Present Day...

"Ben! Prince Ben! Over here! Ben! Look here! Here!"

The crowd was suffocating. Ben blinked furiously as he struggled through the ocean of reporters toward the school. He could feel the furious blush rise in his cheeks as several students turned to gaze at him curiously, wondering who it was who had just arrived with the furious flock of reports hot in pursuit. So...not the greatest entrance for the first day of high school.

Flashing a weak, forced smile on their direction, he ducked his head and jogged toward the large iron gates surrounding the school and the pedestal with a sign which read Auradon Prep: Goodness Doesn't Get Any Better! He exhaled deeply and let a small genuine smile creep over his face. This was the life. Away from the paparazzi, the taste of freedom was unfathomable. Every moment he got to himself was special. It was something that he, as future king, would surely never forget.

"Ben? Ben? Oh! Ben! There you are!"

Ben whipped around, tensing, expecting the mob to appear and chase him down again. But, instead of the hundreds of cameras and flashing lights, he spotted a tussle of light brown hair and a spectacled face appeared around a nearby cluster of trees. Ben sighed in relief as Doug hurried over to join him. The dwarf was dressed very differently than Ben. While the king was in dark blue and an even darker jacket (with a crown stitched into the breast pocket), Doug was in some weird blue shirt, checkered pants that so did not match, and a strange tan hat. Ben raised an eyebrow at this choice of wardrobe but Doug seemed unbothered. He supposed the dwarf had not yet grown out of his middle-school appearance, or his middle school voice, either, for that matter.

"Morning, D," Ben sighed as the two fell in step. Before them loomed the castle of Auradon Prep. Ben could see the flags waving in the breeze, and could hear the excited buzz of students as the campus swarmed with eager and hopeful freshmen. This prompted his next question. "You ready for high school?"

Doug beamed and adjusted his glasses just so. "Yes! I've been researching the courses offered here. Did you know that they offer AP Chemistry to freshmen who pass an early bird exam? Chemistry!" His voice cracked excitedly. Ben glanced over at him and noticed the dreamy look in the dwarf's eyes. He couldn't help but smirk.

"I think you get a lot more excited for school than I do," he confessed. They rounded the bend and ducked through the arch welcoming them onto the campus. "But, hey," he added, slapping his friend on the shoulder. "Who knows? Maybe I'll ace biology and come and join you." There was teasing in his voice.

Doug laughed. He opened his mouth to shoot back some sort of retort.

"Ohhhhhhh Beennnnnnyyyyyboooo!"

The two boys froze at the overly loud, slightly obnoxious, and highly off-key shrill that flooded the clearing. They turned, and Doug was nearly blown over by the frilly pink whirlwind, better known as Audrey. Ben blinked, startled, as the girl appeared at his side, practically knocking Doug out of the way in her haste. "Er...hi, Audrey," he stammered. Behind her, Doug fixed his askew glasses and began to slink off. "Doug!" he shouted, causing the boy to jump. "I'll come find you later! There's something I want to ask you!"

Doug nodded...and then bolted.

Ben sighed and turned helplessly back to Audrey was staring at him lovingly, putting on a fake and extremely cheesy smile. I'm doomed.

The rest of the day went as expected. Once he'd managed to detach himself from an ever-clingy Audrey, he'd found his way to all of his new classes, met this crazy girl who, upon learning he was Belle and Beast's son, challenged him to a duel, and nearly ended up stabbing Doug in the process. The dwarf, on the other hand, seemed in heaven. When Ben finally caught up to him at lunch, he had already scoped out the library, claimed a small corner table for himself, and, when he arrived for lunch, he was carrying an arm load of books nearly the size of him.

And it was at this point that Ben decided to pose the question.

"So, you guys know this is my fifteenth birthday, right?"

Doug and Audrey nodded. Chad, who'd been busy taking selfies on his new phone, glanced up at this and nodded slowly. "And?" he questioned. "What about it?"

"I'm going to be sixteen next year."

Audrey giggled. It was an alarming sound. "Oh, Benny Boo, we know."

Ben smiled forcibly and coughed before continuing. "Well, I think I know what my first proclamation will be. But, since you all are my friends, I wanted...to ask you first."

That got everyone's attention. Audrey stopped twirling her hair, Chad put his phone down, and Doug looked over the tops of his lenses and his book. "Yeah?" the dwarf urged when no one said a word. "Go on."

Ben hesitated. "Well, you see, I've been having these dreams and..." He couldn't meet Doug 's gaze, especially since the nerd would know exactly where this conversation was leading. It was still ingrained in his brain, as clear as it had been when they were ten years old. He took a deep breath. "I want to let the children on the Isle of the Lost to come here, to Auradon."

The reactions were instantaneous. Audrey blinked, her mouth falling open in outraged disgust. Chad nearly dropped his phone and Doug sat his book down, his hands already beginning to shake. But it was Audrey who spoke first. "Um...Ben?" The nickname was dropped. At least there was one advantage to all of it. Ben stared at her as she reached across the table and took his hands. "Please tell me you hit your head...or woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Bringing villain's kids here...any of them...that's just asking for trouble. Besides, Maleficent has a daughter. And...what if she comes? She'll spell m-us all!"

Ben nodded, taking her opinion into consideration. "Chad?" he questioned, his gaze moving to the blond. "What do you think?"

Chad, who had been staring dreamily at Audrey for the past minute-and-a-half, suddenly snapped back into consciousness. "I don't know, Ben," he said. "It seems risky. L-like Audrey said. They've all been raised to be as bad as their parents. How could we ever trust them? And who would you select anyway? There have to be over..." He paused to think. "A hundred kids. How many could you bring?"

"Four," Ben decided abruptly. Four. That's a good number. Not to mention the certain purple-haired girl that he knew he had to find. Somehow. "We'd start with four. Just...just the ones that seem they could have a chance to become a hero."

Chad raised an eyebrow but made no further argument. And now came the moment of truth. Taking a deep breath, Ben twisted toward Doug who had gone ashen-faced and was trembling terribly. "Doug?" Ben questioned gently.

Doug looked up at him with wide eyes. There was no doubt in Ben's mind what he was thinking of. He immediately felt bad. But what could he do? Put aside his dream for a nightmare that was...what?...ten years old? A child's fantasy? They weren't kids anymore. As guilty as it made him, he knew he had to do it.

"I...I...I'm sorry," Doug stammered, standing up hurriedly and backing away from the table. "I...I...just...can't."

"Doug...hold on...I wasn't saying..." Ben began but the dwarf was already gone. He sighed, sinking lower in his seat, furious with himself. He felt Chad and Audrey's gazes on him as they went back to eating, unbothered. Ben stared at his peanut and jelly sandwich and his heart dropped.

"Ben?" Audrey questioned. "What is it?"

Ben shoved his food away. "I have to go," he told them, gathering up his backpack, throwing it over his shoulders, and sprinting out the door after Doug. He spotted him moments after he stepped out the door, walking at a frantic pace through the garden toward the library. "Wait!" Ben shouted, racing down the steps three at a time. Doug glanced back at him but then looked away and picked up his pace. He was almost running now. "Doug!" Ben yelled after him as he pushed his way through a group of students who yelped in surprise. "Come on! Wait up!"

He broke into a full sprint. Doug lowered his head and kept walking but Ben wasn't going to let him just walk away. "Doug!" he gasped, speeding around him and blocking his path. Doug backed up with a sigh, surrendering, knowing he was caught. "Before you get mad at me again," Ben went on. "I wanted to explain a couple of things to you. You're my best friend. I know the idea of bringing villains to Auradon...well...terrifies you, but it's also the right thing to do. And I promise that I won't let anything happen to you or your family. I'll watch out for any blue-haired girls, okay?" He slapped a hand on the dwarf's shoulder. "But I need you to support me, dude. This is important to me. I want to fix Auradon. And..." he took a deep breath and held out his hand. "I need your help to do that."

Doug stared at the hand for a long moment and then up at Ben. Then, he took off his glasses, wiped away his tears, and took Ben's hand. "Okay," he said softly. "I'll help you."

Ben smiled. "Great! Thank you so much!" They let go and he fell in step alongside his friend once more as he steered Doug back toward the cafeteria.

"So what's your plan?" Doug questioned as he once more adjusted his glasses.

"My...plan?"

Doug sighed and immediately went into his "professor-tone". "You must have a plan," he pointed out. "You can't just...go to the Isle and select four...k-kids. Besides, your father is still king. What does he think about all of this?"

"Honestly? I haven't told him yet."

Doug stared in disbelief. "Ben! You've got to tell him!"

"But-"

"No 'buts'! That's your next move," Doug cut him off as they once more entered the building. "Talk to your father at the next meeting," he advised as the sound of voices thundered through the halls. "And then go from there. And," he added as he opened the door the cafeteria. "Let me know how it goes, okay?"

Ben promised as they entered the dining hall and returned to the others. Doug approves, he thought. At least I have one friend who'll help me. He sighed, catching Audrey's eye. There's got to be more to being king than just ruling over my subjects. I need to prove that heroes and villains aren't all that different.

The recurring image of the girl floated into his mind once more. I'll find you. No matter what it takes. I promise.