Some say other's destinies are set in stone, that everything is good or bad. There's no in between. Everyone is expected to be exactly like their parents. Everyone was expected to be their parents. Or at least, that's what was said. In reality, everyone was expected to be perfectly perfect. Some went with it. And then there were some who looked that stereotype straight in the eyes, said screw that, and decided to live their lives however they wanted to. One is the main character of our story. While she was a bit like her father and mother, she liked to go a little off script.

Her name was Svanhild. And she was the daughter of the chieftain of Berk, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third. With her father's rebellious spirit and her mother's determination, personality-wise it was obvious she was her parents' daughter. Despite coming from what most Auradonians thought was a quite barbarous group of people, Svanhild could've been mistaken for someone in line for a throne.

Yeah, she may have downplayed her beauty with the constant amount of soot on it from whenever she was working in the blacksmiths on her island, Berk, and almost always wore either her dragon rider mask or her goggles in Auradon, she had beauty to behold, much like her mother. With auburn hair, forest green eyes, freckled skin, and a heart-shaped face, it was hard to believe she wasn't chased after by the many princes on Auradon. That is, if she didn't have what they thought was an undesirable personality.

Over the course of twenty years, the residents of the United States of Auradon had children. Hiccup and Astrid were happy together and were no different, and that's how Svanhild and her siblings came into their life. Stoick, her older brother, was originally meant to be chieftain, but he had fallen for Ashlynne, the daughter of Dagur the Deranged (much to their father's dismay that he and Dagur were now going to be in-laws, even though he gave them his blessings) and future chieftain of the Berserker Tribe. They were soon to be married in a few months, which left Svanhild as the successor of chieftain, something that terrified and excited her at the same time. If something should happen to her, the role would fall to her younger brother, Killian, but she didn't count on it. If she were to leave Berk in his hands, she guaranteed Berk would be doomed.

While she was happy back on Berk, when she was fourteen, both Hiccup and Astrid thought it might be a good idea to let Svanhild mingle with the prince and princesses she'd be forced to get along with already when she was older as a leader of Berk. Over the course of three years, she'd had to go to boarding school with a bunch of prissy princesses and princes, not many of which were exactly welcoming to the young viking girl. To them she was odd. The weird viking girl who always hung out with dragons, something everyone in Auradon prep seemed to have a thing against.

She knew people would talk. She wasn't a future king or queen, just the daughter of a chief, someone they thought of lesser importance. Sure, it wasn't like he'd saved his people at least twice while the half of the royals could barely even protect themselves from getting duped and nearly killed. Sure, it wasn't like her father was a valuable ally to Auradon. Sure, it wasn't like their people had trained beasts barely any of the Auradonians would go near.

Plus, there was their mindset that she just couldn't find herself agreeing with. That if you weren't one hundred percent good, you weren't worthy. Personally, she couldn't believe that. Not everyone was one hundred percent good and not everyone was a hundred percent bad. You could seem like a bad person and have a good heart, just as it is the other way around where you could seem like a good person but have no heart.

By the time Svanhild was seventeen, she knew her parents' stories. And she was angry. Angry at all the goody-two-shoes that lived freely in Auradon who didn't give her family or her people the respect they deserved. That even after all they'd done, they weren't thought of as important as every other king and queen. They were just thought barbarians by half the kids at Auradon Prep. It wasn't fair.

Now, on the subject of Svanhild herself, she wasn't the most sociable kid on Auradon, but she was certainly one of the rudest by Auradon's standards. She was smart, got acceptable grades, and rode her dragon whenever possible. Quiet whenever not giving anyone any snark, she tried to keep out of everyone's way, the same going for Elias; son of Queen Elsa of Arendelle and one of Svanhild's few friends. A fellow misfit that she had clicked with almost immediately on her first day. Another being Hunter; the son of Hercules and Megara, Kai; son of Moana, and Raquel and Alex; the twin son and daughter of Rapunzel and Eugene. There was also Prince Ben; son of Queen Belle and King Beast, but he was too much of a goody-two-shoes for her taste. She still liked him enough though, and he her since she was one of the only people who didn't give him any special treatment or kissing up because he was the heir to the throne of Auradon. She treated him like any other normal person.

Life was otherwise boring. That is until Ben ran up to her one morning and told him he had something planned to tell his parents. He also said for her not be angry at him when he says it, but he wanted her to know what was happening first. She had quirked an eyebrow at this, confused.

"Why?" had been her first words as she stood in the doorway of her room, goggles fixed upon her head.

"Because I've always appreciated your honest opinion," Ben nervously smiled. "Your brutal, yet honest opinion."

"Uh, yeah, I don't have the time to sugarcoat things," snorted Svanhild, waving about the hand holding a tool. "I mean, do I look like Willy Wonka to you? I prefer to tell it as it is. Even if it makes your little royal behind cry."

"That's exactly what I need here," Ben chuckled. "My other friends might not see it the same way as you how important it is to me. You see, I plan on making my first royal proclamation. Something not everyone might like."

"And you're telling me this because..." She waved her hand about for more emphasis to tell him to get on with his point.

Ben sighed. "May I come inside?"

Though surprised, Svanhild opened the door to get room wide enough for him to enter. Inside, he could see various tools scattered about her desk, her latest project half-done. "Sit and don't break anything or Auradon will have to find a new heir," Svanhild ordered.

"New tailfin for Daybreak?" Ben asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, now what do you want to talk about?" Svanhild demanded, cutting straight to the point. "New proclamation and whatnot. Look, um, not everyone can be made happy with whatever you decide. There's always going to be someone who won't be satisfied no matter what you do."

"No, I'm pretty certain no one will like it very much, kinda like when your dad tried to introduce dragons to Berkians." Ben stopped, noticing Svanhild's raised eyebrows, and guessed he was treading on thin ice. "It's relevant to the subject, I swear," he quickly said, one hand raised. She gestured with one hand for him to continue. "I'm serious. No one will like it, and I think it's the right thing to do, but I don't think anyone else will see it that way. What if my own parents think I'm making the wrong choice and shoot me down before I can even get another word out?"

Svanhild listened carefully, both hands clasped and pulled up to her mouth. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Ben. She knew that feeling, the feeling she'd make too many mistakes once the weight of her people and her home rested on her shoulders, once her parents' responsibility became her responsibility. It was terrifying, knowing that when they stepped down, it was her job to keep everything going. "Alright, relax," she sighed. "Like I said, you can't make everyone happy. If you think this is the right thing to do, then do it and screw what everyone else thinks. They're not the ones making all the calls. You are. Hold your head up high, look them in the eye and tell them your proclamation. All there is to it."

Ben sighed and ran a hand through his hair. At times like these, it was easy to see how much he was his mother's son. "It's not that simple..."

Giving out an exasperated sigh, Svanhild tied her auburn hair away from her face as she seated herself in a chair pulled up to her desk. "Alright, pretend I'm your parents. Be straightforward, hold your head up high, and don't show weakness or hesitation. Don't second guess yourself."

"Okay..." Ben cleared his throat and stood up straight, following her instructions. It was obvious his nerves were starting to get to him even though this was only a demonstration. "Here's my proclamation, Mom and Dad," he said, then winced at how awkward he sounded.

"We'll work on that later. For now, let's focus on cutting to the chase," Svanhild interrupted before he could backtrack, mostly because she wanted to find out what had him so anxious. "Just spit it out before you lose your nerve. Let them get that you know exactly what you're talking about."

Ben took a deep breath. "You're right. I got this," he murmured to himself. He straightened up. "I plan on giving the kids on the Isle of the Lost a chance to live in Auradon."

Now that reaction he could gauge might be the same as his parents'. Svanhild's jaw dropped, her eyes bulging out of her head in shock. She opened her mouth and closed it several times like a fish out of water, then bit her lip. And then she nodded her head in approval. "Not bad, Benny-boo. You're not as gutless as I thought you were."

"You don't think it's a crazy idea?" Ben asked.

"Crazy? You don't know crazy till you know my family," Svanhild snorted, inspecting her nails. "Besides, it's not like they choose to be evil. They're raised that way. Just because they come from a bad background doesn't mean they're bad people." Ben flashed her a grin. "Besides, what even makes us good other than the fact that our parents were good? And what makes them 'evil' other than the fact that their parents were villains?"

"That's a very good point!" Ben grinned, then that grin turned to a grimace. "If only you could be the one to convince my parents to accept it."

"Yeah, I like you, Benny-boo, but I'm not doing that," Svanhild chuckled, shaking her head. "You're going to have to deal with that family disaster on your own."

A nervous wreck, Ben sighed. "How are you so good at this?"

"I'm the heir to Berk. I'll be chieftain when my dad steps down, except I've still got a few years. You're, like, a year younger than I am and already going to have the entire United States of Auradon depending on you in only a month. It's understandable you'd be nervous," explained the Viking, her arms and shoulders moving of their own accord as she talked, a trait obviously inherited from her father. Ben didn't want to point it out because then she'd get annoyed and he needed some support right now. "Just remember that your parents will understand and everything will work out."

"Thanks," breathed Ben. "I just think it's unfair that all those kids have been abandoned on the Isle with none of the luxuries we have, forced to grow up with villains." He sighed and stared out the window, the Isle of the lost seen in the distance. "Who knows what they grew up with? We have the luxury to choose who we want to be. They don't."

"Relax, Benny-boo, if anyone can do it, you can." Svanhild scoffed, twiddling her thumbs. "Besides, if it were me, I'd be dying to get out of there, too, if I were stuck in a place with no WiFi." She looked up from her action with a smirk. A little humor never hurt anyone.

Ben gave a small laugh at the joke. "You're the best," he said.

"Of course I am, Benny-boo."

"You know, only Audrey calls me that." As he was about to leave, Ben paused, glancing back at the older teen sitting in her chair.

"I know, but when she says it, it sounds stupid," replied Svanhild bluntly. "And when I say it, I say it to mock you." Looking him up and down, her lips curler in a mischievous smirk. "Would you rather I call you 'Prince Beasty the Second?'"

Ben laughed, but by the way Svanhild was looking at him, it was obvious she wasn't kidding. "On second thought, I'm fine with Benny-boo."

"Thought so." With that, Svanhild leaned back in her chair, then gestured for him to leave. "You're dismissed, Your Royal Highness."

With a slight roll of the eyes and a chuckle, Ben left her dorm room. The minute he was out, the door slammed shut behind him. Svanhild placed her goggles back over her eyes and went back to working on her project. Only a few more touches and it would be perfect, she thought to herself as she picked up a tool.

========

An hour after her discussion with Ben, Svanhild was outside, the ground wet with fresh rain, glistening in the sunlight. A white dragon bounded toward her, knocking her to the ground. It licked her face relentlessly until she was practically soaking wet in dragon slobber.

"Ew! Daybreak! Yield!" Svanhild cried, holding up her arms to shield herself. Eventually, the dragon backed off. "You missed me, huh, girl?" she cooed, scratching her under the chin. After a moment, the dragon fell to the ground with a soft contented pur. Svanhild laughed and scratched Daybreak I the same spot. When she stopped, she wagged a finger 'no' in Daybreak's face. "We've talked about this, girl," she teased. "This--" she yanked at her wet tunic-- "does not wash out. If you're going to ruin someone's clothes, ruin Audrey's."

The dragon tilted her head, then nodded with an agreeing growl, as if saying, "that's not a bad idea."

"Atta girl," her rider encouraged. "I could never ask for a better dragon." Daybreak gave Svanhild a toothless grin, her white scales gleaming in the sunlight. Thankfully, she hadn't developed her father's habit of totally unoriginal names. See, Daybreak wasn't a normal dragon. Not even for a Night Fury. As an albino Night Fury, an even rarer form of the dragon, it had always been Svanhild's job to keep her safe from dragon trappers and the like since they'd found each other that first time.

Well, to be more accurate, Svanhild found Daybreak alone in the middle of the forest when she was ten. Back then Daybreak had been only an egg. To this day, Svanhild wasn't sure if her dragon had really been abandoned or if her parents were slaughtered as many Night Furies were. While no one but she and her father on Berk had seen one, that didn't mean people in different parts of the Archipelago hadn't.

It was very likely their dragons were one of the last Night Furies on earth. Which meant the Night Furies were close to being extinct.

Just the thought of it made Svanhild sad.

Suddenly, Daybreak leaped up and ran over to an approaching figure in the distance. Ben. He was wearing a new suit, which made Svanhild pity him since it was about to be ruined.

"Svan, I--" were the only words that left his lips before he was tackled to the ground. "Aw, come on!" he laughed. "You didn't let me tell her."

"Daybreak!" Svanhild chuckled, gently coaxing the dragon to get off the prince. "You know how much she loves you, Benny-boo. Just can't help herself."

As Ben got up from the ground, he took off his suit jacket and wrung it out. "Well, considering this was new, I don't think Mom and Dad will be too pleased when they see this," he grimaced, accessing the damage.

"They'll live." Svanhild leaned against her dragon laying on the ground. "What did you want to tell me?"

"I did it!" Ben exclaimed proudly, throwing his jacket over one shoulder. "I told them, and they agreed!" He seemed like an overly happy puppy, practically bouncing with joy. "You were right!"

"Well, duh, of course I am," Svanhild snorted, folding her arms across her chest. Internally, though, she couldn't have been prouder. "So who are these 'villain kids' parents?"

Ben's expression changed from cheerful to nervous and slightly terrified in the span of three seconds. "See, remember when I told you earlier not to be mad at me? This is why..."

"Well, spit it out, who is it?" Svanhild demanded, more intrigued than annoyed.

"Okay." Taking a deep breath, Ben said, "I chose the children of the Evil Queen, Cruella De Vil, Jafar, Maleficent, and...Drago Bludvist."

(So this is my first Descendants fanfic! Thanks for reading my story and please tell me what you think. Until next time! Love you guys!:))