AN:
AmetheystDragon14 - Mine too
OceanBlueSeaEyes - I didn't think of it that way. I pulled from my own experience, since I guess technically I'm the only child between my parents but because of my "half"-siblings I don't think of it that way XD
danifan3000 - Mal knows, but Uma doesn't since she's not aware that Hades is Mal's father. Both girls know that Hercules and Ariel (along with their children) are their cousins.
The scene changed to the students' performance earlier that day. Ben stepped forward as he began to sing, "Ma cherie, Mademoiselle. It is with deepest pride, and greatest pleasure, that we welcome you tonight."
The parents smiled at seeing their children perform again, while a couple of the kids covered their faces.
"And now we invite you to relax! Let us pull up a chair, as the dining room proudly presents your dinner!"
"But it's not even time for lunch." Evie said.
"It's the lyrics of the song." Karine laughed, but Evie still seemed confused.
"Be Our Guest, the song Lumiere sang to my mother." Ben said, "You guys haven't heard it?"
"There's not much music on the Isle." Jay said, "I mean, there's a couple bands, like the one Carlos' cousin is in, but it's not exactly Auradon music."
Carlos snorted, "Definitely not. Sure, we sing some, and we know some of the villain songs, like my mother's."
"Or, Poor Unfortunate Souls," Mal sang dramatically, while Evie added "Gaston."
Mal laughed, then turned to Ben, "But when it comes to others, we just don't know them."
The group, excluding Ben, began to sing and dance, with Doug dancing out of tune at one point.
Evie finally looked behind her, and Doug caught her eyes, giving her a shy grin.
Ben joined in the singing as the song changed gears.
"That was an abrupt change." Mal commented, her eyes a little wide.
Ben chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, that was our attempt at modernizing the song."
Ben and the boys began to rap the next lyrics, Doug beatboxing. The scene showed Fairy Godmother dancing, and bumping into Jane, who fell into the wall.
"Oh, Jane, I'm so sorry!" Fairy Godmother said, not having noticed what had happened earlier that day.
"It's alright mom. I was fine."
While the AK's began to finish the song, the view showed the VK's looking over the grounds.
"Have to admit, take away Dude and they'd look intimidating." Marette whispered to her sisters. Maisie nodded her head, but Moira just shrugged in response.
The VK's made their way out to the yard, and Mal grabbed a strawberry just as the song ended.
"Honestly Mal, you don't have to have a strawberry every time you see one." Evie said with a shake of her head.
Mal crossed her arms, "I strongly disagree."
The scene changed, showing Ben walking to his parents. "Oh, that was so lovely!" Belle said as he got close.
The scene panned to Jay and Carlos, who were all excited over the chocolate fountain.
Mal fought the urge to hide her face at the sight of the boys licking the chocolate. Evie did no such thing, dropping her head into her hands with a groan.
The photographer was getting the royal family all situated for their picture when Ben mentioned that he had a new girlfriend.
Aksel chuckled, "You thought that that was the appropriate time to tell your parents about your new relationship?"
Ben smiled slyly, "Do you know how many portraits I have to do?"
"One every few weeks?" Elsie joked, although she wasn't far off.
"Exactly! Let me have my fun."
His parents were surprised, and Belle said. "Well, I never wanted to say anything, but I always thought that Audrey was a little self-absorbed. A fake smile, kind of a kiss-up."
Audrey lightly gasped. Did Belle really think that of her? Had she been secretly disliking her for years?
To make it worse, the High Queen wasn't saying anything.
Next to Audrey, Aurora was sending a glare Belle's way. She knew that Belle could have never guessed that anyone other than her husband and son would hear her words, but the fact that she wasn't even looking Audrey's way made Aurora's protective instincts rise.
Beast asked if they knew Ben's new girlfriend, and Ben responded, "Sort of." He then called for Mal, just as the photographer took the photo, which now had Belle and Beast looking shocked, and Ben smiling.
Mal couldn't help but burst into laughter at the looks on the High King and Queen's faces.
"Seems to be a bit of an extreme reaction." Eugene said. "Sure, her hair isn't the usual around Auradon, but you know, there's no tattoos or piercings and she's not decked out in black or spikes or anything close to it."
Belle flushed, "Well, and no offence to Mal, it was just a shock going from Audrey too…"
"A villain kid who happens to be half fae?" Mal offered, "I'm not offended."
Mal told Evie she had to go, and made her way over to Ben and his parents. She hugged Ben and kept a tight grip on his hands after they pulled apart.
Belle sighed when she saw the look on Ben's face. One of pure love and joy. She knew what lake they had been at, and with how things looked to be going, she had a feeling that Mal's presence in their lives would only grow.
"This is Mal. From the island." Ben said nervously. "My girlfriend."
"In case they were going to mistake her for just a friend." Jordan said, her words causing many of the students in the room to groan and mumble, "She's just a friend!" to each other, with looks varying from annoyance to giddiness.
"I feel like we're missing something." Evie whispered to Mal. Karine overheard and leaned forward, telling the girls it was from a show and she'd fill them in later.
Belle blurted out a shocked "Hi!" and Mal nervously gave one back. Ben then mentioned that he was thinking Mal could join them for lunch, which Beast agreed to. Mal said that she came with her friends, and Belle told her to invite them. "Because the more the merrier!" She exclaimed, even though she looked like she could faint as she saw the other VK's.
"Boys," Evie groaned, seeming to send a pleading look towards the heavens. At least the boys had enough decency to look slightly embarrassed by their behavior.
Mal said she'd grab them, but Beast stopped her, telling the young couple that they should have a game of croquet before lunch. Ben and Mal agreed, and Ben put his arm around Mal as they walked off, quietly asking her if she'd played before.
"No." Mal responded nervously.
"No? You'll be fine."
"When would she have played?" Alina asked. "That game only gets brought out for days like Family Day."
In the background, Belle fainted.
"You actually fainted?" Tiana asked in shock. "Belle!"
Belle looked away. Yes, her reaction had been extreme, she could see that now.
Everyone was hanging around, Jay was playing croquet, Carlos and some AK's were playing with dude, and Evie was talking with Queen Belle.
"What were you talking to Belle about?" Mal asked.
Evie smiled, "She was asking how school was going, and if we were adjusting alright. It was.. nice."
Mal was standing alone when Queen Leah approached her, greeting her kindly.
The Queen Mother asked if they had met before, and Mal said she didn't think so, explaining that she was a sort of transfer student.
"I'm kind of amazed that that didn't make her suspicious." Aziz said. "It's not like Auradon Prep gets many transfer students."
"Probably thought she was one of the gods kids." His brother suggested. "Or a demigod. Doesn't one of Aphrodite's girls have purple hair? And I think a couple of the merkids have colored hair as well." He then nodded up to Persephone as an example, as her hair had been gaining pink highlights throughout the day, usually when the goddess seemed upset. "Exhibit A."
While Amir nodded, Mal shifted slightly in her seat, praying to whoever was listening that Hercules hadn't heard the boys, and if he did that he didn't put the pieces together. She did not want to deal with that today. Or any day, for that matter.
Meanwhile, Aurora was trying to figure out what had made her mother go from treating Mal kindly, to yelling at her and insisting she was evil. At first, she had wondered if Mal's hair had signaled her out, given that it wasn't a "natural" color, not that it would tie her to Maleficent in any way either, but it apparently hadn't been that.
Audrey approached the pair, and Leah smiled. "Oh, Audrey! Give Grammy a kiss, dear."
"Moments like that almost make her seem like a sweet woman." Emery whispered to Ediline, "But the darkness in her eyes ruins the picture." Ediline almost choked on laughter, waving a hand at her parent's concerned looks while she coughed.
"Grammy?" Mal questioned.
Audrey looked at her in disdain, rudely saying. "Sleeping Beauty's mother." She then told her grandmother that she wouldn't want to be talking to Mal. "Unless you feel like taking another hundred-year nap."
"Audrey Rose! You are grounded for the entire summer!" Aurora said without hesitation.
"What? Mom!"
Leah also tried to intervene, but Phillip stopped her. "This is a parental matter, Leah." He told her. She gasped in shock at his tone, but as he glared she sat back down.
"You riled your grandmother up. She and Mal were having a pleasant conversation."
"All I did was warn her who she was talking to!" Audrey snapped, "She wouldn't have wanted to talk to Mal in the first place!"
"You knew how she'd react." Aurora said, ignoring her mother who was once again trying to enter the conversation, "And yet you still continued. You wanted a scene, didn't you?"
Audrey looked away and Aurora sighed. "You and I are going to be spending a lot of time together over the next few months." She told her daughter. She then sent a piercing look towards her mother, "Without visitors."
Queen Leah seemed confused, and looked at Mal again, gasping and leaning back. "You! How are you here? And how have you stayed so young?"
"You couldn't have mistaken her for her mother." Pierre said, looking down at his grandmother.
"Pierre! How dare you talk to me that way!" Leah scolded. Pierre just narrowed his eyes and continued.
"You were purposefully acting like that." He continued, "I've seen portraits of Maleficent. Yes, Mal looks similar to her mother, and she has some fea features. But Maleficent is a full fae. She has horns, doesn't have purple hair, and twenty years ago towered over most people. Not to mention that at the time of her capture, she was a good eight years older than Mal."
Leah's face turned red as she began to stutter, but she was unable to come up with an excuse for the way she acted, proving her grandson's words to be true.
Ben tried to assure Leah that Maleficent is still on the island, and that this girl is Mal, her daughter. He reminded her of his proclamation to give the new generation a chance.
"A chance to what, Ben?" Leah asked harshly. "Destroy us?" She went on asking if they remembered the spells and poison apples. How she couldn't even raise her own daughter do to Maleficent's curse. "So her first words, her first steps. I missed it all!
"You could have raised her," Elsie muttered behind Mal, loud enough for only the surrounding group to hear. "The curse said on her sixteenth birthday, not leading up to it."
"I didn't realize any of you knew that." Mal said, noticing Aksel and Reiner both nodding.
"Elsie went down a magic rabbit hole a few years ago," Ben explained, "due to her sister's hair. Part of that meant researching known curses. Maleficent's was one of them."
Elsie leaned forward. "And others know, but because of Queen Leah no one says anything. Maybe it'll be mentioned one day, when we don't have to worry about her reaction anymore."
Mal hummed in thought. How could one woman, a former Queen, hold so much power? Enough power to make sure her own mistakes were hidden from the world, but likely having no issue displaying other's. It didn't make any sense to her.
Queen Leah told Ben they couldn't trust her, and Mal tried to step forward to apologize when Chad pushed her away.
"Chadwick Charming, Mal wasn't doing anything!" Ella scolded, pulling Chad close to her.
"But-"
"No. No excuses. What you did was wrong."
"Don't do this, Chad." Ben said, standing slightly in front of Mal.
"They were raised by their parents, Ben." Chad said. He asked Ben what he thought villains taught their kids, because it wasn't kindness or fair play.
"Who else would we have been raised by?" Evie asked, finally breaking as tears streamed down her face. "You're right, we weren't taught kindness, we weren't taught love, not from our parents!" She drew in a shaky breath, "But that doesn't mean we aren't able to learn how to love."
He looked to Mal and Jay, saying that Mal stole another girl's boyfriend and Jay enjoyed hurting people, while Ben was trying to stop him.
"What were we doing?" Aladdin whispered to Jasmine. "Why was no one stepping in?"
Jasmine closed her eyes and shook her head. She honestly had no answer. She couldn't remember where they were during this, and as for the teachers… well, she was scared of what the answer to that could be.
And then as he turned to Evie, his grin got even meaner. "And you, you're nothing but a gold digger and a cheater."
"You're the cheater!" Emil shouted, looking at his brother, his eyes slightly red. "You hurt Evie, and she wasn't doing anything! You hurt Karine's friends! You're the one who's hurting people, not them." With those words, Emil got up and walked over to sit by his sister, shyly looking towards Evie on the way. Evie smiled softly, touched that he had stood up for her.
Evie asked her mirror who the biggest jerk in the land was and showed it to Chad, with him scoffing and hitting his arm away.
Ella's grip on Chad tightened as she watched the screen in horror, while Kit looked like he was ready to drag Chad back to the private room for another lecture. "You are grounded for the entire summer." Kit said firmly. "No arguments."
Chad did even attempt to say anything.
Across the room, Karine was leaning closer to the VK's. "I'm sorry for him." She said.
Evie took her hand, "You don't have to apologize for anything your brother has done." She told her. "We don't judge someone based on their family members."
Jay grabbed Chad, telling him to back off, and Evie sprayed him with the sleep potion, causing him to drop.
Lonnie rushed over and helped trying to check if he was okay, as Evie grabbed Mal and pulled her away.
The screen paused and Persephone walked in front of it. "This is where I called you all here." She said, "Right before Chad awoke. What you are about to see is what you can change. Remember that. Remember everything you've seen so far. The future is never set in stone."
Beast took off his glasses to clean them, while telling Ben he feared that someone like this would happen.
Ben protested, saying it wasn't the VK's fault.
"No, son. It's yours."
"No." Mal stated. She looked at the king with fire in her eyes. "None of that was his fault. Put the blame on Audrey and Chad, put it on us for coming to Family Day if you want, but none of that was Ben's fault."
Ben squeezed her hand, "Mal, it's okay." He said, though the words felt like sand in his mouth. Did his dad really think that this would happen? Was he waiting for him to fail this entire time? Did he really blame him for what had happened."
Mal looked at him, her expression softening, "It's not okay. Ben, you are not to blame for what happened, alright?" She reached out to stroke his cheek, "You have been defending us all day. You've been defending me since the beginning. So let me defend you."
Ben turned to Belle, but she didn't say anything and let herself be pulled away by her husband. Audrey and Chad passed him with a scoff, and Ben turned to look at Lonnie and Doug. Lonnie looked conflicted, but Doug nudged her and she walked away as well. Ben was left standing in the middle of the yard.
"Why aren't we there?" Elsie asked Reiner quietly, staring at the screen darkly. "Where's Aksel?"
"I was with dad, we had just seen grandpa off. You were with Ruby and Pierre, and Aksel was probably with his sisters." Reiner said, now regretting his decision earlier in the day. "Even if we heard the fight, we'd have to work our way through the crowd. We probably showed up after this."
Elsie sighed, "We better have."
Reiner squeezed her shoulder and silently agreed. Thankfully, this would never happen now.
Chad woke up and everyone walked away, leaving Ben in the middle of the yard.
The scene changed to the VK's sitting at a picnic table. Mal almost looked numb as Ben walked up, placing his hands on her shoulders as he asked how they were.
Aksel watched Ben in concern. That was the tone Ben used when he was reaching his breaking point, pretending that everything was okay until it spilled over and proved that nothing was okay. Knowing his friend, he likely was preparing to lock himself away as soon as he could. Gods, his future self had better have camped out in Ben's room and made sure he wasn't alone with his thoughts.
He told them to forget about it, to let it go, and that after the coronation everything would be okay.
He then whispered softly to Mal that he had to go.
"Coronation rehearsal." Ben sighed. "I should have skipped it."
"That's the future, Ben." Mal reminded him gently. "And even then, it's alright. I think that's pretty important."
Once he left, Doug came up to the table. He tried to talk to Evie, but Chad yelled at him.
"It's my fault, Doug. I'm sorry." Evie whispered.
Chad yelled again, and Doug snapped "What?" at him.
Evie tried to talk, but Doug told her sorry and walked off.
"No it wasn't." Doug said, loudly enough for everyone to hear. Evie looked back at him, and he got up, walking to sit with the group. "That future version of me is being an idiot. It wasn't your fault." He sighed, "And all I can say is I'm sorry."
"It hasn't happened yet." Evie said quietly. "I can't judge you for something that hasn't happened."
Audrey and Jane came towards the table hand-in-hand. Audrey was asking Jane how long Mal thought she and Ben would last, as she was just the bad girl infatuation.
Jane laughed, "Yeah, I mean. He's never going to make a villain a queen."
Jane gasped, "Mal, I am so so sorry." She said, tears flooding her eyes. She knew that she had been jealous lately, lonely even as when she was surrounded by people, but she couldn't believe she was hurting Mal.
"This hasn't happened yet, Jane." Mal said softly, smiling at the girl. "That's not you. Not anymore."
Mal opened up her spellbook, and numbly said. "Beware, forswear, undo Jane's hair."
On the screen, everyone backed away from Jane with screeches. Lonnie even checked her own hair and Chad muttered, "Ew."
Karine glared daggers at her brother. "Ew?" She questioned. "Jane's pretty much our little sister, why are you being such a jerk?!"
"That hasn't happened yet!" Chad defended, although he couldn't bring himself to look at Jane, who was staring at her hands.
Karine scoffed.
"There's a lot more where that came from." Mal told the girls as she faced them.
Audrey asked who she thought she was, and Mal asked if she looked like she was kidding before she started to flip through her book, causing all the ak's to run away.
"Mal did give you guys those hairstyles." Ruby said from the back. "I don't blame the future her for wanting to take them away with how you all were treating her. I would too."
Mal turned back to her friends, a forced smirk on her face. "I am really looking forward to tomorrow." She said, "Let's grab that wand and blow this popsicle stand."
"Wow you two, they seemed like they were going to change their minds before you caused that scene." Aziz said with a scowl.
Audrey and Chad both pouted, but stayed quiet in fear of adding to their punishments.
The whole room grew quiet, while the VK's looked at each other. Persephone cleared her throat, "On that note, let us begin our final break."
An: We only have two chapters left!