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

Chapter 19: Civil War

"This is it," Mal breathed. She flattened herself against the cold brick wall, watching as the others did the same beside her. "And we're sure your parents aren't home?" she questioned, her gaze drifting towards Ben who brought up the rear.

He nodded, uncomfortably adjusting his crown for probably the tenth time in the past five minutes. "They're on a trip around Auradon," he explained again. "It's...something they've always wanted to do. They were just...waiting on me to become king, I guess. This place...should be deserted."

"Only we know it isn't," Evie pointed out from beside him.

Ben nodded again and his eyes drifted towards the upper half of the castle where occasional flickering lights could be seen. It didn't take a genius to guess who had to be there, maybe even waiting for them. "So what's the plan?" he asked, fixing his attention on Mal who was busy sizing up the structure. "I mean, you do have a plan don't you?"

"Sure she does," Jay interrupted as Mal opened her mouth to speak. "Break in. Kick some villain behind. Save Auradon. Easy peasy." Mal narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head. He shrugged innocently.

"Um...I don't know about the rest of you," Carlos piped up. "But...I'd feel a lot better if we had an actual plan. No offense, Jay." He too was watching the looming building with a bit of concern.

"Okay, look. We all know who's in there. We all know what they are capable of," Mal sighed, pushing her bangs out of her eyes as her mind kicked into high gear. "So we need to be methodical about this. In order to take back Auradon, all four villains must be stopped. And out of all of them, who is the least dangerous?" Her eyes drifted toward Evie who sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Probably my mother," she confessed. "But that doesn't mean she'll be defenseless," she added hastily before any of them could get any ideas. "If I know her, she'll have as many tricks up her sleeves as Morgana and Maleficent combined. Let me handle her. I know her. I know how she thinks. I might be able to get her to return to the Isle peacefully, or, if I'm lucky, help us instead of Morgana."

"You really think you can convince her of that?" Ben asked.

She twisted around. "She's my mother. I have to try."

Mal nodded, recognizing the fire in the girl's eyes. "All right," she agreed. "You stop Evil Queen. Carlos will go with you." The white-haired boy's head shot up at this. He opened his mouth to protest but faltered and just stared. "You can do it," Mal reassured him. "You and Evie made a great team back on the Isle when you made that dome-breaker, remember?"

"I'm sorry, the what?" Ben blinked.

"Nothing! Nothing!" Evie answered quickly, waving her hands frantically and shooting Mal a dirty look. "It was nothing! Really!"

"All right," Mal went on, ignoring this. "So, Evie and Carlos will stop Evil Queen while the rest of us--"

"I want to go too."

Mal stopped, stunned. Her attention, as well as all the others', swung towards Doug who was trying his best to conceal himself in the shadows. He held her gaze evenly. There was a spark in his eyes, one that Mal had not seen since he'd first met Evie. This was no longer the scared pint-sized boy she'd met three years ago. This was a boy undeniably in love with Evie. He would do anything for her, including facing her mother. He wants to prove himself. But it was far too dangerous. If anything were to happen to him, Evie would be furious and blame herself. And there was no time for self-doubt.

"No."

Evie's jaw dropped as Doug fell back, looking hurt. "Mal!" Evie protested. "You can't just--"

"I said no, Evie," Mal repeated firmly. "This is no place for a...a...dwarf." She stared down coldly at Doug. I'm sorry, she told them both internally. But this is for your own good. "Go home," she told him. "There's nothing more for you to do here."