Chapter Text
True love was the most powerful force that existed. Soulmates were something incredible and powerful. Most villains knew how dangerous love was and therefore kept their children away from any temptation. Others were relaxed because the soulmates of most of the descendants were most likely on the other side of the barrier. Far away. So, there was no need to worry.
But no one expected that the magic of the soulmates was more powerful than the barrier surrounding the Isle of the Lost.
Jay wasn't really concerned about all of that. His father had never warned him of true love. Because that didn’t exist. A true villain had no soulmate. Jafar hadn’t had it. Therefore, Jay would not have it either. Which meant that he could live without worry. Other villains thought like his father. Maleficent, for example, she encouraged her daughter with the same wicked speech. But not everyone followed that path. The Evil Queen, Cruella de Vil, and others locked up their descendants at the slightest sign of growth to protect them from true love and goodness that could trigger it. So, he and Mal had grown up wondering what the descendants of their parents' allies would be like. But Jay couldn't say that Mal was his friend, but more like the daughter of an important ally who shouldn't be provoked.
But when the first descendants reached adolescence, everything changed.
First, it was somehow random. Descendants wanting to jump into the shark-infested sea and try to go to Auradon. Others started having anxiety attacks because they were being aware that something, someone, was missing. And then, on television, they saw that in Auradon it was the same. Descendants of heroes, princes, and warriors were demanding that the barrier be removed because their soulmates were on the Isle of the Lost. Incredibly fast, King Adam had to agree to take the descendants and get them off the island to prevent political alliances from disappearing. Or, as he had said in his speech, for the happiness of the descendants of all Auradon. By the power of love, or rather to keep the heirs happy in each kingdom under the control of King Adam. He agreed to bring the descendants of the villains to prevent the youth in the kingdoms from rising against him.
However, true love was truly capable of everything.
So, Jay was free at just twelve years old. He would never forget that night where they were suddenly released from the island. In that night, Jay realized that he really wouldn't miss his father. And although Maleficent tried to convince them of a plan, she hadn’t had enough time. Even more so when the Evil Queen and Cruella de Vil fled to hide their children so that they wouldn’t be taken away. In a matter of hours, the island was emptied of minors. Jay saw how Mal struggled to stay with her mother and he wanted to help her because it wasn’t fair to force her to leave her reality. But when it was his turn, everything was different. Jay realized he was eager to get out. He could feel the pressure of the barrier for the first time, surrounding him. He didn’t want to stay on the island. So, he cooperated. Jay watched the older descendants run across the magical bridge into the arms of their soulmates who were already waiting for them in Auradon.
But Jay didn't worry about it. He was Jafar's son and had no soulmate.
Still, Jay was taken to a shelter in Auradon. Like the rest of the descendants. Although by his standards, it was a luxurious place. Comfortable beds, great food, new clothes, and any fancy you want. Instead, Mal wouldn’t talk to anyone, proud, and stubborn. Jay realized that he didn't really know Mal very well. But he believed in giving her time, as always, to calm down. But time wasn’t something they had. When people from all realms appeared intending to adopt them all, Mal was the first to accept the proposal. She didn't even look at Jay when she left. After all, they only had in common being descendants of two allied villains. In this way, Snow White adopted Mal and took her to her kingdom.
Jay was left alone.
And everything got more complicated when Harriet Hook, Captain Hook's eldest daughter refused to let the descendants of the port be sent to different kingdoms. Jay wondered if he should have acted the same way with Mal, while she recovered from being away from her mother. Maybe he should have protected her. Maybe being a villain also included taking care of his allies? No one had taught him that. But the fault was real.
“You look like someone who is not very satisfied with what is happening.”
Jay looked at the first person who spoke to him without pity in her voice. Since arriving at Auradon, everyone acted as if villain descendants were scared and wounded cubs. But this woman was different. Jay noticed her curious outfit. The combination of bright colors, the visibly soft fabric, and the style. All of that was something he grew up hearing.
“Agrabah.” Jay got up in surprise.
The woman smirked. She was incredibly beautiful. Her skin was the perfect color of desert sand, her eyes were as dark as the night, and her hair was curly and soft. But her smile was the sweetest he had ever seen. A quirky smile that made her eyes almost disappear in unimaginable sweetness.
“Are you the Sultana?”
The woman laughed. The man next to her did too. A man with dark skin and the perfect blend of strong and gentle features. Jay thought his beard made him look older, but then there were his eyes, as old as...
“Oh...” Jay sat back on his temporary bed, not taking his eyes off the couple.
His father had told him about those eyes full of ancient knowledge. Jafar had scoffed at the knowledge that a powerful being had wanted to be human.
“My name is Dalia.”
“And you can call me Gen.”
That was the way Jay was welcomed by the former maid of the present-day Sultana of Agrabah and by the ancient genie of the lamp that his father so yearn for owning and controlling. Jay learned that for a moment the Sultana Jazmine had thought to invite him as her apprentice, but Dalia had interceded. Maybe they were mere travelers, but they wanted Jay to be part of their family. He didn't know what to answer to that other than giving the man back the rings he had unconsciously stolen from him. Gen found that amusing and told him that Aladdin must have been just like him at his age. Jay also didn't know what to answer. Although he was happy that he hadn’t been acquired by the Sultana and her consort. That would have been too much for him.
Also, travel around the world sounded good.
The day Jay prepared to set sail, he heard people in the port whisper.
‘They keep finding children hidden on the island.’
‘That's terrible! How can they have them like this?’
‘I know, right? One of them seemed to sleep in a closet surrounded by bear traps.’
Jay listened to that conversation without really thinking about it. He was twelve years old and more concerned about his future on a ship without knowing how to swim. Especially when the rest of the descendants he knew were older and walked like birds in love and being ridiculously cheesy. As if days ago they hadn’t been educated differently! How was Jay supposed to feel in the face of so much change?
“Don't worry, you will also find your soulmate,” Dalia promised him when she noticed Jay looking at his wrist, the classic place where different soulmarks used to appear.
“Even if it takes centuries,” Gen promised with a contagious smile.
What they didn’t know is that Jay had been thinking if Agrabah still cut the hands of the thieves.
But those thoughts quickly vanished. Jay learned to love her life by sailing and getting to know the world. He met Jordan, the daughter of Gen and Dalia, who had been born as a genie, in a perpetual state of youth, as genies tended to be. Jordan was always older than him, but as the years passed, it was Jay who began to act like the older brother. And when Tulipa and Ali were born, Jay discovered that he had a strong instinct for protection. Jordan mockingly called him the overprotective brother. But Jay found that he liked it. Dalia's and Gen's children became his siblings. His life became a special mix of normality and magic. He got used to telling stories to Tulipa and Ali before they slept and having to tap Jordan's lamp to get her out. Dalia used to comb his hair every morning even when it wasn’t necessary, and he accompanied Gen to trade in the ports.
Jay grew up to be strong so he could carry provisions. But he, too, became charismatic and a clever trader. Also, Jay had a good eye to know when someone wanted to sell him something fake or something was wrong with the deal he intended to do.
Auradon consisted of many kingdoms and his family was always constantly moving. They spent more days in Agrabah though, where Jay got used to seeing Sultan Jazmine and her consort Aladdin as part of his curious family.
And he realized that the heroes weren’t as bad as he had imagined. Because Jay was never tested for being the son of a villain. Jay was satisfied with his life, getting to know the world, playing with Tulipa and Ali, having Jordan as his best friend, laughing at Delilah's occurrences, and being carrying away by the hundreds of stories that Gen had for them.
His home was curious, strange, and constantly moving. Everything he always dreamed of and was never admitted to was his now.
Until one day, after his seventeen years. Where he felt fingers touch his arm. Certain island habits were never lost. Like being a light sleeper. Jay opened his eyes, but no one was in front of him. And still, he could feel something slide down his arm. Jay sat down and looked at his hand. In front of his eyes, he saw a small round letter written in black ink.
‘4 Puppies
2 Kittens
1 Adult Dogs
20 Large bones
10 Small bones’
“Jordan!” Jay screamed when he saw that words were still forming on his arm.
The lamp of the young genie rested in his room that day. He waved the lamp as he saw ‘5 thick ropes’ appeared in his skin.
“What?” Jordan appeared in front of him annoyed and the only thing she found was Jay's arm in front of her eyes “What is that...? Oh…” She took a step back when she saw things keep appearing “Curious shopping list.”
“What 's going on?” Jay looked at his arm and then at her.
Jordan started to laugh mockingly. What made him calm down. Because if it was something to laugh at him, then it wasn't the end of the world, right? Jay sat on his bed, watching as the list kept growing with strange things.
“It's your soulmate, dummy.” Jordan jumped onto his bed “I think they are writing on their arm.”
Jay looked at her blankly and denied.
“I assure you it’s your soulmate.” Jordan stopped smiling mockingly “You know, this is your soulmark.”
"Villains don’t have soulmates," Jay repeated the words automatically.
And Jordan hit him hard on the forehead.
“You’re not a villain.” She said with incredible seriousness, “I have the power of the universe in my hands. Trust me, I would never let a villain be close to my family.” She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him so fast to her face that he freaked out.
Jordan looked like her mother, but her hair was purple with black, and her eyes were cold. Jay deduced they were inherited from her magical side. But all the years he had known Jordan, he could assure that she was cheerful and fun. Indifferent and with a sense of morality worthy of a being that existed beyond human life. But with a good heart. And yet, at that moment, Jay remembered that he was dealing with one of the most powerful beings in the world.
“Never, listen to me well, I would never call a villain a family, do you understand?” Jordan threatened.
He nodded raising his arms in surrender. She released him, returning to her lively, old-fashioned attitude.
“Well, with that clear.” She appeared a pen “Are you going to write something to them?”
“And scare them to death?” Jay denied “Besides, what if my soulmate is someone bad?” He looked at the handwriting and framed an eyebrow, “Who lists a muzzle next to bones and toys?”
“I don't know...” Jordan shrugged “Soulmarks tend to appear in your sixteen birthday...”
“And I already had it. Nothing ever appeared.” Jay defended himself "That's why I thought I just didn't-" He didn't say anything else when he saw the threat in Jordan's gaze “Well why now?”
“They just must have turned sixteen, you fool.”
Jay looked at the words on his arm.
“What am I supposed to do now?” He asked.
“Look for them?”
“How?”
Jordan waved the pen.
“You ask them where they live. This is the easiest soulmark I've ever seen.” She assured, “Most should let things happen naturally because fate likes to complicate things. But here you are, with the universe alienated so you can find out where your soulmate is and beg me to make you appear there.”
“I think... I need time to process it.” Jay confessed.
“Process true love? Are you crazy? You have seen how people try to get my lamp to make me unite them with their soulmate before time. But you-?” Jordan didn’t insist upon noticing the seriousness in Jay's expression “Fine if you insist.”
Jordan went back to her lamp, giving him privacy. He returned to his bed and leaned back looking at the ceiling of his cabin. For the first time, the movement of the sea didn’t calm him. He didn't want to see his arm, even though he felt something else was being written. Jay had managed to have a good life and was enjoying it to the fullest. He was still young enough to have a soulmate. Jay was enjoying his unique life, travel around the world, meeting people in every port, with no ties.
For the first time since leaving the Isle of the Lost, Jay felt the urge to run and escape again.