Ways to be Wicked - Descendants 2 AU

Chapter 1

 It all started with a golden apple.

They bobbed and boiled away in the potion that the four teens had cooked up in their cauldron. It hissed and spat as more and more red apples fell into the bubbling liquid. As they stood over their concoction, one girl flipped away at the pages of a worn leather-bound book.

"Let's give Auradon a taste of evil," she said in a smooth tone as a black painted fingernail hovered over curled script.

"Wicked ways beneath the skin," she chanted as the apples glowed, their red skin turning golden and glowing. "Let all who taste, now join in."

The cauldron overflowed with golden smoke, the spell now in place as the four teens cackled and laughed.

It would all fall into place now.

There was an apple in every locker.

A temptation sat upon every desk in the school, waiting to sew the seeds of discord.

One for the headmistress' daughter. One for every tourney player and band member. The plan's architects watched from the prep-schools battlements, smiling and laughing as one by one, the Auradon students succumbed to the apples of discord. Heads were dunked in the fountain pools, bonfires were made of homework and textbooks, and graffiti bloomed on hallway walls as chaos erupted amongst the elite.

"This is hilarious," said the girl in black and blue, her electric blue hair pulled back in her familiar pigtails. She surveyed the anarchy with a snarky smile, cold eyes watching the scene with intense interest.

"This was by far the greatest idea you've had yet, girl," her best friend crooned, leaning against the battlement with a grin. There was a golden hook at her waist and a feathered pirate hat rested on her ombre hair. "This is fantastic."

"They needed some fun in their lives anyways!" A tall Asian boy laughed hysterically as he watched the chaos unfold. His familiar blonde bangs were quaffed into a mohawk and a red bandana was tied around his bicep as it always was. There was a wicked look in his gray eyes. "Fairy Godmother's totally dancing in the fountain right now! That's too funny."

"That's what they get for the years of mess and turmoil they caused us," the redhead said bitterly, a gold crown nestled on his head. His aqua-colored eyes were narrowed in frustration, a small and bitter smile pulling at his lips. "Watching them pull themselves apart is a small consolation."

Their leader nodded, a finger tapping away at her chin with a wicked grin as students ran amok.

"It's about time Auradon had some fun," Marinette mused as Alya, Kim and Nathaniel stood at her side, watching with glee as a flag saying 'Long Live Evil' waved above the school campus. This was how things were supposed to be.

Rotten to the core.

———

Marinette blinked against the flashing cameras and microphones that were pressed into her face, her brain barely processing the numerous questions that were thrown her way sporadically from the throng of reporters.

She had been ambushed outside the school's front doors, backed against the pedestal where King Gabriel's beastly visage sat. She had been on her way to class, but clearly the swarming gawkers intended to keep her from her Cultures of Auradon class for as long as possible.

"Marinette! Over here!" One cameraman called from amongst the throng before another rose to fill his place.

"Nadia Chamak," a rather eager reporter with short hair and wide amber eyes said, "don't be bemused, it's just the news! Only three days until Royal Cotillion. Ever think a girl like you would be a lady of the court?"