A:N:
61394: Does Hades pray to his little brother that's kinda weird. It's more like he swears at him
AmethystDragon14: Will this story be Bal? Even if it's not the main focus?Bal, yes. Main focus, no.
Danifan3000: won't people in Auradon suspect that's she the daughter of Hades rather than the daughter of Maleficent by the way she's dressed?Unfortunately, as much as she may hate it Mal still looks like a younger version of her mum, just with blue hair and clothes. Which given other people on the Isle have blue hair and clothes (Evie) it doesn't scream Hades.AndTechnically Uma and Mal are second cousins, once removed (Ursula and Triton are Mal's first cousins). But it won't come up in this story.
MagnetGirl11511: THAT'S ABOUT KRONOS AHHHHHH SO COOL. Maybe
Promises
Age 5
I sat on the stairs listening to the music that echoed down into the mine. There was a party going on above. Word on the street was that it was the party of a princess. A princess on the Isle, someone's wires had to have been crossed. I'd never been to a party before. Mother detested them, not that I had ever been invited to one.
Hades sat down next do me. "What's going on, little dragon."
Little dragon, I liked the sound of that. "There's a party."
"Do you want to go?"
I looked up and couldn't help but smile. "Can I?"
"One on condition."
My smile fell. Conditions, I had wondered when they would come up. I would have to earn my keep. I would have to prove my wickedness. "What condition?"
"Have a dance with me first."
He stood up and offered me a hand.
I took it.
Present
Dad was in a good mood. He had been for days after reading the letter.
It scared the Isle's residents more than when he was angry. An angry Hades was predictable, no one knew how to how to handle a happy.
And none of them had a clue what he was happy about.
Three days after reading the letter, we sat by the roaring blue fire.
Dad sat forward. "I'm happy you're getting out of here."
"But we were supposed to see the sun together, to see the world."
"And one day we will."
"You want me to help you escape?"
"I want you to be happy."
"Even if it means leaving you here?"
"Even if means leaving me here."
"I'll get you out. I promise."
He smiled. "There's my little dragon. Keep that fire in your belly burning and Auradon won't stand a chance."
Word spread around the Isle. Maybe Jay or Carlos couldn't keep their mouths shut, maybe Jafar had bragged to a customer or two or maybe the Evil Queen boasted about her sweet Evie soon to snag herself a prince.
Evie swore it wasn't her and dad wouldn't have said a word, except for Pain and Panic he didn't exactly have anyone to tell.
What the Isle knew, mother knew.
I was defacing one of the few clean walls on the Isle when heard her goons' approach.
I didn't turn about, adding the finishing touches to the art. "Hello, mother."
"Mal, my beautiful baby girl, it's been too long."
One last spray of paint. "Not long enough."
"That's no way to speak to your mother."
I finally turned around, crossing my arms. "What do you want?"
"Can't a mother visit her daughter."
"Normal mothers, yes. You. No."
She was not amused. "I came to give you something."
I knew my mother's game. "In exchange for what? A way off the Island."
"Well, if happen to come across fairy godmother's wand and happen to bring down the barrier, then we could be together again. Mother and daughter ruling side by side."
"I think I'll pass."
"You can come home, Mal."
It wasn't my home; it never had been. "Now that I'm useful to you?" Useless, a burden, that's what she called me. She had been right about one thing; I was my father's daughter.
She held out a book. "Finem don't do it for your dear mother, do it because if you fail and they send you back here, I'll make you wish you were never born."
I took the book, her spell book. I'd seen it once as a child, I'd stolen it from the fridge/safe. She'd let one of her minions baby sit that night, which literally meant sitting on the baby, sitting on me.
A week later I stole the Ember.
"I'll think about it."
Anyone else would have waited for the Mistress of Evil to walk away first. I didn't.
I walked away first.
"I can pack my own stuff."
Dad continued to throw stuff into the black plastic bag that would hold all that I could take to Auradon. "You can't take anything that'll lead them back to me. As far as they're concerned, you're only Maleficent's daughter."
"I know the drill." I'd been running if for ten years, almost eleven now.
"You should really dye your hair back to purple."
"No." I wouldn't look like her, not again. Not to mention I would have to get a whole new wardrobe.
"And keep your temper in check."
"Why?"
"If you're mother's daughter, little dragon, the you'll become a not so little dragon."
I hoped not. "And if I'm your daughter."
"First you'll steam and then you'll burn." He stood up and took my hand. "Little dragon or little demon, you are stronger than you know. Maybe even stronger than me. Keep it in check, steam you can pass off as dragon's heat. A full-on burn and they'll find out who, and what, you are."
Half god, half fairy. A dangerous combination. Maybe the most dangerous.
"I'll be fine. And I'll get you out. Whatever it takes."
"Be safe, Mali, don't risk your freedom for me. I'm not worth it."
"You're worth everything."
A hug. They were a rare gesture from dad, that's what made them all the more special.
I took in his smell; coal from the mine and a slight undertone of a bonfire.
Home. He smelled of home.
I never wanted him to let go.
"Time to go."
He couldn't come with me, couldn't hug me goodbye before I crossed the bridge. He would watch, he could make sure I got off safely but from the crowd with the rest of the Isle that came to see us off.
"What if I never come back, what if I never see you again?"
"The give them hell, little demon. Never forget who you are because as much as they pretend, they'll never forget where you come from. Do what you gotta do, when push come to shove do what's best for you. Even if it means leaving me behind."
We finally separated.
"Do you have the Ember?" He asked.
He hadn't asked for it in ten years. Not since that day in the window.
I kept it with me, always.
Nothing could be traced back to him. I would have to leave it behind.
I pulled the Ember from my pocket and held it out. "Here."
Dad closed my hand over it and shook his head. "Keep it with you, keep it safe and let it keep you safe. In Auradon it will have power, you will have power."
"It only works for you." For me it was little more than a blue stone, one that had led me to the life I could've never dreamed of.
"You're half me. It'll work for you. I can't guarantee that it'll do everything for you as it does for me but it'll do enough."
I hugged him again. "You've given my everything."
"I've given you nothing. Everything you have taken for yourself. I'm proud of you, Mal."