Chapter Seventy One
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.
I just…how? How are we twenty nine chapters away from one hundred? How has this happened? It's insane, it truly is!
Though if I think about it, the WAL series would have been a lot more than that if I didn't break them up into different stories—my sanity thanks me for that!
Lauriverfanboy1: Oh I'm so glad you liked it! Yeah I thought about it but it might be better if Audie doesn't find that out right away. Ginny will be coming but likely not until they read Choosing Home since she makes her appearance there.
Tracie Adams: Well…there's always more reading! :D
Marcus Emrys: Hey why stop with Jumba? Lilo would probably help make a Leah punching bag and then there's Stitch! And yeah, one down one to go :D
Katt Kiki: I hope you enjoy it! :D
AmethystDragon14: Yay! Hey it might have been a serious chapter but who hasn't quoted Yzma from time to time? :D
Unknown Person67: Compared to chapters in this fic or other chapters in other fics? But I'm so glad that you enjoy my writing! Hope you enjoy this chapter too!
Chocolate Addict: Oh thank you! Ah yeah, unfortunately for Kitty and Lucy, their stories kinda got scrapped due to burn out on my end and just wanting the story to end. If anyone out there wants to write a fic of their own with how they met and wound up with the Hood boys, feel free! :D
jedblack1997: Oh thank you! That…is an interesting question and one I'll have to ponder on for a moment!
danifan3000: That's got to be my favorite scene too! Sneaky loophole finding Kit :D As for Poseidon, since he didn't know that Virgil's his grandson until Truth or Fiction, he might not know about Freddie either.
cass585339: Thank you so much! :D
The Christian Dino: So glad you enjoyed it! Trust me, later on Audie's definitely going to slip up and spill some beans about some events in her viewings :D
JaclynnM: So glad you enjoyed it!
OceanBlueSeaEyes: Something tells me no one will be happy about that!
smc-smfan1: Thank, glad you enjoyed it!
Lost Muses: Oh thank you! A more in-depth talk might be coming and I think it's definitely in order. Of course Estelle would try to help! He's such a good puppy! :D
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
Li'l Shang leaned forward to pick up his scroll and frowned slightly as he noticed two new scrolls.
"What's wrong?" Lonnie asked.
"Two more scrolls are here but…they're different from the rest."
Emir tilted his head. "How can you tell?"
"They're sealed with blue wax and have a flame stamped on it for starters."
"Ah."
Li'l Shang sighed. "Well, I guess we'll find out about those scrolls later."
Mal sighed as she left one of the multitude of meetings Natalie had her attend.
Hades growled under his breath at the mention of Natalie.
"Right off the bat? So much for this being a good scroll," Li'l Shang sighed.
Thankfully it was the last one of the day and it was a good thing too because Mal felt like she was at the end of her rope.
"This is sick," Sammy muttered and shook her head. "It can't go on!"
Lately it felt more and more as if her handler was trying to drive her insane rather than help her become a Lady of the Court. Something that apparent was going to happen at Cotillion now instead of a private ceremony.
Benji sighed. "I should have offered to do your induction in private after everything."
"Didn't we end up doing that?" Malinda asked. She didn't remember getting inducted at Cotillion. Freddy she remembered but not her induction.
Whoever decided to make this a public thing should be shot, Mal thought.
"Mal, as older me said, if you want we can have yours in private," Ben said, looking over at Mal.
Hmm, maybe not shot but definitely slapped. Was it Wonderbreath? Was this revenge on dad kidnapping him as a baby? No wait, he's all brawn and no brains.
"Cotillion has always been public," Hercules said, shaking his head. "Furthermore I wouldn't do that."
If it wasn't for the fact that he sounds like a sweetheart from the few stories Macaria's told me, one might think he'd get along well with Gaston.
"Hey!" Hyllus exclaimed.
Hercules shook his head as both Mal and Malinda opened their mouths. "No, no, don't apologize. I get it."
Oh yeah, that had been a fun discovery, finding out that her becoming a Lady of the Court was going to be in public rather than in private like Mal had thought.
"Well at least we know she hasn't lost her sarcastic thoughts…" Hadie said, sounding as if he was trying to stay positive.
Ben had told her about that at one of their rare date nights—so rare they were practically endangered. Thankfully Mal had no qualms about spending time with Ben in his office so it wasn't as if they never got to see each other.
Just almost never.
Ben shook his head. "I'm fixing this. We should get time to be with each other."
"Ben, what do you mean I'll become a Lady of the Court at Cotillion? I thought it was just going to be a small thing. You, me, Fairy Godmother and my mom when she gets off the Isle?" Mal asked, looking at Ben with slight trepidation in her voice.
"The date was in your office?" Abby asked, looking at Benji.
Benji shrugged. "Any time I got to spend with Mal was treasured."
Trepidation that she hoped wasn't audible. She was already working so hard to not embarrass Ben and she already knew she'd likely mess up once the cameras and lights were focused firmly on her.
"Mal, I will say this as many times as you need to hear," Benji said, his voice gentle. "You. Never. Embarrass. Me."
It was bad enough that they were insisting on having Cotillion be on a yacht. A. Yacht!
"Okay, we are moving the Cotillion venue this year!" Ben said.
Oh sure, that'll be fun-so not only would the pressure to not embarrass Ben make it near impossible for Mal to enjoy herself but then there was the added bonus of making sure not to accidentally fall off the side and die!
"You really think I'd let you fall over the side?" Uma asked, looking over at her cousin.
It wasn't like almost drowning at nine left her with a fear of water or anything!
...oh wait, it did! The only reason why said fear didn't rear its head on their date to the Enchanted Lake all those months ago was the fact that she'd been more worried about Ben than anything else. And then she had almost drowned again!
Benji hugged Malinda close to him. "When will you learn to put yourself first?"
"When you do," Malinda whispered to him.
Thinking about it, she really needed to learn how to swim.
"I'd be more than happy to help you learn," Ariel said, looking over at Mal and giving her a small smile.
Poseidon nodded. "I would as well."
"…thanks," Mal said, her voice soft as she shrugged. She didn't want to say that she would never get near water unless they paid her.
"I know you're granted a title by right since your father is the Lord of the Dead," Ben stated as he looked up from his pile of paperwork, pulling Mal out of her thoughts that had started to spiral,
Mal shook her head. "Default or not, I'm not a Lady!"
"Ditto for me!" Uma added.
"but I also know that there are some who don't want to use that title for you and it was pointed out to me at the latest council meeting that some might use the fact that it was done in private to cast aspersions on whether it was done at all."
"Since when do idiots matter? The ones who matter are the ones who'll use it if needed," Henry said.
"And by some you mean Leah's allies."
"Does she even still have allies after all that?" Kitty muttered, shooting a glare over to the room that held Leah. No movement had occurred leading everyone to think that she was still passed out.
Good, Kitty thought. Considering Chad has only said a few words since he had that hypnosis removed, Leah deserves it.
"I do in fact mean Leah's allies," Ben nodded. "She didn't have many of them but she did have them and they were surprisingly loyal to her."
"'Didn't have many' is an understatement," Elsa shook her head. "She has Chi-Fu and the Duke."
So much so that Chi-Fu was petitioning him for Leah to be laid to rest with official royal honors.
"I'm sorry what?" Lonnie exclaimed. "When mom saved his sorry ass, Chi-Fu said that mom was a woman and wouldn't amount to anything but now he's petitioning Ben to bury Leah with official royal honors?!"
"Lonnie, watch your language," Mulan said.
"She's got a point though," Shang told her.
"Yeah mom," Li'l Shang nodded.
Mulan sighed. "I know she does but with younger kids in the room, I'd rather not them learn words their parents might not want them to."
Never mind the fact that there was no body for them to recover. Mal hadn't said but Ben was no idiot. Akiho had told him about how Mal had mentioned to him that she and her friends had made an alliance with the hyenas of the Isle. Hyenas wouldn't leave a body for them to recover. They'd be lucky if they recovered bones.
"As he said, the hyenas actually left something behind?" CJ asked in shock.
Aurora, however, had stated that a full state funeral wasn't needed, especially with Cotillion as close as it was. Auroria would handle Leah's funeral.
Phillip nodded. "There's no need to give her honors, Ben. We will handle the funeral."
"Ben, it doesn't matter if I have a title or not or if anyone uses it," Mal said, pulling Ben out of his thoughts. "I'm titled through my parents and that should be enough. Besides, I don't exactly act like a Lady does."
"Yeah well my parents have rank as well and no one complains that I don't act like how a girl of my rank should," Lonnie said, shaking her head.
"So? I don't exactly act like a King does," Ben said with a small chuckle as Mal moved to sit on his desk.
"That's definitely an understatement but we love that about you Benji," Chip chuckled.
"Besides, once you become a member of my court, you'd be able to attend more council meetings and we could see each other more often."
Ben sighed. "Not exactly how I'd want to spend our time but…I'll take it."
"Not really selling it there Ben," Mal said, making a small face. "I attended one of your council meetings and almost ended up having a fight with Zeus."
"Sorry Ben," Mal said with a small chuckle. "But my scroll self has a point."
"You never did tell me what that was about by the way," Ben said, looking over at her. "I mean, I know Lord Zeus is your dad's brother and there's no love lost between the two of them but I don't—."
"Are we stating the obvious again today?" Ruby asked.
"Ben, don't worry about it," Mal said, shaking her head softly. "It's just family drama. That's all."
"Like being dramatic, denial doesn't run in our family. It gallops," Macaria sighed.
"Mal, the last time the Gods had 'family drama' as you put it, your dad almost successfully pulled off a coup to take over Olympus."
"And again I will say that he got his karma for that so can we stop bringing it up?" Mal asked with a small sigh.
"Tell that to your scroll self," Hadie shook his head.
"That was Ben's."
"And my father is currently trapped on an Isle with a barrier around it," Mal told him. "Not to mention I have no intention of taking over Olympus. I've seen what being in charge is like based on how much paperwork you have to do. No thank you."
"What my scroll self said," Mal said, chuckling slightly as Hadie rolled his eyes.
Ben chuckled as Mal leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"I think you missed," he said, a teasing tone coloring his voice.
"Oh did I now?" Mal teased back. "Well let me correct that your highness."
"TMI!" Hades and Hadie exclaimed. "Don't need to know!"
"Like how I didn't need to know what you and mom did to produce Hadie?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow.
She leaned forward once more but before she had a chance to connect her lips to his, her phone buzzed. Sighing, Mal leaned back and flipped it open; holding the cellular device to her ear.
"Just ignore it Mal!" Emma exclaimed.
Ben couldn't make out who was talking but Mal seemed to grow more and more tense with every word. It seemed to Ben that whoever was on the other line was in charge of the conversation as Mal was really only able to let out a few sounds of agreement before she grew silent once more. Finally Mal hung up and slid off the desk.
Benji glared at the scroll with such intensity, it was a wonder it didn't catch fire. "I should have taken the phone and fired her right then," he muttered.
"Sorry Ben," she said softly. "I gotta go."
"Everything okay?" Ben asked, getting up to at least walk her to the door.
"Yes! Prod, Ben!" Chip nodded. "Prod and get to the bottom of it!"
Lucas sighed. "Okay Teacup, it's okay."
"Have you interacted with your timeline's Natalie?"
"Yes…"
"And is she as bad as the scroll Natalie?"
"…yes…"
"Then clearly it's not okay."
Mal gave him a small, sad smile that Ben could tell didn't reach her eyes. "It's...it's fine Ben. Everything's fine."
"Liar," Harriet coughed.
As Ben walked her to the door, he reached over and took Mal's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze and earning a small smile in return.
"See you at dinner?" Ben asked, his voice soft.
"He has finally learned!" Akiho exclaimed with a smile. Sure the scroll was a downer but Ben learning how to take care of himself was something to celebrate!
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Mal promised before lifting up on her tiptoes and placing a gentle kiss on Ben's cheek.
"Aww," Sammy smiled.
That had been two weeks ago and ever since then, Natalie had been like a woman possessed with her schedule. Mal wasn't quite sure but she was almost positive that she'd had fourteen meetings or events throughout the past two days.
"What?" Ben and other AKs exclaimed in shock. Even the adult royals looked furious by that.
"Why's that bad?" Squirmy asked softly.
Benji sighed. "Fourteen meetings or events in two days means Mal in the scroll has barely had time to sleep," he explained.
Was this payback, for Leah's untimely demise? Mal wasn't going to lie and say she was all cut up about the geriatric bat's death but she knew Natalie had always spoken about Leah with a certain fondness.
"Yeah, she's the Bat reincarnated," Henry muttered.
"Can…can someone be reincarnated if the person's still alive?" Claudine asked.
That being said, it didn't excuse either one for being so nutty Mal was amazed squirrels didn't attack them for food.
"Can we steal that one?" Emir asked.
"Kinda thought you would anyway," Mal told him.
Aziz sighed. "One normal sibling. Was that too much to ask?"
"Hey! I'm normal!" Ashaki exclaimed.
"Sure you are Ash, sure you are," Alexandria chuckled.
Emir rolled his eyes. "Being normal is—."
"Vastly overrated. We know."
Though, now that Leah was no longer of this world, was it right to keep thinking of her in such a negative light? Speak no ill of the dead and all that?
Well think about it this way, Mal told herself. Leah would probably not stop thinking negative things about you if you died. Why grant her the courtesy that she wouldn't give to you?
"Go right ahead Mal! If anyone deserves to be spoken about negatively after their death, it's Leah," Hades said.
Unfortunately, Mal knew the answer was as plain as the nose on her face. By doing the same thing Leah would do, she was no better than the former waste of oxygen or her blonde cohort.
"Mal, you are one thousand times the person they could ever be," Benji said.
Besides, Ben never said anything negative about anyone and he seemed happier for it. If she didn't want to be an embarrassment to him, she should start following his example.
"Okay, for the final time, you could never be an embarrassment to me," Benji said as he looked at his wife. "And honestly you seem happier being true to yourself more so than I am keeping my true feelings in."
"Ben, you're incapable of trash talk though," Malinda shook her head.
"Oh so he's the same in every timeline?" Audie asked. "In one of the viewings we watched, Ben was asked to trash talk and he said he'd rather talk about his captor instead."
"…Captor?"
"I did mention that in my timeline, Ben got kidnapped on the Isle right?"
Harry shook his head. "Whoever stole Mal's boy has fewer brains than Gil."
"Hate to say it but he's right," Harriet nodded.
Okay we're reaffirming the notion that neither Uma nor Harry find out it was them in my timeline who captured Ben, Audie thought.
On top of that, the last thing she wanted was to make it look like she was influencing Ben's decision in some way. If anyone from The Gazelle overheard her trash talking someone and reported on it, Ben would more than likely have to comment on it seeing as they were dating. Which would mean he'd be taking a side.
"Mal, Ben knows what Leah was like as well as anyone," Chip said, shaking his head. "And last we checked, you don't have mind control."
"Might not have been the best thing to say," Ben said as Chad's face seemed to pale a bit.
"Oh…oh! Right," Chip nodded.
With how Ben was, he wanted to make sure everyone was happy—and if someone wasn't and it was because of something he did, he was usually devastated. As Emir had said once when Mal asked him about it, Ben basically attached his happiness on the happiness of others.
Belle sighed. "He's been like that since he was a child though. If others weren't happy, he wasn't happy," she said softly.
She sighed softly as she continued to make her way back to her dorm to drop off her stuff. Even as Natalie seemed to make it her mission to drive her round the bend with meetings, there was always time carved out for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
If Natalie had her way, Mal probably wouldn't have gotten meals, Benji thought. However there was no way Natalie would risk Mal passing out and her getting found out.
That's either Ben's doing or Natalie knows that someone would notice if I'm not eating. Though, I'm a VK after all. I've gone without the Auradon levels of food before and if I have to I'll do it again. It's better to not embarrass Ben—if I can do that, then that also ensures Ben's safety. Every time I mess up or blow up at reporters, there's a chance someone will remember who I am. A VK. Also known as a villain in their eyes. No one would want a villain dating the King, Mal thought as she placed her bag on her bed before heading over to her vanity to change out her contacts.
"Exactly!" Rowyn said. "If Mal faints from hunger, even someone like Natalie with her one brain cell would realize that Ben would be on her back before she could blink!"
"Also, I haven't read about any villains dating the King," Robin added. "Have you guys?"
"Nope."
The colored contacts had arrived a few days ago and, to her surprise, Evie hadn't said a word about receiving an email about them.
"I know, I know," Evie said, her voice soft as Uma leveled a glare in her direction. "I'll start asking more questions."
Mal hoped that merely meant that Evie had deleted the email without even opening it. The contacts were a pain to deal with at times and, after a highly stressful day, they dried out faster than Mal expected them to according to the reviews online.
Uma, Harry, and Jay sighed. They knew they couldn't blame Evie for not opening the email.
"If the contacts are a pain, why wear them?" Dizzy asked.
But if the only complaint she had was that she had to deal with some dry eyes, she'd live with it. She'd lived through worse on the Isle. Sixteen years worth of worse. The lessons about respect she'd been taught, the pinching and the prodding by the goblins, the kids trampled to death to get something decent in their bellies…
Hades shook his head slowly. "Mal, you need to stop thinking you've 'lived through worse'."
"Tell that to scroll me, dad," Mal said with a shrug.
No, don't think about that, she thought as she finished putting in her contacts. Don't think about the fact that you've left your crew on the Isle. Don't think about the fact that the food situation doesn't seem to have changed if the letters from Henry or Harriet are accurate. Don't think about the fact that the Isle's counting on you—and you're letting them down with every day you delay and every mistake you make. The sooner you become a proper Lady of the Court, the sooner you can start petitioning Ben to get actual food sent to the Isle.
"What?" Ben exclaimed. "Why has the Isle not gotten fresh shipments yet?"
Mal knew that Ben was trying but he was also trying to be King, be a student, be a boyfriend and fill the three empty spots in his council that came from kicking out Leah, Chi-Fu and Weasleton. If something had to give, at least it was something the kids of the Isle were used to.
Malinda shook her head. "Ben, don't feel guilty. Other work should have been handed to a regent if it needed to be prioritized."
She shoved that thought out of her head and quickly made her way out of her dorm. She'd be able to meet up with everyone in the cafeteria, just as it'd been for the past few months. After all, Jay and Carlos were often busy with training for R.O.A.R while Harry and Uma tried to get as much sparring in as they could.
"You bet we do!" Harry and Uma said with face splitting grins.
Sometimes they were accompanied by Akiho and Emir but the fact that the castle hadn't been destroyed meant that the accompaniments didn't happen all that often.
"Oh that wounds us!" Emir exclaimed.
"Really?" Aziz asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Hey, we've said it before, we like Auradon Prep!"
After all, Emir and Akiho had their own girlfriends who were often neglected by the two boys' shadowing of Ben. Though Mal was convinced that no matter what, the Agrabah and Arendelle princes would always shadow her boyfriend.
"Of course we will!" Emir nodded.
"Considering Ben refuses to use his own guards, we're more than happy to act in their stead," Akiho said. "Ben can't give us the day off. We don't work for him."
That was alright by her, it allowed some semblance of security especially as Ben insisted on giving his guards the day off whenever they would go somewhere or tried to get a date in.
"Yes!" Akiho cried. "Thank you! See? I'm not the only one who sees the problem!"
Meanwhile Evie was often off at the hospital with her dad or working with Doug to get her business off the ground. Yes, Evie was starting a business. Mal had honestly been shocked as well when she first heard it but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea.
Snow White softly bit her lip. "Just make sure you don't burn yourself out doing too much there Evie."
There was no one who had a better eye for fashion than Evie and considering she was making Mal's dress for Cotillion, that'd be an easy way to drum up business.
"You can also advertise that you made Mal's dress for Ben's coronation as well," Emma pointed out.
Plus Daniel would have hopefully instilled something of a work ethic in Evie before Maleficent abducted him when the blue haired girl was six.
"I strive to make him proud of me," Evie said with a small nod.
"He already is," Snow White told her.
If she wasn't working on her business or at the hospital, chances were that Evie was in the gym with Rose Fitzherbert. Evie had told Mal, after the craziness at Ben's coronation, that she had been interested in trying out for the cheer squad at Auradon Prep. In fact, she could do a round off and three backhand springs...whatever those were.
Rose shook her head. "Someone with your talent has to be on the team. I'll talk to Edmund when we get out of here and he can help you set up time with Cassie."
"Who's Edmund?" Evie asked.
"One of the guys on the team," Rose said. "He's Taran and Eilonwy's son."
But Audrey had been head cheerleader at the time and after the awkward meeting on their first day, Evie didn't think Audrey would let her on the squad.
"She probably wouldn't," Rose said as she glared at Audrey.
Mal was honestly just thankful no one was making her try out for cheerleading.
"Wait…weren't you at the Spirit Day tryouts?" Benji asked, looking at Malinda.
"Were those the tryouts where we all accidentally turned into dogs?"
"Yep."
"I was there for moral support for Evie. I was not trying out for myself."
There was only so much she could fake being cheery all the time.
"Then you don't have to be, Mal," Emma said. "Tell someone!"
And of course Ben was often occupied by meetings and paperwork, so much so that meals were the only time anyone saw him out of his 'official' role. Well scratch that. Mal and the others did but only because they were the only ones bold enough to actually stroll into his office while he was working.
Beast sighed and shook his head. "I'm lightening your work load Ben. You need more free time."
Any one who wasn't in their friend group, however, wasn't likely to see Ben out of his office.
"You know…that's a good point," Ruby said. "We should make it a point to see Ben more."
"Hey Mal," Uma smiled and Mal couldn't help but smile back as her cousin didn't comment on her eyes.
"I'll comment, just you wait," Uma muttered, shaking her head.
Mal had been worried that Uma might notice the change in shade but realized that had been an almost ridiculous fear. It was a difference of two shades. For someone not all that artistically inclined, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
"I should know the difference though! I've been around Mal since I was three," Uma muttered, shaking her head.
"Hey Uma. Get some good sword work in?"
"Of course! Harry and I tied, three to three. Would have gone longer but the R.O.A.R team came in and kicked us out."
Harry grinned at the thought of sparring with Uma but the grin dimmed slightly at the idea of the match getting cut short.
"Has anyone ever timed how long you guys can go?" Lucy asked.
"You were in there for three hours," Jay shook his head. "Besides we had the gym booked for that time. You know the rules, you can't start a spar when there's a spar already in progress."
"You're telling me that in a school that big, there's only one gym you could use?" Harry asked, shaking his head.
"That's a new rule for R.O.A.R practice," Ben said, looking up from his soup.
"We should make that a rule," Ben said.
"We don't usually have other people sparing in the gym though," Emir pointed out.
"Oh…right!"
"Jay insisted on it," Akiho chuckled as he walked up with Elle, making sure there was enough room for her to fit her chair in with the group before he sat down.
"It worked on the Isle, it'll work in Auradon," Jay said as Elle gave Akiho a grateful smile for including her.
"Yeah, he said something about how he'd grown up by that rule and it always worked for him," Emir nodded as he and Emma also sat down with the group. "It seems to have worked. At the very least, we have fewer injuries because of it."
"Exactly," Jay said with a nod.
"It's practice. You all shouldn't have any injuries," Emma sighed and Elle shook her head.
"Yeah, aren't the swords the R.O.A.R. team uses supposed to be blunted for a reason?" Jane asked.
"There are other ways to get injured," Emir said.
"That's…ominous."
"Speaking of practice, how was it Jay?" Mal asked. She'd asked him every time she saw him after practice in the hopes she'd hear if Lonnie finally tried out for the team. So far there'd been no word but Mal was sure she'd hear something soon. If not, she'd chase Jay down in her dragon form and take him on a magic dragon flight until he told her.
"As much fun as that sounds, I think your future husband would be jealous," Jay teased.
"Shut it Jay," Mal shook her head.
The logical side of her knew she could always just ask Lonnie but that side was often shouted down by the stressed out side of her. A side that was a lot more vocal these days, that was for sure.
Lonnie looked over and gave Mal a small smile. "Worry about yourself right now Mal but thanks for thinking of me."
"It was fine actually," Jay nodded. "Those two idiots skipped again but Conner and Will ducked out and dragged them back to practice."
"You two?" Ben asked, looking over at his best friends. "Really?"
"He made us spar by ourselves and then had the team point out our weaknesses for us to work on," Akiho griped.
"Sounds like Jay's a good fit for captain," Ben said.
Harry chuckled. "Using the same techniques I used on you huh?"
"You, Mal, and Uma were brutal," Jay shook his head.
"Yeah, everyone had to point out three things we needed to correct," Emir shook his head. "And I don't mean three things total but three things per person."
"With what, eleven people on the team, that's got to be thirty three things total!" Neal exclaimed.
"Good," Ben chuckled as Jay and Carlos rolled their eyes. "Honestly you two, I know we keep saying that you need to remember you have girlfriends but not at the expense of practice."
"How is it you're giving them lectures when you're not even on the team here?" Evan asked.
"Doesn't matter who the Captain is, we'll always see Ben as our Captain," Emir stated.
"Mainly because it means we get to ignore his stupid if not noble ass decision," Akiho added.
"I don't know, we kinda like it," Emma chuckled, giving Emir a kiss on the cheek.
Emir and Akiho flushed slightly.
"We'll…keep that in mind," Akiho said, smiling as he looked over at Elle.
"Just because you're the champ at living with an overloaded schedule, Ben, doesn't mean we all are," Akiho sighed. "Mom and dad started giving me a bit more 'official' responsibilities since I turned seventeen."
"We're not overloading you are we?" Kristoff asked. "You know you can always tell us if we are."
"Oh yeah! Aren't you officially of age at twenty one or something?"
"And that is the age we plan for Firefly to take the crown," Benji said. "I think Auradon's seen enough of teenaged Kings or Queens."
"Yep, that's how old Aunt Elsa and my mom were when they were coronated," Akiho nodded. "Meaning Arendelle officially thinks your family's insane for having you coronated at sixteen, Ben."
"Is coronated a word?" Hadie asked.
"Who knows?" Mal told him.
"Yeah well what else is new?" Ben chuckled before sobering up as he looked over at the Arendelle princeling. "Is everything okay though? With your mom I mean? She hasn't mentioned anything about making plans to step down."
"Is she okay?" Elsa asked with a small frown. She didn't want to think about anything happening to her sister.
"Mom's fine, so's dad," Akiho nodded, giving Ben a small smile. "Honestly I think they're just trying to make it so that if the need does arise and I take the crown, I'm ready to hit the ground running on day one. After all, dad needed an adjustment period since he was basically dropped into the world of royals and magic snowmen after living with rock trolls."
Benji shook his head. "Believe me Akiho. You can have all the training in the world and it's still an adjustment when the day comes for you to rule."
"Your dad got lucky you were born a guy," Emir chuckled.
"Hey! I love my kid and I'd love him even if he was born a girl!" Kristoff exclaimed.
"I mean, he'd love you if you were a girl, everyone knows that. But your family's got that tradition where the first born girl gets ice powers after all."
"Oh…that…yeah I won't lie, I'm a little grateful I didn't get a magical toddler."
"I would have been happy to help out had that been the case," Elsa told him.
"Aunt Elsa would definitely be around a lot more than just every Friday for family game night if that was the case," Akiho nodded.
Anna chuckled. "You don't remember it Akiho but she was over almost every day for about the first couple of years after you were born."
"She was?" Akiho asked
"Of course I was!" Elsa said. "My little sister had given birth to my amazing, if not slightly odd nephew and was running the kingdom and was still helping her husband adjust to royal life? A person can only juggle so much and I was there to help. So was Olaf apparently."
"Are you still on about that?" Anna sighed.
"I was available!"
Mal smiled and began to eat her dinner, content to just listen while everyone else talked. She wasn't going to lie, with all the meetings and everything Natalie had her doing, she was exhausted. Never mind the fact that she only got thirty minutes of magic practice in that week!
Ben and Benji both frowned at the fact that neither scroll-him or anyone else was noticing how tired Mal was.
Natalie liked to say that since Mal hadn't mastered the art of punctuality that her meetings needed to run over so that they'd get the full effect and not feel rushed. However, that just meant that the meetings after that would run over into each other, causing a domino effect until they ended up running into the hours blocked off for her magic practice.
"Or maybe if you actually gave her time to breathe in between meetings, she could plan to be on time for them!" Macaria growled.
Thirty minutes isn't enough time, Mal thought with a small sigh as Hadie waved at them as he sat down with Alexandria. Mal couldn't help but smile at the sight, happy to see that her brother had begun to branch out and felt comfortable enough to eat away from the group.
"Then say something to me Mal," Ben said.
"The sunspot's right," Hades nodded. "This is starting to put your health at risk."
Plus, Alexandria Charming was a good girl and Mal knew her older sisters Kitty and Lucy would keep an eagle eye out for any trouble to come to the youngest Charming.
Kitty nodded. "Of course we would always keep an eye out for our little sister! What kind of siblings would we be if we didn't?"
As would Chad, as surprising as that sounded considering trouble usually consisted of Audrey. Not to mention that Harry, Jay, and Uma would keep a close watch on Hadie.
Chad winced and looked down, ashamed that there could be any doubt that he'd look after his sisters.
Biting her lip slightly, Mal got up from the table and slipped out of the cafeteria as an idea seemed to hatch in her mind.
"Malinda, you'd better not be doing what I think you're doing," Persephone said as she looked over at the older version of her daughter.
Malinda sighed. "Sorry mom…"
This would be just a one time thing, she told herself as she ducked into an unused classroom. But if I don't practice magic, I'm going to have more and more flare ups. All it would take would be someone to take a picture at the right moment and then everyone's talking about whether or not I'm a danger to be around.
Persephone sighed. She could understand her daughter's reasoning there, after all she did need to practice her magic. But she also needed to eat!
Besides, it's not like I'm using magic behind Ben's back or something, or worse trying to use magic to fake my way through becoming a perfect Lady of the Court. I'm pretty sure mom would kill me if I did that, she thought as she rubbed her hands together as if to warm them up. He blocked out the hours for me to use in order to practice my magic. It just so happens Natalie is certifiable and thinks my magic hours are a waste of time.
"Well they're not," Ben said, shaking his head. "They're there for your safety and the safety of our fellow classmates. And if she thinks they're a waste of time then she can talk to me instead of doing this skullduggery and making it so that you have to skip meals to get any magic practice in!"
It wasn't as if meals were all that relaxing anymore either. Ever since Natalie gave her a copy of A Lady's Manners, Mal was oddly attuned to everything she did now.
"Burn. It." Benji said. "No book but especially not that one takes priority over you eating."
Especially the rule about how a Lady didn't talk too loudly or draw unnecessary attention to her table. That was really all the VKs did, considering how they ate with reckless abandon as if they were worried the food was going to be snatched from them.
"Why wouldn't we?" Henry asked. "You don't eat fast if you're not around allies, you don't eat."
"It's been well established that apparently that's not a thing in Auradon," Carlos said softly.
Evie was really the only one who ate with any 'manners' considering she'd been raised since birth to be a princess. But even she ate rather quickly, even if it was slower than the rest of them.
"My mother wouldn't have anything less," Evie said softly as she looked over at Mal. "But you're not me, Mal."
Sure, the AKs had grown used to it but Mal knew most of them still judged the VKs on it. Plus Ben had told her that there was going to be a tour of the kingdom soon! If the Auradon kids judged them on their manners, Mal knew the adult royals were definitely going to do so!
"If we judge a teenager who's learning then there's something wrong with us," Eric said firmly.
Hence why Mal was currently in an unused classroom practicing her magic instead of enjoying dinner. Because dinner wasn't something she could enjoy if she was constantly aware of everything she was doing wrong. If she was aware of every little thing that could embarrass Ben.
"Mal, you're doing nothing wrong," Benji said, his voice gentle as he rubbed his wife's back.
I didn't even know you couldn't cut pasta with a knife until I read that! Gods, that first dinner with Belle and Beast after Ben's coronation…they probably didn't say anything because mom was there since it was her last night before heading back to the Isle, Mal thought. Beast was probably the one who put the bug in Ben's ear that I needed a handler in the first place! So I don't embarrass Auradon, or embarrass Ben!
Beast shook his head. "While I won't lie and say having someone around to help the VKs adjust to life in Auradon might not be a bad idea, I would never recommend someone have a handler if they didn't want one. Belle never had one after all."
Oh, it wasn't as if Ben would care—like Emir and Akiho liked to joke, there was a debate about whether or not Ben was human anyway considering how good he was.
"Keep thinking that," Benji said. He didn't mind the joke if it helped Mal realize that he wouldn't care about that stuff.
But Mal would care. Besides, she was the daughter of Lady Persephone and Lord Hades. She wanted to prove that just because she was a VK, she could still be taken seriously in the royal sphere.
Mal and Malinda both winced slightly.
"But…you are taken seriously Mal," Elle said. "You're a Godling after all."
She just wished she could do that without having to deal with all those rules.
"If you can't make something without rules, then you make your own rules," Harriet said. "After all, our crew has rules that differ from the rules of the Isle and yet it still works."
I mean seriously, who eats a banana with a fork and knife? If it wasn't for the fact that her mom would sometimes bring close to overripe bananas over when she came back from Auradon, Mal would have assumed bananas were just the blackened peel they got as snacks when they were kids.
Persephone sighed softly. "I'm glad I could help somewhat Mal."
Mal shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. Thinking about her mom was painful at times—she missed talking to her through the mind link.
Malinda bit her lip. She didn't want to say out loud how much she had started to want her mom at that point.
But not only would it just hurt her mom if Mal told her what was going on, there was a small part of her that felt as if telling anyone would be like letting Natalie win.
"Mal, let her win if it means you keep your health and happiness!" Persephone said, an almost begging note to her voice.
She spent six years living solely with Maleficent, dealing with her brainwashing and the pinching and prodding of the goblins. Even after she moved into her dad's home, Mal still dealt with the Dragon once a week. If she could deal with Maleficent for sixteen years and come out stronger for it, she could deal with Natalie.
"But you shouldn't have to Mal!" Audie said. "As has been said, everyone has a breaking point and that's okay."
At least your breaking point didn't involve theft and possibly cursing people, she thought.
Besides, once she was Ben's Lady of the Court, maybe she could put in a new request for a different handler if one was truly needed?
"You could request it before Cotillion! Ben would give you the world if you wanted it," Chip said, shaking his head.
Maybe one without a connection to Leah? Maybe Athena? After all she was the Goddess of Wisdom and Creativity. If anyone would know how to present themselves to a bunch of royals, it'd be her cousin.
Mal tilted her head. "I mean…Athena also has a sword so it's not like she'd be a bad fit."
"Remind me Poseidon, are you still holding that grudge against Athena?" Hades asked.
"Not as much since Triton married a woman of the same name and you're not one to talk about grudges Hades."
Plus Mal was the daughter of one of the Big Three. She'd need to know how to navigate Olympus at some point.
Mal wrinkled her nose and looked over at her older self. "Do we?"
"We're High Queen, we need to be able to navigate anywhere."
"Just get through Cotillion first," she told herself as she brought up a fireball. It was important to start small after all, just like her dad had taught her all those years ago. "One thing at a time. If we can get through this without any major incidents or accidents, then we can see about asking Ben for a new handler."
Benji shook his head. "Mal I'd've taken care of it that day. You just needed to tell me."
She could handle having Natalie for a couple more months. Right?
"But you shouldn't have to handle having Natalie for a couple more months!" Lonnie exclaimed.
Malinda sighed. "I was stubborn and prideful. A dangerous combination."
"Who wants to read next?" Li'l Shang asked.
"I'll read," Rachel told him.