Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

Summary: See previous chapters

Chapter Four

Jay caught up with Lonnie outside the Gym, where she had just finished putting the swords away. "Can we talk for a minute?"

Lonnie hopped up onto a vault, one leg dangling, "Sure, what about?"

Jay crouched on one of the large padded blocks that served as obstacles, a pose that would let him leap into action at any point. "I wanted to clear up why I didn't want you with us on the Isle, and a few other things."

Lonnie's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Go on. I'm guessing it's not the 'because you're a girl' that I'm so used to getting?"

Jay couldn't help but laugh. "The leaders of the two most feared gangs on the Isle are both female, as is the unofficial head of the Independents. It was never about your Biology."

Her eyes gleamed, sidetracked for a moment. "Out of curiosity, who?"

Jay thought that would have been obvious, but maybe not. "You've met Mal and Uma, obviously, and the only thing more terrifying than them fighting is them working together. The Independents are the ones who aren't part of a gang, but formed a loose alliance so that it wasn't worth targeting them. Anthony Tremaine, Claudine Frollo, that lot. Freddie Facillier speaks for them when they need to negotiate with anyone else."

He shrugged, "On the Isle, if you have the power and the skill, you have the position."

Lonnie nodded. "So why wouldn't you let me on the team? I proved myself, didn't I?"

Jay nodded. "Yes, but everyone in Auradon is all about following the rules, and if I'm removed as Captain, it defaults to Chad, who would never let you on. I needed time to take a closer look at the rules, and find a way around it."

He didn't expect Lonnie to forgive him for that right away, but it was all the reasoning he had to offer. They had all tried so hard to fit into their new lives, stamping down their pasts and everything that made them who they were. It hadn't worked as well as they hoped.

Evie had it easiest, having lived most of her life in seclusion, groomed to marry a prince and cultivate skills that were 'acceptable' to Auradon. That didn't stop the nightmares, the way her family drifted apart, or how she occasionally stared longingly at the sword rack.

Carlos stayed out of the way, except for Tourney and Fencing and stolen moments between him and his friends, much as he had on the Isle. He tinkered with existing machines because there was no need to create anything new of his own.

They had fit in easily enough, unlike Jay and Mal. Mal loved Ben, any idiot could see that, but what Auradon expected in a princess was everything that Mal had been raised to despise. Mal had been taught to do and take what she wanted, regardless of the consequence to others. What people thought of her only mattered if it made them think they could get away with disrespect. Mal was strong and fearless and powerful, in a land where princesses were supposed to be meek and gentle and wait for their prince to save them.

Jay had been much the same, though he didn't struggle as much with the public eye. Having girls (and some boys) willing to do whatever he wanted in exchange for a smile and some flirting was just another form of currency on the Isle, something he cultivated until it was as natural as breathing. Actually caring for their good opinion of him was new. Being made Captain was a chance to fit in and prove himself, and he had been desperate not to jeopardise it.

Fortunately, Lonnie didn't hold grudges, too much. "OK, what about the Isle?"

Despite his best attempts, Jay grimaced. "The Isle of the Lost is hard to explain to anyone who hasn't lived it. Kids aren't produced in loving marriages, with a few rare exceptions, and it's not unusual for us to die before we hit our teens. Our parents care how useful we are, and most of them would kill us as easily as they sired us. There are no fair fights. You're great with a sword, but you fight like a battle for someone's life was a tournament match, with points for chivalry, not like your opponent would happily kill you."

Lonnie actually leaned back, eyes wide as though she hadn't actually considered that she could have died on the Isle, a fact that the Villain Kids had been all too aware of. Most likely she hadn't. Much like Ben, Lonnie had grown up surrounded by good, if sometimes judgemental, people. They couldn't comprehend that people existed who cared for nothing but their own gain, no matter who's back they had to sink a dagger into in the process.

Jay continued talking as if he hadn't noticed. "I wouldn't say any of this to Mal or Evie, because they already know; they've narrowly escaped death from that corner before. If they had tried to give a pirate back his sword like you did, I wouldn't be lecturing them; I'd be burying my sister's body. He underestimated you as a princess who could barely hold a sword and suffered from an abundance of luck. Don't make that mistake again."

Any other girl would have reacted angrily, but Lonnie only nodded, taking his words as the advice they were. "Hey, do you have a date for Cotillion, yet?"

Jay blinked at the change of topic. "No, why?"

Lonnie grinned. "Want to be mine?"

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A/N: A conversation that I thought needed to happen, addressing Lonnie's 'WTF moment' in the battle with the pirates.

I'm busy with NaNoWriMo right now, so I don't know when the next update will be.

Thanks

Nat