After a couple months wait, here is the next chapter planned specifically for Valentine's Day: the Bal date!

I have finished handwriting five chapters, so updates should be consistent each week. I have finished the first movie's events like I had wanted and am about to start the second 'arc' of the story. This second arc . . . it's going to break some hearts and quite a bit will be changed from the original plot.

Now as some might know, I had a poll on my profile about what to do about my idea concerning 'Kore'. Upon further reflection and votes, it will be made into a prequel story for 'Kore'. However, I don't plan on publishing it until after I finish this story, but I will be writing out chapters between working on this story.

Another announcement: I have a patre-on (the word is deleted if I don't do the dash). It is patr-eon . c-o-m-/reinreads13 (remove the dashes and spaces). I post updates when I finish writing chapters, I publish chapters a couple days ahead of posting on this website, and I post story-boards about what the upcoming chapter will be about; one will be posted tomorrow. If you want to join, great. If not, that's ok too.

As of now, this story will be updated every Wednesday until I can't or get behind, which I hope won't be the case.

Enjoy!

Mal couldn't believe she actually decided to ride on a motorbike with Ben when she knew he had never driven one before.

Nonetheless, the princess kept a strong hold on her date as he sped through the countryside. Laying her head against his back, Mal found their current position comfortable and comforting. If it was up to her, she would have been more than fine with riding like that for hours and hours.

Sadly, the trip came to an end far too quickly than she wanted. Driving through the 'secret'—as the adults didn't know about it—entrance through the woods, Ben parked the borrowed motorbike next to the rope bridge.

Mal raised a curious eyebrow as she was helped off the vehicle. "How do you know about this place already?" She wondered. "The kids at Auradon Prep keep it secret from everyone. We usually don't tell new students until a few months after they've been in school and call it 'Eden' to trick them."

"Jay led me here after I asked Evie for help," Ben informed softly, though he seemed somewhat tense. "They both told me how much you love this place and how you never have time to visit it anymore. I thought this would be perfect. At the very least, you're out and away from school. You have to be tired of being asked so many questions about the coronation."

Mal shook her head in amusement. "You have no idea how many people ask when it will be when we've told them so many times we don't know yet. It will be up to little Hadie when he decides to make his grand appearance."

This time, Ben raised his own curious but amused eyebrow. "Your family is so determined to have a boy that you already have a name for him. What happens if you have a little sister instead?"

"She will still be Hadie," Mal claimed with a light shrug. "Mom chose the name since Dad chose mine. 'Hadie' still fits if I have a little brother or a little sister. Considering my uncle spoiled my gender, Dad is hoping he will slip up with Hadie."

Shaking his head in amusement, Ben insisted, "If we keep talking here, everything for our date will be spoiled. I doubt you'll eat it then."

"You actually cooked?"

"More like Audrey and Chad did while Evie instructed them," Ben corrected. "I had a lot of help making sure this date would be perfect for you." He gestured lavishly to the rope bridge. "After you, Princess."

Smiling softly, Mal gracefully stepped on the rickety bridge. The first few steps were easy enough, until the boards began to sway with the wind. Mal gazed down at the deep trench below them, stumbling forward on her next step. Ben caught her arm before she could fall completely.

Once standing to full height, Mal sighed in relief. "Thanks, I always hated this bridge because—"

"You're scared of heights?" Ben assumed. "How can you be? You're the daughter of a queen with wings. You used to have wings."

"I never flew with them," Mal insisted with a sadden sigh. "Mom always told me I was too young to learn. In reality, she didn't want me to learn so I wouldn't be as affected when they were gone."

"If you don't mind me asking," Ben began cautiously, "how can you forgive your parents after what they did to you?"

"They're my parents," Mal reminded with a feign, careless shrug. "I know they did what they thought was best to protect me. They have apologized so many times, but also said they wouldn't have changed their decision. I'm just a fairy that's meant to have no wings. I can't be mad when I never got the full experience."

Nodding politely, Ben moved so he was next to Mal, holding her hand to guide her the rest of the way across the bridge. "You wouldn't be able to handle roof travel," he noted.

Mal stared at him with a certain fascination in her eye. "Roof travel?" she repeated inquisitively. "What's that?"

"Exactly as it sounds," Ben teased, before he explained further, "The buildings are so close together on the Isle that they nearly stack on top of each other. When there are too many people in the streets or there's someone to avoid, the children walk on the roofs. When Audrey and I travel by roof, everyone else would go to the streets to avoid my 'temper', not that we cared. We would travel by roof all the time if we could."

"That sounds amazing," Mal complimented. "It would be fun if Auradon had something like that."

"You do," Ben insisted. "We're walking on it right now."

"Walking on a bridge is different than walking on a roof," Mal argued with a slight huff. "Roofs are more stable, there are no missing boards, and they aren't held together by rope."

Ben raised an amused eyebrow. "Clearly, you've never been on the Isle before."

"No," Mal admitted, "I haven't. Maybe you can tell me all about it."

Ben gazed at the princess with a certain gleam in his eye. "Maybe," he agreed softly. "Maybe . . . I can show you one day."

Mal smiled lovingly. "I would love that."

Mal couldn't believe how much effort Ben put into the date at the Enchanted Lake.

There was an extravagant display of food laid out with a picnic basket filled with more treats inside. There were a couple throw pillows for them and a massive blanket folded neatly while placed to the side just in case she were to get cold.

Mal turned to gaze at her date, an unbelieving smile stretching from ear to ear. Softly smiling back, Ben helped her walk across the stone floor to her seat across from him.

For the first few minutes, the two didn't talk. Instead, they ate the Auradon cuisines created just for them by their friends. While Mal ate at a leisurely pace, Ben practically scarfed everything down on his plate. Although she should have been justifiably disgusted, Mal couldn't help giggling.

"I'm guessing it's your first time eating sweets," she assumed teasingly. "Does the Isle not have much variety?"

"More like none," Ben corrected bluntly, taking a moment to wipe his mouth with a napkin. "We are the Isle of Leftovers. Auradonians never have anything sweet or sugary left over because they eat it all. The same goes for any other food you can think of. A few days ago was the first time I ever ate a strawberry before because there are no fresh food on the Isle of the Lost."

"You talk about the Isle a lot more than you do about yourself," Mal noted, setting her unfinished plate aside. "I want to hear something about you. Tell me anything that I don't already know."

Hesitating for a moment, Ben didn't know what to say, so he insisted, "Why don't you tell me something about yourself first, so I know what you're looking for?"

Rolling her eyes teasingly, Mal announced dramatically, "My middle name . . . is Bertha."

Not expecting such a personal detail, Ben laughed at the ridiculousness of it. "Bertha? Seriously?" he questioned through fits of giggles. "Who came up with a name like that?"

"To be fair," Mal began to reason, though she did have an amused smile on her lips, "I was born a few hours after Uma, but on separate days. She was born a few weeks premature, so she was reasonably smaller than an average baby. Since she was so small, and is the daughter of Ursula, she was given the nickname 'Shrimpy'. When I was born, I was probably two, if not three times higher than her, so the name 'Bertha' seemed fitting at the time."

Ben snickered one more before admitting, "My middle name is Florian."

Mal raised an eyebrow. "Florian? How princely. Did your mother give you that name?"

"My godmother," Ben corrected nonchalantly, "Aurora."

Mal stared at him in surprise. "Beasty?" she clarified. "How did she become your godmother?"

"She was friends with my mother since they were the only decent people on the island at the time," Ben informed with a careless shrug, though he truly did care inside. "Aurora tried her best to take care of my mother while she was sick, always having to sneak into the house when Beast left for the marketplace. Aurora was the one that delivered me when my mother went into labor. After my mother passed, Aurora kept an eye on me whenever I wasn't trapped with the Beast. She would always bump into me in town and make up some excuse to give me food that she always had on her."

"Aurora's the reason I had a safe place to stay so I wasn't constantly around my father, whose temper would go berserk at the flip of a switch," Ben noted, staring into space as he reimagined the horrible memory. "She found what I called my hideout in the middle of the Isle. It was just an abandoned building, but it was big enough for a bedroom, a small living room, and a tiny dining area. Me, Audrey, Lonnie, and our old friend Aziz would hang out there all the time, though Audrey and I had to be careful not to walk in on anything. After the falling out with Aziz, he never came back to the hideout and Lonnie stopped going there because it brought back bad memories from before."

Mal nodded in understanding, though she really had no idea what incident Ben was referring to. None of the Auradon students knew because the Isle students were so hush-hush about it.

"Is that the reason you and Audrey are so close?" Mal wondered curiously. "Because Beasty, her mother, is your godmother? A lot of students thought you were friends with benefits."

"Audrey is like the little sister I never had," Ben clarified. "She means the world to me and was one of the only things that helped me through my day to day life. As far as I know, Audrey is a virgin, but that could very well have changed since she started dating Gil."

Mal snickered childishly. "When you aren't with her, those two are stuck like glue," she deduced with a giddy tone in her voice. "Those two are so obviously in love with each other. I wouldn't be surprised if they told each other that within the next few days."

Ben pondered on the word for a few moments. "Love . . ." he repeated softly. "I . . . don't know what it feels like, but I would like to learn."

Smiling softly, Mal laid her hand on Ben's cheek, adjusting his position slightly so he would look at her fully. "I can teach you," she promised, "if you will let me."

Nodding absentmindedly, Ben allowed himself to be pulled forward into a sensational kiss. Mal's fingers grasped his hair tightly while Ben had his hand placed respectively on her waist. As their kiss grew more intense, Mal decided to change things up a bit as she carefully leaned backwards, forcing Ben to follow her lead as she laid on her back.

When he felt one of her hands move to unbutton his shirt, Ben quickly pulled away, very out of breath. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he interrogated sternly. "We will be taking such a huge step in our relationship."

"I'm more than sure," Mal reassured softly. "I want to teach you what love feels like by having you make love to me, if that's alright with you."

Hesitating once more, Ben made his decision when he grabbed the nearby blanket, throwing it over the two of them just in case any unexpected visitors were to walk by. Once they were fully covered, Ben leaned back down to kiss Mal—

Allowing the princess to continue what she started.

By the time Ben returned to his dorm room, the sun nearly sat for the day—

But he was not alone.

Far to eager for such an occasion, Audrey waited until her best friend returned to hear the important details. Not wanting to be alone, she asked Chad to stay with her so she wasn't bored. Chad agreed only if she would help him study Chemistry, for he failed the test that day. After the long few hours of having no idea what the book meant, the two laid across Ben's bed, both exhausted, mentally drained, and making absolutely no progress.

Audrey perked up at hearing the creaking noise. Sitting up expectantly, she grinned eagerly. "How did it go? Did you have fun?"

Leaning against the closed door, Ben laid his head back, pondering the day's events.

"I think . . ." Ben began in realization, "I'm in love."