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The theatre appeared once again, everyone returning to their seats almost immediately. Ben noticed that the gap was maybe a tiny bit smaller, more VKs and AKs and heroes themselves spreading out and getting closer to each other. Some—some meaning one or two—AKs were sitting next to VKs, some strings of awkward conversation still going. But there was still a gap. Right, they needed to work on that. “Hm,” Enchantress said. “Since it’s a movie, might as well make it seem like we’re in a theater.” She snaps her fingers and a large amount of bowls appeared, filled with different varieties of popcorn and candy. “Hm, should be all allergen free, just in case—you won’t even notice a difference.” She glanced around the room. “Oh, and don’t choke. I’m not prepared to perform CPR or the Heimlich maneuver—” “I am,” Tonya volunteered. She nudged shoulders with a boy next to her, about eighteen or so, who grumbled something along the lines of “I can too”. He looked like he was trying to sleep. “And I can help as well,” Ben added. Many of the AKs were required to take health and safety classes, which of course, included precautions against choking and what to do. “Thank you,” Ben decided upon saying as Enchantres sat back down, muttering to Persephone about how newfangled and outlandish the technology was these days. He picked up a bowl for Mal and him to share, just before most of the children could swarm around the snack table. He never thought he would be thanking Enchantress, the same woman who cursed his father into becoming a beast—admittedly, his father did deserve it, but you know, after several years of hearing about how evil the Enchantress was, the story got a little warped. Luckily, he was beginning to see past that. He smiled at his girlfriend, who had returned from her conversation with Jay and Evie. There was still a crease of worry on her forehead, and her eyes seemed to be watering with tears, but she still smiled lightly at Ben and settled in her seat. “Are we all ready?” Enchantress said. “Great! Let the movie begin!” The lights dimmed, and Ben could close his eyes and pretend they were in a movie theatre, watching something that totally wasn’t going to reveal their future.
[Once upon a time, long, long ago…United States of Auradon.]
“Oh, Mal’s narrating!” Dizzy clapped her hands together. “Of course I am,” Mal said. “I am the main character, after all.” Uma coughed very loudly at such a declaration. “How do you get elected king?” Carlos asked finally. “That doesn’t work. You can get elected president.” “Uh, my dad’s role is—was,” Ben corrected. “An overglorified president role. We just used the title “King” for the sake of tradition.” “I see,” Carlos said. He didn’t seem to quite believe what Ben had just explained. “It’s interesting, really,” Snow White said. “I’d tell you more about it, but there is a movie playing, and I’m sure many people want to keep watching.”
[He rounded up…But first, this happened]
“All the really interesting people? Really?” “Your use of the term interesting is very…” Li Shang said. “Well, interesting.” “Hey, well,” Mal said. “Captain Hook’s more interesting than Aurora, if you know what I mean.” Aurora huffed out a soft laugh. “The two aren’t even comparable,” Freddie Facilier told her. “However, if we were to compare—say, CJ and Chad, then there would definitely be a more interesting person.” “Thank you!” CJ called from where she was sitting next to Harriet, apparently no longer allowed to go onto the chandelier. “The state of that place…” Belle murmured in horror, not out of disgust—but out of pity. Reading books was one thing, actually seeing the state of things was another.
[Sleeve. Head….crowned king.]
“Why are you getting fitted again?” “Coronation outfit,” Ben said. “And the crown, to make sure it fits, and the dwarves don’t have to rework it.” “Ah.” “I’m going to gag,” Quatre whispered to Jean, who just rolled his eyes at Quatre’s dislike of Beast and Belle, though Beast moreso. “I’m physically revolted to agree with Beast here, but sixteen is far too young,” Harriet said, arching an eyebrow. Her words did actually sound pained, forced out. “I have nothin’ against kids taking up leadership and taking initiative, but king of the entire United States of Boreadon? Big responsibility for a guy who isn’t even out of high school.” “Yes, well—” Beast began. “Don’t even with me,” Harriet narrowed her eyes at him.
[I didn’t make…here in Auradon.]
“I can’t wait to see Beast’s reaction to this,” Tonya said, throwing some popcorn into her mouth. “I bet he didn’t react to kindly.” Belle winced and Ben gave a slight nod at Tonya’s words. “He didn’t,” he confirmed.
[Everytime I look out…Have you?]
Harriet rolled her eyes at Beast’s reaction. Oh, boo-fucking-who, your son is actually doing shit as a king, she was tempted to say, but remained silent. For now. Her patience was beginning to run thin, and so was everyone else’s. Those who needed it most…Of course, those were the ones who were openly accepted as their parents’ children. There were those who were hidden away, or forced to remain isolated—like Claudine, or Rick—and those who refused to be associated to their parents and took on another name or denied any sort of relation—like Eloise, or Ruben. Mal’s smile faded at Beast’s attempt to intimidate Ben. She was reminded of the way that Maleficent would tower above Mal to get her to do what she wanted. She didn’t even have to say anything, she just had to meet her daughter’s eyes and stare. And Mal would crack so easily. Wilt underneath her mother’s gaze. Ben, the Ben on the screen, seemed to be struggling against his father’s presence just as much as she used to do when she was foolish enough to think she was more powerful than her mother.
[I gave you a…worst villain in the land!]
“I’m almost offended,” Enchantress said. “Would’ve thought you put me or Gaston as the worst villain. Keep the resentment going.” “No, my mom’s the worst,” Mal said. “She’s literally the Mistress of All Evil. She headed the revolution of villains, at least, that’s what she told me. And she’s also the Queen of Hell.” Hades coughed into his hand. “Sure, sweetie, Maleficent is the Queen of Hell.” Mal only rolled her eyes. The heroes stiffened, like they hadn’t remembered Hades was there.
[Dad, just hear…shall we?]
“If we’re using the loosest possible definition of innocent, then, yeah, we are,” Anthony said. “Of our parents’ crimes? Yeah, sure. Of any other sort of crime? Debatable,” Quatre confirmed nonchalantly. “Horrible,” Phoebus said. “You put children between a rock and a hard place,” he told Beast. “And now they had—have to commit crimes in order to survive.” Aurora surveyed the room. How many of these children—for all of them, except the pirate captain with curly black hair and Anastasia’s son sitting next to her and some others scattered throughout the crowd, were children—had killed someone? Taken up a weapon and kept going until their enemy was no longer breathing? She couldn’t even begin to fathom it. And perhaps that was the problem.
[They say I’m evil…misunderstood!]
Mal coughed. “I don’t remember doing this.” “Maybe it’s just something the movie does?” Carlos asked. “Don’t think about it too much,” Enchantress said, opening a water bottle and flicking the plastic cap at Beast. He dodged it easily enough, and it landed on an empty chair. “Could explode your tiny mortal brains.” CJ nodded, recalling what Enchantress had said to her much earlier, when they first came up with the plan to do this whole reacting-to-the-future thing. “And I don’t want that to happen.” “What about my brain?” Hadie asked. “I’m a full god.” Enchantress stared at him. “Yeah, think about it, you might just get a headache.” “Great,” Hadie said happily, and his expression slowly became ponderous. “Nice art skills!” Anxelin said with admiration. “I find spray paint is harder to use, but you’re great at it! Where do you get it on the Isle, by the way?” Mal shrugged. “I’m not sure exactly where it comes from. I think Conrad and Irene mostly deal with the market, since we use spray paint to tag our areas and warn other gangs off—so it’s a profitable business.” Conrad Caine nodded in confirmation.
[Mirror, mirror, on the wall…rotten to the core.]
“Say what you will, you guys have really nice singing voices,” Lonnie said. “Thank you,” Jay said, winking at her, and Lonnie smiled back, flushing a slight pink. “I’m getting whiplash from the book personalities to these personalities,” Tonya said. “And it’s what…just a six-month gap?” “Give or take,” Mal confirmed. “You know how it is. Nothing can ever stay the same on the Isle.” “Looking in the background, it’s really fun to see a bunch of people I recognize,” Kristin commented, gesturing towards the screen. “The girl holding the doll was my baby cousin.” A few people murmured that they also recognized their allies or siblings or even themselves in the background.
[Call me a schemer…you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!]
“Jonas, what on earth were you doing?” Uma hissed to her crewmate. “Nothing, Captain,” Jonas said quickly.
[Mirror, mirror, on the wall…rotten to the core.]
“Nice dancing,” Ben said honestly. “That was the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Harriet said, covering her face with her hands. “Please tell me it’s over.” “It’s over,” Ginny patted Harriet’s shoulder awkwardly.
[Hi, mom…nasty little girl.]
“Yeah, Mal’s always been unreasonably petty,” Uma said, smiling tightly. Mal thought about saying something in response to that—but she felt like it would be unnecessary. “Anyone else thinks it’s terrifying the way that everyone scatters at the slightest sign of Maleficent?” Chloe Charming asked nervously. “True,” Evie said. “If my mother walked the streets, maybe people would give her a wide berth.” “And they’d just hold on a little tighter to their belongings around mine,” Jay said thoughtfully. Jade nodded in agreement. Everyone turned to Carlos. He shrugged. “It depends on her moods, and whether everyone is feeling like a good ol scatter-and-run.” “Oh, I love scatter-and-runs,” Clay Clayton said. “Really gets your blood moving.” “So there’s a hierarchy of villains on the Isle?” Ruby Fitzherbert asked. “Yes, in the simplest way,” the boy next to Tonya said, when no one else spoke for a few seconds, as if expecting someone else to do so. “It’s hard to explain. Maleficent may be the most intimidating, but she’s not the most dangerous. She has had her magic blocked away from her, so the most she can do is scream at us from her balcony and send her henchmen to get us. The non-magical villains may not be as threatening, but they’re more dangerous. Understand?” “I think so,” Ruby said.
[Give it back to the…Mal!]
“Why would Maleficent be dead-set on you guys going to Auradon?” Ruby asked, her eyes narrowing at the Core Four slightly. “Yeah…” Jay chuckled awkwardly. “About that…” “I don’t like that tone of voice,” Li’l Shang said warily. “And Maleficent saying “it’s all about world domination” has me thinking a little.” Both Ruby and Li’l Shang had a point. Maleficent hated Auradon—and hated her daughter, as it was so clearly displayed. So why did she want to send Mal to Auradon? Certainly not for a better life. And the world domination comment… There was something else. Jay and Mal exchanged a glance—unreadable, but Mal could see the slight fear in Jay’s eyes. And she was sure he could see the fear in hers, echoing the expression from their earlier conversation.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
[You will go…Fine. Whatever.]
The room erupted into pandemonium. Mal was sure Fairy Godmother fainted for a few brief seconds before the yelling brought her back. “That’s why Maleficent let you come over?!” “I told you!” Chad was declaring, pointing his finger at Ben. “I should’ve known!” someone else shouted, but other than those three sentences, nothing else could be heard. Ben couldn’t even tell whether the majority of the Auradonians were shouting about Mal attempting to steal the wand or arguing with those who were. “Oh, gods above,” Persephone raised her eyes to heaven. “EVERYONE, SHUT UP!” Hades roared, noticing his wife’s exasperation, and the room fell silent as Hades rose to his full height—which had to be a good foot taller than Beast, who was already taller than the average man. His hair flickered, flaring up into a bright blue, pressing against the bonds of Enchantress’ magic. Enchantress’ expression grew strained—perhaps she was trying to make sure the pocket dimension didn’t completely collapse at Hades’ godly powers. “Thank you,” Persephone said, standing up and joining her husband’s side. “We need to discuss this rationally.” “There is nothing to discuss rationally,” Katherine Charming said sharply. “They’re going to try and steal the wand and let Maleficent rule the land.” She glanced around. “Isn’t that right, Mal?” she asked, eyes narrowing. The room was silent, awaiting the four’s answer. “Yes,” Mal ground out harshly after a few minutes of hesitation. “That was why we were sent. Why we were allowed to go.” The Isle kids’ heads swivelled to Ben almost expectantly. Ben closed his eyes for a brief seconds, grappling with Mal’s words. “Well, that’s that, then,” Katherine said in a clipped tone, her words carrying over the displeased talk of some other people. “She’s admitted to it.” She turned her gaze to Ben expectantly. “Are you going to send them back to the Isle? That’s clearly where they belong.” “Katherine, that’s quite enough,” Ella said firmly. “You’re an adult, there’s no need for this meanspirited business.” “You’re no longer eight, Katherine,” Kit added. “Need I remind you what I have told you before?” He turned to his son. “The same goes for you, Chad.” Katherine pursed her lips. “Yes, Father, Mother” she said, but her face clearly said she wasn’t very sorry at all. And maybe she did have a point. But Ben needed to say something. “No, she’s right,” Jay finally said. “If we’re attempting to steal the wand—and we have attempted to steal the wand before—then we do deserve to go back to the Isle. It’s the law, isn’t it?” Ben exhaled. “The whole point of the Villain Program was to give you guys a second chance.” “And we blew it,” Evie said quietly. “Like Jay said, we already tried, and we’re planning to continue to try. We broke into the museum and everything.” “I’m not done,” Ben said gently. “I knew the minute I decided to start this program that it wouldn’t be easy. That maybe some people wouldn’t want to recover, wouldn’t want help. And I suppose, in a way, I was right. I knew you guys wouldn’t want help, because accepting help is a sign of weakness, and weakness isn’t evil.” Mal stared at him. “So yes, I guess it’s pretty obvious your parents would’ve jumped up and down at the chance to make you do what they wanted. But you don’t want that, do you?” Mal glanced behind her, at her three friends, and if Ben was being honest—he was directing the question at all the children from the Isle. “No,” Mal said quietly. “No, I don’t want what they want.” Her voice gained strength as it went on. “Maybe I don’t want to choose good, complete good, but I don’t want what they want.” “And neither do I,” the other three said, and if Ben listened hard enough, he could hear the whispers of others agreeing with them. Harriet broke the silence with a rough laugh. “And that’s what I was waiting for,” she said, pointing at Ben, her eyes gleaming. “That’s the making of a king.” She tilted her head at Enchantress. “You can continue now.”
[I win…magic mirror.]
“How did Evil Queen and Maleficent come to get along again?” Evangeline, Tiana’s daughter, asked, being the first to break the silence. “Didn’t they hate each other before?” “You know, it was really unclear,” Jay said. Snow White sighed miserably. Of course her mother was still obsessed with being beautiful, more beautiful than her—sometimes, Snow White hated the title of Fairest in the Land. How many girls looked up to her and said they wanted to be pretty, or as pretty as her?
[Yeah…as I tell you. Door.]
“Hmph,” Lonnie muffled a chuckle at Maleficent’s inability to open the fridge. “Did that actually happen?” Ariana Rose squinted. “I can’t really imagine her not being able to open a fridge.” “Oh, it did,” Mal assured her, finding her voice again. “I was woken up a lot when I was younger just by her yelling at me to get the fridge open. She’d never admit that, though.” “Blackmail on Maleficent,” Ariana whispered darkly. “That’s good.” Her twin brother, Hugo, sent her a very unimpressed look. “Why didn’t we take away her spell book?” groused Fairy Godmother. She smiled at Mal. “I will be needing that, dear, when this reacting is over.” “Right,” Mal said flatly, with no intention of ever giving her spell book to Fairy Godmother.
[Whoo!…bring home a prince!]
Evie raised her eyes to heaven. “Her and the princes,” she said. She shot a nasty glare at Chad, who avoided her piercing gaze as best as he could. “Bring home the gold,” Jade mocked. “As if I don’t bring home enough. Also, do you still have that car piece, Jay? It looks expensive.” Jay patted down his pockets briefly. “Nope, don’t have it on me,” he told his cousin. “But I’ll give it to you later.” “Thanks,” Jade shot him a sharp grin.
[You’re looking…Okay, nasty, I like that guy.]
“He wasn’t supposed to act like that. That wasn’t very professional,” Ben said. “Eh, it’s fine,” Carlos said dismissively. “I got the candy out of it.” “Nice reaction to a car drive. Totally not concerning,” Jordan grimaced. “To be fair, they didn’t know there was a way out,” Aziz told her. “Mm, but they had to at least vaguely know there was a way for that guy to get in.” “So you just live in paranoia all your life?” Kit asked, raising his eyebrows. “It’s a healthy balance of “oh, shit, everyone wants to kill me!” and “I’m the most powerful person here, no one can hurt me”,” Ginny assured everyone. “No in between.” “…Comforting.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
[Oh! Ah! Ow!…that sparkling wand.]
Audrey snorted. “How subtle of you.” “If no one noticed, then it was subtle enough,” Mal sniffed. “It’s funny looking back on it in hindsight,” Doug said. “You were actually pretty obvious. I thought you just really liked sparkly things.”
[That was a…Totes!]
Mal and Audrey cringed at the airy laughs coming from the screen. “I’m surely a better actor than that,” Audrey said. “Yeah, I have to get better at doing that,” Mal said at nearly the same time. The two shared a quick, surprised look, before resoluteley glancing away. Aurora grimaced at the interaction between the two—or, the interaction between Audrey and the villain children. Surely she had raised her daughter better than that. Was it the influence of Leah? It couldn’t be, Aurora’s mother was kind and charming. But…Audrey was spending an awful lot of time around her, and her attitude had to be coming from somewhere.
[Okay! So…Sneezy.]
“There’s a lot of them,” Doug said sheepishly. “Yeah,” Sleepy Jr. yawned. “I can’t remember them all half of the time.” “Family reunions must be hell,” Carlos said. “How many cousins do you have?” “Around…” Doug began counting silently on his fingers. “20? 25? I’m not sure anymore. A lot of my cousins are grown up, too, so they have kids of their own.” “Large families are walking nightmares,” Desiree said, nodding, receiving a gentle punch on the shoulder from Delphie. “Franz,” Kristin said. “How many brothers does my dad have?” “Twelve.” “So how many cousins do we have?” Kristin sounded genuinely concerned. She glanced over at Freya. “Besides the obvious, of course.” “Excluding the Tremaines?” Franz closed his eyes. “No idea.” He scanned the room briefly, eyes landing on Queen Anna of Arendelle. “Hey, you, how large is the Westergaard family these days?” Anna blinked. “I’m—I wouldn’t really know. We only trade with the Southern Isles. The last I spoke with King Caleb was during the creation of the Isle, and he only had his son with him—Johann, right?” She turned to Kristoff for confirmation, who nodded. “Helpful,” Franz said. “I’m gonna say twenty.” “I bet ten,” Kristin responded. “Whoever loses owes the other 20 dollars.” “Deal.” Someone coughed. It was a brown-haired girl who had been watching the conversation with mild interest. “I’m a Westergaard,” she said, nudging the boy sitting next to her, who nodded briefly. “You have fifteen cousins, including me and my brother.” The two Stabbington cousins glanced at each other, then back at their newfound cousin. “I was closest,” Franz argued immediately. “I was closest, fork over those twenty dollars,” Kristin hissed, not willing to back down to her younger cousin. “Give me the money,” Delphie suggested. “Or me,” Freya added. “All of you, shut up,” Anthony snapped. “No one’s paying anyone.” “You owe me,” Franz whispered as a parting shot.
[Wow. This place is so…That is much better.]
“That is such a pretty room, though,” Jane sighed. “I love the Prep rooms.” “Yeah,” Evie agreed readily. “The light pink was very lovely, and gives you a refreshing feel. It’s a nice color too, and goes really well with most other colors. The flower print can be a bit tacky, but in general…” she trailed off. “Oh, I was rambling a little, wasn’t I?’ “No, keep going,” Audrey said. “Unfortunately,” Enchantress said. “And I mean no offence, Evie dear,” she added sincerely, “as I too love talking about colors, but we do need to keep the movie rolling.” Evie straightened, a light blush on her cheeks. “Of course.”
[Whoo! Whoa!…take over the world.]
“I’ll be expecting those items returned,” Fairy Godmother said seriously, tutting disappointedly at Jay. “I’ll let you off the hook once, but stealing is strictly prohibited in Auradon Prep.” “She doesn’t know how to have fun,” Jade hissed to Jay as he nodded to Fairy Godmother. “I’ll return them, don’t worry,” he said. “Okay, but if you got that just from wandering in the hallway, that’s pretty impressive,” Aziz confessed. Jay held up his hands. “Born and raised.”
[You sound…Coming!]
“Do the magic mirror requests really have to rhyme?” Snow White sighed. “Most of the time,” Evie said. “I guess it got a little faulty along the way, and you can get away with a few non-rhyming questions.” “How are you going to break into the museum?” Jordan asked. “It’s top notch security.” Jay grinned crookedly and jumped in when Mal didn’t respond, only sinking into her seat further. “We have our ways.” "Don't listen to him," Evie said. "We didn't even get to steal the actual thing."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
[Come on…I got chills.]
“I hate you both,” Mal said as Carlos and Jay erupted into snickers, joined in by most of the room as well, at her failed attempt of a spell. The sight of her mother’s magic spindle was no less underwhelming then it had been the first time they had chanced upon it, which probably added to the hilarity. Aurora was sure that the spindle was much more threatening when surrounded by green mist, alone in a cold, dark tower. Even on her rare visits to the museum, she was always struck by how ordinary it looked on the outside. Well, that was magic for you, wasn’t it?
[Okay, you know what…Don’t blow it.]
“Huh,” Harry breathed out. “That’s not creepy at all,” Gil said. “No, really, it’s very normal to have realistic wax models of our parents in a museum for the world to see,” Jade cringed. Hermie Bing shuddered. “I bet they have glass eyes too,” she said. “Those creepy, soulless ones…” “Ugh,” Jade shuddered. “Like those ones we found behind the circus tents.” “I question it every day too,” Ben confessed. “We took kindergarten field trips to the museum and would get lectured on all their crimes and why they got locked up on the Isle, and how we should avoid them. Gaston’s statue gave me nightmares.” “Hey!” Mal brightened, momentarily forgetting what happened exactly after they saw the statues, playing in the screen before them. “When I was a kid, we would get lectured on our parents’ achievements, and how we should be exactly like them. No creepy statues though…which I’m suddenly grateful for.” “I’ll take the creepy statues over that,” Jane shuddered at the thought of being told to do exactly what villains did. But then again, that seemed to be the villain kids’ entire existence—be who they want you to be, and don’t ever ask questions, don’t ever try to be who you want to be. Didn’t that sound awfully familiar?
[Look at you…Mal. Come on.]
“Oh! A song!” Shang Jr. straightened. “Nice!” “Ugh,” Mal said, covering her face with her hands. “I don’t like this already.” She remembered that moment in the museum, almost thinking her mother was there with her, and it was a song now? She eyed Enchantress, and then remembered that Enchantress had warned them not to think too hard about it, otherwise they’d explode. Graphically.
[Don’t be so serious…dear old momma said.]
Everyone jumped. “Is she off the Isle?” Doug asked tentatively. “No—she isn’t—” Mal said, frowning. “I think I just hallucinated it all. The memory’s pretty foggy, actually…” she trailed off. “It’s okay, Mal,” Ben squeezed her hand comfortingly. “Even if it did actually happen, I’ll make sure Maleficent can’t hurt you.” Mal managed a smile at Ben’s attempt to be a knight. But Maleficent could do anything to Mal, really, and no one would stop her. And that was what was starting to scare Mal. [Don’t you wanna be evil…evilicious queen like me.] “It has a nice rhythm to it,” Shang Jr. said. Mal had to agree with that—though she had the suspicious feeling that the song would be stuck in her head for a long time. Which wouldn’t bother her at all. “Never in my entire life would I think I would hear Maleficent saying “evilicious,” Prince Philip said, doing his very best to hide his amusement. He failed, obviously, and the entire Rose family looked amused—even Audrey, which didn’t come as much to a surprise as everyone expected it to be.
[Hey, I found…that’s just a little excessive.]
“Well, what else did you expect?” Aziz asked. “Alarms are standard for museums, and obviously there’s going to be a forcefield around the wand.” “Expect everything, dear cousin,” Jade said disapprovingly, melodramatically. “I thought I taught you better.” “Yeah, yeah, shut up,” Jay rolled his eyes. “I was excited to get the wand and, you know, conquer Auradon.” “Right,” Aziz said. “How’s that going for you?” “Really great, can’t you tell? We’re about halfway into becoming your overlords. Watch out.”
[Let’s go…school tomorrow.]
Jay rolled his eyes again. “Not my fault they put in a force field and an alarm.” He paused. “Oh, and thank you, Carlos, for doing that.” “You’re welcome,” Carlos said, easily dodging Jay’s light, teasing punch. “And school was nightmarish,” Mal shuddered. “And I don’t mean that in an Isle-way.” “It always is,” Jay sighed. “What do you even learn in Auradon?” Ginny asked. “Internet Safety? That sounds dumb.” “It actually isn’t—” “And then they have Remedial Goodness,” Yzla barrelled on. “No fun at all! Where’s the alchemy? The Evil Potions classes?” “Uh—there’s Chemistry?” Yzla frowned. “They even make alchemy sound boring!” she complained.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
[If someone hands you…like any fun.]
“A bit on the nose, no?” “Yes, well,” Fairy Godmother said. “I wasn’t given much notice in terms of creating the class, so I had to use some…convenient examples.” “It was still annoying,” Mal sighed. “I find this entire class a dumb idea,” Amelie Tremaine professed, and many had to agree with her—what was it supposed to even accomplish, besides virtue signalling? [Oh…get off.] “Everyone gets a turn in the classroom,” Ella laughed slightly. “No one’s ever that eager to answer a question back at Dragon Hall,” Zevon said. “Or at Serpent Prep.” “Or anywhere, really. You gotta pay someone to answer a question willingly.” “Ah, bribery,” Desiree smiled. “The natural way of life.” “It’s really not,” Chad said.
[Jay…we’ll pass.]
“Well, to be fair, the only sports on the Isle are “Chase the Kid” and “Hide and Shriek”, none of which are particularly fun games for me,” Carlos said, wincing at the memory of multiple games of Chase the Kid where he was, obviously, the person being chased. “What’s Hide and Shriek?” Jane asked. “A weird version of Hide and Seek?” “Yeah, I guess—not sure what Hide and Seek is though. Basically, some people hide, and others have to go around and scare the living wits out of them.” “Best game ever,” Avery Tremaine said, grinning at their cousins. “It really isn’t,” Nicol said.
[Jay, Ben…who is this guy?]
“They definitely knew who you were,” Jordan said before Jay could say anything. He narrowed his eyes at her. “Dunno why Dad didn’t say anything.” “Wait. Coach—Coach is Genie?” “Yeah, obviously,” Jordan said, frowning. “You didn’t know that?” “No.” “Well, now you know,” Aziz said cheerfully. “Does he know?” “Yup. He just isn’t sure how to bring it up,” Jordan said. Jade looked thoughtfully at the screen. “Well, now I’m going to have to join the team. Can’t let my baby cousin outdo me.” “You’re older than me by six months.” “Yeah, giant gap.”
[You! Get over here!…ow.]
Chloe muffled a snort. “It’s not funny, Chloe!” “It’s hilarious,” Chloe told him. “Children, be nice,” Kit said, before Chad and Chloe could get any further into insulting each other.
[Those kids are…girl’s mother.]
“Chad, do you I have to repeat what I keep telling Katherine?” Kit sighed. “Sorry, Dad,” Chad said reluctantly, his apology drawn out by his reluctance, and only prompted by his parents’ disapproving looks. Audrey said her own apology as well, surprisingly unprompted by her parents. Mal inclined her head towards the girl—maybe they could come to an understanding of some sort.
[I think you’re…huh.]
“Except they’re not wrong about them—” Beast started. “Dad—” “They’re trying to steal the wand, Ben! If you can just stand by and let that happen because you’re dating one of them—” “Can I punch him!?” “CJ, you’re still grounded—” “Dad, Mom gave you a second chance, why can’t you give them one?” “Harriet’s duel can’t come soon enough, really—” “All of you, shut up,” Harriet ordered. The VKs fell silent, though there was definitely some grumpy murmuring. “When I win—” “Overconfident much?” CJ whispered. “Of course, you can beat him, just have a little humility, Ettie—” “Don’t call me that,” Harriet said. “When I win, Beast will be forced to face what his actions did. And he’s no longer king, so…his opinion doesn’t matter anymore.”“Actually—” Ben started, about to say that his father’s opinion still did have weight in the kingdom. Harriet raised an eyebrow at him, and he decided it was better to not say anything at all.
[Hi! It’s Jane…ah!]
“Oh,” Jane said quietly. “Jane…” Mal said, glancing back, the apology catching in her throat. “I swear—I’m trying to not be like that anymore. I really like your company.” Jane offered a slight smile, her eyes a little glassy. “Right. It’s okay.” She turned her head away from the screen, as if she couldn’t bear to see her past self get manipulated so easily.
[Wow!…bye.]
Jane cringed. “Oh, dear,” Fairy Godmother said. “You’re beautiful just the way you are.” “I know,” Jane said, in a tone that suggested she didn’t believe that.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
[Any chance…to me.]
Evie raised her eyes to Heaven. “Please make it stop,” she said. “That’s not going to happen, unfortunately,” Enchantress said. “It’s not that bad,” Ruby Fitzherbert said sympathetically. “Everyone has had their moments with Chad, but it’s really temporary. For us all.” She shot Chad a nasty glare.
[Evie…don’t make it again.]
Fairy Godmother tutted. “I told the faculty to not discriminate against the Villain Kids,” she lamented. “That’s working out,” Carlos whispered to Evie. “And what about the cheating policy?” Chad demanded. “Mr. Deley already let her off easy.” “Ah…since Evie and the others are new students here, adjusting,” Fairy Godmother says. “I’ll assign Evie a detention. I’m only letting it pass this once, young lady.” “Thank you,” Evie said primly, smiling at Chad.
[Okay, Carlos…rabid, pack animal!]
“Well…” Anita said. “What did she teach this poor boy?” she hissed to Roger. “Dogs aren’t like that at all,” “The only rabid pack animals that I know are the ones Ben deals with,” Diego said. “And the cats. The cats are bad.” “Me?” Ben asked, glancing up at the use of his name. “No, another Ben,” Diego said. “He deals with dogs on the Isle. Hey, that’s funny. I bet Ben would get pissed if I told him he shared a name with the soon-to-be-king of Auradon.” “Yeah, and runs a business with my mom,” Carlos said. “And I’m sure he already knows.” “Oh, probably,” Jay said. “But if we point it out to him…” The de Vil and Jay snickered at the thought of telling foul-tempered Ben Sykes about it.
[Hey, who told…belly rubs.]
“That’s what happens when you stuff a bunch of self-centered villains on the Isle,” Mal said stiffly, watching Beast very carefully out of the corner of her eyes. “And let them become parents,” Uma added. “Ah…” Lonnie trailed off. “I guess my comment during the cookies was a bit…painful?” “Yeah,” Mal said honestly. “But it’s fine. We can deal with that. You didn’t know, anyway.”
[Good boy…Thank you.]
Carlos found himself smiling at the interaction between him, Ben and Dude. It was sweet. He hadn’t expected such a warm welcome from Auradon. Sure, there were a few bad eggs, like Chad, to point out the obvious, but other than that, his transition from the Isle to Auradon had been peaceful. And it would stay that way, since Mal clearly wasn’t planning on following through with the wand plan. But he still thought about all the other children, who would inevitably be sent back—though Harriet, when she won the duel (because Hooks never lose duels, don’t you know?), would free them. But Beast could go back on his word. Carlos almost counted on it. He seemed like the type.
[Is everybody…tells me.]
“Smooth,” Chloe told Chad. Ella looked disapprovingly at her son, catching on the meaning of her words. “I’m better at flirting with non-royals,” Evie grumbled. She had thought it would work, sweeten up Chad a little and get that castle with a mother-in-law wing and lots of mirrors, but…
[Are you kidding…a new one.]
“No, because this is the third cell phone you’ve lost in a month, Chadwick,” Kit said. Chad groaned. “I do need it to text you guys, right?” “You can ask to borrow Chloe’s phone,” Kit said. Chloe stared. “I’m not sharing my phone with him!” she said defensively. “Just so he can text us if the need arises,” Ella appeased. “Or you could live off the grid! Join the wild, be one with nature—” “Shut up, Bobby,” sighed Aziz.
[Prince Charming…Hang.]
“I’m not giving my phone to someone who makes girls do homework for him,” Chloe sniffed. “One time.” Ruby coughed into her hand. “Actually, more like five.” “Five—?!” Chad said. “I don’t remember five.” Anxelin straightened. “Me, Arabella, Kira, Thalia, Audrey, and now Evie. So six.” She smiled. “I still have the text messages to prove it.” “Yeah, and it was because of me that Arabella and Kira found out,” Lonnie coughed out. “Huh?” “Nothing,” Lonnie said, straightening and looking away from Anxelin’s surprised look. She had forgotten she still hadn’t revealed herself to be the one running the School of Secrets channel, despite no longer uploading there. Her videos were still racking up views, though.
[Okay…And asking you out.]
“That’s totally not creepy,” Lonnie grumbled. “No offence, Doug,” Evie flashed a smile. “But I’m not ready to date anyone.” “So Chad was…?” “Different,” Evie said, her smile turning a little strained. “Very different.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” Chad asked. Chloe merely snickered. “You’re clueless around girls, aren’t you?” she said, muffling her giggles. “Smart, Evie,” Mal mused. “Distract the guy and try and get information about the wand. Was the homework hard?” “Not really,” Evie said. “I used the mirror for about half of it.” “Chad, I’ll need to talk to you once this is over,” Fairy Godmother said. “We don’t allow this sort of thing to happen,” she apologized to Evie. “I would have thought his three weeks of detention after Miss Arabella would have taught him a lesson, but clearly not.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
[Mom said…oh, no, no, no.]
“You should have failed him on purpose,” Ruby told Evie in disgust. “I can punch him for you,” Jade said cheerily.“I’m right here.” “Just in range,” Jade smirked at Chad, raising her fists to “No fighting,” Evie reminded, lowering Jade’s fists. “It’s fine.” “Hmph.”
[And that…Really?]
“Do you dye it?” Lonnie asked, tilting her head. “Or is the shade of purple natural?” “Dye,” Mal said. “No one can achieve this bright of a purple color. Sure, some of the Mims have freakishly blue hair, but I think they’re a special exception.” “That, or they are secretly magic-ing themselves to make themselves look cool.” “Yeah, that too,” Mal agreed. “I mean, Dizzy does a great job dying hair.” The Tremaine girl beamed. Avery stared in offence. “I dye hair too,” she snapped. “There’s a reason why Grandmother demoted you to entertaining patrons,” Anthony told Avery with the air of someone who was explaining something simple to a child. Avery huffed.
[The split ends…gonna kill me!]
“Aw, but I liked your old hair,” Junior said. “I know,” Lonnie said, absentmindedly running a hand through her long hair. “But I figured it’d be nice to have some sort of change…” “Well, I’m glad you like it,” Junior said. “I still think you looked good in your old hair.”
[I could really…Jay!]
“Make sure everyone else loses,” Jade and Jay started automatically rattling off. “And then give me all your profits because I put food on the table.” The two cousins exchanged smirks. “That’s why I moved to the circus,” Jade said. “Stunning impression of a prince though, I almost thought you became one.” Jay barked a laugh.
[Let me…Can I be the fist?]
“What does happen at your dinners?” Evie asked. “I don’t think I ever found out.” “You don’t want to know,” Jade said. “Really. It’ll change you forever. And in a bad way.” “Yeah,” Jay confirmed, seemingly a little surprised at Aladdin and Jasmine’s reactions to such information. “Well, now I want to know even more,” Aziz said. Jordan nodded enthusiastically. “We could tell them.” “I’d rather not.”
[Yo-ho-ho…Hold that thought.]
“So she just started dating Ben to get close to the wand…I mean, I guess it was sort of obvious after we found out but…” “It’s fine,” Ben cut off Aziz swiftly, before Mal could open her mouth and explain what she was doing. “And I’ll explain why later. Or maybe the movie will tell us. Whichever comes first.” “Right, just…making sure you’re alright with this, man,” Aziz said, raising his hands in surrender.
[Hey, Mal…and I need a love spell.]
“Seems to me Ben was fairly smitten without the love spell,” Jordan said. “Yeah, anyone with two eyes could see it,” Ruby admitted. “It’s true,” Audrey said, sighing. “I noticed.” “Audrey, I’m sorry,” Ben said, frowning. “If I hurt you, I’m sorry.” “It’s fine,” Audrey dismissed. “Years of engagement gone…” someone mumbled. Ben was fairly sure it was his father, but Enchantress just turned the volume up louder and he settled with shooting a glare at his parents.
[Alright…Yeah, I did.]
“You would’ve known that if you had paid attention in chemistry,” Carlos said. “I know, but Tourney’s where it’s at!” Jay said exuberantly, and Aziz and whoever else was his teammates—minus Chad, still surly about his scolding—joined in for a good two minutes long worth of cheering. “Alright, boys,” Fairy Godmother silenced them. “Reminder, we are in an enclosed area, and it’s better if we treat it as a movie theater. So, quiet.” She mimed zipping her mouth shut.
[There you are…and those are…]
“Those look disgusting,” Jade said as movie-Lonnie pulled out a bowl of chocolate chips. “Why do they look like…wood flakes?” “They’re actually really good,” Jay said. “I don’t trust your food taste, Mister I-Ate-Dirt-And-Said-It-Was-Good,” Jade said. “It’s good, I promise,” Evie said. “And you grew up on stale croissants, I don’t trust your taste buds either!” Diego said. He and Jade shook hands in agreement over chocolate chips looking bad.
[Chocolate chips…yes ma’am.]
“Jay, spare me your flirting attempts.” “No can do, Mal,” Jay said. “That’s what happens when you become friends with me.” “Just focus on the movie,” Mal said, rolling her eyes. “And never flirt in front of me again.”