Harry's POV
It was a lost battle from the start. (Y/N) beating Lydia's dark magic after already encountering Coy's earlier today was virtually impossible - but she wanted to give (y/n) the illusion of having a chance.
I looked to Lydia, slowly walking down the staircase. "Now what? You won, what are you going to do?"
"Now I take the bracelet myself."
I stood in her way. "Wait!" How do I stop this from happening? "Lydia, listen. You don't want to do this!"
"And why is that?" She grinned, knowing her victory was secured. This is good - she's letting herself get distracted.
"Going down this path, becoming a true villain - it's unlikely you'll ever come back. People will always see you as just the person who ruined lives - and you will get caught."
"No, I won't! I have enough family backing me up, to get me out of a sticky situation."
"Family, no doubt, that's made up of other villains. You should know better than anyone that no matter what, a villain will put themselves first. Whether it's your sibling, or your parents..."
"I don't have time for this." She tried advancing forward.
"Just hear me out!"
[This is "Once Upon a Time" from Descendants 3 - yup, Harry Hook is finally getting a solo :)]
Harry @ Lydia:
Here you are alone, and you deserve it
You've made my friends go cold
And that's on you
[Lydia rolls her eyes]
You had a cause to serve but did you serve it?
Or did you see yourself in a way that wasn't true?
Harry @ himself (reflection):
This is not your father's fairytale
And no, it's not your mother's fault you fail
So when your story comes to light
Make sure the story that they write
Goes once upon a time a boy tried harder
Once upon a time, he tried again
Once upon a braver choice
He took a risk
He used his voice
And that will be my once upon a time
This time
Harry @ Lydia:
Why tell all those lies?
You feel unworthy
Like there isn't solid ground for you to stand
But a stack of lies is not a firm foundation
You cannot build a castle on a mountain made of sand
This is not your mother's dark desire
Harry @ himself:
And no, it's not my father's sail on fire
Harry @ Lydia:
Turns out it's you who's not awake
So if there's change you wanna make
Harry:
Take once upon a time he fought a princess
Once upon a time, he fell in love
Once upon a misspent youth
He faced himself
He spoke the truth
That's how I see my once upon a time
This time
Life is not a storybook but life unfolds in chapters
Harry @ Lydia:
Turn the page and start to make amends
[She slowly turns to look back at (y/n)]
Harry:
There's no pre-written guarantee of "happily ever after"
Step into your greatness before your story ends
So when your story ends
Harry @ (y/n) (reflection):
They'll say once upon a time a girl fought fire
Once upon a time, she made things right
Once upon a tie that binds
She changed my heart
And changed their minds
That's got to be our once upon a time
This once upon a time
Harry:
I'll finally see my once upon a time
This time
She stopped herself and looked at me - the same genuineness I had seen back at her room that day. "But Mother knows best, always."
"Lydia, I know how it is having a villain for a parent. You may think they know best, but you need to think about what's best for you. Don't you want a life here? Like how Mal, Uma, I, and countless other VKs have worked so hard to maintain? Or do you want to return to that miserable Isle where you'll be your Mother's puppet for life?"
"I've been... fighting this in me for a while. Of course, when I look at you and (y/n) - and how a VK like Harry Hook is living the life here in Auradon - I get jealous! You know that the dream of every VK, since the time we could think, was to be one of those Auradon princes or princesses. But it's not that easy to break free."
"Every one of us VKs here in Auradon today has had to fight to come here. We've all argued and struggled with our parents - some having it worse than others. But you can't choose to take the easy way out and just stay stuck in your tower for the rest of your life!"
"And what if Mother, or Coy, comes looking for me? What if I'm their next target?"
"We'll protect you. Give up your evil ways and King Ben himself will ensure your safety from them. I can guarantee that."
She smiled. "I want that then! I want to live like a princess! I'm tired of the pressure put on me to be bad - I want to be good!"
"Then prove it, by right here and right now, waking everyone up. All of Auradon."
"I believe I owe the two of you something first." I glanced over at (y/n), still "sleeping" on the ground. I looked at Lydia to continue. "True love's kiss? I know that you probably didn't care as much about that kiss not working - it was a different spell for god's sake - but these princesses sometimes find it hard to rationalize their precious "true love's kiss" not being the answer to everything. Here's your chance to prove to her that you love her."
"What about the spell this time?"
"It's far tamer, a simple sleeping curse. I didn't go through the trouble of casting an "unbreakable" spell on all of Auradon."
"Um..." I was hesitant to do it.
"Go on, be your princess' hero! I promise this isn't a trick."
"I don't know about this - I'm convinced it'll work, but actually testing it out is a different thing." How did (y/n) muster up the courage to do this - in front of literally everyone?
"Come on Harry. If it doesn't work - which I doubt is even a possibility - then the only people who'll know are you and me, and I won't tell the princess. Cross my heart."
[This is inside Harry's head right now (or one of those scenes where everything else freezes and a character dances and sings around LOL) - "One Kiss" from Descendants 3]
Harry:
Don't freak out, it's okay
'Cause true love can save the day
And I think we feel the same
But I don't know
When we met, it was sweet
She was oh so into me
Seems like things are meant to be
But I don't know
Does she love me? Or does she love me not?
Do I love her? And is it strong enough?
One kiss, one kiss
It all comes down to this
One kiss, one kiss
Ohh
One kiss, one kiss
This moment could be it
I, I, I wanna know
So here I go (go)
Keep it cool, keep it calm
Think she's loved me all along
But maybe I got it wrong
So I don't know (hey)
She's so good, got my back
But maybe I'm just too bad
Could we be a perfect match?
Now, I don't know
Does she love me? Or does she love me not?
Do I love her? And is it strong enough? Ooh-ooh-ooh
One kiss, one kiss
It all comes down to this
One kiss, one kiss
Ohh
One kiss, one kiss
This moment could be it
I, I, I wanna know
So here I go (go)
Yeah, here I go
I feel my heartbeat beating saying, "It's gonna work"
But if I'm dream-dream-dreaming, this is gonna hurt
Either I will or I won't
What if I do and she don't?
Is she my Juliet?
Oh, there's only one, one way to really know
Hey, one kiss, one kiss
It all comes down to this (one kiss)
One kiss, one kiss (one kiss)
Ohh
One kiss, one kiss
This moment could be it
I, I, I wanna know (I wanna know)
So here I go (go)
Here I go
Here I go (here I go, here I go)
Here I go
"Okay, here I go..."
Lydia stood at the side, barely being about to contain her excitement. I swear, villains have the most rapid personality changes.
I slowly dropped to my knees and leaned over her - way paler than usual - face.
"Time to test our love, eh princess?" I whispered.
I placed a soft kiss on her frigid lips, my eyes closed. Did it work?
I opened my eyes, leery of the harsh truth I could be faced with.
I looked back at Lydia. "Give it a moment..." She reassured.
And just like that, (y/n)'s eyes shot wide open. "What happened?" She said with panic.
She quickly sat up, and then had to lean on one of her arms for support.
"Hey, easy. You're giving yourself a blood rush."
She screamed, totally disregarding what I had said. "Harry, behind you!"
"(Y/N), it's alright. Lydia's with us now, she's had a change of heart."
"Like hell, she's had a change of heart!"
I turned her head to face me. "You trust me, don't you? Why would I lie about this?"
"Maybe she's spelled you again."
Lydia tried coming closer.
"Stay away!" (Y/N) warned.
"Sorry. Okay, let me prove it to you. Would a villain ever reveal their entire plan, when they could easily get away with what they want?"
"No..." She warily entertained whatever Lydia was getting at.
"Then let me tell you why these past few weeks have played out like they did. It's a long story, and with the fear of losing your attention span, I'll begin with the simplest motive, and fill in the blanks later. (Y/N), that bracelet your mom gave you? It, by laws of simple possession, isn't exactly yours."
Should Lydia really be trusted? Come back next week to find out...
How is everyone doing? I hope you're all well and healthy :)
See you soon!