We're finally leaving the Isle! Things should start moving more quickly now, as I have several more chapters written. Most of the Isle chapters were writing themselves before my muse would let me post this chapter, but now we can start moving forward.
I'll say it again, I own nothing. Disney owns Descendants and all the money it produces. I do own my imagination; I just use Disney's figurines.
One of my readers has posted an alternative to this story on Wattpad at kworrel21, called The Deepest Scars. It supposedly veers off of my story at chapter five, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet because I don't have a Wattpad account.
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Leaving the Isle
Mal's point of view
"Come my child, we have a golden opportunity here. You have been invited to attend Auradon Prep, which means that you will be outside of the barrier." I listened to my mother outline her plan for domination, and how my only responsibility would be to get a hold of Fairy Godmother's wand so I could bring down the barrier around the island. "And if you don't, she went on menacingly, you won't like the consequences."
I scoffed, feigning disinterest as my heart raced. I knew what the "consequences" she was referring to entailed. Whenever I disobeyed her or didn't live up to her expectations, then the result was either physical pain to myself or the death of a random villain or child of a villain who displeased her. I didn't tell the others in the core four about the second half of this punishment, but I couldn't always hide the injuries from the first part. This was also the reason that my dad and I pretended that we didn't know each other when we met in the street. I didn't want him to become the next victim.
My mother went over her plan for us to steal Fairy Godmother's wand with the Core Four and their parents, seeming to get along with the other three parental figures for the moment. Evie and Carlos's mothers were not the kindest, but Jafar wasn't bad. His parental instincts were not as strong as they were when his wife was alive, but I tried not to think about that. I knew that the relationship between our parents would only last until Maleficent got off the Isle, at which point her only priority was herself.
"Don't worry mother," I said, "we'll take care of everything. Although it may take us some time." I hoped that I could buy us some time to… do what? I wasn't sure, but the one thing I did know was that I did NOT want my Mother freed from the Isle. But I wondered if my defiance would come at the cost of the lives of others? I could only hope that we could get all of the innocent kids off of the Isle before that happened. Jay, Evie and Carlos didn't see how releasing people from the Isle was so bad, but they didn't know my mother like I did. Jay knew a little bit from when his mother died, but wasn't aware of the depravity of which my mother was capable on a regular basis.
I left my mother's place and knew that I had to find someone to protect the Isle's kids while we were gone. I looked at my crew, "we need to talk to Uma. She has the resources to look after the Isle's kids."
"What," Carlos exclaimed. "You hate each other, what makes you think that she would agree to do anything for you?"
"Because she is the villain kid with the most power, other than us of course. She hates me on principle, but I rejected her friendship because it would make one group too powerful. The adults would seek to control the most powerful group of villains on the Isle, and I needed an explanation for my mother if I failed to do something that she asked of me." I assumed the position of a supplicant and jokingly said, "Oh mother, I couldn't get the item you wanted because the other gang of equally powerful kids tricked me and got it first."
Carlos and Evie laughed, understanding now what I was doing, but Jay met my eyes and nodded his head. He understood that the excuse of another gang was for more than simple sharing of blame, and that my actual conversations with my mother were not so lighthearted. The four of us headed down to Uma's place, knowing that we didn't have much time before we had to leave.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Harry Hook taunted us as we approached Ursula's restaurant.
"I'm here to see Uma," I said. "I figured that her mom would have her working during the lunch rush, so I thought I would interrupt her 'Cinderella' act."
Harry gave out a surprised bark of laughter before swallowing it and looking around to see if his reaction had been noted. "I wouldn't let her hear you say that unless you want a fight," he cautioned.
I nodded once in acknowledgement and walked on. Harry was right, if I wanted Uma to listen to me, then I needed to keep my sarcasm in check. "Here goes nothing," I muttered, before opening the door to the restaurant owned by Uma's mother, Ursula.
"Loser, party of four," Uma taunted us. She seriously needed some new material, but I bit back my sarcastic comeback.
"Hello Uma," I said, "I only have a few minutes so why don't we sit down and discuss a proposition." I set up my dominance from the get go, making it clear that my time was more important than hers. "After all, my ride to Auradon will be here soon."
Uma grit her teeth, but led me to a quieter area of the restaurant before speaking in a challenging voice. "And what do the Core Four idiots have to say today?" She laughed at her own witticism, but my mission was too important and I wouldn't be baited.
"We will be unavailable for a while," I began. Uma gave an amused huff at my choice of words, but did not interrupt. "I need someone to take over our responsibilities, TEMPORARILY." I made sure to emphasize my last word. The last thing I needed was Uma thinking that she could take over the whole Isle while I was gone. I hoped to get all of the kids out instead of coming back here myself, but Uma didn't need to know that.
"What responsibilities," Uma laughed, "all you do is strut around and annoy everyone."
I didn't have time for jokes. I look straight at Uma and let my eyes flash, a simple parlor trick but effective nonetheless. "What we do, is feed and clothe the abandoned and forgotten kids of the Isle. We gather first aid supplies to patch up the kids after they are abused. We gather clothes and blankets for the kids who have been cast out or whose parents have perished, and we feed the hungry kids by stealing food from the adults who have plenty." I sat back and let Uma process what I just said.
At first, she seemed ready to dismiss my words, but then she got contemplative look on her face. She was clearly running through her knowledge of our actions in a new context when her eyes widened. "I guess that's why you target our kitchen so often," she said thoughtfully. "Why are you coming to me, why not find someone else to do your charity work?"
I pulled no punches. "Because you have the most resources, and enough members in your crew to carry out our work. This isn't easy. It only works because we hide our actions from the adults. The only people who know what we do are the kids who directly benefit from our care. We play up our skills at stealing and villainous behavior to the adults, but actively avoid telling anyone where our bounty is funneled. As long as they believe that we are bad to the bone, and some of the stolen items show up at Jafar's shop, we can work behind the scenes. This is not about recognition; it is about survival."
I could see the moment that Uma finally understood the task that I was giving her. Her look of understanding quickly turned to one of determination. "I'll take better care of them than you ever did."
"I'm not sure that is possible," I smiled, "but you can certainly try. Let me show you the common bolt holes before I leave and let the house mothers/fathers know that you will be supplying them with provisions now."
Uma and I exited the restaurant with strong struts and headed out towards the first bolt hole. Harry and Gil, apparently Gaston's son had joined the group waiting for us outside, looked confused but followed our lead. I did a quick run-down with Uma and introduced her to the older children that took responsibility for the younger kids in each hidden home, or bolt hole. Uma seemed to be impressed by how well we had organized everything, and I could see her mentally taking notes. The kids looked a bit dubious, but there wasn't much they could do in the way of argument. The Core Four were leaving, and they needed a strong supplier if they were to survive.
When it came time for Uma and I to part ways, she held out her hand for me to shake. "No one else may know about what you do, but I want to let you know that it is appreciated and that I will live up to your expectations."
I had never seen Uma so serious before, and had never received a compliment from her. I hid my surprise and shook her hand. "If anyone could do this in our stead," I said, "it would be you." We finished our hand shake and quickly pulled our hands back, pretending that the moment of comradery had never happened.
The large noise of a gathering crowd came from the dock area and I took a deep breath. "Well guys, I think our ride is here." The Core Four fell into formation and we strutted towards the dock, exuding confidence and solidarity even though we were not at all ready for what would come next.
