Descendants: Dyad Reborn
Chapter 4: The First Step and Lesson
The morning after Ben's post birthday and Mal's birthday, Ben woke up a little after the sun started to rise in the sky. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He remembered what he received last night and turned around to pull his pillow up. Lying there on his bed were the 2 Kyber crystals, right where he placed them the night before. They glowed in the sunlight that poured from his bedroom window and Ben could feel the power radiating off of them. "I promised to keep them safe," Ben thought to himself. "But I can't keep them under my pillow. The staff will find them easily once someone comes in to get the bedsheets. I could keep them on my person, but how?" Suddenly the Kyber crystals glowed brightly making Ben shield his eyes from the light. When the glow dimmed back down to normal, Ben opened his eyes and saw that the Kyber crystals were now enclosed in a small glass locket that was held by a silver chain. "Well that happened," Ben thought as he picked up the necklace. "Guess my wish was heard. This world can be strange indeed."
Suddenly he heard a knock on his bedroom door and a voice call out, "Prince Ben! Are you awake?" Ben quickly put the necklace on and made sure it was hidden under his pajama shirt before he shouted, "I'm awake!" The door opened and in walked Chip with a smile on his face. "Hey, Chip," Ben greeted. Chip bowed and said, "Good morning, Prince Ben. I came to let you know that your parents are expecting you in your father's study after you finish breakfast." "Are they not joining men for breakfast?" Ben asked. "Unfortunately no," Chip answered. "They have some calls to make beforehand. That's why I'm here." Ben chuckled to himself and said, "Thanks, Chip. I'll throw some clothes on and meet you downstairs in a few minutes." Chip nodded and walked out of Ben's bedroom and closed the door behind him. Ben sighed and got out of bed and walked to his closet. "I have a feeling about what my parents want to talk to me about."
"Then we need to make sure you dress appropriately." Ben turned around and saw Padme standing in the doorway of his closet. "Grandmother Padme," Benn said. "Why do you want to help dress me? I can dress myself." "Maybe," Padme replied. "But if you are going to your father's study to discuss that betrothal contract that you need to break, then you need to look like the prince you are. Trust me, I know all about fashion." Padme then shifted her form and showed off several of her past queen and senator outfits to Ben before shifting back into her usual dress. "Now I know where my mother got her fashion sense from," Ben replied. "But I don't know if I will be able to break the contract this soon. I don't even know what's fully on it." "Then I know you will be smart and patient," Padme said. "But you still need to look the part. Now come on, grandson. Let's get started." Ben sighed as his grandmother started pulling clothes out to see what would look good on him.
Ben walked down to the dining room wearing blue dress pants, a white dress shirt, a blue dress coat, and shiny black shoes. He combed his hair so that there weren't any knots in it. Chip was shocked to see Ben all dressed up and asked, "What's the special occasion?" Ben sighed and said, "You said that my parents are waiting for me in my father's study. I am only ever summoned to his office when something important is about to happen. So I thought I would dress up for it." Chip shrugged and the two boys sat down and ate breakfast. "You seem to have healed rather quickly," Chip commented. "Yea," Ben agreed. "I guess I inherited some beastly traits from my dad." "Well," Chip said. "At least you don't find yourself taking naps on shelves like I do. Spending all those years as a teacup does things to you." Ben chuckled as finished eating and said, "Well, I'm off to see my folks." "Good luck," Chip said as Ben walked to his father's office.
As Ben was walking to his father's office, the Force spirits were in his head trying to give him advice about what to do and what to say. "Keep your chin up," Yoda commented. "Don't show any signs of wavering or anger," Padme added. "He has every right to be angry," Han retorted. "Do you want the kid to marry that spoiled brat?" "But if he shows anger," Leia rebuttaled. "Then his parents might suspect that he knows more than he should. Then they might question why he really ran away two days ago." "Guys!" Ben mentally shouted. "I know what I need to do. Just because my new body is only 7 years old doesn't mean I am that age mentally. I need to plan this out. I need to see the contract to find if there is any escape clause. It's already signed so that would be the only way to get out of it without chaos breaking out. I already know that Audrey and her family will not be happy when I do eventually break it. I need to be smart about this." "Looks like someone was listening to me this morning," Padme commented. Ben got a few seconds of silence when Luke added, "You could always burn it." "Luke!" Leia shouted. "That's what Master Yoda did with the sacred Jedi texts." "Rey took those texts with her before the temple was burned to the ground." "She is correct in that statement," Yoda added. "Whatever the case," Anakin interrupted. "We just need to put our faith in Ben. I know he can do this." Chewie roared in approval. "Thanks," Ben mentally said. "And Ben," Anakin said. "May the Force be with you," all the spirits said as they left his mind in peace.
Ben got to the door of Adam's office and Ben knocked on the door. "Come in, son," Adam called out. Ben took a deep breath and hid his sadness and anger before pushing through the door and entering the study. "Good morning, Ben," Adam greeted. "Have a seat, son." Ben gulped and sat down in a chair opposite his parents. "You look handsome," Belle commented. "All dressed up for this special occasion." "What special occasion?" Ben asked. "Well," Adam said. "You remember all of the playdates that you had with Audrey." Ben nodded as Adam continued, "Well our family and her family noticed that you two were getting along nicely and we talked to each other about it. And we all decided that you two would be a great match." "For what?" Ben asked. "For marriage," Belle answered.
On the inside, Ben felt his rage building up, but he remembered the words of the Force spirits and he kept calm on the outside. He took a deep breath and asked, "Marriage?" His parents nodded and showed him the betrothal contract. "You will be crowned king after your 17th birthday," Adam said. "Then the formal engagement will start a year later after your 18th birthday. After you have graduated high school, then your marriage and Audrey's coronation as queen will occur." Ben stared at the document in front of him, seeing signatures from both families, as he saw two days ago. He looked up at his parents and asked, "Is this what you two wanted to announce at my birthday party?" His parents nodded as Ben continued, "Why wasn't I told of this beforehand?" "We apologize for that," Belle said. "Audrey's family have been insistent about announcing it as soon as we all signed it." "But this is about my future," Ben argued, a little of his anger coming out. "I didn't want to find out at the same time everyone else of Auradon did. That's not fair." "Watch your tone," Adam worried. Ben took some more deep breaths and said, "All I am saying, father, is that I feel like I wasn't taken into account for this. Was Audrey part of the discussions at all?" "No, she wasn't," Belle answered, but then muttered, "But knowing her family they probably filled her in every step of the way." "Whatever the case," Adam said. "This contract has been signed and sealed. Audrey will be the queen of Auradon as you will be king. You two are a great match and hold a bright future for this kingdom. Your union will make Auradon stronger."
"But what if I don't love her?" Ben asked. "Isn't that why you two got married?" Adam sighed while Belle said, "That is why both of the families are giving you two time to get to know each other and fall in love. Audrey's parents had an arranged marriage and they ended up being each other's true loves. And your father and I didn't like each other at first, but then we got to know each other and grew to love each other. So we are giving you two the best of both in this case." "You need to give this a chance, son," Adam declared. "I need to look at this more closely away from their prying eyes," Ben thought. He looked up at his parents and said, "Alright, father. I will give this a chance." "That's my boy," Adam said as Belle smiled at him. Ben added, "Can I borrow this for the day? I want to read it over myself so I can fully understand it." "Of course," Belle answered before Adam could say anything. She wanted her son at least to have a chance to look it over. "Also," Ben said. "I want to wait before we make the public announcement. Just until I have read it over and officially agreed to it. I want to do this properly this time." "Alright," Adam said as he picked up the contract and handed it to Ben. "I want that back here at this time tomorrow." "Yes, sir," Ben said. "Am I dismissed?" Both parents nodded as Ben bowed to them and walked out of the study. "He sounded so formal there," Adam said. "He's just trying to be the prince he needs to be," Belle said. "This probably isn't easy for him to accept right away. Give him time."
Ben got back to his room and went straight to his desk. He placed the contract on it and took off his coat before sitting down. He then read every part of it, several times in fact, to see if there was any way to break it. After a hour of looking over it, he groaned as the Force spirits gathered around him. "Any luck?" Leia asked. Ben shook his head and said, "I have read each inch of this piece of paper for over an hour. It's legally binding. Unless one of us dies, according to what's written, it can't be broken." "There's always a way," Obi-Wan said. "Perhaps it is hidden," Yoda suggested. "Whatever the case," Luke said. "You should take a break. Besides, you need to have your first lesson. Is there anywhere you can train in this castle without being seen?" Ben thought for a moment and said, "There's a training room in the back of the castle that no one really uses. We could try there." "Good," Anakin said. "Now get out of those ridiculous clothes and put something more appropriate on." Padme smacked her husband's head with her hand and said, "Hey! I picked that out for him. Manners!" Ben chuckled and ran into the closet to change into some workout clothes.
Ben got to the training room as Luke, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda appeared before him. "So," Luke said. "Time for your first lesson." "You started this last night when you connected with Mal," Anakin said. "But you need to be able to connect with everything and everyone. Not just the other half of your dyad." "Connected we all are with the Force," Yoda added. "But only you and Mal are the only ones on this world that are sensitive to it," Obi-Wan finished. "You must be very careful with not alerting people to that fact. It could be mistaken for magic and could get you into trouble before your task is complete." "So," Luke concluded. "You need to control your connection to it. You saw how powerful you could be when you reawakened, but even a little loss of control could be your downfall." "OK," Ben said. "I understand. I will be careful."
"Good," Anakin said. "Now sit on the ground like you would for meditation." Ben sat down as instructed as Yoda said, "Close your eyes and clear your mind." Ben closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. "Try what you did in front of Agathe and feel everything around you. But control what you seek out." "Start simple," Luke said. "Find those here in the palace." Ben focused and searched for Chip through the Force. "Did you find someone?" Anakin asked. "Yes," Ben answered. "I found Chip. He's in the kitchen with Mrs. Potts, his mother. He's helping her with prep work for dinner." "Good," Yoda said. "Try another." Ben nodded and found Cogsworth. "It's Cogsworth," Ben said. "And he's arguing with Lumiere again. They always argue about everything." "How about another?" Obi-Wan asked. Ben searched and found his grandfather. "It's Grandpa Maurice," Ben said. "He's tinkering with his inventions again. He's always doing that."
"Now to take it up a step," Luke said. "Go beyond the barriers of this castle. Look for someone far away from here." Ben concentrated and went to the kingdom of Auroria. He found Audrey playing dress up in her room pretending to be Queen of Auradon. Ben almost gagged at the sight which made Anakin chuckle and ask, "Something you didn't want to see?" "Audrey," Ben answered with an annoyed tone. "I had a feeling that she already knew about the betrothal. She was the one who made up those lies to her family about how great we get along. She just wants all of the attention. Typical." He concentrated and found Audrey's parents and grandmother drinking tea together with Queen Leah asking, "When is this betrothal going to be announced? Our legacy is at stake here." "Mother," Aurora warned her mother. "We have to wait until the king and queen decide it's time," Phillip answered. "Ben is still recuperating from his injuries. They will let us know when they want to reschedule the announcement." Queen Leah huffed and said, "That shouldn't matter. When our two families decided to betroth the both of you, we announced to the kingdom the same day as Aurora's presentation. Whatever the case, this is our chance to be on the throne of Auradon. Like you two should have been." "Mother!" Aurora warned. "Adam and Belle were voted by the council. You have to accept that." "But Audrey is our way to it," Queen Leah retorted. "She will make sure that the boy won't go soft. Those two are the new generation that will make this kingdom thrive more than it has. And maybe instead of keeping that Isle of the Lost, they will have it and everyone on it destroyed like the king and queen should have done!"
Ben gasped as he opened his eyes as Obi-Wan asked. "What happened? What did you see?" "Audrey's family," Ben answered. "Specifically her grandmother, Queen Leah. She is jealous that King Phillip and Queen Aurora weren't chosen 10 years ago to be the King and Queen of Auradon. She sees Audrey as her chance for her family to have the throne. And she's trying to get her daughter and son in law on her side, which might be working. She wants Audrey to keep me under control and possibly have the Isle destroyed. I can't let that happen!" Ben's anger spiked and it broke one of the overhead lights, causing glass from the lightbulb to crash onto the floor." "Calm yourself, young Skywalker," Yoda said. "Don't give in to the Dark side. Stay in the Grey as you should."
Ben nodded and took some deep breaths and said, "I want to see one last place. The Isle of the Lost. I need to know what is happening there." The four Force spirits looked at each other and then at Ben with Luke saying, "Alright. Just be prepared for seeing things that may upset you." Ben nodded and closed his eyes and took some deep breaths. He concentrated his mind to the Isle of the Lost. He was worried about meeting resistance since he remembered Agathe's words about the shield limiting how much of the Force goes in, but after a couple tries, he got through. But what he saw broke his heart. He saw people dressed in rags walking around the streets, eating rotten food which almost made Ben gag. He saw people ganging up on those who were weaker than them and beating them up. Worst of all, was all of the children he saw suffering, especially those who had famous villains for parents. The blue-haired girl he remembered from his visions of Mal sitting in a dark castle all alone with only her beauty-crazed mother for company. A black and white hair boy having to do so many chores for his fur obsessed mother and sleeping in a closet full of bear traps, all cold and alone. And seeing a boy wearing a beanie being forced to steal for his father's shop.
When Ben opened his eyes, tears started to leak down his face. He looked up at the four Force spirits and cried, "It was horrible. The conditions they live in, what people do to those who are weak. And all of those innocent children. They are all suffering." He pulled his legs up and sobbed into them. Luke knelt down and said, "That is why you need to do this, Ben. Those children are suffering for crimes they did not commit. They need to have a better life. You are the one along with Mal to help bring balance back to this world. Freeing those on the Isle is one giant part of it. The people of Auradon fear those who are different than themselves, whether it's those who have done evil deeds to those who have powers beyond anyone else. You can help restore the balance that this world lost. Have faith in the Force. Have faith in yourself." Ben nodded and hugged his uncle, which surprised him remembering the two's not so great past with each other. "That should conclude today's lesson," Obi-Wan said. "Many hours have you used without your knowledge," Yoda said. Ben looked up at the clock and Yoda was right. It was almost dinner time. "Go on," Anakin said. "You deserve a break." Ben nodded as the spirits disappeared back into his body and walked out of the room.
Ben sat through dinner mostly quiet and he really did not eat a lot which concerned his parents. When asked, Ben lied and said that he had a big breakfast with Chip that morning and he was tired. He dismissed himself back to his room for the rest of the night. Adam and Belle looked at each other worriedly about their son, but decided that he needed some space after what happened that morning and said that they will talk to him tomorrow when he returned the betrothal contract. Ben got back to his room and put his pajamas on and climbed into bed. He looked at his desk where the betrothal contract was and sighed, "How am I going to break that?" Ben laid down in bed and closing his eyes, a tear escaping from one as he fell asleep.
A little after midnight, a light appeared in Ben's room. When it dimmed back down, Agathe appeared at the foot of Ben's bed. She looked down on the sleeping prince and said, "Awaken, young Skywalker." Ben shot up and looked around, seeing Agathe standing at the end of his bed. "Hello, Agathe," Ben greeted. "What are you doing here?" Agathe giggled and said, "I did say I would come to you soon." "In the middle of the night?" Ben asked. "Why not?" Agathe retorted. "Everyone else is asleep. Prefect timing. Besides, there were some things I wanted to discuss with you that could not wait any longer." Ben yawned and gave his whole attention to the Enchantress and said, "Alright. Tell me what I need to know."
"First off," Agathe said. "Do you like the necklace I made you?" Ben looked down at the necklace containing the two Kyber crystals then looked back up at Agathe and asked, "This was you?" Agathe nodded and said, "I heard your wish of wanting a better way to hide them. And I listened." "Thank you," Ben said. Agathe smiled and said, "I am always watching, young prince. Now, I know that your parents spoke to you about your betrothal officially to Princess Audrey. You have the contract in your person?" Ben nodded but before he could get up and grab it for her, Agathe raised her hand and the contract magically appeared in it. "Wanted to save you the trouble," Agathe reasoned. "Now, I assume you have looked over each inch of this?" Ben nodded sadly and said, "It's legally binding. There is no way I can break it." "Under normal circumstances, no," Agathe said. "But do you see this blank section between the last paragraph and the signatures? It's blank because there is actually a secret writing there. Writing that many people don't realize is part of every kind of contract there is. Not even your family or Audrey's family know of it." "What writing?" Ben asked. "Normally it won't become visible until the correct time," Agathe said. "But if you hold this under moonlight…"
Just as she said that, the clouds parted and the moon shone down through Ben's bedroom window right onto the contract and suddenly new words glowed on the paper shining like the moonlight. "Wow," Ben said. Agathe nodded and read, "However, if either of the betrothed find their true love and declare their love for them, their other declaring it as well, and sealing it with a kiss of true love, then this contract will become void and the betrothal will be broken." Ben's eyes widened and said, "An escape clause. I knew there might be one. So there is a way to break it? I can truly be with Rey….Mal?" Agathe nodded and said, "No one can challenge the act of true love unless they are ready for the consequences for it. If any part of this writing happens, then it becomes visible to everyone." "So even me declaring my love for her will make it appear?" Ben asked. "Then I can do it now or even right when I bring her over here." "Not quite, young prince," Agathe said. "You cannot rush these things. Your mind may be ready to say it, but will your heart? You may remember your life with her before, and have visions of her, but you must see the real her when she is standing in front of you, get to know who she is, both her light and her dark, like she must with you. Your heart will let you know along with the Force when the time is right to declare your love for her. And you must not rush it with her to say it and force a true love's kiss. Don't mess with matters of the heart, young Skywalker." Ben thought about it for a moment and realized that Agathe was right. His mind thought himself ready, but his heart didn't. He needed to do this the proper way, meet her face to face and learn more about her in this new life. He never really experienced true love in his last life because of this strained relationship with his family back then and he remembered he was more obsessed with Mal when she was Rey and only started to feel real love right for her at the end of his last life. He already had a connection with her; this time, he wanted to develop something better than he did before. He looked at Agathe and said, "You're right. I shouldn't rush this. I will do this properly. I will work on trying to develop this crush into love. And I won't force it." Agathe smiled and said, "Good choice."
"Now," Agathe said. "Back to your necklace. I added a little magic to it that might be useful to you. I saw that you started to train today. That is good, but you need a more secret location. So I developed a place for you. All you need to do is focus on your Kyber crystals and think about what you want to do. Then an door will appear which will lead you to your new secret hideout. Go ahead." Ben nodded and held onto his necklace. He focused on what Agathe told him and suddenly a magical door appeared in front of him. Agathe silently encouraged him to go through the door and Ben did. On the other side of the door was an expansive empty chamber ready to be filled with whatever Ben wanted. "This is all yours," Agathe said. "I created this chamber to give you whatever you request to be in here. You just have to call on the Force and it will be done. Go ahead. Try it." Ben thought for a moment then closed his eyes making his wish. Suddenly the chamber started to fill itself with different pieces of furniture, a workout area, a scientific lab wit many computers, and, to the shock of himself, the Millennium Falcon, just as he remembered it. He could hear his dad in his head cheering at the top of his lungs about the Millennium Falcon returning along with Chewbacca roaring with excitement. Agathe stared at the ship and asked, "What is that contraption?" "My dad's spaceship," Ben said. "I'm surprised I thought of that given the fact that I tried so hard to shoot that ship out of the sky when I was Kylo Ren.
"Greetings, strangers," Ben tensed at the voice and turned to see C-3PO standing a few feet away with R2-D2 by his said beeping away. "I am not sure how we got to this place, but we are here to help. I am C…" "3PO?" Ben finished. "And R2-D2. I haven't seen you two in a long time. I didn't realize that I wanted this many parts of my old life back. I thought only inanimate objects could be all this room could give me. I guess robots and androids count. I know you two don't recognize me, but I'm Ben." "Master Ben?" C-3PO asked. "Master Han and Mistress Leia's boy? But you can't be. He looked entirely different and became Kylo Ren." "It's a long story, 3PO," Ben said. "But I am Master Ben. R2 seems to recognize me." R2-D2 was a little tense at first, but then zoomed forward and warmly greeted the young prince with a few beeps.
"So," Agathe said. "You wished for things that remind you of your old life, I see." "I guess so," Ben said. "I wanted to remind myself of who I was, both good and bad. It is a part of me whether I like it or not. I may be Prince Ben of Auradon now, but I also am Ben Solo and Kylo Ren. I need to embrace everything that I am. Plus, sometimes I have wished to have some things that I did back in my first life. Some of the things of this world are still puzzling to me. Like why aren't there any spaceships?" Agathe laughed and said, "I guess your past seemed more futuristic than the future actually is. It amuses me. So do you like it?" "I love it," Ben said. "Thank you, Agathe. I will cherish this always." "I am glad," Agathe said. "You can always expand it whenever you want to. Now, it is getting late. You need to get back to bed and get some sleep." Ben nodded and Ben waved goodbyes to the two robots and walked through the door with Agathe back to his room, the door disappearing after they walked through.
Ben turned to Agathe and said, "So I guess tomorrow I will give that contract back to my parents and pretend to go through this betrothal with Audrey. But I don't want to have a big public announcement. I saw what Audrey's family said and why they are pushing this. And I saw what is happening on the Isle of the Lost. I want to be in charge of my future. Starting with how this contract will be handled. I want to do this under my own terms, without anyone figuring out what my plans are, but I don't know how. Do you have any suggestions?" Agathe smirked and said, "I may have an idea or two…"
