(Evie)
A heavy sigh escaped through Evie's parted lips as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand, her elbow pressing into the cold surface of the table in front of her. Every word the teacher was spewing out in the form of a lecture passed right over her, never even coming close to finding their way to her ears, let alone her brain; she couldn't focus. Well, that was a lie, she just couldn't focus on school. Instead, her mind continuously locked on the feeling of the chain encasing her neck and the heavy jewel that seemed to weigh down her heart. It was unusual and immensely worrisome to her. The feeling of a necklace? Typically, she couldn't feel her necklaces unless she moved in a way that caused the charm to bounce against wherever it rested, however, she was hyper aware of the one currently looping her neck.
She went back over the warning she had felt the necklace send her earlier, instead applying it to the necklace itself. This isn't normal. She couldn't help but want to rid herself of the necklace, but her heart squeezed with guilt whenever she decided to remove it, which ultimately forced her to keep it. My mother gave it to me. It's a family heirloom. She felt terrible for even debating the idea; I can't just get rid of it when it means something to my family. When it should mean something to me. And it did; it just didn't change the fact that it terrified her at the same time.
The sound of someone sneezing brought Evie back to reality with a sudden and unpleasant tug. Oh my goodness, no. Looking around she realized that she had completely missed the assignment. No, no, no, no, no. She chewed nervously on the inside of her cheek, telling herself she needed to ask the teacher for the assignment, but not being able to bring herself to do it; she's just going to think poorly of me. And that was one of the last things she wanted. She never wanted the teachers at Auradon Prep to think she didn't appreciate learning because it happened to be the thing she loved the most.
However, by the time she had built up the nerve to approach the stern-mouthed teacher something else demanded her attention undividedly; the necklace. Once again, the gold chain had turned into crystalized ice against her heated skin, freezing to the goosebumps its touch formed. It freezes with my fear. She had no idea how and no clue why, but it definitely correlated with the emotions playing inside of her, and it hadn't taken her long to figure that information out. She thought back to the tourney game, recalling that the necklace had scorched her skin when she had grown infuriated. So, it freezes with my fear, and heats with my anger. She feared what else it might do. Like tear apart the earth to attack people. Shaking her head, she told herself she was being ridiculous. A necklace alone can't possibly have that much power and control, even if it is hundreds of years old.
By the time the class got out her mind had become completely lost in an internal debate, and the only thing that managed to grasp her attention was the teacher clearing her throat directly in front of her table. Evie started, reaching to gather her books clumsily as she muttered a quiet apology to the woman, cheeks painted with a shocking red.
Hurrying out of the classroom she readjusted the books in her arms so they were easier to hold to her chest as she made her way to the outside lockers. The other teenagers were messing around just outside the building, faces lit with the joy of knowing the end of the school day led into the weekend.
"Evie, guess what?" Lonnie's voice filled her ears over the unceremonious chatter.
Evie glanced over her shoulder at her best friend after opening her locker. "You've got plans this weekend?"
"Yes!" Lonnie exclaimed, even more ecstatic than usual; Evie could tell something was different.
"Okay…" Evie drew out as she organized her books and journals in her locker before shutting it. "So, are you going to tell me this exciting plan, or not?" She couldn't help but smile at the sight of just how happy her friend was.
Lonnie looked as though she were about to burst with the amount of delight shaping her features and the way she bounced wildly on her toes. "Chad asked me out on a date!"
Evie's jaw dropped the slightest bit before her surprised expression transformed into her own joy. Took long enough. "Lonnie that's fantastic news! Is the date tonight?"
"Yes!" Lonnie nodded, face flushed from being overwhelmed by her own joy. "I'm so excited, he says he's taking me somewhere really nice. I wonder where it's going to be."
"Alright, calm down," Evie tried settling the girl, but to no avail. She decided to let her friend react as she was. "Do you need any help getting ready?"
To her surprise, Lonnie declined the offer. "No thanks, I want to know he likes the way I choose to dress without any help. If that makes any sense."
"It does," Evie smiled warmly at the girl, reaching out to touch Lonnie's arm affectionately. "You two have a fantastic night."
"What are your plans?" Lonnie questioned curiously.
"I'm not sure I have any," Evie answered honestly. "I think I'll see what Carlos and Jay are up to."
"We should get together tomorrow after the game, so I can tell you all about the date," Lonnie suggested.
Evie nodded in agreement. "A date you should go get ready for."
"Right!" Lonnie exclaimed, grabbing Evie's hands. "I'll text you when it's over."
Before Evie could respond, Lonnie was hurrying toward the dorms at an impressive pace. I had no idea anyone could walk that fast without it becoming a run. Shaking her head in amusement she readjusted her bag on her shoulder and head in the direction Lonnie had disappeared in, not being able to keep her mouth from curling into a wide smile. My friends are insane. The thought made her smile even more as she made her way to the dorms as well.
Halfway through her journey her necklace heated again, searing the skin directly beneath it in what Evie could only receive as a warning; something's wrong. Suddenly, she got the overwhelming feeling of being watched, and – almost as if she was being controlled by someone else – she whipped around quickly, surveying every inch of the area around her. No one. There was nobody watching her, yet her skin continued to prickle with the discomfort.
With the feeling urging her, Evie remembered the conversations that had occurred at the beginning of the lunch period, the conversations about two people asking for her in less than an hour. What if it wasn't two separate people? What if it was the same girl? She recalled Carlos announcing it had been a girl, and Lonnie had made it obvious the person who had asked for her had been a girl, even giving a name; a name that now evaded Evie's memory. She didn't think it was important though, not since she had decided to avoid every stranger she happened to cross paths with. If they don't attend the school and they're on school campus, walk away. It was her plan to avoid strangers, but she trusted everyone enrolled in the school because she didn't see any reason for another student to be classified as a threat to her. Even if it was another student it was more likely that they were merely infatuated and too shy to approach her themselves than it was for them to be interested in harming her in any way. Relax, Evie, she told herself, forcing her lungs to draw in a deep breath; this necklace is making me far too paranoid.
Trying her best to shake the unnerving feeling of being watched she finished her journey to the dorm buildings and pushed through the doors. Almost immediately after entering the chain cooled to a normal temperature, causing her to blow out air in silent relief as her muscles relaxed. As she made her way up the stairs she decided she was going to check on the boys like she had told Lonnie she was going to, and – as it usually was – the door was already open when she got there. She found Jay lounging on his bed watching Carlos take his turn on the video game they both loved to no end. Typical boys.
"Hey, Evie," Jay acknowledged her entrance, patting the bed beside where he lay. "Come enjoy the show with me, Carlos keeps failing the mission."
"It's a hard mission!" Carlos shot back, bending his body in attempt to avoid an oncoming laser beam; he succeeded.
Evie thought it was ridiculous considering it would be impossible for anyone to dodge something traveling at them with that velocity. Jay seemed to notice what she was thinking.
"It's just a game, you know," Jay stated nonchalantly.
"I know," Evie announced, sitting carefully on the edge of Jay's bed and swinging her legs onto the mattress to stretch in front of her. "That's why I didn't say anything. However, I can't help what I think, Jay."
"And you think this game is stupid," Jay spoke it as a statement instead of a question.
"No, I just find it a little ridiculous," Evie corrected him.
"Right," Jay nodded, tossing his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into him; Evie had to hold back a flinch. "What would you know, though? You've never played it."
"And I never will," Evie stated, allowing her body to lean into Jay's, the boy's touch still unsettling her given their past.
That is, until she felt it. Something extremely unfamiliar.
A sudden and nearly overwhelming warmth spread through her body, starting in her chest and reaching to every crevice with a relaxing heat. She couldn't place the feeling or figure out the causation, but it was almost as if she felt secure. Like she felt safe from everything; from her necklace; from her overload of work; from the idea of a stranger following her. She just felt incredibly safe; from the world and everything that could possibly be upset within it.
She felt a tug, almost like a lure, pulling her toward something – toward the feeling – yet her body never moved, and the urge only grew stronger the longer the warmth lasted. Her necklace now hung silent and weightless around her neck, no warning or sensation screaming from it, almost as if it were like every other necklace she had ever worn; there but not noticeable. The urge nearly ushered her to her feet, out of the boys' room, and closer to where the feeling was emanating from; though she had no idea where that was.
However – much to her displeasure – the feeling dissipated soon after it had started, leaving behind an empty hole only vaguely filled by disappointment. And then the necklace burned her skin enough to make her jump suddenly, gaining both boys' undivided attention, the video game becoming more of a background noise than a main focus.
"Gee, Evie, what's wrong with you today?" Jay questioned, removing his arm from around her shoulders, seemingly believing his touch had been what made her react.
"Yeah, you've had that look on your face all day," Carlos added, clearly not caring that the screen kept flashing FAILED at his back.
She was at a loss for what to tell them, figuring neither of them would believe her about the necklace; unless they felt it… Evie perked up, quickly shooting her hand up to wrap around her neckless; except this time, when it scorched her hand, she felt hope flooding through her body. Unless they felt it! No longer being able to hold her jewel due to the heat she let it fall back against her chest, her eyes searching Jay's.
"It's my necklace," Evie answered finally, pointing to the jewel. "It keeps acting weird."
"Your… your necklace is acting weird?" Jay arched his eyebrow in disbelief, gaze flickering to the crowned heart. "Evie, you do realize how insane that sounds, right?"
"Yes, I do!" Evie exclaimed, exasperated. "Just… just touch it, I swear it's hot enough to burn your skin right now."
Jay and Carlos exchanged looks of confusion, and Evie only shifted her gaze between the two boys, waiting for one of them to do as she said. Carlos was the first to step forward, reaching out carefully to wrap his fingers around the red jewel. Evie waited anxiously, wondering why he hadn't torn his hand away immediately.
"It um… it feels like a necklace, Evie," Carlos spoke after a moment, his words causing Evie's heart to sink into her stomach.
It feels like a necklace. She turned to Jay, urging him to give his opinion.
Jay pulled the jewel from where it rested against her chest, sliding his long fingers around the heart as if he were going to crush it in his hand; part of Evie wished he would. Carlos not having felt anything made her desperate for Jay to feel the heat of it, and she kept her eyes locked on his face as he stared at the jewel in his hand, seeming to contemplate it.
"It feels normal," Jay stated, finally meeting Evie's gaze.
Evie groaned externally, smacking his hand away and grabbing the heart herself, the heat of it burning through her skin and reaching for her bones. She dropped it against her chest again, no longer being able to stand the heat of it.
"I think you need to get some sleep," Jay said cautiously, reaching out for her.
She only smacked his hands away, infuriated that neither of them had felt the heat radiating from the jewel. What is wrong with them? Why would they say they couldn't feel it when it's hot enough to do damage?
"Evie," Carlos spoke quietly, coming to sit on the bed beside her. "What's going on with you?"
Evie searched Carlos' eyes desperately, wishing someone would let her know she wasn't insane. First, her mother had told her that it was only a necklace, that it didn't feel like anything, and now, Jay and Carlos had said the same thing in different words. That's when it hit her. What's wrong with me? There wasn't anything wrong with the boys because they couldn't feel the heat of the necklace, there was something wrong with her because she could.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?" Evie stood from her spot and collected her things, heading out the door quickly.
Carlos had followed after her, grabbing her arm to stop her from leaving him behind. "Evie, tell me what's wrong."
"It's nothing," Evie dismissed, subtly shaking his hand from her arm. "Jay's right, I probably just need more sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."
And that time, when she moved away from the boy, he didn't follow after her, but she could feel his worried gaze piercing her back until she was out of sight.
(Mal)
Heart pounding erratically against her ribcage, Mal slid around the trunk of the tree slowly, glancing at the open field to find that the girl had turned back around and was heading toward the large building once again. Hell, that was too close. She slipped out from hiding and followed the girl until she disappeared inside the building, leaving her to merely guess where she was going to be after that. Stopping at the doors she huffed, looking around in attempt to figure out what she was going to do next. Well, I can't go inside and follow her to the specific room, I'd easily get caught. But I also can't protect her if I don't know which room she's in, and I have no way of figuring that out. Mal cocked her eyebrow as she stared at the doors. Or do I?
Deciding to get away from the doors to avoid running into anyone else – her patience already worn thin from the first girl she had spoken with – she moved around the side of the building where she glanced around the corner to make sure no one was near. Taking a deep, relaxing breath, Mal closed her eyes and concentrated on locating Evie. The calming warmth of magic flooded her body and created a small gust of wind around her as she pushed her mind through the walls of the building, her power creeping through the building after exiting her body. The image before her eyes shifted from complete darkness to the inside of the building – which she immediately felt repulsed by due to the brightness of it – and she breathed deeply as her power led her up the flight of stairs located to the right from the entrance, through several hallways, and to an open door. The strength of her magic had her standing in the doorway, her body made of mist as if she were a ghost. She could see Evie sitting on a bed with a boy who had too long of hair, and the young-looking boy she had spoken with earlier standing in front of a large screen acting as though someone were attacking him; it made her want to smack him herself, though she knew it was a terrible idea. Aware that she didn't want to have to put this much effort into finding the girl every time she lost her inside a building she impulsively decided to form a link between them, making it so that it would only take her seconds to locate her in the future. Pushing herself further into the room she stepped directly into Evie's body – trying hard not to think about how creepy it was – and locked in, using her magic to intertwine them in the sense that she'd be capable of feeling the girl's presence wherever she was.
Mal snapped back into her own body, eyes opening to take in the green of Auradon. Why is everything so bright around here? She shook her arms out as if it would help her distaste for the brightness, pushing herself from the stone wall and moving further around the building. However, she stopped just before rounding the next corner, hushed voices raising the hairs on the back of her neck. She glanced cautiously around the edge of the building, locking her gaze on two grown men dressed wholly in black, multiple tools hanging from various areas of their body. Well, what do we have here? Calling her magic back to attention she listened in on their conversation.
"You said the girl would be in that room by now."
"It is her room, I figured she'd be in there after school."
"She could be anywhere, dumbass. She could even be out with friends for the rest of the night."
"Then we'll wait here until she returns to her room, it's not like we're on a time-limit."
"Our boss may not have given us a specific time-limit, but you know we'll be punished if we can't get that necklace back to her by Monday."
Well, Mal thought, one corner of her mouth curving while the other lay dormant; then I guess your boss is going to be very disappointed in you.
At that thought, Mal stepped out from her cover, her magic spinning in the air around her as green smoke. With one flick of her wrist she sent a burst of green directly at one of the men, watching with silent satisfaction as it twirled around his chest and squeezed his body tight enough to snap every bone making up his ribcage; he fell to the ground instantly. Leave no one alive, Agent. Or they'll just come back with even more recruits to take you out before getting the artifact for themselves. She didn't need an order to make her feel better about killing people, after all, it was a major reason why she had survived the streets on her own. The other man whipped around frantically, his eyes full of terror when he met her gaze.
"Interesting thing, that necklace, huh?" Mal questioned, beginning to walk toward him slowly, green still swirling around her. "Such a small object, yet everyone seems to want it."
"You're just a little girl," the man said almost accusatorily, though she could still tell he feared her already.
"Thanks for noticing," Mal replied, snapping his neck with one soft twist of her wrist. "You probably shouldn't have."
Stepping up to where their bodies now lay her magic sunk back into her, leaving the air around her free of green smoke. She crouched down and reached into every pocket she could locate on their bodies, pulling two slips of paper from the first guy's breast pocket. Unfolding them, she read the words written neatly on the first paper.
Recruit 25, Recruit 26,
I won't give you much information on this mission because I can't, but I will give you the gist of it.
You are to travel to a place called The United States of Auradon. More specifically, to King Ben's castle. There you will find the girl named Evie, whom I have enclosed a picture of.
You are to locate her and dispose of her as silently and quickly as you can without drawing any attention to yourselves. Then you will take the necklace she wears and bring it to me.
I can't explain much about the necklace, except that it's extremely valuable.
Signed by, Minister Fredrick.
Minister of The Artifact Collectors.
Mal snorted; what a stupid name for an agency. Realizing she had never seen Evie up close she slid the top paper behind the one underneath it in curiosity, her heart stopping in her chest as she let her eyes fall over the picture that had been discussed in the letter. She swallowed, finding that the saliva sliding down her throat felt thick against the walls of her throat, almost as if it were too thick to fit and instead got stuck, cutting off her air supply and leaving her the tiniest hole to breathe through.
Her eyes surveyed the picture, falling to the girl's eyes after studying the dark-blue of her hair and finding that they were a red-brown, a color that had her inspecting every inch she could before lowering her gaze. The girl's nose was almost perfectly sculpted, and left her feeling as though she should be jealous of the girl, but she only felt something else toward the effortless beauty of the girl, something she couldn't place. Her lips were next, and she found that they were full. The girl's smile was so vibrant that Mal almost worried that if she saw it in real life she would be blinded by the radiance of it, teeth extremely straight and the whitest she had ever seen. She let her eyes roam over the girl's prominent cheekbones and sharp jawline, over the girl's entire face several more times.
After a lengthy moment, Mal found the ability to tear her gaze from the photo, forcing herself to inhale deeply through her nose in attempt to feed necessary oxygen to her lungs. What is happening to me? She had no idea why her body was acting the way it was to the picture of Evie, having never felt anything nearly as powerful as the sensation currently coursing through her body. It was almost as if the girl in the picture had come to life and crawled into her head, tugging and pushing the nerves until Mal's body completely shut down. It's just a picture of a girl. She didn't understand what her brain was doing to her.
Blowing out a heavy breath, disappointed in herself for an unknown reason, she shoved the pieces of paper back into the man's pocket, only to hesitate in getting back to her feet. She hesitated for a moment longer, the fact that she couldn't bring herself to stand and dispose of the bodies bothering her immensely. She hesitated on doing it until she reached back out and pulled the papers from the pocket again, carefully closing the tips of her fingers around the corner of the picture and detaching it from the letter. Reluctantly, knowing she should have left the picture where it had originally been, she pushed up to her feet, rotating her wrist twice and causing the bodies before her to disappear completely. She kicked each area they used to lay, making sure she hadn't just turned them invisible – she had made that mistake before. After staring at the picture for another minute, willing herself to get rid of it as well, she slid it into the inside pocket of her leather jacket with a huff, highly confused as to why she hadn't been capable of leaving it with the man's body.
Shoving the fact that she had kept the picture from her mind, Mal looked up at the window the men had been watching, knowing it didn't belong to the room she had found Evie in earlier. Maybe that room belonged to one of the boys, she remembered that there had been two beds; or both of them.
Closing her eyes, she pushed her magic through the stone wall again, stretching it to locate Evie another time. This time, however, she didn't have to move through the building. She could feel Evie's location and immediately knew the girl was in the room just above her. When she absorbed her magic again her chest tightened painfully due to the release of connection between her and the girl, her body craving the connection to be rekindled. I probably shouldn't have linked us like that. As she glanced up at the tree just outside Evie's window she had to knead her sternum in attempt to ease the discomfort there; not my best idea. And she knew that the pain would only worsen each time she severed the connection after locating the girl. Yup, definitely wasn't my best idea. She didn't remember why she had decided putting in the extensive effort would be worse than creating a link between them, but she had, and now she was stuck with it because she had no clue how to break it. Okay, To Do List: figure out how to break a linking spell.
Getting a good hold on a low branch she pulled herself up with difficulty, swinging her upper body over the branch and swinging her leg up until she was straddling the branch, holding onto it with a grip that whitened her fingers. Reaching up, she grabbed onto another branch and carefully got to her feet on the lower one, slowly making her way closer to the trunk so she could use it for support as she climbed higher in the tree. Dizzy from the effort of climbing and the thought that any of the branches could break at any moment, Mal heaved herself to an especially thick branch, blowing out a heavy, tired breath of relief when she looked across to the building and found herself staring straight into the girl's room. God, this is so creepy.
Maneuvering her body so that she was facing the window she looked around for anything that would give her a solid footing, but found nothing. She flicked her wrist quickly and allowed her magic to build a platform underneath her, giving her room to move around safely. With a final huff she sat down and stretched her legs out in front of her, flicking her wrist one last time to build a cover of leaves and branches that would keep Evie from seeing her if she looked out the window. Leaning her head back against the trunk of the tree she sighed. After this, I've got to find something better, and less creepy, to do with my life.
Glancing through the leaves and into the window she found that the glass allowed an extensive range of the room, leaving behind no doubt that she'd be able to effectively monitor the girl whenever she was inside. Noting that she couldn't see the girl at the moment didn't worry her, their newly formed connection letting her know that the girl was in the ensuite bathroom – which she desperately hoped she'd never need to monitor considering it would only increase the already disturbing twist to her mission. A pestering nag playing in the front of her mind had her reaching back into her jacket to pull out the picture hidden inside, recreating the irritating itch that had gnawed on her stomach minutes before. She allowed herself to study the picture again, the act of ignoring the reasoning behind why she felt the need to coming easily to her, patiently waiting – and subconsciously anticipating – for the real girl to come into her view.