Ben looked at the letter in his hand. He felt both excitement and sadness. Every time he would receive a letter from his old friend Archer, he'd always be thrilled to hear about his latest adventures or council.
This time, however, Archer had reacted exactly the way Ben hadn't wanted for him to react, with doubt.
Archer had almost always been a supportive friend Ben could fall back on, someone he could rely on, but now even he pulled Ben's feelings into question. 'People believe that you have been spelled.' This had been the question Ben had been bombarded with ever since the coronation. Even after Mal and her friends had defeated Maleficent, people still doubted whether or not they were good, and this angered Ben. Could they not see that the VK's were genuinely good people? Could they not, for one second, look at them and not simply see them as offspring of their parents?
Ben had become even more agitated with Archer when he found that his parents had received a similar letter with the same question regarding Mal's trustworthiness. His parents at least had the decency to come to him about it and told him they planned on replying with the message that what Ben and Mal had was true love, which did make him happy. His parents, and especially his father, had grown fond of Mal ever since she basically saved the kingdom. Ben was proud of them, for being able to look beyond Mal's parentage.
Most other students at Auradon prep had reacted similarly. Doug and Evie were now officially a couple, and some others who had initially reacted to the VK's with distrust had now also changed their minds. Ben was especially appreciative of Chad, who had been one of the least welcoming Auradon kids. Chad, despite still being quite the insufferable jerk, had made amends with Jay and Carlos, and had publicly apologized to Evie.
Ben looked at the letter again, and realized he couldn't be too annoyed with Archer, who had never met Mal and was naturally concerned for his wellbeing. 'Please know that I'm only looking out for the safety of you and the kingdom.' If ben could have chosen one person for who his safety was their biggest concern, besides Mal and his parents, it would have been Archer. They had known each other for so long, had been on so many adventures together and Archer had constantly proven to be one of the least self-centered people Ben had ever met.
If he and the group had received word on how the coronation went, he would probably put his doubts on Mal aside. Ben knew that Archer was driven by facts and always liked to assume the best of people.
Ben sat down behind his desk and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen before starting his letter back to Archer.
Dear Archer,
I assume that you've already heard the news of the coronation, knowing you, I expect that you've already dropped you suspicions regarding Mal and the other villain kids. If not, I love to tell you that my feelings for Mal are true. In all fairness, when we started dating she had used a love potion on me because she had a crush on me and wanted to help the situation. The potion's effect washed away in the enchanted lake though and I still love her.
I sincerely hope that when you and the guys arrive at Auradon prep you don't give them a hard time simply because what their parents did. You yourself were one of the people who taught me that everyone deserves a second chance, I hope you can live up to your own sayings.
Mal and I are about to embark on our journey through the kingdom, you'll probably see us on TV some time.
I hope your mission is going well. Since I'm king now, I have sent some extra envoys your way in an attempt to maybe speed up the process in negotiating a peaceful resolution. With some luck you might actually make it to cotillion this time. I have openly bragged about being a better dancer than you and would love to show it.
If you eventually won't be able to make it, I'll still see you at the start of the new school year.
Greetings,
Ben
He put down his pen and looked over his letter. It was shorter than he'd had liked, but he thought that what he wanted to discuss through the letter could better be said face-to-face.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Mal stepped into his office.
"Hey!" Ben said with a smile as he stood up. "What's up?"
"Do I need an excuse to visit my dastardly handsome boyfriend?" Mal smiled.
"Not really." He replied as they met in a hug in the middle of the room and he placed a kiss on the top of her purple locks.
"What were you doing?" Mal asked.
"Just finishing up a letter." He said as Mal looked over his desk.
"Oh, to Archer. So, he's not made up after all?" Mal asked sarcastically. His friends would often have a laugh about his time riding with the righteous sons, acting like it never really happened and he just wanted to show off.
"Would I ever lie to you?" Ben asked smiling.
"Hmm." Mal pretended to think. "Maybe not, but you do like to show off, and brag. Oh, don't get me started on the bragging!"
They both laughed. "Archer and the other members of the righteous sons will be joining us at Auradon prep next year."
"No way! That's really cool. Maybe now you can show me how you beat him in combat, you know, like in your stories?"
Ben rolled his eyes. "Is this ever gonna stop?"
"Not until you give us the living proof mister." Mal replied with a smirk.
"Would it make any difference if I asked you nicely?"
"Not likel-" Mal started before looking at Ben's letter more intensely. "Ben?"
"Yeah?"
"What suspicions are you talking about?" she said as she held up the letter.
"Oh, ehm." Ben said uncomfortably.
"What suspicions!?" she repeated more loudly.
"Ehm, in Archer's letter he had asked me if I had maybe been spelled by you." He said softly.
Ben had expected that Mal would explode in anger, but instead she just seemed extremely disappointed. "I thought you said that Archer wasn't the judgmental type?"
"Well, sit down Mal, just for a second." She hesitated but complied. "The last letter I wrote to Archer was just before the coronation."
"Okay?" she said vaguely.
"It was the first letter I send to him about you and the other guys, you know, Jay and Carlos…"
"I've heard of them." She replied coolly.
"Well, you know, they've never met any of you. And then I just drop the bomb on them, not only by saying I've brought some of you over but started dating you as well."
"Some of 'us'?" Mal asked.
Ben sighed. "Come on Mal, you know, villain kids." He stopped for a moment when he saw her icy stare. "Mal, Archer and the guys are some of my closest friends, we've been through a lot together and they really just want to make sure that I'm safe, that the kingdom is safe."
"So, they don't want you dating a villain kid." Mal said as she threw the letter down. "I get it."
"No, that's not it." Ben said, and he couldn't help but crack a smile seeing how adorably mad Mal was getting. "They might have been a bit shook up because you're the daughter of Maleficent and all, but you must know that they would have done this with any girl I would have started dating. They're just like that, whenever I get romantically involved with someone they start acting like bodyguards, the same thing happened with Audrey."
This made Mal look up. "Really?"
"Yeah." Ben said as he sat down next to Mal. "When we started dating it took them all but a week to suddenly stand at my doorstep and drag Audrey away for a third degree." He smiled at the thought and even Mal chuckled a bit. "But I won't let them do that to you."
"And I won't let them." Mal said with a smirk.
"Really, they're more like an anti-girlfriend party than an anti-villain kid party. I know Archer, only when you really piss him off he'll stop trying to see good in you. He hasn't even met you yet, so it's unlikely he'll already judge you."
"So why did he ask you if you had been spelled?" She asked, and Ben noticed a sad look in her eyes.
Ben sighed. "It's just, everything we've grown up with. All the stories we've been told about our parents and your parents. Every kid in Auradon has been taught to distrust anything from the isle. Some of us sober up when we grow up, but it's hard to let go of everything you learned when you were little. And Mal," he said as he grabbed her hands. "I can't apologize enough for everything we have put you through, both on and off the isle."
Mal looked into his eyes and hugged him. "You haven't hurt me in the slightest." she said, "You don't have to apologize for anything."
"Then let me apologize to you for them. Every time someone doubts you I will apologize to you, because they're all stupid."
Mal sighed with a smile. "Okay, alright. Let's drop the argument." She said as she cuddled up to Ben. "I just don't want anything driving us apart."
"Me neither." Ben said as he stroked her hair. "So, you better be at your best behavior when Archer comes here."
Mal sat back up with a shocked laugh. "Or what, you'll choose them over me?"
"Let's not find that out until we get there." He said before Mal tackled him. They continued to have a full-on tickle fight all around Ben's office which only ended after fifteen minutes with both of them exhausted on the couch in each other's arms.
"I love you." Ben said while stroking Mal's hair.
"I know you do." Mal replied.