Fairytales were part of everyday life in Auradon. Everyone knew the stories of their parents, and whoever had come before them. Everyones lives revolved around the tales that had been spun from centuries of tradition and love. And so, it was natural for Evie to want to theme their next Ball around fairytales.
"Fairytales?" Ben asked once more, "I like it."
"Imagine everyone in gowns designed specifically based around their fairytale," Evie gushed, "And it could be a celebration of everyones roots! Even for the VKs!"
"I like it," Ben confirmed once more with a smile, "I take it you want to be on the decoration committee?"
"Of course," Evie scoffed, "I already know what the invites will look like and- Ah! So much to do!"
Ben laughed as Evie excitedly rambled about the Ball. However, his mind wandered far away. He wondered how Mal was doing back on the Isle. He missed her, incredibly so, but he knew he'd never be able to convince her to return. Regardless of this, he was going to try his best.
"Evie," Ben interrupted, "Let me know when you're sending out the invites. I've had an idea."
Mal was confused and conflicted to say the least. Harry had just kissed her a few days prior, and she honestly didn't know how to feel. She hadn't returned to the ship since, deciding to instead hide in her old hideout. The graffiti was still there, with Jay, Carlos and Evie's faces staring at her. Her pirate hat had been left abandoned on the old couch, whilst she sat against the large coloured windows, peering through the cloudy glass to watch the Isle.
It was her home, she knew that. But the kiss with Harry wasn't right. Sure, it felt nice, but Ben was still her one true love, despite everything she'd tried to suppress. She missed him, but she knew she belonged on the Isle.
"So, when are you going back?"
Mal jumped, spinning her head around to be faced with none other than Harry. She furrowed her eyebrows, "What do you mean?"
"You still love Ben," Harry replied simply, "It's a matter of time before you go back to Auradon."
Mal scoffed, "There is no way I'm going back there. It's-"
"Then stop hiding," Harry continued, moving to sit next to Mal, "If you think this is your home, prove it."
"And how do you want me to prove it exactly?" Mal questioned, raising her eyebrow to the pirate.
"Lead us," Harry pressed, "Prove you're the Captain. The people on the Isle need hope."
"Since when did you get all sappy," Mal joked, stand up and making her way towards the middle of the room, away from Harry's eyes.
"Since I realised I want a chance to change," Harry pressed, stepping towards Mal, "You may not want to go to Auradon, but some of us do."
Mal paused. They wanted her to lead them out of the Isle. They wanted her to get them in Auradon, because they wanted the opportunity she had. They wanted change.
"You really want to change?" Mal asked sincerely, turning to Harry.
"I want a chance to find out who I am outside of my fathers legacy," Harry explained, "So, are you in?"
Mal paused. On one hand, she shouldn't be selfish, but she also didn't know if Harry had bee sincere. Harry had noticed the sudden silence, and quickly added;
"In Auradon, you wanted to be good, right? Maybe I want to be able to pick a side too."
"Okay, fine," Mal relented, "I'll help you."
Uma had spent days trying to find a crack in Evie's armour, but it had been useless. Regardless of the fact that Mal had moved back to the Isle, Evie was still very much loyal to her. She hadn't allowed Uma to even attempt to be friendly towards her, which irritated Uma to no end. And as she had little to no patience, she began plotting what spell to use on the innocent Evie to turn her evil once more.
However, she didn't have to plot for long. Moments after she began plotting her next scheme, Evie entered their room, a gleaming smile on her face.
"You look painfully happy," Uma commented from her seat on her bed.
"We're throwing a Royal Ball to celebrate the end of Spring!" Evie exclaimed in excitement, rushing to her desk to begin designing gowns, "It's fairytale themed. Doug is printing off the invites to send tomorrow. It's going to be amazing!"
"And do the newest VKs get to go?" Uma asked with secret excitement. She'd never been to a Ball before, but this would also be the perfect chance to steal Fairy Godmothers wand if everyone was distracted by the Ball. And it would be the perfect signal, especially if it was being televised...
"Of course," Evie confirmed, turning to look at Uma, "I know we didn't really start off on the right foot, but you deserve a chance just like I did."
With that, Evie returned to her sketching. Uma was shocked at how easy Evie had relented. She smirked, standing up and walking to Evie's desk, peering at her sketches.
"You know," Uma began, "I know a way you could make your dress stand out more than anyone else's, if you want."
"And what do you mean exactly?" Evie asked curiously as Uma fell back onto a nearby chair, crossing her arms.
"I mean, your fairytale is your mothers legacy," Uma began, "Therefore, you should make a dress fit for an Evil Queen. Think... Red roses on blue silk, maybe a nice heart embroidery in the middle..."
"I... Actually kind of like it," Evie admitted, "It's edgy, but in an elegant way. What else were you thinking?"
Uma smirked deviously. This was going to be easier than she thought.
Okay, so things had become awkward between her and Harry.
Mal had returned to the ship and, to her surprise, found that the rest of the crew felt a similar sentiment to Harry. They all wanted change, in one way or another. However, Mal was stuck.
She didn't know how to be a leader, much less how to lead the crew into Auradon.
"Why now?" Mal had asked Harry, "Why is everyone saying this now?"
"Because Uma is gone," Harry had shrugged, chugging down another pint of sea water.
But after that initial conversation, Harry had seemed... Distant. It wasn't like she'd outright rejected him, but she hadn't confirmed anything either. He seemed... Off. Mal had too many thoughts running through her head, and so, she decided to take a long lonely walk on the shores of The Isle, away from the docks.
It was a surprisingly clear day, meaning the tides weren't as relentlessly violent as they tended to be. Mal had found a rocky cliff to sit upon, staring out into the ocean towards Auradon. She wished she'd brought a sketchbook and pencils, as she hadn't drawn in quite some time. In fact, she'd left all her old sketchbooks in her room in Auradon. She wondered if-
"Are you thinking about them?"
Mal jumped, looking around frantically, "Why does everyone feel the need to sneak up on me recently?!"
"Down here," a sweet voice giggled.
Mal looked down into the sea to find not one, but two mermaids at her feet only a meter away from her. They were both beautiful, with silky long pastel blue hair and jewels decorating their necks and faces.
"W-How?!" Mal asked in both awe and curiosity, "You guys don't live on the Isle?!"
"Relax, the barrier isn't broken," one of the two giggled, "Mermaids can travel through the barrier to deliver goods... Although we don't do it very often."
"I'm Clarissa, and this is Adella," the other mermaid explained, "We've come to deliver this for you."
Adella pulled a glass bottle with a cork lid out of the water, handing it to Mal. Inside it was a small cream and blue scroll, as well as what seemed to be a sachet of fairy dust and a small conch shell.
"If you accept, you can use the fairy dust on yourself to get through the barrier, but be careful where you put it. There's more than enough to let a whole ship through!" Clarissa explained with a joke, "However, it has been enchanted to only work on the date of the event. If you have any problems, you can blow into the conch shell to call us."
"We should go now," Adella added before Mal could ask questions, "We have to deliver some of these to Neverland too. See you soon, Mal!"
With a parting smile, the two mermaids pushed themselves back underwater. Confused, Mal removed the cork off of the glass bottle, letting the scroll drop onto her lap. Carefully, she unrolled it.
His royal majesty, King Ben of Auradon, hereby requests the pleasure of your company for the upcoming Spring Ball, to be held in the royal palace.
Mal closed the parchment after the first line. She couldn't believe she was being given a chance to return to Auradon despite everything that had happened. A part of her wanted to use the fairy dust and go straight back into Ben's arms, but on the other hand, she had to remind herself that she knew where she belonged; on the Isle.
Peering at the parchment, she spotted the date and time of the event, as well as the 'fairytale' dress code and theme. Looking back to the glass bottle, her eyes landed on the dazzling fairy dust.
Suddenly, she knew how to get the Crew off of the Isle.