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The Isle of the Lost was not the place to raise a child, and it certainly was not the place for a child to grow up and learn the ways of the world.
When Mal walked the docks near the edge of the barrier, she could sense the magic like it was a taste upon her tongue. But magic was not hers to grasp and wield: that had been her mother’s domain, before it had been ripped from her in the transition from sorceress to has-been villain.
The Isle was full of has-beens, if all of them were honest, because even villains wilted when their power was snatched away from them. Auradon had made sure the cut was fast and clean, severed like magic had never been – and would never be again.
But the barrier – Mal studied it with her eyes and looked for weaknesses. If she could get them out, then maybe there could be a better future for them all. It didn’t even matter if they left their parents behind or not, though Mal knew she would face her mother’s wrath if an escape from the Isle did not involve her.
“It’s not going to work.”
Mal looked up to see Jay, the thieving son of Jafar, sitting on one of the planks and looking down at her with a mischievous look in his eyes.
“What are you talking about?” Mal asked, her voice innocent.
“The barrier,” he said, jumping down from his perch and landing beside her. “There’s no way out. Believe me, I’ve checked.”
Mal made a humming sound. “The Isle’s my home,” she said. “Why would I be looking for some way to leave?”
Jay just eyed her thoughtfully. “You can say that all you want,” he said, “but I’m not going to believe you.”
She sighed. “Okay, fine, maybe I was looking for an out. Just for – for curiosity’s sake.”
Jay’s eyes traveled beyond her to settle on the golden spires of Auradon just beyond the barrier. “It’s tempting,” he said. “I mean, it looks beautiful. Who wouldn’t want to go check it out at least once?”
“You sound like you’ve thought about this a lot,” Mal murmured, and Jay just nodded.
“Have to hope for better, you know?”
Mal hoped she wouldn’t regret her next words. “Hey,” she said, “would you like in on a little experiment?”
Jay studied her before he spoke. “I’m listening,” he said.
“What if we appealed to Auradon? For – I don’t know – amnesty, I guess?”
“I think it would take more than just us,” he said.
She smiled. “I think I have a plan for that.”
*
What Auradon wouldn’t know till later was that an anonymous letter had been sent to the king’s desk – and his son had been the one to find it first. Otherwise, the decision would have probably never come to be.
Inside the letter lay a plea for the children of the Isle. ”They can do so much better than this,” the letter read. ”The future is dismal if these children have no other recourse for their lives.”
The writing, of course, had been done by Evie – who liked to make things sound as professional as possible. “They won’t take it seriously otherwise,” she had told Mal as she finished the last flourish of her handwriting on the parchment.
And inside the letter lay the photos of four villain kids: Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos. Mal would have sent more, but she didn’t want to push her luck. Her friends were her priority, though she promised herself she would come back for the rest. If all went according to plan, the entire Isle would be free.
They may have been kids by definition, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t forge ahead with their own lives in their own ways.
Villain kids couldn’t be under the thumbs of their parents forever.
When the answering correspondence came with the next shipment of rations from Auradon, Mal just grinned to herself. The plan was in motion.
*
Triumph was too little of a word for what Mal felt when she stepped upon Auradon soil.
She shared looks with Jay, Evie, and Carlos – who looked overwhelmed by this new opportunity. Though she had told them not to look too excited – they were still villain kids by name – she couldn’t help noticing the twitches of barely held-back smiles on their faces.
They were free – or at least more free than they had been. It was a work in progress, and she would see it through till its end.
“Welcome to Auradon,” the prince who had responded to the letter said. Mal looked him up and down: he didn’t seem like the type who would fight for the rights of villain kids, but she supposed appearances were always deceiving. She should know since she and her friends were just some prime examples.
Schemes didn’t have to be just for ill will. Mal had learned that for herself even under her mother’s tutelage.
Mal smiled at the prince, who looked far too trusting for his own good. “It’s lovely to be here,” she said.
And she wasn’t lying when she said it.
*
“So what should we do?” Carlos asked when they were alone in the dorm room that had been set to the side for Mal and Evie. “Are we still going after the wand?”
It hadn’t been easy making Maleficent think the idea had been hers, but the planned heist for the fairy godmother’s wand had its own piece to fit into the puzzle of the villain kids’ stay in Auradon.
“We need the wand to bring the barrier down,” Mal said. “But we can’t do it right away. We have to gain the trust of the people here. They’ll just send us all back if they think that villains are going to overrun their kingdom.”
“How long are we talking?” Jay asked, a crease of worry forming between his eyebrows.
“As long as it takes,” Mal said.
Evie looked at Mal. “Are you sure we can do this? It’ll take more than magic to make your plan a success.”
Mal’s eyes glowed with green fire. “It’ll be worth the wait, trust me.”
First, make the king-to-be fall in love with her.
Second, persuade him to set the Isle free.
Third, become queen over Auradon and the Isle.
And then she would secure a happily-ever-after for her, her friends, and all the children Auradon had left behind.
Sure, there would be hiccups in the plan along the way, but no strategy was perfect.
Either way, Mal would be in it till the bitter end.