Once We are Descendants

Chapter 57: Meet the Parents

"Up... Up...Up!" she insists in an adorable tiny voice.

Mal smiles and picks her up almost expertly, which was strange because she's never technically held babies before. She struggles at first because Alexandra keeps wiggling around until Ella comes over and shows the VK how to hold the tiny once comfortably.

Once she's against Mal's hip, Alexandra begins to grab at parts of the teenager's outfit, clearly having never seen anything like this before. She picks at the metal studs decorating her leather outfit before squeezing the leather sleeves and then eventually going for the hair. She twirls at the purple locks, absolutely transfixed by the colour. Ashley hovers nearby just in case her daughter tries to pull at the hair.

"She's usually a bit shyer than this," Thomas explains, coming up to join the group. "She must like you a lot."

"She's not hard to love," Mal says. She tickles Alexandra under the chin and the toddler squeals in delight before turning back towards her mother for reassurance. The daughter of Maleficent can't help but feel happy, seeing the curiosity and happiness in the little one's eyes. While she's never been around babies before, she's taken a liking to them. What she doesn't know is that Ben is watching her and can't stop himself from smiling too, admiring his girlfriend's interaction with children.

"She takes after her father when it comes to the charm," Ashley jokes.

Chad stands there, not used to being completely ignored. If these total strangers really were his parents, why were they admiring Mal more than him? He seems pretty fearful of this baby whose height barely reaches past his knees. He feels a mix of various emotions and for the first time, is at a loss on what to say. These "parents" seem nice but pay more attention to the baby than their own son.

The prince takes a step closer, wary of what might happen if he gets too close.

Eventually, Mal spots Chad staring almost enviously at the group and decides to include him. She walks over and gives Alexandra to him. He immediately struggles to hold the child, especially since she likes to kick and squirm around.

The daughter of Maleficent takes great satisfaction with his discomfort. She leans forward and talks to the bratty prince in a low voice. "These guys have a pretty happy life going on, so my word of advice, don't ruin it for them by being you."

She then turns and walks away, leaving Chad to struggle with his toddler sister who begins to cry because of being held incorrectly and that she wanted Mal to stay.

"Good luck," the purple-haired teen smiles. She high fives Crystal and Evie as she walks by.

...

Meanwhile, Snow is helping all the seven sons become acquainted with their seven fathers. She can sort of tell fairly quickly which son is which based on their appearances. They truly are seven chips off the seven blocks.

When Gordon and Leroy are paired together, they stare at one another, seeming to be having a staring contest, seeing who can make the grumpiest face.

"This is my son?" Leroy grunts in disapproval. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Don't be rude Leroy," Snow snaps angrily. "He's your son."

"It's a miracle that anyone actually was willing to marry you," Regina snickers.

"HEY!" the dwarf snaps angrily. First the daughter of Rumpelstiltskin, and now the Evil Queen, he's surrounded by sarcastic witches. "Watch your mouth your royal highness or my pickaxe is going in a place where the sun doesn't shine."

Regina conjures up a fireball in her hand, challenging the angry dwarf to say any more. Despite how much the group had come from the days of being enemies and holding the grudge for poisoning Snow, the former Evil Queen still felt the need to torment the dwarves on occasion, especially Leroy since he was the easiest to get a rise out of. She knew that they wouldn't stand a chance against her, which is why it made it so fun.