The palace's living room is filled with gifts. The baby's yet to come in three months and the kingdoms are already sending their gifts. Since the news about the baby being a prince, it's like whole of Auradon is more excited than the parents themselves. Persephone and Hades seems to be leading the group too.

"I think these are too much," Ben said, looking at the gifts that the king and queen of the Underworld sent. Different sizes of gifts can actually sustain the for four three kingdoms' gift already.

"I know," Hedith said, munching on the macaroons that the servants of the castle had brought out when she arrived with the gifts.

"Persephone almost sent half of these," Mal chuckled after checking the tags on each of the gifts, "I think she's too excited for the baby."

"She? Oh, you didn't see dad when he got the news from Hermes. He was crying for three hours straight. Pain and Panic are in a frenzy," Hedith laughed. She stared at the couple. Both of them had grown out of their teenage charms. They look so grown up now and more mature than ever. Hedith have to take back whatever she said about Ben being a general prince.

He actually grew a beard. And it suits him.

Mal on the other hand is still so pretty even with an extra weight on her. Her hair is shorter and more magenta than ever. But she held herself like a true queen. And also like a true mother. Looks like, Belle had rub off her.

"Did he said anything about coming over to visit?" Mal asked, sitting next to her sister with Ben assisting her.

"When he kid is born, he will. But for now, let's talk about my other agenda for coming to Auradon," Hedith said, sitting properly and putting her cup down, "There has been an anomaly in the Underworld for a while now. And investigations had led to someone stealing souls of the dead that are supposed to be delivered by Thanatos."

"And you pinpointed that person here? In Auradon?" Ben asked, crossing his arms.

"That's what Hermes told us. I happened to volunteer for the work and will be here for a while," the princess answered.

"What can we do to help?"

"Permission to investigate in whole of Auradon and when I said whole, I mean the other kingdoms, too. Those stolen souls have to be brought and judged in the Underworld where they belong," Hedith said, her voice having that tone of seriousness. She means business when she's using that tone.

Mal and Ben exchanged looks, having a silent conversation between each other. Hedith waited patiently for the couple's response.

"We have to conduct a meeting with the other kingdoms. How about you wait until then?" Ben said and Hedith nodded in understanding.

"I understand. But I am hoping that it wouldn't take too long," Hedith said and slumped back on the couch, "Too much undead souls in the living world can cause chaos."

---

Mal and Hedith went to the pavilion of the palace, catching up on each other. Hedith told her of her encounters with the other gods and how unnerving Zeus can be. Also Apollo being a total summation of all their guy friends in Auradon makes both sister laugh.

"You should see him getting annoyed at a piece of poetry that one kid made. He was over dramatic," Hedith said, leaning against her chair. She have her legs crossed and she holds her cup of tea on one hand while the other is laying across her lap.

Mal stares at her sister. She noted the changes on her since she last saw her. She just turned fifteen the time before the ball and she was in the middle of her teenage years. Now that she's twenty-two, Mal can point out how much she had grown.

She had grew taller, now standing an actual few inch taller than Mal. Her hair isn't wavy as it was before, it is now perfectly straight and falls right below her mid back even in a ponytail. She has all the right curves and she really knows how to dress right.

Hedith wore a black sleeveless dress with small white ruffles at the end. It wasn't too long as it ends right before her knees and she wears a pair of black leggings underneath. And her black leather boots stayed true to her roots, having a skull zipper and two spikes at the back.

Her nails are paint black, too and she also learned to wear a thin make up. From being a hyper-active prankster, she had became an elegant Princess worthy of carrying the kingdom of their father.

"I can't believe it has been seven years," Mal smiled, taking a piece of macaroon on the plate.

"Yeah. Maybe if Audrey hadn't turned into an old lady you and I are still probably bickering sisters. And I wouldn't be living as a princess," Hedith said, putting her cup on the table. Mal laughed at how she puts it. She looked at the horizon with a smile.

"Yeah, and Auradon wouldn't be this peaceful."

"How can things change so fast in just a span of years? Times just flies so fast," Hedith said, staring at her tea, "And you're having a baby. How crazy is that?"

"What's crazy is you still not getting a boyfriend," Mal teased, smirking at the look on Hedith's face when she said that. Her lips curved in disgust, "You're still crushing on Carlos? Or were the rumors about your engagement with Teri true?"

"First of all, Teri and I had an agreement that I won't be one of his targets," Hedith said, remembering their conversation at the ball, "Plus, I was a teenager back then. My crush disappeared once I lost contact with all of you."

"Wait! Am I hearing this correct?" Mal's eyes widened as she points at her sister, "You're not denying you had a crush on Carlos!"

"I told you, I was a teenager back then. I was bound to be denial," Hedith said as if it was the most obvious things in the world. However, Mal thought otherwise. She could feel her older sister's burning stare at her even if she is looking down at the table.

"You know that Jane and Carlos broke up two years ago, right?" Mal brought up. Hedith sighed and gave her a hard stare, "Maybe you could give it a try."

"I told myself that I wouldn't be accepting any suitors or taking part in any romantic relationship any time soon. So, no thanks," she shrugged off.

"Hedith."

"And Mal, I don't even know how Carlos would think of it. What would I say? Hey, I had a crush on you back in the Isle so those pranks are like my flirting with you. Surprise!" The younger sister laughed at the absurdity of the scenario before shaking her head, "That's never going to happened."

"Suit yourself," Mal said. A servant approached them and told Mal that it's time for her to take her med so she said goodbye to Hedith.

Hedith left the castle and decided to go to Auradon Mall. Dizzy suggested for her to visit Auradon Prep, but she's never going to do that. She never had a good memory in that place and the time she had there was just for killing time until she was finally able to go to her father's kingdom.

Her phone vibrated as she is checking out on the clothes with Evie's brand on them. Taking out her phone, she saw a text message from an unknown number. Eyebrows furrowing, she saw that the message was a picture of her just a few seconds ago. Could a stalker be following her? If so, how did they got her number?

She turned to the direction of where the picture was taken. And she sent the person a hard glare. Outside the store stood a smirking Carlos, practically finding the little joke funny.

Hedith stormed out of the store and approached the white haired man with a fuming temper.

"You really think that was funny? I was ready to beat up any stalker that comes my way!" She scolded him, pointing at her phone. He just laughs at her.

"Come on. It's just a harmless prank. That's what you always tell me," he said, still amused at Hedith's angry face.

"That's not funny. And how did you get my number?"

"Celia gave it to me."

"Why would she give you my number?"

"Aren't we friends?" Hedith paused for a moment. She puts her phone in her bag and raises an eyebrow at Carlos who is surprisingly waiting for her answer.

"Yeah, so? Doesn't it occur to you to just ask me personally for my number and not act like a total creep and take pictures of me while I'm out shopping?" She chided, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"I have a quota to give back all those years of pranking," he shots back. Hedith then noticed that he's out of his doctor suit. He's just wearing a regular shirt under a white and red jacket and pair of faded jeans.

"It's your day off?"

"Yep," he said and puts his phone back in his jacket's pocket, "I thought I'd go hang in the malland that's when I saw you."

"How delightful," she said with sarcasm.

"You don't sound like it."

"And it's clear you haven't learned about sarcasm."

"Man, you are Mal's sister," Hedith shrugged and started walking back into the shop. Carlos following, "Why are you following me?"

"I got nothing to do."

"Well move along, dog boy. I'm not your human to follow," Hedith shoos him with a flick of her wrist.

"For the record, I hate that nickname."

"It's cute and leave me alone. I do business on my own," she snapped at him, going back to looking through Evie's brand.

"So how's Mavros doing?"

Hedith sent him a glare but it didn't fazed him any bit. She couldn't tell him off  enough to actually make him leave her alone. What's his problem? Maybe he's got nothing better to do but to be a nuisance to her. Well, that is his goal. His payback to all the pranks she had pulled on him all those years in the Isle is messing around to annoy her and it's working.

"He's doing good. He had been going against his urges to scratch himself since he started wearing those Buster collars," Hedith answered, nonetheless.

"That's good to hear. Mostly, dogs get really annoyed when they wear those. Mavros is such a good boy," he chuckled. Hedith saw something in the racks that caught her eyes and she took it out.

"He doesn't really go out of the Underworld. He's usually just with Cerberus or the other hellhounds," Hedith told him. She smiled at her pick and threw it over her left arm, "So how long have you been working as a vet?"

"About three years now," he answered, still following Hedith. The thought about Jane surfaced in her mind again but she decided to go against her initial urge to meddle into his private life.

"How did your mom take that? You working with animal?"

"She didn't took it well as expected. She even went far as blaming it on Jane for her influence," Carlos casually laughed it off, Hedith sparing him a side glance.

"From the stories that I heard, it's more of Ben's rather than little Fairy Godbaby," Hedith said and took another clothes from the rack, "And Dude's, I suppose."

"Yeah, but I'm thankful for that. I get to help a lot of animals for that start," They arrived to the counter and Hedith paid for the things she bought, "You're the only girl I met to only buy two clothes while shopping. As hard to believe, Jane's least number is two bags."

"Well, sorry to not meet your expectation, Dog Boy. But don't lump me in with your ex," she said, taking the bag from the counter and turning her heels to leave.

"You've heard, huh?"

"Mal grew a new mouth over the years plus your Crownstagram gave it out pretty obviously," she stated, leaving the shop and Carlos still following her.

"She...She and I didn't worked out but at least we're still in friendly terms," he said, scratching the back of his neck. Hedith couldn't care less about their story and it's not her that brought her up in the conversation. She was just going with the flow.

"Ah there's the phrase. At least."

"You can't really be in an awkward placing with the new Headmistress of your Alma Mater. We still do alumna works there," Carlos said with a sheepish smile. Hedith turned to him with a blank look. She's not really taking joy in all these small talks with him and neither is she enjoying the forced presence that Carlos is giving off. He talks about not being in an awkward footing with Jane but here he is, forcing himself to someone who obviously don't enjoy his company.

"Is there any particular reason why you're still hanging around me when I gave you multiple hints that I wanted to be left alone?" Hedith finally told him head on. They stopped in the middle of the mall.

"Nothing rea—"

"Then stop following me, please."

That was all that it took for Carlos to stay put and Hedith to leave without someone tailing after her.