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Not even five minutes after the barrier was lowered and all the villain kids came to Auradon, Evie was bouncing to Mal asking about the wedding.
“Now that all the VKs can get their happy ending, it’s time to start planning yours!” Evie squealed, dragging Mal and Uma to her castle to show them the plans she had created when Mal and Ben first got together.
Mal just rolled her eyes, but went along with it. It was useless to fight Evie when it was about a royal wedding, something she had been dreaming about since she was a little girl.
Life leading up to graduation (and subsequently the wedding) was hectic and passed by too quickly, Mal thought. From wedding dress fittings to studying for final exams, Mal didn’t have a spare moment. During her dress fittings, Uma was right there, holding up pictures of flower arrangements, centerpieces, color schemes, and more for Mal to approve for the wedding.
Mal and Uma had been getting along really well since the barrier was taken down, though they both knew it would take a while for them to ever get back to friendship they had when they were little, if they ever got back there at all.
“So do you want to have a circle arrangement or straight rows?” Uma asked, holding up two pictures of seating charts.
Mal looked over the two options, rolling her eyes in her mind, because really? This was important for a wedding?
“I guess- Ow!” Mal was cut off. “You just stuck me, Evie!”
“Sorry! I guess it’s not a good idea to try and pin-up a dress and sketch ideas for the bridesmaid dresses at the same time.”
“Yeah, I guess not,” Mal chuckled, turning her attention back to the photos Uma was still holding in front of her.
“Like I was going to say before I was so rudely stuck with a pin, the straight rows would be better. I don’t need people staring at me from all angles. Plus, I don’t want random people in the background of my pictures,” Mal said.
Uma nodded, throwing the circle seating chart in the trash and placing the other photo in a pile on the desk before grabbing another set of photos.
Mal groaned. This wedding was proving to be more trouble than it was worth. But, she did love Ben and she did want to get married, so maybe it would be worth it once it was finally over and she could get a break from Uma and Evie.
The next few days were luckily free from wedding planning while Evie made dress alterations and Uma was placing orders with the most recent batch of things Mal approved.
Mal was actually grateful because it gave her time to hand-deliver a special invitation; one that she had been holding off doing for some time, but she couldn’t wait any longer.
Knocking on the door of the little cottage just inside the edge of the woods, Mal rocked back and forth on her heels, gripping the little white invitation tightly in her hand.
“Well, well, well. Look who it is. Finally decide to come and visit me?”
“Hi, Dad,” Mal greeted, a smile taking over her features.
Hades gestured for her to come in, leading the way through his small home to the living room.
“What brings you to my neck of the woods? Royal life not treating you well already?” Hades laughed.
Mal shook her head, grinning. It was obvious where she got her sarcasm from.
“Actually,” Mal said, “I came to give you this.”
Mal handed over the paper, glad she didn’t end up tearing it with how tight her grip had been.
“I was wondering when I was going to get this,” Hades replied, taking the invitation. “I mean, you can’t forget dear old dad from your wedding, now can you?”
Mal smiled. Of course, she would never forget him. Ever since Hades had come to live on Auradon, Mal had made a point to actually spend time with him and make up for lost time. Hades wasn’t a bad guy and was turning out to be an amazing dad, even though he might have been 18 years late in doing so. Better late than never, Mal thought, unlike her mom.
“Actually, there is a reason why I haven’t brought it earlier,” Mal started.
“Do tell, dear daughter,” Hades said, placing the invitation down on the coffee table.
“Well, I was wondering if you would walk me down the aisle?” Mal asked, biting her lip. Even though it technically was his job, she didn’t know if he actually cared enough to take part in the wedding itself, if he even showed up. Up to this point in her life, her only parent had been a disappointment, so there was no telling was Hades would turn out like.
Hades’s mouth dropped open. No, he was not going to cry. He was a god, damn it, and gods do not cry, especially in front of their daughters. Even if she had just asked if he would be part of one of the most special days of her life.
“Of course!” Hades let out a watery laugh. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Mal let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. She ran around the table to give him a hug.
“Thank you!” Mal gushed.
Mal and Hades spent the rest of the day talking. To Mal, it seemed like Hades had been apart of her life forever. She hoped it would stay that way.
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Jane and Carlos were walking hand-in-hand to their next class when Carlos stopped.
“So this will probably sound silly, but will you go with me to Mal and Ben’s wedding? I mean, I know we are dating, but I wanted to ask to make sure. I didn’t want to assume anything-”
Jane cut off Carlos’s rambling by kissing him on the cheek.
“Of course, silly.” She smiled, squeezing his hand. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Awesome!” Carlos smiled. “Alright, now let’s get to class before your mother finds us and gives us detention.”
Jane’s eyes grew wide and started dragging Carlos behind her, walking as quickly as possible to their chemistry class.
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Graduation day came and went, all the VKs passing their finals, including Harry, Uma, and Gil, though Harry almost didn’t pass his math final.
Mal and Ben’s wedding day was quickly approaching and Mal was looking forward to it being over so she could finally get a moment's rest. The only good thing about being super busy with wedding planning and other royal duties was that she had no time to be nervous or think about the fact that she was actually getting married and she was going to become queen of Auradon (which she still couldn’t believe).
“This is your last dressing fitting, Mal!” Evie squealed. “Can you believe it’s already almost here? Only a few more days!”
Mal nodded and smiled at how excited her friend was for her.
A knock on the door interrupted Evie muttering to herself about some sort of pearl stitching.
“Mal? Are you in there?”
Evie squeaked.
“Don’t come in, Ben!” Evie yelled, moving quickly to finish putting her last pin in the dress so Mal could get out before Ben came in. He couldn’t see her in her dress! “Just give us one minute!”
The girls heard a faint affirmation while they quickly scrambled to get the dress off Mal and her normal clothes back on. Evie hung the dress back up, pushing the rack into the closet before allowing the king in the room.
“Okay, the coast is clear! You can come in now!” Evie called.
The door slowly opened, Ben sticking his head into the room, eyes shut.
“All clear? Everyone decent?”
Mal giggled at the king. He was so cute and innocent.
“Yeah, Ben,” Mal replied. “What’s up?”
Mal walked over to the door, taking Ben’s hand in hers, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek.
“What? I can’t just come and visit my future wife and queen because I want to?” Ben asked before returning the kiss.
“Of course you can,” Mal snorted. “But, I know you. And I know your schedule, so I know you’re skipping out on something to be here, so what’s up?”
Ben laughed and sighed.
“I’m here to take you on our final date as an unmarried couple!” Ben said.
Mal’s heart soared. She and Ben hadn’t had much time to spend together with studying for finals, planning for the wedding, Ben’s royal council duties, and Mal helping the Isle kids get acclimated to Auradon life.
“Come on!” Ben pulled on Mal’s hand. Mal turned and waved to her best friend, her entire face lit with a smile. Mal didn’t care what they were doing. They could sit on the couch and watch TV for all Mal cared, as long as they were doing it together.
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‘Mal! Wake up! It’s wedding day!” Evie yelled, opening up Mal’s door, pulling her dress rack behind her. “Time to get ready!”
Mal groaned. She just wanted another hour of sleep. Was that too much to ask?
“Come on, sleepyhead! We have to get you ready!” Evie said, stripping Mal’s bed of her blankets to get her up.
Mal groaned even louder this time. Couldn’t they just skip the wedding and go straight to the married life part? That would make life so much easier for Mal.
Evie ignored Mal’s protests and pulled Mal out of bed and over to her vanity to start working on her hair and makeup. She had a lot of work to do to get Mal wedding-ready.
An hour later, Uma came by, hair and makeup already done, carrying her dress in her arms. Of course Evie and Uma were her two bridesmaids. With everything they had gone through to get here, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Uma and Evie continued getting Mal ready while Mal tried to help, but kept getting her hands slapped away when she tried to do a bit of makeup or move a piece of her hair.
Another hour passed and Mal was finally wedding-approved by Evie. Now they just had to get themselves and their dresses over to the royal hall where Ben was coronated as king to finish getting ready.
They arrived and got dressed with half an hour to spare before the wedding actually started.
“Knock knock! Can I come in?” Hades called from outside the door.
Uma went to go let him in, careful to shut the door quickly behind him so no one could see Mal in her dress.
“Wow,” Hades paused. “You look…”
Mal did a little twirl in her dress.
“Thanks, Dad.”
Hades grabbed Mal’s hand and pulled her over to the loveseat in the room. Evie and Uma quietly slipped out of the room, wanting to give the two some privacy to have a father-daughter talk.
“I can’t believe my little girl is all grown up,” Hades gushed.
Mal was shocked. She didn’t know Hades could show this much emotion, but she wasn’t complaining. It was a nice difference to the constant anger and disappointment her mother always showed.
“Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, you’re still young. You have your whole life ahead of you!” Hades questioned.
“Of course I’m sure,” Mal nodded. “I know I have my whole life ahead of me, but I want my whole life to be with someone I love at my side. Someone I can always lean on and someone who will always love me back.”
Mal had grown a lot since she left the Isle. She would have never thought she would marry an Auradon kid, let alone the king. She never would have thought herself capable of love, and she never would have thought she would have loving friends and actual family by her side to help her through it all.
Hades nodded, taking Mal’s hands in his.
“Well, I’m glad you found someone you actually love and who loves you back. I couldn’t be more proud of you right now, and I can’t wait to see you continue to grow,” Hades said, trying to hold back tears. He knew he was going to cry at some point today, but he didn’t want it to be this early in the day.
“So, what do you say we get this show on the road?” Hades asked, quickly standing up.
Mal followed suit and hooked her arm in his.
“Lead the way, Dad.”
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The wedding passed by in a blur for Mal. She knew Ben looked great, as always, in his suit and tie that of course Evie had created. Evie and Uma looked beautiful in their dresses, and if Mal didn’t know any better, she would have thought she saw a few tears in Uma’s eyes.
Hades walked her down the aisle, and at least she knew she didn’t trip, which she was eternally grateful for. She even saw Hades glare at Ben before he went to sit down, which she thought was pretty funny, though she figured Ben didn’t.
Mal barely remembered her and Ben saying their vows, but she knew she cried a little.
After the ceremony, Mal and Ben made their way to the reception, where everyone started cheering. Mal would probably never get used to all this attention.
“This was such a beautiful wedding!” Jane gushed, looking over at the happy couple taking their seat at the table at the front of the room.
“Yeah, I guess. Too many people for my liking, though,” Carlos said.
Jane nodded, thinking for a moment.
“When we get married, we can have a small, private ceremony with only our closest friends,” Jane replied.
Carlos opened his mouth to respond, but stopped once his brain processed what Jane had said.
“What?”
Jane’s eyes widened, just realizing what she had said. Too late to go back now, she thought.
“I said, when we get married, we won’t invite so many people,” Jane replied. “I can’t believe what I’m about to say, but Carlos, would you like to get married? I mean, I don’t want to move too fast, and if I’m totally off base here, just let me know. And it’s not like I haven’t thought about this, I definitely have, but I-”
Carlos cut off Jane’s rambling by grabbing her hand and kissing her on the cheek.
“Of course I would love to marry you. But maybe we should wait to break the news to everyone when we’re not at the royal wedding. Evie would have a fit if we stole the spotlight away from Mal and Ben,” Carlos said, smiling ear-to-ear, glancing toward Evie sitting next to her best friend.
Jane couldn’t believe her luck. If someone told her she would end up not only dating, but getting married to a Villain Kid, she would have passed out on the spot, but here she was, madly in love with a VK and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
And because they were in Auradon, both the VKs and AKs got their happily ever after after all.