Descendants 1

Chapter Four

Mom's apartment was…well, it was Mom. Dark, dusty, and smelling strongly of sulfur.  Mismatched stained glass windows blocked most of the sunlight, but green crystal lights swung from the high ceiling.  She was perched on her tall green throne, filing her nails, looking every bit the evil queen she is. 

My friends, their parents – Cruella, Jafar, and the Evil Queen – all sat around, waiting for Mom's big announcement.

Our parents looked…rough.  Cruella in a ratty dog-fur coat, clutching a jeweled Dalmatian; Jafar sporting a potbelly and a comb-over; and the Evil Queen, her face a testament to too much cosmetic surgery, staring into a mirror.  Even knowing how messed up they are, it’s still kind of intimidating.

"You will go," Mom declared, her voice cutting through the tension. "You will find the Fairy Godmother, and you will bring me her magic wand." She blew on her freshly filed nails.  "Easy peasy."

"What's in it for us?" I asked, because, honestly, what's the point otherwise?

"Matching thrones," she said.  "Hers and hers crowns."

Carlos looked at me and Jay and Evie. "Um, I—I think she meant us."

Ignoring him, Mom tossed her nail file over her shoulder, stood, and pulled me close.  "It's all about you and me, baby," she whispered.  "Do you enjoy watching innocent people suffer?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, who doesn't?" I admitted.  It's the truth.

"Well, then get me that wand! And you and I can see all that and so much more!" she said. "And with that wand and my scepter—" she held up her arms dramatically — "I will be able to bend both good and evil to my will!"

The Evil Queen lowered her mirror.  "Our will," she corrected.

Cruella nodded in agreement.

"Our will, our will," Mom conceded, trying to save face.  Then, her voice turned hard. "And if you refuse, you're grounded for the rest of your life, missy."

"What?" I cried.  "Mom!"

That look.  That intense stare-down.  It was a test of wills, something we do fairly often.  She always wins.  I broke eye contact first.

"Fine, whatever," I mumbled.

"I won," she declared triumphantly.

"Malef, relax," the Evil Queen said. "You're going to pop a vein, and that is a look no one can rock."

Cruella cackled.

"Did her face just move?" Mom asked Cruella, pointing at the Evil Queen.

Cruella indicated, with her fingers, "A little bit."

"Someone alert the media!" Mom said, actually laughing.

The Evil Queen rolled her eyes.  "Hilarious. Evie! My little Evil-ette in training."

Evie obediently went to her mother.  The whole exchange about princes, castles, and mirrors went down.  Then it was Cruella's turn to protest about Carlos and the dogs in Auradon.  Jafar needed Jay to stock his shelves.  The Evil Queen decided Evie needed a brow wax.  It was a total disaster.  Mom was losing it.  Thirty years of waiting for revenge, and everyone was more interested in their own petty issues. 

Finally, Mom found her spell book, and the whole thing about going to Auradon Prep was back on the table.  She shoved the book into my arms.  A horn blared outside.  It was time.

Mom led me to the balcony.  We looked out at Auradon Prep, nestled in the mountains across the sea.  It felt surreal. 

"The future of the free world rests on your shoulders," she said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Don't blow it."  She winked and disappeared back inside.

I stood there, gazing at Auradon, a mix of fear and excitement churning inside me.  Then, Mom called me back.  One last look at that tiny dot in the distance, and then I went inside, the horn honking below, a reminder that our adventure was about to begin.