Mal grabbed a strawberry from a table as she, Evie, Jay, and Carlos stepped into the throng. Carlos handed off Dude to Evie and ate strawberries he dipped in a lavishly flowing chocolate fountain.
The happy choir dispersed. Mal nibbled her strawberry and watched Ben join Beast and Belle. They stepped under a stone archway and posed for the photographer.
“Oh! And by the way, I have a new girlfriend,” Ben told his parents.
They looked at him and gasped.
“I never wanted to say anything,” said Belle, “but I always thought that Audrey was a little self-absorbed. With a fake smile”—Belle flashed a fake smile for the photographer and continued to speak through it—“a kind of kiss-up.”
“Do we know your new girlfriend?” asked Beast.
“On the count of three,” said the photographer. “One…two…”
“Sort of…” Ben said, waving at Mal, who waved back. “Mal!” he called to her.
“Three!” said the photographer.
Belle’s and Beast’s frozen looks of shock were captured in the photo.
“Mal! Mal, I want to introduce you to my parents,” he said, going over to her. They hugged. He turned to his parents. “This is Mal. From the island. My girlfriend.”
“Hi,” said Belle, gawking.
“Hi,” said Mal.
Beast waved.
“I was thinking maybe she could join us for lunch,” said Ben.
“Of course,” Beast said. “Any friend of Ben’s—”
“Um, I actually came with my friends,” said Mal.
“Well,” said Belle, “you should…invite them.”
Belle gazed past Mal at the girl’s three friends. Jay was drinking directly from the chocolate fountain as Carlos, his face smeared with chocolate, jumped up and down, giggling, and dipped more strawberries into the fountain. Evie bounced Dude up and down in her arms.
Belle smiled kindly. “The more, the merrier!”
“Okay!” said Mal, smiling. “I’ll go grab them.” She turned to get her friends.
“How about a game of croquet before lunch?” asked Beast.
“Of course!” said Mal.
“Game on!” said Ben, high-fiving his dad.
“Game on,” said Beast. He laughed. Belle smiled.
As Mal and Ben walked toward the croquet lawn, Belle’s and Beast’s smiles vanished. Belle nearly fainted, and Beast caught her.
Mal happily trotted toward her friends. Maybe we will have a nice time after all, she thought. She walked onto the lawn, picked up a croquet stick, and hit the ball. Students frolicked around her. Mal smiled at an older woman in a pale pink suit, Queen Leah.
“Hello there,” said Queen Leah, strolling up to her with a smile.
“Hi,” said Mal.
“Now, have we met?” asked Queen Leah.
“No, I don’t think so,” said Mal. “I’m new. I’m sort of like a transfer student.”
Audrey appeared beside them in a pink dress, holding a glass of punch.
“Grammy!” Audrey said.
“Oh, Audrey!” said the woman. “Give Grammy a kiss, dear.”
“‘Grammy’?” said Mal.
“Sleeping Beauty’s mother,” said Audrey. She turned to her grandmother. “Grammy, I don’t think you want to be talking to this girl. Unless you feel like taking another hundred-year nap.” Audrey shot Mal a nasty smile.
Queen Leah stared hard at Mal. “What?” She backed away from Mal in horror, mistaking her for Maleficent. “You!” she cried. “How are you here? And how have you stayed so young?”
Everybody in the garden grew quiet and gathered around them.
Ben rushed over to them. “Queen Leah, it’s okay,” he said. “Maleficent is still on the island. This is her daughter, Mal.” He put a hand on Mal’s arm. “Don’t you remember my proclamation to give the new generation a chance?” He smiled at her.
“A chance to what, Ben?” said Queen Leah. “Destroy us?” She looked around at all the adults. “You remember, don’t you?” she said, turning to her audience. “The poison apples. And the spells!” Beast, Belle, Fairy Godmother, and the others all stared at her solemnly. “The spells…My daughter was raised by fairies because of your mother’s curse. Her first words, her first steps—I missed it all!” Queen Leah turned away, sobbing quietly. Mal went to comfort her.
“I’m so sorry—” said Mal.
Chad jumped between them. “Go away! Step away from her!” Chad told Mal.
“Don’t do this, Chad,” said Ben.
“What? They were raised by their parents, Ben,” said Chad. “What do you think villains teach their children? Kindness? Fair play? No way, okay?”
The other students looked at Mal and her friends with growing suspicion.
Chad turned to face Mal. “You stole another girl’s boyfriend.” He pointed at Jay. “You enjoy hurting people.” He spun on Evie. “And you! You’re nothing but a gold digger and a cheater!” He smiled and looked at the audience.
Evie yanked out her mirror. “Mirror, mirror, in my hand, who’s the biggest jerk in the land?” She held the mirror up to Chad.
“What? Come on!” said Chad, slapping the mirror away.
Jay grabbed Chad. “Hey! Watch it!” said Jay. They started to tussle. Evie leaped in and squirted Chad with the atomizer. He fell to the ground immediately. The garden broke into pandemonium. Mal and her three friends ran out of the garden.
“Guys!” Ben called after them. He looked around at the chaos. His plan was falling to pieces. Chad finally came to.
“I feared something like this would happen,” said Beast.
“This isn’t their fault!” said Ben.
“No, Son,” said Beast solemnly, “it’s yours.” He and Belle walked away from their son.
Ben straightened to bear the full weight of the disaster.
Ben took off after Mal and her friends. When lunch rolled around, he finally found them outside at a picnic table. None of them spoke. A ring of empty tables surrounded them, and beyond that sat the others in their cliques, staring them down.
“Hey, guys! How is everyone?” asked Ben.
They didn’t respond.
“Hey, listen, forget about today,” he said. “It was nothing. Forget about it. Let it go.” He rested his hands on Mal’s shoulders.
Mal kept staring straight ahead, not acknowledging him.
“Tomorrow after the coronation, I promise everything will be okay,” said Ben.
Mal and her three friends looked glum.
“I have to go,” Ben said. “I’ll see you guys later.” He walked away.
Doug strolled up to the table. “Hey, listen, Evie, I want to talk—”
“Doug!” shouted Chad from another table.
“It’s my fault. I’m so sorry—” Evie whispered to Doug.
“Doug!” Chad barked again.
“Doug…” Evie said.
“I’m sorry, I can’t,” said Doug. He joined Chad at his table.
Evie pushed her food tray away huffily.
Audrey strolled past with Jane. Audrey talked loudly enough for Mal and her friends to hear. “How long does she think that’s going to last? She’s just the bad-girl infatuation.” Audrey shot them a cruel smile.
“Yeah,” said Jane. “I mean, he’s never going to make a villain a queen.”
Most of the girls laughed, and Audrey and Jane walked off.
Mal glowered and flipped through her spell book, waving her finger. “Beware, forswear, undo Jane’s hair.”
Jane screamed as her short bob replaced the long wavy brown locks. Jane’s friends backed away, pointing and laughing at her hairdo. Jane looked mortified.
Lonnie stroked her own hair, making sure it was still long and glamorous.
“There’s a lot more where that came from,” Mal told the girls.
“Excuse me, who do you think you are?” asked Audrey, hand on her hip.
“Do I look like I’m kidding?” Mal asked.
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When the girls kept on staring at her, she opened her spell book again.
The girls and their friends took off.
Mal was angry. She spun around to her friends. “I’m really looking forward to tomorrow,” she said, slamming her book shut. “Let’s grab that wand and blow this Popsicle stand.”
Evie, Jay, and Carlos looked at Mal and nodded in quiet understanding. They got up from the picnic table and walked fiercely back toward the school in their usual Isle of the Lost gang formation. Their focus was back. It was nearly coronation time—their big moment to steal the wand. The four were rotten to the core after all.
OPERATION WAND-JACKING IS OFFICIALLY A GO. THEY WANT EVIL? WE’LL SHOW THESE SUCKERS EVIL.
AURADON PREP KIDS WILL GET WHAT’S COMING TO THEM. MALEFICENT’S DAUGHTER IS BACK.
Ben’s coronation at the cathedral was a grand event like no other.
The cloudless blue sky smiled down upon limos snaking their way up to the entrance of the cathedral. The cathedral steps were lined with a royal-blue carpet, brimming with honored guests. Blue and gold flags rustled in the fair breeze. Snow White, the anchorwoman, stood on a platform facing a TV cameraman.
“At last!” Snow White said into her mike. “Here we are, broadcasting live from the coronation, where Prince Benjamin will soon be crowned king! I’m Snow White, bringing you up-to-the-second coverage of who’s the fairest of them all!”
The camera exposed the inside of the massive cathedral, with its stained glass and countless pillars. It panned over Audrey, Chad, Jane, Fairy Godmother, and other guests mingling beside a stage, where a bell jar was on display, covered by a sheet.
“Aw, Fairy Godmother is looking radiant,” said Snow White. “But what is happening with Jane’s hair! And that Peter Pan collar with a pink bow? Someone just earned a spot on Snow White’s ‘That Don’t Look Right’ list!” She waved a hand.
Fairy Godmother uncovered the bell jar to reveal her magic wand.
“And there’s Fairy Godmother’s wand!” said Snow White. “So sparkly! So fun!
“Oh! And here comes Ben now!” Snow White announced.
A carriage drawn by two white horses rolled up in front of the cathedral. Ben and Mal sat in the back. Mal wore a radiant purple dress and had her hair up in a fancy bun. Ben wore his deep blue suit. Guests threw flower petals and confetti at them.
“Ooh, and he went with classic prince couture. That is a Benja-win,” said Snow White.
Inside the carriage, Mal clutched her blue box. She looked down at it.
Ben took her hand. “Don’t be nervous,” he told her. “All you have to do is sit there and look beautiful.” He smiled. “No problem there.”
“Thank you,” said Mal. She looked back at the box in her lap.
Ben offered his Auradon Prep ring to her. “Mal, would you wear my ring?”
“Um! Not now,” she said, pulling her hand out of his. “I think it would just fall right off me.” She smiled. “I have something for you!” She handed him the beautiful blue box. “It’s just for later. You know, when you need strength…some carbs to keep up your energy.”
“Always thinking,” said Ben, opening the box. Inside was a chocolate mini cupcake. “But I can’t wait.” He took a big bite of the treat.
“No!” said Mal, reaching to stop him.
Ben munched the cupcake. “Mmm, this is really good.”
Mal looked apprehensively at him. “Uh…do you feel okay?”
“You bet!” said Ben, licking his fingers.
“Would you say that you’re still in lo—that you have very strong feelings for me?” asked Mal.
“Not sure,” said Ben. “Let’s give the anti-love potion a few minutes to take effect.”
“Okay,” said Mal. Then she realized what he’d said. She stared at him.
He laughed.
She laughed, too. “You knew?” she asked.
“What? That you spelled me? Yeah,” said Ben. “Yeah, I knew.”
“I can explain myself—” started Mal.
“It’s fine. You had a crush on me. I was with Audrey. You just didn’t trust that it could happen on its own,” said Ben. “Am I right?”
“Exactly. You are so right,” said Mal. “So then, how long have you known?”
“Since our first date,” said Ben. “Your spell washed away in the Enchanted Lake.”
“So then…what, you’ve just been faking it since then?” asked Mal.
Ben put his ring on Mal’s finger and kissed her hand.
“I haven’t been faking anything,” Ben said, looking deep into her eyes.
The carriage rolled to a stop in front of the cathedral. Trumpets blared. Footmen opened the carriage door and helped Mal down from it.
“Well, if it isn’t Mal looking like some kind of princess!” said Snow White. “Now, let’s see who this beauty is wearing....” Snow White read something from a blue index card. “Evie!” she said. “Someone named Evie designed her gown.”
Ben took her hand. He and Mal walked up the cathedral stairs. Trumpets blared on either side of them as they approached Beast and Belle. The crowd roared.
Mal and Ben reached the top of the stairs. Mal bowed before Ben’s parents.
“About the other day, I just—” Mal said to Beast.
“I told Ben this wasn’t going to be easy,” said Beast.
“You also taught me that a king has to believe in himself,” said Ben. “Even when it isn’t easy.”
“I did? How very wise of me,” said Beast.
Belle took Ben’s hands in hers. “Ben, we are very proud of you,” said Belle. “You keep listening to your heart.”
“Thanks, Mom,” said Ben.
“You’re going to make a fine king,” said Beast. He patted Ben on the arm.
Beast and Belle walked off. Ben stepped up to Mal. “Wish me luck.”
An attendant offered his hand to Mal. She turned to Ben, smiled, and allowed herself to be led away and into the cathedral. It was time to begin the coronation.
Attendants opened the main doors to the cathedral for Ben. He began to walk down the long aisle. The audience bowed to him as he passed. A choir sang. Mal watched Ben from the front row. Evie, Jay, and Carlos with Dude looked on from the balcony. Ben moved down the aisle. Mal smiled. But her smile fell.
Ben approached the stage where Fairy Godmother, his parents, and the wand waited for him. Mal was so very close to the wand. In her mind, she could picture her mother and the other villains cheering at the sight of her so close to it, watching her with burning intensity. Mal could almost hear her mother say under her breath, “Don’t blow this, kiddo.” She gulped and stared at Ben as Fairy Godmother lifted the crown from Beast’s head and placed it on Ben’s as he kneeled. Mal had never before seen him look so noble. Her stomach lurched as she stared intently at the wand.
Mal’s eyes began to glass over with tears.
Beast lifted the bell jar.
Belle handed the wand to Fairy Godmother.
Mal looked at Evie, who nodded and gave Carlos and Jay the signal to proceed with their plan. Then she looked back at the wand. It shimmered. Mal stared at it, transfixed. Before the Fairy Godmother, Ben awaited the blessing with her wand.
The choir stopped singing.
Fairy Godmother held the wand out to Ben as if she were going to knight him. “Do you solemnly swear to govern the peoples of Auradon,” said Fairy Godmother for all in the cathedral to hear, “with justice and mercy as long as you shall reign?”
Mal could just picture her mother shouting for her to grab the wand.
“I do solemnly swear,” said Ben.
Fairy Godmother lifted the wand. “Then it is my honor and my joy to bless our new king—”
The wand was snatched out of Fairy Godmother’s hand.
The audience gasped.
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH HAS ARRIVED.
WHY DO I FEEL SO UNPREPARED?
The magic wand shook violently and shot
off a wild display of sparks.
It bucked and sent a fierce bolt of lightning that cracked through one of the cathedral’s stained glass windows. The bolt sizzled through the air and exploded as it hit and broke the magic barrier of the Isle of the Lost. Maleficent’s house rumbled.
Fairy Godmother was wide-eyed. “Child, what are you doing?” she cried.
But it wasn’t Mal who brandished the wand; it was Jane!
Jane shouted, “If you won’t make me beautiful, I’ll do it myself!” She struggled to control the wand as its power rocked her viciously from side to side.
Everyone screamed as the wand swung left and then right.
“Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!” said Jane.
She spun frantically as the room watched in horror.
“Take cover!” Beast shouted to the terrified audience.
Beast shielded Belle, and Ben put an arm over Mal.
The audience leaped back from the shower of sparks.
Mal ran up to Jane and pried the wand from her hands.
“Careful, Mal!” said Belle.
Mal wielded the wand like a sword. The audience ducked. Mal looked at her friends in the balcony, and they ran downstairs and raced toward her.
Jane scampered away from her.
Ben moved toward Mal. “Mal…give me the wand,” he said.
“Stand back,” said Mal.
“Mal, it’s okay—” started Ben.
“Ben, I said stand back!” said Mal, brandishing the wand fiercely.
Audrey stepped out from the fray. “I told you so!” she said to Ben.
Mal swung the wand toward her, and Audrey staggered backward.
The audience gasped and screamed, then fell quiet.
Evie, Jay, and Carlos stepped behind Mal.
“Let’s go!” said Carlos.
“Revenge time,” said Jay.
“You really want to do this?” Ben asked Mal.
“We don’t have a choice, Ben!” said Mal. “Our parents—”
“Your parents made their choices,” said Ben. “Now you make yours.”
Mal looked into the faces of Beast, Belle, and Fairy Godmother. Then she took a moment to think about it.
“I think I want to be good,” said Mal.
Descendants Junior Novel Page 7
