4Ben shifted anxiously in his seat. His gaze darted frantically around the enormous courtroom as the empty rows of chairs and tables began to fill at an alarming rate. Immediately, his heart rate spiked and he clenched his hands around a pencil, trying to hide his nervousness. To his left sat Belle, looking as regal and entirely uncomfortable as ever. To his right, Beast rose to his feet to shake hands with several members of the court, exchanging cordial pleasantries. Ben sat there, attempting a half-convincing smile, nodding a friendly hello to anyone who passed. He fiddled with the pencil, taking deep breaths, trying to mentally prepare himself for what was to follow.
"Greetings." Beast's voice echoed throughout the hall. Almost immediately, the loud clatter of talk and scuffing chairs subsided as everyone took a seat and looked up at the king expectantly. "I wish you all welcome. Before we begin, I would like to announce that my son, Ben, will be joining us today. As many of you know, he is nearing his sixteenth birthday and he has a request to make before all of you at the conclusion of this meeting. And now, without further ado, I call this meeting of the King's Council to order. You may begin to present your agendas."
As Ben watched, the other council members began to line up in a neat, orderly row. Some held folders in their hands. Some held small note cards. But, somehow, Ben knew, each had something very important to say. And it was Doc and Grumpy, two of the seven dwarfs, Doug's uncles, who approached the stand first.
"Sire," Doc began in his usual calm, collected, and authoritative voice. Ben blinked in surprise. The only dwarf he knew was Doug, and the boy had no sense of authority whatsoever. Ben had assumed that all dwarfs were the same. But not Doc. "It has come to our attention that there have been...how should I put it...weird disturbances...throughout the land. Reports are of earthquakes in Charmington, tsunamis around the Under-Sea Kingdom, even here in Auradon there appears to be a high level of magic circling the atmosphere."
Beast sat back to ponder this. He frowned slightly and raised a hand to cover it. "I see. And are there any leads as to what might be causing it?"
There was silence for a moment before anyone was willing to answer. And it was Doc who once again stepped forward to reply. "No, Sire. In fact, the only lead we can distinguish is a slight tip in the balance of magic from somewhere near the Isle."
A whisper transformed into a thunderous roar that spread rapidly through the hall. Fear flickered through many of the heroes' eyes. Was a villain close to breaking free? Were they safe? Seeing he was about to lose control, Beast rose to his feet abruptly. "Order!" he called. The noise was too much and easily drowned out his attempt. Ben, noticing his father's expression, hastily slapped his hands over his ears and braced himself.
"SILENCE!"
The room fell silent almost instantly. Many seemed accustomed to the Beast's temper by now and simply sunk quietly into their seats. "Now," the king went on sternly. "Let's remain calm. We don't have any proof that this has any connection to the Isle at all. Right, Doc?" He turned toward the dwarf hopefully.
Doc nodded. "Of course, Sire."
"There. See?" Beast sat back on his throne with a smirk. "No reason to panic. No reason at all. Now, let's continue."
The remainder of the meeting ran, for the most part, relatively smoothly. Cogsworth brought forth a suggestion of more days off for workers, Sabastian suggested hosting the yearly Royal Ball (which, Belle reminded Ben in a whisper, much to his dismay, was something he'd be required to attend that year), and Snow White (timidly) brought forward the concept of a national holiday for animals. Beast kindly listened to all suggestions, generously agreeing to most and giving helpful tips to making them more successful.
And, at last it was Ben's turn. As the last of the council members took a seat, he slowly rose to his feet. He was suddenly consciously aware of all the stares on him. It was highly uncomfortable, reminding him of the paparazzi at the school, and he tugged nervously at his tailored suit.
"And now, my son, Ben, would like to speak," Beast called. He turned to face the prince, giving him a you-got-this look. Ben gulped and gave a weak smile. He was sure his father would not be think the same if he knew what his son was about to propose. "Go ahead, son," Beast added, taking off his glasses and sitting back, opening the floor to the young man.
Ben cleared his throat and mentally recited his speech. Doug had written it (the boy could be very grandiloquent when he chose) and had forced Ben to memorize it. Now, standing before some of the greatest heroes of all time, Ben was eternally grateful to the dwarf. "Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court," he began, his voice bouncing off of the wall. He winced slightly and dialed his volume back a few decimals. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Ben. And I've come with a request for all of you." He paused and swallowed back the lump of fear. "I would like to make a proposition," he went on. "That the kids on the Isle of the Lost, the children of the villains, be given a chance to come here...to Auradon."
He braced himself. He knew, just by his friends' reactions, that there would be an explosion in the hall, but nothing could have prepared him for the response he received. The room immediately erupted into protestant shouts. Ben cringed back and felt both his parents jump to their feet in shock and he couldn't force himself to turn and face them. He just wanted to shrink away, curl up in a corner, hide for the rest of his life, never show his face again. Chad and Audrey had been right. The court wouldn't accept his idea. They wouldn't accept the VKs.
"The children of the villains? Are you crazy? We can't let those monsters in here! They'll destroy us all!"
The voice came from near the back of the room. Ben squinted, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice, but could see nothing through the sea of faces. The hall was in an uproar. Ben could feel his irritation building. Why wouldn't they just hear him out? Were the VKs so inferior that they did not deserve a chance at a normal life as well? He could feel the anger growing, and he summoned it into one long breath.
"QUIET!"
The halls went deathly still and all eyes stared at him in shock. They may have been accustomed to Beast's outrages, but they'd never heard Ben's. And, quite frankly, neither had Ben. He could feel himself starting to turn a bit red and knew he would be forcibly removed if he went on, but he wasn't about to back down. Not now. If he wanted the court to listen to him, he had to prove that he was serious. And there was only one way to do that.
"I'm going to the Isle," he announced. Beast and Belle stepped forward to protest and Belle began to speak, but Ben cut her off. "And I'm going to find four children who have good hearts and bring them back with me. I'll be back at the next meeting with the VKs. And then you'll see that they aren't all bad. Thank you." With that, he turned and began to descend the steps to the lower floor and the door.
"Court adjourned," he heard Beast say behind him as he threw open the doors and stalked into the hall, startling his friends who were sitting across the corridor, waiting impatiently. Chad glanced back from a mirror and flashed a dumb grin as Audrey finished touching up her makeup and Doug quit investigating a suit of armor.
"Well, that sounded promising," Doug commented sarcastically as Ben turned away from them and stormed off down the hall.
"Ben! Ben, come on, wait up!" Chad added, sprinting after him. Sharing a look, Doug and Audrey followed.
"Come on, Ben, what did they say?" Doug questioned as they caught up and fell in step alongside him.
"They didn't say anything," Ben responded. "They screamed it at me."
"They denied your plan," Audrey said.
Ben nodded.
"Well, I guess that's that then, right?" Chad said. He didn't sound very heartbroken about it as he slapped Ben encouragingly in the back. "We'd better get back to school then, huh? We have a tourney tournament tomorrow. And I don't know about you, but I'd like to get a good night's sleep so I can look my best for the girls."
Doug raised an eyebrow, but kept quiet.
Ben shook his head. "No, you guys, you don't get it. I'm not giving up on this. I need to do this."
"But the council said no, Benny-Boo," Audrey reminded him, not-too-gently. "And you can't go above the council."
"I know," Ben sighed. "I may...have told them that I was going to the Isle myself."
"What?" Chad gasped. "Are you out of your mind? You can't go there! It's not safe! There are hundreds of villains that would like nothing more than to kill you. Have I mentioned it's not safe?"
"That doesn't matter," Ben retorted. "It's the right thing to do. And..." he hesitated. They were really going to hate what he was about to ask of them next. "I was hoping you all might come with me."
Audrey's eyes widened to four times their normal size. Chad's smile faded to a scowl. Doug turned paler than a sheet. Ben noticed all of this and sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I understand if you don't want to," he went on quickly. "It's just...I really feel this could be a great thing, you know? I think Auradon really needs this. And you all are my friends. So, I'm asking you as my friends, come with me. Help me prove that there really is good on the Isle of the Lost."
They stared. A minute passed. And then two. And then, slowly, Audrey shook her head. "No," she said gently. "I love you, but this plan of yours, it's all a really bad idea."
Chad, after glancing at her and hearing her opinion, quickly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, man, what if something goes wrong? Wouldn't be a lot safer to stay here?"
"'Safe' isn't the point, Chad," Ben responded. "But I understand. I'll respect your wishes. Hey," he added, putting a hand on Chad's shoulder. "I'll see you guys later, okay?" They nodded and began to walk off. Now, Ben turned his gaze on the last of his friends. "Doug?"
The dwarf coughed nervously and adjusted his glasses. "You know I'm there for you, Ben. I don't...I don't...like this. Something's bound to go wrong. It always does. And...I really don't think you should be there by yourself when it does."
Does that mean what I think it does? Ben waited, feeling a spark of hope bloom in his chest. "Does that mean-"
"It means I'm coming with you." Doug confirmed with a small nod. "When do we leave?"
So...cold.
Dark...so...dark...
Hungry...hurt...hungry...cold...
Magic...heroes...could taste...hero...blood...coming there...
It was time...time...hungry...heroes...
The fools.
