Chapter Fifty Six
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.
Okay, okay, I know I said I was going to focus on only updating Choosing Home and The Value of a Crew over in the author's note for The Value of a Crew. However I received a request that I update with this chapter before changing the rotation of my update schedule. So we'll have one more round of the normal rotation and then main focus will be on Choosing Home and The Value of a Crew since they're the two closest to being finished.
Marcus Emrys: Yeah I love it too—I bought The Villains Guide for New VKs, basically a guidebook from Evie, Mal, Carlos, and Jay for Celia, Dizzy, and the Smee twins and they said that there's a secret passage in the boys' wing. Oh that's a good point! Hmm, maybe I'll wake Leah up a chapter or two before her fate. That way I don't have to deal with her too much.
Katt Kiki: It certainly will!
twilightgirl587: Right, right, I get that. I was just saying that they should have done a better job of explaining how Carlos could speak to dogs than just have him say 'I'm Cruella DeVil's son'. Yeah Eric's been through a lot. Lol the day Harry gives Gil a compliment is the day the world ends! Yeah the bow and arrow's an OUAT thing—I borrow elements from it (such as Emma and Neal's names). Oh yeah this probably wasn't the best reading for them to be in—lots of growling happening. Right, Hadie would already be sword trained but he'd still be less experienced than Mal or Harry, making him a good beginner sparring partner for Lonnie. Oh Ben wears pjs but Emir was referring to day clothes. Yep secret passages! :D
61394: Oh yeah, Uma's definitely in denial. That's the plan re: Leah! I want her to hear her fate!
AmethystDragon14: Yay! Yeah, Benji's going to be reacting a lot whenever he hears a certain Nat Bat's name. Because you know Ben, that's why! Hey, I would learn everything about them too! And exactly! Who's to say dragons aren't real? You're welcome! Again, they should either had a talk in the movie or kept that line out!
danifan3000: Hmm, that's certainly a possibility! I didn't think that was an option but now that does open up a lot of doors.
Hufflepuff24: Oh thank you! I'm so glad that you'r enjoying this and my writing style. My parents will sometimes sing the Announcement's song if anyone says the word though they tend to do the 'kid listening skill' version so instead of 'A terrible waste of time' it becomes 'a terrible way to die'. :D
LotusQuil: You're welcome! I loved that scene so why wouldn't I put it in? :D As for Malinda's thought, well just because Hadie's 16/17 at that point in her life, she might have been alluding to something we all learned over in chapter 56 of Choosing Home… :D I shall do my best to torture Uma with 'Lady'!
EmieRosie: Oh thank you so much! For Malinda's thought—I don't want to spoil anything re: Hadie's love life but as for their siblings, Hades and Persephone did find out that their family will be growing over in chapter 56 in Choosing Home. And no, no schedule. I just update whenever I find the time to write!
JaclynnM: Oh yeah, there'll be some pretty intense reactions when Natalie makes an appearance.
SnowWhite45: I don't think anyone really cares if Leah's dead lol :D And yeah, Daniel's kinda back but at least he's alive!
Gigi18: I think Phil Jr. got lucky and avoided that family trait! Phil Jr. and Aurora!
Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
Rowyn slowly unfurled her scroll, hoping that there was some good news for Evie concerning her dad.
Evie held her breath as her heels clacked along the tile flooring of the hospital.
"Wait, seriously? Heels?" Mal asked, looking at Evie. "Why not just wear boots?"
"They don't wear boots in Auradon though," Evie pointed out.
"Hate to burst your bubble Princess but we're not from Auradon," Uma said.
The welcome clerk hadn't been the most welcoming upon seeing Evie but she had softened a little when she heard who Evie was looking for.
"Honestly if you can't be welcoming as the welcome clerk, then maybe you need a different job," Emma said, shaking her head.
She knew it would be selfish to expect a warm greeting after everything that happened at Ben's coronation but…it would be nice if there was some sign that the kingdom was getting over it at least.
"Have you met some of the people in this kingdom?" Uma asked, gesturing to Leah who was still passed out.
"…should we wake her?" Rapunzel asked.
"And have her horrid comments during this part?" Audie scoffed. "No thank you."
However it seemed that only Mal, Jay and Carlos along with some of Ben's friends and Ben of course truly didn't care.
"Of course I wouldn't care!" Ben exclaimed. "Not after having the whole thing explained to me and learning that you were only doing it to save your father!"
"Considering I am him, I can say for certainly he speaks the truth," Benji nodded.
Though, that'll change now that Uma's here, Evie thought with a small sigh.
"Actually it didn't," Malinda shook her head.
"It…it didn't?" Evie asked, her eyes wide.
Malinda smiled slightly. "I don't remove people from my protection unless they deserve it Evie. Plus by the time Uma came from the Isle, we'd become pretty good friends."
"That is so weird to hear," Mal said and Uma nodded.
She and Mal were inseparable back on the Isle. Guess I should start preparing for smoke bomb attacks every morning and sword fights every night. At least Estelle'll put up with me. I wonder where Mal got him though—she didn't attend my sixth birthday party after all and that's where all the guests got their pets as part of their nasty bags.
"I got him because I have some pretty awesome parents," Mal said, trying to tamp down the feeling of rage and sadness that came at the reminder that she'd been excluded from Evie's party.
"You don't have to say anything Mal," Evie said, shaking her head. "It should be obvious. Three headed dog? Of course Lord Hades or Lady Persephone gave him to you."
Evie shook her head. Thinking about that was dangerous—after all, Mal's lack of invite was what drove Maleficent to capture Evie's dad in the first place, making the Evil Queen and therefore Evie fall in line.
Evie shuddered as she remembered the fact that her father was still waiting in Maleficent's clutches.
Snow gently rubbed her back, noticing the shudder. "It's okay Evie. We'll get Daniel back for you," she said softly.
"Excuse me?" Evie said softly as she approached the doctor standing in front of her father's room.
"I should be there," Snow said with a small sigh. "As her guardian, and as someone who could cushion the blow in case there's bad news…"
"Snow, you're probably working," David reminded her. "Being Queen and being a reporter doesn't leave much room for free time."
"Ah, can I help you miss?"
Evie wasn't going to lie, the warm smile coming from the doctor was a welcomed treat.
"The doctors at Asclepius General are normally very polite," Belle nodded.
"Well I mean…they kinda have to be to you Belle," Chip pointed out. "You're the High Queen of Auradon after all."
It felt genuine, rather than forced as most of the smiles directed toward her had been. Even the limo driver had felt forced; like he was only being nice to her because he'd been ordered to by King Ben rather than out of any decency he felt.
"Seems like someone could use some development in their soft skills," Cinderella muttered.
As well, the smile seemed to take away from the intimidating factor the doctor had, being a relatively tall man and dressed in boots that Mal would be extremely interested in if she had an interest in fashion. He certainly didn't look like the other doctors, scurrying around in their monochromatic outfits.
"Ooh someone who goes against the grain," Mal grinned. "Me likey."
Benji chuckled. "Dr. Sweet was part of the Atlantis trip with King Milo and the others. He likes to tell his story to whoever will listen."
"Oh yeah…Rourke was on that trip wasn't he?" Uma asked, rolling her eyes at Rourke's name. "Honestly, no wonder he and Gaston get along so well."
"…right," Benji said as the room got awkwardly quiet. "Well Dr. Sweet actually saw military service, from what I heard. Hence the combat boots. He was in medical school when he got drafted for a war his country was fighting."
"Oh yes!" Tiana nodded. "Joshua served with the 24th Infantry in the Spanish-American war. He provided aid to Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders in the Battle of San Juan Hill you know?"
"Really?" Hadie and Ben asked at the same time.
"You know him?" Benji asked, looking over at Tiana.
Tiana chuckled. "He's got a home in the Bayou De Orleans. Likes to come over and tell his story to Lottie and Big Daddy and mama."
"Oh and Mama Odie when she comes round with Louis," Naveen added.
"Who's Louis?" Squeaky asked.
"Our alligator friend," Naveen told him.
CJ, Celia, Uma, Harriet, Sammy, Harry, Jay, Hadie and Mal perked up. "Alligator friend?"
"Yes, I was wondering if I could go in?" Evie asked, pointing to her father's room. She could see him from the window but going in would mean the world. It would be a confirmation that this wasn't a dream, that Ben and Mal had managed to bring him back to her after all these years.
"They'd better let Evie in!" Emma said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Oh I'm sorry miss, but only family's allowed in right now."
"But Evie is family," Neal said, tilting his head in confusion.
David chuckled slightly. "Yes but Dr. Sweet won't know that just by looking at her," he said.
Evie bit her lip. "But…I'm his daughter," she said softly, her hopes crashing down that she'd be able to actually talk to her father after years of wondering if he was dead or alive.
I really should have been there, Snow thought as she continued to rub Evie's back in a comforting manner. Why isn't there an advocate for Evie? You'd think the hospital would provide someone and not just have a minor be by themselves!
Despite the fact that hope was deadly on the Isle, Evie had always held a sliver of it for her father. Even as her own mother seemed to give up on the idea of ever seeing him again.
Claudine sighed and shook her head. "So true…hope is deadly on the Isle," she whispered.
The doctor apparently had heard her as he looked at the papers in his hands and then looked back at Evie, obviously taken aback.
"Why is that a shock?" Snow asked, a sad smile on her lips as her heart broke for Evie.
"I'm so sorry miss, King Ben had contacted us and let us know you'd be stopping by," the doctor said. "I"m Dr. Sweet, if you have any questions about your father's condition, please feel free to reach out."
Belle sighed as Beast reached over and gently rubbed her back. Even though she knew it wasn't the doctor's fault, hearing his name brought back memories of…of the day she lost Abigail.
She only hoped that Evie wouldn't have a similar experience.
"No apology needed doctor," Evie said, even if she couldn't help but think that they were extremely trusting over here in Auradon.
"Well I mean, with all their villains rounded up and thrown on an Isle with no way off, do you really expect them not to be?" Henry asked.
To just go off her claim of being his daughter…then again, if Ben had called ahead and told them she was coming, there would be no reason to doubt Ben. "I'm sure you were just following protocol. But just to clarify, I can go in?"
"That's a good point about having no reason to doubt Ben. I mean Ben wouldn't lie," Evan said.
"Plus there's the fact that how would Ben have known to go and get Daniel if someone from the Isle hadn't told him aka his daughter?" Neal nodded.
"Not to mention Evie did announce to the whole kingdom that Maleficent had her father," Melody added. "Dr. Sweet should be able to do the math there."
"Well that could be why Sweet didn't question it more when he heard Evie."
"Plus you know, Ben's King and all. You don't question the King."
Dr. Sweet nodded and held the door open for her. Evie gave the doctor a small smile before rushing to her father's bedside. To Evie's surprise, her dad wasn't moving—the only sign that he was alive was the beeping coming from the machines he seemed to be attached to as his chest slowly rose up and down.
Evie flinched, biting her lip. How…how was he still alive?
"It looks worse than it is, honey," Snow said comfortingly, rubbing her back.
His brown hair seemed to make him look even paler as he laid against the stark white hospital sheets. His body seemed gaunt, any muscle definition he'd gained from years of working as a stable hand before going to the Isle had vanished.
Not surprising, Phillip thought with a small sigh. Lack of proper food and unable to actually exercise would do that. Hopefully though he'll be able to work to get…not back to where he was but around the same place. He probably won't ever be at the same place he was before he got captured.
While her father had died before her mother became Snow White's step mother, he had still been brought back when all the villains were. Evie had never understood why they had brought back her father…could it have been a plea from Snow, to grant her step mother a mercy that hadn't been bestowed to her?
"It was the least I could do…I took him from your mother by telling hers about him. It was only fair I give him back," Snow whispered.
To Evie, it almost seemed crueler. There was no guarantee Daniel would have gone to the Isle willingly after all, and her mother would have been devastated if that'd been the case.
"And I will never stop thanking the Fates and the Gods that wasn't the case," Evie said softly. After all, if it had been, she might not have existed.
However, according to her mother at least, her father had followed her to the Isle. It was the one place where they could be together and have the future they had dreamed of. In a sick twist of fate, the hellhole of the Isle had become their happily ever after…until Maleficent managed to ruin it.
"Evie, I may have only been a child when I saw your mother and father together but from what I did see, he would have followed her anywhere," Snow said, her voice soft.
Could…could Maleficent have put him under a sleeping curse before she went to Auradon to crash Ben's coronation? Evie thought as she sat by her father's bedside, brushing a strand of his dark brown hair out of his eyes. After all, it is what's she's known for.
"Wouldn't the barrier prevent that?" Celia asked.
"Shh!" Dizzy said, gesturing to Evie. She wouldn't let Celia destroy Evie's hope!
"Hi daddy. It's me, Evie," Evie said softly, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek.
Ariel blinked back tears as she thought back to her wedding, of hugging her father and whispering the words 'I love you daddy' in his ear.
She would do whatever it took to make sure that Evie had that same experience and from the look on Snow's face, it was clear that her fellow royal felt the same.
She froze though when nothing changed and he still laid there motionless, the only sign of life continued to be the slight rise and fall of his chest along with the beeping of the machines he was attached to. Had…had the years apart made it so he no longer loved her?
Esmeralda shook her head. "Time can never destroy the love a parent has for their child, Evie."
"What's wrong with him? Why isn't he waking from the sleeping curse?" Evie asked the doctor, hating the uncertainty in her voice that she was sure was audible to the doctor.
"Should we really be reading this? Shouldn't it be better to give her some privacy?" Elsa asked.
"Thank you Queen Elsa," Evie said, softly shaking her head. "But…I'm not sure if the Fates would let you not read it. Besides…as long as I know he's okay I don't care who hears."
"You all didn't care about skipping the scroll where the Captain kicked me in the ribs, there'll be no skipping this part either," Harry muttered under his breath.
"He's not under a sleeping curse," Dr. Sweet said gently. "Evie, we put him into a medical coma as to allow his body time to heal. He'll wake up when we want him to, and when it's safe for us to do so."
"Makes sense," Malinda nodded. "So many people from the Isle had to go into medical comas to recover from the years the Isle ravaged their bodies. Sweet's a good doctor."
Benji smiled slightly. "Joshua was the first doctor we asked when we finally got the hospital on the Isle. King Milo provided some supplies as well as guards for Dr. Sweet. Note to self, do not mess with Atlantians."
Evie nodded, hoping her crushing disappointment wasn't evident was on her face. It made sense in a way, after over eight years in Maleficent's clutches, there was no way her father wouldn't have some medical issues to address.
"Don't be selfish, scroll-me," Evie muttered. "You've gotten luckier than some of the kids on the Isle. Just count your blessings that he's in the room with you and breathing."
"It's okay to be disappointed Evie," Snow told her. "I'm sure your scroll-self was excited to talk to your father again after so many years."
Between the lack of edible food on the Isle and Maleficent's penchant for cruelty, the fact that her father had come back to her alive at all was enough to be grateful for.
And I'll always be grateful for that, Evie thought. I just…I just wish I could talk to him again.
"Can I get you anything?" Dr. Sweet asked as he seemed to check one of the machines and jotting something down on the clipboard in his hands.
"Nice offer but…what she really wants, he can't give her," Emma sighed.
"I'm fine, but thank you," Evie said softly.
"Wrong answer," Harriet said, shaking her head. "You need to eat something after all Evie and it is dinner time."
Dr. Sweet gave her an understanding smile. "I'll give you some privacy. Please be sure to reach out if you have any questions."
"Thank you doctor," Evie whispered, as if the doctor was in the room with them.
Evie nodded and sat down next to her father's side. She had no idea how she would ever repay Ben or Mal for this. Especially Mal.
"Repayment is certainly not necessary Evie," Malinda said with a small smile. "I would never let anyone suffer at the hands of Maleficent if I could help it."
"What about Freddy?" Uma asked.
"And Zevon?" Harry added.
"…well there are always exceptions to the rule."
After what Evie pulled at the coronation, Mal would have been well within her power to hate her…or even just hand her over to Maleficent when the evil Fae had appeared.
"And I would do that why?" Mal asked. "The only person I would do that to is Freddy and that's just because I don't think he should be classified as a person."
"You'll get no argument from me there, Mal," Claudine said with a small sigh.
"Oh! And the bat named Leah…and possibly the non-tolerable version of Audie. Even Freddy's a toss up because as much fun as it'd be to watch Maleficent go after him…I'd want to finish him myself."
"Mal!" Persephone scolded.
"Am I wrong?" Mal asked.
But instead Mal had defended her, had practically shoved her into Lady Persephone's arms as she battled Maleficent.
"Which I wish we got to see!" Jay said. "Two dragons going at it would have been awesome if not fairly terrifying."
And then, not only had Mal brought her along to Ben's party, but the Godling had brought her into her gang. For the first time, Evie could relax in her own room without feeling like she was going to be set on fire.
"Please," Mal scoffed. "That'd just be too much paperwork for dad. Plus he hates it when a soul under the age of twenty winds up in the Underworld as a permanent resident."
"That's…oddly comforting," Evie told her.
"Just because I like messing with you Evie doesn't mean I'd kill you."
It was just a shame now that the feeling of safety would go away…the last thing Evie would want would be for Mal to go against her cousin. Especially for her.
"I may be an only child but I know you don't go up against family," Evie sighed. "Well let me revise that. Only child with a de facto sister of course."
"Thank you!" Dizzy grinned.
Little did she know exactly what was happening over at Auradon Prep at that moment.
"Well that's fairly ominous," Rose said.
"Honestly Mal, you really think rooming with Blueberry is a good idea?" Uma asked as they prepared to make their way to the cafeteria.
"I wouldn't have told Ben it was fine if I wasn't okay with it Uma," Mal said, rolling her eyes before pausing for a second. "Carlos, Jay, Akiho, hold up a minute."
Malinda sighed and looked at Uma. "Like it or not, I was one of the few allies Evie had."
"What's up Mal?" Jay asked as the aforementioned guys seemed to freeze as they walked out the door.
Malinda chuckled. "You three froze like I was your mom catching you sneaking a cookie," she said, shaking her head.
"I figured you guys wouldn't want to go down all sweaty and smelly," Mal chuckled. "Two seconds, I can fix that."
"Ooh, magic?" Akiho asked, his eyes gleaming.
"Of course!"
Elsa chuckled and shook her head. "Like mother, like son. How many times did you used to wake me up and ask me to 'do the magic' when we were kids?"
"…I'm assuming a lot?" Anna asked, her voice soft.
"Oh. Right," Elsa sighed, ignoring the slight pang in her heart. "Troll induced memory alteration."
Harry chuckled. "Didn't take you for the prissy type Mali. You used to spend three hours sparring with Uma and then head down to your dad's restaurant."
"Auradon seems like it's different than the Isle though," Sammy said, shaking her head.
"Yeah there's a difference there," Mal said. "We didn't have to contend with Sleeping Brat complaining all day when we went to my dad's restaurant, Harry."
"Excuse me?!"
"Really? We've called her Sleeping Brat all through the previous scrolls and now she has an issue with it?" Rose asked.
"Must have finally dawned on her that we were insulting her," Kitty chuckled.
"Kathrine," Kit warned.
"Yes dad."
"You know, I was thinking, what if we just combined our nicknames for her?" Akiho said with a grin. "Sleeping Banshee has a nice ring to it."
"That it does," Mal chuckled. "Now hush. I need to concentrate here."
"Getting Akiho to be quiet for more than a minute? Now that's real magic," Emir said, teasing his best friend.
She sighed and then cracked her knuckles before pointing her finger at the three boys. "Beware, forswear, make the stench disappear!"
"Ooh! I need to remember that one!" Mal grinned.
"Trust me, it comes in handy," Malinda nodded.
As Mal finished waving her finger, the three boys found that they were no longer smelly and disgusting from practice but rather that they were relatively clean.
"Hmph! Gateway magic! A shower would have done the same thing," Audrey sniffed.
"Note to self, remember that one," Mal muttered as she smirked, pretending to blow smoke from her finger. "Now come on, let's go!"
Everyone chuckled as they made their way to the cafeteria. Uma had to admit, she hadn't expected everyone to be so welcoming. Sure the Akiho bloke seemed to welcome them no problem but Mal had said that he was one of Ben's best friends.
"Just because I like someone doesn't mean Akiho's going to like them too," Ben said.
"Who do you like that Akiho doesn't—?" Melody asked before turning to look at Audrey. "Oh. Right."
Considering how warm Ben had to been to her and Harry upon meeting them, Uma figured any friend of Benny's would act the same. Hell, Ben was warm to Gil and everyone knew how Gaston had been to Queen Belle.
"Kids are not their parents," Benji said. "I'm not going to treat Gil poorly just because his dad treated my parents poorly."
"…seriously, are you sure he's human?" Harry muttered.
"The kid in my belly proves it Harry," Malinda chuckled.
Uma knew you'd have to be a saint to at least not be wary toward the son of the man who threatened to imprison your grandfather in a mental asylum if your mother didn't marry him.
"And thank you for once again managing to scare the Smee boys," Meg sighed as the Smee twins curled into their father as a faint growl could be heard from Beast's direction.
Estelle gently licked the boys' cheeks and laid down by their feet as if to give them a distraction from the growls.
"Adam," Belle warned.
"Oh yes…my apologies," Beast said, wincing as Belle elbowed him in the side.
Malinda looked over at Uma. "Ben is a saint. He got named the Patron Saint of Goodness."
"Why am I not surprised?" Emir asked with a grin.
But Ben had simply given Gil a kind smile and answered all his questions. Well all the questions he managed to get out until Harry glared him into silence.
Harriet sighed. "Harry, how long are you going to hate Gil?"
"For as long as I possibly can!"
Yeah pretty sure that's how long he'll hate me too, CJ thought with a small sigh.
Honestly, it was probably the best move anyone could have done, making sure Harry and Gil were not roommates. Otherwise they'd probably be sending Gil back to the Isle in a box for Gaston to bury while Harry was tried for murder.
"I'm pretty sure that's a good thing to avoid," Sammy said. "Not only because Gil's harmless and shouldn't be killed, but also because if his sisters found out that Harry had killed Gil, the Casters and the Angels would probably get some new recruits."
"Not to make light of it but by law Harry probably would get a lighter sentence since he's underage," Claudine said.
"That is not a reason to kill Gil," Milah and Harriet said at the same time as Harry seemed to perk up.
"Hey Mal!"
"Hey Rowyn," Mal called back, pulling Uma back to the present, as they passed by a group of girls, a short haired brunette being the one to call to Mal. "You guys heading to dinner?"
"Well I mean, it is dinner time. Where else would we be going?" Rowyn asked with a small chuckle.
"Just about," Rowyn nodded. "I just have to make sure my art project's locked up and then we'll be down there."
Mal nodded. "Well you'd better hurry, I think it's steak night."
"Oh Gods, thanks for letting me know!" Rowyn exclaimed and sprinted to the art classroom. Mal chuckled and shook her head.
"I thought you didn't sign up for art?" Ruby asked her sister.
Rowyn shook her head. "There's the art club, of which I am a founding member. We have contests within the club sometimes when we're trying to recruit. Everyone always goes for Tourney or Cheer or Band though. Sometimes they'll choose us over the Debate team or the Chess team."
"What does it matter?" Mal scoffed.
"Funding mostly. More people interested, more money to Auradon Prep from parents."
"Steak night?" Uma asked slowly. "And who was that?"
"Oh, it's the main choice for dinner tonight," Mal said. "It's Jay's favorite, the carnivore. That girl was Rowyn Fitzherbert, one of Rapunzel's daughters."
Malinda chuckled. "Oh we're just as bad as Rowyn is. A nice juicy steak, mmm! Might almost be as good as dad's garlic…nope I can't even say that with a straight face."
"Don't act like you don't like gnawing on a nice juicy rib eye just like Raps Jr, Mali," Jay called out and Mal rolled her eyes.
"Jay you've seen the way I eat dad's chicken. What about that tells you I'm not a carnivore?" Mal asked.
"Meanwhile I prefer the pasta," Carlos chimed in. "Oh Gil, they usually have a lot of egg dishes for breakfast."
"Ah young Mr. Gil will enjoy that," Mr. Smee said with a small smile. The blond lad truly did enjoy his eggs. If a carton came ashore in the monthly delivery, Gil would fight tooth and nail to get it according to Sammy.
"But Mal just said that it was a steak night," Hadie said, tilting his head in confusion. "How can you have pasta if they're offering steak? I mean sure, places like Ursula's Chip Shoppe and dad's restaurant had options but that's a restaurant. After all, Dragon Hall didn't even provide lunch according to Mal."
Malinda sighed and shook her head as everyone looked over at her. "Most of the kids weren't likely to make it to adulthood so why waste resources on them?"
Before any of the older kids could answer him, they reached the cafeteria and the new VKs stared in shock at all the different options. Mal, Jay and Carlos couldn't help but give a small, sad smile; remembering when they had been in that same spot just a month ago.
Malinda couldn't help the slightly sad smile that pulled at her lips as she shook her head. At least that cycle had ended with bringing more and more kids from the Isle.
"And…we can just pick whatever we want?" Hadie asked, his small voice breaking Akiho's heart.
"No child should have to react like that to food," Aladdin sighed as his heart broke.
Emir had mentioned something about how Mal and the others had been shocked by the options but Akiho hadn't thought it'd been like this.
"Penalty for showing up late in that scroll I guess," Akiho sighed.
"Something doesn't sit right dude," Emir said as they chilled in their dorm after dinner the first day the original group of VKs had arrived.
"What do you mean?"
"The way the new kids were in the cafeteria today," Emir elaborated. "It was almost like they didn't know what to do to get the food."
"I wish Emir had told me about this conversation," Benji sighed. "I might have been able to do something about the food sooner."
Emir shook his head. "From the sounds of it, you had enough on your plate Benji. Besides, the drives are our responsibility too. We could have looked into it."
"That doesn't matter you guys. We were all running the drives meaning my Emir and Akiho should have looped me into what was going on."
Akiho shrugged as he sat up in his bed. "Maybe they didn't. Different schools have different ways of doing things after all."
"Well I mean…he's not wrong," Mal shrugged.
"I know. It's just…Mal said they weren't used to all the options," Emir said softly. "You don't think they…"
"Hey, we've been running food drives for the Isle since we were thirteen," Akiho said gently.
"So…why were thirteen year olds the ones who were running the food drives?" Ariel asked.
"Once again the kids show they care more for the Isle than the adults do," Eric muttered.
He knew how seriously Emir took issues like food poverty. Despite being a prince, he never forgot how his father lived before taking the throne.
Aladdin couldn't help but give his middle child a hug as he wrapped his arms around Emir. "You don't have to worry about that, I will make sure you and your siblings never have to live in that sort of situation," he whispered.
"I know dad," Emir nodded. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to care about it."
It was actually hard to decide who had been in charge of the food drives between Ben and Emir.
"Probably one of the few times we truly butted heads," Benji said with a fond smile.
"I'm sure they've got plenty of food."
Oh future scroll-me, you are so wrong and naive it's not even funny, Akiho thought with a small sigh.
Emir gave him a small smile. "Yeah…I'm probably just overthinking it. Those four probably just had new student jitters or something."
"I wish it was just that," Benji said, shaking his head.
"If they had to deal with Audrey right off the bat, more than definitely," Akiho chuckled. "Gods, it'll be interesting to see Mal interact with the Banshee."
"Ben, couldn't you have just said no to Audrey being there?" Abby asked. "It's not like she was needed."
"Five bucks says Audrey gets cursed within a week."
"I'll take that bet."
"To my great surprise, mainly because I didn't think my restraint would last so long, you were wrong," Malinda told him.
"Aw man! I lost five dollars!" Akiho exclaimed.
"That's enough young man," Anna said firmly. "I know Audrey's not the…most pleasant to be around but we don't go wishing misfortune on others!"
"…yes mom."
"Yeah Hadie, you just go up and take what you want," Mal said, pulling Akiho out of his thoughts.
"What are you in the mood for?" Akiho asked, Jay and Carlos having already scooped Harry and Gil from the group. "We've got pasta, steak, and it looks like we've got some fish—"
"We've got to stop just casually flaunting the food we've got in front of the VKs," Rose sighed.
"I agree," Robin nodded. "Maybe have a menu printed out for them that arrives in their welcome package. Most of them seem to be used to that from Lord Hades' restaurant. That way all the food isn't flung in their faces at once."
Ben quickly pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket and started jotting down the notes. He didn't want this idea to be lost in the sea of noise from the recording.
"Fish?" Hadie asked, perking up.
Mal chuckled. "Yep stormcloud, they've got fish here. Between you and me, it's even better than dad's."
"No way!"
"Thank you Hadie!" Hades said, giving his daughter a look. "Glad to know one of my kids will defend me!"
"Try it then if you don't believe me!"
Hadie nodded and went over to the fish station. Akiho shook his head as Mal smirked in amusement.
"Works every time," she said, chuckling slightly.
"Oh really?" Hades asked. "How many times have you had to do that Mal?"
"Well then madam carnivore, shall we go get our steak and meet back up with the group?" Akiho asked.
"We shall," Mal nodded and they quickly joined up with Jay and Emir, along with Harry and Uma and surprisingly Gil.
"Why is it surprising that Gil went for the steak?" Rachel asked. "He saw something he wanted to try and went to get it."
"Probably the surprising thing is that he went for the same thing Harry went for," Sammy told her.
"The pasta looked good but dad would be disappointed if I didn't go for the steak," Gil said.
"Gaston's able to care about anything other than himself?" Celia asked.
Mal rolled her eyes. "Gaston's not here Gil. He can't influence your decisions anymore."
"And that's a terrifying thought," Harry muttered. "Gaston influencing anything."
"He managed to influence fifty Frenchmen and three French women to storm the castle of their ruling Prince," Elle pointed out.
"…and you wouldn't call that terrifying?" Harry asked.
"Be nice Harry," Uma warned.
"I'm always nice cap'n."
"Unless the person's name is Gil, Freddy, or Zevon, you've got a point there Harry," Jay chuckled.
Mal chuckled as she scanned the crowd for any sight of Ben's light brown hair. He had said that he'd be there but there were still days where Mal had to drag him down to dinner.
"In my defense, those days were when I'd gotten a new book," Benji said. "You really expect me not to get lost in my own world?"
"He's got a point," Malinda sighed. "Bookworm and a new book? I'm lucky I was able to drag him without hurting the book in someway. Pretty sure that would have wound up with us breaking up."
"You looking for someone?"
"How'd you sneak past your shadows?" Mal teased, turning around to see Ben standing behind her.
"No…that's not actually…he came without being dragged?" Emir and Akiho exclaimed.
"Well it's quite easy when they're entranced with their food," Ben teased back. "Steak night?"
"You wound us Ben!" Emir exclaimed.
"Yeah, our Ben sense clearly knew you were there, otherwise we wouldn't be eating!" Akiho nodded.
Benji shook his head. "Uh huh. You know, I still don't know if your 'Ben sense' is truly a thing you know?"
"Well they have something connected to you Ben," Chad said. "How many times have they appeared out of thin air with you just saying their names?"
"My money's on a tracking device in all honesty," Benji said. "Either that or they just know me too well."
"Um…pretty sure that's illegal," Aziz said.
"Aziz, these are the same two guys who have elaborate kidnapping plans drawn up when it comes to me," Benji chuckled.
Anna, Kristoff, Aladdin, and Jasmine all turned to look at their sons.
"We thought it was insane for Bene to be King at sixteen and have to give up Tourney, R.O.A.R, and everything else he loved all while being miserable with Audrey," Akiho said.
"Yeah, so mom, dad, if there was a day where you wound up with an extra kid, it's just Ben," Emir nodded.
"Need any help with that boys?" Chip asked.
"No Chip!"
"Gladly Chip!" Emir and Akiho grinned.
Benji shook his head. "Guys, how could I be there to meet Mal if I'm kidnapped?"
"…okay I guess you've got a point there Benji," Emir said. "But the plan is still available if you need a day off or something."
"You can clearly see steak right in front of you Benny," Mal chuckled as she grabbed her plate.
"I still can't believe that's Ben!" Emir said, shaking his head.
"I know where the cafeteria is!" Ben exclaimed. "You don't have to drag me from my office!"
"They don't because they know I'll just do it for them," Mal added with a small smirk.
Ben chuckled and grabbed his own plate before the group went and sat down, Carlos and Hadie quickly joining them.
"You get enough?" Mal asked Hadie.
"Uh huh," Hadie nodded.
"You can take Mal off the Isle but you can't turn off her 'big sistering'," Hadie said with a grin.
"Gods, I can't believe they've got all this food. The delivery barge must have been a good haul this month."
"Oh this is going to be awkward," Neal muttered.
Akiho, Ben and Emir froze while Mal gave her brother a small smile. "Hadie, they don't get delivery barges here."
"They don't?"
"If they don't get the barges, how do they get food?" Squeaky asked.
Ben smiled slightly as he looked over at the Smee boy. "We have these big stores. They're kinda like Lord Hades' restaurant but they're called supermarkets and we can buy food there. It's just not cooked."
"Oh," Squirmy said. "Why don't we have that on the Isle then? We like Lord Hades' place but that sounds good too."
"Nope. This is all food from Auradon," Mal said gently.
Hadie bit his lip and tilted his head. "But…none of the food is rotten or moldy like the delivery barges we get from Auradon. I've heard the crew talk about the barges after all Mali."
Mal sighed and shook her head, looking over at Uma. Smack the crew for me would you?
Consider it done, Mali, Uma thought back.
Appreciated Uma!
"I know, Hadie," Mal nodded and sighed softly.
"Rotten?" Emir mouthed to Akiho and Ben, the latter seemingly coming to a realization.
"I know self, it's still shocking every time I hear it but we're on it," Emir said with a nod of his head.
"So…they eat like this every day?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.
"Pretty much," Jay nodded, digging into his steak.
"Sometimes the food differs but the quality's the same," Carlos added, quickly digging into his own food.
"Wow…history repeats huh?" Elle said softly.
"…do they hate us that much? They've got food like this while the food on the barges is like night and day," Hadie asked Mal, his voice once again breaking the hearts of the three Auradon kids.
"Well…we don't hate you," Evan muttered, looking over at Leah who was still passed out.
Oddly enough no one really minded.
An eleven year old kid shouldn't be asking if people hate him just because of where he lives, Ben thought. I need to get started looking into the Isle's food deliveries. I meant to do that after Mal told me most of the food there was rotten the day she snuck me onto the Isle but after the…events of my coronation, it slipped my mind.
Ben shook his head. "We don't hate you Hadie. I am going to fix the food issue. The days of the Isle eating our trash are over."
"Um…when you say 'we'…"
"I think Benji means everyone except the passed out Beauty Matriarch from Hell and his I'm assuming former girlfriend," Chip said. "Still unclear about whether or not they've broken up. There's been talk about the contract being dissolved but…"
"Excuse me?!"
"Oh there's the ear piercing shriek we weren't missing!"
Lucas sighed. "Chip, behave. And stop arguing with a teenager."
"Hey Mal!" Lonnie said as she joined the table with Jane, Jordan and Ally, unknowingly breaking the somber mood.
"Saved by the Lonnie," Ashaki said, giving the older girl a small smile.
"Hey Lonnie," Mal nodded, giving the other girl a smile. "Decided to join us?"
"Well it looked like this was where all the cool kids were sitting. Well, and Akiho and Emir."
"Hey! My family makes ice, how am I not cool?" Akiho exclaimed, faking offense.
"By making jokes like that!" Lonnie teased, lifting the mood of the room.
"Oh you wound me!" Emir exclaimed, holding a hand over his heart.
"No, but I'll tell you who will wound you soon. Your girlfriend," Lonnie teased.
"You mean you haven't gotten dumped yet?" Ashaki teased.
"Hey!"
"To be fair, it's a legitimate question considering how much time you spend shadowing Ben," Aziz chuckled.
"I happen to like the fact that Emir's so loyal to his friends," Emma said.
"You…you do?"
"Of course," Emma told Emir, giving him a small smile. Which Emir returned, ignoring the slight fluttering of his heart.
"You've been dating her how long and you're still shadowing Ben?"
"Emma knows that Ben's going to be part and parcel," Emir shrugged.
"Yeah, same with Elle," Akiho grinned.
Anna and Jasmine couldn't help but shake their heads fondly, as did Aladdin and Kristoff, while Belle and Beast had slightly sad smiles on their faces.
They were happy of course that Ben had such good friends but they shouldn't have to go that far in making sure that Ben was safe.
"I am so sorry," Ben mouthed, looking over at Emma and Elle as he shook his head slightly.
Mal shook her head. "We've formed a club. The 'inadvertently gained three boyfriends' club," she explained to Lonnie.
Persephone shook her head. "They don't mean it literally Hades," she sighed.
"Yeah dad, weird things may have happened on the Isle but things like that aren't my thing. I'm quite happy with just a single partner," Malinda added.
"It may be a joke but I still don't have to like it," Hades growled.
"Well considering Elle's your cousin too, at least you've got a friendly face in that club," Ally pointed out.
"The Olympians have way too many kids for me to keep track of them," Malinda chuckled. "I mean, on Posideon's side alone I've got ten cousins."
"Wait, how?" Uma asked.
"Triton and Ursula are my immediate cousins since they're Posideon's kids," Malinda said. "From there, I've got you of course, and then I've got Triton's seven kids. Of course I should also count Jaime, Elle, Melody, and Arabella. So that's actually fourteen cousins on Posideon's side alone."
"Wait, what?" Uma asked.
"Elle, daughter of Ariel," Ally explained. "Oh right, she'd be your cousin as well!"
Uma hummed, not quite sure what to say about having other cousins. Sure Elle seemed alright here but Uma had lived her whole life with just three cousins. Virgil, Hadie, and Mal.
Uma pursed her lips, not exactly thrilled at the thought of interacting with her cousin so soon after leaving the Isle. That being said…at least she wouldn't be as bad as Blueberry.
"Should…should I take that as a compliment?" Elle asked.
"From Uma? Yeah," Mal nodded.
"You'll meet her soon," Mal said. "She's nice, or at least has a brain in her head. She mainly hangs around Melody…which I just realized I should probably introduce to Hadie."
"Um…thank you Mal? I guess?" Elle said.
Melody grinned and playfully waved over at Hadie. "Hi Hadie!"
"Hey Melody," Hadie chuckled, waving back.
"Doing some matchmaking Mali?" Harry teased.
"Honestly Harry!" Mal shook her head. "Hadie's not even fifteen, why would I make him a match? And with his cousin?"
"Gods no Harry! But Melody's twelve so she'd be around the same year as Hadie. Same classes and the like," Mal explained. "I can't be everywhere."
"Not to mention the fact that Hadie technically went to a different school," Malinda added. "The only time we saw each other was meals, in the dorms, and whenever there was time to hang out outside of class."
Well…Uma made more time than I did, she thought with a slight pang of guilt. Stupid Natalie with her stupid schedule…
Hadie rolled his eyes. "I'm a god Mali. I do have magic you know."
"Yeah, magic you barely know how to use," Mal said, shaking her head.
"Hey! You've had seven more years of lessons than I have!" Hadie exclaimed.
"I can work with Fairy Godmother, set up some time for both of you to practice your magic," Ben said.
Fairy Godmother nodded. "Absolutely, in fact I'll make time for all of the kids born with magic to be able to practice their powers should they need to. That way, no one feels like they're being singled out."
Jane looked up in interest. Maybe…maybe she'd be able to see if she actually had magic or not.
While magic had been retired, Ben knew that it was dangerous to have two offsprings of the Gods with unstable powers. If either Mal or Hadie had their magic flare up after being trapped under the magical barrier…it might end up injuring someone or worse, injuring them.
"The last thing we want is for anyone to get hurt," Fairy Godmother said. "And Ben makes an excellent point. Unstable powers could lead to potential injury."
"Almost makes you wish you didn't stick a bunch of magic users under a barrier designed to suppress their powers and then not check in on them once they had kids, huh?" Hades asked.
"Sounds good Ben," Mal nodded.
"Oh so Mal's the only one who gets to practice her magic?" Uma asked, teasing her cousin.
"Uma's got a point," Elle said. "Just because she's got a way to channel her magic through her shell necklace doesn't mean she doesn't also need to practice it."
Ben's eyes widened but before he could say anything, Mal rolled her eyes.
"She's teasing, Ben. Don't worry, you'll learn to speak 'Uma' sooner or later," the purple haired Godling said with a small chuckle.
"I could give you lessons," Mal said, looking over at Ben before smirking slightly. "Or better yet Harry could. He's rather fluent in 'speaking Uma' after all."
"You're acting like I speak another language Mali," Uma said, shaking her head.
"You do."
"What other language do I speak?" Uma asked.
"Greek for starters," Mal teased.
"So do you!"
Harry snorted as he ate his steak, the four new VKs eating ravenously the same way the original group had eaten when they first arrived. As if they were worried the food might get taken from them.
"I'm sure I would have made sure that Harry, Hadie, and Uma at least would have had food that day," Hades said with a slight frown.
"You did," Malinda nodded. "But old habits die hard dad."
"Gods, they should at least act reasonably and not draw attention to themselves," Audrey's voice carried from her table.
"And you should mind your own business, if we're offering unwanted advice," Mal shot back, giving the princess a fake smile that fooled no one.
"Go Mal!" Jay, Harry, Uma, Hadie, Harriet, and CJ cheered.
"I take it that's Sleeping Brat?" Uma asked, bringing Mal's attention back to her table.
"Yep, that's the Banshee."
"Both nicknames are oddly appropriate," Claudine said, shaking her head earning a small snort from Phoebus.
Ben sighed and looked over at Emir and Akiho, figuring that was where Mal got the nickname for Audrey. "Do I want to know?"
"Probably not."
"Though to be fair, that's normally how our friendship works," Akiho chuckled.
"Ben, she has nearly deafened us with shrieks twice in the time we've been here! As much as you try to be nice, not even you can say she's not a Banshee," Abby said.
"You should know that the only one who didn't use that nickname though was Chad."
"Thank you Chad!" Audrey said with a small smile. "Glad to know not all of Bennyboo's friends are poisoning him against me!"
"Uh…you're welcome?" Chad said. "I have to say, it's kinda strange to be thanked for something that's just common sense. I mean we're friends."
Even if I would like to be more than that, he thought.
"Has anyone heard from Charming by the way?" Jay asked. "I saw him at practice of course but he didn't seem his usual pretentious self."
"That's possible?" Lucy asked.
"Be nice!" Alexandria scolded her older sister. "Chad's not so pretentious!"
"Agree to disagree Alex," Kitty sighed, shaking her head.
"Rumor is he and Audrey broke up," Emir said with a small sigh. "I will give her credit, at least Audrey didn't cheat on Chad."
Audrey and Chad stared at the scroll in shock.
"I…I date Audrey?!"
"You knew that already Chad," Kitty shook her head. "Remember? Tourney game, Ben's performance, Audrey kissing you, you breaking Evie's heart? Ring any bells?"
"I thought I was just the rebound though! Finally! Relationship with Audrey! Who's the man?" Chad cheered.
Audie couldn't help the slightly sad smile that was on her lips. Chad…didn't you hear the part where you broke up with her?
Then again, he could just be in denial about that part.
"Why…why is he happy about that?" CJ asked. "She's horrid!"
"And more importantly, how long until they get back together so we can enjoy the period of Audrey-less Chad?" Lucy sighed. "Thank Gods we know he doesn't marry her! In fact, Malinda, when does he meet his future wife again?"
Malinda gave them a small, sad smile. "I don't think it'll be in this scroll grouping girls."
After all, unless the grouping included her engagement party, Malinda knew Chad didn't met Ginny until then. Until after Audrey was arrested.
You know, I'm guessing Audrey really didn't have any other options to use, Emir thought. Two schools saw how quickly she rebounded to Chad after Ben broke up with her, no other guy would give her the time of day. Staying with Chad was her best and only option.
"And from what Kitty told me, Chad was legitimately trying when it came to Audrey," Akiho shrugged. "We're teenagers though. His mom was nineteen and his dad was twenty one when they met. If he and Audrey were meant to be, they'll find a way to wind up together."
Audrey blinked in surprise. "Was…was that almost a compliment from you Akiho?"
"As strange as it may be, I am capable of such things," Akiho said, his voice cool. "Helps when you're not risking the health of my best friend."
"That's enough Akiho," Kristoff warned.
Chad couldn't help but smile slightly at Akiho as he heard that. At least Akiho wasn't relishing in his misfortune and that there'd be a chance they'd get back together.
Wait…Malinda said that Audrey's not my future wife though, Chad thought with a small frown.
"I knew you inherited some of your dad's common sense," Ben said with a small snort.
"You saying my mom didn't have common sense dude?" Akiho teased.
"Well she was about to marry Hans after knowing him for about twelve hours," Ben teased back.
"Yeah well at least I can say one of my parents had common sense," Akiho shot back, gently teasing his friend.
"My mom had common sense!"
"She volunteered to be someone's prisoner after fifteen minutes of knowing them," Emir chuckled.
"Yeah to save Granddad!" Ben shot back.
"Your mom volunteered to be your dad's prisoner when she was seventeen!"
"Also I wouldn't even be alive if she hadn't done that! Meaning my future kid wouldn't be alive either!"
"And your mom was ready to marry a guy she'd just met!"
Emir snorted in amusement. "Gods, I love the 'my parent has more common sense than your parent' debates."
"So, how often is this a thing?" Jasmine asked with a small chuckle.
"Bout once every month or so," Akiho said with a grin.
"None of your parents had common sense," Mal said teasingly before pointing to each boy. "Emir, your dad had a genie but didn't think to wish that the law preventing him from marrying your mother was changed instead of going through that whole charade. Akiho, as mentioned your mom was prepared to marry a guy she just met while your dad seemed content to be kidnapped by trolls, and Ben…"
"Why didn't you just wish for the law to be changed, dad?" Ashaki asked, looking over at Aladdin.
"I know," Ben sighed. Everyone knew what argument Mal was going to make for his parents' lack of common sense—the Isle.
"Yeah well luckily you have enough common sense for both of them," Hades muttered.
At least I can do something now to fix it, Ben thought with an inward nod. Starting with figuring out what's going on with the food.
Ben and Benji nodded firmly, agreeing with their past and future thoughts.
"So Mal, what's this Basic Chivalry class?" Harry asked. "Ben mentioned it and this Doug bloke brought it up when he brought our schedules around."
"You know…just going by the name it sounds like something the VKs might enjoy," Lil Shang said, tilting his head. "Chivalry kinda makes you think of swords after all."
"It's an elective class," Mal said. "Though it's only offered to the guys since Jay and Carlos have it."
"Wait, does that mean—?"
"Oh Gods, Gil and Harry in the same class is just asking for trouble," Harriet sighed.
"No Harry, whatever you're dreading will not come to pass," Mal said.
"Thank you Mal!" Harry sighed in relief.
It took some major rearranging but it worked. I'm not looking to have Gil get murdered and according to Jay, they give the students knives in that class!
"Seriously, are they blunted knives?" Mal asked.
"I would like to know the answer to that question too," Henry nodded.
Malinda chuckled. "They're butter knives, don't worry. Not much damage possible unless Gil was made out of butter."
"Still, that's a sensible and possibly life saving decision there Mali," Uma said with a nod.
"Kinda dumb that they only give the class to guys," Uma muttered.
"Hey think of it this way. We don't have a class to make us all prissy," Mal pointed out and Uma chuckled.
"No class could make the cap'n prissy," Harry said with a snort.
"Speaking of classes, Mal, did you finish your Grammar homework?" Jordan asked. "And if you did, can I—?"
"Asking to copy homework right in front of Ben?" Emir chuckled. "That's gutsy Jordan."
"For my own sanity, I'm going to go grab some dessert before I hear any more of this conversation," Ben said. "If you'll excuse me Jay…err, Jordan."
"You hate grammar?" Rose asked. "But you write so well."
Benji chuckled. "I don't hate grammar. I just knew what Jordan was about to ask and didn't want to be in the conversation."
"I know it's confusing Ben but the better looking one is named Jay," Jay teased.
"So modest Jay," Uma chuckled.
Jordan rolled her eyes. "Honestly. How many girls do you know that are named Jordan?"
"The same number as the number of guys I know named 'Jay'."
"…touché."
"Am I rubbing off on you? Or is that your shadows?" Mal asked.
"Six of one, half dozen of the other," Malinda told her.
Mal chuckled. "Well thank you for that reminder Jordan. I have to admit, and now that Ben's left the table I can do that safely, but I've not even started on my Grammar homework."
With how busy I was back then, it's amazing my grades didn't do worse, Malinda thought with a small sigh.
"Well go and get cracking," Lonnie teased and Mal shook her head.
"And we really have to go to Remedial Goodness Class?" Uma asked.
"There's a two hour lecture about smiling," Mal told her.
"…kill me now."
"Hope you like learning about 'smizing'," Malinda said with a smirk as some of the the VKs' jaws dropped.
"…what now?" Uma asked.
"Smizing. It's smiling with your eyes," Malinda told her.
Uma blinked. Then blinked again. And then blinked once more for good measure.
"Yeah no that's something your pregnancy addled brain came up with. It can't be a real thing."
"Oh but it is!"
"I'm sorry, Mal's pregnant?" Henry asked.
"Did you not notice the pregnancy belly when you arrived?" Harriet asked him.
"I was a little busy!"
"Well what about Malinda's comment earlier? Didn't you hear that?"
Malinda chuckled and shook her head. "Yeah Henry, I'm pregnant. Three months," she said, putting the poor guy out of his misery.
"Murder's frowned upon here in Auradon. Plus you're the granddaughter of a God."
"Damn."
"Yes well I'd rather my granddaughter not die thank you," Posideon said, shaking his head.
Mal chuckled. "Yeah well there's no escaping it. On that note, I really should go and do my Grammar homework. Catch you guys later."
"Mal? Do homework?" Uma muttered, her voice low. "…she must not want Hadie reporting to Aunt Steph or something."
Mal got up and walked off, not noticing her cousin staring at her retreating form.
That was weird right? Uma thought. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it. After all, it's not like Mali could change much in just a month.
"Don't think that too soon Uma," Benji whispered with a small sigh.
Rowyn shook her head. "That's the end of the scroll. Who wants to read next?"
"I'll read, if you don't mind Princess Rowyn," Hera said.
Rowyn blinked. "Okay. I mean, you don't have to use my title, but sure thing your Ladyship!"
"She is your daughter," Rapunzel chuckled, looking over at Eugene.
"And proud of it, Blondie," Eugene grinned.