Although they had an eventful and tiring dinner with Drachenkind and the others, Carlos and P.H. still had a job to do. They would collect rubbish from the main market area of the Isle, some might call it the heart of the city, which was where they got the majority of their fuel.
His uncle once told him the Isle was a fishing port called Castaway Cay, where people made their living either by fishing or working in one of the many canneries. Perhaps if the barrier allowed them access to the water, the island still could have functioned as such. But with no fish to catch, the residents had turned most of the buildings into living areas or shops; most of the office buildings had been converted into brothels.
Before they had created the generator, the town was content to let the filth and garbage pile up; only rats, crows, and flies to feast on what rotted. The main square was always a place of pestilence and death, most stayed only because the dangers of the wild beyond the city were more dangerous still.
P.H. didn't know if the other scientists were that ignorant of anything other than death rays or their specialty or perhaps too proud to take on sanitation, but he had no idea why it had gone on for so long. Thankfully with his background in engineering and his genius nephew they had a way to make the waste into fuel. Whatever they couldn't use as energy or fertilizer and couldn't repurpose and resell was burned.
Although there was not much to be done in such an impoverished area where too many bodies lived in too close of quarters, they had improved the living conditions of the Isle at least minimally. Until Mal had come snooping around, P.H. was somewhat respected by the citizens. He did what most were unwilling to do and it was a boon to them all. They did not know he used their waste for his own benefit, they would probably create a mob if they ever found out he was living so comfortably. But still, he had made their lives just a tiny bit better and all he asked was to be left alone.
He worried that once the generator technology was made public, he would not know a moments peace again. As they readied their rickety wagon, he studied Carlos and worried for his future. It all rested in the word of a small fae girl and a vow made without magic. It could all go so wrong and if it did, he had utterly failed not only Cruella but Carlos who he loved as his own.
They remained quiet as was their custom when they collected garbage, going street by street and building by building although P.H. thought he saw a slight skip in his nephew's step. Some citizens were thoughtful and had put their items in receptacles, others were little better than savages and threw their rubbish right out into the street with no care. They had passed by several of the brothels, most kind enough to neatly place their trash outside for them.
Both took special care with thick linen gloves, the whore houses' waste would mostly be burned. They dared not ask any citizen to sort their garbage lest someone ask why. Because of the biohazardous risks of the brothels, they would not hazard using any of it. But they did not want to ignore the brothels either, they deserved waste management just like every other citizen. They took special care to wear gloves and masks when they handled and burned the trash, their management site well outside the city limits so no one would be in danger of inhaling the fumes.
Although it was nearly pitch black, only the dim light from oil burning lamps to light their way, Carlos still wore a bandana over his tell-tale de Vil hair. Very few people were up that late at night (or early in the morning, depending on who was asked), not even the whores, but any who would look upon them would scant notice. Even if they did, all they would see is a boy of seventeen (if they could guess an age at all), if anyone would ask then P.H. would say it's just an orphan, one of hundreds that he pays in food to help him with his task.
Tomorrow they would teach a girl their secrets to the generator, secrets bought with blackmail and the hope that P.H. could get his beloved nephew off the Isle.
That was a problem for another day, however; that night they would collect garbage to heat their home and grow their garden.
The next day Evie flittered about her room like a cerulean butterfly, excited to start her lessons. Her mother thought schooling on the Isle in general was a waste of time, but ever since befriending Mal her mother would not let anyone say her own daughter was less educated than the Leader's. She also suspected that Ravenna held fond memories of learning how to read and write, and all the other things a royally born girl would have learned had she not be banished to the Isle.
No one could ever forget that Ravenna had led armies and brought kingdoms to their knees, she stilled walked with a regal air although she could no longer be called queen. Evie knew her mother had thought to make her a whore when she first bled, no one could forego work on the Isle. But once Evie showed to be an excellent pupil, particularly apt at apothecary and chemistry then it was no hard argument that her own daughter ought to be the one to administer teas and tonics. Letting her daughter be educated turned out to be a boon, Ravenna taught her daughter every natural potion she knew as a witch and could make medicines on her own.
So proud of her daughter, she had then started to teach her all the ways of being a lady. For a few years, Ravenna had the mad idea that Evie could seduce a visiting prince (most were still unsure how that would have happened but hope sprung eternal apparently) and make her a princess. Evie had encouraged such dreams, knowing that princesses were expected to be pure and virtuous when they came to their husbands. It didn't matter how ridiculous the notion was, she was not keen to become a whore.
The longer Ravenna thought Evie could snag a prince, the longer she didn't have to make a living on her back. Unfortunately, it seemed her mother had come to her senses within the last year and felt that sixteen was getting too old to not be more of use. Evie could make more money with that she had between her legs than she could with what was in her head. She had gone to Mal and Jay crying, fearful of the auction for the right of First Night and then the years she would spend as a whore. The only reason she even had time was that the men who would bid on her needed the time to accumulate the coin, if it had been later in the year—when the harvest would be ready to be reaped and men had money or crops to bargain with—she would have immediately been put on the auction block. Since it was early spring, most had begun just to put crops to seed. If she were lucky, perhaps her mother would put off the auction even later if the offers were not as high as the Madame thought they ought to be, and they had until the fall.
Evie did not want to spread her legs for any man who had payment, she wanted to read and brew cures. She wanted to continue to learn everything she could about every plant, to make new and better treatments. She wanted to make the Isle a better place and she could not do that as a prostitute.
She was ever so grateful that Mal had come up with a solution to her problem; at least she did if Evie could learn ably enough to trick Maleficent into thinking she had come up with such an invention.
P.H. de Vil was known as an odd duck around the Isle; a scientist who wasn't mad in the traditional sense, but had been just crazy enough to try to rescue his kin. Some saw him as foolish, who would risk their life and freedom for a villainess? All he got for his efforts was his own banishment and a dead cousin soon after. Subsequently, he had kept to himself and became a hermit. He seemed content to live on the outskirts of town; he had never even sought the company of anyone from the brothels.
Evie always thought he was rather brave, she wondered if anyone else on the Isle had someone who had loved them that much. She certainly dreamed of having distant Auradonian family that would demand her release, stating that her only crime being born to a villain and therefore was not worthy of the same punishment. Ravenna had mentioned a brother and sister, but she assumed her aunt and uncle had perished in the Witch Wars—otherwise they would have been banished alongside her mother.
When she found out about Carlos, P.H.'s love and chivalry went even deeper than she could have imagined. She honestly thought he ought to get some sort of medal or one way ticket back to Auradon as he clearly didn't belong on an island full of villains.
Not that she thought she or any of her peers ought to be there either, but that was a long dead hope of getting clemency that she barely ever thought of lest she become bitter and desolate.
But that day she had reason to be hopeful. She would learn something new and hopefully never be forced to become a whore, she would learn under one of the most brilliant inventors in the world.
"OK, I have my notebook, sharpener, pencil, back up pencil, calculator Jay stole for me…alright that should be everything," she took inventory of what she had in her satchel. She met Mal and Jay at the entrance to Fleur de Pomme, Ravenna seeing her out.
The Madame of the house had protected Evie's virtue in hopes of her ensnaring a prince and getting them off the Isle. Then she protected it as a valuable asset to whoever could pay the most. If not for school, then Evie was certain her mother would have kept her locked away and never to see or talk to anyone until it was time for her first customer.
Luckily Ravenna trusted Mal and Jay to protect her interests and if the fae said Evie was needed as their lead scientist while they investigated the deaths of Isle orphans then her word was taken as law.
It always made her sick to her stomach, to see her mother eye Jay as a piece of meat when they all greeted each other cordially. Her mother was still a beautiful woman with soul piercing eyes and golden hair; there had been many men who still sought her bed. When she saw that her mother wanted Jay even when he was only thirteen, she had warned him that if he fell under her spell it would only be for a few nights at most and then he would probably be convinced to become a whore; he was certainly pretty enough and would fetch a decent amount of coin.
It was to her utter relief when he laughed and told her he had no such inclination towards her mother, less so to become a whore; no matter how well it paid.
She knew she had been in love with Jay ever since he stole a calculator and gave it to her because she wanted to learn advanced math, he told her,
"I have no use for it and neither does anyone else here. It ought to go to the smartest girl in all the Isle."
It was the first time someone acknowledged her intelligence before her looks. All her life she had only heard "oh aren't you beautiful?" They kept saying it as if it were a compliment; didn't they know what happened to beautiful girls on the Isle? Every beautiful girl was made to be a whore. To her ears, it sounded like a curse.
He also didn't treat her as the daughter of a whore or as a girl who was a future whore. He treated her as if she were Evie Von Weither, the smartest child on the Isle. Her heart was crushed when he introduced her to Mal, the two clearly close. They had never said they were together, but Evie figured it wasn't smart to declare ones love in such a treacherous place. It certainly wouldn't be smart for the future Leader of the Isle, it would only make Jay a bigger target. But she valued both of their friendship, even if she couldn't be with Jay.
While her mother conspicuously raked her eyes down his form, Evie made it a point to avert her eyes every ten seconds. She feared if she looked any longer, he would know what was in her heart and she'd have to go through the humiliating process of him letting her down gently. She didn't even want to think of what Mal would do to her if she knew she was in love with her boyfriend; she just had to hope they didn't notice how her eyes would always find their way back to him, unable to resist the temptation to see his kind smile or warm eyes.
"I do hope you figure out this nasty…business…soon," Ravenna said to make small talk with Mal, there was no mistaking that she lacked any real empathy or compassion for the orphans they found. "Do be careful my little Evilette," she turned to her daughter, "we don't want you to become sick."
Perhaps if they were in Auradon or if Ravenna was ever a real mother, Evie would have thought the former queen's warning and worry was for her sake. But she knew it was merely a merchant wanting assurance for an asset. Still, there was nothing she could do about it; she couldn't make her mother love her so she just did a half smile and assured,
"I'm always careful. I have gloves, a mask, and some fortifying tonics," she showed her mother a few of the items she had in her satchel; it was enough to placate the madame.
With one last coveting look from Ravenna over Jay, the three said their goodbyes and were on their way to the warehouse. Once out of earshot and eyesight of anyone from town, there was a lightness to Evie's steps and she almost started to skip with her excitement.
Both Jay and Mal smiled at their friend's enthusiasm, probably one of the only teenagers on the entire Isle who had a thirst to learn from books and garnered happiness from her lessons.
"Once I learn how to make the generator, maybe they'll teach me how to make other things, things that would help my future apothecary. That water filtration system and distillation set up they have, that could easily be converted into a distiller for fermentation and alcohol. Do you realize how sterile I could get instruments if I had pure ethanol? Maybe we could get the goblins to smuggle over sugar beet seeds. We'd make some drinking alcohol, stronger stuff than the apple wine, and the brothels would probably triple in profits. Maleficent could tax them more, then we'd use that money to fund all these projects. We'd have the means to sterilize equipment, we could build a real hospital. Maybe I'd be the Isle's first real doctor as well as the apothecarist. We'd probably be able to cut down on all the infant deaths and women dying from childbed fever. With the hydroponic garden we could grow more food AND!" she shouted in her excitement, shocking her two friends and caused them to jump. "...and we could grow even more herbs for tansy tea. No one would have any child they didn't want, it wouldn't have to be just for the brothels it could be for everyone…"
From the brothel to the outskirts of town, Evie had come up with all the ways she was going to save the Isle and make it somewhat hospitable. As she babbled on, Jay fell in love with her just a little more than he had been yesterday. He saw how selfless and kind she was. He was certain that anyone else on the island would have thought of all the ways they could personally profit and use their new influence to their advantage.
But Evie wanted the Isle of the Lost to be better for everyone.
Mal rolled her eyes and tried her best not to make fun of the stupid face Jay was making as he pined over Evie.
They reached the warehouse and Mal was still rather impressed that P.H. had managed to pull off hiding Carlos and all his inventions so well. To the regular citizen that passed by, the rare ones that would come out that far, it still looked like any other dilapidated building. If she didn't trust her gut instinct, she too never would have thought there was anything more than the shambles of an abandoned building.
But once they figured out the secret door, it was easy as they made their way through the garbage on the bottom floor to the hidden staircase. Mal had been the one to notice a lever that wasn't as dusty as everything else. She had pulled it and a secret door had revealed itself as the grate moved away and stairs appeared.
Evie smiled widely as she eagerly knocked on the door, her rapid taps betrayed her nervousness and enthusiasm.
When the door opened, P.H. looked about as impressed with the trio as he had been the night before, none too. He tried to keep the exasperated sighs to a minimum, but he could already tell the blue haired one was going to suck all his energy out with her eagerness. Some people were natural teachers and had all the energy in the world to educate, more so if the student matched them in their yearning to learn.
P.H. wasn't a teacher by nature or even by trade. He only taught Carlos because he saw it as his duty to not let anyone of his blood grow to be an idiot. While he hated gym class while growing up, he saw the merit in running children ragged to burn off some of their energy, he didn't know how else teachers would have gotten through the day with children bouncing off the walls, only some wanting to learn; and he only had one student. It sounded like his personal hell to teach an entire class room of them.
He thanked whatever god was listening it was still just one child he would be teaching, but still he thought those days were behind him as Carlos could learn well enough on his own and only came to him for guidance or further explanation of a text book that was either outdated or only went so far.
He already felt drained as Evie all but raced to where they had set up a couple of chairs and had a makeshift chalk board, seemingly afraid if she didn't promptly sit down that they'd rescind their offer.
As if P.H. would be foolish enough to try to finagle his way out of a faery deal, even one without magic had its consequences if broken. He certainly didn't wish to deal with any power that transcended even a great star fae like Nadine FéeMarraine's barrier.
"Carlos, why don't you get started with Evie's lesson, I want to have a few words with P.H.," Mal gently told him, but clearly she would not take no for an answer.
The teen's eyes widened, not expecting to teach so soon and by himself. His uncle nodded to him, telling him to get things started and that he'd be with them soon.
"Hi Evie…I'm professor Carlos," started off with a joke when he went to the makeshift classroom, he relaxed when his "student" giggled and was ready with a pencil and notebook. "We'll start off with the basics…"
Mal and Jay led P.H. to the other end of the warehouse to have a little privacy.
"As you see, we're upholding our end of the deal, I assume you will too," P.H. started as he took a rolled up letter from his coat pocket and handed it to Mal.
"I'll see that this gets to the Auradonian goblins when they make their next donation delivery, to whom should I instruct them to give it to?"
"Malevola de Vil. She resides in Hell Hall, Suffolk, East Riding, SW1A 1AA, UKA."
"Hell Hall? Really?"
"The de Vils are known to be…colourful," he refuses to say more than that.
"Alright, I'll make sure it gets there. But I want to talk to you about the dead children that keep popping up."
"That's not part of our deal."
"Think of it more as your duty as a citizen."
"Fine, what of them?"
"What can you tell us about the scientists on the Isle? Those that are still alive."
P.H. always thought of himself as rather level headed and not easily surprised, but he wasn't sure what the scientists that were banished to the Isle had anything to do with the murdered children. Part of him became suspicious, not wanting to be privy to any scheme the fae may have to blackmail other scientists into her service. While he wasn't particularly close to anyone else, he still respected many of them as brilliant inventors; the truly mad and vicious ones he steered clear of.
"Most either teach or live secluded lives, I don't know most of them that well."
"And the ones you do? Could you vouch for them?"
"What is this about?"
"I suspect these children are being tortured and killed by scientists."
"What makes you think that? Didn't your mother kill most of them off when she first got here?"
"You say that as if it were a bad thing."
"In general I feel executing anyone without a fair trial is rather bad."
Mal only snorted, shaking her head as if he were some simple naive child that had said something silly.
"Do you remember Dr. XXX?"
The name was vaguely familiar but he couldn't remember exactly where he had heard it.
"No."
"Well, he was one of the first mad scientists who had been banished, do you know what for?"
"No."
"He had been cutting the heads off of chickens and dogs and sewing them onto each other. Apparently he had an unquenchable curiosity as to whether the resulting creature would bark or cluck. He had started to move onto humans and fae before they finally caught and banished him. Now, mother may have been swift and merciless with her judgement, but would you have waited for him to kill someone on the Isle before making such a decision?"
When he didn't respond, truly not knowing what he would have done in that situation, she went on,
"Perhaps in Auradon there are plenty of police and places to keep these kind of monsters away and people safe. But on the Isle, it's kill or be killed; especially in those early days when there was no law and every villain was out to climb to the top of the hierarchy. You may not agree with Maleficent's methods, but they are what allows order on this Isle and you to live as safely as you do. If you really think you or Carlos would have been nearly as comfortable or unmolested under say Shan Yu or Jafar then you're not nearly as smart as you think you are or you really haven't been paying attention."
That he couldn't deny, but he still didn't know why she thought scientists would do such a thing.
"What makes you think scientists are behind this?"
"The bodies are coming up mutilated and showing signs of an unknown disease," she explained and pulled out sketches from her own satchel. P.H. nearly gagged at the grim detail Mal had put into the drawings, the children's skin mottled with an unnatural green hue not even seen in fairkind. Parts of their flesh were torn from their bodies, and other areas had suffered burns so deep they had blackened and charred bone.
"Regular citizens do not have the means or know-how to do this to a human body. This disease, it's nothing anyone has seen before. As far as we can tell, it's not contagious through the air or direct contact. But children are disappearing after a new body is found; all of the henchmen and other citizens have been questioned and cleared. The only suspects left are scientists, but if they are trying to create some biological weapon to try to overthrow my mother, then we need to know who and what we're dealing with."
The Isle was only so big and Maleficent had many enemies, it could literally be anyone. However, he thought Mal's suspicions had merit. All the Villains who could have taken on Maleficent had died shortly after they had been banished. Everyone else had fallen in line and accepted her as their Leader. Scientists could not take on Maleficent with might, they could however do it with knowledge and possibly technology. The later, however, was harder to do as she had control of all the merchandise that came from the Mainland.
Another option would be biological warfare and by the looks of these poor children, they were probably getting close to a viable weapon.
Still, this was all Isle politics that he wanted nothing to do with. What did he care if Maleficent or a Mad Scientist was in control? As long as Carlos was safe in Auradon, he didn't really care what happened to himself.
"Look, maybe you don't give a shit about your fellow Isle citizens," she grated out, seeing the apathy in his face. "But most of them do not deserve to die in a war for leadership. And these are children they are experimenting on. Children innocent of any of the wrong doing of their parents but are being made to suffer the most. Further, these are orphaned children who are targeted because no one gives a shit about them other than me. Not all of them have a brilliant uncle willing to take them in and shelter them."
That was a low blow, bringing Carlos into this fight but he was surprised that Mal was so adamant about getting justice. He had figured that she was merely protecting her mother's interest as they were so closely tied to her own. But he began to realize that this wasn't just a prison to Mal and those born on the Isle, this was their home. The only home they've ever known and it was theirs to make better or as much as they could make it better.
"Most of the scientists I know are inventors, it's unlikely they would know how to create biological weapons…but perhaps they had picked up a specialty or two over the last two decades. I will ask around, see if they know anyone or are willing to talk."
"Thank you. I will be around daily to drop Evie off and work out of your warehouse."
"Whoa, why is my home becoming HQ?"
"Because it's remote and I don't trust my materials to not be overseen anywhere else. This is a private and secret investigation. If these sick fucks have any hint that we're onto them, then who knows what horror they could potentially unleash."
P.H. rolled his eyes, unhappy that his home was going to get regular visit from horrible teenagers.
The first afternoon was spent going over the basics of what Carlos called "biofuel." Evie had been afraid she would be woefully behind and it would take forever for the concepts to sink in, but Carlos seemed to know her strength lay in chemistry and started with that first. While her specialty was in healing and human or fae application, the basic knowledge transferred easily enough.
"So with the scraps thrown out by the citizens, and supplemented by our own garden since there is very little ever thrown out and other non-edible plant waste we find from the forest, we're able to create cellulosic ethanol. With materials from the Mainland that even islanders don't want, we were able to create a distiller," he summarized the whole process.
"What do you use as an enzyme to break down the complex cellulose into simple sugars?" Evie questioned, eager to learn and interested in the material.
"We use a black mold that commonly grows on food waste, we're able to cultivate it in a controlled environment and extract the pectinase."
"Have you tried crested devil traps? They'd produce abundantly more pectinase and they're plentiful."
"You mean the scary, poisonous, and carnivorous plants that grows a few miles north of here? We attempted to cultivate them but they're too…aggressive."
He didn't want to admit to her that when he and P.H. attempted to collect them, they were outwitted by plants that had sharp teeth and were not afraid to peck at them when they got too close.
"Did you sing to them?"
"Sing?"
"Yes, sing. You have to sing to crested devil traps or they're going to bite you."
That was news to Carlos, he had never heard of such a way to collect the plant but then again all of his knowledge of flora was from human text books and his uncle, also a human. There were several species considered "fae" or "magical" that humans tended to steer clear from; the crested devil traps among them.
"It's best when a fae sings to them, but witches could do in a pinch. We'll have Mal help collect a few samples and we can experiment on them to see how much more biofuel we can produce."
Evie already excitedly planned out the next few days, almost thrumming in anticipation of how much fun it would be to experiment and catalog their findings.
"What are you volunteering me for?" Mal asked somewhat amused as she strolled in. She noticed several chemical formulas written on the board, only recognizing that a few of them included sugars but otherwise chemistry was not her forte.
"You're going to collect crested devil traps tonight, remember to bring thick gloves. Their sap can burn even if they don't bite."
"What?" her shoulders slumped, head cocked to the side, and eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"It's for science Mal," Evie told her as if that explained anything.
"That's your answer to everything."
"Well, it's true," Evie pouted, determined that they would collect the plants that night.
Mal rolled her eyes but shook her head in defeat, if Evie said they needed crested devil traps then she would have crested devil traps. If she refused then Jay would volunteer because he's an idiot in love and those plants were lulled by fae voice, not djinn. So to make sure her dumb friend didn't die trying to impress a girl, she would go along with whatever inane thing Evie wanted.
It wouldn't be the first time she was all but forced to go into the forest for some rare quasi-sentient plant that could kill them for one of Evie's "experiments." In fairness, the witch's remedies and tinctures actually worked so it was usually well worth the trip and risk to get these ingredients for her.
Except the one time she was stung by blue gilled hornet weed, her arm swelled up like a blueberry and she didn't talk to Evie for a week.
Carlos stood to the side, wondering if it would be too forward or presumptuous of him to ask to go. He wasn't exactly eager to be bitten by a voracious plant, but he did want to learn something new and it was an excuse to hang out more with teenagers his own age. He busied himself with the chalk board, going over the notes and formulas; he tried to think of a natural way to offer his help and trying to appear nonchalant.
Something must have heard his prayers when Evie said,
"And Carlos will come, he should see how these things are collected. In case he has to gather them and we're busy, or…"
"Yes…" he reminded himself to calm down, he didn't need to seem so eager. "…yes. I will come, I definitely should see how to collect crested devils trap…for science."
"I don't think we need a fourth person, three seems plenty," Jay frowned, not sure why this interloper was invading their circle; he wasn't all too thrilled with how easily Evie and the sheltered boy had gotten along.
"No, the more the better. The devils are hard to pull, even when they're calm. So Mal will be free to sing while the three of us can quickly gather. I think it'd be most efficient if one holds the plant taught, one snips, and then one holds the bag. We'd be done in no time."
Jay couldn't think of a reason to keep Carlos from coming, part of him too entranced with Evie's smile and excitement; he found himself unable to deny her anything she wanted.
Mal's eyes jumped from Jay, to Evie, to Carlos, and back again; observing the exchange and she turned so they wouldn't see her almost gag.
"We have double lined linen gloves," Carlos volunteered, eager to be part of the group and remained slightly demure, not understanding why Jay was staring so hard at him. "And we also have thick linen aprons and goggles."
"Yes, that will be great," Evie beamed at him, so glad that someone else knew the vast importance of fieldwork safety. "We'll meet here after dark…"
"We can have dinner again," Carlos ignored his uncle's bewildered reaction, he wasn't going to pass up spending more time with Mal and ingratiating himself into the group.
"I won't pass up free meals," Mal shrugged her shoulders, more than happy to eat other people's food.
"We'll bring the side dishes," Evie volunteered, not wanting to seem greedy and eat all of their new friend's food.
"And pie," P.H. insisted, he ignored Carlos' embarrassed stuttering that they didn't have to specifically bring a dessert.
Of course they should bring the desert. It's not like anyone besides the brothel is rich enough to have honey and sugar. I definitely deserve pie for being dragged into this scientist business.
"Of course," Evie smiled, happy that someone likes her baking so much. "Is gooseberry OK?"
From P.H.'s slight eye roll to the back of his head and drooling, she figured it was perfectly fine.
The dinner was dominated with conversation about science and the generator, Carlos had made a vegetable soup that paired perfectly with the rustic loaves of bread and small beer Mal and Jay brought respectively. P.H. still accepted everything on Carlos' behalf, he ignored his nephew's insistence that he trusted Mal; the older de Vil wouldn't take any chances.
The food was warm and delicious, the conversation flowed easily and even P.H. had let his guard down by regaling them all with a few stories of his time in Auradon University. Evie sighed, the thought of so much schooling seemed like a dream. P.H. smiled, hoping that Carlos would be able to experience such things. Part of him could appreciate that the teens were willing to gather such dangerous plants so that they could potentially yield more fuel. It would certainly come in hand when Maleficent demanded that the whole Isle be powered. He would have preferred Carlos not go along, but it wasn't like he wanted to go collect vicious plants and certainly not with teenagers.
Dread started to pool in his stomach when the four started to get ready to go out, Carlos had smiled wider than he had ever seen him. He saw his eyes linger on the purpled hair fae, he saw a longing in the boy that made his heart clench in his chest.
P.H. had to force himself not to take Carlos aside and say something, to discourage whatever budding friendships or feelings he may have.
Don't jump to conclusions. He may simply be excited to have friends…friends I denied him…friends that would have turned him into a villain…he's a smart boy, he knows that getting off the Isle would be what is best for him…he wouldn't be foolish enough to endanger his chance of getting out of here.
"Carlos," he found himself saying as they started to head out. Carlos, turned to him, wondering what he wanted. Seeing how happy he was, P.H. couldn't bring himself to issue any warning.
"Please be careful," was all he could muster.
His nephew smiled, "Of course uncle. We'll be back before midnight."
"Don't worry uncle," Mal mocked, "we won't let the traps eat him."
Jay snickered almost evilly, his handsome smile that insinuated that perhaps they would let Carlos be eaten.
His nephew just rolled his eyes, knowing the others were kidding and waved him goodbye.
P.H. sighed, hoping he would be alright and watched him go.
Carlos couldn't help but admire at how confident the three walked into the forest, unafraid of anything that may be lurking in the dark. He hoped they could not hear his heart beating rapidly in his chest, or how his eyes quickly surveyed their surroundings again and again.
He and Jay held torches to light their way, the moon and stars blotted out by the constant fog of pollution that remained thick even well into the night when the coal fueled boilers were unlit.
Perhaps when the generator goes public, its clean burn will allow the pollution to dissipate and we…they can finally see the sky.
Science books and his uncle had told him the sky was an array of colours; blues, reds, pinks, and oranges that faded into each other depending on the time of day. That at night, stars shown bright and pulsated with the light from millennia ago.
I bet Mal would look lovely under moonlight.
He stole glances of her as they walked through the forest, he thought she was radiant as the fire from the torches danced across her deep lavender hair.
Mal busied herself trying not to laugh as Jay not so subtly put himself between Carlos and Evie, she couldn't believe the witch couldn't tell how in love her friend was with her.
Idiots, all of them.
So busy with thoughts of her friend's love life, she didn't see Carlos' adoring looks.
The night was filled with Evie's chatter, going over every precaution they ought to take. When they got to their destination, he suddenly recalled why he and P.H. never bothered. The crested devil traps had earned their name, with their red bulbus bodies, wide mouths filled with razor sharp teeth, and pitch-black crest that raised when threatened—they looked positively demonic.
"And here we are," Evie announced with excitement, taking the equipment and started to give orders. "Jay, give Mal the torch. I'll hold the bag. Jay, you will hold the plants once she sings them to sleep. Carlos, you will cut them as close to the root as possible; I will hold the bag."
Carlos was surprised that they followed her orders, he would have thought Mal would have taken charge as future heiress. But Evie had a way about her, he figured; her kind smile and bright eyes made it hard to say no to her.
They all did as she instructed, sheers in his hands and they all wore thick linen gloves and heavy aprons. Jay and Mal wished they had such things last year when they tried to gather a few for one of Evie's experiments. The few specimens they were able to collect had turned into a powerful cleanser, something that could have saved time and effort into laundry and helped with sanitation for the midwives; unfortunately, the plants were too arduous to get and Mal couldn't convince her mother to spare the manpower and equipment; no one else would volunteer to help them.
Mal didn't blame her mother, in times of famine and unrest there were more important matters. They brought several bags in the hopes of gathering enough for experiments for the generator and to make more of Evie's cleanser.
"We can also make apple wine as pectinase is particularly efficient at extracting juices from fruit, my mother is certain to invest in collecting crested devil's trap if we can make more wine. It'll certainly make Fleur de Pomme the most popular brothel on the island."
"Why didn't she sponsor it last year?" Mal asked, forgetting why Evie's mother said no to such a potentially lucrative endeavor.
"We didn't gather enough to actually test it to make wine. We had no proof of concept, so my mother wouldn't risk her money or me going out to collect."
Mal rolled her eyes and scoffed in annoyance, she then cleared her throat when she saw everyone was ready. Holding the torch over the plants as they hissed at the bright light and sensing threats near them, she started to sing,
Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper I love you
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me
Carlos had never heard the song before, her voice soft and mesmerizing. The aggressive plants had started to sway to the tempo of her tune, just as enamored as he was.
Say night-ie night and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me
After a few more verses, the plants had gone still; Carlos would describe it as falling asleep. Their sharp fangs had retreated, the crests had fallen, and they had slumped down a few centimeters. Evie had motioned to them to hold and cut, not speaking out loud so she wouldn't disrupt Mal's song.
Stars fading but I linger on, dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear
Just saying this
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me
The gloves and aprons had worked beautifully, they had gotten down a rhythm—Jay held the plants, Carlos cut towards the roots, Evie held the bag open.
Hold, snip, bag. Hold, snip, bag. Hold, snip, bag; all to the tempo of Mal's melody.
Efficiently, the three of them had cleared three bags full of plants, more than they ever thought possible in one night and without any of them getting burned by the sap or bitten.
They were all in high spirits as they walked back to town.
"This will be plenty to see if we can use it for biofuel, make cleaner, and use it for wine. Once we get proof of how useful this plant is, Maleficent and my mother will have to invest. This will be the first proof that I can be more useful than…more useful," she refrained from mentioned her potential sex worker. "And it'll be an easy transition from the tinctures and remedies, to the cleanser and winemaking, to the generator. It won't be so out of the blue."
Jay was happy for Evie, relieved that their plan was progressing. He was certain she would rise to the occasion and easily learn how to make the generator. He was also certain that her cleanser would benefit the Isle. It did more than just make things tidy, half the deaths on the Isle were due to unhygienic conditions and infections. If they could use a stronger cleanser that also disinfected, that could help with the mortality of the Isle.
Jay wanted to dislike Carlos, but the other boy's easy-going nature made it hard; he was also vital in helping Evie and Jay wouldn't sabotage her chance because of his petty jealousy. He squished down all the sickness he felt whenever Evie smiled at Carlos' jokes or how they spoke about science that he had no hope of following. He also tried not to think of how good a match they were, smart and meant for better things.
If saving Evie from Fleur de Pomme meant that she had found a connection to someone who wasn't him, then that's something he would have to live with.
"Jay," Evie stopped babbling and thought of something, he paid attention immediately. "I don't think we can wait for the monthly shipment of donations from the Mainland, do you think you could steal some supplies for us?"
"Of course," glad that there was something he exceled at and he was more than happy to do. "What do you need?"
"We're going to need several blunt and flat instruments to scrape off the sap, I think butter knives would be ideal…I'll show you what those are," she added since she was certain he wasn't familiar with the flat wear, if it was a convenient excuse to have him at the brothel and spend time with him, then she wouldn't pass up the opportunity.
They talked happily together, Evie making a wish list and Jay paying apt attention and knowing exactly where he was going to steal them from. Mal slowed her pace, wanting to give the two some privacy, something Evie rarely ever got with Jay.
Their already slow pace went even slower, none of the teens were eager to get back. Alone in the woods of the Isle, they were free of anything. Carlos had matched his pace to Mal, hoping he wasn't being too obvious but wanted to take advantage of the time he had. The soft chatter of Evie's wish list had faded to white noise, how far ahead the other two were in front of them.
"That was amazing, what you did back there," he told her, immediately regretting it as it sounded lame to his ears, but he kept walking and tried to act like he was confident.
"I just sang a song," she shrugged but flattered.
"You have a beautiful voice, I had never heard a song like that."
"Thank you…I learned it from a human henchman of my mother's. She used to sing to me at night, she watched me while my mother consolidated power."
Carlos thought it a bit odd that she referred to the woman as a henchman rather than a babysitter, but he continued to listen.
"You were a great help too, I really appreciate not having to deal directly with the devil traps."
He laughed,
"More than happy to help, I think we all work well together."
She nodded her agreement, she didn't really have much hope for Carlos at first. She had worried that he was soft, too sheltered by his uncle to be much use outside of the classroom. She was glad that he easily followed directions and didn't shrink away from getting his hands dirty. She was also surprised at how eager he was to come with them, but then she realized that he had to be lonely. Even if it was for his safety, being isolated had to be tough. She recalled her own lonely childhood until she met Jay. Most were too afraid to let their children near the daughter of Maleficent, either afraid she was just as merciless or if their child would inadvertently offend Mal and would reign down the wrath of the Leader of the Isle.
"Thank you for helping Evie, I know the deal was with P.H.," she said after a few moments of silence.
"It's nothing…"
"No, it's not nothing," she stopped, looking at him to make sure he understood her. "You're making a real difference in Evie's life. You're making a difference in everyone's life. The main plan might be to get Evie out of the brothel, but this generator could change all of our lives for the better. You're not only helping Evie learn how to make one, but you were instrumental in creating it. P.H. is not the type to give false flattery or credit. So, you must really be something."
"Thanks," he mumbled. He was glad for the cover of night as he was certain he was blushing scarlet. "I wish I could have done something sooner, instead of hiding all this time…"
"Also, never feel bad for surviving. P.H. is rude, but he's right. If you had been raised out in the open, eventually you would have turned criminal and you definitely would never have had a chance to go to Auradon. You're already at a disadvantage by being born to a villain. And who knows what my mother would have done with you, she employs anyone who would give her an advantage, and she'll use force if she has to…your life could have been worse."
Mal wasn't going to sugarcoat it or try to deny that her mother was ruthless. He could appreciate her candor.
"Guilt and regret aren't luxuries we have on the Isle," she finished softly, "And they certainly don't belong on your shoulders."
She reached over to him and squeezed his shoulder, smiled at him and turned to walk back to the warehouse. He followed her slowly, thinking on what she had said. He couldn't help but feel the shoulder she touched, his heart racing and his stomach bubbling with butterflies.
He smiled, thankful that Mal didn't see him as a scared little boy. He felt that perhaps everything would be alright.
