Descendants: the Rise of Olivia

Chapter fourteen

Olivia: It's time to go back to the future! Is that giddiness I feel? So, it's probably a delayed reaction to my first experience with sugar.
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Olivia and Dinah burst into their dorm room, overflowing with excitement but trying to keep their voices down.

"Did you see Zendaya's face when she opened the book? She was like . . ." Dinah imitated Zendaya's look of shock.

Olivia laughed. "I wish I could see her while she's stuck at home the night of Castlecoming. I bet she's like . . ." She made an exaggerated pouty expression.

Dinah cracked up but then stopped abruptly. "Wait—are we sure that she won't be there?"

"Uh, yeah! The VKs are gonna be in detention forever. And even if they could go to Castlecoming, with no cookbook, there's no way they can do the prank. We did it!"

Olivia held the cookbook aloft triumphantly.

"We can go back!" Dinah squealed, her anticipation building. "We can go home!"

But something occurred to Olivia then, troubling her. "Yeah, but what if we go back and my mom is still . . . my mom?"

"Even if she is, you're not gonna end up like her," Dinah said, trying to reassure Olivia.

"And this"—Dinah indicated the cookbook in Olivia's hand—"this is proof."

Olivia nodded, appreciating the reminder that she was good enough not to be frozen because of being bad.

"You waved my mom's life." Dinah smiled, and Olivia finally smiled back.
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In the early morning, the girls made their way to the vine-covered balcony of Radcliffe Academy, moving as quietly as they could.

"I almost wish I could stay and watch my parents dance at Castlecoming," joked Dinah.

"Maybe next time. Let's get out of here."

They paused at the top of the stairs and faced each other. Dinah reached into her pocket and pulled out Joshua Bassett's golden pocketwatch. Instead of using it herself, she handed it to Olivia.

"Here. This belongs to you," she said.

"Ready?" Olivia asked.

"Ready," Dinah answered, laying her hand on top of Olivia's. She couldn't wait to get back to her mother—her free, safe, happy mother—and put this nightmare behind them.

Olivia pushed the button and the gold cogs erupted, encircling them. Blurry shapes and whirls of color swirled around them as the watch pulled the girls back to their own time. Back to the present day. Back home.

In the same spot, but now many years in the future, flowers decorated every surface of the Auradon Prep courtyard. Olivia and Dinah looked down to see the commotion of the Welcome Day Ceremony below.

"There they are! Our moms!" Dinah said.

Anxious, they hurried down the stairs and pushed through the crowd. The ceremony was unfolding exactly like before. Sabrina was up onstage, addressing the gathered students and parents.

"I'm proud to be charting a new course into a bright future," Sabrina said again.

In the front row, the Queen of Hearts noisily shuffled her deck of cards, distracting Sabrina from her address.

"Do you mind?" Sabrina asked the Queen.

"I do, actually," the Queen replied.

To everyone's surprise, the Queen of Hearts stood, her rigid posture as impeccable as always.

Olivia and Dinah exchanged panicked looks, and Olivia shouted from the back, "Mom, what are you doing?"

"Playing my favorite game . . ." the Queen said.

She turned and revealed a new look the girls hadn't noticed from behind. She was still wearing red, but now her gown was playful and whimsical, not severe and harsh. Pink and white ruffles fell in soft waves all down her skirt. She did a waterfall shuffle with the cards. "Hearts!"

She threw the deck into the air, and the cards tumbled toward the ground. But this time, soldiers did not form—floating red heart bubbles did. Everyone oohed and aahed at the beautiful display. The Queen looked at Sabrina.

"I'm so sorry. I couldn't help myself! I'm just so excited for my daughter to be here," she said. She looked at Olivia with nothing but love in her eyes.

"Well, nothing I say is goona top that, so . . . have a great year, y'all!" Sabrina said happily.

The students cheered as she stepped away from the podium. Heart bubbles still cascaded down to the crowd. Olivia turned to Dinah, who was marveling at the magic display.

"You did it. You saved our moms," Dinah said. "You changed history!"

"No, we did it," Olivia said.

Dinah smiled, appreciating the acknowledgement.

The Queen approached Olivia at last and opened her arms wide. She wrapped Olivia in a big hug. Olivia held her mom tightly, finally getting the approval she had always wanted.

Ellie:

Mm

Olivia:

Mm

Ellie:

The sun shines a little more brightly
When you live life a little more kindly
I know we're not even tryin'
You stayed true to your heart

Ellie and Olivia:

It's likely you'll get to try something spicy
Our differences are uniting
'Cause I feel sweeter when we are

Ellie:

Yeah, life is sweeter when you are

"You know, Mom, you actually are . . . really wonderful," Olivia said.

The parry kicked off after that. A DJ set up a booth in the corner and dropped a beat, the music blasting from his speakers. Students and parents alike moved onto the dance floor, and Olivia danced with her mom—who had some
moves! They had a blast, dancing and laughing.

The sun shines a little more brightly
The sun shines a little more brightly

The sun shines a little more brightly
When you take things a little more lightly
It's all gonna turn out nicely
With just a taste of your heart
It's likely you'll fall into something spicy
Just mix it up, you'll keep finding
That life is sweeter when you are
(Sweeter when you are)

Life is sweeter when you, sweeter when you are
Life is sweeter when we are
Life is sweeter when you, sweetеr when you are
Life is sweetеr when we are

Dinah watched them connecting in a way Olivia never would've dreamed of two days earlier. Dinah smiled fondly, wanting to share that kind of moment with her own mom. She had missed her so much.

She scanned the pulsing crowd, looking for Keke.

And all of a sudden, there she was—turning to find Dinah, looking so proud. For the first time, Dinah felt like she'd really earned that look from her mom. She couldn't believe it, but she'd learned so much by getting her hands dirty—and she'd learned so much from Olivia.
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The courtyard was full of happy, excited students and parents. Olivia and Dinah had gotten exactly what they wanted.

But getting what you want can be dangerous—especially when you mess with the fabric of time . . .