"Do not ever touch me again, pirate," Melody warned, trying to lace her voice with as much menace as she could muster.

But instead of recoiling from her venomous tone, he cocked his head in amusement, his maniacal grin growing even wider. She shook her head in irritation just as Aunt Attina dismissed the class, thankfully before the pirate could respond.

Melody shot up from her chair, scooped up her book, and crammed it into her bag. She dashed for the door at the rear of the classroom without a backwards glance at the shameless scallywag sprawled across her desk.

She took the musty stone staircase down to the main floor and out onto the university grounds. The sun's heat was an immediate balm to her frazzled nerves and she breathed deeply, inhaling the freshly cut grass. And beneath it all, the salty brine of the ocean.

This was the main reason she'd chosen Auradon University. Aside from the fact that it had the only oceanography program, it was right on the coast. Princess or not, this was how she knew she didn't belong in a castle. She couldn't even breathe properly unless she was near the sea.

She stood staring out across the gardens, over the rocks and hedges lining the edge of the campus, and out across the sparkling tips of the waves in the distance.

An arm hooked through her own and her heart flip flopped against her ribcage. If this guy didn't leave her alone…

"Woah Roomie, it's just me!" Jane smiled and turned her so they were facing each other. "I was just trying to see what you thought about today's class. You ran out so fast I wasn't sure I'd catch up! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright, I just – "

"See you later, Jane!" Her boyfriend, Carlos, son of the infamous Cruella de Vil, was waving from over Jane's shoulder, hefting his gym bag with one hand and waving to his girlfriend with the other.

Jane waved back and Carlos headed toward practice.

Melody had been so relieved when Jane introduced herself as her roommate during Move In Week. You really couldn't ask for a better roommate than the Fairy Godmother's Daughter. She was super organized, kindhearted, and a great student.

She could think of several roommates who would have been much, much worse.

And almost on cue, one of these much much worse individuals strode across the garden, her turquoise braids trailing behind her like breaking waves. It was Uma, Ursula's daughter. Uma, who just so happened to be the daughter of her family's worst enemy. And of course, if Uma was nearby, then her first mate Harry Hook would not be far behind.

Yes. Melody was most certainly cultivating a dislike for pirates during her time in college.

Jane followed her line of sight, watching from across the grassy courtyard as Harry slung an arm around Uma's shoulder. "They're harmless, Melody," Jane said. "Trust me."

"Listen, Jane," Melody began, walking farther down the path and leading them out of sight of the pirates, "I know you have a history with the villain kids and Carlos does seem sweet, but he's different from them. You know my family history with her mom." Melody scrunched her nose as she glanced back in Uma's direction. "And I don't trust Hook's kid as far as I can throw him."

"Uma is not her mother. You can't define her by her family's choices. And we should give Harry the same chance to define himself," Jane said. "I'm surprised you are so bothered by them. I've never seen you so riled up. I thought you'd be excited about that oceanography project," Jane said.

"I was! Until I got stuck with the only person in the class I cannot stand to be next to. His ego takes up so much space in his head, I'm not sure there's much room left for any brain. And I cannot afford to fail this class."

Jane laughed at that. "I really can't argue on that point."

Melody smiled. It was good to have a friend here.

"Did I ever tell you what Harry said to me when we first met?" Jane asked, as they continued to walk the path back to their dorms.

"Do I even want to know?"

"He somehow managed to use the words duckling and ravishing in the same pick-up line."

Melody pressed a hand to her forehead. "Why does that not surprise me at all," she shook her head, laughing. "What a lunatic."

They laughed some more and the awkwardness she'd felt in the classroom started to melt away.

Jane's eyes sparkled with tears from laughing so hard. "You should have seen the look on Carlos' face."

"I just can't believe some of the girls around here seem to actually enjoy his flirting. Who buys his crap anyway?"

"Come on Mel, you know why he gets away with it. You have to admit he's handsome," Jane said, raising her eyebrows. "And even Evie used to fawn over his wardrobe."

Melody bit the inside of her lip as she considered this. "Okay, I did kind of dig his jacket today. But he smells like the back of a liquor cabinet and I'm pretty sure he was drunk."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Now you're being dramatic, come on," she said. "Lets get back to the room. I've got so much homework to do."

They began down the winding flagstone path through the middle of campus that would eventually lead to the student housing. The breeze hissed through the coastal pines and she felt her tension dissolve even further.

"Do you miss them all?" Melody asked, thinking back to a conversation the two had shared last weekend. "Your old friends? Evie and Mal and everyone?"

Once the question had escaped her lips, she wished she could take it back. It was a beautiful day and Jane probably didn't want to talk about who she missed. Melody always had a way of stalling conversation and making things awkward.

She was surprised when Jane seemed to answer so quickly. "Every day. But Queen Mal and King Ben are busy ruling, and Evie's clothing business is really taking off so they all made the right choice. Besides, we've got lots of holidays and weekends to catch up. It's not far to Auradon city."

She wondered what it would be like to have so many close friends, two-legged friends at least. She had plenty of the flippered variety.

Melody fiddled with the end of one dark strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail as she stared off to the South towards the sea. "My parents are not going to be happy to hear that my final grade in this class will be half decided by a pirate."

"If there's anything Carlos has taught me, its, 'what my mother doesn't know can't hurt her,' Jane said. "Just don't say anything. Who knows, Harry might surprise you."

The idea of more surprises from Harry Hook had Melody's fingers twitching nervously. She reached for her locket to feel its comfortable weight. She reached again. Nothing. She looked down, searching underneath the neckline of her black button-up blouse, fumbling fingers underneath the cami, running them over her chest before she began pulling at her clothes, her hair, to see if it had fallen off somewhere.

No.

No.

It was gone.

She turned suddenly, retracing her steps back along the stone walkway. She weaved between students, not caring how insane she looked.

"What is it? Mel?" She had just barely registered Jane's voice. How long had she been calling her name? "Mel, what's wrong?!"

She whirled around, facing Jane, heart pounding and a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. "My locket! It's gone! I just had it. I know I had it in class."

"Okay, don't panic. Let's just retrace your steps."

They moved backwards toward where they'd stood in conversation a moment ago before retreating up the stairs to search the now empty classroom.

Nothing.

Melody sank down on a desk, burying her face in her hands. "What am I going to do?"

"Are you sure you had it in here?"

"Yes!" Tears stung behind her eyes. It was taking a ridiculous amount of energy not to become a blubbering puddle on the classroom floor. That locket was her most prized possession, she never took it off. The sapphire inside was infused with her grandfather, King Triton's, magic, linking her to the sea, allowing her to assume her mermaid form to travel to Atlantica whenever she wanted. How could she have been so careless? "I remember fiddling with it when my Aunt was grilling me on coral."

"Okay, and then, do you remember having it after that?"

"Well, after that, Aunt Attina announced our project. Then Harry scooted over here and sat on…" Melody felt all of the blood drain from her face as the realization sank in. "Oh that thieving son of a sea slug. I cannot believe he would have the nerve to…"

"Now, hold on a second," Jane was saying, her voice even and her blue eyes sharp. "Are you sure he stole it and you didn't just drop it? I mean, that's a pretty big accusation. You know the villain kids are being watched very closely and something like this could get him expelled."

But Melody knew exactly when he might have done it. The pirate had distracted her with his hook, then with the light touch of his fingers. He could have snatched it then when she was flustered and trying to get away from him.

"Ninety nine point nine percent sure, Jane."

"Well then, lets do one more sweep of the grounds to cover that last tenth of a percent. Then, we'll try to catch Carlos after R.O.A.R. practice. He knows Harry from back on the island. We'll figure something out."

Melody clenched her hands into fists at her sides. "Either that or I'm going to figure out how to skewer him with his own hook."


Author's Note - So I've written about 8 chapters of this story so far, so I know I can post regular updates until then at least. At some point, I'm going to find the courage to finish Haunted as well. I'm glad to be writing again. Let me know what you think :)