AN: Thank you for all your comments! Some of which I've answered at the end of the chapter.
As we get more glimpses into the VK's lives, please know that I like to pick and choose canon from the books because otherwise it just... doesn't make sense. (The book Vk's though? Love them.)
And, Robin Hood and Marian are in this! Just as humans instead of foxes.
The VK's and their parents made their way to the limo, and as the crowd of people around them grew, they got into the vehicle.
Tiana felt her chest tighten at the sight of the crowd. All those starving people, all those starving kids. All because no one was checking to make sure they had edible food.
The driver closed the door behind the kids, and made his way to the front. You could hear the parents yelling requests for things to bring back, but the kids ignored them. The boys in particular pounced at the candy in front of them.
"Oh, you boys must have made yourselves sick!" Tiana fussed, looking over at Jay and Carlos, who flushed under her gaze.
"We might have gone overboard." Jay admitted, "But we were fine." He wasn't going to admit to her that he and Carlos had gotten sick, and it made getting up the next day miserable. As it turns out, candy isn't the greatest thing to pig out on.
Mal was the only one not going after the food. Evie noticed, and tried to put some makeup on her, but Mal pushed her hand away in disgust. "Ew, no. I'm plotting." She told her.
"Well, it's not very attractive."
Ben greatly disagreed.
Carlos took a bite of candy, his eyes lighting up in delight, and he showed it to Jay.
While the exchange was gross, Jane couldn't help but feel sad at the scene. The joy in Carlos' eyes was adorable, but the overwhelming feeling of wrongness made her want to cry.
On the screen, the barrier between the VK's and the driver came down and the teens saw what appeared to be nothing in front of the car. Carlos yelled out that it was a trap, and the four huddled together while screaming.
Ben's jaw dropped, and he looked over at Mal with pleading eyes. "You didn't think that we'd..." He trailed off, and his heart plummeted when Mal avoided his eyes.
"We were raised by villains, Ben." She said, "It's something a lot of them would have done. Can you blame us?"
Ben swallowed hard, but he couldn't say anything. He didn't know what he could say.
The screams stopped once the kids realized that they weren't sinking to their death, and they looked out to see a golden bridge. "It must be magic!" Evie cried with a smile.
Mal tapped the remote in her hand, asking the driver if that was what caused the barrier to open.
"No," he said as he held up another remote, "This one opens the magical barrier. That one opens my garage. And this button..." The barrier between the two closed.
Belle gasped in shock, and Ben looked outraged as well. "I am so sorry he treated you that way!" The Queen said, looking over at the four.
"He won't be driving for us again." Ben added.
Mal laughed it off, "Nah, I liked him." She said, just as her onscreen self agreed. He was the only one they had actually felt comfortable around, probably because he was rude and sarcastic. Honestly, she hoped that when she and the others were ultimately taken back to the Isle, he'd be the one driving them.
The scene change to show Auradon Prep. Ben, Audrey, and Fairy Godmother were standing out front with the band playing behind them.
"Oh no," Mal groaned. She was hoping they wouldn't have to relive this memory.
Beside her, Evie was almost shrinking in her seat, wanting to be anywhere else but here.
The band cut off as Jay and Carlos tumbled out of the limo, fighting over an item from the limo.
"You got everything else!" Carlos yelled, continuing to ask why Jay even wanted to, to which Jay responded.
"Because you want it!"
King Eric chuckled at the screen, then leant forward to whisper to his daughters. "Sounds awfully familiar, huh girls?"
Ebba rolled her eyes at the comparison, while Abi scrunched up her nose at the idea of having anything in common with the VK's. Even though she and Ebba had had similar arguments before.
Mal scolded the boys, informing them of their audience. Jay tried to play it off like they were cleaning up, and Fairy Godmother told them to leave it. Jay threw the loot back into the limo, before spotting Audrey and flirty with her.
Audrey looked visibly uncomfortable on screen and off, and before he could back out of it Jay turned around so he could look at her. "I'm sorry for that." He told her, surprising his friends and the girl. "I should have apologized sooner for making you so uncomfortable."
"Oh," Audrey replied, blinking twice. It took Pierre nudging her for her to sputter out, "Um, thank you."
On screen Audrey was nervously laughing, and Fairy Godmother shielded her, gaining Jay's attention.
She introduced herself as Fairy Godmother, the headmistress.
"The Fairy Godmother?" Mal asked in shock. "As in, 'bibbidi-bobbidi-boo'?"
"What other Fairy Godmother would be running the school?" Chad asked.
Mal shrugged, "I just didn't recognize her." She said. "We don't get many photo's on the Isle, and definitely not of the heroes, so the only description I had of her was from the Tremaine's."
Her eyes flicked over to Fairy Godmother. When she first came to Auradon, she was expecting an old, white-haired woman with wings. Not the middle-aged woman before her. "Let's just say the description was very different."
Fairy Godmother couldn't help but chuckle at her words, as did Cinderella who had an idea of the descriptions her step-mother could have given from past experience. Lady Tremaine did always love to describe women to look older than they really were.
Mal began to say say that she always wondered what it was like for Cinderella when the Fairy Godmother just appeared, and she mentioned the sparkly wand several times.
"And her mentioning the wand several times didn't raise any red flags?" Robin Hood asked Fairy Godmother with a raised brow.
Fairy Godmother flushed. "I just thought she was being polite."
"That was a long time ago," Fairy Godmother told her, continuing on by saying that if you focused on the past you'd miss the future. She then stepped back, allowing Ben and Audrey to come forward.
Ben introduced himself with just his name, before Audrey corrected him with "Prince Benjamin. Soon to be king!"
"Audrey, come here." Aurora said.
"Oh, Aurora, really now." Queen Leah huffed. But Aurora didn't back down, and Audrey walked around her grandmother and sat down next to her mother.
"What?" Audrey asked, thankful that while the screen was paused, no one seemed to be able to hear them.
Aurora leaned closer, "He didn't want to be introduced like that and you should have respected it." She told her firmly.
Audrey pouted, "But it's his title." She said, knowing that it was a weak defense. Her mother didn't seem amused by it either, but let it drop. However, she made Audrey stay in the new seat.
Evie brightened at the title, and curtsied low, flirting as she introduced herself.
Audrey didn't let it slide, and informed the girl that neither the evil queen or she held a title in Auradon.
Aurora leaned over and whispered into her ear, "You will be apologizing later."
"Yes mother."
Ben then went on to introduce Audrey, who quickly interrupted in order to add her title and the fact that she's Ben's girlfriend.
"Wow, very professional Audrey." Lonnie told the girl, who was trying to shrink in her seat as she got disapproving looks from various people in the room.
Fairy Godmother stepped forward, telling the Vk's that Ben and Audrey were going to show them around and she'd see them tomorrow. "The doors of wisdom are never shut!" She shouted, throwing Ben and Audrey's hands up. "But the library hours are from eight to eleven and as you may have heard, I have a little thing about curfews."
"Mom," Jane hissed as the on-screen Vk's were nervously laughing. "You were scaring them."
Fairy Godmother frowned, realizing that her daughter was right as she watched the VK's unease. Perhaps she was a tad too perky during their first meeting.
Ben stepped forward, going to shake their hands. "It is so, so, so good to finally meet.." he trailed off for a moment when he locked eyes with Mal, but the moment ended and he continued on.
Aksel raised a brow at the screen, and noticed that both Ben and Mal were blushing lightly. "Something you want to share with the group?" He asked Ben.
"No."
"As the day our two people began to heal." Ben said, smiling at the four VK's."
"You're going a little bit over the top." Elsie teased, causing Mal to laugh as the past Ben and Mal had a similar exchange.
A couple of the adults were smiling at the two on the screen. The chemistry between them was already noticeable. And they weren't the only ones who saw it, as both the past and present Audrey did as well.
Audrey butted in, and realizing that Mal was Maleficent's daughter she began to say that she didn't blame her for her mother trying to kill her parents. She then started to say who her mother was, before Mal interrupted her. "And I totally do not blame your grandparents for inviting everyone in the whole world, but my mother, to their stupid christening."
Audrey jumped in and said it was water under the bridge, with Mal agreeing and both girls sharing a painfully awkward laugh.
Everyone in the audience was cringing, including the other VK's.
"It's worse watching it." Mal said to Evie, who shook her head with a sigh.
Across the room, Aurora and Phillip both looked disappointed, which had Audrey upset. Why did her parents care so much, anyways? Mal's mother was the one who tried to kill them!
Ben decided that it was time for a tour and the VK's exchanged looks before following him. He began explaining the history of the school and castle, stopping to clap at a statue of his father, which morphed from Beast to man. The shift caused Carlos to cry out and jump into Jay's arms.
Carlos kept his head down at his past reaction. Even now, knowing that not all dogs were bad and having Dude, the statue still creeped him out.
Next to him, Evie shifted so she could rest her head on his shoulder. It helped ground him, and he made a point of ignoring the reactions around him. Even though he wanted to flinch at the snickers coming from a few of the princes.
Ben assured Carlos that everything was okay, explaining how the statue works, and the point his father was trying to make.
"Does he shed much?" Mal asked, to which Ben deadpanned. "Yeah, mom won't let him on the couch."
Chuckles were heard from all around the room, including from the High King himself.
"How long have you been waiting to use that one?" Aksel asked his friend, "There was no hesitation there."
Ben grinned, "I might have had it saved for a while now." He admitted, "Remember the Halloween incident?"
Aksel's eyes widened for only a moment before he broke into laughter. King Beast blushed as his wife also began to laugh.
"The Halloween incident?" Mal asked, looking over toward her boyfriend.
Ben went to say something, but Beast stopped him. "You are not telling that story right now." He told him, before quietly adding, "Or in front of everyone."
The fact that he didn't tell him not to tell Mal made Ben's heart soar in hope that perhaps his father would get along with her, and he looked at her and mouthed 'I'll tell you later', getting a grin in response.
As they walked into the castle, Mal began asking about magic again, including wands.
"Ben!" Prince Emil, Chad's little brother, shouted. "How didn't you notice? She's really bad at hiding her interest in magic!" He then looked at Mal with a blush, "No, no offence Mal."
"None taken kid," Mal said with a soft smile. It wasn't her best work, she could admit to that. But it got the job done.
However, Ben was nervously scratching his neck. "I just thought she was curious due to her fairy heritage." He explained. "I know that the dark fae don't use wands, but it still is a normal thing with other fairies."
Ben said that while magic exists it's pretty much retired, and that most are just ordinary mortals. After Mal mentioned that a lot just happened to be Kings and Queens, Audrey took Ben's arm and put it around her shoulders while saying that their royal blood goes back hundreds of years.
Persephone fought against showing a reaction to Audrey's words towards her stepdaughter. If only the girl knew who she was talking to. While on the Isle, Mal's heritage might draw unwanted attention (or protect her, as Persephone had argued to Hades many times in the past few years), in Auradon it would demand respect. Despite her father being on the Isle, he was still one of the Greek Gods, and she'd make sure Mal was accepted.
Others in the rooms had no such qualms speaking out against the Princess. One of those people being Rowan Hood. "Audrey, a lot of the royalty in this room were born commoners, including my dad." She said, "Queen Belle herself was born a commoner!"
At this point, Audrey just wanted to disappear into a hole. What was this, attack Audrey day? But she kept her head up this time and didn't pay attention to the others around her. She just prayed that she would be off the screen soon, and that the villain kids could start taking heat for their actions.
Awkwardness filled the room, and Ben quickly called Doug over, removing himself from Audrey. He then introduced the other boy, saying that he would be helping with the vk's class schedules and showing them all to their dorms. Ben then stepped forward, looking at Mal as he said "I'll see you later, okay? And if there is anything you need, feel free to..."
Audrey quickly interrupted. "Ask Doug."
This time, Aurora didn't say anything, she just sighed. Phillip on the other hand frowned and said they'd be having a family meeting once there was a break.
Audrey pulled Ben away, and Doug introduced himself. He trailed off from naming his uncles as he caught sight of Evie.
"Got a crush, Doug?" His brother teased. Doug shoved his arm, "Shut up."
Evie introduced herself, and Doug cleared his throat before explaining that he already put in their class requirements. The last of which was called Remedial Goodness 101.
Mal guessed that it was a new class before telling the others that they should go find their dorms.
As the Vk's made their way up the stairs, Doug pointed across the hall and said, "Your dorms are that way, guys."
The Vk's quickly turned around and began going the other direction.
As they passed him, Doug was attempting to name all of his uncles, but was having trouble with the last, to which Carlos supplied, "Sneezy."
Doug turned to his uncle, who was giving him a hurt look. "I'm sorry Uncle Sneezy." He said. Sneezy went to say something, but was cut off by, well, a couple of sneezes.
The scene changed to the girls entering their room. Bright and pink. While Evie was thrilled, Mal was less than and once she called the room gross, Evie quickly said the same.
"Evie," Mal said gently, "you didn't have to hide that you loved the room."
Evie blushed and said, "I know," even though both girls knew that she might react that way again. It was a bad habit, one she had had since childhood, to always agree with the other person. It had taken Mal weeks just to get her to really decorate their hideout back on the Isle, so it wasn't surprising that that had been how she acted in Auradon.
Mal complained about needing sunscreen, with Evie softly agreeing, and both girls closed the curtains.
"I don't get it," Jamila, the daughter of Aladdin and Jasmine, said.
"The sun was too bright." Mal explained, "The Isle doesn't really get a lot of sunlight, so it was hard to see."
"Evie seemed fine." Moira, one of Merida's girls and the same girl that accused Evie of stringing guys along, said. Which earned her a glare from Jay.
"I'm better at hiding it," Evie said as she leaned over Mal and placed a hand on Jay's arm to stop him from lashing out. "But my head was starting to hurt."
Now, the VK's were in the boys room, which was noticeably bigger than the girls. Carlos was playing a video game, while Jay was pulling things out of a bag. Mal went over and asked what he was doing, to which Jay responded stealing.
"And you are going to return it all." Fairy Godmother said sternly, "or you'll be expelled."
Jay nodded, but didn't tell her that he'd already returned it all. The longer he was in Auradon, the more guilty he felt about stealing. But, it was still something he struggled with. Over the past few weeks, Mal and Evie had both been wearing more jewelry for him to swipe, and eventually give back to them, to hold off the urge to steal from the AK's.
Mal asked what the point was, and Jay responded it was like buying whatever he wanted, but it's free.
Mal then said, "So, you could do that, or you could leave all of this here and pick it up when we take over the world!"
Evie said that she sounded just like her mom, to which Mal responded 'thank you.'
"I don't think that should be taken as a compliment." Lonnie said to her brother.
"Maybe not now," Jr. told her, watching Mal carefully. "But think of all that we've seen so far. All she wanted was her mom's approval."
Jay told Mal that she could do it her way, and he'd do it his.
Carlos then yelled at his game, and told Jay he had to try it.
"Mal's the only one focused on the task at hand," Belle whispered to Adam as the on screen Mal yelled at the other VK's to get their attention.
"That doesn't mean anything," Adam told her. "They're teenagers, they get distracted easily."
"This is our one chance to prove ourselves to our parents!" Mal shouted.
Tears welled up in Rapunzel's eyes at the desperation in Mal's voice, and the broken looks on the other kids' faces. No child should have to prove themselves to their parents, who are supposed to love them unconditionally.
"To prove that we are evil and vicious and ruthless and cruel."
"But you're not." Ben stated firmly. He knew Mal, and those words? They weren't her.
"Ben," Mal said, "You don't know that."
"Yes, I do." He said, getting up and making his way over to kneel in front of Mal's seat. "Someone who's evil, vicious, ruthless and cruel wouldn't help the younger kids with their art projects. They wouldn't do girls' hair, or even have friends."
Mal looked down. She was twisting her hands back and forth, and Ben took them in his, which finally got her to talk. "You don't know everything that we've done." She said quietly, "Everything that happened on the Isle."
He was starting to get an idea, but it didn't matter. "Living on the Isle doesn't determine who you are." He said firmly. "You were all trying to survive."
"Ben," and it hit him. The pain in her eyes, the tears that were starting to well up. As far as she knew, he was still under the effects of the love spell.
Without turning away, he called out, "When do we get to take a break, Queen Persephone?"
"Soon Prince Ben," Persephone answered.
Ben nodded, and brought Mal's hands up, placing a kiss to her knuckles. At this point he didn't care if he was making a scene, as long as she knew how he felt about her.
Reluctantly, he got up and made his way back to his parents and Aksel, but his eyes didn't leave Mal even as the screen came back to life and showed the VK's tracking down the wand. The more it continued, the more Mal seemed to fold into herself, and suddenly "soon" seemed all too far away.
danifan3000: The food and garbage issue will definitely be talked about, and investigated later on.
Descendants Fan: I'm glad you're enjoying it! I have taken some inspiration from the Angelina Jolie Maleficent, but only a little bit when it comes to her background and Fae heritage. If you're interested in a story with Maleficent fully being the Angelina Jolie version, my story A Different Tale has that and the butterfly effect it caused!
dared-the-demon-king: I LOVE Jelsa, but I won't be featuring Jack because I really am just trying to keep Disney characters. With that said, Elsa does have two girls in this and I miiiiight have left their father up to the imagination. (Also, your oc's sound amazing!)