Balance

Chapter 26- Hades

"She's slipping away."

The simple statement pulled me out of my thoughts. Jay looked at me as I removed my birthright jewel from the staff. I created a necklace that housed the gem so I could keep it close.

"There's only one person in the world that might be able to do something about this, and that's Hades," Mal stated.

"Hades?" Ben questioned in disbelief. "He wouldn't do it. I wouldn't risk it."

"Actually, he might do it for me. He's my father," Mal admitted.

"Well, I'll have to send guards to get him," Ben reasoned.

"Maybe I can hitch a ride."

We all looked at Uma. "The Isle is my home. Someone needs to be there to protect it."

"Well, then. You'll need your first mate." Harry placed his hands on her shoulders.

"The Isle will be in very good hands," Mal said, making Uma smile.

"Can I go too?" Celia stood up and walked toward Uma. "I wish I can be in both places."

Mal stood up, facing Uma. "I really think that Evie was right. And I do think we could have been friends." She looked at the rest of us. "And I'm really sorry I lied to all of you guys. You deserve so much better than that."

"Hey, you were just trying to do the right thing," Jay reasoned.

"Yeah," Uma agreed.

Mal looked at Evie. The blue-haired girl stood up. She looked at her best friend.

"I get it."

The MCG was supposed to be there for protection in case Hades intended to attack. Since we knew how to control the magical artifacts, we were allowed to keep them with us courtesy of Fairy Godmother.

Queen Leah sat in a chair next to her granddaughter's bed. Fairy Godmother sat on the opposite side. Queen Belle stood next to Fairy Godmother. King Adam paced around the room. Mal and Ben stood at the end of her bed. A small knock interrupted the almost-silent room.

The five of us stood up as the guards walked Hades into the room. Mal walked up to him and held her hands behind her back.

"Thank you for coming," Mal said softly.

"Didn't have much choice," Hades replied.

Ben stepped forward. "Can you wake her?"

"Since when do heroes care about villains?" Hades questioned.

"She's-"

"One of your own?" Hades smiled. "Right. When you guys tried to destroy the world, it's just an error in judgement. But when it's one of us, lock 'em up, throw away the key. Right, Beast?"

Hades held up his hands. My eyes glowed. Mal took a step back. The guards held his hands, keeping a firm grip on his wrists.

"Yeah, I'm gonna need to use my hands," Hades snapped.

Ben nodded to the guards. They unlocked his hands. Hades shook them as if they were locked in that position for a while. Hades held out his hand, waiting for the ember to grace it. Mal placed the ember on his palm and Hades's hair lit on fire. "Haven't lost my touch." He then started a growling match with Beast.

"Dad," Mal said, reminding him of what he was here for.

He looked at us, specifically me. "This is more power than what the ember controls. I need you four for this, considering you were the ones who powered the ember."

Melody and I were on the side Fairy Godmother was sitting on, and Trinity and Chelsea were next to Queen Leah. The room turned blue as Hades used the ember. We fed our magic into the spell. Audrey sat up with her eyes closed as pink magic sparkled around her.

She opened her eyes as Queen Leah stood up and comforted her. She looked around at us, and at the couple next to me.

"Tell me it was all a bad dream," Audrey breathed.

"I wish I could," Ben said. "But, it's over now."

Audrey sat on the end of her bed. "I'm sorry. I wanted to hurt you both. I wanted to hurt all of you."

"I have owed you an apology for a very long time," Mal reasoned.

"And so have I," Ben added.

"And perhaps I have owed you one, too," Queen Leah said to Mal.

The two bowed to each other. Hades was taken out of the room. I sat down on the bed next to Audrey. She hugged me tightly, sobbing into my shoulder. The Dragon's Eye really affected her.

"It's okay. Everything's over. Everything's fixed," I soothed.