Ben woke up the morning after Cotillion feeling wonderful. He was happy that he was able to sleep in his bed again and not having to be tied up on a ship. He sat up and stretched, giving Chewie a few pets as the dog woke up. "Last night was crazy," Ben said. "And wonderful."

"It sure was." Ben looked up and saw Han standing there with a smirk on his face. "Dad!" Ben hissed as he jumped out of bed. Chewie jumped off and ran up to Han, happy to see his best friend, even though Han was a Force spirit. "So," Han said. "Did you enjoy your alone time with Mal last night?" Leia suddenly appeared and smacked Han on the head and said, "Smooth, Han. Really smooth. Give the boy a break. Mal finally admitted her love for Ben. It's a big step for them." "Indeed it is," Luke appeared next to Han and Leia. He looked at Ben and said, "But was it wise to give Mal her Kyber crystal before she has her memories and Force connection back?" Ben nodded his head and said, "Yes. I felt it was time because I felt a push from the Force to do it. Since Mal doesn't have her Force connection back yet, I want to protect her. I don't know if she has immunity to magic like I do. Plus, I want to make sure that what Uma did to her thanks to the Amulet of Anguish doesn't happen again. I know that I blocked the amulet from connecting her mind to it again, but there may be other dangers out there."

"He has a point," Obi-Wan said as he appeared. "We don't understand how the Amulet of Anguish got to this world. The only parts of the Force that should have shown up in this world should only have been Ben and Rey." Yoda then appeared and said, "The Force is mysterious. Yet the Sith may still have some influence to it. Cautious, we must be." Anakin then appeared and said, "Well, maybe that's why the Force wanted Ben to give her the Kyber crystal now. To protect her from future threats. Magical related or otherwise." Padme then appeared and said, "You really aren't a romantic, are you? Ben also did it because of his feelings for her. Surely you understand that?" Anakin grinned sheepishly as Ben chuckled and said, "I know that I have to be cautious. But my relationship with Mal has finally been cemented. And I don't want anything to come in the way of that. Now that the contract…." He suddenly remembered the contract and said, "Wait. Mal's declaration of love for me last night along with our kiss should have broken it. I need to go see it for myself."

Ben's phone went off and Ben looked at it and saw that his father was calling. "Perfect timing," Ben thought as he answered it, "Hello?" "Son," Adam said on the other line. "Can you come back to the castle today? I know that you have some kingly duties to do, but there are some things that we need to discuss about last night. And bring Mal with you, if you don't mind." "I will," Ben said as he hung up. He looked at the Force spirits and said, "I have to go. My parents need to talk to Mal and I." "Go ahead, son," Leia said. "Do what you need to do." The Force spirits disappeared back into Ben's body as he ran to his closet and started to get ready.

Mal woke up in her dorm room. She looked over and saw that Evie was still asleep, probably still tired from all the partying that happened the night before. Mal was happy that last night she didn't have any nightmares at all. Not even dreams about Solo and the brown haired girl. She enjoyed a night of peace. She looked at the clock and saw that it was 9:00 AM. "I'm surprised I didn't sleep in more," Mal said. "I was up late last night with Ben at the lake." She looked over and saw the crystal that Ben gifted her the night before and grabbed it. She looked down at it and felt its power in her fingertips. Suddenly she saw a vision of the brown haired girl looking out at a sunset, even though there were two suns. Then the vision suddenly ended. "What was that about?" Mal thought. "I'm now having visions when I'm awake?"

Before she could think about it more, someone knocked on the door. Evie squirmed a little in her bed so Mal tiptoed to the door and opened it. Ben was standing there smiling and looked over and saw Evie still asleep. "Good morning, Mal," Ben whispered. "I'm sorry if I woke you up." Mal shook her head and whispered, "I was already up. What's going on?" "My father just called," Ben whispered. "He needs me back at my family's castle to talk to me. And he wants you to join me. If you're available that is." "Of course," Mal whispered. "I have a feeling that you have some things to talk about with your parents. And I feel that you may need my support. That's what girlfriends are for, aren't they?" Ben smiled and leaned down and gave Mal a kiss on her lips. Ben pulled back and whispered, "I will never get tired of kissing you." Mal giggled, which caused Evie to stir a bit. Mal looked up at Ben and whispered, "Just give me 20 minutes. I will meet you out front." Ben nodded as Mal closed the door quietly and went over to her closet to start getting ready.

When Mal met Ben out front, she saw him sitting on his motorized bike holding two helmets. Mal smiled, then remembered, "I left the bike you gave me on the Isle." Ben chuckled and said, "It's OK. If you want another one, just ask and I'll get you one." "But," Mal started to protest but Ben interrupted, "Hey, I'm the King, remember? It's pretty easy to get another one. Maybe even some for the others, too. But if you want to wait, that's fine too. Hop on." Ben handed Mal a helmet and Mal hopped behind Ben saying, "Just for the record, I prefer traveling like this with you over the limo any day." Ben smiled as he put his helmet on and said, "Good to know." He powered up the bike and drove off toward his family castle.

Chip was waiting out front when Ben and Mal arrived. He smiled and walked up to them when Ben parked the motorized bike saying, "Welcome home, King Ben. And greetings, Lady Mal." "Hey, Chip," Ben greeted. "Are my parents in the study?" Chip nodded and said, "Indeed." Ben held out his arm to Mal and asked, "Shall we?" Mal took his arm and said, "We shall." Ben led Mal inside with Chip following behind them.

They arrived at his father's study and Ben whispered, "Don't worry. If you don't feel like talking about anything, it's OK." Mal shook her head and said, "No. I answer whatever questions they have. And help you with any of those questions." Ben smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before he knocked on the door." "Come in," Adam said on the other side. Ben opened the door and led Mal inside. Belle walked up to them and said, "Hello, my dears. Ben, good to see you. And Mal, welcome. Please, sit down." Ben and Mal sat down on a couch and Belle and Adam sat down on the couch opposite them.

"So," Adam started. "We have some things to talk about." "We do, Dad," Ben admitted. "For starters," Adam said. "It has come to my attention that you disappeared yesterday since no one could find you until yesterday afternoon. Care to explain what happened?" Before Ben could say anything, Mal said, "It was my fault. I ran away to the Isle because of all the pressure I was feeling. And Ben came to the Isle looking for me because he wanted to bring me back. But he was captured by Uma's crew. Myself and my friends helped rescue him and got him back here. But Uma dove through the barrier before it closed and spelled Ben into loving her. If I hadn't gone back to the Isle, then none of this would have happened." Ben reached over and held Mal's hand and said, "I am also partially to blame. I knew that Mal was stressed out and we didn't communicate well enough. So it's my fault too." Mal looked over at Ben with loving eyes. Belle looked over at Adam with a knowing look. Adam sighed and said, "Well, I am at least glad that both of you are alright. But now we must be cautious. Uma is out there somewhere still and we don't know what she will do now that she is free." "Don't worry," Mal said. "We'll find her." "Good to hear," Adam said.

"Now, we need to talk about this Solo character that showed up last night." Ben and Mal looked at each other. Ben sighed and turned back to his parents and said, "I know him." "Ben," Belle said. "Why didn't you say anything about him to us?" "Because," Ben answered. "He told me to keep him a secret. This was back during the magic ban days. He just wanted to be a silent protector of Auradon. And the Isle." "What do you know about him?" Adam asked. "Well," Ben said. "He's actually the one who rescued me when I ran away from my 7th birthday party. He carried me to safety so that I could be found by you. But he's only visited me a few times over the past ten years. He comes only when he deems it necessary." "So," Belle said. "You can't call out to him or anything?" Ben shook his head as Adam sighed, "I am grateful that he rescued you. But I can't trust someone that I don't know anything about. He could be a danger to Auradon." "But he's not!" Ben argued. "He helped Mal and her friends defeat Maleficent." "Ben's right," Mal said. "He came to protect Ben and all of us from my mother. He also has appeared on the Isle to defend those who can't defend themselves. He helped stop Mad Madam Mim from her evil. He's done good for Auradon. He just likes to keep to himself, I guess." "I understand all of that," Adam said. "But if he likes to keep to himself, then why reveal himself to all of Auradon during the Cotillion?" "I don't know," Ben answered. "Maybe he felt it was time. I guess." Mal nodded in agreement. Belle said, "Whatever the case, he has at least earn my gratitude. If you two ever see him again, then please let him know that." Ben and Mal nodded as Adam added, "But I still don't trust him."

Ben nodded then asked, "Dad. There was something I wanted to ask you. Can I please see the betrothal contract?" Mal stared at Ben with confusion. "Why would Ben want to see that?" Mal thought. "After what happened last night?" Adam nodded and stood up and walked over to his desk and pulled out the contract. He walked over and handed it to Ben and Ben nodded his thanks. He opened it up and looked at it. He then started to tear up as Mal asked, "Ben. What's wrong?" Ben just looked over at Mal and smiled saying, "Look for yourself." Mal looked at the document and saw that the word "Void" in big letters etched across the entire contract covering up the paragraphs. Mal looked up at Ben and asked, "Does this mean…" "Yes," Ben said as tears started to leak down his face. "My betrothal with Audrey is broken. When you declared your love for me and gave me a true love's kiss, that was the final piece to break this contract. I'm free to be with you forever." Mal started to cry and threw her arms around Ben, who hugged her back, dropping the contract on the table for his parents to see. Adam and Belle looked at their son and his true love wit loving looks. They saw the big letters cover up the details of the contract and knew that Ben was right. Belle looked over at Adam and whispered, "Our son is happy. He can finally be with his true love." Adam nodded in agreement.

Ben and Mal pulled away as Adam said, "Just so you know, Ben. We do have to sit down with Audrey and her family to talk about this. They have a right to know that the contract is broken." Ben nodded in agreement as Belle said, "I believe this concludes our meeting. I know you two have a lot to do today. Go on. We'll see you two later." Ben nodded as he stood up and held out a hand for Mal to grab to help her stand. The couple walked out of the study hand in hand, leaving Adam and Belle sitting there with smiles on their faces.

Instead of Ben leading Mal back to his bike to take them back to Auradon Prep, he led her to the rose garden outside the castle. "Ben," Mal said. "Aren't we going back to school?" "Not yet," Ben said. "I wanted us to have some private time. As I know that there are some things that we need to talk about." Mal nodded, knowing that Ben was right. He led her to a bench in the center of the garden and sat her down on it.

"Now," Ben said. "I know that there are some things that you want to ask me. So ask away." Mal nodded and said, "Right. Where should I start? Well, we haven't really discuss how our minds seem to sometimes connect. Like when you somehow already knew what was on my mind during the Mim event, and you sensed the darkness in my mind from that amulet, and your skills against Uma's crew seemed supernatural, and somehow Uma spelled you despite your immunity to magic…" "Mal, breathe," Ben said. "I'll answer all of those. Yes, somehow our minds connect sometimes. Maybe that's why we dreamed about each other." Mal pulled out her crystal and said, "Do you think it has something to do with these?" "Maybe," Ben lied, knowing that wasn't entirely the case. He also sensed that Mal had something else on her mind about the crystal and he read her mind and saw that she had a vision of herself as Rey while holding it this morning. He knew that she wanted to ask Solo that so he kept that piece of information to himself.

"As for my skill set," Ben continued. "Solo taught me how to defend myself. Especially with using a sword." Mal somehow sensed that wasn't entirely true, but didn't ask further. "As for Uma spelling me," Ben said. "The amulet she had wasn't powered by magic. She said that herself. So she channeled her siren magic through that instead of her shell and that's how she spelled me." "That amulet," Mal said. "It has similar power to what Solo has. Maybe their power comes from the same source?" "I think so," Ben said truthfully.

He held Mal's hands in his and said, "I know that there are things that I haven't told you yet. And I know that there are things that you haven't told me yet. I understand that there are secrets that we have to keep from each other. But I promise you that in time I will tell you everything that you want to know. And I hope you will do the same for me. All I am asking for is patience. Some things are still a mystery for me too. But we will figure out everything together. I promise. We are tied together forever. I love you so much that I don't want to lose you again." Mal's eyes started to tear up. She knew that Ben still had some secrets about himself, but she knew that she also had secrets that she kept from him. She was happy that he understood that they had to keep things from each other for the time being. She loved that about him. She smiled and said, "I love you too, Ben. I will also make that promise to you. I don't want to lose you too." Ben smiled and leaned in to kiss her on the lips, loving every moment of it.

Ben drove Mal back to Auradon Prep and dropped her off at her dorm. "I have a couple meetings to attend today and some paperwork to look over," Ben said. "I'll see you later tonight at dinner, OK?" Mal nodded and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Ben smiled and drove his bike away to go to his office. Mal turned and walked inside to go back to her dorm room. When she opened the door, she was shocked to find Carlos and Jay in there, also Dude, who was on Carlos' lap, along with Evie, who turned around and said, "Mal, there you are. We've been waiting for you. We need to talk." Mal gulped as she entered the room and closed the door.

She stood tall and gathered all of her courage and said, "OK. Ask away." "Since when can you turn into a dragon?" Jay asked. "Since yesterday," Mal answered. "I didn't know I could do that." "What I don't understand," Carlos said. "Is that Ben was spelled in the first place. I remember that your mom's freezing spell didn't work on Ben. So how come Uma's love spell did?" Mal sighed and answered, "Yes, Ben is immune to magic. But Uma must have figured that out and used that amulet she had to spell him instead. Its source of power is different from magic." "How did you know she had that amulet?" Evie asked. "You said that she was responsible for nightmares you've been getting. What did you mean by that?" Mal sat down and answered, "They started a few months ago. They were dark, creepy. They showed all of my fears about fitting in here in Auradon and my relationship with Ben. All they did was add onto my stress. I was at my breaking point with them when I ran away back to the Isle. I thought that if I went back to the Isle, they would stop. But they didn't. I still felt the darkness from them. That creepy voice in my head. But then Solo…"

"Solo," Evie said. "You saw Solo while on the Isle? Was he at our hideout when I fell unconscious?" "And why did he not show up to help rescue Ben?" Carlos asked. "And why did he reveal himself to all of Auradon last night?" Jay asked. The three started rattling off more questions before Mal could answer and she was getting overwhelmed, even though Dude was trying to shout at everyone to calm down, but no one heard him.

Over at Ben's office, he was going through some paperwork when he sensed distress coming from Mal. He reached his mind out and saw that her friends were trying to interrogate her about Solo. "She needs me," Ben realized as he looked at the clock and saw that he had an hour or so before his first meeting started. He summoned the door to his secret room and walked through it so he could have some privacy. C-3PO walked over and said, "Hello, Master Ben." "Hey, 3PO," Ben said. "I'm just coming in here to astral project. This room has the best privacy to do it. Can you and R2 monitor my office if anyone comes looking for me?" "Of course, sir," C-3PO said as R2-D2 came over and beeped a few times. Ben nodded his thanks as he sat in a meditative pose and closed his eyes to focus on astral projection.

Mal was still getting bombarded with questions when she heard a deep voice say, "You all could just ask me." Evie, Carlos, and Jay stopped as they turned around and saw Solo standing there next to the window, leaning against it. Dude trotted over to Solo and said, "Wow. You appeared out of nowhere. How did…" Solo raised his hand over Dude and said, "You will not talk again until I leave." "I will not talk again until you leave," Dude said like he was in a trance before lying down on the floor. "Wow," Carlos said. "How did you do that?" "Simple mind trick," Solo answered. "I can persuade people, or dogs in this case. But only for simple requests. Nothing too major. Now, I have sensed that you are trying to dig some information about me out of Mal. And I think that she needs a break from you all. So here I am."

"Wait," Evie remembered. "When I was falling asleep back at the hideout, the last thing I remember was being picked up by someone. That was you!" Solo nodded and said, "I just told your mind to sleep for a while. I needed to talk to Mal. And before you all ask, no, whatever I discussed with Mal is between me and her. I am sorry if you all don't agree with that, but that is my wish. Unless you all want me to make you forget that we are even having this conversation…" "No, we're good," Jay said quickly.

Solo chuckled and said, "Good to hear. Now, ask your questions." Mal went and sat down on her bed as Carlos asked, "Why didn't you show up to help rescue Ben on the Isle?" "I was there," Solo said. "Just unseen. My power is actually limited on the Isle thanks to the barrier and I couldn't go full out in order to rescue the King. Plus, you all had a pretty good plan in place. I just secretly intervened during the sword fight. Even pushed Mal to Ben in the tunnel." "He's right," Mal said. "I heard his voice and then suddenly I was pushed down the tunnel and into Ben's arms so that we could escape in the limo." Jay then asked, "Well, why did you show yourself to everyone at Cotillion? I thought you liked to hide in the shadows." "I needed to get that amulet off of Uma," Solo said. "I had no chance but to reveal myself to everyone. Yeah, I could have just done it invisibly, but that would have caused a bigger scene." "What was that amulet though?" Evie asked. "Something that should not have been here on this world," Solo answered. "It's a dark artifact that comes from the same power source as my powers do. I don't know how it got here, but I destroyed it so that it couldn't fall into anyone's hands ever again." "What power source is it?" Mal asked. "It feels similar yet different from the magic here." Solo knew that Mal would ask this question one day. He sighed and said, "One day I will tell you about it. But today is not that day. I have secrets that I need to hold on to myself at this time. I promise you that in time I will tell you everything that you want to know. All I am asking for is patience. For now, just know that the amulet is gone and it will never affect you again, Mal. Like I promised when I destroyed the psychic link between you and it."

"Speaking of which," Mal said. "How did Uma do that?" "My guess," Solo said. "It happened during your visit to the Isle during the Mim incident. Uma probably saw you four wandering around the Isle and did it then. She probably wasn't happy that I broke it so she upped her game by escaping so that the amulet could be at full power. But she didn't realize that the amulet would slowly kill her. I had to save her along with all of you." "That's fair," Mal said, shocking the others. "What? Yeah, Uma and I have a history and we don't like each other, but I wouldn't want something bad to happen to her. Even if she kind of deserves it sometimes."

Solo chuckled but then felt C-3PO and R2-D2 trying to contact him and said, "This is where I must depart for now." He turned to leave as Mal said, "Wait. When will we see you again?" Solo turned and said, "When it's the right time." He turned and disappeared right in front of them. "So," Jay said. "That happened." "He is very mysterious," Carlos said as Dude said, "Finally. I can talk again." "I may not like it that he is keeping things from us," Evie said. "But I'll respect his wishes. It seems like your a favorite of his, Mal. Like Ben seems to be." Mal sighed and said, "I guess so." She looked out the window and thought, "He has never really explained why I am having dreams about him and that brown haired girl. I hope one day I will find out. But what he said about keeping his secrets to himself for the time being, it sounds similar to what Ben told me. Why?"

Ben opened his eyes as his spirit returned to his body and he took some deep breaths. He looked up and saw C-3PO, who sighed and said, "Thank the maker. I have been trying to alert you for some time. Lumiere has been trying to look for you as your first meeting is about to start. You must return to your office before he returns." "Thanks, 3PO," Ben said as he stood up and gave R2-D2 a pat and walked out of his secret room and into his office to find Lumiere. "I hate that I am keeping things from Mal and her friends," Ben thought. "But I know that one day I will have to tell them everything. Especially Mal. That is going to be a hard day."

Elsewhere, in a dark void, a mysterious presence sneered, "My carefully laid out plan ruined. My amulet destroyed. I almost had the power and life force of that sea witch at my command. But then he showed up. Ben Solo. Although I was defeated, I found out something interesting. Ben Solo is alive. I don't know how, but I suspect this is the Force's doing. And if he is around, then maybe his other half is there too. Hiding somewhere. But at least I know that Solo has be reborn as the King. That's why I felt such a strong connection between Solo and the boy king. He's using the boy as a vessel. Interesting. That must mean that Rey is using one as well. But who I wonder? I must make a new plan. I need someone new to draw darkness from. Solo has made that dragon fairy girl off limits thanks to him breaking the psychic link. And I can't use the boy king as he is Solo. Maybe there is someone else who has similar darkness like that sea witch. I will watch and see who my next pawn will be….."