﹙ ACE OF SPADES ▬ © 𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗻 ﹚
⸝⸝ ʚ 👑 ! ⌗ °• ━━━ 𝖛𝖔𝖑𝖚𝖒𝖊 𝔬𝔫𝔢, 𝖒𝖔𝖛𝖎𝖊 𝔬𝔫𝔢
▬▬ ❪ 2015 // 2019 ❫. descendants ꩜ .ᐟ
❛ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻, painted red, feeling blue ❜ ▬▬
˙ . ꒷ 🍰 . 𖦹˙— . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

      ﹒⌗﹒🌹﹒౨ৎ˚₊‧                  𝓜𝐀𝐋 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐓. She had enchanted Ben, made him fall in love with her, and gone on a date with the future king of Auradon. It was a move so bold and cunning that even Maleficent herself might've cracked a rare smile.

      With every calculated step, the VKs were inching closer to stealing the Fairy Godmother's wand — the key to fulfilling their parents' lifelong dreams of power and revenge. The whole plan was unfolding just as they'd imagined. But with each passing day, the air around them felt heavier, tension simmering just beneath the surface.

      It wasn't just about the plan anymore. It was about proving something. To themselves. To their parents. To the world.

      Elizabeth stood slightly apart from the others in the dorm, her red curls pulled back from her face as she studied the blueprint Mal had spread out on the table. The lines and markings blurred together in her vision as her thoughts wandered. This was it. The final stages. No turning back.

     "Okay," Mal said, her voice sharp with focus. "We all know what this looks like." She leaned over the blueprint, tracing a path with her finger. "We'll be on the dais under the Beast's spell jar, and we'll enter here." She tapped an entry point near the grand staircase. "I'll be at the front. You guys will be up on the balcony."

      Elizabeth leaned in, absorbing the details. She'd been trained by her mother to pay attention to everything — nothing was ever insignificant when your survival depended on it.

      Carlos nodded after a beat, his eyes darting between the blueprint and Mal. "Right. I'll find our limo, make sure we've got our way back to the Isle once we have the wand in our hands."

      "Perfect." Mal turned to Evie and Elizabeth, pulling out two sleek, unlabeled spray bottles. She handed one to each of them. "Evie, Lizzie — you'll handle the driver. Two sprays and lights out. Lizzie, you're also on lookout. If anyone gets curious... you know what to do."

     Elizabeth took the bottle without hesitation, but the cool glass felt strangely heavy in her palm. Not physically — emotionally. Like the weight of all the choices she was about to make. She turned the bottle in her fingers, pretending to examine it while her chest tightened with doubt she didn't want to name.

      "Got it," she murmured. Evie shot her a small, reassuring smile, though the tension in her own posture betrayed her nerves.

      Elizabeth had grown up idolizing her mother, the Queen of Hearts, even when her values hadn't fully aligned with her own. She remembered the first time she'd ever tried to paint a rose red and hesitated — and how her mother had snatched the brush from her hand and scolded her with a sharp glare and sharper words. "Doubt is weakness. Weakness is death."

      Still, a part of Elizabeth had always craved her approval. Maybe that's why she was still standing here now.

      Evie's voice pulled her back. "Wait... you want to break Ben's love spell?"

      Mal didn't look up from the spellbook as she flipped a page. "Yeah. For after," she replied, her tone quieter, more uncertain than usual. "I've been thinking. When the villains finally do invade Auradon and begin to loot and kick everyone out of their castles and imprison their leaders and destroy all that is good and beautiful, Ben still being in love with me just seems a little extra. Cruel."

      She snapped the book shut and left the room without waiting for a response.

     "M?" Evie called after her, but Mal didn't stop. The dorm fell into a strange, heavy silence.

      Elizabeth glanced around at the others. Carlos avoided her eyes, and Jay leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching the closed door Mal had disappeared through. Evie looked torn, her gaze bouncing between her friends and the map.

     "I'm just gonna... head to bed," Elizabeth said finally, forcing a small smile. No one stopped her.

      Out in the hallway, she exhaled sharply, rubbing her arms as she walked. Tension clung to her like smoke, making it hard to breathe. She didn't do well with these kinds of situations—moments when everything felt too loud inside her head.

      When she stepped into her dorm, Ashlynn was already curled up beneath her fluffy pink comforter, a peaceful rise and fall to her breathing. Elizabeth sat on the edge of her own bed, glancing around the room. It looked so different now compared to when they'd arrived—soft throw pillows, string lights framing the window, little notes and trinkets from new friends.

      On her nightstand was the card castle Ashlynn had made her during their first week, and next to it, a small, ornate music box from Ben—a gift after he saw her admiring it in the campus gift shop.

      She lifted the lid, letting the soft chime of music spill into the room. It was delicate, beautiful, and real. And suddenly, it felt like everything she'd been doing was crashing against who she'd become here.

     Slipping on a hoodie, she quietly made her way back down the hall. Maybe fresh air would help. Maybe nothing would.

      She turned the corner and nearly collided with someone.

      "Whoa," Jay said, stepping back a half-step, surprised. "You okay?"

     Elizabeth blinked up at him. "Couldn't sleep either?"

     He gave a half-smile. "Too much going on in my head."

     They moved together without needing to say more. The cool night air met them as they stepped into the garden, the moon hanging low and luminous in the sky. They walked slowly, the silence between them comfortable.

     At a small pond tucked away near the edge of the courtyard, they stopped.

     "Elizabeth," Jay said finally, turning to her. "If you're having second thoughts... I get it." His voice was lower now, more serious. "I won't let anything happen to you."

     Her eyes found his, soft and conflicted. "It's not that I don't want to help. I do. I care about Mal, Evie, Carlos... you." She paused. "But here in Auradon... for the first time, I feel like I'm not just my mother's daughter. I'm... me. And I don't know what that means for everything else."

     Jay looked at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable — then it softened. "You're braver than you think," he said quietly, stepping closer. "You've always been different, Lizzie. You actually feel. That's not weakness. That's what makes you strong."

     She didn't know what to say. Her breath caught when his hand reached up, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. "Jay..."

     He leaned in slowly, his gaze flickering from her eyes to her lips. She could feel his breath, warm against the cool air. When their lips met, it was soft—unspoken feelings poured into a single moment.

     Elizabeth leaned into him, her fingers lightly curling into the front of his jacket. It wasn't a dramatic kiss like in the stories — no sweeping music or fireworks—just quiet, real, and full of things she hadn't dared to feel until now.

     When they finally pulled apart, Jay rested his forehead against hers. "Guess we should've done that sooner," he murmured, a teasing glint in his eyes.

     Elizabeth laughed under her breath, cheeks flushed. "Yeah. Maybe."