Hellfire | Isle of the Lost

THIRTY-ONE: Time for Change

[MONTHS LATER]

The Olympian Council were gathered once again in the Hall of the Gods for another meeting. Their eyes were cast downward, watching the young Prince Ben writing zealously on a piece of paper. The future king was writing down a proposal that would change the fate of the idyllic kingdom forever. He wanted to bring five villain children from the Isle of the Lost to Auradon, the same kids that the Bureau deemed to be a "high-level threat." The same children that Adam blamed for his abdication. The children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar, Cruella de Vil and Hades. 

"Well, I see nothing wrong with the proposal," started Hermes. "It's about time that the winds of change blow through Auradon. I say we allow it to pass."

"It will give children a chance at a better life," added Artemis.

"But is it right, though?" questioned Hephaestus. "That only five children out of all the children get that opportunity. It seems cruel. And why those five? Certainly we can all think of other children on the island that need their freedom to be granted more urgently."

"I understand your point, but it needs to be those five children," replied Apollo. "They're the ones that Adam deems responsible for the breach in the barrier and who the Bureau perceives as being the highest threat to the kingdom. They're perceived as being the worst out of the villain kids. And if they show the kingdom that they themselves truly aren't villains, then it can be something of a chain reaction. The people in Auradon will become more open-minded and less prejudiced, so that other villain children can be allowed in."

Dionysus turned to the sun god with a grin, "Are you foreshadowing right now?" 

"You know I can't answer that."

"And what of Uma?" asked Demeter.

"And why is my granddaughter of any concern to you?" asked Poseidon rhetorically. "Uma will stay with her mother on the island until such a moment arises, where she can leave."

"She'll find her own way out," Apollo muttered.

A gleeful Dionysus turned to the aloof Ares beside him, "He's totally foreshadowing right now."

"The only problem with all of this is one of the children that the young prince wants to bring to Auradon is Helena," spat Ares.

"And why is that a problem?" asked the Lord of the Dead, his voice low and threatening. The war god only cleared his throat, Hephaestus letting out a small laugh.

"It might become a problem considering the nature of the child's powers," Athena said calmly. "Though she might be stripped of her godhood, she still possesses a significant amount of power as the daughter of two gods."

"Does Ben realize how big a risk he's taking by allowing Helena into the kingdom?" asked Demeter. "Maybe we should-"

"We are not taking this opportunity away from Helena!" exclaimed Aphrodite, her voice loud yet firm. "Let Fate go on its course and see the prophecy fulfilled. But do not do anything else to hurt her. She's been through enough."

"This has nothing to do with the prophecy," refuted Hera. "We're merely assessing the threat to Auradon, which as of this moment is Helena."

"That is what you all keep saying, but it is not what any of you believe. That prophecy has scared us all, and our fear has left an innocent child scared for the rest of her life."

"Aphrodite is right," Zeus said lowly, much to the surprise of the other council members. "The prophecy has scared us, more so than any of us will ever admit. We will help where we can but we must let Fate take its course, regardless of what the outcome will be."