Once We are Descendants

Chapter 71: Potential

"Mal?"

Evie looks up at the mention of her best friend's name.

"Yes, the young girl managed to blast back a young boy with a wave of magic, the magnitude of which is something that I haven't felt in quite some time."

"Well she is your daughter; magic is passed through the bloodline... I just recently found this out myself."

"But there was more to this power my dear Regina... I cannot quite explain it... I have been training with Lily for some time, helping her control her double dose of darkness in her blood, but her abilities are simple to understand, like my own what you see is what you get. But young Mal's...it felt more complex. Her abilities are more in tune with yours or your sister's or even the Dark One's daughter's, light magic mixed with darkness, creating a spectrum of power, something beyond mere darkness. I know this is saying quite a lot just by one encounter with it but this girl's potential for powerful magic might be something to watch out for and perhaps train for better control."

Regina bites her lip firmly, her brain gnawing on this information. As far as she could recall, Mal's magic didn't work properly here... aside from turning into a dragon and her eyes lighting up, she'd seen the teenager try several spells and nothing happened. So what changed? How was she able to blast this boy back, as Maleficent had told her. Could it have something to do with Evie's sudden developments too? She had to get to the bottom of this.

"Thank you for the information Maleficent, we'll do our best to keep you informed to avoid any future property damage. I'll call you later," she says absentmindedly before hanging up.

"What's going on?" Evie asks, wondering how her best friend suddenly became the topic for conversation.

"I'm not entirely sure, but we're going to find out," the Evil Queen says, grabbing her daughter's hand and leading her out of the cemetery.

...

"So, your magic just started acting up today?" Crystal says in shock.

"Well... it's always been there... just below the surface, it's the reason my eyes light up like road flares when I'm angry and I guess it allowed me to go back to human form when I came through the portal, but any spells that I've said don't seem to work here. For some reason, magic doesn't work the same way it does in Auradon."

"I think that's my Dad's doing," Crystal says. "He's the one who brought magic to this world through a sample true love magic, and I guess when you bring it to a place that doesn't usually have magic, it morphs and changes into something else. Regina told me that she had a hard time mastering the magic when it came into town."

"But then what changed?" Jay asks.

"What indeed?" Rumple says, coming over to the group. He stares at the daughter of Maleficent like a piranha might look at its next meal, a small smirk on his face. His dark eyes trying to piece together this mystery like the rest of them.

The subtle grin was not lost on his daughter and she grinds her teeth together in annoyance. No matter how often he'd sworn to everyone in town that he'd left his old ways behind, whenever the possibility of delving back into magic, particularly dark magic, a wicked gleam would form in his eyes. Crystal hated it and she wants to put a stop to it before he unleashes unneeded chaos on them.

"Did any of you perhaps touch some kind of magical artifact, or engaged in some sort of ritual that might have awakened this? Perhaps you had some sort of experience that sparked it?" he inquires.

Mal and Ben look at one another, their minds go back to the day before when they'd kissed by the wishing well. They had felt something... but it didn't seem all that significant.