Hey guys, me again. I wanted to let you know I scrapped the OC and took her out of the story. It didn't feel natural to me and It was too time-consuming to have to worry about how the main characters would feel about her rather than the actual story itself.
Again. I own nothing but the story. Damnit.
Chapter Two: Forgiving The Enemy
NORMAL POV
As Ben left the gates of the school, Mal found it harder and harder to breathe. She was hyperventilating by the time Jay reached her, he pressed a cool, calloused hand to the small of her back and gently rubbed small circles into her skin until her breathing slowed to a more even pace. Evie watched her gently, mindful of how much might be deemed "too much" by Mal. Tonight their talk would have to be made, regardless of how it might affect their leader Evie knew she couldn't just sit by and watch her self-destruct anymore.
The VK's watched in horror as Mal bit back a strangled sob and pressed her hand to her mouth, their pillar of strength and stability had never looked more fragile and lost. Her face began paling rapidly and her eyes flashed such a vivid green that they barely had any time to back up before she lurched forward and coughed up a bit of stomach acid and blood, suddenly Jay moved and crouched in front of her, ripping off some of his shirt's edge and using it as a rag to wipe her mouth. Carlos was already behind her, his hand on her arm as an anchor so she didn't fall forward and into her own vomit and another in her hair to prevent any puke from getting caught in it, while Evie rooted around in her purse for her water bottle and a stash of pain pills for the impending headache.
"Jay, get her to our hangout. She needs to be away from everyone, I'll take care of the new VK's with Carlos."
"No."
Mal got to her back to her now-steady feet and took the bottle from Evie, she took a heavy gulp and spat the foul taste from her mouth and then popped two pills. Her hand went through her hair to allow it to resettle into its previous position, and with her mouth wiped clean and lipstick reapplied she looked normal. Her forest green eyes settled on Evie's nervous brown orbs and softened a little, a hand reaching out to give her a hug of reassurance.
"I'm alright, I'll explain later ok? I promise. I'll tell you everything."
Three heads nodded in agreement as a horn honked in warning, the same limo that had carried them on their first day pulled into the drive and immediately the four of them tensed, the air of insecurity and fragility that had radiated off Mal in waves was long gone, now a calm sense of power and control crackled around her like lightning. Evie spared a brief thought of concern over the duality of her emotions right now, how easily she seemed to switch between precarious on-the-verge-of-snapping vulnerability and an air of invincibility that rivaled that of her mother in her prime. Like Ben had surmised earlier, the other three VK's unwittingly drew their own power and confidence from Mal; Jay and Carlos stood taller and flexed to show the new muscle they'd gained from their athletic regimen, and Evie mimicked Mal's stance of 'calm but ready for battle'.
The door opened and Gil was the first to step out, his face was coated in chocolate and to their surprise, he wasn't dressed like a pirate or a VK fresh from the Isle. He wore a plain light brown long sleeve shirt with dark blue jeans and black hiking boots, he still had his triple tiered silver earrings though. His hair had been washed and even lightly trimmed before he'd gotten into the chocolate, it appeared that Ben had made arrangements to give the new kids a hotel night to allow clean clothes and a less threatening first appearance to Auradon.
"Hey guys! You want some chocolate? Stuffs great man!"
Jay and Carlos grinned and nudged each other, clearly remembering their first encounter with the intoxicating candy.
"Will ya move outta the way ya blithering idiot? Some of us don't enjoy your backside as a view!"
"Oh shit sorry Harry!"
Gil quickly scrambled away from the car before his friend could presumably shank him with the business end of his hook, and the other three new VK's piled out of the car. Dizzy made a bee-line toward Evie and Mal, assaulting them in a shockingly strong bear hug that threatened to choke the life out of their ribcages.
While Dizzy and Evie caught up, Mal looked over the other two.
Uma had changed since Cotillion, she'd cut her hair and dyed it to one solid color. Half her head had been shaved and the rest had been brushed over and the left side of her face, thick triangular earrings hung from her lobes and were nicely accented by her mother's necklace in an enchanted square case hung by a gold chain around her neck. Like Mal, she wore the same kind of pants and a turquoise blue vest under a long black Sea Captains coat with double buttons and black buckled ankle boots.
"Mal? Can we talk real quick? I got something I wanna say."
Immediately on edge, Mal turned toward a surprisingly nervous Uma and nodded. Leading her away from the group, aware of the only set of eyes burning holes in her back that she hadn't acknowledged yet, and turned toward her impatiently.
"Look I need to apologize for what happened with Ben… I… I'm really sorry for everything that I did to you. I just wanted out. We all did, we were so angry that you and the others were the only ones to get pulled out of that hell hole and that nobody else cared about the rest of us that we just couldn't take it anymore. We had planned to force Ben to bring down the barrier and let us all out and pass a bill to make it illegal to punish the kids of the villains for their parent's mistakes, but I couldn't stop. I saw you and I got so angry and all I could think of was hurting you like you hurt the rest of us by abandoning everyone in that hell!"
By the time Uma had stopped her rant Mal had wrapped her in a tight, yet forgiving, hug.
She understood.
She didn't mind anymore.
Mal helped Uma dry the tears that had escaped and together they walked back to the group and with their leader's acceptance of Uma the other core three found no reason to be wary of her any longer, the Isle was merciless in it's breaking of children after all.
"Well now that the pleasantries are out of the way why don't we cut to the chase?"
Mal felt a shiver travel up her spine as she finally forced herself to look at the one male among them that she really didn't want to see under these circumstances, Harry Hook was dressed like a mixture of Jay and Carlos. He wore the same type of boots and shirt as Jay, but his color scheme was, as usual, red and black with gold accents. And like Carlos, he wore the exact same pants and jacket, but again, his clothes were in black and red. Around his neck was a thick silver chain with a miniature ship's wheel hanging against his chest, his left ear was pierced with a thing gold earring and his heavy eyeliner had been drastically reduced.
"Where's your hook, Harry?"
"The Fairy woman jacked it and said she'd give it back, along with all our other stuff, when she was done making it unusable. Little bitch."
Mal smiled and cocked her head for them to follow her inside, the rumble of her stomach reminding her that it was near breakfast time and like her, they were probably hungry.
"Come on, when she's done it'll be at our place. In the meantime, we'll show you around and get you some food."
The thought of food made them all smile and relax, Mal leads the group through the massive door to the entry hall and then down the left hallway to the massive Cafeteria, the core three mare their way to their normal table while Mal patiently waited for the new VK's to pile on as much food as their poor plates could handle; after gently reminding them that the food is very rich and while they allowed up to four plates each it would be wiser to eat one plate and then see how their stomachs feel afterward before forcing more food inside; once they were ready to sit down they headed over to the table to the other three could eat.
Mal and the others hadn't forgotten the unspoken rules of the Isle, friends would guard eating spaces to ensure no one's food or belongings were tampered with, or in extreme cases, that no other kids could be harmed if they couldn't defend themselves. Mal took the outer seat beside Uma and eventually Jay, Evie, and Carlos on the other side of the table. The new VK's were nestled between them in an obviously protective fashion, with the more hostile two in the back between Mal and Evie.
About halfway through the meal, Mal caught a glimpse of a familiar set of faces heading their way, Lonnie and Jane were walking quickly over to them, mindful of their potentially volatile Isle friends.
Jane had blossomed over the summer, she no longer looked plain and homely. Her hair had gained volume and had grown to chest length before being allowed to tumble and fall where it pleased, her figure had even leveled out and gained a more prominent hour-glass shape to it. Today she wore a deep red cotton skirt with a white turtleneck sweater and a pair of black lace-up stiletto heels, around her neck was a silver three heart necklace given to her by Carlos and a pair of pale pink teardrop earrings hung half-hidden from inside her hair.
Lonnie had also filled out more over the summer, and surprisingly, she was sporting some pretty detailed body art. Her right arm bore the detailed and colored in the form of a Chinese dragon with a solid black outline, a surprising sight for someone who's just barely reaching sixteen. She was dressed much more tomboyishly than Jane, sporting a simple pair of black jean shorts and a sheer dark blue button-up t-shirt over a black tank top and wedge heels. Her long raven-feather hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and her face was left bare of makeup aside from light lipgloss and mascara, pink and black feather earrings adorned her ears and complimented her gold necklace nicely, the triple strands adding a sense of feminine class to the otherwise boyish look.
"Jay! What the hell did you get Lonnie into!? I expect body art from YOU but her? Holy shit girl do your parents know?"
Lonnie laughed while Jay choked on his food and attempted to breathe despite the food entering his lungs, Mal and Evie inspected Lonnie's arm and blanched when they saw the incredible detail that had gone into the tattoo.
"My parents paid for it. It was a birthday present for helping to save Ben and Auradon and still ace my finals, my parents also let me get two ravens on my right hip. I'd show you that one but… Not exactly the right place or time for that."
They all smiled and laughed at the dirty joke, even innocent little Jane and Dizzy. Harry didn't seem to pay any attention to the two newcomers, but the other VK's knew that wasn't the case in the slightest. He was watching his surroundings the way a hawk does a field mouse, waiting for the perfect time to strike. The girls took their places beside their respective partners, even 'sneakily' taking bites of their food here and there despite their own plates sitting in front of them.
It wasn't long before the 'Wanna-Be-Queen-Bee' of Auradon Prep got wind of the newbies and decided to "Grace them with her appearance".
A groan from Evie was their only warning before Audrey suddenly stood right beside Mal, scaring the daylights out of her and making her realize she wasn't really paying as much attention to her surroundings as she thought she was.
"Soo… How'd you manage to convince Ben to let more of you into Auradon? Sexual Favors? Spells?"
Temper flaring, Mal leveled lightening green eyes on Audrey, who didn't seem to notice her rapidly growing irritation or the crackle of magic that was begging to be released around her.
And if she did notice, good for her, that meant she had one hell of a poker face.
The other core three VK's eyed Mal warily, causing the newcomers to tense, her earlier instability hadn't been forgotten and they were concerned what would happen if Audrey of all people pushed her too close to the edge.
"Audrey I wouldn't… We're supposed to keep today as stress-free as possible for them and-"
"Oh, my bad! I guess I shouldn't bring up how nobody here likes you, people, anyway and how we all wish you'd go back to the fucking Isle where you belong?"
Harry tensed, bending his fork in his hand as easily as if it were made of cardboard and not steel. Unfortunately for her, this also caught Audrey's attention and the new 'hottie' made her switch to "Conquest mode".
"Well hello there handsome… Who might you be?"
She swayed over to Harry and stood behind him, not caring how he tensed visibly and delighting to see Mal flare up and her eyes flash. Evie looked nervously over to Carlos and nodded to Dizzy, who immediately was ushered away from the table and shown the sweets table by both him and Gil to protect her from any fists that might go flying. Uma and Jay watched Harry just as warily as Evie watched Mal, who was digging her nails into her legs so hard her knuckles were white.
"Audrey… I'm serious. You really don't want to do that."
"Shut up Evie. Can't you see I'm talking to the hunky pirate here?"
That's when Audrey made her mistake, she put her hand on Harry.
Harry Hook had three very well known rules on the Isle of the Lost that applied to everyone but a few of his select friends; you didn't touch him without permission, you didn't eat his food without permission, and you didn't make a move on any of his 'friends' without his permission.
Breaking any of these rules was grounds to have you gutted like a fish where you stood.
Harry moved so fast the others from the Isle barely had time to react, he stood and grabbed Audrey by the throat, slamming her up against the wall and squeezing as hard as he could while he could. Jay and Uma were on him first, trying to pull him away from Audrey while Mal and Evie tried to pry his hand off her throat long enough for her to breathe or run. Growling, Mal turned and grabbed Harry's face in her hands, forcing him to stare her in the eyes.
She reached for her magic and began a battle of wills with him.
Dominance battles were nothing new to the two of them, but it was a totally different story when it came to her having to use magic on him. It was like a mental game of Tug-of-War, whoever pulls hardest wins. She could hear Audrey slapping the wall in panic, and as she lost focus, she lost the game. Gasping in shock and minor fear at losing her own game of wills, she stared up at Harry mutely as he glared down at her.
Silently, he dropped Audrey.
Then he turned and stalked down the hall to the forest he'd seen when they arrived at the school.
"Mal? You ok?"
She felt herself nod dumbly as her mind slowly caught up to what just happened, then as the reality slammed home she felt herself begin to pale. She'd lost a dominance battle… with HARRY FUCKING HOOK. Oh no… Oh no, this was bad. Very bad.
"Ummm. Evie… Evie can you come with me, please. Like now?"
Startled by the panic in her tone Evie quickly allowed Mal to pull her to the side.
"We have a very serious problem. I tried to get Harry to let go of Audrey with a Battle of Wills. I tried to assert Dominance over Harry and I lost."
Evie paled.