╭━ ╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍ ♛ ⎈ ♛ ╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍ ━╮
It is my honour and my joy
to bless the new King
╰━ ╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍ ♛ ⎈ ♛ ╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍ ━╯
Sunlight filtered in through the stained-glass portrait of Belle and the Beast, casting different coloured glows on the blue carpet lining the floor. Finely dressed bodies lined the sides of the aisle, eager to catch the first glimpse of their new King. All of those on the ground floor of the Cathedral had been deemed prestigious enough to have a front row seat to Auradon's second coronation. Bright lights glittered off the jewels clustered on the bodices and skirts of the women's dresses. The melodic tune of the choir filled the the hall, providing a sweet tune as King Adam and Queen Belle took their thrones for the final time.
Standing at the front of the balcony, the four VKs watched the scene below with growing dread and trepidation. From their vantage point, they could see how close Mal stood to the bell jar that had once encased the Enchanted Rose. Now, it housed the most important aspect of the VKs mission; the magic wand.
Two attendants reached over to open the large double doors of the cathedral. Jay and Evie exchanged an uneasy glance. Carlos shifted uncomfortably, prompting Eva to wrap her arm around him and leaning over to scratch Dude's ear. At the sight of their son, King Adam held his hand out to his wife, helping her to her feet. Everyone bowed as the Prince passed them, the VKs included. Before he reached the dais, the nervous boy turned to Mal with a smile, hoping the sight of her would calm him.
When he approached the first step, Fairy Godmother turned away from him. Pressing a kiss to Belle's cheek, the kind woman squeezed her hand for support before turning to face the current King. The lady in blue curtsied before removing the crown from his head. When she turned back around, Ben was kneeling with one knee on the floor, head dipped. The entire crowd waited with bated breath as the crown was placed atop Ben's honey-brown hair. The bell jar was lifted, leaving the wand unprotected and within Mal's reach.
Beside her, Eva's sister gasped softly. Reaching down, Eva tightly entwined her fingers with Evie's. Green eyes turned to face them. Each of them subtly nodded in her direction and Mal's spine straightened. Resting upon open palms, the wand taunted the torn girl.
"Do you solemnly swear to govern the people of Auradon with justice and mercy as long as you shall reign?" Fairy Godmother recited, repeating the words she had uttered a few decades before.
"I do solemnly swear," responded Ben.
"Then it is my honour...," she tapped Ben on each shoulder with the tip of the wand, "... and my joy to bless our new king."
Wand held aloft, Fairy Godmother let out a startled gasp when it was snatched from her loose grasp. Nothing ever happened in Auradon and despite the presence of the VKs, she hadn't felt the need to keep to protect it. The crowd scattered backwards in terror. Nobody but Fairy Godmother had touched that wand in years. Since the barrier had been created, the wand hadn't given off a single drop of magic.
"Child, what are you doing?!"
Hundreds of eyes were trained on Jane, anticipating what she may do next as the young girl fought to keep hold of the wand. It jerked about, fighting to get free as it spat out vibrant sparks.
"If you won't make me beautiful, I'll do it myself! Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!" Jane lost control of the wand as it dragged her around in a circle.
Eva's heart gave a painful clench as she watched the desperate girl, seeing herself reflected in the terror in Jane's blue eyes. Fearful exclaims left some of the onlookers as they tried to protect themselves from the unpredictable magic. Sensing her moment, Mal dashed forward whilst everyone else took a step back. Concern laced Belle's voice as she watched the girl her son had fallen for throw herself in front of the danger. Her husband moved in front of her protectively. Grappling with Jane momentarily, Mal was stunned at the sight of the wand in her hand. Finally.
Without conversing, the VKs simultaneously moved towards the stairs. Over the next hour or so, Mal was going to need them. Frozen, the girl in purple made no move towards casting curses or returning it to safe hands. Attempting to coax her into handing over the wand, Ben slowly stepped towards her. Unfortunately, it only put Mal and her confliction further on edge.
Bursting through the doors, the four VKs rushed to their friend's aid. When they came to a stop behind Mal, Eva subtly toed off the small heels that complimented her dress. If they needed to make a swift exit, she didn't feel like breaking her ankle on the way. Especially when they were returning to a place with poor (non-existent) healthcare.
"Ben, I said stand back!" Mal warned. "I told you so," huffed Audrey, stepping forward. She recoiled when the wand was pointed in her direction.
"You really want to do this?" Ben asked, eyes never leaving Mal.
"We have no choice, Ben! Our parents-."
"Your parents made their choice. Now you make yours."
The previous monarchs watched the scene carefully, offering no judgement or scorn when Mal turned to look at them. Hand on her stuttering heart, Fairy Godmother watched the teenagers before her intently. She thought she'd been getting through to them during Remedial Goodness lessons. Over the last few weeks, she had monitored them closely, even if they hadn't known she was watching. Each of them seemed to be settling in some way or another.
Mal whispered, "I think I want to be good."
"You are good."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I'm listening to my heart."
"I want to listen to my heart too. My heart is telling me that..." Mal started to lower the wand and turned to her friends. "...we are not our parents. I mean, stealing things doesn't make you happy. Tourney and victory pizza with the team makes you happy."
Jay smiled at her in agreement.
"And you, scratching Dude's belly makes you happy. Who would've thought?"
Tears formed in Mal's eyes as she looked at the freckle-faced boy and the content dog snuggled in his arms. He offered his own watery grin, holding Dude tighter.
"And Eva, you won an award. People are finally recognising your talent."
Slipping her hand into Jay's, the blue-haired girl squeezed, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her.
"Evie, you do not have to play dumb to get a guy. You are so smart. I don't want to take over the world with evil. It doesn't make me happy. I want to go to school, and be with Ben." Mal turned around, showing the King the gold ring on her finger; his ring. "Because Ben makes me really happy."
Facing her friends once more, the emotional girl continued spouting about how happy their friendship made her. Eyes connecting with Eva's, Mal mentally conveyed that no matter how many times the two butted heads, she would always be by her side. Minds made up, Jay and Evie placed their hand atop Mal's after she declared to the entire Cathedral that she was choosing to be good.
"So, just to be clear, we don't have to worry about how really mad our parents are going to be? Because they're going to be really mad."
"Your parents can't reach you here." Ben promised.
Carlos nodded, feeling slightly comforted. "Okay, then."
He placed his hand atop his family's, supporting them and their life-changing decision. Encouraged my Mal, the newly-crowned King joined the VKs in their circle of love. Resting her head on his shoulder, the young couple were unaware of the beaming adults watching them. Ben had been right all along; he was ushering in a new era.
A loud swoosh filled the Cathedral just before a large glass window to the left of the dais Green mist filled the room and people screamed. It spiralled around one of the columns before coming to a stop in the middle of the scattered VKs. As the smoke cleared, a victorious Maleficent was revealed with staff in hand.
"I'm baaack!"
Mal huffed tiredly. "Go away, mother."
"You're very funny," snorted Maleficent. "Here. Wand me. Chop, chop."
Looking at her mother's familiar green eyes, Mal took a brief second to deliberate before launching the wand across the room. It landed in Fairy Godmother's outstretched hand, who immediately attempted to spell the dangerous dragon.
"Boo." Maleficent finished, raising her staff in the air.
A green glow filled the room and everyone, aside from the VKs, froze. Humming to herself, the villain wandered over to Adam and pulled the glasses off his face. Glancing at him for a moment, she moved on after shoving his glasses back onto his nose haphazardly.
"Now, where shall we begin? I know. Why don't we start by getting rid of this?" With a wave of the magic wand, Ben's ring flew from Mal's finger. It slid down the wand, coming to a halt about halfway down. "Perfect fit!"
Staring at her bare finger mournfully, Mal sunk her teeth into her lip ass he watched her perfect future slowly slip away. Maleficent nudged the crown that sat on Ben's head, leaving it askew.
"Falling in love is weak, and ridiculous. It's not what you want."
"You don't know what I want! Mom, have you ever once asked me what I want? Love is not weak or ridiculous. It's actually really amazing."
Rolling her eyes at the teenage melodrama, the feared villain reminded them that she had countless experience in wickedness and that one day - so long as they didn't waste time on pathetic fantasies such as love - their time would come as well. Fed up of her emotions being brushed aside, Mal commanded the wand from her mother's hand. Polished wood connected with her palm, shocking her.
Pacing erratically, Maleficent barked for her daughter to give it back. Responding to the call, Dude started yapping before throwing himself at the dragon. Recoiling, the horned woman pushed the dog away, giving Jay the opportunity to leap forward for the staff. Grinning, Maleficent gripped Jay's arm tightly before launching him backwards with a flick of her fingers.
"Jay!" Eva exclaimed, bending down to check on him.
"Enough," screeched Maleficent.
The VKs panicked as green mist filled the air once again, blinding them. Once it cleared, a gargantuan dragon filled the space before the dais. The temperature in the room spiked as the dark dragon inhaled deeply. A bead of sweat rolled down Eva's neck. Before they were burnt to a crisp, the VKs scattered as a column of fire burst past them. Running, Jay tried to dodge the fire-breather pursuing him.
"Careful, Jay!" Eva begged, watching as he skidded on the polished floor.
Her heart pounded as she watched her friend sprint down the blue carpet towards them. Sharp teeth gleamed in the bright light as Maleficent's jaws prepped for the final blow.
"Magic mirror, show your bright light." Evie said, having pulled the hand-held mirror from her clutch.
A blinding white light shone in the dragon's eyes, impairing her vision. Attempting to shake it off, she crashed to the ground snarling.
"The strength of evil is good as none when stands before four hearts as one." Mal chanted, eyes glowing brighter with each word.
Shaking under the intense gaze of her mother, the heir refused to cave in as she continued uttering the words. A warm hand slipped into hers and the voice that joined her informed Mal that it was Eva offering support. As the other three VKs joined, the evil dragon vanished in a cloud of smoke. A small lump fell to the floor at the same time that Fairy Godmother was released from the spell.
"Did you do it?" Evie asked.
All five of them stood over a small dark lizard, unsure what to do with it or how to process what had happened. Hurrying over to them, Fairy Godmother reassured that it wasn't Mal's fault her mother was a reptile; Maleficent had shrunk to the size of the love in her heart.
"That's why it's so itty-bitty."
Eva snorted before trying to cover it up with a cough. In her peripheral vision, she saw Jay smirk at her. Trading the wand for the boyfriend's ring, Fairy Godmother granted them all an 'A' in Remedial Goodness class for their heroic actions. Turning back to the royal family, the good fairy waved her magic wand, returning the residents of Auradon back to their natural state. Both the Beast and his son charged forward with a slight roar until their loved ones calmed them down.
"Careful." Mal panicked when an attendant covered the lizard with the bell jar. "That's my mom."
Giggling, Eva wrapped her arms around her two favourite boys. "I love you guys."
Returning the sentiment, the two of them squished her in the middle of them. "Let's get this party started!"
A/N: I know these chapters are short but I promise, Harry is on his way 😂