Merry Christmas!

I hope all of you have a wonderful day on this wonderful holiday.

I admittedly didn't work on this chapter until Sunday night. When I worked on a portion of it Monday, I was practically delusional because I came down with the flu and took a couple types of medicine that made me a little loopy. Hopefully that didn't effect anything with the chapter. Thanks to your extra views, "A Second Blessing" now has over 50 views!

I'll see you New Year's Day!

Enjoy.

"CHILD!" screeched Fairy Godmother as she scurried down from the platform she was standing on. "What are you doing?!"

At first, the Auradonians believed Mal stole the magic wand because she was the closest one to the blessing ceremony. She was the daughter of the evilest villain after all. Why wouldn't she be the one to take the wand?

However—upon second glance—the bystanders noticed that it really wasn't the daughter of Maleficent that grabbed the wand. The thief was none other than . . . the daughter of Fairy Godmother?

"If you won't make me beautiful, I'll do it myself!" Jane shouted as she struggled to control the wand. Its power rocked her viciously as Jane spun around frantically to keep it in check. "Bibbidi! Bobbodi! Boo!"

The audience screamed as they instinctively ducked down in fear of seeing the uncommon sparks fly out of the magic wand. It was unlike anything they have ever seen before, since magic was practically forbidden in Auradon.

During the chaos, King Beast shielded his wife—Queen Belle—from the chaotic scene. Ben immediately stood in front of Mal to protect her as well, but she had other plans.

After all, her parents taught her that a queen should always protect those who are in danger.

Taking in a deep breath to reaffirm her decision, Mal surged forward to save the day.

"Careful, Mal!" Queen Belle warned, though it was practically pointless.

Struggling for a moment of so, Mal managed to pry the magic wand from Jane's hand, wielding it like an unstable sword. Eyes wide in fright at what she just did and at the most powerful weapon being in the hands of a 'villain', Jane immediately coward behind some bystanders, who didn't seem to care that she put everyone in a dangerous situation. The audience was too concerned about Mal, who somehow managed to control the over-powering wand.

Ignoring the way the audience glared at his beloved, Ben stepped forward to check on her after the confrontation. "Mal," he began cautiously yet quietly as he took another step toward her, "are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Mal barely had enough time to shake her head in denial before Audrey shouted from the fray, "I told you so! She's a villain through and through!"

Mal spun toward the Audrey, the Auradon princess staggering backwards in thought that the wand would be used on her. The Isle princess's eyes glowed a bright, vibrant green and her hair changed colors to nearly pink to show her irritation, annoyance, and anger. Her friends glanced at one another in worry. This wouldn't be good . . .

"Me? A villain?" Mal repeated incredulously as she gripped the wand tighter. "How can I be a villain when I've done nothing wrong? You judge me based on the actions that my mother supposedly took, yet the only proof that anyone has is the word of a peasant, who lied to become a tyrant king!"

"I did not lie!" Stefan shouted from behind his grand-daughter. "And I am not a peasant!"

"How did you know I was talking about you?" Mal challenged with a raised eyebrow. "Is it because you know what I said was true? After all, anyone could have become king if they killed my mother, according to the deceased King Henry. You didn't have the stomach to kill someone you were once friends with, so you decided to bring back false proof of the deed. Your entire royal status is based on a lie!"

"Mal," Ben chided calmly to get her attention. "Please, be careful. The wand is reacting to your emotions."

Glancing down at her hand, Mal finally noticed that her hand had a green glow around it, which now also covered the magic wand.

"You don't want to do something you'll regret," Ben advised as he fearlessly moved closer to her. "Give me the wand so you can prove to everyone that you are good like I know you are."

Mal narrowed her eyes slightly in annoyance, though she knew he was only trying to help her at the moment. "I am good," she argued as the narrow turned into an unattractive scowl. "My parents raised me that way. My goodness rubbed off on Evie, Jay, and Carlos. Why do we have to prove we are good when the only thing we have done is defend ourselves?"

"I don't know," Ben admitted as he continued to walk closer. "But I promise, I will make sure the Auradonians treat you differently, fairly. I can't do that until you give me the wand."

While hesitating for only a brief second, something made Mal stop in the process of handing over the magical wand. That something was her hair suddenly falling out of her bun, flowing freely to her shoulders. Then a couple strands of hair from both sides of her head braided itself before pinning themselves at the back of her head, mainly to keep the hair out of her face. Mal thought of one person that would do such a thing to her.

"Daddy?" Mal called out hopefully, thinking that he would show himself so she could end the facade.

However, the teenaged princess was sadly mistaken when a glowing green smoke appeared between her and her beloved, forcing Ben to reluctantly retreat a few feet back. The mystery smoke dissipated to reveal the beautiful Maleficent hunching over her scepter like her back was giving her immense pain. She had her hair hidden underneath her leather crown and hid her gorgeous figure by wearing her town cloak.

"Momma!" Mal exclaimed as she surged forward to help her mother in her weakened state.

Maleficent held out her hand to prevent her daughter from coming any closer, though she was merely an arm's length away. "Give me a moment, Baby Girl," she advised as she inhaled shallow breaths. "I need to catch my breath."

After a moment or so, the misjudged fairy took in one last breath before somehow managing to stand with the help of her scepter. Maleficent casted a saddened look at her daughter. "Look at you," she cooed softly. "You're standing alone, just like I was in my final moments."

Maleficent held out her hand expectantly. "Here," she insisted calmly. "Give me the wand."

Mal tilted her head curiously despite everyone else in the room being tense about the situation. "But Momma, you don't need the wand," she claimed in confusion. "You don't even need the scepter; it's basically a walking stick for you. Your powers are stronger than the wand. Why would you need something weaker than you?"

"Because I am weak as well," Maleficent answered with her tone still being the softest Mal has ever heard. "I need the wand for something that I can't do on my own."

"Tell me what you need done," Mal practically demanded as she took a cautious step forward. "I can help you, and maybe Ben can help you too. Without the wand or the scepter."

Maleficent sighed softly. "I'm sorry, Baby Girl, but I can't," she denied calmly. "You see, I stopped trusting Auradonians when they took my first daughter from me. Then they took you too, to only disrespect you."

The 'evil' fairy turned to gaze at the audience with a certain gleam in her eyes. "In fact . . . I don't think they should witness the rest of our conversation."

With a simple wave of her finger, everyone froze in place with their eyes glazed over. By everyone, I mean the Auradonians. Evie, Jay, and Carlos were the only ones who could move on their own free will, while there was only one Auradonian that could clearly see and hear what was happening.

While Mal was temporarily distracted by her friends running to her side, Maleficent swiftly stole the wand from her grasp. Turning to face the already broken windowpane, the wingless fairy pointed the wand toward it. The wand shot out a stream of greenish light to some unknown place.

After a moment, Maleficent lowered her arm with a peaceful sigh. "There," she commented in relief. "That solves that problem."

She adverted her attention back to the children, who were waiting for an explanation. "The barrier was broken when your friend, Jane, used the wand," Maleficent revealed as she carelessly tossed the magic wand to Mal, who caught it in surprise. "I couldn't let the villains escape like I did. The Auradonians don't need to know what the daughter of Fairy Godmother did on accident, so I remedied the situation before they could process how I was here."

Maleficent's eyes had a saddened gleam in them. "I only have a little strength left to cast another spell," she revealed. "When I do, the spell on one person will be broken, who will then break the spell on everyone else. Tell them I turned into a ferocious dragon when you refused to give me the wand. Tell them that the four of you saved the day like any heroes would."

"I can't do that, Mom," Mal denied with a stubborn shake of her head. "You did nothing wrong. You were the hero again."

Maleficent smiled sadly. "But once again, they will see me as a villain. Let it stay that way for now, so they will stop seeing you and your friends as villains. One day, maybe when the barrier is down for good, everyone will know the truth about me and your father. Until that day comes, remember that you are the Queen of the Isle. You know what is best for your people."

With her smile turning even sadder, a puff smoke and a yellow light that temporarily blinded the four teenagers. When the smoke dissipated, Maleficent was no where to be seen, causing the teenagers to gasp.

"What just happened?" Carlos asked in confusion.

"I have no idea," Mal claimed, trailed down the aisle as her friends followed her.

"Did you do it?" Evie wondered. "What did you do?"

"I don't know!" Mal shouted as she stopped short of a strange animal that wasn't there before.

Fairy Godmother magically unfroze and hurried to meet them in the aisle. "No, no, no," She denied as she stood a few feet away. "Your mother did this," she said gently to Mal. "She turned herself into a lizard so everyone would believe you four are heroes."

Mal questioned as she knelt before her lizard mother, "Is she going to be like that forever?"

"Not forever," Fairy Godmother promised. "Just until she regains enough strength to break the spell or it breaks on its own. Meanwhile, I will look into the details of her tale to see what is false and what is the truth. If I find more false details than truths, then someone will face some major consequences."

Mal gazed almost guiltily at the Fairy Godmother. "Are you going to tell about the barrier being broken?"

"I'll keep it a secret for the time being," the headmistress claimed with an irritated huff. "However, I'm still going to punish Jane for what she did."

Before any of the teenagers could anything, Fairy Godmother quickly reclaimed her wand, almost like she feared the child would do something with it. She waved her wand in the air at the audience as she chanted, "Bibbidi-Bobbodi-Boo!"

As could be predicted, everyone unfroze due to the enchanted spell. There was some confusion as to what happened the past few minutes, but Fairy Godmother quickly reassured everyone by telling the same false tale that Maleficent described moments prior.

While the audience gossiped with one another about what transpired, Ben used the opportunity to speak with Mal, who was watching sadly as a royal guard trapped her lizard mother in a glass container. He knew something was wrong when her hair turned a blue hue to portray her sadness.

"What really happened?" Ben practically mumbled as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "I know when Fairy Godmother lies, and she was doing a lot of it."

"The same thing that happened before." Mal adverted her gaze to Ben. "My mother was the hero, but everyone believed she was the villain. Now she is trapped in this lizard state until the spell is broken."

"It won't be long," Ben reassured as he kissed her temple lovingly. "It will be broken before you know it."

The king was right. Although six months will pass before Maleficent's current stage changes, the spell will be broken when a princess abruptly decides to return home after a fight with her beloved—

Though you will see an earlier scene on New Year's Day.