[4] Phoenix | Descendants 3

･ ｡ﾟ✧: * HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Things had settled down in Auradon in months following Ascension Day, though not without causing a big mess in the process. One of the first yet major issues in the reign of the new king is figuring out what needed to be done with the influx of VKs. Ben and Mal were happy that all VKs were now free and no longer rotting in prison for someone else's crimes. However, as the celebrations came to an end, the underlying problems with the proclamation soon began to show itself.

As the Isle was always technically and legally part of Auradon, all Isle citizens were always Auradonian citizens. And now that the VKs were free, it meant that they could exercise their rights as Auradonians, which have been denied to them for so long. However, some VKs were still minors and under the custody of their parents. And via intel from the Bureau, these villains hated that their kids were taken from them without notice and demanded that their children be returned to them at once.

On the other hand, other VKs were adults, which meant they had certain rights that their younger counterparts didn't have, such as the right to vote. However, given that they spent their entire lives on the Isle, they were entirely ill-equipped to join Auradonian society. So, the questions of how they would do so and what they would do were ones that the rest of Auradon desperately wanted an answer to.

One prominent Auradonian figure was against the forceful separation of the parents from their kids. They even went as far as to suggest that the villains should be able to keep in contact with their children through use of the APS or even by the kids routinely visiting the island.

But this was a stance that the original batch of VKs were vehemently against, and Queen Mal made sure that this was well-known (albeit more discreetly given her new position). VKs have grown up raised by and surrounded by villains, they knew a life without them or their influence in any way, shape or form. They were never able to have lives on their own because VKs were only seen as an extension of their villainous parents, nothing more. But being in Auradon gave the VKs a chance for them to figure out who they are as individuals and to have an identity outside of their parents. This was the opportunity given to the original batch learned when they came to Auradon, and this was the same opportunity being extended to the remaining VKs.

Their children were only important to them if they were useful, typically in the form of getting their revenge and spreading evil. And as they've seen time and time again, the villains would only use their children in some way to plan an escape. And when they weren't of use, the children were abused, neglected, humiliated, belittled and treated in such a way that VKs did everything they could to avoid going home. All VKs had dreamed of escaping and having better lives, so a physical barrier between them and their parents was their only hope.

This debate surrounding what to do with the VKs was a hot topic in the news. Some criticized King Ben for making a spur of the moment decision without thinking of the legal and moral consequences. Those that held this view this as Queen Mal's effect on the king, the daughter of Maleficent putting "her people" over the rest of the kingdom. And they saw the VKs, especially the older ones as people that would be stealing goods, resources, jobs and ultimately money from regular workers.

Others were on the side of the King and Queen, arguing that it was more important for the children to be off the island and away from their tormentors than it was to think of consequences. And that the VKs would ultimately enrich economic growth and innovation with their unique expertise and experiences.

As this matter was being discussed, the VKs were still permitted to go to school per the contract the High Council signed with the Olympians. But Auradon Prep couldn't accept all the children as the school would be overcapacity. In response, other schools, both within Auradon City and in the other kingdoms, opened their doors to the VKs. Auradon's Department of Education reviewed Phil and Yen Sid's notes on the Isle curriculum to create a new curriculum tailored specifically to the VKs. Of course, Fairy Godmother's Remedial Goodness class was to be included. Classrooms were overcrowded but children were getting an education.