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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟑
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆'𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍
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It was the day after all the commotion at Family Day and Ben's coronation was finally here. After getting to the Auradon Cathedral by carriage, Rylee and Morgan entered the stone building. They walked through the crowd with their arms linked to meet their parents, who were talking to Adam and Belle. A few moments passed of them conversing with their families before the sound of trumpets cut through the air. After sending their parents and siblings one last smile, Rylee and Morgan followed the King and Queen out of the castle to greet Ben and Mal when they arrived.
Rylee's smile did nothing but grow at the sight of Ben taking Mal's hand into his own to help her down from their carriage. Everyone watched as the two of them walked up the stairs hand-in-hand before they stopped in front of Rylee, Morgan, Belle, and Adam. Once they finished greeting the two princesses, Mal turned towards Belle and Adam while trying to ignore the somewhat awkward silence surrounding them. "About the other day, I just..."
"I told Ben this wasn't going to be easy," Uncle Adam told the purple-haired girl after watching her pause to find the right words.
"You also taught me that a king has to believe in himself, even when it isn't easy," Ben stated as a smile slowly began to creep onto his face
"I did?" his dad questioned, causing his wife to hit his arm and grins make their way onto Rylee and Morgan's faces before Adam cleared his throat and continued speaking, "I...how very wise of me."
"Ben, we are very proud of you," Belle said as she took a few steps forward and reached forward to hold her son's hands in hers, "you keep listening to your heart."
"Thanks, Mom."
"You're gonna make a fine king," Adam told the smiling Ben as the former placed a hand on his son's shoulder.
After the royal finished having their moment, Adam held his arm out for Belle to take it before the two of them head back inside the cathedral. Rylee and Morgan watched the couple until they were out of sight before they turned back around to face their best friend, who still had the biggest smile plastered onto his face.
"Careful, Beasty. Your face might get stuck," Morgan mocked the brunette boy, only for him to roll his eyes at his biggest supporters before letting out a long sigh.
"Wish me luck," the soon-to-be king told them as he sent Rylee and Morgan one last smile then he placed a gentle kiss on Mal's hand.
The three girls did exactly that before they interlocked their arms and followed Ben's parents inside the stone building. Once they got to their places, the chorus started singing and the doors swung open to reveal the future king. The brunette boy just stood there for a long moment before he began to walk into the building. The crowd bowed as the Beast boy passed them until he reached his parents and Fairy Godmother. The royal family shared smiles with each other before Ben got down on his knees. Everyone watched as Fairy Godmother removed the crown from Adam's head before she gently placed it on his son's head.
While Fairy Godmother went to retrieve her wand, Ben glanced over at Rylee and Morgan. The two girls wore matching smiles on their faces as they sent their best friend thumbs up. When his attention went back to the three adults in front of him, Rylee unconsciously looked over at Mal, only to find a very nervous look plastered on her face as she looked up at Jay, Evie, and Carlos on the balcony.
"Mal," the Fitzherbert girl whispered, drawing the purple-haired girl's attention away from her friends, "are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine," she responded in an unconvincing tone before she looked back over to where Ben was kneeling.
Rylee stared at the daughter of Maleficent for a moment longer before she looked up at the other three nervous teens from the Isle. Despite the feeling in her gut to question Mal further, the Fitzherbert girl turned her attention back to the scene before her. All her emotions seemed to fade as she watched Fairy Godmother stand in front of Ben with her wand in hand.
"Do you solemnly swear to govern the peoples of Auradon with justice and mercy as long as you shall reign?" Fairy Godmother recited with a large grin on her face as she looked down at the kneeling boy.
"I do solemnly swear," Ben responded in a confident tone, causing Fairy Godmother to raise the wand high into the air.
"Then it is my honor and my joy," she continued her speech as she tapped each of Ben's shoulders with her wand, "to bless our new king."
As soon as the words finished leaving her mouth, the wand was ripped out of Fairy Godmother's hand. Surprised gasps from the crowd filled the air while everyone backed away from Jane. A beam of magic shot out from the tip of the wand as the brunette girl struggled to gain control of the magical object.
"Child, what are you doing?!" Fairy Godmother shouted as she rushed towards her daughter, only to stop a few feet away at the sight of Jane continuing to fight against the wand's power.
"If you won't make me beautiful, I'll do it myself!" the brunette girl declared as she proceeded to wave the wand around in the air. That caused Ben to jump in front of Mal, Rylee, and Morgan just as Adam put himself in front of Belle and Fairy Godmother.
"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!" Once those three words left Jane's mouth, more sparks flew out from the wand.
More screams erupted from the crowd as the former king shouted for everyone to take cover. Just as the daughter of Fairy Godmother was about to try her hand at magic once again, Mal rushed forward and took the wand out of the girl's hand. The crowd instantly fell silent at the sight of the powerful object in the daughter of Maleficent's possession. While Jane ran away from the purple-haired girl to rejoin the crowd, Rylee, Morgan, and Ben took a few steps forward to stand in front of Mal, who looked to be contemplating her next move
"Mal, give me the wand," Ben said as calmly as possible while he held his hand out toward her.
"Stand back," the girl ordered before the doors burst open to reveal Evie, Jay, and Carlos rushing to get to Mal's side.
"It's okay," Morgan told her, making her eyes land on Rylee and Morgan before the blonde girl noticed the conflict within them.
"I said stand back!"
"I told you so!" Audrey yelled, causing Mal to turn the wand towards the girl in pink, who instantly stepped back into the safety of the crowd. Once the princess was back in her place, the purple-haired girl turned her attention back towards Rylee, Morgan, and Ben just as her friends from the Isle reached them.
"Let's go!" Carlos exclaimed with a bit of shakiness in his voice.
"Revenge time," Jay added, making Rylee's blood run cold.
The Fitzherbert girl's eyes instantly snapped to the boys and met Carlos' gaze, only for him to quickly look away from her. Shock continued to course through the blonde princess' veins as her eyes moved towards Jay, who stared back at her with a hint of regret in his eyes. It wasn't long before he copied the De Vil boy's actions.
"You really wanna do this?" Ben questioned, causing Rylee to turn her attention back to the situation at hand.
"We have no choice!" Mal shouted as her grip around the wand tightened, "our parents-"
"Your parents made their choice," the Fitzherbert girl interrupted her purple-haired friend before she took a step forward to stand right beside the Beast boy, "now it's time for you to make yours."
Rylee and Mal just watched each other for a long moment before the latter's eyes moved to meet Ben's. As she stared at the boy in blue, the conflict in her eyes was met with a hint of sadness. It wasn't long before her attention went to Belle, Adam, and Fairy Godmother standing behind the trio then it landed back on Ben.
"I think I wanna be good," she confessed, causing relief to mix with the shock running through Rylee's.
"You are good," Ben declared with a hint of desperation in his voice.
"How do you know that?!"
"Because...because I'm listening to my heart."
The expression on Mal's face instantly transformed to match the sorrow in her eyes as she looked down at the object in her hands. "I wanna listen to my heart, too."
The purple-haired girl soon looked back up at Ben with a small smile on her face before she slowly lowered the wand. It wasn't long before the smile on her face grew as she turned around to face her three friends.
"And my heart is telling me that we are not our parents," Mal declared before her attention turned to solely focus on Jay, "I mean, stealing things doesn't make you happy. Tourney and victory pizza with the team makes you happy." A smile instantly formed on Jay's face before he glanced over at Rylee and Morgan, who didn't hesitate to return the gesture before he looked back at Mal.
The two of them shared a long look then her gaze moved to Carlos. "And you, scratching Dude's belly makes you happy. Who would've thought?" After the two shared a laugh, the purple-haired girl looked over at Evie, who was staring back at her friend with tears in her eyes and a small smile on her face. "And Evie, you do not have to play dumb to get a guy. You are so smart."
"And I don't wanna take over the world with evil. It doesn't make me happy. I wanna go to school...and be with Ben." At the sound of his name leaving Mal's mouth, the future king's eyes lit up before they met the green-eyed girl's. The smiles on Rylee's and Morgan's faces did nothing but grow as they watched Mal hold up the hand that had Ben's ring on it. "Because Ben makes me really happy."
The two of them stared at each other for a long moment before Mal's attention turned toward the two princesses standing next to Ben. "Your friendship makes me really happy." The three girls shared another smile before the purple-haired girl turned back to face the three from the Isle. "Us four being friends makes me really happy. Not destroying things. I choose good, you guys."
As soon as she finished her speech, Mal held her fist out toward Evie, Jay, and Carlos, who stared back at her with different expressions on their faces. A moment passed before the boys' attention fell to her closed hand while Evie continued to stare at Mal with tears in her eyes. The next thing anyone knew, a smile formed on Jay's face before he held his own fist out to meet Mal's. "I choose good, too."
"I choose good," Evie stated with the biggest smile plastered onto her face as she copied their actions.
"So, just to be clear, we don't have to worry about how really mad our parents will be?" Carlos questioned, drawing all attention towards him before laughs from the other three from the Isle filled the air, "because they're gonna be really, really mad."
"Your parents can't reach you here," Ben told him while he, Rylee, and Morgan continued to watch them with smiles on their faces.
"Okay, then," Carlos smirked before placing his fist against his three friends, "good."
Their laughter filled the air once again as Rylee and Morgan linked their arms together while Ben kept his eyes glued to the scene playing out in front of him. Once the four from the Isle finished their moment, Mal turned her attention towards the future king and his advisors and gestured for them to join. Ben didn't hesitate to take his place between Mal and Evie while Morgan went next to Carlos and Jay and Rylee stood between Jay and Mal. The three Auradorians instantly held their fists out to meet the Isle natives' before cheering erupted from the crowd.
But their moment was soon interrupted by a loud thundering sound.
The cheering from the crowd immediately stopped before it turned into screams. When the group of teens looked toward the source of the noise, they were greeted by green smoke circling around in the air above them before it stopped in front of Mal. Jay and Carlos didn't hesitate to force Rylee and Morgan behind them after the fog cleared to reveal Maleficent standing in front of them.
"I'm back!" the powerful woman announced, causing more shouts to come from the crowd.
"Go away, Mother," Mal demanded in an irritated tone, making Maleficent cackle and snort as she turned to face her daughter.
"Oh, I'm so...you're very funny here. Wand me. Chop-chop."
Everyone watched as Mal held the wand out a bit towards her mother before she tossed it to Fairy Godmother. As soon as the wand landed in its rightful owner's hands, the brunette woman turned towards Maleficent and waved her wand around in the air.
"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-"
"Boo," Maleficent finished Fairy Godmother's famous saying before the world around Rylee plunged into darkness.
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An unknown amount of time passed before the world became clear once again. The first thing the Fitzherbert girl saw was Ben running forward as he let out a roar. Mal quickly stopped him as a laugh escaped her before Rylee and Morgan made their way back to Ben's sides.
"We kinda got this all wrapped up here," Mal told him with a smile on her face while Evie, Jay, and Carlos continued to chuckle, causing the two princesses to match their smiles.
Before Rylee could fully register what happened, Ben wrapped his arms around Mal's waist and twirled her around as they laughed. His hands stayed on her waist after he placed her back on her feet while they continued to smile at each other.
"Next time I rescue you, okay?" Ben said as Mal kept her eyes glued to his.
"Hopefully there won't be a next time, Beasty," Rylee sighed as she patted his shoulder, causing everyone to laugh before the purple-haired girl pulled the future king in for another hug.
While the two of them had their moment, Rylee and Morgan made their way over to Evie, Carlos, and Jay with smiles on their faces.
"Thank you for believing in us," Evie said before she pulled the two princesses in for a tight hug.
"That's what we're here for," Morgan responded as Jay and Carlos joined them.
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