An: WooHoo! Finally hit double digits. I did not intend to take this long. I've been busy but hopefully things will start picking up soon!
Daniweasley: Thank you for your compliments! I'm glad you like the history I've set up for my couples :)
Zahabiya: The Evie part is a reference to The Magic in the Mirror. I don't know if you read it or not but to sum it up, Evie is in her mother's castle where Rose once had control over the magic mirror that taunted Evie and told her what to do. It was broken by Carlos at the end and now its back. Evie is terrified because she's had some bad memories there.
Creator of Magic: Right now all the characters are overwhelmed. They can't find a solution to this problem. Uma is confused between her feelings for Harry, being good or bad, and if Mal and Uma's friendship still holds on the Isle. Don't worry about Huma, they'll get there, but I won't say exactly when... The mirror is going to play a small part in this, but it'll impact Evie and Rose more than anything. I'm sorry, but this chapter will probably play with your feelings on Ben and Rose. Their relationship is fragile right now. But you know, Rose won't stop until she's in everybody's trust again.
The days continued on for the teens. Uma and Gil had gone home to their parents, Harry was still on the ship, Rose was missing, Jane, Ben, and Mal had stayed in the hideout, and Carlos disappeared. Jay was wandering the streets of the Isle. He was wondering if there was anyway to get out. After day two, he decided to begin looking if there was anyway to call for help or escape.
When he entered the black market he couldn't help but wonder if people would frown upon him. He looked around and met some cold eyes, but they barley gave him a second glance. How much did they truly know? Jay continued to wander from booth to booth. He froze when he heard his father's voice. "No, I said 20! You come back here!"
He tried to locate where Jafar's voice was coming from. A cloaked man ran swiftly past Jay, but the son of Jafar was quick and tripped him. The thief had fallen onto the dirt ground. Jay turned the man over to see it wasn't a man at all, but Rose. Her eyes were filled with fear. Jay was speechless. Her eyes darted around before she jerked her arm out of his grip. She stumbled to her feet before running away, putting the cloak's hood over her head.
Jay watched her as she ran out of the market. He took a step forward before his foot caught on something. He looked down to see the necklace he had picked out for Lonnie fell out of his jacket. He leaned down and picked it up. A wave of pain washed over him. How he missed her so. Was she asleep? Was she stone? Worry began to trickle his mind. He reached inside his jacket were her letter still sat. He wrapped the necklace around the paper before tucking it away.
"What were you doing?!" Jafar's voice came from behind him. "You let him get away!" He slapped the back of Jay's shoulder. Jay slowly stood up. His father's voice was softer. "Jay?" He turned to see Jafar.
"Hey, dad."
"What are you doing here?" Jafar looked older than Jay remembered. His black hair was lined with gray. "You're supposed to be in Auradon."
"I didn't choose to come back," Jay shook his head. "The King's ex girlfriend went crazy. She's putting everybody to sleep. And now we're all here. She won."
"She's one?" Jafar raised his eyebrows, "I've never known my son to give into defeat like that."
"This is different than stealing," Jay shook his head. "I'm done with that now, remember?"
"Well you're trying to steal away her victory aren't you?" Jafar shrugged. "Now, I'm all for world domination, but you can't give up. I know how much you like it in Auradon. You have to fight for it." Jay was so surprised about his father's words. He didn't have a bad relationship with his dad, but this was just different.
"I'm trying, but no one else will help," Jay shook his head.
"Have you really asked?" Jafar crossed his arms. "Believe me when I say I had plenty of people bend to my will if I asked nice enough."
"You hypnotized them." Jay narrowed his eyes. Jafar shrugged. "I know what you're saying."
"Go get them son," Jafar smiled. Jay nodded and left the markets in search for a way.
Ben looked out through the barrier. The kingdom he loved was going under, and there was nothing he could do. His heart ached with every moment that passed. Could he really make a life here with Mal? Granted, he was happy to have her here, but he doesn't want to keep living this way. Have his children live this way. He wasn't going to let that happen.
"You can talk about it you know," Mal's voice said from behind him. She ran her fingers along the balcony edge. It was the one thing she truly loved about her hideout. Here she could look out and see all the action without being seen herself. "You don't have to keep it all bottled up."
"I'm not bottling anything up," Ben lied.
"Ben, I know you a little better than that."
"Everyone thinks they know me," Ben shook his head, "But I don't even know who I am anymore." Mal's face softened.
"There's just no way, Ben. I can ask my dad for help, but I don't think there's anything we can do."
"I can't let you do that to yourself," Ben shook his head.
"Ben," Mal put her hand on his, "You need to stop thinking about what everyone else needs and think about what you need." Ben couldn't help but let a tear fall down his cheek.
"I need my kingdom back."
"You're kingdom? Or your sister?"
"I don't know."
"If we're stuck here for a longer time, you're going to have to face her. Its a small Isle, you can't avoid it."
"I don't want to face her. All she does is betray and betray." Mal couldn't help but agree. She didn't know what to do. Sure, she found those papers and didn't trust Rose, but she couldn't stand how Ben was so torn apart. "I should have talked to her back then. I could've prevented all of this. If I wasn't so.. stupid! I could've figured out what was going on. But I'm just the oblivious king whose country is nothing but in shambles." Tears continued to roll down his cheeks.
"Hey," Mal rubbed his back. "You did nothing wrong. Your mother didn't even know that everything would lead to this. You have to understand this probably would've happened either way."
"How? My sister would be happy right now and we would all be in Auradon being a happy family. And no villain could've messed that up." He had gone too far. Mal's eyes widened. They would've never met if it wasn't for Rose. Without her, Ben wouldn't have had his dream of letting Isle kids having a second chance. "Mal that's not what I meant. I love you" He said that last part in a whisper.
Mal didn't know what to think. "I just wish I had a normal family." Ben said at last. Mal's heart melted as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Don't we all."
Rose had heard the whole conversation. Tears was beginning to spill from her eyes. Rose could never forgive herself for what she had done. It was all her. By wanting revenge on the kingdom she hated the most, she her the one person that meant to her the most. She had been hiding in the rafters below the balcony. She made it into a cozy little place with stolen blankets and pillows. She had even gotten a piece of cardboard to sleep flat on. It was completely guarded by walls of other buildings and the back of the stairs to the hideout. Rose felt safe here. Being alone was the only place she felt safe.
The Isle was different than she expected. When she first heard the stories about how the core four ruled the Isle, she had always wanted a taste of it. Of course, anything would be better than that one roomed cell she spent days in her childhood. She thought it was fun place where everyone was like her, a trouble maker. But in reality, they were more like how Rose felt now. Lonely and depressed.
She wiped her eyes quickly and crawled through a space in the stairs. Rose put up her hood and began to roam. She would have to find dinner somehow. After two days here, Rose had been identified as a common thief. Now she wore a cloak that many wore, so she could never truly be recognized. It was satisfying to not be recognized, but there was also an empty feeling.
Her eyes gazed down at the cuffs latched around her wrists. Sometimes at night, Rose would scraped them and bang them against the metal rafters in hope that they would come off. She knew with the barrier she couldn't use her magic, but there wasn't any will for her to try anyway. The cuffs were still a burden to her hands. She wanted her wrists to be free. It had been over a half year since she's had bare wrists. How she longed to see them.
After stealing dinner from a small bakery, Rose decided to look for a way out. There wasn't much else to do. She was hoping a small rift in the barrier existed so she could free herself. Only then could she defeat Audrey herself and regain Ben's trust. That's all Rose wanted. Ben's forgiveness. She had asked for it too many times, now she needed to earn it.
She kept walking to the other side of Isle. There was less people on this side. That could only mean one thing. This is where the famous villains live. Before she got here, she say a huge dark building that towered over a small square. It must've been Maleficent's home. She thought here there were no leaders and everyone was their own individual, but it wasn't much different form Auradon.
Next Rose set her eyes on a smaller white home. It was shabby thing, but she had seen worst. Behind it, a woods blossomed. Rose didn't know there was a woods on the Isle, but they had to get their air somehow. She went around the home to see a yard that stretched only for a few feet before the woods began. Rose headed into the woods.
She wasn't that far in when she saw the small treehouse. Her lips curved into a small smile when she saw marked into the beam. C+E. She began to climb the small ladder swiftly. Her boots didn't even make a sound. She jumped up onto the deck. Her feet barely made a sound. She was about to take a step forward when she heard the sniffling.
Rose walked to a window and looked inside. Carlos was sitting on a mattress on the floor. He was hugging a blue pillow. Rose felt her heart sink. There was still no sign of Evie on the Isle. Carlos wasn't crying, but his eyes were puffing. "I know you're there." He said without looking at her. Rose felt her heart skip a beat.
"Hi," Rose said shakily. She tiptoed into the room, but then she let herself be know by clicking her heal to the floor. " Everyone's wondered where you had gone."
"Everyone's wondering where you had gone," Carlos narrowed his eyes. "You left us."
"Would it have been any better if I had stayed?" Rose raised her eyebrows. "I think not. I've been hiding under the stairs of the hideout. I heard Ben. He doesn't want anything to do with me."
"You betrayed all of us," Carlos shook his head. "And to think I was beginning to trust you."
"I don't blame you for not trusting me," Rose took another step. "I used Evie as a pawn in my silly little game, I even kidnapped her. Then I tired to take over the kingdom myself. Now, I convinced Audrey to take over, and she won. Of course you all should be mad at me."
"I'm not mad," Carlos looked at her. "I'm just confused and disappointed. Evie is gone. She was my whole world. She always has been. But, what is your whole world?"
Rose didn't answer for a moment. Then she whispered her response.
"Ben."
"Then why did you hurt him like that?" Carlos raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you know what you were doing?"
"I never knew what I was doing," Rose admitted. "I just got caught up in my fantasy of revenge on my parents and their kingdom. I never wanted to hurt Ben. That's why I stopped trying. Just, he had made me so mad. Locking me away after he found out everything. He's the king, he doesn't need to take orders from his dad. I just wanted a way to be free. That's what I've always wanted, to be free."
Carlos didn't say anything for a long while. He turned the pillow around and showed the golden E printed on its front. "Evie gave this to me. It helped me through the night on this Isle for many years. I didn't know how much I needed her until she was taken from me. So I suppose I owe you a thank you. I guess destiny is a funny thing, just like love."
Rose looked at him and grinned. "I am sorry to put you through this Carlos. You have to understand that I didn't want any of this for you guys. I tried to destroy the papers, I did. But I got cuffed before I could finish the spell. Otherwise, Audrey wouldn't have risen to power. "
"I think Audrey would've wanted revenge either way. If she didn't you wouldn't have gotten to come here. Ben said this is what you had always wanted was to come and live here."
"Now I'm not so sure. I can see why you guys don't like to talk about this place." Rose folded her arms. "Its a lot like Auradon in a way. At least for me it is. I've been searching for a way out. I need to redeem myself. If I'm ever going to be trusted again, I need to save Auradon for everyone. For Ben." She pulled out the sword that was still tied around her. "I'm glad Audrey didn't get her hands on this. Then we would be in trouble."
"Isn't that the sword of Enchantment?" Carlos asked. He was up on his feet now. "The one I tried to get."
"Yes," Rose nodded. "Since I don't have my powers its the only way I can fight Audrey. Now, do you know any way out of the Isle?"
"No, but I'll help you look," Carlos grinned. Rose was taking aback.
"You mean you're just going to forgive me like that?" Rose questioned.
"We're friends. Friends have each other's backs." Carlos put on his jacket. "The past is past. Forgive. Forget." Rose liked that little saying. She hoped that Ben would feel the same way. Without another word the two friends climbed down and began their search.