"It's been two days since Mal and the twins stole the wand and took off with Lori and Scott."
"I know how long it's been! You don't need to remind me!"
"Yeesh. Sorry. Someone's testy today."
"Can you blame me? Auradon could be invaded at any moment and we have no way of stopping it."
"Way to put a damper on the mood."
"Well, if you would take this seriously, for once in your life, I wouldn't have to dampen the mood!"
Chad rolled his eyes while Audrey continued to pace. "Where is your boyfriend? Shouldn't he be the one sitting here, talking to you, instead of me?"
"He's out with the other guards and volunteers looking for Mal and the Gaston twins. Why aren't you with them?"
Chad shrugged as he inspected his nails. "Because someone needs to keep your head on straight."
"This is serious Chad!"
"Look, Audrey, you said it yourself, we have no way of stopping them, so why put all the energy into trying to find them if we can't do anything once we actually come face to face with them?"
Audrey stopped pacing and flopped onto the nearest chair. "How did this all become such a mess?"
"Ben sees the good in people, even if there isn't any there. It's his greatest trait and his biggest flaw."
"You mean like how he sees the good in you even though we all know that there isn't any?"
Chad snorted. "Sure, whatever you say. Just remember that you dated me once upon a time."
Audrey cringed. "Worst week of my life."
Just then, the doors burst open. Chad and Audrey jumped to their feet.
"Guards… Ambush... Down… No word…"
"Woah, Lonnie, breath," Audrey instructed as she moved to support her friend.
Lonnie did as she was told, taking deep breaths to help calm herself.
"Now, what happened?" Chad asked as Lonnie looked straight at him.
"One of the guards returned. He was injured and rambling on about how they were ambushed."
"What about the other guards? What about Jay, Carlos, Chris, Finn, and the rest of the volunteers?" Audrey questioned urgently. Her heart began racing, she knew the answer wasn't going to be good.
Lonnie shook her head. "No sign of them." It was Lonnie's turn to support Audrey. The other girl nearly fainted.
"That's good, right? That means they're not dead. There's still a chance." Chad wore a worried look. He was concerned for the fate of his older brother, his schoolmates, and the two teens he had come to see as friends rather than foes.
Lonnie shrugged, her own worry and uncertainty showing.
"Where did they go missing?"
"The woods bordering the Eastern Kingdom."
"How are we going to find them?"
"Nobody knows anything at this point. Evie tried using her mirror to them, but she can't see anything. She's a mess."
As bad as they were feeling, they couldn't imagine how Evie was feeling. She had lost her best friend who was practically like her sister, and now the two guys who were practically liker her brothers.
"Do the others know yet?" Audrey inquired, finding her bearings.
Lonnie shook her head. "Ben is in a meeting with the other royals and adults. They're trying to figure out how to go about this. I haven't been able to tell Thea the news yet. She's still in a bad place after what happened with Lori. This'll surely send her over the edge. I haven't seen Jane around, but I don't think she's going to take it too well. And I don't know where Freddie and Amy are. I think they're looking through the twins' room back at school to see if they can find out what kind of spell they used on Mal."
"What about Doug?"
"He's trying to comfort Evie."
"Is it working?"
"Define working."
The three let out a collective sigh. They all felt defeated before the war even had technically begun. They knew their odds of winning: slim to none. Especially now that the majority of their guards and semi-decent fighters had been abducted.
"Let's go find the others and tell them the news."
The three left the room that they had been hiding out in and headed to find the rest of their group. They would find out sooner or later.
"What now?" Mal asked as she watched the new prisoners. They were all still unconscious, but a few were starting to come to.
"Now, we go after the rest," Gaston instructed as he laid out a few maps.
"Bring it on. We'll take them out in no time," Gaston Jr. said smugly as his brother nodded. They didn't seem to know their limits.
Mal rolled her eyes, being the only voice of reason among the group. "There's too many of them. They'll overpower you. We need to pick them off one by one until there's no one left."
"Let us do the planning, honey. Women shouldn't think, it's unbecoming," Gaston chastised as Mal crossed her arms over her chest and her eyes narrowed.
"Don't call me that," Mal snarled. However, the comment fell upon uninterested ears.
"There's too many of them, this mission requires stealth. We'll have to go after them one by one."
"I literally just said that." She was ignored once again.
"Where's the fun in that?"
"The fun comes after that." Gaston explained as he studied the map of Castle Beast. It was large with plenty of corridors and rooms to get lost in. "We lure everyone to the castle and then separate them."
"That'll never work. Then you'll have a large, unified mass to deal with. They'll never split up. It'll be better to go after the people on the outskirts first. Take them out and work your way towards the castle. By the time you get there, most everyone will be imprisoned. But you can't let them know you're coming."
"Mal, honey, the men are talking," Gaston said dismissively to the purple haired fairy.
"I told you not to call me that."
"New plan. We start by taking out those who are stationed on the perimeter. They'll be easy pickings. We'll work our way towards the castle. Then we attack what's left of the herd. Auradon will be ours in no time."
She growled in frustration before storming out to another area of their dingy hideout.
"Mal," someone whispered.
She ignored the call.
"Mal. Mal!"
"What?!" She hissed back, already in an agitated state.
"They don't appreciate your input. But we always did. You were our leader. Come on, set us free and we can go back to the castle together."
"That's a nice little fantasy, Jay, but I'm perfectly fine where I am."
"I've known you since we were kids, Mal. I know when you're lying to me. I know when you're not happy. And I know for a fact that the real Mal would never help any of the Gastons."
A memory flashed into Mal's head as her eyes dimmed.
"You're exaggerating."
"No, I'm serious. If I ever cross paths with anyone who is named Gaston ever again, I'll kill them."
"Then we'll help you."
"Why? Because you think I can't do it on my own? You think I'm weak?"
"No, because it sounds like fun!"
Mal blinked rapidly as she focused on her surroundings. "Jay?"
"Mal! Is it really you?"
"Uh, yeah? Who else would it be?"
Jay smiled, glad to have his friend back. "Come on, let us outta here."
Mal was about to comment but was interrupted by a splitting headache. She gripped her head with a groan.
"No! No! No! Mal, can you hear me?! Mal?!"
"Nice try," Mal sneered, her eyes a bright green once more. "But you'll have to try harder than that."
"Fine then. Can you at least tell me where we are?"
"Don't worry about it, you won't be here for much longer."
Jay glanced around, noticing the absence of a couple people. "Where are Scott and Lori?"
Mal watched the other teen for a minute before she smiled. It sent shivers down his spine. "Don't worry, you'll be reunited with all of your friends very soon."
"What does that mean? Where are they?"
Mal sighed. "I'm tired of talking to you. You're starting to give me a headache with all your questions. Don't you ever shut up?"
Jay grinned. "Nope. So are you going to answer me? Where are they? Where are we? What are you planning?"
Mal let out a small growl and waved her hand in front of the cells. A barrier was added, muting the sound coming from them.
Jay's mouth was still moving, but the sound was muffled.
"I'm sorry, what was that? I can't hear you." She smirked, reveling in his annoyance. Once she was satisfied, she turned on her heel and went back to see how much progress the Gastons had made while she was gone. Admittedly, not very much.
Jay slouched against the wall, sighing in defeat. They were never getting out of here. They were never getting their Mal back. He was officially giving up.
Audrey, Lonnie, and Chad tentatively made their way to the living room of Castle Beast. They had called an emergency meeting in order to tell the others about what happened to the guards.
"What's going on, kids?" Ben immediately asked once he saw the three teens.
They glanced at each other, trying to figure out which of them would break the news to the rest.
"Well, you see…" Audrey began as she fidgeted, she didn't know what to say. It was tearing her apart.
"Come on, tell us what happened," Adam urged calmly, wanting to know what was going on.
"The patrol groups were captured," Chad finally announced.
The others stood in shock.
"The patrol groups? Meaning…" Jane had to sit down.
Lonnie placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Meaning Jay, Carlos, Chris, Finn, and the others."
"No!" Thea called out as she fell to her knees.
Belle rushed to the teen's side in order to comfort her. The former queen wrapped her arms around the blonde and held her close. "It's going to be okay. We'll get them back."
Thea was sobbing into Belle's shoulder.
Evie seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown herself.
Doug sat next to her; an arm wrapped around her shoulders while she leaned into his side.
The others looked defeated.
"How are we going to tell their parents?" Adam muttered.
"What are we going to do now?" Jane voiced. "There's no way we can beat them at this point. Mal's magic is too strong, and we don't have enough fighters to deal with the Gastons." She fell into her own seat as a downcast look crossed her face.
"Come on, guys. We can't think like that," said Ben. "We have to be positive. There's always hope." He was trying to be strong for the others, but inside he felt just as defeated. How could they possibly win this war? And against Mal of all people. His heart broke at the thought of having to fight her.
Everyone was glad that Ben seemed to be back to his optimistic self.
"Ben is right," Evie agreed as she sat a little straighter. "It's not over until it's over. We have to do everything in our power to beat them. We have to do everything to get our Mal back."
"But how?"
Evie hummed in thought. "Amy, Freddie, what did you guys find in the boys' dorm room?"
"Well, for starters, it's an absolute mess in there," Freddie joked while some rolled their eyes.
"I think we found the spell they used on Mal," Amy finished for her friend as she held out the piece of paper.
Fairy Godmother looked it over. "It looks like a basic recipe for a potion. I mean, I wasn't expecting anything too powerful or complex from them."
"How can we break it? Is there some sort of antidote?" Audrey asked urgently, needing to know that there was still hope they could get their friend back.
"Well, I doubt they were smart enough to reinforce the spell or put a protection of some sort. It should weaken over time and eventually fade. I have no idea how long it'll take for it to completely vanish. But if Mal is fighting against it, then it shouldn't be as long."
"We don't have that kind of time. Is there any other way?"
"I suppose if you appeal to her human nature. Try to connect to her, bring up pleasant memories and remind her how much you care about her. Or perhaps an act of true love."
"Why is love always the antidote?" Chad thought out loud while some simply smiled.
"It's the strongest form of magic there is."
"So," Lonnie began, "if we can get Ben close enough to her, he can actually break the spell?" She was trying this angle again, seeing how true love was just confirmed to be a viable option in breaking the spell.
"I believe so," Fairy Godmother stated. "Although, it doesn't have to be a kiss. Any form of it will do. Take Princess Anna and Queen Elsa for instance."
The room seemed to buzz with a newfound hope. Perhaps there was a chance after all.
Jay heard a groan next to him.
"Ugh. What happened?" Carlos asked while holding his head in his hands.
"We were ambushed while on patrol," Jay responded to the younger boy. "They captured us and brought is to their hideout."
"Do you know where we are?"
"Not a clue. Although, I think we're underground."
Carlos looked around. Their friends were still out, but some of the guards in the other cells were starting to stir. "Where's Scott?" He had expected the other teen to be here.
"No clue," Jay repeated.
"What do you know?" Carlos questioned, irritated. Not at Jay, but at the situation in general and the lack of knowledge.
"Hey! You try asking her anything! And we thought she was secretive before. She's even more so now." Jay huffed.
Carlos sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated." A moment of silence passed between the two. "What do you think they want?"
"That should be obvious. To rule Auradon."
Hey guys and gals! I know it's been a while, but the writer's block has been real. I don't really like this chapter. It's kind of just a filler. But it's better than nothing. And i had to progress the story SOMEHOW.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and/or reviewed. Thanks for just reading. It means a lot to me.
A special thanks to pinksakura271 for allowing me to use her OC Amy. She's amazing!
While you wait for the next chapter, I have other stories if you want to check those out. And I also have a couple stories on Wattpad under the name MissFairyTales.