[4] Phoenix | Descendants 3

SIX: Queen of Mean

Audrey was sitting down in her bedroom, finishing up the drawing in her diary. Tears were running down her face and they haven't stopped since the first tear fell. She had drawn a picture of herself wearing the queen's crown, a crown that she would've hers had it not been for five dreadful VKs. They ruined everything.

Her eyes then shifted to the side as she reread the diary entry accompanying the drawing. "Today was all hyped up to be the day that three more of those awful Isle kids get selected to come over here and ruin everybody's lives even more. Barf. It's bad enough we have these five who've turned the whole world upside down. They already brought two more over here, and now we get three more? What's wrong with everyone? Can't they see what a mess they've made of the place? Before this is over the whole Isle will be free and we'll be back to the bad old days! Anyway we all showed up for this big moment, and that's when Ben took a hammer to my heart and asked Mal to marry him! Right in front of me and my grandmother! Ben told Mal he loved her in front of the whole world. #Humiliated #Heartbroken"

The royal family of Auroria had a plan for Audrey that seemed to be created ever since she was born. It was a simple one, but one that they continuously reminded her had to succeed. All she had to do was be the best, to come out on top at anything and everything she did. All of her efforts would lead her to securing the family legacy and becoming queen, not only of Auroria but of all of Auradon. Failure was never an option and neither would being second best.

And Audrey was the best until the VKs came along. She was at the top of her class at Auradon Prep until that spot was claimed by Evie. Everyone's attention instantly went to her at school, especially when she was cheering. But Carlos and Jay seemed to both outshine her when they joined the tourney team and later all of Auradon Prep's sports teams. Though she had no magic of her own, she was at ease knowing that magic was considered a taboo and she helped uphold that standard. But that changed when Helena began secretly teaching others on how to control their abilities, and people seemed to be perfectly fine with magic flowing once again. And worst of all, Ben had broken up with her for the daughter of the evil fairy that wreaked havoc on her kingdom and family.

The breakup was the last straw for Audrey. She had tried to keep it together, but it all came undone at the seams. Audrey had lost all of her top status, her authority as Queen of Auradon Prep disappearing almost instantly. Her friends had vanished, far more concerned with the VKs and what they were doing to even give a crap about her. Ben surely didn't care about her, not when he was the very one that allowed this to happen in the first place. Because of his proclamation, Audrey had lost everything. Everything that she had and known was taken from her by a bunch of villains, and no one seemed to care.

But Audrey needed a break, time to get her head on straight. So, she managed to convince her parents to give her a year off from school to go on a spa vacation with her fairy godmothers. Somehow, it had worked and Audrey had time to herself, to focus on herself instead of politics or teen drama.

But when she had returned, she found that nothing had changed. Queen Leah still wanted Audrey to reclaim her place in the world and be Auradon's next queen. There was still time for this to happen given that Ben and Mal weren't married or even engaged. All Audrey had to do was find Ben and get him to propose to her instead of Mal. It would be easy, after all, Aurora had managed to hold onto Phillip in her sleep.

Audrey took in a breath, still hearing her grandmother's words echoing in her mind. A lifetime of plans, gone. Your mother could hold onto a prince in her sleep. And you... you let a bunch of villains take away everything we worked for.

But before Audrey could even attempt her grandmother's new plan, Ben proposed to Mal and she said yes. Auradon was to have a villain as its next queen instead of her. Instead of anger, the kingdom was celebrating this and preparing to welcome the daughter of Maleficent onto the throne. But what about Audrey? Where was she in all of this? Did she even matter to anyone anymore?