And in the End I'd do it all Again: Book four

A Meeting With Ben's Parents and Jane's B-day (Mel's Pov)

When I wake in the morning I get dressed and make my way to ben's study, he's sitting in the chair, nervously wringing his hands. "Mom and dad called, they're coming over with fairy godmother to talk about what the council said." He tells me when he sees me come in. I take his hands in mine, attempting to comfort him. "Hey, everything will be fine. We'll solve the problem and be able to bring more kids over still." I say softly and he nods uncertainty. There's a knock at the door and in walks a few guards, fairy godmother and ben's parents. "I think we all know why we're here." Adam starts seriously and I hook my arm into ben's. "The people are in a panic about hades, he almost got out." "Who knows what he would've done if he'd escaped." Fg adds.

"We can't risk having another villain on the loose and every time the barrier is opened we expose people to danger. The council thinks that closing the barrier for good is the safest option." Adam continues, only to be interrupted by a notification on ben's phone. "Maleficent's scepter and the queen's crown have been stolen." Ben says with a frown. "Uma." Adam says as fg and bell gasp. "We don't know that dad." Ben argues. "When the people hear this then they won't wanna leave their houses. What do we tell them?" Bell says in a scared tone. "If we tell them it will only cause them to lash out in fear... For now we should warn the people about potential danger but keep it vague so they don't go into complete panic." I say calmly and she nods. "What do we do to keep evil out of auradon?" Adam asks and I sigh when ben walks away from us and to the other side of the room. "Ben, hey. I don't want to take away your dream, it's such an amazing dream and I told you that we'd fix this so that we don't have to. I know we'll fix this together." I say following after him. He nods and I lead him back to where his parents and fg are standing.

"The problem with hades only happened because the event was widely publicized, we were able to bring over the second group because we didn't make a big deal of it. If we do what we did with the second group of isle kids then we can keep bringing kids over." I start, looking adam in the eyes. "For right now, and until we get the scepter and crown back the barrier should be temporarily closed. For the safety of the people of auradon. But closing the barrier for good doesn't have to be the only solution to the problem." I finish, looking over at fg and at bell. "Mel is right, we'll tell the council about it and hopefully try to persuade them. You should issue the warning out and assign guards to finding the person responsible." Adam says and then nods at us both in farewell before turning and leaving. Fg and bell do the same, following closely behind him. Then the guards leave and only ben and I are left. "Thank you, I wouldn't know what I would do without you rosie." ben says wrapping me in a hug and kissing the top of my head. "I want you to be able to see your dreams come true. I love you." I reply and hug him tighter. Suddenly my phone starts ringing and I pull away from the hug to answer it. "Oh, it's evie." I say in a surprised tone before answering it. "Hello?" "Hey, did you want to come over and get ready for janes party with mal and I?" she asks an I cover the speaker to ask, "Evie wants us to come over before janes party and get ready, you down?" "I have a few things I should do first. You go and I'll meet you at the party." He suggests in reply. I blow him a kiss and nod, then lift the phone back up to my ear and say, "I'll be over and ben will meet us at the party."

Once there I meet mal and evie in her studio and tell them about what's happening. "Who else knows about the crown and the scepter?" Evie asks. "No one. I mean think about it, people are scared enough as it is. We have to employ entirely new security measures." Mal looks up from what she's doing. "Will this delay bringing over more Vk's?" She asks. "I'm gonna be honest with you both. For right now and until the problem with the scepter is solved we've decided that opening the barrier won't be good. And the council is talking about closing the barrier for good." I answer. "But you said no right? To closing it for good? I mean the vks that are over here are living the dream and we finally get to share that. I mean what could be more important than that?" Evie says and I sigh. "The piece of mind and security of the people of auradon maybe." Mal interjects before I can say anything. "Is that what they're thinking?" Evie asks looking to me for confirmation. "I mean were they really thinking that no one would go in and out of the isle ever again? She asks more concerned. "We would never go back to see our parents. And what about the new kids, we promised them that they could go back and visit them when they wanted." She continues, standing up. "Let her breathe e." Mal warns and I give her a thankful glance. "I am the one who decided that the barrier be closed temporarily, but I also think that if we want to be able to go back and forth from the isle, we not make it a big public event. I can't guarantee that the council will agree with my proposal. I don't want the barrier to close for good either but if it's what's best then it might happen." I tell evie and she smiles. "Mi-mi, I'm so glad that you are gonna be queen of Auradon. You will be part of these conversations and you will stand up for the vks. Thank you for telling us." She tells me and hugs me. I share a look with mal and she gives me a comforting smile. "You're gonna be a great queen mels." She assures me.

Later as mal and I were on our way to jane's birthday party with our presents in hand, audrey appears in a cloud of pink smoke. "I was hoping you were home." She says to mal and I "Is this a joke? What are you doing with Belle's crown and the scepter?" I ask her in confusion. "Well, I wanted them, so I took them. And you two, of all people should understand that." She says looking at us in anger. "Wait, Audrey, stop! Don't use that." "I thought you liked spells." "Okay, Audrey, you're better-" Mal attempts to reason "Quiet!" Audrey screams at her. "It's not a toy. It's dangerous." Mal warns. "I want to be dangerous. My life was perfect until you stole it. And then Auradon turned its back on me. Well, it's time for a little payback." Audrey tells her and I frown. "Audrey, wait!" I shout but she uses the scepter pink smoke fills the air and I protectively cover my stomach with both hands. "You think anyone will love you now, you old hag?" She asks and the pink smoke clears. I look myself over and don't see anything wrong, only to look over at mal and find she's old. "You'll pay the price of what you did and so will all of Auradon." "Audrey this isn't you!" I shout at her and she smirks as the group comes out of the castle.

"So long, suckers!" I watch as audrey disappears in a cloud of pink smoke. "Whoa! You might wanna think of a spell for that." Carlos says and I shake my head. "There's no spell that can reverse the curse of the scepter." Mal explains. "Well, that's a shame." Jay says and mal tosses him a glare. "Forget about me. Audrey's out for revenge. And all of Auradon is in danger." She says to me. "What should we do?" Evie asks worriedly "The only thing more powerful than the scepter..." Mal starts and then trails off. I think for a moment and then snap my fingers. "Mom's magic, the scepter's magic can be undone by mom's magic, by our magic mal. The only other alternative is-" "is Hades' ember." Mal cuts me off with and then shakes her head. "Oh!" Evie exclaims. "Like he's just gonna hand it over, give them back to the Isle." Jay says sarcastically. "And no one knows where his lair is." Evie adds. "I do. I'm his errand rat. I've got the key at my dad's." Celia speaks up.

"You're coming." Mal tells her and she rolls her eyes. "But I just got here." She argues "Mal?" Dizzy asks from the doorway where the twins, CJ and the sanderson cousins are, looking concerned. "Dizzy, you CJ and the cousins need to stay here to take care of the twins. We'll be right back and everything will be just fine. Go inside." I instruct in a motherly tone and dizzy nods. "Guys, go get your stuff." I hear evie telling carlos, jay, gil and harry. "Come on, guys, let's go." CJ tells the others and herds them inside. I turn around and only evie and mal are left outside. "How bad is it?" Mal asks and I laugh lightly. "You age beautifully. Now, let's just get you into something fabulous." Evie assures her and she smiles. "Okay." Mal says and shuffles along slowly. "Come on." Evie says, wrapping her arm around mal's and letting her lean on her. "Okay. Oh, yeah, there we go. Okay. Almost there." Evie comforts as they shuffle a little faster. I take the presents inside and get on my isle outfit. We meet back outside with our motorcycles, mal having celia on hers with her and then we head out to get to the isle.

"Noble steed proud and fair, you shall take us anywhere." I chant, remembering the spell mal used last time we had left for the isle. Then I fix my goggles over my eyes and start driving onto the water, the others following behind me.