*Ben's view*
To say Ben was nervous as he left his dorm was an understatement. The past week he couldn't entirely sleep well, but when he was finally able to get some shut eye, all his thoughts were consumed with what if's and other possible scenarios that didn't end well.
"Relax, Ben, I'm sure everything will be fine." Said one of his best friends, Justine Dancer. Justine was a dark skinned girl with brown, curly hair and blue-gray eyes. She was the youngest of her eleven cousins, with her mother, Jennifer being the 12th member of the 12 dancing princesses.
"I hope so. I'll see you later, Justine." Ben sighed before leaving the building and walking to the courtyard where Audrey, Fairy Godmother, and the school's marching band were waiting at.
Once the sight of the black limo came into view, Ben's nervousness became laced with excitement. Both of those feelings, however, disappeared once he saw the two boys fall out of the vehicle, tugging a blue blanket. Confusion and sympathy settled in place as Ben furrowed his brows.
‘Have they never really never seen a blanket before? What did they sleep with?' He thought to himself. Those thoughts were again quickly replaced when he noticed the driver reach inside to help a girl out. Ben felt his heart stop for a few milliseconds, his breathing hitched at the sight of her.
She had shoulder length, black, wavy hair, but as the light from the sun hit it, it looked navy blue. Her eyes are what Ben found himself drowning in; they were a beautiful brown that looked like it could put melted chocolate to shame. And her smile, oh! It was beautiful.
‘Wait, but I'm with Audrey,' He thought to himself, snapping out of the dreamy haze he was in earlier.
‘But do I really love Audrey, though?' He asked himself.
"Hello, foxy. The name's.. Jay." A boy wearing a beanie said as he came up to Audrey. That snapped Ben out of his thoughts. Audrey's uncomfortable laugh drew in Fairy Godmother, who then intervened.
"Welcome to Auradon Prep. I'm Fairy Godmother, Headmistress." Said the headmistress.
"The Fairy Godmother? As in ‘bippity-boppity-boo'?" A girl with purple hair asked.
‘She must be Maleficent's daughter.' Ben thought.
"Bippity-boppity-you betcha!" Fairy Godmother said.
"Yeah, I always wondered what it felt like for Cinderella when you just… appeared out of nowhere with that sparkly wand and warm smile… and that sparkly wand." Mal said.
"Oh, that was a long time ago. And as I always say: Don't Focus on the Past, or You'll Miss the Future!" The headmistress said while doing some weird hand gestures that, to Ben, kinda felt over the top. Ben stepped up with a charming smile on his face.
"It's so good to finally meet you. I'm Ben." He greeted them.
"Prince Benjamin. Soon-to-be King!" Audrey squealed. Even though he had a smile, Ben was mentally rolling his eyes.
‘I thought I told her NOT to mention me becoming king to them.' He thought to himself. It was true; upon first announcing that five VKs would be coming to Auradon Prep, Ben gave Audrey specific instructions to keep his royal life-title included-out of any introductions that might be made upon meeting them. Ben didn't want them to think he was a stuck-up royal, he wanted them to be able to see him as a regular teenage boy, and maybe even a friend.
"You had me at prince. My mom's a queen, which makes me a princess." A blue haired girl came up and curtsied. Ben smiled at her, but then Audrey decided that she would snip the rose in the bud.
"The Evil Queen has no royal status here and neither do you." She said.
The shocked and saddened expression on Evie's face made Ben's heart strings tug. Ben didn't understand why Audrey said that. Was it because she didn't like the fact that villain kid is royalty or it it because Audrey's potentially jealous? Either way, it wasn't very royal or nice of Audrey to put down a new comer.
Ben chuckled nervously before introducing her.
"This is Audrey-"
"Princess Audrey, his girlfriend. Right benny-boo?" Audrey squealed, cutting off Ben in the process while forcing him to hold her hand. In all honesty, Ben was feeling very embarrassed by Audrey's behavior and actions, so much so, that he felt almost ashamed to even call her his girlfriend.
"Audrey, it? A true princess doesn't put down others or flaunt her crown." The beautiful girl from before said. Ben felt a smirk coming on, but did his best to hide it.
‘Not only is her voice beautiful, but she actually put Audrey in her place. I wonder what her name is.' He thought in awe.
"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Audrey sassed. Ben looked at the girl that spoke, waiting to find out the name of the mysterious beauty.
"Princess Nevaeh." Said the girl while doing a curtsey.
‘Nevaeh, that's heaven spelled backwards. Huh, a beautiful name fore a beautiful princess.' Ben thought to himself as he tested out the name in his head.
"Queen Narissa also has no royal status here and neither do you." Audrey said, a forced smile on her face.
‘There she goes again with that whole "no-royal-staus-thing". I'm pretty sure that's not even true, or at least, it shouldn't be true.' Ben thought angrily.
"As a princess, such as yourself, I advise you to do more work on your royal families. We wouldn't want a political feud to happen because someone was blinded by ignorance and didn't do their research." Nevaeh stated. Even though she said it in a calm manner, the fierce look she was giving Audrey showed she meant business.
‘Wow, she's amazing. Instead of lashing out, she handled the situation calmly and didn't back down.' Ben thought as he looked at the ebony haired girl in awe.
"Ben and Audrey are going to show you all around and I'll see you tomorrow," Fairy Godmother smiled.
"The doors of wisdom are never shut! But the library hours are from 8:00 to 11:00, and as we may have heard, I have a little thing about curfews." She said, breaking up Ben and Audrey's hands in the process.
Honestly, Ben was distracted by Nevaeh that he forgot he was even holding Audrey's hand. Once Fairy Godmother and the marching band left, Ben came forward ready to greet them.
"It is so, so, so good to finally m-meet you," He went to shake Jay's hand, but stumbled over his words as he was punched in the chest.
He chuckled nervously before moving on to shake Mal's hand, and then Nevaeh's. As they shook hands, she gave him a smile and a head tilt, both of which Ben found adorable. But there was more, something else that was there. At first contact Ben felt a tingling sensation run down, from his hand to his shoulder, and from his shoulders down to his spine; it felt weird, but a good kind of weird that made Ben curious to get to know the princess before him.
"This is a momentous occasion and one I hope will go down in history… and chocolate?" Ben said as he moved on to shake Carlos' hand and then Evie's.
"As the day our two peoples healed." He finished.
"Or the day you showed five people where the bathrooms are." Nevaeh said. Ben walked back to her, a smile forming on his face.
"A little over the top?" He asked cheekily.
"A little more than a little bit." She shrugged and gave Ben a flirty smile.
‘She's too cute.' He thought.
"Well so much for my first impression." Ben beamed. As the two shared a laugh, Ben noticed the blush forming on her cheeks.
‘I wish I could hear her laugh all the time, it's beautiful.' He thought to himself.
"Hey! You're Maleficent's daughter, aren't you? Yeah, I totally DO NOT blame you for your mother trying to kill my parents and stuff," Audrey decided to interrupt the nice moment Ben and Nevaeh were sharing.
‘Why did she have to bring that up?' Ben asked himself as he mentally rolled his eyes.
"Oh! My mom's Aurora, Sleeping-"
"Beauty! Yeah, I've heard the name. And you know what? I totally DO NOT blame your grandparents for inviting everyone in the whole world, but my mother.. to their stupid christening." Mal interrupted Audrey.
"Water under the bridge?" Audrey asked with a fake smile.
"Totes!" Exclaimed Mal. The two finished it off with fake laughter that showed how things really weren't under the bridge. Ben looked at Nevaeh and saw the pleading look in her eyes.
‘I guess she can sense the thick tension, too.' He thought. To show that he understood her look, he gave her a subtle nod.
"Okay! How about a tour, yeah." Ben said as he clapped his hands together to break the tension. Nevaeh gave him a grateful smile, to which he gave one back before starting the tour.
"Auradon Prep. Originally a castle built 300 years ago, but was constructed into a high school when my father became king." Ben announced as they walked through the courtyard. They stopped at the Beast statue and watched how it transformed into a human when Ben clapped his hands. The sudden morphing frightened Carlos, who then screamed while jumping into Jay's arms.
‘Trust me, buddy, I felt the same way when I was four.' Ben thought to himself.
"Relax Carlos. My father wanted his statue to be able to morph from beast to man, to remind us that anything's possible." Ben explained with an amused smile. Ben saw how Nevaeh looked at the statue, her head tilted and the tip of her tongue poking out at the corner of her mouth.
‘What could be going on inside that pretty, little head of hers?' He thought.
"Does he shed much?" She asked, turning to look at him.
"Oh, yeah, mom won't let him on the couch." Ben said with a serious expression, Nevaeh looked at him with confusion, but soon giving a light giggle at the boy's joke. Ben chuckled a bit as well before they continued the tour. As they walked around, Ben thought what the Isle must've been like or looked like, but that thought was short-lived when they concluded the tour by walking through the wooded doors of the building.
"So… do you guys have magic here, like wands and things like that?" Mal asked.
"Yeah, but it's mainly retired now. Most of us here are just ordinary mortal." Ben said with a shrug.
‘She sure seems to be interested in wands. I wonder why?' Ben thought.
"Who are capable of making big changes for the better or worse for those around you." Nevaeh said truthfully. Ben looked at her, shocked and relieved. Finally, there was someone who understood where he was coming from, someone who was able to understand that other things came with being a king and not just a title and a crown.
‘Wow, she really gets me.' He thought.
"Who happen to be Kings and Queens." Mal said bitterly.
"That's right! Our royal blood goes back hundreds and hundreds of years." Audrey exclaimed as she forced Ben's arm around her shoulders.
‘I hate when she forces me to hold onto her.' He thought.
"I didn't know it was a princess trait to constantly brag about irrelevant things." Nevaeh said with a feigned expression, which included puppy dog eyes and a pout. Ben found the look adorable. Ben saw Audrey's glare, so he decided to intervene, using Doug as an advantage once he saw the boy.
"Doug! Doug, come down!" Exclaimed Ben, slipping out of Audrey's clutches. Ben gives the boy a hug, patting his back before introducing him.
"Guys, this is Doug. He'll show you to your dorms and give you your schedules," Ben said. The VKs nodded in understanding.
"Well, that concludes the tour," He then trains his eyes onto Nevaeh's before speaking, still to the rest of them, but his eyes were only talking to Nevaeh.
"I'll see you later, alright? And if you need anything at all, feel free to-"
"Ask Doug!" Audrey interrupted. Ben mentally rolled his eyes and let a small sigh escape his lips. Fake laughter flowed around them coming from Audrey and Mal. After that, Audrey lead Ben away.
"Can you believe that Mal girl? I bet she's just like her mother," Audrey hissed once they were away from the other VKs.
"And who do those other two girls think they are? Princesses? Ha!" She laughed.
"You could've been nicer to them, Auds." Ben said gently. He never liked arguing with Audrey, mainly because it'd be futile.
"I was trying my best. I had to put those VKs in their place," Audrey argued.
‘And yet Nevaeh was able to put you in your place.' Ben thought to himself, amused. Audrey calmed herself down, frown lines were NOT what she wanted, what with the Coronation being at the end of the month and all.
"I have to meet up with Serenity, I'll see you later. Bye Benny-boo." Audrey said, back to her usual fake cheery attitude and air-kissing Ben's cheeks before she strutted off to find one of her best friend, Serenity White, Snow White's daughter. Ben watched her walk away, sighing to himself as doubts of their relationship swirled and clouded his thoughts.