" She won't answer her phone and we have no idea where she is. You're the king! Do something! We all know your father won't so you are our only chance, Ben " Jay said clearly upset which was a rare look on Jay.

" I know " Ben sighed " My dad wants me to start dating someone else already "

" Is it okay to say I hate him? or is that treason? " Carlos thought aloud nodding towards the two boys

" no it's fine, if I'm being honest we haven't spoken since the incident " Ben put his hands in his jacket pockets " Some woman named Lynn Davis ", just thinking about the incident made him feel pits in his stomach.

" Ben, tell me if I'm being too rash but I think we need to declare her missing " Evie said

" I agree, it's been over a week and nothing " Ben straightened up

" She'll hate you for it " Carlos sighed, the three friends turned towards him and gave him a look that said ' What are you on about '

" You know I'm right " he retorted " She wanted space, that's not giving her space by any means "

" What do you suggest we do then??? " Jay snapped losing his temper

" HEY " Carlos responded in a similar tone

Jay shoved him and Carlos pushed him away from him, it would've gotten ugly if Ben and Evie weren't there to break it up before a fight they would later regret could occur.

" Jay! Carlos! Not now! " She scolded at the boys.

The two boys had a look of guilt on their faces.

" I get we're stressed but violence is not the answer. The last thing we need is us pulling away from each other. We're family and we will get through this together " Evie comforted the group.

Truth is, Evie was the glue that held the group of friends together. Without her, they would probably kill each other or even worse drift apart. She was the peacemaker and she took upon that responsibility to make sure to prevent all hell breaking loose between her non blood related siblings.

" We have no other choice " Ben said " Even if it ruins any chance I have with her. Her safety is more important than that as much as that will hurt "

" Ben's right. She might hate us but she'll come around and realise why we did what we're about to do "

The three friends nodded in agreement. Ben excused himself and took out his phone and called the auradonian police force. He forwarded the most recent picture he had of her to them and once the press conference happened later tonight, it would be official. Mal was missing!

" Deborah, call Luimiere and ask him to set up a press conference for tonight at seven and make sure it is broadcasted worldwide" he said into his earpiece

" Of course, your majesty " she responded emotionless

The four friends sat in Ben's office preparing Ben's speech for tonight just in case Mal happened to be listening wherever she was in the world. A thought had occurred to him but he didn't dare say it allowed, part of him was concerned whether she was even alive. The whole situation was strange and he wondered if someone had forced her to leave and perhaps wanted to murder her. She was of a high position nowadays. She was the king's consort and the lady of the court. Most people expected her to be the future queen. Many envied her, people would do anything to be in her position. Maybe that was what this was. He hoped he was wrong but only time could tell.

Ben was taken away from his thoughts by a knock on the door of his office.

" Come in " He said, his eyes not leaving the speech he was currently writing

" Can I have a word? alone? " His father's voice echoed in his hear.

The three friends turned towards him. Jay got up and opened his mouth to say something but Evie and Carlos pulled him aside and they left to give the father and son space to talk. They knew this wasn't going to end well.

" What do you want? " Ben scoffed, making the message clear to his father that he was not over what he had done and that he was still clearly angry and upset at him.

" Ben, there's no need to be bitter " Adam scolded his son

" Oh really? " Ben asked rhetorically

" Its not like you just tried to set me up with someone so I'd forget about Mal and you also implied that I am the reason she left. So in fact, I do have a reason to be bitter " Ben growled

" Ben, I'm sorry " he mumbled under his breath

" Don't bother "

" Ben " Adam said in a low voice

" No dad, if you want to make it up to me. Find her! "

" Ben , I can't "

" No, it's not that you can't, it's that you won't " Ben was disgusted and left his father alone in Ben's office to think about what he had done.

Meanwhile in the town of Redemption that located in the province of South Riding, Mal had just returned from working a twelve hour shift. It was hard labour but she needed to earn that money. ' Think of the baby ', she reminded herself. She was currently curled up on the couch watching an episode of Grey's Anatomy, losing complete focus on what she was watching as she dozed off. The baby she was carrying was taking up all of her energy. What life will be like in six months time when she is lucky to get four hours sleep should be interesting for her.

She jolted awake when the viewing of her programme was disrupted by a special urgent announcement from the king.

We apologise for the interruption of your viewing but we are brought by the royal family with a special announcement carried out by his highness King Benjamin.

" People of Auradon, The Isle of the Lost and anybody else in which I hope this reaches. Especially to my true love, by any miracle this reaches her, Lady Mal. Last week tragically, she disappeared without a trace. We have been unsuccessful in contacting her as of now we have no idea where she is, whether she is safe or not and even if she is alive. "

Mal watched Ben through the television screen and he looked heartbroken. He nearly broke down on the last sentence in front of basically the whole world. Mal hated herself for this.

Mal's jaw dropped. She thought he would have moved on from her by now. Mal analysed her ex boyfriend from the screen of her television. He looked upset and unless you knew him like she did you probably wouldn't notice that he was holding up a strong front for his kingdom. Her stomach began to ache with guilt. She had done this to him. Ben looked stressed and like he hadn't slept in the week she had been missing. She was concerned how nobody had noticed how unwell he looked.

" I am conducting a full search party of the entire states of Auradon and I will expand it further if we deem it necessary. I will stop at nothing until we can ensure she is home, safe and sound. If anyone has any information on the location of Lady Mal, you must come forward to either myself or the police. "

Mal sighed. He really did care about her so much and now she was making him physically sick with worry. She could never show her face again.

" I will do everything in my power to find my beloved Mal and ensure she is safe. Mal, if by any chance you are watching this please hear me out. We miss you! I miss you so much. Please come home and let us work through this. I love you and always will. Not knowing where you are and if you are okay is killing me. I won't give up on us, Mal. I promise "

Mal sighed. She shut off the television and curled up in a ball on the couch in Ryder's apartment. He was currently out with friends so she had the place to herself. She let herself cry and cry until she felt she had no more tears left in her to weep.

Ben was currently enlisting help from the top security members located in the United States of Auradon. He was going all out in the hopes of finding her. Ben's father had tried to intervene and say he was going to too much effort in finding someone who might not even want to be found or come back. Ben argued and like his mother said to him when he was a child " love is worth fighting for ". This was something that stuck by Ben his entire life and he would fight for Mal until his last dying breath.

He wasn't going to sit back and watch his team do everything for him. He insisted that he would join them personally on his search to find Mal. His royal adviser disagreed with him going but accepted that he couldn't change the young king's mind.

" Map? Keys? " Jay asked the group

" Right here " Carlos said tossing the set of keys to Ben

" Ready? " Evie said

" Let's bring her home " Ben chorused

It wasn't long before the paparazzi spotted the four friends and persecuted them with irrelevant questions.

" King Ben, King Ben, any word on the Lady Mal? " A short blonde female reporter asked

" Unfortunately not but I will let you know when we have an update " Ben sighed sadly as Jay placed a hand on his shoulder in support. Ben was a strong man, he was struggling a lot with this whole situation but he had to keep up a brave front to the public eye. He rarely got a chance to let his guard down.

" Rumours say you and Lady Lynn Davis have started seeing each other. Is there any truth to this? " A male reporter bounced in

This embittered him. How dare they already assume he had moved on. He made a mental note to ask his publicist to analyse the tabloids and ensure nothing has been posted otherwise his lawyer would be in touch. He couldn't imagine how Mal would feel if she thought he had moved on in only a week.

" Completely False. We barely know each other. We are acquaintances at the most. I am off the dating market " Ben clarified

Jay, Carlos and Evie rolled their eyes. They really don't know how Ben or even Mal managed to live like this. Their lives were so public and the media were so invasive. No wonder Mal left. If Mal stayed after the break up they would never hear the end of it.

" How do we know Lady Mal isn't plotting some scheme against us. Mal's mother is Maleficent-" a third reporter chimed in

This comment infuriated Ben. How dare they! Mal could be in danger or hurting mentally and all they could care about is being prejudice towards her. He hated that he was the king. He wished he could just quit and buy and country side house in the middle of nowhere where he and Mal could live together privately and live happily ever after never to worry about the opinions of others again.

" I'll stop you right there. I am well aware of who her mother is. I have been dating her for almost two years. She has proven to us numerous times that she is not her mother. I spare you the details but she suffered a lot with her mother for you to make such atrocious accusations towards her and I won't let a bad word be said about her. Your issue isn't with her! You bunch of hypocrites never speak the same way to the other kids from the isle. You lot are angry because I fell in love with her and not some princess. The sooner you accept that I love her and only her the better you lot will become as people. Before I go, we are not our parents. Everyone deserves another chance and she is better than some of you will ever be. Have a good evening" Ben ranted to the middle aged reporter. How Ben managed to keep his cool and still sound somewhat polite and kingly was a shocker to Jay, Carlos and Evie. Jay was prepared to pounce on the reporter but unfortunately for him, Evie and Carlos held him back.

Ben began to walk off with Jay, Carlos and Evie to the limousine, the reporters were gossiping with one another about Ben's comments.

" Have you considered dating someone more suited to the throne? " One reporter called out

Ben took a deep breath to calm himself down.

" I believe we have answered this. Royalty doesn't determine someone's suitability to the throne. Their personality and character does. Believe me when I say Mal would be the best queen this kingdom would ever see. We are done here " Ben concluded before climbing next to Evie in the limousine.

The group of reporters were left astounded but somewhat in awe at the young king's admiration for this young woman. Young Love was bittersweet and they were living proof of this.