Hello Lovies! Welcome back to another chapter of Time for Changes! It is not the longest chapter compared to my others, but it is a cute one! I hope you all like it and please let me know what you think!
Little update! I am going to be out of town this weekend, but I will be working on Two Worlds on the drive. I am hoping to have the next chapter up next week!
Have a safe weekend Lovies!
ENJOY!
The week passed and the AKs were on their way back to the Isle. Today was the start of the reconstruction of the Isle, and FG was going with them. The drive was filled with questions and most of them were coming from FG.
"And how…"
"We're here," Ben said as the limo came to a halt and he saw a purple head of hair waiting for their arrival. He hopped out of the limo, fast, before sprinting over to his girlfriend and wrapping her in a hug. "Gods, I missed you."
"I saw you last week," she said as he put her back down on her feet.
"I can still miss you," he said as he smiled down at her.
She laughed, before she looked past his shoulder and saw everyone else standing behind him. They were all dressed in relaxed clothes, and not in their normal royal attire.
"Hello, everyone," she said as she walked around Ben. "Welcome back to our humble little island, or in FG's case welcome."
"Hello, Queen Mal," FG said as she gave the young woman a small bow." Mal was still not used to the whole queen thing and being bowed to, but she would have to get used to it if the barrier was going to be coming down, though she was going to try to insist that people not bow and use her title. "It is very nice to see you."
"It is very nice to see you too, and there is no need to bow to me," she said with a small chuckle. "I am not a normal queen, therefore no titles or bowing," she said.
Everyone laughed. They had got to know how the VKs personalities differed from theirs, so they were not surprised to hear that Mal did not want to be bowed to or to be called by her title.
"Shall I show you around, before we head to my home?" She asked before she pulled a second sword off of her belt loop and passed it to Ben, making FG look at her with a weird expression. "Sorry," she said. "It's better safe than sorry. Like I said during the meeting, not everyone has changed or wants to change. Ben and I had a run in when they came the first time."
"I see," she said with slight hesitation. "Well, as long as we are all safe that is all that matters."
"That is always the goal," she said as she turned around to face her boyfriend. "Let's head to the castle."
The journey to the castle was pleasant, more than FG was expecting. As they passed shops and people, everyone seemed friendly. There were a few confused or disturbed faces, but Mal gave them a glare to back off. When they got to the castle, they were greeted by the rest of the VKs and a couple more.
"Hey, everyone," Jay said as he waved his hand high. "How was the journey, FG?" He asked.
"A lot more pleasant than I thought," she said with a small chuckle. "It is so good to see you all again, even though it has only been a week."
"That's a year to Ben," Chad said, making Ben turn to punch him in the shoulder.
"Shut up, Chad," he said, making everyone laugh. "Now, let's get inside. It's freezing."
They all followed Ben inside, and they all gathered in the dining room. FG did not know some of the added children, but she could tell who they were related too.
"Okay," Mal said as she sat down next to her brother. "FG?" she said, making everyone turn to her. "We have a few new faces that you have not met before. This is Celia and Freddie Facilier, Uma's sisters. Harriet and CJ, Harry's sisters. Genevieve, Gaston Jr, and Gaston the third, Gil's sister and brothers. Sammy, Squeaky, and Squirmy. They are the kids of Smee."
She smiled at all of them, making them smile back at her. "It is very nice to meet you all," she said.
"So, you are going to help fix the Isle?" Squeaky asked.
FG walked over and sat in front of the two 13 year olds. "I am going to try," she said. "I want to help make this a better home for each and every one of you, and we promise to make things right."
They smiled at her, and turned to look at their brother. They had been wanting things to get better, and were so happy that things were finally going to happen.
"Where do we start?" She asked as she turned to Mal.
A month had passed and the biggest improvement was the food. Charmington had been sending fresh food barges over twice a week and Ben had sent over technicians to help Carlos and Doug with the electrical issue on the Isle.
"How is the food?" Ben asked as he was FaceTiming Mal.
"It… be… with…" she said, but Ben couldn't understand what she was saying because the Isle had really bad reception to FaceTime. He hung up the phone and called her regularly. "I was saying," she said with a laugh. "The food is a lot better. We have to get everyone in the habit of not hoarding the food, so it doesn't spoil, but other than that, it's great."
"I'm glad," he said as he laid on his bed. "I wish you had better cell phone reception. I thought the boxes would work for longer than a month, but I guess not."
"It's okay," she said. "Eventually we could get things fixed here and maybe get those cell towers you were talking about."
Ben smiled at the thought. He would love to see Mal more often and the cell towers could make that easier so they could FaceTime more frequently, but they were both busy with the reconstruction of the Isle and Ben was busy with council things. His mind started to drift, thinking about how life would be if Mal lived at the castle with him. He would wake up to her everyday, see her smile first thing in the morning, and be with her as much as he could.
"Are you still there?" She asked, making Ben break out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm still here," he said as he shook his head. "Just in thought. I'll be heading over there in about an hour."
"Okay. Who's coming with you today?"
"Chad, Doug, and Audrey," he said.
"Are you all staying the night?" She asked. "If so, we can get your rooms ready."
"Probably, if it is okay with you guys," he said. "We don't want to overstay our welcome."
"You guys can stay here as long as your guys would like," she said with a chuckle. "We like having you all over."
"I like going over there, and when you guys come too," he said with a small smile.
"I am going to ask again, even though you give me the same answer all of the time," she said, making Ben laugh because he knew what she was going to ask. "Do you want to stay with me or in another room?"
"Hmmm," he said, making her laugh. "I don't know. Do I want to stay with my beautiful and funny girlfriend? Or do I want to stay in a room by myself?"
"Such a choice," she said in a teasing voice. "I guess I'll get a room ready for you."
"Shut up, Mallory," he said, making her laugh. "I'll see you in like two and a half hours. I have to call and see if the others want to stay for the night too, so I can give them time to get ready.."
"Okay. I'll see you later."
"I love you."
"Ew," she said with a laugh. "I love you too."
He chuckled before he hung up his phone to call his friends. He loved every chance he got to spend with Mal, and he wanted to spend everyday for the rest of his life with her.
When they had gotten to the Isle, they drove their bikes to Bargain castle. They knocked on the door, but there was no answer, so they walked inside to find the castle completely silent. The four adults walked into the dinning room and Ben saw a paper on the table, letting him know that Mal and the others were at the school doing activities with the kids. They quickly put their things in the rooms that they stayed in and Ben put his things on Mal's bed, before they ran out of the castle. They started to run through the Isle alleys. They grew to know the Isle like the back of their hands. Running on roofs and through alleys. The residents even got used to them and the kids ran after them as they rushed to their destinations.
"You guys need to let me catch up," Audrey said as she rested her hands on her knees.
"Sorry," Doug said. "Jumping from roof to roof is a workout."
"Tell me about it," Ben said as he walked over to the edge of the roof to look down at the school.
He saw Evie, Jay, Carlos, Mal, Uma, Harry, and Gil surrounded by kids. There were a lot of them. More than Ben thought there were. He saw them break apart into groups, and they started doing different activities. Uma and Harry were teaching some kids to sword fight. Jay was teaching kids how to do flips off the steps of the school. Carlos was showing them how he fixes a cell phone so that it works, even though he had the one Ben gave him. Gil walked into the woods with another group, or what you would call woods on the Isle with the lack of large trees. Evie was sewing some of the kids' clothes that had holes in them. And Mal was getting ready to spray paint when the kids pointed at Ben and the others.
"Look! It's King Ben!" A little girl with red hair yelled, making everyone turn to look up.
Ben waved, making every kid rush over as he and his friends climbed down from the top of the roof. Mal and the others walked over too, and Ben walked up to Mal and gave her a kiss on her lips.
"Mal?" Someone called, making Ben break away from her.
"Hey, Red," she said with a smile. "What's up?"
"Is King Ben your boyfriend?" She asked with a giggle.
Mal chuckled, before turning to look up at Ben. He gave her a smile, before she turned back to Red.
"Yeah," she said as she nodded her head. "He is my boyfriend."
Red's cheeks flushed pink as she giggled and looked up at Ben. Things were so different from what others thought of the Isle. These kids were not evil. They were good. With pure hearts. They did not deserve this life, and Ben was happy that things were going to change for them. For everyone.
When they had gotten back to the castle, Evie and Mal showed Ben and everyone around the castle to show them the new renovations. The walls had been redone and it looked a lot brighter in the castle, or as bright as it could get because of the barrier. Adam and Belle had told Mal and Evie that they would help refurnish the castle as much as they needed. There was a new long rug along the new flooring and it made the castle look beautiful.
"The renovations look nice," Ben said as they all walked into the sitting room. "Your room looks nice too."
"Yeah," Mal said as she plopped onto one of the couches. "Not having mold around makes it smell a lot better too."
"It didn't smell in here to begin with," Audrey said with a laugh. "But everything about the renovations is coming along great."
"We have you all to thank for that," Evie said as she sat down next to Doug. "None of this would have been possible, if it weren't for all of your help."
"We are glad to be of service," Doug said, making her smile.
"But none of this takes away from any of your responsibilities to your kingdoms right?" Mal asked.
"No," Ben said as he shook his head. "This may be a big project, but we do make sure that we do not get behind on our other responsibilities."
"Good," Mal said as she smiled up at him.
"Speaking of," he said as he sat down next to her. "When the barrier is down, are you going to bring the Moors barrier down too?"
"There is a barrier around the Moors?" She asked in confusion. She didn't remember going through a barrier when she had gone to visit in the past.
"Yeah," Audrey said as she nodded her head. "It is not as strong as the Isle barrier, and anyone can go through it, but it stops people who have bad intentions from entering."
"Has anyone with bad intentions ever attempted entering?"
"No," Audrey said. "The Moors do not get that many wandering visitors, only the occasional by accident."
"Then I don't see why not," Mal said with a shrug. "With the barrier coming down and with us sending the truly evil to the Isle of the Doom, I don't see why all the kingdoms can't thrive."
"Next question. Do you want the Moors to be a part of Auradon?" Ben asked hesitantly.
"Is it not?"
"Technically no," he said. "The Moors are an attachment to Auroria, but are not a part of either kingdom."
"What would that process in-tale?"
"There are many things that would have to happen, before it would become a part of Auradon," he said as he sat up straight. "First, we would have to take it to the Royal council. Second, it would need a majority vote. Third, it would need to be brought up to the council by their ruler."
"That's not bad," she said, making him look down at her. "I thought you were going to say that we had to get married for it to become a part of Auradon."
Everyone laughed, including Ben. But the thought of that made Ben's chest warm up.
"Yeah, Mal," Chad said, breaking up the laugh fit. "That would be another option, but it's not like it would be a bad thing either. Being married to the king? What a horrible life."
"Plus, all you have to do is give Ben a book and he'll be the perfect husband," Audrey said as she sat down on the floor in front of everyone else.
Everyone started to laugh again, but this time Mal's chest began to feel warm from thinking of the idea of marrying Ben. She leaned her head on his shoulder, making him rest his head against hers.
Ben and Mal were laying in bed, and he was running his fingers along her back.
"I am having cell towers installed tomorrow," he said as he kissed her shoulder. "I would like to see you over FaceTime with good reception, rather than just talk to you over the phone."
"I see," she said as she turned over to rest her chin on his chest. "Well, eventually, when the barrier is down, you can see me whenever you want."
"I can't wait," he said with a smile, making her smile and her nose crunch. "It's going to be nice, having everyone together. Having all of us together."
"I know," she said. "I wonder what it's going to be like."
"Beautiful," he said as he stroked her hair. "I'm glad that you sent me those letters."
"Really?" She asked.
"Of course," he said. "If you never wrote to me all of those years ago, I don't know where we would be."
"I imagine that you would be running your kingdom, like you are now," she said. "Maybe have a beautiful wife and some children. While I am running around here, trying to make peace with everyone. Wanting to make the Isle a home for us all."
"Well, I can guarantee that I would be running my kingdom, but I doubt that I would have a wife with kids," he said. "This may sound weird, but I stopped dating people after high school. I never wanted to date anyone unless I knew they were worth it. I want to be with someone who rocks my world and who makes me feel like I have never felt before."
"And yet you're dating a girl from the Isle," she said with a smirk on her face.
"That is because you make me feel like I have never felt before," he said, making her smile. "I would not be wasting my time, if I didn't think you were worth it, Mal."
She pushed herself up and crushed her lips to him, making him wrap his arms around her waist. Those were words she never thought she would ever hear, and hearing them from someone special like Ben, made them so amazing to her.
Another month passed and Ben was watching Mal from the roof of Dragon Hall. She had no idea he was there yet, but that didn't surprise him, because she didn't know he was coming today. She was supposed to go to Auradon tomorrow, so Ben thought he would give her some company on the drive over.
"Yeah," someone said from behind Ben, making him turn around. "I like to watch the view too."
Zevon was standing a couple of yards away from Ben, with a malicious smirk on his face.
"I thought you weren't supposed to be here," Ben said as he walked away from the edge of the school. "Jay told me that you and Frollo weren't allowed on this side of the Isle."
Zevon got mad at the mention of Jay. The two had a hatred for each other since they could remember, but that was because Jay protected Evie and Mal from him.
"Jay doesn't control me," Zevon said as he took a step toward Ben. "He can't tell me where to go or where to be."
Ben nodded his head and crossed his arms. "Are you saying that because Jay is in Auradon right now and can't see where you are right now?"
"No," he snapped, but sounded a little taken off guard. "Fre…"
"Yeah yeah," Ben said as he moved his head from side to side. "I get it. You and Fred do not have to listen to anyone. Blah blah. Mal is yours. Blah blah. You'll regret mocking me. Blah blah."
Zevon was red as a tomato. He hated whenever anyone talked down to him, but hearing it come from the king of Auradon made it ten times worse. He pulled the sword from his hilt and swung it at Ben for Ben to tuck and roll out of the way, before pulling the sword out of his hilt. He stood up straight and held the sword out to Zevon and smiled.
"You want to do this again?" Ben asked with a laugh. "I thought that last time would make you understand that you shouldn't mess with me."
Zevon charged at Ben again, but Ben was agile and moved quickly. Zevon fell to the floor and Ben stood on his hand making him unable to lift the sword again.
"Now," Ben said as he looked down. "I would stay away from my girlfriend…"
"She's no…"
"Ah ah," Ben said as he put the tip of his sword to Zevon's neck. "The grown up is talking. Like I said, I would stay away from her, before she lets her dragon out. Or better yet," he said as he moved the sword. "If she even tells me that you or Frollo go near her or her friends, I will let my beast out." Zevon started to breathe heavily, as he looked up at Ben. "Kapeesh?" Ben said, making Zevon nod his head slowly so that the sword did not cut him. "Good. Now, let go of the sword." Zevon let the sword go and Ben slowly let go of his wrist, before stepping on the sword. "Now, be a good boy and skerry along. You're starting to irritate me."
Zevon got up and ran away, and Ben made sure that he was gone, before he picked up the sword and put it in his hilt. He turned around and saw Mal standing where he first was, making him freeze.
"Hey, babe," he said with a cheeky smile. "What's up?"
She looked at him with a smirk and tilted her head to the side. "What are you doing here?"
"I just came to surprise you," he said as he walked over to her. "Plus, I thought that it would be nice to give you some company on your ride to Auradon tomorrow."
"That is nice of you," she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "And I was surprised. Surprised to see my boyfriend being a hot badass."
He laughed and threw his head back, before he looked back down at her. He gave her a kiss, picking her up off her feet just a little bit.
"Well, I am happy you enjoyed the show," he said as he put her down.
"I very much did."
Mal had been in Auradon for a week and was now heading back to the Isle, or trying to at least. Ben didn't want her to go, but she had to get a couple of things done before they started to reconstruct the school.
"Ben, stop taking my clothes out of my bag," she said as she took her shirt from him. "You are going to be coming to the Isle in two weeks to see the finished school."
"I know, but I was spoiled having you here for a week, and now I don't want you to leave," he said with a pouty face.
"I understand," she said. "I am going to miss you too, but you have meetings and I have to help with stuff on the Isle. Things are coming along faster than I was anticipating and if we keep going at this pace the Isle could be done in less than a year."
"I know," he said as he wrapped his arms around his waist and buried his nose in her hair. "I can't believe that we have been together for 6 months."
"Has it been six months already?" She asked as she turned to face him. "It feels just like yesterday that I walked into the conference room and saw your legs turn to jello."
He huffed a small laugh. "You noticed that?" He asked.
"Yeah," she said as she nodded her head. "I couldn't tell if it was for Evie or not, but Evie and Uma were convinced that you were looking at me."
"Well, they would be right," he said as he moved a piece of hair out of her face. "I fell for you the moment I saw you, or even before then," he said.
"How before?"
"Well, I always knew I was writing to a girl, but I never knew who?"
"Why did you assume a girl?" She asked. "Was it because of my good penmanship?"
"No," he said with a laugh. "I don't know exactly why, but I am glad that my assumption was right."
She gave him his favorite smile. The one where she scrunched her nose. He loved this girl, and he was so happy that she was a part of his life, but was hoping that she would be a part of it forever.
The two weeks passed and Ben was glad to hear that the cell towers were finally fixed and ready to use. There had been a problem with them when they were first installed, making Ben grow irritated when he found out. He had been on the phone trying to get them up and running, and his parents would laugh when they saw how irritated he got. Everyone knew that he wanted them up so that he could FaceTime Mal whenever he wanted, but seeing how eager he got to see her, made them very happy.
"It's so good to finally be able to see your gorgeous face while we are away from each other," he said as he laid down in his bed.
"It's not like you didn't go 25 years without seeing me," she said, making him laugh.
"And I should consider that a crime," he said as he looked at her. "How was your day?" He asked. "I bet you had a long day."
"You could say that," she said. "Lonnie helped Jay with the water pipes and now the water is even better than what it used to be. I swear if it weren't for all of your guy's help, this would have taken more than 10 years to finish."
"Well, when the king asks to make it a priority, things get done faster," he said, making her laugh.
"What time are you coming tomorrow?" She asked. "I know you have a meeting."
"Yeah," he said as he ran a hand through his hair. "It is a sidekick meeting, so it could be a while, but I am hoping that Doc comes instead of Grumpy because if not, that meeting is going to be an easy 5 hours long."
"Do you want me to send Hadie over?" She asked with a laugh. "I am pretty sure that he can annoy Grumpy enough to make the meeting end in 20 minutes max."
Ben laughed. "I wish," he said. "But then I would get non stop calls from every sidekick and with the new cell towers on the Isle, they will call until I answer."
she shook her head and laughed, before she looked around her room. "What time is it?" She asked.
"It's…" he said as he looked at his side clock. "It just turned 12."
"I ha…"
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!" People started to sing as they barged into Mal's room, making her groan. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MALLY!" Ben's eyes widened, realizing that it was Mal's birthday. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"
"Thanks guys," she said. "You shouldn't have. You really shouldn't have."
Ben was staring at Mal's jawline, not knowing who had barged into Mal's room.
"It's not everyday that my princess turns 26," Ben heard Mal's dad say.
"Thank you, dad," she said, before she looked back at the phone. "But not Ben knows what my birthday is."
She lifted the phone to show that she was on the phone and to show Ben that everyone had barged into Mal's room.
"What did you expect, Mal?" Uma asked as she sat down. "Did you expect to hide your birthday from him forever? Hello, Ben, by the way."
"Hello," he said as he waved at everyone.
"I expected to keep it a secret for as long as I could, but I guess that wouldn't last more than 6 months."
Ben heard Mal laugh, before she looked down at her phone and gave him a small smile. He wished her a happy birthday, making her roll her eyes and making him laugh. Everyone wished her a happy birthday, giving her gifts and hugs. About fifteen minutes later, Ben came up with an idea.
"Mal?" He called, making her look back at the screen. "My pho…" But hung up and turned his phone off to make it look like it died.
He quickly packed his bag and walked over to his parents room, before knocking on the door.
"Come in," he heard his dad say. He walked in and saw that they were sitting in bed reading. "Hello, Ben. Did you need something?" He asked.
"Yeah," he said as he walked in with his bag over his shoulder. "I was wondering if you could do me a huge favor?"
"What is it?" Belle asked as she looked at her son with worry.
"Would you or dad sit in for me during the sidekick meeting tomorrow?" He asked, shyly.
"Is something wrong?" Adam asked.
"No," Ben answered quickly as he shook his head. "I just found out that today is Mal's birthday, and I would like to spend the day with her, if you would take the meeting off my hands."
Belle and Adam smiled at their son. They had never seen him so in love, and they loved watching how happy he had become.
"Of course, Ben," Adam said with a smile on his face. "Are you leaving for the Isle now? It's rather late."
"I know," he said. "But I wanted to surprise her, because she thinks I have a meeting tomorrow and I literally just found out it was her birthday."
"Okay," Belle said. "But call us when you get through the barrier and to the castle. We want you to be safe."
"I will, mom," he said with a bright smile on his face. "Thank you, again."
"Not a problem," Adam said. "Now, hurry, before it gets any later."
Ben nodded his head, before turning around and leaving, closing the door behind him. He rushed out to the garage and pushed his bike out, before kicking it into gear. He rode through the night and it took him almost an hour to get to the barrier, and an additional 15 minutes to get to the castle. When he got there, he parked his bike under the drawbridge with the other VK's, before texting Evie to come open the door for him. He had to wait about 10 minutes before Evie opened the door with a look of confusion on her face.
"I was not going to sit in a meeting all day and miss half of Mal's birthday," he said as he walked past her, making her laugh.
"She has no idea you're here, does she?" She asked.
"No," he said as he shook his head. "So, shhhh."
She shook her head and laughed, before Ben walked up the giant staircase and down the wing Mal's room was on. He slowly opened the door, thankful that it did not creak as it opened. He saw Mal was asleep in her bed and she was in the dead center of it. He put his bag on the chair on the corner and slipped his shoes off, before climbing onto the bed and wrapping his arms around her, making her jump.
"Happy birthday," he said as he gave her a kiss on her cheek.
"Sweet gods, Ben," she said as she tried to catch her breath. "You scared the crap out of me."
"I'm sorry," he said as she turned to face him. "I just wanted to surprise you on your birthday."
"I thought you had a meeting today?" She asked.
"My dad is going to sit in my place," he told her with a smile. "I wanted to spend the day with my girlfriend on her birthday."
She gave him a smile, before pushing herself up and kissing him deeply. She could have never asked for a better birthday gift than being with Ben.
Until next time my Lovie! xoxo GM
