So, this story was old and then revamped. But I changed a lot about it and was kind of reframing it as I wrote it. But now I wanna improve it and slow it down a little, so...under construction. Chapters 1-6 are currently new.


The Isle of the Lost

Giovanna's Perspective

"It's sickening," Hanson said. He brushed an auburn lock of hair behind his ear. Giovanna Gothel kind of liked his freckles, but the preppy, princey, good-y clothes were what was really sickening here. At least in her opinion. Which was often correct. "She calls them experiments. Their last names are One, Two, and Three. They're her kids and she pumps them full of these weird concoctions to see if it helps them impress her. Yzma's worse than my dad." His voice trailed off as he lowered his tone.

He was technically working at the moment in Yzma's shop. Well...not technically a shop, exactly. Since Yzma was one of the few people on the Isle with any knowledge of medicine that didn't end at healing spells, she was the primary healthcare provider on the Isle. Not that anyone would admit to being weak enough to need medical help. Though, the mad scientist had delivered most of the babies on the Isle and was the first one anyone went to for health issues or medications.

Medications that Gio and her sisters were never allowed to try because Mother Gothel was paranoid about Yzma poisoning them. Which...could be fair now that Maleficent wasn't around to keep her in check. Even Professor Sweet from the Cursed Academy had tried to lure Gigi Gothel into her house made of candy three times since Maleficent left the Isle-thankfully Gio's younger sister was a bit street-wise. Paranoia must be a dominant trait considering why Gio was here flirting with the son of Prince Hans. "And what happened today, gorgeous? I think you mentioned something shady."

"I heard—" He was cut off when Giovanna reached for his chin with a manicured hand and tilted his head to make him face her.

"I didn't spend, like, three minutes making sure my liner was perfect just for you to look at these weird potions," Gio giggled. Hanson blushed as he looked at her. "You were saying?"

"I..." Hanson said, "I heard Yazmine talking about poisoning someone."

"Who?" Gio feigned surprise even though this was kind of the exact reason she came to eaYZ-medical today. "Who was she gonna poison?"

Hanson tried to look away and she tightened her grip on his face to keep him from doing so. Eye contact made it way easier for her to tell when someone was lying. And intimidated them enough that they wouldn't try anyway. "She...I don't want her to come after me if I say anything," he whispered.

"Oh," Giovanna said innocently. "Why would I tell her anything? Especially when she could hurt my favorite prince on this little Isle?" He looked in her eyes-despite not having much of a choice about it-and Gio saw him hesitate. So, she leaned in and whispered, "I promise you can trust me. As a matter of fact, what if I give you a little prize after you tell me?"

"Prize?" Hanson asked. It was almost cute how tense he was at the moment.

"Tell me." She said firmly.

"I..." Gio let him go so he could lean back a bit. No sense in making him too nervous to think. "I heard that Yazmine has a big final examination tonight." Not news. "And she was asking her mom which elixir could make her opponent weak without it being obvious that she cheated."

"Then?"

"She grabbed some kind of disorientation elixir and something else to make her more energetic from the lab in the basement," His face was almost as red as his hair. It was kinda sad.

"Where is she keeping it?" Giovanna asked. "Did you see where she tucked it away? She has to plan to transport it to school, right?"

"I..." Hanson looked away for a second and she smiled...internally smiled, of course. She pouted on the outside.

"Why don't you like looking at me?" Gio asked, looking down in the perfect picture of shy insecurity. "Am I hideous or something?"

"No," Hanson said quickly. "You're...you are..." His gaze trailed down to her minidress with an exposed corset, "definitely not hideous."

"So look at me," she said sweetly. When he looked into her eyes, she smiled. "Where is she keeping the elixirs?"

"I..." He hesitated. Then he said, "I saw her put it in a pocket. Her jacket sleeve has a hidden one, I think."

"Do you know which one?"

"Left," Hanson said. "But please don't let anyone know I told you, I really need this job—"

Gio held a finger to his lips, recoiling internally at the amount of germs she knew people had near their mouths. Her gaze was drawn to the glass door, where she saw someone clad in purple...then someone with a head full of red braids. "I promise I won't," she whispered to Hanson. "Now it's time for your prize. Close your eyes."

When he did it, she reached for his neck. Placing both of her hands on it gently, she slid them under a leather strap at his neck. Trailing her hands up his neck, to his chin, to his cheeks, she kept the band of cord from touching his neck while she pulled it away. After her hands were near the top of his head, she pulled the leather cord over his head. Quickly wrapping the chord so she could stow it away inside a hidden pocket of her corset.

She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Taking a step back, she noticed his eyes were still closed. And they stayed that way until the sound of the bell above the door rang out as she exited the office.


Madeline's Perspective

Madeline Medusa had been trailing Aurelius Ratcliffe for a while. She was what some might call an expert in not being seen. When he turned onto the busier streets of the commercial area of town, she got closer. With busier crowds, she was able to get right behind him without him even noticing. That watch he wore on his wrist was easier to steal every time. And Madame Medusa adored the fact that he and his father paid more and more each time they had to repurchase the family heirloom.

She pulled a pin from her hair, the red braids from her bun tumbling down. Poking his left arm with the dull end, she stepped to the other side of him now that his attention was diverted. Reaching for the watch, she touched the clasp and—

"Hey, Mads," they heard behind them. Maddie sighed, looking over to see Giovanna Gothel smiling sunnily. "Just the girl I was looking for."

Aurelius turned around, noticing Gio standing relatively close. His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he turned to the girl who stood even closer. With her fingertips still lightly touching the watch on his wrist. She tried to pull her hands back and he grabbed one, his grip painfully tight. "I swear to Hades," he said, "if this watch ends up in your psycho mom's stupid little—"

"Relly," Gio said happily, approaching his other side. His gaze flicked to her and she said, "has anyone ever told you that you look ridiculously handsome?"

"What?" He asked, scowling. "Relly?"

"What am I saying?" Gothel continued. "Of course they have. But you should really try not to scowl like that. My mom's main rule when it comes to anti-aging is—"

"Shut up," Aurelius said, his grip still tight on Maddie's wrist. She noticed he'd grabbed her with the hand he wore the watch on. With her free hand, she reached up to undo the clasp on it. "I need to deal with this sticky-fingered—"

"This sticky-fingered," she wiggled her hands around dismissively, "whatever is my friend." She took a step closer to him. "I'd hate to hear you say something mean to her. Then..."

"Then?" Aurelius asked. Maddie tucked the watch away into her boot. While he was focused on Gio, she reached for his neck to unclasp the golden chain he wore around his neck. "What are you gonna do? My father says women like you are—"

"What?" Gio stepped even closer, her face impassive as she got close enough that one move would knock her forehead into his chin. "I really wanna know the exact wording, so I can tell my darling Yun what you said about me." Ratcliffe paled slightly, but didn't back down. "His dad's been teaching him all kinds of ways to extract information from subjects during war. They were supposed to be for those stupid goddie-goodies in Auradon, but I'm sure he'd love to test some out on you if you were talking about me."

When his grip slackened slightly, Maddie pulled her wrist away and gently pulled a gold ring from his finger. "Fine," Aurelius said, taking a step back. "Just—"

"Nope," Gio said. She looked down sadly, "You really hurt my feelings. I'm gonna have to tell him all about it..." She looked up and smirked slightly. "Unless you apologize so I know we're all cool."

Aurelius flushed as his scowl began to make another appearance. "There's no—"

"But maybe not," Giovanna said, tilting her head in a way that made her curls bounce. "It'd be so cool to watch him do the electro-shocky-thingy. Or..." She trailed off, smiling warmly as if she weren't suggesting...horrible things. "There's this really cool thing with the water. I forget what it's called, women like me have such tiny brains. Waterlogging? Waterbinging? I dunno," she said casually, "something where he ties you down and pours water on your face. The last guy he did it to actually peed his pants and he scre—"

"I'm sorry!" Aurelius said quickly. It was almost pathetic how he was shaking. Maddie was standing behind him now. It was actually the perfect position to take off his gold cufflinks while he was distracted. And a golden tie-clip. "I'm sorry, Gio." When the daughter of Gothel didn't reply right away, he added, "we cool?"

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm," Gio wondered, tossing her head left and right. "Give Maddie a compliment. Then we'll be mega-cool."

Aurelius sneered for a moment before the expression disappeared from his face. He turned to look at Maddie, who'd hidden all his accessories in the pockets hidden in her red leather jacket. He looked her up and down distastefully. Maddie didn't really care. Half her hair was undone from when she'd taken the pin from her bun, the other side still braided into a large, red bun. Her shoes and pants often had dried mud on them since she lived in a swamp. And her clothes weren't exactly fashionable. No manicure, no makeup, no oppressive jasmine perfume...unlike the other lady in attendance. "Your eyes are the color of money, I guess."

"Thanks, Relly," Gio said sweetly. "I'd hug you, but I don't think there's enough room for me and your ego. So can you leave us alone to talk about girl stuff real quick?"

When Aurelius turned to leave, Maddie turned to Gio. "What was that about?" Madeline asked suspiciously.

"Let's talk," Gio said. When she turned to leave, Maddie sighed and followed her.


When Giovanna turned into an empty alley, Madeline hesitated. "What's going on?"

Gio turned to her with a kind smile. "In case you can't tell by my everything..." she gestured to her clothes and jewelry, "I'm not desperate enough for money to try robbing you. And if I wanted to hurt you, I'd have someone nab you on your way home from school when you weren't expecting it." She turned around to the alley, "which would eliminate the need to lead you into an alley. Now stop being silly and come on."

As she began to walk, Maddie followed her. Her eyes were still darting around to spot any potential threats in the shadows. She could find at least four nice places she'd hide if she were—

"Now, do you trust that I'm not gonna do something horrible to you?" Gio asked, striking a match she'd pulled from...Maddie actually didn't know where she'd hide anything. There were no discernable pockets in her dress, her clutch seemed way too small to hold anything useful, and her boots were too tight to hide a matchbox. In the light of the flame, Giovanna's eyes turned from pale gray to an orange shade.

"I don't," Maddie said. "What do you want?"

Gio sighed. "Fine." She looked at Madeline intently. "Madeline Medusa, I am pleased to announce you and I have been accepted to attend the next school year at Auradon Prep."

As the silence stretched on, Maddie waited for a follow-up comment. When none came, she laughed, the sound bouncing off the walls of the apartments on either side of them. "You're joking, right?"

"Yeah," Gio said blandly. "My schedule is so totally empty that I decided to prank you. Gotcha."

"Why would I go there?" She shuddered just thinking about the ads she'd seen on TV about how it's never too late to change. "That's disgusting."

"And this place isn't?" Gio gestured around. The smoggy sky that never let sunlight shine down on the Isle. The dirt and disrepair of the buildings. "I'd say Auradon is slightly less disgusting. And we'd be together, so there's no need to be scared."

"Yeah," Maddie said, mimicking Gio's sarcastic tone from before. "With you by my side, I can do anything. Power of friendship. You'd totally fit in with those princesses."

Gio glared at her. "Why?" When Maddie raised an eyebrow, she added, "why don't you wanna go? You have to realize what an opportunity this is."

"I..." Maddie looked around before saying, "My mom needs me, the shop needs me. And I like to rob people. I'd get sent back immediately."

"Well, I have plans for you to rob—"

COUGH. A cough bounced off the walls of the alley. When a kid turned into it, Gio covered her face with her hands. "Sorry—" he began weakly.

"I'm way curious...how much did you get paid to be a walking ad for tuberculosis?" Giovanna asked cuttingly. He looked at her sadly. When she pointed back the direction he came from, the boy turned around to leave. Gio turned back to Maddie. "Fine."

The daughter of Medusa looked at her assessingly. "Fine?"

"What? Was I supposed to beg you or something?" Gio asked. She smirked. "If your mom is so important, you should put what she wants first. And if that's you staying here...fine. I get it."

"Ooooookay," Maddie said

"But..." Gio began. "What about another offer?"

"What is it?"

"Apparently Yazmine is planning to poison Yunfei today." Giovanna smiled faintly. "Would you mind nabbing the elixirs in her left jacket pocket for me and swapping the labels on them?"

"No," Madeline said firmly. "Aurelius is already gonna be looking to get back at me. I'm not adding Yazmine to that list."

"Not even," Gio pulled out the leather chord she'd grabbed from Hanson, a silver key dangling from it, "for the key to Prince Hans's apartment? I hear he has all sorts of treasures from back when he was a somebody."

Maddie considered it. She reached for the key and Gio pulled it away.

"Prizes come after you do that favor for me," she said saccharinely.

Gritting her teeth at that, Madeline sighed, "fine. I'll go handle it."

"I'll give you the key as soon as it's done," Gio said. "I promise."

"Like you'd be able to keep it from me anyway," Maddie scoffed. As she left the alley, she considered what place would give her the best excuse to bump into Yazmine not once, but twice.