Chapter 3: Defeated

"Oh come on sis! Take it!" Prince Lawrence held out a silver necklace with a small, blue diamond attached to it, begging her to take it. "It's the perfect birthday present!"

She crossed her arms. "I don't want it, Lawrence. It's too expensive." She narrowed her eyes. "Where did you get the money for it?"

He smirked. "Oh you know I can't tell you that."

"That means you took the money from somebody you shouldn't have, Lawrence."

"Oh shut it Isabel. I'll do what I want! I'm the crowned prince! If I want to give my little sister a necklace for her birthday, I'll do just that! Now take it!"

"Is that an order?" Isabel uncrossed her arms and took a step towards her slightly older brother. "Did you just order me to do something Finn?"

"I'm the prince after all, Willa." Lawrence's smile stretched across his face. "And you're not."

Isabel laughed. "Of all the things to order me to do, you order me to take your crappy birthday present that you bought with money that wasn't yours? That's like the worst order in the world! I know you can do better than that!"

"Fine! I order you to let Spencer court you finally. He's a fine suitor." It was Lawrence's turn to cross his arms.

"Fine!" Isabel grabbed the necklace from his hand and placed it around her neck. "Happy now your highness?"

"I will be when I see you walking around with Spencer, Duke of Sacramento."

She rolled her eyes. She hated Spencer, Duke of Sacramento. She had no idea why her grandfather and brother liked him so much.

"Are you mocking me Princess Isabel?" Lawrence squinted his eyes to glare at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Isabel smiled innocently and walked past Lawrence. "Now if you don't hurry we have a lesson to get to."

"But it's geography! Who needs to know about that?" Lawrence whined like a child from behind her. Isabel stopped and turned around.

"You never know Lawrence. You might get stuck in the woods all by yourself. And if you don't pay attention in this lesson today, you might be lost forever."

"Me? Lost?" Her brother laughed. "That would never happen." Isabel rolled her eyes and continued down the hallway toward the classroom. "Why would I even be in the woods by myself anyway?"

Five Days Earlier

Royal Palace, Anaheim, Kingdom of California

Isabel awoke with start. That memory was from her seventeenth birthday. Living in the palace with her brother and grandfather seemed like many, many years ago. Eight to be precise.

One more year living at the castle with her family under the rule of her kind grandfather and hilarious brother. Three years of living under the horrible rule of her husband, Spencer, Duke of Sacramento. Four years of living in prison under the torturous rule of Maleficent, the—now, hopefully not forever—Queen of California.

One plus three plus four equals eight. Yep. That's how long ago it was. Eight years. Now she's twenty five. Now she's a prisoner in her own house. Now she's all alone.

She might feel better if she could remember more of what happened the night she ended up a prisoner in her childhood home. Knowing why she was taken and not just how. Knowing exactly how her husband, brother, aunt and grandfather died...or if their deaths were all lies.

The silence of the cell gets to her at moments like this. It's a cell by every definition of the word. There's four walls. She's never allowed outside, though she can see it through a small window, now located behind her. The room is maybe ten feet by ten feet. Maybe. It's stone cold. Stone cold, oh the irony Willa. She's brought food twice a day. Sometimes only once.

Every once in a while she gets a visit from "Queen" Maleficent herself. What a pleasure it was, dealing with the evil sorceress on a one-by-one basis.

She heard the one who brings her food mumble about her sometimes. "Maybe she'll die next time" and "Not time yet."

Every time the new "Queen" came around, Isabel felt physically and mentally exhausted for days after. She knew Maleficent was trying to kill her, but nothing was working. For some reason, Isabel's body kept her alive. For what reason? She did not know. Her mother died giving birth to her. Her father died when she was eight, her brother eleven. Her brother died in the raid on the palace four years ago, so did her husband, aunt and grandfather.

There was no one out there to find when she got out of this prison. There was no reason to live.

There was something she was missing.

The cell door opened and the "Queen" stepped in. The room instantly got colder. Her black dress flowed out on the floor behind her, like a bride at a wedding. Like it did for Isabel at hers. The look on the queen's face was similar to Isabel's on that fateful day: hateful, but Isabel at least tried to mask it.

Maleficent's green skin always threw her off. It had something to do with the magic insider her, Isabel knew that much. The why and how were always questions she couldn't answer.

"My dear Isabel," she said in her raspy voice. She knelt down in front of Isabel and reached out to touch her cheek. Isabel flinched but couldn't slap the hand away, for her hands were bound behind her—as they had been for the majority of her four years here.

"Seems we've kept the tears to a minimum today." She wiped the tears Isabel didn't know were there.

"Why am I still alive?" Isabel asked Maleficent. "Why keep me? What do you gain from this?"

She smiled. Not a nice, warm smile like her father or brother or grandfather would give her. No. It was a smile full of hatred. "Why dear, you will stay here until the time is right."

"And when is that?" Isabel spat out. "When you're dead and I can take over as the rightful ruler of California?"

Maleficent slapped Isabel hard across the face. "I am the rightful ruler!" She stood up and straightened out her dress. "You will learn your place, Isabel."

"You didn't answer my question," Isabel mumbled.

Maleficent raised her eyebrow at Isabel, as if saying do you want me to use magic this time? "The time will be right when Prince Lawrence is finally dead."

Isabel's head was swarming. He couldn't be alive.

"You said he died four years ago. That…that he was killed in the rebel raid along with my grandfather and aunt!"

The tears were streaming down her face now. She could feel them this time.

"I cannot remember what I may or may not have told you four years ago, Isabel. Have some common sense, dear. If you are to serve your purpose, you must have common sense."

"And what is that purpose?"

Maleficent's eyes narrowed into a glare. A few moments of silence. "You're not ready yet. You will find out when the time comes."

Isabel slowly rose up, which was hard with her hands bound to the wall with minimal slack.

"If my brother is still alive, that means that there's hope for this kingdom yet. You can still be defeated."

"I will never be defeated!"

"If Prince Lawrence is truly alive…" a smile grew on Isabel's face. "Then you will be defeated."

Maleficent clenched her fist and Isabel fell to the floor with a massive amount of pain, screaming in agony. She saw black spots in her vision before everything slowly began to blur.

She could see just well enough to see Maleficent kneel in front of her once again.

"You must learn to control that tongue of yours, Isabel. Traitors are not dealt with kindly in my kingdom."

Maleficent walked over to the cell door, which opened for her. She stopped in the doorway and turned to face Isabel once more.

She snapped her fingers and Isabel felt a new level of pain, if even possible. Maleficent stalked out of the room, muttering "no food for the rest of the week," to one of the guards.

The pain was too much for Isabel to handle. Every inch of her body felt paralyzed with pain and fear. Her mind was drifting away. Her vision was blurry. Her sense of touch was failing.

And with one last breath, Isabel let the darkness consume her. Again.

"Psssh! Wake up!"

Isabel opened her eyes, but didn't move.

"Psssh! Over here!"

Isabel looked over at the ajar cell door and sat up a little so that she could see who was standing there.

In the doorway was a young woman wearing a long green cape. The shadow coming off of the torch she was holding kept her face a secret. Isabel figured she couldn't be more than seventeen or eighteen years old.

The flame flickered for a second, as if hit by a gust of wind and Isabel got a quick glance of the woman's face. A small part of her raven black hair was showed, contrasting her pale skin.

"If you want to get out of here, I'd get moving if I were you! We have a very small window of time here!"

She tried standing, but the shackles held her back. The young woman rolled her eyes, muttering something about how she forgot about "the bloody shackles." The woman came over and unlocked Isabel from the shackles that held her back.

Freedom. Literal physical freedom.

Isabel stood up as fast as she could, despite every muscle in her body screaming to stop, and followed the woman out of the cell. Slowly and quietly the two made their way through the secret passageways of the castle in order to get out, as the young woman promised.

Once safely one hundred yards into the woods beyond the castle, the young woman stopped. She reached into her cape and pulled a small leather bag, a canteen and a dagger out and handed them to Isabel.

"Take these. Inside the bag is enough money to buy yourself food for about a week. Among other things."

Isabel took the items, but eyed the woman warily. "Why are you doing this?"

"I want Maleficent out of here as much as the next person, but we need Prince Lawrence to do it. And you're the only one who can bring him home. You're his younger sister. You're royalty."

"You're nothing but a witch, I say! A witch! And I will not stand for a witch in my household! You will hide those devilish powers of yours unless you want to die!"

"Oh, you must be mistaken," Isabel said in a shaky voice. "I'm not royalty anymore."

"You have the royal mark on your collar bone, do you not?" The young woman looked toward Isabel's collar bone, which was luckily hidden by her pale blue dress. It was the same nightgown she had been wearing the night of the raid. She hadn't been allowed to change in four years. It had enough dirt and grime on it to make Isabel look like a homeless girl, not a disgraced princess.

The royal mark was tattooed on everyone born of royal blood. Isabel was technically born of royal blood, but that did not mean she was actually royalty.

"Well…yes…but—"

"Well that's all that matters. You need to find Prince Lawrence and convince him to come back and fight for the throne."

"Shouldn't it be King Lawrence now?"

The young woman smiled. "That's the spirit."

Isabel rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in protest. "Why would Lawrence listen to me? Besides, where is he? How am I supposed to find him if I didn't know he was alive until just a few hours ago?"

"That's your problem, not mine." The young woman said defensively. "I got you out here and gave you enough supplies to do so. The sooner the better, Isabel. Maleficent's reign of terror can't last much longer."

The young woman hesitated, as if what she was going to say next would be hard. "Inside that leather bag…there's…there's this vial. And inside that vial is a liquid that you must only drink when the darkest hour descends upon you."

Isabel resisted asking the rhetorical question that usually follows a statement like that. She knew it would get her nowhere.

The young woman turned back toward the castle.

"I didn't catch your name!" Isabel yelled after her rescuer.

"That's because I didn't give it!" The young woman stopped, but did not turn around to face Isabel. "All that's important is finding Prince…King Lawrence. You can do it Willa, I believe in you."

Isabel stood there in shock. How did this woman know of her childhood nickname? Only her brother knew of that name.

Speaking of her brother, she didn't know where to even begin in the search for Finn.

He could be anywhere in the world by now. He left four years ago.

And then it hit her like a bucket of cold water. She almost jumped for joy. Her last dream was the clue. It was almost as if her brain knew what was coming. The lesson in geography had been the clue. It was the lesson that had sparked a conversation between the siblings, leading Isabel to the logical conclusion of where he would be after all this time: his favorite secret hideout.

Isabel walked through the woods for over a day. Twenty nine hours, if her estimate was right. She had eaten a couple of berries she found and had a few sips of water out of the canteen.

She couldn't help but notice the beautiful way the sun's rays were reflecting off buildings in the village that she was approaching. She had no idea which one. It was more likely a town or a city, based off the sheer number of people walking around.

She tried her best to fit in with the crowd, but there was no way to do that truly. She had been inside a cell for four years with no outside contact and it showed. She held the leather pouch tight in her hand and searched for a vender selling something to eat. A new outfit would be next.

After walking through what seemed like endless streets, Isabel spotted a vendor selling boxes of fruit. She walked up to the man, inspected the apples and grabbed one.

"How much for this apple?" She asked the man.

"Six pennies."

Isabel reached into the small leather pouch and handed the man six pennies, as requested. Before turning to leave, the man reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Where did you get these girl?" He whispered harshly.

Isabel froze with fear. She couldn't get caught and sent back to Maleficent. She refused. She would rather go down fighting. "They're not stolen, if that's what you are implying." Not technically lying…I didn't steal them…

"Maybe, but they've got the royal family crest on it. I can't accept these."

"But…but…" Isabel's eyes widened. What am I going to do? The young woman set me up!

"Hugo! Oh good! You found her!" A handsome young man called out as he walked up to the vendor's table. He had brown hair, but in the sun it had a hint of red. He had the bluest eyes she had ever seen. He winked at Isabel and her heart skipped a beat. "I've been looking for her all over the place!"

"You…you know her?" Hugo asked the young man.

"She's my sister." Hugo gave the man a skeptical look. "She doesn't get out much. She's not the sharpest knife in the butcher's shop, if you get what I mean." The young man nudged Hugo, winking at Isabel.

"Why does she have old royal coins? I can't take these. The Lady Grimhilde will have my head!"

"I'm sure she just found them lying around the house. You know my father's into collecting old antiques. Someday someone will pay good money for these ancient items!" The young man snatched the pennies from Hugo's hand and handed them back to Isabel.

"Get her out of here, Derek." Hugo let go of Isabel's wrist. He lowered his voice to harsh whisper again. "I can't have her around. She's bad for business."

"Don't worry about us, Hugo." Derek reached into his pocket and pulled out some more coins. "Here's enough for two apples. One for me," Derek turned to Isabel, "and one for her."

Hugo took the money and Derek grabbed Isabel's hand. "Come on sis. Back to the house."

Derek pulled her down the street, not in a forceful way, but with a little bit of urgency. He turned down a random alleyway and used his arm to push her up against the wall.

She gasped, from shock and slight pain. He leaned in close enough that only the quietest of whispers would be necessary.

"Where did you get those royal coins?" Derek asked Isabel in hushed tones. She couldn't get over his blue eyes.

"W-w-why did you save me back there?" Isabel quickly retorted. "I didn't need saving."

"Answer my question first, then I'll answer yours."

"Why should I trust you Derek?"

"Why do you have the royal mark on your collar bone?" Isabel was shocked. She looked down to see that the mark was in fact showing.

"I…uh…" Isabel hurriedly shoved her ripped dress sleeve over the mark.

He rolled his eyes. "You don't have to hide that from me. I'm on your side."

"What do you mean?"

In response, Derek took off his shirt and she froze in shock. What is he doing?

He turned around, revealing a small tattoo of the royal family crest just below his shoulder blade on his right side. Isabel immediately recognized it: all soldiers for the royal army had that tattoo. It was slightly different from hers, mostly in size but in color as well.

"You're a royal soldier!" Isabel pushed herself back against the wall. "How is that even possible? All of you are supposed to be dead!"

"Who told you that?" Derek turned around with a confused facial expression, slipping on his shirt as he waited for a response.

"Uh…I just assumed…" Isabel didn't know how much she could trust Derek yet. She needed to know how much he knew. She might even need him to help her find her brother.

"You were held in the castle by Maleficent, weren't you?"

"How could you possibly know that?"

He shrugged. "There were rumors that not all of the royals were killed."

"I'm not the only one. King Lawrence's still alive."

"Hmm…so all the rumors are true." Derek took a step toward Isabel. She realized how much the shirt brought out his eyes. Stop that, Isabel.

"The real question," he continued, "is why you were kept alive this long. The king didn't have any granddaughters alive at the time of the raid. He only had the prince."

"Yes he did."

He raised an eyebrow. "He did, eh?"

"Yes…I'm…I'm…" She took a deep breath. "You've just got to trust me."

Isabel was finding herself having a hard time focusing on the task at hand. The mental picture of Dell's abs was keeping her very distracted. He's just so attractive. No Isabel! Focus!

"What's your name, then? I can't recall a princess being alive at the time of a raid. There was a princess that died about…five years ago? No, maybe it was seven—"

"That's me," she blurted out. "I'm Princess Isabel and yes, I know that I'm supposed to be dead."

Derek seemed deep in thought for a few minutes. Nothing was being said. The only sounds were the ones coming from the main streets of the town that Isabel still didn't know the name of.

"It all makes sense now."

"What makes sense?"

"Maleficent must have kept you alive all this time so that she could use you as leverage to lure your husband out of hiding and to work for her side. She must assume that he's still alive somewhere."

She couldn't remember if her husband was dead or alive after the raid. She had always assumed dead. But if she was alive…was he?

Memories rushed through her mind. Where was he that entire night? She hoped he wasn't alive. Even the thought of him still being alive sent chills down her spine. She shook the thought out of her head, deciding to stick to what she thought was true.

"My…my husband is dead…"

Derek looked up at her, almost with a sad look in his eyes. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't say that," Isabel retorted. "He's not the reason I was kept alive…at least I hope not—"

Derek had already tuned Isabel out.

He knew he shouldn't feel this way, but realizing that Isabel's husband was dead made him want to jump for joy. He found Isabel to be a beautiful young woman. There was something about her that drew him in. He felt the sudden urge to protect her from Hugo only minutes earlier. It was something about her brown hair tied into a messy braid and her dull gray-green eyes that just made it hard for him to look away. It was almost as if he had known her his whole life.

His mother had always mentioned love at first sight, but Derek had always thought of it as an illogical concept. How could one simply fall in love with one glance? Seeing Isabel in the marketplace at Hugo's table most definitely proved his earlier perception of love at first sight wrong. He was in love with Isabel—it was official.

"—I need to find my brother, Lawrence. He's got to reclaim the throne. Since you're a soldier of the royal army, can you help me?" Isabel looked up at Derek with pleading eyes.

"You want me to help you find Prince…I mean King…Lawrence?" Derek couldn't help but smile. He felt honored since she asked for his help. "Do you know where he is?"

"I believe so." She smiled and his heart skipped a beat. "Derek, are you coming with me or not?"

He took a step back and placed his arms on his hips, striking a pose and slapping the biggest smile on his face. "Of course, Your Highness."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't call me that. Please just call me Isabel."

"And that, I will do." He looked her over once and an idea popped into his head. "You need some new clothes. And possibly some food. I know the perfect place to go."

Four Days Later-The Day After Miss Lovett's Botched Trial

Lawrence's Secret Hideout

"Look who decided to be a part of the world today!" Dillard said when he saw that his friend Finn had finally woken up. He smiled up at his friend before continuing to peel oranges with Finn's knife by the fire he had started an hour ago. Though he may not look the part, Dillard knew he could survive out in the woods.

Finn sat down beside him and rubbed his eyes. "Is Amanda awake?"

"Nope. Should I wake her?"

Finn shook his head. "I had trouble sleeping because of her. I had a lot to think about."

"You mean you had a lot to fantasize about."

"What are you talking about?" Finn reached over and grabbed the newly peeled orange from him.

"You totally like Amanda. And don't even bother denying it." Finn reached in for another piece and Dillard promptly swatted his hand away.

"So what? She's a beautiful girl. How am I supposed to not like her?"

"She's a girl. Girls are moody and annoying and all they want are little babies." Dillard turned to Finn. "Not worth it man."

"If you say so. I feel like I know her from somewhere though."

"How could you have met somebody here in the woods?" Dillard smirked at Finn. "Unless there's some secret life you're not telling me about."

Finn broke out into laughter to avoid the question, Dillard joined in because he thought the idea of his friend having some huge secret life was ridiculous.

"Either way we're stuck with her, you know," Finn reached for an apple out of the bag and took a bite out of it. "You two are outlaws now. Just like me."

"Oh, and I suppose you were an outlaw before us? What are you the expert on being an outlaw?"

"Yeah, something like that." Finn said absentmindedly without looking up from the fire.

Before Dillard could answer, Amanda sat down on the other side of Finn.

"Morning boys."

"Morning." Dillard and Finn both said unenthusiastically.

"So what's the game plan Finn? We can't stay here for much longer."

"We can't leave!" Finn said defensively. "No one will catch us here. I've been here for years!"

"But this place is made for one person! Either we have to expand or we move on." She looked down at the ground for a brief second as if gaining courage. "I've always wanted to see the coast. I hear it's beautiful this time of year." She had a twinkle in her eye that Finn couldn't help but find alluring.

"You've never been to the coast Amanda?" Dillard asked. "I thought everyone had been there!"

"Not me," she admitted bashfully. "I've never had the luxury to leave. I only got paid in food back in the village."

"They never paid you in money?" Finn asked. "That doesn't sound right."

"Well Finn, when you're as poor as dirt and have got a sister to feed, you do whatever you can to get food. Money isn't everything you know."

To Finn it seemed as if Amanda was trying to convince herself of the last part. He also noticed the light in her eyes dying a little when her sister was mentioned. He couldn't help but wonder what happened.

Dillard stifled a laugh. "Your sister? You mean—"

"Don't talk about my sister Dillard." Amanda's voice reached a level of force that Finn never thought possible.

"It's not my fault she left—"

"Shut up Dillard." Amanda closed her eyes and spoke firmly.

"—and joined Maleficent's court—"

"I said shut up Dillard." Finn felt like he was the only one noticing that Amanda's fists were clenched.

"—and was never heard from again!"

"I said shut up!" Amanda unclenched her fists and both Dillard and Finn were sent flying back ten feet.

He sat up and noticed how far away he was from her. He looked up at her and stared with wide eyes. She said she could do things others couldn't…

Tears were welling up in her eyes like water overflowing from a tub. She stood up, her hands shaking. "Finn…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to."

"What was that?" Dillard yelled.

"I'm sorry, I-I-I-I just got so worked up, and I…I…"

"Amanda, what was that?" Finn asked softly.

"I…I can…push things without really…touching them." Amanda looked at Finn, then glanced at the ground. "It only happens when I get all worked up and don't have time to cool down."

Finn got up and walked up to Amanda until he was right in front of her. Dillard stood still right where he had hit the ground, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

Amanda looked Finn right in the eyes and burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry. I…I didn't mean to! I just c-c-can't control it some times!"

"Is there anytime that you can control it?"

"Uh…yes. I g-guess if I tried really hard." Amanda looked up at Finn, who was a few inches taller than her, and stared into his green eyes. "I'm so sorry Finn. I understand if you want me to leave."

"No." Finn answered firmly, and probably too quickly.

"What?" Dillard protested.

"Don't leave Amanda." Finn put his hands on her shoulders. "So you have powers? That could come in handy, assuming you can control it. It could be our secret weapon." Finn smiled.

"You…you really want me to stay?"

Finn nodded and pulled Amanda into a hug. After a few seconds, before Finn let go of Amanda, he looked past her and saw two people walking toward them—about one hundred yards away.

He immediately let go of Amanda, shoving her behind him, found his sword on the ground by the fire and pointed it out toward the two people.

"Who are you?" Finn yelled out at the two walkers.

"Lawrence? Is that you?" A female voice yelled back.

Finn was too stunned to reply. No one had called him that since the night he left. He let the two approach but did not lower his sword.

The two walkers looked to be his age, one female and one male. The male had brownish red hair and was dressed in armor that Finn hadn't seen since Maleficent took over—a great sign for the rightful king. The female was in a muddy pair of brown pants and a white shirt and had her brown hair pulled back in a messy braid.

"Finn?" the girl asked. "Do you remember me? I'm…I'm…"

Finn lowered his sword and gawked at the young woman. "Willa?"

Things are getting interesting, that's for sure! Thanks for all the amazing reviews so far, y'all are too kind! I hope y'all continue to read and review. I want to know what you think of this re-do. Chapter 4 should be up soon! Have an amazing day and keep being awesome!