Ways to be Wicked - Descendants 2 AU

Chapter 28

 As the crowd rejoiced and applauded the reuniting of their king and his beloved, Juleka fumed in their midst, her breath coming in short spurts as fury and panic fought within her. Her plans were falling apart before her very eyes and she was powerless to stop it. Her pawn was released from her control, her hope for the wand was completely out of her grasp and once again, Marinette seemed to be the center of attention and the victor of their match. That wouldn't do.

Juleka snarled, turning on where Fairy Godmother watched her students in their reverie and lunged.

"Give me the wand!" The sea witch howled, lashing out with her sharpened nails for the wand clutched in Fairy Godmother's grasp. The older woman merely held it out of her grasp as Gabriel stretched out an arm to block Juleka's path.

"Never!" Fairy Godmother hissed in a surprising act of bitterness. "Guards, seize her!"

The footmen that flanked the stairs at either end of the boat turned toward the disturbance and all eyes were suddenly on the girl who stuck out like a briar in a sea of roses. People were closing in on all sides as footmen and students alike moved to block any exit Juleka might take should she bolt. Unfortunately, the people of Auradon were not prepared to deal with the daughter of Ursula the Sea Witch.

In a flash, Juleka had her long black skirt scooped up into her hands and had beelined for the boat's railing, a flurry of footsteps trailing after her. She was cornered against the railing, a steep drop from the top deck to the churning sea below, but as her eyes darted between the crowd and the open sea, Marinette could already see which option she was leaning towards.

"Stop!" Marinette cried above the crowd, Juleka's eyes flashing towards her, burning and anxious. "Juleka, please don't do this."

Juleka's eyes were wide and judging by the way her shoulders were hunched and her hands gripped the railing, she didn't see any other choice. She was afraid and in a crowd of people who were nothing like her. In an odd way, Marinette could relate to that fear, but she also knew the secret to overcoming it now.

"Juleka, I know you and I don't have the best past," Marinette said calmly, keeping the sea witch's eyes focused on her instead of on the waiting sea below. "But I know you, really I do. I can understand the feeling of wanting more than what you've been given. You are so much more than the villain they say you have to be. And you have to believe me -"

Marinette cast a quick glance to where her friends stood waiting, all on edge but waiting patiently for her signal. She looked to Adrien, the boy who had always believed in her who was watching her. When their eyes connected, he managed the smallest encouraging nod. That was all Marinette needed.

" - because I've been there," Marinette stated firmly, turning back to Juleka. Hesitantly, she held out a gloved hand to the girl she once had waged war with. She was tired of the fighting, she was tired of all the bravado, and in that moment she wanted nothing more than a moment of peace. Marinette also realized in a turn of emotional events that she also wanted that for Juleka. An end to the fighting.

"Do not let your pride get in the way of something that you really want," Marinette said, her hand extended towards Juleka as a peace offering, though the way Juleka eyed it, she could tell the sea witch thought it was more like a snake waiting to lash out. Her purple eyes flitted from the hand to Marinette, back and forth as the gears worked away in her head. When her breathing finally evened out and her shoulders squared, Marinette knew she had made a decision and from the looks of it, it wasn't going to be one that ended well.

"But without pride, I'd never have gotten this far," Juleka said in a warning tone, her heel hooked on the bottom bar of the railing. "And I don't plan on wasting my chance."