Chapter 8 – An Ending

CONTENT WARNINGS: Political corruption, Terrible Parenting, attempted brainwashing, nongraphic murder, referenced suicide attempt,

-:-:-

Times were good.

At least, for the most part.

And then there were times when Ben's father requested a private meeting, which had never boded well for Ben.

They'd occurred less over the years, when it became obvious Ben wasn't going to listen to his father's demands-disguised-as-advice, that he was going to forge his own way through leadership. Ben acknowledged that this likely defeated his father's point of coronating a sixteen-year-old in the first place, but it was his terrible parenting skills and heavy hand that had forged Ben into the king he was today. His job was a brutal one, and to be given it at such a young age should have conditioned him to lean on his parents, leaving him susceptible to his father's manipulations, if only Ben were that weak.

Instead, he'd become the tool forged of iron his father wanted him to be, which meant having his own damn opinions and healthy expectations for what Auradon should become, which didn't involve perpetuating broken systems.

Ben got it, his father hated Gaston. He hated a lot of people, but resuscitating a guy from almost-death just to throw him on a prison island with his best friend and greatest admirers seemed entirely petty. Like, Ben wasn't surprised by it because he knew his father, but that didn't make it less unnecessarily aggressive. Ben was half convinced that his father conceived the Isle in a fitful stroke to never see those who'd wronged him or the 'heroes' of Auradon ever again, and then after it was created, he realized how useful a tool it was for getting rid of those that didn't fit the perfect cookie-cutter mold of Auradon. Mystical creatures, the poor, the rebels – it was easy to ship them over with the true villains as a sort of dumping ground until Auradon was exactly what he wanted it to be – an easy to control paradise.

Most of their recent conflicts came from Ben rightly overhauling this flawed system to be less of a violation of human rights. It was a continuous battle that ended with Ben not seeing his father more often than not, but he always had the handy fact of his position to use as an excuse. Unfortunately, his father must have managed to bribe his secretary again because Ben walked into what he thought would be a private conversation with his mother only to be confronted with his father and a small handful of guards that never meant anything well for Ben.

He made a note to fire his secretary when he got out of this. Depending on how annoying this was, he might arrest her as well for low-level treason.

"Benjamin," his father drawled, his hands tucked behind his back and posture firm and tall. "Your engagement has ended."

"Yes," Ben agreed, because this was just exposition, some dumb build up to lead to the actual conversation.

"Your engagement to Miss Bertha," his father reiterated. "Whom you swore to love until the end of time."

"I'll still love her," Ben offered just to piss off his dad. "But that doesn't mean we're best for each other."

"Ah, yes," the king mused. "Polyamory, was it? The fact that you managed to play that off as a cultural norm rather than the greed it is was rather impressive."

Ben kept his expression neutral. He couldn't afford to get angry during these conversations with his father, it allowed for too many weaknesses the other man would gladly exploit.

So Ben didn't say anything. He waited because he had shit to do, and humoring his father had stopped being a priority for him years ago.

The other king met his stare head on before surrendering to his annoyance with a slight twitch of his brow. "You're single," he continued, as though Ben was unaware of this. "Such a thing is unacceptable for the king of Auradon. It leaves the people uncertain, or worse, leaves you open to a parade of constant advances that will wear on our patience for months to come."

He said this as though he would be taking the brunt of these affections when it would be Ben who suffered most, though the younger king was sure that his father would have his fair share of associates trying to suck up to him, attempting to get an in with the royal family that way.

"It's unfortunate," Ben said. "But necessary."

"Still-"

"I have it taken care of," Ben said, getting to the root of the issue. "This will be a temporary annoyance, but only that. There is a light at the end of the tunnel."

"I assume this light comes in the form of Princess Rose?" his father countered with a quirk of his brow. "That isn't acceptable."

"I'll have to wait a few years, true," Ben said. "But Mal was a villain. If she can be reformed and celebrated, so can Audrey."

Besides, Audrey had done more for Auradon than Mal could ever hope to achieve. Not to say that Mal hadn't contributed, but her efforts were mostly the occasional grand gesture or spectacle that followed messes she'd created on her own.

Audrey was more of a constant worker, and her dedication and loyalty should be acknowledged.

"It isn't acceptable to wait," his father amended with gritted teeth. "A few years is too long. You've had your chance at true love, now you need to make a gesture of peace to comfort the minds of the people. Indulge in a political union."

Ben restrained himself from pointing out that Mal had been a political union and the other man knew it, but such things were ultimately irrelevant, considering how little attention his father would offer them.

"I've been working away at the outer kingdoms for years," his father said. "And Princess Amber of Enchancia is finally of age. If the two of you are wed, the United States of Auradon and the United Kingdoms of Enchancia could come together as one conglomerate."

The United Kingdoms of Enchancia was a collection of kingdoms – much like Auradon – that were located north of the Wildlands just above the Great Wall. For the longest time, they'd assumed the Wildlands expanded all the way towards the top of their continent, but updated technology and magical explorations had revealed another union of kingdoms much like their own. They were on speaking terms, but for the most part the two unions stayed separate. There wasn't much need for them to communicate with them being so very far apart.

"This could be a move for peace that would settle everyone's minds," his father pressed. "It could-"

"No," Ben said, already tired with this conversation. "We don't need that much power; no one needs that much power. If you want to cement a political union for the sake of peace we can marry off one of the younger, non-inheriting heirs of Auradon to Princess Amber, but I'm not going to do it."

"Because it'd be too much work?" his father countered, his expression settling into a scowl.

"It's hard enough to manage Auradon on its own," Ben said. "Adding another union of kingdoms to that would be a disservice to both Auradon and Enchancia. Neither one of us would be able to devote the time and attention both unions would require."

Not without having to delegate to people he didn't trust – at least on Ben's end, which might be his father's goal. That, and his ever-growing desire to have more power, as though unifying the southern kingdoms hadn't been enough.

"You're small-minded," his father said, a definite thing. "You lack vision. We have the opportunity of a lifetime here-"

"It's my life, dad," Ben snapped, weary of this conversation. "And I've made enough sacrifices for the sake of Auradon. Audrey will make an amazing queen, and one day, I will marry her. Until then, I'm going to focus on finishing college while I run the union of kingdoms you insisted on giving to me at the age of sixteen."

His father shot him a dirty look, one that would normally make Ben back off in the past, but he was tired. These conversations never ended well for either of them because his father was stubborn and Ben was angry and his father was one of the few people he could justifiably turn his anger on as the person who had inspired it in the first place.

"You're out of line, Benjamin," the man growled, straightening up with a furious look. "You forget your place."

"You forget yours," Ben snarled. "The United States of Auradon isn't yours to run anymore, it's mine. I'll decide where it's future will go, and I'm done indulging you with these meetings."

"Is this how you speak to your father?"

"I don't have a father," Ben snapped. "I just have you, and you surrendered the right to call me your son years ago."

He put on a good show, but King Adam was as cold as they came. Ben had his suspicions as time went on, but that incident freshman year had been the final nail in the coffin. He'd lost his father that night and he'd never stopped being angry about it, angry that he hadn't realized that the imposter acting as his greatest defender only ever saw him as a pawn to be shuffled around a chess board.

For a moment his father just stared at him, not seeming to register even an ounce of regret. He'd already suspected Ben's mindset, this was just the first time the young king had openly expressed it.

But he was tired. He'd finally gotten what he'd wanted – Chad was safe, his future was secure, Audrey was going to be queen again and the VKs all had each other – and now this man was trying to force his way in where he didn't belong and ruin that.

"If that's how it is, then I see no other choice," his father said, likely for the benefit of himself and the guards rather than Ben. "You're out of control, Benjamin, and you must be stopped."

"Are you going to kill me?" Ben asked, wondering if the man that had once been his father would be up front about such an attempt.

King Adam actually rolled his eyes. "You're no use to me dead," he said, motioning for the guards to close in – his elite set, the ones that deferred to him rather than Ben. The old timers. "No, you simply need a change of attitude."

He said this like Ben didn't have a mess of counter-enchantments on him courtesy of Fairy Godmother's wand to protect him from curses, so he allowed the guards to pin him in place, keeping his arms twisted behind his back while his father began monologuing like the villains he seemed to hate so very much. To be fair to him though, when he finally pulled his hands out from behind his back, Ben could say that he'd earned the right, because that was a dramatic buildup.

For there, resting in King Adam's hands, was Jafar's Snake Staff, fresh from the vault Ben had relocated all powerful artifacts to. The museum could live with recreations and pictures, they didn't need to risk such things for the sake of education.

Mal and Audrey had taught him that.

"You know what one of the few benefits of your new rehabilitation enclosures are?" his father asked rhetorically, cradling the staff in his hands. "Now we can sap the energy from the magic-enhanced villains that are imprisoned instead of letting their abilities go to waste under the barrier. After all, it's not like Jafar needs his aptitude for hypnosis and mental arts when he's learning to be a better person now, does he?"

"You fucked with his magic-restriction bracelets?" Ben hissed, the pieces slowly falling together.

"It's not like it will kill him," King Adam hummed. "Instead of blocking his access to magic, the bracelets simply absorb and redirect the magic he naturally channels to a location you don't need to worry about, where it can then be funneled into seals such as this one."

His father held up a rectangular piece of paper covered in Imperial City inkwork – seal magic solidified by enchanted ink. The symbols did the work, he only needed to channel a small amount of energy into the seal to activate them. It was a form of magic that could be used by those that weren't particularly magic-inclined.

For his father, it was actually sort of brilliant.

"I figured I might as well make the most of your mockery," King Adam offered blithely. "And with this, I'll be able to hypnotize you into being the king you should be and get rid of the angry little brat that seems to have taken the place of my son."

"That's your handiwork entirely, so I'm not sure what you're complaining about," Ben muttered. "And thanks for the monologue, it's very helpful."

"So witty," his father drawled. "Even to the bitter end, you choose to be obstinate. Surrender, Benjamin, you don't have any choice."

"I have plenty of choices," Ben said, because his father had kindled him to be a weapon before a person, to be a leader who fought for the good of his kingdom before he was an individual, and as such, he had a duty to uphold.

So he didn't wait for his father to press the seal to the serpent staff, he simply turned and bit in deep to the neck of the guard next to him, and when the other guard's grip loosened in surprise, Ben ripped his arm away from him and unleashed a vicious headbutt, the copper taste of blood lingering on his lips.

The other guards closed in, but instead of aiming for them, Ben charged his father, grappling for the Snake Staff that proved to be the biggest threat to him. He'd been hiding just how strong he was from his father over the years, knowing one day that he would likely need the advantage. Upon breaking the Enchantress's curse, the old Fae had left Ben's family line with a sort of blessing by way of enhanced senses. Enhanced smell, sight, and hearing combined with heightened speed and strength. His, of course, was watered down compared to his father's, but Ben had the element of surprise on his hands that he made the most of, ripping the Snake Staff from his father's grip and snapping it in half in a deft motion before throwing it across the room.

"You fool!" his father snarled, baring his teeth in a furious hiss. "That artifact was priceless!"

"And in the wrong hands!" Ben snapped before throwing himself back into the fray.

There were guards to take out, one whose arm he broke to steal a sword before tossing him aside like nothing. He was stronger than them, faster, and they thought he was kinder, weak, and didn't expect him to be so ruthless. His bloodlust was activated now though, and whatever sympathy he had for these men was lost in the wake of his fury. He stabbed and cut and threw until it was just him and his father, King Adam abandoning the path of magic in favor of his own sword.

They traded furious blows, furniture toppling and breaking around them as they danced around the room. Ben knew the regular guards outside the room had likely been pulled from their posts to allow for a seamless hypnotism, but as always, his father's plan had backfired. Now he had no one to call for backup, and granted, Ben didn't either, but Ben was younger than his father, more resilient, and on top of that, he'd never had to channel his beast anger into an entirely different form. It had always been his human body, unlike his father, whose movements became wider and more ragged with each passing blow.

They were battling to the death now, Ben knew. It was inevitable, had always been inevitable, but in that moment he knew if he didn't succeed, he would die. As okay as he would have been with that a week ago, now he actually had a future he was somewhat happy with. Now he had Chad and Audrey and Doug and Jane to look after, and he couldn't afford to break to pieces. Not when there was so much at stake. So when he saw an opening to slash his father's throat he took it, swinging with all his might and thinking nothing of it when he heard a distinct thump behind him, followed by the clatter of his father's sword against the ground.

The man fell, and Ben took a moment to steady himself, to gather his breath because once he turned around there would be no denying the tumultuous conclusion to his and King Adam's relationship.

He breathed, taking in the blood that spattered his body, sticky in the palm of his hand, and slowly turned around.

His father's head rested a few feet from his decapitated body, spilling a deluge of blood out onto the ancient carpets of Auradon Castle.

And so the beast king's reign came to an end.

For a moment, Ben tried to feel some kind of sorrow, tried to search for any of the love he had for his father as a child, and found nothing. In the end, he only had a relentless sort of relief that he was finally free, if given yet another problem to tackle.

He set his sword aside and hesitantly pulled out his phone to call Cogsworth.

They had work to do.

-:-:-

If there was one set of people who understood the possible depths of his father's rage and madness it was the servants that had almost been cursed to death because of his greed. They were the ones that kept him company for ten lonely years, who coached him through wooing Ben's mother. They had gotten him to that brief point of goodness before it all faded away to the natural darkness that seemed to linger in his father's heart. Sometimes, Ben wondered how the Enchantress would feel about what had ultimately become of Adam Florian. He wondered if she had known this was inevitable, if she hadn't expected him to break the curse. He wanted to yell at her for not doing a good enough job, because the old king had managed the love to care for exactly one person but the rest he was too damaged for, which would have been fine if he was a baker and was entirely catastrophic with his position as king of everything.

So Ben called Cogsworth and told him to come alone, and in the time he waited for him the king made sure that the regular guards that surrounded the room stayed pulled away from their posts for the rest of the day – citing an evaluation for potential remodel or something frivolous like that.

"Your majesty?" Cogsworth called through the solid wood side door. "You called?"

"Come in, Cogsworth," Ben murmured, trying hard not to survey the wreckage, his stolen sword still clutched in his hand.

Cogsworth wasn't an idiot. He'd probably smelled the blood before Ben had ever ushered him inside. He'd likely been steeled for something terrible, like another one of Ben's fits (that was what they called suicide attempts – 'fits'), but even that likely didn't prepare him for the true scene in front of him.

He paused just inside the door to the room, frozen in shock.

Ben did not blame him.

"It would seem my father had a heart attack," Ben said, trying not to look at him. "His most trusted guards turned on us – tried to kill me. Could you contact the coroner and the cleanup team?"

"I… of course," Cogsworth said, his expression dejected.

"Thank you," Ben said, keeping his voice quiet. "If you could keep this as discreet as possible, that would be greatly appreciated."

"Of course," Cogsworth repeated. "Do you need medical help, your majesty?"

Ben looked over himself, but there were no lasting wounds that wouldn't be healed in a few hours due to his beast blessings, nothing that couldn't be fixed on its own.

"I'm okay," Ben said, offering him a tired look. "I have to call an emergency meeting with the Core Council now. In the meantime, could you please contact the PR team and have them put together a press release to explain his heart attack?" That was how royals did things. They couldn't say the most powerful, good man in Auradon had gone crazy and tried to kill his son, they just had to say his heart gave out. "And um- when he's more presentable, could you please have Mrs. Potts tell my mom what happened?"

"It will be done," Cogsworth said as Ben slowly walked the room, picking up the broken pieces of the Snake Staff.

The Head Butler said nothing as he did so, nor when he pocketed the seal or wiped off the handle of the sword he'd stolen before sticking it in the hand of the guard he had taken it from in the first place.

When that was done Ben found himself with nothing to keep him there. "I…" He swallowed, giving the room one last glance over, mourning the broken furniture and blood. "I'm sorry, Cogsworth. You shouldn't have to deal with this."

The older man blinked, like he hadn't expected the offer, then adopted a particularly sad look. "It's I that must apologize, your majesty," he said. "You never should have dealt with this either."

But he had to, because until a few years ago King Adam had been the most powerful person in all of Auradon. That was simply the world they lived in.

"Thank you," Ben said, feeling the weight of the lives he'd taken all at once. "I appreciate that."

The other man offered a respectful nod and then the moment was over, both of them parting to take care of their respective duties. The old king might be dead, but the world would stop turning for no one.

-:-:-

Ben took the secret passageways back to his private office – the one only accessible to a few, now accessible to none but him as he updated the privacy rune configurations. He'd sent an emergency message to the Core Council, and by this point, all of them had pulled themselves from their busy schedules and were awaiting his call in their own private offices, as dictated by the threat level he'd used when sending out the coded alert.

The core council – unlike the United Council of Auradon – was comprised of only a handful of rulers from the United States of Auradon. It was this main grouping of kingdoms that had worked together to establish the framework for the United States of Auradon, that had reached out to the surrounding kingdoms until everyone was working together under one union. It was this group of kingdoms whose heirs had been put up for consideration for who would rule the United States of Auradon, and as such, any time something of vital importance occurred that could affect Auradon as a whole, Ben was required to call an emergency meeting of the Core Council.

Sultana Jasmine, of course, was the first online for the video chat, the epitome of punctuality and professionalism. King Phillip and Queen Aurora were next to represent Ulstead and Auroria respectively. Chad's father should have been present for Sardinia, but he'd taken a leave of absence for most meetings in the wake of his dwindling mental health, and Ben had declined Duke Francis – the former king of Sardinia's – request to step up with the Core Council.

These were people Ben needed to like him, so the Duke was entirely out of the question.

Queen Rapunzel of Corona and Queen Snow of Hanover were last, and all adopted appropriate looks of concern when faced with Ben's blood-spattered visage.

Ben saw no point beating around the bush and immediately launched into things as soon as they were settled. "As of 1:15 PM this afternoon, King Adam, formerly of Central Auradon, made an attempt on my life." He held up the broken pieces of Jafar's Snake Staff before they could start asking questions. "That was after his failed attempt to brainwash me into compliance. As a result of this attack I defended myself, and killed my father and his elite guards." Ben set the broken staff off to the side. "We're going to tell the public he had a heart attack, but the nature of this transaction necessitated the Core Council's attention."

"Oh, Ben," Queen Aurora said, a hand pressed against her mouth. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

"Were you injured?" Sultana Jasmine said, her gaze hard.

"Nothing substantial," Ben said, motioning to a cut in his arm that was already healing over. "If you would like to put together a third-party investigative team to look into the matter, they would receive full cooperation from me and the Auradon Castle Staff. I only ask that you keep things discreet." He held the staff up to Sultana Jasmine. "I'm not sure how he got this out of the vault yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I find anything. Would you like the remnants of the staff returned to Agrabah?"

"I'll have Genie teleport over for it this evening," Sultana Jasmine said.

"We could have our investigative team look into the staff's removal," Queen Snow said. "Do you know how he planned to use it?"

Ben passed on the information his father had given him, making no effort to hide his exhaustion, watching as their faces grew more and more grim. While they hadn't dealt with the darkest side of King Adam like Ben had on a regular basis, they had worked with him closely enough to know that he wasn't as good a guy as he projected to the rest of the world.

"I'm sorry you went through this," Queen Rapunzel offered, her voice gentle. "Adam has always been intense in his beliefs, but if any of us had thought he would resort to this…"

"I know," Ben said. He wasn't bitter about their lack of intervention, they could only act on what the former king had projected, and he'd done his damnedest to hide the worst of himself from them. Most of it, at least, not all – which was why they weren't calling for Ben's head at this exact moment, why they weren't surprised he'd been forced to kill his own father. "I will need your help in the coming days," he admitted, and maybe it wasn't true, but a normal son forced to fight off his own father would be emotionally compromised at least a little bit, so he offered this much for the sake of appearances. "I will… I'll be fine, eventually," he lied. "But right now, things will be…"

"Tough," King Phillip finished. "That's fair, Ben, none of us would blame you for needing to take some time for yourself."

"If um- you don't mind, I'll be deferring some of the upcoming council sessions to you guys," Ben said, because that would make them feel helpful and give him more time to himself. "And Queen Snow – after the news comes out, if you could talk to my mom, or just come for a visit…"

"I'll be there," Queen Snow said, her gaze determined. "Don't worry. You're not alone in this."

Queen Snow, much like King Christopher, was one of the few royals that could ever possibly understand his mother's new widower status that she didn't even know about yet.

And just- his mom. He would have to tell his mom. He would have to sell his grief to his mother, despite feeling mostly relieved.

It was a future problem.

"Thank you all for your time," Ben said. "I need to get back out there, but your help is, as always, greatly appreciated."

"Think nothing of it," Sultana Jasmine said, always the default speaker for the group, and the rest offered their nods of respect before signing off to deal with the fallout that came with the death of a major royal.

-:-:-

By the time Ben finished cleaning up the joint investigative team from Corona and Hanover arrived at the castle, and Ben gave Cogsworth the okay to let them in. There were other teams in line to investigate the staff's removal from the vault as well as the location of wherever his father was gathering magic, though Ben intended to get a lead on that himself after he finished giving his statement to the investigators.

Everyone cooperated – quietly, of course – and the bodies were taken away in short order, leaving behind a deep cleaning team that had been laden down with a handful of extreme confidentiality agreements and the firm understanding that what they saw must never leave the room. They were reimbursed handsomely for it and given a briefing by the Core Council themselves via video chat to assure everything was on the up and up.

Ben was not his father. He didn't keep everything to himself or held others in line with intimidation or blackmail. If the truth of this incident ever got out, all anyone would know was the unsavory truth that King Adam wasn't as good a person as he'd made himself out to be, which almost anyone who interacted with him on a regular basis could already verify.

It took too long for Ben to finally place a video call to Audrey – sometime after Genie had teleported away with the remnants of the Snake Staff and Lumiere had finished outlining the severance benefits Ben's secretary would be getting because she wasn't going to work in politics again anytime soon.

"You okay?" Audrey asked, despite likely knowing something was up, too smart to miss her parents getting pulled into an emergency meeting.

"My father had a heart attack," Ben said, cutting straight to the point. "He passed away this afternoon."

They both knew the code, brewed from a dark humor they never shared around Chad, who they both fought so hard to keep pure and safe.

"I'm so sorry," Audrey said, playing the perfect role of a supportive friend. "My sympathies for your loss."

"Just-" Ben bit at his bottom lip. "It seemed sudden."

Audrey gave him a hard look. "The way he'd been eating, this was always going to happen. That's not your fault. You told him to moderate, to restrain his appetite – he's the one that didn't listen. You did everything you could."

Given the conditions he was forced to deal with, Ben really had done everything he could. It had always been a losing battle, but he'd tried.

Leave it to Audrey to put it in the most perfect words, saying what he needed to hear without ever really saying it at all.

"I'm grateful for your friendship, Audrey," Ben said, overwhelmed with a new swell of fondness.

Audrey mustered a small grin for him. "And I, yours."

-:-:-

Endnotes:

This was inevitable, and next we get to deal with the fallout of King Adam's passing.

Story notes:

Enchancia and Princess Amber are both from the animated show 'Sofia the First'. The show doesn't have the kingdoms of Auradon separate from Enchancia, but there is such a bounty of made up kingdoms as a part of it that I decided it could safely be another union of kingdoms for the purposes of this story

The Imperial City Seals sort of act the same way seals in Naruto work, for those wondering.

The core council is mostly made up of those with kingdoms closest to the central mass of Auradon. The one exception is Agrabah, but I feel like Jasmine would have been ahead of the curve when she realized Adam was trying to unify the kingdoms. She would have jumped on the bandwagon early, and brought most of the northern kingdoms into things.

Until next time :)