Hey Descendants!

I'm feeding my niece a bottle as I'm typing this. Flex one hand typing.

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Thank you so much for stopping by to read our latest chapter.

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-Dark-

"Where the fuck are we even supposed to start with this shit?" Mal huffs as she looks around the room, appearing just as lost as he felt.

Opposite sides of lost, but lost all the same.

She didn't know where to start picking from.

He didn't know how to only pick a few favorites?

"Maybe just pick a few each and then go from there?" Carlos hesitantly offers as he slowly spins in place to look at all the shelves.

"Sounds like a plan." Jay nods, seeming just as overwhelmed as Mal.

"Um, so I do have a question." Evie presses her lips together as she clutches Mal's dress to her chest.

"Sup?" Mal raises an eyebrow as she turns to her.

Apparently taking any excuse to avoid the project.

He smiles.

"Sorry Mal, more of a Ben question." Evie smiles.

He pats Mal on the shoulder with an apologetic look. "Of course," He walks over, "How can I help?"

Evie takes a deep breath as she carefully lays the dress out on a table he'd set aside for her, "Four." She huffs before she turns back to him.

He waits for her to continue but when she doesn't, "Sorry. Four what exactly?"

"VKs. Four VKs for summer." Evie frowns before she quickly smooths her features again, "I mean, four didn't even cover our gang completely, and now you have to pick four more-" She looks away.

But not before he saw the glimmer of tears gathering in her eyes.

He sighs at the truth of the statement.

It had to be enough for now. The council refused to budge on bringing more than four over at a time.

And he understood that with the program being so new there would be setbacks.

But the program had barely started and it had already been pushed back from spring to summer, and yet the amount they could bring over still hadn't changed.

At this rate, if the council had any say, it was going to take years to get all these kids off the Isle.

He bites his lip, "I know." He frowns. "I know it's not enough. But it's something. Not a lot. Not nearly enough. But it will keep the ball rolling."

"Honestly Ben, it's more than we ever thought we'd get."

He turns to Carlos as his freckled face smiles up at him encouragingly.

He appreciated the support.

The sentiment.

Just as sweet and kind as always.

Which only made it cut deeper.

It hurt to think anyone could ever think these kids were evil.

Sure they were different.

Edgier.

Harder.

But it was more than just that.

They were more genuine. More sincere. More honest.

They were kinder. More grateful.

More concerned about each other than any royal family he'd ever met.

Sure he and his mother had a strong relationship. A loving one.

But his dad?

He and his father had never really seen eye to eye. There'd always been some divide between them. Not a big one, but enough of one that he noticed it.

A slight disagreement over something here.

Feeling as if he'd disappointed his father there.

But that was nothing.

These kids had it so much worse, and still managed, somehow, someway, to come out better than many.

Maybe Carlos was right. People were just more appreciative when they got the opportunity they'd never expected.

"Well yes, it is-" Evie's eyes widen as she turns from Carlos to face him again, "And I'm really not trying to say it's not, like at all." She sighs, "I, well I guess I just don't envy you having to make this decision."

"Want me to just come out and say what we're all thinking E?" Jay offers as Evie shifts uncomfortably.

Evie sighs but nods.

He had an idea, but still. "Please." He frowns.

"We're all worried about T, but T is also one of the most protective people on the Isle, definitely the most protective of everyone. Some of those kids would be seriously fucked without him. We also want to get Deez over here so you have someone to help you advocate better than we can because she knows almost everyone on the Isle. But at the same time, she's also the one who writes to you to tell you about what's happening over there. Keep you informed about who even seems like they'd be willing to accept good. And after-"

He hated and loved that they all knew that. Had all been thinking it.

It didn't make it any easier to swallow though.

"-after we left her the way we did," Jay runs a hand down his face before he laces his fingers together and cups the back of his head, "our fault or not man, I doubt she'll leave her family behind. She's not going to want to make anyone else feel the way I know she felt. And as far as T's concerned, good luck getting him to leave."

He takes a deep breath as he nods. "I really don't want to split anyone else up like that again. It just…"

"Sucks." Mal supplies as she crosses her arms and leans against his desk. "Plain and simple. It's a load of troll shit. But that doesn't make it any less true. Ugh. I can't believe I'm saying this out loud but-" She sighs, "T and D are necessary to the isle. Vital to it. The isle kids would be fucked without them." She groans, "Shrimpy and her stupid brood too."

"Uma." Jay glares at her, "Uma, Harry, and Gil."

Mal huffs as she looks away, "That's what I said." She crosses her arms. "I used to loathe it-"

"Envy it." Evie corrects blinking up at her innocently.

"I'm this close to revoking the democracy shit in the pack."

"Nah, you know you love it." Jay chuckles. "You're just uncomfortable cause it's true."

Mal glares before she turns to Carlos, "Anything you want to fucking add Pup, while it's being shoveled on me?"

"Uh… That's okay, you're handling a lot right now, and well, might I add."

"This is why he's my favorite."

"Besides, they've already covered it."

"I take that back." Mal huffs haughtily, "All of you suck."

He quickly covers a laugh with his hand.

He couldn't help it. Watching these four as they interacted was just adorable. And he loved it when they got like this.

"What were you sayin' Mal?" Jay grins, "Before E so accurately corrected you."

Mal flips him off. "Whatever, I just- They always fucking cared and shit. 'Bout the urchins in their territory. Even the ones that couldn't offer anything useful. The little ones." She frowns. "They just- They never fucking cared, and they had the leverage to make it work." She huffs, "More so now that they have D, and," She stretches the word, "T. Little fucker was goddamn supplying them with black powder, and mother knows getting D an' Gil to make the ammunition. No one's going to fuck with that."

"You would've." Carlos offers carefully.

"Well, duh…" She looks away, "But only cause T was going to-" Her eyes widen, "Damn straight, I would've."

"Smooth." Jay snorts. "Point is, the Rats have always been able to take care of not only themselves but others as well."

"Which is yet just another reason we can't pull them off either." Evie sighs, "And after seeing Harry and T together, it would be weird to think he hasn't joined their family."

"Ugh." Mal rolls her eyes.

He frowns before he walks over and sits at the desk.

If only the council could hear this. Hear the way they worried for others on the Isle. Some that they even admitted to not knowing well enough to advocate for.

He fights to keep his snort of disdain from forming.

He didn't want it misunderstood.

If only the council cared.

Cared about more than their fear, or the people's fear, as they put it.

It was as Mal put it, complete and utter troll shit.

"So then, it sounds like we're all on the same page on leaving Deez and T where they are for now, as well as the rest of the gang they belong to." He pulls a sheet of paper to him and grabs a pen, "So then the question becomes, who do we want to invite over? And maybe the first letters we release should be about them?"

He watches as Carlos starts walking around the room.

"I have no fuckin' idea." Jay rubs his neck.

"It's really hard to select who to sa- bring over…" Evie sighs quietly.

He blinks when Carlos places four tablets on his desk before he turns to Mal, "Sorry. But she would kinda make this more difficult." He looks away guiltily. "An' T already said he would look out for her so…" He bites his lip. "And I'm sure you've taught her to hold her own."

Mal sighs as she looks towards the tablets before she blinks away her concern.

Was Carlos apologizing for not selecting Mimi?

He pulls the tablets closer.

The first one he recognized immediately. It was about Dizzy.

That wasn't surprising.

From everything he'd ever read the girl was as sweet as Carlos, if not more so.

Outgoing.

Kind.

Outspoken in her own way.

And so, so, so very important to Evie.

He doubted she would've put her name forward for fear of looking selfish.

He frowns.

Not that it was selfish to want to protect your little sister.

Not to mention bringing over a younger Isle kid might be more disarming to those who were, for whatever ridiculous reason, intimidated by the Core.

Like they didn't have more reasons to be worried in their new home here in Auradon.

He'd seen it.

The culture shock.

It still hurt to see how amazed they were.

He hadn't missed the disgust when they'd first seen the cafeteria. Well, disgust and awe.

He nods as he puts Dizzy's tablet to the side before looking over the second one.

Cecilia.

She was another younger one by all accounts.

And apparently talented with tarot cards.

That and, like Dizzy or maybe even more so, was loud and proud. Possessed plenty of confidence.

And since she also had a protective older sister, the tablet about Freddie wasn't all that surprising.

From all accounts, she was a bit of a mischievous troublemaker and a medium of sorts.

But he was sure that kind of light attitude would benefit their cause.

In fact, the only tablet on the table that took him by surprise was the last one, the one about Anthony Tremaine.

He takes a careful breath as he pulls it closer.

He smiles as he glances over the letter describing how Anthony, the self-proclaimed male head of the Tremaine family, never hesitated when it came to protecting his little cousins, especially Dizzy.

He'd always seemed a bit pompous from Deez's letters but, that wasn't a bad thing in this case. He'd probably be able to handle the royals' attitudes better than the rest of them.

That and knew a bit more about the etiquette.

Not that he cared that the others weren't at Evie's level, but it would be good to have an Isle kid that could match the more… obnoxious of the royalty they were facing against.

"I think-" Carlos sucks in a breath, "Bringing these four over would help to lighten D and T's …" He bites his lip as his brow furrows.

"Worries?" Mal provides as she crosses her arms over her chest.

Carlos snaps his fingers as he grins at her, "Yeah that. Freddie needs like, a lot of looking after. And Dizzy and Cece are younger and very um, helpful, I guess, for this situation. Would definitely back what we're doing happily, well probably haughtily in Cece's case but still… And Anthony is… Well, Anthony. And like part of the time he means well."

"He is very sophisticated." Evie quickly adds, "And always tries to do things the civilized way before he resorts to other," She tilts her head to the side, "less conventional means."

"And is a pompous douche. So might actually fit in with Chad and his Chad-iots." Jay nods as he crosses his arms and leans against the wall, "Good calls pup."

Carlos blushes. "It just- I wanted to say Squeaky and Squirmy too, but they're shy and don't speak up a lot, or ever… And besides, they have Uma and Harry's protection." He looks towards the shelves housing the tablets about the urchins. "I was thinking Beam too… But he's the best the urchin's got. I just know he'd advocate loudly- I mean at least from T has told me- And anyone Deez likes has to be, ya know. Good. Ish. But, um, he also kinda resents us, for bein' like. VK vk's." He rubs the back of his neck, "And like only talks to T, cause ya know, he protects the other urchins and like, told everyone he was one..."

His lips twitch into a minuscule smile.

He'd enjoyed reading about the prominent underground leader.

Beam.

Now that he'd actually managed to get close to Roy, he could see a lot of similarities.

They were both underrated underdogs with hearts so at odds with their demeanors.

His eyes sweep around the room.

Not that they were the only ones.

Most of the kids Deez wrote about usually had hearts that didn't match their persona's.

He seemed to have a type.

"Which is a big deal on the isle," Evie supplies. "It's not much different than here actually," She admits softly as she sits in the chair and pulls a sewing box into her lap, "There's definitely a hierarchy of sorts, ours just involved more adults and fewer tiers."

That didn't surprise him.

But he was curious about what they were.

He could only imagine that the original villains were at the top of the food chain and that the urchins were at the bottom.

He wanted to ask so badly, but he didn't want to make them uncomfortable either.

He nods as he watches her start to embroider the lace at the top of Mal's dress with a small smile.

He found it was enjoyable to watch her when she got in her zone.

He shakes his head. "Right, that makes sense." He sighs, wondering where his friends had landed on that list.

They all turn at a soft knock at the door before his mother steps in, followed by Cogsworth with a cart.

"Sorry to interrupt-" Belle greets with a large smile.

He highly doubted that.

"-but I thought all of you might be hungry, and I wanted to see how everything was coming."

Jay, Carlos, and Mal shift in discomfort.

"Thanks." Mal smiles uncertainty.

He chuckles as Jay and Carlos nod before they turn to look at him for help.

"I think we've narrowed it down. The four for the summer." He offers, knowing that was the exact reason she'd shown up.

"Oh." Belle smiles softly as she makes herself comfortable on one of the plush couches. "Thanks for your help Cogsworth."

"Of course madame." the man bows, "Prince Ben," His eyes sweep around the room until they settle on Mal curiously. "And company. Please feel free to call if there is need." He stands up straight before he turns and closes the door behind him.

Belle chuckles as she picks up a pot of tea and pours herself a cup. "I know that this decision couldn't have been easy. Most choices like this never are. I can only imagine how uncomfortable this level of power and responsibility this must be for all of you." She sighs, "But I assure you, this family is working hard to make sure this won't fall on any of you again. With any luck, we'll have all of your friends here by next year. That is once the council removes their heads from their asses." She smiles sweetly, tittering when all of the core whip their heads to her in shock.

All except Evie, who was in for a shock when she finally looked up from her work.

He shakes his head though the smile never leaves his lips.

"So," Belle clears her throat, "who did we come up with?"

"Carlos made an excellent suggestion," He collects the tablets from his desk.

"Of course he did." Belle nods as she shoots the boy a smile, only for him to duck away from it with a blush.

"Yes, well you are the most familiar with Deez's work, as I understand it." He sets the tablets at his mother's elbow before he watches Carlos for a confirmation.

"Um-" Carlos bites his lip as he looks between Mal and Jay unsure.

"Can't say I ever got around to it," Mal looks away.

"I uh… She proofread a couple to me." Jay rubs the back of his neck.

"Oh," Carlos frowns as he looks around at the shelves again, "Yeah, I guess I am. We uh, she helped me out with my experiments, and I helped her out with her writing. Well, as much as I could- Writing isn't exactly my strongest subject." He admits sheepishly. "I mean, unless it's formulas."

"Show off." Jay ruffles the younger boy's hair, the grin on his lips betraying affection.

"Right?" Mal snorts as she pulls herself to sit on his desk.

Belle smiles her eyes sparkling with amusement, "Don't get too comfortable over there dear," She pats the seat next to her, "Come, have some tea." Her eyes move to Carlos and Jay, "You two as well, I'd hate for these cakes to go to waste."

The three share looks of discomfort before Jay pushes Carlos forward. "You heard the Queen."

Carlos turns to pout at him with a look of betrayal before he takes a deep breath and walks over before hesitantly settling on the couch across from her.

Jay turns to lift his eyebrow at Mal expectantly.

He and his mother share a knowing look before they quickly look away, covering their smiles.

Oh yeah.

So criminal.

He shakes his head.

Mal swallows before she walks over and attempts to sit by Carlos, only for Jay to quickly steal the seat.

Her incredulous glare was utterly adorable.

"Don't worry dear," Belle chuckles, "Come, there's plenty of room over here." She pats the seat next to her.

Mal takes a deep breath before she forces a smile on her face and turns to his mother.

Belle turns, "Evie dear care to-" She blinks. "Oh my." She stands up and walks over to her.

"My light!"

"My apologies," Belle shifts out of the way, "But-"

Evie's eyes snap up before they widen in horror, "My Queen? I-" She scrambles to her feet and curtseys.

Belle quickly catches the dress before it can hit the floor and chuckles. "Sorry to startle you- I just couldn't help myself." She holds up the dress to inspect it better. "This is just so marvelously gorgeous,." She gushes as her eyes sweep over it with appreciation. "You've really outdone yourself. I know you make all of your clothes but this-" She carefully hands the dress back to Evie, "I own designer dresses that pale in comparison to your work."

He smiles at his mother's sincerity before his eyes widen at the look of complete and utter shock on Evie's face.

He wasn't sure he'd ever seen her with that expression before.

The girl was usually so composed, even more so than Audrey, that it took him by surprise.

"I- I- Thank you, your Majesty." Evie curtseys again, "If, if you would like I, would love to design something for you, after the ceremony of course."

"Really?" Belle asks with bright eyes, "I'd be honored to wear one of your designs."

"You would?" Evie blinks as a smile curves her lips.

"Oh absolutely dear." Belle smiles, "You're definitely going to be drawing eyes with this. I'd love to be one of the first to purchase one of your dresses."

"Purchase?"

"Of course." Belle chuckles, "All art should be compensated, especially ones that have so much work and skill poured into them."

Evie pulls her hands to her chest before she blinks down at the wrinkled material and gasps, quickly turning to smooth the fabric out on the table once more.

"Sorry," Belle runs a hand over Evie's hair carefully, "I'll make sure to get you a steamer."

"I think the Queen broke her." Mal sighs.

"Uh-huh," Carlos nods with a look of awe.

Jay snorts, "Impressive."

He hides a smile under his hand, "Evie. Mother. Perhaps it would be best if we get back to tea and our talk about the tablets we're using for the articles."

"Oh, of course." Belle drops her hand, "My apologies," She blushes, "I just got excited. You're going to look absolutely stunning at the ceremony Mal. Consider me jealous." She giggles as she takes Evie's hand and leads her to the couch.

Mal's eyes widen as she slowly sits back on the couch, "I'm sure the dress Evie makes for you is going to put mine to shame. It's kind of her thing."

"I look forward to having a piece of her collection," Belle turns to Evie thoughtfully, "And I know several of my friends are going to gush when they see your work."

Evie smiles as she accepts a cup of tea from Carlos, "You're too kind, my Queen."

"I really wish you would all call me Belle," She shakes her head.

He chokes on his laugh at the collective looks of horror.

Belle blinks, "But maybe we'll work up to that." She settles in her seat before she clears her throat. "So, this suggestion?" She asks in excitement as she starts cutting into the cream cakes.

Dudez, S'up?

We really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

Just like the VK's it was hard for us to come up with the next four too.

Do you like our selection?

Have any questions of your own as to why we picked them?

And, fuck if we don't hate ourselves for adding a new OC but he shows up so often in the next book, so... Figured we might introduce the idea of him now.

So, speaking of OCs, we pretty made this version of Belle one.

She was kind of a bitch in the movie, especially for someone who fell in love with a cursed asshole who looked like a monster- And kind of was one in the movies. Needless to say, we kinda turned Adam into an OC too.

Anyways, did this chapter make you laugh?

Let us know!

Much love and appreciation

-Twisted