Chapter Thirty One
A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to Disney.
*ducks projectiles* Hey, I know, I know! I know I'm late with this chapter—but chapter 25 over on Choosing Home is something I've been wanting to write since I started the chapter and then I needed to also write the new chapter of Truth or Fiction and then here we are! :D
Smh, speaking of things that are a little unbelievable can you guys believe we're only 38 reviews away from 800! I swear it feels like just yesterday we were close to 700!
Tracie Adams: We probably won't visit the Moors until Mal has kids. Glad you like the story!
Anonymous Reader: I'm not ashamed to admit that I sang that! I always love writing Leah's death even if that makes me a bad person!
DS Rider: Shere Khan is a good tiger isn't he? :D
Marcus Emrys: I have no explanation for what Beast was thinking. I also don't know why Shere Khan runs a pawn shop on the Isle—some things just don't make sense!
shortanamx: Hades would definitely have fun with Leah and Natalie's souls!
Urmimala Hazra: Oh I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter! Yeah they really are dangerous and honestly any big cat would probably eat Leah since she'd have the most meat on her, being from Auradon.
Katt Kiki: Let the joyous news be spread, the wicked old witch at last is dead!
OceanBlueSeaEyes: I understand what you mean, I lost my grandmother a few years ago and while we may have had our differences, it still hurt.
Maybelle Rose: Thank you!
medical ranger: They really did! Couldn't have happened to more deserving people!
SnowWhite45: Trust me, I've been waiting to write that chapter too! And yeah, I think the pirates are stubborn folks!
danifan3000: It's not out of the realm of possibilities!
Guest: Thank you! And yeah Audrey and Derek are slowly getting together.
Guest: I'm so glad you liked the chapter!
Guest: (because I'm assuming you're three separate guests) I normally update this story, Truth or Fiction, Choosing Home—unless there's a chapter that's just calling for me to write it.
61394: Hey Leah probably thought she could go wherever she wanted because she was a Queen. Now she's dinner.
Bananaboat2009: Heh, I can totally see Carlos running a blog like that, and aww, I love the idea that Ben only speaks in French when he's sick!
catdoghorselover123: Hmm they might not be the only ones mourning her, she was still a mother and grandmother.
AmethystDragon14: Yay! Lol *joins in the celebration* and yeah Ryan's a typical teen!
billyandkimfan1994: No worries, I just hope everything's okay!
TomiOcampo: Nope, Leah's dead! D-E-D, Dead!
HufflepuffInDaHealingCoven: Bye bye indeed!
Gigi18: It really would be another 'Harry and Uma' situation!
LOST MUSES: Hey, like you said, at least the tiger and his family's well fed!
CyberDragonEx: Yeah I might have screwed the pooch for the trial scene. I'm just not the best at writing trials and honestly, writing that chapter was like pulling teeth to get words to come out. Glad you liked the chapter though!
lilyflower101: She really did!
smc-smfan1: Glad you liked the chapter!
twilightfan587: Split the difference and say crush :D Yep Shere Khan ate Leah and Natalie! Also yep, because I figured if they put the ringmaster on the Isle, what's stopping them from putting the other animals from the circus there too—and there was a tiger in that circus!
Kaybugg1: Glad you liked the chapter and the references! I'm sure they'll be fine!
curious fan: It'll take some convincing but the kid'll make it to Auradon I promise!
Balfan: Wonder no more! :D
Guest: I can sympathize with Audrey here—I lost a few family members who were a little, shall we say, rough around the edges but we still loved them. I'm sure Audrey's friends will give her time to mourn.
Guest: …I looked it up…my 90's childhood mind is blown!
Guest: It's not out of the realm of possibilities!
Shelleymh: Glad you're enjoying the story!
Michiemh: Glad you're enjoying the story!
Hope you all enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
Mal sighed as she looked at the letter from Henry that Uma had given her. She had to read it about three times to make sure it wasn't a dream, that the words written on the paper before her weren't fabricated.
"Leah's really gone," she whispered.
"So's Natalie I'm assuming but Henry didn't say anything in his letter," Uma said from her spot in front of Ben's desk. Said King ran his hand through his hair as he took the paper from Mal, as if to see it for himself.
"So what do we do?" Harriet asked. She'd been requested to join them as she was another captain, plus she was one of Audrey's guards. She had gotten to know and befriend Audrey. "I mean obviously we've got to let Audrey know but when?"
"As soon as we can," Mal said. "If Audrey found out on the Isle, that's something a VK could use against her."
"You mean Freddy or Zevon," Uma said with a small sigh as Harry rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Of course I do, this is the sort of thing they'd thrive on especially since Audrey rescued Brooke from Freddy's grasp," Mal nodded. "I also think, if she wants it, Audrey should get a few days off from the soup kitchen. One of the other kids can serve it—in fact why don't we start getting volunteers for the soup kitchen? It was Audrey's community service but those hours have been over with. Now that it's her 'baby' so to speak, having some help couldn't hurt."
Ben nodded. "I was going to talk to her about that anyway. Phil had reached out, saying Audrey looked a bit worn down."
"One of the guard can serve the food, we've been there the longest. The kids trust us," Harriet said. "Though I do just want to say we need to get Ryan off the Isle."
"Why's that?"
"Your highness, you saw the letter Henry sent. Ryan went on a scouting run alone. He was lucky that Shere Khan had already eaten or else the crew would be mourning a crew mate and my sister would be mourning a friend!"
"Harriet!" Mal barked and Harriet looked over at her. "I know, I'm not exactly thrilled Ryan went off on his own either. If that had been Hadie…but we can't force the kid to come if he doesn't want to."
"He'd be miserable for like five seconds and then forget all about it once he saw CJ."
"True," Mal nodded. "Still that's not what we're here to talk about. We need to tell Audrey."
Ben sighed. "Shouldn't that be something her parents tell her? I'm not trying to pass the buck or anything but…"
"No, no I understand Benny," Uma nodded. "And if we had time before Audrey's next shift, I'd agree with you. But even as expedited as this letter was, it still came today. And today's one of Audrey's shifts. She'll need to know especially if she comes across one of the VKs celebrating or something."
Oh Gods that's a good point, Mal thought as she nodded to herself. Leah would not have endeared herself to the VKs on the Isle, neither would Natalie now that I think about it. And does it make me a bad person if I'm tempted to celebrate Natalie's death? Maybe just in private. I mean, the woman put me and Audrey through hell but she was still a person…we don't celebrate peoples' deaths.
"Right," Ben nodded. "I'll tell Audrey then."
"Ben, are you sure?" Mal asked, pulling herself out of her thoughts. "I mean…"
"Mal, Leah might have been a thorn in our sides but she was also someone I've known since I was a toddler," Ben said. "Audrey was my girlfriend at one point and honestly Leah probably saw herself as my grandmother-in-law as terrifying as that sentence is. If it's not going to come from her parents, it should be me."
"…do you want me to stay?" Mal asked after a moment, her voice soft.
"I always want you to stay Mal but this might not be something Audrey would want an audience for," Ben said.
Mal nodded. "Right, okay. I can start making arrangements for Ryan to come over. I'm sure Elizabeth would be happy to have him, considering her relationship to piracy."
"I'd want to avoid putting too much on her. Isn't she looking out for Harry too?"
"She is," Uma nodded and Harry nodded as well.
"But she told me that any pirate kid on the Isle who wants to come is more than welcome to stay with her. As the king of the Brethren court."
"I'll talk to CJ, see if she wants Ryan to—."
"Ryan's her best friend Mal. Of course she'll want him in Auradon," Harriet said. "Plus he can help with the twins."
"Squeaky and Squirmy still not out of their shells?" Jay asked from his spot on the sofa.
"Nope. Thankfully Lacey's been great with them, so have Celia and Dizzy for that matter, and oddly enough they've been fascinated by Gia's pregnancy," Harriet said with a fond smile. "They almost remind me of Harry a little at that age."
"I'm right here Harriet!" Harry exclaimed as Uma and Mal chuckled a bit in amusement.
"Ah right. So you are."
"Yeah, so can we maybe keep the embarrassing kid stories to a minimum?"
"Have you had a decent conversation with CJ?"
"Of course not!"
"Then no."
Mal sighed. "I thought you and CJ were doing better? How is it you haven't talked to her?"
"Because the runt refuses to talk to me!" Harry said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"You think it has something to do with the fact that you call her 'runt'?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah I'm no sibling expert but I think that might be a good start," Ben nodded.
Harry sighed and Harriet shook her head. "You're telling CJ that Ryan might be coming," she said. "That's an order."
"Fine," Harry grumbled.
"Now that we got that settled, I should talk to Audrey," Ben said as he pulled out his phone.
"Sire? I hope you don't mind but I may have overheard your conversation," Dean's voice came through the intercom. "Ms. Audrey is here, I had Prince Akiho get her. Shall I send her in?"
"…we sure this guy isn't a mind reader?"
"The door's not that thick and it wasn't as if we were trying to keep our voices down. He could have overheard it that way," Ben said with a shrug and then pressed down on the intercom. "Send her in Dean, and then take a break okay?"
"Yes sire," Dean said and soon Audrey was walking into the office.
"Is everything okay Ben?" Audrey asked. "Is something wrong with the soup kitchen? Do we not need it anymore?"
"Breathe Audrey," Ben told her and walked over to her. "You might want to take a seat. We've got some…upsetting news."
"Is it mother? Father? Phil?"
"Your parents and brother are fine. At least, that I'm aware of."
"Chad? Oh Gods did the hypnosis cause something to happen?"
"Chad's fine too. In fact he's hanging out with Ginny and Bruno right now, probably driving his sisters insane that he hasn't asked her out yet."
The VKs in the background snorted in amusement at the fact that the most vocal anti-VK royal there had been was now smitten by a VK.
"Okay, so if everything's okay…why am I here?" Audrey asked. "Did Gia have her baby?"
"Audrey….it's Leah."
Audrey froze at the mention of her grandmother. "What about her? Did she do something to get in trouble on the Isle? I mean…it wouldn't surprise me."
"We shouldn't be here for this," Mal said and tried to gently lead the other VKs out of the room but Audrey shook her head.
"You're fine Mal. But Ben…what exactly are you talking about?"
Ben sighed. "Okay. There's no easy way to say this Audrey but…Leah's dead. I'm…I'm so sorry."
"What?" Audrey gasped and Ben gently led her to a chair. "I…I don't….how?"
"Do you want to know?" Mal asked her. "I'm not trying to be cruel by keeping information from you, but it's not exactly the most pleasant of images. I know we had our differences with your grandmother but you did have a close relationship with—."
"Mal, you remember what she did to me? What she did to Chad? Hell, what she did to the VKs?" Audrey asked. "Yes I may have had a close relationship with my grandmother but the woman who pushed me to become someone I wasn't, the woman who went as far as to put a hypnosis on Chad just to ensure I had a romantic partner, that wasn't my grandmother. So go on, tell me. I'm a big girl."
"Alright," Mal said after glancing at Ben.
"She was eaten by Shere Khan," Ben told her.
Audrey had to admit, she was thankful she was already sitting down because otherwise she'd probably have sunk into that chair. Whatever she thought Ben was going to say, she hadn't expected it'd be that.
"I…did she suffer?"
"We don't know," Uma told her and Audrey could tell that the squidling was telling the truth. "Knowing Shere Khan though, Leah's death would have been quick."
"We would have normally told your parents first and they would have told you but I know you have a shift today at the soup kitchen," Ben said. "I didn't want you to be caught off guard or have one of the VKs there tell you."
"I understand Ben," Audrey nodded, her voice quiet.
"I'll let Captain Phoebus know that you're taking a few days off," Ben added but stopped when Audrey shook her head.
"The…the kids shouldn't suffer more because of Leah."
"Audrey, we're not going to fault you for mourning your grandmother," Mal told her. "Cry, scream, break something. Any reaction you want to have, have it. If you'd rather we leave and you just be with Ben, we can."
Audrey looked at her in shock. "Even…even after the viewing?"
"Audrey, you are not the person from the viewing," Mal stated. "If you're worried about being alone with Ben, or what I think about that, I trust you. We may never be bosom buddies but I would hope we could be friends at least. And I know you've been friends with Ben since toddlerhood. So if you tell us you want privacy, we'll give it to you."
Audrey gave Mal a weak smile. "If…if you're sure Mal. You outrank me, you can refuse—."
"Yeah well I don't want to," Mal said. "Come on guys, let's give Audrey some time alone."
Ben smiled slightly as the VKs filed out, Mal pausing to give his hand a soft squeeze before the door shut and the two friends were left in the room.
"I…I don't…is it bad that I don't know what to feel?" Audrey asked after a few minutes, breaking the silence. "I just…the only thing that comes to my mind when I think about Leah is the last time we spoke. At the soup kitchen. She was going to slap me."
Ben didn't say anything but quickly readied a glass of water in case it was needed.
"I just…I don't…"
"Audrey, she was your grandmother," Ben said gently. "You can cry over her. She may have done bad things but I know deep down she loved you and Phillip."
Audrey didn't respond but buried her head in her hands. Ben watched as her shoulders began to shake and he knew she was crying. He wished more than anything he could comfort her, to be able to take this pain away.
But he couldn't bring back the dead and if he was honest, he wasn't sure Audrey would want him to. That being said, there had to have been a time when Leah wasn't the way she was. Otherwise Audrey wouldn't have been crying over her.
Ben knew what it was like to have a close relationship with a grandparent after all and he wouldn't begrudge Audrey her's.
"Here," he said gently, holding out the glass of water.
"You're…you're not upset that I'm…?"
"What? That you're crying over your grandmother dying?" Ben asked and Audrey nodded as she took the glass, trying to stabilize her shaking hand. "Audrey, she was your grandmother first and foremost. Yes she committed heinous acts against the Isle but you didn't know about those when we were growing up. She was the woman who took you to Fairy Cottage when your parents were busy, she was the one who taught you how to cross stitch, how to be a Queen when the time came."
"She was also the woman who made my brother feel like he was only born to be a spare," Audrey whispered. "The woman who's responsible for the death of children, the woman who makes me wonder if my friendship with Chad was ever truly genuine."
Ben sighed. "Audrey, I can't answer those for you but I know you can still miss the person and not miss their actions. If that makes sense?"
"In a strange way…it does…" Audrey sighed. "There are days I wish we could go back to before the viewings. When Leah was Grammy and the…the world made sense in a way. But there's another side of me that…that knows the Blue Fairy did us all a favor with those…"
Ben nodded. "She certainly did do us all a favor by showing us those viewings. Though there are scenes I know my parents could have lived without seeing, and probably Mal's dad and Lady Persephone too…Hadie especially…"
"How's he doing? I know it was hard during the viewing, seeing Lord Hades chained up like that."
Ben sighed. "He doesn't talk about it. Mal suggested we get him to therapy but a: we're not his parents and b: I can't force someone to talk about something bothering them if they don't want to. I'm hoping him joining CJ's little crew will help at least. Give him someone around his own age to talk to."
"You know he sees you as a big brother," Audrey pointed out. "If you really need someone to help, Chip's good for a talk. He's done wonders for the VKs he's hosting."
"You know hearing you say something nice about Chip is nice," Ben said with a smile. "But you don't have to put on a brave face Audrey. I've known you since we were toddlers after all."
Audrey sighed. "Ben, you outrank me. Well you always have but especially now that I abdicated. I shouldn't have even thought to fall apart—."
"Audrey, that rank talk is your grandmother's teaching," Ben said gently. "And yes, there are different stations now but you and I are still friends right? If you can't cry in front of your friends, especially after the death of your grandmother, who can you cry in front of?"
"…I'm sorry, by the way."
"For what?" Ben asked, tilting his head.
Audrey sighed. "For what I did in the viewing. What I cursed you to be. I know that's your worst fear and I just—."
"Audrey, that wasn't you," Ben told her. "Yes, okay, maybe that was you as in your name and body but that wasn't the person I have sitting in front of me. It wasn't the person who's grown to care for the VKs so much that she took over a project meant to serve as her community service hours after said hours were over because she saw how it benefited the VKs. It wasn't the person who used the experience she went through, the hell she was put through, to make sure a young girl didn't have a similar experience."
Audrey took a shaky breath and looked up at Ben. "How did you…? I never told anyone…"
"Mal had Natalie as a handler too Audrey," Ben said. "You may not have told anyone and you may never tell us but she had a few guesses. And Audrey? We are so sorry. I am so sorry."
Audrey shook her head. "You don't have to, Ben. It's not on you to be a mind reader, I should have told you."
"It wasn't safe for you to do so," Ben said.
"Well, let's just put the past behind us," Audrey told him and then sighed. "I…I guess I should go to my shift…"
"Yeah right," Harriet's voice came from the doorway and Audrey turned to look at her.
"Harriet…?"
"You, Audrey, are going home to be with your parents and brother," Harriet told her. "Derek, Liam, and I can handle the soup kitchen today. And for however long you need."
"Dude is a great comfort," Carlos said and Audrey had to wonder when the younger boy had turned up. Sure enough though, he had the small dog in his hands.
"I do give great cuddles," the dog nodded.
Audrey let out a small giggle before looking at them. "But…why? Leah…she's the reason you all lived in hell. Well, one of the reasons at least."
Mal sighed as she walked toward Audrey. "I meant what I said about us possibly not becoming super close Audrey but there is no denying that you've changed. You've stood up for the VKs and honestly, anyone who can stand up to Freddy is someone I want on my side."
"We had an old motto growing up that I think it's time we take out of retirement," Jay spoke up. "Ruthless yet Loyal. We take care of our own and go after anyone who tries to harm them."
"And that includes you too now Blondie," Uma nodded. "We may hate Leah to our very cores, and we always will, but we understand family."
Harry walked over and rested his hand on Audrey's shoulder. "Come on lass, let's get you home."
"Thanks guys," Ben said as he walked out with them. He would need to give the news to Aurora and Phillip so he'd be driving Audrey to Honeymoon Cottage.
"We look out for our crew Benny," Harry said. "Just so happens that now we've got a much bigger one."
"Comes with the territory of having a bigger territory now too," Uma added with a smirk as the group walked off to take care of their respective tasks. Ben couldn't help but smile slightly as they ran into Derek and Liam on their way to the door; Derek gently pulling Audrey into a hug as she came up.
"She'll be okay," Mal whispered to him.
"Yeah," Ben nodded. "I think she will be."