Belle couldn't help but smile at the sight of her son enjoying himself on his date. While she wished that he hadn't told his security to take the day off, it was clear that he was more free than he'd been in the castle.

Not for the first time, Belle wished Ben hadn't been born a royal and could have moments like this without the fear of someone causing him harm.

"Nice," Audrey smirked. She would have reacted more but her mother was giving her a fixed look.

"Please keep repeating it Ben. It just sounds so much better when you say it multiple times," Mal said, rolling her eyes.

"I'd never heard a middle name like that before!"

"Your middle name is Florian and you thought mine was bad?!"

"You said it was your mom being really, really evil!"

Adam/Beast shook his head. "Son, just stop. You're digging a hole you can't get out of."

"After my father," Adam/Beast said with a sad smile, remembering the man.

"We almost made it Maurice, after mine," Belle chuckled. "However Ben Maurice didn't have the same ring to it."

"So it's clear you meant it to be a surprise," Rachel said, "but you think you could have told Evie your plan? Cause those shoes are not meant for traipsing over rocks!"

"Yeah Ben," Kitty nodded. "I know shoes and those are not the best for what you had planned date wise. Especially since I know that lake has a better path not five miles north of where you were walking."

"I wanted it to be romantic," Ben shrugged.

"You can do that and still give a girl some warning so she has the proper outfit," Jamie said. "What?" She asked as she saw all the shocked looks. "I may be a tomboy but even I know it's important to dress nice for a date!"

"Besides, high heels in a rocky terrain is ridiculous," Julia finished up, causing Ben to groan.

"I just want to point out that takes a lot of trust," Carter called out. "Hence why my first date of choice is video games and popcorn."

"I thought it was because you hated the outdoors?" His mom asked.

"Mom!"

"Nah, it's because no one will go out with him," Travis said with a chuckle, nudging his best friend in the shoulder.

"Oh Mal!" Dizzy exclaimed. "It's like you're a princess!"

"It's so romantic!" Madeline sighed. Mal looked over at the brunette girl and couldn't help but smile a little. The younger girl looked like a toned down version of Dizzy. Hopefully the two would become friends.

"This is why we tell people date plans!" Robyn Hood said with a smirk. "Pants would have been better."

"You always think pants are better," Roland teased his sister.

"Gang activity was the nicest way you could have described it," Carlos chuckled.

"And yet, you had a flirtationship with Harry Hook for about three years," Jay teased his best friend.

"That was before he joined Shrimpy's gang," Mal told them, matter of fact. "Besides, a flirtationship, as you put it Jay, is not a relationship. Uma can have Harry."

"Can I still be friends with C.J?" Dizzy asked.

"Of course," Mal said, smiling a little. "But if Harry tries to use that friendship with his sister to get you to join Uma's gang, I get to hurt him, right?"

"Right!"

"Good girl," Mal smirked.

"You would have hurt Harry regardless, right?" Evie whispered.

"Of course," Mal whispered back. "No one messes with Dizzy—besides I think Uma would have hurt him first. Everyone on the Isle knows Dizzy's off limits thanks to our parents."

"Yes to both questions," William said with a chuckle.

"William," Wasabi warned his son and gave him a look. The last thing Mal needed was to be embarrassed for enjoying something she couldn't get normally at home.

Many of the younger girls sighed as Ben brushed some of the crumbs off of Mal's lips.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss," Margot Hood muttered under her breath. Robyn shook her head at her little sister.

"Oh come on!"

"Margot, stop it," Robyn warned.

"You want to see it as much as I do, Robyn!"

"Well, yeah, but Ben and Mal deserve their privacy."

"Wait, hasn't she lived in two places?" Pin asked. "The Isle and Auradon?"

"That's a good question," his father replied.

"You have nothing in common, Benny...Ben," Audrey sniffed but stopped herself from using the nickname from their relationship. He was spelled—he'd be back.

"Um....it helps," Carlos pointed out.

"Ben, I wouldn't step down if I didn't think you'd be a good king or if you weren't ready to be king," Adam/Beast said, giving his son a smile.

"Your majesty, why are you stepping down?" Dizzy asked. "If you don't mind my asking?"

Adam/Beast gave the small girl a kind smile. It was rare that someone would just come out and ask for information instead of trying to sneak around. "I owe my wife a honeymoon."

Dizzy smiled, happy with the answer—even though she knew it probably wasn't the whole story.

"Carlos and Mal think alike!" Jay exclaimed. "Run!"

"Shut it Jay!" Carlos and Mal shouted at the older boy.

"You need your eyes checked," Chad scoffed. He never noticed the spoon of chocolate pudding aimed for his head.

"KATHERINE ELLA CHARMING!" Cinderella exclaimed as Chad sat shocked, half his face dripping with the chocolate pudding.

"Yes mother?" Kitty said with an innocent look on her face, a look betrayed by the spoon she was still holding.

"We will talk about this when we get home, young lady," Cinderella told her.

"Nice one!" Kit mouthed as Cinderella went to get some napkins to help Chad clean up. Sure, he loved his son but his eldest child needed to be brought back down to earth sometimes.

"Good idea," Arabella beamed.

"Swimming's always a good idea," Melody agreed, smiling at her cousin.

"Please keep doing that," Emma muttered under her breath. Many girls perked up as they longed to see what the future king kept hidden under his shirts and tourney uniform.

"I was so used to Audrey taking control of our dates," Ben said. "Of course, they always involved shopping of some kind."

"I needed to look my best!" Audrey shouted.

"Every weekend? The store owners knew us by name!"

"Some of those clothes were last season," Audrey sniffed causing Ben to roll his eyes.

"So you're the one who started the strawberry obsession," Evie turned and faced Ben. "Do you know how hard it is to get strawberry juice out of dresses?"

"Umm?"

"The answer's very," Evie told him. "Make sure they're sliced and that Mal has a fork. Otherwise, she's going to have nothing to wear on her dates with you."

"I'm sure Ben's fine with that!" Li shouted.

"And I'm fine with contacting your parents, Li," Mulan shot back. "I'm sure Ting-Ting would be thrilled to know that this is how a prince acts away from his parents."

"Note to self: stock up on strawberries," Fairy Godmother muttered to herself. After finding out that the kids from the Isle ate garbage for most of their lives, she was happy to see Mal enjoying the strawberries. She could only hope that the other children found food that they enjoyed as well.

"Are those crowns on your shorts?" Miguel asked.

"Audrey picked them out the last time we went shopping," Ben said. "I agreed just because of the blue and gold."

"There are other colors, you know," Miguel told him.

"I like blue and gold, dude!"

Meanwhile, a lot of the girls in Ben and Mal's year were perking up at the sight of the future king's abs. They were always hidden by his shirts and tourney jersey that no one knew they existed.

"So when I ask, he's fine but when his girlfriend asks, he gets all embarrassed and his voice cracks," Miguel chuckled.

"Miguel," Moana warned her son. There was a line you did not cross when teasing the future king.

"Did he just...?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I didn't ask."

"But Mal!"

"Evie, it's better not to ask. Royalty's strange enough."

Belle, though, looked at her son in shock. She knew what lake that was. For him to still be with Mal after jumping in would mean either she had reapplied the potion somehow or...or he truly loved her.

Looking at the interactions, Belle had to assume that it was the later.

"Mal?" Evie turned and looked at her best friend. Mal just shook her head. She just wanted the song to be over with; the last thing she wanted was for the entire school to see her doubt and uncertain. Again.

"You have a beautiful voice dear," Fairy Godmother said, giving Mal a kind smile as she knew that it wouldn't have been easy to have her insecurities displayed the whole school. "You should really think about joining the choir."

"I'll consider it," Mal said, giving Fairy Godmother a small smile.

"Back home, hopefully," Queen Lean sniffed.

"Oh, honestly mother," Aurora sighed. Couldn't her mother see how torn Mal was? Was that really something a 'villain' would be?

"If it's a dream, then it's a really good dream," Carlos said softly, not wanting to take away from the moment. It was jarring to see Mal, their leader, so unsure about what was going on.

But at the same time, it was pretty comforting to know that Mal had those feelings too. At least now, Carlos knew that he could talk to Mal if not the rest of the squad.

Dizzy couldn't help but grin at seeing Mal and Ben's first meeting, having missed it the first time it was shown.

A few of the adult Auradonians couldn't help but comment to their neighbors about the progression Mal had made throughout the memories, even noting that the purple in her outfits seemed to be lighter as well.

"Sound familiar?" Aladdin muttered.

"Oh, you mean like all of us?" Eugene muttered back, referring to the 'Learning to be Royal' club. "We should invite Mal-if Ben's going to be dating her for long, she'll need us to help guide her through the snake pit of royal life."

"Maybe once the whole 'all my thoughts and plots are being revealed to the whole school' thing dies down," Tiana chimed in, having moved toward the group once she noticed that several members had congregated toward each other. "She's a nice girl though. She'd be a great addition—plus I'd love to cook some food for the kids on the Isle. I think they'd need it."

"Let me know if you need any help," Rapunzel told her. While she had been born royal, she had never lived as a princess until Eugene helped her return home to her mom and dad. It was why, with Belle's help, that they formed the group in the first place-to help those new to royal life have a helping hand and a sympathetic ear.

"But that's just it," Ben said, turning to his girlfriend. "You've always been this person. Even your stories from your time on the Isle aren't that bad—just usual kid behavior."

"You call dumping a basket of rotting shrimp on Uma 'normal' kid behavior?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No but I'd like to know the story about that now."

"Me too!" Lonnie chimed in.

"Oh! We should have a sleepover and all tell stories!" Kitty squealed. "Hot chocolate and s'mores!"

Five pairs of eyes looked at her in confusion. "Smore what?" Carlos asked.

"No! S'mores! You know, toasted marshmallow on top of chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers?"

"She's gone insane," Mal told Ben.

"It's an actual thing," Ben said with a chuckle. "When the weather gets colder, we can make some."

"Again, back to the Isle," Chad muttered. Why was no one on his side for this? They were clearly villains! Heck, Mal even went after Queen Leah at Parent's Day!

"I heard that Chad," Cinderella scolded her son. Then, in a move that startled everyone, she got up and sat next to Chad. "I think some mother-son time is in order. Don't you?"

Belle looked over at her son's girlfriend and couldn't help but give her a sad smile. She hoped that Mal would realize that she was available if Mal needed anyone to talk to—or didn't want to talk to her friends about her problems.

"Yeah, you are crazy," Audrey sniffed. "You could only get Ben because you spelled him."

"Audrey, enough," Phillip Sr. warned his daughter.

No one dared to comment, knowing exactly what Mal meant. At some point, the love potion would be removed. Ben gently rested a hand on Mal's and gave it a soft squeeze; as if to reassure her that he would always be there.

"Anyone else hear Ben's voice in the background?" Evie asked.

"I definitely hear a man's voice," Rachel nodded. "It might be Ben's."

Belle froze and grabbed Adam/Beast's arm in fear. She knew that Ben was a strong swimmer but anything could have happened.