𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘽𝙡𝙪𝙚

𝘵𝘸𝘰

Mal arrived home at noon, exhausted after an afternoon of work at the diner. She always had to work overtime to support herself and Moxie, who, speaking of which, she was waiting upon to get home.

Yea, she knew, it wasn't very safe for Moxie to be heading home alone when she was only 4, but to Mal, this was Auradon, not the Isle Of The Lost. Everyone here was good. She wouldn't get nabbed and if she fell down, somebody would contact her. She didn't have the time to pick Moxie up because the preschool teacher refused to leave the place open for another half hour.

This time, however, the little girl was late. And she was never late.

As the minutes passed, Mal began to panic, before a sudden thunderstorm broke her from her pacing.

The house was shrouded in darkness in an instant, the sky outside flashing dark purple as the clouds began to howl. A familiar eeriness fell upon Mal as she felt her heart rate go up.

A portal opened, and out fell Moxie, evidently roughly shoved out. Her tiny face was streaked with tears and her eyes were bloodshot, but before Mal could step in to comfort and cuddle her precious child, a familiar villain stepped out with a chill of elegance and maleficence, grabbing Moxie by the arm, long fingernails digging into her skin.

The lady, now transformed into her original form, a svelte lady with cruelty in her eyes and skin the shade of an olive. Her horns sprouted from her last, engulfing her head into green flames and then extinguishing, leaving them behind.

"Mal." She spoke, now clutching her granddaughter by the neck, not seeming to care about her wellbeing at all. Moxie squirmed in her grasps and when her neck turned purple and she could no longer breathe, she lay limply and cried out.

"Look at this precious little thing," she spat through tightened teeth, with a malicious snark on her countenance. Moxie withered in the cold embrace of her grandmother, cried out but tiny body still shaking.

"Please, Mom," Mal pleaded, desperate not to lose the only thing that kept her going in life. "Let her go." The feeling of absolute anguish and fear she'd always felt around her mother in her childhood and teen years came flooding back, a desolation that was sickeningly all too familiar. Mal never thought she would feel that way again when she defeated her mother all those years ago.

Maleficent cast a look of disgust at her own daughter, ashamed that her own offspring had betrayed her and turned to the good side. "Alright," she sneered, flinging Moxie on the floor, who immediately scrambled into her mothers open arms. "On one condition."

//Scene Change//

They arrived at the private family beach last, the guard cars behind them parking a couple of metres away but still watching the royal family. Evie never liked being followed around by security, and she knew Max hated it, so she sent them away.

The beach was beautiful, facing the Isle Of The Lost, which was still running, despite the previous fiasco. Every innocent child born on the isle was given a free pass after an extensive background check each, along with free education and boarding until they could get back on their feet. The original villains, however, were to stay there until they died of old age.

There wasn't much time to admire the place, however, because the rest of them were already there, and as Jay, Harry, Enzo and Carlos ran up from the shore, where they were already settled, up the hill to help Ben unload the picnic food and beach items.

The ladies, Jane, Lonnie, Uma, Dizzy and Freddie, already in their bathing suits, ran up as well, but to unload the children.

Desiree ran straight into the arms of Dizzy, her favourite aunt, while Max was preoccupied with Hayden, one of his all time favourite playmates, who was already busy showing him a new toy sword he had gotten. Uma and Jane were chatting with Evie already, while Lonnie and Freddie fussed over little Radley.

The other kids, 6 year old Jackson, 4 year old Lilly and 6 year old Harper, ran up the last, pulling their respective playmates down to the beach from the top of the hill.

From a distance, as the group descended the hill, back to their spot on the shore, a little girl in a violet bathing suit and golden pigtails watched, crouched behind a rock. Her eyes were glossy, as if she were brainwashed, and she was indeed. It was the only way she could serve her purpose.

//Scene Change//

"Hello," A little purple haired girl appeared from behind the giant rocks as she gained attention from the Princess of Auradon.

"Im Moxie." She introduced, though she didn't sound like herself. The real Moxie had a brighter voice, more bubbly, cheerful. This one was cold and sinister, as dark as a child's can be.

"Princess Desiree of Auradon," said the little blue-haired princess, head held high as she was taught by her grandmother, who had been allowed restricted video calls with her grandchildren, under Evie's supervision, of course.

"No, I'm the true Princess of Auradon," said Moxie, tone still sombre. The real Moxie didn't know.

"I am!" Desiree yelled, confused, yet getting angrier that her title had been stolen. From behind, another boy appeared, a plastic shovel in his grubby hands, curious about what was going on.

"What's wrong, Desi?" Jackson asked, holding up the plastic shovel like a sword. He scrunched up his face at the sight of their new purple-haired playmate.

"This girl is saying she's the Princess but i am the Princess!" Desiree stood with her chest out, standing strongly with a frown on her face. Her lip trembled, and she began to cry.

Moxie growled, and with all her might, pounced onto the blue-haired girl.

//Scene Change//

Evie and Ben sat with Jane and Carlos at the mat, accompanied by Radley and baby Emily. Freddie, Enzo, Dizzy, Jay and Harry were playing volleyball nearby, while Lonnie and Uma cheered from the stands, with Lilly, Harper, Hayden, Jackson and Max nearby making sandcastles. From the looks of it, Desiree had gone off nearby to get 'better' sand and had disappeared from behind the large rocks, but she knew not to stray too far. She was a smart girl.

"Baby!" Radley yelled, tired of being ignored by the adults, who were in their own conversations. The scream made them all jump, causing Emily to wail.

"Daddy! Baby!" Radley demanded from his seat between Evie's legs.

"Let Auntie Jane help you, since Emi is still so little," said Evie.

"No!" Radley cried louder, kicking away everything his little feet touched, including the carton of juice and a plate of sandwiches that was thankfully almost empty, having been devoured by the kids earlier on.

"Yes!" Ben said firmly, but in retaliation, Radley stuck his bottom lip out and began to cry as well.

"This is new!" said Jane, shocked.

Evie shook her head. "He just hit two and suddenly his life fell apart. Everything is tearful and dramatic."

"Hell," said Carlos sarcastically, "Can't wait for that stage!"

"It's just a phase all little ones go through. Desiree had a particularly bad one, as i remember," Ben grinned.

"BABY!" Radley bellowed louder, and Emily, who had just began to calm down, began to wail again.

"Oh, it is time for a time-out, young man!" Evie chided and passed him to Ben, who stood up, dusting off his shorts, then holding up his son.

Evie followed suit. "I'm going to find Desiree and Max. They haven't eaten much since we got here." However, when she turned around, she realised that most of the kids had disappeared. "Wait! where are—"

Suddenly, there was a loud boom like a far off explosion. Everyone went scrambling and a violent purple fog shrouded the entirety of the beach. Ben's eyes widened. No. It couldn't be.