▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐓𝐰𝐨 ━︎━︎ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐓 the uniform, a sneer of disgust on her face. She was at the castle, getting ready for this meeting. Ben told her it wasn't appropriate to wear a t-shirt and jeans, meaning she had to wear something more formal, and he opted for this blue and yellow dress that made her want to throw up. "I'm not wearing this." She met her friend's eyes. "Do I have to wear this?"

     Ben chuckled. "Well, can't say I didn't try." He walked around desk, a present in his hand. "I had a feeling you would hate it, so I got you this instead." He handed her the blue box, exchanging it for the uniform. "Go on."

     Ilaria hesitated before opening the box, smiling when she spotted a red uniform inside, the golden symbol representing Auradon sitting on top. Ilaria picked up the pin before grabbing the uniform. "It's still a dress," she mumbled before sighing. "But, you win some, you lose some. Thank you, Ben."

     He smiled. "Of course."

     She walked into his bathroom, quickly changing. It was a simple red and black dress that reached to her knees, the black boots she had worn on the walk to the castle thankfully matched it. She put the pin above her right breast before walking back out. "I think I can stomach this a little more than that monstrosity."

     Ben shook his head. "I figured. Come on, we're going to be late."

     Ilaria walked beside him, entering the room where Mal stood in a purple dress with black gloves covering her hands. Her shoulders relaxed at the sight of Ilaria, instantly giving her a hug. Ben walked to the two girl, an arm wrapping around Mal's waist as he met Ilaria's eyes. "I'm sure I don't have to explain this to you, but I will just in case. Anything that is discussed in this room or any other meeting you attend cannot leave the room it is discussed in. If you do, that is a result of treason and you will most likely be tried and sent back to Wonderland. Even there are some things that I can't change, but I trust you."

     Ilaria nodded. "Understood." Ilaria turned her head when Adam, Belle, and Fairy Godmother joined them.

     "Well, this is a change of scenery for you." Adam commented. "You know―︎"

     Ilaria rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, I can't speak a word of this conversation to anyone or I get sent back home. I got it. You may not like me all that much, but if you know me at all you would know I would never do anything to betray your son's trust."

     Belle glanced at her husband. "She has a point. We can trust her." Adam said nothing as he gave a firm nod.

     Adam cleared his throat as he started the conversation. "I think we all know why we're here." Ilaria didn't, but she opted not to say anything. She knew if she wanted to be Ben's trusted associate, she had to be professional. She could do that. "The people are in a panic about Hades. He almost got out." Ben smiled in disbelief.

     "Who knows what he would've done if he had escaped," Fairy Godmother added.

     "We can't risk having another villain on the loose." Adam urged.

     "I really feel like this is my fault." Mal said, her voice raw with emotion. She looked at Ben, tears shining in her eyes. "I'm supposed to protect Auradon."

     Ben instantly turned to her. "You did, you do protect Auradon."

     "Every time we open the barrier, we're exposed to danger." Adam said. "Maleficent, Uma, Hades."

     Ben's phone chimed and he turned his back, taking a few steps away to glance at the message. Ilaria watched his body language, she watched the way his shoulders grew tense as he stuffed his phone back in his pocket. He turned to face them again. "Maleficent's scepter and the queen's crown have been stolen."

     Fairy Godmother let out a soft gasp as Adam instantly pointed fingers. "Uma."

     "We don't know that, Dad."

     Belle shook her head. "When people hear this, they will never wanna leave their house. What do we tell them?" Ben said nothing and Ilaria pressed her lips into a thin line. Belle looked to Mal who had walked over to the window. "Mal? What do we do? How do we keep evil out of Auradon?"

     Mal stood there, her mind constantly coming up with one answer. The best answer, but one she didn't want to follow through with. "I think that there's only. . . one way to guarantee their safety. And I think that there. . . can't be anymore going in and out." She took a breath, fighting back the tears that were trying to escape. "I think that we have to close the barrier forever."

     The three adults nodded, Ilaria stood in shocked silence, and Ben shook his head in denial. "No."

     "Son."

     "No." Ben turned away from them.

     Mal met Ilaria's eyes before making her way towards Ben. "Ben." She followed him to a connecting room, speaking softly with him. Ilaria suddenly regretted taking this position. What would she tell Evie? She couldn't tell Evie. Not if she didn't want to commit treason and get banished. Ilaria clenched her jaw, but kept quiet.

     After a few moments, Adam stepped forwards. "Son? Mal's right."

     Mal turned to him. "I just don't think that we would forgive ourselves if something terrible happened." The meeting came to a close and the three adults walked out, leaving Mal, Ilaria, and Ben in the room.

     "Ria," Ben started.

     Ilaria shook her head. "How dare you put me in that position?" Her voice was soft, filled with hurt. "I wasn't needed for this. I could've been left in the dark. Now you want me to lie to my girlfriend and I can't tell her that she can never go home, that those kids can never go home." She looked between Ben and Mal. "Do you understand how heartbroken she's going to be? How betrayed she'll feel knowing that I knew this whole time?" Her eyes locked onto Mal's. "You have to tell her. Because I can't. By law, I can't. But you can. Please, Mal, don't make me lie to her."

     Mal swallowed, hugging her arms close to her body. "I will. I'll go talk to her now."

     "Great." Ilaria nodded, forcing herself to take hold of the anger that writhed inside of her. She understood why they were doing it, truly she did, but it wasn't fair to keep those kids and the other VKs in the dark. "I, uhm, I have paperwork to sort through. So, I'm going to go." She spun on heel and quickly walked out of the room.

     She was working late into the night, her mind was distracted and now her head hurt from the amount of papers she'd sorted through. She made it home, walking into the house and instantly taking off her shoes. Evie came around the corner, a small smile pulling on her lips. "Hey, how was today?"

     "It was exhausting." Ilaria breathed. She stared at Evie. "Did, uh, did Mal come by?"

     Evie nodded. "She did. She told me about the scepter and the crown. And I can't believe they were even thinking of closing the barrier for good. Luckily, Mal is Queen and she can be there to stand up for us. I'm glad she's fighting against it."

     Ilaria tried to hide her shock. "She said that?"

     Evie smiled. "Yeah. And now, you'll get to be apart of it too."

     "Well, I don't really have a say in these things." Ilaria stuttered out. "I just kind of observe. And of course I can't really talk about it because that's treason and I would be banished from Auradon and sent back home and I don't want to be taken from you."

     "No, of course." Evie nodded in understanding.

     "You know I would tell you if I could."

     Evie pressed a kiss to her lips. "I know. Now, get some rest, you look exhausted." Ilaria numbly nodded, getting ready for bed and laying down. Guilt instantly began eating her alive. She would not go down for this and she had to make sure Mal knew that.