Most of the guests had arrived and Mal and Ben's engagement party was well underway. Everyone was mingling and eating and drinking punch while they waited for the guests of honor.
Pandora was with her family, having introduced her mother and Grandma Demeter to some of her friends, including Jay, Carlos, and Evie. She was amused to see that Aaron had introduced his mother Athena to Lonnie and her mother Mulan, and they all seemed to have hit it off.
Pandora was dressed in yet another new outfit, one which Evie insisted on designing for the engagement party. It was a blue, high neck, sleeveless cocktail-style dress. From the waist on up it was blue lace with flower and vine designs. The waist down was a solid blue material that flared out and hung to the knees.
She was trying to keep her mind on the fun events around her instead of her nerves. Her mother and the rest of their family came down the day before and got rooms in a hotel in Auradon City. Pandora stayed in her mother's room last night and it was one of the best nights Pandora could remember. It was like a sleepover. They stayed up late, ate junk food, and they were more honest with each other than they had ever been before. They got all their secrets out in the open, and Persephone finally agreed to letting Pandora go away for college, within reason.
So, Pandora got on her laptop late last night and applied to a few colleges. Unfortunately, since it was June a lot of colleges had already reached their application deadlines, but a few accepted applications up until the start of the fall semester, mostly small community colleges. But that was fine with Pandora. She had no idea what she wanted to do with her life, so she didn't need to go to some big expensive school. She applied to a few schools like Neverland, Northern Wei, and Sherwood Forest. But since that was only about 12 hours ago, she obviously hadn't heard back yet, and likely wouldn't for a while.
Jay and Pandora were discussing some of the different programs available at Sherwood Forest University, which Jay was attending in the fall. Their discussion was cut off when the crowd broke out in applause, drawing their attention to where Ben and Mal had just arrived, and they joined in the applause themselves.
Everyone bowed or curtsied to the royal couple, who returned the gesture several times as they made their way up the stairs to the balcony overlooking the crowd. From here, Ben thanked everyone for joining in their celebration before stating that he and Mal also had an announcement.
Even from amongst the crowd below, Pandora could see that Mal looked slightly nervous. But the two briefly made eye contact as Mal straightened her shoulders and looked out at the crowd.
"Last week, we made a decision to close the barrier forever." Mal announced, causing several people to glance among themselves in surprise. "And it was my idea." Mal admitted, her eyes lifting to gaze out across the sea at the Isle. "But it's wrong. And I knew that, but it took others,…my friends and family, to make me truly see that." Mal added, her eyes moving back to Evie, Carlos, Jay, and Pandora below.
"We can't continue to live in fear, because that doesn't actually protect you from anything." Mal continued. "You never know where the bad, or the good, is going to come from. Without Uma and her pirates, Auradon would be gone. And without Hades…my father," Mal added, causing several people to gasp and whisper among themselves. Pandora squeezed her mother's hand. She'd already told her mother so Persephone wouldn't be blindsided. "Audrey would be gone." Mal finished.
Like many others, Pandora couldn't help glancing over at where Audrey was looking shamefully at her feet with tears in her eyes.
"We are all capable of good and bad," Mal continued firmly, "no matter which side of the barrier we come from."
Ben stood at Mal's side and took her hand in his as he faced the people below. "The people of the Isle are no different from the rest of us. There are good people over there, people willing to stand with us whenever the next bad thing happens. That's why we've decided that it's time to bring down the barrier forever."
Ben's parents didn't look happy, and a glance around at the crowd showed others who didn't look happy, either. But most people seemed to be in agreement. Pandora glanced over at her mother, whose eyes were fixed firmly up on the King and his fiancé, but her eyes seemed distant, as if lost in memories. Pandora squeezed her mother's hand again in support. She hadn't mentioned this announcement to her mother like she had regarding Mal's paternity. But judging by their earlier conversations about Persephone's feelings about leaving Hades on the Isle, she figured her mother would be in agreement on opening the barrier.
"I choose to be a King that moves forward." Ben went on. "It's time for forgiveness. It's time for new beginnings. The barrier will come down." he declared firmly.
"Yes!" Carlos cheered. "Woohoo!"
Everyone laughed before applauding the King and future Queen's decision.
Mal waved her friends up, and Pandora smiled as the three VKs hurried past her. But then Jay paused and looked back at her, giving her a look as if to say 'what are you waiting for?'. Pandora blinked in surprise, and Jay gestured for her to follow them. Glancing back at her mother, who smiled encouragingly, Pandora hurried after her friends up the stairs to the balcony above.
They reached the balcony just as Fairy Godmother passed the wand to Mal, and they all joined her and Ben at the railing.
"To make the world a better place, we have to do it face-to-face." they chanted before Mal pointed the wand across the sea. A beam of magic traveled through the sky until it hit the barrier surrounding the Isle, dissipating the gloomy clouds above it and letting the sun in. Then a stone bridge began to form, growing from Auradon's shore until it reached the Isle.
Pandora's eyes were fixed across the sea, warmth spreading through her chest at the thought of everyone trapped on the Isle finally being free. People like Gil who could finally see flowers and try fresh fruit and feel the warm sun on their skin for the first time. She was so engrossed in her thoughts she didn't notice Carlos, Evie, Ben, Mal, and Jay holding hands and huddling together until Jay literally pulled her from her thoughts and into the small group huddle. She laughed, her own arm wrapping around Jay's back in return and her other hand clasping Mal's atop the stone railing.
Way in the distance, they could barely see the small shapes of people making their way from the Isle and beginning to cross the bridge. It was difficult to tell from the great distance, but Pandora was fairly certain the person in the lead had teal hair. Probably Uma.
Mal lead the way down from the balcony. The four VKs began to cross the bridge to meet the newcomers halfway, while Pandora stopped at her mother's side.
"Are you okay?" she asked her mother gently, seeing Persephone's eyes fixed firmly and hopefully on the island. Demeter, on Persephone's other side, was watching her daughter closely.
Persephone sucked in a breath and looked at her daughter, looking as if she was about to assure her that she was perfectly fine. But then their matching blue eyes met and Pandora could practically see her mother's walls dropping.
"Nervous." her mother finally admitted. "But excited."
Pandora nodded, holding her mom's hand. "Me, too." she admitted.
It was a bit of a long walk, they were crossing the ocean after all, but after several long minutes that felt like an hour, dozens of the Isle's residents reached Auradon's shores. While Mal and the others walked right through the archway to rejoin the other Auradon residents, the rest of the VKs hesitated. Until Ben and Mal lead everyone in a bow to greet the newcomers.
They burst into smiles and took the final steps into Auradon, mingling with the heroes as people introduced themselves or greeted friends. Uma hugged Mal, Celia and Dizzy were bouncing around excitedly. It appeared most of the first wave of Isle residents were teenagers, several of them part of Uma's crew judging by their pirate garb.
"Dora!" a familiar voice called before Gil suddenly popped up in front of Pandora, startling her before Jay joined him. "Isn't this great? I can't believe Mal did it! Now I can actually see a coconut! Or a penguin!"
Pandora grinned broadly at Gil's enthusiasm, which was contagious.
"Yeah, maybe the three of us can do some traveling or something before summer's over." Jay agreed.
"Oh, you must be Dora's mom!" Gil finally noticed the woman at Pandora's side, his beaming smile still in place. "She's really nice. Do you have magic like her? She can grow berries on trees."
Pandora covered her mouth slightly as she glanced at her mother, hiding an amused smile. Persephone appeared to be successfully covering a laugh, as well, merely smiling warmly at the boy.
"Yes, I'm Dora's mom, Persephone."
"Mom, this is Gil." Pandora finally introduced, still grinning as the two shook hands.
They were interrupted as a second wave of Isle residents arrived, this one with what looked like a traditional Chinese dragon dance, the dragon they were carrying purple with glowing green eyes. Clearly in honor of Mal. Ben lightly pushed Mal forward a few steps before everyone else backed away to allow the dragon to weave around the future Queen, who was laughing with joy at the performance.
Dizzy, Celia, and the Smee twins ran past the dragon to greet what looked like Dr. Facilier, Lady Tremaine, and Mr. Smee excitedly before dragging them off to show their families around.
A beaming smile was stretched over Pandora's face as her eyes took in the chaos. People from Auradon and the Isle were mingling, dancing, and laughing. Everyone was happy. Sure, there was a chance they'd end up having problems with villains later down the line, but they'd take those moments as they came. For now, it was about celebration.
Pandora's hand was suddenly squeezed in her mother's hand, causing her to glance over. Persephone's eyes had widened ever-so-slightly and were fixed on the point where the new bridge met the shore. Following her mother's eyes, Pandora sucked in a sharp, nervous breath.
Her father had arrived in Auradon. Mal and Ben had greeted Hades at the large archway and were leading him into the celebration. Mal had a huge smile on her face, and even Hades appeared to be grinning, though he was trying to be cool about it.
Pandora saw the moment Hades caught sight of them. His relaxed expression and easygoing gait faltered when his eyes landed on Pandora's mom. He seemed to freeze in place, causing Mal to halt due to her arm being looped through his. She followed his gaze and her smile widened. Mal gave Hades a slight push while Pandora released her mother's hand and lightly nudged her shoulder.
The cheering and crowd seemed to fade into the background as Hades and Persephone met in the crowded courtyard. They stared at each other in silence for a long moment, their eyes taking the other in after being apart almost two decades.
"You haven't changed." Hades finally commented, trying to sound casual.
"Neither have you." Persephone answered. "You still dress like a child."
Hades smirked, and a smile spread over Persephone's cheeks.
Pandora and Mal exchanged a glance, both smiling.
Finally seeming to give in to herself, Persephone took a last step forward and wrapped her arms around Hades' neck. He returned the hug quicker than Pandora expected, wrapping his arms tightly around Persephone's lower back, actually lifting her up onto her tiptoes and holding her close for a long moment.
When they finally pulled away, Hades still kept Persephone close with an arm wrapped around her, though he turned his eyes to his daughters.
"So, you gonna show me around now?" he asked.
Mal and Pandora once again exchanged a grin before they looked back up at their father.
"I think we can do that." Pandora answered.
AN: This chapter took longer than most to finish. I just couldn't think of how I wanted it to go. Let me know what you all think! The next chapter will likely be the Epilogue, and then this story will unfortunately be over. Let me know if there's anything specific you want to see in the Epilogue.
I've had a few people asking for other stories, or revisiting some of my old stories and characters. I'm thrilled so many people love my stories and the characters I've created, and who knows, maybe one day I will revisit them, but at the moment I don't think I will. I've hit a bit of a slump in writing and am struggling just with finishing this story. So I think after this story I'm going to take a bit of a break from writing.
Thanks again for all your kind words! Again, let me know what you think of this chapter and what you want to see in the Epilogue!