Darkness had yet to surrender to the soft glow of light, as the young king arose from his deep slumber, the looming smell of lavender filling his nostrils as he turned in his half-awake state. Wrapping his arms around the love of his life, his heart quickly began to beat in tune of a love song -he had no idea which one, as he listened to hundreds, maybe thousands, in his childhood- and signed in contentment as he nuzzled his chin into the sleeping teenagers shoulder, kissing the skin softly while his eyes remained closed. He tried to image the peaceful look on his girlfriend's features as her short purple hair curled around her face, shielding herself from the glow of the descending moon that shone through the large windows of the young king's bedroom. His eyes fluttered open while he heard the rustle of bedsheets as she turned around in his arms, her eyes filled with sleep and unshed tears and her once bright emerald eyes were now replaced with dull ones that shone of pain and heartache from the previous hours.
"Hello, my love" the young king greeted softly. He knew that she wasn't okay, just by looking at her beautiful features that were morphed into sadness and dismay that seemed to grow at the question. After she had come into his room crying and hyperventilating in the middle of the night, muttering words about the nightmare she had just had and the pain in her chest that never ceased -no matter how much he hugged her or kissed her- he knew that she wouldn't be okay, not for a long time. She had dreamt about the all the memories she had with her sister. The ones filled with hope and joy for the world seemed to shine the brightest in her mind but the haunting experiences the two had shared together -the near-death moments where they truly learnt the value of life and having each other around- were the ones to keep playing over and over in her mind like a broken record and they didn't seem to stop, even when she thought that the pain in her chest couldn't get worse or the tears in her eyes would stop overflowing. Eventually, the only memories in her mind were the ones that didn't end with 'happily ever after'.
It physically and emotionally pained the king to see his girlfriend in pain and know that he couldn't do anything but hold her and tell her that everything would be alright -even if he wasn't sure if it was a lie or not. He was the king of all of Auradon and yet he couldn't help his girlfriend as she cried about the loss of her sister and tried to wipe away her tears before he saw them and got more worried -of course, he saw them but he didn't want her to feel like she was weak in his eyes so he tried to ignore it and comfort her the best way he could. He knew she was strong -stronger than anyone he had ever encountered- but he also knew that she was still a teenager, one that had just lost the person she considered a sister in all things but blood while also dealing with the stress of having everyone -especially Dizzy- look up to her for advice.
"Hay, Ben" she greeted back sleepily, breathing in deeply as she moved closer to the young king who immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Her lips curved into a small pout as she snuggled closer to the king, wrapping her legs around his own as she curled into his side, her lips still refusing to form a comforting smile as Ben looked down at his girlfriend in concern. Mal signed as she rested her head on Ben's chest, loving the feeling of the tips of his fingers tracing her scalp as he ran his fingers through her hair slowly. "Ben, have you ever thought about what happens after we close our eyes forever?" Mal questioned after a couple of minutes of silence while the couple watched the moon slowly descend across the blanket of stars and constellations.
Ben shook his head softly at the question as he looked down at Mal, noticing the faraway look in Mal's eyes as her eyes landed on the second star to the right, the brightest star in the sky that seemed to twinkle like a thousand Christmas lights. "Not really. I mean, of course, I wondered if all the stories about the people I love becoming stars were real but I came to the conclusion that it was real because it helped me when times got hard. Why? What's going through that pretty little head of yours?" Ben asked worriedly.
"Since we have been in Auradon, everyone used to say that if we were good then we will get our 'happily ever after', but Evie was the best one of us all -she was the one that I went to when things got too much, Jay went to her when he got hurt in Tourney and wanted Evie to patch him up without him looking weak in front of his team, and she was the one Carlos went to when he was scared that he wouldn't be okay with looking after Dude without anyone's help- and yet she... she died" Mal hesitated, "I just want to make sure that even if she can't be with us here, then she is happy somewhere else"
"I can't tell you where Evie is right now because I don't know and that kills me. To know that I can't tell you everything that is going to happen is killing me but I do know that everything will be okay. I know that things will be hard and there will be times where you just want to cry and curl up in a ball but just know that I will be there to hold you and make sure you are okay" Ben responded as he tightened his arm around Mal's waist slightly, bringing her closer to him as she nodded in understanding. "You hungry? You didn't have a lot of food yesterday and nothing last night so maybe I could go and get us some food" Ben suggested kindly.
Ben knew that by distracting Mal with food he was just delaying the inevitable but he wanted to at least make sure that Mal was eating something before she dived into her work and tried to bury her heart in a dungeon under lock and key where she would try and ignore it until the stabbing pain in her chest subsided. Ben had found out by Harry, Jay and Carlos that Mal and Uma had similar healing processes which mainly consisted of locking themselves away in their offices or rooms until the people around them learnt to stop mentioning whatever had happened. After talking to the VK boys, Ben knew that he needed to make sure that Mal didn't lock everyone away as well as making sure that everyone else was okay.
"I'm not hungry" Mal muttered as she snuggled closer to Ben, "I just want to... I don't know what I want to do right now. Can we just cuddle and not talk?" Mal suggested causing Ben to nod in understanding. Mal breathed in deeply as she closed her eyes, already feeling the burning sensation in her eyes as she squeezed them closed, trying to stop the tears from overflowing from her eyes. She knew what Ben was trying to do -as she already knew that her VK friends would tell him of her way of grieving- but she didn't have the heart to tell him that she wanted to be alone at that moment so she just tried to sleep, believing that the welcomed distraction would help her breaking heart.
Mal understood that her way of grieving was going to affect all of her friends, especially Ben and Dizzy, but it was the only that seemed to work for the purple-haired princess. Evie was her sister and it hurt her to know that the person who always comforted her was no longer in a position where she could do so. Mal remembered all the times Evie saved her and the one time Evie needed her help, she couldn't save her. It hurt Mal to think that she betrayed her best friend by not being able to save her when she needed her most but one memory stayed with Mal no matter now much she tried to get rid of it.
Mal was currently walking around the long halls of Oceana's castle on the Isle Of The lost with a document in her hand as she signed in frustration. Mal had been trying to read the document for the past hour but with the various amounts of information and the layers of complaints that seemed to overlap each other, the young teenager was finding it hard to control her glowing green eyes. Luckily, Mal was the only one in the west wing of the castle so she didn't have to worry about somebody interrupting her. Uma and her sister were out to go to the other side of the island which meant that the only people in the castle were the small amounts of employees, Mal and Pearl who was currently being looked after by Evie as the blue-haired teen decided to not go see her mother and instead wait at the castle while Jay and Carlos went out to get supplies for their hideout closer to their parents home. Mal groaned in annoyance as she fell onto one of the cream sofas that lined the walls of the hallways and ran her fingers through her short, purple hair while she dropped the document she had given up on reading beside her on the two-person sofa. In truth, it probably wasn't the best for the purple-haired teen to be read intense documents because of her painful headache and the cold that wrapped around her body like a thick blanket that she didn't have the energy to throw off of her and instead welcomed it with open arms, finally accepting the fact that she was ill.
"Mal?" Evie asked as she turned the corner and saw her best friend, sat quietly in her short pyjama bottoms and a tank top, as she muttered unhearable words about the document she was previously reading. Evie had just tucked Pearl in for the night and was over to see if Mal wanted any dinner before she too went to bed but now that she saw Mal shivering, she knew that she had to make sure that Mal was okay and warm before Evie even started to worry about herself. Evie slowly walked closer to her best friend and sat beside her on the sofa, moving the document out of the way before she sat down and gently raised her hand to Mal's forehead -ignoring the way Mal flinched at the contact as Evie measured her temperature.
"Your freezing cold. You know that is bad for you" Evie whispered as she took off her own leather jacket and wrapped it around Mal's shivering frame. Because Mal was half-dragon her body temperature was always a little lower then everyone else's on the Isle and as her best friend, Evie knew that Mal needed heat to survive but of course, that was hard to provide when there was little to no technology on the Isle and that Mal hated physical contact. Of course, Mal was colder then anyone else but if it reached a certain temperature -like now- then it could be deadly as Mal was still half human meaning her immune system wasn't used to the harsh coldness that Mal's body could reach whenever the purple-haired teen didn't look after herself properly.
"I-I-I'm c-c-cold" Mal stuttered as she leaned against her best friend. Evie hissed softly at the contact of her best friends skin as she wrapped her arms around the freezing teenager. "I-I-I don't feel great" Mal added softly as she wrapped her arms around Evie's waist and moved closer to the blue-haired teen for warmth, her breathing uneven as she pressed her face into Evie's arm and tightened her grip on the princess.
"Okay, dragon" Evie replied as she slowly stood up from the sofa and wrapped her arms around Mal's waist, slowly walking down the halls with Mal beside her as the two walked towards Mal's bedroom. After walking down a couple of the short hallways, Evie kicked open Mal's bedroom door and quickly rushed the teenager into the room and towards the large, purple bed in the centre of the back wall. Evie gently placed Mal down on her bed and rushed to the other side of the room, lighting the fireplace and fanning it until a large flame was burning the logs that were laid in the centre of the marble fireplace. Evie closed the metal gate on the fireplace for safety before running over to Mal who had already got into her bed.
Evie sat on the long bed beside Mal, with her legs extended down the bed as she rested her back against the headboard, and ran her fingers through Mal's hair as the daughter of Maleficent placed her head in Evie's lap, wrapping the quilt around her body for warmth. "Dragon, you know that you need to look after yourself. Life is short and in the time we have, we need to look after ourselves and our friends. If I hadn't of found you and you continued to not look after yourself then you could have died, M. Then what?" Evie asked softly making Mal sign in understanding.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about that, I was just thinking about how I wanted to read and complete that document. I should have been worrying about my health. I'm sorry, Blueberry" Mal apologised as she snuggled closer to the blue-haired princess. "Just don't leave, please. Not until I fall asleep" Mal added as she closed her emerald green eyes.
"Of course, dragon. I love you so much and I will never leave you" Evie promised.
The doors bursting open broke Mal out of her thoughts and forced her to shot up, just in time to feel two small arms wrap around her waist and knock her back down onto the bed. Mal's hearing picked up the quiet sound of crying as she lifted her head up to see Queen Belle, who had just rushed into the room and was now looking at Mal apologetically as she quickly closed the bedrooms doors behind herself. Mal quickly wrapped her arms around the small figure who was currently crying into her chest as she kissed her head softly, looking at Queen Belle and Ben who had moved to allow his mother to sit on the edge of the bed. The first thing Mal noticed about the former queen was that - despite it being the early hours of the morning- she was dressed in a simple black dress that reached below her knees and was covered in a simple lace design that allowed her bare shoulders to show as the lace created a simple neckline. Queen Belle's long brown hair was pulled behind her shoulders with some hairpins while two thick strands from either side of her head created a bun at the back, standing out against the curls of the flowing hair that crusaded down the former queens back.
Ben looked confusingly at his mother who was looking pointedly at Mal who nodded her head solemnly and returned her attention to the crying girl in her arms as she ran her fingers through the girl's long hair. Queen Belle looked towards her son and smiled sadly at her son's questionable face. "What happened, mum?" Ben asked as he and Queen Belle turned their attention towards Mal who was smiling sadly at the little girl in her arms.
"Diz, what happened?" Mal whispered caringly as she looked down at a sobbing little girl in her arms. In any other circumstances, Queen Belle would have found the fact that Mal allowed all her borders to come down within an instant to talk to the little girl to be lovely but as she noticed the look of panic in Mal's eyes when Dizzy didn't answer, she suddenly got the impression that Mal was just as much in pain as Dizzy was. For Mal, a usually distant and unreachable teenager, to be scared, Queen Belle finally realised that Mal didn't have a clue of how to help Dizzy as she cried into Mal's chest.
"Less then half an hour ago, Audrey and Lonnie rushed into my room and said that they couldn't find Dizzy. We looked everywhere and then twenty minutes later we found Dizzy in the rose garden, crying and alone. No one could get close to her without flinching and when we asked where she wanted to go she said she wanted to go to you, Mal" Queen Belle explained as she smiled sadly at Mal. "She hasn't said anything other than that command to anyone. Jane, Lonnie, Audrey and Uma said that they were going to get dressed and then go to their boyfriends as they should be awake at that point. I think Uma had a nightmare as well as she isn't saying much either"
"Thank you, Queen Belle. For looking after her and my friends" Mal thanked as she nodded respectively to the former queen before turning to her concerned boyfriend. "Can you go to the boy's room and tell them that the girls are coming over so they have to get up. It may be early but still" Mal signed in happiness as Ben nodded and gently kissed her checks before saying goodbye to his mother and girlfriend one last time. Ben gently closed the door behind him and descended his bedroom into silence as Mal continued to run her fingers through Dizzy's long hair and Queen Belle watched the two girls with loving eyes.
Silently, Mal extended her arm out towards Queen Belle and looked at the queen pleadingly. Queen Belle smiled and nodded, gently taking Mal's hand in her own as she moved closer to the purple-haired teen who had managed to move up the bed so her back was resting on the headboard with Dizzy curled up to her side. "What do I do? I'm a mess and yet Dizzy is relying on me and everybody else is too" Mal asked quietly as she looked at the former queen with concern etched into her features.
"I know this is going to be hard to believe" Queen Belle started, "but just because it may seem like everyone is staring at you like puppies, waiting for a command. They aren't. Mal, you are in control of your own thoughts, feelings and actions and nothing can change that but you don't control other peoples. Yes, Dizzy looks up to you but she also looks up to Uma, Harry, Jay, Carlos and Gil and herself. Everybody in his world who had experienced the loss of a loved one will tell you that they got through it because they had people around them who helped them but inevitably, it was them who got through it. No matter how much effort you put into it, only Dizzy can control her emotions. No one else. But in the meantime, why don't you ask her what is wrong" Queen Belle suggested.
"Dizzy what's wrong?" Mal asked as she turned her attention towards the little girl in her arms who shock in her head and buried it further into Mal's chest. "It's hard. I know it's hard right now because of everything that happened but Evie always told me that, just like hugging, talking to someone helps. I don't know all the emotions running through your body but I do know that at least one of them is sadness, an emotion I have too. Talk to me, please. Please, Diz" Mal begged. Dizzy slowly raised her head and saw the small tears gathering in Mal's emerald green eyes and she instantly felt bad for making the women she considered her auntie cry out of worry for her wellbeing.
"I'm forgetting her. I'm forgetting her eyes, her smile, her voice. Everything and I'm scared that there will be a day where I can't even remember her personality let alone what she looked like and then I would be alone. She was like my mother and yet I'm already forgetting things about her. And no one understands" Dizzy replied in a quiet voice which made Mal and Queen Belle share a sadden look before turning to the little girl.
"I understand the pain of losing someone I loved and I understand the fear you have after that you will be alone forever. I truly do understand. I think its time for a story" Mal started as she slowly unwrapped her arms from around Dizzy and smiled at her lovingly while Dizzy moved back so she could see Mal fully. Queen Belle smiled as Mal squeezed her hand, silently begging her to stay as started to explain her mother's story.
"Momma" a five-year-old Mal called out as she walked into her home, Bargain Castle, with the usual smirk plastered onto her lips. Mal kicked the rusty door behind her closed and walked into the living room, rolling her eyes in annoyance when she saw that her mother was nowhere to be seen. Mal checked all over the house, the bedrooms, bathrooms and even dining room while she called her mothers name but she heard nothing in response so she went to the kitchen, signing in relief when she saw her mother stood next to the oven with a pair of oven mitts on, waiting patiently for whatever she was baking to be done. "Momma" Mal called again which broke the Mistress Of Evil out of her trance as she smiled softly at her daughter, walking towards the little girl before kneeling in front of her, taking off the oven mitts and placing them on the counter as she did so.
"Hello, my Beasty" Maleficent greeted which made Mal smirk at the old nickname. She didn't know where her mother had got it but she knew it had to do with someone her mother loved from the last time she and her mother sat down and talked. Maleficent usually told Mal the story of how she ended up on the Isle Of The Lost but she never told the story in full, opting to only tell Mal parts each year on her birthday so the five-year-old could grow up with the story as she did. "Ready for the story," Maleficent asked as she gently wrapped her arms around her daughter and pulled her up, placing the purple-haired girl onto the counter as Mal nodded enthusiastically. "Okay, so where were we?"
"You had your first kiss with King Stephan but then he changed into a vain man who cut off your wings" Mal responded truthfully which made Maleficent smile and nod in understanding- like an old memory had been hit back into her brain. It may seem strange that the Mistress Of Evil and her daughter were acting so nice to each other, even though Maleficent was supposed to be the worst and evilest villain to exist, but behind the closed doors, Mal and her mother shared a strong and loving mother-daughter relationship at the early stages of the purple-haired girls life -before everything got complicated and expectations started to be enforced.
"Okay, so after my wings were cut off, Stephan became king and married the princess. A couple of years later, the two had a beautiful baby girl named?" Maleficent paused as she looked at Mal who was biting her bottom lip, a nervous habit the two fairies shared when they were thinking. Maleficent smiled as she mouthed 'Aurora' which made Mal squeal the name loudly, smiling proudly when her mother nodded and laughed quietly. "Yes, her name was Aurora. But I was not invited to her christening so I cursed her that on her sixteenth birthday, she would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a death-like sleep until someone gave the kiss of true love"
"After that, the king, so consumed with range, shut himself up and ordered that Aurora would be sent to live with three fairies until she became sixteen and a day years old. But of course, I knew where she was and watched over her. Diablo, my most trustworthy of companions, would watch over Aurora and make sure she survived with those dimwitted faires" Mal laughed at her mother's words quietly but continued to listen intently as her mother continued, "One day, when Aurora was around your age, she wandered off and almost fell off a cliff but I used my magic and saved her. She was so beautiful -just like you- and she even thought I was her Godmother. She had the nickname Beasty as well" Maleficent finished with a small laugh as she watched Mal's features morph into one of confusion upon hearing that Aurora was also called 'Beasty' by her mother.
"But I'm the only Beasty that you love now right?" Mal asked spectacly as she raised an eyebrow at her mother, which caused the Mistress Of Evil to laugh quietly at her daughters attempt to be intimidating. Maleficent nodded which made Mal sign in happiness while she tilted her head to the side and looked at her mother confusingly. "Momma, what would happen if you were free and you saw Aurora again?" Mal asked innocently which caused Maleficent to smile at the thought.
"I would tell her 'thank you'" Maleficent replied without a moment's hesitation, "Without her, I would of never have gotten my wings back even if they were taken away from me when I got here. She was like a daughter to me and I wish every day that I could see her and that you, my darling child, could meet her. But remember what I said, 'that you only love the people you need too'" Maleficent added lovingly, her eyes filled with utter devotion and love as she gazed at her daughter.
"But, why Momma?" Mal asked as she looked up at her mother, "You say that the world is cruel and that people can be vain, but why can't we change that and love each other?" Mal added which made Maleficent smile softly. She knew that if she was talking to Aurora, the princess would reply with the same logic and that made Maleficent happy to know her daughter was growing up to be like someone who was so kind and trustworthy. Maleficent didn't know how to raise a child and sometimes her anger got the better of her, but she did truly love Mal and only wanted the best for her -even if her actions didn't quite represent her emotions.
"Love is a weakness I have experienced, my child" Maleficent signed heavily, "I had to leave my darling Beasty behind in Auradon for her to deal with the struggles of life without a friend or helping hand and I regret that every day but my love for her made that even harder. I love you, my darling daughter, but you must not love me or anyone else. For if you do, people will use that and possibly hurt you" Maleficent added sadly. "You are young so don't make the mistakes I once did and learn to never love people- for love if one of the cruellest things in the world"
"Okay Momma" Mal vowed that day that she would learn everything there was to know about her mother's story and learn from her mistakes. Mal would grow up to have a heart of gold but after living with Maleficent, that heart was covered with a thick layer of hatred for love and the Auradonioans who ripped her mother away from the Sleeping Beauty she resembled so much of. Maleficent loved her daughter more then anyone could possibly imagine and it broke her heart to hurt her daughter but she knew that if she didn't, Mal would love her and that would be a weakness.
Maleficent knew that if she and Mal took over Auradon, then Mal would become the kind and loving women she was destined to be and Maleficent knew that people would use that and place Mal in difficult positions where she would have to choose between herself and her mother. Maleficent knew that she was preparing her daughter to make the decision that would save herself and kill her mother. That was a choice Maleficent was more than happy to make.
Maleficent did want what's best for Mal and when the purple-haired teen got an invitation to go to Auradon, Maleficent wanted to get Fairy Godmother's wand so she could rule the Isle Of The Lost and Auradon together -allowing the older fairy to give Mal everything she couldn't provide when the two were locked away on the Isle. Maleficent truly did want what's best for Mal -like any mother would for their daughter or son- but in her actions of trying to make sure that Mal was safe, she ended up pushing the purple-haired girl away from her and her affections altogether. And that was something she regretted every day.
"She was the most loving, caring and trustworthy mother I could have ever asked for but then, as time went on and she lost faith in the fact that she would get to see her precious Aurora again, she became this shell of a person and stopped caring about me. Stopped loving me" Mal continued as she looked down at Dizzy's surprised eyes, smiling softly as small tears rolled down her eyes. "In a way, I lost my mother the day she became a monster but you haven't lost your mother, not really. Yes, she is physically gone and that pains me to say, but she is never gone. She is watching over you and everyone else because she loves you too much to leave you alone in this world" Mal added
"And even if you do forget her beautiful laugh or dazzling smile or the way her eyes light up whenever you were mentioned or walked into the room. If you forget all that, Evie will always be with you in your heart because Evie's smile, laugh and eyes didn't make her the amazing person who was lucky enough to call you her family. Her happiness and determination to make sure that she succeeded so she could be someone all of us were proud off; those personality traits made her the girl we knew and love. And yes, there will be times where you forget her face or the way she laughed, but as long as you stay with the people you love and who love you, you will never truly forget her. She wanted you to be happy and if you are, I truly believe that she -from wherever she is now- will smile knowing that you are the amazing and beautiful young girl she raised you to be" Mal continued as she wiped away the small tears that had started to fall from her eyes.
Mal didn't know if she was correct or if what she was saying was wrong, but at that moment, right and wrong didn't matter and all that mattered was making sure that Dizzy knew that just because she was forgetting small parts of her mother's features, she wasn't losing her mother altogether. Mal knew that her mother didn't love her like she used to but she knew that if she could convince Dizzy that the only thing that mattered right now was making sure that she knew that Evie was watching after her, she would be a better person and hopefully one Maleficent could be proud of. The night before, Mal's dreams were plagued with the few minutes before Evie's fate was sealed, where Uma had denounced Ursula as her mother and stood up to her.
"And you are no mother of mine" Uma shouted back, shocking her mother but made Mal and Evie smile at her- as they understood how hard it was to stand up against your own mother or anyone close to her. "A mother is caring, loving and gentle and you are none of those things! I am no villain but I am no hero either. I am Uma, sister of Oceana and Pearl and Princess of the Isle and you are nothing but the women who gave birth to me"
At that moment, Mal was proud of her best friend and how she was able to finally stand up to Ursula and reclaim back her life from Ursula's iron grip but it did make Mal wonder. Did she really want to disown her mother from her life and affections or did she want to try and remember the good times the two shared and work to fix the broken relationship the two shared? She knew that it wouldn't be easy to face her mother, after all the years of abuse and scars her mother gave her, but she did want to imagine a life where her mother was somewhat involved. Although she knew that she wouldn't be able to see her mother with all of the stuff that was happening now, at some point Mal did want to talk to her mother and ask why she changed. The first memories Mal stored in her kind revolted around her mother -not as the Mistress Of All Evil but as a woman who was raising her only child alone, without anyone there to help her- and they were nice memories but the older Mal got, the more violence and anger seemed to seep into her memories until they became nightmares that she could not escape from. It may seem crazy, but Mal knew that under the hard exterior her mother built up, was a woman who honestly cared for her daughter. Mal may not have known why her mother built the high wall around her heart, but she was determined to find out.
"I have people in my life that are like a second mother to me" Mal continued as she looked over at Queen Belle who was smiling proudly at the teenager. "And I know that no one can replace Evie for you and I'm not suggesting that you just replace her because I know that you could never after what the two of you went through, but know that its okay to have other family members who you are close to. If anything, Evie would be happy that you are happy. That's all she ever wanted" Mal concluded as she looked towards a teary-eyed Dizzy.
Dizzy quickly wiped her eyes as she moved closer to the purple-haired teen, wrapped her arms around Mal's waist as she snuggled closer to the older girl. Mal smiled as she wrapped her arms around Dizzy's small frame and brought the little girl closer, resting her chin on top of Dizzy's head as she smiled at Queen Belle, holding out her hand for the queen to take. Queen Belle's smiled widened as she gently clasped her hand in Mal's, moving closer to the two girls as she ran her fingers through Mal's long purple hair while the purple-haired teen leaned against the queen tiredly.
A small knock broke the three girls out of their silence as Queen Belle turned to see Uma's worried filled eyes as the daughter of the sea-witch walked slowly into the room, smiling softly at Dizzy as she cuddled into Mal's chest. Queen Belle smiled softly at the teenager and noticed that she hadn't come alone, as a pair of clicking, black heels became louder and louder as Audrey walked into the room slowly, smiling softly at the former queen as she and Uma stopped at the base of the unmade bed. Audrey was dressed in a plain, black peter-pan dress that had a thin, black belt wrapped around the princesses petite waist and three-quarter sleeves made of the finest black lace. Her long, brown hair was pinned behind her shoulders with a golden pin which had small, pink flowers on it, and was her long locks were curled into elegant beach waves. A gold bracelet was wrapped around Audrey's wrist that was made entirely of gold, with gold-plated leaves and enchanting gold-flowers which shimmered in the mornings light and contained the most beautiful pink diamonds within the centre of the flowers.
Queen Belle had seen the charming somewhere before -she knew she had- but at the time it wasn't a bracelet at all. Queen Belle had just given birth to a healthy baby Ben when she first saw the tiara sitting elegantly on top of Aurora's head at Ben's christening, with Aurora being nine months pregnant at the time with Audrey. No one knew the real origins of the tiara, not even Queen Leah who simply said that it was a gift off of a family friend who was no longer living in Auradon -as that was the only thing Aurora told her mother about her favourite tiara. Queen Belle suspected that the princess had gotten the Three Good Fairies -Flora, Fauna and Merryweather- to spell her tiara so Audrey could wear it once she was grown-up and not have to worry about anyone stealing it because it was magically locked on her wrist until Audrey herself took it off.
Uma was dressed quite similarly to the princess stood next to her. Her long blue and teal hair was back in their normal braids -thanks to Uma's magic- and were pulled back into a bun which allowed half of her braids to be up and then the other half run down her back. Her black dress was figure-hugging and ended just below her knee's, allowing her bare legs to show before her feet and ankles were encased in a pair of black heels that added almost three, whole inches onto the small girl's height. The whole dress was covered in detailed, black lace and her heart-neckline allowed everyone to see the enchanting almost transparent, blue pearls that hung around Uma's neck. Normally, the necklace would be tucked safely away in Uma's room on the Isle -or more currently, in the teen's trouser pocket- but today she was proudly displaying the necklace. The blue pearls were simple but the small locket in the middle of the necklace was what Uma loved most about the necklace as it was shaped like a golden heart. Uma remembered the day the locket had been given to her like it was yesterday.
"He broke up with me" Uma muttered softly as she wrapped her arms around her own knee's, pulling them closer to her chest as she tried to stop the tears that were falling down her face. She was currently in her room, alone, and sat on her perfectly-made bed in the centre of the back wall, her back resting against the headboard as she shook her head slowly in disbelief. Oceana, Harris, Pearl and all of Uma's friends had been trying to talk to Uma and understand what happened -because she hadn't spoken to them at all before she ran up to her room, hoping and praying that they didn't see the tears falling from her brown eyes but sadly they did and they hadn't stopped trying to talk to her since- but none of them could get Uma to respond to any of the questions.
"Uma" a new voice called out this time, despair and sadness ringing through the person's voice which made Uma's heartbreak more. All the other voices stopped apart from that one and Uma presumed it was because she was supposed to be with her 'distant cousins' that weekend and not at Oceana's castle trying to talk to Uma. Uma felt terrible about interrupting her sisters limited time with her 'cousins', knowing that her mother didn't like the idea of her daughter hanging around them. "Uma, I know you. You would much rather cry in your room -alone, cold and scared- then let Oceana, Pearl or anyone else see your cry. But if you want, you and I can talk and cry together if you want"
"Evie, I'm fine" Uma called back, her voice cracking as she heard a loud sign erupt from behind the door. Evie signed as she looked back at her friends and smiled mischievously before reaching towards her hair and taking out a small, gold hairpin which made her hair fall down her face. Evie tucked her hair behind her ear before turning towards the door and picking the lock to Uma's bedroom, signing in relief when after five minutes, the door clicked and opened slightly.
"Just give me and Uma a little bit of time and then I will come to find you guys. Meanwhile Oceana can you get me two bowls of chocolate covered fruit -Uma's favourite would be amazing" Evie requested kindly which made the queen nod in agreement before she and everyone else walked down the corridors and towards the kitchen, smiling gratefully at Evie as they passed the blue-haired princess. Evie smiled as she opened the door and walked into the room, turning on the lights after noticing that they were off, and closing her door behind her as she moved towards Uma's bed. After crossing the bedroom and sitting down on Uma's large, teal-coloured bed, the blue-haired princess extended her arms out towards the crying teenager and smiled softly when Uma moved to wrapped her arms around Evie's waist and cuddled into the princess, not caring if she looked weak in front of Evie or not.
"Oh, honey" Evie whispered as she gently ran her fingers through Uma's long braids, already feeling Uma's tears as they fell from the dark brown eyes of the sea-witch. "You are so amazing, he didn't deserve you" Evie already knew that Fylnn had broken up with Uma from the gossiping trowls that hung around the dock after they started to say that Uma was 'weak'. After a couple of threats from Evie, the trowl's knew that Uma wasn't weak and was probably telling everyone about Uma's strength if they listened to Evie's threatening words -she had threatened to poison them if she heard one more rumour that painted Uma as anything less then strong and fierce.
"You are beautiful, strong, smart and amazing and if anyone says anything other then those adjectives then they will have to personally deal with me" Evie continued as she gently pulled Uma away from her, still keeping her arms wrapped around the sea-witches daughter as Evie gently wiped away the large tears that were falling down Uma's face. "That monster didn't deserve you and if you think for a minute that this is your fault then you are one-hundred per cent wrong. He was the one to make the mistake and hurt you and the only reason I'm not down at the Fish Chip Shop right now, dealing with him myself, is because my sister needs my help. You and everyone who was stood outside the doors for an hour are my number one priority right now and for the rest of my life"
"How did you do it?" Uma asked quietly as she moved closer to Evie again and pulled the blue-haired princess into a tight hug. "You make it seem like breaking up with someone isn't the same as someone ripping out your heart and tearing it in half in front of you. It hurts so much, Evie. I can't do this, not again" Uma muttered as she snuggled closer to Evie, her arms tightening around the princesses waist as silent tears made their way down Uma's face.
"I was trained for years by mother that this is a man's world -where only the most powerful survive. I hid my tears with makeup and a fake, dimwitted smile that fooled all the boys into dating me. I made sure that I didn't get attached -didn't kiss them back very much, didn't stare into their eyes, didn't hold their hand. I dated them and then bumped them, moving onto the next boy just so my mother was happy -like I was this robot she could control" Evie replied in an emotionless voice, "I'm not even sure I have a heart anymore after the years of going through the same painful routine but I have survived and I will until my dying days with that monster of a women I call my mother. But you, Uma, are nothing like me and for that I am grateful. You have so much hope for the world and for the people in it that I know you will make an amazing queen someday, but there will be dangers and pain along the way that myself, Mal, Oceana or Harris can't shield you from. You just have to make sure that you get out the other side so we can fix you up. After all, isn't that what family is about? Loving, caring and protecting each other from the dangers of the outside world?" Evie continued as she gently kissed Uma's head, smiling softly when Uma nodded in agreement.
"Don't tear yourself done, though. You are beautiful and I want to give you something to remind you of that" Evie slowly unwrapped her arms from around Uma and moved backwards, putting a small distance between herself and the sea-witches daughter as she smiled widely at the other teenager. Evie reached upwards and towards her neck, gently unclasping the blue, pearl necklace that was dangling from around her own neck. Uma gasped at the almost transparent pearls that seemed to sparkle in the bright lighting coming from the chandelier in the middle of the room, and the small, heart-shaped locket in the middle of the necklace that had a small, black diamonds in the centre. "I have had this necklace for a long time, since before I can remember, and I have hidden it from my mother all these years" Evie started to explain as she carefully held the necklace in her hands, running her fingers over the glowing pearls.
"The person -a dear friend of mine- who gave me the necklace said that the pearls are from the deepest parts of The Lake Of The Lost Souls in the Underworld and are, therefore, magical. They are said that if you ever feel alone or scared, these pearls will sparkle with the souls of the most amazing people in the lake that are willing to help you. Of course, it doesn't work here but it will in Auradon, when Oceana, Pearl, Mal and yourself take over and rule with mercy, justice and strength" Evie smiled at the idea of her friends ruling Auradon -where she would finally be able to make her mother proud and marry a prince and get her own 'happily ever after' in a castle with lots and lots of mirrors!
In respect to the necklace, almost all of what Evie told Uma about the necklace was true -the pearls had indeed come from the Lake Of Lost Souls. But they weren't connecting to the lake as Evie had explained. The pearls were actually connected to the royal family of the Underworld and were the quickest and easiest way to the Underworld Evie could find on the Isle and was a gift from her father. Evie learnt that the pearls were a distress signal, that if she or whoever was wearing the necklace and the people surrounding it was in enough pain or trouble, the pearls would send a message to the royal family of the Underworld and Evie's family, informing them of the trouble the person was in. Evie hadn't used the necklace often as a distress beacon, realising that she could deal with her mother's torments for as long as she had to so her Underworld family didn't find out and worry about her. So far it had worked well. Her fathers side of the family were none the wiser about Evie's true relationship with her mother and they had no idea about the foodless nights she spent at her mother's castle or the bruises that littered her pale skin.
Evie also lied about the necklaces origins as the necklace wasn't given to Evie by a friend but instead, her father had given her the necklace one of the first times Evie had visited him and his new family. It was something special to her, but after her mother banished her from seeing her father and anyone related to him again, the necklace turned into a painful reminder of the person she had to leave. It seemed like all her life involved leaving people except the person she really wanted to escape from. Evie knew that if she got rid of her necklace and gave it to someone she trusted, then she would be able to listen to her mother better and get through the next couple of years without feeling the pain of disappointing her mother, before she ran off, married a prince and went back to being able to see her father again -without the worry of whether The Evil Queen was happy or not.
"The necklace has a small locket on it with some writing engraved in it" Evie noted as she slowly opened up the locket, exposing the beautifully written words that were engraved within the solid gold of the heart. Uma gasped as she read the words, tears welling up in her eyes again as she smiled softly at Evie who had her own tears in her eyes. "It says 'The saddest thing a girl can do is dumb herself down for a guy' and I really want you to have it. I spent my whole life changing myself for a guy I didn't even love and I don't want you to do the same. You are so smart, Uma, don't throw that away for some stupid guy who didn't even deserve you" Evie added as she nodded her head to the side.
Uma smiled gratefully and turned around, moving her hair to the side as Evie slowly placed the necklace around Uma's neck and clasped it and the back, letting the golden heart drop as Uma turned to look at a smiling Evie. "There we go, now you look like a true princess" Evie commented, trying to keep in her own emotions. In her mind, Evie thought that giving up her necklace would be easy but after feeling the weird sensation of not having the necklace, she felt the need to have it back. But she knew that she couldn't. So instead, she admired her necklace dangling from around Uma's neck as the daughter of the sea-witch wiped away her own tears. "And you deserve as much of a prince as any of the Auradonian princesses"
"I'm sorry if we interrupted something" Audrey commented, breaking Uma out of her train of thought as she gently clasped the golden locket of her late sisters necklace that hung around her neck. Uma smiled at the memory of her and her sister, enjoying the few precious memories that she held dear to her mind as she looked down at the small locket in her hands. She missed her sister, of course, but having Evie's locket near to her heart made it easier to deal with the stabbing pain in her chest that only seemed to worsen with time. "Uma and I were going to go down for some breakfast" Audrey continued, breaking Uma out of her train of thought as she looked up and smiled at the princess in agreement. "We wanted to see if you guys wanted to join us. The boys are already there with Lonnie, Jane and King Adam but they said they would wait for you guys" Audrey added, breaking Uma out of her thoughts as she looked up at the three's smiling faces.
"That would be lovely. Thank you, Audrey" Queen Belle thanked as she looked towards the two other girls, smiling softly when Mal nodded slowly in agreement with the former queen. Dizzy tightened her arms around Mal, not wanting to go outside and see people if that meant that she had to lie to people when they asked her how she was feeling. In Dizzy's mind, she just wanted to stay with Mal and fall asleep, feeling the calming motions of Mal's fingers running through her hair as she signed in contentment.
Audrey looked down at Dizzy and smiled sweetly, noticing the way Dizzy hugged Mal closer and shook her head softly as Mal kissed the top of her head and ran her fingers through the little girl's hair. Audrey walked to the other side of the bed and sat down, her legs crossed and a hand rested on her knee as she smiled at the little girl in Mal's arms who eyed the princess sceptically, wondering what the princess was doing as Audrey smiled softly at her. "I know you don't want to go downstairs and that it will be hard but you have Mal and Uma by your side and all the people downstairs are like your family. And you can trust me, as a person who has seen Mal eat a jelly doughnut, the only thing you have to worry about it Mal getting food all over her outfit" Audrey joked as she looked up at Mal, who laughed and tilted her head to the side, playfully glaring at Audrey who smiled in response.
"And after breakfast, I'm sure that Queen Belle would love to show you around the library or you and Carlos could play with Dude in the rose gardens. You don't have to be afraid of the emotions coursing through you that are going to make you feel really bad. They are just there to remind you that you are human and that you are allowed to feel emotions -both good and bad ones" Audrey added as she gently moved some of Dizzy's hair behind her ear, leaving her hand on Dizzy's check as she smiled softly at the little girl. "So, how about you and Mal get dressed and we have a massive breakfast with pancakes and Ice Cream. I'm sure that if you ask Queen Belle and nicely, they will allow you to have some strawberries and chocolate as well"
And for the first time since Evie's fate was sealed, Dizzy smiled gratefully at the princess in front of her. She knew that it wasn't going to be easy but just like Audrey said, she had all of her friends and family to support her through it. And that was all Dizzy ever wanted.
Mrs Pott's placed the last plate down on the dining room table as the teenagers and adults talked amongst themselves, thanking the old women as she smiled sadly at the teenagers -having heard about the events at Cotillion and the fate of the blue-haired princess from King Adam earlier that day. Dizzy smiled gratefully at Mrs Pott's as the older women placed a plate of two, perfectly-cooked pancakes and a bowl full of ripe strawberries in front of the young girl who was sat in between Mal and Uma, both of the thanking Mrs Pott's kindly. Mal smiled at the older lady and started to cut up her pancakes, being careful of the beautiful black dress she was wearing. Her vintage, black and white dress was high-waisted and simple, with the top half having a 'v' neckline and no sleeves and the bottom fanning out into a round skirt. The top half of the dress was plain black while the skirt was printed to have a rose design on it in white which stood out against the black background. Her dolly-shoes were plain black and had a small heel that added a couple of inches onto Mal's height, something the short girl was slightly happy. Mal's long purple hair was pulled back into half-up, half down hairstyle with half of her hair thrown into a tight bun at the back of her head while the other half of her hair was curled and left to flow down the girls back in subtle beach waves.
Dizzy smiled as she looked down at her own outfit, her fingers running over the silky fabric of the black skirt and towards the excess ribbon that came from the bow tied around her waist. The black, vintage dress had a simple neckline and three-quarter sleeves that were a deep black, darker than the night sky that Dizzy remembers staring at all of last night instead of sleeping. Dizzy's dolly-shoes hit against the back of her chair as Dizzy swung her feet back and forth, her long hair swaying side to side as Dizzy slowly leaned forward and backwards, looking at the food in front of her questioningly.
"Hey" Mal whispered as she looked concerningly at the little girl, her smile small and king while she placed her hand on Dizzy's, squeezing it reassuringly from under the table. "You okay? You haven't eaten a thing yet" Mal continued quietly as her eyes filled with concern. Dizzy nodded and smiled in response, slowly taking the metal fork in her unused hand and beginning to eat some of the ripe strawberries while the steaming pancakes cooled down. Mal smiled and slowly let go of Dizzy's hand and continued eating her own food, talking quietly to Ben as the young king talked to his father who was sat at the head of the table.
"Princess Audrey" Mrs Pott's walked back into the room and towards the daughter of Sleeping Beauty who turned in her chair to face the older women. Audrey's smile faded when she saw the older women's concerned and worried face, causing all the conversations to stop at the table as they watched Mrs Pott's concerningly. "Your mother is on the phone. She wants to speak to you" Mrs Pott's added which caused King Adam to frown, already knowing what the princess wanted her daughter for. King Adam had told Aurora and Dopey about the incident -expressing the importance of the press not finding out very clearly to the two parents- after his wife said that parents should know so they can be prepared for if -and when in Doug's case- they return home.
"Oh," Audrey replied as she turned to Queen Belle, smiling sadly at the former queen, "May I just take this?" Audrey asked, smiling gratefully when Queen Belle smiled at the teenager and nodded. Mrs Pott's handed Audrey the phone as the princess smiled gratefully. Mrs Potts smiled back and curtsied -even though King Adam and Queen Belle had told their old friend, not to almost every day- and left the room, returning to the kitchen to help Lumiere and Clocksworth with the remaining courses of breakfast. After all, none of the adults or teenagers had eaten a lot since yesterday's breakfast and Mrs Pott's was adamant to make up for the loss, something Mal and Uma were quite happy about because it meant that Dizzy was eating enough food of the day.
"Mamma, I don't think" Audrey started once she placed the phone next to her ear. The whole table fell dead silent as they heard the concerned filled voice of Sleeping Beauty on the other end of the line as she continued to talk, cutting off her daughters attempts to add any information as Audrey signed. "No, but... Yes, mamma, I know that... I'm not a little girl... We are all safe... Yes, I will tell her... What?... I look forward to it... Okay, mamma, but I have to go. I will see you in a second" Audrey slowly pulled the phone away from her ear and signed, cancelling the call as she placed her elbows on the table and her head in her hand, signing loudly as she bit the corner of her lip.
"Audrey, dear, what's wrong?" Queen Belle asked concerningly as she tilted her head to the side. Audrey signed as she leaned back in her chair and moved a piece of hair behind her ear, smiling at the queen before turning her attention to Mal who raised her eyebrows at the princess opposite her.
"My mothers coming. With my father, grandmother and... grandfather" Audrey signed as Mal's eyes widened in shock. Mal looked towards Ben and shook her head, gently grabbing the kings hand in reassurance as Audrey looked apologetically at Mal.
"I guess I'm meeting the Beauty family" Mal replied as she smiled and nodded towards Audrey, silently telling the princess to calm down and she was alright. Mal breathed in deeply as she picked up her fork and picked up a strawberry, biting some of the fruit as the others on the table looked at the teenager weirdly. "Honestly, I'm fine. I must tell Mrs Potts that these strawberries are beautiful. They are amazing" Mal gushed as everyone eyed the teenager worriedly. They knew how Mal felt about meeting the Beauty family, after hearing amazing stories from her mother and how they were lovely people -well apart from King Stephan and Queen Leah- but she was also scared that the stories were true and that the few memories she did share with her mother that were happy were lies. Mal knew that she couldn't judge people before meeting them but she allowed herself to have her fears, the fear of being blamed for her mother's actions was one of her biggest fears, but it also scared the teen that Aurora wouldn't want to see her. As one of Audrey's closest friends, Mal wanted to get along with the girl's parents and learn embarrassing stories from them that Audrey was to shy to reveal.
No one noticed, but the light blue pearls around Uma's neck glowed lightly as Mal worried about all the things that could go wrong when meeting the Beauty family.