The royals felt the coldness of the Isle seep deep into their bones the moment the barrier behind them closed. Immediately their moods darkened and matched the drab and dull colors that seemed to hang around them. They wished they had dressed warmer, but they also realized that their everyday clothes were warmer than the ones the VK's were wearing. Where theirs were lined with wool and flannels, the VK's were lacking.
King Adam didn't remember the Isle looking like this, and Ben never imagined it looking so somber. The last time King Adam had set foot on the Isle, he thought it had been brighter. Either it was brighter then, or in his excitement to have the villains off of his hands chased away any worries or doubts he may have had. Their four VK's paused as they took in the familiar surroundings after being dropped off, and the royals could see the daunting look in their eyes. There was fear there, as well as a tinge of excitement as they took their first steps forward on the grimey ground. Anticipation built as they followed behind Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos' steps as they hurried along before ducking into alleyways, but that excitement turned into unease as they passed so many sick or miserable looking inhabitants of the Isle amongst the crumbling passageways. Why the VK's did not stop for them confused the royals, but there were just too many. Hungry and dangerous eyes followed them as they passed, and even King Adam found himself hurrying along. Queen Belle and Fairy Godmother were having a hard time tearing their eyes away from the desolate people they passed. As for Ben, his gaze was unreadable as so many thoughts and fears ran through his mind. This was not how he wanted the Isle to look, and his father had failed them. He saw this in the first few minutes of being there. Does he even realize how desperately these Islanders depend on Auradon? It was clear that they were not getting the things that they desperately needed. Or, was he passing judgement too soon? Perhaps there was a reason these folks were in the conditions that they were in. Maybe there was substance abuse or gang problems, and they were doing this to themselves. That had to be it, right? Nevertheless, mold, rot, and sickness invaded their nostrils as they tried their best to avoid the murky puddles that wouldn't even stick to them because of the spell. They just weren't used to this sort of environment.
Intimidation crept into them when other unknown VK's started to pop up here and there, surrounding them but not affecting their VK's steps in the slightest. The tiny tug at the corners of their lips were enough for them to realize that they knew them. These kids must be some of their friends...or gang members, Adam thought. Ben was thinking this as well, but he was hoping that they were just friends of theirs. He tried to remain optimistic about the preconceptions he had about these VK's, for his girlfriend, but doubt kept casting its shadow in his mind as he saw more and more of the Isle.
None of the VK's relaxed completely until they made it inside of a seemingly abandoned building. Its walls were crumbling on the outside, but the inside was a different story. The first story held a few new VK's, all of them skinny and covered in dirt and grime. There were a few couches here and there, as well as pallets of holey blankets that could scarcely pass as beds. The wooden floors were rotten in places and splattered with drops of browns and reds. Could that be blood, or did they belong to the dragon insignia painted on the door they had just come through. Maybe if the greens, purples, and blacks mixed just enough, it could match those colors on the floor. Somehow though, Belle and Fairy Godmother didn't think so.
"Where's Roan?" they heard Mal demand. Her voice had changed from what they had heard in Auradon, and it sent a shiver down Ben's back. Here, it was unrecognizably dark, cold, and full of authority. As she shed her jacket, the royals all gasped once again when those same scars from weeks ago showed themselves once more. Seeing them here proved that it wasn't some spell to trick the royals, but it also proved that there was something going on beneath this barrier that they were determined to uncover. VK's scrambled out of the way of Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos as the four made their way up to the second level. Graffiti covered the walls here, some of the art mimicking the ones that had been popping up all over Auradon. Mal did have a knack for art. There were about a dozen more sleeping areas here with more VK's than they had found on the first floor. Did these kids stay here a lot? Were they runaways? Gang members? These questions and more swirled in the mind of Adam, Belle, Ben, and Fairy Godmother. King Adam on the other hand took in the weapons lying around, and the marks covering the VK's here told them that they must love picking fights. This place was dangerous, and the fears that his wife and Fairy Godmother had told him slipped to the back of his mind once again. There was nothing innocent about these kids, and those they passed in the alleys were nothing more than good for nothing villains.
When Jay asked a dark haired girl 'where the rest of it was,' the royals followed their gazes over to some shelves that contained various goods. They were confused as to what they were for, and they were also circling back to the question of why there were just so many children here in this building, not a single adult around. "Roan had us split it between the other safehouse," the same, unintimidated girl answered. Safehouse? Ben and King Adam shared a look with one another as they walked amongst the group, waiting for this 'Roan' kid Mal had asked for. King Adam walked back over to their VK's when some of their bags were dumped onto a table, and the things that fell out turned the king a deep shade of red as anger filled him. These kids had stolen from Auradon.
"Adam, no," Belle said softly as that same gentle hand found his shoulder and her understanding eyes found his. "Look at it," she guided, "look at them."
He had to close his eyes for a moment to calm down, but then he did as his wife told him. He saw a vast collection of medical supplies, the same ones reported to have gone missing from the Auradon hospital, but he also looked a little harder and saw the hungry eyes of the Villain Kids in the room. The way they grabbed the supplies, so delicately as if they would disappear right before their eyes, told them that these things were important. Amongst those supplies were food items and clothing. He expected these kids to be unruly and start shoving things into their pockets, but this wasn't the case. A few of them began gathering the supplies and working them into the shelves holding the other things that had first caught their attention. What reason did they have to be stockpiling like that? They must be using these items as bargaining chips...right? Why in the world would they need them when he sent over everything that they could ever need on the Auradon ships? In Adam's mind, these VK's were still greedy, but in Bens...dots began connecting.
A heaviness then settled over the royals as well as every Villain Kid in that room. A VK had walked down the stairs with an attitude that exudes authority, much like how Mal was conducting herself. It must have been the one she had asked for, because he walked straight up to her and Ben subconsciously moved closer as if to protect her from this larger, intimidating boy.
"Ben, honey," Fairy Godmother chimed, reminding him that he was just there to observe. And observe he did. The boy had a challenging look in his gaze for only a few moments, but he eventually backed down with a respectful nod to Mal.
"Mal must be in charge around here," Belle concluded, but they already knew that based on how everyone was reacting to Ben's girlfriend. "I would have thought it to be Jay."
"I wouldn't have thought it to be anyone," Ben added in, wondering why anyone had to be in charge in the first place.
"Well, it looks to me like they have formed a little gang. She admitted as much to you, Benjamin," his father gleamed in satisfaction. These kids just exhumed violence and he was smug with the fact that he thought he was right.
Ben rolled his eyes at him, focusing back on the mood of the room that had shifted once more. Jay and another VK had suddenly pounced on one of the younger VK's, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Whoa whoa whoa, what happened?" Ben asked as Fairy Godmother covered her mouth in horror. She reset the scene, and they caught Mal this time jerking her head in the young boy's direction the moment she noticed him, as if giving an order. Everyone was just so intuned with Mal, and that had him worried. Was his father right?
Mal slammed her knee into Roan, causing him to fall to his knees before she grabbed him and put a knife to his throat. "Where the hell did this runt come from?" Mal demanded in a growling voice meant to incite fear as the entire gang had turned on this boy in an instant, save for Roan who was doing his best to plead for him. At the mention of Bill Sykes hurting the young boy still held in a headlock by Jay, the royals froze. This was the first time they were hearing of some of the Villains they had sentenced to this Isle. Then they discovered that he had almost killed the young boy...and Sykes was Roan's father.
The royals didn't like the bloodthirsty look of their VK's. They had a look about them that screamed that they were enjoying this. They had never seen this side of them, even when they had first come to Auradon. "Not a threat?" Mal asked unconvinced. "For you to go around me to induct this kid, he must be some sort of threat, Roan." Mal was mad. In fact, mad was an understatement. She was terrifying. It was becoming obvious that nothing here happened without Mal's say so. They were prepared for her to hurt the kid, but then she just...let him go. Ben was inwardly screaming for the kid to run, but he hesitated and even Ben knew that was a mistake. She did something then that caused Fairy Godmother to narrow her eyes at the girl- she used magic to hurt the kid when he didn't listen, dropping Roan in the process.
"That's not possible," the King murmured as he shared a concerning glance with the Fairy. He made a mental note to lock this girl up the moment this little spell was over. If she could do magic in a place where magic was buried, imagine what she could do in his lands.
Their amazement was cut short when Evie slammed her arm into the kid who finally had the sense to run, knocking the breath out of him before pinning him to the floor with her boot.
"Goodness!" Queen Belle exclaimed as her hands wanted nothing more than to reach for the boy pinned to the ground by who she had once thought was a sweet and timid girl. "Why did Evie do that? Mal let him go!"
"But he didn't listen," the King told her, furious at how he underestimated even the blue haired girl. "He didn't listen to Mal, and she didn't like that. Look at how in tune with her they all are! It's…" he paused, angry but also intrigued at how they worked, "...amazing. One tiny nod or movement in their direction, and they do what she says." King Adam's face then darkened and he crossed his arms, turning to Ben to ensure that his son heard his warning. "She's just like her mother."
Ben didn't like that. She's just like her mother. But now, even he was having doubts. He elected not to respond to his father and instead looked to see how Mal was going to react. What happened next though had him flinching towards his girlfriend as if to defend her once again.
When Roan tackled Mal out of nowhere, the royals all jumped to Mal's defense, which surprised them, but then they realized that they couldn't do anything because they weren't really there. This whole spell was confusing. Besides, Mal handled herself pretty well, and the King couldn't help but brand Mal a new level of dangerous as she came out on top. Roan was much larger than her and built like a tank. No one had helped Mal, which also told him that she was a fighter who could handle her own battles. They all held their breaths when it looked like Mal was poised to kill Roan as she had him pinned with a knife to his throat. Ben thought she wouldn't do it...but he also didn't know this Mal and it killed him when the tiniest flicker of doubt crossed his mind. He let out an audible sigh when she eventually let him up, but cringed again when the situation wasn't quite over yet. She pulled Roan up but threw him past her; the other VK's forming a wall between them while she dealt with the kid who had identified himself as Jax. Eventually, Mal showed him mercy and banned him from their safehouse. Why she didn't kill him when it looked like she wanted to, they didn't know. And that was how it all started.
As this spell continued on, the rest of Auradon kept on going in the present. There was one girl though who was struggling with what to do after the encounter with the blue haired VK in the bathroom. As Audrey got through the rest of her day, she couldn't get the image of a terrified and injured Evie out of her mind. She had stitches for goodness sake! A long gash across her side that she was trying to hide. Well, that along with whatever else was hidden beneath the expertly applied make up. She did just get a glimpse of a swollen and discolored hand as well. What the hell had happened to this girl? And who was she talking about when she asked her that very dark question? If you could help someone at the cost of damning others, would you do it? Something had happened on the Isle, and for some reason, she wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Just before the bell rang to her final class, Audrey had made up her mind to not go to Ben just yet. She was about to set her footing in the direction of Fairy Godmother for advice once her class let out, but she found herself walking toward the dorms that Evie and Mal stayed in. Oh crap, she realized; Mal. She had been so focused on wondering what had happened to Evie, she forgot that her arch nemesis was Evie's best friend and roommate. She slowed her pace and leaned against the outer wall of the dorm, trying to think of something to say when she got there.
The VK's hated her, and she hated them. Well, her views had recently changed. Fall break had given her the time away from them to recharge and think. She hadn't been the nicest to them after all. In fact, she had never even given them a chance. Once Mal had stolen Ben from her, she vowed to make their life hell. But why would she do that? That wasn't who she wanted to be. Sure, they messed up everything she had been working towards; falling in love and marrying a prince, but did she really want that? She had never been allowed to think otherwise.
All of her life, she had been coached on how to act, how to speak, and to make friends with Ben so that one day she would be his to eventually rule all of Auradon. Living with her grandmother most of the time while her parents went on honeymoon after honeymoon, she was trained with the hate Maleficent had instilled in her. She was supposed to do that, but after actually having the time to herself to think about that for the first time in her life...she didn't want it. For the first time in her life, Ben wasn't hers. She was finally free to be who she wanted to be, not who she was meant to be in her grandmother's eyes; and she loved it. Some of that hate and ugliness that she had been carrying around for so long had melted away from her heart and she was finally able to see the beauty around her. For years she had pushed other princesses away and jealously guarded Ben from anyone and everyone who she deemed a threat to her plan. She saw how ugly her grandmother's ideologies were for her, and she saw how mean she was to the VK's who had come to Auradon. She didn't want to be anyone's puppet any longer, and she was finally free to make her own decisions about her future.
Audrey needed to do this. Mal could scream at her all she wanted, but Evie was hurt. Something was wrong and she just wanted to make sure that she was okay. She was actually hoping that Mal was there, because she wanted to apologize. Maybe they could all start over and eventually turn out as friends, and Audrey scoffed at the idea. She could just picture her grandmother's face right now. Disappointment and horror would be etched on her dignified face. Daughter of Maleficent friends with the daughter of Aurora? All of Auradon would scoff along with her. But who were they to judge? Who was she to judge?
In her thoughts, she didn't even realize that she had started walking again and had made it right outside of their door. Should she knock? Evie had made it very clear that she didn't want her help after their conversation in the bathroom. She had practically begged her to drop it. Evie probably would ignore the knock anyways, but she didn't just want to barge in; Mal would probably kill her. And what if the boys were in there too? She wasn't ready to face all of them just yet after she had treated them with so much hate. Should she even do this? Yes, she was going to do this, she just needed to…
Knock, knock, knock. Her damn subconscious did it for her. It felt as if the knock echoed all the way down the empty hallway, but it was done. All she had to do was wait and see if the door would even open. She held her breath as she waited and counted the seconds that ticked by, but as time passed, she was close to giving up when it wasn't opening. Just as she was about to call it quits and leave, it creaked open and the small crack revealed Evie's carefully done face; it was etched in confusion and worry.
"Audrey!" Evie exclaimed in surprise at seeing her there. "I told you, I'm fine. Just forget about what you saw and we can go back to hating each other."
"Evie, please," Audrey begged, a little annoyed at still being stranded in the hallway as Evie blocked the door. "We really need to talk. I'll even talk to Mal if she's here. Can I come in? Please?" The fear that was circling Evie's gaze jumped to attention at the mention of her coming in. Something was definitely going on.
"No, Audrey. I already told you. I'm fine, we're fine, now just drop it."
The fear that was in her eyes was soon replaced with anger and promise of a threat, but Audrey wasn't done. If Evie wouldn't tell her what was going on, she was going to force her too. The whispers of her being the Queen of Mean weren't for nothing. Audrey always got what she wanted...except for Ben; but then again she didn't exactly want that. "Evie, you are injured," she told her as if she didn't already know. "Something happened, and I know forcing you to tell me what is going on isn't exactly on your list of priorities, but maybe I can help."
The blue haired girl rolled her eyes through the crack in the door. "I told you, it was an accident. Drop it."
No, I won't drop it. Evie was in the process of slamming the door shut in her face when something overcame Audrey. She jammed her foot in the space and then forced the door open, forcefully pushing Evie back and pressing inside, slamming it shut behind her. For good measure, she locked it and planted herself in front of it. "I'm not leaving until we talk." Evie looked flustered and utterly afraid instead of angry. In a matter of seconds though, Audrey began to doubt herself when something shifted in the blue haired princess' demeanor. She started to look threatening and Audrey knew she had pushed it. Evie's body coiled as if she were ready to attack her. Her eyes darkened and a sinister look overcame her features. She had never seen Evie look anything short of sweet and perfect. This girl was from the Isle, dangerous, and she was kicking herself for what she may have gotten herself into.
"Evie, stop!" Audrey begged in a panicked voice when the girl took a menacing step towards her. Evie had warned her after all. "I'm not here to hurt you or rat you out, I swear. Please just listen to me, okay?"
"I don't want to listen," Evie growled, but paused in her next step towards Audrey. "I want you out of my room. Now."
Still, Audrey didn't want to back down even though she was afraid for her life. "No. Hurt me if you want to, I'm not leaving." That got Evie to falter, but Audrey meant it. As she looked into her eyes, she saw a struggle there. Audrey knew that she was hurting, and not just physically.
"What the hell do you want from me?" Evie asked, her tone a little less dangerous as the confusion started to seep in. No one ever wanted to help her, aside from her friends. Her body slightly relaxed, and Audrey hoped she was out of the danger zone.
"I already told you, I want to help. Maybe you did hurt yourself in an accident, but I call bullshit on that. Fall break gave me time to think; about a lot of things really. I need to talk to you."
Evie was so confused. Here was Audrey, in their room talking about wanting to help. She was the last person she would have ever seen trying to help them. Was it some sort of trap? Was she on King Adams' side? It certainly seemed so that day out on the Enchanted Lake. Still, there was something in her eyes that screamed at her to trust the girl. And she desperately wanted to. Maybe if Audrey knew, she could help her win Jay over with getting Mal some help. Shit; Mal was just across the room in her bed. She was slightly glad she was unconscious and buried under the covers, but she also didn't know what to do. At the sound of Audreys knock, she was able to get Ember behind Mal, between her and the wall. She told her to keep quiet. As for Kenzi, she hoped that the baby would stay asleep in her bed. She was hidden behind a mound of blankets, but even they wouldn't muffle the cries if she woke up. She was kicking herself for not hiding them better and opening that door. Maybe she was hoping that they would get caught. Was that why she wanted to open the door? Was that also why she wasn't handing Audrey's ass to her and throwing her straight out of the room? "You have five minutes."
Audrey visibly relaxed, but made no move to leave her spot at the door. Evie was still coiled to attack if she didn't like what she was going to say. Her eyes then wandered about the room for a moment, and for some reason, Evie didn't like that. And then she knew why. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Audrey whispered this time. She had finally noticed Mal, asleep under a mound of covers. Her purple hair was about the only thing she could see. "Is she usually such a heavy sleeper?" The girl hadn't even moved since she barged in there.
"No," Evie said hesitantly, regretting not kicking her out of the room already. "Time is ticking. Say what you have to say and then get out." It was only a matter of time before the girls would give themselves away.
There was so much that Audrey had planned to say, but it was all jumbled in her mind now. She couldn't get them to form a single coherent thought. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" Evie asked, arching an eyebrow but trying to hide a wince as she did it.
Yep, Audrey confirmed as she noticed the movement. If she looked close enough in the dim room, she could see that her makeup was covering up a cut there. "Yes, sorry," she repeated, "for being so mean to you guys. In my defense, I had every right to, but I'm letting all of that go. So, I'm sorry."
"Really?" Evie asked with a little light in her relieved eyes. "That's what you came here to say? That's why you barged in here?"
"Well," Audrey started as her eyes wandered again, but just like before, Evie didn't like that and tensed up once more. There was something here that she didn't want her to see. Either that or she didn't want her to be looking at a sleeping Mal. It was rude, she admitted to herself. "No. I know that no matter how much I say it, you won't believe me. But, I want to help you guys. I swear it. All of you have scars and I want to know how you got them." After that day on the lake, she hated herself for the way she made Evie and the others feel.
"So, you're just being nosy?" Evie snorted in disbelief.
"No! That's not-" but she couldn't finish; she was getting frustrated with herself and how this conversation was going. "Could you wake up Mal?" she whispered, "I want to talk to her too."
"No. And I think we are done here," Evie told her as she moved suddenly forward. She was done with this conversation and regretted it even more for letting Audrey talk.
"We are not done!" Audrey yelled this time. She didn't care if Mal woke up; maybe she would be more reasonable to talk to than Evie who kept shutting her down. "Why can't you let me in? Why can't you let anyone in!? I've talked to Lonnie and Doug since that day at the Lake. I've talked to Ben even! You tell half truths and lie about the rest. They may be happy to live with that, but I'm not. I've been through too much in my life to be happy with that. I think that...No, I know that the Isle hurt you; hurt you all. At least that is what my mind keeps telling me based on how you all dodged our questions. It may be easier for everyone else to forget about it, but I can't. I think you guys are all here to get help, but you're afraid of doing that. Tell me that I'm wrong and I'll leave." There, she said it. It came out a little too angry, but what she had come to realize today had finally been let out.
The look that Evie was giving her right now was scaring her. It looked like she was trying to be angry and threatening, but her eyes were watering as if she were about to cry. And when she looked away from Audrey instead of answering her, she knew that it was an answer. She wasn't wrong and that scared her even more. For some reason, she wanted to hug Evie, but she didn't get the chance to when a soft cry floated across the room, and Evie immediately froze as terror replaced her flurry of emotions.
"Audrey, please leave," Evie said flatly as she squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears back. She knew she was caught. It was half an order, and half a request.
"Evie, what was that?" The cry came again, and it was followed by a panicked look from Evie. When Audrey didn't move, the crying became more intense and Evie warily moved towards it all the while keeping an eye on Audrey. "Please tell me it's not a baby," she asked. Why the hell would they have a baby here in the first place?
"Please, Audrey," Evie begged one last time from her bedside as she shot a wary glance over to Mal, still asleep on the other side of the room. She was seriously regretting what she had done.
"No. I'm here for you guys," Audrey promised as she warily moved closer to her. "And something tells me that you don't really want me to leave."
When Evie let out a shaky breath, she drew back the blankets and revealed that yes, there was a baby there. "Why the hell is there a baby in your dorm? Is it from the Isle? Did you guys smuggle a baby here?" The questions were coming rapid fire but she could see that Evie was still nervous and overwhelmed at the same time.
"Yes, she's from the Isle, Audrey. We smuggled her here because it wasn't safe," Evie admitted as she picked up and cuddled the baby, trying to soothe her.
"She looks hungry," Audrey admitted as she came even closer, reaching to touch the baby. When Evie tensed and swung her away from her, she knew she had overstepped. "Do you have a bottle? I can make it for her if you want to calm her down."
"I'll get her one in a minute," Evie lied as her eyes darted over to Mal's buried form one more time. Rather, behind her buried form to ensure that Ember was still hiding. There was no bottle, and she was on the verge of panic. Not only does Audrey know that something was wrong on the Isle, she now knew that they had a baby here. She hoped that Ember would stay hidden, but based on how the little girl had been clutching her stomach earlier, she knew that she was minutes away from being sick when she hid her. She only hoped that Audrey didn't figure out that Kenzi was hers. How the hell was she supposed to explain that? And when she asked about the father? Was she supposed to tell her that she was raped on the Isle? What the hell was she supposed to do?! She needed Mal, but Mal wasn't waking up. Was Audrey even suspicious of that fact? Could Audrey even handle seeing Mal in the state she was in? Would she panic and blow it all up? She was in deep shit if Jay walked in right now; Audrey was too involved. Why did she ever think that this was a good idea?
Audrey watched how Evie was battling her emotions as she rocked the baby in her arms. The fact that she didn't throw her out told her that the girl wanted help, but she was just too afraid to ask. "Does she have a name?" she tried while trying to calm Evie down, but another commotion stopped Evie from answering.
From Mal's bed, a shape crawled out from behind her; at least she thought it was behind her because Mal was so twisted and buried under the blankets that she could hardly even see her. A little girl popped out clutching her stomach, and Audrey watched in shock as Evie raced towards her, grabbing a trash can along the way. She still held the baby, and Audrey couldn't help but jump into action at the knowing signs of being sick. She grabbed the trashcan from Evie and held it while the toddler was sick. She brushed the little girl's pinkish purple colored hair out of her face to keep it from getting dirty, shocked when she noticed the otherworldly purple eyes the toddler had. When the toddler was done being sick, she started to cry, so Audrey did the only thing that made sense and picked her up. The little girl tensed, but after a soft smile from Evie told her that it was okay, the toddler relaxed and cried into her neck as Audrey rocked her around the room. "You smuggled two babies from the Isle," she stated matter of factly. She desperately wanted to soothe Evie's fears and get her to trust her. She may not know what was going on, but if they took these girls from the Isle because they weren't safe, Evie couldn't be such a bad person. "Are there any more that are going to be popping up anytime soon?" she asked with a stern gaze, but also with a smile.
"No," Evie promised as she remained tense, but did seem to relax some as the baby in her arms started to quiet. "That's the last one."
Audrey sighed. Things were so much more complicated now. "And they are here because they aren't safe on the Isle, right?" When Evie nodded, Audrey leaned back into the toddler in her arms and tried calming her. "Did something happen to their parents?"
Evie froze, but then turned her back to her as she rocked the baby. "You could say that."
"What's that supposed to…"
"What the hell is going on here?" a weak voice sounded from behind them. Audrey whirled around to find that Mal had woken up and rolled over, now staring at them in sheer anger. "Put her down, now," she growled menacingly towards Audrey with the toddler in her arms. There was a fire in her eyes and a promise of death there that had her doing exactly as she ordered. She almost reached back towards the toddler who was now climbing back into the bed for the fear that Mal would hurt her.
"Mal! Take it easy," Evie soothed as she moved closer and surprisingly shoved the baby into Audrey's arms. "It's okay, Audrey is on our side."
"This was your idea?" Mal asked, venom dripping from that accusation as Mal pushed the toddler behind her and moved carefully into a sitting position as she threw the covers off of herself.
"Mal, stop," Evie said in an authoritative voice as she bit back her apprehension. "Drop the spell, now. You are going to hurt yourself even worse."
Spell? Audrey thought. She could see no evidence of a spell, but then she got an idea of what it could be. Evie was using makeup to disguise her wounds, and Mal had no trace of the scars she had seen that day on the Enchanted Lake. She knew for a fact that it was Mal who had hidden all of the VK's scars before. Why wasn't she doing that now? Her pale legs looked blemish free as they peeked out from the dark shorts she was wearing. Her loose shirt hid most of her upper body, but her arms were as sleek as a porcelain dolls. The only thing that was throwing off her look were the circles under her eyes and the exhaustion that peeked through the threatening stare she was giving her. Her body was shaking as well, but that could be attributed to the waves of anger that were exuding from her coiled body. But, Audrey knew better; something was off. Was Mal injured as well?
Evie tried to push Mal back into the bed as she attempted to swing her legs over to stand, but she shoved her off and stood anyway, though she was gripping the bedpost for dear life. Audrey didn't know what to do. "It's okay," she tried, "I swear."
"Okay?" Mal growled before turning on Evie. "Where's Jay? Does he know about this?"
"Mal, no-" Evie started, but Mal attempted to take a step towards Audrey before a dizzy, far away look entered her gaze and Evie was left pushing her back into the bed against her will. "See, what did I tell you," Evie softened in her tone. "Drop the spell, please. You are going to kill yourself. I don't know how you are even doing this in the first place."
Mal looked so helpless as Evie tried keeping her in the bed, as if all energy had been sucked from her body. She shoved the blue haired girl away once again and turned to the toddler that was cowering behind her before clearing her head and softening her gaze. She had no fight left in her. "What was she doing with Ember?" she asked, narrowing her eyes as she turned to look at the baby still in Audrey's arms. "Why does she even know about them? Do you know what you've done? Evie I swear-" but she couldn't finish when without warning, she doubled over in pain, gripping at her stomach with one hand while the other twisted into the sheets as an agonizing groan slipped from her lips.
"Okay," Evie asserted as she became serious instead of intimidated. "Drop the spell, now, and get back in bed. Audrey knows; I told her everything and she is going to help."
Liar, Audrey thought, but she wasn't about to say that. Mal was hurt somehow, and that pained sound she had emitted sent a surprised shock through her heart when she heard it. "Mal, it's okay. Drop the spell," she urged in a kind voice, going along with the snippets of information she had caught between Evie and Mal. She now knew that the toddler was named Ember.
Mal looked at Evie in betrayal before slipping a warning gaze back to Audrey, a flurry of emotions flickering across her face in a matter of seconds. When Audrey stared back in concern, with no traces of anger, Mal's features faltered and her eyes drooped. Her eyes met Evie's once more, and she admitted defeat. "Evie, don't let me hit the floor?" Mal asked in a voice barely above a whisper as she finally let go of her spell.
Floor? And then Mal collapsed. She fell back into Evie's arms like a rag doll and a sound of agony came from the purple haired girl that shook Audrey to her core, but that wasn't what had her worried. Mal was now absolutely covered in more horror than Audrey had ever seen in her life. Her face was now cut and bruised, her arms looked the same, and there was a wound to her shoulder that was bleeding through her t-shirt. Her shorts did nothing to cover the stitches and mosaic of colors covering her legs. Were those finger prints? And burns? Her middle was now soaking wet with blood as Evie expertly moved Mal from her lap, away from the edge of the bed and onto the soft sheets, wrenching up the shirt to expose the bloody and raw wound that was barely being held together by yet more stitches. Audrey couldn't help but repeat what Evie had asked her in the bathroom earlier that day as she froze in shock. "If you could help someone at the cost of damning others, would you do it?"
"What?" Evie called over her shoulder, temporarily forgetting that Audrey was even here as she fought to control not only the bleeding, but also Ember who was trying to climb over Evie in an effort to get to Mal.
Audrey made it to her side in seconds and slid in next to Evie, unsure what to do with the baby still in her arms. She wrestled Ember back and tried her best to keep the toddler from seeing what was going on. "You were talking about Mal, weren't you? What the hell happened to her?"
Evie bit her lip and hesitated before answering Audrey. There was no going back now. "A lot. Can you put Kenzi on the other bed and help me? Mal spelled herself to hide from you and it was too much for her. I knew this was all a bad idea. It ripped everything open again."
Kenzi must be the baby. And yeah, it was clear that Mal was zapped of energy as her eyes were squeezed shut in pain as Evie inspected all of her wounds. She hauled herself back off of Mal's bed with Ember in one arm and put Kenzi back into Evie's bed, the crying quieted for now, and hurried back over to Evie and Mal with the toddler still in her arms. Ember wouldn't let go as her little hands dug into her. "What can I do?" she asked as she was overcome with fear. There was so much blood, so many wounds. She opted to just stand there and sway with the toddler clinging to her.
"Just, keep Ember calm. Mal tore everything back open." Evie was pressing a cloth into her stomach, and Audrey cringed when Mal let out a gut wrenching moan. It was clear that she was also burning with a fever as a sheen of sweat glistened on her pale body.
"Get the hell away from me," Mal growled as Audrey couldn't help but reach out and brush a stray strand of hair out of her face. She was burning up. Mal didn't want her anywhere near her; at least so she thought until Evie looked at her and shook her head.
"Not you," she told Audrey before turning back to Mal and grabbing her bruised hand with her own. Her knuckles were raw from fighting, and Audrey realized that they were in much worse condition than the bruise embedded on one of Evie's. "Mal, it's okay, you are back in Auradon. You're safe."
"Evie?" Mal asked in a haze as her eyes opened.
"Yeah, it's me," Evie cried as she lifted the cloth on her stomach and cursed. "You keep reopening everything. Why can't you just stay still and listen to me?" Evie hissed in her own pain when she switched hands to grab another cloth.
"What the hell did you do to your hand?" Mal asked, suddenly realizing that Audrey was still there. "Why is she here?"
"We've been over this, Mal," Evie reminded her. "Audrey wants to help. I promise you everything is going to be okay. As for my hand, I broke it last night after punching Jay across his jaw. He deserved it."
Mal's chest heaved with the effort of talking before asking about Ember, who was sobbing into Audrey's neck. "How's Em'?" she asked, lifting her head to look at Audrey before a coughing fit took over that left her gasping for air.
"She's fine, Mal. Just relax-" She didn't get to finish before yet again, Mal had coughed up blood, spraying Evie across the face and just missing Audrey and Ember.
"Evie, she needs help. How have you not gotten her to a hospital by now?" Audrey panicked as she watched Evie push Mal to her side as if she had done this before. Was this what she had signed up for? But yes, it was.
Evie shot her a quick glare as she wiped the blood from her face. "Because, Audrey, we don't have access to a hospital on the Isle. And here, Auradon would just use this as an excuse to get us thrown back to the Isle and disband the proclamation because of all of the problems we have caused. Mal would rather die than have that happen. You don't have the whole story, so please don't judge us yet."
"That's why you let me stay, isn't it?" she asked in realization as she fought to keep Ember from looking at the gruesome scene. "You didn't want the decision to be yours."
"I don't know what I wanted," Evie all but yelled, whipping her eyes over to her as the tears fell freely now. They shot back over to Mal when a jerking had caught her attention.
Mal was seizing.
"Oh my god, Mal!" Evie wailed as her friend's body shook. It was getting so much worse, and to throw a wrench in it, Ember knew that something bad was happening and was crying uncontrollably. "Audrey, take Ember and Kenzi into the bathroom, please. They don't need to see this."
Audrey quickly did as she was told as she fought to push her panic away. She desperately tried to soothe the girl fighting to be free from her arms. "Hey! Lets move to the bathroom so Evie can get Mal feeling better. How does that sound?" she asked the toddler as she moved back over to Evie's side of the room. She had barely finished her sentence when Ember somehow jerked out of her grip and slid to the floor. She raced over to the bed and shimmied up as quickly as she could and tried to wrap her little arms around Mal. Evie had to grab onto the girl and bury her into her chest in a tight hug to keep Mal from hurting her during the still going seizure.
"Mommy, stop!" Ember cried as Audrey made it to her side and froze at those words. She watched Evie tense as well and look at her from the corner of her eyes while she tried to keep Mal on her side with one hand while hugging Ember with her other. It seemed like the world had frozen as that secret was let out. No wonder Evie was being so secretive and Mal flipping out over her holding the toddler. "Mommy!" Ember pleaded again, reaching for the injured VK with tiny arms before Audrey came to her senses and grabbed her from Evie, pinning her to her own chest and feeling like her heart was shattering.
The little girl fought, but Audrey wrestled her in a strong grip and raced to Kenzi still on the bed. She grabbed her as well as a mound of blankets and paused for a second while balancing the bundles, all the while Evie looking up at her in terror and fear. "Ember is...Mal's?" she asked still in disbelief, thankful that Mal was starting to still. Of course she knew the answer, the purple hair was unmistakable. "And Kenzi is yours," she guessed with another shock going through her. These girls were mothers. Again, it was the hair that told her. The deep blue to the baby's darker hair complemented Evie's without a doubt, and she couldn't believe she hadn't caught it earlier. All Evie did was close her eyes and nod. They shot back open when a pounding at the door caught their attention.
"Get them into the bathroom and close the door. Keep them quiet, please!" Evie begged as her eyes shot back to the door in fear and confusion as the banging continued. "Tell Ember 'danger.'"
Mal, Evie? The voice called through the thick wood. Open up, now. Open up or we bust the door down. I know Mal is hurt; we know what happened to you all. Open up so we can help!
"Audrey, go!" Evie yelled in a fearful whisper as terror gripped her. Ben knew; but how? Her mind emphasized on the word 'we' and she couldn't help but panic at the thought of the King belonging to that word. For anyone to know really, but if they did, they were all doomed and this was all for nothing.
Audrey did as she was told and closed the bathroom door behind her, shutting off the lights with her shoulder as she did. She threw the heavy blankets into the tub and climbed in with both of the girls still in her arms. Poor Ember had thrown her little arms around her as if she thought she would be wrenched away any moment, seeked her of all people for comfort. "Danger," she whispered to Mal's daughter as she reached for the shower curtain and pulled it closed before throwing the blankets over them all. Amazingly, Ember quit crying and buried her head into her while she made sure Kenzi could breathe. The baby was half asleep, and she hoped that she would stay quiet. Wait, why was she hiding them? It was Ben out there for goodness sake. She could see where Evie was coming from though. She wanted to keep the babies away from the royals for as long as possible; she didn't trust them for some reason. Audrey would support her in whatever decisions she made because she was starting to understand the VK's more and more. If she betrayed that trust right now, they would never let anyone in again.
"Ben, what's going on!" Evie yelled as she opened the door for him for the fear of making the situation any worse than it already was. She got no answer and was shoved roughly to the side once again when his eyes landed on Mal, unconscious and covered in blood and sweat. Guards stood to attention in the hallway and Evie grabbed at her hair in fear and frustration as she backed herself into the wall. "What are you doing!" she yelled in tears as Ben grabbed Mal and began taking her from the room. She fought between protecting Mal or letting Ben take her to get help. "Ben!"
"I'm saving her life, Evie!" he yelled with a roar. "We cast a spell on you guys when you went back to the Isle," he explained as he raked his eyes over his injured girlfriend in alarm. If it weren't for her warm body, he would have thought she was dead. "It let us see everything that happened to you last week. I'm taking Mal to get some help."
By this time, Evie knew she wouldn't win with all of these guards and would only make the situation worse if she fought back. If she could get Ben from the room, she wouldn't have to worry about Mal for the moment and could focus on getting the girls out of there and into hiding. The royals had to know about them too, and it terrified her to think about them taking them away. Children raising children? Auradon would never allow that. So, she tried to help the current situation along and keep Ben from thinking of the girls as well. He was too focused on Mal at the moment to think about them, and she wanted to keep it that way. "It's iron!" she yelled as she rushed towards him, still in anger at the intrusion, but also needing to tell him what she had come to realize. "The dagger; pieces broke off of it. I think a piece is in her lungs."
Ben nodded in thanks before the urgency of the situation tugged him from the room with her following before freezing in front of the wall of guards. "Come with us, Evie. I need to know how she's been since being here," he asked as he began hurrying between the guards who opened up a path for him, his watery eyes never leaving Mal's bruised face. "We need you to help us fill in the blanks."
Evie flinched when guards stepped forward and pressed in around her at his words, grabbing her arm to hurry her along. "Don't touch me!" she yelled in panic, wrenching it out of their hands and backing away to her open door.
"Evie, I know you are hurt too," Ben called over his shoulder. He didn't even realize that she was panicking or that his guards were being too aggressive. "Come on. The guards will deal with the kids."
Evie shook her head at him at his betrayal, but still he wouldn't look at her. "No," she spat as her chest heaved at the anxiety everyone was causing. "Take her and go. Leave the rest of us alone." So he didn't forget about Ember and Kenzi. And from the way he was talking, he seemed to be moving on autopilot and not thinking about what he had said.
"I can't do that, we need to check you all over." As he hurried away, he ordered the guards to search her room. "Bring them all to me."
Ben had no idea that he made the situation dangerous, or that he left his guards to their own devices. Absolute dread turned Evie's bones into concrete at what he was ordering the guards to do. He wanted them to find the girls. Whether it was to get them help as well, she didn't care because all she could think about right now was the worst possible scenario. "Ben, don't you dare!" Evie growled at him as her Isle mindset seeped back in and she went on the defensive. She knew that he didn't hear her because he was already gone, taking her best friend with him. Evie stood defensively in the doorway before the guards advanced, and she tried her best to defend what was left of her family. All Ben cared about was Mal. He hadn't even processed Ember yet.
"Back away now, and I promise not to break any bones," she growled at the six guards who were quickly becoming agitated with her. One of them underestimated her and stepped forward, ready to get to his task and make it back home in time for dinner. She grabbed the arm that reached for her and pulled him closer, jamming her uninjured fist up into his jaw in an uppercut that would have cracked his neck on the Isle, but she was wanting to hold back...some. The moment his head snapped back, she rammed her knee into his gut, and then gave him a spinning kick that had the other guards scrambling to catch him as he fell back in unconscious astonishment.
"What in good heavens is going on!" a female voice butted in that immediately had Evie regretting what she had done. She had attacked a royal guard.
"Fairy Gothmother!" one of the guards recognized as they moved to shield her from the dangerous VK in the doorway that had just knocked one of their own out cold. "Prince Ben wants us to search the room for anyone they may have in hiding, but this villain won't let us enter. You should have seen the state Maleficent's kid was in."
"For goodness sake!" Fairy Godmother exclaimed as she elbowed past the men and hurried towards Evie who froze at her approach, but made no movements to scold her. "She's scared senseless! Evie dear, are you okay?"
Evie was still on the defensive and jumped when Fairy Godmother touched her arm in concern. Her eyes were wild and her breath was coming too fast. Instead of warding her off, Evie instead shot a death glare straight into the souls of each and every guard that hovered over her, forcing them to take a step back in their unease. Of course, not the one that was still passed out on the floor at her feet.
"Evie?" Fairy Godmother asked again, thankful when finally the girl wrenched her gaze towards her. Fairy Godmother knew that even she couldn't defy Ben's order, but maybe she could diffuse the situation some. "Evie, will you let them do what Ben asked of them? I'll go too and make sure they dont mess anything up. How does that sound?"
No, even with Fairy Godmother there, she couldn't risk anyone finding the girls. She would die if anything happen- "No!" One of the lead guards had grown tired of the situation and managed to grab Evie and hold her firmly in his grasp as he pushed into the room. She couldn't move; all she could do was watch as the rest of them filed past her and into the room, tearing things apart and ignoring Fairy Godmother's yells of astonished protest as she followed them about the room.
Fairy Godmother gave up trying to yell at them and ended up rushing back to Evie's side, cringing at the absolute horror in her eyes as they followed the men in the room. She couldn't help but wonder what was going through the poor girl's head after everything she had been through. When one of the men began heading for the bathroom, Evie started fighting, and Fairy Godmother knew she had to do something because that was where the babies most likely were. She knew that Ben was wanting to help, but this was not the way to do it. The royals had no plan, and until there was a plan, a safe plan, she wasn't going to separate these children from their children. They had been through too much already. King Adam had been hiding his emotions as they re-lived what these kids had. She still didn't know what he was planning on doing with them, and she could risk him throwing them back onto the Isle to wash his hands of them. They had been through too much, and she would fight for them every step of the way. As for Ben, she wasn't sure of his intentions either. Belle on the other hand had collapsed in a puddle of tears, and that was where she had left her after chasing after Ben in his haste to find Mal and get her to the hospital.
Every fiber of Evie's being screamed at her to get free and protect Kenzi and Ember. She didn't want a single one of those men to touch a hair on their heads. When one of them twisted the knob to the bathroom, she almost fainted. A small spark to her right caught her attention, and she turned her head just slightly to see faint trails of smoke emanating from Fairy Godmother's fingertips behind her back. Forgetting about that when the man forced himself into the dark bathroom and flipped the lights on before hearing the sound of the shower curtain being pulled open, she knew she was doomed. It was only when he emerged empty handed did she realize what Fairy Godmother must have done. Why was she helping her? She knew too?
"There's no one else here," he alerted the rest of the guards. "We take the girl to the King to see what he wants to do with her."
"I think not!" Fairy Godmother exclaimed as she pushed herself into the center of the room. "You boys had better clear out of here now before I turn you all into pumpkins! Do you see what you have done to this poor girl? She's terrified!"
"Do you see what she's done to Dean?" one of them asked in an intimidated voice before averting his gaze from the angry fairy.
Fairy Godmother scoffed in anger. "I don't care what she's done. She acted in fear. Now, the lot of you had better clear out. I'll deal with her."
The guards didn't like that; the VK had attacked one of them. "But-"
"I said CLEAR OUT!"
That seemed to have gotten their attention, and soon, the hands gripping Evie's arms to the point of bruising released her and she dropped to the floor partly in relief and partly in mental exhaustion at what had happened here. Her eyes were wild and her breath wasn't coming as easily as it should have as her gaze followed the guards out of the room. Fairy Godmother had no idea that Evie was having trouble distinguishing them from the men of the Isle based on what had just happened.
"Evie?" Fairy Godmother asked as she bent down to her level. She tried grabbing at her arms to calm her when the girl jerked away from her with eyes wide in fear. Her breath kept coming faster and faster and the woman knew she was on the verge of a panic attack.
Fairy Godmother screamed in horror along with Belle as she watched the Evil Queens men tearing eachother apart to get to the blue haired girl. Evie's mother was done with her, and she had thrown her to her men. Hands were tearing at her clothes, gripping and grabbing at her as the girl screamed and fought to be free. It hurt Fairy Godmother that Evie wasn't even screaming for her mother to save her; she was screaming for Mal. She was screaming for Carlos, and Jay, and her crew...everyone but her mother. And then a plea ripped their hearts out. "Please!" Evie screamed as her eyes seemed to stare right at the fairy, "please don't let this happen again." Again. That word held so much meaning and Fairy Godmother couldn't even imagine what had happened already.
Fairy Godmother battled with what she should do, and as much as she hated it, she knew she needed to leave the girl alone. She knew how distrustful she was of adults. "Evie, dear, listen to me. Take them and go. Everything happened so fast, and I don't know what the King's intentions are. You need to run." The look Evie barely managed to give her struck her to her core. Her eyes were a deep pool of unease and distrust. It took everything in her not to gather the poor girl into her arms and try to wish the pain away. She would advocate for these kids; she was on their side. Auradon had failed them in the worst way ever.
Almost as soon as Fairy Godmother was gone, Evie managed to gather her feet beneath her and shoot to the bathroom. With tears streaming down her face, she ripped open the shower curtain and dug through the blankets until she found both Kenzi and Ember. She practically tore them from Audrey's arms and held them as close and as tight as she could while Audrey climbed out of the cushiony mess and peeked outside of the bathroom door. "We can't stay here," Evie said in a tearful sob as she fought to keep the breath inside her.
"No, you can't," Audrey agreed. She could hardly believe what had happened. From the sounds of it, the guards had treated Evie like she was some sort of evil villain who had done them wrong. There were bruises forming on her arms for goodness sake. "I'll take the girls while you pack. You all are coming with me to my room until it gets dark. Then we can go to Fairy Cottage. No one uses it-"
"How did they not find you?" Evie asked as she cut her off, trying her hardest to suck in oxygen and calm her panic. Nevertheless, she hesitated, but then offered the girls to her. Audrey had earned a little more of her trust. Kenzi she handed over easily, but Ember she would have to carry around while she packed. The poor girl was traumatized.
Audrey was wondering the same thing as she followed her into the room, gazing in awe at the damage the guards had left it in. "I don't know. I swear he stared right at me, but his eyes looked glazed over or something."
Evie scoffed when she connected the dots. "Fairy Godmother." Audrey looked at her sharply, but then dropped it as the sense of urgency moved them along, before the guards came back.
The pair flew around the room and shoved things in bags. Audrey couldn't help but cringe at the sight of Evie giving painful winces as she moved. The total lack of baby things also made her pity the girl. There were no clothes, bottles, toys...nothing. When they were done, Evie shifted Ember in her arms and gazed at Kenzi as her emotions ran rampant. Audrey couldn't wait to get them into her room so that the princess could relax. Audrey smiled at that; 'princess', she had called her.
A few minutes later, Audrey and Evie hurried through the halls and to her surprise, Evie led most of the way. They took routes that Audrey didn't even know existed. Had the VK's been sneaking around Auradon during their time here? Of course they did; they didn't trust anyone.
After what had felt like hours, the room to her private dorm shut them in and Audrey heard an audible gasp of relief come from Evie as she dropped her bags. The blue haired girl somehow managed to grab Kenzi from her and she shuffled over to her bed with the baby and Ember. After she sank to the floor, she changed her mind and then turned and scooted back until she was leaning against the wall, and Audrey's dresser and nightstand were on either side of her. She was trying to ground herself before the panic took over.
"Are you okay?" Audrey asked as she dropped the bag she was carrying and fell to her knees next to her bed, crawling over to the panicking girl. Evie jerked her head up to her and bit her lip, her eyes begging her to leave her alone for a minute. The sight of the babies hanging onto her for dear life and her holding them just the same almost broke her. "What can I do?" she asked, leaning against her bed and trying her best to remain calm as well. Mal had looked like she was at death's door, and they were willing to let her die to protect some secret. Ben knew the secret, and it had made him react like she had never seen before. He took Mal and left Evie to fend for herself against six guards for goodness sake. The guards had turned their room upside down, bruised Evie's arms, and caused Audrey to lose all thoughts about Auradon being good. Evie shook her head at her question; she didn't even know. "I'm going to find Jay and Carlos." That got her to get some light back into her eyes. "Do you know where they are?"
"T-tourney," Evie managed before her mouth opened in horror, no sound coming out as tears leaked from her eyes as she suddenly realized how bad their situation was. Pressure started to build in her chest and she didn't hear what Audrey was saying next until she was shaking her.
"Breathe Evie, breathe!" she yelled. With one hand she shook the panicked girl, and with her other, she brushed Ember's arms to try and calm her as well. Ember was starting to panic as well.
"Oh god, I lost Mal!" Evie managed to choke out with a sob when she remembered how to breathe.
"Evie, talk to Ember. She's scared."
"Of course she's scared, Audrey!" Evie yelled. "I lost her mother, the royals know about the girls, and they are going to be coming after us soon. Ben said they cast a spell on us to see what happened when we went back. God Audrey, do you even know what happened? They are going to lock us in there forever."
Audrey stood and pushed her dresser over before squeezing in next to Evie, and taking Ember from her. Surprisingly, Ember let her. "No, I don't know what happened, and at this point I don't care. All I care about is making you feel as safe as possible until we can figure out what is going on."
"What's going on," Evie repeated with a half crazed laugh. "They know what happened. We wanted to do it slow; make sure they trusted us. Now the Isle is doomed. You wanted to know what happened, so let me tell you!"
"Evie, no," Audrey tried as she shifted and put her arm around Evie's shoulders. She thought that Evie would jerk away, but she didn't. She sank into her embrace and sobbed even harder. When she quieted, Audrey thought she would never recover from what horrors may be haunting the seemingly perfect and poised girl that she used to know. She wanted to know, but now wasn't the time. "I'm going to go get the boys now. Is that okay?"
It took a few moments, but Evie found her voice just enough to respond. "Yes," Evie whispered as she tensed back up. How was she supposed to explain this to them? "They aren't going to trust you. Tell them 'incolumem'. If you can't find them at Tourney, Jay likes to climb and Carlos will just hole up and hit you with a stick or something if you get too close."
In Audreys arms, Ember seemed to relax more into them. That must be some sort of safeword they used with each other. "I'll do my best."
As Audrey slipped from the room and navigated the familiar hallways, she couldn't help but notice how on guard all of the royal guards were. They moved as if they were searching for someone, and Audrey knew just who that was. As she neared the Tourney field, she knew she wouldn't find Jay or Carlos; they would have caught onto the guards looking for them. She would have to think like they did in order to find them, but she assumed they would be hiding until some of the guards loosened up or most of the students were thinned out. In the end, she had managed to search the boys locker room, which would give her nightmares, the girls locker room for good measure, under the bleachers, sports storage, workout room… you name it. With the influx of guards, they wouldn't have been able to get very far. As she stared around and tried to look as normal as possible, her eyes drifted towards the woods overlooking the school; it was perfect. They would most likely be on the outskirts, watching everything that was going on but also being in an area they could escape into easily.
The woods were quiet and dark. She used what Evie had told her and kept her eyes to the trees, hoping to see a sign of the boys somewhere. Never would she have thought of that. She was jumping at every sound; she hated it here. Too many bugs. A flash of red caught her attention later on that was overlooking the field. She knew it had to be Jay, and she knew that Carlos wouldn't be too far from him. She had hoped that Evie was just joking about Carlos hitting her with a stick. She paused beneath the tree and looked up, but right before she could call his name, a knife appeared at her throat and she whimpered in fear. Moments later, Jay's body thudded next to her as he dropped from the tree and towered above her.
"Tell us why you have been all over the sports area looking for who we assume to be us, and I'll tell Carlos to drop the knife," Jay threatened. He didn't look or even sound like the same boy who she had seen before Fall break. He seemed darker and angrier now. Maybe even a little bit skinnier? It was hard to tell with the knife at her throat.
"You're right, you're right!" Audrey panicked as every sane thought she had floated right out of her reach. "I was looking for you guys!" The knife to her throat pressed even closer at her confession.
"Did King Adam send you? Who sent you, Audrey?" Jay growled.
And here she had thought Evie was scary. Never in her time of knowing them had she ever seen this goofy VK so serious and threatening.
"Why is everyone looking for us?" Carlos seethed behind her.
"E-Evie sent me!" She whimpered. "I'm on your side, I swear!"
"Yeah, right," Carlos voiced again, "why would you of all people ever want to help us. And help us with what, exactly?"
Audrey was losing them. "Help you all with the Isle problem! And help you save Mal and just...help!"
Jay's eyes lit up in surprise as he pressed closer into her in an effort to spark fear; it was his specialty. "How do you know about Mal?"
"I- incolumem!" she yelled, suddenly remembering the word. "Evie told me to tell you guys that word so that you would believe me. Please, you have to trust me; something happened."
Jay backed off so quickly after that. After a bewildered nod to Carlos, the knife at her neck dropped and she breathed out a sigh of relief. "What happened, Audrey?" he asked with a slight shake to his voice, but somehow, he knew. Evie would have never shared that word unless something bad had happened.
Again, they stuck through unknown hallways as they trekked back to her dorm. They had to hide several times until guards or students went by. When they finally made it, Audrey was disappointed to see Evie in the same spot she had left her.
"Eve's" Jay breathed relief as he hurried towards her.
Upon hearing that voice, Ember perked up in her arms and met Jay halfway. He scooped her up as he had always done, and Audrey couldn't help but wonder if Jay was her father. Ember buried her tear covered face into him and he held her as if she were the most important thing in the world.
"Jay! Carlos!" Evie cried out in relief. Her eyes were red from crying and her makeup had run. She struggled to stand with Kenzi in her arms, but Carlos made it to her side and helped her up. They all crowded together and held each other tight, making a lump form in Audrey's throat at the sight of the worried group.
"What happened?" Jay asked as he suddenly remembered whose presence they were in. He eyed Audrey warily, and even seemed to place himself in front of the others in an effort to protect them. "Where does she fit into all of this?"
"It was an accident, really," Evie explained. "She was there at the right time and right place. Well, she forced herself into the room, but only because she saw me bleeding in class because you busted my stitches in our fight. Kenzi gave herself away, and then Ember got sick before I could do anything. She's on our side."
"And what exactly is our side?" Jay asked, pissed at Evie, but also understanding and relieved that she didn't just go out on her own and alert Ben to their predicament.
Audrey answered for Evie, more confident now that she could see that Jay was more relaxed. "The side of you. The way those guards treated Evie, and the way Ben couldn't even try and explain after he had Mal in his arms… it's no wonder you don't trust us. I've seen your scars; I know they come from the Isle. You guys have to be fighting towards something by the way you have been trying to fit in here. I don't know exactly what you are after, but I know that whatever it is, Mal was risking her life to die for it. Something like that tells me that Auradon has failed her, and has failed you. Auradon has failed the Isle of the Lost. Tell me that I'm wrong."
"Well," Jay began as he wrestled with what to say before exhaling, "you're not wrong."
Audrey couldn't help but smile, but then that smile faltered as she realized the weight those words carried. "I'm here for you guys, and I'm sticking with it until the end. I told Evie I would bring you all to Fairy Cottage when it got dark. It's been mine since Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather moved back to South Riding. No one would even think to find you there. I'm supposed to hate you all, remember?"
"I still don't like you," Jay shot back, but he finished it with a smirk before he buried his face into Ember's neck, blowing raspberries and getting the little girl to giggle for the first time that night.
Yep, she had to be his kid, Audrey thought, but she didn't know how wrong she really was. "Okay then! Let me pack a bag; I'm staying with you guys."
"Ugh," Carlos groaned, "does she have to? How can we even trust her?"
Jay shrugged before letting Ember down. "It's her house. Besides, she got Evie and the girls out of there. That counts for something."
Audrey would take that as a win, but she still knew that she had to prove herself. Trust with the VK's couldn't come that easily. "Hey, sweet girl! You like stuffed animals too?" Audrey said to the little girl who had wandered over to her stuffed animal collection. Yes, she had a stuffed animal collection. When she pulled a purple lizard from the bottom of the pile, the whole thing collapsed.
"Ember Aurora!" Jay yelled as he rushed over to her, attempting to be stern but he couldn't wipe the smile from his face when Ember turned to look at him with a grin bigger than his, all the while clutching the purple lizard.
"Aurora?" Audrey asked in astonishment as she walked over and knelt to the girl amid the stuffed animals. She raised her eyebrow at Jay, not entirely sure she heard him right.
"Umm," Jay tried to backtrack, but it was out. "Yeah. Mal thought it was a good fit. Something about her wanting Ember to know that there was good in her too.
Audrey giggled, honored at the fact that Mal thought to add her mothers name to Embers. "Tell you what," she said to the toddler as she reached for one of her old sparkly backpacks she never used anymore. "If you can fill this backpack up with your favorite stuffed animals from...the floor, you can have them."
Ember lit up to the news and excitedly began shoving plushies into every pocket she could find in the bag. Audrey smiled at her and then went to pack her own bags, wondering how she had gotten so lucky to be able to help these guys.
When night had finally fallen, they snuck out of Auradon Prep and piled into her new car. Audrey stuck to the backroads, and they made it to the cottage without seeing a single guard. When they pulled up, she was relieved to see just how much calmer Evie was now that she was with the boys and in a safe place. She couldn't have imagined the terror she must have been feeling. And not only that, Audrey couldn't help but reflect back on the state Mal had been in. What had happened to these guys? What had them so scared that they thought that they would be locked back up on the Isle? There were so many questions buzzing around in her head, but for the moment, she was just glad that they were all safe. Audrey was determined to keep them that way, no matter who she had to lie to. She finally had her own life in her hands, and she planned on using it for good.