Dinner With the Villains

The Plan

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Mal?" Belle asked as she, her husband, son, and daughter-in-law stood in the sitting room of their castle.

"Of course I'm sure, Belle." Mal said. "My dad has already turned himself around... now it's my mom's turn."

"But what if something happens?" Beast argued. "What if they get into a fight? You can't be too careful."

"Ugh, if anything happens, we'll call guards, okay?" Mal sighed in annoyance.

"We just need to make sure that this night goes off without a hitch." Ben chimed in, wrapping his arm around his fiancé's shoulder; he turned his head to face his parents. "Besides, this'll be a good way for all of us to get to know one another better."

Belle and Beast looked at each other with uncertainty before turning back to face their son. They let out a sigh.

"Okay, we'll do it." Beast said.

"If you think it's for the best." Belle added.

"That's the spirit. Now come on. Dinner will be ready soon." Mal said, heading towards the door with Ben at her side.

"Excuse me, Lady Mal." A servant said as he entered.

"Yes?" Mal asked.

"Lord Hades has arrived."

"Bring him in."

The servant stepped aside and Mal's father, Hades, walked into the room. He smirked at his daughter.

"Am I too late?" He casually asked, holding his arms out.

"No way. You're right on time." Mal said, wrapping her arms around Hades in a hug; he hugged her back. "It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too, Mally."

They parted.

"So, what's all this about?" Hades asked.

"Well, we're about to have dinner and we were hoping... you would join us." Ben said, taking a step forward.

Hades paused. "Me?"

"Yes. Mal thinks it'll be a good way for us to get to know one another." Beast answered, almost sounding nervous.

"Oh... okay. I don't see anything wrong with that." Hades replied.

"And I hope you don't mind, but... someone else will be joining us, too." Mal said.

"Who? One of your friends? Fairy Godmother?" Hades asked before noticing the tense expression on his daughter's face; his face fell. "You don't mean..."

Mal waited for a moment before giving a small nod. Hades furrowed his brow and put his hand over his eyes, shaking his head. He took a deep breath and looked back at Mal.

"...Where is she?" He asked.

"She's in the other room with Fairy Godmother." Mal said, taking his hand and leading him down the hall; Ben and his parents followed close behind.

They entered another room where Fairy Godmother was waiting for them. She gave Mal a nervous smile.

"Hello, dear." She greeted.

"Hi, Fairy Godmother." Mal said.

"Wait... where is she? Didn't you say she'd be here?" Hades asked, looking around the room in confusion.

"Oh yeah, um..."

Fairy Godmother handed something small to Mal before she held out her hand to Hades; a little black and purple lizard was sitting in her open hand. The lizard cocked her head to the side and gave Hades a curious look.

"Remind me again, how long as she been like this?" Hades asked.

"Since Ben's coronation a couple years back." Mal replied.

"That long?"

"Yep. And believe it or not, I think I may know how to turn her back."

"Turn her back? Oh boy..."

"Don't worry; I have it all under control."

Mal walked to the other side of the room and set the lizard down onto the floor; Hades quickly put a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked.

Mal paused, then gave him a nod. "Yes."

He sighed. "Okay, I trust you."

Mal smiled at her father before Fairy Godmother reluctantly handed her the magic wand.

"Okay, here we go. You guys might want to take a few steps back." Mal said; everyone did as they were told. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she pointed the wand at the lizard and began. "This spell is like no other, turn this gecko back into my mother."

She waved the wand and the little reptile was surrounded by clouds of green and purple smoke. After a moment or two, the smoke disappeared and Maleficent herself was standing in the middle of the room. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, unsure of what just happened.

"Ugh, what? What happened?" She asked before opening her eyes; she was greeted by the sight of her daughter holding the Fairy Godmother's magic wand. Her eyes widened. "Mal..."

"...Hi, mom." Mal greeted.