Chapter Six: Sickeningly Good
The four drove their motorbikes down a narrow dirt road, braking at the cliffs that overlooked the ocean and, on the horizon, the Isle of the Forgotten.
They had traded their beach clothes for biking outfits. Audrey's tight pink leather jumpsuit was decorated with a black bramble design crawling up her legs and arms, with a V-collar reminiscent of her mother. Chad wore a baby blue leather vest over a shredded black shirt, with matching black fingerless gloves. His scrunched leather capris were covered in more zippers than was nessacary and was a few shades daker than his vest. Jane stuck with her traditional black leather vest, lined with berry silk, the silhouette of her wand spray painted on her back. It had been a gift from Carlos right after the coronation. She wore it over a lavender leather dress with a twirly pleated skirt. Long black leather gloves with a berry stripe matched her knee-high boots. Ben had been forced to change out of his sack by Audrey, into a dark blue leather jacket with far too many rivets and distressed black pants. A roaring beast was painted on his back, matching the roaring beast on his bike.
Elise (who hadn't changed from her collared shirt and pleated skirt) had her arms around Audrey, squeezing all the air out of her lungs. But Audrey didn't complain. She was too busy thinking of her Grammie holed up in her old home with her homemade makeup. She had always known what everyone was doing on the Isle. It would be just a matter of time before she heard about them making an unscheduled visit.
Ben, parked in the front of the group, his silver hair tucked into his helmet painted with a snarling beast, nodded at Jane. She reached into her backpack, pulling out her mother's faded silver spell book. She hadn't used it in many months, favoring the untapped power of her wand. And it was colored with memories of her mother, still a mouse in a box in her room.
"Noble steed, proud and fair," she read from the book, silver sparkles falling from her fingers onto the motorbike's wheels, "you shall take us anywhere."
The four felt the heat of magic surge under them, their bikes humming with the need to move. Ben roared forward first, straight off the edge of the cliff. Elise screamed as Audrey went next, squeezing tighter. Chad whooped with delight as his bike hit the waves and Jane pulled up the rear, stuffing her book back into her bag and swallowing the bitter taste in her mouth.
They rode across the sea, hovering mere inches over the waves. Salt sprayed into their faces as the Isle loomed over them.
The beaches of Auradon varied across the land, but the ones in the heart of the kingdom were truly magnificent. The softest sand, the roaring waves, and stunning seashells waiting to be found if one dared to look. The South Beach looked particularly wicked that day, decorated with green flaming torches and tables covered with fishing nets, holding up platters of seafood on ice. Banners were held up by driftwood, reading 'Happy Birthday Uma.'
The birthday girl in question waded through the crowds, taking gifts and tilting her leather pirate hat at boys who dared to get too close. Her black and aqua curls hung down her back, and her matching dress went past her knees, ending in an uneven hem. She wore a teal corset overtop, tied tight to accent her curves, trimmed with golden ribbon. And, of course, her mother's shell necklace glowed brightly over her heart.
She ended at the edge of the water, the waves lapping her bare feet. More than a dozen people were spread out, spraying each other with water guns and playing in the waves. Jay, in particular, was taking great delight in sneaking up behind people and dropping shrimp down the back of their clothes. Celia had cut his cheek with her playing card when he tried to do that to Dizzy.
Gil crept up next to Uma and looked across the crowd.
"You see Chad yet?" he asked. "I was hoping to ask him if he'd decided to go pro for Dueling. Be nice to know that I'd have at least someone I know on the team I'm joining in the fall."
Uma just shrugged. "Haven't seen him or any of his little buddies. Weird, their normally super punctual."
A ripple suddenly ran through the crowd, people turning to look up at the entrance to the beach. A figure in red was strolling down the sand, his crown tilted, his smile huge.
"Harry?" Gil gasped, looking at his friend standing in the center of the crowd.
The dark-haired boy scanned the stunned faces around him. "Did anyone save me any salsa?"
No one moved.
"No?" Harry turned, twirling the wand in his hand. "Looks like someone forgot to invite me."
"Gil," Uma hissed, nodding her head. "Fix this."
"Right!" He dashed off, weaving through the crowd as Harry continued to saunter through it, getting sand on his polished boots.
"Well, don't be expecting Ben. He's not…feeling like himself," Harry laughed. "Does that make you sad?"
Gil skirted around Evie whose jaw hung open, watching the whole scene. Everyone was used to evil schemes and plots, was used to Harry being a little odder than most, but this…this was so sickeningly good but twisted in a way that left everyone off kilter.
Harry glared at the blank faces around him. "You mindless little minions! I thought we were supposed to evil, the new wicked generation! How could you all forget that the minute some prince shows up?"
"Time out!" Gil finally pushed through the crowd, stumbling next to Harry. "First off, great new look, love the boots. Second, what are you doing?"
Harry studied his friend, his frown matching the lines creasing his brow. "You can be useful."
"What?"
"Stand behind me," Harry instructed, raising the wand.
Gil glanced at Uma who was gesturing wildly. Before he could do anything, though, Harry dragged him behind him, then turned back to the crowd.
"Don't worry, everyone." His smile was sickly sweet. "Once I've rid our land of evil and restored order, you'll all be free. This is all just for…safe keeping."
He flicked the wand and red glittering clear bubbles flew out into the air. They hovered over the crowd for a moment before sinking. No one moved for a moment.
Then Celia screamed.
A bubble had fallen onto Dizzy, magically growing and incasing her. The colorful girl did not move, did not even blink.
She was frozen in time.
The bubbles continued falling as people began to run, pushing and trampling each other to get to safety. But it did not matter. The bubbles fell faster and faster, chasing those who escaped the beach, running for anywhere that was safe.
Gil looked around in horror. He'd seen evil but this, this act in the guise of goodness, made his stomach crawl. He scanned the water where he'd last seen Uma, searching for an answer.
The only thing he saw were octopus legs flicking above the waves before disappearing under the water.
Harry beamed as he looked across the beach, at all the people he'd trapped. "Come on, Gil. We have a kingdom to save."
Gil couldn't protest as Harry sprinkled them with pixie dust and pulled him into the sky, flying off to only Harry knew where.
Mal woke up to her cellphone ringing. She sat up straight in her dragon scale leather chair, glancing around hurriedly. She was in her office, the papers on her desk tossed about and now crusted with drool.
She groaned, rubbing her eyes. All night she had been looking for a way around the barrier, a loophole to exploit so she could keep Auradon safe and still get the kids out. But if there was one, she hadn't found it.
Her phone was still buzzing on the dark desk, Uma's name flashing across the screen. The party!
"I know I'm late," Mal said as she answered the call. She scanned the room and found the gift she'd gotten Uma over on one of her couches. You couldn't show up to your old roommate's birthday without a great gift, especially if you were the queen. "I'm on my way."
"No, stay where you are," Uma snapped back. Mal could hear water lapping in the background. "Harry's got Jane's wand and everyone's frozen. I'm going to visit my mom and get the Trident."
"Is Ben-" The call died, and Mal was left glaring at her phone.
Now she had another problem to deal with.
The sun glared down on the Isle as the group parked their motorbikes outside one of the Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boys and Girls club. A few kids outside who had been playing with a deflating ball watched sadly as Chad ran it over, flattening it for good.
Ben swung off his bike, suddenly aware of how tall he was standing. He looked at his hands, felt his face. "I'm me again!"
"Duh," Elise groaned, brushing dirt off her pressed plaid skirt while rolling her eyes. "Good magic doesn't work on the Isle. Kind of the point."
Audrey gave the kids a handful of bills to watch their bikes before they headed off into the alleys. Ben couldn't help noticing all the children. Melody, Ariel and Eric's daughter, was selling cracked seashells from a taped together stand. Herkie, Hercules's son, was ducking away from the adults, clutching a damaged doll, off to play with Tammy, Tarzan's daughter. Jane, the daughter of Wendy, was plucking apples off merchants' carts when they looked away.
All of them had dirt-stained cheeks and knobby elbows and knees. Fear burned in their eyes, so familiar to Ben.
He forced himself to look away.
The group followed Elise back to their old school, a stone manor, falling apart like all the buildings on the Isle. The clock atop the tallest tower still worked, though it chimed randomly leaving everyone with no sense of what time it was.
Elise went first, pushing open the heavy wooden doors. The words "Patience, Endurance, Faith" were engraved overtop. Jane remembered her mother bribing the dwarves with better schoolbooks for their kids to have that done.
The hallways were empty since school was out for the summer. Cracked windows let in weak sunlight and the halls were lined with carved wooden cubbies for school supplies (and so no one could hide anything). Audrey ran her fingers over her old cubby, tracing the A + B she'd dug into the wood with her pencil once in the eighth grade.
Finally, they reached the back of the school where the huge library was. The skylight up above was simply a hole that let in blinding rays of sunlight, while all the shelves of books were hidden in the shadows to prevent fading. A mismatch of furniture was huddled in the room, stained couches and lumpy chairs facing a teetering desk with a static tv playing the latest news. Every book on the Isle, or a copy of it at the least, was kept there for safe keeping and to help the next generation.
"The key is in the back," Elise said, her shoulders hunching as she walked through the stacks.
"And here I thought my little snowflake would never come back."
The group turned, Chad's hand on the sword he had strapped to his hip, Jane reaching for magic she didn't have on the Isle, Audrey shielding Elise, while Ben's bared his nonexistent fangs.
A woman with her white hair twisted into a bun approached the group, her long deep teal dress dragging on the dusty floor, overtop long black sleeves that went all the way to her wrist despite the heat.
Former Queen Elsa raised one of her frosty brows. "What? Did you not think I, the acting principal of this school, would not be here to ensure everything is put away from the summer?"
"I didn't realize you took over the school," Jane replied as the tension dropped out of her shoulders.
"Well, your mother was in charge for a time. But then, well, you know." Elsa pressed her lips together. "Why are you here?"
"We're…" Ben thought for a moment. "We need to find something."
Elsa let out a humorless laugh. "Then by all means, search the shelves. What power do I have over our future king?"
The four traded uneasy looks before splitting off to look around. Elise was left standing in front of her mother, tense and staring at her buckle shoes.
"What are you doing with them?" Elsa hissed, reaching forward to hold her daughter's shoulders. "They look…wicked."
"I'm fine," Elise muttered. "They need me for a mission, that's all. I'm not doing anything wrong."
"Just be careful." Elsa looked down and her eyes flickered with something like regret for a moment. "You're wearing the gloves."
"Conceal, don't feel." She reached up and twirled a loose lock of her white hair. "I'm trying, Mom. It's just…you never said that it was so much. Like holding back a blizzard."
Elsa nodded, her eyes that perfectly matched Elise's, downcast. "I never wanted you to struggle like I did. But now, with you in Auradon…just promise me you'll keep it back. Power like that, I thought that it could help. I thought it could protect my people. But look where I ended up. These powers are a curse, and I was a fool to think otherwise. Sometimes I regret…"
Elsa closed her hands over Elise's. Then she met her daughter's eyes for the first time that day. "Sometimes I wish I hadn't had you. Because then you wouldn't have to fight this power like I had to."
Elise suddenly couldn't breathe.
"Uh, guys, come take a look at this," Chad called as he dug in the couch cushions, his eyes on the tv.
Jane turned up the volume dial as she came over, Audrey and Ben plunking down onto sagging chairs behind her.
"Alerts of the time bubbles keep coming in as they spread all across Auradon," Lefou announced, a mike held in his fat fist as he tottered across the empty campus of Auradon Prep. "There are rumors that Captain Hook's son, Harry, is behind the spell. We're trying to discover who is behind this ridiculous story and which true villain is behind this evil. Everyone is wondering if this is a coup to usurp the current High Queen Mal as a result of her new engagement to Sir Ben of the Isle."
Ben's pointed nails dug into the arm of the chair, leaving deep grooves in the cheap wood.
On the fuzzy screen, Lefou suddenly put his finger to his ear, listening to a new report. "It's what? It's moving this way? It's moving this way!"
The group watched as Lefou began to run, followed by a swarm of red glittering bubbles descending from the skies. The camera fell then cut off, but not before they saw one land on Lefou, magically expanding until he was trapped inside, frozen in time.
Ben was on his feet before he'd even thought about standing "Elise!"
Elsa and Elise turned to look at him storm over, their faces mirror masks that concealed all emotion.
"We're kind of in a hurry," he huffed out, massaging his scruffy jaw that had been tense since Harry had shown up. "Where's the key?"
Elise pulled back from her mother slowly. Elsa squeezed her hand one last time, before walking off, disappearing into the maze of bookshelves.
"This way." Elise started to walk when Ben suddenly grabbed her arm.
"Hey." He furrowed his brows as he searched her eyes. He knew he shouldn't have left her alone with her mother. "You okay?"
Anger at him, at the Isle and Auradon, and her lot in life flared in Elise's chest. She yanked her arm away, bumping into a shelf as she stumbled away. "I'm fine! Just leave me alone!"
She stomped away but not before she heard Ben mutter, "Parents suck."
At the very back of the library, Elise pushed back a stack of moldy books and reached to the back of the shelf. Staring up at the ceiling, she dug her uneven nails into the edge of a knot in the wood. It tumbled out and she snatched the rusted key that was hiding behind it.
As they left the school, they passed Elsa sitting at the front desk of the library, stamping donated books with an uneven inky seal. Elise met her eyes and saw a dozen warnings flashing in them.
Her and her mother, they were different. Normal rules did not apply to them, to their powers. The only solution that worked, that had worked before her mother had lost her grip, was concealing it and choosing not to feel.
Elise wondered if, after all this, Ben and Audrey would let her stay on the Isle permanently so she wouldn't be able to access her magic at all. So her mother wouldn't constantly worry about her holding back the storm.