Rattling chains echoed down the extravagant hallway and into Audrey's pink room. Steeling herself for his appearance, Maddy knew that she had to remain as calm as possible when Hades entered the room. She wasn't here as his daughter, she was here as Ben and Mal's bodyguard; ready to defend them against the villainous God.
"Thank you for coming." Mal smiled diplomatically, hopping up to greet the chained man.
"Didn't have much of a choice." Hades snarked.
However, he wasn't referring to the fact that he was chained and surrounded by guards. He didn't have a choice because he was unable to refuse his girls. Unable to say no to them when they asked him for a favour. That's why it had been so hard to crush Maddy's dream of breaking the barrier so long ago. He hadn't wanted to destroy the hopes of the greatest thing he had ever done.
"Can you wake her?" Ben asked, taking control of the situation.
"Since when do heroes care about villains?"
"She's-"
"One of your own." Hades filled in. "When you guys try to destroy the world, it's an error of judgement. But when it's one of us, lock them up and throw away the key."
Maddy couldn't help but agree with her father. Audrey was getting revived and so far, there had been no mention of consequences for the terror and hurt she had waged. She had turned people to stone, Maddy included. And placed a version of Beast's curse upon King Ben. And yet, nothing.
Whereas the villains of the story had been forced onto the Isle without trial. Their own children had also been punished for something that had happened long before their time. All because King Adam hadn't wanted to open the barrier.
"I'm going to need to use my hands." Hades began clanking his chains together obnoxiously.
As the guards unshackled Hades' hands, Ben urged Maddy forward, reminding her of her job.
Calling her flames forward, she held her fiery hands up, ready to use if needed. Noticing the magic in her hands, Hades chuckled.
"I guess the ember unlocked the darkness within."
Maddy took a step closer to him so that he could feel the burning heat radiating from her. She noticed that the angry she was, the hotter the flames. From across the room, King Adam and Dowager Queen Belle began sweating slightly.
"Are you really going to use my own power against me? I guess you really are your father's daughter. I'm guessing you've begun stealing souls as well after the state you left that Hook boy in."
Hades took no pride in the way his daughter flinched away from his cruel words, flames dimming slightly.
━━━━━━ ♡ ⚓︎ ♡ ━━━━━━
Sat in the back of a limo with her father, God of the Underworld, was not how Maddy envisioned her afternoon going. All she wanted to do was curl up in bed, eat cake, and cry at the happy memories she had collected of the people she loved. Instead, she was forced to wear her guard uniform and pretend she was on the verge of tears.
Silence engulfed the space between the father-daughter duo, and when the limo finally rolled to a stop before the barrier, Maddy was grateful to put even more space between her and Hades.
Throughout the car journey, Hades had mulled over the numerous things he wanted to say to his daughter, apologies, excuses, declarations. Nothing sounded good enough. He knew that no matter what he said, she would brush it off and act indifferent.
She was hurting and all he wanted to do was comfort her. Instead, he turned to face with an expression of boredom.
Alighting her hands, she faced her father for the last time. After this, the barrier would remain closed forever, locking in the villains and shutting out the VKs at Auradon. If she wanted to, she could go through the barrier and find her crew. The opportunity was right there.
However, she had responsibilities back at Auradon. A life, a job, and amazing friends. At Auradon, she had the opportunity to change Mal and Ben's mind about the barrier.
"You know, I really am proud of you." Hades smiled at the beautiful woman his daughter had turned into. "Despite becoming a hero. You've grown into a strong, young woman and I'm not just saying that because you have my power. If our lives were different, you would have made a powerful demigod."
Knowing it was the kindest compliment she could've gotten from her father, Maddy nodded her head in appreciation. Her lip wobbled slightly but she tried to control it. She was not getting to break down now; her father would not be the cause of her tears.
The barrier opened slightly and Hades was unshackled. He turned to face Maddy for the last time but one of the guards shoved him through the barrier before hastily closing it so no one could escape through.
Once the other guards had gotten back into the limo, Maddy walked up to the barrier and placed her hand on it, looking at her father with regret and sadness.
"Bye, Dad."
Hades cold heart warmed upon hearing the term of endearment and he hated the barrier separating him from his twins.
Pressing his hand against hers, he hated the fact that he would never be given the chance to hold her hand.
"Bye, little girl."
Reluctantly, Maddy pulled away and walked back to the limo when the driver called her name. Just before she slid into her seat, she turned to look at her father for the last time. A sob slipped past her lips when she saw that he was joined by Uma, Gil and Harry. Waving goodbye to them, she climbed into the limo before they could see the tears fall.
As the limo pulled away from the Isle, Maddy didn't look back.
━━━━━━ ♡ ⚓︎ ♡ ━━━━━━
Looking over at the clock on her desk, the time read 00:00. Her purple eyes had gone blurry an hour ago and she knew that she should go to sleep. Glancing down at the book of magic, Maddy shook herself awake and reminded herself of why she was forcing herself to endure hours and hours of boring text.
Stretching, she forced her body out of the chair and shuffled towards the kitchen in search of a hot chocolate. A little bit of sugar should help clear her fuzzy head slightly. Passing the lounge, Maddy noticed Jay was sat in an armchair, in the dark, watching the TV.
Perching herself on the arm of the chair, she rested her head atop his one, snuggling into the warmth of his body.
"What are you still doing up, squirt?"
"Couldn't sleep. Why are you awake?"
"Catching up on a tourney match."
Maddy let out a quiet chuckle before yawning loudly.
"Come on. Let's get you to bed." Jay scooped the smaller girl into his arms, carrying her down the hallway and into her room, which she had recently changed from purple to light blue.
"But, I need-"
Steering her away from the desk littered with books and papers, he placed her on the bed and gave her a stern look.
"Maddy, you can continue researching loopholes for the barrier in the morning. Right now, you need to get some sleep. You will be of no use to the Isle if you're collapsing from exhaustion."
"How did you know-"
"Come on. I'll even tuck you in."
True to his word, Jay pulled the covers up over her, placed a glass of water on the nightstand and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Night, Maddy."
Just as he was about to turn out the lights, her sleepy voice called out for him.
"Love you, big brother." Maddy mumbled, already starting to drift off.
"Love you too, little sister. Now go to sleep or I'm not making you pancakes for breakfast."
Light snores filled the room and Jay smiled fondly at the sleeping lump snuggled under the covers. Looking around at the mess in her room, magic books and articles everywhere, Jay vowed to help her get her happy ending. Even if he had to beg the King on his hands and knees. Whilst he didn't like Harry, he was perfect for Maddy and them being separated was like a part of Maddy was missing.
Turning off the light, Jay closed the door behind him and let the girl get some well deserved rest.