Chapter Fifty
A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to Disney, the Greek Myths, or in Sura's case LotusQuil. :D
*ducks projectiles* Okay, okay! I'm sorry this took so long! But unfortunately my brain did not want it to be written, getting words to get onto the page was like pulling teeth! So I hope you all enjoy!
Now…*blows horn in celebration* guys we made it to one thousand reviews! Thank you all so much for your support with this story!
Okay so by general consensus, it looks like there'll be two sequels after this story! :D
OceanBlueSeaEyes: Yeah, it's definitely a good thing that Ryan got there when he did, no need to traumatize the poor guy! :D I'm sure that Ari and Paige are going to grow up to be stunning, I mean their grandmother had the gift of beauty after all :D
Guest: Oh I'm so glad you liked the chapter! :D
Do You Wonder: Oh I loved this one shot! :D Geez poor Alice! Good thing she had the Wonderland magic to aid her and keep her safe!
danifan3000: Yep, they certainly did! :D
Guest: Oh thank you so much! I'm so glad you like Claudine and Henry along with Ally and Freddie! :D
Guest: First off don't call yourself weird for hyperfixating on Shayla, I found your thoughts interesting and well thought out! Yeah it did, it's like a blink and you'll miss it mention though. And thank you! Oh I loved this one shot! Very well done! :D
Monkeymama1516: Well someone had to make up for the unnecessary hell she went through just because she was born to Frollo :D
Marcus Emrys: Okay Palpatine :D And yeah, Ally's smooth isn't she? Helps that she's trying direct honesty as she did over in Wicked World :D
AmethystDragon14: Yay! Yep, another ship sailing from the harbor :D and Henry is definitely a better man than half the men in Auradon or the Isle. I think the only one better would be Ben! Hey, anything could happen :D
a-person-on-the-internet-75: I'm so glad you liked Freddie x Ally :D Honestly I think Disney did Descendants a disservice by not just having it be a television show and then like the movies be the big season finales you know? That way more kids could be introduced, we could see the villain parents more…like the first season could be before the proclamation, alternate between the Isle and Auradon. Then after the first movie, the second season could focus on Mal's spiral while Uma gains power on the Isle, and then, the third season could be the improvements Ben and the others make to the Isle with the third movie being the series finale.
Also I'm so glad you like PirateRose (or OceanRose as you call them :D)!
twilightgirl587: Well then I'll definitely do my part to keep you sane! As for Freddie's mom…no idea!
Guest: Well in Disney's defense…Jane Darling was actually canon from the Peter Pan books, and a great-granddaughter being named after their great-grandmother isn't as bad as say Gaston naming his son after himself :D
LotusQuil: I'm so glad you liked it! And I'll try not to burn myself out :D
JudiAndTheFandoms: Oh don't cry! But I'm glad you liked it! And I hope we do get to see more of Ally and more Wonderland kids! :D
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
Quinn sighed as she sat on the bank of the Enchanted Lake, watching the others enjoy their time in the sun. Sammy and Harriet were off playing a came of 'chicken' with Freddie and Ally, with Harriet on Sammy's shoulders and Ally on Freddie's; CJ, Ryan, Sura and Hadie were all goofing around splashing each other. Celia and Hadie were sitting on the platform keeping Sura company while CJ and Ryan were in the water.
Sura had begun to climb out of her shell, especially with the ability to have more allies around her age here in Auradon as opposed to on the Isle. Plus Hadie and Sura at least had been friendly back on the Isle. It'd make sense that they'd stay that way in Auradon. Though when Hadie got friendly with Sura was a mystery to some of the older VKs.
Meanwhile Uma, Harry, Ben, and Mal were sunning themselves on the platform; each of them every so often picking their heads up to look to make sure the younger kids were safe or that the others hadn't killed themselves.
It wasn't as if she was being excluded, on the contrary. It'd been Harriet who invited her to come along when they ran into each other in the hallway as Harriet was getting ready. Freddie and Sammy had invited her to swim about a dozen times since they arrived, King Ben was always inquiring if she needed something to drink, and Mal's dog Estelle had tugged gently on her towel as if to get Quinn to join in the fun only to go swim in the water when Quinn wouldn't join him.
The last thing I want to do though is bring down the mood, or remind Mal I used to be a Caster, she thought with a small sigh. Things had gotten better with Mal, or at the very least the purple haired future Queen wasn't actively going around and turning everyone against her like Quinn had feared she would after the whole fiasco with King Ben's ring. It definitely helped that King Ben had been more vocal about trusting her after she came to him with a list of VKs she wanted to bring off the Isle.
All properly vetted by Evie and Ginny before being presented of course. And Brenden had been there every step of the way. Quinn really wished he was here now, but he had a family emergency to deal with.
Going back to the ring debacle, in Quinn's defense, a lifetime of living on the Isle wasn't about to just go away overnight and she had been the 'Jay' of the Casters. Sure she was a lot more equipped at 'smooth talking' since she was a 'royal' of the Isle and so getting the merchants and shopkeepers to just give her what she wanted was a lot easier than it would be for a non royal. No one could beat a complement and a flutter of one's eyelashes.
Well, no one except for Jay. That boy was such a smooth talker sometimes, he could sell oysters to a walrus if he wanted to.
Hard to believe Jay's off at college and DeVil's apparently looking at vet schools to apply to for after he graduates considering everyone on the Isle knew he was pretty much terrified of any sort of animal but dogs especially, Quinn thought as she pulled her towel closer to her. Evie had graciously made her a beautiful two-piece swimsuit for events like these and had she not been busy with running her own business and then meeting with Ginny about hers, she'd likely have been at the lake with Quinn.
But Quinn…she wished Evie had made it a one piece. Every time her hand brushed her side, she could still feel the raised skin of the scar left by Audrey's dagger piercing her flesh. If she went to swim with the others, Quinn knew such a scar would garner questions which would only increase Mal's distrust of her.
Plus…Quinn couldn't swim so there was that.
"This seat taken?" Mal's voice broke through Quinn's thoughts and Quinn looked up to see Mal standing over her, gesturing to a spot on the ground next to her.
"Oh…no go ahead," Quinn told her. Honestly it was surprising that Quinn hadn't noticed her get up and come over, but then again VKs were always light on their feet. "I mean…you're going to be Queen of Auradon soon so it's technically your seat anyway."
Mal shook her head as she sat down, the sun glinting off of the ring she wore around her neck. Quinn couldn't remember seeing Mal wear that when they were on the Isle together. It must have been a gift after she arrived in Auradon."The wedding's not for a few years at least. So I think it's safe to say 'soon' isn't the right word."
"Right, right…Evie had mentioned that," Quinn said. "You and King Ben…you're waiting until you're twenty?"
"That's right," Mal nodded. "It was one of the stipulations of my dad giving his permission for Ben to propose, that we wait until we were both twenty."
Quinn nodded to show that she understood but truthfully, she didn't know why Mal was telling her any of this. Mal hated her for stealing from King Ben, and Quinn knew that even if Mal was cordial when they were in public together. Never mind the fact that Quinn had returned the ring after all.
"…why are you doing this?" Quinn asked, her voice soft.
"What do you mean?" Mal asked.
Quinn looked over at her. "Why are you over here? You haven't exactly made it a secret that you distrust me. I'm just lucky that I haven't earned a smoke bomb a day the way Evie used to get back when we all lived on the Isle."
Mal couldn't help the small sigh that escaped her lips. "Look Quinn…you know I wasn't going to trust you right off the bat. We were rival gangs after all. Maybe the rivalry wasn't as bad as it was between my gang and the Angels but it was there."
"And I probably didn't endear myself my first day when I swiped from King Ben and flirted with him," Quinn muttered, shaking her head.
Mal nodded. "Look, I know Flings for Food were a thing on the Isle. And I also know that I was lucky in that I was one of the few girls who escaped such a fate, between dad's restaurant and being in the Rats. But I'm not going to be apologetic for being protective of Ben, especially after everything that happened with Freddy."
"Gotcha," Quinn sighed. The fact that Mal really hadn't answered her question about why she was there in the first place hadn't escaped Quinn's notice. But Quinn had been raised as a royal even if the royal lessons had slid to the background as the lessons the Isle taught came to the forefront.
Survival trumped decorum after all.
"Evie talked to me, about you," Mal said after a minute; her voice breaking into the silence. "Back when you were in the process of finding a brick and mortar location for your jewelry store. She asked me to give you a chance…like I gave one to her."
Quinn looked over at Mal with shock evident on her face. "Evie…she asked you to do that?"
"Yeah," Mal nodded as she leaned back and closed her eyes, as if basking in the sun. "I'll admit Quinn, you were the Caster I could see myself liking back on the Isle. After all, in the rare instances the Casters and the Rats faced off against each other, you were the one who seemed to look out for the younger members. Especially Hadie and Celia if they ever wound up in the crossfire."
"Of…of course I did," Quinn nodded. "They're just kids after all, or pre-teens now. Zevon and Maddy might not have cared about stuff like that but I was used to being the overlooked one. Just because we were on the Isle didn't mean we had to be completely mad after all."
"And here I thought you Wonderlandians liked a bit of madness," Mal said, shaking her head. Quinn couldn't help but smile a little as she heard that. Yes Mal's tone had been dry but it was almost gently teasing in a way.
It was the screams from the lake that broke the peaceful mood as both Mal and Quinn's heads shot up.
"Where's Sura?" Quinn asked as they raced onto the platform. Mal looked around and saw that the blonde was right, the younger girl was in fact missing.
How did Ben and the others miss that? Mal thought as said others scrambled to their feet.
"I don't know!" Ryan said, twisting in the water as he looked for the young girl. "She fell off the platform but I thought…almost all the Rats can swim after all…"
"She's not a Rat though, Ryan!" Quinn shouted and jumped into the lake. However, just as Sura couldn't swim, neither could Quinn. Her mother never thought it necessary to learn and in all honesty Zevon or Maddy probably hoped she would drown.
Mal looked over at Uma, biting her lip in worry as neither Quinn nor Sura resurfaced. After all, Mal still could not swim and in all honesty was completely fine with that fact. But still, she wasn't going to let people die if she could help it. "You've got the power over water. Bring them up. Now."
"On it Mal," Uma nodded as she stood up, her shell glowing bright. However, before Uma had a chance to work her magic, both Ben and Harry had dove into the water; Harriet diving off Sammy's shoulders to assist in the search.
"You want me to bring 'em up anyway?" Uma asked Mal. "Cause I think our boyfriends have that covered."
"Never thought you'd be referring to Harry as your boyfriend," Mal teased.
"Meh, when in Boreadon…"
Mal chuckled slightly but focused her attention on the water once more. Thankfully it wasn't too much longer before Ben and Harry resurfaced; followed closely by Harriet. Ben and Harry had Quinn between them while Harriet was holding Sura.
"Come on, set her down," Mal ordered, laying out the towels as she saw that Quinn wasn't moving. She may not have been buddy buddy with the blonde but she knew her father would not want to judge a child's soul.
Hey dad? Mal thought as Ben quickly started CPR on Quinn; surprisingly and thankfully Sura was just fine despite having gone under before Quinn did. Sure she was soaking wet, terrified, and coughing. But otherwise fine. At least she wasn't unconscious like Quinn was.
Yes Mali?
Quinn, Queen of Heart's daughter…she's not about to be judged by you is she?
Well that's a rather ominous question. Did you do something Mal?
No! We're all at the Enchanted Lake and one of the young kids fell in and couldn't swim so Quinn dove in—
Oh. She did a Harry.
A what?
A Harry. It's when you go to save someone you care about no matter what the cost to you, since I'm assuming Quinn can't swim either?
I-I mean, no she can't but how…?
First off I'm your father, I know everything. Second off, I was there that day when Harry dove after you when Freddy pushed you into the Cove.
…when did you…?
You kept the door open when you were informing your minions of that little fact Mal. Why do you think I banned the Angels from my restaurant despite it being in neutral territory?
That makes so much more sense now that I think about it. I never did see Angels in your restaurant after I was nine.
Yep. And to answer your question Quinn's life thread is nowhere near close to being cut. I just talked to the Fates, they're quite annoyed. Had the new scissors out and everything.
…did you threaten the Fates?
Nope. They don't really get threatened, they respond better to flattery. But I didn't do that either, someone brought her back. I'm assuming you?
Mal couldn't help but smile a little as she looked over at Quinn to see her sitting up, Ben resting a hand on her back to keep her steady.
Nope…it was Ben.
…Sunspot's mortal though.
CPR's a thing dad. Probably why you don't have as many mortals coming down to the Underworld for their beloveds.
Funny Mal, really funny.
Oh really? I thought so.
"You okay Quinn?" Sura asked, her soft voice pulling Mal out of her thoughts.
Quinn nodded. "I…I think I should be asking you that. What happened?"
"I…I got up to get something to drink," Sura said. "But the platform was wet from all the splashing and I…I fell off the platform, out of view of the others."
"We noticed she wasn't on the platform a couple of minutes after though," CJ said as she and Ryan hopped out of the lake; the others right behind her.
"And that's when you called out for us," Mal nodded; chuckling as Estelle joined the group on the platform and shook out his fur.
"Gods Estelle!" Uma shook her head.
Sura smiled a little as Estelle trotted over to her, his right head licking her cheek. "Quinn floated me closer to the top," she said, her voice no higher than a whisper. "I think she kicked me to get me closer to the top before Captain Harriet got me…"
"I think we should get these two checked out," Ben said as he stood up once he was convinced that Quinn was okay. Walking over to Mal, he smiled as she kissed his cheek.
"Are you okay?"
"Just fine," Ben nodded and leaned down to whisper in Mal's ear. "I guess you could say Quinn just pulled a Mal. Forgetting she couldn't swim to save someone else."
Mal shook her head slightly but a smile pulled at her lips. Okay universe, I get it. Besides, I…I can't see anyone who was truly evil jumping into the lake for someone else. Maybe Yzla would as the leader of the Casters but that's about it.
"How'd you get that?" Hadie asked, pointing at Quinn's scar. "The royal kids of the Isle don't really interact with blades."
"Hadie, I don't think—"
"No, it's fine your highness," Quinn said softly but bit her lip as she looked at Mal. "I um…I spoke up against the Casters joining forces with the Angels back on the Isle…back when Freddy was alive."
"Can we kill him again?" Uma muttered.
"I'll talk to dad, have him add a punishment to Freddy's eternal torment," Mal nodded.
Quinn blinked in shock, she'd honestly expected Mal and Uma to say she deserved it.
"What? Shocked we're angry on your behalf?" Uma asked.
"Well…yes."
Mal chuckled. "Quinn, we're the leaders of the Rats. Do you really think we'd be jumping for joy at the thought of our two rivals teaming up? On that note though, why didn't we ever team up with the Casters to destroy Freddy?"
"Two words Mali. Detergent. Boy," Harry told her.
"Ah right," Mal nodded.
Ben sighed and shook his head. "You're still using Akiho's nickname for him?"
"Hey, it stuck," Harry shrugged. "Now I think you said something about getting Sura and Quinn checked out to make sure they're okay?"
"Right, right," Ben nodded. "Quinn, you think you're okay to walk? If not, Harry and I can carry you—."
"I'm fine," Quinn said quickly. She didn't want to give Mal another reason to potentially hate her. Future Queen and all, with the ability to boot Quinn back to the Isle should she choose.
"Okay," Ben said hesitantly before looking at Mal. "Can we take your car? I don't think my scooter's a good idea."
"Which is why I said we should just take the limo, Ben."
"And if I did that, we'd be leaving you guys strand…I completely forgot you can teleport."
"Exactly," Mal chuckled as she walked over to her bag and tossed Ben the keys. Her car was a present Ben had given her so Mal would be able to have her own personal car and be able to go out without being mobbed. Granted the faded purple would have given it away regardless but it was nice to make people work their brains.
She still hadn't had a chance to learn to drive said car but that was okay—Ally had her license so she had driven the rest of the group while Mal and Ben rode on his scooter.
Ben tossed the keys and he, Sura, Harriet, Harry, and Quinn made their way back to the car—Harriet gently kissing Sammy on the cheek before picking Sura up just in case the young girl was injured too.
"Well…that happened," Celia sighed. "Guess Lake Day's over?"
"You'd be right," Uma nodded before looking at Mal. "You've got that look on your face. You've got an idea?"
Mal nodded. "Didn't Rapunzel mention she had a line of anti-aging skin cream?"
"Random non sequitur win Mali but yeah," Uma nodded.
Mal rolled her eyes. "I wonder if we could get her to make a cream that would make that scar become reduced at the very least. You know, peace offering."
"That's not a bad idea," Freddie said, having joined the group; Ally by her side with her arm looped through her's. "I bet we could have Ginny ask considering she's practically family to Rapunzel from what Uma's told me."
Mal nodded, the idea forming in her head. The trust might be shaky and could decimate at anytime…but it was there. Quinn could have looked out for herself, could have let Sura stay underwater but she didn't.
She pulled, as her dad had said, a Harry. And Harry was one of the most loyal people Mal knew after all.
"Well then," she said with a small smile. "Let's go ask her."