The sequel to Even Villains Love their Kids. The author suggests reading that fic before diving into this one.
Much like the story before this one, there WILL be references to abuse and neglect throughout this work. If that makes you uncomfortable, don't pass go or collect the $200 at the end of the chapter. I will add content warnings as needed. Cross-posted on AO3.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.
The month of December should have brought an unbearable amount of cold to the Isle of the Lost. Things were made slightly more tolerable for the island's doomed citizens since Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay kept a close eye on what Auradon used during cold weather and made a list of necessities that needed to be sent to the Isle.
Hats, gloves, coats, hand and foot warmers, and blankets were among the most important things to be sent over. Boots, scarves, and extra socks were considered accessories since the majority of the children and adults on the Isle knew how to survive the cold weather.
Anastasia Tremaine and her husband were thrown off by the act of kindness that came from the royals in Auradon. New clothes for the entire family and a feast were offered in exchange for their taking Adam in for a few days toward the end of the month.
They were not given an explanation about why the visit was necessary but someone had tipped them off that her family was one of the least problematic to roam the Isle. Her worrying about not having enough space or the proper welcome for him was accompanied by a comment about the ex-king wanting to get a better idea of how the Isle ran since they were a people under Auradon's rule.
It took three hours to decide on the matter of welcoming Adam into their home. An hour of husband and wife speaking to one another, an hour to run it by their unsupportive children, and an hour of conversing with Ben and Belle were needed to make the decision.
In the end, they agreed to take him in. The only catch was Anastasia wanting to make sure Drizella's children were given new winter gear as well. They decided against the feast since Anastasia didn't feel comfortable getting different food than what was regularly on the Isle. It seemed unfair to offer it to her children to have to go back to haggling for canned goods.
"Lose the pout," Anastasia glanced over at the ex-king of Auradon and rolled her eyes. "I get that look enough from Anthony. I don't need someone else throwing it at me."
She was in the process of getting dinner ready. Prepping the meager meal of hot water and canned vegetables mixed together usually didn't take very long.
Time seemed to drag since Adam was in a sour mood and one of her sons had gotten mad enough to storm out of the house and claim he was going to find dinner elsewhere.
"It's kind of funny though, isn't it?" Her daughter said from beside her. She was cutting up a loaf of moldy bread and looked over at where Adam sat.
"What are you on about, Antoinette?" Anastasia cast her a sideways glance. "You can cut one of those in half for me and your father to split. Don't bother setting one aside for Antonin. We have two extra mouths to feed."
"Anthony's mouth gets the same little dimple Beast's does," The teen shrugged and threw another look in the newcomer's direction. "And the same furrow in their eyebrows when they look annoyed."
She tossed an innocent look in Adam's direction since he gave her a confused look then wiped her hands on her dress. "Should I grab a bowl for Antonin?"
"I don't understand what you are on about," Anastasia answered and shook her head. "And I suppose so. Toss a plate over it so it doesn't chill."
Her daughter glanced around to make sure her father and siblings weren't in the small area that served as the kitchen. Auburn ringlets bounced from the movement and she tried blowing a few strands of hair from the front of her face.
"He hasn't stopped insisting on being called Lord Tremaine since the new photo of the pri— King went up," She whispered. "Ginny keeps suggesting he may actually be of royal blood."
"Still not understanding," Anastasia wrinkled her nose. She sniffed at the pitiful excuse of soup then sighed. "It needs something extra. Grab the can of chicken noodle from the cupboard."
"Wait seriously?" Antoinette's face lit up. Her parents had a strict rule about not touching the soup cabinet unless someone was dangerously ill.
"Seriously," Her mother nodded. "I still expect an explanation from you once you're back."
Antoinette skipped over to the cabinet and squealed with excitement, rocking on the balls of her feet before she reached up to get the soup from the cupboard. "Anaya, Ana, you won't believe what mum just said!"
The sound of running footsteps was heard from down the hall then the top of the twins' heads were visible along the side of the doorway. As the youngest members of the family, they were excited to be included in something their siblings weren't.
"What is it, Netti?" Anaya asked. She had a lisp from having lost her front teeth. The only way of telling the identical twins apart was their teeth. Anastasia (or Ana as she insisted on being called) still had her baby teeth while Anaya had a giant gap from where her teeth used to be.
"Chicken noodle soup with dinner," Antoinette beamed. Anaya's happy expression faltered. Anastasia shouted 'yes!' and stuck her tongue out at her sister.
"You and Andre owe me all of your change," Ana giggled. "I told you we would get fancy food because of… of — whatever his name is."
"Girls that's not the proper way to speak about our..." Anastasia paused and wrinkled her nose. "Companions for this week."
"That isn't what Anthony said 'bout them,'' Anaya looked confused. "Didn't he call the king a bast—"
"Okay, enough of the stories," Anastasia cut Anaya off before she could finish the curse word. "How about you and Ana let Anika, your dad, and brothers know supper is ready?"
"Why can't Netti do it?" Anaya whined. Ana crossed her arms over her chest and pouted at her mother.
"Because she's finishing up the bread," Anastasia sighed. "Now run along, we don't want the soup to get cold."
"Fine," Anaya groaned then the two took off running. Antoinette gave a low laugh since she could hear Ana shouting about how she was right in guessing they would have soup for dinner.
"You were saying?" Anastasia raised an eyebrow at her oldest daughter. Antoinette shrugged her shoulders.
"It's not important," She murmured. Anastasia tilted her head to the side and Antoinette grimaced. "Just that — Well, Harry Hook keeps saying the mainland tried thinning out the bloodline by getting donors from there and… Anthony looks the least like any of us. So it'd make sense if he…It's just a rumor though and Harry—"
The rest of her thought was lost to her siblings traipsing in. Anastasia studied each child to make sure they were as clean as she had requested.
"Anika, Andre, what happened to washing your hands after exploring outside?" She sighed. Anika looked down at her hands and frowned.
"Momma, granny let me practice dying hair. It didn't want to scrub off," The teen's hands were green colored. It wouldn't have bothered her if she wasn't trying to make a good impression on the guard and Adam.
"And I fell out of a tree," Andre frowned. "Anthony laughed at me."
"Did not," The brunette shook his head. "I told you the branch couldn't be trusted and you got on it anyway."
"Whatever you say," Andre grumbled. "Lord Tremaine."
"Boys, that's enough," Their father's voice was heard before he was seen.
"Daddy!" Anaya and Ana cried out and each hugged one of his legs. Lathyn chuckled and walked into the main room of the rundown flat he and Anastasia raised their family in.
"One goose," He chuckled and shook the leg with Ana on it. The little girl giggled and beamed up at him. "Two goose." He did the same with the leg Anaya was on. Two sets of giggles were heard then the twins let go of him.
"We missed you," Anaya murmured. "Guess what!" Anastasia said at the same time.
"What, my Ana banana?" Lathyn stooped down so he could make eye contact with his daughter.
"Mommy mixed chicken noodle soup in with dinner," She beamed. "Naya and Andre were wrong."
"Way to rub it in," Andre rolled his eyes. "The special guest deserves special food. I should've known." Ana stuck her tongue out at him then walked to the opposite side of the room.
A table with a broken leg was awkwardly balanced in the center of the room. Several textbooks stacked on top of each other helped even out the table so food didn't end up on the ground. There were a few stools and chairs around it. The items consisted of different designs and types of wood and were an eyesore to Adam.
Adam took a deep breath once the family was quiet and stood near the table. He and the royal guard from Auradon felt incredibly out of place.
"Your choice for a seat," Anastasia announced after getting tired of watching the two males stand off to the side of the room.
"Right," Adam nodded and took a seat to the left of Anthony. His guard sat on the other side of him.
"Thank you for this err…" He made a face while trying to find the right word, quickly masking it because one of the twins was staring at him. "Delectable meal."
Knowing not to expect a feast left him with little hopes about the meal as a whole. The only downside was having dismissed the transfer students' worries about food as an exaggeration. Learning they weren't joking about the meager meals should have made him feel guilty. Instead, he was left disappointed and torn between excusing himself from the meal or suffering through it.
Suffering through it was the unspoken option since Anastasia's children were all staring at him. The boy to his right raised an eyebrow at him and wore a haughty expression. Her other five had similar expressions, waiting to see what the royal did with the food he was offered.
"You're being rather rude," Anthony scoffed after three minutes spent staring at Beast. He hadn't touched the food.
"Anthony," Anastasia gave her son a warning look. The teenager rolled his eyes before speaking again.
"What?" He scowled. "It would have meant a little more soup for each of us if we knew he wasn't going to eat."
"Making blind assumptions, are you?" Adam turned to get a proper look at the teen that was mouthing off. He nearly did a double-take since the boy had a striking resemblance to his son.
Brown hair with a slight curl to it, a similar jaw angle, and the same annoyed look Ben usually had when he didn't like what he was being told. The similarities were easy to dismiss but there was no denying that Anthony didn't look like his siblings.
The other children had light-colored hair ranging from shades of blonde to red. His hair was the darkest of Anastasia's children.
He cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at the teen, allowing a beat of silence to pass before he braced himself and took a spoonful of the soup Anastasia made.
There was nothing noteworthy about it. The temperature was lukewarm, there were few vegetables in it, and the chicken noodle soup that got added in did nothing to the taste of it.
"Wonderful," He said through gritted teeth and forced down another spoonful. The bread was the one thing he hadn't touched.
"Tastes better if you dip the bread in it," Anthony rolled his eyes then dunked some of his bread into his soup. Adam wrinkled his nose since there was mold visible along the edges of the slice.
"Do you need one of us to spoon feed you?" Antoinette asked when Adam was back to staring blankly at the bowl in front of him. She earned an eyebrow raise from her mother and shook her head.
"What?" She asked then gave him a dirty look. "He's probably used to having people serve him."
"What was the one thing—" Antoinette shook her head before her father got the chance to finish what he was trying to say.
"I'm being serious in asking," She scoffed. "Perfectly civil if you must know. They didn't send an instruction manual for making sure he doesn't go beast on us. We won't know how to keep him comfortable if we aren't able to ask questions."
"Enough," Anastasia narrowed her eyes at her daughter from across the table. "Finish your meal then go to bed."
"I'm only saying," Antoinette groaned. "And is no one going to mention the resemblance between Anthony and the new king?"
"Sis," Anthony grimaced. He was trying to get people to call him Lord Tremaine but his family tended to use it mockingly every time he tried to share his opinion about the royal family. "Not you too."
"Excuse me?" Adam raised an eyebrow, having realized the teen was referring to his son.
"Forget it," Antoinette threw her spoon into the chipped bowl that had some soup left in it. "I'm not hungry anymore." She pushed her chair out from beneath the table and stormed off to the bedroom she and her sisters shared.
"Did I say something wrong?" Anthony asked. His haughty expression was briefly replaced with a look of concern.
"No," Anastasia shook her head. She cast a sideways glance at her husband. "You know how your sister's imagination gets when she's overtired."
"Can I have what's left of her soup?" Andre broke the awkward silence that settled over the family and their guests. His face lit up when his father gave a nod of his head and nudged the bowl toward him.
"I'll go talk to her," Anthony sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He went to stand up and paused, head tilting toward the doorway that led out of the home. " Did Antonin say where he was going?"
"The pirates I presume," Anastasia shrugged. "He had something about getting food elsewhere."
"Of course," Anthony grumbled. "I'll be back in time to get the dishes done before bed."
The rest of the meal was mostly silent. The remaining four children talked about how school went while Anastasia half-listened to their tales. Dragon Hall hadn't been the most ideal schooling situation since she wanted her children to have a good education. She had hoped Auradon would have sent over enough books to homeschool the youngest three children but it never happened.
"Dizzy wouldn't stop crying today," Anika's statement was the one that caught Anastasia's attention. "I think Drakon started picking on her again."
"Of course," Anastasia grimaced. Dizzy was the youngest of her sister's children. Closer in age to the twins and Anika than any of her own siblings and the only child Drizella wanted nothing to do with.
"Granny wasn't happy about it," The pre-teen made a face. "The crying and Drako being the reason for it."
"You know what your grandmother's opinion on crying is," Anastasia reminded her. She caught Adam's confused expression and decided to elaborate. "Save the tears for your pillow and don't waste them if you don't have one."
Of Lady Tremaine's daughters, Drizella was the one that expected her children to detach from their emotions. Anastasia didn't believe in having her kids bottle everything up. Antonin, Anthony, and Antoinette had proven the attempt at hiding emotions didn't work well.
They had mastered hiding their emotions when out in public and had proven time and time again to be rather sympathetic to their siblings and a few of their peers. The emotional outbursts that came from the three being close in age were made more manageable since encouraging them to talk to each other or write their thoughts out prevented them from exploding at her, Lathyn, and their younger siblings.
"While you're here, can we talk about how mum and dad shouldn't be here?" Anika shifted her gaze from her mother to Adam, taking on an incredibly serious expression for a child that looked no older than ten.
"Excuse me?" He furrowed his eyebrows together. The question was unexpected and a rather hard one to answer with little context.
"Yeah," Andre nodded from beside his sister before Anastasia or Lathyn got the chance to redirect the conversation. "She found her true love and almost had happily ever after."
"Then you made her, daddy, and Antonin move here for no reason," Anika crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him, taking a moment to blow several strands of blonde hair away from her nose. "If aunt Cindi didn't think she was a villain, why didn't you?"
"Your father was given a choice," Adam shrugged. "He could have stayed in Auradon with your older brother if he wanted to."
"Family doesn't abandon family," Lathyn narrowed his eyes at Adam. "Surely that was something your wife's story should have taught you."
"He didn't learn from it," Anika scowled. "And he should have since he was a horrible beast."
"How does having held Belle captive make you any different from mom?" Andre added and glared at Beast from across the table.
"That's enough," Anastasia gave an exasperated sigh. "It's time for you and your sisters to head to bed."
"It's fine," Adam shook his head since the two children were still glaring at him across the table. His guard gave a low chuckle from beside him. "She decided she loved me and we got our happily ever after."
"Yeah," Anika made a face at him. "And dad decided he loves momma and gave her happily ever after then you took it."
"He didn't take it," Anastasia spoke in an almost whisper that left Anika and Andre staring at her, uncertain if they heard her right. She cleared her throat and shook her head.
"But—" Anastasia held one finger up to get Anika to stop talking then sighed.
"He made it harder to get," She shrugged. "But I still have my happily ever after since I have Lathyn and each of you." It wasn't the most ideal situation but it was better than not having her husband or any children at all. "And I still get to see my sister and my mother."
"This isn't happily ever after," Andre shook his head.
"Yeah," Anaya nodded even though she and Ana weren't paying attention to what was being said.
"Evie's dress," Ana added and pouted. That had been the only thing any of the girls would talk about since the coronation happened.
"That's enough," Lathyn sighed. "Let's get you four to bed."
"But what about Antonin and Anthony?" Andre whined. It wasn't fair that his older brothers got to explore the Isle at night while he was expected to go to bed.
"I'll go look for Anthony. I'm expecting Antonin back before I return," Anastasia murmured. "Adam you should join me. The route should be enough to get an overview of the Isle."
Adam wrinkled his nose when his name was mentioned and went to shake his head, looking slightly alarmed since Lathyn spoke before he could say anything.
"That wasn't an invitation," The blond murmured. "There's safety in numbers." Adam merely raised an eyebrow at the comment.
"I get being set on not properly feeding and clothing people," He continued. "But you couldn't even keep the streets out here safe."
Adam waited for the children to leave the table before speaking, head cocking to the side in thought.
"It's exactly what anyone would expect when it comes to taking villains and having them live with each other," He scoffed. "Precisely what the majority of them deserved after the way they treated the people of Auradon."
"Precisely something I would expect to hear from the person that imprisoned a father and then made his daughter switch places with him," Lathyn rolled his eyes. "Yet I see nothing indicating you belong here. Peculiar how quickly stories can be changed."
"The twins are waiting for you," Anastasia interjected before the two could get into an argument. Regardless of how many times she said not to, her family seemed set on continuing to bring up that they didn't think they belonged on the Isle of the Lost. She agreed as well but had set the expectation of not constantly mentioning it while Adam was in their home.
"Right," Lathyn sighed then left the room, throwing a glare over his shoulder at Adam before he disappeared. Anastasia pulled her hair back into a ponytail then stuck a ragged sweater on, earning an odd look from Adam when she was back near him.
"Didn't we give you—" He trailed off when the redhead shook her head.
"Not a safe idea to wear it out during the night," She murmured. "Too many shady characters out to risk wearing anything unusual."
"And your children?" Adam raised an eyebrow at her since two of them weren't home.
"Antonin is old enough to take care of himself and too stubborn to come home if Lathyn or I ask," She shrugged. "Anthony is the one I'm off to try to find."
"Anthony?" Adam questioned. There were too many kids to keep track of. He didn't particularly care about getting to know each of them but there was something about the teen that left him curious.
"The middle one of my boys," Anastasia answered. "I don't know why Antoinette said what she did over dinner."
Neither of them said anything until they got outside. Adam was thrown off at seeing how few lights there were outdoors. He didn't have a phone on him and the watch on his wrist said 10:30. Auradon at least would have had things well lit up until midnight. His guard followed from several steps behind them.
"What was she hinting at, exactly?" Adam fell into step beside Anastasia. The biggest relief for him that evening was having agreed to dress like a civilian instead of royalty since he didn't stick out. A few passersby kept scowling in Anastasia's direction. She paid them no mind and shrugged her shoulders before answering him.
"Nothing important," She shook her head, expression faltering since Adam arched an eyebrow at her. "My kids seem to think Anthony doesn't look anything like them or their father."
There was good reasoning behind that but Anastasia would never dare admit it to her husband or her children.
"Why is that?" Adam asked with a curious expression. The tour of the Isle so far hadn't brought anything overly concerning about it. Sure, there were children in rags running about and some shadowy figures in the dark but it wasn't terrible.
"Rumors," She scoffed. "One of Captain Hook's kids said something about Auradon providing sperm donations for women that wanted a child without needing to go through the whole mating thing."
There was a brief pause then Anastasia shook her head, mumbling the rest of her thought.
"I know it's true," She added and narrowed her eyes at Adam. "No idea why you and the rest of Auradon would decide that was something worth investing in when you didn't bother with checking that children were put into safe homes with capable mothers."
"Excuse me?" Adam cocked his head to the side, opting to play dumb about the decision that ultimately landed him on the Isle.
"The shady donor setup," The redhead scowled. "No names or photos attached and things having just a number attached. No follow up to make sure the child born out of it was properly cared for. I assume Belle and Cinderella would have been livid if they found out what was happening to the children produced out of it."
Adam tilted his head to the other side in an attempt at feigning innocence. Anastasia narrowed her eyes at him.
"My sister almost drowned the girl she had since Mother wanted us each to produce a child with Auradon blood running through their veins," She shuddered at the thought. "Mom found the child face down in the bathtub with her older sisters screaming about how Drizella wanted a boy and tried to get rid of her."
"And you?" Adam asked after a prolonged moment of silence. "Not that it is any of my business."
"Oh it most certainly is your business," Anastasia scoffed. "It takes a twisted mind to come up with the idea of not bothering to support the women that took an interest in things. I'm almost willing to bet the little bit of money I have on your being here because your wife found out."
Adam didn't say anything and was saved from stammering out a poorly thought out explanation since Anastasia continued.
"Mother bullied me into trying once and was ecstatic I got a child out of the attempt," She grimaced. "Lathyn thinks the child is his and I'll be taking that secret to my grave. It was trying for one child or my mother finding a way to take the only child I had at the time away from me."
The ex-king slowly opened and shut his mouth, uncertain of what to say after having that information dropped on him.
"An apology doesn't seem fitting," He mused, nearly left chuckling since Anastasia glared at him.
"Hardly," She spat out. "Your choices left the lesser villains and their children doomed to an existence no one deserves. I said I wouldn't get into it, but you need to hear it. The next three days will likely be full of my children questioning what made you decide Lathyn and I are stuck here and I'm not about to stop them at this point."
Adam didn't say anything. He shrugged to show he heard her and figured silence was the best option unless he wanted to risk being yelled at.
"If it isn't the local harlot out and about," A voice called out from ahead of Anastasia. The redhead stiffened and narrowed her eyes at him. "No sister to protect you this time."
"Leave me alone, Hans," Anastasia spoke through gritted teeth. She could smell the scent of alcohol on his breath.
"You found someone that isn't your pathetic excuse of a husband, I see," The male circled her and Adam, oblivious to the man that was keeping an eye on the pair from the shadows.
"A pretty one at that," Hans took a step closer to Adam and looked him over, a hand rising up to take hold of his chin. "You would look better on your knees."
"I beg your pardon," Adam took a step back and found himself cornered between a building and the stranger.
"On your knees," Hans barked out. He raised a hand to try to make him comply and was shocked to be shoved to the side, sent sprawling on the cobblestone path that led to the center of town.
"That's enough," The guard stood over him then stepped on his hand, a satisfied smirk spreading over his lips when the sound of a bone cracking was accompanied by Hans crying out in pain.
"You'll regret this, you stupid whore," He cautiously sat up and cradled his arm against his chest. "I'll go after one of your daughters next."
Anastasia didn't say anything to him and continued on her way down toward the docks. She didn't bother with looking back at Hans, only speaking once certain he wasn't coming after her.
"I could have handled him myself," She scowled at Adam and his guard. Her footsteps paused so she could pull a dagger from her boot. "The biggest lesson taught to my children is to always be prepared."
The adults couldn't be trusted once the sun went down so she and Lathyn kept strict expectations of the youngest children not being allowed to leave the tiny house they lived in. Their teenagers were a bit tougher to keep under control but had proven to be capable of taking care of themselves.
"It's not the first time he's tried something with me," She added with a shake of her head. The threat of targeting one of her kids was certainly a new one but she would deal with that if something came out of it.
The rest of the walk along the path to the ocean was silent, Anastasia pausing before she reached the ship where the majority of the teens and unwanted children stayed. Her boys had made friends with a few of the pirate children and usually didn't spend the night there. She was incredibly worried since Anthony had left to go after Antonin.
"Mum?" A voice came from her right. She raised an eyebrow at the owner, relieved to find her oldest children at her side.
"Why are you here?" Antonin asked. The red-headed boy was one of the oldest children on the Isle — having been among the infants that were banished to the Isle with their parents. He would have been in college over in Auradon but the Isle didn't have opportunities available once teens aged out of school.
"You know I worry," Anastasia snapped at him. Both her children raised their hands in an attempt at showing they weren't up to anything. "You were gone long enough for Anthony to go looking."
"Yeah," The twenty-one-year-old rolled his eyes. "And I told him to leave me alone. He just gets in the way."
"Hey," Anthony frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "I do not."
"Do too," Antonin shook his head. "Things were going fine until you showed up and—" He trailed off since Anthony started laughing.
"You were asking for an interruption with the way you were sucking that girl's face off," He chuckled. "I would have expected more class from you."
He took a step back since Antonin growled and tried to shove him off the dock. Anastasia pressed her tongue against her cheek and kept quiet, studying her oldest son.
"I'm not going to ask," She muttered. "But next time save Anthony and I the trip if your 'going to get dinner someplace else' involves shacking up with someone for the evening. Keep an eye on Hans for me by the way."
"Huh?" Antonin narrowed his eyes at his mother. "What did he say this time?"
"He threatened to go after one of your sisters." The effect of Anastasia's words on her sons was immediate. Antonin stiffened and Anthony growled a curse word under his breath.
"The bastard," Antonin scowled. "Which way did he head?" Anastasia didn't immediately answer him. As much as she wouldn't mind Hans getting another lesson for trying to cross her, the idea of one of her kids risking their own wellbeing didn't make it worth it.
"He already has a broken hand," She shook her head. "Adam earned a few points for having his guard take care of him."
"I'm going to get the other one," Antonin said several swears then took off running. Anthony was left staring down at the ground beside his mother.
"I'll go home," He mumbled after a moment of silence then cast a sideways glance at Adam. "How come you're here?"
"I wanted an idea of how things are done on the Isle," Adam shrugged.
"As if you care," Anthony scowled. "What made your son decide only four of us were allowed to go to school in Auradon and why'd he pick the kids he did?"
"I don't know," Adam muttered. "But if I had my way it would have been none of them in Auradon and my not being here."
Please note that updates will be sporadic. The author is chronically ill and working full time during a pandemic.