ᴡᴇᴅɴᴇsᴅᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ 23ʀᴅ
ᴏғ ᴍᴀᴅʀᴇ 1219ᴀᴄ
3 ᴀᴍ

          𝐀NTHONY TREMAINE had been running for what felt like twenty minutes. That was a long time, at least in his book. And Anthony hated running. He was already fortunate enough to be born with a non-hideous face -unlike the rest of these lowlifes- and had a good build, why should he exhaust himself with exercise? Well, he had a good reason, he was running for his life.

His heart was beating against his chest and he could feel the sweat on his forehead, he couldn't go on much longer. But he had to which sucked because he could tell they were getting closer. He could hear the small shrieks from people in second-story homes and banging against the metal. They liked making a scene. They liked letting you escape and gain an ounce of hope that you actually had a chance, only to swiftly take it away from you at the last second. But they especially loved hunting you. He remembered cheering with them during one of Hell Hall's infamous parties celebrating the seventh anniversary of one of their parent's deaths. He remembered the times he would smile politely at the girls in a way to show that he meant respect. So how could he have been so careless as to show off and boast that he could manage to get away with tricking any of them? Of course it got back to them, of course they had spies planted everywhere.

His little affairs with them went unnoticed at first. They often brought different people with them to parties or to do more mischievous things. The real kicker was once he got with Evie. And then Jay. He was invited to stick around a bit longer. And he liked it. He liked the feeling of being special, of being given this almost once-in-a-lifetime possibility of being on their radar. And then he had to fuck it up. "Oh please, you don't know the half of it. I've fucked two of them already, give me another couple of months and I'll have them wrapped around my finger."

"Anthony, I'd be careful with that, you're playing with fire." Ginny Gothel tried to warn him against the loud booming music of Castle Across The Way. The place was half scorched and half the bricks were knocked down but it made for an interesting party venue. And why wouldn't it? Evie was celebrating her mother's seventh year passing. "And if you haven't thought about it, take a good look around this place. They like playing with fire and you're in over your head."

Anthony just gave her one of his infamous Tremaine scowls. For an attractive boy, it certainly made him look ugly. "Just because you can't get Mal in bed does not mean you get to decide who gets in mine. In fact," he slurred his words, his breath smelling like bad ale, "I bet I can get the fey girl to try out for the other team." He laughed like it was the funniest thing he ever said. "She's barely been with anyone since you-know-who, it'd barely take me ten minutes."

Ginny tried saying something, anything, to get him to stop talking until he found more people. "Anthony, I'm serious—"

"Hey! Rick, Eddie, how ya'll doing?" He called them over, "Did I ever tell you about my time with Jay Amir? The guy is an animal."

That's the last of what Anthony could remember, the rest of it was an alcohol-induced blur of dancing and even more drinking.

The real question was why he wasn't surprised. These freaks turned on their own blood, why should he be any different? He turned a corner that had the familiar sea-green graffiti decorating the alley walls. Two more blocks and he was at Uma's Territory, at least there he could survive a couple more nights. But the second he stepped foot down that alley, a ssching! made him freeze. In front of him was a knife embedded in one of the various tagged King Beast posters. It barely missed him by an inch. Carlos. Of course, he was their opening act. The sicko carried so much metal around he wondered how he didn't make any noise when he was skulking around.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," He heard the almost melodic yet taunting voice of their leader, Mal. "The second you step foot in there it's gonna be worse when we finally do get to you," He liked to think he knew Mal, at least a bit. She wasn't as sadistic as Carlos or Evie. And she wasn't as driven by jealousy or revenge like Jay. Mal liked to win. So it wasn't a surprise when she made her evil little dream team with the top dogs on campus. She played the role, she said the words, all so that everyone knew she wasn't like her mother. She could actually get shit done. Mal had been speaking from the shadows, letting her voice get on his nerves until she finally appeared, her glowing green eyes shined coldly at him. "So, why don't you stop running, stay still, and take it like a big boy?" She grinned at him.

He could hear the excited laughter of the rest of these rotten kids through the shadows. He knew by now they had him surrounded, and they were probably tired of running after him too. He looked to the darkness that surrounded his right side from the way he came in, his original escape route to the left was dark too and so was the direction Mal came in, from the middle. It wasn't this dark before, they definitely cut off the street lamps.

That's when Jay appeared from the right, he grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him to the middle of the alley. He had on a scowl that made Anthony want to shrink into that very same darkness. Jay didn't like to be disrespected, so he really didn't want to face him at the moment. But it didn't matter, because the second he got used to the both of them, cold hands made their way up his waist and neck causing him to jump away.

He heard the giggling excited girl and turned to see Evie with the biggest grin. She looked like a kid opening a birthday present. "I mean, technically you should stay still, it'll heal better afterward. But personally, I like it when they freak out, makes my potions messier, and leaves a much more interesting conclusion." She grabbed his hands and started tracing them causing him to fidget and try to walk backward only to be met with a cold sharp object pressed to the back of his neck.

Carlos leaned in from behind, he made himself comfortable as he draped his left arm across Anthony like they were old buddies, switching the knife to the front of his throat. "I thought we were going with my way tonight." He could feel the hot breath of the de Vil on his ear and though his question sounded regular it still made him shudder. Carlos was arguing as though it was his turn to throw the dice on a board game. "I mean Evie's concoctions always end up looking like accidents," He argued like it was normal, but his voice got lower as he loudly whispered in Anthony's ear, "Whereas mine leaves a message." He pressed the knife harder and Anthony winced when he felt it dig in. He could feel something wet sliding down his throat, he knew it was blood.

"It was your turn last time, now it's Evie's turn." Mal reminded him, it sounded so regular like his mom yelling at him to let Dizzy play with the only good toy bear when they were young. "Besides, you had way too much fun with Harry Hook last time, I'm sure you're good for at least another week."

He heard Carlos sigh, "Fine," he drawled out. "But it would've gone faster." He whispered tauntingly at him, making Anthony shiver. "E, come on." He called on his friend but the de Vil boy stayed in place, no doubt to make sure he wouldn't try to escape.

Evie appeared in front of him once more, getting her blue bedazzled goggles into place and snapping her plastic gloves on. He remembered complimenting her goggles on their first day of chemistry, he had flirted, she did too, they had some fun in the forbidden library and she went back to ignoring him the next day. Before all this, he was simply a blip on their radar. A handsome boy that joined the fun, snorted the occasional pixie dust, had great sex with a few of them, but remained invisible half the time and was never invited to stay. He could've stayed that way for as long as he could, he just had to be a gossip and ruin himself. He couldn't help it. He honestly hated being invisible. He liked attention, he liked being the center of it. But he really screwed himself on this. "You know secretly I've always wanted to do this," She spoke in a trance, almost mesmerized by the bright reflections the crystal bottles filled with poison gave off.

"I've heard people talk about you, such a handsome boy, especially for your background. They're not called the Ugly Step-Sister's for nothing. But you, you got lucky. Daddy's genes saved that face, all right." She opened a larger bottle that contained a white paste, it looked like pale mud, and with an eye dropper squirted three drops onto it. It didn't take long for the paste to start sizzling, bits of gas came from it. "Everyone knows I'm the fairest of the island. I'm clearly people's first choice. But then Ginny Gothel called you the prettiest student of Dragon Hall, and Maddy said of the whole island. But I wasn't going to do anything because of that, I'm not that petty." She scoffed and shook her head, "But then you," She poked his nose which only made him jump. "decided to tell everyone how easy it was for you to get in my pants. And how you could then worm your way into our group? I let you go down on me once and suddenly you think you're the next big thing? You should've known better, Anthony." Before she could take a portion of the paste in her hand, she got close to his face, and whispered discretely, "Do you really think you're prettier than me?"

He only whimpered, not wanting to answer. He was prepared to give her a big apologetic speech about disrespecting her and making up stories about their small sexual encounter being bigger than it was, but not this. This was worse. When Evie targets those for their looks it never ends well. He yelped when she grabbed a fistful of his hair, forcing him to let out a quick word, "No! No, no, of course not." He practically sobbed, keeping his eyes squeezed shut.

Evie licked her lips and got a final say, whispering delicately in his ear, "You're lying." She declared, which was instantly met with more whimpers. And with a gloved hand, she took a scoop of her self-made hazardous paste, "And we can't have that, now can we?"

That was the last thing Anthony heard from her. In turn, that night was the last time people heard Anthony's voice. The neighborhood and passing bystanders all heard his screams of pain, his hissing, and yells that he'd never do it again. Pretty soon, the screaming stopped, and everyone knew it was over.

Anthony Tremaine never left his home after that, he never wanted to be seen by society or another human being ever again. When he tried to scratch the paste off himself, the de Vil boy was there to cut his first two fingers off. When Evie saw the glittering jewel in his left earring, she wanted it. And so she sliced the bottom of his ear off and collected her prize before leaving him to bleed out on the street. The last thing she said to him was that at least he now had a quick way to lose consciousness as her poison ate away at his skin.

          He remembered her speaking some more before he gave out to blood loss and awoke on the same side of the road, being tended to by his aunt and cousin. His mother was livid when she saw him, but when she started speaking of revolting against those rotten kids, his grandmother quickly shushed her. "Don't speak of such things, Anastasia."

         "They mutilated my son! Your grandson! They-"

          "That de Vil boy strung up dear Lucifer in the trees when he was but a boy! That blue witch poisoned her own mother and burned her castle to the ground with the body inside. And do you not remember what happened to the Hooks?" Lady Tremaine's voice was booming and angry, but it was also frightened and wary. "Anthony spread rumors about one of them and look what it got him! The sea witch's daughter has been reduced to a corner on this island and has been in constant battle with them for years now! Imagine what they would do to us if they heard even a whisper of the Tremaines rebelling." They all knew she was right, they all remember the death and pain these monsters brought and they wanted no part in it. "Take comfort in the fact that he's still alive."

☠︎         ☠︎        ☠︎        ☠︎

ᴡᴇᴅɴᴇsᴅᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ 23ʀᴅ
ᴏғ ᴍᴀᴅʀᴇ 1219ᴀᴄ
5 ᴀᴍ

Mal and her friends were heading back to their shared residence, deemed by the locals as the Demon's Den. She didn't hate the name. Mal had already been living on her own for a long time. Her mother lived in the past and her mistakes, and Mal decided it was best. After all, she didn't want to take pointers from such a failure.

Jay used to switch between his dad's and Mal's before he decided to be more independent. While his father educated him about their history and magic tendencies, he wasn't that great of a father. Most of the time Jay slept over at Mal and Evie's before completely moving in.

Evie had fought hard to keep her embarrassment of a mother away from her. This became solved years ago when the Evil Queen mixed the wrong ingredients in an attempt of a spell, which was entirely Evie's doing. The poisonous gasses left her mother in a coma, not knowing when or if she'll ever awaken. Evie then burnt her mother's bedroom down with the body inside to make sure she'd stay that way. Evie was fine with that, one less parent to worry about. And so she moved in with the fey girl.

And Carlos was the only one who went back and forth from them to his mom's mansion, Hell Hall. His mother was one of the few parents that actually cared about her son, even if most of it was out of fear. Carlos took advantage of that and alternated between homes.

Imagine to their surprise when on the way to their apartment, was Maleficent. Accompanied by two large henchmen, she stood proudly with her staff in hand. "Mal!" She sang in greeting. "Finally, it's almost daylight, what took you so long?" Mal simply raised an eyebrow at her appearance. Jay stood behind her, arms crossed. Evie was observing the situation, twirling a piece of her hair during her process. And Carlos kept playing with his butterfly knife like it was no big deal. He wasn't frightened of his mother, and he certainly wasn't frightened of Mal's. Then again, none of them were really frightened of her anymore.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" Mal didn't care, she just wanted to get to her bed and sleep off a long night of hunting down Anthony Tremaine.

"I've received great news." She beamed. "You four have been chosen to go to be part of a reformation plan in one of the best college institutes," she paused, "In Auradon."

Maleficent waited for their reactions, kicking and screaming, statements of refusal, all the works. But all she got from her daughter's merry band of miscreants was a few raised eyebrows and amused faces. Mal was the first to speak, "Yeah, no." She answered as she waved her hand to indicate for her friends to follow her up to their apartment but her mother's henchmen went in front of them.

"Seriously?" Mal questioned the henchmen and their unfortunate decision. She raised her hand again only to snap her fingers. A quick slashing sound came and both the henchmen were on the ground, large pocket knives sticking out of one's left leg and the other's right leg. As they howled in pain, Mal stepped up to her mother, "The next one goes in you, so move out of the way."

"I hate it whenever that devil boy does that," Maleficent cursed at Carlos, "Didn't your mother ever teach you to focus that on something else?"

"I prefer people to dogs," Carlos said absentmindedly, twirling his butterfly knife in hand.

"I'm trying to show you something, you insolent girl." She cursed at her daughter, "You four go to the Twelve Kingdoms, get to the institution, it's located in the Capital. That pristine, pompous, Ivory Towers." She sneered, "You find the Fairy Godmother's magic wand and lower the barrier, setting the Isle free. You, all of you, would be legends."

"And what's in it for you?" Jay asked, arms still crossed. There was always a catch on the island, nothing was free around here.

"Well, I finally get my—"

"Revenge on Sleeping Beauty and the ones that put you in here." Mal finished her mother's rants before they began. "Heard it before, like all the time. You always think so small, mom." The fey girl shook her head.

"I'll teach you how to harness your abilities outside the Isle. Once you step over that threshold you get your birthright back. You can finally use your Flectere side, darling. Young Jay here will be able to finally test out his own sorcerer gifts by getting your father's old staff back, and Evie, you can finally use magic in your potions. Think of the chances you're being offered out there children. Don't waste it." She warned before walking away, back into the darkness. The henchmen had pulled out the knives and hobbled after her, bleeding profoundly.

The Rotten watched them leave as they pondered on whether or not they should actually go.

"What's the plan, boss?" Carlos questioned.

Mal tilted her head, a habit of hers when she was thinking, "Who wants to bring chaos and pain to the perfect Twelve Kingdoms of Auradon?"

☠︎              ☠︎             ☠︎             ☠︎

note: yes, the year is 1219

but this is a fictional world
and a fictional time.
it is not the same as our timeline or our 1219.

thoughts?

it was really fun writing from his point of view, him being really scared and his perspective gave you guys a different look into the rotten

have a moodboard, it's Mal's
my friend kace inspired me to make them

no mundanes allowed