Okay, guys, if you're still hanging out there after the fact that I didn't update the day I said I would, then you can officially become my readers, as you now have a good idea of what reading an on-going story with me as an author is.

This is probably going to sound lame, but I promise I'm not making up excuses. The thing is that I have a terrible luck and, sometimes, it's not because I don't want to or don't try to update, but because things out of my control happen.

Now, this is a general explanation, because it's likely that something like this will happen again at some point and I just want you to know that, even if I don't update when I say I will, don't worry about me abandoning this story. I've literally sold my soul for this fic, so rest assured. Besides, I get the feeling that if I decided to stop writing this, my beta will be hella mad at me.

So, even if takes six months, I won't abandon this story.

In case you want to hear it, this chapter was ready to be published on Saturday, but when I tried to upload it, Fanfiction decided to be an ass and tell me there was a mistake, therefore I couldn't do it. And then, on Saturday, I went visit my grandfather and he lives in another city, so... I spent the whole day with no internet, much less with a computer.

However, as I'm sure you couldn't care less about my personal life, here goes the chapter!

Okay, first of all, why did no one mentioned Fayanna's name in the last chapter? See, I completely forgot to mention her in my notes of the last chapter and later on, when I realized it, I kinda hoped someone would point it out! Anyways, there's a reason I decided to give the Fairy Godmother a name, and it is completely personal: it drives me mad when people call Adam 'the beast' or even 'King Beast,' like you're stripping him of the human part in him, and I decided that calling this woman only the 'Fairy Godmother' was pretty much doing the same thing.

I have to admit something, though: I'm inda superstitious, and I think that names are very, very important, which is something you'll likely discover as this story develops because there's a good number of original characters (that I can't wait for you to meet) whose names have given me (and my beta) plenty of headaches. To me, names are give you a personality, they're your trademark.

So, Fayanna is a French name (because Cinderella is French and I give a great importance to both the meanings and origins of the names), and it stands for faith or belief.

Alright, I think I've made you wait long enough, so... here it goes!


Return


This time, Mal was ready for the celebration.

Well, somewhat.

Perhaps it was more accurate to say that she had been expecting it from the beginning. Because, of course, Auradon couldn't simply do something discreetly and with no fuss, no, of course not―Auradon needed to blow trumpets and play loud drums. Auradon needed long-winded speeches and balloons and microphones and cameras.

On the bright side, at least she hadn't been forced to wear a dress for this... celebration.

"Mal, are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Evie asked next to her, the gentle waves of the shore crashing under the wooden removable bridge she'd use to aboard the ship.

"Positive," Mal rolled her eyes. "And if you sent a suitcase with Lumiere you either ask him to bring it back or you resign to not seeing your things until I come back."

"Mal..." the girl whispered, almost a sigh.

"Evie, no. That's final; it's not up for discussion. I said no two weeks ago―I meant it then and I mean it now. You're not coming with me," the daughter of Maleficent repeated, her voice not unkind, but firm.

"But it's dangerous!" Evie argued.

"Indeed it is," Mal nodded. "Which is exactly why you are not coming."

"Ever since we came here from the Isle we've done everything together, Mal, I don't want you to-"

"Is that it, Evie?" the daughter of Maleficent cut her, placing both of her hands on Evie's shoulders and then letting them slide, until she was holding her friend's hands. "You fear I don't trust you enough?"

"I know you trust me, but..." she trailed off, gesturing towards the ship.

"Evie, I'd put my life in your hands in a heartbeat," Mal promised, her eyes locked with hers. "That is why I need you to stay here―because I trust you. And because I need someone to watch after them," she concluded, sending a look towards Jay and Carlos, who stood a few meters away from them, talking with Ben and Adam.

"You're using them to bribe me," the daughter of the Evil Queen complained.

"Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that I mean every word I said," Mal accepted, squeezing her friend's hands in hers. "Evie, listen, I trust you and I need you, therefore I want you to be safe. I'll be back in three weeks, not a minute more, now go tell Lumiere to bring your things back."

Sighing, Evie bowed her head, eyes closed. The daughter of the Evil Queen pursed her lips, but instead of withdrawing from Mal's touch like her friend had feared, she returned a small squeeze.

When Evie finally reopened her eyes, there was no trace of the storm that had previously darkened them.

"Fine," she sighed again. "I'll let you go."

"Thank you," Mal echoed.

"But with a condition."

I should have known that, Mal grimaced. Oh, she should have known better than to expect someone to agree with her when there was no trap, nothing done under the table, even if it was someone with a character as sweet as Evie's.

"What do you want?"

"I know that I shouldn't pursue a relationship with my mother," Evie began coyly, her fingers shaking. "Listen, I know I shouldn't want to see her or to talk to her, not after what happened during Family Day or after what happened with your mother, but I..."

"Evie, what are you trying to say?"

"I can't see her again, I know that," the daughter of the Evil Queen continued, seeming more collected. "But I want to ask something from you," she said, letting go of Mal's hands to take a sealed envelope from her crown-shaped purse. "I... I want to ask you if you could give her this."

"Evie..."

"Mal, you've had the chance to speak with Maleficent," Evie argued. "Things are not going very well between you two, but at least you have tried to make them better. Don't take that away from me."

"Evie, don't do this-"

"Jay and Carlos don't want to have anything to do with their parents, which is understandable-"

"And which you'd do if you had a bit more of common sense," Mal condemned in a soft voice, knowing that her words wouldn't be enough to stop Evie.

"But I'm not like them, Mal," the daughter of the Evil Queen let out with an apologetic smile. "Don't take this away from me. I know it sounds... stupid, but I need to know that she is as bad as you think she is, as bad as Auradon makes her look."

"I don't want to see you hurt," Mal said, rolling her eyes with annoyance despite the fact that her voice remained gentle.

"I know, Mal," Evie smiled. "That's why I want to ask this from you―give her the letter and if she doesn't... if she doesn't answer, if she is like we remember, then... then I won't try anything else."

"Don't promise anything you can't fulfill," Mal asked, her eyes locked with Evie's―calculating, heavy. Finally, Mal looked away. "Fine," she concluded heavily. "I'll give her your letter."

"You will?" Evie inquired, more to assure herself than because she doubted her friend's word.

"I will," Mal sighed, taking the envelope the daughter of the Evil Queen offered her and carefully putting it away in the black folder Ben had given her roughly fifteen minutes in the past―the list of the heroes who were willing to open the doors of their houses to the soon-to-arrive children. "But if she doesn't answer or if her words are not the ones you wanted to listen, don't say I didn't warn you about this."

"And if that happens, don't say I was not aware that this was the most likely outcome," Evie offered back, a note of resignation obvious in her voice, even when her smile didn't falter. "I knew I could count on you."

Before Mal could answer that simple sign of trust, a third voice was heard.

"Mal, where's Freddie?" Ben called, raising his voice to be heard above the racket. "Isn't she supposed to be here?"

"How am I to know?" Mal huffed. "I'm not responsible for her!"

"I'll go look for her," Evie offered, her laugh obvious in her voice as she wrapped her arms around Mal.

"I'll be back," the daughter of Maleficent whispered into her friend's ear as she returned the gesture.

"I know," Evie answered, her breath warm on Mal's neck before she broke off the embrace, the gesture feeling like a more eloquent good-bye than all of her previous words.

"I'll go with you," Ben said before Evie walked away. "I have to go look for my mother too."

With a last glance in the daughter of Maleficent's way, both Ben and Evie turned on their heels and disappeared in the crowd that had congregated around the soon-to-sail ship.

Knowing that the awkward conversations had just began, Mal walked over to catch up with Jay and Carlos, who had remained together after the other two's departure.

"Are you sure you want to go back?" Jay questioned as soon as she was close enough to ensure he'd be heard even if he spoke in an undertone, which prevented others from listening to their conversation, a technique they had all mastered.

"Yes, I am," Mal answered with a sigh. "And I'm also sure I don't need backup."

"Just asking," Jay chuckled, raising his hands in surrender.

"Yeah, well, I need you here in Auradon. All of you," she said, perhaps more to reassure herself than to order them to stay instead of doing something stupid like following her back.

It made sense―she wouldn't be able to concentrate on the real reason she was going back to the Isle if, instead of doing the paperwork and matching out the children with their tutors she was constantly worried about the wellbeing of the ones she'd come to consider more than her friends―her family.

At least, if they'd stayed in Auradon she'd know they were safe. She could handle herself alone.

"Until I return, you're in charge," Mal instructed, her eyes heavy on Jay's.

"Ha, as if I didn't know that," the son of Jafar mocked.

"And don't you think I've forgotten," she replied, a mischievous glimmer dancing in her eyes. "Evie is already working on the skirt we talked about. I'm thinking dark red and gold will look marvelous on you."

"You're both insufferable," Jay decided with a huff that, despite everything, wasn't ill-intentioned.

After that, a heavy silence fell over them. And silence was definitely the word because, despite the noise that Auradon was making just a few meters away from their little group, at that moment, it was only the three of them.

"C'mere," Mal let out, more worried than she wanted to admit about Carlos tense posture and the way he kept averting his eyes from hers. For God's sake, how badly was Auradon affecting her, she wondered as she wrapped her arms around Carlos' shorter figure. "I'll be fine, stop overreacting."

Decisively, Auradon was influencing her, and perhaps it would also be good that she went back to the Isle if she wanted to keep her reputation.

Surprisingly enough, at that moment, she couldn't have cared less of what the boisterous people around her thought of her actions.

It was interesting, or at least it seemed so to her, that even when they purposely tried to follow Auradon's example, they just couldn't do things the Auradonian way.

For example, right then and there―her arms were indeed wrapped around Carlos' back in some sort of embrace. However, the son of Cruella wasn't returning the gesture, and while someone who followed the Fairytale-Land's standards would have found that to be a sign of distrust or even an offense, Mal was far from disgruntled by it.

In fact, she couldn't have cared less about Carlos' seeming lack of interest in the contact. And the reason was simple―it wasn't that she didn't worry about her friend or that she was as heartless as her mother had wanted her to believe she was. No, far from it, to her, the mere fact that Carlos was allowing her to touch him was enough sign of trust.

So, even Auradonian gestures and customs seemed to work differently for them.

She smirked, perhaps out of worry, perhaps as a challenge for Auradon's standards as her arms tightened around her friend's shoulders.

"I'll be fine," she said after a while, the annoyed tone that covered her voice not enough to mask its gentleness.

"Be careful," Carlos advised simply, his forehead pressed into Mal's shoulder, the muscles around his shoulder blades more relaxed than they'd been in the whole day.

"Always am," Mal sentenced, breaking off from the improvised embrace. "Now, it's ten to twelve and this thing is supposed to weigh anchors at twelve o'clock, so I'd better get on it."

"It won't be punctual," Jay decided.

"What do you mean? This is Auradon," Carlos protested.

"Precisely, we're still missing a wordy speech from either Fayanna or Ben about this 'bonding opportunity' and 'display of kindness'," he replied, blinking more times than were necessary in a very bad imitation of the Fairy Godmother's facial expression. Mal groaned. "You'll leave at twelve thirty, if things go as planned."

"I would have preferred not to remember the speech part," she muttered, giving in to Jay's one-arm hug as the son of Jafar continued to snicker.

"It's Auradon, you don't get to 'forget' about speeches!"

"Yeah, right, I'll keep that in mind," Mal shot back sarcastically before she sighed and her false expression of horror turned serious once more, which in return made Jay get a hold of his own carefree attitude to turn it more severe. "Watch after yourselves, I want to find you're all in one piece when I get back."

"Bet on it," Jay called loudly once she had already turned around, her left foot on the first of the steps from the wooden bridge that would lead her to the ship.

Five minutes later Ben met her on the deck, the Fairy Godmother following close behind.

"Seems like Jay won," she muttered with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Ben inquired.

"Nothing," she brushed off, her eyes scanning the clapping crowd under them.

"Mal, before you leave-"

"If you want to ask me if I'm sure about this, save it," Mal cut him off. "If I have to listen to any of you saying that you're worried about me once more, I'll throw up."

"Well, I wouldn't want to cause you any malaise before you even have the chance to be seasick, but-"

"I said save it," she repeated, impassible to Ben's nervous laugh.

"Mal, I'm worried about you, that's all."

"Trust me, Ben, I know," the daughter of Maleficent replied, slightly turning to meet Ben's eyes for the first time in their conversation. "But it's not me that you should be worried about."

"Well, you're not the only thing I'm worried about," Ben admitted. "See, I know there's a good number of things that could go wrong, but there's also the fact that it's kind of my fault that you're going back to a place you've openly said you didn't want to return."

"It's not your fault," Mal assured, her tone softening just a bit. "If I didn't want to go I wouldn't be doing it. I've made my choice and you should all respect it, regardless of how… jeopardous you think it is."

"In my defense, I'm not 'thinking' it's dangerous. The Isle in itself is treacherous."

"Yeah," Mal nodded. "Good thing I was raised there and know how to handle all that wickedness."

"I just don't want you to be hurt in any way."

As all answer, Mal laughed carelessly. "Then why are you even having second thoughts about it? I can handle the Isle. Take it from me, see, I'm not worried, especially not about you."

"Well, maybe that's because I'm going to be here safe and at home-"

"Ben, as soon as this ship gets going, that's exactly where I'll be heading―home."

"Mal…"

"Listen, I know we don't really call the Isle that. And yes, sometimes I call my mother by her name and returning there was certainly not in my to-do list, but I can pull it off, and you better than anyone should know the weight of duty," she finally admitted, deciding there was no point in putting up a stoic act in front of someone who could read her like an open book. Ben grimaced.

"Yes, and that's exactly why I asked you to go there, as the King of Auradon," he nodded. "Because I know you can do this and because I need to finish what I started. However, I'm not talking to you as king now, but as your boyfriend."

"Well, then, as both the ambassador and your girlfriend I have to tell you that there's really no need to worry," Mal replied, standing her ground. "I'm the safest option to send back, as my mother won't be there. And, Ben, if I have to go back there in order to prevent them from doing it, then so be it," she concluded, discretely pointing to a spot in the front row of the multitude, where Evie, Carlos, Jay and Freddie stood next to the former kings of Auradon.

"I know, and for that I admire you," Ben whispered, placing a soft peck on her left cheek. "But please promise me that if something happens you won't hesitate to call me or come back, even."

"I promise I'll call if something happens, but as for coming back… I don't think so," Mal replied after a few seconds, her jaw set tight. Taking her right hand in his, Ben laughed.

"I didn't expect anything less from you," he said, nodding to the Fairy Godmother, who took a step forward. "Now, if we may, my lady, let's get this ship going."

To be completely honest, Mal didn't hear a word of Fayanna's speech. Yes, she mentioned how much of an opportunity of union this new crusade was and she probably congratulated Ben on his performance. In fact, Mal was pretty sure that she had said something along the lines of 'Despite his youth, King Benjamin has proven to have a sagacious mind and a sharp intuition, let's all hope that this new approach will be what we've lacked before, enabling us to bring Auradon and the Isle of the Lost together.'

Yeah, she probably said something like that but, in all sincerity, Mal hadn't been listening.

For once, her disinterest wasn't born from boredom or a feeling of superiority. Rather, what had distracted her was the clapping multitude under them, the bright smiles that the attendants wore, the general excitement.

Perhaps it was just the prospect of a celebration, but even then, it didn't make sense.

This was a ship of respectable size, filled with supplies and ready to sail with the Isle of the Lost as its destination―it was pretty obvious that this project wouldn't be cheap, and yet… Auradon, at the moment, at least, didn't seem very concerned about the economic loss. In fact, they didn't even seem alarmed for the fact that in little under a month in the future the children of their most vicious enemies would be walking on the same streets.

She didn't know what she had been expecting, but, to be honest, it hadn't been this… welcoming. Well, it was a welcoming to the plan, not to the children themselves, she reminded herself, but they were already starting off way better than Mal had feared, and, according to Fay, good beginnings often times lead to good endings.

This was a good augury, it had to be, Mal decided, offering the crowd a mischievous smirk, and even if the Auradonian crap and superstitions were catching up with her, she supposed one had to trust these small things, these lingering hopes that recoiled to dark corners, these ridiculous omens.

Shortly after, Fay abandoned the podium, stepping back so the crowd could cheer for their king and Ben gave his own speech.

"As you know," Ben began once the ovations had quieted a bit. "Next to me stands the Ambassador of Auradon, Dragon of the Kingdom, Mal from the Isle of the Lost," he said and, surprisingly enough, a new round of roars followed Ben's statement, making the only thing that stopped Mal from stepping back being Ben's warm arm around her waist.

Rigidly, Mal bowed her head, a sign that she had heard Ben's words and the public's ovations

"Today, the Pharaoh will weigh anchor towards the Isle of the Lost," Ben continued, his gentle smile never wavering. "Within three weeks from now our ambassador and our ship will be back bringing with them the children of the Isle of the Lost, as I am sure you know, from having heard the report the Fairy Godmother and I gave last week."

This time, it was the Fay's turn to give a small curtsy, her trademark giggles coming out of her pink-colored lips.

"Now, without further delay, I want to ask you to give Mal a big applause in recognition of her courage before she leaves," Ben asked, gently pushing Mal forward before the crowd complied and burst into a boisterous acclaim.

After that, things happen very fast. She remembered Ben turning to face her, his glimmering eyes focused on hers as he gave her a bow, his right hand holding her left one, as his left arm was neatly positioned at his back.

"You will do just fine," he promised, raising his voice to be heard above the multitude's roar. "I'm certain."

As an answer, Mal offered him an unsure smile before Ben stepped back and the Fairy Godmother took his place.

"You're ready, Mal?" she inquired, though it was more an expression than a real question. Mal nodded nonetheless. "Well, then," the Fairy Godmother continued, taking out her magic wand that had been concealed under the sleeve of her dress. "In that case, bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"

The fairy laughed, a spark coming out of the tip of her wand as she gave it a twirl. Her small flicker reached the helm of the shipand as soon as it touched the wood, like a firework, it became four or five more specks of light, that soon separated and hurried to reach the sails of the vessel, making the knots that held them back untie themselves.

"This should be enough to take you to the Isle," Fay said with a mischievous smile. "It won't be like Captain Hook's ship, but it'll have to do, as even he had a crew and you've refused to have anyone in charge of the ship."

"It would have been unnecessary."

Fay nodded. "I expect your magic will be enough to bring you back, but if it is not, please don't hesitate to-"

"It will be," Mal cut her off, the salty smell of the air making her sound more convinced.

"Until your return, then," the old lady smiled, bowing down her head in a small curtsy.

Mal, deciding to be respectful as well had decided for imitating the gesture, but soon enough Fay had wrapped her arms around her in a fast hug.

"Good luck," the Fairy Godmother whispered into her ear before turning on her heels and abandoning the ship escorted by Ben.

Another round of applause erupted from the public as Mal decided that, given the fact that they were already there, she might as well give them something to clap about.

With a twirl of her own wrist, Mal lifted up the wooden staircase Fay and Ben had used to descend from the vessel. With another movement from her fingers, Mal weighed the anchor.

Giving the crowd under her a puckish smirk, Mal turned her right hand into a fist, restraining the magic that fought against her, its course already settled.

Slowly, Mal turned to look at the only people she cared for out of the several hundreds in front of her and she nodded, the gesture, so small per se, becoming almost negligible given the distance. Nonetheless, she gave that last assurance to Evie's proud smile and to Carlos' attentive gaze, to Jay's snicker and to Belle's waving, to Ben's hopeful expression and to Adam's severe features.

After that, she let go, straightening her fingers to allow the magic to flow as it pleased, waving only once, a last good-bye to the people she cared for.

Soon enough, the wind filled her sails, the magic, held back for longer than it had liked, coming out all of a sudden, which gave her weighing a small turbulence, the sound of the waves crashing into the hull of her boat loud enough to quiet out the noise of the applauses behind her.

Fayanna had calculated correctly, and in little over two hours the Pharaoh was already arriving to the Isle of the Lost.

She decided to drop the anchor by herself instead of doing it with magic. The pestilence hit her before she even descended to the quay. Home, sweet, smelly home, she thought to herself.

Mal decided not to bring anything with her right then. She would go give the Isle a look, see how the Bargain Castle had handled while they were away, probably grab something at the goblin's pub before she went back to the vessel to retrieve her suitcase.

Before the embargo, whatever the Isle received of goods had been left right at the entrance of the 'city', as the dock extended a few meters in front of the barrier, which allowed the Auradonians to disembark their ships and unload them without risking any of the islanders to harm them.

After discharging the ships, they would carry Auradon's leftovers through the barrier, where they'd leave them for the islanders to fight over the wastes.

The barrier was a tricky thing, that was for sure. Instead of dropping it every time a ship arrived to allow its crew to go through it ―which would have provided the villains with multiple chances of escaping―, the barrier had been modified to enable some people to go through it.

In all honesty, Mal wasn't yet sure of how that worked, but she understood that it was some kind of trademark each person had, like one's fingerprints. Apparently, each person had an aura, a something that identified them and made them… themselves, and magic, fascinating as it was, seemed to be able to pick that up, hence why the barrier could be modified to allow some people into it while it still forbade others from coming out.

It was strange, but at least Mal was now able to walk into the Isle as well as out of it.

Before crossing the barrier ―actually entering for the first time in her life― Mal let out a long sigh.

As soon as she stepped into the Isle the loss of her magic was almost tangible to her. It seemed a weight had been lifted from her, but it wasn't a good feeling; it was as if that weight was something necessary. It wasn't a worried kind of weight, it wasn't a bad weight. It was a crucial weight, like a limb or the pressure of someone else's hand on yours. Sure, it was something heavy, but it was a heft you wanted to keep.

She swallowed heavily. She'd have three very hard weeks ahead of her if she'd come to depend on her magic as much as it seemed.

Unlike what had happened in Auradon, when she arrived to the Isle, there was no mob waiting for her at the dock. In fact, there was no one there, and while a part of her did dwell on the loss, she was mostly happy that she could breathe easily now.

While it was true that none of the islanders had bothered to appear, Mal knew that they were aware of her arrival, as the video Ben had aired clearly marked this date as the one she would return to her birthplace. So much for giving them information.

Ten minutes later, Mal arrived to the goblin's pub, not having made a serious attempt to go unnoticed, but not having called any attention on her either, or at least it seemed so, given the fact that no one had approached her or tried to speak with her, though some of the pedestrians did send strange looks in her way. Not that she had stopped to question them.

"Give me one of your moldy coffees," she ordered, not bothering to add a 'Please' or to even address her request to one of the goblins in particular as she took a seat in the bar's highchairs.

"My, my, looks like, for once, Auradon wasn't deceiving us," a voice behind her said.

"Yeah? Don't tell me about it. Between me packing to come and the terrible smell I wasn't sure if this was not the island I want to go to," Mal replied, turning to face her interlocutor as she made a bubble with the gum Fayanna had advised her to chew in favor of avoiding getting seasick.

"Ha! Is it my impression or is your character still terrible?" the girl inquired, stepping forward so Mal could see her more clearly, which allowed her to recognize Harriet Hook, the daughter of the man who had once terrorized Neverland.

"Ruthless as ever," Mal said, giving a small kick to the empty chair next to her, a clear offering for Harriet to go seat with her. "You, make that two coffees!" she barked at a grumpy goblin that had been unfortunate enough to be close by. As all answer, the creature scoffed.

"So, tell me, Auradon's honey wasn't enough to sweeten you, was it?" Harriet continued to ask once the goblin left them alone.

"Was four months enough to forget me?" Mal shot back. "You'll need more than that to make me a pretty princess."

"That's what I told Ginny―you would never work for those idiots," the pseudo-pirate rolled her eyes, receiving her steaming cup when another one of Maleficent's former minions delivered their order.

"Hold your flying ship, girl, I didn't say that," Mal replied, a grimace that was half disgust and half pity once the smell form her mug entered her nostrils. "I am indeed working for Auradon."

"What? You, the daughter of the Mistress of Evil?"

"Well, no one said I had my mother's blessing, did they?"

"Mal, c'mon, this is stupid. Why don't you say that you have a plan under your sleeve and want to get your revenge on Auradon after what they did to your mother? The whole Isle is speaking about this," Harriet continued, her expression confused, if not worried, because no one, despite what they said or how they acted, could have wanted to stay in Auradon, with their voluminous dresses and pastel wallpapers, much less be in Auradon's side.

"First of all, Harriet, I'm not sure you got things correctly―I was the one who transformed my mother into a lizard," Mal explained, taking a small sip of coffee―which proved to be her worst decision of the day, as a strong nausea hit her the moment the greasy liquid touched her taste buds, her first impulse ordering her to spit it back into the cup. "And I assure you, my appearance here has nothing to do with my mother."

"Um, a shame," Harriet muttered. "Is it true, then? You're one of those paltry princesses?"

"Do I look like one to you?" the daughter of Maleficent retorted, allowing her eyes to glow emerald for only a split second. Laughing loudly, Harriet raised her hands in surrender.

"I'll give you that one, but others won't be as easy to convince."

"We'll see about that!" Mal chanted.

"I'm leaving you, Mal, it'd be terrible to be seen with you," the pirate said, standing up.

"Is that how your dad taught you to greet old friends?" Mal questioned, a mischievous smirk in her lips.

"You know my dad doesn't do friends, neither old nor new," Harriet answered, snickering. "And, for the record, we weren't friends now, were we?"

"I'll give you that one," the daughter of Maleficent echoed, pushing the steamy mug further away in the bar. Harriet, perhaps noticing Mal's disgust for the beverage, perhaps simply to make a statement chose that exact moment to take her cup and emptied it in a gulp.

"Well, we'll see about you," her interlocutor answered in a shrug before she turned on her heels and headed for the pub's exit.

That had gone better than expected, Mal told herself as she turned back to her foul-smelling drink. Well, the part about speaking to Harriet, not the part about her coffee. Seriously, how in hell had she drank that with no second thoughts or a quick visit to the shore in order to throw up?

"Oi, Mal!" Harriet's voice called her from the entrance, several tables away. "Think fast!" and with that, she unsheathed her sabre to send it flying across the establishment, raising various complaints from the other costumers and an almost-stabbed goblin.

"Ha!" the daughter of Maleficent let out as she jumped off her chair, her foot kicking the bench with so much force that it wobbled and fell on the wooden floor with a dull sound. With easiness, Mal waited until the sword was close enough for her to reach it, her slim fingers slid into the handle with grace. "Now this is what I call a greeting!"

"If I challenged you to a duel, would you accept?" Harriet questioned, her eyebrows raised at Mal's ability display.

"If you challenged me to a duel, I'd beat your ass, like I always do," Mal answered, grinning.

Seeming pleased with her, Harriet nodded and clicked her tongue.

"You think fast!" Mal called her, gesturing to throw the sable in the same way it had been flung to her.

"Nah," Harriet brushed off. "You keep it, looks like someone forgot your weapons."

"I don't need them to send you idiots running," she smirked. "I have myself."

"Very well, you keep hoping that will save you once everyone finds out you've changed sides."

"Hey, Harriet, I'm counting on you to spread the news!" Mal said, almost an order.

"My boys and I will have it covered by dusk," Harriet nodded, before turning and leaving the establishment for real.

Mal smiled, genuinely this time.

If there was one thing Harriet took pride on, that was certainly the crew of her ship. Truth to tell, it wasn't a real ship, but rather, the leftovers of the one that her father had once sailed on, which Hook had been allowed to keep in the same way that Cruella had kept her mansion and her mother had kept Bargain Castle.

Theoretically, the ship was there to provide a place to stay for Hook and his old crew, but it also served as some sort of playground for the younger kids, who recognized Harriet as their captain.

In the past, Mal had found Harriet's actions to be ridiculous. Now, however, she thought it was… curious―the kids didn't follow Harriet around because they had been forced to do so. On the contrary, they genuinely liked Harriet, and often, kids that were not related to Hook's old crew spent the day in the ship.

In return, Harriet cared for them, making sure they all had something to eat, beating up anyone who dared threaten one of her boys ―or girls, as there were some of those with her too―, giving them a place to stay in her ship.

Under any other circumstances, Harriet would have been made fun of or even threatened for the soft spot she so obviously had when it came to those kids, but, to honor the truth, no one dared to do so, as she was the best swordswoman in the Isle, bested only by Mal and Jay, who had enough problems of their own to worry about what Harriet Hook did or didn't do, though Jay was some sort of friendly acquaintance with her.

The news of her return would get around in no time, Mal concluded, deciding it was time to get going as well. She sheathed her new sabre and turned to leave a single coin for the goblins in the bar. This had to be the first time she paid for something in the Isle.

"My lady," the goblin that had served her called her.

"Excuse me?"

"My lady," he repeated, its head bowed. "This one's on the house."

"And where's this generosity coming from?"

"You're our new master," the creature explained, his hoarse voice sounding more bored than flattering.

"I'm your what now?" Mal chortled, unable to stop herself.

"You defeated Maleficent, therefore you are our master now," the goblin continued to explain. "As Bargain Castle now belongs to you, so do we."

"Interesting," she muttered, raising her eyebrows as she weighted her words, her scanning eyes looking around the establishment, receiving several nods from other goblins. "Keep the coin either way," she decided. "I have a feeling I'll need your help soon enough."

Mal waited until the goblin answered with a groan before she turned and left the pub, deciding it was finally time to head home.

Her arrival to her mother's castle was slightly different than she had expected it to be.

For instance, the building was… not like she remembered. Yes, it had always been old and dirty, and the right wing of the castle had been crumbling down long before Mal left to Auradon, but even then the pieces of furniture had been neatly placed around the building, despite the dust they had accumulated on it, as most of the rooms were unused.

Now, the front door was precariously balanced, as it had come off three of the seven hinges that were supposed to hold it in place. The dust was gone, but not because it had been cleaned. Rather, several footprints and turned tables proved that unwelcomed guests had made a use of the installation, probably for a very short amount of time―only what was necessary to give a look to Maleficent's belongings and take what they wanted.

With surprise, Mal realized that her mother's chamber had suffered the most damage. Her clothes hadn't been stolen, rather, they had been turned to threads, the curtains of her room hung from the broken curtain rod, her window ―the one that opened to reveal the balcony she had often used to bark others at the other islanders― shattered.

The library ―because yes, hard as it was to believe, Maleficent's castle possessed one― was mostly unharmed. Mal supposed that their burglars hadn't found anything of interest there, and it made sense, why would they bother fighting over an old magic book, useless in the Isle, when they could get food, jewels or even a table that wasn't broken?

With even more bewilderment, Mal found out that her room had been left untouched, it had even been cleaned after her absence. Her pencils were still in place, the Byzantium cover of her bed just as she had left it nearly six months in the past.

"Odd, very odd," she said out loud, perhaps only to hear her voice over the heavy silence around her.

Mal decided that having her old room was good and old, but she had to get to work. She decided that Maleficent's library was the most appropriate place to set up her new office.

Fine, first things first―she needed to call Fay and discharge the ship. She would also need to do an inventory of the things they had lost. She probably should go through her mother's things, throwing away what was ruined beyond repair and storing the things that could be fixed. The broken window and the tumbledown door were things she wanted repaired immediately, as she didn't like the idea of any more unwelcomed guests.

Before she reached the library, she was intercepted by a group of ten, perhaps twelve goblins. Talk about uninvited people.

"My lady," the one from the pub greeted her. She didn't know if the title repelled her or attracted her.

"She's really back," another one, from the back, said. "Looks like the pirate girl wasn't deceiving us."

"As she wasn't deceiving me," Mal nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"We've come to present our honors to our new master," the first one replied, receiving several nods from its peers. "We also want to let you know that we regret not having been able to protect Bargain Castle better and we will accept whatever punishment you deem reasonable."

"Enough of that," Mal cut them, an uncomfortable weight in her throat. "I couldn't care less about the castle. You arrived just in time and we'll settle for that," she said, brushing it off.

Confused, the creatures turned to look at each other, growling something that was too throaty for Mal to catch.

"I'm the one giving orders now, do as I say, do it right and you won't have to worry about the wrecks of this place, am I clear?"

"Yes, my lady," they answered in unison, their voices hoarse.

"Good," she said. "You will be allowed to keep your garrets or dungeons, whatever it is, I couldn't care less about them, but believe me when I say that if I don't like your work I'll send you out of Bargain Castle with nothing, so you'd better do it right, is that clear?" she began, giving the ruins of her old house a calculating look.

Again, her mother's minions nodded their agreement, which allowed her to continue.

"First of all, I want that door fixed," she began, pointing towards two of the goblins. "Go get more hinges at the bazaar, now. Second, the window of my mother's bedroom―get more glass and put a new one in place. Clean the pieces of old one," she continued, pointing to three more of the creatures. "But don't touch of her things. You four," she said. "I want the dining room impeccable by six in the afternoon."

"Ma'am," one of them called.

"Yes?"

"Did you say the dining room?"

"Yeah, what then?" Mal raised an eyebrow, annoyed at the interruption.

"That's a big place, are you expecting visitors?"

"That is none of your business," she replied stoically. "Now go clean it." With a respectful bow that probably symbolized it regretted having asked, the creature retired, followed by the other three that had been assigned the same task.

"As for us," Mal called to the remaining five goblins. "We'll go to the ship that brought me here and unload it. As it is anchored outside of the barrier you won't be able to reach it, but I'll pass the cargo to you and I expect you to bring it to the library with no further delay, are we clear?"

"Ma'am, what did you bring? Is the embargo lifted?" one of the creatures asked, its tone hopeful despite its throatiness.

"Packages from Auradon and no, the embargo is still going strong, but I warn you―I know exactly how many of them I brought with me and if something goes missing, I'll know exactly who it was and the consequences won't be pretty, are we on the same page here?"

With a bow of their heads, they all agreed.

"Good, get going," she ordered, her voice commanding enough to make them obey immediately. "And you," she stopped the goblin that had greeted her at the pub. "What's your name?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your name, are you deaf?"

"No, my lady," it answered gutturally.

"Then?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Despotes, ma'am," it said in an undertone.

"Despotes, huh? Interesting," she smiled to herself, thinking she had probably heard it before, perhaps in Evie's language lessons. "I like you, Despotes," she continued. "I like you enough to make you my right hand, you know what I mean? You're the one in charge of them," she pointed to the crumbling door. "If something goes wrong, I'll go to you. You're my… my second in command, do you think you can pull that off'"

"Certainly, my lady."

"Good," she decided, satisfied that her day wasn't turning all that bad. "How many of you are there?"

"Fifty or sixty, ma'am."

"That will have to do," she muttered. "Get them to the shore, we have a hard day ahead and we're gonna need some help, understood?"

With a nod, Despotes retired. Mal sighed before following the creature out of the castle. Who would have thought, she told to herself, that the time would come when her mother's inheritance would be so useful.


So... this is it for today, please let me know what you think about it, send love to geminalupus and... if you want to rant about the movie... well, you know where to find me!

Okay, before I forget, I want all of you to know that I'm a huge nerd (as if it wasn't plain obvious because I'm writing a fanfic about a Disney movie, but, well...) and I actually take Latin and Greek lessons, so you'll probably see a lost of references to those two languages here, the first one being 'Despotes'. This is a Greek word and it means owner or master, as in slave master. It was an impulse, let me be, alright?

Next chapter will be up soon, though I can't promise when. What I can tell you, though, is that I'm incredibly excited because some of the villains will appear and we'll start to see the kids!

With that said, read you soon!