Before we begin the final chapter leave your predictions. Will Drac choose Auradon or the Isle? CJ or Aziz? Or do you have any theories you think I might spring on you at the last minute?? Drop a comment, I want to see who gets it right!
Also, Happy St. Patrick's Day! ☘️
Chap 47
"Here they are." Evie said as she turned and they all saw Mal and Ben walk into the party. People greeted them with applause and cheers of 'happy engagement!' before they ascended the steps to the balcony to address the crowd.
Fairy Godmother handed them each a crystal teacup full of punch as servers below passed out more cups on trays to the guests.
"Lady Mal and I would like to thank you for celebrating our engagement with us today." Ben began. "I couldn't be prouder, or happier, to call you my queen. So, raise your glasses. To our future, Queen of Auradon."
"To our Queen of Auradon!"
"Speech your specialness." Carlos shouted with a strange overly formal accent.
"Speech o fancy one!" Jay followed up.
Drac saw his sister laugh before her face turned serious. She looked to be deep in thought for a moment before her eyes looked to the crowd.
"I can't." she said and gasps sounded all around. Drac waved off Evie's concerned look, knowing Mal as well as he did he had a feeling he knew what was going to happen. He folded his hands behind his back as she found his gaze in the crowd and he gave her a smile and an encouraging nod. It was hard, what she was about to do, but the right thing was never the easy choice.
She nodded back at him, then went back to address the crowd, "We made a decision. . . to close the barrier forever. And it was my idea, but it's wrong. I've learned, that you can't live in fear. Because it doesn't actually protect you from anything. You never know where the bad is going to come from. You never know where the heroes are going to come from either. Without Uma and her pirates Auradon would be gone. . . And without Hades. . . our father. . . Audrey would be gone. We are all capable of good and bad. No matter which side of the barrier we come from." She lowered her voice and turned to Ben. "And that's why I can't be Queen of just Auradon, I have to be Queen of the Isle too, I can't turn my back on them. And. . . it's time that we take the barrier down - forever." she smiled at Ben.
"We can't do that." Beast said.
"It's up to us dad." Ben turned to the crowd, "I choose to be a king who moves forward. It's time for forgiveness. It's time for new beginnings. The barrier will come down!"
"Yes! Whoooo!" Carlos shouted with joy, before everyone began to applaud. Mal turned to the crowd and waved her friends up. Drac ran over with Evie, Jay and Carlos as Fairy Godmother passed Mal her wand with a smile. When they were all flanking Mal by the rail they looked out to the Isle.
"To make the world a better place." Mal said.
"We have to do it face to face." they finished as a bolt shot from the wand and took down the barrier. A bridge of white stone appeared connecting the two lands as the crowd stepped out onto it. Mal handed Fairy Godmother back her wand and gave her a hug before she walked back to the balcony.
"It's time to bring it together. Time for a brand new start."
Drac rested his hand on her shoulder, part of him noting how he was slightly taller then her now compared to when they first got to Auradon. "We're gonna put it in mo-o-otion. Break down what keeps us apart."
"No more, no division, we down. New team, got the vision, unite."
He stretched an arm over Evie and Carlos. "So we stand, now we living marching. In the light, one two, one two like."
"I see you." Mal turned to him.
"You see me." He smiled at her.
"Imperfect."
"Perfectly."
"Face to face we can see clearly, our similarities like -"
"Day and night."
"Wrong or right."
"We come together for a good time."
The others joined in the song. "We're gonna break this down. We're gonna rock the town. Everyone all around. Let's be whoever like this. Stronger together like this."
"Believing in second chances." Across the bridge Uma sang, hurrying down the steps on the Isle and heading for the bridge.
Celia followed her. "And we're all starting today."
"Marching on in a new land." Harry joined them.
"Our world's a better, a better place."
Evie strutted down the bridge flanked by her friends as Drac held out his elbow and CJ took it. "Welcome, the addition new love."
"Unity, new beginning for us."
"Harmony that's the mission marching."
"In the light, one two, one two like."
"I see you. You see me." Uma led her side to the center of the bridge where they met with Mal and the others. In the crowd Drac could see Diego and Freddie along with the three Sanderson girls. "Imperfect. Perfectly. Face to face we can see clearly our similarities like - day and night, wrong or right. We come together for a good time."
Both sides met in the middle of the bridge and danced until they were merged together. "We're gonna break this down. We're gonna rock the town. Everyone all around. Just be whoever like this. Stronger together like this. We reunited like this." They skipped back to the Auradon side of the bridge where Ben, Audrey, Doug and Jane kept singing and dancing.
"Bringin' it, bringin' it, b-b-bringin' it down. Bringin' it, bringin' it, b-b-bringin' it down. Bringin' it, bringin' it, b-b-bringin' it down. Bringin' it, bringin' it, b-b-bringin' it dow-ow-own."
The Auradon kids had no problem returning but the Isle kids seemed hesitant. They gathered around Uma looking uncertain if they were allowed there. But when Mal led her people in a bow to all the VK's Uma laughed and ran forward embracing Mal in a hug.
Encouraged, the others all ran over and again the kids who had spent their entire lives apart danced together like they were the oldest of friends. Drac danced with Dizzy while Aziz and CJ each took one of the twins - who were standing on the steps shyly - and brought them into the crowd making the two boys smile as they danced around goofily like the others. As the steps changed all six of them traded partners often dancing with everyone in a mix of lace and leather, pastels and smudged dark colors.
"We're gonna break this down. Break this down. We're gonna rock the town. Oh, we're gonna rock the town. Everyone all around. Just be whoever like this. Stronger together like this. We be united like this. We're gonna break this down. Come on, we're gonna break this down. We're gonna rock the town. Come on, everybody on the Isle gonna like this. Everyone all around. Just be whoever like this. Stronger together like this. We reunited like this. Hey!"
"Bringin' it, bringin' it, b-b-bringin' it down!"
"Whoo!" Carlos shouted again as everyone continued to dance. Drac got pushed into his sister and the pair of them laughed together watching the Isle kids have the time of their lives.
"Hey." She said and he turned to her smiling, "If you want to stay on the Isle. . . you better have a guest room ready for me."
His grin became even wider as he gave her the biggest hug of his life. Lifting her off her feet a little as she shrieked.
"Sometimes I forget you're not so little anymore." She chuckled.
"Am I invited to the wedding?" they turned and saw their dad had crossed the bridge. Together they ran over and hugged Hades, he smiled, taking each of them in one arm. Ben followed after Mal looking worried. Hades ended their hug and looked Ben up and down before the seriousness fell off his face. "I'm sure you two will be very happy together."
Ben sighed in relief as Mal hugged him, from over her shoulder he smiled but it fell when Hades glared at him and pointed from his charcoal lined eyes to Ben. Ben looked like he started to sweat again as he looked to Drac for help. But the dragon lad only stood beside his father and raised his hand conjuring a small green flame in his palm. Hades smirked and wrapped an arm over Drac's shoulders. "That's my boy. And nice tie."
Drac closed his hand in a fist extinguishing the flame and smiled up at his dad, "Thanks."
He turned and noticed Mr. Smee, Lady Tremaine and Dr. Facilier were making their way across the bridge too. Mal pulled their father into the crowd and she and Ben escorted him through the archway and into Auradon.
Drac noticed CJ and Aziz were still dancing with the twins, distracting them when they started to look shy and uncomfortable again, trying to help them unwind.
Someone pulled Drac by the elbow and he turned to see Opal there. She pointed to CJ and Aziz with a smirk.
"I saw what you did there."
He smirked. "Opal I have no idea what you -"
"What, no happy ending for you?"
He grinned, "I'm sixteen Opal. For now, I'm fine with just letting life happen."
"Well then." she extended her hand to him, "Shall we?"
He smiled, "We shall."
- - LONG LIVE LOVE - -
After the party had calmed down Drac found the opportunity he had been waiting for.
"Wow." Aziz said as he held Drac's hand and they walked along the garden where the school had hosted Family Day. He had ditched his grey jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his indigo button up. "So it's not me."
Drac stopped walking, turned to him and shook his head.
"Try not to take the rejection too hard Prince Ali." CJ remarked from where she sat on the rail of the gazebo the royal photographer usually used for pictures of happy couples.
"Yeah because you handled it so well." Drac replied and CJ gave him a warning look cautioning him to not mention the time she had flung Aziz' purple beanie into the sea.
He just grinned at her as he leaned against the gazebo glancing between the two of them. "I'm not rejecting either of you. You're both people I want in my life. I'm just. . . choosing myself."
CJ smirked playfully, "Greedy."
Aziz chuckled and shook his head.
Drac kept smiling, knowing in his heart he was making the right decision for him. "I used to think there was something wrong with me. I mean, Mal had Ben. Evie had Doug. Carlos got Jane. Jay had Lonnie. It always felt like I was dealt a bad hand, or that I wasn't meant to find love easily. . . or at all." He took a breath, "But I just turned sixteen. And I don't want to let something like dating and true love feel like the end of the world –"
"Cuz you've already been there done that." CJ interrupted.
Aziz held up three fingers, "Three times."
"Really? Three?"
Aziz flipped his fingers down, "Mim. Ben's kidnapping. Evil Audrey. Three."
Drac blushed and looked at his shoes. When he looked back up both his best friends were smiling at him. "Who I am. What I like, I'm sure I'll figure it out when I'm meant to. And. . . I'm done trying to know who I am right now, when maybe, the answer hasn't come to me because I'm not meant to know yet."
"It's just a stupid label." CJ said giving a shrug, "People are always coming up with some new thing to call themselves as if it matters. You already know the most important thing. You're Drac. And you're awesome."
Aziz smiled ear to ear, "I like that." he turned to Drac, "And I agree with her."
"Thanks guys."
CJ hopped off the railing and gave him a hug. Aziz reached out his hand and fist bumped him. In that moment Drac didn't feel any anxiety at all, he had everything he needed, everything else could wait.
"Now." CJ said pulling back. "You once told me about that thing called a 'chocolate fountain'. I haven't seen one, and I'm starting to think you lied."
They all laughed before they left the garden to go find a chocolate fountain – a mission Drac much preferred to saving the world.
- - LONG LIVE LOVE - -
Eventually Mr. Smee and his boys joined them at the chocolate fountain. CJ took turns picking them up so they could reach it and Aziz offered them both a ride on his dad's flying carpet. Drac spotted Evie and Mal walking hand in hand along one of the pathways as Jay and Gil were talking to Carlos across the way.
Drac excused himself to join his friends, overhearing Carlos promise Jay and Gil he'd print some maps out for them later. Pleased, Gil left them and headed over to CJ as the five VK's headed back to where Mal's party had began.
They passed under the stone archway and looked out at the new bridge. It looked so solid, so real, so permanent. At the end of it the Isle shone brightly, no longer a dark cloud hanging overhead creating constant gloom. He wondered what his view from Bargain Castle would look like now. He still had plans to spend the summer there before starting his senior year at Auradon Prep, since he was a year younger then Mal, Evie and Jay.
He wondered if his mom would stay in her fortress on the Isle of the Doomed, or if she would accept an invitation to return to the castle and live with him.
"Do you ever miss them?" Evie asked, clearly he wasn't the only one thinking about his parent on the Isle.
"Yeah." Jay replied.
Mal turned to the bluenette. "Do you think that they miss us?"
Carlos nodded, "Yep, of course."
"Cuz we're rotten." she held her hand out.
They all laughed but added their fists. "To the core."
"Hey." Carlos said, "Last one over the bridge -"
"IS A ROTTEN APPLE!"
They all shouted as they bolted across the bridge racing for the Isle. And for the first time in a long time, Drac didn't feel like he had to worry about who he was. Because who he was right now, was fine by him.
.
.
AN: There were 2 messages I really wanted Drac's story to tell. #1 even though dating and finding your person can seem stressful and you might wish for it right now, don't let that stress ever become the focal point of your life. Loving yourself is much more important. And #2, in a world full of questions like, what are your pronouns? Are you gay? Straight? Bi? And so many more questions and hard decisions – never forget that in the end none of that matters. They're all just labels, words. You are you and that is always enough. 😊
I can't believe I've finally reached the end of this story, I've gotten more attached to Drac then I realized and it's so hard to think I won't be typing scenes for him anymore. I'm going to miss him. His story is over, and it was a good one, but I hate that its over. This feels just so bittersweet. Thank you all for coming along with me on this journey. 💜💚🩵