Soli Deo gloria

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Descendants.

"So, I bet you all are wondering why I called you here today," Ben said. He looked secretly pleased, like he'd always wanted to say that.

Across the king's desk sat Evie, Carlos, and Jay, all wearing expressions of bored confusion. "Yeah, we are, actually," Evie said. She leaned back on her plush seat. "Our usual meeting about Isle assimilation isn't until three." Before they'd even graduated Ben had granted Evie the job of royal ambassador for the Isle of the Lost to Auradon. She glanced hesitantly at her cellphone, her high heel tapping nervously at the carpet. She had a thousand things to sign, a thousand people to meet, a thousand disasters to soothe into nonexistence—why did Ben suddenly call an emergency mystery meeting? And—

"Where's Mal?" Carlos wondered. "Shouldn't she be here?"

"Actually, no. I'd rather she didn't sit in at this particular meeting." Ben chuckled to himself again. The three VKs exchanged raised eyebrows. What secret amused the king and left them all puzzled?

"I've got an adopt-dogs event at three, so if we could get to the point of this." Carlos looked up from his cellphone and waved his hand in a rolling motion that meant 'Move it along, Ben.'

"I've got a tourney game practice at three. It's the real leagues, so the coach is less nice when I show up late, so I second that notion," Jay said, sparing an eye at the king from his cellphone.

Ben cleared his throat and leaned forward, his hands clasped and his elbows on his desk. He looked at the three friends in front of him, all of them far more occupied and focused on funny cat videos and likes and hearts. He said in a calm voice, "I have called you here for two reasons. I have a very important thing to announce. Only three other people in the whole kingdom know."

"You're stepping down as king?" Evie said absentmindedly, typing fiercely at a text to Doug. She loaded it with heart emojis and winky faces.

"You are secretly a Villain Kid who pretended to be an Auradon Kid this entire time?" Jay said wryly, enjoying the VKs' shared humor.

Along this same vein of asking ridiculous questions that weren't taken as serious but as fun teasing, Carlos said off-hand, "You're going to ask Mal to marry you?"

Ben chuckled a little. "Well. . ." he said, cocking his head to the side and smiling to himself.

All three VKs looked up after a beat of tense silence; their eyes bulged, their backs straightened, their attention was won completely. Evie threw her cellphone behind her hair and said, gulping, "Consider our plans canceled."

Jay and Carlos launched their own cellphones behind their own chairs without taking their eyes off Ben. "Nonexistent," Carlos murmured.

"Gone forever," Jay said, dazed.

"Ben, are you serious?" Evie said. She leaned forward and grabbed his hand and raised it. "Do you swear on your life that you're serious?"

"Oh, I'm serious. This is one of the biggest decisions of my life. I've considered it from every angle, and it's what I want to do."

"That's why Mal's not here," Carlos breathed, that realization suddenly hitting him.

"Wait, three others? Who else knows?" Jay said.

"Ben," Evie said, standing up and radiating with a sudden anger, "who knew before us?"

"Three people. Believe me, they were nonnegotiable people. They came first, even before you. The first two were my parents. I mean, this is something big; I'm their only child, so it's a kind of a big deal from a parent's perspective."

Evie's sudden little glinting temper flamed down into nothing. If she married Doug, her mother wouldn't care at all. But. . . that was nothing. She got what Ben meant. She nodded.

"Also I told them because they're the former king and queen. Asking a VK to be queen is a big deal, you know, politically," Ben admitted.

"And yet they approved," Jay said slowly.

"Approved is one word for it. It's more like what happened when I wanted to invite you guys to Auradon—they conceded to my decision, trusting that I know what I'm doing." He smiled again to himself, thinking thoughts cloaked from his three friends. "I definitely know what I'm doing."

"But . . . are they happy for you?" Evie was just as concerned for one friend's happiness as another's. She wanted Mal happy, first-priority, but she definitely wanted Ben to be happy, too.

"Oh, they are. They gave their blessing."

"Now, who's the third?" Jay said in a leading voice. His voice contained doubt, as if seriously not believing Ben that someone else ranked above them on the need-to-know-that-Ben-wants-to-marry-Mal basis.

Again, that chuckle from the king. "Well, in order to propose to Mal, I need a ring. Not just any ring—the most beautiful engagement ring money can buy, creative mind can think of. So, naturally, I turned to the most creative mind I could think of—Dizzy." The three VKs held bated breath as Ben opened a desk drawer and put a purple plush ring box on the desk. He opened it and sat back, letting its beauty take center-stage.

A smooth pure gold band was studded all around with tiny, stunning emerald circles. And, in its center, was an amethyst—a multi-faceted, captivating, vividly shining purple stone. Ringing it was a winding roller coaster of gold set with tiny, tiny diamonds. This design around the breath-taking amethyst was a crown.

Evie was the first to exhale. "It's beautiful," she said tearfully. She looked at it with painful yet also joyful pangs in her heart. A little tinge of jealousy swept through her heart—Ben chose Dizzy, not her to design her best friend's engagement ring. She swept that jealousy away the instant she recognized its rearing, ugly head. Dizzy was amazing; to receive such recognition and honor from the King of Auradon was a dream come true for her. She was bursting with natural talent; she deserved such a challenge, which she had obviously done to the best of her ability. Then, other emotions hit Evie: it hadn't hit her fully how serious Ben was until she took in that ring—that solid piece of evidence concreted it in her mind. Her friend wanted to marry her best friend. And she wouldn't wish them any different happiness. She breathed in, and hoped and wished that Mal wouldn't have a conflict of head and heart again and would say Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes, to this man who loved her.

"Now, the two things I'm doing here are these: I am letting you into the biggest secret in all the United States of Auradon. This cannot leak to the press, under any circumstances. Is that clear?" Ben was serious for like two seconds and met each pair of eyes. They nodded in solemnity, and he resumed his usual bright-eyed and bushy-tailed self. "You're her three best friends; you deserve to know before I do it. But I also want your blessing before I do it."

The three VKs looked at each other, exchanging confused expressions. "What, our blessing? What do you mean?" Evie stammered.

"Traditionally, the man asks the mother and/or father of the girl he wants to marry for permission to marry her. Kinda assures the girl that her parents support the match. Helps her say yes. But, I don't know Mal's father, and I can't speak lizard. I have tried, believe me, but I don't have a natural talent for languages." His smile disappeared, and that seriousness gripped his young face. "Since I can't ask her parents, I'm asking the people who love her the most. You three are the ones who know her the best, who love her the best, and know what she needs most. So, I'm asking your permission to propose marriage to Mal."

Those three VKs met eyes once more. An urge was felt by all three of them to turn 'round in a huddle and discuss things. But their eyes did the talking. They knew the unanimous answer. They all knew it in their hearts immediately.

"Ben," Evie said, looking up with shining tears in her eyes, "we do know what Mal needs most—she needs you. You believe in her no matter what, and you love her to the ends of the earth."

"You treat her like a princess, but like, a super cool one who has bad table manners," Jay said.

"You two are inseparable. You're the whole 'opposites attract' thing together," Carlos said.

"What we're saying, Ben, is that there's no one we can imagine Mal marrying but you," Evie concluded.

"So, yes," Ben said, dazed. He sat back in his chair, accepting this pronouncement like a burden lifted from his shoulders. He hadn't doubted that these three would heartily hail him with 'Congratulations!' but it was something else to realize that all that was left to do was to propose to the love of your life.

"Hey, you okay, man? The pressures of matrimony weighing heavy on you?" Jay joked.

"Guys, what if she says 'No'?" Ben whispered suddenly.

The VKs could hardly believe their ears. "Ben, that is literally not going to happen," Evie said, coming around the side of the desk to put a comforting, sisterly hand on his shoulder. He looked up with worried eyes at her reassuring face. "She loves you. She won't say 'no'. Trust me."

"It's not that I doubt her love for me," Ben said hesitatingly, reaching for the right words, "but there are a lot of factors that play into marrying me. She'll be guaranteed to be hounded by the press for the rest of her life. She'll become Queen of Auradon. That's a lot of responsibility. What if that scares her?"

"Her mom's Maleficent. It's in her genes to enjoy a position of power," Evie said matter-of-factly.

"But what if she starts to panic? What if she thinks she'll turn into her mom if she gets power? Maleficent's all power-hungry; everyone knows that; what if Mal thinks she'll be just like her mom, and that scares her off?" Ben spieled. He groaned and pressed his fingertips against the bridge of his nose. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't king. It would make my personal life a whole lot simpler."

Evie looked at the boys. They understood that Ben was nitpicking, but they also understood that he was putting himself in Mal's shoes—Mal definitely had a habit of nitpicking and overthinking things. She would think exactly what Ben thought she would. Somehow Evie couldn't put the idea of Mal, panicked and overwhelmed with responsibility and what ifs and maternal haunts in the back of her mind, running back to the Isle again from sheer panic. This could be a repeat episode of what happened years ago.

"Ben, M knows herself much better than she used to. She's been dating you for, what, five years? She's heard the paparazzi speculations; she's heard every wild thought and idea the media's tossed around about her eventually becoming queen. And yet, those haven't scared her away from you." Evie spoke with a wisdom that became her. "She's been with you despite all those facts and those speculations; she knew that you guys would either end up married or broken up a long time ago, and guess what? You guys haven't broken up. So she knows the inevitable, and she hasn't run away. At this point, I don't think she will. And not because she's power-hungry like Maleficent. Believe me, she's fully given up any hope or want to be like her mother at all. She'll become queen because she has to be if she marries you."

"She won't run away?" Ben whispered hopefully, meeting Evie's eyes.

"No, man, she won't," Carlos said, standing up and patting Ben's other shoulder.

"And if she does, we'll just drag her back here and remind her of rational things, like common sense and facts, like the fact that she like, totally loves you and stuff, dude," Jay said, laughing. He walked behind Ben's throne-like swivel chair, removed Ben's blue Isle hat, and gave him a teasing noogie. Ben laughed and ducked out from under him.

"Okay, okay," Ben said. He breathed in deep and said, "So, I've told you guys and received your blessing. Now, all there's left to do is to pop the question."

"Let's see the ring again," Evie said eagerly.

Ben popped the case open again and the three VKs crowded around him as they leaned forward and admired the gorgeous ring.

"Dizzy outdid herself. I'm so proud of her," Evie glowed.

"It's pretty," Carlos said simply.

"Yeah, totally," Jay said.

They all four were still for a moment, all enjoying the moment and the thought of the future exciting moments as yet to come, when suddenly a course of thoughts crashed through Evie's mind. She stiffened and straightened suddenly and said, horrified, to herself, "Dizzy. Ben, where is she?"

"I promised her an afternoon with my mother as a reward for her hardwork. She and Mom are having lunch at home. Mrs. Potts made some grey stuff especially for the occasion."

"Ben, you can't let Dizzy out of your mom's sight," Evie warned. "The moment she escapes your castle, the news that you're going to propose will spread like the Plague. Dizzy—she can't help it—whenever she has a secret, she bubbles over with it—she's so enthusiastic. She'll tell anyone and everyone, and the media will hound you, and M will know, and the proposal is ruined!"

"Wait, so what should I do?" Ben asked worriedly.

"You have to propose to Mal as soon as possible," Jay said factually.

"Like, before the end of the day," Carlos urged.

"Before Dizzy bursts," Evie reminded them.

"And your face is all over every news website," Carlos said.

"Today? But—I don't have anything planned. I wanted to plan out a totally romantic proposal for Mal. She'll want a romantic proposal, right?" Ben appealed to Mal for affirmation.

Evie beamed. "Mal might not be as totally girly-girly as me, but she's still a girl. The more romantic the proposal, the better. Which means, the bigger the better."

"But we don't have the time. You just said I have to propose to her by tonight," Ben said worriedly.

The three VKs shared looks again. The same keen twinkle of mischief shone in each one's eyes.

"That's why we, as the three best friends of your girlfriend and as your three best friends, are going to help you. We're going to need a romantic atmosphere, a romantic dinner, and the perfect spot for you to propose." Evie rolled up her sleeves and inelegantly cracked her knuckles. "Make room, boys. It's time for the queen of beautiful aesthetic and the only girl here to tell you how it should be done."

Now the three boys exchanged looks. But they willingly let Evie take the lead, and before they left that room, they had an intricately detailed, meticulously plotted plan, without the tiniest room for error. "If we can pull this off, it will be the biggest . . . well, not heist, but the biggest mission we've ever carried out," Evie said, smiling, pleased and satisfied. "Does everybody know what part they're playing?" She made eye contact with each guy, and smiled when they all gravely nodded. "Excellent." She typed fiercely on her phone and said, "I've let Doug know that I'm out for the day on the most important mission. I've also group-texted everyone their details, so we have no excuses today, people." She stashed her phone in her blue purse and giggled as she clapped her hands. "This is so exciting!" The boys grinned at her reaction. She suddenly sobered and said, "Troops, let's move out!" They instantly sobered and the VKs dashed through different doors, bound on their missions.

Ben sat for just a moment longer, savoring the status of bachelor for one last moment, even as he admired the beautiful ring that would look perfect on his girlfriend's finger.

Mal looked up from a doodle she was absentmindedly working on to check her phone. A text from Ben said 'Meet me outside your room at 6. Prepare for an evening full of surprises' followed by a bunch of wide-faced smiling emojis.

"Huh. Okay." Mal stood and walked across her bedroom to her door; still looking at her phone, she called for her roommate: "Evie!"

Straight out of Auradon Prep, the two inseparable BFFs had rented an apartment together in a complex two blocks down from the palace. In the apartment right next door were the boys. They often, to the (and probably because of) annoyance of their neighbors, the four best friends often communicated clearly to each other by having shouting conversations through the thin walls—annoying when they yelled trivial comments, scary when they joked about ruthless deeds.

Evie materialized out of thin air; her attempt at hiding the sunshine beneath her smile was totally ineffective. "M, what's up?"

Mal looked up and frowned. "What's with all the smiles and giggles?" She waved a hand over Evie from hair to high heels. "Doug buy you flowers or something?"

"Oh, no—just, I'm going on a date tonight, and I'm really excited," Evie lied, waving a careless hand. "But what's up with you?"

"Usually I'm good with dates, but not right now, apparently. Is today like a super important anniversary or day or something?"

"I don't think so. Why?" Evie feigned innocence. It had been her idea for Ben to text Mal that so Mal dressed especially pretty for tonight.

Mal held up her cellphone so Evie could read the text. "That's just one emoji too many. It's just weird. Ben's always cheerful and happy, but this is a little much, even for him."

Evie filed away the thought that she would have to remind Ben to keep his emoji game under control and said, "Oh, well, Ben probably just made a really nice surprise and is super excited for you to see it. You know how hyped up he can get!"

Mal rolled her eyes but smiled. "You know I do." She pocketed her cellphone and, hands on hips, walked into her walk-in closet. She cocked her head and said, "What should I wear?"

"Oh my gosh, M, let me make you over for this date! Please! We're so busy that I never get to do it anymore—it'll be just like old times!" Evie gushed.

Mal popped a bubble with the gum she chewed and eyed her best friend critically. "I thought you had a date to get ready for."

"Oh, you know me. I can get ready in five minutes." Evie waved it off.

"Really? 'Cause I've timed you. It takes me five minutes; it takes you approximately three hours, more or less, depending on if you're adding your curling iron into the mix or not," Mal deadpanned.

Evie waved her off. "Don't worry about me. Doug doesn't care about my beauty and today I don't care about it either. Let's get you ready for tonight, though!" Mal sat down in the beauty chair in front of her mirror. Evie put her hands on the back of it and bent so her smiling face was in the mirror next to Mal's slightly perplexed one. "I wonder what surprises Ben has in store for you tonight," Evie said mysteriously.

"Yeah, me too," Mal said, confused.

When Ben knocked on the girls' apartment door, it was Evie who answered instead of Mal. She cracked it open a bit and said in a low whisper, "Is the carriage downstairs?"

"Yes. Jane made it look perfect."

"Perfect." Evie beamed. "She may not have her mother's magic wand but she has a natural talent for aesthetic that comes in handy in a pinch. Are she and Carlos preparing Stage Two?"

"They are. He sent a group-text," Ben said, holding up his phone. He tapped his foot anxiously against the floor, craning over Evie's head in search of Mal.

"E, is that Ben at the door?" Mal called.

"Yes, it is. Give us a second, I need to fix his tie." Evie quickly leapt out of the room and gave him a serious look-over with all the expertise of a designer. He wore a dark blue suit like his dad's, with gold buttons and accessories from his mom. He'd paid attention to detail, so unlike a very nervous man—his black shoes were polished, his face scrupulously clean, his hair nicely styled. "Very nice," she said proudly. She tugged on his blue Isle hat to put it at a rakish angle but straightened his blue-and-gold tie. "A little Isle-ish never hurt anyone, but a crooked tie is frowned upon in all societies." Evie patted her handiwork and dropped her amused tone as she took in his nervous face. "Nervous?" she asked quietly.

"I'm amazed I was able to dress myself in time. My hands can barely move without trembling," Ben confessed.

"Remember, King Ben, that you've got this, because you can count on Mal. You need only to also count on yourself, and us. You've got this." She patted his shoulder again and said, "Got the ring?"

He patted his jacket pocket. "Got it right here. Now, if I can just not lose it between now and bringing it out. . ."

"Believe me, you won't." Evie sighed happily, then called over her shoulder, "Ben wants to see your makeover, M. C'mere!" She whispered conspiratorially, "I'm looking forward to having you for a brother."

"And I'm looking forward to having you as a sister," Ben said sincerely.

Evie stepped back and widened the door to let Ben take in a good first view of Mal in all her makeover glory.

Mal stood in a stance with one hand on her hip and her other arm hanging by her side. Her fingernails were a dark purple with swipes of metallic sparkles; she wore a fun knee-length dress, a purple blouse giving way to a layered dark purple leather skirt. Her high heel were black stripes of leather and golden buckles. She wore diamond earrings with a piercing on her nose. Her purple hair was caught up in a fresh wavy bun, with darling little dangles of hair hanging like vines next to her cheeks. Evie's makeup was flawless, mixing together a cheekbone-highlighting contour with silver and green eyeshadow that caused her own green eyes to stand out. Mascara and wicked eyeliner finished her eyes and the entire look was finished with just a soft pout of pink against her lips.

Ben's mouth dropped open; he was rendered speechless, just the same as if a tongue-tying spell had been cast on him.

Evie walked past him to rest an arm around Mal's shoulders and smirk at him. "Doesn't she look radiant?" she said, smiling at Mal.

"She—Mal—you—" he stammered.

"Nice work, E. You've done your job well," Mal smirked, amused.

"Maybe a little too well," Evie giggled.

Mal gave Evie a grateful smile and then extended her white hand with its glittering fingertips to Ben. "I'm ready for a night of surprises. Lead the way, Ben."

Ben gulped and took her hand. Mal led him out of the apartment; he cast one last look at Evie over his shoulder; she gave him a thumb's up and laughed as Mal dragged him out of sight. Evie folded her arms and sighed, relieved and happy and a little sad at the same time. A new era was dawning on them. She enjoyed the past eras, but would miss this one of youth.

She recovered her senses a little and got out her cellphone. Into the group-text she wrote: "The dragon and beast have left the building. Commence Stage Two."

"Okay, what's going on?" Mal demanded of Ben.

Ben stiffened, but forced a relaxed smile. "What do you mean, what's going on? Nothing's going on."

"We've been outside the palace grounds for the past ten minutes and I haven't seen a single reporter. No photographers, no microphones. I thought you couldn't take a foot outside without someone force-feeding you a biased question?"

"Well," Ben said, hiding the nervousness he held. He decided to divulge one secret, even as he imagined Evie's disapproving face. "I asked Jay to do me a special favor."

"Jay? Really? A special favor? What'd he do? Chase the paps away? Threaten them? Wrestle a reporter?" Mal guessed as they bounced along in the ornate white pumpkin-esque carriage down a familiar road.

"He is actually facing a tourney press-conference announcing his leave of absence from tourney," Ben said.

Mal looked at him with shocked horror. "Jay's giving up tourney? WHY?!"

"Don't worry, he's not actually leaving it. He's just making sure that every reporter in the kingdom is flashing cameras at him at this press conference. He'll have another one in two days saying that his LOA was only for a single day," Ben said, smiling at the simplicity of the idea Evie had conceived.

"Huh. Clever. Deceitful. Mischievous. I like it. But why did he do it?" Mal wanted to know.

"I wanted to go on a date with you without having a detail of security having to wrestle the paparazzi away from us. Ever since we graduated it's harder to go anywhere and get any privacy. At least they had respected the schoolgrounds a bit." Ben smiled reassuringly and squeezed her hand.

Mal couldn't help the suspicion still feeling wary in her soul, but she smiled, and tried to think that that was all there was to it: just a simple date without any media hounding.

She pushed back a white lace curtain and looked out the window. It was a beautiful August day; they rode past the forests Belle had been chased by wolves in. The road was paved smooth; sunlight glinted through the trees. It was a gorgeous day.

"Ben, where are we going?" Mal demanded as she turned back to her boyfriend, who'd been watching her as intently as she had watched the landscape roll past.

"Oh, I think you know where we're going," Ben said mysteriously, a little tongue-in-cheek.

The forest gave way to a shoulder where Mal spotted the long rope bridge that led to where she and Ben had had their first date; she pounced on him. "Okay, there literally has to be some kind of reason for this," she said.

"Do I have to have a particular reason to treat my girlfriend to a fun date night?" Ben said.

Mal kept his eyes and hers glowed bright green. He shook under her intense gaze; his chin trembled; but he didn't give way.

Mal released him and said, "Dang it! That usually works."

"Yeah, usually," Ben said smugly.

Mal looked out the window again. "Huh. That silver car kinda looks like Carlos's car."

Ben laughed nervously and said, "Well, it can't be Carlos's car. He has that adopt-dogs thing going on this afternoon."

"How did you suddenly become the expert on Carlos's whereabouts?" Mal inquired.

"It's all he ever talks about! This adopt-dogs thing, this adopt-dogs thing! At least, to me." Mal raised an eyebrow as Ben ended lamely. He looked more than a tad bit sheepish.

The carriage stopped and he jumped out first to open the carriage door for Mal. He produced a green blindfold that had been tucked into his hand by a sneaky Evie and said, "No peeking."

"You don't trust me to not peek on my own? Even if I pinky-promise?" Mal teased in a pouting voice even as Ben wrapped the blindfold around her head and set a small knot at the back, careful to not disturb her fantastic hairdo.

"No, I do not, Miss I-Come-From-The-Isle-of-The-Lost," Ben said. He stood in front of her and she shrugged. "Heh, can't blame a girl for trying."

Ben took her hand and asked softly, "Do you trust me?"

Mal cocked her head. "I thought that was Aladdin's line."

"It may be, but the question still stands. You do trust me, don't you, Mal?"

Mal was quiet before nodding firmly.

Ben smiled and found the ring safely tucked away in his pocket before he breathed a sigh of relief and led them forward along the long rope bridge.

They emerged through a glade that led up to the lake; Ben looked up from helping Mal over a root to see Carlos trying to drag a nitpicking, panicking Jane away from the perfect picnic they'd set up. Ben frantically waved a hand at them; Carlos noticed and pointed out the pair of lovers to Jane. She blanched and at once raced away with Carlos. They scurried around the edge of the lake towards the west, looping around. They'd take the rope bridge once Ben had led Mal to the picnic site but hadn't yet removed her blindfold.

This was a move that they all four quickly did. Mal jerked her head to the side quickly, saying, "Is that running I hear? Who else is here, Ben?"

"Deer! They're deer that saw us and are running away!" Ben said in a panicked voice, quickly facing her and blocking most of her peripheral vision, despite her blindfold. He turned her head, his fingers resting gently along her chin, and said, "Hey, we're almost there!"

"I know where we're going, Ben. I've been here before," Mal said. "You can take off my blindfold now."

"You can take off your blindfold in just . . . one . . . minute. . ." Ben watched over Mal's shoulder as Carlos and Jane ran like scared deer across the rope bridge, disappearing behind trees on their way to their car. "Now!" Ben said, waving his hands, no small amount of relief evident in his voice. "You can take your blindfold off now!"

Mal threw him a 'Really?' look as she did so. But what she saw over his shoulder made her gasp and all her thoughts of annoyance disappear.

It was a picnic date worthy of true royalty. Jane had seized upon the challenge and held back no expense or frivolity. Purple and green streamers ran across the ruins; bouquets of elegant dark purple roses were tied with dark green bows at intervals. The picnic blanket was covered with a fantastic mix of Auradon and the Isle, of Ben and Mal. Blue and gold, purple and green were the colors of the picnic blanket, the napkins, the silverware, the dishes upon which sat delectable foods giving off the most tantalizing, appetizing odors that caused Mal's pert nose to tilt up and sniff like a rabbit's.

With a crystal blue lake and a foaming waterfall as the backdrop, it was the perfect date site.

"Ben, this is amazing," Mal said, taking steps forward.

Ben took her hand and joined her. He had his own separate amazement he tried to hide from her—when Carlos had reassured Ben and Evie that he and Jane could get all their plans done by the time Ben and Mal drove up, he and Evie had exchanged skeptical looks. But Carlos kept his promise—he assisted Jane to the best of his abilities and kept her from stressing over the tiniest details by paying attention to the big picture—and the watch on his wrist.

They'd done it.

Mal breathed in a handful of roses; she admired their thorns as she plucked them from the wall they'd been attached to and said, her mouth and almost all her nose lost amongst the flowers as she inhaled them, "Surprise number one?"

"I thought the carriage was surprise number one?" Ben said uncertainly.

"Yeah, well, that too. Or was it Evie giving me a makeover? You put her up to that like you put Jane and Carlos up to this? Or Jay up to diverting the press?" Mal's clever deductions almost undid Ben's already tried and frankly quite fragile nerves. "I'm not dumb, Ben. I can find my friends' fingerprints on anything. I've known them all my life."

"So I did recruit them to help me. I wanted this to be a great date night. Please, Mal, let's just enjoy this date night," Ben begged.

Mal sighed and dropped the blindfold in his hand. "First one to the blanket gets a claim on all the strawberry desserts!" Mal raced ahead, laughing, as Ben said, startled, "Hey!"

Because Carlos and Jane were both smart, all the desserts provided had strawberries in them. Mal moaned and lay down on the blanket, her head against Ben's outstretched legs. "Oh! I can't move!" she groaned.

"I couldn't either if I ate eight strawberry tarts," Ben joked, looking down at her with a tender expression as he softly played with the hair across her forehead.

"It was only seven! It wasn't that bad!" Mal protested. She looked up at him with those clear bright eyes and Ben's heartstrings tugged like someone was playing a guitar ballad on them. He hesitated, his breath caught. This was it; this was the moment; her eyes shone and she looked at him as if there was nowhere else in the entire world she'd rather be but right here beside him. He should get out the ring and propose right now; he knew there was a whole 'nother part of the plan—Stage Three, which, if they reached it, would be the most epic finale in the history of ever—but maybe this was how it was supposed to go down. Here, if he proposed to her, intimately, with just the two of them versus the two of them surrounded by well-meaning friends, was the better idea. He reached into his pocket, found the ring box with some relief, meant to pull it out—

"Ugh, I feel so lazy and tired and gross. You know what's just the remedy for overeating that I like, never do?" Mal said, groaning as she sat up and stretched her arms.

Ben felt like a spell had just been broken. He carefully snuck his hand back in and out of his pocket, leaving the ring in its hidden pocket of safety, and waited a minute before he trusted his voice to not betray him. "What is it?"

"Exercise. In this case, swimming." Mal pulled off her dress before Ben could say a word; she smoothed the slip over her underwear; she popped off the purple bangles she wore on her arms and said, cocking her head as she removed the expensive diamond earrings, "Hey, you coming?"

Ordinarily Ben loved swimming; ever since he'd taught Mal how to swim, they'd enjoyed frequent romps and races together in the palace pool. Swimming right now however was the last thing he wanted to do; swimming would mess up the schedule of the proposal plan—not to mention Evie had snuck in a couple of choice photographers under oath to shut up to take the pictures of the proposal. Proposing to your girlfriend in soaking wet clothes wasn't exactly a part of the plan.

"What? Afraid to muss up that hair?" Mal grinned as she ruffled his hair and tossed his hat off next to her dress. She strode into the water with confidence instead of fear and began a doggy-paddle even Carlos was jealous of.

Ben gulped and removed his clothes down to his boxers as quick as possible—maybe a brief swim, just to please Mal, wouldn't hurt anyone. He planned on pulling the whole 'You really shouldn't swim until an hour after you eat' cliché advice in a couple of minutes.

"Ben! Come on!" Mal called over from the waterfall.

Ben felt for the ring in his jacket pocket once more before plunging into the cold water. Somehow it felt like relief to his nerves—shocked him back to normal, so to speak. He swam over to Mal, who, before he could stop her, stood beneath the waterfall and reveled in the streams of water taking out her carefully-applied makeup and styled hair.

"Evie is going to kill me," Ben murmured to himself as he joined her. Mal grinned at him until the constant stream of mountain water proved too cold and they stood back out from under its relentless power. The little alcove under the stone behind the waterfall was cool and damp, its front a beautiful view of the falling mountain stream.

Mal looped her arms around Ben and smiled up at him. "I like it in here," she said quietly.

"Me too," Ben said sincerely.

"Thanks for this great date night. It's been a while since we've gone out. And here I was thinking that I'd forgotten that today was some important day or whatever. But you just put it together because you wanted to, because you love me, right?" Mal asked.

"Yes. I do love you," Ben said back.

Now would've been a good time too, if the engagement ring wasn't sitting onshore in his jacket pocket.

Mal shivered and stood closer so there was no space between them. "I'm cold. Keep me warm?" she said in a teasing pleading voice, looking up at him.

"Always," he said, a strangely serious look on his face as she leaned against his chest. He wore the face of a man who wanted to swear that he would protect her every day for the rest of his life as he stood there, running his knuckles in a gentle circle around her back.

Ben's phone buzzed as they swam back ashore. He climbed up and dripped as he checked the group-text: the three VKs had blown it up, all their messages basically saying, 'Ben, it's getting late. Where are you?!'

Ben looked up from his phone with a sigh just in time to see Mal reach for his jacket. "What's this thing in your pocket?" she wondered aloud.

Ben said, "Hey, don't touch that!" just as he ducked and swiped his jacket. Mal looked up with a suspicious, kinda annoyed look as he donned the jacket over his naked torso, as if afraid to let it off his person again.

"What was that?" Mal demanded to know.

"Don't worry about it," Ben said. "It's none of your concern."

"If it's not something to worry about, why are you so worried about me knowing what it is?" Mal snarked, standing up straight. She marched over to her boyfriend, her straggly purple hair dripping all over the rock, as she said, "Ben, what are you hiding from me?"

"Nothing. It's nothing," he said repeatedly.

"No, it's clearly something, but apparently not a something you feel comfortable telling your girlfriend about. You know what, whatever," Mal stomped away back to their discarded clothes. "I'm not feeling like more surprises tonight. Just take me home." She wrestled on her dress as Ben stammered, "No, Mal, hey, hey, hey." He walked up to her once she'd groaned and shrugged on the tight dress. Her lips were as tight as her dress and her face showed that she clearly wasn't playing. "I'll tell you soon. It's a secret right now."

"Whose secret? It's someone else's secret, or else you would've told me. Ben, what is it?" Mal asked, the anger in her voice replaced with a hope for him to be honest with her.

Ben steeled himself. "It's my secret, Mal. Not anyone else's. Mine."

"Your secret?" Mal said, taking a step back. "Then why can't you tell me? Ben, what are you hiding from me?"

Ben took her hand, even as she took another step back. "I'm going to tell you, in just a little while."

"Is it another surprise?" Mal asked warily.

"Yes! It's the main surprise of the evening. But it's a good surprise. I swear, you will know it before the evening is over," Ben promised, thinking of how true a statement that was.

"I better. You're acting weird, Ben. This isn't like you. You're keeping secrets; this planned, staged evening is obviously leading up to something—I swear there better be a good explanation for this."

"There is. I promise," Ben said sincerely.

While not entirely reassured, Mal relaxed a little and began wringing out her water-logged hair. "Okay. What's next? I'm guessing you have a schedule."

"I do, actually. Don't worry, Mal. This surprise is the next and last and best one on the list."

Mal regarded him thoughtfully as he warily took off his jacket and set it down far away from her before tugging on his pants and shirt again. "Does Evie know what it is?" Mal called suddenly.

Ben froze.

"Jay and Carlos, too?"

Ben broke from his nerves and actually laughed. "Don't you like surprises, Mal?"

"I don't mind surprises. It's being the only one out of the loop that I don't like." Mal shrugged.

Ben felt relief when they abandoned their enjoyed picnic and walked back to the carriage. The sooner this secret burst out of him, the better. It sat in his chest and he felt its weight every time he breathed or looked at Mal. It was a curious mixture of love and pain—love for Mal, and the deceitful thought that told him he was causing her pain, the number-one thing Ben never, ever wanted to do.

The carriage ride down to the gazebo was as silent as the grave. Mal folded her arms and wouldn't look at him. Punishment for keeping secrets? Tired already? Losing the love for the evening?

Mal heard it before she saw it. "Is that a band playing music?" she said, sitting on the edge of her seat. She peeked out the curtains again; it'd gotten darker—twilight was cast over the entire kingdom. They stopped in front of a pathway marked by candles that led up to the gazebo, the entire thing lit up with white Christmas lights and purple roses tied with green ribbon.

Ben got out and held out a hand. Mal's breath caught as she checked out the romantic scene in front of her. She saw the old Auradon school band playing a song on the sidelines. "You've got to be kidding me. Isn't that your parents' song, Beauty and the Beast?" she asked.

"It's the most romantic song I know," Ben said.

She looked at him with a little forgiveness she didn't want to give him but felt he deserved anyway, and took his hand. He led her down the candlelit pathway, the beautiful song gently filling the background.

"I didn't know they added violins and cellos to the school band." Evie stiffened as she recognized one of the members playing a horn. She waved. "Hi Doug, how was your date with Evie?"

Doug couldn't speak on account of the horn he played, but he blushed a fiercely guilty red. Mal decided this punishment enough and followed Ben up into the gazebo.

Mal couldn't help looking around admiringly; Ben too was impressed. Jane had definitely earned her job as event-planner for the palace. He owed her the biggest thank-you ever.

Ben turned to Mal and offered his hand. She took it and he pressed a kiss on it and bowing, asked in a chivalrous tone of voice, "Madam, would you allow me the honor of your hand in a dance?"

Mal pretended to consider it a second; she was caught off-guard by Ben immediately twirling her by the hand into his body so that she was tight against him. He looked down and she looked up and he twirled her the opposite way to unwind her. Then, their eye contact not breaking, they took on traditional dancing poses—their hands together, his other hand resting on her waist, hers firmly against his muscular shoulder.

Their playfulness vanished as they danced to the romantic song. Mal had learned dancing amongst other things when she became an official Lady of the Court, and while she hadn't mastered it enough to perform in high-standing society dances, she could keep up and not step on poor Ben's feet. And Ben, of course, being the king, knew how to dance just fine. They waltzed around the room, Ben turning her, catching her; it was slow and romantic, clear of any annoyance Mal felt for Ben or the nerves that'd reigned in Ben's body all day.

As the song ended, they ended up facing each other, so close their voices were just whispers to the other. "I think this song is our song," Mal said quietly, looking from his lips to his eyes.

"I think so, too," Ben said. He gently slid a lock of wet hair behind her ear and let his fingers trail down her chin. "You're the Beauty, and I've got some Beast in me."

"Really? I was thinking the total opposite," Mal said, chuckling. Her chuckling made him laugh, too. Their laugh died at the same time, leaving them almost inseparably close. A tense pause entered, waiting for something to happen, to snap. Ben almost kissed her, but withdrew with a wry chuckle.

"What?" Mal demanded to know in a whisper.

"The moment," Ben said. "I was looking for a moment, and this is it."

"What moment?" Mal asked even as Ben bent down on one knee. Her eyes widened into moons as he retrieved his ring box and opened it. The Christmas lights reflected off the many facets of those glimmering amethysts.

"Ben?" she said through her fingers.

Ben was all grins from ear to ear. "Hey, you want to know my big secret, the big surprise of the evening. This is it." Ben gulped. Oh. A speech. His dad had given him some kind of pep talk full of advice and phrases he could use, but the nerves still reigned, so the speech—POOF! gone from his head. He licked his lips and decided he just had to wing it. If only all their friends weren't hiding in the shadows watching!

"Mal, I love you. You know that. I love you more than anyone else. I want to be with you forever. I want you to rule by my side as my queen. Together we can bring our two peoples together. Together, we can make each other better just be being together.

"What do you say, Mal? Will you marry me?"

Short and sweet, but at the end of the day, it was all that he needed to say.

"Ben. . ." was all Mal could think to say. She had a thousand thoughts running through her head; her, a queen of Auradon? Married to Ben her whole life? Stay on Auradon forever? Raise a family? Ben was promising to always love her. Her heart hurt. All her life, all she ever wanted was love. And all Ben had done since they'd first met was love her. Really, despite her prickly personality and devil-may-care attitude, he loved her. But as queen? What if she went power-hungry, consumed with greed for more once she got a single taste of it? What if she turned into her mother? What if she became consumed with power and no longer had love for Ben? Wouldn't that be cruel? How could she do that to him? How could she—

"Mal," said Ben.

Mal looked into his sincere, loving eyes. He drew her back to Earth, back from her wild, senseless questioning, and reminded her of what was important—them. How she loved there being a them.

Mal felt tears fill her eyes as she couldn't control the helpless smile on her face. "Yes," she whispered.

"Yes?" Ben repeated, restraining almost uncontrollable joy in his voice.

"Yes," Mal laughed, waving her arms. "Yes, I'll marry you!"

Ben couldn't speak; he could only gasp and make incredulous noises and look at her like how could he be marrying the most beautiful woman in the world? He slipped the ring on her finger and she admired it for one full second, thinking, 'Wow, that's a really gorgeous ring' before she got lost in him kissing her.

When they finally came up for air, but before she could open her eyes, Mal heard familiar shrieks of laughter and clapping. She smiled and said in a voice only heard by Ben, "All our friends are behind me, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are," he whispered back.

"And they knew this entire time."

"They're the ones who made this all possible. I owe them a lot."

"I'll be sure to thank them for us, my king." Mal twisted a finger in his hair.

"My queen." Ben lost a finger in one of her wavy curls. "I like the sound of that."

Mal smirked. "Me, too."

They bent foreheads together, their noses beside each other's, before they broke apart to be pounced upon by their friends and family. The gazebo was flooded with well-wishers. Jay jumped on Ben's back and almost brought him down. Evie cried and laughed Mal fiercely. Doug congratulated Mal and King Adam hugged his son and Belle said, an arm around Mal's shoulders, with tears in her own eyes and voice, "Welcome to the family, Mal."

Jay put an arm around each of the fianceés; Carlos hung an arm around Ben with Jane at his side. Evie clung to Mal's side with Doug grinning next to her.

Evie calmed herself down from her happy crying enough to say, "Well, this is not what we thought would happen when Villain Kids came to Auradon from the Isle, but it's what we expected at the end of Stage Three."

"Nice, keeping a secret from me like that!" Mal teased Evie sternly.

"What can I say? My lips were sealed." Evie laughed. She looked around their group and said, looking at Ben, Jay, and Carlos, "Mission accomplished." They four brought their hands out and high-fived.

"Well, congratulations, you guys," Doug said.

"When's the wedding?!" Jane gushed.

Everyone laughed, but Ben said, "Yes, Jane, you can plan the wedding."

"With my help, of course!" Evie said, raising a hand.

"Um, me too. My wedding," Mal said pointedly, causing everyone to laugh again.

A small figure squeezed between people to come into the group. "Me too?!" Dizzy asked excitedly.

Mal beamed at her. "Especially you, Dizzy." She held out her hand. "I recognize your handiwork. This is your best yet, I think."

"Oh, good! I put all of my heart into it!" Dizzy gushed. She held Mal's hand and squealed. "Oh, Mal, do you really like it?!"

Mal looked at Ben when she said, her voice full of sincerity, "With all my heart."

*flops onto bed* 'Kay guys, totally did not think that this story would be 8000+ words long. But it had to be written out in its entirety! :P

Thanks for reading! Please let an exhausted writer know what you think of her story!