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eviesmyspiritanimal · 4 years

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No Space Between Part 1 of 2

Summary: What if Mal never got into the limo heading back to Auradon in D2? What if Mal had stayed on the Isle? What would've happened to Evie? Let's just say that Evie may have made promises about spaces between, but she had no intention of keeping them. Bal, Core Four family feels, small, tiny, and barely miniscule hints of Bevie, and tons of Mal and Evie best friend angst and fluff.

It had been one week. One week since Evie had been forced to leave behind the most important person in her life in the hole that they were in at the very beginning of it all.

Her heart ached, and it was like a piece of Evie’s entire being was missing. Every time Evie looked over at that empty side of the room--- that side of the room that belonged to her--- Evie felt like falling into hysterical sobbing from which she could never emerge.

It seemed like since Mal refused to come back, everything and everyone had went into insane disarray.

Doug had burst in on her the earlier part of this torturous week with accusations on his tongue of how she had cheated on him with Happy’s son and how she had gone on something as ridiculous as a camping trip without him. Evie was in no mood to tolerate his ridiculous neediness, and she very coldly and calculatedly told him to get out of her office and not to dare show his face around her again unless he wanted her to get Jay to take care of things.

It was just as well. She had never wanted him anyway. Especially not when her sister, her best friend, and her everything was gone. In fact, Evie didn’t even have the patience to remotely tolerate him since Mal was not there.

Ben was a mess, and Evie felt her heart ache for him. But she didn’t allow herself to get too close because she knew that, despite Mal’s open declaration that she simply could not be around him anymore, he still belonged to Mal. She could never betray her sister who was purely her heart.

Jay was extremely closed-off and hadn’t actually had a full-on conversation with either Carlos or Evie during the whole week. It had just been short small talk here and there before heading off to go to the gym once again. Evie was beginning to think that he was going to look like some kind of miniature Hulk by the time that he was through.

Carlos had been a terrible wreck, and he had been even more nervous about Jane and that entire situation. It was a true shame, too, because they were an adorable couple and quite obviously liked one another. But it seemed that one of his three siblings being gone had really damaged what confidence and bravery he had.

With all of this craziness going on around her, the only thing that was keeping Evie from completely losing her mind was the promise of what was going to happen if she could finish the wardrobe that she was currently working on so intently. Recently, she had put her business on an indefinite hold so she could dedicate her time and work to a new project. It was a bit of a selfish project, but nevertheless, it would help heal her aching heart and maybe even Mal’s, too, if she was missing Evie as much as Evie was missing Mal.

After all, Evie was not going to let her Mal, her sister, her best friend, and her everything stay on the Isle of the Lost alone. No matter what promises had been made about spaces between.

But tonight was the night. She was going to take her backpack chock full to the brim with clothing and sneak out of Auradon, taking a limo with her. She had already planned that she was going to open the barrier, waste no time in shutting it, and then proceed to stuff the remote deep in her zippable pockets. That way, she wouldn’t require anyone to drive her and she could just disappear. Plus, she’d have a way to get back on the odd chance that Mal would want to return.

Evie gathered her things, stuffing the already overstuffed backpack with all kinds of makeup and just things that were important to the girl. Like that picture of her, Mal, Jay, and Carlos together.

She paused to stroke its frame, and gaze at it carefully. It was a scene that she would likely not have the privilege to witness again for a long time. But it was for the best. They all belonged together, but Evie always belonged with Mal, and she didn’t want the boys to feel obligated to come with her.

Evie shook herself from the thick, overwhelming emotions overcoming her, and she stuffed the picture in the backpack, trying to hide it amongst the vast amounts of clothing. Evie sighed as she tried to zip the bag to the best of her abilities.

It finally shut after multiple yanks, and Evie nodded resolutely as she headed for the dorm door. Just before she exited, she paused in the doorway to look at the room for one last time.

It was beautiful. Quite possibly more beautiful than it was when she had seen it for the first time, because now it had touches of its two previous residents intricately mixed with it. Signatures of purple and blue painted all about the room with definitive trademarks of Mal and Evie were laced throughout every piece of furniture and every item.

Evie felt a bit of sadness overcome her at the sight, but she quickly steeled herself and pushed those tears away. It was all worth nothing without Mal there to share it with her.

Evie hurried down the hallways, only slowing down to look a bit more casual if she thought that she saw a student hurrying by in an attempt to get to their room before curfew.

The bluenette slipped through several doorways, making her way around the school, until she finally got outside to the limo that she knew was nearby the school. It was the one specifically used for Ben who was still attending school to commute in, which made her feel even worse about stealing it. But she had no choice. She had to get to Mal, and absolutely nothing was going to stop her.

Except maybe the body that she had just slammed into as she ran through the doorway that would lead her directly to the limo.

Evie placed her hands on the person’s chest, pushing backward as she collected herself, an apology and possibly even an excuse on her tongue, but her thought process altogether stopped as she realized that it had been Ben she ran into. She swallowed hard as she realized that Carlos and Jay were standing nearby, their arms crossed over their chests as they looked at her questioningly.

Evie looked at them all blankly for a long moment before mustering a sweet smile that was unfortunately conveying more nervous energy than any other emotion.

“Hey, guys! What are you up to tonight?” Evie questioned effortlessly, trying not to seem as if she were about to steal a limo. The boys just shared a glance, and Ben gazed at her in concern. Evie took a step back, physically distancing herself from the young king.

“We were just about to ask you the same thing,” Carlos pointed out, and the three boys just looked at her expectantly. Evie swallowed slightly and tried her best to show only confidence.

“Oh… I’m just going to the, uh… Waffle Hut,” Evie informed them easily, showcasing all of those pearly whites in a manner that was more guilty than casual.

“Ah, okay. But why are you dressed in Isle clothes?” Jay asked with a knowing expression, and Evie scanned her mind quickly for a good response despite the fact that she knew there were no options.

“Because I was missing M, so I thought I’d dress up in my Isle clothes to remind me of her and our dearly departed birthplace,” Evie responded, and she almost winced as she realized that it didn’t sound nearly as great as it had in her mind.

The boys just narrowed their eyes at her, and she knew that she had been officially caught. There was no way that she was going to get out of this without telling them the truth. And it was a true shame because she certainly didn’t want them to feel as if they had to go with her.

“Are you going back to the Isle, Evie?” Ben questioned, and Evie looked to the boy with a slight sigh, staring at him for a long time. However, after a moment, she finally offered him just the barest of nods.

“Yes, Ben. I am,” she admitted, and they all looked much more determined than they had before as they started to shift about, getting ready to head out.

“Alright, give us a sec. We’ll go get our clothes, and---”

“No,” Evie immediately interrupted, keeping them from continuing, and all three of them froze to listen to her words. Evie’s eyes softened a bit as she gazed at them, and she made sure her voice came out a bit gentler with her next words. “No. You can’t come with me, guys.”

“Sure, we can. You’re going to get her from the Isle, right? So, we’re coming with you,” Jay resolvedly told her, looking to Carlos as the shorter boy quickly agreed with him. Evie shook her head, gazing at them all regretfully.

“Guys, I’m not going to get her,” Evie expressed, and they all once again paused to heed and understand her words.

“What do you mean?” Ben asked, staring at her, those green-brown eyes shining with something terribly pained. She knew that he knew what she was truly doing. Jay and Carlos had known Evie for longer, but sometimes Ben truly was a kindred spirit to Evie and too much like her for her own good.

“I’m going over there to the Isle… to stay with her,” Evie expressed, and her two brothers shared a pained glance. For his part, Ben just looked resigned as he sighed deeply, the beginnings of tears in his eyes as he tried to keep them at bay.

“We’ll go with you anyway,” Jay volunteered, and Carlos nodded, backing the former thief in his verdict. Evie held up a hand, shaking her head as she held back her own tears.

“No. No, you two can’t come with me,” Evie firmly said, the words almost physically painful to tell them. Evie swallowed hard as she allowed the barest of smiles onto her face. “I love you two. And you have the beginnings of such a beautiful life here. You’re happy, despite your feelings as of late. Going to the Isle’s not going to make you happy.”

“It’s not going to make you happy either, Eves,” Carlos pointed out, and Evie just gazed at him sadly.

“No, but staying here any longer is pure torture for me. I love Mal so much, and I really think that she’s just as unhappy as me right now,” Evie explained to the group carefully, knowing that they wouldn’t understand as fully as she hoped.

“So, you should get her,” Jay told her, and Evie just sighed.

“You know I can’t make Mal do anything she doesn’t want to do.”

“But you just said she’s unhappy?” Carlos questioned in confusion.

“She is. She’s unhappy altogether, and me coming to her will make her happy enough to distract her from that entire unhappiness. But not for long enough that she’ll never come back. I’m basically going to just have to wait her out,” Evie expressed simply, shrugging slightly as she felt a fond smile curling at the edge of her lips. Mal always was terribly stubborn.

“Just how long are we talking here?” Jay asked, raising a pointed finger at the bluenette.

“Yeah, you sound like you’re going to be gone for a… a really long time,” Carlos chuckled a bit, and Evie just looked at him, communicating her meaning wordlessly. Carlos suddenly lost all semblances of even a slight smile as he stepped back a bit, bumping into Jay’s shoulder. Jay held up a hand, keeping the boy from stepping too far back.

“I’ll take as long as it takes for Mal to decide that she’s ready to come back,” Evie told them all solemnly, and Ben shook his head carefully, swallowing as he drew his lips into a thin line.

“I thought you might do something like this. That’s why I called Jay and Carlos out here,” Ben explained with a wet laugh, and Evie couldn’t help but smile a bit at the sweet boy, knowing that he was fighting a losing battle in holding back his urge to cry. Evie reached out, squeezing his arm quickly in an attempt to make him feel a bit better.

She then looked at her brothers sadly, waiting to see what they would say. Jay stood there working his jaw for a long time, and Carlos was looking down at his shoes in a manner that resembled a kicked puppy.

However, once a few beats had passed, Carlos shifted his gaze to Evie with a slight smile.

“I get it. I do. And I hope you come back with her soon,” Carlos expressed, and Evie felt her heart partially heal as she then looked at her older brother, hoping for his response.

And after what felt like an eternity, Jay at long last looked back up at her.

“You didn’t forget your lip gloss, did you?” Jay questioned finally, trying to joke but most of its effect disappearing as a result of his forlorn expression. Evie laughed, maybe a few sobs escaping from her as well as she came over to hug the two boys with all that she had.

She wrapped her left arm around the back of Jay’s neck and her right arm around the back of Carlos’s as she pulled them both near. They both reciprocated her embrace just as tightly as she had wrapped them in it, clutching at her as if she were their lifeline.

“We love you, Eves,” Carlos expressed, and Evie nodded quickly, trying to pull herself together so she could actually leave on schedule before the security guard came around this way on his route that she had spent all week memorizing.

“I love you guys, too. So, so much,” Evie whispered in return, feeling a few tears escape her against her will as she sniffled hard.

She stood there hugging them both for a long time, the three just rocking in their embrace as they held each other tightly.

After a great amount of time had passed, Evie finally very gradually and slowly released them from her hold. Evie raised her hands to cradle their cheeks and touched both of their foreheads with her own in turn before stepping back, letting her hands slip from them.

The boys just gazed at her sadly as they watched their sister head over to Ben.

She hugged the boy for a few moments, not nearly as long as she had the two boys, and she looked him in the eyes somewhat sadly. Ben had already lost a bit in his battle with tears, and she felt a deep pang of sadness for the boy.

“Bring her back?” Ben asked somewhat brokenly, and Evie nodded, giving his face a onceover that could only be described as purely motherly before she returned her gaze to his own.

“As soon as she’ll let me,” Evie responded softly, a slight smile coming onto her face, and Ben nodded to her once, stepping back from her as he allowed her room to get to the limo.

Carlos wasted no time in opening the front door of the limo, and Evie whispered her thanks as she started to get into the car. She was just about to pull it closed when Jay grabbed her arm quickly. She locked eyes with him, and he chewed the inside of his cheek.

“Be safe. Okay?” Jay advised, and Evie nodded an affirmation. He smiled somewhat grimly before shutting the limo door.

Evie reached for the keys, cranking the vehicle, and she looked out the tinted window at the three boys. They were all just standing there together, watching her get ready to leave. Evie looked at them sadly and slowly put the vehicle into gear, driving it out of the castle.

She didn’t look back. She couldn’t. She knew if she looked back, she’d be too tempted to return and cry all over the three, clinging to them and refusing to let go.

So, Evie took a deep breath, her gloved hands clutching at the steering wheel as she gazed ahead with determination, her thoughts centered on her purple-haired best friend.

“I’m on my way, M.”

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karenhikari · 7 years

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The Ones Who Wander-3. The Beginning

Hi, everyone! I'm back!

See, my beautiful beta, geminalupus had a very good idea―she suggested that I waited til the second movie came out to post the third chapter out, but then we decided against it because something very important will happen in the fourth chapter, so... we want to give you that surprise as well as the movie, and that means story will be updated either this Friday or this Saturday.

During this chapter there are some mentions of past abuse, though they are not very grafic, more like hints, just in case you need to know.

I don't think I have anything else to say, so... please enjoy!

PD: Oh, I almost forgot! The conversation between Mal and Ben (you'll know which one... hopefully) includes some mentions of another one story I wrote called 'Destiny If You May,' it is nothing more than a short, sweet Bal fic and you do not need to have read it to understand this story, but I thought I'd just let you know in case you were confused.

Unfortunately, Belle had failed to mention that the title Mal had been given would only become official once Auradon held a party to honor the occasion and Ben personally put the golden badge in her hand.

So much for keeping a low profile, Mal thought, holding back a huff as she remembered the countless times she'd turned, trying to find a position in which she felt comfortable while wearing the mermaid dress Evie made her. Evie insisted she'd worked around the clock to finish in the two weeks that had passed since the council's meeting, but Mal was pretty sure that the daughter of the Evil Queen had been hiding her development on that dress ever since she and Ben had allied to make her the ambassador.

She suppressed a smirk. Evie had done a good job hiding the dress in progress, Mal had to hand her that, and while she was still a tiny bit mad at her and at Ben for hiding their decision from her, she understood why they had acted like they had.

On the other hand, Mal also had to admit that she liked her new dress way better than the one first one Evie had gifted her with.

In all honesty, she would have worn anything Evie made, but it appeared that her friend had listened to her reviews on the dress she'd worn to Ben's coronation and had planned the new one around them, taking away the frills and turning the color into a darker shade of purple.

Well, good thing it was over, Mal decided, putting down the picture frame that had sent her thoughts swirling back to the celebration of the night before.

Ben had insisted on giving her an office in his castle, to ensure she had a place to work, he'd said, no matter how many times she repeated that as long as she had Evie and a notebook she would manage.

In the end, it turned out to be good idea, given that they wouldn't be able to stay in Auradon Prep for summer vacations and Ben had offered them to stay at his family's palace.

Still, Mal couldn't help but think that a whole room to call her office, with more furniture than she'd had at her bedroom back at the Isle was, more than a necessity, an extravagance.

On the other hand, perhaps all of this luxury was only Ben's way of apologizing for the fact that, now that she was actually absorbed in politics, she'd have to brook a good number of council meetings and royal lessons, the first of which would begin in roughly fifteen minutes.

For this first meeting, Mal had explicitly asked that no actual sovereigns were present. Yes, she would have to get used to their more-often-than-not backward ways, but for the time being she didn't want to worry about accidentally pissing off an important queen, therefore she'd requested that only Ben, Evie, the Fairy Godmother, Belle, Adam, Jay, Carlos and Freddie be present.

No, she really couldn't afford to be concerned about etiquette when the children hadn't even arrived; once the villain kids were in Auradon, Mal supposed she'd have to watch her behavior a little more, as both the eyes of Auradon's and the Isle's citizens would be on her, but, for now, she was content with just discussing the things with the people whose business it was.

When she finally reached the conference room where Ben had asked her to meet with the others, she wasn't sure of what she would encounter inside.

Fortunately, Ben, the only one who was already there and who had been in charge of organizing this meeting, had agreed to keep Auradon's need of luxury and grandeur out, and instead of an exaggerated focus on the color of the curtains and in preparing each of the places for the attendees, all that was inside the room was a round mahogany table—but even that small detail was important: it wasn't a rectangular piece of furniture, at which head Ben would be seated, with the most important person to his right and so on in an infinite list of formalities that Mal couldn't have cared less about, but rather, a circular one, in which each place was worth the same in importance― surrounded by nine comfortable-looking armchairs.

Well, if nothing else, there were no cameramen in the room, which eased a knot in Mal's throat. It was a personal issue, probably, but she didn't like the feeling of being under someone's eye―she was much too used to it thanks to Maleficent's habit of stalking her every move.

"Hey," Ben greeted her with an easy smile and eyes that sparkled.

"Hey yourself," she replied back, allowing the king to embrace her shortly.

"Are you ready?" he said, too concerned with her well-being for Mal's liking.

"Honestly? I don't know what to expect," she admitted, choosing one of the chairs. "But I have to thank you for not going over the moon with this and making it more... discreet."

"Anything for you," Ben laughed. "However, if there's anything-"

"Ben, I'll be fine," she rolled her eyes. "This will work, there's no other option. Besides, I'm just glad that I'm not wearing a dress right now."

"Really? We're talking about the Isle of the Lost and you're worried about your choice of clothes!"

"Well, excuse me, but it's not as off-track as it seems!" Mal tried to explain. "Point number one, if I ever tried to wear something like this at the Isle, I would have been eaten alive. And, point number two, since I never got used to wearing their fluffy skirts I'm not comfortable in them. I had to wear a silly dress to your coronation and to my own ceremony, but if someone expects me to wear one of them on every meeting I swear I'll-"

"You'll what?" a newcomer inquired. "Hex them with a goodness spell?"

"Shut up, Jay!" Mal replied with a roll of her eyes, much to her interlocutor's amusement.

"What? I'm only being objective here!"

"You're only saying that because you've never worn a skirt," Mal grumbled.

"Well, if he wanted to, he could try," Carlos suggested, picking out the chair to Jay's left. "I mean, Auradon is all about equality, so I don't think it'd matter that he wore one..."

"All settled, then," Mal said, thinking for the first time that, perhaps this wouldn't be such a bad day after all. "I'll ask Evie to start working on that as a summer project."

"Thanks for your help," the son of Jafar said sarcastically as he turned to Carlos. To his side, the son of Cruella merely shrugged.

Slowly, the other attendants started arriving, with Freddie being the last one to reach the room, and though the daughter of Facilier excused herself saying that she had gotten lost in the castle, Mal suspected that she had actually forgotten about the whole thing instead.

It was funny, Mal thought, that, while Ben had tried to make this as etiquette-less as possible, Evie was still sitting to her right, as Adam was to the current king of Auradon. So much for a casual meeting.

"Welcome to everyone and please allow me extend my appreciation of your presence. As I'm sure you all know, during the course of this summit we will be discussing the extraction of the children that have been born in the Isle of the Lost so they can start a life here in Auradon," Ben started to say once everyone had chosen a chair. "First of all, it is of great importance that we are all introduced to each other, therefore-"

"We already know each other, can we skip this part or...?"

"Jay," Mal hissed.

"You can take the boy out of the Isle but you can't take the Isle out of the boy," Freddie chanted.

"No, no, it's okay," Ben laughed, ignoring the scowl his father sent in the son of Jafar's way. "I suppose that, since we had agreed to keep this meeting formality-free, Jay is actually right..."

"So, no beating around the bush, then?" the daughter of the Evil Queen inquired, taking a notebook out of her purse. "Shall we get to the point immediately?"

"It would seem that way, any other... suggestions?" Ben dared ask, as he quiered his interlocutors' opinion on the matter in a silent glance―across him, Mal shrugged, signaling that anything was fine by her; Jay appeared pleased with himself, which Ben decided to take as an agreement for him to continue, to the son of Jafar's left, Carlos seemed to want to disappear, and Freddie winked an eye at him, so the king decided that was a positive answer too.

To his right and after a silent debate with among them, his mother, his father and the Fairy Godmother agreed too.

"Fine, then, we shall get started right away," Ben instructed. "The main point of discussion for this meeting will be the procedure with which the remaining villain children will be removed."

Several nods from his listeners followed Ben's first statement, which encouraged him to continue.

"As you are all aware, the first approach of Auradon towards this goal has already been made, and though we all consider its outcome was a success, our ambassador does not think that repeating the same operation would be as… fruitful."

"What do you mean by 'repeating the same operation'?" the Fairy Godmother, Fayanna, inquired, sending Mal a curious look.

"He's talking about doing things like you did when you first got us here," Mal piped in. "That is, taking a small number of the kids, say four or five and placing them in Auradon Prep for them to learn Auradon's ways."

"And why is it that you oppose to doing it that way, dear?" Belle questioned. "Given how well it worked out the first time I thought that..."

"The first time didn't really 'work well', objectively speaking," Mal pointed out, a small fuss in her hands. "Maleficent broke free from the Isle and almost killed us."

"But Maleficent's escape didn't have anything to do with your... arrival," the former king of Auradon interfered.

"Except it did," Evie let out in a nervous laugh.

As Belle, Adam and the Fairy Godmother gave each other a strange look Mal couldn't help but sigh.

"Maleficent wanted the Fairy Godmother's wand and it was our duty to get it for her," Mal explained with an apologetic smile, not really wanting to go into details. "In fact, the only reason out parents signed the authorization for us to leave the Isle was because they wanted us to get that wand. We didn't... it wasn't until two months ago that we were notified that our coming to Auradon had been part of Ben's decree."

"You didn't know?" the Fairy Godmother questioned.

"How would we have?" Jay said, a smirk that looked forced upon his lips.

"Wasn't my son's decree read to you? Weren't you asked to sign your agreement to it?"

"Dear," Belle cut her husband off.

"No and no again," Mal replied with a calmed smile. "Technically speaking, the only one who would have been benefited from our stay in Auradon would have been Grimhilde, in case that Evie got herself a rich union, but other than that, Jafar needed Jay to... umm... provide for his store," she replied in a condescending tone, her eyes trained on Jay as he spoke, as if to ensure she wasn't crossing a line.

"Even so, you should have read the pronouncement at the very least or even―"

"Dad," Ben warned, sending a nervous glance in the daughter of Maleficent's direction.

"It's fine," Carlos finally spoke up, his hands fidgeting in his lap. "If you... you said that what you wanted was to help the children, right? To help us, so... if it's... if it's as you say, then... then you should know that things are very different in the Isle, and you should be prepared for that."

"Carlos..." Ben trailed off, receiving a shrug from the son of Cruella.

"Carlos is right," Mal interfered, deciding against any more circumlocution when she caught Jay placing a reassuring hand in Carlos' knee. "Which is exactly my point: if you want this to work, to really work, with no escapees and no stolen wands, then we must plan it carefully."

"You said you were against our initial plan, why is that, Mal?"

"First of all, Fayanna, the parents' permission needs to be made irrelevant. The decree states that every one of the children must be taken out, therefore, we must not give them the liberty of making a choice that was never theirs."

"Call me Fay, Mal," the headmistress said absently, her eyes trained on Belle as she spoke.

"Mal, listen, I understand that your parents may have been difficult to be with at times, but… they are still your guardians," the former queen defended with a concerned smile.

"Ha! Our guardians!" Freddie spoke up, her eccentric look as she laughed not making much to ease the woman's nerves. "Belle don't be offended, but our parents don't care. I mean, I'm pretty sure that my dad doesn't even know I'm not in the Isle anymore, and I've been here for two months!"

"Wait, you haven't… you haven't talked to him, sent him a letter to explain where you are?"

"How would I? There's no signal in the Isle, remember? And, even if I wanted to stay in contact with him, I wouldn't be able to send him a letter because of the embargo."

"So… none of you have spoken with your parents since you came to Auradon?" the Fairy Godmother inquired in whisper, her voice sounding so heartbroken that Mal had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the good woman.

"Save from me and my lizard mother, no," Mal replied instead. "Well, there was that incident for the Family Day before Ben's coronation, remember? It didn't go well," she added in a second thought.

"But then that means that you haven't even sent them a letter… to let them know you're okay?" Fayanna exclaimed worriedly.

"No," Mal repeated. "And that's exactly the point―we don't want to do it. We don't want to speak to our parents or see them or remember them even, and I'm not speaking just for the five of us, I'm doing it for the Isle children, all of them, whom I'm almost sure, would confirm my words if they were here."

"Is this… is it true?" Belle questioned, her gaze heavy on the villain children.

"Well, I'm not opposed to seeing the old man again," Jay started after a dense moment of silence. "But, if I did, chances are he'd… ask me to steal again, and that would be pretty counterproductive, so… I'm better off without him."

"I'm telling you, my dad's crazy," Freddie announced with another laugh when Belle interrogated her with a look. "I mean, he's scared his own shadow will kill him, so… If I have to see him again, I can pull it off, but, really, I'd rather not have him screaming at me for trying to murder him."

With a slow nod and pursed lips Belle turned towards Evie.

"Ummm…" the young girl managed, shooting a glance in Mal's direction, who nodded almost negligibly, as if to say 'Go ahead, tell her'. "I… I know it wouldn't be good to see my mother again, and even though sometimes I do wish I could do it, I… I don't think the consequences of such an encounter would be worth it. She wouldn't approve of how I look now, she wouldn't approve of my eyeshadow, of my friends, of Doug, of… anything, so… I think not seeing her is for the best.

"Darling, I'm sure she'd find you beautiful, regardless if you've decided to try a different style," Belle tried, provoking a bitter laugh from the girl's perfectly made-up lips, same that she tried to convert into a nervous one as she played with her long hair.

"No, she wouldn't," Evie replied in a voice that as barely tainted with hurt. "But that's not… what's the word…? Odd. She never thought I was, not even back at the Isle," she trailed off, shaking her head as if to physically jerk away from her thoughts, whatever they were. "Besides, Freddie is right. My mom doesn't care I'm not there anymore, so… I shouldn't care that she is not here either."

The former queen nodded, her smile fading slowly from her features, her hands, one placed on top of the other, resting neatly on the mahogany table.

"Carlos?" she inquired at last, turning to the son of Cruella de Vil, who visibly hunched under her gaze, not daring to meet her eyes.

"Mal's right," he answered simply, though his breath hitched. "I don't… I don't want to see her or to talk with her. Never again," he added, not in a second thought, but rather, as if those last two words were the only thing he could really think of, even when it was so glaringly hard for him to verbally express it.

"I… I see," Belle managed, locking eyes with the Fairy Godmother, a sad resignation spreading through both their countenances. "Then what… what do you suggest?"

"Taking the children out without a care about their parents' opinion," Mal repeated, her voice and expression impenetrable. "Trust me, none of the villains will care about their children, unless having them in the Isle presented them with a benefit of some kind, such as Jay or Carlos' cases, which is exactly why we should take them out."

"It's not as easy as that," Adam piped in. "Legally speaking we can't just-"

"There is a way. Evie," Mal instructed, her voice denoting an order even when she had only said her friend's name.

With a nod, the daughter of the Evil Queen took a sheet of paper out of her purse.

"Well, we decided to do a bit of research," the girl said, composed again from the previous outburst, at least in appearance. "Legally, we could revoke the villains' tutorship over their children, this means that we'd have to give their guardianship to someone else, which may prove a little difficult, but it's a solution."

"There was once a time in which kings had the right of life and death over their subjects," Ben argued. "With all that power it's ridiculous that we are debating over how to demand the tutorship of two dozen children."

"Ben, we refer to that period of time as barbarism," the former king replied.

"Please allow me to differ, Adam," Mal interfered. "What is really is life in the Isle, not depriving the villains of the custody of children they didn't even want to look after."

"How are you certain of this, Mal? How can you confirm the sincerity of your words?"

"Because I've lived in the Isle and I've seen the things I speak about," Mal counterattacked. "That is more than can be said of others."

"Dad," Ben piped in before their discussion turned more serious. "I agree with Mal, if we stop to consider what the villains want or how they want it, what will happen is that they may start to plan another breakout, and they may be more successful this time than the precious one."

"That is ridiculous, son!"

"But not impossible, we ought to know that by now," Carlos argued, his eyes glued to his lap.

"Well, Auradon Prep can take custody of the children, just like we did last time," Fayanna suggested. "But... two dozen children are more than we can handle at the time. If we broke that number into groups of four or five, then maybe-"

"No," Mal interrupted, adamant. "That won't work."

"Do you mind explain us why you think that?" Adam inquired with a scowl.

"I... there's no reason other than I feel it would be unfair to do that," the daughter of Maleficent hesitated for the first time in the afternoon, sending a nervous look in her friends' direction.

"And why should this affect the decision of the ruling when, if we don't break the big number down into smaller groups Auradon Prep won't be able to handle them?"

"I'm sure you'll understand, Adam, the point in this, as Ben has already pointed out is that it is of vital importance to remove the children from an environment that is noxious for them."

"Which is exactly what we will do, only-"

"They'll think that you're only postponing their departure of the Isle because you don't care about them," Jay said, deciding to aid the daughter of Maleficent.

"Why would they think that?" Belle inquired worriedly.

"Belle, don't be offended, but they're forced to live on the Isle for a crime that they did not commit, eating and wearing Auradon's leftovers, which is saying too much now, since, because of the embargo they don't even get that anymore?" Freddie said, her chuckles not as crazed as before, a gleam of hidden remorse shining briefly in her eyes.

"That is exactly my point," Mal said. "The first step towards eradicating these wrong ideas is actually taking the children out in a tangible proof that shows them they are in fact important for Auradon and for its king, but I do think we should do this as soon as possible and at once, instead of going back every two months or something like that while they are still living with their parents."

"But we won't be able to handle twenty of the villains' children here, we barely-"

"Fay, if we broke the total number into groups of four and then waited for them to adapt before going back for the other children it'll take probably a year and a half to take them all out," Mal cut the Fairy Godmother off, her tone denouncing something akin to a plead.

"What is it, Mal?" Belle inquired in a soft voice. "Something is worrying you, all of you and that's where this haste is coming from. What is it?"

Instead of answering right away, Mal sent the other Isle children an inquiring look. Slowly, the four of them nodded, Carlos leaning a little more closely to Jay. Then, Mal locked eyes with the king of Auradon, a fierce edge to her features. Not really sure if she was asking his permission or if she was defying him, Ben nodded too. Only then did Mal take a deep breath to reply to the former queen's question.

"The children back there are starving, making clothes out of rags and being forced to live with their parents," she began, and if her voice so much as trembled, nobody dared to mention it. "It never bothered us, not me at least, while we were at the Isle, but now... now it makes me... it makes me uncomfortable."

"What did you say about their parents? Is this why you all oppose so strongly to asking for their permission to take them out?"

"Belle, we're talking about the villains you were too scared of to allow them to be a part of your society, what makes you think that in the last twenty years they became functional?" Mal replied flatly.

"They are your parents..." the former queen tried once more, provoking a snicker from Freddie and a contemptuous smirk from Jay.

"And terrible ones at that," Carlos muttered.

"Mal, but your mother-"

"My mother is known as the Mistress of Evil, yet she was a decent parent," the daughter of Maleficent let out. "That's more than can be said of others, which is precisely why I am concerned."

"Mal, I understand your worries," Fayanna spoke up again. "I... I didn't like the way your parents talked to you during the Family Day celebration, but... Auradon Prep won't be able to handle two dozen kids at once."

"And it shouldn't," Mal agreed. "Especially considering that we only have two months left before classes are over and the campus closes its doors until September."

"That's certainly something we hadn't thought about," Belle nodded.

"Even if we made Fay the legal guardian of the children, two months are not nearly enough for them to get used to Auradon," Evie pointed out.

"Exactly," the daughter of Maleficent conceded.

"Than what do you suggest?"

"Listen, Belle, thanks to your generous offer, we have a place to stay during the holiday season, but I'm aware that the castle of Auradon won't be able to receive twenty children any more than Auradon Prep."

"Are you saying that we should postpone their arrival until you go back to school?" Adam inquired.

"On the contrary, I am proposing that we bring it forward, so the children are ready to begin the school year already knowing how to behave here in Auradon."

"But, Mal, without the Remedial Goodness class, how do you think they will learn such a thing, especially if they are not in the campus?"

"Fairy Godmother, don't take it personal, but the Remedial Goodness class didn't really... help," Jay offered in a huff at the same time Freddie, who had never had the arguable pleasure of assisting one of those classes interrogated her peers with a look.

"What do you mean? Those lessons are the ones that allowed you to learn about goodness and love!" Fay laughed nervously, her eyes frantically scanning one of the children after the other in search of gesture that confirmed her last statement but finding none.

"Fay, allow me to differ," Mal grimaced. "We didn't really... learn anything there."

"What are you talking about, Mal? You were top of the class!"

"Yeah, though I have to say it wasn't because I paid attention or because the subject interested me," the daughter of Maleficent admitted with an apologetic smile. "Jay, quote me, what did I say when you asked how I knew the answer the Fairy Godmother's questions."

"She said, and I'm obviously quoting," Jay began with a mischievous smile. "'Just choose the answer that sounds like the least fun'. After that, we all started to get good grades on RG."

"Is that true, Fay?" Adam interrogated.

"W-well... I don't know, but, children, at the coronation you all chose goodness!"

"That is exactly what I'm talking about," Mal interrupted kindly. "It was not a subject on the matter that made us learn what friendship and love felt like, as these are things that can only be taught through experience."

"That makes sense," Belle let out in a whisper after a moment of silence.

"What made us defy our parents despite the dangers of doing it wasn't a hypothetical question of 'What would you do?'" Mal added. "But, rather, it was the fear of losing that which we'd learned to hold close and cherish. I didn't want all of Auradon to become just as dull and empty as the Isle. I wanted... I wanted to be with Ben and having Maleficent here... the idea made me uncomfortable," she shrugged, even though a crimson shade dared to taint her cheeks. "Whatever the reason for the others to stay they will have to present themselves, in case they want to, that is."

"I liked the tourney team," Jay admitted before Belle used her tactic from before and interrogated them all with nothing more than a raised eyebrow. "It was... it was nice to have something different other than the 'There's no team in I' motto of my father."

"I wanted to stay with the girls and Jay," Carlos managed, short of a whisper. "And Dude too and... compared to that my mother's wigs didn't sound very... tempting."

A look of worry crossed Fay and Belle's eyes, but they decided not to comment on anything, at least for the time being.

"The dresses here were beautiful," Evie piped in then, trying to make her sweet voice enough to sugar-coat anything unpleasant they'd said, especially when the conversation was not yet over and things could still turn out very wrong. "And there was Doug too, and, well... Mal and Jay were staying, I didn't want to lose them."

"Love is always a good motivation," Fay conceded as Belle turned to interrogate Freddie's motivation.

"The food here was good," the daughter of Facilier shrugged.

"Good how?"

"It wasn't... you know, rotten," Freddie explained, the wrinkles around her lips enough to denounce her smirk was forced.

"This is what I'm talking about," Mal offered, not giving Belle and Fay time for another of those compassionate looks that made her skin crawl, perhaps because, not being used to them, she mistook them for pitiful ones. "We must take the children out of the Isle immediately and teach them Auradon's ways before we return to school in little over four months so that, come the new schoolyear, they will know how to behave properly."

"And how do you plan for this to happen if we've repeatedly stated that we cannot pay for so many children's arrival, especially if, like you just said, you do not trust the Fairy Godmother to teach them the ways of Auradon?" Adam inquired again, feeling that they were just beating around the bush.

"I do trust the Fairy Godmother," Mal replied, adamant.

"That still doesn't answer my question."

"Evie and I came up with a plan," Mal smiled, turning to the girl in question. "Ben said that not all of the sovereigns were against the children's arrival," she began, waiting for her boyfriend's nod before continuing. "Esmeralda especially and Cinderella approached me to offer their help, if the necessity of it ever came."

"Certainly, and I can see how Queen Cinderella would be of help, but the gypsy..." Adam trailed off with an unconvinced grimace.

"The children must learn what a family is and how it is like to be in one," Mal continued, ignoring the former king's interruption. "And, Fay, Belle, before you say we have our parents... it's difficult to count someone as a family, even more so by Auradon's standards, when that's the one person you want to get rid of."

The former queen of Auradon and Fay crossed another one of those concerned looks that Mal was growing so tired of, which caused Mal to shake her head a little before continuing.

"So, as I was saying, the only way for the Isle children to understand how a family works is through immersion and since, as you've stated before, family is the core of society, by learning to be functional within a family they will learn to be functional within society itself."

"Mal..." Belle managed, before her son pulled himself out of his astonishment and questioned the daughter of Maleficent.

"Are you suggesting that we send the children to live with a royal family?" the king of Auradon asked, eyebrows raised in both disbelief and surprise.

"No, not royal families only, just hero families," Mal explained. "Anyone who cares enough to open the doors of their house to us."

"That helps with the lack of tutors while also giving them someone to rely when it comes to Auradon's way of living," Evie seconded, her smile both hopeful and nervous.

"But it's an insane idea!" Adam decided as soon as he recovered from his surprise.

"Do you think so, Adam?" Belle smiled. "I find it quite... promising."

"That would also make the extraction of all of them at the same time possible," Fay let out, as if talking with herself.

"And that way Auradon Prep wouldn't be overwhelmed," Ben handed, a proud smile upon his lips when he locked eyes with Mal across the table.

"It's dangerous," Adam observed. "What would happen if one of the children is violent?"

"Well, Adam, while I'm aware that you are presenting a very possible scenario, I'm forced to answer your question with another query: why do you think it would be better to place... unstable teenagers directly into an environment with few adults to watch over them and have the same adults watch over all of them at the same time instead of taking one child to a complete family so this group of people can handle only one kid, focusing in his special needs or issues?"

"Someone got good at debating," Jay clapped, nudging Carlos' side. Next to Jay, Freddie whistled, to Evie's great concern.

Mal, on her side, settled for sending a fierce glare in Adam's direction.

"Dad, I... I actually agree with Mal and Evie, it makes sense and it simplifies all of the other options we'd gone through," Ben replied, once again mediating between Mal and the former king.

"The heroes would be called, what? Tutors?" Carlos inquired, his calculating eyes finding Mal's adamant ones.

"That could work. I don't think they'd like being foster parents," Mal tried to brush off, but the crease in her brow gave her worry away.

"It's still dangerous," Adam replied with less aplomb.

"We've thought about that too, Adam," Evie offered with a conciliatory gesture. "Though we may have approached it the other way around."

"What do you mean?"

"That, since our priority were the children, what we considered was the idea of the heroes not being as welcoming as they wanted others to believe they were and... using this campaign as an excuse to get a revenge on the children for their parents' deeds," Evie explained, her hands flying to play with her hair in a nervous gesture.

"Why would you think something like that would happen here?" Belle inquired, her lower lip trembling as she faced Evie.

"Trust me, Belle, after the Isle you pretty much believe anything," Mal said, before Freddie had time to make an unwelcomed remark.

"There's no team in I," Jay repeated casually.

"Therefore," Mal hissed, glaring at both Jay and Freddie. "Evie and I reached the conclusion that it'd be for the best if we offered the possibility of changing tutors, both for the children's and for the tutors' wellbeing."

"Follow-up meetings," Carlos let out in an undertone.

"What?"

"Follow up meetings," the son of Cruella repeated a little more loudly. "Both with the heroes and with the Isle children, separately, just in case... just in case something goes wrong."

"Wonderful idea," Mal conceded in a softer voice as Evie wrote Carlos' words down in her pad.

"How would we choose the tutors?" Belle asked, her eyes going back and forth between the Isle children, marveling at the simple way in which they communicated, with a purse of their lips and a slight nod.

"I was thinking about raffle them off," Mal shrugged, asking her friends' approval with a slump of her shoulders.

"No," Carlos argued. "That could backfire. See, for example, the Gastons, what if they end up with someone like Cinderella or Snow White?"

"They would manage," Freddie shrugged in a giggle that was a little dark for a young girl like her.

"What do you suggest then, Carlos?" Evie questioned, ignoring the daughter of Facilier.

"Place the children with their parents' opponents," he answered simply.

"You're suggesting this as the safe option? You're saying this wouldn't backfire? For real?" Mal inquired, flabbergasted.

"Yes, I am," Carlos replied. "If you... think of it, it makes sense―you're placing the children with the people that know what their parents are capable of doing, with the people that already stopped them once."

Mal heard that Belle said something to Fay, but she wasn't listening, her mind weighting Carlos' words. Her train of thought was only stopped when, to her right, Evie's small hand wrapped around her wrist.

Turning to her friend Mal was reminded to breathe by Evie's encouraging smile.

"There are still cons. Again, what if the heroes don't want the children? What if there are more than one child to the same set of heroes, say, Harriet and Sam for example?"

"We could get more than one hero per case, if that were the situation," Ben offered. "For example in Freddie's case there's Queen Tiana and King Naveen, certainly, but there's also Mama Odie, who would probably interest Freddie more."

"I don't know if I would trust a child to Mama Odie," Belle admitted with a nervous giggle, though her words were ignored.

"Besides," Ben continued. "Like Mal said, there are not only royal heroes and I'm sure that we'd be able to find others willing to help, even if they were not directly affected by the villains' behavior, like Madame La Bouff or even the dwarves."

"Then that means we wouldn't be able to raffle the places," Mal pointed out. "I like the idea, but it will complicate everything."

"There's also the fact that we're not certain of how many children we're expecting," Evie shyly pointed out.

"What?" Adam roared. "We've been talking about two dozen children and now you say that you're not sure?"

"We said we had an estimated number of twenty-two children," Mal replied calmly. "But we could be missing some of them."

"What do you mean? You all lived there, didn't you know each other?" Belle question just as Fay argued: "But you went to the same school!"

"Well, there was a witches school that, obviously, none of us attended," Jay explained. "So no, we didn't go to the same school."

"And I had only been attending their school for a couple of months, so there's a lot of people I don't know," Evie seconded.

"And it's the Isle, so no one really cares about the other," Freddie added, just to close with a flourish.

"Someone needs to go back to the Isle, preferably someone who knows how to handle the Isle," Mal finally said in a stern voice.

After a collective scream demanding more explanations from her, she continued.

"Evie and I talked about it last night and we came to the conclusion that the only way in which we can meet the Isle's demands and needs is by knowing which these are, and that is obviously something that we cannot do while we are here discussing what the Isle lacks and what it has in excess from the comfort of Auradon," Mal offered resignedly. "I've lived in the Isle long enough to know what to do while in there, and since Ben's original idea was to send an ambassador to the Isle of the Lost I volunteer to visit my hometown.

"Are you out of your mind, Mal?" Belle inquired, slamming her small fist on the table. "After what you just said about the Isle you expect us to agree with this insane idea?"

"Actually, Belle, I'm the most prepared to carry on with this insane idea as you call it," Mal laughed, somewhat bitterly and somewhat ironically. "You see, my mother is not in the Isle waiting to ruin my life, and everyone saw, via the only channel available in the Isle that the one who defeated the Mistress of Evil was me, therefore they now respect me and all of my mother's goblins and properties are now mine. I don't have anything to fear at the Isle other than the Isle itself and I am loyal to Auradon, which I think is also a good addition."

"But it might be dangerous, dear!" the Fairy Godmother argued.

"Precisely," Mal nodded. "Which is why I wouldn't dare let anyone other than me go back. I know how to take care of myself, I will be fine," she concluded, her eyes locked with Carlos', her hands holding Evie's tightly.

"Ben, you cannot allow this… this is an insani-"

"A great idea," Ben interrupted with a sigh.

"What? No!"

"Mother, I believe that we already knew Mal had a strong temper and wouldn't back down of something," the king smiled. "I trust her."

Straightening her back to appear a couple of inches taller, Mal smirked.

"Ben, you said you wanted an embassy," she began. "In my position of ambassador I can offer you my mother's castle, which in her absence belongs to me for this project, as a tale-tell sign that I am equally committed to it as you are."

"Mal, I cannot accept-"

"Ben, you brought us here and you will be handling the five of us during summer vacations, trust me, this is just a small something to repay your attentions. Besides," Mal added. "The house has been empty ever since my mother escaped the Isle, it might as well serve a better purpose."

"I accept your generous offer only because it would be impolite to decline it," Ben sighed after a silent moment, a playful smile in his lips.

"It's settled, then," the daughter of Maleficent agreed, mimicking her boyfriend's expression.

"Fine, then, to conclude we have that the children will be assigned to a tutor, preferably the one who fought against their parents, is that correct?" Ben recapitulated, waiting for everyone's agreement before continuing. "Mal will go back to the Isle to repair Maleficent's castle and confirm the number of children that are to leave the Isle and-"

"Actually, in that department... Mal and I think that it'd be for the best if the villains don't know about your decree or Mal's real intentions to go back to the Isle," Evie interrupted, her pen tightly held in her right hand.

"What? Why?" Fay asked.

"Because it'd be too obvious!" Freddie retorted. "Remember when we said some of the villains might not want to let their children leave because they... use them?"

"You have the recording of you naming me Dragon of the Kingdom," Mal began, her eyes glued to Ben as she tried to ignore Fay's heartbroken look as she stared back at Freddie. "Send it to the Isle's channel and make everyone know that I'm working for you, but don't mention your decree. If you need it edited I'm sure Carlos can fix it, don't worry," she offered, receiving a nod from the aforementioned.

"But what will you say you're back at the Isle for, then?" Adam inquired.

"We need not ask about it," Mal shrugged. "We say I'm there to fix up the embassy and that's that."

"Will they believe you, dear?" Belle asked too.

"If they don't is their problem, I'll be saying the truth," Mal scoffed. "Get me the visas for the children and I'll make get them on the ship."

"We have a ship now?" Adam questioned with surprise.

"A limo wasn't enough and an airplane was too complicated," Evie replied, proving she and Mal had spoken lively and long about it.

"What about the tutors?" Fay asked.

"When can you have a list of the heroes willing to help?" Mal questioned, turning to Ben.

"Give me two weeks," the king of Auradon responded.

"I can go to the Isle in fifteen days, then," Mal decided, the pen Evie had given her placed between her lips. "You can send the list to me there and I'll write down another one of the children. Evie then will then help me place the children with the heroes, taking into account the exceptions we've just discussed."

"That sounds like a plan," Ben laughed, beaming.

"There are still a good number of things that could go wrong," Adam muttered.

"Perhaps, but we must believe that our will alone is enough to prevent things from being unsuccessful," Mal replied with a conciliatory smile. "I'll send you a list featuring both tutors and kids within a week of my arrival, that should be enough."

"That would be in three weeks from now," Carlos said, his eyes trained on Mal.

"Raise that to four weeks, just to be prepared in case of a mishap," the daughter of the Evil Queen suggested.

"What then?" Ben questioned. "Will you wait for our approval of the arrangements?"

"Yes, we'll wait until we have the approval of the four of you, Fay, Belle, Adam and you, Ben, before embarking the children," Mal nodded solicitously.

"Will they know who they will be placed with?" Belle questioned.

"I don't think that's a good idea, for either of them," Mal refused after locking eyes with Evie. "The children won't know who their tutors will be. In fact, I think it'd be better if they don't know about the guardianship arrangement until they arrive to Auradon. It's only fair that the heroes don't know either."

"Why is that?" Fay questioned in high-pitched voice.

"If the heroes really want to help they'll do so no matter the child they are chosen to look after," Mal explained simply. "Isn't that what you Auradonians always say, 'Do good without minding at who'?"

"Well, it is, but-"

"No buts, Fairy Godmother, it is our duty to live up to these standards," Ben cut her off, smiling. "So, in four weeks from now, if I'm not mistaken, everything should be ready for their arrival, am I correct?"

"Exactly," Evie nodded, taking just a few seconds to go over her notes.

"How much time will you need to get Maleficent's castle ready?" Belle inquired, her eyes fixed on the daughter of Maleficent.

"The embassy," Mal corrected with a mischievous smile. "Two or three weeks at most."

"Then you would arrive in five weeks instead of four," the former king pointed out. "Will you return a week after the others?"

"Well, it was my intention to return with them, as I think I should be here at the time of them learning about the guardianship," Mal explained.

"Then you would all be back within five weeks from now," Carlos said, even if just to make sure everyone was on the same page.

"But then you'll lose classes!" Fay said, making a small fuss with her hands.

"Oh, that's a fair point!" the daughter of Maleficent laughed. "But I wouldn't worry. I have these geniuses to help me out, Fairy Godmother, I shall be fine," she said, gesturing for Evie and Carlos, as the daughter of the Evil Queen coyly turned to her lap and the son of Cruella blushed.

"Are you sure, dear? Perhaps we could postpone this until the holid-"

"No, Belle, it is of vital importance that we do this as soon as possible, I don't want to delay it anymore," Mal replied, adamant.

"But you will-"

"The last week of classes will be the one of exams, am I right?" the daughter of Maleficent continued, directing to the headmistress of the institution, waiting until Fay nodded to continue. "I will be back in time for my exams and that will be that."

"Are you sure?" Belle asked one last time, her genuinely worried eyes placed solely on the daughter of Maleficent.

"Belle, if you're asking whether or not if I'm sure of how successful this will be, than I have to admit that I cannot answer such a thing," Mal confessed, slumping her shoulders. "Nevertheless, I've learned in my time in Auradon that one must always strive to do the right thing and help others. Therefore, I can honestly say that yes, I am sure that this is the right thing to do."

A moment of silence followed Mal's statement, her eyes fiercely fixed on Ben's. Finally, the king of Auradon smiled and nodded almost negligibly at his girlfriend.

"It is settled, then, within fifteen days from now, Mal will-"

"One more thing, Ben," the daughter of Maleficent interrupted. "I want the ship that will take me to the Isle to be loaded up with supplies to feed the children during the period of time between my arrival and their departure."

"Clothes as well," Evie suggested, though a dark cloud had crossed her eyes.

"There will be more than enough time for them to choose clothes once they arrive to Auradon," Mal refused. "Let's prioritize―clean water and provisions that are not leftovers will be enough."

"That sounds reasonable," Ben conceded. "I see no point in them suffering from the embargo too."

Mal made a gesture that spelled 'Thank you' with only a tiny touch of sarcasm, as she had a reputation to live up to.

"Is it decided, then?" Ben inquired. "Within two weeks from now Mal in her capacity as ambassador of Auradon will leave our lands heading to the Isle of the Lost to enable us of organizing the children of the Isle's arrival to our land, is there any opposition to this proposal?"

Slowly, Ben turned around the table, mimicking his mother's strategy of interrogation as he placed his inquisitives eyes on his interlocutors one by one, unmoving until he received an answer, so they could each feel the weight of his gaze.

When at last and albeit his father's sulking the former king of Auradon nodded, Ben concluded that it was all decided.

"It is done, then," he said, smiling. "I will send the videotape of your designation so it can be seen in the Isle as you requested. And I shall also notify them of your departure and a schedule a ship for you," he said to Mal. "As for now, we shall consider this meeting to be over. We will schedule another one before Mal's departure."

Several nods followed Ben's statement as the king of Auradon proceeded to write down a memorandum in an agenda that, much like Evie, he had been noting down during their assembly.

Letting out a sigh she didn't know she'd been holding, Mal let herself fall down into her chair, her left hand massaging her temple.

"You did it!" Evie congratulated in an excited whisper next to her.

"I didn't do anything," Mal replied, resignation in her voice. "This has just begun, Evie, we've yet to see what happens."

Recognizing her friend's the truth in her friend's statement, all Evie could do was bite her lower lip to hold back a sigh and squeeze Mal's hand in hers.

Perhaps Mal was right and there was no way to be certain of the success this exploit would have, Evie thought, her reflection only slightly tainted with bitterness, but Mal had also said that giving up was not an option and Evie knew as well as Mal did that they wouldn't go down without a fight, not then, not ever.

And... here we are!

Originally, I have to admit that I hadn't planned this chapter to happen, and now that sounds so werid because it turns out it was a very important chapter, but in my mind half of this chapter should have happened in the second chapter and the other half should have been the third and the third chapter should have finished when Mal actually arrives to the Isle but... it turns out that was just not possible!

See what I told you? There's a good reason why I don't do long-fics―I just suck at planning.. or I'm too lazy to do it, you decide whcih of the two.

Also, I'm so excited because these first chapters are kind of an introduction and I know they are important to set the mood and everything, but I just really want the children to start appearing, I have so many surprises for you! Argh!

So, this was all for today, if you liked this chapter please comment and let geminalupus and I know what you think, also, what do you think about the upcoming movie? How excited are you?

#Descendants 2015 #Descendants #Disney Descendants #Mal #Ben #Belle #Adam #The Fairy Godmother #Carlos de Vil #Evie #Jay #The Isle of the Lost

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