Brown eyes looked up at green as Mal stood over her sister's crib that morning. She had brought in her step-stool from the bathroom so that she could reach the young infant, lifting her over the edge as groaning came from the youngest's mouth.
"Goo'ness Jane!" Mal strained. "You're heavy!"
Once she sat the girl on the floor, Mal grabbed the hand that seemed so much smaller than her own and led her to the bedroom across the hall. Jane squinted at the brightness of the light on the ceiling.
Today was Jane's first birthday. The older girl had been incredibly excited yesterday, but something about today filled her small mind with intense anxiety and panic. It was cold out, the windows were foggy, and the tree outside of her window was making her uncomfortable. She didn't want to be alone, so Mal woke her sister and brought her close.
The two girls were sat in the corner, missing from view of the windows so that Mal didn't have to look at the ugly tree anymore. Then it happened. There was a flash of green light and Maleficent appeared. Mal wanted to scream, cry, and call for her mother and father, but something paralyzed her. She felt like she couldn't move or speak.
The dark fairy stepped closer to the two girls, causing Jane to cry out of fear as she pulled Mal forcefully from her arms. A light outside of the bedroom clicked on and Maleficent and Mal disappeared.
Amelia turned on the light to Jane's room first, checking on the infant she assumed was hungry for breakfast, but she wasn't in her crib. She noticed her older daughter's step-stool on the floor, and figured out what was going on. Mal had woke Jane and wanted to play. The mother just hoped that neither of her children were injured from Mal's attempt to lift Jane.
So she crossed the hall into Mal's room, she seen Jane sitting in the corner with tears running down her cheeks. Mal was nowhere in sight. Amelia decided to check the bathroom to see if Mal had stepped in there, but again, she was nowhere to be found.
The Fairy Godmother ran from room to room looking for her eldest with no luck of finding her. She ran back to gather Jane and ran to wake up Louis, who was still fast asleep, unhearing of the shuffle outside.
"She's gone!" Amelia yelled, causing Louis to jump awake. "I can't find Mal!"
Louis immediately jumped out of bed, running through the house just like Amelia had. Once he reached his bedroom again, his wife was in tears and letting sobs escape her throat. He ran back out and picked up the phone in the kitchen, calling King Adam and Queen Belle, not caring how early it was. He was going to ask if they had went through the barrier recently, because honestly, that's the only reason Mal would have gone missing. At least, the only reason they could think of.
He was yelling loudly in the kitchen, demanding to know everything, and Amelia walked out to sit at the table. Jane looked up with a frown on her face and fear in her eyes.
Maleficent and Mal appeared in a field - though, it didn't look at all familiar to the small girl, who was looking in every direction possible.
"We're nowhere near where we were, so there is no point in trying to find that place." The evil fairy said in a monotonous voice. She set the three-year old down, holding her hand and looking straight ahead. Mal began to cry and she was suddenly pushed to the ground.
"Look at you!" Her mother yelled. "They've made you weak!"
The toddler looked up at eyes that now shined an emerald green. "I want my mommy." She said quietly. Maleficent seethed.
"I am your mother, now get up!" She said through tight teeth. The toddler obeyed, walking beside the woman who claimed to be her mother. Mal felt very uncomfortable as every memory of the Isle and her previous home flooded into her mind. So much yelling, violence, and it had always been so very cold. She remembered every look her mother gave, every slap she received, and every hug she was denied. Her mother and father promised that she'd never see this woman again.
Mal thought of Jay, Carlos, and Evie. She hoped and wished with all her might that neither of them were with their real parents. She hoped that Evie was snuggled in bed, nice and warm, with Happy and Molly. She wished that Carlos was stuffing his face full of his oatmeal. She prayed that Jay was rolled up in his blankets, no thought of his father or the beatings in his mind.
She wondered if they were thinking of her, too. Maybe she had been bad, and this was her punishment. Maybe she had to go back to the Isle, like all of the other bad people.
Maleficent suddenly stopped walking, pulling Mal's arm to turn her towards her. The child looked up with a blank stare, no emotion within her irises. "I think this'll be fine." The child blinked as her mother spoke, not really listening to what was being said.
"You'll grow here, and then we'll take over Auradon - together!"
After receiving confirmation that they had gone through the barrier, Louis looked at his wife, who visibly broke into pieces. Quickly, though, she lifted Jane onto her hip, grabbed her go-bag and headed out of the door. Louis ran to keep up.
Amelia strapped Jane into her safety seat before stepping into the drivers-side door, barely allowing Louis to close the passenger door before she put the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway. She sped around the corner to Happy and Molly's home, deciding they were the closest and quickest for a drop off.
The wife and mother unhooked Jane and picked up her bag as she looked towards their friends' home. She knocked on the door quickly. Molly answered, looking incredibly exhausted - most likely due to her furthering her pregnancy. It was now sleepless nights and restless days for the wife of Happy. Amelia quickly handed the infant over without explanation and headed back to the car. Next stop - her wand.
Once she retrieved her wand, the Fairy Godmother would locate her daughter and bring her home. There was no doubt in her mind - she would bring Mal home, unharmed. The museum was in sight, and she would not be filling the necessary paperwork out to actually have the wand handed to her - the guards must give it to her now.
Yes, they resisted, but she used her title to her advantage - which was something she really didn't like to do - and quickly persuaded them to give her the artifact. The couple would head over to the castle, where Belle and Adam awaited their arrival.
Louis attempted to get his wife to slow the car down, but she wouldn't listen. She explained that she needed to get to their daughter, who was likely scared and alone, before Maleficent could have anymore lasting effects on her - before she could hurt her.
"I don't wanna." Mal said, defiantly.
Maleficent cackled at the child's disobedience. "Clearly they have allowed you to forget your manners!" She yelled, looking down at her child with disgust painted on her features. She knelt down to the girls level and tightly grabbed her shoulders as she pulled her so closely that their noses began to touch.
"You do not defy me." She explained. "You are lucky that I have even allowed you to live as long as you have." Maleficent's eyes began to glow once again. "Do you remember the children who were born after you? How I killed them because they did not possess the magic that I required?" A wicked smile showed the fairy's teeth. "Don't think I haven't noticed that they've bound your magic, Mal. You are alive due to the very..." She paused, almost as if she was deciding on the correct word to use. "Conviction that you can still live up to your name. I just have to remind you how that is done."
Mal screamed as her mother's hand collided with her cheek. Maleficent quickly grabbed the girls purple locks and guided her to an area out of the now-brightened sun. She lifted the girls shirt off of her back, placing her hand between the child's two shoulders and focused. "Everyone will know who you are." Maleficent cackled. "It doesn't matter what you do, what you wear, or what magic you have."
Beneath Maleficent's hand, the girls back started to turn red and to burn. Mal cried out and tried to escape her mother's grip.
"You are mine." Maleficent said, releasing her hand off of her daughters back, revealing her family crest of a black dragon with purple fangs.
Hah.. hah.. so I hope you liked it! I felt like it was okay, but I'd definitely like to hear back! I told everyone that we'd definitely be PG-13 in some chapters, and this is probably the most gruesome thing I have personally written, but I'm capable of much worse. I actually had to tone back my initial thoughts for this chapter to keep it PG-13.