Sorry about the week long wait. Thanksgiving break took up a lot of my writing time. But I'm back. Enjoy!
The next few months flew by quicker than anyone thought they would. Cotillion seemed like a thing of the past before long. Mal was surprisingly adapting to life as a Lady of the Court pretty well. With Ben at her side, she was able to learn the ropes and handle the stress a lot better thanks to not having any nightmares curtesy of a dark amulet. She started to sit in on council meetings with Ben and listened to all of the complaints, laws, etc and helped make compromises and rulings like a pro, as well as helped Ben lift more and more of the magic ban on Auradon. "She really is showing that she is Queen material," Ben thought. "She's doing better at these meetings than Audrey ever did." Mal was just happy that Ben was at her side every step of the way to help her transition from Isle girl to future Queen.
Ben did meet with Audrey's family, but just Aurora and Phillip as Audrey was still on a spa vacation with the three good fairies and Queen Leah was kept out of the meeting per Aurora's request. Ben showed them the voided contract and while Phillip was a little apprehensive about believing it, Aurora knew that it was true and accepted it without question. She had been keeping tabs on events while Audrey was gone and saw what happened at Cotillion. She knows true love when she sees it. She convinced Phillip not to challenge it and he agreed. They agreed to help Audrey move on and to get Leah off of Ben's back which Ben appreciated.
True to Ben's word, he sat down with Evie and they created a list of potential Isle kids to bring over to Auradon. Ben knew and Evie understood that they couldn't let everyone off the Isle at once as Auradon wasn't quite ready for it. They understood that it was too risky at the current time to let more than four come as too many could run wild around Auradon, which is dangerous and would make the Core 4 look bad. Plus, people like Harry, Gil, and the rest of Uma's crew were too dangerous at the present time to be potential candidates. Evie made sure that Dizzy was at the top of the list. They both decided to send application paperwork to the school on the Isle, Dragon Hall, and have students apply if they want a chance to come to Auradon.
But they discovered that only Dizzy made an application. Ben and Mal were suppose to start a royal tour so that Mal could see more of Auradon, and Mal decided that she, along with the rest of the Core 4, needed to go to the Isle to get more kids to apply. Ben wanted to go with them, but Mal said that they could do this on their own, and she reminded Ben that the last time he went to the Isle, he was kidnapped and Mal did not want to risk that again. Ben reluctantly allowed the four to go to the Isle, but he knew that he would keep tabs on them thanks to the Force.
When the Core 4 arrived, they went to Mal's old home, Bargain Castle, first to talk to various children to offer them the chance to apply for the VK program so they could go to Auradon to have a second chance at life like they did. However, none of the kids were swayed by their words and weren't interested, much to the Core 4's disappointment. The next day, they visited Dragon Hall to visit Dr. Facilier to try and bribe him to have him help get kids into the VK program by promising his daughter, Celia, a spot in the program. Evie even got her fortune told by Celia, who warned of a danger coming soon.
At the same time, Uma had been swimming around the Isle from outside the barrier trying to find a way in to let everyone out. She's tried to find openings to no success and tried to get the attention of Harry and Gil, but they couldn't hear her shouting. She tried using her sea witch magic, but it was no match for the magic of Fairy Godmother, especially now that the amulet she had was destroyed by Solo, or rather Ben as Uma figured out. She was still trying to process what happened at Cotillion surrounding Ben. Why was he immune to magic like hers but not to the power of the amulet? If Ben was the mysterious guardian of the Isle, why did both of them look different? Uma shook her head in frustration as she thought, "That King confuses me. Both he and this Solo are one and the same, but how I don't understand. Never mind that now. I need to find a way to get everyone off the Isle. And make Mal pay….." She stopped her thought at the thought of Mal. She still felt bad at how far she pushed Mal to her breaking point when she almost lost herself to the amulet. She knew that Ben was right and she shouldn't let her hurt and anger rule her. But she still felt that her way of getting everyone out of the Isle was the best way. And she still had her rivalry with Mal. Despite Uma feeling remorse for her last plan, she still wanted to prove that she was better than Mal and win for once. And her way to beat Mal was to get everyone off the Isle.
She went swimming on the sea floor when she heard rock music. She looked around and saw a crack on the sea floor. She used her magic to fit through the crack and she found herself in a cave that belonged to Hades, who was jamming out to rock music. Uma cleared her throat and got Hades' attention. The God turned and saw Uma standing there, growling internally as he knew that this was the girl who hurt his Rey. He smirked and said, "Ah, Shrimpy, is it? Why are you here in my cave?" Uma growled at the nickname and said, "My name is Uma, not Shrimpy. I wanted to ask you if you had your ember." Hades had a feeling that Uma wanted to use his ember so he chuckled and said, "Yeah. What of it?" "It could be useful," Uma said. "To get off the Isle. Aren't you tired of living underground? In this damp and dreary cave?" Hades hummed, as he wanted to get off the Isle, but not exactly through the enemy of his daughter. Uma continued, "We should team up, you and I. Together we could bring down the stupid barrier that holds everyone here. Then we could all be free. And I will finally be able to defeat Mal." Hades hid a glare that he gave Uma at that last statement.
He decided to play with Uma a bit as he knew that Mal and her friends had returned to the Isle so he said, "Did you hear that Mal was spotted on Maleficent's balcony last night? I thought it might interest you, given your rivalry with her." He smirked when he saw Uma starting to fume. But then he felt guilt and regret fill up at the thought of his daughter. Uma growled and said, "Ugh! I can just picture it. Mal and her little minions, strutting around thinking they're so great, as if they own the place, when all they did was abandon it. But back to my plan. We can use the power of your ember to lure Mal away so that I can grab the remote to the barrier off of her. I can't get close to her because if she sees me, she'll run the other way. I need her to come to me, where she won't be able to escape. And where that Solo won't be able to rescue her."
"Solo?" Hades looked over at Uma with a puzzled expression. "Who is this Solo?" "The guardian of the Isle and Auradon as he calls himself," Uma said, keeping secret about who Solo actually is as she did promise Ben not to tattle about it. "He's really protective of Mal and her gang. Especially Mal. I used to have the power to beat him, but he destroyed it. All I have is my shell necklace. And he is immune to its power. Your ember may be the key to holding him back while I get to Mal." Hades hid a smirk, he thought it was thoughtful that this mysterious guardian was protective over his daughter when he himself could not. He had a feeling that Solo would protect his daughter no matter what Uma has planned. "Yeah," Hades said. "But I hate to break it to you, kid, but my ember doesn't glow anymore. It's useless."
Uma then said, "Do you see all these cracks in the tunnel? I think these cracks might let in a little magic. We're so far beneath the island that Fairy Godmother's spell is weaker here." That made Hades perk up a little as he was interested in powering up his ember again. "A little magic?" Hades asked. "Is that so?" Uma nodded and said, "There's only one way to find out, isn't there? Bring it out. Let's see if it still works." Hades sighed as he fetched his ember and showed it to Uma, "It's dead; I was using it as a paperweight." He waved it around for show when Uma shouted, "There! I told you!" Sure enough, there was a tiny spark of blue light coming from the ember. Hades gazed at the ember with awe, he wasn't powerless after all. Even after all this time since he last used it when Mal was a baby. Hades shook away the memory, not wanting to think of the last time he used his ember that had consequences for him and Mal. He knew that this wouldn't be enough magic to get him out, but maybe he could use it to contact Mal. He didn't want Uma to hurt her again, but maybe he could convince Mal himself to let him off the Isle. So he decided to play along and said, "You need Mal to come to you, right? Leave it to me. I'll take care of Mal. Now scram!" Uma smirked and left the cave so he could be alone.
Hades looked at his ember and thought, "My Rey. You will help me off this Isle. But I will try to protect you from the one who hurt you. And maybe this Solo will come to your rescue and I can see for myself who this guardian is."
What Hades and Uma didn't realize was that Celia was wondering through the underground tunnels and heard everything. She ran and found Mal and her friends, who were visiting former teachers to have them try to get more applicants but with no success. Celia tells them about hearing Uma's voice in Hades' lair, the mention of Hades causing Mal to feel a wave of sadness washing over her as she still felt sad that her father abandoned her. Evie, Carlos, and Jay didn't believe Celia as no one could get through the barrier. But Mal felt her crystal that she was wearing underneath her shirt glow slightly as she sensed that Celia was telling the truth. Mal told Celia that they would be on their guard, much to her friends' disbelief.
Later that night, Mal was sleeping in their hideout with Jay keeping watch. Mal was dreaming about the brown haired girl again, but she was in a dark cave looking at a mirror that went on forever. "I want to see my parents," Mal heard the girl whisper to the mirror making Mal tear up a little. But before Mal could see if the girl's wish was granted, she heard a voice call her name, waking her up. "Mal," the voice said. It sounded so familiar to Mal but she couldn't place it. "Hey, Mal. My Rey of sunshine. Come to me." Mal fell into a trance as she got up and walked to where the voice was calling her to.
Over in Auradon, Ben was sleeping when something startled him awake. He felt like something was off. He focused his mind and saw that someone on the Isle was calling Mal to them. "Mal," Ben thought. "She's in trouble. I can feel it. I need to get to her." He closed his mind and astral projected himself as Solo to the Isle.
Mal follows the voice to a forest where a blue orb glows as the voice continues to call her name, "Mal. You're getting close. Come to me. Free me." But then her crystal glows and she breaks out of the trance. She shakes her head a little and looks at the blue orb and thinks, "Dad?"
Hades sees Mal through the ember and was surprised that Mal broke free of the trance. Now she wouldn't be able to free him from the Isle. He knew that Uma was waiting under the sea near the pier she wanted Mal to go to. He whispered into his ember, "Run."
Mal heard the message and ran out of the forest, but ran right to the pier that Uma was near. She bumped into Dizzy, who said, "Mal! What are you doing here?" Mal took some deep breaths and said, "Just running around, I guess. I was following something, but then it disappeared. What are you doing here?" "We're suppose to meet up at Curl Up and Dye, remember?" Mal flinched, knowing that she did not make this plan with Dizzy as the crystal was helping clear her mind. She looked at Dizzy and saw Uma's necklace around her neck. She glared at Dizzy and said, "You're not Dizzy. Uma. I know it's you." Dizzy's eyes widened, but then smirked and Uma's voice came out of Dizzy, "Very clever. You aren't spelled like I thought you would be. No matter. You're right where I want you anyway."
Suddenly Harry and Gil walked up behind Dizzy with similar glows on their throats. "She's somehow controlling all three of them," Mal thought. Harry smirked and said in Uma's voice, "You're not welcome on the Isle anymore." Mal just stood there and glared saying, "Really? And what are you going to do about it, Uma?" Gil chuckled in Uma's voice and said, "I'm going to have the last laugh. You didn't break from those nightmares I sent you. So I'm doing Plan B." "You really aren't sorry for doing that do me," Mal realized. Dizzy smirked as she said in Uma's voice, "I am. Even though I may have crossed the line with that, I still want to prove that I am better than you. And I still want my revenge against you." Mal chuckled, even though she was being backed up closer to the water as Dizzy, Harry, and Gil were walking toward her. Mal glared and said, "What makes you think this is going to be any different from every other time that I've beaten you?" "Those were measly little battles," Harry said in Uma's voice. "There's a war coming!" "And in this war," Gil said in Uma's voice. "I will triumph, I'll have everything, the Isle and Auradon!" "And you, princess," Dizzy said in Uma's voice. "I'm coming for you, Mal." Then all three pushed Mal and she started to fall off the pier toward the water.
But she suddenly froze in midair before she touched the water. She looked up and saw Solo standing near the pier with his hand raised toward Mal, showing that he stopped her fall using his powers. He raised his other hand toward Dizzy, Harry, and Gil and the three fell to the ground, unconscious. He ran off and used his powers to bring Mal to him. Mal floated over to him and Solo wrapped his arms around her saying, "You're OK. I've got you." Mal felt strangely content in Solo's arms, like it was if she was in Ben's arms.
But before she could think about it more, Uma appeared from the water in her octopus form scowling, "You! You ruined everything!" Solo let go of Mal and said, "Uma. I know you want to get everyone off the Isle. But this isn't the way to do it. You're so focused on your revenge on Mal and your darkness is growing. You're still holding on! Let go!" Mal saw a vision in her head as Solo said that, but to the brown haired girl, who was crying, as Solo held out his hand to her because he wanted her to join him, even though the brown haired girl was begging him not to go that way. The vision disappeared as she heard Uma laugh and say, "You think your way to get us all free will work? I'm done waiting. The time for action is now. But you like to play the long game, don't you? Just like you're doing with Mal. Have you told her yet?" Mal got confused as Solo growled with anger and said, "You won't get what you want today, Uma. I stopped you once, I can stop you again." Uma chuckled evilly as she raised her tentacles above the water ready to strike.
But then a powerful force pulled Uma under the sea and pushed Mal and Solo away from the pier. "What was that?" Mal asked as she stood up from the ground. "That wasn't me," Solo admitted. "Someone else did that. But who?"
In Hades' cavern, Hades was grinning ear to ear and said, "There. My daughter is safe from that sea witch. Back out into the waves where she belongs. No one messes with my daughter and gets away with it. Sure I had to use the last of my ember's magic to push her out and I lost my chance at escape, but it was worth it, for my daughter's sake. Now, that Solo character. He is interesting. He did come to my Rey's rescue. Who is he? Is he the other reborn soul I felt when my Rey was born? I wonder."
Elsewhere, Celia had found the cracks that was having magic pour in. She knew that over time, the villains could absorb enough of this leaking magic to break free of the Isle. So she decided to call upon her own shadow, since she had similar powers over shadows like her father, and commanded it to cover all the cracks so that magic couldn't get through the barrier anymore. Once done, she felt proud of herself and knew that now she had a chance to get into the VK program thanks to her good deed.
Mal looked over and saw Dizzy, Harry, and Gil still unconscious and she ran over to Dizzy to check on her. "She'll be alright," Solo said. "She is recovering from being used by Uma. She'll awaken in a little bit. When she does, you should return her to her home. Then you should rejoin your friends before they start to worry." "What about you?" Mal asked. Solo picked up both Harry and Gil like it was nothing and said, "I'll drop these two off back on Uma's ship. Then I must go." He turned around, carrying Harry and Gil on his shoulders, but Mal shouted, "Wait! Uma said that you haven't told me something yet? What haven't you told me? Does Uma know something about you that I don't?" Solo sighed and said, "Uma isn't lying. She does know something. But now is not the time to discuss it." "Then when?" Mal asked. Solo felt a tremor in the Force, making Solo smile and say, "Soon." He then walked away toward Uma's ship, leaving Mal with an unconscious Dizzy.
Dizzy woke up a few moments later and asked Mal why she was there, but Mal chose not to reveal what happened. She escorted Dizzy back to her grandmother's salon, where Dizzy gave Mal a new hairstyle, which was dark purple hair and a shorter cut. Mal then left and went back to here hideout where her friends were as they were about to go looking for Mal. The three rushed over and gave Mal a hug. Evie pulled away and said, "Your hair! You got a haircut?" Mal smiled as she patted her new wavy locks and said, "I ran into Dizzy." "At this time of night?" Carlos asked. "Is that where you disappeared to?" Jay asked. Mal thought about if she should reveal what all happened tonight: hearing her dad's voice, her showdown with Uma involving a mind-controlled Dizzy, Harry, and Gil, and Solo coming to her rescue. She decided against it and said, "Mostly. I was just taking a stroll around the Isle and I ran into Dizzy." Her friends didn't completely buy it, but chose not to say anything for now.
They instead discussed the fact that they were not succeeding in recruiting kids for the VK program. Mal agreed that the way they were trying to recruit was not working. But then they all realized that they've been in Auradon for too long and have been trying to use things that appeal to good people and not people of the Isle. That fact made Mal a little sad as she knew that she had turned into a good person, but she understood that not every kid on the Isle was like her. They all agree that they have to appeal to the selfish desires that the kids have. Carlos thought of an idea called VK Day, which could be a holiday to celebrate children of the Isle and maybe that could help get more applicants excited. Everyone agreed and they told Dr. Facilier the next day about VK Day and how those students selected will be honored with a celebration spectacular that will include a parade, a band, and a kingdom wide feast. Dr. Facilier agrees to spread the word to the kids which makes the Core 4 happy. They tell him that they will return in a few weeks to make the selection.
Elsewhere, Uma was outside the barrier again trying to get back in, but couldn't thanks to Celia's shadow blocking all the cracks. She is angry that her plan didn't work. But at least she was interested in the fact that Ben still hasn't told Mal that he and Solo were one and the same. "Maybe if Ben continues to lie to her," Uma thought. "Then their relationship will fall apart. Oh, I would love to see Mal suffer like that again." Then Uma thought about the power that forced her back to the outside of the barrier and realized, "That power wasn't from Ben. It felt different from him and that amulet. It could be….Hades!" She screamed in fury as she realized that Hades double-crossed her and swore that her next plan would be successful.
The Core 4 returned to Auradon and told Ben about the VK Day plan. Ben was all for it as he wanted those kids to have a special day just for them. Ben let Evie, Carlos, and Jay plan the day while he and Mal started their summer tour of the different kingdoms in Auradon.
Ben's 18th birthday arrived on July 30th and the kingdom threw a big birthday bash for their king. Ben still wasn't a fan of the big birthday parties, but went along with it to appease the kingdom. He and Mal at least had a small brunch with their friends for his birthday which Ben enjoyed. There was a ball that night that celebrated not only his birthday, but also Mal's as her 18th birthday was the next day. Mal looked beautiful in the purple ball gown Evie made her and Ben wore his royal suit and they danced the night away in each other's arms, without a care in the world.
The next day, Ben surprised Mal with a private picnic at the Enchanted Lake for lunch and Ben fed Mal all her favorite foods and gave her a dragon necklace with a purple gem in the middle, which Mal loved. Ben had secretly made Mal an engagement ring to match the necklace, but he wanted to wait a few days before he proposed to her as he was secretly planning how he was going to propose to her. Even though Leia was trying to encourage him to do it now, Ben mentally told her that he knew what he was doing. Padme agreed with Ben and helped Leia to back off while Han tried to tell him that he didn't need to make a big spectacle out of it and just marry the girl already, which made Leia smack Han, causing Ben to chuckle.
The other Force spirits helped remind Ben that now that she was given her Kyber crystal, she would have to know the truth soon. Ben understood this as he hated lying to Mal for so long about him and Solo being one and the same. Uma had poked Mal with that knowledge in front of her face and Ben sensed that made Mal start to be suspicious of him. Mal was getting better at subconsciously guarding her thoughts more thanks to the Kyber crystal but from what he could get, she was getting more memories in the form of dreams and could feel some doubts she had about him. He was scared that Mal would be upset at him for lying for so long and even though he wanted to tell her many times about who he truly is, he remembered Agathe's warning about not rushing things and that the Force will tell him when the time is right. He knew that the time was coming, but he was starting to get impatient about waiting for Mal's memories of Rey and her Force connection to return but the Force spirits reminded him that everything will come to pass. Ben knew that and decided just to enjoy the moments he had with Mal and pray that the Force will act soon on this.
Mal was still getting dreams about the brown haired girl but now they were definitely happening every night. She dreamed about the winter forest again where the girl and Solo fought and the girl sliced Solo's face and chest, giving him a scar. She dreamed about the girl's time on the island where she would connect with Solo from far distances. She saw Solo sitting across from the girl after the girl visited the dark cave and was feeling alone, and Solo said, "You're not alone." and the girl replied, "Neither are you." She saw the two battle on a wreck with waves crashing into them and the girl running his saber through Solo's chest, but then healing him afterwards, although the girl said something to him but Mal couldn't make out what was said. One time, she dreamed of the girl in a dark corridor talking to a small creature who told her, "The belonging you seek is not behind you. It is ahead." Mal would wake up feeling more exhausted than she did when she fell asleep. She wanted to talk to Solo about these dreams as he still never told her why she was having them and ever since her confrontation with Uma on the Isle, she wanted to know what Uma knew about Solo that Mal didn't know. Why was he being secretive around her? What hasn't he told her?
Mal felt the same thing about Ben. Her senses were becoming more attuned thanks to the crystal he gave her and she could sense that Ben was hiding something from her. And she felt that it revolved around Solo. Did he know something about Solo that she did not? Are they more connected than she realized? She wanted to open up to Ben about these feelings, but Ben has been so sweet and caring with her that she feels safe with him. She could sense that he wanted to tell her something, but nothing ever came out. She knew that one day they both had to tell each other everything they held close to their hearts. She wished that that day would come soon. For now, she was enjoying her 18th birthday with her true love at the Enchanted Lake and was looking forward to the party her friends were throwing for her that night and VK Day, that was tomorrow. Things were looking up for her.
Audrey had returned from her semester off and spa vacation while Ben and Mal were on their tour and had to go to summer school at Auradon Prep as her spa vacation made her miss a couple classes. Her parents told her about the voided betrothal contract, but she didn't want to believe it. Her parents tried to tell her to move on with her life, but she refused. And her grandmother was on her side as she wasn't a fan of Mal. Her parents forced her to go to Ben's birthday ball as they had to support their king. She sneered as Ben escorted Mal in. "Look at her," Audrey thought. "She thinks she's all high and mighty thinking that she is the girl for Ben. She's wrong. They're all wrong. I'm going to show him and everyone else that I am the girl for Ben." She went to the salon the next day and got a new hairstyle: long blonde hair with blue and pink highlights. She knew that she would blow Ben's socks off with her new look and that he would beg her to be with him again.
Elsewhere in a dark void, a mysterious presence was chuckling, "Well, well. I think I found the perfect pawn for my plan. This girl has darkness growing inside her like the sea witch. Maybe I can steer her in the right direction to cause chaos and to give me power through her actions. Time to give her a nudge that will make her darkness grow…."
