It took a couple of hours to sort things out after Maleficent's escape, attack, and subsequent defeat as everyone tried to understand what had happened when Jane's wild magick had pierced a hole in the barrier surrounding the Isle of the Lost. Part of that sorting was making sure Maleficent had something with more air than a magickal bell jar to keep her in.

Mal sighed in relief after Queen Belle (or rather Queen Mother Belle as Ben has been officially crowned the new king before her mother spoiled the party thanks to Jane's... accident) reassured her that her mother would not be harmed and that the Fairy Godmother would make certain there was some method to contain her in her new form that Mal would be at least be able to visit, if not care for her mother's lizard form herself.

Of course that clean-up started with a formal reception that left Mal milling around and chatting with people idly in the coronation hall as Ben dealt with some formal duties with his parents before coming to get her. Once they were reunited all that would remain would be getting ready for the banquet, followed by the formal ball, and then the after party the kids at Auradon Prep were planning for later that evening. In fact Evie had made certain that the train and lower half of Mal's ballgown was removable specifically to make it easier for Mal to move during the after party (or for them to make their escape had they decided to go with their parents' plans to snatch the wand.)

And speaking of Grimhilde's daughter, she was approaching her best friend with a wide smile and an abundance of energy that had her practically bouncing as she asked, "Can you believe this, Mal?"

"Hardly," Mal replied sardonically, still a little uncomfortable in her elaborate dress. She had always been a jeans and leather jacket kind of girl, after all.

"I know, right? I mean I can hardly believe that we're being accepted like this. Ooh, and Doug asked me to the ball and the party tonight. Like a real date," Evie beamed.

"So I take it he's forgiven for not standing up to Chad, then?" Mal asked with an exasperated smile.

"Oh please. I was halfway there anyway. I mean, other than Jane coming to hang out with us in our dorm until Audrey got to her, how many others were taking the time to be nice to us?" Evie asked. "And he made me this new tiara I wore today. Don't you love it? Actually, I'm sure you hate it since it's so girly, but isn't it nice? And he made it himself with his own two hands," Evie gushed.

Mal had thought to ask where the elaborate crystal tiara had come from since, as far as she knew, Evie only had the much less elaborate knotted gold tiara with a single ruby accent her mother had given her for her tenth birthday. But if Doug made it, that made sense. He was, after all, half Dwarf. And while his father and uncle were miners by trade, blacksmiths and even enchanted weapon smiths were both common careers for a Dwarf to pursue. "Is it enchanted?" Mal asked after inspecting the headpiece a little more closely.

"No. Doug said he wanted to put some protection charms into it but he's not that good with them yet and he was pressed for time to get it done after the whole fiasco with Family Day. His dad actually dropped off the materials for it then," Evie explained.

Mal's reply was cut short as Audrey's voice rang out with a startled, "What? The jewels in your tiara came from the Seven Dwarves Mine?"

Mal glared at Aurora's daughter for her interruption and thought about making a comment about her eavesdropping on Mal's personal conversations becoming a very bad habit but bit it back to ask instead, "What's so special about that?"

Audrey looked stunned that Mal was so ignorant of something well known in Auradon as she explained, "The Dwarves provide the most valuable and precious gems in all the land. I mean I thought it was a nice costume accent piece you picked up in town with some crystals in it but..."

"Diamonds set in a mix of white gold and pure silver so it can more easily take enchantments when Doug feels up to trying," Evie informed the girl proudly.

"And he just gave you something like that to apologize?" Audrey insisted.

"Of course not," Evie replied. "He was already planning on making it for me. He just gave it to me along with his apology."

"But, that thing would cost... I mean next to the royal treasuries it's not that much but for Doug to just give it as a gift?" Audrey asked wide eyed.

"You do realize that if everything came from the his family directly he probably only paid with his time to make it right?" Mal asked with a roll of her eyes. Monetary value meant little to most people from the Isle because there was so little to go around. If it was useful or needed, like tools and food, it was valuable. Of course Mal, being raised by a Faerie, had even less appreciation for money. If it could buy essentials for you, great. If not, it was useless.

Evie shook her head ruefully at Mal, knowing she would have little concern for what something would cost beyond its practical use, before she gave Audrey a sly smirk as she responded, "Doug said I was worth it. What's the matter, Chad not give you anything nice for your date?"

Audrey still seemed shell-shocked for a moment before shaking it off to scoff, "Please. We all know I only even agreed to go out with that idiot to try to make Bennie-boo jealous after that scene at the Tourney game where he pretty much publicly dumped me. Give me some credit. I do have standards, you know."

Mal's respect for her rival went up a bit as she noted, "You might want to distance yourself from him if you can. Jay and Carlos will probably be looking to enlist Doug's help after he asked Evie out like this. It's never wise to cross a Dwarf. Tends to end with things like getting your lips sewn shut, from what I hear."

Audrey paled a bit at the comment. She hated to admit it, but Mal had a very good point. Most people forgot Doug's heritage as anything more than a running joke when they looked the the clumsy band-nerd with the straight-A average. But he was still technically a Dwarf, even if an exceptionally tall one. "Thanks for the heads up. I wasn't planning on sticking too close to him after the ball was over, honestly. He'll probably try to hit on some of the other girls there, anyway. There's a reason we all say charm was the only thing he seemed to get from his father."

"Good to know," Mal said with a devious smirk.

The trio stood there in silence for a time before Audrey awkwardly said, "Actually Mal, if you feel up to it, my Mom would probably like to talk to you again sometime. She doesn't want to make you upset, but I think it kind of deals with your inheritance."

"What inheritance? Pretty sure I'll lose the right to Mom's castle on the Isle even if I wanted the thing," Mal noted with raised eyebrow.

"Um, kind of your...title?" Audrey offered with a wince. She knew this was dangerous ground she was treading and if Mal could take on Maleficent and win Audrey was not loving her chances if she pushed things too far.

"What title?" Mal all but hissed. She HATED the crap she dealt with back home being called the Princess of the Isle and that was a mostly honorary position. So help her, if Aurora was trying to do something stupid like adopt Mal into her house she was going to throttle that woman like she had wanted to do in her dorm room.

"Well~, your title as the... rightful Princess of the Moors," Audrey explained.

Mal stood there stunned for several moments before Evie looked at her and burst out laughing. "What is so funny, E?" Mal demanded.

"I'm sorry, M. It's just that-" Evie started before dissolving into giggles that bordered on a very unladylike guffaw. She caught her breath for a moment before explaining, "It's just that that moment we got here they told me my title was meaningless and here you are getting another one. You've been fighting being called the Princess of the Isle your whole life and now they're going to give the one girl that would never want it another throne."

"That isn't funny, Evie. It's annoying. If it wasn't related to the Moors I'd put a stop to it right now," Mal growled.

"Whatever you say, your highness," Evie replied with another giggle.

"E!" Mal shot back hotly as he friend teased her.

Evie composed herself before smiling devilishly as she asked, "So does this mean I can be one of your ladies in waiting?"

Mal fumed for a bit before folding her arms in a huff as she replied, "You know perfectly well that the title of Queen of the Moors doesn't pass that way Evie. There is no reason you should be teasing me over it."

"What do you mean?" Audrey asked with a confused look. Granted much of what she was saying she had pieced together herself before she had the whole picture, but Mal was still clearly the rightful heir the Moors from where she stood.

Mal shook her head before looking back at Evie and asking, "Do they not torture kids with Poli Sci classes here like we had to deal with on the island?"

Evie shrugged as she replied, "Not the royals apparently. Which seems really unfair when we had to deal with MORE instruction growing up. She didn't get why your mom was screwed over to protect her family's throne and position, either."

"Can I get a translation instead of you both talking like I'm not here?" Audrey asked with a look of annoyance.

"There have only ever been two Queens of the Moors, my mom and then your mom. My mother declared Aurora her successor, then abdicated to her. But Faeries have no concept of hereditary titles. As far as they're concerned the title will only move on if the previous Queen chooses a successor or is challenged and defeated for her throne. And I seriously doubt your mother is going to abdicate and declare me Queen of the Moors to split her kingdom in half," Mal explained.

Audrey was not so certain of that. Her mother seemed to be feeling a deep sense of guilt that had built for decades in regards to what happened to Maleficent. In fact she was with Ben, his parents, and the Fairy Godmother pleading Maleficent's case to them behind closed doors as they spoke.

Her mental musings were cut short as Evie interjected, "I don't know, Mal. You were the firstborn daughter of the first accepted Queen, who was also the former protector of the land. I think they would consider you their Princess out of respect unless Aurora formally told them NOT to acknowledge you as such."

"Ugh. It's going to be that Princess of the Isle crud all over again, isn't it?" Mal asked, annoyed with the whole idea.

"Probably with a lot less fighting to build your reputation away from your mom. The way your dad would tell it I don't think they're big on picking fights to see if you're strong enough to respect in the Moors and I doubt they have morons like Gaston's twins that you'll have to fight off to prove your superiority," Evie replied with an encouraging smile.

For her part Audrey just stared between the pair and wondered just what kind of life they had to live before coming to Auradon?

Aurora stared at the floor from where she stood in front of a desk opposite King Benjamin, with Belle and Adam standing on either side of their son and the Fairy Godmother off the right between the two parties. The fact that, until a couple of weeks ago, Ben had been her daughter's steady boyfriend only made this whole encounter even more awkward.

"Do you know why we called for this meeting, Queen Aurora?" Ben asked, trying his best to maintain his composure as the ruler of the United States of Auradon.

"I have an idea... Your Highness," Aurora replied with a small wince.

"Are you aware that while all the people other than yourself and the children from the Isle of the Lost that were in the coronation hall were frozen by Maleficent, the rest of Auradon was not? And that the television cameras showing a live feed of the coronation were still rolling?" Ben asked.

"I wasn't really thinking about television coverage, Your High-" Aurora began.

"Please stop with the honorifics, Aurora. How many years have we known each other? Audrey was coming over for play-dates with the other Royal kids before they could all walk," Belle interjected with a sense of exasperation. There was maintaining a professional distance and there was just being silly. Behind closed doors as they were, this was definitely the latter.

"Thanks for being the one to say it, Mom," Ben said with a smile. That smile faded as he returned his attention back to Audrey's mother as he continued, "Some very strange things were brought to my attention almost immediately after we were unfrozen. Fairy Godmother told us there were some things you might like to tell us before I ask her or Mal about it since you were a first hand witness and everything they know would be second or third hand at best. So please, tell me what this is all about Aunt 'Rora."

Aurora sighed, part of her glad to finally get this all off her chest after all these years. She never should have listened to her mother when she told her to hide it. Or Phillip when he agreed with her. She should have stood up for Maleficent back then. Perhaps all this unpleasantness today would have been avoided if she had. "This will take awhile. I'm going to tell you a tale that everyone knows very well, but it didn't happen the way they all believe. It's the story of a Faerie that lived wild and free in the Moors all her life until she met peasant boy who had braved entering the realm of the Faire Folk to steal a gem in the hopes of feeding himself. And her name was Maleficent..." she began.

"Man, what is taking Ben so long? He needs to come get Mal so we can eat," Carlos sighed from where he was waiting with Jay.

"Probably security stuff from Mal's mom crashing the party," Jay replied with a shrug. It only made sense that Maleficent showing up would cause some serious stuff to be dealt with. Even if she was a black and purple lizard at the moment.

"You think they'll ship her back to the island?" Carlos asked.

"Don't know. Kind of seems silly to ship a tiny lizard back. But the whole story will probably come out now," Jay speculated with a look toward the doors that Ben had been hurried off through a few minutes after everyone was free of the Queen of All Evil's curse.

"That's going to be so strange. To have people besides the four of us and Evie's mom knowing everything," Carlos noted.

"We only know because Uncle D liked to talk so much and he wanted to make sure Mal knew her history once he found out he was sick," Jay reminded him.

"Yeah. Even back then he knew we were going to stay one crew working together. And he made us promise to to talk about it to any of our parents besides the Evil Queen," Carlos reminisced.

Jay just nodded in agreement, lost in his own thoughts of the recent encounter. As much as he was taught to dislike Aurora growing up she had risked her life to save his. He knew full well that the only one Maleficent would hesitate to fry was Mal. And even that was iffy on her bad days. They were all very glad Maleficent's powers had been so severely limited on the isle when she would fly into a rage over something.

His recollection was cut short as Carlos surprised him by asking, "Hey, you think Jane would say yes if I asked her to dance at the party after the stupid ball we have to go to?"

"My GOD, Aurora, how could you keep silent over something like that?" Belle asked with a look of horrified shock oh her face as her friend finished her tale.

Aurora was teary eyed as she responded, "At first it was listening to my Mother and Phillip. Then, once I realized how bad the island was and what I did really sunk in Audrey was born and I... I just didn't know how to say anything without hurting HER too. And... I was just so ashamed of myself for letting it happen."

"You should be!" Adam snarled, his Beastly temper coming to the fore. "After what your father did I can only imagine what went through Maleficent's mind. I mean I can only think of a handful of things more heinous than what he did. Were he still alive I'd have escorted him to the Isle personally."

"Actually, Your Majesty, taking her wings like that was probably worse in the eyes of the Faire Folk than what you're thinking. It not only bound part of her power, but it was a personal violation of her in body and soul in a such a way that... well I can't explain it to someone that isn't another Faerie. Not really," the Fairy Godmother interjected with a wince. Much like Aurora she had wanted this truth, one well known to most of the Fae, to be revealed for a long time. But so long as Aurora wore the crown of the Queen of the Moors, none would speak out against her. Now that she was admitting her wrongdoing herself, the Fairy Godmother could finally speak of it as well.

"The question now isn't what was done in the past. It's what we must do to move forward," Ben said with a look of deep concentration.

"I will personally accept responsibility for my actions if that's what you decide is right, Ben." Aurora offered. "I just ask that you don't punish Audrey alongside me. She was totally ignorant of all this until today, really. And even then she only learned it because Grimhilde's daughter told her the whole story while I was busy making a fool of myself trying to connect with Mal."

"I'm not going to punish Audrey for this. And I'm not going to exile you. The real villains in all this were Stephan and Henry, and they have already paid the ultimate price for their crimes," Ben said after a moment of contemplation. "But this lie can't go unpunished, either. The people need to know the truth."

"Indeed. And we should finally address the petitions we keep getting from Maleficent's goblins for clemency," Belle suggested.

"That might be hard. From what Mal told me once, the goblins run a good bit of the infrastructure on the Isle," Ben admitted with a wince.

"But if she was innocent-" Belle began.

"Mostly innocent, dear. She did still curse Aurora," Adam reminded her.

"And broke it herself out of a mother's love for the child of the man that violated her and the woman he abandoned her for," Belle countered with a scowl. Stephan had truly been a monster. She was glad he had died long before she ever met him.

"Mom, Dad, this isn't helping," Ben cut in with a sigh. This whole mess was giving him a major headache.

"That's another thing. I beg you to show Maleficent some mercy. She's sick, mentally, but I don't think she is wholly evil. Mal is proof enough of that," Aurora pleaded, afraid Maleficent would face a darker fate for escaping the isle and causing the ruckus she had.

"There's nothing to worry about there. I'm making a magickally sealed terrarium for her. And should she start to recover and grow into a larger size it it'll accommodate her accordingly," the Fairy Godmother promised.

Aurora sighed with relief at that before turning her attention back to Ben as she asked, "Then all that remains is to decide what will become of me. Will I be losing my royal status the way Grimhilde did? My father did take the throne under false pretenses, after all."

Ben mulled that fact over for a moment before shaking his head. "No. You are still the only legitimate heir through King Henry's line via your mother. King Phillip's titles aren't in question and I have no authority they would acknowledge to try to take the throne of Queen of the Moors from you."

"Actually, I was thinking of declaring Mal as the rightful heir to the Moors, and offering her the right of succession when she turns eighteen," Aurora admitted. "She has more right to that throne than I ever did. I managed to prove that quite well."

Adam looked frustrated as he insisted, "Son you can't let this go unpunished."

"I don't plan on it, Dad," Ben responded. "Aunt 'Rora, you will have to publicly release the full story of what happened to Maleficent and offer a public apology for your part in not revealing these facts during the trial to decide upon her exile. You, your husband, and your mother will also pay direct reparations to Mal as her only heir. You will also lose your vote on the elder Royal Council, although you will retain a lower house vote instead. Public opinion will do the rest to punish you. It might not seem like enough but it's all we can do right now."

"I understand, Ben. Thank you for your mercy and generosity," Aurora replied with a sad smile.

"I do have one question, though," Belle interjected after a pause. "How was it that you weren't frozen by Maleficent's spell, Aurora?"

"Oh that's easy. I've carried her blessing as part of my title as Queen of the Moors. As a result I'm protected from most forms of offensive Faerie magicks.

"Well, I think this is all we can do for today to resolve this. We'll meet tomorrow with Mal and the others to arrange things in more detail. For now we need to get ready to get to the banquet and continue with the day's festivities," Ben declared as he stood and rubbed his neck a bit.

"Agreed. We can meet here tomorrow for lunch and go from there. Although this isn't how I expected our first family lunch with your new girlfriend to go, son, " Belle noted with a rueful shake of her head.

"In all fairness, Mom, we would have had it on Family Day of the incident hadn't happened," Ben reminded her.

"Let's just hope things go more smoothly this time," Adam gruffly offered with a shake of his head.

Author's Note: I don't know if I just had an off chapter or something went strange with the site but I had zero reviews for the last chapter despite a lot of people reading it. So for this one I will say that reviews are the coin of the realm and please feel free to leave a review or a PM for any questions, suggestions, or comments you might have.