Descendants Legacy - A Rise of Red inspired Fan-fiction

Chapter 2 - The Blessing Ceremony - Audrey's POV

I feel his grasp slipping. Now is my chance. I exhale as the pressure surrounding me releases all at once, my hands imposing my will outward in all directions. "I am finally free of him!" I cry out in my mind, but I'm falling down. My knees hit the smooth cold white marble floor of Ceremony Hall.

"Audrey, oh Audrey, are you alright?" I hear my mother Aurora in panic and tears holding my face in her hands.

"Um I think so, just a little weak. I'm so sorry! I could see everything he did, just, I was helpless to stop him," was all I could say. I knew I had to muster up all my strength and act quickly.

"It's alright now," her words of reassurance feel so warm and comforting. "We have our Audrey back."

Before I can utter a syllable, I hear Mal calling out in desperation, "Guards! We need to destroy that mirror! Don't let him escape!" her voice almost breaking as much as her heart in this moment. I see the look in her eyes of a mother facing her worst nightmare. Chernabog had dealt a critical blow, through me. Two guards rush forward, pullout their daggers and strike the mirror with the vigor of ten men. To everyone's horror the mirror remains unphased. After several useless tympanic clangs, I hear Mal call out again, "Stop, stop it! Just take it down and lock it away. Lock up all the mirrors in the kingdom!" She turns on her heel and accepts the twins into her open arms. "As for the rest of his curse, I think I have an idea."

What that idea was, I can't imagine. I must act soon or all will be lost for those little helpless baby girls. I must recall that secret he had tried to hide from me. Mal steps back toward her father as Ben steps forward to address the jittery crowd.

"I'm sorry everyone, but it's safer for all of us if we conclude the ceremony." Then to Hades, "Assemble the council for an emergency meeting."

I find my voice and courage and call out, "Wait! Please....wait!! A silence falls back over the crowd. I can tell they still fear me, even hate me. "There was something...something Chernabog was trying to hide from me...a way to break the curse." The crowd gasped with a sharp air of distrust.

Like a drop of water hitting the surface of a still pond-- Thank the gods! I found it. That secret blessing leapt forward in my brain like a long-lost friend. Chernabog's grip on my mind was now retreating! "There's only one blessing left...and we're running out of time....if I don't cast it soon the curse becomes permanent.... please let me try...I don't know how else to make things right...please," I beg, forcing myself not to cry.

Mal looks pale holding her babies with a furrowed brow, almost ghostly. "Alright...go ahead," she half whispers. I can only guess she figures, what else does she have to lose.

Ben tenderly places the babies back into the bassinet. I feel all eyes on me as I step toward the poor darlings. Their eyes tell me all I need to know. Chernabog's signature fire shadow is filling their minds. "By the gods, give me the strength to do this," I think as I raise my arms. I reach into the body/mind and summon up the blessing sphere. The pink pearlescent hue emanates a soft glow over their tiny faces. "To soften words spoken in haste, let not the blessing go to waste, to break this curse they must believe, in magic's power they shall achieve," I try to maintain my balance as I feel my strength waning by the spell's demands. I push on trusting that goodness will conquer my failing strength. I feel as though I'm outside myself inside the pink orb as I speak again, "Hand in hand they'll face the night, and banish darkness with purest light." I'm falling.