Once Upon a Dream

And everything goes back to normal

On the way home Ben had a sense of relief that everything had turned out seemingly well. He wanted to make a big mistake, one that he knew he wouldn't do after putting that crown on his head, and he did. The last three days had been sequences of acts that would never be repeated. He smiled at what he did, for this boy of now looked nothing like the Ben of a week ago.

All that joy ended when he stepped into the house, saw that his father was there. He didn't expect to see him. Usually, Adam and Belle went to bed early, it was not yet late, but the king of Auradon did not usually stay in the living room at night.

"Father, are you all, right?"

He asked already afraid. Suddenly his hidden trip to the Isle of the Lost was not so hidden.

"What do you think?"

The former beast, who hadn't looked happy since he got home, now looked even worse.

"I don't know, you who are sitting in the living room in the dark."

Her calmness of two minutes ago was fading faster and faster.

"Do you really think I wouldn't know?"

Benjamin turned pale, his blood stopped circulating and he could only think of the worst consequences.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Without him noticing, he turned away from his father.

"I only asked you for one thing Benjamin. You just had to chair a meeting!"

When Adam said this angrily, Ben felt his heart begin to beat again.

"That was it?"

He said breathing with relief

"Was that it?" You acted like an immature teenager Benjamin! I asked you to talk to those men and now I'm the one who will have to talk and try to convince them not to postpone the coronation again. How many meetings have you been in charge of? I was hoping you could handle this one."

His face showed the anger he was feeling. He was red and as nervous as in his days as a beast.

"Dad..."

"I didn't ask you for anything too much, everything I needed to do was in the documents. Where was the difficulty?" Although Adam asked questions, none needed answering. All he wanted was to vent all his anger on the boy. "I thought I could trust you with that, but apparently, I was wrong, you acted like an unprepared boy. I thought that..."

"Will you listen to me?!" Ben shouted. If the king could scream like a beast, his son could do the same. "Not everything is on paper Pa! I read and reread all those documents more than once, but it wasn't enough, because they don't want me as king, they want you!" He was not nervous, however hearing all those accusations from his father made it all come out of him. "They don't want me, they want you. Your documents, your answers, your government. Not me Dad, and yes, maybe they are right, maybe I shouldn't take that crown."

When he heard this the beast disarmed, the kindly Adam and father resurfaced.

"Son, no matter how long, that crown is going to be yours." He approached him. "Like it or not Ben, you will become king of Auradon and those men like it or not will have you as their king."

"I'm not ready to do that dad."

"You Are, you just need to figure it out. Forgive me for the shouting. The last few days have been hectic for me."

"It's okay, I'm going to bed."

Ben wasn't going to sleep as calmly as he thought, not with his mind more turbulent than ever. Then everything went back to normal.

(...)

Isle of the Lost

Mal was happy to be back home. All the shouting, fighting, robbing, and everything that made up the Island's scenery made her smile. As she walked through the alleys to her home a large part of her was happy, this was her place, but there was a small part of her that thought of Auradon and how different things were from here. She wouldn't mind if there were more colors in the places or if she could eat one of those wonderful foods she tried, but beyond this vague memory there was something the girl wanted more than anything. To continue the friendship, she was forming with Carlos and Evie. Jay had been her partner for a long time, but the way they had talked in those days, away from any stealth or fighting was different, and even Evie who was different from her, would like to have a friendship with her.

As he looked at the house, the old Bargain Castle, he realized that it was still the same. She went in, threw her jacket in some corner, opened the empty refrigerator, and went to her room.

"Well, well, well, look who's come home."

Maleficent's unmatched voice stopped Mal's steps.

"Hi."

She said briefly. It was late and she wanted to sleep.

"Where have you been the last few days?"

She asked, startling Mal not only by the question, but by the tone of her voice.

"What?"

"I want to know where my daughter has been, since she hasn't been home for three days."

"Oh yeah, I...I... I was out there. I wanted to take Gothel's territory, but it took longer than I intended."

She tried to lie, which she could do quietly, but with her mother it was much harder to do that.

"Do you think I'm stupid Mal?"

"Why would I think that about you mom?"

"I taught you to lie and this Isle is not as big as you think. I know you weren't even in Port with Ursula's insufferable daughter or Jafar's son."

"Well, I guess the Island is not as small as you think, since you have no idea where my father has been for sixteen years."

The daughter returned the irony.

"Go to your room now."

Talking about Hades was Maleficent's weak point and the most effective way to irritate her. Another time she would have liked to see her mother's concern, but not now.

In her room she went straight to the window balcony to see the lights of Auradon. It was funny to think that she had been there for a few hours and now everything was just big lights far away from her. She had always been curious to know what Auradon was like and now she knew. If she could she would tell everyone there that she had nothing to do with what they imagined.

Later she went to bed and her mind was surrounded by what she didn't know to be memories or a dream...

(...)

United States of Auradon

Ben lay in his bed and left the window open to observe the Isle of the Lost, his curiosity about the other continent has not yet ceased, on the contrary, it has increased. Now that he had met his new friends, he wanted to know more about it. He would go to sleep, not in peace or with a calm heart, because after the conversation with his father all he couldn't do was get a good night's sleep.

"After seeing the eyes, he only knew in dreams, their glow never left his mind. A distance that existed and soon would cease to be..."