Just a quick warning: this isn't exactly Adam-friendly. It's not exactly anti, but it's critical - he comes across okay in the end though!
Mal smiled at the servants who inclined their heads to her as she strode down the halls of Castle Beast, a fierce determination behind her eyes. She opened the door to the office that she had recently begun sharing with her fiancé. He wasn't there, but that was to be expected as he was busy with other meetings and she had asked that he didn't attend this one – he'd try to act as a mediator, but Mal felt that she needed to get her point across without anyone trying to soften the blows.
Though Ben wasn't there, the man who was sat in front of his desk was similar to look at with similar facial features, brown hair and broad shoulders. He turned his face towards the door when it opened and stood as when he saw the future queen walk in.
"Thank you for meeting me, Adam," Mal said, with a smile as she went over to the other side of the desk and sat down.
"Of course. If my son's future wife calls, I answer."
Mal gave a tight little smile as she pulled a thick folder out of the desk and placed it in front of her. "Well, as you've probably guessed, this isn't a social call. There's something that I need to discuss with you. I've been thinking about this for a few days and discussed it with Ben and he agrees. Especially as the Isle is more my jurisdiction than his."
"The Isle?" Adam furrowed his brow, as he sat forward in his chair, "Why would you want to talk to me about the Isle?"
"Who raised the villains from the dead?" Mal asked, looking him in the eye, "The ones that you chose to bring back and then lock away because you felt a life without magic was a much more satisfying punishment than death."
"Well, I wouldn't call it satisfying-" Adam began.
"Please just answer my question," Mal interrupted, "Was it my father?"
"I…" Adam then nodded, "Yes. He's the only one who has the power to release souls back to the living."
"Usually in exchange for another soul. A soul for a soul. What deal did you strike with my father that you were able to raise the worst of the villains from the Underworld?"
Adam stared at her for a moment before speaking again, "I'm sorry, but what exactly is the point of this interrogation? I feel I deserve a little more respect than to be treated as a common criminal."
"Really?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow, "You deserve more respect? I spent sixteen years trapped on an island filled with the worst beings known to man. I did nothing to deserve this beyond my genetics. Don't tell me you deserve more respect when you can't even keep up your end of the deal, Beast."
Adam's hand twitched a little at being called 'Beast'. "What did Hades tell you?" he asked, after taking a few deep breaths, "That we threw him onto the Isle despite telling him that he would be free to reign the Underworld if he released the worst souls back to the living?"
Mal nodded, her face firm. She knew that Adam had made mistakes, but he never was a man to go back on his word. That much she knew. "You promised him his freedom but the moment he'd released the villains, you threw him onto the Isle right along with them." Mal's voice got louder towards the end of the sentence and she slammed her hand on the table. She then closed her eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath. "Look, there are many things that I admire about you, Adam. Despite the Isle, you were a good king. I know my father was a villain but that doesn't give you the right to go back on your word."
"No, you're right, it doesn't. Look, it wasn't the best decision we ever made, but it was either go back on our word with Hades or gain an enemy in Olympus, who, need I remind you, are gods. We would've never stood a chance with them as our enemies. Besides, it seems your father missed out the detail where he went to Olympus, which the other gods deemed a threat because the last time that happened, Hercules went missing soon after."
"Was he actually threatening them?" Mal asked.
"He had been banned from Olympus so he knew turning up on Olympus would be viewed as a threat, and by taking him down, we managed to forge an alliance with the gods."
Mal considered this for a while. "Okay, I will probably have to have someone look into what happened more carefully before we can continue this conversation."
"So you don't believe me?" Adam demanded with a sharp edge to his voice.
"This isn't about what I believe or don't believe. This about finding out what actually happened so that if there was an injustice, we can try to fix it in any way possible. I've now heard both sides of the story and I want to find the facts."
Adam furrowed his brow at her and opened his mouth to argue, before reconsidering and sitting back with a nod. "I understand. Was that all you wanted to talk to me about?"
Mal shook her head as she pushed the folder she had pulled out towards him. "Take a look at that, please."
Adam obeyed and opened the folder. He began leafing through the pages. "What is this?" he asked, looking up at Mal, his thick eyebrows knitting together as he sifted through the sheets, each having a name at the top and a photo attached with a paper clip.
"All of the children of the Isle. Every single person who was sentenced to life in prison just for being born. There names, their pictures and their stories."
"Why are you showing me this? The barrier is down, these children are free."
Mal nodded, her tone soft as she began to speak. "Yes, they're free. Because of Ben's decision to let a few come to Auradon, because of Uma's reminding me that they are my people and because of my decision to take down the barrier." Her voice sharpened a little as she spoke again, "What did you do? Other than begrudgingly accept Ben's decision and mine?"
"I…" Adam rightfully looked ashamed of himself as he placed the folder down. "I don't understand what you want me to do."
"Read every name, learn every story," Mal told him, "Because you will be writing personal letters of apology to each and every one of them. This includes Jay, Carlos and Evie. And I mean actual personal letters of apology, not a generic apology with a different name on each."
Adam gaped at her, "Every one?"
Mal nodded, "Yes, every single one."
Adam set his jaw as he stared at her, closing the folder and placing it in his lap, "How about I do a letter per family, not per individual person. Surely siblings have similar enough stories that I can do that."
Mal allowed herself to smile a little at this. She'd expected him to fight her on it, to try and argue that he shouldn't have to do this at all because he'd had the Isle created to keep Auradon safe. However, it seemed that he knew very well that what he did was wrong – or at the very least, that leaving the children on the Isle was wrong.
"Not necessarily. The villains were known to play favourites, to have their children compete for their affections. Usually, there was one who always won their affection and another that didn't. So, no shortcuts, just an apology letter to every single one of them. Then, when you're done with that, you will also be doing the same with any of residence of the Isle where the punishment didn't fit the crime."
"Like what?" Adam asked.
"Life imprisonment for petty theft."
Adam remained silent as the seconds ticked by until he eventually spoke, "That will takes months for me to complete on my own."
"As long as you do it on your own," Mal replied, "These will all be personally written by you. You can start with the VKs and then we'll talk again."
Adam opened the file again, "Some of these children are so young. Surely that is a pointless exercise to write to them as they may not be able to read and they may forget about what they experienced."
"This isn't a negotiation," Mal told him, "You will write to all of them. The letters to the younger ones will be placed in the care of their current guardians and it will be left up to them whether they give it to the child."
Adam sighed, "Fine. I will do as you ask." He went to stand up but Mal stopped him by holding her hand out.
"You will also be aiding with the rebuilding of the Isle. And I don't mean just throwing some money at it. I would like you to be actively involved."
Adam furrowed his eyebrows again, "You can't keep demanding things of me, I'm not a servant."
"Perhaps not, but do I have to remind you again that you locked away innocent children? What I'm asking of you will seem like a light punishment to many who believe that you deserve worse." And there were so many of the Isle folk who believed that, but Mal wanted to give Adam a chance to begin redeeming himself, to fix what he had broken.
"I wasn't the only one who made that decision," Adam finally said, his voice breaking slightly.
Mal nodded in acknowledgement, "And each of the royals will be given their own tasks to do their part in due time, but Ben and I decided to start with you so that you can do what you've always taught him to do. Lead by example."
Adam looked down at the folder in his hands, then looked back up at Mal. "Okay," he agreed, "You're right. What I did to you and the other VKs was unforgivable, but please understand why I locked up your parents."
Mal nodded, "We understand that, but this isn't about our parents. At least, not the villains. We will discuss the others in due course, but for now, just do as I ask."
"Alright," Adam agreed, "What do you mean by actively take part?"
"I'm not asking you to literally get your hands dirty and help with the building, though if you want to do that, Ben and I wouldn't discourage you, but even things as simple as helping with the redesign and aiding to provide temporary homes for those whose homes are being torn down and rebuilt. Perhaps even recommend the best people to help with these projects – I'm sure that you must have some good contacts for this. Whatever you can do to help, please do."
"So long as I'm not just throwing money at it," Adam replied, with a nod, "I understand. Is that all?"
Mal nodded, "Just one more thing. We'll be having a meeting in a week with the other royals. I hope that you will be there to help us encourage them to do their part."
"I'll be there," Adam promised. He then stood up, tucking the large folder under his arm. "You're going to be a wonderful queen, Mal. You may need to work on your diplomacy a bit, but I can see that you'll do whatever it takes to allow Auradon to thrive."
Mal smiled at him, "Thank you."
And with that, Mal's future father-in-law inclined his head politely and left the room, leaving Mal smiling and hopeful for what was to come. Things might be difficult, especially with the villains now free (though many were being carefully monitored) and the people of Auradon not being very happy about it (which Mal could understand), knowing that she had Adam's support would help as he was respected and admired by many and these tasks he had taken on were the first step in a long road to begin healing the damage he had caused.
Here it is, pmbb! I hope this was okay – I know it probably wasn't what you were hoping for, but I felt like this one kinda needed to be written. Hope you enjoyed it anyway!
Sorry to all my readers about how long this took – real life is a bit manic but it's definitely slowing down now, so let's hope my motivation realises this and begins to come back to me, lol
Request Count Down: 20
Response to Reviews:
DragonEmperor999: Well, it certainly didn't help – but I'm also in my final year of secondary school, so I have a lot of other things going on.
wildflowerchildGrace: I'm so pleased that you loved this! I definitely enjoyed writing the cute fluff. And of course I know what you mean. I'd be concerned if I didn't XD
That one potter: I'm sorry, but there is only one Jonnie centric fic left in this bunch of requests – I do try to add them wherever I can though, because I love them too!
Descendantsgirl: (128) I definitely liked writing that one too! It was a bit of a learning experience for me and I'm really pleased that you enjoyed it.
Maria Barbara: Awww, thank you! You're so sweet! :D
Rock Mint Swirl 22: (147) Haha, yeah, I released another one just hours after that one, so I think it just got missed. I am so pleased that you enjoyed it! I hope you found this one worth the wait!
RPM Shadow: Thank you so much! I was a little disappointed that Lonnie wasn't in D3 either – she's definitely one of my faves. And I'm going to keep going for a little while, don't worry! I hope you keep enjoying these :D
AZKABAN: And now I'm at 150! Yay!
Guest: (5) That is an adorable name and my fifteen-year-old self (and eighteen-year-old self, if I'm being honest) wishes that she had your idea for titles ;)
Love you guys so much! Stay safe! SparkyGurl
P.S. Please don't be afraid to leave constructive criticism. It helps me get better!