Disclaimer: I don't own Descendants or its prequel Isle of the Lost, which I may draw on from time to time for background information.

Prologue, 16 years ago

"UGH! The brat cries day and night. I swear, she's such a nasty little thing, but she's driving me crazy!" Maleficent hissed at her company. She toyed with the end of her robe's sleeves and paced back in the other direction. Her boots clicked against the floor as she stomped over to the dresser drawer she had made into a crib for her infant daughter. Peering down at the squealing child, Maleficent puckered her purple-black lips as she thought. "It was truly worth cursing you. You curse me with crying, and I curse you for the rest of your life!" She laughed.

"Fantasizing about the glory days again, Maleficent?"

Maleficent looked over to the sofa where her company of...acquaintances sat. Villains never, by any means, made claims to having friends, and Maleficent would stick to that rule. She rolled her eyes. "No, E.Q., I told you I had achieved something glorious. That's why I invited you all." She glanced from Evil Queen to Cruella to Jafar. "Honestly, do you think I keep you all around because I want to?" She laughed at her own joke, to which no laughter was returned from the other three.

"What is it this time? A few months ago, you claimed to have thought the goblins on the garbage barges from Auradon were spying on you," Jafar said with a roll of his eyes.

Maleficent leaned against the desk on which her daughter's drawer-crib rested and pierced the junk salesman with her green eyes. "They were," she insisted sharply. Then she straightened up and waved a hand of dismissal, seemingly unbothered by Jafar's cheek. "No, but this is much better. You see, I think I've found a loophole in the magic here."

Immediately, the other three villains looked interested. Evil Queen looked away from her reflection, Cruella stopped filing her nails, and Jafar paused from stuffing his face with stale popcorn long enough to raise an eyebrow at the dark woman.

Maleficent's mouth curved into a sly grin. "Ah, yes. It's not much of a loophole, but I think it will come in handy when she's old enough." When her colleagues gave her quizzical looks, she just inclined her head to the squealing baby. Then she rolled her eyes and wrenched open the top desk drawer by her hip. She plucked out a grimy baby bottle filled with eyeballs floating in a thick slimy green substance. She pushed the nipple into the baby's mouth, and the child grew quiet as she sipped the formula.

"Now, what was I saying?" Maleficent asked. "Oh, right. I have placed a spell on my child that, given the event of our inevitable escape and world domination, she will not stray from my side."

"And how did you manage that?" Evil Queen asked. "There's no magic on the island, remember?"

Maleficent raised her index finger in a 'wait just a moment' gesture. "I'm aware of this, but as my blood and heir, I believe I was able to place a spell upon her that will activate the moment this stupid barrier drops and sets us free. It's a two-part spell, which makes it pretty cruel if I do say so myself." She flashed a dark grin at them. "If she dares to stray from her evil roots once we're off this island, she will suffer pain worse than death. And if she ever falls prey to the weakness of falling in love, this significant other that has tricked her into such weakness will be infected with an illness that no amount of spells, potions, or any other garbage can undo." She cackled at her own scheme. "It's magnificent!"

Cruella went back to filing her nails. She stopped again only to examine them. "This would only be if we ever do get off this island though. So it's pretty useless."

Maleficent frowned and just rolled her eyes as her acquaintances became engrossed in their activities again. She leaned down to her infant child, her mouth very close to the baby girl's face but still giving room for the bottle between them. "They're just thinking small, pumpkin," she said. "Someday, they'll see. And so will you if you don't do what Mommy says. Isn't that right, Mal?" She flicked a thick lock of bright purple hair back from the tot's eyes and grinned. Yes, with her guidance and foolproof spell, there was nothing to stop Mal from becoming the perfect heir to her throne of darkness. The spell would lie dormant inside the child and grow quietly as she did, so that one day, if the time really did come for a new reign of villains, Mal only need know about the spell if she crossed Maleficent. And that, surely, would never happen.

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Foarrin