There was a clear shift in Evie's demeanor when she entered the Hall of Villains, and to say Jay and Harry didn't like it, would be an understatement. It was as if the very room sucked out any happiness she had managed to craft since the devastation of not being able to wake up Doug with True Love's Kiss, leaving her a husk of the girl they knew. They watched as she let out a shuddering breath, her body visibility quaking. Jay longed to reach out to her, to hold her and death glare the woman that caused such a volatile reaction in her, but he knew he couldn't. Not only because she wasn't physically there, but this was Evie's fight. He would still be there to help her, to catch her if she fell, like we always was. And for once, he knew without a doubt that Harry would be there too. My, had times changed.

"Okay, so I doubt they would leave any of the artifacts of real magical value out for everyone to see, just in case, so where would they be?" she questioned, slowly walking around and tapping a polished finger to her glossy lips. "Maybe in the stands themselves or in a hidden room? No that couldn't be it. Maybe-"

"Princess," Harry said, drawing her attention where he was lounging against a wall. " Ye really think these priss' would worry 'bout us stealing'? Think 'bout how easy it was tae sneak intae their precious Museum,'" He added, sitting hack and putting his hands behind his head.

Evie frowned, mulling over his words. Harry was right, they didn't have the best track record for keeping things that they didn't want people to have out of plain sight- look at Fairy Godmother's wand for example. Nodding to no one in particular she pushed her shoulders back and sauntered around the room, keeping her eyes peeled for anything that looked vaguely useful. She paused around her mothers statue, a fork of regret tearing through her heart. Sure, she was evil and allowed men to do unspeakable things to her in exchange for power on the isle, but she was still her mother and she loved her, even if her mother didn;t possess that ability herself.

"You okay, Glam?" Jay asked, pulling her into his side and allowing her to curl into his body.

"Yes, just thinking. Do you ever regret our choices? For leaving our lives behind and our parents there to fester."

"Not really, I mean sure there were some good times, and I miss stealing, I really do. But this is a much better way to live for all of us, and soon Mal will lift the barrier so everyone can come."

"Well, naw everyone," Harry called out, and Evie flinched, not realising he had even moved. " Teh adults will be retried, and ye best believe it ye ma and our Da will be locked up for good," Harry said, a slight bitterness in his words.

"Harry-"

"Nevamind that, lass. Lookie wha' I 'ave" He smirked that slightly unhinged grin and held up a mirror and a book, the dark blue colour almost matching Evie's hair, and the red lock matching her nails.

"That's my mothers!" Evie breathed, racing forward as fast as she could to almost lovingly retrieve them. "How did you find it so fast?" She asked, reverently stroking the mirror's glass surface.

"While ye wer' chattin' I went huntin'' Harry explained, a cocky grin on his face. "Ye are not the only thief, Jay."

Jay sent him a dirty look, a challenge swimming in his dark eye. Evie rolled her eyes and scampered out of the room, heading back to their base. The two boys gave each other a mildly exasperated look before following her, knowing that when she had a mission in mind, no one could stop her. They sat either side of her on the step, boxing her in and watching as she tried to figure out a way to open the book. Both had to admit her little grains of annoyance were endearing, though they both squashed those thoughts as soon as they arose.

"Won't it open? I got my lock pick," Jay offered, pulling it out of his pocket.

"Wa ye doin' with tha'?" Harry asked, his eyebrows meeting together as he leant over to get a better look.

"You may be a good thief, but I am an exceptional thief, my tools prove it," Jay said, practically puffing out his chest and drawing out the word I.

Evie rolled her eyes and focused back on the book. She moved it around and tried to open the cover, letting out a huff when it remained stubbornly closed. Groaning, she let it flop back on the ground next to her, resting her head in her hands. "It's no good, it's shut."

"Maybe try you know… magicking it."

Evie shot Jay an unimpressed look, rolling her eyes. "Or maybe you could give me three wishes and open it for me," She shot back, her smile tempering any harshness in her tone.

"Sorry, Jay, I didn't mean to snap."

"No worries Glam, I know this has been a crazy day for you."

His smile made a warmth bloom in her heart, swelling out and infusing her body with the liquid warmth. She shot him a shy smile, looking down at her shoes. Harry watched, his eyes softening like the sand with the ocean's caress as she watched her. Man, the lass is a looker, he thought, before averting his eyes, keeping the usual deranged grin on his face to hide any emotion from the world.

"Okay so, I guess I just try to," She paused, taking a steadying breath. "Open it."b

She took a deep breath, ignoring the way it stammered. She reached down to pick up the spell book, admitting the almost liquid way the reds and dark blues moved within the bound leather. The boys kindly ignored the way the book shook in her hand, giving her the space she needed to think and try to collect her calm. "Okay, it's just magic, nothing too hard, it's just magic," she muttered, quickly exhaling.

Jay and Harry exchanged a nod, both shrugging. Sure, Jay had the capacity to use magic but he deliberately suppressed it, having no interest in his dad's type. And Harry… Well, the most magical thing about him was his accent.

Evie stroked the cover, focusing on the intricate patterns. They seemed to swirl as if moved by an invisible current, merging together like a bound tie dye. She moved her hand over the lock, letting the coolness of the metal seep into her hand. Okay E, just think about the feeling you had in the cottage, it can't be harder than growing up on the Isle, right? She thought, biting her lip before shutting her eyes.

"So-"

"Shh," she muttered, not even bothering to glare at Harry.

"Lass-"

"She said to shush Harry. Come on, let's see if we can find some weapons for us and give Carlos a call," Jay said, giving Evie's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "You got this, Glam, he muttered in her ear, his hot breath tickling the sensitive skin of her neck, making her bite her lip to hold in her reaction.

Jay stood up, and immediately Evie felt the loss of his presence. Harry cleared his throat, making Evie fight back the smile. "Yes, Harry?"

"Just, err, ye got this, Princess. It's in your blood." He muttered, gingerly holding her elegant hand in his larger callosed one before dropping it, as if she had summoned fire.

"Thank you, Harry," she whispered, ignoring the tingles radiating from where he touched.

Finally alone, she focused on the steady pulse of her heart. Mentally tracing the veins she knew spider webbed through her body she followed the twists and turns, digging deep to find the steadily glowing ball of dark blue and blood red energy that thrummed in time with her heartbeat. Coaxing it upwards, she guided it back up the pathways, imagining it bypassing her heart and slowly slipping through her arms and out her fingers. The metal warmed, her magic heating it up as it soaked in. "Öffnen" she muttered of reflex, feeling the lock bend to her will and slowly open. She listened for the click to know it was fully open, and frowned when it never came.

Warum öffnet es sich nicht?" she muttered, her words slipping back into German as she questioned why the spellbook didn't pop open like she had pictured.

Goraning, she rested her head in her lap and hung her head in her hands. Why wasn;t it opening? Surely she shared the same magic as her mother? If so, the book should have recognised her power. They shared the same-

Blood. They shared the same blood,

Letting out a little squeal that alerted the guys, she worked the earring out of her ear, holding the pointed end on her finger and pressing down hard.

"Wha' ye doin' lass?" Harry shouted, his eyes widening as he saw a bead of blood well up on her slim index finger.

"Evie, what the hell is going on?" Jay asked, running over and looking her up and down, trying to find out what happened to make her bleed.

Evie smiled and waved him off, holding the A5 sized book in her non-bloodied hand. She pressed the bloody digit against the metal lock, watching as the blood soaked in. She felt her breath be knocked out of her when the lock seemed to greedily cuk her blood like a metal vampire, and the world became slightly fuzzy, as if she was just walking up from a nap. She sighed as she felt large warm hands holding her up, the solid chest pressing against her back and holding her steady.

"Jay, wa' is goin' on?' Harry panicked, kneeling in front of her and searching for some way to help.

"What am I, a magician?" Jay snapped, his temper rearing in tandem with his panic. "I dunno, assume the old hag had an extra layer of protection to open it."

"Explains why t'ere was only a glass case 'roond it," Harry muttered, and Jay nodded, both figuring that since no one could open the book, there was no need for extra precautions.

Finally the book detached itself from Evie, the lock having changed from gold to a vibrant red. It fell to the floor with a thud, just as Evie came out of her trance and the colour returned to her face. "What.."

"Ye ma is a wick'd lady, 'ats what," Harry supplied, trying to keep the relief off his face, but only succeeding in causing it to leak into his eyes.

"Oh my gosh, it opened!" Evie squealed, bending over to pick up and book, losing her balance in the process and slumping inelegantly into Harry's waiting arms.

"Woah there, lass, dinnae expect ye tae fall for me literally," he joked, getting a dry chuckle from Evie as a reply.

She gently pushed herself up, her smile not reaching her eyes. Her sadness was raw, as open as a chest cavity relieved of its innards. Harry choked back the pain that rose like the tide, trying to ignore the urge to hold her. Ye iddyit, teh lass is grievin', last thing she needs is ye messin' wid 'er heart, he thought, pushing the thoughts way.

Ignoring the newly fledged awkwardness, Evie pulled the book into her lap, skimming the pages. "Glam, there's nothing there." Jay said, reading over her shoulder.

"Of course there is it's all in German." she trailed off, before gasping in realisation, practically bursting out of her seat. "Oh my gosh she must have an invisibility spell on it, which is why she needed my blood. The genetic compounds in our shared DNA reacted with the compounds of the lock, activating the words so I could-"

"Eve, English please."

"Oh right, sorry Jay," Evie said, smiling sheepishly. " There must be a spell on it that keeps everyone but her kin reading it. My blood activated it."

"Ye Ma was a scarily clever lass."

Evie gave him a small smile, nodding in agreement.

"Okay, so what's next?" Jay asked,

"Okay, I assume you guys got the weapons?" She paused to see them both nod. "Okay, you guys call the others and let them know we have the book, and I'll read up on some spells that may be helpful before we meet up with Mal."

Both boys nodded, the seriousness of her tone resonating with them. "Okay, let's do this." Jay paused, giving his two companions a crown-winning smile. "We have a- and I can't believe i'm saying this- a world to save."


Hey everyone, long time, no update on my part. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and am very excited to explore Evie's magic a bit more. I'm planning another 5 ish mre chapters then this will be done, but keep an eye on my other story, Rotten Apples if you are enjoying this one!

Next chapter we will see Mal and her group's plans, Carlos and his group and how they are going and Evie will be exploring more of the magic she was cheated out of in the movies! I'll be updating when I can, I am currently working madly in my original story and am at about 35k words on that so it, along with University commitments are taking up a lot of my time. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next chapter!