Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Court Room was beautiful, that much could be said without question. All oak pillars stands, allotted seats for every house decorated with extravagant crests. Velvet curtains pushed to the side of huge french windows, and two carved thrones made of wood and blue silk. But the centrepiece of the room wasn't any of that.

There was a table in the middle of the rectangular room. It, too, was made of oak, and it has a glass top embedded inside it. Beneath that glass top was a yellowing, extremely detailed map of the Isle of the Lost, in all its glory. The map had been drawn by Yen Sid, who had used magickal ink, and so it was far more than an ordinary map. At all times, this map knew the location of everyone on the Isle of the Lost and could give requested information and video footage of them if asked.

The map wasn't perfect, of course. Its data had to be updated once a month, when Yen Sid returned from the Isle to attend the Isle Court {sometimes, it chilled him to the bone. The Isle Court was more sinister, more cruel, than the Iron Court, because they were bitter, but the Iron Court were just angry}.

The Royal families started filtering in, one by one, some bringing in children (a three-year-old Audrey played outside with a three-year-old Ben {somewhere on the Isle, a three-year-old Mal lay beaten, and a three-year-old Evie wore high heels, and a three-year-old Carlos couldn't speak a word}) and other just bringing themselves, or their hero, or their spouse. All taking their brand new seats, sombre for the first-ever Isle Court. Unprepared to deal with their ugly pasts.

There was a system, to the seating of the Houses. The King and Queen took their thrones and altogether held about twelve votes, between the Noble and Ancient House of Beast (it had been renamed) and the Four Votes granted to them by right of conquest of the Noble House of LeGume. Next to them, at the same level, but not quite the Queen of Auradon, sat the representative only other Noble and Ancient House, Queen Elsa of Arendelle {Twelve votes, excluding the votes of the Southern Isles}.

Then sat the Baron Houses, Houses that were Noble or Ancient, but not both. The most prominent houses being the Ancient House of White {eight votes, between Right of Conquest, and the votes of House White} and the Noble House Rosiers and {seventeen votes, between Prince Phillip, Briar Rose, the Right of Conquest, and the votes of the Moors}. The Ancient Houses of Agrabah and Charming next to them, each holding eight votes. The Noble Houses Hercules, Fitzherbert, Triton and Maldonia each held five {to the fury of Zeus, whose son spent three weeks calming him at the thought of his legacy not having more sway}.

On the second tier from the bottom sat the Knighted Houses. House Fa, Rolfe and Radcliffe. Knighted for Notable Causes, and often holding Right of Conquest votes, but not… well, not princes and princesses, not royal blood, not what mattered here in Auradon.

A round 105 votes between the entire court. One hundred and five votes that determined everything about the Isle of the Lost, and most of them belonged to Houses aligned with Briar Rose, and so she decided everything that happened to the Isle of the Lost.

To Maleficent.

To Maleficent's daughter.

"Calling the Isle Court to order!" King Adam's voice echoed across the chamber, "To order now, to order!"

The hall quieted down. The last of the Houses' representatives slipped into their seats, and then there was silence. The King cleared his throat and began a well-rehearsed (but badly thought out) speech.

"We, as the United States of Auradon, have always strived to bring good, order and peace to the world. We right the wrongs the villains of our past did to us and our nation. And we don't do wrong by them. We did not kill those who antagonised us, but only moved them, so that they may live out their days in peace," he paused, every eye in the room following his every move, "It has come to my attention that there is a problem with the Isle of the Lost, and the court is gathered to debate a response."

Mutters ran through the room. The Isle of the Lost. They tried not to think about it, really. If they ignored it, it might go away, and so would the memories and the fact that they weren't really the heroes, "They cannot grow food on the Isle of the Lost. Crops die within days. Livestock doesn't last much longer and is often ill. There aren't enough clean water sources for them." The King cleared his throat again. Now to face their wrath- "Belle and I propose we send a quarter of Auradon harvest over, every season."

Screams ran through the courtroom. Shouts and accusations flew. Angry whispers abounded. Obviously, the idea was not approved of.

"Any other ideas are welcome to the floor. Raise your hand, and each idea will be thoroughly explored and votes for eventually."

"We give them nothing!" Several hearty cries echoed the call, "They took everything from us!" King Adam frowned, his glasses sliding down his nose. An expected response, but not a welcome one.

"We'll table that for now. Anyone else?"

Silence reigned through the courtroom, everyone questioning their ideals. What was fair? What did they deserve? Would they still be heroes if they gave nothing? Briar Rose leaned down a seat, to whisper into the ears of Phoebus and Esmeralda de Châteaupers {de Châteaupers was a Vassal House of Noble House Rosiers}. When she straightened, she smiled, and Adam knew that whatever she wanted, she was going to get. Then Phoebus stood up.

"We send them Auradon's leftovers. The end of our harvest, what's left in butchers' shops and the bread bakers throw out. They can make with it what they will." And that idea was the best Adam had heard so far. Better than Belle's ridiculous quarter plan. And definitely better than leaving them to rot {though they deserved no more}.

"Those for?"

76 votes.

"Those against?"

20 votes.

A clear winner.

"Motion carried."

Chapter Text

Magic was sentient. It was real, it was alive and pulsing and full of ideals, and only those who were chosen could even begin to consider controlling magics. Maleficent was chosen. The Fairy Godmother was chosen. Peter Pan was chosen. Jafar was chosen. And Yen Sid was chosen. All of them had some level of the ability to control magic, but none would ever bond with it. Many creatures were chosen by magic, to be able to wield it. To meld it, to change it and control it. King Adam was not one of those people. The Fairy Godmother was the one who constructed the barrier, but because she didn’t want to seal fairies and genies and all other creatures off from magic, it wasn’t as strong as it could be. And that meant several things:

One: the Isle Court could have a fully-functioning map of exactly what was happening on the Isle of the Lost at anytime.

Two: the descendants could learn their traditional magic, and could sometimes {if they were powerful} cast it.

Three: the rulers of the Isle of the Lost could heal themselves when they got hurt {no one else could}.

Four:everyone who couldn’t heal themselves suffered.

The court room was already full when Adam entered. Well, almost. One seat was open. Queen Elsa of Arendelle was missing. Adam had originally disagreed with giving her a vote because she wasn’t actually part of Auradon, but they were allies, and they’d put their villain on the Isle, so as a show of solidarity, they’d given her the votes that would be allotted to someone of her status within Auradon. And what had she done? She used her votes against Briar Rose {who would do that? Rose was lovely}. And sure, he didn’t know that, but it made sense like nothing else did.

“Ehrm, well. As Queen Elsa is late, I suppose we’ll have to start without her. Guards, lock the doors.” Before they could, however, the Queen arrived, a hazy mist marking her entrance. She smiled apologetically towards the court, and slipped into her seat next to Queen Belle’s. The upholstery immediately froze over, and the bannister she grabbed onto to steady herself started frosting. She grimaced and slipped on a pair of pure white gloves. She nodded towards Adam, and so the session began.

“Yesterday, a girl by the name of Gizelle LeGume died. She was severely ill for three months, and then her condition deteriorated. Her father couldn't afford–and didn't care to" he broke in quickly, "take her to one of the few medical specialists on the Isle, and there was no hospital or public health care facility her brother could take her to. This second session of the Isle Court has been called to order to discuss the problem of health care on the Isle of the Lost.”

“Not the problem of the children on the Isle?” Broke in a voice.

“Queen Elsa, if you’ve something to say, you’ll wait until the floor is open.”

“Is it?”

“...Yes.”

“Very well, then,” the Queen of Arendelle stood up, to face all of the royal families of Auradon, “Personally, I know that we’re discussing the wrong subject. We should be talking about how to get all of those children off the Isle. Those children who don’t deserve to be there.” She glared at Adam, “However because King Adam didn’t call this meeting to discuss that, although I’m sure he will in the near future, I’ll stay on topic.”

“There’s no debate about what we have to do here. We have to build them a hospital. A proper hospital. With Auradon-trained doctors, people who aren’t villains or crooks. Any jury in the world would convict us of war crimes for what we’ve done so far. Let’s not make it any worse than it has to be.”

“I motion to build a fully equipped, state-of-the-art hospital on the Isle of the Lost. Every student studying medicine spends two years in the hospital, food, board and funds supplied before they receive a practising license. And they must be unbiased. We brought some of these people back from the dead. It will do us no good to just kill them, again. And, for the record?” The Queen continued, shooting a glare at Briar Rose, who was whispering into her Prince’s ear, “If anything less than my suggestion is implemented on the Isle of the Lost, Arendelle will withdraw all support they’ve ever given the United States of Auradon. That includes supporting their decisions within their nation and recognising them as a nation.”

The courtroom was filled with angry Royals, alternating between frowning at Queen Elsa and staring at their King and Queen with wide eyes. Arendelle’s support was the only reason that the United States of Auradon even existed, and everyone knew that. Their King’s response to this was vital because it was a well-known fact that the Queen of Arendelle didn’t agree with any of the decisions Adam had made since he’d been crowned.

The king was stuttering, pulling at his collar, glancing between his wife and Queen Elsa, “Ehrm, well… uhm… I suppose. Any motions other than Els- ah, Queen Elsa’s proposition?”

The hall was silent.

“Then I suppose I second the motion. That brings us to a vote. Those for?”

87 votes.

“Those against?”

18 votes.

“And no abstainers. So, motion carried .”

Chapter Text

“Did you hear?”

Two princesses sat on a window seat, fingers lightly grasping their china teacups, nails long and painted, lashes fake and makeup perfect. Their dresses were thin and airy, summer impacting their clothing {but still traditional, still modest, still covering everything}. They smiled at each other, blue eyes meeting. Both were conservative, perfect, womanly, demure. And both were rich and powerful beyond their wildest dreams.

Their names were Ella and Rose, and they often commiserated together. After all, they were both icons, heroes in every sense of the word {you married someone you met at a ball to find him a wife // You lied, to your daughter, to the world. You slept. You’re no hero}. But on the summer morning, they spoke about the scandal that was currently rocking the echelons of Auradonian society.

“Of course I heard.”

“How is it possible?”

“Adam said magic. He’s personally questioning the Fairy Godmother. But when it happened, she said it was a technological effect. How does that even happen? Magic and technology? That sounds like something from one of the books Ben’s always giving Audrey to bring home.”

“That’s what she said, and I’m inclined to believe her.”

“Still, it seems so completely ridiculous. And I know she fixed it, but what caused it? And what are we going to do about it?”

“Not tell Elsa, for one. She’s such a—well, she doesn’t exactly act appropriately towards Isle proceedings, now does she?” The women shared a vindictive smile as the conversation turned to more mundane matters: specifically, gossip.

“I don’t know why Adam allowed her onto the Isle Court. She looks eighteen, has previously been inches from becoming her own villain, turned her own sister into ice, and has refused to take a king. Honestly, she’s a nightmare to keep around.” Briar Rose glanced around, checking to make sure no one could hear her comments. After all, they weren’t exactly kind or good.

“You’re so right. You know, I heard-” here, Cinderella broke off, and glanced furtively around once more, even though they were in her palace, and then leaned forward and whispered into Briar Rose’s ear, “I heard that she’s a dyke.” Rose gasped but didn’t look too shocked. Just unsettled.

“Well, we certainly shan’t let any of her children near ours. We’re lucky that they won’t attend Auradon Prep.”

“Aren’t we? I don’t want any of that freakishness around Chad and Carla. She’s already so very close to Spring…” Cinderella trailed off guiltily, looking to Briar Rose for condemnation or consolation, Rose wasn’t sure.

“Well, darling, I’m sure it will be fine. This is Auradon, after all. None of that sort of nonsense happens here.”

***

The courtroom was tense. The atmosphere was a combination of many factors—the most prominent two being that the Fairy Godmother was sitting in the center of the room, and the fact that she was seated next to Yen Sid, the Guardian of the Isle of the Lost. Everyone had known this meeting was coming, but they still didn’t like it. No one ever liked talking about the Isle of the Lost, except for arbitrary gossip.

And this was most certainly not that.

“Well, I suppose it will be best to just get started. You all know why we’re here, so Fairy Godmother, if you could begin?” King Adam began the meeting, sinking into his throne, pinching his nose to keep off a headache. Subtly glaring at the Queen of Arendelle- he had ‘forgotten’ to send her an invitation to the court meeting, in hopes that she wouldn’t be there to cause trouble. His plan had failed, and she sat stiffly in her seat, turning it to solid ice. Something that was happening more and more often, recently.

The Fairy Godmother stood, her wand clutched tightly in her hands. She’d willingly relinquished her wand to the museum, on the condition that she should retrieve it fort any formal event; and the gathering of every hero in the last century was most definitely that.

“Thank you, your Majesty. Well, everyone, let me start with saying you needn’t worry. The break in the barrier didn’t allow a single villain to escape. In fact, it only existed for fifteen seconds before it snapped shut, of it’s own accord. Since then, Yen Sid and I have tripled the magical protections over the Isle, and the King has sent in various forces to remove any of the technology that could have possibly caused such a terrible interruption. You’re all safe.”

“But, I’ve asked the King to call you all here for a very specific reason. You see, there is still magic on the Isle of the Lost.” Gasps echoed through the room, and King Adam sighed {if he had his way, they’d never have these meetings. They were far too dramatic}.

“We have fairies, genies, and even mermaids on the Isle. It would physically damage them to be sealed off from magic for all this time. But as you’ve all seen, this allowance we made was taken advantage of, and we must take action. I’ve proposed cutting off all magic to the Isle of the Lost. It might be detrimental to some of them, but it’s for the safety of our children.”

Yen Sid stood up here, and the entire room fell silent. But he only spoke once sentence.

“It would drive them mad.”

And he sat down. The king rolled his eyes, before looking to the room at large, “Well, there you have it. I’d like to remind you all that, had the attack on the barrier gone on slightly longer, Maleficent, the mistress of all evil, could have escaped. Now. Votes for?”

70.

“Votes against?”

35.

“Motion carried. Fairy Godmother?”

Chapter Text

“So, Ben, how was school?” These were Adam’s favourite evenings. No stress, no late meetings, no pain, no angry wife, no conflicting decisions. Just the three of them. Just his family (and sometimes Audrey, but that was okay { she and Ben were practically betrothed anyway }). But his son was frowning at a textbook on his lap and didn’t answer. So Adam tried again.

“Ben, did you have a good day at school?” Still, Ben ignored him, and that beastly temper that he tried so hard to keep down began to surface. He was trying to have a good evening, but Ben was making it extremely hard.

“Ben, you’ll answer me when I’m talking to you.”

Eventually, his son’s head snapped up, his cheeks flushing red from embarrassment. A half-smile crawled its way onto his face, and Ben set the book aside, looking up at his father, “Dad, does the Isle of the Lost have a school?” And the thought that had never even considered crossing Adam’s mind was suddenly there, lit up in the brightest colours, and terrifying . At thirteen, Ben had been going to school for most of his life. And there were kids on the Isle, sure, but Adam hadn’t even considered that they might also need schooling. He had to think fast.

“Erm, no, son. You see, they’re never really going to get jobs they need school for, so generally, the just start working at your age. It’s a different… culture, there.” Ben was frowning again, and Adam knew this conversation wasn’t going anywhere good anytime soon.

“But, like, that’s not fair. To them, I mean. They should at least know basic stuff over there, right? Like, if they only learn what their parents teach them, they’ll never learn anything , because their parents are villains. Unless… do villains like teaching? I don’t think they would.”

Adam stayed silent. He really didn’t want to have to call a new Isle Court (they were terrible, and always put Auradon on the outs with Arendelle), but with the direction Ben’s questioning was going, he’d have to. Because if Ben could ask these questions, so could other governments, and Adam was already in shit with the UN for creating a monarchy.

“Dad? Dad! What are we going to do about it?”

“Ben, we’re not going to do anything. You’re not old enough to even come to the Court with your proposition. Next time there's an Isle Court arranged, I’ll bring it up. Is that good with you?” Ben frowned for a second longer, before smiling brightly and standing up.

“Okay. Do you want crisps too? I think Mrs Potts said we have some in the pantry.” Adam smiled at his hyperactive son, confirming that he’d like chips, before settling deeper into his chair. The school system in Auradon was finicky enough to deal with as it was. He didn’t really want to have to deal with a school system on the Isle of the Lost as well.

***

“Order! Order in the court!”

“What do they even need school for? It’s not like they’re ever going to have any sort of a life ! We should just leave them be! The medical and food programmes are taxing our economy enough as it is!” shouted Prince Phillip. Several angry mutters heartily agreed with him, and Adam could see the appeal. But he was the king, and he had to set an example for Ben.

“Look, I understand. I’m loathe to spend government funds on the villains, let alone the children they got themselves stuck with. But think of the good press we’d get. We’re implementing schools because they didn’t. We’re educating their children, even if they want to kill ours. We’re the heroes in the situation .” And that was the magic word. They all sat down quietly, considering what had been brought to the table.

But the Queen of Arendelle’s chair just started growing sharp icicles, and he didn’t know how to please that woman . But she said nothing, and so he counted it as a win in his book { but the hate festered inside her, fury at the weak ‘heroes’ who only cared about the reputation, at the king who was too lazy to rule, at the people who thought that these children were just like their parents , when they didn’t even know what they looked like (teenage hormones clouded the twenty-one-year-olds judgement, even three years after her coronation) }.

“The school won’t be Auradon Prep ,” he continued to reassure the Houses, “But it will be enough to teach the students basic arithmancy, reading and writing. That should be good enough.” He shone his most winning smile at the crowd { taught to him by Cogsworth, all those many moons ago } and crossed his fingers under his desk. He gestured to the map table, which had been enchanted to show exactly where the school would be built, and what it would look like.

“That would be the school. It would be completed by the end of the year, and no , Auradonians would not be required to go teach there, as with the medical programme,” he spared a moment to shoot an… unhappy glance at the Queen of Arendelle, before continuing, “The Isle of the Lost will be responsible for its own teachers, syllabuses, and indeed any other academic decisions.”

“Now, all in favour?”

57 .

“All against?”

48.

“Thank you for your time. Motion passed.”

Chapter Text

There wasn’t much technology on the Isle of the Lost, and what there was belonged to the most powerful villains. But, there was one television in Ursula’s Fish and Chips shop, and when something big happened, all the Descendants gathered there, to jeer and complain and mock and fight { the Direct Descendants would always have enemies inside themselves, would never get along perfectly, but when that television turned on, everyone met, and even the Kings and Queens would deign to join them (cause then at least, they could get out of that fucking house) }.

This was one of those times.

A sixteen-year-old woman sat on a makeshift throne, her lover on her lap. The lover had a deep blue hair and wore jewellery that was worth more than some of her companions. She wore a leather dress that clung to her curves and makeup so perfect one couldn’t tell what was fake. Her lips were the brightest red, and her eyes a shocking blue. She was pale and gorgeous and kissing the woman whose lap she was positioned on, tugging on the purple hair that had recently been cut off.

Next to them stood two men, one muscled and the other scrawny, but both tense and on guard. The larger one wore a shirt without sleeves, purposefully displaying his tattoos { all were gruesome, all had really happened. They were his first line of defence }. His arms were crossed, and he frowned at anyone who dared look at his Queens too long. The scrawny one, on the other hand, was watching the other’s back, making sure no one dared come close enough to touch one of his beloveds. He wore fur , and red and white and black, and he echoed his mother in the way the other Descendants couldn’t.

A dark-skinned girl sat in the corner nearby, head raised, eyeing the purple-haired fae girl { her expression was almost worried , although she’d never admit it }. The Aryan girl, on the other hand, tried to stay as far away from the blue-haired girl as possible, silently { always silently } clutching her throat, glaring . And then the screen flickered to life, and everyone ripped their attention away from the centre of the room to watch as the Crown Prince ascended the makeshift stage, hand-in-hand with a brunette girl wearing so much pink , there was only one woman her mother could be. Everyone spared a glance towards the Iron Court, but the Kings and Queens just glared , and so no one said anything.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, it is an honour to welcome you to today’s ceremonial announcement. I’ve chosen my first official proclamation as King of Auradon.” The Descendants rolled their eyes. Fucking mandatory viewing . But the citizens of Auradon cheered brightly, and the Crown Prince beamed.

“I’m going to bring four of the Villain's kids over from Auradon.”

Dead silence.

In Auradon, at least.

The Descendants screamed and jeered and cheered and laughed . They shrieked in ridicule of the Crown Prince’s moronic idea. They howled in laughter. The Princeling thought he could change them { they were already in too deep }. Then Mal le Fay raised her hand, and silence echoed through the bar.

The Crown Prince continued, unaware of the ridicule he was being subjected to on the other side of his kingdom, “I believe this will be an excellent opportunity to begin the healing of our two peoples. After all, the children of the villains are innocent-” And then, it would be a miracle to be able to hear the rest of his speech, anywhere on the Isle of the Lost. Even the Kings and Queens were shrieking with a hideous, scorning laughter.   Innocent .

“And I’m starting with the four that need our help most. The Daughter of the Evil Queen, the Son of Jafar, the Son of Cruella de Ville, and… the Daughter of Maleficent .” The eyes of every Descendant landed on the rulers of the Isle, the judges of the Iron Court. One question burned in their eyes. How does he know?

Because he’d just removed the entire justice system of the Isle in one fell swoop. Their uniters, the reason none of them were dead yet. The Isle of the Lost would be weak , and its inhabitants would turn on each other in the blink of an eye. In a month, there would be no one on the Isle of the Lost.

The Kings and Queens just smiled knowingly.

***

“What are we going to do?” Aurora questioned, pacing frantically. Her heels had been thrown aside when she stormed in, and the wine bottle she clutched at the neck was half-full { it had been full when she’d arrived }. Her lips were already stained blue { would Merryweather be pleased or disappointed? } and her eyes were puffy from crying. She was a picture of desperation, had been since ben had announced his first proclamation.

Her husband, on the other hand, was reacting very differently. He sat in the master’s chair in front of the fire. He held a whiskey tumbler in his hand, and his eyes were closed. He’d been dealing with his wife’s fits for as long as he could remember. He was well-practised by now, and so he just sighed.

That was a wrong move. Aurora whipped on him, stalking over, fury and regret mingling on her face, “We’ll have to tell her.” That grabbed his attention. He sat upright and gave his wife a cursory glance, making sure she was being serious. She was, and he put a hand to his temple.

“You know we can’t do that.”

She collapsed next to his chair, resting her head on the arm, “We have to! Phillip, she was your mistake. I’ve not once complained, or stepped out of line, or mentioned your numerous affairs since then. I’ve been the perfect wife. But that girl is your daughter, and we have to tell Audrey she says a sister. Who knows what that faerie might say otherwise?” Phillip rolled his eyes, trying to figure his way out of the situation.

“ Audrey is my daughter. That pixie is just a mistake, and a nuisance. Everything will be fine if you never bring this up again . Do you understand me, Aurora? I don’t want to talk about this again with you, ever .”

Aurora glared at him through eyelashes sticky with tears once more, before leaving the room, perfect and quiet { except for the stifled tears, and the empty wine bottle }. And Phillip sank deeper into his chair, pouring himself more whiskey. And Audrey lay in the guest bedroom of the Beast’s house (as requested by her parents, to keep her from the fighting that was bound to happen).

And Mal’s life was awful , but she’d take it any day over Auradon , because her life made her strong, made her a Queen , and Audrey’s life made her weak , pathetic.

Chapter Text

The new king stood on a balcony, overlooking the courtroom. He’d never been to an Isle Court meeting before, even though he’d been to many other meetings his father organised. The Isle Court was originally for a very particular set of elite- heroes only. However, as the original heroes grew older, it would eventually fall to the children to protect and serve the Isle of the Lost. Ben would just get a head start as king.

The room was expensive and stylish, yet also classy. But that wasn’t what Ben was looking at. No, Ben was watching the people as they filed into their seats. Who they stopped to talk to, who they ignored, and what they did as they passed the map of the Isle, which was always open to anyone who was curious (despite Ben’s belief that it should be otherwise. What the heroes were doing was a massive invasion of privacy- but, oh well. They were heroes. They had a right).

He watched as Audrey tagged along behind her mother. Audrey had been attending these meetings since they were seven- after all, her family had the most votes, aside from the Royal Family of Arendelle (but his dad had told him not to trust them, and so he wouldn’t). She wouldn’t be the one to cast the eventual votes, that would be her husband’s job, but her mom had said that she’d need to guide him, at first. So Audrey had come to every Isle Court meeting, except the first (after all, they’d been three-years-old. What would they know?). But now, it was Ben’s turn; and not just to attend, but also to lead.

Everyone started settling into their seats, and he noticed something. Today, the Arendelle Seats accommodated for not one, but three people (his dad had told him stories, of how each house’s seat adjusted for the number of people that would be in attendance. Well, it seemed that he’d get to meet Princess Anna and Prince-Consort Kristoff. This would be an interesting session indeed.

When he first saw the Queen of Arendelle, he was sure something was wrong. Because she was his mom’s age, but she looked closer to his age. She looked the same as the pictures he'd seen of her in the history books- from when she was crowned Queen. But then Anna and Kristoff filtered in after her, exchanging pleasantries with everyone where Elsa had just ignored them, and he figured that she’d just aged well. And, finally , the Court was full and they could begin.

“Erhm… hi?” No one paid him attention. And, yeah, he knew that wasn’t the way he was supposed to start meetings, but these people were all older, more respected than him. He didn’t want to be rude. But they kinda had to get on. He’d promised Mal a verdict by lunch, and it was now eleven.

“Hi, everyone! Hello! Could we please bring the court to order, and begin? We’ve got a rather important matter at hand?” Slowly, everyone quieted down. And then they were just looking at him expectantly.

“Um, hi! Yeah, okay. So. This is the first Isle Court meeting I’m presiding over, and it’s a rather important one- not that the others weren’t, but, well..” he trailed off. He wasn’t exactly off to a great start. He took a deep breath and began again.

“You were all at my coronation, and even though we were all frozen, the footage from security cameras recorded everything. So everyone knows what happened. And what happened resulted, in short, in Maleficent being a lizard that’s currently here, in Auradon. And this meeting has been called to deal with that situation- specifically, what we’re going to to do about it.” He smiled at the room, hoping to calm them down before bringing up his plan.

“I think Mal should keep her.”

The courtroom exploded into questions and conversations. Everyone was staring at him derisively. As if they couldn’t believe that he had the guts to propose that. He began to explain himself, “We can’t send Maleficent back to the Isle of the Lost as a lizard. That’s basically guaranteeing her death, and even though she’s done that to us, more than once, we can’t sink to her level. And I know no one here is willing- even I’m not willing- to spend government funds on keeping an evil lizard.” He cracked a half-smile, and everyone laughed lightly with him. This was what he was good at- influencing a crowd.

“Mal knows Maleficent better than anyone. She’ll be able to keep her safe, but she’ll also have to put an effort in, making it the perfect way for her to prove herself loyal to Auradon, and atone for what she did that led to Maleficent being released from the Isle in the first place.”

“As you can see, letting Mal keep her- basically as a pet- is the best, most humane solution. However, I will open the floor to any other suggestions for the next ten minutes before the vote.” Ben finished his speech, but no one spoke up. Until.

“Shouldn’t you work on turning her back into a faerie? She’s a person before a villain. And she’s a pretty bad villain, but keeping her as a pet seems cruel. Why don’t we just turn her into a faerie, and then place her back on the Isle?”

“Because that worked so well the first time,” Aurora snapped at the Queen of Arendelle, “This is, first and foremost, my family at stake. She’ll come after us first, should she escape again. I’d rather have her dead, but a magic-less lizard is the closest second I’ll get.”

Queen Elsa pursed her lips but said nothing. Ben could see, however, the way Princess Anna frowned and whispered furiously at her sister and even the way Prince-Consort Kristoff seemed to disapprove of his sister-in-law’s methods.

“Okay well,” he continued after a lack of response, “I suppose we now have two plans to vote on… erm, votes for the plan of House Arendelle?”

32 votes .

“And votes for the plan of House Beast?”

68 votes .

Ben decided not to comment on the fact that Hercules hadn’t voted. He supposed that what happened in Auradon didn’t really affect Olympus.

“Okay, wow. Erm… motion passed. I’ll let Mal know.”

“Court adjourned.”

Chapter Text

Mal wore a white dress. That, as it was, was something of a miracle. She was wearing a pure white dress, something Evie had made, designed to make her look innocent, to make her look good . So that the Court would listen to her, would vote in her favour. Her task wasn’t going to be easy.

She had carefully cultivated an image in Auradon, an image to make her look good, innocent even. But this meeting of the Isle Court could bring all of that crashing down. What she was petitioning- well, she’d have to speak from personal experience. And she wasn’t really looking forward to it because even as Ben smiled at her { stupid, silly, weak boy. Shouldn’t have brought the kings and queens to Auradon } he knew he was uncertain, that he didn’t like that she { a woman } thought that she could dictate politics.

And then a flash of pink and Mal froze. Because they’d arrived. Briar Rose, Audrey, Leah. Phillip { how are you, Daddy? It’s been a while. Say, sixteen years } The house Rosiers. They held seventeen votes, Ben had told her, excluding the votes of the loyal houses. They were who she had to convince.

“Order in the court!” Ben had certainly progressed since his first court meeting. He’d told her stories of how he’d stuttered through most of his argument for her, { he hadn’t told her about Queen Elsa’s plan, because that was what Mal had wanted in the first place, and she’d only just settled for Maleficent being kept as a lizard } of how he’d been so certain he’d mess up, but he kept going. For her.

Well, Mal had someone else to keep going for. Felicia . She couldn’t make Felicia give another illegal abortion, not if she had a chance to change it. Ben nodded at her.

“Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court,” she began, and it felt so wrong because she was supposed to be listening to the pleas, not making them. But she swallowed down the bile that rose in her throat, and continued, “Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court. The Isle of the Lost needs birth control.” And she paused, because everyone was whispering, and did they even know how to hold a court session? Ben was frowning at her as if he didn’t think that her request was appropriate or something (and she had news for him).

“I’ve seen far too many girls pregnant as teenagers. I’ve seen Felicia Facilier, the only provider of abortions on the Isle because even your state-of-the-art hospital doesn’t do that, break down crying when she lost a girl. Evie’s friend, Sal was raped ,” she spat, “and we couldn’t be certain she wasn’t going to fall pregnant. She was twelve .”

Mal paused, gathering her words, as the heroes of the Isle Court looked down on her, “I have… a friend, who had to have an abortion. She couldn’t walk for a week, she was in so much pain. Please, please ,” she actually begged, “the Isle needs birth control. You have it in your power to stop all the pain. Please.”

She sat down. She’d said all she could say { she was at the mercy of the heroes }. She heard whispers of words like responsibility and heathens thrown around, but she just closed her eyes and crossed her fingers. She had to hope.

Ben’s voice sounded out, “All in favour of birth control on the Isle?”

He looked down at a screen in his desk, where he’d told her he received a digital message of the number of votes.

“All against?”

“Motion failed. This meeting is adjourned.”

Mal sat, stunned. They’d said no . They were supposed to be the heroes, the good guys , but they’d said no { the plan further sealed in her head. Even Ben wouldn’t escape her wrath, not anymore. He was pathetic }. She sat where she was until a woman approached her. And Ben had warned her against this woman, but that made the Queen of Arendelle exactly the type of person Mal wanted to associate with.

“I gave you all my votes,” the Queen shrugged, and smiled sadly, “But seventeen will never beat Sleeping Beauty .” She spat the name with such scorn that Mal knew ; she’d always have an ally in Queen Elsa.

“Thank you, your Majesty. You did the right thing.” { But not the good one }

The Queen leaned in close, and whispered into her ear, “One almost-villain to another- I’d keep your relationship with your three closer to your chest. You’re starting to show.” The Queen rose, gracefully, and continued, louder, “You’re always welcome in Arendelle, Mal. Anytime.”

{ One had saved herself. The others would die. }