descendants 2.
mavis | 14

Mavis Gothel was awful.

awfully cunning, awfully ruthless, awfully perfect, and an awful lot like her mother.

after the original leaders of the isle were chosen to attend Auradon Prep in the main kingdom itself, mavis had easily climbed to the top of the villain kid food chain; only below uma and her crew, of course. no one was above the daughter of ursula, not even mavis.

desperately determined to come across some remainder of magic—no matter how impossible that feat was on the isle of the lost—mother gothel had opened up a run down store in the center of the isle, creatively titled "The Rock Shop." it was here that the witch sold poor, unfortunate, idiotic souls rocks she had obtained from the side of the road, claiming them to be magical crystals.

mavis was rather petite, with piercing gray eyes and unruly dark frizzy hair with streaks of red and purple. when she wasn't working at the shop or collecting scam-worthy stones, she spent her days leaning over their balcony while poking fun at smaller, weaker people below, or—despite her mothers disapproval—doing any and all sorts of art. mother gothel deeply frowned upon this expression of creativity as it reminded her painfully of her first 'daughter', rapunzel. mavis had never met rapunzel, but had naturally grown to loath the now-queen almost as much as her mother, who, to rapunzels fault, was not the most fair woman on the island, to put it plainly.

on this particular day, mavis was dusting off rocks to put on the display shelves when the bell above the shops door sounded. the girl barely glanced up, muttering, "can't you read? we're—"

a familiarly wicked voice spoke, "closed. i know."

mavis looked up toward the door, shocked to see none other than mal, daughter of maleficent, back on the dammed isle of the lost. before the core four had been chosen to venture over to auradon, mavis had bonded with the four older villain kids over their shared love of evil — especially mal, who had been a sort of wicked mentor for young mavis.

now, though, mal didn't seem very evil at all—her short, dark purple hair now a bleach blonde hanging down her back, light purple tips so lazily dyed they looked as though they had been sloppily dipped in a bucket of jam (mavis wouldn't know. the isle never had jam.)

"mal?" mavis drops her broom obnoxiously, "are you back for good? i mean—bad?"

mal chuckles, "as if." she steps further into the shop, glancing around, "i forgot that you guys don't open till midnight. place looks good."

"thanks." mavis shrugs, "i try to get the dustiest rocks. they look the most authentic."

"so, how's the business going?" mal remembers when she had first left the isle, how extra horrid mother gothel had been to mavis in regards of  getting the shop up and running.

"eh. sometimes we get a few desperate witches, but mostly it's a lot of dusting and painting and sweeping." mother gothel was all about presenting yourself the very best — part of the reason why she was so obsessed with having rapunzels hair to keep her looking youthful.

mal begins pacing the front entryway, "hey, maeve...you're pretty good at hair too, right?"

mavis scoffs. "i'm good at everything." mal gives her a look, and the girl stand up straight, "yeah, i used to do evies. the little braids were my idea."

"have any ideas for me?"

mavis jumps at the opportunity to be critical. she approaches mal, lifts a few strands of hair. "washed out blonde with purple tips? best of no worlds. you can't see where your face ends and your hair begins—they're the exact same color!"

maeve leads the future-queen across the shop, brushing aside a long dingy curtain to reveal her 'bedroom'—a small corner section of her mothers most prized possession, her store. she shoves mal into an old salon chair stolen from lady tremaine's curl up and dye salon, examining her nails, "ugh, what is this? bored to death pink?"

mavis digs her hands into mals hair a second time, asking, "how far can i go?"

"the works." mal clicks her tongue, "i mean, whatever makes me feel like me, but you know... way worse."

"sweet." mavis grins the widest grin a daughter of mother gothel could ever muster, snatching a pair of rusty old scissors from amongst her bed. she quickly gets to work—washing, dying, cutting, curling, drying, painting.

when she finally finishes, mavis retrieved a cracked mirror and hands it to mal, who has officially returned to the old mal—long, straight purple hair with bangs framing just the right way.

mal seems just as pleased with her reflection, "hey, there i am!" noticing the waiting look on the younger girls face, she reaches into her pocket and retrieves an auradon bill, passing it over. mavis grins, crossing to the front of the shop and shoving the note into the drawer. mother gothel never actually worked in the shop, but she sure as hell took its earnings, so mavis hid her hard-earned fortune underneath the cash drawer.

just as she was doing so, however, a familiar accent speaks up. "fork it over, runt."

mavis looks up with disgust at harry hook — son of captain hook and elder brother of her best friend, c.j. mavis had never been a fan of the oldest hook sibling, but mavis gothel wasn't much a fan of anybodys these days. other than cj, of course, who was just as sassy, mean-spirited, and adventure-craving as maeve herself.

"uh, no." mavis spits definitively, letting out a grunt of disapproval when harry takes it anyways, stabbing his false metal hook straight through the note.

he knocks said hook aggressively atop the register, "and the rest of it."

mal interrupts the exchange, "still running errands for uma, or do you actually get to keep what you steal?"

harry spins towards the voice with surprise, "well, well, well. what a nice surprise."

"hi harry." mal nods once, blowing a pink bubble.

"just wait until uma hears you're back." the son of hook steps menacingly closer to the daughter of maleficent, "she's never gonna give you back your territory."

"oh. well, that's okay." mal shrugs nonchalantly, "because i will be taking it."

harry runs his hook through mals purple hair, "i could hurt you."

mal firmly grabs his hook with ease, sticking her gum onto its tip. "not without her permission, i bet."

harry only chuckles, placing her gum into his mouth and showing himself of the shop—but not without knocking down the nearest shelf of false magical rocks.

mavis groans, "one day i am going to stab that idiot in the eye with his own stupid fake hook."

Mavis sits hunched over her desk, working
on her mothers newest scam when the bell above the shops door rings obnoxiously. she turns around, about to yell at whatever witch just disturbed her focus, only to see mal had returned— this time with evie, daughter of the evil queen.

"evie!" mavis exclaims, quickly checking her excitement. "uh...what are you doing here?"

against maeve's wishes, the hopelessly-soft evie grimhilde wraps her younger friend in a hug, "ben's been captured by uma and her pirates."

"king ben?" mavis furrows her eyebrows, "what in hades name is he doing here?"

"he came to get me." mal rushes out, "but that doesn't matter right now. do you have any more of those smoke bombs you used to throw at people from the roof?"

mavis smirks at the fond memory. that was some of her finest work. "duh."

"we need, like, a dozen." mal continues, "right now."

"and what's in it for me?"

"what's in it for—"

evie steps forward, placing a gentle hand on mals arm. "please, maeve, this is urgent."

"yeah, okay." mavis shrugs, heading towards her curtain-door. "a dozen smoke bombs, coming right up."

"oh, thank you!" evie beams.

"on one condition." mavis returns with a hefty cloth bag hoisted over one shoulder. "i go with you."

"no." mal is quick to shut down, "absolutely not. things could get ugly fast."

"which is precisely why i want to be there." mavis argues back with a huff. "i never get to have any fun."

"maeve, it's too dangerous." evie lets down gently.

"okay, then." mavis shrugs, letting the cloth bag fall to the ground with a thump! "no invitation, no smoke bombs...no king, i guess."

mal and evie share a glance, silently going over their options until the former lets out a sigh, turning back towards mavis. "fine. but you're staying out of the way, and you're listening to us."

"yay!" mavis squeals rather uncharacteristically, retrieving her sword and following the older girls out of the shop.

they reach the entrance of the tunnel leading to umas pirate ship, spotting jay, carlos, and lonnie, daughter of mulan, exiting their limo. mavis whistles, "quite the ride you got there."

jay looks up, "uh, what is she doing here?"

"i made them bring me." mavis grins proudly.

carlos grins, extending a gloved hand. "good to see you, kid."

"ooh!" mal gestures to the 3D printed wand carlos holds, "here, lemme see." she examines it closely, "wow, what a beauty."

jay checks his watch, "it's noon."

"all right, are we ready?" mal asks the group, handing the wand back to carlos. "let's do this."

mavis nods, starting towards the tunnel. "pause!" mal calls after her, cutting ahead. she motions for the other four to join her in front before turning back to mavis, "you—stay in the back. i mean it, maeve."

mavis gothel is not one to follow orders.

as soon as the group enters umas shipyard, gil alerts his leader from his post in a singsong tone, "hey guys, they're here!"

the pirates all cheer; harry hook shoves a bound king ben forward and onto the large ships plank, "welcome!"

"finally!" uma laughs gleefully, breaking into song, "let's get this party started, i swear i'm cold hearted. there's no negotiation; i'm not here for debating. you need some motivation? just look at ben's face, then ask yourself how long you think i'll remain patient. i'll throw him overboard and let him swim with killer sharks. you either hand over the wand, or he'll be ripped apart."

mavis is pulled to overlook the scene, standing between jay and evie as mal approaches uma on the dock below. "let's all just be smart—although for you that must be hard. you'll get your wand, no one has to come to any harm. don't try to intimidate; your bark is much worse than your bite. who's the baddest of them all? i guess we're finding out tonight!"

uma sinks back into her group of pirates as they collectively chant, "lets go, bring it on, better give us what we want; it's the wand for the crown, if you don't it's goin' down."

mavis joins lonnie and the vks, moving side to side while chanting, "let's go, make your move; peace or war, it's up to you. give him up and do it now, if you don't it's goin' down."

"we want the wand, or else the king is gone." the pirates wield their swords as harry slowly pushes ben closer to the edge of the plank, "your time is running out, you should really watch your mouth!"

"let's go, pound for pound; we're prepared to stand our ground." mavis pounds one fist into the other open palm, "put your swords up, put em' up; it's goin' down!"

"make the trade," uma begins to cross the bridge towards mal, wildly wielding her sword, "or walk the plank; make the trade....or walk the plank!"

noticing lonnie and the vks gather in a huddle, mavis hurriedly joins them despite mals previous warning of staying away. after briefly talking strategy, mal spins around and walks fiercely toward uma, "okay, look. this is not a conversation, it's a do or die situation. if you don't give me back the king, i'll have no hesitation! i'll serve you right here, and i don't need a reservation. that way your whole 'pirate crew' can have a demonstration. release him now, and we can go our separate ways...unless you wanna deal with me, and the vks." mal gestures to evie, jay, carlos, and mavis stationed behind her—the latter of which smiling and waving tauntingly at the pirates.

uma only laughs, "so that's your big speech, huh? an empty ultimatum?" 

"all it takes is one swing and i'll humiliate him." harry joins in, pointing towards a stressed-looking ben. "matter of fact, make one wrong move and i'll debilitate him; and if he even starts to slip i'll eliminate him. all it takes is one wrong look and i'll—"

"harry! we get it. chill." uma pulls him back aboard her ship, rejoining her crew.

mal does the same with the vks, harshly snapping her fingers at mavis to get back above the action. the younger girl only shrugs, chasing after jay and carlos.

"let's go, bring it on, better give us what we want. it's the wand for the crown, if you don't it's going down."

"let's go, make your move, peace or war it's up to you." mavis joins the vks in their rebuttal, "give him up and do it now; if you don't it's goin' down."

"we want the wand, or else the king is gone." harry pushes ben closer to the edge of the plank, "your time is running out, you should really watch your mouth!"

"let's go, double down, we're prepared to stand our ground; put your swords up, put em up—it's goin' down." mal reaches behind her and retrieves the fake wand from carlos, walking towards uma when ben interrupts the exchange.

"hey! we don't have to choose." the king calls out, "we don't have to light the fuse. mal, whatever you do, it's gonna be a lose-lose. there's got to be a better way!" he turns to the leader of the pirates, "uma, i promise i'll give you your chance. you'll have your say!"

ursulas daughter only laughs, "silly king. you, give me? you're gonna give me a chance? well, not a chance."

"make the trade," her pirate crew flanks behind her, "or walk the plank; make the trade...or walk the plank!"

mal steps forward, holding the crafted wand out for uma to take. the pirate pauses, suspicious. "hold up...too easy. why don't you give it a test drive?" she smirks, "we wanna see it work. oh, and nothing too big or else ben is fish bait."

mal scoffs, "you always were quite the drama queen." 

mavis hears panting, turning slightly to the right to notice carlos' dog, dude, had disobeyed his orders to 'stay.' she coughs loudly, capturing mals attention to subtly gesture towards the dog with her head.

"okay." mal tells uma, leaning over the docks railing and aiming the wand at dude, "although it seems absurd, turn your bark into a word."

dude stays silent, "talk, dog." mal hisses.

"does this vest make me look fat?" dude whispers after an uncomfortable moment of anticipation. the pirates break into laughter; mal and the vks let out a breath of relief. "and does anyone have some bacon? cookies?"

uma laughs shortly before growling, "give me the wand!"

"give me ben!"

"harry, bring him over." uma orders; the pirates jeer.

"ooh, uh, before you go—" gil, son of gaston, steps in front of the kings path, "tell your mama gaston says hi, and also tell your dad that my dad wishes he finished off your dad when he had the chance." 

harry shoves ben onto his knees in front of mal, awaiting umas next orders, "cut him loose, harry."

"i never get to have any fun." the son of hook complains, slicing his hook-hand through the kings binds.

mal grabs bens hand, simultaneously passing the wand to uma. "ben, go!" she urges as the pirates cheer, crowding excitedly around uma.

mavis watches proudly as uma realizes the wand is a fake, angrily snapping it in half. "3D printed." she nods in approval, "smart...for you."

"thanks...i guess." mal cocks her head, ushering mavis in front of her. "now, go! hurry!"

"no!" uma shrieks, "you do not get to win every time! get 'em!"

jay tips over a a barrel full of swords, distributing one to each vk; knowing she wouldn't be included, mavis helps herself, ignoring jays loud disproval. as carlos begins shooting off colorful smoke bombs, maeve rushes straight into battle, immediately knocking one of umas unsuspecting pirates over the railing and into the harsh waters below. "hah!" she cheers, "you just got beat by a little girl!"

"hello, maeve." a familiar accent sounds from behind.

"oh, it's you." mavis turns around, smiling calmly. "i knew i smelled something a little fishy."

unimpressed, harry swiftly pulls a long sword out from beneath his jacket. mavis ducks, swiping at his ankles with her own weapon before popping back up just in time to block a blow to the face. she leans forward, stomping a solid boot onto the pirates foot. he curses, stumbling back.

mavis uses the older boys unbalance to swipe his precious hook, tossing it into the water below with a petty smile. harry curses, quickly jumping off of the dock to retrieve the small weapon.

as she rushes through the docks, dodging determined pirates and swords flying through the air, mavis catches up with three of the four villain-turned-hero teens.

"mae!" carlos calls upon noticing the dark haired girl, "go with jay to start the car!"

evie nods, "we'll meet you guys there."

mavis is about to argue when she notices uma helping an angry looking harry out of the ocean. he growls, making menacing eye contact with the younger girl. she gulps, nodding once before rushing toward the tunnel with jay. 

they grab lonnie, almost at the exit when a sword slices through the air, forcing mavis to press against a ladder leading to the next dock level, "hiya!"

mavis rolls her eyes at harry's cheerful expression, once again wielding her sword. she steps onto the ladders third rung to finally be at height with the pirate, keeping steady with one hand as she fences with the other.

this isn't a fruitful solution, however, as harrys sword easily slices through the rungs below, sending mavis crashing back down to the dock— once again forcing the small girl to look upwards at her opponent.

"carlos!" mavis cries out, extending a hand, "smoke bomb!"

the older boy is quick to toss one over; mavis catches it effortlessly before letting the distraction drop onto the wooden planks. harry coughs, allowing mavis time to escape.

"maeve!" evie shouts worriedly, exhaling with relief once the gothel girl exits through the purple colored smoke. "come on!"

battling uma, mal rushes off to join the girls, "let's go! now, ben!"

the prince of auradon steers mavis in front of himself as they follow evie through the tunnel; mal not far behind.

"you okay?" carlos asks as soon as a panting mavis emerges from the tunnel.

"yeah, i'm fine." the child shrugs nonchalantly, returning her sword to its cross on her back. "uh, you're welcome...i guess. for the help." mavis grumbles awkwardly, walking off.

"wait!" mal shouts after the girl, jogging to catch up. "thanks, maeve. really. we couldn't have done that without you—or your smoke bombs." mavis only shrugs. "i wish we could take you with us, you know. i really do."

"yeah. me too." the gothel girl admits, looking down at her shoes shyly.

uncharacteristically, mal suddenly pulls the younger girl into a hug. "i will, someday soon. i promise."

mavis pulls away, chuckling dryly. "i'll believe it when i see it. but thanks for the little adventure, mal." the child waves one last time towards the waiting auradon kids before disappearing back into the shadows.

Not even three days later, mavis is cleaning in mother gothels shop when a trio of auradon officials let themselves in. she pauses, removing her headphones with confusion.

without a word, one of the men steps forward, handing the girl an official looking scroll. mavis opens it tentatively, reading the message aloud:

"His royal majesty, King Ben of Auradon, and his councilor, Miss Evie of the Isle, hereby request the pleasure of your company, Mavis Gothel, for the current academic year at Auradon Prep. Please notify his majesty couriers of your response to this request.
We'd love to have you join us at Auradon Prep. Will you come?
King Ben."

slightly shocked that mal had kept true to
her word, mavis slowly looks up at the men in front of her, "uh, sure."