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Queen of Mean

Summary:

Audrey shows her true colors early on. Ben decides that a good king must punish all equally and despite her pleas, Audrey gets sent to the Isle of the Lost.

Notes:

That's it, I'm going down with this fandom. Get ready.

(See the end of the work for more notes and other works inspired by this one.)

Chapter 1: Life Sentence

Chapter Text

Ben had always been soft and gentle, why did he have to choose this occasion to have a change of heart?

Her plan had seemed flawless and easy. It was done without a pinch of evil, she swears it on her mother and grandmother. She noticed that Benny was starting to lose interest in her, how he would only kiss her when she asked him to and would only feign his eagerness to see her. She tried to brush it off as nervousness for the nearing coronation, but he didn’t stare at her as one would to their True Love. Ben looked at her as if she were his sister or an old friend, which she is to some degree.

Audrey knew little about magic, the United States of Auradon weren’t fond of the thing that had more often than not cursed its citizens. It was decided that, for the common good, even the harmless items of magic were to be left at the Museum of Cultural History. Audrey didn’t care for Cinderella’s glass slipper or King Adam’s enchanted rose, her eyes were on the one thing that could help her win Ben’s love back: Fairy Godmother’s magic wand.

Ben wasn’t supposed to notice, after all, he did love her truly. The wand was simply meant to… Well, ensure that his love remained strong and faithful to her only. It was a little push towards heir Happy Ending, nothing more. Ben was soon to become king and Audrey would officially be his queen once they married, they’d have many children and live ever happily after.

Stealing the wand had been almost too easy, the sleeping guard had not even snored her way as Audrey swept through the halls of the museum. She was planning to be quick and certain on the spell, so she’d be able to put the wand in place once more before dawn. But things hadn’t gone her way. 

She had been able to sneak into the boys dorms and entered Ben’s room without being seen and without waking up any other students. So far so good, Audrey could have squealed from joy. But she was a graceful princess with a plan going on, so she kept her mouth shut. She looked over Ben’s sleeping form and thanked silently Fairy Godmother for not giving him a roommate. 

All she had to do was figure out how the spell would work. With a Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Bu! Cinderella got her dress, carriage, horses and slippers; and with them she got her prince. Essentially, her dream come true. Audrey closed her eyes and shook the wand three times. Give me what I’m due! She wanted all that was hers to take; the prince, the kingdom and crown.

Things hadn’t gone as planned, apparently, not anyone could use the wand. Her memories are a bit shaky from the exact moment, but the chaos the wand caused was a great one. A great line of fire covered the boy’s dorms and she’d later learn that the noise woke every soul on campus, sending everyone out in a frenzied panic. She had only dropped the thing because Ben had been strong enough to take it off her, letting it land on the floor and away from her hands.

From then on, everything was a mess of smoke and tears. She had been confined in one of the empty classrooms as she waited for Fairy Godmother to appear. Or worse, the King and Queen. She dreaded that moment as much as she hated being alone in the dark. Guards had dragged her there! Under Ben’s orders nothing less. It was unbelievable, this whole thing was just a big nightmare.

Where was her happy ending? She could already feel the weeks of detention she had coming her way, or worse, would they expel her from Auradon Prep? The thought made her cry harder. 

Sweet, kind, gentle Ben had been confused and terrified back on his room. Now, as he strode inside the classroom with Fairy Godmother and half-dozen guards on his back, he only seemed older and stern. It was not an expression that suited him well.

Audrey had tried to steel herself, but the words that left his mouth were enough to destroy her.

“How could you?” His pretty face twisted. “How-How could you act like that? I’ve known you my whole life, I never thought you were capable of committing such crimes!” Crimes? Audrey had done everything out of love! But he gave her no time to defend herself. “My parents wouldn’t believe it, I didn’t want to believe it. I just woke up thinking that a lightning had struck the roof! But it wasn’t lightning, it was you!” His lips trembled and if he started to cry, Audrey would do it too -again.

“Ben,” she stuttered, trying to soften her voice. “All I wanted was to be your queen! I was going to be your queen!” Why can’t she calm down? Is it fear or nervousness, this unsettledness in her stomach that won’t cease? She can’t get herself under control to explain the situation. “How is that a crime?”

Ben reddens and not in a cute way. “You are not being judged for wanting to be my queen, you broke in the museum and stole Fairy Godmother’s wand! Like a thief in the night.” He shook his head with disappointment. “You wanted to use it to-to curse me. Audrey what would your mother think, what would Queen Leah say?”

Curse him? No, no, that’s not what she meant with this! 

“That’s not what I was going to do-All I wanted was-” Great, now ugly tears are running through her face. She feels too hot in her clothes and sweat is beginning to form under her armpits. “I just wanted you to love me,” she sobbed. Audrey looked up, in hopes to see mercy, perhaps fondness in his eyes. There was none of that, just disappointment and something that chilled her to the bone; anger.

“I’m sorry,” he offered at last. “I can’t treat you any different that I’d treat any subject. You have not only destroyed part of Auradon Prep: you stole from the museum and tried to curse the future-king.” He took a deep breath. “Those are the actions of a villian.” 

No. Audrey turned to Fairy Godmother, who she had purposely ignored up until then. The woman didn’t avoid her pleading eyes, only stared back with a cold glance. The woman wasn’t happy with the misuse of her wand, Audrey thought bitterly. She was going to make her pay for it.

“Audrey, daughter of Aurora and Philip, I, on behalf of my father, sentence you to spend your life in the Isle of the Lost.”

No, no, no!

“You can’t do this to me!” The fear sank through her, leaving any niceties behind, dead and buried. She had all but forgotten about the cursed Isle of the Lost, like the rest of the people, she simply and happily ignored its existence. It came to her mind then, who exactly was living there.

“Ben,” she tried again. “Maleficent is there.” Not to mention every other relevant or irrelevant villain that there had ever was in the history of fairy tales. Audrey was a princess, she didn’t belong to Isle!  “You can’t do this to me!” She screeched. “You can’t, you can’t!”

“It’s not just me!” Ben screamed back, at last. “It’s been decided already, I don’t have a say over this.” It just happened to be, that Ben was a bad liar, on the rare occasion that he did so, Audrey always found out. In that moment, he was lying. But she realized something else: if he had a say over this, he still wouldn’t change the sentence.

 


 

 

She gets sent to the Isle of the Lost three days after the incident. Audrey was given the chance to talk with her parents, but she found herself unable to meet their eyes. Hot shame clogged her… She had failed, if she had done things correctly, she’d be at her room choosing a dress for the coronation.

Everything still seems like a nightmare, a part of her refuses to believe she’s in her way to the Isle of the Lost.  They'll eat her alive there, that it's a fact. She still can't understand why King Adam would doom her to such fate. It would have been kinder to execute her or to leave her in a deep sleep for a hundred years. Audrey was not a villain! The people of the Isle of the Lost were there because they deserved it and she didn't! 

She was not allowed to bring anything of worth with her -which didn’t stop her from hiding her earrings and rings- and they've already warned her about the lack of Wi-Fi and how technology seems to work funnily in there. She won't even be able to communicate with her family. The thought bites her. She still has hope that her Grandmother will pull strings here and there to get her out of this situation, Ben may even forgive her in time and send people to rescue her.

The Isle could be seen from Auradon Prep, but its existence was easy to forget; it always felt more like a story to scare little children into behaving properly. Now, it seems more real than it ever was, with dark clouds looming over it and a magic barrier that kept all from escaping. Said barrier also worked to keep the villains unable to use their powers, it was known that magic didn’t work in the Isle of the Lost.

The royal guards leave her at the docks. There’s nothing welcoming in her arrival to Isle. It’s done in a pretty secretive manner, with a small boat that had no luxuries. It had been done for her safety, they had insisted. Better not bring unwanted attention over her. Audrey had wanted to scream, if they cared so much for her safety, they wouldn’t leave her there! 

With nothing but the clothes on her back, her hidden treasures, and her ruined reputation, Audrey was left in the docks of the Isle of the Lost. She stays still until the boat is out of sight, she watches it go through the barrier and into Auradon until is nothing but a spot in the distance. The thing that shakes her off her stupor is the sound of people talking. Villains.

She scurries away from the edge of the water, going up the unstable stairs of the wooden-dock. The light was poor, provided by something that vaguely resembled the lights that went around a Christmas tree. There is a consistent smell of rotten fish that threatens to make her puke. She felt like the planks could give in at any time, so she rushes to get to the top. There were a few large ships on the water, though none of them were far from shore. Because of the barrier, she supposed. 

She thinks she’s safe when she stumbles upon a man—no, a boy sleeping in hammock. Audrey holds her breath. He has blond hair, tied behind his head and kept away from his face by a bandana. His clothes were made of red and yellowish leather, clearly patched together to form a single outfit. She took a step back, with the full intention of sprinting away before the boy realized of her presence, but she accidentally knocked down a bottle: which was made of glass and made a strident noise when it broke.

Audrey cringed inwardly, while the boy rose in alert, bumping her in the process. Audrey tottered, losing her balance. She would have certainly fallen to the floor if it weren’t for him grabbing her forearm. She jumped a bit, his hand was covered by fingerless gloves, but it still felt greasy somehow.

“Oh,” he said, staring at the stain he had left in her. Audrey wanted to wipe it away hastily, but she feared his reaction if she were to offend him. So she just stared at him, frozen. “You should be more careful,” he scolded. “You could get cut with glass.”

She should be more careful?

“You were sleeping at the end of the stairs, you shouldn’t obstruct people’s way!” She retorted, her self-preservation faltering for a second. The boy blinked at her.

“I’m here because Uma said no one can get into our ship while she’s not around.” Then, he eyed her suspiciously. “Wait, you just came from there.”

Audrey’s heart jumped. “No… I didn’t.”

He pointed at her, as if he had just made a great discovery. “Yes, you did!” He fully rose from the hammock, and Audrey was met with his intimidating height. “I’m taking you to Uma.”

Audrey had no intentions of finding out who Uma was, so she turned on her heels and run. She had no idea of where she was in the first place, the guards hadn’t exactly left her with a map of the Isle of the Lost. She could see a more urban area right ahead, she only had to reach the alley. She hear the boy’s steps right behind her and Audrey went faster, as fast as her shoes allowed her.

“Harry, Harry catch her!” She heard him scream. Before she could even glance his way to see who he was talking to, her chest met with a muscled arm that almost knocked her to the ground. She almost fell to her face, but she managed to stay on her feet. Suddenly, her shoulders were being grabbed from behind. The boy had reached her!

“Thanks dude.” Audrey could feel the smile in his face. She didn’t see it because her eyes were on the one who had caught her. He had light blue eyes, surrounded by eyeliner. It was such an odd look in man, but it fit him somehow. He was dressed similarly to the other boy, only that he wore a torn white shirt and over it a red leather jacket. He was holding a… hook?

Audrey realized then, these men were pirates!

Such things belonged only to stories and the Isle of the Lost.

“Yer welcome.” He told the other, but his eyes were on Audrey’s. There was a mocking smile on his face. The cutting edge of the hook rested on her cheek and her heart skipped a beat. “And ye lass, what’s yer name?” It moved until it tangled in one of her brown-locks. “Why was my mate after ye?”

Notes:

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