Hey Descendants!
Happy Friday the 13th! Anyone out there celebrating? My siblings and I have always had fun little traditions we do. And my brother and I put Friday the 13th on and keep it going all day.
Anyway, we hope you enjoy the chapter.
-Dark
A few days later...
"D? Where are you go-"
The door bangs shut behind her, cutting off the rest of whatever Evie had been saying as she bolts down the fire escape. Her hands slip easily down the wet poles as she slides to the ground, already soaked from the heavy rain.
Usually, she'd stop and take time to enjoy a good storm, but tonight she had to get to Yensid's.
She flat out runs, smiling at the thought of how proud T would be if he could see her. She slips and slides over the slicker of cobblestones as she rushes to Yensid's house, hoping that he'd been watching the fireside chat as well.
She slides past his door, grasping at the rails around a window to help redirect her momentum until she slams into his door. She takes a deep breath and knocks excitedly.
The door opens, "I take it you saw the latest chat?" He lets her in.
"Do you think he was talking about the letters?" She asks hopefully as she steps in.
Yensid chuckles, his eyes bright. "I believe he might be. I don't know what else he could be referring too." He shuts the door behind her. "There aren't many in Auradon in need of second chances."
Hyades grins as she leans back against the door, suddenly aware of how wet she was after her run in the rain and unwilling to ruin anything more than the rug she was one.
"Here." Yensid collects a large towel by the door. "Please, before you…" He narrows his eyes. "Can you dry yourself?"
Hyades blinks up at Yensid for a moment before she blushes, "Right. I forgot."
Yensid lets out a low chuckle before he steps away, as if summoned by the whistle in the kitchen, "I'll go pour our tea."
"Thank you." Hyades chuckles and shakes her head as she summons a low flame around her whole body to speed the process up.
Yensid comes back a moment later, two cups in hand as he smiles at her technique. "You have come such a long way." He observes with pride.
"I've had lots of help." She admits before she pats herself down. Satisfied that she was dry she slips into her normal seat at the table.
"Ah." Yensid smiles, "I've found help often does speed up progress." He hands her favorite mug.
Hyades grins at the star-studded mug before she excitedly taps her fingers on the table, "I can't believe my letters might have helped."
"Of course they did. One does not stick to doing something so diligently for this long, only to yield no results. Most would have given up after months of no response. The rest years. It takes a unique, dedicated visionary such as yourself to stay so devoted to anything of this caliber."
"I gave up a few times." She points out uncomfortably.
"But you always came back to it, and that's what matters. We all have times where we can't carry the torch by ourselves, but you had no one to pass this to, so when you had the strength you picked it back up and kept running yourself. That's very commendable of you Hyades. Not everyone has that kind of stamina. I'm very proud of you. You've grown so much."
Hyades blushes and looks down at her mug of tea, tracing the faint pattern of stars. She wasn't sure how to respond to his claim of being proud. She just knew she liked the feeling.
Her brow furrows as she thinks back over the King's parting messages. "I wonder if it's Prince Benjamin that's been getting the letters."
"That would explain the timing." Yensid nods.
"Did you meet him before you decided to live with us villains?"
"Only for the briefest of moments when he was an infant at his christening." Yensid frowns. "Even for a babe, he had the kindest eyes." He looks away, "But as you might imagine, the king and I didn't see eye to eye in the end."
"It doesn't sound like you left on bad terms."
"No not bad terms, just ill opinions."
"Are you angry with him?"
"Now more than ever."
"Why?" Hyades frowns as she looks up at Yensid, "He's just doing his job isn't he?"
Yensid lowers his cup, "It's complicated. Yes, on one hand, he's doing his job to the Kingdom, but on the other hand, the minute the first report came over that the villains were starting to birth children, he should have known better than to leave mere babes in the hands of those he couldn't even trust with adults."
"But, if he'd taken us away," She bites her bottom lip as she imagines what life on the other side of the barrier might have been like, "We wouldn't have met. I might not know my friends. What if I never learned to make swords."
Yensid smiles, "Maybe not. I'm glad there are so many things you think you would miss if you were born on the other side of the barrier. But also realize young Hyades, that you can't miss what you never had. And the fact that he took that away from all of you is not something I feel like I can forgive at my age."
"You should." Hyades shrugs, "Anger is a stupid emotion to waste time on when you have so much else you could do." It had been a hard lesson for her, but one she was so happy to have learned.
Yensid lets out a wizened chuckle. "Out of the mouths of babes." He claps both of his knees. "But Hyades, you are still young and learning. Sometimes anger is the motivation to get things done. Or to stop something that isn't right."
Hyades scrunches her face in contemplation before she shakes her head and takes a sip of her tea.
"That's alright." Yensid chuckles, "I'm glad you can have such an outlook on this isle after everything. It speaks highly of your character."
"I don't know about that…" She whispers as she sets her mug back down, "I think it's more, anger, my anger anyways, always hurt people. I still get angry sometimes, but I… I don't act on it anymore I guess."
"Ah." Yensid nods, "How very mature of you." He picks up his tea. "I'm still mastering that ability myself it seems."
"It's easier when you're not always alone." Hyades shrugs.
Yensid sputters on his tea. "How very astute."
Hyades grins as she glared up at her favorite teacher, "What's that supposed to mean?" She got the feeling he found it amusing.
"Just that it's very wise of you to know at a young age what you need." Yensid smiles at her with a small blush, as he gestures to a wall with his cup. "And that perhaps I should leave my house more often, rather than letting the anger sink in."
Hyades follows his gesture with her eyes, gasping at the destruction. Yensid was a collector, or as T called him, a hoarder. She'd always loved looking over his collections. He never seemed to mind her questions, and she loved listening to his stories of faraway places as he launched into dramatic stories surrounding the object she was interested in.
That had proven to be a disastrous trait while he'd been in the grip of his anger. So many things were smashed, shattered or partially embedded in the wall.
Uma had a similar temper.
She rolls her bottom lip over her teeth before her eyes dart from the mess to Yensid, only to quickly drop to her mug, "Um, do you wan- need to talk about it?" She asks hesitantly, unsure of what she could possibly offer her teacher, but feeling like she had to try.
Yensid's smile reaches his eyes as he leans back in his seat in surprise. "Now, where did you pick that up?"
"Gil, Harry, and Uma." Hyades blushes.
Yensid nods in approval. "Those three sound like amazing confidants. I'd keep them close, it's rare to have that much emotional awareness here."
"I was going to join them." She rubs her thumb along the rim of her mug, "But yeah… Stuff."
Yensid studies her for a moment. His eyes narrowing in thought. "Wouldn't have anything to do with Maleficent would it?" He steeples his fingers in front of him.
Hyades furrows her brow, "I was told I begged to join Mal's gang and betrayed my fam- the Rats to do it."
"I see…" Yensid taps his pointer fingers together. "So, you consider the Sea Three your family?"
Hyades nods, "Uma's my real cousin, but removed or something."
Yensid shakes his head. "Cousin or not, the family we choose doesn't have to be blood. I myself ran from my family at the earliest opportunity."
"Really?" Hyades asks, her eyes wide at the concept that Yensid was, once more, more like her and the other vks than she'd thought.
Yensid, "Oh yes, they were too small-minded for my tastes. Couldn't see the big picture at all. Didn't support the magic I had already found I had a natural knack for and were incredibly strict about our bible studies."
Hyades's back stiffens as she sets her mug down harder than she meant to, "Oh?"
"Are you alright?" Yensid asks as he sits back further in his chair.
"Mmhmm," Hyades nods as she bites her lip, "so the wall?"
Yensid lets out a low chuckle before he picks up his tea. "Or we could just enjoy each other's company."
"Oooh," Hyades grins, "I know what that was. I get in trouble for doing that."
Yensid matches her grin. "Yes well, I find that sometimes it's best to keep some things closer to the chest- but not everything." He sighs, "Speaking of, you haven't heard from T have you?"
Hyades takes a deep breath before she sighs, "I saw him a few days ago." She gags at the thought of the dark knockout liquid. Not even the kiss from T or Harry made it taste better.
Yensid's eyes widen in concern. "Is he okay?"
"I don't know how he can be when drinking that shit is the only way he sleeps."
Yensid lifts a brow, "What shit?" He blinks.
Hyades breathes in quickly, "He makes it and carries around little vials of it with him. And apparently, they work on me. He said he was surprised. Oh, and it tastes disgusting."
Yensid blinks. "T makes medicine?" He asks in surprise, "Out of what exactly?"
"Herbs and stuff." She turns in her chair to grab a sheet of paper and a pencil, "I'm not the best at drawing, but I've helped him pick them before. Some of them hurt humans, but they didn't bother me so I started collecting those every time I found them during our game."
Yensid's jaw drops slightly before he closes it. "Herbs from this isle?"
"And other ones, there are nasty herbs on the little islands that are always foggy. I've never helped pick those, and never will if the only way for me to get there is to drink that stuff again."
Yensid's eyes open. "In this barrier. He finds herbs, and then makes medicine from them. And no one is dead?"
"He always says he's surprised he isn't. But yeah. And he always tries them first. Things got easier when Carlos loaned him an herb encyclopedia."
"He…" Yensid's lower eyelid ticks. "That makes two of us."
"I haven't seen him since then though." Hyades admits with a frown as her pencil stops, "And I'm worried."
Yensid lifts one eyebrow, "Why?"
Hyades stares at him, opening and closing her mouth several times before she frowns, "I don't know if I can explain it. I haven't really… figured out how to make it make sense. It's just something I've been... noticing?"
Yensid furrows his brow as he stares into his tea, "Why don't we try a mental exercise then?"
"Like what?" Hyades asks eagerly. Usually, these ended up being a lot like games, and she enjoyed the puzzles Yensid came up with.
"Let's talk about other things you've been noticing by playing a game of hypotheticals. And when you're ready, you can toss this unexamined conundrum into the mix and we can work on it together in the hypothetical."
Hyades frowns and tilts her head to the side, "What does hypothetical mean?"
"It's like going down a road of what-ifs. For example, hypothetically, if you had been born on the other side of the barrier, what do you think your life would have been like?" Yensid nods sagely, "Something along those lines."
Hyades frowns as she stares at her tea, unconsciously mirroring her mentor. It sounded harmless enough. And Yensid was probably the only person she had a chance of getting to understand something she wasn't sure she understood enough to explain. And as long as she didn't tell him what was about T, and what wasn't, then it couldn't be a betrayal. She takes in a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Okay. Let's see. Hypothetically, what would be the best thing to make food-wise for someone who might not always know when they'll next get a chance to eat?" There, that was kind of safe.
"In this kind of situation, it would be safest to stick with non-perishable foods. Like dried fruits, vegetables and meats. Or perhaps a dry biscuit or cracker-like baked good." Yensid nods, "Such things can be easily kept for days or even weeks, and could be kept hidden if need be."
Hyades nods in understanding. That was a good idea, but she'd have to ask for another recipe book so she could make something for Carlos and Evie to keep hidden.
"Got another one?"
"Uh yeah… Hypothetically, if someone could free a villain from the isle, should they?"
"This is a hard what if," Yensid frowns, "It would really depend on which Villain we are talking about for me to respond properly to this hypothetical."
"Like, a god villain," Hyades explains without being able to look up from her tea.
"Hmm, then I'd probably respond that there are worse villains that could be unleashed on society. But at this point, he might be a little too jaded at the king for agreeing to his containment."
"That's something I've been worried about too," Hyades admits.
Yensid nods, "Hypothetically, of course."
Hyades smiles and nods, "Well yeah." She clears her throat, "Hypothetically, if someone wasn't always being fed as punishment, is it wrong to give them food anyway?"
Yensid's brow narrows, "Not at all. That would make you human."
Not that she'd been worried it was wrong or would have changed what she was doing. "Okay then… Hypothetically, if someone never told you something, but never corrected your assumption, is that a lie?"
Yensid eyes narrow in thought. "Yes, albeit a lie of omission."
"Because they could have corrected you but didn't?"
"Correct." Yensid nods. "It usually means they're hiding something discreetly, by not drawing attention to it.."
Huh. So T could be discreet. And he thought he was a bad liar.
"Hypothetically, if you were talking to someone, but sometimes, even though it still looks like the same person, you can tell someone else that you don't know is talking back to you, would that be a problem?"
"In Auradon, or on the isle?" Yensid asks.
"Both? Like, is not a normal thing hypothetically right?"
"Well in Auradon magic still exists, so there's a chance it might be a small hex or low-level curse."
"Oh, well on the isle then."
"That one's a bit trickier for me. Its been years since I've dabbled with psychology." Yensid crosses his arms over his chest as he studies Hyades before he stands up and walks to his bag. "I think I brought it with me." He frowns as he slides his hand into his book bag. It takes a moment before he pulls out a book labeled DSM V. He starts flipping through it as he walks back to the table and sits back down in his chair. After searching he passes it over to Hyades, "Then hypothetically, I would guess that this person suffers from a case of split-personality or another similar dissociative disorder.."
Hyades furrows her brow, "I don't understand what this means. Two or more distinct identities or personality states are present, each with its own relatively enduring pattern of perceiving, relating to and thinking about the environment and self. And what's amnesia?"
"The loss of memory. Like, have you ever walked through a threshold and forgotten why you walked into a room?"
"Sometimes?"
Yensid nods, "It's like that except they can't recall hours, days, maybe even weeks or months.."
Hyades' eyes widen. T had complained about that before. Like when he disappeared for two weeks. "What about the rest of it?"
"They would probably get confused or lost often. It affects major functions, so chances are they would take a hit on their social skills, or their ability to read a room, or recognize emotions, or distinguish reality from their truth."
A soft groan escapes Hyades' throat before she lets her head fall on the open book. A lot of that sounded like T, but it still didn't explain why. At this point, she was pretty sure Yensid knew this hypothetical wasn't hypothetical at all. She sighs when she notices the words on the page blurring. Fantastic. What were tears going to do?
Yensid sighs as he looks at Hyades with sad eyes. "Hypothetically, I think this person is probably pretty lost right now, and very confused, and most likely prone to being… Triggered, by certain events that caused this type of development. And might not react as they did before, and that might confuse them even more… So perhaps the best thing you could do is to let other people, who you both trust, know that even if it seems out of character that it's normal."
"But why?" Hyades asks, her voice hesitant and soft as he covers her face with her hands and rests her elbows on the table.
Yensid looks away from her, closing his eyes as he lifted a hand to ward off a headache. "It could be several factors, all surrounded by early childhood trauma of some kind or another. Usually multiple types of trauma."
"So hypothetically, this is because someone did something to the person." She absently pats at nothing on her arms.
"Yes." Yensid sighs as he looks her over with concern. "You've gotten much better at controlling your fire. That's quite a feat for having no mentor for your abilities."
Hyades furrows her brow in confusion before she looks down and realizes what she was doing, "Oh. Thank you." She lowers her hands to the table, pressing her palms flat against the surface.
"No thanks necessary for simple observation." Yensid leans back in his chair, wiping at the lower half of his face.
Traitorous tears betray her and slip from her eyes before she can shake her hair loose enough to cover her face. "Is the person okay?" She struggles to keep her voice even, but can't do anything to hide the shakiness.
Yensid swallows before he studies his door as if noticing it for the first time. "Define okay?"
"Is it always confusing and scary?" She shakes her head. Was T suffering all alone?
"I would imagine it would be difficult for it not to be if you were in that situation.p However that's a very subjective question."
"I- I don't know how to ask better." Hyades roughly drags her fingers through her hair. She was scared, and she couldn't figure out why. But her heart was racing, and she felt like she couldn't catch her breath.
"And in this particular case, my answers are no better. The mind is as powerful as it is fragile. Too much of any trauma and anyone is bound to break eventually. Apply that to a young child enough their psyche splits. Into a protector, a protectee, a survivor, a victim or any other alters their minds could create to keep them from completely breaking altogether.
Who was T? Was he the protector? That sounded right. He was always protecting everyone. She rests one hand on her chest, pressing against the pain beating against her ribs.
She blinks, confused to find herself standing, one hand pressed firmly against the tabletop as she leaned over it. The sound of something hitting the ground behind her makes her muscles bunch, but still, she doesn't move.
"Hyades?" Yensid's calm voice was coated with concern. "I would really appreciate you taking several deep breaths." He dramatizes one of his own, taking a deep breath for four seconds, holding it for two, and then letting it out in three several times. "I know it is hard to do in this situation, but still a necessity." He states objectively. "I'm going to stand up now," he explains before the chair scratches the floor and he stands to his feet.
"I-" Hyades shakes her head as she mimics Yensid's breathing. Anything to slow the pace of her heart, the spinning of the room, the heat in her face and cold in her stomach. She felt sick. Like something alive and slimy had crawled down her throat. She'd never vomited before, but she was suddenly very aware of her stomach and a sour taste in her mouth.
Yensid holds up his hands, "What do you need, Hyades?" He offers gently. "How can I help you?"
"He's never going to forgive me for knowing." Tears plink onto the table around her hand.
Yensid narrows his eyes in thought. "I'm sure it might take some time, but you are one of the people he values as a friend. I doubt he would leave you forever. He just gets scared and embarrassed."
"He's the protector. He's always the protector. He knows everything about us. He's seen what my father does to me," Her hands twitch for the first time before forming into tight fists, but she doesn't move them from her chest or the table, "and he hated himself for not jumping in. He thinks he hid that from me, but I saw it."
Yensid nods slowly. "I would imagine it would be difficult for someone who was built for a certain task, to fail at protecting someone they cherish so highly. I know it seems scary right now, daunting even. But T will eventually come to terms with it. He might not even realize this is something afflicting him. It's our job as people who care about him to navigate this carefully."
Hyades slowly shakes her head, "He's been- He's acting weird. Like he's trying to say good-bye."
Yensids jaw tightens, "I had a feeling something like that might be the case." He sighs. "I think I understand what is happening. Would you like me to explain it to you?"
"I don't- Yes?" Hyades shakes her head, "I think so." She blinks several times
Yensid nods slowly, "I think we only know one half of T, or at least only one part of him. There might be more. He might not even be aware of it. But he might be aware of someone else he protects and holds above all others. I have a disturbing feeling that we all might have missed something vital about him. Like he is a she-"
"That's important?" Hyades shrieks as she presses her fingertips hard into her chest, "I thought he just liked that everyone thought he was a guy."
Yensid frowns, "It's important to them. And it must be difficult for the part we know that he doesn't have the right…Parts. It's hard to know what T knows about himself and doesn't at this point. But it's important to him because in his world, men are strong and women are weak. I've been able to discern that much about him at least. Which is his father's doing, I've no doubt."
Hyades blinks several more times before she tilts her head back to look at Yensid, "The old man at the church?"
Yensid nods, "T showed up to my house quite distraught a few weeks ago… And demanded to know three things. One of which was if I was the only hero that came over. He was in a similar state as you at the time, and might not even remember coming here. And I can't imagine anyone else on this isle claiming to be a hero from Auradon."
"I'm not afraid of T." Hyades frowns. She wasn't. But she couldn't get herself to move either, "But I feel like when my father is angry or I think of Uma's mother."
"No, you're not." Yensid agrees easily, "You're afraid for T." He sighs, "And what you are stuck in currently is either the freeze response or a panic attack. Again psychology is not my main field of expertise." He tuts his tongue, "Albeit, I'm going to have to look more into it now." He frowns, "But would you like to borrow some of my books so you can further your own understanding? I detect that would help you… Feel less helpless with this overwhelming information, and might be able to assist T through it." He states as he slowly walks back to his bag. He picks it up before walking back to place it on the table between them. He slides his hand in and starts pulling out books. "Here are some basics. If you are interested."
"I can't-" She shakes her head and stares at her fist on the table, demanding that it move.
"I know that T… Is a very private person. And that he doesn't like his personal," Yensid blinks, "Well personal anything invaded. But I also know he has devoted a large portion of his life to you and your friends. He might disappear for a while. But in the end, the connections between you will pull him back. He won't have a choice." He states with confidence. "He'll eventually feel like a coward and come back."
She just wanted to run. Run and hide. Forget everything she and Yensid had hypothetical-ed. It had been a stupid game. She wanted to believe him. Wanted to think that T would eventually come back. But more than that, she just wanted to move, to leave before the shrill cry lodged in her throat could escape. She hated it when she cried, hated when others saw her cry.
Yensid studies her for a moment. "I would suggest you take another deep breath before you pass out." He sighs as he walks past her, to the door. "Please come back soon, so we can continue this conversation. However I can see that you need some time to process this, and doing so in front of an old man isn't in any of you. And none of this diminishes how proud of you I am."
Hyades wrests* her hand away from the table so forcefully she trips over the chair behind her. For a heartbeat she was afraid her legs had given out on her, but she manages to untangle herself from the broken chair to inelegantly scramble out the open door.
She doesn't make it five feet before a horrible, shrill scream leaves her throat and tears began to stream down her face. She couldn't look back, couldn't bear to see Yensid's reaction.
She also couldn't go back to the hideout. Not like this. The thought of Evie seeing her like this… Or Mal…
She slams against a wall and bends at her waist. Throwing up was unpleasant. The sour liquid burned at her throat and mouth in a way that fire never could. She wasn't even sure what was being expelled from her stomach, besides tea.
But even her first experience with vomiting couldn't slow her down for very long. She pushes off the wall and wipes the back of her hand across her mouth before she starts running again.
Would she be safe at her beach? She quickly shakes her head at the idea. Gil sometimes hung out there. She couldn't see him like this. He'd want to take her to Uma and Harry, to the ship. She'd never want to leave. Or she'd never be able to face them again. She couldn't make up her mind on that.
And it was the first place T would look for her. She squeezes her eyes shut on the thought.
Her mind was a whirl of confusion and second-guessing, but her feet never stopped. She wasn't even sure what direction she was running. She just knew she needed to go. Run. Get away from the weight looming over her.
*Wrests; to forcibly pull away.
Twisted and I have figured out that we have a very strange vocabulary. We blame it on our reading choices. So when I used this word and Google docs lied and said it wasn't a word we decided we would try to include the definition of any words we used that goggle didn't immediately identify. (We figured they just aren't common words anymore)
Hey again!
What do you think of Deez and Yensid's theory about the King's proclamation?
These two are obviously worried about T, but what did you think of Yensid admitting that he lost his temper? Were you amused that Deez tried to offer him what the Sea three always offer her?
And how about that game of hypotheticals? Deez certainly tried to ask things that she still wanted to know, but in the end, she was a little impatient to talk about T.
Anyone relieved that someone finally knows what T is going through? Obviously she doesn't know the entire story, but she knows that T is suffering from a mental illness.
What did you think of her panic attack? Writing this chapter was hard because Twisted and I both suffer from panic attacks. And ours are so different from each other. So we did our best to give Deez her own unique attack. She's definitely a freeze and flee response. (The running the Sea three hate so much.)
Poor Yensid, he's realizing the depths of trauma these kids are going through. How do you think he's handling it?
Only nine more chapters to go until the end of this book. We already nailing out our original plot, and have pretty much discovered that we're going cannon divergent. We can't wait to hear your thoughts on it!
Don't forget to leave us some words of encouragement! We thrive on them.
Lots of love,
-Dark-
