A/N: Welcome boys and girls to my first ever published story. I've been on this website as a reader, reviewer, and beta for many years. I still can't believe I've found the courage to write my fanfiction. I must admit I'm super excited to finally share my hard work with you all but also somewhat nervous. A short review, telling me what you liked, disliked or any constructive criticism you might have, would be so helpful to me.

Anyways, back to the story. So what was the inspiration behind it? First of all, Ben and Mal are my absolute favorite characters in the franchise, so I couldn't pass on the opportunity to write a Bal centric piece. I've always seen Mal as this sort of anti-hero character, so I often wondered what a scenario where she was raised to be good would look like. Don't worry, though. I still intend to keep her bad-ass character.

Secondly, medieval times are a personal favorite of mine. And this fandom is full of canon stories, so I decided to try something different. That's where the idea of writing an AU came from, and this story by Robert Louis Stevenson came to mind almost instantly.

As the summary suggests, this is a coming of age tale but don't let the description fool you. Expect a story filled to the brim with twists, surprises, betrayals, adventure, romance, and so much more. I assure you the plot won't disappoint you. You will meet a significant number of Disney characters as well. I want to point out that I needed to take slight liberty with some of the characters. Carlos's age or Lonnie's background is an example.

I want to thank WanderlustandFreedom, my official beta, and Harry Potter Fan 1994 for their help and constant support. I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for them.

Lastly, a little disclaimer that I don't own any of the characters. The original plot belongs to R.L. Stevenson, and I've based it primarily on the Italian TV series adaptation of it, so all rights go to its writers.

Finally, that's it. Off we go...hope you enjoy reading it just as much as I've loved writing it.

Prologue

Fairy-tale stories usually start with a "once upon a time", but not this story. Instead, this time, it all started with a river, the Great Bayou River to be exact. This deep river, with its waters running so deep that even sunlight had never seen its bed, ran across the entire Fairy Tale Land, creating a divide that naturally separated the West from the East.

It was the year 1450 and the West, rich in natural resources and fertile farmlands, flourished under the rule and guidance of its young and noble leader, King Arthur of Camelot.

Jealousy for their counterparts' prosperity started spreading across the neighboring East. This jealousy further fuelled the existing divide within its governing Council, which was made up of representatives from all its major territories. Without a regnant monarch capable of reuniting the lands under one rule, the council members struggled to offer stability to their people as their only focus was to find ways to increase their wealth. The people, in turn, had started to feel oppressed by some of its tyrannical rulers and the first voices of dissent had begun to be heard.

But this jealousy turned into fear as more and more stories spread across the land detailing how the West's success was due only to the magical intervention of creatures that were rumored to inhabit it. It was only a matter of time before these mystical beings would feel threatened and turn to conquer and destroy the East. Lord Stefan of Auroria, whose life ambition was to become the sole ruler of the entire Eastern realm, used these rumors and fears to gain support within the Council and promised its members that he would be able to exterminate this threat for good. Only a small group within the Council dared to oppose him, led by the honorable King Adam of Auradon. But as fear continued to blind the Council Members, King Adam and his allies found themselves unable to stop Stefan's rapid ascent to power. All they could do was watch, powerless, as before long Stefan managed to gather a vast army from the significant territories and lead them towards the West. This event marked the beginning of what was going to be known across the Fairy Tale Land as the Great War.

So the two neighboring kingdoms remained forever at war, neither one prevailing on the other and peace seemed like a distant dream. But, two years into the conflict, just as Stefan was mere days away from the council vote that would finally elect him as King of the Eastern Realm, he received news that a group of outlaws, led by the disgraced Lord Robin of Locksley, had attacked and damaged some of his military strongholds in Auroria. This group of outlaws called themselves the Black Arrow and had gained support from the common people, promising them freedom from Stefan and the other leaders' tyrannical rule. In the days following the attacks, word had also spread across the entire territory that the outlaws had met with King Arthur. Rumour had it that some of the council members supported them and together they'd drafted a secret peace treaty, which was going to be presented at the upcoming council vote in the last-ditch effort to end the conflict.

For the first time in a long time, a glimmer of hope for an amicable resolution to the war had finally manifested itself, and not all seemed lost...

A/N: That's it for now. Just a little teaser of what is to come. Look out for Chapter 1 which I will publish tomorrow. From there on I will be sticking to weekly updates on the weekends.