Hello again. This chapter is a bit different than others because I wrote about different events that happened over nine or ten years so that I can go ahead and start adapting the first Descendants movie next chapter. So when you see a line of dots, that means a new event is happening. Hopefully that makes sense.

Also the song (yes there will be songs in here, like in the movies) that Ben sings at the end of this chapter is from Rodger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella called Loneliness of Evening and I felt that was fitting for Ben. I don't own the song btw.

Enjoy!

The next nine to ten years flew by for Ben. His elementary years went smoothly as Ben grew up. Though he was forced to hang out with Audrey every now and then, he still enjoyed time with what he considered as his "real" friends, mainly Doug, Jane, and Lonnie. Audrey and her cliche of friends would scoff at that, but Ben didn't care. He was just happy that he had friends at all compared to his original life. Even though the news of his betrothal to Audrey spread through the school and Ben knew that Audrey had something to do with it, Ben's friends supported him through anything, since they weren't fans of the princess. Ben's middle school experience was a little awkward because that's when school dances started and he was forced to go with Audrey. His personal friend group remained strong, even though Ben's parents were pushing him into sports so he could make friends with the other princes, and Ben had no interest in sports but had no choice in the matter. He excelled at both Tourney and especially Swords and Shields. He was made captain of both by the time he entered high school at Auradon Prep. Jane was starting to become self conscious of herself as she felt different to the other girls. Lonnie tried to tell her that she was fine the way she was, but Jane still had doubts. Ben and Doug tried to help as well but they weren't girls so they couldn't relate.

...

Having Chewie around in a more physical sense was great for Ben to say the least. Sure it took Chewie a while to get used to being a dog, but he really didn't have much of a choice. Ben always tried to get him outside to get exercise and train. He did become more of a guard dog as Chewie was very protective of Ben. He could sense if Ben was becoming distressed or upset and would step in to either cheer up Ben or make whoever was making Ben upset back off. His main target was always Audrey, to the point that whenever Audrey came over for a meeting with Ben, Chewie had to be locked in Ben's room. But the dog would always find a way to sneak out to keep an eye on the young prince. When Ben went to Auradon Prep, because it was a boarding school, Ben had to be away from the castle but was allowed to bring Chewie with him. There was a campus mutt named Dude that wandered around and always wanted to play with Chewie. Ben found it amusing because Dude was a lot smaller compared to Chewie but Chewie eventually relented and hung out with Dude so he wouldn't get bored when Ben was in classes, even started protecting the little dog himself.

...

Fully adjusting to this world was interesting to say the least. Sure he had seven years before his memories returned where he was fine with everything of this world, he was just a kid after all, but when he was reawakened, he had to readjust to everything and see this world for what it was. There were things he was familiar with like cellphones, the Internet, and computers, since those were somewhat similar to what he had in his original life. But there were other things that Ben found confusing. One, the vehicles weren't high tech like he was used to, heck the Millennium Falcon that was hiding away in his secret room was the most high tech vehicle he'd seen in this entire place and that spaceship was still a piece of junk, although Han and Chewie thought otherwise. The other weird thing was that sometimes people would just break out into song for no apparent reason, at least according to him. Sometimes it was just one or two people singing about what was on their minds, but there were one or two occurrences where he saw a big dance break out, then afterwards people went on their merry ways. He asked Agathe about it, who giggled and said, "It's just something that happens in this world from time to time. It's normal for everyone here. You just find it odd because your spirit is not of this world. I promise you, one day, you will have a song in your heart that will come out, whether you want it to or not. You'll get use to it." Ben scoffed at the idea that he would ever do that, but Agathe just replied, "You never know. One day, you'll surprise yourself."

...

As Ben got older, he sat in on more and more council meetings. Most of the members were still skeptical of having the young prince sit in on them. Audrey sat in some of them, but she rarely paid attention to them. Ben always paid attention to them because he did want to become a good king in the future, but also because he needed information that would help him with his grand plan of bringing magic and balance back to Auradon. Whenever the Isle of the Lost came up, Ben secretly took notes, mainly about the security and how foods and other goods were transported to the Isle, so that he could figure out a plan to help the children of the Isle before he could get them off of it. He did secretly create a system that would give better goods and not rotten food to the Isle once a month. He couldn't fully take over the process as he wasn't king yet and he didn't want to raise suspicion so he could only sneak those better quality things to the cargo boats one time a month even though the cargo boats went over to the Isle once a week. Agathe told him that he was doing enough for now and when he became king, giving better goods every week to the Isle would be one of his top priorities.

When Ben was 16, his father let him lead one of the council meetings, with this one in particular focusing on the Council of Sidekicks, a sub division of the council that was made up of all the sidekicks of Auradon. King Adam had a lot of confidence that Ben would do great and make him proud while Queen Belle advised her son to just be his own king, not what his father wanted him to be. On the day of the meeting, Ben sat at the head of a huge table with all the sidekicks along the edges: the seven dwarves, Cinderella's mice, some of the 101 Dalmatians, Flounder, Ariel's sisters, Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, and Genie, who because of the ban on magic had to take a physical human form. The fairies and Genie in particular interested Ben as Agathe told him that those magical beings secretly opposed King Adam's ban of magic and tried for many years to lift it but to no avail so Ben knew that they would be on his side immediately. The animals were an interesting sight to Ben but he had seen stranger things in different galaxies. He did have an ear piece in his ear for translation, but he secretly didn't need it as his mental skills with the Force did the translating for him.

Ben wanted to get the meeting started but the sidekicks were shouting at each other either from laughing at a conversation or arguing, which mainly happened with Grumpy as right now he was complaining about the food selection. Ben sat there for a bit observing the group. He wasn't nervous at all; when he was Supreme Leader, he knew how to command a room. But he knew he would need to tone it down, especially since he knew from listening in to their thoughts that they just saw him as a 16 year old kid. Finally done with waiting, Ben stood up and shouted, "Your attention, please!" All the sidekicks stopped talking and turned to Ben. "Thank you. Now to begin…" "Shouldn't we wait for your dad, kid?" Genie asked. "Yeah. Where's King Adam?" Flounder asked. "My father isn't here today," Ben answered. "I am leading this meeting today, regarding the Sidekicks Act and the petitions that all of you plus more have signed." "Are you turning all of it down?" Grumpy asked bitterly. Ben looked at Grumpy and said, "If you will let see finish, I will give you my answer. Now, I have read the complaints you all have made. All one thousand and one pages of it." The sidekicks stared at him in disbelief. "All of them?" one of the mermaids asked. Ben nodded and said, "Of course. I am a fast reader and a good listener. Just because I am a king in training doesn't mean that I don't take things like this seriously. From what I could gather, it appears what all of you are demanding is to be heard, and to have a voice in the future. Something more than just a seat on the Council. "It's not too much to ask?" Flora asked. "No, it's not," Ben answered. "And I think we can come to a simpler agreement."

"What do you purpose?" Doc asked. Ben shuffled the papers in front of him and said, "I purpose listening to the people who know best. Let's start with the mermaids. You all should charge a silver coin for every undersea tour. And I'll talk to Queen Ariel about giving your collecting, Flounder, for her a break. I've also set up a college fund for the Dalmatians, all 101 of them will be eligible for financial aid through the Puppy Grant. Dwarves, half of everything you mine must still remain the property of the kingdom, however the other half will go to a 401D Fund. A retirement fund for dwarves, to take care of your families and your children. So Bashful, you don't have to worry anymore. For all you woodland creatures who are being overworked, I am going to have a team install dishwashers, washer-dryers, and vacuum cleaners for every household. It's time that some of these people to realize that we live in modern times now and they can do some of the work themselves. Jaq, Gus, Mary, from now on, all of you will be compensated with the finest cheese in the kingdom for all of your hard work over the years, from the king's own larders." All the sidekicks looked at Ben with shock and awe on their faces. "That actually sounds fair," Grumpy said. "What about us?" Genie asked pointing to himself and the three good fairies. "I will get to your complaints in a second." He looked to the other sidekicks and asked, "So, do we have a deal?" The other sidekicks looked and each other then Grumpy said, "Deal." "Thank you," Ben said. "I will implement all of this after I finish this meeting. Now for those whose complaints I have answered, you are dismissed. For those who I have not yet, please stay a little bit longer." Ben secretly put a mental suggestion with some help from the Force spirits to the non-magical sidekicks so that they would leave without question and the sidekicks stood up, with some helping push the tubs of water containing the mermaids and Flounder, and left.

Ben took a deep breath and turned to the former magic users in the room and said, "I know that the ban on magic has been tough on all of you. I have read that you all want the ban on magic lifted in someway. Unfortunately as of now, I cannot grant that request. But I promise all of you, when I become king, that ban is one of my top priorities to have changed." "You are against the ban as well?" Fauna asked. Ben nodded and said, "Believe it or not, I have seen what the ban of magic has done to this world. So I plan to bring it back. Not all at once mind you since most of the population have gotten use to no magic. It will be a slow implement, but it will happen, I can promise you that." "Why hasn't the king or queen told us this?" Merryweather asked. "Because they don't know of my intentions," Ben answered. "Which is why I must ask all of you to keep this information to yourselves at this moment. If my parents find out, then they and the rest of the council who are anti-magic may put harder restrictions on the ban and I don't want to do that. I know that you all want to travel and use your magic again, and I agree. But lifting the ban won't be as easy as making it. So please, don't tell anyone about this. What is said right now between us STAYS between us. Do we have a deal?" The magical beings looked at each other as Ben scanned their minds to see if they would go against his wishes and tell people, mainly Ben was afraid of the three good fairies telling Audrey's family, but luckily all of them agreed with him as Genie said, "You have a deal, kid." Ben smiled and said, "Thank you. We will meet again a few months after my coronation to discuss this further. Now I must end this meeting before anyone outside gets suspicious. Good day." The fairies and Genie rose and left the room. Ben leaned back in his chair as Luke appeared next to him and said, "They will keep this secret. And none of us had to put mental suggestions in their heads." "True," Ben said. "I am glad to see that there will be some magical beings on my side after I become king in less than a year."

...

Ben still dreamed of Mal most nights. He saw how she played a prank on Uma, Ursula's daughter, by making the girl fall into a bin of rotten shrimp, hence why people started to call her Shrimpy. Ben saw the sneer on Mal's face as she looked down on the poor girl, but when Mal turned away, he saw her face soften as if she felt guilty about doing it, but knew that she had to do it in order to survive on the Isle. He saw how many times Mal tried to impress her mother with her deeds but Maleficent never batted an eye. Those dreams would end with Mal sitting in her windowsill and crying at her failure as well as feeling horrible for doing bad deeds to try to impress her mother but also for trying to hide the light that was within her. Ben's heart went out to her and he wished he could hold her in his arms and comfort her. But all he could do was watch in his dreams.

There was one dream that he started to have when he turned 15 that was always recurring. He dreamed he was at the Enchanted Lake and Mal was there wearing a pretty dress and giggling. "Are those little crowns on your swim trunks?" Mal asked. Ben looked down and saw that he was wearing his swim shorts and looked back up at Mal who was looking at him with a loving look on her face. Ben tried to reach out to her, but then he always woke up. He groaned, yearning for that dream to one day become a reality where Mal was here in Auradon with him.

...

Through the training from the Force spirits, Ben got stronger with the Force. He had telepathy, telekinesis, agility, strength, healing, and marksmanship, the last one mainly thanks to Han and Chewie, who Ben would change back into a Wookie during training, teaching him blaster and crossbow skills. Thanks to the Force evolving, Ben's powers have expanded. Ben could control his telepathy to a point where Ben can actually make himself fly. He perfected his Force healing so that he didn't waste all of his life-force like last time.

When Ben was nine, he felt it was time to construct a new lightsaber from the new Kyber crystal he was given. "I've trained for two years at this point," Ben said. "I want to have a lightsaber again." The Force spirits thought about it and Luke said, "Alright. Have this room summon the materials you need and start the process." Ben nodded and had the materials appear in front of him and he pulled out his Kyber crystal from his necklace. He sat on the floor and closed his eyes. He focused his mind on what he wanted his lightsaber to look like and as he was meditating, the pieces in front of him rose from the floor and gathered around the Kyber crystal until a lightsaber was forged. Ben opened his eyes and saw the lightsaber in front of him. He picked it up and looked at it. It was a sleek silver design, looking somewhat similar to his grandfather's saber. He took a deep breath and pressed the button, wanting to see what color his saber would be. He didn't want it to be red again. The lightsaber ignited and a purple light shined out of it. Ben started to cry along with some of the Force spirits that gathered around him. "A fitting color," Anakin said. "Master Mace Windu's lightsaber was that same color," Obi-Wan noted. "It means you have balance between light and dark," Yoda said. "You should be very proud of yourself, Ben," Luke said. "As we all are," Leia said.

Now that Ben had his lightsaber, he could really practice his techniques so by the time he entered Auradon Prep, he was past the peak he was at in his previous life. Hence why he preferred Swords and Shields compared to Tourney, being the best swordsman on the team, given his secret lightsaber skills that he perfected over the years. He had to be careful to not show his Force strength and agility since that would make people suspicious of him. Also he couldn't go full force on his teammates or when playing other teams so that he wouldn't draw too much attention onto himself.

But one of the biggest surprises during his Force training was astral projection. The Force spirits told him about it when he was 10 where Ben said, "I thought the process would kill someone. Like Uncle Luke when he astral projected his spirit to Crait to help the Resistance get away." "True," Luke answered. "But the Force has evolved. Plus the magic of this world along with the Force can help sustain your body while you do it. So, let's get started. Lay down on your back and close your eyes." Ben did so as Yoda said, "Take deep breaths. And focus on what you want to do." Ben concentrated and suddenly he felt lighter than before. "Now, open your eyes," Obi-Wan said. Ben did and noticed he was standing up looking at the Force spirits. "Hello, grandson," Anakin said as he made the secret room summon a floor length mirror which made Ben gasp. Staring him in the face was his original self, Ben Solo, dressed the same way he was before he was reborn. Shoulder length black hair, big ears and nose, brown eyes, very tall, and dressed in black rags. "It's me," Ben whispered. "The original me." "Well," Leia said. "This is your spirit. Your vessel is still lying on the floor behind you." Ben turned around and gasped, seeing his new body lying on the floor, looking like he was sleeping. "Don't freak out too much, kid," Han said. "You'll get use to it." "And," Padme added. "You can change what you're wearing. Try it." Ben did, changing his form into his Kylo Ren garb with helmet, without helmet, and Jedi robes, before deciding on his Kylo Ren outfit, but dark gray instead of black. "Interesting choice," Luke commented. "I am Ben Solo," Ben said. "But I was also Kylo Ren. This form shows that I am both, whether I like it or not." "Very good," Anakin said. "Now don't stay out of your body for too long. It will drain you. And you can control your visibility as well. Now, time for some training."

...

Astral projection became a go to skill that Ben perfected over the years. He got so good in fact that he did it in his sleep, literally. While his body slept, his spirit would journey around Auradon seeing the kingdom for what it was. By the time Ben was 13, he could astral project his spirit whether he was in meditation or sleeping. He tried to balance what time of day and how often he would do astral projection and where he would go. But the place he frequented the most was the Isle of the Lost. He waited until his Force powers were strong enough to break through the magical shield and he knew he couldn't be there for a long time as once he was on the Isle, he only had a limited amount of power as the shield blocked out most of the Force. He kept himself invisible for most of the time as he wanted to collect intel on what happens on the Isle. He would always first check to see the cargo that would come in from Auradon and make sure that his secret system was working for the one time a month it happened and that it was mostly equally distributed to everyone on the Isle. If not, he would use that time to sneak into homes that took too much and gave the extras to those who needed them. All of the major villains were slightly crazy, mainly because they were there the longest. Maleficent was just as crazy as he had seen in his dreams of Mal and he could see why Audrey and her family were terrified of the dark fairy. But there was only one villain that he avoided after seeing once was Hades, Mal's father. Ben was silently walking through some of thee alleys when he saw Hades in the shadows, looking up at a building. Ben looked up and saw that Hades was looking at Mal's home. Ben remembered from his dreams of Mal that Hades left when Mal was still a baby and how much that affected the purple haired girl. But when Ben looked at Hades, he didn't see a man of hatred. Instead he saw a father with a sad look in his eyes, the same look that he had seen in his father, a look of guilt and regret. Ben tried to get around the God of Death when Hades tensed up and turned to Ben's direction. Even though Ben was still invisible, Hades was looking right at him. Ben felt like his spirit was being pulled toward the god and started to feel weak. But suddenly Hades turned and walked away, causing Ben to regain his strength. Ben knew that somehow Hades could see him and that he could affect his spirit similar to how Agathe could. "I should avoid him from now on," Ben muttered.

When Ben first started using astral projection to go to the Isle, he just observed and never interfered. That all changed one day when he saw a young boy get beat up by some of Gaston's sons, with Mal and a boy named Jay, who both were around his age of 15 were walking nearby, avoiding the fight. Ben couldn't take it anymore; luckily because it was nighttime his dark clothes could blend in making the dark gray look black. He made himself visible and Force pushed the bullies far away from the young boy, right to Mal and Jay's feet. The two teens looked up and saw a glimpse of the shadowy figure that was Ben Solo, wearing his helmet and dark cloak. Ben decided to use the voice modulator to hide his voice and said to the bullies, "This is your only warning. If I find you here again, you will suffer the consequences." Then he disappeared from view. Gaston's sons got up and ran away while the young boy looked around for his savior and said, "He saved me. Like a guardian." Mal and Jay looked at each other as Jay said, "That guy did look intimidating." "A guardian, huh?" Mal said. "He doesn't scare me." But Ben, who was still standing there looking at the teens, knew that wasn't true. He could feel a little fear coming off of Mal, but she was doing a good job to hide it. Ben tried to dig deeper into her mind to see her thoughts, but Mal shook her head and said to Jay, "Let's get out of here." The teens left as Ben chuckled to himself and said, "Well, well. She's subconsciously blocking me, just like she use to. I guess my scavenger is getting the Force more than she realizes. I can't see if she has been getting any of her memories back through dreams like I did. Maybe the Force doesn't want me to know." He then concentrated and left the Isle, merging back to his body in Auradon.

Ben's little intervention with the Gaston boys spread like wildfire through the Isle. Some scoffed at it. Some took it as a sign that maybe there was a guardian of the Isle. Ben chuckled to himself at the nickname the Isle gave him. He was still careful on how much people saw him, but he decided that helping from time to time was a good thing. He stopped major bullying, harassments, and the occasional thieving when he felt it wasn't right. Through this, he learned about the children of the Isle, some of them included Uma, daughter of Ursula and the one Mal pranked years ago, Harry, son of Captain Hook and who always wore a fake hook eleven though he didn't need to, Gill, another son of Gaston, Dizzy, granddaughter of Lady Tremaine, and so many more. But there were four in particular that he spent the most time watching, Mal of course, Evie, daughter of Evil Queen and the one who was banished on the other side of the Isle until she turned 16, Carlos, son of Cruella De Vil, and Jay, son of Jafar. He learned all about those four and kept a secret file of them back inn Auradon. He secretly gave Carlos a blanket that the boy could hide from his mother and still sleep warm in her coat closet. These four, especially Mal, seemed special to him.

Right before Ben's and Mal's 17th birthday seemed to be the time that the special four came together as friends. During one of Ben's nightly visits, he found them at a party that Carlos was reluctantly hosting at his house and saw Mal trap Evie in Cruella's closet with the bear traps. Invisibly, he made his way to Carlos and mentally ushered him to go save the blue haired princess, knowing that Carlos felt fear for the girl. After he made sure that Carlos got Evie out, he made his way outside by floating through the house and into a nearby alley, looking up at the house. He saw Mal come out with a distressed look on her face, Ben knowing that she was upset that her revenge on Evie failed. Mal passed through the alley Ben was in, but then stopped, seeming to feel Ben's presence. She turned around and stared in the direction that Ben was in. "Can she see me somehow?" Ben wondered. He saw Mal visibly shiver and whisper, "It can't be. Just the drinks getting to me." She then turned and walked away. "I need to talk to Agathe about this," Ben thought when suddenly a beam of light shot out from Carlo's backyard and into the sky, hitting the magical shield. "Well, that's another thing to bring up to Agathe." Ben focused his powers and disappeared from the Isle.

He did go straight to Agathe after leaving the Isle, and the Enchantress chuckled at his tale and said, "Young Skywalker. I knew this would happen. Although Mal hasn't regained her memories or Force powers, she still is connected to the Force in a way. As well as you." Ben looked at Agathe and asked, "Do you think she's getting some of her memories back as dreams like I did?" Agathe thought for a moment and said, "Don't entirely know. Remember, the shield surrounding the Isle limits how much of the Force can enter. Thus I can't tell how much of the Force is with Mal. Now about that beam of light, it seems Carlos' tinkering has caused a hole to briefly appear in the shield, which let some magic and some of the Force through. I sense that something is about to happen with the four you have been watching so closely.

When Ben saw Mal next, she along with Evie, Carlos, and Jay were on a quest to receive the Dragon's Eye, Maleficent's scepter, from her abandoned castle on the edge of the Isle. "So the hole Carlos caused let some magic in and reignited the dark fairy's scepter. And that crazy fairy is making these four get it. Let's see how this goes." He observed from a distance at all the challenges the four faced, the gargoyle bridge where Carlos had to answer riddles about his mother and Ben learned that Carlos will never be loved by her, the cave that filled with sand where Jay had to say what the golden rule was, the room of mirrors where Evie had to recite the peddler's disguise spell before the four were hags forever, and finally Maleficent's throne room where the Dragon's Eye was. He saw Evie walk up to grab it as he heard Mal's thoughts of whether she should let Evie be cursed to sleep for a thousand years or save her from it. Ben could sense the light fighting the darkness in her and it was winning. Ben saw Mal rush forward and grab the scepter before Evie could and she fell to the ground asleep. Evie, Carlos, and Jay ran to Mal to try to wake her up as Ben stood a few feet away horrified. "I need to help her!" Ben thought. "I can't lose her now!" But before she could rush forward, he heard Agathe's voice saying, "Fear not. She is actually immune to the Dragon's Curse because of the dragon blood in her from her mother. But you could give her recovery a little push as she will be weak from the ordeal. Give her the strength to come out and stand strong."

Ben nodded, staying invisible, and walked over to her avoiding the other three and kneeled down at her head. He hovered one of his hands over her forehead and gave her some of his Force energy to help her push through. He could tell she was starting to awake but needed the energy to recover. While he was helping her, he saw in her head what she was seeing; the day her mother cursed Aurora and felt the pity Mal felt for her mother in that instance. Ben wanted to reach out and touch her to help her feel better as Mal was trying to tell her mother that everything was going to be OK, when Mal turned around and saw the imposing figure of Ben there as she whispered, "It's you." Then suddenly both of them were throw out of the dream and Mal woke up, Ben quickly standing and walked back to the shadows. The other three looked relieved that Mal woke up. Mal glanced at her hand noticing that the Dragon's Eye was gone, but she also looked around the room, for him. For a split second, Mal's beautiful green eyes found his under the mask before he disappeared from the castle. "What's wrong?" Evie asked. "I thought I saw…" Mal answered. "Saw what?" Carlos asked. Mal shook her head and said, "Nothing. Let's get out of here." "Finally," Jay said. "I'm getting spooked by this old place.

Ben arose from his bed when his spirit returned to his body. "I was so close to her," Ben thought. Chewie was sleeping on his bed and woke up when he feels Ben move and rose his head in concern. Ben sighed and said, "I was with her, Chewie. She was right in front of me. My hands were so close to hers. My heart was pounding 100 miles a minute. And I think she saw me. Well, the intimidating me. Oh, I can't wait until she's here with me. Away from that awful place. I wish that time will be soon." Chewie put his head on Ben's hand and Ben petted the dog, then laid back down and fell asleep.

...

Ben and Audrey's meetings got more and more frequent, much to Ben's irritation. He always tried to be a perfect gentleman to her, even when she acted spoiled and rotten. When the two entered middle school, Audrey's flirting went up drastically as she tried to hold his hand more, cuddle with him, and kiss him on the lips. Ben relented to the first two, but never the third, as he wanted his first kiss to be Mal, who he knew deep down was his true love. So he always redirected the kiss to his cheek, much to Audrey's irritation. Audrey always threatened to tell her family, but Ben would just mentally suggest to her that there was nothing to worry about. He didn't want her or either of their families to realize that Ben was trying to make sure that this betrothal broke in the future. As well as keep his Force powers, the fact that his dog was a Wookie, Force spirits in his head, he secret room he could summon whenever, Agathe, or the fact that he was an ancient Force user reborn in the form of the prince of Auradon a secret.

One particular meeting with Audrey that made Ben irritated was one right before Ben's first led meeting with the Council of Sidekicks. The two royals were walking through the rose garden and Ben was trying to discuss the complaints that the sidekicks were making but Audrey was hardly listening to him, rather looking at the roses and letting the occasional bird land on her fingers. Ben knew that Audrey could never be more understanding since again she didn't really listen to discussions during council meetings. But Ben remembered that Audrey's life had been charmed from the beginning as the spoiled princess of two doting parents, especially Queen Aurora, who was separated from her own mother, who spoiled Audrey the most, who had to spend her formative years in a fairy foster home, under the threat of a deadly curse, so Aurora said, "My daughter will never know anything but love and beauty and peace and joy." So because of that, Audrey never really understand that the world wasn't always cupcakes and rainbows. Like almost everything else in Auradon, Audrey was perfectly sweet, perfectly gentle, and If Ben was honest, perfectly boring. After almost 10 years, their meetings really didn't help Ben change his mind about the princess. She was just the same spoiled girl that he met many years ago and was betrothed to her, much to his irritation. There were other colors to wear aside from pink and pale turquoise. There were other animals who liked to do things other than coo and cuddle, even though Audrey never liked Chewie, mainly because the dog tried to annoy her to humor Ben. There were other topics to discuss other than gowns and gardens and balls and carriages. But those were all Audrey was, or at least all Audrey appeared to him as, never showing her true self.

"I don't even know what those sidekicks are so upset about," Audrey said. "They're so adorable, and everyone loves them. Why would they bother with things like wages and hours and, ugh, credit? Those aren't lovely things at all." "Not everyone have nice lives like we do," Ben countered. "Not everyone has castles with servants. Or silk sheets, or breakfast trays, or roses gardens…." "I love rose gardens," Audrey interrupted. "And I love the ones with topiaries shaped like adorable creatures. The elephants are my favorite. With those cute little trunks. But also the hippos. Such lovely teeth. It's such a talent, really, to prune a bush into a shape of a hippo. Don't you think?" Ben sighed, frustrated at where the conversation was going. Audrey wasn't listening to Ben at all. "Maybe it's better this way," Ben thought. "Once I bring Mal over here, then hopefully this betrothal will be over. Audrey doesn't understand anything about this world and I don't think she ever will." He had a slight frown to his face, which Audrey noticed as she took his hand into her nicely manicured one and said, "Don't worry so much. You're a prince. I'm a princess. This is the land of Happy Endings, remember? We deserve nothing less than everything our hearts desire. We were born into it." Ben sighed, knowing that Audrey would always think about herself over those who were less fortunate than her, and she was trying to drag him along with it.

Audrey then giggled and said, "Come on, silly. I have something to show you. Something perfectly perfect, just like today." She then pulled him to the center of the garden where a picnic was set up. "Isn't it amazing?" Audrey said. "I had half of the groundsmen and three cooks working on it all morning. Just for us." They sat down and ate some of the pastries. It was quiet for a while before Ben decided to try to start up a conversation so that he wasn't bored and to see if Audrey would come out of her princess shell a little and asked, "Do you ever wonder if there's more to life than this?" "What could be more than this?" Audrey asked. "Wouldn't you like to find out?" Ben asked. "You should go explore a little. I've gone with my parents to see all of Auradon. I've gone on hikes with Chip through forests miles long. Maybe getting out and seeing the world might show you how amazing this world is. Don't you want to see your own kingdom?" Audrey sighed and asked, "You're not talking about that awful island, are you?" Ben was surprised that she made that leap but he indulged her and said, "Maybe. Don't you ever think about it? How weird it would be to live trapped in one place? Under a magical dome?" "Perhaps, darling," Audrey then looked irritated and replied. "They should have considered that before undertaking a life of evil and villainy, which could only lead to an eternity of punishment." "What about the children?" Ben asked, getting irritated at Audrey's tone of voice. "An eternity is a rather long time, especially for those who are there for committing no crime, just being born there. They're captives, Audrey. They can't travel everywhere and anywhere like we can."

"That reminds me," Audrey said, trying to change the topic. "I told Aziz and Chad we would be visiting them today. Carriage picks us up in an hour." Ben's anger started to climb. He didn't like Audrey changing the subject and he didn't like Audrey planning his schedule. "Don't change the subject!" Ben shouted. "All I am asking is you've never thought about anyone on that island? Villains or the children?" "No," Audrey said. "Good riddance. Mother says one of them tried to put here to sleep for 100 years. After she'd already spent her entire childhood in foster care and protective custody! My own mother! And then that same horrible woman turned into a dragon who tried to kill Papa!" Audrey's temper was showing and Ben had to say that he was impressed to finally see a new side of Audrey. "Her name is Maleficent," Ben said. "She was the Mistress of Darkness, the most evil fairy who has ever lived." "Don't say her name!" Audrey shouted. "She might hear you, and curse you. She takes away everything that you love! You should know better. What about that Enchantress who cursed your father? She wasn't even caught so she's out there somewhere, waiting for her revenge." "You know nothing!" Ben shouted. "That Enchantress taught my father a lesson that he needed to learn. And without her curse, my father would have never met my mother and I wouldn't be here today! So I am actually grateful of her. And you shouldn't have to worry. Maleficent is trapped in that dome along with the other villains. Along with all those innocent children!" Ben needed to stop before he lost control as he was about to. So he took a few deep breaths and said, "I know we don't see eye to eye on everything. But I just want you to understand that everything isn't the way you think. The sooner you realize that, the better you'll be. That's all I am asking."

Audrey huffed then calmed down and said, "Fine. I'll attempt to see your point. Now onto better things. Dance with me, sweet prince." Ben internally rolled his eyes but bowed and said, "Of course, princess." They got into a waltz position and suddenly music started to play. Audrey started to sing along to it as Ben recognized it as the song her parents sang many years ago when they met. Audrey made sure Ben knew that fact. As she was singing softly while they were dancing, Ben thought to himself, "I knew in her mind that she thinks this song reflects us as well as her parents. But in all honestly, Ben didn't know her and she didn't know him. Even after all of these meetings with each other, they only knew basic stuff about each other. He didn't know her soul, her dreams, and she didn't know his. Audrey may have the song she was singing be about him, but this song wasn't about her for him. Also he knew for sure that he never dreamed of her. The only girl he dreamed about was Mal, with her purple hair and green eyes glittering in the dark, a sly smile of mischief on her lips, and her light she buries within her, showing the person she used to be in their original lives. The music finished as Audrey puckered her lips for a kiss, but like always, Ben just gave her a kiss on the cheek. Audrey opened her eyes and looked irritated, but she put on a fake smile and said, "Come. We have to go meet up with Aziz and Chad." Ben sighed and decided that he needed some time alone and said using his mental persuasion, "You will go without me and be fine with it. You will say nothing about what has happened here to anyone, only that it was a joyous time." Audrey nodded before Ben pulled back and Audrey shook her head to clear it. "I'll see you later," Audrey said as she walked away. Ben stood there for a few moments before he summoned the door to his secret room and entered it so that he could do some training.

...

Late one night, Ben was sitting on his balcony that connected to his bedroom staring out, looking straight at the Isle with Chewie sitting next to him. Just a few hours ago his 17th birthday party had occurred. Ben's parents had tried to make it small, but Audrey and her family stepped in and invited more people to it despite Ben's wishes. "It's your 17th birthday," Audrey had argued. "You should be throwing a huge party. Besides, just think about your birthday next year when we will become officially engaged. Isn't that exciting?" Ben had held down a retort and said nothing but gave a fake smile. On the inside he was screaming. He tried to have some fun at his party but in reality he didn't. It was like his 7th birthday party all over again. His parents saw the look on Ben's face throughout the party but his dad thought that Ben was just nervous about his upcoming coronation which was happening in a little over a month. Belle didn't seem to agree but didn't say anything. Audrey tried to get Ben to dance with her friends but Ben declined. He was at least lucky that some of his actual friends like Doug, Jane, and Lonnie were there. Eventually he snuck out of his own party and locked himself in his room. He spent some time in his secret room where the Force spirits along with Agathe wished him happy birthday and C-3PO tried to bake him a cake which made Ben chuckle a bit. Eventually he left the secret room and tried to get some sleep, but he couldn't fall asleep. HIs emotions were all over the place: he was nervous about becoming king soon because he knew there was a lot on his plate that he needed to do, upset that he was one year away from becoming officially engaged to that spoiled princess, and longing to see Mal in the flesh here in Auradon. He was so close to her when he followed her and her friends, which surprised him to find out after the quest that the four officially became friends and called themselves the Core 4, to the old castle but wished he could have touched her and spoke to her. He was feeling so lonely these past few weeks. So much in fact that he did the one thing he never thought he would do, which is sing while outside on his balcony,

I wake in the loneliness of sunrise

When the deep purple heaven turns blue

And start to pray, as I pray each day

That I'll hear some word from you

I lie in the loneliness of evening

Looking out on a silver flaked sea

And ask the moon, oh how soon, how soon

Will my love come home to me?

I lie in the loneliness of evening

Looking out on a silver flaked sea

And ask the moon, oh how soon, how soon

Will my love come home to me?

Will my love come home

To me?

Ben sighed, letting a few tears drop from his face with Chewie whining in concern. "I told you that you would sing someday." Ben turned around and saw Agathe standing behind him. Ben wiped his tears away and said, "Fine. You were right." Agathe frowned and said, "There is no need to cry, young prince. Everything will work out. I promise. You started your first big steps. You successfully led your first council meeting and gained some magical supporters, you became the guardian of the Isle, and you're going to be crowned king soon. You should be joyous." "There's still one giant problem," Ben said. "Mal. I can't wait any longer to bring her over here. It's starting to kill me. I don't want her just in my dreams or just beyond my reach when I'm visiting the Isle. I'm tired of all the meeting with Audrey and her family. I am tired of being trapped in this betrothal. I have one year to break it or Audrey will be my queen and I don't want that." "Calm yourself, young Skywalker," Agathe said. "There is a perfect solution to your problem." "What is it then?" Ben asked. "What is one thing that every king does at the start of their reign?" Agathe asked. Ben thought for a moment then said, "I know the answer, but it's escaping me. So enlighten me." Agathe sighed and said, "A first proclamation." The lightbulb went off in Ben's head and he said, "Of course. Every king has a chance to make a first proclamation right before his reign starts. I can say that Mal should come over from the Isle." "True," Agathe said. "But it would look suspicious if you brought over just her. Why not a few more with her? You have been studying the children of the Isle, have you not?" Agathe pointed to the files on Ben's desk as Ben realized, "You're right. And I've been following the prefect group to bring over first. The Core 4. I can bring them over as a trial period before getting more children off the Isle, then eventually I can have the shield taken down. Agathe, you're a genius!" "I know," Agathe said smugly. "Now, if you want them over here, then you need to make that proclamation soon." "Of course," Ben said. "I write it up tonight and present it to my parents tomorrow. Then the Core 4 will be here for the beginning of the school year at Auradon Prep." He looked out to the Isle and said, "Don't worry, Mal. I'll see you soon…."