chapter ten
i won't go speechless

Scar grinned with his large canines as the room grew dark. "I'm back!" He roared towards the former King and Queen and Fairy Godmother behind him.

"It can't be." Scarlett rose the magic wand once again, shaking her head tiredly. "Go away, Father."

Scar snorted in laughter at his daughter. "She's funny. Oh. I'm so... You're very funny, dear. Wand me. Chop-Chop." He lost his sense of humour quickly, gesturing with his hand for her to throw him the wand.

"No!"

Scarlett acted like she was going to throw the wand or her Father but instead, last minute she threw it to Fairy Godmother who caught it.

Fairy Godmother swung the wand in the air. "Bibbidi-Bobbidi..."

"Boo." Scar cut her off, extending his claws that glowed an orange hue into the air. His magic erupting into the air caused everyone in the entire palace foyer to freeze in time, all besides the VK's and Scar. "Sike. Oh." He messed up the Beast's glasses so they were crooked in his face. "Not so scary now, are you?"

"Prepare for a chance of a lifetime... Oh, Be prepared." He hummed in a sing-song voice as he trailed over to the frozen Fairy Godmother, taking the wand out from her hand and into his own claws. He frowned mockingly. "Oh. Oh, no. Someone needs to pluck their nose hairs. Where should we begin? Oh, I know. Why don't we start by getting rid of this?"

Scarlett gasped when Ben's ring in her finger flew off and slid onto the wand. "Perfect fit!" He exclaimed. She squeezed her eyes shut in sadness. Scar chuckled widely as he trailed over to Ben whose frozen gaze stayed in Scarlett in worry. "Oh. Falling in love is weak and ridiculous." He moved his face around before tilting the golden crown on his head. Scar pointed the wand at his daughter. "It's not what you want."

"You don't know what I want!" Scarlett protested in a nasal tone from her silent cry's. "Dad, have you ever once asked me what I want? I'm not you!"

"Obviously!" He rolled his eyes, gesturing to the frozen chaos around them. "I've had years and years and years of practice being evil. You'll get there."

"No. I will not." Scarlett stated confidently. Her father's expression fell upon realizing she was no longer in his side. "And I really wish that you had never gotten there yourself. Love is not weak or ridiculous. It's actually really amazing."

Scar's lips curled into a snarl. "I know one thing, young lady. You have no room for love in your life!"

"Mal..."

Mal gotten the idea, stepping beside the lioness as she outstretched her hand out towards the wand pointed at Scarlett. "Now I command, wand to my hand!"

An orange glow wrapped wound the wand as Scar struggled to keep the thing in his grasp until it flew out and into Mal's. The VK's gasped in astonishment that it actually worked. "It worked!"

Mal handed the wand over to Scarlett.

"Frankly, this is tedious and very immature." Scar's anger boiled, steam leaving his ears as a low growl left his parted lips. His firey eyes landed on his daughter, roaring in demand, "Give me the wand. Give me the wand!"

"Hold on, Scarlett." Carlos stepped forward, placing a hand on Scarlett's arm. "Maybe good really is more powerful than evil."

Scar laughed mockingly. "Oh, please! You're killing me." He barked at the boy with dog issues. Dude ran up to Scar, barking as he jumped up onto him. "Ugh, Breath! Breath! Get off me! I hate dogs!!"

Jay let out a battle cry once Dude was on the floor, gripping his hands onto Scar's arm to stop him. "Nice try, Daddy's boy." Scar laughed maliciously when he had his other hand with one claw extended to bump Jay in the forehead with magic, causing the boy to fall on his butt by Carlos's feet.

"Enough!" Scar roared with pure evil dripping in his tone. He was getting tired of the games. He turned around to flare at every frozen princess and prince in the room. "You all will regret this!"

The familiar orange smoke appeared again and wrapped itself around his body. The VK's gasped when the something appeared on top of the smoke. A giant lion with a black mane and scar crossed over his eye. Except it was no normal lion you'd see in a zoo, its upper back was hunched and it grew the side of a dragon. His paws were the size of one human's entire body, each claw the size of one leg.

As his jaw cracked open, a loud animal roar was directed towards Jay who was still on the ground. Scar lifted his ginormous paw and brought it down on Jay, who scooted away just before the paw hit him. He slid around a large pillar that kept the castle up but Scar's large black mane blocked the other side from him escaping.

"Come on, run, Jay, run!"

Scar roared at him again and Jay took off into a sprint back, onto the platform the wand used to stand in its case. Scar was one step ahead and already there, screeching with his razor sharp teeth barred.

"Hurry, Jay. Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Jay took off into a sprint down the carpeted aisle when Scar took off into a lunge, chasing after the fast boy. The other four VK's, who had a head start, also started to run down the aisle away from the mutant lion chasing after them. Just as Scar's canines were about to take a bite out of Jay, he flipped behind the VK's as Evie stepped in front of them, holding her magic mirror out to the lion.

"Magic mirror, show your bright light!" The VK's clouded behind Evie as the magic mirror blinded Scar, causing him to fall down in front of them.

"Behind me, E." Scarlett ordered as she pushed the girl and her magic mirror behind her, along with the others, wand by her side. "Leave me friends alone!" Scarlett's lips curled into a scowl as Scar roared at his daughter now that the blinding light was gone. "This is between you and me, Father."

Time seemed to pause like the people already frozen in time. But it was just for Scarlett. Everything frozen in time, the VK's behind her and her father included, but her as she stared at her Father's unloving bloodthirsty eyes.

"Written in stone. Every rule, every word. Centuries old and unbending. Stay in your place. Better seen and not heard. But now that story is ending." She sang softly, feeling power coarse through her bind as she realized her own eyes reflected in his did not resemble his own gaze at all. "'Cause I, I cannot start to crumble. So come on and try. Try to shut me and cut me down."

She took in a large breath of air as she glanced at the innocent people trapped in the Father's magic surrounding them. She stepped out of her spot, moving past her Father's frozen figure. "I won't be silenced. You can't keep me quiet. Won't tremble when you try it. All I know is I won't go speechless. Speechless!"

As she was past her Father's figure, her gaze flickered to Audrey, Chad, Doug, Lonnie and Sarabi who were all cowered in fear, silently forgiving them for trying to push her aside and silence her as well. "Let the storm in. I cannot be broken. No, I won't live unspoken. 'Cause I know that I won't go Speechless..."

She trailed off to Ben who was frozen in front of his Mother protecting her. She smiled sadly at the boy, her hand gently caressing his cheek. She had now come to terms with her feelings for him, and she would be damned if she let her Father ruin her last chance of happiness. "Try to lock me in this cage, I won't just lay me down and die." She would do it for them.

She removed her hand from his cheek and stepped up onto the steps of the platform, raising her arms out like a bird as she sang her soul to the max. "I will take these broken wings and watch me burn across the sky."

She screamed-sang as she stood on the platform, looking sprung the frozen and crowed palace foyer. "And it echoes saying I won't be silenced. Though you wanna see me tremble when you try it. All I know is I won't go speechless. Speechless!"

"'Cause I'll breathe when they try to suffocate me." Scarkett jumped off the steps, whipping her body around to face her Father's back, eyes narrowed with newfound confidence and determination fueling her veins as she stalked like a predator towards him. "Don't you underestimate me. 'Cause I know that I won't go speechless. All I know is I won't go speechless."

"Speechless!..." She gasped in air as she returned to her old spot, the song ending, and time for the VK's and Scar resuming like her little monologue never happened.

Scar's eyes narrowed when he saw the new fierce good glint flickering in her brown irises. Scarlett was finally realizing her Father could no longer silence her. She was better than that. She was good.

Scarlett's shoulders straightened, her head lifting high as she appeared unfazed by the loud snarl Scar produced in her face. Her eyes turned green with her pupils dilated like a cat's. Her Father's eyes matched it, glowing for their stand-off.

"The strength of evil is good as none, when stands before five hearts as one." Scarlett didn't back down from her Father's primal gaze like she normally would during their stand-off's. The VK's stood closer to Scarlett from behind, signaling they were there with her in this moment and all those to come. "The strength of evil is good as none, when stands before five hearts as one. The strength of evil is good as none, when stands before five hearts as one!"

Scar suddenly screeched, backing up, signaling she had won for the first time. The orange smoke filtered around him until it subsided and then giant mutant lion was gone. Fairy Godmother gasped, returning to the real world after being frozen but she was the only one.

"What just happened?"

"I have no idea."

"Did you do it?"

"I don't know."

The VK's rushed forward to see where Scar went. Fairy Godmother met them half way. Scarlett gasped when she saw a newborn baby cub the size of one's hand laying on the floor where her Father once stood in his mutant glory.

"No, no, no, no. Your Father did. He shrank to the size of the love in his heart. That why it's so itty-bitty." Fairy Godmother explained.

"Is he gonna be like that forever?" Scarlett asked softly, bending down to look at her Father who was not a small baby cub who couldn't hurt a fly.

Fairy Godmother bent down as well. "Well, forever is a long time. You learned to love. So can he."

Scarlett chuckled lightly, holding out the wand still in her grasp out towards the woman. "I believe this belongs to you."

"And I believe this —" Fairy Godmother picked up Ben's ring that had fallen off the wand and onto the floor by the baby cub. "— belongs to you." Scarlett smiled, slipping the ring back on her finger. The two of them stood up as Fairy Godmother grinned at all the VK's. "You all have earned yourselves an A in Goodness class."

The VK's all laughed, high-fiving each other.

"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!"

The frozen time caused by Scar now ended and everyone in the room was lifted back to life. Scarlett giggled when immediately Ben let out a wolf-like roar, charging to where Scar used to stood before he spelled the room.

Scarlett intercepted his way, placing her hands on his chest. "Okay, okay. We kind of got this all wrapped up here." Everyone in the room mingled and after a moment of Ben just staring at her, he picked her up by her waist, spinning her around in a circle. She screamed, laughing in response before he placed her back down in her feet.

"Next time I rescue you, okay?"

Scarlett giggled, placing both her hands on the side of his head. "Yeah. Let's not let there be a next time, okay?" She embraced him again, feeling his hands on her back. As she pulled away, she fixed the crown that was straight on his head so it was tilted. "That's better."

Ben watched her lovingly.

"You told me once you'd teach me how to love someone

"I love you. But you are on a major time-out." Fairy Godmother told her daughter in a scolding tone.

Mal trailed over, placing a hand on Fairy Godmother's shoulder. "Don't be too hard on Jane. I was the one who put all that crazy stuff in her head." Mal gently grabbed Jane's hand. "You are beautiful inside and out. Your mom got that right."

Jane cracked a smile. "I guess I did get pretty lucky in the mother department."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I'll be right back." Scarlett told Ben, trailing over to Mal who sniffled. "You good, M?" Mal nodded in response.

The two watched as Audrey slowly approached them with a hesitant smile. None of them said a word. Mal and Scarlett simply curtsied, Audrey chuckling before she followed it.

"Hey!" Scarlett yelled when she noticed a man placing a glass case over her Father's small cub body, storming over to them. "Careful! That's my Dad."

Scarkett joined the other four VK's and Ben who were all huddle together, arms around each other's shoulders.

Jay laughed, yelling, "Well, let's get this party started!"

The size of them laughed in sync. "Ohayohay, hey!"

authors note.

one more chapter left, can't believe it!