The Twisted Chain || A Disney Fanfic [discontinued]

27. the heroes

He turned away. The corners of his eyes stung, the first whispers of tears beginning to arise. No. No, he refused to cry. Not in front of the mistress. Not in front of himself.

"My daughter did quite the number on your face, didn't she? Two weeks into her training, and she's already ruined her first life. Proud is an understatement."

Rage stirred in his blood- Ivory. Yes, he remembered now, how the girl had unleashed her magic on him in defense. In one swift motion, she had turned a man into a monster. She had torn his pride to shreds.

She had ruined his life.

"You... You can fix it, can't you?"

Maleficent dipped her head back and laughed- a single, forced laugh which sawed his eardrums apart. "Oh, Gaston, you poor fool, of course not! Do you not recall holding a pistol to my daughter's head? Violating countless orders? Why, I made plans to punish you myself- however, it appears as though Ivory has done the dirty work for me. From now on, this face shall serve as a reminder of your betrayal."

"I'll just get another sorcerer to-"

"Oh, I don't think so. I still hold complete control over your life, elucidated in the contract that you signed after your resurrection." She adorned her words with a grimy scowl. "And what a waste of a resurrection it was. You, Gaston, are staying in my palace until I can think of a use for you."

He raised his head. In Maleficent's eyes of vibrant yellow, reminiscent of twin moons, he found a dark horde of energy which extinguished all hope that he had left.

A man can lose everything that he has- his possessions, his pride, his physical appeal- but hope is something that can't be taken away by anyone.

No one, that is, except for Maleficent.

"I wish," he hissed, "that you'd never recruited me."

"If I hadn't recruited you, Gaston, you'd be dead."

"I would rather be dead."

The mistress grinned, baring teeth sharp enough to slice a soul in two. "That's just what I wanted to hear."

Her gaze settled upon her hand- coiled around her thumb was a silver band, ornamented with a single diamond. Gaston recognized it instantly- Aurora's wedding ring, enchanted by The Blue Fairy herself.

"Now," Maleficent spoke, "if you don't mind, I have a portal to unlock- and a friend on the other side to summon. You're free to go anywhere you'd like, Gaston, as long as you don't leave the palace grounds... Today is the first day of the end of your life."

Promptly, she spun on her heel, glossy black fabric billowing behind her, and she left him in the darkness with a single thought.

Ivory will pay.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Agrabah..."

Shang wasn't the softest guy in the world. Muscles stamped into his abdomen, countenance reminiscent of stone... He teetered between a drill sergeant and a displeased father.

However, once he snatched Jafar's note from my hands and stared at his wife's name, that image shattered into millions of pieces and fell to the ground like rain. Shang was no longer the intimidating man who had kidnapped me. Tonight, Shang was a devoted husband with a heart that screamed for Mulan.

Odelia faced me. "And you found this note in your... brassiere?"

That's a word for it. "Yeah. The sick bastard probably slipped it in there while I was getting beat up."