Here is the next chapter!
Of course, with this being the majority of Cotillion, it would be a long chapter. Don't skim over this chapter because a lot of things have changed: we have a 'surprise' guest, someone almost spills the truth about someone else's parentage, and someone will fight different than they did in the movie.
By the way: I took out the part of Evie asking to invite Dizzy and other VKs to Auradon. That will be addressed later on.
Now, next chapter will be a 'small' filler so Mal can find out her mother's safe on the Isle. After that chapter, there will be a few events from the book "Escape from the Isle of the Lost." I thought it would be a nice twist to have teenagers stay with parents instead of the hideout.
Once I got everything I needed and wanted to cover from the book, it will be time to do "Descendants 3"!
Enjoy.
"The future . . . Lady Mal!"
Taking in a deep breath to calm her nerves, Mal quickly emerged at the top of the staircase, wearing an updated version of the dress Evie made for her. Although she once again protested her hair style, her red-hued purple hair was braided over her shoulder with small jewels placed here and there to give it a little more glam.
Although she liked this dress better than before, Mal still felt quite uncomfortable wearing it. Don't get her wrong, it was absolutely beautiful. It just . . . didn't fit her style as much as she had wanted. Besides, yellow didn't go well with her purple hair.
Mal gazed anxiously at the people watching her with judgmental eyes from the ship's deck. The audience whispered and gossiped at seeing Mal's purple hair, wondering when she changed her hair to such an abnormal shade. Her friends drowned them out with their claps and cheers. Others joined in as all the photographers turned their video equipment on the Queen of the Isle.
Lumiere, who was standing at Mal's side, whispered encouragingly, "Don't get shy on them now. Go and work it, girl."
Mal giggled as she surveyed the crowd in search of a certain someone.
Where is Ben? Shouldn't he be here by now?
As she slowly descended toward the deck, Mal noticed the retired king and queen standing off to the side of the stairs. King Beast wore his royal-blue suit with gold sash and signature black bold-frame glasses, while Queen Belle wore a gold dress and a delicate crystal-encrusted gold crown. Next to the royal couple was . . .
Mal stopped in the middle of the staircase as she realized who that person was. She couldn't help the wide smile that emerged on her face or the way that her attitude suddenly changed from nervous to happy. She didn't think he would be able to make it, or at least that's what Ben told her a few weeks ago. He must have wanted to keep his arrival a surprise for her.
The elder gentleman noticed the way her attention was adverted to him, both pleased and amused by her reaction. Ignore the protests of his daughter and son-in-law, the man climbed up the stairs to greet the ecstatic teenager. With a squeal of delight, Mal hugged the old man when he was within arm's length. "I thought you weren't going to be here, Maurice!"
Maurice chuckled at her energetic behavior. "I didn't think I would be," he admitted as the embrace ended. "I was behind on my painting orders. After rescheduling a few deadlines and renegotiating with a few clients, here I am. There was no way I was going to miss an event held for my future in-law."
"Like I told my father a couple days ago," Mal began with a light blush on her cheeks, "I'm not ready to be officially engaged. I'd prefer waiting until after I graduate high school for that."
"I'll relay the information to Benny," Maurice teased before he held out his hand to take her trembling one. "For now, you can talk to your other future in-laws."
Rolling her eyes playfully, Mal allowed herself to be led to the retired royals at the bottom of the staircase. "Hi," she greeted with an almost shy smile.
"Ben's running a little late, but he's on his way," King Beast reassured the uneasy girl.
"You look very beautiful," Queen Belle complimented with a kind smile. "I know we were apprehensive about you. I'm sorry that our opinion was wrong and that we didn't see sooner that you are perfect for Ben."
"Even though I told you a thousand times before," Maurice commented off-handedly.
Noticing the way Mal tensed up at the remark, Evie quickly rushed over to her side to save her from being in the middle of the impending argument. "May I?" The blue-haired princess requested as she placed a comforting hand on Mal's arm.
When the family trio nodded in agreement, Evie guided Mal away from them to the center of the deck. "Hi," she greeted in a whisper. "How are you feeling?"
Mal gazed around the crowd with a look of worry on her flawless face. "Something's wrong," she commented quietly. "I'm not sure what it is, but something just doesn't feel right. I think it has something to do with Ben."
As fanfare began to play, Evie reassured softly, "There he is now."
A moment later, Lumiere announced to the audience, "King Benjamin!"
Everyone clapped as Ben appeared on cue at the top of the stair in a sleek royal-blue silk jacket with gold accents. He looked exactly as a king was supposed to and Mal couldn't be prouder of him. However, when Ben met her gaze, Mal noticed something unusual in his sparkling blue eyes. They appeared to be glazed over, like he was in some kind of trance.
Not wanting to alarm the others, Mal plastered a fake smile on her lips as he came down the stairs. As he did, Ben passed his parents and grandfather without looking their way or even greeting them. Mal and his family members found that bizarre, but none of the four said anything to frighten the guest.
After descending the stairs, King Ben stopped in front of Mal before bowing politely. Instead of bowing in return like any Auradonian would, Mal curtsied just like she would do on the Isle of the Lost. She was an Isle princess after all. It was time she started acting like it again.
"Mal," King Ben began with a bit of sadness in his tone as he came up from his bow, "I wish I had time to explain . . ." He turned around and looked toward the top of the stairs.
Mal's smile faded away as her expression changed from feign happiness to complete shock, her jaw hanging open slightly with her eyes wide in disbelief. The audience gasped at seeing a mysterious girl entering the grand staircase.
With the spotlight shining on her, Uma glowed in a teal-and-gold mermaid-style dress. Her gown was simply exquisite, with tiers of sea-colored tulle and delicate nets threaded into the pieces of the fabric. Her hair was up in a simple bun while she wore dark fingerless gloves and carried a turquoise clutch. Her gold shell necklace shimmered against her chest.
Uma smiled nervously at the unfamiliar crowd as she slowly walked down the stairs to meet Ben, who waited for her at the bottom. Guiding her the rest of the way, Ben paused a moment to kiss the beast-head ring that was now on Uma's finger.
After linking his arms with Uma's, Ben led her to Mal. "I'm so sorry about this," he apologized to the purple-haired princess. "Something happened to me while I was on the Isle with Uma, a connection."
Uma smiled with a victorious gleam in her eye while Mal glared at her in return, her eyes flashing their bright vibrant green hues to show her annoyance. "Shrimpy," Mal snarled in disdain, "what did you do to my king?"
"Nothing, Bertha!" Uma exclaimed too perkily and too innocently for Mal's taste. "I just realize how alike Ben and I are. I dove through the barrier before it close so I could tell him that. Now here we are!"
"Excuse me," Maurice interrupted as he intervened on the conversation. "Who exactly are you? Benny would have told me about you, even if this was last second."
"She is Uma, the daughter of Ursula," Mal answered as she glowered even more at the intruder. "We were best friends until she decided to prank our god-mother, Cruella de Vil. Uma, I want to know what you did to Ben!"
"Temper, temper, Mali," Uma teased with her scheming smile still intact. "Looks like you inherited more than your hair from your daddy."
"Don't call me that!" Mal snapped viciously. "And I don't know who my father is, neither do the Auradonians."
Uma scoffed at the reveal and how her frenemy worded it. "In other words, he told you to lie to everyone in the kingdom to cover his skin. That's sounds just like something he and all his relatives would do. Just proves that you can never trust a g—"
"Don't you see Mal?" Ben questioned over Uma as he rudely intervened in the argument to maybe prevent the bombshell from dropping. "You were right! You knew that we were never meant to be together and that's why you never told me you loved me."
"That's not true!" Mal denied defensively as the crowd started to get more and more concerned by the turn of events. "You know why I never told you that! You knew I was too scared to say it because of what happened to my mother. You knew what happened to my mother, so you said you would wait forever for me to say it."
"Well I'm tired of waiting," Ben claimed with an unusually impatient tone.
"Benny, you waited twelve years to say it to Mal," Maurice reminded calmly as he cautiously strolled to Mal's side to help with the conflict. "At four years old you had only seen a picture of her, yet you believed she was your true love. The past three months you've been working so hard on your gift for her, and now you're saying that was all for nothing?"
" 'Gift'?" Mal repeated in confusion as she momentarily adverted her attention to the professional painter. "What gift?"
"Lumiere!" Jane called out to the loyal servant that still stood at the top of the staircase. "Please, unveil the gift. They need to see it."
As requested, Lumiere signaled a guard across the yacht to uncover the art piece. The spectators watched as the guard on the other side of the deck pulled a cord. A royal-blue drape fell to reveal a stained-glass panel custom-built for Mal. As soon as she gazed at the masterpiece, Mal wanted to cry from happiness, but kept it to together so she wouldn't break down in front of the audience.
The delicate artwork depicted a beautiful sunrise with Ben kneeling before Mal. On the right, Ben wore his royal-blue suit with gold epaulets and crown as reached for Mal's hand. On the left, Mal, with long purple hair, wore a purple dress and cape that swept around her. It depicted the real, Isle princess Mal, in all her purple-haired, green-eyed glory.
Mal's jaw dropped once she took in the piece as a whole. "Ben did that?" She wondered rhetorically to no one in particular. "I can't believe it!"
"Why do you think we wanted you to come to Cotillion?" Jay teased despite the still tense atmosphere.
Mal whirled her head toward her childhood friend in disbelief. "You knew about this?"
"Carlos and I found out yesterday when we bumped into Cruella on the Isle," Jay revealed with a light shrug. "Although we were in a hurry, Carlos talked to her for nearly half an hour. I had to tell him at least twenty times that we had to go, but he kept chatting away."
"What do you expect? She's my momma!" Carlos retorted defensively as his cheeks turned slightly pink from embarrassment. "Mom said Ben asked for her help with designing your dress for the gift. She asked that we make sure you came tonight so you could see it."
While the two friends were giving the explanation to their purple-haired princess friend, Ben stared up at the stained-glass piece with a look of contemplation. It was almost like he was having an inner battle with himself about what to do.
Meanwhile, Uma quickly scurried toward the staircase, demanding angrily, "Cover that thing back up!"
"I will not!" Lumiere proclaimed defiantly.
Not missing a beat, Uma twirled on her heals to face Ben with a sugar-sweet smile on her lips. "Why don't you tell everyone the present you have for me, Ben?"
With too much hesitation on his part, Ben changed his attention to address the audience as a whole. "I have an announcement!" he declared. "Uma will be joining the court tonight as my lady. As my gift to her, I'm bringing the barrier down the barrier on the Isle of the Lost!"
Maurice stepped forward as the audience gasped at the announcement. "Benny," he began sternly. "You don't want to—"
"Not now, Grandpa!" Ben roared in his most beast-like voice, completely shocking the audience.
The crowd froze, for once afraid of their king. Everyone knew just how much the teenage king cared for his grandfather. They couldn't believe that he would yell at his grandparent like that. Who knows what he'd do to them?
Luckily, their fears quickly subsided when Mal moved forward to save the day. "Ben," she cooed fondly to grab his attention. "Don't you get it yet? You're under a spell."
"Don't listen to her!" Uma ordered as she took a stand next to Mal. "You love me, remember?"
"No, you don't," Mal argued with a small smile. "You said yourself that you've been in love with me for twelve years. You don't just fall out of love with someone within a couple hours. I know how hard it is to do so. Trust me, when I was living on the Isle of the Lost, I tried for three years to get over you, but never could."
Ben stared blankly at the Isle princess, but Mal could see by the look in his eyes that he was—
"Surprised?" Mal teased despite feeling that she was going to puke from the overwhelming emotions. "Twelve years ago, after an incident on the Isle that involved touching iron, I saw a prince on TV that I thought was extremely cute. My parents teased me every time I'd run in the room to watch him. Nine years later, when I'm thirteen, I find out he's engaged to a princess that doesn't deserve him. I know this story sounds familiar to you because that prince was you!"
Pausing for a moment, Mal caught a glimpse of her hair, which had magically changed shade during her monologue. Instead of being a pinkish-purple, it was now a blueish-purple, which reminded Mal of another memory that felt like happened too long ago.
"Remember when you asked me what it takes for my hair to turn into this blue hue?" Mal wondered with her smile growing shyly. "The answer is love! I love you!"
Quickly stepping forward, Mal leaned up on her tip-toes to give Ben a kiss that he's been waiting six months to receive. For some reason during the kiss, Mal felt a strange feeling at the pit of her stomach as a semi-strong breeze suddenly came out of nowhere and surrounded the couple, almost like it was trying to shield them from anyone who may try to stop them. What was causing that?
After pulling away, Mal gazed into her beloved's eyes, noticing that his eyes were no longer glazed over. In fact, with his sparkling blue eyes, Ben smiled lovingly as he leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you, too, Mal," he confessed.
The crowd cooed and cheered as the couple became lost in their emotional embrace. The king tried to lean in for another kiss, but was rudely interrupted when they heard Uma shouting, "Give me the wand!"
The couple abruptly broke their embrace just in time to see Uma make a lunge at Fairy Godmother. Evie bravely got into Uma's way as the headmistress yanked the wand out of reach. "Guards!" Fairy Godmother called out in distress. "Seize her!"
Unsure of where to go, Uma ran to the railing to make a quick escape as the crowd went to swarm around her. Making a split decision, Mal blocked the path of the guards. "Wait!" she pleaded. "Let me reason with her."
Mal twirled on her heels to face her ex-best friend, who was back up against the railing with what looked like desperation in her eyes. "Uma, I know you," Mal insisted as she cautiously took a step forward. "You are, or at least were, practically family. We can't turn our backs on each other, no matter how tempting we may make it. Auradon is a place where people are given second chances. Give me a second chance to make things right between the Isle and Auradon. I promise you won't regret it."
Uma glared at Mal with malice as her mother's shell necklace began to glow. In one swift motion, she placed her hand on the railing to hoist herself onto the banister. Mal surged forward to stop her as everyone behind her screamed a little too dramatically. Mal made it to the railing just as Uma jumped off the yacht, purposely diving into the ocean.
All that could race to the railing to catch sight of the intruder. All they could see was a peaceful ocean with not a single ripple to disturb. Suddenly, the sea slowly started to bubble before quickly turned into a roiling boil. Out of the growing waves, Uma rose as an enormous tentacled sea witch.
Uma sloshed a wave of water over the yacht that sent everyone stumbling. "Let's go, Mal!" she challenged angrily. "Let's see who is stronger: you or me!"
Instead of waiting for some sort of rebuttal, Uma flung out her long slimy tentacles toward the yacht. Her aim was a little off-kiltered, so the guests were easily able to dodge the weak attacks.
However, that didn't help Mal's anger at seeing her friends being attacked for doing literally nothing to the sea-witch.
Running to the highest vantage point of the deck, which just happens to be where the stained-glass piece stood, Mal stood defiantly as she lifted her arms in a stance that made looked like she wanted to fall backwards. The breeze—which had mysteriously disappeared—suddenly came back at ten times the strength it had before, forcing her braided hair to whip around chaotically and causing others to grab onto random objects for support. Mal's eyes turned into the most vibrant and lightest shade of green they've ever been to show off her effort. Her hands were somewhat wrapped in this dull yellow glow that seemed to grow by the second.
Out of nowhere, large columns of water raised into the air and wrapped itself around Uma's tentacles like rope. One by one the columns grabbed a tentacle, restraining Uma of her movements. The sea-witch tried desperately to free herself, but to no avail.
The spectators watched in amazement at the scene, wondering how in the world that was happening. Then, a lightning bolt of realization hit Ben. In her true tale, Maleficent had the ability to manipulate nature. She could heal broken bark on a tree, grow branches and roots to her will, create thunderstorms whenever she pleased, and who knows what else.
If Maleficent could do all those incredible things, then isn't it obvious that her daughter can as well?
During the king's contemplation, Uma managed to free one of her tentacles and used it to strike Mal. The attack couldn't connect since as soon as it was within five feet of her, it suddenly flew back like it had hit an impenetrable wall. Somehow, Mal created this dense vortex around her to shield her from the impending attack. Seeing something that powerful knocked Ben out of his daze.
"Enough!" Ben shouted as he tried his best to get between the two girls while still staying on the ship. "Mal! Uma! Stopped this fight before it goes too far!"
"Or else what, Ben?" Uma challenged as she let out a nasty cackle. "What are you gonna do? Splash me?"
Mal's eyes sparkled brighter as the wind picked up and the columns of water pulled tighter on Uma's tentacles to prevent her from doing anything to Ben.
"This isn't the answer!" Ben insisted as he looked back and forth at the fighting teenagers. "Nobody wins this way. We have to listen and respect each other. It won't be easy, but let's be brave enough to try."
Uma rolled her eyes as Mal's green sparkle faded from hers. The violent wind went down to a simple breeze as the water she created reluctantly sunk into the ocean.
Seeing that he convinced at least one part of the issue, Ben turned toward the other half of the problem. "Uma, I know you want what is best for the Isle! So do I! Help me make a difference!"
Uma's eyes softened at seeing Ben held his arm out in peace. Reaching out a tentacle, she dropped his beast-head ring into his hand. With a saddened smile, Uma silently lowered herself into the water, disappearing into the sea.
The crowd aboard the yacht exhaled a collective sigh of relief, before gasping at the sight of the Lady of the Court.
Mal had surrounded herself in the dull-yellow glow that was on her hands. Her hair magically undid itself from its braid, cascading down her back in beautiful purple waves. The yellow-blue dress transformed into the purple dress depicted in the stained glass, with its purple cape and rich layers of fabric that swept past her feet.
Smiling at the crowds' reaction, Mal gazed down at her beloved, curtsying over-dramatically. Ben did the same with his bow to her. Mal snickered dramatically as fanfare played to signal the end of the chaos and the beginning of peace . . . for the time being.
Two guards took her by the elbows before escorting her down the stairs, making sure to go slow so Mal didn't trip over her gigantic dress. At the bottom of the staircase, Evie met Mal, who was grinning from ear to ear.
"Wow!" Mal exclaimed out of breath. "I didn't know I could do any of that!"
Evie laughed at her friend's excited behavior, which almost matched Mal's excitement of when she gets to video chat her father. "That makes two of us," Evie teased before extending a helpful hand. "Shall we?"
"We shall," Mal declared dramatically.
Taking her friend's hand, the purple-haired teenager allowed herself to be led to Ben. Standing just a few feet in front of him, Mal smiled timidly before she adverted her gaze to the ground, unsure of what to say to explain what happened. Before she knew it, Mal was abruptly pulled forward by an arm snaking around her waist and was then kissed by her true love.
"Okay," Carlos chided as he pulled Ben back slightly so they'd have to break the kiss. "That's enough."
While everyone laughed at the action, a guard with sandy-blond hair stepped forward. "Lady Mal?"
"Yes?" Mal acknowledged, finding herself feeling grateful that the guard could adjust to calling her that so easily.
"We found your spell book below deck," he informed as he handed over said object. "Uma had it in her possession."
"Oh!" Mal took the book a little quicker than she should have. "Thank you." Ignoring the looks from the audience, Mal took her time examining the cover with had a gold dragon on top.
There it is!
Right on the top edge of the cover!
The spell Mal had desperately searched for for the last six months. Now she can free her mother from her spell! Although, she would still have to somehow find her mother on the Isle. For now—
"Fairy Godmother?" Mal called for curiously as she held out the book. "Would you mind holding onto this for me? I don't want it donated to the museum, but I'd like to return this to my mother one day, if that's alright."
"Of course." Fairy Godmother carefully took the book and held it tightly in her hand. "I promise, I will keep it safe until that day comes."
"Thank you." Mal adverted her attention to her beloved, who was beaming proudly at her. "I don't need it anymore."
Stepping forward to press her forehead against his, Mal mumbled so only he could hear, "I love you, my king . . ."
In response, Ben wrapped his arms around her waist and kiss her forehead lovingly. "And I love you, my queen."
Now everything was perfect in Mal's life—
Until she learned something the next day.
You have to admit, this Cotillion chapter was better than the ones I did in two of my other stories.
Thank you for reading and please leave a review!