26

The next few weeks were gloriously mundane and free of drama. Classes passed as usual, Margot helped Jane with more coronation planning, visits to the dog shelter were frequent, and all of Margot's friendships seemed to be growing very healthily. She'd even become somewhat friends with both Rapunzel's daughters, after tutoring Jennie in English and occasionally studying with Roze, who was way cooler than one might expect a princess to be. Every night, she read or did homework with Ben in the library, and often, she, him, Mal, and Oliver would go out together to hang out as friends. Mal and Oliver, unsurprisingly, had started dating in secret, and were actually quite good at hiding it, with their public personas always seeming to be competing with each other.

Margot's harp playing had become good enough, finally, to join in the songs the class played together as an orchestra, and she was a good enough dancer that she no longer tripped even once while doing the Viennese waltz. She had even become closer with Belle, having attempted to make scones to thank her for her help. They hadn't been very good, definitely not good enough for the quality of tea Belle served, but the queen had promised to, at some point, teach her how to bake properly.

Estel had more than doubled his original weight, and now had some light brown hairs poking through what used to be all black. His leg was completely healed too, and Margot was told that he was a German Shepherd by breed. Roger and Anita had suggested that she officially adopt him, since she'd visited him every day since his arrival, but due to her not having any of her own money, she'd had to refuse, though she did find a part-time job at a restaurant thanks to a singing recommendation from the queen herself. Soon enough, she'd be able to support herself and her future dog without help.

It was funny how one event could ruin such a great mood.

"Children, excuse me. Um, as you know, uh, this Sunday is family day here at Auradon Prep. And because your parents can't be here due to, uh, distance, we've arranged for a special treat." Fairy Godmother told them, gesturing to a screen behind her.

Suddenly, Maleficent's face appeared, along with Cruella, Evil Queen, and Jafar. Margot wasn't surprised that her mother wasn't anywhere to be seen, but what did surprise her was the fact that she didn't immediately feel the urge to hide from Maleficent. In fact, her posture hadn't even changed at all.

"I don't see anything, nor do I hear." Maleficent said, her eyes dramatically wide. "Is it... is it... is..."

"Press enter." Jafar said, rolling his eyes.

"Can I please see a remote? Is this thing on? Ugh, It's broken. Ugh! I hate electronic equip... Oh!" It was clear Maleficent had finally seen them.

"Evie, It's mommy. Oh! Look how beautiful. Oh, you know what they say, the poison apple doesn't fall far from the tree." The Evil Queen cooed.

"Don't you mean the weeds?" Maleficent retorted.

"Ooh, who's the old bat?" Cruella asked.

"This is Fairy Godmother." Mal gestured to the woman dressed in baby blue.

"Still doing tricks with eggplants?" Maleficent snarked.

"I turned a pumpkin into a beautiful carriage!" Fairy Godmother gasped offendedly.

"You really couldn't give Cinderella till one A.M.? I mean, really. What, the hamsters had to be back on their little wheels?" Maleficent cackled.

"They were mice! They were not..." Fairy Godmother turned to the students, who nodded sympathetically. "They were mice."

Margot placed a hand on her shoulder. "Maleficent likes messing with people, Fairy Godmother. It's kind of her thing, so don't take it personally."

"Who's the princess?" Maleficent deadpanned.

"Mom, you know Margot." Mal replied exasperatedly.

"Ah!" Maleficent yelled in realization. "It's the tramp girl!"

Margot's soft gaze hardened into steel. "That is how you know me, yes."

"I see you're having fun playing dress-up, but you'll never be worth more than a slutty henchman. Even your mother, the whore that she is, is worth more than you." Maleficent chortled, eyeing the girl maliciously.

"In your world, maybe. But I'm not interested in being a slutty henchman anymore, thank you very much." Margot turned to Fairy Godmother, smiling graciously at the horror-stricken woman. "Since my mother decided not to show up, I'll be heading to my next class. Thank you for the thought." Margot gave a small curtsy, perfectly as taught in her etiquette class, then walked out with her head held high.

Her face, which had held a soft smile for at least the past week, had faded into an emotionless mask as she went through the day, only breaking when she was with Estel during her lunch break. She didn't want to see her friends, knowing Fairy Godmother must've told Jane and Oliver what had happened.

"Estel, you're such a good boy. You don't ask questions, you don't expect anything, you just sit with me and keep me company." The puppy gave a tiny bark, more of a whine, in return, and Margot swooned at how cute it was. "Am I really destined to be the tramp girl from the Isle my whole life? Am I nothing more than a slutty henchman? I'd like to think I'm worth more than that now, but I don't know. Maybe Maleficent is right." Estel curled up more in her lap, nuzzling his head against her stomach. "You know, I love you boy. You and Mal and Evie, I know I love you guys, and I know you love me too."

Margot cuddled Estel closer for a few moments, kissing the top of his head, before placing him back in his pen. "It's time to go, Estel. I'll see you tomorrow."

As much as she wanted to skip all her classes for the rest of the day and just sleep, Margot knew that would be of no help to her mental state, so she diligently attended every class and socialized with her friends.

Belle, who had noticed Margot's somewhat gloomy expression, offered her a cup of tea, and the two of them sat in comfortable silence, sometimes talking about mundane things. Not once did the queen pry into what was really bothering the girl, and she was more than grateful for that. This was something she'd cried about once in front of Ben, she didn't feel the need to do the same with her mentor.

Ben, on the other hand, did try to pry, but the only thing he succeeded at was convincing Margot to let him hug her, which admittedly did make her feel better. Still, though, when she finally retired to her room for the night, Kalea was well aware that something was still off. It would take more than a day for Margot to figure out whether she still believed Maleficent's words or not.