A/N: I know you're all anxious to see how Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos react, but I thought this was important. We'll get there, I promise! On another note, all of the information in Fairy Godmother's last line about what to say to an abused child is correct. I checked it online to make sure, but if you see any issues, let me know and I will fix them. Thank you.
Disclaimer: Descendants is property of Disney Channel. I make no claim to own the characters, and have only written this only with love for Descendants and its characters. Thank you.
Ben stormed down the hallway to the Fairy Godmother's office. How could I have been so blind? Their parents were villains for goodness sake. All the secrecy, insecurities, the fear: it all came from that. Ben didn't know what to feel. He was heartbroken that kids, his girlfriend probably, had to live through that. He couldn't imagine a life where he couldn't turn to his parents. He was disappointed, that even after he saw the Isle for himself, even after he told her he loves her, Mal didn't trust him enough to tell him about it. He realized now, why Evie was so desperate to get Dizzy and other kids off the Isle, and why his friends had been so scared of being sent back. It was why Carlos made that comment about their parents at his coronation, why Mal used to be so tense when he hugged her. It all made sense. Ben shuddered to think of what else they might be hiding from their past. If parents could do that to their kids, would they hesitate to do more?
He opened Fairy Godmother's door with out knocking, and the look on his face scared the poor student across from Fairy Godmother to grab his papers and scurry out the door.
"Ben! How lovely to see you? What can I do for y-"
"How much did you know about the kids on the Isle of the Lost before my proclamation?" Fairy Godmother stood up in shock.
"I -oh my-"
"Did you, my father, or anyone else even check up on them after trapping them on an island with the cruelest, most dangerous villains in Auradon?"
"Well, the first few years, yes, but-"
"Did you know how they lived there? How could I have been so naïve? How could anyone knowingly allow this to happen?"
"Ben!" Fairy Godmother reproached him in a whisper, "Lower your voice. Someone will hear you!"
"Lower my voice?" Ben yelled incredulously, "I just found out that my friends' parents beat them, and you expect me to lower my voice?"
"Do you think they want the whole school to know that?" Fairy Godmother hissed.
Ben stopped. No, no they wouldn't want everyone to know. There was no telling how Mal would react if this got out, and there was no way Mal would want to explain this to the press. Fairy Godmother spoke again in a sad voice.
"Ben, I did find out about their… ahh… home-lives when the nurse sent me their physicals from their first day here." Tears had gathered in her eyes. "It wasn't ideal, but there was nothing I could do."
"Nothing you could do? You could've told me, your King, what was going on there, so I could have gotten every last kid off that horrible island as soon as possible! I know that's what I need to do now!"
"You know how that would go. It was wise to only bring a few at a time. The public didn't like letting four children off the Isle, can you imagine what would have happened if you immediately brought over all of the others? Auradon would be in so much chaos that none of us would be able to help them acclimate, and they would be sent right back to the terrible place they came from. Even now, you can't bring them all over at once." Ben slumped, realizing the complexity of the situation. "What can I do?" Ben asked.
"You can start by comforting the friends you have now. I'm assuming that Mal told you about this, and you probably gave her quite a scare when you reacted like that."
"Actually," Ben winced in shame. "I didn't hear it from Mal. I didn't hear it from any of them." He paused, "Lonnie came to me for help after she found out about it from Jay." Fairy Godmother's eyes widened.
"Oh… so Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos don't know?" Her brow furrowed in worry. "Does anyone else know about this?" Solemnly, Ben nodded. "Doug walked in when Lonnie and I were talking, but it sounds like he had already figured it out." Fairy Godmother nodded.
"You'll need to talk to them, where they feel safe." She paused in thought. "It's my impression that they feel the most comfortable when they are all together." Ben nodded in agreement, and the Fairy Godmother continued. "If Jay felt comfortable enough to tell Lonnie, and since she told you about it, she should probably be there, as well. While I don't want them to feel as if you're how do you say… ganging up on them, it might be easier on them if all three of you are there when you tell them, so that you can tell them that you three are the only ones who know." Ben lifted his head slightly.
"What about you?" He questioned. "Don't we need to tell them that you know? Or will you be there?" Fairy Godmother shook her head.
"I talked to them not long after your coronation."
"What did they say?" Fairy Godmother shook her head again.
"That is between Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos, and myself. If they want to tell you, that is fine, but I will not."
Ben sighed, "What should I tell them? I can't imagine how they must feel."
"Be gentle. Don't ask them any questions, because they may not be ready to answer them. If they want to tell you, they will. Above everything else, make sure that they know you are there for them. A lot of kids who are abused or neglected think that it's their fault." Ben nodded.
"I guess I need to go find Lonnie and Doug then." He turned to leave. "Thank you."