This chapter gets a little darker, and we finally get some insight into Quinn and who she really is. Happy reading!

Whatever the former thief had expected to find when he woke up, it wasn't his father leaning over him with a displeased look on his face.

"There are people here," Jafar muttered, annoyed, "They are refusing to buy anything but when I try to shove them out they insist that they need to see you." Rising to his full height, the sorcerer crossed his arms in irritation. "Go, send them away."

Jay frowned. He knew that Evie probably suspected where he was, Harry too, but he was fairly certain they wouldn't be bothering him. Yet, when he walked out into the shop, all of his friends stood awkwardly crammed together, trying not to knock over anything. "What are you guys doing here?" They all began to speak at once, shoving at each other to get to him first. He held up his hands to stop them and gestured for them to turn around and walk out of the shop. Once they were outside, Jay raised his eyebrows at them. "So, again, what are you guys doing here?"

"How did it go with Quinn?"

There was something about Carlos' voice that set Jay on edge. "It didn't," he said suspiciously, studying his friends carefully, "What's going on?" The whole group exuded some strange tension that he didn't understand and he realized that he must have missed something big. He wondered if they had argued, or of something had gone wrong with the villains or VKs since the barrier came down. But there was some kind of sadness among them too, one he couldn't pin on just one of his friends. "Come on," he exclaimed when no one spoke up, "What happened?"

"We need 'er help," Harry muttered, taking both hat and bandana off to run a hand through his hair, "There's been an outbreak of morphilogus and yer former king's been affected." The pirate watched as his friend shook his head in denial. Clearly, something had gone terribly wrong in his pursuit to gain Quinn's forgiveness. "Did ye see 'er?"

"No," Jay bit out, dragging a hand over his face, "All paths in and out of the House of Cards are blocked, even the tunnel from the shop." Of course, he knew what morphilogus was. His father had been affected by the sickness years earlier, before Jay had even met Mal. He wondered if there had been a time when his father had been willing to accept Quinn's help, a time before his rivalry with Queen of Hearts. "So what do we do?"

Mal spoke up, gazing in the direction of the House of Cards. "We go there and demand that she speak with us." She turned to her friends, a determined look on her face. There would be no stopping her from helping her father-in-law, nor would she give up the chance to meet her sister for the first time. "We're her king and queen, she has to listen, right?" But Evie, Harry, and Uma all looked doubtful at the fact.

"Actually, there's been talk on the Isle about electing a leader specifically for us," Uma admitted, looking sheepishly at her hands, "I'm in the running but Quinn's miles ahead of me with the people." She sighed, scuffing her boot against the ground. Admitting to being weak didn't sit well with her in the least. "They trust her more than they'll ever trust me," she muttered, "Besides, if you want to keep being seen as good, making demands with the resident medic won't exactly make the right impression."

"Uma's right."

The group spun around at the new voice. CJ Hook rolled her eyes at them. "Hey brother," she greeted, tipping her hat to Harry who nodded back, "Quinn's been informed of yer presence and asks to speak with yer precious king Benny." As a whole, they all shared a look and started walking. With a vicious little smirk, CJ held up a hand to stop them. "Ah-ah, only ickle Benny-Boo has been requested," she said sharply, "She doesn't trust ye not te use force."

"We won't be sendin' 'im in alone, CJ," Harry replied, exasperated, "Let 'im bring one more person." Quinn would accept it, expect it even, he knew that.

While Harry tried to negotiate with his sister about his pseudo-sister, Ben's mind was hard at work. He tried to recall everything he had heard about Queen of Hearts' daughter. If Quinn was anything like her mother, she would value good players. Like her father, she made deals and kept them so long as the other party did the same. "I'll play her for it," he interrupted, seeing how everyone froze at his words, "Let us all go and I'll play any game she wants."

"And when she wins?"

Ben swallowed thickly. "If she wins, I will agree to whatever terms she has to speak with me," he vowed, unable to ignore the panic in the eyes that watched him, "If I win, she will speak to me on my conditions." CJ smirked and in that moment he knew. He'd been trapped. Too late, he remembered how Carlos had mentioned that if one couldn't keep a deal with Quinn, things rarely ended well. Nevertheless, the group followed the pirate girl as she led them over the Isle. The king hadn't counted on how imposing the House of Cards. The black and white marble gleamed in the sunlight, yet there was a dark aura around it. They passed through the gates, hearing faint screaming as they did.

"I thought you said the screaming stopped," Jay hissed as he caught up to Uma, "That doesn't sound like it stopped."

"I said some were talking about how it stopped," she bit back, "Not my fault you forgot that most people don't actually get close enough to know for sure."

The massive double doors were pulled open by a couple of twos, letting the ragtag group inside. Quinn was waiting for them in the foyer, gaze as cold as her mother's cell. "I see you kept up your end," she commented idly, reaching out to give CJ a vial, "Baby's Nightmare, as promised." The blonde pirate accepted the vial and tipped her hat before waltzing out the doors, leaving the mice in their traps with the hungriest cat on the Isle. Observing the group, Quinn purposely ignored her old friends. She settled her gaze on Ben. "So you agreed to play a game, then," she murmured, running a slender finger along the side of his face, "Wonderful." A hand slapped hers away from Ben and Quinn's eyes snapped to the purple-haired queen-to-be. "Sister," she greeted, "I sincerely wish we could have met during different circumstances." Turning on her heel, the red-haired princess led her trapped visitors through the halls, into the throne room. The thrones had been moved, placed in the middle of the room. Between them, a black and gold chess set was put up.

"Please, don't do this," Evie pleaded, reaching out to touch her friend, "People are dying."

"You have no voice within these halls," Quinn snapped, "The deal was to play for the right to control our negotiations, and you people have yet to uphold your end." She gracefully sunk into one of the thrones, waiting for Ben to do the same. The message was clear. Only they carried significance. Only they mattered until the game was over. "Gold begins," she said quietly, voice still steely, "Your Majesty, if you'd do the honor."

Harry watched as the game began. No one had ever beaten Quinn in chess before. Not even Hades, as far as the pirate was aware. Again, his loyalties battled. He wanted for the people affected by morphilogus to survive, of course he did. But he wanted for Quinn to finally get her vengeance. She had been hurt and betrayed so many times because of Auradon. He himself had fallen for the charms of the kingdom. Perhaps, in winning against Ben, she would finally be able to let go of her grudges.

Clutching at Harry's hand to keep from biting her nails, Evie chewed on her bottom lip. The pieces were moving too fast, giving her no time to interpret the move or what it meant. Quinn was undefeated and the lives of countless people rested on a single check mate. Pieces were lifted from the board and put aside. There were too few pieces left. She looked away.

Jaws dropped and hearts stopped when a small smile spread over Quinn's lips as Ben made his last move. "Well, Your Majesty, I do believe that's check mate," she said, rising as gracefully as she had sat to stretch out a hand for him to shake, "Congratulations." She snapped her fingers and a ten came over to remove the chessboard. Before all pieces were removed, Quinn snatched a gold king away, twirling it between her fingers before holding it out to Ben. "I honor my agreements, Your Majesty," she reassured when he hesitated to take it, "You wanted to talk to me and this, well, I suppose it's a token of goodwill." She gestured for him to sit again. "Go ahead, state what you desire," she invited, "We'll see what I'll want in return."

"My people are dying," Ben told her, watching her nod thoughtfully, "I've been told you have the cure." He didn't like the look on her face. The way Harry and Uma shifted did nothing to ease his nerves either. The red-haired woman watched him carefully and he fidgeted under her gaze, the weight of her significance to the people he wanted to govern settling heavily on his shoulders. Ben was all too aware that if Quinn didn't endorse him and Mal, there would be an uprising. "I'll do anything," he promised, "No price is too high for my people."

The laugh that floats over Quinn's lips is smooth and mirthless. "Where was that mentality when your people were starving," she asked cooly, slouching back in her seat, "Where were you just a year ago when I had to summon Dr. Facilier to guide the soul of a boy who died because the conditions we live in are so far below subpar that we wouldn't find the scale even if we searched in Tartarus?" She stood, startling her visitors as she slammed her hands on the table between herself and the king. "Where were you when my mother threatened to cut my head off and mount it on the wall?" Harry moved toward her, dragging her into his arms but Quinn shrugged him off. She needed to be angry, needed to get her point across. "Barrier or no, we have always been your people," she hissed, pointing an accusatory finger at Ben, "Your people, fed scraps and sickness." Tears stung in her eyes. "You ask me to help you," she whispered, choking on her emotions, "Why would I help when you saved exactly four of us and then forgot we existed?"

Her accusations were sharp like knives and her aim was true, each word cutting deeper and deeper into Ben. He had seen the lives the people on the Isle led for himself. Yet, all he'd done was pick four more people. He hadn't done anything to improve their lives, given them no reason to be anything other than what they were raised to be. Shame settled on his shoulders, heavy and painful. "I… I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Quinn scoffed, sneering at him. "Because an apology will make up for years of abuse."

"Quinn!"

The red-haired princess rounded on Evie so quickly she reeled back. "Silence," she said, voice clear and commanding, "This is between the Isle and the king." Her hard gaze swept over the people she had once called friends. "I'll deal with you later." Quinn turned back to Ben, crossing her arms as she looked down her nose at him. He looked heartbroken and stunned, clearly affected by her words. "You can't deny that sending us your moldy and broken leftovers was abuse," she said lowly, sinking into her throne again, "So I ask again, why would I help when you forgot we even existed?" A long silence followed, and while Quinn could be ruthless, she knew that she had put Ben on the spot and that he needed time to come up with a proposal. Time he would spend alone. "Eight of Clubs, show His Majesty to the bedchambers in the east wing and lock the doors behind him," she ordered, watching as the others began to struggle against their captors, "I have other matters to attend to."

Evie watched helplessly as Ben was dragged out of the room. Mal was muttering spell after spell, yet nothing happened. "Quinn, please."

"What, Eves," the red-haired princess asked, eyes flashing with hurt, "What could you possibly want after three years of silence?" With the political part done for the day, she finally let her tears fall free. Years. It had been years since she last spoke to the girl she'd thought was her best friend. The gap between them was wide, barely held together by the tether known as Harry Hook. They were worlds apart, the values they'd once shared gone. "I fully intend to release him," she promised, meeting Mal's eyes, "But if he is going to be king of the Isle, he needs to figure out how to help the people on his own."

Mal turned to Harry and Uma. "You can't possibly be okay with this," she exclaimed, "Come on, talk to her." But they said nothing. No one did. It hit Mal that they agreed with Quinn. Three years earlier, she probably would've agreed too, but that… She swallowed thickly. While the method wasn't what Mal had hoped it would be, it did make sense. There would be days when she wouldn't be able to help Ben make a decision about the Isle, and when those days came he needed to understand what the people, his people, needed. She already thought of the villains and their children as her people. It wasn't until then, in Quinn's throne room, that Mal realized that Ben didn't. "Okay," she said, letting out a breath to release the tension in her body, "How will we know when—"

"Cheshire will come for you," Quinn replied, wrapping her arms around herself, "Until then, I think it'll be for the best if you left." The Card Soldiers released them and she heard their steps fade away as they left the House of Cards. All except one.