We all then shared a three course meal that consisted of three French dishes. For our starter we had a soup that was made of beef and onion stock; it was served with croutons and melted cheese on top. For our main meal we had a meal called Boeuf Bourguignon, which is a beef stew braised in red wine and beef stock. It was garnished with pearl onions, mushrooms, bacon, mashed potatoes and carrots. Finally for our desert we had Charlotte, which is a trifle that was served cold. Strawberries and breadcrumbs were on the top of the white icing and the perfectly baked crust was heavenly.

After we had finished our meals I saw Ben quickly looked around the room to see how everyone else was getting on with their food. When he saw that everyone was chatting amongst themselves he stood up and the whole room went silent.

"Hello everyone" Ben started as he addressed the whole room. "I just would like to welcome you all to this joyful event" he smiled. "Even though I know that we have only just seen each other not so long ago" he reminded us all. "Yes as a kingdom we won't forget the actions of the few that were involved in the trial; but I would like us all to learn from it and grow together. So I would just like to extend my congratulations just like everyone else to Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora in their upcoming coronation" he stated as he picked up his glass and raised it and we all mirrored his actions. "I look forward to working with you; and building a better future for this kingdom and your constituency" Ben offered with his trademark smile as I saw Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora smile broadly at this. "To the Beauty's!" Ben declared as before taking a drink and again I watched as the whole room, like myself, copied Ben's actions.

"I know that you all will want to mingle" Ben continued as we all placed our glasses down on to the tables in front of us. "And I have nothing planned for you as I know that you have spent the day travelling here so things are going to be a little bit informal" he advised. "So for the next couple of days this castle is yours" he offered. "Thank you" he finished proudly before he sat back down and the room erupted into applause.

"How was that?" Ben asked as he smiled warmly at me.

"Perfect as always" I answered as I reached over and brushed some hair behind his left ear. "But you are pretty damn perfect to begin with" I flirted.

"Oh you flatter me darling" he purred and before I could say or do anything he pushed his face towards mine and pressed a brief but very loving kiss against my lips.

"I'm surprised no one has seen the new addition to my hand" I muttered as we pulled apart, and we both smiled eagerly at each other.

"Me neither" he agreed. "But I was thinking about doing our announcement at the ball; I didn't want to take the shine away from the Beauty's" he explained. In all honesty I wasn't hinting on this; and I did agree with Ben. We didn't want to take this moment away from the Beauty's; and to be honest it settled my nerves about our engagement for now - tomorrow however was going to be very different!

"Me too" I replied. "They deserve the crown of South Riding" I stated as I looked over to them and smiled.

"Yeah" I heard Ben say, which caused me to look back at him.

"So what is the plan for the evening my love?" I questioned. I know that Ben had just tod the room that he didn't have anything planned for this evening; but I knew that he must have a rough idea on what me and him were going to be doing.

"Just mingling and hosting" he shrugged.

"I see" I noted as I started to feel playful. "And remember your promise Your Majesty" I muttered slyly.

"Promise?" he muttered back as our faces were only inches apart. I watched as he pulled a confused face at me which made me giggle, I decided to quickly put him out of his misery and I quickly pushed my mouth towards his left ear. "Beastie cuddle" I sang smoothly and quietly so no one could hear what I was saying to Ben. I was, however rewarded with a large cheesy grin from Ben when I pulled away, which started to cause a knot of lust start to tighten in my stomach.

"Your Beast is eager to see you too" he muttered back as I pushed away the lust away for the time being.

"I hope he doesn't keep me waiting" He teased.

"He won't" he purred as he brushed his nose against mine. Ben's lips were just about to crush against mine however when we heard a voice talking to us; we both sighed and looked over to where the voice was coming from.

"What are you two talking about?" Carlos teased.

"Nothing!" Ben said anxiously; and I could tell that he was now nervous in case Carlos had overheard any of our conversation. I knew that we didn't have to be worried as we had been muttering to each other; and if anyone did hear me say the word 'Beast' they would not assume anything apart from thinking that this was my pet name for Ben. Also I knew that Carlos hadn't heard our conversation; because he was sitting a distance away from us; and Carlos did have the reputation of interrupting me and Ben like this just to tease us.

"Just cute couple stuff" I added.

"Ew!" he teased as he pulled a funny face at us.

"You know what Carlos" I stated as I smirked at him.

"What Mal?" he asked mock innocently.

"You are the same with Jane" I reminded him with a wink.

"I know" he winked back. "But it is fun to tease you both" he laughed back.

"I see" I answered. "Well I will remember that" I teased as Ben wrapped his left arm around my shoulders. I watched as Carlos then winked at me, before returning his attention back to Jane who was now giggling at mine and my little brother's exchange.

"Dame Mal" I heard a voice say; and I saw Freddie was now walking towards me and Ben, with a very nervous and anxious look on her face.

"Yes Freddie?" I answered.

"Can I have a word please?" she questioned. "In private" she quickly added as she quickly threw a nervous glance to Ben before looking back at me.

"Of course" I replied as I slowly stood up. I then walked around the table, before me and Freddie both headed to a nearby alcove where no one else could overhear our conversation. "What's up?" I enquired.

"Well the thing is-" she began and she took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself. "Azis has just asked me on a date" she confessed. Now I could see why she was nervous and why she wanted to speak to me alone for. First of all she didn't want to have this conversation in front of one of Az's best friends - that would make it very awkward. But I also knew what she was going through - as I had went through the exact same thing with Ben.

"Wow!" I exclaimed. "What did you say?" I urged.

"I said yes!" she admitted.

"Eeek!" I shrieked.

"Mal!" she warned me as she quickly looked around and thankfully everyone else was to engrossed in their own conversations to see what me and Freddie were talking about.

"Sorry" I quickly apologised. "I'm so happy for you" I smiled at her.

"Thanks" she said bashfully.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked as I sensed that there was another reason why she had asked to speak to me.

"I just don't know how I should be feeling" she stated.

"What do you mean?" I returned.

"Well just like the rest of the VK's we have all had attention since we all arrived here-" she started. "And I have kept my distance as I never knew who is genuine or not, I'm not saying that Azis isn't but it is a big deal" she stressed.

"I know it is" I agreed. "It was exactly the same with me and Ben" I advised. "I questioned a lot of things when we started dating, I never knew what love was until I met Ben" I continued fondly as my mind started to remind me of the early days of dating Ben. A lot of things confused me back then; I struggled with what my mother had told me and taught me. I also struggled with the feelings about Ben before even coming to the Isle – I had been brought up to hate him, despise him. I had even made plans to what I was going to do to him when I finally avenged the villains and my mouth. And this was one of the things that was driving me when I came to Auradon, that and being scared of my mother.

However when I finally met Ben things seemed to change; I knew that I needed to go along with my mother's plan. But my gut was telling me that I didn't want to; and this really confused me. More confusion came my way when I started to spend more time with Ben, especially after his coronation. I remember having conversations with Evie about falling in love with Ben; he was my first love and now looking back I would have changed a thing – as it made us a strong couple.

"He is my whole entire world" I smiled. "I know that it is scary to open yourself up to someone, believe you and me it isn't easy" I added. "But you can get through it together, Az is a really nice guy and he will treat you right. But if it ever gets too much for you remember to talk to Az" I urged. "I learnt the hard way on that as well" I sighed sadly. "Believe me bottling it up is not something that you want to go through" I finished.

"No" she answered as she shook her head.

"And you can always speak to me, Ben, Evie or any of the others about this" I offered. "About anything, you know this" I added.

"Thanks Mal" she smiled happily as she pulled me into a hug. "I'm going to go and tell Evie the good news" she advised as she pulled away from me.

"Cool" I answered; I then watched as Freddie quickly walking up to Evie. I watched as Evie then pulled the same concerned face that I did before they walked off on their own.

I then went to see what Ben was currently doing; but I stopped when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist before Ben rested his chin on my left shoulder.

"Is everything ok?" he asked as I placed my arms on top of his.

"More than ok" I said. "I think Freddie just needed a little reassurance" I added.

"About?" he questioned.

"Az has just asked her out on a date; and she is nervous" I explained. "It is difficult for us VK's you see" I stated.

"How?" he questioned and we both looked at each other.

"Well you Auradon Kids know what love is, we have to work harder to understand it. Feel it, act upon it; and it is a very big deal when we find someone who we can be like that with" I explained. "It's difficult to go against the grain; it would appear love always trumps hate" I stated. "Benny can I make an admission?" I questioned as my recent train of thought came back to the forefront of my mind.

"Of course" he smiled; and I started to get nervous at what I was about to say him.

"When I was on the Isle-" I started.

"Yes?" he prompted me.

"I used to really despise you" I admitted and I watched as his eyes widened slightly in his. "I'm sorry" I quickly apologised. "But that is what my mother brought me up to think, she believed that-" I continued but stopped. Part of me thought that this wasn't a conversation that we should be having right now; but thankfully we weren't near anyone so no one could overhear us.

"Yes?" he repeated.

"As I was her daughter and you were going to be King some day when we finally fought it would end up being me against you" I explained. "Now look at us" I said lovingly as I snuggled into him and I watched as a loving smile spread across his face. "I wouldn't have it any other way Ben, I love you so much" I urged and I started to feel my eyes water in absolute awe at my fiancé. "I can't imagine my life without you" I managed to get out as a lump started to build up in my throat.

"Hey!" he cooed as he span me around in his arms and pulled me into a warm hug. "I feel the same Mal" he stated lovingly before he pressed a kiss against the top of my head. "You are my life, my world, my love; and I can't ever be without you" I heard him say as I wiped my eyes carefully away from tears so it wouldn't ruin my makeup.

"Well it would appear we are stuck together my love" I sniffed as I pushed the lump away that was trying to build up in my throat.

"Yes Mal" he smiled as we both looked at each other. "And I wouldn't have it any other way" he added happily. I then wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips against his and we shared a long and loving kiss. When we pulled away we then took each other by the hand and re-joined the rest of the council, our family and friends in the start of our celebrations – something of which me and Ben were very eager to start.

When me and Ben took back to our seats we then all decided what we were going to do for the evening; the elders were going to go and drink in Adam and Belle's bar in their wing in Auradon Castle. Whereas me and Ben and the youngest members of the council were going to sit in the vast gardens of Auradon Castle and around a fire pit.

It didn't take long for our groups to split up and part ways; and before I knew it I was sat on the green grass of our gardens as the cool evening Auradon breeze washed over us. I couldn't help but smile at the sight before me, we were all sat in a large circle as the fire pit flames danced in the middle of us. There were also dimly lit lanterns guiding our way back to the castle when we wanted to return back inside.

I loved how informal everything was this evening; as I looked around our group I couldn't help but smile at the fact that everyone was getting along so well. It was at this point then another thought then came to me. I was currently sitting with the future council of Auradon – which by the looks future politics was going to be a lot more stress free than it had been over the recent months.

"Penny for your thoughts" I heard Ben say from my right hand side which broke me out of my train of thought; and when I looked over to him we both smiled happily at each other.

"I'm just thinking about how we are currently with the future council of this kingdom" I muttered.

"I see" he noted as he quickly looked around our group. "I suppose your right" he agreed as he looked back at me. "But you are their beautiful Queen" he grinned at me.

"I'm not Queen" I chuckled back at him as he slid closer to me.

"Well you are mine" he muttered as he brushed his nose against mine. "Queen of my heart" he purred as our gazes locked.

"Oh how cute" I cooed as I stroked his right cheek with the back of my left hand. Me and Ben then stared at each other for a few seconds before I felt driven to kiss my Beast. So before me or Ben could say or do anything I quickly pressed a brief kiss against his lips; when we broke apart from each other I watched my favourite cute smile spread across his face that was lit up perfectly by the nearby fire.

"I'm actually surprised no one said anything about-" I muttered. "You know" I prompted.

"I know" he nodded. "Let's not make a big deal out of it before someone says anything" he dismissed.

"Yeah" I agreed as I noticed a playful glint enter his eyes as he cupped the left hand side of my face.

"Come back here" he chuckled before crushing his lips against mine; and we shared a loving and loving kiss with our tongues slowly sliding against each other's. "I love you Mal" he stated lovingly as we broke apart when the need to breath came.

"I love you too Benny" I answered as I rested my head against his left shoulder. I smiled as I felt him press a kiss against the top of my head; as he tightened his arms around me I then heard Chad's voice which attracted both of mine and Ben's attention.

"Look at him" he teased as we both looked over to him.

"What?" Ben questioned in confusion.

"You are completely under the thumb" Chad laughed.

"No" Ben urged. "I am very much in love with my soul mate; I don't see anything wrong with that" he replied as his left arm tightened around my waist.

"No" Chad agreed. "But do you really need to remind us all of how in love you are?" he questioned incredulously.

"Yes" both me and Ben said together, which caused our full group to laugh at this.

"Chad leave them alone" Az interjected. "They are in love" he smiled over to us. "There is nothing wrong with that" he added fondly.

"Thanks Az" Ben replied; and we all then returned back to our previous conversations. As I looked back over to my fiancé I longed to be cuddled into his even more; and an idea then came to me.

"Benny slide down" I muttered.

"Hmm?" he asked as he pulled one brow up in confusion at my request.

"Put your head in my lap" I advised.

"Oh I see" he smiled and we untangled our arms from each other and Ben lay down with his head in my lap. I smiled down at him and started to slowly play with his hair and I grinned as I heard Ben start to purr at me. After playing with his hair for a few minutes like this I watched as Ben grinned before he turned his head to the right and he pressed a kiss against my stomach.

"Sap!" we both heard Chad scoff.

"Behave Charming!" Ben called to him as he turned his head quickly to the left to look over to one of his best friends.

"Nah!" Chad laughed back. "You both are fun to tease" he winked at us both.

"Hmph!" Ben puffed before he turned his head back up to the sky and he smiled goofily at me.

"Play nice Beast" I warned mock seriously.

"Only if he will" he teased as I started to slowly trace my fingers over his face. As I did this Ben then took my left hand and he pressed a kiss against my engagement ring. "Our little secret" he muttered as he let go of my hand and I continued to trace my fingers along his face.

"Our little secret" I repeated lovingly. "But not for much longer" I smirked at him.

"No" he agreed with my favourite warm and crooked smile. The next few minutes were filled with me and Ben cuddling like this as I continued to trace my fingers up and down his face, neck and through his hair; and to be quite honest I felt that it was perfect. Even though me and Ben were with other people we were able to share this private moment; in fact every moment I had with Ben was perfect to me.

My mind then started to think about how people were going to respond to the news of mine and Ben's engagement. I know that over recent months certain members of the council would have a problem with this; and thankfully they weren't with us to put a dampener on all of our evening. I just hoped that there was no one else lurking in the shadows praying for mine and Ben's demise.

After cuddling like this for a little bit me and Ben then untangled ourselves from each other before he quickly left to go and see Mrs Potts in the kitchen. When he returned he told us all that he was getting Mrs Potts and her staff to do a BBQ for us all; as he sat back next to me he also explained that Lumiere was going to get the elders so we could eat together.

Moments later this was confirmed by the large group of elders then walked into the gardens and we all broke off into groups. As I was eating my hotdog and burger that Ben had just handed to me I smiled again as I watched the council members and their guests mingle informally like this. I liked seeing us like this as it showed that we all had a bond together; and the current sight that was in front of me was so calm and harmonious that I hoped that northing would ever change thing.

Before I knew it hours had passed with me and Ben spending the evening going around together and separately to talk to our guests; I enjoyed spending time with the council members as it was letting me build upon my already strong relationships with our guests. I felt like I was doing a very good job as Ben's consort by doing this; and this was also showing everyone here tonight that I more than capable to be by Ben's side - and this is where I was going to stay.

It was around half ten when me and Ben excused ourselves from our guests to go to bed; we both wanted some time alone together before we fell asleep. Thankfully people were too engrossed in their own conversations to notice that we were going to bed together; part of me thought that surely that they had to know. But I pushed this thought away - why should it be so much a big deal this day and age that I was going to share a bed with my fiancé? I knew that it had something to do with our reputations, which of course was important. But maybe the fact that me and Ben had made our intentions on each other very obvious we didn't need to be questioned anymore - we were each other's one true love after all.