Christina lay on her side, one hand on her stomach the other held a book. Shaggy had gone to the kitchen. The kids were exploring while Scooby and Jade slept beside the bed.
Me? she thought, Queen of a kingdom I didn't even know about? Nope!
"You agree?" Christina giggled upon feeling the baby kick, "Not very long now, you can join us out here soon"
Another kick.
"Christina?"
she looked up finding Maleficent before her.
"What?"
"I want to talk"
"Can I take my family home now?"
"Not yet,"
"Why not?"
"It's only been a few days,"
"But, I have a life. I can't just put it on hold!"
"Christina, please just listen to me-"
"You want me to rule a kingdom which by the way I'm not at all fit for! I'm a TEACHER, art, music, history! I have responsibilities, a family to care for! I can't give any of that up because my son brought us here! I'm here because of him and I stayed for HIM,"
Outside the door, Carter and Winnie cringed. This discussion wasn't going well.
"Christina, I just want to warn you," Maleficent said, remaining calm, "If the rest of Ever After, if the royalty, the other fae if they find out about you they'll throw you on that throne and declare you Queen before you even have a chance to breathe!"
"Like you're doing now?"
"I'm trying to do this quietly, rationally,"
"What's so rational about-"
Before Christina could finish her question the door opened, Carter and Winnie falling inside.
"Carter Chase, what have I told you about eavesdropping!"
"Sorry, Mom," Carter grinned sheepishly
The kids barely got to their feet before Shaggy charged in and knocked them back over, rushing to Christina.
"Ow," the two groaned.
"Shaggy, why did you just trample my son and his girlfriend?"
Carter and Winnie blushed.
"Outside, look outside!"
"Huh?"
Maleficent made it to the window before Christina, "They know," she said.
"Huh?" Christina repeated.
"They know, Ever After knows. They've come to meet you,"
Carter darted to the window, "There's a crowd, Mom," he explained, "Headed for the front door,"
Christina would have screamed had it not been for Shaggy's calming presence.
"You told them," she caused Maleficent.
"I would never!" Maleficent insisted, "Grimm must have, he can never keep his mouth shut,"
"Like, what do we do?" Shaggy asked, arm around Christina to keep her from overreacting.
"I'll meet them at the door and see if I can talk sense into them,"
Maleficent left to do just that while Christina buried her head in Shaggy's chest, "I wanna go home, now,"
Carter slumped on the bed guilty. It was his fault, his fault they were here. Slowly, he began to cry.
"My fault, I'm sorry, Mom,"
"Oh, come here," Christina pulled both him and Winnie to her side, "I think we all want to go home,"
"Why can't we leave now?" Winnie questioned, "Before anyone else notices,"
"Because we're stuck between a rock and a hard place. I can't get to the mirror without someone seeing me, I can't run and my magic is temperamental," Christina explained.
"What about Carter?"
"No, Winnie," Carter shook his head, "I can't,"
"What are we supposed to do?"
"Face the music I suppose although I'm hardly dressed for it," Christina rolled her eyes, she stood from the bed straightening her top and trying to pull her hair into a ponytail at least.
"You look great, Mom," Carter said with a thumbs up, Winnie nodding her agreement.
"Thanks, Kiddos, let's get this over with,"
The sound of several voices met their ears as soon as they opened the door, followed by a silence thick with fear. Carter grabbed Winnie's hand, pulling her close as they wandered down the hall. Maleficent met them halfway conversing with Christina in hushed words that they couldn't make out. Quietly, tensely, they met the crowd who all gasped upon seeing Christina.
"The rightful heir has come home!" someone shouted.
"There must be a coronation at once," Exclaimed someone else.
Maleficent slammed her scepter to the ground thunderously. "Silence!"
"There won't be a coronation," Christina declared, "I don't want to be Queen,"
"You must be Queen!"
"No!"
"Not until she's ready and willing," Maleficent declared.
"CROWN HER!"
"SHE MUST RULE!"
"SHE HAS TO!"
"ENOUGH!" Maleficent roared.
The kids covered their ears it was a madhouse. Shaggy stood in front of Christina, Maleficent in front of them both. Even though it was unlikely to help they both knew they had to do something before someone got hurt. Carter pushed in front of the adults.
"SHUT UP!" he yelled, "Leave my Mom alone! You don't even know her name! You don't know her but you want her on the throne. Why so you can walk all over her? Because my great-grandma scares you? My Mom is plenty scary herself and the ONLY reason she's here is because of me! This isn't our home, we don't intend to make it our home. So go away and leave us alone!"
Winnie clapped enthusiastically making Carter blush yet again when he slunk behind the adults and joined Winnie.
"That was awesome!" she whispered.
"I just said what I thought I needed to,"
"You're still awesome,"
"Thanks, Winnie,"
…...
That night, they received some unwelcome guests. Lucinda, Faybelle and, Selina returned, joining them for dinner. No one noticed the vial of scarlet liquid Selina had brought with her. All they could focus on was the tense conversation between the adults.
"I heard there was quite a spectacle today," Lucinda commented, glaring daggers at Christina,
carter would have lashed out had Winnie not grabbed ahold of him. What was she getting at?"
"So when's the coronation?"
"There won't be one," he growled before his mom could respond.
"You should learn to be seen and not heard!"
"Don't speak to my son like that!" Christina warned darkly.
"Remember," Shaggy whispered, "Stress isn't good for the baby, you like, don't want to hurt Alissa,"
Lucinda looked ready to murder someone, "Don't tell me you're naming that brat after my weakling sister,"
"Careful," Christina responded chillingly, "That's my mother you're slandering,"
"This isn't going well," Winnie said to Carter.
"Stay out of this, mutt!"
"ENOUGH!", Maleficent roared, slamming down her scepter thunderously. "Lucinda, you and Selina will keep civil tongues in my domain, especially with our kin and my guests!"
"Of course, Mother", Lucinda obeyed, with an inner smile seeing her precious Selina tucks the empty vial back in her sleeve.
…...
Later:
"Christina?"
"Yes, Winnie?" Christina asked turning to the young werewolf as she pulled her hair out of its braid.
"Have you seen Carter?"
"No, not since dinner, I think he went exploring,"
Without me?
"Okay, I'll find him,"
"Tell him it's almost bedtime when you do,"
"I will,"
"Thank you,"
Winnie ran down the halls, turning left and right, this way hand that trying to at least pin Carter's scent. Where had he gone? She skid to a stop in front of a long darkened hallway. Carter was down there. She could smell him and Selina? But why was he with her? Cousinly bonding? And what were those noises? Winnie stopped dead in her tracks.
Selina had carter pinned to the wall.
They were kissing!
And, Carter seemed to be enjoying it. They didn't even notice her as she turned around and ran back to Christina's room, she didn't even knock throwing open the door with such force it hit the wall with a heavy thunk.
"Winnie?"
she jumped on Christina sobbing.
"What's wrong?" Christina inquired, "Where's Carter?"
"C-C-C-"
Christina wrapped her arms around Winnie, pulling the ten-year-old into her lap.
"Shaggy, go find Carter and see what the problem is,"
"Okay, let's go you two," Shaggy said turning to Scooby and Jade who ambled after him quietly.
Christina rocked Winnie back and forth, wondering what had happened between her and Carter.
Shaggy returned minutes later with an odiously spelled Carter and a cocky looking Selina.
"He was like, kissing her," Shaggy said awkwardly.
Winnie sobbed harder.
"Winnie, sweetie there's an easy way to fix this," Christina soothed, brushing hair from the young wolf's eyes.
"How?"
"You do it all the time,"
Winnie blushed, "Okay,"
she slid off the bed, rushing over to Carter grabbing his hands in hers. He was stiff as a board. Eyes glazed over. Winnie couldn't take it! She grabbed him and smashed her lips against his. The spell was broken instantly.
"Winnie," he gasped, pulling away, "I'm so-"
Winnie cut him off with another kiss.
Christina stood from the bed, grabbing Selina by the arm, "You're coming with me, young lady!" she growled, "Come on kiddos!"
This wasn't going to be pretty.
…...,
Carter had never seen his mom this angry not even when dealing with his birth father and that had been plenty scary!
"DON'T YOU EVER, EVER, EVER, DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT TO MY SON AGAIN!" Christina took a deep breath, "I'm an extremely patient person but the MINUTE you do ANYTHING to my son or his girlfriend I'll hex you into the next century!"
"Oh, please!" Lucinda scoffed, "You're nothing but glitter and sunshine!'
Christina seized the woman by her collar, lifting her from the ground, "Don't test me you self-entitled good for nothing wacko!"
"Christina, honey-"
"Shut it, Norville!"
Shaggy flinched pulling the kids back a few feet, Christina was seriously pissed!
Lucinda and Selina continued to smirk until Christina sent the latter tumbling across the room with a wave of her hand while still holding the former by the collar.
"Mother!" Lucinda pleaded, "Do something,"
Maleficent was having too much fun watching Christina lose it. Especially after all the warnings, she had given.
Carter clung to Winnie, protectively watching as magic, fire skated across his mother's body until it exploded blinding them momentarily. When the light faded a large purple dragon held Lucinda in its claws before setting her wings ablaze and throwing her from the window like a baseball. Another explosion of light and his mother fell back into Shaggy's arms, exhausted.
"Weak," Selina muttered.
Carter snapped, he knew it was wrong to hit people but his insides burned with fire as did his skin. The next few moments were a blur to him but Winnie saw it all.
Carter transformed just as Christina had, into a much smaller but still scary red dragon who chucked Selina out the window to join her grandmother.
Then he collapsed.
…...
"Carter?"
"Uh, what happened?" Carter groaned.
"You threw Selina out the window,"
"I what?"
He sat up, yelping at the sight of his reflection. He had horns and his hair. The very ends of it were red!
HE HAD HORNS!
He grabbed at them pulling before yelping in pain.
"I already tried,"
His mother stepped into the room, she also had horns and her hair had turned so dark it was borderline black with purple starting halfway down.
"Mom?"
"Apparently," she sighed, "This is what happens when someone has the dragonmark,"
"What do we do, Mom?"
"I don't know,"
"Mom?"
"Hm?"
"You think you could be a queen?"
"I don't know,"
"If you were you could do something about Lucinda and Selina,"
"Or people like that in general?"
"Yes,"
"I suppose you have a point, when did you get so smart?"
"I have an awesome Mom who taught me,"
She smiled, hugging him.