A/N: And the story continues. Sorry for the wait. I haven't forgotten you. I wanted this posted for a while, but LIFE lol. Then yesterday this entire chapter disappeared from my working document. Oof. I almost gave up.. but I didn't! I couldn't do that to y'all (or myself). Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! Please let me know your thoughts. Hopefully the wait won't be as long for the next chapter (no promises.)
S'D
Chapter 6
Dinner is a tense affair. It seems to be the new normal since Ben told his parents about his proclamation. Conversations between them took an even bigger hit when the teens arrived last week. His parents hadn't even bothered to show up to greet the VKs. Ben had hoped they could show themselves as a united front, but their clear lack of support is sending the wrong message to the kingdom and hurting future plans for the program. His father shows his disdain freely. He's waiting for the slightest failure to use as reason to shut the entire thing down before it can start. Ben can't even go to him for advice when things don't go to plan. Like when only 4 of the 5 children arrived because one of them had been kidnapped on the isle. What was he supposed to do about the missing kid? Is there anything he can do? He wants to bring it up to the council, but with the way things currently are he's worried it will do more harm than good. If anything, it should show them the isle is no suitable place for children to live. He is at a loss for what to do and has no one to ask about it. He's talked to Audrey and Chad, but they are just as clueless as him. They need to know more about the isle.
"How's your dinner sweetheart?" His mother, Belle, interrupts his thoughts.
He offers her a kind smile. She's been doing her best to keep the peace within the household this past week. While she said she'd support him, she has yet done anything of the sort. "Wonderful. Ms. Potts out did herself."
His words hang in the air before dying off.
The silence returns.
All that can be heard is their silverware sporadically hitting their plates.
"Honey I'm sorry Audrey couldn't make it to dinner." His mother speaks again.
You and me both, Ben thinks sourly. "Yeah. We've both been so busy with the program and midterms she wanted to take the night to get a head start on some assignments." Ben suspects she simply wanted to get out of another awkward family dinner. If he's honest, he wishes he'd done the same.
His father remains silent at the head of the table. He doesn't acknowledge the conversation being had in the slightest. His focus remains on the stuffed rigatoni on his plate.
"That's very smart of her. Though, I do miss having another female are the table." Belle smiles cheekily. "I guess I will have to be patient until you two are married and we can eat together every night with my grandchildren."
"Mother. Oh my God." Ben chuckles and attempts to hide his blush behind a napkin. His parents teased him about his crush on her when they were kids. He's been officially dating Audrey for 3 years now and it's honestly only gotten worse since.
His mother joins in and laughs at his expense. Even the king seems to be amused by his wife's teasing. But once the giggles die out and they've all caught their breath, they're left the return of tense silence.
They all sit there barely making eye contact with each other.
Well, Ben is making it a point to avoid any and all eye contact with his father, who he can feel burning holes in his forehead. He's been getting the looks all night. Ben doesn't need to see his father's face to know the expression there: disappointment, disapproval, heartbreak, and something else he has yet to identify. It makes him feel like he killed the king's favorite pet. He hates this. It no longer feels as if he is sitting with his parents. These people at this table are strangers. And has no idea how to get back to their old relationship.
Ben shifts in his chair in hopes of moving in the opposite direction of his father. His chair scrapes the floor causing a loud screech to echo throughout the room. Goodness, even his clothes make sounds when he takes a bite of his food.
Now both his parents' eyes are on him. Ben stiffens, ceasing any and all movement in hopes of avoiding the extended attention.
Perhaps he can ask his mother about– Ben can't think of anything to ask her. They talked about the remodeling of one of her libraries in town yesterday. Honestly, the most interesting thing to discuss is off limits. His mother made it clear whose side she is on. While she does her best to tame the king's temper, she has shown no support for the program. It truly hurts. Ben expected some kind of negative reaction from his father, he created the isle for heaven's sake. His mother on the other hand, mentioned often enough her dislike of the creation of isle and its existence. Ben hadn't realized that dislike extended to the children he discovered there. It seems compassion and second chances are only for certain people. How is that fair?
The villain kids never stood a chance against the courts. Audrey is right. They need him to speak up for them and give them the chance they never had. This will be his hardest act as king, and he has yet to be crowned.
Ben lets out a heavy sigh and looks up from his plate. He accidentally makes eye contact with his father. The both of them look away. Neither of them is ready for another confrontation. This welcomes the re-awareness of the awkwardness that now accompanies the silence.
The dining hall is so quiet, Ms. Potts and other servants can be heard completing their duties in the halls just outside. Their footfalls and voices increase in volume as they near the dining hall, only to quiet back down once they pass by.
His mother clears her throat, grabbing the attention of the room. "So, uh honey, how um- how are the uh- how's your program coming along? Are they fitting in with the other kids?" She asks.
Ben and the king both look up startled by the subject of questioning. Is she serious? He only answers because she genuinely looks interested in knowing about the progress and not for an ulterior motive. He chooses to ignore his father's gaze that's now on him.
"Well, I believe it's off to a good start. It's all running smoothly." Ben is sure not to mention the missing kid or Jay breaking a chair in the infirmary. It wouldn't be the best show of his character. Besides, Chieftain Pocahontas said that it wasn't unprovoked. "They haven't started classes just yet. Their first day is tomorrow. We had to wait until all of their highs wore off."
"High?" His father speaks for the first time that evening. "Being intoxicated, on school grounds no less, is reason for expulsion."
"Adam." Belle rests a hand on her husband's arm.
He ignores her warning. "They are terrible influences. I knew it was a bad idea to bring them over. We cannot have those types of people at our school. I'm sorry Ben, but I don't think this is going to work o-"
"Father stop." Ben interrupts his father's ranting. "The kids were only high because of the magical vaccinations we gave them. They are not at fault here. They've done everything we asked of them. You," Ben stands and points at the king. "are the one who refuses to make an effort."
"That's bullshit!"
"Language!" His mother scolds.
Before ben can get the next words out of his mouth, he is interrupted by the loud slam of the opening of the dining room doors. Cogsworth rushes in with a tablet in one hand and a handkerchief balled into the other. He stands between his and his father's chairs.
"Your Majesties, your Highness." The stout man greets them, before turning his full attention to king. "I am sorry. Forgive me for the interruption sire."
"Is there a reason you've inconvenienced me with your presence during dinner with my family?" King responds impatiently. "What is so important that it could not wait until after I've eaten?"
"Yes, sire. Sorry, sire." Cogsworth fumbles with the tablet a bit before showing it to the king. "There's been a breach in security at the museum. The alarm around the Fairy Godmother's wand was triggered tonight. The security company says it was reported as a false alarm by the night guard, but the night guard claims he never took their call."
"Is the wand still there?"
"Yes, sire. The protective shield did its job."
"Wonderful." The king relaxes in his chair. "Send a notice to nearby hospitals. If some truly did attempt to steal the wand and touched the shield, they'll be in a great deal pain. The blowback from it can cause some serious damage. Whoever set it off we'll likely seek medical attention."
"Yes, sire. I'll get right on it. Please enjoy the remainder of your meal." Cogsworth gives a quick bow and makes his leave.
"Ben," The king calls for his son's attention. "You may be on to something. It's about time I take a visit to your school don't you think?"
Ben frowns. He does not want his father leading an investigation with his program children as his prime suspects. They do not need any more stress on their shoulders. And it will not be a good look if word gets out. The thing that bothers Ben the most isn't his father's attitude, but the fact that he cannot guarantee that the villains' children didn't do it.
The four of them weave their way through the stone corridors of the Forbidden Fortress. The walls curve and crumble from years of unuse. There are odd markings and scratches along the lower half of the walls. Evie doesn't pay this much mind. It was an old castle. Things happen. The passage narrows and the ceiling lowers so much that even Carlos has to duck a bit.
Evie can't help the sinking feeling that they aren't supposed to be here. This place isn't built for them. They are trespassing and somehow the castle knows it. It doesn't like them being here. She wants to leave, but there's a bigger part of her telling her to keep going. They came for a reason. They are here for something, something important, but what?
She can't remember.
A stone breaks free from the uneven ceiling and barely misses Evie's head. She jumps back with a small eep escaping her lips. It in this moment she realizes she all alone in the hallway. She's lost her gang. Where had they all gone?
"Carlos? Jay? Mal? Are you guys here?" Evie calls out to the dark, empty hallway.
"Evvvie." A voice hisses back.
"Mal? Where are you?"
"Cooomme thisssss way." A different voice instructs.
She tentatively follows the voices down the winding corridors.
"Closssssser." A third voice calls from a room.
Evie pushes the door open just enough to slip through. The only light in the room comes from the crack in the door and something on the far side of the room. It has to be her friends. She does a little giggle in relief and skips toward them. "Jay is that you?"
Evie stops short. It's a mirror.
"No, it's you, you fool!" Her reflection screams back at her. It looks ready to grab her through the stained, cracked mirror. Evie watches in horror as reflection's skin begins to sag and wrinkle. Her nose becomes crooked, her hair and skin become ghostly pale, and her clothes are now tattered and worn. She is no longer recognizable. She's.. she's
"A monster!" Evie points a skeletal finger at the mirror and gasps.
Oh no. Oh no no no.
It was just her reflection that made the change, but she had as well. She's hideous. She's a hag. Her throat constructs and Evie finds herself choking on her own sobs. No. This can't be her. She can't look like this. She just can't.
"You did this to us!" Her reflection screams. "You did this to meee!" It lunges at her, this time breaking free of the glass and throwing her to the ground.
Evie wakes with a gasp. She's drenched in cold sweat. Her heart is racing, and her head is pounding. Whatever is around her is suffocating. She fights the heavy blankets from her body and tumbles out of bed. She lands on the carpeted ground with an "oomph" in a tangle of limbs. The princess gets to her feet quickly. She shivers. It's cold. What is this place? Where the hell is she? Evie takes a breath. Then another. It takes a moment for the past few hours to come back to her.
She's in Auradon. She and Mal have been moved to the girl's dormitory. This is her new room. That was just a dream. A nightmare. Evie corrects herself. She shivers again. Mal adjusted the temperature on the heating and cooling system in their room. She's tempted to change it but decides against it. It isn't worth being scolded over.
The time on digital alarm clock on her bedside reads 5:23am. It wouldn't've made a sound to wake her up. She hadn't programed it to do that. Evie figures it's a good enough time as any to get ready for her day. The cafeteria will begin serving breakfast at 7 and classes start at 8. It's probably best to get a head start. It will take her an hour at least to apply her makeup with what little she brought with her. No wonder no one took her for a real princess. She can't be the fairest in the land without her complete set of makeup. Her reflection certainly didn't think so.
Evie shakes her head free of the thought before it can spiral. She has to become presentable. Who knows, maybe she'll meet her own prince charming today. She isn't picky, but she does have an idea of what he will potentially look like. He'll be tall with dark hair- maybe light, she isn't picky. He'll be strong with perfectly defined muscles. When he smiles it will light up a room and leave butterflies in her stomach. He will truly listen when she speaks and tell her just how beautiful she is every day. Maybe he'll even– love her.
Well, she can't meet the love of her life standing in her room in nothing but her pajamas. Evie gathers the bag of toiletries the dorm so kindly supplied, a towel, and her clothes for the day. She tiptoes past Mal's sleeping form, grateful all of her movement didn't wake her. She hasn't yet built the mental strength to deal with an under-slept fae. Evie slips through the door and down the hallway.
It's still too early in the morning for all the other girls to begin their day. Evie finds that she doesn't mind the solitude. The dorms in the early morning surpass them at night. The hallways aren't nearly as dark as the morning sun barely peaks over the horizon and through the windows. It's still cold, but Evie doesn't mind because it reminds her of home. And it's not nearly as cold as her room. What brings her the most relief are the sweet songs of the morning birds outside. They cut through the awful curse of silence that seems to fall upon Auradon every night. It calms her in a way she never thought possible. The birds on the isle don't sing.
The girl's bathroom is probably the largest bathroom she's ever been in. Seeing that it's meant for the use of multiple girls at time it makes sense. Still, she can't help but marvel at how big it is. She enters the adjoining sitting room first. Comfortable looking loveseats line the circular walls on one side, while the opposite end holds three floor-length mirrors. Evie can see it now, princesses from all across the mainland prepping for their day with makeup and idle chatter on the round banquet sofa at the center of the room. She continues into the true bathroom area.
Its setup is more straightforward. Sinks toward the front entrance, showers in the middle, toilet stalls at the back, with benches in various places for convenience. She knows it's just a bathroom, but it's fantastic. Evie doesn't hesitate to drop her things on a nearby bench and hop into the shower. They have showers on the isle, of course. Though hot, even warm water on the other hand is rare. And they were only allowed cold showers and washing up in the clinic. This is one of the main things she was looking forward to coming to Auradon.
The water is heavenly.
Evie melts into the shower. It takes a minute for it to warm up. Once it does, she is brought to her most serene state of mind. Her muscles relax under the rhythmic beating of the water above. Evie let's all her worries and troubles ease off of her, their failure to get the wand, her nightmare and the words of her reflection, stress about starting another new school, all of it. She relishes the warmth it brings her. She never realized hot water could open her lungs so much. She's practically breathing with a new set.
Damn. She truly is in Auradon isn't she?
This isn't some fever dream or a hoax. She's really here. She has to be. Her imagination doesn't come close to what actually bathing in a hot water shower is like. To think people here get this whenever they'd like. Evie wonders if little Dizzy ever had even a warm shower? The only person Evie had to share warm water with was her mother. What is it like sharing with as many bodies as the Tremaine household has? She can't imagine all of them getting to indulge in that luxury the rare moments it came around.
Once they get the wand to Maleficent, everyone on the isle will have hot water all of the time. They'll take back what's rightfully theirs. That is all the motivation she needs to start her day.
Evie cuts off the water, wraps herself in a towel, and steps out the shower only to bump into another person. The two of them jump back in shock.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't realize anyone else was in here." The other girl apologizes. She has short, choppy hair, dark almond shaped eyes, and is wrapped in only a towel. She pulls down her cordless headphones to rest around her neck.
"It's no problem, really." Evie side steps the girl to get to her clothes. She isn't sure how to interact with her. The only people their age that they've met so far have been Prince Ben, Audrey, and Doug. Is this girl royalty? She doesn't recognize her from the Auradon news network or any of her old magazines. She doesn't toss the idea. This is the school for royals.
"I don't recognize you. Are you a transfer from the other dorm?" The girl asks. She exposes her back to Evie when she turns to drag her pile of clothes and toiletries closer to where Evie has hers. Auradonians are really trusting. No one could ever do that back home.
Evie hesitates. How would Mal want them to answer this question? She didn't exactly specify how they are supposed to execute Plan Z. Are they being standoffish, on our best behavior, or intimidating? Evie doesn't feel very intimidating standing in nothing but a towel. "I'm uh.. a transfer student, yes." She settles on. It's probably best to cut the conversation short. Hopefully that's enough to satisfy the other girl.
Evie takes her chance to subtly slip on her underwear and rewraps her towel around herself. She rubs her homemade oils into her arms and legs. The jar is only halfway full, she'll need to find the ingredients to make more. Maybe now that she's in Auradon she won't need to forego or substitute her ingredients.
After a moment the girl gasps and turns to face Evie once again. She's managed to get her skirt on. "Oh my gods I'm so dense! You're apart of Ben's new program, right? You're from the Isle of the Lost."
Evie stares at the girl speechless. What is she supposed to do in this situation. There's no point in lying, right? And technically Evie hadn't told the girl anything. The four of them would be attending classes with the rest of the student body in a few hours anyway. So, who cares if one girl knows? Mal will. Of course, she will. It's not as if Evie has any control over the situation.
Evie takes a breath and responds. "Yes." But that is all she says. Evie isn't dumb, she is aware there is an abundance of people who don't want them here. She needs to be cautious.
"Of course! I should have known from the blue hair. Unnaturally colored hair isn't allowed. You definitely would have been a popular talking subject around school."
Evie straightens at that. She can't pinpoint why exactly it rubs her the wrong way, but it does. "This is my natural hair color. I wouldn't want to damage it with too many dyes and chemicals."
The Auradonian teen gasps. She reaches out to touch it, but Evie shifts out of her reach. "No way. That's awesome. I wish my hair could look as good as yours."
Evie doesn't think her hair looks all that impressive in its current state. It's still wet and she hasn't had the chance to do anything with it yet. She'll have to take her word for it. Nearly anything is better than what's currently on top of the other teen's head.
"My name is Li Fa Lihua, but most people just call me Lonnie. I'm the daughter of Li Shang and Fa Mulan Northern Wei's greatest warriors." Lihua holds out her hand.
Evie gives her a firm shake. "Princess Evelyn White, daughter of Queen Grimhilde." She would never get used to Auradonian's needs to include their parentage along with their introductions. Wow, you have parents. Great! Back home there was never a need to say who your parents were. If they were important enough, everyone already knew. Evie would follow Auradon's odd customs for now, but there is no way in Hades she would be introducing herself as the daughter of the Evil Queen. She never took issue with the name before. On the isle people said the name with respect. Here, however, it feels degrading. They focus more on the Evil part of the title and less on the Queen. As long as people refer to her mother as the Evil Queen, she would continue to introduce herself as a princess.
"Oh! You're the Evil Queen's daughter."
Evie fights an eye roll.
She begins the process of dressing herself. Evie gets that many people here in Auradon don't see her mother for the royal she is, but she doesn't have to be naked to hear them rant about it. She's gotten more than enough of the passive aggressive comments thrown at her and Mal from her time in the infirmary.
"I imagine it's strange, isn't it?" Lihua sits next to her on the bench.
Evie tugs on her heeled boots a little harder than necessary. "What's so strange about it? I have never heard of your parents before, but I imagine it's like living in the shadows of any great villain or hero. So what? I am still a princess no matter what your stupid politics say."
The other teen is stunned. Her mouth flops open and closes a couple times before she's able to speak. "I… uh… I meant coming here from the isle. I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend."
Oh.
It's Evie's turn to be ashamed of her quick words. "Right. Of course. I'm sorry for snapping."
"No. Don't apologize. I was being insensitive. I should know better."
The teens sit in an awkward silence.
Way to be diplomatic Evie. It's like she forgot everything her mother taught her. She can't go around Auradon claiming to be royalty and not backing it up with her actions. This is her chance to prove herself.
Evie sits straighter, smooths out her shirt, and angles her body to face Lihua. "I'm sorry about all that. Can we start again? I'm Evie." She holds her hand out to the other girl.
Lihua smiles and accepts Evie's hand. "I'm Lonnie. It's lovely to meet you."
"Wait. I thought you said your name was Lihua." Evie questions.
"It is. Lonnie is my English name. A nickname of sorts."
"Lihua and Lonnie sound nothing alike."
The teen shrugs. "Maybe, but it's easier for everyone. It can be a hard name to pronounce for some."
Evie blinks at the girl. She can't be serious. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. And I once had to listen to a goblin explain his theory for why they are the superior species."
Lihua shifts uncomfortably next to her. Evie realizes she may have overstepped. She hadn't meant to imply that she was ridiculous. If that's the name she liked, who is she to judge? "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend. If you prefer Lonnie, that's cool. I mean what do I know? I'm just a wannabe princess from the isle. What do you prefer to be called?"
"I don't know. I don't really care. Going by Lonnie has made life a lot easier. I'll just stick with that while I'm in Auradon." Lonnie shrugs.
"Ok." Evie doesn't comment on the girl's choice. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Lonnie. But pretty is, as pretty is and you can't be the fairest with your face." She gathers her things and makes her way back to the adjoining room toward the front of the bathroom. She sits on one of the vanity benches located in front of a floor length mirror and begins applying her make-up.
"Evie wait." Lonnie rushes out after her with a bag tossed over one shoulder. "What uh… what does your schedule look like? Maybe I can show you around or whatever."
Evie smiles at her through the mirror. "No thank you. Mal's got a handle on all that."
Lonnie is disappointed but doesn't push the offer. "Oh ok. Well uh… See you around then."
That was nice. Her first interaction wasn't a complete bust. She was able to turn their conversation around before it went south, and Lonnie wasn't a total asshole like the nurse at the clinic. If she's learned one thing from her interaction, it is that her mother was right. She is the fairest in all the lands. Well, at least based on what she's seem so far. Whoever taught Lonnie about makeup, did her a huge disservice. The saddest part is, she could be pretty with properly applied makeup and something different with her hair. That's for another time.
It surprises her how so many things are a reminder that she isn't home, but in Auradon with some of the world's most powerful minds and magic users. Fairy Godmother guides Pocahontas through the plainly decorated hallways of the administration building to what will be her new office. The clack of her heels echo so loudly it nearly drowns out her own voice. Yet, Pocahontas stays diligent and pays attention as best she can to what Fairy Godmother says. Today, more than ever she is grateful for her wheelchair. Auradon Prep is filled with many long walkways, hallways, and large rooms. She can get around much more quickly than if she were to only use her cane. The old Chieftain figures she'll still need to find time to stretch her legs at some point during the day. She can't get too comfortable not using her legs.
"I can say for certain that we do not envy you." The Fairy Godmother begins. "You know, you were the only person to apply for the position. It is no secret Ben's program is receiving mixed reactions. Our senior counselors are used to guiding the minds of the well-mannered children of Auradon Prep. We cannot imagine the level of difficulty, skill, and patience that you must require to deal with the troubled villain children."
Pocahontas frowns at that statement. "Well, I find it best not to think of them as villains since they're children and haven't done anything to be labeled as such. They can't control who their parents end up being any more than we can."
The headmistress hums. She points out a couple of rooms and offices as they pass the door. "Am I walking too fast for you?"
"No. Your speed is just fine."
"Wonderful. As I was saying, many of the faculty here have been teaching our young minds for decades. In fact, some of them even graduated from this school and wanted to give their knowledge to the next generations."
"That's wonderful. You must be very proud of them." Chieftain Pocahontas nods at the teacher portraits on the walls as they pass them.
"Your office is just in here dear. The other counselors' offices are right next door." Fairy Godmother guides them in the room.
It's a small, but we'll lit room. The natural light does such a great job, Pocahontas doesn't think she'll need to use overhead lights as often. The office is already well decorated with a desk off to the left side of the room and low cabinets just under the window, flanked by a free-standing cabinet and a bookshelf. She'll bring a blanket from her apartment on campus to throw over the love seat on the right wall. It will help personalize the room a bit. She has to make the room a safe space for her children.
"I hope the room is to your liking. I apologize for not getting you in here sooner. There's simply so much to do as headmistress." Fairy Godmother flutters about the room, figuratively speaking of course. She looks out the window and smiles at what she sees.
"Oh, yes. This is perfect thank you." Pocahontas smiles politely. "Speaking of your busy schedule, I was thinking it may be best if I guided the goodness 101 class seeing that I've already have a basic understanding of where the children are in their understanding of goodness." She wheels herself over to her new desk. She pushes away the rolling chair currently at the desk so that she can empty the contents of her work bag on it.
The Fairy Godmother moves her to the desk. "No need to worry over me dear. I am quite looking forward to teaching the class. The mind can only grow by what it is fed."
"That I do understand." Pocahontas grabs four folders and hands them to the headmistress.
"What's this?" The fairy curiously opens one of the folders.
"I made an extra copy of my notes and observations from the kid's time in the infirmary. I thought they may help you to better understand them, their triggers, and how their minds work. I even added in notes on what I could gather about life on the island."
Fairy Godmother closes the file and plasters on her most cordial smile. She sets the files on the desk and gives them a small tap almost as if to encourage them to remain there and emphasize her next words. "I will not be needing this. I prefer to assess the children myself and gather my own opinions. Thank you."
"Of course." The chieftain nods. She can understand the sentiment, but there is some valuable information in there that may save her and many of the other teachers from future heartache down the road. "I really think you should take them for future reference. It can help you understand them better. For example, Mal-"
"Ah ah ah." The fairy Godmother waves her finger interrupting the other woman. "We will have none of that. I told you, I do not wish to know what lays in between those folders. Trust, I know what I am doing. Your job is not to share your findings with other faculty; student confidentiality and all that."
"With all due respect, this is my job. It is up to me to be sure these children integrate seamlessly. That sometimes requires bringing to light certain triggers for the student or why they may react in an extreme way to something we find normal."
"No, no. It is your job to counsel and aid the children, not the headmistress. It will do you good to remember your place."
Pocahontas says nothing. She's clearly struck a nerve. The fairy Godmother won't be open to suggestion in this state.
"Now," Fairy Godmother speaks. "if you would excuse me. I have other matters to attend to before the start of the school day." She slides to the exit with her head held high and pauses at the door. "I truly am glad to have you here with us. I know once you learn the ins and outs of the way we run things, you'll be an amazing asset to the students.
Ben bounces through the hall, zigzagging his way through the other students. He needs to find Audrey and Chad or at least one of them. There's too much swirling in his mind right now. One of them has to be able to help clear his mind. He could barely concentrate in his Theory of Good and Evil class. A woman from the front office had the four VK's files delivered to him just before class began. They include the doctors' reports from medical examinations and mental evaluations of each of them. Under normal circumstances information such as this would be confidential between patient and doctor, however improvements to the VK program require them to assess where it needs improvement. They can't help the VKs if they don't have a general since of what they would need when they get here.
Ben honestly wishes he had waited to open the files until after school. In the end, curiosity got the best of him. He thought he could do a quick scan through each of them, but it was much more difficult readthrough than he anticipated. Ben is aware living on the Isle of the Lost isn't easy. It's not designed to be. But he could never prepare himself for what the aftermath of being on the island could look like.
[Patient shows signs of serious psychological trauma.]
The crown prince side steps a teacher and narrowly avoids crashing into a freshman. He tosses an "Excuse me. Sorry." Over his shoulder as he keeps his pace, heading in the direction of the school labs. Audrey and Chad both would have just been released from their shared a trigonometry class and on their way to the labs. Chad will often walk Audrey to her next class: ASL 2, which is in the direction of his next class, Auradon Histoty. Neither of their next classes is in the direction of Ben's next class. He doesn't care. There are more important things on his mind.
[Patient has a history of multiple broken bones, some of which have healed incorrectly. This includes the ribs and skull.]
"Ben." His girlfriend calls from behind him.
"Audrey, Chad thank God!" Ben pivots and rushes toward them.
Chad, his best friend since birth, looks over Ben curiously. "We got your message. What's so important? You're scaring us dude." The Charmington prince tenses in anticipation of the response, inadvertently ironing out any wrinkles in his Auradon letterman jacket.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just," Ben sighs into palm as he rubs a hand down his face. "I was given the medical files of the VKs. I should have waited until after school to read through them."
"Why? What's in them?" Audrey gives his arm a supportive squeeze and takes one of the folders from him. It's Evie's.
[Patient shows signs of past sexual trauma. Could not confirm because Patient is uncooperative.]
"We can't send them back to the isle." Ben insists.
Chad takes the next folder on the top of Ben's stack. He frowns as he flips through Carlos' file. And Ben understands why, his had been one of the hardest files to look through. Chad clears his throat and firmly closes the folder. "Ben, I understand the sentiment, but your program only allows them to be here during the semester under a scholarship. They'll have to go back eventually."
Ben shakes his head. That's not what he meant, though he will have to do something about that as well. "No, I mean now."
"I don't follow."
"My father thinks they may have attempted to steal Fairy Godmother's wand last night."
"Did they?" Audrey asks cautiously, unsure whether or not she wanted to know the answer.
Ben hesitates. Those extra seconds is all it takes. His friend's faces change from one of support to one of doubt and apprehension at his slow response. "I don't know." He finally answers.
"Ben." Chad and Audrey give him a look of disappointment as if he's fighting for a lost cause. They are his biggest supporters. He can't afford to lose them over this. The VKs are not a lost cause. He needs his friend's help to prove it.
"I don't think they did it." He rushes to clarify. "My father on the other hand, does. He's going to come to the school to begin his investigation. He doesn't trust them."
"And for good reason." Chad agrees. "They were raised by some of the worst villains Auradon has ever seen. What do you think villains teach their kids? To be good?"
Ben scoffs. He cannot believe those words just came from his friend's mouth. It's a weak argument. It's the same sentiment being spread all over Auradon to oppose his program. It's like everyone around him thinks they know better and are trying to protect him by constantly pointing out to him that maybe the kids are bad. But in doing that, nobody is taking the time to realize, maybe they're good. All they need is a chance and for someone to believe in them. He's going to give them that chance.
"Ben, I know you want this to work, but you can't go into this blind. You need to be careful." Audrey agrees.
Ben nods. "I know and I am. I need the help of both of you to make sure word of my father's investigation doesn't get out. The bad press it would bring will be the end of the program before it even gets off the ground. Especially with the press conference tomorrow." The young prince sighs heavily. "I know he thinks he's doing the right thing. But this is more harmful than helpful."
Chad unenthusiastically shrugs. "Maybe your dad knows what he's doing. He's been the king of all the realms for the past 20 years."
"Yes, and he also let innocent children be imprisoned on an island built for the worst criminals. Nobody's perfect." Ben counters. "Can I count on you two to watch out for them this week?"
Audrey lets out a heavy sigh before smiling at her boyfriend. She grabs one of his hands in hers and nods. "Yes, of course we will do whatever is needed to ensure the program is a success. Right Chad?" She looks at their friend.
Ben follows her gaze and looks questioningly at him. Chad has been the most reluctant to the program and the integration of the villain kids. It's a big ask. The situation has become very political. Ben understands if Chad would rather sit on the sidelines and support from a far.
In the end, Chad sighs and nods his head in agreement. "Of course." He echoes Audrey.
Remedial Goodness 101 is her 4th class of the day, the last one before lunch and she can't wait to get out of it. It isn't that Mal is excited for lunch, she's just already over this class. Waking up only minutes before her first class, she ended up missing breakfast this morning. To hold her over, she did manage to swipe a coffee from a distracted student on her way to homeroom. She was late by maybe 7 minutes. Her excuse was "New school. I got turned around." It was honestly the earliest she's ever shown up to school. The teacher was not impressed. He treated detention, not that it bothered Mal. Yeah, plan Z is to blend in, but that doesn't mean they need to go easy on the Auradon freaks. They are villain children; they're supposed to throw in a little chaos. Besides acting like a model student would have been more suspicious and it just isn't in her nature.
Her late waking up means that this is the first time she is seeing all her gang together today. Mal did see Jay earlier in their shared second period class; Mathematics 2. However, this is the first class all of them are in together. It seems that no other facility members wanted to take on more than one of them at a time. Fairy Godmother on the other hand seems way too excited to be teaching all of them at once about the goodness of the world.
Bleh.
Mal doesn't know what's worse, the dumbed down baby lesson or FG's irritating voice. No one should be this chipper— ever. She flutters, not literally, about their little roomed off section of the library waving her wooden pointer stick and spouting do-gooder nonsense. It's like an entire class dedicated to the 'be good because that's good' propaganda posters of the king she used to tag posted all around the isle. Mal must admit that in-between the propaganda, there are some useful tidbits on information scattered throughout the lesson. If nothing else, they get an understanding of how Auradonian brains work.
It was all fun and games until the fairy godmother started to quiz them. "If someone hands you a crying baby, what do you do? A: curse it? B: lock it in a tower? C: give it a bottle? Or D: carve its heart out?"
Evie enthusiastically raises her hand. Mal is certain she doesn't actually have the right answer. All of the correct answers so far have been nonsensical reactions to a given event. No one in their right mind would do some of these things. Like where the hell is she supposed to get a bottle from? Why would anyone ever hand her a baby? None of it makes sense. Sense or not, she figured out the trick to these questions.
"Evie." Fairy Godmother calls on the blue haired Princess matching her energy, excited that one of them is taking interest in her class.
"What was the second one again?" Evie asks dumbly.
Mal slowly turns towards the girl sitting next to her with a look of disgust and confusion. Noticing the faintest curl on her lip, Mal realizes the Princess never had any intention of answering the question and simply wanted to mess with the old fairy. Mal can't help the small smirk on her face. Who knew the Princess had it in her? Sure, it makes her look dumb, but isn't that the point? Fairy Godmother has been talking to them like the illiterate children that hang out by the crocodile port back home. Mal is not dumb.
"Oh. OK. Anyone else?" The fairy godmother plasters on a fake, plastic smile. "Mal?"
Mal rolls her eyes, barely looking up from her drawing. "C: Give it a bottle."
"Correct again."
"Damn girl. You are on fire." Carlos remarks from the table of column across from there. He likely is genuinely impressed with her ability to correctly answer these dumb questions. It's really not that hard. He's definitely overthinking it.
"I just picked the one that sounds batshit and no fun." Mal discloses her secret.
"Language." FG murmurs.
Evie hums beside her "oh."
"That makes sense." Carlos nods. You can see the gears running in his head.
The class is interrupted by a mousy teen clutching a clipboard to her chest. She squeaks as she passes them and hurries her steps to the front. She looks like every other frilly dress and skirt, pastel and heel wearing girl in this school. Her color of choice being a blue dress with a large matching bow on her head.
"Hello dear one." FG bends over slightly to get closer to the girl's eye level. She uses that irritating, demeaning voice to address her. Apparently, this is how she talks to everyone. Maybe that's just her voice.
"Hi." the teen says quickly. "You need to sign off on early dismissal for the coronation. She hands the older woman the clipboard and turns to look at the group of them over her shoulder. Was she afraid of them? Just like so many other students Mal passed by this morning. Oh, this could be fun. It almost reminds her of home.
Mal nudges Evie who is lazily twirling her hair with fingers, to pay attention.
"Everyone remembers my daughter, Jane." The headmaster smiles as she signs the papers.
"Mom no." Jane whispers, embarrassed.
"It's OK. Jane, this is everyone." Her mother turns to her. Her mother turns her to face the group of them and gives her a slight push. She is quite literally shaking. Mal wouldn't be surprised if she wets herself or faints from fear.
"That's OK." Jane says more to herself than to them. "Don't mind me. As you were." She gives a halfhearted curtsy before scurrying from the room.
For mother and daughter, the two of them couldn't be more different. The fairy godmother is confident, and her presence demands respect, whether she gets it is another thing, while Jane is shy and reclusive. Perhaps this is the in Mal is looking for. If anyone could help them get the fairy godmother's wand, it would be her own daughter.
"Let's continue." The headmistress calls for their attention. It's embarrassing watching Fairy Godmother's attempt at being cool to connect with them. She takes her theatrics of reading the questions to a whole new level. She's practically shouting with her renewed energy. "You find a vial of poison, do you, A: put it in the King's wine?" Now there is an idea. Mal smirks. "Paint it on an apple? Or C: turn it into the proper authorities?"
Jay, Carlos, and Evie all are quick to raise their hands. The headmistress points her teaching stick to Carlos. "Carlos," she prompts.
"You-"
"You turn it over to the proper authorities." Jay answers.
FG nods. "That is correct Jay."
"I was gonna say that!" Carlos nearly shoves Jay out of his chair.
"But I said it first." Jay taunts.
This time Carlos does manage to shove Jay out of his seat. Jay is quick to retaliate and pulls Carlos into a chokehold. All their books and papers on the table clatter to the ground. Neither Mal nor Evie does anything about it. It's been happening a lot recently and she doesn't have the energy to care. Evie pulls out her compact mirror and takes the time to adjust her makeup while Mal goes back to her sketches.
"Boys." FG taps her stick on the chalkboard in hopes of getting their attention. "Boys!" She says louder to no avail.
"Gentlemen, please." A booming voice sounds from the back of the classroom.
The hairs on the back of Mal's neck stand straight. Everything in the room stills. It's then she notices all the nervous chatter and shuffling in the larger part of the library stopped as well. The voice is familiar. Beside her Evie lets out a tiny gasp and drops her hand mirror, apparently the first to recognize the owner of the voice. It's enough to jumpstart her memory. That's where she knows him from. From all that propaganda bull from one of the only two channels available to them on the isle. Mal quickly turns to confirm her suspicions. There he is. King Beast, king of kings. In the flesh. He is a lot taller than she thought he'd be.
Beast makes his way to the front of the room to stand next to the fairy godmother.
"Your majesty." She bows swiftly and with a smile, if not a bit confused by his sudden appearance in her class.
Evie stands so quickly she causes her chair to loudly scrape across the floor and slam into the table behind them. "Your majesty." She gives him a proper curtsy. Head down and all.
What the literal hell?
Neither she nor Jay nor Carlos move to do the same.
Finally, the king speaks again. "I'm going to encourage you two use that energy on the tourney field."
The boys break apart. "Oh no. that's ok. Whatever that is, we'll pass." Jay says as he and Carlos take their seats.
"Insist." There's no arguing with the king.
After school the king waits for their classes to end to personally escort them to the field. The gesture doesn't go unnoticed by the other students and faculty. Jay isn't bothered by the stares. Living on the isle you get used to people sending dark looks your way. What surprises him is that most of the looks sent their way are varying levels of jealousy. He just hopes none of these students will act on it. They really don't have time to ward off petty and jealous teens because their king and crown prince decide to show them some extra attention. It's not all its hyped up to be. Jay would much rather be doing his own thing. Like heading back to the library to look up this magical illness Mal and Evie have.
The girls decided to join them, even though they weren't the ones scolded for wrestling during goodness class. They are a gang through and through. It surprises him how well they work together. Jay can't help but wonder what improvements Carlos and Evie would have brought to the gang had they stayed on the isle. In the few hours they had to fix their reputation before being summoned, the four of them alone were already tearing up the place. The hell they could have brought to the isle with the backing of their entire gang. Sure, they still make a great gang here at Auradon. It's up to Jay to make sure that they can remain a gang by keeping Mal and Evie alive. There are more important things than some stupid ball game.
Even still, there's no arguing with the king of Auradon.
Practice is already underway when the group of them arrive on the field. There's a slight crowd in the stands. He wonders if that's normal or if it's because they're here. They follow the king toward the coaches standing on the edge of the field.
"Your majesty!" The tourney couch gasps at the king's presence and gives a short bow.
"Coach Jenkins, glad to see you." The king claps the coach on his back. "I've brought you a couple recruits for the tourney team."
"Thank you, sir but we are mid-season, and we don't hold tryouts until next semester. They can tryout then." Jenkins explains.
King Beast laughs. "The thing here is, we don't know how everything will work out for these students. So, it's best we give them the full Auradon experience, right? Right." He gives the coach another pat. "Gear up boys. Its time prove yourself on the field."
The group of them walk to the bench piled with blue and gold jerseys. Jay, Carlos, and Mal each quickly throw a jersey over their heads. Evie stands off to the side sending Jay looks of concern while holding Mal's art book and Carlos' backpack filled with his notes and things Jay stole on their way to the field. King or not the princess has no interest in taking part in whatever he has up his sleeve. Mal on the other hand steps up to the challenge head on. None of them have any interest in joining some dumb Auradon game, but from the moment the words 'gear up' were spoken Mal was right beside Jay and Carlos because it could only mean war. That shows the making of a good leader, Jay thinks.
"So how does this tourney thing work?" Mal as she grabs one of the turning sticks. They look similar to shallow, giant, wooden spoons.
"The game is simple really Your goal is to get the ball into the goal using the tourney sticks. Try not to get knocked over by players from the opposite team or hit by fruit from this shooter." The coach attempts to grab the stick from Mal, but underestimates her strength and stumbles back when she forcibly snatches it back from his grasp.
Mal nods to the group of them. "Alright sounds easy enough. Let get this game over with."
"Whoa whoa." King Beast says stops Mal from entering the field with a hand on her shoulder. "And where do you think you're going?"
"The field obviously." She shakes his hand off of her and steps away from him.
"You cannot play with the boys. Girls are not allowed to play on the team."
"Why the hell not?" Jay steps in. This game keeps getting dumber and dumber. First, they throw perfectly good fruit at players instead of eating it, now girls aren't allowed to play? How does any of that make any sense?
"It's a part of the rules, son. But your girlfriends are welcome to sit and watch the game from the bleachers or better yet," the king claps his hands together. "The two of you could join the cheerleading team."
Audrey, having overheard the conversation from her place stretching with the other cheerleaders, makes herself known. "Your majesty." She eyes the king wearily. "With all due respect every girl on my team has worked very hard to get a spot on this team. Many of them had to wait months to even tryout. It would not be fair to let the new kids on without even trying out."
Mal scoffs. "I'd rather kill myself before I join your squad of sparkle shakers." Mal drags Evie towards the bleachers.
Jay hates to see the girls go. He's sure Mal had as little interest in this stupid game as he does, but that didn't mean he'd turn down the backup. He's sure that Mal could easily beat any of these wimps on the team. If nothing else, Carols looks like he could definitely use the backup. Jay was excited to begin the game for only one reason: He'd get to beat some Auradon ass. He's been fighting the urge to pummel these freaks all day.
"Jay, Ben, and Phillip on offense. Chad, new kid, and Anthony you're defense. Taylor you're the shooter. Everyone else fall in." Coach Jenkins shouts to the boys on the field.
"Right coach." One of the boys shouts back heading to his new position.
"Hey hey. Hey you. Lost boy! Put your helmet on. Get out of the kill zone. Come on."
"Killzone?" Carlos mutters. Jay points to an area on the field when Carlos looks to him for an answer. Jay barely understands the game himself, but from what he does pick up, Carlos is supposed to be on the opposite side of the field from him.
"Pick it up. Pick it up." Jenkins continues to yell at Carlos. "Put it on. Two hands." The teen barely makes it to his spot before the coach blows his whistle, and the game begins.
Jay doesn't know how it happens, but he somehow ends up with the ball. If he remembers correctly, he needs to get the ball onto the net using the stick. Easy enough. Jay rushes toward the goal on the other end of the field. He shoves past other players using his stick, shoulder, or their own momentum to knock them off their feet. Boys from his side of the field, including Ben, yell for him to pass the ball. Like Hades he would. He intends to win the game. Why on earth would he willingly give that up so someone else could make the goal before him?
No, Jay can't allow that. He shoves, flips, and pushes anyone in his way no matter what side of the field they originated from. As he hits the kill zone, Jay uses the parkour he learned back home to easily dodge the flying fruit. He catches what he thinks is an orange and knocks Tayor clean off his shooter. No one is safe. He even uses Carlos' shield as springboard to better hit the ball into the goal. He swings his stick at the boy going to remove the ball from the goal when a whistle is blown. Jay figures this means he's won the game.
He has never felt this energized. Sure, he could still feel the faintest aches where Evie recently healed him, but for the most part he felt good as new. In fact, better than new. That was too easy. Jay wants to go again.
"You! Get over here." Coach Jenkins points to Jay.
The tone of his voice gave Jay pause. And the looks on everyone's faces gave him the impression he may have done something wrong. Jay makes his way to the coach with a large smile on his face. He can't help it. He was still riding the high from the game. When he is close enough Jenkins speaks again. "What do you call that? I call that raw talent. Come find me later. I'll show you something you haven't seen before. It's called the rule book." The coach and assistant coach laugh. "Welcome to the team son." His expression falters when he looks to Carlos. "You ever thought about band?"
That Jay does laugh at.
Carlos definitely isn't built for the dumb athletics of Auradon. His skills lie in other areas. From the look of Carlos's face, he knows it too. It's no skin off their noses whether or not they make the team. It's not as if either of them actually wanted to join.
"I'll work with him coach." Ben offers, taking pity on the small boy.
Another boy on the team steps in. Chad, he thinks the coach called him. "Nah, don't worry about it Ben. I can help him. He'll be on the team in no time."
Coach Jenkins sighs, unconvinced. "Alright. Turney isn't your thing, but maybe there are other sports that are suited for you kid." Jay thinks he only accepts the request because first the king forced him to let them try out, now he has princes asking for a second chance for Carlos. He doesn't have much of a choice, does he?
"Oh no. You don't have to do that. It's OK." Carlos waves them off.
Ben gives him an encouraging smile and pats Carlos on the shoulder. But it is Chad who speaks. "We want you to fit in here at Auradon."
The coach still doesn't look convinced. "Alright team let's run that again." Jenkins blows his whistle ending further discussion.
In her haste to be with the boys and King Beast on the attorney field, Mal forgot her spell book in her locker. It was a rookie move. She sent the others to debrief in their dorms. Jay would fill her in later. There are a surprising number of students still wandering the halls after classes. At least it doesn't make her look suspicious. Mal makes quick work of opening her newly painted locker. It is finally dry. It hadn't been when she rushed off the to the field after her last class of the day. She painted it during her lunch break, she hadn't been in the mood to be in the mix of so many hero kids all at once. She's never been a fan of crowds. Mal much prefers solitude.
Luckily for her, Jay and Carlos got so much food that she and Evie could just pick off of their plates. She wonders if the lollipops she stole from Jay earlier are still in her locker or if she had eaten them all in between classes. Nope. There are some still left. She grabs her book and a lollipop before closing her locker. Mal takes the tiniest jump back when Ben is revealed on the opposite side of her now closed locker. She frowns at him. What does he want now?
"Hey." He says kind of awkwardly.
"Hey." Mal responds, hoping he'd get to the point.
"How was your first day?"
She pursed her lips in thought for the most appropriate answer without letting her true thoughts be known. She lands on, "super."
He gives her locker a glance and smiles at her. "You should really think about getting this talent off of the locker and joining an art class. I could sign you up. What do you think?"
Mal keeps a thoughtful look on her face. She can't quite figure him out. He called her work talent to then suggest that she take classes. Does she think she has talent or that she needs classes? Perhaps it's the subject matter of her work. It doesn't really fit the whole agenda here at Auradon. She painted her signature tag of Evil Lives silhouette green flames. Are the classes supposed to encourage her to draw pretty things like flowers and rainbows? No thanks. Although, she wouldn't mind trading it out for any of her other classes. Besides, Plan Z. She's supposed to be on her best behavior and blend in.
"Way to take the fun out of it." Mal smirks. "Switch it with Runes in the Developing World and you've got a deal."
"Deal." Ben says immediately and holds out his hand for her to shake.
She gives it a strong shake before saying, "It was lovely doing business with you, but I really must be going." She doesn't wait for a response and leaves.
The gang of them decide once again not to eat dinner with the other students in favor of eating in the boy's dorm. Both Jay and Carlos are sore from their practice with the tourney team and wanted to relax in peace. Mal is off doing whatever it is that Mal does in the evenings on Auradon. He'd been tasked with the debriefing tonight. Jay is honestly surprised she isn't doing it herself but won't question her authority. She clearly has something up her sleeve.
"I don't remember Dragon Hall ever having sports. If they did, it definitely wouldn't leave you feeling like this." Carlos complains from his spot at the table, feet propped on Evie's lap.
Jay nods in agreement. He takes one last bite of his food before tossing the plate on the floor beside his bed and props himself on his pillows. "The last time I was this sore was when me and a couple guys from our gang back home went up against Harry and some of his pirates. They were crouching in on our territory. Obviously, we won but not without a few scratches." He brags. Ok, so maybe he wasn't completely truthful. He could definitely think of more recent events that left him feeling sore. Maleficent's castle being one of them.
"These Auradon boys are nothing to mess around with. I think one of them busted my shoulder." Carlos complains as he rotates his left shoulder.
"My rib has been bothering me since practice. I swear they knew I was better than them and targeted me for it."
Neither of the boys pay Evie any mind as she slips into the bathroom.
"At least you can defend yourself during an attack. I'm an easy target." Carlos abandons his empty plate at the table for a seat on his bed. "Now I gotta train with the dumb Prince. I don't even wanna play sports."
"Then don't." Evie returns from the bathroom with a wet cloth and stands beside Carlos.
"You saw the king. I can't just not- What are you doing? Eww why are your hands wet?" The black-and-white-haired boy grumbles then lets out a gasp. "How are you doing that?"
"Magic." Is her simple answer. She continues to move her hands across his shoulder through his shirt.
"Damn. We sure could've use this about a week ago."
They both knew what he meant. None of them left the forbidden fortress unscathed. Honestly, healing magic could save a ton of heartache on the aisle. Especially during the war. It was brutal.
Evie finishes with Carlos. She trips over her own feet but catches herself before she can actually fall on her way to Jay. He frowns at that. It's very unlike her.
"You OK there, Princess?" Jay teases. He laughs to mask his genuine concern.
Evie waves him off. "I'm just a bit tired. It's been an eventful first day." She moves to slide her hands under his shirt over his ribs. This close, Jay can see the dark circles forming under her eyes. He grabs her wrist and halts her movement. He still feels the familiar relief surrounding his body. He pushes her away from him when she sways dangerously on her feet.
"Evie?"
"Maybe I'll sit for a bit." The Princess doesn't make it far.
Jay leaps up and catches her just before she can hit the floor. "Shit." He gasps and rests her on his bed.
"Evie oh my God!" Carlos is by his side in an instant. "Is she ok?"
"Guys, I'm fine." Evie slurs. Her eyes are barely open. Jay is positive she can't see past her drooped eyelids.
"What in Hades name is going on with her?" The younger boy asks Jay.
He's not sure how to answer that. Is this a side effect to her and Mal's illness? Is Evie dying? Jay thought he had more time. They both stare at the blue haired girl dumbly.
"Nothing is going on with her." Evie sasses. "She is fine. Gosh this is so embarrassing." With the unwanted help from Jay, she sits up slowly seemingly recovered from whatever spell that overcame her.
Carlos scoffs. "Evie, you are not okay. One second, you're upright, the next you barely avoid kissing the floor."
"Maybe it was the food?" Jay suggests in hopes it's anything other than Ernivum.
"Can't be that. We both ate the same thing. We'd be feeling it too." Carlos theorizes. "I mean I feel fine. You?" He looks to Jay.
Jay nods. "Oh yeah. The food here is better than anything we'd find on the isle. I wouldn't stop eating it even if they were poisoning us. Wait." They all stop at the suggestion.
"You don't think they're trying to poison us through the food, do you?"
"I didn't even eat the food. It's not the food. I'm just tired. Will you both just drop it please?" Evie pleads. She presses the heels of her hands into her eyes without messing up her make up. She then pulls herself to a standing position and begins to gather her things.
Jay rushes to her side, halting her movements. "Whoa. Wait. What are you doing?"
She sidesteps him. "If Mal isn't coming, I'm going back to my room. It's been a long day and I just wanna sleep."
"OK. But at least let us walk you to your room. You're vulnerable when you're tired. Falling out and all." He takes her bag from her and opens the door for her to walk out. At their curious glances, he continues. "We can't have you risking the integrity of the gang. We have a job to do. We can't afford any weaknesses in our defenses. So, you walk with an escort." He finishes with a gesture for her to walk out the door. Jay isn't going to outright say he was worried for her, though everything else he said is still true.
Carlos joins them on their quiet walk to Evie and Mal's dorm. He and Jay eye her every move. Other than tired, she looks fine, normal. But they haven't actually known her for that long. What even is her normal? Jay's stomach twists at the thought. How is he supposed to pinpoint any irregularities? No. No. He can't doubt himself now. He knows his crew. They've spent far too much time together not to know each other. He just has to trust his instincts and pay attention to the facts in front of him.
"Um–" Evie hesitates with her hand on the door handle. "Could we maybe not tell Mal about this? That was really embarrassing, and I can't have her thinking I'm not strong enough to carry out the mission."
"And are you?" Jay challenges.
"Yes. I am."
"You better be. We'll debrief with Mal in the morning before classes. No excuses. We need to plan strategies for the day with that press bullshit Princy-boy setup after school."
"We'll be ready. I'll be ready." Evie nods.
"You better be. Now get to bed."
Evie steps into the room without question. The moment the door is closed Jay takes off down the hall. He isn't running but takes long strides to move as quickly to his next destination without drawing attention.
"Jay!" Carlos calls from behind in a hushed yell. "Where are you going? That's not the way to the dorm."
"I know." Is all he says in response.
"What are you planning? Does this have something to do with Evie? Because that was weird back there, right? You don't really think Auradon is poisoning our food, do you?" The younger boy catches up and continues his flurry of questions by Jay's side as they round a corner and hurry down a set of stairs.
"No. It's something much worse than that."
Should he fill him in on what's been going on with the girls? Could Carlos handle something like this? Knowing things ain't all its hyped up to be.
"You know something. Jay tell me what's going on."
Jay pauses just outside the building. The air is cool around them. It helps focus his mind. Does he tell him or not? Carlos is smart. He could help with finding answers. But could Jay burden him with the knowledge of the girl's impending deaths, especially if they come up short? Knowing Carlos, he will probably figure out what Jay is hiding on his own. It's better to have him on his side. Having an extra pair of eyes monitoring the girls' wellbeing can't hurt either.
He pulls a stack of files from underneath his shirt and smacks it into Carlos' chest. He doesn't say another word and continues on a stealthy path to the library. The other boy follows closely behind.
"What is this?" Carlos asks as he opens the first folder. "Where did you get this?" He slowly comes to a stop as he continues reading the documents.
Jay backtracks. "I stole it off the prince. I was hoping there'd be more information about– the disease." He grabs the younger boy and guides him down the outdoor corridor connecting the main school building to the library.
"How do they know all of this stuff about us? We never told them any of this. Did you?"
Jay tenses at the question. That old lady tricked him into telling more than he intended their first day in the infirmary. He's regretted the interaction since. But most of the information in those files he definitely didn't give. "No." He says strongly. "I have no idea how they know this. Probably some kind of magic."
"Yeah, proba– wait did you say disease? What disease?" Carlos is sure to remain crouched next to Jay as he picks the lock to the library.
"Look through the medical records of either Mal or Evie."
"Ervirim? Terminal? Jay what the fuck?"
The older boy takes a calming breath. He can't allow himself to get riled up. They need to remain to remain calm. They can't risk blowing their cover because Carlos had a meltdown like Jay when he found out. Lucky for him, the only thing that stands in their way to possibly finding a solution is this door to the library that he's just unlocked. Jay quickly shoves Carlos in and reminds him to be quiet.
"Jay what the hell does any of this mean? What do you hope to accomplish?" Carlos presses in a hushed whisper.
"I need to find a way to save them." Jay admits. "This is a magical sickness, there has to be a magical cure. We're in Auradon for fucks sake. Aren't things supposed to be better?"
The younger boy balls his hands into fist to get them to stop shaking. The fear is clear on his face, but he is more focused than before. "How can I help?"
"On the tour the prince kept bragging about how they had the best library in the kingdom because they have some really old books. Well, I figured one of those books has to have something on Evirnin."
"Ernivum." Carlos corrects.
Jay walks further into the library. "I just have to figure out which ones." He looks to shelves of books lining the lower and upper levels. The school really did have a ton of books. Any other time he'd scoff at the absurdity of it all. Having this many books felt excessive, but if just one of them could lead to the correct path to saving their gang so be it.
"Well, if this library is anything like the one at Dragon Hall it will have a log of where each book is located." Carlos begins. "And knowing Auradon it's all probably online." He points to the computer.
The two make their way to one of the many computers located near the front of the library. Jay lets Carlos do his thing. He could barely understand any of the tech gizmos Auradon has. He of course will never admit that to anyone. No reason to make the enemy aware of weakness. An early lesson he learned on the isle was to let people do what they're good at. If a guy is good at getting connections and supplying the gang why put him on duty to build explosives? Jay doesn't have to be the absolute best at everything. As long as his gang remembers who gives the orders. Besides it's Mals' job to be the best. His job was to be 2nd best. When Mal improves, he improves. If Mal slips and fails, she's dead then it's up to Jay to pick up the slack and be the leader and new best. But Jay has no plans on taking over Mal's position any time soon. Well, at the very least he would earn it in the battle to free the island not because of some stupid Auradon illness.
Once Carlos accessed their catalogs, he types in an array of key words that led him to names of books and their call logs. After a brief explanation to Jay on how the log system works the two went their separate ways in search of the books. Jay hates to admit he was slower than he thought he'd be. Maybe it is a good thing he let Carlos in on what's happening.
The two boys huddle around a table scanning through books for any mention of Ernivum. So far, there are 7 books mentioning the magical illness Hex sores, caused by casting too many spells in a row. Common, non-deadly, curable. Not to be confused with Pixie pox, a disease that will cover a person in small purple spots. Uncommon, can be deadly if not treated, curable. Which is mentioned in 5 books. Then there's something that is simply called the Shadow Sickness. It's rare because it only occurs if a shadow spirit or demon passes through a body for prolonged periods of time. I3 books state that is extremely deadly and there is no known cure– scratch that. This book, published 2 years ago states that there is a new treatment that will allow the sick person to live for a least another 15 years. All this knowledge and nothing on Ernivum.
Jay tosses his current book over Carlos' head and at the far wall. It falls on a small pile of books. They are all useless.
"With the mess you're causing they're going to know we were here." The younger boy mutters, not looking up from the books he's reading.
Jay rolls his eyes in response. "What are you reading anyway? You've been on that book for a while." He walks around the table to look at the book over Carlos' shoulder.
"It may be nothing. It's the journal of an old wizard named Istrum Enzymar, but the symptoms being described in here are similar to what is in the reports. Though he hasn't named it yet."
"Skip ahead. We don't have all night."
Carlos does so. After a moment he gasps, causing Jay to read what was on the page to cause that reaction. "Holy shit dude! Istrum is the wizard who discovered the Ernivum. There's only record of two other beings having it and we know for sure one of them died." The teen deflates.
"OK but that was like 20 years ago." Jay paces as he speaks. "He's got to have some kind of cure by now. We could hunt this wizard down and make him tell us what he knows."
Carlos shrugs. "Maybe? It's all we have to go on."
"Then its settled." Jay stops moving. "We find the wizard, get the cure, and save the girls. Easy."
Both boys are aware this would be far from easy. How are they going to do any of this? It was hard enough finding the journal. Who knows if the guy is even alive. Who would know where to find him and how they would get to him? Maybe he could make Auradon do the work for him at the press thing tomorrow?