The Tour

The Future and The Past

"Can we go talk somewhere private?" Mal asked. Ben nodded, taking Mal's hand he led her through an empty hall and into one of the various sitting rooms of the palace. "Ben, do you ever think about the future?" Mal asked, softly. "Yes, a lot." Ben replied casting a sidelong glance at Mal who was staring at her hands. "And am I in it?" Mal asked, and, for the first time since Ben had known her, Mal sounded unsure and scared. "Yes, you are, always." Ben replied, sincerely.  "Do you ever think about always? It's a long time. I just started to think about it myself, at dinner." Mal said. "Always is a long time." Ben agreed. "Yes, while I was thinking about the future, the word always came into my thoughts and I realized something Ben. Something important." Mal said. "Oh? What was it?" Ben asked. Mal took a deep breath, as if it were her last. "You're my always Ben, and I want to be your always too." Mal confessed. "Mal." Ben breathed her name like a prayer. "You've been my always since the day we met and you will be until the day I die." Ben told Mal, stroking her cheek gently. "I also realized that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to marry you." Mal said. "That's good, because I was about to propose soon. I got the ring and everything." Ben said getting down on one knee in front of Mal. "I was going to wait until we got back to Auradon but, this is better." Ben said pulling a box from his pocket. "Mal Bertha, I knew from the day I met you that I would never be able to love anyone else. I'll never forget the moment I saw you, looking disgruntled and irritated. You were beautiful. I have loved you ever since then. Will you do me the honor of marrying me and becoming my wife, and my queen?" Ben asked his eyes shining. "Yes!" Mal exclaimed. Ben stood and opening the box slid a gold ring with a large emerald, that was surrounded by diamonds and amethysts onto her ring finger. Ben kissed the ring and then her lips, softly and passionately at the same moment. In that kiss, Mal also felt a promise. In that moment everything was perfect. However, that perfect moment was ruined by voices."Awwe." A group of voices sounded from the doorway startling the couple. Snapping their heads up, they saw that all their friends had gathered at the doorway along with the Queen, princess and Kristoff.  "What are you all doing here?" Mal snapped. "Watching Ben propose, duh." Evie replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Can we never get any privacy?" Mal asked exasperated. "Privacy? With the group of friends you have you're asking for privacy? Hate to break it to you Mal pal but you lost the right to privacy the minute you befriended us. Privacy is now a myth." Jay replied gesturing to their group as a whole. Mal glowered at them. "This is so exciting! I can't wait to start working on your wedding dress!" Evie gushed, paying Mal's scowl no heed. "I can do all the flower arrangements!" Jane squealed. "I call the decorations!" Lonnie shouted. "Oh my God can everyone just slow down for a minute please? I mean Ben just proposed." Mal said, frustrated. "I believe that we should give these two a chance to enjoy the moment." Queen Elsa said, her voice louder than the others. It was like a switch had been flipped, the girls were instantly calm. "Thank you." Mal said to the queen. "No problem. Now we are all going to leave so you two can enjoy this moment together without any interruptions." Elsa said, giving a pointed look to the others. Mal was surprised to find that none of her friends bristled at the ice queen giving them orders. But she didn't ponder it for long, because she was grateful. The queen swept from the room, the others followed. "We have really nosy friends." Mal said once everyone was gone. "Yeah but they mean well. Plus they're great friends." Ben said. Mal thought about their friends for a moment. They were extremely loyal, protective of sometimes overly so, honest, and always there for each other. Yes, they were great friends indeed. "I suppose they are." Mal agreed. "So, are we going to wait to announce our engagement to the public?" Mal asked. "We could, but I don't see what good it would do, the world already knows I'm crazy about you, but we should probably call my parents and tell them, so they don't have to find out from the media. Mom would kill me." Ben said. "Good idea." Mal conceded. Ben FaceTimed his parents and together he and Mal told them the news. "Well its about time Benjamin Florian, your father and I have been waiting for this for at least 2 years." Belle said, teasingly. "We even had a little bet going, we did." Adam said. "That's right! You owe me a shopping spree in Paris. I'd forgotten all about it." The former queen said to her husband. "Darn, should've kept my mouth shut." The former king muttered. Mal grinned. "Mom! Dad! I can't believe you placed bets on our future!" Ben said, annoyed. "Well son, we are retired and we need to keep ourselves entertained." Adam explained. "Let me see the ring Mal." Belle requested. Mal held her hand out to the camera. "Oh my goodness that's one large rock. It's lovely and suits you perfectly." Belle gushed. "Thanks Belle." Mal said, blushing. "You are going to make a great queen." Adam said, sincerely. "I hope so." Mal replied nervously. "Oh I know so."Adam assured. Mal smiled before yawning. "What time is it?" Mal asked. "Almost 10 o' clock pm." Ben replied. "No, Ben it's just now 9:00 am." Belle corrected. "No mom we're in two different time zones remember." Ben said, stifling his own yawn." Oh that's right. Where are you all anyways?" Belle asked. "Arendale." Ben replied. "Oh Arendale, such a lovely place. The former King and Queen were good friends of ours before they died, I remember how they doted on their two daughters, they were such lovely little girls. Although, we didn't see Elsa as much as Anna, we always thought she was just shy. But, no that wasn't the case, I remember when we heard about her incident with her ice powers. But, everything is all right now. Do tell them we said hello won't you?" Belle said wistfully. "Yes mom we will tell them." Ben said. "Ok then, we'll let you two go to bed now. Goodnight dears we love you." Belle said. "Congratulations. Goodnight." Adam said. "Goodnight, we'll keep in touch. Love you." Ben said hitting the End call button. "I didn't know my parents knew the former King and Queen or Queen Elsa and Anna." Ben said. "Well  the Queen is what 25? And you're 19 which makes you 6 years apart. So you weren't even born at that time. The princess is 22 which makes you 3 years apart. Your mom had probably just found out she was pregnant with you, when the King and Queen died. So your parents probably didn't think it was important to tell you about something that happened before you were born." Mal reasoned. "Do you remember hearing about when the queen accidentally plunged Arendale into an eternal winter?" Ben asked.
"Oh yes, I was 11 at the time. My mother and the other villain parents were convinced she would be sent to the Isle and that when she came they could bust out. When that didn't happen, my mom went on a tirade that lasted a week. I knew better than to be around her when she got that angry, so I stayed with Evie for a week. Her mom just pretended she didn't know I was there, that way if my mom came looking for me, she could pretend she had no clue I was there and would've been able to avoid my mother's wrath. Of course she never came and when her anger fizzled out I went back home." Mal replied. "I was 12, when I saw it on the news. My mom kept saying what a shame it was and how sad. But never gave any indication that they knew the queen." Ben said. Mal yawned again. "I suppose it doesn't matter now. But what does matter is that it's time for bed." Ben said, standing up, and offering his hand to Mal. "Agreed." Mal said, taking Ben's hand and allowing him to help her to her feet. "Allow me to escort you to your room, fair lady." Ben said, giving her a chivalrous smile." Why certainly, your highness." Mal said, playing along. Ben led Mal through the castle halls and finally stopped at Mal's door. "Here we are fair maiden, safe and sound." Ben announced. "Thank you for ensuring my safety on our long and treacherous journey through the castle kind sir." Ma said, with equal gravity. "Now I shall depart from thee." Ben said, bowing. "Wait, good sir how shall I ever repay you?" Mal asked. "All I ask for is a simple kiss from thy fair lips." Ben replied. Mal smiled. Leaning in, she kissed Ben softly. "Goodnight sweet king, may you carry my love with you on your journey." Mal said. "Goodnight fair lady, I accept thy love and give my in return." Ben replied, and kissing Mal one last time, departed for his room.
Before falling asleep, Mal replayed the days events and smiled. As Mal slept, thoughts of fair ladies and chivalrous kings filled her dreams.