Chapter Fifty Seven
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.
*waves awkwardly* Hey guys, sorry for the delay. I had tried to focus solely on Choosing Home and The Value of a Crew simply because they were the closest to being completed and my sanity was slowly slipping away from trying to update four fics at the same time (I know I willingly did it to myself but I thought I could handle it. I thought wrong.). However, since TVoaC is looking to be longer than I thought it'd be, I'm going back to the old way of updating of Truth or Fiction, Choosing Home, The Last Bridge, and The Value of a Crew.
Per my sanity with the holidays fast approaching, I may hold off on working on the sequel to Choosing Home after Choosing Home's completion and just focus on completing TVoaC and TLB—and continuing this fic of course. That doesn't mean there won't be a sequel to Choosing Home, just means I'll be delaying publishing it.
Katt Kiki: Oh thank you! I'm so glad you liked it! :D
Hufflepuffgirl95: Oh trust me, I'm the same way! I sometimes will read my own WIPs and be like 'why hasn't the author updated? Oh wait…I'm the author!' I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter though and I hope you enjoy the upcoming ones too!
danifan3000: You got me hooked on School of Secrets btw! After you mentioned the villain themed school play, I had to check it out and it's honestly amazing! Further proof of my theory that Descendants should have been a television series rather than a trilogy.
LotusQuil: Ah yes, little Rea! Only time will tell where she'll end up. And you're right, though I have to wonder how much of Ben's inability to delegate comes from the fact that both his parents are only children. Even though Akiho is an only child in this world, Anna still has Elsa so she knows how to share responsibilities (somewhat). Beast and Belle had no siblings.
AmethystDragon14: Yay! Yeah poor Evie but hey, it's better than no Daniel at all! Uma and Harry and Jay should be on guard…and Ben too! Of course they have! :D
Lord of the A.U. FanFiction: Oh thank you!
JaclynnM: Yeah you can't help but feel bad for Evie, but at least she's got her father back in a way!
billyandkimfan1994: It was Audrey. Leah is still passed out.
Guest: Oh that's pretty interesting and makes sense! When I watch the Tinker Bell movies I have to wonder how she changed to the Tinker Bell from Peter Pan.
smc-smfan1: I'll be waking her up probably about two chapters from chapter 15 in Choosing Love so she'll be awake to hear her fate in that chapter.
Marcus Emrys: My money would be on scroll Hadie but scroll Chad is up there for people to feel sad for. I'm still unsure if Leah's going to stay after they read about her fate or not. On the one hand I hate writing her but on the other, Audrey punching her in the face is too awesome not to want to write. And no, no you are not. :D
Guest: No I haven't but I'll have to check it out!
SixUnderOneXSix: Oh thank you! And are you sure you're not a mind reader? I have an idea like you proposed being built up but I likely won't post until I get some of these stories completed.
twilightgirl587: Trust me, the bat from Hell is not going to be awakened for a while! Ooh another LA Snow White? I'm intrigued because I can't stand the animated Snow and Kristin Stewart's Snow was not my favorite of the Live Action movies (that would have to be Cinderella if I'm honest). Oh man that dress would be amazing to wear! I just wish Disney would make adult costumes like that too! Either that or I need to get into sewing but I don't have anywhere in my apartment to put a sewing machine. That's a good question—I guess they can't be seen giving preferential treatment but at the same time she's also the girl who turned Maleficent into a lizard.
61394: Yeah honestly I couldn't resist having that reference since I brought Tiana in and the chapter was mentioning Sweet from Atlantis (one of the few Disney films to have the US as a location). And you're not wrong there!
belle1022: oh thank you! I'm doing okay, I promise! I was just trying to find a new way of updating so that the stories that were closer to being completed took priority but that didn't seem to be working so we're back to the tried and true method! :D
Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
"I have to say, it's been a real eye opener to see what the future holds," Hera said as she unfurled her scroll.
Mal quickly made her way down the hall to her meeting with Natalie.
Malinda's eyes narrowed and Benji's hands clenched into fists upon hearing Natalie's name.
She wasn't exactly looking forward to it but she had been the one to cut their meeting short the other day. It was only fair that she rescheduled.
"Natalie doesn't deserve fair," Malinda muttered.
"Okay, I'm slightly scared to ask what this Natalie chick did," Harriet said, looking over at Malinda.
Malinda sighed. "You'll find out."
Gods, it was hard to believe that it'd only been a few days since Uma, Hadie, Harry and Gil arrived in Auradon. It was honestly like a dream.
"And soon that dream will be a reality," Hadie said with a grin.
"Just minus Gil hopefully," Harry added. "Hey, maybe instead Harriet could come with us!"
Uma shook her head. "And leave CJ all by her lonesome?"
"She's already the Captain's favorite, the Runt will be fine plus the other Rats wouldn't let anything happen to her," Harry muttered with a small shrug; never noticing how CJ winced slightly at the nickname nor how his mother had frowned at his words.
Okay so maybe Uma needed to lay off Evie a bit especially since Daniel was still in the medical coma…
Uma frowned slightly but she had to acknowledge the fact that the scroll had a point. Maybe her scroll self was still going after Blueberry in spite of knowing that because Harry would never be so lucky?
and Harry seemed a bit too determined to get Jay to skip R.O.A.R practice to spar with him….
"Why don't you just try out?" Melody asked. "Then you'd get to be with Jay and Jay doesn't risk his captain spot skipping practice."
and honestly Gil seemed more clingy than Carlos had been when they'd first arrived in Auradon.
Benji sighed. "To be fair to Gil, he's used to a big family. Eleven siblings and then always being around the crew."
"Ben's right," Malinda nodded. "Gil probably wasn't used to the option of being alone since Carlos had other friends what with being on the Tourney and R.O.A.R. team with Jay, and I could have been more understanding of that."
The only one who seemed to be adjusting without issue had, surprisingly, been Hadie.
"Makes sense," Rapunzel said. "The younger a child is, they're going to be more at ease with change. Hadie had only been on the Isle for eleven years as opposed to your all sixteen or seventeen in Jay's case."
He'd been fine adjusting to classes and had already made friends with Melody and Alexandria Charming, Chad Charming's youngest sister.
The two aforementioned girls beamed, happy their future selves were being as inclusive and welcoming as they thought they'd be.
It wasn't that odd though, back on the Isle his best friends were Dizzy Tremaine and Celia Facilier. Her baby brother was certainly popular with the ladies…and she and Uma had whacked Harry over the head when he had pointed that out.
"Does that mean that you're popular with the ladies too Harry? Considering you're best friends with Uma and Mal?" Harriet asked, a small smirk on her lips.
Maybe it's the fact that he's half Auradon, Mal thought as she made her way to the room she was going to meet Natalie in.
"But…if Lady Persephone adopted you magically, aren't you also half Auradon?" Ruby asked.
Malinda sighed. "Magically yes but genetically, still technically all Isle."
"I'm confused." Sammy said.
"It confuses us all Sammy, don't worry about it," Harriet told her First Mate.
After all, mom told him stories about Auradon since the day he was born. Plus, with how Uma and I worked to keep his innocence intact, he's more Auradon than Isle. But he's no prissy prince.
Hadie puffed up his chest with pride. "Of course not! I'm a member of the crew of the Lost Revenge after all! Just like you guys!"
"Hello Mal," Natalie said and Mal blinked, having not realized that the blonde was in the room already.
Audie sighed, shaking her head slightly. Hopefully this timeline's Natalie wouldn't be like her timeline's but with how Malinda and Benji were reacting, she doubted it.
The other woman was thin, and wore a muted pink sundress that seemed to almost blend into the walls.
Yep, that's Natalie alright, Audie thought thought with an inward sigh.
Mal felt Natalie's eyes go up and down her body, as if taking stock in her outfit.
"Jealous that someone's dressed better than you, Natalie?" Audie suggested, her hands lightly curling into fists. "Or do you know that Mal won't just stand by while you toss all her clothes into garbage bags, you horrid woman?"
"Natalie…Natalie…was she the one Uma slapped?" Lucas asked, preventing Aurora or Phillip Sr from commenting.
"And the one Harriet punched," Audie nodded.
"Huh, I'd forgot about that. Is it too much to hope Natalie's better in this timeline?"
"Judging by Benji's glare at the scroll, I don't think that's possible."
"Hey Natalie," Mal nodded, feeling no shame in what she was wearing. It was her usual outfit of leather pants, purple boots and a purple shirt under her leather jacket.
"Why would I feel shame?" Mal asked. "It's what I usually wear after all and my jacket's awesome! Mom made it for me, it's one of a kind. Who else can say they have one like it?"
"I'm sorry for being late, there was a bit of an issue with my bathroom door."
"Why didn't you just tell her the truth? You were late because you didn't want to come?" Uma asked. "Cause I doubt you actually wanted this meeting."
Malinda chuckled slightly. "It actually was the truth Uma."
"Clearly," Natalie said and Mal could feel her eyes on the one blue smudge she couldn't remove, that normally would have been hidden by her hair since it was right by her ear but of course was on full display.
"Oh…smoke bomb?" Uma asked.
"Yep," Malinda nodded. "Your doing."
Uma chuckled. "What did you do to earn a smoke bomb from me?"
"Did I say I was your intended target?" Malinda sighed.
Of course the day she woke up late and had a meeting would have been the day Uma decided to rig a smoke bomb to launch the moment Evie went into the bathroom.
"Seriously?" Mal asked, looking over at Uma. "You know the rules, when planning a prank you don't risk an unintended target getting hit instead!"
"…that's not what I thought she was going to say," Evan said.
Mal shrugged. "A smoke bomb's harmless really. Though, come on Uma, lay off for a bit. Just till her dad's out of the hospital."
"That seems fair," Uma nodded. "Can I go after Sleeping Brat?"
"Be my guest."
"…I'm going to kill you."
"But she's a Godling," Melody said. "How would that work, you killing her?"
"Oh come on Mali, don't be like that," Uma said as Mal glared at Uma, her face covered in teal smoke as she stood in the open doorway to the shared bathroom.
"Okay looking back on it, it was rather funny," Malinda chuckled. "Just making my way to the bathroom and then poof, hit in the face with a smoke bomb."
"You've been here three days! How in dad's name have you been able to make a smoke bomb in that short amount of time?"
"Have you met me?" Uma chuckled. "I can make a smoke bomb easily!"
Uma shrugged. "Harry and I were bored, and then those Emir and Akiho blokes showed us around some more. So in exchange we taught them how to make smoke bombs."
"Oh dear Gods," Ben sighed. "Does the school survive?"
"Surprisingly, yes," Benji chuckled. "And so does Auradon."
Emir chuckled. "Akiho and I may love a fun time but we also love our school and our kingdoms."
Mal froze. "You. Did. What?!"
"Taught Emir and Akiho how to make smoke bombs."
"I think she heard you the first time," Lucy chuckled.
"Oh Gods," Mal sighed and rolled her eyes. "I told you back when I brought Ben to the Isle before his coronation that Emir and Akiho were like Harry and Jay. Why in the world would you give them another way to be like them?"
"Because the cap'n's a VK and if there's one thing a VK loves it's mischief and/or chaos," Harry said with a grin.
"Because they asked," Uma shrugged again and Mal sighed.
"Of course they did," Benji sighed and shook his head. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"
"Because you know your shadows?" Emma supplied.
"You'd better be thankful I'm on my way to a meeting otherwise I'd be wiping the floor with you in sparring Uma!"
"Oh pick the sparring!" Benji said, a low growl to his voice. "You can always…reschedule meetings."
"I'm almost afraid to ask," Beast muttered to Belle.
"I know what you mean dear," Belle sighed as she muttered back. They'd never heard Ben speak about anyone with that tone of voice.
"Is that anyway to speak to your captain?"
"When I'm co-captain? Yes. Yes it is! Now I just need to pray that this stuff'll come off with just water!"
"It always has in the past," Uma said, shaking her head. "Why would you think that it wouldn't now?"
"Because you were in Auradon with access to more material than you had when you were on the Isle," Malinda told her.
Mal gave a small laugh to try to cut the tension in the room. "I'm sorry, by the way, for cutting our meeting short the other day. I had family coming in that I hadn't seen in a while."
"Don't," Benji muttered. "She doesn't deserve it, you had my permission. That's all you need."
Ben frowned slightly. Did Natalie really have such a problem with Mal seeing Uma?
"Oh yes, King Ben did state that you'd have relatives coming in from the Isle," Natalie nodded. "I take it one of those relatives is responsible for that smudge?"
"Guilty apparently," Uma chuckled slightly. Though she did have to admit she wasn't a fan of how this Natalie woman was talking to Mal.
"Yeah," Mal nodded.
Natalie shook her head. "I know we've only just met but I would advise you spend more time with your family not from the Isle. After all, as a daughter of Hades, you have family all over Auradon. Why not the daughter of Hercules? You two should be around the same age."
"Excuse me?!" Uma exclaimed. "Mal will spend time with me if she wants to!"
"Yeah!" Macaria nodded. "I'd rather Mal want to spend time with me because she wants to, not because someone's ordering her to!"
Mal rolled her eyes. "I do spend time with my cousins on the Auradon side of things, but I spent my whole life around Uma."
"Not to mention Mal went a whole month without seeing Uma!" Rose spoke up. "It wouldn't be fair to expect her to just drop Uma because Mal's handler said so."
"I know, I know," Natalie said in a strange tone of voice that Mal honestly couldn't put her finger on but it rubbed her the wrong way. "But you wouldn't want something to happen that might embarrass anyone would you?"
Malinda flinched slightly as she heard that. It was one thing to hear her younger self think about embarrassing anyone but hearing Natalie say that…say that she'd embarrass anyone for being herself…
"Hey, hey," Benji said, gently rubbing her shoulder as he noticed the flinch. "You could never embarrass anyone. Unless it's Freddy and honestly that's deserved."
Mal tilted her head. "What do you—?"
"Now, as your handler, I'll be in charge of making sure you have the skills to make it in the royal court," Natalie said, cutting Mal off before she could finish her question.
"That's rude," Kitty frowned. "She should have let Mal speak."
"That's Natalie for you," Audie sighed. "Unless the timeline's been differed by anything, she'd be the handler for the annoying version of me just as she was back in my timeline…before she became Mal's."
"That should surprise me more than it does," Mal said, shaking her head.
"That'll mean meetings, lessons, and of course you'll be arranging a tour of the kingdom and be responsible for planning cotillion."
Audrey grinned at the thought of planning Cotillion before it faded slightly. "Why can't I head the committee to plan Cotillion again? I've more experience planning events as a Princess."
"I hate to say it but she has a point," Audie nodded. "Plus it'd take some stress off of Mal while she's learning the ropes of royal life."
"Not to mention…Audrey does do a good job at planning Cotillion," Emma nodded. "Last year's was great, after all."
"Isn't there a committee—?"
"Yes of course but you would be the head of that committee and making the final decisions on things like, lighting, decorations, party favors, etc. Princess Audrey had the spot previously but as she is no longer dating King Ben…"
"You could let Mal speak!" Henry exclaimed, his eyes narrowing slightly. He really didn't like this Natalie person and it was the first time he'd heard of her!
Oh Gods, I've got a Sleeping Banshee fangirl as my handler, Mal thought and then inwardly shook her head. Okay you don't know that. After all, she's only mentioned Audrey once and really, did she say anything that wasn't true? Audrey's no longer dating Ben.
Benji shook his head. "She doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt," he said, his voice low.
"Okay, now I'm really concerned about what this Natalie chick did," Emir muttered to Aziz. "Ben's all about giving second chances and trusting people after all."
Natalie turned around and picked a book up off the desk behind her before turning back to Mal. "This will be the most important thing you'll ever use," she said.
"A Lady's Manners," Malinda sighed and looked at Mal. "If you get that book, burn it."
"Um…think you should be saying that around this lot?" Mal asked.
"No, no," Benji nodded. "She's right. That book is truly nothing but nonsense, trying to change Mal into something she's not."
"One page said that a Lady eats a banana with a knife and fork," Malinda said.
"…bananas have stuff in them?" Squeaky asked. "I thought it was just the black peels we got for snacks."
Ben's heart broke as all the other VKs nodded, as if they'd had similar thoughts when they were Squeaky's age.
"King Ben's council has everything in place for your schedule."
"Okay…but what about classes?" Mal asked.
"That's factored in."
"Good," Jane said. "There's no reason for Mal's education to suffer because of what this Natalie woman thinks Mal needs."
"Ben said he'd block out time for me to practice my magic," Mal said and unless she was mistaken, Natalie seemed to roll her eyes.
Benji's eyes flashed angrily as he heard that. I'm sorry? How dare you just roll your eyes at something provided for Mal's safety and the safety of others?!
"I'm sorry but is this woman rolling her eyes at the thing that keeps my daughter from hurting herself and others?" Persephone exclaimed, unknowingly echoing Benji's thoughts.
"Yes, yes. King Ben did reach out and we've blocked out three hours a week for you to practice your magic."
I…I don't know if that would be enough, Mal thought, biting her lip slightly.
"Is that enough time?" Ben asked, turning to look at Mal.
Malinda shook her head. "It wasn't. There was an…incident not soon after this where you needed to up the number of hours to three hours a day."
Mal smiled as she saw that those hours were in fact blocked out, highlighted in purple. If Ben knows about this planner, I've no doubt he's the one who blocked these hours out, she thought.
"Of course," Ben said, nodding his head. "What other color would I use to block out the hours other than purple? My planner's blocked out in squares of blue and gold."
Out of the corner of his eye, Ben saw his dad open up his planner and began noting items that could be removed. As if Ben mentioning it had been the reminder he needed.
That was okay. Ben had his schedule memorized.
All in all it wasn't as bad as she had thought. A few more lessons than normal, and she wasn't looking forward to the meetings about cotillion but all in all, getting used to the royal court wasn't as bad as she'd been imagining.
Oh trust me, it might seem alright now but it will only go downhill from there, Malinda thought with a small internal sigh.
"Now these meetings are subject to change," Natalie told her as Mal thumbed through the planner. "I would suggest you read up on the royal court and the proper way to act."
"But…Mal's already been taught that," Persephone said. "I went through formal situations with both Mal and Uma."
"Well yes, the Ladies of the Isle need to be taught how to properly present themselves to Olympus," Jay teased his best friends.
"I will kill you and make it look like a murder," Uma said, her voice flat. "I am not a Lady, Jay."
"Oh, my mother's already done—"
"While I'm sure Maleficent has taught you many things, Mal, Auradon is different than the Isle," Natalie said as she plopped a stack of books onto one of the desks that was in the room.
"Maleficent. Is. Not. Her. Mother!" Persephone exclaimed as Hades' jaw clenched.
"Oh I don't pity this Natalie woman if she keeps making statements like that," Poseidon muttered as Demeter seemed to be just as irritated as her daughter.
"Lady Persephone's my mother," Mal stated, noting that it was probably one of the few times Natalie hadn't cut her off in the conversation.
Persephone's eyes flashed and Hades' hands curled into fists.
"How many times does she have to say it?" Demeter growled.
"Of course, of course," Natalie nodded, as if she was humoring Mal. "But you did say that you lived with Maleficent for six years. That's what I understood from your speech at the coronation."
"Oh so the truth is something we can humor now?" Mal asked, her eyes narrowing. "And by the way, living with the Dragon was against my will lady! Those six years weren't exactly a picnic!"
"Well yes but—"
"So like I said, I'm sure Maleficent taught you many things but Auradon differs wildly from the Isle," Natalie stated. "It'll benefit you to spend time with people who seem to have already grasped that concept."
"The only thing Maleficent taught me was make sure to know every possible exit when making a statement that might not go over well," Mal muttered. "Mom taught me everything useful."
Mal sighed. "Thank you for your suggestion Natalie but I'm not going to just kick my friends to the side just because they've made a bad impression on you. Ben likes them and so do the friends I've made here in Auradon."
"We haven't even met this woman yet! The only reason she doesn't like us is because we're from the Isle," Harry shook his head.
Opening up her planner, Mal pretended to notice a meeting. "If you'll excuse me, it looks as though I've got a meeting scheduled with Ben."
"You can always use me as a reason to get out of meetings," Benji said with a chuckle.
"Very well," Natalie sighed. "I'll see you in your Charms class."
Charms? Am I actually going to learn magic? Mal thought as she gathered up the twenty some books Natalie had given her plus her new planner. Wait, no. Knowing Auradon, it's probably something like how to be a prissy princess. You know, how does Lonnie deal with these people who insist women can only be one way?
"Hang on, didn't Mal say last scroll that there wasn't a class to make the girls prissy?" Rose asked.
Malinda sighed. "That was an…added class Natalie enrolled me in. I wasn't aware of it until she mentioned it."
"Oh boy, yet another reason why I'm glad she's out of our hair," Benji muttered as he held his wife close.
That being said…something about how Natalie hadn't believed Mal when Mal had said Persephone was her mother had irked the Godling.
Trust me, scroll-me, it won't be the first time Natalie irks you, Malinda thought with a small sigh.
It wasn't the first time she hadn't been believed and likely it wouldn't be the last.
She had publicly announced that Maleficent wasn't her mother, what more did these people want?!
"I also turned her into a gecko for Auradon!" Malinda added.
"Think you can do that this time too?" Jay asked.
Mal chuckled. "I'll see what I can do Jay."
"Don't even think about it Malinda!" Hades said quickly. "I mean, yes we want Maleficent turned into a gecko but let us handle that!"
Besides, hadn't Hercules proven that blood didn't make a family? Despite their biological tie to Zeus, Hercules' kids also considered their father's adoptive parents to be their grandparents.
Hera sighed. While it had been hard watching her son grow up calling another woman mom, she had to be thankful that he'd grown up with a good family. There were times that Hera had wondered if Estia had led Amphitryon and Alcmene to Hercules, as part of her role as protector of home and family.
"Gods, I need to talk to Ben," she muttered to herself, marching toward Ben's office. Out of the corner of her eye, Mal noticed how people seemed to almost dive out of her way; as if afraid of her.
"It's a family trait," Mal said as she looked over at Hades, a small smile on her lips.
Ben nodded. "I want to know about anyone behaving like that around you Mal. Actually, any of the VKs for that matter. You guys shouldn't feel ostracized and made to feel like people fear you."
Turning into a dragon at Ben's coronation probably didn't help matters, she thought with an inward sigh. It's only been a month though, they'll get over it.
Before she reached Ben's office, however, Mal was pulled into a nearby alcove.
"Bet that brought back memories huh Mali?" Harry chuckled. "How many times have we pulled each other into an alleyway so we wouldn't be overheard?"
"Too many times to count Harry," Mal chuckled.
"What the hell?!"
"Sorry," Rowyn said, biting her lip. "But we wanted to get your attention."
"I'm sure you got it with that," Rachel said, shaking her head at her little sister's antics.
"Well you got it," Mal muttered and then paused. "What do you mean 'we'?"
"Me, Kitty, Jane, Lonnie, Jordan and Ally."
Jay frowned. "What's going on? That's a rather large group to just meet in an alcove."
"And why did you wanting my attention constitute pulling me into an alcove?"
"So we weren't overheard."
"I really don't like the sound of that."
"Why?" Ruby asked. "Harry just said you guys did it on the Isle all the time so why would it be concerning in Auradon?"
Malinda sighed. "Because on the Isle, if we didn't want to be overheard, it was because we were discussing something that we didn't want anyone else to be able to use against us. For such a conversation to be held in Auradon…"
"Oh…I gotcha," Ruby nodded.
Kitty chuckled dryly. "How familiar are you with the tabloid The Gazelle?"
"Tabloid's being generous," Emma shook her head. "Really it's a fire starter. Not fit to be anything but ash."
"Oh you mean the rag that Ben was so worried about, he told me about a fight he had with Audrey in case they wrote an article about me because Audrey mentioned my name?" Mal scoffed. "I'm familiar. Especially since they seem particularly preoccupied with Evie."
Snow White sighed. "I'm not at all proud to call them my colleagues in the journalistic field."
"That's because what they do isn't journalism," David told her.
"Well…they seem to have changed focus," Ally said gently, pulling out a copy of that week's edition.
"Hope that means they're not going to start 'writing' about non-royals too," Jane sighed.
"'Writing' is being generous," Neal shook his head. "After all, they get their photos from contributors. Who would want to sell their soul working for them?"
"Most likely people who don't have souls to begin with," Rachel sighed.
"It's not Ben is it?" Mal said instantly.
"No, no," Lonnie shook her head. "Ben's got PR people out the wazoo to prevent any reports from slipping out to The Gazelle."
Benji snorted. "They actually did write about me for a week. Though in my last 'article', they wrote that I was actually too boring to write about."
"Because you never do anything to cause scandal or give them anything juicy to put to print," Lonnie shook her head.
"Jay? Carlos?"
"Not really the typical subject of The Gazelle," Jordan rolled her eyes. "Since they're not royalty."
"I mean…Jay is the son of my grandfather's former viser," Ashaki said. "That'd be close enough to royalty to count for those vultures."
Mal tilted her head. "Well then I'm lost. Uma's the only 'royal' they'd report on since her mom's Triton's sister so she'd be an Atlantican princess along with being the granddaughter of a God. But she's too new in Auradon."
"Ah ba ba ba!" Uma said, holding up a finger. "Let's get one thing straight. I am not a Lady and I am not a Princess! If you have to use a title, use captain."
"Rodger that Princess Uma," Mal said with a smirk.
Uma growled and then smirked in response. "Oh really Mal? You sure you want to play that game Princess? Uncle Hades is King of the Underworld after all."
"You wouldn't!"
"Turn about's fair play cuz!"
"You're on the right track Mal," Lonnie said. "It's you."
"Me?" Mal scoffed. "A bit behind the times aren't they? I'm not exactly news."
"They'd better hope it's something where they're thanking Mal for saving them from Maleficent," Poseidon said, growling slightly.
Zeus nodded. "Mal is still a minor after all and nowhere in the scrolls has it stated that she consents to being written about!"
"This…this isn't the first time they've reported on you," Rowyn said softly. "It's just the first time they made it front page above the fold."
"Ah remember when The Gazelle was a newspaper and not a pain in our necks?" Malinda shook her head.
"I remember that they were always a pain in our necks," Benji nodded.
"Oh," Mal said and then shook her head. "Let me guess, how dare the king date a VK, does Mal have no shame, poor Princess Audrey….that sort of thing?"
"Anyone else a little bit nervous about how many times The Gazelle has reported on Mal for her to be able to provide those examples?" Meg asked.
"While that is the usual tripe The Gazelle produces, it's not what they wrote this time," Ally sighed and then handed Mal the copy of the trash rag. Mal raised an eyebrow and then paused upon seeing the headline.
Godling or Hatchling: Can One Claim Mal Isn't Maleficent's Daughter?
"But…Mal would still be a Godling," Rachel said. "Even if they try to argue that Mal's Maleficent's and not Lady Persephone's, she's still Lord Hades' daughter so she'd still be a Godling."
"…I can't remember who I like anymore," Hades said, looking at Persephone.
"Honestly, do you remember who you don't like?"
"Waste of oxygen, non-pleasant version of Audie, Beastie, and Zeus. Jury's out on Charming Jr. and Belle."
"I should be concerned you just had that at the ready but instead I'm not surprised at the list."
"Well…they're stretching," Mal scoffed, conjuring up a fireball and not even giving the rag a second glance as she brought it to ash. "Honestly, if that's the best they can do, it must have been an off day for them."
"If only it had stayed that easy to make The Gazelle's writings not matter," Malinda whispered with a small sigh.
"We thought that wouldn't phase you," Kitty grinned. "But we wanted to let you know so you weren't caught unawares. That's happened to us…well not Ally or Jordan or Lonnie."
"They wrote about you?" Kit asked, looking over at Kitty.
Kitty shrugged. "Nothing too major, dad. I ended up just tossing them when I saw I was the royal of the month for them."
"Girls? Have you had articles written about you as well?" Cinderella asked Lucy and Alexandria.
"Yep," Lucy nodded.
"No," Alexandria shook her head. "Though I've seen the articles about Lucy and Kitty. Oh and Chad too."
"I don't know what she's talking about," Chad said quickly, as their parents looked at him.
Rapunzel looked at Rowyn. "Ro? The articles, they weren't…?"
"It's nothing mom," Rowyn promised. "Every kid in school…well with some notable exceptions but everyone knows that The Gazelle's not worth lining the floor of Max's stable."
"Perks of not being a royal I guess," Ally shrugged.
"Are you going to be okay, Mal?" Rowyn asked.
"But Jane's not a royal!" Evan exclaimed.
Jane sighed. "I am Fairy Godmother's daughter and with how connected she is to Queen Ella…they might have considered me a royal adjacent."
"Janey?" Fairy Godmother asked, a small frown. "What did they write about you?"
"Mom, please, don't," Jane shook her head. "They haven't written about me since then. It's fine."
"It is very much not fine!" Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Fairy Godmother said in unison.
Mal chuckled. "It'll take more than some gossip rag to knock me down," she said. "I know who's daughter I am and it's not the Dragon's. No one else's opinion matters to me."
"That's my girl," Hades said, looking over at Mal and giving her a proud smile.
"Good on you," Lonnie said. "When Audrey got her first article written about her, she didn't stop ranting for a week."
"Honestly I think it was one of the few times my mother and I got along," Aurora shook her head. "The Gazelle had no business reporting those things about Audrey."
"How'd you get them to stop?" Malinda asked.
"Unfortunately that was all Leah's doing," Phillip Sr said with a sigh. "And unless you want me to wake her up to ask?"
"Oh yeah, isn't that when you stopped being friends with her?" Kitty asked and Lonnie shrugged.
"Wait, you were friends with Sleeping Brat?" Mal asked Lonnie in shock.
"Shocking I know," Lonnie nodded. "We'd all go to Queen Belle's book club together."
"Surprisingly the fact that Belle has a book club is the least surprising thing I've learned in this reading," Hades said.
"Jane and I both were," Lonnie said. "She gave us an ultimatum when she and Ben officially started dating when we were fifteen. The only way we could stay friends with Ben was to become friends with her."
"How insecure do you have to be?" Sammy scoffed. "Guys can be friends with girls they're not involved with."
"Not to mention Benny had that contract at the time so you already had your claws in him," Harry added.
"Plus it's Ben!" Akiho said. "Do you really think he'd cheat on you?"
"And by friends, I'm sure she meant lackey," Kitty said, rolling her eyes. "Gods, what my brother saw in her I'll never know."
All the kids looked over at Chad.
"Yeah what do you see in her?" Akiho asked.
"Still bitter about the kitty litter in your locker?" Rowyn asked.
"What?!" Kit and Cinderella exclaimed.
"Was it used?" Cinderella asked, her eyes wide. "Because if so that's a health hazard!"
Phillip Sr. looked at Audrey. "That is another thing we'll be discussing young lady and that's another week of grounding!"
Lucy looked over at Kitty. "Has this happened yet?"
"I'd have mentioned it if it had," Kitty shrugged. "Doesn't matter, we both know Chad'll side with Audrey as always when it does happen."
"Of course! All because my name is 'Kitty'! If Audrey actually had a brain, she'd know that it's just a nickname! My full name is Katherine just like my father's full name is Christopher Rupert Vwindemer Vlandamier Carl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman Gregory James Charming but everyone just calls him Kit!"
"…because I don't think anyone has the time to use your dad's full name!" CJ said, being the first VK to come out of their shock.
Kit shook his head. "My folks always said I'd thank them for it later. I don't think I ever did."
"Why would you thank them for that monstrosity of a name?" Harry asked.
"Harrison," Milah warned.
"…and I thought my middle name was bad. Herman?" Mal muttered to herself after taking a minute to process the full name of Prince Charming. Well…King Charming technically since the Charmings ruled Charmington.
"It is bad," Audrey sniffed.
"Audrey," Phillip Sr. warned.
Malinda shrugged. "She's not wrong. There's a reason we're not giving it to the pup if they're a girl."
"And suddenly your brother's 'C' name makes so much more sense," Jordan told Kitty. "Considering your mom's true name is Ella and all."
"Why didn't any of us get an 'E' name?" Chad asked.
Cinderella chuckled. "Your father and I didn't find any we liked. Well actually, that's not true. Lucy was almost Eleanor—it was a tie between the two but when she was born and the sun began to rise…Lucille won out."
"Good," Lucy grinned. "I like my name!"
"Yet your sisters' 'L' and 'A' names make no sense," Rowyn shook her head.
"Alex is named after Nana," Kitty stated and then noticed Mal's confused look. "My dad's mom. Lucy, on the other hand, was just because it means 'light' in French and the sun began to rise when she was born."
Kit couldn't help the slightly sad smile that pulled at his lips. Mom would have loved to see her grandchildren, he thought.
"And you?" Mal asked.
"I'm a twofer," Kitty grinned. "Katherine was my mom's mother's name but my nickname comes from my dad's nickname."
"Did you jus take up the word 'twofer'?" Evan asked.
Neal tilted his head. "That's what you got from that?"
Mal smiled softly. Must be nice, to be named after a parent and not feel ashamed about it…
"You are named after parents you don't have to be ashamed about," Uma said, looking at Mal. "You're named after your Greek heritage."
"So…if your dad's got a mouthful of a name, I guess you do too?"
"No," Kitty chuckled. "Mom prevented it with Chad's birth since she wanted to be the one to raise us and not an army of nursemaids and governesses."
"The children only need three names after all," Cinderella said, shaking her head.
"…how did Chad turn out to be like himself then?"
"A lifetime of being around Audrey," Kitty said with a shrug.
"Only thing I can think of," Kitty nodded.
"So you agree with…yourself?" Alexandria asked, tilting her head.
"But we clearly interrupted something since you seemed to be in a hurry."
"Oh it was nothing. I was just going to see Ben—"
"Oooh!" Lonnie, Jane and Ally squealed. Kitty, Rowyn and Jordan winced and rubbed their ears.
Mal raised an eyebrow. "Why is that squeal worthy? I'm just going to see him."
"Yeah, you? You don't do that. Ever again," Rowyn told the three girls.
Robin chuckled. "You know that's not going to happen, Ro. Rose and Ruby are proof of that, how many times have you asked them to stop squealing?"
"I've lost count," Rowyn said, shaking her head.
"At least give us some warning," Kitty added. "I swear my sisters have less ear piercing squeals that you three."
Lucy shook her head. "How are you my twin and yet you don't have a romantic bone in your body, Kat?"
Lonnie rolled her eyes. "Sorry for being excited!"
"Besides Ben and Mal are so cute together," Ally stated, bouncing a little. "When they're talking to each other it's like they're in their own little wonderland!"
"Jay, Emir, and Akiho used to say it was like we went off into our own world when we talked to each other," Benji chuckled. "Guess they weren't too far off."
Mal rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. Chill out, the three of you. Nothing major was going to happen, I was just going to stop by and say 'hi'. He's in his office right now working on something."
"Why am I not surprised?" Lonnie, Akiho, Emir, and Chip all sighed in unison.
"Mal, do you know the number of times Audrey used to stop by Ben's office just to say hi?"
"Ooh, ooh! I know!" Emir said. "None, zip, zilch, nada—."
"They get it," Aziz sighed.
"…I'm guessing, since Audrey didn't even know where his office was until he told me and the others when we arrived, that number is zero?"
"You would be correct. So, as Ben's best female friend—."
"Was the specification really necessary?" Evan asked.
Lonnie nodded. "When those two are his best friends? You bet," she said, pointing to Akiho and Emir.
"And practically his head of security amongst the students,' Jordan smirked.
Lonnie nodded. "Yes and that. You're good for Ben, is the point I'm trying to make. You make him happy. Just know this: you hurt him, I hurt you."
"Uh Lon? You're telling that to a girl who can turn into a dragon." Lil Shang told his little sister.
"Don't care," Lonnie said, crossing her arms. "Ben's one of my best friends. The entire Hun army could be on Mal's side and that wouldn't matter if she hurt Ben."
"You're telling this to a girl who can turn into a dragon."
"Don't care. I've got Mushu on my side, plus my mom's lucky cricket."
"I see you don't change much," Ben said, more than slightly touched at Lonnie's fierce protectiveness toward him. Then again, he didn't really expect anything else from the girl who once laid in a sleeping bag in his office only to drag him out of it at about ten at night.
Mal smirked. "Good answer Lonnie. But I'm not going to hurt Ben."
"I would never hurt him," Malinda promised.
"So now that we've gotten that 'older sister' speech out of the way, should we let you continue on to Ben or….?"
"Should I be worried by you trailing off like that?" Lucy asked, looking over at Kitty.
"You don't know it's me!" Kitty chuckled.
"Don't trail off like that Kitty, you know how that intrigues me."
Kitty chuckled. "Lonnie told us how you were going to whip her into shape for R.O.A.R. You want to head down to the gym, show us if that's true or if you were just blowing smoke up Lonnie's ass?"
"You were saying?" Lucy asked, smirking slightly.
Kitty shrugged. "So it was me. Hey, it's not like I'm planning to prank anyone though."
"You prank?" Mal and Uma asked, perking up.
"Oh dear Gods," Chad sighed and shook his head.
"Language Katherine," Cinderella warned.
"I do believe I've begun to corrupt one Auradonian," Mal smirked.
"No," Jane shook her head. "She's always been like that."
"How—?"
"You really need to ask?" Lucy said with a small chuckle.
"I've been friends with Chad since practically birth," Jane chuckled. "Fairy Godmother's daughter? Our stories are practically connected."
"That's right," Cinderella said with a smile as Fairy Godmother nodded. "We've got baby pictures of Jane and Chad together now that I think about it."
Mal rolled her eyes. "Well then thank Zeus I was born on the Isle. Otherwise I'd be connected to Sleeping Banshee."
"You assume that I'd want to be connected to you," Audrey sniffed.
"Audrey," Aurora warned.
"Akiho?" Lonnie asked.
"Who else?"
"Could have been Emir," Ashaki suggested.
"As fascinating as this conversation is, we are burning sunlight people," Kitty said, tapping her foot. "I still have my homework to do for my Bad Fairies class."
Cinderella shook her head. "You know the rules Kitty. You get your work done first, then you can truly enjoy yourself without the homework hanging over your head.'
"What do you have to do?" Jordan asked.
"A five page paper on identifying bad fairies," Kitty sighed.
"I could give you enough information on just one fairy to fill all five pages," Mal said as she looked over at Kitty.
Mal chuckled. "You need any help? I've got two identifiers for you: they have horns and are called Maleficent."
"Yeah I don't think that'll fly but thanks Mal," Kitty snorted in amusement.
"No but your teachers might get a laugh out of it," Hadie said, chuckling slightly.
Kitty shook her head. "As much as I hate homework, I'd rather get a good grade on it and have it be done than have to redo it because I goofed around."
"So come on! If we go now, we can get some sword work time in before Chad and the other R.O.A.R members take over the gym."
"Yes because we probably have it reserved," Chad shook his head. "Besides, there's eleven of us and we can't risk you guys getting in the way of practice and getting hurt."
"And then you'd have no choice but to write that paper," Jane said. "I'll come with you guys. I need to talk to the new head cheerleader."
"Why?"
Rose perked up. "There's a new head cheerleader? Who is it?"
"Wait a minute? I've been replaced?!" Audrey exclaimed.
"I'm thinking about joining the squad," Jane said as they made their way to the gym. "I was the mascot but it's time for me to think bout retiring that."
"Oh how wonderful Janey!" Fairy Godmother said with a smile. "I hope you let me know how it goes!"
Mal tilted her head. "Wait? Isn't…isn't Audrey the head cheerleader?"
"Well she was," Rowyn told her. "My sister Rose is on the squad and they said that after the way she acted at the Championship Tourney game, announcing Chad as her boyfriend three minutes after Ben broke it off with her, the squad basically kicked her out."
"What?!"
"Finally!" Rose exclaimed, surprisingly drowning out Audrey's ear piercing shriek. "The day will come where we'll actually have a captain and not just someone who uses the squad as a status symbol!"
"Rose, settle down," Eugene said. "We don't take glee in someone else's misery."
"But she makes my life miserable!"
"And by relishing her misery, can you say you're any better?"
"Whoa," Mal said softly. She hadn't really expected that. Then again, maybe it should have been a sign when the cheerleaders started dancing with the Tourney team after Audrey stormed off the field.
"Yeah, surprisingly, Audrey's not the most popular for being the Queen Bee around Auradon Prep," Phil Jr. said, shaking his head.
"Is it really that surprising?" Neal asked. "I mean, remember the last group of scrolls?"
"Kelsey's the new head cheerleader," Jane said. "Kuzco and Malina's daughter," she added.
"She's now the Assistant Cheerleading Coach at Auradon Prep," Malinda said with a small smile. "At least that's what Fairy Godmother's told me last time I asked about the school."
"You guys do know you don't need to say who everyone's related to, right?" Mal asked, rolling her eyes.
"Sometimes it's more for our benefit," Jordan said with a shrug. "Like with the kids of the seven dwarves. There's Doug sure but there's also Gordon, Bashful Jr., Sleepy Jr., Derek, Shy, Crabby, Hap, Cheerful, Snoozy, Doc II, and Gesundheit."
"What'd Gordon do to get a relatively normal name?"
"I'm sorry but…Derek's not a normal name?" Jane asked.
Sammy chuckled. "I'll make sure our crewmate Derek knows about that. He'd get a kick at not having a normal name."
"Someone actually named their kid Gesundheit?" Uma asked.
Audie shook her head as she thought about all the Dereks she knew. There was the VK Derek, and then there was her Derek (or DJ as she called him) and then there was Doug's older brother who was one of the Dwarflings mentioned.
"You know, I'm not sure," Jordan chuckled. "Now, let's get the sword work done before Kitty has a conniption."
Mal chuckled as she unsheathed a sword. As the sword work went underway, on the other side of the school, a different kind of work was also getting started as Ben began to start digging through the files for the food deliveries to the Isle.
Ben's heart sank. "You're not going to like what you find, scroll-me," he whispered.
I've got to look into digitizing these records, he thought with a sigh as he set a timer on his phone.
"I'd be more than happy to help with that!" Carlos said, grinning slightly at the thought of interacting with all that tech.
"Hold up, is Ben actually using a timer?" Akiho asked. "I'm so proud!"
He knew full well that Mal, Akiho, Lonnie or Emir would come drag him out of his office if he didn't leave to get a full night's sleep.
"Yep!" Akiho, Lonnie, Emir, and Malinda all nodded; not one of them looking remotely sheepish at being called out for that.
He also knew that, at least for Mal, he didn't want her to know. At least not right away. His girlfriend deserved answers.
"Ben, you didn't have to be the one to provide them," Malinda said gently, resting a hand on her husband's shoulder. "I knew how much work you had going on."
"Why…why did Mal need answers?" Squirmy asked. "What's wrong with the Isle?"
"Nothing you need to worry about," Sammy promised as she looked at Harriet, as if to ask the same question.
Harriet shrugged slightly and Sammy nodded. No matter what, they'd out soon enough.
And who better to get them for her than the son of the man who was the reason she was on the Isle in the first place?
"How about the guy who was the reason Mal was on the Isle in the first place?" Jay suggested.
"I mean…he's not wrong," Akiho muttered.
Ben sighed. "But I'm the one who's King in the scroll so it would make sense for me to be the one to look into what's going on with the Isle."
"That's the end of the scroll," Hera said. "Who'd like to read next?"
"I'll read, Lady Hera," Aladdin offered.