The courtyard was dark as Evie jumped down among a cluster of rosebushes. She did her best to maneuver around the thorns and brambles, but not before her hands and wrists were successfully scraped to shreds. She bit her lip and turned as she emerged, peering up through the shadows to find Carlos and Doug waiting attentively for her signal. She waved them down and they hastily obeyed. As they joined her, she turned and began sizing up the castle--and, more importantly, the moat surrounding it.
"So how do we get past that?" Carlos questioned.
Evie frowned. Why have a wall if you're just going to have a moat? What are they trying to keep in? "Er...Doug? Ben wouldn't happen to have...crocodiles...in his moat, would he?"
Doug looked at her strangely. "Crocodiles? Who in Auradon would put crocodiles in a moat?"
Evie opened her mouth to reply but then stopped herself. "You know what? Never mind." She waved it off. Must be an Isle thing. Then, to Carlos, "Can we swim it?"
The boy looked a bit doubtful. "I doubt it. I mean, I can doggy-paddle. But you can't swim at all. And I don't think either of us could carry you across."
Evie chuckled darkly. "Where's Jay when you need him?"
"Well," Doug coughed uncomfortably. "We may not be able to swim, but there's got to be another way across, right?"
"Yeah, but what?" Carlos scanned the riverbed.
"Let's spread out," Evie suggested. "See what you can find and meet back here, okay?" The boys nodded and the three of them headed off in different directions. Evie went right, toward the flowers and continuing wall. She was painfully aware of how fast the sun was sinking behind the horizon. The light wouldn't last too much longer. She couldn't help but wonder how Mal's group would handle the darkness. Had they found a way inside? Had Mal used the Dragonstone to destroy Morgana? What about the other villains?
She reached the end of the courtyard and turned once more towards the shadowed clearing. She squinted, picking out Carlos near the water. He seemed to be looking for stepping stones. She couldn't spot Doug right away but she guessed he was around somewhere.
"Pssst. Evie." A voice hissed behind her. "E, is that you?"
Evie recognized the voice immediately. She whipped around towards the darkness and narrowed her eyes. "What do you want, Mal?" she snapped.
"You're angry," Mal continued in a whisper, still not emerging from the shadows. "I understand. You have every right to be. But we can talk about all of that later. Right now, you and Carlos hae to get out of here. It's not safe. Doug--"
Evie felt the fury brimming. "Stop," she growled. "Just...stop. I don't want to hear it. Mal, what has you so against him? Did I ever say anything about you and Ben? Did I? No! I stood there! I supported you! I love Doug! Why can't you just accept that!"
"Evie, just listen. It's not about that. Doug isn't who you think--"
"Stop talking," Evie snarled. "You know, Mal, I thought you were my best friend. I thought you'd always stand up for me. But this is not the action of someone who cares. So, until you start acting like my best friend again, stay away from me." With that, she straightened back up and started running back to the others.
"Hey," Carlos waved her over. She hurried to join him. Doug appeared from the opposite direction a moment later. "Did you guys find anything?"
Evie pushed the conversation with Mal from her brain. "No. Nothing useful."
"I...I think I...might have found...something," Doug spoke up. "Over...over on the o-other side."
"Show us," Evie demanded. Doug nodded and headed off toward the left half of the yard. Evie took a deep breath and shoved her worry away, following him.
Sure enough, there was a small crosswalk that covered the moat and led to a small gazebo around the side of the building. "Nice!" Evie gasped, breezing past Doug and immediately starting up the ladder to the roof.
The boys glanced at one another and then hurried after her. Doug first and Carlos bringing up the rear. "E, what are you thinking?" Carlos hissed as he urged Doug on. "Are we going in through the skylight?"
"In the ballroom," Evie confirmed. "Yes."
"But won't they be expecting us?" Doug quizzed.
"Not likely," Evie replied. "Besides, that's why Mal's group went through the front door. To give us a bit of cover." She reached the top and pulled herself slightly onto the roof and backed away so the others could join her. She located the large glass skylight a ways back and signaled for the others to follow her.
The straddle across the roof was awkward, to say the least. Carlos outpaced Evie and positioned himself to help the others across. Doug slipped and nearly took himself and Evie out when she reached out to steady him. (Evie was incredibly thankful that she'd selected her red and white "battle" outfit instead of her nice, sparkly, blue one she'd designed as her designated "adventure" uniform).
A few minutes, and fifty impatient glares, later, the three found themselves huddling around the large skylight. Carlos carefully lifted the glass and, with one last glance at the others, Evie dropped into the unknown.
She hit the ground softly and scanned the blackened room, just able to make out the faint outline of herself in the huge wall of mirrors. "Whoa," she breathed. Her voice bounced off of the structure and broke the stillness. Then, she turned back towards the skylight. "Okay, guys, come on down! Coast's clear!"
"You go first," she heard Carlos whisper to Doug. There was a mumble of protest. "It'll be all right," Carlos insisted. "We've got you."
Evie waited as Doug struggled to build enough confidence to jump. She was ready to try and catch him, but, when he leaped, she missed and he hit the wood with a groan. Evie sighed and quickly shushed him, signaling Carlos to follow. Carlos swung himself down and landed in a graceful preparatory stance. "Where's the door?" he hissed.
"Over here, I think," Evie whispered, moving away from the group, towards the side of the room.
"That's a closet," Doug interjected. "The door is over here."
Evie couldn't see him, but his voice was coming from the left. "Where?"
"Here. Toward me. Oh...hang on..." There was a moment of silence, followed by a click and a bright flash of light. "There. How's that? Better?" He shone the flashlight once around the room.
The light bounced off of the mirrors and Evie blinked to clear her vision. "Oh yeah, much. Carlos?"
"Here." A shuffle of movement followed and Carlos appeared beside Doug. "Um...maybe Doug should lead," he suggested. "Since he's apparently the only one who knows his way around."
"Study group," Doug explained with a shrug. "Ben and Audrey. Need I say more?"
Evie giggled as she brushed by him. "Come on," she chuckled. "Doug, lead the way."
The dwarf nodded and hurried to catch up. Cautiously, he opened the door and peered down the silent hallway. "Coast's clear," he whispered, propping the door open. "This way." Keeping the light facing the carpet, he began to step lightly down the hall. Evie and Carlos flanked him.
"Okay...this place is freaky," Carlos commented.
"Carlos, shhh!" Evie whispered. "Doug, the main living quarters please."
Carlos looked confused. "Why there?"
Doug nodded and immediately began walking more briskly.
Evie slowed to join Carlos. "Just a hunch," she replied.
They rounded the bend and entered a room of statues and knights. It brought back some rather unpleasant memories. Evie shivered, and she sensed Carlos doing the same. "I hate it here," Carlos muttered. Evie nodded slowly in agreement.
They left quickly and turned down the right hall towards what Evie recalled to be the dining room. The living room was just beyond it. And, if her suspicions were correct, that was where they'd find the villains as well.
"So--where are we now?" Carlos inquired.
"Almost there," Doug responded.
They rounded one final bend and Evie took the lead, pulling open the final door, and was met by a cold gust of wind. The living room lay beyond. It was just as Mal had described it. Cozy.
"Whoa...Ben's living room is twice the size of my whole house!" Evie stared.
"Yeah--and look!" Carlos pointed to the fireplace. There, sitting on a small pedestal, was the Dragonstone.
"Um, that's...ominous," Doug mumbled. "And...where's Mal? Didn't she have it?"
"Well, forget about that," Evie answered. "Let's just get it and go find the others."
They all stepped forward.
Evie instantly realized their mistake. The floor melted around them and they sunk down to their knees. Carlos yelled out while Doug blanched and Evie groaned. "What is this?" Carlos cried. He struggled, which only made him sink faster.
"Persian Quick Rug," Evie grunted through grit teeth. "I should have known! The room was too empty! It was too easy! No! Carlos! Stop moving! This stuff is like quicksand! The more you struggle, the faster you sink!"
"A Persian what?" Doug gasped. He, unlike Carlos, had stiffened the moment the floor attempted to swallow them, and his face was paler than death...which was what they were looking at if they couldn't figure a way out of this mess...and fast. Evie could already feel the floor hardening around her knees.
"I read about it once!" Evie explained, eyeing the multi-colored goop as it inched further and further up her body. She stretched her arms over her head, trying to keep them free. "It's one of Morgana's followers' favorite tricks!"
"And we walked right into it," Carlos groaned. "Quite literally."
Okay, think, think, think, how do you break the rug's spell? Come on, Evie! You've read about these things! REMEMBER! It was there, it was in the tip of her brain...but she couldn't remember.
"E-evie?" Doug's voice broke fearfully. "It's..It's getting higher!"
"I know! I know!" Evie snapped. The rug was almost to her waist now. She needed to think of a way out. And she needed to think of it now. "Find something to grab onto!" she ordered the others, reaching for the couch and attempting to hoist herself out. Beside her, Carlos grabbed a hold of the wall and desperately clung to it.
"T-there's nothing to g-grab!"
Evie felt the quicksand rising and heard the boy's yells of terror, even as she held on tightly to the couch and began to pull herself out. Her lungs were burning, her heart racing out of control. The rug held on tightly, but she refused to let go. She continued to struggle against it. She heard a gasp and a sigh of relief as Carlos did the same beside her and heaved himself from the trap, falling, with a long sigh, onto one of the couches and closing his eyes, saying a silent prayer of thanks.
Evie gave one last, adrenaline-enforced pull, and she too was free. I'm out! I'm alive! She almost did the same as Carlos and was about to sit down when she heard the panicked scream.
"EVIEEEE!"
Doug! Heart threatening to explode, she whipped around, finding Doug flailing helplessly. The sand had nearly covered him by this point. His eyes were wide and terror-filled as the rug inched further and further up his chest. "DOUG!" she shrieked. "DOUG! HOLD ON!" She searched frantically for something for him to grab onto.
"Evie..." He gasped, struggling to get enough air as the sand constricted around him. "Evie...just...go..."
"No! Doug! Don't say that! I'm gonna get you out of there! CARLOS!"
The white-haired boy came running over. "What can we do?" he yelled.
"FOR STARTERS, STOP YELLING IN MY EAR! SECOND, GO FIND SOMETHING FOR DOUG TO GRAB ON TO!" Evie screamed back at him. He took off and Evie immediately grabbed the Dragonstone off of the pedestal and worked her way about around the edge of the trap, her outstretched hand quivering. "DOUG! TAKE MY HAND!"
He tried. The sand was above his neck now. Desperation shone in his eyes as their fingers almost touched, but were not quite close enough. Tears flooded Evie's eyes. No, no, NO! "Doug, come on!" she pleaded, leaning over even further.
"I...I can't..." he wheezed. "Evie...tell my father...my family...that I love them..."
"I'm not letting you go!" Evie cut him off again. She leaned even further.
One minute her feet were firmly planted on the ground.
The next, she was walking midair and then fell forwards into the trap. She took a deep breath as the sand covered their heads and, the last thing she remembered before passing out was a blinding flash of silver light.
And then everything faded to black.
***
He awoke moments later in a brightly lit room. He winced, his head throbbing. The last thing he remembered was the floor eating him...and Evie...Evie had tried to rescue him. Where was she? Where was Carlos? Where was he?
"Doug."
He looked up. He saw her standing over him, smiling. Her dark blue hair shimmered in the sunlight and her brown eyes shone. She seemed so calm. Too calm. Something didn't seem right. Hadn't they just been inside Ben's castle? How had they left?
He started to sit up and realized that he was lying on a bed. Weird. He pushed himself up, surprised to feel no pain anywhere. But how was that possible? The Quick Rug, the sand, he should have been dead! "Evie?" he tried, hearing the raspy sound coming from his mouth. "Evie, what's going on? Where are we?" He scanned the room but didn't recognize it.
She frowned. "You don't remember," she explained slowly. "It's okay. Here." She knelt down beside him and helped him to his feet. "We're home."
"Home?" Doug echoed, confused. "Auradon?" Yes. Yes, they'd been in Auradon. That was right. He remembered that.
Evie looked a bit disappointed. "No..." she said slowly. "No, we're not in Auradon. I mean, we are, but, not really." She blinked back tears and gave him a forced smile.
"Then where are we?" Doug asked. "This isn't the Isle. It's too...sunny. And I'd recognize you're house so..." He trailed off, hearing a familiar sound from outside.
Laughter. Child's laughter.
No.
Doug's heart stopped. "E-evie?" He turned back toward her, feeling the tears welling up in his eyes. "W-what d-did you do? H-how?"
She shook her head slowly. "It wasn't me," she said. "It was the stone. I fell in, too. It brought us here."
No longer paying attention, he moved away from her and walked softly out the door into the backyard, where two figures could be seen. Neither seemed to notice, or be aware, that the two teens were there.
"What?" She hurried after him. "Doug, what is it?"
He stood there, petrified, as a dark-haired woman tossed a little boy up into the air. They were both laughing. And the little boy's bright eyes sparkled excitedly. On his face was a goofy expression that could only belong to one person.
No.
Evie gasped. "That's...that's you?"
The woman set the boy down and leaned back in her swing, watching him play with all the woodland animals. The deer acted like puppies, and the birds flocked to his shoulders. There was only one family that could do that.
Please...not this...
"This was your home," Evie realized, turning to take it all in. "Your house was so beautiful. And that's..." She trailed off here as Doug moved away from her and inched, disbelievingly, towards the woman.
"Mom?" he whispered as he came around to stand before the swing. The woman gave no sign of hearing or seeing him. "It's me. It's Doug. Can...can you see me? Momma?"
"Doug..." Evie began in a whisper, coming over and taking his arm gently. "I don't think she can..." She paused as the woman stood up and focused her attention on the little boy.
"Doug!" his mother called. "Time to come inside!"
"MOM!" Doug yelped as she moved away from them. "MOM! NO! Don't go inside! Mom, stop!" He tried to step in front of her and block her path but she walked right through him as though he didn't exist.
"Doug!" she repeated. "It's time to go!"
"No!" the little boy howled as he played with the raccoons. "I wanna stay!"
"Douglas Robert Dwarfson! You come over here right now!"
"NO!" Doug screamed as the mother and son started towards the cottage. He and Evie raced after them. "Stop! She's in there! Mom please, STOP!"
"She can't hear you!" Evie reminded him, grabbing him and hauling him backward.
"No...NO!" Tears were spilling from his eyes. He yanked free of her grip and charged towards the building, passing through the doors as if it were nothing more than an illusion. Evie hurried after him.
"Mom? MOM!" he yelled, racing down the hallways. Evie walked slower, but he ignored this.
"Doug..." she began.
Doug skidded around the bend into the living room. But he was too late. He knew it, he could feel the dread before he even entered the room. She was dead. Dead, just like he remembered her. Her body lay still on the floor before him. He dropped to his knees, the pain ripping through his heart.
No.
No.
No.
Not again.
Footsteps. Evie flew into the room behind him. Seeing the scene laid out before her, she gasped and covered her mouth in horror.
"Momma?" came a small voice from around the bend. The little boy wandered in at that moment. "Momma? I'm hungie." He saw her lying there. "Momma? Why are you sleepnie? Wake up. I hungie." He moved closer.
Doug didn't look up, even as he felt Evie rest a firm hand on his shoulder.
His past form knelt down beside the woman. "Momma? Mommy?"
"She's gone."
The cold voice caused both Evie and Doug to look up sharply. There, in the corner of the room, hidden by the shadows, stood a figure, a glinting knife in their hands.
"Gone?" the little boy whimpered. "Gone where? She's right hewr."
The figure ignored him and focused her dark brown gaze on the two of them, as though somehow knowing they were there. "I'm sorry," she said, her eyes fixing on Doug.
And then, she was gone.
Doug stared at where the figure had stood. He felt his world crashing down all around him. His mother. Dead. Someone had killed his mother. She hadn't died in a car crash. Dopey had lied to him. And, those eyes, there was only one person who could have done this.
And she was standing right next to him.