summary: She ended every letter with a heart; she was still debating if distance really made the heart grow fonder.
pairings: Harry Hook x Evie, Ben x Mal; deciding between: Carlos x Jane, Carlos x Jay, Carlos x Chad
notes: I'll hopefully be updating this once a week. It will be a lot of fluff, and again, the Carlos pairing isn't decided yet, so so far I don't know which of the three will become endgame — I'll let it happen organically.
Evie was pacing back and forth. Her bedroom was lined with suitcases, and they were pretty things, decorated with glitter and bright red apples that she made as a child, and she hated them.
Or, well, hated what they stood for.
Her mother must have done something right, because her current dream was coming true. In a few hours, Evie would be on her way to Auradon.
Her mother wanted her to find a prince — a prince with a castle, a castle with a mother-in-law wing and utterly covered in mirrors.
And once upon a time, Evie wanted that as well.
Now, she could only think about her pirate prince that she would have to leave behind.
There would be no discussion, no argument with her mother. If Evie refused, she was sure her mother would kill her on the spot.
The Evil Queen might have been the nicest of the VK parents, but that was only as long as Evie remained the beauty under her thumb.
There was no noise downstairs; her mother was at Maleficent's with the rest of the VKs and their parents, going over some scheme Maleficent came up with upon hearing the news. Her mother refused to let her join until her packing was done, considering her preparedness much more important than the plan — because as much as she wanted to leave the Isle, she was almost resigned to it for the time being, and would rather Evie snag a prince first so when she did come over to Auradon, she could immediately move into a beautiful castle and not have to fight for one with other villains trying to claim one.
Packing all her belongings took much less time than it would've if she folded everything perfectly and color-coded her suitcases like she would have, and usually she'd be all for going to Maleficent's to listen in to the plan instead of being the last to know, but she had more important matters to attend to.
She had to visit Harry.
With only their closest friends being privy to their relationship, Evie had to take extra care in sneaking on the The Lost Revenge while in broad daylight. She was used to taking certain paths that were now crawling with pirates who were, thankfully, loud in announcing their presence.
In her efforts to avoid them, Evie found no less than five new passages within the ship, as well as that she could, in fact, climb up rigging while in heels.
It took longer than expected, but she sighed in relief upon standing in front of Harry's door. She turned the handle, eager to avoid detection from the crew, but the handle wouldn't budge. She scowled.
She tried again, and the noise of the handle struggling earned her a low groan from the other side of the door, as well as the sound of something falling in the general direction of the door.
She rolled her eyes and knocked in the code she created for Harry, Uma, and Gil. Immediately, she heard feet hit the ground running, and she couldn't help her wide smile when Harry flung open the door.
He was all half-lidded eyes, sleep-mussed hair, and smudged eyeliner, and she wouldn't have him any other way. He locked an arm around her waist, pulling her in his room and closing the door in the same movement.
He buried his head in the crook of his neck, sighing in content.
Her fingers curled into the holes of his shirt, muscles relaxing, and feeling utterly at peace.
"Morning, love."
"It's the afternoon, Harry," She felt him smile against her skin.
"Details." He muttered, curling a lock of her hair around his finger.
"I missed you." She said into his chest, and he lifted his head up, trying to get a better look at her.
"Ye look stressed." She immediately tensed up. She enjoyed the comfort of his embrace for a few more minutes, knowing he was using up all his patience waiting for her to answer. Once she found her bravery, she raised her head and rested her chin on his chest.
"The VKs and I are being transferred to Auradon Prep."
Everything from the fingers in her hair to his breath on her forehead froze in time. His jaw slacked, but his eyes betrayed nothing.
Evie bit her lip. "Some proclamation by King Ben, he wants to start bringing Isle kids over and we were chosen and my mother-"
"She always wanted ye te find yer prince, didn't she?" His mouth was a tight line.
"She did." Evie stood on his tip toes so she could give him a gentle kiss. "Not that she'll ever get her wish. I don't plan on giving you up, Harry Hook."
He relaxed his jaw, no longer clenching it, and sighed. There was no relief in it, just resignation. "When will ye be back?"
"That's what I'm not sure of. Everyone else is at Maleficent's going over some plan that probably involves taking the barrier down. So, when we can unleash hell upon Auradon, we will, and I will be back for you and your crew."
Harry smiled at that. "And if not?"
"Well, if we fail and I'm miraculously still alive, I will find a way to see you. Or bring you here myself."
"That's ah pretty tall order, princess."
She curled her fists into his shirt, pulling him as close as she could so he could know the conviction of her words. "You are worth every effort."
"Evie!" Her mother's high-pitch call pierced her ears, and just in time as she finished climbing through her window. Not a minute later did her mother throw open her door, a pleased smile on her face as she saw Evie's suitcases filled. "The time has come my child!"
"How'd the meeting go?" Evie headed for the nearest suitcase. The sooner they could enact their plan, the sooner she could be back on the Isle.
"Fabulously. You should break the barrier in no time. That nonsense aside," She stepped into Evie's closet, making sure she packed all her prettiest dresses, "make sure you find yourself a prince. I don't care where he is in line, as long as he's in one. Accidents happen, after all." She nodded approvingly, glad to see nothing of worth untouched.
"Of course." Evie tipped her head slightly, biting her cheek to keep herself from scowling. "Would you prefer somewhere coastal or inland?"
Her mother paused and looked straight at her. Inwardly, Evie panicked, hoping she didn't just blow her cover.
The worry ceased when her mother broke out into what equated to a smile as she crossed Evie's room to take her face in her hands. "Oh, you truly are the apple of my eye. So considerate." She ran a finger over one of Evie's eyebrows, making sure each hair was in place. "And maybe something coastal this time. A better view than that Snow bitch's place — on that note, it's unladylike to swear. You'll never get a prince behaving like that."
Her mother stalked down the stairs, leaving Evie to carry her own luggage. But she couldn't help but smile at her mother's retreating back; her prince loved her the way she was, foul language and all.
He was a pirate after all.
The limo that would take them to Auradon was surrounded by people, mostly the truly poor who couldn't dream of such a luxury no matter how hard they tried.
It was a bittersweet feeling, watching her luggage take up most of the trunk space with her mother's magic mirror — now handheld, apparently — in her hand, knowing she was going to the place she'd dreamed of since she was a child.
But, the mixed feelings were felt by all, especially Carlos.
Jay, upon seeing the extravagance of the limo, was excited to see what other items he could find, knowing that he would finally be able to keep some for himself.
Mal was a bundle of nerves, though she would never admit it, as she felt the weight of her mother's expectations on her shoulders. She had such a desire to prove herself, and yet she wanted to be more than just her mother's shadow.
Evie felt for Carlos. While the terrors of the outside world — especially the "Hounds of Hell" as Cruella would put it — made him anxious, he for one would be leaving the Isle with the least expectations. Cruella figured he would do terrible on his own, and so believed he'd be crawling back home in no time. It didn't stop her from physically trying to grab him as he ran into the limo, yelling about how the longer he stays away, the more bear traps she will put in his room.
If Carlos had his way, Evie was certain he'd never return to Hell Hall or his mother.
"Bring home a prince!" She heard her mother call as she stepped closer to the limo. She nodded to her mother, but before she slid onto the leather seat, she looked at the crowd one last time.
Almost out of view, she saw a glint of light off metal — a metal hook.
With her back to her mother, she smiled to her hidden love, trying to memorize what she could see of his face before Mal nudged her into the limo.
"You'll see loverboy soon enough," Evie could tell Mal was rolling her eyes, with only some real bite behind her words.
If Mal had her way, they'd be back within the next few days, she'd be ruling alongside her mother — well, if she took her mother's words with a grain of salt — and all would be as it should be: perfectly bad.
