Book 2: Maleficent


The power of the fey and the gods crack in her bones and, with certainty, she knows four things:

Her mother is dead.

Her father is free.

She has won.

She has never been more alone.

Mal made a decision that would start a war, and now she has to pay the price.


It hadn't been Mal's intention to start a war.

No, really.

Her threat to the council had sounded like it, sure, but she seriously never thought it would get this far. She'd thought- ignorantly, looking back on it- that the council would crack. But she'd underestimated the strength of their desire to hold onto power.

So she's found herself- along with 80-odd kids who are in favour of a regime change- barricaded inside Auradon palace.

{At first, they hadn't been barricaded in. They'd been living there, mostly peacefully (though not without tension) with Ben's parents, Uma, Harry, Gil, and the four new VKs.

Then the council had returned their threat with a threat of their own- removing them from their positions if they didn't drop the concept of freeing the Isle immediately.

They had also demanded that Uma's crew and Dizzy, Squirmy, Squeaky, and Celia be removed back to the Isle. The council's decision was that four kids was enough to spare their souls. That the rest would be damned.

After that, things had spiralled out of control pretty fast. Mal and Ben had invited some like-minded friends- like, Jane, like Lonnie, like Doug- over so that they could discuss the options available to them, but Ben's parents had panicked and secretly informed the council.

She had been forced to ask them to leave- just for a couple of hours- so that her side could discuss their position in peace. Belle and Adam had responded by bringing Auradonian troops to force them out, and Mal's magic had reacted, sealing her people into safety with a barrier similar to the one encircling the Isle. Too similar, when the only difference was that this one was to keep people out, not in.

Of course, the barrier didn't keep everyone out- Mal had more control over her magic than that. The magic was permeable, allowing people who needed help to receive it, and welcoming like-minded individuals with open arms}.

Unfortunately, there wasn't really anywhere to go from here (both literally and figuratively). The Council of Auradon wouldn't accept anything less than complete submission to their rules, and she and Ben refused to let Auradon's cruelty go unchecked any longer.

She's floated the idea of just stepping back from their positions peacefully, but Evie pointed out the major flaw in that plan- if they stepped down, they had no leverage.

This all led them to where they were now, locked inside the palace, the main hall converted into a pseudo-dormitory, low on supplies, and the group that Mal was calling a war council {Mal Evie Carlos Jay Ben Uma Harry Gil Celia Jane Lonnie Doug Chad} holed up in the Map Room twenty-four/seven.

Because not only did all palaces apparently have map rooms, but the ones in Auradon were created with a terrifying mix of magic and technology- and so they can watch from the comfort of the palace as Adam paces around the spare bedroom of the Charmings' palace, and Jafar tries to make a sale to Freddie Facilier and Anthony Tremaine fucks Mad Maddy behind Ursula's Fish and Chips.

It's such an invasion of privacy that Mal can't think about it for too long without feeling physically ill {but the maps are their greatest ally, at the moment, and so she bears it even when she makes eye contact with Carlos who is as pale as she feels with the terror of what they mean about Auradon}.

So here they stand, watching Ben's parents amass their forces outside the palace and wondering if Mal's magic will hold.

"We could call parley," Uma suggests, but Ben's shaking his head before she can finish her sentence.

"The council has already given their terms- a complete surrender. They won't agree to meet with us unless we come bearing a white flag."

"That's bullshit," Celia argues, "this is a war, and that's not how you go about a diplomatic solution."

"It's not a war to them, though," Lonnie explains, "We're just a bunch of kids acting out, to them. They won't take us seriously unless we force them to. As far as they're concerned, we don't have enough experience to have actual opinions."

Mal listens silently to the debate, and somewhere deep inside of herself, she misses the Isle- because on the Isle, people took her seriously or they got hurt and wasn't that so much simpler?

She rubs soft circles across her temples, pushing the blue hair that she's grown too lazy to hide out of her eyes.

She stares at the marker that says Maleficent, back in Ben's parents' room, and wonders what her mother would do about this.

She stares at the marker on the Isle of the Lost labelled ᾍδης and knows that her father is laughing at her- queen of two worlds and locked in one room.

{The names revealed are based on true, deep magic. So Mal's name appears as Κόρη, even when she doesn't speak Greek and doesn't go by her given name. The map is dangerous}.

She walks away from the map to lean against the nearest wall. Jay comes to stand next to her. The discussion of their next moves continues without even a pause.

"You know, as our queen, you're supposed to be providing solutions," he tells her, but his tone is light and she knows he's joking.

"Honestly, I'm not sure anyone would actually listen to me," Mal says wryly, "I led you into this mess, after all."

"You didn't force us to follow you," Jay tells her, "we followed you because it was the right thing to do. Because we love you." There's a pause.

"...Some of us more than others."

"Jay," she breathes, and her chest aches.

"I know you're happily married, your grace. But that won't stop us-" he doesn't need to tell her who he's referring to- "from loving you for the rest of our lives."

"Why would you tell me this?" Mal asks him, trying to swallow the tears that are clogging her throat.

"I don't know." He looks pensive.

"Maybe I thought you looked like you needed it, Korë." He's never called her by her given name before, and it sends shivers down her spine.

She's staring at him and contemplating doing something very stupid {like maybe kissing him with her husband just inches away} when she feels a shudder run through the forcefield and Uma calls out to her- "Uh, Queenie, there's a new name in the main room. And it's Greek."

Mal leans over to catch a glimpse of the map recognizes the name that has appeared in the throne room- Περσεφόνη. Persephone.

Her eyes widen as the kids in the main hall gather around the goddess, and blinks out of the map room- she isn't going to let this woman- this goddess- take revenge for something Mal hadn't even done on Mal's people.

"Your grace," she calls out to Persephone.

When the woman turns, she doesn't look angry. She kisses the nearest child {Artie} on the forehead and rises gracefully, walking over to Mal with such calm and purpose that Mal wonders if these will be her last moments.

"It's good to see you, Mal," she says, and Mal is once again reminded that, above everything, Persephone doesn't want people to know about her husband's infidelity.

{A bit too late for that, she thinks-

"Mal, we can't do that," Ben whispers softly, "I know that he's your father, but-" Evie, Carlos and Jay's eyes flash over to her. Maybe she's never told them the truth of her parentage, but they've known for years. And they're all aware that if she's not talking about it, it's for a reason.

"How do you know that?" Mal says, over the shouts of the heroes.

"It's on your birth certificate," Ben frowns, "I saw it when I was organizing to bring you here."}

"And you as well, Queen Persephone," Mal responds, eyes flickering back to the kids {some of them are probably older than Mal, but Mal is their queen and their protector and they're her kids}.

"Perhaps we should sojourn to somewhere a bit more private?" Mal suggests. There's probably enough steel in her voice to forge a broadsword, but she's not really keen on giving her step-mother an option here.

"I think that that would be acceptable," Persephone agrees, as Ben appears at the top of the staircase. The queen's eyes settle on him heavily for a moment, before she turns back to Mal, "I've always been so curious about Auradon maps- perhaps the map room?"

It's not a suggestion, it's a command, and Mal nods silently, offering her arm to escort the queen. Persephone takes her arm without fuss, but her grip is so tight it's nearly painful. As they approach the room, Uma, Harry, Gil, Celia, Jane, Lonnie, Doug, and Chad are quickly making their way out. Mal raises her eyebrows silently, but thanks a higher power that's not her parents that Ben thought ahead enough to keep Evie, Carlos and Jay in the room.

In the map room, Persephone seems to lose interest in Mal entirely, wandering around the room and inspecting everything {Mal acted similarly the first time she was in the Map Room, which is so thickly saturated with magic that it feels like it's choking you}.

"My congratulations on your recent nuptials," the Queen of the Underworld says to her, from her position staring at the map of the underworld up on the wall. Mal, in turn, is staring at her. It's mid-winter, and her skin is so pale it's translucent. Mal can see her skull below her cheeks.

"Although, I was disappointed that I couldn't be there myself. But then again, it was rather rushed, wasn't it, Korë? I wonder why that was." Her smile says she already knows.

"I don't want to play this game with you," Mal says, reaching out to take Ben's hand from somewhere nearby behind her and pressing him into her side, "what do you want?"

"I just wanted to give my well-wishes," she obfuscates, "and commend you on breaking Aphrodite's heart so thoroughly."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ben questions defensively. The hair at the back of Mal's neck stands on end, and Mal knows what's coming before Persephone gets a word out, but she's powerless to stop it.

"Only that she thought- we all did, really- that her majesty would end up with those three," she points a bony finger at Carlos, Evie, and Jay, who are just out of hearing range, seemingly bent over a map, but really poised to strike, should Mal give the signal.

"I- I don't-" Mal stutters, and the Queen of the Dead smiles serenely as she walks off to a different corner of the room.

"Come now, Korë, the fae don't lie. Although, you did promise me that no one else would find out about your parentage, and you broke that one very thoroughly, didn't you?"

"I swore that no one would ever find out that I'm Hades' daughter from me," Mal corrected, "Ben already knew, and he told the council. That's not my fault."

"But you can't prove that, can you, Korë?"

"The burden of proof isn't on me," Mal argues, and Evie's knuckles are white against the table and Jay's inching towards his pocket knife. She needs to diffuse the situation, now.

"I can't make everyone forget my parentage, but I'll make it up to you," she says, and it's not a Promise, not quite, but it's too close for comfort.

"That's exactly what I want you to do though," Persephone tells her coolly, "make them all forget."

"I can't," Mal argues, "that- that would undermine everything I stand for now. I- I won't do it."

Persephone stares at her for so long that Mal wonders if the woman is completely awake, before abruptly turning away again, walking to a small fainting couch that they'd moved to the left wall a couple of days after they occupied the room and people kept falling asleep where they stood. She sits down and her skirts spread around her, pitch black and so smooth they look like they might be liquid.

There's another bone-chilling silence, and Carlos abandons all forms of pretence to come and stand next to her, taking her other hand in his.

"A woman who stands by her convictions," Persephone says, so softly it's only a whisper, "I can't respect that." It sounds more like she's telling herself than Mal. She sighs, and Mal feels guilty again. She really tried to keep her parentage from getting out, because no matter how much of a bitch Persephone is, how much Mal is terrified by her, she doesn't deserve the scorn that she'll receive from the other Olympians.

"A choice, then," Persephone says, mostly to herself. She looks at Mal, and her irises glow red-hot.

"I get bored of not seeing my husband," Persephone says, "it's winter, and this is supposed to be our time together, but he's trapped on that godforsaken Isle-"

"I'm already working to get everyone off the Isle," Mal argues, fear clawing up her throat.

"For fuck's sake, let me finish, Korë," the Queen of the Underworld snaps. The red in her eyes crawls through the veins around them, and she is a terrifying sight, "I know, and that's part of this deal. When you get him off the Isle, I'm not particularly interested in spending my reunion with him trying to fix the absolute mess that Hell has become in his absence."

Mal can't, for the life of her, understand where Persephone is going with this.

"So, I think that this is a fair way for you to work off your debt to me, don't you? You take over the general running of hell for as long as your father and I think necessary."

"That could be a hundred years," Mal argues, "I have obligations on Earth, too. I can't just take over when I get my father out, because I'll still have a war to win."

"I've already given you a choice, Korë. Don't be selfish." The satisfied smile that's curling across Persephone's face tells Mal that the Queen of Hell knows exactly how precarious the rock and the hard place that Mal's balanced between are and can't wait to see which one hurts her more.

"But I can be generous too," Persephone says, "I won't make you decide right now. You have a week."

"I'll expect your answer by midnight on Sunday. Don't disappoint me," she warns, and Mal won't. She doesn't know what the punishment will be, if she doesn't choose, but it can't be good.

The woman stands and strides over. Mal's expecting her to hit her, maybe, but instead, Persephone draws her into a tight embrace.

"You'll make the right choice," she whispers in Mal's ear, and then she lets go and strides towards the door, fading from the world as she goes.


"We can find another way," Evie argues, "there's no way that you have to violate everyone like that. Like, what if everyone just pretends that they don't remember."

Mal laughs bitterly, "E, I love you, but can you really imagine the council of Auradon agreeing to lie to Persephone to protect me?"

The five of them are in Ben's room. It's where he and Mal are officially sleeping at the moment, although sometimes one (or both) of them will find themselves in a sleeping bag in the main hall with everyone else.

Evie is sitting on the bed with Jay, and Carlos and Ben are hanging out on the lounge suite nearby. Mal stares out of the full-wall window at the palace grounds, saying nothing.

"I reckon Persephone might be able to figure it out anyway," Carlos contends, "I mean, she's a goddess, right? She's probably got a pretty good grasp on whether magic was really used."

"This is bullshit," Jay interrupts, furious, "and you don't have to do this, Mal."

Mal turns away from the window.

"Are we sure about that, though?" she asks, trying to keep the tremor from her voice {she fails}.

"Because Persephone is a goddess I made a Promise to, guys. And I won't risk any of you because I won't compromise my morals." {she's scoffing, and for good reason. For years, she didn't have any morals. This decision would be much easier if she had to make it three years ago, and Persephone knows that}.

"We haven't considered the other option," Ben offers.

"What do you mean?" Mal asks, sharp.

"I... just… how bad would it be if you had to run the Underworld?" Mal flinches back, eyes hard.

"I know our marriage has been a rushed mess, Ben, but there are easier ways to get rid of me than offering me up to Hell."

"That's not what I'm saying," his voice is cold now, too, "Jesus Christ, Mal. I don't know anything about the Underworld. I'm just asking if it would be impossible for you to- fuck, I don't know- do both?"

Mal runs a hand down her face, walking over to join Evie and Jay on the bed. She rests her head in Jay's lap and her feet in Evie's {it look so domestic, so natural, and Ben wonders about the truth to what Persephone said, earlier}.

"Persephone didn't give me the second option to be kind. And she wouldn't have made the offer if it didn't hurt me somehow. She's furious, that people know, and I don't really blame her."

"I'm sorry," Ben says, voice cracking, "I never meant to hurt you."

Mal all but shoots up from where she's sitting, striding across the room again to sit with Ben.

"No, baby, no. You didn't know. I didn't even know it was on my birth certificate. This isn't your fault," she assures him, and she wonders if he believes her when his eyes flicker closed to hide what he's feeling.

"Ben," she insists, hands holding his face so that she can look into his eyes, "this was bound to happen. And this fucking sucks, but I promised, remember. To honour and protect you. Equals in everything. And I love you."

It's the truth, and that's why she says it, even though she feels Carlos flinch behind her {and her heart aches but there's no winning here, for her, so what can she do but take small comforts where she can get them}.

"I love you too," Ben whispers against her lips, and he presses a soft, warm kiss to her lips, and she can feel how he's pouring all of his love for her into it, and she tries to respond in kind.

"Okay, lovebirds, break it up," Jay calls out from the bed and Ben blushes and Mal hunches her shoulders to protect herself from the feelings of guilt that threaten to overwhelm her.

"Sorry," Ben mutters, but there's a soft smile curling over his lips.

{Mal loves him, even though her life's a mess and she thinks her life would've been much easier if he'd never tried to remove her from the Isle.

She loves Evie, Carlos, and Jay too, even though she's promised to not love them for the rest of her life and she doesn't know how to go forward with them when she can't touch them like she wants to}.

"We'll figure this out," he tells Mal, and she wishes she could believe the absolute confidence in his voice.