Ch. 16
As the sun slowly sank over the horizon, the shops lining the dingy streets of the Isle started to close up and the hawkers head home for the evening, Ursula and Morgana silently slipped out of the Fish and Chips shop. Men tying up their boats for the night gave the two a wide berth, eyeing them cautiously, unused to seeing either lurking around the docks.
"What do we do if the barrier really is down?" Morgana asked.
"As much as I hate to admit it, the wenches had a good plan. We'll test it and go back and begin spreading the word that we're going to attack Auradon. But we can't just load everyone on ships and sail over in force, it'll draw far too much attention and the Auradon guards will be lined up waiting for us," Ursula replied.
"Then we sneak over, surely they're not watching the shores all the time? If we go in small groups, late at night, hide in some offshore coves and wait to strike when they're least expecting it we'll have the advantage," Morgana suggested an oily smirk on her face.
An answering cackle was all Morgana needed as an answer as the two slid soundlessly into the dark, cold water and began swimming out to the magical barrier.
"So? Was the rumor true or not?" Lady Tremaine asked the moment she let the two sisters back into her house later that night.
"It's not down completely, however, I did manage to get a tentacle through without losing too much skin," Ursula replied, showing off one of her tentacles that looked fairly singed and red but still whole.
"Oh, the first thing I'm going to do when I get to Auradon is get my poor Carlos back! My furs haven't been cleaned properly in months," Cruella exclaimed.
"Ladies, please. If the barrier really is failing then retrieving your lost children really isn't the most important issue. We need a way to take hold of Auradon, it's the main seat of power in the kingdom," Lady Tremaine said.
"Well, you must know that Auradon probably already knows the barrier is failing, which means they're watching it very closely. If we start loading up ships and sailing them out to sea in force then they'll just counter us and we'll be dead before we reach Auradon's shore..." Ursula began.
"But if we sneak over, a few at a time, in the middle of the night they'll never see us coming! We can have them surrounded before they can send out a single guard," Morgana interrupted excitedly.
"A sneak attack, brilliant!" Cruella laughed, clapping her hands together.
"You may be right, we don't know their military numbers, how many ships they may have or what magic they could use to counter us with. If we capture Beast and Belle we can hold them hostage and take the rest of the country without even having to get our hands dirty," Lady Tremaine replied thoughtfully.
"What about Fairy Godmother's magic wand? Nobody would stand in our way if we had control over that, and we could turn Maleficent back too," Evil Queen asked.
"The wand could prove to be too powerful in the wrong hands. All it took was Maleficent's spawn waving it around, spouting some nonsense about being good to turn her into a lizard. If we can find it, we can use it as a bargaining chip, hold it over their heads so they behave. But I'd rather see it broken into a million pieces before I see one of those goody-two-shoes aim it at me," Lady Tremaine said, her eyes flashing dangerously in the light from the fireplace.
"And if there were other magical items, powerful enough to guarantee our continued reign over Auradon?" Ursula asked slyly.
"Do you mean the trident, sister? Isn't it still locked away in Atlantica?" Morgana asked.
"It may be, but I've heard of other powerful items that may be even more useful and I believe they keep quite a few right there in Auradon," Ursula replied, getting interested glances from the other women.
"Well, if Fairy Godmother's wand is there, then Maleficent's staff, my magic mirror and who knows what else is probably there too," Evil Queen said.
"Getting those should be our top priority after getting to Auradon then but just before we attack or they'll surely notice they're missing and become suspicious," Lady Tremaine agreed.
The women talked late into the night, scheming and plotting their attack on Auradon and the rest of the kingdoms, eager to begin. With the arrival of dawn, a messenger was sent out to several of the most influential and powerful villains on the isle, letting them know that the time for revenge against their foes was near at hand.