Escape to Auradon

I don't own Descendants!

*Trigger Warning* In this chapter I tell the myth or Orpheus and Eurydice, the version I first heard was pretty gruesome so I tried to tone it down some, but there are still mentions of a few potentially upsetting topics. I put warnings above them and when they're done. I'll put them up here, in order, too. I do not go into graphic detail but I want to give these warnings anyway.

*Death, loss, death by dismemberment, disrespect for the remains of the dead, and implying that Orpheus was possibly passively or actively suicidal.*

If you think I should add more warnings then please comment with them and I will happily add them. If you are uncomfortable reading about these things I have put warnings above them. Please read them in full because I separated them into multiple warnings because I know that not everyone is as bothered by the same things. If you do not want to read any of the parts that could be triggering I will put an asterisk (*) when the whole thing starts and ends. I don't want to upset anyone too much if I can help it.

Previously

"Uma!" Harry shouted as he clawed his way up a ladder.

Uma stopped her chase and helped him up.

"Jay, take Halina and go start the car!" Carlos shouted.

"I'll meet you guys there!" Evie called.

Jay grabbed Halina's arm as she laughed maniacally "We need to go start the car!" He called.

Present

"Mal's mine!" Jay and Halina could hear Uma's shout even as they raced through the tunnel towards the car.

Carlos came hurtling out of the tunnel followed by the dark haired Auradonian girl "You okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Nice work out there, Lonnie." Carlos complimented and led her and the dog to the car "Come on, Dude. Hop in."

Evie was next out of the tunnel "Let's go."

"Come on, Evie. Get in." Carlos waved frantically.

"Mal!" Ben crawled out of the tunnel and turned back to see the daughter of Maleficent wasn't there yet.

"Come on, come on, come on." Mal called flying out of the tunnel.

Jay and Halina were in the front seats, when all the doors were shut and everyone was securely in their seats Jay floored it. As they drove through the Isle, heading to Auradon, Jay snuck a glance at Halina. She looked bored and was staring out the window.

Jay wasn't going to lie to himself, he'd liked Halina for a long, long time. She was powerful and beautiful, but she was also his friend and he would rather have her as a friend than not in his life at all. But when he had seen her kissing Harry Hook, he felt an eruption of jealousy in his gut.

Against his better judgment, Jay spoke up "That was really brave."

"Hmm?" Halina hummed "What do you mean?"

"You betrayed Uma." Jay tried to focus his gaze forward "You fought against her. You made a lot of enemies today."

"If you think I'm in danger from a bunch of wannabe pirates-"

"I don't." Jay was quick to assure her "I know you could handle them and so much more. But, I mean, you lied to her, you played both sides. How do you just do something like that? And it was really convincing, you know? We really thought you hated us."

"That's because I did." Halina's answer was characteristically blunt "For months. I hated you all."

"What changed?"

"I spent a lot of time thinking. I discovered that it may not entirely be your fault that you never wrote or tried to bring me over." Halina's eyes were fixed firmly on the window.

"But then who's fault would it be?" Jay wondered, he could practically hear Halina rolling her eyes.

"You do remember who my family is, right?" Halina sighed "A few months after you left, I got a message, from Mnemosyne, the Goddess of memory. Apparently, my Uncle Zeus didn't trust you when you first came to Auradon. He ordered Mnemosyne to make your memories of me, for lack of a better term, foggy. So whenever you would think of me or try to remember to ask Ben to bring me over, it would dissipate, like mist."

"But after we proved ourselves, why didn't we remember after that?" Jay asked.

"Mnemosyne couldn't remove the spell without Zeus's permission and he seemed to have forgotten that he'd even asked for that. Instead, she told me, helped me understand that I shouldn't blame you." Halina paused "I don't even blame Zeus, not really. I mean, at first, you weren't going there to learn to be good. You went to steal Fairy Godmother's wand. I can see how that makes you not very trustworthy. While I don't like what he did, I can understand his reasons."

"Still, that doesn't seem right." Jay shook his head "Couldn't Mnemosyne remind Zeus or something?"

"Not without risking his wrath." Halina shrugged "And that's a risk very few are willing to take."

"I'd take it."

Jay wouldn't have noticed the very slight tensing of Halina's shoulders, showing her surprise, if he hadn't known her so well. He knew her tells and could usually figure out what she was thinking or trying to say when she put up her walls.

"Then you'd be dead."

Halina knew she had taken a second too long to respond to Jay's words. But they had shocked her to the point of speechlessness, if only for a moment. She had been very tempted to turn and look at him, but despite her understanding of why her old crew hadn't been able to remember her, she still nursed a seed of bitterness, buried deep in her chest. Halina knew that if she faced Jay and looked him in the eyes he would see it, clear as day.

"I'd still do it. For you." Jay murmured "I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"Too bad you wouldn't have one after that." Halina scoffed.

"Nah," Jay laughed "You wouldn't let me stay dead. Even if I did wind up dead, you'd still find me in the Underworld and drag me back."

Halina felt her heart stop and the ichor running through her veins in the place of blood freeze. She turned to face Jay, her expression stony and dark.

"No."

Jay's brows furrowed in confusion "Huh?"

"No. I would not, as you say, drag you back. I can't." Halina's voice was low and dangerous.

"But your Dad's the God of the Dead, he rules the Underworld, doesn't he?" Jay's heart was starting to beat faster, he hadn't seen Halina this angry ever.

"Yeah, he is. But he can't bring people back to life and neither can I. Once the Fates cut your string, you're done. Gone. No coming back." Halina's glare intensified "There is no escaping death. Those who try to cheat it always suffer the most."

"But people have come back from the dead before, haven't they?" Jay asked "You told me that story, about the musician who brought his wife back after she died right after their wedding."

(*)

(If this isn't the story you heard then I apologize, but there are many, many retellings of the myths. This is the one I am most familiar with. Please don't say stuff like "That's not the version I heard." or "That's not right." We don't know the original tellings of the myths so this is how I'm telling it. This is also a condensed version, so some parts may not be mentioned. Also as mentioned at the beginning it gets a little gruesome towards the end, I'll put another warning above it.)

"Orpheus tried and failed to bring Eurydice back. He was the son of a muse, and was able to weave the power of suggestion into the beauty of his music. He played his way into the Underworld all the way to my father's palace. He requested that my father send Eurydice back, not forever, Orpheus knew that death was inevitable, but so that they could live their lives together." Halina sighed "If my mother and I hadn't been there my father would have decimated Orpheus for even daring to enter his domain. Together my mother and I convinced him to test Orpheus, if he passed Eurydice could return and live with him, if he failed she returned and Orpheus wouldn't come back until he himself was dead."

Jay listened intently, he remembered the start of the story from the first time Halina told it, but had gotten distracted by some shiny trinket for his father halfway through and tuned out the details so he could steal the thing. He regretted not paying closer attention now.

"What was the test?" Jay found himself asking.

Halina smiled bitterly "Orpheus walked ahead, Eurydice behind him. If Orpheus turned back to see if she was following, Eurydice would return. They could speak but not see each other until the sunlight touched them and brought Eurydice back. Orpheus came very close to succeeding."

"But he didn't?"

"No. He stepped into the sun and turned around when Eurydice was only a step away, still in the shadows. The sun hadn't touched her yet and she was still dead. Orpheus failed and Eurydice returned to the Underworld." Halina shook her head "Orpheus tried to return, to bring the woman he loved back again, but the doors to the Underworld were closed to him. When he realized that he swore he would never play again. This made a lot of people very angry."

"Why?" Jay frowned "He was heartbroken."

"He was. But people loved his music. He was very talented. Some might describe his music as addictive, he had the power to push his emotions into his music and make the listener feel what he wanted. Usually euphoria or joy, but after Eurydice died he didn't feel joy or happiness anymore, only pain. Orpheus died because of that."

"I don't understand."

(Here's the gross part, it involves death by dismemberment and disrespect for the remains of the dead, but I tried not to go into heavy detail)

"One day he was walking through the woods when he came upon some nymphs. They were maenads, followers of Dionysus, who could and would tear to pieces those who didn't join them in their revels. Orpheus might have been okay, but he was recognized and the maenads asked him to play for them. When he refused they grew angry and ripped him to shreds."

Jay felt his stomach flip.

"When they realized what they had done, they threw his remains into the sea. Orpheus and Eurydice were reunited in death and not before." Halina finished her story, looking firmly out the window and not at Jay.

(Gross part over but now I'm mentioning my belief of Orpheus being at the very least passively suicidal or at worst actively suicidal so again I warn you again)

Jay took his eyes off the road to glance at Halina "You were there." It wasn't a question.

"I'm an immortal Goddess. I've been alive for centuries." Halina remarked dryly "I was the one who brought Orpheus's soul to the Underworld, and helped him reunite with Eurydice in Elysium. My father wanted me to see and understand how cruel the mortal heart can be."

"Cruel?"

"Orpheus's heart is what got him killed." Halina shrugged "The maenad's love for Orpheus's music and their own alcoholic tendencies drove them to madness and made them take innocent lives. Orpheus had a right to mourn Eurydice but he let his grief overcome him. He knew the only way he'd see Eurydice again was in death, so he let himself die."

"You mean he killed himself?" Jay choked on the words.

Halina paused "Not necessarily. Orpheus was already nearing death, he wasn't eating or sleeping, he spent every day traveling trying to find another way to the Underworld. When he came upon the maenads he may have simply decided that it would be easier not to fight back. Trying to bring someone back from the dead has dangerous and deadly consequences. The Fates and Thanatos do not take kindly to people trying to undo their work."

(*)

Jay turned his eyes back to the road and tried to process what Halina was telling him. She wouldn't bring him back if he died, something he had always just assumed she would be willing and able to do. Now it seemed that even if she was willing to try and bring him or any of their friends back she would cause herself untold pain and misery for the rest of her immortal life.

Jay felt the pain and guilt rise in his chest. He had never really thought about if there would be a cost to bring someone back. He had foolishly believed that Halina was able to do whatever she wanted since she was an immortal Goddess. Taking a chance, Jay glanced at the girl in the seat next to him, this time looking closer at her.

Halina's shoulders were tense but squared and she sat like she had a poker instead of a spine. Her face was turned slightly away so Jay could only see her profile. Her face was smooth, her lips set in a thin line, and her eyes as always glowed slightly with power though they were glowing brighter showing that Halina's emotions were tumultuous and trying to burst free from the tight lease she kept on them. Her hands were in her lap and looked relaxed unless you looked closely to see that they were tight and still as if Halina was focusing on stopping them from trembling.

"I'm sorry." Jay whispered "I didn't think that you were bound by the rules of death."

"Everything in the universe is bound together by death." Halina scowled "Even Gods can die. The Titans did. So did the Giants. Nothing lasts forever, everything ends. Even the Gods."

"I should have realized that sooner. We've been friends for years and I'm sorry I didn't put that together sooner." Jay said, his voice still soft but he could hear the tears in the undertones and mentally kicked himself.

"No one realizes that until they're told." Halina glanced at Jay "Mortal minds do not see the truths of your world until the veil is torn away."

Jay stayed silent the rest of the ride back to Auradon.

Word count: 2412 words
I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. It's been a really hard time.

On the upside I am trying to start writing again. If there are long breaks between chapters I really am sorry and I'll let you know if I decide to discontinue or put on hiatus but at the moment that is not the plan.

Now I say please don't forget to comment, vote, and add to your reading lists! Also stay home, stay healthy, stay safe, wash your hands, and get the vaccine if you are able to! #BlackLivesMatter
Love,
The Author