sᴜɴᴅᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ 24ɴᴅ
ᴏғ ʙᴀsᴛᴇᴛ 1219ᴀᴄ
11 ᴘᴍ

THE DAY ONLY GOT WORSE. After the angry princess fiasco, there were plenty of parents that openly supported Audrey and were on her side. Then a group of students made the awful mistake of trying to antagonize the Rotten afterward and ended up with heavy second-degree burns thanks to whatever the hell Evie had put in their drinks. But the day didn't just get worse, so did her friends. And she used that term lightly, it was a quick and easy word used around these parts a lot. But they weren't really friends, at least not the way Auradon viewed friends. They were more along the lines of Rotten friends. They lied, they stabbed, they fought, and if it ever came down to it, they'd kill each other to get what they wanted. Luckily for Mal, no one's greed interfered with the other. They didn't have to worry about getting in each other's way, they just had to learn to live with it. And it was easier than it should've been.

Still, she would've preferred if they were a tad more reliable. None of them stuck around after the sun went down. Jay went off to corrupt the Charmante boy even more. Evie had Ora wrapped around her finger and she intended to put it to good use. And Carlos didn't see a reason to stick around. So, that left Mal to pick up the pieces and try to salvage whatever plan she had left. But let's be honest, at this point the most she's done in three weeks had been to emotionally disturb a young fairy and give the prince a love potion. Everyone else just expected her to accomplish something already. To take the wand and lower the barrier so they could set out to do what they planned. But she was alone in this.

And that's how she liked it.

No one to slow her down or question her plans.

She had tried her best to try and de-escalate the situation, introducing herself, apologizing for the small bit of mayhem, and simply asking for forgiveness. It's very difficult to deny that to someone when they come right out and ask for it, especially when they're taking full responsibility for any offenses. But what they found out about the situation was how it took them by surprise and they liked that. The daughter of one of their most notorious villains saying sorry. Mal was sure after living such uneventful lives for the past few decades they were happy to find something unique, even if it may hold a risk of danger. But saying two simple words was enough to get half of those parents to not just calm down, but to think that Ben's little reformation plan might actually work.

After that, everything went by pretty fast. The people ate their food, drank their wine, made their way back to their carriages, and promptly left to stay in the closest castle. They were invited to stay as guests for the next week in attendance at Prince Benjamin's coronation where he'd be crowned King to the Twelve Kingdoms of Auradon.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the appearance of Ben sitting at her table. He gave a small smile, "How are you doing? I mean after everything—"

Mal cut him off, getting right to the point, "I didn't expect Audrey to be happy with us getting together, I was actually kind of waiting for her fuze to blow eventually."

"It's unbecoming of her, she's a princess and she disrespected guests of the prince." She never expected to hear Ben mutter such words, but she also noticed the tone of it. It sounded almost rehearsed like he was just saying what he was told to say. It didn't matter if the prince dumped one girl for another without a spare thought, that the first girl was angry and wanted to express it, what mattered was that she behaved inappropriately.

Nevertheless, Mal remained neutral, knowing it was the easiest way to deal with him. "It's fine, honestly, a girl is entitled to her anger every now and then. How are you, after the commotion?"

Ben grimaced, his experience with the royal families was significantly unpleasant, "Well, my parents agreed it was a good thing Snow White and her court couldn't make the trip. Evie's presence would've made it harder. But Audrey's family is an old one, they built practically everything. And they're the largest kingdom and easily offended. The Charmantes will follow them, as will the Summerlands people and I'd bet my crown so will Tirulia eventually."

Mal realized just how easily her group could be sent back sooner than intended, "So, what you're saying is we're screwed?"

Her blunt tone made Ben laugh, she assumed he'd been having a tough night, "That sounds about right," he nodded, "It won't be long before the rest of Auradon makes their views clear on my declaration. They'll oppose bringing in more villain kids. I only hope we can discuss such matters calmly."

"If push comes to shove, what'll happen to us? To me and my friends?" Mal asked, genuinely curious but throwing in a hint of worry to show off that she was afraid. After all, every prince likes to save a damsel. "Will we be sent back to the Isle?"

Ben instantly grabbed ahold of her hand and looked her in the eyes, "I will not let that happen, okay? The Isle of the Lost is a part of Auradon. And it is time that it came into the fold with the inclusion of its young residents," he rubbed his fingers on top of hers and squeezed softly, "And I promise you that you will never have to return there. I don't care what they'll say about it."

While Mal liked the words— words that inspired loyalty and promise that she knew Ben would never break. She also knew just how complicated the political part of being a ruler came with. She certainly felt relieved that she herself never had an interest in a crown, far too troublesome for her taste. But in the end, with Ben holding her hands and looking deeply into her eyes, she saw the problem that lay in front of her. Suddenly, the exchanges between the royal families and the Isle of the Lost didn't matter anymore. She didn't know how long it'd been, how she had gone on this long without noticing anything. Though to her excuse, she tried to avoid looking directly at him a lot. But the evidence was right there, clear as day. Prince Benjamin Beaumont's eyes were staring back at her, clear and blue and pretty. But there was no haziness, no storm, no indication of any magic lingering in his system. The potion was gone, she didn't know for how long.

She tensed for a few minutes, her mind running wild thinking up scenarios after all this. Was Ben faking? Was he this much of a good actor like the rest of them? No, no, this place didn't produce liars. It produced good, decent, honest people, and as paranoid as Mal was, she knew Ben wasn't lying (he was terrible at it anyway). She had to assume there must've been a reason for him to stick by her and pretend they were together, he didn't actually like her, did he? Oh, that just made her pity the stupid boy even more. As if Mal didn't already have enough problems going on.

ᴍᴏɴᴅᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ 25ᴛʜ
ᴏғ ʙᴀsᴛᴇᴛ 1219ᴀᴄ
12 ᴀᴍ

After Ben left to go to bed early, Mal stayed behind. She told him she wanted to enjoy the nightlife, which wasn't completely false. As she walked around, her eyes peered at the stragglers. She made sure to memorize the people that enjoyed wine a little too much and the men that went off with ladies that were most definitely not their wives. Huh, not everyone around here was good, decent, and honest, she thought to herself as she wondered if she was wrong about Ben. That he had been playing her since the spell was gone. And how had it gone away in the first place? Eventually, there was almost no one left in the gardens, it was after two in the morning and even the servants had cleared but not Mal. And Mal wasn't the only one there.

The princess was on the grass, her back against one of the concrete columns, and an opened bottle of champagne in hand. Audrey Rose didn't say anything to Mal when she walked up to her, she made it her mission to not even acknowledge the fey girl for as long as she could. That led Mal to start the conversation herself.

"You know when you got to me in your little speech, you said I stole your future." She said, and she had to hand it to her, that moment of pure, honest, malice that the girl threw at them was the best thing Mal had witnessed so far since being in this stupid capital.

Mal expected her to not say a word, maybe an angry glare but no words.

She was mistaken when Audrey let out emotionlessly, "You did."

"You didn't say boyfriend."

"What?" Audrey's head snapped up, her voice was still angry.

"Well most people get pretty mad because their boyfriends get stolen, but you never once mentioned boyfriend or Ben, you said future."

Audrey paused before responding, "It's the same thing," she said as she took another sip of champagne.

"Not where I'm from," Mal dismissed, but the princess paid her no attention. "Come on, do you even like the guy?"

"I don't need to like him. I'm supposed to marry him." She answered like it was the most obvious, painful truth there was. "And then I get my crown."

"You already have a crown," Mal said, countering her.

"Not the one I deserve!" Audrey's emotionless state left her in seconds. She was active again and very angry. "My father died trying to make this place a reality, getting rid of the villains took everything this entire kingdom had. And my mom died when I was born, so I was raised by my Grammy. She never had the chance to raise her own kid, so she was completely obsessed with my childhood. They named the kingdom after my mom, and my grandmother said that I would inherit it one day." She ranted like it had been building up inside her for years. It probably had. "I never quite understood why the Beast was king. Grammy said it was about needing the strongest and the wisest to lead us, Beast and Belle. Then when I became of age, I would take my rightful place." She said like she was reciting it from memory. Mal didn't know just how many times Audrey would think about her grandmother's words, her promises, and her lies.

Mal never really thought about any type of drama or schemes happening in the oh-so-great Twelve Kingdoms. Their capital's motto was selfless, brave, and true."Then why is Ben about to have a coronation?" She asked as she sat down on the cold dry grass, joining the princess in her wallow as she passed the drink. Audrey accepted the company, and Mal assumed the princess didn't care whom she was telling so long as she could just tell someone— anyone.

But it was like Mal's words weren't registering, Audrey's rage was blinding her once again as she kept muttering, "It's not supposed to be his, it was supposed to be mine."

If Mal could dig any further, find out the beef between the rest of the royal families, it would come in handy for the days to come. "What changed?"

"You think I have the luxury to ask questions anymore?" Audrey sighed, she looked tired, "We were kids when it was decided, all my grandmother told me was that since Ben was raised alongside his father as a king and was taught how to rule and everything then he was perfectly groomed to be the next one in charge." She answered sadly before her face morphed into a mean glare, "If you ask me, I think Beast liked getting to stand taller than everyone again, and instead of them cowering in fear, they praised him and cheered him on. After years of being a monster, he was royalty again, he was a king. And he didn't want to give that up. He knew that when I came of age people would wonder what they'd do with me. I'm sure it was very simple for him: abdicate his position on the throne to make way for his son to begin his reign before I could even touch my crown."

"Leaving you—"

"With nothing." Audrey cut her off. "But let's be honest here, it doesn't hurt that he's the proud son of a war hero. A boy. If I were born a man, they would've probably brought me up with him and trained me as the rightful ruler instead of getting me to stand next to him and look pretty. A way to silence the rest of the royals who supported me instead of him." She laughed dryly like it was the cruelest joke she ever heard before softly adding, "If there were any," she spoke sadly and quietly, but Mal still heard her. "As the only child of the true King and Queen, I was their key to cementing their rule forever."

"But you still have a kingdom, don't you? You'll still be a queen."

"You really know nothing of this world, do you lost girl? There is only one king and one queen that rule over the Twelve Kingdoms. The rest of them are princes or princesses, lords or ladies. A few dukes and duchesses here and there." She explained, "So, no, I will never be queen, just a princess, and even if I marry another prince that's still what I'll be."

"That's why you wanted to marry him so that even if you married into it, you'd finally get what you wanted." Mal finally understood. This girl didn't care about Ben or whether the villain kids were in Auradon or not. She cared that they messed with her plans— and her desires. Without another word, she passed the bottle back to her.

"You know I'm only telling you this because I'm drunk, right?"

"I know."

"And if you tell anyone, I'll be forced to tear you apart."

"Promise?"

"Why do you do that?" Audrey asked after swallowing a large helping of champagne.

"Do what?"

"That. Flirt. Say stuff like that. Is everyone on the Isle just unapologetically open?"

"Yes." she answered before releasing a deep dramatic sigh, "And no. It depends, honestly. You can be a complete flirt and end up sleeping with someone in over an hour but if you show the tiniest bit of weakness? If you show them they can get to you, then you're the target. You're next."

"Sounds lonely, keeping up an act all the time."

Mal ignored that, switching the topic once more, "Jane mentioned something about Ben's coronation as king and how his dad's disappointed in him not doing it any sooner. Isn't he twenty-one? I thought kings could be crowned once they came of age." She figured to make use of a drunk-Audrey spilling the kingdom's secrets.

The question seemed to bring Audrey to a whole new level of frustration. "They do. But female heirs get crowned at twenty-one. Ben thought he wasn't ready and decided to do it when he turned twenty-one. And then he made a whole thing about how if women had to wait, he would too." She rolled her eyes.

Mal raised a brow, "Wouldn't it be easier to just remove that decree in the first place?"

"He's a boy, they like to think they're so smart with their ideas and don't like to hear it when someone's got a better one," Audrey said.

Mal couldn't help it, her mouth was already open and spilling out the words, "I bet you got all kinds of ideas in that pretty little head of yours."

Audrey rolled her eyes, "Flattery will get you nowhere, lost girl. I've heard all about that wretched island. It's lawless, it's in shambles, and it's rotten."

"Well, it's not exactly a place that spits out perfect angels. But we're not all that bad." She grinned wickedly at her and for a split second she saw it, she saw the corner of Audrey's mouth turn up in a tiny grin before trying to force it back to a frown. It didn't matter, Mal still caught it. She made the princess smile, even for a second.

☠︎             ☠︎             ☠︎             ☠︎

ᴍᴏɴᴅᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ 25ᴛʜ
ᴏғ ʙᴀsᴛᴇᴛ 1219ᴀᴄ
12:30 ᴀᴍ

Mal would've left a bit after that but it was nighttime. And it was beautiful. The darkness reminded her of home, even if there were stupid twinkly fairy lights everywhere and spotlights that illuminated the ugly flowers. The sky was still dark, the moon was strong, and the winds were cold. She could feel the fey fire stirring in her belly, keeping her warm. Most of the people were already gone, only a handful of servants cleaning far from her, and they were very quiet about too. If she started a fire and closed her eyes, she could even picture herself home.

That was before she heard a whimpering cry and a loud sound hit the table, making Mal snap her head up in a monotone fashion. Slightly annoyed by the interruption. It was Jane. Her nose was pink and her cheeks were wet from tears. She had dumped her small yet heavy purse onto the table as she collapsed on the seat in front of her.

She sniffled as she spoke, "I talked to my mom about you know, using the wand more and telling her how—" she breathed in with a whimper, "How I wanted to look beautiful and it would just be this one time, for Ben's coronation next week and she refused. She said the wand wouldn't be used for such trivial matters. And I just got so angry—" Jane sobbed for a few more seconds, trying to find the words and calm her breathing. Mal only watched as she kept on going despite the younger fey's eyes becoming waterfalls. "I asked her about all the times she helped Cinderella, made her look and feel beautiful, helped elevate her to a whole new status and that's when I told her that if she had been more of a mother to me than she was to Cinderella than maybe I wouldn't have turned out this way."

Mal's eyes widened at that, and she was so thankful that Jane was so consumed with her thoughts and emotions that her little eyes kept staring at the centerpiece bouquet so she wouldn't notice Mal's lips quiver upwards. She was truly fighting off the oncoming smile on her face. It was just too good! What a way to guilt mommy dearest, she truly had to hand it to her. "Wow," she said, keeping her mouth in a straight line while her eyes gave her away, "I mean, damn, Jane, didn't know you had it in you."

Jane looked up, "It was awful. I was awful." She pressed her hands to the sides of her head, looking down once again, "What am I going to do? How could she ever forgive me for that?"

"Forgive you?" Mal repeated, shocked. "Jane, that's not going to happen." She spoke firmly which caught the younger fairy's attention.

"What?" She removed her hands to place them on the table, Mal was making direct eye contact with her so she knew it was serious. The dragon girl was often mischievous in a fun way, making jokes or teaching her something. But she was never this serious unless it was important.

"What you told her was the truth. For a long time, she's treated sweet Cindy like more of a daughter than you, and from what you've told me, she also sounds like a real hypocrite." Mal told her, "So instead, you and I are going to have a fun night out while she stays in and thinks about all the mistakes she's made."

"But I— I said so many horrible things to her—"

"I think she needed to hear it. Parents never think it's their fault, they're never fully honest with us for our own good," she mocked in air quotes, "And it always comes back to bite them in the ass. Sometimes it's better to say something mean but true instead of a pretty lie."

Jane didn't say anything. She was thinking it over, and Mal noticed it. "What do you think, Jane?" She asked her.

"What?" Jane's head tilted up.

"Would you rather be told a pretty lie or the mean truth? What do you think?" Mal pressed.

"I— I—" she struggled to get the words out, before finally saying, "I don't want to be lied to."

"Of course, you don't. No one does." Mal shushed her as she leaned in to wipe away a stray tear, "Shh, that's enough crying for tonight. Do you know what I would do right now?"

"What?"

"Find something very strong to drink because today has been a very long and hard day. The champagne here is weak."

"How did it work for you in the first place? Fey need special drinks from our world for it to work."

"I think it's the human half, I have a pretty good balance on both. It's too bad it won't work on you." She subtly implies.

Jane's head lifts showing she had an idea.

"What?" Mal asks, already knowing her answer.

"I actually know just the place. Come with me."

ᴍᴏɴᴅᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ 25ᴛʜ
ᴏғ ʙᴀsᴛᴇᴛ 1219ᴀᴄ
1 ᴀᴍ

It was almost too easy to get sweet Jane to trust her. For a little while, she was even paranoid about how quick the girl was to bring her in. She reminded herself that fey often saw auras, mostly of humans but sometimes of other fey, though they were more difficult. Mal grew worried that Jane could easily spot the darkness surrounding her friends' souls. She wondered why she hadn't brought it up. Maybe she would tonight.

There certainly was a chance now, with the opening of alcohol lowering their inhibitions.

"Ah ha! I knew it!" Said the younger fairy as she brought out the elegant glass decanter with golden-brown liquid sloshing around inside it. It looked the same amount the first time she saw it with the rest of her crew when they were in the Godmother's private office. Both girls moved to sit by the small round table meant for two near the bookcase. "She says she never drinks at work, doesn't mean she doesn't drink after work."

"Péché de fée, I'm afraid I've never tasted it," Mal lies as she grins mischievously as Jane also placed two tumbler glasses similarly shaped to the decanter.

"Mom used to let me dip my finger in her glass when I was a kid, then when I got older she let me have one sip on big occasions," Jane said, her face getting sadder by the minute in nostalgia and regret. "Oh boy, should we be doing this?" But before she could say another word, Mal had already opened the bottle and poured two ounces for them both.

She handed one glass to the younger girl, "Tonight is about worrying about yourself. Got it?"

Jane had a moment to think before ultimately taking the glass in her hand, she nodded in agreement. "Got it."

Mal smiled at her compliance, she was coming along nicely, "To worrying about yourself," she held her glass up as a toast.

"To us," Jane changed the words, "worrying about ourselves," she tried with a gentle smile.

The dragon girl nodded, liking the addition, and they clinked glasses before taking a sip.

The night went on like that, they chatted and laughed. Spoke of the strangeness of Auradon and the Twelve Kingdoms, the way humans were strange in of themselves.

"I just think there's always room for improvement, you know?" Jane mumbled, her words coming a bit slurred but not as much as one would expect. She hadn't taken that much but she also barely drank regularly, and péché de fée was strong. "I think everyone was too quick to give out the punishments, they didn't consider the future of it later." She had her cheek on the table, laying down in an attempt to get comfortable whilst Mal was still sitting upright.

"Well, maybe one day you can finally use your mother's wand to enact real change." Mal said, "You can help those that want to get better and protect the rest."

"I could do that yeah." She mumbled in response before shooting up, "I could do that," she said, louder, "I could do that!" She finally screeched before running as fast as she could to the glass case located in the small archway to the right.

Mal fought the instinct to jump up and down in excitement, after an hour of talking with this girl she finally got to a place where even the smallest sketchiest suggestion seemed like a good idea. Damm, she loved alcohol.

Jane had unlocked it faster than the eye could see, one second the shimmering, glossy, magical shield that protected the fey relic was there and then the next it wasn't.

She took it out gracefully, started waving it around, and giggling like a child with a new toy. The drinking certainly made her act like it, "It doesn't feel any different. Thought something might'a sparked or something." She mumbled.

Mal was careful with her words, careful that something might go wrong. But she also couldn't help herself because the next thing she knew her mouth had already let the words out, "Hey, can I try?"

"Go ahead, see if it does anything, I'm raiding Mom's candy drawer." Jane grinned, handing Mal the magic wand, and then scurried off to her mother's desk. She didn't notice that she practically left the older fey girl speechless when so casually handing over what could be one of the most powerful fey relics of all time.

Mal figured that in Jane's inhibited state the wand must've been difficult to use or to concentrate on. The younger girl could barely spell the alphabet let alone control a powerful fey relic at the moment. That's what she told herself, that it was because of Jane, nothing else. No other reason to be afraid there was something wrong. But then she actually held it. She held it in her hands and she could feel her relief flooding away, the feeling of pride and accomplishment filled her bones— right now at this moment— it finally felt like everything was worth it. Befriending this sad little fairy, spelling Ben into falling in love with her, using it to gain more trust in this stupid kingdom, having to act grateful and polite to the people that imprisoned her and her own. The very people she was seeking to destroy. It was all worth it.

Until it wasn't.

The longer she held it, the longer she waited for something to happen. She waited for that feeling, the feeling she got when Jane was near and fey magic was around her, what she felt when she stepped into the Godmother's office. The almost familiar feeling despite never growing up with it— it was always there— buried inside her. But there was nothing. No sparks, no warmth, nothing. It almost felt— lifeless.

☠︎             ☠︎             ☠︎             ☠︎

ᴍᴏɴᴅᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ 25ᴛʜ
ᴏғ ʙᴀsᴛᴇᴛ 1219ᴀᴄ
2:30 ᴀᴍ

The night Mal discovered that the wand was in fact without power had gone a lot more different than she would eventually tell people. Sure, it ended the same way but she had been a lot less calm when bringing it to everyone's attention. She could only describe it one way really, it was like everything came crashing down. Her entire plan was for nothing.

"The wand's useless!" That was the first thing Mal screamed once she got to her room. The second thing she did was throw the lamp to her right. And then she kept kicking, throwing, or breaking any piece of furniture that was in her line of sight. Her eyes shined a dark green that reminded them all of the cloudy skies and thunder that came from the Isle of the Doomed. And the temperature in the room was slowly rising, soon everyone could feel the heat and sweat on their foreheads. The source of the heat screamed her head off again as the lights flickered and ultimately burst, tiny pieces of glass falling everywhere. That's when both of the bedspreads caught fire and she only kept screaming.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down!" Jay yelled at her, moving out of the way before he got hit by the books and chairs she threw around the room. There was glass in his hair and he could feel pieces of it scattered around his arms. "Calm down, Mal! What's the matter with you?!"

"Get a grip, Mal, our beds are on fire!" Evie yelled before turning her head to Carlos, "Carlos, put them out!" She yelled over the chaos to the devil boy sitting in place by the bay window.

But Carlos wasn't paying attention to her, no, his focus was entirely on Mal. Their fearless leader, the one who always had everything under her control— was spiraling out of it. Her magic especially gave her away, reacting to her strong emotions.

"You want me to calm down? Me? I'm sorry, is anyone else here even bothering with the stupid plan anymore?! None of you have even contributed to getting to the wand and now it's all for naught because the piece of shit is useless!" She screamed at them whilst Evie managed to put out the fires and Jay kept a safe distance from the girl. Carlos still hadn't moved an inch.

"Back up, back up, what do you mean useless?" Jay questioned.

"I mean, it's useless.There's nothing there! There's nothing!" She let out a frustrated scream in anger once again, setting more things in the room ablaze.

"Mal!" Evie shouted at her, she didn't have time to think of the consequences of handling an out-of-control fey, so when she finally crossed the room, she grabbed her by the arms and shook her as hard as possible. "Calm down! You'll burn the whole building down and we're in it!" Evie took a step back before finally slapping the fey girl across the face, sending her to the floor.

Everyone got quiet after that. Even the fires had died down.

It only took a minute for a panting Mal to finally lift her head.

Her eyebrows were creased in surprise, and the left corner of her lip had a smidge of blood thanks to Evie's sharp nails, but her eyes held a quiet rage. She didn't waste any time standing back up and grabbing Evie by the back of her head, pulling at her hair harshly.

Evie hissed at the pain as she scratched at Mal's hand only for the fey girl to push the blue witch against the door. "That is the first and last time you do that, do you understand?" Mal whispered in her ear as Evie just snarled the best she could with her cheek against the cold surface. "And if I want to burn this building down, I will. You being in it makes no difference to me." She hissed violently before letting her go, making sure to push her onto the floor.

She faced the rest of her dear friends, "I have an announcement to make, we're screwed," Mal laughed like her mind had finally cracked, "I finally got that little fairy to take me to her mother's wand. She even unlocked it for me and it was right in my grasp." She gulped, her anger rising faster again and the sweat on her skin looked like it was boiling to the touch. It probably was. "But I knew something was wrong once that shield was down. Suddenly there wasn't any magic at all. None of it came from the wand, it was just the shield protecting some useless antique. That wand is essentially powerless and of no use to us. And if that wasn't the worst of it, the true icing on the crap cake is that after today's great events at that stupid picnic, I saw Ben afterward. He's not spelled anymore. The love potion is gone. We don't even have him anymore. So in other words, we're fucked." She laughed again as the rest of her friends looked at her silently. Watching her succumb to the madness of failure.

Mal spent the rest of the evening explaining more about why the tool was without use. How their entire purpose for coming here was for naught. They had no way to take the barrier down, they had no way of going back home without announcing to the entire island that they failed. Just like their parents had. They had come all this way, they put the reputation they had spent years building at risk. It was all in vain. And now, they had a choice to make. Stay in the Twelve Kingdoms of Auradon and integrate into society, leaving behind all their plans for revenge and restitution. Or go back to the Isle of the Lost and deal with the residents that once feared the very ground they stepped on, only to now see them as another generation of failures. They were doomed either way.

"How does a magic wand just lose its magic?"

"Fey relics, Jay, they either are or they aren't." She muttered, much more interested in swirling around the red in her glass than this conversation, "Relics, weapons, artifacts, whatever the hell you wanna call them, they only work in the first place because a fey places a bit of themselves within it. A bit of their power to bring it life," she said dramatically before her face fell again, "It expands, it grows, it gives the fey more power the more they use it. But then comes the catch, if you lose it then you're not as powerful as when you are with it. Even less than how you started out. And if someone just takes it from you? In battle or in thievery? That's the biggest shame, your name would be a disgrace to be said aloud," she trailed off, pouring her eighth or ninth cup of wine down her throat, she wasn't counting. Nothing mattered anymore. She didn't know why Jay was having her explain all of it.

The Bastard's bastard kept pacing back and forth, trying to understand the way fey magic worked and if there was a loophole they could find. Mal had obviously given up. Evie was silently glaring at the dragon girl, most likely still angry from the earlier threat and her establishing her dominance. Meanwhile, Carlos hadn't said a word, just enjoying the way Mal was deteriorating before his very eyes. That left Jay to pick up the pieces of what was left. He refused to go back to the Isle. To be seen as a public failure, his father's only hope squandered because he left the reins to a temperamental fey girl. But Mal had been right, they all got distracted here, enjoying things they never had, leaving her to do what she did best.

None of them expected this bump in the road and now it was just him to be left looking for a needle in a haystack. He wondered if he should just follow in his father's failed footsteps. Find the young Jinn that the Genie had adopted, use three wishes to find a way to win. What's the worst that can happen? All else fails, his third wish could always be used to put things back to how they were before. He suddenly halted and turned to her, "Can a fey take back their power? If the Fairy Godmother took her power back from her relic, wouldn't it make sense that that's why her wand doesn't have any?"

She pondered on the question for a little bit, "To a moderate degree," she answered, "It's difficult, making a relic is one thing but unmaking it? It's like Evie and her chemicals, you screw up even one dose, you take it apart too quickly or too slowly, and the whole thing is compromised."

"But it's possible? To get everything right and unmake it?"

Mal took a moment to really think about it, to remember what her mother taught her considering she's always tried to forget. "Yes, the fey can always take the power back and the relic becomes useless, an antique of what it once was. But, I would've sensed the Godmother's magic from day one, and she's got nothing. No power, no magic, and no relic. It's strange and it's almost funny because Jane is the absolute opposite of—" she stopped herself as she trailed off.

"Opposite of what, her mom?"

Mal got quiet when she thought about it, she nodded "Yeah, she is," she whispered. "Any fey worth their salt could sense Jane's magic from a mile away, you know?" She was still speaking quietly, her mind was racing faster than she could speak.

"Mal?" Jay spoke carefully, wondering if this was another explosion.

"The Fairy Godmother has no power. Her relic— the magic wand— has no power. But her daughter burns brighter than a star with fey fire." She said softly, Mal finally stood up to look them in the eyes, "The wand isn't a wand anymore because it's a person. Jane's the wand. The Godmother put everything she had, the magic of her relic and herself into her daughter."

"Is that even possible?" Evie asked.

"You didn't see what I saw, the barrier spell around the Isle is the same as the one that surrounded the relic, just to a smaller degree. And when she went to unlock it— it was just so easy for her. The barrier was there one minute and then gone the next, all because she waved her hand at it." Mal was thinking back to every time she was around the young fairy, every little moment told her this girl had something hidden, something waiting to be unleashed. "It makes so much sense, how nervous and bubbly that girl is? She's keeping all of it under the surface. Let's not forget, the Fairy Godmother is responsible for a lot in this world. The uniting of kingdoms, imprisoning villains— alive or dead— and a barrier that even managed to keep Maleficent down. And she gave it all to her daughter. Jane's got more power than she realizes." She tells them as they look around each other, finally having their answer, their plan wasn't done, they were just getting started.

"And more for us to exploit." Mal finishes.

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this is over 6K, holy fuck

Mal's brain is running five times faster than theirs and she's got her plan brewing!

this whole chapter was mainly just from Mal's perspective, her interactions with Ben, Audrey, Jane, and then the Rotten, so it was definitely interesting to stick to just one person for a whole but don't worry we'll be getting everyone else's thoughts in the next chapter!

did you like this chapter?

what was your favorite part?

which interaction did you enjoy most?

i have also decided to spruce things up a bit and added the whole 'Twelve Kingdoms of Auradon' bit because honestly, i absolutely hated hearing it be called 'the United States of Auradon' it was just horrendous. and i have been rewatching a lot of GoT lately so it was partly inspired by that as well, but i mean, it sounds better right?

so, naturally, i had to go off and make a goddamn map about it, if you're interested and wanna read some trivia about it, go ahead and check out the newly published map chapter!

no mundanes allowed