Nearly an hour later, the limousine finally pulled up to school where a large crowd seemed to be waiting for their arrival. The crowd looked larger than before, as though the rumor about Prince Ben's 'outburst' created prying eyes. They wanted to see what was so special about one of the visitors.

This time, the Isle children were much more organized than before. The pirates were giving the opportunity to step out first, as they never experienced it before. Jay and Carlos climbed out of the vehicle next, so they could help their friends out of the vehicle.

Evie graciously accepted their help so her over-sized leather jacket wouldn't snap on anything on the way out. Although she really didn't need the help, Mal still grabbed their hands so she could jump out of the vehicle easier.

With all of the villain children out of the limo, all but one student took a few steps back at the sight of them. Mal gazed around at the terrified crowd. She could name every one of them, who their parents were, and what they wore at the coronation, cotillion, and engagement party.

However, if she were to do so, they would call her any and every insulting name that the Auradonians could think of.

"Welcome to Auradon Prep!" greeted the all-powerful fairy. "I'm Fairy Godmother. Headmistress."

"I'm Ben," the prince abruptly introduced himself, almost as though he was becoming too impatient already. He gazed right at Mal as he said, "I am so glad you could join us, Your Highness."

Mal tilted her head in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"Well, you are a princess," Ben insisted, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Your mother may be Maleficent, but your father is Hades, King of the Underworld. That makes you Princess of the Underworld. Do the people on the Isle not call you a princess?"

"Because none of them know who my father is," Mal answered. "How do you know?"

"I did a lot of research about you seven while I was waiting for you," Ben claimed with an innocent shrug. For a moment, the prince adverted his determined gaze to Harry. "I want to let you know, I tried my best to allow your twin cousins to come to Auradon, but eleven was way too many students to allow over at one single time, since I would want two other kids around their age to come with them."

"Carlos," Ben stated to grab the youngest teen's attention. "I know you are the son of Cruella de Vil, so I do have a couple surprises for you."

Pulling out a small white box with black polka-dots, Ben handed it over to Carlos. Carefully opening the box like it was an explosive, Carlos was quite surprised to see a small ear device inside.

"An animal translator?" Carlos assumed while Evie helped to place the device securely in his ear, turning it on for him. "What's it for?"

Instead of answering him, Ben looked over his shoulder to shout, "He's here!"

The spectator waited impatiently since only the crown prince knew what was going on. Suddenly, a loud bark could be heard echoing from inside the school. However, only the son of Cruella could hear someone calling out for him. "Carlos! Carlos!"

A wide, giddy smile emerged on Carlos's face as he watched a small tan dog sprint full force to him. "Dude!" He happily exclaimed.

As soon as Carlos went to his knees, Dude jumped into the human's arms, slobbering all over his face. "You're here!" Dude exclaimed between licks. "You're finally here! I can't believe it! I've missed you so much!"

Luckily, no unknowing spectator thought Carlos already knew the canine's name. They believed he only shouted 'Dude!' out of excitement of getting such a surprise.

"I knew you two would get along great." Ben smiled contently at the duo. "Dude is the campus mutt. He used to be a stray until he found his way into Auradon Prep. If he lets you, you can take care of him and be his official owner."

After the dog nestled himself into the teenager's arms, Carlos stood to his feet with a genuine smile on his lips. "Thank you, Prince Ben," he acknowledged, respectfully using his proper title. "He is the best gift anyone has ever given me. You have no idea how much this means to me."

Deeming as thought that would be the perfect time to intervene, Fairy Godmother said, "Prince Ben and Princess Audrey, the daughter of Queen Aurora and King Philip, will show you around the campus. Please keep in mind that curfew is at ten. There are a few more rules you'll need to keep in mind, and you will be punished if—"

"Oh!" Ben conveniently interrupted. "I'm sorry, Fairy Godmother. I just remembered something."

Grabbing a particular object from his pocket, the audience gasped when the prince offered his closed fist to Mal. "This is for you," Ben insisted, carefully placing it into the fairy's curious hand.

Mal's eyes widened as she and her friends recognized the familiar, purple gem ring. It was her engagement ring! Slipping it onto her ring finger, she honestly complimented, "It is so beautiful. It fits me perfectly."

"It is meant for the most beautiful princess in the world," Ben claimed with a flirty smile. "You are the most beautiful princess in the world."

"Benny Boo!" Audrey whined in complaining tone. "This isn't right! You said—"

"I would give it to the princess that is worthy of being Queen of Auradon," Ben finished, smiling knowingly at a completely baffled Mal while noticing the surprised reactions of the other six Isle children. "That princess is you, no one else."

Mal raised an amused eyebrow. "Somebody is moving a little fast," she teased to get rid of her pent-up eagerness of being back. "You've known me for what . . . five minutes? Yet, you already think I will be your queen?"

"I supposed I am being optimistic," Ben agreed, his smile widening even more than it already was. "How about we start with a date first? After the tour, I can take you on a picnic to one of my favorite places in Auradon. You can try some of Auradon food, like strawberries."

Pretending to think about it for a moment, Mal rolled her eyes playfully with a nonchalant sigh. "I guess I will go on a date with you since you are trying so hard. I'm sure a prince like you would be above begging a villain princess for her attention."

"For you, I would do anything," Ben insisted before outstretching his arm to the fairy. "Right now, I will escort you and your friends on a tour of the school. The sooner we start, the sooner we can go on our date."

Smiling softly, Mal wrapped her arm around the prince's arm. "Lead the way, Your Majesty."

Although the tour had just begun, the Core Four found themselves bored, as they already knew where everything was.

However, they still kept interested to pull off their façade. That wasn't hard to do since Gil seemed so amazed by everything he saw. He would wave to random people—who would either ignore him or run away in fear—and stop every few feet to marvel at the scenery.

When it came to King Beast's statue, the Sea Three admittedly flinched at seeing the transformation from man to beast.

"It's okay," Prince Ben reassured, as though he had done so before. "My father created his statue so it could morph from beast to man, to remind us that anything is possible."

Mal admired the object for a moment or two, unconsciously asking again, "Does he shed much?"

Ben smiled at the fairy, as though he was remembering an old joke. "Yeah," he agreed all too easily. "Mom won't let him on the couch."

The two shared a look with one another. A certain gleam was in both of their eyes, making the remaining three of the Core Four wonder if something more was going on with the prince. With the prince's actions and words, it may be possible that he—

"Mal, Evie, and Uma, you each have your own dorm room," Ben announced knowingly as they stepped into the main entrance of the school. "Jay and Carlos, you are roomed together since your room is the last one left with two beds. Harry and Gil, you have your own rooms and there is a queen-sized bed in each one."

"Cool!" Gil exclaimed at the information. "I never had one before."

"What?" Audrey questioned sarcastically. "You never had your own room before?"

"Oh, I have my own room," Gil insisted carelessly. "I just never had a bed."

The smug smile on the Auradon princess's face faded away to a semi-shocked frown. "You what?"

"Dad could only buy one for my older twin brothers to share," Gil answered like it was no big deal. "Dad sleeps on a couch while I have a hammock I always sleep on. The only time I ever slept in a bed was at Uncle James's ship, and that was just a couple months before the Smee twins were born."

"Uncle James?" Ben repeated in surprise. "Who . . . ?"

"He means my father," Harry clarified with frustrated huff. "My father's sister is Gil's mother, who married Gaston and passed away when she had Gil."

"I see . . ." Ben trailed off for a moment in thought. "If you don't mind me asking, Harry, why do you care so much about the twin sons of Smee?"

Sighing once more, like there was a heavy weight on his shoulders, Harry reluctantly explained, "My mother was Smee's younger sister. My blue eyes come from her, which the twins' also have. My mother became ill after Squeaky and Squirmy were born. She asked that I help my dad and my uncles take care of the twins since . . . she wouldn't be able to."

Feeling the need to change the subject, Audrey cleared her throat before mumbling a weak excuse, "I-I have a dress fitting soon. Excuse me."

The Auradon princess quickly rushed out of the building just as the soon-to-be king noticed a band member carrying a clipboard walking down the staircase. "Doug!" Ben shouted as he gestured for the teen to come toward the group. "Come down here more a moment."

As the teen happily descended the stairway, Evie visibly tensed as she adverted her gaze to the floor. Uma, noticing the Isle princess's reaction, nudged her shoulder playfully. "What are you getting all shy for, girl?" Uma quietly teased. "You are a badass princess from the Isle of the Lost. If anything, your true love should be getting timid over you, not the other way around."

"This is Doug," Ben announced when the teen stood next to him. "He helped create your schedule and will help me show you to your dorms." The prince patted the teen's shoulder to give him some confidence. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Well, I'm Dopey's son," Doug began before listing off routinely, "as in Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, and-" Just like before, he stopped talking as soon as he locked gazes with Evie. "Heigh-ho. . ."

"Evie," she introduced as she strutted toward him flirtatiously, "Evil Queen's daughter."

Doug shook himself out of his daze like last time, but the blush still remained on his cheeks. "Okay. So about your classes, I put in the requirements already—History of Woodsmen and Pirates, Safety Rules of the Internet, and, uh," he let out an uneasy cough, "Remedial Goodness 101."

Jay bitterly scoffed at the class, remembering just how much he hated the class. "A class just for us Isle kids? We should have known there was a catch."

"It was the only way Fairy Godmother would even consider allowing to attend Auradon Prep," Ben claimed with an aggravated sigh of his own. "It is the same length as any other class. I convinced the headmistress to have it only three days a week, as opposed to a full five days. You will have study hall on the two days that you don't have the class. I thought it would give you a break from hearing the boring and redundant lectures."

"But that's enough about your schedules for now," the prince insisted before he adverted his attention to the dwarf's son. "Doug, would you lead the way to the dorms, please?"

After leading the group to the girls' dorm—since it was closer than the boys—Doug opened the door to allow the 'guests' to see Uma's room—which was next door to Mal's and Evie's—and let them get a sense of what their room would look like. Uma and Evie walked into the room before the four boys tried to follow them.

Meanwhile, Mal attempted to move away from the prince. When their connection was almost broke, Ben quickly grabbed hold of her hand, squeezing it so hard that it would be impossible for her to let go. Mal couldn't help when her eyes went wide at seeing the look of desperation in Ben's eyes. It was obvious he didn't want to let her go, but there was something else in his eyes. Was that—?

"I need to speak with the transfer students alone," Ben informed far too urgently to be normal. "Head to the boys' dorm. We will meet you there soon."

Doug couldn't give a response since Ben practically pushed Mal into the room and closed the door in the unexpected Doug's face.

Before Mal could have a chance to react, Ben abruptly smashed his lips against the fairy's lips in a loving, yet relieving kiss. Mal melted into the kiss, wrapping her arms around the prince's neck while he wrapped his around her waist tightly, as though he was scared that she would disappear on him.

Pulling away when air was necessary, Ben leaned his forehead against Mal's. "I missed you so much," he muttered as he continuously pecked his beloved's heads with tiny kisses. "I can't believe you are finally here. I've been waiting over a month to see you again. I thought I was going to die."

"Someone is being a little dramatic," Mal teased before kissing her beloved's nose adorably.

"How did you get here?" Carlos interrogated, as he had nominated himself to solve the mystery of their time travel. "Do you know who was responsible?"

"No, I have no idea how this happened," Ben denied, keeping his hold on Mal as he turned to face the youngest teen. "I appeared after my first meeting with the council. The first thing I did was dump Audrey, because I felt absolutely terrible being with someone that wasn't my fiancé, my true love. I have been planning your arrival ever since."

"Do you know if there was anyone else sent back in time?" Jay wondered curiously. "Or was it just you?"

"And Dude." Carlos added as he clutched the dog closer to him.

"I've tried to find out," Ben claimed while shaking his head in denial. "There is no one else. I had discovered that Dude knew when he kept scratching at your dorm room door, like he was trying to go in to see you."

"Why did you invite us pirates?" Uma interrogated, as that was a question on all the Isle children's minds. "You didn't do so before."

"I invited you to help the proclamation progress faster," Ben reasoned, wrapping his arms even tighter around his beloved. "It took nearly two years before any more came to Auradon. I thought if I started with a larger group, more children will be here quicker, just in case we couldn't find a way to go back to our original time."

The 'prince' adverted his gaze to a still tense Harry. "I promise, the twins will be the next to come to Auradon," Ben reassured. "However, it may not be until after my coronation before that can happen."

Mal's eyes widened in fear. "That's not going to work," she argued sadly. "I swore on the River Styx that they would be here sooner. If my promise on the river is broken, then. . ."

Ben tilted his head curiously to hide his worry. "Then . . . what?"

Swallowing a lump in her throat, Mal croaked, "One form of punishment is . . . death."