That night Mal woke up to the sound of someone screaming, a scream that was all too familiar to her. She quickly rushes out of her dorm and snuck into Carlos and Jay's dorm. She didn't care that she was breaking curfew, if her friend needed help, she was gonna help them, no matter the consequences. She walks over to Carlos' bed and sits down next to him.
"Mal?" Carlos questions.
"Shh, go back to sleep, she can't hurt you here." Mal assures him.
"Won't you get in trouble?"
Mal nods. "Like I care."
Carlos smiles as he lays back down. "Thank you."
"Carlos, you've helped me get through a lot of things, I'll gladly repay the favor however I can."
Carlos closes his eyes, but his mind flashes back to his mother. "Hey. Hey. She's not here, she can't hurt you." Mal assures him. "We're never gonna go back there, okay."
"But what about-"
"We'll find another way."
Carlos smiles as he closes his eyes, focusing on what Mal said.
pMal
I know you
I walked with you once upon a dream
I know you
The gleam in your eyes in so familiar a gleam
Yet I know it's true
That visions are seldom all they seem
But if I know you
I know what you'll do
You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream
But if I know you
I know what you'll do
You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream
I know you
I walked with you once upon a dream
I know you
The gleam in your eyes in so familiar a gleam
And I know it's true that visions are seldom as they seem
But if I know you, I know what you'll do
You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream.
As Mal finished her song she leaned down and kissed Carlos' forehead. "You're my once upon a dream." She whispered to a sleeping Carlos. She then laid down next to him and wrapped her arms around him before drifting off to sleep, thinking, "God I love him."
Ashlyn's POV
I was walking down the hall to my dorm when I saw an oddly familiar girl running down the hall towards the boys side of the building.. She was so damn familiar, just why? Her purple hair glistened in the dark light, causing the dots to all connect. I shuddered, of course she was chosen for Ben's program. Then a thought came to me, why was she sneaking over to the boys dorm?
I sigh, a smirk appearing on my face. I followed the girl quietly and pressed my ear to the door.
I know you
The gleam in your eyes in so familiar a gleam
And I know it's true that visions are seldom as they seem
But if I know you, I know what you'll do
You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream.
Damn, for someone who's so utterly terrifying, she can sing well. The question is who to?
I mustered up the courage to slowly push the door open, my heart stopping when I saw the recipient of her song.
What the fuck?!
Except, they both were smiling, cuddling next to each other. Who am I to get in between that?
But someone as terrifying as her and a sweetheart like him, hell, I'm worse than him! How did they fall for each other? Then again, opposites do attract…
I smile and slowly close the door, before promising to myself that I won't let them be sent back there.
I walked back down the hall and opened the door to my dorm before going to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day if we were gonna try to get the villain kids to stay, and I needed them to stay.
I woke up the next morning and walked down to Fairy Godmother's office.
"Oh, Ashlyn, you're back." She says as I open the door.
I nod and sit down on the chair across from her. My brother's sitting in the next chair with a small frown.
"What's going on?" I ask, noticing the frown on both people's faces.
"The villain kids got in trouble." My brother answered.
I scoffed. "So?"
"Princess Ashlyn, with all due respect we need to take it seriously."
I frown before sighing. "What happened?"
My brother explained the whole story to me, which 'shockingly', I found more amusing than upsetting. I constantly had to hold back my laughter during the story and struggled to keep a straight face.
"I tried to comfort her and she freaked out. She attacked me and held a knife to my throat."
"And what am I here for?" I groan.
"She seems to have some trouble opening up to guys, so I was thinking that she might be able to open up to you."
I nod. "Why? What does she have against guys?" I ask. This seems too familiar.
Fairy Godmother sighs. "She said something about an ex-boyfriend using her. An Anthony Tremaine I believe."
That bastard. I swear if he hurt another girl then I- a thought comes to my head. "What was her name?" I ask.
"Evie Queen." With those words I storm out of the office and run to my dorm with tears dripping down my face.
"Ashlyn, what's wrong?" My roommate, Crystal, asks me.
She has long white hair that extends below her shoulders, which is technically against the dress code at Auradon Prep, but neither of us really cared about that. Her hair is frosty and has small strands of ice in it, which makes sense considering her parents both have ice magic. She also has cyan blue streaks in her hair, really rocking the look of an ice queen like her mother. She's wearing a pair of white gloves and has blue eyes with small white particles, like ice, floating around the blue irises. She has pale white skin, which makes sense as well, ice magic.
I look over at Crystal and sit down on my bed. "The person that attacked my brother, it's her…"
Crystal frowned as she sat down next to me. "You couldn't do anything." She told me. "It's not your fault."
"That's the problem. I couldn't do anything, and because of that my brother almost died, and now they're trying to send her back to the Isle."
'Hey Ashlyn." Crystal spoke up.
I look at her and wipe away my tears.
"Let's go outside. Clear your head, we'll talk out there." She says.
I smile, knowing what she's thinking. "Fine." I say as she grabs my hand and opens the window. We both jump out before using our magic to fly up to the roof.
"So why'd you want to come up here?" I ask her.
"You're not the only one who blames themselves, you know." Crystal tells me.
"It's not your fault. You didn't even know."
"I never said it was my fault, I said someone else blames themselves. One of the VK's."
The shocking image from the night before flashed in my mind. "Mal." I realize.
"She came up here with the De Vil boy last night and spilled her guts. She blames herself for the entire thing, said she abandoned her best friend when she needed her most. She went back and realized her mistake, but it was too late."
"I know, but I could've-"
"No, you couldn't have. You tried, you really did, but there was nothing you could do. Now, there is. You might be the only one who knows what they really thought and have gone through. You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened, but you can help them have a better life here in Auradon now."
I smile at her. "You always know how to cheer me up."
'What are best friends for?"
I smile and hug her before we go back into our dorm. I was about to leave when Crystal stopped me. "How was your trip? Is mom okay?"
"It was cut short, but it was good nonetheless. Come with me next time, she misses you." I say as I close the door behind me.
It was time to make up for my mistake. For what I couldn't do last time. No one else would suffer for that, especially not her, not after what she did for me.
Third Person POV
Mal woke up and saw that Carlos was still asleep. She carefully got off the bed and walked over to her own dorm, careful not to get caught. As she left she ran into a girl with very light blond hair, with a small midnight blue streak, which was against the dress code for some reason. "She's the first girl I've seen that isn't wearing a dress." Mal thought to herself.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Ashlyn says to Mal. "I didn't mean to run into you."
"Oh, it's nothing." Mal says with a smile, that even Ashlyn could tell was so obviously fake.
"Oh, okay, well I've got to go." Ashlyn says, running past Mal.
Mal shrugged and walked over to her and Evie's dorm. She opened the door and was relieved to see Evie was still asleep. She laid down, hoping Evie would think she was there all night and closed her eyes to fall asleep, but she couldn't forget about what she saw when she ran into that girl.
For some reason, when Mal ran into that girl she saw every memory of her and Carlos. She didn't hate it, although the screaming from the scar haunted her every night since. But it was all relatively good moments. What she didn't understand was what triggered all those memories. She saw everything. Her talk with him on the roof, her comforting him last night, her carving the scar into his shoulder, the moment they shared in the treehouse over three years ago, her first panic attack, her fight with Carlos yesterday, everything. But why? What was so special about this girl that made her see everything she'd been through with Carlos?
She pushed her thoughts aside and closed her eyes, thinking one thing. "No matter what caused it, I'll cherish all those memories forever."
Mal woke up again a few hours later to see Evie, Jay, and Carlos, sitting next to her bed. "What's wrong?" Mal asks as she sits up.
"We need to talk." Evie says.
"What is it?" Mal asks.
Evie sighs. "Carlos told us about last night. Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell me?"
Mal frowns. "Because it was my fault. I didn't want people to look at you three that way. I didn't want anyone to know what I did."
Evie frowns and walks over to Mal and grabs her hand. "Mal, what happened wasn't your fault."
"Yes it was E. I wasn't there for you. That's why she's gone."
"Mal, I told you Emily never would've survived on the Isle."
"But at least she would've had the chance." Mal cried, leaning into Evie and crying into her shoulder.
"Mal, it's okay. You didn't fail me, or any of us."
Mal continued to cry when Carlos spoke up. "No matter what you did in the past, you've helped all of us. It's your choice, but all of us feel the same. We love you no matter what you did, and whether Auradon does or not, we'll stand by you. It's your choice if you want to tell them. If you'd rather go back to the Isle, then so be it. If you'd rather stay in Auradon, then please tell them." He walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking out, his cheeks red in embarrassment.
"Looks like someone has a crush." Evie teases under her breath. "No matter what choice you make we'll stand by you."
Mal smiles and wipes away her tears. "Thanks E."
"I'll give you some time to think it over. We'll be in the boys dorm once you're ready." Evie says as she gets up.
"No, E. Please stay." Mal begged.
Evie smiles. "Okay M. Although, you have a lot of explaining to do."
Mal smiles and sits up and cuddles next Evie. "So what happened last night?" Evie asks her after Jay leaves.
Mal explains every detail of the previous night to Evie, from her telling Carlos and Carlos kissing her cheek, to comforting Carlos from his nightmares. Evie was practically screaming by the end about how Mal and Carlos were meant to be and she was so happy for them. Mal smiled and gave Evie a hug and they came to their final decision.
Ashlyn's POV
I walked into my castle and saw my brother sitting down on his bed. "Ben, what's wrong?" I ask as I walk into his room.
He looks up at me with a frown. "I don't know what to do Ashlyn. You're always so great at caring for everyone, but everyone looks to me to make the right choice and I just don't know what to do. Everyone wants me to send her, and all the other VK's home, but I know that's the wrong choice. I want to give them a chance, but…"
"Hey Ben. It's okay. Trust me, I know how hard it is to care for everyone's needs and sometimes the right choice isn't what everyone thinks it is. You have to think past everyone's opinions, even yours, if you want to make the right choice. Sometimes the right choice will hurt you, or those you care about, but it's all worth it to make the right decision. I know you want to help the VK's, I know you want to please all the kids at Auradon, but sometimes you can't please everyone."
Ben looked at his sister with a smile. "But how do I know it's the right choice? How do I know that doing this isn't a mistake?"
"What does your heart tell you? I might not get along well with mom or dad, but they always had that right, listen to your heart."
"I'll never understand what you have against mom and dad." Ben sighed.
"This isn't about them. If your heart tells you to send the VK's home, send them home. But if your heart, like mine, tells you to fight to keep them here, then fight. Doing the right thing never is easy, neither is distinguishing if it is the right thing, but you have to take the chance. For all of Auradon, but also for the Isle. Those kids, they've gone through a lot of crap, so now you need to make the choice. Do you want to help them and give them a better life, or do you want to put the people of Auradon at ease and send them home. All choices have both rewards and consequences. If we keep them here we get to give them a better life, but we upset the people of Auradon and make them question our leadership and choices. If we send them home, we please the people of Auradon, but we also never give them the chance they deserve. Just think about it. I'll be here if you need me."
Ben smiles and looks at me. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Question all your decisions apparently." I say with a smirk.
He laughs before hugging me. "Thank you Ashlyn."
"Anytime bro. I'll be in my room if you need me." I began to walk towards the door, but was stopped by my brother.
"How was your trip?" He asks me.
I smile. "It was good. Shorter than I expected, but good."
"Seems like you spend more time with Crystal's parents than ours." He chuckles.
"That's the idea." I reply before walking into my room. I look around my room to find a brown box with all the letters from the Isle of the Lost, but they're gone. I groan and walk back to the school. If anyone had the letters, it was Fairy Godmother. I walked inside to see Fairy Godmother sitting in her office.
"Oh, Ashlyn, what can I do for you today?" She asks me.
"Oh, I was just looking for the letters from the Isle of the Lost. They weren't in my room, so I figured you probably had 'em."
"Oh, yes. What do you need them for?" She asks me nervously.
"Is it not obvious?" I retort.
"Just warning you, they're a bit-"
"Disturbing. Yeah, I know. I spent countless hours looking through those. It's nothing new."
"Oh. Then sure, they're on the desk over there."
I was about to walk over to grab them when I heard the door open. I turned around and saw the four VK's standing at the doorway, the purple haired fae catching my eye. I might have visibly shuddered, since the VK's just smirked.
"Oh, please come in." Fairy Godmother says as the four VK's walk inside. The four VK's stare at me in shock as they walk in.
"You're the person who ran into me in the halls." Mal realizes.
I nod. "Oh, um, this is Princess Ashlyn. Prince Ben's sister." Fairy Godmother introduces me.
"I didn't know Ben had a sister." Mal says.
I put my hand over my heart dramatically. "I'm hurt. How could you not know about me." I joke.
I got a smile out of Carlos and Evie, while Mal and Jay seemed unimpressed.
Mal rolled her eyes before grabbing my hand and dragging me out the door. Please say she doesn't remember! Please don't remember!
"What did you do?" She asks me.
"What?" I ask.
"This morning. When I ran into you, I saw something. Did you see it too?"
I nod. "I showed you the memories that make you happy. Didn't think it would be one person though. Also, a lovely singing voice. That song last night, beautiful. Didn't expect to hear it from you, but beautiful regardless." I shot at her a smirk on my lips, even though I was sighing in relief inside that she didn't recognize me.
"Who do you think you are, Princess?" She threatens me.
I roll my eyes. Threats don't work on me, not anymore. "Just Ashlyn, call me princess again and I'll rip your throat out."
She smirks and lets go of me. "Why are you here? Why now?" She asks me.
"To convince my brother to keep you and your friends here." I answer.
"And why would you want to do that?"
"Everyone deserves a second chance. And no one deserves to live in that hell hole. None of you do." Except her, but it's been years. She can change. I hope.
"You sound just like your brother." She tells me.
I couldn't help but chuckle quietly to myself. "More like he takes after me."
Her eyes widen and she smiles. "Why do you care what happens to us? You saw what we did, why help us out?"
"Two reasons. One, I didn't see what happened, I was in Arendelle." That's not a total lie. "And two, 'cause I know all the shit that goes on in the Isle. Especially to you four."
Mal frowns. "Not everything."
"You mean about what happened to your friend. About how she had a child and you blame yourself for their death."
Tears fell down her cheeks as she glared angrily at me. Her eyes glowed green as she glared at me in hatred.
"You're not alone there. A year ago I found out about what happened. I had begged my parents to let you four out so that she could handle the pregnancy properly with her family, but they turned me down. I blamed myself for what happened to her. What happened to all of you, I blamed myself for it. I'm here, cause I want to redeem myself. I will stand up for you guys whether you want me to, or not. I won't ever make the same mistake again."
By now Mal's eyes stopped glowing and she had a small smile on her face. She grabbed my hand and we walked back in.
"I've made my decision." Mal told Fairy Godmother. "We'll tell them."
Fairy Godmother and the four VK's smile, but were stopped by Mal. 'I want only people involved in the decision to know."
I nod. "We can do that. The people involved are my family and Fairy Godmother. We won't tell anyone else a thing. I promise." Mal smiles at me, earning looks of shock and confusion from the other VK's. I walk over to the brown box and grab it before saying goodbye to Fairy Godmother. I walk over to the other VK's and open the box, showing them a pile of highlighted letters. I hand them to each of them, their eyes widening in shock upon reading them.
"I've had these for years. I've begged my parents to let you come here. Now that you have, I'm gonna make sure you never have to leave. I pulled out a letter and handed it to Evie, who cried upon seeing the title. "Child healthcare on the Isle at an all time low; teenager lost her child in birth." She read. I nod and hug her. "I promise you, you won't go home. I know what's happened on the Isle. I was the only one to really care, and I promise I won't make you go back there." Tears began to fall down my cheeks. "And Evie, I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I should've tried harder to get you out of there sooner. I hope you can forgive me."
She smiles at me. "Thank you Princess Ashlyn."
I was too happy she didn't hate me to even care that she called me a princess. "Come to the Beast's Castle in a few hours. We'll make our decision there." I tell them before walking out, leaving the four VK's, who all were tearing up, knowing someone cared about them, alone in Fairy Godmothers office.
I walk back to my dorm and see Crystal. "What's got you so happy?" She asks me.
"Well for starters, Ben's gonna fight to keep them here."
Crystal smiles at me. "That's great. What else?"
"Evie doesn't hate me, nor blame me or Mal for her child's death, and I got Mal to smile.
"Wow, what a feat. I've only seen De Vil do that."
I smile. "Are you sure this is the right choice? After this, I doubt my parents will even talk to me."
"Are you really doubting yourself, or are you afraid you're gonna fail them."
"I should've tried harder. I mean, I was their daughter, if anyone could convince them it'd be me."
"Your relationship with them definitely didn't give you the advantage." She jokes.
"Can you blame me? They sentenced children to death! For what their parents did!"
Crystal nods. "You won't fail them. And if your parents stop talking to you after this, so what? Would you rather you save your half decent relationship with your parents, or would you rather save the VK's?"
I chuckle. "And Ben said I was good."
She laughs. "Well, we both learned from the best."
I playfully hit her shoulder before giving her a hug. "I'll be back in a few hours." I tell her as I snap my finger, a gold leather jacket appearing in my arms. Glitter, god I love it. I slipped on the jacket and turned towards Crystal. She had a smile on her face, likely due to the fact that she knew my parents would hate my outfit. Too flashy, ruins your image, a dress would look much better. What bullshit. My parents didn't like Crystal that much, mainly my dad. He always said she acted too much like a villain, which was bullshit. Being mischievous doesn't mean you're a villain. Especially, when she's only mischievous around her friends and family. She's literally the sweetest girl I've ever met, but of course, one accident and they turn on her.I love to flaunt my friendship with her, just to annoy them. I didn't care too much about what they thought of me. Not after everything they did. Anyone that will willingly ruin dozens of lives for their own benefit, can rot in hell for all I care.
"Nice outfit." She compliments me.
"How much do you think my parents will hate it?" I ask with a smirk.
She shrugs, "Too flashy, the glitter's gonna drive them insane. I approve!"
I nod and wave bye to her before walking out.
As I arrived at the castle I saw Ben, Fairy Godmother, and my parents were already waiting there. "You're late sis." My brother jokes.
"Oh, no, what will I do?" I reply.
He smiles at me. "Did you make your decision?" I ask him.
He nods. "Can I talk to you?"
I nod and he grabs my arm and we walk over to his room. "So did you think about what I said?"
He nods. "I'm gonna fight for them. If something happened on the Isle to make that happen, then they shouldn't go back."
I smile. "You have no idea."
"And you do?" He says, narrowing his eyes.
I smirk. "What do you think?"
"I'll never understand you."
"Nobody does."
"You're amazing."
"I know." I joke. "So are you. Thank you for giving them the chance."
"No problem, now you just have to convince mom and dad."
"Easier said than done." I complain with a frown.
"They'll listen to you. You're still their daughter."
"Unfortunately." I mumble.
He frowns and starts to walk forward, mumbling under his breath as we walk out of his room. "Stupid glitter," I make out, causing me to stffle a laugh. Ben didn't approve of glitter, but I did. Especially since it annoyed him so much. He was rubbing all the wonderful sparkles off his hands when we saw the four villain kids walk in. I walked over to them, leaving my brother to scratch all the glitter of his suit. "I'll fight to keep you four here. I don't care who gets hurt, I'm not letting you four get sent back there. No matter what."
They all smile at me. "Thank you." Evie tells me. "Thank you for being there for us."
"Anytime."
"Okay, now that everyone's here. Let's begin." Ben says as he walks over to us.
"How does this work?" Carlos whispers.
"Usually it involves a lot of yelling, but I won't back down."
"Fairy Godmother, please explain the situation." Ben says.
Fairy Godmother walks over to Ben, me, and my parents. "As you all know Prince Ben, with the help of Princess Ashlyn, made his first official proclamation, which was to bring these four children from the Isle of the Lost to Auradon Prep."
"We were met by mixed reactions, but we knew it was the right choice." I add.
"Yet look where we are now." I hear my dad grumble.
"Well we wouldn't be here now if you listened to me in the first place!" I snap, causing everyone to look at me in shock.
"Princess Ashlyn, please calm down." Fairy Godmother told me. I rolled my eyes but sat back down, looking at Fairy Godmother expectantly. "Anyways, when the children arrived we noticed they were different."
"Of course they are, they're villains." My dad says, causing me to glare at him.
"Honey, please calm down." Mom says to dad.
"Yes, they were different, but not in a villainous way. We could tell they were badly hurt. Each of the kids had multiple scars and trouble even talking to us. They had issues with trust and seemed to be scared of us." Ben explained.
"All things you would've known if you ever listened to me." I growl, giving my parents a pointed glare.
"Ashlyn, please calm down." Ben tells me, grabbing my hand.
I frown and look at him. "Fine."
"We gave them some time to themselves before lunch, which is when things escalated."
"And they hurt you." My mother finished
"No, they didn't. They threatened me, but they didn't harm me in any way." Ben corrected.
"She pulled a knife on you!" My dad yells.
"She didn't hurt me!" my brother snapped.
They both stared at him. Ben hardly ever even raised his voice, let alone snapped at someone. "Hey, Benny, calm down." I told him, putting my hand on his shoulder.
He began to calm down and smiled at me. "Okay, as we were saying. Ben invited the VK's to his table which is where he found out that the VK's were starved, causing Jay to freak out when he found out they wasted food. Evie was already upset she was there and when Ben touched her she attacked him." I explain.
"Nobody should react that way." My mom tells me.
"Would you let me finish?" I growl. She nods and I continue. "When Ben touched Evie it triggered a memory. A memory of someone doing something similar on the Isle. That person hurt Evie in unimaginable ways, so she accidentally mistook Ben for that person and attacked them. She simply was defending herself."
"By attacking our son!" My dad shouts, causing me to glare at him.
"You don't know what the Isle is like dad! She was hurt, in ways that aren't even legal in Auradon. She thought she was being threatened, so she reacted in a way that was normal to her."
"That's not normal!" My dad argues.
"Neither is the Isle, but you had no trouble trapping them there! The Isle is different from Auradon. The Isle has different rules, if any at all. You can't blame her for reacting in a way that's normal to her, especially when she was hurt."
"She attacked our son!"
"So what?!" I yell. "Would you react that way if she attacked me? Would you react that way if she attacked Audrey, or Chad, or Crystal?"
He stays silent at a loss for words. "That's exactly what I thought." I snap. "What about if Audrey or Chad hurt her? Would you send them to the Isle? And might I remind you, she didn't actually hurt Ben! Yet you have no problem getting rid of her for touching your son, but if someone was to hurt them you'd what? Forgive them? Or would you send them to the Isle like you're trying to do to Evie."
"She can handle herself on the Isle. Audrey or someone else could not." My mom explains, causing my rage to boil up inside of me. Mom's usually the voice of reason in these arguments, but now, now I'm fucking mad!
"She can only handle herself there, because you imprisoned them there for sixteen years. She never deserved that. None of them did! What crime did they commit? Being born? The only reason these kids did anything wrong is cause we never gave them a different choice! They were raised to be villains, but where was the choice to be good? Do you really think we'd be different? Do you really think that me or Ben would be any different, if not worse, than them if we were born there? If we were the children of their parents. They weren't born evil, and we weren't born good. It's because of how they were raised that they're good or evil. Yet amongst all of that, these four have stuck together. They've endured all the pain and suffering and been there for each other. They're a better family than we are and they're not even related by blood. So yeah, after all the crap they went through, they turned out much better than they had any right to. And now you're gonna throw that away? Throw away their one chance to prove themselves, because they threatened my brother. How do you think he feels about it? He was never harmed. There wasn't a single drop of blood, yet you seem to think sending them back to hell is the only option. Well newsflash, it's not! It shouldn't even be an option!"
Ben decided to speak up next. "I agree with Aslyn. They haven't physically harmed anyone, and a threat should not get them sent back there. Especially, if the Isle is what caused them to react this way."
I smile and hug him. "Thank you Ben."
"You're right." He whispers.
I giggle. "I know."
"I'm sorry Ashlyn, but we have to think about our people too. How do you think all of Auradon will react?"
"Why should I care? Why would they react differently than Ben and I? The fact stands that the VK's haven't harmed anyone, all they've done is threaten people. What makes you think Evie would've gone through with it anyways?"
"She's a villain." Dad snaps.
"Because we made her one! Did you not listen to anything I said? What happened to her, and in extension Ben, that's on us. That's on you."
"Ashlyn, I know we don't always get along, but you have to think about our people." Mom explains.
I snapped. "Our people? How are you two still both king and queen, when you don't realize the Isle is our people too? We've all turned a blind eye to the Isle and never seemed to notice anything wrong with it. We never knew when something bad happened to them, nor did we care. There were and still are innocent children there, and we let them grow up there, in the presence of the worst villains in history! We didn't notice, nor care, when someone got abused there. When someone was hurt or tortured. We didn't even care, even though they're our people too! Bad things happen on the Isle, yet we all stood by idly and let it happen. We got multiple reports about what happens on the Isle, and you didn't even care! "They're villains, they got what they deserve," so what? Whether the villains deserved it or not, their children sure as hell didn't. These children, along with countless others, were raised in an abusive environment. Sure, they were raised to be villains, but guess what? We're the ones who stuck 'em there in the first place. What was their other choice? Do you really think their parents let them choose to be good or evil, or to be their own person? Well you're sadly mistaken. Their lives were dictated by their parents. They finally have the chance to be their own person, and you want to take that away? They were raised to be evil, because they didn't have the choice. They were taught to attack first, that way you don't get hurt. They were trying to defend themselves, and you want to send them back to the place that made that way? Well guess what, the things that happened to them, all their pain and suffering. All the pain they inflicted on others, that's on us. I won't let you take away their chance at a good life, because of your mistake. We brought them here to give them the chance they never got. I won't let you take that away because of your mistake."
Everyone's eyes were on Ashlyn. All of them, even the VK's, were shocked by what she had said.
"Hey, Ashlyn, please calm down." Ben says as he runs over to me and grabs my hand. "It's okay." He tells me.
"No, it's not." I say on the verge of tears. I look at Evie and the other VK's who give me a reassuring nod, knowing what I was about to say. I turned back to my parents, wiping away my tears. "A year ago I got a report from the Isle of the lost. When I read through the report, I was heartbroken to find out a child passed away on the Isle. Do you want to know what that child's name was? It was Emily Avara Queen. She died only a few minutes after her birth because of the harsh conditions of the Isle we trapped them in. Nine months earlier I heard of a report of a teenage pregnancy on the Isle. The second we got that report, we should've taken her off the Isle, along with her family so she could handle the pregnancy properly, but no. They were villains, they had to get what they deserve. Well guess what? They don't deserve that. They never did. None of them did. They were all beaten and abused, had multiple health conditions, even tortured past what any human should've been able to survive, but I was the only one who actually cared. Neither you, nor mom, nor Fairy Godmother, or anyone else cared. Ben had come to me and comforted me, but never knew what it was about. I have no doubt in my mind he would have cared too. I begged you to help them, to help all of them, but you didn't. So here's your chance to make up for that. To give them the life we denied them. The life they deserve…"
Unable to handle it anymore I ran out of the room towards my bedroom, sobbing into my pillow as soon as I hit the bed.
"You okay?" I heard someone call.
I turned to face them, and to my surprise it was Carlos.
"No." I cry.
He walked over to me and sat next to me on the bed.
"What's wrong?" He asks me.
Unable to hold it anymore I hugged him, earning a look of confusion from him. "I'm sorry." I told him. "I knew about what you guys went through and I didn't get you out of there. I didn't try hard enough, even Ben did better."
He frowned before hugging me back. "Thank you." He whispered. "You stood by us just like you promised."
I smile. "I should've done it much sooner."
"You did." He replies, earning a look of confusion from me.
"What do you mean?"
"You fought for us way back then, and while you may not have won, it meant a lot to all of us. We always felt like we were alone. It always was just us. We looked out for each other, we loved each other, but it was just that. We weren't loved by our parents, nor any of the other Isle kids, it was always us and us alone. Knowing you cared about us too, it meant a lot."
I turn towards the source of the voice, seeing Mal and Jay standing in the doorway.
"Just knowing there's someone who wants us here. It motivates us to fight too. We were all ready to give up. To accept we weren't wanted anywhere, but you wanted us. Even when you didn't know us you wanted us to have a good life." Carlos explains.
If only they knew the irony of that statement.
"Villainy was the only thing we were ever taught, but maybe because of you and Ben, we can give good a shot." Jay finishes. Aww, how sweet...
I smile. "Thanks."
I smile, but stop when I see my brother along with Evie walk in. "Mom and dad want to talk to us. All of us. They've made their decision." Ben explains. Evie whispered something in his ear, causing him to stifle a laugh, but I couldn't hear it.
"They know I won't back down, right?" I retort.
"I do at least." He walks over to me. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"I don't tell you a lot of things. Like how I don't tell you what I have against mom and dad."
"I have a few ideas." Mal says with a smirk.
"All about the VK's." He realizes, causing me to scoff. "Not even close."
He scratches his head in confusion before walking out. I was about to follow him, but the VK's stopped me. "How'd you know all that stuff?" Mal asks me, causing me to turn around. "You said you weren't there when we attacked Ben, nor were you at the Isle. There definitely wasn't all that stuff in letters. I turn around and bite my lip. "He wasn't the only thing you saw." I lie.
"You have magic?" Mal guesses.
"Took you long enough." I say as I walk out the door, the four VK''s following me. I know they don't remember me, but maybe that's for the best. We may not have gotten along before, but we're gonna be great friends. I just need to hope they really do give good a shot. If they choose evil, well…
that's even better.
Ashlyn, Mal, and the other VK's walked back into the main hall to see Ben, his parents and Fairy Godmother standing in front of them. "Well?" Ashlyn growls, getting impatient.
"You were right Ashlyn." Belle says, causing Ashlyn's eyes to widen. "We need to give them a chance."
"Since they never actually harmed Prince Ben, the VK's are allowed to stay."
Ashlyn felt her heart skip a beat. Mal smiles, Evie smiles and hugs Ashlyn, while Carlos and Jay begin to jump for joy.
"However, if you dare harm anyone. We won't hesitate to send you back." King Adam growls.
Ashlyn glares at him, but stops when the four VK's hug her. "Thank you." They all say, giving Ashlyn a smile.
"Like I said, I'm not backing down." She says before being pulled away by Ben.
"You were right." He says, earning a "duh." from Evie.
"Again, like I said, sometimes the right choice doesn't always seem that way. Sure, we'll all have to deal with how the rest of Auradon reacts, but for now just seeing smiles on their faces is enough for me."
"Sappy much?" Mal jokes before pulling me back over to her. "Why'd you do that this morning?"
"He makes you happy. I want you, all of you, to be happy."
Mal smiles. "You know I never thought I'd be friends with someone like you." She says. "But you're not that bad, for an Auradon kid that is."
"Trust me, I'm nothing like the other Auradon kids. If anything I'm more like a villain kid."
"No." Mal disagrees, shaking her head. "You have a long way to go before you get there. Nor do you want to."
"I'm farther along than you think." She says with a smirk before walking over to her brother.
"Why out of everyone did you choose to tell me to choose them?" He asks.
I sigh. "Because, I failed them once. I didn't want to fail them again?"
He stares at her. "You know that wasn't your fault."
"Seems like everyone's telling me that, but it doesn't matter anymore. They're finally happy."
"You're hiding something." Ben realizes.
"I hide a lot of things." She says. "Like this." She pulls out Ben's wallet.
"Oh very funny." He scowls, ripping his wallet out of Ashlyn's hand.
Ashlyn smirks. "I really hope they can help." She thinks to herself. "Both of us."