"So, who starts talking?"
Ben asked the counselors.
Reviewing the facts, he and Mal were feuding, but after a magical wish to get married, they were wed in record time. What wasn't expected was that it would bring back a witch from two decades ago.
"Why don't you start by introducing yourself? From what I see we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other."
Jafar's son said, as he observed the creepy place they were in. Apart from being extremely dark, damp and disgusting, there were dead bodies, scattered chains and a small window that was the only air intake.
"Jane, why don't you do some magic to bring some light into the place?"
Helena asked.
"Why don't you do it yourself?"
Jane was still assimilating her mother's lies.
"Our magic is blocked. Agatha must have done a spell."
Rashid explained after a failed attempt to disappear.
"Do you still have magic?"
Carlos asked his girlfriend.
"I don't like to use it, you know that."
"But, you need it now Janezinha."
Colbi spoke to her niece.
"Janezinha? Who are you? Who are all of you?"
Carlos asked getting annoyed with the way the man referred to Jane.
"Okay!"
A spell came out of the half fairy's hands that brought light into every lamp that was in the dungeon.
"You were part of the old Council, right?"
Mal asked speaking for the first time since they entered. The room is extremely small to hold fifteen people. On one side was the descendants, the former king and queen and on the other side was the councilors.
"Yes."
Fairy Godmother took over.
"Even you Cirse?"
Adam asked looking at the sorceress.
"Where do you know her from?"
Belle questioned him.
"Cirse was the one who put a spell on me and turned me into a Beast."
"I can't believe that, it's crazy!"
Ben was startled by the whole thing.
"I thought the Council didn't allow witches in."
Mal commented.
"And how do you know that?"
Ben asked his wife. He was hugging Mal who turned to look at him and begin to explain.
"I...I... a few weeks ago a book fell on me and it had Agatha's name in it, I started researching her. By chance I found a picture or she appeared to me, finally in the picture was Agatha, Evil Queen and...my mom. Yesterday I went to the Island to find out who Agatha and Grimhilde were and she explained it to me."
"My mother?"
Evie was startled by her mother's presence in the conversation.
"Yeah, I had to know E., I had to know who this woman was."
"Now that's enough! Who are you?"
Jay shouted.
"We're part of the first royal council, technically I wasn't, I was an apprentice to the Fairy Queen."
Fairy Godmother began to speak.
"Rashid, I'm from Wonderland, I'm actually a little glitch of the place, I was on the Council, I looked after the magical creatures."
Rashid explained.
"I am Colbi, I was the messenger of the Council, I would pass on the problems and send the solutions."
"Cirse, I am a witch, but I hid that, because I am not evil, I took care of the three neighboring kingdoms."
"And I'm Demetrius, I joined the council because King Harrison asked...Harry wanted someone trustworthy in there."
"The council is not as you know it now. It didn't have kings or princes or royalty. It was just magical creatures, because we were the only ones who could take care of things. Fairies, gnomes, elves, wizards, everything that had magic was part of the council."
"Why did it end?"
Doug asked.
"Interference with the balance."
Demetrius said calmly and certain that this was the reason that brought about the end of the council.
"Is that what you call it? Interference in the balance?"
Mal asked getting angry with the general.
"What are you talking about Mal?"
Ben looked at her wanting to understand, as did the others.
"The 'interference in the balance' was Agatha and King Harrison, they fell in love and when they decided to get married..."
"It wasn't just that Mal, that's not how things are. There is a balance between Good and Evil, they can't be changed. Harry knew that, we lived in chaos, how could we let the king marry one of the most powerful villains?"
Fairy Godmother tried to bring her side of the story.
"Is that what you think?"
The king said squeezing Mal's hand against his.
"Ben isn't..."
Fairy Godmother tried to explain herself, but was interrupted
"It's true, Helena! Harry shouldn't marry that woman. Villains don't get married and they don't have happy endings. You should know that, Benjamin."
Demetrius said everything angrily to the King and Lady.
"You have lunatics." Ben looked at the man who had worked on the people's safety until now. "Is that why she's like this? What happened then?"
"Agatha is a Darkness."
Rashid said as if the name meant something to the teenagers.
"Dark what?"
"Darkness was the most powerful family of witches about three hundred years ago. They were killed over time because their powers and spells were too powerful."
Doug made a quick explanation.
"Exactly, the king said he had fallen in love with her and when we found out he was going to make her queen we freaked out."
Rashid said.
"And killed the king."
Mal spoke up.
"No, Harry died in a battle between kingdoms.
Colbi spoke as if the lie was still true for them.
"I know it was you guys."
Mal warned.
"You killed him?"
Ben was getting more and more scared.
"The quintet there were great friends and the 'best guardians', they created a plan that involved killing the king and disappearing with Agatha."
"That's not how things are, it was Agatha."
"Is that a reason why they tortured and killed her?"
"The Evil Queen didn't tell you the whole story, Mal. When Agatha heard about Harry's death she freaked out. Agatha hadn't used magic since she met him, all it took was for her to go into emotional decontrol she went into...she went into overload. In minutes Agatha destroyed entire kingdoms, we rushed to intervene, the whole council stood up to try to stop her, but it was no use. Fairies, wizards, everyone was affected, you don't know, because we hid it for all these years, but we lost friends and family."
"A counter spell helped us and she fainted, we trapped her."
Rashid said making everyone scared.
"That was when?"
Adam asked.
"Before you took the throne. All this happened before a lot of things."
Helena replied to the former king.
"She dies and nothing happened to you?"
Agatha might be the villain, but Mal didn't think this group was innocent.
"You think nothing happened to us? Rashid has half his powers, Cirse lost a sister, Colbi has no more magic, Demetrius has no legs and me? Mal, I lost my wings, all these years I lived regretting what I did. So please don't think I haven't felt the weight of my choices."
"Why did she come back?"
Evie asked.
"There was a prophecy that briefly said that when another time a villain and a person from the opposite side fell in love and married like she can't do with Harry, she would come back."
Rashid explained.
"Let me guess, me and Ben?"