Chapter Text
Mal lazily leaned against the wall next to her window that overlooked the gardens around the castle, gardens that she normally enjoyed looking at in all their glorious chaos as they had been planted by many of the young orphans that had stayed to live in the castle and were carefully tended to by amused fae . But right now, she was too busy being d istracted as Evie flitted around the room in unusual panic, already dressed and made up but insistent that something was missing.
Taking a good long look at Evie, flowing dark blue dress with silver leaf embroidery around the skirt and a sheer shawl around her shoulders, soft silk black gloves, a simple gold necklace with a ruby apple pendant, and a beautiful crown perched on her perfectly curled blue hair; Mal couldn’t help but be of the opinion that her wife looked perfect already. Her heart racing as the word wife echoed in her head.
It had only been a month since they had gotten married, Evie becoming Queen of The Moors while Mal insisted on herself only being known as the Fairy Queen or Queen of the Fae. Their relationship had been slow to start, both fresh out of their first relationships and scared of ruining their friendship , but had quickly blossomed as they both realized that they had always been meant to be together. Less than a year ago, Evie had come to Mal with an urgent matter that they had to go attend in the mountains; and then under the shifting colors of the sky in the gentle snowfall that made powder cling to their hair, Evie had proposed, telling Mal that she was ready to be her queen.
The ceremony had been held in a huge beautiful blooming field and open to everyone, including their friends and associates from Auradon . Evie having taken charge of planning it to meet her specifications with a giddy Carlos helping. Of course, Carlos had been her man of honor while Jay had been Mal’s best man, neither of them ever doubting that it would be those two to stand by them during such an important moment of their lives. Hades had even come in, dressed in a smart suit and hair blazing tall, to walk Mal down the aisle first. Gil had been granted the honor of walking Evie in second, after he and Harry had begged to be included in the ceremony (she couldn’t have said no to Gil’s bright smile.) To Evie’s relief and disappointment, her mother had not shown her face.
And despite it being one of the most important moments of Evie's life, she hadn’t been nervous; not like the awful uncertainty she felt now. Because she had known that Mal wanted to spend the rest of their lives together and was in love with her equally, the ceremony was only a public affirmation to share with their friends; but the meeting that they were about to attend was so up in the air that she had no way of knowing which way it would go. They were going to meet with the Auradon Royal Council and reopen discussions of The Moors joining The United States of Auradon.
“Evie, you look beautiful, what are you even looking for?” Mal asked as she pushed off the wall, noticing that they would need to leave soon if they only wanted to be fashionably (and maybe a little rebelliously) late and not late enough to be blatantly rude. Little harmless quirks left over from The Isle that would always mark them as different from the stuck-up royals in Auradon . Mal herself had taken up saying that she now ran on the internal fae clock of chaos whenever she showed up late to meetings, and very few people dared talk back to their queen. Those that did, like Uma, were never on time themselves.
“Maybe a jacket instead of shawl? I don’t want to seem pretentious.”
“Pretentious? Evie these are the people who literally wear glass slippers as the height of fashion. You will always look much more beautiful and effortlessly elegant. Now come, we have to let Drizella know that we’ll be off.”
With one last lingering glance at her wall mounted mirror, Evie took Mal’s arm and let her sweep her out of their room and down to where Drizella would be spending time with Dizzy. After moving to The Moors and finally getting to taste of freedom for the first time in over twenty years, the Tremaines had settled down. Lady Tremaine had even opened a small tea shop after deciding to stay away from starting a salon due to the memories of The Isle. Anastasia and Drizella had come down from their two-decade long bender, with Anastasia helping her mother grow the tea leaves and run the shop. While Drizella reconnected with her daughter, and after Jay had run off with Gil for a few months, she had shown skill in running a household on the scale required. Mal had officially named her the new Senechal of the Faery Castle with the approval of both Jay and Dizzy.
Jay had finally promoted himself, with encouragement from his friends, to Royal Administrator of Public Relations and Sports, or just the Royal Admin of Cool when he wasn’t mocking Carlos with his new fancy title. It gave him, and Gil, the freedom to travel around the country every few months and check on any problems that people who lived too far from the castle might be having. And when he was home in Faery Castle, Gil usually staying over in Uma’s town at these times, he kept himself busy by running the competitions of Tourney, new and improved with magic being blasted instead of cannons, and the newly created Hardcore Bash Ball. It surprised no one when his first venture into game creation was a brutal and intensely competitive game; it was played both on land and in the air where both fae and non- fae focused on multiple balls and tried to score against each other while also avoiding getting completed pummeled by the other team. The former residents of The Isle took to it gleefully, while the fae had to be coaxed into playing such a violent game at first; but now there were several teams across the country that had had their first yearly competition only a few months ago.
They swept into Evie and Dizzy’s work room, mostly being occupied by Dizzy these days as she had taken over more and more of the workload for Evie’s 4 Hearts. The girl, having grown into a beautiful young woman in the past three years and having picked up some of Evie’s mannerism, was having a friendly conversation with her mother and Jane. Drizella had the hard looks of someone who was once almost pretty and then had a hard life and a close relationship with alcohol; but she was also much healthier than the gaunt and sad woman she had been on The Isle, there were smile lines on her face that hadn’t been there three years ago.
Jane had also changed for the better; her confidence having grown exponentially and the embrace of her magic causing her to almost literally glow as it lingered just under her skin. She had spent the first year helping set up schooling in The Moors and had then passed on her title of Head of Education to Yen Sid; choosing to spend the second year bouncing between taking college classes in Auradon and helping Evie and Mal learn about how other countries ran their governments. Then, after the proposal, Evie passed the title of Royal Advisor down to her, knowing that she would soon be taking the title and responsibilities of the Queen of The Moors.
“Good afternoon everyone, our apologies for missing breakfast with you all today. Our great and powerful queen over here didn’t want to get out of bed for as long as possible before having to get ready for the meeting.” Evie said as she gave everyone a wide smile, Mal grumbling next to her.
The Moors were much less formal than Auradon , especially as it was run by reformed rebels from The Isle who didn’t get very many etiquette lessons. But it was even more casual behind the privacy of the closed doors in the castle, evident by the three women greeting them with only warm smiles and friendly eye rolling. There was always respect and deference when it came down to decisions and gentle orders, but there was also the warmth of affection. The knowledge that every person who lived in this huge magical castle contributed to making it a home that they all loved and were grateful for.
“Shall I let the kitchen staff know that we’ll be expecting you for dinner? Or will you be staying in Auradon for the whole day?” Drizella asked Mal who shook her head.
“You’ll have to eat dinner without us, Ben invited us to dinner with him and some of the kids we went to school with that will be taking their own crowns soon.” She looked at Evie in confirmation. “It will be Audrey and Chad Charming at the very least.”
Jane stood and went to hand Mal the thick envelope she had been holding on her lap. “Here are the individual reports of the people who lived on The Isle of the Lost we’ve been working on. I still think you’re being a little paranoid.”
“Definitely, but if any of those stuck up royals try to start anything concerning any one of my people, I want to be ready to verbally slap them down.” Mal’s eyes flashed in heated indigence before Evie squeezed her arm in warning. “But only if they start anything. I’ll, of course, be on my best queenly behavior.”
Everyone else chuckled in disbelief and Dizzy looked at the clock on the wall. “Aren’t you already late?”
Mal smirked at the teenager and pull Evie close against her, “I mean, what are they going to do? Give us detention?” And with an amused huff from Evie, there was a burst of purple blue fire around them, and they were gone.
-
In the council room in Beast Castle, most seats already occupied by increasingly impatient royals, King Ben sat at the head of the table with a big friendly smile as he kept glancing at his watch. And then, right in front of the closed door, there was an eruption of strangely colored fire that quickly blinked out in the time it took the royals to flinch back in shock and fear, some even instinctively going on the defensive. Standing there with open amusement were their awaited guest themselves, Queens Mal and Evie from the Moors.
“Sorry for the delay, it was a long trip.” Mal quipped at them, a challenging gleam in her eyes. But before anyone could comment on her taunt, Ben stood up and gave them a very formal bow.
“Of course, I hope all was well.” With a stern look from Evie, they both gave their responding curtsies to the king of a kingdom they were now visiting royals at. “Please take a seat, you already know everyone here. King Phillip and Queen Aurora of Ulstead , King Florian and Queen Snow White, King Henry and Queen Cinderella Charming, Sultana Jasmin and Sultan Aladdin of Agrabah , King Eric and Queen Ariel, King Naveen and Queen Tiana of Maldonia , Princess Rapunzel and her consort Eugene of Corona, Queen Elsa and her sister Princess Anna of Arendelle, Alice the White Queen and her escort The Mad Hatter of Wonderland, Lord Hercules and his wife Lady Megara representing Olympus, And Generals Fa Mulan and Li Shang of China.”
Everyone had stood up a second behind Ben, each bowing or curtsying when their name was called, because even if they already technically already knew Mal as an informal lady of the court years ago, there were formalities to be observed when they were meeting for such important matters that could bring huge changes to each of their kingdoms.
“And these are our guest and the reason for today’s meeting, Queens Mal and Genevieve of The Moors.” More curtsies and a small smile from Evie as this was the first time outside of their home that she had been referred to as Queen.
They all sat down in polite silence as Mal pulled out Evie’s chair before taking her own, on Ben’s right side. The servants came up to offer tea cups which were accepted and sampled with approval. Mal could see The Mad Hatter, who she knew quite well thanks to being known as a villain that had escape imprisonment in The Isle due to favoritism from his new lady queen, smile large and smugly as they seemed to enjoy the tea. The dark part of her heart seized for a second in fear and anger, before the more rational part of her mind realized that the tea they had been served was a specialty from Wonderland, causing the crazed man to feel the same petty superiority those born into prestige felt when they took ownership of anything even remotely linked to them.
“Now with that all out of the way, let’s get right down to it.” Ben gave what he hoped was a friendly encouraging grin and Mal saw how much the man that sat next to her had changed from the boy she had left three years prior. “The Moors have reopened negotiations on either joining the U.S.A, or at least creating a formal alliance between us. As we all know, joining was an offer that had been extended three years back before The Moors officially crowned their current queen, and was declined due to internal shuffling of assets.”
He was trying to be both politically formal, and polite enough not to say that they didn’t immediately join because they didn’t want to be under Auradon rule any longer. But neither he nor Mal forgot the look of sadness and faint betrayal he had given her when she had told him that she had no intentions of being part of his kingdom or alliance, neither of them would ever forget that she left behind everything he had offered her to instead rule a foreign land however she pleased. They had never talked about it, they had never even acknowledged that those wounds had long since healed and they had forgiven each other, but it was still something they would both carry forever.
Florian cleared his throat after it was obvious that Ben was leaving room for any verbal input, waiting until he had everyone’s attention. “While we can respect any personal choices made years ago for declining the invitation, I, and I’m sure others, would like to know why the sudden change of heart?”
They had agreed to let Evie take the lead today, with the exception being that the actual alliance proposal that would come from Mal as the longer reigning queen. “The Moors and all its citizens are finally in a state of settlement after the extensive changes to both the government and the increased population. We have firmly established ourselves within the past three years and have made great strides and improvement. We feel confident in being able to be a worthwhile ally to Auradon.”
Cinderella still looked wary of the reasoning. “And if The Moors are doing so well, what is it you wish to gain from this alliance ?”
“Unfortunately, The Moors are woefully lacking a lot of technolo gical modernization, and even with our hard-working Head of Engineering and Mechanics, the process is slow going. We hope that the alliance would help expedite this transition.”
Mal hated the political talk, why couldn’t everyone just say what needed to be said without dressing it up in fancy words that didn’t really add anything to the conversation besides making you look pretentious. As if sensing her annoyance, Evie reached out to hold her hand under the table without breaking a beat in her polite backtalk as she explained how Auradon could provide them the means to enter a new era of technology.
“If you could ease some of our worries. There are a few of your, citizens, that are of some concerns to us.” King Naveen began after Evie had left several royals pondering over her words, trying his best not to come off as condescending before Evie smoothly cut him off.
“We’ve actually anticipated this and have come prepared to answer all your questions.” She pulled her hand away from Mal and slid the folder Jane had handed her closer, opening it up to show a picture of Dr.Facilier on the top page. “King Naveen, addressing your biggest concern, Dr.Facilier is living with his daughters deep in the forest among the fae . While Freddy and Celia are known to travel about, he rarely travels further than the nearby village. We have made it clear to the three of them that while he is allowed to go where he pleases in The Moors, he is not to leave the country without first checking in with us and is explicitly not allowed to go near Maldonia.”
Naveen and Tiana looked pleased at this revelation, while they would have liked for the man who had brought them great suffering to be locked away forever, this was a compromise concerning a man who, in their eyes, was focusing on being a good father. Mal and Evie did not think it was important to explain that the three Faciliers were working with the Fae to try and make their shadow magic more controllable instead of having to rely so heavily on deals with beings that only took what they wanted. It was not the concern of anyone else how the Shadow Man was now more powerful than ever as he and his daughters found more and more ways to harness the shadows for themselves; as long as Mal knew what they were doing and had their loyalty, she would not be revealing anything more than assurances that they need not worry about him.
Evie flipped the page over and made eye contact with Cinderella. “Lady Tremaine and Anastasia have opened a tea shop near the castle that is quite successful with a large fae patronage. Drizella has taken up the mantle of keeping the castle running smoothly. We have had no issues with any of them.” And while there was a slight flicker at disgust at how fortunate her step mother and sisters were, there was also a brief longing relief for a family that had never loved her on the queen’s face. It was almost s ad that while the Tremaines had grown much in only a few years, there would never be reconnecting with this part of the family.
“Gaston was kept imprisoned for a year and a half after our relocation to The Moors and was released after therapy and medicine via potions were administered to him. He now lives in a town close to the mountains with his two older sons and his work primarily consist of helping with building new homes.” Evie looked at Ben with an encouraging smile as he would need to relay this information to his much displeased parents. “He is forbidden from stepping foot into Auradon .”
“Shan Yu has opened a training school with his daughter near the castle with our blessing, many young men and women have benefited from his teachings. He knows that he will never be allowed near China.” And while Shang and Mulan looked uncomfortable at the thought of the man who had almost conquered China being free and allowed to teach, they reluctantly nodded as long he stayed away from their country. Not knowing that in truth, his school was also the beginning of The Moors’ hard trained army, with Shan Yu’s daughter as the future General. It had been a long month of meetings between the former hun general who had been offe nded at not being off ered the title himself; but in the end, he agreed that the other kingdoms would not be pleased should they ever get word of such an infamous villain leading another army. And instead his daughter, only a year older than Mal herself and having spent her whole life trained to be the perfect soldier, would become one of the leaders of Mal’s three-pronged military weapon.
“Queen Elsa, we have contacted you privately on this matter, but for the benefit of everyone on the council; Prince Hans of the Southern Isles was imprisoned just over a month ago due to a plot to try to undermine my own rise to queen. He is currently being held in the castle dungeons and his son has given up any claim to the Southern Isles throne and has very verbally cut off all ties with Hans. We will be having talks soon with the Southern Isles on sending him there for imprisonment.” Elsa remained cool and collected with a regal nod, but Anna was very noticeably gleeful at the mention of her enemy being disowned by his own son.
“The Queen of Hearts is still being held prisoner in the castle. And as many of you know, The Evil Queen, Jafar , Ursula, and Mother Gothel escaped when the barrier dropped from The Isle of the Lost. We are keeping a lookout for them but so far, none have been spotted.” There was a general dissent to this news, even though everyone already knew and had their own ears open for any news regarding the missing villains.
Aurora cleared her throat and gave Mal a tight smile. “What of Maleficent? We have heard rumors that she was no longer a lizard.”
Rumors were a polite way of saying they had spied on personal matters as very few people, and all of them trusted, knew that Mal had indeed turned her mother back into a fairy two years previously. She, Cruella, the Queen of Hearts and a couple of others were imprisoned not in the dungeons, but in the highest tower of Faery Castle. Maleficent’s magic was mostly locked away, only a trickle of it remained; just enough that it kept her immortal and healthy. While they were under heavy watch, all the prisoners in the tower lived in comfo rt an d were wel l tak en care of, unlike the way they treated the children who still loved them. Cruella even had her furs with her; but Carlos refused to see her ever again, even though he made sure that she would never want for anything.
“Maleficent is no longer a lizard.” Mal confirmed, accepting the gasps of surprise and looks of mistrust. “It would have been cruel to leave her like that, and dangerous since anyone could have come and undone the curse. At least this way, she cannot access to her magic as long as I am the only one who knows how to undo it. And if there is one thing that I can confidently say, it’s that I will never release her. ”
Silence filled the room as Evie and Mal waited for any more questions, but the other royals seemed to be either busy with their own thoughts, or were ready to move on. After several minutes, Jasmin looked up with a look of curiosity on her face.
“You’ve already laid out what it is The Moors wants from an alliance; but what is it that you offer back?”
Evie sent Mal a questioning look, who nodded and indicated for her to retake control of the conversation. “We can offer you something that Auradon has been sorely lacking and avoiding for over twent y-five years now. Magical training.” There was an expected uproar as everyone started speaking at once before Ben called for silence and Evie could continue. “ Auradon is full of young adults and children that have inherited magic, or with the potential to learn magic, but it has always shunned any knowledge about magic that isn’t about locking it away. But these gifts that they have don’t just disappear! Imagine how dangerous it would be if they lost control in a fit of emotions because they were never taught how to keep a firm grip on their powers.”
Elsa’s face was cold and closed off, her eyes two unreadable ice chips, her sister rubbing her arm soothingly. It was no secret that Arendelle had originally declined joining Auradon because of the stipulation regarding magic and only a reminder that her country needed the stability Auradon offered, and an amendment that was written for her kingdom to become an excep tion , did Queen Elsa agree to join the alliance. Meanwhile, Aurora and Phillip looked away in shame, remembering how their own daughter, who had no magic of her own, had let her envy and bitterness cause her to steal a powerful item of magic and curse the land. Many of the royals were also looking at Mal in calculation, she had always been powe r ful , bu t h a d p r o v e n t i m e a n d a g a i n h ow beneficial her controlled magic was. It was also well known that Fairy Godmother and several fairies that lived in Auradon loved visiting The Moors to rebalance their magic in a place where it was not frowned on.
“We will need to speak of this further as a separate issue, but it is a good offer. Many of the people with the knowledge of how to use magic, like Fairy Godmother, can only do so much with the way things are right now. And The Moors do offer a great expanse of magical knowledge.” Ben said in an agreeable voice, though Mal could still see the wariness in his eyes at the thought of magic and she felt the same pang she had felt long ago about how he would never understand her the way she needed to be. Ben did not trust magic; he had experienced its cruelty too many times and had grown up being told it was wrong. But Mal was one with magic, even here she could feel the heartbeat of her kingdom in tune with her own, she only needed to focus to see through the ambient magic that filled the very air of The Moors. They would have never made each other half as happy as Evie made her feel every day.
Instead of letting those thoughts linger, Mal took the opportunity to get to the heart of the meeting. “King Ben. Auradon has done its best for its people, and the countries that make up The United States of Auradon have benefited greatly. However, we are not here to ask for The Moors to become part of Auradon proper.” Frowns and scowls made their way onto the faces of the royals sitting around them. “The way our land runs is so vastly different, that we would chafe under your laws, especially the ones regarding magic as it is such a core part of The Moors. Wonderland had a similar problem previously and this was addressed by having them become and allied nation alongside of Auradon instead of within it. I, as The Fairy Queen, would like for you to consider this same arrangement for us.”
There were some mummers of discontent, Alice’s face was set in a wide approving grin, and Elsa looked at her in admiration. Ben looked thoughtfully at Mal, there was a consideration of equals as they locked eyes tha t hadn ’ t been there three years ago. “Let us discuss the terms of this alliance.”
-
The meeting went on for several hours, they even had to have a light lunch brought to them. Mal was careful in showing only the parts of The Moors that Auradon would approve, or at least come to eventually accept. She did not tell them of how Harriet Hook was getting ready to be the sole leader of the coast town because Uma and Harry were shaping up the former pirates to become a legitimate Navy, with Uma soon to become its Privateer Admiral. Several magnificent ships with newly constructed magical cannons were nearly ready to sail on their maiden voyage . While not in any conflict the Navy would act as explorers with discreet side hobbies, but the primary function that Uma would lead under, was as the second point in Mal’s weapon. This was not a weapon that Mal would use to conquer, she had long since accepted that she was no villain; but should anyone ever come looking for fight, she and her people would be ready. Be that another kingdom, or a villain who saw her as young and weak.
Mal and Evie spoke nothing of how Carlos, who had be en limited i n how far he could push their few metal and electronic supplies, was working with the fae and Mal to combine technology and magic in ways that Auradon would have thought was science fiction, to varying levels of success and failure. They had made discoveries of both magic and technology that had been too destructive to share, even with allies. But they had also made advancements that everyone could benefit from that they would be willing to share in exchange for something worthwhile.
Mal also did not tell them of how once they had heard that Auradon did not plan on doing anything with the now empty Isle of the Lost, she had sent multiple small groups to recover all the abandoned broken things that they had grown up with, including the scraps of electronics for Carlos. They all had bad memories of that awful place that served as their prison, but not everything was so easily abandoned . Including all the things that the original villains and thieves had managed to smuggle in and had left behind in their haste, like the gold coins Jay had hid away from his father who had somehow gotten a hold of part of his wealth even though it was worthless on The Isle. Or all the small knickknacks that held minute amounts of magic the witches had kept hidden all that time locked away that Mad Maddy had put to great use in the village she now lived in, the village that had begun to grow new never before seen magical plants over where the trinkets had been buried.
She and Evie kept the secrets of The Moors between the two of them.
Though she had tried to ask for some of the magic items that Auradon had locked away, only to be shot down nearly unanimously. Though disappointing, it had been expected, and she would try again in the future in smaller qualities. Starting with the remaining shard of the Evil Queen’s mirror; partly to return it to Evie, but partly to so that the Evil Queen would not one day return to reclaim it. Like Jafar had come in and taken his staff less than a year after he had vanished from The Isle.
After the royals all said their good-byes and made their way to their guest rooms before dinner, each making plans on returnin g to their own homes soon, Mal and Evie were the only ones lef t with Ben. He gave them the same genuine smile that they remembered from school and showed them out of the room, taking the lead to the smaller and more intimidate family dining room instead of the bigger one that the others would soon be served in.
‘That went very well! All we have left to do is have the documents written and reviewed for us to sign for this to become official. But I’m sure that the others kingdoms will be sending you trade agreements even before then. Especially King Phillip and Queen Aurora since their land borders your own.”
Evie slipped her arm through Mal’s offered one, looking every bit the graceful queen she was. “Ben, dear, we’ve just sat in there for hours talking business and politics. We’re all friends here, how have you been, we haven’t actually sat down and relaxed with you in years.”
The king blushed as he replied, “You’re right Evie, I’m sorry for being nervous. Things have been going well here. The sidekicks had another strike last year, but now that I’m actually king, I was able to promise them much fairer treatment and compensation. We’ve also heard word of Captain Hook being spotted near Atlantica and King Eric’s kingdom, so we’ve had to be on the lookout.”
Mal laughed at him, the same amused with an undertone of wickedness that he remembered well. “She wasn’t asking about your kingdom genius, though that’s technically a regular casual conversation for people like us. She wanted to know how you were.” She shot him a small friendly teasing smile. “You haven’t accepted our invitations to visit, besides the wedding, and we’re worried that you might no longer consider us friends.”
“ Sorry.” He looked at them sheepishly. “I’ve been good, tired, but I actually like what I’m able to do for everyone. And I’m sorry for not being able to visit. Honestly it was a little weird at first, but then it was busy and then it just like there were too many things unsaid between us. I’ll make an effort to visit soon.”
Evie looked at him with warm understanding. “We’ll have to invite you for a winter game of Bash Ball. Jay will want to drag you in and then you’ll most likely get beat up. Mal loves it.”
Ben looked at them both in slight horror, Mal smirking as she thought about the violent game her friend had invented. She had even gotten to pla y in the first rendition before realizing it wasn’t fair to expect everyone to feel comfortable beating up their queen. Now she was just a fan, much to her annoyance and Jay’s everlasting amusement.
“Maybe during a quieter time?” They both laughed at him and the three of them fell into pleasant small talk the rest of the way. Things not the same as they had been as teenagers but they found themselves falling into a comfort of friends, even after everything that had happened between them.
-
Mal and Evie appeared in the warm sitting room in a burst of flame that caused the three occupants to jump slightly in surprise. Carlos and Jane, sitting in the love seat together in comfortable soft clothing, and Jay who was in the armchair directly in front of the toasty fireplace and was obviously enjoying himself by tossing things into it. Mal made her way to a second armchair, pulling Evie onto her lap and wishing she had sent them to their room to change instead so that they could laze around with their family in comfort at the end of a taxing day.
“How did it go?” Jay asked with a lazy smile.
“About as well as expected. We’re now allied with Auradon and Ben will start writing the agreement soon for Mal to sign.” Evie carefully pulled her gloves off as she answered. “They seemed interested in exactly what we mean to offer when we said magical education so I ’m sure our near future holds a lot of really fun meetings. The usual.”
“The files were useful and convinced some of them. Even asked if they could keep it to look through it more.” Mal pointed at Jane. “And your mother stopped by after dinner to ask about you. Maybe you should visit soon to ease her worries.”
Jane looked away in thought for a second before nodding in agreement, most likely doing a quick mental check of her schedule. Carlos nudged her affectionately before running his hand through his hair, he had stopped straightening it after moving to The Moors and the curls had grown wild and long enough to tie back when he was working. He looked at Mal and Evie with an amused expression.
“How was dinner?”
Mal sighed dramatically and buried her face in Evie’s hair, letting the other woman answer. “Audrey and Chad, like we expected. She was fine, a little overly friendly with Mal really, but she let it slip that she was thinking of abdicating and letting her younger brother become the heir to Ulstead . Chad looked tired, he’s going to be taking his throne in five years and his parents are really driving leadership into him. Aziz, Aladdin’s son, was there asking about you Jay.”
Jay made a face at this as he remembered Aziz from school. The other boy would follow him constantly, trying to make conversation, but Jay wasn’t interesting in playing nice with the son of Aladdin. He didn’t care about Jafar’s old enemies, and would have at least been friendly with Aziz just to spite his fath er , i f the other boy h adn ’t introduced h im sel f b y i mm edi ate ly asking Ja y i f h e w as a gen ie and if he could grant wishes. Jay knew all ab out t h e gen ie ’s story, about how Jafar had sti ll be en a gen i e whe n h e w as tr app ed on The Isle. Jay had spent his whole life wondering what it meant for him; but after not showing powers when coming to Auradon , he refused to let it eat him up inside any longer. Though these days he feared thinking about if Jafar still had those powers now that he was free. Would they even notice if he did, or would the world rearrange itself without them knowing any better?
“Ally was there too, she asked after Freddy, apparently she isn’t to take her own crown for a long time yet. Lonnie was visiting from China with her parents, she’s in the military already , no surprise there . And, of course, Ben. He promises to visit soon.”
“I’m surprised there were so few people there, I would have thought that more of the future leaders would have jumped on this opportunity.” Carlos said casually, but they could all see his eyes narrow in suspicion already.
“ Honestly I’m sure they would have. But Ben wanted to have us be as comfortable as possible and only invited people we actually associated with back in school.” Evie reassured him.
Jane nodded in agreement, “And they didn’t ask more about the structure of how things are running here and if anything will change with the alliance ?”
It had come as a pleasant surprise when Jane had pledged her loyalty to The Moors after Mal had casually mentioned Evie stepping out of the role of advisor and who she suggested giving the title to next. Jane had gone silent before asking Ma what she wanted Jane to do. The girl had not hesitated kneeling before the Fairy Queen and giving up all ties to Auradon , with the exception of her relationship with Fairy Godmother of course. Auradon had not been kind to Jane, not until she met Carlos, and even then, she was still letting life do with her as it pleased. Mal and The Moors had been the ones that allowed her to become anything she wanted. And now she wanted to stand by Mal and Evie and Jay and especially Carlos, and build something greater than Auradon could ever be. She had been the only choice when Evie and Mal had spoken of passing the title of Royal Advisor; it had been poetic, a light fairy to bring a different point of view to the dark fairy queen.
Jane had become part of their family over the years, she had stood by them during these new and hard experiences, always offering her support and advice. And she had shared in their success, her joy adding to their own happiness. When Carlos had told the three of them that he was thinking of proposing to her, they had all been as excited for the two as the guys had been when Evie had told them of her owns proposal. Evie had even helped him pick out the ring that he now carried inside his jacket at all times, only waiting for the perfect opportunity.
“Funny enough, foreign leaders are too caught up in their own things to ask about how other places are keeping their people in line. Only a few of them genuinely asked after their former citizens. I had blissfully forgotten how oblivious the Auradon council was.” Evie replied with a roll of her eyes.
Mal found herself relaxing, her eyes closing with the background noise of her friends, her family, making simple conversation around her. The past four years had been busy and eye opening, her life was far beyond anything that her would have dreamed as an angry teenager back on The Isle. Life was funny that way, it never went the way you once expected or hoped. She had everything she wanted; she was happy.
She got to wake up every day in her full and joyfully noisy castle next to the woman who loved her and had never given up on her despite all the bumps along the way. She got to go down to a filling breakfast surrounded by many of the kids she had managed to save from the cruel life of The Isle of the Lost and the fae who adored and respected her just for being herself. She spent her days busy making sure that all her people were well and happy, helped by the people she loved. She made friendly conversations with people who she once hated but now she counted as some of her closest and most trusted friends. And in the evenings, she had dinner with her family. With Evie and Carlos and Jay and Jane, where they relaxed and let their masks fall as they spoke of their days. Ending every day with a loving kiss from her wife before starting all over again.
Evie felt Mal’s arms loosen around her and the other woman’s breathing even out. She gently stood and said her goodnights to the others as they all sleepily made their way to their own rooms. Mal had always been the biggest person in the room, not physically but in terms of knowing how to control a room; it was something Maleficent excelled at and one of the only things Mal had learned from her mother. And these days Mal was effortlessly regal, bigger than life. But that was just how she projected herself. In truth, Mal was as small and thin as she had been three years earlier; letting Evie easily stand up and sweep her up in her arms.
Setting her down on their bed and gently removing the more cumbersome parts of her outfit, Evie marveled at how beautiful Mal looked asleep. Small and delicate, her intense glowing eyes hidden away, her coiled body relaxed, her smirk nowhere to be seen. She brushed away purple hair from her face and gently kissed her forehead. Mal mumbled and unconsciously scooted to her side of the bed, positioning herself to be the little spoon.
“Sleep well Fairy Queen. No one deserves a peaceful slumber more than you, my love.”