Serene's POV

The past few weeks, I've been going to the Isle every Wednesday and Friday after school, training with Maleficent and the Blacks. Blake and I have actually started hanging out at school, too, which Bri and Lucy thought was strange, but I just told them I met him in History and we'd bonded over our similar powers. They'd accepted that, and he sits with Lucy and I at lunch now.

With each day that passes, I feel what they've been teaching me affecting my limits. I'd thought I was powerful before all of this---but it's nothing compared to what I feel now. The immense strength within me is awe-worthy, an energy that I work with, rather than temper down.

I'm set to go back again tomorrow night, where Maleficent promised she'd test me to see if I'd had any magical boundaries set on me when I was younger. Both Pitch and Maleficent were convinced I was under some sort of barrier myself, because I should be progressing further than I have been. I've checked myself multiple times under my shaded vision, but found nothing, so I'm not sure what they'll be able to do, but I'm curious enough that I agreed to it.

The night wears on, and after Mom comes back from dropping Isla off, I notice she looks a little troubled.

"You okay, Mom?" I ask, pausing from the essay I'd been writing.

"Fine, Serene. Do you know where your father is?"

"He's in your room, I think." I say hesitantly. She doesn't look at me, walking briskly that way. Slowly, I slide my notebook off of my lap and get up, following her at a distance.

What if she found out about me?

There's no way. I've been careful. Nobody's seen me. How would she have found out, anyway? Does Uncle Ben have some sort of monitoring device that caught me? Did Mal figure out where her mother is? What if Mom bans my powers again? What if she actually takes them away this time?

My heart pounding in my ears, I creep up to their doorway, listening as intently as I can, trying to quiet my breath and heart.

"Carlos?" Mom's worried voice carries.

"One sec!" Dad's voice echoes from the bathroom, then I hear the door open and footsteps walking her way. "What's up?"

"It's about Mal and Ben." Mom says. A creak from their bed tells me they've sat down. "I think something's wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"When I dropped Isla off. Mal and Ben seemed weird. They barely paid any attention to me when I tried to make conversation. They just asked me if I'd seen anything weird lately."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I said I hadn't, and they told me that---" she suddenly stops, and I hear the bed creak again. Footsteps come toward the door, and, making a split-second decision, slipping between the closing door and simultaneously gathering shadows around myself to remain unseen. One of the more useful things that Maleficent and Pitch have taught me. I can't hold it long, but hopefully I can now.

Mom moves back to the bed, sitting down beside Dad. Her voice is considerably lower now. "Mal and Ben said that someone has been setting off the alarm between the Isle and Auradon."

"What? What alarm?" Dad asks in surprise.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot to tell you." Mom laughs kind of shakily. "A few weeks ago, Mal, Endora, Jane, pretty much anyone with magic, including myself, was summoned to the palace to set a new kind of barrier in place. For when Isla becomes Queen. Mal and Ben were worried something would happen on her coronation day. So anyway, this new barrier doesn't stop anyone from coming, you can't even see it. It's like it's not even there. But If you cross over either way with bad intentions for Auradon, Endora is alerted.

"Anyway, every Wednesday and Friday, like clockwork, the alarm sounds off as someone illegally crosses." Mom whispers. "Endora speeds over there every time, has even staked out at the entrance---but nothing. No one ever shows up, even when she gets alerted."

I gasp in alarm, then clap my hand to my mouth. Blake's shadows! They must be hiding us!

Thankfully, no one notices. Dad shrugs. "Maybe it's someone who's trying to bring back evil again. Pitch, Ares, the like."

Mom pales suddenly. "What if... no. No. Could she...?"

Dad understands instantly. "No. It's not her, Ellie. We would know if she came back." When Mom doesn't answer, Dad puts his hands on her shoulders. "Ellie. Listen to me. If Maleficent was back, we would know instantly. Endora's charm would activate instantly if Maleficent even set foot on Auradon for one second."

Mom breathes out, gaining a bit of color back. "Of course. You're right, as usual."

"Good. Now, are you going to calm down, or do I have to go get Dude to lick your face until you laugh?"

Mom smiles. "No, don't do that! He's probably hanging out with Jenna."

"True, true." Dad gives a big yawn, stretching out. "Want to watch a movie?"

"That we'll inevitably fall asleep to? Sure." Mom gets up and opens her door, exiting her room, presumably to get a movie. I slip out after her, keeping my shadows up until I get safely inside my room, with the door locked.

Letting them dissolve, I breathe a sigh of relief and sag against the door. My heart pounds in my throat, and I can feel my powers struggling to get away from me with my momentary panic. It takes a few seconds to realize that I'm using them the way Mom taught me, not Maleficent's. Easily, I switch to the second, letting my powers escape happily.

After changing into pajamas and turning off my light, I pull my phone out and text Blake:

We have a problem.

Janessa's View

When I get to school the next day, Isla looks slightly more cheerful. She bids me hello, and I note that her hair has been re-colored brightly.

"You seem better. Talk to your parents?" I ask.

"No. They seemed distracted about something else for once, so I just went to my room and caught up on as much homework as I could stuff in." Isla says.

"That sounds responsible." Max says, joining us. "Who are you, and what have you done with Isla?"

Isla laughs, wrapping her arm around Max. "What about you, Mr. Sports-hater? You talked to your parents yet?"

"No." Max visibly deflates. "Our first game is the day after Eleanor's party. I think I'm going to fake being sick."

"There's no way your parents wouldn't see past that." I argue.

Max sags more, if possible. "I know."

"Hey! Janessa! Jenna!" I turn around in surprise, seeing my little sister come running up to me.

"Serene?" I say, aghast. Normally she likes to pretend I don't exist at school. "What are you doing?"

She gives me a look that clearly says she thinks I'm an idiot. "I was just coming over to tell you that Mom told me to tell you, quote 'Janessa Blair De Vil, you need to explain why there is a stack of unfinished homework in your room'. Unquote."

I wince. "Ouch. Um, thanks, Reen---Serene."

"Sure." She turns and walks away.

"That was random." Isla says. "Also, your middle name is Blair? You told me it was Isla!"

"You told me it was Janessa. We both knew the other was lying, Isla Regina."

Isla goes beet red. "How did you find out? I had it changed!"

"Not legally." I practically sing. "When you get coronated, I'm shouting "LONG LIVE QUEEN REGINA!"

"Wait." Max pauses. "Long live Queen Queen?"

"You know Italian?" I ask in surprise.

Max shrugs. "Mom and Dad once showed me a baby name translation book. That was one of the ones I remembered."

"I hate you both." Isla mutters, stomping toward first hour.

"We know!" I chirp, linking my arm through Max's. "But that's also why you love us!"

"Can't argue with that very flawed logic." Max laughs.

Serene's View

After I contacted Blake last night, we both deleted every single message back and forth between the two of us that could be at all incriminating. He had promised me today in History that tonight would solve everything. Either I had a block on me, and I'd have to stop taking lessons until it was taken away, or if I didn't, my test would be soon.

But doubt has started to creep inside my head.

Endora's charm is only supposed to go off when someone has bad intentions towards Auradon. But I don't! I mean, I don't think Auradon is perfect. I don't think the villains deserve the punishment they're still getting to this day. I think Mal and Ben need to face up to what's happening. But I don't have any ill will toward Auradon itself.

Right?

I shake off my thoughts and continue with my day. It passes quickly, and this time Blake walks with me toward the barrier after I convince my mom to let me go over to Brietta's house. This time, his shadows seem thicker, more tangible.

Blake takes my hand and squeezes it reassuringly and giving me a fleeting smile. "This is to block the charm."

"You can do that?" I gasp.

"Sure. You'll be able to as well, once we see if you have any blocks on you." Blake says.

"Right." I start to feel a bit of unease return to me, like it did the first time I came here, but I ignore it. There's no way I have a block on me. My mother was never even harsh to me until I scared her with my transportation. My father is the greatest. Neither of them would ever block my powers.

Before I even realize it, we're at Pitch's hideout. Blake locks it behind us, and I see Maleficent and Pitch are already waiting for us, looking eager.

"Ready to see the truth, my child?" Maleficent asks. Unable to speak for a moment, I merely nod.

"Stand still. Try to concentrate on things that make you happy." Pitch advises. I close my eyes, concentrating on Brietta, Lucy, and my father.

"Powers I call to my command, show whose spells still her hand." Maleficent's voice chants.

I don't feel anything for a few seconds, but then I can sense the hum of magic in the air, crackling dangerously around me.

Maleficent suddenly gasps. "Child, open your eyes."

My eyes snap open, and I actually shriek when I see the shimmering, golden-green shield around me, encasing me entirely with a few extra feet outward as well. My hands cover my mouth, and I can feel my knees come crashing to the ground as I fall in shock.

I have a block on me.

And not just any block. I can tell within seconds of seeing it that it carries the same amount of power that Pitch's and Maleficent's do. I can see my own furious tongues of darkness slamming against the shield, more powerful than Pitch's and Maleficent's have ever looked.

"I'm blocked." I whisper shakily.

Maleficent scurries over to me, the shield fading away again. "Now you know the truth."

"But I don't understand." I say. "Why would... I mean... who blocked me?"

"Serene, that magic looked like the Enchantress's daughter, Endora's, magic." Blake offers. "That gold-green? The green might be the Queen's."

My stomach drops. Aunt Mal and Aunt Dori?

"That might be true." Pitch agrees quickly, swooping over to Maleficent and I. "Endora's magic is powerful, but the Queen's would help disguise it effectively."

I feel numb inside. "They blocked me? Why?"

"Child, it would be better to forget it and just move on." Pitch advises. "We can---"

"Forget it? Forget it?" I ask, standing up. Maleficent skitters away from me, crawling up onto Pitch's shoulder. "How can I forget it when I've just found out I've had a block on me my entire life, and that two people I've known just as long put it there? And I don't even know if my parents know about this! I mean, they have to, because I don't think my aunts would cast a spell on me without their permission---But they might have, because of everything with Audrey---" I feel myself getting hysterical, my shadows exploding against my own control, and I come very close to letting it down. "Don't tell me to forget about it!"

"Serene, you need to calm down!" Blake warns, moving toward me with his hands outstretched. 

"I have an excuse to not be calm!" I shout. On the last word, my control snaps, whether of my own will or because I couldn't hold it, I'll never know, because darkness envelops me faster than a blink of an eye, and the last thing I remember is the horrible, empty feeling inside of me before I fall unconscious.

__________________________

Mwahahahahaaaaaa.... What's going to happen next? ONLY I KNOW!!!!

(Well, me and my sister, who pre-reads everything before I post...but y'know, whatever.)

I'm re-watching "Elena of Avalor" right now, because that show holds SERIOUS nostalgia for me (mostly because it's a spin-off of Sofia the First, and that show was AMAZING) and can I just say how freakin' adorable Mateo and Elena are? Like cmon Disney they better be canon by the end of the series. 

(I haven't watched the finale yet---NOBODY SPOIL IF YOU HAVE)

But like seriously----If I was ever considering to do another Descendants fan fiction, I'd totally do the kid of Mateo and Elena. I'm like 70% wanting to do that right now, but... Idk. I've already spent so much time in Auradon, with Ellie.

But... it'd be so cuuuuute and fun!

IDK. Bye peopels!