Madder than a Hatter (Descendants)

The Coronation (Edited)

When Evie presented me with my coronation dress, I realized that none of us deserved her greatness. She was making fashion-show worthy outfits and just giving them away.

I'd considered requesting a suit, but she'd surprised me with a beautiful light blue dress the same color as most of my other outfits. I'd dropped to my knees and swore my loyalty to her kingdom forever, which made her smile for the first time in hours. She'd been running herself ragged trying to get Mal's dress done on time along with mine and hers, and was more than a little stressed out.

As she was pinning my hair up, I asked about Mal and Ben. "So, they got together, because of the love spell, right?"

"Yep."

"And he's still under it?"

"Yes."

"And because Mal is his girlfriend, she'll be the closest to the wand."

"Yes."

"Which means it will be easier to grab it and destroy the barrier."

"Yes. But Mal thinks it's unnecessary to keep Ben under the love spell any longer, so she's going to give him the antidote at the coronation."

"Okay, just checking. That's good to know."

"I'm very proud of you for that."

"Thank you for my dress. You deserve good things."

"I'm going to ignore that."

"Okay."

Mal and Ben rode into the castle in a carriage, forced to do prince-and-princess waves. It was hilarious. Mal had put the antidote in yet another baked good, intending for him to eat it after the ceremony, and I watched a look of panic cross her face when they vanished from my sight as he began to eat it in the carriage.

According to Carlos, who was somewhat further down the procession, things seemed to be fine, and Ben didn't call Mal to be taken away for treason, so it seemed like everything was working out.

Right up until the actual coronation. Then things started to go wrong.

I was trying desperately not to fall asleep standing up, a skill that was rapidly becoming an annoyance, concerned that I would fall on someone I was standing next to. I'd seen Lonnie in the crowd, trying to catch my eye, but I had turned away from her coldly and tried to focus on the plan.

The giant doors at the end of the hall opened and Ben began to walk down the blue carpet. The king and queen rose to their feet, prompting everyone to do the same, although the people in my section had already been standing for some reason.

As he passed by, people bowed or curtseyed, depending on whether they were wearing a dress or a suit. Ben paused for a moment, looked at Mal, smiled, and continued walking. He was so naive, it was almost sickening.

He approached the glass case holding the wand and Fairy Godmother made her appearance. She kissed Belle's cheek, bowed to Beast, and took the crown off his head.

Ben got on his knees on the steps and looked up at Fairy Godmother as she raised the crown above his head. In a simple, almost forgettable movement, she placed it on him.

I looked over at Mal and realized how distraught she looked. I couldn't blame her. Auradon was nice, and doing what her mother wanted would ruin that.

Beast lifted the glass case up and Belle handed Fairy Godmother the wand, holding it like it was a precious object. Which, I guess, it was. Then the case was set back down and FG faced the newly-crowned Ben. She started speaking, but from where I was, I had no idea what she was saying.

Then, without any ceremony, she smiled and tapped Ben on both of his shoulders with the wand. She raised the wand with a wide grin on her face-

-and it was snatched from her hand.

A white beam of electric light burst from its tip, shooting up into the air, and I knew, in the most rotten parts of my brain, that the barrier on the Isle had just been destroyed.

I stared impassively down at Jane, tightly gripping the wand, attempting to control it. Mal stared in horror at what the Fairy Godmother's daughter had done.

FG shouted something at her daughter. Jane shouted back. The wand continued to spark out of control. Ben put himself between her and Mal. Fairy Godmother cowered with Beast and Belle, reaching uselessly for her wand.

Then Mal threw herself forward and reached for the wand, attempting to help the poor girl let go of the dangerous object. Mal managed to wrench the wand from Jane, holding it above her head to prevent anyone from getting hurt.

I watched Evie, Carlos, and Jay run from their spots on the opposite balcony, obviously headed for Mal, and stayed where I was. When they reached her, they stood behind her, ready to follow whatever their leader decreed.

Ben said something to Mal. Maybe he appealed to the goodness in her heart, planted there by the unrelenting optimism of those who lived in Auradon. Maybe he told her that she could make her own decisions and that Maleficent didn't control her.

Whatever he said, it worked, because she seemed to be about to give the wand back.

And then things went wrong, again.

Green smoke billowed from an unknown source, swirling down the pillars of the hall and around the VKs. It dissipated and revealed none other than the dragon lady herself, Maleficent.

Speak of the devil and she will appear, it seemed.

I heard her familiar, aggravating voice as she turned to the still-cowering royals and crowed, "I'm back!"

"Go away, Mother," Mal said, in the voice of the long-suffering emotionally abused daughter she was.

Maleficent burst out laughing, doubling over momentarily before facing her only child. "You're very funny. Here," she motioned for the wand.

Mal looked over at Fairy Godmother, and, without hesitation, threw the wand to her. FG attempted to do some magic, waving the wand and reciting a spell, but faster than I could comprehend, she was frozen in a burst of green magic.

We all were.

When I was eventually un-frozen and able to process what my eyes were seeing, Maleficent was gone. Mal had pulled off some magic of her own and reduced her mother (who was in dragon form) down to the size of love in her heart, making her a harmless lizard. It was a fitting end for her, in my opinion.

Everything was good again in the country of Auradon, which meant it was time to celebrate.

Fireworks were set off, blue and gold in school colors. Everyone was singing and dancing, having an all-around great time. I saw Lonnie near Ben, grinning widely and seemingly elated. It felt like my heart was being stepped on, for some reason.

I wondered where Audrey was. I wanted to write her a letter to apologize to her. I hadn't done anything wrong, per se, but I still felt bad for her. Mal had taken her boyfriend and humiliated her in front of a bunch of students. I could easily sympathize with her not wanting to be around the festivities.

Looking around meant I got another view of Lonnie, dancing her heart out. I could only manage a few seconds before I had to look away again.

I could cry about it later. Tonight, I was going to have fun.

And for the ones reading this- yes, you, I see you- don't worry. This story is far from over.