Mal couldn't believe it. Her half-brother, her little Beastie, was there in Auradon. He was also choking off her air supply with his hug.

"Hadie, what are you doing here?" Mal asked as best she could, looking down at her little brother.

"Mom came over to prepare for her visit," Hadie told her and released her from his hug. "The portal was open and I saw Celia show those two how to use it to get off the Isle."

Mal sighed and shook her head. Of course Hadie would be tempted by the portal, any child would have been. "Hadie, your dad's going to be seriously angry that you're missing."

"Dad won't care," Hadie shrugged. "Besides, I'm with you Mally! Nothing bad could happen!"

Mal couldn't help but chuckle and ruffle Hadie's hair, causing a squawk of annoyance from the younger boy. "Kid, I've been around a time or two. Gods really don't like it when their kid goes missing."

"Mally! Leave my hair alone!" Hadie cried out and Mal shook her head in amusement. Sure they had their rough spots when they were younger, especially when Persephone was over and Hadie got both his parents while Mal had to contend with just Maleficent. It wasn't until Mal turned thirteen that she was able to stop blaming Hadie for something that he wasn't responsible for and that he couldn't control. Ever since then, they'd been thick as thieves on the Isle.

Sure, she still hated Hades for abandoning her as a baby but that wasn't Hadie's fault.

Hadie's silence broke Mal from her thoughts and she saw that the younger boy was looking down at the ground.

"Hey, what's up?" Mal asked, concerned for her brother. He was hardly ever silent.

"You left," Hadie said and it was clear that he was trying hard not to cry. "Everyone leaves but you always said you wouldn't."

Mal sighed and knelt down to his level. "I know I left,ἀδελφεός, but my mother didn't exactly give me a choice. She let me know about my invitation to Auradon Prep the same day the limo came. Had I more time, I could have found a way to hide and stay on the Isle."

"Really?" Hadie asked, his eyes lighting up at Mal's use of greek. Persephone never hid away in Hades' lair and always tried to help the children of the Isle the best she could. The Isle was a completely urban area so there wasn't much the Goddess of Vegetation could do so instead she tried to make sure each child learned something new that they wouldn't have otherwise.

"Really," Mal chuckled and looked over her shoulder at the rest of the room. It was clear that they were trying to not freak out openly at another child escaping the Isle.

"Hey Hadie," Evie gave the smaller boy a great big smile, trying to ease the tension in the room, and drawing Mal's attention back to the younger boy.

"Hi Evie!" Hadie exclaimed, returning the smile. Out of the corner of her eye, Mal saw Hercules move to walk over to their area. Mal had an idea of why Hercules was coming their way but she also hoped that he hadn't caught her use of Greek. If anyone knew what that word meant, it was Hercules, his wife, or his kids. Well, and Hadie but that went without saying.

"Hey Evie, why don't you take Hadie and introduce him to Dizzy?" Mal suggested. "I don't know if they've ever met on the Isle."

"But—"

"You can come right back," Evie told him, knowing what the complaint would be. Hadie rolled his eyes but followed Evie. Once Hadie was sufficiently distracted, Mal stood up and blocked the path of the demi-god.

"Excuse me," Hercules said, giving Mal a polite smile.

"You're not going anywhere near him," Mal told him, not even caring if she was seen as too blunt. "Not now, not ever."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"You and I both know who that boy's father is," Mal said, her eyes flashing green in her irritation. "I also know that the adults of Auradon have no qualms about airing their grievances onto the kids of their respective villains. I might be able to be chewed out for my mother's crimes but I'm sixteen. Hadie's ten."

"I would never!"

"Yeah, I'm sure they all said that about Queen Leah over there too," Mal scoffed, the green glow disappearing. Hercules sighed but had to admit that based on what they had seen, Mal had a point.

"I will respect your boundaries, Mal, but will you please let Hadie know that I would like to talk with him at some point? I would like to get to know my cousin/nephew."

"Wait, how can he be your cousin and your nephew?" Mal asked, slightly confused.

"You don't want to know," Hercules told her and walked back to his family.

No I kind of do, Mal thought with a frown. If Hadie was Hercules' cousin but also his nephew, did that make Hadie her brother and nephew? The Gods were confusing, and it was Zeus' fault too!

"Shall we resume?" The Blue Fairy asked and Hadie walked back over to Mal.

"Was that Wonder Breath?" Hadie asked, causing Mal to smirk in amusement.

"Sure was," Mal told him. "Now hush!"

Hadie chuckled and sat next to Mal, causing everyone on Mal's right side to scoot over one. It also allowed for people to switch spots if they chose. Paige took the opportunity to sit next to her twin while Lucy scurried to grab a spot behind Kitty and Dizzy.

"Ready?" The Blue Fairy asked once more.

"We're ready, Blue Fairy," Ben nodded. He was curious about the young boy who could get a reaction like that from Mal but thought that this might be the wrong time to address it with her.

"Where'd they get that?" Dizzy asked, looking amazed.

"Some princess must have thrown out a bag during a purge of the pantry," Mal said, rolling her eyes.

"I get to cover the coronation?" Snow gasped. This was a big break for her career; despite being a princess herself, no one ever took her seriously thanks to that apple.

"Congrats, mom," Emma gave her mother a big smile.

"I'm sure you'll be great!" Neal told her.

Snow couldn't help but frown as she heard her step mother's comments. Despite all the years away from her, it still hurt.

"You look beautiful," Ferdinand whispered and kissed his wife's hand, having noticed the frown.

"Really mother?" Aurora sighed. "An almost carbon cut out of my dress from when I was sixteen?"

"What?" Leah asked. "It's the style Audrey looks best in."

"Because you refuse to let her wear anything else," Aurora told her. "If I buy Audrey a dress in any other style or color, it mysteriously goes missing the next day."

"I'm so sorry Jane," Snow said, turning to the younger girl. "I should have never made that comment."

Jane waved it off though, she figured that there would be comments like that just as there were comments before Mal changed her hair.

Carlos couldn't help but snort in amusement. Despite his mother being a fur obsessed lunatic, that was still a good line.

"Mal!" Evie gasped. "You look gorgeous!"

"I don't know why you're surprised," Mal chuckled. "It's probably a dress you made."

"Mal, you look like a princess!" Dizzy grinned.

"Yeah, all hail her royal purpleness!" Hadie yelled and Mal nudged his shoulder.

Many of the girls sighed, longing for a guy to say that to them.

Audrey stared at the screen in shock. Ben had never asked her to wear his ring—though Audrey had always assumed it was because of how active she was. That ring was a family heirloom of Ben's and the last thing she wanted was for it to fly off in cheer practice.

He's spelled, that's all it is, Audrey thought but in her heart she knew that her head was wrong. There was truly something there if Ben was offering his grandfather's ring.

She just hoped Mal wouldn't do anything to hurt her oldest friend.

"Why not just spell it to stay on?" Hadie asked.

"My mother's spell book is better suited for evil," Mal told him.

"Right, the same spell book that makes cookies and fixes people's hair," Kristoff quipped, having overheard Mal's comment.

"Wait, what did we miss?" Nancy asked, turning to Giselle who quickly brought her friend and ex-fiance up to speed.

"Don't look so surprised, Ben," Lonnie chuckled.

"Seriously? How are sweets evil?" Kristoff asked. "And why would there be an Anti-Love potion in the spell book anyway?"

"I don't think Mal wanted that to happen," Kitty shook her head. "Seriously Ben, what is with you eating food Mal doesn't want you to eat?"

"Really?" Mal asked, turning toward Ben.

"Make it for me and I'll tell you," Ben teased and Mal flushed as she remembered that this scene hadn't happened yet.

"Why wouldn't he?" Hadie asked. "I mean, he ate a brownie. It's not like when I was seven and you knocked that beehive down and it landed right on your—"

Mal quickly placed a hand over the younger boy's mouth but it wasn't there for long as Hadie licked Mal's palm to remove the offending limb.

"Aww!" Hadie pouted as Mal didn't squeal in disgust.

"You can take the girl out of the Isle but you can't take the Isle out of the girl," Mal told him.

"You can tell us the rest of the story later," Carlos whispered to Hadie. He didn't know why Mal seemed to have a close bond with the younger boy, but any embarrassing stories were always welcomed.

"I heard that!"

Melody and Grace leaned forward, eager to know the answer.

"Of course he is!" Roman exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "It's just like all the stories, where true love conquers all!"

"Roman," Rosetta warned her son. While not biologically hers, Rosetta still loved the young boy with all her heart.

"Ugh, feelings," Logan Linguini groaned, straightening his glasses.

"Logan," his father gave him a look and shook his head.

"YOU KNEW!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Well, know," Ben corrected them. "But yes, I knew. I've known since Mal and my first date."

"At the Enchanted Lake!" Jane shouted.

"Meaning you're not spelled right now," Audrey said faintly. "You love her."

Ben looked over at Audrey, who had silent tears streaming down her face as she realized that Ben would never be her's again. But she still smiled as she realized her best friend would be happy.

Aurora looked over at her daughter and saw the same tears streaming down her face. There was nothing Aurora wanted more than to comfort her daughter but she didn't want to embarrass Audrey in front of her peers.

"Oh that's nice," Emir shook his head. "You shock your girlfriend and then you laugh at her reaction?"

"You couldn't be further from the truth," Patton chuckled, pushing his glasses back up as they slid down his nose.

"Wait," Carlos spoke up. "Why isn't Mal surprised?"

The five Isle kids looked at Mal, who shrugged.

"Secret secrets are no fun! Tell me now or else we're done!" Hadie exclaimed, glaring at his sister.

"Evie already tried that, Hadie," Mal chuckled. "Didn't work then, won't work now."

"The last break! Ben told you!" Evie shouted.

"Awww!" Elle sighed, wishing she could have a prince like Mal's.

Meanwhile, Mal and Ben shared a chuckle over the similarities in their dialogue to when Ben had told Mal in the previous break.

"Is she shocked that I'm wearing a dress or that I'm going in with Ben?" Mal asked.

"Knowing your mother? Either or," Evie sighed.

"Evie!" Dizzy squealed.

"That's me!" Evie gasped. Mal shook her head at her best friend.

"Of course it's you! If anyone's going to force me into a dress, it'll be you and only you."

Evie blinked back the tears that had formed in the corner of her eyes. "Is she proud of me?"

Evie and Mal shared a smile at the sight of their mothers celebrating their achievements. Even though in her heart Mal knew she didn't want to go through with the plot, it was still nice to hear her mother be proud of her. Or at least as proud as she could be.

"How is that bitter?" Penny asked.

"So is it wrong to say I really don't want to think about Maleficent's loins?" Phillip Jr asked, causing everyone around him to chuckle.

"You're not the one who needs to apologize Mal," Aurora told the younger girl, giving her a kind smile before looking straight at Queen Leah. "You did nothing wrong."

"I did?" Adam/Beast asked.

"Every day since I was five, dad," Ben reminded him.

"Nice save," Eugene chuckled.

Ben couldn't help but shoot his parents a smile. Lately he'd been worried that he wasn't going to be much of a king considering how everyone was treating the four from the Isle. It was nice to hear otherwise.