Descendants: Hearts of time.

chapter 6

Ruby’s heart pounded as she watched her mother stride onto the raised platform, her crown tilted at a proud, triumphant angle. Queen Bridget, the Queen of Hearts, wore a smile as sharp as the glint in her eyes. Red and I exchanged a look, our shared realization sinking in: our mother was about to take Auradon for herself.

“Mom, this is crazy. Even for you.” My voice came out harsher than I intended, but there was no way to hide my shock, or the bitterness bubbling under my words.

Mother’s smirk widened, her eyes gleaming with something dark and dangerous. “Crazy that it’s taken this long. I have been waiting years to be invited back into Auradon. So, thank you, Red and Ruby. You two finally did something useful.”

I swallowed hard. I wanted to scream, to shake sense into her, to ask her why she couldn’t just let us live our lives. “We should’ve known this was never about us,” Red murmured beside me, her gaze never leaving our mother.

Mother gave us that cold, familiar smile, one I used to think was reserved just for us. “Everything I do is for the both of you,” she insisted, but I saw through her words now, as if I were seeing her true face for the first time.

“That was our invitation. Our school. Our life,” I argued, the anger rising in my chest, suffocating me. I wanted her to understand, to see how much she was taking from us.

Mother only scoffed. “Someday, you’ll thank me.” She lifted her chin, giving a twisted chuckle. “Oh! And we’ve already seen the ending. Spoiler alert…” Her laughter filled the hall, chilling me to the core. “We win.”

The crowd murmured, a mix of fear and disbelief spreading through the faces around us. Then, a voice broke through the murmurs—a voice filled with defiance and unexpected authority.

“Stop it, Bridget!” Aurora, of all people, stepped forward, her face a mix of anger and something like sadness. “You’re better than this! This is too far. I know that what happened was hard for you, but that was ages ago.”

Soft, emotional music swelled in the background, echoing aurora’s words. It sounded like a plea, and for a second, I almost thought Mother might listen.

But Mother’s eyes darkened. “It feels like yesterday to me,” she replied, her voice low and edged with venom.

“It was a stupid prank,” aurora continued, her voice steady but pleading.

Mother sneered, the hurt clear on her face, twisted and scarred. “Stupid, I could forgive. Humiliating a girl at her first dance, turning me into a monster in front of everyone…now that’s just cruel.”

Aurora took a breath, her expression softening. “You’re right.”

Mother’s face contorted with rage, the wounds from the past as fresh as ever in her mind. “You didn’t care then. You were off with your prince.” She laughed, a hollow sound that sent a shiver down my spine. “Ooh, but you will now. You will all show me the respect I deserve!”

The crowd fell silent as Mother straightened, her voice commanding. “Now kneel.”

The silence grew tense, people shifting uncomfortably, glancing at each other. But Aurora stood tall, her chin raised defiantly. “I will never kneel to a tyrant.”

The gasps of the crowd echoed in the hall, and I felt my breath catch. Mother’s eyes darted to me and Red, a cruel smile tugging at her lips. “She’s denied a royal order. What do we do about that, darling?” She looked straight at me, her voice dripping with mockery.

I hesitated, glancing at Red. The weight of her gaze fell on me, and for a split second, I faltered. But then I remembered everything—our mother, her cold disregard for us, for our freedom, for our happiness.

“Look,” I said to Aurora, my voice tight. “All you have to do is swear allegiance. Is that so hard?”

Aurora shook her head, her gaze steady and defiant. “If it means compromising everything I stand for, yes.”

Mother’s voice turned cold as ice as she looked back at me and Red, her words calculated. “Who are you loyal to, girls? These strangers…or your mother? Hmm? Now make me proud, for once.”

My heart hammered. I looked at Red, feeling the guilt and shame rising within me. Aurora saw us, her eyes filled with something like sympathy. “Come on, Bridget, even your daughters know it’s wrong. They can’t do it.”

Her words struck a nerve, and anger flared up in me again, fed by my own conflicted feelings. I clenched my fists. “Treason,” I said, my voice sounding foreign to my own ears.

The crowd gasped, and Red echoed the word beside me, her voice shaking. “She’s guilty of treason!”

Mother’s face broke into a victorious grin. “Exactly right, my dears. And that means off with her head!”

The guards surged forward, grabbing aurora, who struggled in their grip. Across the crowd, I caught sight of Blair, Aurora’s daughter, her face twisted with horror as she cried out.

“Let her go!” Blair screamed, her voice filled with desperation, her eyes locked on her mother.

Mother looked at me and Red, pride blazing in her eyes. “I knew you had it in you,” she murmured, sounding genuinely pleased. But her words made my stomach churn.

“Let her go!” Blair’s voice broke as she begged, trying to pull free from the crowd to reach her mother. “Please!”

My eyes met Queen Jasmine’s across the room. Her gaze was piercing, filled with disgust. “Look at her,” Jasmine spat. “She’s enjoying this. Like mother, like daughter.”

I couldn’t breathe. The accusation sank into me like a stone, and my own mother’s smirk twisted something inside me, a fury I didn’t know I could feel. I knew what I had to do.

“I have to fix this,” I muttered under my breath, pulling out the time-travel watch I had taken from Maddox. Red looked at me, her eyes wide, but she nodded. We didn’t need words. We had to stop this. We had to undo it.

Just as we were about to activate the watch, a hand latched onto me. Blair. She held onto my wrist tightly, desperation clear on her face. Before I could shake her off, the watch activated.

The world spun around us, the lights of the hall warping and twisting as we were thrown back, back through time. The air felt heavy and charged, like we’d fallen through some endless void.

Then, suddenly, we were standing in Auradon Prep, but…different. The buildings looked older, worn down. And there were no banners, no colors. Just gray stone and silence.

“What just happened? Where did everybody go?” Blair’s voice was high, panicked as she looked around.

Red grinned, despite everything. “Whoa. It works.”

Blair turned to me, a mixture of awe and fear in her eyes. “What works? Where are we?”

I took a steadying breath, glancing at the strange, unfamiliar Auradon around us. “Not where,” I corrected, feeling the weight of what we’d done settle on my shoulders. “When.”

I bit back a groan, taking in the unfamiliar Auradon around us. I’d never seen the kingdom so bleak, so…old. Damn it, we went too far back, I thought bitterly.

And as Blair shot me an incredulous look, one thought rose to the surface.

I blame the royal walking Barbie doll.

Hey guys I hope you like this chapter so sorry for the late update. If you have ideas for the next chapter comment down below.