Crossing the Water

Chapter 16

The scene opens on an exterior shot of a cottage in the middle of the woods before cutting to Audrey staring at Maleficent's scepter in angry disbelief.

Aurora stared in silent disbelief. The cottage that had been her home for sixteen wonderful years was now her daughter's headquarters.

Though, if one were to look closely at Audrey, one might have seen a flash of guilty disbelief in her eyes.

"Oh, it's our home," Fauna gasped with a small smile.

In the jewel of the scepter, Mal can be seen and it's clear that the hag curse that had been placed on her had been lifted.

"How did Mal break my spell?" Audrey exclaimed, turning to look at Chad.

"I don't know." Chad said immediately, the timidness of his voice unusual for the prince of Charmington.

Kitty frowned, hearing the change in her older brother's voice. He didn't sound like himself, confident to the point of almost being cocky.

He was almost...scared.

Chad doesn't get scared...unless he was shoved in a closet off screen, Kitty thought, narrowing her eyes slightly. Maleficent's scepter or not, Audrey was not going to get away with abusing her brother!

Audrey quickly reached for the bowl that was on the table by her, dumping the apples that were in it on the table.

"And what is Uma doing here?" Audrey asked.

"Hey, no, no, no, no, no." Chad exclaimed, ducking as Audrey threw the glass bowl at the wall behind Chad. Audrey stalked toward Chad, who was still lying on the floor by her.

Cinderella gasped softly, every mothering instinct in her was screaming out to comfort her son and get him out of this situation.

"You're lucky this is the future," Kit muttered to Phillip Sr. "Or I'd be demanding a duel."

"You'd be well within your right," Phillip Sr. muttered back. "I swear to you, we taught Audrey better than this."

"Leah though must have taught her different."

"Come clean, Chad. Where did they go?"

"How would he know?!" Lucy shouted. "He's been with you the whole time or at Jane's party!"

"I don't know," Chad told her and Audrey looked at him, clearly not believing him. "I don't know, okay? I can go check for you."

"Get out of there Chad," Kitty whispered, her eyes locked on the version of her brother that was on the screen.

"How about that?"

"Stay!" Audrey exclaimed, cutting off Chad's attempt to crawl away and potentially run out of the cottage. Audrey strolled over to Chad and rested a hand on Chad's head, resulting in a whimper from the Prince as he tensed but relaxed as Audrey ran her fingers through his curls.

Sammy frowned slightly. That sort of thing was common among kids on the Isle, who'd grown up subjected to abuse.

How...how long had Chad been in that cottage?

"It's about to get a little ugly," the self proclaimed Queen of Mean declared and Chad paused before looking up at Audrey and gulping as Audrey began to laugh.