Chapter 10: Success for All
Evie tries to spend some time with Dizzy in their new studio, aka Dizzy's room, working on the new cheerleading outfits, but her mind keeps going to Mal, how angry she was at everyone and how hurt the three other friends were by all this. Of course, it wasn't fair that Fairy Godmother would accuse them of damaging her office and vault, but there was a strong implication that it was one of them with the Isle slogan spray painted on the wall and the vandalism of the Cinderella portrait… who wouldn't assume such a thing? But obviously Mal had taken it the hardest and she is lashing out at the people who loved her the most. It happened before and it would likely happen again, Evie just didn't want a repeat of them taking Ben to Isle, almost getting him killed and battling with Uma and her crew on her pirate ship.
"You okay Evie?" Dizzy asks, looking through books with several fabric samples that they might use for other outfits.
The blue-haired teen looks at her young counterpart from the sewing machine she is using.
"Yes, I'm fine, why do you ask?"
"Because you missed the hemline," Dizzy points out.
Evie gasps as she realized that she's just ruined the edges of a perfectly good cheerleading skirt due to her distraction. She groans and does her best to untangle the mess she's made.
"Is it because of Mal?" Dizzy asks.
"You can read people like a book huh?" Evie smiles.
"I'm more observant than you think I am, I'm not like my mom who is so self-involved that she doesn't think of other people and their feelings."
"You're so much better than your mom," her friend smiles. "We all are…"
Dizzy gives a big smile. "Why is Mal so upset?"
"She just feels like the world is working against her and us I guess. She hates it when people still think we're the villainous bad kids who are going to ruin Auradon for everyone."
"It does hurt," Dizzy admits, looking rather sad.
Evie reaches over and puts her arm around her co-designer. The youngest of the VKs had yet to really feel the stigma and judgement that they had felt when they first arrived at Auradon Prep. The glaring looks and the complete shunning from school activities for a time too. The fact that Dizzy hasn't felt it yet was a good thing, meaning that the students were becoming more open-minded and welcoming to Isle kids, but there was still that bias and dread in the back of the "heroes" minds that these children of villains would revert to being wild and wicked again.
Evie knows the whole reason she got Dizzy invited to Auradon, it was to give her a second chance at a better life; a life much more fulfilling and fun than the one she was living at her grandmother's Curl Up and Dye Shop and being bullied by Uma's crew. She knew that the daughter of Drizella Tremaine did not come from one place to be picked on and judged to come to another place to belittled and criticized from where she came from.
"I know it does, but the only thing we can really do is keep our heads up high and prove them all wrong."
"Really?"
"Yep, by doing good things, like finishing these cheerleading outfits," Evie says, ready to get back to work. "I want you to pick out the hairstyles and accessories for the hair too."
"Really?"
"Of course, you're the only person I can trust to do that."
Dizzy squeals happily, clapping her hands together before going through her own big binder of hairstyles that she brought from her grandmother's shop. She was so happy to be here, she had the potential to be a great designer and stylist in the kingdom of Auradon. The young VKs biggest dream was to style the hair of all the famous princesses in the land for a great ball, even her step-aunt's hair. "How about braids like this?"
…
Deep in the forested area of Auradon, next to the Enchanted Lake where Ben and Mal had first fallen in love, the daughter of Ursula has claimed the area for herself in getting her sinister scheme on the road.
"Harry, I'm telling you it's a great idea," Uma says into her shell phone.
The turquoise-haired teen is using her mother's enchanted shell to give her the extra limbs required for her current task. She has lit a small fire underneath a cauldron that is filled with water from the Enchanted Lake to get it going. Uma examines what she has stolen from Fairy Godmother's vault. While she had wanted to steal the wand and make her life of freeing her crew from the Isle much easier, there was no doubt there would have been more guards all over the land searching for it and she would've been found more easily. Here, she is using forgotten materials that were just gathering dust in a museum anyway and putting them to good use… After all, they would be helping the greater good. And what was icing on the cake for her? The fact that she shoved the hoodie she'd stolen, Evie's mirror and Mal's spellbook into Mal's locker to get her framed for the crime. It was a cold dish of revenge that made her smile.
She examines the page in the book she'd stolen on how to create portals. The whole book was filled with ways to enact spells, how to make permanent hexes and how to create curses with just a few simple ingredients. But what Uma is after were portals, ways to get The Jolly Roger, out of the harbour of the Isle considering The Lost Revenge is no longer seaworthy and into the open waters of Auradon. From there she could mount an attack against King Ben and his precious school. She could battle Mal again and win this time, knowing that there would be no Ben this time to intervene… if all went well. Of course, Harry had the easy part of stealing his father's ship, she had to use complicated magic to beat the barrier surrounding the Isle, where magic does not work.
"It's bloody brilliant it is, don't ya think Gil?" Harry says from the other side. The son of Captain Hook was sitting outside Ursula's Fish and Chips restaurant with Gil, drinking whatever they'd stolen from the fridge and sitting under the dark void of the Isle barrier. It is a rather quiet night and both pirates in training are enjoying the cool air while Uma did all the work to bring them to Auradon.
Gil looks up, a little lost on what is happening. He forces a goofy, dumb smile on his face. "Yeah, brilliant." He then drinks from a bottle they'd stolen.
"Once I've mastered this portal-making business, we can go literally anywhere," Uma says, marvelling at the possibilities. "We could conquer so many lands… ones that aren't even ours."
"So, do I seriously have two dads out there?" Gil asks. "If there were two dads, how would I even be born?"
Uma rolls her eyes on the other end. There was a reason the son of Gaston is second-mate not first.
"Your parents never had the talk with you, did they?" Harry asks, also in annoyance.
"The talk about what?"
Both pirates roll their eyes. Uma adds a hazel stone to the boiling cauldron, causing the concoction to turn a murky gray. She looks at the list, adding snowdrops from the forest floor, part of a dragon scale, knowing she'd save the rest for a better batch, the claw of a gryphon, a fleck of gold and a few dead spiders. With the added power from the lake, the portal potion bubbles more rapidly and Uma can feel the power radiating from it. She inhales it as if it will make her more powerful. She adds a pinch of stardust and then pricks her finger to let a drop of blood fall into the cauldron. The potion turns a bright green, illuminating the eyes of one very vengeful VK.
Uma takes a discarded jar and scoops some of the concoction into it. She transforms back into a bi-pedal person and walks towards the edge of the lake.
"You guys near the pier yet?" she asks into the shell.
On the Isle, both Harry and Gil stop what they are doing and remember where they were supposed to be. They frantically scramble towards the harbour. They just make it, Harry having to grab Gil with his hook to prevent the idiot from falling over the edge and into the water.
"Aye, we are now."
"Perfect," Uma smirks.
She waves her hand over the jar, activating the potion with her magic. Uma thinks about where she wants this to go as she stirs the liquid three times until it's shimmering and bright green. She then dumps the mixture into the water. When the brew hits the surface, the water surrounding it begins to spin until it forms a small green whirlpool. It begins sucking air into and it blows Uma's braids around a little bit. Knowing her time is limited, she takes out the object she wants to teleport.
"Apple coming your way," she smirks. She tosses the apple into the centre of the whirlpool, her stomach turning several times in excitement and anticipation. She then waves her hand over it, using her limited magic to close the portal and send it in the proper direction. The green vortex spins for a little while longer before dying out completely and turning back into the dark and ordinary waters of the Enchanted Lake. The daughter of Ursula waits with baited breath.
…
On the Isle, Harry and Gil wait, not quite sure what to expect from their captain. They look around, waiting for something… anything to prove Uma's capabilities with magic.
Suddenly, the waters in front of them at the edge of the harbour begin to churn rapidly. A bright green light is emitted and yet another small whirlpool forms. From the centre of this swirl comes an object flying upwards into the air in front of them. The alleged portal stops churning the waters and Harry Hook reaches out to catch the object in his hand before it hits the water again.
In the pirate's hand, is a bright red apple. Both male pirates grin at each other, the first mate the only one who really understands what has happened. Harry tosses the apple to Gil, who cluelessly takes a bite out of it.
"Fresh and clean," he comments, but Harry isn't listening. He's grinning from ear to ear, happy at the triumph. He lifts the shell phone to his face and speaks one word…
"Success!"