Half and Half

Chapter Eighteen

Persephone sighed as she sat across from Belle, the younger woman looking probably as frazzled as a single mother who also had to rule the country and who was worried about her husband could look. She wasn't sure if this was the right time but the meeting had to happen.

They had to determine whether or not Mal would be sent back to the Isle full stop or if, like Persephone, she would be able to spend six months in the sun of Auradon.

Personally, Persephone was in favor of the latter. How did it make sense to send Mal back to an environment that had already hurt her? Simple answer, it didn't.

"If...If it makes things easier, Queen Belle, we can move this meeting," Persephone offered. She really didn't want to but it was clear that Belle was trying to juggle a machine with several moving parts, trying desperately not to drop a single one.

"No, no," Belle shook her head before letting out a small sigh. "My...my apologies Lady Persephone but keeping busy...keeping busy right now is preventing me from falling apart. And Ben and Abby need their mother, they've already lost one parent and it wouldn't be fair to Mrs. Potts or Chip to ask them to step in there. Especially since Mrs. Potts may not have a job after this election."

"How...how is that going by the way?" Persephone asked.

"Better than we thought it would," Belle told her. "Leah tried running a smear campaign about Adam being sent to the Isle and how Auradon can't trust us...but it resulted in Aurora seeing a five point dip in the polls."

"Really?" Persephone asked, taken rather aback. She knew what Auradon thought about the Isle after all.

Belle nodded. "It certainly didn't hurt that I might have slipped an anonymous tip that Leah wanted to bring back betrothal contracts to Snow White," she said.

"Oh Hera's not going to like that," Persephone shook her head. "Neither is Aphrodite for that matter."

"Oh right, Lady Hera's the Goddess of Marriage and of course Lady Aphrodite's the Goddess of Love," Belle said, her eyes growing slightly wide in the realization that by letting that information slip out, she may have inadvertently angered the Gods. "I do just want it known that neither Ben nor Abby are under such a contract. I want my children finding love in their own time, with who they want to marry."

"I never assumed otherwise," Persephone said, giving Belle a calming smile as if to reassure the monarch. "After all, everyone knows your story. Of how you and King Beast wound up together because you fell in love. It would make sense you'd want the same thing for your children."

Belle nodded before biting her lip slightly. "How...how is he? Adam I mean?"

"He's...He's about as well as you'd expect," Persephone said, seeing no reason to hide to Belle but seeing no reason to be blunt about the matter either. No matter her own thoughts about Beast, he was still Belle's husband.

Plus, as she'd come to learn from her time in Beast Castle, there were always little ears about. The last thing Persephone wanted was to have Prince Ben overhear and find out that his father wasn't doing well.

"...Has Gaston...?" Belle asked but seemed unable to finish her question.

Persephone sighed. "From what Hades has said, yes. There was an incident at the restaurant where Gaston had confronted King Beast but only words were exchanged. Hades reminded Gaston that...that King Beast was under his protection and that if Gaston did anything to increase his workload, Hades would not make things pleasant for him."

Belle sighed in relief. "Oh thank Gods...I mean, I had faith in Lord Hades but..."

"Of course, it'd make sense you'd be worried about your husband," Persephone nodded.