Chapter Text
The bells rang through the city in a mournful echo. They rang out loud, making the pigeons fly from the squares, waking up the inhabitants. The streets were still empty, with the morning light barely peeking on the horizon and the remains of the night before being slightly lifted by the breeze. Torn ribbons of paper and black confetti littered the avenues, ashes from the bonfires and torches that had lit most of the night and half-burnt sticks of incense. The sun came up, slow and heavy, the merchants were waking up and beginning to sweep porches and set up stalls. The bells continued to ring, the collective uncertainty didnt dissipate. The king had died.
Ben sat, stiller than he had ever been in his life, in the chair of his father's office. Eyes lost on the horizon, he watched the sun rise slowly. It bathed his still form until it covered his eyes and blinded him with its golden light. He was a statue, whose world continued to move around him. Ben didn't feel able to ever get up from the chair, to move again. He had cried hours before, bent over that very desk, but the tears had already dried on his face. The red rose had withered on his lapel.
He knew that he would inevitably have to get up, change his clothes, and face his mother's sorrowful eyes. His messy golden hair fell over his face, and he wondered if the servants were already looking for him in his chamber. He could hear the cathedral bells heralding dawn, the same ones that had woken him every day for as long as he could remember. But this time it was different, they didn't seem to herald a new day. No, now they announced the beginning of an era.
Carlos rubbed his hands, still feeling cold from the icy night wind, grateful for the warmth that the sun brought. He yawned wearily and rubbed his face to hold out for the remainder of his shift. Looking down at the small, empty square, not a single movement was visible. He listened to the sound of the wind, and the typical morning silence seemed to be the only thing present. He was sitting on a wooden box, high enough that he could see over the walls of the watchtower.
He was wrapped in one of his mother's old coats. Gaudy jaguar skin, with long bell-shaped sleeves and feathers around the neck. It kept him warm but was light enough to allow him to move freely. He had two pistols on his belt and a gold bracelet on his wrist. Carlos looked at the sky, a deep blue color, clear and warm at the arrival of the day. In The Lost City, there were no clouds.
When the guard finally arrived to relieve him, Carlos hurried down the stairs excitedly, stretching his legs after sitting still for so many hours. His footsteps echoed in the cracked stone plaza that surrounded Maleficent's castle. He walked down the alley with a smile, there was still time before Mal woke up and called them for the tour.
It seemed like a good day, the stained streets and abandoned houses with dirty windows were quiet and calm, only lizards and birds moved among the weeds that invaded the walls and cracked the ground. Carlos went out towards the avenue, where he saw empty bottles, broken glass, cigarettes, and pieces of wood. The trail of another exciting Captain Hook party. One of the pirates was still lying on the ground, passed out in a puddle of alcohol and urine, his clothes torn.
Carlos walked away towards another set of alleys that went up the hill. The stairs narrowed, and Carlos slipped through the damp passages until he came to the tall, narrow, entrance of a greenhouse, its façade eaten away by moisture and the door hidden under several layers of bars and chains. He took the keys from his coat and unlocked each one until he was able to open the door, glancing around to make sure no one had followed him.
Daylight streamed in through the windows. Carlos smiled when he discovered that the home smelled of food. Across the room he saw Jay sitting on his gutted mattress, wearing one of Jafar's black robes held up with a red sash, his long black hair tied up with one of Evie's silver hair clips, bending over the old pot and stirring a stew. He raised his head to see Carlos.
“Hey! How was the night?” he asked, looking back at the food. Carlos dropped onto the mattress, removing the belt from which the pistols hung.
"Boring," he replied with a sigh. “And very cold, I almost froze my hands. I don't know how Maleficent expects me to shoot someone if I can't feel my damn fingers.”
“Hear ya” Jay replied with a deep laugh. “I heard one of the guards lost a foot last winter.”
“What? Who told you that?”
"I heard it around, you know, in the castle," Jay replied with a smirk, serving the stew on two wooden plates. “Hey, if you lose a foot, you could ask Maleficent for some spice, you know, as compensation. I'd love some pepper in my lizard.”
“Very funny,” Carlos replied. He looked at his plate, hungry. “No meat today?”
" No," Jay replied, scrunching up his face. “Captain Hook and his stupid party scared all the animals.”
Jay looked at the food, stirring it with some resignation. "Maybe tomorrow," he thought. Carlos nodded his thanks for breakfast, too eager to put something hot in his mouth. A gust of wind whistled through the alleys, the sun was growing brighter. It was almost time to go back to the square.
“Boys! Wait for me!” Evie yelled, running toward them across the avenue.
Jay and Carlos stopped, Evie hugging them with a smile. Jay put his arm around her shoulders in greeting.
"Evie! How did you sleep?”
“Jay, you're wearing the brooch I gave you!” Evie said excitedly. Jay smiled, nodding. “Oh Carlos, I also have something special for you, wait until I have it ready.”
"Thanks," Carlos said, looking Evie up and down. “What are you wearing?”
“Oh!” she exclaimed with a proud smile, turning around so they could see her better. “It's a hunting outfit.”
Puffed sleeves, a high, embroidered collar, a knee-length cape, stockings, and shorts. The fabrics were printed with hand-sewn flowers, colored stripes, and elegant folds. Her deep blue hair was gathered in a knot of black feathered braids.
Jay whistled, admiring the suit with a smile.
"Looks great, Evie."
" Thanks, I copied it from one of my mother's books," Evie replied, grinning from ear to ear. “It also came with a hat, but I didn't like it very much.”
“You don't need the hat, you look beautiful like that,” Carlos said.
Evie stepped between them and enthusiastically took their arms. The streets remained empty; in the distance, the murmur of some noisy meeting could be heard. Laughter, hoarse singing, and the noise of things being moved or thrown. The sun was shining, but a cool wind cooled the heat. Yes, it seemed like a good day.
Realizing that they were late, they began to run towards Maleficent's castle, pushing each other with laughter. They crossed the streets, and the few inhabitants of the area watched them go by from afar. An eye peeking out from behind torn curtains, a suspicious look from the porch, a glimpse into the darkness of the ruined houses. A gang of boys in stolen pirate clothes were jumping on the roofs, looking down at them with curious eyes, like cats.
Carlos saw them immediately; he could feel their shadows moving between the buildings. Three, maybe four, because of their ash-blonde hair, he supposed they were brothers. Carlos unhooked the whistle from around his neck, trembling, and held it in his hand, certain that the boys' eyes were on them. The silver whistle gleamed in the sunlight, and opportunely, a pair of dogs howled in the distance. The shadows of the boys disappeared.
Jay saw Carlos put away his whistle and looked up at the rooftops, to make sure they were gone. It was not unusual for them to run into similar groups. Boys like them, with the same hollow eyes, and the same winter fever scars on their arms. Passenger groups that did not last more than two months hanging around. The boys eventually joined the pirates, Maleficent's blackguard, or died in everyday fights and duels.
Fleeting as they were, they were dangerous, eager for action. In the worst cases Jay had been forced to fight them to get them to leave them alone, and it wasn't something he enjoyed at all. Fortunately for him, it had been a long time since he had had to. The gangs only had to recognize them to get away, after all, they were Maleficent's protégés, and they were easy to recognize. His mere presence seemed to be a threat that even the most bloodthirsty could not ignore.
The threat of ending up in bed listening to your worst nightmares for days thanks to one of Evie, the Potions Princess' poisoned darts, barely hearing the hiss of her perfected daggers before they plunged into your knees. The threat of facing Jay, the most faithful warrior of the guard, his enormous strength, and his rumored ability to be immune to pain. Or a threat like the one just deployed. A mere glance at Carlos, the mysterious boy who used his mother's coats as a trophy, the threat that he would use his whistle to call his trained pack of dogs, who prowled every corner of the city, waiting for his orders.
They finally reached the castle, and the guards let them through, opening the huge, thorn-covered gate that surrounded it. In the front yard, a blackened fountain of crystalline water loomed among thorny bushes, reflecting in its radiance the power of Maleficent. Water, a valuable resource in the Lost City. The three of them sat around it, feeling its coolness.
From a window, at the top of the castle, someone was watching them. Dark lips, bright green eyes, pale face. Like every day, she wore the black armor that Evie had forged for her at her mother's orders, and over her faded purple hair, she wore a tiara made of bones. Mal turned away from the window, took a breath, and adjusted the straps of her armor.
In the shadows of the cluttered room, a middle-aged woman with fluffy black hair watched Mal with a small smile.
"Don't be nervous, you'll do fine," the woman said, reaching out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. Mal nodded enthusiastically.
“Of course, it's an easy mission, I'm not nervous…”
Seeing that her lip trembled, the woman's smile disappeared. She took Mal's hand and saw her bruised knuckles. Mal immediately withdrew her hand, turning her gaze to the window.
"Mal, your mother...”
"I know, Fay," Mal interrupted, faking a careless smile. “She's nervous, I get it. I'll do better next time.”
Before Fay could reply, Mal mumbled a goodbye and hurried out the door. She put on her gloves on the stairs, taking a deep breath before going downstairs, praying that Fay would stay calm and not follow her. The last thing she wanted was to cause the woman any more worry. Yes, it was for the better, she told herself. She couldn't afford to lose concentration. The faster she got out of the castle and accomplished her mission, the better. Mal ran down the stairs, still feeling the magic of her mother, Maleficent, surrounding her.
The castle was enveloped in its usual inhabitants, the shadows, swirling around her pale skin, and normally, Mal felt comfortable among them, stronger, safer. But that didn't stop her from feeling revitalized by the sun as she stepped out onto the front plaza, and smiled at the sight of her friends, immediately relaxing.
“Come on guys” she greeted. “Ready to start this week´s tour?”
They approached with a certain boredom, and Jay ruffled her hair with his hand.
“Sure, it will be a blast supervising hot mines for seven hours a day for a week,” Carlos said sarcastically, dropping his heavy backpack on the ground.
They all sat in a circle, and Mal smiled, spreading out a piece of animal skin in the middle. It was a hand-drawn map of much of the city, but there were blank spaces, the territories that didn't belong to Maleficent, and that her minions were not able to cross.
"We are not going to the mines this time," Mal replied, biting her lip.
"Thank the gods!" Jay said smiling. “Where are we going?”
Mal looked at the map, and pointed somewhere far to the east, a point behind the dry mountains where not even the most distant houses dared to go. They all looked, letting out a collective sigh.
“We are going to the barrier…”
Ben closed the conference room door, still listening behind him to the angry muttering of some of the council members. He was aware of how much he had offended them with the mere proposal, but fortunately, Ben had enough ability to smooth talk most of them into agreeing. He sighed deeply, repeating to himself that he was doing the right thing. A hole had been installed in his chest.
The door opened, and Queen Belle came out, red eyes from crying, looking at her son with sadness. "I can't believe you're doing this, " she said through her tears. “Have you no respect for your father's legacy?”
Ben swallowed, choking with anguish, but held his ground.
“My father's legacy is full of pain and injustice” he answered, with the most determined voice he could formulate, still with trembling lips. “This decision is irrevocable.”
His mother closed her eyes in pain, touching her chest, and turned her back on him, unable to continue looking at her son. The painful echo of loss spread between them, like waves. Ben watched his mother walk away crying, and it was like being trapped again in the numbness of sadness, it sucked the life out of him.
He forced himself to walk, hurrying through the corridors, not hearing the greetings of the knights and the bows of the servants. He fell to the ground as soon as he entered his chambers. Ben closed his eyes and looked up at the stepped ceiling of his pristine room. Only his heart was pounding, he felt so tired.
"I'm doing the right thing," he said to himself for the last time.
Somewhat hesitantly, Ben picked up the phone and punched a number on the dial. He could feel his heart excited and fearful. At the other end of the line, a familiar voice answered.
“Your Majesty…”
“Charles, I have convinced them. You have the authorization to bring them.”
It took them all day to reach the edge of the city, and when they did, a strange realization struck them. The top of the mountain was cold and lonely. The wind roared much stronger than in the city, stirring up the yellow grass, the starving cacti, and the withered thorn bushes. The heat of the sun beat down harder, reddening their cheeks and burning their skin each time they clung to the rocks on the ground for support.
It was quieter there, with the sounds of the wind and the grass deafening their footsteps, their breaths. After a while it seemed that they were performing some kind of ritual, simply walking tiredly and naturally, going up the hill sidewalk in single file. When they finally reached the top, they stopped, breathing in the fresh air, and sat down on the ground to rest.
Under their feet, it displayed the small valley surrounded by mountains and hills on which the city was built. Irregular, vaguely colored, and much bigger than they had ever seen it. It stretched, magnificent and intricate, between labyrinths of houses and streets, up the mountain and down the valley, spreading across the ground like weeds spread across the ground. Even the sky seemed bigger, deeper, closer to them.
The four of them stood still on the grass, unable to take their eyes off the landscape. The Lost City was all they knew, but only now did they seem to realize that they had never really known it, not like this, not from that peak, with the wind ruffling their hair, the sun reflecting off the white roofs of the houses and plunged into the beautiful silence of the empty afternoon. The city looked beautiful. They had never been so far from the drunks, the screams, the hunger of the children, the blood of the fights, the threats, and the dirt of the streets.
No one dared to say it, but they wanted to stay there forever, with the feeling of freedom, of greatness, of insignificance, that the city was just a city. It was dusk, and the sky was filled with honeyed orange, blinding red, and comforting yellow. A particular dreamy light, golden and heavy, covered them.
" I never realized how big the city is," Mal whispered, moving closer to her friends, setting aside the crown of bones. Vague words that hinted at that feeling that was hard for everyone to understand. Evie settled in more comfortably, lying on her side on the hill, agreeing in silence.
Carlos took the supplies out of the bag and handed each one a dried cactus wrapper.
“How long until we reach the barrier?” Jay asked as he pulled out a piece of cactus.
" About ten kilometers," Mal replied, consulting the map again. “The last set of houses is a kilometer from here, it's empty, so it is safe to spend the night.”
“Where are we exactly?” Evie asked, looking at the map over her shoulder. I mean, whose territory is this?”
"Technically, no one's, but it's too close to my mother's barriers, so no one occupies it, " Mal replied.
Carlos scratched his face thoughtfully. “And yet, Maleficent refuses to claim these lands. You know why?”
Mal chewed his food, narrowing his eyes. “She would never admit it, but if you ask me, I think she believes the rumors a lot more than she would like.”
“What rumors?” Jay asked, walking over to them. They were sitting close together, seeking mutual warmth, the cold of the night beginning to manifest itself.
“Oh! You mean that supposed tunnel that leads to Hadess labyrinth?” Evie replied. Mal nodded in affirmation.
“And Maleficent still sent us? If Hades captures us, we have no way to escape!” Carlos exclaimed with a worried voice. Mal looked down for a moment, staring into the distance.
"Don't worry, Hades won't do anything to us," Mal said.
“And why wouldn't I? Everyone knows that we are loyal to the East” Jay said.
“Guys! Don't worry, I can protect you” Mal replied with a firmer voice. It was obvious that she didn't want to talk about it “I promise, I won't let anything happen to you.”
“Oh, sure! How dare I doubt the princess of darkness? Of course, you will save us from the god of the underworld” Jay said mockingly. Mal tapped his head, feigning annoyance, but she was smiling.
The daylight was fading rapidly, the shadows were beginning to fall, and throughout the city, they saw surveillance lights being turned on from various points. In the old red mansion of the south, where the dirty pennants hung imitating poker cards, the lamps of the Queen of Hearts castle were beginning to light up. Further towards the center, on a half-sunken area surrounded by great walls of destroyed furniture and rock, a couple of torches began to be lit, and they managed to make out the figures of Lady Tremaine's minions guarding the Keep. To the southeast, they could see the smoke, fires, and colored lights that never seemed to go out in Dr. Facilies carnivalesque domains.
Jafar's small territory, far to the southwest, was lost to sight on the flat area, as was Ursula's territory, at the other end of the city, far from the houses, too secluded in the natural zone to make out anything. In the windy and dangerous north, where more animals roamed and the mountains were swallowed by darkness, Chernabog kept intruders out of his home. Further south of Tremaine's barriers, the Evil Queen's highlands were barely visible, too far away to see the guards.
Evie looked sadly at her mother's castle, and a part of her couldn't help but wonder what she could be doing at this time of day, perhaps taking her beauty bath, or getting ready for bed. She looked away.
“It's already getting dark,” she said in a low voice to her companions “We should hurry before it gets too cold”
Jay heard her voice, muffled, and saw the dim light of the Evil Queen's castle, pulsing like an old beacon. He nodded to her, asking if he could come closer, and she nodded, a little self-conscious. Jay let Evie rest her head on his shoulder, and stroked her hair. He resisted the temptation to look in the direction of the flat area, to the land where his father hid.
" You're right," Mal replied, getting up and starting to put the food back in the bag. We should find shelter, tomorrow will be a great day. Come on, I'll carry the bag the rest of the way...”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Mal fell face-first to the ground. A wave of rumbles suddenly hit them, the earth shaking as if a giant was trying to break out of the ground. The four of them clung to the rocks and bushes as best they could, a terrible roar deafened them, it seemed that the planet was splitting in half at that precise moment.
Jay yelled something at them, but the noise and chaos of the moment didn't allow her friends to hear it, and Evie clung to the rock she'd been sitting on earlier so tightly that her fingers turned white. Carlos and Mal, clinging to the branches of the same bush, could only look at each other, completely terrified.
When the quake didn't stop, Evie began to feel panic rising in her throat, not knowing how long she would be able to hold her ground. As she could, Jay tied the bag to his wrist and crawled over to Evie, covering her with his body, and glancing at Mal and Carlos to make sure they were okay. Mal noticed and nodded yes, reaching out for Carlos to take her hand.
A high-pitched whistle echoed throughout the valley, and the earthquake stopped. Silence returned. With his heart still pounding in his throat, Jay slowly pulled away from Evie and looked around. Evie opened her eyes and released the rock, not feeling her fingers. Carlos stood up gingerly, still, a little dizzy, and Mal grabbed his shoulder so he wouldn't fall.
“Is anyone hurt?” Mal asked, looking at her friends. They all shook their heads, still out of breath, looking scared, but not unharmed.
“What the hell was that?” Jay managed to ask.
“It's… it was magic, wasn't it? It has to be magic," Evie replied, still leaning on Jay's arm.
“Hades?” Mal asked shakily, looking at the mountains around her.
" Maybe... " answered Carlos, “Maybe he finally found a way to return to the underworld...”
Before they could continue speaking, something caught Evie's attention. The feeling of being watched made her look back, toward the dirt road that led to the barrier. In the distance, a strange light flashed. Her heart was pounding.
" Guys... " she said in a breath, pointing in the direction of the light. The other three watched in astonishment.
In the distance, a pair of lights flickered on and off in various colors. Red, off, yellow, off, white, off, blue, off. It was a huge object, they could notice it even at a distance, they had never seen lights so bright, so intense. It pulsed, over and over again from the darkness. They hugged each other, terrified by that surreal vision.
They could feel each other's fearful, heavy breathing. Trembling, Mal pulled out the map and, in the gloom, struggled to make out the direction they were in.
“We have to go” Carlos declared with a firm voice. “Now!”
“What is that light?” Evie asked getting up.
"I don't know, but I don't want to find out, " Mal said, her voice shaking with urgency. “At least not now.”
"You're right, " Jay replied, carrying the bag on his back. “We are too exposed at night.”
“I can't read the damn map!” Mal exclaimed, crumpling up the map in frustration. The darkness had overtaken them. So far from the city, the blackness of night enveloped them, they could barely make out each other in the dark.
" Can't you try to create a fire?" Carlos asked covering himself with his coat, the night cold had also begun.
“I can't keep it up for long," Mal confessed.
"You don't have to, just enough to light a torch, " Evie replied, removing her cloak and wrapping it around a branch. “Jay, give me the alcohol.”
"We're not supposed to use it unless someone's hurt," Jay said, pulling out the bottle doubtfully. “It's the last bottle, it should last two months.”
" Well, it looks like we don't have a choice now, " Evie said, pouring a layer of alcohol over the torch. “C'mon, Mal, your fire is magical, it'll hold until we get to a shelter.”
Mal let out a long breath and looked fearfully at the mysterious flickering lights. She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, concentrating as her mother had taught her. Sparks, sparks, sparks. Fortunately, she was scared enough that the sparkles in her hands got out of control. A small flame arose in her palm.
“I did it!” she exclaimed with relief. Evie hurried to bring the torch closer, and thanks to the alcohol, the cloth caught fire rapidly. Jay held up the torch, while Evie and Mal went back to check the map. “There's a church half a kilometer away, let's go!”
" Your Royal Highness, with all due respect, I don't believe this to be a very wise idea, " the man protested, his voice hoarse and deep, looking fearfully at the ship's window.
Charles Charming turned to look at him, keeping his face expressionless.
"It is a direct order from the King," he answered simply, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt. “Are you defying His Majesty?”
The man backed away in scandal.
" Of course not, Your Royal Highness," he replied, clearing his throat.
" Excellent," said Charles, leaning out the window. Through the glass, he could see a silver glow shimmering in the distance. The legendary Lost City. Even if he didn't show it, Charles was almost as nervous as the other crew members.
One of the technicians came up behind him. “Your Highness, we have completely landed, is now safe to descend.”
" Thank you," said Charles, finally turning his head to look at his crew, who were awaiting his orders, doubtful. “No one comes down tonight, it's too dangerous. I will enter the city tomorrow, and I expect full cooperation… from everyone.”
The crew nodded silently. Charles raised his head, dreading and longing for the dawn.
“Let us consider ourselves honored, they...” he continued, taking a breath, looking at the city on the other side of the mountain, “Oh, they are our new people, and we are here to take them home...”