Ben had to wait until it was dark. He didn't want to do this without at least telling one of his friends. But he wasn't sure if they'd understand, and some he knew would, but had commitments so he didn't want to get them involved. Doug had a family gathering, Lonnie had a school project to take care of, Jane was making preparations for the coronation, Chad was focused on the next tourney game. Svanhild had never been shy about about her thoughts or about fighting for the rights of others, and he knew she would join him in a heartbeat, but… She was the first person his parents would go to, and even blame if they knew she had a hand in it. Besides, even without context, he had a feeling she'd get a general idea of where he'd gone and cover for him if they were to ask which should buy him some time (out of all his friends, she was the best liar. Her stories were outlandish but considering the world they lived in, just plausible enough to be believable, and she weaved her words well enough that you could barely ever tell what the hell she actually meant; Ben still had no idea if her excuse for missing school last week was true or not).

And Audrey... Audrey, his girlfriend, was, as always, trapped in her idealistic happily-ever-world where everything was either good or bad. Besides, she had plans for the spa and to get fitted for her dress for the coronation.

Either way, once his parents found out where he'd gone, he didn't need them badgering his friends. He did leave a note, however, that might be found if they looked in the right place.

When he left the castle, he only had half a plan. And for it, he needed someone with magic who wasn't afraid to use it despite it now being frowned upon in Auradon (this was the reason the kingdom of Arendelle was not trusted although they were a close ally, since instead of allowing Fairy Godmother to take away their powers, Queen Elsa and her husband, as well as her stepdaughter and son, decided to keep them). To be honest, it was truly a fascinating thing to Ben, but knowing his family's history with magic and enchantress', he wisely kept his mouth shut.

Which is how he ended up face to face with Hela Lokidottir. One of the few children who escaped Auradon's persecution of their parents and imprisonment upon the Isle. Not out of the goodness of their hearts, of course, but by her mother hiding and sending her away once she found the god had been captured. Since then, she'd kept the secret of her father pretty well. She, like him, had cultivated herself to be the picture of perfection to keep all suspicion off her, made every effort to make herself seem the poster child all parents wanted; she never lied (or at least was never caught; children of her father were well-known for their silver tongues), although she kept promises close to her chest as promises made to a god were binding, whether they meant it or not; she never wore green, never got into any mischief like the twins of Queen Rapunzel and King Eugene, never showed any inclination toward magic, even claimed she wanted to join the soldiers of Auradon when she grew older. Even changed her name; Eliza Vanir was the picture perfect version of her she wanted everyone to see.

And the fact she was never caught showed her gift in weaving one lie after another in a complex web you were more likely to get caught in than tear apart.

She never gave so much as a hint that she was the daughter of the god of lies and mischief himself, except the one time Ben caught her performing magic that so obviously could only belong to a child of Loki. Even the faeries and sorcerers needed training to perform magic so well, while for children of the gods, it came natural as breathing.

Despite swearing she didn't owe him any favors for not telling anyone, Ben could tell she was still afraid he would, which was why if she overheard him mentioning about needing something to his friends, he found it the very next day in his locker. And every time, he would give it back or confront her about it, insisting he didn't want payment in exchange for his silence (he was almost offended that she thought so low of him until he saw the contempt many of the adults—many of his friends—had for the villains and children of the Isle). Only to have her do it again days later. Maybe it was because that just as promises to gods were binding, promises of gods to humans were just as strong. On any other day, he would deny it because it wasn't very princely or Auradon of him, but he had been counting on her overhearing this time to use it to his advantage.

She, however, had not counted on him finding her first instead of the other way around.

"Ben, I swear, you're so trusting, someone could be holding a bloody knife in one hand and a human head in the other, and you'd still try to say 'Hi,' and make conversation with them," Hela finally sighed, the first words she said all night to him as they walked into the forest where he hid his things. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I need your help," Ben said. At seeing her expression, he hurried. "Listen, normally, I wouldn't ask you this, but this is important to me. This morning—"

"Yeah, I heard. The proclamation," she cut him off. His cheeks flushed, if she knew, how many others had already heard, too? Most meetings were kept quiet, but since this would undoubtedly affect all of Auradon, it was suddenly required knowledge. "I'm sorry, I really am; if my brother hadn't saved me—" she stroked her brother Fenris' pitch black fur (it still disturbed Ben to see him despite reading up on their father; many of the things he did were crazy, yes, but not exactly evil, and even then it was almost too crazy for him to consider)— "I would be with them."

"You have magic," Ben said, more a statement than a question.

"Yeah, what about it?" Suspicion crept into her tone.

"I need your help to get to the Isle."

Fenris yelped as Hela gripped a bit too harshly on his fur at his sudden words. "What?! Are you—" she began shouting, just barely remembering herself before quickly lowering her voice to a hiss. "Are you crazy?! If they found you there, they will kill you, or use you for ransom or something! Either way, it definitely won't be good!"

"If I want them to understand, I need to show them," Ben said. "If I can just show them what it's like over there, they'll see why it's wrong to keep them there, why they deserve a chance, maybe they'll listen! The villains did terrible things, I know that, but their children are all innocent, and nobody cares about them!"

Hela stared at him with wide eyes a vibrant green that almost glowed in the darkness. Then she tilted her head, squinting. "You're...really invested in this, aren't you?" she asked.

"People like you don't deserve to be afraid of facing prejudice for who their parents are. I've been researching the children and teenagers on the Isle, but this way I can decide who needs it most, who would be better suited to begin with so they'll bring more over after the first try."

Leaning against her brother, Hela was silent for what felt like an eternity before finally saying, "Okay," she shrugged, but Ben knew there was more, "on one condition. I have to go with you."

"I don't think that's a good—"

"Do I need to give you a list on why this is not negotiable? Number one, you. Just you. No offense, but I bet you would not last five minutes without being found out with this...goody-two-shoes act of yours." A smirk played on her lips that suddenly made it much easier to see her a child of the trickster god. "The thing is," she sighed, tapping him on the nose. "You being, well, you is enough of a reason not to let you go alone. If you want to blend in, you gotta do what I do, what shapeshifters are natural at doing."

Ben furrowed his brows. "Which is…"

"Play a role." Giving a slight yank on his jacket, she said, "This works a bit in terms of costume. And while I do enjoy playing dress-up during Drama Club, I prefer a more realistic one as you've seen before. One of the things I learned here is that everyone plays a character in front of others, even without meaning to. Everyone wears masks that few see behind, and the thing I love about acting is that you have to analyze a character to play it. Their quirks, their habits, observe to realize their fears and dreams, figure out what makes them them— " Circling Ben, she spun, and when she was facing him again, her form had shifted, became taller, shoulders broader, voice deepened, and Ben saw his own face on hers to the exact detail, the only difference being the eyes a bright green instead of his own blue-grey— "so just think of the world as your stage with the consequences a little higher than you'd like if you step out of that character."

To say hearing his own voice speaking back to him was unnerving would be the understatement of the year. But still, Hela continued, wearing his form as a "costume," as she put it, while she circled him. "You, I'm still trying to figure out the exact details of your character, especially since I can tell your mask is one you put a lot of work and effort into, but I have observed you enough to know that you try so hard to be the perfect, little fairytale prince everyone expects you to be, but your heart's never truly been in it, has it?" she drawled in his voice, tilting her head just so, her fingers lingering on his shoulder as she passed. "Not when what you consider right is regarded as wrong by almost everyone else, not whenever you confront anyone about it, you're ignored or told that you'll ruin your parents' legacy by continuing your way of thinking. Not when you feel no one believes in you." Then she shifted into another face. Audrey's. "Not when you're never sure who's really your friend and who's just using you. Of who's lying or keeping secrets when you lie to yourself that she probably isn't just with you for the crown and status, because then you would wake yourself from a comforting illusion to a painful truth."

Ben stumbled back as he tried not to show how hard her words hit. "I—I don't see what this has to do with anything."

"You don't, do you?" she mused, shifting back into her own form. "I mean, getting to know your character helps me to understand you, and I'm just wondering if this is about doing the right thing, or proving that you're right."

Shaking his head, Ben took a moment to compose himself. All her words were just an attempt to get under his skin and see if he was weak. None of what she said was actually true. They're looking for any weakness to use to take you apart! "I want to do this because I have to," he said firmly."And if you won't help, I suppose I'll just find another way."

A long moment passed in which Hela spent just…standing in place before him, looking him up and down. "You know a Child of Mischief knows when you lie…" she said slowly. "When it comes to the legacy of our parents, the best way to succeed is to not just accept it from them, but take it, make it yours. That way, they no longer hold the power over you that holds you back from reaching your potential."

"I suppose that's what I'm doing now, right?"

After what felt like an eternity as she observed him, she nodded and extended her hand, and Ben wondered if he'd passed a test of some sort. He reached forward to take her hand only for her to grasp his forearm in her strong grip instead. He started, then remembered seeing this type of handshake before and copied the gesture. "This does not mean we're friends," she stated abruptly, her eyes narrowed as her touch held on much longer than necessary, refusing to let him back away. "I never can forgive you for what your father started."

"Allies, then?" He attempted a smile, and she rolled her eyes but released him.

"Just don't push your luck."

Author's Note: If I'm including the Norse in this and we've already got Mal and Hades for Greek (I've already got a fic focusing on the side of her family in Greek mythology), I feel it's only reasonable to include a Norse god as a villain...plus since Hela is technically the Norse equivalent of Hades as goddess of the dead, I can't deny the enjoyment I'm gonna have with that. Also...she's just fun to write!

I actually ended up making a video on Youtube about some of the OCs you might see here. Anyway, I intended to make this longer but I felt bad about not updating so sooner so I ended it a bit early and I suppose we'll see what happens next chapter! :)