A/N: Thank you for the comments! Hope you all enjoy this next chapter.
Mal snatched a lollipop from a little girl, causing the villains behind her to laugh.
"You just stole from a baby!" Princess Teresa, Queen Tiana and King Naveen's oldest daughter, cried.
"She needs to learn young," Mal stated. You couldn't get upset about a stolen toy on the Isle, and you had to learn to defend your food. Maybe the heroes saw it as cruel, but Mal saw it as a lesson in survival.
On the screen, people began to flee in fear, and Maleficent appeared.
Queen Leah shouted, grabbing Audrey while Phillip and Aurora looked at the screen in confusion.
"Does she look smaller to you?" Aurora asked Phillip. The woman on the screen was not the woman she remembered being sent to the Isle.
"Much smaller." Phillip agreed.
At the front of the room, Beast's eyes were widening as he watched Maleficent. "How does she have her scepter? We locked it away!"
Mal smirked, although Ben thought it looked strained, and responded "My mother has her ways." He couldn't help but notice how all the VK's had haunted looks at those words, or how Mal subtly rubbed her arm, and he added yet another thing onto his list of subjects to ask Mal about
Maleficent told her daughter that she was disappointed in her for stealing candy, until Mal said it was from a baby.
"That's supposed to make it better?" Prince Amir, second son to Aladdin and Jasmine, asked.
"Yes." All four VK's answered in unison. Stealing from a baby was easy, it was mean and cruel, and their parents loved it.
Mal gave Maleficent the lollipop, and the woman then spit on it and put it under her arm before having it be given back to the toddler.
Sounds of disgust were heard all around the room as the baby accepted the lollipop.
Mal complained, but Maleficent told her that it was the deeds that made the difference between mean and truly evil. She then said that at Mal's age she was cursing entire kingdoms, Mal saying the last bit along with her mother.
Reiner looked at Mal, "How often does she say that?" He asked.
Mal shrugged, not wanting to admit that it was almost every day for years.
On the other side of the room, Aurora leaned over to whisper to her husband. "I thought Maleficent rarely left the Moors? I was the only known case of her cursing someone."
King Phillip nodded, keeping a careful eye on his mother-in-law, who looked as though she was trying to eavesdrop. "You were." He said, "And while I still hate the woman, she reacted the way most Fae would have."
Aurora hummed in agreement, watching Mal from the corner of her eye. From what she remembered of Maleficent, the Fae wasn't as evil as King Beast made her out to be. Not at first, at least. Now, from the way she was acting and the way Mal reacted, it seemed as though the woman had gone off the deep end. Maybe she should take Mal to the Moors, let her see what was once was her mother's home.
Maleficent took Mal's arm, and told her that she was just trying to teach Mal how to be her. "I know that," Mal said, "And I'll do better."
"Mal," Rapunzel whispered. She knew those words. She knew what it was like to be torn down again and again, to never be enough. And to then have her "mother" pretend like she was trying to help, to tie the words with pretty ribbons and promises.
Her heart ached for the purple-haired girl, who had likely gone through that and so much more.
Maleficent then shouted with glee, saying that there was news. She pointed to the Vks, "You four have been chosen to go to a different school... in Auradon."
Evie, Carlos and Jay all tried to run away, but Maleficent's minions stopped them.
"It's not that bad here," Chad muttered, glaring at the VK's.
"The Isle is our home." Mal said, ignoring how Evie and Carlos tensed up. "We have responsibilities there!"
Chad scoffed, "what responsibilities? Hurting people?"
Mal went to say something, but Jay caught her arm. A silent conversation went on between the two, including hand gestures and head tilts, causing curiosity around the room. Ben couldn't help but wonder what it was they were hiding, all while trying to push away some jealousy at how close the pair was.
Mal complained about a school full of prissy pink princesses. And Evie added sighed out, "And perfect princes."
At her words, Chad sat up straighter. It only lasted for a moment, though, as his sister called out, "I'm sorry that you had to come to find disappointment," causing many of the girls to laugh while Chad flushed.
"Karine," Ella scolded, frowning at daughter, "What was that about?"
"Just teasing him, mom." Karine said. Now wasn't the time to break the news about Chad's treatment of his female classmates to their parents.
Jay went on to say that he didn't do uniforms
"Which, luckily for you, we don't have." Aksel said while a grin formed on his face. "If we did, Reiner would have to lose his leather jacket, and if that happened the world would probably end."
Elsie snickered while her brother rolled his eyes.
while Carlos worried about dogs. "Mom said they're rabid pack animals who eat boy who don't behave.
"Cruella said that?" Roger asked in surprise.
Carlos looked at him in disbelief. "My mother hates dogs." He said, then grimaced and added. "She thinks the only good thing about them is their coats." He then shot up, "Speaking of dogs, where's Dude?"
"Don't worry," Persephone said gently, "time works differently here. I promise, Dude is safe at Auradon Prep."
While her words made Carlos relax a little, he still wished that his dog was near. Then again, there was no telling what was going to happen as their past continued to play, so maybe it was safer for Dude to be elsewhere.
Mal tells her mom that they aren't going, but Maleficent tells her that she's thinking small and the goal is world domination. She then calls her minions and Mal as she walks away.
The scene changes to Maleficent on her throne, talking to Mal and her friends. "You will go. You will find Fairy Godmother, and you will bring me back her magic wand."
Uproar was heard throughout the room. Audrey stood up and shouted, "I knew it! I told you, Ben, they came here to destroy us!"
The Vk's however didn't respond with yells, and waited as Persephone and the Fates made everyone quiet down before talking. Evie looked downright uninterested as she said, "You really expected our parents to just let us come here? My mother made it known that if I don't find a prince I won't be welcomed back."
"My dad is expecting a large loot for his shop." Jay told them.
"My mom wants puppies." Carlos said with a shudder.
Ben then looked at Mal, the only one who hadn't said anything, and felt his blood go cold at her tone when she said, "You don't say no to my mother."
Mal asked what was in it for them, and Maleficent responded "Matching thrones, hers-and-hers crowns.
"I don't think that's what she meant." Prince Emery said, the older brother to Elsie and Reiner, said.
Maleficent got close to her daughter and said it's all about world domination. Then she asked Mal if she enjoyed watching innocent people suffer, to which Mal stammered out a yes, asking who doesn't.
'You don't,' Ben thought, watching the past Mal carefully. She wasn't convincing when she answered her mother, seeming like she was uncomfortable with the question and answer. And from the way the Mal in the room had acted earlier, it seemed likely that she was just saying that to make her mother happy.
Maleficent continued on, saying that with Fairy Godmother's wand and her scepter, she'd be able to bend both good and evil to her will. To which the other villains reminded her that they were also in on the plan. Maleficent then told the Mal that if she refused, they'd all be grounded for the rest of their lives.
"Did she say 'lives'?" Aziz asked.
Jay nodded and Aziz seemed more confused. "Can she do that?"
Carlos snorted, "She's Maleficent. She runs the Isle. She can do whatever she wants."
"Very few people will stand up to her," Evie added, "and it never ended well for those who did. So trust us, our parents wouldn't stop Maleficent from doing anything to us.
On the screen, Mal and Maleficent entered a staring contest, both of their eyes glowing green.
"What was that?" Kristoff asked, wide eyed. "I thought there was no magic on the Isle!"
"No evil magic, technically," Evie said quietly while Mal spoke over her. "Family argument!" But that didn't keep Elsie and Reiner from hearing Evie's past remark.
Rapunzel frowned as the scene continued. She hated watching Maleficent manipulate Mal. She herself had spent eighteen years with Mother Gothel, and still fought with some of the thoughts and ideas the woman had put in her head.
Looking over at Mal, she watched as the girl crossed her arms, almost hugging herself. There was no way she had gone through that without scars, and she had only been away from her mother for a few weeks. A woman who obviously mistreated her, at least mentally. Now instead of helping Mal, there were people treating her like a villain herself.
Thankfully, it seemed like her family held the same belief's. Eugene's jaw was clenched as he glared at the screen, and Emery was looking at Mal thoughtfully. The twins, being the closest to the Mal, were blocking some of the glares being sent at the girl from people like Queen Leah. Ruby's was glowering, but her anger seemed to be directed at Maleficent and not Mal. Edeline was the only one who looked unaffected. If Rapunzel was honest, she didn't know what to make of that.
The Evil Queen called Evie over to her, telling her to find a prince with a big castle that had space for her, and lots of mirrors. But as Evie laughed, the Evil Queen scolded her, telling her it'll cause wrinkles.
"She's sixteen!" Anna shouted, "She's not going to get wrinkles from laughing!"
In another area of the room, Snow White watched the screen carefully, looking at the Evil Queen through a different lens. As evil as the woman was, she couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of Evie as she watched the two interact. While it was still horrible, it was better than she had been treated.
Cruella was insisting that they weren't going to take Carlos away because she'd miss him too much. Carlos was almost hopeful, until Cruella said who else would work for her.
"He's not a slave." Mirabel Madrigal muttered, crossing her arms tightly as she glared at the screen.
Next to her, Antonio was glaring as well. In the few weeks the VK's had been at school, he'd just managed to befriend Carlos. Seeing how he was being treated by his mother made his blood boil.
Cruella then started to manipulate Carlos, using his fear of dogs to her advantage.
"How dare she!" Anita yelled. How could her old classmate do this to her own child? She had known that Cruella was never exactly sound in the mind, but to act like this to her own child?
"That's my mother for you," Carlos said darkly. "If she can't get the reaction she wants on the first try, she'll find what frightens you the most, twist her words and make offerings or threats until she gets what she wants."
Jafar then had his turn, saying that he needed Jay to stock the shelves in his shop.
"At least he's not pretending to care." Aladdin muttered to Jasmine. Jay wasn't what he had imagined when he thought of Jafar having a child. Part of him always assumed that Jafar would raise a son to be just as arrogant as he was, and to be a master manipulator. Instead, he raised a thief who, from what Aladdin could tell, was always on guard. It reminded him of himself, to be honest.
Jafar asked Jay what he managed to get that day, and Jay brought out a lamp much to Jafar's delight. Until he realized that it was just a lamp.
"Are you a genie?" Jordan asked carefully, looking from her dad to Jay.
Jay glanced at Mal before looking back at Jordan. "I was." He told her.
"Was?"
Jay nodded. "Mal found my lamp when I was twelve. She locked my powers away."
"You didn't try to wish away the barrier?" King Beast questioned, not believing that the villain kids would give up a chance like that.
"That wasn't an option at the time," Jay said stiffly. Ben noticed how his jaw had tightened, how Mal's eyes seemed to narrow and looked greener than normal, and how Evie and Carlos both tensed. When his dad questioned them, Ben looked over to Persephone. Much like the VK's, Persephone's face was dark. Towards her feet there were vines growing, and flowers Ben recognize as red poppy growing at her feet.
His dad didn't stop questioning them, and Mal finally said "There was sickness on the Isle. It was bad. I wished to stop the spread of the disease, and for a cure, then wished for Jay's powers to be locked away forever, for him to just be human."
Silence rang throughout the room. Over at the far side of the room, Merida gripped her husband's hand. She had seen illnesses rage through lands before. How bad had it been for Maleficent's daughter to give up their chance at escaping the island? How many lives had it claimed before Jay's lamp came?
Evil Queen was sitting with Evie, saying that Evie couldn't go anywhere until they got rid of her unibrow.
"What unibrow?" Audrey asked, receiving surprised looks from a couple of the princesses near her. "What? I don't like her, but even I can admit that her mother is talking nonsense."
Maleficent yelled at the others, asking what was wrong with them and saying that people used to cower at the mention of their names.
"They still do," Mal whispered to Evie, while nodding to some of the nobles who still couldn't help but flinch when the villains on the screen shouted.
Evie stifled laughter, and both girls tried not to think about the fact that they cowered on the Isle as well.
Maleficent started a speech about how for 20 years, she had searched for a way off the island. How the nobles had kept them from their revenge. "Revenge on Snow White and her horrible little men."
The dwarves in the room all straightened up with glares, while Snow White leaned into her husband.
"Revenge on Aladdin and his bloated genie!"
"Well that was rude." Genie said lightly. "So I put on some extra weight, so did he!"
Aladdin, however, couldn't help but put his arms around his wife and daughter as thoughts of what Jafar would do as "revenge" ran through his head.
Maleficent turned to Cruella, "Revenge on every sneaky dalmatian that escaped your clutches."
Cruella's reaction was even more unhinged than the others. She grabbed a toy at her shoulder and cackled about how they didn't get the baby.
"What is that!?" Jane exclaimed, leaning closer to her mother.
"A stuffed toy," Carlos assured her, "and a squeaker taken from an old dog toy she found."
"Oh my gosh, that's my old toy." Rebecca Radcliffe said, bringing her hands over her mouth. "I, I threw it out a few years ago because it was so worn. How is it on the island?"
Jay and Mal looked at each other uneasily, then back to the confused AK's. "We get your trash." Mal said slowly, watching their reactions. She also noticed confusion in the older royals as well. "The island of garbage and leftovers."
"That's not right," Ben said, looking her way. "We send shipments every two weeks!"
That gutted Mal. Because not once in her life had they received anything but torn clothing, left over junk, and rotten food. But Ben was telling the truth, she could tell. He really believed that they were sending the villains supplies.
"We don't get supply shipments, Ben." She said, her voice cracking slightly. "Just the garbage shipments every month."
"If we're lucky," Jay said beside her. But thankfully, Ben didn't hear that. It was something they could talk about later. If there was a later.
"And I! Maleficent! The evillest of them all. I will finally have my revenge on Sleeping Beauty, and her relentless little prince."
Queen Leah's grip on Audrey reached an uncomfortable point, and the girl tried to wriggle her way out, looking helpless towards her brother who just held up his hands in a way that said 'I can't do anything.'
Maleficent went on to say that the villain's time had come, and told Evil Queen to give Evie her magic mirror.
"How does she even have that?" Snow White asked in rage. The magic mirror had caused her so much pain. She still hated that Beast put what he could in a museum of all places instead of completely destroying it.
"A shard was stuck to her clothing." Evie said, her eyes closing. "She still talks to it. Every day, every hour, she'll talk to it. I never realized it was the magic mirror. I thought she had just gone insane. But it doesn't matter, because that thing was her whole life."
Her voice sounded detached, as if she was lost in her own memories. Anna gripped Kristoff's hand tightly. They all knew the evil queen wasn't right in the mind. Snow White confirmed that before the woman ever went to the Island. But from the way Evie talked, the woman had only gotten worse.
Evie took the mirror cautiously, disbelief in her tone as she confirmed that the mirror was Evil Queen's. The Evil Queen laughed, saying that it's not what it was, but neither are they.
That caused a few chuckles of amusement throughout the room, even with some trying to hide it.
The Evil Queen told her that it would help her to find things, and both got sidetracked before Maleficent reminded them of the wand.
Fairy Godmother watched the women in fascination. Somehow, despite their ego's, it seemed like they managed to form a friendship. Or a twisted villain equivalent to one.
Maleficent started yelling for her spell book, saying that it was in the safe. But it wasn't a safe she ran to.
"The freezer." Elsie said slowly, looking at Mal and holding in laughter. "She's using the freezer as a safe?"
Mal tipped her head back, her lips curving up slightly. "It's easier to not question what goes on in my mothers head." She told the girl.
Maleficent called for the Evie Queen, complaining that she could never figure out how to open her safe.
Ben's chuckled, "Well, I guess we know how to keep magical items out of Maleficent's hands." His words were rewarded by a giggle from Mal.
Evil Queen got the safe open, and Maleficent grabbed her book while calling Mal over. She stroked the spell book as she and Evil Queen reminisced.
"Where did your mom get a spellbook?" Jane asked. "I didn't think any were sent to the island?"
Mal snorted, "First, spell books definitely made it to the Isle. Second, you underestimate my mom's memory. She wrote down every spell she could remember, every spell she could possibly find, even the ones that weren't hers. She was a paranoid person, thought her mind would eventually betray her. She'd make me study them, while also teaching me the principles of magic."
"But there's no magic on the Isle?"
Evie chuckled. "Cute. And so naive. Our mothers didn't care about that." At the questioning looks, Evie was half-tempted to roll her eyes like Mal was. Were these people really that uninformed? "My mother's a witch." She explained. "Technically, I inherited her magic."
The villains all started to pack up, and the Evil Queen and Evie had an exchange about who the fairest of them all was.
Snow White looked at the screen in shock. Grimhilde didn't shout or hit her daughter for her words, she just lightly reprimanded her.
Jafar had Jay recite their mantra.
"That is not how the saying goes." Aziz said, "No wonder your sayings are so messed up."
"They aren't that bad!" Jay defended. "Some of those sayings keep you alive on the Isle."
Aziz ignored the last part and pointed over at the other boy. "We're going over sayings later."
The scene changed to Maleficent and Mal on the balcony, "The future of the free world rests on your shoulders." Maleficent told her daughter. "Don't blow it."
"Oh, so no pressure at all." Aksel said sarcastically. Mal watched as he made his way closer, stopping to drop in the free seat next to Ben, which happened to be right across from Jay. He turned his head to look at her and gave her signature wave, which made Mal wrinkle her nose at him and his grin to turn into one of mischief.
So far, things hadn't gone the way she thought they would. Maybe… everything would be okay. Or maybe she had just been in Auradon far too long and their optimism was wearing off on her.