Once Upon a Second Chance

(27) - Quiet Moments

Mal was wandering around her alternate house. Like Evie, she was bored out of her mind. And like Ben, she couldn't help but be anxious about what is possibly going on in Auradon during their absence.

Ben and Mal wouldn't have brought down the barrier if they weren't determined to give the villains the benefit of the doubt, but that didn't mean Mal was one hundred percent comfortable with villains left to their own devices in Auradon without the supervision of the reigning monarchs.

She felt guilty. Auradon is their home. Mal is its future queen. She should help figure out a way to get back instead of just sitting around doing nothing. But if the powerful sorcerers of a realm with much more knowledge and experience than her in magic as well as were much more familiar with inter-world travel failed to find a way, what chance did she have?

"Mal, dear, all you alright?"

The purple-haired girl turned around to see her alternate mom.

"Y-Yeah. Just thinking about Auradon... is all," Mal responded. She shook her head, "I just wish there was more I could do to help, you know?"

"Well, I'm assuming a girl like you isn't accustomed to the feeling of helplessness," Maleficent said, sitting down on the sofa.

Mal sat down across from her. "Something like that. It's just so frustrating, having all this powerful magic but still not being able to do anything with it," she groaned. "But, I mean, if you guys can't find a way to get us home, what chance do I stand?" the daughter of Maleficent chuckled sarcastically, feeling defeated.

But then again, maybe she shouldn't underestimate her power so much. She is the daughter of Hades, after all. She may not be as knowledgeable about magic as the Storybrooke residents, but being the descendant of one of the most powerful fae bloodlines in existence as well as one of the Greek gods, surely with the right contrivances, her power could be put to use somehow?

"What if I taught you?"

"Excuse me?" Mal perked up.

"What if I gave you lessons on how to control your magic?" the blonde Mistress of Evil repeated casually. When Mal continued to stare at her blankly, the woman asked, "Mal, exactly how much have you been trained to hone your powers?"

"W- ...Not much. Turning into a dragon I've pretty much mastered on my own ever since I discovered the ability about six months ago. And any spells I know, I had gotten from my mother's spell book but I donated that to Auradon's Museum of Cultural History months ago. My father's ember I was able to wield with ease since it's my birthright-"

"'Your father's ember'?" Maleficent asked in confusion.

"Oh, my dad's Hades," Mal clarified.

"Ah," the older woman said, now knowing that this changes the game. The daughter of a god would be more difficult to train, but she was always up for a challenge. "But why haven't you ever been educated on your powers before?"

"See, magic isn't really accepted in Auradon... unless of course it's being used to save their asses," Mal muttered the last part bitterly against her will.

She loved Auradon, but she wasn't going to not call it out on its flaws, and its 'no magic' rule was one of the most absurd. Magic users couldn't just push down their magic and pretend it doesn't exist. It's not clear who it for worse for—Jane, who had lived in a place where she had access to her powers her whole life but wasn't allowed to exhibit nor learn about them, or Mal, who lived her whole life without access to her magical abilities and then felt the blowback of keeping them dormant for so many years when she finally arrived in Auradon.