Hey guys, welcome back to this series. I know you probably didn't expect an update so soon, but I have been trying to get better at managing my stories. I'm not promising that you will get the next update quickly as well, but the intention is there. Thank you for being patient with me, and I hope these next few chapters have been worth waiting for. Much love, RSD xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo.

As I slowly opened my eyes as sleep started to evade me, I couldn't help but purse my lips together at the sight that was before me – the other side of the bed empty. My eyes instantly went to my phone, and I couldn't help a large smile spread across my face when I saw that Ben was still asleep. I felt a warm burning feeling in the pit of my stomach as I continued to listen to his growling in his sleep; and I had to take a couple of deep breaths to steady myself. I still couldn't believe that even after all this time he was mine, even with everything that we had been through. Ben has been and always would be worth it; and we both knew that we could get through anything as long as we had each other.

I watched as Ben moved in his sleep and the screen cut off which told me when he moved in his sleep, he must have knocked the phone and ended our call. Even though I wanted to watch him a little bit longer I told myself that it wouldn't be much longer before I saw him in person. However, I did make the mental note to try and steal a long cuddle from him when I saw him, which I don't think Ben would ever refuse.

Now that the room filled into silence I rolled onto my back, and I started to stare at the ceiling, and I started to take in mine and Ben's current situation. I knew that not being able to have any time alone was going to be hard for us; I wasn't just talking about being intimate with Ben. It also meant that every single word we said to each other was going to be watched and listened to. Of course, I didn't hold anything against Adam or Belle, they were just trying to protect me and Ben. But this didn't make it any easier to handle.

My mind then started to think about how me and Ben were going to be able to manage if we had to be under this proposition until our wedding day. It was bad enough just a few days in! And even though I didn't want to get too comfortable about not having any alone time with my fiancé; but I also wanted to mentally prepare myself in case this was going to be the case. I hoped that Adam and Ben were going to find a way out of this; but there were still some old and very traditional laws in place in Auradon that I didn't understand or probably even knew about. I had confidence that they would do everything in their power to try and get me and Ben out of this situation, but I still didn't want to get ahead of myself. Especially given Leah's smug reaction to me and Ben confronting her on this told me that it wasn't going to be as easy to get out of this.

When my mind landed on Leah, I couldn't help but grimace as I started to relieve our conversation in my mind. I really couldn't believe that she would spit at me and strike me like that! I knew she hated me; but it caught me completely off guard for her to be so open about it and in front of people. There was a time when I had hoped that we could form some form of relationship, yes it would be strained but we could still be civil. Now I knew that this was never going to be the case - especially after what had happened at Beauty Castle.

Yes, I understood why she hated me so much, she was not only scorned by my mother but my father also. And I must be a painful reminder of that. Yes, I get that but surely, she had to see that I had nothing to do with anything that my parents had done to her. I was trying to live my own life in Auradon, and I hadn't shown even a small slither of malice towards her until a few days ago. My intention moving forward was not to repeat my actions at Beauty Castle but knowing Leah she was going to try and push to show others my angry side. But I would not let her succeed; and the best revenge for her and every member of that stupid order was to live a long and happy life with Ben - something of which I was very happy to do. The main reason for this wasn't for revenge, I wanted to live a long and happy life with Ben. He was my soul mate; and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him - no matter what anyone thought.

I still couldn't get over the extremes that Leah and her order was willing to go to make sure that I wasn't with Ben. They wanted me dead! In fact, they wanted the whole population of the Isle dead! It wasn't enough to tear me and Ben apart; they had to make sure that there was no possible chance that Ben could never get me back. It made me sick to my stomach - they were meant to be heroes! They would even put some of the villains on the Isle to shame; but I think this would mainly be down to the fact that most of the Isle just wanted a quiet life.

My mind started to spitefully show me what could have happened, and I had to quickly push this away. Losing Ben was always going to be a fear of mine; and I think that I had spent too much time fixating on what could have been as it is. It would not do me any good to fixate on this any longer; I had to try and move on from this - even though it was very difficult to do.

To help my mind move on I then started to think about what happened after my confrontation with Leah. I knew that there was a chance that I could change into a Dragon. It was something that my mother had become well known for, that and putting Aurora to sleep. Now that it happened, I had mixed feelings about it.

First of all, I didn't want it to get out if the press or the Kingdom found out that I could turn into a Dragon. This might change their opinion on me. I didn't want to be evil! I had fought this battle since coming to Auradon; and I would be damned if letting this secret out would undo all the hard work that I have done. I also didn't want this to affect Ben in any way, he had enough stick in the past about my evil history - something I felt bad for. Yes, I know I have done a lot of evil things in the past, but I was brought up that way. I believe that this was the right way at the time, this is what my mother had taught me. But I know it's different now! I wanted to be good; and it was at times like this when I hated parts of myself.

The reason why I liked the fact that I could change into a Dragon was the fact I liked the fact that me and Ben had even more of a special bond, given that we were both shapeshifters. It made me feel even closer to him as I understand more now. I felt like I understood a lot before, but I now knew how he felt. Yes, it was a dangerous thing to change, but as we both understood how it felt we also understood what it meant for each other. I guessed this is why we wanted to be around each other in our other forms, we trusted each other that much, which meant a great deal to the pair of us.

When my mind landed onto Ben, I then started to think about what had happened at the Enchanted Lake. I loved everything that had happened between me and Ben, yes it was 'forbidden' but I found that this was stupid. Me and Ben had been together three and a half years now, everything that the order was trying to prevent had already happened. Yes, me and Ben made love twice there but him just holding me as I cried in his arms was just as important. It was his arms that I needed wrapped around me, it was his lips that I needed to his and it was his voice that I needed in that moment to get me through my turmoil. And the fact that we were able to steal a few private hours together meant a great deal to me, as I knew it was for Ben. He would have hated the fact that he wasn't able to be there for me as he would have liked. If we weren't afforded the time that we shared at the Enchanted Lake I did know that we would have still talked, however it would have been under the watchful eye of his parents. Yes, this still would have helped the pair of us, but I don't think that it would have been as effective.

I really didn't know how to feel about my accident, in hindsight I probably should have known better than to reach for Ben's crown given the amount of magic that was still running through me at that point. But at the time I didn't think it would be an issue, this was something that I was going to try and keep in the forefront of my mind in similar circumstances - as I knew that it probably wouldn't be long before it happened again, given mine and Ben's luck for finding trouble. And even though my accident was still a big deal, what came from it shocked me even further.

What shocked me first of all when I woke up was to see my father standing in front of me. I will admit that there was even a split second in which I had to question whether I was in Auradon, but this quickly passed when I saw my family surrounding me. As soon as my eyes locked with my father, I was filled with confusion at why he was there. But the next thought was that he obviously had to use his ember and magic to help me out of my situation. I felt that this would only help our relationship, even though I knew deep down it was probably to help him live in Auradon. I didn't know how this would work but if it was going to work I knew that Ben would find a way.

A smile then spread across my face when I started to think about how Evie is in fact my half-sister. It didn't change anything between me and Evie, when me, Evie, Jay, and Carlos have treated each other like brothers and sisters for years now. But I felt even closer to Evie now, and I fully believed that our bond would only get stronger over time.

I didn't know what I was going to do about Hadie though, part of me wanted to invite him to live in Auradon. But due to the fact that my father said that Hadie resented the fact that I was now in fact his heir and not Hadie I didn't know what Hadie may do when he comes to Auradon. I think that there is going to have to be a lot of mediation for the pair of them before they could come to Auradon. Especially between my father and Zeus, I didn't know whether Zeus would feel like he could trust my father and brother coming to Auradon. This is something that me and Ben would have to put onto Zeus in the next meeting alone with his family. A meeting of which I think is going to be very difficult for everyone involved.

This then made me start to wonder whether this is something that could happen before mine and Ben's wedding. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I could have my parents at my wedding, yes, I knew my mother would never come. And in all honesty, I didn't want her to, she was still bitter about what happened at Ben's coronation so I knew that she would probably try to find a way to spoil our special day. But if I couldn't have my mother, then I guess it would be cool to have my father and brother - if they wanted to come, I guess. However, things would have to be put in place, they both would probably have to be magically bound - another thing that me and Ben would have to discuss in great detail before any decisions are made.

My mind then started to wander onto the conversation about our wedding last night and I couldn't stop a large grin spread across my face. Yes, admittedly, it did feel strange to think about mine and Ben's wedding. But in all honesty, I knew that it was coming at some point; marrying Ben was always something that I knew that I had to do. But I didn't mind; he was my soul mate, and I didn't want anyone else. I never have; and I knew that I never would. Ben was the only one for me, he taught me how to love. In fact, he taught me how to love him; and I couldn't imagine being with anyone else.

I then started to get excited at the prospect of planning our wedding and when I looked over to my bedside cabinet, I saw two sketching pads. I slowly sat up in bed and readjusted my pillows and slid back so I was resting against my headboard. I then reached over for the sketch pad that I hadn't gotten around to use yet. I then reached over and took out my pencil case and quickly pulled out a pencil before setting my pencil case down on my left-hand side. I then started to write down what me and Ben decided last night, and I continued with some other elements that I wanted to speak to Ben about later. And when I was finished, I couldn't help but smile at what I had wrote down:

Groom: Ben

Bride: Me

Maid of Honour: Evie

Best Man: Az/Chad

Groomsmen: Jay, Carlos, and Doug

Father of the Groom: Adam

Mother of the Groom: Belle

Father of the Bride: Hades (Unsure whether can attend)

Mother of the Bride: Maleficent (Not attending)

Other guests (friends and family:

Lonnie, Anxelin, Audrey, Chad, Jordan, Freddie, Ruby, Ally, Dizzy, Celia

Council members and their families (Numbers to be confirmed)

Colour scheme: Purple/Blue/Green/Gold

First Dance Music:

Wedding Dress: Evie

Wedding Party: To discuss with Evie

Food: To be discussed

Wedding Venue: Auradon Cathedral

Reception Venue: Auradon Castle & grounds

Honeymoon: To be discussed

Wedding Ring: To be discussed

As I looked at what I had written down I smiled as I started to imagine how me, and Ben would like to have our wedding day. Yes, there were other things that needed to be added but I think that it was a good start. At least we had something already sorted; it did hurt me to write 'not attending' next to my mother's name. But I knew that this was never going to be a good idea; so, with this thought in mind I quickly pushed this away and started to wonder about my wedding dress. I didn't know what Evie had planned for it, but I knew it was going to be amazing. Every outfit and dress that Evie had produced was perfect; and I knew that my wedding dress wasn't going to be any different. I knew that she would try and make it special; and I knew she would succeed – but I was so excited to see my dress for the first time.

After looking at my sketch book for a short while in silence I set my sketching pad back on top of the other one before placing my pencil back in its case. I then placed it on top of both of my sketching pads and I readjusted my pillows again and I lay down and pulled my covers over me. I snuggled into my pillows, and I sighed; I didn't know if I was going to get any more sleep, so I thought I better just rest.

As I started to relish being under the warmth of my bed covers, I couldn't help but note how much had happened since we had left college. When I started to think about the tour, I heard Ben's voice echo in my mind:

"Our tour Mally, not just mine"

A large grin spread across my face as I chuckled to myself when Ben's face came to the forefront of my mind. I really couldn't wait to see him; I know it was only a matter of hours ago when I last saw him. But all I wanted right now was to be in his arms cuddled into him; I sighed in frustration at mine and Ben's current situation. I knew that fixating on this probably was only going to make me worse; but I also knew that I wasn't going to be able to not think about anything else until this was sorted. And I don't know what was going to come first, Ben getting rid of this proposition or our wedding day. But either way I was going to do everything in my power to support him through this as he needed me just as much as I needed him.