"Water polo!" Someone in her dream announced before the dream had even begun. Audrey made to clap her hands over her ears before the scene materialized and she almost groaned when she was able to make out Chad and Herkie pumping their fists while they dashed towards the pool in Chad's home, shirtless. There was some sort of loud house party going on. Dozens of boys and girls in swimsuits and loungewear were milling about as a bunch of grown men whooped and joined Chad in rushing for the pool. Audrey looked around for Ben, spotted him, and then walked over to ask if he was going to play before she spotted the head of vibrant hair beside him and hissed. Verbally. She blinked in surprise as people around her raised their eyebrows and looked at her.

Holy crap, she could move.

She could beat that little purple-haired predator into a pastel pulp.

As if her dreams were now anticipating her and wanted to keep her in check, Audrey now discovered that she couldn't move freely. Someone else was controlling her body.

And she'd been about ready to rip off her shoe and beat the witch with it.

She wandered over, still, in a group of other women as Ben made to leave with the other boys with a smile, paused, and then turned back to Mal. "Hey," she heard him whisper, "are you alright?"

Mal nodded, though she leaned forward and balled a fist up in his shirt like she was desperate for something steady to hold onto. "I'm fine," she assured him. Her voice was soft and terse.

"You're ready to go," Ben read her face and then cupped her cheek in his hands. "That's okay! We can go home now if you want."

Mal frowned and glanced over his shoulder. "But… Ben, they're playing polo. You love polo. You used to play it all the time in high school."

He did love polo. Audrey sniffed. He liked swimming as a whole and it was clear he'd been doing it too, judging from his wet hair swimsuit. He was wearing a swim shirt, which was unfortunate, but still looked delightsome.

Ben shook his head, though Audrey could see a bit of a wish behind his eyes. "I'll play another time," he whispered. "I want you to be happy, Mal. I know these things aren't your scene. And to be honest, I'd rather be with you. If you want, we can go home now and spend the rest of the evening locked up with a movie or in your studio…"

But Mal's face hardened and she brought on this smile and excitement that was so fake it was also cheap and plastic. "Actually, I'm going to go down to the bar and see if they can put some rum in a strawberry smoothie for me," she laughed. "And I still need to talk to Lonnie and ask how Jay is. Do you want me to bring you anything?"

"No, I'm not thirsty," Ben laughed, eyes trailing over her. "But… are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Mal bit out some broken laughter. "Go on! Go have fun!" She brushed off his shoulders and kissed his cheek. "You never get to hang out with your friends, Ben. The last time you hung out with anyone outside of a palace function or our family was months ago."

"I don't want to leave you alone," Ben frowned.

"I won't be alone," Mal shook her head. "I'm going to go find Lonnie. Okay?"

"Ben!" Chad shouted from the pool, raising an arm to signal him over. "You coming?"

"See?" Mal gave him a little shove. "They're waiting for you. I'll be back in a minute to cheer you on."

Ben exhaled and brushed his hair back. He raised a hand to Chad. "Yeah!" he called. "I'm coming!" Then, before Mal could walk away, he captured her hip and kissed her cheek. "Come get me if you want to go," he mumbled. Then, he pulled himself away from her side and went over to jump into the pool. Mal gave a little laugh and shielded herself from the water flying everywhere before she turned and wandered away.

She started to head to the bar. Audrey wanted to corner her, push her up against a wall and chew her out for having anything to do with Ben. She resisted, though, as someone else called for Mal. From a tiny cushioned area underneath a gazebo, Ally of Wonderland had a hand outstretched. Audrey watched Mal sigh before she begrudgingly changed paths. What a brat. She didn't even want to talk to anyone.

"There she is!" Jordan laughed as she leaned back into the cushions of an orange lounge chair. "So, her majesty finally steps down from the clouds to dwell with us common folk."

"Come! Sit!" Ruby exclaimed, gesturing to the middle seat in between Anxelin and Tiger Peony. "We were just talking about Chad and Gil. Who do you think looks better? Because I definitely think Chad's hair is much nicer than Gil's, but Gil's muscles are just-" She made a sigh and fell back into the cushions like she was melting.

Mal grimaced but then forced a smile like she was only minorly annoyed. "I think they're both airheads," she joked. "What are my other options?"

"Well, it's easy to have such high standards when you're with Ben," Audrey found herself saying with a bit of a teasing tone in her voice that made her head pound. Goodness, was her mind turning against her? She wanted to claw her hair out and gouge out her own eyes!

Mal chuckled weakly as all the girls exploded into moans and deep sighs. It was, Audrey thought, quite clear she wasn't wanting to share secrets of her husband with anyone there.

Ruby gestured again to the seat, but Mal made a gesture towards the inside to indicate she was going to move on. "I was, uh, actually going to go get a drink from the bar," she coughed.

Audrey wrinkled her nose. "But you're a lady," she reprimanded. "You shouldn't be drinking. Especially not at something like this. Who's going to get Ben home if he decides to drink with the boys afterward?"

"Ben doesn't usually-"

"Maybe he doesn't usually because you do usually."

Mal shut her mouth, frowning and looking like she wanted to argue but also didn't want to fight at the moment. "Here," Jordan snorted. "I can conjure some tamar hindi? It's super good. My dad and I drink it all the time." She snapped her fingers and some sort of red punch with some sort of nut garnish floating at the top of the drink appeared. Everyone leaned forward in excitement, even Audrey, and Ruby passed a mournful Mal a glass.

Good. The brat deserved to be disappointed.

"Okay, Mal," Ruby began, flipping through her phone notes. "Before you came over, we were talking about annoying habits our boyfriends all have. What are Ben's?"

"Ben's not my boyfriend," Mal began and Audrey felt fire explode inside her nostrils. "We've been married for seven years."

"Seven years already?" Ally exclaimed. "My, it only feels like one or two! I remember being shocked when he even got around to proposing."

Audrey would have smirked if her body would have allowed it. As it was, she only found herself nodding along as she took a drink of Jordan's conjured treat. Leave it to Ally to say something honest, whimsical, and insensitive.

Mal nodded along, looking like she was wanting to shoot herself in the foot.

"So," Ruby returned the conversation to where it had been previously heading. "Annoying habits?"

Mal shrugged. The ghost of a smile flit past her lips. "He gets all huffy if I wear my socks in our bed," she finally admitted. "Because he hates the feel of socks on sheets and therefore finds it despicable if I keep them on."

"Well, we were talking about things like leaving the toilet seat up or leaving his coat on the furniture when he comes home from work or not hanging the towels up to dry properly," Jordan interrupted. "Does he do any of those? I feel like he'd do the coat thing. That sounds like a Ben thing."

"I do that," Mal deadpanned. "I leave my jackets and shirts everywhere and he kinda just rolls his eyes and picks up after me."

"Your shirts?" Audrey repeated, sounding as scandalized as she felt.

"I think you're implying a bit much, Mal," Anxelin giggled.

"You shouldn't be talking about things like that," Audrey reprimanded, enjoying the way Mal's shoulders slumped in exhaustion.

"I wasn't trying to imply…" Mal sighed and curled her lips. "I usually take off my outer shirt when I'm painting or when I get out of meetings. I'm not, like, naked. I can still answer the door."

"Why don't you just stay presentable?" Audrey wrinkled her nose.

"Ben doesn't care – I don't see why you all think you can reprimand me," Mal snapped finally, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Jeesh, we're just asking," Jordan snorted.

"Yes, it's not exactly how we imagined the Queen of Auradon would behave," Ally chirped. "Back when Ben was dating Audrey, their biggest problem was deciding whether or not to be spotted publicly or not."

"Can we change the subject?" Mal sighed, pinching herself even harder.

"We were talking about being surprised when Ben proposed," Ally exclaimed. "I couldn't believe he would pick someone so… far out of his circles."

"You're a good match, though," Ruby hummed, turning off her phone. "The press loves to comment on how well you balance each other out."

At this statement, Mal's face relaxed a little bit while Audrey had to refrain from hissing at Ruby. "Yes," she agreed. "He's my other half."

"Are you two planning on starting a family soon?" Ruby asked. "Everyone's been asking for the last few years."

Audrey choked on her drink, but no one else noticed. Mal's face had twisted into the most "I-am-so-done-and-over-this" expression she'd ever seen. "No," she replied flatly. "We're not."

"I can't believe it hasn't already happened," Ally said, holding her glass up to the light to examine it. "I mean, Ben being who he is, I thought he would have convinced you by now."

"Convinced me?" Mal repeated.

Now, the subject wasn't exactly something that made Audrey's heart sing. She didn't want to picture Ben with anyone else, much less married for seven years and considering a family path. But it didn't make it any less glorious to watch Mal's face turn green and puce and the awful color of old porridge all at the same time.

"Well, it's rather selfish of you, isn't it?" Ally asked, setting her drink in between her legs as she began to babble. "Everyone's always known that Ben loves small children in the courts. We all figured it would be natural for you to have a small bunch for him, and it's already been several years."

"Ben and I think we're still a bit young," Mal declared flatly. But this statement didn't faze Ally at all.

"Yes, that sounds like something he'd say," she agreed with a nod. "He's very good at making compromises. Still, you're the Queen and if you weren't as young as you both are and with all the history between you two and the kingdom, you'd probably be considered a failure for not giving him a child of his own as of yet."

Audrey's face was neutral and impassive as she exchanged looks with the other girls. Ally had never had any social tact, and as her vocabulary expanded she'd only become more brutal. Inwardly, though, she was cackling to watch Mal shove her hands into her pockets, bite her cheek, and fix her gaze on the ground. Oh, it felt so good to watch her be in pain, even if she couldn't force her mouth to back up anything Ally was saying.

And the girl kept going! Audrey laughed inwardly as new words sprang forth in the absence of conversation: "I'm just saying that you really should reconsider things with Ben before he gets all heartbroken with waiting and-"

"What on earth are you saying to her?" Someone interrupted behind them.

And just like that, Audrey's inward excitement died. The group all turned as one to see Ben standing behind them, a half-wet towel slung across his shoulders as water dripped from his forehead and he examined them all with an unreadable expression.

"Hello Ben," Ally greeted, utterly unaware of the chaos she'd caused and the anger brewing in Ben's expression. "We were talking about how Mal hasn't had any children yet."

"We," Ben corrected firmly. "This isn't the stone ages, Ally. Children aren't just a woman's responsibility."

"Yes, but in any other kingdom or with any other heroes, people would be getting a bit worried," Ally looked up, laughing a little as if she were trying to explain a simple concept to someone who wasn't understanding it. "It's understandable if you're still waiting for her to come to terms with things, but-"

"Please stop talking," Ben cut her off. Ally blinked, glanced around at everyone's faces, and then became very silently confused. Ben reached over Audrey, dripping water down her back, across Tiger Peony, who hadn't spoken at all, and grabbed Mal's hand. "Get up," he commanded, pulling her to her feet. "We're leaving. I shouldn't have believed you."

Mal's shoulders slumped in relief as she practically tumbled into his protective grasp. A beast curled in Audrey's belly. She knew exactly what it was like to be there. "Are you sure?" Mal mumbled. "Is the game over? You can-"

"We're leaving," Ben cut her off too. "None of this would have happened if we'd just left in the first place."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and she did the same, completely ignoring how wet he was. Audrey would have at least made sure he was covered with his towel. Boys from the pool called for Ben, but he waved them off as he escorted Mal away as quickly as possible.

"Just your usual?" Ben asked as he pulled out a chair for her in the parlor of the on-campus café.

"That'd be nice," Audrey forced a smile. Her eyes were burning from the intense heat. She'd woken up from her nightmares at three in the morning, called Ben to rant a little to him, and when he'd gone back to sleep she'd stayed up until the sunrise.

Ben disappeared into the line while Audrey glanced at her phone. A message appeared from Chad – did she have the time to help him with his math homework? She clenched her teeth – It was so frustrating to have to talk to him normally when he had thrown that party in her dream and then pulled Ben away from Mal.

Overall though, it had been a better dream. She'd watched Ally utterly demolish Mal. And it was true, most of what she'd said. A queen on the high throne of Auradon for seven years without a child? Insane. Maybe Mal was broken. Maybe she was unstable. Either way, she was a freak.

Ben set down a glass bowl of ice cream in front of her while he set down his sundae. He glanced over to where the condiments were on the wall. "Syrup?" he asked. "I know you like the-"

"I don't think I can stand any strawberries right now," Audrey hissed.

Ben stared at her. He was exhausted because she'd woken him up when she'd called and lately had been listening to her nightmares with less and less focus. There were only so many times he could repeat "They're not real" before he became a broken record.

Slowly, he sat down and picked up his spoon while Audrey glared at her phone, trying to script out a message to Chad. "So, how has your day been?" Ben asked, setting his phone out of the way.

"Long," Audrey groaned. "I couldn't fall back asleep so I stayed awake until my alarm went off. I almost fell asleep in history."

"You almost always fall asleep in history."

"I do not! Ugh." Audrey pressed her fingertips to her forehead and took a large bite of ice cream, even though she knew it'd give her a headache. "I just wish this would all just… stop."

"You know, you don't have to let it bother you so much," Ben sighed, shrugging as he speared a slice of banana. "It's not like I loathe all cheerleaders when I hear boys in the locker rooms talking about you guys after tourney practice."

"What are you saying?" Audrey demanded, squinting at him.

"I'm saying that this… avoiding everyone and everything on certain days is… taxing. And childish." Ben frowned as he looked up to meet her eyes. "I mean you haven't touched purple in three weeks. Three weeks. You haven't even set your elbow on that square on the table because it's purple and for some reason you now hate purple."

Audrey looked down at the table and glared at the tacky, colorful square. "I know," she grumbled, setting her napkin over it. "I just… I get so insecure and jealous-"

"That was a cute excuse before, but don't you think you should have a little more trust in me now?" Ben demanded. "It's not like this is our second month, Audrey. We've been dating for seven months. And five of those months you've been pissed off by some dream girl who doesn't even exist." He put his fork down. "When is this going to end?"

"I don't know why she keeps appearing in my dreams, Ben. Believe me, I-"

"That's irrelevant," Ben cut her off. "When are you going to stop freaking out about it like… like… a middle schooler? Goodness, Audrey, you don't have to be so dramatic."

"Dramatic?" Audrey repeated, voice rising to a deadly tone. People glanced over and Ben's frown grew deeper.

"Hush," he commanded. "Yes. Dramatic. Need I remind you that you're ignoring fourteen percent of the color wheel? The problem isn't the dreams. It's the fact you go off into the deep end every time you have them. I just… need you to have a little more self-control."

"Self-control?" Audrey repeated. "I'm not the one going off in the deep end for some short, stubborn-"

"She doesn't exist," Ben interrupted. "Can you get that through your head? You invented a girl to be mad at, and now you're getting mad at me for dating her." He shook his head and then gathered up his bowl and silverware. "Listen, I need a break. From this. From the-" he shook his hand around his head. "I'll text you later. Have a nice rest of your classes."

And he left. Without a backward look or a sign of regret or anything.

And somehow that made everything all the worse.

"The speed limit is forty-five," Mal murmured as she watched the scenery pass outside. Audrey was looking between them from the backseat, though she no longer had a body and was instead fuming with her eyes burning as she watched Ben nod, ease on the brakes, and then reach over to take Mal's hand around the clutch of the car. They were coming up on a small town. The radio was off, the blowers were heating their feet, and the windows were down to let in the smell of the night and the sounds of the tires on the pavement while crickets protested their arrival.

"Is it left or right?" Ben mumbled as the speed limit dipped again and he had to release Mal's hand to go around a bend.

"It's straight ahead, but it'll be on your right," Mal told him. "You'll see it soon."

The road straightened out again and Audrey realized almost immediately what they were searching for. A drive-through fast-food chain restaurant was up ahead, with the parking lot half full of trailers, mobile homes, and one very long bus. Inside, children scrambled through the plastic tubes of the playground, laughing and screeching though the noise couldn't be heard through the glass.

Audrey hated fast food. The closest she'd do was the cafeteria food at school, but even then there were limits. Pizza was a disgrace. So were most chicken items. Don't even get her started on the hot dogs.

Ben pulled into the drive-through and watched a large family lead their seven-or-so children out of the restaurant. The youngest were carried in their arms or led by the hand while the oldest rushed ahead to the car, fighting over handles and who got there first while the white cords of earbuds dangled over their shirts. Mal opened her phone while the intercom buzzed and Ben placed an order for two small coffees, a lemonade, and a strawberry smoothie. Then, he turned back to Mal. "That right?" he asked.

Mal smiled. "Yes, thank you," she replied.

They pulled forward. It irked Audrey to no end how Ben knew all of Mal's orders here the same way he knew her orders in real life. Couldn't her dreams spare her perfectly-stable relationship?

"Listen to this," Mal chuckled. "Chaos in the Royal Palace as King Ben's Affair comes to light."

"Oh, who am I sleeping with now?" Ben rolled his eyes. "Evie?"

"No, just one of the maids," Mal replied, rolling her eyes as she flicked past the article. "It's because you're jealous of my affair with Harry and Jay. The problem is that she's underage, so now you're being investigated."

"That's a pretty deep claim," Ben snorted. "I wonder if our publicist will have anything to say about it."

"Does our publicist do anything besides tell me not to swear on live television?" Mal snorted. Audrey stared in horror. A lady swearing?

"You would be surprised," Ben rolled his eyes and then their conversation paused as he exchanged his card with the half-asleep lady at the window before passing the lemonade and smoothie to Mal and placing the coffees into the cupholders. She leaned back. On the floor in front of where Audrey's feet would have been, there was a cupholder that she used to stow away the second drinks.

Ben took her hand again as they drove away. "I'm glad we can make jokes about stupid articles," he said. "Thanks for not getting all… hissy or anything."

"There's not much point." Mal squeezed his hand tighter. "I know you."

Ben smiled. His eyes flicked off the road to climb up her body like he was trying to leave handprints with his eyes.

"The speed limit is forty-five," Mal reminded him.

Dontthinkaboutthegirl, dontthinkaboutthegirl, dontthinkaboutthegirl.

Ben sighed into her neck, keeping his eyes closed as Audrey pet his hair lightly. She was still wearing his away game jersey. He was dressed in a t-shirt that was soft against her skin as he laid beside her and with a heat pad on his neck. He'd landed on his back today during the tourney match and now his neck was sore.

Dontthinkaboutthegirl, dontthinkaboutthegirl, dontthinkaboutthegirl.

"Audrey?" Ben mumbled.

"Hmm?" She asked, still her hand in his hair.

"Thanks for supporting me. It means a lot."

"Of course, Ben. You know I'll always support you."

There was a long silence then. Ben shifted his weight to sink further into the couch. Audrey was about to go back to repeating her mantra when he broke the silence again. "Audrey?" He asked.

"Hmm?" She asked.

"You realize I'll be sixteen in two months?"

"Yeah," she laughed. "Exciting."

There was another brief pause before Ben opened his eyes. "They're going to have me coronated almost two months after. I'll technically still be able to make my first proclamations, but the coronation is just for the crown."

She knew all this. He knew she knew all this. He was nervous about something – that's why he was telling her.

"What's up?" She asked.

Ben sat up on his elbows and avoided her gaze. "Just…" he trailed off, opened his mouth to try again, and then closed it. "I just really like having your support on things," he said finally. "And I'd like it if you could… keep it up. Y'know?"

Audrey took his hands. "I'll be at the coronation," she smiled softly. "I'll be right there when that crown goes down, Benny-Boo. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

She missed the look that passed Ben's face as he laid back down but caught the "Thank you," that he whispered in her ear. They continued lying there, quiet and steady.

Dontthinkaboutthegirl, don'tthinkaboutthegirl, dontthinkaboutthegirl.

Mal was hiding on the edges of a party. Audrey sneered at her as hate boiled in her gut. Mal stepped back as a girl with two men on either arm crossed her path, giggling with both. God, where had public decency even gone?

Audrey spotted Ben, separate from Mal for once, nodding along to two other men who were discussing sewage systems in Dun Broch. One put a hand on his shoulder to ask him a question and Ben took a deep breath. Frustrated. He was frustrated with the conversation. She should go to rescue him.

But her feet wouldn't move.

"You see, your majesty," One man said to Ben as they began to meander towards the refreshment table, "We would need an additional grant of about forty-hundred Auradonian Dollars to make the changes."

"I'm sure we can reach some sort of agreement," Ben assured him, sounding like he'd repeated the phrase at least a half-dozen times. "Unfortunately, I'm not in office now and cannot help you-"

"Well, we could head up now if that's the issue!" The second man, who was quite a bit shorter but with a much deeper voice than Ben, exclaimed. "We wouldn't want this to get swept under the rug."

Ben spotted Mal, who was gazing across the room to where a blue-haired woman who was probably the most beautiful person Audrey had ever seen was dancing with a sandy-haired man. He paused, taking her in, and ignoring as the first man continued to speak beside him. "Absolutely!" He agreed. "We should head up right now. Your Majesty, do you have the keys to your-"

"Mal!" Ben interrupted the two, stepping away from in between them and towards her. He took her arm and pulled her closer to him before stepping around him as if he expected her to protect him from the men still badgering for his attention. "You like this song, don't you?" He asked. "Would you care to dance?"

Mal opened her mouth to respond, but the first man immediately began to talk. "Your Majesty, we were wondering if-"

"Gentlemen, I apologize, but I'm not in office right now. If you want to come by Monday morning, we can discuss everything. Now, if you'll excuse us, this is one of my favorite songs…" He pushed Mal around them, onto the floor where they took up a dancing position.

Mal smirked at him as he let out a deep breath. "Someone's tense," she teased.

"Sorry," Ben grumbled. "They just… wouldn't stop talking about sewage and…" he shook his head. "I know you like to do your hiding thing but I just couldn't take it anymore."

"That's okay," Mal assured him. "I like the dancing-with-you thing too."

"Ah," Ben snorted. "You mean you like the part where I waltz you out into the gardens and we sneak back to our room together."

"The door is there," Mal nodded behind his shoulder. Her hand tightened on his arm. "Unless you want to stay and dance? I'm okay to stay."

Ben hummed and rolled his eyes. "Just this song," he whispered in her ear. "It really is one of my favorites."

"Let's talk for a moment," Ben hummed into her ear as they laid back on a hammock in her family's garden together. Audrey hummed and watched birds flit back and forth in the trees up above.

"Yeah?" She murmured and relished in the feeling of his hand sliding through her hair. She hadn't curled it today, so it was one of the few days he was allowed to touch it.

"Prom is in a few weeks, and I know we're going," Ben began. "Let's say you had a say in a prom gift for yourself. What would you want?"

Audrey smiled and reached up to run her fingertips down his cheek. It was an action she'd seem him react fondly enough to in her dreams, but he wrinkled his nose here. "Hmm," she hummed. "Would it be… too much to ask for a ring?"

Ben withdrew from her, looked shocked. "An engagement ring?" He asked. "Yes, too much. We're coming up on eight months of dating and I still have a few weeks till I'm sixteen."

"No, not an engagement ring," Audrey blushed, shaking her head. "But… maybe a promise ring? Is that better?"

Ben still frowned. "I don't think so, Audrey," he shook his head. "I don't want to make promises while we're both so young. We don't know what will happen."

Audrey's heart sank. "You don't think we'll work?" she despaired. Her thoughts immediately turned to the purple princess. "Is it because you met someone else?"

"Gods, Audrey!" Ben snapped, letting her go and swinging his legs off the hammock. "I'm not cheating on you! And for Christ's sake, you think you're being subtle about hating everything around you and you're not!"

"Well, you just said-" Audrey sputtered.

"I said I didn't want to make promises when I have no way of knowing what'll happen!" Ben cut her off. "I like you, Audrey. I do! But we're sixteen! I'm not on the throne yet – I have no idea what'll it'll be like to balance this relationship and work. What if you meet someone else? What if we fall out of love? We're teenagers – first loves almost never work out perfectly."

Audrey pinched her lips together and nodded with a sigh. She patted the spot beside her and Ben sat back down. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Ben shrugged. "I'll look into something I think you'll like," he whispered. "And Audrey?"

"Hmm?"

"I meant what I said. You think you're being subtle but every single time you have one of those dreams, it's pretty painfully obvious."

She doesn't say anything. Not a single word.

Three weeks later, Ben turned sixteen and prom happened that following weekend. He became the official, yet un-coronated King of Auradon. She was escorted to prom by the King of Auradon. People took photos. Press tried to tag along. Audrey was in heaven.

Ben became very annoyed. "I wish they'd leave us alone," He mumbled as a bright flash appears through the crowd of students. Audrey turned so that they could better photograph her in her dress if they wanted.

They snuck out the back when it became too much for him, but Audrey kept on trying to convince him to go back. She liked the party – like the photographers who kept asking what it was like to be the King's girlfriend.

"You'll get used to it," she tried to console him. "It'll get easier."

Ben hummed quietly and scuffed his shoes against the ground. Audrey wrinkled her nose. "They just want to know what my first proclamation will be," he mumbled. "Everyone thinks I'm too soft to do anything good."

"That's not true," Audrey shook her head. That seemed to encourage him. "You're going to do lots of important things. I know it. You're going to help a lot of people."

Ben hummed and put an arm around her shoulder. "Listen, Audrey," he sighed and then pressed his fingertips to his brow. "I've come up with a proclamation. It's all written out and dictated and everything. I just haven't shown my parents yet."

"Nervous?" Audrey teased. Ben nodded. "You know they'll support you no matter what, right? So will I."

"I want to make changes to the Isle of the Lost," Ben admitted. Audrey stumbled in her path and stared at him. The Isle of the Lost was where all the villains were. She didn't think about the place too often, to be honest.

"Oh, okay," She laughed a little. "You're not planning on letting all the villains out, right?"

Ben laughed. "No, no," he agreed. "But, uh, I was going to let their children come over."

"What?" Audrey demanded, staring at him. "Why?"

"Because…" Ben clapped his hands together and took a deep breath. "Because they deserve a shot at a normal life. And they haven't done anything wrong."

Audrey's hands shook with rage. She had to take several deep breaths to calm herself down. "I don't think that's a good idea, Ben. They're going to be just like their parents."

"I believe in them, Audrey," Ben said simply. "I need you to believe too." He curled his hands a little. "I've been having… dreams about the Isle of the Lost. I think this needs to happen. Can you support me in this?"

What? No. Of course not. But Audrey forced a plastic, brittle smile and curled her hands around his elbow again. "I trust you," she mumbled. "I know you'll keep Auradon safe."

The last dream was probably the most surreal out of all of them. Audrey was walking down a long dirt road, surrounded by fog, stumbling over occasional bumps with the purple-haired Mal at her side. Mal seemed to step over the divots in the road easily while Audrey's heeled shoes seemed to catch every rock and trip her into every shallow ditch. She wanted to spit or lash out at Mal, but the other girl seemed to not even know she was there.

They came upon a fork in the road with two wooden pointers informing them of what lay down each path. The path to the right read "Good". The path to the left read "Evil".

Both girls examined the pointers. Audrey couldn't stop herself from continuing to glance over at Mal. What would she choose? Where would she go?

Mal examined the left path very intensely. She hummed and stroked her chin as she thought, then glanced to the right and perked up. Audrey looked over and couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Just dust-brown fog. But Mal saw something there.

"I'm going to go this way," she announced, pointing down the path of good. She took a few steps to further accentuate her direction.

Audrey fumed. "Well, that's all fine and good," she declared, glancing down the path of evil. The fog seemed thicker as she stared into it. "Well, I'm sick of walking with you. I'm going to go this way."

"I wouldn't," Mal cautioned. "It's not safe."

"I don't care," Audrey snapped. "You stay on that path. I'm sick of putting up with you."

And she turned and walked away.

Audrey kept her arm looped through Ben's as they stood, waiting for the villain kids. Her hands were shaking. She'd almost died when Ben had told her who'd be coming and felt a bit like expiring now as she stood in the warm sunlight with cold sweat dripping down her neck. She felt so sticky and gross and… ugh.

"Here they come," Ben mumbled beside her as the band burst into a clatter behind him. Audrey painted her best smile on while she tried to keep from wincing.

A black limo pulled up. The windows were tinted, so Audrey couldn't see inside.

What were the chances the driver would open the door and say they hadn't been interested, even after they had sent back confirmations?

What were the chances they'd murdered the man and were now going to attack them?

But the driver exited the vehicle, as planned, and walked around to open the door. Two boys fell out, yelling and fighting over what looked like a napkin or towel. Audrey wanted to close her eyes as Fairy Godmother stepped forward.

But there were supposed to be four. That was only two.

A set of blue legs appeared and a beautiful girl stepped out, looking around in amazement. Then paint-splattered black leggings appeared and Audrey felt a lump appear in her throat.

"Guys," Mal hissed at the two boys, brushing off her dark purple jacket and stepping forward to see who would address them. "We have an audience."

Audrey tightened her grip on Ben. He gave her a weird look.

This couldn't be real. It had to be a freaky nightmare, right?

Fairy Godmother explained things. Audrey resisted the urge to scream and demand Mal be taken back. Ben shook their hands. His hand remained in Mal's grasp for an eternity too long.

Not a nightmare. Not a nightmare.

Only living purgatory.