Ch 23:

Chloe spent a good hour outside, letting Motley have some fun before she would need to be locked in Chloe's dorm for the evening. During that time Chloe also had the chance to smack Jay upside the head and tell him if he let a girl as awesome as Lonnie get away she would never forgive him. She was mostly joking. But honestly, Chloe couldn't see Jay settling down with some prissy, flirty Auradon princess. Lonnie, on the other hand, was not only kind and genuine, she was a warrior who could kick Jay's butt if she needed to.

Unfortunately, that hour of peace had to end eventually, and Chloe made her way back to her dorm with Motley. There she ran into Jane, who was a giddy, excitable mess.

"What on earth? Did you eat a bowl of sugar?" Chloe demanded, seeing that Jane's nice ponytail was falling out and getting knotted and she accidentally ripped her sweater in her haste to get it off.

"No, but Carlos asked me to be his date to Cotillion!" Jane squealed, bouncing in place. Motley tilted her head at the sight while Beelzebub grumbled from her box across the room.

"Finally!" Chloe exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "Honestly, if I could have found him earlier I would have smacked him upside the head like I did with Jay."

Jane giggled, covering her blushing face with her sweater.

The two girls took turns in the shower before helping each other with their hair and makeup, and then finally putting on their dresses.

Jane curled her now-long dark brown hair, and did simple makeup. Her dress, designed by Evie, was a powder blue gown with frills on the shoulders and a frilly skirt, a pink bow around her waist.

Chloe wasn't completely sure what to do with her hair and had to get help from both Jane and Evie. They finally decided to pull back most of the white top layer of her hair, twist it and pin it together in a sort of mini ponytail, then Jane helped Chloe with lightly curling her hair. Her dress was a long, red gown with cap sleeves and black beading around her torso. Her black, fingerless gloves were more elegant than she normally wore, going just past her wrists in an almost frilly style, similar to some of the old English style gloves.

There was a knock on their door, making Chloe and Jane pause in their last minute fiddling. They exchanged a glance, silently arguing over who should answer the door. Finally, Jane practically shoved Chloe toward the door so she had to answer it.

Swinging the door open, she smiled at her brother, who looked surprised to see her in a dress.

"Hey. I didn't think you were going to Cotillion." Carlos commented.

"And I didn't think you'd actually get the nerve to finally ask Jane out." Chloe countered, smirking. Carlos stuck his tongue out at her. "Jane, your date's here, and he's being rude to me." she called jokingly over her shoulder into the room. Motley hurried up to the open door, tail wagging as she greeted Carlos.

Jane laughed, approaching the open door after slipping her heels on. "Am I going to have to separate you two?" she joked.

Carlos' eyes went wide when he saw her. "Wow. I-um-y-you look beautiful."

Jane's face went red and Chloe hid a smirk behind the open door.

"Is this where everyone's hanging out tonight?" a new voice asked as Anthony joined them in the doorway, making Chloe's smirk disappear as she self-consciously smoothed out the front of her dress.

"No, we were just about to leave. I was just picking up Jane." Carlos told him. "What are you doing all the way over here? Don't you need to get to the yacht?"

Anthony glanced over at Chloe. "Um, yeah, I do, I was just picking up Chloe."

Carlos' eyes went wide as he glanced over at his sister. "Oh. Oh."

Chloe blushed. "Well, we should probably all get going." she urged quickly, ducking back into the room and getting a chew toy out of the crate of dog toys to keep Motley entertained for a few hours. Once she was sure both Motley and Beelzebub were okay, she joined the others in the hallway so they could all head down to the docks.

She could tell Carlos was very tempted to ask questions or tease her or something, but he knew with a look that she would just return the favor, and the last thing he wanted was for Chloe to tease him in front of Jane. So they reached a silent truce and the group of four just made small talk as they took a carriage down to the harbor where the yacht was docked.

They were among the first dozen guests to arrive, but there was already a mob of paparazzi and reporters waiting with cameras and microphones. When Chloe saw them she felt the urge to throw up, not completely wanting to leave the safety of the carriage with the others.

"Hey," Anthony took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, "you're fine. They won't hurt you. They're just a bunch of rude reporters. We don't even have to stop for photos or questions if we don't want to. Okay?"

Chloe took a deep breath, nodding in answer. "Okay." she answered.

Anthony followed Carlos and Jane from the carriage, offering Chloe a hand down the carriage steps. Instead of letting go of her hand once her feet touched the ground, he set her hand in the crook of his elbow to lead her toward the boat. Reporters were constantly calling out questions and flashing photos as a steady line of people boarded the yacht. When it was Chloe and Anthony's turn, Chloe just focused ahead and tried not to look too nervous. It didn't stop the reporters from doubling their photos and yelling out questions for her and Anthony. Neither responded, Anthony merely giving her hand a gentle squeeze as they continued on their way, finally escaping the barrage of voices.

Chloe released her breath in relief once they were inside the yacht. Anthony chuckled.

"Yeah, those reporters can be a bit like sharks, huh?" he joked, making Chloe laugh.

"Just a bit." she agreed as they passed through the interior of the boat. As they stepped out onto the deck of the boat, at the top of the stairs, they passed several stained glass images similar to the one Ben had designed for Mal. Chloe slowed, gazing at each one in amazement. Many of the most famous fairytale couples were pictured; Belle and Adam, Rapunzel and Eugene, Aladdin and Jasmine, Cinderella and Prince Charming, and several others.

Anthony was patient as Chloe admired the art before they continued on down the grand staircase to the main part of the deck. Most of the people there already were either really important, or they were helping set up. The DJ was setting up his equipment, Fairy Godmother and a couple people were setting up the food and drinks, someone was making sure the lanterns were all hanging correctly and working, and Chloe spotted the former King and Queen talking with Lumiere.

Anthony lightly squeezed Chloe's hand. "I just need to make sure my stuff's set up correctly. The DJ will be performing most of the music, so I won't be spending too much time playing." he explained as he lead her toward the DJ booth. "But most of the night you will have my undivided attention, I swear."

Chloe smiled. "It's fine, Anthony. Honest. I can't wait to hear you perform. You go ahead and make sure it's all set up. I'm just going to get some punch or something before the buffet table is swarmed by guests."

The pair spilt up, Anthony approaching the electronic, black piano next to the DJ booth, and Chloe heading toward the table of food. She came up next to Fairy Godmother, who appeared to be putting the finishing touches on the table of food and drinks.

"Hello Fairy Godmother. Do you need me to help you with anything before more of the guests arrive?" Chloe asked politely.

"Oh, no thank you, dear. Everything's nearly done, I'm just waiting for Jane to help with the finishing touches on a few things." Fairy Godmother told her, smiling that warm, bubbly smile she always seemed to have.

"Okay. Jane was in the same carriage as me, but she stopped to talk to a few people. She should be here in a few minutes." Chloe told her.

"Ah, perfect. Thank you. And you look beautiful, dear. I simply love your dress." Fairy Godmother complimented her.

"Thank you. Evie made it." Chloe answered, blushing.

"Yes, that's what I've been hearing. She designed Jane's dress, too. Very talented, that girl."

Chloe nodded in agreement, scooping herself some punch from the large, crystal punch bowl. "Yeah, she's always had a gift, that's for sure."

Chloe turned away from the table to see the former King and Queen approaching, Lumiere heading back up the stairs.

"Ah, Fairy Godmother, everything looks wonderful. You and Jane have done an amazing job." Adam complimented her while Belle gave her a hug.

"It was my pleasure." Fairy Godmother assured them, smiling warmly. "Oh, I don't think you've met Chloe yet, have you? This is Chloe, Carlos' sister. Chloe, this is Ben's parents, Belle and Adam."

Blushing, Chloe shook hands with Ben's parents.

"It's wonderful to meet you." Belle greeted her warmly. "I've heard a lot about you from Ben, not to mention the Radcliffes. Anita has nothing but great things to say about you."

"And Ben praises your art skills." Adam added, causing Chloe's blush to darken. "I hear you helped him design a certain surprise for this evening." he added conspiratorially, smirking lightly. Chloe nodded shyly, her lips twitching into a grin.

"What are you talking about?" Belle asked, kindly suspicious. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing, dear." Adam answered innocently, lifting his wife's hand to kiss the back of it like a gentleman. Chloe could definitely see Ben in his father.

Belle rolled her eyes, but willingly let her husband set her hand through the crook of his elbow. She turned to smile once more at Chloe. "I think I saw you come in with Anthony. Did you come together?"

Chloe tried in vain not to blush. But of course she failed, and the adults exchanged knowing smiles. "Um, yes Ma'am. We did."

Thankfully, Anthony chose that moment to join them, greeting the adults and making small talk before grabbing some punch and leading Chloe away. By now everything was pretty much done and set up, and several more guests had arrived. Chloe spotted Carlos and Jane finally arrive, quickly approached by Jane's mother.

"So, when do you need to perform?" Chloe asked curiously as they approached the side of the boat, leaning back against the railing side-by-side.

"Well, I'll perform one song for Ben and Mal's first dance as King and Lady, Ben specifically asked me to play Tale as Old as Time for that dance. After that, I'm going to play that new song I wrote for everyone else to dance to." Anthony glanced guiltily over at her. "Sorry I won't be able to dance with you during that song."

Chloe smiled, waving her hand dismissively. "It's fine, honest. Actually, it's probably for the best. I'm guessing nearly everyone will be dancing during that song, so the dance floor will probably be too crowded for me anyway."

Anthony nodded thoughtfully. "That's true. Well, I'll be sure to pick the time where there's the least number of people to ask you to dance. Deal?" he asked, grinning at her.

"Deal." Chloe laughed.

Anthony glanced around before looking back at her. "There's not a lot of people here now." he pointed out casually. He set his glass on a nearby table and held a hand out to her, bowing dramatically like a cliché prince charming. "May I have this dance?"

Chloe's hand flew to her mouth, trying to muffle her laughter. She set her cup down and placed her hand in his. "I suppose so." she joked.

Instead of pulling Chloe out to the middle of the ship's deck, Anthony only pulled her a few feet away from the side of the boat. The song the DJ was playing wasn't really a slow song, it was more upbeat, so Anthony had to pull Chloe a bit out of her comfort zone and get her to move with the music. She felt utterly ridiculous, but Anthony managed to pull laughter from her as they goofed off.

It wasn't long before their friends started joining them. Evie and Doug arrived, Carlos and Jane, and even Jay and Lonnie, which Chloe was thrilled about. Mal and Ben wouldn't be joining them right away because they had to make their big entrances later in the evening. Chloe also saw several other people she knew, like Ally and Bash. Even Tara was there in a light blue gown, her faithful German Shepherd Thor next to her wheelchair. He was wearing his black service dog vest, but also had a bow tie around his neck for the occasion. As tempting as it was given how cute he looked, Chloe didn't pet Thor or give him any attention, knowing he was working and couldn't be distracted.

About half an hour into the dance, the music cut off and several trumpets sounded toward the head of the boat, drawing everyone's attention to the spotlight shining down on Lumiere at the top of the stairs.

"I better get to my spot." Anthony told Chloe briefly. "See you in a bit." With that, he hurriedly wove through the crowd toward the piano while Chloe stuck close to Jay's side as they hurried to the front of the crowd. Standing in the front next to Jay gave Chloe a small illusion of not being surrounded in a crowd, which helped her anxiety a bit. She just focused on Lumiere as he presented 'Lady Mal'.

Lumiere stepped out of the spotlight, Mal taking his place looking as stiff as a board with wide, panicked eyes. She was dressed in a blue and yellow gown, her bare shoulders covered in a blue cape, and blue leather gloves covering her arms up to her elbows. Her purple hair was in a side braid, a small tiara atop her head.

Ben's father helped Mal down the last few steps, he and his wife taking a moment to talk with their son's girlfriend before Evie joined them, escorting Mal to stand with the rest of her friends. Chloe barely heard Mal admit she felt like she was going to throw up, making Chloe grin in sympathetic amusement.

The trumpets played once again, and this time Lumiere presented 'King Benjamin', and Ben stepped into the spotlight dressed in a blue suit, his crown on his head. Everyone applauded and then bowed or curtsied.

Ben walked down the stairs while Mal stepped forward to greet him. Chloe expected Ben to kiss her hand or something equally charming, but he merely bowed to her, which Mal returned. When they straightened, the anxious look on Ben's face told Chloe something was wrong seconds before he spoke.

"Mal, I wish I had time to explain."

Everyone followed Ben's gaze as he turned to look back up the stairs, where Uma stepped into the spotlight.

A jolt of terror shot through Chloe's gut and she instinctively stepped back, bumping into Jay's shoulder. Jay reached out and held her shoulders with his hands to keep her from falling or running.

"Whoa, hey, calm down." Jay whispered to her. "You're fine. She can't hurt you."

Chloe forced herself to take deep breaths, stepping around Jay a bit so she was behind his shoulder. It was cowardly, but she was just trying not to collapse in a panic. The last couple times she'd been face-to-face with Ursula's daughter had not been pleasant at all, usually ending in Chloe getting a black eye or a slash from a sword.

So, Chloe took deep breaths and just tried to focus on how different Uma looked, as if that might convince her brain that it wasn't really Uma and that she had nothing to fear. Uma wasn't wearing her usual tricorn hat and pirate garb. Her turquoise braids were pulled up into a bun and she was wearing a blue dress. She looked like a fairytale princess as Ben helped her down the rest of the stairs.

And then Ben bowed over her hand, which he kissed…right over what appeared to be his ring on Uma's finger.

Chloe felt like the air was knocked out of her lungs, and she stepped forward to get a look at Mal around Jay and Lonnie. She looked completely crushed, a look of heartbroken disbelief spread over her face as Ben and Uma approached her.

Everyone watched in confusion as Ben spouted some nonsense about making a connection with Uma on the Isle, and now they were in love. They were all smiles and giggles and it was kind of sickening if Chloe was being honest. Apparently Uma managed to dive through the barrier before it closed behind the limo, and she swam the whole way to Auradon.

The whole conversation was just wrong. Chloe wasn't sure what to think of it all. Ben loved Mal. Why would he have gone through all the trouble of designing that stained glass image for her just to turn around and basically dump her for her sworn enemy in the span of twenty-four hours?

"This makes no sense." Chloe whispered, silently tugging on Jay's sleeve to get his attention. "None of this makes sense. Ben wouldn't do this. And he's acting weird. He's not even this lovey-dovey with Mal on a good day."

Jay tilted his head a tiny bit, silently showing he heard her.

"And Uma genuinely thanking Mal for everything?" Chloe went on, partially to herself. "Uma hates Mal. She would never thank her for something like this. She's up to something."

When they finished talking to Mal, Ben stepped over to where an equally-shell-shocked Anthony was sitting at the piano. Ben passed Anthony a note and whispered something to him, to which Anthony nodded uncertainly. A moment later, piano music floated through the evening air, but it wasn't A Tale as Old as Time like Anthony told Chloe he was planning on playing. Instead it was Kiss the Girl, Ariel and Eric's song, that Ben asked Anthony to play.

Ben and Uma began dancing in the open space of the ship's deck, smiling at each other like a happy couple, while Mal watched with a broken heart.

Evie stepped forward and gently pulled Mal away so that she was surrounded by her friends. Evie and Carlos both wrapped an arm around her. Chloe was tempted to join them but then she moved past them to stand between Carlos and Jane.

"Jane, you've known Ben a long time. Does this seem like something he would do?" Chloe asked quietly, hoping her roommate would be able to make sense of this.

Jane shook her head, eyes fixed worriedly on the dancing couple. "No, this isn't like Ben. I mean, the last time he ended a relationship was when he dumped Audrey for Mal in front of the whole school, but he was under a-" Jane suddenly gasped before hurrying away, leaving Chloe baffled. In the same moment Jay popped up between Mal and Carlos, suggesting they leave.

Chloe quickly followed Jane's path around the dancing couple, Jay and Mal on her heels with the others following behind. To Chloe's surprise, Jane hurried right up to Lumiere.

"Lumiere, unveil the gift, they need to see it!" Jane insisted urgently.

"And now, the unveiling of King Ben's masterpiece," Lumiere called, causing Anthony to stop playing, "designed especially for his Lady."

The trumpets played once more as everyone turned to look at the other end of the ship where a giant frame was unveiled to revealed an image familiar to Chloe. It showed a stained-glass image of a golden sunset behind Mal, bright green eyes, flowing purple hair, and a long purple gown, Ben kneeling at her feet in a blue suit that strongly resembled the one he currently wore.

Chloe gaped at it, as did many others. Sure, she'd helped design it, but her participation was little more than rough sketches. The final product was breathtaking. Half the crowd started gushing over it and applauding. Chloe's eyes moved down to the deck. Ben had stepped closer to it, as if mesmerized.

Jane hurried down a couple steps to stand next to Chloe, grasping her arm. "I think Ben's under a love spell." she hissed. "He would never do something like this to Mal, just like he wouldn't have done it to Audrey if he hadn't been spelled."

Chloe gaped, staring at Jane before glancing down from the back of Mal's head to Ben's. She hurried down the few steps to stand right behind Mal and Evie, leaning down so her head was basically between theirs.

"Jane thinks Ben's under a love spell." Chloe hissed into their ears.

"Cover that back up!" Uma demanded of Lumiere.

"I will not!" Lumiere retorted, sounding personally offended.

"Uma must have found your spell book." Evie realized, making Mal nod.

Uma had hurried back to Ben's side and whispered something to him, staring into his eyes intently.

"I have an announcement!" Ben suddenly shouted, taking Uma's hand. "Uma will be joining the court tonight as my Lady."

"Son-"

"Not now, Dad!" Ben shouted, making everyone stare in shock. He stuttered for a moment, seeming confused, before he went on, "So, as my gift to her I'm bringing down the barrier once and for all!"

Chloe tried not to panic at the thought of the barrier coming down, and instead leaned down to talk to Mal once more.

"Ben really loves you, Mal. I helped him design that thing, but it was all him. If you don't do something to break the spell soon, Uma will get exactly what she wants, and we're all doomed." She was probably being a little dramatic, but it was the principle of the thing.

Mal nodded distractedly, stepping off the steps and toward Ben and Uma. She spoke to him, trying to get through to him, which was made harder by Uma constantly yelling at him and confusing him. But eventually Mal was able to give a heartfelt speech, basically ending it by confessing her love for him and kissing him right in front of everyone.

Chloe smiled, briefly leaning her shoulder against her brother's, which he returned by wrapping his arm around her in a side hug.

When Ben and Mal pulled away Chloe could have sworn she saw Ben mouth the words, "My Mal," and her heart melted a bit.

"True love's kiss," Evie commented quietly, glancing back at Chloe with a smile, "works every time."

Chloe grinned.

Of course, the moment was ruined as Uma lunged for Fairy Godmother's wand. Evie and Jay cut her off while Fairy Godmother screamed for the guards to seize her. A flash of terror entered Uma's eyes before she raced for the railing of the ship. The whole crowd seemed to swarm toward her, hoping to stop her. Mal got in the front, yelling at everyone to stop.

Chloe, meanwhile, stayed firmly in place on the stairs. As if she was actually going to get in the middle of a panicked crowd trying to stop a villain from escaping. No thanks. That was just asking for trouble. Besides, Mal had it covered.

Mal tried to talk Uma down, but it didn't seem to work. Instead, Uma turned and jumped into the ocean below, causing nearly everyone to rush to the railing to look down. Part of Chloe was curious as to what was happening, and what Uma might be planning. I mean, was she just going to swim back to the Isle? Unlikely. But mostly Chloe wanted this to all be over. This is why she didn't go to parties.

She was pulled from her thoughts by nervous chattering from the crowd. And then she saw a large, swirling mass of dark water rising high over their heads. Fear growing, Chloe backed away until the stair railing bit into her back and she could go no further. Finally, it seemed the mass of water reached it's limit and burst like a balloon. Water rained down on the ship, and Chloe ducked her head and raised her arms instinctively as she got drenched, but her ears echoed with the loud, familiar cackling that filled the night sky.

Chloe peaked up from under her wet, black and white bangs, slowly standing straight again. What she saw was sure to bring on a panic attack.

Uma as a giant octopus.

AN: Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all had a good weekend, and here's your extra chapter for the week.