Chapter 3
Stuck
Heidi's golden opportunity faded away faster than magic. She wasn't going to Auradon. Mal would come back next week to collect the four lucky VKs, and Heidi wasn't one of them. Her shoulders slumped, her head hung lower than usual, and she walked slower than usual on her way home. She fought hard not to cry before reaching her room.
Crying was a sign of weakness, and it was dangerous to be weak on the Isle. Even though things had improved over the last two years, Heidi wouldn't catch Heidi dead crying in public. When she finally got home, Heidi found her big brother Jack standing in the doorway of their shabby home. Their family had moved to the Bargain Castle after Mal defeated maleficent. There was nothing Heidi wanted more than to go to her room and cry on her pillow.
However, Jack blocked her path. Upon seeing her older brother, Heidi's sullen frown turned into a snarl. After all that had gone wrong, Jack was going to ruin the only thing that could go right today. Heidi wasn't going to take it. The last thing she needed was for her older brother to gloat.
"What do you want, Jack?" Heidi growled.
"I just wanted to see if the pretty princess got into Auradon Prep." Jack teased.
"Cinderella's step-niece did if that's what you're wondering!" Heidi barked.
"Oh no, I was talking about you, little sis," Jack taunted. "After all, our mother is the Queen of Hearts."
"Unfortunately, you're stuck with me for a while," Heidi said
"I knew it," Jack said, Face it, sis, you're never getting off this Island. Mal doesn't even notice you."
"She would if the rest of you applied with me," Heidi said, "Auradon loves families. You should have seen how fast they took Smee's twins. They'd take us all at once in a heartbeat if we applied."
"You know why our younger siblings and I would never do it!" Jack shouted, "Auradon is no place for us! Henry doesn't belong there, Hattie doesn't belong there, I don't belong there! The only one that should go over to Auradon is you! You should already be there! You should have been there your whole life! The only reason why you're here in the first place is that Mom stole you!"
Heidi was dumbfounded. "What do you mean she stole me?"
"After Henry was born, Mom got tired of having sons. She wanted a princess, so she stole one. You were only two years old. You wouldn't have remembered your birth parents. No one else does either. I'm the only one who knows you're not a VK, but even I don't know exactly where you came from. Don't mention it to anybody else."
Heidi went up to her room and buried her face in her hard pillow. She didn't belong here. She never belonged here. Now she knew why. The Isle was never her home; it was her prison. Unfortunately, It looked like she was here forever.
