Once We are Descendants

Chapter 86: Leap of Faith

Ben and Crystal, along with Belle and Rumpel are the first to arrive in the clearing in the forest, just outside of town. Paige and Patrick also decided to tag along to watch this display. It wouldn't surprise anyone if most of the kids from Auradon showed up. Heck, even those from the Isle might make an appearance. Magic was banned from the kingdom and non-existent on the Isle, it's meant to be a thing of the past, so here where people demonstrated it openly and without hesitation was a nice change for them and you never knew what was going to happen.

Crystal rushes ahead a little bit and immediately launches a couple of energy blasts at a nearby tree, hitting it in the same spot each time. She's excited about this, maybe a little too excited but the idea of teaching magic appealed to her immensely. It had been a part of her life since the day she was born but the power didn't truly awaken until her father brought magic to the town. While never truly explained how her magic manifested outside of the Storybrooke bubble, the introduction of magic to her life had been frightening and far from easy. Of course, the darkness had ended the life of Lillian Miller (by accident) but it had made the then-teenaged girl fear and hate herself. It wasn't until she learned about her past and found acceptance in town that she saw magic as a blessing rather than a curse. And while she used it very casually now, a little too casually for most people, she saw magic as a part of herself and was ready to help as best as she could.

"So..." Ben begins. "How is this going to work? You know this training thing better than I would. Is it going to be dangerous?"

"Of course, it will be," Rumple answers, much to the detriment of his daughter. She drops her head in annoyance and shoots him a glare as her alternate brother's face changes to one of worry. This is something they want to avoid, making everyone fear magic instead of embracing it.

Fortunately, Belle elbows her husband to get him to stop and shut his mouth.

"Why are we doing this if it's going to be dangerous?" the king of Auradon asks.

"It's not as dangerous as it will be if you let those friends of yours go on not being able to control what they have," the imp responded.

"He's not wrong," Crystal says, hugging her arms as guilt washes over her. "Uncontrolled magic is extremely dangerous."

"Suppressing what they are given will only cause more problems in the long run,"

"Ben, I assure you, your father has been training magic users for quite some time," Belle says.

Everyone looks surprised at the beauty's mention of Ben being their son.

An awkward pall hangs in the air until thankfully it was broken with the arrival of Mal and Maleficent.

The king immediately goes over and embraces his "girlfriend" without hesitation. Tensions are high, but the daughter of Maleficent accepts it, biting her lip hard and holding back tears.

"Hi," he says.

"Hi," Mal replies, before pulling out of their hug.

"Lady Maleficent, glad you are here," Rumple says. "I'm sure this is a day where you can see just what Mallory can do."

The Mistress of Evil just nods and goes to talk to her former enemy/ally, all their relationships were extremely complicated. "I have seen a preview already and I am looking forward to more."

Belle takes a step back, still not fully comfortable being around a queen of darkness, especially since she was part of a plot to kill her.

Ben and Mal stand and watch as both sets of alternate parents chat with each other. It was very weird considering their real parents were mortal enemies and would never engage in such pleasantries.