Hey guys! Sorry about disappearing again. My muse took off running after rewatching Descendants 2, and I can't wait to share all my new little head-canons with you! :)
Let's get this started, shall we?
manticore-gurl071134: I'm glad you liked it so much! There will definitely be more D2 in here, lol. Sooo many ideas! So many head canons! I just might have to write a sequel. (hint hint) ;) I hope you'll continue to read and enjoy!
Guest 1: Thank you for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed it. This chapter is just as intense, so hang on! I hope you will enjoy this just as much.
Jewelz1642: Good to hear from you again! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter so much, I had a lot of fun writing the confrontation with Mal and King Adam, in case you couldn't tell. And especially with shipping Jay/Lonnie, haha. I didn't even know how hard I shipped it until I was writing it, lol! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too. :)
Everlocke: Welcome to the story and thank you for leaving a review! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter so much and that you're enjoying the story so far. I agree, Descendants 2 was pretty awesome. I will definitely be incorporating things from it into this story, but I think the rest might have to wait for either a separate one shot series or…a sequel? But whataver I decide, I hope you'll continue to read and enjoy!
Shots and Giggles: Haha, yeah…Panic! has some…fun videos, lol. Should have put a notice up that if anyone listens to the songs while they read, be aware that Panic! at the Disco gets weird.
But yeah I definitely agree with you there. I think there is a lot of self-censorship from Disney, since they have all these great ideas, but they don't want to deal with people jumping down their throats about stuff. (Prime example, the recent live action Beauty and the Beast. Did you know we were this close to getting a shirtless Dan Stevens during the transformation back into a man sequence, but one mom complained about their kid seeing a shirtless guy, and so we didn't. Literally, it was just one mom, but it was changed because of that. Lefou being gay for Gaston was fine though. Just couldn't have a hot shirtless guy cuz it would corrupt the children! Can you tell I'm bitter about that?)
Haha, but in all seriousness, yes, to pretty much everything you said. I was so happy to see Lonnie show her mischievous side, and confirm just how bad-ass she is. Sneaking off to the Isle of the Lost with a duffel bag full of no less than five swords, and full fencing gear. I love how she came prepared to fight, anticipating violence, but Ben comes so open and exposed, all honest and adorable and clueless, which ultimately led to his kidnapping in the first place. I really loved that little acknowledgment towards their characters there. :)
Honestly, Dizzy threw me for such a loop, not gonna lie. I knew that a fan had been chosen to be a character in the movie, and I knew that it was her, but I refused to go anywhere near behind the scenes or extras or clips from D2 because I wanted to go into it completely surprised and with fresh eyes. It was great, but I was grumbling at the screen when she was introduced because 'I already have Chad's cousin, man! What am I supposed to do with this bubbly paint splotch of energy? I have to reconstruct my entire head canon!' etc.
So, I may or may not include Dizzy, I'm not sure yet. Definitely a crap ton of Harry, Gil and Uma though, you can count on that! ;)
My response is taking up so much space, lol, so I'll leave you with a promise that I will be exploring the pirate crew dynamic, as well as the Royals vs the VKs in the coming chapters.
I hope you'll continue to read and enjoy! :)
Jac: Hello, welcome to the story and thank you so much for the kind words! I'm glad you're enjoying it so much and that you think I'm succeeding so far. And of course I was going to keep the original ideas, lol. I fell in love with the two chapters I read and I wanted to make sure that I did the original author and the story justice. :)
Not sure about 4 chapters, haha, but if it's any consolation I think this is the fastest I've updated so far, so…enjoy! ;)
Gracfully: Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much and I hope you will continue to read and enjoy. :)
Yassyisthebest: Hi, welcome to the story and thanks for leaving a review! I typically try and update every week, and if not, then every other week, although there have been a couple lengthier hiatus' with this story. And my Maleficent fic…is pretty much endless hiatus between chapters, although I am still updating it; I swear I haven't forgotten about it! *cringes though because it's been months since I updated it.*
Lol, but I'm glad you're enjoying my story so much and I hope you will continue to follow along and enjoy! :)
GenderqueerWriter: Yes, I have returned with another chapter, lol. I'm really glad you like my portrayals of both Chad and Lonnie. One thing I wanted to explore about Chad was the fact that he's on the Tourney team, which is a pretty rough and violent sport. (think U.S football) And so many people portray him as that stereotypical, wimpy, whiny prince we see him as in the movie, and yet I thought there had to be more to him than that if he can hold his own on the field. So I'll be playing with that more in upcoming chapters too. ;)
As for Dizzy…well I went on a brief tangent about her in one of my other reviews but the gist is, I'm not sure lol. She kind of came out of nowhere, and as much as I love her (and believe me I do!) I just…have no place for her in my head canon. So I'm not sure yet what I'll do with her, to be honest. Although if I do incorporate her, I would definitely play up that angst!
And you are correct, the pole was definitely based on the one in Mulan. I wasn't sure how many people would catch that. I'm glad you liked Uma's introduction. I wanted to play up how Mal sort of refuses to acknowledge her as a person, simply calling her 'Shrimpy' and other nicknames/insults, which manifests itself in Uma's need for recognition, hence 'What's my name?' (Oops, was that a spoiler? I think that was a spoiler…just ignore that.)
Anyway, I hope you will continue to read and enjoy! :)
Kitty Kat Vixen: I'm glad you're enjoying your puppy! We just got my grandmother a puppy beginning of this year and she's having the same problem. It must be a puppy thing, lol. ;)
I'm also really glad you're enjoying my story, and that you liked the Evie POV. You can count on a bit more of her in the coming chapters, since D2 gave me a bit of a twist on the headcanon I've created for her, so I'll be anxious to incorporate that into the story. And yes, especially with Evie and Chad and their friendship…*rubs hands and grins manically*
And yes, poor Aziz and Nikhil. You were close, lol. Naveen is Nikhil's dad. :) But don't worry, I'll be having everyone make up, it just might take a little bit. I had fun writing evil!baby!Mal and Uma, haha. I will definitely be exploring everyone, especially the pirate crew and Gil's arrival on the scene, and Uma's/Ursula's necklace.
As for FNAF…*has sudden, terrifying flashbacks of dark hallways and flickering flashlights and evil animatronics* Yes, I am very familiar with it, lol. I never played the game myself, though I've thought about trying it, but I've watched all the gameplays (still working through Sister Location…) and I'm very much aware of the theories, lol. That game was pretty much endless nightmare fuel while I watched the playthrough's, and I've sworn an oath that I will never step foot into another Chuck E. Cheese's because of it. ;)
I hope you'll continue to read and enjoy!
starflight34: Haha, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and my wickedly awesome Mal! :) She will be making another appearance in future chapters so…I hope you'll continue enjoy and I can't wait to hear what you think!
Alex: Thank you for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter so much and that you enjoyed my take on Lonnie and Chad. :) Yeah, there had been speculation, and then later it was confirmed by Disney that Aziz would be in D2, but then I never saw/heard of him, which kind of made me sad.
But I hope you will continue to follow along and enjoy! :)
Guest 2: Yeah, Mal seems like one who feels and cares too much, despite appearances otherwise. I think she's definitely going to explode (more than she has now, haha) and it won't be pretty.
DreamOn: Welcome to the story, and thank you for leaving a review! I'm glad you're enjoying everything so far and that you think I'm doing such a good job. :) Really happy you liked the Celtic words, too, since they'll be making reappearances here and there and I was hoping it wouldn't be too weird. As for facing up to Chad, well…we'll see how some of that goes in this chapter. ;)
I hope you'll continue to read and enjoy!
12345: Thank you for the review, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Mal will definitely be leaning on them more, though she won't be taking to it so easily, I'll give you a hint. ;) I hope you'll continue to follow along and enjoy!
Tiredandlazy: Haha, no need to apologize, I know exactly what you mean. The second that scene started up I was banging my head against the back of the sofa because I knew that was what they were going to do but was desperately hoping they wouldn't.
Although, what?! You haven't seen….*starts spluttering helplessly*
Sorry, haha, but seriously what?
Anyway, I'm glad you liked my take on evil Mal. I had so much fun writing that scene, not gonna lie. I think you could tell, lol. And yes, slowly starting to shake things up in terms of relationships. It's an angsty, feels-filled earthquake happening here, lol.
And yes, Mal and Uma's flashback confrontation was also a fun one to write. I can't wait till everyone else gets involved too. Then we'll have some real fun!
Also oh my gosh, give this person a prize! I wasn't sure if anyone would pick up on that, but yes! Jay was totally a sneaky bastard and stole all the cigarettes, which Aziz knew about but let him do anyway because street rats before harem pants, lol. Which is also why he broke down because thinking of smoking with Jay right after being ruthlessly shredded by Jay….well, yeah.
I will definitely make sure it's not another month before I update, haha. I hope you will enjoy and I look forward to hearing what you think! :)
Carmine De Vil: Haha, maybe a little bit. ;P I'm glad you're enjoying this so much, and don't worry, there will definitely be a lot more of Harry and Uma. (I have to give my new OTP some love, right?) I hope you'll continue to read and enjoy!
MakeItShineDiamondKat31111: Thanks for catching that! I'll make sure to go back and fix it.
I'm glad you're enjoying everything so much. That's a neat little book tidbit, now I'm wondering if I can incorporate in here somehow….
And happy birthday! :) I hope this newest chapter will be a nice little present for you, if I haven't missed it.
We'll be seeing just what Chad's been up to here, as well as Mal and the other VKs, so I hope you will continue to follow along and enjoy. :)
Guest 3: (Not sure if you're the same Guest as #4, but): Thank you for leaving a review! I appreciate the suggestion, but I've already decided on the pairings for this story. But I hope you will continue to read and enjoy anyway! :)
Guest 4: (Again, not sure if you're also Guest 3, haha): It fits well, doesn't it? ;) I hope you'll continue to follow along and enjoy.
Kameron the God of Fairytales: It's good to hear from you again! I'm glad you liked the chapter, and that you've been enjoying the story so far. I'd have to say, either Evie, because she can design really awesome clothes; or Lonnie, haha. ;)
I hope you'll continue to read and enjoy!
Jenn: Hi, welcome to the story and thanks for leaving a review! We will find out what happens to Mal soon, have no fear! :) I hope you'll continue to follow along and enjoy.
Rose: Welcome to the story and thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you're enjoying it so much. Don't worry, definitely keeping the core four platonic. :) I'm happy you like my characters and the portrayals, and yeah, I may have somehow jumped hard on the Jay/Lonnie ship after seeing D2, lol. Had neutral feelings towards the ship, like, it's there and you know, cool, and then after D2 was like OMG OTP so hard! ;)
Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying, and I hope you will continue to read and enjoy.
Malifacter0605-XxKINDSOULSxX: Whew! Congratulations, you now hold the record for longest name, lol. ;) Welcome to the story and thank you for leaving a review. I am definitely going to continue this, I just had a lot of stuff going on and ended up taking an unplanned hiatus. But I'm back now and I hope you'll continue to read and enjoy!
Sammy the girl: Welcome to the story and thank you so much for the kind words! I'm so glad you're enjoying this so much, and it really means a lot to me that you think so highly of this. I always worry how my writing comes across, and fanfiction is really the first and only time I've ever put my writing out there, so thank you so much for letting me know that it's definitely paying off! :) I hope you will continue to read and enjoy!
DescendantsLover: Haha, yes indeed! He will be further served, just you wait! Karma hasn't come full circle just yet. ;) I'm glad you're enjoying my story and I hope you will continue to do so.
riskybusiness: I'm so glad you're enjoying my story so far! Descendants 2 was definitely a huge inspiration for me as well, so hopefully I'll be able to live up to your expectations!
TheBrothersFurt: Hi, welcome to the story and that you so much for the kind words! I'm so glad you're enjoying this so much and that you like what I've come up with for the characters. I definitely wanted to focus on the Core Four family, haha, and I'm glad it's coming through! Carlos is my favorite as well, and you are more than welcome! I hope you'll continue to follow along and enjoy! :)
Authors Notes:
Ok guys, where do I begin with this? How about here: THIS CHAPTER IS STRAIGHT UP ANGST!
There, that should be an obvious enough warning. Ok, but seriously guys, this chapter is angsty like crap, like damn, even I surprised myself with how angsty it got.
***WARNINGS for this chapter are important as well, and include crude language, violence and anger issues, anxiety/panic attacks, references to anxiety/panic attacks, referenced, mentioned and implied child abuse, as well as brief mentions and implications of child molestation and implied homophobia.***
It sounds worse than it…no, no for real, heed the warnings. Nothing is too explicit, but I wanted to be safe and include all the tags just in case because this chapter is really intense like hot damn!
****Note 2: The song this chapter title is inspired by is Uprising by Muse, and I highly recommend listening to it either before, during or after you read the chapter. Other songs that inspired this chapter that I also recommend listening to while you read are: Numbers by Daughter, Youth by Dauther, Run (also by Daughter, can you tell I like this artist?) and Dark Mal by Hans Zimmer from the Inception Soundtrack.*****
Ok, enough out of me, enjoy the chapter! I hope you guys do enjoy it, because I sat down at 11pm and said that I wasn't going anywhere until I finished it and posted it for you. It is now 1:30am.
(Please do excuse any unnecessary sass or grammar issues. The author is extremely proud and dedicated, but also exhausted and running on little sleep. Also, you're going to hate me again. It's inevitable, I've accepted it. You're all going to hate me.)
Anyway, enjoy this angst fest and I look forward to hearing what you think!
- Raven
Audrey
It's all Audrey can do to keep herself together in the aftermath of the party. The tents had been cleared away almost immediately, though the obstacle course had stayed, the giant Mulan-inspired flag pole still stuck firmly in the ground. The food had been relocated indoors to be used for the dinner buffet, and the trash and other partially eaten waste collected to be shipped to the Isle on the next cycle.
The Isle….
Audrey took a sharp breath, tears stinging painfully at her eyes while bile brought acid up in her throat. The images still burned behind her eyes, the unnatural green flames, the heat so strong Audrey was certain they would all be scorched from the backlash. And the magic! It had been so strong that even the non-magical of their group could feel its pull, threatening to suck them in and overtake them entirely.
Another breath, too shallow, as Audrey remembered the look in Mal's eyes, the dark raspy tone of the other girl's voice and the way the flames responded, coiling like a snake and spitting poison. A whimper rose up to take the place of the sick churning of her stomach, tears spilling ungracefully down her cheeks.
She had always heard the stories, every child in Auradon had, but she was the only one who knew just how devastating the effects of it had been on her family. Her parents' divorce, the way they hardly ever acknowledged each other except for council meetings where they were forced to be civil to each other. How Audrey had lived at her Grandmother's for those tense years of the separation when she was twelve, the older Queen practically raising her from that point on.
Audrey knew all too well that Maleficent's curse hadn't just destroyed one life…how far reaching it truly was. And even with Ben's decree, she couldn't shake that lingering fear that overshadowed everything she did. To be confronted so suddenly with Mal's presence was like willingly allowing a frog into her bed, only it wasn't a prince or anything benevolent in disguise. It was just a frog, slimy and wart-ridden, that crawled and slithered into all the cherished and sacred places that refused to be touched; couldn't be touched lest they be desecrated by its presence.
To face the flames and remain unaffected would have been a feat for anyone. But for Audrey it had been practically impossible. She can still feel the hysterical fear, the tightness in her chest threatening to drown out everything else. She had seen the way Mal had smiled…smiled! As the green flames had lashed around her body, the magic thick and deadly as it arched to attack them. To kill them.
Audrey whimpers again, the sound echoing strangely in her head and seeming to reverberate in the air. She imagined the invisible ripples of sound stretching out from her body only to bounce back and crush her, wave after wave of relentless pulsing energy. She bites her lip hard, tugs at her hair till it hurts, pinches the soft skin of her inner arm, anything anything to keep her grounded, keep her on the ground, she wasn't going to let it carry her away, not again not again no…no…
"Audrey?"
She gasps, realizes she's sobbing without really breathing. She stumbles away, her blood pounding hard in her ears and drowning out the invisible waves. She couldn't lose control of herself like this. She's a princess, a future queen; for someone to see her in the midst of her spiral would ruin her already delicately balanced reputation.
"…drey, whoa. Ssshhh…hey."
She's being turned around, the voice soft and gentle in the form of two hands pressed firmly to sides of her face.
"Hey," the voice whispers again, even softer. "Hey, it's ok. It's ok just breathe. Breathe."
She opens her mouth and screams without sound, a harsh desperate gasp of air that threatens to lift her back into the air.
"Ok, that's ok," says the voice, the hands warm on her cheeks. "Open your eyes, Audrey. Can you do that? I need you to open your eyes."
She tries shaking her head, but it's her body that shudders instead, and one phantom hand leaves her face to grip her shoulder.
"I need you open your eyes," the voice echoes. "Audrey? Open your eyes."
Does she have eyes? She can't quite tell suddenly. There's definitely something solid nearby, though, and she focuses on it, willing herself away from the rippling waves.
"Good, that's good. That's really good, Audrey, ok? Hey." A soft shake, physical and real. "Hey, what do you see?"
She blinks, and she almost sobs at the relief that she can feel her body again, can feel the hands that are back on her face. Salt pricks bitterly at her tongue and she realizes that she is crying, and she blinks again hard to clear her vision, trying to remember who she is, trying not to slip again.
"Take a breath," the voice instructs calmly. "Tell me what you see."
She looks. A solid presence, a warm, cool, clear kind of color that reminds her of a well-worn argument of 'make it pink, make it-'
"Blue," she croaks, and the other voice sighs, almost a laugh.
"Yeah, yeah my shirt's blue. Ok, what else? Give me four more things."
She doesn't want to, but she forces herself to look anyway, taking a breath and glaring through the invisible force around her. There's the person in front of her, whoever it is remaining stubbornly out of focus but still, very much there.
"I can see you," she offers, and the person does laugh this time.
"Ok, that's one."
She frowns, and looks again, pulling away from the cloud a little harder this time. "I can see the gardens…roses…the school."
"There you go," the person says, a lilt in their voice like a quiet cheer. "Now, what do you feel? What can you touch, I mean. Four things…sorry, I've only ever done this once before."
She frowns at that, too, but she focuses, and realizes that she's gripping the person just as firmly as they grip her.
"You," she answers automatically. "The ground." She almost cries with relief at that one, finally on the ground again. Back in her body. "My hair on my neck…the breeze."
"Better," the person says, and it occurs to her belatedly that they're male, and then with a strange jolt, that it's not Ben.
The realization forces her to focus in earnest now, and the world slowly shifts and snaps back into place as the stranger continues muttering quietly.
"I think…hearing. Audrey? What are three things you can hear? Aside from me."
She lifts her head, the sounds flooding back in like through a filter, gradually getting louder and clearer as she focuses on the person before her. Tall, with a blue shirt…soft, warm hands still cupped gently around her; piercing grey-blue eyes and chiseled jaw, blonde hair that's half flat, half spiked….
"Chad?!"
She tenses, and almost pulls away until she realizes she's trembling and would probably topple if she tried to run. Chad starts, looking down at her in surprise, which quickly turns to worry as his brows furrow slightly.
"Hey," he says, still in a low voice, the same low voice that had pulled her out of her spiral and back down to solid ground. "You…you ok?"
"I…" Audrey falters, biting her lip. She wants to be indignant and yell at him. How dare he invade her space and touch her like that! How dare he interrupt her while she spirals out of control! How dare he not be Ben!
But instead she steps just a bit closer, leaning into him when his arms go around her.
"No," she whispers, her voice hoarse. "No I'm not."
"Deep breaths," he murmurs back, and Audrey feels a weak stab of irritation.
"I'm not going to freak out again," she snaps, but it falls short when she catches the look in his eyes. It's not harsh or judgmental, or even pitying. It's just a simple, calm understanding, his expression just as open and soft.
"Tell me about it," he says.
And so Audrey does.
She tells him everything; about the VKs and Mal's attack; confessing her own fears and insecurities, her worry that Ben's blind trust was going to put the entire kingdom in danger. Chad listened to all of it, not saying anything, not questioning or interrupting; just held her and listened. And by the end of it, Audrey was secretly glad that it had been him, and not Ben who'd found her.
Chad
If Chad thought he was pissed at the VKs before, he was downright murderous now. He'd been stalking through the dorms towards the school, then doubled back to head towards the gardens, thinking that that would give him a better chance at a direct route. He's beyond glad that he'd decided on that choice, as he'd stumbled across Audrey in the midst of what he immediately recognized as an anxiety attack.
He'd had his fair share of experience with it before; his mother had almost regularly spiraled in such ways when Chad was younger. He'd watched through cracks of light in bedroom doors as his father had crouched down to her level, his voice hoarse from sleep but so calm and engaged, soft and understanding as he took his mother in his arms and talked her down to earth again. Chad had learned the techniques and memorized the words from countless hours of late night repetitions, but it had usually been his father who took control when his mother spiraled.
Except for that one time...and it was only a given that he would remember it now, as he watched Audrey gasping desperately in a tiled corner of the gardens, tears streaming down her face and her body curled in on itself in an instinctive attempt at defense against an invisible enemy.
Chad had been about seven, maybe eight. His father had gone to a Council meeting, representing both Charming's in the continuous debates on rounding up villains to send to the Isle of the Lost. It was during one of Cinderella's 'cleaning sprees,' but Chad knew that everything would be fine as long as he could keep her occupied. She didn't ever seem fully aware of herself during these times; her eyes distant and flickering between emotions constantly. But as long as she was busy- working, cleaning the castle, making something in the kitchen; doing anything productive at all- Chad didn't have to worry about the consequences of an episode.
It had been going well, he remembered, if not slightly stilted and awkward. His mother had been more aware than usual, more in control of herself as she'd worked in the kitchen, actually allowing Chad to help her with baking. It was a cake of some kind, like bread, she had told him with a smile. Bread that's sweet and could be eaten any time, even at breakfast. Chad had loved that idea, and had been all too eager to help.
He could almost ignore everything else; forget about his father's absence and the delicate thread that connected Chad to his mother and held her together. He had been smashing bananas with that destructive enthusiasm he was so rarely allowed to express at that age. Chocolate, bananas, eggs, nuts, sugar, flour. It was a simple recipe, a simple moment, and Chad was so engrossed in his task and just enjoying feeling normal for once that he didn't even notice when the thread snapped.
But he did notice when his mother dropped her spoon, the wood clanging hollowly against the metal pan.
"Eggs," his mother said, her voice low and frantic.
"Huh?" Chad said, his brow furrowing as he looked over his shoulder. She was gripping the quartz c-ountertop so tightly he could see the way the blood swelled around her knuckles.
"I forgot the eggs."
Her voice went up an octave, and Chad stopped smashing bananas, panic setting in as he realized what was happening.
"Oh no," Chad whispered, shifting his weight away from his mother's stiff form.
"Oh no," she repeated hoarsely, shaking her head back and forth. "Oh, no, she's going to be so-. How could I forget the eggs?"
Chad looked around desperately, but he knew there was no point. All the servants had been cleared from the place, and his father wouldn't be due back for at least another few hours. It was just Chad and Cinderella, who was growing increasingly panicked, her body trembling hard as her head continued to shake back and forth.
"Stupid," she hissed between her teeth. "How could I be so stupid? Who forgets eggs in banana loaf?"
Chad bit his lip hard, fighting his own fear and straightening slowly. He was going to have to do this. He had no other choice. The anxiety was only just setting in, he knew this. It hadn't quite yet escalated to a full blown attack, and if he could just get her to focus on him and not her memories….
"Mom," Chad croaked, trying to sound firm and failing miserably. "It's ok. It's fine, everyone makes mistakes."
It didn't seem to help much, though she had straightened at the sound of his voice. Chad didn't know if that was a good sign, but he took a cautious step forward, trying to remember what his father did, how he talked, what he said.
"We can use something else instead of eggs, ok?"
"It's ruined," his mother whispered back, shaking her head. "There's no fixing…I'm sorry."
Chad winced at the apology, the high, desperate whimper in his mother's usually composed voice. He was failing…she was starting to slip away from him. He wanted to run from the room, from the house entirely and into some other house. Some other life- a normal one, where both parents were whole and stable and didn't fly into random fits of panic over simple things like forgotten eggs or unfolded bed sheets.
"I'm not mad," Chad said instead, taking another step forward and reaching up to try and grasp his mother's arm. "Ok? Mom? I'm not-"
She flinched so hard when he touched her that the whole bowl of batter crashed to the floor, spilling into the cracks of the tile and splashing lightly over Chad's shoes and pants. His mother froze, her expression stuck in one of horror, eyes wide and mouth open in shock. Chad froze too, not daring to breathe for fear of making things even worse.
Mentally, he kicked himself, cursing his stupidity. Why did he touch her? He knew better than that, knew that when she was spiraling like this that any wrong move would be interpreted as threatening or punishing. Chad couldn't do this. He couldn't do this, this was too much for him. Too much for anyone, how did his father do it?
Chad shifted his weight back, ready to run, to hide and just let it pass and he could explain to his father that he hadn't been able to…it was just too much and-
His mother flinched again, though, ducking her head and recoiling from him like she was afraid he was…Chad felt his heart sink, his stomach opening up to swallow it. It occurred to him in that moment just how wicked the 'evil stepmother' must have been. He'd known, of course, about his mother basically being a slave in her own house, but he had never even stopped to consider that….
He felt his throat constricting, tears stinging painfully at the back of his eyes. He blinked hard, not daring to lift his hand now and wipe them away. It made horrifying sense to him now why his parents, and his father especially, were so adamantly against physically disciplining Chad in any way. Even when the tutors or other parents scolded or criticized, made claims that a 'good smack' would set Chad straight; teach him respect…his father had glared and scolded right back, firm and unyielding because you just didn't. do. that.
You didn't use physical force on someone who couldn't fight back, or who wouldn't understand what they'd done wrong to supposedly 'deserve' it. You didn't strike someone when they didn't listen to you, or threaten or, or hit. 'You can't just hit people when you're angry, Chad.' You don't hit people when you're angry and you don't hit children because that's just…evil.
All of that and more ran through Chad's mind, as he suddenly realized just why it was his mother had thought he would hit her. Because, his mind reasoned in morbid, mature tones, a man could forcefully strike a woman with just a jerk of an arm, but for a woman to strike another woman with equal or greater force, it would only stand to reason that she would lean back before the blow…put her whole body into it.
He thought he might be sick, but more movement from his mother drew his attention. She was backed all the way against the counter now, her body bent almost as though she was trying to retreat into herself, her eyes closed tight and one hand partially raised. Trying to protect her head, he realized, but she was shaking so hard it wasn't particularly effective.
"I'm sorry," she pleaded, her voice not her own. That wasn't a regal Princess or a noble Queen. Not the royal, elegant Cinderella she was almost always seen as. That was Cinderella, 'Ella of the ashes,' 'dirty Ella,' 'cinder Ella.'
"I'm sorry," Cinderella repeated. "I can fix it, please. I'll fix it, I promise…don't…"
Chad swallowed hard, stepping over the fallen batter and carefully crouching down until he was on his knees in front of his mother. Her eyes had opened at his movement, but she wouldn't look at him, though Chad doubted he would have even seen him if she had.
"I know you're sorry," Chad said slowly, his voice wavering slightly but mercifully calm. "But it's ok. It was just a mistake, and I'm not mad at you."
She shook her head, her body tense and her eyes wary and fearful. "I'll fix it," she whispered again. "Please, let me fix it."
"I don't want you to fix it," Chad said, his voice a little stronger now. "There's nothing to fix. I'm not mad at you, ok?"
She didn't say anything this time, but she wasn't shaking anymore, and Chad drew a slow breath. She subconsciously copied him, and Chad felt a flicker of hope. He might actually be able to do this.
He took another breath, and again, his mother followed his lead, drawing slower breaths in time with his own. Chad almost cried with relief, but he forced that feeling aside, and instead inched a little closer, slowly and carefully reaching out a hand and placing it on her knee. She didn't flinch this time, and Chad gently squeezed, clearing his throat softly before starting again.
"Mom? It's…it's Chad. Do you…can you…can you look at me? Please?" He was almost begging now, desperate for her to come back to him, but he quickly stopped himself. If he broke now, it could set her off all over again.
"Mom," Chad said again, firmly, but calmly, like his Dad did. "I need you to look at me, ok? Open your eyes, please. Look at me."
She did, slowly lifting her head, light grey eyes a reflection of his own opening to peer at him cautiously.
Chad sighed softly, a tiny smile flickering across his lips. "Ok," he said softly. "Ok, that's good. That's really good, Mom."
"Chad?"
Audrey's voice, hoarse and confused, snaps him out of his memories and back into the moment. He looks down to see her staring up at him, warm brown eyes clouded with tears and a still-lingering panic, and he starts slightly when she suddenly tries to jerk away from him. He knows even before she does that she won't make it even a step away, not with the way she's shaking, and he has his arms around her before he even thinks about it, holding her close and whispering softly in her ear.
"Hey," he says in a low, soothing voice that had been honed to near perfection over the years. "Are you…are you ok?"
Despite his calm tone, he's still thrown by the suddenness of the situation, and it comes through in the slight hesitation of his words. But it seems to ground Audrey nonetheless, as she starts to offer some kind of response. Chad half expects to hear some kind of indignity, and so he's surprised when she steps closer into his embrace, her fingers coming up to grasp his shirt collar as she shakes her head against his chest.
"No," she whispers in broken tones. "No, I'm not."
He half hears himself asking her to tell him what's wrong, and listens in a stunned sort of daze as she pours everything out to him. To think that it had taken something as horrible as the VKs, something as helplessly terrifying as an anxiety attack to bring Chad closer to Audrey.
Closer, and yet, still so impossibly far. He knows he's crossing a line, feels an instinctive pang of guilt as he thinks that it should be Ben holding Audrey like this. Ben is the one who's supposed to be comforting her and whispering 'it's ok, I'm here' in her ear. But he's not Ben, and Audrey wasn't pulling away from him like she definitely should have. Chad holds her just a little tighter, and determines that for however long this lasts, however long she needs him like this; he'll be there. He's not letting go.
Mal
Her mother was making her memorize spells again, and Mal couldn't have hated it more. The original thrill of learning magic had worn off long ago, and now she was stuck with rote repetition, repeating meaningless syllables and rhymes and rhythms, earning a sharp slap from her mother each time she misspoke or tripped over the complicated vowels.
Mal thought about the girl she had thrown into the ocean the other day and smiled, stifling a dark chuckle of amusement as she stared down into the worn out pages of the spell book. The little shrimp had guts, Mal would give her that. But she would need to learn her place before Mal would even consider….
*Crack!*
Mal's head snapped sharply to the left as Maleficent struck another blow. She brought her eyes up see her mother glaring at her fiercely, her usually light eyes darkened with sinister green. She drew her hand back again, and Mal flinched in spite of herself, ducking her head in a pitiful attempt at defense. Instantly she knew she'd made a mistake, her mother's voice a dangerous growl.
"What have I always told you?" she hissed, her fingers gripping Mal's chin and forcing her head up to meet her furious gaze. "Dragons to not cower, Mal."
"Yes mother," Mal said lowly, gritting her jaw and forcing herself to continue meeting her mother's eyes, though it wasn't hard with the venomous green overriding her body's instincts.
The next blow was just to be cruel, Mal was sure. She couldn't flinch away even if she tried…and of course, she did. But her mother's gaze was impenetrable, and Mal had no choice but to accept the stinging pain.
"Better," Maleficent rumbled, though Mal could tell she was still not pleased. "We'll work on it. Just because you are young doesn't give you any excuse for weakness."
"I understand," Mal replied dutifully, though her stomach churned resentfully, her cheeks flushed with painful shame.
"Do you?" her mother murmured, her eyes no longer piercing green, but seeming to stare through Mall all the same. "I wonder…"
Mal said nothing, though her jaw twitched slightly to the side as her mother reached down to pick up the spell book.
"You can barely understand the most basic concepts of magic," Maleficent sneered. "How can I expect you to understand what it takes to be evil? Truly strong, for once in your miserable little life."
Mal seethed, and before she knew what she was doing she blurted: "I threw a girl into the ocean yesterday."
She froze as soon as the words were out, and her mother paused her tirade, lifting a cool brow at her in surprise.
"Oh?" she said, and Mal felt like she had been slapped again when she heard the condescending amusement.
"She was trying to challenge me for territory," Mal continued regardless, clenching her fists under the table. "So I threw her into the deep part by the rocks to show her just who was in charge."
"And just who is that?" Her mother said, sounding almost…bored?
"Me," Mal said, but her confidence was gone, the word sounding pitiful even to her ears.
Maleficent chuckled softly, her lip curling dismissively. "Child's play," she hissed. "I expect better than simple squabbles from you, Mal. If you want to earn your name, you have to think bigger! It's all in the details."
"Details," Mal muttered bitterly, her resentment tipping over and lighting in her eyes. Her hands coiled beneath the table in the same gestures she'd seen in the books, imagining a fire coming up to scorch her mother and her stupid criticisms.
Maleficent's eyes widened, a sharp gasp slipping past her lips. "There," she cried gleefully, a smile crossing almost unnaturally across her face and startling Mal so much her eyes lost their green glow.
"There it is," her mother continued, ignoring Mal's unease. "There's my dragon!"
Mal straightened in surprise, a familiar warm flicker in her chest. She hadn't called her 'little dragon' since Mal was five. The affectionate name seemed to have died the moment Mal showed no progress with magic, though she noted that the 'little' part seemed to still be dead.
"That, Mal," her mother said eagerly, stalking forward and leaning over the table towards her. "Hold on to that, right there. That is what it feels like. True power…true evil."
She smiled again, and Mal thought that she would never be as terrified of her mother as when she was smiling.
"Just remember that, Mal," Maleficent said emphatically. "And you will topple kingdoms."
Carlos
Running is a kind of victory, Jay had told him once on the Isle. If you couldn't fight, at least you could run, and sometimes that could save your life. Live to fight another day. Run, so you could win.
It didn't feel like a victory this time, though. Carlos wasn't being chased- at least, not by anything physical, but he wasn't about to slow down for anything. His heart pounds a frantic sort of staccato in his chest, and he knows if he were to try and say something, his tongue would do the same. He runs out of the gardens and across the fields, barely breaking stride to slam into the doors to the school. He doesn't stop until he reaches the closest empty hallway, and he collapses against an alcove of lockers, his breath coming out in short, heavy bursts.
He brings a hand up and clamps it over his mouth in a desperate attempt to force calm, but a choking sound comes out anyway and he ends up doubling over, his eyes squeezed shut tightly at the burn of tears. He wishes he had Claw, and curses the Fairy Godmother for taking it away from him and leaving him so defenseless. His knife would have been a much better defense in the confrontation in the gardens. Certainly would have at least helped more than his silence.
Carlos still doesn't want to believe it, but now he really has no choice. He had been hoping when he had joined the Auradon kids for breakfast the other day that they had simply misspoken, or were just confused. Aziz couldn't have really had a boyfriend in that way, otherwise they wouldn't have been acting so casually about it. They wouldn't have allowed it in Auradon, of all places. Except Aziz really did have a boyfriend…Aziz really was gay, and Auradon really did allow it.
That alone, far more than the dogs, had made Carlos almost wish he were back on the Isle. At least dogs were straightforward when they attacked you; not like….
'We're not the bad guys here,' Jane's words came back to him, and Carlos shook his head hard, trying to catch his breath, to remember how to breathe at all.
'Things are different here,' she had tried to insist, but Carlos had refused to believe it. Still refused, although there was a small part of him that regretted how things had happened at the party- that cringed at the thoughts that went through his head and were echoed in his place by Mal and Evie and Jay.
He had liked Aziz.
That's why he feels so horrified, he reasons. He had liked how Aziz had been like Jay, but still different, how the older boy had instantly accepted Carlos and forced him out of his boundaries. Liked how the other boy had a mischievous streak to rival Evie's, but who hadn't once looked down on Carlos or the rest of the VKs, who had actually given them a chance to just be…people.
Carlos groans miserably, banging his head against the metal lockers behind him. Why hadn't he said anything? He could stand by just fine when it was the Isle, scout out escapes and let the others do the majority of the trash talk or fighting. It didn't bother him then when Mal and Uma would have tense standoffs, hurling insults and vicious curses that would have made even Maleficent grimace in appreciation. And yet, when it was being directed at someone that he had, scarily enough, become slightly attached to; nothing.
Why was this so hard? When had things become so confusing? There was a very clear cut set of rules. He knew this, everyone knew this. So why was he having so much trouble all of a sudden?
"There you are de Vil."
Carlos jumps, opening his eyes and straightening quickly at the sound of the enraged voice. He turned his head to see that the hallway was not quite empty now, a small straggling group of students passing just outside his range on their way to other classes or study halls. But the voice had come from the other end of the hall, and when Carlos looks, it's to come face to face with Chad, the older boy scowling tightly and marching with purpose in his direction.
"Sshit," Carlos whispers, standing completely and stepping away from the lockers to avoid becoming trapped, his eyes instantly scanning for potential outs.
"What sort of game are you playing at, Freak?" Chad spits, his face twisting further as he closes in. "Where do you get off on that kind of shit?"
Carlos pauses his catalog of the exits, (one right behind him, if he wanted to throw himself into the crowd of students. Another behind Chad, if he thought he could shove past and outrun him…tricky timing, though…dangerous, but a necessary risk), looking up at the other boy and lifting a confused brow. He didn't want to engage in any kind of speaking contest; didn't want to give the asshole more of an excuse, but he wasn't quite ready to back down either.
"Don't give me that clueless act, de Vil."
Chad is uncomfortably close now, practically towering over him, and Carlos swallows hard, setting his face into a neutral, but deadly mask.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Chad hisses, and this close Carlos can see every twitch of the other boy's face. "That little stunt you and your villain gang pulled in the gardens with Aziz and Nikki…that's just a whole other level of evil."
Carlos feels his mask drop with his sudden surprise, though even as his expression lifts, his stomach sinks.
"H-how?" he mutters, and Chad scoffs sharply, his eyes narrowing.
"When I found Aziz back at our dorm room instead of at your little 'party' I knew something was up," the other boy says. "But then he got himself all worked up, started talking about the VKs and just what had happened…what you said, and well…let's just say I wasn't about to let it go."
Carlos' body becomes a bottomless pit, everything draining out of him and leaving him empty and boneless against the metal lockers. He just can't seem to win with this, and he realizes, as Chad continues to glower at him, that his only option is to either fight back, or try and squirm his way out somehow.
"Can't even say anything now, can you, de Vil?" Chad spits, and Carlos tenses as the other boy grabs the collar of his shirt threateningly.
"Le-le-le-let go of mme," Carlos growls, though his mind is racing, all his instincts screaming at him to run! Fight! Something!
Chad scoffs and does the opposite, gripping Carlos so tightly his fingers pinch his shoulder. Carlos panics briefly; not because of the threat, although it is very much there in his mind, but because he can feel the fabric starting to give under Chad's grip, and this was his only red shirt.
"G-Get off!" Carlos grumbles, struggling to free himself. "You're gonna rrrip it!"
Chad lets go suddenly, and Carlos staggers back a bit, the metal of the lockers cool against his skin. He quickly checks for damage, and though the shirt is definitely worn from the abuse, it's still mostly ok. He sighs softly in relief, then snaps his head up when Chad hisses sharply.
"Are you…fucking with me right now?" the other boy murmurs, and Carlos grits his teeth, shuffling anxiously at the danger in his tone. "You harass my fr-my roommate, and yet the only thing you're worried about is a shirt?!"
Carlos stiffens as Chad lunges forward, grabbing him again and practically snarling in his face. "Give me one reason," he spits. "One fucking good reason why I shouldn't make you feel the exact same pain you made him feel? Go ahead de Vil. One reason, I dare you."
Carlos goes entirely still, his racing instincts and panic stuttering to a jerky halt. "I…he…wha-wha-what?"
Chad sneers, anger hardening his eyes. "You really don't care, do you?"
Carlos gapes, unable to process. Aziz was…hurting? In pain, because of what he had done? He barely has time to even think this, as Chad suddenly draws back his fist, and Carlos' instincts come screaming back. Fighting wasn't going to be an option, now. His only hope was to do what he did best…look pitiful and weak.
Carlos presses his back firmly into the lockers, closing his eyes and hunching his shoulders and spine, bringing his arms up to hug his body and protect his vital organs. Don't hit me, his body seemed to scream. Look how weak and vulnerable I am. You don't want to hurt me, do you?
It didn't always work; in fact, it hardly ever did. Either he would be laughed at; mocked or humiliated in some way for the weakness, and then beaten anyway; or, in the case of Cruella…Carlos shudders at the memories of her pressing the hot end of her cigarettes to his exposed skin. He tucks himself tighter together, his head firmly wedged between his arms, and holds his breath as he waits for Chad's attack.
After a tense moment, Carlos realizes it isn't coming, and he lifts his eyes to peer through his arms, frowning in confusion. Chad wasn't moving at all, his hands limp fists at his sides and his face pinched with something Carlos couldn't define. It couldn't have been anything good, and he shifts his weight back a bit more until he can feel the metal grooves of the lockers imprinting on his spine.
Chad shakes his head slowly, his expression shifting suddenly into a careful mask. Carlos blinks, surprised. It's not as good as one of his, but Chad's front was still solid enough that he couldn't quite read his intentions. Carlos debates trying to make a run for it, when the other boy moves suddenly, leaning his weight back sharply onto his left leg, twisting his torso in preparation, his face still that cautious mask.
"Sshit," Carlos hisses, his instincts flooding back and forcing his body to move without thought. He flinches back, slamming into the lockers and flinging his arms up again…but he knows it's too late when he hears the unmistakable forward shuffle of movement, and feels cold, furious fingers close around his shirt.
He does the only thing he can think of.
"Ssorry," he whispers through his teeth, hating how weak he must look, bracing for the impact. "I'm-m ssory…."
His body cringes tighter, until he's practically nothing more than a tiny ball wedged between Chad and the lockers. He waits without breathing, stiffening when he hears Chad move again.
"Fucking son of a bitch," Chad snaps lowly, and then lower, so Carlos almost thinks he misheard, "I can't do this."
Chad's fingers loosen on his shirt, and shift so they rest on his shoulder, faltering before lowering suddenly. Carlos feels his heart skip, his stomach fluttering back into place as he cautiously lifts his head. He's entirely thrown to see Chad take a step back, his hands at his sides and his body angled pointedly away from him. It's a trap, it has to be, but Carlos finds himself straightening anyway, his own hands clenching and unclenching rapidly.
"W-what…?" he tries to ask, but stops when Chad jerks his head sharply in the direction of the hallway.
"Just…" the other boy's face twists in a grimace before he steels himself again. "Fuck it, just…follow me."
Carlos blinks. Then blinks again, just to be sure. Chad is still standing there, but it was like all the fight had just been forcibly removed from his body. It could still be a trap, Carlos' brain shouts at him.
"F-f-follow you?" Carlos repeats, as sharply as he can with the 'f' sticking to his lips.
"Yes, follow me," Chad snaps. "What, did I stutter?"
And there's the Chad Carlos was expecting; not…whatever he'd been a second ago. He could have sworn he'd seen something like understanding…. Carlos shakes his head quickly, and scowls up at the arrogant prince.
"Ass-hole," he bites out jerkily, and Chad's grimace becomes a familiar sneer.
"Let's go de Vil," he mutters. "Unless you want me to drag you."
"Fuck yyou."
"Dragging it is," Chad grumbles, and steps forward again, so quickly that Carlos doesn't manage to dodge in time.
The other boy grabs him by the shirt again, but the grip is different, somehow. Still forceful, and entirely apathetic to Carlos' yelp of protest…but Chad was clearly making an effort not to yank too hard at Carlos' collar. He'd actually grabbed more of Carlos than the shirt, though the fabric still strained, and Carlos was left with no choice but to desperately scramble along after him, whimpering and cursing the entire time.
"Try and keep up de Vil," Chad drawls, and Carlos growls in response, attempting to kick him and only succeeding in making himself trip.
Chad drags him through the halls until they reach a flight of stairs, and Carlos begins to wonder just where it was he was being taken. He realizes that he should have thought of this before, and the instinctive fear of being trapped somewhere forces him to abandon his hopes of an undamaged shirt and wriggle free. He winces at the slight rip of fabric, and shoves away from Chad, crossing his arms and glaring sourly at the other boy.
"I can climb sstairs by m-m-m-myself," he snaps, and Chad raises an eyebrow at him but says nothing, instead gesturing at the staircase in a grand 'after you.'
Carlos flips him off, but stomps quickly up the stairs, breaking into a full sprint by the time he'd reached the top. This was his chance! Once he reached the top he would keep going to the end of the hall and from there….
He comes to a dead stop, his insides freezing in shock. It was a trap. There's nothing but endless halls, with solid, closed doors on either side. The dorms.
"Going somewhere, de Vil?" Chad says smartly from behind him. Carlos wants to turn around and punch him in the face, but he knows it wouldn't get him anywhere for long. He'd eventually be tracked down again and punished, and then brought right back here.
"Course n-nnot," he mutters back bitterly, moving forward and down the hall at Chad's prompting.
He shuffles moodily, dragging his feet in vain hopes that it would slow down…whatever was about to happen. Then he hears Chad stop behind him, and he jumps when the other boy taps him on the shoulder, spinning around quickly to face him.
"Right here," Chad says, both brows lifted in surprise, before he presses his lips tightly together.
Carlos narrows his eyes at him, but Chad simply knocks once at the door before shoving it open, dragging Carlos in behind him. Carlos had just enough time to catch sight of the number on the door before he's closed in, and he hears a sour, sharp twanging sound behind him, coupled by a sharp intake of breath and a sudden equally sharp:
"Oh, fuck no!"
Jay
He was about six feet off the ground, clinging almost feverishly to the wooden pole. It wouldn't have sucked so hard if the thing wasn't so fucking high. Or if he'd ever climbed anything like it before. Shame, the Isle was fresh out of 20 foot tall flagpoles to scale. As it was, Jay was stuck with inching his way up bit by bit, his quickly fraying leather cuffs the only thing keeping him from tumbling in a smear stain down the wood.
He grit his teeth and pushes up with his feet, grateful that he'd thought to kick his shoes off before attempting to scale it a second time. His bare feet provided a better grip than the rubbery soles, at least, and he used the little leverage he gained to lean back, jerking his arms up quickly and grasping at the pole. He could almost feel the leather straps straining to keep him in place, but after a moment he grinned, letting out a breathless laugh despite the pain…he'd made it another inch.
From his vantage point he could almost see over the entire tourney field, and Jay frowns as he notices the sudden lack of white tents. He glances back up towards the top of the pole, glowering at the bright pink flag waving obnoxiously at the top. Next time, he vows, before shimmying back down the pole, letting go and dropping the last couple feet. He winces at the brief shock and then straightens, casting one more glance back at the pole before shoving his feet back into his shoes and jogging back in the direction of the party.
Now that he's on the ground again he's able to take full stock of the soreness of his body. The weird, colorful Auradon fairies had actually done a decent job patching him up, but he could still feel the dull ache in his chest from where his ribs were still finishing healing. The stiffness in his arms and legs, however, was pure sport; that familiar athletic burn that reminded him he was alive. Jay had missed that feeling, remembering all those times back on the Isle when he'd accomplished some daring stunt or pulled of a successful heist, that rush of pride and the added reward of aching muscles.
He grits his jaw in a grim smile as he runs, the scar across his chest throbbing and reminding him that not all aches were good ones. He shakes his head hard, trying and failing to shove the thoughts and memories from his mind. To think that all this time, he'd not just been cozying up to the son of Jafar's enemy, but that son was also attracted to dudes…. Jay's jaw twists into a grimace. He was more than confident in his own straightness, but with Aziz…how was that going to reflect on him?
Relationships on the Isle were a tricky thing. They existed, sure, but genuine, romantic relationships were extremely rare, and extremely well concealed. There was no such thing as love or 'attraction' at first sight, or any of that other bullshit Auradon tried to sell. Only casual, fleeting glances and approving calls of insults or slurs, nothing extending farther than finding someone to satisfy the urge for a quick fuck.
And that's not even including the utterly hellish situation that was same-sex relationships. They mostly followed the same base instinct of the Isle; the aforementioned need for something quick and cheap. There was the odd 'couple,' but it still tended to stay within the meaningless nothings; only that if you were 'together' it just meant you had exclusive claims to any and all sex with that person. It was simple enough, really, though ridicule tended to follow any same-sex couple regardless; that a person was that weak or that desperate that they couldn't even follow the one thing nature had intended for them.
But then there was a very fine line between an easy fix and something else, especially with the adults. Propositions came from all sides, and if you were already so inclined it just made you that much easier of a target. And then of course, there were those men who sought out pleasures from any source regardless of any attraction other than….
Jay's stomach pangs uncomfortably as his mind tries to force images onto him; the feeling of the sword against his throat; cutting ruthlessly across his collarbone. Hazy rooms that stunk of alcohol and illegal substances and forbidden touches. Jay trips over his feet and curses, quickly regaining his balance and brushing his shirt in an attempt to compose himself. It didn't matter, he hisses to his traitorous brain, clenching his trembling hands. It happened ages ago, he was over it, it didn't matter!
Except, it did. It mattered because he had thought he'd actually found something in Auradon to be excited about; a kindred spirit who, despite not being a VK, got what it was like. Got what Jay was like, but didn't hate him for it. He'd…he'd enjoyed hanging out with Aziz. But he should have known better. Good things didn't just come to guys like Jay; villains didn't have friends. There was no team in I, and this was just another one of those painful reminders.
Well, Jay didn't plan on forgetting anytime soon. He straightens again, and walks with new determination across the field.
"There's no team in I," he mutters under his breath, his fists swinging sharply at his sides in time with his strides. "There's no team in I. There's no…."
His words falter slightly as he reaches the center of the gardens. All the tents are gone, some pegs still in the ground at odd angles, rough divots in the soft earth telling Jay that the place had been hastily evacuated. Instantly he tenses, drawing his fists partially up and shifting his weight back to his heels as he creep forward slowly. It's not that he expects some kind of sneak attack; the place is too wide open and exposed for that. It's that everything is just so…quiet.
It's unnerving how not-cheery the atmosphere seems to be, and Jay hurries across the stretch that had held the tents of food, towards the gazebos where he'd last seen his group. The gazebos are empty, the fields between them bare, but there's a sharp, static taste in his mouth, a strong, harsh smell in the air. Jay freezes, and crouches low to the ground, eyeing the imprints of feet in the dirt. The footprints are set deep in the ground, all close together, and some with a small hill of dirt in front of them.
He hums quietly to himself as his mind races. A group of Auradonians, no doubt, judging by the narrow tread of what could only be fancy shoes and the clear spiked holes of high heels. And they'd been cowering, or running from something.
"Mal," Jay mutters, straightening sharply and turning on his heel.
He's running before he's even aware of it, reaching the school in no time and slamming through the doors. His beat up sneakers squeak obnoxiously in the hallways, and the students milling around instantly scramble out of his way, shooting him glares and crying out indignantly. Jay ignores them all and keeps going, scanning the signs on the walls and trying to think of where he could find his group. They'd never really been separated like this since coming together…so forcefully and entirely out of control; out of place.
"Jay!"
He comes to such a complete stop that he can practically feel the rubber soles of his shoes leaving an imprint on the white tiles. He turns to see Carlos and Evie sprinting down the hall towards him. Jay almost feels a rush of relief, and then two things occur to him at once. Namely, that there's no Mal rushing towards him either, and both Evie and Carlos' faces are pale and tightly closed off.
He shakes his head once; denial, disbelief?- running forward to meet them and instinctively angling his body to keep them all as concealed from prying eyes as possible.
"Where's Mal?" he demands instantly, and Evie and Carlos exchange a fleeting glance, Carlos' fingers flickering through signs down by his sides. Jay grits his jaw in frustration and tries to interpret, then realizes that Carlos is simply signing the alphabet on a loop; a nervous habit when things were too overwhelming or just so bad that he couldn't talk at all.
"Ah, fucking fuck," Jay hisses sharply between his teeth, bringing a hand up to run through his hair.
"She's in the infirmary," Evie explains in low, frantic tones. "We need to go, now."
"Don't need to tell me twice," Jay replies, and they're all off again, Carlos in front, with Evie and Jay behind and on either side like wings.
"What happened?" Jay mutters as they run, Evie directing Carlos with a tap on the shoulder to indicate turns. "The field…there was a weird…"
"We met the King," Evie says in clipped tones. "It didn't go well."
She leaves it at that, and Jay clenches and unclenches his jaw nervously as they approach the infirmary wing. He'd only just left this place and now he was back again. Sure, it wasn't him that was hurt, but the anxieties the sharp chemical smell stirred in him remained. The row of chairs outside the doors were entirely occupied again, and their owners all rise to their feet as Jay and the others approach.
Jay registers Ben, face pinched and worried in the front, but all he can fully focus on is the two adults just behind him and quickly working their way forward. Belle, the Queen sharing Ben's worried and fearful expression, her lips parting and a soft noise sounding from them; as King Beast himself firmly steps past Ben to confront them.
Evie sucks a quiet, but sharp breath, and the formation instantly shifts. Without thought, Jay is now in front, and he keeps one hand outstretched behind him, just enough that he can feel both Evie and Carlos and ensure their security. Jay is startled to see that man is actually taller than him, by at least three or four inches, but he knows better than to let it show. Instead, Jay straightens further, lifting his chin determinedly to meet the beast glare to glare.
"And just what," the 'king' all but growls, "do you three think you're doing here?"
Jay lifts a cool brow, and presses his fingers just a little closer against Evie as he feels her flinch. "S'cuse me?" Jay responds slowly. "I think you were forgetting the part where that's our friend in there. You think we're gonna just stay away?"
The king bristles, and Jay could swear he's actually growling now. It's more than a little disconcerting, but the Queen steps up quickly and places a hand on the king's arm and the sound lessens slightly.
"I made it clear that I didn't want any of you interfering until it was decided what was going to happen," the man rumbled lowly.
Jay feels Evie press back against his hand, and he instantly takes a confronting step forward, refusing to let her do what he knows she wants to and take the blame.
"We only just heard about this now," he challenges. "Again, what else do you expect from us?"
"Perhaps a little bit of respect!" the king snaps sharply, and Carlos cringes, a stifled whimper coming from Evie. "Perhaps a shred of humanity! Though of course, what was I thinking? How silly of me to expect such things from a bunch of villains!"
Jay feels all of his anger spike sharply, his fury settling down around him like a cool shroud. He crosses his arms over his chest, subtly tightening his arms and allowing his muscles to flex. He tilts his jaw left and then right, a subtle signal to retreat disguised in the showy bravado of cracking his neck. He feels more than hears both Evie and Carlos shifting back to a safer distance, and Jay is just bracing himself for the impending violence when Ben breaks in suddenly.
"Dad!" he cries, and his voice is strained with horror but surprisingly firm. "That's enough!"
"No it is not enough, Ben," the beast retorts, even more firmly. "It is nowhere near enough. I argued from the beginning that letting villains in to Auradon would only to destruction, but you wouldn't listen to me."
Ben opens his mouth to speak, but a sharp noise from the king cuts him off. The sound is equal parts a warning shout, and something that no human throat should have ever been able to produce.
"You will listen now," the king says, and Ben blinks, closing his mouth firmly and losing just a little more color.
Well shit, Jay thinks, uncrossing his arms and shifting his weight back to join the others. This just might be a better time to retreat than fight after all. No one in the hallway moves; Jay doesn't even think they're breathing, either. All eyes are fixed anxiously on the king, who is so engrossed in his anger that when the door opens, it almost goes unnoticed.
"Oh…I…what?"
The Fairy Godmother's stunned gasping shatters the animalistic tension, and though everyone goes back to breathing, the beast himself is far from relaxed.
"Fairy Godmother," he says stiffly, turning on his heel to confront the older woman. "What is the news?"
The Fairy Godmother is silent for several moments, her eyes wide as she takes in the pale and shocked faces around her, locking eyes with Jay and the others briefly before faltering.
"Yes, well…it's…more complicated than we thought," she finally manages, and almost without thought Jay, Evie and Carlos take a collective step forward.
"Complicated?" Jay asks, and though he doesn't mean it as a threat, it's taken as one, as the Fairy Godmother winces and averts her gaze.
"Mal's magic has, er, placed her into a kind of…coma," she says quietly. "The sudden use of so much power nearly depleted Mal's energy entirely, but her magic responded and rendered her into a nearly zero energy state to recover."
Jay shakes his head, baffled but certain that this was the end. He doesn't dare turn around to see how the others take the news; he feels Carlos loop his fingers through Jay's belt loop, and hears Evie make a choking sound.
"What does that mean, Mom?"
Jay blinks, caught off guard, then realizes that Jane had been among the other faces he had systematically ignored.
"It means, dear one," the Fairy Godmother sighs quietly. "That Mal is sleeping, and will wake again when her magic, and her body, allows."
"I don't…I don't understand," Ben murmurs, and the Fairy Godmother looks like she would rather be anywhere else but here.
"Magic is a complicated thing," she says patiently. "It's not just something that comes preprogrammed like a cellphone; you can't just pick it up and use it however you want. Magic is alive, and extremely volatile when in the wrong…shall I say, inexperienced hands."
"Mal said something like that once," Jay remembers, his mouth blurting the words almost desperately. "She said she doesn't use magic, the magic uses her."
"Yes, it's almost exactly like that," the Fairy Godmother says, and the look on her face is something like pleasant surprise. "When magic is woven so tightly in a person's blood that it essentially makes up who they are: genetically speaking, suppressing it is…not advised."
The last two words are tight and strained, like she's trying to keep herself from yelling suddenly.
"Like the barrier," Ben mutters dazedly, and the Fairy Godmother nods, pursing her lips.
"Exactly. Being bound by the barrier, and then suddenly arriving in Auradon where there's magic everywhere, well…the pressure builds, and the magic explodes in unideal ways."
"Unideal?" The beast is suddenly back in control of the conversation, and there's a collective tensing from the occupants of the hallway. "I'm not sure if you have been told, Fairy Godmother, but that girl tried to kill me."
Jay's head snaps up in shock, then whips around to stare at Evie, searching her face for signs of the truth. She shakes her head once, but her eyes are clouded with fear, and he grimaces sharply before turning back around.
"With all due respect, Your Majesty," Lonnie pipes up out of nowhere. "I think it was a misunderstanding. A horrible one, to be sure, and I'm not trying to say it's ok, but still. I don't think it was intentional."
"I appreciate your input Lonnie," the beast says, in that tight condescending tone of someone who was set in the belief that they were right. "But I don't believe…."
"From Mal's perspective, you were going to attack them," Lonnie continues bravely, and without regard. "Things had been said in anger and without thought, but anyone could clearly tell that while you were open in your anger, Mal's was muted, and strictly defensive. When you stepped forward, it was perceived as a threat, and she acted accordingly."
"Damn," Jay whispers harshly. It's barely above a breath, but in the suddenly silent hallway, it's clearly heard. Lonnie's lips twitch slightly at the corners, but the rest of her face remains a respectful mask, and Jay finds himself subconsciously adding her to his list of people/things that he liked about Auradon.
"Specifics aside," the beast growls sternly, his tone suggesting that he too, had heard Jay's exclamation and was not pleased. "The facts remain the same, and a solution must be decided. Given the obvious attempt on my life and the multiple other incriminating circumstances, there is no other choice."
The world tilts severely on an axis, the hallway narrowing and then blinking out of existence entirely. Nothing exists except for the words which hang in the air, colliding against each other and shattering out into piercing, lethal fragments.
"I hereby revoke Ben's decree, and rescind the rights of Mal, Jay, Evie and Carlos as citizens of Auradon. As soon as the necessary arrangements are made they will sent back to the Isle of the Lost. This is my decree…effective immediately."