Notes:
Hey Descendants,
Dark here. I apologize for missing yesterday's update. We had an unexpected death in the family over the weekend and we're still processing that life experience and all that comes with it. So with that and the holiday we'll be taking the rest of the week off and starting fresh next week.
Stay safe fellow Descendants, and Happy Holidays if you celebrate. Lots of love.
(See the end of the chapter for questions.)
Late Saturday night, early Sunday morning
Mal smiles at the growl that leaves their princess's throat as the roar of a dragon echoes around the room, stirring her from her beauty sleep.
That doesn't stop her from fumbling with the damn thing to get it so shut off before Evie started throwing things at her. When she finally hits the mute button she waits for several breaths before she even dared to make another noise, waiting for the beast across the room to settle.
Once she's sure Evie was back asleep, she swipes her phone open.
M? R u up?
Mal takes a deep breath as her eyes glance to the clock in the corner. It was nearly three am. Her chest constricts as a sense of foreboding settles over her.
T.
She rolls out of bed, swallowing a groan before she quickly gets dressed. A ghost of a smile tilts her lips. Another thing to add to her list, sneaking around a real castle a was a lot smoother than trying it at the hangout or bargain castle.
She grabs her phone after she throws on her boots.
Where r we meeting?
Might get loud. Woods?
Yep. Definitely T related. She swallows her throat suddenly dry. Had Jay done more research while she was on her date with Ben? She rolls her bottom lip between her teeth, nervous of what fucking horrible shit she was about to discover.
Nothing ever made her regret things in her life the way T's secrets did. Back when she'd been obsessed with discovering T's secrets, it was because she felt sure T was a spy for her mother or was trying to take over her gang. Maybe even worked for the other gangs. But she never, in a million years could have fathomed how deep and painful T's secrets were.
And not just to him. T's secrets were fucking with her and Jay. And Deez, she'd written him that letter pleading for his help after all.
So basically, anyone who knew anything about T was probably not sleeping well.
She sighs, it still didn't make any fucking sense.
T was just so clueless sometimes, obnoxiously naive and optimistic. She frowns. At least he had been. She lets out a sigh as she locks the door behind her. Before whatever triggered this snap.
Behind the Tourney Field?
C u there
She wasn't surprised to see Jay already there and waiting for her when she finally makes it to the treeline.
He was pacing back and forth between two trees. Each time he reaches one he punches it before turning. Just back and forth the few feet that spanned them. Though it was dark, she could easily imagine the damage he was doing to his hands. She could even imagine the metallic scent of blood in the air.
"Hey." It seemed stupid to reach out to stop him with as volatile as he looked and as turbulent as he felt. But she didn't have much of a choice if she didn't want him to break his hands. It's not like she could diffuse the situation with words. So with a strange sense of confidence, certainly more than she felt, she walks over to him, interrupting his path of hand destruction.
She covers his hands with hers, biting back a gasp when she feels his warm and slick skin under her fingers. "What the fuck were you thinking, asshole?" She spits out before she can even think about stopping it.
Jay blinks, shaking his head as he looks down at her, "M." He sighs resentfully.
Mal lets out a sigh of resignation. Great so now she at least knew what he did when he got in the state C did when he cleaned. Or E did when she started redoing her make-up repetitively. He was going to regret this tomorrow during practice and class. "Asshole." She greets with a concerned frown. The pit in her stomach grew heavier as it seemed to expand with dread. What could have caused Jay, her second, her rock, to freak out like this? She was going to have to start carrying around medical supplies for these meetings.
Jay takes a deep breath and holds it for several seconds before he slowly lets it out. "Sorry. I uh- I had too much time to think."
"Well, that's never fucking good," Mal shakes her head as she drops one of her hands and starts guiding them deeper into the woods. "Think of how much trouble that gets C in."
"I know right." Jay follows her without resistance, "But… I, look I'm more than happy to shove this shit somewhere else. You've got a lot going on with Ben and-"
"Oh, I don't fucking think so." Mal spits out. She was fucking tempted, but not with what she'd just interrupted. "Asshole." She couldn't let him bear this weight alone, not when he was dealing with it like this.
"Got it, I'm an asshole." A small smile cracks Jay's somberness, revealing his white teeth. "Look, today I uh- I found a lot of stuff. And then laying in bed and staring at the ceiling, I think I figured out even more."
"Well, I'm glad you weren't butchering your hands for shits and giggles at least." She glares at him. That was going to be hard to explain away in the morning.
Jay looks down at his hands, "Yeah, this is kind of new, isn't it." He chuckles nervously before he rubs the back of his neck, absently looking back towards the isle, "I guess I miss him more than I realized."
Mal lifts a painfully manicured brow. "Who, T?"
"No… Well, yes, but no-" Jay huffs in frustration, "I uh, look, don't get mad okay-"
"Sounds promising, continue."
Jay sighs, "Look. I've always had someone I could talk to about this stuff. Mostly checking in about Deez and then T. Sharing information about rumors and shit. But… I, M, I miss talking to Harry."
Mal pauses mid-step as she turns to stare at Jay in disbelief, part of her finding it strange her first reaction hadn't been to smack him.
"I know. I didn't expect it either." He holds his free hand up defenselessly, "Like I said, it started with us just like checking in on the fire princess when she'd disappear, and then just kind of, I don't know, grew from there?"
"Hook?" She frowns, part of her feeling hurt that she wasn't good enough before she pushes that shit down. "You've gotta be-" She shakes her head, "Did Evie have secret meetings with Uma too?" She asks incredulously. First, it was C with Gil, except it wasn't apparently, it was Jay and Harry.
"No. Dammit Mal." Jay huffs, "It wasn't like that. We were both seconds. And both our leaders wanted to keep eyes on Deez. So it made sense that we teamed up to keep you both informed. And then we just, I don't know, it was nice to talk to someone else who had the same responsibilities to their gang."
Mal takes a deep breath before she exhales. "I just thought you were amazing at gathering information."
"I am." Jay glares, "I knew when to make an alliance and when to strike out on my own. I knew that you'd kill me for having that, but I also knew it was the best thing I could do for us."
Mal does her best not to wince at his rising voice. She wasn't sure if she'd ever seen this side of Jay. She squeezes his hand. "Ya know what, you're right. I wouldn't have swallowed my pride like that to talk to an enemy but, you're right. It was strategic, and you deserve props for that."
Jay blinks in surprise.
"I'll deny it if you ever tell anyone I said that though." She teases lightly.
"Enemy huh?" Jay slowly looks back up at her, "Are we all still enemies"
Mal frowns, "No… I don't think we are."
"So, Deez is getting her way huh?" Jay lightly chuckles, "She always said Harry and I would be friends if we could just set the gangs aside."
"Fucking little brat." Mal rolls her eyes. "But, I mean, since we're being honest, even though I only spent like a night with the kid, I liked Gil."
"It's hard not to like that kid," Jay laughs, "Especially with all the shit he puts up with. I don't know how he keeps his calm with Uma and Harry being so fucking extra all the time."
If this had been a month ago she would've been pissed that her second wasn't only friends with one of their rivals, but two. "You did spend a lot of time with the nerds." She snorts, "Never would have never guessed that about Uma's muscle."
"You were the one that didn't wholly trust the idea of their book club." Jay shrugs, "So yeah, I checked in."
"You did shit like that a lot for me…" She realizes. "And I don't think I've ever really stopped to appreciate that." She admits as she looks up at him with sad eyes. "And I'm sorry that Harry isn't here to talk to about this shit when he's always been your goto for it. I kinda wish he was too."
Jay sighs before his eyes drop to their hands, "Deez is right. Harry wouldn't be able to handle all the half-answers we have." He squeezes her hand, "That's why she came to me about it. It does make me wonder if the rest of them know yet, or if she's still sitting on it."
"It could honestly be either. It depends on how urgent it is that the others know. I mean he seemed relatively normal at the Howler besides the-" she shudders at the memory of T playing with the giant guard spider like it was Dude. "So if he's acting like that still she's probably sitting on it."
"If they're even together." Jay sighs helplessly.
Mal stomps her foot as she glares up at him defiantly, "You can't start thinking that way. They're both on the ship, being Uma's problems now."
"I don't know if T would go back to the ship."
Mal tilts her head to the side, "Why the fuck would he not go to the ship?"
"Because I think I know what he saw behind the door that fucked him up so bad."
"Seriously?" Mal steps back to study him, "How? It's been bothering for weeks how did you manage to figure it out-" She stops herself. "I'm so sorry that's how you spent your day. That must've been a fucking waking nightmare."
Jay holds up his free hand, "It gets worse Mal. So much worse."
"Oh I assumed, you wouldn't be caught in a loop like that for only one of the hundred answers we're looking for."
"Okay… So, I learned more about Frollo-"
Mal holds up her hand, "Let's build to that. What made T snap and is keeping him from the ship, fantasy killer."
"He said he opened a door when he should have knocked first, right? He said something like that to me recently too."
"Yeah," Mal nods.
"Well, I uh… You've heard the rumors that those three are very close right?"
"You mean the way they all fuck each other right?"
Jay nods, "Well, I think T might have walked in on one of their fucks."
"That's what he gets for acting like he owns places." Mal frowns, "But why would that bother him?"
"That's why I was going to explain the rest of my day first," Jay sighs, "because that particular insight happened right before I texted you."
"Oh." Mal sighs as she pulls them over to the widest tree before she finally drops his hand and slides her back down it. "This seems like a sitting conversation, so sit."
Jay pulls his phone out before he joins her, sitting close to ward off the chill, "Here, just… I found this earlier when Carlos helped Ben hack into flies."
Mal takes the phone from him curiously. Her eyes sweep over the woman curiously before she feels her heart jump to her throat as the similarities between her and T begin to strike her. When she gets to the older woman's eyes she stops breathing for a moment. They even had the same sparkle that screamed pain in the ass. "Who the fuck is she?" She shoves back his phone as the sensation of dread creeps back over her. Even she was missing Hook right now.
"Her name is Esmerelda. And she's one of the reasons Frollo is on the isle."
She grips her stomach as some part of her recognizes the implications before her mind could process it.
"She was a gypsy girl that caught his attention." Jay shakes his head, "But first, before she ever showed up, he took a kid and raised him in the bell tower of the church. Kept him from leaving." He squeezes his eyes shut, "I mean, it's like he combined the two situations with T."
"You are seriously trying to shatter my illusion that T is a boy." Mal frowns. Something in her gut lurches as she puts together pieces she'd always thought were odd about the kid. Her stomach plummets back down as if a brick dropped in her belly. Her thoughts finally catching up with her body as her breath hitches. No. Nope. There was no way T was being… She couldn't even muster the courage to think the ugly word. Under her watch. Under Jays. Everything they'd ever been worried about happening to Evie couldn't have possibly been happening to T, the fucking unclaimed hero of the fucking isle. Her stomach turns. But if he could hide his gender the whole time… She curls into a ball as she hugs her knees to her chest. She tucks her head against her knees as she fights the bile crawling up her throat.
She never thought you could get sick off of a thought. She'd joked about it before, but she'd never felt such a gut reaction to just knowing something. She didn't even know it was possible.
She swallows hard. The way T acted the day he'd scared the ever-living shit out of her suddenly made a fuck ton more sense. And she thought she wore a heavy mask. What kind of burden was that to carry around? A chill penetrates her bones, and it took her a moment to realize she's shivering with cold sweats as well. How had she failed to notice something so profoundly important? She found herself stuck going over the day the deal was made in excruciating detail as her breath leaves her in a whoosh. Her eyes blur with tears as she realizes she was feeling the same way T must've when he spoke about failing so completely.
"Welcome to the party." Jay slams his head back against the tree before he snakes his arm over her shoulder and pulls her to his side.
"Some fucking party," Mal mumbles, her voice cracking as she does her best to keep her tears at bay. Only to fail at that miserably as well.
"I cried if that helps," Jay whispers as he rubs her arm.
It sounded like he was again, but she didn't care to check as she leans closer, finding solace in the touch and its warmth. "I… I think Senior knows."
"He does." Jay squeezes her tightly, "Deez wrote that he confirmed a lot of it for her."
Mal's nod was nearly imperceptible. Great. Because T needed another OV having ammunition against him. And one that had already tried to kill him apparently.
Why was she so close to losing the battle with her stomach? Why was she crying about it? Why couldn't she get angry about it like T and Jay had? The self-loathing and disappointment swirling in her was the push she'd been missing. A whimper leaves her lips, unbidden before she bites it off. It didn't even happen to her. She couldn't, shouldn't get sick over someone else's abuse. She couldn't get sick like this. But her stomach disagreed.
The world spins before she finds herself braced over the ground, supported by Jay as she gagged on pure stomach bile. The slick yellow acid burned the back of her throat as it came up, and she could only be glad it didn't taste like rotten strawberries.
"I did this too," Jay assures her as he holds her hair back.
Her stomach convulses several times, even after there was clearly nothing left in it. She takes a deep, shaky breath before she wipes the back of her hand over her mouth.
"You good?" Jay questions softly.
At her nod, he slowly helps her to sit back against the tree.
She wraps her arms around her stomach and rocks herself, still afraid to speak. The thought that Jay had done the same thing was bitter-sweet. On one hand, she wouldn't wish this feeling on Atilla, but on the other, it was a relief to know she wasn't weak. If only because he'd had the same reaction.
"Fuck." She exhales in exhaustion, feeling as if years had just been stripped from her. The cold stings at her wet cheeks as she lets her body collapse into the tree. The weight in her stomach felt ten times heavier despite the fact she knew it was empty.
"Yeah." Jay nods before he removes a couple of layers, wadding his vest up before he passes it to her, "There's a ton of clothes in the room now, so I won't miss this." He smiles before he slips his arms back into his jacket.
Mal stares at him in surprise, but doesn't draw attention to the fact he'd just given her his favorite vest to clean sick off herself. "Thanks," She breathes out more meekly than she cared to acknowledge.
Jay chuckles as he tilts his head back to tilt his head to look at the trees above them as the wind whistles through the leaves. "At least today wasn't a complete fuck fest."
"How?" She demands incredulously.
"You rarely admit when I'm right, and you even managed a thanks." He smiles as he looks back down
Mal's lip twitches into the smallest of smiles before she punches his shoulder, "Oh, shut up."
"There's the Dragon." Jay chuckles as he stands up and offers her his hand.
She takes it, letting him pull her to her feet. "We need to do something about your hands before we get back. Carlos and E will flip if they see them like this."
Notes:
Luckily Twisted got these written last week :D
So….That was a chapter right?
We know, that you know, what they know. And though this chapter might seem superfluous it's one thing to think and another thing to confirm. And you damn sure can consider this myth confirmed in both Mal and Jay's book.
But backing up from that for a moment…
What did you guys think about Mal taking Jay and Harry's friendship in stride? It was certainly a lot easier for her to swallow with her second acting so outta character. It's hard to be mad when you're that scared and concerned- For her anyways. Different strokes for different folks and all that… Because as we can clearly see, Jay's one angry mother fucker with his.
What did you guys think of Mal admitting that the Sea3 were no longer enemies? Was anyone expecting that to happen so early? Trust us when we say we have way more interesting plot to lay over the holes left by some canonic petty rivalry.
And Mal admitting she was wrong about something? Even in our universe that only happens once in a blue moon. (Come on now, if we changed everything about her she would just be another OC)
Fast Forwarding back to the heavy shit…
So yeah. That pretty much sums up T and Faustina's childhood in a nutshell. A fucked up cross between Quasimodo and Esmeralda. Raise your hands if you saw that coming. We know you were all already there, but these characters weren't. Not like this anyways.
T getting raped by his father, up till this chapter, still wasn't fathomable to either of these teenagers.
However when pieces click they click hard when T is concerned.
Talk about wishing to unknow something…
So did we nail this chapter?
Was it everything you wanted in the revelation?
Let us know
In the comments below
Much love and appreciation,
-Twisted