Is it Happily Ever After

Chapter Twelve

Evie sat alone in her bed. She was still trying to take in everything she had just learned about her mother. This wasn't something she could just get over in one night. This was going to take some time to get used to. Evie couldn't decide whether or not she was glad to know who her mother was or not.

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. "Evie, are you in there?" the voice asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

The door opened to reveal Belle, Adam, and Ben. They all had concerned looks on their faces. "How are you?" Belle asked.

"Alright, I guess," Evie said, not looking up from her hands.

Adam sat at the side of her bed. He put his hand on her knees, knowing that would make her look up. "Must be a lot to take in, huh?" Adam asked.

"Yeah," Evie said. One word answers seemed to be all she could come up with.

"Evie, listen," Adam began. The blue-haired girl looked up at her father. "I'm so sorry from keeping this from you. I was just so scared you would end up like the Evil Queen."

"Why?" Evie asked.

"I don't know," Adam said. "I just didn't want to lose you as my daughter. I may not be your biological father, but I loved you and will continue to love you as my daughter. Who you are and where you came from will never change the way I feel about you." A smile began to creep up Evie's cheeks. "There's that smile I love so much."

"Thanks dad," Evie said. "It's just...I know I asked mom this not too long ago, but what was I like when you first met me?'

"Hold out your hand," Belle said.

Evie did what she was told, but she looked at Belle with a confused look. Belle carefully placed a key in Evie's hand. "What's this? What does it open?"

"What's the one thing you always asked me to unlock ever since you were a kid?"

Evie looked towards her dresser in the corner of the room. There were four drawers, but she only used three of them. The fourth one on the bottom had been locked for as long as she could remember. Evie looked at Belle, and Belle nodded her head.

Evie got up from her bed and walked slowly towards the dresser. Belle sat next to Adam on the bed, and he held her hand for support. Ben then put his hand on her shoulder.

Evie bent down and put the key in the key hole. She twisted the key slowly until she heard a clicking sound. She took a deep breath before opening the drawer. Once opened, she was shocked to see what she was seeing. There were photos of her when she was three years old. She had blue hair with a V-braid in the middle. She was wearing a leather jacket and skirt with leggings. It was then Evie looked down, and that very outfit was sitting there, nicely folded. Evie took the outfit out of the dresser and examined it. She was shocked that she was wearing something like that at three years old. Evie took one last look at the photo before noticing something. "I-Is that a bruise on my wrist?" Evie asked.

Belle and Adam knelt beside Evie. "Yes," Belle said. "When we tried to look at it, you flinched it away. When we took you to the doctor, they said that you were covered head to toe in bruises and scratches."

"That's why you're wearing makeup at such a young age," Adam added. Evie looked at the photo one more time. She couldn't believe how much makeup she was wearing.

"My mother did that to me?" Evie asked, beginning to tear up.

Belle brought her daughter into a tight hug. "She was a terrible woman. That's why I wanted you and the rest of the kids to come here. I couldn't just sit and watch as you and so many other kids were being abused by your parents."

"There's something else in the drawer," Ben said, taking out a red box. Evie looked at her parents in confusion as Ben handed her the box. "Why don't you open it?"

Evie looked at her parents before opening the box. When she opened it, she was met with a necklace. The necklace had a big jewel heart with a crown on it. Evie couldn't understand why, but she felt like she had seen it somewhere. Without words, Evie put the necklace around her neck. She smiled. For some reason, it felt like a missing piece of her own personal puzzle.

"It suits you, Evie," Ben said.

"It really does," Adam said. "You really are a princess with a big heart. That's what I love about you. You never put yourself before others. You are always helping others out. You are open-minded and kind-hearted. I couldn't ask for more out of a daughter."

"Even if that daughter is the daughter of villain?" Evie asked.

Adam chuckled. "Even then," he said as he took Evie in a tight embrace. Though, at first, he had been hesitant about letting villain kids into Auradon, he was glad that Belle convinced him. "I love you, my princess."

"I love you too...dad."