Ben and Mal made their way to the school hospital, both of them still dripping wet. It was a good thing that the custodian had been given the weekend off otherwise he would have had a fit at the state of the floors.
"Mal?" Ben asked after a few minutes of walking in silence.
"Yeah Ben?" Mal turned and looked at him.
Ben sighed and ran a hand through his damp hair. "Will you please get swimming lessons?"
Mal blinked; in all honesty that was not the question she was expecting. She did have to admit, it was probably a good idea for her to have at least one lesson. "I'll set up my session with Ariel after your coronation."
"Multiple lessons," Ben stipulated, turning to face her. "You seem to like to jump in after others, and while I certainly admire and appreciate that, I might not always be there to pull you back up. I just found you Mal. I don't want to lose you."
"Okay, I promise," Mal told him after a few minutes of silence. She was taken aback by how seriously Ben was treating this. "But we're paying for them. We're not taking anyone's pity, Ben, even for something like swimming lessons."
Ben chuckled and turned to walk by his girlfriend's side, slipping his hand in hers. "Ariel gives all of Melody's friends free lessons if they need them. Heck, she gave me free lessons when I was ten."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Ben shook his head in amusement. "To this day, I'm not sure why. I wasn't friends with Melody and Ariel was a Queen herself. She didn't need to court favor with my parents."
"She could have thought that it might be a good idea for the future king to be able to swim if need be," Mal threw out there.
"Always a possibility," Doug's voice came from behind Ben, causing Ben and Mal to jump in surprise. The pair turned around to see Doug and Evie right behind them, just as wet as Ben and Mal were.
"Belle forgot that we had also jumped in the lake," Evie told Mal, noticing the surprise on her best friend's face. "Once she realized that we were still there and dripping wet, she ordered us to go. Cinderella is currently in the process of arguing with Kitty but I'm sure she and Dizzy will be here in a few minutes."
"Actually...." Kitty's voice came from behind Evie and the four turned around to see Cinderella leading her daughter and step-niece to the Hospital wing. Mal had to wonder how someone could look so graceful in a damp dress while looking slightly annoyed but Cinderella managed to pull it off.
"Your majesty," Ben greeted the older royal, giving a slight nod of his head in lieu of a bow. "I would have thought that you had gone home."
"I wanted to be sure Dizzy found the hospital wing and that my daughter actually went," Cinderella explained, giving a look to her daughter who rolled her eyes in response. "As well, I need to speak to your mother about something Ben. We were going to meet tomorrow but I realized that tomorrow is your coronation. It might not be the best time to bother your mother. Even if we met in the morning, it would still coincide with the last minute planning and prep."
"Mom wouldn't mind," Ben said, shrugging. "She's always ready to help."
"It wouldn't do to put more stress on her," Cinderella said, giving Ben a small smile. "Ah, I do believe we're here."
The hospital wing was surprisingly cosy for being a large room, with ceilings that seem to go on forever. The sheer white curtains seemed to help brighten the room, and little pops of color could be seen throughout. Mal barely got a chance to look around before the nurse hurried over to her.
"Oh dear, what happened?" The nurse asked, leading all of them to the beds.
"There was an incident by the lake," Cinderella told her, helping Dizzy onto one of the beds.
"I fell in," Dizzy told the nurse, looking down in guilt; her voice still raspy from the coughing fit she had when Kitty pulled her out. "I got too close to the edge and my foot slipped in the mud."
Cinderella looked over at the nurse, who had remained silent. This was odd for the older woman, who usually was peppering the children with questions if Chad's complaints were anything to go off of. "Is everything alright?"
"Your highness, I'm not sure I can treat her," the nurse said, uncertainty evident on her face. Mal and Evie stared at her in shock, Mal holding on to Evie's arm as the blue haired girl seemed ready to launch herself toward the nurse in Dizzy's defense. Some of the others, however, did not have the self control Mal possessed.
"Why?!" Kitty exclaimed, having heard the nurse's statement.
"Kitty," Cinderella warned, preventing another outburst. Turning back to the nurse, Cinderella sighed and tried to keep her expression neutral. "Why would you be unable to treat her?"
"Because I don't have authorization to do so," the nurse explained. "I need either permission from Fairy Godmother or the child's parents."
"We were sent here by Queen Belle," Cinderella said, leveling a small glare at the older woman. "Not to mention, this girl is ten years old. Are you really going to deny her treatment based on something like that? What if she'd been seriously injured?"
"I'm sorry your highness," the nurse said, looking genuinely contrite. "It's school policy."
Cinderella sighed and then straightened up. Turning to Kitty, she said "Watch Dizzy for a second?"
Not giving her daughter a moment to respond, Cinderella strode out of the hospital wing like a woman on a mission. Mal stared at her back in shock, not expecting that reaction from one of the nicest princesses known in the kingdom.
"Well then," the nurse said with a sigh and turned to the others. "So, you all dove in to save the young girl?"
"The young girl is right there," Doug pointed out, a slight edge to his voice. "You could ask her."
"Doug," Evie shook her head.
"Evie, this—"
"Yes, we dove in after Dizzy," Mal told the nurse, speaking over Evie and Doug. She knew the nurse wasn't likely to talk to Dizzy since she wasn't sure if she had permission to treat her. The same thing had happened to Evie after a sewing mishap about two weeks in. It was one of the few times Mal had seen Ben angry as he'd been in the hospital wing with an injury from Tourney. "Evie and myself don't know how to swim so Ben and Doug dove in after us. Kitty dove in after Dizzy."
The nurse nodded as she proceeded to look over Mal, Evie, Ben, Doug and Kitty. Mal winced against the light that was shined into her eyes but was thankful for the new towel. It seemed to be even fluffier than the towel they gave her down at the lake. Normally, Mal wouldn't have noticed but compared to the towels they had on the isle, it was heavenly. "Well it doesn't look like there was any harm done."
"What about Dizzy?" Ben asked, accepting the new towel that the nurse passed to him.
"I can't talk about that, your highness," the nurse told him. "Unfortunately, as I told Queen Cinderella, without the girl's parents or Fairy Godmother's authorization, there's nothing I can do."
"What about my authorization?" Queen Belle's voice came from the doorway. Mal turned around to see the queen storming toward the nurse, Cinderella following her; trailing a bit despite the fact that the blonde was taller than the brunette. Seeing the fury in Belle's eyes, Mal made a mental note to never upset Ben's mom.
"Your highness!"
"Don't." Belle cut off the barrage of adulations that was about to come from the nurse's mouth by holding up a hand. "Why am I hearing that you're refusing to treat a young girl that I sent to you?"
The nurse straightened up and seemed taken aback, clearly unused to being interrupted. "As I informed Queen Cinderella, I need either the young girl's parents or Fairy Godmother's approval."
"The Queen gives her approval," Belle stated. "As my husband and I are acting in loco parentis to the children we brought here from the Isle, that should be all you need. Unless there's another reason you're refusing to treat?"
The nurse stared at Belle for a moment before bowing and turned to Dizzy, taking special care to make sure everything was observed and that no corners were cut.
"Belle, may I speak to you?" Cinderella said after a few minutes of silence.
"Of course," Belle nodded and whispered instructions to Ben before leaving with Cinderella. The two royals went into a side room, content that the kids would be fine. Belle still kept the door open a crack in case anything happen that required their presence.
"Aren't we meeting tomorrow?" Belle asked as she turned to face Cinderella, slightly confused.
"We can certainly meet again tomorrow," Cinderella nodded. "However, I realized that tomorrow is Ben's coronation. I don't want to put any undo pressure on you."
Belle smiled at the older royal. "Thank you. With all that's happened, I must confess that I'd forgotten all about that."
"I figured," Cinderella told her with a smile.
"I assume you wanted to talk about Dizzy?" Belle asked, bringing the focus back to the meeting. Cinderella nodded, taking a stabilizing breath.
"I want to foster her," Cinderella said without preamble. "I've spoken to Kit and he's for it. The girl needs someone who can act as her guardians and while you and Beast would be fantastic, I'm the only family she has here in Auradon."
"What about Chad?" Belle asked, raising an eyebrow. "I know you'd provide a loving room for her but you and your husband can't be everywhere, Ella."
Cinderella sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Trust me Belle, nothing has given me more shame than realizing what my son has become. There are times he reminds me of Drizella. But it's on that note that I wanted to bring up another point."
"Oh?"
Cinderella nodded. "I want to petition for Anastasia Tremaine and her children to be brought from the Isle."
Belle stared at the blonde in shock. "Ella, this is the woman who put you through hell throughout your childhood and into your adult life."
"She did what her mother told her to," Cinderella said. "In the few instances where it was just her and myself, she was fairly pleasant to be around. I will never forgive the destruction of my mother's dress but that is the only crime Ana has personally committed against me. It's certainly not enough to warrant being away from her husband and niece for the rest of her life, nor is it worth her children being locked away on an Isle for the crime of being born."
"You can vouch for her character?" Belle asked after a few minutes of silence.
"She's a victim of circumstance," Cinderella answered instantly. "Compared to everyone else we have on the Isle—"
"You haven't answered the question," Belle interrupted.
Cinderella looked at the petite brunette and nodded. "I can speak to her character."
"Then I'll present it to Ben. This is his declaration so he needs to make the final decision. Not to mention the fact that he will be king," Belle told her. "Ben may turn it down, I don't want you to get your hopes up. However, I certainly feel comfortable approving your fostering Dizzy and I'm positive Ben will as well."
Cinderella seemed to sink into the floor in relief. "Thank you Belle. I'll make sure that Chad is never alone with Dizzy."
"Don't make promises you can't keep," Belle warned. "I meant what I told the kids this afternoon. I'm not going to make them do something they're not comfortable with. If it gets back to either myself or Ben that Dizzy is being mistreated, we will remove her."
"I wouldn't expect anything else," Cinderella nodded, a relieved smile on her face. "But thank you Belle."
Belle chuckled. "I don't know why you're thanking me. Ben and I figured it would be either you or Snow approaching me by the end of the day."
"Just a heads up, I think Raps wants to invite Mal for the holidays," Cinderella told Belle. "You might want to invite her first."
Belle shook her head. "I adore Mal and I love her relationship with my son. However, I don't know how comfortable she would be looking at her boyfriend's mother as a legal guardian."
"Well that's what you are right now," Cinderella pointed out. "With the whole 'loco parentis'."
"That's different," Belle shook her head. "But we're getting off the subject. Are you free next week? I think there's time on Ben's calendar next Thursday. You can make your case for your step-sister then."
"Let me double check with Kit," Cinderella told her. "He told me that he wanted to be there if I needed to state my case. He might have committees next Thursday."
Belle chuckled, amusement twinkling in her eyes. "I am well familiar with the endless committees. I have to confess, it's the one thing I won't miss about being Queen. Just let me know if the day doesn't work and we can reschedule."
"You'll be the first to know," Cinderella nodded. "Now, we should go back out there before my daughter plans her escape."
Belle shook her head in amusement. "Your eldest daughter is a handful."
"She certainly is," Cinderella nodded. "I wouldn't have her any other way though. Maybe with less throwing things at her brother."
"That's never going to happen," Belle pointed out. "She's been throwing things at Chad since she was in the cradle. I'm surprised Lucy didn't follow her lead before today."
"I'm sure Lucy just kept it secret," Cinderella shook her head, the amusement toward her daughters clear on her face. Opening the door, the two royals walked back into the hospital wing to see all the kids from the lake joking around.
"When did you all get here?" Belle asked.
"A few minutes ago, your majesty," Emir answered. "We were worried when they didn't return so we thought we'd check on them."
"Plus, Hadie wanted to make sure his sister was okay," Lonnie added. "He was in a panic when he woke up and Mal was gone."
Sure enough, Belle saw the blue haired boy sitting on Mal's hospital bed. Belle had forgotten that the young boy had slept through all the excitement.
"Everything seems to be as it should be, your highness," the nurse informed Belle and Cinderella. "My apologies for earlier."
Cinderella sighed. "All is forgiven. I'm just happy that Dizzy is safe and that nothing happened when she fell into the lake."
The blonde looked over at her daughter, curled up in a fuzzy pink towel. "Kitty, I need to head home. Do you want to come home with me or will you be alright here?"
"I'm fine mom," Kitty said, giving her mother a kind smile. "Ariel's lessons stuck with me. Besides, it'll take more than a little lake water to keep me down."
Cinderella couldn't help but chuckle at her daughter's response. "Well, if you need to, please call me or your father. You know we can get here faster than it'll take you to call a pumpkin."
"You mean uber, mom?"
"You know what I meant," Cinderella shook her head and began to walk out the door. It was then that a small voice called out.
"Where am I staying?" Dizzy asked, uncertainty evident in her voice. "I didn't see anyone my age at the screening. Am I going back to the Isle?"
"That's a good question," Hadie chimed in. "What about me? Mom's preparing for her six months on the Isle. Am I to go back and forth?"
Belle looked over at Cinderella, who seemed confident when Dizzy had spoken but faltered with Hadie. It was fair—they were prepared to foster one child, not two. Especially since the one child was family to Cinderella.
"Dizzy, my dear," Cinderella spoke up, feeling awkward since she couldn't answer Hadie's question, but pressed on. "If you'd like, you can come home with me. We can get a room set up for you or you can room with my youngest daughter."
"Alex won't like that," Kitty pipped up. "She's never had to share a room before."
"I'm fine with my own room," Dizzy said quickly, before Cinderella could respond. "Do...do you mean it? I can stay with you?"
Cinderella knelt down to Dizzy's level, not noticing the worried glance Mal and Evie shared. They didn't know how Dizzy would take it if she got rejected.
"Dizzy, nothing would make me happier than if you stayed with us," Cinderella told her and the younger girl's eyes lit up as if they were fueled with the power of a thousand suns. Dizzy leapt up and wrapped Cinderella in a big hug. However, that hug was quickly broken as Dizzy remembered her clothes were still sopping wet.
"I'm sorry!" The younger girl exclaimed but Cinderella just laughed it off.
"Dizzy, I've had four children," she said. "I've gotten my clothes dirty a time or two. Besides, it's just water."
Dizzy seemed confused at Cinderella's reaction. "You're...you're not angry?"
It was Cinderella's turn to be confused as she exchanged a look with Belle. Looking back at the red-haired girl, Cinderella asked "Why would I be angry?"
"Yeah, mom's great when it comes to cleaning clothes!" Kitty chimed in. "Once I got my dress completely ruined when Evan dumped a bucket of paint on me and Mom managed to get it out no problem."
"Mom always said it wasn't lady like to get dirty," Dizzy said, her voice getting quieter when she spoke of her mother Drizella. "She thought that if I got my clothes dirty by doing anything other than wearing them, I wouldn't be able to get a suitable match on the Isle. It's why she approved of Evie."
"Really?" Evie asked, slightly shocked.
"Your obsession with fashion and design was a suitable hobby for my mother," Dizzy told her. "It was less likely to ruin what I owned than Mal's fondness for spray paint."
"Woman has a point," Mal nodded. "You know I wasn't always the best at keeping the paint off my clothes starting out and clothes were often harder to find on the Isle than food; considering you lot don't exactly throw out clothes as often."
Cinderella looked shocked and Belle looked as though someone had slapped her. "But we had clothing drives once a year," Ben exclaimed, looking just as shocked as his mother. "I helped organize them once I turned thirteen."
"We got maybe five shipments of clothing that I can remember," Mal said with a shrug. "Evie once made a dress out of safety pins and duct tape if that gives you any indication of our clothing situation."
"It's in my sketchbook," Evie added.
"I have it stored in Grammy's shop," Dizzy told her. "It's the one place your mom would never look."
Cinderella couldn't respond in fear that the shock would be on her face. Her step mother would never work back when Cinderella lived with her, even as her father's fortune withered to nothing.
But she inwardly shook her head; this wasn't the time or place to think about this.
"Well then, we need to fix that," Cinderella said, clapping his hands together.
"Girl's weekend?!" Kitty exclaimed, sitting up. "Oh mom, can I come?"
Cinderella chuckled; despite her recent obsession of more active hobbies, nothing could entice her daughter more than a shopping weekend.
"Absolutely," Cinderella told her daughter and then turned to the rest. "In fact, you're all invited."
Evie seemed to light up while Mal looked like she was trying to hide her disgust.
"Thank you your highness," Mal said. "But I may pass. Once Persephone realizes that Hadie's on this side of the Isle, she's going to yack my ear off for letting him stay."
"Too bad," Hadie crossed his arms. "I'm not going back to the Isle, Mal!"
"You gonna tell your mother that?" Mal asked and Hadie fell silent. "That's what I thought."
Cinderella smiled at the interaction and then stood up. "Well, I should head out. Dizzy, do you want to stay here or come back with me?"
Dizzy frowned and looked over at Evie. "Could....could I stay here?"
"Of course!" Cinderella told her, beaming. "It'll give me more time to get your room together anyway."
Dizzy squealed and wrapped Cinderella up in another big hug. "Thank you!"
"My pleasure, my dear," Cinderella said as they broke the hug. "I'll see you all tomorrow."
As she walked off, she couldn't help but smile at the thought of having Dizzy in the castle with her. Alexandria was eleven, so Dizzy would at least have a play mate. Not to mention the fact that she would have someone to prepare her for her time at Auradon prep.
Now it was time to knuckle down and get to work. She'd gotten one—now it was time to see what she could do for Anastasia.
It was time to talk to the baker.