La Dauphine

Prologue Part 2

The thing about gossip is that it's often very far from the truth. It's the nature of gossip; the more the story gets spread around the wilder it gets. It can be annoying, vexing even. But every now and then the spreading of such rumors and ideas is useful.

On the Isle, with its small size and dense population, combined with the fact that said population literally had nothing better to do, gossip and rumors spread like wildfire. Play your cards right and it's an easy way to lay the groundwork for a reputation.

Case and point: The Tale of 'Maleficent's Mongrel'

For a while the more popular moniker had been 'The Beast of the Isle'. Maleficent disliked the title however, incensed by the idea that anything of hers could even remotely be associated with the King of Auradon. So with just a few well chosen words that reached the right ears, and there you have it.

'Mongrel' was less intimidating than 'Beast', but it couldn't be helped. It wasn't just a title you see.

To put it bluntly, Maleficent wasn't very good at naming things. Naming her own daughter after herself had been an act of vanity first and foremost, but it also just made things easier. Naturally, when faced with naming a child that wasn't hers she couldn't be bothered to put any thought in it and was unconcerned if it remained nameless all together. Maleficent did however have the habit of using affectionate terms when referring to her foundling.

Such affectionate terms as: 'tiny little abomination', "Wretched creature" "monstrosity" "little mongrel" and so on.

Overtime "Mongrel" seemed to stick in particular and became the child's proper name in every sense. It was what she answered to, how she introduced herself. And it would've been what the child wrote down when asked for her name. At least it would've been if anyone bothered to teach dearest little Mongrel how to write that is.

Which brings us to our next point!

On the Isle it is said that Maleficent's mongrel was more animal than anything; human in stature only. It—and that was the term most people used. Because only humans are 'she's' and 'he's—was incapable of intelligent thought or anything close to speech. Instead it produced a grotesque array of grunting and snarling noises, whenever something upset it. A brainless, wild animal driven by instinct.

To that end, it was also whispered among the people that Maleficent's mongrel was in fact her spawn—why else would she bother with the thing so much. Obviously, with her child being more animal than a proper fae and so... simpleminded to say the least at that, Mongrel was a terrible disappointment that Maleficent refused to acknowledge. Disappointment or not however, Maleficent knew the use in things like horns and claws and brute strength. And it was for this reason alone that her mongrel wasn't smothered to death as soon as it was born.

Maleficent takes issue with this rumor the most. Indeed, though the majority of people believe this story to be true, anybody who valued their lives knew better than to repeat it where she might hear.

A great number of things about this theory enrage her. The first of which being the idea that she, Maleficent, could ever spawn a child that was anything close to inferior! She, Mistress of all Evil, produce inferior offspring? Impossible!

Another issue was the idea that she'd shun the blood of her blood simply for their physical attributes. To put so much stock in vanity was a human trait. Those prissy kings and queens in Auradon might lock their children away in a tower for things like deformities, but Maleficent—and The Fae as a whole for that matter—saw nothing wrong with such differences. To feel otherwise seemed bizarre. As long as a child was capable, what did anything else matter? Certainly you could desire your child to look a certain way. But to bash a baby's head in, drown them, burn them when they don't meet expectations? This was a disgustingly human trait.