𝑨 𝑫𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑴 𝑰𝑺 𝑨 𝑾𝑰𝑺𝑯 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑻 𝑴𝑨𝑲𝑬𝑺

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝟒𝟑

NOTE: It is almost 10 o clock at night where I am so I have no idea who the hell is awake to read this, but this is a LONG chapter with A LOT of information and pain, so get your pencils, notebooks, and tissues ready, because I have the power of god and anime on my side and you're about to get a sad ass history lesson!

There was a long, palpable beat of silence. The adults exchanged repetitive, frantic glances while Delphina stood before them, waiting patiently. She had clearly caught every adult off guard, except for Fairy Godmother, who looked as if she'd been expecting this conversation at some point.

"Well," She began with a light sigh. "I suppose we should–" Before she could continue, Adam jumped in, cutting off whatever Fairy Godmother was about to say.

"You can't be serious!" He scoffed. Delphina rolled her eyes, leaning against the door as Adam looked around at everyone else in the room incredulously. "We made an agreement to never discuss her again! You expect us to break it for one teenager?" He demanded. Delphina frowned, ready to defend herself when Ella beat her to the punch.

"No, we expect you to break it because she's our niece." The blonde snapped from her spot next to Kit. Adam's jaw tensed and he turned to Ella pointedly.

"Ella, I understand your frustrations, but–"

"Do you?" Ella interrupted harshly, pulling away from her husband and stepping closer to the king. "Because the last time I checked, your family is still whole." She spat furiously, blue eyes blazing. "Your sister has not been rotting on a crumbling island for over a decade." Ella's voice trembled lightly, making Adam sigh as his face softened.

"Ella, we had no choice. She asked us to–"

"I know what she asked, dammit!" Delphina jumped slightly as her aunt's voice raised to a shout. "In case you forgot, Varian and I were the first ones she went to, you condescending–" Kit stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on his wife's shoulder. Ella sighed deeply, shutting her eyes and reigning herself in. Delphina watched as her aunt took a moment to calm herself before opening her eyes again, fixing Adam with a firm look.

"It has been sixteen years." She began steadily. "No one in the country will talk about her. My son has grown up thinking his aunt, his own godmother, is some horrendous wench that deserves to be where she is. I have three nieces and nephews that I have never even seen that are still stuck on a prison island thanks to a family legacy they didn't ask for. So yes, Adam, I expect you to break your stupid agreement and pull your head out of your ass so we can tell my niece the truth about our family."

Delphina fought the smug, impressed grin that tried to sneak onto her face. Adam seemed dumbfounded and looked around the room, but everyone else adamantly avoided his eyes. Finally, he caved in with a heavy huff.

"I can't believe this. Fine! Go ahead! Tell her whatever she wants to know, since everything happens at her behest now..." He muttered the last part bitterly, shaking his head and moving away from the group. Delphina rolled her eyes, moving away from the door to sit down on the bed once more, watching the adults expectantly.

"OK." Varian sighed, hands on his hips. "How do we wanna do this? Are we taking turns? Writing out a timeline?" He questioned. Fairy Godmother thought for a moment, then smiled lightly, an idea dawning on her.

"How about something like..." She flicked a hand out, sending spirals of blue magic swirling into the center of the room for a moment, before forming a holographic scene of Anastasia and Cinderella sitting in front of a fountain. "A visual follow along, made up of all of our memories, starting from the very beginning." She sighed. Delphina studied the scene intently, taking in the younger versions of her two aunts.