I do not, in any way shape or form, own Disney's Descendants nor its characters/settings.

Alright, this takes place during the movie, after Audrey remarks on Evie not being a princess. Enjoy Alligators!

Mal noticed something was wrong the moment they began settling into their new room. She could feel the negative aura pouring from her best friend and, at this level, it was obvious Evie was trying not to cry. Mal briefly wondered how she was able to sense the aura of another person, but then realized that she had no idea what magic power she possessed since she had lived her whole life without it. This must have been part of it, probably so that her mother could sense the fear she seemed to feed off of.

Magic was free and uninhibited in Auradon, something that the Isle of the Lost didn't have. The villains weren't even allowed limited magic; all of their power had been taken away by King Beau and Queen Belle with the help of the Fairy Godmother. Mal felt a strange tugging sensation in her fingertips thinking about all of the magic that wand held. It was nothing compared to what her mother had and probably what she herself possessed, but it was still very powerful. Mal wanted it for herself, but she knew how her mother would react to her voicing something like that and their latest stare-down had given her a small headache.

Back on the subject of Evie's aura and drastically declined mood, Mal straightened from where she had been about to unpack and moved to stand near Evie's bed, hands on her hips expectantly. "What's up, Mal?" the blunette attempted to sound composed as her mother had taught her to in situations like these, but Mal had the hearing of a dragon and could detect the sadness in her undertone.

"That is what I would like to ask you, E." the fairy responded. "Tell me what's up."

There was a long pause as Mal watched Evie attempt to defy the order. As the self-elected leader of their group, being the most powerful, Mal usually didn't have to demand anything of her friends as they were so attentive to her signals now, especially Evie, that they almost immediately knew what she wanted without asking. If she ever did have to say something, their names and a quick gesture were usually all that was needed with perhaps a few words of elaboration here or there. Because of this, Mal knew that this silence was not going to last very long. Evie would tell her what was up.

Finally, Evie took a deep breath and turned fully to face her leader. Mal took notice of the coating covering her friend's eyes, but knew that none of them ever actually cried. Evie didn't cry because it would smudge her makeup and ruin her complexion. If not for that, Mal knew those tears would fall without hesitation. It made her blood boil for reasons she knew, but refused to ever acknowledge.

"What's wrong, Evie?" Mal demanded, her eyes leaving no room for lying or beating around the bush. They didn't have time to be hindered by memories of the Isle or missing their parents. They had a mission to focus on, after all.

Evie lowered her head for a moment before asking in a small voice, "Am I really not a Princess, Mal?"

Mal's eyes widened, realizing that this had to do with what that prick, Audrey, had said earlier. Her lip curled at the mere thought of the pink-covered priss. Sleeping Beauty's daughter. Mal snorted for a moment before realizing that Evie was still waiting for her anxiously.

"Hey, E, don't think about what the snob said." Mal told her calmly, stroking her hair from her face and brushing it behind her shoulders. "Besides, once we get that wand and break our parents out of the barrier, no one will be able to say you aren't royalty. She on the other hand may need to watch out for me."

"So I'm still a princess?" the blunette said hopefully.

"You'll always be a princess, Evie." Mal smirked, crossing her arms.

"Promise?" Grey eyes gazed into brown and Mal's smirk deepened.

"Promise. No matter where we are, you're always going to be the little princess."

"Guarded by the big mean dragon." Evie giggled.

"Got that right!" the purplette agreed. "The meanest dragon around. Now come on, I need to unpack. I want to sketch a new design for this room."

"I think it looks nice…" Evie murmured. "I could do with less pink, but otherwise…"

"That's because you're a princess." Mal snorted. "I'll leave the canopies, how's that?"

"Deal!"

Mal inwardly patted herself on the back for lifting Evie's mood as quickly as she had, knowing her best friend was always uncertain of how she was seen in comparison to her mother. While Mal had no qualms with being just like her mom, Evie had more dreams than just a prince in a castle, she was simply terrified of voicing such in case she never got the happy ending she longed for. If all went according to Mal's plan, she would have that wand for her mother and she would be able to make all of Evie's dreams come true.

The first step to making her little princess happy… was that wand.

There's the first chapter. Mal doesn't love Evie. She can't. Evil doesn't love. And Mal is bad to the bone. Or is she?