Half and Half

Chapter Thirty One

Belle stood in front of her council, staring down one member in particular. How could she? Yes, Belle was aware that she and Adam had been complacent in what Leah had done but they had never actively denied the children of the Isle food!

It had been Elsa who had been able to provide the tapes that put Leah on the food barge, visibly bribing the barge attendants to delay though Belle could only assume that part. As great as the videos were, they had no sound. Leah could have been singing 'How does a Moment Last Forever' for all Belle knew.

However, the large stacks of cash that could be seen clear as day by the cameras proved differently. That and the endless 'engine failures' noted on the shipping records as to excuse the delays was enough proof Belle needed.

"Welcome," she said to her council; thankful that both Aladdin and Elsa had enough willpower not to glare at Leah lest she be tipped off as to what was going to happen. Then again almost everyone on the council hated Leah to some degree. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I gathered you all here."

"I will admit Queen Belle, it was a question on my mind though we serve at your pleasure," Phoebus told her. He wasn't going to lie, he was more than a little thankful he had kept his council position after Belle's victory during the election considering he had been the man who motioned for Beast to go to the Isle. That had been one of the reasons why he had not hesitated to second the motion to eliminate the need to elect their High King and Queen when Belle had proposed it during one of their regular council meetings.

In all honesty, he'd only gone along with it because it eliminated the chance Leah would be able to rule in the background should Aurora or Phillip ever be elected. No one wanted that. Oh he was sure Aurora or Phillip would be a great ruler but the thought of Leah anywhere near the High Queen's crown was almost terrifying.

"I promise you, Captain Phoebus, this is something I wish I didn't have to convene you for however it is something we need to discuss," Belle said. "It appears as though the food issues that young Mal brought to our attention all those months ago are still plaguing the Isle."

"Oh my!" Snow White gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "But...but then that means that former King Beast wasn't responsible! The culprit is still at large! Oh those poor people!"

"Please," Chi-Fu scoffed. "It's a prison! And former King Beast still bears the responsibility for not checking on the food during his time on the throne. As does Queen Belle I would say. Wouldn't it be best if we just...follow what we did last time?"

"Chi-Fu, you are not seriously suggesting we re-traumatize Prince Ben and Princess Abigail are you?!" Snow exclaimed.

"Enough!" Belle said, making sure to keep her voice steady even though she felt like screaming. She had to keep control of her council, she hadn't even considered that the meeting might go sideways and the council would vote to send her to be with Adam as opposed to punishing Leah. Belle would not put her children through that. "While I appreciate Chi-Fu's viewpoint, the matter still stands that there is someone purposefully making it so that Auradon citizens are failing to get decent food. Are failing to get edible food. Prison or not, that is still a matter of human rights. Wouldn't you agree, Queen Leah?"

The entire council froze as the final word left Belle's lips, though she was certain she saw Aladdin move from his usual seat next to Eugene to sit next to Elsa instead. The suspicion was only cemented when the smell of popcorn seemed to fill the room.

And we wonder where Emir and Akiho get it from though Akiho's more likely to get his antics from his mother, Belle thought. At least Aladdin and Elsa are doing their best to keep it hidden, and with all their help in pouring over the records and finding the video footage, I can't blame them for some hijinks. Especially since given Emir and Akiho's grounding, there haven't been that many hijinks in the castle.