Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

To his mother, Carlos had always been broken. Deficient. A failure. A mistake. He was and always had been worthless to her—never being good enough under her petrifying gaze.

Everything about him was wrong. His hair. His eyes. His skin. His weight—Everything, and he never knew why. His own mother held a strong distaste for him as if the very thought of her son disgusted her to her very rotten core. She never ignored him, but she never left him alone.

Tormented. Beaten. Tortured.

She hid him away from the prying eyes of the other villains of the Isle. Never uttering his name to anyone—Even Maleficent, Ruler of the Isle, hadn’t heard much about the white haired boy, nothing more than he was a mishap, someone unworthy of her almighty attention. So nobody asked. Nobody saw. Nobody saved him. Even the horrendous conditions Captain Hook put his sons through would be better than the things Cruella put upon her son. But then again, Captain Hook hadn’t enslaved a bunch of puppies with the intent of skinning them alive. His mother was a monster. Carlos knew that much.

Hell Hall lived up to it’s name for the fourteen year old. It wasn’t much in it’s outward appearance but the very image of it would forever give him nightmares. The building was an old Victorian Manor, probably one that belonged to an aristocrat of sorts; it was covered in ivy more twisted than Cruella’s mind and it’s poison coloured leaves razor sharp, cutting mercilessly into your skin with the sharp sting of a paper cut. It’s windows were mostly broken, with it’s doors of the hinges and the wooden floor boards inside always creaking.

Carlos always imagined the Fur Shop as being some sort of murder house from a horror story. A place nobody dared go as it’s deadly history always repeated itself. Though, considering it’s infamous inhabitant, not many dared approach the house anyway.

He had grown up here—Ever since he could remember, Carlos had been wandering the large barren halls the house kept, watching the wallpaper peeled off the cracked walls and counting the number of rats he’d find in the kitchens for fun. Even now being a teenager, there still wasn’t many places he was allowed inside. Cruella’s bedroom and her bear trap filled fur closet being two of the most forbidden places, although the treasury and shop itself were close second.

Most days, Carlos was confined to the old tree house that was perched upon the corpse of a rotting oak tree; he didn’t do much up there, sometimes he’d read old fairytales, other times he’d tinker around with random bits he’d find around the house, but most of the time? Carlos just sat and thought, letting his mind wander off to places he couldn’t reach. Auradon. The Land of the Free.

Carlos didn’t know much about Auradon—Only that he was never allowed to go there as his mother didn’t want to loose him to the ravenous dogs the evil natives of the island kept around. Scum was what she called them, ungrateful scum. Carlos didn’t know much about Auradon, but from the sounds of it, the people of that land took away his mother’s happy ending.

Today was a Monday, a day usually uneventful for Carlos. His mother would be busy in her shop, usually setting ‘chores’ for Carlos to do throughout the day. Sweep the floors; do the laundry; clean the windows; polish the china; feed the hyenas; anything that a slave would do, Carlos by default was ordered to do. Not even Horace and Jasper received the sort of treatment that Carlos received, as they were made to control the orphaned children who made Cruella’s beloved fur coats in the old sweat shops that were tucked away from sight in a warehouse miles from Hell Hall itself.

The closet always felt colder in the morning, Carlos noted to himself as those doe brown eyes of his fluttered open from his light fear riddled slumber—The dark bags clear under his dull joy-drained eyes as they adjusted themselves to the light of his surroundings, not that the inhospitable broom closet he slept in had any light in it; the wall-mounted candle had lost it’s wax years ago, and without the bravery to confront his mother over a new one Carlos stayed quiet over the issue, remaining in the shadows he was forced to roam without a slither of hope that his living conditions would ever change.

Sitting up with the usual ache from his scar riddled back, Carlos crawled out of the thick spare pelt of bear fur he was using as a source of warmth, managing to crack his skin exposed bones out of the stiff position they were in as he stood up, stretching out his starvation induced lithe body to a state where he was ready to start his daily chores.

It’s 6am by the looks of it, the teen thought absentmindedly to himself as he phased out of the cramped room as if he was a ghost, moving soundlessly as if a single noise would result in his death. The halls were empty—Not even Horace and Jasper were out and about, which was rare for the two as they were usually the first to get up. There was no noise, no distinct aroma, no nothing.

This should have been normal for Carlos. But it wasn’t.

Hell Hall, despite it’s lack of inhabitants, was never silent. Cruella was usually always screeching at someone or at the very least the hyenas in the den outside were giggling their delirious heads off, the halls always smelled like bleach, and no matter the time there was usually always someone roaming the halls like a lost spirit.

Maybe everyone was simply still asleep? Carlos pondered. But that wouldn’t account for the lack of the sharp stench of chemicals that usually haunted the halls. It was eerie to say the least. 

Trying to push off his growing instinct of curiosity, Carlos padded over to the supply closet where the cleaning equipment was kept, pulling out a wooden handled broom (one which always seemed to give him splinters) before shutting the broken door that hid the interior of the room away from plain sight.

Without hesitation Carlos started to sweep. He swayed side to side, sighing quietly as he brushed the dust that coated the floors into the corners; in a trance, he continued to move. The silence acting as hauntingly beautiful music as it guided him through the chore, taking him around the second floor hallway, down into the kitchen, the dining room, and then the old lounge that once had it’s bookshelves full of vintage novels telling tales of far away worlds that now were home to burnt parchment and cobwebs.

A ghost of smile pulled at his lips—The lounge was always Carlos’ favourite room. There was something about the air inside it and the stories each piece of furniture told…It was almost magical. The bookshelves were polished, holding intricate designs into their wooden frames; the fireplace an sense of sophistication to it, it’s bricks adorned with designs made of ash and soot.

Carlos’ favourite part about the lounge however, would have to be the secret hidden away in it’s windows. The windows were like ones you’d find at a church, gothic in design, with stained glass weaved into each little pane to create a picture. Four roses. Four windows. But what Carlos loved about them wasn’t the design they carried, no. It was something much more amazing.

When the sun was rising up over the magical border, for a single moment before it got engulfed by the storm clouds that forever held domain over the sky, Carlos could pull back the thick purple curtains that hid away his perfect view of Auradon and the sun could shine in, picking up the colours the glass was adorned with, making the room shine with the colours of the rainbow.

To Carlos, that sight was absolutely fantastical.

Setting the broom to lean against the dust covered coffee table, Carlos approached the windows, peeling back those sunlight blocking curtains to stare out at the horizon, or more specifically, Auradon Castle. Sure, he had to look across a field of despair and misery to see it, but once he could see across the magical border and the fog that covered up the Isle of the Lost from existence, he could see Auradon Castle—A place that one day, Carlos wanted to visit.

It must be a dream come true to live over there. Where you could sleep in, eat more than food scraps for dinner and be treated with some sort of respect. Yeah…Carlos would love that life. A place away from his mother…

Would that even be home?

The thought surprised Carlos. It was twisted in it’s context, wrong in every way—But Carlos deep down in his heart saw truth in it. Cruella was the reason his life was a living hell yes, she was ruthless to him, forcing him down to the level of a meek slave and yes, she had taken everything from him, his confidence, self worth, self respect…But she was still his mother. Carlos still wanted to believe that there was some good in her. Somewhere deep down, Cruella had to have some love for him.

Carlos pulled back from the rose tinted thought of freedom to instead retreat back to the life he was currently living. He reached for the broom and continued to work.

What use was there thinking about change when it wasn’t going to happen? People were condemned to the Isle of the Lost for a reason. They weren’t going to suddenly let people go and allow them to roam free in the beautiful Utopia they had created across the border. That would only bring chaos upon the land. Unnecessary chaos.

But it wasn’t fair. Why did Carlos have to suffer for his mother’s actions?

“Because I share her blood…It’s only right…” Carlos muttered out loud out to himself as he swept, not actually acknowledging he had outwardly spoken the thought in his hoarse voice.

Hours passed before Carlos heard the noises.

A shatter. A bang. A crash.

Noise echoed throughout the halls—Startling Carlos as he put the broom away back inside the closet, reaching for the duster so he could start on the lamp shades. His brown eyes flew open wide and he opened his mouth to yelp but he struggled to make noise come out. The fear of waking up Cruella was stronger than his sudden shock, so he remained quiet.

“What was that?” Carlos whispered to himself, fear filling up his eyes with emotion as he sprung back into life, snapping out of his thoughts completely as he looked around for the source. It had sounded like it had come from downstairs, the shop perhaps?

He heard thuds. Heavy footsteps—Horace and Jasper. The noise must have woke them up, Carlos acknowledged to himself as he darted for the creaky stairs that would lead him downstairs.

As he started to descend, he ducked, hiding behind the wooden railing the foyer stairwell was equipped with. The teen peaked out through the bars to stare down at the said foyer as the two scarily sized henchmen made their way gruffly through into the shop, armed with a nail infused bat and a knife, ready to spill blood if needed be.

It wasn’t rare for Cruella’s shop to be broken into. After all, due to the extortionate prices she sold her fur coats off at, they were pitched out at a high price, selling for hundreds of gold coins. So seeing as it was located on the Isle of the Lost, you'd be naive to think it wasn't going to be broken into--Though with Horace and Jasper guarding it frequently, it was pretty hard to succeed in doing so.

Carlos gnawed at his lower lip, glancing his eyes around to try see if he was in any danger being at the distance he was. Deeming it considerably safe as Horace and Jasper were probably closer to him than the thieves were, Carlos continued his descent managing to reach the bottom step before he let out a sharp squeak in surprise.

A hand, larger than his own—One tanned and scuffed up with scars, shot out, clasping over his mouth. Carlos felt himself be pulled back some as if his captor was trying to urge him up the stairs. It wasn’t his mother or any of her henchmen for sure. No. They didn’t have such pretty caramel skin, though Carlos didn’t have much time to focus on that, because quickly he was back up to the small landing in between the first and second floor Hell Hall owned, sat awkwardly with whoever had hauled him up here crouched next to him.

Carlos turned his brown eyes, onto the other figure, his eyes widening as he saw another kid—His captor was a teenager, one obviously older and was more street bound than anything. His chiselled face carried scars, some much more prominent than others as if they were new; his eyes were dark, carrying a mischievous glint to them; his hair was long, mimicking the same dark brown colour his eyes took on, except his hair was more complicated than the other’s eyes were, it was messy, clearly tangled in places—The only thing keeping it tame was the red beanie he wore.

It took him a minute, but then Carlos realised who it was. His eyes widening significantly more as he zoned in on the other's eyes--God he looked different, but if there was one thing that hadn't changed, it was his eyes.

"Jay!" Carlos exclaimed as the hand over his mouth was loosened, though at his exclamation it was tightened quickly as if it to tell him to shush; the older teen placing a finger over his lips to signify silence as he listened out for any noise coming from the shop downstairs.

Jay was the only child of Jafar--A exiled sorcerer from Agrabah of whom ran a junk shop near the docks where he'd pawn off stolen items at a high price, allowing the island's income to go full circle. The teen was someone Carlos had only met a few times, mostly when he was younger; Jay was kind yet cunning, he upheld a sense of loyalty with him and kept his promises, but he was sly and mischievous in nature, making it hard to really tell what his intentions were sometimes.

The two had met three or so years ago, during a break-in at Cruella's shop where Jay snuck upstairs, hoping to find more expensive items in the more unreachable rooms Hell Hall kept. He had ran into Carlos and although the two weren't the best of friends at the start, they quickly found a mutual bond through Jay's repeated visits that occurred twice every month. But then they had stopped. And Carlos was alone again.

Once he deemed it safe, Jay released his grip over Carlos' mouth, a smug smirk pulling at his lips, "Hey, you. Nice seeing you in one piece for once," The long haired boy greeted, giving a friendly ruffle to Carlos' white curls as he then checked the other for any sign of injury--Jay had always been careful like that, something about looking after your brother or something, Carlos hadn't heard him say it for years.

"W-What...What are you doing here?" Carlos asked, pleasantly surprised by the visit, a small smile seemed to pull at his lips when he stopped, fear tainting his cherubic face once more, "Oh god...Jay! If my mother finds out you're here she'll--"

Jay stopped him, placing a reassuring hand on his bony shoulder, "She won't. C'mon, we have somewhere to be. I said I wasn't gonna leave without you,"

That caught Carlos' attention inquisitively, but before he had time to question it, Jay had grabbed the sleeve of the long white shirt he wore, pulling him up the rest of the stairs and down the creaky, cobweb covered hallway with a some sort of unconscious knowledge of where he was going.

Carlos kept with his speed. Glancing around nervously, Carlos bit at his lip again, his eyes swimming with fear as he flicked his gaze around, "W-What if my mother catches us, she'll--"

"Stop worrying. You know she won't catch us," Jay quickly soothed before he chuckled under his breath, "You're alot more jumpy than you were last year, C,"

Slightly offended, Carlos narrowed his eyes, "You try live with my mother! You have to watch your back or--Eep!" Jay took a sharp turn down another corridor, his own eyes looking around as if he was searching for something in particular, "Where are we going, Jay?"

"Outside," Jay answered simply, before he glanced back at Carlos, grinning, "An old friend of mine says she's found a way out, and that's not an opportunity I wouldn't share with you," The teen looked sincere, his eyes sparkling as he spoke. He quickly turned his gaze back in front of him.

Carlos just stared, still in complete and utter shock by the information, "W-What...?"

There was a way out? He...He would be free? Away from his mother? He would? 

"Yeah dude!" Jay seemed to laugh, genuinely excited, "We're finally going to be free!" He took another turn, this time it was into small room--Carlos recognised it, it was where his mother used to design her coats, but after hiring her unpaid orphans, she stopped using the room completely, instead making the sweat shop workers think up designs; which was apparently an award for them.

Jay let go of Carlos then, scampering over to the far window, pulling out a lock pick and messing with the lock that kept the window from opening--Carlos knew easily Jay could open it, no lock could keep him out of anything. 

Shutting the door to the room to try hide their location, Carlos then snuck over to Jay, watching as the boy turned his lock pick, the lock slowly opening up to him like a hot knife to butter. He stared, grinning as the lock clicked, signifying it had been unlocked. Jay grabbed the latch, turning it before he pushed the window fully open.

"Now, the hard part--We gotta jump,"

If it meant getting off the island forever. Carlos would do it with ease.

They all had it hard here. Every kid. They didn't deserve the fate destiny had set out for them, so it was time to make a new one. Jay would no longer sleep under the shelf where his father kept the heaviest TVs, praying that they wouldn't crush him to death in his sleep; Carlos wouldn't be a slave to his mother any more; Evie wouldn't-- Carlos' eyes widened. Evie. 

He couldn't leave her behind.

"Jay, after we get out," Carlos started as he climbed out the window and onto the victorian frieze outside his window, wincing as part of it crumbled under his feet, "Can we go get someone else? Please? She doesn't deserve to be stuck here," Jay met with his gaze for a moment, seemingly thinking it over.

After he had second to think, he nodded, "Fine. As long as she doesn't slow us down," It was then he jumped, leaping across the gap between the house and Carlos' old tree house. Jay made it. Landing on the thick branch that acted as the tree house's main support. Carlos nodded to himself, smiling at the older teen before he shut his eyes, "You can do it! Just jump!"

Relaxing himself, Carlos leapt across the gap, a small yelp escaping his lips as he did so--Already tasting freedom. Jay managed to catch him before he overshot, steadying him on the branch, "Nice one," Jay congratulated, ruffling Carlos' hair once more before he started to descend, reaching a lower branch that he could walk across to easily hop over the iron fence that surrounded the property. 

Carlos quickly followed.

A minute later, the two were over. Carlos was finally out of his mother's 'humble abode', the first time in years and God it felt good.

"Where does this friend of yours live then?"

"Just up the street from me! It's the castle across the way!" Carlos explained back, pointing to the old stone castle up on the hill in the distance, the said building falling apart at the seams as if it's very foundation was collapsing in on itself. Even Jay wouldn't dare climb the building and had no qualms about climbing anything. 

"Wait--The daughter of the Evil Queen? Seriously, Carlos?" Jay exclaimed before shaking his head, speeding up to run side by side to Carlos, "How do you even know her?"

Carlos smiled for what felt like the first time in forever, "She used to come into the shop!"

The streets of the Isle were dirty--Homeless people everywhere. Children dressed in rags ran around, pickpocketing anyone they could see without getting thrown aside into the mud. The cobblestone streets were cracked, the few bits of flora that could peak out through the stone were wilted. There were smears of blood on the bricks of buildings, the lampposts were broken and the general atmosphere was dark--No birds sung, no children laughed. It was just complete and utter quiet. 

But anything was better than Hell Hall.

They neared the stone castle of disrepair--Crows and ravens circled the castle's spire, it's gothic structure sending shivers down the two boy's spines. The bushes that once would have housed flowers outside the house were now tangles of thorns. At least Hell Hall looked somewhat a friendly place from the outside.

Jay, being the braver of the two, approached the front door--A large black double door with the stone head of a lion acting as the knocker for the door. He swung the handle of the said piece, waiting for a response. Carlos stood meekly behind him, staring at his surroundings, times really had changed...

A minute later and the door opened. 

"Who are--? Wait, Carlos!?"

Carlos waved sheepishly, "Ah, hi, Evie,"

Evie was a beautiful girl, with fair skin and pretty dark brown eyes. She was slender in her frame, with dark blue curls from her hair framing her face. She dressed like a princess, donning a dark blue silk cape over her leather outfit and a red heart shaped choker. Her red lips were curved into a smile at the sight of her old friend as she leapt forward, enwrapping him in a tight hug.

"I can't believe you're out! Carlos! You should've sent a raven!--Who is this?" Evie then inquired, pulling back to stare questionably at the unknown teen who stood in front of her door. 

Jay gave her a similar look of apprehension before he sighed, "You want to leave the island or what?"

Evie gasped, "Leave the island? But that's impossible! Without the Fairy Godmother's magic we could never--" She protested but Carlos quickly intervened, cutting her off with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Jay knows someone! She's found a gap in the border and we're gonna get out! I promise, Evie," Carlos reassured. 

The two younger teens stared at each other, trying to find a glint of doubt. When Evie found none, she sighed, giving in with a smile pulling at her lips again, "Ok. Let's try this. But if you two get my clothes dirty I swear I'll hit you," Evie threatened lightly before she squealed, following the two boys down the cobblestone path and through into the streets. 

They were finally going to leave.

"Who's your friend?" Evie called to Jay, running slightly behind him.

Jay grinned, "The one and only daughter of Maleficent,"

Evie narrowed her eyes, "Mal!? But her magic is like, nonexistent!"

Jay shook his head, "We're not using magic, princess. We're using our wit!--It sounds like you know her,"

"I know her mother," Evie corrected, "And I do not like her,"

"Lucky for you, Mal's nothing like her mother,"

Carlos shook his head, "Where are we meeting her?" He asked, glancing around.

"Goblin Wharf. It's quite a ways from here, so hold tight,"

Goblin Wharf was a small docks, it being probably the most looked after place on the Isle. Boats sometimes came through, bringing produce and other exports from Auradon. Most of the time it was just food and medicine as they didn't want anyone to die. But those said exports were never shared out equally. 

Jay grinned at Carlos and Evie, nodding for them to follow as he slid down the muddy hill that was hidden by one of the main warehouses where the exported items were stored before they were shipped out. The other teens followed Jay as he ducked under the wooden boardwalk and down across the sand towards the figure of a purple haired punk girl, who was sitting on one of the support beams, flipping through what looked like a pocket spell book, judging by it's size and design.

The girl glanced up at the sound of their arrival, her blue eyes momentarily flashing green warningly, before they returned to that blue colour once her gaze zoned in on Jay, "These are your friends?"

Jay nodded, "Mal meet Carlos and Evie. Carlos, Evie, meet Mal," 

Mal nodded in response, acknowledging the presence of the other two teens. She hopped off the support beam, smirking, "Alrighty then. The new boat'll come in a good few minutes with the leftovers from Auradon's monthly food stock. We hijack the boat and cross the border that way," She waved her hand, putting the book in a small satchel attached to her belt, "There'll be people on that boat of course. Don't approach them unless needed be, understand?" 

At the question the trio nodded. Carlos turning his eyes over to the sea, Auradon here he comes.

Chapter Text

Surprisingly, Mal’s guess about the boat’s arrival was pretty accurate.

It was roughly around 1pm, only a few minutes after Mal’s plan was explained when the boat came around—It was a large, steel vessel, a cloud of puffy black smoke rising out of what seemed like a chimney built on top of the highest level of the ship. The large metal crates that held the Auradon exports for the Isle rocked from side to side, but were for the most part tied down to the deck.

The only question was, how were they going to get onto the boat?—Dwarves roamed the boat as it’s crew, with a black haired man with blue eyes running as it’s captain, dressed in a uniform fit for a prince. It’s security, although shabby, looked good.

“This is going to be alot risker than I first anticipated…” Mal murmured under her breath, keeping her voice a mere whisper as she led the other three villains down towards where the rocky grey sand met sea.

Evie looked around, her eyes sparkling with a glint of nervousness before she stopped, noticing another vessel, though this time instead of being made up of steel, curtsey of the Auradon shipwrights, it was made of wood, with a ripped up sail—It’s shabby craft all too familiar for the blue haired girl, of whom had wondered around the docks of Auradon before, knowing the ships that came and went.

“Mal. We have a problem,” Evie squeaked, turning her eyes over to the scheming girl who, at the voice of her companion, glanced up, saw her concern, and took the move forward to stand in front of Evie, analysing the acknowledged problem.

Carlos, confused, followed Mal’s eyes to see the second ship. This one defiantly being one from the Isle itself, there was no doubt about that. It wasn’t the Jolly Roger however, no, it too small—Though it defiantly carried the same design to it.

Deciding to ask, Carlos looked up at Mal, “What is it?”

“Uma’s ship—That pesky little shrimp… We’ll need to adjust, re-think our options. She’ll rat on us if she sees us,” Mal explained, her voice clear at first but it quickly turned into another inaudible murmur to herself, “Another ship won’t come for another month. We need to get on that ship. Now.”

Jay, from where he stood, leaning against one of the supports with his muscled arms folded, raised a brow, “How long do you think we’ve got until it sets off again?”

Mal thought to herself, “Twenty minutes, depending on how long it takes the dwarves to unload,” The young faire turned her glaring gaze off the second vessel before meeting with the eyes of her companions, “Seeing as neither me nor Jay can swim—“

“Me and Carlos can’t either,” Evie sheepishly pitched in.

Mal paused, before rolling her eyes, “Seeing as none of us can swim, we need to sneak on from up top—“ It then dawned on her, “That’s it!” She genuinely smiled then as she looked to Evie, “Fashion girl. I see you around here alot, do you know where they keep the return crates?”

“Return crates?” Carlos inquired, his eyes shining with curiosity.

The purple haired girl nodded, “The Auradon boat has two loads of export crates. They swap them out every time they dock here, leaving the old load, which they’ll have used at the Isle, collecting it when they bring the new set of exports,” Mal explained to the white haired boy before hitting her head lightly as if to scold herself, “Why didn’t I think of that before?!”

Evie took a moment to think before she snapped her fingers, “It’s in the warehouse—The one nearest to Lady Tremaine’s Curl up and Dye Salon!—God I love that place! That little Dizzy is the cutest thing ever!”

“Evie! Focus!” Mal objected in a pleading manner, snapping her fingers in front of Evie’s face.

The girl’s expression turned sheepish, “Oops! Sorry!—The warehouse is the furthest one to the right, it has a giant ugly 3 written on the door, we can’t miss it,” Evie quickly clarified, a smile pulling at her lips, “This is so much fun, you guys! We’re like a team!”

“Yeah, yeah. Save it for when we get outta this place,” Jay quickly silenced, the blue haired girl who shuffled back to stand next to Carlos, who looked up at her with an apologetic expression, “When do they load on the crates?”

Mal, with a hand on her hip, ran her left hand through her hair, “Last. It’s the last thing they stop here for before they go. So we better get moving. The sooner we’re in those crates the better,”

In agreement, Jay nodded, “Let’s go then,” He turned his eyes back to the younger two teens, who met with his eyes and nodded in confirmation.

“We’ll be right behind you guys,” Carlos promised.

Jay jogged ahead, craning his hand round to grab onto the pier. With ease, he hauled himself up, before turning back and reaching out a hand for the others, individually helping pull each of them up onto the wood. The goblins took no notice to their actions, which allowed the teens to stroll across the docks heading towards the third warehouse of which was currently opening it’s cruise ship sized double doors.

Mal shot a warning look to the two teens behind her as if to tell them to stay close, “We all go in through the back window there,” Mal told them, pointing to the said window of which had part of it broken, making it easier to open from the inside, “Try not to make eye contact,”

With that said, Mal took off, she slithered with the speed of a hunting animal over to the steel framed porthole designed window—Jay ushering Carlos and Evie to follow her, only jogging over himself after he ensured the younger two’s safeties. Pressing her two hands in the frame of the window, Mal climbed up the wall using the many indents in the grimy brick wall; once up, she mimicked Jay’s earlier movements, extending a hand to help pull up the others.

Even she had to admit, the four did make a good team—Though she’d have to wait for the outcome of her efforts to arrive for her to be certain.

Evie huffed, brushing the dust off the dark blue skirt she wore, obviously not too pleased with the new, clashing, colour on her outfit, “Well that’s a skirt I can never wear again…”

“Luckily for you, princess, you’re about to get it a hell of a lot more dirty,” Jay quipped back as he landed on the wooden crates that were stacked up to the height of the window on the other side of the window—Fish nets scattered across the floor, most of them broken, with stench of fish terrorising the air.

Mal flicked her gaze across the room, analytical, observing. Each crate held a different dull colour, she wasn’t sure what they meant, but she needed to find the perfect one—One preferably with a few bullet sized holes in it so everyone could have enough oxygen for the journey. Luckily for her, many of them carried that trait. It was the Isle after all; she wasn’t the first one who has tried this and she defiantly wasn’t going to be the last.

“There’s loads of them…” Carlos stared in awe, his brown eyes looking at the different crates—Before he suddenly stopped; locking in on one, singular crate, “That’s the one, right?”

Mal nodded, a slightly surprised expression on her face, “That’s right. Good job…kid,”

The crate was large in size meaning it would probably hide their combined weight well when it was moved. It was black in colour, with graffiti all over it, numerous of the green words reading ‘Long Live Evil’. Bullet holes littered the side of it; they were large enough so that they could get oxygen but still a relatively small size so a dwarf wouldn’t spot them.

“Let’s go,” Mal ushered, starting to climb down the crates with the other’s following; the teens using the fish nets that were locked in position by the heavy crates on top of them to climb down like a ladder.

Once on the floor again, they scattered, hiding behind the crates as they snuck over to their chosen one, hiding from the prying eyes of the dwarves as they started to flock into the warehouse to get the export crates back on the ship.

Putting a finger over his lips to indicate silence for the second time today, Jay pulled a lock-pick out of the back pocket of his dark brown leather jeans, fiddling with the lock pick. Mal awaited in anticipation, crouched down on the floor, her eyes flashing green ready to attack if something went wrong.

Letting out a small, “Yes!” along with a toothy grin, Jay swung open the door to the crate, diving into it with his companions quick to follow. Everyone grinned in victory as they shut the crate door behind them, cheering silently.

“Nice one, Jay,” Mal congratulated before she looked over at the others, “Now we wait. We need to be quiet until they load us onto the ship, then we can talk,” The purple haired girl whispered, glowering as she manoeuvred everyone around the centre of the crate. Though, without any actual light source the group of four struggled to really make out the other’s faces, despite this however, everyone seemed to get the message and moved.

It was dark inside the crate, yet nobody really minded--The knowledge that they were finally going to be free was stronger.

Carlos couldn't stop smiling as his mind raced. He did it. He actually did it--No. He glanced at his companions, his friends. They had did it. Together.  Evie nudged him with her elbow, smiling too--The group grinned at each other, heck, even Mal had a smile pulling at her lips--And she didn't seem like the sort of person who could smile.

They had done it.

The four waited in silence, their individual hearts picking up in speed as they began to move. The dwarves outside their box talking gruffly about whatever was on their minds, not censoring anything.

"God I hate this place--Feels like you're always being watched, y'know?"

"Hah! You're just paranoid!--If Prince Eric can steer our ship here without issue, we can put boxes onto that ship without issue, you hear me?"

Evie grabbed Carlos' shoulders, squealing under her breath, "Did you hear that? A prince!"

"--Did you hear that?"

Everything was quiet, Jay shooting his hands forward to clasp over Evie and Carlos' mouths, with Mal covering her own. There was no way they were getting caught. Not when they had made it this far. Fear swelled up in Evie's eyes as she started to get emotional, there was no way she was going back to her mother.

"...Nah. It's just those brain dead goblins--C'mon, help me lift this. It's the heaviest one," 

Silent sighs of relief chorused around the four teenagers as they felt themselves be lifted up into the air as Jay retracted his hands.  Wow. Those dwarves are actually pretty strong, Carlos thought to himself as he gripped onto Evie, who held onto him in return, surprised by the sudden movement of the floor under them--The feeling being alien to both the younger teens. Jay fist bumped with Mal in front of them, the two probably more used to being lifted.

It didn't take long for them to be put down again, but this time Carlos could smell the stench of the docks instead of the gone off fish inside of the warehouse. They were on the boat. The dwarves from before clapped their hands together before disappearing to do something else.

"All aboard!" A new voice announced loudly, his voice commanding yet friendly, "To Auradon!"

The ship's horn went off at the announcement and all the crew members cheered boisterously, obviously excited to return to their home. Carlos doubted the job of delivering food to the Isle was a pleasant one, so he wasn't too surprised by the enthusiasm the dwarves exploded with.

Once they were sure they were alone, they let their guards drop.

"We did it. We actually did it!" Jay exclaimed, laughing, "Damn, Mal! I should've never doubted you!"

Mal rolled her eyes, seeming flustered, "Well, I could have never done it without you three numskulls. I have to say. You were all actually a good help,"

Evie jumped forward, hugging the purple haired girl, "Thank you so much!"

"Eh," Mal shrugged, "It's no biggie--Just get off me," Evie reclined quickly.

Carlos turned to his blue haired friend, "So, what are you going to do after we reach Auradon?" He looked between the trio in front of him.

"I'm going to find a prince!" Evie announced, "He's going to be tall, handsome and will give me my happy ending!" She sighed dreamily to herself, smiling goofily at the thought, truly believing the thought, "After all, mother said that was always my number one priority,"

Mal scoffed, "We'll I'm not going to stay in Auradon. Pretty pink princesses? No thank you. I dunno where I'll go or what I'll do though. Maybe I'll rob a bank and start up a business," She shrugged, seeming actually unsure, but nonchalant about the situation. Then again, Carlos didn't really know Mal all that well, for all he knew she could have been joking.

Jay seemed to follow alongside what she was saying however, "No, I get you. But a life of thievery in Auradon? Now that's a catch. With all those royals, I'm bound to get something good,"

"But if they catch you in Auradon, it's straight back to the Isle," Mal reminded.

For a moment, Jay was silent, "Maybe I'll just go with you..."

Evie beamed, "What are you going to do, Carlos?"

Carlos blinked at the sudden attention on him, his cheeks turning red as he became flustered, "Uh...I don't know--But I want to go to the castle. I know that much,"

"The castle?" Mal seemed intrigued, "What for?"

"I always used to um...see it through the windows at Hell Hall and--Ugh, I dunno. It's stupid..." Carlos caved, sighing as he diverted his eyes.

Mal shrugged, "I don't know, Carlos. Alot of things are stupid, but dreams aren't. As long as it makes you happy and the journey's worth it. Hey, what do you have to lose?" The girl suddenly reassured, her voice wise and empowering, Carlos looked up, in genuine surprise. 

"You...You called me by my name,"

"Well, we're all friends or whatever now," The Daughter of Maleficent ran a hand through her hair as she moved to sit crossed legged, "Besides. What else am I going to call you? Kid?"

Evie squealed, "Well! It's official! We are all friends! And that means that no matter what happens in Auradon. We stick together, because that's what friends do!"

Mal seemed uncertain by that; Jay spotted her uncertainty however and pitched in, "Hey, we've proved ourselves haven't we? We can keep up with you. The real question is can you keep up with us?" Mal smirked, shaking her head.

"It seems I won't be able to get rid of you guys then, huh?"

The trio nodded with a endearing determination, and that was when they felt it. The shift. The weird feeling that bubbled in their stomachs as they passed the border--Everything seemed to slow down and change. Then, light. 

Suddenly there were noises.

Birds sang, seagulls squawked and the sound of whales singing was heard throughout the air. The smell of the salty sea filled their senses with a feeling of complete and utter wonder. The crate they were inside gained actual light as the sun actually came out with it's blindingly bright power and for once, the four felt alive. 

What was that feeling?

"Is that what a bird sounds like? Or is that a fish?" Carlos questioned as he scrambled up to his feet, pressing his ear against one of the holes in the crate, as he tried to hear for more of the strange unfamiliar noises from the fauna of this other world--The world behind the magical border.

Jay laughed, standing up and punching Carlos' arm lighting, "You dolt! That's a bird--Fishes don't make noise,"

Mal breathed in the fresh air, sighing in pure utter content as she relaxed against the wall, "I don't know what that is but it smells...good," Evie seemed in agreement as she continued to sniff the air, savouring the smell of the sea.

"It smells like Ursula's fish and chip shop, don't you think?" Evie hummed thoughtfully, tucking a strand of her blue curls behind her ear, a smile tugging at her red lips as she took in more of the smell, "Except more...Fresh," Mal seemed to be in a silent agreement with her, not objecting to Evie's observation.

Carlos couldn't drop the grin that was adorning his lips as he pulled away hopping back down to sit beside the girls, "D'ya think that Auradon will be like this?"

"Yes! Except with more princes! And flowers! And-And--!" 

The horn of the ship blared loudly causing for Evie to jump in surprise. 

"Ship horns!" Jay added in, causing for him and Carlos to burst into laughter--Evie's cheeks turning red, of which M al snickered at.

"I wonder how long it'll take to get there," Carlos then pondered out loud as Evie fixed herself up, pulling makeup and a compact mirror out of the red bag she had hanging around her shoulders, reapplying it and fixing up places of her complexion that had become muddied by all the running about.

Mal shrugged, "Auradon is pretty far away, C." She then huffed, standing up and walking over to the door to the crate, "All I know is we should probably get out of here and check our surroundings before we--" She stopped in what she was saying, her eyes widening some as she tried the door. It wouldn't open. "Huh?"

"What's wrong?" Carlos asked, concerned--The tone of his voice catching the attention of the other two; Evie looked up from her gold compact mirror and Jay rose to his feet, already pulling out lock picks and heading over.

Trying on the door again, Mal grit her teeth, "It won't budge! We're locked in!"

"What?!" Evie cried, shocked.

"Let me try," Jay eased, taking Mal's place. He grabbed onto the handles on the inside of the door and pushed--Narrowing his eyes at the lack of movement, he raised a brow, "Maybe it's jammed...Give me a sec," He wound the lock pick in between the doors and lowered it down, muddling with the lock itself, at the ease of getting it through, Jay blinked, "It's still open. So why won't it--?"

Mal, in realisation, opened her eyes wide, pushing past Jay to try at the door again, "We're trapped in--There must be boxes either side, meaning--"

"We weren't the last in," Jay finished, "There's another box in front of us, M. There's no way we're getting those doors open. The crates are too tightly packed together,"

Mal made a shocked, defeated noise, crumpling against one side of the crate, "Well, that's it then. We're officially screwed. There's no way we'll be able to get out of here...We're going back to the Isle. Back to my...mother," She shivered in fear, something only Carlos seemed to notice. Ok. There was defiantly a story there.

Ignoring that however, Carlos turned his eyes to Jay, "Is there no other way to get out of one of these things?"

"Unless you want to tear through the metal wall with our bare hands then no," Jay retorted, before sighing in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose as he slid down the opposing wall to Mal, "God dammit...I finally thought we were out of that joint..." Carlos opened his mouth to speak, but stopped, not able to find the words to reassure his companions.

Evie was in shock, her eyes wide, "No...We can't go back...My mother will kill me!"

Mal scowled, "Do you think any of us will have it any better!?" Her eyes flashed green dangerously, "My mother's Maleficent for gods sake! She'll hang me from the highest flag pole using me as an example of why not to cross her! All you'll get is a scolding and a grounding. Get over it!"

"Oh, you do not know my mother! Do you really think she's that merciful?" Evie asked, her voice close to a gasp, "She paid a hunter to rip out her own daughter's heart for just being prettier than her. What do you think she'll do for me after disobeying her!?"

Jay shrugged, "I don't know. Kill you?--You know what, death is better than going back to the Isle! I'd rather die, right here, right now, in this crate with you four than go back to spend another night in that junk shop!" The tanned boy hissed, although he seemed more angry at himself than Evie, he pointed to himself, "There's no team in I--That's what my dad always said. But you know what? I don't believe it. I got of the worst place in the world with you four. We can get out of a stupid crate if we all pitch in together." He sighed heavily, before looking up, determination in his eyes, "Now c'mon. Let's get out of this crate or die trying. What do you say?"

The reassuring words stuck with the other three VKs. Slowly, Evie stood up, "I'm with you,"

"I'm with you too. I'm sure we can try a spell or two?" Mal agreed, adding in her own little suggestion as she stood up, standing beside Evie who hugged her--An action that momentarily stunned the purple hair girl, but she quickly got used to it.

Looking to his oldest friend, Jay raised a brow, "Carlos?"

Carlos shook his head, laughing, "This is so stupid," He rose to his feet as well, "But I'm in if you guys are."

Jay extended his fist to the others. Silence reined over the crate before Mal shot her hand forward, hitting the teen's fist with his own as she nodded. The two looked to Evie, who joined in, understanding what Jay was implying--And they didn't even need to look at Carlos, he was already in.

Retracting his hand back, Jay nodded, "Ok. We need a spell, something that'll push the other crate forward so we can get out--Mal, do you think you've got anything for that?" The teen questioned, taking the role of leader.

"Yeah, probably. But my spell book's only a pocket size, I can't promise you anything," 

"Probably is good enough for me right now," Jay reassured as Mal pulled out the said spell book and started to sift through it, "Carlos, Evie, while Mal's looking, we should continue to try the door. Our weight will have to do something on it," The two were in agreement and soon everyone got to work, trying their hardest to find a way to break out.

The air quickly became suffocating--Carlos didn't know what it was, maybe it was just a little claustrophobia as they couldn't really get out of the confined space they were in, but whatever it was, made Carlos panic. They had to get the black doors open now. 

What felt like an hour later, Mal leapt up, "I found it!"

Jay, Carlos and Evie instantly took a step back from the door, allowing Mal to stand in front of the door, taking a deep breath, "Ok guys, I don't know if this is going to completely work but--"

"You got this, M!" Evie cheered.

Mal nodded to herself, relaxing, "Alright...Let's give this a go. Make it easy, make it quick. Open up without a kick." Her eyes flashed green and the doors swung open with a violent force, the crate that was in front of theirs originally was gone. 

Two dwarves stood in front of the crate's doors, a shocked expression on their face with an outstretched hand and in response, the four teenagers stared in shock.

"Well, well, well. Looks like we got ourselves some stowaways!" 

The captain's quarters of the ship was more like an office. It was a long hexagonal room with wooden panelling as walls. The back wall of which a mahogany desk was situated in front of, was covered in clear, open windows, of which were currently showing off a scenic view of the ocean--The Isle of the Lost miles from their location, the island itself surrounded in fog. 

Sat behind the desk was the same man Carlos saw earlier. His blue eyes staring at the four with an questioning yet worried gaze as if he was a parent looking down upon his children. He folded his arms, the white shirt he wore creasing up at his elbows. He sighed, running a hand through his black hair as he shook his head, "Stowaways huh...? We haven't had one of those for years now--Tell me, which side of the barrier do you come from?"

Mal looked at him like it was obvious--Which to be fair, judging by the significant different in clothing, it probably was, "You tell me," She sassily retorted, standing in a protective manner in front of the other three.

The man raised a brow before he switched his approach, "Can you tell me who you are?"

Significantly nervous, Evie shook her head, "We don't trust you,"

"If you tell me your names, I will tell you mine," He tried to reason, smiling reassuringly, "Please, I mean no harm, I only want to understand why you hijacked my ship--It's a very dangerous thing to do. You must have been desperate,"

The kindness caught Carlos off--It didn't seem like Mal or Jay believed him, but Carlos did. He sounded sincere. Not a pretend sincere when you're only acting nice to gains someone's trust or to steal from them. No. It was a true, honest sincere. Whoever this was. Carlos trusted him.

Taking one for the team, Carlos stepped forward, "I'm Carlos," He stated because Jay could make a grab for him, "I'm the son--The only child of Cruella de Vil," 

That caught the man's attention, he seemed surprised for a moment, but then relaxed, "And tell me, Carlos...Why on earth are you over here in Auradon?"

"We...I..." Carlos shook his head, unable to put together a proper explanation.

It was then Evie stepped forward, catching Mal in surprise, "The island's horrible!--It's not a place for children, not even children like us. Every day someone get's murdered on the street and you can't trust anyone, not even your own parents. People starve to death, people beat you for only trying to be you!" She bit her lip, pausing in her ramble to shake her head, "Look, sir, I know we're not the most honourable people--Our parents did everything in their power to hurt your people but...We're not them. We don't want to hurt you or anyone. We just want to be safe,"

"She's telling the truth," Jay pitched in.

Mal finally caved in, standing next to the two younger teens, dropping her defensive attitude, "Maleficent sucks. Cruella sucks. Every villain on that island sucks. But we, their children, don't deserve the same fate--How is that fair? You're the good guys! Aren't you supposed to protect innocent people?"

"How do I know you four aren't spies sent by Maleficent?" The man then stated, his voice becoming more stern as he leant back in his chair, "Don't get me wrong, I believe your story, I do. However, with Prince Ben's coronation coming up in the next few weeks, I have to be careful,"

It was at that moment, Mal rolled up her sleeve and the other three villain kids stared in shock, "Would a mother inflict these sorts of wounds on her own daughter--Would a daughter then carry out her mother's bidding?" Across her arm were scars, burn scars, as if she had been whipped with fire for her disobedience--Though, Carlos guessed they were from not preforming a spell correctly, seeing how Jay used to get hit for not stealing items of value. 

The air was quiet for a minute, the man watching as Mal shoved her sleeve back down her arm and dropped her form, putting one of her hands on her hips. Carlos begged with his eyes whilst Evie pleaded; Jay just stood there, a similar expression on his face as he met with the eyes of the man.

"I believe you," The man then stated, slowly standing up, "Now, I'm no King so I can't do much. But I can get you an audience with the King--If he decides you're safe, you can stay," He told them and instantly, his words were worth it. Grins spread out across the faces of the teens, their muddy, slightly scared faces truly happy at the sound.

Evie rushed over, "I'm Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen," She curtseyed, seemingly trusting him enough to give out her name of which he nodded at in appreciation, "And that's Jay," She motioned to the said tanned boy, "Son of Jafar. And that's--"

"Mal," Mal took her own step forward, "Daughter of Maleficent. Who are you?"

"My name is Eric. Prince Eric, you might know me as the husband of Ariel," He introduced, smiling at them, "Over there is my favourite servant, Grimsby!--Though we all call him, Grim," The lanky old man rolled his eyes, but smiled, amusement twinkling in his eyes as the prince turned to him, "Can you send a message through to old Beasty? Tell him I need to see him urgently,"

Grimsby nodded slowly, "And will the lovely Ariel be joining you?"

Eric blinked before he shook his head, grinning, "Let's keep this our little secret for now,"

Once the butler left, or was at least out of sight, Mal raised a brow, "Beasty?" She asked, her voice sounding more amused than intrigued.

"King Adam--Or as us other rulers call him, 'Beast'. You've all heard the story right? How he was cursed and turned into a--"

"A beast, yeah we know," Jay quickly cut in, "We're from the Isle, not another world."

Mal raised a brow, "So...Ariel huh. How does that uh...Work?"

Chapter Text

For the first time in forever, Mal was bored. On the Isle, stuff was happening nearly every second; people were getting into fights, there was something to steal--There was never a second of peace and quiet, which was maybe why she liked the Isle so much, excluding the presence of her mother and the other adults like her. Here in Auradon, however, there seemed to be nothing happening. It was just pure tranquility, and Mal hated that.

Half an hour had passed since Grimsby had passed the request of an audience onto the King. During that period of time, Eric had gone in and out of the cabin, discussing different matters with his crew, dispatching items and so on. He hadn't really had a moment of peace, but by the looks of it he seemed to be in his zone, so none of the teenagers spoke up.

Mal was perched up on one of the wooden diagonal supports that held up the ceiling, one of her legs dangling off the side whilst the other was pulled up to her chest. Jay at one point was lounging on the leather office chair that was situated by the expensive desk that was front and centre of the room, but had moved to instead stand beside a globe, his fingers tracing the different countries he recognised the names of. Evie was staring out the window in awe, watching the ivory coloured dolphins as they leapt out the water, elegantly dancing along with the waves; Carlos standing next to her.

"They're so pretty..." Evie murmured under her breath, her brown eyes wide in complete and utter childlike wonder as she watched beads of the coral blue water spray up into the air as a petite dolphin twirled out from the blue depths, the creature laughing joyfully as it embraced the fresh ocean air--The birds diving down to greet it as it submerged itself back into it's ethereal sapphire world.

Carlos was in complete agreement at the sentiment, his own eyes filled with such a joy that no other feeling could replicate the giddy butterflies that welled in his stomach, "Why have we never seen this before...?" He asked out loud, the gobsmacked tone in his voice almost drowned out by the breath of wonder it took on. 

"The ocean's so...Blue," Evie expressed through a exhale of a breath, pressing one of her hands against the clean windows that showed no sign of condensation, cracks or anything to it. It was just a window pane. A clean window pane. Something the two brown eyed teens could stare out of for days without anything disrupting their vision.

Tracing his index finger over another country's name--Agrabah, Jay retracted his hand, "There's a whole other world out there, and we weren't ever told anything about it," Jay shook his head adamantly, "All my life, it was Agrabah this, Auradon that--But there's Arendelle, San Fransokyo, Zootopia, Maldonia--" He turned away from the globe entirely, "There's a whole other universe out there!"

"Of course there is," Mal's voice easily cut in as the colour changing eyed girl flicked open her eyes, turning then down onto Jay, "Our parents hid everything from us. Our naivety gives them control over us--It makes us depend on them. Do you think if we knew about all this--" She opened up her arms, motioning to the entirety of the cabin, "--We would've stayed on the Isle as long as we had? No. We would have left long ago, probably without each other as well," Mal added.

Evie's hand curled up into a fist as a certain thought ingrained itself into her mind, "Everything we knew, was wrong," She stated firmly as if it was a fact; the eyes of her companions turning onto her in surprise, "What even is right or wrong anymore...? Was doing this--" Like Mal previously did, Evie motioned to the room, turning away from the window, "--Was it right?"

Mal swerved around on the support beam, swinging her other leg off the side, "Are you regretting leaving?" She asked in almost a demand, sounding actually hurt by the sentiment.

"Of course not!" Evie sharply debunked, "I just--!" She lowered her voice, sighing, "I just...I'm confused ok? Everything I've ever been told has just been said to be all lies and--!" Evie stopped herself, her voice breaking as if she was becoming emotional; her mind was racing as she turned her eyes to meet with Mal's, "I don't know what's real anymore," 

Taken aback, Mal stared at her. For a minute, everyone was silent. Then, Mal moved. With a grace to her, she hopped down from where she sat and approached Evie. Jay and Carlos both moved to stand in front of the girl nearest to them, worried that Mal was going to lash out--But she didn't. Mal stood in front of Evie and simply said, "You're real,"

Carlos and Jay exchanged a look of surprise with one another, slightly confused about what was occurring in front of them. Jay even opened his mouth to speak, but stopped as Evie moved. Without hesitation she wrapped her arms around Mal's neck and hugged her tight as if the girl didn't scare her anymore. She probably didn't. Mal hugged her back. The boys remained silent, not wanting to interrupt what was probably a moment of bonding between the two girls who before this whole escapade, probably didn't even know each other.

When the girls pulled back from each other, the door to the cabin opened. The slim, bony figure of Grimsby standing there, with Eric (who was now dressed in an expensive tailored suit) standing behind him, "The car is here. Children, if you will," Grimsby opened an arm, showing them out the room.

"Let's go make a first impression, shall we?" Mal asked to the four, an actual smile on her face.

Evie nodded energetically, grabbing Carlos' wrist as she followed Mal out the room--The said white haired boy yelping as he was suddenly moved, bemused. Amused, Jay shook his head as he followed, a grin tugging at his lips. 

Grimsby shook his head, turning his eyes onto Eric as all the isle kids were out on the deck--In even more wonder than they were before, "Are you sure this is a good idea, sire?"

"You've never doubted me before have you, Grim?" Eric quipped back, smiling. 

Grimsby let out a frustrated sigh, "No, sire,"

As they emerged out onto the boat's deck, the villain kids, par Mal, gasped in shock. Evie and Carlos sprinted forward, beaming as they clung to the edge of the boat, staring out at the ocean as they took in the smell of the Auradon coastline and the sounds that came with it.

"There's like, shells on the boat!--Carlos look!" Evie squealed, pointing towards the small circular shells that clung to the side of the steel vessel in groups, "They're so pretty!" She added, admiring the different patterns the shells took on.

Eric laughed at her exclamation, trotting over to lean over the side of the boat, only to laugh more once he realised what they were getting excited over, "Those are limpets, Evie. They're actually a type of snail," He explained to her, cheerful. Despite what may have been grim knowledge, Evie actually became even more enraptured in the sight due to the idea that the beautiful coloured shells that clung onto the boat were creatures.

Carlos, on the other hand, was more focused on the large beaked bird that was perched up on one of the posts of the wooden fence that surrounded the harbour. It resembled a seagull, with snow white feathers and a orange beak, it's beady blue eyes zoned in on the red hermit crabs that shuffled along the golden sand, that was built up in between the soft blue waves and the sea wall that acted as a defence in case of flooding.

"What's that?" He decided to ask to the prince, not taking his eye of the bird, who moved further along the fence, flapping it's wings warningly to the dwarves who momentarily walked along it as they headed off down the pier.

Eric smiled, "The bird?" He checked with the teen, who nodded in confirmation, "That's one of the many birds that hang around Auradon's coastlines--It's called a rosy pelican in these parts. It's actually pretty uncommon to see it around the dock, so consider yourself lucky," The black haired man told the inquisitive boy who, like Evie, was even more in awe at the knowledge.

Mal turned her eyes off the three to instead look down the temporary bridge that connected the boat to the harbour's pier. It looked stable enough...Though she wasn't too sure she wanted to test her weight on it. Dwarves and other crew members alike, laughed amongst themselves as they trotted down the said bridge, heading towards the bigger and more structurally intact warehouses the larger harbour was equipped with. The boxed trees and plants on the pier waving in greeting as the shipmen stepped back onto land.

Everyone seemed so happy here.

Jay approached Eric, his arms folded, seemingly put off by something, "Not to rush anyone, but uh...When are we getting off this joint?--Being over water isn't exactly my favourite pastime," The teen questioned, his tone a mix of sarcasm and seriousness as he looked up at the slightly taller man.

"Oh, of course!" Eric exclaimed, shaking his head as he turned his eyes off the coastal creatures and onto Jay; his sudden exclamation jolting Evie and Carlos back to reality, the two turning around to face their other two companions, "How about we get you guys back on land?" He turned to face his faithful butler, "Grimsby if you would?"

The lanky elderly man nodded, "Of course, sire," He flipped out his phone, and raised it up to his ear, "Bring the car around,"

Eric smiled, looking to Mal, "If you'll follow me," 

With an air of confidence to him, Eric trotted down the bridge, greeting the crew members who were leaning against the fence at the bottom of it, drinking a honey flavoured drink with grins on their faces. Unlike on the Isle, there was no graffiti, no signs of vandalism, the workers were smiling...Everything seemed unreal. 

The pier was long and wide; different boats of all sorts of shapes and sizes docked in the harbour allowing it's pier to be a plaza for all the sailors and crew members to chat with one another boisterously and share rumours before they headed down to the fairytale-esc pub that was built beside the boardwalk that led down past a cliff side towards one of the many beaches Auradon was known for.

Raising a hand to block the sun from her eyes, Mal winced--The purple haired girl (or any of the villain children for that matter) not used to the blinding light the sun's rays emitted. Though you couldn't blame her; the Isle was a dark place, surrounded in thick, heavy fog and storm clouds that shielded it from the natural light of the sun. Whereas Auradon was free from that curse, allowing it's weather to change from day to day, though it was usually sunny.

"God how do you guys see with all this light...?"

Seemingly the other three teenagers were struggling as well.

Not hearing Mal's mutter, Eric continued on, leading the four down the pier and towards the small cobblestone compressed road that was in between the harbour and the boardwalk, of which was laced with local shops and cute little beach houses. Parked at the edge of the road was a sleek black limousine. It's said paint coat glistening against the sun. The passenger's door was open with a man stood beside it, a sun-blocking umbrella rested against his shoulder and sunglasses over his eyes.

"Chip! I see the King sent you!" Eric exclaimed cheerfully, in slight surprise of the chauffeur's presence. The prince grinned, approaching the well dressed man who nodded, a small smile pulling at his lips. Eric then turned, meeting the confused eyes of the four teenagers that were crowded up behind him, "Climb in you guys," He told them, motioning to the open car door.

Despite her apprehension, Mal pushed Jay forward--The said teenage boy climbing into the vehicle with the rest of the group following him. With the four teenagers inside, Chip the chauffeur shut the car door, allowing silence to resonate in the car.

The inside of the limo was lavish to say the least. It's seats were made of a rich black leather that was soft at the touch and the windows were seemingly only one way, them having a black tint to them that blocked out the bright light of the sun. Inside the vehicle was a small shelving unit that was stuffed to the brim with jars of chocolates and sweets, the appearance of such food alien to the four teenagers who all stared at the jars with a intrigued glint in their eyes.

"What is that?" Carlos openly asked, cocking his head as he picked up a Hershey's kiss, staring at the silver foil that covered it, "Why is it silver?--Do I just...Eat it?"

Jay snatched the said chocolate off Carlos, glaring at it, "No way man, what if it's poisoned?" He smirked, "I should eat it!"

Carlos blinked before jumping forward to grab the sweet back, "Hey! Give it back, Jay! I saw it first!" The white haired boy unwrapped the chocolate and stuffed it into his mouth--The three teenagers turned deadly silent at Carlos' lack of speech, their eyes widening.

"C-Carlos?" Evie extended a shaky hand forward, nervous for her friend's wellbeing, "Are you...Are you ok?"

Slowly, Carlos grinned, "It's--It's...It's awesome!"

"What!?"

Instantly all four of the teenagers leapt forward, grabbing as much food from the jars as they could, stuffing the sweets in their mouths, practically moaning at the taste of the delicious treats; savouring the taste of the sugary taste of the chocolate and candy alike. The engine of the limousine revved up as Carlos swallowed a mouthful of chocolate, a smear of the sugary goodness across his mouth--And soon, the car started to drive down the road. 

"Hey guys, look!" Evie ushered, bounding forward and unwinding her car window to stare out at the sights of Auradon. It truly was a beautiful place.

Ivy climbed up it's buildings, it's green leaves sparkling with droplets of rain from the previous night. Brick towers grew out of the ground and reached up towards the sky--Each and every building surrounding a lime green mountain of which a beautiful castle was perched up upon. Fauna adoring flora adorned the luscious green fields that surrounded the city. Everything was so...perfect. Flower baskets hung from the black lampposts that laced the streets and the sun shined up from over the horizon, silhouetting the castle in a way that made it almost look magical.

Evie beamed as they passed a row of shops--One of which was a boutique, "Oh my gosh! That's so cute! We have to visit it sometime!'

"That's if we're even allowed to stay here," Mal then pointed out in a grumble.

Carlos shook his head, "They'll let us," He replied, staring with adoring eyes at the castle, smiling goofily at the Auradon flag as it blew softly in the summer's breeze, "They have to,"

Mal rolled her eyes, amused, "Well, don't you sound assured,"

"It's a gut feeling," Carlos explained, looking away from the open window and back out at his companions, "Like...It's hard to explain, but there's something calling me--Like, there's something here that I have to find,"

"What do you mean, C?" Evie asked, raising a brow.

Carlos bit his lip, looking down, "Back on the Isle," He started, his voice breaking a little, "Back with mom...I had no-one. Sure Jay visited sometimes and Evie came around the shop...But I had no-one I could really--I don't know, trust in? So I started to read and daydream--Then I found this old lounge in Hell Hall and--" Carlos shook his head, "I always saw Auradon Castle through the window. Nothing else. It was always the castle--And there was always something there, a feeling of safety," He sighed, looking up at his friends, determined, "There's something there guys. Something in the castle and I have to find it." 

Mal stared, taken aback, "So that's why you left...I just thought it was because of your mom. But there's really a deep reason there--What do you think you'll going to find?"

"I don't know," Carlos smiled weakly before he shook his head, "Let's uh," He coughed, "How about we focus on something else--Like, uh. Why did you want to leave, Mal?" 

The purple haired girl raised a brow, "Huh?"

Carlos shook his head, "I mean, you're the daughter of Maleficent, the ruler of all things evil--I thought that would be, I don't know, a good thing on the Isle?"

"Oh, it uh. It is," Mal responded, still taken off guard by the question, "I mean--Yeah. People were scared of me, deathly scared of me--But they weren't scared of me. They were scared of my mother . It felt wrong. Like I was living a lie. So, I decided I'd leave, do something of my own--Good or bad, it doesn't really matter to me. As long as people act the way they do because of who I am, not because of who my mother is," Carlos nodded, finding her words relatable in a way, "Ok, my sappy moment over. Jay, your turn. Why'd you want to leave?"

Jay raised a brow, "Oh, do I have to have a reason?"

Mal narrowed her eyes, "Not really," The girl leant back in the seat, folding her arms, "But I know you have one, so spill it," She then added, pointing a finger at the teen who rolled his eyes, huffing.

"Fine, fine. I'll spill," He shook his head, "So you all know my dad right? Jafar? Betrayer of Agrabah or whatever,"

Evie nodded, "Who doesn't? He flirts with mother nearly every time he sees her," The blue haired girl pointed out, a teasing tone in her voice.

The tanned boy rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well. He's not the greatest dad. His intentions are good, and I know they're good. But he'd be so much better off without me. He wastes so much on making sure we have a roof over our head--And I don't know...I just--It seemed like a win win situation. He'd get to have some sort of freedom and I'd get to explore, have an adventure of my own," Jay explained, shrugging as he stared down at the bottom of the car were his feet were.

"That's actually weirdly...nice?" Mal responded, her eyes slightly wide, "Do you guys...Do you really have it that bad?"

Jay snorted, "Do we have it that bad?--My dad doesn't even have a bed. I don't even have a bed. The Junk Shop's all we have and even then it's built in between two houses using bed sheets and old water pipes!" The teen exclaimed, a mix of shock and frustration lacing his voice.

Carlos pulled his knees up to his chest, "Nobody has it good on the Isle, Mal. Living in a castle doesn't make you royalty..."

"It doesn't make you happy," Evie chipped in brokenly.

The car continued to drive down the road as silence overtook the air in the limousine--An air that was tainted as part of the Isle, wether they liked it or not. But outside the vehicle, there was a world, a bright, happy world---One filled with animals and flowers, adventures they had yet to have and places they have yet to explore.

"Do you really think they'll let us stay?" Mal then decided to ask as Carlos reached for another chocolate.

Jay and Evie shared a look before they sighed in union--However it was Carlos being the one who spoke, "We can't be certain but...They're the good guys, right? They'll help us. We're only kids after all,"

Evie looked at her hands, "Kids with the blood of the very people who destroyed their lives,"

"And in turn they destroyed theirs," Jay retorted, shaking his head, "Face it. The people here are as bad as the people back on the Isle,"

Mal nodded at that, looking to Jay and Evie, who were adamant about their predicament, "His royal highness sailor boy is nice, right? So, let's just go based off that--They might not let all of us stay, but I'm sure they'll let you guys stay,"

Jay snorted, "Well, if they're not going to let you stay, I won't stay either. We'll just leave the country,"

"We'll be chased out the country. But sure,"

"And me and Carlos will follow," Evie added, with a smile, looking to Carlos for confirmation; the boy nodded.

Mal opened her mouth, her eyes sparkling with a gratefulness that they hadn't experienced before, but before she could speak, she was cut off by a trumpet. A trumpet which made the teens move to stare out the windows.

The limousine drove under a large stone bridge of sorts, one which was equipped with a gold gate, which was opening at the presence of the car--The trumpet came from one of the guards who stood beside the gate, supposedly guarding it against intruders. The guards dressed in a blue uniform, one bearing the sigil of the red rose. A very recognisable red rose.

"Hey...That's..." Carlos started, his eyes staring wide eyed at the said insignia as he thought back to the dusty lounge Hell Hall was equipped with or more specifically, the windows.

Mal rolled her eyes, "It's the royal crest of Auradon," The knowledgeable girl explained, "After the whole 'Beauty meets Beast' fiasco and they combined the five kingdoms to make up Auradon, they made that rose their crest. Some sort of call back to the old times," She looked to Carlos, raising a brow, "Why, do you recognise it?"

"Y-Yeah, Hell Hall's windows had the same insignia on it,"

That caught Mal's attention, "They did?" She narrowed her eyes, "That is weird..."

Jay laughed, "Why?--The Isle of the Lost used to be part of Auradon, remember? It's only right some of the buildings carried that mark,"

"A mark reserved for the members of the royal family," Mal pointed out, "The only building I knew of carrying that mark was Auradon castle--Mom always used to say they were like little pockets of magic, so they were never seen in the Isle because people could misuse them,"

Evie blinked, "Wow...And to think one was right under their nose..."

"But why was it there?" The white haired boy protested, his brown eyes wide.

Mal shrugged, "Maybe it used to be a safe house?" She then snorted, "Except safe houses would be locked. Magically locked. As in, how would Cruella get in?" Mal lightly punched Carlos' arm, "Forget about it, C. We're not there anymore--Besides, trying to finish a puzzle with only like what, two pieces, isn't really possible,"

Taking her words with a grain of salt, Carlos nodded. She had a point after all. They didn't know enough to make any drastic connections.

He turned his eyes back out the windows as they drove up a much more extravagant road that winded around the mountain, leading them up to the castle. From up here, they could see everything. The sapphire blue ocean in the distance, the luscious green forests--The mountains in the distance...The smell of fresh air and lavender filled Carlos' senses as the car continued to drive. Brown bears ran around in the forests down below, blue birds sang and deer pranced. Everything was just as fantastical as Carlos envisioned it to be.

Evie started to giggle to herself as she noticed a dove fly alongside the car, singing a sweet song that would make even Aurora jealous. The blue haired girl wound down her window even more, resting her head against the frame of the vehicle as she just watched it. The sound of her laughter caught Jay's attention, who turned his eyes to the said bird to watch it, "Well, hey there little guy,"

"It's flying really close, huh?" Evie hummed, meeting his eyes.

Jay nodded, "I wonder why it's not scared,"

Evie laughed, "Maybe it's because we're all just softies on the inside, huh?"

Carlos let his hand hover outside the window, admiring how the wind pushed against it, creating the feeling that he was flying. Mal kept an eye on him, though for the most part she kept her gaze short, keeping to generally just watching over her companions.

"Speak for yourself," Mal quipped, amused, "Belly rubs are not my thing,"

The car continued to drive up the mountain and it didn't take long before they were there. 

A beautiful castle, made up of stone and marble. It had an air of magic to it, with lush flowers and hedges outside it, with large topiaries of animals the four had never seen before. Gardeners waved and smiled at them as the car drove down the front drive towards the fountain of the king and queen that stood front and centre, leading up to a grand staircase that lead you to the grand double doors of the architectural masterpiece. 

An air of wonder fought and won against the silence that was dominating the car, allowing the four to stare in awe at the wonder the castle's courtyard took on--It was just....Magical.

The walls of the castle itself were adorned with ivy and growing bushes of roses--Beautiful, fairytale carriages parked in what seemed to be a nearby garage and--Was that a horse stable? Carlos stared with eyes full of awe as the car drove around the circular fountain before parking front and centre in front of the stone staircase that led them up to the front entry way of the castle, of which had guards positioned in front of it.

"Children," Eric announced, rolling down the privacy shield that was built in between the front of the car and the passengers carriage, grinning at them, "Welcome to Auradon's Castle," His endearing voice made his four guests grin back at him.

Chip clambered out the car, and walked around to the passenger door nearest to the staircase, opening it and motioning for Jay, who sat nearest to it, to climb out, which he did--His movement followed by the rest who all started to look around at their surroundings, still enraptured in wonder.

The castle was a huge building--Standing at a breathtaking height, with it's towers almost piercing the veils of heaven. Carlos suddenly felt very small.

"Wow...So this is a castle!" Evie became giddy, holding her hands close to her chest as she jumped in joy, "This is amazing!--No, brilliant!--No, awesome!--No!" She squealed, unable to find the proper words to describe what she was feeling.

Mal, despite her reluctance, was in agreement, "Yeah. This place is pretty great...I wonder what pretty pink princess lives in here,"

"I think you'll find aren't any princesses who live in this castle," Eric piped, climbing out the car himself, thankfully nodding at Chip before he turned his eyes on the four teens, "But there is a prince,"

Evie stopped completely, "Prince...As in..." She pointed at the castle, "There's a handsome prince inside there,"

Eric nodded, "Yep. Crown Prince Benjamin Florian! Son of Adam and Belle Florian, king and queen of Auradon," He announced loudly before grinning, taking the first step up the grand staircase, "Shall we?"

Mal nodded firmly, following Eric. Without hesitation, the other's followed. 

"Damn, this place is probably packed with riches," Jay commented openly, "Talk about luxury...."

Evie nodded, "And beautiful princes!"

Carlos rolled his eyes, though he was amused, "We're here for a reason guys,"

"Prince Eric," One of the guards greeted with a nod, before moving to open the grand (and quite frankly oversized) doors for the group to walk through.

Standing there, front and centre, behind those doors, was a man, a man with a intrigued yet flirtatious gleam in his eyes and a friendly smile. He was dressed in a golden brown suit with a red bow tied around his collar, his brown hair tamed and his shoes polished. He had a face you couldn't forget and an accent even more so.

"Ah! Prince Eric!" He exclaimed, a thick french accent accompanying his voice, "It's a pleasure seeing you again! Are you here to see the mademoiselle? Or is it the master you're here to see? Or both perhaps?" He laughed to himself, smiling.

Eric grinned in reply, "Actually, Lumière, we're here to see both--We were granted an audience?"

The said man, Lumière, grinned, "Monsieur, you make me laugh! A man like you doesn't need permission! Anywho, follow me! I'll take you through to the throne room!" The group smiled and followed the well dressed frenchman past the two staircases that intertwined themselves to connect up at the second floor and over to a set of large gold double doors.

Carlos nervously rubbed the back of his head, staring down at his reflection in the floor of the foyer, before quickly speeding up to follow the rest of the group through into the throne room.

The throne room was a long room, equipped with bouquets of flowers, suits of armours and a long red carpet leading up to two gold thrones and a smaller bronze one that was at the end of the hall, slightly hidden by a red velvet canopy. Chandeliers hung from the raised painted ceiling--And sat on thrones were three people, all dressed in matching crowns and blue and gold outfits. Once leading the five through, Lumière left, shutting the doors behind him.

Eric grinned, "Hey, guys! Lovely to see you all again! Thanks for letting me have an audience," 

One of the people who were sat on the throne, a woman, Belle, smiled openly, her endearing smile lighting up the faces of the arriving group, "Of course, Eric. Any friend of yours is a friend of ours," She announced cheerfully, "We're just interested in why you called an audience,"

Belle, like the books said, was truly a woman of beauty. Her brown hair was tied up in a bun upon her head, with a small gold tiara holding it back. She dressed in a short gold dress, with her pretty hazel eyes staring out at the group, a sense of curiosity sparkling in her irises as she looked out over them.

"Queen Belle, these children you see before you, they aren't from Auradon," Eric told them, causing the brows of the King, a beastly man who sat beside Belle, to raise, "They're from the Isle,"

"And do tell, how did they get here?" Adam boomed, his voice stern and scarily powerful in nature, he started to raise up from his seat, only for Belle to hold him back down--Carlos squeaked and hid behind Eric, "Why are you here, children?"

Before Eric could speak, Mal took a step forward, "Your uh, highness. Sorry for sneaking off the island and that, but there's no way we're going back,"

After successfully urging Adam to sit back down, Belle looked to the purple haired girl, "And why is that?"

"The Isle isn't a place for children," Evie stated, wrangling past Jay and Eric to stand beside Mal, "Please, your highness. I understand what our parents did was wrong--We all do, but we shouldn't be blamed for their actions. Children die there every day just because we're not strong. Yes, you ship out fresh food and water to us, but the people who need it do not get it,"

Mal stood tall and determined beside her, "It's an island of villains with their own personal slaves. Sure it protects you and your people, but there are innocent kids on that island who don't deserve the fate that you created for them," 

Silence chorused around the room. The villain children stood, a hopeful look in their eyes around Eric, whilst the royal family processed the information. Belle looked sympathetic, Adam didn't even seem to have listened to them. Their child on the other hand...

"Father, this is what I tried to tell you months ago," The brown haired boy whispered, all eyes falling on him. 

Evie stared. So that was the prince.

Ben was a boy with the beauty of his mother but the well built frame of his father. His hair was a soft brown colour and his eyes were hazel like his mother's, but his jaw was square and chiselled like his father's, taking on a strong build like his father. He dressed well, his suit blue with a gold shirt underneath. Anyone could see he was a prince, even without knowing his name; he fit in perfectly with his surroundings, regal yet magical--Though, he carried a sense of curiosity to him, a trait probably picked up from his mother.

Adam turned his eyes down on his son, almost glaring at him, "Ben. We will not talk about this again,"

Ben shook his head, adamant to lose, "Father, people are dying on that island and we're doing nothing to stop it! And this here is the proof!" He motioned to the four teens, "Do you really think people would try to escape if it wasn't that bad there?"

"Or maybe, did you think they were trying to escape to execute an evil plot onto our kingdom? One made by their parents," Adam pointed out, stubborn to change his way of thinking. Maybe it was arrogance, maybe it wasn't.

Mal glared, "No offence, sire. But do you really think if there was a way off that island our parents would send us to reek their revenge? No! They're not stupid. They'd get off and do it themselves,"

"We escaped not only from the Isle but from them, your highness," Evie added in a much more calm nature.

Ben nodded firmly, "See?"

Belle looked to her husband, "Adam, I think we should give them a chance,"

"Belle I--" 

Ben cut in, "Remember my first proclamation as king, father?" Adam turned his gaze back onto his son, "The coronation is in a month and so it'll be a perfect chance to experiment with my idea. These four will be perfect subjects for the experiment!--They'll stay here in Auradon and learn at Auradon Prep in how to be good. We'll teach them and in turn they'll be safe from their parents. If they don't break any of our laws in the time between now and the coronation, we know that my idea will work, and we'll exact it out,"

Adam raised a brow, intrigued at the idea, "And if they fail?"

"We'll send them back to the Isle," Ben intervened, before shooting a hopeful look to the four teens, "But we'll give them a second chance before that occurs, of course. We're not monsters--"

"On the condition that you shall be in charge of them, alright. I agree to your terms," Adam sighed heavily before turning his gaze out onto the four teens who stared in shock at the royal family, "You four shall stay here--We'll provide living arrangements in the dormitories at Auradon Prep. But remember, if you break any of our rules, you're gone. Do you understand?"

Mal nodded, "Yes--Thank you--"

Adam gave her a stern look, "Do not thank me, thank my son."

"Uh, thank you um...?"

Ben smiled down at her, "Ben. Prince Ben,"

"Ok then. Thanks, Ben,"

Belle smiled down at the children, "Well then, we'll let you all get acquainted. If you will--Eric, would you like to join us for lunch? Give the children some space?"

Eric nodded, "Of course," He looked down at the four, "Good luck you guys. Hopefully we'll meet again,"

Jay nodded, "Cheers, Eric,"

"Yeah, thank you,"

Eric grinned, "No problem," And with that, he left, heading on after Belle and Adam who exited the room, heading towards the outside patio where they usually had a nice afternoon lunch. The room was filled with an awkward silence, nobody able to speak.

Ben approached the four other teens, a friendly smile on his face but then he stopped as his eyes fell on the meek figure of the white haired boy who stood apprehensively beside a much taller boy. For a moment, his eyes were full of wonder, and his smile seemed to become goofy, but then he collected himself and continued to walk towards them.

"This momentous moment is sure to be one that will go down in history," He announced, grinning at the four, "I'm pleased to meet you all--Though I've yet to have the pleasured of knowing who you are," He met with the eyes of Mal, raising a brow, "If you'd be so kind?"

She blinked, "Oh. Right," She smirked, "I'm Mal," She motioned to Evie, "And that's Evie--"

"Princess Evie," Evie corrected with a smile, "I'm the daughter of the Evil Queen, which makes me a princess,"

Ignoring the comment, Mal continued, "And that's Jay, and--" She motioned to Carlos finally, flicking her hand as if it was some fancy introduction, "That's Carlos," 

Ben grinned, meeting with Carlos' brown eyes, "Well, it's a delight to meet you all," Carlos seemed to smile quietly, in agreement with Ben's words--A feeling of safety and content welling in the pit of his stomach.

"Thanks for, sticking up for us or whatever," Jay hopped in, a small smirk on his face; he leant back, folding his arms.

Carlos looked up at Jay before turning his eyes onto Ben, a confused yet hopeful gleam in his chocolate orbs, "Why did you stick up for us?" The white boy inquired, tilting his head, "We're nobodies to you," He then added, not wanting to be too trusting--Though, trust issues aside, at a first impression, Ben seemed like a good person.

"Well, if I didn't my father was going to send you back to Isle and well," Ben shrugged, smiling, "It'd be a waste I guess. You guys didn't seem like you wanted to go back either, so I'm hoping it's a win win," Ben's smile turned hopeful as he turned his eyes onto the group, who smiled back reassuringly.

Maybe things were going to be a little rough here, but at least they knew they could trust someone.

Even if that someone was a prince.

Chapter Text

Auradon Prep--Truthfully, Carlos hadn't heard much about the school before. There were a few loose facts that floated around the Isle regarding it, but most of them were built up on wild conspiracy theories and pompous, arrogant opinions; so Carlos didn't really know how much of it was truth. 

From what he heard however, Auradon Prep was some sort of boarding school--one for the sons and daughters of the higher classes in Auradon. Not many were let into the school, so it was pretty tense between the parents who had enrolled their children in but weren't confirmed a secure place.

School officially started tomorrow, not just for them--But for everyone. It was the start of the new semester, a new year at Auradon Prep, so the group wouldn't be the only new kids. Then again, they were joining the third years, not the first years. Any who, with the fact the four didn't really bring anything else with them except the clothes on their backs, Ben decided to take them all out into town so they could get new clothes. Though the only one who was truly excited about the chance to get new things was Evie. 

The limo was much bigger and longer this time; Ben was sat in between Mal and Carlos, watching in amusement as the two ate the snacks available, those being chocolate covered strawberries--Something the two both seemed to adore. Evie was dreaming out loud, squealing about all the beautiful dresses she'd wear and Jay was watching the TV the limo had built in--It was some sort of news show, one that had caught wind of the arrival of the four villain kids; though the story was a little twisted.

"Following Crown Prince Ben's proclamation as heir to the crown, four children of the Isle have joined us in Auradon and shall be making memories at Auradon Prep. Many question the security of this plan as nothing like this has ever been done before. But we--" 

Ben sighed, switching of the television with a sigh--So much for keeping the four's arrival confidential.

With a hopeful look on his face, Ben shook his head, putting a grin on his face, "Hey, it's going to be ok you guys! People are going to love you--Nobody will care about who your parents are over here!" The prince reassured them cheerfully, though none of the other four teenagers believed him. There was no way people weren't going to bring it up, after all, they weren't exactly deemed 'good' over here.

Mal rolled her eyes, turning her colour changing irises out the dark windows of the car, admiring the landscape. The limo was currently driving down the long cobblestone road that winded around the mountain-scape of which the french castle was built on top, it's destination was unclear, but Mal could see what seemed to be a fairytale town, but it wasn't the one they passed on the way up to the castle.

"Hey, where are we going...?" Mal questioned curiously, raising a brow as she turned her gaze back onto the brown haired prince. 

Ben blinked, momentarily meeting with Mal's eyes before he explained with a smile tugging at his lips again, "Before Fauna joined Flora and Merryweather in running the dorms at Auradon Prep, she started up a mall--Now of course their old apprentice Nettle runs the shop, but you get the idea," Ben explained to Mal, though it was an explanation for all of them as none of them par Ben knew where they were going.

"A mall!?" Evie squealed, her syrup eyes lighting up with such joy, "Like a fashion shop full of dresses?!"

Mal elbowed her, "That's a boutique, E."

Jay motioned to himself, raising a brow, "Uh, I hate to point this out. But I ain't wearing no dress," The thief stated firmly, not giving any discussion to the matter. Carlos nodded in vigorous agreement, turning his eyes onto Ben, who started to laugh.

"No, no--It's a bunch of shops inside one huge building! Really, you guys will love it!" Ben reassured, turning his eyes down onto Carlos, "And you don't have to wear a dress if you don't want to, promise--" He turned his eyes back towards Mal, "I'll take Jay and Carlos around and Chip will take you and Evie, that way you guys can all go to the shops you want without spending hours going around the shops you don't want to buy from," Ben explained to them.

Evie grabbed onto Mal, "Did you hear that, Mal?! We get to go dress shopping!"

"And we don't," Jay stated, folding his arms as he smirked, looking over at Carlos, who smiled back with a nod.

Ben grinned, "We'll all have a blast, I promise!" Evie nodded in agreement whilst the others remained adamant, though, Carlos for some reason trusted Ben's judgement, he trusted Ben.

Fall Mall was an outstandingly large building. Sure, it wasn't the same size as the castle, but it was still big. The building was modern in it's build, it's white panelled walls looking almost brand new, having that 'new car shine' to them. It's windows were completely clear, showing off a luxurious inside where trees grew in square boxes and fountains bursted crystal blue water up out of statues. There was nothing like this back on the Isle. Heck, there were barely any actual legitimate shops on the Isle.

Evie could not stop jumping, her arms tightly wrapped around one of Mal's as she freaked out, "Oh my gosh! It's like the biggest place ever!--What are we all waiting for?!" With that quick warning, Evie started to tug Mal towards the mall causing for Chip to jog after the girls, shaking his head as he did so.

"Ok lets not do uh...that," Jay stated, before he turned to look at Carlos, who was in as much awe as Evie previously was, "OK--Well--" He looked to Ben then, "I'm going to go exploring--I'll find you guys later, ok?"

Ben blinked, "B-But wait! You don't know your way around! And you don't have any money---!"

Jay waved a hand, "I'll make it up as I go along!--Thanks for the ride!" And with that, Jay was off, he flipped over a wall and around to a staff entrance, not too interested in properly entering the mall and going around the shops like everyone else. But who was Ben to judge? Perhaps that was just how they did stuff on the Isle.

"So, uh," Ben turned his eyes down onto Carlos, "You like chocolate, right?"

Carlos jolted, snapping out of whatever thoughts he had wandered off into. He turned his own doe brown eyes up to meet with Ben's intrigued hazel green eyes, "Oh, um...Yeah," The albino answered, his lips curving up into a smile, hearing the sincerity in Ben's question. He supposed this would be a time for the two to get to know the other.

Ben grinned at him, "Great! There's this really cool shop on the second floor--Best chocolates in all of Auradon!" The boy boasted with a cheery smile, "Gideon Grey's Bakery! Their brownies are literally to die for!"

"Brow...nies?" Carlos blinked, confused. He had no idea what that was. Was it a special sort of chocolate?

Noticing Carlos' confusion, Ben laughed--The pure noise catching the young brown eyed boy off guard, "Brownies are like, little chocolate cakes--You'll love them I'm sure! The one's that Gideon do melt in your mouth, they're delicious," The brunette explained with a smile, "C'mon! Let's stop wasting time out here and go try them!" Carlos nodded, still confused, but now intrigued; without hesitation, he followed.

.........

Gideon Grey's Bakery was a small quaint little shop built in between a high-end accessory shop and a jeweller. It carried a warm vibe to it, one that was inviting and aesthetically pleasing in it's appearance. Carlos was in awe by it; his doe eyes staring up at the sign the shop carried, it looked like it was a patch, yet by the gold gleam it took on in the light, Carlos knew it had to be some sort of metal.

"Well, shall we?" Ben asked to the smaller boy, taking a step forward and opening the door for him, a pleasant ding of the bell echoing throughout the air.

Carlos nodded, enthralled by the shop's atmosphere. He stepped past Ben and looked around the shop. In the dead centre of the shop there was a chocolate fountain surrounded with samples and bags of marshmallows. Surrounding the walls of the shops were shelves full of already packaged cute cupcakes, chocolate sculptures and many other sweet treats. Then finally at the vintage counter there was a display shelf of at least a hundred different cakes and pies. Carlos was in complete utter awe. There were so many new cakes and treats that he had never seen before, and they all looked so good!

A sound was heard from the back room before the scuffling of feet were heard--The door to the back open and the cheery face of an orange haired man peeked through. He dressed simply in jeans and a t-shirt, a brown apron hanging around his neck. He smiled genuinely at the two boys and walked around to the counter, "Ah, Prince Benjamin! It's lovely to see you here again! I see you've brought someone with you this time!"

Ben nodded, grinning as he stepped forward, an arm wrapped around Carlos' shoulders, "Gideon, this is Carlos--He's new to Auradon and chocolate is quickly becoming his favourite food," The prince explained with a big smile and a small laugh.

Gideon nodded eagerly, "Chocolate eh? Well! We have alot of chocolate based goodies here! So please, take a look around!" The man exclaimed joyfully before he blinked, extending his hand, "Ah! How rude of me!--It's a pleasure to meet you, Carlos! Any friend of Ben's is a friend of mine!" The man grinned.

Surprised Carlos jumped, quickly taking Gideon's hand and shaking it, "Ah! You too!-I mean it's nice to meet you!"

The ginger laughed, "I like him!" He announced to Carlos, "He's very polite!--You must bring him next time!" The baker told Ben, a soft smile on his face.

Ben smiled in response, "Of course, of course," He reassured the man, smiling still. He took a breath before turning his gaze onto Carlos again, "Go ahead, Carlos! Pick whatever you heart desires! Oh--!" He quickly caught Carlos by the arm before the boy went to look, "If I can make a suggestion, the chocolate and jelly doughnuts here are amazing,"

"What's a doughnut?"

All colour drained from Ben's face. Slowly, he turned and looked at Gideon with a smile, one that seemed almost fake, "Can we please have two chocolate jelly doughnuts while we look around and make our decision?" The prince asked, making sure to keep his voice polite and soft.

Gideon laughed, "Of course, let me go get you two some fresh ones!"

"Ok!" Ben sharply turned to face Carlos, grinning, "Doughnuts are like cake like croissant things and are like, the greatest invention in the entire world!" The prince exclaimed like the world depended on it--Carlos let out a surprised squeak as a hand wrapped around his arm and he was lead over to a circular shelving unit showing off all the different types of doughnuts you could get.

Carlos laughed, smiling brightly as he watched the prince talk him through the different types of doughnuts, but a part of him couldn't help but wonder, where were the others?

 "Ok. Yep, my foot's gone numb. Thanks for that," 

Mal's sarcastic announcement rang throughout the air as the said purple haired girl rolled her eyes, leaning back some whilst she folded her arms; a displeased yet amused glint in her eyes as she watched Evie flutter through hundreds of different shoes, trying to find one that would match the other outfits she had bought.

"Sorry!" She squeaked out, tearing a pair of red high heels off her dainty feet. With a huff she leant back on the black chaise lounger she was sat on, her hands either side of her as she exhaled a breath, "Nothing looks right, either it's too glossy or the wrong colour or--"

Mal laughed, "Aren't you the resident fashionista of the Isle?" She asked, moving in to stand closer to the blue haired girl--Chip standing in the back, closing the shoe section of the shop off for the two girls, "You make your own clothes and stuff, right?" 

Evie nodded, turning her eyes up to Mal, "I used to, yes," She raised a brow, "But I don't know how to make shoes," The blue haired girl added, motioning down to the bag of fabrics and thread that they had already bought, "I can make dresses and other clothing items easy peasy--But shoes?" 

"You forget," Mal hopped onto the lounger next to her, pulling back part of her dark purple jacket, an action which turned Evie's attention down to the small spell book that hung slightly out of the dark brown pouch on Mal's belt. 

The girl raised a brow, "Using spells to create shoes?"

"My mother has a spell to change her hair whenever she feels like it, I'm pretty sure she has one for shoes," Mal pointed out with a shrug, a grin stretching across her face, "If you want we can always try it out?" 

Evie took a moment to think--Her brows creasing in thought before she nodded, "That sounds like a good plan! What does it need?"

Mal pulled out the said book and started to flick through it, "I'd assume you'd just need the right size of shoe...Or just a shoe," She explained, not looking up from the book as she continued to turn through it's pages, "Aha! Found it. It says, rid the old, bring the new, turn these pumps into brand new shoes," Mal read, tracing the words with her finger, "So I guess you'd just need shoes,"

"Girls," Chip called from where he stood, catching the attention of the two, "Ten minutes left here. Grab what you want so we can buy it and move to the next store,"

Mal leant back on the sofa, "Where we going next?"

A small smirk graced Chip's lips, "You ladies do need cellphones,"

Having no idea what that was, Mal shrugged and looked back to Evie, "We'll have to enchant the shoes later--Grab some stuff and let's go," The blue haired girl nodded, picking up some of the shoes that hadn't made the cut earlier.

Ready to set off, the two walked towards Chip; Mal mockingly greeting him with a soldier's salute. 

Two hours passed before the five (and of course Chip) met back at the front entrance, the aforementioned chauffeur talking through his earpiece telling someone or other to bring the car around.

Evie was practically surrounded in shopping bags whilst Mal only held a few; both Carlos' and Ben's mouths were covered in chocolate and they held their own bags, most of them from similar shops Evie and Mal had visited. Jay however only held one or two bags, the teen having met up with Chip so he could actually get some of the stuff he wanted (though, he couldn't say he didn't steal anything).

"The Rolls Royce will be round in five minutes tops," Chip told the brown haired teen, who nodded with a smile, thanking the man before he turned back to the villain kids who were chatting with excitement about what they got.

"--And we got this cool phone thing! It's like those cups we used to use to talk to each other but we can clearly hear each other and stuff! It's super cool!" Evie exclaimed energetically, showing off the said device to Carlos and Jay who stared in awe.

Carlos blinked, "I think I got one of those!" Before Carlos could show the other's his phone, Jay snickered and snatched it off him, "HEY! Jay! That's mine!"

"Well, it's mine now," Jay commented teasingly, smirking at the boy who lunged to get it back.

Ben shook his head in amusement, "Give it back, Jay," 

Rolling his eyes, Jay handed the device over, Carlos protectively holding it to his chest.

Then the car appeared--It was a sleek white vehicle that was much shorter than the limo, but still had some length to it. On the hood of the car there were two small flags showing off the royal crest of Auradon, and driving it, was a man similarly dressed to Chip, except he seemed to be of a lower class.

Mal stared, "You have alot of cars---Not even my mother had that many vehicles, not that she needed them,"

"How many did she have?" Evie asked, surprised.

"One,"

Ben laughed sheepishly, "As the royal family we tend to get chauffeured around alot, and I'm still learning to drive so it's usually the same few cars we use," The prince explained, a strangely non boastful tone in his voice. Ben then turned in his step, opening out his arm as Chip opened the door to the passenger seats, "Are we ready to go? Auradon Prep awaits!"

The car's driver exited the vehicle, walking around to the back of the car to open up the boot, starting to load the bags of shopping into the large compartment. The teenagers giving up the bags, a slight uncertainty in their eyes--Not wanting to loose their new items, but after a reassuring nod from Ben, they handed them over, getting into the car.

It wasn't long before the car set off and they were on their way. 

"So, let's give you guys a bit of a run down," Ben announced, all eyes turning onto him as the prince began to speak, "Nobody here knows about Auradon Prep, right?"

Carlos gave him a confused sort of look, "I mean, we know a few things--Like how it's a boarding school for the kids who live in Auradon and stuff,"

"And it's stuffed full of pretty pink princesses,"

"And beautiful princes!"

Ben laughed, "It has all of those qualities, yes," The prince smiled, shaking his head, "Auradon Prep is a boarding school ran by Fairy Godmother herself. Created by my father almost twenty years ago, the school is a place of tranquility, where everyone, no matter their linage, is treated equally. You're taught in almost everything, and by the time you reach your last two or so years at Auradon Prep, you narrow down the subjects you're taught," The brunette seemed rather pleased with himself as he continued to speak, "Any questions?"

"So we basically live there?" Ben nodded.

"And the subjects are like, classes?" Ben nodded once again.

Mal folded her arms, smirking, "And nobody will bring up the fact that we're the kids of the people who took away their parent's lives for a little while?"

Ben's expression turned sheepish, "Well...I can't promise that--Audery, my girlfriend, she's the daughter of Aurora--But, she's kind and true. I promise that she will not judge you for the actions of your mother,"

"Great," Mal sarcastically exclaimed, "I'm thrilled,"

"Haha, I know that was sarcasm," Ben quipped back, before looking to Carlos and Jay for help, "Trust me guys, you'll be fine,"

"Well, are Jasmine and Aladdin's kid there?" 

Blinking, Ben shook his head, "Uh, no, I'm pretty sure Ally and Alex are both at university now,"

"Snow White?"

Ben turned his eyes onto Evie's now worried expression, "Sage is starting at Auradon Prep, yes,"

"Everyone my mother wronged?"

All eyes fell on Carlos.

"Well, uh," Ben cleared his throat, "The Radcliffe's, they uh..." The prince rubbed the back of his neck, a hopeful look in his eye, "Don't worry about that, ok, Carlos?"

Carlos just sighed quietly, "I knew it..."

Ben's smile became weak, "Cruella did more to them then anyone could even dream of doing to their worst enemy. But, it's not your fault and nobody's going to blame you for it,"

That caught Mal's keen attention, the girl raising a brow, "So Cruella stole their dogs, it's not like she did anything horrible--Heck, my mother's done worse to babies on the street I mean---" Ben's eyes shut her up instantly. He genuinely looked...apologetic.

"It wasn't just that," Ben turned his eyes away.

Now even Carlos was confused, "There's more?"

The prince shook his head, "None of the stories ended with a completely happy ending,"

"What happened?" Jay questioned, joining Mal and Carlos in the ring of intrigue whilst Evie remained preoccupied with worry.

"Well--" Ben laughed then, shaking his head, "It's not my story to tell--Maybe Anita and Roger could one day tell you themselves, but, it's not something I'd feel comfortable openly talking about,"

Carlos nodded, "I understand. My mom's crimes aren't really...pleasant to repeat,"

"Sir?" The window between the driver and passenger parts of the limo was suddenly lowered, Chip's eyes meeting with Ben's, "We'll be arriving at Auradon Prep shortly,"

Ben blinked, "Ah, thank you, Chip,"

The window returned to it's usual position, fully up.

The car shot down the road, heading down through a beautiful forest towards the stone clocktower that peaked out through the thick oak trees, the marking of the start of Auradon Prep's giant acres of campus.

And the start of the villain kids' new life.

Chapter Text

"Oh...My...Gosh--Is that?"

"Yep! Welcome, to Auradon Prep," 

Evie squealed like a girl as soon as she noticed it--The beautiful stone work, ivy frames, glass panes fitted perfectly against chiselled archways; topiaries and hedges lining the compressed cobblestone roads that led you all around this giant's campus. Auradon Prep. It's school banner blew softly against the summer's breeze, the flower filled fields sparkled and the students that had already arrived and were ready to head to their dorms cheered at the sight of the royal car.

Even Mal seemed to impressed by the build of the school. The young villainess stared, her mouth agape--but not noticeably so. Heck, even Jay seemed to show some sign of awe in his eyes as he admired the establishment. As for Carlos? Well, Carlos seemed to be in an almost state of joy. The albino stared openly, his brown eyes wide, a smile pulling at his lips.

Ben grinned at the expressions of his new friends, turning his eyes away from the two girls as Evie jumped Mal with a hug, and onto Carlos, "Pleased?"

"T-this...This is a school?"

Nodding eagerly, Ben's cheerful grin widened, "Yeah, Carlos! What else did you think it was?" 

Carlos shook his head softly in disbelief, "This is nothing like the school back on the Isle," He answered, his voice almost hoarse in shock; he continued to stare out the black tinted windows at the other students as they headed inside the building, laughing amongst themselves, "Why are they smiling like they've achieved something?" He then asked, turning his eyes back onto Ben, completely and utterly confused, "School is horrible! The teachers try to kill you and then throw a knife at you after you mess up that one question that you didn't even want to answer and-"

"Woah woah woah, Carlos!--Who told you that?" Ben quickly cut in, giving a soft reassuring smile to the boy, one of his hands moving up to rest on Carlos' bicep and the other holding his shoulder as the prince leant in, a consoling yet concerned look on his face.

"My mother! She...She told me alot of things about school!"

Mal seemed instantly worried, her brows sharpened and a protective expression welled up in her irises, "Was that why you stopped going to Dragon Hall after a few days?"

Carlos nodded, meek, "I..Uh, I snuck out the workshop to go to those--My mother somehow found out and I was never allowed to go back again," The albino softly admitted. 

"Well. She can't tell you any more lies here," Ben hummed, rubbing Carlos' shoulder where his hand was in a reassuring manner, "Trust me, ok?" The prince then told the son of Cruella, giving him the most sincere look anybody had ever given him since Carlos first met Jay.

Carlos gave him an unsure raise of the brow, "Do you promise nobody will throw a brick at my head?"

Ben laughed amusedly, "I swear on my father that will not happen,"

Mal shook her head, watching the interaction between the two almost fondly, however that protective gleam still hadn't left her eyes. With a nudge from Evie, Mal turned away, granting the two some level of privacy on her end.

As the car drove to a stop, Ben clapped his hands together, turning his eyes off Carlos to meet the ones of the rest of his newfound friends, "Well then! Are we all ready?"  

Carlos seemed apprehensive but was reassured by Ben's closeness to him, Mal and Jay both shared a look of nonchalance--Though Ben could tell both of them were nervous; Evie however, well, Evie was absolutely ecstatic and anybody could see the excitement in her eyes. Ben smiled, shaking his head, as long as he kept his cool, he knew the four would as well.

The door opened and Ben made a move to exit, "Welcome to Auradon Prep," Chip introduced to the villain kids as they all made a move to stare out the open door.

Ben hopped out with ease, straightening his blue blazer as he did so--Being picture perfect was one of his many roles as prince after all. He extended a hand back into the car, "C'mon guys," He cooed, making a motion with his hand for the four to climb out--Taking note of the sudden worry that made it's way across each of the teenager's faces, "Carlos?" He then tried, hoping Carlos could console the others that it was ok.

The son of Cruella seemed even more anxious than before at the request for him to exit first but then his face seemed to relax as if he was remembering something. Ben smiled, Carlos trusted him, he knew Ben wouldn't purposely do anything to hurt him, so Carlos took the brunette's hand and allowed him to help him out.

Instantly cameras started to flash and people started to yell--Carlos recoiled, trying to hide back into the car but Ben squeezed his hand consoling, glancing behind his shoulder to smile at the boy who hid behind him.

One of their own's fear caused the villain kids to spike up in an air of protectiveness, Mal climbed out first, glaring at the men and women holding the cameras and the students that were calling out things--Both words of cheer and hatred. Jay followed the purple hair girl, sharing her expression. Feeling more secure, Evie followed; she didn't glare (it was bad for her complexion after all) but she did seem to have a defensive stance to her as she shuffled more towards Carlos.

The door to the car shut behind them and Carlos jumped--Ben shook his head smiling reassuringly as he lead the four past the rows of topiaries and hedges and towards the school dormitories.

Two large engraved wooden doors stood before the five in the centre of the dormitory building--Stories etched into the wood, symbols of family crests Mal loosely recognised from her books; flowers were growing out of planters on the window sills and ivy adorned the cherry brick walls. It looked more like a mansion than a dormitory--Though part of Mal wasn't complaining, it was a nice change from the bleak castle her and her mother lived in.

Evie seemed ecstatic at the more modern architecture the dormitories took on in comparison to the stone walls of the main building. She only hoped the interiors to both carried that same post-modern look that she had always seen in stowaway magazines she had snuck out of her mother's secret stash. Once again her and Mal's expressions seemed to be in direct contrast to the other.

"These are the girl's dormitories," Ben told them, his voice clear, pride glowing from his voice. 

Mal stared up at the building, nudging Ben with the sharp point of her elbow, "Oi, is that annoying monkey part of the deal?"

The prince blinked in pure utter confusion, and his eyes turned up as he uttered the word, "Monkey...?" 

Sitting there on the chimney was a brown monkey--a familiar one who donned a fez and a matching jacket. Ben couldn't help the bemused expression that crept up on his face along with the sigh that left his lips, "That's only Abu--Aladdin's a guest speaker in the welcome ceremony today to show that even thieves--" He glanced to Jay, "Can become heroes of their own tale,"

Jay scoffed, "Aladdin was a good for nothing--"

"The monkey's cute," Mal then stated, cutting the tanned boy off. Ben's eyes turned to her, "You'd like him, Jay. He steals things," She then added, turning her eyes onto Ben--For a minute the prince swore there was a swirl of green in them, "Well then, shall we go in?" 

Evie squealed at the very idea, "Let's! I wonder what my room will look like!" The blue haired girl darted past Mal and Ben, running up the marble steps the building bore to then stand on the sorority-esc patio, "C'mon you guys!" She then huffed like a child in a zoo, "Let's go!" Mal rolled her eyes and hurried to follow Evie, Ben behind the purple haired girl.

The three leaving Carlos and Jay outside the building--Who were confused as to wether or not they were allowed in but were currently ignoring the dilemma to stare up at Abu.

"You think he sings?" Jay questioned, folding his arms as he watched the brown creature with careful, calculating eyes.

Carlos shrugged, quietening before speaking up to ask, "Do you think he bites?" The question was answered with another shrug, though this time it was from Jay, "I wonder who put the fez on him,"

"Pro'ally Aladdin," 

Carlos narrowed his eyes, "Where'd he even get a fez that small from?--"

"Jay! Carlos!"

With the call from Ben, the two boys jumped, startled. "Coming!" They both yelled in response, tearing their eyes off the animal to head inside, not wanting to keep the others waiting.

The inside of the dormitory halls were beautiful. The walls were painted a lilac colour, white candle chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and the mahogany floor boards were perfectly lined up with one another. Bouquets of flowers were sat contently in vases on top of side tables that lined the hallways and stands displaying a knight's silver armour were currently on show.

"Ah! New dormies!"

Ben grinned at the new voice whilst Mal recoiled--The voice sounded fake, too fake, as if the owner of it was putting on happiness.

The aforementioned prince turned in his step, his eyes falling onto a tall, slim brunette girl of whom was dressed in a loose fitting pastel pink and blue dress that hung flawlessly off her form, enhancing all the right areas. The girl's brown eyes sparkled at the sight of the prince, but as they fell onto the two new girls, she seemed to lose that light. 

Evie was in awe of her while Mal just stood, her eyes observing the girl like she was a lab rat--She was too stiff, too...fake. It was interesting, yet sad. A part of Mal wanted to help her, the other half wanted to hurt her until the girl snapped. She was already nearing the breaking point.

The girl seemed...uncomfortable under Mal's gaze, but didn't say anything regarding it, "Benny boo! Why didn't you tell me you were going to bring those two today! I would have called down the entire dormitory to come welcome them!" The girl exclaimed with a huff, "Tell your best friend before you do these things!"

"Haha, I'm sorry, Audery," Ben apologised, an amusement glistening in his irises, "But you know I'm never one to ruin a good surprise," The prince then teasingly added before taking a step backwards and extending his arm, "Audery, I'd like you to meet Mal and Evie," His eyes then looked back to said girls, "Mal, Evie, meet Audery, daughter of Aurora," 

Something in Mal seemed to beckon her to almost say a sarcastic 'great' but she held her tongue. Audery didn't seem to know her lineage yet, so there was no point starting a fire that hadn't even been lit yet.

"It's a pleasure," Audery sweetly chimed.

Evie beamed at her, "Likewise!--I love your dress,"

Audery blinked at the compliment. The girl obviously taken aback; it was almost like she hadn't been given a compliment before--But Mal knew that that wasn't the case, Audery was too pretty to not be given an admiration before. The shock came from the fact she had received one from a villain's child.

"Oh, um, thank you," Audery seemed to genuinely smile at that, albeit a small one, "It's designer," Evie seemed even more enthralled by that idea, she seemed to almost blurt out a 'me too' or 'i'm a designer' but she stopped herself.

Impressions were everything here after all. The two girls knew that.

"And who are these two?" Audery then asked, her voice cutting daggers into the thoughts of the villain girls, who both followed Audery's gaze onto Carlos and Jay--Who were still discussing Abu, though Carlos had seemingly taken the conversation to a more logical world; their sudden involvement in the others' conversation drew them out of their little bubble however.

Ben seemed to light up even more at the question, "Oh, yes!--Audery, these are the other two kids I was telling you about," He motioned to them with a gesture of the hand--a kind one, Mal hoped at least, "This is Jay and this," Ben then placed his hand on the said white haired boy's shoulder, who was standing a few steps behind the prince already, "Is Carlos,"

Mal didn't understand why exactly Carlos was given the almighty touch of the prince, but she didn't care too much to think into it. The two had seemingly become fast friends so she doubted any mistreatment.

Audery carried the same forced voice she had before, "Nice to meet you,"

"Y-You too," Carlos managed to get out in an adorably shy stutter before blinking at Jay's silence, elbowing him sharply with his gangly limb.

The tanned boy jumped and Mal rolled her eyes--It was like the two had never seen a beautiful girl before...Well. The fairy blinked. The only 'beautiful' girl on the Isle was Evie and it's hard to really see a childhood friend as anything more than just that, a friend.

Jay collected himself quickly and took a confident stride forward, taking Audery's hand in his own and kissing it, "Pleasure's all mine, Princess," He coyly greeted, the flirtatious tone his voice took on obvious but purposefully so. Anyone could see the red tint that dominated Audery's cheeks at the touch.

Obviously nobody here was used to the more provocative ways of the Isle--And what Jay did was more so on the friendly side of things, people kissed their friends all the time. Or at least Mal was aware that people did that, she wasn't a touchy person.

"W-Well, it's, um..." Audery couldn't seem to get the words out as she carefully withdrew her hand, looking to Ben for answers, who seemed surprised by Jay's sudden forwardness, "How about I show the two girls to their new rooms whilst you take the guys to theirs?" The brunette then suggested, trying to obviously create a distance, "And we'll all meet back together at the ceremony in an hour?"

Ben nodded, "That will be brilliant--Thank you, Audery,"

The girl nodded, "No problem," She smiled at the prince before turning around, giving a friendly nod of the head to the girls, "C'mon, Mal, Evie. Allow me to show you your new rooms--They're absolutely beautiful! Some of the best here," Evie rushed after the other girl, giddy once more whilst Mal rolled her eyes, nonchalantly following with a snarky wave of the hand to say goodbye to her male companions.

"Well then, shall we?"

The male dormitories had a stark difference to the girls' dorm interior wise. Sure the outside retained the same red brick and climbing ivy, but the interior looked like the inside of a french castle. Patterned carpets and walls of regal colours, beautiful paintings lining the walls and suits of armour proudly on display in gold instead of the occasional silver one here and there in the girls' hallways.

In a twisted way, the dormitories reminded Jay of Gaston's hunting shed back on the Isle, though back on the isle his walls were lined with corpses not artsy paintings of them. The tanned boy shivered, if there was one person he was afraid of, it'd be Gaston. After retiring from animal hunting he went on to do some human hunting.

"You ok?" Carlos mouthed to him, the white haired boy noticing the other's sudden anxiousness.

Jay nodded, "Peachy," He mouthed silently back--Not wanting to alert Ben to anything.

The said prince was ahead of the other two, striding proudly down the hall towards where the two's room was, "It's only a little walk now!" He announced to them before grinning, "How do you like the place so far? Cool eh?" Ben asked, glancing hopefully back at them.

"If I'm honest, it's a little...over patterned," Jay admitted with a laugh, noticing the ugly chandelier pattern the wallpaper took on on the third floor. Carlos was nodding along, stifling a laugh.

Surprisingly however, Ben wasn't offended or even disheartened, he agreed with them, "Haha, yeah that's what I thought. Flora may be brilliant at growing flowers and tending to the grounds here, but she's not too good at decorating the halls," Ben explained in his own laugh, "She means well but I think she should leave the decorating to Fauna--Her work in the girls dormitory was amazing," Carlos nodded in agreement, the boy's eyes widening in shock at a painting of a hunt in progress; he quickly caught up to Ben.

"This is it," Ben announced once they reached the outside of the door, "After you,"

Jay and Carlos exchanged a look before they approached the door--both of them anxious yet curious. Making the first move, Jay moved past Carlos and took the gold handle in a firm grip, "Ready Carlos?" He asked, not glancing back to the said boy.

The albino boy nodded quietly, "Y-yeah,"

With the nod of confirmation from Carlos, Jay pulled down the handle and pushed open the door, allowing the wood to swing open from the force.

The room was huge, almost like a luxury suite in a hotel. The door led into a small open hallway decorated profusely with paintings and small statues on wooden tables; at the end of the hall was a large living space fitted with sofas and a large TV with an advanced game system rigged into it; two bedrooms were built in either side of the living space, each fitted with walk in wardrobes and ensuite bathrooms.

Carlos stared in awe--This...This was his room?

Alas, it was Jay who spoke first, like always, "No way this is ours," 

Ben laughed at the sentiment, "It's yours," The brunette confirmed, placing a hand on each of the boy's shoulders, leading them through into the heart of the room, "I take it you like it?"

Carlos stared up at the dainty stain glass light that hung from the centre of the living room, one that reminded him of back in Hell Hall--Back in the home that wasn't home; it was familiar. A relaxing familiarity that made Carlos feel at home. Thusly, he answered, "Yeah," He turned to face Ben, "I do,"

Jay nodded in confirmation, "I do too--This place is rad," The tanned boy walked away from Ben's hand, heading further into the living space to look over the TV, "I've never seen one so big..." The ex-thief commented loosely, running a hand over the grooves on the monitor.

"Auradon Prep is fitted with the best technology money can buy," Ben explained as best he could, shrugging like it was no big deal, "The monitor is touch screen--You turn on the actual TV by pressing the bluetooth remote in the coffee table," Ben informed them; a statement which made Jay's eyes drift off the monitor and onto the built in remote in the coffee table. Fancy.

Carlos, still with Ben's hand on his shoulder, looked over to meet with the prince's eyes. A goofy, let grateful smile adorning his lips, "Thank you. For all this I mean, this...This is awesome,"

Taken aback, Ben blinked--For a moment Carlos swore his cheeks went red, but he was probably imagining what he wanted to see; Ben was pretty attractive after all. After a moment of silence, Ben spoke, his own smile tugging at his lips, "You're welcome, Carlos," 

Something about the other using his name tugged on the heartstrings Carlos hadn't become acquainted with yet, the boy's own cheeks burning a shade of red that was embarrassing to think about. He didn't speak though. He didn't know what words to say or if they'd even come out at all.

Jay hadn't noticed the exchange, the boy too fascinated with the space he was given--Jafar's Junk Shop hadn't exactly been the roomiest place for a growing teen to sleep after all, "There aren't any conditions that come with us living here, right?" Jay then asked openly into the air.

Ben blinked once more before smiling, "No, no, there aren't any conditions--There's a curfew but that's it," The prince explained to them.

"Curfew's are time constraints, right?" Carlos inquired innocently from Ben's side, the boy seeming genuinely interested in the topic--A weird thing to attach an interest into, but Ben wasn't arguing, he liked explaining things to Carlos, it felt like he listened.

Nodding, the brunette smiled at the other, "Yep! It's a protocol put in place just to make sure everyone's safe and in the right place," He then turned his eyes away from Carlos, looking at Jay, "The curfew here is 10pm, so you can't leave your dormitory after that without an adult escort," Ben decided to add for good measure, it would be better if they were informed of that loophole now.

Jay raised a brow, looking behind his shoulder at the two, "What about you?" The boy cheekily grinned, "I bet you get royal exceptions to that rule?"

Ben surprisingly laughed, "I do, however it's best to set the example as the crown prince instead of exploiting the title," He wisely mused causing for Carlos to turn his doe brown eyes back onto him.

"Man you're such a goody two shoes," Jay snorted as he hopped up onto the couch, shoes on and everything. He kept his eyes on Ben and Carlos, "Back on the isle there was no such thing as a lame ass curfew--The dark was the day and that's when things got fun," With the statement hanging in the air, Jay then folded his arms, hopping over the other side of the sofa and onto the wooden floor boards, now at equal height with Ben, "Following the rules is boring,"

Ben hummed, "True--But following the rules is also what keeps everyone safe,"

Jay looked as if he wanted to say something else--As if he wanted to argue with Ben, but something held him back. He bit his tongue and didn't give a witty retort. Carlos stared at him, his brows furrowing, something about that felt wrong. It felt like Jay was preventing him from being...him.

It felt fake.

Was that all that Auradon was?

People being fake? Sad people being fake? Broken people being fake?

Carlos bit his lip and looked down, that was no way to live, that was just...sad. It almost made him long for the Isle, back where you at least got the ability to be you. The thought made Carlos wonder, was that what the price of freedom in Auradon was?

Evie 'surprisingly' liked Audery. She was the epitome of what an Auradon Girl should look like, should act like--Heck, she was practically the poster child of the kingdom. From her perfect brown locks to her perfect porcelain skin and shining brown eyes; her very figure was that of a fashion model, slim yet curvy, her lips a poppy red even without any lip-gloss, her hands and feet small and dainty. Evie adored that, Audery was everything she had ever wanted to be.

Mal didn't get it--Of course she didn't. Mal was a born and bred Isle girl; Evie was taught from day one to be a princess, to be porcelain, not to fight the system.

"The ceremony is an hour long, you'll hear speeches from past students, Ben, guest speakers and the headmaster," Audery informed them as she led the two other girls down the marble staircase towards the foyer, "At the end of it you just stand and clap with everyone else--Me and Benny Boo will round you all together so he can go over the school rules with you and bring you to Fairy Godmother,"

"Fairy Godmother?" Mal raised a brow, amused, "The Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo one?"

Audery giggled at that, glancing behind her shoulder to smile at her, "Yep! That's her," She congratulated before continuing to explain, "Fairy Godmother runs the school, y'see. She'll give you your timetables and explain a little more to you about how we do things here. I'm sure you have questions," Mal rolled her eyes, her expression morphing into one that simply read 'duh'. Evie stayed beside the purple haired girl, not uttering a word.

The fact the once giddy and bouncy bluenette wasn't speaking tugged at the last bit of concern in Mal's head, and the girl's eyes turned onto her, "E? Miss Uptight? You ok?" She muttered quietly so that Audery couldn't hear their conversation.

Evie nodded stiffly, giving a smile that bled into her words, "Of course I am,"

"Ugh--She's rubbing off on you, I can tell," Mal said as an answer, keeping her voice a quite murmur, "Stop holding yourself back. If you're excited, be excited--It's better than you being a prissy pink zombie beside me,"

"Mal?"

"Yeah?"

"I hate the colour pink," Evie corrected, a genuine, amused smile pulling on her lips--an endearing, reassuring smile that rubbed off on the rebellious teen who smirked in a response. Pleased with the other's answer.

"Glad you're back, E,"

Evie shook her head, "Never left," The blue haired girl then sighed, slowing down to create a sense of distance between the Isle kids and the Auradon one, "What do you think so far? About all this, I mean?" Mal raised a brow before she shrugged.

"It's been one hell of a journey to get here," Mal admitted honestly, her eyes sparkling with raw emotion, "But I'm glad we did it, sorta at least. I saw the dining hall on the walk over to the dormitory--It had one hell of a buffet," Evie laughed at that, grinning profusely--It made Mal happy to see Evie express herself so openly. 

The aforementioned blue haired girl then hummed, "I like it--But I don't know. I'm glad we did it, but it's not home just yet," Evie herself explained, an intelligence peaking through the vain exterior, one that Mal didn't know Evie had, "I guess we just have to wait until classes start,"

"Says the girl who started to cry once she saw her bedroom," Mal quipped with an ease causing for Evie to laugh again, her cheeks red in a mix of embaressment and happiness; blushing as the people of Auradon would say.

"Excuse me for liking that palace of a room,"

Mal shrugged, she couldn't argue much there--She had a mini fridge in her room, and after giving the place a nice spray down with her paints, it could really be home, "You think the boys have bigger rooms?" 

Evie blinked, "Probably not--Everything's equal here after all," She commented in response before becoming captivated with the thought of something, "Ha, I bet Carlos and Jay are fighting over which room is who's," Evie giggled at the thought, as did Mal.

"And I bet you Jay won the fight,"

"I don't know, Carlos can be pretty territorial when he sees something he likes,"

Nodding, Mal smirked, there were truth in those words, "A drastic makeover is needed for our rooms, that's for sure--Pink duvets on a white canopy bed is so not my style," She then decided to comment, changing the conversation topic back to their rooms.

The other girl groaned in agreement, "You know me too well--I need blue velvet blankets pronto, mannequins too. Oh!" Evie met eyes with the blue eyed girl, "If we go get spray paint can you please do a redo of the walls in my room? They're way too flowery," Mal laughed at that.

"I thought you liked the princess vibes?"

Evie shuddered, "Not when they're a pastel pink,"

It was at that moment Audery turned around beaming--Somehow the three had walked from the dormitories and over to the main school building without them even noticing the journey. A pretty spectacular move in Mal's book, "Welcome to the Main Building. All your classes will be held in here, come. I'll take you through into where we were going to meet Ben," The princess announced before sashaying back to her previous position of leading the two other girls.

Mal and Evie shared an amused look but followed Audery up the stone steps and through into the building. 

The inside of the school was one straight out of a victorian manor; from the iron candle lights to the impressive woodworked walls, staircases and banisters. Hanging from said banisters were the school's blue and gold flags, which judging by their positioning weren't a period typical decoration. Bunting and welcome signs were draped across the walls, flowers were dotted around the hall in vases, and the pane glass windows had specialised stain glass put over them.

Both girls instantly felt outcasted.

Students both new and old were already roaming around the school, giddy about the ceremony to come; most of the old students that were there being guides for the newer ones who were receiving a tour of the grounds. They were all dressed up for the occasion in designer outfits fit for royalty. Their polished shoes leaving no marks on the light grey carpet that lined the halls--So when Mal noticed familiar dark footprints on the said carpet, she knew the boys were already here.

"Mal! Evie!"

And there was Carlos.

Evie easily rushed past Audery, ignoring the edict she had put in place for herself after years of training from her mother, enveloping the similar aged teen in a hug, "C! Oh my gosh!" She pulled away from the platonic embrace, "Tell me everything about your room!" She practically ordered Carlos who laughed in a mix of nervousness and cheerfulness.

"It's uh, big," Carlos answered, grinning goofily at his friend, "Did you guys get laptops too?"

That caught Mal's attention, "You guys got laptops?"

At the voice of the purple haired girl, Jay appeared from behind the corner, holding a paper plate of food gorging on it as if he had never eaten before, "Correction," He opened as he stuffed his mouth with a handful of crisps, "Carlos got a laptop," Jay huffed at his own words.

Carlos rolled his eyes, "You got the bigger room!"

Mal and Evie swapped a 'I-told-you-so' look before turning their eyes back onto the boys as Jay asked them a simple, "So, what's your twos rooms like? Girly I bet," 

"You have no idea," Mal loosely commented, trotting over nonchalantly to join the circle of outcasts. The girl then flicked her gaze around, feeling eyes on her, "Is it just me, or do you feel like a dragon in a zoo?" She asked to the others, who all nodded, albeit with all different emotions clouding their eyes.

Carlos seemed uncomfortable, "People kept looking at me and Jay when Ben led us around the dorms--I didn't say anything but it felt weird," He muttered; his anxiety obviously flaring up as he thought back to the time.

Evie, unlike Carlos, seemed fine with it, "They're just curious, we look like complete utter aliens after all,"

"They should probably keep their eyes to themselves before I punch them out," Jay growled, continuing to eat--The muscled teen's fierce loyalty burning forests in his dark eyes; a loyalty Mal respected, their close knit group would benefit greatly from Jay's protectiveness.

Mal placed a hand on each hip, allowing herself to relax some with the familiarity of the pose, "Let's just get this ceremony over with so we can all talk somewhere more..." She glanced around again, her eyes motioning to Audery who was chattering away with Ben, who had made his way over to her a few minutes prior, "...Private," Mal finished.

The group nodded in joint agreement. 

Ben wandered over after a moment of two, a grin on his face, "Well then, shall we go in?"

The ceremony was boring to say the least--It was nothing like any of the villain kids had seen before, that was for sure, but Carlos still found it mind numbingly boring. There was just something about listening to people drone on about random things whilst you just sat there in silence which he just didn't get. An urge to move kept nagging at him and he had to result to tapping his feet to try fight against it. Mal and Jay weren't doing any better if Carlos was being honest though--Heck, the only person who seemed to actually listen was Evie and even she seemed to doze off every now and again.

What they were talking about wasn't very interesting either--Old students chatted about their favourite teachers, clubs to join and the student union; Ben gave a motivational speech whilst also informing people about the VK's presence at the school, telling everyone warmly to treat them with kindness and respect (a notion Carlos was grateful for); Fairy Godmother talked for half an hour about the rules of the school and when classes would start; before then, finally, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather came on stage to talk about when the first dormitory meeting would be, and the ceremony was over.

Like Audery and Ben had told them too, once the other students stood up and started to clap, they did to--It was a sign of respect, Carlos thought, or was it to show that they had actually listened? It was a lie if that was the case, Carlos couldn't fathom how anyone could listen to that dribble.

The rows were dismissed one by one, allowing Ben and Audery to get to the four quickly and lead them out the assembly hall and back through into the foyer, where, sadly (according to Ben at least), they'd have to part with Audery for the time being. She had to unpack too after all.

"It was lovely meeting you guys," Audery chimed, smiling at all of them warmly, "I'll see you when I do," Ben and the rest nodded to her, wishing her well before Ben gave her a hug and the brunette left.

After Audery left, Ben turned his gaze back to the group, grinning, "Well then, let's go see Fairy Godmother shall we?" 

Mal rolled her eyes, yawning, "After that borefest can't we have a second to sleep?"

Evie elbowed her, "C'mon Mal, it wasn't that boring," The blue haired girl tutted with a laugh.

Ben smiled warmly at them, "The sooner you guys get your timetables and a rundown of the rules, the sooner you all can unpack your new stuff and sleep," The prince reassured, his words sparking a sudden interest in the four.

They'd get to sleep in a bed. A warm bed. A bed with walls around them. Not a fur closet. Not a shelf. Not a old bathtub. Not a stone slab. 

"Let's go!" They all seemed to yell in unison, hands stretching out to push Ben down the hall, the four now ushering him to lead them to the Fairy Godmother. Ben couldn't help but laugh--This, this was a good idea.

 "So you met them?"

Audery sighed openly, folding her arms as she rolled her eyes, cocking her body to an angle, "Yes, I did, Chad. I don't know why that's such a big deal," She grumbled, holding her hand up to eye level to stare at her pastel pink and blue nails as if they were the most interesting thing in the world, "They were surprisingly nice,"

"And you have no idea who their parents are?"

Audery shrugged, "It's confidential apparently--To keep any students from lashing out at them,"

Chad seemed to curse under his breath, but Audery couldn't hear what the word was, "Fine. Fine. We'll just have to find that out for ourselves... It's two boys and two girls, right?" Audery nodded simply, not taking her eyes off her nails, "Alright...I'll see what I can do. Thanks for talking to me, Audery,"

"Whatever, Chad," Audery responded with a huff before she turned around and headed away from the school's gymnasium, leaving the blonde princely teen behind.

Chad smirked, oh. He'd find out who they were, and once he did, he'd blast it to the rest of the school--They deserved punishment after all.

"As requested by King Adam, you four shall not be participating in class with the other students until you pass Remedial Goodness 101--A month long course to see how you fit in at Auradon Prep and if you're suited for the school," Fairy Godmother, a old yet charming woman, told the five after they were seated in her office; her blue eyes sparkling with wisdom as she spoke.

The office was annoying flawless in design, Mal had found--But trust the godmother of all godmothers to have the office of a god. The entire room was symmetrical, there were no bumps or cracks in the floral wallpaper, the desk was straight, even the curtains on the windows were perfectly parted and tucked away behind a golden hook. It would have made Mal feel uncomfortable if she wasn't annoyed by it, nobody should be allowed a room that perfect.

The four new arrivals were sat along a leather couch for visitors on either side of the room beside the door; Evie was looking at her nails, Mal glaring at the room, Jay was messing with Carlos, pushing the said white haired boy into the leaves of the potted plant beside the couch. Ben however was sat on one of the two chairs in front of the desk, ones used for parents when a parent-teacher conference was needed.

"That class has never been introduced to students before," Ben righteously brought up, the brunette stiffening as he spoke; the prince was obviously annoyed by the revelation and rightly so, it was unfair that four of the new arrivals had to prove themselves, "The class doesn't have a teacher," Ben attempted to argue.

Fairy Godmother warmly smiled at him, "I shall teach the class,"

Mal automatically rolled her eyes--Great. She couldn't wait for that. Who else but the arch nemesis of her mother to teach the class she was forced into. Leaving Auradon altogether sounded better and better, but she couldn't. A part of her wanted to prove herself to the uptight kingdom; prove that she wasn't her mother.

Ben shook his head, giving up his side of the argument with a sigh. He stored away his anger and turned to look at the teens who sat behind him, turning his expression soft, "Is that ok with you guys?" 

None of them felt confident enough to shake their heads, so they gave in, nodding.

"Brilliant!" Fairy Godmother cheered, "Then it's settled," The fairy stood up, her endearingly friendly smile doing nothing but pissing Mal off even more--and probably Ben too. With her mushroom shaped skirt bouncing as she walked, the woman handed over a sheet of paper to each of the new arrivals, "These are your timetables! You will all take the class together--Now remember, goodness comes from within," She added as she handed the last timetable to Carlos, who blinked at the words of advice.

Ben nodded, standing up himself, "Thank you very much, Fairy Godmother," He thanked sincerely as the said fairy trotted back around to sit at her desk.

"You're very welcome, Benjamin," The headmistress replied sweetly, "I hope to hear good things about their progress!" 

The prince nodded, "Of course," He told her before turning his head to look at the others, smiling more genuinely, "C'mon guys, I'll take you back to the dorms, I'm sure you all want to catch up," The villain kids rose from their collective seat on the couch and headed out the door, Ben following in suit. 

Once the door was closed, Mal snorted loudly, "God that was a load of shit,"

"Mal!" Evie exclaimed, gobsmacked.

Mal rolled her eyes, turning around to face the blue haired girl, "What? It was! Instead of actually getting treated like normal kids we're treated like criminals," The girl snapped, folding her arms, "Two classes a day followed by a lecture about how to be nice and a workshop about good deeds?" Mal read off her timetable, "It's bullshit and you all know it," The teen grumbled.

Jay nodded in agreement, turning his eyes to Ben, "No offence, princey--But that," He pointed to Fairy Godmother's door, "-was rigged against us from the get go,"

Ben shook his head, seemingly agreeing with the two, "I'm not saying you two are wrong, my father is meddling where he doesn't belong but...He's the king. He believes that years of wrongdoing is wired into your heads, if he this is what it takes to prove him wrong then so be it," The prince proposed with an annoyed sigh. Anyone could tell he was holding back his anger, but the question was for who's sake? 

"B-But that's stupid!" Carlos exclaimed, catching everyone's attention, "I don't want to go around a-and skin dogs! I don't even like dogs! They freak me out--They're all evil and stuff!" Carlos announced loudly, stuttering and stumbling over his words showing how anxious he was, "And Mal couldn't care less about world domination!" The white haired boy added.

The mention of her name made Mal raised a brow with a laugh, "Don't count your coins just yet, C,"

Sighing, the prince smiled apologetically at Carlos before turning his gaze onto all of them, "I know--I know. Look, I've not known you guys long, but I know you're not your parents. I've never met someone scared of going to school," Carlos cheeks burned in embaressment, "And I don't think I've ever seen someone get so excited over going to a mall before," Evie beamed at him, "--What I'm saying is, you guys aren't what everyone else here thinks you are; you're just kids. Kids who weren't raised well," Jay nodded, looking down at his feet, "Kids who need a second chance," Mal leant back nonchalantly, smirking.

"And I suppose you're the guy who's going to help prove that?"

Ben nodded vigorously, "Not only prove it with you, but prove it with every kid on the Isle!"

Carlos weakly smiled, "You'll make a good king, Ben," The white haired boy murmured, but nobody seemed to hear his voice as he stared down at his feet, fidgeting with his thumbs to try quell the anxiousness that racked his body with nervous twitches.

"C'mon, I'll take you back to the guy's dorm room--You still have a good hour or so before curfew after all," Ben said to them with a smile on his face.

Evie tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as they all started to walk, heading down the wide hallways that were lined with blue lockers and towards the west exit that would lead them straight to the courtyard that the dormitories were built around. Rightfully, she had alot on her mind. Her mother, Audery, the school, how her friends were handling it--There were too many questions left in the air for Evie to feel comfortable with. They were safe in Auradon, she knew that, but she still felt like a prisoner.

Mal seemed to pick up on her heavy thinking, the purple haired girl walking side by side with her, brows furrowing at the concentrated expression Evie bore, "Wow, E. I don't think I've ever seen your face scrunch up that much," The fairy tried as a joke, but it came off more concerned than amused.

"I'm just thinking," Evie told her quickly before forcing a quick, reassuring smile on her face--But Mal didn't buy it.

"Right...Ok, what about?" Mal questioned; silence dominated the space between the two girls before Mal seemed to catch on to the issue. Grabbing onto the shoulder pad of Evie's blue leather jacket, the older teen stopped the other in her tracks, motioning for Jay and Carlos to walk in front, which they did--Though, not without Mal whispering to Carlos, "Go distract Ben, would you?"

Carlos gave her a look, but didn't question it, "Ok, but you owe me one,"

With Carlos jogging up to Ben, smiling like an innocent child, and Jay standing between the prince and the girls, Mal turned her eyes finally back onto Evie, "Spill,"

Evie giggled under her breath, "You're a mastermind, you know that, right?"

"Of course I do, it's part of my blood--Now go on, talk, princess," Mal practically ordered, waving her hand dismissively, then she coyly smirked, "I know you want to," She added almost teasingly, like a lover would do.

The blue haired girl snorted, pushing Mal away lightly, struggling to not laugh, "Cut it out, Mal!" She exclaimed between giggles. Mal grinned at the said outcome whilst after a breath or two Evie shook her head, "Mission accomplished, I've forgotten what I was thinking about in the first place," Evie commented loosely, still grinning.

"Brilliant, now you'll no longer look like a kicked puppy,"

Evie dramatically gasped, "I did not!"

Mal shrugged, "Oh, you did. It would've been cute but you totally wrinkled up like a dried up orange,"

"Shut up! I totally didn't!"

Mal mischievously grinned--rather like a cat would when preparing to pounce, "How would you know? Did you have a mirror on you? Was it mommy's magic mirror?" Evie's cheeks went red and she huffed, pouting like a child.

"You are insufferable sometimes,"

"'tis what I'm here for," Mal hummed, looping her fingers through her the black belt around her violet jeans.

Jay shook his head from where he stood, slowing down to then stand only a few centimetres or so in front of the girls, "You both are insufferable,"

The purple haired girl hopped to walk beside Jay, Evie following in example, "Don't act like you and Carlos aren't," Mal retorted lightly.

"It's why we're all friends,"

The group arrived back at the dorm room five or so minutes later, Ben unfortunately departing from them to call his father (obviously about the earlier revelation regarding the villain kids' classes), leaving the four by themselves in the dorm room, not that they minded; without security cameras, eyes on them or an endearing prince, they could finally talk freely. After of course whining about how the boys' got a bigger room, the girls settled down--The group taking their seats in the living space, comfortable in their own space. 

"Soo..."

"Auradon is weird as shit,"

Mal's statement caused a resounding agreement amongst the four.

All they knew was that tomorrow was the start of their new lives--They'd meet new people; see new things. They would start their brand new adventure in Auradon.

Together.

You didn't think they'd separate when the story started to get juicy, did you?

Chapter Text

Waking up that next morning was terrifying, and not holding back, Carlos screamed.

"Carlos!" He heard Jay roar from the room beside his.

The scream had immediate effect, Jay rocketing into the room like his life depended on it, his fists balled up ready to attack. His eyes keenly scanned the room with murderous intent, first falling upon the centre of his concerns.

The other boy lay on the floor, his lithe body tangled up in his bed sheets---doe eyes glossy with a paralysing phobia. "Get that monster away from me!" 

Jay blinked, his fists lowering in confusion as he stared at the said 'monster' as it barked away joyously, rolling around on the remaining set of the bed's soft blankets. Harmlessly, the evil entity hopped off the bed, nuzzling it's wet black button nose into Carlos' freckled cheek, sparking actual tears of fear. "Is that a dog?"

"Jay!" Carlos panicked whimpers snapped the theif quickly out of his muddled state, his eyes widening in realisation as he sprinted forward, tearing the small golden mutt off Carlos and into his arms.

Wasting no time, Jay hurried to the ensuite bathroom of the room, hastily putting the dog down into the large bathtub before running back to console his companion, making sure to shut the door behind him. He spotted Carlos in the corner, curled up in a tight ball, flinching everytime he heard the dog bark or scratch at the door.

Instantly, Jay fell to his knees beside him, putting either hand on Carlos' cheeks to raise his head, reassuring him with an uncharacteristic gentleness, "Hey, hey it's ok, C--I think it's just the campus mutt Ben was telling us about yesterday, remember?" Carlos shook his head once more.

"I don't remember him telling me about a monster!" Carlos squirmed out of Jay's grip, "Why was that thing even in here?"

Jay narrowed his eyes, but tried to remain sympathetic. From what he briefly saw back on the Isle, he knew Carlos was deathly scared of dogs--and really anything that resembled such (all thanks to his mother). But anyone could see that the dog in their bathroom wasn't going to hurt Carlos, he just wanted to play.

"I don't know! Maybe the dog can open doors or some--" Pratically on que, there was a knock at the door to the dorm room, surprising both of the boys out of their state.

"Hello? Hello um--Sorry, it's early, is anyone awake in there?"

The teens raised a brow each, exchanging a matching look of confusion. They had both learnt from experience not to open doors to just anyone.

"I'm looking for a dog?" The voice then tried.

Jay's eyes widened and he stood up smoothly, grabbing the tee of Carlos' Ben-Bought pyjamas and hauling him up to his feet. "Do you think thats--?" 

Carlos followed Jay's eyes to the bathroom door and nodded frantically. Wanting the dog out as soon as possible, the smaller teen rushed to the front door, unlocked it and swung it open.

"We have your dog."

"Yeah, I thought you might have," The person at the door sounded sheepish, "The guys who stayed in this room before you two used to look after Dude before I did, he probably wandered in here wondering who you two are." 

Jay raised a brow at the explaination, or better yet at the dog's name. Dude? What kind of name was Dude?

Carlos seemed to think the same thing, "Dude?"

The other student at the door laughed. "Weird name I know, the guys who named him thought the name suited him. Dude is well, a dude after all." Carlos gave a slight amused smile at that, seemingly agreeing.

Opening up the bathroom door without a second thought, Jay scooped up the animal into his toned arms. "Dude, huh?" He said, casually strolling through into the main room, "This him?"

The boy at the door kind of reminded Jay of Carlos, he was short, bony-- meek and studious in the eyes, which were hidden by thick square glasses. He dressed in a polo shirt and beige golf shorts, a combination that didn't exactly suit his figure but it suited him as a person. As soon as his eyes fell upon Dude, his entire body relaxed.

"Oh thank god," He let out a huge sigh of relief as Jay handed the dog over, said dog barkily happily at the sight of his current guardian. "Thank you, guys. If I lost Dude on my first day as guardian I'd be toast..." He then smiled, "I'm Doug."

"Jay," Jay motioned to himself before wafting a hand at Carlos, "And that's Carlos."

Doug ran a loving hand through the dog's fur, "Nice to meet you both. And sorry again about Dude, he's been pretty excitable because of all the new faces." 

Carlos felt his skin crawl as said dog yawned, exposing his sharp canines. "It's ok just please--" He tore his eyes off the dog, his entire body stiffening. "--take that thing out of here."

"Thing?" Doug blinked, his eyes full of a mix of offence and shock. For a split moment he looked ready to spit out a retort, a come-back that would defend the dog in his arms, but then he stopped, his eyes slowly widened and his mouth became agape, "You're afraid of dogs," He stated before he repeating it, unable to comprehend, "You're afraid of dogs, aren't you?" 

The albino's eyes widened in surprise before he meekly nodded, sheepishly retreating in on himself.

Snickering misleadingly, Jay shook his head as he took a step forward, ready to shut down the conversation and push Doug out.

But before Jay could open his mouth to speak, Doug cut in, "He's not dangerous--He doesn't bite, I mean," Doug quickly eased, causing for Carlos to blink before shaking his head frantically.

"All dogs bite."

"Dude isn't like other dogs," Doug quickly objected, petting the said dog's head causing for his fluffy head to pop up from were he was burying it into Doug's elbow, "He's a playful guy, but he doesn't ever bite unless threatened. Trust me, he was trained against stuff like that since he's the school mascot and all," He them smiled, extending Dude out to Carlos but seeing the boy involuntarily flinch, he withdrew quickly, "Sorry, uh, I'll get out of your hair--" He coughed, moving out of the door, "Thanks again, it was cool talking you!" 

"Oh, uh, you too?" Jay awkwardly answered but it didn't seem like Doug heard him, the dwarfish boy already down the hall. Sighing, Jay rolled his eyes and shut the door with a mutter of "Weird..."

Brushing the encounter off with a shrug, Carlos turned to head back into his room, "We better go get ready..." The white haired boy commented loosely before scurrying out of sight.

He sighed quietly as he softly clicked shut the door to his room, leaning against the walnut wood. A guilty feeling welling in his stomach, he didn't mean to make Doug feel bad he just... Carlos huffed, slowly dropping to the floor. He could still hear her words in his head.

Good for nothing brat!

Worthless.

What an unfortunate child you are...You think I would actually love you? Why don't I just throw you out with the dogs?

NO! MAMA, PLEASE!

Carlos pulled his knees up to his chest. He didn't want to think about those times anymore. He felt his heart ache, for some reason he wanted to go see Ben.

His eyes glanced up, staring at the dresser in his room that he knew would be full of clothes. Standing up, he padded over quietly, fingers brushing against the cool metal handles as his eyes softened. The wardrobe in his mother's room had handles like these.

A phantom pain stung in his cheek causing for Carlos to quickly retract his hand. His mother's room was never a good memory, nor was any memory from Hell Hall, the name truly suited that God forsaken building. So much pain came from that place, he remembered every slap, every tormenting sneer his mother made as her goons would hold him down in front of rabid dogs--ignoring every scream and plead for help. 

Warmth blossomed across Carlos' face, stopping his train of thought before he worked his way into a panic. Brown eyes gazed away from the dresser and out at the window. There it was again, that crest. It was identical to the one on Hell Hall's windows, except... Something about seeing that rose on this side of the ocean made Carlos feel safe. 

He smiled, taking the handles of the dresser with a new found power and tugging, revealing the red, white and black clothes hidden in the draws. He wasn't on the Isle anymore. He could do anything over here!--he stopped, shuddering, just maybe not touching a dog. At least not just yet.

The teen got dressed swiftly, pulling together a simple yet what he deemed to be an "Evie-Approved" outfit. He fixed his hair and left his room without a second thought, his fist clenching with a newfound determination. Things would be different, he would--"Jay what are you doing?"

Silence dominated the air of the room. Brown eyes staring at the matching pair. There, sprawled out on the couch wrestling with with what looked to be a golden lamp that Carlos recognized to be from the coffee table. Moments passed, and then, laughter.

"Grr--Shut up, Carlos!"

Carlos grinned, bright and toothy, clutching his stomach with insane laughter. Jay's cheeks burned red as he chucked the lamp across the floor. "W-What were you trying to d-do!?" Carlos managed to get out between laughs.

Folding his arms stubbornly, Jay glowered. "I thought it was a real one! I thought I could snatch a free wish outta that thing!" Carlos kept laughing and laughing--a sound that Jay wouldn't admit it did, but it clearly brought a smile to his face. That was his plan after all, to try get Carlos to relax after the dog incident.

"You do realize the breakfast hall is open and that Mal and Evie are probably waiting for us?"

Jay slowly raised, hiding his smile with a tired, "Yeah, yeah."

"C'mon, let's go! I'm hungry!"

"I'm coming, jeez..."

Chapter Text

Settling into Auradon Prep was, well, it was an experience to say the least. It was much like how Mal had imagined swimming to be, endlessly trying to stay afloat, all whilst being beaten again and again by waves far too large to ever be considered fair; but at least here in Auradon, she had somewhat of a fighting chance. Between the judging eyes and cruel sneering stares of prissy oh so perfect princesses pouncing on every wrong word, at least there was no mother. No strike of her staff or viscous sting of her words, at least here the cruelty seemed to be that of words and not fists.

And that , Mal could manage.

Evie however, it seemed, not so much.

Mal had watched her, watched as Evie tried to squirm her way into the social circles, watched in passing at every attempt to flutter her lashes at the boys who looked her way. Again and again, Evie kept trying. And again and again, it always ended the same way, with Evie forcing smiles as if it were all just dandy , turning away from the wolves pretending to be sheep, and walking back to her , to Carlos and Jay. Laughing , as if they liked her really.

But Mal had seen.
She had heard the sniffles at night, when Evie thought she was asleep.
Mal just didn’t know how to approach it– her mother hadn’t exactly taught her the intricacies of consoling your sort-of friend you only met a week or so ago.

So, as Evie turned once more, returning to the shaded stone picnic table where they all gathered between classes, a stretched smile across her red lips, Mal said nothing. Again.

“Lonnie’s so funny you guys,” Evie confessed, delicately taking hold of her skirt as she stepped over the bench to sit. “You guys should really meet her,”

Mal doubted that, and, by glancing over Evie’s shoulder to the eye-rolling teenager who stood laughing with her bratty little friends, Mal doubted this ‘Lonnie’ wanted to meet them too.

“You gotta stop trying to make friends with those assholes, Eve,” Jay stressed, brown eyes glancing up from his phone to look her over - checking, no doubt, for any sign of upset or injury. Once satisfied with the lack of, he relaxed ever so slightly, allowing himself to look back at his phone. “They’re more two faced than the kids back home,”

“At least back home the other kids were honest,” Mal interjected, sitting with her enclosed hand beneath her chin, her blue eyes skimming the contents of her spell book. “Here it’s all, fake smiles and *‘oh my gosh! How are you’*--” Mal nasally drawled, imitating the girls a few tables over with their thick Auradon accents and overly put on niceties.

“That’s nice though!” Evie insisted, frowning at her friends, “I’d prefer at least someone trying to get along with me than just throwing a bucket of water over my head and ruining my clothes. Especially now,” Evie added, running her fingers down the length of her skirt, brushing out the crinkles.

 She still hadn’t quite gotten over the rush of having new clothes- of being spoiled so sincerely by someone so utterly charming - of being able to have things, things she chose and she liked- instead of forced into whatever garment her mother picked out for her, hand me downs usually. To finally be given a chance at an identity, to have things of her own, and have that taken away? Ruined by those who had never wanted for anything in their lives? It would, no doubt, crush her.

Jay and Mal hadn’t known Evie for as long as Carlos had, but even they had picked up on that.

“Just,” Jay began, only to stop and sigh, looking up again with a weak yet clearly well meaning smile, “Be careful, yeah?”

Evie shook her head, smiling, “You guys worry too much. We’re VKs, remember? We escaped from the Isle of the Lost? I can handle a few Auradon girls,” She insisted and that was that.
Before Mal could even retort Evie spoke once more, staring bewildered around at the lush blooming courtyard garden around them. “Hey, where’s Carlos? Wasn’t he in class with you?” Her eyes went to Jay, and Mal’s eyes followed.

Narrowed, stoic.
It didn’t take long for Jay to crack. 

On top of the three classes the four took together; Remedial Goodness 101, Safety Rules for the Internet, and Mal’s least favourite, Emotional Expression and Communication; Auradon Prep required students to take electives, a rule which even they weren’t free from. They just had private classes instead, kept away from the other students until they were deemed ‘good’ enough in the eyes of Fairy Godmother to join polite society -  and one of such classes, the one Jay and Carlos had just come out from, was Basic Chivalry. A lesson in, being a gentleman or whatever they taught.

“He was, yeah,” Jay confessed, running a hand through his hair as he spoke, “He has a free period next though, so he went back to the dorms.” 

Concern for Carlos’ whereabouts quickly dissipated, replaced by a loud annoyed groan from Mal as she shut her spell book. “Don’t remind me– Life Skills without Magic,” She huffed, already dreading the class to come. Merryweather’s lessons on normality without even an inch of competition were her least favourite. Carlos was truly lucky he didn’t have to take it- what with his mother never having used magic, unlike the rest of them, forced to sit through a truly exhausting hour of how to travel places without the use of teleportation or a magic flying carpet.

Evie let out an equally loud whine, sharing Mal’s distaste for the class - and the distaste for all the homework that came with it, “I totally forgot to do the assignment!” Evie realised, her eyes wide as Mal and Jay just started barely even bothered.

“We had an assignment?”

“You were going to do the assignment?”

Gasping, Evie’s eyes quickly narrowed, staring at the pair with a look of pure disbelief. “You– I ,” She began, only to shake her head firmly. “Nope. No – We did not come all the way from the Isle for all of us to fail out of school. Get up, come on. We still have time to do it,” Evie insisted, standing in a hurry as Mal and Jay groaned beneath her.
“ No , no groaning. Get up.” She said, sounding almost like a disappointed mother scolding her children.

And to that, they relented.Sluggishly rising up from their lazy heaps, they trudged after Evie - though it was more as if they were dragged by her invisible tether with a scolding glance alone, pulled against their will towards Merlin’s Library, a true staple of the school, where they would no doubt spend the remainder of their morning break on this assignment.
At least at Dragon Hall, their school back on the Isle, they didn’t have homework. 

Not that Mal particularly missed it. 

She’d take the homework over another foul pick up line from Harry Hook any day.

……

Things were different here in Auradon, a lot different than Carlos had first anticipated.
After getting over the how they had got here, the shopping trip, meeting Dude, going to an actual school for the first time in his life since his brief stint at Dragon Hall – Carlos had thought, he had naively assumed that was all the surprises over with.
But, he supposed now thinking about it, someone who had never experienced ‘normal’-- never experienced ‘healthy’, adjusting to that was going to be weird for a while.

Carlos just had never thought it was going to be this weird.

He had spent years of his life staring out that window in Hell Hall, gazing endlessly out at Auradon. Forever drawn to the castle, daydreaming endlessly about falling into the loving embrace of a different world, of one kind and fair, and loving. His whole life he had tried to hid behind his mother, doing her bidding all whilst dreaming of that intoxicating pull of something more; that delirious, perfectly enchanting whisper of something else – something so familiar, like a nostalgic taste of something so wonderful on the tip of his tongue, calling for him.

Calling for him to come , to come home.

But this was not home.

This was, well, it was bright for one. Gone the candlelight and dark stone brick, the furs and the mismatch of animal print. Here there were other colours than black red and white; he could sit on whatever furniture he wanted, he had a bed and a closet - and those two things weren’t shared anymore. And, there , at the end of his room, beside his bed, was a window. Glass stained blue and gold, shining the crest of the royal family - as his window back home did. A window of his very own, one his mother couldn’t catch him staring out of.

He was closer to that something else .
He just knew he was.

A startling knock tapped a gentle drum against the wooden door to the dorm room, a sound that reached Carlos even tucked away in his own little area.Knocks meant visitors, messengers usually– Carlos had opened the door to many of them back at the Isle, but, those were all for his mother, not for him . He was living with Jay however, and Jay was rather popular back home– the knock sounded again. 

“Coming!” Carlos called out, deciding that if this was a message for Jay- it’d be pretty shitty of him to ignore it after all the taller teen had done for him in getting him out of that hell hole of a house. 

Nervously, he hurried over, lips slightly pursed into a soft frown as he reached out for the door handle, unlocking the door in a swift click before pulling the latch open. 

Whoever Carlos was imagining was behind the door, it certainly wasn’t her .

She, whoever she was, was short, an inch or two below him; a plump figure within a periwinkle blue dress, doll-like eyes and mousy brown hair that was brushed back by a headband. She reminded Carlos of someone, he just couldn’t put his finger on who.

“Uh, hi ,” Carlos greeted, staring at the girl before him- who stared right back as if a deer in headlights. “I think you have the wrong room…” He slowly began, moving to close the door.

Only for her to squeak out a, “ No !” Her wide eyes growing wider, rosy lips slightly parted as she nervously continued, “No- I um, I definitely don’t, have the wrong room. Sorry– you- hi , I’m sorry to bother you,” The girl stammered, struggling to keep her gaze on Carlos as she spoke, “I’m Jane, Fairy Godmother’s daughter?”

Carlos blinked, “... Oh .”

“She- my mother, thought I should maybe, say hi? Introduce myself. Since making friends is… hard ,” Jane continued, her anxiety radiating off her every word, her every twitch and nervous peak back up at Carlos; it was almost as if she were afraid of him, of who his parents might be.

They were being kept confidential after all, Carlos could have been the son of Hades for all Jane knew.

Being an obvious spy for her mother aside, Jane seemed sincere. She seemed terrified , Carlos didn’t know how truthful she was in wanting to be friends, but. Compared to the wilting smiles the other kids around here gave him, and the glares from the Tourney team Ben had pointed out to both him and Jay, this was new . It was nice.
“Oh, well. I’m Carlos?” Carlos returned, awkwardly gesturing back to himself. “My roommate’s not here–”

“I know!” Jane sharply assured, nodding her little head firm. “I um, you seemed like the, least scary one, so. I wanted to say hi to you first– Oh man,” She blinked, turning her gaze back to the floor, “That was totally rude of me, I’m sorry– I don’t mean you’re scary - you’re not. You’re just–” 

“Different to what you’re used to?” Carlos offered alongside a small lopsided smile.

Jane again nodded, appearing relieved that Carlos understood, “ Exactly –  You just, seemed like the least, might possibly murder me, so. Hi ,” She awkwardly smiled, “I’m Jane,”

She had already said that, but Carlos didn’t mind, he just laughed softly. His smile widening into a more toothy little grin.
“Hi Jane,” He replied, sticking out his hand for her to shake, “I’m Carlos. S’nice to meet you,”

“ Hi ,” Jane spoke the words like releasing a breath she had been holding in for hours, a relief warming her face as she truly smiled, taking Carlos’ hand and shaking it. “It’s really nice to meet you too, I mean. Really , a lot of the other kids here are like, princes or, princesses- or, children of knights and, really cool people- and, I’m the principal’s daughter so making friends hasn’t been, easy– I don’t know why I’m telling you this–”

“But you’re Fairy Godmother’s daughter, right?” Carlos returned, gently pulling his hand back as he spoke, trying to keep his tone as gentle and unthreatening as possible; if Jane told her mother that one of the Isle kids had been rude to her? She’d send them back in an instant– “That has to mean something I mean, if it wasn’t for your mom, half the people here would be here, right?”

Jane blinked, then let out a small, sheepish laugh, “It would probably mean a lot more if I could do magic like my mom– it’s why I’m at Auradon, it’s my first year here too. Mom’s hoping the classes here will help, awaken my magical gifts,” Jane explained, gesturing her hands about as she spoke; it was endearing really, how nervously animated she was– and comforting , it felt far easier to talk to Jane than it had talking to anyone else around here.

Except maybe Ben.
He, was the weird exception to that.

Carlos smiled in return, about to say something - add something. Reassure her maybe, he didn’t know. Yet, before he could, Jane squeaked again, her eyes growing wide as she seemed to realise something Carlos didn’t. “Oh man- I gotta go, I have Wonderland History– but um, I’ll see you around, definitely-” Jane said, and she sounded like she actually meant it. She sounded hopeful , as if seeing Carlos again was something she wanted.

And Carlos wasn’t opposed. It had been nice talking to her. “Yeah, I’ll see you later,”

Jane beamed, and suddenly she was off. Scurrying down the hall like a mouse, hurried hands scampering into the depths of her messenger bag for her textbooks.

He had made a friend.
Here in Auradon.
All on his own.
Carlos grinned.

That felt good.

“Look you,” A familiar voice called from down the hall. Green eyes and a charmingly boyish grin, adorned across a face so… delightful . Delightful in a way Carlos didn’t quite understand, but he could feel it in his chest when his eyes met Ben’s. There was just something so delightful about him, and maybe that didn’t even need words. “Making friends already,”

Carlos’ head rose up like a meerkats, wide eyes staring down the hall to Ben, watching him as he approached. They saw each other almost every day, there was no way not to- Ben was one of the most popular guys at Auradon Prep, and yet, when they were up close, like this, the height difference between them always caught him so utterly off guard. “Ben! Uh– hi, hey. Um, were you watching me?”

Ben blinked and then laughed, grinning toothily as he shook his head, “You make it sound like I was creepily watching you from afar,” He teased, growing closer and closer to Carlos until he was stopped against his doorframe, shielding his gaze from the corridor behind him. “No, I uh. I wanted to check in. Say hi– I know you have a free period so, I thought maybe. If you wanted, we could hang out?”

“Hang out?” Carlos raised a brow.

“Yeah! Y’know,” Ben made an odd gesture outward, “Do something, together. As friends!”

Carlos snorted, “I know what ‘hang out’ means, Ben,” he returned, unable to hide his amusement at Ben’s antics– at his constant smiles that turned sheepish and dorky whenever he realised he needed to slow down and explain something. “I just– you want to hang out with me? I thought Jay- or Mal would be more your speed,”

Now it was Ben’s turn to raise his brow and laugh. “Why would I not want to hang out with you, Carlos? You’re cool. And, as much as Jay is also cool, and Mal is- scary but cool , you and me both don’t take any magic related electives, so. How about it? I promise there’s chocolate involved?” Ben added, waggling his brows like a impish child trying to convince their friend to pull some some devious little prank with them 

“Okay–Okay- fine,” Carlos caved within an instant, dimples adorning his freckled cheeks as he smiled, giving into those stupid brows and that grinning face. “But only because there's chocolate involved,” he hurried to add as he grabbed his dorm keys from the hook hanging beside the door, before stepping out to stand beside Ben - letting his dorm room door shut firmly closed behind him.

“I haven't lied to you so far, have I?” Ben reminded, beckoning for the white haired boy to follow him as he began back down the hallway. Like a duckling following the flock, Carlos scampered after him, doe eyed and already feeling those apprehensive butterflies blossom in his stomach. 

There was always that undeniable, ever present, feeling of safety around Ben. A warmth Carlos didn't quite understand that he felt across his cheeks, a tightening in his chest,yet all paired with an equally undeniable anxiety -  a bustling bumble of nerves racing in his heart. He never quite knew what to expect of the people here, especially not those wielding power; on the isle, keeping ones guard up was how you survived, staying alert to the possible danger around every corner — it was all Carlos knew, all he ever thought he'd know. 

And then he met Ben.

And it was weird - being given kindness, real kindness, without being expected to hand over something in return.

If he were Mal perhaps he'd go on more of the defensive — if he were Jay maybe he'd play into it, put on a false facade of warmth in return, so that when the ball finally dropped he'd be miles ahead of it, already running away with the crown jewels — if he were Evie he wouldn't even have to try , because he'd already have a title to empower every word he said. 

But he wasnt his friends. He didn't have a title, a spell book, or the street know how to pull a fast one. He was just Carlos De Vil, Cruella’s little lap dog until his mother eventually grew bored of playing parent and threw him into to the hyenas. 

So, he did what he knew best.

And followed.

“Um,”

It had been more then twenty minutes now and they were still walking; guided sauntering steps out from the castle grounds of Auradon Prep, and out across a cobblestone bridge covered in moss — towards a forest. A forest bigger than any forest Carlos had seen before, with thick lush trees stretching curled branches up into the cerulean sky above.

“Where are we going?” Carlos couldn't help but ask, walking still a step or two behind Ben as the prince lead him into the woodland, stepping over exposed roots and stones. Only stopping in his step upon climbing over one rather large to turn and give Carlos his hand.

A hand Carlos took without even thinking about it. 

Ben just smiled, squeezing his much smaller palm in his own as he eased the smaller teen up and over the steep slippery roots. “There's a lake not too far from here,” he explained, letting go of Carlos’ hand as he spoke to point down the trail. “Thought we could have a picnic — well,” he laughed, sounding a little awkward, “that sounds a bit formal… er,” 

His smile weakened and his eyes turned, glancing back to Carlos. “Can I be honest?”

“Are you leading me to my death?” Carlos joked.

“No!” Ben bleated, eyes wide for a moment before he seemed to catch onto the joke and smile again, but still it was weaker than before. “Definitely - definitely not…. Okay so, honestly ,” he began, beginning to walk once more. “You know my girlfriend, Audrey— I introduced you, right?”

Carlos nodded, “Yeah, the uh,” he thought for a minute, making an odd little gesture forward, “Daughter of Aurora, right?”

“Yeah, her - Um. Well,” Ben thought for a moment before letting out a rather hollow laugh, seeming nervous to admit to what he was going to say next. “We actually aren't dating? I mean. We are — our parents think we are - and need to continue thinking we are,” Ben babbled, running a somewhat stressed hand through his mop of hair. “Audrey's parents aren't really the most…accepting, of her choices in partners. And we've always been really close, so she asked if I could pretend to be her boyfriend and, we've been pretending ever since — at least I have. And things, things have started to get a bit complicated,” Ben admitted as they stepped out from the thick shadows of woodland and put into the clearing.

It took Carlos a moment for his eyes to adjust, but once they did.

He — where was he?

A lake, crystal clear, sparkling shades of teal, green and blue, encompassed the land around him; plant life blooming around the waters edge, curling up each stone that breached the surface of the pond. Columns, Greek deco in their styling, from an old temple or monument Carlos supposed, stood dotted around the clearing, yet they all lead towards one spot. A marble gazebo of sorts, or what was left of one, the walls and columns of it covered in overgrowth and ivy — and in the centre of it, waiting for the pair on a picnic blanket on the ground, was an array of snacks and drinks.

In any other context Carlos would have thought this to be a date.

If he thought someone like Ben could ever harbour feelings for someone like him , let alone another guy. Carlos had never heard of… that being here in Auradon — it, oddly enough, was the one thing the Isle had going for it in comparison. Being queer in any regard, it was always seemed to be more accepted - Carlos had never said it out loud of course— sure the Isle might have accepted it but his mother was another story. But Auradon, here it was all Princes and Princesses, right? 

Before Carlos dared even thinking of asking such a question, Ben was talking again - stepping over to the picnic as he went.

“Have you ever heard of the Royal Seal?”

“The Royal Seal…? Like the Royal Crest?”

Ben blinked, then smiled, “Kind of. It — it goes back, since we'll - before our kingdoms were united. Before the Isle of Lost - before my parents even met,” The teenager explained, gesturing with a flick of his hand for Carlos to sit beside him as he hopped down, making himself comfortable. Wordlessly, Carlos did so, watching with furrowed brows as he listened. “It's some of the oldest kind of magic, stronger than even Fairy Godmother - passed down through those of royal blood. It's a mark,” Ben continued, beginning to roll up his jacket sleeve, “a mark like this.”

There, etched like glistening gold ink deep within Ben's skin, lay an insignia Carlos didn't recognize. Or - was it an insignia at all? A bone, he could make out that much, like the sort of one a dog would be seen chewing on, swirled together with what looked like some sort of blur of, a shield maybe? Or was that a sewing machine?

“I don't understand,” Carlos admitted with a half laugh, eyeing Ben with a raised brow, “What's it supposed to be?”

“I have no idea,” Ben admitted in return, a more cheerful grin gracing his face once more as he rolled his sleeve back down. “My father told me the Royal Seal acts as a guide, a marker - it's supposed to lead you to your true love, the one who you're destined to be with, or who's destined to save you from evil. Mine was always just this weird black blur until now - like a weird bruise I always had. But now, it's telling me my true love has a dog bone. Or is a dog. I - honestly I have no clue —”

Carlos laughed, he couldn't help it. 

Magical marks that lead you to your true love? The son of Beast’s soulmate being what, someone who sold dog bones? It was laughable - but, sweet. Endearing, enviable.

Life must have been a whole lot easier with your own body giving you clues to your other half.

“And let me guess, Audrey doesn't have a dog? Or, gives away dog bones in her free time?” Carlos softly joked, reaching a hand over and eagerly picking up one of those Hershey kisses he remembered devouring in the limousine but a week ago. 

“Nope,” Ben smiled sheepishly back. Leaning back on his palms as he mused, “I don't think she's a pirate either. That was my next bet - just with only half a crossbone,” he let out a sigh then , shaking his head. “Originally I was gonna take her here. Tell her about the mark and break it off before things got too complicated but… I chickened out. I saw you and well, here we are… pretty cowardly huh?” 

Carlos blinked, his mouth already covered with chocolate as he stared bewildered at Ben. “I don't think you're a coward,” he softly said before he could even think his words over. “It must be.. weird. Having your whole life, your love life already predetermined like that? Even if you and Audrey were just pretending, it doesn't make ending it any easier. There's nothing cowardly about wanting to do it right,”

Ben just stared .

His mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again. A thousand things rushed through his mind at once, a thousand things he clearly wanted to say, but. All that came out was, “ Chocolate ,”

“Huh?”

“You have chocolate - on your face,” Ben stammered.

Carlos again blinked, only to realise what Ben meant and let out an embarrassed yelp of sorts - one that, in the back of his mind, reminded him of how Jane had been acting earlier. 

God, half an hour with Ben and he was acting like some innocent maiden - get a hold of yourself, Carlos. You're a De Vil for christs sake.

Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, Carlos, red faced and all let out a shy little snicker, “Guess I'm still not used to the whole polite society thing yet,”

“Who says you have to?” Ben returned with a shake of his head, swiftly composing himself once more as he smiled, basking in the sun as it began to peak out through the clouds above; casting warm golden rays through the canopy above down onto the two boys. 

“I always wanted the kids from the Isle to be able to come here y'know, to Auradon Prep,” Ben softly began, watching Carlos out the corner of his eye as he lowered his sleeve and furrowed his brows.

“You said that before at the castle,” Carlos said, confused. “I would've thought you'd be scared of us,”

Ben raised an amused brow, “Of you ? No. Of Mal? Maybe,” he joked, earning a goofy crack of a smile from the white haired teen. “Everyone deserves a second chance, Carlos. Shoving those who have done wrong away to an island where we don't have to look at them? Letting their kids suffer the sins of their parents whilst we go on with our lives ignoring you?” Ben again shook his head, this time more firm, his words dripping with confident sincerity. “Its not right — and you , Evie, Jay, Mal - you guys prove it. When I’m King, I'm getting the kids over there out.”

“You're gonna make a good King, Ben,” 

Ben smiled down at him, the golden light from above dancing across his hair, illuminating his eyes, his cheekbones and jaw - cascading colour across his complexion and exposing all those little faded freckles across his nose.

“What's it like, over there?” Ben asked, “If you don't mind me asking, I mean—”

“It's dark,” Carlos answered without a moments hesitation, “ Really dark,” his brows again furrowed, it was hard to remember the good parts of the Isle - what it looked like. Now he was here, when he thought back to then , all that came to mind was Hells Hall. His mother. Her beatings. But for Ben, he tried. 

“I didn't get to see much of the Isle; my mother never really let me outside. Looking out the window, it was always so dark though. Auradon, the castle - it was like this beacon in the distance,” Carlos offered, recalling details as best he could without focusing too much on his mother's face, or voice - or any aspect of her really. “The few times I got to go out though, with Jay or, sometimes with Evie - it was honestly pretty scary. Not that you could ever say you were scared, fear was weakness out there — you cried or ran away, or showed any ounce of being weak, and the Isle punished you.” Carlos bit down on his lip harder and harder, biting until he tasted blood - a taste so strong, so startling - it snapped him out of it. “Some people out there are good though. They don't deserve to be there— they did bad but, now? They're just trying to survive, and Auradon sure don't make it easy for them… Sorry ,” Carlos blurted, his gaze snapping up to Ben's utterly awed one. “I said to much —”

“ No ,” Ben cut him off, his voice bordering on a soft growl — and Carlos felt it again. That strange undeniable, unquenchable tug of something. Something so incomparably familiar. “You have nothing to apologise for,”

Swallowing, Carlos meekly nodded, watching as Ben composed himself once again - his gaze turning away from him and towards the waters edge. “You have my word, Carlos,” the King to be swore then, his eyes fixated on the enchanted water's edge as the breeze encouraged small waves to lap at the edge. “When I'm coronated next month, I’m gonna try to get more kids off the Isle. Whoever you guys pick, I’ll get them here, you have my word.”

Carlos didn’t know what to say. What was there to say, it didn’t sound real; for someone to have that much power - to be able to promise that; that the freedom he had been given, the freedom Jay and Mal found for him, for Evie, it was now because of them that other kids would get that same chance.
It felt good, really, really good.

“Can– Can I ask you something?”

Ben’s eyes snapped back to him within an instant, “Of course–”

Hesitating for a moment, Carlos lingered in the quiet, thinking over his question again before finally voicing it, “Your parents, what– what happened to them, because of Gaston…” Carlos slowly began, unsure if the question was appropriate or not, but he just had to know. His anxiety raced to know. “Would you–” And yet, the question wasn’t coming out, he couldn’t find the right words, the right way to say it.

Thankfully, Ben seemed to already know. “You’re wondering if I’d hold that against his kid, right?”

Relieved, Carlos relaxed a little, nodding his head meekly.

Ben smiled in return, “It’d be weird at first, don’t get me wrong. But, I wouldn’t hold some kind of grudge against them just because their dad tried to kill my dad– It wasn’t like they were the ones behind it, y’know?” Carlos still didn’t seem too sure, but his nerves seemed to settle. “Meeting Gaston would be another story, but. I don’t see why Gaston’s bad choices should make me hate their kid by default,” Ben assured, giving Carlos a little nudge of the shoulder. “Just like how I don’t think anyone’s gonna hate you just because of who your mother is.”

So Ben said but Carlos knew there was something else.
Something he wasn’t telling him.

Anita and Roger. 

What his mother did to them- something more horrible than all the stories of glory his mother bragged about. Of the dalmatians and – Carlos shuddered at the thought. 

He didn’t know what his mother– what Cruella possibly could have done that was worse than trying to skin their dogs, but he just knew it was something horrible.
Something one would definitely hold a grudge against their entire bloodline for.

He just needed to find out what.

….

Audrey truly had no idea what to think about these… VKs, as the school had been calling them, it was a moniker which Audrey frankly thought was a little silly- and honestly there was no need for. It was just ostracising them more, she had argued, but, as much as her and Ben had tried to dissuade their friends, the moniker stuck. 

At least they, the VKs, didn’t seem bothered by it, in fact Mal - somehow both the quietest and scariest within the group, seemed to own the group’s title with pride. Audrey had seen the graffiti in the girls bathrooms, Mal definitely didn’t seem to care about what they all thought of her.

A confidence which, to be honest? Audrey was jealous of.

The way Mal carried herself, bold and unbridled. Confident in her every move and showing little doubt in her actions, sure she was a little brash– and certainly had her moments of making questionable choices over her first week at Auradon (enchanting the food trays in the dining halls to pour their contents all over the Tourney Team after they quite brazenly talked shit about the group, was certainly a choice), but Mal knew exactly what she wanted- and she was never afraid to show it.
Unlike her–  she had been so terrified of letting down her parents, of being seen as a failure in her grandmother’s eyes, in her mother’s eyes, to dare fail a test let alone to come out as bisexual.

One brief stint with the son of Oaken from Arendelle and suddenly she was casting shame upon her family name.

So she made a deal with Ben.
Sure they had been a little, obnoxious about it since his coronation had been announced, but they had to be. Their parents had been watching their every move, desperate for Audrey to miraculously be announced his Queen.

Things had been getting terrifyingly real–complicated to the point where Audrey could barely sleep, or eat, or do anything with her friends, she had to just keep pretending everything was perfect – that she was perfect.

And then there was Mal, destroying the glass house Audrey had convinced herself was right for so long– now she wasn’t sure.

Which lead her to Evie, the girl building the glass house back up and joining Audrey inside it. Audrey could already see it, that familiar desperation to be seen as perfect, to be liked and loved by everyone– except, in Evie’s case, Audrey saw how her friends, how her classmates had been whispering about her. Nobody trusted her, or any of the VKs for that matter, as much as Evie was trying– and Audrey didn’t even have the time to help, she was too stressed, too panicked, too God she was exhausted.

“You doing okay, sleeping beauty?” Lonnie called across their lunch table, her dark eyes pinned on Audrey’s clearly tired face as the brunette sat with her head ready to hit the face of her bag to sleep. “You look…well, like shit.”

Beside her, Sage, the daughter of Snow White, smacked her arm, giving her a look. “ Lonnie –” Her blue eyes turned, glancing with a soft, apologetic glance to Audrey, “You look, good! Like you’ve been….Studying, for a while …But good!” The teen tried to assure, keeping her voice as bright as possible, but it seemed to have the opposite effect on Audrey.

“I haven’t been sleeping well,” Audrey offered to her friends, letting out a soft sigh as she brushed her hair back behind her ears, casting her gaze over Lonnie’s shoulder to the table where the VK’s sat. Tucked away in the far corner of the dining hall, Mal reading, Evie sketching, and Carlos and Jay bickering with grins about some food they were trying.

It seemed…nice over there, actually. Fun .

“Well, since the daughters of witches have broken into our school, I’m not surprised,” Chad’s voice snapped, breaking Audrey’s thought and causing her gaze to cast up to the blonde as he dumped himself into the seat beside her.

“Witches?” Lonnie’s attention was instantly grabbed, her eyes wide in shock. “I thought their parents were being kept confidential,”

“They are,” Audrey interrupted, giving Chad a stern glance. “And you shouldn’t call them that regardless,”

Chad just returned the look, seeming taken aback by Audrey’s chiding, “Why not?” He challenged, “Their parents tried to ruin our parents lives–” with a shake of his head, his gaze looked back to Lonnie and the others, all eyes on him, “ And . Anyway. I have proof, I asked Fairy Godmother’s kid earlier– the dorky girl that hangs out with the dwarves? That book the freaky girl is reading. The one with the purple hair, it’s a spell book–”

Sage gasped, “You don’t think– the Evil Queen ?”

“Worse. Jane said that spellbook– it belonged to the Queen of Evil, Maleficent ,” Chad returned.

And suddenly, all eyes were on Audrey.
And not in a good way.

“I–” Audrey began, trying to ignore the chill that ran down her spine at the mere mention of that decrepit woman. She had ruined her mother’s childhood- almost killed her, and her father– not to mention tried to destroy Auradon countless times– if Mal was her daughter…

As if he could read minds, Chad continued her thought aloud, “If that bitch is her daughter, who’s to say she’s not a spy? Here to– take us down from the inside!” The blonde proclaimed, his voice growing louder. “We have to stop them. Send them back to the Isle before anything can happen– they don’t belong here, you all know it,”

“Agreed,” Another of Audrey’s friends said before she could intervene– Mia , the daughter of Aphrodite. She was usually sweet, Audrey’s to-go-to for fashion advice, but, since Evie came along and tried to join their friend group, Audrey saw how Mia had been acting, the things she had been saying about Evie in the group chats– “We should bring our concerns to Fairy Godmother, before anything happens–”

“They’re already manipulating Ben,” Lonnie interjected, shutting Audrey up again before she could even say anything. “We’ve all seen it. Audrey, you haven’t even had the chance to eat lunch with him all week , he just goes and sits with them– I bet he’s under a love spell or something, those girls would stoop to that level for sure ,”

“Oh they *so* would, they’d have to! Nobody in their right mind would go out with a villain girl,”

Chad smirked, his mind visibly wandering- a plan, an idea concocting itself in his devious mind, “No…” He said, “I definitely wouldn’t,”

Finally having enough, Audrey stood, grabbing her bag in a huff.

“Audrey?” Sage blinked, “Where are you going?”

“To bed ,” Audrey snapped back; she’d talk to Ben later, about all of this- about Chad and the things the girls had been saying, about them and how they needed to end things before the coronation. In a way that wouldn’t make her look like a failure to her family–but for now? Now , she really, really needed some beauty sleep.

Across the dining hall, things were a different less campaigning for an uprising, and more fond eye rolls as Carlos and Jay continuously debated which was better. Mac and cheese, or spaghetti bolognese.
Evie would have laughed if not for how focused she was on her sketches. She just had to get this jacket design just right; if being nice wasn’t working with the Auradon girls, and being funny wasn’t working either– then, she just had to look good . Really good– Show off her skills, her designs. The kids here seemed hyper obsessed with their appearances so, why not beat them at their own game?

Show these primadonna wannabes what real fashion looked like.

If she borrowed Mal’s spellbook for her hair and makeup, nobody would know.

“I’m telling you man!” Carlos laughed, shooting out his hand as he pointed towards the meatballs. “It comes with meat , in balls! And it tastes delicious! That has to count for something–”

“But this is cheese – real cheese!” Jay objected, pointing to the crab mac and cheese he had piled upon his dinner plate; because of course the chefs at Auradon prep refused to do anything simple, they made everything gourmet - even mac and cheese. “And look! It has, whatever this is, in it!” Jay didn’t know what a crab was, but it tasted good.

“Would you guys please stop talking about meat and cheese, and–” Mal loudly groaned, holding up her hand, “If I have to hear Carlos have to explain what a crab is again to you Jay, I am literally going to turn you into a crab,”

A familiar laugh for the hundredth time today graced Carlos’ ears, that smiling face- that voice, calling out from the crowd of chattering children. Ben was eating lunch with them, again , “Unfortunately, Mal. I think the teachers are going to notice when Jay turns up to class as a crab,” the brunette joked, grinning as he sat himself beside Carlos.

Spaghetti and meatballs on his plate. Carlos glanced to Jay, smirking . “Ha–”

“Not a word ,” Mal cut him off before the debate could start again.

“Hi, Ben,” Evie beamed, glancing up finally from her sketching to greet the prince. “You know you really don’t have to keep sitting with us if you don’t want to, I’m sure your friends are probably missing you,” The glares sent over to their table made it pretty clear how they were feeling about them taking up Ben’s attention.

Ben smiled at her, shaking his head softly. “What? No, c’mon, Eves. Of course I wanna sit with you guys,” He assured firmly, weaving that warm friendly little nickname he gave her into his words. It made her smile soften, her posture relaxing as Ben chatted as informally as ever– as if he wasn’t royalty and they hadn’t only a week ago been enemies by blood. 

Mal watched with ever observant eyes, her gaze sharp and narrowed as Carlos smiled up at Ben. Doe eyed gaze warm, warmer than it had been before - had those two hung out without them knowing? Jay didn’t seem to share in the look so it definitely hadn’t been some boys trip… Interesting. 

Humming, her nails tapped against the surface of the table; if this were anything else she would have simply returned to studying her mother’s spell book but… there was something about all of this , about the De Vils– about Carlos. She had never gotten to see Hell Hall on the Isle but, something was telling her there was something more to that story, that there were more pieces to the puzzle that was Carlos De Vil, pieces she just had to find.

Yet, before Mal could say anything, footsteps sounded behind her; a warm body lingering in her shadow and the smell of sweet perfume wrinkling her nostrils. Ben glanced up, smiling. “Fairy Godmother,” He greeted, his voice warm as ever.

Evie and Carlos’ heads snapped over in an instant, as did Jays.
Relenting, Mal let her gaze follow, deadpan eyes staring up at the smiling woman who towered above them. “Benjamin,” Fairy Godmother greeted with a small curtsey and a smile, yet soon her gaze turned, lowering onto them . “I hope you all have been settling in well…” her smile seemed weak, gaze nervous.

Something had happened.

“I have news for you four– As school policy dictates, we, as you know, made your parents aware of your…whereabouts. We didn’t want them worrying as to what happened to their children,” Fairy Godmother began, keeping her voice soft and low so the other students couldn’t eavesdrop. But her gentle sweet motherly drawl didn’t aid the fear that visibly plagued Carlos’ face, or the nervous swallow of breath Evie took. The mere mention of their parents were enough to make those two start catastrophizing, let alone the anticipation of what Fairy Godmother was possibly going to say next. “It’s school policy to allow the parents to call their children after the first week–” Ben’s smile dropped, “I have to ask you all come with me,”

Mal went pale.
Evie’s pencil led snapped. 

And Carlos?

Carlos looked like he was about to throw up.

The only one who rose out of his seat was Jay. His father was the best of them– he had made Jay work for him, sure, but, at least he was an actual father .

They hadn’t been as lucky.
Mal had been against her mother even knowing where she was, let alone to have the ability to contact her.

“I’m guessing we can’t say no?” Mal, for the first time in her life, felt like she wanted to cry.
Her mother knew where she was – she knew, rationally her mother couldn’t do magic on the Isle, that she couldn’t leave the *Isle*-- but all Mal could think was that at any moment her mother could come here, come get her– and she would never be able to leave the Isle again.

Fairy Godmother’s smile weakened, “I’m afraid not, come now, children- I promise after you answer their calls and let them know you are settling in well you may hang up.”

“I’ll come with you–” Ben blurted, his hand having found its way to Carlos’ stiff shoulder.

Mal glanced over.
Carlos was shaking.

“I– If Carlos is okay with you accompanying him, Benjamin,”

Carlos shook his head hard, refusing to meet Ben’s eyes as he stood, taking laboured breaths as Jay put his arm around his shoulders to comfort him. Ben just watched on, staring with wide, concerned eyes and a look of sympathy that, despite how sincere it was , made Mal want to suddenly punch him. 

“I–” Evie breathed in, then out, rising to her feet. Masking her fear as best as she could. “Let’s just get this over with,” She said, looking down to Mal– and Mal could see it; the false confidence Evie was trying to portray, a desperate hope that it was going to be okay– and amongst it all lay a plead , a terrified child begging to not be left alone.

Mal caved. “Agreed,” Her smile was stiff, as fake as Evie’s confidence, but they had to pretend. If not for themselves, then for the crowd of students now watching them, for Ben, for each other .

Evie smiled back at her, weak and sad, her hand enclosing around Mal’s as they walked side by side, following Fairy Godmother down the hall– Jay and Carlos following close behind, leaving Ben to his lonesome at the lunch table.

But not for long.
There, sauntering over with snide smirk and a crude remark on his tongue, was Chad Charming.

….

Fairy Godmother’s office was a lot colder than it had been the last time they had stood in here, staring before her desk - at four tables, old stained mahogany, each with an old telephone on top. They had to use older models to be able to reach the Isle- and even then, Mal winced. She could feel the amount of magic radiating off each of them; the magic to get the call to go through to the Isle, through the barrier- let alone the various enchantments to prevent any magic to be able to cast from either end of the call.

It would have given Mal a headache, if not for the fear of what was to come.

Fairy Godmother had thankfully left the four be, giving them their space as they waited for the phones to ring.

Jay was first.

He was smiling as he picked up, “ Dad ? Hey!” he greeted in Aragbahian, his smile widening as his father’s familiar voice bellowed over the other side of the call; in Aragbahian too, Mal noted - almost smiling at the gesture, Jafar clearly didn’t want anyone being able to overhear his conversation with his son.

Before Mal could relax however, Evie’s phone rang.

Then hers.

Green eyes met blue.

“Together?” Evie whispered, fear appearing in eyes once more.

Mal nodded firmly, “Together,” She agreed, reaching out her hand in tandem with Evie and answering the phone.

And then there was Carlos. 

He winced at every ring.
His heart thumping faster and faster, louder and louder– his hands had stopped shaking but his lungs were throbbing , choking him from the inside as anxiety desecrated any chance he had to control his breathing, to pick up the phone in front of him and not immediately burst into tears.

He could see the conversations around him, hear Jay’s snickers, Evie’s attempt at assuring her mother that she was doing this to find a prince, an attempt to console Evil Queen’s rage at ‘another child abandoning her’– and Mal’s silence .
She was completely silent.
Eyes set hard on Fairy Godmother’s chair as if looks could kill , listening to her mother berate her over and over again over the phone.

At least he wasn’t alone.

His phone finally rang.

Carlos wanted to hesitate.
He wanted to stop, to turn around- to not answer it.

But the little boy– the voice in his head, the anxiety, it wouldn’t let him ignore this, ignore her. He had to do what she said, had to do what she wanted. He had to listen to her- he didn’t have a choice.
Constricting chains invisible to the eye gripped him; tightening around his neck until he choked on his next breath, picking up the phone with a tear already blotting his eyes.

“...So,”
And there it went, rolling down his cheek.
His mother’s voice. Cruella , it was just as how he remembered it. Slow, methodical and yet utterly maniacal, her insanity– her psychopathy tangible in her voice as every word she spoke she spoke with intention. And that intention was always to harm, to tear down Carlos’ very self worth and remind him exactly where he belonged. “You thought you could just leave? Hm? Run away? Abandon your mother and leave all your mess behind?”

Carlos’ enclosed his free hand by his side, closing his eyes and squeezing until he could feel his nails pierce his skin. “No, mother,” The words came out almost automatically, an unconscious desire to please - to avoid the worst of what would surely happen to him if her claws found him again.

“But you’re there, aren’t you? In Auradon? Are you a liar now, too, Carlos?” Cruella sneered, “What ever did I do to raise such an ungrateful, worthless little brat ? I gave you life – I kept you safe all these years! And for what ? You leave me for the very people who put me here in the first place? But it’s not safe out there, baby,”
And suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, Cruella’s voice was changing; that fury and hatred fizzling into a sickly sweet false love, a love that lulled Carlos into a false sense of security – a false sense of comfort . That, everything would be okay, he just had to come home. “You know there are dogs out there, in Auradon– ravenous, blood thirsty hounds just waiting to tear out your throat,” Cruella continued as Carlos swallowed, unable to get a word in as she just talked and talked, every word sending tear after tear down his cheeks– painting porcelain white red . “And they have your scent too, dear…You’re a De Vil , they hate us– they want to hurt us– you have to come home, come back to mommy. I’ll keep you safe. I always do, don’t I?”

If he were younger.

Away from Auradon– listening to her voice call out to him as he hid behind crates in pirate’s cove, he would have caved in an instant.

But he was here, away from her, able to see what normal people lived like?
He wouldn’t cave.
He wouldn’t.
Not when him being here could possibly give this life to others like him.

“...I– I’m not coming home,” Carlos slowly said.

Four words.
And suddenly Cruella wasn’t being so ‘nice’ anymore. “You– You dirty, ungrateful little fucking mistake —!” She was screaming now, screeching so loud over the headset the other three were looking over. “I will have your head mounted on my wall, do you hear me!? I am going to have Horace and Jasper leave this damn island and drag you back here, and you are never leaving the basement again!” Jay was hurrying over, his phone left unattended.

Carlos couldn’t breathe anymore.
Loud sobs breaking free from his lips as he trembled, “I’m sorry , mom–”

“You will be sorry– I am going to–!”
Whatever she was going to say, Carlos couldn’t hear it; the phone grabbed out of his hands and slammed back down onto the receiver, hanging up the call as Carlos began to hyperventilate.

She had never sounded so- so mad before– so angry- and- so- she wanted to kill him?

“Hey– hey, Carlos– C, it’s okay, look at me– you’re okay,” Jay was immediately taking hold of him, trying to get him to meet his eye as Evie and Mal equally hung up their calls and rushed out of the room to get Fairy Godmother to help. Screw their parents, Carlos was more important.
“She’s not here- you’re not gonna go back. I got you out, remember? You’re safe –” Jay kept saying, kept assuring, but Carlos could barely hear him, his fear was so much louder than the safety Jay tried to offer. 

He couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t- he couldn’t breathe?

Why couldn’t he breathe?
Oh god- was she here? Were her words not a threat but a spell ? He was dying- wasn’t he? He was dying –

“ Carlos !” Jay desperately tried to get his attention to no avail.

The doors were slammed open; Fairy Godmother rushing in, her gaze as wide as dinner plates- pinned on Carlos, he was on the floor, hands grasping at his neck and chest as he wailed.
“Oh my- oh no– Evie, Mal, go get Doc from the Infirmary!” 

“Is Carlos going to be okay?!”

“Isn’t there some magic spell you can do?”

“He is having a panic attack, girls– he will be fine but I need you to go get Doc, now –” Fairy Godmother more sternly repeated; her gaze never leaving Carlos as she knelt down beside him, carefully trying to take his hands in her own. “I need you to take some big breaths for me, Carlos, alright? Deep breaths–” But Carlos’ hands weren’t moving, he just shook his head again and again, repeating ‘i’m sorrys’ desperately again and again- begging for his mother to hear it. To not hurt him. To not be mad at him.

“ CARLOS !”

That.

That voice.

A roar of familiarity– hands, large, strong, safe – grabbing onto Carlos’ shoulders, pushing past Fairy Godmother and Jay and pulling his face into the chest of something… warm –safe– safe— safe? Carlos sobbed, his eyes finally opening.

Ben’s tourney shirt.

“ Ben —” Carlos cried, releasing his grip on himself to clutch onto Ben– burying his teary face out of view as Ben’s grip on him grew tighter.

His eyes sharper- topaz–
His teeth sharper.

Mal stared wide eyed from the door frame.

How did Ben even know they were here ? To come – 

And, more importantly, what the hell was happening to him?