"I could really use two tough guys like you two." Coach told Jay and Alex. "The team's a bunch of princes. If you know what I mean."
Alex snorted.
"You're telling me." Jay agreed. "It's all: 'After you old chum. –Oh, pardon me, did I bump into you?' Where we come from it's 'Prepare to die, sucker!'"
Alex nodded. "The Isle goes by the motto: 'Punch or get punched.'" He explained helpfully.
"As my father says: 'They only way to win is to make sure everybody else loses!'"
"Jay!" Coach tried to interrupt him, but he got ignored. Alex smirked while Jay continued blabbing.
"You rip-"
"Let me explain a team." Coach said and Alex looked at him curiously.
He knew what a gang was, but he wasn't sure what a team was. Only that, on the Isle, it was very frowned upon those who used that word.
"It's like a family."
Alex cringed and Jay looked at Coach serious.
"You do not want to be at my house on dinner time." He said and Alex shivered.
Coach looked a little disturbed now.
"Okay, okay, um… You know how a body has a lot of different pats? The legs, elbows, ears. But they all need each other. Well that's what a team is… different players who work together to win. Makes any sense?"
Alex turned to Jay and raised an eyebrow asking him a silent question. He could almost see the gears turning in his friends mind.
Jay turned to the Coach.
"Can we be the fists?"
Coach Jenkins frowned and turned to Alex for the translation.
"We're in." he said with a wolf grin.
Ben was walking down the stairs towards the kitchen. It was a little past midnight and way past curfew, but he couldn't sleep.
He was almost certain that Alex was his brother. How could he not be?! Same hair, same eyes… The personality was totally different, but he had to consider the fact that Alex lived on the Isle almost all his life.
And now, what?
Twice a year Ben and his parents checked on his father's magic mirror to see if they can find his brother. So far it never worked. It was always cloudy.
But Alex lived on the Isle all this time so if he was indeed his baby brother then the mirror probably didn't work because of the barrier that circled the Isle of the Lost.
He wasn't sure his parents would appreciate him phoning in the middle of the night telling them a vk might be his lost brother. Especially since they checked the mirror less than three weeks ago.
But Alex came into Auradon two week ago…
Ben pushed open the kitchen door. He needed some brownies.
He was surprised to see the light on.
"Hey." Alex said, making Ben jump. "What are you doing here?"
Ben looked up.
On the tallest shelf lay Alex, a book in his hand, looking down at him bored. He was wearing a camouflage pajama T-shirt, black pants, his forearm guards and he was barefoot.
"Uh… I couldn't sleep so I came to get something to eat." He didn't think lying would work with Alex. "Why are you here?"
The kid looked at him like he was trying to solve a math problem in his mind.
"Evie took my pillow." He said simply and Ben blinked.
"I can give you another pillow. Even two."
Honestly, he didn't understand the problem and he was pretty sure every bed had at least two pillows.
Alex rolled his eyes. "I meant she took my pillow. My pillow from the Isle."
The only one I ever had on the Isle and the one Dizzy made for me. Alex added in his mind.
"Oh."Ben said. That makes more sense.
Actually, no, it didn't. His pillow from the Isle? He had a special pillow? Ben tried not to look surprised. His mom made him a pillow when he was younger, too. It was probably the same thing.
Alex scowled at the wall. "She said it was dirty and she took it to clean it."
He didn't look at the prince. He already knew he wouldn't understand. He only had his pillow when he slept in Dizzy's shop. Or in his and his friends' hideout. Where he was safe. Or… remotely safe anyway. When he wasn't locked in the Tower.
It didn't matter that Jay and Carlos were in the room, he couldn't sleep without his pillow without having a panic attack during the night.
"You know what?" Ben suddenly said. "I think I have just the thing. Come on."
Alex narrowed his eyes, but he followed the prince anyway. He doubted whatever Ben was planning was bad and truth be told, he was getting bored.
He only got more confused when he saw where Ben was leading him.
"Why are we going to your room?" he asked curious.
Ben smiled but didn't answer. He took his key and opened the door, then went in and started looking through a box near his drawer.
"Should be here somewhere…"Ben muttered.
Alex looked around. Ben's room was almost twice as big as his room and he was sharing it with both Jay and Carlos. But he guessed that should have been expected. They were the children of some of the most evil villains in the world and he was the future King of Auradon.
"Aha!" Ben yelled, snapping him out of his thoughts.
He turned around and nearly took a step back. In Ben's hands was a light brown teddy-bear. He only saw maybe one or two on the Isle and they were usually missing a limp or a head.
But not this one. This one looked almost new. And… familiar. Like Ben.
The second Ben saw the look of curiosity but also recognition on Alex's face, he started planning his unexpected visit to his parents.
This was his brother and he'd be damned before he let him go a second time.
Mal frowned at the sleeping figure of Alex as she climbed in Jay's bed. The five of them had been sleeping in the same room most of the nights since they arrived here. Mostly just to speak about their plan to steal the wand, of course.
But the fact that they used to sleep like this on the Isle or that it was safer for them to be together was a pleasant bonus.
They usually choose the boys' room because it had three beds instead of two and it was less pink.
Tonight Mal and Evie came earlier than usual, but if the boys or Evie noticed, they never said anything. The daughter of the evil fairy knew Evie took Alex's pillow. She wasn't exactly sure why he was so troubled by that, but it didn't exactly matter.
Mal was their leader.
They followed her orders (not that she ordered them to do hard things or to do them often, but she liked the fact that she knew she could order them and they won't complain), and she listens to them. To their suggestions or problems.
Alex had a problem. She saw it in his panicked eyes as Evie took his pillow to clean it. Mal had always paid a little more attention to him.
Alex was the smallest of her group. But he was far from the weakest. He had moments where he could beat Jay in a fight. He was not as smart as Carlos or Evie, but he was creative. He found solutions and he could escape almost anything.
But most of all, he was loyal. You rarely even hear that word on the Isle, but Mal knew that he was the most loyal of them all. To her especially. He never questioned her. Never challenged her. And he always listened to her.
If she said not to talk with someone or not to go somewhere or not to look for something he'd listen.
Except when Dizzy was intervening. That colorful girl had him wrapped around her finger way better than Mal did.
She was certain Alex would have stayed on the Isle if Dizzy would have asked him to and Mal didn't like that. But she could do nothing about it.
She was so sure she'd have to look for him everywhere in Auradon, probably all night, since he was so good at hiding. She did not expect to find him in their room, much less sleeping with some kind of furry dead thing.
Mal glared at the teddy-bear. If that smiley future king thought he could buy one of her crew. She was going to shave his head in his sleep.
Hi, Snowflakes!
Sorry for the late and sadly short update. I really had a lot of stuff to do and I know I promised this was going to be the chapter when everyone finds out Alex was the lost prince, but I just didn't have enough time to write it.
I'm going on a holiday with my family tomorrow so I'll probably update in 2 or 3 weeks and I'm sorry.
I updated only this chapter because of your great reviews (especially form Queen Carrot). I didn't want to disappear without an explanation soo…
Anyway, please comment and tell me what you think.
Again sorry for the long wait!
See ya soon.
Frostbite out