Choosing Love

Chapter Fifteen

Leah scowled as she surveyed the area around her. It had been a couple of months since she was unceremoniously exiled from Auradon and there had been no effort to get her off the hellscape that was the Isle. To make matters worse, there was no one here who recognized her as the Queen she was. Instead the Isle dwellers were content in shunning her and making her get by with minimal shelter.

No, but they were fine in showing differential treatment toward Mal. One of the brats she had seen by the docks the day she had arrived had even called her captain when talking about her. As if the little spawn knew how to captain anything. According to Natalie, Mal was floundering at even the basic of tasks that a royal would know.

Of course, that would be an adult royal, she thought with a small smirk. After all, we don't come out of the womb knowing what we know. But I would have thought months of watching Mal fail and embarrass him would have been enough to make Ben see that he was better off with my Audrey.

Ah Audrey. She was the only member of the family who hadn't forgotten her. Leah lived for the weekly letters, filling her in on the activities of Auradon. But her beloved granddaughter seemed to be the only one who cared about her. Her grandson Phillip had yet to reach out to her, though why she would want to communicate with that spare is beyond her.

Honestly how egocentric do you have to be to name a child after yourself? Leah thought with a small scoff. At least my Aurora had some sense when she named Audrey. It wasn't some common name like Phillip! I'm not at all surprised that Phillip hasn't come to my aid yet. He's always hated me, his own mother in law! I would have thought though he wouldn't be as petty as to poison Aurora against me.

She sighed as she shook her head, looking at her makeshift home. It wasn't the castle she spent so many years in but then there weren't really any castles on the Isle. Oh sure she could have tried to set up shop in Maleficent's empty castle but that wasn't something she was about to do.

For one, it would have involved spending time in a location that Maleficent had once called home. Who knew how many booby traps that demon had set up?

However, that wasn't the only reason. There were groups of the Isle brats who seemed to work in shifts, guarding the castle for Mal. Mal! Gods, the very thought sent waves of anger down Leah's spine. Maleficent's spawn got better treatment on the Isle than she did—and she was a ranking royal of Auradon! Those brats should have been grateful she had even lowered herself to talk to them.

Thankfully, Lady Persephone was still on the Isle as well. At least there was someone who was worth the effort of having a conversation with—at least that's what Leah thought.

"Lady Persephone," Leah smiled upon seeing the Goddess as she took one of her many walks around the Isle. Finally, someone with Auradon's social graces. The last time she had lowered herself to talking to one of the brats, the little blonde haired goblin had pulled out a dagger and warned Leah that unless she wanted to know what a pin cushion felt like, she'd leave her the hell alone.

Honestly, the language on that girl! She couldn't have been more than fourteen and yet she swore like a sailor! Then again, what did Leah expect? This was the Isle, the same place that produced Mal. A girl who was more than content with lying straight to Auradon's face.

"Leah," Persephone stated, her tone flat. With Maleficent in her current state of being a lizard, it was much safer for her to walk around the whole Isle and see if there were any other kids in need of assistance. She had not expected to see the former Queen of Auroria even if she knew of Leah's banishment to the Isle thanks to her son.

Persephone held back a sigh as she thought about her son. Her Hadie. Talking on the mental link wasn't the same as holding him in her arms and unfortunately, the portal only worked to talk through when she activated it from the Auradon side. Otherwise, she'd be able to talk to both her kids—and find out why Mal had her mental link on mute for so long.