younghero

She huffed a huge sigh. "Great. Look. No actually sit first. All of you sit or leave, not breaking my neck to talk to the lot of you."

"Mal, we don't have enough chairs," Evie said, inching closer to Link.

Mal rolled her eyes and then rolled herself. Across the bed to grab the book in her night-table draw. She sat up with it and flipped to a page, studied it a moment then looked at them. "Beware, forswear, give us just enough chairs." She gestured with her finger and a green glow followed, leaving a trace in the air before the chairs shook and duplicated. Soon there were enough chairs for all of them, if Mal stayed on her bed, plus three more. "Guess we'll be having company," she said after a quick count. Her eyes had gone green, bright livid green, while casting, but faded to normal after.

Link sat on a chair, watching Mal with curiosity.

"Okay, so guessing you're not from Auradon then? Or the Isle?" she asked, eyeing him.

"And would you like a new tunic?" Evie asked.

Mal rolled her eyes as the other girls settled into seats. But she didn't tell Evie to can it.

“Right. I’m from the kingdom of Hyrule. But, I was staying in another realm when I got summoned here.”

Link’s expression brightened. “What kind? “ He asked excitedly. “ I have a fireproof one and one that lets me breathe underwater.”

"Fireproof...." Evie gasped. "Oh Mal, think about it! Magical clothing! We can be rich!"

Mal laughed. "Slow down, girl, you already have enough to buy a castle, what more do you need?"

"I can buy a small starter castle, but with this? We could skip right to a proper castle, a hundred rooms, a grand ballroom..."

Mal laughed again, it was actually a friendly sound. "I'll think about it, okay, E? One crisis at a time." She shook her head and focused on Link. "Alright. So, short version. Once upon a time there were a few hundred Kingdoms or whatever, and big shocker, bad things happened. Seriously, you have royalty and paupers and somehow they expected nothing bad would happen? Come on."

"Not all the villian were paupers, and not all the heroes Royal," Evie pointed out.

"Fine, fair point," Mal said, She shifted position to lean on the bedpost, book in her lap. "There were all sorts of villains back then, really. There was a voodoo shadow man that turned people into animals when they bothered him, there was a trusted advisor to a sultan who tried to take over their kingdom with great magic. And of course there was the dark fairy dragon queen who just wanted to be included. Okay, sure, maybe she went a little overboard with the revenge."

"A little?" Evie asked.

"Try a lot," Jordan put in.

"Okay okay, mom had issues," she said with a laugh, flicking a glance to a small lizard in a tank beside her bed. "The point is things were in chaos. And then, after King Beast had his curse broken, he and Queen Belle decided to unite the kingdoms. They gathered all the villains from all the kingdoms. Even the dead ones, brought them back ti life and banished them to the Isle of the Lost, under a dome that sealed away all magic, and most technology. And then they gathered up the Kingdoms and united them. The United Kingdoms of Auradon. Well apparently tall and shaggy decided that magic made it too easy for new villains to rise."

Evie rolled her eyes. "Yes, Carlos' mother totally used magic," she said, dryly, then shook her head. "Mind, my mother was a Queen and she was banished too."

"Um, yeah," Jordan said. "An evil Queen."

"Yes yes," Evie said, waving that away.

"Anyway," Mal said, clearing her throat. "So the King put all magical artifacts in the museum, and outlawed all magic. And they did have peace more or less for twenty years. Boring peace, but peace. OR so the stories say."

"Boring is right," Jordan said, rolling her eyes. "Dad's a former Genie. Do you know how long it took him to get used to WALKING?"

Link laughed a little. "The Zora and Goron shopkeepers do make a lot of rupees off of Hylians buying those."

His expression sobered. "I imagine a lot of people have died without magic. I mean, I'd be dead six ways to Sunday if it weren't for magic, between healing fairies and potions, not to mention weapons, tunics, and spells...."

The hero chewed his lip. "I mean...sure, it's really important to be able to do things without magic. You gotta be able to think on your feet, and be able to think of all kinds of solutions."

Link shrugged. "But, sometimes, you just have to fire a light arrow at something. No getting around it."

"Really important to be able to do things without magic?" Jordan asked. She made a disgusted sound. "And here I was thinking you were on our side."

"I'm more interested in these magical arrows myself," Mal said. But then she shrugged. "King Ben is being a little more flexible than his father here and there. I mean, Merlin zip zapped Mad Madam Mym back to the Isle when she was rampaging. But they still really frown on stuff here. Like a lot."

"Speaking of frowning," Jordan said, "Didn;t you give FG your spellbook at Cotillion after that whole mess? Pretty sure we all saw you give her your spellbook."

Mal grinned a bit. "Technically it was mom's spellbook."

"The one you've been using from day one," Jordan said flatly.

"Mmmm hm. Handed it over. You heard what Isaid. I realized I no longer needed it. At no point did I say I no longer needed magic." She gave a playful little pout. "Not my fault no one ever asked if I copied it first."

"MAL!" Evie said, scandalized.

"Um,E, you've seen me use it. Did you think Ben just gave it back to me?"

"If we're being honest, I thought Jay stole it for you to prove the museum security couldn't stop him."

Mal laughed. "Betcha he would if I asked, too. I like the way you think, E. But nah, this way they can check on it all they want and it is still safe and sound and snug in the museum with mom's staff and your mirror. And all the Talismans."

"Because, if you rely on only one solution all of the time, something will end up killing you," Link explained. "Can't kill a monster with stone skin using a just a sword. You gotta feed it bombs first and then use your sword...." As he spoke with his hands, the Triforce glistened on the back of his left hand.

Link shrugged. "If you give me an arrow I'll show you. It's a pretty easy one. Um....as long as no one is um....allergic to light."

He fully approved of making copies of magical items, even books.

"Got ones made of Dark?" Mal asked.

"Oh! I don't have an arrow, but I have a bow," Ally said." Will that do?"

"Dark arrows? No...my brother could probably make shadow arrows, though. Hold on, I might have one."

He reached into his pockets and rummaged for a minute pulling out a few rupees, a bombchu, a bag of deku seeds, and finally an arrow.

"Ah-ha! Got one!" He twirled it between his fingers, letting the tip illuminate in a flash of bright light.

"Okay, I love my harem pants and all, but I think I'd trade for those kinds of pockets," Jorden said.

Mal pushed off of the bed to get a closer look at things. "What's this one?" she asked, pointing at the bombchu.

"It's pretty normal in Hyrule. This isn't even half of what I normally cart around."

Link picked up the mouse bomb. "It's a bombchu. You wind it up and it rolls around, goes up walls, and meanders a bit before exploding. You can have it if you want. I got loads back home and in Nautilus."

He cleared his throat. "Speaking of....I probably should go home if you guys don't need my help with anything....."

Mal grinned and claimed the mouse. "Sweet. I know a princess that is getting a surprise in her stocking today," she said with a wicked grin. "How do I set it off when I'm ready?" she asked.

“You have to wind it up. They sting a bit if you hold it until explodes, but, it’s not gonna make you lose a finger or anything.”

"Shame," she said, dryly amused.

“But, uh, as I was saying....any ideas on how I can go home?”

Edited 2019-11-14 00:37 (UTC)

"Well, you got here on a wish, right?" Mal asked, pocketing the little bomb. "So just..." she waggled her fingers. "Wish away."

"Yeah, so I can get in trouble with FG? Not a chance," Jordan said.

Mal dropped onto her bed again, facing them all. "Ah. I see now," she said a bit darkly. "Mal's already broken so many laws and done so many evil things, what's one more spell, right?"

"To be fair, you did just conjure those chairs," Ally said.

"Yeah I did," Mal said. "that's like swiping an apple in the cafeteria. It's a nothing infraction. So long as I'm not doing it in public, in front of the press or under the king's nose, no big deal. Banishing someone to another realm? That's big magic, Jordan. And from a VK? That's a one way trip back to the Isle."

"Oh come on, the king isn't about to banish his girlfriend,' Jordan said with a rude snort.

"Actually, it is exactly because she is his girl friend that his advisors would not allow him to forgive it," Evie said.

Mal nodded. "Or did you guys think my little break down last month was because I was feeling homesick. Jordan, you summoned someone accidentally. Ally was careless with two wishes at the least. Worst either of you are looking at is detention. I break the law for something this big? Knowing it is against the law? That's it for me. I've decided to stay. Villian or not I'm here to defend Auradon. Uma is who knows where right now, Auradon needs all the defenders it can get."

"Okay okay, point," Jordan said. "So... then what do we do?"

“I can keep trying my ocarina,” Link offered, feeling awkward. “If I get put in prison again, I’m pretty good at escaping, don’t worry.”

Mal shook her head. "I think we need help on this one."

"Alright. Who do I need to talk to?"

He had kind of hoped that this would be an easy fix, but, he consoled himself with the thought that at least the moon wasn't falling, and he wasn't transformed into a Deku scrub.

"I think we need the boys."

"So Jay and Carlos?" Jordan asked.

"And Ben."

"Ben. King Ben? Don't suppose we can omit my part in this?" Jordan asked.

"And mine?" Ally asked.

"Oh not a chance in the world," Mal said, pulling a cellphone out of her jacket. She considered, then said "Maybe some chance." With that she leaned over and shoved her book under the mattress.

Link wondered if he should warn the girls that his track record with kings wasn't the best. Having killed the Gerudo king and then weakened him so he could be sealed in another realm when the Triforce brought him back to life...

...and how the King of Hyrule was on his bad side for refusing to listen to his daughter without Link's detailed (and grisly) description of what would happen if his Majesty ignored his daughter's warnings.

He supposed not. And, after all, the Zora king and the Deku Scrub king were both fairly harmless individuals. He'd just picture this Ben guy as a morbidly obese fish-man and all would be well.

"So, do any of them have powers?"

"Powers?" Mal said with false innocence. "But that would be illegal."

Evie laughed. "No, no magic."

“It’s only illegal if you recognize the monarchy in charge as legitimate.”

"No overthrowing my boyfriend," she said. Of course that was when the phone connected. "Nothing, Ben. Can you come by my dorm, we need to discuss something. Thanks." She hung up.

"Cause that isn't going to freak him out at all," Evie said.

Mal rolled her eyes and guested at the door. it swung open and a young girl fell inside. "If you are done spying, Freddie, get the boys."

The girl stood and brushed off her skirts. "Nothing wrong with a little intel gathering, even here. So, cute boy wants to overthrow the king, you're trying to help him anyway." She crossed her arms, one hip cocked. "Tell me again how you haven't gone soft."

Mal flicked her fingers. "Get them and stay with us or I'll spell the door so you can't hear anything, shadows or no."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm going tp get them because I'm curious. Not because I'm scared of you." she turned on her spiked heel and sashayed off.

"Freddie on the other hand," Mal said as she left, "Has powers."

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