Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Evie groaned internally as she stared up at the ceiling. Cotilion was way too close for her to be doing this. She still had to deliver the last of the orders to her customers and put the finishing touches on her own dress. Once that was done, she still had to check-in with Snow and make sure the camera crew was ready for the big night. She wanted everything to be perfect. She wasn't sure it would be with Mal and Ben being on the outs with one another, though.

Maybe she could ask Snow about it. Since they met, Snow had been a constant figure of authority in Evie’s life, providing advice as well as comfort. Evie smiled slightly just thinking of her big sister. She had accepted Evie with surprisingly open arms shortly after the coronation. Evie closed her eyes to take her mind off the current situation and remember.

Evie excused herself from the dance floor and made her way over to the refreshment table. She needed to keep hydrated if she was going to rejoin the dancing crowd. She was no stranger to exercise, having run throughout the Isle with Mal and the boys, but her mother hated sweat. Princesses were not supposed to sweat under any circumstance, physically or mentally.

As she was pouring herself some water, Evie felt a presence nearby just before someone cleared their throat. She must not have been the only one looking for a drink. Taking a step back, Evie turned and nearly choked on her own breath. Snow White, the Snow White, stood behind her with a small smile.

“Um, sorry!” Evie squeaked, making to hurry away. She remembered Family Day, and the way Queen Leah had reacted to Mal. She really didn’t want a repeat of that, especially since her mother had cursed Snow White directly. She needed to disappear and quickly.

A hand gently caught her shoulder and Evie froze, looking up at the reporter nervously. “You’re Evie, right?” Snow White asked, her smile not faltering.

“Y-yeah. I mean yes, um… I’m Evie.” Evie curtsied politely, her nerves buzzing as she wondered what the Snow White could want with her.

“Would you mind joining me?” Snow White inclined her head toward an area away from the music. It was quiet enough that people could talk with one another without shouting over the beat.

“I, uh, sure, i-if you don’t mind.” Evie had no idea what to make of the situation. Her mother had caused this woman a lot of trouble. Why would she want to talk to Evie?

Snow White led Evie over to a pair of empty chairs and they took a seat. Evie couldn’t relax. Her hands fidgeted in her lap as she waited for whatever Snow White wanted to tell her. Even though there was no outburst like on Family Day, Evie couldn’t help thinking this would be similar. Would she accuse Evie of being like her mother?

“Your dress is beautiful,” Snow White finally said, making Evie jump. “I’m sorry I didn’t give your work proper recognition earlier. They hadn’t informed me who the designers were.”

“No, it’s-! That’s fine.” Evie tucked some of her hair behind her ear, cheeks flaming. “N-no one would have recognized my name anyway. I’m, um, not really someone important enough for people t-to know.”

Snow White chuckled and looked over at her. “It is beautiful handiwork. You could rise quickly in Auradon’s fashion industry with taste like that.”

Evie’s eyes widened and she asked, hopefully, “You really think so?”

“I’ve been calling these people’s names for years,” Snow White told her with a sly smile. “Eventually, they all begin looking exactly the same. They discover what the most popular style is and follow it. But your style is something uniquely your own. I highly doubt anyone else in Auradon could mimic it because your eye for color and material stands out against everything else here.”

“That’s-!” Evie stopped herself. She needed to react carefully. She didn’t want Snow White to think she was full of herself like her mother. It was best to tone it back. “Thank you for thinking so.”

Snow White surveyed her for a moment before reaching into her purse. She presented a shiny red apple from the snack table and asked, “Care to share with me?”

Evie paled and scooted slightly away. “Oh, um, n-no thank you, I’m allergic.”

“Huh, that’s ironic,” Snow White muttered, shrugging and taking a small bite herself. Evie watched her in awe and the queen noticed. “Is something wrong?”

“Wa-well no.” Evie didn’t know how exactly to say what she was thinking without sounding rude, so she blurted quietly, “Aren’t you… afraid of apples? A-after… my… my mom…?”

“If I may be frank, Evie?” Snow White asked, gaining a nod. “You don’t seem the type to poison anyone.” Evie cringed and Snow White nodded. “Case in point. And with your mother on that island, there’s no one who would want to kill me. It took me years to overcome my fear of apples, but I eventually realized that the person behind a product is the one with the evil intentions, not the product itself.

“You have kept your existence so subtle over here that I didn’t even know who you were or that you existed until today. That alone proved to me that I shouldn’t be afraid of you just because of who your mother is. Coupled with your behavior through this entire conversation, I know I’ve no reason to expect anything nefarious from you.”

Evie felt warmth flood her chest at hearing the Snow White, the woman her mother made miserable, speak that way. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Snow White smiled gently down at her. “How about we take a walk around Auradon Prep’s garden tomorrow? I would love to get to know my stepsister.”

Stepsister.

Evie couldn’t help the huge grin that split her face. “I’d really like that.”

“Perfect!” Snow White clapped her hands together. “I’ll be by tomorrow around noon, then. For now, aren’t we supposed to be having fun? Let’s go party!”

From then on, Snow had made it her mission to help Evie break out of the shell her mother had put around her. Walks through the school garden, touring nearby areas of Auradon, and Evie showed Snow some of the clothes she was working on. It was thanks to Snow and Doug that Evie started taking clothing orders in the first place. Evie wondered what her sister would say if she found out Evie had willingly returned to the Isle.

She’s probably going to want all the details about this place and our little adventure, Evie thought with a soft laugh.

Footsteps made the princess glance up and she sat up as Mal walked closer. “It’s almost time for the boys to get here,” Mal said, holding out a hand. Evie took it and let Mal help her stand. “Let’s get this over with.”

Evie took a deep breath. They could do this. The plan had to work. It was their only shot to save Ben.

They strode out to the meetup spot to group up with the boys. Mal and Evie shot glares to everyone involved when Lonnie and Dude hopped out of the limo, but they didn’t have time to scold the boys. The group headed for the dock to make the trade. Personally, Evie hated the idea of being on or near a ship. Everyone in Uma’s crew knew how to swim, whereas of the five of them, only Lonnie had learned. If any of them fell in, it would be over. The waters near the Isle weren’t shallow, especially not near Ursula’s diner.

Time ticked down as the standoff began. Uma wanted the wand, Mal wanted Ben. Neither was willing to make the first trade. Mal just wanted to get Ben safely off the Isle and all of her friends back to Auradon. The last thing she needed was any of them getting stuck here longer than necessary.

Uma didn’t trust that wand for a second. She didn’t like how easily the group had brought it. It could just be that Mal was so selfish, she would sacrifice those prissy princesses and gowns for her boyfriend, but something still seemed off to Uma.

“Hold up,” she said as Mal made to hand the wand over. She needed to check. “Too easy. Give us a test run. To make sure it’s the real deal.”

Mal rolled her eyes, but Uma saw the unease in her expression. She thought so. Something was up. However, maybe not as Mal turned to the dog that had followed the Auradon VKs in.

“Although it seems absurd, turn your bark into a word.” Mal could have kissed someone for Dude having stowed away in the car. Thank fairies for Carlos’ insecurity.

“Does this outfit make me look fat?” Dude asked.

As soon as she saw the smile on Uma’s face, Mal knew victory was assured. She held up the wand for emphasis only to frown when Uma hesitated again. Why? She showed that the wand worked, why hesitate?

“Are you going to give us Ben or not?” Mal demanded, brandishing the fake wand in agitation.

Something was still wrong. No, even if they were to get free with the wand, assuming they could, those Auradonians would just band together and take them all down all over again. That wouldn’t do. They had countless magical creatures and artifacts over there. Uma needed a plan, a way to get them all safely from the Isle without Auradon stopping them. And Mal had delivered all the keys necessary to open that door.

“No,” Uma stated, stepping back. “I think I’ve changed my mind.” Instantly, Harry dragged Ben backwards. If Uma had a different plan, he couldn’t make it too easy for Mal’s group to get the king.

Mal’s eyes narrowed furiously. Was this for real?! They had gone through all of the trouble of making the fake and she was backing out on her word! “We brought the wand just like you wanted! You said we could get Ben-!”

“I said!” Uma shouted, silencing Mal. “That I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want the wand.”

That’s right. It was a fairy’s wand anyway, a different type of magic than her own. It likely wouldn’t even work for a non-fairy. However, there was no way Mal would leave one of her little friends to rot on the Isle after they’d tasted freedom. Her eyes moved from the dog Mal had just spelled and roved over Mal’s group. Her eyes stopped on an innocently concerned face and she smirked.

“I’ll give you King Boy,” Uma declared, her eyes locking with brown ones. “If you give me Princess over there.”

Chapter Text

Silence weighed heavily in the air for all of a moment before Mal, Jay, and Lonnie exploded.

“Not on your life!” Mal snarled, gripping the fake wand as tightly as she could without breaking it. Her body moved on instinct, backing up to plant herself protectively in front of Evie. Anyone who wanted her best friend would have to go through her.

“You’re not taking Evie!” Jay roared. Lonnie held him back despite his struggles, eyes blazing as he focused on Uma. “I’ll throw you in the deepest pits of the ocean before you get her!”

Evie watched her friends devolve into threats on her behalf. She looked over at the ship where Harry still had a tight hold on Ben. Her eyes met Harry’s and he smirked at her with a shrug. Evie’s gaze moved to Ben, and she found helplessness reflected back at her. That was right, he had no clue how Isle politics worked. Even if he was King of Auradon, the Isle worked on a different code than anything he was used to. He was completely out of his element here.

Mal and Jay were still growling at Uma. They weren’t going to let the opposing group have her, but Evie knew what needed to be done, the good thing to do. Her eyes found Mal, body wired for a fight in front of her. Mal wouldn’t have come back to the Isle if Evie had paid more attention to her distress. Evie had failed to act once and that had led to this. This was another chance to make things right and minimize damage.

Stepping forward, she cleared her throat. “I’ll stay here.”

“Don’t worry about it, Evie,” Carlos reassured her. He kept his eyes on the pirates surrounding him. The second any of them made a move toward her, he would break their fingers. “We’re not making that trade.”

Evie sighed and moved around Mal, standing between her and Uma. Addressing Uma directly, she said, “I’ll stay on the Isle with your crew, but only if you set Ben free without hurting him and let the others return to Auradon.”

“No!” The shout came from Mal, but all eyes turned to Ben as well. He struggled in Harry’s grip, eyes focused solely on Evie. “Evie, don’t do it!”

Evie shook her head. “Ben, this is the way it has to be-.”

“I promised!” Ben interrupted her. “I promised I wouldn’t leave you here!”

“Then you’re just going to have to break it,” Evie told him sadly, though the smile never left her face. She turned her attention back to Uma. “Make the trade. Ben has a country to run.”

Uma frowned at being ordered around, but she raised a hand to Harry. Instead of untying Ben, Harry just guided him forward and thrust him at Mal. Mal caught Ben as Uma grabbed Evie’s arm. Despite how forcefully she did it, her grip was light. She didn’t want to hurt the Princess.

“Alright,” Uma sneered at Mal. “You’ve got your King. You can get off our island now.”

Mal glared at Uma, her eyes flicking to Evie. Even if she had agreed to the trade, if Evie asked Mal to fight for her, Mal would shove Ben toward Carlos and do everything in her power to rip Uma apart. Evie only gave her a small smile and a nod. She was okay with things happening this way. Mal’s jaw tensed as she took a step back.

Ben stared over at Evie dejectedly as Mal set about untying him. He had promised he wouldn’t let her get stuck here. He still remembered how terrified she sounded when she made him swear to her. It was supposed to be the wand, not her. Turning to the Captain, he tried one last time. He had to. “Uma, please. Don’t do this. You can be better than this.”

“How you figure?” Uma demanded quietly. “You have us trapped on an island with rotten food, crumbling buildings, and no freedom. You said earlier that other kids were supposed to be brought over, too. Guess that decree of yours didn’t mean anything after you got the girl you wanted, huh?”

Ben lowered his head in shame. He really did want to get the kids off the island. His proclamation was supposed to save them, but everything was so hectic now that he was king. He thought he could do more for the kids once he was crowned, but… Uma was right. He should have made the time.

Uma nodded. “Thought so. Don’t start pretending you care now, Your Majesty. Get off my turf. This island has enough liars. We don’t need one more.”

Mal’s knuckles were white as she gripped Ben’s jacket and guided him back up the dock. She handed him off to Carlos at the tunnel entrance and looked back. Her eyes found Evie, watching them all leave her. Evie dipped her head in what Mal recognized as a farewell. Mal’s nails dug into her palms as she lowered her head and silently said goodbye to her best friend.

Once they were out of sight, Uma released the princess and crossed her arms. Evie waited calmly for whatever might happen next. Imprisonment? Maiming? Servitude? Any of that would be preferable to what she was going to have to endure here otherwise.

After a moment, some more crewmembers strode in. “They’re gone, Uma,” they called. “Their flashy little limo just left and the barrier closed again.”

Uma lowered her arms with a sigh. Harry was at her side in a second and Uma cracked her neck. “Guess that’s that then. Good work, boys! Let’s call it a day.” She turned away from Evie, ready to head home.

Evie’s eyebrows furrowed and she asked, “Wait, that’s it? You’re not going to hurt me?”

“Why would I?” Uma snorted, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Hurting her wouldn’t solve any of their problems.

“Well…” Evie shifted. She wasn’t sure how to say it… “Mal made it seem like you were vicious and bloodthirsty. I just thought Ursula had been even harder on you, like Maleficent was on her…”

Uma snickered quietly. “Mal really painted me out that way, huh? Figures she would make me sound like a real villain.” Harry rolled his eyes and Uma nodded at him. “Listen, Princess, I don’t really subscribe to the idea of hurting people who don’t deserve it. Those Auradonians? I wanna set’em all on fire for trapping us here. But you haven’t done a single thing to me. Mal was supposed to set us free and, predictably, went back on her word. This was personal, but not towards you. You’re just collateral.”

She started off toward the diner’s back entrance with a wave. “Show up to my mom’s diner tomorrow at noon. You’re gonna be my new assistant.”

Evie watched her go and gave a soft sigh. While she was glad nothing horrible was going to befall her at Uma’s hands, that just meant she had no choice, but to go to the most familiar place on the island. She really didn’t want to go back to… Her. But what other choice did she have? She didn’t.

With slow footsteps, Evie made her way through the Isle. She kept a low profile, blending into the shadows so no one took notice of her. She… really didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. Not when her nerves were already vibrating. It occurred to her that she could just head back to the hideout, but without any proper knowledge of how the Isle had changed in her absence, she had to remain in an easily accessible place. Unfortunately.

She found herself in front of her mother’s castle far sooner than she would have liked. Slowly, she raised her hand and knocked. Please be out, please be out, please be-. The door opened and Evie’s heart sank.

Who in hell could be knocking at her door at this time of day? Rarely anyone came to visit her. If it was someone begging for scraps or shelter, she was going to throw her brush at their-.

“Evie!” Grimhilde shouted excitedly. She couldn’t believe it! She was back!

“Uh, hi, Mom.” Evie tried to smile, but it fell rather quickly. She didn’t want to be here, didn’t to be anywhere near this place. She wanted to run so far away from this castle… “I’m, um, back. Indefinitely.”

Grimhilde raised an eyebrow at that. “Tried to poison someone like your mother, did you? Should have been more subtle, my dear!”

“Well, you know. Didn’t have a choice in the matter.” Evie didn’t bother correcting her.

Grimhild tsked as she led Evie inside. “And what is going on with your face? I can see all of your pores just jumping out at me! And those bags under your eyes are atrocious. I thought I told you the first rule of makeup was ensuring no one could see what you actually look like!” She made her way into the sitting room as she continued. “Don’t even get me started on your weight. No wonder that King went for Mal. I always told you, men prefer petite girls! Ugh, and what have you done to your hair! What have I told you about volume? That’s why we kept it curly, dear girl, otherwise-.”

As her mother rambled on, picking apart every single facet of her being, Evie felt her mind sinking further and further into figurative darkness. She simply listened as each critique came at her, nodding along obediently. Welcome home, she thought bitterly.

...

“YOU DID WHAT?”

Mal flinched at the harsh tone. Ben bowed his head in shame as guilt crushed his chest. The second they had a free moment, the pair of them informed most of the Royal Court of the events of the last twenty-four hours. Most of those present were simply glad the King was home safe, but some of the reactions were… less than pleased, to say the least.

Beau stepped up. “Snow, please calm down. We need to figure this situation out.”

Snow White tended to keep her calm quite well. She was one of the calmest queens in Auradon, but she refused to remain calm right now. Not after the absolute hogwash she’d just heard.

“You want me to be calm?” she demanded of Beau. “You want me to remain calm when one of the children was forced back to the Isle? Isn’t it supposed to be his job to bring those kids here? He’s the one who made the proclamation. Instead, he’s letting them get trapped back over there!”

“Snow,” Belle tried gently. “We know you and Evie were close, but we all need to keep level heads. She was doing what she thought best in the situation. It was either her or the King-.”

“It wouldn't have had to be if the King was doing his job instead of fawning over his new pet islander!” Snow snapped.

Gasps rang through the hall and Snow took a deep breath, her hands shaking. She knew she was out of line, but she was one of the only two people in the room who knew the extent of the damage Grimhilde had done to Evie. Snow had been helping the others in Evie’s friend group show her that she was better than the woman her mother raised her to be and that she was free to be who she chose to be. For her to get trapped back on that island with that woman and no allies…

Beau’s eyes narrowed and he growled, “I will not have you talk of your King that way!”

“I don’t want to hear it from you, Beau,” Snow huffed. “You were waiting for the moment any of the kids turned evil. It probably fills you with relief that another villain’s child is back on that island. Less for you to keep track of.”

Beau’s fists clenched and Snow’s glare only hardened further. Before they could come to blows over the issue, Belle squeezed Beau’s arm to keep him grounded. She knew emotions were high, but they couldn’t tear themselves apart because of this. “Snow, I know you’re upset, but we’ll think of a way to get Evie back where she belongs, okay? Please calm down.”

Snow took another deep breath and held it for a moment. As much as she hated it, she knew Belle was right. Nothing would be achieved if they turned on each other. But after months of watching Ben and Mal do nothing for the Isle, she didn’t have much faith in Belle’s words, either.

“I… need to go,” she finally said. “I can’t… be here right now. Not with them.” She curtsied to Belle and turned. “I’m going home. Call me when there’s an actual solution to the children on the Isle.”

She strode from the room and heavy silence filled the air in her absence. “She’s right,” Ben said softly. “This happened because Uma wanted better for the kids on the Isle and I haven’t been doing a good enough job of getting them out of there.”

“How do we know there aren’t more like her, though?” Ariel asked, looking around at her fellow Court members. “How do we know there aren’t more kids willing to take hostages and commit murder to get what they want?”

“How do we know there aren’t more like Evie?” Cinderella pointed out. “There could be more children with kind hearts just like hers that are stuck with those evil, vile people.”

“There is no way to tell,” Jasmine piped in. “But is it right to make innocents suffer when we can do something good for them? We can always send them back to the Isle if they prove themselves unfit for Auradon, but shouldn’t we try? Evie sacrificed herself, willingly, for the King. She could be such a good influence on those kids if they got the chance to come over here.”

Everyone shifted uncertainly and Beau sighed. “I think it would be best if we all table this for now. We need time to digest what’s happened. Especially with the celebration in a few days, we need our minds clear so as not to worry the rest of the country.”

Nods and murmurs of agreement echoed around the room and the Court began filing out. Ben sank into a chair and pressed a hand over his eyes. Mal stood behind his chair, her fingers gripping the back tightly. Belle and Beau eyed the two of them sympathetically.

“Ben, I really am sorry about what happened to Evie,” Belle whispered. “We’ll get her back.”

Ben didn’t say anything as his parents also strode out of the room. Carlos and Jay crept in once they were sure everyone else was gone. “So,” Carlos asked, rubbing his hands together anxiously. “What’s the plan?”

“We don’t have one,” Mal told him quietly.

“But we are gonna go back for her, right?” Carlos pressed.

Mal said nothing and Jay stared at her incredulously. “Mal, you can’t be serious! You remember what she had to go through over there, don’t you? You’re just gonna leave her to that?”

“What choice do we have, Jay?” Mal demanded. “If we go back over now, Uma will be expecting it. She’ll try to get at Ben again, or she’ll take Evie as hostage this time and she won’t change her mind about the wand.” Ben’s chair started cracking in her grip. “There’s too much risk. We have to wait.”

Carlos and Jay shared an uneasy glance, their expressions falling. They wanted Evie safe in Auradon again. While on the Isle, there was nothing protecting her from her mother’s influence. Unfortunately, with no better plan, they couldn’t argue against Mal’s logic, either.

Carlos looked down at his feet. “She’s gonna be in such bad condition when we get her back…”

Mal’s shoulders slumped, but she knew he was right. She hated this. She didn’t want this to happen when she went back. She just wanted to feel comfortable in her own skin again. She never should have returned to the Isle.

Chapter Text

Uma paced the diner in agitation. She had specifically said noon, but it was five to one and the Princess was still nowhere to be found. Everybody in the crew was expected to pull their weight somehow, and even if she was technically a hostage, that included the Princess. Maybe in Auradon, she could do as she pleased and lounge around, and she might even have been able to do that before going to Auradon, but that wasn’t the deal now.

Uma turned to Harry with a growl, “We’re going to go grab her. The rest of you sit tight. I’m gonna bring her back if I have to drag her by that pretty blue hair.”

Harry snickered at the prospect and grinned at Gil. Gil saluted and took over the register. When Captain and First Mate were away, he took over making sure everything in the diner ran smoothly while they were gone. Harry sent him a nod and followed Uma out the door.

They made their way quickly through the Isle streets, passersby hurrying out of their way. No one wanted to anger Uma, and if she was already angry, it was best to avoid her entirely. Arriving at the castle, Uma motioned for Harry to remain quiet. She listened at the door and heard voices closer to the front. Time for stealth.

The pair snuck through a window in one of the unoccupied rooms, taking stock of their surroundings. Should they need to hide, a wardrobe on the other side of the room looked like it would provide perfect cover. Uma slowly made her way out into the hall and toward the room she’d heard voices from. One very distinctly belonged to the Blue Princess, so she knew she was on the right track. Leaning against the wall outside the room, she listened in. Maybe she could glean some useful info.

“And I’m telling you, if you put the concealer on just right, I’m sure one of these Isle boys might find you attractive,” the Evil Queen was saying as she applied her makeup with perfect precision. Evie sat across from her, reluctantly applying makeup to her own face. “If you can’t attract a prince, at least one of the better off families over here should do.”

“Of course, Mom,” Evie said softly, her voice devoid of emotion. The crushing feeling in her chest hadn’t lessened since the previous night, but she was doing all she could to stomp her emotions down. Her mother would skin her alive if she caught Evie crying.

Grimhilde snorted derisively. “We need to get rid of that extra weight, too. Honestly, how could you let yourself get so big while over there? No wonder the King chose Maleficent’s scrawny spawn. Petite girls always get the boys, Evie. No matter, a few days here in the castle and it’ll probably all drop off no problem.”

“Yes, Mom,” Evie responded mechanically. She tried to think of Auradon and how happy she had been. Maybe detaching herself from the conversation would work. It hadn’t before, but there was a first time for everything.

“Oh, and for Beauty’s sake, find something to do about your hair. I can’t imagine why you would straighten your beautiful curls. Volume makes you more noticeable, and those curls make you look exotic. You get that from me, of course.”

Evie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “In Auradon, everyone’s hair was curly or wavy, so I thought straightening it would help me stand out.” It was a partial lie, but her mother wouldn’t know or care anyway.

“Well, a lot of good it did you, putting on too much weight and not enough makeup. It’s no wonder those boys overlooked you.” Grimhilde tsked in disappointment.

Evie’s heart twisted at the sound, but she kept her voice neutral. “If I get the chance to go back, I’ll do better.”

Her mother said nothing and Evie felt the pressure in her stomach ease a little. Was it over? “Oh stop frowning, Evie! What have I told you about lines and wrinkles!”

Of course not. “Sorry, Mom.”

Outside the room, Uma wasn’t entirely sure what she was feeling. She knew not all the Isle kids were on good terms with their parents, but she hadn’t expected the Blue Princess to have this kind of home life. Yeah, everyone knew the Evil Queen was vain, but Blue had seemed nothing like her on the dock. No wonder she made King Boy promise she wouldn’t get stuck here. And Uma brought her back to this. That didn’t sit right in Uma’s stomach, being the reason someone was stuck in a crappy situation. Usually, she’d blame Mal, but no, this one was on her. She should’ve just taken the wand. Then Blue wouldn’t be stuck here.

Harry’s lip curled at every word coming from the Evil Queen’s mouth. He hated parents like that, talking down on their kids. And the pretty little Sapphire sounded almost empty, like a shell of the confident woman that had stood behind Mal on the ship. Harry felt something heavy in his chest. Part of why he liked her was because of her fire, her wit and sass, that silver tongue. But this cretin was taking Sapphire’s spirit. That was unacceptable.

Uma stood upright and motioned to Harry. The two of them slipped back to the other room as the Evil Queen started in on her daughter’s outfit. Harry gently shut the window behind them, and they slowly made their way through the streets.

“That was more messed up than expected,” Uma grumbled quietly.

“Agreed.” Harry’s jaw flexed. “The wee lass is quite easy on the eyes if I may say so. The woman’s mad.”

“Blue’s one of the best-lookin’ chicks on this island,” Uma huffed. “She looked just fine on the dock yesterday, but that witch wants her to change practically everything. No wonder she wanted to stay over in Auradon. I’d probably be a murderer with a mom like that.”

Harry brightened and he raised his hook suggestively. Uma gave him a smile and lowered his hand. “No, none of that. We gotta think of a way to get Her Royal Blueness out of the situation. It’s clear she still cares for the witch. Girl has too big a heart.”

“Hard to believe she came from a woman like that,” Harry pouted. He wanted to hook someone, especially after the conversation he’d just heard. “She had such fire yesterday, such light.”

“And now she sounds dead.”

Uma hated it. Mal was supposed to keep them away from people like that. She was supposed to get them off the Isle. Instead, she abandoned them, and now she left her supposed best friend here just for the King. There was no telling how long until she decided to care enough to free them. Uma had hoped she would wanna get the princess back as soon as possible, but it had been a whole day and no news. Not even a hint of trying to free them.

Uma’s fists clenched. If Mal wasn’t going to be their savior, she would have to be, somehow. Especially since Blue willingly agreed to the deal. Uma knew the Isle was no place to be a hero, but she had to admire Blue’s guts for willingly coming back to… this.

Turning to Harry, she huffed, “We’re gonna get her out of there. It’ll just take a day or two. But she’s not staying with that witch anymore.”

Harry bowed to her. “Your wish is my command. If it gets us the pretty Sapphire, I’ll follow any plan.”

Uma stroked his cheek with a grin. “And that’s why you’re my First Mate.” She dropped her hand as they entered her territory. “Come on, we’ve got work to do. I see pillage and plunder in our future.”

Harry grinned wickedly as he followed along.

...

Doug had had enough. He had been patient. If Evie was cheating on him, he had a right to at least hear it from her and be broken up with properly. Marching to the girls’ dorm, he knocked firmly (but still politely) on Evie’s door. He waited as footsteps came from the other side. He had rehearsed everything, so he knew what he would say when she or Mal opened the door.

As the door opened, Doug felt a little at ease. It was Carlos who opened the door. Carlos was madly in love with Jane, so Doug knew he wasn’t there having a rendezvous with Evie. Not only that, but it would be rude to assume she was cheating on him with one of her best friends. Neither Carlos nor Jay had ever given him a reason to doubt their friendship with Evie and he wouldn’t start now.

“Hey, Carlos. I need to speak to Evie,” Doug told him.

Carlos cast a quick look back into the room and sighed. “Doug… you should probably come in.”

“That… was what I had intended, yeah…” Doug didn’t like the way Carlos had said that. Did he already know about whatever Evie was hiding? Of course he did. The four Isle kids had always been particularly close. Doug followed Carlos into the room and found Mal, Jay, Lonnie, and Ben there as well, but no Evie.

Mal and Ben looked up at Doug with sad eyes and Mal sighed. She really didn’t want to do this to the poor guy, but it was better to hear it from someone he trusted instead of when the rumors started. She wouldn’t put it past Auradon to make up some rumor about Evie turning evil. No, he had a right to the truth.

“Hey, Doug,” Ben began quietly. “There’s… something we need to tell you.”

Oh no. Evie wasn’t even breaking up with him directly. Had she run off with her new man? He… he would at least have wanted to wish her good luck, maybe hope she was happy with the guy. Doug’s shoulders slumpted and he waited for the axe to fall.

“Evie was taken hostage, um, on the, uh, the Isle.”

Doug blinked. That hadn’t been what he was expecting at all. “Wait, she what?”

“Yesterday, Ben was held hostage on the Isle of the Lost,” Carlos explained. “So, um, we all went to rescue him. It was supposed to be Fairy Godmother’s wand for Ben, but, uh, they changed their minds. They… they took Evie instead.”

“That…” Doug didn’t know what to feel. She was helping rescue Ben. She hadn’t been cheating on him at all, she was just trying to keep him unaware of what was happening. That explained the evasiveness and the excuses Jay and Carlos had given him. Wait, back up! “She’s still… over there?”

“Yeah,” Jay rasped. He hated this. The entire situation was stupid. He’d practically thrown his little sister to the wolves. He didn’t know what Uma or Harry would do to Evie, but he did know the damage her mother would do. All the hard work they did in Auradon, erased the second Evie got back into that woman’s clutches.

Doug looked between all of them and stammered, “Wha- But we’re going to get her, right?”

Ben avoided his eyes. “With Cotillion tonight… there’s no time.”

“Then postpone it!” Doug exclaimed. “You’re the king, aren’t you?”

“That will cause rumors about Evie’s disappearance to fly even faster-.”

“Who cares about rumors when Evie’s stuck on an island full of murderers a-and kidnappers? You know her mother tried to poison a child, right? What’s stopping her from doing that to Evie as revenge for leaving her over there?”

Doug knew he was working himself into a panic, but they couldn’t just leave her there. He and Evie hadn’t gone in-depth about her life on the Isle, but Doug knew that everything that frightened Evie stemmed solely from her mother. He saw Jay’s fists tighten and Carlos’ jaw flex and felt better knowing he wasn’t the only one not okay with the current situation.

“She won’t,” Mal reassured him. “Evie helps her live out her delusional visions of being young again. She’ll keep her alive.”

“Even though, by the time we get her back, she might as well be dead,” Jay grumbled, glaring out the window.

“We’re trying to think of everyone’s safety!” Mal snapped at him. “If we go back over-!”

“We don’t know what will happen!” Jay growled. He turned his glare on her now. “And it wouldn’t be happening in the first place if you hadn’t gone back to begin with. Whose safety were you thinking about then?”

He usually wouldn’t be so cross with Mal, but he was still incensed that she was content to do nothing as time stretched on. Every second they spent here arguing was another second the Evil Queen would use to break Evie down all over again!

“I didn’t ask you guys to follow me!” Mal’s eyes were slowly turning green, but Jay didn’t back down. A red tinge flickered in his own as he met her glare head on.

“You should have expected us to!” he spat. “We’re supposed to be your best friends, your family! You should have told us something was up!”

“I told Evie!” Mal shouted.

That silenced the whole room. Carlos and Jay stared at Mal before both looked at the floor in realization. Jay’s shoulders slumped as the fight slowly bled out of him. Doug, Lonnie, and Ben stared between the three Isle kids, wondering why Jay had suddenly given up. “What’s…?”

“Mal told Evie that she wasn’t happy here in Auradon,” Carlos sighed, explaining the nonverbal communication. “And Evie sacrificed herself to keep Ben safe. You might not realize it because you haven’t known her that long, but Evie rationalized that the events compounded on each other. Not a hard leap to understand she probably went along with Uma’s demands to make up for… for not helping Mal sooner.”

No one said anything as somber understanding hung around them. Mal looked down at the floor and Ben turned his eyes up to the ceiling. Jay dropped his head into his hands as he realized just how big the mess really was. Doug sank onto Evie’s bed beside Carlos. None of them liked that she was stuck on the island, but none of them knew what to do to fix this.

Chapter Text

Evie sighed as she made her way through the castle. It had been three days since the showdown on Uma’s ship. Evie had thought her life couldn’t get any worse while she had been on the Isle before, but this was it. She had tasted freedom, found out what it was like to be her own person, live the way she wanted to, and make something of herself without her mother’s shadow looming over everything she did, and all of that had been ripped away from her. She knew she should blame Mal for returning to the Isle, or Ben for not making enough effort to bring more kids over, or Uma for changing her mind on the deal, or even herself for agreeing to the deal when all of her friends would have fought to get her home safe. But she was just so tired, and blame took energy she simply didn’t have.

The hunger pains had been bothering her since the first day, but she knew better than to mention them. The rules around her diet had been strict for as long as she could remember. Eating too much or too often could cause her to gain excess weight, which was unacceptable. Her mother had yet to lay into her today, so Evie wasn’t going to give her a reason to comment on how ‘big’ she’d gotten while in Auradon.

Instead, Evie focused on her memories of Auradon and all the things she had enjoyed. Obviously, she avoided remembering the food, but she thought about how it felt to feel real sunlight on her skin instead of the remains of the sunset from the mainland. She thought of the feeling of fresh grass under her feet and actual flowers in her hands. She thought of all the fabric her heart desired, unrestrained use of the chemistry lab, and studying Auradon cosmetics into the night. If she thought hard enough, she could pretend she was still over there.

Her heart ached for having fresh, clean fabric to make everyone clothes, to do Jane’s makeup or help Lonnie choose outfits. She wanted to model for Mal’s sketches and go on morning runs with Jay again. She wanted to cuddle with Carlos and Dude while they watched movies. She wanted to help Ben implement his plans and maybe check to see how Audrey was doing. She even missed Chad’s ridiculously annoying simpering. Evie wanted to be in Auradon. Or even in the middle of the ocean. Anywhere would be better than being locked in this castle, her own personal circle of hell.

Shoulders slumping—but not too much so that her mother didn’t criticize her posture—Evie went about her chores as she had before joining Mal’s group. The clothes had already been hung to dry earlier, so she just needed to take them down. Then it was washing the dishes, sweeping every room, dusting every piece of furniture and trinket, studying her chemistry, political science, economics…

Outside, Uma and her crew prepared for battle. “Now remember,” she called as they got into their disguises. “If you find anything of Blue’s, drop it off behind the counter in the diner. If you think it might be hers, put it there and she’ll sort through it. Feel free to loot the rest as much as you want.” She turned to the castle, jaw set. “They wanna raise us like villains, we’re gonna treat’em like villains. No mercy!”

A cheer lit the air and Uma raised her sword to the sky. The crew rushed forward, storming the castle. Some climbed through the windows while others just kicked in the door or crashed through the ceiling. They all spread out immediately, causing as much noise as they could to disorient the home’s occupants. Shelves were knocked over, tables flipped, and walls banged on as the crew looted as they pleased.

Grimhilde screamed as ruffians invaded her sanctuary. They kept knocking over her precious trinkets and artifacts! She had taken great pains to teach Evie how to steal those! She grabbed up a broom for the first time since she taught Evie how to sweep and started brandishing it at the raiders. The degenerates only waggled their tongues at her, dodging the broom every time she swung it.

A select group had been ordered to keep the hag busy while the rest got the princess to safety. It wasn’t like it was hard to distract her. The woman hated exercise of any kind and tended not to move any faster than a stroll. The job was pitifully easy, but the fun made up for that.

Evie paused as she was putting her clothes away. Noise rang through the whole house, and from the sounds of all the banging, it seemed whoever was responsible was ransacking the place. She waited calmly as the noise continued her way and barely blinked as a few people slammed their way into her room. As soon as they did, they quieted and one of them leapt out her window. The rest raised their hands in silent surrender to show peace.

“No worries, Princess,” one of them said quietly under the cloak of the others making noise. Evie vaguely recognized the voice as Gil’s. “We’re not here to hurt ya.”

“You’re… with Uma’s crew, right?” Evie asked. “Why are you…?”

“She’ll explain it when we get back ta base,” he said as the others fanned out and started bagging Evie’s belongings.

Evie nodded, too tired to argue.

Uma watched her crew wage war on the house and smirked to herself. She’d trained’em well. One of her boys jumped through a window and pointed toward it. That was the cue.

“Harry, the wig,” Uma said. Harry instantly handed the purple wig over to Uma, before putting on his own black wig and the cap to go with it.

Uma secured her wig and leapt through the window her boy had pointed to. Evie’s eyes widened at seeing Uma decked all in purple and wearing a wig. Harry hopped through after her and Evie raised an eyebrow at seeing him in an outfit that could easily be mistaken for one of Jay’s.

“Come on, Princess,” Uma ordered. “This is a jailbreak.”

Evie heeded Gil’s earlier words and simply nodded. Harry pulled some rope from his pocket and began securing it around her arms. He didn’t make it too tight, but he had to make it look convincing. One of the other crewmembers slipped a cloth around Evie’s mouth. Once she was presentable, Uma pulled a bandanna over the bottom of her own face and easily lifted Evie over her shoulders.

“Close your eyes,” she told the princess as she took off through the house.

Not good, Uma thought as she carried Evie through the halls. She’s already lost a lot of weight even though it’s only been a few days.

All the crewmembers started bailing out when they spotted their captain with the Princess in her possession. The ones distracting the hag took a few extra seconds to taunt her before jumping out the window. They took off with the others, sharing high fives all around.

Grimhilde rushed from the room just in time to see a purple head race by. She gaped at the sight of Evie unconscious over the kidnapper’s shoulder. A familiar flash of red followed after the perpetrator and Grimhilde screamed in fury. That despicable little fairy! She’d planned this whole thing! Cruella’s boy was nowhere in sight, but he was probably too terrified to set foot here again. The Evil Queen sank into a chair, frustration written onto every contour of her face. She had lost Evie again.

Evie thought Uma would let her down once they were out of sight of the castle, but she carried Evie the whole way back to her territory. It was strange. Despite looking like a damsel in distress in every aspect, Evie felt so much like she was being rescued. Arriving at Ursula’s diner, Uma finally set Evie on her feet in the main area and Harry untied her.

“You’re safe now, Princess,” Uma told her as Evie removed the cloth from her mouth.

“Why?” Evie asked hoarsely. “Why did you rescue me? We’ve never even met before the showdown…”

“I told you then, didn’t I?” Uma snorted. “I’ve got nothing against you, Princess. I’m not gonna let that witch keep treatin’ you like that. That thing we just pulled? That’s technically a warning. A good number of my crew were getting mistreated by their parents, so we sent those parents a message. Harry.”

Harry grinned as he brandished his hook in a grand gesture. “Crew! What happens to parents who raise us like villains?”

“We treat them like villains!” the restaurant cheered. “No mercy!”

Evie stared around in wonder. She’d assumed Uma would lead primarily through fear and reputation, like Mal, but… these people were loyal to her without even needing that. She had no doubts Uma used fear as a tactic too, of course. It was useful to be feared on the Isle, but she earned these kids’ loyalty. Mal hadn’t often had the opportunity to earn loyalty, being raised by Maleficent, so her bonds had to be forged and her cohorts kept to a small number.

“You’re… like a family…” Evie whispered. Just saying it made her chest ache. She and Mal and Jay and Carlos had been a family, too… They were her only real family while she was over here before…

“Got that right.” Uma leaned back against the counter. She tossed her wig off to the side and made a mental note to thank Dizzy again later. “Welcome to the Pirate Side, Blue.”

...

Jay stared at the ceiling of his room as he waited for Carlos to get back. His thoughts wandered aimlessly and settled on Cotillion a few days prior. While it didn’t go well, it… wasn’t a complete disaster, either. Jay closed his eyes, watching the scene play out in his mind.

The entire group sans Ben met up before getting on the boat. Jane had been filled in as well and while she was ecstatic that Carlos wanted to go to Cotillion with her, it was clear Evie’s absence weighed on her mind when she arrived. Mal had quickly redyed her hair before her arrival, not wanting to clash with the outfit Evie had made for her.

“Alright, remember,” Mal whispered. “Don’t tell anyone what happened. We don’t need to feed the rumors. Right?”

“Right,” they replied.

Before anymore could be said, they were all being ushered onto the boat. The jostling crowd moved between them, excited murmurs filling the air as everyone chatted and found their footing. The small waves of the ocean gave a very seafaring vibe while the anchors kept the boat from drifting out further.

Trumpets filled the air and all eyes turned toward the stairs of the bow. Lumiere cleared his throat and called, “His Royal Highness, King Benjamin!”

Ben stepped out onto the landing to more trumpeting, and everyone politely clapped for their ruler. Mal, Jay, Doug, Carlos, Lonnie, and Jane watched Ben with smiles on their faces, clapping along with the crowd. He looked sharp as ever in royal blue, and despite their worry for their missing member, they couldn’t help being proud. Ben stood tall before his people and all eyes were on him, thankfully.

King Beau and Queen Belle gently greeted their son, keeping their own worry hidden for his sake. They didn’t want to make things any harder than it already was for the group. As he descended the stairs, Ben caught the gazes of his friends and waved to them. Once he reached the deck, he made a beeline for Mal, the crowd parting to let him through.

He gave a small bow as he took her hand in his own. “Hey,” he said softly so that only their group could hear. “Are you sure you’re okay to be here?”

“Even if I’m not on your arm, I would still never miss this for the world,” Mal told him. She looked down at her dress and gave a small curtsy. “It would be rude to waste all of her hard work.”

Ben nodded with a slight laugh. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she designed every outfit here.”

“She did,” Doug coughed, giving a small nonchalant smile to those nearest them so no one took too much notice of the conversation. “Including your parents’, Lumiere’s, and the trumpet troupe’s.”

Ben’s jaw dropped and he glanced over at the trumpeters in astonishment. “Are you serious?” he breathed. “How did she even manage?” He could barely get a hold on being king in the last six months. How did Evie make so many outfits in just one? Or had she been working on them even longer? Alongside her schoolwork?!

“Evie puts herself into everything she does,” Carlos shrugged. His fingers entwined with Jane’s. “Fashion especially.”

Only their group knew what had happened with Evie, alongside the Royal Court. When Jay and Carlos had delivered the dresses earlier, they spun a tale of Evie needing to put some last touches on other outfits, so they offered to help. That got most of Auradon Prep off their backs about her absence, but now their group was getting odd looks. Evie might as well have been a second guest of honor considering how much work she alone put into this event apart from Jane, but she wasn’t here to admire her own handiwork.

Now that Ben’s entrance was finished, everyone was mingling together. Parties were common in Auradon, even ones as big as Cotillion, so it was always a relaxed affair dressed up as a formal engagement. Most of the current conversations seemed to be revolving around what everyone was wearing, even though they all knew the designer and seamstress. Compliments about Evie’s work were flying and it was all Jay, Carlos, and Mal could do to keep smiles on their faces.

“Hey, Mal,” Amanda called. “Where’s Evie? We want to thank her again for such an amazing job on our dresses.”

“Yeah!” Larhini agreed. “Is she coming later? Strange for her to be late to anything.”

“Uh…” Mal looked to Jay and Carlos for help. Both shrugged, at a loss for what to say. It took all their control to come up with something while delivering dresses. “She… actually isn’t very fond of boats,” Mal finally answered. “Since, you know, she can’t swim. She got too nervous to come.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Larhini murmured, her face falling. “We’ll be sure to drop by your room to tell her all about it!”

“And if she’s up for it, Auradon Prep offers swim classes,” Amanda added as they backed away to give the group some space. “We wouldn’t mind helping her learn so she doesn’t feel so bad about it!”

Mal gave them a tight smile and wave. She let out a soft sigh and turned back to the others. “Alright, boat story will work for now,” she muttered. “She can’t swim, she overworked herself, she decided to stay home and rest.”

“What are we gonna do when she doesn’t show up to classes?” Carlos hissed. “Or starts getting more orders and doesn’t respond?”

“We’ll make up other excuses,” Mal huffed. She took a deep breath to keep calm. “We’ll just keep putting things off until we figure out how to get her back without Uma’s crew skewering us.”

A voice cleared nearby and the group turned to see Prince Kuzco, son of Emperor Kuzco, coming closer. “Hey, Mal! Where’s Evie at? These threads are top notch! I’m the talk of the party, like always!”

“She’s not coming,” Mal replied hurriedly. “Not a fan of boats, you know?”

“Aw, are you serious?” He gave a dramatic groan. “She’s gonna miss an awesome party. Tell her thanks for me, yeah? Yeah!”

He strolled off without waiting for a reply and Mal took another deep breath. She held it for a few seconds before letting it out again. She could do this. “All we need to do is deflect,” she told her friends.

“Yo, Jay!” Heracles strolled over. Lonnie placed a hand on Jay’s back to steady him as he stiffly turned to his fellow fencing teammate. “Where’s Evie? Gotta thank her again for the quick hook-up. Especially after my tailor got sick suddenly. She really saved my tail!”

“She, uh, she’s not coming. Boats make her queasy, ya know? But I’ll let her know, dude.” Jay gave him a quick high five and told him to prepare for next fencing season before looking back at his friends. “Yeah, I think we can do this. Pays to have grown up with a liar for a dad.”

Just then, some more students paused as they were heading for the snack table. “Oh! Hey, Doug! Did you and Evie break up or something? I would have expected her to be on your arm tonight.”

Doug swallowed thickly and gave a strained smile. “Evie isn’t fond of boats, actually. They make her anxious. Too much stress after making everyone’s clothes. She decided to rest.”

“Oh, good! You two are really cute together!”

“Gotta let me know how you caught a hottie like her, dude,” Artie snickered. “My Dad says he hasn’t seen anyone with a royal aura that strong since he met my mom back when she was just Lady Guinevere!”

Doug glanced at his friends nervously. “Uh, usual story. She came over, got caught up with Chad, and, uh, opened her eyes, I guess?”

They all shrugged and accepted the answer, bidding him a good night as they continued on with their festivities. Doug sucked in a relieved sigh. “I can’t do this,” he hissed to the others. “Knowing where she is, awkwardly lying to people, this is so painful.”

“Look, we’ve got this,” Carlos told him. He looked at Jane for reassurance and she gave him a quick nod. “We’ve got this. It’s just for one night.”

“And every day after,” Doug reminded him in mild panic. “People are bound to start asking me. I’m supposed to be her boyfriend, in case that little exchange didn’t remind you!”

They all shifted uncomfortably as more people looked like they were going to approach. “Mal, what are we going to do?” Carlos groaned as people came closer. “We don’t even know when we’ll be able to go back!”

“We need to reconvene and-.”

“Hey, Mal, have you seen Evie?” a voice called.

“She’s not-.”

“Hey, Jay!” one of the tourney players shouted.

“Dude, I’m kinda in the middle-.”

“Jane, amazing job planning this whole thing!” one of the noblewomen said as she passed.

There were too many people trying to get their attention at once. None of them even wanted to be here, let alone talk to strangers and try to make excuses for their missing friend. There wasn’t a moment to even get a word out. None of them could breathe.

Mal felt the same suffocating pressure as before she ran back to the Isle. This time, there wasn’t a moment to cry, or write a note, and there was nowhere to run. A growl slowly built in Mal’s chest, filling the air as her eyes shone bright green. With the crowd pressing in from all sides, there was no way for her to get a moment to breathe. A cloud of smoke surrounded her and everyone backed away as a monstrous violet dragon lifted off the deck.

She kept telling people she couldn’t handle being suffocated like this. What was with Auradonians and their incessant need to always be as close as possible? After the last few days, Mal just wanted everyone to leave her alone. She just left her best friend behind without any way to get her back. Did she- did all of them not deserve one damn day to mourn?!

The guests watched Mal fearfully, gasps and shouts rising in the air. Mal flapped higher, perching on the uppermost part of the ship and glaring at the crowd. No one dared to move for fear of getting a burst of flame to the face.

“Mal!” Ben shouted, he and Jay moving closer. Jay wasn’t going to try talking his friend down, he was just there to shield Ben if Mal snapped. “Mal, wait!”

Mal gave a small roar, climbing a little lower so that she could look at Ben properly. “I know it’s been a tough few days,” Ben told her, holding his hand out soothingly. “I know everything feels like it’s dropping on your shoulders. It’s not. We’re here for you. All of us.”

That was sweet. It really was. Jay glanced back and received nods from Lonnie, Jane, and Doug, but his eyes met Carlos’. They didn’t feel it as bad as Mal did, but nothing in the last few days had gone right. It just felt like everything kept going wrong, no matter how hard they tried.

Mal seemed to feel the same because she lifted her head and gave a small, sad croak in the direction of the Isle. “I know,” Ben said. “I know it hurts, a-and you feel guilty. But please, you have to calm down.”

“She wouldn’t want you to go crazy because of her,” Jay added. He looked up at his leader with a helpless shrug. “We’ll get Evie back, okay? We’ll figure something out, but we can’t really do that when you’re all scaly and fire-breathy.”

Murmurs filled the air, but Mal’s friends only had eyes for her. They needed to reassure her that they were there for her. They had failed to do that once and they’d almost been torn apart because of it. They wanted her to know that, this time, she wasn’t alone.

Slowly, Mal took deep breaths. She needed to listen to them. The last thing she needed was to give the press even more of a reason to hound her. A cloud of smoke surrounded her and she returned to herself. Lumiere easily caught her as she slid down and gently set her on her feet. Mal dipped her head to him in thanks before turning to Ben. She made her way down the stairs and stopped in front of him. Thankfully, the crowd finally got the memo and gave them space.

“I just… She was supposed to be here,” Mal sniffed, wiping her eyes. “She was supposed to be here, admiring her outfits and enjoying the party, and she’s not…”

Ben lifted her hands. “We’ll get her back, alright? Then she’ll be able to hear all the praise about her outfits. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Mal agreed, stepping into Ben’s side hug.

“So, wait,” Zahra spoke up hesitantly. “Does that mean… something has happened to Evie?”

Ben glanced at Jay and Carlos. Both set their jaws and gave him a nod. No harm in it now. Ben cleared his throat and turned to the crowd, keeping Mal protectively against his side. “Unfortunately, Evie has been taken back to the Isle.” Gasps rang through the air. “Not because she’s a villain. Certain unforeseen circumstances have forced her back for an indeterminate amount of time.”  He gently squeezed Mal’s shoulder. “But we’re looking into a solution to bring her back.” A small bit of Mal’s worry eased hearing him say it aloud, even if they didn’t currently have a plan. “It’s nothing to worry about. She would consider it a waste if you all didn’t enjoy the party in your custom clothes.”

The party hesitantly returned to full swing. Murmurs about Evie still lit the air, but no one seemed to be thinking anything too outrageous yet. With Ben’s affirmation that it wasn’t because she had turned to evil, the crowd seemed content to wait for her return and the group relaxed.

“Okay,” Carlos said, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he shot a relieved smile around the group. “Or Mal could turn into a dragon and out it to the world.”

“They were bound to find out eventually,” Mal grumbled, glaring at the deck for a moment. “I’m just glad we don’t have to lie, since it’s clear Doug would’ve been crap at it. But we are still deflecting. No one needs to know the intricacies of how she got stuck.”

“Yeah, that’s the last thing we need,” Jay snorted. “The people would probably either spin her into a martyr for taking the fall for the king, or claim it was all part of her plan somehow. Either way, Snow would have all our heads for it.”

Mal and Ben sighed, but before anything else could be said, Beau and Belle strode over. With Mal’s transformation, they wanted to make sure everything was calmed down now. The group was forced to disperse and, as Mal ordered, deflect. None of them knew how long they would need to, but they didn’t need to tell all of Auradon, that was for sure.

The rest of the night had been strained. Carlos and Jane spent the night dancing and talking to try to keep some of the edge off. Doug ended up heading below deck because the pressure of everyone’s expectations was just too much for him. Lonnie hung out near the railings to just watch people and relax. Mal and Ben covertly informed Ben’s parents that their relationship was, at the very least, at a momentary standstill, and Jay gorged himself in an effort to just ignore everyone around him. The whole group was thankful when the night just finally ended.

Since then, they’d been deflecting questions, giving people vague answers. Jay just wanted Evie back. Every day she was on that island was another day her mother would crush whatever spirit she had. The woman wouldn’t rest until Evie was as heartless and twisted as she was, and Jay couldn’t take that. Evie had always been nice, for as long as he’d known her. Sure, he didn’t know her long compared to Carlos and Mal, but she was like a little sister to him. He wanted to protect her, and he couldn’t really do that with her all the way over on the Isle.

The door opened and Carlos strode in, tossing his bag to the side. He flopped backwards onto his bed and lifted a hand to wave at Jay. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Jay sighed, sitting up. Just from Carlos’ entrance, he knew the answer to his question, but he asked anyway. “Still no news?”

“They’ve been discussing it,” Carlos huffed. “Between trying to rekindle their relationship.”

Jay scoffed derisively. “Great. Evie’s over there being emotionally beaten into the ground and they’re working on making kissy faces at each other. We’re right back where we started.”

“Further back, actually,” Carlos corrected with some exhaustion. “Instead of four, there’s only three.”

Jay threw his hands in the air exasperatedly before falling backwards again. Carlos stood and climbed over into his bed. Jay threw an arm around him and grumbled, “Do you think she’d be more worried if it was one of us?”

“Doubt it,” Carlos murmured. “She and Evie were super close. They had a connection she didn’t have with us. There’s just… a lot happening and she… doesn’t have a big enough attention span.” They shared a small laugh and Jay tightened his arm around Carlos.

“We’ll make things right,” he said softly, stroking Carlos’ hair. “We’ll get Evie and all those kids off that stupid island.”

Carlos nodded and burrowed into Jay’s side. “I just hate to think how long it’ll be until then.”

Jay didn’t respond and they lapsed into silence. Back on the Isle, they’d always curl up together like this. Whenever Carlos was scared of his mom coming after him again, he’d stay with Jay or Evie. Now, Evie was alone with no one to protect her and nowhere to run. If Carlos wished hard enough, maybe he’d be able to send positive energy to her, give her strength through hope.

Jay just prayed for their family to be together again soon.

Chapter Text

Evie breathed a sigh of relief as she finished putting all her things away. She’d been given a room in the back of Ursula’s diner, since the building doubled as a business and a home. Once she had gotten settled in, Evie had spent the night making a few adjustments before heading to her room to put her things away. Outside, the sky was beginning to lighten and Evie grinned. She finished before anyone woke up.

Speaking of…

“What in Tartarus?” a voice shouted from the front.

Evie stood and made her way back out to the main area. She found Uma staring around at the diner. Ursula peeked from where she was already getting the kitchen ready for the day. The pair of them stared at the room in shock. Everything had been organized and moved around. It looked largely the same, but it was a little unsettling for things to have changed overnight.

“Who messed with our stuff?” Uma demanded. Whoever did this better not have taken anything. If they did, she’d find them and-.

“I cleaned last night,” Evie spoke up, stepping fully from the hallway. Did they not like it? She was only trying to help, but was it too much? “I-I reorganized the tables to make it easier to move between them. I…” She bit her lip nervously. “Do you not like it?”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Uma told her with a shrug. “Just took us by surprise.” Blue seemed to relax at her words and Uma raised an eyebrow in confusion. It was just a little redecorating, nothing to get so tense about.

Ursula gave a soft chuckle. “How are you liking your room, Evie darling?”

Uma wrinkled her nose. She’d never heard her mother say ‘darling’ or ‘sweetie’ until the crew rescued Evie yesterday. It was… weird, to say the least. Her mother wasn’t really the sweet, motherly type, but one look at Blue and her mom turned into a different person.

“It’s fine, Aunt Ursula,” Evie responded with a smile. “I’m glad it’s so compact. After staying in Auradon so long, it’s actually refreshing to be in a room where I can see everything.”

“Probably better that way, too,” Uma agreed, leaning against the counter. “With this being the Isle and all. Probably not much stealing in Auradon.”

“No need to steal when you have everything,” Evie said nonchalantly. Uma detected just the smallest hint of bitterness in her voice and smirked. Blue still had some Isle in her after all.

“Did you clean the kitchen, too?” Uma asked, sauntering closer.

Evie turned to her and balked at her proximity. “U-uh, yeah, i-is it okay?” Had she missed a spot? She didn’t organize something incorrectly, did she? Evie unconsciously wrung her hands together, trying to keep her breathing even. The ghost of a hand clenching on her wrist made her flinch a little as she waited for the verdict. What had she done wrong? Could she fix it?

“Blue?” Uma asked in confusion. Evie seemed to look right through her, but also seemed to be listening for something. “Blue, the kitchen is fine.” She got no response. What the Tartarus was going on?

“Evie, the kitchen is adequate,” Ursula called, watching Evie carefully.

At the word ‘adequate’, Evie’s muscles instantly relaxed and she took a deep breath. “Great!” she chirped, though she still looked pale. “Just let me know if you need anything.”

“Head out to turn the sign to ‘open’ for us?” Ursula instructed.

Evie nodded and made her way out the door. Once she was out of earshot, Uma strode over to her mother and hissed, “What was that?”

“Her mother was obsessed with perfection, remember?” Ursula reminded her. She turned the stoves up as she explained, “If anything was less than adequate or satisfactory, it wasn’t good enough and needed to be redone.”

“Yeah, but Blue just had a whole episode,” Uma pointed out. Ursula put a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow at her daughter. Uma looked down and blinked. “Oh. Blue was punished.” She shouldn’t be surprised. They were raised by villains, after all. But what kind of punishment could make Blue scared? No makeup for a week or something?

“She’s a queen, Uma,” Ursula said with a roll of her eyes. “To be less than what she deems acceptable must be penalized, even if you are her daughter.” Ursula paused and amended, “Especially if you’re her daughter. And people thought Triton indirectly threatening to hurt Ariel was rough, hah!”

Uma glanced at the entrance where she could see a mass of blue just off to the side of the doorway. So Blue was afraid of Uma not liking her cleaning? Seemed weird, but at least Uma knew how to curb anymore episodes in the future. She didn’t need that on top of keeping the Isle running.

“Get to work,” Ursula ordered. “The early risers are gonna be in soon. Can’t keep the filth waiting or they’ll ransack the place.”

“Like that matters,” Uma snorted. “You’ve got eight tentacles. You’ll just end up throwing them out the door or something.”

“Correct as that may be, I don’t feel like expending the effort.” A tentacle reached out to shove Uma toward the counter. “So get to it. You’ve got an employee to train.”

Uma rolled her eyes and headed outside. She found Blue leaning against the wall, looking up at the clouds. She looked calmer than before, so now was as good a time as any.

“Alright, Blue, time to get to work.”

Evie perked up. “At your service.”

Uma wrinkled her nose. Something wasn’t right about that. “Don’t say that. Harry says that. You don’t.”

“Right.” Evie brushed her hair back as Uma led her back inside.

“Job is simple,” Uma explained, heading for the counter. “You lead a customer to a table, take their order, give it to mom, and when she calls the table number or the order, you take the food to the right person. Easy.”

Evie looked over to find a large number etched into each table and she nodded. Those must have been what she felt while cleaning last night. “Alright. So just take and deliver orders?”

“Pretty much.” Uma leaned against the counter and folded her arms. “And, uh, I know you were in Auradon for a while, but if somebody gets rough with ya, bein’ nice ain’t gonna cut it here.”

Evie smirked and Uma saw something dark flash across her features, so fast she might have just imagined it. “Yeah, got it.” A few customers started filing in and she glanced over. “I guess we start now.”

“Bingo.” Uma easily leapt behind the counter. “They come to me to pay first, then you show’em to a table. Some crew members will be in later to help with the workload.”

Evie waited off to the side as the customers lined up in front of Uma. It made sense they would go to her to pay first. Everything here cost the same, so there wasn’t any of the fluctuation the restaurants in Auradon had. Evie stepped up to each person once they paid and led them to a seat. She didn’t use the notepad she saw Uma using the previous day, committing orders to memory instead. Once everyone was seated, she moved back to the notepad and wrote each order down before handing the sheet off to Aunt Ursula.

Uma watched her carefully. She knew Blue was an Isle girl, but if she’d learned anything from the showdown, it was that Auradon made you soft. She didn’t want any of the customers taking advantage of Blue’s kindhearted nature.

Just as Uma said, some of her crew strode in a little after the first group of customers finished. She nodded to them as they moved among the tables. They each had their own notepad, so the one Blue was using remained untouched until she finished collecting orders. There wasn’t much incident apart from the usual rude customers being their usual selves. Just another dreary, dragging day on the Isle from Uma’s point of view.

“Hey!”

A snarl caught her attention and she sighed. Just had to tempt the universe…

Uma glanced over to find one of the customers growling up at Blue. It was Boris, one of Maleficent’s former minions. He always made a fuss about getting the wrong meal just to be an ass. Of all the people to come in on Blue’s first day, it just had to be him? Blue’s back was to her so Uma couldn’t see her reaction. She slowly stood, motioning to one of her crewmembers to watch the register as she took slow steps toward the argument, ready to step in if Blue needed help.

“I asked for a seaweed sandwich!” Boris spat up at the princess.

“No, you didn’t,” Evie said calmly, unfazed by his anger. “You asked for the crab cake fillet. That’s what I gave you.”

Boris started to stand, slamming a hand down on the table irritably. “Don’t talk down to me, girl! You didn’t write down anything until ya handed off to the octopus! Someone else coulda ordered it, so gimme my-!”

He raised a hand to hit her, but Blue caught it and Uma raised an eyebrow. From her position, all she saw was the moron’s eyes widen in fear. What the Tartarus?

Evie glared down at the minion distastefully. Her back straightened and she looked down her nose at him, just as her mother taught her to. No ruler was complete without a way to express their discontent. Her eyes bore into his as she said, in a carefully calm voice, “My memory is never wrong. Are you questioning it?”

“N-no, Your Majesty,” Boris whimpered. He had served Maleficent for as long as he could remember. He knew a pissed off figure in power when he saw one.

“Good. What did you order?”

“The… the crab cake fillet with fruit water,” Boris mumbled, lowering his head.

Evie nodded and flicked his hand away in a disgusted gesture. “Then eat. You’re disturbing everyone else.”

As Boris went back to his food, Evie turned with her usual smile in place as she headed to the kitchen. Uma and several of the other crew members stared, dumbfounded, as she retrieved more meals. The other customers, having been able to watch the whole thing, were careful not to make eye contact and politely thanked her for the food. Even the customers that tended to be rude on principle didn’t dare talk down on the princess when she delivered their food. Uma blinked and glanced toward the kitchen. Her mother just went about cooking as if nothing had happened.

Uma stepped back and Gil and Harry were at her sides in an instant. The three of them watched Evie go about her work for a moment before Uma whispered, “We’ll need to keep an eye on her. Whatever she did, it was too subtle to pick up on. She’s different than the rest of Mal’s crew.”

“Yeah, I didn’t notice a thing,” Gil agreed with a curious grin on his face. “One second he was yellin’, the next, he’s whimpering like a baby.”

Harry nodded and eyed the pretty Sapphire. “This trade just got a lot more interestin’,” he chuckled, scratching his hook along the counter’s surface.

…

Jay sighed as he strode into his room and tossed his bag off to the side. Lonnie and Jane followed him in, setting their bags neatly by the door. Carlos glanced up from his laptop and smiled at them all. “Hey,” he called.

“Hey,” Lonnie responded with a grin. “Still studying for your cybersecurity entrance exam?”

“Yup.” Carlos leaned up to peck Jane’s cheek as she settled beside him. “With any luck, I can start taking online courses next school year.”

Jane eyed him curiously. She noticed the signs of fatigue about him and asked, “Are you sure you’ll be alright with all that on top of senior year?”

Jay laughed and plopped down on Carlos’ other side while Lonnie sat beside Jane. “He’ll be just fine,” Jay said. “You should’ve seen this guy on the Isle. Had to clean, cook, take care of the fur, and steal whatever he needed, and still found time to invent things over there.”

Carlos couldn’t help the bashful grin that spread over his lips. “It wasn’t that bad,” he chuckled. “Whenever I had free time, I’d just work on stuff. Here, I don’t need to cook or clean or any of that stuff, so I’ll be just fine.”

Jane gave a slow nod as she watched for a moment longer. Her eyes took in the small bags under his eyes and she bit her lip. “Will you… be back on a regular sleeping schedule by then?”

Carlos stiffened and Jay flinched as Lonnie glanced at the tech genius. “I’ll be fine,” Carlos mumbled. “I’m just, ya know…”

Jay threw an arm around Carlos’ shoulders and Jane gently gripped his hand. “Hey,” Jay said quietly. “We’re all worried about her. It’s okay.”

Lonnie leaned back on the bed. “We’ll get her back, Carlos,” she said determinedly. “We’ll get her back no problem. Even if I gotta fight every one of Uma’s crew to do it.”

Carlos squeezed Jane’s hand and leaned against Jay’s side. “So, any plans for the summer,” he asked the girls, trying to change the subject.

Lonnie perked up. “I’m heading home to train with Mom and Dad,” she said excitedly, hoping the different energy would help ease his worries a bit. “They’re gonna put me through the training they had to do in the army.”

“Sounds like a nightmare,” Jay snorted.

“Not that much,” Lonnie huffed, reaching over to poke him in the side. “I’ve been training since I was four. This’ll be nothing. A bit more intense, sure, but still nothing.”

Jay only smirked at her and Jane giggled. “Well, I’ve got some duties with Mom, too. She’s finally going to start teaching me how to use my magic. Mostly minor spells, obviously, but I’ll finally get to learn about my heritage instead of just being the daughter of Fairy Godmother.”

Carlos shot her a grin. “You’ll have to show us some tricks when next school year starts!”

“Yeah,” Lonnie snickered. “Maybe you’ll know how to make a spell last longer than midnight.”

All of them laughed at that, sharing jokes about Cinderella at the headmistress’ expense. Jane shook her head as she laughed along with them. Her mom had told her the reasoning behind the midnight time limit plenty of times, but she wasn’t going to ruin the fun.

When the jokes simmered down a little, she said, “I don’t think she’ll let me transform anything bigger than a spoon, if that, but it’ll be nice. It always feels like there's some energy bubbling inside me. I wonder if that’s how Mal feels, too.”

“Could be a fairy thing,” Carlos pointed out. “Your connection to your magic is deeper than sorcerers or witches, I imagine.”

“I’ll definitely have to ask Mal about it when I next see her,” Jane murmured, leaning against his side.

“What about you two?” Lonnie asked them. “Any plans?”

Jay hummed, his arm tightening around Carlos. Jane tilted her head at him but said nothing as she and Lonnie waited to see what he would say. “Well, because we don’t have places of our own or guardians here in Auradon, some of the Royal Court offered to take us in. Queen Jasmine seemed particularly eager, her, Queen Tiana, and Queen Ariel.”

“But we don’t wanna impose on them,” Carlos said softly. “I mean, it’s nice of them to offer and everything, but…”

“Hey,” Jane interrupted gently. She gave his hand an encouraging squeeze. “You’ve still got a month to decide, alright? And if they’re offering, it means they actually want to try.”

“They wouldn’t have offered if they didn’t want to attempt to help you adjust and give you a safe place to stay,” Lonnie added.

The boys slowly nodded without replying. They didn’t know how to feel about having someone offer to take care of them. On the Isle, they mostly took care of themselves once they learned to walk. The only people who had ever taken care of them, even in the loosest sense of the phrase, had been their parents. How did hero parents act? What did they expect? Did they yell and beat their kids? Did they make them clean the whole house and steal other people’s stuff to resell? Neither Carlos nor Jay knew how to act around the hero parents or what to do while with them, and not knowing was scary.

Lonnie rolled off the bed and stretched. “Well, I’m gonna head out. Got a bunch of homework to get done with finals right around the corner.”

“Yeah, same,” Jane agreed. She shot the boys a smile as she stood as well. “We’ll catch you later.”

Carlos grinned up at her and waved as they left. As the door shut, Jay brought his other arm around Carlos in a quick hug before letting go. “Good luck with your studying, bro,” Jay told him. “You got this.”

Carlos gave him a quick nod and went back to his work. He thought over what they all had said, but he couldn’t brush off the worry. No matter how many times they told themselves and each other that they would get Evie back, that they would rescue the kids from the Isle, and that everything would work out, he couldn’t believe it and he knew Jay couldn’t either. Ben and Mal were the only ones capable of getting the kids free and... well, that didn't give them much hope this would be solved any time soon.

Still, he had to believe everything would be okay. He would just focus on… helping piece Evie back together when they finally got her back. Until then, she wouldn’t want him worrying too hard about her. He took a deep breath and focused on his work. That cybersecurity entrance exam wasn’t gonna study for itself.

Jay watched Carlos and took a deep breath. They would get through this. Worrying solved nothing. He pulled his own work from his backpack and started on it. He needed to figure out which college to head to as well. When Evie came back, they could focus on her as much as she needed, but she’d hate for them to miss out on things that could make them happy because they were too busy worrying about her. Until she was safe on Auradon soil again, Jay would keep Carlos from worrying too much. How hard could it be?

Chapter Text

Evie stared around in fear. Everything was dark. Dark and cold. Shapes could be seen hovering in the darkness, looming over her, but no distinct features were visible. Everything was eerily silent.

Slowly, Evie stepped through the darkness, looking for an exit or a light. Something in the shadows grabbed at her, ripping her sleeve as she pulled away. Something else snatched at her leg. More… claws reached out, grasping at her, tearing at her clothing as she hurried in a random direction, one that would hopefully take her away from the imposing shapes.

She slammed into something firm and soft and bounced back. The claws still reached for her. She noticed that they glinted red in the meager light. And they looked more like long fingernails than animal claws. Looking up at what had stopped her, Evie found her mother staring down at her, that neutral look that always conveyed disappointment plastered all over her face. Evie cowered before that look. She hated it, loathed it, feared it.

“You defied me.” Her mother’s voice echoed all around her, deafening in the silence of the dark. “You must be punished.”

“No!” Evie shouted as one of the grasping claws—hands—grabbed her wrist, tugging her backward. “No! I’m sorry! Please!” More hands grabbed onto her, gripping her arms and legs and hair, wrapping around her torso to drag her back.

Evie stared back as a spotlight flicked on in front of an enormous gaping doorway. Nothing but inky blackness glared out at her, and the claws were taking her right to that darkness. Tears spilled over Evie’s cheeks and the hand on her wrist only gripped her tighter, bruisingly tight, as she was taken into the dark.

The door shut. There was nothing but cold, dark loneliness.

Evie jerked awake and stood from where she had fallen asleep at the counter. She looked to the door and found the sun just getting ready to peek over the Auradon horizon. It was only just dawn. Good. No one was awake to see her nod off.

Standing, she rubbed her face tiredly. Another night with very little sleep. It had been five or so days since she had come to the diner and sleep hadn’t been… easy. Nightmares assaulted her every night and she couldn’t really get rid of them the way she had in Auradon.

Evie covered a yawn as she started cleaning up and getting the main area ready to open. She could hear Aunt Ursula emerging from the water in the kitchen to begin cooking. Down the hall, she heard the sounds of Uma waking up in her room.

Foosteps sounded in the hallway and Evie looked over expectantly. Harry stepped out into the main area, clad only in a pair of pants, hook still cradled in his hands. He leaned against the counter and gave her a grin. Evie blinked at him groggily before going back to her work.

Harry frowned. Strange. Usually whenever he came out of Uma’s room in the morning, the pretty Sapphire would engage him in some harmless flirting, especially if he was shirtless. Why wasn’t the lovely lass doing the same as usual?

He watched her movements for a little while, trying to figure her out. He noticed how slowly she moved about the room and his eyes narrowed. Interesting. “Hey, Sapphire,” he called sneakily. “Ya missed a spot.”

Evie continued what she was doing and Harry counted the seconds. At seventeen (what was actually twenty-four), she straightened and moved over to him. Her gait was slower than it had been two days ago. Delayed reaction and sluggish movements. Yup, something was definitely up.

Uma groaned, cracking her neck as she strode out to the main area. She yawned as she walked up beside Harry. She looked from him to Blue and back. Harry’s eyes focused intently on Blue while she cleaned and Uma wondered what insanity he was playing at this time.

“Yo, Blue,” Uma called, strolling to the register. “Did you change the sign to open?”

Harry watched Sapphire carefully and counted again. Her reaction time was only slightly faster this time. He made it to thirteen (eighteen) before she glanced at Uma.

“No, I wanted to clean a bit first,” she responded in a slightly rasping tone. “I’ll go do it now that you’re up.”

Uma nodded and sat behind the register, stretching her arms and getting ready to greet the rabble.

Customers strode in and paid as usual. The diner moved along fine. After her display the first day, most of the regulars knew to stay on Evie’s good side. It at least made less work for Uma and the crewmembers who arrived to help. Everything moved along smoothly.

Almost smoothly.

As the day drew on, Uma kept an eye on Blue, like usual. She just wanted to make sure none of the customers tried lashing out at the Princess in a more physical sense. Uma started noticing, just as Harry had, the low reaction times and slower movements. Something was up with Blue. If Uma looked closely enough, she could see the dark circles forming under Blue’s eyes. She didn’t put on heavy makeup like she had at her mom’s place, so they were just visible. Not good. They’d need to do something about that soon.

Evening descended upon them gradually and Evie only got worse as it did. Her body screamed out for rest, for sleep, but she wasn’t going to indulge. She refused to succumb to the nightmares again. Even so, she couldn’t stop the way her body reacted to the lack of rest. She barely made it five steps without bumping into something. It wasn’t affecting the food, but she was getting odd looks from everyone.

Evie bumped into a table for the fifth time in less than twenty minutes and Uma finally sighed. Time to intervene. “Yo, Blue,” she called, grabbing the princess’ attention. “I need ya in the back a sec.”

Evie sluggishly headed toward the back area, trying not to bump into anything else. Uma motioned to Harry to watch everything up front. He’d close up if she wasn’t back in enough time to do it herself. Uma headed into the back to find Blue leaning against the wall. She only stared blankly at the wall opposite her, no expression on her face.

“Blue,” Uma huffed. Evie’s head slowly creaked around to gaze at her. “What’s the deal? Why aren't you sleepin’?”

Evie blinked at Uma. Her eyelids felt so heavy. She forced them back open. She looked at Uma and thought of what to say to put the captain's mind at ease. It’s nothing. I’m only a little tired. I’ll be fine.

She waited for what felt like a few seconds. Something snapped in front of her face and she jolted up. “Yes?” she asked hoarsely.

“I asked why you weren’t sleeping,” Uma growled impatiently.

Evie’s eyebrows pulled together. “I just told you.”

“No. You didn’t say anything. You just stared at me for a while and then started drifting off.” Uma didn’t want to admit it, but she was actually a little worried. Sleep was important on the Isle. It kept you alert and prepared for an attack of any kind.

“Oh.” Evie blinked again, forcing her mouth to move this time. “It’s nothing. I’m only a little tired. I’ll be fine.”

Uma sighed. “Okay, then go ahead to bed.”

Evie didn’t move. She focused on making herself look relaxed as she said, “I could still be helpful out front.”

“No, you can’t. Now go sleep.” Uma glared at Blue irritably and noticed her muscles starting to tense. What now?

“Or I could clean back here,” Evie tried. Her hands inched closer together nervously, even as she tried to seem calm.

“Blue, if I gotta tell you one more time,” Uma growled. “Go. Sleep. What are you so afraid of?”

There was silence between them for a long moment. This was the Isle. People didn’t admit fear or weakness here. Uma figured Blue was just a workaholic or something, especially after her first day, but that didn’t mean she didn’t need sleep. Uma wasn’t losing her to exhaustion. She was the only bargaining chip they had for getting off this island.

“The island.”

It was soft, almost like a breeze. Uma stared up at Blue in confusion, unsure if she’d heard anything at all. Evie wrung her hands together, slower than usual like everything else today. She knew she shouldn’t say anything. Admitting weakness was madness on the Isle, but she couldn’t really tell Mal and the others. Uma was the only person she could talk to in this place.

“You’re… afraid of… the island?” Uma asked slowly. She had to make sure.

Evie took a deep breath. “I’ve always been afraid of this place. I was locked up in Mom’s castle so much, coming out always… made me nervous. When I went to Auradon, I had nightmares. About being forced back in the castle, about starving, about being attacked by some of Mal’s rivals, just… about growing up here.”

She ran a hand through her hair and released a heavy breath. “Mal and I figured out a solution that worked for a while and helped me be able to sleep. But I can’t… really do that here.”

Uma stared at Blue speculatively. She knew Blue knew that admitting such a weakness was a gamble. She knew the Princess was smart, but she was also probably missing the rest of her gang. Sighing, Uma dropped her chin against her chest. I cannot believe I’m about to do this.

“What was the solution you and Mal came up with?” she mumbled.

“Pardon?” Evie asked.

“How did you and Mal get rid of the nightmares?” Uma clarified, dreading the answer.

Evie turned her head to face the wall. She didn’t even have the energy to look embarrassed as she explained, “She held me at night.”

Uma almost regretted rescuing Blue from that castle. Almost. Gritting her teeth, she growled out, “Alright, fine.”

Evie blinked at her, her breathing deepening by the second. “What?”

“I’m gonna… do the thing,” Uma grunted, making her way toward Blue’s room. “I can’t have you keeling over and making more trouble for me. So… let’s just get this over with.”

Evie blinked at her again, still not quite understanding, but following anyway. They entered her room and Uma removed her shirt. She fell back on the hard, lumpy bed and glared up at the ceiling. Evie changed into her nightgown and slipped onto the bed as well.

Hesitantly, Evie curled close to Uma. Her body tensed at the unfamiliarity. While Mal wasn’t weak by any means, Uma was nothing but hard-packed muscle. She also smelled different. Mal smelled like fire, spray paint, leather, and, in Auradon, she smelled like strawberries. Uma smelled like the ocean, like seagulls and crabs and fish, like boats and rope.

Even with all the differences, though, when Uma’s arms stiffly wrapped around her, Evie felt safe and protected. Her body was too tired to care how different Uma was from Mal. Within seconds, she drifted into sleep, not a single nightmare in the darkness.

Uma glared over Blue’s head and gritted her teeth. She could not believe she had been roped into this. She never cuddled with anyone… anyone but Harry. Of course she cuddled with him, he was her First Mate, and therefore the only person deserving of the honor. But they couldn’t afford to lose the Princess. Mal would never let them over if she thought they’d done something to her ‘best friend’.

And… well, holding Blue like this wasn’t… all bad. She was soft, softer than anyone else Uma knew. Blue had muscle obviously, not as much as Harry and herself, but it was still there, just not as pronounced as the rest of them. She probably couldn’t fight very well if at all. She smelled nice, though, like fruits and flowers, and clothes. Like a bunch of Auradon stuff, even though she’d been on the island almost a week. She had the scent of the ocean clinging to her since she arrived at the diner, but she smelled like nothing Uma had ever experienced. With every breath that broke against her neck, Uma decided that… maybe this wouldn’t be too bad.

…

Carlos crept through the forest cautiously. Everything was dark and foggy, twisting the shapes of the trees into grotesque monsters, towering over him angrily. Small sobs echoed all around him, seeming to come from every direction.

As he moved, the trees thinned around him. The forest floor hardened slowly into hardwood. Something mossy covered the tree trunks and they almost seemed to wave in a nonexistent breeze.

“Carlos,” someone sniffed brokenly. Carlos recognized the voice and his heart pounded. He took off in the direction the voice had come from.

The fog started to clear and Carlos found himself in a room, an all too familiar room. This was his mother’s house. The trees weren’t trees at all. They had become his mother’s furs. The floor was the dusty one he always had to clean as soon as he woke in the morning. Carlos trembled as he stared around for the owner of the voice. A flash of blue caught his attention off to the side and he spun toward it.

Evie sobbed in a heap on the floor. Bruises littered her arms, some of them resembling belt marks and handprints. Carlos’ eyes widened in horror and he hurried over. Evie flinched as he approached and Carlos knelt beside her, hoping to seem nonthreatening.

“Evie,” he whispered. “What happened? What’s going on? W-why are you here?”

Footsteps echoed off to the side and Evie cringed, fighting to make herself as small as possible. Carlos glanced over and spotted three looming and hauntingly familiar silhouettes in the doorway. Out of the shadows stepped The Evil Queen, with Jafar and… his mother.

A belt flicked through the air from behind Jafar, striking Evie’s back. She cried out and sank further against the floor in terror. “You’re supposed to be a substitute for them,” Jafar snarled. “Isn’t that why they left you here?”

“I thought you were supposed to be good at cleaning!” Cruella shrieked, making Carlos hunker down in terror. “Why do my furs still have dirt on them!”

A cut opened on Evie’s cheek and she whimpered helplessly. Carlos wrapped his arms around her protectively, glaring up at his mother in a mix of fear and fury. “I’ve got you,” he reassured his friend. “I’m right here. I’ve got you.”

A clawed hand reached forward and dragged Evie toward the imposing figures. Carlos held onto her, fighting the claw’s grip as Evie clung to him desperately. Belts lashed out from behind, restraining Carlos as Evie was tugged away from him. The Evil Queen grasped Evie’s wrist in a vice grip, mimicking the bruises Carlos himself had seen on her wrist numerous times.

“I raised you better than this,” the Evil Queen hissed angrily. “Perhaps some more time in the closet will teach you. No daughter of mine will be anything less than perfect.”

“Evie!” Carlos shouted. “Evie!”

He fought against the belts holding him. His hand reached out, hoping to catch her, to grab her. If he could just get closer, he could save her!

It was no use. The belts only tightened the more he struggled. All he could do was watch helplessly as Evie was dragged, sobbing and injured, into the darkness.

Carlos shot up in bed, staring around frantically. His heart pounded in his ears and his breath heaved. Nothing changed around him. Just darkness with moonlight shining through the windows. No sign of his mother or Jafar or the Evil Queen… or Evie.

He dropped his chin to his chest and ran a hand through his hair. Another nightmare. No news, no plans, just… another nightmare.

Movement off to the side made Carlos flinch. After a second, he recognized the shape in the darkness as Jay. He relaxed and watched his friend move closer, hands held up in a peaceful gesture.

“Hey,” Jay sighed.

“Hey,” Carlos mumbled.

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes before Jay ran a hand through his hair. “Look, I know it’s hard,” he muttered quietly. “And… I know with us all trying to act calm and optimistic it… probably feels like we don’t care. But there isn’t anything we can do.”

“And the people who can do something aren’t,” Carlos shot back bitterly. “I hate this, Jay. I hate feeling powerless. Wasn’t that the whole point of bringing us over? So that we didn’t have to feel this way all the time? It’s been over a week and they aren’t doing anything.”

Jay sat next to Carlos and wrapped an arm around him. “I know,” he said. “I know it’s frustrating and aggravating and it makes you wanna punch something. But we also can’t let the worry consume us-.”

“Why not?” Carlos demanded, his voice cracking. “Why can’t we let it take over? Why can’t we just get so angry and force them to do something?”

“Because no matter how much we think it’ll help, it’ll only make things worse,” Jay whispered. “For us, for them, for her, and for those kids.”

Carlos gazed up at him sadly and shook his head. “I’m just… tired. Tired of waiting, tired of worrying… I’m so tired and I hate that it feels like… I’m letting her down.”

Jay had no words for that and simply hugged Carlos close. He knew how aggravating it was for Ben and Mal not to be making any progress on getting Evie back or upholding the proclamation. But they needed to weather it. If they let it consume them, they would do something rash, and it would only slow progress even more.

“Look,” Jay tried. “We’ll go to them, okay? We’ll go to them and see if they’ve made any progress, and tell them to get a move on. Alright?”

Carlos sniffed and nodded, snuggling against Jay’s chest. If that was the most they could do, he’d have to take it for now. “Yeah,” he muttered. “Yeah, okay.”

“Good.” Jay grinned. He squeezed Carlos against him encouragingly. “For now… let’s get some rest. I’ll stay over here for the rest of the night.”

Carlos gave another nod and Jay slowly lowered them back. He pulled the blanket up and tightened his grip on Carlos. With any luck, this might help him sleep easier. They would weather this together, but they couldn’t do much while sleep-deprived.

Chapter Text

Snow stalked through the halls of White Castle. Three weeks. Three weeks and the new king still hadn’t pulled together anything coherent about bringing Evie home. The more she thought about it, the more restless Snow grew.

But no matter how much she tried not to think about it, so many things reminded her of Evie. Flowers reminded her of their walks in Auradon Prep’s garden. Every time she prepared to go in front of the cameras, it reminded her of teaching Evie about Auradon etiquette. Not to mention her own wardrobe reminding her of helping Evie and Doug start their business. There was just so much and every time she turned around, Snow just wanted her little sister back.

Flopping down on one of the couches in the main sitting room, Snow grabbed a pillow and growled into it. She lifted the pillow for a moment to look over at the mirror nearby. She had repossessed Evie’s magic mirror from the museum and returned it to its original size. Unlike the king, she knew a little more about what was happening with Evie thanks to the mirror, but it didn’t ease her mind that much.

She was thankful those Isle kids had saved Evie from her mother, but… it was the small things those kids might not notice that worried Snow. Evie’s sleeping patterns, how much she was eating, her stress levels, whether she was allowing herself to relax… Snow couldn’t monitor that as easily, so she couldn’t make sure her sister wasn’t becoming self-destructive again, and it was driving her up the wall with worry.

A throat cleared near the sitting room door and Snow turned to find Bashful watching her. “Hey, Bash,” she called with a soft sigh, sitting up.

Bashful moved to the couch and sat beside her, taking her hand in his. “Snow, the guys and I are worried about you. This whole mess with Evie… it’s got ya in tatters, love.”

Snow sighed and pressed her free hand to her face. “I know,” she whispered. “I guess… While she’s there, there’s always the possibility of Mother catching her again, and sinking those jagged red talons into her and…” Her shoulders shook and Bashful wrapped her in a hug.

“We know, Snow,” he told her gently, rubbing her back. “We know how important this is to you, how important she is. But she wouldn’t want you or any of her friends running yourselves ragged about it. Florian would scold ya if he could see you like this.”

Snow took a deep breath. Florian would be cross with her for worrying so much. She wished he wasn’t currently running stories on the other side of Auradon. His advice would be really helpful for something like this.

Bashful stood with a small smile. “Come on. Why don’t we take a walk through the gardens?” He held his hand out, a bright blush rising to his cheeks at the gesture.

“Alright,” Snow agreed. She accepted his hand and allowed him to help her up. Outside the door, Doc and Happy waited for them. They smiled up at Snow and she returned it halfheartedly.

They all strolled out to the gardens and Snow took a deep breath. She loved the smell of the flowers. Everything always felt so much better when the floral scent surrounded her. Birds flew closer, swirling around her for a moment before one perched on her shoulder. They seemed to sense her previous mood because they nuzzled against her cheek. She giggled softly and gently scratched the little bird’s belly before it took off after its friends.

The sun shone bright as always in the Auradon sky. With summer well on its way, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Birds chirped, little animals scampered about, and the flowers were in full bloom. Everything was so… peaceful. A direct contrast to what Snow was feeling inside.

As they continued around the gardens, a voice called out to them. “Snow! Haps, Doc, Bash!”

The group turned to see Doug striding closer. Snow moved forward and wrapped him in a hug when he reached her. “Doug! Is everyone on holiday already?”

Doug gave her a small squeeze before pulling back. “No, not til next week. I just wanted… to see how you’re doing.”

Snow instantly knew what he meant, but while she was fine showing her irritation around her husbands, she didn’t want that negativity around Doug. He was already feeling his own. She put on a small smile, projecting an image of controlled sadness. It reminded Doug of how calm Evie always seemed to be even when something slightly upsetting was happening. They were definitely sisters.

“I’m coping as best I can,” Snow shrugged. “I… had been hoping to bring her here for her first summer break.”

“Yeah,” Doug muttered. “She’d love this place. She spent a lot of her free time in the gardens at Auradon Prep, even before the coronation. The animals here would love her.”

They were silent for a few bitter moments before Snow cleared her throat. Pulling away from the hug completely, she rested a hand on Doug’s shoulder as she turned back to the garden path. “How are you feeling about finals?” she asked.

Doug gave a grin at the effortless switch from mourning partner to mom. Even though Snow hadn’t given birth to him, she had never treated him any less affectionately, as if he were her own. After his mom’s death, he appreciated having her there for him.

“I’m absolutely certain I’ll get high marks on everything… except art.”

“Oh, that’s no problem,” Happy told him with a laugh. “Art takes skill and a long time to hone. It’s not like memorizing and applying formulas or scientific methods. Art’s not for the faint of heart, you know!”

“That’s what they say about biology,” Doug chuckled, ruffling his uncle’s hair.

“That too!” Happy shot back as he shook his hair back into place. “Point is, if ya don’t get high marks, no need to sweat it. After all, Auradon’s two top artists are from the Isle of the Lost!”

Doug and Snow’s expressions darkened at the reminder. Neither said anything, but the unspoken “and one is still there” hung awkwardly in the air. Happy looked to his comrades for help, but they shrugged at him. It was harder keeping the subject off of Evie than they expected.

Doug cleared his throat and brushed his hands on his jeans. “Well, uh, I should probably go let Dad know I’m visiting. I don’t want to make him upset that he wasn’t the first to see me.”

He waved to them all and headed off. Snow watched him and shook her head. Doc eyed her hesitantly. “Has he… given up on her?”

“Not on the notion of getting her back,” Snow said. “Just… the thought of dating her. He’s seen some of those Isle kids; they’re very attractive. And… well, without knowing how long it’ll be before Ben finally decides to rescue her, he knows she wouldn’t want him to miss out waiting for her.”

“That’s a positive way of looking at it,” Happy piped up encouragingly. "I noticed he's been talking with one of the other princesses recently, so it's nice to know he isn't closing himself off without her."

Snow nodded and hummed in thought as she surveyed some tulips nearby. “I have an interview tomorrow. Would any of you like to help me with some baking until bed?”

“Sure would!” Bashful cheered. “I can look up new recipes for ya to try if you want.”

“That would be lovely.” Snow led them into the castle. She glanced back one more time at the garden and took a deep breath. She couldn’t run herself into the ground. She would just have to take her mind off it as best she could. It would be simple. Simple.

…

Mal groaned as she awoke. She stretched and cracked her neck, back, and shoulders. The afternoon sunlight, while warm, was far too bright for a nocturnal dragon-fairy. Glancing over, her eyes inevitably caught sight of the other bed—the empty bed—as they did every time she woke up, regardless of time of day. As she did every time, Mal felt a pang of loss. She took a deep breath and shook herself out.

Hopping up, she went about her routine as normally as she could. With finals coming up, she had no time to slack off. It would look pretty bad if a Lady of the Court, no matter how tentative, got terrible test scores. No way was Mal going to tarnish that reputation, especially since she had the smartest best friends in Auradon.

Mal swiped up her backpack and her spellbook, heading out to the main school building. She crossed Lonnie and Jane, who waved at her before going back to their conversation about morning runs, weight-lifting and what sounded suspiciously like plans for a shopping trip. They’d been doing their best to keep Jay and Carlos on track, but with finals on the horizon, everyone was too high-strung to worry about more than they needed to.

Mal poked her head into one of the study rooms to make sure it was empty before plopping on one of the couches. Since she needed to stay on top of all of her classes, she just pulled out the first book she felt in her bag. Her… chemistry book. Mal sighed and laid it off to the side. It didn’t matter how good she got at chemistry, there was someone much better. She decided to save that for later and grabbed her literature notebook instead. Book analysis! Glorious.

Minutes ticked by as Mal went over her notes and quizzed herself on different concepts. She was so absorbed in studying that she didn’t notice someone coming closer. A hand fell over her eyes just as she was getting to the end of last month’s notes and she chuckled. “Ben, I have to study!” she cried in mock-exasperation.

“Well, yeah, don’t we all?” Ben laughed. He removed his hand and Mal found chocolate-covered strawberries waiting on her lap. “Doesn’t mean we should neglect taking care of ourselves for it. They’re just finals.”

He slipped onto the couch beside her and Mal noticed something about his attire. “That’s the beanie Evie gave you, right?” she asked, reaching up to finger the royal blue fabric.

Ben’s eyes followed her hand and he coughed. He hadn’t even thought about it when he’d slipped the beanie on his head. “Yeah, I, uh, I guess I just felt like wearing it…”

Mal nodded and turned back to her Lit notes. Four weeks since they last saw her. They were all trying to grasp onto pieces of her, more or less. Mal flipped a page in her notebook and asked, “How are you coming along in Algebra?”

“Pretty good,” Ben replied, grabbing his backpack, because of course he’d brought it with him. “Those tutoring sessions with Evie really helped me understand formulas better. I’ve almost caught up to he- to Carlos.” Right. Evie no longer attended Auradon Prep and therefore no longer had official scores.

Mal heard the stutter but didn’t say anything. She coughed and shut her Lit notebook. “Wanna… grab some food with me?” She glanced at her lap and smiled sheepishly. “These are a little light for serious studying.”

“Yeah, of course.” Ben stood and held out a hand to her. Mal took it with a playful roll of her eyes and they made their way down the hall. Students stopped to whisper excitedly about them as they passed. Ben paid it no mind, used to it from the years dating Audrey. Mal shot glares in every direction, still not fond of all the gossip. The least they could do is get out of earshot before saying something, for Lucifer’s sake.

The cafeteria was alive with students eating, studying, or just hanging out. The buffet was stocked, as usual, and they made their way over. Mal perused the selection while Ben just grabbed a burger and a small side salad. After going back and forth between a burger and a hot dog, Mal just slipped a small steak onto her plate.

“Hey, Ben, Mal.” Both turned to find Ally grinning at them. “How are you?”

“We’re doing alright, Ally, and yourself?” Ben responded politely. Mal was not feeling up to entertaining the one student that had zero idea what tact was or how to let her brain catch up with her mouth. She was content to let Ben do the talking unless she absolutely had to.

“I’m doing well,” Ally said. “I was actually talking to a few friends the other day, and, ah, well, a certain subject came up.”

“A certain subject?” Ben asked. Neither he nor Mal liked the sound of that.

Ally nodded. “Evie’s dresses.” Mal’s fingers tightened on her plate. “Some of the girls were wondering if they could replicate them. They’d surely fetch a hefty dollar-.”

The plate shattered, the steak plopping wetly on the ground. Ally slowly inched backward as Mal let the broken pieces fall to the floor. A hush fell over the room and Mal took a deep breath.

“Let me make sure I heard you clearly, so I don’t set the wrong person on fire.” Ally squeaked. “Did you just ask to make a quick, sleazy buck off of my best friend’s hard work and involuntary imprisonment?”

“I personally wasn’t interested in the idea-.” Ally gulped as Mal’s eyes glowed bright green.

Ben wasn’t sure what it was exactly that stopped him from intervening. Perhaps the indignation of someone trying to do something so underhanded. Or maybe the fact that he knew Mal missed Evie and needed to blow off some steam. Or it could’ve been that bad part of him just relishing in someone being told off for such a terrible idea. Whatever the reason, he didn’t step in to save Ally from Mal’s ire (though he would if it looked like Mal would get physical).

“I haven’t heard something that slimy since I lived on the Isle,” Mal growled, glaring at the girl foolish enough to voice such a stupid plan. “Maybe we should toss them over. Let’s see if they gain a wicked sense of fashion. Or are they going to stop trying to steal from someone else?”

“W-well, they paid for it, so technically-.”

“They paid for labor,” Mal snapped. “Labor and fabric. Not the design, not the rights to the design. It’s within everyone’s best interest not to let me see copies of Evie’s work walking around anywhere. Or the Isle of the Lost will be the least of your problems.” Her eyes bore into Ally’s. “Dismissed.”

Ally hurried away and Mal took a deep breath. “Finals must be getting to people’s heads,” she muttered.

Ben shook his head. “It’s one thing to sell the dress, but trying to copy it is unacceptable. Weren’t all of Evie’s designs one of a kind?”

“Yup,” Mal replied. She swiped a fresh plate and another steak. “Each one is specifically tailored to the person receiving it. No one can replicate the exact thing. That’s how good she is.”

“Thought so,” Ben nodded. “Shall we get back to studying? I have a meeting tomorrow and it’s gonna eat into that time.”

“Sounds good.” With that, they strode from the shell-shocked cafeteria, not making eye contact with anyone. After their departure, whispers exploded through the cafeteria.

Mal took deep breaths as she and Ben made their way back to the study room. She couldn’t believe these people. What kind of-? She wasn’t dead, just… stuck! And even if she was dead, that still wouldn’t be okay! What was wrong with some of these people?

Ben eased them both onto one of the couches and rubbed her shoulders soothingly. “It’s alright, Mal,” he told her. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

“I know that!” Mal huffed. “I just don’t need sleazy idiots on top of finals and trying to be part of the court, and keeping the dragon asleep, ya know?”

“Yeah, I get it,” Ben said. He took one of her hands in his. “I get it. Just focus on your classes and everything will be okay, alright? We’ll get through this.”

We. Mal stared down at her steak before taking a chomp. She… would get through this. She and Ben would be together. They would be together. They would be together. Everything would work out. It had to.

Chapter Text

Uma yawned as she stepped out of Blue’s room. The nightmares had let up enough now that Uma could head to her own room once Blue was asleep. So far, no one had caught on as far as she was aware, which was how she wanted to keep it. Last thing she needed was for the crew to think she was going soft or something.

Slipping into her room, Uma found Harry sprawled upside down on the bed, grinning at her coyly. “Welcome back,” he cackled softly.

Uma crossed her arms, a smirk tugging her lips. Almost no one had caught on. “How long?” she asked.

“The whole time,” Harry shrugged. “I spotted the two of you all…” He twisted his body slightly and his grin widened. “…cozy-like.”

Uma sauntered closer and fell onto the bed beside him. “Yeah, well, not fond of having a sudden corpse in my mom’s diner.”

Harry hummed softly and, despite Uma laying on the bed, somehow managed to sink himself even lower than her on the mattress. He grinned up at her and asked, “So, it’s ta help the pretty lass sleep?”

"Pretty much," Uma shrugged. She stared up at the ceiling of her room. "This is so stupid. It should be Mal or Jay or the dog kid holding her at night, not me. We shouldn't be fighting nightmares and potential uprisings, we should be laying on soft beds surrounded by trinkets and pillows and… and… I dunno, food!"

"Indeed," Harry agreed, suspending his hook in the air above him. "And yet, here we are. No sign of any rescue in sight."

"I can't believe I thought Mal would actually set us free. Six months, fifty years, what difference does it make to her? She got hers, so the rest of us can rot." She threw an arm over her eyes. "Even her so-called best friend. Should've just taken my chances trying to use that stupid wand."

Harry slid up to lay beside her. "You did what you thought was the right decision," he reminded her. "And in all my years as yer First Mate, yer intuition's never been wrong. If it told ya ta get us the pretty Sapphire, then she'll be useful." Uma held out her free hand and he kissed it. "We just have ta wait and see."

Uma stroked his cheek and sighed. "I hope you're right." Harry leaned into her hand with a grin. “So, what’s the news around the island?”

“Stocky boy’s been buildin' himself a gang,” Harry informed her. “Tryin' ta take over, I’m guessin’. Likely wants the resources we’ve been harborin’.”

“Ugh, fantastic,” Uma groaned. “Mal leaves and now we’ve gotta deal with Stock’s dumb ass. Figures.”

Harry shrugged and looked up at her. “He’s got quite a big pair if he’s thinkin' of goin’ against us. I would admire it, if I didn’ wanna hook him so bad for it.”

“No hooking anyone until we know how big his force is,” Uma reminded him. Harry nodded obediently. “Good. Now come here, I need my sleep, too. Who knows what we’re going to have to do tomorrow to find out more info.”

Harry’s grin about split his face as he scooted closer and wrapped an arm around Uma. She snuggled onto his chest and laced her fingers with his free hand. It was her favorite way to sleep and Harry couldn’t be happier. The two of them drifted into sleep, not really caring about the day to come.

The next day, Evie was the first to wake up, as usual. Even though the Isle didn’t get real sunlight, she could still tell when the sunlight was beating against the gray clouds overshadowing the island. Waking with the dawn was something she did in Auradon and she certainly couldn’t shake the habit here. The earlier she woke, the more she could observe. 

Brushing her hair out, Evie strode into the main area and began getting everything ready. Thanks to Uma helping her sleep, she managed to set up a little routine for herself. Evie smiled, thinking about what Snow would say. Snow always teased her about needing to follow a routine or schedule of some kind. 

“Your internal clock is even better than most of the clocks hanging around Auradon,” she’d joked one day while they were walking through Auradon Prep’s garden. “I’ll be sure to call you if ever I need to know what time it is.”

Evie released a small sigh. She knew Ben couldn’t just wave his hands and suddenly the kids on the island were free, but… she still hoped he was doing his best. If he valued his promise to her, he wouldn’t rest until she was free. Unfortunately, after seven months watching Ben, Evie knew he valued his word, but she also knew there were a lot of factors that could sideline him. It was likely close to finals at Auradon Prep by now. Ben would be thinking about that since it wouldn’t do for the King to fail his exams. 

Shaking the thoughts away for now, Evie continued her morning cleaning. Since returning to the island, her Isle senses had been returning as well. Her senses of sight, smell, and hearing had heightened to catch even the slightest thing amiss. She could hear Aunt Ursula moving just under the water’s surface, see shadows of customers milling about outside, and even hear some of the fisherman in the back getting ready to start their day. 

And that’s why, when she heard the click of heels coming closer to the diner, Evie didn’t even hesitate. She tossed her rag behind the counter and darted for the back hallway. She recognized that click, the sound that haunted her for sixteen years, that haunted her now. 

Ursula watched Evie dive behind the corner and raised an eyebrow curiously. Before she could open her mouth to ask, Evie pressed a finger to her lips frantically. Well, that was interesting. Knowing there was only one thing on the island that could scare Evie, Ursula gave her a nod and continued with her cooking.

Both of them heard the front door open, despite the closed sign, and the click was much more distinctive on the hardwood floor. Ursula watched Evie tense from the corner of her eye, but she didn’t give any indication that something was wrong. She couldn’t or she risked giving Evie away.

“Ursula!” Grimhilde called, staring around the main diner area. “Are you awake yet?”

“You know, Grimmy, there’s a closed sign for a reason,” Ursula responded. 

Grimhilde scoffed and started for the kitchen entrance. Evie’s breath caught and she carefully slid back along the hallway. As her mother’s shadow loomed right around the corner, Evie reached for the nearest doorknob and ducked into the room. She was careful to close the door as quietly as she could so as not to alert their visitor. 

“As if I could be constrained by the same rules as the rabble,” Grimhilde stated, stepping toward the kitchen entrance. She was not aware of the door that shut only a few meters from her. Ursula schooled her face so her relief didn’t show through. “You know there’s no point in a closed sign considering you live right below the building. Should something happen, I’ve little doubt you or that daughter of yours would actually let the intruder go unharmed.”

Ursula rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip, finally fully turning to face Grimhilde. “Very well, I suppose I’ll call that a fair point for now. But only because I’m wondering what business you could possibly have in my humble little eatery today?”

Evie breathed a sigh of relief as the conversation continued. It seemed she hadn’t been spotted. Thankfully. She turned to lean against the door and froze when she realized where she had ended up. Two pairs of eyes, one brown, one blue, glared up at her from the bed. Evie swallowed and glanced at the door. She couldn’t go back out there because her mother was here, but she didn’t like the thought of Uma being angry with her either. 

“I came today because I’ve heard around this miserable island that this is a prime place for information,” Grimhilde drawled as she checked her nails. She couldn’t believe she was actually in this dingy diner, but she needed information, so she would have to swallow her distaste for now.

“Depends on the kind of info you’re looking for,” Ursula shrugged. She didn’t take her eyes off Grimhilde. She needed to make sure the woman didn’t start suspecting anything. The best way to get a read on her was through the small movements in her face. 

Grimhilde rolled her eyes. Of course it was going to be like this. With any luck, she wouldn’t have to get rid of anything too valuable in order to get what she was looking for. 

Uma sat up from where she had been cuddled against Harry’s chest. She was really starting to regret letting the princess stay. They should’ve just found her a place or put her in one of the bunks on the ship. Would’ve been less of a headache than all this. Growling, Uma stood and approached the intruder. 

Evie stared at Uma. She watched every movement. She saw Uma’s jaw twitch and lifted her hand. She didn’t want to waste time, so she pressed it over Uma’s mouth. She saw the storm brewing in Uma’s eyes, but she couldn’t risk a single peep. If her mother thought, for even a second, that something was up, she wouldn’t hesitate to take Evie right back to the castle. The ghost of fingers gripping her wrist made Evie go cold. 

Uma was going to pummel this princess. Who the Tartarus did she think she was dealing with? Uma didn’t care how chummy Mal got with her friends, this girl was in Uma’s territory now. And no way in hell was Uma going to let her get away with-

“I’m looking for Evie.”

The statement was so firm and clear that even the rotting wood door couldn’t muffle it too much. Evie stiffened, as did Uma. Uma’s gaze flicked to the door and she finally calmed enough to think. Blue was pale. She looked scared, her pupils were dilated, and her breathing was uneven. That voice sounded way too familiar and way too close for Uma’s liking. Uma’s gaze reconnected with Blue’s and she saw the terror shining in the princess’ eyes. 

Slowly, so as not to set the princess into a panic, Uma nodded once and backed away. Evie’s breath left her in a shaky sigh. Uma turned to Harry and began moving her hands. Evie watched them curiously, noting that she seemed to be talking to Harry with her hands. Evie was familiar with that kind of communication. She, Jay, Carlos, and Mal also had a form of nonverbal speech they’d created so they didn’t clue their enemies in to a surprise attack. 

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed when he realized what Uma was saying. His eyes flicked once to Sapphire before he nodded. Quickly, he began ‘speaking’ back, indicating that he understood the importance of the situation and would help as needed. Uma gave him a smirk and patted his cheek before turning back to Evie. 

Out in the main part of the diner, Ursula’s eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “If I recall,” she said carefully. “Didn’t she get chosen to go to the wonderful world of Auradon?”

Grimhilde huffed. “She was, but then, a bit ago, something happened to cause her to return here.” Ursula deepened her confused expression, not wanting to seem aware of this fact. “She was with me for three days before her cursed friend Mal decided to take her.” Grimhilde’s eyes narrowed. “However, I haven’t felt the barrier fall not once since Maleficent’s defeat. I’d like to know how they did it.”

Ursula blinked at her, waiting. When Grimhilde said nothing further, she snorted. “Grimmy, you can’t be serious? Don’t you think if we knew how they went back and forth, we’d be out of this hellscape by now?”

“I want to know if any of your people saw the device, Ursula,” Grimhilde grumbled. “The first time Evie left, the limo used a device to take them. They must have used something similar to return her and the same thing had to have been used to get Mal and company back here.” She waved her hand in the ocean’s general direction. “Doesn’t your daughter have eyes and ears all over the island? Someone had to have seen something.”

It wasn’t often Ursula had to thank the crew for their sense of loyalty and fidelity. Everyone who came to the diner knew the code. If a parent reported their child missing on the Isle, but someone spotted that child anywhere near the diner, keep the info to themselves. Ursula had no doubt that Grimmy had been asking around, looking for a lead on ‘Mal’ and her crew, but it seemed no one had said a peep. And Ursula intended to keep it that way. 

“Sorry, Grimmy. If something went down, Uma didn’t tell me about it.”

At that moment, Uma stepped from her room, fully dressed and yawning. She gave a lazy wave in Grimhilde’s direction as she made her way to the counter. “Yo, EQ,” Uma mumbled. “How’s ya girl likin’ her return home?”

Grimhilde turned to Uma excitedly, ready to pounce on any new information she could. She even ignored the blatant disrespect to her status. “You saw Evie come back?”

“Saw her?” Uma laughed. “I’m the reason she’s here. Traded her in a deal with Mal, got us our ticket off this garbage heap.”

“You traded her?” Grimhilde inquired in confusion. She was trying to put all of the pieces together. 

“Yeah, I got the Princess in return for the King. Figured Mal wouldn’t wanna leave her dear best friend on this trash pile for long, so if the Princess is here, Mal will pressure King Boy to get us off of the island.” Uma’s expression betrayed nothing, twisting into a sneer as she spoke of her grand plan. She knew what would follow and prepared for it.

Grimhilde stood to her full height with a sniff. “Well, I’m afraid you were both right and wrong in your calculations,” she huffed. 

“What’s that supposed ta mean?” Uma frowned. 

“Maleficent’s spawn came back for Evie,” Grimhilde explained. A part of her took pleasure in rubbing the botched plan in Uma’s face, but most of her was angry that Mal had thwarted it. “They took her back to Auradon weeks ago. I was hoping there was any information on the device they were using. Perhaps someone working on a prototype?”

Uma’s teeth bared in a semblance of rage. She had to make this look good or the Evil Queen would come sniffing again. “That slimy lizard. Knew I shoulda just traded for the wand and took my chances with it.” She slammed a hand into the counter. “No, there’s no one working on a prototype. Mal’s the only one who had access to Fido and his inventing talent. And if what you said is true, the only bargaining chip we had is right back in Auradon.”

Grimhilde tried not to show it, but a bit of her displeasure seeped into her expression. “That’s just great,” she sighed. “I suppose this time, she won’t be returning, either.” Without even so much as a farewell, she swept out the door again. 

Uma and Ursula listened for the click of her heels. When they faded into the bustle of the island, Uma released a breath. “Damn, that was close,” she muttered. 

“Good show, Uma,” Ursula praised her with a slight cackle. “I trained you well.”

“Had to pick up somethin’,” Uma laughed. “Yo, Harry, you can come out now. Blue’s safe.”

Harry stepped from Uma’s room, also fully dressed, sauntering toward the main area. Evie followed after him a bit slower. Uma noticed that she still looked a little pale and her hands trembled. Evie scanned the diner to confirm Uma’s words and breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Thanks,” she whispered. 

“Anytime, Evie, dear,” Ursula responded. 

“But next time, don’t come in my room,” Uma growled. 

Evie nodded. “Sorry about that. It was the first door I could find when I heard her coming.”

“Well, if yer ever thinkin’ of joinin’,” Harry snickered, gesturing to Evie with his hook. “Give us a heads-up first, aye?”

“Sure thing,” Evie chuckled, stepping out to switch the sign to open. 

Uma watched her go about her regular work, noticeably better than she was while hiding from her mother. Uma still couldn’t think of anything that could be bad enough to scare someone like Blue. From her more relaxed attitude about makeup, Uma didn’t think it had to do with anything being taken away from her. While the Evil Queen wasn’t necessarily weak, she also didn’t seem the type to resort to physical discipline like Gaston and Jafar. What about her mother could possibly frighten Blue?

Chapter Text

Carlos took a deep breath as he sat up. Just like usual, he woke with the sun. Even being in Auradon for months hadn’t stopped that part of his routine. On the Isle, he started his chores at sunrise. In Auradon, his whole day started at sunrise. No matter what he had going on, or how late in the day it was planned, he’d still wake up as soon as the sun’s rays hit his eyelids.

The Agrabah sector of Auradon was too hot to really have blankets on during the night, but even without them, the pajama set Evie made him still managed to stick to him from the sweat. Honestly, it might just be easier to go to sleep in his underwear. Thoughts for another time, maybe.

Carlos stretched as he looked around. The room Queen Jasmine had given him looked immaculate, just like it did the day he moved in. His laptop sat on the desk in the corner and most of his things barely took up even half of the closet space provided.

Shuffling over to his laptop, he opened it and typed in the passcode, stifling a yawn as he looked through his notifications. No word on whether he’d passed the cybersecurity exam, but it was still early in the summer. He spotted some links the others had sent into the group chat. He’d have to check those out later. 

After he affirmed that everything else was either junk or could be sorted through later, Carlos headed into the en suite to change. He still couldn’t believe these Auradon castles had bathrooms in the bedrooms. It just felt like something out of a fairy tale, which was technically accurate. 

He grabbed a quick shower and dried his hair as best he could before heading down toward the dining hall. Whenever he passed the busts and vases, Carlos couldn’t help his hand twitching a little. It was a habit he’d picked up at Auradon Prep when he was informed he didn’t have to clean anything but his own dorm room. After fifteen years cleaning the same house from morning to midnight, getting rid of old urges would take more than just a few months. 

“Good morning, Carlos!” a cheerful voice called, accompanied by the sound of claws on linoleum. Dude hurried closer and Carlos knelt to rub his ears. “Do you think they’ll have bacon on this morning’s spread?”

“You ask that every morning, Dude,” Carlos chuckled as he stood to continue toward the dining hall. “You should know by now that they’ll have bacon.”

“Obviously, I know that,” Dude snorted. “I ask to remind you not to forget to toss me a piece!”

They shared a laugh, earning strange looks from some of the staff members. Carlos was still unused to actually seeing staff. Auradon Prep had no use for them outside of the sanitation team, and it wasn’t like the Isle had any. Living in Auradon really was like living in another country or something. 

Stepping into the dining hall, Carlos glanced around. Just as expected, Queen Jasmine and her family had slept in. Well, by Isle standards, they slept in. It was only a little past dawn, so he couldn’t blame them. Carlos surveyed the breakfast spread and snagged a piece of bacon, handing it down to Dude. 

“I wonder what’s on the agenda for today,” Carlos muttered, taking a seat. He never really had an agenda anymore. Without classes or cleaning to take up most of the day, Carlos often found himself at a loss of what to do. He didn’t even have tourney practice or fencing since both seasons had already ended. 

“You could check out the gardens,” a voice near the door piped up. Carlos spun to find Princess Zahra watching him with a small smile. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Nah, it’s, uh, just habit.” Carlos cleared his throat and asked, “What were you saying about the gardens?”

“Check them out,” Zahra shrugged as she took her seat to the left of her father’s chair. “Mom and Dad said you had free reign to go wherever you pleased apart from certain areas, so why not head out? I don’t know if you’re into flowers, but we’ve got plenty of them thanks to Genie.”

Carlos hummed pensively as he chewed at his chocolate chip pancakes. That was probably a good idea. It wouldn’t take up too much of the day, but a sizable chunk was better than lounging around staring at his computer screen all day. Carlos loved doing that, but he didn’t want to spend his summer doing it nonstop. 

“Alright,” he finally agreed. “Dude, we’re heading to the gardens after breakfast.”

“Sounds like fun,” came Dude’s muffled call from where he was chowing into his actual breakfast. 

The rest of breakfast passed quietly. Neither Zahra nor Carlos knew one another all that well, so starting a conversation would be awkward without a buffer. Instead, Zahra wolfed down her breakfast the same way her dad always did, and bade Carlos a good day before disappearing. Carlos guessed she was off to the library. He’d seen her in there a few times, reading law books. 

The last bit of breakfast making its way to his belly, Carlos stood and started toward the gardens. He’d check the messages on his laptop later. He had his phone with him, so if anyone wanted to talk, or the group chat got active as everyone else woke up, they’d still be able to contact him. 

For now, Carlos made his way through the gardens at a leisurely stroll. It was clear from the shimmer in the air that Genie cast a spell over the plants to keep them from melting in the Agrabah heat. Thankfully, that courtesy extended to anyone walking through the gardens as well.

Carlos wasn’t in a hurry, so he took time to enjoy the plants. His fingers trailed over the petals of a red carnation, and he sighed softly. Evie would love this place. She enjoyed spending time in Auradon Prep’s gardens, to the point it was usually where she and Snow went to hang out whenever Snow visited. 

Closing his eyes, Carlos pictured Evie’s smile. He loved her smile. Evie had a smile that could light up the darkest rooms. She had so many of them and most of them were precise, just the way she’d been taught. Carlos preferred the unrestrained ones. Those shone the brightest on someone like Evie. She was always so in control, both of herself and those around her, so when she let her joy shine through, it was like witnessing a miracle. The only times it didn’t feel like she was in control was when her mother was around or involved in some way. Otherwise, the world was Evie’s kingdom.

It irked Carlos to no end, knowing that Evie was on the Isle and they were all in separate places instead of heading over there to rescue her. But if they rescued her, they’d have to rescue all the kids, and Ben hadn’t prepared Auradon for something that big yet. If it weren’t for the fear that his mother would somehow find him and sink her claws into him again, Carlos would’ve just snuck back over to break her out himself. 

His phone buzzed with Jay’s ringtone and Carlos hurried to answer. “Hey, Jay.”

“Hey, how’s it goin’? Any word on the entrance exam?”

“Nah, radio silence right now,” Carlos responded, squatting next to some cacti. 

Jay hummed at that and took the short lapse to smack the ball back toward Princess Cherie. They were playing a game of ping pong. Jay had bragged about being able to multitask, and now he was paying the price. 

“How are ya settlin’ in to the new place?” he asked, leaning into a return. 

“It’s alright.” Carlos shrugged even though he knew Jay couldn’t see it. “Definitely beats sleeping in a closet with a bunch of dusty furs.”

A chuckle bubbled between them. “Yeah, I bet,” Jay snickered. “Probably nice to have a bathroom that doesn’t smell of cheap hair products either, right?”

“That’s the best part,” Carlos agreed. “How ‘bout you?”

“I think he’s spent more time in the athletics sections of the castle than anywhere else!” Cherie called, diving to stop the ball from scoring another point on her. 

“Hey, that’s not true!” Jay mock-gasped as he sent it back to her. “I’ve spent a pretty good amount of time in the kitchen, too!”

Now Cherie joined in their laughter and Carlos felt some of the pressure in his chest ease. Jay always had a way of making that happen. It was a gift. “Sounds about right! Don’t let him near any pound cake or it’ll be gone the second you turn your back.”

“You’re supposed to be on my side!” Jay whined, though the laughter in his voice only further added to the melodrama. 

“I am on your side,” Carlos reassured him. “I’m on your side in concession that you can both eat and bench press twice your own weight!”

More laughter filled the air. It was nice. Just three friends trading jokes and hanging out. Carlos couldn’t forget the shadow following him, but when talking to Jay, to Jane, to Lonnie and their friends, it was easier to ignore the shadow at times. 

“So,” Jay spoke up once the laughter and joking had died down. “When are ya gonna come visit? I wanna show ya my fancy new pad.”

“You gotta come see mine first!” 

They knew neither of them had done anything to their rooms yet. It just didn’t feel right decorating and furnishing when the person best at both of those activities was somewhere dangerous. And it just felt weird doing anything individually. They’d gotten a little used to it while at Auradon Prep, but Jay was all the way in Naveen’s kingdom and Carlos was in Agrabah, while Mal hung out near the ocean with Queen Ariel and King Eric. They’d never been so far apart before, especially in a way where, if something happened, they couldn’t easily come to each other’s rescue. Maybe Mal could, but Carlos and Jay were out of luck. 

“Oh, when I do come visit, I’ve got somethin’ cool I wanna show ya,” Jay said, half-focused on the ping pong game. “I think it’s pretty rad, but I need a second opinion.”

“What am I and Zahra?” Cherie snorted. “Chopped liver?”

“Pretty much,” Jay and Carlos chorused. 

“I can’t wait to see what’s got you so excited,” Carlos added. “Get back to your ping pong game. There should only be four people capable of beating you.”

Cherie barked out a laugh. “It’s about to be five!”

“Oh, you’re so on!” Jay gasped. Softer, he told Carlos, “I’ll try to drop by soon. Maybe I can help with the nightmares.”

“That would be appreciated,” Carlos muttered. “Later, Jay.”

They hung up the line and Carlos continued about his walk. Being able to hear Jay’s voice had helped his mood exponentially. Even though his worries still hung heavy on his mind, he could push them to the back of his thoughts for a bit now.

All the way in Naveen’s kingdom, Cherie paused the game to watch Jay curiously. “Why didn’t you tell him?” she asked. 

“This is the kinda thing that needs to be talked about in person,” Jay shrugged. “Now come on, I’m gonna toast you.”

“In your dreams, Island Boy.”

Jay snickered as they returned to the game. In the back of his mind, he felt the shadow tugging his thoughts, reminding him of its presence. Yes, they were still devastated over their loss and Jay was just as unhappy about it presently as he had been that first night without her. But he’d meant his words to Carlos. They couldn’t lose control of themselves. The second they did, it would be Game Over. So, they did whatever they could to keep their mind off it. Jay would continue helping Carlos as best he could, even a kingdom apart.

Chapter Text

Mal quickly made her way through the halls of Ariel's castle. She didn't usually rush anywhere in Auradon anymore, but she couldn't really keep her visitors waiting. It had been a little while since the school year ended and, while she'd gotten settled in okay, she still missed her friends.

That made her pause. She lifted a hand to her chest, a frown crossing her expression. She missed her friends, but there was one she missed more than the others. It had been a few months, but the absence still made itself known, like a hole cut into a picture. Evie…

No. She couldn't let it get to her. They would get Evie back. Somehow, some way, they'd get her off that terrible island and the Evil Queen could rot for all eternity for all Mal cared. The last thing Mal ever wanted was for Evie to regress to who she used to be before Auradon. She deserved better than that. She was so much more than that vile woman ever thought she could be.

Biting her lip, Mal continued through the castle to the sitting room on the ground floor. She would toss possible rescue ideas around with Jay and Carlos when she called them later that night. For right now, Lonnie and Ben were here to visit, and she didn't want to keep them waiting.

"Hey!" she called, raising a hand in greeting as she hurried into the room. "Sorry I'm a little late. Got caught up in thought." 

Ben stood up from a chair and chuckled. "Probably thinking about new art pieces," he murmured as he pulled her into a hug. "Did you consider the art class I suggested for next school year?"

Mal didn't bother correcting him and only smiled, returning the hug. "Uh, yeah. It sounds like a good idea. I'm really good at it, so I might as well get formally trained or whatever." She cleared her throat. "For when we graduate, you know." 

"We know," Lonnie piped up, pushing off from the wall to also hug Mal. She wasn't a fool. She’d spotted the signs of unease in Mal the second the fairy stepped into the room. Mal had likely been thinking of Evie again but didn't want to bring Ben's mood down. For that, Lonnie wouldn't bring it up in front of the King either.

"How have you been settling in?" Ben asked. He retook his seat, looking up at Mal. "Queen Ariel said you've been eating better since the first week."

"Yeah, Miss I wanna eat strawberries all the time," Lonnie snickered.

Mal rolled her eyes playfully as she sat on the couch near Ben. "Look, if it tastes good, why not eat it? I know I'm not on the Isle anymore, but some habits die hard." Some habits indeed… "And besides, isn't fruit supposed to be good for you?"

"Yes, in doses!" Lonnie smirked at her. "Not as your entire diet."

They shared a laugh and all three felt some of their tension lift. When they were together, it was... easier... to push away the lingering clouds at the edges of their minds. Ben cleared his throat to stop the encroaching darkness from returning. 

"So, uh, what have you been up to out here?" he asked Mal. "I've been so busy with council meetings and avoiding the press that I haven't gotten an opportunity to really talk to you or the boys about how you're settling in to Auradon."

Mal gave a shrug. "I mean, knowing those two, they're probably enjoying the food and the freedom. Naveen's castle has a gym where Jay can keep in shape and Cherie seems to be a good match for his competitive side. Carlos took Dude with him to Agrabah, so he's probably doing okay, too. He's waiting for any news on those cybersecurity classes for next year."

"And what about you?" Lonnie whispered. It didn't escape her notice that Mal had talked about her friends instead of herself.

"You know me," the violette muttered. "Can never sit still for long. Too used to running around making trouble. It's... still a bit to get used to." Really, she was used to running around making trouble with someone else. Doing it on her own felt… wrong, especially when she knew her best friend was stuck somewhere else and her other two best friends were also far from one another. They’d only ever had each other, and now they were all separated. It just didn’t feel right.

"Do you want to try doing something with graffiti?" Ben suggested. "I know you liked tagging things back at Auradon Prep and I saw your work a lot when I went to the Isle." The air seemed to chill when he said that, but he recovered quickly. "Maybe if you had somewhere to paint, it might make you feel better."

"Actually, that might work." Mal tapped her chin for a moment. "Whenever something was wrong before, I'd spray paint to get through it." Well, whenever she couldn't talk to someone, but since the only person she ever spoke to wasn't accessible, spray painting would have to do for now.

Ben grinned. "Great! Well, I'm sure if you talked to them about it, Queen Ariel and King Eric would be more than happy to find somewhere for you to paint."

"There's plenty of spare rooms in the castle," Lonnie agreed, bumping Mal's shoulder. "They'd probably be happy to have someone new decorate this place."

Mal snorted at that. "I don't think my usual stuff would be okay for their castle," she snickered, recalling all of the different things she would design back on the Isle. It mostly revolved around the Rotten Four, after all. “Unless they want their whole place to look like it belongs on the Isle of the Lost.” She glanced around. “But nicer.”

"You never know until you talk to them," Ben reassured her. "And I'm sure the three of you can come to a compromise." His fingers entwined with hers and Mal felt some of her tension ease. "Your work is really good, Mal. Anybody with vision can see that."

"Thanks," Mal murmured, squeezing his hand.

They were starting to reach the borders of her comfort zone, so she awkwardly cleared her throat. "So, um, I know both of you have probably been here plenty of times, but what did you have in mind for us to do while we hung out?"

"Well," Ben began, brightening. "I figured that Lonnie and I could teach you how to swim!"

"Swim?" Mal glanced from her boyfriend's excited face to Lonnie's smirk. "Are you sure about that? You know I'm a dragon, right?"

"Well yeah, but it can't hurt for you to learn the basics, can it?" Lonnie pointed out. "If nothing else, if you accidentally turn back into a person while over a body of water, you won't immediately sink."

That was a good point. Mal didn't want any further disasters like when she tried to help Ben at the Enchanted Lake. She was lucky he had found her or she might’ve sunk then, too.

"Okay, fine," she conceded. "But you better be right there with me the whole time." She gave the pair of them a stern glare. "Both of you."

"You got it!" Ben laughed, using their entwined hands to pull her up. "Come on, Queen Ariel has one of the best pools in Auradon!"

"You're gonna love it," Lonnie agreed as she swiped up a bag Mal hadn't spotted before. "At least as much as a dragon can love the water, you know."

Despite her hesitation, Mal couldn't help a nervous grin at their excitement. They had no idea how much she appreciated them coming to see her. As she let Ben guide her toward the pool while Lonnie looked through the different bathing suits she’d brought, Mal felt the darkness receding to the edges of her mind. They would find a way to bring Evie back. And when they did...

Mal was totally teaching her how to swim!

Chapter Text

Uma cracked her neck as the last customer finally headed out. Or rather, some of her crew kicked them out. It was raining pretty hard out there, but the diner wasn't a shelter. The crew needed sleep too; they couldn't spend all night watching some stragglers until the rain let up.

She counted the money in the register with a roll of her eyes. There wasn't all that much that money was good for on the Isle. It's not like most of the inhabitants of the island couldn't just steal whatever they needed. But it reminded the villains and minions of times before their imprisonment here. Whatever made them feel better.

A flash of lightning shot through the building and Uma quickly reached for the nearest light switch. No need for the lights to get blown out by a loose bolt. Replacing them would be a hassle. Most of the rest of the crew had already retired, so the sudden lack of light wasn't too much of a problem. Even after Evie changed the place around, Uma could still navigate it with her eyes closed.

Speaking of, Blue was no doubt getting ready for bed. Uma finished with the register and started on her way back. She'd never let anyone know it, but she was actually kind of starting to enjoy holding Blue at night. The princess was warm, but she was also soft, and even after being on the Isle for weeks, she still smelled really nice. It was different than when she and Harry slept together, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

Uma stopped in her room to toss her hat, jacket, and shirt onto a chair. Harry smiled at her from the bed and Uma leaned down to gently kiss his lips. "I'll be in as soon as she's asleep," she whispered.

"Take yer time, Captain," Harry responded. "I'll always wait fer you."

A grin spread over Uma's lips, mimicking the warmth spreading through her chest. That was her First Mate. She pecked his lips again and headed across the hall. She made sure to knock before entering. Blue tended to get jumpy if she just walked in without warning. The girl was just a cluster of odd behaviors.

Inside, Uma found her guest sitting on the bed and staring out the window. The captain raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. The rain was really coming down tonight. It was pitch black outside apart from the occasional lightning strike. Just typical life on the island.

"Yo, Blue, you ready?" Uma called, finally gaining Evie's attention.

"Oh." Evie cleared her throat, sending another glance at the window. "Yeah, um, yeah. Sorry. Got lost in thought."

Uma snorted as she sat on the opposite side of the bed. "I can imagine. Probably missing that calm Auradon weather, am I right?"

Evie laughed softly and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Yeah, a little. Never rains quite this hard over there, you know?" She paused. "Sorry."

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Uma sighed. "It wasn't your responsibility to save us. You don't have anything to apologize for."

Evie didn't respond. Instead, she waited for Uma to get settled before curling against her body. The scent of the ocean soothed Evie now. She had grown used to it, not just being right next to the water, but thanks to these nights with Uma. She almost couldn't imagine falling asleep without the scent to ease her into relaxation.

Uma wrapped an arm around the princess before realizing neither of them had cut the light off. She shifted slightly to reach over to the dingy lamp by the bed. Before she could hit the switch, a hand on her arm stopped her. Brown met brown as Uma raised an eyebrow at the princess.

Evie blinked, almost like she was surprised herself. She cleared her throat. "Sorry. Not sure what that was. Go ahead."

Uma nodded slowly, watching her carefully as she flipped the switch. Evie's body instantly tensed at the darkness, but she forced herself to act normal as she curled back against Uma's chest. It was fine. She could do this. There was someone here.

Minutes passed with the crashing rain and flashes of lightning. Uma listened carefully to the princess' breathing, waiting for her to fall asleep like usual. Tonight was different though. Several minutes ticked by, but Blue's breath remained uneven. What the Tartarus?

"Alright," Uma finally said, sitting up. To her shock, Evie gripped her tighter, moving with her. "Blue, what the hell is wrong?"

"Nothing." Uma couldn't see a thing, but she heard the catch in the princess' voice. It was definitely not nothing.

"We talked about this," she groaned.

There was a shaky breath before Evie whispered, "Turn the light back on? Please?" Uma complied instantly. Something wasn't right whenever the princess sounded like that. It made her uneasy.

Evie waited for the light to return before loosening her grip on Uma and scooting away. She took several deep breaths and dropped her head into one of her hands. "I thought it would be okay," she muttered. "With someone here, I thought it would be different."

"What are you talking about?" Uma muttered, laying back on the bed and waiting.

Their eyes met for a moment before Evie turned away from her in embarrassment. "My mom... Whenever I didn't... If I wasn't good enough, she'd lock me in my closet." Her voice shook. "Um, our castle doesn't really have good lighting, you know? Being completely surrounded by darkness doesn't happen in Auradon. There's always stars or night lights or... something. It hasn't rained like this since I got back, so I thought I would be okay."

She took another deep breath. "I'm sorry, I'm keeping you awake. You can head back to your room. I'll be fine not sleeping tonight."

Uma snorted. "You sure about that?"

"It's just one night," Evie chuckled, her voice a bit steadier now that she was calming down. "I won't... let myself get like that again. I promise."

They lapsed into silence. Uma knew she'd been given the all-clear to head back to her room. She could handle the princess staying awake for a single night. The clouds will likely have gone back to normal by the next morning. Still, she'd been doing this for the princess' sake. There was no point in her going back if she hadn't fulfilled her duty. That would make her no better than the people who had abandoned them.

Uma's eyebrows scrunched as she tried to figure out a compromise of some sort. Her eyes flicked to the light and an idea came to her. "Come to my room," she suggested.

"What?" Evie blinked at the captain in confusion.

"Come to my room. My light's dimmer than this one, so it won't stop us from sleeping if we keep it on."

Evie shook her head. "Uma, I can't do that."

Uma frowned. "Why not?"

"Because that's your space." Evie waved her hand vaguely as she tried to explain. "It's so hard to have anything that's yours on this island. You and Harry-!"

"It's just one night, right?" Uma demanded, glaring down at her. Evie bit her lip. That was what she'd said. "Exactly. One night, Blue, and then we'll be right back in here tomorrow and my room'll be mine again. Deal?"

"Okay, deal." Evie stood and followed Uma to her room.

Harry perked up when the door opened. He had been wondering what was keeping his dear captain. Usually, the lovely gem was sleep long before now. His eyes widened when said gem followed Uma into the room.

"Oh, what have we here?" he asked, standing from the bed. "Didja rethink my offer, Sapphire?"

Evie giggled and batted her eyelashes up at him playfully. "No, not tonight. I'm just here to sleep."

Both of them turned to where Uma was turning on her light. She wasn't joking. It was dim enough that Evie could almost believe the room was dark. She set it off to the side and motioned to Harry. He stepped to her side immediately and settled near the wall. Uma laid down in his arms and shifted to get comfortable.

"Come on," Uma grumbled. "It's getting late."

Evie glanced at the lamp and then the window before climbing onto the bed with them. Instead of settling into Uma's embrace, she wrapped her arms around Uma's upper torso, careful not to jostle Harry's grip on her.

"Thanks," she said quietly. "I don't know how I can repay you for this."

"Don't worry about it," Uma mumbled, finally relaxing now that the problem was solved. "Just get some sleep. Harry and I have stuff to do tomorrow."

Evie nodded and let her muscles finally ease. Harry shifted his embrace so that his arms encircled both his dear captain and the pretty gem. He didn't understand this a single bit, but Uma didn't seem worried, so he wouldn't be either.

His eyes caught Sapphire's for a moment. She was giving him a look he didn't recognize, but before he could look deeper, it was gone. Her eyes closed and she settled on the pillow to rest.

This was so curious. Harry would have to watch her more closely from now on. She was proving more interesting than he ever would've thought.

Chapter Text

Jay rubbed his hands together excitedly. He and Cherie waited in one of the castle sitting rooms for their friends to arrive. It would be the first time he saw any of the others in person since leaving Auradon Prep. He wasn’t sure how it would go, but he was excited nonetheless. 

Cherie gently bumped her shoulder with his and chuckled, "Calm down, or you'll start making me nervous."

"I can't help it," Jay told her, bumping her back. "I'm excited. I haven't seen them since the school year ended, so forgive me for not containing the energy a little more."

"Yeah, yeah," Cherie snorted. "You're just lucky I've been looking forward to catching up with Zahra. Otherwise, I'd totally tell them what a ball of energy you've become."

Jay huffed and gently pushed her. Cherie had become almost like a cousin of sorts since he came to stay in Naveem's kingdom. He appreciated being able to confide in her about things that bothered him. It wasn't quite the same as talking to Carlos or Mal, but it did make him feel significantly better. Of course, he couldn't fully express himself to her the way he could with them. Some things were left for the people who knew him best, but of all the royalty Jay had met so far, Cherie was definitely in the top favorites.

A knock at the door made both of them perk up and they stood as they heard one of the butlers ushering someone in. The sound of footsteps preceded the appearance of the three visitors and Dude. The little pup remained by the door, tail wagging happily as he watched the humans reunite.

"Zahra!" Cherie cheered, rushing over. She and Zahra shared a quick high five and hug. "How've you been? I hear Agrabah's heat is even worse this year."

"That tends to happen," Zahra laughed as she pulled back. "If anywhere else is a bit warmer, Agrabah amps up the heat, too. There were several times I thought poor Carlos would melt."

"Hey!" Carlos called, though the grin on his face diminished most of the reprimanding tone. "I'll have you know, I've been doing pretty well with the heat."

"Sure you have, mister wakes up practically swimming on his bed," Zahra teased.

Carlos rolled his eyes good-naturedly and Jane squeezed his hand comfortingly. The two of them let Cherie and Zahra continue their banter and Carlos turned to Jay. They hadn't seen each other for way longer than they were used to. Were they... still the same? None of them had ever been apart quite like this before, so Carlos was nervous their relationships would be different. 

All worries fled the second Jay scooped him into a hug. Jane let go of Carlos' hand just in time as Jay lifted him off the ground. Carlos felt his spine crack and he gave a breathless laugh, wrapping his arms around Jay as best he could.

"It's good to see you again, Buddy," Jay whispered, keeping Carlos pressed tightly against his chest. "I missed ya."

"I missed you, too," Carlos replied.

He buried his face in Jay's chest and took a deep inhale. Jay still smelled like leather and rainwater, but now, it was intermingled with grass and something Carlos couldn’t quite describe. Either way, it was great to see him again. Carlos nuzzled against Jay let the mostly familiar scent soothe any lingering worries in his mind. 

When they had been in different places, it felt like nothing would be the same. They were too far apart to come to each other's aid if they needed to. Now that he and Jay at least were in the same place, it felt less scary. When they were together, they were unstoppable, both on the Isle and on the tourney field.

Jane watched them curiously, noticing the way the tension melted from both of them as soon as they made contact. She had never really had close friends, so she didn't fully understand when Carlos spoke to her about missing his three best friends. However, if it made him feel better to be closer to them, she would do what she could to help. She’d also been missing everyone else. 

Usually, Jane wouldn’t mind being home for summer break, but this past year had changed a lot for her. She had people who cared about her and she cared about them. Being without the warmth of everyone’s presence, and without the abundant confidence of one person in particular, Jane was restless. It was a strange change for her to get used to and she was still figuring it out.

Jay let Carlos go and immediately turned to lift Jane into a gentler but no less welcoming hug. "You're looking gorgeous as always, Janey!"

"Charmer," Jane said, despite the light blush painting her cheeks. It always felt strange when anyone would compliment her, but it felt even stranger when it was Jay doing it. Girls swooned over him wherever he went. He knew he was attractive, so for him to compliment her sometimes made Jane consider pinching herself to see if she was actually awake. Either way, it was very welcome. 

"It's what I do," Jay laughed as he set her down. "So, how was the trip over? I heard you got here by satyr carriage instead of by car?"

"Oh yeah, it was so cool!" Carlos gasped. "Apparently, they struck a deal with Zeus way back in history, before Auradon obviously, as a reward for Phil helping Coach Hercules become a hero! Now, they have these super fast pegasus carriages. We got here way sooner than if we’d come by car."

Jay raised an eyebrow. "Wow, I'm impressed, and kinda jealous. Next time we decide to meet up, I'm coming to your place."

"You wouldn't survive the heat!" Cherie called, turning away from a discussion about the botany club at Auradon Prep.

"Uh, excuse me?" Jay snorted. "In case you forgot, I'm Agrabahan, too. I'm pretty sure I can handle the heat just fine."

"Whatever you say, tough guy." Cherie turned back to her friend, throwing an arm over Zahra's shoulders. "Come on, let's leave'em to catch up. There's some new additions in the garden that I wanted to get your advice on."

"Sounds like a plan," Zahra agreed. "Carlos, just come get me when you're ready to leave."

Carlos sent her a wave. "You got it. Have fun!"

As they headed out, he looked up at Jay excitedly. "So, you told me there was something you wanted me to see? You've been alluding to it over the phone for a while now, but you wouldn't tell me what was up. Got a new secret to share?"

The nervousness returned instantly. Jay knew his big news was the main reason he invited them over, but he wasn’t sure how they would take it. Considering everything they’d been through in the last year, though, it was only fair for some of his closest friends to find out. He wished all of his friends could be together for the big news… Still, Carlos and Jane finding out would make it easier to tell the others when the time came.

Jay stepped away from the duo carefully. He wanted to put a little distance between them just in case. "Alright, so first, ya gotta promise that you won't freak out."

"Jay, we literally faced Maleficent in her dragon form," Carlos reminded him. "I won't freak out."

"Good point," Jay chuckled. "Well, uh, it turns out that... I've got magic now."

Silence filled the air as his friends stared at him. Carlos' eyes widened as the words sank in and a grin slowly spread over his face. "No... no way!"

"Total way," Jay affirmed. As added proof, he held his hand out and called a water bottle to his palm. He held it out to Jane with a grin. "I've only been practicing small stuff like that because I don't want to accidentally cause problems-."

"Yeah, you prefer to cause problems on purpose," Carlos teased.

Jay stuck his tongue out at him and continued, "But it's been super fun. Cherie's been helping me with some of it and I made sure to tell King Naveen and Queen Tiana as soon as I was sure." He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Even if it wasn't my dad who hurt them, I didn't want them to think I'd turn out like Dr. Sam, ya know?"

"Dr. Sam?" Jane's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Sam is Dr. Facilier's first name," Carlos explained. "He preferred for the kids to call him Sam since it was easier for us to pronounce."

"That's really sweet of him," Jane murmured. She wouldn't have thought a villain would care about that kind of thing.

Carlos nodded. "He's one of the better parents on the Isle, so he knew how to treat kids." He turned back to Jay and bumped his shoulder excitedly. "But I can't believe it! You've had magic this whole time?"

"Apparently," Jay laughed. "Though, considering how our first month here went, I'm glad I didn't find out until now."

"What kinds of things do you think you'll do with it?" Jane asked.

Jay tapped his chin for a moment. "I'm not sure what the limitations are yet. My dad usually used his staff for magic, so all of this no-staff stuff is new territory. Might use it for parlor tricks until I have a better hold on it."

"Then maybe we can learn together," Jane said. Both boys turned to her and she grinned. Holding out her hand, she whispered, "Flowers." Pink sparkles shimmered in the air above her palm before two tulip bulbs appeared on her hand.

Two pairs of stunned brown eyes stared at her in awe and Jane felt another blush creeping up her neck. "U-um, I know you guys already knew that I had magic, but I'd never really shown you before, so I thought- I mean, it's nothing compared to my mom, and I am only able to use it verbally for right now, but, um..."

"You are so cool!" the boys chorused. Carlos wrapped Jane in a hug, careful not to jostle the flowers. "That's amazing!" he cheered.

"Soon enough, you'll be doing stuff just as powerful as your mom!" Jay added, swiping the flowers from her so that she could hug Carlos back.

"I wouldn't say that," Jane laughed as Carlos pulled away. "I just figured, since we were going to be together, I would show off a little."

Jay smirked. That sounded like a challenge. "I don't see why we can't both show off a little. It'll make the group a bit more interesting for more of us to do magic. Mal won’t be alone."

"You just want a chance to look cool whenever possible," Carlos told him with a teasing poke to his side.

"Hey!" Jay gasped in mock-offense. He grabbed Carlos in a headlock, playfully giving him a noogie as the flowers hovered in the air so as not to get damaged.

Jane laughed at their antics and reached out gently to test the flowers. They didn't move when she poked at them. She would have to ask Jay how he did that. She was still working on summoning things.

"Don't think you're exempt from the fun," Jay called.

Jane turned just in time for him to pull the flowers from the air. Carlos gave him a playful punch in the side and Jay snorted at him before turning back to Jane. He lifted one of the flowers and carefully tucked it into her hair. Jane stood perfectly still so she didn't mess him up. Turning away, Jay pulled Carlos closer and tucked the other flower into the collar of his shirt.

"There!" Jay grinned.

"Oh, but you don't have one," Jane pointed out. "That hardly seems fair."

Jay opened his mouth to respond, but Jane pointed at his own shirt collar and said, "Flower." A tulip peeked out, just the same as the one on Carlos.

"Now we all match!" Carlos said.

"Not bad!" Jay laughed. "Come on, I'll show you around. Jane, have you been here before?"

"No, not really," Jane responded, glancing at the ground sheepishly. "I've mostly only seen Beast Castle, since that’s the kingdom my mom is based now. I have seen a little bit of King Charming's castle, whenever mom takes me along to visit, though."

Jay shared a glance with Carlos before both grinned at her. "Then what are we waiting for?" Jay cheered. “Ya gotta see this place!”

"Where do you usually hang out here?" Carlos asked as Jay led them out of the sitting room.

"I tend to hang with Cherie in the game room," Jay explained, walking backward through the halls, pointing out different rooms as he went. "Sometimes, I like going to the fitness center, though." He flexed to show off and both Carlos and Jane laughed at his show of confidence. "Hey, I gotta keep in shape for next tourney season, you know!"

"We know," Jane snickered. She took a pause from admiring the tapestries lining the wall to shoot a sly grin at her boyfriend. "Carlos has been keeping fit, too."

Jay looked at Carlos in confusion. "How do you work out if Agrabah is so hot to you?"

"I go out to the garden," Carlos told him. "There's a cooling charm over it to keep the non-native flowers from shriveling up. So Dude and I just spend some time out there jogging and doing some of the exercises Coach had us doing during the year."

"Where is Dude anyway?" Jay asked, looking around. "I thought he came in with you?"

Carlos waved it off. "Knowing him, he probably snuck off to the kitchen and is begging for treats from the castle staff. He'll come find us once he's full."

"He sounds like a handful," Jay snickered. He turned down a hallway and pointed out the dining hall. "But on the subject of snacks, you want anything? I don't know how long your trip was, but there's always something ready-made on the buffet."

"That sounds good," Jane piped up. "I could go for a tart really quick."

"Mm, I can't wait to see what kind of treats they have here," Carlos agreed, rubbing his hands together as they followed Jay in.

Carlos made a beeline for the buffet while Jane paused to admire the detailing. It was even more astounding than the halls, as to be expected of King Naveen. Somewhat extravagant, so as not to be boring, but simple enough that it feels cozy, especially compared to the other two castle dining halls Jane had been in. It was almost comparable to Auradon Prep’s.

"Like it?" Jay asked softly.

Jane glanced over to find him smiling at her. "Yeah, it... it's beautiful."

"I had that same look on my face when I came in here for the first time," Jay chuckled. "It's so weird to know rooms this big and nice actually exist. On the Isle, everything is so small and cramped all the time. And if you have something nice, it wouldn't be on display like this, or it would get stolen."

"Carlos told me a little about it," Jane whispered. "I never knew life on the Isle was so tough, especially for the kids. I'm glad Ben gave you the chance to come over and experience... better lives. None of the kids deserve to go through what you four did."

Jay shrugged, though Jane could see the signs of tension in his stance. "Well, to be fair, all of our experiences were different, sort of. Carlos had to pay more attention to cleaning than anything, because Cruella was obsessed with her furs, you know? He didn’t have time to do much else when he was at home. I focused on stealing for my dad. He didn’t take too well to the sharp decrease in status, so whatever power he could have, he clung to it. Mal spent a lot of time just scaring everyone and establishing herself as a threat thanks to the pressure her mom had on her. I’m glad she doesn’t have to do that anymore and can just be whoever she feels like."

Jane slowly nodded, listening attentively. She knew there were details he was leaving out for her sake. She wouldn't force him to divulge them, especially not during a visit when they were supposed to be having fun. Though, it didn't escape her notice that one name had been absent.

Gently, Jane reached out and placed a hand on Jay's arm. He looked down at her expectantly and she said, "I don't know what it was like. I could never understand the pain you all had to go through. But we will get the rest of the children away from that horrible place. All of them."

Jay inhaled and held it for a few seconds. Right. They had to stay positive. They had to keep hoping, otherwise things could turn bad. Once the new school year started, he would be able to talk to Ben more directly about the situation with the Isle. Until then, they needed to help each other either keep their minds off of it, or stay positive about it.

"Thanks," he said softly as he let his breath out. "I-I mean it."

Jane shot him a smile, but before she could respond, Carlos appeared at their sides. She hadn't heard him coming and jumped toward Jay when he seemed to come out of thin air. Jay chuckled as he steadied her.

"Come on, man, you should know to make a little noise by now," Jay said, swiping one of the cookies Carlos had on his plate. “For the Auradonians’ sake.”

"Old habit," Carlos told him with a grin. "Anyway, I got a tart for you, Jane! And cookies for Jay and I to share if he hadn't stolen one instantly."

"You were going to share anyway," Jay said around a mouthful of chocolate chip.

"I'm reconsidering," Carlos teased. He held out the plate to Jane, who took the tart gratefully.

Jay swallowed the cookie and mock-gasped. "You wouldn't dare!"

Carlos said nothing for a long moment. Jane looked between them as she chomped the tart. Finally, Carlos grinned. He knew he would share with Jay, even if Jay hadn't swiped the cookie. It was just fun messing with him.

"Fine, I guess I can let it slide for now."

"Yes!" Jay pumped a fist in the air and snagged another cookie from the plate. At Carlos' playful glare, he said, "Old habits."

They shared a small laugh and Jane asked, "So I know Jay and I had good news, but what about you, Carlos?"

Carlos stared at her in confusion before he realized what she meant. "Oh! Right!" He chomped into a cookie as he explained, "Thanks to Mal's original plan to steal the wand, I was able to use that incident as proof that I'm capable of handling university classes. Fairy Godmother assured the head of the school that I was on a better track now, and..." He paused for dramatic effect. "I'm taking some of the classes next year!"

"Yes!" Jane cheered.

"Knew you could do it!" Jay exclaimed, throwing an arm around Carlos' shoulders. "No way were they turning you down after a stunt like that!"

"Even without that information, it's clear you're really good with technology," Jane agreed as she snuggled against Carlos' side to avoid getting any jam on his jacket. "You're going to ace those classes easy!"

Carlos grinned with a slight blush, pretending to grumble as Jay ruffled his hair. "Thanks. I was really nervous they wouldn't let me in because of, you know, the whole villain kid thing."

"Ben would sue them," Jane said without hesitation.

Her friends waited for her to laugh off the statement, but when all Jane did was take another bite of her tart, their jaws dropped. "Wait, seriously?" Jay shouted.

"Absolutely," Jane replied. "I saw Carlos' score on their exams. He was in the top 10%. There would be no reason for them not to let him take a few uni classes while he was at Auradon Prep, so Ben would sue on the grounds of discrimination."

"That... that's badass," Jay breathed.

"I have a whole new respect for Ben," Carlos murmured.

Jane smirked at them. "We may be the children of heroes, and we all definitely got off to a bad start, but Ben wouldn't let them deny you guys opportunities just because your parents are villains." She nuzzled Carlos’ shoulder. "He'd make sure you all have the best lives possible here. And so will Lonnie and I. We want to see you all succeed too."

"I appreciate it," Carlos told her. He made to nuzzle her hair, but remembered the very real chocolate around his mouth. Instead, he gave her a shoulder bump while Jay used his non-chocolatey hand to ruffle Jane's hair, too.

"We might be rubbing off on you just a little," he snickered. "Can't complain, though."

Footsteps made the group turn to spot Zahra and Cherie coming closer. Carlos heard the tell-tale jingle of Dude’s collar and looked over to find his furry friend strolling out of one of the doors near the buffet table. Dude looked very satisfied with himself, so it was safe to say his mission was a success. 

"What trouble are you three getting up to?" Cherie called, lifting her hand in a lazy wave.

"No trouble," Carlos replied. "Just grabbing a snack." He held up his half-empty plate and Jane showed what was left of her tart.

"Nice," Zahra murmured. "I could probably go for something, too. Cherie showed me some of the fruit trees they've got here, and it made me hungry."

"Join the party." Jay made an open-palm gesture to the buffet.

As Zahra made her way to the food, Cherie punched Jay's arm. "You're so corny," she hissed, playfully glaring up at him.

"Oh, like you weren't about to do the same thing," Jay said with a roll of his eyes.

"Would've done it with more pizzazz," Cherie shrugged. "No need to stop whatever you're doing on our account. You three can continue your secret meeting once we get some grub."

Carlos shook his head. "Jay said join the party, not raidthe party."

"It's Jay," Zahra called. "You never really know with him."

"I haven't raided anything except the dessert kitchen since I arrived!" Jay shot back.

"Like I said!" Zahra snorted.

Jay pouted at her for a moment before going back to stealing cookies from Carlos' plate. Cherie ruffled his hair as she passed him. Jane swiped a cookie from Carlos, too and said, "We might actually need to be heading back soon. I wasn't aware how long it would take to get to all of our houses-."

"Castles," Jay, Carlos, and Cherie chorused.

"Castles and house," Jane amended. "Maybe next time we can make it a big sleepover, though?"

"I'm down!" Cherie called. "Though, I'll have to check with my folks."

Zahra nodded. "I think it's better to either have it here or Jane's place. So you all don't melt."

"Ooh!" Cherie exclaimed, playfully shoving Zahra. "We might be able to have it at Queen Ariel's place! Since that's where Draco is staying, it might be a good meetup for us all."

"She hates when you call her that," Jay snorted.

Cherie gave him a pout and he added, "Okay, okay! I'll ask Mal if she wants in. It'll be a good time. Weekend at the beach, right?"

"Right!" the group chorused together.

Before long, the group had to head their separate ways. Jay pulled both Carlos and Jane into a tight hug. "Make sure to take care of yourselves and each other," he told them.

"We could say the same for you," Jane told him, though she returned the hug as tightly as she was able.

"We'll see you again soon," Carlos added. "Knowing you, you'll probably have some more magic to show us when we meet up."

"Bet on it," Jay smirked. He let go and held out two bags of treats. "Nicked these from the buffet before we left. Think of it as a parting gift."

Jane accepted hers and grinned. "I'll have to learn more magic if I'm going to keep up with you and all of your talents."

"Maybe," Jay laughed. "Or maybe you've got something up your sleeve, too. You just haven't found it yet."

"You just can't help yourself can you?" Carlos snorted. He gave Jay another hug. "I'll bring some Agrabahan treats next time. At least until you're ready to visit. Okay?"

"Thanks." Jay ruffled both their heads and stepped back. They were taking another satyr carriage, since they traveled faster than car. Everyone needed to be home by nightfall.

Carlos let Jane climb in before slipping in behind her. They waved to Jay and Cherie before the carriage took off. Zahra settled into the seat and explained some of the flowers she'd seen to Dude. While Dude asked numerous questions to keep the conversation going, Carlos pulled Jane against his side.

"Thanks," he murmured. "For suggesting this. It was great seeing him in person."

Jane shook her head. "We're all dealing with... some stuff, so I figured seeing each other would be a good idea. You look a lot more relaxed around him."

"So do you," Carlos said. "I'm glad. I missed everybody even more than I thought I would."

Jane entwined her fingers with his and they spent the rest of the trip listening to Zahra and Dude talk about flowers. However, when Jane’s house came into view, Carlos asked, “Zahra, do you mind letting us talk for a sec?”

“Not at all,” Zahra said. “I’ll keep Dude company.”

“Yeah! Go on!” Dude agreed. 

Carlos hopped out of the carriage and helped Jane step down. They moved a little up the walkway and Jane took a deep breath. Before Carlos could speak, she said, “Carlos, it’s okay.”

“...what?” Carlos blinked at her in confusion, but Jane gave him a smile.

“I… well, I started to notice back at Auradon Prep, but this whole visit sealed it. You’re going to break up with me.”

“No.” The tone was firm as Carlos took her hands in his. “No, of course not. Why would you think that?”

Jane gave a half-hearted shrug. She’d seen enough TV shows to understand this situation. “You’re different around Jay than you were around Mal and Evie, you know? You treat them like sisters, but Jay… When you’re with him, it’s like nothing is as bad when he’s around, right?” She cleared her throat. “I get it. He’s… better at this whole thing, so…”

Carlos shook his head. So that’s why she thought he was breaking up with her. He was going to put that notion out of her mind, then. “Jane, I love Jay. Ever since we became friends, he’s been there for me whenever he could. I am different around him than with the others, but that doesn’t mean I want to break up with you.”

He gently brushed away the tears in her eyes. “I was actually going to ask if you wanted to bring him into our relationship since you seem to like him, too.”

“...what?” Now it was Jane’s turn to stare in confusion.

“Didn’t you notice?” Carlos asked. “You blush more around Jay than anybody else. You get more flustered when he compliments you than when Lonnie or Ben do it. And you’re more comfortable being… touchy with him.” Carlos rubbed his neck in the same way Jay tended to. “I just thought you weren’t sure how to bring it up, so I was going to talk to you about it.”

Silence filled the air as Jane tried to make sense of what he was saying. Yes, she liked Jay. He was nice, muscular, he complimented her even though her didn’t have to, and he was a lot of fun to be around. He gave really nice hugs, even better than Ben, and he had a way of making any situation feel relaxed. That was just… who he was…

Now that Jane thought about it, she actually did get different around Jay. Carlos was usually the only one she accepted physical affection from apart from her mom, but she let Jay hug her as he pleased. Even in the calmest situations, she tensed up, but if Jay rubbed her hair or put a hand on her shoulder, she was fine. She wasn’t sure if she actually liked him the way she did Carlos, but the best she could do was see and find out. 

“Okay,” Jane finally said. “I’m still… unsure about where I stand with it, but… I wouldn’t mind at least trying.”

“Really?” Carlos asked. “Are you sure? If not, I don’t mind-.”

Jane squeezed his hands with a small grin. “I’m sure. It will at least help me understand my own feelings. And if I don’t think I feel for him that way, then I still won’t mind. It will be one more person giving you the love you deserve if nothing else.”

Wonder spread over Carlos’ face. She was serious. Jane was willing to give this sort of thing a shot. A smile tugged at his lips as he said, “Thanks. I’m sorry I sprung it on you like this, but it felt like something we should talk about in person.”

“I’m glad you did,” Jane told him, cupping his cheeks. “We can ask him about it during that weekend at the beach, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Carlos replied. He covered one of her hands with his before bringing it around to gently kiss her palm. “It was good to see you again, Jane,” he whispered.

A blush flared over Jane’s cheeks. Carlos really was better than any prince could ever be. “It was good to see you too. And we’ll see each other again soon, Carlos.”

“Bet on it,” he chuckled, slowly backing away. 

Jane watched him step into the carriage and waved as it sped off again. Her heart hammered against her chest as she thought through the conversation. She had never had two boyfriends before. She had never really even had one boyfriend before. But the more she thought about it, the more it did make sense. She wasn’t joking, either. If things didn’t work out with her and Jay, it would still be one more person to love Carlos. He deserved it. 

In the carriage, Zahra and Dude both teased Carlos about how romantic he and Jane had looked. They made jokes about it the entire way home. Carlos let him because he couldn’t believe he had managed to find such a great girlfriend. The big goofy smile on his face didn’t waver for even a second the whole rest of the ride.

Chapter Text

Ben sighed as he stepped out of the council meeting. Honestly, he understood the trepidation with the Isle. Villains were over there. People still remembered what the villains had done to them, so it made sense that most people would be hesitant to talk about anything to do with the Isle. But the children over there had never done anything to anyone. It wasn't right for them to be trapped on the island when they could be living good lives and learning how to be good in Auradon. He even pointed out that there were four Isle children that had come over and were perfectly integrated, but that still didn't speed things up.

Deciding to ignore the frustration with the council, Ben headed to his changing room. Thanks to his parents' castle being modernized, he had a small ballroom that served as his own exercise room. He needed to practice for fencing, since he had slacked off due to king duties the previous year.

Ben quickly changed into his fencing gear and stepped out into the room. As usual, he began stretching as he thought on another way to convince the Council to make changes to the Isle. The Royal Court never sat in on those meetings, so he didn’t have to worry about justifying anything to them.

A knock on the door made Ben look up in confusion. One of the servants, Conrad, bowed politely and said, "You have a visitor, My Liege."

Ben smiled and nodded. "Send her in, Conrad."

Conrad bowed again before stepping out of the room. A moment later, Lonnie peeked in. She visited every few days to check in on him since everyone was so spread out. She lifted her hand in a wave as she stepped into the room. "Hey," she called. "I didn't interrupt anything did I?"

"Not at all," Ben told her. "I was just stretching."

"Neat. Mind if I join you?"

"As you're now my new captain, I would be honored.”

Lonnie rolled her eyes and sat to stretch beside him. "So, how have things been going?"

Ben huffed softly. "Not well. Every time I bring up the Isle, there are a mountain of excuses for why we can't do anything about it. It mostly just boils down to 'the villains might escape'."

Lonnie's lip curled as she listened. While she had no idea just how fearsome most of the villains on the Isle were, Auradon wasn't the same as when they were rampaging. The villains were stuck in the past while Auradon had moved into the future. It would be easy to catch, detain, and lock them up again.

"It sounds like a bunch of privileged cowards are afraid of a few children," she muttered.

"That's how it feels, yeah," Ben sighed. "I want the kids to come over. I spent six months doing practically nothing for the Isle. I don't want to fall into that complacency again."

"I get you," Lonnie told him. "It was your proclamation that brought the first four over, and it was your lack of action that-."

"Got one stuck again?" Ben grumbled bitterly.

Lonnie reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It was your lack of action and the results of it that showed you how important your proclamation is," she corrected. "You saw firsthand how terrible it was for the kids over there and what they have to resort to in order to survive."

Ben felt a bit of his worry ease listening to her. He had seen what the kids were like. When he was showing off his new pickpocket skills, it didn't escape his notice that Evie no longer had her wallet on her. He doubted she missed the way he swiped her sunglasses, so she must have given it to someone. Between her lessons on how to be bad and Uma's resolve to free the kids, Ben knew he had to do something for them. Even if he couldn't get them off the island immediately, he had to do something to make their lives better.

Lonnie stood, breaking him from his deep thought. "Come on," she ordered, reaching for Ben's spare foil and mask. "We can discuss it while we practice. I want you able to run circles around Chad by next season."

A snort was her response as Ben also stood. "While I do need to touch up my form, I doubt anyone could beat our most esteemed captain."

"Ha ha," Lonnie huffed, though the smile on her lips toned down the bite. "Just for that, I ought to make you run laps when we're finished."

"You'd just run them with me," Ben pointed out.

Lonnie only gave a shrug of agreement as the two of them faced each other and shifted into the proper stance. “En garde,” Lonnie said. The air charged with energy as she said, “Prete.”

Ben’s entire body was wired as she called, “Allez!” He surged forward, keeping his eyes on her. Their foils collided as they parried one another. Lonnie toned down her skill while they traded parries. She was on a different level than most of the fencing team thanks to the sword-fighting lessons with her parents. It would be unfair to go all-out against any member of the team, even during practice.

“Have you tried pointing out that there are young kids there?” she asked as Ben dodged a lunge and moved into a fleche, only for her to block it.

“Yeah, I told them that some of Uma’s crew looked barely in their teens,” Ben replied, hurrying to block Lonnie’s next lunge. He parried quickly and added, “I also mentioned how underfed they all looked. I don’t think they’re getting enough to eat since we don’t know the Isle’s population.”

Lonnie spun to the side and Ben’s lunge took him past her. He recovered quickly, hurrying to block her fleche from behind. “What about them stealing for resources?” she tried. “I don’t remember much, but you’ve shown off some of the pickpocketing you had to learn in order to fit in over there for a night. What about that?”

“They said that there was only so much to steal on the island,” Ben replied, ducking what would have been a touch otherwise. “But if they came over to Auradon, the children could steal anything.”

“That’s stupid!” Lonnie huffed as she easily blocked his next lunge. “They wouldn’t need to steal over here since there’s plenty to go around!”

“That’s what I said!” Ben exclaimed. His momentary lapse in attention allowed Lonnie to finally land a strike and they stood from their defensive positions. “It’s not right to judge them on that behavior when they don’t get enough to go around, unlike the people here.”

“Jay stole plenty of things his first month here,” Lonnie agreed. “He has since given the stuff back now that he realizes that stealing isn’t necessary. No one wants him to take things to resell them, and there’s no reason to steal for what he needs since he can just buy it.”

“And that’s assuming his guardians don’t already have it.” It was a relief to know that he wasn’t the only one thinking the council’s fears were unwarranted and ridiculous. Ben stepped back so they could move back into position again.

Just like before, they moved into action at Lonnie’s call. “What do they want you to do to prove the kids deserve help?” Lonnie growled as she parried Ben’s initial lunge. “They have living proof that the kids can be good when taken out of that environment!”

Ben stepped to the side to avoid her returning lunge and sighed. “I don’t know what to do to get through to them. It feels like we go in circles every meeting and without anything concrete to present, I keep hitting a wall.”

Silence filled the air as they focused on practicing. As they did, Lonnie tried to think of a way to help her friend. Unfortunately, her own experience with the Isle was even scanter than Ben’s. He had at least spent a few hours there, while she only showed up to fight and get everyone to safety. There was nothing either of them could do to help.

Ben shifted from a fleche to a lunge in an attempt to take Lonnie off-guard, only for her to snag another victory. “That was a good technique,” she told him, taking off her mask. “If it was anyone else, you probably would’ve caught them unawares and gotten a touch.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks,” Ben chuckled as he removed his own mask. He held out his hand and Lonnie shook it. Good sportsmanship was just as important as practice. They set their foils off to the side for a break.

Ben pulled the string for a servant to bring some water and joined Lonnie on the bench against the wall. She handed him a towel, which Ben accepted. Wiping the sweat from his face, Ben turned to Lonnie with a small smile. “Thanks for your help, too. Even if we’re still at the same dead end, it’s nice to be able to talk to someone about it.”

Lonnie bit her lip and hesitantly asked, “Have you… talked about it with Mal?”

The air changed instantly. Ben’s back straightened and Lonnie scooted a little away from him. “I… Mal and I are… focusing on our relationship,” Ben coughed. “She didn’t take well to being a Lady of the Court before Cotillion, so I… I don’t want to bring her into this too suddenly, you know? I don’t want to overwhelm her again.”

“That makes sense,” Lonnie agreed quietly. “A big part of council meetings is being able to pay attention, even through the annoying or boring parts. Audrey and I can barely keep our eyes open through them, so I can’t imagine how it must feel for Mal.”

“Right, exactly.” Ben was saved any further awkwardness by Conrad returning with some water bottles.

“Here you are, sire,” he said as he politely set the bottles on the bench.

Ben handed a bottle to Lonnie before taking one for himself. “Thanks, Conrad, you’re the best.”

“I do my best, Your Highness,” Conrad responded with a polite bow and a small grin before excusing himself again.

Lonnie downed most of her water bottle as Ben sipped his more slowly. “That was a good practice,” she told him. “You’re getting a lot better than my first visit.”

“Thanks,” Ben snorted. “I’ll probably get some more practice in before your next one, too.”

“You always do,” Lonnie chuckled. She cleared her throat and said, “Actually, speaking of seeing you again, the others are planning a sleepover at Queen Ariel’s castle soon.”

Ben perked up at that. Apart from video-calling Mal every other day, Lonnie was the only one of the group that he saw regularly. He had mostly just been exchanging texts with Jay, Jane, and Carlos. “Really? Do you know around when?”

“It’s for one of the upcoming weekends,” Lonnie replied. “No surprise, it was Jay and Carlos’ idea when they had their visit at King Naveen’s castle.” She shifted sheepishly. “I can’t go because my dad wants to double down on some of my training before the school year starts, but it would be a good chance for you to catch up with everyone.” She waved her hand in a vague gesture at the room. “Clear your head a little from all of this council stuff.”

Ben thought on that. He had been busy the entire summer. Even without council meetings, he had a lot of duties around Auradon to attend to. He usually only had time to himself in the late evenings and early mornings. He had been talking intermittently with Doug and Jay in one-on-one texts, but it really had mostly been group chat texts with the others for most of the summer. A sleepover might be a good idea…

“I’ll ask them about it,” he decided. “If I can, I’ll clear my schedule and head over. It’ll be nice to see them all again.”

“You’re telling me,” Lonnie whispered as she stood and Ben mimicked her. “I’m gonna head out before it gets too late.”

“Good idea.” Ben hesitantly opened his arms for a hug and Lonnie stepped into it. While soft, it was quick. Both of them were aware that Ben was working on his relationship with Mal and Lonnie was not interested in the drama that came along with that.

“I’ll try to drop by soon,” she said as she made her way to the door. “Make sure to work on your form. I need a workout when I get here or Mom might stop letting me come over.”

They shared a laugh and Ben waved as she left. Once Lonnie was out of sight, he dragged a hand down his face. He wanted so badly to help the kids, but there was a deeper reason for his irritation with the council.

Closing his eyes, Ben remembered back to that day. "I promised I wouldn't leave you here!" "Then you're just going to have to break it." The one promise he could’ve followed through on had he just followed her instructions. Instead, thanks to him stepping off on his own, Evie was stuck on the island again.

Ben would push as many times as necessary for the council to finally listen to him. He wouldn’t lie down and do nothing again, like those six months after the coronation. He wanted the kids free, and he wanted to bring Evie back home.

Chapter Text

Mal held her tongue between her teeth as she floated the last of the ballroom tables over to the edge of the room. Melody folded the tablecloths and set them gently on the chairs stacked against the wall. Just one long table of snacks and a bunch of space ‘for teenagers to do whatever it is teenagers do at sleepovers’ according to King Eric.

“Magic sure does come in handy,” Melody chuckled as she wiped her hands on her dress. “Wonder if I can learn a bit here and there to help me out.”

“If you’ve got some magic, I wouldn’t mind helping you learn some tricks,” Mal told her as they headed toward the ground floor sitting room. “Since your Grandpa had that trident, I bet magic runs in the family like it does for me and Jane.”

“You may be on to something,” Melody hummed, plopping down on one of the couches. “I’ll bring it up to Mom once the weekend’s over. When did they say they would be here?”

Mal opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by both of their phones going off. Mal checked it first and chuckled. “Apparently, right now. They’ve just arrived.”

“Sweet!” Melody pumped a fist in the air. “This is gonna be amazing! It’s been ages since I last had a sleepover.”

“That’s still so weird to me,” Mal snorted as they made their way to the front entrance. “On the Isle, if ever the kids didn’t want to be around their parents, they always crashed with each other to avoid them. Jay, Carlos, and I all had a secret hideaway where we could just be without our parents yelling at us or ordering us around.”

Melody listened attentively, noting the absence of one name in particular. She had learned in the weeks since Mal’s arrival that mentioning Evie was a sure way to cause Mal to shut down. However, considering the Isle girls had been practically inseparable at Auradon Prep, it was hard not to notice when Mal blatantly didn’t mention her best friend. Melody wouldn’t push, since they weren’t really close enough for that yet, but she hoped that, with time, Mal would be able to open up about Evie without feeling guilty or sad. Especially since Evie would be back in no time!

“Well, not really a lot of ‘running from parents’ over here,” she spoke up sheepishly. “And since we’re all in different sub-kingdoms, it gets a little difficult seeing each other regularly outside of Auradon Prep.” She bumped her shoulder against Mal’s. “Though, from what I heard, that didn’t stop you three, either. Lonnie told me she and Jane would find Carlos and Jay in your room or vice versa constantly.”

Mal laughed and bumped her back. “It gets boring staying cooped in the same place without your closest friends around!” she shot back. “What’s the point in relaxing if you’ve got no one to do it with?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Melody chuckled.

They rounded the corner and spotted the servants bringing in overnight bags from the Satyr Carriages. They hurried down the steps, eager to see their friends after what felt like forever being apart. Mal barely made it to the last step before a figure rushed her from the side. Melody skidded to a halt as the red blur spun Mal around. A white blur darted at them from the other side, joining the group hug as Mal’s laughter rang through the air.

“Jay!” she shouted. “You know I hate it when you do that!”

“Yeah, but it’s always a ton of fun!” Jay laughed as he finally set her down.

Carlos wrapped her in a proper hug now that she was on her own two feet. “Plus, not everyone can say they took a dragon off-guard!”

“Only because no one’s stupid enough to try!” Mal snickered, ruffling his hair affectionately. “You’ve gotten taller since the school year ended.”

“It’s the exercises,” Carlos shrugged with a grin. “Since we’ve been eating properly, my growth isn’t as stunted as on the Isle.” He struck a pose to show off, causing his best friends to laugh at him.

“Can you believe this guy?” Jay snorted as he also ruffled Carlos’ hair.

Mal affectionately bumped his chest with her shoulder. “You’re looking decidedly more serpentine, too,” she told him.

“That’s just natural Agrabahan charm,” Jay told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“And his father’s magic heritage!” Zahra called with a laugh.

“Oh come on!” Jay whined, instantly turning away from Mal to level a pout at her. “I was gonna surprise her and look all cool and everything!”

“You were taking too long,” Cherie snickered as she strolled closer with Zahra and Jane on her heels.

Jay pouted at the both of them before his usual grin slid back onto his lips. “Well, it just means I don’t have to hold back on the magic tricks then!” he cheered, calling a red flame to hand.

Cherie took a deep breath and blew the flame out, much to the mirth of the others. Jay reached over and pulled her into a headlock as Doug strolled in from the carriages. Cherie pressed her fingertips into Jay’s stomach, tickling him enough to make him release her and smirked.

“I’ll call you when next Mom needs a few candles lit,” she teased.

“You are the worst,” Jay said, though his beaming grin lessened any bite he might have had.

“Glad to know at least one of you managed to form a sibling connection of some sort,” Doug snorted. He crossed his arms and smirked at Carlos. “Pretty sure Carlos and Zahra have only shared seventeen sentences with each other. Tops.”

“That’s not true!” the aforementioned pair chorused.

Zahra pointed at Carlos from over Cherie’s shoulder. “Just this morning, we had an entire conversation about the bazaar!”

“Oh really?” Melody laughed. “How long was that conversation?”

“Ten whole minutes!” Carlos stated, puffing his chest proudly. “Zahra was telling me about the best places to get fabric, sports gear, and treats for Dude!”

Jane tilted her head at him curiously. “Why do you need fabric?”

“He wants to ask Evie to make him a new wardrobe,” Zahra explained. Jay, Doug, Jane, and Mal all stiffened immediately. “The clothes he wore at Auradon Prep are too heavy for Agrabah weather, so I told him where he can get some lighter fabric for her to use.”

Silence filled the air for a moment as Cherie and Melody looked from Zahra to the rest of the group. Doug and Jane watched the three Isle kids carefully and Zahra seemed to realize exactly what she’d said. Carlos avoided Jay and Mal’s gazes for a moment before looking at his feet.

“She’s always my first thought when it comes to clothes,” he mumbled. “For a sec… I forgot.”

“It’s alright, dude,” Jay told him quietly, his tone more subdued now. “The same thing happened with me and Cherie just the other day. She asked me about decorating my room…”

Mal scuffed her foot. “I did it with Melody and Queen Ariel, too,” she piped in. “When I was thinking about painting some of their walls. It happens. Doug probably does it, too.”

All three turned to him and he rubbed his neck, nodding. “It’s… a little difficult to dance around it, considering… Snow…”

“See?” Jane spoke up carefully. “It’s… okay. We all slip up a little. Why don’t we… take this weekend to relax and properly catch up?”

“Lil Fairy’s got a point,” Cherie agreed, gently bumping her shoulder against Zahra’s. “It’s been way too long since I spent any quality time with any of you apart from Jay. Maybe we can forge some actual bonds this weekend instead of being adopted siblings in the same place?”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Melody chirped. She motioned to the servants to take the bags to the ballroom. “Mal and I have spent the last day getting the ballroom ready to hold us all, so whatever you guys want to do, we should be prepared.”

The air eased the more they all spoke. They hadn’t intended for things to get heavy like that so soon, but it was probably better to acknowledge it sooner rather than later. Cherie hooked an arm around Zahra’s waist as Jay pulled Carlos and Mal closer. Doug and Jane brought up the rear as Melody led the way to the ballroom.

“Actually, there was something I had in mind,” Cherie spoke up as they stepped into the expansive room.

“I am not playing tennis with you again,” Zahra interrupted immediately. “Last time we did, you bruised Doug’s nose!”

“I apologized for that!” Cherie exclaimed, shooting an apologetic glance at Doug.

“And I forgave you,” Doug replied with a dip of his head. “What did you have in mind?”

Cherie pointed at Carlos and Jay. “I wanna teach the boys the basics of swimming,” she declared.

Both of them immediately stiffened nervously. “Uh…” Jay cleared his throat awkwardly. “Is that… necessary? I mean, I don’t really go near the water all that much…”

“And I’m in Agrabah,” Carlos pointed out. “You know, the middle of the desert?”

“No, I think Cherie has a point,” Mal hummed, tapping her chin. Her friends rounded on her incredulously. “Come on, guys. That’s one of the things Uma’s crew always had over us, remember? We never learned how to swim. How are you two going to stand toe-to-toe with Harry and Gil if being near water makes you freeze up?”

“That’s easy for you to say!” Jay huffed. “You’re a dragon! All you have to do is fly!”

Melody bounced over to her adopted sister's side excitedly. “Actually, funny thing about that!” she chirped. “Mal already knows how to swim!”

All jaws dropped, the entire group staring at Mal in shock. She gave them a grin and explained, “Lonnie and Ben taught me the basics during one of their visits and Melody’s been helping me get better. So, I’m already an intermediate swimmer.”

Jay and Carlos blinked at her and shared a quick glance. “Are we really gonna let our fearless leader show us up like that?” Carlos mock-whispered.

“Absolutely not!” Jay mock-whispered back. “We can’t let her get too far ahead of us!”

“Then there’s only one thing to do,” Carlos stated in the most exaggerated serious tone he could muster.

He and Jay shared a nod as Jane fought back laughter waiting for them. “Time to learn how to swim.”

“Yes!” Cherie cheered, pumping a fist in the air as Zahra, Jane, and Melody shared high fives. “Let’s head to the pool while it’s still warm out! Don’t want the ocean breeze coming in and freezing them solid before they get the basics down!”

“I’ll go see if we have some extra swim trunks!” Melody called. She took off with one of the servants excitedly.

And that is how the entire sleepover party spent a whole afternoon splashing one another and dunking each other underwater. Jay, Jane, and Mal spent half that time making the water do ridiculous things with magic. Jay and Mal created creatures from the water and the rest of the group cheered them on, until Jay’s water serpent crushed Mal’s water lizard in its grip.

“Hah!” Jay cheered, throwing his fists in the air. “Take that, ya overgrown lizard!”

“Take that back, you glorified garden worm!” Mal yelled, her lizard sprouting wings and shaking the serpent off.

Jay opened his mouth to respond when an influx of power came from behind him. Out of the water rose a large mouse, bringing its large water claws down on both the winged lizard and the serpent. Both dissolved into waves in the pool as Mal and Jay turned to Jane incredulously. Her eyes glowed bright pink as she smirked at them and both of them felt their hearts leap into their throats.

“That was incredible! ” Jay gasped, hopping out of the pool and sweeping Jane up in a hug. “I didn’t know you could do something that badass! You’re amazing, Janey!”

Jane’s cheeks flushed as the glow faded from her eyes and Carlos smirked at her. “I couldn’t let you two have all the fun,” she laughed as Jay set her down. “You’re just lucky Melody decided not to get involved.”

They turned to where Melody was smirking at them, weaving seashells into Cherie’s hair. “I figured it would be cheating for me to join. You know, since my grandfather’s king of the ocean.”

“Certain fire-breathing menaces to humanity appreciate the discretion,” Mal laughed, using the stairs to get out of the pool. She plopped next to Melody and received a playful ruffle of her hair.

“No worries, Draco,” she teased, having picked up Cherie’s nickname. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Mal huffed a ring of smoke at her playfully as Zahra and Doug slipped back into the water. Carlos and Jane joined them, playfully splashing in the shallow end. Carlos may have been taught to swim, but he was nowhere near brave enough to head to the deep end without Melody to save him.

Jay sprawled on the poolside chair beside Cherie and grinned. “Those look great,” he told her, pointing at her hair. “You should have them in when we head home.”

“You think so?” Cherie fingered one of the braids thoughtfully. “They do look really pretty…”

“You know Mom will want a ton of pictures,” Jay laughed. He also reached over to twirl one of the braids as Melody and Mal watched him with interest. “It will probably inspire a theme for the restaurant.”

“Ooh, that would be fun!” Cherie gasped. “I’ll send a selfie when Melody’s finished!” She smirked at him slyly. “You should get yours done, too.”

Jay blinked at her and ran his fingers through his sopping hair. “I dunno. King Naveen’s already jealous enough of it.”

“He’s not jealous,” Cherie said, placing her hand over his. “He just wishes his could grow as good, that’s all. He’ll love seeing you do something with it.”

“Alright, sure,” Jay relented. “So long as Melody is fine with it.” He looked over at her and frowned when he found Melody and Mal watching him intently. “What?”

“You called Queen Tiana ‘Mom’,” Mal said quietly. Jay stiffened and she hurried to add, “It just took me off guard. I call King Eric ‘Dad’ sometimes.”

“You do?” Jay asked, perking up a bit.

Mal shrugged. “I mean, I… I’ve never really had a Dad before, so…”

Jay nodded. “And I’m the only one of us who never had a Mom before…”

“How curious,” Zahra murmured. The group looked up to see her and Doug coming closer. “Carlos has settled down on using Mom and Dad’s titles, but he still calls them by name.”

“Well, all of us are different,” Jay shrugged as Zahra and Doug settled on the seat with Cherie. “Mal and I aren’t ones to really hold back when we’re relaxing, you know?”

“But Carlos had to be cautious all the time on the Isle,” Mal said. “So, it’s in his nature to be more hesitant about things.”

“Not that I haven’t tried to relax a little.”

The last two members of the group made their way over with matching grins. Jay scooted over on his seat so that they could join him. Carlos pulled Jane down onto his lap as he smiled at Zahra. “Aladdin makes it so easy to just be myself around him, it’s almost scary. He even asks me about the tech I’m working on, even though he’s not really into it.” He nuzzled against Jane’s shoulder. “I’ve never had a parent ask me about my interests before.”

“I don’t think any of us have,” Mal murmured. “That’s so…”

“Weird,” Jay and Carlos finished knowingly.

“I’m finding out so many things are ‘weird’ to you three,” Melody murmured.

“Ditto,” Cherie and Zahra agreed, watching them.

Doug and Jane shared a furtive glance, having long since taken the Isle children’s behaviors and quirks in stride. They smiled, knowing there was still something no one could take from them, even with one of their number missing and two more absent. With time, maybe the three adopted siblings could become part of the group as well.

Some stomachs growling caught everyone’s attention and Cherie sent her friends a sheepish smile as Jay rubbed his neck. “Guess that’s a sign it’s time to dry off and eat,” Melody snickered, finishing the last braid. “You wanna get that selfie before we head out, Cherie?”

“Nah, I got a better idea.” Cherie pulled her against her side and motioned to Zahra and Jay. Mal tugged Doug into the frame and Carlos and Jane hurried over as Cherie held her phone out. All of them made sure her braids were perfectly visible and they all smiled for the camera.

“Nailed it,” Jay laughed as they all stood to leave. Mal levitated towels to everyone and used magic to heat herself dry. Jay did the same for himself, and Melody simply used her own powers to send the water clinging to her back into the pool.

Once everyone was dried off, the group headed back to the ballroom where a buffet had already been set out. Melody, Doug, and Jane hung back as their friends practically attacked the buffet. Cherie and Jay piled their plates high while Zahra took one of everything to see if she could try something new. Mal took more to the fruit and meat while Carlos stuck with vegetables and pasta. The five of them chose one of the tables Melody and Mal had left out and their remaining friends laughed as they got their own plates.

Conversation lulled as everyone focused on their food. Swimming took a lot of energy, and Mal, Jay, and Jane especially had used up quite a bit doing magic. All three of them needed to recharge, which led to Carlos sharing some of his food with Jane so she didn’t have to get back up.

“So,” Zahra spoke up as she slowed down on eating. “What have you got in mind for tonight?”

“Mal thought it would be nice to watch movies together,” Melody replied, swiping some pineapple from Mal’s plate. “Movies, board games for anybody who wasn’t into movies, and card games for anybody not into board games. Since there’s so many of us, it should be just fine.”

“Now that sounds like a party,” Jay chuckled as he pushed some of his food onto Carlos’ plate. He stood. “Be back. Gonna go refill.” Cherie made to stand as well, but Zahra stopped her, nodding to Carlos and Jane. They returned it and stood to follow Jay.

Cherie watched them go and leaned over to her friend. “What was that about?” she asked quietly.

“They need the privacy,” Zahra explained as she swiped some of Cherie’s food and put it on Doug’s plate. “Trust me. Just wait a little bit, alright?”

“Ooh, a secret?” Melody’s eyes twinkled curiously. “You better spill when you get the chance.”

Zahra rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t keep the grin off her lips as she glanced at the trio. She hoped it all worked out for them. No way would she be able to contain herself much longer otherwise.

Jay glanced over as Carlos appeared on one side of him and Jane popped up on the other. He looked between them curiously and set his plate down. “Something tells me this is a ‘full attention’ kinda scenario,” he murmured nonchalantly.

“Correct,” Jane nodded. She looked over at Carlos, rubbing her hands on her skirt nervously.

Carlos took a deep breath. In Auradon, everything held weight to it somehow. Every move had to be calculated or something. Stuff wasn’t that stiff on the Isle, so Carlos would go back to his Isle self for a sec to do this.

“Jay, Jane and I have been talking, and… we want you to… be our boyfriend. If you want.”

Jay blinked at him silently and anxious energy filled the air. “Wait…” He looked between them, stepping away from the table so he could look at both of them together. “You mean you guys…”

“We want to date you,” Jane explained further. “If you would be okay with that. Carlos said… relationships like this were… common on the Isle?”

“Yeah, the whole dating scene is weirder here, but-.” Jay’s eyes widened. “Wait, both of you?”

Carlos wrapped an arm around Jane’s waist with a grin. “We talked about it after our visit to your castle. We want to court you, too, Jay.”

“Hell yeah!” Jay cheered, scooping them both up in a crushing hug. “Absolutely! I mean, I didn’t wanna say anything cause you both seemed so happy, you know? But yeah, I’d love to! Man, this is gonna be so sick!”

“Does that mean he said yes?” Zahra yelled from the table. “Cherie and Melody keep staring at me!”

“He said yes!” Carlos laughed, wrapping his free arm around Jay’s shoulders as Jane did the same.

Zahra cheered from her spot excitedly. “Is anyone going to tell us what’s going on?” Doug said loudly, just barely holding back his laughter as Mal stood to join the group hug.

“Jane and Carlos just asked Jay to join their relationship,” Zahra explained, patting his cheek playfully. “They’ve been talking it over for days and wanted to use the sleepover to ask him formally.”

“No way!” Cherie gasped. Like Mal, she stood to join the group by the buffet. “I can’t believe it! That’s amazin’, you three!” She leaped on Jay’s back, giving him a noogie. “You lucky rascal! How come ya get a boyfriend and a girlfriend?!”

“It’s the genes!” Jay retorted playfully, setting his friends down so he could shake her off. “Nobody can withstand the Agrabah charm.”

“Don’t I know it,” Cherie and Doug chorused.

The entire room froze for a second as they looked at each other and Melody laughed. “That’s two now!” she cackled. “Can’t wait for you two to work up the shells like Jane and Carlos.”

“Whoa, that’s… Maybe that’s a little far a little soon,” Doug chuckled, rubbing his arm as Cherie bumped her shoulder with his.

“Relax, Specs,” Cherie told him. “Zahra and I will wait until you’ve moved on from the Blue Beauty.”

“We would be fools if we thought we could ever compete with her,” Zahra agreed, completely unfazed finding out both of them were crushing on her. “Take your time.”

Jay nuzzled against Carlos’ cheek, still high on being asked out. “Ben’s going to lose it when he finds out,” he chuckled.

“Ben?” Mal snorted. “Imagine the look on Chad’s face. Or Fairy Godmother’s.”

“I really hope I’m around for both of those,” Melody snickered.

“Especially Chad,” Doug agreed, sharing a fist bump with Cherie when she returned to the table.

Jane looked up at Jay as they settled down. “You’re sure it’s okay?” she asked softly.

“Hey.” Jay gently pulled her into a hug and Jane nuzzled his chest. “I’ll admit, I’m still new to the whole ‘courting’ thing, but no way I can deny you two make me happy. I’m absolutely down to try this with you, Jane.”

“Good,” Carlos murmured, piling more food on their plates. “Because we’re so excited to have you part of this, Jay.”

Jay ruffled his hair affectionately and picked up his plate. Jane grabbed hers and the three of them returned to the table. Mal took an extra moment to grab some more strawberries before rejoining the group. The rest of lunch was spent making jokes at Jay and Zahra’s expense and continued congratulations to the new throuple.

Melody stood to get the projector ready for movies while Mal stepped out to grab some board games and card games for them all to play. A few servants followed her in, carrying sleeping bags and blankets, just in case the group was too tired to head to the guest rooms. After all, what sleepover ends with everybody splitting up?

From there, things wound down. Mal moved off to have her nightly call with Ben to give him an update. Melody joined Cherie, Doug, and Zahra for board games while Carlos and Jane watched a few corny movies together. Mal and Jay went back and forth between challenging each other to cards and checking out movies.

“Oh, come on!” Jay groaned. “I thought I had you that time!”

“You wish! ” Mal snorted, collecting the cards. “Melody’s kicked my tail every time we played. If nothing else, I at least need to be able to beat somebody else.”

“In my defense, I have to keep up with Cherie and Doug,” Melody called, moving a piece on the backgammon board. “The two smartest and most competitive people we’ve got.”

Doug moved his own piece and snorted. “You say that, but it’s taking both of us just to keep up with you in a game of luck.”

Zahra glanced over from the movie. “I believe in you,” she called, making Doug’s cheeks flush.

“Hey!” Melody snapped playfully. “I can’t claim I beat him fair and square if he gets distracted by the ‘Agrabahan charm’!”

“As if you wouldn’t claim it regardless,” Zahra snorted.

“She totally would,” Cherie snickered.

Mal grinned as she shuffled the cards. “See? We have to keep up somehow, Jay.”

“Fair point,” Jay sighed exaggeratedly.

He looked over to find Jane dozing slightly on Carlos’ shoulder and Zahra just barely able to keep her eyes open as well. No doubt, they would all be turning in soon. As the thought crossed his mind, Jay watched Cherie’s jaw open in a yawn.

“Last round before bed?” he asked Mal quietly.

She looked around at the others and gave a nod. On the Isle, nighttime was when everyone was most active, but plenty of people still used it as a time for sleep. Even nocturnal dragon-fairies needed to sleep. “Yeah, sounds good. Let’s see if you can beat me this time.”

“Bet on it.”

Within the hour, the party had simmered down. Jay moved his sleeping bag next to Carlos’, still grumbling over losing that last round. Carlos gently set Jane on a sleeping bag and grabbed a blanket to cover her. Cherie and Zahra curled up on a blanket flanking Melody, while Doug snagged a sleeping bag slightly apart from them. Mal dragged her own sleeping bag between the two groups, snagging an extra blanket just in case. Soon enough, soft snores filled the air as the group recharged for the coming day.

Nighttime in Eric’s kingdom was peaceful, but that didn’t stop a certain someone from tossing and turning as he had every night before. And just like every night before, he awoke with a slight jerk. By this point, he wasn’t even surprised.

Carlos rubbed his face and sat up. He glanced over at the sound of movement and found Jay attempting to slip out of his sleeping bag unnoticed. Both froze for a few seconds before Jay held out a hand to help Carlos up. Neither said anything as they quietly crept out of the ballroom turned guest room. Jay shut the door quietly behind them and the boys started off along the hall.

“Another nightmare?” Jay asked once they were a few paces from the ballroom.

“Yeah,” Carlos whispered. “Always the same one.”

“If it helps any, I doubt her mom would ever let anyone lay a hand on her,” Jay told him. “Bruises mottle the skin and cuts leave scars. Your mom and Jafar wouldn’t be able to touch her.”

Carlos nodded and ran a hand through his hair. “That’s comforting, but her mom alone could do more damage than those two combined.”

Jay’s jaw tensed. “Yeah, I know.”

They walked in silence for a bit longer, passing the tapestries and stone busts lining the corridors. Jay took a deep breath as they neared a staircase. “Do you… want to visit Snow? Maybe… I mean, she repossessed the mirror, so-.”

“I wouldn’t be able to take that, Jay,” Carlos interrupted him. “If she’s too much worse than when we left her, I… I might do something reckless, and we can’t afford that.” His nails dug into his palms as he whispered, “I want to know how she’s doing because not knowing sucks, but… knowing could be so much worse and I don’t need to feed the nightmares.”

“I get it,” Jay replied. He gently wrapped an arm around Carlos’ shoulders and Carlos leaned against him. “I understand. It’s a catch 22 or whatever. It was only a suggestion, don’t worry.”

“Thanks.”

Silence filled the air again and Carlos noticed the sound of the ocean becoming louder. Even though the castle was on the seafront, it was far enough that the crashing waves couldn’t disturb the royal family while they slept. The waves sounded loud enough to wake someone right now, though. Where was it coming from?

Jay looked around, having noticed the sounds, too. He guided them in the direction the waves seemed to be coming from and spotted an open door ahead. He slipped his arm from around Carlos, not knowing why the door was ajar. If someone had broken in, Jay wanted to make sure the danger had passed so that his friend wasn’t in danger.

Carlos peeked around Jay and spotted a figure just outside. This pair of doors seemed to lead to one of the castle balconies, so if it was a thief, they would have nowhere to run. The boys kept their footsteps light until they were right next to the open door. Jay held up three fingers and slowly counted down. When his last finger fell, he stepped quickly out the door, hoping to catch the intruder unawares. Carlos followed after him, to cut off any chance of ducking around Jay.

Both paused when gray eyes turned toward them in surprise. Mal blinked at her best friends and Jay and Carlos allowed their bodies to relax now that they knew it wasn’t a threat. Mal must have left the door ajar by accident when she came out.

“What are you guys doing out here?” Mal asked, turning back toward the ocean.

“We… couldn’t sleep,” Carlos responded with a quick glance at Jay. They walked closer as he asked, “What about you?”

“Same reason,” Mal muttered.

The three of them leaned against the railing, looking out over the water. Queen Ariel’s kingdom was the closest to the Isle, though King Beau’s castle had a good view of it in the distance. From here, all three could see the ever-present cloud over the island. Lights flickered in some of the shoreside houses, the only sign of life.

“I’m really sorry,” Mal whispered.

“For what?” Jay asked, not taking his eyes off the island.

“I dunno, there’s… a lot.” Mal covered her face with a hand as she took a deep breath. She didn’t cry. Badass dragons did not cry. But she really wanted to… “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys sooner that I was so… overwhelmed. If I’d talked to you all, or properly told you what was up, I… I might not have gone back.”

Carlos snorted. “If that’s the case, then I’m sorry, too. I literally saw you that day, but I was too wrapped up in my own stuff and didn’t pay attention like I should have. If I’d let you talk to me, you might not have gone back.”

“Those are both kinda unfair,” Jay muttered, lowering his eyes to the beach below. “All of us were wrapped up in our own stuff. I was focused on fencing, Evie had a ton of orders to work on, and Carlos was trying to ask out a cute girl.” His friends gave soft snorts of laughter at the relaxed way he said it.

Jay looked over at Mal. “Really, I think a huge part of the blame is on the stupid news hounds for bothering you so much. If they didn’t try to snoop in your business, you and Ben wouldn’t have been so tense, you know? And he would’ve been able to figure out something to do with the Isle.”

“I guess that’s true,” Mal huffed. She brushed her fingers over the railing. “I just feel bad for leaving her there with no plan to get her back. I want to go over, but if Uma’s crew spots us, then we’re done for.”

“We wouldn’t have to go over and get her ourselves if the stupid council would get their heads together long enough to do something about the Isle,” Jay growled. “How hard is it to just make a decision on bringing over a bunch of kids.”

“Ben said they’ve been blocking him every step of the way,” Mal pointed out. “No matter what he says, they have a million excuses for it.”

Jay’s eyes flicked to her, his eyebrows furrowing. “Isn’t he the king, though? Shouldn’t he be able to just… declare something?”

“It’s not that easy,” Mal retorted, glaring down at the sand. “We don’t have anywhere to put the kids, remember? And do you really trust these Auradon people to leave them alone once they’re over here? We had to fight my mom before anybody stopped seeing us as a threat. No way the kids can come over right now, even if Ben wanted to make that kind of declaration.”

“Oh.” Jay hadn’t considered it that way. All of them still remembered Family Day, after all. The last thing those kids needed was the populace blaming them for the actions of their parents. “I just… I want to get her back here. I guess the only choice we have really is to rescue her ourselves…”

“She won’t allow it.”

They both turned toward Carlos in confusion. Unlike them, he was staring up at the stars, sparkling clearly in the night sky. “Evie. She likely wouldn’t allow us to come rescue her.”

“Why not?” Mal asked softly. “There’s no way she wants to stay with her mom-.”

“That’s not why,” Carlos cut her off. “Even though she’s scared of her mom, she’d feel bad just leaving the kids there. The first time she came here, she was chosen . If we go back over and just grab her, it would be unfair to the kids who have been patiently waiting for their turn.” He sighed and shook his head. “Evie wouldn’t let us rescue her without rescuing all the kids. And that just brings us right back to what Mal said.”

His friends looked up at the sky for a moment, too and Jay huffed in aggravation. “It really is up to those council morons, isn’t it?”

“Pretty much,” Mal grumbled. She stared up at the stars and set her jaw. “Once the school year starts, I’ll sit in on the meetings,” she decided. “If they won’t listen to Ben, maybe they’ll listen to me. I have actual experience being on the Isle, so I know what it’s like over there.” Her eyes glowed green. “I’m tired of waiting and feeling useless. I’ll make them realize how important it is to bring those kids here.”

“We’ll support you however we can, then,” Carlos told her. “Anything you need for those meetings, we’ll do our best to get it. If they’re our only shot at getting her and the rest of the kids to safety, then they better be prepared for all three of us.”

“Damn right,” Jay agreed. “We’ve had a summer to re-energize. Nothing can stop us now.”

Mal grinned and stepped back from the banister. It had been a long time since it had only been the three of them, but she wouldn’t let that stop her. Holding her fist out, she said, “Rotten?”

Carlos pressed his fist to hers and Jay followed instantly. “To the core,” they chorused softly.

“We’ll get her back,” Jay said. “We will get her back.”

“Come on,” Mal ordered, turning to head back into the castle. “We should get some sleep if we can. The others will be expecting us to be up and ready for a day of fun tomorrow.”

“Yeah, no need to waste the trip being tired and mopey,” Carlos chuckled. “Zahra will call us party poopers.”

They all laughed as they headed back to the ballroom. It hadn’t completely eased their fears, but it was… something. It was something during a time when they felt like nothing would help. They didn’t have an exact plan, but having something still felt better than nothing. As the trio slipped into their sleeping bags, their hearts felt just the smallest bit lighter.