(Author's Note: In my mind this is an official prequel to my Descendants's story "The Day The Adults Disappeared"; everything in this story is canon in that universe. However, if you haven't read my previous story- which is quite long, I'll admit- don't worry about it! I'm writing this story to be read as an addition or on its own. Either way, I hope you enjoy! Main villains are from Pinocchio and Sword In The Stone.)

Mal's P.O.V.-

I'll never forget the first time I saw him. He was nothing I'd ever seen before; so different than Daddy, Jay, Carlos, and my childhood friend Peter Pan. I shouldn't have felt the way I did at the tender age of five; the butterflies should not have fluttered so rapidly in my chest. But they did; they really did. I felt this intense desire to approach him, to stand by his side. My heart was overcome with brand new emotions I'd never experienced before. There, on the pier standing alongside his father was Harry Hook, son of Captain James Hook.

The boy's head turned my way while his father was conversing- rather loudly I might add- with some of his pirates. Harry looked at me and simply rolled his eyes. Little pirates of the age of five had no interest in little girls, even if they're demigods. Neither of our fathers took any notice- Captain Hook still talking and my father, Hades, continuing to stroll along while holding my hand. Daddy finally glanced down when he realized that I was no longer keeping pace with him. "Mally? What's wrong? Your feet starting to hurt?" He asked in a mildly concerned tone. I guess he didn't observe that I was staring in Harry's direction. "I uh… No, my feet don't hurt," my little lips sputtered. My hand was given a yank. "Then let's go home. Daddy's going to need a nap soon," Daddy always took naps in the late afternoon or early evening. I followed him, not saying a word about Harry the whole way back. But the little pirate stayed with me.

He stayed with me ever since then.

The first thing Daddy did when he opened the front door was to plop himself onto the couch. I went to fetch my books- all in Ancient Greek of course. I set myself down on the floor with my back propped up against the side of the couch. Daddy peered down at me with his one eye open, only to let a long groan. "More homework? You're a VK, honey- that means you don't have to do any homework. I mean, who ever heard of a villain who does their homework?" "But Cousin Athena said she wants this done by tomorrow," I retorted. All of my Greek relatives up in Olympus were determined that I get a decent education; being born on the Isle of the Lost didn't mean that I'd grow up illiterate. Daddy used to protest that it was a waste of time, but when I began to excel at my studies, he let it go…. somewhat. He still didn't like the idea of homework, but what can you do?

Daddy groaned again and rolled his head forward. He shut both eyes now. "Whatever. Daddy's going to have a nap." "Ok. I'll finish this then clean the kitchen." "My god, how did my own daughter- princess of the underworld- turn out to be such a goodie two-shoes?" Daddy's hand ran over his face. I didn't really understand what he was talking about, so I turned back to my work. I had just gotten to page two when another familiar voice rang throughout the room.

"You who? Anyone home?" "It's Peter!" I leapt to my feet, racing over to the door. Daddy merely opened one eye. "Hey, Mal!" Peter Pan caught me in a hug. "Oh, Peter Pan! I've missed you!" My arms held him close. "I've been busy. Me and the lost boys went on another treasure hunt. You should come with us sometime!" "She can't leave the island, remember?" Daddy yawned while stretching up his arms. "Oh, right. Well, how about we do something fun here?" "Like what?" I asked. Peter thought for a moment before snapping his fingers.

"How 'bout we go chase Kaa around? That's always fun." "Oh yeah, assuming he doesn't eat you," Daddy yawned again. "We could go to Crocodile Cove? Or visit Shere Khan?" "Would you stop trying to get my daughter killed, boy? Just because we're immortal doesn't mean that she is," my father's tone was changing into his protective voice. Peter and I looked at him, then back at each other. "We could…. go swimming in the harbour?" I meekly suggested, hoping that Harry might still be there. But Peter waved his hand in a dismissive fashion. "Nah, let's go for a walk in the Haunted Forest. That'll be a hoot!" While I wasn't too enthusiastic to go into there, I knew Peter Pan wanted to go and that was enough for me. "Daddy?" I prompted for his permission; I always got his permission before going anywhere. Daddy reopened his eyes and sat up to face us.

"Just fly overtop the forest- that's it. It's dangerous in those woods; that's where all the animal villains live. They'd give anything to get their claws on you." "Sure thing, Hades! We'll stay high in the air. Come on, Mal," Peter Pan proceeded to scoop me up into his arms princess-style. Daddy waited until we were both floating above ground before speaking again. "And be back before dark, alright?" "We will!" With that, Peter flew me out of the front door and towards the wooded part of the island.

It was a full day walk from where everyone lived on the Isle of the Lost to the Haunted Forest. I think I'm the only VK to have been there because it's so far. That was done on purpose to protect us from the animals who dwell inside. The forest led into a coast where evil sea-life lived; I'd never been that far before. I knew that Gaston went there from time to time to hunt, but besides that no one else ventured over to that half of the island. Peter Pan, however, frequented there often; he thought terrorizing the wildlife was great fun. Being a small girl of six, I was less confident in such a place.

We arrived at the forest's border; it extended for miles. It was quite a bleak place- very dark inside with no flowers or anything of colour beside green and brown growing. I had always wanted to see a rose but knew I wouldn't find one in there. I scanned over the tops of the trees, not seeing anything else at first. My heart skipped a beat though, when Peter became to make a descend to a tiny clearing in between the trees.

My eyes shot over to his head in horror. "What are you doing, Peter?!" My six-year-old voice gasped. He flashed me a mischievous grin. "Going to get a better look." "But Peter! Daddy said not to go down into the trees," I was beginning to panic. "Ah, lighten up, Mal. Where's your sense of adventure?! No one will know, and besides, I come down here all the time. Nothing ever happens to me." I suppose I shouldn't have been as automatically willing to comply as I was, but then I was only six years old and trusted Peter Pan. We met when he found me lost on island at the age of three. He's always looked out for me and never given me a reason not to trust him. So down we went, landing in the clearing. Peter checked around before setting me down on my feet.

"See?! It's perfectly safe!" Peter announced gaily. After a glance around, I had to agree. Nothing came out to eat us right away anyway. Peter took hold of my hand and started to lead me further into the thicket. "Come on. Let's see if we can find anybody." We hiked along hand-in-hand encountering nothing for the first little while. It looked like a plain, old forest to me; or it did the longer we stayed in it. Peter remained hopeful though.

The first individuals we ran into appeared roughly twenty minutes into our trek. A branch snapped and I grabbed onto Peter's arm afraid. This was replaced by loud cackling. We peered up and found two Siamese cats lounging on a big tree truck. They were laughing and rolling around. "Look, brother; look at the little humans." "Boy, are they in the wrong place," they chuckled amongst themselves. I held onto Peter's arm tighter; meanwhile he didn't appear phased at all. He simply waved them off, which delighted them even more. "What are two little morsels like you doing here? Do you know where you are?" One cat inquired to us this time. "Maybe they're lost, brother," the other cat told his brother. "Let's go, Peter," I whispered, growing more scared by the second. I knew they were only cats, but I was afraid, nonetheless. Peter scoffed undeterred. "They're just cats, Mal. Come on," he was able to tug me along with how I was clinging to his arm. "Goodbye, little humans," one cat shifted onto his back. The other made muffins with his paws. "Watch out for bears," he yawned. Bears?! What did he mean by that? But Peter didn't give me time to ask; the cats were out of sight within seconds. I stayed really close by Peter now, terrified of what the cat's remark could be about.

We learned soon enough. We reached a waterfall where Peter's feet finally came to a stop, as did mine. He pried his arm off mine and sent me a reassuring grin. "Wait here. I'm going to get a drink. I'll be right back." Surprisingly, I didn't say anything to this. With one last reassuring glance at me, Peter went to get himself a drink of water at the falls. I didn't feel too scared on my own there since he was so close. Squatting on the grass, I hugged my knees into my chest and patiently waited for my friend to return. Or at least I did until someone interrupted the silence. My head shot to the side to discover Kaa slithering up to me quickly. I guess I don't have a phobia of snakes since I wasn't initially afraid; I was pretty sure I could outrun Kaa if I wanted to. Though that might have been flawed child logic.

Kaa smacked his lips hungrily. "Say now, what have we here? It's a man cub; a delicious man cub." I watched him, unaware of the fact that he was intending to eat me. I was more impressed with the size of his body. "You're very long," my mouth said absent-mindedly. This made Kaa chuckled, for some reason. "All the better to hug you and squeeze you with, my dear." Why would he want to hug me? My eyebrow had just enough time to raise before Kaa's eyes turned a different shade of colour. "You're a long way from home. You must be tired, man cub. You should go to sleep… Sleep, sleep," he cooed. Just as he was staying this, my eyes started to feel heavy and drowsy. I was about to pass out until Peter Pan arrived.

"Get away from her!" Kaa made an "oof" sound as Peter kicked him square in the jaw. All of a sudden, I felt entirely better and blinked to find Peter positioning himself between the snake and me. Kaa shook his head in agony. "My sinus," Kaa cried before giving Peter Pan the harshest glare. He began slithering towards us with intent. "Just you wait until I get you in my coils….." Kaa threatened.

Then something interesting happened. Kaa froze, as if a sudden sensation overcame him. A worried look etched itself onto his face and he immediately backed down and slithered back into the woods. It was all rather anti-climactic, which Peter thought so too. Confused, he took hold of my hand again. "Well, that was weird. Let's go up to the falls, Mal." I remained quiet as he led me up to the water.

I don't know why but the moment we got near the top of the falls, this strange negative feeling flooded over me. It was like we were entering somewhere dangerous, although nothing of danger was instantly apparent. Peter didn't seem to feel the same way; he acted as excited and cheerful as ever. Yet despite his enthusiasm, it was really, really quiet. With exception of the waterfall and our own voices, it was eerily still all around us. The longer we were up there, the more this feeling of danger swelled inside me. Peter Pan let go of my hand to get a closer look at the falls' edge. My hand went from holding his to hugging myself. Something felt off- really off.

"Mal! Come get a look at this!" Peter waved me over. My feet didn't move an inch. "Peter…" "What's wrong? Come on! This is cool!" "Peter, I don't…." I began but couldn't put my fear into words exactly. I wasn't quite sure what I was so afraid of, but I was right then. Peter gazed over his shoulder at me puzzled. "Mal?" I didn't reply. He straightened up and gave a smirk. "What? Are you afraid?" "N-No! I'm just…." I started to lie but stopped myself. He laughed at me. "You better get a move on or the coachman will get ya," he raised his arms up to emphasis the scariness. I shot him an unimpressed glare. "Peter! You know I hate the coachman!" "Awe, Mal's scared! Well, you should be. I'm the coachman, and I'm coming to get you!" "Peter, stop it!" "I'm going to turn you into a donkey, Mal!" Still laughing, he took a playful step towards me. Then, in the blink of an eye, he did stop; all amusement suddenly vanishing from his face. I think he finally sensed what I had earlier.

I had just enough time to look to the side bushes when this gigantic grey fur bear came roaring up. It had glowing red eyes and very sharp teeth and claws. It was the same bear which attacked Amos Slade, Copper, and Todd; the scar from the bullet wound was still on its shoulder. This bear gave an unearthly growl as it eyed me up in a terrifying way.

I couldn't even scream. Seconds later, I found myself tumbling backwards down the way alongside the waterfall. My little body only stopped once I was at the bottom of the falls, not that my tumble did any good. "Mal!" Peter shrieked at the top of his lungs. But the bear paid him no mind; instead he was barrelling down after me, growling furiously. I landed on my back with the bear feet away. I didn't have time to do anything but luckily Peter did. He flew down as fast as he could, standing in between me and the bear; his badger was in his hand. Now I know it would have been all resolved if Peter had just picked me up and flew us back home, but that's not how Peter's mind works in situations like these. I swear he sometimes forgets he can fly when deadly animals are involved.

The bear was not impressed by Peter's intersection at all. Letting out a vicious growl, it raised it's paw up high into the air. Peter and I barely missed its swipe by throwing ourselves off to the side. Peter's feet instantly spun him in such a way that he was facing the bear again while I laid there on the ground. "Peter!" My hand extended out as the bear took another swing. Peter managed to dodge it, but he did so in such a way that left an opening to me. The bear took full advantage of the scenario, marching quickly in my direction. I had to scramble to my feet to avoid it's jaw coming down for me.

This time I landed very close to the water's edge. Using my arms I was able to lift up my upper half. The bear was stomping towards me with a determined glint in it's eye. I was so terrified that I didn't feel the mist from the falls brush against my skin; all my limbs were shaking uncontrollably. Having enough of this I think, the bear lifted up onto its hind legs for this attack. My bottom lip trembled so much, I thought it was going to fall off. The bear roared and prepared itself to annihilate me. I winced my eyes shut, getting ready for the worst. Then, a voice called out to me.

"Get down, Mal!" I don't know how Peter Pan did it, but he did it. I immediately lowered myself to hug the dirt and Peter smashed into the back of the bear. The enraged animal went toppling into the water behind me. This certainly wasn't enough to kill it, but it did provide us with a window to escape. Peter rushed over to me, spiriting me up into his arms, and only then did we fly to the safety above the trees. For there, we flew home.

Peter and I never told anyone about our encounters with the animals we saw, or the fact that we almost died by the claws of a bear. Daddy never found out, and I was never punished for it. But trust me- I learned my lesson and had a profound respect for all animals, good and bad, since then.