Wicked Dawn | 'Till The Night Falls Book 1 (Disney Descendants)

Chapter 1: Rotten Roots

Mal had always been known as Maleficent's daughter. For sixteen years that had been her identity. She had always been a thief and a villain. She had been wicked. She had been mean. That was the way she'd liked it. She had never known anything else and had had no desire whatsoever to learn...and then everything had changed and, faster than one could say bibbidi-bobbidi-boo, she'd ended up here, in Auradon. She, along with her friends; Evie, Jay, and Carlos, had found themselves thrown into an entirely new environment, one surrounded by students who didn't steal, didn't lie, and, most of all, were actually kind.

It hadn't been a smooth transition. When they first arrived, they'd been ordered by their parents to steal Fairy Godmother's (who turned out to be the head of the school) magic wand and break the barrier over the Isle of the Lost. They had fully intended to do so. There had been only one problem--they had fallen in love with Auradon and, more accurately, with the people who lived there. Mal had met Ben and her future had been decided. She couldn't steal the wand and give up everything she'd dreamed of. The four of them stopped Maleficent, transforming her into a tiny lizard, and peace seemed to be restored. Unfortunately, that peace did not last long. Uma, a long-time rival of Mal, had been furious that Mal had been selected to go to Auradon and she hadn't. She kidnapped Ben in the attempt to make the villans' kids give her the wand. By creating a convincing replica, they managed to fool Uma and rescue Ben, only to accidentally leave behind Maleficent's spellbook, which allowed Uma to escape and spell Ben into bringing her to Auradon. Mal managed to defeat her, (though Ben really did most of the work just by talking to her) by transforming into a strange purple dragon. They never really talked about it, especially the dragon part. It was a bit too weird for anyone--Mal included. But Uma was gone for now, and there was nothing left to worry about.

Except maybe passing Medieval Arts Class.

Mal sighed for probably the fiftieth time since she'd first sat down in the school's ginormous sparkling library. The due five-page report stared up at her, seeming to be laughing at her and her pitiful two-page attempt. There was no way she was going to be able to do this. Why exactly was there a Medieval Arts Class anyway? It seemed a bit pointless in the modernized world.

"Wow. Homework must be really grueling, huh?"

She glanced up, spotting a flash of brown as Ben appeared out of thin air and took a seat across from her. She couldn't hold back the smile creeping onto her lips as she took in his light brown hair and sparkling eyes. He was as handsome as ever.

"What?" Ben went on, noticing her staring. He pulled off his backpack and dove through it until he found what he'd been searching for--a small leather-bound binder filled to the brim with papers and notes. None of them school-related, Mal noticed.

"Not so bad as yours," she responded quickly, pointing at the folder. "Doesn't the king get time off to himself?"

He smiled wryly. "I doubt it. The council seems to enjoy keeping me on my toes. I fear, when I die, my tombstone will be covered with unfinished paperwork instead of flowers."

Mal laughed. "Oh, that's horrible."

He grinned now. "It is, isn't it?" He glanced over at her homework. "Medieval Arts?" he guessed.

Mal grimaced as she opened another book. It was times like these she really wished she still had her spell book handy. She knew so many helpful spells that would be great in a situation like this. Fast-reading. Memorization. Speed-writing...

But she'd given that all up. She wasn't on the Isle anymore. She was in Auradon now. Things were different here. And she was different. "Yeah," she answered. "I mean, how many ways can you use a sword? What are you supposed to do with it? Roast a kabob?" She threw her hands in the air in exasperation but kept on smiling.