The sequel is here! I hope you enjoy it, was truly a labor of love and I am very proud of this fic. The third one will no doubt take me many more months, but I intend to write that one as well. For now, enjoy the sequel to What if the Fates Were Reversed?


Chapter One: So Many Ways to be Good

Ben stood before a steaming cauldron, looking at his three best friends in the world. Chad, the son of Cinderella and Prince Charming, with his blond curls and powder blue blazer, stood across from him. On his right was Audrey, daughter of Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip, wearing a pink lace dress with a collar reminiscent of her mother's ball gown and a sparkling tiara. Jane stood on his left, waving her mother's white and silver wand over the cauldron, her gingham dress edged with lace and pink bows.

Ben reached into the cauldron and pulled a red rose from the brew. He breathed in its perfume and smiled brightly at his friends.

"Let's give Auradon a taste of Good," he laughed.

Jane, with her other hand, lifted her mother's silvery spell book. "Heroic ways, beneath the skin, let all who smell it now join in!"

The four of them laughed and clapped over the cauldron, plucking roses from the potion and running off with them.

Ben and Jane ran through the halls of Auradon Prep, a monstrous school for the children of infamous villains, with dark hallways lit with green flaming wall sconces and inky black lockers. Jane laughed as she flung rose petals into the air, beaming as she spun around and watched their wicked classmates breathe in the perfume. Ben slammed the lockers shut before stopping at Carlos who was glaring at them. He handed the son of Cruella a rose and watched him inhale the scent before Carlos suddenly smiled brightly. He offered a regal bow before heading off through the halls, humming and skipping.

Jane ran up to Ben, rose petals sitting softly in her dark curls. She took his arm, and they went deeper into the halls, petals floating behind them.

Chad was outside on one of the lawns where Jay, Harry, and Gil normally hung out with the other rough-and-tough villain boys. They laughed at him as he sprinkled the roses, but their evil smiles faded when they smelled the flowers. Overcome, they stood straighter and picked up the trash they'd been littering.

Audrey pranced into a classroom of studying villains, placing a rose on Lady Tremaine's podium as she wrote on the chalkboard. She winked at the other students, finger to her lip, before slipping into a seat in the front row. They all watched as the Headmistress turned back, brought the flower to her nose…

And smiled for the first time in her life. The students politely clapped with joy. Dizzy, who was sitting next to Audrey, pulled off a leather jacket to reveal her green tulle dress underneath, reminiscent of a ballgown. Audrey placed her own tiara atop the young girl's head.

Audrey and Jane handed out roses at lunch where people were piling food onto their trays. Audrey waved with her fingers as Celia took one.

The halls of Auradon were transformed. Students were suddenly helping each other over puddles, smiling brightly and bowing and curtsying to everyone. Ben walked through the halls, beaming at the amount of people who greeted him pleasantly.

He made his way outside, to the empty flagpole. He tied on a blue rectangle of silk with a golden beast head wearing a crown and began to raise it.

Audrey was leading classes on poise, serving tea to the people who had laughed at her for wearing pink once upon a time.

Jane waved her wand and transformed the halls of Auradon into a building of white marble and warm wood paneling.

Chad beamed at everyone outside who was planting flowers and returning stolen property.

Everyone headed outside, under the sun that was breaking through the clouds for the first time in Auradon. Ben suddenly spotted Mal across the crowds, the only one not yet changed.

He pulled out his last rose, kissed the petals, tossed it….

And he opened his eyes to camera's flashing in his face.

"Ben!"

"Ben!"

"Ben!"

The reporters were calling over each other, desperate for him to respond. They had backed him against the statue of Maleficent in front of the dark Auradon Prep, as other evil students milled around the grounds, not shy about hiding their stares. Most were envious of him, some admired him. All were confused by him.

"Only three days until the Royal Cotillion."

"Did you ever think a boy like you would be a Sir of the court?"

Ben glanced to the side and saw Mal, queen of Auradon, walking towards them, fingers trailing on black roses lining the outdoor path. She wore her customary purple leather jacket and tight dragon scale leather pants. Her purple hair was lighter now, and longer, pin straight. She kept asking Audrey about bangs.

Ben was dressed similarly in dark blue leather with gold studded lapels and pants with too many zippers. A navy beanie covered his head, and his brown bangs were tipped blue.

"How does it feel to be the most envied boy in Auradon?"

"Do you like your new blue hair?"

"Are your parents still imprisoned?"

Ben flinched, his eyes drawn back to the reporters.

"That's enough!" Mal snapped, strutting through the crowd of reporters. They parted for her, eyeing her golden circlet that glittered with purple gems. "The heroes of the past are to be forgotten, remember? We are in a new age of Evil, a prospering age."

Her hand slipped into Ben's, as easy as ever. She squeezed tight and he recognized the glint in her eye. Daring the reporters to challenge her. He normally felt comforted when he saw it because it meant she would take care of whatever crisis they were dealing with at the moment. But lately he'd been wondering why he neededall the saving.

"Did you ever think you'd be with a hero's kid?" A microphone was shoved into Mal's face.

She leaned forward, a wolfish grin on her face as her eyes glowed green. "We're done here."

Cameras kept flashing until a sharp crash was heard behind them. The reporters turned as one to see Lady Tremaine behind them, headmistress of the school, tapping her cane behind them. "This is a school. If you are here, you are either skipping or trespassing."

Under her hawkish gaze and the anger of their queen, the reporters quickly scuttled away, back to their news vans parked just outside the school gates.

Lady Tremaine nodded at the couple, a ghost of a smirk pulling at her lips. "Your Majesty. Ben."

As she walked away, Ben fell back against the statue, his arm swinging around Mal's waist. She laughed at his exhaustion and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"That was fun," Ben remarked, rolling his eyes. Once his mother had once glared at his every sarcastic remark but here, he was allowed to say them whenever he wished.

"Don't pay any attention to them," Mal recommended.

"That's a lot easier said than done." He tried to veil his frustration with a laugh, but it fell flat. "Maybe we should do something, get away."

"Yes!" Mal exclaimed, bouncing on her toes. She loved breaking rules. "I can cancel my meeting with the Agrabah delegates and-"

Ben's other arm was suddenly yanked back, and he stumbled away from Mal.

Audrey, his childhood friend clad in a pink and black leather ensemble that left little to the imagination, was glaring at him, tugging hard. "If we don't do a fitting for your suit right this minute, you'll be dancing in your pajamas! Hi, Mal. Let's go!"

Ben stepped back with Audrey and waved sadly at Mal. "Bye."

"Bye." She waved with her fingertips, her circlet a little crooked on her head, but not any less regal. Ben watched students swarm over to her, trying to gain favor, as Audrey dragged him into the dark dorm wing.


A mouse scuttled around a plastic box on Jane's desk, climbing out of a mini silvery pumpkin and over to its water dish.

How far the Fairy Godmother had fallen.

Ben related to the trapped mouse as Audrey yanked his shoulders back while he stood on the platform at the center of the room. Her side was overflowing with fabric and accessories, and she darted around Ben in his unfinished purple and black suit with pins in her mouth.

She tugged his jacket around him tighter, snapping it shut. Ben felt his lungs nearly burst.

"Audrey, I can't breathe," he gasped out, swaying slightly as she marked where to hem his pants.

"You can breathe after the Cotillion," she shot back, nearly stabbing his ankle with a pin.

"I sincerely doubt that." Ben tugged on his jacket that was embellished with shiny leather like dragon scales. To match his new lady, no doubt. "There's at least twenty more events right behind it and I can't remember what a single one is."

Audrey stepped back and swooned over the expertly crafted pants, trimmed with green on the sides and fitted perfectly.

Ben's eyes drifted over the room, towards Audrey's open closet. He could see an unmade pink lace dress she'd been working on for the coronation nearly six months ago before she'd abandoned it for something more wicked.

The sight filled him with nostalgia and something else. Something like longing.

"Hey Audrey? Do you ever think about what we'd be doing if we were back on the Isle right now?"

Audrey huffed out a dry laugh. "That's funny."

An echo of trumpets suddenly spilled from the TV embedded in the girls' dorm room wall and Audrey turned, her dark brown curls tumbling behind her. "Ah! Look who's on TV!"

Ben fought the urge to roll his eyes as Audrey turned it up.

The screen was filled with an image of him and Mal in traditional Agrabah clothing sitting at low tables, eating dinner with Jafar. He almost didn't recognize himself and that dark grin.

"As the royal couple continues their tour of the kingdom, they dined with Sultan Jafar," a return announced as the camera zoomed in on Ben wincing at spicy curry and guzzling his whole glass of water.

Ben, taking advantage of the distraction, slipped off the platform and slumped onto Audrey's bed. It was the only hallmark of their old life, with a pink quilt and lace edging her bed skirt.

"Six months ago, no one thought Queen Mal and her boyfriend from the right side of the bridge would last."

Ben lost his battle and rolled his eyes so hard they almost hurt. "Big shocker."

The image switched to Ben, alone, walking through a crowd of reporters, glaring at the lot of them. He looked bad, wicked…evil.

"Ben must be counting the days until the Royal Cotillion when he will become a true Sir of the court."

He suddenly jumped, remembering a looming homework assignment. The TV blabbered on as Ben pulled out a history textbook and started scanning the highlighted sections. Flash cards spilled out of his bag, full of spells and vocab words and a million other things. Audrey glanced back at the mess that he was hastily picking up.

"I know Ben's secret," she said in a sing-song voice as he zipped up his bag. "And Mal wouldn't like it one bit. Haven't you learned anything from being here?"

Ben glared at his oldest friend over his textbook. "I can do it myself. I don't need anyone's help."

Audrey put her hands on her hips and lifted an eyebrow. "Everyone here uses anything to help themselves. Mal gave you those speed-reading potions for a reason. Have you even used one?"

"I never needed those before, and I certainly don't need them now." He jumped as Audrey yanked his book out of his hand, feeling his temper rising. "We chose to stay here, Audrey. And now I have to prove to Mal, to everyone, that it was the right choice."

"No one cares about the right choice here!" Audrey exclaimed, dropping his book into his backpack. "That's why cheating is encouraged. Remember what Lady Tremaine said? 'A good villain uses all their resources.'"

Ben shrugged, tugging on his bangs. "You don't ever…miss helping others and helping people in need?"

"Giving everything just to prove ourselves?"

Ben almost ached to be given such a chance again. "Yeah!"

"No!"

"What?" Was he seriously the only one?

Audrey grabbed his arm and dragged him up off the bed. "Why would we? Ben, come on, look at where we are. We're in Auradon! We can have whatever we want! We're Auradon kids now."

She pulled him up to the TV where he saw a shot of him and Mal walking through a crowd of children. Mal was letting them play with fire from her palms while Ben was beaming behind her.

"Queen Mal was wonderful with the children and is even offering scholarship programs to top villain schools to give all equal opportunity for greatness. She claims Ben inspired the idea."

His fingers curled around the wooden table he was standing in front of.

"See?" Audrey insisted. "This is the land of opportunity. We can be whatever we want to be here. We're free! So please-"

Ben jumped at the once familiar word. He hadn't heard it in six months. His eyes rose to meet Audrey who was begging with her eyes.

"Let's just leave the past in the past."

Ben offered a small nod as Audrey shrugged off her serious mood.

"Besides, I have so many gowns to make and so little time!" she exclaimed, picking up her checklist. Ben, meanwhile, stared at the TV and wondered if he would ever feel at home.