Rotten Flower: A Disney Descendants Story

The Golden rule

The Forbidden Fortress lived up to its name. Once the five adventurers had found their way in through its massive oaken doors, it was almost impossible to tell the darkness of the shadow world outside the castle from the shadow world within. Either way, it was intimidatingly dark, and the farther they crept inside, the more their nervous whispers echoed through the ghostly, abandoned chambers.

No matter how far they walked, it seemed the fog would keep clinging to their legs as they all huddled together for warmth. Jay even grabbed Evie's hands a few time-strictly for warmth- he claimed.

Lilith cursed at the fact that she didn't wear anything warmer, constantly rubbing her hands up and down her legs in a poor attempt to warm herself.

"That has to be magic. The fog doesn't just do that," Mal pointed out, gesturing to the dense fog floated just above the black marble floor.

Carlos nodded. "The refracted energy seems stronger here. I think we're closer to the source than we've ever been."

As he spoke, an icy wind blew past them, whistling in through the shattered stained-glass windows high above them. Each step they took reverberated against the walls.

Lilith noticed a vague green light shining trough the shattered windows, right as Jay asked the others what that could possibly be.

"It's what we've been tracking all along." Carlos answered. "That same electromagnetic energy, it's going crazy." He shook his head at the flashing lights on his box. "This fortress was definitely exposed to something that's left a kind of residue charge-"

"You mean, an enchantment?" Jay asked.

Carlos sighed, not liking the use of magical terms, preferring to use the scientific ones.

"Yes, Jay. An enchantment." Lilith said, shaking her head as the five arrived at a portrait gallery.

Jay confused a portrait from a younger Maleficent with Mal. Which was quite understandable, they looked like they could be twins, as Evie pointed out.

"Now that's what you call genetics," Carlos commented while Mal muttered that she didn't want to be compared to her mother, which all of her companions knew was a lie. But none of them called her out on it, instead focusing on moving forwards.

"Now what?" Mal asked as the path split into four different ways.

A foul wind, smelling like death itself came from all four of them as Jay lighted a match, muttering 'eenie-meanie-miney-mo' under his breath.

Carlos rolled his eyes as Lilith raised an eyebrow as Jay took a step forward to one of the paths, right as the wind blew his match out.

"Are you sure about this?" Mal asked.

"Duh, of course not. That's why I played eenie-meanie-miney-mo! One corridor is as good as the next." Jay said, entering the corridor and not waiting for the rest to follow.

The only four only followed after him once Carlos checked with his invention if it was the right way after all, which it surprisingly was.

The steady beeping of the compass was the only sound echoing around as the five climbed down a dank, cold staircase that led further into the fortress.

The air felt colder and damper and in the eerie silence came a distant rattle, like bones striking rock, or chains rattling in the wind.

"Oh yeah, cause that's comforting," Evie muttered sarcastically.

"Must be the dungeon," Mal noted. "You know, the place where my mom was gonna lock that love sick prince Phillip."

"Maleficent was going to lock him down here for a hundred years, right? That would have been fun."