WARNING: This chapter contains a TRIGGER TOPIC.
The trigger topic will NOT be specified in this author's note because it will spoil the plot for the next couple chapters. If you need to know before reading this chapter, send me a private message and I will tell you what it is.
With that said, the next chapter update will be delayed a couple days.
A CLOSED sign hung on the wrought iron doors of the Auradon Museum of Cultural History. Behind it, a single night guard obliviously fell asleep at his post. He had nothing to worry about since he lived in Auradon.
Or, so he thought.
The princess quietly snuck across the museum lobby, which held the spinning wheel used to curse her mother. Standing thoughtfully in front of the security console, she silently turned knobs and pushed buttons. In the matter of seconds, all of the alerts were shut off and every alarm had been silenced.
She swiftly climbed the foyer stairs, beaming with pride of her first successful foray into crime.
Ascending to the second floor, the princess cautiously tiptoed down a dimly lit hallway. She slipped into the museum's Room of Crowns without making a sound. The gilded gallery showcased the glorious tiaras and crowns of the queens and kings of fairy tales past.
The princess walked by the dazzling tiaras of everyday royals and headed straight to the far end of the room. A sign read 'Crown of the Queen of Auradon'. She pulled back the blue velvet curtain and bounded up the few steps to a lit glass that held the breathtaking crown. The gem-covered object of beauty was a magnificent two-tiered gold, diamond, and sapphire crown.
In accordance with kingdom tradition, the crown was meant to sit on the head of the king's chosen queen—which was supposed to be her! Oh, how she coveted the stunning crown and everything it represented. She was not about to sit by and let the most precious heirloom in the land be worn by that wench.
With a mischievous smile tainting her overly pure face, the princess hoisted the iron poker in the air, smashing it into the glass case. Shards of glass now scattered amongst the room. The princess carelessly tossed the iron poker aside.
The crown would be hers!
She grabbed the majestic sapphire-laden crown from the case and raised it defiantly above her head.
Suddenly, a red velvet curtain flapped open across the room. A green-tinged light cascaded in from a hidden chamber behind it. As if roused by the princess's villainous intentions, Maleficent's scepter, which sat dormant on a spotlighted pedestal since the king's coronation, pulsed with an eerie green light.
The princess, mesmerized by the sinister light, clutched the prized crown in her manicured hand. She glided down the steps and followed the mysterious beacon. The princess floated to the forbidden object, drawn to its promise of unlimited power and sweet revenge.
In the presence of the scepter, the princess changed her mind. The night was no longer about the mere theft of the bejeweled crown. The scepter had opened the princess's eyes to the possibility of much more than that.
Her gaze darted about the Room of the Dark Arts and stopped on a straw basket lined with a red-and-white gingham napkin and filled with a dozen of Evil Queen's poisoned apples. With a quick sweep of her arm, the princess cleared the basket from its pedestal and set down the bejeweled crown in its place.
She would take the scepter instead.
She strode toward Maleficent's staff, her gait powered by awe and hunger. Suddenly, the princess turned around, and returned to retrieve the crown.
She didn't have to choose between the queen's crown and the deadly scepter. A real villain wouldn't take just one item. They would steal both!
So, she did.
The princess placed the queen's crown regally on her own head. With her self-coronation complete, the new queen yanked the pulsing scepter off its stand.
The orb changed at her touch, instantly turning a more menacing shade of green. The new queen's eyes widened as the potent evil force swept through her body, transforming the prissy pink princess into a dark, dangerous sorceress.
The new queen's evil new look was heart-stopping. Her pale, anemic hair had turned a rich magenta ombre, flowing from deep rose at the roots to midnight blue at the tips.
Her demure pastel pink outfit was no more. In its place, she wore a wicked getup of black-and-blush fitted leather pants and a tea-length duster with alarming black feather accents. Her necklace now featured two charms, a bright blue-bird and a dark black raven. The new queen looked like a warrior enchantress—gorgeous, menacing, and scary.
A maniacal look washed over the new queen's pretty face as she decided to take Maleficent's scepter for a test run. She raised the staff aloft and unleashed its power on the crystal chandelier above. The fixture shattered in a menacing cascade of glass and light.
The new queen's nefarious laugh echoed throu—
GASP!
Jerking awake from her slumber, Audrey sat up in bed. Drenched in sweat, the princess allowed herself a few moments to calm down so her breathing would get under control.
"Another nightmare," she mumbled while throwing the blankets off her toward the edge of the bed. "At least it wasn't as bad as the one from a couple days ago."
And which one is that? challenged an all too familiar voice in her mind. The one where you turned half the kingdom to stone or the one where you transformed King Ben into a beast?
"Ben isn't king yet," Audrey argued for the umpteenth time, slowly swinging her legs over the edge of her bed. "And stop distracting me. I'll be late to class again if you keep talking."
You're already late, the voice retorted snidely. Don't believe me? Check the time.
Curiosity taking over her, the princess grabbed her smart phone from the bedside table. Flipping it over, Audrey couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her lips. The lock screen showed it was nearly 8:45, but the princess could have sworn she set her alarms last night. She had one to wake up, one to get dress, and one for when she needed to leave so she would be on time for class. Did she sleep through them?
I told you so, the mysterious voice harassed. It doesn't really matter anyways. No one is going to notice that you're missing.
"Gil would notice," Audrey argued as she mustered her strength to stand. "He has free period right now, so he's studying with his friends down the hall. That's what he told me yesterday."
He's three doors down, yet he hasn't checked on you, the voice pestered. If he really cared for you like you think he does, Gil would have woken you up instead of me.
"Gil probably assumed I'm in class," Audrey claimed as slowly trudge forward, tripping over her long pale pink night dress and the clothes she had scattered on the floor. These past few days, she would just throw her clothes on the floor instead of in her hamper because she no longer cared about keeping her room tidy.
How pathetic, the voice spat. You are so useless! How can you expect that stupid oaf to fall in love with you when you don't know how to walk?
"Don't call him that!" Audrey shouted as she turned to face her vanity mirror. However, the mirror had so many cracks running through it and broken pieces missing from where the princess had thrown her hairbrush at it yesterday. Instead of a crisp clean reflection, a shattered version of herself stared back. "Gil is kind, generous, sweet, and handsome. He is better than all the princes in Auradon."
Careful, the voice warned teasingly. If your parents or your grandparents heard you say that they would disown you for sure, maybe force you to marry a prince, or worse: take away your title as 'princess'.
"I don't care about being a princess," Audrey insisted, forcing herself to pry her eyes away from the mirror. "I don't care about a lot of things right now, but I do care about—"
Gil? the voice assumed. It—she—laughed as Audrey slowly made her way to her private bathroom, the laugh sounding identical to the one in her dream. Puh-lease. The only reason you care for him is because he is the only one you didn't hurt with your reckless spells. It's twisted really: Ben falling for the daughter of the villain in your mother's tale, while you fell for the son of the villain in his father's tale. You and Ben dated. I wonder if Gil ever dated Mal. That would be so damn ironic, don't you think?
"Shut up!" Audrey yelled, finally opening the door and entering the bathroom. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"
That's not how this works. Did you already forget?
As if possessed or in a trance, Audrey adverted her gaze to her bathroom mirror. Eyes growing wide with fear, the princess grabbed the closest thing to her—a bottle of hairspray—and chucked it at the looking glass. The mirror shattered into millions of pieces on impact, but the reflection stayed the same.
Audrey still saw the corrupted image of herself as the evil enchantress from her dream.
Nice try, Bitch, Queen Audrey tormented with a sinister snarl permanently etched on her lips. You can't get rid of me that easily. I am you. This is your future!
"N-no." Audrey shook her head in denial. "I won't let that happen."
What are you going to do? Queen Audrey mocked, a hideous growl in her tone. There's nothing you can do to change it.
Audrey glared at her menacing reflection, until she noticed a somewhat large shard of the mirror tucked away behind the faucet. Without a second thought, the princess grabbed the piece and jabbed it into her wrist. Gritting her teeth at the pain, Audrey dragged the glass halfway down her arm, leaving behind a major laceration. She repeated the process with her other arm, trying her best to ignore the pain when she stabbed the object into her skin once more.
Blood oozed out of the self-inflicted wounds. The blood dripped down her arms and on to the floor, creating an awful mess. Feeling light-headed, the princess collapsed on the floor, no longer having the energy or the strength to stand.
The awful witch cackled at the princess's misery. Have fun in hell!
Audrey didn't fight the urge to keep her eyes open. Her eyes cut fluttering shut as she watched herself become surrounded by the scarlet liquid. As the life drained out of her, Audrey closed her eyes for good, her final thought being, No one will miss me. . .
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"AUDREY!"