Ellie's Flames BOOK 2

20: From Isle to Auradon

I roll my eyes. "I thought these were supposed to be hard, Sera." I mutter under my breath. Unhooking my pen form the spine of the journal, I neatly write Percy Jackson, Battle of the Labyrinth next to the quote. Nothing happens, but I know that just means I got it right. 

(When you get it wrong, the whole journal turns into whatever the quote was about. Bad day for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and a quote about the Monster book of Monsters.)

My best sketches come when I'm not really paying attention to what I'm thinking about, so I wonder inside my head what in the world Ben's newest idea could be. If it's something to do with the Isle and Auradon, the only thing I can think of would be the barrier coming down. But I know that's never happening, because... well, it'd be really dumb right now, what with Uma and Ares, Pitch, Gothel, and Cruella still being angry about losing. 

What else could they be talking about?

My mind wanders to when Brit, Dizzy, and Gil first came here with the Queen of Heart's daughter and Radcliffe's son. Those two went back to the Isle after Uma's takeover, as far as I know. But Brit...

It's hard to imagine her as the shy, closed-off girl she was when she came here. Then, she hid behind her hair and kept her hands in her pockets at all times, with her back hunched in a permanent stay-away-from-me tone. 

Now, she rarely wears her hair in front of her face. She still wears her jacket, but rolled up to her elbows with her shoulders back, her amber eyes glinting in a mischievous way. And then, her only friends might have been Gil, Sera, and Arson. Now, she's friends with just about everyone in Auradon. I can't think of anyone here who can truthfully say they don't like Brit. 

I suppose it helps that she started dating Gil after the whole boys-into-Beasts thing. Gil hasn't changed much since he came here, just smiling a lot more and asking about Uma and Harry a lot less. Arson, too, just seems more like himself here. 

Sera, I can't say Auradon has had an effect on her. More like she's had an effect on Auradon. Like Brit, I can't really think of anyone who can say Sera is someone they hate. Sure, she annoys the heck out of half the planet's population, but that's just who she is. Plus, her violence towards others has spread, and capture the flag games are hardcore now.

Endora, even though she wasn't invited here, has changed the most, I think. From what I heard from Carlos, on the Isle, Dori was reserved and secretive, only ever leaving her house when she had to. Here, she'd be considered popular if not for Audrey's tantrum-throwing. 

The door to my room opens, snapping me out of my haze, and Brit walks in, her face flushed and happy. She stops short when she sees me. 

"Oh! Ellie! Did I interrupt a doodle moment?" She asks worriedly. 

I laugh and look down at my journal. "Nah. I'm almost done, anyway."

"Oooh, can I see?" I nod, and she runs over, leaping onto my bed and landing neatly next to me. After I hand my book to her, she examines my newest drawing. 

"Wow." She whispers, fingering the picture of herself, Sera, Arson, Gil, and Endora. All five of them are smiling, with Brit in the center since she's smallest, Gil to her right with Dori standing next to him, her hand on his shoulder. On Brit's left is Arson, with Sera standing behind him, her arms around his neck in her version of a hug. None of it's in color, but the shading makes me think I'll leave this one in granite. 

Brit looks up, a huge grin on her face. "This is amazing, Ellie! Did you draw this just now?"

"Yeah." I fold my legs underneath me. "I was trying to figure out what you and Sera were scheming about, and you guys popped into my head. You know, how you came here. What you were all like, and how you are now."

Brit's grin fades to a more pleased smile. "I was pretty shy when I got here, wasn't I?"

"For good reason." I give her a side-hug. "Being friends with your dad's sworn enemy probably helped."

Brit laughs. "Yeah, Quentin met Dad once. It was really funny watching Quentin bully Dad for... well, everything he did to me."

"Quentin's a good friend." 

"He is." Brit agrees. She closes the notebook and hands it to me. "But I'll tell you something. Ben said he's going to proclaim his newest... proclamation... whatever... tomorrow. And you're not far off in your guess."

"I haven't even guessed anything!" I protest. 

Brit just winks and taps my notebook gently before standing. "I came back to tell you---Sera and I, because I was chasing her, are now caught in a courtyard game of tag. So far Arson, Ben, Lonnie, Jay, Carlos, and Dori are playing. Wanna join?"

I smile and stand. "Sure. Why not?"

It's not until we're both outside that I realize what Brit told me. 

Are more kids coming from the Isle?

And if so... who?

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I. AM. LOVING. "Good to Be Bad". IT IS AMAZING!!!! AH!!

So, I posted something about it on EMUFF, but I think I'm going to, while waiting for D3 to come out, (since there's only 3 chaps of Ellie's Flame left) I'm going to go back between D1 and D2 so I can write "Wicked World". Sera and all the current characters of mine won't be there, since they didn't come until after D2. Just Ellie again, and with only her mom's powers!

I won't be posting it here, because that'll get super confusing, and long, and.. blegh. I'll be posting Wicked World chapters on EMUFF, so keep a lookout for 'em!