It had been about a month since Prince Ben was not crowned king. It had been about one month since he was stripped of any title at all, and became just Ben. It had been one month since Mal was deemed a princess by her mother, though, being royalty now was a lot different than what it was in Auradon one month ago.
Mal now had the room that was once Ben's. Though the whole castle was much more gloomy than she presumed it once was. Sometimes she woke up in a sweat, dreaming about the day she'd changed the world. However, she'd wake up, and recall it had been so long ago, and that her dress was now in a museum in a hall in the Gallery of Villains.
However, as she sat up in her bed at night, wide awake, she couldn't help but wonder what it was like, on the Isle of the Lost, now. How were all of those royals adjusting to living in the slums?
At least Audrey has to suffer through it, Mal thought, chuckling lowly (after all, they had never had the chance to reconcile, the last they spoke was at that horrendous Parents' Day). Perhaps she now lived in the Bargain Castle where Mal and her mother had once lived. She tried to imagine Queen Belle attempting to convert Dragon Hall into a school suitable for children who weren't destined for villainy. Perhaps Fairy Godmother was the new headmistress there- someone had to replace Dr. Facilier after all.
At this thought, Mal's mind began to drift to when the villains (and the other villain children) first arrived in Auradon.
"Here we are, alright, alright, step aside," Maleficent was the first to get out of the crowded limo (or rather, several limos) that transported the villains from the Isle of the Lost. "Now, where's mama's favorite little villain?" She grinned widely.
Mal was frozen. This was the one time she hadn't failed her mother. Mal had tamed the most powerful magic wand in Auradon- rivaling Maleficent's scepter. And here her mother was, actually congratulating her. Mal hardly was able to move when her mom gave her a little side hug- the biggest one Mal had gotten in years.
Pain and Panic, as well as various other sidekicks, were rushing around getting bags out of the trunks, with Hades yelling at them for dropping his daughter's suitcase into the water.
Dr. Facilier bent down and grinned at Evie, Carlos, Jay, and Mal. "Looks like we did teach you pretty well at that old school, didn't we?" His voice was silky smooth with all the pride a man would have at being able to say he trained the four. His girl, Freddie, wasn't that far behind him. Mal wasn't too fond of her, but spoke politely.
After all, this wasn't the kill-or-be-killed world of the Isle anymore. This was Auradon. They were in the positions of power, and that meant allies and politics and all of those troublesome things.
And then the lands of Auradon (as well as its neighboring countries that unite) had been partitioned out. Maleficent, taking the position Beast and Belle once had, ruled from the Forbidden Mountain and had taken the kingdom that was Aurora and Philip's. Hades was given Olympus and Greece, Jafar had Agrabah, Lady Tremaine and her daughters had Charmington, and Cinderellasburg was given to the Evil Queen. And so on it went, down the line.
Mal never thought she would witness her mother's might, but now, she was. And now, she had a bigger task on her shoulders than anyone could possibly dream of.
Her coronation day was coming up.
To be fair, Mal wasn't going to be the real queen. She would be merely a pawn, and everyone knew her mother would really be the one still ruling. Mal would be queen only in name. The coronation was a mere formality- an honoring of Mal for leading the villains to victory. Though, she did imagine Ben would have been truly the ruler. If the villains hadn't won.
But they did. And sometimes, the daughter of Maleficent wondered if that was more of a curse than a reward.