Hello everyone!
Sorry for the late, it took me some times for write... this.
I don't know, this chapter doesn't convince me much.
I hope I didn't make too many mistakes.
I remember to all of you that English is not my mother tongue, so any advice to improve is welcome!
See you next time, and thanks to whoever read the chapter!

ArhiShay

The night before the fateful departure, Mal had fled from her home in favor of the tranquility of the shelter she shared with her friends.

She looked at the clear sky of the island, where the sun never shone completely, obscured by storm clouds that served to protect the barrier around it, hoping in some way to see a star over the blanket of clouds. She didn't see one.

She snorted, hiding in her purple coat and crossing her arms under her breasts. She was no longer a child, she had probably never been, and believing that a star could fulfill people's wishes was a stupid and useless thing.

But yet...

She closed her eyes without really sleeping, her senses always alert in case someone unwelcome tried to approach her in her own shelter. A stupid move, but she knew some people so crazy to try anything to save the power that she had obtained with difficulty.

Wrapped in the darkness and silence of the room, Mal let herself be enveloped by memories of a secret childhood she had lived, of those few happy moments that she jealously kept as treasures. If Maleficent had discovered it, if she had known that her daughter had learned to dream, she would probably have taken that little joy away as well.

«I knew you were here.»

She opened her eyes slowly, concentrating on an indefinite point of the dark sky, while Evie's graceful steps approached her cautiously, as if she was afraid to see her flee as soon as she was too close, like a stray and wary cat. It was what Mal usually did to avoid problems, escaped even before they could hit her directly, blocked by a wall of distrust and arrogance that didn't allow anyone to approach, but that hid at the bottom only a great fear of being hurt .

To be weak and kind could be dangerous, and Mal didn't intend to lose anything of what she considered to be her, not to open herself to kindness and trust. Evie sat down next to her, resting her chin on her friend's shoulder and stroking her hair, in a vain attempt to calm the upset and combative soul that in recent days had risked to blow up more than once. Usually this was the task of Carlos: when he was around, Mal felt more relaxed, but even the comfortable and empathic presence of Evie could cool her mind and give her some peace.

Despite the glaring differences, Mal knew that she and Evie were alike more than everyone believe, crushed by the constant pressure that the names of their mothers exercised on their young shoulders.

«Your mother is at my house. I had never seen her so exhilarated.»

«Yeah, it almost seems she is the one who has to leave for Auradon.»

For at least two hours a day, in the last few weeks since that letter, the damn letter, had arrived at their door, Maleficent had done nothing but instruct her daughter on how to move as soon as she set foot in Auradon.

She was delighted by the opportunity the prince was giving her, and she didn't spare any more insignificant details to make sure that even an "Idiot like her," textual words that Mal had deliberately ignored, could not possibly fail.

Her mother's plan was simple: get to Auradon, play good guys and successfully steal the Fairy Godmother's wand, so she could free her and the other bad guys, who could finally get their revenge on the good guys. Simple, clear, concise. After almost an hour of confrontation, Mal was full of pockets.

She was grateful to Grimhilde, for having summoned Maleficent in her home for a celebratory drink, finally giving her a bit of tranquility and solitude. As soon as her mother had closed the door behind her, she too had gone out, intending to stay in the shelter until the following morning, when the car that would take her to Auradon had come to pick her and the others.

«My mother too. She can't wait to see me come back with a prince on a leash, to take her out of this dump.»

Evie had confided to her, chuckling, but Mal didn't miss the bitter note that crackled her voice.

«I do not think you'll find one.» Mal did not allow her time to interrupt, but she didn't miss the glare that Evie throw at her. «Yeah, the first guy who tries to seduce you will have to deal with Jay, and if anyone really stupid enough to challenge him, I fear that Auradon and any other kingdom out there will be without principles in a short time.»

Evie didn't reply, continuing to lighten her best friend with the look of mute disapproval, the same as when Mal pecked with Jay to plot a childish joke to address any of their bands rivals. In spite of everything, however, Evie's cheeks were slightly dyed red, and Mal noticed it.

«What's up? It's the truth!» She laughed again, shaking her shoulders and trying to escape Evie's eyes fixed on her. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

«Mal...» she finally sighed, almost begging her not to press the sore button she was trying to avoid from the day Jay entered her life.

Her mother would never allow her to fall in love with a thief, a poor, and anything Evie could feel was nothing compared to her mother's authority, who even now was able to maneuver her daughter like a puppet.

Evil Queen's sweet doll to be maneuvered at will.

Mal knew that Evie was more than a good little face only to attract princes and nobles of sorts, as Carlos and Jay knew, yet she fully understood her friend's desire to be recognized by her mother. It was the same thing she had tried, before realizing that Maleficent would never really love her, not as a mother should love a daughter.

This time it was Mal who hugged her. They both bear each other's pleasant contact, finding new strength in each other.

«Do you think it will be better? Once out of the Isle I mean ...»

Mal did not answer immediately, lost in thought again, that she decided not to share with Evie, not at that moment.

What she needed now was a hope, something that Mal didn't have. She could not take off the annoying feeling that, once in Auradon, none of them could really adapt to the new condition imposed. The more she thought about the opportunity offered to her, the more she felt inside the unpleasant feeling that among all those princes and princesses, mingled with all those heroes who were the cause of their parents exile, she wouldn't have felt anything but a stranger.

A mistake.

She hated that feeling, the same with which her mother had fun tormenting her since the day she had been old enough to understand what it meant to be considered a "useless burden".

As far as possible, she would have preferred to avoid anything that brought her to the mind.

The island was certainly not the best place to grow, but it was the place where she grew up, where she had found, with difficulty and sacrifice, her place in the world, and despite how hard it was, despite the fact that sometimes she had dreamed a better life beyond the barrier, she know that she belonged to the Isle.

Evie and Carlos deserved Auradon, neither of them was really done to live in that dump, too docile, too good inside, to be able to live in that shit where they had been confined.

She and Jay, on the contrary, would not have been able to adapt better: they were violent and scurrilous, they didn't feel pity or mercy, they stole without remorse and they enjoyed making others suffer. And if Jay was just bad, Mal felt more than this.

She was Evil, just like Maleficent. And this frightened her beyond everything.

Finally she answered, sighing slightly between her lips, one last look towards the sky.

«Maybe.»

It did not sound convincing at all.