Chapter Fifty Five
A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to either Disney or the Greek Myths.
*stares at review count in shock* Guys…how are we only 49 reviews away from 1500? How? I'm…I'm legitimately speechless, thank you all so much! :D
Oh and if any one's curious, I bought The Villain Kid's Guide for New VKs from Amazon the other day and it had some interesting facts about Squeaky and Squirmy that I sprinkled in here.
Katt Kiki: :D I think the first time Natalie shows up, there's going to be lots of yelling!
LotusQuil: Hey, I've got amazing readers so how could I not live to spoil them? Hey, I'm happy you're enjoying it! And yeah, Malinda doesn't know that Ben's shadows weren't all Hadie ran into :D Yep, Natalie's gross. She may be my most hated OC—well after Freddy.
AmethystDragon14: Yay! :D Yep, we're here! Lol I can definitely see Claudine putting a disclaimer like that out there since there's going to be a lot of insults toward Freddy in this round of readings. And yes Harriet and Sammy! Protect Brooke! Um…twenty I think. Not counting break chapters.
Marcus Emrys: Oh I agree—the original was extremely dark. I have to say, the image of Freddy going to Tartarus with gasoline underwear and a lit match may have made me chuckle. Oh yeah, earplugs for Claudine, for Audrey, for Audie…hell for everyone!
61394: Estelle wouldn't be the best doggo ever if he didn't try to cheer up the sad hoomans. And yeah, Anna really shouldn't count herself out of that equation. :D The Fates provided a bathroom a few chapters back, and I may be providing the ear plugs sooner than I thought. Completely forgot about that.
Heroesweardogtags209: Glad you liked the chapter! I think that might be a good break chapter conversation :D
Guest: And me with blueberries!
JaclynnM: Sarcasm is noted!
danifan3000: That's a good point, that Audrey kinda just disappears in that episode. She was cheering and then *poof*, she's gone. Maybe she ran off when she found she could only bark?
Guest: Well that's if Leah's in the room…
Hufflepuff24: Thanks! I had some good friends from my troop but randomly the songs will just pop in my head—Princess Pat was running on a loop for two hours today.
twilightgirl587: Yep, Choosing Love time! :D The reactions to Natalie are not going to be good ones! Honestly I thought that was the most random thing about Wicked World. Explain that more, will you? How can Carlos speak to dogs?
ElectricDragonSemblanceHunter: Oh that would be interesting! I don't know if I have it in me to write another Watching the Movie fic, but if anyone else wants to write one, you have my full permission to use the Choosing Family characters!
smc-smfan1: I'm glad you liked the chapter! While I don't want to spoil anything for you, I will say that Mal's change is a bit more subtle than it was in the movie.
jedblack1997: While I do believe he's in Descendants, the main mouse himself won't make an appearance in my stories. If only because he's my former employer and I don't think I'd do him justice. :D
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
Lonnie grinned as she took a scroll. With every one they read, it was kinda exciting to figure out what was going to happen in the next one.
Mal couldn't help but sigh softly as she and Evie made their way to Ben's office. There was no denying the change in the blue haired girl ever since she started attending the recommended therapy that Ben suggested.
"Therapy can help," Eric nodded, his voice soft. No one but Ariel and Grimsby knew this but after Elle was born, and all the surgeries she'd needed, Eric had started seeing a therapist.
He'd blamed himself, for getting Ariel pregnant when she was still new to the whole human world. When her body was still recovering from the transformation. Maybe if they'd waited a little longer to have kids, Elle wouldn't have been put through all of that.
Actually, he had suggested all the VKs attend their own private therapy session, and even made it a staple of bringing kids from the Isle.
Maybe we should look into a therapist for you too, Ben, Belle thought with a small sigh. After all…if you were blaming yourself for my miscarriage, what else could you be blaming yourself for?
That and medical visits. If there were any issues, Ben wanted to know so they could work on getting them addressed.
"Yeah no," Uma said, shaking her head. "If you think you're going to get VKs to spill secrets to a stranger, let alone let someone jab them with something, you're barking up the wrong tree."
Mal didn't have the heart to tell him that the only one who would probably willingly go along with that would be Gil.
"And that's probably because either Uma's ordered him to do so as his captain or because he has just enough brain power to realize that it won't really look good if the son of Gaston is arguing with the son of King Beast," Harry said.
"Did you just…?"
"I'm leaning more toward the former though."
"There it is," Harriet sighed.
Well, and Hadie but that would just because Mal would have to order him to go along with it. One of the few perks of being the older sister.
"And co-captain," Celia added. "Can't forget the co-captain title."
She had attended one session but the therapist had seemed to be more focused with the fact that she was the 'biological daughter' of Maleficent and that 'it's perfectly natural to have fantasies of having a different parent'. Mal dropped him like a hot potato after the first session.
Maybe I should have kept going, Malinda thought. Maybe then Natalie's comments wouldn't have been able to have the strength they did…
"What?!" Benji exclaimed. "Mal, you…I never…why didn't you tell me?"
"Ben, it's fine," Malinda said, shaking her head.
Hades growled slightly, sounding almost like a platypus to those closest to him. "That's where we differ, Malinda. Honestly you should have gone to Asclepius himself rather than deal with this idiot!"
Ben nodded and pulled his phone close to him, still recording and miraculously not losing a spec of battery life. Though he could wonder about that later.
"Note to self, do through background checks on the therapists and make sure they understand the concept of adoption," he said into the phone before setting it back down.
If she had issues, she could go to Jay, Carlos or Ben, maybe even Evie if it wasn't super personal as they just weren't there yet…or now Harry or Uma.
"Or Hadie!" Hadie said, pointing to himself. "Or you know, if you really need a good secret keeper, there's always Estelle!"
Not some quack who thought he knew who her mom was better than she did.
"Is he a duck?" Squirmy asked.
Mr. Smee chuckled as he held his son close. "That would be something, wouldn't it? To talk to a duck?"
"Mal?" Evie asked, bringing the purple haired girl out of her thoughts. "What do you think Ben wants to talk to me about?"
"I'm sure it's nothing bad, Evie," Mal said gently, working hard to not slip back into calling her 'princess' or 'blueberry' now that Uma was there in Auradon.
Persephone smiled at her daughter. "That's very sweet of you Mal."
"Evie didn't deserve that," Malinda said, knowing her younger self would just insist that she didn't do 'sweet'.
Evie didn't deserve that after all. "Maybe he just wants to talk about your therapy schedule."
"Oh from the sounds of that, it seems that Evie's got a decent therapist then," Emma said with a small smile.
"Yeah I mean if she's stuck with them and we haven't heard anything about inappropriate comments like we did with Mal's," Neal nodded.
Even though Mal wanted to tell her, she also knew that the walls had ears. One wrong word caught by someone not on their side and The Gazelle had a story that would sell copy for a week.
"Oh Gods, them," Kitty sighed and rolled her eyes. "Someone needs to tell The Gazelle to get a hobby that isn't reporting on school children."
Demeter, isn't Hermes considered a God of Communication by the mortals? Perhaps he could do something about this Gazelle? Poseidon asked.
I like the way you think Poseidon, Demeter thought back with a slight smirk.
They'd already made Evie their front page for two weeks, branching from their usual strategy of reporting on royals, but then again it's not every day that a VK tries to steal Fairy Godmother's wand.
"Honestly!" David exclaimed. "She made a mistake! She was stressed and desperate to save her father, she doesn't deserve to have that held against her!"
"Why aren't we there?" Snow asked. "I work in the journalism field, I could easily put a stop to this!"
Emma chuckled slightly. "Um…we pretty much treat The Gazelle like a tabloid rag mom. Not to be taken seriously."
"They're reporting on minors without the consent of their parents, Emma," Snow stated. "I don't care if the minors are technically in the public eye, you all didn't ask to be born into this life and you should feel safe at school!"
"…and now I remember why I'm slightly afraid of Snow White. The proficiency with the bow and arrow doesn't help," someone muttered.
"Oh," Evie said softly. There was a pause before Evie spoke up again. "I'm sure you're happy to have Uma here in Auradon."
"Happy…ecstatic…" Mal said, moving her hands up and down like scales.
Mal smiled. "I am. Sure there'll be some adjustments but I'm just happy to have my brother and my cousin off that Isle."
"Oh that's right…I'd forgotten you and Uma were cousins. I guess that explains why you two were so close on the Isle."
"Well that and we've known each other for practically our whole lives," Uma said. "I can't remember a time without Mal in my life….well other than now with her being across the bridge."
"You'll be in Auradon soon," Mal promised.
"That's alright, the only ones who knew were Uma, Harry, and Jay," Mal said. "Well, and Hadie of course but he goes without saying. It's actually pretty weird now that I think about it. If I go back to the Isle, I won't have that protection…of people thinking I'm Maleficent's daughter."
"Why would you go back to the Isle?" Dizzy asked.
Mal gave the redhead a small smile. "Well I've got my crew to check up on. They don't have the mental links like Uma does and there's no cell service on the Isle so I can't call them."
"Why not?"
"Evie, Ben's coronation was televised," Mal said gently. "Meaning everyone on the Isle saw me tell Maleficent to her face that I wasn't her daughter."
"Oh yeah I could see why that would be dangerous if you were to never return to the Isle," Celia nodded.
"But…you're still her biological offspring."
"Doesn't matter. I basically disowned her. If not for the fact that the Isle now knows I'm Hades' daughter, I'd be fair game."
"Something tells me that if anyone messed with you after knowing that, there'd be no pain that their soul would not know," Henry said.
Hades smirked. "I know you're part of my daughter's crew so you're on the list of people I like by default but I like you."
"Are we doing this again?" Persephone asked with a small sigh.
Evie gave her a comforting smile. "Well, I guess it's a good thing neither one of us will be going back to the Isle."
Audie smiled slightly before the memory of a blonde Mal sobbing as she walked through her dorm, wearing her Isle gear flashed through her mind. Gods…I hope that doesn't happen to this Mal, she thought.
"Yeah," Mal said with a nod. "Come on, we shouldn't keep Ben waiting."
"Please, it's Ben," Kitty shook her head. "He's not going to care if you kept him waiting as long as you're not trying to hide an injury from him."
"Please tell me you're not speaking from experience," Kit said with a small sigh.
"Oh yes," Evie nodded. "But then again…we are VKs aren't we? Weren't we taught that it's more important to be late than on time?"
"But isn't that rather rude?" Alexandria asked.
Hadie shrugged. "Rudeness is a staple of the Isle," he told her. "Plus if you're late you're less likely to be attacked."
"CJ or Celia?" Mal asked, looking at her brother.
"CJ," Hadie said.
"You're not supposed to tell them I told you that!" CJ exclaimed, shaking her head.
Mal smirked. "Well well well, look who's remembering her roots? But I don't think you'd want to be late to this meeting Evie."
"I agree with Mal! You don't want to be late Evie!" Dizzy said, bouncing slightly out of joy for the girl who was practically an older sister to her.
Evie chuckled. "Oh, that reminds me Mal. Do you want to have a meeting sometime this week about your cotillion dress? Assuming you'd want me to make it of course."
"Considering you somehow managed to make a dress that withstood a dragon transformation, Mal would be insane not to have you make her dress," Ashaki said.
"Evie, considering the amazing job you did on my dress for the coronation, of course I want you to make my dress for cotillion," Mal said. "I have another meeting with my new handler this week but I should be able to meet with you on the weekend to go over designs."
"I'm sorry, handler?" Persephone asked, glaring slightly at the scroll. "On what…who on Gaia's green earth…?"
"Wasn't me," Benji said quickly. "I can say firmly and without any hesitation that it was not me. I mean my own mother wasn't born royal and she did just fine without a handler. Why would I think Mal would need one?"
Evie nodded. "That's right, you'd mentioned something about Ben's council assigning you a handler. Natalia?"
"Natalie," Mal corrected.
"Don't do her the courtesy of getting her name right," Benji said, a slight growl to his voice.
"She seemed a bit tense when I met with her today but that was probably first time jitters. Lately everyone seems to have those if they haven't met me before. It's not like I'll get mom to smite them if I don't like them right off the bat or anything."
"You should have gotten Lady Persephone to smite her," Benji muttered, his eyes narrowing in anger.
"Ben, don't," Malinda sighed. "It's in the past, Natalie can't bother us anymore. Please? I'd…I'd rather not think about this more than I have to."
Benji frowned but nodded, gently kissing Malinda's forehead and missing the concerned looks from both sets of parents. What had happened?
Both girls burst out laughing as they walked into Ben's office, causing the teenaged king to smile.
"Evie, Mal," he said, nodding his head in greeting.
"Ben," both girls replied, bowing their heads in response. Normally, he would have been greeted to at least one 'your highness' however Ben had made a proclamation around the school after about one week into his reign.
"Why am I not surprised?" Emir asked as Akiho burst out laughing.
"He did the same thing with the Tourney team after they still called him 'Prince Ben' for about six months after he was named Captain," Chad added with a small chuckle. "They even bowed to him before and after practice."
No one was to call him 'your highness' or 'King Ben' unless it was an official event. He was still the same guy they'd grown up with—he didn't see why they all of a sudden needed to use his title.
"You may be the same guy Ben, but you're also the King," Abby said. "You've got power now and they're just addressing you the way they've been taught all their lives."
"Well it was weird!" Benji stated.
The only time he ever enjoyed being called 'your highness' was when Mal was teasing him because then he got to use her title of 'Lady'. His lady.
Mal shook her head. "If I'm supposedly a Lady, then that means Uma is as well. I'd better hear some 'Lady Uma' being said at some point or else I will continue to insist that I'm not a Lady!"
"I'm not a Lady!" Uma exclaimed.
"You're the granddaughter of Poseidon! If I'm a 'Lady' by being dad's daughter, you can bet your last drachma you're considered a Lady!"
"Evie, I'm sure you're wondering what the meeting's about," Ben said gently as he stood up to walk over to her.
"Considering you apparently didn't tell her, I would say that's a safe bet," CJ said, nodding her head.
"The thought may have crossed my mind," Evie said softly as the girl standing next to Lonnie and Jane snorted in amusement.
"Yes, thank you Jordan," Mal shook her head. Jordan grinned, causing Mal and Ben to chuckle before Ben turned back to Evie.
"Jordan's the best," Emir said with a small chuckle.
"Evie…we got him."
Evie froze and looked at Ben. "My dad? You have my dad?"
"Way to ease her into the news Ben," Emma said with a small smile.
"That's right," Ben nodded, having barely heard the blue haired girl's whisper. "I had guards go into Maleficent's castle when I went to pick up the new VKs. They were the epitome of discrete in getting him out. Not even Uma, Harry, Gil or Hadie know why they were there."
"Um…just a pro tip but people on the Isle don't exactly trust Auradonians with unclear motives," Jay said.
"Did we ever trust Auradonians before we were summoned here, Jay?" Harry asked.
"That is an excellent point."
"The guards took another limo off the Isle and took your dad straight to Asclepius General," Mal told her. "Evie, we can arrange for a driver to take you there right away to see him but…he may not be the same as when you were six."
"I…I don't think that matters," Evie said, her voice a near whisper. "As long as he's my dad and he's alive and he loves me…"
"Of course he still loves you," Snow said gently. "I'm sure Mal just meant physically there might be some differences."
And mentally, Phillip thought. Being held captive for so long would change Daniel, Phillip knew that. Even if he didn't know what Daniel was like before he got captured.
"That's why we're here," Lonnie chimed in. "Mal thought we might be better at the whole 'comfort' thing. We've got hot coco, warm cookies and fuzzy blankets at the ready."
Evie looked over at Lonnie with a small smile. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it Evie," Lonnie said. "I'm just surprised Emma's not there."
Malinda smiled. "She was with Neal, making a gift for Evie to cheer her up from all the shunning that'd been happening."
Evie gave a weak chuckle and smiled slightly. "Can I go see him now?"
"I wouldn't have told you we could make it happen if you couldn't," Mal said gently.
"I never thought the day would come when you'd be gentle to Blue—Evie I mean," Uma said but it was missing a bit of the snark that normally would have been there.
Ben nodded. "Fairy Godmother's already been informed and she's giving you three weeks off for your classes," he told Evie.
"Isn't that a little short?" Rachel asked. "She got her father back after years of him being under Maleficent's grasp, three weeks isn't enough time to get over that and then say 'okay now back to class'."
"I haven't told Doug though, I thought that would be something you'd want to share with him."
Audie nodded. "That's the sort of thing Evie should share herself. Especially after all of Auradon finding out at your coronation."
"I'm sorry but you're with stalker dude?" Uma asked.
"Wait, what?" Henry said, looking at Uma.
Uma nodded. "We're not sure but in Audie's timeline, this Doug dude admitted to stalking Evie."
"And you're with him?!" Henry, Claudine, and Sammy exclaimed.
"We might just be friends," Evie said, her voice soft.
"Or I might have had a talk with him about not being stalky," Jay added.
A small yip prevented anyone else from responding and Estelle's right head gave Evie's hand a gentle lick.
"How in the world did I not notice a Cerberus?" Lonnie asked, being the first to come out of her shock.
"Because you were focused on Evie, as you should be, though Estelle's an amazing boy and should always be greeted upon realizing he's in the room—."
"Ben? You're gushing praise about Cerberi again." Akiho said, shaking his head.
"I thought his obsession was dragons?" Abby asked, looking over at Chip.
Chip chuckled. "It's any and all mythological creatures. Dragons are just top of the list."
"Estelle's a good boy, he knows how to not make a nuisance of himself," Mal grinned, scratching Estelle behind the ear.
Jane gave Mal a small smile. "Estelle…that's French for 'star'."
"How'd you know that?" Evan asked.
Jane smiled slightly. "My mom's story is intertwined with Chad's and French is one of our native languages," she explained. Plus it doesn't hurt that my dad's Lumiere, she thought as Ben gave her a knowing smile.
"I didn't want to give him too obvious a name," Mal said. "Most of the Isle's residents are dumber than rocks but there are a few with a few brain cells to rub together."
Harry tilted his head. "Who…who among the villains of the Isle have enough brain cells to rub together?"
"Eddie Balthazar, son of Edgar?" Uma suggested.
"The son of the guy who actually thought that cats have nine lives and so the best way to get the inheritance was to mail the cats to Timbuktu? Really I think the only adults who have brain cells are Mr. Smee and Lord Hades…oh and Lady Steph of course."
"Title's not necessary Harry," Persephone said, giving the teen a kind smile.
Jane nodded. "I'm guessing villains like Yzma and Frollo—"
"You had to mention Frollo," Evie sighed as Mal's back got stiff and her hand twitched like she was going for a sword. What surprised everyone was that Estelle let out a low growl at the mention of Frollo's name.
A low growl also came from the Estelle that was in the room as Frollo's name was mentioned. Though it could barely be heard over the growls that came from the Olympus contingent.
"Guys, hey guys?" Meg said. "You're kinda scaring the Smee boys. Knock it off will you?"
Squeaky and Squirmy were, in fact, clutching their father's arm for dear life. Estelle paused his growling and trotted over, gently licking the boys on the cheeks.
If no one was going to look out for these pups, he would!
"Mal…?" Ben asked softly.
"Checking to make sure she won't dragon up in your office?" Chip asked.
"Later Ben," Mal told him, shaking her head and trying to rid herself of the tension. Freddy boy was trapped on the Isle with no way out. She, on the other hand, had her friends and family with her…she'd won.
Not yet you hadn't, Malinda thought with a small sigh as Benji rested a hand on her shoulder.
So why was she still tense whenever anyone mentioned Frollo or Freddy? Well, habits die hard and it had only been a month since Ben's coronation after all.
"Well that and growling at the mention of Freddy is only common sense," Harry nodded.
Claudine nodded. "I understand, and I'm just putting a blanket statement right now. I will not be offended if you all insult Fred. I understand I'm not in a room of his allies."
"Shh, shh, it's okay boy," Mal said, petting Estelle behind the ears again. "Freddy's trapped on the Isle and you'll have all sorts of room to run around and play. Oh and you'll have a new friend with Dude. Just don't try to eat him."
Estelle snorted and everyone else chuckled.
"He wouldn't try to eat Dude would he?" Squeaky asked, his voice soft.
Mal shook her head. "Nah, you've been around Estelle remember? He's a good boy, he'll probably just annoy Dude by sniffing at him."
"Oh," Squeaky nodded and turned to Squirmy. "See? Mal said Dude'll be alright."
Sammy couldn't help but smile at the interaction. Even though Squeaky was only four minutes older than Squirmy, he still took his role as the 'big' brother seriously.
"Aren't Cerberuses supposed to be bigger?" Lonnie asked.
"Yes, yes they are," Hades nodded. "But a smaller Cerberus is better to be around a six year old."
"They are," Mal nodded. "Dad thinks that because of the magical barrier around the Isle, that stopped Estelle from growing to his proper size. I'll have to see if there's a vet around here who won't faint at looking at a Cerberus to know for sure though."
"You could always take him to Olympus," Demeter suggested. "I'm sure Artemis would love to take a look at him."
"Last time I checked, Olympus wasn't too friendly to people named Mal," Mal stated.
Malinda nodded. "She's got a point, I'm not going to lie. But give 'em a chance okay?"
"I make no promises," Mal stated.
"She's not a vet but Jane Porter has done some studies on animals. She might be able to lend some insight," Jordan suggested.
"And she's not likely to faint at the sight of Estelle," Robin added.
Mal nodded. "I might take you up on that and reach out to her. If anything, I want to make sure being forced to be small hasn't hurt Estelle in anyway."
"I can reach out to her," Ben said.
"Um, he's my dog. I can reach out to her," Mal said, looking over at Ben.
Ben shrugged. "Nothing wrong with a little bit of help," he told her.
"No, Ben, I couldn't ask you to—"
"You're not asking Mal. I'm offering," Ben said gently. "Besides, it's one phone call. How much time could that take, thirty minutes?"
"Depending on the subject, I've found Mrs. Porter's phone calls to be anywhere between one to two hours," Beast said.
"It's why I handle her calls," Belle chuckled. "She always has the most fascinating things to say about different animals."
Mal rolled her eyes. "Fine Ben. But—"
"I know, I know. Not before lunch or dinner," Ben chuckled.
"He can be taught!" Emir exclaimed with a small laugh.
"I dunno, notice he didn't say before breakfast?" Akiho pointed out.
"That's because no one wants a phone call before they've had a chance to eat breakfast!"
"Gods, you two sound like an old married couple at this point," Lonnie shook her head.
"You say that every time you see me and Mal interact. We've been dating a month Lon."
"And yet that's still longer than most of the adult couples in Auradon," Abby said, chuckling at the looks she got.
Lonnie chuckled and lowered her voice so Mal wouldn't hear. "I'm probably the closest thing you've got to a sister Ben. Well, not counting Jane. The way you look at Mal…it's not the typical honeymoon phase of a teenage romance. You love her."
Chip looked over at Ben and smiled. That's all I want for you Benji. To know you're happy in your relationship with your significant other. And if people are able to see that you love her, then you're definitely happy.
Ben sighed softly. "I know it's only been a month so I haven't told her yet but…I do love her," he whispered.
"Aww!" Lucy and Emma sighed as Mal flushed slightly.
Malinda chuckled. "And now the fact that you said it first doesn't surprise me as much as it did back then," she told Benji.
"What are you two plotting?" Mal asked, preventing Lonnie from responding to Ben.
"Lonnie's probably trying to figure out how to get you to train with her for R.O.A.R," Jordan chuckled.
"Why don't you just ask mom to train you?" Lil Shang asked, looking at his sister. "You know perfectly well she's skilled with a sword."
"Jordan!"
"Sure, I'll train with you," Mal shrugged, causing Lonnie to pause.
"You will?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Mal asked, happy the topic was off her future love life. "Training an Auradonian girl on a sword? Sounds fun to me."
Mal chuckled. "I ran with a pirate crew back on the Isle Lonnie. You didn't exactly survive if you didn't know how to defend yourself. I won't promise I'll know the rules of R.O.A.R but I can help you with the basics. So can Uma and Harry for that matter…actually, why not just ask Jay?"
"That's a good question," Mulan nodded as she looked at her daughter.
"I probably don't want Jay knowing because it might influence him as captain or something," Lonnie said. "After all, if he's seen training me, it might look like a conflict of interest."
"Uh huh," Mulan said with a small smile. I know what you're not saying Lonnie. You probably don't want to practice in front of Jay because you like him and you don't want him to see you be bad at something. Take it from the woman who had to build up her weapons prowess in front of your father—if he likes you for you, it won't matter if you're bad at first.
"I don't want him to know I want to try out," Lonnie said. "I want him to make the decision based on my talent, not because he knows me."
"This makes sense," Kitty nodded.
"But wouldn't Jay still know it's Lonnie when he sees her try out?" Lucy asked.
Mal chuckled. "Trust me Lonnie, give me or Uma or Harry a month and we'll have you whipped into shape."
"Oh boy, fresh meat," Harry smirked. "Maybe it's a good thing Gil's there so we can start Lonnie off with him. No sense in getting her discouraged too early after all."
"Or we could bring Hadie into the mix!" Uma pointed out. "Be a great way to make sure he keeps up with his sparring and help Lonnie."
"I'm right here!" Hadie exclaimed as Celia and CJ burst out laughing.
"I feel I should be scared but honestly I'm just excited."
Evie sighed. "Why am I not surprised you'd find some of the lone sword loving girls not on the Isle?"
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Lonnie said with a chuckle.
"It's a gift," Mal grinned. "Now go on Evie, the limo's waiting for you."
"But—"
"You really think I didn't teach Ben how to text without anyone noticing? Granted he had to teach me how to text but that's beside the point. The car's waiting for you. Go!"
"I really want to see how those lessons went," Rose chuckled. "Between Ben teaching Mal to text and Mal teaching Ben to text without anyone noticing…"
Evie chuckled and gave Mal a quick hug before freezing. "Oh, I forgot—"
"Evie, you're excited. I'm not going to bite your head off for that. Just remember for the future…I don't hug."
"I'd like to revise my past statement," Malinda said. "I will hug you if you are one of my friends, my husband, my family, or my future child."
"Duly noted."
"Now go!" Mal chuckled as she gently forced Evie out of the door. Shaking her head, she turned back to Ben.
"How…how does one gently force someone to do something?" Rose asked. "That almost seems like an oxymoron."
"If my services are no longer needed, Jay should be getting out of practice. I don't want to miss him realizing Harry's here," she said. "So…may I be excused your highness?"
"Of course my lady," Ben teased in response.
"I am not a Lady!"
"…should someone check to make sure Leah hasn't died?" Jasmine asked.
Emir nodded. "Yeah I'm pretty sure Mal's comment would have earned at least an eye roll from her."
Hades snorted. "I can tell you all, Leah is unfortunately still alive."
"How can you…?"
"Seriously? God of the Dead ring any bells?"
"I'm not a lady Ben."
"You know the rules Mal. You use my title, I get to use yours in response."
"Whoever came up with that rule was an idiot."
"That was you."
"You know, who does that banter remind you of cap'n?" Sammy asked, giving Harriet a small smile. "Because it's reminding me of Uma and Harry a little."
"Oh you missed it Sammy," Harriet said, ignoring the way her heart leapt at seeing Sammy's smile. "Apparently Harry and Uma are married in the future."
"No! The denial ends?!"
"According to Malinda, it does!"
Henry looked over at them. "I'm sorry, did I hear that correct? Uma and Harry, married?"
"Oi! You don't know that's really the case!" Uma snapped.
Mal paused. "It was?"
"Yep," Ben nodded and chuckled. "Still want to call whoever came up with that rule an idiot?"
"But to answer your question Sammy, yeah I'm getting major Uma and Harry vibes," Harriet nodded.
"No, if only because I really don't want to miss Jay's reaction," Mal chuckled. Ben walked over and kissed her on the cheek.
"I'll see you at dinner?"
"Wait, is Ben asking if he'd see someone at dinner?" Akiho asked in shock.
"Mal, you'd better start dating him as soon as you can!" Emir stated.
"Of course Ben," Mal chuckled. "If you don't show up, I'll send Estelle to drag you out. He'll do it too!"
Estelle yipped and wagged his tail. He wasn't quite sure what the hoomans were saying but he heard his name and therefore had to agree with what was being said.
Estelle gave a small yip as if to agree with what was being said. Everyone in the room chuckled as Mal left to go back to her dorm.
"Hey," she said, sticking her head into her room. "Jay should be getting out of practice. You want to go surprise him?"
"If my answer is anything other than 'yes', assume I've been cloned or something," Uma said.
"Do we have the ability to clone people?" Melody asked her mother.
"Not to my knowledge, no," Ariel said, shaking her head.
Uma grinned. "You bet!"
"Then come on!"
The two cousins raced over to Jay's room, hoping to arrive before the older boy.
"Wha—Harry?! What are you doing here?"
"Aww! Too late," Celia said with a fake pout.
"There's always Carlos with Gil though," Dizzy pointed out and Celia grinned.
"'ello Jay! Hope it's alright that I picked this bed. The little lord wanted the top bunk and who am I to refuse him?"
Malinda chuckled. "I'm not surprised. Before he left Hadie apparently fashioned himself a hammock with CJ's help between two of the higher masts on the Lost Revenge. Spent a lot of time up there."
"Plus there was the time when we found him in the crow's nest reading," Mal added as Uma nodded.
"Mini-cuz likes to be up high. Ironic considering he lives underground technically."
"…where is Hadie?"
"That's a good question Harry," Mal said, stepping into the room as Jay whirled around. Uma chuckled as Estelle ran in and jumped onto Harry's bed.
"He's at the library, I thought we already covered this?" Dizzy said, shaking her head.
"You knew they were coming today?" Jay asked Mal.
"Yep."
"And you didn't tell me?!"
"You were busy."
"I could have skipped practice!"
"No you wouldn't have," Emir shook his head. "Not if you didn't want Ben's patented puppy dog eyes of disapproval looking at you when he inevitably found out."
"You're the captain," Mal said with a small chuckle. "Now, don't change the subject. I believe your favorite pirate was telling me where my brother disappeared to."
"Li-bra-ry!" Celia said, clapping out the syllables.
Uma shook her head. "You know that the us in the scroll can't hear you right?"
"He's in the library Mali," Harry told her. "He's the eleven year son of Lord Hades and Lady Persephone, plus his sister turned Maleficent into a lizard not one month ago. Do you really think anything's going to happen to him in Boreadon?"
"Also, said sister is dating the King," Jay pointed out. "Hadie's pretty much untouchable when you also add in me, Harry, Uma, and Gil looking out for him."
Mal sighed and pulled out her phone, punching in a number before holding it up to her ear.
"Yellow?"
"Emir? It's me Mal. Listen, I need a favor—big sibling to big sibling."
"Shoot Mal. What is it?"
"Can you teach me to stop being so overly protective?" Hadie said, grinning at Mal as she shot him a look.
Mal sighed. "My brother just came in from the Isle and is now probably wandering the halls, looking for the library. If you see him—?"
"Mal?"
"Yes?"
"Does your brother have dark blue hair and a fondness for talking about Cerberuses?"
"Why yes, yes he does," Dizzy said, grinning ear to ear.
"You say that like it's a bad thing Diz," Hadie said with a faux pout.
Mal sighed in relief. "You found him?"
"Well more like he found us," Emir chuckled. "He's been chatting Akiho's ear off for about five minutes before you called. You want me to send him your way or actually direct him to the library?"
"On the one hand, he should know where the library is," Ben said. "But on the other it does sound like it's close to dinner. It's not like the library is going anywhere."
"Quick! Someone check to make sure that's really Ben!" Emir exclaimed.
"Where are you?" Mal asked. "I can—"
"Mal. Can I give you some advice, big sibling to big sibling? You're gonna have to cut the training wheels at some point."
"Thank you!" Hadie exclaimed and smiled at Emir. "You! I like you!"
Ashaki chuckled. "So when are you going to cut the training wheels for me?"
"Never," Emir said. "It's clearly a 'do as I say, not as I do' situation."
"…Emir. Do you remember a certain pink loving, formerly betrothed to Ben Princess who likes to roam around the school?"
"That is another reason why I will not be cutting the training wheels until I graduate," Emir added. "Because I'll know—."
"You do know I've got a cousin in my year right?" Phil Jr. asked. "Aaron, brother of Ariana?"
"Crap," Emir sighed.
Ashaki scoffed. "Please, Phil, Evan, Neal, Herkie, Alexandria, Hadie, Mel, and I can handle Aaron."
"Me?" Hadie asked.
"You think after all this, you're not part of the group?" Herkie asked.
"Yeah dude," Neal chuckled. "I think you're stuck with us."
"Good point. So, your dorm or library?"
"I'm with Jay right now in his dorm—"
"Akiho will have him there in five minutes. Mainly because I don't think I could separate him from Akiho before your brother told him everything about Cerberuses."
"I mean I don't know everything about Cerberi," Hadie said. "I'm sure there's always more to learn about them!"
"When you come to Auradon, we can see how many books we have on Cerberi and compare it with your knowledge," Ben promised and Hadie grinned.
Lonnie sighed. "Two bookworms have made friends. I feel like we should be scared."
"Nah," Ashaki shook her head. "You should have been scared when Akiho and Emir befriended Hadie."
Mal chuckled. "Thanks Emir."
"Any time, Mal. Any time."
Shaking her head, Mal hung up her phone and pocketed it before turning back to look at her friends.
"Whenever you're asking someone for a favor, Emir and Akiho are two of the ones you can trust to get it done," Benji said. "Though it'll often be done in a way that gets you to question their sanity."
"Emir's on it?" Jay asked.
"Yep," Mal nodded. "Akiho'll be bringing Hadie by any minute now, and knowing more about Cerberi than he ever wanted to know."
"Is it possible to want to only know a certain amount about a subject?" Benji asked.
Malinda shook her head before looking at Hadie. "And this is why he's your favorite brother-in-law."
"He's my only brother-in-law apparently," Hadie told her.
That's what you think Storm Cloud, Malinda thought with a small smirk.
"Though if Hadie lets Akiho get a word in, your brother will know more than he ever wanted to know about reindeer," Jay pointed out.
"This is true," Mal chuckled as she plopped on Jay's bed.
"And both those statements were true," Malinda nodded. "Of course it didn't help that Hadie got close to Akiho when we were in school."
"Really?" Hadie asked.
"Yep," Malinda nodded. "Though I certainly didn't mind it, it meant more pairs of eyes on you incase I couldn't be there."
"You know I just thought of something," Jay said.
"We've left Gil and Carlos to their own devices?"
"We've left Gil and Carlos to their own devices."
Harriet chuckled. "Between DeVil's tech brain and Gil's creative side, that's just asking for trouble."
Uma shook her head. "That's it, I'm never leaving you two alone for more than a day again."
"You say that like you have a choice cuz," Mal chuckled.
"Agreed," Harry nodded. "Who are Emir and Akiho? Why does this Akiho bloke so know much about reindeer? And when did you two learn to read each other's minds?"
"You'd be surprised at how often the question 'why does Akiho know so much about reindeer' crossed my mind when those three were younger," Aziz said, pointing to Ben, Akiho, and Emir.
Mal chuckled. "Emir and Akiho are Ben's best friends, I told you about them during our illicit trip to the Isle before Ben's coronation. Akiho is the heir to the Arendelle kingdom, hence the reindeer obsession. Emir is the second prince of Agrabah and Jay's size surprisingly so, Harry, if you see anything with a magic lamp on it, that's where it came from."
"Wow, you've reached the swapping clothes level of friendship in a month?" Ashaki asked, looking at her brother.
Emir shrugged. "I mean, I swap clothes with Akiho all the time. And I'd do it with Ben too except all he wears is suits."
"I do not!"
"Tourney uniform doesn't count Ben!"
"As for the mind reading, well, we've known each other since ages five and six respectively," Jay chuckled. "After all, Mal can literally read Uma's mind yet you don't see me making comments on it."
"Knowing someone from a young age does make it pretty easy to guess what they're going to do or say," Benji said, looking over at the younger versions of his best friends.
"Oh yeah that reminds me," Uma said, putting her hands on her hips. "What's the deal with the mind link being muted?"
"Huh?"
"Nice response," Hadie said, snorting slightly in amusement.
"Don't 'huh' me, Mali! It's been muted for about three weeks now and I know it's not on my end because I'm still getting your dad's rants about how Pain and Panic messed up this morning."
"Part of me wants to know what they did so I can work to make sure I avoid it but the other part of me knows that even if I avoid this specific instance, they'll still mess up somehow," Hades sighed.
"They are rather skilled that way," Persephone admitted.
Mal shrugged. "Uma, you know I still don't know how it works. I probably muted it on accident."
"Uh huh. So unmute it."
"That won't work," Elle said. "If she doesn't know how she muted it, she won't know how to unmute it. I muted Melody accidentally like five times when I was still trying to figure out my mental link."
"And I still maintain that fifth time was on purpose," Melody teased.
Before Mal could respond, an interruption by the name of Hadie and Akiho appeared in the doorway.
"One Godling," Akiho said. "Also, he knows more about Cerberi than Ben knows about dragons. Just one friend who knows things about non mythological creatures would be nice."
"Akiho, should you be saying that?" Emir asked with a slight chuckle.
"Akiho, you know about spirits and rock trolls," Jay chuckled.
"Those are not mythological creatures now, are they Jay?" Akiho asked, rolling his eyes.
"Technically since dragons and Cerberi are real, they're not mythological creatures either," Ben pointed out.
Mal shook her head. "Akiho, meet Harry and Uma. Harry, Uma, this insane boy is Akiho. One of Ben's two best friends, and the former keeper of Ben's eating schedule."
"Former? Who took the title from me?" Akiho asked.
"Former?"
"Mal now holds that title," Akiho said with a small smile. "Took it right from my hands too."
"Well that makes sense," Evan said. "Since Mal's, you know, dating him and all."
Mal rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you Auradonians are too timid sometimes. Just march up to his office and drag Ben to dinner. Not that hard."
Emir and Akiho glanced at each other and then burst out laughing while Malinda shook her head.
"I'm guessing you actually did try dragging Ben to dinner once?"
"Sure did! He grabbed as much paperwork as he could in his hands and worked on it the whole time," Emir told her as both Ben and Benji flushed.
"Yeah well speaking of dinner, it's in fifteen minutes," Akiho said. "I was going to grab Carlos if you wanted to go as a group?"
"If you ever see one of us on our own, assume something very bad has happened," Uma stated.
"Yeah, VKs are kinda like wolves," Mal nodded. "We stick to a pack.
"Or maybe a hyena's cackle would be more appropriate," Jay said with a small smirk.
"Oh Carlos should be meeting Gil if he got out of practice at the same time as you guys," Mal grinned. "Let me go with you—Hadie, stay."
"Woof," Hadie shook his head.
"Appropriate considering what your dad's symbol is," Herkie said, looking over at Hadie.
Hadie chuckled. "You've got a point there."
"Good boy," Mal told him, ruffling his hair. "I'll be right back guys."
"How many times do I have to say it? No touchy the hair!" Hadie stated, crossing his arms and glaring at everyone.
Mal quickly made her way to Carlos and Gil's room, only to see the blond boy lying on his bed and no sign of the black and white haired VK.
"Hey Gil," Mal smiled. "You settling in okay?"
"Wait…if Carlos is on the R.O.A.R. team with Jay, and Jay got back to his dorm…where's Carlos then?" Mal asked.
"Oh yeah," Gil nodded. "Though I think there's something wrong with the mattresses here Mal. They don't have springs sticking up out of them."
"Why would we have—?"
Harry shook his head. Honestly Gil, get some brains. You don't blab everything to someone you just met. How do you know they're trustworthy?
Though he knew that the Akiho in the scroll was, the scroll-version of Harry hadn't learned that yet and therefore neither had the scroll version of Gil.
"Gil, meet Akiho. Akiho, meet Gil LeGume," Mal said quickly. Hey, destroying an Auradon kid's bright and shiny world view was not on her to-do list today.
"Honestly it's never really been on my to-do list," Malinda shook her head. "But sometimes it just happens."
"Like when the Fates take you into their lair to reveal that what you thought was happening on the Isle of the Lost isn't remotely what you thought?" Akiho asked.
Malinda blinked slightly. "…yes. I could say that's a fair example."
"Nice to meet you," Akiho said with a chuckle.
"Same," Gil said with a grin.
Before anyone could say anything else, Carlos walked in. Well, maybe walked was the wrong word. Stormed was probably more appropriate, with Dude trotting after him dutifully.
"Whoa? What's got DeVil all riled up?" CJ asked as Carlos looked rather surprised. He couldn't remember the last time he stormed anywhere.
"Mal, I'm going to kill Jay! I don't care that he's freakishly tall and could probably crush me like a bug, he shouldn't expect me to just clean up the amphitheater just because I was the last one to practice! He was the one who made me late anyway! Do you know how slovenly the R.O.A.R team is?!"
"Yeah we can get pretty bad," Akiho nodded knowingly.
"He says, knowing he's one half of the reason why the gym looks like a tornado ran through it after we're done with practice," Ben said, shaking his head.
Mal smirked and pointed to Emir. "I'm guessing he's the other half?"
"How'd you guess?" Ben chuckled.
Jay chuckled. "No offense Carlos, but I doubt you could kill me. But it is good to see you getting out of your shell."
Mal chuckled. "I don't but did you even notice Akiho's here?"
"Hey Akiho," Carlos nodded. "Look, I'm sorry but all I want to do is lie in my bed…which is now occupied by Gil. Mal?"
"Why is Gil in my bed?" Carlos asked.
"Why do you think we have the answers here DeVil?" Henry asked, shaking his head in amusement.
"Yes Carlos?"
"Why is Gil in my bed?"
"Because Gil's your roommate."
"…that doesn't answer the question as to why he's in my bed."
"Didn't it say in the previous scroll that Gil took the open bed?" Claudine asked.
"Yeah but that doesn't mean that Gil's currently lying on his own bed," Henry told her.
"Ah that's a good point."
Gil chuckled. "Sorry Carlos. I didn't realize this one was yours," he said as he got up.
"No worries," Carlos said and went to hug Gil before he stopped. "Oh, sorry. I'm still sweaty and stuff from practice."
"It's Gil, you know VK from the Isle?" Harriet said. "He's not going to care about stuff like that."
"Even though he should," Audrey muttered.
Gil shook his head before pulling Carlos into a hug. "You really think I care about that buddy?"
"No I guess you wouldn't," Carlos chuckled. "Now…let me go! I still need to breathe Gil!"
"Oh dear," Mr. Smee said. "I guess Mr. Gil doesn't know his own strength."
"Or he's an idiot," Harry supplied.
"I guess that could be true as well, Master Harry."
Milah sighed. "William, please tell me James hasn't made you start calling the kids that?"
"Oh no," Mr. Smee shook his head. "I'm just making sure the children of my Captain are provided the respect they're due."
"Oh, whoops," Gil said sheepishly before letting Carlos go.
"It's okay," Carlos grinned. "I'm heading down to dinner, you guys coming?"
"We just need to get Jay, Harry, Hadie and Uma," Mal told him.
"The last three because they should know where the cafeteria is and the first one because he should never be left on his lonesome," Sammy teased as she looked over at Jay.
"Oh I'll get you for that Sammy," Jay teased back.
Carlos frowned. "Are we not getting Evie?"
Evie gave Carlos a small smile. "Thanks for looking out for me," she said softly.
"Of course," Carlos said with a small shrug. "We're VK's in Auradon, we gotta stick together."
Audie smiled as she noticed that Carlos had lost a lot of his timidness throughout the reading, or at least since she'd been there.
"Evie's…Evie's going to be having dinner off campus," Mal said and leaned over to Carlos. "We got Daniel back," she whispered and Carlos' eyes widened slightly before nodding.
Evie couldn't help the smile that almost threatened to split her face in two. For once she didn't care about wrinkles or anything; her father would be okay.
That was all that mattered.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Akiho asked. "Let's go before Emir and Ben drag us to the cafeteria!"
"The day that happens is the day the sky turns to fire and your nose falls off," Neal said, shaking his head.
"Though it just occurred to me that we could just use the secret passage in the East Wing aka the boy's dorm to get to the cafeteria faster," Akiho added.
Jay perked up. "There's a secret passage?"
"Yeah, second floor bookshelf. You just pull the copy of Little Red Riding Hood," Emir told him. "What? I'm the son of a former thief! You think I won't know the secret passages?"
Mal couldn't help but chuckle as the four of them made their way first to Jay's room and then to the cafeteria.
"Aww! No secret passage!"
"Maybe next time," Akiho chuckled as Emir pouted.
"Well that's the end of the scroll," Lonnie said as she rolled up the scroll. "Who wants next?"
"I'll read," Rowyn said.