"ACE!! Get your grimy butt up here this instant!" A deep, shrill voice screamed from the lounge area in a ratty apartment.
Those who were outside took pity on the poor soul who had to deal with the murderous Queen's wrath, scurrying away from the house as if she would be coming outside to chop the heads off of each one of them. It was a normal occurrence, the Queen of Hearts' anger flaring with even the smallest thing. The giant of a woman was not known to be delicate to those who angered her, but without her castle and dungeon, her punishments were severely lessened, and four years after being moved to the Isle of the Lost, her anger focused solely on one person; Ace of Hearts, her son.
"Coming mother!" A boy with black and red hair yelled from outside the apartment building, a quick flash of fear in his red eyes that his four best friends caught with ease. The girl with short purple hair stepped forward, opening her mouth to say something when the boy turned and smiled weakly at them, scratching lightly at his cheek.
"Sorry, guys. I have to go. I'll catch up in a bit." He said softly, bowing his head a little before turning back to enter their home. The girl frowned, opening her mouth again as he began to walk away.
"Ace!" She called, prompting the boy to turn his head, black side of his bangs falling into his face. She looked conflicted for a moment, before a small smirk appeared and she crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back slightly as she shifted her weight. "We'll be down by the slums, so get over there fast, you got it?"
The boy nodded, turning his head and starting his walk back into the building. His long black and red coat fluttered behind him, and his footsteps were so silent that his friends could hardly believe he was walking. The boy with white and black spiked hair looked over to the girl who spoke. "Hey, Mal? You sure it's a good idea not to go with him?"
"Yeah Mal, his mom sounded really angry." The girl with blue hair said softly, lightly biting her lips as she looked up at their apartment. They could see flashes of red, black, and white on a big figure, and a small red flash darting around the big one. Ace's mom and dad.
"He'll just get mad at us if we follow him, and our parents won't be happy if we show we actually care about him." Mal said, sighing as she turned to walk down to the slums and cause mischief with her friends.
"Yeah, but... Even they don't like how she treats them." The fourth friend, a boy with long, straight black hair and a maroon beanie on his head, said.
"Still. We are the children of some of the most powerful villains in the world! We can't afford to go soft- we have to protect Ace from the others. He's too kind to live here and survive, you know that."
All four of them sighed, looking back at the apartment one last time before heading off to the slums in defeat.
When Ace entered the lounge area, he caught his father in his arms as he was thrown from his mother's outrage. "Dad? Are you alright?" He asked worriedly, looking down at the tiny man he was cradling to his chest. The man adjusted his large crown and smiled up at his son.
"O-o-oh, yes! Yes, I'm alright! I was just trying to calm your mother a little. I'm afraid it didn't work." His father said as Ace placed him back on the floor. His mother growled as she turned, and both Ace and his father tensed. She almost had literal flames coming from her eyes, and her face was quickly turning darker shades of red.
Ace quickly knelt to one leg, placing his right hand over his heart and bowing his head. "What did you need me for, my Queen?" He asked emotionlessly, staying as still as possible even though he was scared beyond belief. A moment later he felt a painful stinging on his cheek, hard enough to bruise and cause tears to form in his eyes, but he still did not look up at his mother without her permission.
"How dare you not make the cut!" She screeched, and he felt something sharp hit his shoulder. He swallowed thickly and ran his tongue across his chapped lips before daring to speak.
"The cut for what, my Queen?"
"To go to Auradon Prep!" She screeched, and another bruising hit was given to Ace. The Queen of Hearts was breathing heavily, almost snarling like a ferocious beast as she hit him again and again. "You were my one ticket out of this dump, and you don't even get qualified!! All your friends were chosen, but were you? NO! You are just a waste of space, you useless card!"
Ace flinched, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to try and stop his tears from falling or his voice from shaking. "I apologize, my Queen. I will try to be better." He said, feeling like he was dying inside and cotton had been shoved into his mouth. His friends had been chosen to go across the barrier? They were going to leave him here, all alone?
"Dear, please! Ace did nothing wrong, after all. He didn't even know they were choosing villain kids!" His father said shakily, walking over to his wife's feet and starting his climb to her shoulders. "B-Besides, they said only the most evil villains' kids would be going! That means they think you are sweeter than them, isn't that lovely?" King of Hearts said softly, leaning towards his wife's ear so she could hear him.
"They do?" Queen of Hearts asked, shocked, as the red drained from her face.
The King of Hearts smiled, nodding quickly. "Yes, they do! They think you are a wonderful girl, and didn't want to part you from your son so soon!" He lied, but it seemed to work as Queen of Hearts blushed and looked bashful, giggling as she did.
"Oh, that's so sweet of them!" She said bashfully, before her eyes fell on Ace and she frowned for a moment. "Ace!"
The boy's flinch was miniscule, but there. "Yes, my Queen?"
"Get out of my sight! I don't want to see you again until Maleficent returns with the others!"
"Yes, my queen." Ace said, quickly standing and walking as calmly as he could up the stairs and to the room he shared with Jay and Carlos. He went over to his bed and pulled out a first aid kit from underneath it, opening the box and pulling out anything he might need. He took off his jacket and his shirt, going over to the girls' room next door so he could borrow their mirror.
When he looked into the mirror he saw his eyes pink and slightly puffy from holding back tears, and his left cheek was bright red and swelling a little. His right shoulder was bright red as well, a small thin line of darker red cutting across it. His body was covered in faded scars and fresh cuts; fading bruises that left his body aching. Turning around, he bit his lip when he saw all the new bright red splotches covering his pale skin, surrounded by more scars and bruises. He sighed and began to care for his body, taking a small amount of pain killer to dull the ache that would be appearing at some point.
By the time he was done mending the forming bruises on his body and covering the cut with a bandage, he could hear Maleficent coming in with the others close behind. He went back downstairs to the lounge, sitting down on one end of the couch. He felt someone tapping his leg and looked down to see his father holding up a small bag of ice. "Here, Ace. For your cheek." He said softly, and Ace smiled slightly.
"Thanks, Papa." He said softly, lifting his dad up and setting him next to him before taking the bag of ice offered and pressing it to his cheek.
"I'm sorry about your mother's temper. Are you alright?" King of Hearts asked, eyeing Queen of Hearts wearily. Maleficent came up the steps in a flourish before Mal and the others followed. They went over to Ace and Carlos frowned. "Ace, are you okay?"
"What happened?" Carlos asked, sitting next to Ace after his dad had moved. "Your cheek is really red, man."
"It's nothing, guys. Congratulations, though." Ace said softly, not able to meet any of their eyes.
Jay frowned in confusion, looking at the others for a moment, "Wait, what do you mean congratulations?"
"I'll take care of that!" Maleficent said loudly, and she began to explain about her plan to get Fairy Godmother's wand, ignoring the other's complaints.
None of the kids were excited to be going, mad and upset at their parents. Ace curled up on the couch, watching and listening quietly.
"Wait, why isn't Ace coming with us?" Evie said, pointing to the boy still sitting silently on the couch. At the sound of his name, Ace rubbed at his arm and sighed heavily.
"I'm... Not going. The people over there didn't think it was necessary for me to be a part of their trial run." Ace said softly, pulling his knees up to his chest. Mal gaped at the boy, frowning slightly. "Wait, you knew?!" She snapped, glaring slightly. "You knew what was going on and you didn't tell us or try to stop them from making us go?!"
"I didn't find out until earlier, alright?!" Ace snapped, standing up and taking the ice off his cheek without thinking. His cheek was turning purple and blue already, marring his unscarred face. He looked close to tears. "I didn't know until you guys were gone and then I couldn't leave, okay? So have fun in Auradon while you're there and just enjoy being off this terrible island while I'm stuck here!" He snapped, running out the door and heading outside. He slid down the side of the wall and wrapped his arms around his legs. He watched as a limousine pulled up and a man dressed in black came out, and a few moments later his friends and their parents came down.
"Have fun, guys." Ace said softly, waving as they got into the car. As Evie was about to get in she stopped and rushed over to Ace, hugging him tightly.
"Just wait, Ace. We'll convince them to bring you over. You won't be here alone, I promise." She said softly, hugging him for a moment longer before going to the car. She got in and sighed as they drove off, looking to the others as she loosely twirled a piece of her dark blue hair around her finger. "We need to get him off this island, guys." She said softly, pointing to her cheek a moment later. "Did you see that bruise forming? He can not stay with his mom any longer!"
"I don't know, Evie... She might go after his dad or someone else afterwards." Jay said as he took some of the candy and shoved it into his mouth.
"Everyone else can handle themselves. I mean, his dad survived when they were in Wonderland, right? Can't be that hard." Carlos said with a shrug as he messed with other things in the limo.
Mal frowned slightly in thought, lightly tapping her mother's spell book in her bag. A moment later she grinned, clapping her hands together lightly as she leaned forward. "I have an idea! We'll convince whoever picked us to bring Ace there, too!" She leaned close and dropped her voice to a whisper, "We can use a spell!"
Evie frowned and shook her head. "Wait, why don't we try asking, first? I don't think Ace will appreciate it if we use a spell..."
Mal huffed and leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah, that's true."
--------
When they arrived at Auradon prep, the four of them clamored out of the limo, Jay and Carlos wrestling on the ground and arguing about who gets the electronic in their hands. Carlos had chocolate smeared all over his face, and it was amazing none of it had gotten on his clothes. Mal lightly kicked the boys when she saw a short lady and a boy dressed in a blue suit come over, and gave a slightly forced smile as introductions were made.
Everything went about as normal as it could while Prince Ben and his annoying girlfriend Audrey showed them around, but none of them had been expecting to have to be split from the guy who brought them here so soon. So, before Ben and Audrey could leave them alone with Doug, Mal grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards them as all four of them scrambled to surround him.
"Wait! We need your help with something!" Mal said quickly, concern and desperation dripping through her words.
"What could villains like you possibly need help with?" Audrey asked snidely, making Mal glare. Carlos took over talking to Ben,
"You said that you wanted to bring the children who needed help the most here, right?"
"Yes, I did say that..." Ben said hesitantly, a nervous smile on his face. "Why do you ask?"
"We need you to help our friend get off the island!" Evie said quickly, worry in her eyes, "He doesn't belong there, he's more good than bad! He'll get killed without us there!"
Ben's eyes widened, first in shock then in confusion. "What? Who's kid is he?"
"The Queen of Hearts. You know, big giant of a lady, always screaming 'OFF WITH THEIR HEAD'? Come on, man, you have to do this for us. He'll be dead before the week is over." Jay added, trying to be nonchalant about the ordeal.
Mal sighed and looked at Ben again, her grip loosening on his arm. "Please, Ben. Ace isn't like us. He's the one who deserves to be here more than the four of us combined."
Ben looked at Maleficent's daughter in shock, before clearing his throat and straightening his clothes as he stepped out of the small circle they had made around him. "Alright, I'll see what I can do."
----------
The next day, Ace was hiding away in his room, nursing another bruise on his arm and trying not to cry at the oppressive silence the once lively room carried.
'Don't cry,' He thought, taking a deep breath as he curled up into a ball. 'Princes, much less villains, don't cry. Suck it up, Ace.' He told himself, shivering as he heard his mother's booming voice downstairs. He yelped as his door was slammed open, startled enough to press his back against the wall and staring like a deer caught in headlights at his father, who was darting around and beginning to pack all his stuff.
"D-Dad...? What are you doing?" He wiped at his eyes quickly, hoping that would get rid of the evidence that he was about to cry.
His dad smiled up at him and packed a few of Ace's shirts into a suit case. "The Prince sent a message! He said that you can go to Auradon Prep with the others!"
"What?!" Ace asked, shocked. His dad's grin grew even wider and he nodded, crown slipping from his head.
"Yep yep! Now, come along, help me pack your things! We don't have much time before your ride gets here!" The King of Hearts hopped up onto Ace's bed, gently pushing his son off it and onto his feet before beginning to dart around his portion of the room again.
Ace was still in shock as he helped his dad fill his two bags worth of personal things and school supplies, and as he bowed to his mother and was treated kindly by her for being able to go to the school, if only because she would have a ticket of the island. He stayed in shock until he felt tiny arms wrap about his neck as he stared at the sleek, black limo that had carried his friends off the day before, and heard his dad whisper,
"Merry Unbirthday, Ace! Do you like your present?" He whispered into his ear, and Ace felt tears beginning to form again. He nodded, hugging his dad tightly.
"I love it, Dad."
"Good! Then thank Mal and the others when you get there. I'm positive this was their work."
Ace nodded and hugged his dad one final time before setting him down, giving the other adults a nod before bowing one last time to his mother.
He took a deep breath and got into the back of the limo, waiting until they were past the magic barrier to let his tears fall, and even then, he cried in silence.