Ch. 11
"You let them go alone? Why didn't you call me before they left, I could have flown back," Mal seethed, as Ben tried to explain why he's had to stay behind.
"They're perfectly capable of handling things Mal, but there's nobody else to run the kingdom if I leave. They can call us if they need help, but between Doug and Carlos I seriously doubt anything could possibly happen that they couldn't fix," Ben said.
Mal groaned, there were plenty of things that could go horribly wrong, which is why they always went together on missions like this. Sometimes Ben was too optimistic, it grated on Mal's nerves that he could be so happy during times of total chaos. "You will call me immediately if they need help!"
Ben quickly agreed, knowing when not to push Mal any further. As angry as she got at him, he knew it was simply out of fear for her friends. She could be reckless and impulsive in these moods but to selflessly sacrifice yourself for others was a rare trait even in Auradon, however much the children were taught it was the epitome of goodness. Ben sincerely hoped nothing would happen to their friends, so much was hinged on Carlos being able to neutralize the wand and other artifacts that he didn't even want to contemplate any other senarios but success.
The large conference room started filling up as the royal council and new arrivals to Auradon began taking seats around the rectangular table that dominated the room. Ben said his good-byes to Mal and hastily stood up to greet everyone as they entered. Council meetings were his least favorite royal duty on normal occasions but today was particularly nerve wracking as the usual members nearly quadrupled in number. Lonnie's mother Mulan was there representing the Chinese Emperor, King Simba, Queen Ariel, Queen Elsa, King Aladdin and several other royal dignitaries standing in for their courts and kingdoms. Ben suddenly felt completely overwhelmed and a bit sick to his stomach.
Once the greetings were handled, Ben tried to think of how best to word the news he was about to deliver. It wasn't going to go over well with many, and he knew he didn't have the sort of answers they'd want; but he couldn't stall forever.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for being here today, I know many of you traveled a long way so I'll get straight down to business. I'm going to start from the beginning for those of you who have just arrived, so please bear with me and hold all your questions until the end, thank you," Ben started, launching into the story of Fairy Godmother's magical ailment and the resulting issues. As he spoke, he could see the veiled reactions from some, others bit their tongues to keep their exclaimations silent and as predicted the overall tone once he'd finished was one of anger, fear, confusion and frustration.
"Is the barrier still holding, and how long can we expect it to?" Queen Elsa asked
"Yes, it is still holding, as I explained Ursula's daughter Uma, got through but not without such severe burns that she's been completely incapacitated while recouping in our medical facility for the past several days. We don't know exactly how longit will continue to hold, Fairy Godmother's magic is slowly draining her and if she dies, all the spells she has cast will fail," Ben replied.
"If the barrier falls and the villians get free, what do we do to stop them?" Mulan asked.
"That's precisely why I've called you all here. Uniting all the kingdoms has given us great resources, and knowledge. Together I'm hoping we can pool all of that and create a plan to protect Auradon. While we contine to hope for the best, it would be unwise not to prepare for the worst. You all know how ruthless and cunning the villians can be, and although it's been many years since they weilded any power, I'm afraid imprisonment has mande many desperate for revenge," Ben explained.
Thankfully nobody was panicking yet, but everyone started discussing who was the most dangerous villians, how they needed to be delt with and why they were the best to lead Auradon's armies. Ben could tell this was going to be a very long meeting and he was going to need to figure out who to appoint for certain defense positions. The fairies and Genie began asking about the use of their magic, which Ben was loathe to deny them in these circumstances, when someone made the connection and asked about the villian's magic once the barrier fell. Of course Ben had to reply truthfully that yes, their magic would be restored as well. That admission went over like a ton of bricks and the noise level racheted up as the fear mounted. Ben needed to get everyone calm and focused on the same problem, rather then the wild speculations they were doing now.
"Everyone, if you would all quiet down for a moment I would like to direct your attenton to the front of the room," Ben called out, pulling down a large map of Auradon along the wall.
The group all looked up, confusion settling over their features but thankfully remaining silent.
"We need to create a defensive strategy along Auradon's border. If the villians get free, the only way off the island is by sea, so we're going to need defense here and along the coast," Ben said, pointing to the ocean between the Isle of the Lost and Auradon. As Ben continued, he realized it was similar to making plays for a Tourney game, everyone at the table being his team mates, each with specific positions and strengths he could use against the opposition. Although he'd never admit it to anyone in the room, it became less daunting thinking about it in those terms and he felt more at ease. The meeting continued in that vein for several more hours, those attending volunteering for strategic positions and suggesting other who would be beneficial in the fight who weren't present.
"If the goal is to try to keep the villians contained on the island until another barrier can be erected, then perhaps I can help make one?" Queen Elsa offered.
"A magical ice wall?" Ben guessed.
Queen Elsa gave a small smile, "I know we've all agreed to the no magic ordinance, and in any other situation I wouldn't even suggest such a thing, but the wall would stand strong against magic, heat or anything else thrown at it and I could create an army of snow creatures to help fend off the villians."
Everyone around the room perked up and looked eager at the idea, but Ben hesitated. No magic was the one rule his father would absolutely not bend on whatsoever, he'd enforced it strictly and managed to get all of Auradon, filled with magical folk whether weilding wands or wishes to go along with it for all these years. Queen Elsa's plan was a good one, everyone in the room knew it and Ben couldn't deny it either, if a magical ice wall kept the villians from being able to set foot on Auradon then they could avoid so much trouble. Ben wrote the suggestion down. "I'll consider it, thank you."
There were a few grumblings from Genie and the fairies after that, making pointed comments on how useful such a thing like a magical ice wall would be, how being able to constantly make more creatures to fight without having to sacrifice anybody else would be pratically heroic but Ben ducked his head, avoiding their glances and pretended to concentrate on what he was writing down. He absolutely needed to speak to his father about possibly allowing a few people to use magic in the fight, he couldn't deny that it might save hundreds of lives and he'd never forgive himself if he didn't use every resource available to him.
Staring at the map, sectioned off now with names listed in rows where certain groups would be stationed, Ben realized that although they had the grounds around Auradon Prep covered completely and a very impressive line of guards going up and down the coast, their biggest problem was the large expanse of ocean between them and the isle. Looking over the people crowded around the table, Ben's eyes fell on the bright red hair cascading down around Queen Ariel's face like a beacon.
"Queen Ariel, does Atlantica have enough guards to help protect the waters between us and the isle?" Ben asked.
Queen Ariel looked up slightly startled, "Atlantica had a fairly strong guard for the palace and the rest of the kingdom, especially after Ursula and then her sister Morgana attacked us. I'd have to speak with my sister Attina to know exactly, why?"
"Since the only way across is over or through the water, it would be our best spot to start our defense. We know Ursula and Morgana are on the isle, along with Captain Hook's pirates, who have boats to ferry across those who can't swim," Ben replied.
"What about naval boats? Eric has an entire fleet of them, I'm sure he'd send them down here to help," Queen Ariel suggested.
"That would be great, but we don't want to leave your shores unprotected, perhaps if we could figure out how to spread them up and down the coast line they could keep an eye out for anyone trying to flee in a different direction," Ben said.
"You're going to need dozens of ships for that, each with very large crews," Queen Elsa said, a concerned frown marring her face.
Suddenly Ben's phone vibrated and he glanced down at it, seeing a text from Evie that the kids from the isle had arrived.
"Queen Elsa, Queen Ariel, you both have countries that have major dealings with ships, can you gather enough of your builders, and sailors to make some more ships and crews here?" Ben asked.
The women looked perplexed. "We only have about a half dozen ship builders and our ships are for freight not fighting," Queen Elsa said.
"I'd be happy to volunteer anyone from my kingdom of course but I've been told ships take weeks to months to build, I didn't think we had that much time," Queen Ariel added.
"Queen Elsa with whatever ships you can get here, and your builders and Queen Ariel's we can modify your ships with weapons and we might get a few more built in time with all the extra hands we'll have available. If all of you can keep pulling together like this we will be able to save Auradon," Ben assured, getting nods of agreement from both women who immediately began laying out their own plans together.
Ben excused himself while everyone was busy stratigising, a half formed, completely mad plan swirling in his head and he hurried down to the infirmary.