?"

Mal: "Yeah" she gave him a French fry and to Azura she gave a smile and a wink, they had become fast-friend

The others aks glared at them and huffed

Ben: "They are coming this afternoon"

Carlos: "Cool..."

The vks were still eating then they stopped all of the sudden

Jay: "What do you mean 'this afternoon'?"

Ben smiled: "I mean that they are already on their way to come here"

The vks got up again

Mal: "We have to prepare"

Evie: "Oh my God, what will we wear?"

Carlos: "The room is a mess!"

Jay: "Let's go now!"

They left running, the aks laughed and sat at the table


The vks entered the room

Mal: "All right, Evie you take care of the outfits" Evie nodded "Carlos go in the shower now" Carlos entered the bathroom "Jay, we clean up the mess"

Once Evie was done with the outfits Carlos had finished the shower, so he dressed while she went in the shower

Mal and Jay finished cleaning up the room, it was friday and FG had already granted them the permission to throw a sleepover with the Isle kids (the younger ones were going too), the bunk beds were ready

Evie was dressed and she was doing her make up: "Mal go now"

Mal took a fast shower, then exited, Evie grabbed her

Evie: "Come here" Mal sat at the make up chair (that's how they called it)

Jay went in the shower, Evie finished Mal's make up and she went to dress, Jay exited the bathroom and sat at the chair to put his usual line of eyeliner under the eye and then went to dress himself

Mal: "Are we ready?"

They all looked at each other

Mal was wearing her favorite black skinny jeans with a purple jumper, a purple and green beanie, and a pair of green sneakers. Evie was wearing a blue dress with black tights, a red leather jacket, and a pair of stiletto heels. Carlos was wearing black Jean's, a white and blue jumper, blue beanie, and a pair of black and blue sneaker. Jay was wearing a pair of black cargo pants, red jumper, and a pair of black boots.

Evie: "No, Jay your eyeliner"

Jay went in front of the mirror and cleaned the line: "Now?"

Evie: "Perfect"

Mal: "Ok, the room is clean, the bathroom too. We are dressed, Jay's eyeliner is perfect"

Carlos: "Let's go"


The vks went in the garden and stayed there


Ben and the others knocked at the vks door but nobody answered

Jane: "I think I know where they are"

Everyone turned to look at her

Jane: "Garden"

They went out and they did find the vks standing in the garden, waiting for the bus

Ben: "Guys?" the four turned around "What are you doing here?"

Jay: "Waiting"

Ben looked at his watch: "It'll take another half an hour at least"

Evie: "We'll wait here"

Doug: "Standing?"

Mal and Carlos shrugged: "Why not?"

Audrey was holding hands with Azura: "It's cold"

The vks laughed

Evie: "On the Isle it's way more cold"

James: "But won't you get tired standing for half an hour?"

Mal: "You Auradonians are really lazy"

Carlos: "They are almost here"

Ben: "Well, since we are here" he went to stay between Evie and Mal

James: "I'll stay too"

A bus arrived, it was from the orphanage, the kids got out, hugged the other vks

Mal: "Go in our room, it'll be like a surprise"

Jian nodded and they ran to the vks room


A bus was heard

Mal: "They are here!"

Ben took a step forward and a deep breath

Evie: "I'm about to cry"

The bus stopped, and four teenagers got out

There was a girl, with black curly hair, fair skin and blue eyes, she wore a deep purple and black long highwaist dress, it had a square neckline, a pair of black sneakers and a leather jacket. Then there were three boys: one had sandy brown hair and green eyes, he wore brown leather pants, a tshirt and a brown leather jacket, and a pair of boots, he was the shortest out of the four; one had black hair and black eyes, he was Asian, he wore black leather pants, a white blouse and a black leather jacket, a pair of black sneakers, he was taller than the girl; the last one had brown hair and blue eyes, he wore a pair of jeans, a black blouse, a pair of black and white sneakers, he was the tallest

Carlos ran to hug Gil, Evie went to hug Liang, Mal threw herself at Richard (much to Ben's dismay), Jay smiled at Mary and went to hug her

James locked eyes with the girl and was speechless, he felt like he had held his breath for his entire life and only then was able to breathe

Mary was looking at him too

Richard and Mal were talking until Ben cleared his throat, they all turned to look at him

Ben blushed: "Sorry" he smiled "I'm Ben, I'm happy to welcome you to Auradon"

The isle kids shared a look, Mal went to stand by Ben and nodded

Richard smirked: "I'm Richard, son of Prince John"

Mary smiled and bowed: "I'm Mary, oldest daughter of Gothel"

Gil was shy but said: "I'm Gil.. I'm the son of Gaston... the only one alive"

Mal smiled sadly and went to hug him

Liang: "I'm Liang, oldest brother of Jian"

Richard turned to look at Mal: "So, love where are the others?"

Ben frowned but Mal smiled again

Mal: "Surprise!"

Carlos: "Let's go inside"

Ben was leading the group, beside him there was James, Carlos and Evie were talking with Gil, Jay was talking with Richard and Liang, Mal was talking with Mary

They arrived in front of the vks room

Jay: "You ready?"

The four Isle teens nodded, Mal knocked on the door that opened

The kids inside: "Surprise!"

Mary ran to hug Francine, that was dressed just like her oldest sister, Richard went to hug Francesco and Martina, Liang went to hug his brother Jian, and Gil went to hug Squearky and Squirmy, then they all hugged in a group hug

Mary: "How are you? Did you eat?"

Francine: "Yes yes. Here the food is great"

Mary smiled and nodded, then she hugged her sister again

Gil: "Your father asked me to tell you that he loves you and miss you very much" the twins started crying "Also, Ursula and Uma said the same thing"

Queenie: "How is my mother?"

Mary: "Don't worry, she is ok. But she misses you" she turned to look at Dizzy "Your grandma, your aunt, and your mom miss you"

Dizzy started crying, Evie went to comfort her

Celia: "What about my dad?"

Liang: "Oh you know him, he's the usual moody man" Celia smiled at that "He sent this card for you" it was an ace of hearts

Richard turned to look at Mal: "I guess we are all sleeping here"

Mal nodded: "This Monday the holidays start, we can go and stay at the Castle" she looked at Ben "Apparently Christmas is a big deal around here"

Ben smiled and went to stay by her side, he side hugged her: "It is"

Mary: "Why there are mistletoes everywhere? It's dangerous"

Evie: "It's a very romantic thing. When you walk under a mistletoe you have to kiss whoever is in front of you"

Richard: "Even if you aren't a thing?"

Evie nodded

James was still looking at Mary: "I haven't introduced myself. I'm James, Rapunzel's son"

Mary smiled a little and did a little curtsey

Mal: "So, the school is practically empty, wanna do a tour?"

Richard: "Sure, lead the way princesses"

Ben frowned again: Who the hell does he think he is?

Mal laughed: "Come on then"

Ben looked at her, she hadn't notice his discomfort and was acting like everything was normal... maybe this Richard was one of the many adventures Mal had... Ben wasn't judging... he was just... he didn't know how to call this emotion...

Jealous?

Ben looked at Mal again, it had been her voice in his head to suggest it... but maybe she was right

Mal grabbed his hand and locked eyes with him before winking at him, Ben relaxed immediately

They exited the room and went at the cafeteria

Jay: "Here is where the magic happen. Food"

Everyone laughed

Then FG appeared

FG: "Hello, you must be the new students, I'm Fairy Godmother, but you can call me FG. I'm the headmistress, if you need anything come in my office and I'll help. Also we will see eachother in the Remedial Goodness 101 class, with Mal, Jay, Carlos, and Evie" she smiled sweetly "Good tour

She left to go back to her office

Evie: "Let's take a look at the classrooms"


Carlos: "What do you think?"

Mary: "It certainly is different from Evil Palace"

Mal: "Definitely"

Mary: "Uma told us about some girl..." she looked at Carlos with a knowing smile "Jane? Your girlfriend?"

Carlos smiled: "Yeah, she is my girlfriend"

Richard: "Well, will you introduce us?"

Carlos: "Sure"

Evie: "She is with the others, in Audrey's room"


Mal knocked at Audrey's door

Audrey's muffled voice: "A moment!" then she opened the door to find almost 20 people there "Uhm...?"

Mal smiled: "Dear niece, I want to introduce you to four more of us" she indicated them "Mary, Gil the blondie, Liang, and Richard the lover boy"

Richard took a step forward and took Audrey's hand and kissed it: "My pleasure"

Audrey chuckled and blushed: "Hello, I'm Audrey. Come in"

Everyone entered, Audrey's room was one of the largest (like Ben's) so it could fit a lot of people

Jane and Lonnie were on Audrey's bed, Chad and Doug were at her desk, Azura was on the red armchair

Mal, Evie, Queenie, Celia, and Dizzy went to sit on the bed too, Francine and Martina went to sit on the sofa with Squearky and Squirmy, Francesco sat with Jian on the floor near the sofa

Gil, Liang, Mary, and Richard stand by the door with Carlos and Jay

Ben and James went to stay near the desk with Doug and Chad

Audrey went to stay in the armchair near Azura

Mal: "Well go on, introduce yourself"


Hey theree

We are almost at the end of the story

I won't drag it too long

Hope you are enjoying it

Suggestion always welcomed

Byeeee