Jay struggled to keep a mask of surprise rather than showing the worry he felt. It didn't fool Evie, who squeezed his hand briefly to silently tell him that she was worried too. Quinn didn't really have enemies, the people on the Isle needed her far too much to make an adversary of her. But if her mother had hurt her or even… Jay stopped himself from thinking it. Harry would never let anything happen to her. Nothing on the Isle made sense. Their parents were missing, but Iago and the overnight-bags were left behind. Harry, through manipulating Uma, had taken control of the Isle to keep them from getting to Quinn.
Yen Sid spoke, calling Jay's attention back to the present. "I used Freddie Facilier to send you those messages," he explained, surprising them, "Your parents are missing and it has something to do with the odd weather in Auradon." They knew what he was talking about. Just before they'd returned to the Isle, Ben had been looking into the strange phenomena occurring all over Auradon. "Because of the magic kept off the island by the barrier being pushed underground, Maleficent's escape sparked a chain reaction," he continued using his teacher voice, "Evil itself had begun creating new talismans for the villains and crafted a path to Auradon and your parents heard the call of their former powers and went to search of them."
Mal watched the reactions of the Anti-Heroes, finding Mad Maddy's to be off. The girl had no poker-face whatsoever, her eyes turning steely whenever they landed on Jay, Evie or Carlos. So when the meeting ended, Mal followed her.
Knowing the kinds of trouble her friend could get herself into, Evie shadowed Mal as she followed Maddy. They were headed towards a remote part of the Isle, to Doom Cove some minutes away from the Goblin Wharf. She watched with wide eyes as Mal was attacked by Maddy and her associates, feeling Jay and Carlos come up behind her. And as they take in the people attacking Mal, Jay and Evie share a moment of understanding. While the attackers all very likely had other motives for assaulting Maleficent's daughter, there was no mistaking that all of them were allies of Quinn's. The realization hit both Evie and Jay like a punch. Quinn was letting it happen, all of it. Being the only person able to help the sick and injured granted her a lot more power than most villain kids possessed. One word from her would end the pirates' rule, stop the attack on Mal. But Quinn wasn't giving that word. She was letting it happen.
The three VKs rushed forward and barely managed to save Mal from becoming crocodile-chow. Carlos pointed it out first. Tick Tock Croc's kids weren't supposed to be at Doom Cove. They all looked at each other, reaching the same conclusion. The catacombs, the ones where their parents had been lost, had to be there. After some deliberation, they decided to go back to Bargain Castle and get some sleep before they tried to find the entrance.
Jay shifted, over and over, unable to close his eyes without hearing Diego's words. No one's heard from Quinn. For the first time since Family Day, he wished that he hadn't left the Isle. There were a number of things that could've led to her silence, including her mother's madness, and he wondered if he was too late. He hadn't stopped thinking about ways to get Quinn off of the Isle, away from her madhouse mother, and into his arms again. For all he knew, Queen of Hearts had snapped and beheaded her daughter. The thought made his stomach churn and he sat up in bed. He had to see if she was safe. Without waking the others, Jay snuck out of Bargain Castle and headed in the direction of the House of Cards. It was a fairly easy path to take if one knew where to go. He only had to make a few new turns due to new bazaars, finding his way to the House of Cards garden easily enough. Quinn was visible through the glass of her balcony door, the gilded barrier open just enough for him to hear her sing to herself. Desert moon, light the way, till the dark turns to day… Jay's heart stuttered. She was singing the lullaby he'd taught her, the one he'd been singing to her the night before he was forced to leave for Auradon. It took all the restraint he possessed to stop himself from scaling the vines and joining her. He tore himself away from the scene, returning to Bargain Castle. Back in bed, he fell asleep to the image of Quinn singing, dreaming of the day when they'd be reunited.
The dig to get to the entrance of the cavern wasn't easy, Evie concluded silently, but it was nowhere near as difficult as the challenge of finding her mother's talisman. It was so beautiful, so powerful. She couldn't resist taking the bite. The image haunting her, her friends abandoning her, it stung even after she broke through the illusion. It was her one weakness, it always had been, the thought of being disliked and thrown away. But whatever the Fruit of Venom had shown her, she had a feeling it would only get worse.
The Haunted Desert brought back memories of his almost decent childhood. The lullaby, the descriptive images of what Agrabah looked like. And while he didn't want to leave his friends behind, Jay knew that he was meant to follow the Golden Cobra. It led him deeper into a tunnel until he reached a chamber. No, scratch that, he reached the chamber. The chamber of his dreams, piled high with gold and jewels. It hurt his head to remind himself that it wasn't real, especially with the cobra whispering in his ear, promises of riches beyond his wildest imagination, the Golden Cobra as his power to wield. But then the snake told him to walk behind a curtain, leave behind his friends. It felt wrong and Jay felt himself start to resist. Leave your friends behind and pass through that doorway with me, and you shall have all the riches you desire. The image provided was a glorious one, with him as a Sultan of Agrabah. Around him piles of gold and silver glittered, almost as shimmery as the fabrics wrapped around the love of his life. Quinn's hair glimmered red in the sun, a brilliant smile on her face. Come with me, the cobra continued, and you will gain her love and forgiveness. But with Yen Sid's words about how there was treasure in the world around him and Quinn's voice singing the lullaby ringing in his ears, he turned down the offer. He may not have been rich in gold and silver, but he had friendships worth far more than all the coin in the world. And Quinn's love and forgiveness was something that he had to earn through actions, not a spell.
It was a relief to escape the tunnels, and a surprise to find Madam Mim and Ben in the dwarf mines. Jay felt himself breathe easier as Madam Mim was revealed to be the one behind the attacks in Auradon. For a brief moment, he'd wondered if Quinn, the only one who practiced magic on the Isle no matter how weak and natural it was, had been the one responsible. Ben stabbed Madam Mim with Excalibur, making Jay wonder what the story was behind the king getting a hold of it at all, and Merlin returned things as they should be. Back in his dorm, the former thief lay back against his pillows, wondering if Quinn would ever allow him back in her life. Grudges and fear of love had turned her mother into a lunatic to end all lunatics, and he sincerely hoped that she was strong enough to withstand turning into her mother.
Quinn had been aware of the VKs presence on the Isle the entire time they'd been there. How could she not, Harry had been near impossible and downright unreasonable regarding letting her out of his sight. Of course, Quinn knew why. She'd been stupid enough to voice her hope that maybe Jay had come for her to the pirate, making him nearly choke on his fury. He made it clear that under no circumstances was he going to let her fall for Jay again, as though she at some point had fallen out of love with him, firmly declaring that she was to stay at House of Cards until the VKs left. Unwilling to damage her relationship with her only real friend, Quinn had relented.
The red-haired girl looked up from her potion as the bell above the door in her shop rang. Wiping her hands gently on her apron, she stepped out of the back room to find Uma standing at the counter. "What can I do for you?" The alliance between the two girls was tense, at best. Quinn only agreed to meet Ursula's daughter because Harry vouched for her and Uma was unwilling to admit that Quinn was more than just a disgraced princess. They hadn't made much progress.
"There's a trident, the trident," she stated, knowing that Quinn would know which one she meant, "Inside the barriers, in the waters." Uma growled as the blood-haired girl showed no interest in the topic, simply looking at her with a bored expression on her face. "I need to get to that trident before anyone else can lay their dirty little hands on it," she continued, pacing back and forth in front of the counter, "I can use it to get off this island."
Quinn wasn't sure what Uma was getting at. She was a princess, one who only knew how to swim because Harry insisted that she learned when they were kids. The waters of the Isle held no interest to her, nor did a useless trident. Whatever Uma had planned, Quinn had no idea why she was needed. "Did you have something important to say," she asked, "Because I need to stir my potion in four minutes."
"Captain Hook's holding a contest," Uma told her, though it was likely that the princess already knew, "The winner gets the Lost Revenge." Quinn looked unimpressed, gaze confirming what Uma had suspected. The red-haired girl was fully aware of the contest and its prize. "Per the agreement, I need you to convince Harry to be my first mate." She had to stop herself from smirking when Quinn suddenly put all her attention to the conversation.
There were few things that Quinn wouldn't do and most of them involved Harry. She refused to do anything that could put him in even the slightest risk of danger. Granted, on the Isle, most things he did were risky. And she knew that he wanted to get off the Isle. If the trident could do that, he'd be free and happy. It was all she'd ever wanted for him. So she nodded to Uma, agreeing to talk to Harry for her.
Harry walked into House of Cards, absentmindedly heading down the labyrinth of hallways and stairs to Quinn's room. She'd asked him to stop by when he could. "Quinn," he greeted when he entered her tower, finding her seated at her vanity with a brush in hand, "what'd ye need me for?" Seeing her struggle with some tangles in her long tresses, Harry took the brush from her hand and took over, gently running the bristles through the red strands as he undid the knots he encountered.
"Uma needs a first mate," she stated, smiling softly when the pirate parted her hair in two sections and carefully French braided each side, "I think she knew that I'd have better luck convincing you than if she were to ask herself." Harry pulled two pieces of leather string from his pocket, securing the braids with petite bows, contemplating her words. Quinn leaned back against him, feeling at more at ease in her pseudo-brother's presence than she'd been all day.
After several long moments, Harry nodded slightly. "As you wish, Quinn."
Quinn only knew of the adventure what Harry had told her, though she was certain that he was leaving things out. Harry and Uma had won the race for the Lost Revenge, gathered a crew and blackmailed Yen Sid. The professor had given them a map that led them to Uma's mother's shell necklace on the Isle of Doom, the necklace had led them to the trident and, as always, the VKs had made it there first. When he'd recounted that, Quinn boiled with fury just as much as Uma. Harry had actually backed away from them in trepidation. But then Quinn had deflated, fed up with being angry all the time. She just wanted to let go and move on, while Harry was angry enough for the both of them. The tv in the corner of Quinn's Quid Pro Quo flickered, showing a news rapport telling everyone that the preparations for a royal cotillion were underway, while Uma grumbled darkly next to Quinn, vowing to bide her time. Harry wrapped an arm around the red-haired princess, running a hand up and down her arm as the people on screen discussed which prince, princess or VK would attend the cotillion with whom.