Truth Or Fiction

Chapter Thirty

"So how do you guys know if you're grabbing the right scroll?" Harriet asked. Leah remained unconscious but in all honesty no one really cared. Well Audrey did but Audrey rolled her eyes at the dramatics.

"Luck of the draw," Harry told her as Harriet grabbed a scroll and unfurled it.

Mal smiled as she watched Hadie played on the floor of the den, Estelle keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings.

Estelle yipped softly and trotted over to Hadie, resting his heads on the young boy's leg. Estelle knew Mali's pack mate needed him more than the mean human needed to be watched.

She was still passed out anyway. No sense in guarding her when she wasn't doing anything.

A couple of years had gone by since her brother had been born and Mal wouldn't have traded it for the world.

"Really?" Hadie asked.

"Of course pup," Mal nodded. "I wouldn't trade you for all the gold in the Cave of Wonders."

"...pup?"

"Trying out a new nickname since you kiboshed Storm Cloud. I'm guessing that's a no?"

Hadie nodded.

"Back to the drawing board!"

Nothing had really changed in terms of her family dynamics—there was just an extra person now who got her protection.

Her nasty inner voice had been wrong, something Mal had never been happier to think.

"And now you know to talk to someone if you ever start feeling like that again," Uma stated.

Plus, Hadie allowed her to test out her skills drawing people. Whenever Hadie went down for a nap, Mal snuck in and sat by the crib with her sketchbook in hand. So far her sketches looked like a deformed potato but there was one that looked close to human.

"Humans are hard to draw at first," Rowyn nodded. "Mine still look like some deformed aliens. It's why I like more landscapes."

Hadie couldn't help but smile though. Even though Mal's sketches looked odd, the fact that his sister had wanted to be around him helped eliminate some of the negative feelings that had nestled inside him.

"Hey Mali," Persephone said with a smile as she walked in to the den.

"Hey Steph," Mal said, looking up. Ever since she had that talk with her dad, Hades and Persephone always seemed to find ways to prove Mal wasn't being replaced and that she had a spot in the family.

Chip couldn't help but smile as he heard that. Belle had done the same thing after Ben had been born, as if to reassure the former teacup that he would always have a place with them if he needed it.

For Mal's eighth birthday, Persephone gave her a leather jacket she had made using material she had obtained over in Auradon. It was mainly purple and silver but had a smidgeon of green near the elbows. No one would question it though—green was Maleficent's color after all even though Mal pretended the green was for Persephone instead.

"Oh that jacket's the envy of every girl at Auradon Prep," Audrey said with a smile. "I remember there were a few girls who wanted to commission orders for one of their own."

"Why?" Audrey sniffed. "It's just a leather jacket."

Audrey stared in shock at her counterpart. "Okay so again, I clearly need a new personality blown into me."