Change of Lives

Scene 17

Hope all y'all enjoy this chapter! Here it is!

No One's POV

Ben was just finishing up a phone call when there was a knock at the door. He ended the call and called out, "Come in!" Those that came in were people he never would've predicted. The new VKs all came in looking confident yet there was an air of tension. Ben blinked out of his stupor, smiled, and asked, "Hey! Is there something you need?" The group all looked at each other before Quinn (at least, Ben thought his name was Quinn) stepped forward.

"Yeah, we have a question.." he trailed off. Ben continued smiling and gestured for them to sit down.

"Of course, I'd be happy to help with anything you need." Ben waited patiently for the answer. He understands that they don't trust him, not just because he's King of Auradon but he's practically a stranger. After a couple more minutes, Quinn spoke up again.

"We were wondering if it's entirely necessary to get a doctor to check us out before we go to Auradon Prep." Ben blinked. That wasn't what he thought they were going to say at all. He recovered quickly and replied with a question of his own.

"Why do you wish to know?" Before Quinn said anything, Calli butt in.

"Answer our question first and perhaps we'll tell you." Ben was a little startled by the underlying commanding tone. No one else reacted and they all waited for Ben to figure out his thoughts. After a moment, Ben answered saying, "Yes, it is necessary, now why were you wondering?" They all looked at each other and Are spoke up.

"Well...we don't trust doctors. The last doctor we had didn't understand a thing of the medical procedures, however," Are clapped Colt's shoulder as he spoke this next part. "Colt knows a great deal about the Healing Arts. He took the class for it on the Isle for seven years! And more important than that, we trust 'im. We won't trust anybody else to do this. It's either Colt or nothin'."

Ben was a bit astounded by the way Are reacted. He was confident and expressed their terms straight away instead of going for hours at a time like some of his council members did. So, to say Ben was shocked was a bit of an understatement, yet he was also stunned. When Ben cast his eyes around to see if anyone else reacted, he was slightly curious.

Everyone's faces, except his own, were in cool indifference. Colt seemed a bit surprised as well, but Ben didn't see it. Calli's eyes were shining with amusement. Quinn showed some disapproval but also humor through his body position and eyes. Again Ben didn't notice that. All that he was curious about was Avy's complete neutral expression. You couldn't tell what she saw feeling at all. Ben was impressed. Even some of the highest politicians couldn't achieve this look of complete neutrality. But Avy had it down flat.

After a second, Ben realized he had yet to accept or deny their request. He knew that he could probably force them to do what he wanted, but he also knew that if he did so, he would lose their trust. They would also fight back. Ben didn't know how well they could, but he knew that he was sure all of them have been in a fight at least once before. They all seemed to have a sense of determination throughout their days. Ben has only known them for barely a day and he was already quite impressed. He digresses.

He gets back on track confirming if Are's proclamation was indeed true by asking Colt. Colt nodded without hesitation, but it wasn't a quick nod. It was slow and deliberate. These are an interesting group of people, Ben thought. He blinked a couple of times before deciding. It took a minute, but Ben was sure this was the right thing to do. He knew that the kids' older siblings will be irritated and frustrated because they won't know about any injuries, but Ben knew that this was the right thing to do. He looked at each of them in turn and said,