Chapter 1: Soul in Despair
(Author's note: I've been hesitating to write this fanfic because I was hoping to finish my other Descendants fanfic, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF PENNA DE MORT. Still, ideas are coming to me ever since the third Descendants movie. So while I'm still writing the other fanfic, pretend that everything I wrote in my previous Descendants fanfic never occurred. This story is taking place after Descendants 3.)
It's probably very frequent that nobody ever images the possibility of them having to sit in an interrogation room. Nobody would think that they'd have to sit on some cold chair and endure the personal questions imposed by the detective.
At this stage Auradon was in, nobody was surprised that the Huns took a lot of proper careers in the Auradonian police force ever since Mal and Ben permanently destroyed the Isle of the Lost's barrier during their betrothal party. The Huns were very good trackers, soldiers, and occasional negotiators. Nobody was surprised when Ben negotiated with Shan-Yu into giving him a position as chief detective.
But the idea that Shan-Yu would have to interrogate Princess Audrey of all the people?
It was probably around 11am on a Thursday when Shan-Yu stepped into the interrogation room to question Audrey. The princess wasn't being arrested for some crime she did, but many were… concerned about her when she came back from yet again another absence. She hadn't left on her own nor had she been kidnapped or escorted. Her parents and friends didn't know where she had gone. She had changed, but not for the wrong nor good reasons.
"Here's some coffee." He placed one of the two mugs he had brought over in front of Audrey. "I heard you like dark coffee now."
"Thank you." Audrey no longer sounded sarcastic, cheerful, or even condescending as she took her mug. From Shan-Yu's perspective, the princess now had the same indifferent behavior his own offspring had at dinnertime.
"You aren't in trouble. You know that, right?" He asked.
She merely nodded.
"We're just worried about you. You've been gone for nearly three months, you got yourself a new crowd, and you gained new talents. I myself am a parent, so I know that it's like to talk with a teenager with coping problems."
Audrey shrugged.
"This may be long…" Shan-Yu leaned forward on his chair and clasped his fingers together. "So tell me. What happened?"
"The short version or the long version?"
"The long version. I like to hear stories… until I detect the lies."
Audrey nodded and sat properly on her chair. "It's very complicated. I can definitely tell you that it all began weeks after my rampage… weeks after the party when the barrier was brought down… When the semester started, and Carlos…"
Back in early September
Carlos had died.
It was only during a meeting when the royal fiancés discussed their plans for their wedding in the upcoming spring that Carlos De Vil had collapsed during the meeting. The years of poor health on the Isle of the Lost didn't do wonders for his own health, and to make things worse, the temporary moments as a stone statue had worsened his condition. The scientists and mages called it an unfortunate medical situation, but most of the biased minds had an easier way of expressing their sadness and anger.
Audrey was to blame.
Jane had been so devastated when her beloved had died, and the mere idea that Audrey's magic was enough to worsen his condition convinced Jane enough. The girl was angered enough that she banned the princess from attending Carlos' funeral. The idea that the former Queen of Mean was responsible for the death of one the beloved VKs was enough for the public to ostracize and outright alienate Audrey. People avoided speaking to her wherever she walked. Classmates cluttered into one spot so that way they'd keep their distance from Audrey in class. Despite Mal and Evie's protests, the majority of the Auradon Prep cheerleading squad were convinced enough that she'd hex them, so they kicked Audrey out of the team. Her friends (whatever was left of them) tried their best to support her, but Audrey was now overwhelmed by self-loathing and guilt that she primarily locked herself in her room to avoid contact with anyone.
Somewhere on a Monday evening, she managed to sneak out of Auradon Prep and make her way to the local graveyard. Knowing that even the florists hated her at the moment, Audrey contended with picking wildflowers as she walked by foot to the graveyard. By the time Audrey reached the graveyard, the moonlight was shining over Carlos's grave. The sculptors had designed his memorial statue to represent him holding Dude after the first time they met. Various bouquets were laid out, ranging from simple bouquets like the one Audrey placed and fancy bouquets. The Auradon Prep tourney and ROAR team had even placed Carlos' old jerseys in glass boxes.
A branch cracking alerted Audrey. Hopefully it wasn't some local mourner. She'd be thrown out of the graveyard while rocks would be thrown at her. A tingling sensation ached her left hand.
"No, no, no…" She shook her hand when she saw the pink-colored glow staining her skin. When the footsteps approached, she shoved her hand within the confinements of her pink-colored sleeve. The footsteps got louder and… a stag came out. Most people would freak out when they saw a red-colored stag with mahogany black horns that shine in the dark, but Audrey sighed in relief.
"Oh, it's just you." She pulled out her hand when the tingling stopped. Audrey was familiar with that stag. Ever since she was freed from the influence of Maleficent's scepter and faced weeks of solitude, the red stag was her only companion whenever she took lonely walks in the secluded parts of the forests. It would appear and disappear at its leisure, but its presence always made Audrey feel a tad better.
"I don't know what to think anymore," Audrey sighed. The stag walked up to the batch of bouquets and started pulling out flowers with its teeth. "Don't do that! They're for Carlos!"
The stag ignored her. Fortunately, instead of eating them, it carried the flowers over to Audrey. Audrey didn't move as the animal dropped the flowers on her lap and decided to sit next to her. The princess was touched that the stag wanted to cheer her up, but she placed the flowers that didn't belong to her back with the others.
"You're very sweet… but you know I can't." Audrey's hand caressed the stag's fur from its head down to its neck. "I don't know what to think anymore. Everyone is looking for someone to blame; I still feel that way even though I'm to blame a bit."
The stag gave her some kind of snorting sound.
"Hey! Don't use that language!" Audrey never really understood why, but somehow in the last few weeks, she managed to understand the creature without even speaking deer. "Sure, my grandmother had high expectations… and my parents are never there… and I acted self-entitled because it's all I'm good at." She sighed. "You know in the end, it's a good thing my family's goals were never accomplished. Mal will definetly be a better queen than I am as a person."
The stag made some kind of sound and gave Audrey a gentle lick on the cheek. "Aw, you're sweet. But I told you to stop calling me that."
The creature kept insisting and gave her more licks. Audrey laughed a bit: "You're funny, you know that? But I wouldn't. Believe me, even if I had the methods, I wouldn't turn you human just because you keep calling me 'my queen'. You got to admit, I'd be losing my sanity. Besides…" She raised her hands, further revealing the inner pink glow in them. "You know I can't reveal this to the others."
A terrible secret Audrey had to hide. Just barely after Mal's father Hades had awakened her from her coma, Audrey had secretly discovered that not all of the magic had disappeared. The scepter's magic had abandoned some minor sparkles that ended up becoming parasites for Audrey. Audrey had tried everything, but it wouldn't disappear. Eventually, despite how unhealthy it was and that no one else, not even Mal or the Fairy Godmother, knew that Audrey still had magic on her, Audrey had to rely on gloves to hide it in public. At least with the stag, she didn't have to worry about hiding her hands from it.
"What do you think I should do?"
The stag made a sound.
"Leave?" Audrey frowned. "Where do you think I'd go? And for what?" She got up and started making her way. "At this rate, I'm not sure I know what I want in my life!"
The stag gave her a meaningful look and watched from a distance as Audrey made her way by foot through the woods to get back to the school.
Audrey: Back then, I would have laughed if people told me,
That I'd become the Queen of Mean.
But since this has happened to me,
I have trouble proving that I went clean.
What am I now?
Besides a princess that brought in shame?
I know why they never did nor will bow,
And I further ruined my family's name.
Yet maybe out there is the redemption I never knew I'd need.
Maybe an adventure out there will forgive my bad deed.
It's evident now that my family doesn't give much damn.
They never cared and never will if I think I am
A soul in despair!
In need of repair!
A soul in DESPAIR!
Discovering places that nobody knew were there,
Fulfilling tasks that would show them that I care.
Audrey had reached the bridge just above the Enchanted Lake. Even in the moonlight, she could see her lonely reflection in the lake that rested numerous feet under her.
Audrey: Maybe finally find some angel who'd truly devote to me,
Who'd truly be there for me… even though I'm beastly.
Maybe decide what to do about the magic within me.
I don't want, but it's part of me, and I no longer want to be…
A soul in despair!
With a magical flare!
A soul in DESPAIR!
As Audrey ran further in her path, a trail of pink magic escaped her fingers. She didn't notice it staining the tree's leaves, the moonlight illuminating them like a ceiling of crystals, or growing the flowers into full, glowing bloom
Audrey: Where is my redemption?
Where is the real attention?
Where is the true attraction?
Am I going in the right direction?
I'm scared of what awaits me, but I'll take the dare!
I must prove that I don't want to be a soul in despair!
…
It was probably around midnight when Audrey finally reached Auradon Prep, walked her silent way through the dark hallway, and found out that somebody had broken into her room. Ironically, nothing was stolen, but she was surprised to find a VK sitting on her bed with a pile of books from the school library.
The VK could only be roughly seventeen turning eighteen, perhaps the same age as Audrey. A red tunic with a golden beaded collar covered her black mini-skirt, which covered her red leggings bearing patterns of golden flower petals. Her boots looked like a hybrid of combat and high-heeled boots, suggesting that she didn't give much damn about current fashion trends. Her messy black hair was partially curly yet had a nice shiny effect to it as a red ribbon held it back in a ponytail that reached past her shoulders. It was only when Audrey closed the door that the VK raised her brown eyes up from the book she was skimming through.
"I'm sorry," Audrey apologized. "I didn't mean to interrupt."
"I broke into your room for solitary research and you're the one apologizing for interrupting me?" The VK scoffed. "Wow. And I thought Auradonian princesses lacked dignity."
Audrey looked at the VK confusingly. "You make it sound like reading is a crime."
"I suppose… Given the situation, I'm in…" The VK paused when she noticed Audrey's stare. It wasn't the kind that was impatiently waiting for her to leave, but the kind that suggested she was too depressed to even care what others thought of her. The VK moved some books out of the way and patted on the mattress. "Sit. You look exhausted."
Audrey didn't react much. For one, a stranger was asking her to sit on her own bed, but at the same time the VK behaved like she had no clue who Audrey was. Audrey just went for that small act of kindness and went to sit next to the girl. The proximity gave Audrey an exposure to the unusual flowery perfume the girl wore.
"Proper formalities." The VK held out her hand. "I'm Gothy. Mother Gothel's daughter."
That explained the girl's unusual sense of style.
"I'm Audrey." Audrey shook hands with Gothy. "Sleeping Beauty's daughter."
Gothy frowned at her. "More like Sleep Anxiety's daughter." She tapped on the tiredness marks Audrey had under her eyes. "What happened? You look like you pulled all-nighters."
Audrey was surprised. "You don't know what happened? You didn't hear what happened back in August?"
Gothy shrugged. "I didn't have a television back on the Isle. My mother spends nearly every blight she has for beauty products to hide her wrinkles. And most of my free time… Actually, I don't have any free time. Every second I spent back on the Isle was to try to make money."
Audrey got a bit distracted from Gothy and took a peak at the majority of the books Gothy was looking. "Nearly everything is about Corona… Rapunzel's kingdom…"
"Now, before you ask, I am not going on some rampage of vengeance in my mother's name!" Gothy groaned an slouched on one of the pink pillows. "Mother Gothel barely cares of anything I do…"
Audrey nodded. "I understand… But then why do you want to go to Corona?"
Gothy got off the bed. She checked to make sure nobody was at the other sides of the windows. She locked them and shielded them with the fancy curtains. She crossed the room to reach the door and double-check that the hallways were empty. Once she did, she locked the door.
"That serious?" Audrey asked.
Gothy cautiously turned to Audrey. "Can I trust you to not tell anyone? Especially Mal?"
Audrey cringed a bit. It must be serious if Mother Gothel's daughter did not seek the involvement of Maleficent's daughter. Still, all the princess could do was nod. Gothy sighed and pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment. She sat down next to Audrey and showed her the parchment's content, which displayed the sketched portrait of a woman holding a child on her lap while a birthday cake with four candles rested on a small table. Given the scent of the parchment, it looked like the portrait could only be a few decades old. Given the old woman's close appearance to what she had seen in museums, Audrey guessed this portrait was of Mother Gothel when she relied on the Sun Flower. The small girl, however, she wasn't sure.
"It's Mother Gothel… with my half-sister Cassandra."
Audrey took the paper in her hands to have a proper look. After some comparison, she did see that the illustrated characters and Gothy matched in hair and nose formatting, but Gothy had eyes darker than them.
"This is the only thing we have her. Mother Gothel doesn't know this, but I didn't leave the Isle of the Lost to transfer to Auradon Prep. I left to find Cassandra… and leave. I don't care where I end up going, but any place with my sister is better than all this."
Audrey gave Gothy the parchment back. "How come your sister isn't on the Isle? I thought they banished all the villain and their offspring there. Or did she leave when Mal and Ben destroyed the barrier?"
"That's the thing. I don't know." Gothy shook her head. "Mother Gothel never bothered, but outside work, I spent nearly every day of my life trying to track Cassandra, but she's nowhere on the Isle. And…" Gothy bit her lip. "All Mother Gothel ever told me about my sister was that she abandoned her on the night she kidnapped Rapunzel as a baby."
Audrey felt sympathy. To think that her grandmother was angered by the fact that Maleficent kept her from raising Aurora properly, which explained why Queen Leah took over raising Audrey while the latter's parents were busy with royal duties. And here was Gothy Gothel practically telling her 'my mom ditched my older sibling for some princess who made her young!'
"I looked through all these books I could find on Corona. History, social studies, even a freaking address book, but Cassandra is nowhere on them! I even found a record on recorded portraits of criminals and civilian censuses, but she isn't among them. And it's not like I walk up to the monarchies to ask them if they know where Cassandra is! They'll start thinking that she's a rogue criminal that escaped their watch for more than 20 years!"
Audrey thought about it. A regular person would talk to an adult or a trusted person on it, but knowing how some potentially dangerous threats even scared Mal, the last thing needed was for Auradon to think that a villainess' daughter had been rogue for decades. Audrey knew that Queen Rapunzel was generous, but what were the odds that she'd help out in finding the missing biological daughter of her former warden? Still… Not to mention that Audrey really needed to find a reason to go…
"I think we could find out where Cassandra is if we snooped through the Hidden Archives of the Royal Corona Family. All the royal families have hidden archives ever since Auradon was created. It can only be accessed by a monarch, but still… It could work."
"And you know this how?" Gothy gave her a skeptical frown.
"There are hidden archives in my parents' castle. Only they can access it." And it's very unlikely that I ever will, she thought. "You need someone to help you navigate around the lands. If you let me, I can help you find your sister."
Gothy still looked unconvinced. "Do you know what I do to those who make a promise without sincerity?"
"You stab their love interests with a knife?"
"Ha! No." She pulled out a pair of silver scissors. "I threaten to cut their hair and turn them into wigs if they try to betray me!"
Audrey didn't know what got the best of her, but she laughed at the attempted threat Gothy had tried to pull. "You think that will scare me? I spent a week brainwashed by Maleficent's scepter, turned Mal into a hag, threw a sleeping spell on Auradon, turned Ben into a beast, animated suits of armor, turned people to stone, and almost died. And because of my idiocy, my friend Carlos is dead." Her laughter turned into a miserable grimace. "So go ahead and threaten to cut my hair. I will help you, but I'm no longer a sissy princess that cries when she breaks a nail."
Gothy stared at her. Eventually, she smirked, put away her scissors, and eagerly shook Audrey's hand getting agitated by a tense pink glow.
"Well, Princess. This might be the beginning of a rebellious friendship. Now let's go find you some pants!"
