My days ticked slowly down.
First it was four.
Then three.
Then two.
At midnight on the day before my last day, I was still working on getting out. Everybody'd been helping as much as they could, half of Auradon is down here!
But no way out.
Sera groans as she punches the space near the gate again. The two pirates guarding it snicker at her attempts. We'd gone around, even asked Jane to use what powers she had, but nothing worked.
I'd offered to try and use mine, but everybody had yelped and forbidden it.
"You can't see what we see, Icy." Sera promised me. "If you could see yourself, you'd see why we don't want ya to use 'em."
So I'm stuck, watching them fight for a way out.
So, that night, at midnight, when everybody else had gone to sleep in sheer exhaustion, I'd stayed awake. Staring at the ceiling in the dark.
If I'd hoped for a solution to pop in, I'd been disappointed so far.
"C'mon, brain." I mutter to myself.
Nothing.
I screw my eyes shut and breathe in deep. Then breathe in sharp instead, my hand jumping to an excruciating pain in my side. These had been happening since yesterday, and my room lights a bit as my glowing blue blood runs down my veins painfully.
I wince in the dark, breathing shallowly until it passes and my room falls in darkness again.
There has got to be a way out of here.
I sit up and get off my cot silently. I creep out of my cell/room/whatever and tiptoe along the hallway, careful not to wake anybody up. The only one who I know would catch me is Dude, and I have yet to find him down here. Carlos doesn't like bringing him up because nobody knows where Dude is. Brit bursts into tears every time somebody mentions him, and Quentin looks like he wants to.
I go up to the gate. No pirates. That's odd. I reach my hand out until I feel the barrier. I lay my palm flat against the cool surface.
I close my eyes.
This may be the only way out, I remind myself.
I take a breath in.
And as I breathe out, I summon all the ice I have.
My eyes burst open as I feel the power rushing through me, making me feel more alive than I have in months, singing in my bones and out of my palm, light blazing through my eyes and my veins, until finally---
The spell guarding the gate shatters.
Shards of magical glass rips through my skin, my palm still outstretched and my power still buzzing through me, and it doesn't leave until all the magical glass is around me, glowing a dangerous scarlet.
I slowly put my hand down.
I did it.
But did I?
I look down at myself. Then back at the hall. Nobody's coming. I look down at me again. Blue blood drips down my skin, onto the glass shards that are gleaming in unison, lighting the room up with shadows that point directly to me.
And I snap awake, gasping for breath.
I lay panting on my cot, clutching a painful stitch in my side, staring at the ceiling. The powerful feeling is gone, replaced with the weak, sick nausea I've been having for the past couple days.
That was a dream?
Something in me awakens, needing that feeling again. That power. That feeling that, despite what people are telling me, I can break through magic. I can't let this stupid curse stop me!
So I get off the cot. I try to stand and the room swims in my vision, making me stumble against the wall. I close my eyes tight and press my hands against my temples.
I have to do this. I can do this. I'm the only one.
Don't ask me how I know. It's not something I can describe, it's... this feeling. Not a good feeling, but more a... presence. Like I know, somehow, I can break out of here, curse or no curse.
I open my eyes again to walk. Using the wall to help keep myself up, I slowly make my way out of my room and down the hallway. I'm loud. I know I am. But nobody comes, but for a snore here and there.
I close my eyes again halfway. My vision is spinning. I can't keep going... I just need to lie down... go back to sleep... I've only got a day left, anyway...
No!
I snap my eyes back open. I can't give up, I'm the only one who can get out!
I push off the wall again and march down the hallway, tripping sometimes but making it to the magical gate. I lay my palm flat against it like I did in the dream. I lay my other hand against it as well, feeling the magic moving underneath me, swirling with strength.
I close my eyes and just breathe for a minute. Ignoring the headache. Ignoring the side stitch. Ignoring the fact that I will die today, since it's past midnight, or tomorrow.
I breathe out.
I open my eyes, abandoning my dream, and slowly let my focus slide off the magic and into myself, searching for myself. My hands grow cold and my power spreads from my palms, slowly making a crackling sound as it freezes the barrier. I don't remove my hands until I can see the entire magical wall covered in a layer of frost.
I close my eyes.
Love melts ice. Every time. Every time. So why can't it melt what's already frozen?
I pull images of all my friends, my mother, Dude, Carlos, and my adventures with them. I pull memories of all my dates, of bashing Hector into a wall, and an image of what Auradon will be when we stop Uma.
I open my eyes and smile, for in front of me is not a frozen barrier.
A melted pool of what looks like liquid gold is on the ground. I kneel down, still slightly dizzy, and try to touch the gold. Wherever my finger descends, the gold slides away from. I stand back up, my head spinning and my veins giving a blue glow off on the walls.
"GUYS!" I yell. "C'mere!"
Sera pops her head out instantly and sees me. "ICY!" she roars. She bounds over to me and catches me just as I fall. "What the HECK were you thinkin'?!"
"I wasn't." I mumble. Carlos comes out next and has about the same reaction.
"ELLIE!" about half of the prison is yelling. Only after everybody's done getting angry with me does everybody notice.
"HEY! The magic's gone!" Sera so wisely notices.
"Dummies." I mutter, still supported by her. Sera looks around incredulously.
"Well, are we gettin' out or are we gettin' out? Let's go, y'all!" She pushes me off her and bounds out quick. Carlos catches me at the last second.
"Thanks." I mumble. He smiles.
"At least you're punishing yourself for using them. Just don't use them again, okay?"
"No promises." I say faintly. Mal smirks and runs out as well. Without Ben, we spend around an hour trying to find our way through the maze of prisons. By then we're hearing shouts of pirate guards finding most of us gone, and the people in the back, and the slower ones get re-captured.
"We. Are. Not. Stopping." Sera snarls when I open my mouth. Our huge group is cut into about half now, with me, Sera, Brit, Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos in the lead. We finally break out into sunlight and leave the stupid white blocks behind. Mal looks over at the castle in the distance.
"We could..."
"No!" Sera barks. "We are getting our butts out of this area, where we can discuss a plan to get in and save everybody! De Vil, you okay with Icy?"
Carlos nods.
"I'm fine, I can walk now." I protest.
"Okay." Carlos says, pushing me away. I promptly start to fall again and he catches me. "You were saying?"
"Shut up."
"A'ight, we're running... NOW!" She sprints across the field quickly, into the woods nearby. What's left of us hasten to follow. I glance back. Pirates are right on our tail, Uma herself looking murderous in the lead.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU SCUM!" She yells, waving her sword at our retreating backs.
Ignoring whatever anyone else says, I push off Carlos and stand my ground in front of her. With a wave of my hands, ice breaks from the ground and forms a wall in either direction as far as I can see.
And then I collapse. Again.
Carlos mutters something like "Hopeless" under his breath as he picks me up.
"Thanks." I mutter. He gives a smile and hauls me past the tree line. I look at our pitiful group. Brit, Quentin, Evie, Dizzy, Mal, Jay, Carlos, Sera, Jane, Lonnie, me, and (somehow) Audrey are the only ones who made it out.
Sera claps her hands together once we're far out in the trees. "A'ight. Let's run over some stuff. Us, stuck in a forest with Icy, a few villains and Auradonians, and a brat." She nods to Audrey, whose jaw has dropped.
"Excuse me?" She snaps.
Sera nods. "You're excused. Now," She continues to Audrey's furios expression. "We gotta get back in there, right?" she points to the distant castle. "So we can get back Auradon."
"But all the villains came here already." Jane says nervously.
"Nah, they haven't." Sera scoffs. "Uma likes being in control. She'll let 'em out if they're useful."
"Like with you and Arson?" Evie asks.
Sera nods. "So, as of right now, they outnumber us. Big time."
"That's an understatement." Mal mutters.
"But," Sera continues with a nasty look at Mal, "I know where we can find more people."
"Where?" Jay asks.
"We could always ask my mom." Lonnie suggests. "Uma's only gotten Auradon, right? Because she caught us by surprise. But by now, every other kingdom will know about it. My mom would totally come and help if I asked her."
Sera grins. "Finally someone gets it! Yeah, the other kingdoms! Neverland, China, Wonderland, etcetera." She waves her hand. "Anyone know any kingdoms you could run to help for?"
"Well... I could always go ask my aunt Anna." I say slowly. "I know Marshmallow would help if I asked."
"Nuh-uh." Sera scolds. "You only have one day left, Icy. Sometime tonight or tomorrow, you're gone. We gotta get you help first."
"But---" I protest.
"NO!" Everyone but Audrey yells. Even Jane looks angry. Brit stalks over and grabs me from Carlos dragging me more into the woods.
"You will go and see my father if it's the last thing I do!" She yells. Sera looks like she's trying to stop laughing. I glare at her.
"Guys, this is way more important than me, it's everyone in Aurad---"
"NOPE!" Sera bellows. "No way! Icy, I don't think you get it. We don't want you to die, you idiot!"
I blink in surprise. "Um, yeah, I got that, but---"
"No buts." Carlos interrupts.
"Yeah!" Dizzy chimes in.
"Ellie, we can do both." Evie says. "We can save Auradon and you."
"But---"
"Oh, shut up, will you?" Audrey snaps. Everyone looks at her and stares. "Ugh, I'm not pretending I care about Ice Queen here, but I do care about Auradon. It's my home."
We continue to stare. She waves us off angrily. "The plan?" She asks.
Sera shakes her head. "Right. So, Brit, Eve, Dizzy, you take Icy here to find somebody who can lift the curse. Everyone else, we gotta get to every kingdom here to---"
"Um." Jane says quietly. "I might be able to help. With Ellie." She clarifies.
Everyone looks at her. "How?" I ask.
She flushes pink. "Well... my mom's wand."
"You think that... but your mom destroyed the contract." I say.
She shakes her head, smiling a little. "Not that. I remember my mom telling me... I can stop curses. Your sick power thing is a curse, right?"
I nod. "I'm still kind of confused on details, but yeah. My mom gave it to me, it's a curse. Sort of, I don't know."
Jane beams then. "Then if I can get the wand, I can slow it by at least another week or two."
Mal's eyes flash green. "The spell. Ellie, the spell I used on my mom!"
I nod, the wheels turning in my head. "Jane, you can call the wand to you!"
"I can?"
"Yes! Mal used it against her mom, and since it's your mom's wand it should come to you faster!" Carlos says, getting excited. "Mal, what was the spell you used?"
"And now I command, wand to my hand." She recites.
Jane gulps. "Okay. And now I command, wand to my hand!" She closes her eyes and snaps her fingers, gold magic sparking fast. For a moment, nothing happens. Then something streaks across the sky, diving towards Jane, who shrieks for a second then catches it mid-air.
"You got it!" Lonnie cheers, wrapping Jane in a hug.
"And now we know what Uma's doing." Sera says smugly.
"Wait, how?" Brit asks.
"We know she's throwing a fit!"
I start to laugh but a sudden pain rips through my chest and I groan. Jane goes pale.
"Um..." She clears her throat. "Bibbidi Bobbidi boo!" She waves the wand and a warm, soothing feeling washes over me. Everyone gasps as it travels down my body, into the tips of my toes. I let go of Brit and stand up easily. Looking down at my skin, the blue veins sink away, and the sapphire night-light glow does too.
"Jane, you did it!" I yell, running and hugging her. I let go of her, turning back to Auradon castle. And now, without the threat of death hanging over my head...
There's a certain pirate who needs to be taught a lesson. You never mess with Auradon prep kids.
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So, I realize this took a while to update, and it's not my best chapter... but whatever. 7K views! WHOOP WHOOP! Anyway, I really hope I didn't disappoint, I've been busy with other stuff lately. I'll be updating again soon!