P.S. Content warning for suggested lemons in this chapter.
When I woke up my eyes instantly went to Ben lying cuddled into me on my left hand side and a smile spread across my face at the sight of him sleeping peacefully next to me. My mind then went onto our conversation before we made love and fell asleep, it broke me to see him like that. But I understood why he felt the way he did, I felt the same. And no matter how much we felt in this moment we couldn't let it get to us, we didn't need that type of aggravation right now me, Ben, Adam and Belle had too much going on right now without all of that.
My mind then moved on to Adam and Belle's current situation, the fact that Belle was pregnant was still something that I was still in shock. I was over the moon for the pair of them, however I was still so worried about the four of them. Hearing what Adam and Belle had already been through was just so heart breaking, and my heart really went out to them. And I just hoped that everything was going to go well with Belle and the twins, and I knew that me, Ben and Adam would do everything that we could do to make sure that they were ok. My mind then started to remember what Adam and Belle told us that it was a high risk pregnancy, and this made me very nervous. I didn't want anything to happen to the pair of them, I knew that there was risks and I just hoped that the odds were going to be in Adam and Ben's favour.
I started to think about what life was going to be like with the twins at Auradon Castle, and I knew that it was going to get really busy around here. And due to it being two babies and not just one it probably meant that both Adam and Belle were probably going to have to withdraw from royal commitments which everyone would understand. Of course they had both brought up Ben but they were going to be older parents, and this was going to be with two babies instead of one that they were going to have a run for their money but me and Ben would be there every step of the way.
My train of thought then moved onto me and Ben having children together and I couldn't stop a grin spread across my face as I started to imagine them in every variation of me and Ben. I loved them so much already and I couldn't wait to meet them, however it had to be when the time was right. But when it was came to that time I knew there was so many things that me and Ben were going to do with our children. Ben wanted to do camping trips with them every summer like he did with his father, and he wanted them to read like his mother. Me on the other hand wanted to do creative things with them like music and art, I wanted to make memories with our children and have a loving relationship with them - something of which I never had had with either one of my parents.
"Mal?" I heard Ben say, which broke me out my happy thoughts of mine and Ben's children. I looked away from the ceiling and looked down at him however I pulled one brow up at him when I saw concern all over his face.
"Benny" I smiled at him.
"Are you ok?" he questioned as he pulled one brow up at me in confusion.
"Yeah" I said as I pulled one brow up at him. "Why would you not think I'm not ok?" I asked in confusion.
"You looked deep in thought" he noted.
"Oh" I noted as I took in what he had just said to me. I could see why Ben may think that something might be on my mind, but I knew that I was going to be able to quickly reassure him. "That" I added with a smile, hoping that this was going to be the start of my reassurance.
"Yeah" he said as he slowly looked up and down my face. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked hopefully.
"Of course" I nodded. "There's nothing wrong baby" I dismissed. "I was just thinking about what is going on with your parents, and what may happen for us" I explained.
"I see" he nodded, and I watched as his eyebrows burrowed together as he took in what I had just said to him.
"But don't worry-" I stated as I cupped the left hand side of his face with my right hand. "I was not thinking about the bad things that may happen" I continued to explain as I started to slowly stroke my thumb along his cheek. "Only the good" I added as I smiled at him and I watched as he smiled back at me. "I don't think it will do good to think about what bad things haven't even happened yet" I reminded him.
"Well that is a good way to think about it" he smiled further as he nodded at me. "So what good things have you been thinking about?" he questioned eagerly.
"Mainly what our children might be like-" I started. "And I did find myself to maybe be self-indulgent" I chuckled meekly at him.
"How so?" he chuckled back as he placed his left hand against my right wrist.
"Well I love the fact that I am the one to give you children" I told him proudly. "No one else is ever going to do that" I smirked at him as he dropped his hand away from my wrist.
"No" he grinned at me as he brought his face closer to mine. "Only you" he agreed as he brushed his nose against mine.
"Good" I purred before he pressed a long and loving kiss against my lips.
"I must be self-indulgent too" he advised as he pulled away, but kept our faces just inches away from each other.
"How so?" I giggled.
"I love the fact that I am the only man who is going to get you pregnant" he answered smugly.
"Of course" I answered bluntly as he cupped the right hand side of my face with his left hand. "I don't want anyone else" I reminded him as I continued to sweep my thumb along his left cheek. "Only you" I told him simply.
"Like wise Mally" he agreed as our gazes locked and we lay in silence for a few seconds before Ben finally broke the silence. "I hate that we have to go through this" he sighed sadly.
"Me too" I replied as I pursed my lips together. "But we can get through it" I dismissed once more. "Because a lifetime together will always be worth it" I smiled sweetly at him.
"I can't wait until we are married" he told me happily before pressing a kiss against the tip of my nose.
"Me neither" I smiled at him before pressing a brief kiss against his lips. "I actually want to talk about something" I advised.
"Ok?" he said slowly. "Should I be worried?" he chuckled nervously.
"No" I answered with a smile. "I just wanted to talk about our children" I admitted and I watched as his face lit up at this.
"What do you want to know?" he asked.
"Well I know our children are going to be different from other children in this kingdom-" I started to explain. "So how does that work?" I questioned. This was the truth I knew that giving Ben children was always going to be different than having children with someone else who wasn't the King of Auradon. But I never actually took it into account what this actually means, and I think that it was probably for the best that me and Ben had this discussion. I needed to mentally prepare myself what my life was going to be, and I was ready for every second of it.
"Oh" he muttered. "I see" he nodded slightly. "Well you will get a little taste of it when the twins are born" he advised. "God willing" he advised as his eyes widened in panic slightly.
"God willing" I repeated and we both shared a brief look before Ben started to speak again.
"What I am about to explain will happen with every time we have a baby-" he started. "But it may seem more of a big deal with our first" he added.
"Of course it will" I nodded. "They will be our first baby together" I grinned proudly. "And you heir to the throne" I added.
"Yeah" he agreed.
"So go on" I sang eagerly. "Tell me everything!" I exclaimed eagerly and I watched as Ben chuckled at me. "What?" I asked in confusion.
"You are so keen" he said happily.
"Of course" I said. "It's what my life is going to become, and I want to know everything" I confirmed and I watched as Ben smiled at me again.
"Well to start the gender isn't announced publicly until after the baby is born" he explained.
"Ok" I nodded as I thought about this. "Well I don't have problem with that-" I admitted. "A secret between us and our family" I smiled.
"Well-" Ben started, which made me pull one brow up at him again. "There was an old rule" he continued as he took my hand from the left hand side of his face and he interlocked our fingers together. "That it wasn't even revealed to the family" he concluded.
"Why?" I questioned.
"I don't know" he shrugged.
"Is that still in place?" I asked as I started to think about this is something that me and Ben would do.
"It depends on the couple if I am honest" he answered.
"So that is something to discuss" I stated.
"More than likely" he grinned.
"Ok what's next?" I asked with me being very eager to find out what entailed giving Ben children.
"Well the baby's name-" he started.
"What about it?" I questioned, hoping that Ben wasn't about to tell me that the council or Kingdom had some sort of say to do with what we name our children.
"There is still a rule in place that states that the name isn't revealed even to the family until they are born" he explained.
"Ok" I nodded. "But please tell me we at least get to pick their names?" I pressed. "We don't have any expectation" I quickly added before he could say another.
"No" he answered as he stroked his thumb along the back of my hand. "That is our choice" he confirmed.
"Good" I sighed in relief. "They are our children" I said. "Yes they are going to be Prince and Princesses of this kingdom but the Kingdom doesn't own them" I stated bluntly.
"Of course not Mal" Ben agreed. "A lot of things have changed where royal couple have more freedoms to a degree" he advised.
"Like what?" I asked.
"Well another old rule that doesn't stand any more is that the line of succession would go in male order first then down female siblings" he stated. "But that changed when my parents united Auradon" he continued. "It now goes in birth order" he confirmed.
"Well that is fair" I nodded. "No one can help when they are born Ben" I added.
"No they can't" he agreed. "I'm glad that rule stands" he admitted. "I want things to be fair" he stated.
"That is because you are a very caring and understand King" I smiled at him.
"You flatter me my love" he teased before he reached over and pressed a brief but loving kiss against my lips.
"It's the truth" I chuckled and I large grin spread across my face when he started chuckling back at me. "I know this is a long way off-" I began as I started to what it meant to give birth to the King of Auradon's children. "But when I give birth" I added and I noted as a smug grin spread across my fiancé's face.
"Yes?" he prompted me.
"Is there any rules that I need to follow?" I questioned.
"No" he stated. "Well only a couple" he quickly amended which made my face drop. "And I wouldn't see them as rules, more like traditions" he elaborated.
"Ok" I nodded. "Tell me more my Beastie King" I teased, which made him chuckle back at me.
"Well home births used to be the norm-" he began to explain. "But in recent years this has changed" he continued. "The Queen or Princess gives birth where they believe the best place is for them and their baby" he finished explaining.
"Ok" I repeated as I took in what he was telling me. "Don't you have a say in that?" I questioned.
"I could" he nodded. "But what matters the most to me is that you are in the place where you feel most comfortable and safe" he added. "I am fine with anything" he confirmed. I then started to think about giving birth at home and at hospital, and if I was honest I could see me doing either or. So I decided to make this decision more closer to the time, and I would make sure that Ben was involved in helping me make this decision. "Well let's just put a pin in that for later" I dismissed as I pulled a funny face at him.
"Yeah" he laughed back.
"If I am being honest I'm fine with whatever" I confessed. "As long as I have you with me" I smiled lovingly.
"Always" he replied in the same loving tone. "That's one rule you will be happy has changed" he stated. "In fact I think we both will be happy about it" he quickly added.
"What?" I asked as I threw him a very confused look.
"There was a time when father's weren't present for the delivery" he told me as he pursed his lips together.
"What?" I exclaimed.
"Yeah" he nodded. And I took in what he had just told me giving birth was already a profound moment in every woman's life, and it was stressful and worrying. And I never imagined giving birth without Ben being by my side, I needed him there. And if I was being completely honest I knew that he would want to be there - helping me through it every step of the way.
"I could never imagine going through child birth without you Ben" I stated.
"I know Mal" he agreed. "And even if that rule still stood I would ignore it" he started to dismiss. "I don't think I could just pace the corridors for hours just waiting around" he added as he pursed his lips together.
"I don't want that either!" I exclaimed. "When did that rule change?" I pressed.
"When my father united Auradon, it was his generation that made that change" Ben informed me.
"Good" I nodded. "I might have to thank your father for that" I joked and Ben laughed back at this for a few seconds.
"Mal me and you probably would have changed that rule" he told me.
"Of course we would!" I exclaimed again. "We do things together" I stated bluntly. "Not us being kept apart" I continued. "We have been kept apart enough as it is!" I sighed sadly.
"Yes!" he exclaimed back as he tightened his arms around me. "It will be easier though when we are married" he reminded me.
"Yes" I grinned happily. "We will be joined by the hip" I winked at him.
"Yep" he said as he pulled a funny face at me, which made me giggle at him.
"Anything else I need to be made away of husband and father of my babies to be?" I questioned obviously moving the conversation along and I noticed that when I said this Ben's face lit up.
"When the baby is born a notice of birth is placed outside of the castle-" he started to explain. "This is a time-honoured tradition sharing the details of the birth, including the gender of the baby and time of delivery" he added.
"Ok" I nodded.
"Town criers up and down the country would announces it, starting with the Auradon City town crier-" he continued and I decided to stay quiet as my Beast explained everything that would be come our reality in a few years. "Royal babies also get a 62 gun salute" he advised.
"A what?" I questioned in confusion breaking my silence.
"It's basically cannons shooting" Ben said.
"Why?" I asked, still in confusion.
"Tradition" he shrugged back at me.
"I see" I noted.
"And after you and the baby are seen to and depending where you have the baby-" he went on to say. "We would have to make a public appearance" he said.
"Let me guess-" I began. "To publicly introduce them?" I asked.
"Yeah" he nodded.
"Is that when we would reveal the name?" I put to him.
"Yes and no" he advised. "Our family will already know the name before our public appearance" he explained. "But our public appearance is just us standing there with the press taking photos" he stated. "We won't speak" he confirmed. "When we retire another announcement, similar to the one announcing the birth will reveal the name" he explained.
"I see" I repeated. "There's a lot that goes into giving you a baby Ben" I noted. Of course I knew a lot went into giving Ben children but actually hearing what happens is another thing. When I was on the Isle I was aware of royal babies being born but we didn't get the full coverage, so I didn't really know what was going on. It was going to feel different as they were going to be our children, but I knew that something along these lines were going to come with it. And I knew for a fine fact that I probably was going to find it overwhelming especially the first time, but I knew that Ben was going to be by my side throughout so I knew that I was going to be ok. "Does this happen every time?" I asked, breaking myself out of my train of thought.
"Yes" he nodded. "But like I have already said, it will seem like more of a big deal with our first" he reminded me.
"I see" I said again. "What happens after I give birth?" I questioned.
"Well-" he began. "We would register the birth" he continued. "I would go on paternity leave" he grinned at me.
"Oh" I muttered. "So it means me and our children gets to steal you away from the Kingdom?" I teased smugly.
"Yes" he chuckled back at me. "For a few weeks at least" he clarified.
"Good" I stated before I slid forward and pressed a kiss against his bare chest.
"Yeah" he answered as he slid his arms around me and I snuggled my head into his chest. "Plenty of time being a family" I heard him say. "And me looking after you and the baby" he promised as he pressed a kiss against the top of my head.
"Hmmm" I purred. "You're teasing me Benny" I told him smugly as I looked up at him.
"How?" he questioned with a coy smile.
"You know how I feel about having you to myself" I reminded him as I pulled one brow up suggestively at him.
"Yes I do" he confirmed. "I feel the same way Mally" he told him.
"However there are still some things that would happen during my paternity leave-" he started. "So you wouldn't say you totally have me to yourself" he warned me playfully.
"Like what?" I asked as I pulled one brow up in confusion.
"Well the Archbishop of Auradon needs to baptize our baby" he advised.
"What's that?" I questioned.
"Well another name for it is it christening" he replied. "It's a bit like a coronation" he continued to explain. "The baby would give officially given their name and their prince or Princess title" he advised.
"Well that's not stealing you away for too long" I winked at him.
"No" he chuckled. "Something we do need to discuss is nannies" he stated.
"A nanny?" I questioned slowly, I really didn't know how I felt about that.
"Yeah" he nodded. "They would help look after our children" he said.
"Right?" I said slowly. "Well I want to be involved Ben" I told him. This was the truth, of course due to mine and Ben's royal commitments I knew that we were going to need help. I just hoped that it wasn't going to be the case that me and Ben weren't that much involved and we had to rely on nannies for our children.
"And you will" he urged. "But if we need to be at a royal function for example the nanny would look after them" he offered.
"And do we choose the nanny?" I pressed as I started to hope that me and Ben did get to choose who we were going to trust to look after our children.
"Yes" he nodded. "Yes we will" he promised.
"Ok" I nodded back at this. This did make me feel better about things, however I was going to have to learn to trust who ever this nanny was. And this was probably going to take some time, I just hoped who ever they were were going to be prepared for a through vetting. "So our children won't be with us at functions and meetings?" I asked.
"No" Ben confirmed. "They don't attend royal engagements except mine and yours birthday celebrations" he added.
"Well I actually agree with that" I agreed.
"Do you?" Ben asked slowly.
"Yeah" I nodded. "It means they can have a somewhat normal life" I added. "Away from the press" I continued. "Well-" I started. "As far as they can get for the time being" I quickly amended.
"Very true" he agreed, and silence filled the room as we both took in the conversation that we have just shared. It meant a great deal to me that me and Ben had shared this conversation. It made me feel closer to him for us to be talking about what our lives was going to be in the future, and it actually made me excited for every second of it - even though I did find it overwhelming in this very moment.
"Are you ok?" I heard Ben say, breaking the silence and when I looked into his eyes I could see that he was concerned that this conversation was too much for me.
"Yeah" I nodded. "I just feel overwhelmed having this conversation" I admitted.
"Oh" he muttered. "Sorry" he quickly apologised. "Was it too much?" he asked nervously.
"No" I quickly told him. "I meant overwhelmed in a good way" I quickly added, hoping that this was going to reassure him. "That's what my life is going to be, and I can't wait for it" I further explained. "All of it" I finished with a large grin.
"Oh Mal" he breathed.
"Oh Benny" I breathed back. Me and Ben then gravitated slowly together and we both sighed happily when our lips pressed together, and it didn't take very long for us to fall into a long and loving make out session. Minutes passed by before things started to heat up and before I knew it I was on top of Ben and we were slowly making love. Me and Ben were enjoying every single moment that were currently having together, as when we left in the morning we were going to have to return back to our reality - even though we didn't want to we had to. As the sooner we returned back to our reality we were one step closer to out of this mess, I didn't know what was going to come first Ben getting rid of the proposition or us getting married. But all I did know that this situation was ultimately going to end with me being Ben's wife - and this was something that I was prepared to do anything for. Ben will and has always been worth it, and I was going to do everything in my power to help support him through this whole sorry mess - as this is what he was doing for me.
