Descendants: Dark One's Daughter

Chapter 17

Ruby could see the conversation happening from where she stood in the garden. She used a spell to heighten her hearing.

"How could you bring the Dark One's daughter here?" the king said to Marlin. "Do you know what she could be capable of?"

"She is not like her father," Marlin protested. "None of them are like their parents. That's the part that everyone is missing. They are not their parents. They will not do the same things their parents did years ago. They have no reason to hate anyone here, and there is no reason they should pay for the crimes of their parents by being forced to live on that horrible island."

"But that doesn't change the fact that she still could have his power," the king replied. "She is a danger to everyone in Auradon if she has his dark magic. She seems like a nice girl on the outside, and I'm sure she's nice on the inside as well, but if something makes her mad and she decides to use magic against us, no one can stop her."

"But we are teaching them how to use their talents for the good," Marlin objected. "Yes, she may possess the power to use magic, but we are teaching her to not use the dark magic her father used."

"Does Ben even have her dagger?" the king asked.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Marlin asked confused.

"If Ben has the dagger, he can control everything she does so she isn't a threat," the King said. "It's the only way to ensure the safety of Auradon-" Ruby waved her hand to stop the spell as she walked further into the garden. She found a bench near the edge of the barrier, and looked out into the ocean. Awhile later, Marlin walked up behind her.

"There you are," he said as he approached her. "I thought you had run off." Ruby said nothing as she continued to look out at the ocean. Marlin sat down next to her. "I'm sorry that took so long." Ruby ignored his comment. He looked at her. "You okay?"

"My dagger is hidden on the isle," Ruby finally said. "If you want it, I'll tell you where it is." She looked at Marlin with a cold expression.

"Ruby, I don''t want that," he said. "We don't need it because you are not a threat to anyone here."

"Are you sure?" she questioned. "After all, I am my father's daughter. And even though I've only used the harmless kind of magic so far, I could use dark magic at any point. And no one could stop me without it." Marlin sighed.

"You overheard the conversation," he said. Ruby nodded. "Look, being the Dark One's daughter does not define who you are. You can choose to follow his ways or not. But at the end of the day, you are your own person. You are Ruby. A kind, fun, and talented girl who I care about. And I won't let you or anyone else think otherwise. And I can bet you will not follow in your father's footsteps." Ruby's expression softened.

"That's what my father, all of our parents actually, expect of us," Ruby said. "That we will follow what they had done in the past. On the isle, it sounded like fun to trick people and create chaos. But now that I'm here, in this wonderful place, I'm realizing something. I don't want to be what my father was."

"And you don't have to," Marlin replied as they looked at each other. "I've seen how you've changed in the short time you've been in Auradon. You seem happy here, and you are incredibly gifted in music. You can be whatever your heart desires. The fact that you didn't immediately use dark magic when you arrived here should at least speak to that."

"All magic comes with a price," Ruby said. "Dark magic especially. I didn't immediately use the dark magic because I knew the price of using it. The dark energy will eat away at you and turn your heart black. Eventually, you'll become obsessed with power and won't be able to stop using it. And that's when people start to get hurt. My father used to tell me stories about the people he tricked into using his magic. They would always sign contracts and make deals without knowing the true price of the magic they were buying. And he loved it."

"Like, Milena's mother," Marlin said.

"Exactly," Ruby said. "After being here, it just didn't seem like fun because everyone was so nice. And then I realized that those are the type of people my father would trick. And it just wasn't worth turning my heart black for. Yeah, I tricked a few people by making deals with them when I got here. But they were just innocent little things to help me get something I needed. There was no magic involved." Ruby looked back at the castle. "But when your grandfather said those things, it made me want to show him the power that he feared. And I know I shouldn't want to give into dark magic, but I wanted to. So weather I like it or not, there is still a piece of my father inside of me that I can't get rid of. So they're right to be afraid." Marlin sighed.

"The important part is that you don't give in to that side of yourself," Marlin said. "As long as you can be true to who you want to be, no one should have anything to fear." Marlin took Ruby's hand. "How about we get out of here and try to save this date?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," she said. They stood up and made their way back to the entrance to Atlantis.