Before you read this chapter, I have one request.

For those of you who message me about wanting to do artwork for this story in search of making money, please stop. I barely have time to work on this story, as you can tell by the two-month delay in update, so it wouldn't be worth it to have artwork for this story. On another note, I don't get paid for writing. It's just something I love to do during the little spare time I have when not focused on student teaching or college work.

On another note, I do have ideas to expand this story. One involves a prequel, another involves a sequel incorporating the plot from Rise of Red, and the last is a spin-off to explain something you will see in the epilogue. College work has slowed down, student teaching is now second nature, and it is currently my spring break. I'm hoping to have this story finished in the next few weeks. Summer will be filled with updates for the new story ideas. But don't worry—

Renverse will be in the updating mix, along with three stories not in this category that hasn't seen an update since 2023. You don't have to be a lonely fox to figure out the puppet strings I'm pulling to 'revive' those stories.

Mal didn't need to be told twice before bolting out of the room and through the halls of the dormitory. Once she reached the front campus lawn, a limousine pulled into the drive, as though expecting her arrival. Without missing a beat, Mal rushed to the vehicle, hopped inside, and slammed the door just as the driver accelerated.

During the entire drive, the fairy was a bundle of nervous, yet excited energy. Mal could not stop moving, whether it was tapping the seat, shaking her leg, or glancing from window to window. She couldn't help it! After years of being apart from her daughter, they would finally be reunited and live together again.

As soon as the limousine parked at the Isle Plaza, Mal burst out of the vehicle, sprinting across the island. Every few hundred feet or so, the fairy would bump into someone or push them out of the way. No apologies were given as she was far too focused on her mission.

After several twists and turns and running full speed down the abandoned miner's shaft, Mal couldn't control her excitement when she charged into the home. "Dad!" she shouted into the vacant living room. "Mallory! Where are you?"

Just like their previous reunion, a child's gasp could be heard before the bedroom door slammed open. Smiling like it was Christmas morning, Mallory ran as fast as her chunky legs would carry her. "Mommy!" she cheered, giggling happily once she jumped in her mother's arms and received endless kisses on her cheeks. "You back again?"

"Yes," Hades agreed, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes as he leaned against the doorway. "Why are you back so soon? And why so da-ng early? We weren't planning to get up for another hour."

Once satisfied with the number of exaggerated kisses, Mal gazed at her father, her excited gleam mixed with some reluctance. "After I broke the scepter's spell, Audrey fell into a spell-induced coma," Mal summarized bluntly. "The ember won't let me save her, but I think it will let you."

"Why should I?" Hades challenged bitterly. "After all the chaos she created for wanting to act like a villain, she deserves a punishment fitting for a villain."

"Audrey will get exactly what she deserves," Mal reassured, keeping her tone calm in her daughter's presence. "My fiance is planning the final details as we speak. We just need you to wake her so it can be given."

"And what about Lory?" Hades snapped crankily, a price for not getting all his sleep. "She can't be left alone—"

"Dad," Mal interrupted firmly so he wouldn't start a tirade. "Mallory isn't staying here."

Scrunching her nose while tilting her head curiously, Mallory wondered, "What do you mean, Mommy? Where am I going?"

Unable to hide her smile any longer, Mal informed, "We are going to pack your stuff, so you can come home with me and your daddy."

Gasping dramatically, Mallory squealed, "Yay! I go get Cerbie!"

Once set back on her feet, the little girl happily waddled to her bedroom. Waiting until his granddaughter was out of sight, Hades averted his attention back to his daughter with a curious brow raised. "How much were you told?"

Mal sighed deeply, weighing her words carefully. "Probably not everything, but enough to know that Ben knew about Lory the entire time. Jay knew he knew about it for nearly a year, while you have known for so much longer, yet neither of you thought to say anything to me."

"We were trying to protect you while putting our trust in him," Hades reasoned softly. "Ben thought it was best to keep the peace while he finalized the plans for your engagement and Mallory's eventual move to Auradon. Ben's a good man. You and Mallory deserve him."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of tiny footsteps running down the hall. Mallory burst into the room, clutching a plush, three-headed toy dog.

Mal's face lit up as her arms wide. "Come here, my little dragon," she said, catching Mallory as she leaped into her embrace. The warmth of her daughter's affection momentarily eased the tension in the room.

As they hugged, Mallory's locket swung from her neck. Mal noticed and gently opened it to reveal three sections, but only two were filled with pictures. One section had the picture of Mal holding Mallory holding her after she was first born. The other had a picture Mal had never seen before, with Mallory lying on Ben's chest as they slept together on the cave's couch. Tears welled up in the mother's eyes, for she could truly see her fiancé's love for her daughter.

Hades watched the tender moment in silence before letting out a weary sigh. "All right, let's get this over with so that wench can be punished."

A few hours later during the mid-morning, the limousine pulled into the circular drive of Auradon Prep. Mal's personal Royal Attendant stepped out, opening the rear door. Mal emerged from the vehicle first with her little girl on her hip, but shrouded by a cloak, so she would remain hidden from prying eyes. Against the guards' wishes, Hades crawled out with no restraints to prevent him from making the wrong move.

Taking a deep breath, Mal turned to the Royal Attendant. "Will you drop her bags off at the castle?" she requested softly. "Preferably my room until I can find a suitable room for her."

With only a nod of acknowledgment, the Royal Attendant took the baggage and headed for the castle, while Mal, Mallory, and Hades entered the school. Just past the doors, Jay and Aziz awaited their arrival, his eyes lighting up at the sight of Mallory.

The moment Mallory saw Jay, her face lit up with joy. "Uncle Jayjay!" she squealed, wriggling out of her mother's arms and running toward him. Jay knelt and enveloped his niece in a warm, tight hug.

"My little Lory!" Jay exclaimed, lifting her up and spinning her around, causing the hood of the cloak to fall. "I've missed you so much!"

"I missed you, Uncle Jayjay!" Mallory giggled, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

Aziz stepped forward, smiling gently at the heartwarming reunion. "And what about me?"

Mallory turned her head, her eyes twinkling with delight. "Uncle Izzy!" she called out. "Hi!"

Aziz ruffled Mallory's hair affectionately. "It's so good to see you, Mallory," he said, voice filled with gentle warmth.

Mal watched the unfolding scene with a soft smile on her face, feeling a sense of relief that her daughter was surrounded by such love and support. Even Hades couldn't help but smile faintly at the sight of his granddaughter's happiness.

Mallory, now on Jay's hip, looked around curiously. "Where are we going, Mommy?" she asked, eyes wide with innocence. "I wanna see Daddy!"

"You'll see him soon," Mal replied softly. "And you'll meet some of my friends too."

The group proceeded through the halls of Auradon Prep, Mallory chatting animatedly with her uncles about her adventures and favorite toys. It was a moment of brief respite, a warm bubble of familiar affection amidst the day's tension.

As they continued through the halls of Auradon Prep, they reached the corridor outside Audrey's dorm room, where everyone gathered impatiently. Upon hearing the footsteps, they averted their gazes to the incoming group. Noticing the purple-haired girl, those who were just now meeting her couldn't help their surprise at seeing the little girl, who looked nearly identical to their future queen.

Meanwhile, Mallory squinted to get a better look at everyone standing near the door. Her face lit up with excitement when she recognized a certain someone. "Daddy!" she cheered.

Ben stepped forward, his eyes lighting up at seeing the little girl. "There's my princess!" he exclaimed, holding his arms out.

But Jay, with a mischievous grin, tightened his hold on Mallory. "No way! I just got her!" he teased. "You're gonna have to wait."

"Uncle Jayjay, put me down!" Mallory whined, trying to wiggle free, but Jay held her firmly. He kept her in his arms just a bit longer until her wiggles were accompanied by more whining and tears in her eyes.

Finally, Jay relented and set Mallory down with a playful sigh. "Alright." He ruffled her hair affectionately. "Go see him."

Mallory wasted no time, sprinting towards Ben with her tiny legs moving as fast as they could. Ben knelt down, catching her in a warm embrace and lifting her up effortlessly. He kissed her cheek tenderly, causing Mallory to giggle with delight.

Before Mal could introduce her, Mallory felt a shiver run down her spine. She sensed someone staring at her and instinctively turned her head. Her eyes locked with those of Harry, who stood lurking in the shadows of the corridor. His intense gaze bore into her, sending a wave of fear through her tiny body.

"Mallory," Harry greeted breathlessly, surprised to see how much she looked like her mother.

For a moment, Mallory froze, her eyes wide with fear.

" 'Mallory' ?" Uma repeated, scrunching her nose in confusion. "Who's that?"

With no prior warning, Mallory let out a piercing scream before burying her face in Ben's shoulder. Everyone jumped at the unexpected sound. Ben's expression shifted from joy to concern as he gently rocked her in his arms.

"Lory, princess," Ben cooed softly, his voice filled with worry. "What's wrong?"

Mallory's tiny body trembled, pointing to Harry as she loudly proclaimed, "He... he hurt Mommy!"

Everyone's gaze immediately shifted toward Harry, who stood frozen under the collective scrutiny. The tension in the room was palpable. Sensing the mounting hostility, Harry's resolve wavered, and he suddenly bolted down the corridor.

"Harry!" Jay shouted, already in pursuit. The others quickly followed, their footsteps echoing through the hallway.

Ben remained behind, still cradling Mallory in his arms, while Mal stood beside Hades, her eyes filled with a mixture of anger and sadness. "Let them deal with Harry for now," Ben suggested. "We will handle Audrey."

Inside the dormitory room, Audrey lay motionless on the bed, dressed in a pink gown with her hair meticulously brushed. Queen Leah sat by her granddaughter's bedside, overwhelmed with grief. Fairy Godmother and Queen Belle stood respectfully on the opposite side, while King Beast paced impatiently on the rug positioned a few feet away.

Hearing the door open, they averted their attention toward the entering group. Their faces reflected a mixture of surprise and curiosity at seeing the little girl in the king's arms. The room was heavy with unspoken questions, especially since the child looked nearly identical to the future queen. Queen Leah's eyes widened as she took in the sight of Mallory, clinging to Ben's arm with wide eyes.

"Mal," Queen Leah began uncertainly, shaking her head in disbelief. "Is this...?"

"My daughter," Mal confirmed, laying a hand on the little girl's arm, "Mallory. I can tell you more about how she came to be later, but not in her presence."

Many eyes widened even further at the negative implications. The retired queen and headmistress looked horrified, while the retired king took charge of the unsettling situation. "As you wish, Mal," King Beast agreed softly, though sounding like he was fighting an internal battle of rage and protectiveness. "We'll speak privately later, perhaps when your little girl is napping. But for now, let's focus on Audrey—"

"Why is everyone so insistent on saving her?" Hades barked harshly, a scowl plastered on his face. "She created havoc and chaos just so she could have a crown, which is exactly like what her grandfather did to become king. She attacked my daughter and threatened my granddaughter. Her grandfather did irreparable damage to my wife, traumatizing her and nearly losing her ability to walk."

"Dad," Mal chided in annoyance, "we already talked about this—"

But he didn't care. With so much free time from being trapped on the Isle, apart from caring for his granddaughter, Hades constantly replayed the weeks of meeting his wife at their old high school. Although stereotypical and cheesy, he fell in love with Maleficent at first glance, and could see just how much pain she had endured. After confronting his siblings, Hades learned she was the reason they insisted on him attending that dreaded school.

He could never thank them enough.

"When it was announced that that despicable man was to become king, our one friend at Merlin Academy tried speaking up and sought help," Hades continued his monologue. "No one believed her. Instead, she was outcasted and shunned for befriending my wife and me. I don't have any sympathy for anyone who associates themselves with that family."

"The days at Merlin Academy were decades ago," Fairy Godmother reminded solemnly. "It was before any of our tales began. We were just children who had yet to decide if we'd become heroes or villains."

"My wife didn't GET that choice!" Hades shouted bitterly, unconsciously clenching his fist as it slowly emerged in flames with his increasing temper. "She was portrayed as a villain for trying to defend her land, and was taken advantage of by the true villain! I should've ignored my wife and friend's wishes and burned the entire kingdom to the ground—"

"Mind your words!" Queen Leah interrupted, bravely raising her voice above the god's. "We may be divorced, but that is my kingdom you are referring to. I have half the mind to call my guards to arrest you for confessing your crime."

"Hades can't be arrested," Ben argued forcefully. "Not unless you want to start a war with Wonderland."

"What are you talking about?"

"My wife ran to Wonderland after the coronation fiasco and was granted amnesty by the queen," Hades informed matter-of-factly. "She was given citizenship so no one could go after her, and then had me be granted citizenship as well. I could take my ember and flee to Wonderland without a second thought about this wench's deserved condition."

"But you ain't gonna," Mallory argued knowingly. "You're gonna help mean lady because it's the right thing to do. And you know Mommy will be sad if you don't help like you said you would, like how sad I be if you hurt my Cerbie by accident with your temper. So, you're gonna do the right because you love me and Mommy and want us to be happy. Right, Papa Aido?"

Staring into his granddaughter's eyes, Hades felt his resolve waver until it finally dissipated into nothing, but admiration for the child. Sighing softly, Hades averted his attention to his daughter. "How did you get such a smart girl for a daughter?"

"I was lucky," Mal insisted, though allowing a faint smile to grace her lips. "It helps that she was raised by her grandfather most of her life, who had such an amazing influence on her."

Basking in the praise—though knowing it was partially a ploy—Hades passed off the toy 'Cerbie' to his granddaughter before reluctantly holding his hand out for his daughter. Once the ember was cautiously passed over, the immortal stood at the foot of the bed. Taking a deep breath to calm his anger more and allow the ember's familiar power to flood through him, Hades held the magical object above the slumbering Audrey. Under the god's command, the ember produced a dark whirlpool of colored lights, illuminating the room.

Audrey rose up with a brilliant blue flash of light like she was in a trance. She gazed around the room with a false look of shame on her face. "I'm so sorry," she apologized insincerely. "I—I didn't mean to—"

"Save your excuses," Ben spat, attempting to hide his growl while still holding his little girl. "You knew exactly what you were doing when you turned me into a beast, cursed nearly the entire kingdom, and threatened my princess."

Any words that would come out next vanished as Audrey finally took in the young child she had never seen before. The girl looked like a near identical copy of Mal, save for the light blue eyes. "Who—"

"Mallory," Mal introduced bluntly, "our daughter, the one you said you would hurt to get to me."

Before Audrey could attempt to talk herself out of the mess she had created for herself, the door loudly creaked open. A split second later, Jay slunk in, clearly pissed about something that happened while he was gone. Eyes flashing with worry, Mal wondered, "How did it go?"

Sighing to release his frustration, Jay insisted, "I'll tell you later, but my husband suggested I see Lory so I didn't do something I end up regretting. Not that I think I would've regretted what I thought about doing."

"What perfect timing," Ben claimed to change the subject. "You can show Mallory her bedroom in the castle while her mother and I discuss Audrey's punishment."

"Yay!" Mallory cheered. "I get to hang with Uncle Jayjay!"

"Keep her face hidden until you're at the castle," Mal required as her daughter happily jumped into her uncle's arms. "We'll introduce her to the kingdom during our engagement party this evening."

With a single nod, Jay forced a smile for his niece. "Let's go check out your new home."

Waiting until the door closed once more and the footsteps faded down the hallway, Mal whirled on the 'villain' with a vicious glare. "Now that my daughter is gone, we're gonna serve some fucking justice for what you did," she snarled viciously. "Before we do, I want my locket back.

A gleam of fear shined in Audrey's eyes before stubbornly claiming, "I-I don't have it. I lost it."

Mal turned her attention to her father, who subtly shook his head in denial. With that answer, the fairy strolled to the bedside before grabbing a fistful of the princess's hair, pulling her head back so she couldn't avoid Mal's eye. The princess exerted a painful squeal while the others gasped at seeing the horribly forceful action. Hades merely raised an eyebrow in amusement while Ben had his arms crossed over his chest with an emotionless expression on his face, hiding his billowing anger.

"You are a terrible liar," Mal declared, tightening her grip slightly and making Audrey cry out again. "Along with being the god of the Underworld, my father can detect any precious metal or jewels, including my gold locket. I'm going to let go, and, when I do, you have ten seconds to hand over my locket before I break your arm."

Audrey's hand immediately shot to her dress pocket, where she produced the 'lost' heart-shaped jewelry. Reclaiming her property, Mal calmly placed the chain around her neck so her father could use his magic to fix it. Once that was done, the fairy did one other thing that surprised everyone except her fiancé.

Mal slapped an unexpected Audrey.

Stinging from the harsh action, Audrey carefully held her bruised cheek, shouting, "What the heck! I gave back your stupid locket!"

"That was for everything you have done in the past twenty-four hours," Mal clarified with a glare. "You stole the crown, stole the scepter, and stole my locket. You cursed your classmates into sleep and the rest into stone. You tried to ruin my reputation by giving false information about my past. Yes, I have a daughter, but she was not conceived from an ex."

Audrey tilted her head in confusion. "But you said—"

"I didn't say anything!" Mal shouted, causing the princess to cower at her fury. "You didn't give me a chance! My experience regarding how I got pregnant is similar to yours. It both happened on Halloween night after a party. You willingly drank while I was forced. I couldn't breathe for a second before another glass was brought to my mouth. I almost got alcohol poisoning. You consented to having sex with Chad. I asked to be taken away from the party, but instead, I was taken to his room and taken advantage of.

"You and I became pregnant at the same time, yet you chose to lose your baby because you were worried about your stupid reputation. I had a shitty life living on the Isle of the Lost, but having Mallory was the only thing that kept me sane. My rapist wanted nothing to do with Lory, so I had to raise her with only the help of my best friend and my father. I found out hours ago that Ben had been secretly helping raise our daughter and knew about her the entire time. You could never understand how relieved I felt to know Ben accepted Mallory as his own."

"Now for your punishment," Ben declared to return to the main focus. "First, you will no longer be a princess because your royal status is revoked. You will no longer attend summer school because you will be banished from Auradon."

"Banished!" Audrey repeated incredulously. "I barely did anything!"

"You threatened our daughter, the King and Future-Queen of Auradon's daughter," Ben reminded with a stern glare. "You said you were going to kidnap Mallory, lock her in a dungeon, and then kill her."

"Audrey!" Queen Leah shouted in shock. "How could you even think of doing such a thing? You were raised better than that!"

Before Audrey could come up with a convincing sob story, Mal added more details about the punishment. "With the barrier being removed shortly, you won't be banished to the Isle of the Lost," she revealed. "Instead, you will be banished to the Isle of the Doomed—a smaller, remote island on the outskirts of the Isle of the Lost's shores. The Forbidden Fortress is the only building on that island, which is where you will live for the rest of your life."

"You will not receive any assistance from anyone, including your family," Ben continued. "You will have to learn to grow your own food, cook your own food, mend your clothing, and so much more that you should know to do, but don't. You will also have to make the castle livable on your own."

Turning her head toward Queen Leah, Audrey interrogated erratically, "Grammy, aren't you going to do something about this!"

"No," Queen Leah denied with a stern look of her own. "You were given everything as a child, yet you always craved more. You wanted to be a villain, so now you have a punishment fitting for a villain."

"The punishment will begin in one week," Ben interjected once more. "That should give you more than enough time to pack everything you want to take with you. Your luggage will be inspected beforehand in case you decide to bring something you shouldn't. If I find out anyone helped you pack, your punishment will be moved to tomorrow evening."

Audrey sighed in defeat. "Is there anything I can do to change your mind? I'll do community service for a week or something."

"You are in no position to negotiate," Mal argued defiantly. Her vibrant green eyes shined with power as she declared, "You are in a position to beg."