"I don't think I ever met her," Mal whispered, leaning against Ben for support, "Harry, you're good friends with her, right?" She witnessed a silent conversation pass between Harry, Evie, and Jay. Clearly there was more to the story than she had been made aware. "I want to get to know her," she said when no one spoke up, "I want to know my sister."
Releasing Evie to stand up, Harry shook his head. "It's not that easy," he stated, glancing at Jay, "There's a lot of history between ye and Quinn, even if ye don't know it." He started pacing, trying to figure out how to phrase what he wanted to say in a way that didn't insult anyone. As it wasn't something he was used to, he was struggling. Eventually, he decided to just get to the point. "Quinn and Jay dated before ye left the Isle," he blurted, "And when ye left, he left 'er hangin' and broke 'er." It wasn't the most tactful choice of words, but that was what had happened. He wasn't sorry for saying it, a part of him still angry with Jay. "Even though she doesn't want te be angry anymore, I don't think she'll take it well if ye show up at 'er doorstep."
"Why won't he apologize then?"
"Believe me," Jay grumbled, "If I thought I could get within ten feet of that place without her mother beheading me, I would." He couldn't stop staring at the ring in his hand. It explained a lot about her and the business she did. The piece of the ember could help her harness the magic she used for her potions and Hades was also someone who stuck to the quid pro quo kind of deals. He wasn't mad at her for not telling him, they hadn't known each other long enough to talk about things like that. He just missed her. A lot. "I never stopped trying to figure out a way to get back to her," he continued in a whisper, "And now that I can finally do that, she doesn't want to see me."
Recognizing that it would be for the best to drop the subject, for the time being, Ben nudged Mal gently. "We'll figure it out," he promised, taking her hand in his, "But right now we need to rest, it's been a long day." She nodded reluctantly, following him as they left with Carlos and Jane in tow.
Evie glanced at Harry. She had asked Doug to come over so they could talk and she was unsure if she wanted Harry there for that particular conversation. She decided to bite the bullet and turned to face the pirate fully. "I'm breaking up with Doug," she told him, stating the obvious, "I'm telling him that I tried to break his curse but that it didn't work because I'm in love with someone else." She hadn't meant to let that last part slip, but she did mean the words. Since she was nervous, she gave him no time to ponder on them. "I don't want you to be in the room when he's here, but if you want to stay tonight I would like that."
"I'll walk you back to the Isle," Jay murmured to Uma, letting Evie and Harry have their moment before he said goodbye, "I have something I need to take care of." The pirate captain looked strangely concerned but didn't protest. They quietly bid their friends goodbye before leaving, walking in silence.
As they were crossing the bridge, Uma stopped Jay. "Look, I asked around, for Harry's sake," she said seriously, glancing warily toward the Isle, "Something's changed, no one's sure what, and the Card Soldiers are roaming again." She pointed discreetly at a pair of nines that walked past the bridge and continued deeper onto the Isle. They were patrolling, a highly worrying fact. "Some say that the screaming's stopped," she warned, catching the former thief's arm when he went to turn away, "I'm serious, Jay, you should be prepared for the worst." Even though Uma herself wasn't particularly close to Quinn, she hoped the Isle princess was alright. While the villain kids could go to Auradon for medicine, there wasn't an awful lot of trust on the Isle side of the new world. If Quinn hadn't survived her grounding, there would be no one for the sick to turn to that they knew could and would help them.
"She's fine, Uma," Jay replied sharply, tearing his arm out of her grip, "She has to be." He didn't want to admit that his skin was crawling at the possibilities of what he could find once he reached the House of Cards. If he even made it all the way to Quinn's shop before he was torn apart by Card Soldiers. "Come on, let's keep going."
Evie smiled at Doug when she opened the door to let him in. Maybe her grin was a little too large, a little too forced, because her boyfriend gave her a strange look and a hesitant quirk of the lips in return. "Come on in," she said, "Let's sit, we need to talk." Doug's expression went from mildly concerned to somewhat panicked in the space of a second. The blue-haired princess wanted to reassure him, but she couldn't. "Look, I haven't been completely honest with you," she admitted, clasping his hand in both of hers, "I… I have feelings for someone else." The look on Doug's face broke her heart.
"How long?"
"…The whole time." Evie stood along with him as he shot out of his seat. "I really liked you, Doug, I swear," she vowed desperately, "But there was someone… on the Isle."
"It's Jay, isn't it?" Doug nodded to himself. "You may think I never saw, but I did," he said loudly, "All the sneaky looks and weird hugs and touchy stuff." Throwing his hands up, he tried to combat the feeling in his chest. Acceptance. He didn't want to accept it, he wanted her to love him. "I know Jay is like, somewhat good looking, but I thought you were happy with me," he exclaimed, getting closer and closer to hyperventilating, "At least enough not to cheat on me with a friend." He whirled around and, for the first time since his rant began, caught the repulsed look on Evie's face.
Taking deep breaths to calm the shudders going through her body, Evie shook her head. "I would never think of Jay like that," she defended, upset by Doug's accusations, "And I haven't cheated on you." Lie. Technically. "Jay belongs with someone else." Grabbing her ex's hands, Evie guided him to sit down again. No matter the outcome, she wanted to get everything she felt out in the open. "Maybe, if things had gone differently when I first came to Auradon, I would have fallen for you," she admitted, smiling softly at him, "But I was already in love with someone else and it turns out he loves me too." She tried to ignore that Harry was probably listening at the top of the stairs, needing him to hear what she had to say too. There could be no secrets between them, and Evie refused to let petty jealousy come between them simply because he had no idea how she felt about him. "He makes me happy, Doug," she promised, letting him go, "He makes me happy and I love him so much."
"I… it might take some time," Dopey's son admitted lowly, "But I'll try to be happy for you as long as whoever it is keeps you happy." Evie squealed and hugged him, thanking him profusely. To himself, Doug admitted that he had known that the blue-haired princess wouldn't be his forever, as much as he wanted her to be. It wouldn't be fair of him to expect her first real boyfriend to be her last. So what if they weren't the next Ben and Mal? He was happy so long as they were still friends. Well, he would be, after some time to himself. "I should probably go," he said, pulling away from her, "This isn't really appropriate anymore."
Evie blushed furiously and nodded. "Just… don't be a stranger, okay?" He smiled weakly in return and left, allowing Harry to come downstairs again. The pirate wrapped his arms around her, letting her lean back against him, her head on his shoulder. "You think Jay will survive his attempt to see Quinn?" She felt Harry shake his head, his chuckles rumbling in his chest.
"Not without some damage," he replied happily, "I raised 'er right." Evie laughed, turning around in his arms to kiss him.
Had Jay been able to hear his pirate friend, he would've agreed with his words. The Card Soldiers were relentless. He had run into them on every path to the House of Cards he knew of. Uma had given up on helping him after their third failed attempt and suggested that he should do the same. But Jay refused. It was a game, an intricate game of chess where he was a queen who could move all over the board but could not take down any other pieces. After the seventh path, he conceded that Uma had been right. He was tired, not thinking clearly, and he was fairly certain the sun was about to rise. As he slumped against a wall, Jay realized another problem had come up. He had nowhere to go. Leaving the Isle wasn't an option, not when it was highly probable that he'd be blocked from coming back. He took a deep breath. It appeared Quinn wouldn't be the only demon he had to face.
The bell above the door jingled when he pushed it open. It was littered with junk, befitting of the shop's name. His father turned around ready to start haggling, only to pause when he laid eyes on Jay. Silence, stunned silence, stretched between them. Jay hadn't expected to ever go back, and it appeared to him like his father hadn't been expecting it either. Neither knew how to react to his sudden reappearance. Eventually, Jay sighed. "Dad."
"Son," Jafar replied, still not entirely convinced he wasn't talking to a mirage again, "Did you bring what I asked of you?" The Jay-like illusion shook his head. "Why not?" Honestly, how many times did he need to ask the boy to bring the lamp? One would think that after sixty-eight times it would stick. Shaking his head in disappointment, Jafar returned to switching out the price tags on his wares, knowing he could trick the Auradonians to pay far more than they needed to.
"You can't have the lamp, Dad," Jay said quietly, "It doesn't even work." Seeing the incredulous look his father sent him, he ventured deeper into the shop. There was no use in reasoning with the man, but maybe he could convince him to give up the chase. "Aladdin kinda set the Genie free after… you last saw him," he explained, narrowly avoiding mentioning how his father lost, "It's empty and useless now." His father paused, before nodding and continuing with his task. After a moment's hesitation, Jay picked up a cracked vase and joined him. For the first time since he was a boy, he was spending time with his dad. It would be hard, he knew that. But it was a start.
Those of the original VKs that remained in Auradon gasped as they were summoned to Belle and Beast's private chamber. The former king was laying beneath the covers, sickly pale and covered in a light sheen of sweat. Belle sat at his side, forehead wrinkled with worry, while Ben had one hand on her shoulder. "No one knows what's wrong with him," he revealed, voice rough, "Not even Fairy Godmother has seen this before." Mal stepped closer to him, fingers stroking gently over his jawline. "We thought it was just a fever at first but no medicines took," he continued, staring down at his father's unconscious form, "He wouldn't wake up this morning."
Mal instinctively reached for the ember. It had cured Audrey, after all. Before she could, Harry walked up to them carefully. His gaze flickered between Ben and Beast, silently asking for permission. Old habits die hard though, and Mal took a warning step forward. The pirate held his hands up to show he meant no harm and she blushed in embarrassment. It still felt a little strange, trusting him. Looking at her toes, she sidled up with Ben again and let Harry proceed.
The pirate held the back of his hand against Beast's forehead, nodding to himself as he did so. He then moved to gently lift the former king's upper lip, using the other hand to coax his jaw open. Running the pad of his thumb against Beast's canines, Harry winced and drew his hand away to see blood. Finally, he checked the man's pulse and ran a hand, fingers spread wide, up over his forearms. Satisfied with his diagnosis, he reached into his pocket to pull out the salve of oregano and yarrow he always carried around to apply to his bleeding thumb. Evie handed him a ribbon to keep it covered. "I know what this is," he admitted, letting the blue-haired girl secure the fabric with a neat bow, "It happens a lot on the Isle, 'specially te them who transform."
"What's happening to him?" Belle looked pleadingly at the pirate. Her husband had never been sick to the point of lost consciousness before.
Reaching out to guide her hands, Harry followed the same motions he had when he checked Beast's symptoms. "Feel 'is pulse racin'?" Belle nodded and he moved on to drag her hand over her husband's arm, watching her frown. "And how the hairs are rough?" She nodded again, looking up at him. He held up his wrapped thumb, gesturing with his other hand to Beast's mouth. "He's fightin' transformation," Harry said quietly, turning to Ben "Fever and heart rate means yer old man's tryin' te beat a sickness we islanders call morphilogus."
Evie slapped a hand to her mouth. "That's contagious, isn't it?"
"Aye," Harry confirmed, "S'not as bad for us none-transforming but…" His gaze flickered to Mal and Ben. Evie and Carlos' eyes widened at his silent statement. The king and queen-to-be had both been something other than human at some point. Harry knew it was likely that they were already infected. "It's going te be an epidemic," he muttered to his girlfriend, not willing to cause panic just yet, "There's only one cure."
Evie winced, hoping to whoever was listening that Jay had gotten past Quinn's defenses.