Chapter Sixty Nine
A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to either Disney or the Greek Myths.
Okay, how are we almost at 70 chapters? It's honestly insane you guys. Almost as insane as it being almost Easter. Has the year flown by for you guys like it has for me or has working from home just completely eliminated my sense of time?
Well Hoppy Early Easter if you celebrate it (and no, not a typo) :D
Oh, I almost put a Wicked reference in here but I refrained myself—it took a lot of willpower though!
MarvelGirl2005: I think you won't be disappointed in this chapter! :D
Tracie Adams: Unfortunately, she's protected by plot over in Choosing but she will die at some point. I promise.
AmethystDragon14: Yay! Lol I think that's a good idea! Oh yeah Nat Bat better consider herself lucky she's not in there—thankfully only about six more chapters until she's fired (well reading chapters—with the break chapter it's seven). Honestly I had the same reactions because sometimes raising your voice is a good thing but the guide is so outdated it's not even funny.
Katt Kiki: Only in that one annoyance will be removed from the reading group and I couldn't be happier! :D
Marcus Emrys: Unfortunately this Mal was based partially off of middle school me who probably could have used that shake to see sense. I never changed anything about myself but I never told people when I was feeling stressed until it just built up. Glad you're liking the progressive Audrey! :D
61394: The Duke from the animated Cinderella, I agree, would never let anyone mess with the rightful rulers of Charmington. So I think it's safe to say there were two Grand Dukes—the nice one from the animated movie and the scheming one from the LA. That's the one who's Natalie's father…and I just realized he's blond and I made Natalie blonde! Sorry, random thought :D No, no…at least I don't think Leah has a Natalie equivalent working in all the other kingdoms in Auradon but a clean house might still be necessary.
Roarer: Oh yeah I can foresee a lot of VK snark toward Leah's experiences on the Isle!
jedblack1997: Hmm, we're actually only about a 1/3 of the way through the Choosing Love arc since CL has 45 chapters and they're reading what was chapter 15 in Choosing Love. But I'm glad you enjoyed it!
CrystalKaouri: Six more chapters to go before Natalie gets fired, I promise! Well seven if you count the break chapter that's after this one! Please don't rip your hair out!
BriarEvans: You've got the right idea that someone's being dealt with but the wrong annoyance :D
danifan3000: The only time I eat a banana with a fork is when it's part of a fruit salad. Otherwise I'm eating it with my freaking hands! :D
JaclynnM: All I can say about Natalie is she is partially based on my 7th grade math/science/homeroom teacher. Odds are she's not reading this but if she is, congrats! You've inspired the worst character I've ever come up with!
cass585339: Hope you enjoy!
SaikoGoyangi: Hope you enjoy! :D
OceanBlueSeaEyes: Please don't make me deal with Natalie more than I have to! :D
LOST MUSES: With the break chapter, it'll be about seven chapters until then but hey, at least it'll happen!
smc-smfan1: So glad you enjoyed it! And thank you for the PM with the suggestions!
twilightgirl587: The Grand Duke from the Live Action Cinderella did get exiled and I tend to combine animated with live action if there's a live action movie in Descendants. I mean liking the older Olympians is up to you—they're tolerable to me :D
SnowWhite45: Yeah Natalie is 100x worse than Prudence was though to be fair, Prudence mellowed out with Cinderella, Natalie had Leah :D
Unknown Person 67: So glad you enjoyed the chapter! I tried to get this one out as soon as possible since I know everyone's waiting for this chapter! Hope you enjoy! :D
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
Henry tilted his head as he noticed that the red ribbon around the scroll was brighter than the other ribbons.
"You okay?" Claudine asked, noticing his hesitation.
"Just wondering about that," Henry told her, gesturing to the brighter ribbon.
Claudine shrugged. "Only one way to find out."
Leah
"You're joking, why is this scroll about her?" Kitty asked, shaking her head.
"How dare you! You'd think a Princess would have been taught how to act around those of a higher station than her!" Leah exclaimed.
Kitty shrugged. "It's a valid question."
"And Leah? You've been stripped of your titles," Kit said, narrowing his eyes. "And even if you hadn't been, there was nothing wrong with Kitty's question."
scowled as she surveyed the area around her.
"Oh I'm sorry. Is the Isle of your trash not suitable for you?" Celia scoffed, rolling her eyes.
It had been a couple of months since she was unceremoniously exiled from Auradon and there had been no effort to get her off the hellscape that was the Isle.
"You actually survived the Isle for more than a day?" Uma asked.
Persephone sighed. "Be nice Uma."
"I am being nice Aunt Steph. Like the Charmette said, it's a valid question."
To make matters worse, there was no one here who recognized her as the Queen she was.
"Huh, for once the Ancient Harbinger of Doom is right," Chip said.
Lucas sighed. I feel I'm going to regret asking but what do you mean?"
"She said no one recognized her as the Queen she was. Was. Since she was stripped of her titles, she's no longer a Queen."
"You know that's not what she meant right?"
"Let me have this!"
Instead the Isle dwellers were content in shunning her and making her get by with minimal shelter.
"Considering you were content in making us get by with minimal food, I think it's only fitting," Harry said with a glare.
No, but they were fine in showing differential treatment toward Mal. One of the brats she had seen by the docks the day she had arrived had even called her captain when talking about her.
"Yes, because she's earned the title and acts like one unlike some people," Henry said as all the Rats in attendance leveled a glare at Leah.
As if the little spawn knew how to captain anything. According to Natalie, Mal was floundering at even the basic of tasks that a royal would know.
"Yes well Natalie's definition of floundering and my definition are two very different ones," Benji said, his eyes growing hard at the mention of Natalie.
Of course, that would be an adult royal, she thought with a small smirk.
"That's the point," Benji said with a slight growl.
Phillip shook his head and glared at Leah. "You're sick you know that? She's a child and you're taking pleasure in her pain!"
After all, we don't come out of the womb knowing what we know. But I would have thought months of watching Mal fail and embarrass him would have been enough to make Ben see that he was better off with my Audrey.
"Mal could never 'embarrass' me," Benji growled. "You know what I do find embarrassing? A grown woman trying to enact 'revenge' on a teenager!"
Ah Audrey. She was the only member of the family who hadn't forgotten her.
"I…I mean, she is my grandmother," Audrey said as everyone turned to look at her.
Aurora sighed. "She's right. We can't fault Audrey for wanting to maintain a contact with Leah even with all Leah's done," she said softly.
Leah lived for the weekly letters, filling her in on the activities of Auradon. But her beloved granddaughter seemed to be the only one who cared about her.
"Why do you think that is? Though I can't say I'm in any way surprised," Lucy shook her head.
Her grandson Phillip had yet to reach out to her, though why she would want to communicate with that spare is beyond her.
"What a coincidence because I don't want to interact with you either," Phil Jr. said though he wasn't going to lie. Hearing his grandmother call him a 'spare' for what felt like the millionth time still hurt.
Audie narrowed her eyes. "He. Is. Not. A. Spare!"
Honestly how egocentric do you have to be to name a child after yourself? Leah thought with a small scoff.
"I was the one who suggested naming him Phillip!" Aurora said, leveling a glare at her mother. "Phillip actually wanted to name Phil 'Stefan' after father even though we already honored him with Audrey's middle name."
"And I rather appreciate not being named after Grandfather," Phil Jr. said with a small nod of his head. "I like sharing dad's name, thank you!"
At least my Aurora had some sense when she named Audrey. It wasn't some common name like Phillip! I'm not at all surprised that Phillip hasn't come to my aid yet. He's always hated me, his own mother in law! I would have thought though he wouldn't be as petty as to poison Aurora against me.
Audie scoffed. "That's rich that you think father's poisoning mother against you when you actually poisoned grandfather in my timeline."
"She what?" Phillip exclaimed.
"There was an emergency in Queen Snow's kingdom," Audie said. "You and mother had gone to assist and while I was ruling, grandfather was going to be there to watch us since neither Phil or I were eighteen. However, Leah found out somehow and poisoned him—he survived thankfully but it had the symptoms of a really bad stomach bug."
"Oh thank Gods," Aurora sighed in relief as she rubbed her husband's shoulder. She knew how much Phillip loved his father.
She sighed as she shook her head, looking at her makeshift home. It wasn't the castle she spent so many years in but then there weren't really any castles on the Isle.
"Please, there're two castles on the Isle of the Lost," Harriet said, shaking her head. "Bargain Castle and Castle Across the Way."
"And I don't think Evil Queen would give up her home for you but you're welcome to Maleficent's castle if you're so desperate for one," Sammy added.
Oh sure she could have tried to set up shop in Maleficent's empty castle but that wasn't something she was about to do.
Emma rolled her eyes. "Figures. You've got a perfectly good unused shelter right there and you turn your nose up at it because Maleficent once used it."
For one, it would have involved spending time in a location that Maleficent had once called home. Who knew how many booby traps that demon had set up?
"Do…do I agree with Leah about Maleficent being a demon or do I roll my eyes at the unnecessary dramatics?" Mal asked.
"Why not both?" Hadie suggested.
"Brilliant!"
However, that wasn't the only reason. There were groups of the Isle brats who seemed to work in shifts, guarding the castle for Mal. Mal!
"I would never ask anyone to guard the Dragon's castle!" Mal exclaimed.
Malinda chuckled. "Oh man I forgot about that. Apparently there were some who thought the only reason we took down the Dragon was because we were more evil than her and therefore they wanted to stay in our good books."
"Sacks of potatoes have more brains than who ever thought that up," Uma said after a few minutes.
Gods, the very thought sent waves of anger down Leah's spine. Maleficent's spawn got better treatment on the Isle than she did—and she was a ranking royal of Auradon! Those brats should have been grateful she had even lowered herself to talk to them.
"Actually we'd rather you not 'lower' yourself to talk to us," Jay said. "Just don't talk to us."
"Jay…we're in Auradon when this happens," Mal said.
"Doesn't mean I want her talking to us. Scroll or not," Jay said with a small shrug.
"Fair enough."
Thankfully, Lady Persephone was still on the Isle as well.
"Yes thankfully so she can protect the younger VKs from your vitriol!" Claudine said, shooting a glare at Leah.
At least there was someone who was worth the effort of having a conversation with—at least that's what Leah thought.
"Yes but why would Persephone want to have a conversation with you?" Demeter asked, also glaring at Leah.
"Lady Persephone," Leah smiled upon seeing the Goddess as she took one of her many walks around the Isle. Finally, someone with Auradon's social graces. The last time she had lowered herself to talking to one of the brats, the little blonde haired goblin had pulled out a dagger and warned Leah that unless she wanted to know what a pin cushion felt like, she'd leave her the hell alone.
"Okay so it's either Brooke or CJ," Sammy said.
"Could have been you," Squeaky spoke up. "You're blonde."
Sammy chuckled. "I know but the scroll said that the girl was little. So that really only leaves CJ or Brooke. Remember she's almost like a CJ clone."
"Plus she'd have a dagger in the scrolls," Harriet added. "If she's part of the…the Angels."
"The Rats have daggers too though," Uma said. "Mainly the daggers the Angels stick us with in face offs coming back to bite them though."
Honestly, the language on that girl! She couldn't have been more than fourteen and yet she swore like a sailor!
"Ah so it's CJ," Harriet chuckled and then turned serious as she glared at Leah. "Stay away from my little sister!"
If anyone had looked over at Harry, they might have seen him hold his hook up so that it glinted menacingly in the light. He might have despised his sister for taking away their mother (regardless of what their mother had said) but no one got to insult CJ while he was around.
Then again, what did Leah expect? This was the Isle, the same place that produced Mal. A girl who was more than content with lying straight to Auradon's face.
Is it sad to say that Leah was right? I was lying…I was lying by pretending I was fine, Malinda thought with a small sigh.
"Leah," Persephone stated, her tone flat.
"Persephone is clearly not in the mood to talk to Leah," Poseidon said, a faint note of amusement audible in his voice. Not because the situation was amusing but because he was curious to see what Leah would be turned into.
With Maleficent in her current state of being a lizard, it was much safer for her to walk around the whole Isle and see if there were any other kids in need of assistance.
"Thank goodness for that. I can do so much more," Persephone said with a small sigh.
She had not expected to see the former Queen of Auroria even if she knew of Leah's banishment to the Isle thanks to her son.
"How'd I hear about it?" Hadie asked. "I mean obviously the school's gossip chain would work but I wouldn't think I'd be hanging on their every word."
Malinda chuckled. "You became good friends with Neal, Alexandria, Evan, Herkie, Melody, and Ashaki. Ashaki, as we all know, is one of the many cogs in the gossip chain."
"Ah," Hadie nodded. "So I found out from Ashaki?"
"Yep!"
Persephone held back a sigh as she thought about her son. Her Hadie.
Hadie looked over at his mom. Did…did I do something in the future to make her sad? I wonder what it was.
Talking on the mental link wasn't the same as holding him in her arms and unfortunately, the portal only worked to talk through when she activated it from the Auradon side.
"Why?" Jane asked. "Why does the portal only work on the Auradon side? It's not as if it's wicked magic to activate it and if we're bringing over Mal and Hadie at some point, having a way to see their parents might be appreciated."
"Huh," Hades said, looking impressed. "I like her. She clearly has a brain."
Otherwise, she'd be able to talk to both her kids—and find out why Mal had her mental link on mute for so long.
Malinda couldn't help but wince softly as she heard that. "I'm so sorry mom," she whispered.
It wasn't as if Persephone was constantly chatting to her through it, and the other Gods seldom used it unless it was an emergency. Still, she liked talking to Mal and knowing something was wrong but not being able to do anything was torture.
"Which was why I didn't tell you," Malinda said with a small sigh.
Hades knew it too, he could feel the waves of panic and stress that had to be coming from Mal's link but he was put on mute as well.
"Malinda, if this doesn't get sorted soon, your sunspot's going to have to deal with me breaking out of the Isle to talk to you!" Hades muttered.
It was honestly worse than the time Mal had run away to her clubhouse after Hadie was born. She hadn't been trained how to use her mental link so they couldn't use it to find her. This time, they knew where she was but she was refusing to talk to them.
"It truly is worse," Hades said as he nodded his head.
"Finally someone I can petition here. There's been a mistake."
Hades couldn't help but burst out laughing at the thought of Leah daring to have a conversation with his wife. This should end well for her, he thought with a smirk.
"Really? You think Lady Persephone is going to try to get you off the Isle?" Claudine asked, shaking her head. "You kinda messed that up when you decided that people didn't need actual food, prison or not."
"A mistake?" Persephone asked, raising an eyebrow as she brought herself back into the conversation she was being forced to have.
"The only mistake was not putting you on the Isle sooner," Uma said, glaring at Leah.
Because of you, Harry's had to live in Tartarus since he was four…if it hadn't been for Uncle Hades and Aunt Steph, I might have lost my best friend, she thought, her hands curling into fists.
After the events of Family Day, Persephone made it a point to not be alone with Leah should the aged monarch do something that might force Persephone's hand and cause Leah to remember how the mint plant came into being.
"Do it, do it, do it," Harry, Jay and Hadie began to chant, leaning forward in their seats.
"Harry…" Harriet sighed.
"Hadie…" Hades warned.
Mal shook her head. "Really Jay?"
"You know you're thinking it too!"
"Thinking being the operative word!"
"How so? I don't believe King Ben would have sent you to the Isle had there not been a reason. After all, he knows what the Isle is like thanks to Mal and her friends."
"Again, the only mistake made was you not being put on the Isle sooner," Chip said, glaring at Leah.
Lucas shook his head. "I have to say, not being the one responsible for keeping Leah alive is so much more relaxing."
Leah resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the mention of Mal.
"We admire your restraint," Sammy said, her voice dry as she rolled her eyes.
She was trying to get on the Goddess' good side and showing contempt toward a girl she thought of as a daughter was probably not the best way to do so. Why Lady Persephone thought that was still a mystery to Leah.
"Because she is my daughter," Persephone said firmly, glaring at Leah. "I adopted her. That makes her my daughter."
Oh sure, the girl technically was Lady Persephone's step-daughter being the biological child of Lord Hades but there was no denying the fact that Mal was Maleficent's daughter. The sooner Persephone realized that, the sooner they could prevent the destruction of Auradon.
"This is the last time I will say this Leah," Persephone said. "I. Adopted. Mal. She is my daughter in all but the cells that make up her body and even then some could debate that! Mal is mine pure and simple!"
"Furthermore, Mal is not and would never bring about the destruction of Auradon," Benji added, his voice just as firm as his mother-in-law's had been.
"King Ben may believe that he had a reason but really he just let his council demean me and persecute me without reason. All because of baseless accusations that I tried to starve the people of the Isle!"
Belle sighed and shook her head. "I would generally advise against sharing those charges out loud while on the Isle of the Lost, Leah."
"Nah, she should say it as loudly as possible if she wants her time on the mortal plane to be a short one," Jay said. "I'm not saying the Rats would but there're a lot of kids on the Isle who's gladly take a shot at revenge. Plus there're the lions, the hyenas, the tigers, and Sabor."
"Yeah I probably wouldn't shout those accusations while out in public on the Isle," Persephone said dryly.
"Seems Lady Persephone agrees with you there mom," Abby said with a small chuckle.
"There's a large contingent still loyal to Mal and my husband. Not to mention, Leah, my son spent eleven years of his life dealing with that 'food' you deemed acceptable for the children of the Isle to eat. If it hadn't been for the fact that I had the ability to bring over some food from Auradon, I've no doubt all the kids would be a lot worse off than they are."
Demeter sighed as she looked over at Persephone, a sad look gracing her features. I wish…had I known, I could have helped you Persephone, she thought.
This time, Leah did not resist the urge to roll her eyes. "Honestly Lady Persephone, you can't honestly believe—."
"Wha-You-There-there's something wrong with your brain Leah!" Chip exclaimed.
"Leah, if you truly feel that there was no harm done, then you'll have no qualms in eating the food that will be presented on the barge," Persephone said.
Hades, Mal, Hadie, Harry, and Uma all couldn't help the smirks that appeared on their faces as they heard that.
"Why...um no of course not. I'd gladly eat anything that was presented to me—."
Hades snorted. "Oh that's cute. She thinks she'd have the chance to eat at my restaurant."
"Or mama's," Uma added with a chuckle.
Tiana sighed as Naveen muttered under his breath. She had to wonder if Uma had mentioned her mother's restaurant just to get a rise out of Naveen but it wasn't the time to ask that.
Mal shook her head. "You'd better get used to using your hands to get your food, Leah," she said.
"Oh no Leah. That's not how it works here," Persephone said and unless Leah was mistaken there was a small smirk on Persephone's lips. "If you're not present at the barge when it delivers the monthly food drop, then you're likely not going to get anything unless you're fortunate enough to make an alliance. The only ones who are so fortunate as to not be there are the Evil Queen, Jafar, Cruella and my husband. The later three because they have their own businesses to run or because it's easier to limit contact with her in Cruella's case and the Evil Queen because of everything that happened with her husband."
"Well Evil Queen keeps going on about how she's a 'royal', she probably wouldn't even be there anyway," Harry said.
"Why would she?" Dizzy asked. "She can get delivery from Lord Hades' restaurant!"
They may have been an Island of Villains but even they had a code. Daniel had been beloved by many of the children of the Isle because of his kind nature—while the adults appreciated his strong work ethic and his tendency not to complain. After all, he had volunteered to come to the Isle to be with the Evil Queen.
"As has been said, even the Isle has rules and a code of conduct," Harriet said.
Villains understood loyalty after all.
"Loyalty is rare so when you see it, you appreciate it more," Milah said.
Even after Daniel was taken off the Isle by King Ben, there was still some speculation that he would return. Obviously once that happened, the deliveries of food from Hades' restaurant would stop but until that day arrived, they would continue.
Hades nodded slowly even as Evie shot him a grateful smile.
"Oh, and Leah," Persephone said as she turned to leave, "don't think you'll be able to just get food from my husband's restaurant or Ursula's if you're unable to get anything from the delivery barge. After all, I did inform my husband of your abhorrent behavior at Family Day and well I'm sure Uma's already informed her mother about what you've done toward the Isle. You might get lucky though and be able to purchase something from Frollo's shop. You and he are a lot alike if you think about it. Both of you were content to commit mass murder to get your goals."
"While I don't see Leah doing that, if she does go, she should try the spinach and egg crepe," Uma said. "It's Gil's favorite. Gaston apparently took Gil there when Gil was younger and Frollo tripled the amount of eggs per Gaston's demand."
"Probably tripled the price too," Harriet pointed out, elbowing Harry in the side before he could make a rude comment about Gil.
"…Frollo runs a shop?" Esmeralda asked.
Claudine nodded. "Our apartment is right above the shop, honestly it smells amazing. If it wasn't for…well the male Frollos, I'd stay in the apartment rather than living in the Haven full time."
"But doesn't Freddy live in the Haven too?" Henry asked. "From what you told me?"
"Hence why I have to live there as well," Claudine said. "Someone's got to protect Morgan."
Leah's jaw dropped and Persephone turned on her heel, making her way back whence she came.
"That was fairly tame for Persephone," Hera said. "After all, she's Demeter's daughter and we all know how protective Demeter was of Persephone. Leah's lucky Persephone didn't turn her into a mint plant or a tree."
It had certainly been an alarming notion—the idea of getting food for herself! She was a royal after all! She had people to do that for her!
Kit looked over at his kids. "And this is why I try to learn one 'non royal' task a month."
"I thought it was because mom was thrust into a new environment when she became your wife and so you wanted to show how much you loved and supported her by learning something new as well?" Alexandria asked.
Cinderella chuckled at the stunned look on Kit's face. He hadn't realized he'd been so obvious about it. "I think it can be both, Alex," she told her daughter. "Basically what your father's telling you is that we want you all to be able to fend for yourselves should you find yourself away from the palace for whatever reason."
"Hence why you wouldn't let me get my license unless I also learned how to change a tire," Chad said.
"Exactly," Kit nodded.
But as the month came and went with the delivery barge arriving, Leah watched as the denizens of the Isle trampled each other for the remnants of what had been delivered after Lord Hades' representatives had grabbed what they could.
"And it starts…" Evie whispered.
They were nothing to look at—two brats if Leah was being generous. One a tall skinny boy who seemed perpetually nervous and twitchy, the other a small dark skinned girl with dull red hair.
"Hey! My hair's not dull!" Celia exclaimed.
Uma looked over at her sister. "You don't even know that's you, Lia."
"Dark skin and red hair? Who else on the Isle could that be?" Celia asked. "But why am I going to the barge? Freddie and Uma always told me to stay as far away from there as I could."
Malinda smiled slightly. "When Uma came to Auradon, you became dad's errand rat. It was dad's way of looking out for you and to alleviate some worry from Uma. Virgil was always diligent in keeping an eye on you and when it came apparent that the crowd got too impatient, he'd give you the signal to scurry out so that way you wouldn't get trampled."
Uma looked over and gave her uncle a grateful smile.
"Celia and Virgil are better people than you will ever be!" Hadie snapped at Leah.
Once they collected their prize, the kids scurried off in direction of the Underworld and that seemed to be the unspoken signal for the others to commence the free for all.
"They're my errand rats," Hades said. "Any of the idiots there touches them and they deal with me."
"And Freddie," Uma added. "If I can't be there to protect Lia, you know our sister will!"
"Not to mention all the Rats would help Celia in a heartbeat if she ran into trouble," Henry nodded.
Honestly, it was like scenes Leah would see on the news about people killing each other for a sale at one of the many shops Audrey would frequent. Didn't they know there'd be enough food for everyone?
"Well, no there won't be," Henry said. "Because with Maleficent, she grabs all the edible food she can or rather has her minions do it and then everyone else is left with what she couldn't carry off."
Then again, these were villains. Maybe they just preferred killing people.
"You know Scar and Clayton and Rourke are really the only villains with a body count," Harriet said.
Claudine shook her head. "And…and my father. Burnt down half of Paris remember?"
"Oh…right…"
When it was finally Leah's turn, she was shocked to see how picked over everything was.
"Congratulations. You now know why people trample each other when the barge arrives," Henry said, shaking his head.
She was lucky to find a few cans of soup that looked to be a week past their expiration date, a couple of carrots that were blacker than Mal's soul, and a brisket with more fuzz on it than her grandson's chin.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Mal and Phil Jr. said at the same time.
She grabbed it of course because food was food. She'd need her strength if she was going to get off this hellscape of a rock.
Claudine raised an eyebrow and looked over at Leah. "And how are you going to do that? If no one's managed to escape in the years before Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos were invited off, I doubt you'll figure out how to in the mere months you've been on the Isle."
Eating it would also prove that Mal had kicked up too much of a fuss at the council meeting and show Ben that he'd been better off with Audrey. Honestly, a girl who was that fussy about food would only complain and drive a wedge in their relationship. Audrey was content to let things rest where they may.
"Oh so caring about people's lives is 'kicking up a fuss'?" Benji asked. "I'd hate to know what all of your complaints are then!"
To her surprise, all eating the disgusting food did was give her food poisoning.
"Karma!" Jay and Lonnie said, their voices sounding almost as if they were singing.
Much to no one's sympathy for that matter. Well, except for Audrey. Her weekly letters would contain messages urging Leah to feel better and save her strength, that one day she would be reunited with her and that Leah would regain her rightful spot as Queen of Auroria.
"Your rightful spot? You don't have the right to anything seeing as that's how you treated the Isle," Posideon said.
There was a reason why she had begun to hypnotize Chad after all.
Silence fell over the group like a blanket as Kit stared at Leah as if he hadn't heard what Henry had said correctly.
"Pardon? Could you repeat that Henry?"
"Um…it says that Leah had begun to hypnotize Chad," Henry said. He might have been a pirate and a Rat but even he was a bit nervous about how Kit was glaring at the older woman. The only good thing for Leah was that Kit wasn't a God.
"That's what I thought you said," Kit said, shaking his head.
"Honestly, you're acting like—."
"No! You do not get to try to talk your way out of this Leah! You do not get to try to defend yourself for messing with my son!"
"Oh? And here I thought we weren't to punish people for things they hadn't done yet?" Leah asked, tilting her head.
Kit clenched his jaw. Damnit, she's got a point, he thought.
"Wait a minute!" Kitty exclaimed, hopping up to her feet. "During one of the breaks, the one where dad yelled at Chad, Chad said he was experiencing a compulsion and memory loss! Remember?"
Fairy Godmother gasped. "Compulsions and memory loss can be signs of a hypnosis," she said as she glanced over at Chad.
"So it's not a question of when you'll do it, it's a question of how long you've been doing it and clearly you've been doing it for as long as you've felt like it!" Kitty growled and lunged. She would have gone after Leah had it not been for Cinderella holding her daughter back.
Not that she was putting much effort into restraining her daughter but the last thing she wanted was for her daughter attack someone. The way her step sisters had attacked her the night of the ball.
"You're foul! You're nothing but a cockroach!" Lucy snarled as she stood up. "You turned our brother into someone we barely recognized and for what? So Audrey would have someone waiting for her should Ben break up with her? Should Chad just always be waiting in the wings for Audrey, longing for her to throw him a crumb of affection? There are three people who get to mess with Chad and you are not one of them—let me go dad!"
"Lucy, as much as I'd like to, you need to calm down," Kit said though the almost growl to his voice seemed to contradict his words.
Around the room, other members of the reading seemed to need to be held back (or in the Smee twins' case, just held since the rising tempers were making them nervous).
"Calm. Down," Aziz hissed in Emir's ear as his little brother struggled to get out of his grasp. "I know you're friends with Chad but you can't—."
"Mom was almost put under a spell to be forced to love Jafar," Emir growled back. "You know as well as anyone Aziz that messing with someone's love is unconscionable.
Aziz sighed as Kristoff held his own son in his arms, Akiho resembling a crazed badger. But the two boys had their reasons for wanting to be the one to smack Leah even if they'd been raised to never lay a hand on a woman.
How many times had they called Chad a jerk who only cared about Audrey? How many times had they made jokes about sniffing around Audrey's skirts? And now…to find out that it hadn't been up to him?
"Melody, calm down," Eric whispered as his youngest daughter also tried to squirm out of his grasp.
"No dad! You were hypnotized by Ursula and almost married her! Every one in the kingdom knows that a hypnosis is simply not done! And yeah Chad may not be the best but he's Alexandria's brother! Why wouldn't I try to support her?"
Speaking of the youngest Charming, no one in their family had seemed to realize that while Kit had Lucy and Cinderella had Kitty, there was no one to hold back Alexandria from marching up and slapping Leah across the face.
"How dare you?!"
"That was for my brother, you slimy, yellow-bellied, codfish of a cow!" Alexandria exclaimed and Chad quickly scrambled to get his little sister away from Leah. "Let me go Chad!"
"Alex, you can't just hit someone and whether we like it or not, Leah's still a Queen—."
"No she's not, she had her titles stripped! Not to mention I don't care! I'm sure mom and dad will forgive me, in fact look at dad's face! He's cheering me on! Let me go! Let me at the demonic humanoid! As Lucy said, no one but her, Kitty, and me get to mess with you!"
Kit tried to school his features so that it didn't look like he was cheering his youngest daughter on but it was no use since he was longing to do the same thing. Only he knew he couldn't as that would release his hold on Lucy.
The eyeball spun, drawing everyone's attention to it and silencing the uproar. Meaning no one noticed Chad glance over at Audrey.
Was…was any of it real? Anything I felt toward her? Chad thought as he dragged Alex back toward their family. And…why's everyone being so protective? I…I could have sworn they hated me. Especially Kat and Lu.
"…earplugs?" Emir asked as the eyeball stopped spinning. "Well at least it's not a new reader but still."
Henry read ahead a tad in the scroll and his eyes widened. He looked over at Sammy and tried to convey that what was coming might not be the best for her brothers' to hear.
"…come on you two, let's grab a pair of these that the Fates were kind enough to provide," Sammy said, catching Henry's meaning and grabbing two pairs of earplugs.
"CJ, you're getting the ear plugs," Harriet said.
"What?!"
"Don't argue with me, CJ. You're getting them."
"Harriet, I want to hear!"
Uma shook her head and looked over at Celia, tuning out the Hook argument. Dizzy had already accepted the earplugs from Evie without putting up a fuss so Uma was hoping her little sister would as well. "Either you use the earplugs for whatever's coming or I cover your ears."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Try me."
Persephone sighed and looked over at Hadie. Same thing Hadie, she thought over the mental link.
Mom!
If Uma thinks Celia shouldn't hear what we might hear in the scroll, then that's your choice. Earplugs or I cover your ears.
…I'll take the earplugs.
Thank you.
As the VKs started to take the earplugs, the AKs looked over at their siblings (at least the AKs who had younger siblings). They knew that if the VKs were grabbing ear plugs for their younger siblings that this wouldn't be something they'd want to hear.
"Take the earplugs. Now," Aziz told Emir and Ashaki.
"Same for you, you five," Rachel nodded as she looked at her siblings.
Lil Shang looked at Lonnie. "You may be over fifteen but you're still my little sister. Ear plugs."
"Chip! Stop foisting these on me!" Ben exclaimed as Chip seemed to have skipped the 'convincing' step and had shoved ear plugs into Ben's front jacket pocket.
"Yeah!" Melody nodded. "We want to hear!"
Elle shook her head. "If the kids from the Isle are preparing to cover their ears, I don't think this is something you're going to want to hear, Mel."
It'd escaped everyone's notice that Leah was screaming at the top of her lungs about the slap and how she expected Kit to throughly punish Alexandria. Though after not being acknowledged due to the earplugs' arrival, she settled down. Slightly. Well she became quiet though she could be heard muttering under her breath.
No one seemed to notice the joint death glare from the Big Three that was being leveled at her.
Her granddaughter needed a reward for her unbridled loyalty and a boyfriend who would never leave her was just the thing to get the girl who had everything.
"Chad. Is. Not. An. Object. Or. A. Reward," Alexandria snarled, leveling a death glare toward Leah that honestly matched Hades'. "He is a person!"
Granted it was a non magical hypnosis, which were reported to be weaker than magical hypnosi but Leah had no magic to speak of.
"Sadly, they still seem to work if Chad's behavior is anything to go by," Lonnie said with a small sigh.
If she reached out to the Good Fairies for their assistance, there was a risk of word getting to Audrey and spoiling the surprise. Those three nitwits couldn't keep a secret if their lives depended on it.
"…as much as it pains me to defend the two imbeciles and Merryweather, they did manage to keep Aurora's location a secret for sixteen years," Mal said, shaking her head. "However, I don't see them keeping this a secret. Mainly because I'm pretty sure it's illegal."
I have to wonder how long the hypnosis will stay without my administering it every week, Leah thought.
"It won't stay on at all!" Kitty growled.
Though Natalie should be able to handle that. She's certainly handling Mal just the way I thought she would. Honestly, one would think a supposed daughter of Persephone would be able to handle a bit of stress but from the reports I get, Mal's slowly growing more and more frazzled each day.
Benji shook with rage, both at the memory of his best friend going through that and of the memory of the torment his wife had to go through. "I knew you had something to do with that," he growled.
"Ben, don't worry about it," Malinda said, gently resting a hand on his shoulder. "It's in the past. It'll never happen now."
Well you know what they say about Karma. Had Mal not enchanted Ben somehow and stolen him from Audrey, she wouldn't be going through this.
"How many times do we have to say it? Ben. Can't. Be. Enchanted!" Chip exclaimed.
Though I never thought about implying she'd embarrass Ben by acting like herself. I mean, it's obvious but I would have just slipped in some comments in the Gazelle. Natalie shows some true promise to say such comments to Mal's face.
"Oh I admire your restraint to bully a teenager behind the anonymity of print," Benji said with a low growl as he glared at Leah.
As much as I love Aurora, there are times I wonder if she's truly my daughter considering how she favors the Isle brats and comes to their defense.
"…you gave birth to me," Aurora said after a few minutes of staring at her mother in shock. "How could I not be your daughter? Though I will admit, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather are more like mothers to me than you ever were."
"Though I'll say this, a DNA test would not be out of the question just based on how completely opposite you two are," Hades said.
Leah shook her head, trying to rid herself of her thoughts. The brats of the Isle had proven that being lost in thought would only mean they'd have an opportunity to steal what was rightfully her's.
"So…how many times do you think she's been pickpocketed already?" Jay asked with a slight smirk.
After all, that's what Mal did and that's what her own daughter did as well. Stole her ability to rule the kingdom.
"They didn't steal anything! Aurora's the rightful heir!" Phillip exclaimed.
She had a plan though. It was near the day that the food barge would arrive and Leah was going to be on it. Once she was back in Auradon, she'd clean house first and reinstate herself as the rightful Queen of Auroria.
"Over my dead body!" Phil Jr. exclaimed, glaring at his grandmother. "Mom is the rightful Queen of Auroria since you've been stripped of your titles!"
Henry raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Leah. "And how do you plan to do that? The Rats guard and patrol the docks, so you'd still need to get past us first. You know, the people loyal to Mal?"
She'd make Audrey her heir of course. Her granddaughter's loyalty would be rewarded, not to mention the hypnosis Leah had put on Chad would have to be reestablished as to allow Audrey the chance to run two kingdoms.
Kit shook his head. "Leah, let me make one thing perfectly clear. If, for some reason, you do come off the Isle, you will die before you even get the chance to breathe around my son, never mind being able to touch him," he snarled.
It helped, of course, that Chad was already besotted with Audrey. If it wasn't for the fact that her granddaughter deserved the best, Leah would have been satisfied with the Charming heir as a match.
"Audrey doesn't deserve the best anymore than anyone else does," Neal said. "Not to mention, I think you've just cancelled out Chad being 'besotted' with her!"
But Audrey was meant to be more than just a Queen. She was born to be the Queen and now, because of a sneaking snake of a girl, she had lost that chance.
"You know since I can turn into a dragon, I'm going to consider that a compliment," Malinda said, leveling a glare at Leah.
It just wasn't fair! The Evil Queen's brat had been the one to break the barrier and cause Maleficent of all villains to have a chance to escape yet it was her who was unceremoniously sent to the Isle! And for what? Trying to protect Auradon?
"You got put on the Isle for murder," Benji said, his voice cool. "There was nothing 'protective' about what you did."
The villains had their food and really they should have been grateful they got what they did, she thought as she made her way to the docks.
"The villains? Maybe they should be grateful we got food. But our children shouldn't have had to suffer for our crimes," Hades said, his voice a low growl as he too glared at Leah.
Night had fallen, or at least she assumed it had. With the constant cloud cover, it was almost nigh impossible to tell if it was ten in the morning or six in the evening. But Leah could assume it was night judging by the almost empty street she was on.
"Wait…you're walking around at night on the Isle?" Celia asked, looking at Leah. "Did you get hit with the stupid stick or something?"
"Well well well," a menacing voice came out from the shadows, causing Leah to jump as she stopped in her tracks and looked around to see where the voice was coming from. "What do we have here Banzi?"
"Oh yes, be afraid," Malinda said with a small smirk.
Uma chuckled. "Sounds like the hyenas are out and about."
"I don't know Shenzi. What do you think Ed?" Another voice responded only to get a laugh from this 'Ed' person.
"Yep…definitely the hyenas," Harriet nodded.
Leah knew she'd have to think quickly to try to get some form of an alliance—or at least assistance to get to the docks. Of course, all thought went out the window as the owner of the voice stepped out from the shadows and Leah realized she was surrounded by about twelve hyenas. Twelve angry hyenas by the looks on their faces though four of the smaller ones simply looked amused.
"Sounds like Shenzi brought her cubs with her," Harriet said.
Mal nodded. "It definitely sounds like that to me too. After all, Jasiri's in line to be the next matriarch of the cackle when Shenzi passes on. And then Madoa would need to know what to do in case anything happens to Jasiri."
"And Janja and Tonto?" Jay asked.
"If they're there for what I think they're there for…no fresher meat than the kind you get yourself," Uma said, her voice soft.
"The humans informed us about you," the owner of the first voice as she stepped forward. Shenzi, Leah believed. She also noted that there was a slight menacing growl to the hyena's voice though Leah was sure she was imagining it. The hyenas' feud was with Simba not with her.
"Oh I think we all know that you're not imagining anything," Rose said as she shook her head.
"I...I mean you no harm—."
"Lying to a hyena is only going to get them more mad at you," Carlos said, shaking his head slightly.
"DeVil's right," Harry nodded. "Won't matter that you're a woman either, you lie to them when they're already mad at you and there's nothing that can save you."
"Well…the Rats probably could," Claudine said. "Not that they would of course."
Uma snorted. "Why waste an ally token on her? Oh that reminds me, when we get back to the ship Harry, give Henry an ally token to give to Claudine. Just Claudine. I don't want to hear talk about Shayla or Strat using it."
"I'll guard it with my life," Claudine promised.
"Ha!" One of the smaller hyenas let out a bark like laugh. "Captain Mal and Captain Uma warned the other humans you'd try that."
"Of course we did," Malinda nodded. "We knew that Leah would try anything so it was only right that we inform our allies of her true nature."
"Jasiri," Shenzi barked in warning and Jasiri nodded, backing up back into the pack of hyenas. Turning back to Leah, Shenzi stated, "my daughter is correct though. The other humans did state you'd try to lie and say you mean no harm to us."
"There's no way she'd let her child near Leah knowing what she did," Meg said with a small nod.
"But that's true! Your feud is with the lions, not with me!"
"I think you'll find that the hyenas' 'feud' is with anyone they consider a threat," Uma said.
"Our 'feud' as you called it is with whoever threatens the cackle," Shenzi growled. "Do you not think by denying the humans food, you threatened the safety of my family? Of my children?"
"Actually wouldn't it help the hyenas?" Ashaki asked, the genuine confusion in her voice preventing the VKs from jumping down her throat. "I mean…hyenas are scavengers so…"
"Gaston and Clayton are both hunters," Hadie spoke up. "Deny the Isle fresh food and the hunters are going to go for what they can."
"Oh…"
"Not to mention Shenzi might be many things but she's also a mother," Malinda said, rubbing her stomach. "You don't mess with a mother's children."
They had been lucky that they had survived for so long. It had actually been due to the captains approaching her all those years ago to set up an alliance.
"It was as beneficial to us as it was to you Matriarch," Uma nodded.
Normally Shenzi would have been wary about doing such a thing. The last alliance she put her family in, Scar had stabbed them in the back. Granted, they got their revenge on him and the humans knew all about it.
"Well you can't exactly blame her for being wary," Macaria said.
But two things had prevented Shenzi from eating the two captains where they stood. After all, they had willingly come to her den to talk about an alliance. That showed bravery, a trait that was rare for the humans of the Isle. As well, they were but cubs when they approached her. Only five years of age and yet desperate to make deals to secure their safety.
Esmeralda sighed and shook her head. Five years old and needing to make deals with dangerous predators to secure their safety, she thought. No matter what is said about the Isle, leaving children there who had done nothing against us…well that's not justice. It's vengeance as I said before. Chidden should not have to suffer for the crimes of their parents.
Normally, Shenzi wouldn't have cared about the age of the human cubs but unbeknownst to her, she had been carrying her own cubs at the time of the meeting. So she had been a bit more agreeable—and it didn't hurt that the humans really made the deal more beneficial to the hyenas than they did for themselves.
"Pregnancy does change the way you think," Snow White said, giving her two kids a small smile.
Her cackle would get to patrol the Isle, eating any dead or decaying human they could find.
"Honestly that'd be a sanitation issue if they didn't," Rowyn said, her voice soft. "All those…those bodies just lying out all over the place?"
As well, they would have full access to the dead bodies that came out of the monthly food deliveries. All the humans asked was that they had the chance to remove the bodies of any children under the age of twelve or any of their people should they be in the crowd.
"So…the hyenas are basically alive because of that alliance," Hercules said, his voice soft.
As well, the Captain Mal somehow had access to fresh water. Not that salty stuff that helped to imprison them on this Island. It wasn't fit for the humans to drink let alone the hyenas. Though if they were desperate enough, they could get some hydration from the blood of their kills.
"Thank my dad for that Matriarch," Mal said.
The deal favored the hyenas in such a way that Shenzi would have been a fool to turn it down. But she was still wary. Like she said, the last time they entered a deal that favored the hyenas to such a degree, it turned out to be a bust for them.
"Honestly though that was mainly because Scar was trying to use the prejudice that was taught to Simba in order to divert his nephew's anger," Rose said.
"Well that and Mother Nature decided to give Scar a giant karmic F.U. by drying up the watering holes and having the herds move on," Lil Shang added.
So it was an alliance that was under a probationary period until Shenzi felt as if she could at least count on the humans if not trust them.
"Honestly? That's fair," Emma nodded.
"Yeah, clearly Shenzi is using the old adage of 'fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me' as her guide," Neal said.
The time came sooner than she thought, when that moronic Evil Queen captured her children and used them as party favors for the other brats attending her spawn's celebration.
"I'm sorry but she really thought hyenas would be a good party favor?" Evan asked in shock.
Mal nodded. "We were lucky that somehow Gaston Jr. and Carlos were two of the hyena recipients. Maddy was another one and Evie got the final cub."
"How was it lucky that Gaston Jr. was one of the four?"
"I got to punch a Gaston," Harry smirked. Sure it wasn't Gil but it was better than nothing.
"I had told mother I'd be happy with just Othello but she said a Princess always has the best," Evie said softly.
"…who's Othello?" Rose asked.
"Iago's son," Evie explained. "He was in my baddie bag."
"Who gets a goodie bag for their own birthday?"
Ben grinned. "You named him after the main character in Shakespeare's Othello? Nice reference there!"
"I should be surprised that's what drew your attention but I'm not," Chip chuckled.
As soon as Shenzi learned about that, she had rushed to the pirates. To her surprise, Mal had jumped on the chance to get her cubs back and made sure each cub got water and food upon their return.
'Of course I did!" Mal said. "One: you don't turn your back on your allies and two: do I look like I want to be eaten?"
It was then that Shenzi knew that this was an alliance that would not end horribly.
If it did, she could always do what they had done to Scar.
"And because none of us want to see the inside of a hyena's belly, we make sure the alliance does not end horribly," Uma muttered to Harry.
Even though both captains were gone, the new captain was honoring that agreement. He seemed fairly competent for a male though most of the time the black furred captain handled any discussions that were needed.
Henry stared in shock. "You…you guys made me captain?"
"Who else?" Uma asked. "You're already fourth in command, Henry. Naming you captain when Harry and I apparently go to Boreadon just makes sense."
Henry smiled slightly. "Well then that's probably the highest compliment a guy can get from a hyena so I'll treasure it."
The pirates seemed to have the right idea of it, keeping the females in charge.
Harriet chuckled. "I'm guessing I'm the 'black furred captain' then."
Even the new captain showed deference to the black furred captain.
"Of course I do! Harriet outranks me even if I'm now the captain of the whole crew," Henry said, nodding furiously.
"What are we going to do with her Shenzi?" Banzi asked, pulling Shenzi back to the present.
"I...I know you just ate," Leah lied, sounding braver than she felt. She may have been a Queen but even Queens knew the danger of angry hyenas.
"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say…it doesn't matter and yes, you should be scared," Lucas said.
"Actually we didn't," Shenzi said and smirked as she could see the color fade from the human's face. "Shere Khan's brat beat us to a child. Though it wouldn't matter even if we did just eat. Don't you know what they say about a hyena's belly?"
"That could be contributing to her anger," Malinda said with a slight sigh. "You might not think it but…I don't think Shenzi is all that fond of eating anyone young."
"If…if Shere Khan's kid is eating the kid though…unfortunately that usually means they're already…beyond helping," Harriet said, her voice soft.
Henry read a bit further and his eyes got wide. "Um…anyone who took earplugs might want to put them in…"
"Why?" Celia asked.
"Earplugs. Now," was the only response Henry gave. There were some grumbles but the kids slowly put on the ear plugs that their older siblings or parents had foisted upon them.
Shenzi didn't wait for an answer but instead dove straight for the human's throat.
Those who had their ears uncovered had their eyes grow wide and they quickly scrambled for either earplugs for their own ears or for their younger siblings if they had them.
"Ben, what are you doing?" Malinda asked as Benji held his hands on either side of her stomach.
"If babies can hear Mozart while in the womb, it'd be our luck that our child hears this. I'm making sure Firefly doesn't hear it," Benji said, not apologizing in the slightest.
Malinda sighed but quickly put her hands on Benji's ears. He was too good to hear something like that…plus he was busy focusing on their child rather than himself. But that was why he had her.
Once her teeth bit down, it was as if it was a signal to the others to dive in. The human honestly didn't last long but that was fine by them. Less of a fight meant less blood on their fur.
"…huh, I almost thought there'd be more of an uproar from Leah…and she passed out again," Meg said.
The eyeball spun and glowed once more and when it was done, another room had appeared. With a quick flash, Leah had been transported to the room where a one way mirror allowed the group a way to keep an eye on her.
"We were going to remove her once her part of the reading ended however we realized that with her knowledge she'd be too dangerous to send out of our sight," one of the Fates explained.
"Fine by me," Hades shrugged as those who'd had ear plugs began to take them out. "We don't have to deal with her screaming all the time and she's not a threat to the rest of us? Win win."
"I'll report back to the pirates. They should know that we've rid them of an enemy," Shenzi stated with a small smirk as she gnawed on one of the human's bones, having quickly stripped it of its flesh.
"That is always a lovely sentence to hear!" Harry said with a grin.
As matriarch of the cackle, she had the right to claim the biggest one there was—though there were plenty of bones to go around for all of them.
"That's good," Harriet nodded. "We don't want the cackle going hungry now do we?"
The human's fur was ripped to shreds though there was a red furred human cub who seemed to like messing with the furs of other humans. As well, the cub seemed to be under the pirates' protection at the very least.
"So is it our hair or our clothing that's our fur to them?" Emir asked, tilting his head. "Because it could go either way."
Aziz shook his head. "Why are you the way that you are?"
"Would you have me any other way?"
"…you know I wouldn't."
If she felt up to it, Shenzi might gift the bits to the human.
"Um…thank you?" Dizzy said. She didn't exactly know how to feel about being gifted bits of clothing by the hyenas.
But honestly after a meal like that, all she wanted to do was curl up in her den and sleep.
"Mother, why don't I do that?" Jasiri offered.
"Shenzi won't take that offer," Jay said, shaking his head.
"Because, even though you are next in line to be matriarch, I am still the leader," Shenzi said firmly. It would be bad form to insult the humans by sending her cub in her place, considering it had never been done before. Oh sure Jasiri had accompanied her when it came to having discussions with the humans but had never interacted with them one on one before.
"It seems the hyenas have as much respect for you guys as you do for them," Hyllus said.
"Eh I think we have a bit more respect for them," Hadie said.
"What makes you say that?" Alexandria asked, looking over at the blue haired Godling.
"We can't eat them."
"…that is a fair point."
"Yes mother," Jasiri nodded.
Shenzi smirked slightly and walked over to her. "That's my wicked girl," she said and nuzzled her daughter's face. "You all run back to the den, I shouldn't be long."
Her cubs nodded and ran off.
"I'm guessing that's the Isle's version of 'That's my good girl'?" Robin asked.
"Banzi," Shenzi said, her voice growing hard. "If Shere Khan, his girlfriend or brat, or those infernal lions harm them, you will see the inside of my belly."
"I wouldn't doubt her threat there," Jasmine said.
"No harm will come to them," Banzi promised before leading the rest of the cackle off to make sure nothing happened to the cubs. He had no wish to see if Shenzi would be true to her threat.
"Would she really eat Banzi?" Hadie asked. "I mean…he's her brother."
Mal sighed. "It's 50/50 but if something happened to her kids on his watch? I'd say the odds of it being 'yes' are higher."
Shenzi sighed and shook her head before making her way toward the pirates' den. She hated the smell of the salt water but it was a temporary evil.
"We appreciate the sacrifice Matriarch," Jay nodded. Had it been said to anyone else there might have been a sarcastic tinge to his voice but not this time.
Besides, informing the pirates meant that word would get to Captain Mal. After what she did to make sure her cubs got back safe and sound, informing the purple furred human about the death of her enemy was the least Shenzi could do.
"It was appreciated Matriarch," Malinda said. "More than you think."
"Hyena on the gangplank!" One of the humans called and Shenzi wasn't going to lie, she loved the fact that there was always a hint of fear and trepidation in the humans' voices whenever she walked up. It meant that these humans at least had a brain rattling around in their skull.
"I honestly don't think that there are any people on the Isle who don't fear the hyenas in some way, shape or form," Sammy said.
"Freddy?" Harriet suggested.
"Okay that's a good point."
"Thanks Nick! Someone get Harriet!" The new captain called as he walked up to greet Shenzi. "Matriarch, it's a pleasure. Is everything alright?"
"I don't think it's the time for small talk Henry," Jay said, shaking his head.
"There's no need to get the female captain, Captain Henry, though I do appreciate the courtesy," Shenzi told the red furred male. "I only came to inform you that my cackle has rid you of an enemy."
"Ooh that's never going to get old," Harriet said.
"Please say it's Freddy, please say it's Freddy," a brown furred male begged as he passed by.
"Ryan!" Henry warned but there was a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Zevon?" A black furred male asked as he walked up.
"Not going to lie, the more I hear that name the more I think it sounds like a brand of laundry detergent," Akiho said.
All the VKs paused and stared at him for a minute before bursting into laughter.
"Oh man! Detergent boy! I'm using that from now on!" Harry said, wiping away the tears of laughter that'd appeared after a few minutes.
"Matriarch, would you like to take this meeting to the captain's quarters and away from prying ears?" Henry offered, shooting a small glare toward the black furred male who at least had the common decency to look sheepish.
Uma and Mal nodded.
"Good, that's what she's used to," Uma said. "Just keep to the pattern."
"Well I mean I did watch you guys interact with the hyenas," Henry said. "I'm not going in blind."
"Yes please, thank you captain," Shenzi nodded and followed Henry to the captain's quarters. It was a room Shenzi was well familiar with, considering it was where she would often meet with Captains Mal and Uma when the need arose. However, Shenzi couldn't help but note that the room was not empty as it normally was.
"Oh? Who's there?" Smee asked.
"CJ told me you were meeting with the Matriarch," the black or brown furred female told Henry. Shenzi could never really tell with her, her fur color seemed to change as the light did.
"Black, my hair's black," Harriet muttered.
"Why am I not surprised Harriet?" Henry chuckled. "Shenzi was just saying that the cackle has rid us of an enemy."
"Freddy?"
"Oh we wish," Harriet muttered.
"I don't know who this Freddy is but the enemy we rid you of was an older female," Shenzi told them. "I have to say, they should send more enemies from across the salt water over here. There's a lot more fat on the bones than there are of the humans here."
"Unfortunately Matriarch, I hope we never need to fulfill your wish," Benji said with a small sigh.
"You may just know who Freddy is soon, Matriarch," Harriet said, her voice low.
Henry and Harriet froze at those words.
"Leah? The woman responsible for the food we've been getting according to Mal?" Harriet asked and seemed to sink back into her chair as Shenzi nodded.
Harriet sighed, she knew what her future self was thinking. It was the same thing she was.
Thank you for avenging my mother Matriarch, even if you didn't know you were, she thought.
"You okay?" Henry asked, his voice soft.
"I...I don't know why," Harriet said softly, "but it feels like my mother's been avenged somehow. I know she died in childbirth but…"
Milah gently hugged Harriet close to her as she heard that. She would have hugged all her children to her but CJ and Harry were already being comforted by either Jay and Uma or Hadie, Celia, and Dizzy.
Smee hugged Sammy, Squeaky, and Squirmy close to him as well. Even though it hadn't happened yet, at least in the scrolls, Mollie had been avenged.
"I know," Henry said, his voice still soft. "I think most of our mothers were the same. Gil lucked out, being born in a warm month. Not to mention the fact that his mom gave Gaston a son. That would have been enough motivation to make sure she got more food than the others."
"Imagine, favoring a significant other like that because they gave you a child of the gender you wanted them to be rather than just be happy that your child's healthy," Ariel said, her voice soft.
Claudine gently rubbed Henry's back, wanting to comfort him the way Harriet and Sammy were being comforted. But he still needed to read and it probably would have been difficult for him to do so with her hugging him.
Shenzi kept quiet, knowing that the humans' walls would come back up once she spoke. It was strange though, she found she was oddly touched by the fact that the humans had reacted as they did around her.
Almost as if they knew they could trust her.
"Well if she was going to eat you all, I think she would have done it by now. So I'd say she's right in thinking you trust her," Akiho said.
Ben shook his head. "Timing. We need to work on your timing."
"I'll have to have a crew meeting," Henry stated.
"You'll need to inform Mal," Harriet told him. "At the very least, inform Lady Persephone or Lord Hades and they can pass the news along."
"Oh you bet we will!" Hades said with a grin.
"How? If Mal's mental link is muted—."
"Ah ba ba ba Zeus, no talky! And you forget we have two other ways of accessing the mental link in Boreadon! Or at least the scroll versions of us do!"
"Right," Henry nodded before shaking his head slightly. "Thank you for informing us Matriarch. Would you like some water before you leave?"
Shenzi nodded. "If any can be spared, it would be appreciated Captain."
"Would you have made the offer if it couldn't?" Ashaki asked.
Henry nodded. "Probably…actually not probably. Definitely. We'd just have to ration it a bit more until we got some from Lord Hades."
"Lord Hades just sent over a batch last night," Henry said. "I'll go and fetch some. Be right back."
He left and quickly made his way to the deck where his friends were still mingling about. They were not who Henry wanted to talk to though.
"Thank you Lord Hades," Henry said.
Hades shook his head. "Don't mention it kid. You're Mal's allies, I'm going to look out for you."
"Wait…who's Henry going to talk to?" Uma asked.
"Dustin," Henry stated, grabbing one of the boys' arms.
"I didn't do it!"
"Now I want to know what he did," Uma said, chuckling slightly.
"I don't want to know," Henry sighed. "You haven't pissed off Lord Hades or Lady Persephone in some way have you?"
"Not that I know of."
"And believe me, if you had, you'd know," Hades said. "Dustin's annoying and I know way too much about his flings for my liking since he likes talking about them in my restaurant but I can't think of anything he'd do to 'piss me off'. Not unless he left your gang and joined the Angels."
"Considering the Angels almost killed him last year, I think it's a safe bet that it'll never happen, Lord Hades," Henry said.
"Good. I need you to run to the Underworld and let them know that we need to send word to Mal and Uma. Tell them that Leah's been taken care of."
"That sentence will never get old," Harry said with a grin.
Dustin nodded and took off as soon as Henry let go of his arm. Henry chuckled softly as he made his way to the galley to get the water. Dustin was a grade A prat at times and held the record for number of flings held among the crew but he could still be counted on for more responsibilities than say the younger crew members.
"Hey!" CJ protested.
After all, Ryan and CJ were only fourteen—the same age Brooke was when she left the crew to join Freddy's gang. While it wasn't Brooke's fault that she left, she might try to use that connection of being relatively close in age to try to lure Ryan or CJ to Freddy's side.
"Henry! You honestly think that?!" CJ exclaimed.
"Um…no," Henry said, looking very concerned for his safety as Harriet and Harry glared at him. "That's scroll-me's thoughts. Me-me is very convinced you'd never be lured off the ship CJ. Or Ry, for that matter."
"Good," Harry said lowly. Low enough that really only Henry, Mal, Malinda, Benji, Ben, and Uma heard him.
More so CJ than Ryan if Henry thought about it. Freddy had commented about how CJ was growing up during a face off last year.
"If Freddy ever manages to 'lure' me away from the Rats, check to see if he's learned magic because that's the only way I'll stop being a pirate," CJ said firmly.
"It won't even get that far," Harry growled. "Freddy boy will have a sword in his gut before you even step foot in the Haven. Hell, he'd be fed to the hyenas before he even gets within one league of you and if I'm not the one doing it, then Harriet will! And if we're not the ones doing it then you know full well that Ryan would happily do it."
Harriet nodded. "Harry's right CJ. If Freddy does get within one league of you, he'd be tasting steel so quickly he wouldn't be able to blink! Either by my blade, Harry's, or Ryans but he would taste steel!"
Milah couldn't help the proud smile that appeared on her lips as she looked over at her son. Anyone who truly hated their sibling would never say something like that, she thought.
It had taken three crew members to drag Harry off to prevent him from killing the male Frollo. Not that it would have been a waste if Harry had but Mal was firm on the whole 'we don't kill' thing.
"There's already so much death on the Isle, there's no sense in adding to it," Mal said, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at everyone as if challenging them to counter her.
They were the only gang on the Isle with that rule.
"Actually I think the LeGume girls have a 'don't kill' rule," Celia said. "Or at the very least they only kill in self defense."
"How do you know that?" Uma asked, looking at her sister.
Celia shrugged. "I pal around with Lacey sometimes when Hadie's busy with sword work or I can't come to the docks."
Every Angel, with the exception of Brooke and Claudine, had killed at least one Rat during a face off. Brooke because she had only just left the Rats and Claudine because she only ever aimed for the shoulder if she had to.
"And Morgan, she should be included in the list of Angels who haven't killed you guys," Claudine said.
"That's because she's hardly ever hit us," Henry told her. "I think out of the past four face offs, she hit one of us once and it was in the shoulder."
"That was because Fred had told her that if she didn't hit you guys, she'd be cut off from food," Claudine sighed. She hated revealing Morgan's secret but it had to be done. "Morgan…she told me she thinks of you guys as friends too much to purposefully kill any of you."
"Should have thought about that before joining Freddy," Harry muttered.
Uma sighed. "Harry, we already know that in the future Freddy will have something on Locklyn to make her leave the Rats and take Brooke with her. Who's to say Freddy didn't have something on Morgan?"
"You know Uma," Mal said with a small smirk. "Freddy keeps poaching our crew from us, what do you say about poaching right back?"
"What are you thinking of Mal?"
"We know Morgan hasn't been brainwashed by Freddy's mania and let's be honest here, it'd be a lot better if Henry had his girl on the ship rather than having him sneak around the Isle."
Uma grinned. "I like the way you think Mal!"
"Wait…you want me to join the Rats?" Claudine asked in shock.
"Why not?" Harry said. "Clearly you're one of the few Angels with brains, you've saved our crew in face offs more times than we can count and you're with Henry."
Claudine bit her lip. "I…I'll think about it," she said. "If Morgan doesn't leave the Angels, I'd have to stay to protect her."
"Completely understandable," Mal told her.
They also had to be sure to keep on their guard if they found themselves in Caster territory. Yzla or Zevon wouldn't think twice before throwing a potion at them.
"Zevon more so than Yzla," Harriet said. "Yzla hardly ever comes out of Spell Palace, it's normally Zevon and Maddy chomping at the bit to steal our territory."
Emir shook his head. "I just can't get over the fact that Yzma had more than one kid. Wasn't she supposedly proof dinosaurs roamed the Earth?"
And with Mal, Uma, Jay and Harry off the Isle, they couldn't afford to lose any more crew members than they already had.
I think we'd rather 'lose' crew members to Auradon than lose them to daggers thrown by the Angels, Henry thought.
"Hang on," Ashaki said. "Gil and Carlos are in Auradon too. Why aren't they included in the list?"
"Maybe it's because they were under 'protection' status?" Neal suggested.
"So? They're still clearly part of the crew and should have been included," Alexandria nodded.
"Henry?" Ryan asked, pulling Henry out of his thoughts as he realized he was still standing in the galley.
"Sorry," Henry said softly.
"You okay?"
"Fine."
"Ryan's probably not going to buy that," Claudine said.
Ryan rolled his eyes. "You're not keeping information from me because I'm under fifteen are you? Believe it or not I won't be traumatized if there's information that's not sunshine and rainbows. Whatever those are."
"What's a rainbow?" Squeaky asked softly.
Henry snorted in amusement—another thing Mal and Uma had insisted on was working on keeping the innocence of the younger crew members for as long as they could.
CJ rolled her eyes while Claudine sighed. She couldn't help but wish her gang would do the same.
Granted they didn't have any younger members yet but if they did, Claudine knew Fred wouldn't try to keep their innocence the way the Rats did for their younger members.
Maybe it came from having younger siblings but whatever it was, they were the captains so their rule was law. No talking about flings around the under-fifteen year olds, no under fifteens allowed at face offs though Ryan often broke this rule.
"Regardless how I try, he still sneaks to the face offs," Henry sighed.
Evan tilted his head. "Do you think the sneaking off might be an attempt to get you to see him as a fifteen year old? After all if he's fourteen then depending on when his birthday is, he'll soon be able to have the responsibilities that the rest of the crew have."
"Evan's right," Ashaki nodded. "What are you going to do when he turns fifteen?"
Henry sighed. "I never really thought about that. He's practically my little brother, him and Derek even if Derek and I are around the same age. I just don't want him to get hurt."
Hadie shook his head. "What's the point in training him if he can't do anything? You're just lucky that Ryan and CJ actually listen to you guys and haven't snuck off and picked a fight with say the Casters to prove themselves to you."
"…why does that sound like you speak from experience?" Mal asked, looking at her brother.
"Who me? Never Mali!"
CJ tried to break it too but it was harder when she had two siblings watching her every move.
"You bet your last sand dollar we do!" Harriet nodded.
"Keep a secret?" Henry asked.
"Did you finally get a girlfriend?" Ryan asked, sounding a little excited at the prospect.
"Oh he has no idea how close he is," Akiho snorted in amusement.
Henry though couldn't help but smile at the idea that Ryan would be excited for him to have a girl. Like most VKs, Ryan didn't really like change so to know that Ry would be okay with this…
Henry rolled his eyes. "Leah won't be a problem for us anymore."
Ryan's eyes got wide and he grew quiet before rushing out of the galley.
"Five drachmas says he's going to CJ," Hadie said.
"No one's taking that bet, Minty," Mal chuckled.
"We said that was off the table!"
Henry knew exactly where Ryan was going—to tell CJ. Those two were closer than Harry and Uma if such a thing was possible.
"Every captain needs a First Mate," Harriet said with a small smile, glancing over to Sammy.
CJ looked over at the eyeball. "Why'd you bring me and not Ryan?"
"CJ! Don't insult the Fates!" Harriet hissed. Knowing their luck, if they insulted the Fates, they'd bring someone worse than Leah to be in the readings.
Henry wouldn't be surprised if they partnered off together at some point in the future.
CJ rolled her eyes. "Really? Ryan's my friend," she said.
You never know CJ, friendship is often the base of these things, Harriet thought as she glanced over at Sammy; never noticing her mother or Smee noticing the glance.
But for right now, they were no more than friends which Henry was fine with. No need for them to grow up before they had to. Quickly grabbing the water, Henry made his way back to the captain's quarters.
Milah couldn't help the sad smile that pulled at her lips. Stay young as long as you can CJ, she thought.
"Apologies for the wait, Matriarch," he said as he presented Shenzi with the water.
Shenzi nodded and began to drink. As she did, Henry sat down next to Harriet.
"In this case, I think she'll give you a pass," Ashaki said.
"I told Dustin to inform Lord Hades and Lady Persephone," he muttered to her. "Hopefully he doesn't dally or try to pick someone up for a quick fling before coming back here."
"Dustin's a fling obsessed idiot but he's no fool," Mal said, shaking her head. "Besides, Dad would probably have him just spend the night if it truly became too dangerous to walk back to the ship."
"Not with it being dark as night out there," Harriet shook her head. "Dustin's a prat and an idiot at times but he's no fool. Lord Hades might actually tell him to stay the night. No point in risking Dustin coming across Shere Khan or Zira."
"I see I've become predictable," Hades said, shaking his head.
Or you truly do care for the children of the Isle, brother, Posideon thought with a small smile. And while I'm glad you were there for Uma, that is a lot to ask of someone, being the sole or semi-sole being they could turn to.
After all, there was no doubt that Persephone also cared for the children of the Isle.
"If I come across your cackle member I'll accompany him back here," Shenzi said as she looked up. "It's not safe for humans in this time of night."
"Thank Gods for that alliance," Harriet said with a small smile.
"That would be appreciated Matriarch," Henry nodded and Shenzi nodded back. Before long the water was emptied and Shenzi knew it was time for her to make her way back to her den.
"It really would be appreciated," Henry nodded. "Especially with Freddy out and about…sorry Claudine."
Claudine chuckled and gently kissed his cheek. "I already told you. No need to apologize for insulting Fred," she said softly.
Giving her farewells to the humans, she got up and made he way across the deck and down the gangplank. Thankfully, there were no other creatures of the night out and about. Either that or Shenzi just didn't encounter them but no matter what, she made it to her den without issue.
"Good. You know we probably should have offered to escort her back to her den—."
"Henry, then we'd have crew members out at dark walking back to the ship," Mal said. "I hate to say it but it's probably better that we didn't escort her back."
Malinda nodded. "Yeah, don't worry. I've spoken to Shenzi when I got to visit the Isle as Queen and she wasn't offended by the lack of escort."
I have to say, she thought as she curled up by her cubs, a hyena's belly may never be full but right now it's the closest it's ever felt to being so.
"Well…on that cheerful note, I think we should have a break?" Henry suggested.
"I think that would be a good idea," Ben nodded, glancing over at Chad. His best friend hadn't said a word since they found out about the hypnosis, well other than when he told Alexandria that she couldn't slap Leah again, and Ben had to wonder what was going through his head.
He had to wonder how he could help his friend. If he could even help his friend.