I didn't know how to continue this, so I decided to do something long-awaited: the VKs.
ENJOY!
In an undisclosed location in Auradon...
3rd POV
In the deep dark forest, there lied a hidden, 10ft high gated cottage. It was well kept and quaint, led from the front gate up to the small front porch by a rocky trail. Despite it having barely on an acre of land, with the house spruced up in white and blue, a beautiful garden filled various beautiful daisies and roses boasting in appearance, and a pond in the backyard, the home itself carried enough charm and dignity of something out of a Modern Fairy Tale. It wouldn't be hard to imagine that a pair of Love Birds lived in this storybook-home.
However, the woodsy cottage wasn't as charming and warm on the inside as it seemed on the outside.
Unnoticed from the inside, the entire plot of land was heavily covered in a blue barrier similar to that of the Isle of the Lost, stopping any magic from flowing in or out of the surrounding area. But unlike the Isle, this specific barrier used a special charm: To identify and ensure that the four certain teens trapped inside this idyllic never escaped.
Inside the cottage held a rustic interior of pillows, weathered and painted woods and materiel, carpets and curtains that wore earthy tone and the vintage furniture that held an immediate desire to feel comfortable. But the only children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella De Vil were in no desire to feel that way as they watched the media spectacle on national television.
After the aftermath of Ben's coronation, the teens had been dispatched to a small detention center in Auradon City (because they do have crime but it's at a 2% all-time low) before moving them to this small cottage in the woods, which was a wedding present from one of the royals. Adam was all for shipping back to the Isle where they belong, but Ben still had enough authority to keep them her. His logic was that if they were going to be villains and endanger hundreds of civilian lives, then instead of exiling them back to their home, where they're more likely to run wild as they'd had before, they would be prisoners in Auradon for an unforeseeable amount of time.
And the same could be said about their upcoming trial dates.
All the appliances were charmed so they could not break, spells to ensure the cottage wouldn't catch on fire, the food in the cabinets and refrigerator were magically restocked to the basic food groups, ensured charms on the pool so no one would accidentally drown, limited what they could watch on TV from ANN to educational channels (Evie was the least phased by this). But otherwise, they lived and did their chores.
As the Auradon News reveled in the aftermath of the "Princess Audrey Tell-All Inclusive", Jay and Carlos looked bored, Evie looked on in keen interest, and a particular look of scorn and distaste filled a certain fairy's face as she watched Princess Audrey through the screen, smiling as she started taking questions from the crowd.
Mal cursed this! She had plans! Carefully laid out with Evie's castle-schooling to make up where she lacks to keep up with society and royal court! Face everything with becoming Ben's girlfriend would entitle her too and keep on the pretense to be just as infatuated with him as he'd become for her, all for the sake of ruling Auradon!
Screw her mother's limitedly vengeful plan! The playing the long game was the most surely effective way to get any real power. But that was lost to her now. All because of that stupid wand!
And now here comes Princess Audrey, whose been nothing but a pain in the neck since she and the others arrived, having a full-blown press conference and slandering her name like she was nothing more than conman on the Isle!
And all this started because some stupid fairy said she felt sorry for the princess who warned them and they didn't listen! And while Mal had smirked in glee when Audrey had seemed to be an unnecessary issue put to rest, triumphantly alienating anyone away from her side...
THIS HAPPENS!
Growling, she picked up a pillow and threw it at the TV, leaving nonexistent damage to the device.
"Growling and throwing pillows won't help you, Mal," Evie voiced, her eyes glued to the screen. She had to admit she was intrigued when it was announced that Princess of Auroria would be speaking, and she can't say she wasn't surprised about the results. Turns out there was more to the girl than Evie gave her credit for.
In agitation, the purple fairy got up and stood in front of the screen, hand on her hip and green eyes ablaze!
"Are you kidding me! How can you watch this!?" Mal screeched. "You can't seriously believe a word that spoiled...PINKAHALLIC is spewing out of her mouth! "Magic sensitivity"? '"Ben is my First Defender"'? '"I wanted to die"'...Oh, give me a break! I had him! I was this close to getting closer to the throne and that stupid wand made me spill everything!"
At this, Evie got annoyed and stood up in her face.
"Well, what did you expect? I told you to let me do the spell! Unlike you, I have contingency plans in order! I mean, you knew he had a girlfriend-"
"If he had enough self-awareness to know he had a game, he had enough to break it off-" Mal interjected.
"-who was infatuated with him in the first place!" Evie scolded, her brown eyes darkening. "But it's so typical of you to leave screw looses lying around that you don't even care how badly this could have ended! You two are mortal enemies between your families. Did you think you could just snatch Ben away, work your way up the throne, and think she'd just take that lying down?"
The mere thought of her friend believing the same intimidation tactics on the Isle would work here was completely ridiculous! So much that Evie started to laugh, and laugh, and laugh until her stomach ached! Gods, the Daughter of Maleficient was so foolish!
"Stop laughing at me!" Mal yelled as the Evil Princess wailed in hysterics.
Jay shook his head, unamused at the sight before him. "It's no use. Once she gets started, she stops when she'll pass out. And if you listened to us, you'd know she has respect for Audrey."
Mal snorted. "I doubt that. One of the first words that the princess said to her was that she held no royal status in Auradon. Seriously! Where's the respect in that!"
By then, Evie had luckily recovered enough from her laughing fits to answer this.
"Hahahaha! That-haha-that's-haha-the whole point is that!" Evie smirked through her small fits. "It may have seen catty to you all, but it was true! Honestly though, despite that, I still carried myself as so, most likely appearing as a rival, which would have made more sense if I had been the one to give Ben the cookie! Hahaha! Anyways, it started when she was bold enough to call that out, and also name drop your mother in the process, but then Audrey was the only one who knew we were up to no good. After you and Ben humiliated her at the game, she saved face in the last minute and torn down the trust you gained at Family Day by turning students against us. And say if you hadn't exposed us, she'd still be a rank above you until Ben made you his Queen. That's a lot of time to get more evidence of our treachery! And all because of the only person in Auradon that sees completely through you! She would have been our biggest obstacle and she played the game well. Should've been more careful!"
After this, Evie started a maniacal laugh, sounding eerily like her mother, that was executed like a true Daughter of the Evil Queen.
"Oh-hahaha-Oh! And it would be safe to mention that by ruin our plans, you ruined Ben's!" Evie added quickly. "Who is facing scrutiny for being spelled and not coming forward, letting you get away with it, and taking the full blame for everything at the coronation! HAHAHAHA! Nobody's going to touch him now, not with that stigma on him! HAHAHA! You dragged Ben down with you and ruined his chances at being King!"
Creeped out, Carlos turned to Jay. "Funny, you're one to talk. You flirted with her from the moment you set eyes on her. Why?"
Jay shrugged. "Because she's hot! How often would someone like me get a chance at getting inside the pants of a princess!? Kind of wished I got to her before Chad did. Oh well, as my Dad would rarely say: '"Fortune favors the bold."' Besides, she never messed with you."
"That's because it was the whole point! Nobody suspected me! I'm the youngest and don't draw attention to myself. That, and because I largely don't understand girls or their feelings, except for Evie and Mal, who are like opened pages in comic books. They're a little dirty, but still clear to understand," Carlos said, "but can't say I'm completely surprised she has magic sensitivity. We lived on an island with our true powers repressed every day until we came here. So, is it that hard to believe Audrey could have developed something from her mother after she took on all that heavy magic from Maleficient's original curse, a DEATH curse, which was then altered into a Sleeping Curse by Fairy Merryweather? If Audrey came out completely normal, something would be wrong. That or she's adopted."
Jay muttered a "True," and watched as Mal looked like she was about the blow a fuse!
Between Evie's wild laughter, Jay's crude comment ad Carlos's unexpected logic, all this talk did nothing but piss Mal off, resulting in her going into a screaming rage and throwing anything within throwing distance across the room in a fit. She lost everything.
Her chances at ruling Auradon was gone, her mother was a useless lizard nowhere in sight, she's trapped in this cookie-cutter cottage white the idiots she calls friends, her name was being slandered - degraded to being her mother's daughter, and her magic is GONE!
Mal would make Auradon regret the day they crossed her! She would burn it ALL down to the ashes where there would be nothing left but smoke, dust, and rubble. She would wreak destruction where she could have ruled and no one can stop her!
Turning back to the TV to see Audrey still speaking, looking so dainty and frail in front of a live audience while gracing a perfect smile in a pretty pink dress that made her sick.
Well, only one.
Destroying Auradon seemed like the perfect goal. If she couldn't rule it, shed unleash hell upon it. And where better than to start with the one noble everyone's dying to get a piece of...
Isle of the Lost...
Ursula's Fish and Chips...
"HEY! I ORDERED CRAB SLAB WITH A SIDE OF SCUM! WHERE IS IT!?"
"UMA! YOU GOT A HOT ONE READY FOR TABLE 5! GET KRAKEN!"
"I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR AGES FOR MY SIDE ORDER OF SPLEEN!"
"OI, I SWEAR ON MY MOTHER'S FORMERLY PIERCED HEART, EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" Uma screamed throughout the noisy eatery, rendering the entire place into complete silence.
Blowing out a huff of air, Uma let out an exhausted groan as she continued to pick up the half-eaten dishes from the tables of her mother's restaurant before the crowded place picked up again.
Saying she was annoyed was an understatement!
Months ago, Prince Ben proclaimed that 4 kids of the Isle would get to come over to Auradon as some sort of twisted exchange program.
Cool right? Well, not for Uma as she had to watch that SnootyLittleWitch, Mal, and her friends not only get chosen to go over there but watch as Ben made no more promises that anyone else could come over yet. Anyone would think they'd probably get enough ideas of their homelife over here that aid would be swiftly coming in!
She gets it. It's an experimental project and all, which Uma hates but gets, but once that Poser crossed that bridge, it was like there was no way they would ever come back!
And if she thought that made her mad, then it was a WHOLE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT BUCKET OF UGLY when she watched Prince Ben's entire coronation go down! They were sent over there to let Maleficent out! Mal spelled Ben with a Love Spell! Mal and the others were plotting to TAKE OVER AURADON! WHAT THE HELL!?
Uma was so, extremely livid that her she cursed out everybody and everything in the restaurant, running all the costumers away in a ranging fit, screaming and throwing dishes, forks, plates shattering everywhere that Ursua had to come in herself and discipline the girl to calm down. And one does NOT take being disciplined by Ursula kindly! Especially with her tentacles involved!
Now, thanks to Mal and her so-called crew, there was no way anyone was going to come to the Isle's rescue. Which means no aid, they were still stuck with eaten garbage, and what's worse is that now with Maleficent getting lose, the barrages that come in and out with "supplies" (leftovers and trash from the mainland), would be on higher alerts and with sanctions as punishment, as if the whole island should be punished for that of a few!
She hated it. She hated the Isle, she hated the rotten food, the scraps of clothing, lack of necessities, and most of all, she hated Mal! She ruined everything!
Stewing in her darker thoughts, she was about to walk past the vintage TV when the news conference came on. The look of Princess Audrey made Uma wanna punch her face in annoyance yet feel some sympathy for a girl.
She had heard most of the conference while she was working and made out some parts that were too low to hear (damn lousy satellite!) and had mixed feelings about the girl.
Firstly, it's so stupid to believe that some spoiled princess, or anyone, would wanna change anything about them just to be with a guy. And then bullied others to lower their standards so they could be on top? But then again, the Isle was mostly gang activity and Maleficent used fear to rule, so what did she know?
However, she got screwed over by Mal in a hostile takeover and watched as the Little Traitor stole her life from underneath her, losing almost everything! Uma could feel for anyone who suffered under Mal's underhanded tricks, especially if they knew she was a fake from the moment they meet her!
But when the coronation happened and some fairy spilled about how she knew the girl was warning everyone and nobody believed her, leaving her alone to preferring Mal instead, Uma figured either the princess or the prince had to speak up first. But she was surprised to get radio silence from Ben and the girl who spoke out.
And by spoke out, she meant that Princess Audrey completely spilled her guts out! She spilled her entire life story from her birth to meeting Ben, then revealing what seemed to be a sensitive family secret, and then playing out everything that's happened since Mal arrived from her point of view. And the idea that her presence and magic literally made the girl sick made Uma unsure whether to smile or be worried that Mal's toxicity had that level of effect.
And then came the part where she called out everyone, including herself, for throwing kids under the bus for what their parents had done and apologized for the way she acted, magic-sensory involved or not. Now Uma knew her mother was no saint, but heroes taking responsibility and apologizing for their actions when they know they were wrong...
That was a new one. A hero apologizing to a villain, especially when it's revealed they don't deserve it? She didn't know what was in the water over there, but this princess was unquestionably in a league of her own.
But the thing Uma found ironic was the timing. Auradon's in unrest to see if they'll need a new king and they're focusing on her. See the Daughter of Ursula wasn't stupid. The princess was opening a can of worms that even she knew would have the paparazzi on her back for a while and even royals had to get tired of them! So why would she garner all this attention, unless...
Was she trying to shift the focus off of Prince Ben? And if so, why? Love or not, after everything he put her through, she didn't owe him anything!
Just as she was thinking this, the news shifted to the part where Audrey started taking questions.
"Princess Audrey, do you still intend on attending Auradon Prep next week?"
"Have your personal feelings for Prince Ben led you to speak out on your own or were you forced?"
"Is it true Auroria plans to secede from Auradon?"
"Princess Audrey, what future do you see for Prince Ben taking the throne?"
"Audrey, what thoughts do you have on Prince Ben continuing the Lost Isle Initiative?
Uma rolled her eyes at the last one. Replace "Isle" with "Kids" or "Boys" and it's one-off from being more of a reference to Neverland than to the Isle. Was that what they were calling it or was this just thrown out there in the wind, hoping to catch on?
Audrey raised her hand as a calming gesture to calm the anxious crowd down before speaking up into the microphone.
"One at a time please and raise your hand to have your questions answered," Audrey stated politely. About a dozen or more hands shot up and she quickly picked one from the crowd.
"You, sir?" she called out.
Getting up nervously, she spoke into a microphone that was being passed down.
"Um, Princess Audrey, were you coerced to speak up or was this of your own volition?" he asked.
Audrey nodded before speaking up. "I requested to do this, through my father, of course, since he's an honorary council member. I can see why anyone would think I was asked to speak, but believe me, I knew what I was asking for. Next...Ah, yes! You there, in the back."
Another man stood up and took the mike. "What are your plans after this? Is it true that Auroria will be withdrawing from the United States of Auradon?"
"No," Audrey answered, "while the thoughts had passed, they were just that: Thoughts. Thoughts, I'll admit, that was considered from a king being overprotective of his only daughter. Not the first time, but certainly won't be the last!"
Audrey let out a laughed that was luckily well received by the audience.
"But regardless, Auroria is still a very well much a part of Auradon and I very much hope to see its future reside there for as long as it reigns. And...Yes!"
This time, a young woman stood up from the crowd. "Because of your personal feeling regarding your classmates and, of course, the Prince himself, will you continue to be attending Auradon Prep?"
Audrey nodded in affirmation. "Yes, I will still be attending. Auradon Prep, despite my recent experience, is still dear to me enough that I see no other reason not to continue my attendance there. While I make no comments towards my classmates and future king, I will say that no conflicting personal interests shall bar me from resuming classes as usual?"
Another woman just beside the previous journalist stood up."Princess, you mentioned earlier about your sensitivity to magic and how it affects you and your moods. Do you see yourself as disabled?"
Audrey shook her head. "Not exactly. Over the years, those in the know, such as doctors, had diagnosed it more as a disorder than a disability. It's just that with my case, my reactions tend to be more obvious for those who knew about me. But for those unaware, I can see how they would recept me in a negative light."
"And will you tend to fix that? Work on your disorder and relationships, I mean?" the same woman asked.
"For the first one, I desire too. I realize now that I put myself and my mental health at risk. I'm going to be around magic one way or another, so instead of shying away from it, I plan to ensure I can handle it better," Audrey responded," And as for my relationships...I'm willing enough to admit that I need some time to work on myself before I go diving onto burning bridges. My trust in those I called my friends are understandably shaken, but trust goes two ways, and I need to focus on my issues before I can try letting anyone else in."
Uma gave the girl small praises in the back of her head. The girl was completely dropped on everyone's radar and left out in the cold. The princess is too smart enough to know she can't go back down that road. She'd be stupid enough to let that happen again. She had done the same after the "Shrimp Incident" and came back stronger than Mal left her.
"If Prince Ben were to take the throne again, do you foresee him continuing to bring more children from the Isle? After everything that's happened? Do you disagree if he did?"
Uma watched as the unexpected (or expected) question hit her. This was the big one, coming from the girl almost lost her mind because of her ex's choices. She's interested in hearing this one. Uma could practically feel the anxiety sweating off her.
"I-I..." Audry faltered, before taking a breath and continuing. "I fully support him if he does."
And this was the part where the press goes wild.
Princess Audrey was barely able to get a word in before the crowd jumped on her like the alligators snapping at each other in pit fights Uma would watch with her mother near Captain Hook's Inlet! She watched as the pink princess was ushered off the stage and out of view right before the screen went into commercial.
Uma had to take a minute and sit down to process what just happened.
First, a princess practically saved Prince Ben's behind, causing all the media outlets to flock to her, just so he can save face and maybe, be crowned king.
Secondly, she apologized for the behavior of her, her family, and other royals who got their panties in a twist with Mal and her crew and acknowledged that kids coming from the isle was a good idea.
And thirdly, not long after the second one, she openly admitted to letting more come over, even with higher security risks now that the people of Auradon are actually aware that some kids never really lose their touch of villainy!?
These concepts were hard enough for the turquoise-haired girl to wrap her head around, and she's been stunned like this before - with her mother's tentacle. Uma didn't want to believe it. It was just too good to be true!
Could there be hope for the Isle from the one person that has more reasons to hate them the most?