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Evie and Mal were awaken by some ungodly device they later found out was known as an "alarm clock." Someone at Auradon Prep had set it for them before they got there to go off at six a.m., an hour neither girl was even aware existed.
Unfamiliar with the technology, Mal was 1/78th awake when she tried to stop the incessant shrill noise by pushing random things and shaking it, and when she was about to smash it to the ground they heard a knock and an irritating cheerful voice.
"Morning, Ladies!" Professor FéeMarraine burst into their room when she felt she had given sufficient enough warning, a ball of sunshine there to make sure they started their day on time. "Breakfast starts at seven and you have a full day of tests. The morning meal is the most important of the day and brain fuel is key to…" she was stopped short by the incoherent looks the girls gave her. Their hair sticking in all directions and sleep still heavy in their eyes, Nadine wasn't even sure they fully realized she was in the room with them. She glided to Mal's bed and gently took the alarm, switching off the offending noise.
Both teens were too tired to notice how she flinched and nearly stumbled when she caught sight of Mal's scars. The draining night before coming to her mind but she pushed those thoughts away and put an even bigger smile on her face.
It was a new day and she was committed to making it a brighter future for her new charges.
"Mal, Evie," she recalled Crown Prince Ben saying that was their preferred names, "It's best to get ready and down to the mess in an hour. Breakfast is best when served warm."
With that, she left the girls for their morning ablutions.
They somehow made it to the mess hall, washed and presentable although neither girl was 100% sure how they managed it. Jay was already there, head on his arm sleeping on the table wearing some of the clothes the tailors ordered for them. Both girls sat next to him and followed his example, snoozing within seconds.
Carlos was the only one who was fully awake and had grabbed a tray of food for his friends, knowing they were not "morning" people. He smiled and shook his head, the three could fall asleep anywhere. He gently placed down the platter and took a bowl of steaming oatmeal and wafted the scent towards them.
The three's noses twitched and the promise of food pierced through their sleep fogged brains; they slowly raised their heads and grabbed the bowls their friend offered.
"Thanks Carlos," the three mumbled, slowly but surely joining the land of the living.
It was plain oatmeal, something they were familiar with on the island. They were surprised at the other bowls Carlos had gathered.
"What's all this?" Evie asked, curious as she ate.
"They call them 'toppings', it's a bunch of stuff they like to add to their oats. These were approved for us. Bananas, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, walnuts, raisins, and honey."
They each took a sample of each, seeing what they would like. The only things they recognized were honey and blueberries, the fruit grew wild on the island. Thankfully, nothing was overly sweet and Evie and Jay took to the fruit they called bananas.
Mal's eyes widened at the slightly tart but flavorful burst of the larger bright red fruit, and she was suddenly alert and awake with surprised delight. Seeing how much his girlfriend liked the new food, he pushed the entire bowl towards her. She eyed her other friends and they nodded that they didn't mind if she had the whole thing. She dug into the bowl with gusto, happily eating with her friends. Even the additional supplement shake they had to force down wasn't as difficult as before.
Perhaps this whole "breakfast" thing wasn't so bad.
Ben didn't realize how every minute of his day would be taken up with his princely duties, at least that's what it felt like. Some days he wished he had waited a bit longer before being coroneted and taken the mantle of Crown Prince. He probably should have waited until he had at least graduated Auradon Prep. Maybe not even until after university, after he had gotten all the fun teen years out of his system before he burdened himself with all the responsibilities of governing Auradon's biggest kingdom.
But then there were days that made it all worth it. Such as that day he found out the Isle Four were incredibly intelligent and did better than any of them could have hoped for.
"Their tests are remarkable," Professor Deley, chemistry, reported to Crown Prince Ben, surprised as any of them. "All four are more than capable of taking on a senior course load. Carlos and Evilette's math and science scores are perfect; I would suggest them both for advanced placement chemistry and calculus. Jay I would say is academically the weakest, but still could place in honors classes. Although Mal might need some additional encouragement."
"Why?"
"Well it seems she got bored mid test and then proceeded to doodle all over her papers. She had to redo her math portion but those scores were above average regardless. I do have to say what she did draw was extraordinary. The art teacher was duly impressed."
Ben smiled, glad the four were fitting in and doing so well. Perhaps all the mad scientists they banished were good for something on the Isle, he was ashamed to admit to himself that he assumed they would all be woefully behind. He feared he would have to have them start from elementary school at the worst and that they'd probably have needed private tutors; alienating them from their peers and isolating them.
Having them be on par or above their age cohort proved that they were more than capable of fitting in academically. Looking at Carlos and Evie's scores, they were better than his own.
He would not underestimate them again.
The Four found themselves back in the administration office three days later, collected in a conference room to go over which classes they wanted to take. None of them were surprised they had done so well, Dragon Hall had excellent teachers, the faculty made up of former mad scientists and other villains with doctoral degrees. While most children, usually those of henchmen or field workers, dropped out of school once they hit secondary school; the time when most felt they had learned enough for the Isle and had to help with whatever family business they had carved out for themselves.
Maleficent and Ravenna had both insisted their girls get as much education as they could. The dark fae not wanting it to be said that any daughter of hers was less intelligent than a human; Ravenna thinking no prince wanted a complete idiot for a wife, Evie would need to know how to run a household and be well versed in many subjects in order to keep up with a future princely husband.
Carlos enjoyed school, it gave him someplace to go other than Hell Hall and learn all about science and technology. The villain scientists loved nothing more than talking about whatever death invention – ray, gun, drill, etc…– they had invented when they were free. Or any invention they had come up with, although he could have done without the bitter rants about how Auradon had taken their designs and used them. The scientist was exiled, but their inventions were used to that day with no royalties or payment of any kind. He was surprised at how well he knew the technology already just from his schooling, several items already taken apart and put back together in his room. He had even improved upon a design of a 3D printer Jay managed to swipe for him, the inventor had been their general science teacher when they were thirteen.
Jay probably could have been happy dropping out while living at the Isle but he wanted to be with his friends – there was only so much he could steal in a day – and Mal insisted he attend so as to not be seen as just a common street rat with no brain. He also wanted to be able to stand proudly next to Mal who had told him more than once she expected him to be her second once she took over leadership of the Isle.
Mal had been slightly annoyed at Ben's presence, not sure what he was doing there. He kept praising them for their test scores, and while he may have thought he was giving them compliments, she couldn't help but feel he was a little too surprised by them.
Just because they were from the Isle, it didn't mean they were brain dead brutes. She didn't want to sound like the royal pricks from Auradon but she, Evie, and Jay were the descendants of three villains who had nearly taken over the world. Their parents didn't almost conquer kingdoms by dumb luck. Before Cruella was exiled, she had been the lead designer and CEO of a fashion house; none of them were progeny of idiots.
There was another adult with them, she had introduced herself as Dr. Mulan Li. The name was familiar to the Four but none of them could recall offhand who she was or where they heard of her.
Evie wanted to say she was on RBC when they were younger, being honored by the royal family for the anniversary of some war, probably the North Wei and Hun War given the woman's ethnicity, but history was probably all four's weakest subject.
It wasn't as if they had an unbiased teacher of what transpired twenty or more years ago.
Like most everyone else in Auradon, the adult was nothing but smiles but at least hers didn't look so manic or forced. It was simple smile as if she were happy to see them and be there.
"Your test scores came back great, and the classes you can take are basically limitless. Here is a template schedule, depending on what you actually want to take and availability, we can probably knock this out in an hour," Dr. Li explained to them as she handed out sheets and the course catalog of the different classes Auradon Prep offered.
Mal's eyes widened at the time table, struck with a horrible realization;
"Are classes every day?" she asked, hoping it wasn't true what she was reading.
"Yes? I mean...you don't have classes on weekends…" Dr. Li answered, unsure of why it was so surprising.
Carlos was the only one of the four that didn't groan in despair.
"Eight a.m. every day?" Jay asked, just to be clear.
"Yes?" Again, Dr. Li wasn't sure why it was so surprising. The children must have attended school, there was no way they could have gotten the scores they did if they hadn't.
Again with the exception of Carlos, the Isle children seemed distraught and Dr. Li would almost say looked like they were starting to regret coming to Auradon.
"Okay…" Dr. Li powered through the awkward silence. "Twenty-one credits are needed to graduate. You all have tested into at least honors senior level courses for required classes, so that means you have the credits for those Freshmen through Junior year classes. So for math, science, history, and reading and writing comprehension, you all have twelve credits. Unfortunately, with no school records we can't give you a language credit…"
"We're fluent in German and French," Mal told her.
"Oh, ummm…" Dr. Li tried to think of how to respond. The faculty had assumed language wouldn't be something taught on the Isle, but they had assumed the four wouldn't be as educated as they were either.
"Then we should probably schedule fluency tests with Drs. de Beaumont and Perrault…"
"Wir haben von unseren Müttern gelernt. Willst du wirklich mehr Tests machen?" Mal asked in German with a perfect accent.
"Nous venons de faire trois jours de tests, s'il vous plaît ne nous faites pas en faire un autre," Evie pleaded in just as perfect French.
"Mal et Evie nous ont tous deux appris, nous avons appris à ... nous rapprocher," Jay fibbed slightly, his accent not as flawless as the girls but he could pass if he were ever dumped in the French speaking region of Auradon Central, Haut-Rhin: location of Queen Belle's hometown. While learning the languages of Mal and Evie's mothers did give them something to bond over, Mal had insisted they all learn so as to have private conversations they knew most henchmen and regular citizens on the Isle would not.
The Crown Prince and Dr. Li didn't need to know the inner works of their burgeoning organized crime syndicate.
"Ich habe nicht viel zu sagen, aber ich möchte auch nicht ausgeschlossen warden," Carlos piped in as well, wanting to round out the quartet's demonstration that they didn't need to take a modern or classical language class.
Dr. Li was still at a loss at what to do, she didn't know French or German fluently to know if they were indeed fluent or just making things up.
"Cos accents sont parfaits, je pense que nous pouvons vous donner du crédit pour les langues," Ben replied, saving both Dr. Li and the four from further testing. Being from the House of Bourbon, he had grown up speaking French, and he was conversational in German. "I'm sure we can work something out, it leaves your schedule open for other classes; more akin to most Seniors."
Dr. Li followed Crown Prince Ben's direction to skip over those classes and keep the appointment moving.
"Alright, then with language you have fourteen credits. You still need PE/Health, Fine Arts, and an elective in addition to math, science, and reading and writing computation in order to graduate with this year's Senior class. Please do not feel pressured to graduate with the Seniors, we don't want you to be overwhelmed…"
"I think we'll be fine," Mal interrupted, not wanting them to think they couldn't handle it. They would all show them they were more than capable enough to keep up with the course load. "Thank you, though," she tacked on, realizing that Dr. Li was just trying to help and not wanting to sound ungrateful.
The counselor smiled, thinking the teens were brave to face these new challenges head on.
"Evie, Carlos: both of you scored high enough to enter into AP science and math classes. Most seniors take AP Physics, Biology, or Chemistry. There is also the option of…"
"Chemistry," both Carlos and Evie said. Smiling at each other, knowing both enjoyed subject immensely.
"Awesome," Dr. Li praised, glad to have such eager students that were willing to challenge themselves. She pecked at her computer tablet, it was connected to a large television on the wall so they could visually see how their schedule was shaping up. "How about math? There's AP Calculus or Statistics."
Neither felt particularly passionate about either but it looked like Calculus had an opening for them both to be in the same class. They would prefer to stick together,
"We'll take Calculus," Evie spoke for them both. Dr. Li thought maybe they ought to try to branch out more, realizing they were trying to stick together but knew it may be too much to ask them to separate more than they had to. There were plenty of other classes they had to take where they would have to be social with the other students at Auradon Prep.
"Mal, Jay, you both have the choice of Honors math and science. So your choices are the same types as Evie and Carlos."
Jay was surprised he scored well enough for the advanced classes, he knew he wasn't on par with Evie or Carlos, but he thought he'd be stuck with the regular students. Unsurprisingly, both he and Mal agreed to be in the classes where they could stay together.
Mal also thought it was better to mimic Evie and Carlos' classes as the two could help them in the likely event they would need it.
"Next is reading and writing comprehension, now you guys are reversed," Dr. Li giggled at her own joke. "Mal and Jay can do AP and Evie and Carlos can do Honors. There are several options in the course catalog for you to choose from."
Mal caught Evie's disappointed look, knowing she was hoping for a higher score. The fae knew part of it was Ravenna's fault. The witch discouraging her daughter from reading as much as she wanted because
"Eye strain can cause wrinkles."
"Maybe you can catch up by next semester and transfer," Mal told Evie, wanting to cheer her up. If they could test out of classes, then surely they'd be able to test into them as well. All Evie needed was some time and dedication and she was certain her friend would be able to attain anything she wanted.
Since their night in the woods, Evie had started to practice smiling openly in public. There were still times where she had to catch her hand from moving to hide her mouth, but over time she was certain her friend would be able to smile without thinking about it at all.
Mal thought her friend was easily the fairest in the land, her happiness making her more beautiful than any make-up or crown ever could.
Take that Ravenna, go die mad about it.
And perhaps Dr. Li was right, having to go to class every day, five days a week seemed overwhelming already. Evie may prefer to slower paced class to do other things.
Mal certainly was starting to feel overwhelmed and she hadn't even stepped foot in a classroom.
Again, both sets of teens chose classes they could take together and then help the others if need be: Advanced Placement and Honors Auradonian Literature.
"Now that leaves your PE, Fine Arts, and Electives."
Mal and Evie immediately took Drawing and Fashion Design respectively, both having excited for these particular classes.
The boys took a bit longer to decide. Auradon Prep offered so many different classes, to give the students as wide a breadth curriculum and allow them to discover what they liked. Neither had ever really thought what they liked to do fitness wise.
Jay grew bored, tired of having to have sat around for so long. He didn't care so he flipped to a random fine arts page, closed his eyes, and circled his finger above the book and landed on,
"I'll take…Theatre Technology: Set, Lights, Sound, and Costumes."
Ben had to hold back a snicker, that was essentially how he chose his own Fine Art credit but he didn't want to set a bad example and it didn't seem very princely.
"Dance," Carlos chose after careful consideration. Mal looked at her boyfriend, surprised. Dancing was never something done on the Isle, they never really having a reason to celebrate.
I'll ask him about it later.
"PE?"
Jay did the same thing for PE and he landed on,
"Dressage."
"Do you know how to ride a horse?" Dr. Li asked, skeptical.
Instead of answering, he chose again.
"Women's Fitness," he said cheekily.
"No," Dr. Li simply said, he wasn't the first boy to try to get into that class. She refused to smile although one threatened to emerge; she was a professional and wouldn't laugh at his behavior.
She'd do that in the privacy of the teacher's lounge.
He randomly chose again.
"Strength and Conditioning."
"That you can do," Dr. Li thought if he bothered to read the description, it may be something he would have been interested in regardless. He was surprisingly buff for a teenager and would probably do well. Especially once the more nutritious diet the school provided was able to make up for the years of malnutrition from the Isle.
While Mal and Evie were fond of running, they weren't all that interested in trying to do it competitively or for a grade.
"Women's Fitness for us," Mal said on behalf of them both, thinking Jay's sarcastic choice was good enough.
"Archery and Target Games," Carlos chose, again surprising the table. He was genuinely interested, thinking archery was a good skill to have in addition to his other hunting and trapping abilities.
Actually, that sounds better.
"Can I change my mind?" Mal asked, hoping she could switch.
"Sure, it's not a terribly popular class," Dr. Li switched Mal to archery.
"Me, too please," Evie, not wanting to be left alone in a class.
Both Carlos and Mal smiled to each other, happy to get at least one class together.
Jay didn't care either way, archery did not tempt him enough to try to change classes.
"Now you all just need to choose an Elective."
"Ughhh…" Jay groaned impatiently, throwing his head dramatically, just wanting the appointment to be over with.
"What's an elective?" Mal asked, none of the four were sure. Dragon Hall didn't have nearly as many classes – reading, writing, math, and science were literally it – but they supposed there had to be in order to fill in an almost eight hour day, five days a week.
"It's a class where there's no definitive requirement to take it, but you still get credit for it. We have them so students are freer to choose things they like or prefer to do."
"Can I take another art?"
"You sure can," Dr. Li replied, smiling widely. While Jay seemed to want nothing more to do with school than what was strictly required, she was happy to help students follow their true passions.
Mal and Evie eagerly looked over the catalog, going back over classes that caught their eye.
"Spraypaint Art," Mal chose, thinking it sounded the most interesting.
"Fashion Merchandising," Evie elected, it was technically a business class but it was definitely something she wanted to pursue. She couldn't just create dresses and fashion ware and hope for the best.
Jay, thinking it was a tried and true method, opened the book at random and picked whatever fate had in store.
This time it was Photography.
Carlos chose Computer Programing.
Interesting choice,
Dr. Li made mental notes on the teens' choices. Jay had no direction, but that wasn't surprising. This is probably his first time being confronted with so many choices. There were still some Auradon Prep students who had been there all three going on four years and they were still struggling with what classes to choose, the burden of choice immobilizing some into inaction.
Others had their schooling and essentially their careers picked out since birth, unburdened by choice simply because their parents didn't allow them to have any.
Mal, Evie, and Carlos – however – seemed to have particular talents and wanted to build upon the skills they already had. She could see the simple shirts and bottoms had been embellished, a style she had never seen before but the clothes in their original state had been from Target. She guessed that Evie had something to do with that.
She had seen Mal's drawings as an administrator to their tests; the teen had genuine talent that she hoped flourished under the best tutelage Auradon could buy.
Carlos was still a bit of a mystery to her. He was the quietest of the group, but he tested academically the best. He seemed content to let the others talk for him, Mal the clear alpha of the group.
"Now here are your schedules."
The teens looked them over, satisfied and no changes were needed. There was the pregnant pause where Ben wondered if now was the time to breach the subject of counseling. They seemed to take to Dr. Li ok, but it could be because they didn't have a full understanding of what she was. She didn't only help students choose classes, she was there for if they needed a trusted adult to talk to; if they needed someone to talk to about any issue they were having and didn't want to go to their parents. Dr. Li agreed that it would be better if they saw professionals specifically trained to deal with abuse, but also thought it may not be something the four were open to doing, they probably had never even heard of such a thing as a psychologist.
While Mulan Li was famous in North Wei for her part in the Hun War, she held no political power in her home country and certainly none in Auradon; before or after unification. She whole heartedly disagreed with the banishment of villains, even more when she found out the Isle was filled with children born during their imprisonment.
She had been one of the driving forces behind funding the documentary. Never in her wildest dreams did she think the Crown Prince would not only take the report to heart, but enact actual change.
She could tell Ben was anxious, and gave him a silent look that said it was not the time for such things. While the four might be close friends, their experiences were still their own and should not have to reveal anything to each other they may feel pressured to do if confronted.
Each student was required to see her to at least get a perfunctory report if they were doing alright. She would decide on a case by case basis on how she would go about referring them to a trauma specialist.
"Excellent," when the teens accepted their schedule and she sent it to the Auradon Prep database for filing and alert each teacher to expect one more student in their class. "Do you guys have any questions?"
Dr. Li had dealt with teenagers all her career, the question was mostly rote and she didn't expect them to have any. Most teens usually didn't think of things until they were actually confronted with the issue.
"What happens if this doesn't work out?" Mal asked, surprising both Dr. Li and Crown Prince Ben.
"What do you mean?" Dr. Li asked, wondering what about the schedule wouldn't work.
"This whole thing is an experiment, right? See if some random Isle kids can make it in Auradon?"
It was so much more than that but Mal continued,
"So what happens if the experiment fails? We can't fit in, we can't follow the many, many, many, many rules, we can't…we can't make this work…do we go back to the Isle?"
There were so many rules, rules they were already breaking and weren't sure if they could help themselves from breaking.
No one became Auradonian overnight.
All four teens looked intensely at the counselor and Crown Prince Ben, worried about their fate and not trusting that it would just work out.
Growing up with villains, they had learned from an early age that Happily Ever After was not for people like them.
Both Dr. Li and Ben were a little ashamed to admit that neither had thought of what they would do if the teens did prove too…Isle for Auradon. It was an unprecedented proclamation, as was the punishment in the first place. No one had banished villains before and no one had ever taken in their progeny to get them away from said banished villainous parents.
The Isle Four were unfortunate casualties in the grand experiment they called society.
Ben had gotten the kids off the island, his hope was that they would become productive members of society. How they got from Point A to B was the mystery, but what to do if they couldn't make it to B?
Looking at them, seeing their tense shoulders and hard eyes he knew he wouldn't damn them back to the island, no matter what happened. Whatever else may be true, he knew that they didn't deserve to be stuck in prison.
The pictures of their scars would probably haunt him for the rest of his life, he (and the Crown) owed them more than just a chance. They were owed his promise to do whatever it took to give them what they were denied growing up.
He could not change the past, but he would make sure the future held whatever the teens wanted.
"I cannot promise you that things will turn out perfectly, or that it'll be easy. But I can promise that I will never send you back to the Isle. If Auradon Prep doesn't work out…we'll try public schools. If public schools don't work out, you could probably easily get a G.E.D….General Equivalency Diploma. . ." he explained at their confused faces. "If…if Auradon Prep isn't what you want now, then we can go over those choices."
He just realized he never really gave them a choice of what they wanted to do outside of the island. He had just assumed the premier school in Auradon was an obvious choice. But from Audrey's reaction, he wondered if he had rushed too quickly into his idea.
The villain children looked at him questioning, not fully understanding or accepting he would go through so much effort or even give them those kind of choices. All their life, their path had been set out for them.
Auradon dictated they were to be on the island. Maleficent groomed Mal for leadership. Ravenna taught Evie everything she would need to know to seduce a prince. Jafar taught Jay from birth that all that mattered was yourself, damn anyone that stood in the way of what you wanted.
Even Crown Prince Ben said that they were to attend Auradon Prep, no other school or option was given to them. But now they had a choice as to what they wanted to do. School did seem so much more than they could imagine. They had tested well, but this was a year at the most exclusive boarding school Auradon had to offer; they were only there out of the generosity of the Crown Prince. Generosity could only last so long. They had no idea what motivated the Crown Prince, were they willing to bet that motivation would last forever?
Auradon also had so many rules.They had never had such a strict structure laid out to them, even when they were under the rule of their parents.
They couldn't even obey a curfew, they had been sneaking to each others' rooms and outside every night since they got there.
"You can take a few days to decide, no pressure," Ben offered to them, taking their silence to mean they were indecisive.
"Thank you, Your Royal Highness," Mal respectfully replied, learning royal protocol quickly.
They had all said their goodbyes, everyone had much to think about.
The Four made their way back to the boys' dorm.
Silently, Mal nodded to Carlos and he knew exactly what she wanted without her having to say anything.
He went to the large flat screen television that hung on the wood panel wall. On the tv stand beneath it sat the latest Game Box, a video console donated to them by some charity group that had caught wind of how impoverished the Isle had been. He had set it up to play the latest video game, connected to the system was the state of the art laptop that every student at Auradon was given at admission. With a few taps of the keyboard, the game started to play itself and through the surround sound, random bursts of Carlos or Jay's voice would come through. If anyone had come past their room, they would think the boys were having an intense session of playing video games.
Perfectly normal and innocent.
No one would be able to eavesdrop.
While Carlos set up the distraction, Jay took out the trunk Evie had gave him and opened it. In it were various objects he was able to steal, whatever he thought looked like it might be worth something. Most technology was given to Carlos to tinker with, his best friend unable to resist the temptation of studying all Auradon had to offer and he couldn't say no to his puppy eyes.
"Did you believe any of that?" Jay asked Mal, referring to their meeting.
"Not even a little bit. Neither have any idea what to do if we can't make this work," Mal replied, frustrated. She could tell a lie from a mile away, living with thieves made her a quick study.
The other three agreed, they couldn't depend on Auradon Prep being a permanent solution.
"Even if I did trust them, this school is too close to the Isle. The further away we can get away from Maleficent, the better."
"Do we want to try to test out of high school altogether?" Carlos asked, trying to gauge their options.
If the option had been presented before or right when they got there, she probably would have said "yes" fairly quickly. Dealing with the rules and adults were off putting. But they had been there almost a week, it was better than they could have ever hoped for overall.
They had beautiful rooms, more than enough to eat, and some of the classes Mal was honestly excited to start.
Jay might be able to just leave school, Carlos and Evie were in the same ship she was. They had interests that they wanted to pursue.
They had a chance at something they had never had, a simple life of just being teenagers.
Why give up the comfort and security of Auradon Prep before they had to?
"No," she answered decisively. "But we need to keep preparing. We need to figure out a way to move this stuff," Mal motioned towards the stash of stolen goods. "It's no use to us in Auradon. They don't barter, they have a working and backed currency. We need to research what this stuff is and get an idea of what it's worth. Then we need to figure out where to find buyers."
The other three agreed, Carlos and Evie rather relieved they didn't have to run away. They knew they may not have a choice in the matter in the future, but it was nice that they would at least give the place a fighting chance. Jay nodded his head, agreeing with Mal and already trying to think of ways to accomplish her commands.
The teen fae then took out a map of Auradon, Jay had nicked it from a classroom after they were tested, it may have been for geography or some sort of world studies.
"We are here in Auradon City," she marked the town with a coin Jay had found. "We are basically surrounded by every kingdom our parents had pissed off with the exception of Agrabah. South Riding has Auroria, East Riding has London, the Summerlands is where Evie's father is…"
"Don't suppose we could call on rich daddy Archduke for help?" Jay wondered, thinking Auradon was simultaneously too big and too small for them.
Mal looked to Evie, letting her answer.
"I wouldn't count on it. If his total abandonment wasn't a big clue of how he felt about my birth, then if Ravenna can be trusted, royals are particularly vicious in protecting their inheritance. They would not suffer a bastard who could try to claim anything. Mother warned me not to step foot in the Summerlands if I could help it. So as for as Auradon knows, I have no idea who my father is."
While they normally wouldn't trust Ravenna as far as they could throw her, they would trust she was an expert in royal politics and avoiding being stabbed in the heart.
"There's Charmington," Mal continued. "That's ruled by Snow White, so that's out of the question. There is Cinderellaburg, no one should hate us there, but it's a coastal city and too close to the Isle for my comfort. That's also where a majority of the royal guards who visit Fleur de Pomme are from, they might recognize us. I think our best bet is Camelot Heights," Mal emphasized by jabbing her finger to the city directly north west of Auradon City.
"I don't know, it's adjacent to the Summerlands," Evie worried, preferring to be as far away from any land where she may be hunted down.
"It'd be easy to get lost in. If the books I got from the library are accurate, then it's devoid of mods. No electricity, no cameras, zip. If we're trying to get away from both Auradon City and the Summerlands, then we're in Westerlling or way far up north. We're talking Borderlands territory. I don't know if we could survive in winter on whatever we can steal from here."
Jay and Carlos were rather disappointed to hear their choices. Carlos loved his gadgets and Jay was getting used to awesome things like air conditioning and reliable light.
"We'd be able to disappear," she tried to comfort her boyfriend, running her hands through his platinum and coal locks. She hated to see him unhappy, but she wouldn't have suggested the technology free city if she didn't think it was the safest.
Carlos nodded, knowing and trusting she wouldn't chose to shirk creature comforts for the hell of it. He merely wanted it to work at Auradon Prep that much more.
"Camelot also houses the Merlin Institute of Magic, one of the few places that still openly practices and teaches magic," learning that magic had been "retired" in Auradon at large had been a cold douse of water. She had hoped she'd be able to learn some magic, preferably from teachers who didn't use knives as learning tools. "So if need be, we could probably raid its library and try to learn what we can."
Mal experimentally held up her hand and willed her magic to appear. Her hand could now glow at her will. She still hid the Grimoirae Maledictae, thinking it too dark to try to learn from. But she was teaching herself and the others what she learned from the lesser magic books her mother made her memorize.
Jay and Evie mimicked her action, each hands glowing with the power of their inner magic. Only Carlos could not summer his magic in such a display, but with a flick of his hand a very gentle wind had been summoned and it moved the curtains.
He had been afraid he was totally devoid of magic when they tested out their abilities in the field where they discovered the stars. They had visited it every night since its discovery, feeling drawn to it and basking under the starlight.
They had been there almost a week straight and they were still in awe of the beauty the night's sky provided.
While he couldn't do what the others did, he was able to tap into some nature magic. He was comforted by not being the odd non-magic one out.
They were studying magic in small bits. Mal was a drill sergeant when it came to magical safety. Not allowing any of them to take the lessons lightly. They could each make small things move with their minds and soon Mal would have them doing simple spells.
She would have them use whatever skills or gifts they had in order to survive. While magic seemed to be frowned upon, it wasn't illegal, they felt it prudent to keep it a secret.
They expected the school to be full of Audreys, not Bens or Dougs; so they were prepared to not be trusted. If the students knew they could do magic as well as being children of villains, they may as well paint a larger target on their backs.
"So if we go to Camelot, that's about a six hour drive. We may be able to steal a car but I don't want us to count on that. Especially if we still don't know how to drive by the time we need to flee comes. So by foot, that's about five days. I'll do more research in the library to see how we could best fit in. Evie will make us clothes appropriate to blend in. Jay, keep stealing but focus on small valuables, but nothing too valuable. It's a small school, they're bound to notice if too much stuff goes missing. Carlos, keep researching the tech that surrounds the estate. The campus includes acres and acres of open and wooded land. The border is somewhere and we should assume it's being watched. We'll figure out the best way towards Camelot. Wherever the weak points are, I want to know of them."
"And what's your job?" Carlos stressed, expecting a specific answer.
"To not punch Audrey in the face," she murmured and not exactly happy about it, knowing it was something she really needed to work on, and if anything was going to get them expelled it was probably her getting into fights.
Carlos, satisfied with the answer smiled and lean down to kiss her; proud that she was trying her hardest to make Auradon Prep work. Audrey was not making things easy, the girl had at every turn tried to bait and belittle them ever since they got there. She seemed to have a pack of bitchy hyenas at her beck and call which made it all the more annoying.
Mal had gone from one of the most feared people on the Isle and in Auradon she had to deal with daily disrespect from someone who she could easily shut up with physical force. It wasn't easy and he appreciated her trying. There were even times he wanted to get Audrey out of his face physically, the only time she was civil was when Ben was around.
Mal had melted into the kiss, still so happy and content that she could not only see him every day but could basically kiss him whenever she wanted. Auradon Prep was worth fighting for, even if she did have to get up at some horrifying hour every day.
"OK you two. It's dinner time," Jay interrupted, rolling his eyes but secretly pleased and charmed to see his two best friends so happy. "I'm going to the mess hall before Mal eats all the strawberries."
Mal merely stuck her tongue at him, promising herself she was going to eat them twice as fast to spite him. They all put away their secret stash and plans, neatly going into a closet and hidden away.
Ben knew he would be called in to deal with trouble with the Isle Four at some point. There was bound to be some culture clash, he thought it was inevitable.
He just didn't think it would be before classes started, it was the weekend; no one should get in trouble over the weekend.
And he certainly didn't expect for it to take place at a hair salon.
He found himself standing in Iliofáneia, the most exclusive salon in all of Auradon. It catered pretty much exclusively to the royals, some even came as far as from Westerling to book an appointment.
Walking in, he was immediately welcomed with a class of water supposedly from a virgin spring in Montunui, pineapple slices for a hint of sweetness. The reception desk was the first thing he saw, a massive onyx black console with glittering canary yellow and sangria purple crystal backsplash behind it. Every employee wore head to toe black as to never be confused for a client.
"His Highness, Crown Prince Ben," he was announced by the royal herald, his bodyguard an unobtrusive presences to his back.
The entire salon stopped what they were doing to give a bow or curtsy.
The windows were floor to ceiling and in addition had skylights to let in as much sun as possible, a special filter on the glass to prevent harmful rays from causing sunburn. He was escorted toward the back where the actual hairdresser stations were, swivel black chairs in front of individual mirrors that had light frames.
It was probably the unhappiest he had ever seen Jay, who was usually always playful, charming, and smiling. He didn't seem to appreciate all the light Iliofáneia had to offer, sunglasses firmly over his eyes; he was slouched over, arms folded across his chest. The hairdresser and about five attendants surrounded the chair, all at a loss of what to do.
Professor FéeMarraine and Dr. Ector were speaking off to the side, neither seemed to be particularly happy either. The other three Isle teens were on a couch off in a separate waiting area, looking nervous as they could tell the adults were upset and not knowing why or what was going to happen to them.
"Is there an office we may use?" Crown Prince Ben asked one of the attendants.
The woman in black froze, never thinking she'd have someone from the main Royal Family speaking to her. She swept hair, she didn't speak to the customers. Luckily for her, the hairdresser came to her rescue and told Ben,
"Yes, Your Royal Highness, of course. My office is always available to the House of Bourbon," with a thick accent he couldn't quite place, he thought perhaps the Lone Keep. Somewhere he didn't visit often but was reminded of it.
"Thank you," he motioned for Drs. FéeMarraine and Ector to follow him, he didn't want the conversation to be public gossip later.
"What's the matter?"
"That boy or one of them is causing mischief," Dr. Ector said plainly.
"And I keep telling you, it's not a conscious decision," Dr. FéeMarraine.
"What exactly is happening?" feeling as if he just walked into an old argument.
"Jay came in for his haircut, perfect gentleman and willing to follow the school dress code."
Dr. Ector scoffed, Dr. FéeMarraine shot him a poisonous look but kept going,
"When the hairdresser when to cut his hair…it didn't work."
Ben frowned, unsure what she meant.
"The scissors broke?"
"No…the hair, it couldn't be cut."
"The scissors were defective?"
"No, what she's trying to avoid saying is that he used magic. The scissors go through the hair but remains uncut. He's doing it on purpose," Dr. Ector said snidely.
"No, he's not. He was on that Isle all his life, he wouldn't be able to do that kind of magic. It's defensive magic, used to protect himself. It's totally unconscious."
"No, he's a vain boy who wants to flout the dress code. He used a spell…"
"We were there the whole time, he hasn't said a word."
"Then he uses whatever bippity-boppity nonsense," he mocked with grandiose hand gestures that were supposed to mimic movements that created magic.
"Dr. Ector," Ben warned, that kind of flippant disrespect was not going to be tolerated in his presence.
The stern professor had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes, thinking the new generation was too P.C. and sensitive.
"That is not how magic works. There is no spell for every task under the sun; particularly for something as mundane as preventing a haircut, and even if there were; like I said, we were there the whole time. No one said anything. There is no possible way he could be doing magic by pure thought alone. Not only did he grow up on the Isle which negates magic, something only a master fae such as myself could do, the centuries it would take to master that kind of skill alone means it's not him. I can't even do that. There's no Third Stage Supreme Fae on the planet other than Merlin and Maleficent. So unless Dr. Ector is suggesting the Great Emrys is using his heavens piercing powers to help a boy avoid a haircut, or Maleficent has escaped and her first instinct is to save Jay's hair…"
"You know I am not!"
They had started to bicker and Ben knew he was right to keep the meeting private. He felt a headache coming on, he couldn't believe two administrators were squabbling like school children. They seemed to have forgotten that besides being their Crown Prince, he was still a student and it was unbecoming of an Auradon Prep faculty member behaving thus.
"Stop," Ben's voice thundered quietly. Both teachers immediately ceased, worried they had let their tempers get the best of them.
"Professor FéeMarraine, is it your professional and as a fae and magic user opinion that Jay is not doing this on purpose?"
"Yes," she answered simply.
"Dr. Ector, I know as Dean of Students it's your job to deal with discipline and progress of students. I know Jay's hair is not dress code length, but what do you suggest we do? I defer to Dr. FéeMarraine's opinion that he's not doing it willingly."
Dr. Ector's first instinct was to say Jay couldn't attend. It wouldn't be fair to let him flout the dress code while others had to keep their hair at a specific length. It was bad enough the other three had hair that was more appropriate for Halloween were allowed to keep the colors and attend school. Soon he'd hear all the complaints from students and then there would be others who would try to skirt the rule and give the three as examples. To let the four of them in was setting a bad precedent. But given the decree, he doubted that would have gone over well.
"We can't just let him have his long hippie hair. We already have the weird hair color bunch…"
"Dr. Ector, their hair color is a reflection of the fae bloodline they come from. I would not suggest referring to it as 'weird.' It is their natural hair color and they are within the guidelines as written."
The Dean of Students had always thought the Headmistress to be a flighty airhead but in that moment he remembered she was a powerful fae who had deep connections to the Charming royal family. She had given up her own magic, wand, and even dyed her hair brunette to fit in; it was easy for most to forget and think she was human. But the air grew colder and he felt several inches shorter under her admonishing gaze.
She dared him to say something further.
"Fine," he admitted defeat. "But I want it up and out of his face at all time during school hours. Whether he is doing it on purpose or his innate magic is protecting it then he has to keep it in such a way that mimics the dress code. No hair below his chin."
"Fair enough," Professor FéeMarraine compromised. If it were up to her, she'd just have Jay tie it back and be done with it. Or even let it down, what did it matter? If girls could have long hair with no issue, she didn't see why boys couldn't either. But Dr. Ector, and most of the school board, were older conservative military men who had served in the Royal Guard at some point, Dr. Ector hailing from Camelot Heights; where they still practiced knighthood.
"Alright, thank you Drs. FéeMarraine and Ector. Let's tell him the good news," Ben hoped they understood it to be code for: smile and pretend we're all adults who have come to a peaceful resolution.
Jay did seem relieved his hair wouldn't have to be cut, but also surprised when the Headmistress explained what happened. Ben implicitly trusted Professor FéeMarraine, but Jay's reaction told him he was a clueless as the rest of them of why his hair couldn't be cut.
The hairdresser quickly gave Jay tips on the best way to tie up his hair, offered a variety of ribbons and ties; the teen had no interest in anything other than a simple utilitarian black hair tie.
"Sorry you guys had to come out for nothing," Ben apologized to the four. They didn't seem to care either way, perhaps they wanted to get out. They had all been stuck at school for a week straight.
"Did you guys need anything while we're out? Target run?" he offered.
"Target?" Mal asked, not sure what he was talking about.
"It's a department store chain run by the Loxley family; basically one-stop shopping for clothes, toiletries, stationary, cleaning supplies…whatever you need."
"We don't have any money," Mal explained although it had piqued her interest. Department stores were non-existent on the Isle. The closest they had was Bargain Castle which was really just a recycled consignment shop of garments they could tan from the few game animals on the island and everything donated from the mainland.
One of Maleficent's scams was that all clothing donations came through her door first and she sold it for food and goods. The island at large had no idea the clothes were free and meant for whoever needed them. But her mother still held sway over goblins and her mother's goons, and herself, would make the runs to meet up with the donators; accepting the gifts "on behalf" of the island citizens.
"You guys have a clothing and discretionary allowance, courtesy of the Crown. As long as you guys don't want a car or jet," he joked. It was one of the things his councilors had suggested, the Isle had no currency and they didn't think it viable to make them get jobs to earn things they may need outside of school. "You should be able to get everything you need, and some fun stuff like movies."
The Four looked at each other, the boys shrugged but Evie seemed eager to go shopping.
"Ok," Mal accepted on all their behalf.
They would see what Target was all about.
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