────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟖
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐑

On the other side of town, Jasper walked into an abandoned-looking warehouse where his mother told him to meet her. His eyes scanned over the dark room before they landed on a well in the center. The confusion within him doubled as he tried to figure out why a well would be in a warehouse. It wasn't long after that when he heard a pair of familiar voices, causing him to walk closer to it. Shocked replaced the confusion that was once flowing through him as he stared down at his mother and sister at the bottom of the well.

The two women continued arguing, completely unaware of Jasper staring down at them from above. It wasn't until he cleared his throat that their bickering stopped and their attention landed on him.

"Oh, hello, Thorne," Lady Tremaine greeted with a large smile before she looked back over at Drizella, "happy to see one of my children can still follow directions."

"What're you doing down there?" Jasper questioned, completely unaware of the anger forming in his sister's eyes.

"Does it matter?" Drizella hissed while glaring daggers at her brother, "just find a way to get us out of here."

The Tremaine boy simply rolled his eyes at his sister before his attention landed on the rope hanging in the air in front of him. After following it with his eyes, Jasper found a crane that would lower it into the well. A small smile formed on his face as he walked over to it before wrapping his hands around the handle and turning the crank. As soon as the crane went no further, Jasper made his way back to the well to find his mother and sister using the rope to climb up.

Jasper stood to the side to allow his family to climb out of the well before he watched them dust themselves off. Just as he was about to ask again how they ended up down there, Drizella turned to leave, only for Lady Tremaine to grab her arm to stop her from moving any further. The Tremaine woman just stared at her mother's hand wrapped around her wrist before her eyes traveled up to meet the woman's gaze.

"I know we haven't always seen eye to eye. None of us have," Lady Tremaine stated as she looked between her two children before her attention landed back on Drizella, "but we accomplish great things when we're aligned. Which is why I think we should end this petty feud."

While the mother and daughter shared small smiles, Jasper stared at both of them like they just grew second heads. That lasted for another moment before the Tremaine boy found it within himself to ask the question that was bouncing around in his head. "What're you talking about?"

Both women turned to look at the boy with blank expressions on their faces. After scanning over the confusion in her son's eyes, Lady Tremaine's attention went back to Drizella. "I thought you woke him up."

"I thought so too."

"Woke me up from what?" Jasper questioned, only to receive silence from both women which made him take a step away from them, "have you two gone crazy?"

Drizella simply rolled her eyes at her brother before she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bottle. The skepticism in Jasper's eyes did nothing but grow as his sister, who he never got along with a day in his life, held the object out toward him with hope in her eyes. "Drink this and everything will make sense."

"What is it?" the Tremaine boy questioned as he took the bottle into his possession and studied it closely.

"Just drink it."

Jasper stared at his sister for a moment longer before he looked over at his mother. He was surprised to find the smile on her face much larger than before as she sent him a reassuring nod. The brunette boy weighed his options for a moment longer before letting out a defeated sigh and taking the cap off the bottle. Jasper just stared at it for a moment longer then brought the bottle to his lips and drank the contents.

As soon as the liquid was gone, the world around him seemed to fade before he found himself reliving everything that led up to that moment. But what stuck out the most to him was the destain he had for his family throughout his entire life. They all looked down on him for his weaknesses and saw him as nothing more than a waste of space. The only one who didn't see him that way was Ella, who treated him like a sister should treat her brother.

"Welcome back, Jasper," Lady Tremaine said, drawing both her children's attention back to her before she continued speaking, "now the three of us can defeat Gothel and save Anastasia together."

Anger flowed through the Tremaine boy's veins as he stared at his mother, completely taken aback by her thinking he would help her in the slightest. After everything she had done to him in the past, Jasper couldn't believe that she thought he would help her. The strangers he met at Tiana's castle back in the Enchanted Forest treated him better than his mother ever had. And by the look on Drizella's face, Jasper could tell she was thinking the exact same thing.

"Of course. Any kindness from you is about our sister," the brunette woman said while she and her brother continued to stare at their mother with disbelief and irritation in their eyes, "I can't think of a single time where you looked at either of us and saw someone deserving of your love."

Lady Tremaine just stared at her two children staring in front of her with an emotionless look in her eyes. That lasted for what felt like an eternity before she finally opened her mouth to respond, only making Jasper wish she hadn't. "Well, perhaps it's because neither of you has ever done anything to deserve it."

"Or perhaps your heart is only big enough to love one person," Jasper said without even attempting to hide the venom in his voice, taking his mother by surprise while a smirk formed on his sister's face.

"And there's something you missed," Driellza told their mother with tears in her eyes while she scanned over every inch of Lady Tremaine's face, "those lanterns, that were your hope, the bastion that you put Anastasia on a pedestal for...they were our idea."

All the emotions he once felt slowly faded as Jasper stared at the pain in his sister's eyes. The same sister that would ignore him and scream at him for getting near her. The same person who would tell him over and over again that she wished she never had a brother. But at that moment, for the first time in his life, the Tremaine boy finally saw that their mother hurt Drizella just as much as she hurt him. And maybe that was why she treated him so harshly when they were growing up.

Jasper finally snapped out of his daze when Drizella began walking out of the building. That caused the boy to glance back at his mother one last time before he raced after her. When he finally caught up to her, the Tremaine boy wrapped his hand around his sister's wrist, just for her to yank it out of his grasp. Jasper's entire body tensed as Drizella turned around to face him with a hint of annoyance in his eyes, only for it to fade when she realized it was her brother and not her mother.

"What do you want, Jasper?" the brunette woman asked after letting out a long sigh.

"I just...why did you want to wake me up?" the boy questioned, earning a confused look from his sister before he continued speaking, "you both thought I was awake already, meaning you tried to wake me up before. I'd like to know why considering how you treated me."

Drizella couldn't help but let out a scoff as a small and somewhat fake smile appeared on her face. She just stared at her brother for another silent moment before finally opening her mouth to respond. "Maybe I needed someone around who understood how I was feeling."

Before he had a chance to respond, the Tremaine woman turned around and continued walking down the street, leaving Jasper standing on the corner utterly confused by what was going on around him.

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𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

Later that night, Jasper found himself walking around the streets of Hyperion Heights utterly confused. He didn't know exactly where to go considering the only family he had here he wanted nothing to do with. The only person he could think of was Ella, but he knew that she would only see him as a wicked stepbrother, which was what the Curse made him be. Everything he said to her since arriving in the town replayed in his head, making Jasper even more disgusted with himself.

It wasn't long before he spotted two boys that he remembered meeting back in the Enchanted Forest. Will and Lucas were walking down the street with bright smiles on their faces and a bouncing dog in front of them. Their laughter greeted Jasper's ears, making his heart lurch. He didn't know them very well back in his home realm due to barely meeting them before the Curse was cast. But he remembered the pull he felt toward Will and a connection he never thought he'd have with anyone else in the world. Jasper wanted to see where that feeling would take him, but then the Curse hit. Now he was feeling that same pull and he couldn't even act upon it.

Jasper just watched the two boys for a moment longer before he felt the atmosphere around him change. The world suddenly grew darker and the noise around him vanished. It wasn't long after that when everything went black. He stayed in the neverending darkness for what felt like an eternity before it finally cleared, only for him to wish he hadn't. His feet felt glued to the floor and Drizella was trapped in the same situation next to him. But what really made him wish he was anywhere else but there was his mother standing across from him with a shocked expression on her face and Mother Gothel by her side.

"Why are they here?" his mother asked the witch while keeping her eyes glued to her two unfavored children.

"Rapunzel, you of all people, know that magic comes with a price," the redheaded woman responded with a smirk before turning her attention toward the woman next to her, "and one of them must pay it."

"Price? What price?" Drizella questioned while chills ran up Jasper's spine after seeing the look Gothel was sending him and his eldest sister, "what is this? What's going on? Why did you bring us here?"

"The spell doesn't just need the amulet to work," Lady Tremaine said while keeping her eyes glued to her two terrified children, "it required a sacrifice."

"To resurrect a life...another must be taken in its place," the witch stated as the smirk on her face grew larger than humanly possible.

As soon as the redheaded woman finished speaking, Jasper and Drizella exchanged a terrified look. It wasn't long after that before they looked down at their feet and tried to free themselves from the floor, only to fail over and over again. While his sister continued to try to free herself, Jasper looked up at his mother, who was staring back at him with an emotionless look in her eyes. Before he had a chance to call out to her, Drizella grabbed his shoulders and forced him to face her.

"I'm sorry, Jasper. I see now that you were just as ignored as I was and I shouldn't have treated you the way I did," the brunette girl said just loud enough for only him to hear before he left his feet suddenly become unglued from the floor beneath him, "which is why you don't deserve this fate."

The next thing he knew, Drizella pushed him away from her and out of the circle that was drawn beneath him. Jasper landed on the floor with a loud thud before he looked back up at his sister, only to find her smiling down at him. Just as he was about to speak, Mother Gothel beat him to it.

"Looks like the decision was made for you, my dear," the witch said to Lady Tremaine before turning her attention back to Drizella, "let the ritual begin."

Not even a second after she spoke those words passed when the drawing beneath Drizella's feet began to glow a sinister red followed by a red beam emitting from the Tremaine woman's body. Jasper slowly got to his feet as he watched his sister writhing around in pain while her shouts cut through the air. The beam vanished as soon as it appeared before Gothel pulled out a pink flower from her pocket and tossed it into the circle.

Jasper watched the scene play out in front of him for a moment longer before turning his attention to his mother. Anger coursed through his veins as he watched the confusion in Lady Tremaine's eyes transform into shock. It wasn't long after that when a sudden wave of confidence washed over him for the first time in his life.

"This is your doing, isn't it, Mother?" he questioned, drawing the woman's attention to him before he continued speaking, "you just couldn't live without your precious Anastasia so you'll just get rid of one of us instead."

"No. I swear. I didn't know, Jasper," his mother responded as tears began to form in her eyes, making a scoff pass over the boy's lips.

"Oh, please! Save your words!" Jasper hissed while his hands balled into fists at his sides before he pointed over at his sister who was suffering a few feet away from them, "just look at what you're doing to Drizella!"

"Don't pretend this isn't what you've always wanted," Drizella said, drawing both Lady Tremaine's and Jasper's attention toward her before she let out another grunt.

"No, stop. Stop!" the short-haired woman shouted while slightly pushing Gothel, only for the latter to continue on as if Lady Tremaine never said a word. That caused her to turn her attention back to her daughter before a wave of realization washed over her. "You don't deserve this, Drizella. I do."

Just as what his mother had said registered in Jasper's head, Lady Tremaine rushed forward and pushed Drizella out of the circle. The Tremaine woman fell to the ground with a loud thud before Jasper raced toward his sister and helped her to her feet. Once Drizella was back on her feet, the siblings turned their attention back to their mother, who was already staring back at her children. Their silent moment lasted for what felt like an eternity before Lady Tremaine turned her attention back to Mother Gothel.

"If a life needs to be traded for Lucy's, then you take mine," the short-haired woman declared with all the confidence she could muster in her voice.

Gothel just stared at the woman in front of her with an expressionless look on her face. "So be it."

Before anyone could say another word, the witch raised her hands into the air, causing a beam to emit from Lady Tremaine's body and go into the amulet. Jasper and Drizella both cringed as their mother's shouts cut through the air, making their grip around one another tighten. The siblings watched Lady Tremaine for another moment before the eldest of the courage within her to speak.

"Mother, what are you doing?" Drizella questioned while watching her mother with confusion in her eyes, "I thought you wanted me dead?"

"No. I'm so sorry I made you feel that way," Lady Tremaine managed to say through the pain that was coursing through every inch of her body, "I spent so much time focused on one lost child that I didn't see the two who were with me all of this time. I'm so sorry."

Before either of them had a chance to respond, the short-haired woman fell to the floor as a thunderous boom cut through the air. A bright light that emitted from an unknown source caused Jasper and Drizella to huddle together and shield their eyes. It wasn't long after that when the air grew still and everyone was quiet. The siblings hesitated for a moment before untangling themselves and looking back toward their mother, only to find her lying on the ground in front of them.

Jasper didn't move from his place by the flowers as he stared down at his mother. At the same moment, Drizella fell to the floor and brought Lady Tremaine's head into her lap. The Tremaine boy didn't know what to feel as he stared down at the woman that brought him into the world but also made him feel as though he didn't deserve to be there.

"I didn't...I didn't know. I didn't know," Drizella muttered under her breath while Jasper continued to stare at them as their mother looked up at them with a blank expression in her eyes.

It wasn't long after that when Lady Tremaine brought her hand up and placed it on her eldest daughter's cheek. "It's alright. I love you both."

As soon as those words escaped her lips, Lady Tremaine took one last breath before her arm fell to the floor beside her. Tears cascaded down Drizella's cheeks as stared down at her mother. It wasn't until she was truly gone that Jasper felt a pain in his chest that he knew would never be healed, which was something he never expected.

On the other side of town, Lucy took in a deep breath and opened her eyes for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

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