Madder than a Hatter (Descendants)

Aftermath (Edited)

For the first time in several weeks, I sat at a picnic table with the other VKs, all of us fuming at the altercation that had just occurred.

I wanted to say, "This is unbelievable," but considering we were the anomalies in a school full of preppy good kids, it was actually pretty dang believable. It was just hurtful.

Ben, in his infinite wisdom, decided to come right up to us and ask, "Hey guys. How is everyone?" like we all hadn't just been humiliated. I knew that Chad hadn't said anything about me or Carlos, but he'd insulted the villain kids as a whole, and that was inexcusable.

As if controlled by a hive mind, we all refused to look at Ben or answer him in any capacity.

"Yeah," he said, sounding defeated. "Hey, listen, forget about it, alright? There's nothing to forget about. Let it go." He went around the table and started massaging Mal's shoulder, trying to comfort her. "Tomorrow, after the coronation, I promise everything will be okay." He leaned down, and almost solely to Mal, he said, "I have to go." Then he straightened up. "I'll see you guys later."

Almost as soon as he walked away, Doug came up to Evie and started talking. "Evie, I wanted to talk about earlier," he started, but at another table, Chad got up and glared at him with an offended look on his face.

"It was my fault," Evie said quickly.

Doug glanced back at Chad, who was still glaring at him.

"Doug," Evie said softly.

"Sorry," Doug said. "I can't." He walked away and sat down at Chad's table.

Audrey, with Jane in tow, waltzed up to our table. It seemed like we were hot commodities at the moment, and it was making my blood boil. "How long does she think that's gonna last?" Audrey asked, and I gnashed my teeth.

In my heart of hearts, I understood that she was lashing out at us from a place of deep hurt and heartbreak, triggered by being dumped for some random girl after dating a guy for a long time. If my boyfriend had professed his love for someone else at a sports game without even telling me about it, I would be furious, too. But all this logical thinking couldn't hold a candle to how much of a jerk I thought she was.

"It's just a bad-girl infatuation," Audrey continued.

"Yeah," Jane agreed. She leaned over and said, directly into Mal's ear, "I mean, he's never going to make a villain a queen." She and Audrey burst out laughing.

Evie and I shared a look. We were all already queens, whether it was by blood or by sheer force of will. At least we were cool enough to not need to be born into royalty to be important.

Mal flipped open her spellbook and recited, "Beware, forswear, undo Jane's hair." She made hand motions for the spell and I heard surprised shrieking from the direction the girls had gone in.

I glanced over and saw a panicked look on Lonnie's face as she checked her own hair to see if it had been undone. It occurred to me that there was a strong possibility that she was not on my side anymore, and I silently resigned myself to spending my days alone.

We all rose to our feet and glared Jane down. "There's a lot more where that came from," Mal said, almost sweetly.

"Excuse me, who do you think you are?" Audrey sputtered.

Mal turned her gaze on the pink princess. "Do I look like I'm joking?" She opened the spellbook again, flipping through it as if searching for the undo spell.

Everyone scattered in a panic, rushing away from Mal as quickly as possible. I watched Lonnie grab Chad's arm and pull him away, looking back at us as if we had just unleashed a plague upon the country. Maybe we had.

I grinned. Good. Let them be afraid.

Mal stared at the retreating students for a moment before spinning around and offering us the smile of a leader. "I'm really looking forward to tomorrow." Her face twitched slightly, but the smile stayed put. "Let's grab that wand and blow this popsicle stand."

We all began to walk back to the castle, purpose and determination burning in our hearts. Mal would not be slighted like that again, and I was a little afraid to find out what she would do.

I knew that the coronation would be broadcasted everywhere, even to the Isle, and that the other VKs' parents would be watching. All eyes would be on them, literally, and I couldn't imagine that kind of pressure on my shoulders.

Snow White would be the reporter, as she always was, irritating Evie's mother to no end, as it always did. My dad never really cared about any of the Auradon broadcasts, and had taken the wires out of the TV to prevent it from turning on altogether. If I wanted to know what the broadcast had been about, I had to ask someone else, though I rarely did.

When I reached my room, there was a letter on my bed, in perfect, curling penmanship. I recognized the handwriting and almost tore it up. But my curiosity got the better of me and I couldn't help but open it.

The letter was short and to the point, like the author herself always was.

Maddie, I'm sorry, Lonnie wrote. We should talk. Meet me at the Enchanted Lake after the coronation.

I would most certainly not be meeting her after the coronation, and I doubted I would ever speak to her again. I had told her my darkest secret, I had shared personal information, and what had she done? She'd hurt me on purpose and I wouldn't stand for it. I would do whatever it took to help Mal in anything she needed. Villain kids needed to stick together, and whether I liked it or not, I was a villain kid.

My roots needed watering, and what better way to do it than with the tears of my enemies?