Once We are Descendants

Chapter 15: Looking After Me

Mal spends the rest of the day hiding from her friends and planning how she was going to catch Uma in the act. She perches herself on a high wall on the far side of Auradon's campus, writing down her plans and trying to fight back tears. She did feel bad for lashing out at Ben and everyone else, but she couldn't take it any longer. They weren't going to do anything to stop this, just accept the blame and wait for the guards to do something. Mal wasn't like that, she'd rather do things herself, she didn't want to wait. She took care of herself, never relying on anyone. The words of her wicked and horned mother echo in her head.

"No one is going to look after you, the world is just going to let you down and turn their backs on you. Learn this now my little-winged demon, for I will never be there either. You must rely on one person to help you, yourself"

While the words seemed hurtful, there was some wisdom to what she said, and it was true. Her mother was never there for her; instead of using her daughter for evil schemes or ignoring her altogether and this is all Mal knew from the time she could walk. She'd learned to take care of herself and she never thought anyone could help her until she met Evie, Carlos, and Jay. They had her back, granted they all had to earn each other's trust first, but now she knows they'd never let her down. Now Ben was one of those people and several more Auradon students who are now her friends... at least, she thought that until Chad started blaming the VKs for all the damage to the school. The thought that maybe her mother was right, and she'd have to look after herself, although her plan to expose Uma was to save all her VK friends from further ridicule.

The purple-haired teen sits on the wall, writing her plan in her journal. She reads it over and over until she's memorized it completely. She knows she'll have to start breaking a few rules and use magic to do so, but she hoped it would be overlooked once the daughter of Ursula was caught in a fish net.

The bell rings, signifying the end of the school day. Mal watches all the students exit the buildings, either heading for their dorms or towards the cafeteria for dinner. At one point she sees Carlos and Jane, with Dude trotting behind them. The two hold hands and look rather happy. Mal feels the envy and guilt of lashing out at Ben. Why couldn't they be like normal couples, instead of the Royal one? Why couldn't they have quiet moments with no responsibilities or worries about the kingdom and just be together?

Once the grounds are relatively quiet, Mal climbs down from the wall and heads towards her dorm. She knew that Evie and anyone else would be getting dinner at this point, leaving her free to get what she needed.

She slips into her dorm room and goes under her bed. She finds Evie's mirror and her spellbook, exactly where she'd left them. She shoves the objects into her bag, along with the hoodie. She pulls her hair back into a ponytail and puts on her favourite purple leather jacket. She then slips back out and down towards the place where'd she'd met Ariel. She knew that since Uma's element is water, she'd be hanging out in the place where she's the least likely to be detected. While the daughter of Maleficent first thought of staking out the Enchanted Lake, she feels that if Uma wanted to do something involving the Isle, she'd be near the ocean.

The sun was starting to set when she makes it to the rocky shore. With the light fading, she knows that she has to hurry. She slips into some nearby trees to create a sort of stake out place. She then holds the mirror up and takes out her spellbook, she searches for the spell she needs. She knew that usually only Evie or the Evil Queen could use the mirror, but the daughter of Maleficent had since found a loophole around this. It would only be temporary, but that's all she would need

"When all is said and done,

Have this mirror work for more than one..." Mal recites.