Chapter 3 – Family and Hopeful Thieves

WARNING – Brief Non-graphic reference to abortion in scene five. See endnotes for more details.

-:-:-

"So," Doug said one night when Mal had a hand down his pants and Chad was doing his best to kiss up his roommate's neck. "I um- have a concert coming up, and-"

"What's a concert?" Mal asked, taking her time to slowly pump him up and down with a prolonged squeeze. She'd decided if he wasn't going to let her use magic on him, she was going to do her damnedest to tease the fuck out of him in recompense.

"It's um-" Doug stuttered, completely off his game. "A um-"

"It's a music thing," Chad offered, pausing his quest to unbutton Doug's shirt so he could stare at Mal. He liked to maintain eye contact during conversations, mostly because he didn't want people to get the feeling he wasn't focusing on them. "This time it's the school band. And they get together on stage and play a few pieces while everyone sits in the audience and listens." He paused for a moment, toying with one of Doug's nipples. "It's dark in the audience, but no one talks because they focus on listening."

"My um- family's going to be there," Doug gasped, whining when Mal dug her thumb into the top of his length. Over the weeks she'd learned that Doug liked it a little rough. Or at the very least, he could take it, due to his dwarven heritage. "And I- you don't have to meet them, that's not what- I just thought that um- maybe you'd like to come."

"I'll come watch you play," Chad said, knowing better than to volunteer Mal for stuff. "I've been to tons of concerts. It will be nice to go to one that actually features people I care about."

"I'll give it a try," Mal decided. It wasn't like she had anything better to do and besides, it sounded nicer than the thrown together bands that sang raunchy ballads at the bars back on the Isle. "But I make no promises for staying."

"I um- I appreciate- Mal," Doug groaned, embarrassed as always when Mal freed him from his clothes.

"No whining," Mal tutted, grinning when Chad's tan fingers wrapped reverently around the dripping length. "We'll have to stretch you the old-fashioned way, which means you, Chad, are on distract duty."

"I am?" Chad blinked, surprised, then happy. "Cool. How should I um- do that?"

"Take your dick out and rub it against his," Mal said, rolling her eyes. She wasn't really annoyed, because at this point she'd come to expect Chad's ignorance, but he couldn't know that.

"Oh." Chad blinked again and then got to work, accompanied by Doug's growing whimpers. "Yeah, yeah – I can do that."

"Good," Mal said, pausing her efforts so she could strip off Doug's pants.

Later, they'd talk more about this concert thing, but now she wanted to see Doug bounce in Chad's lap, and that wasn't going to happen if she didn't start lubing him up.

So much work to be done, so little time.

Such was the life of Mal Bertha.

-:-:-

"You spend a lot of time with those boys," Evie noted when Mal got back to the room, her clothes perfectly in order and the scent of sex magically lifted from her body.

"Yep," Mal drawled, throwing herself down in her desk chair and snatching up the new, untattered sketchbook Chad had shoved into her hands after class one day before he took off in an embarrassed sprint.

The idiot.

He'd even left a little note inside the cover, more gold marker that said 'I know you'll do great things! 3 Chad' and underneath that, in more intelligible writing, Doug had added in green pen 'Your art is a gift that we are all grateful for – Doug :)'.

Mal had enchanted the words so they would never risk fading, and even though some of Chad's marker had smudged against the first page, Mal found that she lo-liked it, a lot.

"They give you anything useful?" Evie asked. Normally she was better than this, trusting that Mal would share information if it was necessary and knowing if she didn't, that it wasn't.

Normally, Evie was above careful interrogations with her crewmates, but Auradon was throwing them all a little off of their groove, even if it seemed to be reflected in Evie and Carlos the most.

"Nope," Mal said, shaking her head.

She could see Evie's shoulders tense, which was how she knew the princess wasn't at her best. Normally Mal would never catch tells like that. "What are you doing with them?"

"Passing time." She knew that Evie had likely expected Mal to work Chad as an angle. After all, Fairy Godmother had blessed his mother, had come from his kingdom. Surely he had some sort of connection with the wand.

It hadn't taken long for Mal to realize that Chad was too stupid to manage anything like that, and there was no point in badgering him about it when she could just fuck him instead.

That had been a fun spell to invent.

Mal knew Evie wasn't happy with the explanation. They had all found frivolous outlets in Auradon that they had decided to take advantage of while they could – Evie with her sewing, Mal with her drawing, Jay with Tourney, and Carlos tinkering with an impressive amount of technology that Jay had stolen for him. They couldn't work all the time or they would go crazy, but-

But Mal was the leader, and Mal was owning up to openly wasting time with two boys that couldn't give her much of anything, and that was a frustrating thing.

"Do you have sex with them?" Evie asked, her fingers trembling hard against her fabric scissors – blue handled, stolen for her specifically.

Mal leveled an unimpressed look at her, heart beating in her chest because things were always so hard with Evie. Mal spent a lot of time wishing that she really was just a pretty face, that there wasn't a killer brain inside that lovely mask of hers, but unfortunately it was not meant to be. Evie was a genius in her own right, and Mal would never stoop to become one of the drooling idiots that trailed in her wake, even though she often found herself desperately wanting to. Perhaps that was why she'd taken up with Chad and Doug, who knew.

It wasn't a question worth answering.

"I need a dress for a concert," Mal broke in suddenly, deciding that she was done humoring Evie for the night. "Something tasteful, I guess. I might be meeting Doug's family."

Evie froze, the corners of her eyes seeming to tense before she nodded. "I've got something that I think will work," she said, and then she abandoned her current project, rooting through her storage bin until she came up with a beautiful piece of purple fabric.

Yeah, that would do nicely.

-:-:-

Mal was uneasy about the concert, but that was likely always going to happen. By necessity, you generally avoided large crowds on the Isle to evade, you know, death, so purposefully journeying into a large room to join crowds of people funneling themselves into neat rows set off every survival instinct Mal had.

Fortunately, Chad was dumb, but not so dumb that he was unaware of Mal's needs. He selected a spot for them near the back of the auditorium, strategically placed near a fire exit. They were at the end of the aisle, Chad taking the inner-most seat so Mal could evacuate in a moment's notice should they need to. It didn't give them the best view, but Chad didn't seem to care, happily skimming through the program and looking stupidly handsome in his blue blazer and tan slacks.

This. Dumb. Boy.

The lights came down just as the band started trickling onto the stage, and while Mal needed no help spotting Doug in his stupid tuxedo, Chad was happy to point him out with an enthusiastic wave.

"Doug's first chair," Chad whispered like that meant anything to Mal. "That means he's the best."

Oh.

Well, of course he was. He was Mal's, and Mal only had the best.

Even with Chad and Evie's explanation, Mal hadn't been entirely sure what to expect from a concert.

She had not expected to be blown away.

It was music, but like nothing she had heard before. She found herself caressed by haunting melodies and enchanted by layers of harmonies. She would rock under the force of their crescendos, strain when they became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. She wasn't familiar with any of the pieces, but there were some that seemed determined to move her, that seemed so hauntingly sad she could do nothing but think of the kids starving on the Isle. The orphans that lived in the sewers, the children of petty criminals that never risked traveling by dark of night.

There were 'marches' too. Bouncy, bright things that made her laugh and think of Chad. There were pieces that made her feel heroic, that made her want to get up and fight. Get up and scream.

She hadn't understood the power of music before. They didn't really have it on the Isle.

This, though, was beautiful. Art without colors.

-:-:-

She didn't mean to meet Doug's family. Despite her curiosity in Doug specifically, Mal wasn't interested in seeing the people from whence he spawned. Mal had little interest in parents altogether, though she suspected that likely had to do with her own conditioning on the Isle, her understanding that bonds of blood meant little in the end.

Still, she refused to leave without congratulating Doug on his success (he had a solo, two of them, and he had been brilliant). It was Chad that forged their way through the crowds of people congratulating their spawn, all the students dressed in their matching tuxedos and stupid dresses before Mal finally caught sight of Doug waiting bashfully off to the side.

Blessed, genius Doug. He knew she wouldn't come if he was surrounded. It wasn't Mal's way.

"You were so good!" was how Chad chose to give their greeting. "The best, Doug! Mal even teared up a little-"

"I did not," Mal hissed, punching the blond's bicep even though there had been a definite moment where he'd passed over his handkerchief for her usage.

"She did not," Chad repeated with a bright grin. "That was a fib, but I did! Because you were so good!"

"That's what I like to hear!" a voice cheered from behind them, and when Mal turned, it was to see three well-dressed dwarves approach them.

"Uncle Nori!" Doug chirped, ducking his head with a bashful grin. "You made it."

"Of course he made it," the oldest looking dwarf said, elbowing the first dwarf that had talked – a redhead with an intricate beard – in the side. "Would have had his braids if he hadn't."

"Now Dori, be civil," the youngest looking dwarf said, offering Doug a bright smile. "You did brilliantly, Runnel."

"Thanks, dad," Doug said, a blush spreading across his cheeks. "Guys, this is my dad, Master Ori, son of Cori."

"Also known to most of Auradon as 'Dopey'," Master Ori said, giving them a bright wink.

"Dad," Doug sighed.

"None of that," Ori said. "I was a bit dope-ish back in my youth."

"And now you're the Head Scribe of Erebor," the oldest dwarf boasted. "Nothing dope-ish about that."

"These are my uncles," Doug continued. "Dori, son of Cori-" He motioned to the older dwarf. "And Nori, son of Cori." He motioned to the redhead.

"Which of the seven dwarves are you?" Mal asked, earning a burst of laughter from all three of them.

"None, I'm afraid," Nori said with a wink.

"We didn't make the cut," Dori sniffed. "Thirteen bloody dwarves and they go ahead and leave out six of us."

"Suppose it isn't quite as poetic," Ori offered. "But that's behind us, now." He turned his attention to Mal and Chad. "And who do we have the honor of meeting?"

"Um- Chadwick James, sir," Chad said, executing a hasty bow. "I'm Doug's roommate. And this is Mal!" he continued. "Mal Bertha. Who is a super talented artist."

"An artist, are you?" Ori perked up with small grin. "I dabble a bit myself. I would love to see your work someday."

"Maybe we can stop by the art room?" Doug offered. "Before um- parfaits?" He turned to Mal and Chad. "We have a post-concert tradition of getting dessert."

"You're welcome to join us if you like," Dori said. "In fact, I insist! Doug rarely has friends outside of band."

"Uncle Dori," Doug groaned.

"And that's enough from you," Dori decided, making Mal realize that he was sort of the boss of Doug's family. But like, in a weird, mother hen-ish sort of way. "To the art room."

"And then dessert," Nori added with a drawl, shooting a lazy wink at Mal.

Well, that hadn't been what she was expecting, but they weren't bringing out fire and pitchforks yet.

Perhaps there was hope for the rest of the evening.

-:-:-

"So," Dori began after they had gone through the trial that was constructing parfaits, which Mal felt wary about until Chad started asking the lady behind the counter for free samples so Mal had an actual idea of what was going in them.

Long story short, that was how she learned ice cream was the shit, and she was going to introduce the others to it just as soon as she finished her concoction of chocolate, strawberries, peanut butter, crushed cookies, and caramel sauce.

Nori was impressed by her variety. Mal decided she liked him.

"-when did you and Douglass become friends?" Dori continued, taking a prim bite of his parfait. Compared to him, Nori was an absolute mess, and he wasn't even that wild.

"We're not," Mal said, remembering Dori had mentioned something like that earlier.

Before they could get that dumb pinched look on their features all Auradon people tended to get when Mal said that, Chad spoke up, "Mal doesn't have friends!"

There was a pause.

"And why is that?" Ori asked, his tone neutral, like Doug's would be.

Seemed like he had gotten his smarts from somewhere.

Mal shrugged. "We don't do friendship on the Isle," she said. "Friends get you killed." She took a bite of her parfait, topped with whipped cream and a cherry Chad had insisted on, and reveled in the sugar high. "We have crewmates, however," she said, feeling generous. "Allies. Allies can be helpful."

"And which of those categories does Doug fall into?" Nori asked, seeming genuinely interested.

Mal shrugged again. "Boyfriend," she said, shoveling another bite of parfait into her mouth.

Apparently, Doug did not expect this response because he dropped his spoon, and didn't seem to notice that because he was too busy staring at her.

Chad leaned close to Mal's side. "I thought that was supposed to be a secret."

"It is," Mal said, narrowing her eyes. "From them." She motioned to the rest of the room. "But Doug seems to like his family, so there's no need to keep it from them."

"Do you not like your family?" Dori asked, as careful as a negotiator. Mal saw a bit of Evie in him. Perhaps he was a part of Hanover's upper nobility.

Mal made a face. "My mom is the Mistress of Evil," she drawled. "Of course I don't like her."

Mal admired her, certainly, because what else did she have? She wasn't given much choice as to what her future could be, at least until now.

"Was…" Chad stopped himself, seeming conflicted, and then convinced himself to keep going. "Was your mom mean to you?"

Mal stopped, put her spoon down. "Of course she was mean to me," Mal said, rolling her eyes. "She's the Mistress of Evil. The only reason she had me was because it was safer than getting rid of me."

She picked her spoon back up just to have something to do. Pregnancy was an unavoidable thing on the Isle. Too many people wanted to cater to the few pleasures they had left, but without access to contraception, population growth was inevitable.

"She said that some villains tried to poison their babies out way back when, but that usually ended up killing them too, so-" Mal shrugged. "She had me. And then she couldn't just dump me because I was her kid, so she had to keep me alive enough to show me off as a trophy."

Some fucking trophy on an island of garbage. It was stupid.

"I'm sorry," Chad said, seeming genuinely pained, the same way he always was when they came across a pet that struggled to get adopted, or they accidentally watched a movie that was more drama than comedy.

"It's not your fault," Mal dismissed. "That's just how things work."

"Well," Dori said after a beat. "I'm glad she had you, and I'm glad you're here, and that you and Douglass have found comfort in one another."

Mal paused, because for all that she had given the information flippantly, she hadn't actually expected Doug's family to be happy about the arrangement. "You are?"

"Certainly," Ori spoke up, smiling. "You seem good for one another."

"We're also dating Chad," Doug spoke up, as though he could feel the tension that had settled in Chad's shoulders. "All three of us are, um, dating, so-"

"There's no hanky panky going on, is there?" Dori asked, leveling a suspicious look at Doug while Mal stewed over the words 'hanky-panky'. "Dwarves have no ill feeling towards polygamy, you know that, and little still towards the sex or gender of your chosen partners, but since he's your roommate-"

"Uncle," Doug groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"Looks like we'll have to start shipping him condoms," Nori drawled with a mischievous grin. "Gotta be safe, you know."

"That's it!" Dori declared. "We're having the talk."

"What the hell is the talk?" Mal asked, a mild feeling of dread building in her stomach

-:-:-

The talk, as it turned out, was a damn horror show.

'The talk' reviewed all the facets of safe sex, of open communication during sex, of safe words and contraception and things Mal had thought she'd already known but fucking hell had she not expected them to be shared from Doug's uncle, who laid it all out in a clear, clinical fashion.

Somewhere around the end of 'the talk', Nori reappeared with a giant box of condoms and a few bottles of lubricant. "Have fun, be safe-"

"And if you get anyone pregnant, I'll break your damn legs," Dori said with a certain viciousness, before turning to Mal and saying, "Though we would support you every step of the way, no matter what decisions are made. We'll always be here for you, Miss Bertha."

"Um," Chad said, seeming flushed and perpetually uneasy. "…will you be here for me?"

As far as Mal could tell, Chad had no parental guidance. He made illusions to monthly phone calls with his grandfather, of weekly meetings with Fairy Godmother, but that seemed to be the extent of his family interactions.

Dori's expression softened. "Of course, sweetheart," he soothed. "Douglass can give you our numbers. If you need anything, anything at all, please call us."

"Dwarves take family seriously," Nori said with a broad wink. "Especially adopted family."

"Thank you," Chad said, his voice small, eyes bright with moisture.

"No, sweetheart," Ori said, reaching forward to squeeze Chad's hands. "Thank you."

-:-:-

Jay liked to pretend he was unmotivated to do schoolwork because he was above such trivial things. Mal allowed him that belief until his grades started dropping and Fairy Godmother started making noises about remedial classes, whatever those were. At that point, Mal got off her ass and dragged Jay to Doug and Chad's room to work on homework after school, because as much as he pretended he was too cool to do it, Mal knew the root of the issue was that he struggled with the Auradon version of school.

Chad and Doug were perfect remedies to this problem, because Doug was so straightforward with his explanations and Chad was so brilliantly excited to help that between the two of them they had helped Jay finish most of his homework and were down to a few vocabulary flashcards when Doug packed up to practice his trumpet in the band hall.

"Have fun!" Chad chirped, jumping up from his desk so he could plant a kiss on Doug's cheek. "We'll see you at dinner."

"Um." Doug flushed, his gaze flitting to Mal for a half a second before moving towards the door, deeming that he would not receive the same attention from her due to Jay's presence.

And. Well.

Mal did not like that resignation.

So she got up, sauntered over to Doug like she didn't have anything better to do and kissed him on his other cheek. "Don't party too hard," she said when she pulled back, eying him in an open challenge.

"Oh," Jay said, a helpful cue of him verbally processing this, and then he was getting up too. "Okay."

"'Okay', what?" Mal sighed, wondering if now of all times was when Jay decided to test his hand at passive aggression. He was horrible at it. Both Mal and Carlos despaired over his attempts.

Instead of answering, Jay strolled across the room, hooked a finger in the collar of Doug's shirt and dragged him close, until he could-

…also kiss him on the cheek.

When he pulled back, Doug was blushing a dark shade of red.

"What the fuck, Jay?" Mal snapped, a feeling of furious protection washing over her.

"What?" Jay had the audacity to blink in confusion. "Is that not an Auradon thing? Like, a Doug-specific Auradon thing?"

"No," Mal snapped. "Doug's our boyfriend. We can kiss him, you can't."

"What?" Jay asked, confused, and then louder- "What? He's your- and what do you mean 'we'?" He turned to look at Chad, then pointed an accusing finger at the blond. "Is he your 'boyfriend' too?"

"Yes," Mal said, rolling her eyes. "They're mine."

"Well, fucking I'm yours too," Jay huffed.

"But you're not my boyfriend," Mal said before Chad and Doug could get worried about this, because they would.

"Why the fuck not?" Jay asked. "I'm a boy. I can be your friend and kiss you. I've fucking worked with you longer than they have."

"Jay," Mal sighed, looking towards the ceiling in a bid for patience. "Don't be a baby."

"I'm not- Mal," Jay huffed, seeming all attacked. "Is it a sex thing? Because I'm fucking great at sex."

"I don't doubt that," Mal said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Just-"

"Watch," Jay snapped, and then he was sweeping Doug off his feet, the dwarf-kin letting out a startled sound while Jay marched him across the room, dumping him onto his bed.

"Um," Chad said, shocked when Jay started undoing Doug's belt in deft movements. "You have to- you need to ask-"

"Mal," Jay said as he dragged Doug's pants and underwear down in one smooth movement. "May I suck Doug's dick?"

The room seemed to freeze, and Mal considered this. "Is that a thing you can do?"

"Wouldn't have said it if I couldn't," Jay said, ducking low so he could start pressing kisses to Doug's pale thigh. "So?"

"Doug?" Mal asked, crossing to perch on the edge of the bed while her smarter boyfriend seemed to be having a bit of a shocked breakdown. "You up for fucking Jay's mouth? You don't have to date him for it."

"Come on, come on," Jay urged, rubbing circles on Doug's inner thighs with his thumbs. "You look thick."

"Um." Doug flushed. "…Chad?"

"Oh, can I watch?" Chad asked, seeming half torn between covering his eyes and staring at Doug's length.

It was easy to guess which won out.

"Do you want to?" Doug asked, shifting when Jay's fingers slid around him to cup his butt.

"Oh yeah," Chad said, sitting down next to Mal. "I like watching you feel good. It's pretty great."

"So can I?" Jay whined. "What's that p-word, again?"

"You know what 'please' is, dipshit," Mal drawled.

"Please, can I suck his dick? Your dick?" he tried, aiming it at Doug. "I promise to rock your world."

"Um," Doug said. "Okay-"

He cut off with a gasp when Jay seemed to swallow him, that wicked mouth working all the way up his length until his lips were brushing against his groin.

"Holy shit," Mal said, staring at Jay as he worked, cheeks hallowed, head bobbing. She knew where he had acquired his experience, and that she hated, but seeing him put it to use on Doug…

Doug, who seemed to have no frame of reference for such pleasure, who started babbling almost immediately.

"Jay, Jay- fuck," Doug gasped. "Jay, please it- it feels so good, you feel so good it's hot, you're hot- ah-"

Jay started sliding his mouth up and down, revealing Doug's full interest like a sort of magic trick. It was obscene to see Jay's lips stretch around his warm flesh, but Jay seemed to savor it, his eyes closed and hands firm as he angled Doug into his mouth.

"I'm gonna- Jay, I'm gonna come, please-" Doug moaned, seeming humiliated by his short response time. They'd steadily worked him up to greater levels of endurance, but it seemed like Jay's attack was an entirely new realm of pleasure for him, and as such, was difficult to weather. "Jay!"

Mal was pretty sure he lost it, but also equally sure that Jay swallowed him, didn't gag or hesitate one bit as he drank Doug down. He worked his mouth until Doug was cooing, pulling back only to lick him clean before he took the tip into his mouth and started to swallow.

"Jay," Doug croaked when the Agraben started the process all over again, but Mal already had a hand inside her panties, fondling wet skin while Doug's oversensitive flesh was teased into a new state of pleasure.

Jay made him come two more times from his mouth alone, and after the third time, overstimulated tears poured from the corners of Doug's eyes, small whines panted from his mouth.

"Please," he crooned. "Please, no more. I can't-"

"Okay," Jay said, popping off him with a lick. He pressed another kiss to Doug's hip before motioning to Chad. "Alright, blondie. Your turn."

"My- what?" Chad blinked, his hands fisted in the sheets beside him, as had become his default when Mal didn't give him alternate orders. She was pretty sure he'd already come once just from watching.

"Your turn," Jay said as he snagged the blond's wrists and dragged him into position next to Doug. He grinned when he eased Chad's underwear down his legs, seeming to revel in the sticky mess below. "Awww, did you get excited, sweetheart?"

"Um- yes," Chad said, shifting uneasily. "That was um- very pretty to look at."

"You're so nice," Jay cackled, and then he moved on to the fun sport of torturously licking Chad clean, getting every curve and plane until Chad was hard again, and then he sucked the prince into his mouth just as easily as he had with Doug.

Jay moaned around Chad's flushed length, made such a production of it that he had to pull off. "He tastes so sweet."

"Magic," Mal said, puffing up with pride. "Seems like a lingering side effect of one of my spells."

Then again, Chad was Fae-blessed and Jay was attuned to magic, which might be what made Chad so appealing to him in the first place.

"Want to see it in action?" Mal asked as she pulled Doug into her arms, pressing a soft kiss against his flushed brow.

"You know I do," Jay grinned, making Chad whimper.

"Okay, you're gonna have to take his clothes all the way off first," Mal said. "It gets a bit messy."

"What a fucking good day it is to be me," Jay cheered before doing just that, pressing hot kisses to Chad's body while he did so.

Yeah, it was a pretty good day for all of them.

-:-:-

"Holy shit," Jay said later after he'd fucked Chad two times and let Mal ride him once. "You guys are animals."

"Maybe," Mal hummed, but inside, she was glowing with pride. "All in favor of including Jay in sexytimes from here on out, say aye."

"…aye," Doug mumbled, holding a weak hand up before he went back to spooning Chad's naked body.

Chad, of course, was mostly asleep by this point, so they'd get his vote later.

"Congrats," Mal said, offering Jay a hand to shake. "Looks like you're practically a boyfriend."

"Damn right, I am," Jay chirped, grinning brilliantly. "And don't you forget it."

Mal had the feeling she wouldn't be able to even if she tried.

-:-:-

Endnotes:

Thank you guys so much for the support and feedback! I know this one is starting off a bit slow, but things will be picking up from here on out – fluff giving away a bit towards more plot development, but of course there will still be plenty of cuddles :)

Story notes:

So, I have decided in my own headcanon that the seven dwarves are also the thirteen dwarves from the Hobbit, because why not mix canons? It gives me more character development to play with, but if you're not familiar with the dwarves from the hobbit, you're probably just confused, lol. The dwarven kingdom of Erebor is also from Tolkien's Middle Earth. I have it as a part of Hanover.

Dopey/Ori calls Doug 'Runnel' due to very uncreative reasons. I was trying to come up with a nickname so I looked up the name meaning of 'Douglass', which essentially came down to 'Black Stream'. Runnel is just a synonym for stream. Yep, I know. Super creative ;P

WARNING – Brief Non-graphic reference to abortion – In scene five, Mal discusses the reason most villains had descendants on the Isle, that being that it was generally safer to see a pregnancy through rather than not. Part of this briefly touches on the concept of abortion, but not in a graphic way. If you would prefer to skip this, look for the paragraph that starts with:

'She picked her spoon back up just to have something to do.'

You can jump back in shortly after, at the line:

'Some fucking trophy on an island of garbage. It was stupid.'

Until next time.