Chapter Text
Creating the United States of Auradon goes a lot better than Belle expected. Getting support for the creation of the Isle of the Lost is even easier. It’s the rounding up of the various villains scattered around their kingdoms that consumes most of their time and resources.
Many of them resist arrest, using every dirty trick or dark magic to ensure the Auradonian Guards are either viciously maimed or violently killed for daring to bring them down. In the end, their efforts- the villains that is- don’t pay off and every villain is sealed away behind the Isle’s anti-magic barrier.
Belle can sleep easily knowing the obvious threats to her and her husband’s safety is currently serving his life sentence on the Isle of the Lost. Leaving Gaston there is the least they could do for all the pain and heartache he’s brought her.
This way, Adam will be safe from the hunter’s aim. This way, Gaston can never cross her mind again or plague her nightmares. Fairy Godmother ensured all of them that the barrier will hold. It’s an assessment that other powerful magical beings, like Merlin, all confirm.
Now Belle can focus on expanding their family with Adam.
Now Belle can focus on shaping their kingdom into a better place. There’s still much healing to be done. Aurora’s castle is still wrapped in dark twisted thorns. Jasmine’s palace is in several pieces scattered around the endless desert surrounding Agrabah. They still need to investigate Alice’s claim that the entrance to Wonderland has disappeared.
*
There’s something nagging her in the back of Belle’s mind. Something she can’t quite remember but is nonetheless important. It begs to be heard as Belle helps Mrs. Potts reorganize Beast Castle. It whispers in her brain as she visits Ella and Snow White.
She tries going over her list of tasks. She tries to find whatever her mind believes has slipped between the cracks but each time Belle comes up empty handed. She asks Ariel for help, hoping another set of eyes will reveal what she’s missed. Rapunzel offers to triple-check all of Belle’s notes, both old and new.
Whatever Belle’s missing, neither princess finds it.
Belle hates this feeling, the thought of something important slipping through her fingers. It’s right there on the tip of her tongue. She can almost visualize it in her mind, but it vanishes before she can comprehend it.
Perhaps it’s just the switch of going from a normal commoner to the ruling queen? After all, if multiple people have looked and come up empty handed then maybe it’s really all just in her head. Maybe it is just leftover anxiety from before; breaking Adam’s curse and watching him almost die was rather intense.
Maybe her mind just isn’t ready to believe the danger has truly passed.
“There you are, I’ve searched the whole castle for you.” Adam calls, immediately moving closer to her.
Belle hasn’t wandered into Adam’s old room since she first found the Enchantress’s cursed rose. After their wedding, Adam planned to renovate the space into something else- preferably something that wouldn’t remind him of his life before the curse was broken. The project has been moving relatively slowly seeing as they tend to have more pressing matters to deal with. Right now, most of the furniture has been removed and the walls are stripped bare.
The view from the balcony is still just as beautiful as she remembered, even more so now that the gardens are being tended to, and the castle is full of human life again.
“I just needed a quiet place to think.” She presses a quick kiss onto his lips as her fingers gracefully trace his compass.
It still amazes her that he’s standing here before her; that Adam is alive, free of his curse, and they have their whole future together. She can’t imagine her life without him, her soulmate and dearest friend.
“Have you figured it out yet?” Adam asks as he pulls her closer.
Belle takes a moment to admire the view from the safety of her soulmate’s arms. She listens to the steady beat of his heart and lets the sound soothe her. No matter what happens, they will face it together; whether it’s rouge hunters or missing tasks.
“Not yet but I’m sure it’ll come to me eventually.”
*
Belle places the gift atop the table before searching for the happy couple. They’re easy to spot among the crowds of people. Anna looks stunning in her wedding gown and Kristoff resembles the regal kings of Arendelle’s past. They look just as happy as Belle felt during her own wedding day with Adam.
“Congratulates.” Belle squeals as she pulls her fellow queen into a hug.
“Thank you for coming!” Anna says as she pulls away from the hug but keeps her arms wrapped around Belle. “I know how hectic it is to take time off from running a kingdom.”
“Adam and I wouldn’t have miss this for anything. Honestly, I feel like attending everyone’s weddings are the only fun I’ve had all year.”
“I know! It’s all rebuilding efforts and boring council meeting.”
“Don’t forget about the trade commission hearings.” Adam teases. He hands Belle a champagne glass before taking a sip of his own.
“I just let Kristoff handle those. The merchants like him better.”
“Let me handle what?” Kristoff asks, finally done with his previous conversation.
“Trade commissions.” All three royals say in unison before laughing.
Realization dawns on Kristoff’s face as he joins in on their laughter. The four of them trade a few more rounds of conversation, jumping between different goals each ruler has for their kingdoms and random tidbits from their daily endeavors. Belle learns Anna’s sister, Elsa, is acclimating well in her new position as the Fifth Spirit and leader of Northuldra. In turn, Belle speaks on the various reform projects she hopes to start now that Auradon has entered an era of peace.
All in all, Belle enjoys her time at Anna and Kristoff’s wedding. She and Adam dance the night away under Arendelle’s starry night, surrounded by beautiful pillars of ice that are wrapped in vibrant ribbons and flowers. In the moments they’re not dancing, Belle is able to catch up with all her new royal friends; many of which she hasn’t seen in person outside of weddings and important council meetings.
It’s not until she and Adam retire to their guestroom for the evening that the nagging feeling returns to Belle. She drifts to sleep with dreams full of dark waves and endless sea. Huge black storm clouds roar overhead as heavy winds drown buckets of water upon the ground. The faint golden glimmering of the anti-magical barrier that surrounds the Isle of the Lost.
Is that what she’s forgetting? Is there something about the Isle of the Lost that Belle is missing? Some type of flaw or loophole that the villains can exploit?
*
In the end it’s a rather mundane conversation that finally reveals to Belle what’s been plaguing her this whole time. She and the few of her friends that could be spared are having a small lunch to catch up at Aurora’s cottage. The conversations range from who’s wedding is coming up, who’s dating who, and the various random activities they have done recently. It’s just friends talking and gossiping like little girls without their crowns weighing them down.
Rapunzel gushes about her upcoming wedding and all the little details she and Eugene have chosen. Belle and Anna offer tips and tricks they used for their own weddings while Aurora offers the number for the wedding planner she and Shang used.
“I just want it to be perfect.” Rapunzel sighs, her fingers twirling the shortened strands of her brown hair. “Oh, and that all of you can attend!”
“Eric and I wouldn’t miss it for the world, even if I have to swim there myself.” Ariel, who’s own wedding would be after Rapunzel’s, had spent many nights planning with her fellow princess in order to ensure neither wedding conflicted with one another.
Belle, for one, appreciated their efforts, considering her own wedding had to be planned around Aurora’s, Ella’s, and Snow White’s weddings too. It was really luck that Belle and Adam’s wedding was the first to take place. The months that followed were filled with traveling all across Auradon all while trying to keep everything running.
Describing the time as hectic would be an understatement.
“I’ll try my best to be there.” Mulan says.
“I thought with the war ending you and Shang would be able to travel more?” Ella asks as she pours more tea.
Mulan fiddles nervously with her teacup. The action is so unlike the stoic soldier Belle has come to know and adore. For the briefest moment Belle worries something dire is looming on the horizon; that all her fears around the Isle of the Lost are about to be confirmed true.
A small splash of color paints itself across Mulan’s cheeks. Every woman in the room awaits whatever news is about to be shared. Unlike the rest of them, Mulan and Shang gotten married just before the Isle’s creation. With a tiny smile, Mulan gently places a hand over her belly. Even without the words to confirm it, the room erupts into loud excited cheering. Hugs are giving. Congratulations are said.
And then it hits Belle.
The reason she’s been so worried about the Isle of the Lost. The thing that’s been plaguing her mind since Auradon’s formation- since the Isle’s creation. They created a place no one can escape from. An eternal prison for all of Auradon’s worst criminals. Criminals who are capable of reproducing just like all of them here in Auradon.
There might be innocent children trapped on the Isle. Innocent children with the most dangerous of villains for parents. Many of those villains were locked up for crimes committed against their own flesh and blood. Several of the women in this room are proof alone that some of the Isle’s citizens would not raise a child in a loving environment.
She needs to- stop. This moment is Mulan’s and Belle won’t taint this happy memory with such a dark realization. Later today, once she’s back home, Belle will jump to action. She’ll talk with Adam and their council. They’ll form some kind of plan. For now, Belle will enjoy this moment. She’s solved her mystery and one of her dearest friends has given them good news.
*
Belle and Adam stand before the Council. She glances around the room full of representatives from all across Auradon. From the royal lines, Neverland, and even Olympus itself, the Council is a sea of the unlikeliest of members.
“I called this meeting to discuss an important oversight we missed when creating the Isle of the Lost.” Belle begins her speech. Every council member turns to her, their attention unwavering.
“We ensured through multiple sources that the Barrier will not fall.” Merlin tacks on. Both he and Fairy Godmother have dealt with every doubt or accusation the Council and the public have about the magic surrounding the Isle.
“The barrier isn’t my concern. It’s the villains’ potential future children that concerns me.”
The whole room freezes at Belle’s words. She can see them processing the implications this has. Belle can see the exact moment the realization dawns on their faces. By creating the Isle of the Lost, they have potentially trapped a part of the next generation to suffer just as they had.
“I fear none of us considered this when we created the Isle of the Lost. We intended to create an eternal prison for Auradon’s worst citizens, but that punishment should not be extended to children born under the anti-magical barrier.” Belle says, each council member hanging onto her every word.
“Can we risk it?” Queen Leah asks. “If we constantly open the barrier whenever a child is born it’s only a matter of time before one of the villains uses it as a possible escape attempt.”
Well Belle hadn’t thought of that. She focused so intensely on the children, she never considered how their parents would react to their children being taken away. If one of them escaped to Auradon because of Belle, would the council blame her? Would the citizens of Auradon understand or would they blame the crown for all the death and destruction that would follow?
“Well, any opening up of the barrier could result in a villain escaping.” Merlin adds, fingers scratching his beard. “I suppose if we only freed the children once every year or two could limit that risk.”
“And how would we take them? You speak as if their parents would be willing hand them over without a fight. Since when do villains do anything without fighting us?” King Triton counters.
“Should we really separate them? Perhaps they can find redemption through their children. The love a parent feels for their child might fill their hearts and warm their souls.” Fairy Godmother suggests.
“What if we raise the children here in Auradon and they rebel against us to free their parents? Why are we even debating this?” Queen Leah tosses the paper copy of Belle’s proposal back onto the table.
“Is this hypothetical or are there confirmed cases of children on the Isle already?” Snow White asks.
All eyes turn to Belle expectantly. “Well, not yet, but…”
“Perhaps we should use our time with this council to focus on problems we already have instead of creating new ones.” At Queen Leah’s words, the rest of the council nods in agreement.
The meeting turns to other topics of reform and rebuilding from the rubble the villains left behind. While this meeting didn’t go the way Belle wanted, she is glad that the thought has at least been voiced aloud. Now she isn’t the only one who knows.
All Belle can hope is that by the time the first child is born on the Isle of the Lost, because she isn’t naive enough to believe there won’t be any births, the Council will have an actual solution.