FROZEN HEART ━━ 026

( PUT A RING ON IT )

          IT HAD BEEN ALMOST A YEAR SINCE COTILLION AND EVERYTHING WAS PEACEFUL. Mal and Ben did a great job running the kingdom, Evie's business was doing great and Jay was still playing sports and being a daredevil. Ellie, Kaia and Marisa banded together and started selling homemade jewellery. They often collaborated with Evie and Doug since they made and sold handmade dresses. Through their collaborations, Ellie and Evie spent more time together and got closer as friends.

          Ellie put her blonde hair into a French braid before leaving the appartment she rented to meet Carlos. The two young partners agreed to meet up before he and the others would go to the Isle to bring over the next four kids the VK's chose to come to Auradon. Once she was ready, she left the apartment and headed outside where she was supposed to meet him. Her friends were already outside and when she got there, Kaia pulled her into a hug so tight that Ellie was afraid she would stop breathing.

          "Goodness, Kaia! I can't breathe," she said and the brunette let her go.

          "Sorry," Kaia apologized while Marisa just nudged Ellie's arm but she knew the redhead long enough to know it was an affectionate nudge. "Three years ago, we were all worried about bringing any VK's over but now we're celebrating it."

          "And not just because Ben's girlfriend and Ellie's boyfriend and our friends are VK's," Marisa said and the blonde tilted her head.

          "Speaking of a certain VK, I see Carlos," Ellie said when she saw her white haired boyfriend who smiled at the sight of her. She could practically sense the smug grins on her friends' faces when Carlos pulled her into the second bone crushing hug she had in the last ten minutes. "Carlos, I need to breathe."

          "Who needs air anyway?" Carlos asked as they separated.

          "We do, genius," Ellie laughed.

          "Shouldn't you be heading back to the Isle to pick up those kids?" Marisa asked and Carlos just smiled as the crown in front of the castle got larger.

          "We will, but first, there are some things that need to be taken care of before we go," he said and Kaia scoffed.

          "Please tell me there hasn't been any Uma sightings," she said but Carlos just shook his head.

          "No, nothing like that. Trust me when I say that if there was, that would be the first thing you hear," he replied.

          "So, what is it?" Ellie questioned but Carlos' smile only grew wider.

          "You'll see, now be patient and wait," he said and Ellie rolled her eyes.

          Ben and Mal showed up and the marching band started playing the instrumental to the song Ben performed when he announced his feelings for Mal. As they stepped onto the small platform, the crowd cheered but Ellie could see Audrey, her grandmother and Chad on the other side and they clearly weren't as joyed as everybody else. She thought after Ben's coronation that Audrey would accept Mal but that just wasn't the case. She had a feeling that Chad was still unhappy that he wouldn't get to live his dream as the king of Auradon anytime soon and it just seemed to be common sense that Queen Leah was not happy that the daughter of her enemy was up there with the King. Fairy Godmother help up a microphone and spoke into it to make sure it was working and everyone could hear her. "Can everybody hear me?"

          "Yes!" Ellie said while Carlos laughed as the crowd cheered.

          Fairy Godmother handed the microphone to Ben who smiled as he took it. "Thank you, Fairy Godmother. What's up, Auradon?" Ben asked and the crowd just cheered even more and he chuckled. "Thank you so much for coming out to welcome out new arrivals. They'll be here soon."

          "You didn't pick any troublemakers, did you?" Ellie asked as she looked at Carlos and he only chuckled.

          "El, we're all troublemakers one way or another," he replied.

          Ellie just smiled as she threw her head back. "Fair enough," she said.

          "It worked out pretty well for the first four," Ben said.

          "Yeah, especially for you!" Chad shouted but stopped smiling as soon as Audrey snapped her fingers in his face.

          "It worked out alright for me too, despite freezing into solid ice," Ellie said and her friends laughed.

          "It's kind of hard to believe all that happened. It feels like such a long time ago," Kaia replied and Marisa nodded.

          "Mal, this is the exact same spot we first met not so long ago. And I feel like I've known you my whole life. But did I mention that I'm in love with you?" Ben asked and the sound of a guitar could be heard by everyone in the crowd. "I met this girl who rocked my world like it's never been rocked. And now I'm living just for her, and I won't ever stop. I never thought that it could happen to a guy like me. But now look at what you've done. You got me down on my knee."

          Ben dropped down onto one knee and Ellie was just as shocked as Mal was but she was also excited. She knew that they loved each other but this was just the next level. Kaia and Marisa were smiling as well and so was Carlos.

          "Mal, it's you and me forever. Will you marry me? Will you be my queen?" Ben asked with a hopeful smile.

          "Yes!" Mal said while nodding enthusiastically.

          The crowd cheered while Ellie and her friends pulled each other into a group hug. Ellie hugged Evie as well as Jay and Carlos. "Did you have anything to do with this?" she asked and Carlos smiled.

          "I knew he was gonna propose," he said and Ellie smiled as she hugged him again.

          "I think those two are gonna be just fine," she said as she watched Ben and Mal express their excitement with their friends.