After they cleared the room to make sure there was nothing dangerous and no spells she or Evie could detect—one of the few magical skills Maleficent actually taught her—they took stock of the actual room.
It was on the ground level of a three-story building and the room was bigger than their hideout. There was plenty of room for them to stash all of their things. Hell, they could've brought everything they'd "owned" and still have plenty of freespace to use however they wanted. Wide windows offered a view of a little path lined with short trees covered in flowers, which she immediately pulled the curtains closed on. Two queen mattresses stood across from each other in the middle of the room with wardrobes on one side and desks on the other and chests at the end. There was even a private bathroom.
And if that wasn't enough, the carpet was so thick it sucked at their feet like mud, muffling their footsteps completely. Something that was a little concerning security wise. A silent enemy is a dangerous enemy. Fabrics with intricately woven designs and frames with boring painted landscapes were hung across the walls. Sconces held strange magical lights they could turn on and off at will; even the boys who had little to no magic in the first place. Instead of just a small pit, there was an actual fireplace so they wouldn't have to worry about smoke clouding the room.
Mal couldn't decide if she wanted to burn the place down or take full advantage of the luxury. From the way her pack was exploring their new territory, she'd be taking full advantage of it. If only for them. Perching on one of the beds, she let them have their fun, Jay sprawled beside her.
"The tub is magicked!" Evie gasped from the bathroom. "These crystals fill it with water. Warm water."
"Really? Let me see," Carlos called, leaving the wardrobe he'd been rifling through. Auradon had oh so kindly provided them more than enough uncomfortable clothes to last them an entire lifetime. Mal couldn't wait for Evie to make them some proper clothes.
Yeah, Mal wasn't exactly excited to bathe again. As long as she didn't stink too badly, she didn't care. Auradon was fucking exhausting and their standards were pretentious and stupid. Their standards of living were even worse. Everything was at their fingertips. Everything. Food. Shelter. Clothes. Water.
Forget the essentials. They had enough time and money to create rooms like these for just students. And the students expected rooms this nice. For all she knew this was a step down for most of them. No. She didn't have to question that. It was a step down for most of them. Even her mother's palace was a shack compared to just a simple student bedroom. Didn't matter that the palace was bigger. Even if everything Maleficent had was gathered together there was no comparison.
It was disgusting. She wanted to teach these pompous bastards how useless their lifestyle was. How soft it made them. Maybe her mother was the Mistress of Evil. Maybe the Isle deserved to be sent to the bottom of the ocean. But at least Mal knew how to survive. To fight. To get what she needed.
Once the barrier came down, all of this would burn and what was left would belong to the strong. The villains. That wasn't such a bad image.
A soft touch on her shoulder brought her back and she glanced up. Ocean blue eyes found hers, searching, questioning.
Mal gently shrugged Evie's hand from her shoulder. She was fine.
Evie arched an eyebrow.
Lips twisting a little, Mal huffed. She was fine.
After watching her a few more heartbeats, Evie climbed onto the bed to join her and Jay, knee knocking against hers. Mal resigned herself to the inevitable. She was fine for fuck's sake. But their princess was too observant and didn't like to let things go.
The bed dipped as Carlos clambered onto the bed too, his eyes widening at how soft it was. Too soft. But…but if her pack got to use it then she'd allow it. For now. Again, Evie caught her gaze and Mal looked away, ready to get the princess's attention off her mood.
"So, we've met the Crown Prince. Ate lunch with him. Were shown around campus by two of his friends. What do you guys think?" she asked, adjusting so she could see all of them. "Start with the campus."
Jay hadn't moved from where he'd laid down, but Carlos was sitting next to him, fingers fidgeting with a button on the stupid jacket he'd been wearing since lunch. Evie sat closer to Jay's feet, posture perfect as always.
"There's a lot of places that we can use to hide if we need to," Jay said, moving to rest his legs across Evie's lap. "Store food and anything we get our hands on. All the buildings look pretty easy to climb if we ever have to. We'll have to explore more to figure out the fastest routes. It's easy to navigate, but pretty spread out. There might be some less exposed paths, but most of the ones they showed us were wide open."
"It's beautiful and designed to have more secluded areas," Evie agreed as Carlos just nodded. "No one will think twice if we disappear for a little while, but sneaking from place to place could be difficult."
"I noticed a lot of out of the way paths too," Mal noted. "We'll have to see what it's like when the 'nobility' arrive, but I think they won't use them much. Most of those paths don't seem to have windows facing them so it's perfect. They are probably for the servants to use." Carlos relaxed a little. "Now," Mal said, leaning forward, expression hardening. "The prince's friends. They're both way too friendly. They want something."
"They kept watching us," Carlos shuddered. "Waiting for us to react to things. Doug is smart. Of the three, he's the most likely to figure out what we're planning."
"Doug is a scrawny coward," Jay scoffed. "It won't take much to convince him to keep his mouth shut. That Lonnie chick, though, she knows how to fight," Jay commented. "And she was watching all of us to see how we move. We'll need to be careful around her. She's the muscle of the three of them, and we don't know how she fights."
"Can you take her?" Mal asked.
"Yeah, I can take her. Might not be an easy fight, but I can take her."
Eyes narrowing, Mal tapped her nail against her knee. The other woman was definitely a potential problem. They'd have to make sure she never suspected anything. A smile was easy to fake and a good mask for a person's real thoughts. Evie was a perfect example. Though no one could be as good as the daughter of the Evil Queen. If worse came to worse though, they'd be able to take Lonnie out.
"We'll need to be careful around her," Evie agreed. "But I can handle Doug. He's smart, but he's still a man. The right words and he'll get distracted. I can keep him from realizing anything's amiss."
"I'm trusting him to you then," Mal nodded.
With a soft laugh, Evie let her eyes go half-lidded, each blink slow, her smile teasing but hungry. "It'll be easy," she cooed and Jay pushed himself upright to steal a kiss. Which earned him a smack on the head from Mal.
"Later," she told him. "Focus." After Jay rolled his eyes and flopped back down, Mal continued. "I need to know what you guys thought of Ben. He seems like a goody-two-shoes hero kid to me. All that bullshit about wanting to help the Isle kids."
Twirling a strand of hair around her finger, Evie nodded slowly. "Most of the information he gave us I didn't have to trick out of him. Those kinds of plans aren't something you share. Especially with strangers from the Isle of the Lost."
"So he's either stupid or cunning," Jay commented. "And he only did one stupid thing when he asked about bread. Everything else felt planned."
"Which leaves us with cunning," Mal finished, eyes narrowing. Prince Benjamin might be a bigger problem than they'd expected. She'd assumed most of the people in Auradon would be stupid or soft after living without having to do anything important. Apparently she was wrong. Tapping a finger against her leg, Mal turned her attention to Carlos. "What about you, pup? Notice anything interesting?"
"The prince doesn't make sense," Carlos observed after a moment, eyes never lifting from the button. "Nothing he does is what he should be doing. He isn't scared of you. Or Jay. And he acts like we're on his level. He actually seemed to know that the Beast was lying, too…"
"What else?" Mal prompted as he trailed off. Carlos curled in on himself a little, plucking at the button.
"When his parents showed up, he changed," he mumbled. "Got nervous and annoyed. Those were real reactions. Too normal and imperfect to be an act."
Most of that matched her first impression. What she hadn't noticed was the prince's reactions to his parents when they met them. Which meant he was a good actor. Or her skills were slipping. Fuck. "We'll need to keep an eye on him," Mal decided. "Figure out what his game is. What he's actually after."
"So we, what? Talk to him?" Jay asked. "Evie's the only one who can do that without raising suspicion. Especially since we know he isn't stupid."
Normally she'd protest; she was perfectly capable of getting the information they needed. But here in Auradon…her methods weren't subtle enough. Good enough…A hint of green flashed in her eyes and Jay frowned at her while Evie shot her a look that promised they'd be talking later.
"If he interacts with you, go ahead and talk to him. Maybe we can get answers out of him that way. Once he starts lowering his guard, he might slip up. See if any of his answers contradict themselves." The others nodded. "And watch how he interacts with others. He probably doesn't put on an act when he's around his own gang."
"I'll talk to Doug too," Evie mused. "He'll be easier to trip up. After all, he reacted to me more than anyone else." With a sigh, she brushed her hair back. "Too bad he isn't a prince. That'd've been an easy catch."
"Don't worry, E, we'll snag you a prince to play with," Jay smirked. "A pretty boy with a palace that has a shit ton of mirrors."
Shaking her head, smiling, Evie poked his leg. "I want only the best."
"That's what you'll get," Jay promised, resting a hand over his heart, fluttering his lashes. "On my honor, fair maiden."
"Mal, Carlos, I'm relying on you," Evie stated, her eyes glittering with amusement.
Mal exchanged looks with Carlos who just shrugged and sighed, getting a laugh from Evie. As she continued to tease Jay, swatting at him as he acted like a dumbass prince, Carlos abandoned them for their bags on the floor. After a few moments, he pulled out his most comfortable clothes before going to grab Mal's.
"I hate these clothes," he muttered as he stripped. "I can't move right." The moment they were off, he dropped them to the ground before reaching down to touch one. "They are soft though…" With a firm shake of his head, Carlos refocused and slid into his own clothes.
Following his example, Mal tugged off the riding pants and shirt to exchange them for her Isle clothes. She hated admitting it, but the materials were incredibly soft. If they had proper clothes made of cloth like this…
From the bed, Evie said, "I'll make us new clothes. There was some Hall that Doug showed us that supposedly has cloth we can use."
"And you're going to trust that?" Mal asked.
"No. But it's a perfect test to see how much they lied about things."
Fair enough. Besides, if she could make them new clothes, Mal wasn't going to complain. They all needed them. Auradon wasn't the kind of place where people only had a few different outfits and she refused to wear Auradon clothes
Carlos moved to lean against her side, yawning as he blinked at the two on the bed. "Are you sleeping anytime soon?" he asked, clearly uninterested in sharing a bed if they were going to keep messing around.
Both of them paused, looking at each other before Jay huffed out a sigh. "Yeah. Gotta be alert tomorrow."
While the two of them moved to change, Mal and Carlos returned to the bed, Mal pausing briefly to make sure the door was locked. None of them had opened the windows so there was no need to check those a third time. Allowing Carlos to curl up at her side, Mal listened to the other two change, still laughing a little as they pestered one another. Soon enough though they joined them in the bed, Jay turning off the lights.
She tried to stay awake. She really did. But her body felt heavy. It had felt like five days in one with everything changing on them again. She fell asleep to the sounds of her pack breathing.