Street Rat

فاتحة

Grey.

That's all the weather always seemed to be. No sunshine, no blue skies, no snow or warmth. It was cold, wet and miserable.

At this point, one would usually comment something poetic such as "the wind howled in a fit of fury," but to Jay the weather was dull, and that was that. That was as it had always been on the Isle of the Lost; it was part of the punishment of the Fiends, and no one bothered to even attempt to alter it.

But Jay didn't mind that. He was used to it, and he knew no different. It came with being the child of a Villain. The Villain in question? Jafar, the corrupted sorcerer who wanted to rule over Agrabah. Jafar had changed since his enslavement in a lamp as a genie; he was shorter, more rounded, and unlike other Villains he never went on fury-filled revenge tangents.

However, there was one thing he never altered - his greed and lust for power. The Isle had humbled Jafar to a mere owner of a pawn shop, with only his son and his parrot Iago for company. Jay despised Iago. No matter how genuine the jewels he stole, no matter how many lamps he brought back, he was still second best to the bird. That, and its long-winded anecdotes made Jay want to strangle it.

Luckily enough for the young thief, he wasn't hearing anything from the bird or his dad at the moment, as he was with the gang he was a part of, terrorising the shops and markets. He emptied the consumers' pockets, and even scored an oil lamp off a passing Warf Rat, all with a signature smirk that many swooned over.

On the other side of the market, Jay saw his timid but exceptionally intelligent best friend Carlos De Vil pickpocket a few people and bite into a little girl's apple before throwing it back. Jay let out an involuntary sigh. Carlos still had a lot to learn about thievery. Carlos was the son of Cruella De Vil, though Jay preferred to look at him on his own merits. After all, the pup was an AP student and had joint-highest grades along with Reza (who was also smart but extremely full of himself).

Evie Queen, daughter of the Evil Queen, was at what everyone knew was her favourite stall; the fabric seller's stall. Clearly entranced by her inhuman beauty, the stall owner paid no mind to the princess taking varying shades of blue and red material without paying.

Last but not least, Mal, leader of the Core Four and daughter of the Mistress of All Evil, was painting her version of the gang's tag. Each tag had their parent's outline, with their translation of Long Live Evil inside the silhouette. Finishing off the graffiti, Mal shoved past someone and tipped someone else's washing onto the ground.

Suddenly the noise of the market vanquished, and everyone except the Core Four dispersed. Very large, muscly men had marched through, stopping in the centre of the market. Jay recognised them at once. Agrabah's previous soldiers, whom Jafar had power over. They were nicknamed Knuckleheads, due to the amount of damage they could cause with their strength. However, the power over them had shifted to someone else.

"Hello mother," Mal said brightly, holding a lollipop which she had snatched. A soldier was moved aside, revealing the infamous Maleficent. Like Jafar, she had shortened over the years, but unlike Jafar her patience wore thin and her desire for revenge had concentrated.

"Stealing mere food, Mal?" she tutted. "I'm so disappointed."
"It's from a baby!"
"Ah, that's my nasty little girl!"
Mal handed the lollipop to her, a wicked grin spread on her face. The older fairy threw it into the mud before having a Knucklehead give it back to "the dreadful creature".

"Mum-"
"It's the little things, Mal, that makes the difference between the simplicity of trivial meanness and the complexity of true evil!" Maleficent lectured, cutting the teen off. "Why, at your age I was already -"
"Cursing kingdoms, I know. And I'll try much harder," promised Mal. Jay, Carlos and Evie gave each other a knowing look. Every Villain Kid had heard lectures of a similar manner from their own parents and the teachers over at Dragon Hall.

"Ah, there's news!" burst Maleficent suddenly. "I buried the lead. You four have been chosen to attend a new school... in Auradon."