Descendants: To Kill A Dragon

Chapter Seven

A/N: For anyone interested, Juan is Diego DeVil's (from the books) little brother and Hildy is the daughter of a witch from Snow White's kingdom.

Chapter contains semi-graphic depictions of murder, consensual non-graphic sex between teenagers, and briefly mentioned morally dubious sex between adults.

• • •

On Ben's sixteenth birthday, he was almost King of Auradon. He settled for a date with Audrey, to have dinner and a movie.

On Mal's sixteenth birthday, she became self-proclaimed Queen of the Isle, and made love to Evie under a hand-made quilt.

The next day, she murdered Frollo in cold blood, as punishment for molesting his own daughter. Then, she put his head on a pike, and paraded it into the town square, congealed blood still dripping down the wooden stake. Amid gasps and wide eyes, she raised the head of the corrupted priest up high, and called for attention.

"Listen up, villains!" Mal announced, flanked on either side by her three closest confidants. "This is the former priest, Frollo! He was killed because he raped his child!" She announced with all the brutal honesty of an avenging angel.

"Any of you children who have been hurt in the same way, come forward! And I will protect you!" Mal announced. No one moved in the quiet square, because they were criminals and villains, and even the children knew that nothing could be so easy.

"Have no fear." Jay announced with a grin. "We'll ask a price for your protection, but it will be nothing like the hell you suffer at the hands of your parents."

Compared to what they'd been through, giving a cut of their scores was nothing. Slowly, a little boy inched away from the crowd, and rushed to the four teens, chased closely by an angry older man. When the child got close, Evie stepped forward, knife in hand, and lunged at the older man.

"I'd take a step back, if I were you, bastard." She purred, while the boy hid behind Carlos. To everyone's surprise, they seemed to know each other, and the little boy had black curly hair that looked shockingly like DeVil locks.

"He's a cousin." Carlos whispered to Jay, in explanation.

"That boy is my son. Give him back!" The man snarled.

"No can do, buddy." Jay smirked. "If you come after him, we'll have to kill you."

"We might kill you anyway," Evie crooned as the man reluctantly stepped back. "For the fun of it, you see."

Soon, another girl came running through the crowd with no pursuer in tow. She had wavy brown hair and cute freckles. She darted behind Evie with a faint smile.

"You're a witch too." The girl whispered, and Evie nodded solemnly.

"Yes. I am." The princess replied.

"Any child who is starving and cold, follow me, and I will provide!" Mal exclaimed. A handful of threadbare urchins followed the first, clustering around the four teens, and by the end of the afternoon, they had a whole herd of ragged children following them back to Dragon Hall.

"Carlos, I'll need that staff now." Mal whispered. "After our little display in the market, Maleficent is surely on her way."

• • •

While Mal prepared for her mother, Evie and Carlos put all the new children into their records, a simple school composition book.

"Name's Juan DeVil. I'm seven, and I can steal like a ghost." The little boy announced, and Carlos repeated to Evie that Juan was his little cousin, the brother of Diego DeVil, who'd run away years ago, and currently lived on the opposite side of the island. Evie didn't bother asking how they were related.