Descendants: To Kill A Dragon

Chapter One

A/N: Takes equally from the books and movies. Some villains are canon, others OC. In this chapter, Jay is ten, Mal and Evie are seven, and Carlos is five.

If anyone cares, Gilda is the daughter of that witch from Hansel and Gretel. Also, in the books, Horace's son is nicknamed Harry, but I like Harry Hook, and thought Harold sounded better.

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"Leave, now, Grimmhilde! And never let me see you again!" Maleficent snarled at the other woman, whose child cowered behind her in fear.

"You already rule the island, you old whore!" The evil queen had shouted in return, with a horrible scowl marring her once-beautiful features. "What more do you want to take from me!?"

"You should be grateful I'm not taking your very life!" Maleficent roared, and it was all Mal could do to stand her ground, even though she knew her mother's rage was directed at the Evil Queen, not her.

"Come along, Genevieve!" Grimmhilde finally exclaimed, indignantly, as she grabbed her child's wrist and practically dragged her out the door. Mal nearly seethed with embarrassment. How was she going to find allies of her own, if mother scared away all the other villains?

"Mother! Evie and I were getting along!" Mal exclaimed. She expected the backhand that followed, but it was worth the glimpse into her mother's mindset. She listened closely, even as she saw stars and tried not to grimace.

"The Evil Queen dared to challenge me for leadership, and it wasn't the first time, either." Maleficent growled, leaning in too close for the girl's comfort. "I exiled the old hag, to teach her a lesson. Maybe growing up all alone will teach her brat some respect, too."

Alright, next question.

"What's a whore?" Mal asked with a raised eyebrow. She braced herself for another strike, but it never came. Maleficent looked at her daughter with something like amusement, as if she wasn't expecting that line of inquiry from a seven year old.

"That's a rude word for a woman who is beautiful, and uses her body to get what she wants." Maleficent sneered, with half a smile, as if it was an inside joke she found somewhat funny, but not quite funny enough to share. Mal wrinkled her eyebrows in thought. Why was that an insult? A woman who knew her beauty and used it to advantage was smart, and even Mal knew that.

"It's an insult because it implies a woman needs something from a man," The Mistress of All Evil commented, as if reading Mal's mind. "The only thing a woman needs from a man is a baby."

In some ways, that made sense, because Mal knew her mother hated to rely on others, and men most of all. But it raised new questions too: Mal herself had been a baby once, hadn't she? Did that mean Maleficent had gotten her from a man? Was that why she seemed to hate the child so much? Because she was a symbol of Maleficent's weakness?

The seven year old girl was onto something very important, but her line of thought was interrupted by a steely glare.

"That is the last I want to hear of this discussion." Maleficent growled, and Mal swallowed back her defiance and her questions. Not because she wanted to, of course, but because she had some survival instinct to avoid angering the woman who had spawned her.

"Yes, Mother." She replied docilely, just as she expected her mother wanted. (Always polite to Maleficent, holy terror to everyone else).

"Good." The woman replied, then gripped Mal's shoulder, hard enough to leave a bruise, just to make a point about her next statement:

"If I hear another word about this discussion, in any way, shape, or form; I will beat you within an inch of your life, and then throw you in the dungeon for the rats!"