What a surprise! Here is the next chapter! ;P
I actually finished this chapter sooner than I expected I would. I was gonna wait until tomorrow to post it because I figured it would take me longer than it did. However, I am very eager to hear your opinions of this chapter, so it's posted today!
As you can probably tell, it is short because we are not on the Isle of the Lost. You see, I have an idea regarding a breakup, and this chapter will be a way to make my idea seem not so sudden. As I have said many times throughout this story, after reading this chapter you'll understand once we get to the breakup scene.
Enjoy.
"Benny."
Looking up from the stack of complaints—issued by the sidekicks of Auradon, Prince Ben smiled at seeing his grandfather standing before him. Ben had asked for his help regarding a certain situation that he didn't want his parents to know about yet.
"Grandpa," Ben greeted as leaned back in his seat to get more comfortable. He's been stressing so much over the sidekicks' issues that he hasn't taken a break in who knows how long. "Did her mother respond already?"
"Much quicker than any of us thought she would," Maurice agreed as he revealed an open envelope from his coat pocket. "It looks like she had no trouble deciding who should join her daughter in Auradon. I haven't read the letter yet, but I have a feeling your parents will be displeased with her choices."
"Then I will say that I chose them," Ben claimed with a shrug. "My father won't be so abrasive if he knows I made the decision."
The prince that would soon turn king reached for the envelope, the sleeve of his jacket slipping down his arm. Once his grandson had hold of the envelope, Maurice kept his grip for a moment longer as his gaze adverted to his grandson's wrist. A somewhat large bruise surrounded the wrist, looking like an imprint of a small, slender hand gripping his wrist.
Sighing softly, Maurice assumed, "Another fight with Audrey?"
Tugging the letter out of his grandfather's hand, Ben quickly adjusted his jacket sleeve to hide the injury. "I went to her for advice on the sidekicks' issues," he explained grumpily. "We got into an argument, I went to leave, and she grabbed my wrist. It's not that bad."
" 'Not that bad'?" Maurice repeated incredulously, though keeping his calm, soothing demeanor. "Benny, that's the third time in the week I've been here, and it seems to get worse each time. Only you know how many times she's hurt you before and you are having trouble hiding them now. I have to leave tomorrow and I'm afraid something bad will happen to you once I do. Why haven't you told your parents?"
"They wouldn't believe me," Ben insisted as he slumped depressingly in his chair. "The first time, which was over three years ago, I tried telling them. Before I could get a full sentence out, they saw my injury and told me I shouldn't play too rough in Tourney. I couldn't tell them it was Audrey because they were already off doing something for the royal council. After that, I decided to keep it a secret."
"How about the press?" Maurice suggested somewhat helpfully.
"I thought about it," Ben admitted before shaking his head in denial. "Then I thought that 'Sweet Little Audrey' would play the innocent card. She would claim that she was the one being abused in the relationship and say she 'attacked' me in self-defense. Everyone would believe her over me because they would assume that I inherited my father's temper."
"What will you do then?"
"Wait until she slips up when they're cameras on us and she doesn't realize it?" Ben assumed, though he didn't sound convinced himself. "Maybe my Mal will help me."
"If her mother agreed to her coming to Auradon," Maurice reminded with a stern look. "You haven't read the response."
Slightly flustered, Ben removed a crumpled and dis-colored paper from the original envelope. Scanning through the message, he furrowed his eyebrow. "You're right," Ben commented as he read the letter for the third time in the matter of seconds. "My father won't like this. Maleficent listed three children and their parents. The parents are Cruella de Vil, Jafar, and Evil Queen."
Maurice sighed in aggravation. "When it comes time to telling him, remind him that the children are innocent. Maleficent mention anything about her husband?"
Ben shook his head in denial. "She implies that she is a single mother," he informed after a moment of reading the letter again. Hell, he will have it memorized in a few moments if he keeps it up. "You saw the picture too. She was wearing a wedding ring. Why keep him a secret?"
"I say they don't want Auradon to know who Mal's father is," Maurice assumed. "He may be another villain. They probably believe that the Auradonians will judge her harsher for being the child of two villains. You will just have to wait until they arrive for Mal to say, maybe slightly longer. Do you know what day is best for them?"
"Maleficent requested it be next week, after Mal's sixteenth birthday, which is a day after mine," Ben answered as he finally passed the letter to his grandfather. "They are having a small party for her and don't want it to be ruined. Maleficent won't tell her about the invitation until the day we—the day I want them to arrive."
"Your birthday is tomorrow, so Mal's is Monday?" Maurice guessed before he could get to that section of the letter. "How about setting Wednesday as the date? It gives her parents an extra day with her and you three days to finalize the details: class schedules, dorm rooms, etc. You may want to tell Fairy Godmother before you tell your parents."
"I'm not telling my parents until the day of," Ben insisted stubbornly. "I'm not going to let them ruin my one chance of getting my true love off the Isle of the Lost. I have a one-on-one meeting with Grumpy in about an hour, so I'll quickly write back to Maleficent of the expected date and figure out how I'm going to tell Fairy Godmother that doesn't result in her telling my parents before I do."
"Good luck, Benny," Maurice commented as he laid the letter on the hardwood desk. "You'll need it for this plan of yours to work."