This is somewhat plotless. Just a warning.
To be fair, the problem wouldn't have been nearly as disastrous if it hadn't been Mercy involved. If it had been Carly, or Jess, or Jemima, or Layla, or Daisy, or even Dawn, then the situation wouldn't have been nearly as awful.
And truth be told, it wasn't Mercy's fault she was such an explosive person. She blamed her mom, who had apparently been just as rambunctious in her youth, or at the very least, her grandmother, who would still be that rambunctious if she could. And it wasn't her fault she was born to inherit one of the greatest kingdoms ever raised up and that-
You know what? Even though the problem wouldn't have been as bad if Mercy hadn't been involved, it was still technically her fault it happened in the first place. And she could blame her one villainous ancestor all she wanted, but the fault would probably stay as such.
It started with her mother's most recent problem.
After Fairy Godmother passed away, the Queen of Auradon had become the go-to expert on magical devices and since she was in a place where she was supposed to be protecting national secrets anyways, it made sense to deliver anything of concern to her.
Two weeks before her seventeenth birthday, the kingdom of Agrabah had discovered one of Jafar's old hideaways hidden inside of the walls. Almost fifty years of abandonment and sandstorms and rats had left the place pretty banged up, but there were still magical artifacts and disguises and lots and lots of feathers for the Agrabah Royal Family to deal with. And, among these things, Jafar's old hourglass. This particular thing sparked a lot of debate. Not because Sultana Jasmine nearly had a heart attack when seeing it or because it looked nice or anything, but because it had been discovered on it's side and with a large crack in the middle where the two sides connected. And also because the first guard to touch it had disappeared.
Thus, it was delivered via swat team to Auradon Palace, residence number one in Auradon City. It was a problem, and the Queen was the most qualified person to deal with magical problems.
Too bad the Queen was stuck in a meeting when it arrived, unable to oversee its arrival and lock it away someplace where Mercy woudn't be able to find it.
Mercy managed to dodge the servant keeping an eye on her location and, using a key from her Uncle's 3D printer, snuck into her mom's study. Her mom, the Queen of Auradon. Anyone else could have been prosecuted for the offense, but Mercy doubted she'd ever receive a sentence worse than being grounded. In the center of the room was the hourglass, about half her height with carved bases and protected by a glass case. The glowing yellow sands of time glistened inside, and the entire object seemed to whisper a little. Mercy took a seat in her mother's chair with a breath and set her chin on her hands as she stared at the new thing.
Magic had always fascinated her. Most people didn't use it for much, but she'd always liked little charms and conjurations and the enchantments her mom could do. She'd heard stories about this thing – Jafar had used it, or so he'd said, to discover who the 'Diamond in the Rough' was. This was the object that had set Aladdin's story into motion.
Mercy pulled her long, light brown hair back over her shoulder and let a green light tinge her eyes as she examined the glass. It almost… hummed. She blinked slowly, and the light faded. She had her mom's eyes, and her Grandma Belle's features. Her hair matched Dad's most of the time but she could turn it purple if she tried really, really hard. People tended to say she looked and acted a lot like her other grandma, from her hands to her gait and the way she held herself.
The report had said someone had vanished upon touching it. She wondered where they had gone, and if her mom would be able to bring them back. The report had also said that the magic had become a little weaker the more it was exposed to the air. Maybe it wasn't as strong as it was before?
Mercy sat up straight and began to mumble under her breath. "Protection is what I need; coat my hand in shades of green," She commanded. A little light appeared at the end of her fingertips. Mercy reached forward and opened the glass protecting the hourglass. A wave of power rushed out and hit her. The scent of sugar dates, pistachios, and figs hit her like darts. Her hand wavered, and then she continued reaching out.
Maybe the secret was in the sands? Or possibly the carving on the bases?
Mercy's fingertips brushed the glass and, to her surprise, the entire hourglass shattered. The lights started flaring, and the sands gathered up into a mini storm with a tortured face rising up from the dust. It focused on her and gave an ear-splitting howl. Mercy's skin went icy. Oh, her mom was going to kill her.
The sands seemed to be expanding in volume as Mercy tripped out of her chair and made a mad dash for the door. Her hand closed around the cool, engraved metal before she found it stuck. Behind her, the sands began to scream even louder.
"Come on!" Mercy screamed and wrenched the door open. She took off racing down the halls, trying to get away from the trouble, but the sands followed her. They were rising up and forming conical shapes with pointy ends that looked like nothing but trouble for her. Mercy screamed and continued hurtling through the halls.
As Mercy dashed away from the knife-like sands, she failed to notice the hallways changing color as the edges of her vision turned vibrant shades of white and pink from exhileration. Her head felt like that first night she'd tasted a beer and woke up sick, but she continued running from the sands.
She rushed a hall, jumped over a random bag lying in her path, pivoted a corner and slammed straight into… her father.
Mercy yelped as strong arms stopped her with a curious glance. Ben – the king of all Auradon and the Isle – was staring at her in concern. Mercy yelped. "Ah! I can explain!" She held her hands up in defense and then all her arguments and pleadings died in her mouth. Mercy quickly took in the details of his face and her mouth dropped open in shock.
"Hello." Ben – her father – said pleasantly. "Are you okay? What are you running from? Are you being attacked? What's your name?"
"I-ah, funny story…" Mercy fumbled over her words as Ben dusted her shoulders off and glanced down the corridor she'd appeared from. The sands had gone, just when she needed them as proof.
"What's your name?" Ben asked with a raised eyebrow.
Mercy felt her heart drop into her stomach as she gasped like a fish. She pointed behind her, to Ben, to her, and flushed. "You… don't know my name?" She asked slowly.
Ben turned a little pink as he sighed. His smile dimmed a little. "Sorry, are you a princess? I try to run in lots of circles, but…"
Mercy stared at him. A sense of confusion was overwhelming her heart. Her hands felt empty. Like she had nothing left to give. He didn't know her. And worse, she didn't know him. The dad she knew was taller, with grey sprinkling through his hair and laugh lines around his mouth. This 'Dad' was wearing a simple suit coat, had a backpack slung over his shoulder, and his hair was longer, reaching his eyebrows. And this 'Dad' didn't know her.
It was time to lie.
"Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone I knew," Mercy smiled, trying to pretend that nothing was wrong. "My bad. I'm M-Mercy."
'I'm Mercy,' she thought. 'My name is cheesy. You named me it symbolically. You named me. You should know my name.'
"Mercy?" Ben raised an eyebrow. "I like that. Cool. Is there a last name that goes with that?"
Mercy stared, mouth open, and her mind went blank. Her last name was her dad's last name. She swallowed. "Grace?" She asked weakly. "Mercy Grace." It was her middle name. Hopefully it would suffice.
"Nice to meet you," Ben smiled, reaching forward to shake her hand. "I'm Ben."
"Oh, I know you," Mercy smiled, putting on her bright smile even though her hands were shaking. "You're King Ben."
Ben's smile faltered visibly. "I – uh – Prince, actually. But you can call me Ben."
Mercy's brain flatlined again. Somehow, her dad was younger, not king, and didn't know her. She might not have been her mom, but this was a time travel case if she'd ever heard of one before. Meaning that she couldn't let her parents know who she was. Oh dear. "Oh," She slapped a hand to her forehead like she'd forgotten. "Right, of course. I was thinking of someone else. When do you become King, again?"
Ben furrowed his brow at her, confused. "In two weeks," he announced slowly. "There's, um, posters and things everywhere."
"Oh, sorry, I've been so busy I haven't really taken much notice," Mercy replied, laughing uneasily. Two weeks. Two weeks. She wanted to ask Ben about his current girlfriend(hadn't he been dating Aunt Audrey at some point?) but knew that couldn't go off well. Instead, she swallowed with a smile and asked: "When does your proclamation go into effect?"
Ben relaxed as she brought up a bit of current politics that he was familiar with. "Next Monday," He smiled. "But the new kids will be arriving Sunday Afternoon."
"So there's going to be…" Mercy trailed off, gesturing for him to go on.
"The children of Cruella De Vil, Evil Queen, Jafar, and Maleficent," Ben nodded. "The ones who need our help the most."
Mercy exhaled. Definitely the past. Oh, she was so screwed. Her parents were going to ground her until the day after she died. She stuck her hands into her pockets and laughed a little. "Well, that'll be exciting," She smiled. "Sorry for running into you. I've, uh, got to go find someone real quick. Talk to you later!"
She heard Ben start to say: "Yeah, see you later," but was gone before he could get much out. She dashed away as soon as she rounded the corner and found herself walking out onto a lush, green lawn. She recognized it immediately. Auradon Prep, her home school. The place where her mom and dad had both gone. A week before her mom actually entered Auradon for the first time. Almost thirty years into the past.
Her mother was going to roast her alive.
How was she ever going to get home?
It took a lot of lying to maintain a façade, she quickly discovered.
Mercy picked an empty dorm room very out of the way and then picked the lock on it(something Uncle Jay had taught her) and simply hid out there during the day when everyone else was going from class to class. She took the first lunch shift because she figured out that that was the one that Prince Ben had with his friends and laid low to gather information.
"Prince" Ben was dating Audrey, but anyone with eyes could see he was ready to change that fact. He was Tourney Captain, a gold-star student, and had the unique ability to speak to every single person in an area, remember their names and classes, and still manage to break off conversation quick enough to get to class on time. All tricks that Mercy had known, in some degree, that her dad had, but it was still weird to see them in action.
While Aunt Audrey was a pretty cool person with three daughters who Mercy liked to hang out with, "Princess" Audrey was nothing more than a frigid witch. Mercy could hear her whispering to Ben, criticizing everyone around her, from twenty feet away.
All her spare time was spent in the library, researching the sands of time and Jafar's hourglass. So far, nothing. She had no idea if it was her magic reacting with the hourglass or just the hourglass's natural response to people touching it, and almost no research had been completed on the object. She was doomed.
Sunday came, and the student body was abuzz. Again, Mercy laid low, rolling her eyes at people's worries. Everything was so silly in hindsight. Part of her wanted to call out something like: "Give it a week and King Ben will be dating one of them", or "Watch out, one of them is going to be Queen," but the bigger, slightly more rational part of her knew that that was a horrible, horrible idea.
Still, she went to watch the band play, and everyone gather outside as the new kids arrived. Ben's arm was looped through Audrey's (Before this, Mercy had thought it was revolting when her parents kissed in front of her. That was nothing compared to watching her dad escort another girl around.) and the band was practicing a few notes here and there when someone sent up the call from the main road. Mercy, who was lingering near the front of the student body, saw a glimpse of black and went rigid.
What if her mom had some sort of psyche-mom sense where she would immediately know that Mercy didn't belong in this time period? Her mom was a powerful fairy who literally oversaw all the magic in Auradon. Who knew what she'd think of her?
A black palace limo pulled into the front circle and a driver emerged, looking stone-faced. He walked around, reached for the handle, and Mercy went stiff. The door opened, and two boys fell out, yelling at each other. The situation was so bizarre that Mercy immediately burst out laughing.
"You got everything else! Why do you want whatever this is?" Uncle Carlos howled, writhing on the ground. And boy, was he skinny. Part of Mercy was bewildered and amused, but the other part was horrified by the dark shadows on his face and his skinny limbs.
Then, two girls stepped over the boys on the ground, and Mercy's heart almost stopped. One was Aunt Evie, with too much makeup and black charcoal in her hair and heavy accessories that were weighing her down, and the other was a girl with purple hair darker than Mercy had ever seen before in real life. Her mom's hair had never been that dark. And her face was white, all one shade, with dark leather covering everything except her fingertips and her face.
It was too much.
Fairy Godmother introduced herself and the area. Then, Prince Ben stepped forward, clapping his hands together as he smiled at them all. "It's so, so good to finally meet you all!" He announced. "I'm Ben."
No title. No pressure.
But then Audrey chirped in. "Prince Benjamin!" She announced, reaching out and taking his hand. "Soon-to-be-king! Right, Benny-Boo?"
Mercy's stomach turned. She'd thought that nickname was disgusting when her mom used it to tease. But Audrey used it in this method of endearment that was borderline sickening.
She saw her dad glance at the ground to calm himself. "This is Audrey!" he announced, with none of the usual pep he would use to introduce anyone in the courts. Audrey held up a finger to correct him, and Mercy saw four people behind them roll their eyes. Fairy Godmother's smile became a bit strained.
As she spoke, Mercy watched the four villain kids. Uncle Jay had none of the relaxed demeanor he usually had. He looked ready to punch someone. Like the one time that there'd been a protest at the palace over one of her dad's new policies and he'd heard someone had thrown a shovel at the front door and came barreling through the crowd to protect the royal family. Everyone had been so startled when he planted his feet and glared from the front step that they'd just… left.
Carlos was united with the group, but even from here she could see his eyes flicking back and forth. Knew he knew that the quickest escape route was over the hood of the car. She'd learned about escape routes from watching him, after all. Watching him in the ballroom, surrounded by people. Watching him in places he didn't know, memorizing the landscape. Even in his own home, when there were unfamiliar people on the front walk.
And Evie… was unreal. This wasn't her Aunt Evie, who'd snuck in to watch her when Mom and Dad had meetings and she was left with her nanny. Evie, who had given her beautiful dresses for her dolls. Evie, who had given her a rundown on makeup when she turned twelve. This girl was hidden and guarded from the world. She was… sharp.
And don't even get her started on her mom.
The rest of the school cleared out and Fairy Godmother abandoned them, so it was just the four and Ben and Audrey, with Mercy standing beside a dwindling number of students. Prince Ben tried to shake Jay's hand and Jay punched him in the shoulder instead. Then, he shook Mal's hand, and Mercy leaned forward. They paused, staring at each other, and Mal frowned at the additional contact as Ben zoned out. He quickly came to his senses and ripped his hand away to continue down the line.
He liked her. Liked her a lot.
Mercy crept forward and immediately, all four children glanced over at her. Mercy stiffened, then relaxed and straightened up as they took in everything about her and turned away. She pulled nervously at her dress. She'd snitched a few things from gym bags and lockers before changing the clothes with magic so she wouldn't get caught. What she wore now was pretty standard of an Auradon-prep student. Tan leggings underneath a blue dress with the Auradon Prep crest over her heart.
"Or the day that you showed four peoples where the bathrooms are!" Mal announced, interrupting whatever Prince Ben's speech had been. He laughed along with the other three then solemnized to examine Mal.
"A little bit over the top?"
"A little more than a little bit."
Well, so much for my first impression."
First impression… she had to remember that. First impression.
Ben announced a tour and they began to walk away. Mercy's hands began to sweat, but she forced herself to walk up. "Hey, Ben?" She called, nearly interrupting as Ben finished explaining when and how Auradon Prep had been founded. "I-er-I was hoping…"
"Who are you?" Audrey wrinkled her nose.
"Hello Mercy," Ben smiled. "What did you need? Is it urgent? Can it wait a moment? I need to show our new students around." He gestured back to the four. Mercy glanced over his shoulder and her knees shook when she saw her mom examining her with pinched lips. She gulped.
"I-uh-actually wanted to-uh…" She stammered and trailed off, examining her mom's eyes intently. She didn't quite know how to phrase what she wanted. 'Hey, Mom, I know you've never met me and you have a vendetta against love and children and you're a lot younger than I've ever seen you before, but I really need to get back to my own time ASAP, so do you know anything about Jafar's Hourglass?'
"Listen, Mercy," Ben said in a gentle tone when she couldn't quite phrase her words. "I want to show them around right now. We'll be done in about a half-hour. I can come find you if you-"
"Are you related?" Mal asked, cutting Ben off. She was flicking her eyes back and forth from Mercy to Ben. Mercy gulped and then began to fake a laugh as Ben shook his head.
"No," he replied, then set a hand on her shoulder. "Mercy here is another student here at Auradon Prep. Maybe you'll have some classes with her?"
"Who's her parent?" Mal asked Ben, now ignoring Mercy except when she wanted to rake her gaze over her.
Ben looked at Mercy. Mercy shook. "I-erm-" she stammered. "My parents aren't actually famous… and they both have pretty weird names, so…" she trailed off, swallowing. Everyone continued looking at her expectantly. She kept her mouth shut.
"What are their names?" Mal asked, furrowing her brow.
Mercy's head spun. Why all the hard questions now? "Bertha," she spat out, and flinched. A dark look passed over Mal's face. "My mother's name was Bertha and my Father's name was…" She trailed off, trying to find a better substitute for Florian. She couldn't, and she knew her time was up. "Florian," she swallowed. "Bertha and Florian."
Ben wrinkled his nose. "Florian was his first name?" he asked and Mercy nodded. "Ouch. It's my middle name and I can't stand it."
Mercy chuckled. "It's… after King Florian," she sighed and then began to retreat. "Anyways, I'm super sorry to bother you… maybe I can get to know you guys later and hopefully we'll have some classes together and-" she tripped and tumbled back into some bushes.
"Oh!" Ben exclaimed and rushed over. Mercy struggled to get to her feet before she could reach him. "Are you okay?"
"Fine!" Mercy squeaked. "Anyways, gotta go now! See you later and bye!"
She took off running in the other direction and didn't look back.
Before the first day was even up, Mal was painting.
Her mother had always loved to paint. Mercy used to always get in trouble for sneaking into her studio. Queen Mal originals hung in almost every room of the palace. They were donated to places across the country. And once or twice, she'd even been commissioned to do a mural or portrait.
Mercy finally worked up the courage to try and go talk to her mother again. It was almost curfew, and the sun was setting as she crossed the grounds to the VK's room. She knew where it was from when her parents had gone back for their graduation anniversary. But on the way there, she spotted the one person she needed leaning against a locker with a dozen assorted spray cans in a bag at her feet. She was painting a logo onto her locker.
Mercy approached cautiously. At some point, she realized that Mal knew she was there, but simply hadn't acknowledged her yet. Still, she didn't move too quickly for fear she'd get sprayed in the face. "Hello?" She called softly.
No response. Mercy swallowed. "I'm sorry, Mal, do you have a moment?"
Mal paused at this and sniffed as she turned around. "You know my name?" she asked.
"I heard it from some of the other students," Mercy explained. "Listen, I really need your-"
"It's cute how afraid you are of us," Mal hummed as she drew a long, black arc onto her locker. "Everyone is, of course. But it was good for us to see you be so afraid when everyone else was too perky."
"I wasn't afraid," Mercy declared. "I was just… caught off guard."
"Sure," Mal agreed, rolling her eyes. "And that's why you tripped away so suddenly."
"I just realized…" Mercy took a deep breath. "I needed to ask you a question. That's why I walked up. And then I realized I couldn't ask in front of everyone. So I walked away."
"Ask me something?" Mal repeated, rolling her eyes. "Well, I believe I might have your answer. The purple grows in naturally, being Maleficent's daughter is fantastic, and it's way too bright here."
"No," Mercy shook her head. "None of those."
Mal still wasn't looking over at her as she focused on the outline of her mother, Maleficent, in the painting above. Mercy swallowed. "I was wondering…if you know anything about Jafar's hourglass?"
Mal stopped and looked at her in confusion. Eyebrow spiked, lips parted, eyes reading Mercy's face as she processed. "What?" she asked.
"Jafar's hourglass?" Mercy repeated. Her voice hiked to a squeak from her anxiety. "Specifically about the-"
"I didn't even know Jafar had an hourglass," Mal sneered. "A better person to ask would be Jay. He's the tall kid with the long hair." She picked up her bag and tossed the spray can inside. The logo now read "Long Live Evil." "Why did you think I'd know?"
Mercy was in shock. She leaned against the locker, blinking over and over. "I… uh… she gasped for breath. "I thought… you would know. Sorry."
Mal sneered at her. A knot curled in Mercy's stomach. "Well, alright then," Mal snapped and turned away. "Sayonara."
Mercy watched her walk away.
Her mother knew absolutely nothing about magic. Nothing like the country overseer she was in the future. Mercy had no idea how she could have missed the idea that this could be a problem. But it was apparent, as she watched Mal grumble to light a lightbulb she'd stolen from one of the library wall fixtures with her fingers, that this version of her mother didn't know enough to send her back at all.
Meaning she had to find someone else to help her.
The sun was beginning to set when the group of boys practicing for tourney tryouts passed under her window, laughing and talking. She dimmed the lights and watched from afar as everyone walked past. She didn't want to risk word of her occupying this dorm getting around. People hadn't noticed she wasn't attending any classes yet, but it could only be a matter of time. At the back of the group was Ben, on his cell phone and frowning as he walked behind the rest of the boys.
Mercy went to the door, hurried down the hall and out the door, and was leaning against the door as the tourney boys rounded the corner. "Hey, Ben?" she called as soon as he came into eyesight. He immediately looked up and smiled to see her.
"Hello again," he said. "I forgot to come find you earlier. Do you remember what you needed?"
"Sort of." Mercy waved him forward. "Could I talk to you real quick? It's kinda important."
Ben put away his phone slowly. He looked a little uneasy and Mercy could see why. This was the second time she'd approached him and she definitely didn't want to come off as… interested. But still, he waved his friends away and crossed his arms to lean closer to her.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
"I…" She trailed off. "This is really hard to explain, but…"
"I have a girlfriend," Ben said after several seconds had stretched out between them. "So, uh, yeah, if that's what you're asking…"
"No." Mercy gagged. "No, no. Not at all. But if you want to talk about Audrey, you're not a great match. I mean, I'm sure you're okay, but there's probably someone way better for you – but not me! I'm not interested in you! Just you should look into someone more… purple and I'm just asking about-"
"Purple?" Ben interrupted, looking confused.
Mercy's face burned. "Well, uh, purple symbolizes royalty and grace and, uh, Audrey is just more of a flashy girl. You should find someone more down-to-earth who doesn't freak out when other girls talk to you and-"
"I'm sorry, what did you need?" Ben asked. He, too, was starting to turn bright red.
"Jafar's hourglass," Mercy finally choked out. "I, uh, am writing a… report on it and I couldn't find where it went after Jafar was sent to the Isle. As heir of Auradon, I was wondering if you knew."
"The hourglass?" Ben repeated. Mercy's heart sank at his blank look. Of course he wouldn't know. She shouldn't have expected him to know such a silly detail.
"You know, the 'part the sands of time' thing?" Mercy chuckled softly. "It's… just fine if you don't know."
"I don't think it was ever recovered." Ben shrugged. "But you might be able to find something on it in this book in the library called Auradon Ancient Artifacts. I read it last year – it talks about Maleficent's scepter and spellbook, Evil Queen's mirror, and a couple of other things that went missing after the war of villainy."
"Missing?" Mercy repeated. She'd seen all three of those artifacts and knew that they weren't missing.
"Yeah," Ben agreed. "They were never recovered before the villains went to the Isle, and everyone was screened before going through, so we don't know what happened to them."
Something moved through the shadows over Ben's shoulder. Mercy saw the glint of a mirror in the bushes and her mouth went dry. Oh. This was the night that Mom and her friends tried to steal the Fairy Godmother's wand.
"You could also try talking to the Fairy Godmother," Ben said, and green eyes appeared in the darkness as someone turned to begin eavesdropping. Mercy's mouth went dry. "She's the magical overseer for the nation at the moment – I bet she could tell you what you needed about the hourglass if needed. I also wonder if you tried to ask Jay – he's Jafar's son – about it. Maybe his dad has mentioned it to him or something."
"Maybe the same could be said about the other items?" Mercy asked. Her eyes flit back over Ben's shoulder and she saw the four standing together in the darkness, crouching down for extra coverage as the last lights vanished from the sky. When she returned her gaze to Ben, he was smirking and looking at the ground a little, but quickly schooling his expression.
"I wouldn't want to pry," Ben replied. "Even if they had, say, the spellbook or mirror, it wouldn't matter much. It's hard to adjust to a new place and I want to make this transition as easy as possible."
Hmm, Prince Ben wasn't as gullible as he had people believe. Of course, Mercy had always known her dad was sharp, but rarely got to see him in action. Mercy choked back a nod and began to back away. "Okay, cool, thank you Ben. I'll definitely… look into things. Thanks for your help. And, uh, dump Audrey soon."
She wished she could hit herself.
Ben burst into laughter. "Right," he agreed. "Because I need someone more purple."
Why couldn't she die right now?
"Well…" she trailed off, trying to ignore the piercing gaze that seemed to be splitting the darkness in two. "Or, you know, someone who just… stands up for good and cares more about getting things done right than being right."
Ben tilted his head then and nodded. "Hmm, okay," he agreed. Behind his shoulder, the four began to turn away and melt into the darkness.
Ben waved. "Goodnight Mercy. See you around," he said. And he turned and walked away, pulling his phone out of his pocket so he could resume frowning at whatever was bugging him.
Mercy closed the door into the hallway and sank against the wall. If she could survive another question without coming off as incredibly insane, that would be great.
The first problem with going to Fairy Godmother was that she knew next to nothing about the woman aside from what her history classes had covered and what Aunt Jane had said. The woman had passed on before Mercy really got to get to know her. The second was that she was not a student and couldn't ask too many pertinent questions without drawing immediate suspicion.
So, to the library it was. She had to be careful to only be there around lunch or during certain class hours, lest the librarian assume she was skipping out on class. The horned-glasses she wore gave her the appearance of a hawk as she examined each student ID meticulously.
That was another thing. Mercy didn't have her ID card. She had her number from Auradon Prep memorized and the lunch ladies had accepted her 'new student rouse' but there was something about the librarian that had her the creeps.
Unfortunately, that meant most of her studying was done in the library since she couldn't remove anything, and she had to be careful not to draw too much attention, She really, really couldn't stand anyone assuming anything at this point.
Mal and all her friends were already suspicious of her. She knew it once she realized Evie had left her mirror out in the open instead of tucking it in her bag as she walked by. Mercy had skimmed the table, spotted the mirror, but her eyes had continued straight on. It had been a ploy, she realized afterward, to see if her eyes would catch on the mirror and recognize it. Had she passed?
On the afternoon of the VK's second day in Auradon, she pretended not to notice Mal propping her locker door wide open and setting the spellbook – which Mercy had seen a hundred times – onto the shelf. She was so busy focusing on trying not to stare as her hands trembled over a scan of the only information she'd been able to find about Jafar's hourglass – lost – that she didn't realize her dad had appeared behind Mal's locker door until Mal snapped it shut and made to walk through him. He sidestepped right in front of her to cut her off and smiled. "Hey," he said.
Mal looked surprised he'd thought to stop her. "Hey," she replied.
Ben nodded to the closed door and the art decorating it. "You should really think about taking this off the locker and into art class. I could sign you up."
The tips of her fingers felt numb. Mercy felt them loosen on the scan as she stared at the two down the hall. They were the only ones there, and it was probably really obvious that she was staring, but she couldn't stop.
Then the scan vanished out of her fingers.
She whipped around, but Jay had already jumped from the balcony, which he'd climbed up to grab what she had. He frowned at it, then looked back up with a guarded expression. "Got an obsession?" he asked.
Mercy swallowed. "I, uh, it's for a report."
"What class?" Jay challenged.
There was a very, very long pause. Mercy's throat went dry. She knew very well that no class taught about dangerous villain relics.
Jay snorted and tucked the paper away before slinging his bag over his shoulder and leaving. When she turned around, Ben and Mal were gone, and she was all alone.
There was a tourney game coming up. Mercy liked tourney. Her dad had always booked seats for the winter games that Uncle Jay would play in, and they'd buy hot chocolate and sit in furry blankets and sing Christmas songs with the rest of the crowds at half-time.
Prince Ben was captain of the tourney team, but he'd be passing that on soon since he was becoming king. Mercy knew he'd used to play, but she'd never seen him do it, so she took the opportunity and arrived early for a front-row seat to cheer on the Auradon Knights.
The stands filled slowly. Mal and Evie arrived when the stands were half-full. Evie was applying lipstick. Mal was craning her neck – probably to see Jay and Carlos with the rest of the team, who were doing stretches off-field.
Princess Audrey and the cheerleaders came on right before the team. She waved to the students before turning around to roll her eyes at nothing in particular.
Even as untrained as he was, Jay was still a star on the team. Ben wasn't half-bad either. He was a star player who usually gave away shots to his teammates instead of doing them himself. That was all until the last twenty seconds though. Mercy couldn't sit anymore when Carlos, Jay, and Ben all rushed for the endzone. Chad tripped and went skidding through the grass trying to keep up with them.
Jay launched the ball at Carlos, who put up his shield and deflected it to Ben, who took the shot himself and swung like he was trying to launch the ball to space. It hit the net and slid down just as the buzzer sounded and everyone jumped to their feet, screaming.
Mercy pumped her fists into the air. Her voice was vibrating from overuse but she couldn't hear herself over everyone else. She couldn't hear anything, actually.
"Excuse me!"
Oh, well, maybe she could hear after all.
Mercy turned, swaying on her feet, and was confused to see Ben standing on top of the announcer's podium with his helmet off, swaying a little from the feat he'd just performed.
"Can I have your attention?" he yelled. "There's something I'd like to say!"
Everyone looked back and forth, unsure of what was happening. Ben put his arms up and touched the top of his head with both hands. "Give me an M!" he yelled.
Mercy looked around, baffled beyond measure as everyone jumped into action. "M!" they screamed.
"Give me an A!"
She suddenly had a realization as to what was happening. As everyone fired back the final letter, L, she turned and looked up the stands at Mal, who Evie was holding onto and shaking. She rolled her eyes and smiled for the people fawning over her. There was some pride in her eyes.
Hadn't Mom and Dad accidentally fallen in love while he was under a spell?
Audrey was running off the field. Mercy's head was spinning. Her mom had spelled her dad. With a love spell. Meaning that Mal, as inexperienced as she was, was able to use the magic in her mom's book.
A book with spells to help you find things and create magic mirrors. A book that might have something that could help her.
Mercy had never snuck her mother's things before. Not even things from her office or studio. Exactly how lucky did she think she was?
But then Ben threw his sweaty tourney shirt at her – the same shirt Mercy had grown up watching her mom wear on lazy evenings and to bed – and Mercy made an executive decision.
Somehow, she had to get home.
But maybe not before she filmed a little bit of this wild show.
Attending an after-game tourney hype meet with her parents wasn't something Mercy had ever expected to do.
But here she was, sitting in a corner with a fancy glass filled with cheap, school-provided punch, staring at the dance floor with her phone held aloft in something like shock, though it was really just the traces of a long and confusing day.
Jay was dancing with a redheaded Auradon girl and she needed to make sure she filmed this just right so she could show Jess and Jemima later, but it was rather hard to focus when her parents were sitting on the couch right beside her, teenagers "in love" acting like teenagers in love.
Beside her, Ben took Mal's hand. He squeezed it, focusing on her face in this committed way that Mercy had always attached to him. She was sitting across his legs and tracing his ear with a finger while one of her arms draped across his neck.
Jay finished his dance and Mercy took her phone down to examine the footage. Ben hummed. "He's a bit of a player, isn't he?"
"He is, but he'll settle down in college," Mercy replied without thinking as she skimmed the video's contents. It occurred to her too late that Ben might not have been talking to her. She glanced up to see their reactions and swallowed. "Well, I mean, most boys do then."
Mal had a frown frozen on her face as she scrutinized Mercy. Ben just chuckled and leaned his forehead on her shoulder. He wasn't really paying attention to anything with the love spell on him, but Mal was hyper-focused on Mercy.
"I don't think Jay would be much-interested in college," she began in a delicate tone. Mercy's skin turned icy. "He's not really a school-going type."
Mercy swallowed. "You never know," she offered up feebly and then turned to look at her phone.
"Did you ever figure out about that hourglass?" Mal asked.
"No, there's not a lot of information on it. It's missing."
Ben moved his head then to kiss Mal's cheek and she almost jumped right off him. Mercy looked between them as Mal re-took her relaxed state. "I talked to her about it a few nights ago," he mumbled, laughing at her jumpiness. "She said I needed someone more purple." Ben glanced over at Mercy with a soft smile. "Is this purple enough?" He moved his hand down Mal's back as her brow furrowed even further.
"Much better," she agreed and choked on the sound of her own voice.
"I'm thirsty," Mal told Ben, turning away from Mercy. "I might go and get us some-"
"I'll get them," Ben cut her off immediately. He scooped her off of his legs and set her down in his place as he stood up. "I'll be right back – I swear." And he vanished into the crowd. As he left, Carlos appeared almost out of nowhere to stand behind Mal as they both focused on Mercy.
She became very aware that there was nowhere she could turn to for an easy escape.
"Purple," Mal repeated in a hiss. "Why purple? What are you playing at?"
"Nothing," Mercy's face flushed. "I wasn't playing at anything at all."
But Mal was looking much more studious – and cautious now. "You seem to know a lot – who are your parents again?"
"No one important." Mercy shrunk back.
Mal hesitated and glanced over her shoulder at Carlos. Carlos also looked skeptical, but less so than Mal. They both knew they couldn't interrogate her too harshly without risking her going to school authority. And so far, they had no proof – just a string of odd coincidences.
Ben reappeared, a little out of breath, and pressed a glass into Mal's hands. She smiled at him and kept her gaze on his while he swept her back before cautiously glancing back at Mercy.
Carlos had quit examining Mercy herself and had found a new target. "Hey, what kind of phone is that?" He asked while Ben pressed his forehead against Mal's shoulder. Mal whispered something short against Ben's cheek and squinted at Mercy's phone in her lap. Whatever she said distracted Ben enough that he wasn't interested in anything else as Mercy hastily covered her phone. Then, realizing that made it seem more suspicious, she gulped as she held it up.
"It's, uh, just my phone. My, uh, dad gets lots of unique phones for free where he works."
"What kind is it?" Carlos asked.
Ben finally opened his eyes and glanced over it. "Oh, it looks like an Elysium," he said. "But way better than mine." He held out his hand and Mercy handed it over with a shaky hand. He examined the front and back and then furrowed his brow at the lack of buttons that were present on his. "This looks advanced," he hummed. "Your dad must have some cool connections. We usually get phones ahead of release at the palace too." He handed it back, then turned to Mal.
"Do you have a phone? You and Evie, Jay, and Carlos? We should get you some."
Carlos kept examining her and while Mal quietly kept Ben occupied (it didn't require lots of effort, since the spell kept him absolutely smitten no matter what), she kept glancing over too. Mercy had finally overstepped her welcome.
She got up. "I have an early class," she lied and left with several steps backward. Carlos glanced at Mal to see if she'd protest Mercy leaving, but Mal was now occupied with a whispered conversation with Ben. She was safe – for now.
Step one, convince Ben to ask Mal out on a date.
The only difficult part was not snapping at him for how… stupid he was acting whenever she was mentioned. Mercy was used to her dad – both of her parents, actually – acting smitten, but this brainless chattering on and on about how great her mom was felt a bit… much.
Step two, wait for them to leave.
Again, mostly easy as she just sat down the hall in a chair beside the window until she heard Ben greet Mal with the words "For the first time, I understand the difference between pretty and beautiful."
Step three, convince Evie to let her see the spellbook.
And it was this step that Mercy wasn't sure she'd be able to accomplish.
She'd debated waiting for Evie to leave – but Evie was studying for a chemistry test while she waited for Mal to return and, well, the chances of that working out were slim to none.
So here she was, outside the door.
She raised a fist. One, two, three.
There were footsteps. Evie answered, obviously in a good mood. Her mood soured when she spotted Mercy outside and she kept the door from opening up all the way. "Can I help you?" she asked slowly.
Mercy took a deep breath and put her hands together. Elaborate lie, or wild truth?
"Evie, I really need your help. Please."
Evie opened the door another few inches. "What?"
"I… I need to see… this is going to sound wild…"
"What?" Evie demanded.
I'm stuck here," Mercy admitted. Heat bloomed in her cheeks. "Listen, I'm not from here and I need help getting home because I came here by accident and I've been stuck here almost two weeks."
"And this is my problem because…" Evie drawled in a bored tone, though her eyes were alight with curiosity.
"Well, it's not really your problem but I come from, like, thirty years into the future. And King Ben's endeavor with the Isle kids was the most progressive thing to ever happen to Auradon, everyone here has gotten married and become parents, and I kinda need to get home before, well, someone important figures out where I went and comes back for me."
Evie's eyes grew a little bit more dull with every word until her curiosity had evaporated into a deadpan expression. "Are you joking with me? I really can't tell."
"Jafar's hourglass broke and sent me back," Mercy whispered. "Evie, I grew up with your children. Your castle was like, my summer playground. And I need your help so I can go back."
Evie opened the door a bit wider. That spark of curiosity was back. "My castle?" she asked, then glanced both ways down the corridor. "Come in, what do you need? Tell me more."
Mercy sighed in relief as Evie shut the door behind them. "I need M-Mal's spellbook. If there's a spell in there that could send me back, then…"
"Couldn't you go to Fairy Godmother?" Evie asked.
Mercy winced. "The thing is… I'm a special person… I really don't want Fairy Godmother to figure out who I am and, uh, notify someone."
Evie pursed her lips. "A special person," she mused. "Mal thought you had a crush on Ben, but if you are who you say you are, then I don't suppose that would be the case." She went to Mal's nightstand, pulled the spellbook out, then gave Mercy another examining stare. "Unless Ben grows up to be into younger girls. But I doubt that somehow."
Mercy gagged. "Nope," she agreed and stretched her fingers out for the book.
"Ah," Evie pulled it out of reach. "We don't just let anyone get their hands on this. You can look, but you can't touch."
Mercy nodded, though she felt a bit annoyed at that. She'd grown up with the power to have the book pulled from Auradon's Cultural Museum just for reading material. Now it was being held out of reach when it was actually needed.
"Tell me more about that castle," Evie requested as she settled down on Mal's bed. Her index finger crooked down the spine of the book. "Who is my husband? How many rooms in his castle?"
"Uh…" Mercy swallowed. Now that she was so close, she was really, really anxious to get home. "You have a castle outside Auradon, about thirty minutes from us. You built it yourself – you have a really successful business called Evie's Four Hearts and you're one of the top fashion designers in the country. My family commissions you to do everything we need." Her fingers itched towards the book.
Evie looked startled. "What?" she asked, then hesitated. "And you said… Ben is still king, right?"
"Well, only for a few more years, but…" Mercy laughed nervously. "He's going to hand down the throne soon."
Evie tucked the book under her arm. She chewed on her cheek. "And… all four of us live in Auradon? What about our parents?"
Mercy chucked nervously. "Evie, I really shouldn't tell you everything – I'm already in lots of trouble as it is…" Evie made a face and then opened Mal's drawer as if to put the book back. "Yes! You gave up on your plan to destroy Auradon, okay? And your parents… they were relocated."
"Relocated?"
"King Ben broke the barrier down like, two years after you guys came over. Some villains went back into society. The villains who re-attempted villainy were locked up in a prison instead. I think some of them died again."
Evie's mouth fell open a little. She shut the nightstand again, looked down at the book, and then passed it over to Mercy. Mercy breathed a sigh of relief and opened the cover page.
"I'm not sure I believe you," Evie muttered. "I mean… Ben would be the one to break the barrier, but-" she laughed. "Who do I marry? Who are my children?"
"Um…" Mercy hummed as she tried to stall. There was a long list of spells in this book with lots of added notes in the margins. Newts… salamanders… growing spells… how to find pixies… "You've… already met your husband here and you have two children."
Mercy finished the first page and flipped to the second. There was nothing. No time spells at all. A little heat pricked behind her eyes. "Come on," she growled, wishing she'd examined her mom's book closer when she'd had the chance. "There has to be something…"
Every single sound became a distraction. Evie's hand brushing down her skirt… the birds chirping outside, the roar of a passing motorbike…
She reached the end of the Table of Contents. Tears pricked her eyes. "What?" she gasped and wiped the stubborn tears out of her eyes before reskimming everything again. Enchanting brooms, enchanting food, enchanting hair, how to stop illnesses, how to stop fire-summoning spells, how to stop-
The door opened. It was Mal, and she was soaking wet. Evie took a little breath of surprise and Mercy felt all the air leave her lungs in one mighty whoosh. Mal stopped with one hand pushing her damp bangs back and her eyes alit when she recognized Mercy. "You?" she demanded before her eyes jumped down to the spellbook. "What on earth are you doing?"
"Mal-" Evie tried to jump in to explain, but Mal kicked the door shut with her foot and stormed over to Mercy, who dropped the book like it was made of hot coals.
"Listen, princess, I don't know who you are but I'm sick of you snooping around in our business! I don't care what you think of Ben – if you want him, tell him! This stupid sneaking around and-"
"Mal!" Evie exclaimed, setting a hand on Mal's shoulder. "It's not like that at all. She's a-"
"Snoop," Mal declared, glaring at Mercy as she shook.
"Time-traveler," Evie corrected. "We're seeing if there are any time-travel spells in your book."
It was more confusion than realization that saved Mercy as Mal leaned back and began to connect the dots. "You're not crushing on Ben," she said aloud.
Mercy shook her head and wiped her eyes. She couldn't help it – being yelled at by her mom (who while not at full power was still able to make her feel very guilty) after being alone and away for so long plus knowing now that she was basically stuck here until kingdom come, well… that was a lot.
"So, who are you really?" Mal asked, picking up her book from off the floor and dusting it off. "There's no spells in here, by the way."
Mercy sniffed and then let out a little sob. She shook her head as both Evie and Mal stared at her in concern. Tears started rolling down her cheeks, burning as they went.
"What is wrong with you?" Mal asked.
"Are you okay?" Evie knelt down beside her.
"I'm not going home," Mercy gasped for breath. "Unless… oh god, I'm not going home."
"Just go to Fairy Godmother," Evie urged. "Or even go to Ben. He helps everyone out – if there's some government secret that could help you out, he could ask his parents and-"
"There isn't," Mercy cut her off. She slid down the side of the bed, curled her knees up underneath herself, and buried her face away. "I would know."
"No, you never know," Evie soothed, brushing her hair a little. "There could be something. And Fairy Godmother's wand… you could use that to go home."
Fairy Godmother might be able to send her back, that was true. Mercy wasn't inclined to the woman who had encouraged retiring magic, but it was always worth a shot. She wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and glanced up at Mal to make sure her mom wasn't still sneering at her. She wasn't. Instead, she looked stonelike and a little afraid.
"M?" Evie called.
Mal pointed down at Mercy. "Your parent's names were Bertha and Florian," she recalled, staring at a point off in the distance. "And you said he needed… oh my gosh." She clapped her hands to her mouth. "Get out."
"Mal?" Evie asked. "What's wrong? What's going on?"
"Get out!" Mal demanded in full-panic mode. Her face was white and heading towards grey as she flung her hand to the door. Mercy jumped away and sprinted to the door, which opened as she approached. She wasn't sure if that was her mother's doing or hers. She ran until she got all the way back to her room, where she collapsed and began to sob hysterically.
All four VK's ignored her when she crept into the lunchroom the next day. Mercy wasn't sure how much Mal had told them, but enough had been said that they all ignored the fact she existed. She would have walked right by them if not for the fact that Ben hadn't gotten the memo.
"Mercy?" he called and held a hand out to make sure he got her attention. "Hey, are you okay? Your eyes look a little red."
"Yeah, I'm fine," Mercy agreed. "I was just up late last night."
Ben nodded. "Well, if you need anything, just let me know, okay?"
"Okay," Mercy nodded. She knew Ben's spell had been broken by now – they'd both been soaked by the enchanted lake the day before – and it was nice to see him focus on her for a few seconds instead of being attached to Mal constantly.
Someone else had stopped behind Jay and was looking over their shoulders as Ben smiled at Mercy. He noticed the person, glanced over, and asked "Can I help you?"
Mercy followed his gaze. The person in question was much taller and looked older than anyone here. He had stubble growing in along his face, dark olive skin, and was staring at her like he'd seen a ghost. "Hello?" she asked.
"Princess Mercy?" he asked in return.
Everyone's heads snapped back to her as all of the blood drained out of Mercy's face. This must be that other person who had touched the sands. Somehow, he had ended up here with her.
"I didn't know you were a princess?" Ben asked. He looked confused as he tried to recall all the kingdoms and provinces of Auradon. "Which land are you from?"
Mercy shook her head frantically. "N-none. I'm not a princess." She took another step back, composed herself, and muttered: "Excuse me," before she headed towards the exits. The man in question followed her, which was good in some ways because she didn't want to have to hunt him down again later.
"You are the princess?" he asked as they left the courtyard. "How are you here? Is Queen Mal on her way?"
"I don't know," Mercy sniffled and rubbed her eyes again. "I… she doesn't know anything about Jafar's hourglass and there aren't any spells in her spellbook… I'm sorry, I'm not usually like this."
"Oh," the man's shoulders slumped. "You should come with me to the Fairy Godmother – we've been discussing how to return me to my time. She could help you too."
"Help me?" Mercy trailed off a little. "Can she do it?"
"The wand isn't powerful enough," the man shook his head. "But I have a place to sleep and a way to get food and she is in contact with High King Adam and High Queen Belle."
"Ah," Mercy's mouth felt a little dry. "I, uh, think that… given the circumstances… I don't want my grandparents knowing about me. My mom figured out who I was already and… it's a mess."
"It shouldn't cause any problems in the future," the man assured her. "Fairy Godmother believes this is an alternate dimension that is slightly behind our realm. When we return, everything should be normal."
"I hope so," Mercy agreed. "Okay, I'll talk to Fairy Godmother. Thank you for tipping me off."
Three knocks.
"Come in."
She twisted the knob. It was cold. Her hands were cold too. She stepped inside.
Brown eyes, a face she'd only seen in portraits and that one day on the lawn. "Can I help you, dear?"
"I have an interesting situation… you see… do you know anything about Jafar's hourglass?"
Fairy Godmother's face softened. "Oh, so you're another lost one," she sighed. "There's someone else like you – we're trying to find a way to send him back to his time now. What's your name, dear?" She picked up a pen to take notes on as they talked.
"Mercy," her own name sounded hollow on her tongue. "Princess Mercy Grace of Auradon."
Fairy Godmother set her pen back down. "Of Auradon?" She asked.
Mercy nodded.
"And you come from thirty years ahead of this?"
Another nod.
Fairy Godmother let out a little, frantic sigh. "Well, trust Ben to pick a name like Mercy Grace," she sighed. Mercy couldn't stop the little laugh that escaped her as Fairy Godmother leaned back into her chair.
"There's a little more than that…" Mercy whispered. "I'm… I'm technically Queen, but my dad… we decided he'd hold the throne a little longer until I graduated so I could chase some private tutelage with my mom… so I'm the queen in name but not in practice or in title and also I think that world which I left is still moving without me, which means I've been gone for two weeks, and my mom… I don't know if she has the power to come here."
"Ben married someone with magic?" Fairy Godmother asked. "I thought for sure he and Audrey would bounce back together."
Mercy gagged. "Um, no. He… well, my mom is Mal. And she's the Acting Queen of Auradon, and also the Overseer of Magic in the land now that you're, um, dead. And she was training me, but I like to sneak off and do my own thing so I screwed up and I really need to get back... somehow."
"Mal," The Fairy Godmother repeated.
"Mal," Mercy agreed. "And she knows now."
Fairy Godmother let out a long breath. "Well, I see how that could cause some… challenges."
Almost nothing changed. Fairy Godmother didn't alert Belle or Adam to the fact their granddaughter – currently only a fantastical dream in Belle's head – was stuck in their Auradon attending school with their son. Mal avoided Mercy like the plague with the others only slightly curious.
She went where she wanted though, and there was no problem if she wandered along the grounds while everyone was in classes. Ben also had a lot of free classes since he would soon be king and that free time would be filled with meetings and conferences, so she saw him sometimes and they talked as they walked and that was peaceful and familiar, even if he didn't quite have the same face her real dad had and even if he had no idea who she was.
The day before coronation, though, nothing was peaceful.
She wandered through crowds of heroes, marveling at those who were older than dirt in her time and avoiding her grandparents. They were spending time with their son, taking photos and wandering around with bright smiles. She avoided them, but couldn't take her eyes off them as they paused under a gazebo for a school-sponsored photo. "Oh!" Ben exclaimed. "I have a new girlfriend!"
Bright smiles, little breaths. Belle and Adam had no idea what was coming to them. Right before the photo was taken, Ben raised a hand. "Mal!" he called, and Mercy saw her mom appear out of the corner of her eye. Belle and Adam's faces fell while Ben remained smiling. She laughed – she'd seen that picture before. It was a family joke.
A quick hug between the two teens. Belle looked light-headed. Adam put a hand to her back. A game of croquet? Yes. Ben led Mal away to grab her friends and Adam caught Belle as she swooned. Mercy shrank into the shadows when they passed by, but Mal glanced back to see Belle and Adam one last time and caught her in the bushes. Her face turned white. Ben turned to see what she'd seen and smiled at Mercy. "Mercy!" He called. "Come with us. We're going to play croquet."
Mercy pretended she couldn't hear, smiled, and turned away nonchalantly. As she did, she heard whispers from beside the gazebo. "Villain daughter… evil spawn…" they said. "Magic spell."
Mercy knew her mother had been accused of spelling her dad since the beginning, so much in fact that no one in Auradon had really reacted once the palace admitted it was true. But it was still odd to hear the rumors. To hear how much people had hated her parents.
She left before Audrey and Chad could cause their scene, knowing she'd never be able to contain herself.
In the cathedral, Mercy was given a seat on the main floor, but closer to the door than to the dias. Never in a million years had she ever imagined being here, at this event that had happened thirty years ago. It just hadn't even crossed her mind. It was just much more obvious to imagine what her own upcoming coronation would be like.
Here, in this magnificent room, she felt out-of-place. All these people were grumbling about issues that hadn't been issues for twenty years and complaining about how the girl who was going to become the queen and supreme overseer of magic was coming with the new king to his coronation. And she just wanted to scream – "Shut up! You don't know anything!"
As a side note, the choir was singing a really cool medley that she'd like to have at her own coronation if she ever got back to her time and saw her mom and dad again.
The organ blared and the door opened. Her grandmother and grandfather rose on the podium. Mercy swallowed as she watched her dad walk past. And it was weird – with that face, the suit and the stiffness in his shoulders, he looked exactly like her dad. The image threw her off so much that she forgot to bow until it was too late. Hopefully no one noticed.
Crown Prince Ben made his way to the dias, a trip that took a thousand years, and dropped to his knees. Fairy Godmother raised her wand to begin the ceremony. Mercy eyed Jane – Jane was the one who would snatch the wand in an attempt to beautify herself before Mal would snatch it back. Mercy watched Fairy Godmother tap both of Ben's shoulders, begin the spell, and then pause and stare at the tip of her wand as if something was wrong. She flicked it – was something on it? Then suddenly, it began to smoke. Fairy Godmother dropped the wand and everyone watched as green smoke began to emit out of the tip. Her mouth dropped open. What?
King Adam whirled around and pointed towards Mal in the crowd. "She must be doing something!" he bellowed. "Grab her!"
The guards rushed forward. "Wait!" Mercy shouted, but her voice was lost in the fray. She picked up her skirts – every one – and dashed through at the guard's heels. She snatched up the smoking wand and people yelled at her.
"She's got the wand!"
"Put it back down!"
"Mercy?" Ben asked. "What are you doing?"
The guards paused in their quest to force Mal, frantic and confused, to the ground and stared at her as the smoke began to pour out in earnest now. A fog was settling over the room. The pillars swayed as the ground began to rumble. Then, right above Fairy Godmother's head, a rip appeared in the air, tinged green along the outsides. Two hands began to draw the edges apart. Mercy cowered.
A head of purple hair appeared and jumped down onto the ground. When she landed, the floors cracked around her and the ground froze over with green frost. Queen Mal, sans crown, prepared herself for a fight that Auradon simply wasn't ready to give and scanned her surroundings. When she spotted Mercy, she relaxed and straightened up. Mercy found herself sinking to her knees.
Queen Mal held out her hand. Mercy quickly handed over the wand. People panicked for a moment, but Queen Mal simply banished the object back into Fairy Godmother's hand and crossed her arms.
"Hi mom," Mercy finally said.
The sentiment did nothing to settle Queen Mal's ire. "'Hi mom?' It's been three weeks, Mercy. You'd better have something more to say than 'hi mom'."
"I'm sorry –"
"You're sorry."
"I didn't mean to break the hourglass."
"You didn't mean to sneak away to play with a magical artefact."
Ben finally found the courage to move. Mercy could see his eyes racing a million miles an hour as he slowly reached forward and set a hand on Queen Mal's shoulder. "Perhaps… we could move you two into a room to talk?" he asked slowly.
"No need, your majesty," Queen Mal held up her hand and nodded. "We're just leaving. I'll be taking Mercy and our missing guard home with me. I apologize for interrupting your coronation again."
"Again?"
The missing man from their time dashed forward and practically threw himself at Queen Mal's feet, which was apparently more disorientating for the current Mal than anything else about this encounter was. Her eyes bugged out and she looked like she was having an existential crisis.
Queen Mal finally appeared to notice her younger counterpart and took a moment to appear amused. Mercy wasn't sure what was the funniest thing for her mom – how shocked Mal looked, how young, or the fact she was being held by three guards that Queen Mal could have easily incinerated.
Her mom stretched out her hand. "Time to go, Mercy. Now."
"You named your daughter Mercy?" Ben asked. He was trying to act like none of this had affected him at all, but was still quite baffled. "That doesn't quite seem like something you would do."
Mercy looked at the ground and fought a smirk. Queen Mal, meanwhile, snickered. "I do believe you chose it," she said. Ben paused and then pointed at himself, as if to make sure she was correctly referring to him. "I was still out of it on pain meds when you sent the certificate out. You slept on the couch for a month."
Ben took a seat on the dias. He looked rather pale.
Queen Mal turned away from him and held her hand out to Mercy, who swallowed. "Will this ruin the timeline?" she asked.
"It's an alternate dimension. They'll be fine."
"So I might still be-"
"Maybe you'll be a boy."
"Am I still-"
"You're going to be grounded for a very long time."
Mercy sighed. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to stay trapped here for a little while longer? But Queen Mal held out a hand and she took it and the world around them turned to smoke. She stumbled a little when she hit the ground as the guard jumped up for joy and let out a breath. Her mom cleared her throat. "So, now that you've seen my world, there's one thing we need to work out."
"Yeah?"
"We need to agree that your dad was an idiot back then. Don't let him think otherwise. If you let it slip, I swear I'll barbecue you."
To Whomever Would Be Interested:
I have a new story up! It will a full-length fic that I have been collaborating on with Xez2003. At the moment, it is 80 pages long and it will have 15 chapters with a prologue and epilogue. Probably about 70% done.
If you didn't see my last collaboration, you should check it out. It's called Wrecked and was created with Harry Potter Fan 1994. It's actually one of my most popular stories on A03 now...