FicWad

The TV was on in the background as Quinn prepared lunch. It had been four years since the campaign had ended. Not much had changed. There had not even been an official statement from the king on the matter.

“Prince Ben made a ground-breaking announcement today,” Snow White said from the TV.

“Is he going to wear something other than blue and yellow for once in his life?” she muttered, digging through the fridge for the jam.

“I have decided that as my first decision,” The prince’s voice was a little nervous, but firm. “to allow four children from the Isle” Quinn’s head snapped up and she rushed to the couch. “to come to Auradon for a trial period.”

Quinn stared at the screen as reporters bombarded the young man with questions.

“Dad!” she called, eyes riveted to the screen. “You won’t believe this!”

Dad stepped inside as Prince Ben continued. “I have decided on four children who need our help the most: the children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella de Vil.”

There were audible gasps for the reporters. Maleficent was widely considered the worst of all the villains.

“That kid has guts,” said Dad, sitting on the couch beside her.

“What does this mean for the other children of villains on the Isle?” one reporter asked.

“As I said, this is a trial period,” said Prince Ben. “But if it goes well, I am open to allowing more to come to Auradon. Not all at the same time, of course. I know that this is going to make things different around here, but I hope that we can all give these kids a second chance.” He bade the reporters a good day and the screen went back to Snow White, who looked a little paler than usual.

Dad and Quinn stared at each other, a hopeful smile spreading over Quinn’s face.

“This is unbelievable!” Quinn exclaimed. “Do you think the campaign had something to do with this?”

“Absolutely,” Dad said. “Where else would he have gotten the idea?”

Quinn looked back at the television, where they were now displaying the mug shots of the four villains whose children would soon be in Auradon.

“Let’s just hope those kids behave themselves,” she said.

•••

In the years since the fateful press conference and the fallout from it, Quinn had tried to retreat from the public eye. She spent nearly all of her time either in Sherwood or the Underground, passing through Auradon City with eyes on the cobbled streets, avoiding the gaze of anyone around her. People still recognized her, but fortunately mostly avoided her.

She had shut down all of her social media and lived reasonably contentedly with her old friends from Sherwood – many of whom had moved to the Underground – and new friends from the Underground. She helped Chloe run the shop and helped behind the scenes with Undergrounder campaigns, knowing that her association with any cause would harm it.

Occasionally she still watched the footage from the Isle, but less and less. It began to just make her sad, seeing them all living their lives in a harmful environment that she was unable to save them from.

•••

There had been quite a lot of drama at the coronation, but in the end, the VKs had behaved admirably, defeating Maleficent and saving everybody. While everyone had been frozen during the confrontation, the cameras kept rolling. Quinn watched it back many times and could help but tear up every time at their bravery. And, true to his word, the newly coronated King Ben had announced that he was working on a plan for the other children of the Isle. Quinn hoped he knew what he was doing and that his advisors would have their best interests at heart.

One afternoon, after she had closed the shop early, Quinn decided to request an audience with the king. She knew probably would not get to speak with him, but she had to try. She at least had more chance with him than she had with his father.

To her surprise, an hour later Quinn found herself standing at the door of a conference room in the palace. A guard opened the door and she stepped into the room.

King Ben and Mal, his girlfriend, stood at the far end of the room, speaking in low tones. They looked up when they head the door. Mal had grown up since Quinn last saw her, but she still had the look of a VK – on guard, vigilant.

King Ben strode over. “It is so good to meet you, Miss Little,” he said, holding out his hand.

“Thank you so much for hearing me, Your Majesty,” Quinn said, shaking his hand.

“Please call me Ben,” he said and then turned to the purple-haired teenage girl beside him. “And this is Mal.”

Quinn smiled. “Oh, yes, I’ve heard of you.” She shook Mal’s hand. “You are a brave young woman.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking at Quinn curiously.

They sat down and Mal said, “I’m sorry, do I know you from somewhere?”

Quinn froze for a moment but quickly recovered. “I headed up a campaign for villain kids a few years ago.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Really?”

“It did not have the greatest reception.”

“I can imagine,” said Mal.

“And I apologize for my parents’ lack of response to your campaign,” King Ben said quickly. “While I respect them, they are old-fashioned.”

“Thank you,” Quinn said. “That means a lot.”

“So, what did you want to discuss with me?” he asked.

Taking a breath, Quinn went over the points in her head. “So, I realize that you are focusing on the younger children of villains, which I understand. They are in the most need of help. However, I would like to suggest a program for the adult children of villains, like me.”

Mal’s eyes widened. “You’re a VK?”

Quinn nodded. “My biological father was Captain Hook’s first mate, Mr. Starkey, but I was raised here in Auradon.”

“A lot of the news coverage of you and your campaign was blocked on the Isle,” Ben added as an explanation.

“Anyway,” Quinn said, getting back to her main point. “I realize that the program will look very different, but I am happy to offer any assistance. I still have some resources and outlets and people who supported my cause.”

Ben nodded and turned to Mal. They exchanged a few micro-expressions and the turned back to Quinn.

“I’ll have to discuss it with my council,” he said. “But I think you can start reaching out to contacts and supporters now. I want you to be one of the people heading up the committee.”

•••

With the support of the crown, starting up the campaign was easier. Since the four VKs’ defeat of Maleficent and subsequent saving of Ben had been less than six months ago, the public was much more amicable to the idea of letting VKs come to Auradon.

Quinn worked in the background for the first while, agreeing that Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos should be the faces of the revitalized organization. So, she worked logistics, drafting plans on how they would actually get the kids to Auradon – how they could sign up, how they could prevent their parents’ interference, etc. All of the original members of Think of the Children showed up to help, plus so many more. They also drafted proposals to be sent to government ministries – especially the Ministry of Education – so that more of Auradon could change as well.

The first day she worked closely with the four VKs, Carlos pulled her aside. “Thank you for helping me and Jay that one time,” he said earnestly. He had grown up from that little blond kid she had met on the Isle – for one he was taller than her – but he had kept his sweet earnestness.

Quinn smiled. “I think you more than paid me back for that.”

“So this is why you came back?” he asked, gesturing around at the room full of people working hard. “To get all of us to Auradon.”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

He smiled. “Thanks.



Mal had also spoken to her briefly, after realizing who she was. “The Crew really changed after the whooping cough died down – after you left, I guess. They still had to fight, obviously, but they opened their doors to any kid who didn’t want to stay at home. They helped with schoolwork and taught first aid and everything.”

Quinn smiled. “I know that’s what Jax wanted the Crew to be. I’m glad he could make it happen.” She had wanted to ask about him, about all of them. How they were doing, what they were like. She wanted to hear everything about Jukes, how tall Jade was now, how Hugo was doing, what Blake was like. She had not quite realized how much she had missed everybody until she spoke with VKs who had known them. Instead, she said, “I’m sorry for trying to kidnap you.”

She shrugged. “We all did what we had to do over there. Don’t worry about it.” Mal was about to turn away but then looked back. “People still wonder what happened to you. A lot of people think you died and that’s why Jax changed the Crew.” She looked at her curiously. “You two were a fling, weren’t you?”

And Quinn had to stop herself from asking if he was seeing anyone. “Yeah.”



With every day that crept closer to a final draft of a plan, Quinn imagined seeing everyone again. She hoped they would all sign up, and not just the Crew; every VK needed a safe place, from the stifled kids from the Innocents and the Socialites to the girls from the Queens, angry at their bigoted parents and taking it out on the world, to every other kid who just needed to be away from the destructive presence of their parents.

•••

Finally, a plan was approved and the four VKs were dispatched to the Isle to spread the word. Quinn had wanted desperately to join them, but no one was supposed to know she had gone to the Isle, so she stayed behind.

And soon it was the night before the ship carrying all the VKs from the first wave of signups to Auradon would arrive, and Mark had invited her over to his apartment since she would not be getting any sleep anyway. They made tea and sat on the balcony overlooking the street.

“How likely do you think it is that Jax and I will still, you know, click?” Quinn asked finally, voicing the question that had been plaguing her. She was not worried about seeing Jukes or Nia or Nabil or Hugo or Sheela or any of the others.

“You guys went through a lot together,” Mark said. “There’ll probably still be some kind of affinity there, whether or not you pick up where you left off.” He looked over at her. “Is that all you’re worried about?”

“I know it’s super cheesy or whatever,” Quinn said. “But everything else has been handled and discussed. There wasn’t exactly a ‘Jax and Quinn’s relationship’ subcategory in the official plan.” She leaned back on the couch. “It’s been five years since we last saw each other. I was eighteen; we were kids.” When she looked over at him, she saw he was smiling. “What?”

“I never thought I’d see you, Quinn Little, who rolled her eyes and pretended to gag at me during the romantic parts of school plays, moping on the couch, wondering if a boy likes her.”

Quinn groaned and hit him with a pillow. “I am not moping. I just… I’ve missed him and…”

His smile widened. “You’ve missed him,” he said in an exaggerated tone. “Your high school sweetheart, your first time, your soul–”

“You’re not being very helpful or supportive.”

“Okay, sorry, sorry,” he said holding up his hands and trying to stifle his smile. “I think you should try to stop thinking about it since that won’t make a difference either way. I’m sure when you see him tomorrow, you’ll just... know, you know?”

•••

The day finally came. They had decided to do it in the summer, right after school let out, so the dorms at Auradon Prep would be empty. After a month or so of medical checkups and some much-needed counselling, the underage VKs would be sent to host families. A lot of VKs would be going to Sherwood and the Underground, the latter of which had nearly entirely opened up with the new high approval of the Think of the Children organization.

An empty apartment complex in the Underground had been put forward – by a unanimous vote of the Underground Council – to house the adult VKs. Quinn already knew Jax’s future address: apartment 5D.

Everything was ready. Quinn donned her old leather jacket and took a breath in the front of the mirror. She did not feel quite as giddy as she had expected, but that owed mostly to her not being able to entirely believe this was happening.

Chloe drove her, Mark, and a few others down to the shipyard. As they pulled up, Quinn saw that a crowd had gathered and for a moment her heart sank. But then she saw the ‘Welcome Home’ signs and realized that maybe things had really begun to change for the better in Auradon.

She had avoided crowds since restarted the campaign and although she knew their approval rating, numbers did not quite do what seeing the crowd of happy, welcoming Auradonians did to her.



Kids began to pour off the ship, chattering excitedly. Quinn searched the faces, recognizing some, but hardly any of the younger ones, reminding her once again of how long it had been.

In the back of her mind, she knew it would look odd to greet anyone with familiarity, but when Sheela came out of nowhere for a hug, she could hardly refuse her. Most of the Crew came through together and Quinn greeted them all, promising to catch up after they had settled in.

Jukes grinned at her after they had hugged. “Gotta say, I was doubtful, but you pulled it off.” They were nearly pulled along by the crowd. “Let’s get a drink later, and you can tell me all about it.”

Jade came by, taller than Quinn now, and grasped her hand tightly. “Thank you,” she said earnestly.

And there he was: confident swagger, red leather jacket, and all. Jade followed her gaze and grinned. “He was uncharacteristically quiet on the way. I think he was nervous.”

Jax looked at Quinn, eyes filled with so much happiness and love and pride, she thought that if she kicked the bucket right now, she would die a happy woman.

“I wasn’t nervous,” he said, with exaggerated cockiness. “I was rehearsing a very long, very romantic speech.”

Quinn smiled and rushed at him, jumping into a hug that nearly knocked him over. Jax held her tight as Quinn inhaled deeply, smiling as Jax did the same, and they relaxed into each other’s arms. He smelled like leather, sea spray, and him, like before.

“You did it,” he whispered into her hair, with a tone that said he never doubted her for a second.

“I missed you,” Quinn breathed.

He pulled back, looking in her eyes like they were the most important things in the world. “Of course, you did, who wouldn’t?”

Quinn laughed, eyes filling a little with happy tears. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

“I hope I did change a bit,” he said earnestly. “We tried to do etiquette and politeness lessons to prepare.” He grinned. “I missed you too.”

And Quinn did not think about whether anyone could see them, or what they would think, she just leaned in and kissed him. Jax pulled her close and Quinn looped her arms around his neck. Quinn kissed him with all the love she realized she had for him after leaving, and all the love that had flooded in when she saw his face again. Jax held her like he never wanted to let go, and Quinn loved him all the more for it.

For a moment, time stood still, a snapshot that Quinn wanted to remember. Kissing like the end of a movie in a crowd of friends and acquaintances who now had a shot at a better life. After years of hard work and disappointments, here they were, together again.

Perhaps that was the one thing fairytales got right, Quinn mused absently; if you work hard enough for the right thing, you will eventually succeed.