"Remind me again why you thought it was a good idea to steal from the Band of Merry Men?" Lonnie shrieked as they sprinted through the trees, a shower of arrows raining down all around them.
"They had a huge collection of lamps!" Jay yelled back, vaulting over a fallen tree. He reached back and held out his hand to Lonnie who didn't take it, preferring to leap over the obstacle on her own. She almost seemed to be flying. her swords clattered loudly on her back. "And they were really smug about it!"
"But did you have to steal one?" Lonnie screamed back as they kept moving. Behind them, their hunters got closer.
"Of course!"
"I hate you!"
"I love you too!"
***
"Mal!"
The world was dark all around her. She could hear Carlos and Jane calling out to her but she could see nothing. And Ben. Where was Ben? Mal struggled, trying to turn over, feeling every nerve in her body explode into blistery pain. She groaned, feeling the change rush over her. A moment later, she was back in human form, lying on her back, facing up towards the heavens. The sky was too blue. There wasn't even a cloud. And her dress was itchy.
Mal frowned, blinking. Why did everything seem so cheerful? Why did the world keep spinning, even when everything could be spiraling towards disaster? Disaster. Dragonfires. Magic. Ben. "BEN!" she yelled suddenly, sitting up as though she had been struck by lightning. In an instant, Carlos and Jane were at her side, helping her up and bombarding her with questions.
"Bibbity! Mal! Are you all right?" Jane questioned, her eyes wide and fearful.
"Mal, what happened?" Carlos held out his hand to help her up and she took it gratefully. But her attention was not on him.
"Ben?" she called, searching the forest frantically. "Ben! Where are you? BEN!" She stumbled forwards, tripping slightly over her dress. Immediately, Jane and Carlos broke away from her and began searching through the trees for the king.
"Ben!" Carlos called, disappearing into a thick patch of thorns and briers.
Across the way, Jane was delicately trying to maneuver the weeds without ripping her dress. Fairy Godmother would be furious if anything happened to it. She was funny like that. "Ben? Ben, where are you?"
Meanwhile, back in the clearing, Mal took a deep breath and closed her eyes, honing once more into her surroundings. Whoever had been out there, they were gone now. She could sense only two heartbeats. They were all alone. She opened her eyes, and looked around, aware of her friends searching through the trees. But, somehow, she knew they would never find her fiance that way.
"MAL! JANE! CARLOS!"
The yell was high-pitched and a bit shaky. But there was no doubt that it was Ben's.
Mal looked up immediately, scanning the clearing in surprise. "Ben?" she gasped. "BEN! Where are you?" At her shout, both Jane and Carlos hurried back to her and the three of them looked around, confused.
"Look up."
They did.
There, hanging from a long branch by his jacket, looking very uncomfortable, was Ben. Mal internally breathed a sigh of relief. And then she smiled. The tree had saved his life. He was all right! He was alive!
But how were they supposed to get him down?
Carlos seemed to read her mind. He sized the tree up. "I've got this," he told her.
So, she and Jane watched as the skinny boy worked his way up the tree and began to help Ben get free.
It was less than a minute later when Mal's phone vibrated. She glanced down at it, frowning. It was from Jay. She supposed she had time to look at it. She snuck a glance at Carlos and Ben who were coming down now. Ben looked a bit bruised but, overall, all right.
Hey! How's it going? You find FG yet? How about the Dragonfires? Oh, we're doing well, thanks for asking. We're about a day out from Agrabah. Should be there early tomorrow. Lonnie says she knows somewhere we can stay the night and then start searching right away.
Mal sighed and pushed her worries away as she replied.
That's good. We're about to find FG. No luck on the Dragonfires yet. But we may have another problem to worry about...She paused for a moment, wondering if she should mention what was really on her mind. Jay?
There was a moment of pause. And then...
Yeah, Mal?
Have you heard from Evie?
No. And I'm getting a bit worried about them. I tried to text Evie but she didn't respond. I tried to call but her phone went straight to voicemail. I tried Doug. His phone must be off.
Mal frowned slightly at this. Makes sense if they're on the Isle. They wouldn't want to draw attention to themselves.
Draw attention to themselves? Mal, you do realize that this is Evie we're talking about? She's gonna have, like, five million guys trailing after her.
Mal chuckled. Not if Doug has anything to say about it. Did you see his expression when Harry tried to make a pass at Evie? If Doug were somehow related to Ben, I'd say that was his 'Beast-Mode'. But, really, Jay, I'm worried about them. Evie's been a bit...off...lately. Haven't you noticed?
Yeah, I have actually. The way the two of you were blowing up in each others' faces back at the cottage was unheard of. What was that all about, may I ask?
Mal took a deep breath. For a moment, she was wondering if she was doing the right thing. Evie was her best friend and she'd promised not to tell. But this was much more than a tiny secret now. Evie was a danger to herself and everyone around her. Surely that meant Mal had to tell the others, right? It was her duty to protect Auradon. Besides, she'd read the history books. She knew all about Evie's lineage.
This was exactly what happened to the Evil Queen before she turned evil and tried to kill Snow White.
Evie's got powers.
There was silence on the other end of the phone. Mal wasn't sure if Jay was just flabbergasted or, just, for once, had no words. She waited for a minute and was relieved to hear the familiar ding of an incoming message.
Sorry. Dropped my phone in shock about Evie having magic! Mal, when were you going to tell us this? Does Ben know? Have you two been keeping this a secret from everybody? We need to go to the Isle and get her back! Mal, don't you realize what's waiting for her?
I know, Jay, Mal quickly typed back. But Evie's going to have to face it one way or another. And that's why I sent Doug with her. He won't let anything happen to her.
But what if Evie...comes back not as Evie?
Mal had been thinking the exact same thing. But she couldn't let Jay know that. I don't think that's going to happen. Evie's strong. Much more so than her mother. And she's found true love. That will at least count for something, right? But if it does fail, then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, our mission is to find the Dragonfires and stop my mother. That's what we need to focus on for the time being.
All right, all right, don't go all Maleficent on me. You're the one who brought the subject up in the first place!
Yeah? And now, I'm going to be the one to end it. And what do you mean 'go all Maleficent', Jay?
Gotta go! Lonnie's calling! Bye!
Mal glared at the cell phone, as though thinking the look could somehow reach Jay and scald him.
Ben and Carlos walked over to them. "Hey," Ben said, wrapping an arm around her. "Thanks for, you know, saving my life."
Mal tucked the phone back into her pocket and glanced up innocently at him. "Well, technically, the tree saved you. Though I'm sure it wouldn't mind a thanks as well." She smirked, trying to shake off the worry for her friends. They will be fine, she told herself. They can handle this.
Ben coughed. "Right, so, shall we keep going? I'd...assume you took care of whatever that magic came from, right?"
"Hmmm, you could say that," Carlos stammered.
Ben looked back at him. "Okay then, shall we go?"
Mal and Jane nodded and, together, the four of them set off.
The sun was beginning to set as they arrived at the top of the meadow and could easily locate the White Rabbit's burrow before them. After all, who could miss it? It looked like a giant crater in the earth. Mal's jaw dropped when she saw it. She'd heard of them from Queenie but she'd never actually expected it to be this big!
"Whoa," Carlos said from beside her.
"It is pretty incredible isn't it?" Ben commented, arriving on her other side. Jane appeared a moment later, smiling. She, like Ben, already had known about the place. "Come on," Ben went on. "Let's go!"
They walked to the edge of the hole and stared down at it. "So..." Mal questioned. "How exactly are we supposed to get down there?"
Ben looked at her. "Easy. You just jump." Then, to demonstrate, he let out a whoop and sprang into the hole.
"BEN!" Carlos and Mal screamed.
For a moment, there was silence.
And then a yell of laughter echoed from the hole
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Jane questioned. "Let's go!"
***
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'THEY GOT AWAY'?"
The villains cringed at her furious bellow. Cruella kept stroking her dog and Jafar cowered in the corner as Evil Queen stormed back and forth across the floor which was already beginning to show the wear.
"MY DAUGHTER IS ON THE ISLE WITHOUT THE WHOLE POSSE AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN GET HER? WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TO? SHE IS ONE GIRL! EVERYONE ON THIS ISLAND IS A COMPLETE DUMMY!"
"It's not as bad as it seems," Queenie argued from her comfortable position on the couch. In one hand, she fiddled with something. In the other, she held a small red checker piece as though studying the board in front of her. It was the same game that she and Evie had played when they were children. It hadn't moved in over ten years.
Until today.
Evil Queen took a deep breath and turned to glare at the girl. "Oh?" she demanded. "And how would that be?"
"Evie's in the city," Queenie explained, sighing, disappointed that she would have to explain it out to the old woman. "And I hardly doubt she's going anywhere for a while. You see," she uncrossed her legs and stood up from the couch, coming over to stand before EQ. "She's getting her powers."
Evil Queen gasped.
Cruella and Jafar glanced up in shock.
"Wait...Evie's getting magic? As in, blue-haired, heart-throb Evie?" Jafar questioned.
"Well, do you know any other Evies?" Evil Queen mumbled. And then, she focused her glare back at Queenie. "Where is she?" she demanded.
"Where else?" Queenie said with a shrug. "Mal's old hideout. And with the amount of power she unleashed on my shadows, I'd say she'd going to be there for a day or two before she even recovers the strength to come here."
"Well, then, we have nothing to worry about, right?" Cruella questioned.
Queenie shrugged again. "That's not exactly true either."
"What do you mean?"
"Evie didn't come here alone," Queenie explained. "She had a boy with her. Definitely an Auradonian by the way he behaved and failed miserably at fitting in. He has a sense of magic around him, a kind I haven't read about in all my years of searching. They're here looking for something. And that's how I plan on trapping them."
"What exactly do you have in mind?" Evil Queen questioned.
"I'll lure Evie here so you three can finish the job," Queenie explained.
"And how do you plan on doing that?"
Queenie glanced down at the Dragonfire, smirking. In its reflection, she could see the boy running toward the castle, a look of sheer panic and determination on his face. But there was no sign of Evie anywhere. She must still be recovering and had sent her friend to do the job for her. Perfect, she thought. Evie wasn't as smart as she thought she was. And soon, Queenie would have a new piece in this game.
"Because I am going to have something that she wants."
She sat back down at the coffee table and gazed at the checkered board with faint amusement before daintily sliding a piece up and knocking a black chip from the board.
Evie Queen...checkmate.