An awkward silence settled over dinner when Adam entered the room, taking his usual seat at the head of the table. Five pairs of eyes narrowed at him. The only one not aiming a pointed look in his direction was Ben. Even then, his son wouldn't look him in the eyes or say anything.
Adam kept quiet, an eyebrow rising while he eyed the six others in the room. Mal and Jay wore almost identical glares. Evie was watching him out of the corner of her eyes while Carlos occasionally threw a look at him then resumed playing with the eggs on his plate. Ben was quiet. His eyes darted between his mother and father. He didn't dare say anything but the look on his face was one of pure disappointment.
Belle's gaze was the hardest to take in. She fixed her husband with a look that clearly conveyed just how disappointed she was in him. They rarely argued and the few times they did usually resulted in Belle giving him the silent treatment until he caved and apologized. He wasn't ready to give an apology quite yet, knowing none of the teenagers in the room would accept the excuse he had on his mind.
Mal and Jay exchanged a glance with one another then shifted their gaze toward Ben, silently daring him to say something.
"Excellent breakfast choice, mum," Ben murmured. The generic choice in words earned a groan from Mal. She didn't say anything though, opting to pointedly glare at Adam.
"I figured your favorite was the best way to go," Belle offered a small smile to her son then looked directly at Mal. "Mal, if you have something to say, let it out. I assure you you cannot do any more damage than what may get said once my husband and I are alone."
Jay coughed to disguise the chuckle that almost escaped. Carlos shifted uncomfortably in his chair and set his fork and knife down, no longer interested in eating. Evie shifted her leg so it was touching Carlos's, whispering a soft "easy, pup," when he flinched in his chair. He gave a nod then swallowed the little bit of food that was in his mouth and reached for Evie's hand with his, squeezing tightly. Knowing Mal's temper left him fearing that things would turn into a shouting match.
"Shouldn't it be on you and Ben?" The purple-haired teen scoffed. She shifted her glare to Belle's, needing a few steadying breaths to keep her temper under control. "Or is it on us to damage control now that he's seen the hell we were raised in?"
"Hardly on you," Belle spoke softly and shook her head. "We are still trying to figure out how to best han-"
"The public should know," Mal interrupted. She rolled her eyes when Evie threw a warning look in her direction. "Especially now that Anastasia's family is involved. She isn't one for keeping her head down."
"If you don't want to make a statement, we can," Jay added before Ben or Belle could say anything. "But you may not want that since that would include a request of it being broadcasted for the Isle to see."
"A significantly worse idea than simply making an announcement yourself," Evie added with a shake of her head. "I have a feeling the children of the Isle won't take kindly to learning some of them have a parent over here with the kingdom having known."
"Why does that sound like an ultimatum?" Ben glanced over at Evie, visibly shaken since it came from her instead of Jay or Mal.
"Because it is one," Carlos didn't look up from his lap. The words were almost too quiet to be heard. "I can guarantee there are kids… Kids that have it worse than…" The rest of his thought trailed off and he shook his head, suddenly interested in his eggs again.
"So you're saying," Ben paused since Jay held a hand up to interrupt him before his thought got out. He merely raised an eyebrow at him.
"Debrief the public - Auradon's public and get a system in place to transfer the worse off kids with Auradon blood here," He deadpanned then gestured at where Mal, Evie, and Carlos sat. "We will work with people on the Isle to start bettering the lives of the other kids and citizens."
"Right," The king nodded, quiet while he figured out how to phrase his thoughts. "Anything else along with that… suggestion?"
"The names of the donors need to be made public," Mal growled out. "Along with what your father did." She shifted her gaze to Adam, eyes narrowing before she continued. "You would be back on the Isle with no assistance had I been left in charge of things."
"Mal we can use him," Evie interjected. She refused to look anywhere near Adam, instead opting to closely eye each of her friends to see how they were feeling. "He knows more than anyone else in the room."
"Yeah," Mal shook her head. "And he hasn't said anything. Blackmailing is more of my mother's thing and I'm wanting to see him pay for what he did. There's got to be a way to find a compromise that doesn't include letting him get away without repercussions."
Adam cleared his throat, earning distrusting looks from three of the four teens from the Isle. Carlos squeezed Evie's hand and kept quiet, continuing to act like his breakfast was the most interesting part of the discussion that was going on around him.
"I would be willing to give out a few names," He announced and tried to look at his wife. Belle's expression was unreadable to the point of not giving a reaction to his words.
"At what cost?" Jay asked through gritted teeth. There was a heavy silence where he, Mal, and Evie narrowed their eyes at Adam.
"No cost," The ex-king shrugged. Mal and Jay exchanged a glance with one another, the two shaking their heads once their silent exchange was done.
"There is always a cost," Jay growled out. "We already know about Anthony. I don't think you are in a position to try bargaining."
"Only a few?" Evie raised an eyebrow at Adam. "Which ones then?"
"I can name Carlos's father and one of the others," Adam murmured. Carlos made a squeak noise and shook his head. There was a beat of silence then Mal growled.
"Oh no," She shook her head. "You'll be giving more names over than just that. I'm almost certain my mother's spellbook has something to put to use if you are going to be difficult."
"Mal," Evie whispered her name as a warning. "We can't—" The rest of her thought was lost since Mal glared at her.
"Can't what, E?" Mal grimaced. "What he did is worse than what our parents did."
"That doesn't make it right," The blue-haired teen shook her head. "Surely there are other ways to go about this."
"Whatever it takes, Evie," Mal spoke through gritted teeth. "Think about what Carlos went through and what could have been if he admitted Auradon was involved before things hit this extreme."
"He wouldn't have," Jay interjected. The teen threw a glare in the ex-king's direction, looking annoyed since Adam seemed disinterested in the conversation. "With how careless things are, Mal may be right."
"No," The word came out in a whisper at first. Carlos cleared his throat and rapidly shook his head. "We c-can't — w-won't…" He paused to take a steadying breath and clenched his jaw, locking eyes with Adam before he spoke again. "You're giving us four names."
A scoff escaped through Adam's lips before he could control it. Taking orders from a teenager wasn't something he did. It was almost laughable coming from the youngest of the children from the Isle. The hiss of air earned nearly identical glares from the teenagers. Another deep breath from Carlos, then the teen risked speaking again.
"Five for that," He grimaced. "Or M-Mal will turn… turn you into… into a frog." Mal raised an eyebrow at Carlos then cautiously pulled her mother's spell book out from her pocket, quietly thumbing through it until she found the spell she was looking for.
"What's it going to be?" Mal glowered at Adam. "Five names or Ben getting a frog as a parent?"
"Surely that isn't necessary," Ben sighed. "There are other ways to—" He quickly shut his mouth when his mother shook her head.
"Let them do it," Belle murmured. "He did not take me seriously when I was polite about it."
"A drastic measure, isn't it?" Ben asked. His mother shrugged her shoulders in response.
"We should have used a drastic measure before things hit this point," She answered. Belle fixed her husband with a glare, not feeling benevolent enough to give him any sort of leeway. She cast a glance in Mal's direction, noting the teen's shocked demeanor at her threat being supported, then cocked her head to the side.
"You heard her, Adam," Belle shifted her gaze to him and raised an eyebrow. A hint of a frown creased over her lips. "Five names or becoming a frog? Your name doesn't count."
There was a beat of silence. The tension was thick enough to leave Carlos shaking in his chair. Evie's attempts at calming him down were ignored. Jay glared at Adam, gently nudging Mal when the silence seemed to drag on.
"I'll give you until five," Mal forced a scowl. Her stomach was in knots, leaving her anxious about needing to use a spell. The threat had to count as something though. Surely it had to be enough to get Adam to say something.
"The book doesn't have a spell to reverse things. Five. Four. Three," She paused to find the spell, hand raising at the ready in case she had to follow through on the threat. "Two, on—" The rest of the word hung in the air, Adam having thrown both hands up and shouted something that sounded like 'I'll do it.' Mal froze, features shifting to a glare.
"Get on with it," She hissed out through gritted teeth. Mal kept her hand up in a threat, the spellbook open on the table in front of her. She raised a brow when Adam didn't immediately say anything then shifted so the book was closer to her. "Won't say a word, need a song. Turn my enemy—"
"Nathaniel, Kuzco, Flynn, and Naveen," Adam shouted before Mal could finish. A look of relief washed over the villain kids' expressions.
"Pardon me," Jay forced a cheerful look. "I believe that was four. You are missing one. Did any of you take that down?"
"Got it," Ben spoke softly. "Nathaniel, Kuzco, Flynn, and Naveen." He nearly asked if four was enough but the mixed expressions from his friends left him knowing it wasn't enough. "We're short one."
"Right," Adam pressed his tongue against his cheek, silently questioning which name would be best to give next. It didn't come down to protecting friends since he threw Flynn's name into the mix but he wasn't certain the kingdom would be able to handle knowing several royal families had participated in things. The Charmings had enough on their plates as it was with Anastasia's family getting settled.
"Phoebus," He rolled his eyes. "The other five can be saved for another date."
"Yeah, as tempting as that sounds, I think you would be best suited as a frog," Jay chuckled. "Took too much to get you to give those five up and we can't be certain you are telling the truth."
"I can check that," Ben announced. "If you'll excuse me, I will run the names up against the files we found. See if they match any of the descriptions or initials that were given."
"What about figuring out who my father is?" Evie added before Ben got the chance to stand up. "And the other children?"
"We can look it over once we get an idea of who everyone is, E," Mal murmured. She spoke quietly since she could tell Evie and Carlos were anxious now that they had been given names.
"I'm going to turn you into a toad if those names don't match up," Her next thought was accompanied by a glare in Adam's direction. The original spell had been fake to get him to give the information over. If the whole thing proved to be a lie, it would turn into her using a spell from her mother's book.
Adam didn't say anything in response, silently running through options. There was no knowing what would happen if he gave the other's names. Belle wasn't all that forthcoming with him. Ben had barely said anything to him. It was well deserved but still left him wondering if there was a way to soften the inevitable fallout.
"If you don't give the next name, I will," Belle broke the silence that settled over the teens and her husband.
"Excuse me?" Adam properly turned to look at his wife, giving her an incredulous look in response to her words. Belle met his gaze with a glare and raised an eyebrow, taking a steadying breath before she answered him.
"Surely you must know I have been talking to Cinderella since the moment you got in touch with her," She scoffed. "I still don't appreciate Ben and me having been left out of that decision-making process."
Jay and Mal exchanged a look with each other, surprised that Belle was talking the way she was with them and their friends in the room.
"What does Cinderella have to do with anything?" Adam took on a gaze similar to his wife's. He mirrored her raised brow then crossed his arms over his chest.
"Charles has been acting rather off since Ella mentioned Anastasia moving in," Belle shrugged. "She's beginning to get suspicious that it may be something to do with your suddenly deciding Anastasia was allowed back."
"Yes, well," Adam deflated since Belle narrowed her eyes at him. "He was on the planning committee."
"Is that all?" His wife asked, nostrils flaring when he didn't give an immediate answer.
"I—" He went to try to defend himself and trailed off since Ben returned with a notebook and a small folder.
"My apologies, am I interrupting something?" Ben asked. His parents exchanged a glance and shook their heads.
"Actually grateful you're back, mate," Jay spoke softly when Ben neared him. "I think your mother was ready to rip into your father."
"Noted," Ben murmured then took the seat in between his parents. "The good news is the names match up. The bad news being it looks like it isn't time to turn my father into a toad."
"A pity," Mal scoffed from across the table. "Now can you elaborate about the four names that were given? They aren't relevant in any of the stories our parents mentioned."
"Right," Ben wrinkled his nose in thought. "How much did your parents tell you about Auradon?"
"Just that your father ruined everything by trapping us on the Isle," Mal shrugged. "Mother occasionally ranted about the fairies and Aurora."
"Pop only ever mentioned hating Aladdin," Jay forced out a chuckle. "Never mentioned anything about his downfall. They sort avoided telling us about their failed endeavors."
"Well of course I know Snow White," Evie rolled her eyes. "Mother wants— wanted me to be the fairest of them all."
"Dalmatians," Carlos added with a shrug. The dog breed had become a swear word of sorts since mentioning them could easily get his mother to forget what she was telling him off for and go off on a rant about her not getting her hands on the puppies.
"And the other villains?" Ben asked, more curious than anything else. His question was met with blank stares from the four teens.
"They taught us how to be evil," Jay answered. "Occasionally mentioned names but Dragon Hall had no information about Auradon. The only glimpses we ever got were when things were broadcast on television."
"Black and white doesn't do this place any justice," Evie sighed. "I used to get gown ideas from some of the programs that were shown. Not that it is of any importance now."
"Right, so we have several things to cover then," Ben grimaced. "So the process of elimination says Anthony must be the only one my father had. That's one villain and their child off the list. I still haven't gotten to the paperwork that would properly match that up."
"And the others?" Evie asked. "None of their names were familiar. Granted, my mother kept me rather sheltered but we had the television…"
"Where to begin?" Ben looked to his mother for assistance. Belle nodded to say she would take over on speaking.
"Kuzco is Yzma's nemesis," Belle announced. "Then Flynn is Mother Gothel's and Naveen would be Doctor Facilier's."
"Aren't Naveen and Flynn royalty?" Jay made a face when he asked. He could distinctly remember learning about Tiana and Naveen during class.
"Unfortunately yes," Belle nodded. "That means navigating sharing the information will be a bit of a challenge."
"Why do you say that?" Carlos asked. "The p-public n-needs t-to…" He trailed off since he didn't want to end up stammering the whole thought out.
"They will know," Ben frowned. "It's going to be a shock hearing my father had a part to play. Other royals being involved may ruin their standing in society."
"As it should," Mal and Evie said at the same time. Evie bit her lip to keep from saying anything else. Mal, however, continued to talk. "Why are you so worried?"
"They wives and kids," Ben murmured. "It could ruin their family dynamics. We are going to need to meet with them in person before properly announcing the news to the public. It's only fair to the uninvolved parties."
"Point taken," Mal grumbled. "We are still missing information about the other two names your father gave."
"Right," Ben nodded. "Phoebus technically counts as a hero from Claude Frollo's past. He's not the hunchback though. Then Nathaniel is… Mum you may need to answer that one. I wasn't aware he was in the kingdom."
"He turned in Queen Narissa," Adam announced before Belle was given a chance to elaborate. "Did wonders for the kingdom of Andalasia without being the full hero of the story."
"He settled in Auradon shortly after your father and I married and took the throne," Belle said with a shake of her head. "He's one of the names on the list that I am shocked to see since he was keeping a low profile once things calmed down."
"If he was keeping a low profile, why would he do it?" Jay pressed his lips together to suppress a frown.
"Another person that was convinced to give one donation," Adam shrugged. "The committee was pretty convincing about low samples not taking."
"Gross," Evie made a face, not appreciating the sudden turn the conversation took. "We don't need details like that."
"Actually, they may be helpful," Mal admitted through gritted teeth. "Give a better idea of similarities to look for if certain people were regular donors, cross others off the list."
"So you're saying Carlos or I could have siblings?" Evie wrinkled her nose. "Half-siblings that is."
"That is a possibility," The two teens looked surprised since Adam answered before Mal got the chance to say anything. He paused to take a steadying breath since Ben and Belle narrowed their eyes at him. "No others from me I can reassure you of that. There were others, however…"
"Others that what?" Mal snapped when Adam trailed off. She did not appreciate how cryptic he was being. It didn't help that it took needing to threaten him to be given half of the names.
"That provided multiple donations," Adam shrugged. Mal gave a loud groan and narrowed her eyes at him.
"How many?" She asked through gritted teeth. "How many donations are we talking about?" Her eyes briefly went green, the emerald hues narrowing at Ben from across the table. "Will they be held more accountable than the rest?"
"We will have to," Ben murmured, looking nervous since Mal was still glaring at him. He relaxed slightly when her expression softened. "Once we get an idea of how many of the donations took."
"Yeah, too bad we don't have a way of clearly knowing that," Jay scoffed. "The villains would have had a more thorough approach to this."
"He's right," Evie admitted with a sigh. "Since they give a shit about their plans following through and tracking their progress."
"E," Carlos looked shocked since she swore. "She- She's right. M-Mum's g-got notes on the attempt with the d-d-dalmatians. They're in one of her… one of her old bags. Wasn't s'posed to find them."
"Pop always said the plan for the lamp was supposed to be failproof," Jay shook his head. "Would have gotten away with it if Aladdin hadn't outwitted him."
"My mother has a whole diary filled with world domination plans for whenever the barrier falls," Mal forced out a laugh. "Very detailed but certainly not something we need to worry about for right now."
"Point taken," Adam grumbled then shook his head. "Even I can admit it could have been better thought out."
"Shouldn't have happened at all," Belle rolled her eyes. "I'm still not certain about what you were thinking when assuming it was a great idea."
"Did we want to look at the files or..?" Ben interrupted the banter between his parents. His gaze flicked from his father to his mother, then to where Evie and Carlos sat together.
"It wouldn't hurt," Evie answered for her and Carlos. He nodded from beside her. "Did any of the ones that were mentioned have anything to do with my or Carlos' mother?" The two narrowed their eyes at Adam.
"I am not sure," He admitted. "The committee didn't have plans that involved following up on the women that-" The rest of the thought trailed off since Mal growled.
"The lack of forethought is despicable," She hissed out through gritted teeth then bit her lower lip to keep from saying anything else.
"We would need to consult the list of donations that were used," Adam continued. "There should be a file with that dating back to when the project first started."
"Will it be all that helpful where you haven't given the other names of people involved?" Jay arched an eyebrow when he spoke. "We caught on to the files having numbers assigned to them but hadn't - Correct me if I'm wrong, Ben. I don't think we had gotten to the point of locating who took what."
"We hadn't," Ben shook his head. "Things are too vague to make sense of. I still have a few more files that need uploading before I am willing to hand anything over to my father."
"So where does that put us now, then?" Evie asked. "We can still look over their files, right? See if anything is hinting toward the more notorious mothers expressing an interest in things."
"Right," Ben nodded then stood up from his seat, approaching where Carlos and Evie were. "Would you two like to be the ones to look?"
Carlos paled and didn't immediately do anything to answer. He exchanged a look with Evie then shifted one shoulder in a half-shrug of sorts.
"We'll do it," Evie nodded. Ben offered the stack of papers to her and she carefully split the files in half then handed one pile to Carlos.
They were quiet while they read over the work, eventually switching the stacks to make sure they both thoroughly read through the information. Jay and Mal spent the whole time glaring at Adam from across the table.
"Did you see?" Evie quirked a brow at Carlos but didn't finish her sentence, not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves. He gave a single nod of his head then went back to reading over the documents in his hands.
"See what?" Mal groaned. "I sincerely hope you two aren't planning on-" Evie held her hand up to get Mal to stop talking, looking relieved when the purple-haired teen didn't continue.
"We aren't done yet, M," She reminded her. "Give us another moment then we'll elaborate."
"Tw-Twice?" Carlos whispered then offered the paper Evie referenced to her.
"Twice?" Evie cocked her head to the side then took the parchment from Carlos, eyebrows furrowing together when she spotted what he was referring to. "The last one would have to be — unless…"
"Are you two planning on sharing or?" Jay interrupted before Evie could finish her thought. She and Carlos exchanged a look with each other then Carlos shook his head.
"Not yet," Evie offered a sheepish smile. She was still scanning over the packet she and Carlos were eyeing. The letters CDV had shown up twice in the same file, the Auradon half of the equation leaving things rather confusing since there wasn't a name attached to the number.
"Did it pop up again?" Carlos whispered after setting down the packets he finished. "I d-didn't see it in the others."
"No," Evie shook her head. Carlos gave a relieved sigh then placed the stack of papers on the table in front of him. Evie put hers on top of the stack then neatly put them together, handing the pages over for Mal and Jay to peruse.
"What do you…" Carlos trailed off since Mal reached forward to grab the packets, her eyes narrowing when their gazes met.
"I'm not allowing the keeping secrets thing to keep happening," Mal spoke through gritted teeth. Carlos curled into himself and didn't immediately say anything. He brushed his leg against Evie's in a silent attempt at getting her to do the talking instead.
"We aren't hiding anything," Evie murmured. "Just don't know what to make out of it so we'll have you and Jay look those over and see if you have the same hypothesis."
"What are we looking for exactly?" Jay arched an eyebrow, expression shifting to a look of concern when Carlos shrugged his shoulders.
"A few letters," She answered. "I think you'll figure it out once you reach the file."
Mal made a face and stopped glaring at Carlos. The answer was not satisfactory but it was better than nothing. With how anxious Carlos seemed, she couldn't help but wonder if it was something to do with him.
She got through the first file and noticed nothing of note in it, offering it to Jay before continuing to glance through the others. Two more files and nothing to worry about. It wasn't until the packet with a six on it that she spotted something of interest.
CDV. The letters were the only ones listed in the file. They appeared twice and appeared to have a two year difference between the dates that accompanied them. Mal didn't say anything at first, looking over at Jay when she offered the packet to him, not bothering to close it so he could look at it from the beginning.
"What's—" He trailed off when he spotted the initials. "Oh…" There was a beat of silence where he locked eyes with Carlos, uncertain if anything else should be said.
"D-Don't want to kn-know," Carlos stammered and shook his head. "D-Diego would've said… Don't remember m-momma b-being..."
"Is there anything I can assist with?" Ben asked from across the table. He and his parents were quiet while the teens read over the documents, only looking concerned at Mal's initial outburst and Carlos' stammering.
"No," Carlos' expression made it seem as though it wasn't a solid answer but Ben gave a nod anyway.
"His mother's initials are on there twice," Evie murmured. She earned a groan and a glare from Carlos. "Number six's file. 'Los you at least deserve an explanation."
"Huh," Ben wrinkled his nose, pausing to narrow his eyes at Adam. "I suppose that falls on my father to answer. We never found an explanation about how things were tracked."
Adam kept quiet. He was struggling with finding a way to properly explain things since it wasn't the most well thought out plan. It likely wouldn't be received well by any of the others in the room.
Evie, Jay, and Mal joined Ben in narrowing their eyes at the ex-king. A moment of silence passed then Belle shifted to elbow him.
"Well?" She asked, expression unreadable. Her husband remained silent. The only thing that could be heard was the rhythmic tapping of Carlos' sneaker against the ground.
"It would be years noted when the women tried to conceive," He grimaced, gaze focused on the table since the glares he received were uncomfortable. "The committee didn't follow up on whether or not the attempts were successful."
"Forgive me for asking him to repeat," Belle scowled at her husband, the words spoken for the sake of the children from the Isle. "But it almost sounds like you said you said they didn't bother with checking in after."
"That's precisely…" Adam trailed off since Evie gave a stifled sob and abruptly pushed her chair back from the table.
"Right, I'm done with this for the day," She sniffled then looked toward where Carlos sat. "That's enough for today. I can't stomach hearing anything else."
"D-Done," Carlos stammered and stood up, gaze focused on his feet. He took hold of Evie's hand and let her lead him out of the dining area. The two didn't stop until they reached the boys' bedroom.
"I hope you're happy," Mal snapped at Adam. The only thing that kept her from standing up and going after them was Jay's hand around her wrist. "That isn't even the worst of what you've done. If it weren't for his saying he doesn't want to know I'd ask who number six is."
"We can't do that, Mal," Jay spoke calmly. He cautiously took the papers he and the others had looked over and carefully put them together, eyebrows furrowing when he looked up at Belle and Ben.
"Will we see these again if we give them back?" He asked through gritted teeth, still uncertain if Belle could be trusted or not.
"Of course, dear," Belle nodded. "We are still working on uploading them to the palace's server and intend to have those readily available for you and the others."
"That better not be a lie," Mal hissed out. She took a steadying breath then turned toward Ben. "We need to know who the others are to figure out the next step for the Isle. I can't believe they let people try more than once."
A/N: Oof. Hi and my apologies it's been a while. Mix of being ill, work changes, college courses and the Covid vaccine kicking my butt. I'm back now though. As usual, I'll give an announcement if properly planning on abandoning things — will not be happening since the chapters are well plotted out for this.