Chapter Text
It was Sunday evening, which in the Charming family, meant family dinner. It was the only time of the week Cyrus was able to see his parents, what with them being busy ruling the country and all, and with him being busy with school and preparing for his upcoming coronation. He had decided what he wanted his first Royal Decree to be and was trying to find a way to tell his parents about it before bringing it to the Council. He was pretty sure that at least his mom would approve of it, but it was pretty big, and he was nervous to ask them about it. He spent most of the meal trying to psych himself up, and he was pretty sure his parents had noticed that he wasn’t really participating in the conversation as much as he usually did.
“Cyrus, honey, is there something on your mind?” Dang, his mom could always read him too well.
He looked up from his food at his parents, who were sitting across the table from him. He took a deep breath. “I think I know what I want my first act as King to be.”
“Oh?” His parents stopped eating and gave him their full attention, which was slightly unnerving. After a moment of silence, his mom asked, “Well, are you going to tell us what it is?”
“I want to bring the kids from the Isle of the Lost over here to Auradon.”
It was a good thing his parents had stopped eating because Cyrus was pretty sure his dad would have choked on his food. “But they’re villains. They’re our greatest enemies.”
His mom stepped in before Cyrus had a chance. “They’re children, Henry. Their parents are our enemies, not them.”
“And what kind of lessons do you think villains teach their children?”
“And how do you think villains treat their children?” Cyrus noticed his dad glance quickly at his mom before looking back at him. Cyrus had prepared a list of reasons, and he was going to try to get through as many as it took. “Children shouldn’t be punished for the actions of their parents.”
His took a breath and calmed down slightly. “I suppose you do have a point about that. But how do you think this will go over with the citizens of Auradon? We have a duty to protect our people. This could put them in danger.”
“Are the people on the Isle not our people as well? Don’t we have a duty to protect them, too? Look, I know this will be difficult, and I know there will be backlash, but those kids don’t deserve to be on that island.” Cyrus took a deep breath to calm himself. “I was thinking we could just start with a few kids at first, maybe four, to see how it goes. And then we can bring more over later if it goes well.”
His mother reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “I think this is very noble of you, Cyrus. I think you’re right; those kids deserve better. I’m ashamed that I didn’t think of this myself. Have you thought about which kids you want to bring over first?”
Cyrus nodded. He had done his research and found what little information was available about the kids on the Isle. He had compiled a list of kids and narrowed it down to four, which he thought was too few but figured it would be the most he could get away with suggesting. “I was thinking Dr. Facillier’s daughter, Gaston’s son, and… Maleficent's twins.” He had to force himself to keep looking at his parents as he said the names.
“Maleficent?!” Yeah, that was about the reaction Cyrus was expecting from his dad. “She’s the worst villain of them all.”
“Exactly. Which is why her kids probably need this the most.” He tried to keep his voice as even and calm as possible when he spoke.
“Cyrus, honey, I think this is a great idea. And it sounds like you’ve done your research, and you really care about this. Your father and I will definitely be on your side when you bring this to the Council.”
His father looked over at his mom and then sighed and nodded in agreement. Cyrus let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. He was glad his parents were on board because this would be just about impossible without their support.