Chapter 9:
To say King Beast wasn't happy with Ben's annoucement would be understating things drastically, in fact he wanted to call an emergency council meeting and get everyone else's ideas on how best to proceed. Ben however didn't feel like they had time, Fairy Ida had tasked them with nuetralizing the wand's magic and that had to be done quickly before Fairy Godmother's magic consumed her. King Beast however argued that the only ones who could accomplish that task were Carlos and Doug and since they didn't know how long it could take Ben would be leaving his kingdom without a king at a crucial time. Ben didn't have a better alternative except that he couldn't see how the council would have any ideas either. There were too many things that needed to happen before anything else and it all needed to happen yesterday.
King Beast stood up from his seat behind Fairy Godmother's desk. "I understand how difficult it is not to be right in the thick of things, commanding your team and making sure everything goes right, but Doug, Carlos and Jay are trustworthy enough for this misson, aren't they?"
Ben scrubbed his face wearily with his hands. "Yes, I know they'll do everything they can to fix the wand and get it to Jane."
King Beast nodded. "We're expecting several more transfer students from the isle today, who is going to take responsibility for them?"
"Actually I was going to leave Evie in charge of that so they would feel comfortable with someone they already knew," Ben explained.
"And who is going to keep the other kingdoms and magical folk up to date on what's happening while you're gone? I believe the entire Chinese army has promised to help and the emperor is wondering how quickly he needs to deploy his troops," King Beast added.
Ben groaned, although it was a wonderful idea to have such a large fighting force if they needed it, the logistics of dealing with hundreds of troops hit the teen like a freight train.
"This is when a king has to prioritize and delegate very carefully Ben. I have to stay here and run the school, you are king now, you have to stay here and run the kingdom," his father said, knowing his son was warring with what he wanted to do versus what he needed to do.
"Then call a council meeting please father, but I don't want to focus too much on what's happening with the wand, if we're going to have an army of Chinese warriors, magical folk, Auradon Prep students and whoever else I'm going to need help commanding them all," Ben said, bidding his father good-bye as he hurried out of the office.
Ben was standing beside the limo when Evie, Doug, Jay and Carlos trudged out of the dorms, each sporting a large backpack and sleeping bag.
"Carlos and I already dropped off the food, where's your stuff?" Jay asked, seeing Ben still empty handed.
"Slight change of plans, I have to stay here and lead a war council and I need Evie's help with the new transfers coming over from the isle tonight," Ben said, as the four burst into loud protests. Ben held up his hands and tried to be be heard over the rukus. "I know this isn't what we had decided, but the Chinese Emperor is sending his troops and I need to figure out who else is fighting with us. The kids from the isle are already on their way and if I'm not here to greet them then they need to see a familiar face that they can trust. Mal will be back tongiht after dinner to help, but tomorrow she'll need to go work with Jane until Fairy Ida is sure she's ready for the ceremony."
"We can't just send them alone Ben," Evie argued.
"They won't be alone, I'm sure between two of the smartest guys I know Doug and Carlos can figure out how to read a map and Jay's there if anything else goes wrong," Ben consoled.
Evie pouted and wrapped her arms around Doug, who hugged her back.
"What about the other artifacts? Are we going to try putting them in the water too?" Carlos asked.
"I forgot to ask Fairy Ida if she thought that would work. You might as well take them, I'll message you once I've spoken to her either way," Ben replied, he really missed having Jane chasing after him with all her notes, schedules and reminders.
Jay, Carlos and Doug packed their things into the limo's spacious truck and Evie doled out a few extras she was sure might come in handy from her own supplies. Jay hopped behind the steering wheel this time since they would need the limo for an unknown amount of time, Doug road shot gun to navigate and Carlos climbed in the back, peeking between the front seats through the divider window.
"Stay safe all of you, Jay try to bring Doug back in one piece please," Evie said, leaning in the passenger window to give her boyfriend a kiss good-bye.
"No worries, it'll be a walk in the park and who knows if the dwarves left any gems I might come back richer then a sultan," Jay quipped, giving Evie his best Cheshire grin.
Ben and Evie stood together waving as the limo drove out of view. "Guess I'd better give Mal a call," Ben said, giving his phone a look of trepidation.
"She'll understand Ben, you can't be everywhere at once and the boys will be fine," Evie said, barely able to take her eyes off the horizon where the limo had disappeared. She was missing Doug already, one of the things she liked about him most was that he wasn't some gung-ho adventer hungry prince, always looking for trouble, though now it seemed it had found him and dragged him off without her. Desperate to distract herself from doom filled thoughts, Evie tried to think about the incoming kids from the isle. "So who's coming this evening?"
"I decided to pick those who you, Mal, Carlos, Jay and Uma know personally, so, Dizzy, Gil, Maverick, Diego and Maggie. I'll send for the next group as soon as those five are settled and we know how it goes with Fairy Godmother's wand," Ben replied, smiling as Evie squealed excitedly upon hearing her beloved Dizzy's name.
"Oh Carlos is going to be so happy, he doted on Maggie like she was his little sister and he's always looked up to Diego. He was the one who used to call Carlos a little pup, because he'd trail after Diego wherever he went," Evie smiled.
"I'm going to be with the council until really late tonight, but if you need any help or have any questions just sent me a text. All you have to do is show them around the school, get them to their rooms, make sure they're comfortable and I'll take them to breakfast in the morning and fill in anything else," Ben explained, handing Evie a folder of paperwork with room assignments, Auradon Prep school policies and maps of the grounds.
"Then we should be all set, you should probably give Mal a call and get something to eat before your big meeting," Evie replied. Ben nodded and pushed Mal's number on his phone while hurrying towards the dining hall.