Chapter Three: Well, That Could Have Gone Better
Crowds were gathered around the limo as the four new kids lined up to toss in their bags. Audrey was helping Winter move her many boxes of crafting supplies into the car and Ben was introducing Mal to the other kids who had applied and were hoping they would be the next ones to go to Auradon.
Eugene threw his boys' knapsacks into the trunk of the limo before embracing them tightly, kissing their heads. Their jean jackets had fresh paint, murals of flowers and vines painted by their mother during her sleepless night (she had not come to the sendoff).
"You're going to do so great," he assured his sons.
"Come on, boys, let's go!" Chad gestured the twins into the limo, crawling in after them.
"You'll see him soon, don't worry," Jane assured them as they looked at their father watching them through the windows as he waved and made silly faces.
"Do you have everything?" Snow White asked her daughter as she placed her embroidered bag of clothes into the trunk. The former princess was fussing with her daughter's dress, picking off stray pieces of lint and smoothing her long curls.
"Yes, Mother," Winter assured her, letting Snow White smear a dirt smudge off her cheek.
"Are you sure?" She finally stepped back, standing pin straight, her dark grey streaked curls bouncing around her ears. Her voice was shrill from talking to squirrels all her life.
"Yes." Winter was biting her lip, looking down. She was used to the insistent nagging.
"Oh really?" Snow White reached into her raggedy skirt pocket and pulled out a splatter painted glue gun.
Winter snatched it up, shoving it into her bag's side pocket. "I was so sure…did you take this from my bag just to prove a point?"
But Snow White just pulled her into a hug, her bony arms digging into her daughter's back. "Be careful. Be safe. And…don't start casting evil spells, okay?"
"Yes, Mother," Winter sighed, finally breaking free from the hug. Her eyes were damp. "I'll…I'll miss you."
Snow White acted like she didn't hear her and went off into the crowds. Winter felt a tear fall down her face as she watched her go. She hadn't meant to lose her family, but she did not want to stay on the Isle forever. It seemed like Snow White was taking it as a personal betrayal.
Audrey took Winter's hand and squeezed it tight. The young girl took a deep breath, stealing her nerves, then Audrey led her to the limo where they slid in next to Jane.
Elise was still standing by the trunk, her bag clutched tight in her hands. Ben and Mal walked over after talking to everyone in the crowd.
"Everything alright?" Ben asked her.
Elise pursed her lips. "You can't make me go."
Mal shrugged. "We could. But we won't."
"If you stay, though, you'll be letting everyone down," Ben argued. "Including Ada."
Elise looked into the crowd and found her ginger cousin giving her a double thumbs up. "She can take my spot."
"Not how it works," Mal laughed. "It's you or no one, kid."
Elise's blue eyes burned as she glared at the queen. "Fine."
She tossed her bag into Mal's arms, then pranced over to the limo, her posture princess perfect. Mal gaped after her while Ben stifled a laugh.
Finally, the car was packed, and everyone was buckled in. The golem driver gunned the engine and began speeding down the alleys, smashing into a few stands as he went.
Audrey and Winter were curled up together as Audrey listed all the things they would do once they reached Auradon. "Ice cream has to be first. And we can go shopping at this amazing mall."
"And we can go swimming?" Winter asked, bouncing in her seat.
"I can take you to the beach! Uma owes me a day on her private shores after hemming her graduation gown with an hour's notice. Oh, and wait until you see your room!"
"I can't believe I get to live with you all summer before school starts in a you're very own castle!" Winter squealed. She pushed her horned glasses further up her nose, eyes shining bright.
"It's just a little starter castle," Audrey said, blushing, but her smile was triumphant. That castle was her pride and joy. The dining room renovations had just been finished, and it was magnificent.
Roger was staring out the window, his green eyes as wide as could be, clutching Chad's arm so tight his fingers were turning blue.
"Great grip," Chad muttered, trying to move the boy's hand. He could not. "You play sports?"
Jane handed Ryder a piece of chocolate from the snack shelves lining the limo. The little boy hesitated, remembering his bedtimes stories of poison apples and bone broths.
"Go on, trust me," Jane assured him. He hesitantly took a bite and his eyes widened with the immediate sugar rush. "I know, right?"
Elise was squished against the window on the back bench, next to Ben and Mal. She had a small book with yellow pages in her lap, the letters on the cover chipping away. She wasn't reading it but simply holding it, like a good luck charm.
"What's that?" Mal asked.
Elise quickly covered the title with her hands, though it was hardly legible. "Nothing."
"Ooh, secrets," Mal laughed. "Must mean it's good."
Elise didn't react.
"Can I have a little hint?"
"Doubt you'd even understand it," Elise snapped, stuffing the book into her skirt pocket.
Mal glanced at Ben who shrugged, an amused smile on his face. Seeing Mal with Elise, feeling the new ring on his finger…he couldn't help thinking about their own children one day. The thought filled him with a giddy kind of joy that made him want to grin like a crazy person.
The limo pulled through the archway painted like a castle where they had announced the four new kids just two weeks ago. Now, the plaza was filled with people waving and cheering. The driver hit the remote and a small hole opened in the barrier, growing large enough for the limo.
Back in Auradon, the crowds nervously watched on the large screen as the limo made it all the way through and the barrier began to close again.
"The only reason they should be opening that barrier is to put that stupid fairy boy back in," Hook grumbled, taking another breath from his pipe. "Not letting more heroes out."
Harriet nodded in agreement while Harry just seethed.
The limo continued onto the magic bridge edged with dark brambles and green glitter that would take them over the ocean, straight to Auradon. Audrey glanced back at the crowds waving on the other side of the barrier.
Suddenly, people toppled over as a tall figure in an old green velvet dress with long bell sleeves charged toward the nearly closed hole. She shoved her arm through, just making it, an ancient wooden wand in her hand. It trembled as its magic was restored.
"The Enchantress!" Audrey shouted. The limo suddenly braked, sending the passengers tumbling forward. "She's trying to escape!"
Elise was smug as Mal climbed off the floor and out of the limo, calmly undoing her seat belt. Villains clearly didn't believe in simple road safety.
Everyone else dashed out of the limo. Audrey and Jane pulled the kids back till they were near the front of the car while Chad and Ben flanked Mal, preparing for a fight.
The Enchantress began pulling the hole open with her other hand until it wide enough that she could stick her head out. Her blond hair began to float as she trembled with the effort of keeping the barrier open.
"I am the most ancient of fairies and magic users!" she screamed, her green eyes glowing with magic. "I don't belong here!"
Chad ran forward but the Enchantress simply raised her wand. Green lightening, as powerful as the spell that she had used to curse Ben's father, hit Chad right in the chest and he crumpled to the ground, groaning.
Ben and Mal exchanged looks. His eyes were glowing yellow, and she was breathing smoke. Silently, they understood, getting ready to charge…
A scream suddenly broke through the air.
"Mal!" Audrey had never sounded so panicked. "We need you!"
Mal hesitated, looking at Ben as horns sprouted from his head and claws grew from his fingers.
"Go," he growled, turning back to the Enchantress who was watching him curiously, like a specimen in a petri dish. "I got this."
He charged forward, ducking her bolts of green lightning, while Mal dashed back to the kids.
Aubrey had her arms around Winter and the twin boys. Jane was crouched near Elise who was shaking and screaming. Her hair, her perfect dark bun, was turning white. It spread from her roots, all the way across her head, until her entire bun looked like snow.
"No, no, no!" Elise shrieked. Her hands were steaming with cold, and frost was spreading at her feet.
Jane was shaking her head, jaw hanging open. She had never regretted leaving her wand back at home so much. "I don't…what do we do, Mal?"
The queen did not hesitate. She crouched on her knees, right in front of Elise. The girl flinched back, shaking her head. The frost at her feet was turning to ice.
"Stay back!" she commanded. Her icy eyes were wide, and she was shaking from head to toe. "I don't want to hurt you!"
"I'm the child of dragons and literal Hell," Mal countered. "I'll be fine."
She grabbed Elise's hand, her blood coursing with fire to counteract the ice that wanted to incase her. Elise's powers were stronger than nearly all that Mal had encountered before.
"You need to control it," Mal told her. Her voice was steady, no anger.
"Conceal, don't feel," Elise muttered, but Mal shook her head.
"No. Magic cannot be contained, it cannot be forced down," she explained. Her gaze cut deep into Elise's soul. "You need to feel whatever it is you are feeling. You need to ride the power. Let it course through you, embrace it. Do not run from it."
"I…I…" Elise was still shaking. Audrey flinched as the ice spread under her feet, curling around her pink heels. She dragged the kids back even further.
"I set so many things on fire when I was a kid," Mal confessed. "The only way through this is to accept that this is part of you."
"I…I can't!" Elise screamed, doubling over from the effort. Magic burst out of her, ice spikes sprouting from the ground and surrounding her. Jane fell to the ground from the shockwave and Audrey shielded the kids with her body, frost spreading across her back. A deadly spike was only an inch away from Mal's heart.
Elise, in the center of the ice, was breathing hard. Slowly, as if afraid to make any sudden movements, she took in the chaos she had created. Tears froze the moment they dripped onto her cheeks as she pulled a pair of teal gloves that perfectly matched her outfit out of her pocket.
"Are those…?"
She nodded, pulling them onto her hands. "My mother's. She gave them to me before I left. She can't use her powers on the Isle because of the barrier. She thought…she was right about the barrier suppressing mine too."
Mal looked like she wanted to argue about the use of the gloves when she heard an animalistic yelp. She whirled around to see Ben on the ground, a green bolt of lightning hitting his chest coming from the Enchantress's wand. But this time, she did not let it stop. Her power continued to surge through Ben as he twitched and howled uncontrollably. His monstrous features began to fade back into himself until he was simply a boy and not a beast.
In Auradon, the crowds watching the screens began to mutter. Dizzy screamed when Ben's eyes rolled back in his head.
"Do not panic!" Maleficent ordered the crowds, tapping her staff on the ground.
"Mal," Hades gasped, scanning for her on the screen but she was nowhere to be seen.
Ben's limbs went still. No one could tell if he'd passed out or…
"There's your precious King!" Harry shouted. "Can't even take down a little fairy!"
The crowds devolved into chaos, running and screaming as the Enchantress stuck her whole torso out of the hole.
Mal didn't even need to try to transform. Her anger and fear flooded her body and she felt herself grow larger than a house, her wings lifting her into the air smoke poured out of her nostrils.
She roared, shaking the buildings of the Isle, and a fiery gust exploded out of her mouth. It hit the Enchantress straight in her chest, sending her sprawling back onto the ground. The barrier closed, as if nothing had ever happened.
Mal glared at her as the woman stood up. But rather than beg for the evil queen's mercy, the Enchantress simply smirked and walked away, her wand still in her hand. The crowds all but dove out of her way.
Once she was gone, Mal landed on the trunk of the limo, changing back into her human self in a puff of purple smoke. She leaped down, by Ben's side in an instant.
His eyes flickered open, back to their natural hazel, and he coughed weakly.
"Hey, stay with me, Ben," she muttered, lightly slapping his cheek.
He laughed slightly, taking her hand with a weak grip. "Always."
Audrey dashed over and, between both of girls, they helped Ben to his feet. He looked through the barrier, but the Enchantress was gone.
"Are you okay?" Audrey asked.
Ben shook his head. "Not really. She…she was draining my power with her wand. I could feel all of it slipping away."
Mal held his shaking hand. "You're safe now. She's back where she belongs."
Ben's eyes flickered yellow for just a moment. "For now."