Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The letter sat on Ben's desk, looking odd and out-of-place. It was written on cheap, lined paper, instead of the thick parchment of most of his missives arrived on. It was sealed- there was that. The seal was purple, and the wax was cracking around the edges- it had been lying there for a while. The crest itself was an elaborate M imposed in front of the morning star. Ben didn't recognize it- it wasn't Audrey’s or Chad’s or even Jane’s- and that was enough to tell him that he should have called Cogsworth long ago. But he hadn't.

Because there was something about the letter that drew him in. It wasn't normal, and Ben craved that. So he hadn't called Cogsworth. And he crept towards the letter, slowly, debating on whether to it pick up. And then magick made the decision for him.

The letter flew into his hand. The moment it touched his flesh, however, something happened. A blinding light flew out of the folded paper and encircled his wrists, creating a set of cuffs glowing on his arm. He unfolded the letter and began to read.

Prince Benjamin of the House Beast,

You don't know my name. But you know my house. And you know where I represent. Even if you don't want to believe it, your hunch is true. This letter has been sent to you from the Isle of the Lost. And you know whom the crest represents. The House of Magick. And this letter comes to you as a proposition of Marriage.

If you've touched it, we are betrothed. So It Has Been, So It Shall Be. But this requires one last sacrifice from you, my dear prince.

Come to the Isle of the Lost and seal the alliance. You may be a Prince where you are now, but on the Isle of the Lost, you will be my king.

My darling Prince, the House of Magick awaits you on tenterhooks. When you join us, we will rule all of the Isle of the Lost together. And soon, all of Auradon. You are my chosen consort and lover, and by my word, that shall never fade through all of time. Come to the Isle of the Lost, darling. You will be free.

M

The Isle of the Lost. The island Ben had stared out at for years, wondering what it was like, to be there, to be free. And now, he had an invitation to the Isle of the Lost, a way to never lose the thrill that came from crawling out the palace windows in the dead of night, the thrill that comes from running, running without a thought to stop.

A betrothal meant nothing. He'd been part of six betrothals so far, and he was only fourteen. They always found someone better for their plans. So a betrothal contract, versus a trip to the one place he'd been dreaming about for years? There was no question.

Ben walked out of the palace, and he didn't return for a long, long time.

*

The Isle of the Lost was dirty, and dark, and cold. That much Ben knew, from before he set foot within its walls. He knew he was sacrificing magick, and power by walking into the prison full of the most dangerous criminals in all the worlds. And he didn't care. Because the moment he set foot on the island that was once Neverland, he felt the rules and the impositions and the life his maman had carefully constructed for him sliding off him, dissolving into thin air, and it was amazing.

A girl stepped out of the shadows, and she was beautiful. She was pale- so pale she was as white as snow. And her hair was dark black, with the shadows cast upon it (if Ben could see it, in broad daylight, he’d see that it was royal blue). But her lips- her lips were the masterpiece. Because they weren’t just blood red, no, they were dripping with real blood. And Ben should be terrified, but all he could see was beauty. And then she spoke, and her voice was light and beautiful and reminded him of his mamman’s voice when she sang him to sleep.

“So the princeling has come to be a king. The Queen will be delighted.” Her voice sent shivers down his spine, but then the angel grabbed his hand and started pulling him somewhere, and he couldn’t think about anything except her touch, and her skin, so he followed her {after all, if Ben had any sense of self-preservation, he would never have come to the Isle in the first place}. And she dragged him through the Isle of the Lost, snarling {snarling} at the people who stared too long, smiling at him, taking things from the stalls they passed and tossing them to him {and wasn’t that just a thrill, taking stuff without giving back} and once, she even stopped to kiss a boy {they left the boy behind, on the ground, trembling, and almost a pale as the angel herself}. At some point, she started taking more random turns and even started retracing her footsteps {she wants to lose someone. She’s got a tail}. She even dragged him behind some garbage bins at one stage, motioning for him to stay silent and low, and then crept away. And fuck, if that wasn’t terrifying.

He stood still for so long, trusting the girl, trusting her, and then he realised that this was the Isle of the Lost, not Auradon. He couldn’t trust anyone. So he left. Walked out into the marketplace, decided to try to find the angel. But after passing two stalls, he realised that it would be much harder than he’d anticipated, because everyone needed to be bought off, and he had nothing. He put a hand on the knife his papa had given to him {“For self-defence only, Ben. You must never hurt someone that hasn’t grievously harmed you”} and then he had a plan.

“Where’s the angel girl?” And, okay, yeah, that wasn’t the best description he could have given, but the pathetic piece of scum he was talking to had been molesting a girl when Ben stumbled upon him. The piece of shit could suffer.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about! Please, please! I didn’t do anything. Who’s the angel-girl? Who are you?” The man was panicking, and Ben revelled in it, delighted in the fear he was causing the other man {but already, Ben was becoming less of a man, and more of a Beast}. “The girl with blood on her lips. Where is she? You have one more shot to get this right.”

The man shuddered and jerked, his eyes flying open, “Her Ladyship is in Maleficent’s Palace with the Queen. The- the biggest building. You can’t miss it. It’s at the top of the city.” And his shoulders sagged in relief because he thought he would get away. That was before Ben slit his throat {and took his heart, as a gift to the angel-girl}.

*

“He’ll be here, Evie. I chose him for a reason. There’s no one else for me to marry. He just has to unlock his true potential.”

The voice was even more beautiful than the angel-girl’s. It was deep and raspy, but still feminine. It sounded, Ben thought, like power and smoke. And he had to hear more.

“But I don’t see why I had to just leave him. He was cute, and he’s not used to the Isle. And I also don’t see why you have to get married already. You’re only fifteen.”

“And I’m fae and a queen. This is the way of the world, Eve.” A pause, “Besides, it's not as if you're not in a dedicated, long-term relationship yourself.”

A third voice broke in, a man’s voice, that was deeper than the first woman’s and harsher than angel-girl’s, “Ladies, I hate to interrupt what I’m sure will be a riveting conversation and not at all like the three previous conversations that were exactly the same, but we have a guest.” That was Ben’s cue, he knew, and so he prowled into the light, the asshole’s heart clutched in his hand, dripping blood onto the stone floors of Maleficent’s Palace. But when he saw the other woman, he froze. Because angel-girl was beautiful, but this faerie was radiant. And he knew, he knew he was hers and vice versa because she wore the same glowing cuffs as he did. He bent low as he bowed and presented the heart.

“My Queen.”

Chapter Text

Ben was dressed in leather and precious stones and expensive metals and power. He sat next to Mal, wore her cuffs on his wrists and her ring on his finger. Across from them sat Evie {angel-girl} and Maleficent {the Maleficent, the mistress of all Evil. His wife's mother and teacher} both impassive and beautiful {because even he, who was so in love with Mal he was blinded by it, could see that Maleficent held a timeless beauty}, both staring him down. Maleficent seemed content to just sit and stare, so eventually, it was Mal who broke the thick silence.

“You received my note, mother? How wonderful. This is Ben. My husband.”

And when Maleficent spoke, it rattled Ben to his bones, high and rasping and terrifying and magick all at once. He understood how she could have commanded so much power when she spoke because he'd follow her voice to the ends of the earth. He'd throw himself on a knife if that voice told him to, so thickly was it laced with power and command, “I received your note. I see no reason of import that I should be here. You married a human, Mal. They're weak, and he will die.”

Evie {angel-girl} leaned over and whispered something in Maleficent’s ear, something that made the mistress of all Evil’s lips curl up into a half-smile, “But if he is, as Evie tells me, the Princeling of Auradon, I might be able to make an exception. Tell me, Ben, are you the Crown Prince and Heir of Auradon?”

And the smile that Maleficent wore, that smile of pride, told him she already knew exactly who he was, that she was testing him. And he had no idea of the answer. So he sat, in silence, and held eye contact with the faerie, whose magick began to flare so that he could feel it. Maleficent wasn't used to being ignored by her subjects. Especially not the ones that needed her approval. Then Evie {angel-girl} kissed the Isle’s Ruler on her cheek, and immediately, the room calmed down, the wind that had been whipping up died, and the green faded from Maleficent’s eyes. And Ben still didn't know what to say.

“Yes, mother. He is. And you knew that.”

Mal was angry, with her mom, with him. This tension that filled the room wasn't supposed to happen. Her mother was supposed to approve her chosen mate to seal the fae marriage. That was it. Instead, her mother and her husband were engaged in a battle of wills, and her mother would not be the one to end off worse.

And then {finally} Ben spoke, “First, I am Mal’s husband, and King of the Isle. Then I am heir to Auradon, yes.” And by the smile on her mother’s face, she knew Ben had answered correctly {how he'd come to the conclusion of what to say, Mal didn't know. But he had}.

*

Many, many years later, it was Auradon’s Day of Mourning. It would have been their Prince’s sixteenth birthday. He would have become King, had he not disappeared a year ago. He'd since been declared dead, and today, the nation would mourn.

Except, they hadn't looked in the one place Ben would go, and so he was alive, prospering, married and a king. And today, he became King of Auradon by the rites of Magick. Today, he gave his Queen what she wanted most in the world. And he gave his Queen’s mothers {for the angel-girl had married the Mistress of all Evil, mismatched though he thought they were} their own nation to rule, the nation of the Isle of the Lost, when he gave his Queen the country she so hated and envied.

And so when Magick declared him King of Auradon {and his wife the Queen} he tore down the barrier that tried so hard to keep Magick out, but couldn't, not when the two most powerful faeries of the last millennia both resided there, and he gave his Queen a crown of platinum {the most expensive metal in Auradon} that was also a crown of thorns {and Briar Rose never stood a chance}, and he gave the angel-girl a golden crown set with amethyst, and he gave the Mistress the crown that had sat on Briar Rose’s head when he cut it off.

And life was good. The two Kings took Agrabah for their own, and they ruled well. And he and his Queen had all they ever wanted, and he wore the crown that had been crafted for him when he was set to be the good King of Auradon, except the crown was splattered with blood and encrusted with death.

*

Ben, my love,

Do you know, it's been ten years since I sent you that first letter. Since you came to me; since you gave me that heart. Since you became mine. We’ve accomplished much in these last years, love. We're the King and Queen, we're successful monarchs and parents and lovers and children. We've married Evie and mother. We've made Carlos and Jay get their act together (so what is it was through force? They needed a goddamn hard shove). We've killed Sleeping Beauty and her bratish daughter.

You are my King, my love. And I worship you. I told mother you were the right choice. And look how right I was. Auradon is ours. The world is ours. And it's all because of you. My darling, my love, my beast. We've set each other free. And I could never love you more.

Yours eternally,

M