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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

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Rylee and Morgan arrived at Beast Castle after getting an emergency text from Ben about his first official proclamation. The two girls and the future King of Auradon had been friends since the day they were born and they were never far apart from each other. What started as what seemed like a forced friendship due to how close their families were soon turned into a bond that none of them wanted to break. And that was the reason why the son of Belle and Adam needed the two girls now more than ever.

The pair stayed in the foyer of the castle for a short moment to stare up at the stained-glass windows of their parents and the other royals. It was a scene they would never be able to get over and it put them in a state of awe every time. It wasn't long after that when they interlocked their arms and began their journey through the halls of what felt like their second home. They looked into the many rooms of the palace and passed numerous closed wooden doors as they searched for their third musketeer, only to come up empty every time.

"You know, if he needed us here so badly, he should've told us where he is," Morgan muttered to her blonde friend before they turned another corner to see the last door of the hallway wide open.

The duo exchanged grins and untangled their arms then they raced down the corridor toward Ben's room. Their laughter cut through the silence of Beast Castle as they ran before skidding to a halt in front of the bedroom. Once they calmed themselves down to the best of their ability, Rylee and Morgan entered the room. The first thing they saw was the future King of Auradon standing on a pedestal with his eyes glued to the window, where the Isle of the Lost could just be seen. Ben was in his own little world as one of the royal tailors took his measurements.

A smile appeared on Ben's face at the sight of his two best friends making their way across the room. They instantly returned his gesture as they sat down on one of the couches near the window. Rylee and Morgan attempted to hold back their giggles at the sight of the tailor forcing the Beast boy to look forward so he could place his tape measurer around the boy's head. The boy in blue sent the girls a playful glare before his eyes traveled out the window behind them and landed on the Isle once again.

Before either of the girls could open their mouths to ask him more about his announcement, the sound of approaching footsteps cut through the silence. The trio quickly turned their attention towards the source to see Queen Belle and King Adam walking through the balcony doors and towards their son.

"How is it possible that you're gonna be crowned king next month?" the current King of Auradon teased the boy in front of him with smiles on their faces. The Queen then unlinked her arm with her husband to grab the jacket Ben left on his foosball table while King Adam continued walking towards his son. "You're just a baby!"

"He's turning sixteen, dear!" Queen Belle said as she began to fold the piece of clothing in her hands while making her way to her husband's side in front of Ben.

"Sixteen? That's far too young to be crowned king. I didn't make a good decision until I was at least forty-two."

"Uh, you decided to marry me at twenty-eight."

"It was either you or a teapot," King Adam joked, causing Ben, Rylee, and Morgan to let out small chuckles while his wife sent him a playful glare.

After the two girls greeted the two adults, they turned their attention back to their third musketeer, only to find him staring at his parents with conflict in his eyes. A small sigh passed over Ben's lips as he looked over to his best friends. They were sending him encouraging smiles, which he gladly returned before turning back toward the current King and Queen of Auradon.

"Mom, Dad...I've chosen my first official proclamation," the boy in blue said in an unconfident tone while fiddling with the gold ring on his hand. While Morgan kept her eyes on Ben, Rylee found herself looking over at Belle and Adam to see them staring at their son with pride in their eyes. It wasn't long after that when the Beast boy continued to speak. "I've decided that the children on the Isle be given a chance...to live here in Auradon."

As soon as the words finished leaving his mouth, the smiles on the adults' faces faded. They just stared at their son with wide eyes before the jacket in Belle's hand fell to the floor. Rylee and Morgan exchanged another look with Ben after seeing his parents' reactions, concerned about where this conversation was about to go. It wasn't long after that when the two girls turned their attention back to Ben and sent him nods of encouragement after seeing the nervous look on his face.

"Every time I look out to the island, I feel like they've been abandoned," the future King of Auradon continued while stepping off the pedestal and taking a few steps toward Belle and Adam.

"The children of our sworn enemies? Living among us?" the former Beast questioned his son before his eyes landed on the two girls sitting on the sofa, "do you both approve of this?"

"We'll only start out with a few at first, Uncle Adam, only the ones who need our help the most," Rylee told the man as she and Morgan got to their feet to stand by Ben's sides. The three of them were only vaguely aware of Belle watching them with pride in her eyes.

"We've already chosen them," the future King told them in a much more confident tone than earlier as a small smile began to form on his face.

"Have you?"

"I gave you a second chance," the woman in yellow told her husband after grabbing his arm in an attempt to calm him. While Adam let out a long sigh, Belle looked back to the three teens standing in front of her. "Who are their parents?"

"Cruella de Vil, Jafar, the Evil Queen...and Maleficent."

A small scream caused the two girls to turn around to find the seamster staring back at them with panic in his eyes. After jumping to his feet, the older man stood there for a moment before bowing to the royal family and rushing out of the room. When Rylee and Morgan turned their attention back to the rulers of Auradon, they found King Adam watching his son with a hint of annoyance on his face while Queen Belle looked at him with wide eyes.

"Maleficent! She is the worst villain in the land!"

"Dad, just hear us out here..."

"I won't hear of it. They are guilty of unspeakable crimes."

"Dad, their children are innocent. Don't you think they deserve a shot at a normal life?" Ben questioned, causing Adam's mouth to slam shut as his eyes scanned over the three teens once again.

The King quickly looked over at his wife for support, only to find her staring back at him with anticipation in his eyes. Once he realized he was outnumbered, Adam let a sigh passed over his lips. "I suppose the children are innocent."

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After hours of helping Ben plan for the arrival of the four kids from the Isle, Rylee and Morgan finally arrived back at Auradon Prep. Exhaustion was plastered on their faces as they made their way through the halls in silence until they reached their dorm. The two girls instantly jumped onto their beds to get ready for a deserved good night's sleep, only for a soft knock at their door to cut through the silence. Both of them let out groans before the daughter of Rapunzel and Eugene got to her feet and made her way across the room.

When the blonde girl opened the door, she found Elliot standing in the hall with an innocent smile on his face and a box of doughnuts in his hands. Rylee sent him a playful glare before stepping aside to let her brother enter the room. She then closed the door and followed the older boy across the dorm until they were both sitting down on the blonde girl's bed. It wasn't long after that when the three of them started digging through the sweets Elliot brought while the girls explained what was about to happen in the next week.

"So this is actually happening? Uncle Adam and Aunt Belle actually approved it?" Elliot asked while Rylee tossed the empty box in the trash can and Morgan grabbed the book on her nightstand.

"Well, Uncle Adam wasn't exactly thrilled about it but Aunt Belle pretty much sided with us on the whole thing...even though she seemed just as skeptical," Morgan told the older boy as she flipped through the pages of her story, "I'm honestly not surprised with the outcome. The children on that island don't deserve to be trapped there."

Another knock at the door caused the curly-haired girl to let out an annoyed sigh before she slammed her book shut and got up to answer it. The Fitzherbert siblings watched as Morgan opened the door to reveal Pete Pan standing in the doorway. The two did their "secret" handshake before the Macintosh girl led the boy into the room. While the redheaded girl sat back down on her bed, the son of Peter Pan sat down on the other side of Rylee and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"How did Ben's proclamation go?" the Pan boy asked before grabbing the pastry they saved for him off Rylee's nightstand.

"For now, all we can say is that we're gonna be getting four new students next week, but we can't say who yet," Rylee told him with a small smile on her face before she fell back onto her mattress and stared up at the stars she painted on their ceiling, "this is definitely gonna be the start to a new adventure."

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