Chapter 50: A Lesson in Hope
As Regina watches as her daughter hugs her boyfriend tightly, her phone goes off in her pocket. She reaches in and goes to the corner to answer the call. A waitress brings over Dizzy's breakfast and asks for the rest of the table to order. Once all the teenagers have settled back down into their seats and ordered their food, they all take turns trying to see out the window, wondering what was happening to Harry.
"I'm surprised he isn't being beaten," Jay mutters.
"He certainly deserves it," Dizzy agrees, pouring a mountain of syrup on her pancakes.
"Whoa slow down there Diz, save some for the rest of us," Mal says, laughing a little bit. It felt nice to laugh and have a little bit of fun, despite how brief it might be.
"What?" the youngest VK shrugs. "The food here is good."
"The best," Evie smiles in agreement. She continues looking down at her newly fixed bracelet, so happy to have it back on her wrist where it belongs.
"Your alternate mom is really nice," Doug says, keeping his arm around his girlfriend's waist.
"She's obviously come a long way since the poison apple days," Carlos agrees.
"Who knew villains in other worlds could change too?" Mal says, mostly to herself.
"I did," Ben says quietly. His hazel-green eyes then gaze over at Mal. She tries to look away, staring across the table at Evie and Doug. She's still not ready to talk to him, despite how difficult and awkward it has been between them and that they always end up sitting close to one another. "It's why I invited you all to Auradon, give you that second chance. I guess there really is hope for all villains to change if they're given that chance."
"Not Uma," Mal mutters and turns to avoid Ben's eyes, scratching the back of her purple hair awkwardly.
Ben looks over at Mal. "I'm sure Uma is going to change, once she's got all her problems worked out."
"Ben, she's never going to change. She's tried to take over Auradon twice and threatened to kill you both times in the process. Some people are just not worth saving," his "ex-girlfriend" protests, now turning to face him. "We've given her a lot of second-chances and she doesn't want them. She's a lost cause, she belongs on the Isle."
Everyone's eyes go wide, even Evie is shocked by Mal's words. She, the daughter of Maleficent, of all people should understand how important getting a new start in life was. After all, she'd been one of the last of the group to truly turn her back against evil and her mother's influence. She'd even gone back to the place when she felt like she belonged, and yet she was still willing to come back and make a change for herself and for Auradon. However, looking at how things had played out in their realm, the stigma of being a villain was always going to be there and no matter how much they tried to fight for the side of good, if something bad happened, it was always the Villain Kids who are the first to be investigated. It's obvious from her statements that Mal has lost faith in the kingdom and the chance for others to change.
"That's no way to talk. Don't lose hope on her yet," Snow White says, coming over to talk with the kids. "When you lose hope, then the world is black and cold. You think we wanted to give Regina a second-chance? David was certainly against it and so was everyone else."
"It's true," the prince agrees, bringing over their son to join the conversation. "Most people wanted her to pay for what she'd done by casting the curse for 28 years. I had a particular vendetta against her for having her knights nearly killing me and her curse separating Snow and me from seeing Emma grow up."
"So, what stopped you from taking revenge?" Mal asks.
"It certainly wasn't easy to do that," Snow admits. "In fact, Doctor Whale from the hospital was the one leading the charge of an angry mob hell bent on killing Regina. We stopped them because we knew that nothing good ever comes from death or committing evil acts. But I think the true reason we didn't do anything and gave her a second chance, was Henry."
"Henry?" Ben asks. "You mean Emma's son?"
"Regina's son too," Crystal adds as she sits on a nearby table, eating her breakfast. The waitress comes back to the table with the rest of the food. The VKs and AKs dig in, savouring the delicious flavouring of the diner food.
"We knew that she loved Henry and would do anything for him. And despite what he said, he loved her too. His love is what saved her, gave her the second chance to try and change for the better," Snow says.
"It was more like the twenty-sixth chance," Crystal chimes in, with a smirk on her face. "My dad still tried to kill Regina and she did work with her vengeful mother, Cora for awhile. It wasn't until Henry was put in danger that everyone worked together against a common enemy…
"And once Regina found love again, that's when we knew she'd become a hero," Snow says, feeling a happy swell in her body, so pleased that her former mortal enemy, whom she'd spared from execution once, had now become her closest friend and a true member of the family.
"In fact, a lot of people that you'll meet in this town have had second chances," Crystal continues. "My dad had at least fifty before he actually proved himself. Killian was not the nicest person when Emma and Snow first met him, and he tried to kill my dad quite a few times. Even Wicked Z over there has walked the path to redemption." She points to the Wicked Witch of the West, who is finishing her meal and cleaning her daughter's face.
"I heard that," the redhead snaps, giving a glare at the daughter of Rumpelstiltskin. She scoops Robin up from her high chair and comes over to join the group.
"It's the truth," Crystal grins.
"Oh everyone, this is Zelena, Regina's half-sister and the former Wicked Witch of the West," Snow introduces the kids to them. "Zelena, this is Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos, Jane, Ben, Doug and Dizzy. They're all from Auradon."
"I'd heard that there were new munchkins walking around town," she says almost haughtily. The witch eyes each of the children skeptically; she could hardly believe their hair colours and downright bizarre looking clothing. Who would want to look like that? And she thought that having green skin was bad. They looked like the worst punk-rock band of flying monkeys she'd ever seen. She raises an eyebrow at them.
"Are you from Oz?" Mal asks, remembering the book.
"I am, how do you know that Plum-Head?"
Mal's eyes flash a bit green at the insult and must bite her lip to avoid lashing out at this woman, who had an innocent baby in her arms.
"Easy Zelena," David says. He leans in and whispers in the witch's ear. "Mal's the daughter of Maleficent and yes she can do the dragon thing too."
"That would be interesting," the redhead witch says, her eyes lighting up with an idea.
"Don't even think about it," Snow warns, taking Neal into her arms. "It's the last thing we need right now."
"Why must you spoil the fun?" the witch whines, shifting Robin to her other hip.
"We read about the land of Oz in a book," Ben says, stepping in to allow Mal to calm down. "Tell me, this wizard, is he is as great and powerful as the book says?"
Zelena snorts and then begins laughing so hard she's leaning over. She can hardly stand how gullible this boy was, thinking Oz was a powerful wizard. Ben turns a bit red and his face frowns in confusion as to why she's laughing so hard at him.
"Trust me Naive one, he was neither great nor powerful, once I was through with him," she says, having to wipe her eyes from laughing so hard. "That book really must be updated as soon as possible."
"The guy was a magician from this world," Crystal explains, not exactly enjoying the fact that Zelena was laughing so hard that she was going to pee herself. She can tell that the witch is embarrassing her half-brother. "He had no powers and god only knows how he became the ruler. But Zelena ran the show for a long time until she went on a vengeance quest against her sister."
"And she eventually found redemption," David adds.
"And all those villains found it through one thing…" Snow says. "Love."
"She is correct," Zelena agrees.
"Henry's love for Regina and her love from Robin Hood made her a better person. Zelena's love for her daughter allowed for a change in her heart. Emma's love for Killian saved him from a continued life of vengeance and anger, and Belle's love for Rumple saved him from the eternal existence of being the embodiment of darkness," David says.
"And I'm sure that love will work for Uma too," Snow says optimistically.
Mal snorts and rolls her eyes. "Yeah right, the only thing Uma loves is herself."
"But she must have friends, what about those in her crew like Harry?"
"They're more like crewmates," Carlos says. "They mostly just fear her and take orders."
"And I'm guessing like all of you, her mother won't win parent of the year?" Crystal asks.
"Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding" Mal mutters sarcastically, waving her fork in the air. "Someone should give you a gold medal. You're the smartest one here." The purple-haired teenager then turns to the fairest one of all. "Sorry Snow, but Uma's doesn't have any love in her life and I doubt she's going to ever find some."
Before the teacher can answer, Regina comes back to the group, looking irritated and angry. She clutches her phone so tightly in her grasp, it looks like she's going to crush it completely.
"What's wrong Regina?" David asks.
"Everybody better finish eating because that was Whale on the phone and he wants all kids from alternate realms removed from his hospital as soon as possible before he loses the last bit of his sanity. Apparently, some blonde boy with an enormous ego is demanding better food and is pushing him to the absolute limit. So, finish your hope speech Snow and let's get going."
A/N: I can't believe I've done 50 chapters already. I want to thank everyone for their continued support and reviews. It gives me the confidence to keep writing all the time. I felt it was a good idea to post a chapter on my birthday for everyone to enjoy, and it's a chapter about hope, perfect for me as I embark into the world as a 22-year-old. Thank you to all my fans, so far it's been great.