The thing about defeating a villain and having them turn into a tiny reptile, is that you aren't exactly able to send them back to the Isle of the Lost.

Well, maybe you could if they were a side-kick, or a minor villain, but a high profile case like Maleficent? A woman who's own daughter was now dating the High King of Auradon? Sending her to the Isle in her current form wasn't an option.

So, once he was back in Auradon City, High King Benjamin had a special cell made for her, deep in the Auradon castle. The only furniture in the room was a single chair, which sat across from the pedestal holding Maleficent's cage. Security cameras were on every wall, all focusing on the fairy-turned-lizard.

In the week since she'd been there, Maleficent's only visitor had been her daughter. Mal hadn't said a thing, spending the entire time just watching her mother. That had been the day after she was brought in. After that, the lizard had been alone, save for the guards periodically checking on her.

Unsurprising, of course. No one wanted to visit the Mistress of Evil.

Well, most people didn't.

It was evening, during a shift change. The best time of day for a camera to stop working, or to be covered by a vine, without someone immediately noticing.

The fae was unaware of what was going on around her, lying content under her heat lamp. She was unaware of the swirling column of flowers in the corner, and the goddess that stepped out of them.

The goddess' generally brown hair was lined with dark pink streaks, and her dark green eyes looked alight with power, similar to her stepdaughter's. She leaned against the wall, staring at the cage, wondering how long it would take the pathetic creature to notice her. She'd never hid her disdain for Maleficent. Sure, part of it was because her husband had cheated on her with the fairy, but even she could admit that there had been other factors that led to that. Not that it excused Hades actions, nor did it mean she didn't make him work hard at rebuilding their relationship and the trust he'd broken, but still.

No, most of her hatred came from Maleficent's treatment of Mal.

She was well aware that most of the Olympians would be shocked to find out that she accepted her husband's affair child, especially, ironically considering one of her domains, Hera. But the truth was, Persephone was incapable of hating the child. She'd seen too much horror after years of work in the Underworld. All of her anger had been directed at Hades and Maleficent, not the innocent baby.

Her original plan had been to keep her distance. She'd make sure that Hades took care of his daughter, but she'd never take on the role of her mother. She'd be... Well, she didn't knw what she'd have been, but that had been besides the point.

Then, Hades told her that he wasn't going to take the child, that she would stay with her mother. He said that it was too dangerous for him to claim her, whatever that meant.

At the time, she couldn't have cared less, and she remained indifferent. Until four years later, when Hades brought the child to their cave, burns lining her arms and starved past what was normal for the people on the island.

That was the moment any indifference left her body. That was the moment she almost killed the dark fae and claimed the child as her own.

"We're keeping her here, right?" Persephone asked, as her husband bandaged the child's wounds, using herbs Persephone had grown. She didn't know if she could handle finding out how the girl got the burns, though she had a good idea based on the pattern, just grateful that the little one was barely conscious. She didn't even know if Mal would remember the interaction.

Hades' hands faltered, and his voice was low when he said "We can't." All of his focus stayed on his daughter.

"What do you mean, we can't?" Persephone challenged, a dangerous edge to her voice.

Hades tied off the last bandaged before explaining, "I mean, we can't. As long as she's on this island, Mal can't be known as my daughter, and we can't kill Maleficent."

"Says who? We are gods!" Persephone protested in disbelief, barely managing to keep her voice quiet. He was going to abandon his daughter? The same man who looked out for plenty of Isle children when he could, who was a loving father, who helped his nieces and nephews - excluding the Hercules situation - and why? Because she was the result of his affair? Because it might anger King Beast? Because he could no longer hold his faithfulness above the others' heads?

Her husband exhaled sharply. He picked his daughter up, cradling her close, confusing Persephone even more. The love and sorrow, clear on his face, made her want to curse the human king who had put them in this situation. "You know who." He said, "You know why I agreed to come to this island in the first place."

Persephone's jaw clenched. Petunia's and daffodil's sprung up around them as Hades' words set in. "I only know that they told you to come here. You never told me what they said to you. You didn't tell anyone. You just said that you had to be here."

"And it's going to stay that way."

"Hades-"

"The last time I tried to interfere with a prophecy, it didn't go well!" Hades interrupted. He put Mal on the couch, sitting down on the floor in front of her. Despite the noise, the child was sound asleep. Whatever she'd gone through had likely worn her out, and she could no longer fight her body's need for rest.

"Prophecy?" Persephone asked quietly, watching Hades closely. One of his hands gently brushed hair away from Mal's eyes, while the other was hovering over her body, using his magic to check for any unseen injuries. Every flinch felt like a stab in Persephone's heart, she could feel the longing and regret radiate off of him. He nodded once in confirmation. "If I thought I could step in, I would." He told her, "But there's too much riding on this. If I interfere, it could end badly for her."

She could feel the fight drain out of her, "You don't know that for sure." She said, grasping at straws. She took a few slow steps towards the child, reaching out and cupping her cheek, blinking back tears as the little one leaned into her touch. "It could work."

"It's not a chance I'm willing to take. I'm sorry, Persephone."

That day, Mal became Persephone's, even though she didn't know it.

Over the years, Persephone tried to get Hades to change his mind to no avail. Despite that, she latched onto the words "If I could step in." He couldn't, but that didn't stop her. She watched Mal from afar, helping her when she could. She made sure Hadie knew who she was, and watched as the pair grew closer, having the relationship that neither she nor Hades could.

The goddess smirked when a soft hiss came from the cage. "You finally noticed me." She said with a tilt of head. "You shouldn't be surprised. You did go after my daughter."

The hissing got louder, and Maleficent's eyes flashed, the only magic she could do now.

Persephone's eyes narrowed in response. "You certainly don't deserve to call her that. Not after everything you've done. I mean, look at you." She gestured towards Maleficent, then stalked forward and crouched down to look at the lizard, face to face. "The size of the love in your heart." She scoffed. "Is any of it for Mal?"

The reptile shrieked, turning to skitter down her rock, but with a snap of her fingers Persephone had vines holding the creature in place. She tsked and shook her finger. "Now, now Maleficent, we're not done talking yet." She got up and began to circle the cage. The evil fairy tried to trail her movements, and Persephone took great pleasure watching the fairy try to get out of the vines.

"You know, my husband sent a warning about you the day of King Ben's coronation." She commented. "He didn't think the magic would contain you. Ever since, I've watched the barrier. I've kept an eye on the docks, I've looked for any weak points." She chuckled bitterly. "I didn't think to look under the island. Not that I could have done much. Mal had to be the one to fight you." That's what the Fates had told her once they gave into her begging. That's what she saw in her daughter's future. She had hoped that her trick had worked, that by seeing their future Maleficent wouldn't have been able to get off the Isle. After all, Fairy Godmother's daughter wasn't going to go after that wand.

The Fates had warned her that that wasn't how it worked, that it was the girl's destiny. Persephone had ignored them.

She closed her eyes, pushing down her anger. She couldn't attract the guards, not when she was already pushing her luck by messing with the cameras.

"All she ever wanted from you was love." She said, looking down at Maleficent. The lizard showed no sign of listening, having closed her eyes. "All she wanted was a parent who would keep her safe. Instead, you broke her bones. You made her bleed and bruise. You wrapped her in iron chains to test her!" Persephone's vision got blurry as she forced the words out. "You twisted your words to make it seem like you were always in the right, and every horrible thing that happened to her was something she deserved because you convinced her that she was never good enough!"

If she had her husband and son's powers, her hair would have been on fire. As it was, the vines around the lizard tightened, and Persephone could hear her labored breaths.

"I won't kill you." Persephone told her. "I want to, but it would hurt Mal, because she still loves you. She still hopes that you'll one day love her. But let me make one thing clear, Maleficent. If you ever hurt my daughter again, you will be begging for Tartarus before I'm through with you."

The lizard started to shake, and Persephone watched for a few more seconds before loosening the vines. She turned her head towards the door, hearing footsteps from the outside. "Our time's up. I had a nice visit, didn't you? Don't forget what we talked about, Maleficent."

With a rush of flowers and pink smoke, the goddess was gone.