Christina knew she had a long road of healing ahead of her. A long road of properly facing her grief and it downright terrified her as she sat in front of the still-open trunk peering down at the things that were meant for her little brother. She had been sitting there since before sunrise trying to gather the courage needed to reach down and pick something up. So many memories. So many memories, good and bad, all tangled up inside the trunk that smelt strongly of dried flowers and baby powder.

"Christina?"

she wanted to turn around and face Shaggy but she didn't want him to see the tears that were threatening to spill over and flood her art studio. So, she continued staring into the mess of jumbled memories. She listened to Shaggy's soft steps as he neared her. He was right behind her now. This was confirmed when he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before joining her on the floor.

Christina could already tell that this was going to be a long day.

…...


Shaggy had woken up unusually early and rather than go back to sleep he decided it would be best to check-in on Christina and see if she was alright. He knew something was wrong when he saw that the door to her art studio was open. Quietly he neared the door and peered inside. Christina sat on her knees before the open trunk just staring at it. Shaggy studied her intently. The early morning sunlight bathed her in its glow shining down on her like a spotlight, catching the sparkles of her wings as they floated to the ground. She was still in her nightdress, her hair wasn't yet braided and she was still wearing her socks. From the way she held herself, Shaggy guessed that she was trying not to cry. She was trying to hold herself together.

He was quick to join her on the floor, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"I-it's hard," she whispered.

"I know, you don't have to do it all today," Shaggy promised.

Christina was shaking. The tears she was shedding caught the light as they fell and Shaggy felt his heart twist. He found himself wiping away her tears before wrapping his arms around her. He worried for a moment, maybe he'd made Christina uncomfortable. In fear of this, he loosened his grip on her only for her to cling to him as the floodgates opened. The tears soaked his shoulder not that he cared. Shaggy just wanted to help and if that meant letting her cry so be it.

After she had finally calmed down Shaggy pulled her to her feet, shut the trunk and guided her out of the art studio and to the kitchen where he took it upon himself to make breakfast. He had not yet had the chance to make breakfast or any actual meal in the kitchen but he'd seen Christina do it so many times that he knew where everything was. He made Christina some coffee and fetched the veggie platter from the fridge so she could eat before she starved herself into red-eyed, blood-sucking madness.

"You know," Christina began quietly, "I never knew about Grandmother until after the incident. I thought that Maleficent was fictitious. You see, the world my mother's family comes from isn't on best of terms with this one but its people are still free to visit here hence, why Grandmother dropped in. the day she first showed up was alarming,"

…...


Eleven-year-old Christina's life was in shambles. Her parents died because of her.

She hated herself for it.

Absolutely hated herself.

She hadn't spoken much or had a restful sleep since her birthday. Currently, Felix and Drew were finally getting her to eat some sustaining food. After she'd eaten half of her meal they managed to coax her into watching a movie. In the middle of the movie, Draculaura rushed in, panicked.

"Christina you've got to see this,"

Christina barely looked up before going back to her movie. She didn't do it to be mean but she didn't feel like doing anything.

"Christina, will you please come to the dining room?" Vana asked gently.

"Yes, Aunt Vana," Christina replied quietly as she paused her movie and followed her aunt to the dining room.

Christina froze at the doorway.

Maleficent was standing in the dining room.

Christina stepped into the dining room wide-eyed and nervous. She hopped into her chair at the table, her eyes never leaving the elder fairy dressed in black and purple silks.

"Hello, Christina, do you know who I am?"

Christina shook her head no.

"I'm your grandmother, Maleficent. Did your mother not tell you about me?"

"No," Christina whispered.

"Your mother and I had our disagreements but, I still loved her. Tell me, had she started your fairy training?"

"No, ma'am,"

"Then I will teach you,"

"How?"

"Come and stay with me for a few months,"

"Okay,"

…...

"Wait, so, you did live with her?"

"For a very short time,"

"Ah,"

"You want to know what it was like, don't you?"

"Yes,"

"Okay, then,"

…...


Her grandmother's castle was so...dark and creepy. Not like her uncle's home. No, this made Dracula's castle look like a cheesy horror ride. Maleficent took Christina's hand and led her inside the castle which was even worse inside. The castle was crawling with minions. They were awfully strange looking pig-faced, grubby.

Maleficent led Christina upstairs and down the hall before stopping in front of a set of double doors. The doors were made out of the same dark wood throughout the castle with gargoyles and depictions of rainstorms carved into the doors.

"This was your mother's room," Maleficent explained as she opened the doors and led Christina inside.

Much to Christina's relief her mother's old room was a stark contrast to the rest of the castle. Alissa had painted her room. Flowers and butterflies adorned the walls in bright colors. All of Alissa's childhood toys and treasures were still there. The room was untouched. Christina didn't and couldn't understand why this was. She just thought her grandmother had prepared the room for her.

"I'll leave you to get settled in,"

…...

"Wait, how did Dracula take this?"

"You really wanna know?"

"Yes,"

…...


Dracula wasn't fazed by Maleficent suddenly appearing on his doorstep demanding to see Christina. He was surprised when Maleficent announced that she was taking Christina with her that day.

"I am her legal guardian. You have no right to-"

"Christina wants to go,"

"I won't-"

"You can't teach her fairy magic. You're unable to. I can and she wants to learn,"

"She's my responsibility,"

"She's MY granddaughter,"

"Please, Uncle Dracula?"

Dracula turned to see Christina staring up at him with her glossy doe-like eyes. She only gave him that face when she really wanted something. Dracula turned to goo.

"Just a few months, go pack your suitcase,"

…...


Christina fell quiet and Shaggy knew it was time to drop the subject.

When Christina went to water the rose garden that day, Shaggy followed her but kept to the edge of the garden. He knew no one was allowed in.

"Shaggy,"

Shaggy snapped to attention.

"You can come in,"