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Chapter Text

Jay should have known taking an advanced class would somehow screw up his entire life.

After so many years of minimal effort in schooling, this bonehead move had completely upset the cosmic balance.

For the record, Jay wasn’t stupid. Concentrating for eight hours a day, five days a week was hard. Attendance wasn’t really a thing on the Isle. Jay had to work for a living. He could only go to class without catching any heat if he came home with enough loot to justify it.

Anyway, Jay was now taking Intermediate Sorcery. It was a small class taught by Fairy Godmother for students who showed aptitude in Introduction to Magical Concepts, a required class that was pretty easy. Ironically, even though the Isle had no magic, they seemed to know a lot more about it than the Auradon kids, who were so forward-thinking and goody-goody. When Jafar was drunk or just sad, he would give long speeches to Iago about enchantments he could do when he was young and in power. Through the old man’s ramblings, Jay had apparently soaked up enough to qualify for the advanced class.

At first, he brushed off the offer. Extra homework was not of interest to him. But then Carlos found out and told the girls, and they all ganged up on him.

“Why wouldn’t you want to learn more about magic? It’s magic,” Mal said. Mal was part fae. She sweat magic. Her upbringing was centered around its absence, as she was trained to understand exactly what to do when she came into her power.  To Mal, not wanting magic was like not wanting food in your belly.

“We can all do it together,” Evie said. She was hoping this class would reveal some talent inherited from her mother.  Even if it didn’t, Evie was all about the we. If she couldn’t do magic, she’d happily wave useless wands just to keep the gang together.

“You could probably be good at it. Your dad is a powerful sorcerer,” Carlos said. He had experimented with spells but couldn’t connect with the magic, which was expected. He was taking the class to learn the theory. It seemed practical considering the company he kept.

“Are you afraid you wouldn’t be good at it?” Mal challenged. 

“Of course not!” Jay said. Then he realized he had walked straight into a trap, but it was too late to get out, “Fine, I’m in. I’ll be spelling better than all you guys in no time.”

Jay actually got excited about the class. He had visions of himself casting a really powerful spell with no effort. He even read the textbook beforehand just to check out all the amazing things he might do.  

On the first day, Jay came early, even beating Mal and Fairy Godmother who walked in together. After the coronation, those two had gotten tight, and Jay was only pretty sure no magical manipulation was involved.

Mal raised an eyebrow at Jay’s punctuality.

“Eager,” she said.

“I live to learn,” he said.

After the bell rung, Fairy Godmother explained the loose structure of the course. Each student allowed to choose their own area to study, under the guidance of Fairy Godmother. She asked for everyone’s names and if they had any inclination to the topic that they wanted to focus their thesis around. Carlos’ was so complicated it took ten minutes to explain. When they got to Jay, he said “magical objects”, which he had just come up with.

Fairy Godmother said they would start off by testing their practical ability. Training wands were passed around. You could only do simple spells with them, if you had the touch. Everyone was supposed to learn the proper casting form. Mal had it down, back and arm straight, wrist loose. She produced a controlled green flame. Evie was a little stiff, but she made a few blue sparks that were “very promising”. Carlos’ form was right, but nothing happened.

Next, Fairy Godmother was standing in front of Jay. Coach would call this the “moment of truth”. Jafar would say “you better not disappoint me”. Jay put his shoulders back, raised his right arm, and performed a perfect swish.  

Nothing happened. No sparks, no sounds, no flames. No power summoned forth that he never knew he possessed.

Fairy Godmother smiled and complimented his posture.

“Is it right?” he said, confused.

“Yes,” she said, “Nearly perfect.”

“So, if something was going to happen, would it have happened?” he said.

“I think so,” she said sympathetically, “I am a bit surprised as well. Of course, the ability is not always passed down from parent to child, but magical capability is a dominant trait.” 

Jay wanted to drop the class right there. What was the point if he wouldn’t be a powerful sorcerer like his father? If he wouldn’t be the best? But he’d learned a long time ago that if he couldn’t punch his way through an obstacle, he had to hide that he was deterred by the obstacle in the first place.

“Well, I still have my good looks,” he said, laughing. Fairy Godmother smiled and moved on. He looked at his friends. Evie and Carlos sent weak smiles. Jay had no patience for that. He turned to Mal who offered no comfort or eye contact. She was staring at the wand in his hand.

Jay did not drop the class. If he had, his life might have never turned upside down. He did keep it as low priority as his other classes, but hey, he had a lot on his plate. Jay was doing actual magic on the tourney field. Coach said he could get recruited to go pro. He’d play tourney until he was too old and be rich as a prince.

Jay liked the focus just waiting for the next game gave him. It was so much easier than constantly asking where he would find loot for his dad or a place to sleep if he didn’t. Mal spoke vaguely about the future and going back to reform the isle. Of course, a part of Jay wanted to help her crusade, but another part of him only wanted have enough to eat and warm beds every night for the rest of his life. He can’t think about going back without going back.

Mal didn’t have the same fears. Unlike her friends, going back wouldn’t mean facing her parent or being subject to their tyranny, as her mother currently lived in a terrarium in Mal’s bedroom. She wished all her friends could feel the pure bliss that comes with having the person who caused you incredible pain turning into a harmless little salamander. 

Like a reptile shedding its skin, Mal felt she had become a new woman in Auradon. Her goals weren’t focused on proving her evil chops to her mother but on making a better world for Villain Kids. Mal would never tell the royals this but bending them to her pro-Isle agenda wasn’t so different from talking teenagers into joining the most powerful gang on the Isle (yes, Uma, the most). It just involved fancier outfits and less street fighting.

It wasn’t easy at first. It wasn’t easy now, just manageable. Mal had to be the king’s royal consort, the Isle’s de facto ambassador, and create a new societal structure based on an alliance between age-old enemies. The pressure made handling Maleficent and Uma seem downright recreational, and she’d come close to giving up more than once. Mal had even gone blonde, things got so bad.

It all came to a breaking point, but on the other side, she’d had Ben, her friends, a regular meeting with a school counsellor, and her weird new friendship with Fairy Godmother, or FG. You’d think she’d hold more resentment for Mal emotionally manipulating her daughter and going behind her back, but FG was more concerned that Mal’s primary guardian was now a salamander. She had elected herself to be Mal’s surrogate maternal figure, Auradon insider, and instructor in all things fae.

Mal often stopped by FG’s office to chat, particularly about magic. Usually, Mal wanted to ask about her own powers, but today, someone else was on her mind so after some small talk, Mal cut to the chase.

“I was surprised to see Jay had no magic ability,” Mal said.

“Usually, I do not discuss other students’ class performance…but I was as well,” Fairy Godmother said.

“Because of how powerful his father was?”

“Yes. Before Jafar was imprisoned, he was considered a foremost expert on complex conjuring and illusions. If you look in the library, you can find his writings and works cited repeatedly.”

“It’s odd,” Mal said, “My mother and Evie’s taught us the principles of magic even though we couldn’t use it. It was how their mothers raised them and so on. Jafar told him some stuff, but I don’t think Jay got trained like we did.”

“In magical communities, that’s basic child-rearing. The knowledge Jafar could impart to a young mind over the course of sixteen years could have been astounding. I wonder why he didn’t. Perhaps he expected he and Jay to spend their entire lives on the Isle.”

“Jafar doesn’t like sharing,” Mal said, thinking of the man counting coins in his shop, “I’m not entirely sure Jay lacks the touch. I think I saw something the other day in class.”

Mal explained what she’d observed. FG was curious so after Advanced Sorcery, she asked Mal and Jay to hang back.

“What’s up?” Jay said.

“Will you try this again, please?” Fairy Godmother said, handing Jay a practice wand.

“Didn’t we already prove this is useless for me?” Jay said.

“I thought I saw something and want Fairy Godmother to take a look. Humor us?” Mal said.

Jay shrugged then straightened up into casting posture. He flicked the wand.

“There, did you spot that?” Mal said.

“I didn’t see anything,” FG said. She pulled out her reading glasses.

“Watch Jay’s casting hand,” Mal said, “Again, Jay.”

Jay did as he was told. Fairy Godmother gasped. A nearly invisible shimmer of magic had appeared when Jay tried to use the wand.

“Good eye, Mal!” Fairy Godmother said.

“What is that?” Mal said.

“Strange. The wand’s power is reacting adversely to him,” FG said, “Jay, do you mind if I run a test?”

“Will it hurt?” Jay said.

“No, but it might tickle,” FG said. Jay nodded his permission. Glittering pink magic formed at Fairy Godmother’s fingertip. She touched the wand, and the magic quickly latched onto Jay’s hand, spreading from there to cover his entire body.

“Is this normal?” Jay said.

Fairy Godmother’s pink magic had turned a deep red. Where it touched on Jay’s body, symbols appeared, covering him from head to toe wherever his skin was visible. The symbols resembled rune letters, arranged in complex spirals that slowly moved across his body. Mal could barely read runes anyway, but these were written in a weird, tightly spaced calligraphy that made it even harder. She doubted even Evie would know it. FG moved closer, squinting to read the language as it floated across Jay’s body.

“Someone has spelled you,” she said, “A glamour. Intricate, undetectable magic, written into your skin, and flexible enough to grow and move as you do. Absolutely amazing”

“Why would someone do that?” Jay said, turning over his arm to watch the runes move with him.

“I can’t tell,” FG said, “This is ancient casting method. It could be for protection or, no, wait, I think this says to block detection. To hide you from something.”

“What kind of detection can undetectable magic hide you from?” Mal said.

“One specific person who might be looking for him. Or it may only be triggered under specific circumstance. This is a powerful ward, like the ones around this school to protect students from harm,” she said.

FG pointed at tiny ribbons of script snaking between the larger spirals in the pattern, “This is a binder. A magical contract the caster makes for the purposes and limits of a spell. If I had to guess, I would say there’s a clause here that allows the glamour to be revealed if someone has intent to. The magic is so subtle that the spellcaster likely thought no one would ever think to look for it besides themselves.”

“Who cast it?” Jay said.

“It must have happened since we’ve been in Auradon. No magic on the Isle,” Mal said.

“This would have taken hours to cast. It had to be done in person too,” Fairy Godmother said, “From my limited experience with dark magic, I would guess the caster would need to take blood and cast directly on your flesh. It would be extremely painful. I hope that has not happened while you’ve been under my supervision.”

“Can’t say I remember anything like that,” Jay said, “One time a workout made my glutes hurt for a week, but I think I just needed more potassium.”

“I don’t know of anyone in Auradon who could perform this sort of spell,” Fairy Godmother said, “I may seem ancient to you kids, but this style is from well before my time.”

“What happens if we remove the spell?” Mal said, “Living with this much magic can’t be healthy.”

“It’s a glamour. It is only useful until exposure so it should expire soon. One moment,” Fairy Godmother said. She went to the supply closet and procured a glass orb, “You can use a crystal ball to suspend a spell.”

“The ball preserves the magic’s energy too, if you capture it quickly. Whoever wields the ball can then cast that spell later,” Jay added. Mal and FG both looked at him with surprise.

“Very good,” Fairy Godmother said, “Did you read that while researching for your project?”

“My dad told me,” Jay said.

“Oh, I see,” Fairy Godmother said, her voice slightly shriller at the casual mention to a villain, “So, Jay, I want you to pull at the magic, separating it from your skin like a tight shirt.”

Jay did as he was bid, the runes bunching up like fabric. Jay gathered it into a pile of living, glowing magic. Fairy Godmother held up the ball, and Jay was able to push the magic through, trapping it inside. Mal could still see the runes swimming around in there, condensed into the smaller space.  

“While it’s preserved, we can study it,” Fairy Godmother said, “Oh, Jay, what a difference that made.”

Jay now had a healthy glow in his skin. Everything about him seemed more vibrant. It was weird to think it about someone she’d been looking at her entire life, but Mal felt like she was seeing Jay clearly for the first time, as if she’d been wearing fogged-up glasses until now.  

“Is this magic?” Mal said, “Was the glamour what was preventing him from doing any?”

“One way to found out,” Fairy Godmother said.

Jay flicked the wand again.

Absolutely nothing.

“But why would someone cast the spell?” Carlos asked later that night at dinner after Jay and Mal filled them all in.

Jay shrugged as he shoved broccoli into his mouth. Carlos was glad that removing an intricate spell conjured into his flesh hadn’t hurt his appetite.

“Jay has never slept alone. One of us would have noticed if someone snuck in at night to cast that spell,” Evie said. Next to her, Jane looked confused. Carlos guessed that she had just realized the four of them regularly broke curfew to sleep in each other’s rooms. He was looking forward to seeing Jane’s face when she learned the king joined in too.

“Unless one of you did it,” Jay said, “Mal? Any confessions?”

“That was some complicated, ancient rune work,” Mal said, “Most of my spells are still at the cute little rhymes level.”

“There’s something I need to tell you guys,” Evie said. Everyone became silent until she started laughing. Jay threw a piece of broccoli at her.

“Too bad removing the thing didn’t suddenly unlock magic powers,” Carlos said gently. He could tell Jay was bummed, maybe even insecure, about the lack of ability. But getting Jay to talk about his emotions was no easy task.

True to form, Jay shrugged, “I don’t really care. Although you guys will be doing my homework since you got me all psyched to be a wizard or whatever.”

“I anticipated that from the beginning, buddy,” Carlos said. Jay shot him a wink.

“Sea-witch incoming,” Evie said.

The table turned to watch Uma, flanked by Gil and Harry, approach the table. All three, along with a bunch of other VKs, had started at Auradon Prep this semester. Others were scattered across the kingdoms’ schools as part of Ben and Mal’s education initiative. 

“Merchant punks,” Uma greeted, “And nobility.”

Mal smiled tightly. As head of the Villain Kids Welcoming Committee, she had to pretend like Uma was not her sworn nemesis. Carlos could almost hear the words “wharf rat” trapped behind Mal’s teeth.

“You’re looking good, Jay,” Gil said, smiling brightly. Gil didn’t have a hostile bone in his body. It was downright disturbing coming from an Isle kid.

“Thanks. I got magically purged,” Jay said, smiling at Gil. They’d had something going on at some point on the Isle. Carlos could also see Harry and Evie smiling at each other. And then Harry was checking out Jay. For sworn enemies, the merchant and pirate gangs had really intermingled a lot.

“I’ve never seen you without your pirate regalia on, Uma. Preppy suits you,” Mal said. They then also maintained intense eye contact for a little bit.  

“I’ll be seeing you,” Uma said. The trio moved on.

“I think we just went back in time,” Carlos said, “I’m fifteen again. We’re at the Queen of Hearts’ club. I’m wondering if it’s the kind of night where we hook up with the pirates or have a knife fight.”

“And you’re minimally helpful in both situations,” Mal said. The four of them laughed.

“I haven’t understood anything for twenty minutes,” Jane said.

“Was that Gaston’s son? I haven’t formally introduced myself yet,” Ben said, eyebrows knit together nervously, “When I do, is there anything I should say?”

“Gil’s harmless,” Jay said.

“Gaston’s an asshole, but he and his kids mostly live in the woods and keep to themselves. Gil is the only one in a gang. I think the pirates were cuddly compared to his brothers,” Carlos said. Once, Carlos had hoped that Gaston was his father. Due to their fathers’ talent for hunting, all eight of his kids ate well- an Isle miracle. There was so many of them Carlos had wondered if anyone would notice if one day Carlos just joined them for dinner.

“Gaston’s a chauvinist and a creep,” Mal said, “He also never liked that Gil followed a girl.”

“If I couldn’t find a prince to marry, my mom had her eye on Gaston Jr,” Evie said, “If he was taken, Gaston III.”

“You’d be washing animal guts out of clothes for the rest of your life,” Mal said, “I gotta go. I have a meeting with Belle about Agrabah hospitality protocol.” She got up and grabbed her tray. Even though nobody else had somewhere to be, they all followed her lead to the trash can.

“I thought that was my meeting,” Ben said, scraping off his leftovers into the compost.

“You have a video conference with the Wonderland security council,” Mal said.

“Ugh, you’re right. That’ll be all night. They have no sense of time management,” Ben said, “I’ll see you guys later.” Ben left along with Jane.

 “Carlos,” Mal said. She was holding out a piece of notebook paper to him, “Fairy Godmother told me about these books. I had time to look up the decimal numbers but not check them out. Will you grab them? I’ll explain later.”

Carlos looked at the writing, “RS? Isn’t that the Restricted Section?”

“You’ll figure it out,” Mal said as she walked briskly in the direction of Belle’s castle.

“I guess I’m going to the library,” Carlos said.

“Mal’s books can wait. You also have to pick up her dry-cleaning,” Jay said.

Carlos flipped Jay off. Really, he didn’t mind doing some errands, especially literary ones. He’d sworn allegiance to Mal when he was eleven, joining her gang to get in on her negotiated share of the barge. Mal had eyed his bony frame and pushed a second helping of cereal his way. It was more than his own blood had ever done for him.

They all headed back to Carlos’ room. Evie was designing the new tourney jerseys, and Jay was her reluctant model. Carlos was too busy working on his independent study project and pointedly trying not to look at Jay’s bare, ripped torso. It was hard to narrow down his scope of study when every new piece of research he did contained so much crazy interesting knowledge. He wanted to do something about how technology and magic could be integrated, but even the supportive Fairy Godmother said that was very ambitious for a school project due in a few months.

She’d then said if anyone could figure it out, it would be him which made Carlos feel humiliatingly warm and fuzzy. Most of the adults, including FG, hadn’t trusted them when they got here, sometimes going out of their way to taunt or condescend to them if they didn’t know something. Carlos had spent long hours in the library to learn as much as he could in case he was sent back to the Isle.

A few months into their time here, teachers started giving him advanced work, which Carlos had to clarify with Ben was a good thing and not some sort of punishment. This semester, Carlos was taking half his classes at Auradon University. He could ask for a book or a piece of tech to study, and the school made it happen.  Adults asked him questions and listened to his answers. It was a long way from useless, burdensome idiot, get back in the closet, if you’re lucky, I’ll let you out tomorrow.

Carlos’ first invention had been an automatic lock picker. He still carried it. You never know. It was a good reminder anyway. As long as he had his mind and his hands, he could always get to somewhere better.

“Which one do you like better?” Evie asked.

“Well, the first one showed off my arms, but this one is easier to move in, so it’s a toss-up,” Jay said.

“Can you try this one next?” Evie asked, tossing him a deeper cerulean redesign of the second jersey style. Evie loved Ben, but the shade of blue his family had covered the entire city in was too bright for her sensibility.

Jay dutifully took off the jersey he was wearing, and Evie gasped.

“Jay, when did you get that?” she said. That was a large tattoo across Jay’s chest that she’d never seen before. It was an intricate spiraling design that took up almost the entirety of his pecs. Was Jay having some sort of well-hidden emotional breakdown that had made him seek out some new, dramatic body ink? Nevermind that it was illegal for minors to get tattoos here without parental permission. Gods, she hoped he hadn’t let some unlicensed stranger do that much work.

“Uh, sick tat?” Carlos said, sounding like this was also brand-new information even though the two changed side by side every night.

“Get what?” Jay said. She pointed at his chest, and he looked down, “What the…that wasn’t there this morning.”

“What?” Evie said. Jay walked over to the mirror and stared at his reflection.

“This is so weird,” Jay said.

“It looks like it was carved into you,” Carlos said. Evie looked closer. The design wasn’t made of ink but instead raised skin, like an old scar.

“Does it hurt?” Evie said.

“No,” Jay said, running his finger over it, “The design looks like the spell from before.”

“Magic always leaves a mark,” Evie said.

“Why would someone do this?” Carlos said.

“Villain Kid prejudice?” Evie said. Plenty of people were still very much against them being in Auradon.

“But no one’s actually hurt me,” Jay said.

“Yet,” Carlos said.

“Comforting,” Jay said.

“Why go after Jay? Mal’s the face. The new kids are the easier targets,” Evie said.

“It could have to do with Jafar,” Carlos said.

“The only kid here from Agrabah is Aladdin and Jasmine’s kid, and he’s, like, eleven,” Jay said.

“Remember us when we were eleven?” Carlos said.

“A spoiled royal kid couldn’t do this,” Jay said, “Fairy Godmother said she couldn’t do this. She said it was really hard magic.”

“Right,” Carlos said, “Maybe I am headed to the library tonight.”

“It’s late, C. Really, don’t sweat it,” Jay said. He put a calming hand on Carlos’ tense shoulders. Typical. Jay gets magically branded, but he’s more concerned with Carlos’ sleep schedule, “Let’s call it a night and deal with this tomorrow.”

Evie nodded and gathered up her fabrics and sketches, “I’ll fill in Mal if she’s back.”

“Okay,” Jay said, “It’s probably fine.”

Evie nodded at him, and Jay relaxed a little, believing his own words with her reassurance. When it came to his looks or winning something, Jay loved all eyes on him, but Evil forbid he be worried over. Back on the Isle, he never appreciated anyone mentioning a new scar or bruise, especially if he was coming from a night at his dad’s. They were all like that, accepting pain as a constant, unchangeable fact, not something to be worried over or removed, only mitigated.

Mal, Evie, and Carlos had all slowly begun to embrace the Auradon practice of talking about your feelings. Jay’s emotional outlet just became hitting balls instead of faces.

Mal was in their room when Evie returned, working on some homework. She looked up when Evie walked in, and Evie could feel her energy was up which was a nice change from the exhaustion that had blanketed her friend for so many months.

“E,” Mal said, “My meeting with Belle went so late, and my brain is mush. Any chance I can have your physics notes?”

“Red notebook,” Evie said, throwing her backpack at Mal.

“You’re my hero. So, you know how I have that state dinner tomorrow at the museum with the leaders of Agrabah? Belle was going over conversation topics and it turns out the royal couple’s son was kidnapped. Like, full Rapunzel, missing since he was a baby, no one knows. So, I have to avoid bringing up kids, kidnappings, and- “

“Mal,” Evie said, holding up her phone, “I hate to interrupt, but there’s a new development on the Jay situation. Look at this.”

“That’s not one of my stick and pokes,” Mal said, scrutinizing the photo, “We have to tell FG.”

“Jay’s going to first thing tomorrow.”

“I’ll go with him,” Mal said, “I have a bad feeling this is going to turn into a whole thing.”

Evie sat down on the bed and put a hand on Mal’s shoulder. The months after the coronation had been rough for Mal. Evie still felt bad for how she hadn’t been there as much as she should for her friend. Mal had been hiding it so well, but still, Evie should have known.

Then again, Evie had been hiding something from Mal for- oh, Evil, was it a month now? It wasn’t bad or anything, but Evie still felt guilty about it, especially when she was alone with her.

“I’m worried too,” Evie said, “Maybe let’s just get some rest tonight? Tomorrow’s going to be a lot.”

“I’m all for beauty sleep. Who needs physics anyway? I can fly,” Mal said.

Before going to bed, Evie stood in front of her bathroom mirror. This one wasn’t magical, but she still found it helpful to talk to it. She and her mother used to do it every night, saying that Evie was the thinnest, prettiest, fairest of them all. She’d tried to get Mal to join in, but she preferred an old-fashioned burnt offering for a confidence boost.

Tonight, Evie looked at her reflection and said, “My friends will be okay. Jay will be okay. We will have peace.”

She was still worried, but it felt better to hear her hopes out loud. She remembered one of the core principles of magic: All words have power.  

Evie would be right about those words, eventually. A lot of shit just had to hit the fan first.

Chapter Text

Carlos woke up early to hit the library.

On the Isle, books were his escape. He could remember every book that had ever passed through his hands. There were school textbooks which were Auradon textbooks that were twenty years out of date and covered in graffiti. There were books on loan from teachers, who themselves had to be extra careful about who they trusted since it wasn’t like the school would purchase new materials for them if these were lost. Madame Mim and Jafar sold books, and while Carlos wasn’t crazy enough to steal from either of them, he sometimes got away with reading a couple pages at a time while hiding in the aisles. If they needed to know something, Jay would copy pages by hand, that is if he could stand to spend more than a few hours at his father’s. Then there was the Evil Queen’s library, full of romance novels and reference books on royalty, potions, and dark magic. The queen didn’t do much reading, but Evie did, and they spent many days curled up reading on her bed, deathly quiet so her mother wouldn’t know he was there.

The Auradon Prep library was his favorite place. It was the first place he dared to walk alone to because his friends couldn’t keep up with the hours that he wanted to spend there. He’d build a fortress of books around his favorite table and just read and read. He had said if Maleficent’s plan to take the kingdom actually worked, he’d ask for ownership of the library in his boon. If it didn’t and they all got sent back, he wanted to learn everything he could beforehand.

The best part was you didn’t even need to steal the books! They just let you take them! If the Isle had a place like this…well, a lot of things about the Isle would have to be different to allow a library to stay standing. 

Carlos walked right to the Magic and Sorcery shelves. He’d been coming here a lot for his independent study project. The dark magic books allowed in general circulation were few in number, and Carlos assumed anything involving carving skin was dark. He headed for the brief section on wards that he’d already read through.

Wards weren’t technically spells. Spells had simple causes and effects. Wards were difficult to build and even harder to break. A skilled builder could write hundreds of clauses and loopholes into the structure of a ward, like a castle with many hidden passages that could only be navigated by its architect. Wards could last centuries and could take their power from any material (spoken words, rituals, the elements, numbers, blood, the list goes on). A family line or the stones of a building could be warded. Different cultures had their own styles.

The Isle was warded, so that no one could perform magic or die, but Carlos had gathered that apparently there were loopholes that Auradonians could access. Unsurprisingly, no one was very eager to tell Carlos more details beyond that.

Carlos had been doing a lot of reading on wards because his paper was about combining magic and technology, and wards were sort of like a computer. Both needed to draw their power from somewhere. They had specific uses and limitations. They operated by their own codes. Magic was chaotic and abstract, but in the form of a ward, it could be tightly constricted to perform complicated functions.

Unfortunately, they could also be carved into your best friend’s body.

Carlos browsed through Indexes, looking for any mention of “skin”, “flesh”, or “runes”. When he couldn’t find anything beyond basic definitions, Carlos wandered over to the back of the library where the Restricted Section was guarded by the terminally-pursed-of-lip Ms. Knuckles. Carlos had been too nervous to talk to her for months, until Ben introduced them. Now, they were old friends. This morning, Knuckles was reading a copy of the Auradon Herald. On the front page was a press photo of Agrabah’s Princess Jasmine and Prince Aladdin shaking hands with Ben.

“Good morning,” he said, smiling, “How are you today, Ms. Knuckles?”

“It’s too early for this conversation,” she said.

Carlos kept smiling, “I love getting an early start. I was hoping to check out these books. It’s for an Advanced Sorcery research assignment, supervised by Fairy Godmother.”

Carlos held out Mal’s scrap of paper. Ms. Knuckles seemed unimpressed by him dropping FG’s name, but she took the paper and read it.

“These entries are unavailable for checkout,” she said, “Only supervised readings.”

“If you need to, I can get a note,” Carlos said.

“No exceptions. These are too fragile to leave the library.”

Well, that piqued his interest. Even if he couldn’t get the books to Mal, he was still curious what they were, “So could I possibly get a look at them here? Under supervision, of course.”

“I suppose,” Ms. Knuckles said tersely. She got up, and Carlos followed her into the shelves. His eyes kept wandering to different book spines, and he had to restrain himself from stopping to get a closer look.

Ms. Knuckles led him into a cold back room he’d never been in before. Cabinets lined the whole room. In the center, there were a couple of reading tables.

“Gloves required,” Ms. Knuckles said, gesturing at a box of latex gloves on one of the tables. Carlos put them on.

Out of a cabinet, she pulled out a clear box. Inside were dozens of yellowed paper scrolls. Each one’s wooden core chained to the box.

“No flash photography. Gloves on. Don’t spit on them,” Ms. Knuckles said. She went over to one of the tables and resumed reading her newspaper.

Carlos moved closer and read the tiny typed card stuck to the lid.

ITEM: RS.244

CONTAINING: 16 SCROLLS OF MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ON SORCERY, ANCIENT RUNES, AND CURSES. WRITTEN BY JAFAR, FORMER GRAND VIZIER AND COURT SORCERER OF THE KINGDOM OF AGRABAH. MATERIALS SEIZED FROM HIS PRIVATE STUDY AND DONATED BY THE SULTAN OF AGRABAH.

These belonged to Jafar? These scrolls, just sitting here in a box in an Auradon high school? If Jafar knew any grubby teenager with a library card could read his precious writings, he’d be furious. The thought made Carlos smile.

Of course, said teenager would need to able to read Arabic. Jay had taught him a few phrases here and there, but Carlos didn’t know the alphabet. He would have to bring Jay back here to translate.  

Carlos carefully opened a few different scrolls. One had a map of a city. One was a complex spiral pattern with symbols twisted in between the lines. These symbols didn’t really look like Arabic words though.  They were some sort of runes. And they were the same as the ones on Jay’s skin.

Fairy Godmother almost fainted when she saw Jay’s brand-new branding.

“So…this isn’t good?” Jay said to break her horrified silence.

“This is very dark magic. The anti-detection glamour was likely step one in a complex, multifaceted ward that was written into your skin. The use of blood and flesh adds considerable power, strength, and longevity.”

“It looks old,” Mal said, “When this was first cast, the wound would have taken weeks to heal. Even if it was spelled to be invisible, Jay would have noticed.”

“So, it can’t have happened in the time we’ve been here,” Jay said.

“It’s incredible you or the caster didn’t die in the process. It would take someone truly vile to do this to another human being,” Fairy Godmother.

“Vile, desperate, nothing to lose,” Mal said, “I can think of a few who fit that description.”

“I can shorten the list.” They all turned to see Carlos enter the room.

“It was Jafar,” he said. He held up his phone, “Look at this.”

Jay, Mal, and FG leaned in close together to look at the phone screen which showed a drawing that looked a lot like the design of glamour and the branding.

“My dad drew this? Where did you find it?”

“Mal’s library books. His private writings are in the library’s restricted section,” Carlos said.

“I didn’t think those notes would be anything more than just interesting to look at,” Mal said, “I’m such a genius sometimes.”

 “What sort of father would attempt such dangerous magic on his own child?” Fairy Godmother said.

“Yeah, that part isn’t so surprising,” Jay said.

“What’s the purpose though?” Mal said, “The ward could be for protection but…”

“But my father doesn’t really care about me that much?” Jay said. Mal shrugged and nodded.

“If Jafar somehow had magic on the Isle, how could we not know? The possibilities are endless of what he could have done,” Fairy Godmother said.
“If there was magic on the Isle, this would not have been our first sign,” Mal said, “He or someone else would have used it a long time ago. We’d know.”

I would know, Jay thought. After all, his father would have been much scarier if he could actually wield that dusty scepter for magic instead of plain old hitting. He was always searching for objects with any sort of magical trace still on them, always pushing Jay to go for bigger and riskier hauls. If Dad found magic, he’d have no use for Jay.

Fairy Godmother elevated this to a top security priority and said she would put her best minds on studying the glamour and her many pictures of Jay’s branding.

Jay was so grateful that today of all days, he could skip class. Coach had this tourney conference thing at a college, and the school told him to bring along a player. Before Jay was just looking forward to missing class, but there was the added bonus of missing-

“Do you think this could have something to do with the fact that Jafar was a djinn for a while?” Carlos said, “Maybe you inherited something.”

“He was made mortal again before being sent to the Isle, so I don’t think I came from any genie sperm,” Jay said. His friends had followed him to the main office to wait with him, interrogating him the whole time.

“Please don’t make me think about Jafar’s sperm,” Mal said, “But you’d probably know, if you were. I mean, I think I’d know I was fae even if no one told me. I can make a wish and test it out.”

“I wish for this conversation to be over. Okay, wish granted,” Jay said.

“What’s your problem?” she said.

“I just don’t want to talk about this anymore,” he said, searching again for Coach to finally free him from this conversation.

“Don’t you want to know how it happened?”

“I’m really not that worried about it. I’m not hurt or anything.”

Mal narrowed her eyes and stared at Jay’s chest, “Well, whenever it did happen, it would have hurt really fucking bad. Is that worrying?”

“I survived,” Jay said.  

“But did Jafar ever say anything to you?”

“Hmm, let me just quickly parse through sixteen years of conversations. I can break most of it down into commands, threats, and drunk ramblings.”

“What about warnings?”

If you don’t come back with something valuable, you’re going to be in a lot of pain.

“Most of the warnings were also threats,” Jay said.

“Do you remember anything from when you were really little?” Carlos said. He had shifted his weight to stand right on top of Jay, looking up at him all earnest and concerned. Those stupid puppy dog eyes made Jay feel like he had to give a real answer. They could make him feel like he had to do pretty much anything.

“I really don’t know,” Jay said, “I mean, he was sort of…he was always strict. But before he started kicking me out, I almost never left the apartment. I wasn’t even allowed in the store. He said it was because I’d be in the way. I don’t know. Maybe it was for protection or maybe he just didn’t know what else to do with a kid. But it felt like I was a secret.”

“I didn’t know that,” Mal said.

“Well, once I was old enough to steal, I was put to work, and that ended,” Jay said, shrugging.

“Jay,” Finally, there was Coach, “De Vil. Mal. Trying to tag along?”

“Where are you going again?” Mal said. When Jay first mentioned this last week, she had been suspicious that Jay was going off-campus alone with Coach, even though they went to away games all the time. Jay was hoping she sort of forgot.

“Auradon City University, only half an hour away,” Coach said, “I hear you and the king are interested in attending yourselves.”

“Ben doesn’t really have a choice, but I’m considering,” Mal said, “Watch your back there, Jay.”

“It’ll be fine,” Jay said tersely.

“I’ll just go and sign you out,” Coach said, walking past them into the admin office. Great thing about Coach- he was one of the only Auradonians Jay ever met who could read a room.

“Maybe you should just stay on campus today. What if this thing has some kind of side effect?” Mal said.

“We can watch out for you here,” Carlos said.

“It’s going to be fine. I can handle it. Just trust FG and don’t worry about it, okay?” Jay said.

Mal nodded, but Jay knew all of Mal’s looks, and this one said I’m not letting this go.

“Of course, I’m not letting this go,” Mal said to Evie. Evie was paying more attention to their Physics lab, which involved building a track for a toy car to drive over.  

“Well, you know Jay,” Evie said, “He would rather bleed out than tell you he got stabbed. Like, he used to actually do that.”

“Isle things,” Mal said with the exasperated tone they adopted when their old habits clashed with Auradon norms.

“It’s a boy thing too,” Evie said, “I think we forget that Carlos and Ben’s levels of emotional sensitivity are the exception, not the rule.”

“Ben would rather bleed out than not share a feeling,” Mal said, with affection. She looked at her phone, “I’m going to have to ditch you in like five minutes. State dinner.”

“I know. I made your beautiful dress,” Evie said absentmindedly. She looked down at her phone. Serendipitously, a new text read no roommate tonight?

“Thank you again for that,” Mal said.

“It is tonight, right?” Evie said, “Why are you leaving before lunch?”

“It’s like an extra big deal dinner so we have to go over our messaging and whatever beforehand.”

“Right,” Evie said. She shot back a text that said totally free.  

“Agrabah’s royal family hasn’t formally visited the capital in years,” Mal said, “They generally hate foraying into inter-kingdom politics and can barely stand Ben’s dad. It would be a promising sign that they sent their kid to school here, but then, move-in day happened.”

 “No chance they just forgot that?” Evie said, returning her attention back to her lab partner and away from the three pulsing dots on her phone.
“Unlikely. I have some reason for optimism. We haven’t heard a peep about it since then, for starters. It’s not like they made their son drop out or even complained to the school. I mean, I’ve had it out worse with Phillip and Aurora. But it’s probably going to take days of ass-kissing to regain the ground lost and then even more to get them to actually hear my pro-VK agenda out.” Mal’s hands moved to massage her temples, as if preparing for the headaches to come.

 “Will Mal please come to the front office?” an announcement came over the PA.

“And so, it begins,” Mal said.

“You’ll be great,” Evie said, “They’re going to love you and forget why they ever doubted a VK.”

Mal smiled wanly, “Thanks. Oh, and Evie, do me a favor. Don’t mention the fact they’re in town to Jay. He’s stressed out enough.”

Jay’s stress had pretty much disappeared by lunch.

For starters, the college was awesome. Coach had signed them up for a full tour of the campus. The buildings were all modern and high-tech. Carlos would have a field day. The students seemed a lot more laid back than the ones at the Prep. Jay even saw some people wearing sweatpants. The royals at school would never.

It also just felt so wonderfully anonymous. At school, he walked around like he had a huge VK sign painted on his back. It was nice to just be a face in the crowd for once.

After the tour, Coach took him back to the tourney stadium. It could seat thousands of people. Jay tried to think of that many people all watching him score a goal and screaming his name.

They sat in the bleachers and watched the college team practice. These guys were really good. Coach had been showing him tapes of college games so Jay could see how they play. Each player here had all probably been the best on their high school teams. Jay wanted to go out there and see how he matched up.

After their practice, their coach came up and greeted Coach with a manly, back-slapping hug.

“Here to steal my job?” he said.

“Trip, you know I could never leave the Prep,” Coach said, laughing, “This is Jay.”
“I’ve seen his tapes. You trying to get me in trouble, Jenkins?”

“Jay’s only a junior, and we’re in preseason. You’ve got a month before you’re breaking any rules. This is just a friendly run-in,” Coach said.

“In that case, how are you, son?” he reached out to shake Jay’s hand.

“Good, sir,” Jay said. He never really knew how to act around strange adults here, especially other men and especially ones who just said something Jay didn’t understand.

“You’ve got great hustle,” Coach Trip said, “I could use a man like you, speaking in pure hypotheticals, of course.” He winked at Jay.

“Jay’s my best man,” Coach said, “Mind if we stick around and check out your facilities?”

“Be my guest. If it was a couple months from now, I’d give you the tour myself. A player like you Jay would get the royal treatment here. But, of course, we’re speaking in hypotheticals.”

“I appreciate your commitment to tourney recruitment formalities,” Coach said.

The college coach said good-bye and followed his players into a tunnel off the field. Coach and Jay followed behind him down the bleachers, making their way to the field.

“What was he talking about with hypotheticals?” Jay said.

“College recruitment standards. There’s rules about where and when coaches can approach you to try and get you to play for them.”

“He wants me for his team?” Jay said.

“A lot of people are going to want you, son,” Coach said, “When our season starts, you’ll be courted like the head cheerleader before cotillion.”

“I mean, you mentioned it before, but I didn’t know it was all coming up so fast.”

“The top-notch players usually commit by the end of junior year.”

“Woah.”

“I’ve got the boring rules and forms at my office. We can go over it in the coming weeks. There’s some legal mumbo-jumbo to sort. Nothing too hairy.”

Jay couldn’t wait to tell his friends. He automatically pulled out his phone, but when turned it on, their groupchat had like 100 new messages. He saw the previews of the most recent ones.

c: so i’m assuming coach has eaten you at this point

m: im telling ben u stole that phone if u won’t answer our texts!!!

king b: Jay, I would have gotten you a phone if you needed one.

e: chill guys his location is on and he’s literally on a tourney field.

m: how do we know jenkins didn’t bury him there

c: it’s how he would’ve wanted to go

“Sorry, Coach, one second,” Jay said.

j: chill im fine

j: ditching u guys for some cool new college friends :p

There, a tongue emoji should calm them down and prove he’s alive.

“Your friends texting in class?” Coach said.

“Uh…”

“I don’t care. I’m not their teacher.” Coach said. Jay laughed.

“Is everything okay with them? Mal looked me over like she was trying to threaten me in ten different languages, which she hasn’t done in about two months.”

 “They just worry. I mean, we come from a dangerous place,” Jay said, defensively.

“Right,” Coach said, “Fair enough.”

Jay wanted to say some more stuff about how his friends honestly had every right to think Jay was in trouble because going on a trip of vague purposes with an adult stranger was textbook how-to-die stuff on the Isle. But he really did like Coach. Obviously, he wasn’t from the Isle, but Jay sort of felt like the guy got their whole thing. Like, sometimes Chad would say something extra stupidly privileged, and Coach would look at Jay with a half-smile like they had a little inside joke.

Coach was kind of off though. Like, Jay liked that about him, but Jay was off too because he was from the Isle. But what was Coach’s excuse? Like, he may be a tourney coach now, but if he told Jay that he used to be an expert assassin, Jay would probably believe him. He just had that sort of vibe like he’d seen it all.

He looked down at his phone. Just one text from Mal.

m: what r u doing with jenkins anyway?

Now that he was thinking of it, Jay had been so wrapped up in the tourney and ignoring the thing on his chest that his weird radar had been totally ignored all day.  Maybe it was just that good old-fashioned Isle survival paranoia, but right now, that radar started going off like crazy.

“Coach,” he said, “Why are we on this field trip?”

“So, you can see the kind of college arena you’re going to play in,” he said quickly. Too quickly.

“Why today though?” Jay said, “You never like us missing class. You said it had to be today too, that there was some sort of conference. But no one else is here. There’s no reason we couldn’t have come on the weekend.”

“That’s my day off. I need to catch up on my soap operas.”

“Coach.”

Coach sucked on his teeth before speaking, “The crown princess of Agrabah and her husband were at the school today. Their security thought it would be a good idea for you to stay in your room for the duration of their visit.”

Oh.

Of fucking course.

No one would just do something nice for Jay just for the sake of it. He’d been so fucking stupid.  

“Are you for real?” Jay said,

Coach nodded. The insult made Jay’s chest burn. It was one thing to get the suspicious looks and double-handed comments but to hear a teacher say it, like Jay should be so understanding of how nice Auradon people see him as a threat.

It made him want them to be right. It filled him with the kind of shame that made people do terrible things.

“That’s bullshit!” Jay screamed at Coach, forgetting the chummy demeanor from two seconds ago. He wanted to hit Coach, but the back of his head told him that was a stupid idea so instead he kicked the nearest thing he could find- the concrete wall of the stadium.

“Fuck that!” Jay said. His toes were aching already.

“I agree,” Coach said, “So did Fairy Godmother. She called it cowardly, which is her version of the c-word. But crown security got Agrabah’s request too, and Fairy Godmother didn’t have the authority to refuse.”

“I was a matter of national security,” Jay said, “That’s flattering. I bet they’ve been watching me all year. I go anywhere near their brat, and a bunch of guards jump out, right?”
“Not at my school,” he said, “Listen to me. You have the same playing field as any other student. There’s no secret traps.”

“Just secret field trips,” Jay said.

“I didn’t want today to feel like a punishment,” Coach said, “They’re wrong, son. Plain wrong and cowardly. You’ve got more backbone than all of them.”

“They let us off, but they don’t want us thinking we’re free. They know we’ll always snap back into line if they remind us how we can be sent back any time.”

“Over my dead body,” Coach said.

“Whatever.” Jay spit at the ground.

“Now you listen to me. You should feel proud. I don’t know how you do it. Your schoolwork, taking care of your friends, watching the De Vil boy like a mother hen. All that and having to be your own man because your dad’s not around. My dad was a piece of work. But he was around, always breathing down my neck, keeping me in line, but around. I don’t know who I’d be if he was gone.”

“It’s better without him. If he was here, he’d just be reminding me what a fuck-up I am,” Jay said, his throat feeling kind of thick. He didn’t want to talk about Jafar. Why did everything have to go back to Jafar?

“Your dad can’t see what I see. It’s not just talent. I know you go to sleep reciting the playbook in your head. You give your full effort every time you get out there. You should feel proud.”

“Yes, Coach,” Jay said, ducking his head. All the fight was going out of him. He didn’t know how to handle all these nice words at once. Coach probably just felt bad for him, the poor Isle kid with no parents.

“This is yours for the taking,” Coach said, gesturing to the field, “You’ll leave the Prep, and you’ll never have to talk to or listen to a crown again. You just keep doing the work you’ve been doing. Can you do that?”

“Yes, Coach,” Jay said.

“Even if you decided you hate tourney tomorrow and want to drop out of school to sell candied hams, it wouldn’t mean you’re going back. I’m not going to let that happen,” Coach said, “You hear me?”

“Yes, Coach,” Jay said, swallowing the knot in his throat. He raised his head. Coach had a weird look on his face. He wasn’t giving Jay orders. At least, not like Jafar ever would. He looked like he knew what he was talking about though. Like somewhere in his mysterious, shady past he’d figured some shit out just so he could pass it on to definitely-not-crying teenage tourney players of villainous origins.

Annoyingly, Jay even felt better. Coach was right, even if he was just saying this stuff because he pitied him Jay could take care of himself. He could get rich and famous off tourney. Or he could just steal shit and fight and be fine. All he had to do was avoid Agrabah forever. Just a few people in the whole world to stay out of the way of. Jay had done harder things than that.

“How’s that foot?”

“It’s fine.”

“Don’t bullshit me. That foot has a national championship to win.”

“It’s really okay. Just a bruise. I’ve had worse.”

“Alright. We still got some time to kill. Do you want a burger? There is a joint down the block. They cook with magic, I swear,” Coach said.

Jay exhaled, and some of the tension went out of his shoulders. Manly heart-to-heart time was over. Thank Evil for that.

“That sounds great.”

Chapter Text

With Mal and Ben off on royal duties, dinner was just Evie, Carlos, and Jay. Evie relished the chance to catch up with her boys. It had been great getting closer to Mal while they shared a room, but otherwise, she hated the distance caused by Auradon’s restrictive gender separations. On the Isle, the four of them all shared the loft of their headquarters and didn’t give a flying fae about propriety. Here, if a guy and girl hung out, it automatically meant romance, and romance meant the most chaste and chivalric of unions.

It was not an idea that would be popularly received, but Evie often felt like Auradon could learn a thing or two from the Isle about loosening up their ideas of gender and sex. The fact that the four of them felt the need to hide their tendency to sleep in each other’s rooms more fervently than their illegal spellcasting said a lot. Ben’s eyes had almost popped out of his head the first time he heard Mal call the act “fucking”. 

The topic of tonight’s meal was “anything that wasn’t the mark on Jay’s chest”. They had already talked through the second most exciting topic which was Jay’s field trip with Coach Jenkins. Evie went off for about ten minutes about how not even a stupid princess gets to jeopardize her friend’s education. Carlos correctly pointed out it set a terrible precedent for other VKs. Jay agreed it was really annoying and rude, but he was trying to appear over the whole thing, or at least, over talking about it.

She kind of wished he let her rant for a little longer. Because now the conversation was…

“This is really good pudding,” Carlos said.

“I added sprinkles to mine,” Evie said. They shared a look of mutual frustration. They were both hard-wired so that when they learned something interesting, they wanted to keep digging until they understood it fully.

“Pirate approaching,” Carlos said, and Evie’s heart flipped. She turned and saw the one pirate who could cause that in a good way.

Uma looked back at her, and they had a silent conversation in looks and mouthed words.

I didn’t know you’d be here, Uma’s raised eyebrow said.

Mal’s not here so…

Are you sure?

Take a seat.

Uma sat sideways in the chair next to Evie so that her whole body was turned to face her.

“Princess,” Uma said in a lowered voice.

“Uh…what’s up, Uma?” Jay said.

“Mind if I join?” Uma said, smiling.

“You already have,” Evie said.

“Where’s your crew?” Carlos said.

“Somewhere else,” Uma said. She threw an arm around the back of Evie’s chair. Under the table, Evie’s hand rested daintily on top of Uma’s knee.

 “Okay…” Jay said. Carlos raised an eyebrow but didn’t push further.

“My crew’s not here. Entertain me, my favorite goody-goodies. What are you up to these days?” Uma said, as she swiped one of Carlos’ extra pudding cups, “Building nursing homes for stray cats? Knitting hats for the bald?”

“We’re not up to anything,” Carlos said.

“Is it top secret or something?” Uma said. She looked at Evie.

“Really, we’ve got nothing,” Evie said, “Just homework.”

“Hades, this is killing you two,” Jay said, “I got cursed.”

“We can talk about it?” Evie said.

“Better than talking homework,” Jay said.

“What kind of curse?” Uma said. Her magic was like Mal’s- not a power to be called upon but something she was made of. If she concentrated hard enough, Evie could feel it buzzing off her skin.

“I wouldn’t classify it as a curse,” Carlos said, smiling with relief over the end of the gag order.

“Who did it?” Uma said.

“Jafar,” Carlos said.

“How?” Uma said.

“We don’t know,” Carlos said.

“My mom would know if there was magic ten miles away, and then, she’d suck it dry,” Uma said, “No, it can’t have been Jafar.”

“It was done a long time ago,” Evie said, “So it had to be done on the Isle.”

“How do you know?” Uma said.

Carlos and Evie looked at Jay who set down his dessert and pulled his collar to show the carving in his skin.

“Blood magic,” Uma said with glee. She reached out a finger to feel it which Jay swatted away.

“That carving is years old,” Carlos said.

“Magic can speed up healing,” Uma said, “Would have come in handy on the Isle.”

“But then the caster would have to carve this huge ward into his skin, knock him out for the whole thing, make him forget about it, cover it up, and then speed up the healing. It’d take a master sorcerer,” Evie said, “It’s Jafar’s ward design. Who else would do it? We just don’t know how he did magic on the Isle.”

“If my dad somehow got off the Isle…” Jay didn’t finish his sentence. Evie remembered dusk when Jay’s eyes turned back to that shop. He’d never drop his smile, but he’d be patting his pockets, his hands feeling for the rings and wallets whose worth would determine how Jafar welcomed his son home.

Evie would be freaking out right now if there were no longer miles of ocean between her and the Queen. She couldn’t help but feel all the confidence and freedom she’d worked so hard to build would collapse around her.

“I’ve still got some of my crew on the Isle,” Uma said, no longer smiling because she got it too, “It might take a minute, but I can ask someone to check in on Jafar.”

Jay was still too Isle to thank a pirate, but he nodded, his eyes focused intently on the wooden table. She hated that look on his face, like he was trying to pack himself up into the tiniest possible box.

 “I know a faster way to answer our questions,” Evie said.

“I’m listening,” Jay said, eyes snapping up to hers.

“My mirror,” she said.

“I thought you put that in the museum?” Carlos said.

“I did,” Evie said, “Are we still wicked enough for a little breaking and entering?”

“Stealing?” Uma said, gasping in fake horror, “But Auradon girls don’t steal!”

“Ben told me if you give it back eventually, it’s a prank,” Jay said.

“I feel like you’re paraphrasing that. But I’m in,” Carlos said.

“Great. We’ll go tomorrow,” Evie said.

“Why not tonight?” Jay said.

“There’s kind of a huge state dinner there tonight.”

“Perfect. We’ll have cover. No one will be in the actual exhibits.”

“It’s a really important dinner for Mal. Because it’s with the princess of Agrabah.”

“Oh, right. The woman who couldn’t even stand to be on the same campus as me for a day.”

“Mal just really wants it go well.”

“I can do it without Mal ever finding out. If you guys are too chicken, stay here. I’ve pulled bigger jobs before. Solo,” Jay said.

“Come on, we can go tomorrow,” Carlos said.

“But how am I going to sleep tonight if there’s a chance my dad has his powers again?” Jay said. He wasn’t just trying to be daring for the sake of it. He looked scared.

Evie was always a soft touch.

 “You’ll need a tux,” she said, “And something to hide that hair too. It’s your most memorable feature.”

“Really?”

“Fuck that princess and fuck her feelings,” Evie said. Uma cackled. Jay and Carlos whooped.

“Evie, you’re my favorite person,” Jay said, breaking into a huge smile. Gods, it would be pretty worth any fallout just to have seen that.

“Alright, a heist!” Carlos said.

“Uma, you in?” Evie said, and the silent conversation resumed.

I’m sorry, I know we had plans, but it’s for Jay.

Whatever- just make it up to me later.

Happily.
“I don’t have the energy for your townie shenanigans tonight,” Uma said, “I’m out.”

“No fun,” Jay said.

Uma got up from the table, her eyes saying a final later to Evie.

“Okay,” Evie said turning to her boys, “Here’s the plan.”

Everything was going according to plan.

Mal looked amazing in her Agrabah-inspired-but-Evie-made outfit. The museum’s main hall was beautifully decorated. All of Auradon’s who’s-who were beginning to arrive. Even the press was acting tame, cowed by the dignity of the whole affair.

This large dinner would set the tone for the Agrabah princess and prince’s weeklong stay where they would discuss trade, inter-kingdom cooperation, and the building of the new Agrabah cultural center in the capital. It was essential for Ben to establish a working rapport tonight so the meetings to follow would be maximally cooperative. Mal would be Ben’s charming better half at first but then strike them with her pro-VK agenda.

Mal got nauseous with nerves at the first twenty or so of these events. There was so much pointless ceremony and so many people wanting a piece of her or to use her to get to Ben. Worst of all were those who deliberately provoked her by bringing up Mother or the Isle.  Mal knew many of the people she spoke to had self-serving interests, but here, they hid behind courtesy and flattery. Mal’s inability to parse through those veils had made her feel like she was in grave danger at all times.

 When she finally blew up to Ben after months of her silently drowning, he’d presented the very Auradon solution of talking to a counsellor. Every instinct in Mal’s Isle heart told her not to reveal her vulnerability to a stranger of all people, but after weeks of teeth-pulling, it did sort of help to talk to someone who had no history or motivations. She’d given Mal breathing exercises for when she got stressed, which Mal had found a quiet place to do a few minutes before.

Now she was ready, standing next to Ben, whose presence made her feel so strong and safe. The entire room bowed to Princess Jasmine, heir to the throne, as she entered slowly with a steely grace. Her father, the sultan, still lived, but most of the royal duties had been passed on to his daughter. You could see her wearing that authority as clearly as she wore her stunning purple and gold gown. Behind her was her husband, Aladdin, prince consort, and their son, Aziz, the eleven-year-old crown prince.

“Welcome to Auradon City, Princess,” Ben said, taking Jasmine’s hand to kiss her royal ring.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Jasmine. She’d really mastered making the courtesies sound authentic.

“Welcome, Princess,” Mal said. They exchanged kisses on the cheek.

“A pleasure to meet you, Lady Mal,” Jasmine said. She didn’t sound like she hated Mal so far.

Prince Consort Aladdin followed, smiling warmly, and then there was Prince Aziz, who kept looking at his shoes. Belle had mentioned it was his first state dinner.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Prince Aziz,” Mal said. The prince smiled politely, but he only held eye contact with her for a few seconds before his eyes darted away nervously.

Mal darted her eyes away too because otherwise, she would be staring. The prince had an uncanny resemblance to an eleven-year-old Jay. Put on a beanie and a too-smug-for-his-own-good grin, and it would be a close copy.

She didn’t know much about Jafar besides the fact that he was Jay’s dad and a huge asshole. But she knew he held a royal title. Maybe he was related to the royal family, some third cousin who passed on the family look to Jay?

Or maybe Mal has been worrying about this dinner and her good friend Jay so much this week that her mind was playing tricks on her. Yeah, it was probably that. She couldn’t wait to tell the counsellor about this one.  

The night’s ceremonies commenced with a traditional dance from Agrabah. As was custom, Ben began standing across from Princess Jasmine, while Mal was partnered with her husband, Aladdin.

Mal smiled graciously at him, but once the music started, she was busy concentrating on her footwork. Aladdin though wanted to chat.

“I hate the dance,” he said. His accent was thicker than the princess’.  

 “Pardon?” she said while bending into a lunge, arms spread apart.

“Every place we go, we do the dance, and I never get better. I’m Aladdin. I like to get to know all my fellow arm candy.”

“Mal,” she said, “Arm candy, royal advisor.”

“Oh, you advise as well? Very nice. I just look pretty. Look, my son is glaring at me. He told me not to try to be funny. I told him I do not have to try.”

Mal snuck a look at where Prince Aziz was sitting, watching them with concern.

“You are a student at Auradon Prep?” he said.

 “I’m a junior.”

“Now I am the embarrassing dad in front of the cool older girl at my son’s school.”

“He’s a first year in the middle school, right?”

He nodded, as he spun her, “We wanted him to wait until high school, but he really wanted to go to school with King Ben and all the other royal kids. We worry with the distance, obviously.”

Mal almost stumbled. Aladdin’s tone was casual, but it felt like he was alluding to his first son, the prince who had been kidnapped as a baby sixteen years ago. Despite years of exhaustive searching, no one had ever found him. Belle warned Mal to avoid bringing it up.

Thankfully, the dance ended a moment later so Mal didn’t have to figure out how to respond. She and Aladdin bowed to each other. He offered his arm, smiling brightly again. Prince Aziz was still watching and frowning so familiarly. That had gone much better than she expected, but she still had a knot in her stomach.

Mal decided to walk around and mingle for the rest of the cocktail hour. She headed over to where Grumpy was, another strange ally in her new political career, and she resolved not to think anymore of-

Jay?

Mal did a double take. Her eyes did not deceive her. Evie, Carlos, and Jay were really walking at the edge of the museum hall in their best formalwear.

She wanted to scream. She instead smiled like nothing was wrong and calmly followed them out the main hall where the dinner was to an empty hallway. She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching.  

“What are you guys doing here?” she hissed once they were safely out of earshot. The three turned around. Carlos and Jay were smiling like nothing was wrong. Only Evie looked the bit abashed.

“Gate-crashing,” Jay said.

“In our defense, we really thought we could get in without being spotted. Man, security is really tight at these things,” Carlos said.

“It’s a state dinner!” Mal said.

“Yeah, once we got past outfits, we’ve been completely improvising,” Evie said.

“Why?” Mal said, “Why tonight of all nights? If anyone sees you guys, if the sultana sees Jay, we could have a diplomatic crisis.” Evil, Mal sounded like such a dork, and she hated it. She used to be the one leading the gate-crashing.

“We’ll make sure she doesn’t see him,” Carlos said.

“Do we need a repeat of the move-in day incident?” Mal said tersely.

“We wouldn’t risk it if it wasn’t important,” Jay said, “We came here to get back Evie’s mirror so we can figure out this whole branding thing.”

The mirror. Mal had almost brought it up earlier (she had told Evie she was crazy to put something that useful in the museum), but then Jay had said he wanted to drop the subject. Apparently, he’d changed his mind.

If they’d come up with this plan hours ago, she could have at least been prepared. Jay silently implored at her. He’d been all she had once, and he needed her now. She wasn’t going to turn him away for some stupid princess’ comfort.

“If anyone asks, you’re all waiters,” Mal said. She turned in the direction of the Hall of Magical Objects, her friends following.

“I look way too fabulous to be a waiter,” Evie said, “That would have been a much better disguise though.”

“How did you guys even get tuxedos?” Mal said.

“I made them a while ago. Figured we might have another formal event in our future,” Evie said.

“You boys look very handsome,” Mal said.

“Don’t be gross,” Carlos said.

Mal looked at Jay until he looked back, falling into step at her right side as he had done a hundred times.

“So,” she said, “Couldn’t wait for Fairy Godmother to figure it out?”

Jay shrugged, faking casual, “Just want it to be over with. Breaking and entering makes me nostalgic.”

They entered the hall and found Evie’s mirror, sitting in a case with a tiny placard.

“I’d hoped for a more exciting display. I sent pictures and everything,” Evie said. Mal cast an easy intangible spell, reached in, and grabbed it. She gave it to Evie, and she could feel the object’s magic awaken in its master’s hand.

“So how are we going to phrase this?” Carlos said, “What rhymes with protection spell?”

“It’s a detection spell,” Mal said, as she began to wrack her mind for the right phrasing. Detection, detection…find? Help me locate? No…bring back what was lost? That wasn’t quite right either. What no one wanted found? Discovered? What went missing?

Missing. She thought that word, and like racers off at the sound of a shotgun, three thoughts occurred to her at the exact same time.

1. Agrabah had a missing prince who was their age.
2. Jafar cast an anti-detection spell on Jay when he was too young to remember.
3. The brother to the missing prince had Jay’s face.

No. No. It was impossible. There were a hundred reasons why this could not be possible.

But those three truths were right there. One of them had literally looked her in the face. Fairy Godmother had cast a tracking spell to find the baby prince. Around the same time, one of the world’s most powerful sorcerers put an anti-detection spell on a baby Jay. That sorcerer was the greatest enemy to that prince’s parents.

He should have been on the Isle then, but it was a near thing. Too near to discount. 

It occurred to Mal that she could just be conflating the Jay situation with the royal family’s arrival, but no, she realized, that was simply coincidence. They would have come to this conclusion eventually no matter what because it was the pure and simple truth.

“What’s wrong, Mal?’ Evie said.

“Jay, I know why he cast the ward,” Mal said, “It sounds impossible. But I think I’m right.”

Her thoughts roiled with more realizations. Jay had inherited no magical ability. Jafar kept him hidden away. He had no mother. It was a tiny Isle, and Mal had never even heard rumor of who birthed the son of one of its most famous villains.

“Mal, you’re scaring me,” Jay said, “Just spit it out.”

“I…I think you’re not Jafar’s son,” Mal said, “I think you’re Aladdin and Jasmine’s.”

Carlos stared. Evie gasped. Jay laughed.

“Or maybe I’m Ben’s twin brother, and I’m next in line for the throne,” Jay said, “Come on.”

“Sixteen years ago, the prince of Agrabah was kidnapped,” Evie said, “They couldn’t find him, wherever they looked. I guess no one looked on the Isle.”

“Jay,” Carlos said, putting it together quick as always, “The ward was meant to hide you.”

“Come on!” Jay said, “I was born on the Isle. You couldn’t sneak a person on to the Isle. It’s impossible.”

Yet Jafar hid you away for so long, like you were a secret, Jay’s brain annoyed.

Jafar had said it was because he would break something or make the customers mad. That made sense.

But why was there that big, locked cabinet in the apartment? And why, even though it’s before you can remember, do you know you used to sleep in there?

“He could have cast the spell when he took you, before you were on the Isle.”

Jay’s hand automatically went to the scar on his chest. On an infant, it would cover the whole torso. It’s a vile thing to do to another human being.

“Jay,” Evie said gently, “Who did Jafar say is your mother?”

“Lots of kids on the Isle don’t have mothers,” Jay said, “It’s some whore. I mean, prostitute. That’s what he always said.”

He called Princess Jasmine a whore too, on nights he ranted about what he lost. Rants about the whore Jasmine and Jay’s whore mother often bled into each other.

So Jafar was a misogynist. It didn’t prove anything.

 “We can ask my mirror,” Evie said, holding it up.

“We don’t need to because this is a ridiculous idea,” Jay said, “Listen to yourselves. You’re talking crazy. Look, it’s sad these people lost their kid or whatever, but that doesn’t make me him.”

Jay was Jafar’s. He just was. Jay had used his name for street cred, took on his father’s grudges, followed his orders. If he wasn’t doing that for blood, Jay’s whole life was pointless.

“Don’t you want to be sure?” Mal said.

Jay was sure that Jafar taught him how to read and how to tell the worth of something. He was sure that when he was very small, he’d pulled his father’s shoes off when he passed out drunk in bed and crawled in next to him because it was the only time he could. Even when Jay didn’t see the man for days, he was always thinking of their next meeting. Inevitably, Jay always returned to his father out of blood and a perverted sense of duty. Now Jay hadn’t talked to him in months and really wasn’t sure if he ever wanted to again, but he thought of him. He’d never wished he was dead, which is more than most Isle kids could say of their parents. Sometimes, when Jay was lying in bed, he worried about that rickety shelf of TVs finally falling on Jafar when he was alone in the shop, with no one to pull him out of the way.

If his friends wouldn’t let this go, it didn’t matter because Jay knew the truth. He was Jafar’s son in ways that couldn’t be severed.

 “Fine,” Jay said, “It’s just going to say no.”

“It probably will,” Carlos said, because it was clearly what Jay wanted to hear.

Evie held up her mirror.

“Mirror, mirror, please can you say,

Who are the parents of this boy Jay?”

Evie’s eyes widened, mouth parted open, and the world did a somersault off a cliff.

Fucking magic.

It was the woman who’d sneered at Jay those months ago and a man that looked nothing like his graying, scowling father. They were walking arm in arm, dressed in rich silks.

“That’s them,” Mal said, “Oh, Jay, I’m so sorry.”

Jay stared at the image again.

“Can you rephrase it?” he said.

“Sure,” Evie said, “Um…Mirror, mirror, I can’t ask another,

Show me Jay’s father and mother.”

The mirror shimmered and then showed the exact same image.

“Wait a second,” Carlos said, “We passed that painting.”

Their heads turned towards the entrance. There were footsteps, coming closer.  

“Ben’s giving them the tour. Fuck me, I forgot about the tour. They’re coming this way,” Mal said, “Jay, what do you want to do?”

“Are you ready to meet them?” Evie said.

“I-I don’t…” Jay stammered. He never stammered, not since he was a little kid, playing his father’s word games that he could never win.

The people from the mirror walked in the room.

He recognized one of them.

So, move-in day.

It was the semester after coronation. Twelve new Isle kids would be enrolled at Auradon Prep with more going to schools around the country, as a result of hours of vicious haggling and planning. Ben and Mal had mostly won, though they all still lost sleep over the kids left behind and the ones too little to come.

Jay wanted all kids off the Isle, but today, it would be a huge effort just to get twelve settled, especially amidst the general chaos of everyone else moving in.

Jay was walking back to the dorms with a basket full of clothes for the new boys. Obviously, most Isle kids didn’t own closets full of clothes, so Evie had told FG they should buy some stuff so they wouldn’t have to wear the same leathers over and over. Auradon was really big on fresh laundry, and it’d been embarrassing for the four of them when they realized how raggedy they looked next to everyone else’s pressed, expensive clothes.

So, Jay was walking through the quad, minding his business, when a pretty, older woman called out to him.

“Hello,” she said, “May I bother you for directions? I went to the apparel shop and cannot find my way back.”

“Sure,” he said, smiling. He was supposed to be on his best behavior today, a model VK, “Where are you going?”

“Briar Hall, the lower boys’ dormitory,” she said.

“I’m headed there too,” Jay said, “I can show you the way.”

“Thank you,” she said. They started walking.

“Are you a student in the high school?” she said, smiling politely. She had a slight accent, but Jay wasn’t sure if it was regional or just like the way rich people spoke here with all the consonants crisp and vowels luxuriously drawn out.

“I am,” he said.

“Do you enjoy it?” she said.

“It’s great,” he said because he was supposed to be very grateful.

“My son just started. He’s a bit nervous, but he won’t say it.” This was an odd detail to share with an utter stranger, he’d thought, but sort of sweet.

“I told him everyone is nervous when they start,” she said, “Weren’t you?”

“Of course,” he said. Nervous he wouldn’t get the wand and they’d all be sent back to the Isle.

“Are your parents here?” she asked.

“Uh, no,” he said.

“Too old for Mom and Dad to move you in?”

“My dad couldn’t make it,” he said. This random woman didn’t need his life story.

“Oh,” she said, pitying. He thought this would be the end of it, but she spoke again.

“You’re on a sports team?” she said, looking at the jersey he was wearing.

“Tourney,” he said, “Does your son play?”
“No, he’s not very athletically inclined. I’m trying to get him to try something though, to be well-rounded.”

“If he ever wants to try it, he can find me for some pointers,” Jay said. That was the kind thing to say, wasn’t it? Ben would be so proud.

“That would be wonderful,” she said, and this clearly was the goal. She wanted to go back to the dorm and tell her kid she made him his first friend, an older guy to show him the ropes. It was that annoying unwanted helping hand thing people loved here.

“What’s your name?” she said.

“Jay,” he said.

“Jay,” she repeated, “My name is Jasmine. I assumed you were from home, but I cannot place your accent.”

“Where’s home?”

“Agrabah,” she said, and when she said the name, her own accent really revealed itself, the noble’s Arabic that Jay’s father spoke in, even after all these years.

Just his luck he had run into Princess fucking Jasmine. He stopped walking and looked down at the bin of clothes, at her fancy slippers and the brick walkway. He needed to get out of here, but he didn’t want to make a scene.

“I’m not from there,” he mumbled.

“Where are you from?” she said.

He really should lie. Yes, Dad’s from Agrabah, but he moved to the capital to open his antique shop. He made a fortune which is how I afford this fancy school. Dad was nobility back home, actually, so I fit in just as well as your boy will.

He should lie, but she already had his name and surely in a week, her son would report that the boy she met was the same lying villain his father was.

He should lie, and Jay could lie very well, but hiding always felt like cowardice, and for all his vices, he never liked his father’s methods of twisted truths and waiting under rocks to strike.

“I’m from the Isle of the Lost,” he said, sticking his chin up.

“Oh,” the princess said, and if snobbery could turn into steel, she’d have enough for a suit of armor.

“Problem?” Jay spits because even when he didn’t have two crumbs to rub together, he had pride. He wasn’t a minion’s second son or some other footnote’s spawn. His father had ruled a kingdom and commanded omnipotent power. Jay could eat garbage, but he could also claim inheritance to that, as he would remind anyone who forgot.

“You should respect your elders,” she said, all that sweet, motherly demeanor gone.

“My apologies,” he said, smiling in a way that only the very naïve would mistake for kindness.

Princess Jasmine was not very naïve. She was also a bit petty and quick enough to figure out who Jay came from.

“How is Jafar then?” she said.

“I wouldn’t know,” Jay said, honestly. Jay would go to his grave with ill-gotten pride, but he didn’t even want this lady to think he cared for his father.

“He lives on this faraway island, you see, and well, they have a very inconvenient ferry schedule,” Jay added because he was a little shit.

“Well,” she said, “You must take entirely after your mother. You don’t look like him at all.”

“Don’t talk about my mother,” he snapped. How could this woman presume to know a single thing about her, when Jay knew nothing at all?

“I think I can find the rest of the way on my own,” she said, eyes narrowed.

“Nice meeting you,” he said petulantly.

“Stay away from my son,” she said in a lowered voice before turning and walking away.

Jay had run to find his friends and tell him he’d fucked up but also, he didn’t feel that sorry because he didn’t owe a thing to some stupid sultana who knew nothing about his life. He’d lost that nerve quickly though and later freaked out for hours, pacing back and forth around their room until the carpet had treads because he was going to get sent back, of course, this is the kind of thing they send you back for, and who could help him then?

“Mal, I didn’t know our friends were here tonight,” Ben said as he walked into the hall.

The room was silent. Jay stared at his parents. They stared at Mal. Mal stared at him.

“I think we need to talk in private,” Mal said. She stepped towards Ben, blocking Jay just a bit, like a shield. It was a move he’d done for her a hundred times.

“Is something wrong?” Ben said. Try everything, pal.

“Perhaps we should return to the party,” the man said. Aladdin. The enemy. He looked to be in his forties. His hair was thick and had some gray in the black. He had a beard too, a full one, not a goatee. He’d spoken gently, like whatever the problem was, he really wanted to give these four strange kids their space to work it out.

“Jay?” Mal said, quietly but urgently, to him. He didn’t know the signal, didn’t have the play.

“We can catch up after,” the woman said. Jay had never had a mother. Jafar had so many gross ways to describe Jasmine. Jay wished he could forget all of them right now, but the vitriol was instead playing on repeat in his head.

As he stared and perhaps because of it, Jasmine and Aladdin started retreating out of the room, but Jay wasn’t ready to stop looking at them.

“Wait,” he said, “Don’t go.”

They paused and looked him over.

“Yes, son?” Aladdin said.

Jay barked a laugh. Of all the phrasing he could have chosen.

“Jay, I think we should tell them,” Mal said, whirling around to grab his hand and lean in close so only he could hear her whisper, “I know it’s all wrong. But they need to know. It will all be okay.”

Jay couldn’t speak though or even nod to Mal so she could speak for him. He felt glued in place, only able to move his eyes from Mal back to Aladdin and Jasmine.

“It’s you,” Jasmine said, “From move-in day. I’ve wanted to apologize for some time now. I treated you very unfairly.”

Jay had received so few apologies and never any from royalty. He remembered how she’d gone from smiles to pure hatred in a second.

His mother had hated him. She may be sorry now, but there would always be a part of her that had held him with utter contempt.

“Jafar’s son?” the man said quietly to his wife.

Jay flinched. An hour ago, he would have stood up proudly and said yeah, you got a problem with that? But now, even though he wasn’t even really convinced, hearing that just felt wrong.

Were you ever his son? Are you still a son if the father doesn’t notice you’re alive?

 “I don’t know,” Jay said. The words sounded like they were coming out of someone else’s mouth.

“Jay? I’m confused,” Ben said.

“We don’t think Jay is Jafar’s son,” Mal said slowly.

 “We asked my magic mirror to show us Jay’s parents,” Evie said. She held it up to show Aladdin and Jasmine, exactly as they looked now, though not an exact reflection. Ben gasped.

“I am not sure what’s going on here,” Jasmine said.

I’m not ready to be sure, Jay’s brain was screaming, but she still stood, silently staring.

“Do you really think- Ben, no, stop, don’t say it, you can’t take it back- Jay is the lost prince of Agrabah?”

Mal nodded, still standing in front of Jay. Aladdin and Jasmine looked at him again, but now, with a pleading question. Nobody had ever asked this much of him, never asked him for something he couldn’t provide with strength or sticky fingers. What they wanted was simply him, all of him, but there was so much of him that was wicked, guilty, and Jafar. Jay had never wanted to be pulled out, shoved under bright lights, and stared at like this.

“It can’t be…” Aladdin said.

“Ali?” Jasmine said.  Was that his name? It sounded so oddly formal, not a name you could scream in a fight or say between gasping laughs.

Jasmine and Aladdin were both about to cry, and it was so unnerving to see that composure gone in a flash.

Tears are for the weak, a snarling voice had said to a boy who just wanted to go outside.

“Is it really you?” Jasmine said.

She spoke so calmly, as if the earth wasn’t still shaking beneath them. She took a step forward, and Jay took a step back.

“I don’t- this is too much,” Jay said, “I said I didn’t want to know.”

“It’s okay!” Carlos said.

“No, it’s not,” Jay snapped. His eyes went to everyone in the room, all staring at him with so much concern. They were all coming closer, closing in. Jay looked around. The words “emergency” and “exit” never felt so fitting.

Like a thief on the run, he ran for the door.

Chapter Text

Carlos sprinted after Jay without a second thought. He heard Evie and Mal following behind him and Mal saying something to the royals before she did. He couldn’t hear what, he was too far down the stairwell.

Carlos couldn’t remember the last time he had run like this, except it was probably because someone was trying to kill him. He needed to get back in shape. Jay was so fucking fast.

Alarms rang from below. A door slammed. Jay must have opened a fire exit.

By the time Carlos got to the ground floor and pushed open the door, Jay was nowhere to be seen. It was dark outside. He was on the side of the building facing the surrounding lawn and a distant line of waiting limousines.  

“Jay! Carlos!” Carlos could hear Evie and Mal almost caught up with him.

“I lost him!” Carlos said.

“Shit,” Mal said. She was red in the face and was holding up the skirt of her dress. Her shoes had been abandoned.

“Maybe he went back to the dorms?” he said. That’s where Carlos would go in a personal crisis, somewhere safe with a dog and a door that locks.

“Let’s ask,” Evie said. She pulled out the mirror. If Carlos wasn’t so worried about Jay, he’d tease her about how casually she’d stolen it back from the museum.

“Mirror, mirror, you know the way, point me to my friend Jay,” she said, “This way!”

They ran in every direction the mirror took them, running through the night around the compound of government buildings that made up downtown Auradon City. They were directed towards the coast, and really, they shouldn’t have needed the mirror at all. It was so obvious where Jay would have run to.

They found him standing at the edge of Auradon’s coast, facing the Isle. The night was foggy, but Carlos thought he could just make out the lights on the docks. The magic bridge wasn’t up so Jay’s next step would plunge him into the black waters below.

“Jay?” Carlos said. Jay turned around. He might have been crying, but it was hard to tell at night.

“I need to go there. I need to look him in the face and hear him say it,” Jay said. His white eyes stood out in the dark, wide and desperate.

“You can’t face him. Not like this,” Mal said, “Let’s just go home.”

“That is home!” Jay yelled, gesturing at the Isle, “It was. It didn’t have to be. All that shit I went through, eating garbage and sleeping outside, it didn’t have to be like that! He let me think I was his son. He let me love- FUCK!”

Carlos had never seen Jay like this, unable to hide his hurt. Through starving and stabbing, Jay had always found a way to laugh it off, fight his way out, or act so cocky you forgot he could even get hurt.

“I have to hear him say it’s true,” Jay said, “Then I’ll kill him.”

No hyperbole, no kidding. It was a promise.

It was taking all of Carlos’ willpower not to flee right now. Because when people got angry and screamed, his instincts told him he was going to pay for it.

And if he couldn’t run, he tried to diffuse. That almost always failed with his mother, but for henchmen or bullies, he could distract or joke his way out.  

Saying “murder wouldn’t be very princely of you” would not go over well right now.

Carlos reminded himself that his instincts were wrong here. Jay would never hurt him. Jay had every right to be mad right now. It didn’t mean Carlos wasn’t safe near him.

On the Isle, you could never speak aloud the fact that you cared about someone, but they had all found other ways to say it, Jay especially. It took the form of “accidentally” leaving food in front of Carlos and jumping between him and knives in fights. This was a rare instance where Carlos needed to reverse their roles and take care of him.

“You can’t go there, Jay,” Carlos said slowly.

Jay’s eyes wheeled on Carlos, wild like a hurt animal, “I can do whatever I want.”

“No, you can’t. Unless you just got really good at swimming and sorcery.”

“Fuck you,” he said, “This has nothing to do with you.”

“Yes, it does because we,” Carlos gestured at all of them, “are family. Nothing’s changed about that.”

“Jay, if you go on the Isle like this, someone is going to jump you before you even get to Jafar’s shop,” Evie said.

“She’s right,” Carlos said, “You don’t need Jafar to tell you this. He’ll probably just lie again anyway. He’s stuck on that Isle, and you’re here. You got off. His plan failed.”

Carlos inched towards Jay, holding out a hand. Jay stared at it.

“Come on, Jay. Let’s just go to our room and figure this out.”

“I don’t even need to talk to him. I want to kill him,” Jay said, but Carlos could hear the fight going out of his voice.

“You told me a while back when I was going crazy here that if I wanted to go back, you’d drive me yourself,” Mal said, “I’ll do the same for you. But you have to give it a day.”

That was what finally got Jay to nod. It was a silent walk back to the dorms, but halfway there, Jay started walking close enough to Carlos to brush shoulders. It was an old habit from the Isle, the subtle way they affirmed that they were in this together.

That night, they all shared the same bed. It was like old times in the loft of their hangout. Always just the four of them; none of the gang’s underlings allowed. They did it on good nights like when they won a fight and would drink and talk until they passed out, and they did it on bad nights when Carlos needed to be kept far away from his mother. Carlos was still weird about being touched in most situations, but this ritual had always helped him sleep. Something about the warmth of his friends’ skin on his helped his brain accept that he was somewhere safe, far from bear traps and howling mothers.

Tonight, they formed a protective circle around Jay, long limbs splayed in four

different directions. Carlos fit right under Jay’s arm, and Dude fit right under Carlos’. Evie was on his other side, head resting on Mal’s chest. Mal always fell asleep last, keeping watch over her crew. Sometime after Evie and Jay were out, Ben quietly padded into the room and curled up along the foot of the bed. This bed was bigger than the lumpy mattress from their warehouse, but they were bigger now too, elbowing and bumping against each other more than they used to.

He woke up in the early morning to the sound of someone moving around. He opened his eyes and saw it was Jay in just his shorts, lacing up his sneakers.

“Hey, man,” Carlos said, “Where ya goin’?”

“For a run,” he said.

“You swear?” he said.

Jay rolled his eyes, “Don’t be an idiot.”

Carlos knew Jay’s tells and saw none of them. He left without either a knife or a phone, so it was probably safe to say he wasn’t going to face his father.

No. To face Jafar. That would take some getting used to.

Carlos got up, got dressed, and fed Dude. The others woke up shortly after. Evie went to wash her face. Mal was sitting up but hadn’t left the bed yet. Ben sprung out of bed and immediately volunteered to get breakfast, anxious to help and fix.

“Wait,” Mal said, “We need to know what went down after we went after Jay. What happened with Jasmine and Aladdin?”

“Right, you wouldn’t have heard. We set the museum on fire.”
“What?”

“It was Aladdin’s idea. The dinner was still going on, and they wanted to leave, obviously. When the fire alarm went off, Aladdin thought there might as well be a fire. It was a little one, just enough to actually warrant an evacuation. We said everyone should go home due to an abundance of caution.”

“That was smart,” Mal said, “How did they feel?”

“They were distraught, shocked. Jasmine felt very guilty about their prior run-in. They think Jay hates them and also seem to believe he has every right to.”

“Jay doesn’t hate anyone,” Carlos said, softly. It was a well-guarded secret, but true. Jay didn’t have it in him.

“They wanted to go looking for Jay. I told them you were probably the only people he would talk to right away. I also mentioned the whole ward thing that led you guys to the museum. I promised to touch base with them in the morning.”

“We can do that after we gauge Jay,” Mal said, “I don’t even know how to gauge a normal reaction to this. I mean, what the fuck, right?”

“It’s unbelievable,” Carlos said, “It feels like it has to be right, with the spell and the mirror, but…”

“I’ve asked the mirror in every different phrasing I can. It’s real,” Evie said, “What are we going to do now? These people are his parents, but we don’t know anything about them. Jay’s whole life is about to change.”

“Not his whole life. He’s still Jay,” Carlos said.

“But this isn’t going to go away,” Mal said, “They’ve been looking for him for sixteen years. I’m surprised the Agrabah army hasn’t air-lifted him out of here yet.”

Carlos panicked a little at that thought, “They can’t do that, can they?”

“Jay still goes to school here. They can’t,” Evie said, but she didn’t sound so confident.

“They have parental rights and diplomatic immunity,” Ben said, “But I think they have the common sense to know kidnapping a teenage boy raised on the Isle wouldn’t go over well.”

The door opened, and Jay came in, sweaty from his run. They all turned to look at him.

“I bet I can guess what you’re talking about,” he said.

“Hey, bro,” Carlos said. He tried to sound casual, but it came out like coddling.

“How was your run?” Evie said.

Jay looked physically repulsed by their concern.

“I’m taking a shower,” he said.

As soon as the water started, Mal said, “Great job back there, guys.”

“Well, how are we supposed to handle this?” Evie said.

“One step at a time,” Ben said, with the confidence of a king.  

Jay stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist, Jafar’s magic brand visible. He started getting dressed, avoiding their eye contact.

“I really don’t want to talk about it,” Jay said

“Jay, we need to face this,” Mal said, firmly but kindly.

“It’s not like I can change the last sixteen years.”

“You can still have a relationship with them, if you want,” Evie said, “It sounds like they really want to have one with you.”

“We don’t even know them. Also, royalty tends to hate Isle kids.”

“But you’re not- “ Carlos said, and Jay shot him a look before Carlos could finish that sentence.

“We’ve made a lot of people come around to us already,” Carlos said, “They probably don’t even care where we’re from.”

“They cared two months ago. She told me to stay away from her son, like I was- she knew where I was from and that was all she needed to hate me. And I was doing everything right.”

“The princess expressed a lot of remorse over that,” Ben said, “She apologized before she even knew who you were.”

“That’s a good sign. Better than a lot of people in her position would do,” Mal said, “Look, they thought their kid was dead, and now he’s alive, and only someone really fucked up wouldn’t be happy about that.”

“I’m not their kid though,” Jay said, “Like, blood isn’t everything, right?”
“Of course not,” Carlos said, “Thank the gods it’s not.”

“But…” Evie said, “They looked so happy to see you last night. I think it means something to them.”

“They’ve been looking for you for sixteen years,” Ben said, “They do want to meet you. They wanted to last night. They seem like good people. Isn’t that…” Ben didn’t finish the sentence, but Carlos suspected it was going to end along the lines of “better than what you had before”.

“We need to parley with them,” Mal said, “We’ll get their expectations and let them know ours.”

“What are ours?” Carlos said.

“Jay?” Mal said, “What do you want?”

“To forget last night ever happened,” he said.

“Stability,” Evie said, “For things to change as little as possible for now. Jay stays at Auradon Prep with us.”

“Yeah, obviously. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Jay’s their firstborn. He’s in the line of succession,” Ben said, “I imagine they’ll need to address that at some point.”

Jay snorted, “No one is going to want me to rule a country. I can barely rule myself.”

“We’ll tell them all that needs to be considered later. We need to be able to talk as people, not titles,” Mal said.

“Also, no one else needs to know about this,” Jay said, “Especially not the press. I don’t want you and Ben’s life.”

“Confidentiality, right,” Mal said, “Those are our terms. What do we offer them in exchange? I don’t think they’re going to just go back to their lives in Agrabah.”

“Maybe we can meet. If they want to,” Jay said, “But we should triple-check. I don’t trust magic and as for any resemblance, I don’t know. They might just be looking for something that’s not there. Let’s just confirm before anyone gets their hopes up.”

 “There’s DNA tests. I think we can find a way to do them anonymously,” Carlos said.

“Okay,” Jay said, “So if we’re going to parley, what do we do? Tell them to meet us on a roof at midnight?”

“Or we could just go to their house,” Mal said.

“I’m not ready for that,” Jay said.

“That’s okay,” Evie said, “One of us will go.”

“I think it should be Mal,” Carlos said, “She’s good at talking to royals. She’s got the most parley experience.”

“This is a sensitive thing. I’m not really touchy-feely,” Mal said.

“Which means you won’t get steamrolled. You’re the right choice,” Evie said.

“Will you, Mal?” Jay said, “I trust you.”

“Okay,” she said softly, “Of course, I’ll go, if that’s what you want. I’d take a knife for you, street rat. All of you.”

Mal left after breakfast, taking her bike to the street of fancy townhouses which housed all the embassies.

If they were still on the Isle and Jay had conflict with a wharf rat or one of Ginny’s crew, it would fall to Mal to meet with that other gang’s leader and fight them, if it came down to it. It was how a queen protected her own.

Today, she had the same goal (sort of. Fighting the rulers of Agrabah would probably create more problems than it solved), but she would have to use her diplomatic skills as well. It wasn’t so different from her original intentions in meeting with them, when she was going to push them to support Mal’s pro-Isle agenda. Instead of all the Isle kids, it was only Jay’s interests Mal had to represent, to see how they could work together for a common goal.

Somehow, this was even scarier than stumping for the whole Isle. Mal loved Jay so much, and he was placing his trust in her in the most vulnerable moment of his life.   

After she arrived at the embassy, Mal was taken to what appeared to be the princess’ own office. It was decorated with paintings of desert oases and family photographs. She didn’t have to wait long before Jasmine and Aladdin rushed in.

“Mal, it’s good to see you again,” Jasmine said, “Is Ali alright?”

“He’s okay,” Mal said, “He’s calmed down since last night. He was mostly just angry at Jafar.”

“If I ever get my hands close enough to that man’s neck…” Jasmine said. Mal didn’t even know princesses could threaten.

“There’s a line already forming,” Mal said.

“So, what brings you by?” Aladdin said.

“I have come to speak on Jay’s behalf,” Mal said. Aladdin and Jasmine shared a look.

“It’s very nice of you to come all this way, but this is really more of a family issue,” Jasmine said.

“I am family,” Mal said, too firmly. She softened, “I am part of Jay’s Isle family, and I was chosen to speak for him.”

“Jay sent you?” Aladdin said. Mal nodded.

“What did you want to speak to us about then?” Jasmine asked.

“We want to know what your expectations are from here.”

“We’re just so relieved he’s alive and okay,” Aladdin said, “We haven’t thought much beyond that.”

“We want to get to know him,” Jasmine said, “I know we’re stepping in late. He can’t just be taken away from his friends and everything he knows. He’d probably resent us if we tried. But we’re his family. We want to be a part of his life.”
“Before anything, Jay wants a DNA test,” Mal said, “From the way you’re speaking, it seems like you don’t feel you need a confirmation.”

“We talked for a long time last night,” Jasmine said, “Jafar was already on the Isle when Ali went missing, but it wasn’t a large difference of time. He still had allies in the kingdom. He hates us. This story makes a lot of sense. Perhaps one could accuse us of wanting it too much, but when I looked at him, it felt right. A mother knows.”

“So, you want Jay to be your son?” Mal said, “He’s an Isle kid.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Jasmine said, “If he’s alive, it doesn’t matter.”

“It mattered the last time you met,” Mal said.

Jasmine flinched, “I was wrong. I would have been wrong even if he wasn’t Ali. I will regret that day forever.”

“He was mad about getting the boot the other afternoon as well,” Mal said.

“What are you talking about?”

“Your security team told the school that Jay should make himself scarce when you were visiting campus,” Mal said.

“We did not ask them to do that,” Jasmine said, “I will personally apologize to Ali and have a word with our security. They tend to get overzealous when we travel. We lost Ali on a state trip.”

“He can’t be fans of us, I imagine, before or after he came here,” Aladdin said.

“I wasn’t mentioning it to put you off,” Mal said, “Jay’s my oldest friend. We all love him so much. He’s also not great at the emotional stuff. If you two really want to get to know Jay, I feel I should warn you about a few things.”

“Like what?” Jasmine asked.

“Life on the Isle was…” Awful. Abusive. Inhumane. “Rough. We may seem like we fit in here now, but we were shaped by a place where getting a meal or a place to sleep was a struggle. Kids had to fend for themselves. Jay and I met on the streets. So, if you’re expecting Jay to just become a perfect, polite prince now that he knows you’re his parents, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.”

“I hate that we couldn’t protect him from that,” Jasmine said. The naked emotion in her voice would have been refreshing to hear from a royal if it wasn’t all so sad.

“All of you kids deserved our protection,” Aladdin said, “We would never hold the Isle against him. I understand if he holds it against us. We deserve it.”

 “So, do you have any expectations yet with the whole prince thing?” Mal said.

“Speaking as a head of state,” Jasmine said, “If Ali wants the mantle of Crown Prince, it is his birthright, along with all the duties and privileges that entails. Hopefully, we have many years before he would ever have to take the throne, but if he refuses, I have two other heirs in line so it wouldn’t be a crisis. Speaking as a mother, I would never force that expectation on him, but I would never deny it either.”

“And speaking as a father, I care more about getting to know him as a person right now than as a future ruler of the kingdom,” Aladdin said, “We love him no matter what he chooses.”

Mal nodded. Of course, they sounded sincere, but Mal wanted more. Do you promise to never judge him? To fight for him? To never turn my brash right-hand man into something he’s not?

Mal asked a more practical question instead, “While Jay is figuring all this out, we think it’s best to keep the circle of people who know about this small. Rumors fly here. Speaking from experience, students will leak stories. I imagine your kingdom’s press keeps the royal family under intense scrutiny as well.”

“We agree. The only people who know right now are us and the head of our royal guard, who we trust completely. We plan to tell Aziz tonight and maybe more family when we go home, but only the closest confidantes,” Aladdin said.

“If this got out, it’d be the tabloid story of the century,” Jasmine said.

“We have me, Evie, Carlos, and Ben. Ben suggested telling Fairy Godmother since she knew about the ward and in case Jay needs to take some time off school,” Mal said.

“I would trust her,” Jasmine said, “She tried to help when…when he went missing. We would need to make an announcement eventually, especially if we predict a leak coming. We want to be in control of the narrative.”

“Right. If you are to start spending more time with Jay, is there a way to keep people from noticing?” Mal said, “Agrabah is kind of a trek.”

“We have some magical help on the transportation department, so if we use that, it may take a while for people to catch on that we’ve been going back and forth,” Aladdin said.

“We will have the rest of negotiations with the crown to cover us for a bit. We can also say Aziz has been homesick. It’s his first year here, after all. That will buy some time, perhaps until the end of the school year.”

Mal nodded, “Okay. I can take this back to the group. Can I get your numbers? I don’t know if Jay’s ready for you to have his, but I’ll give you the rest of ours. If you want to ask us anything about Jay, his schedule, what he might be okay with going forward, reach out anytime. Carlos is there for tourney practice and nights. I’m sure Evie will reach out immediately. She’s the friendly one.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Jasmine said, “When though do you think we can see Ali, or Jay, again?”

“I think Jay would say after the DNA test is done,” Mal said.
Jasmine nodded, “Right. We can get someone who won’t ask questions. I’ll follow up with you.”

“Great,” Mal said, “And after that, I’ll have to ask Jay. Maybe you could come to one of his games?”

“Whenever he’s ready, we will be there. We’ll bring Aziz so no one suspects.”

“Great. I’ll tell him that,” Mal said, “Is Aziz going to be okay with all this? He’s just a kid.”

“I think so,” Aladdin said, “He’ll probably try to act very grown-up about it all, which is what he’s done since going away. But he also calls us every night.”

“I like how much he calls. I miss him,” Jasmine said.  She and Aladdin shared a fond look. Mal felt a hitch in her throat.

“Before I go, I brought you something,” Mal said. She reached into her backpack and carefully pulled out the old piece of paper.

“I found this. Cameras were a luxury on the Isle, so I don’t have any real photos of us as kids, but.” She handed it over. It was an old math quiz. On the back, she had drawn Jay, smiling mischievously. She’d done it while bored in class and thought the likeness good enough to keep.

Jasmine took the paper gently and asked softly, “How old?”

“I think eleven,” Mal said.

“Thank you,” Aladdin said, “This is…thank you.”

“One moment,” Jasmine said. She handed the paper to her husband with fragile hands and walked over to her desk. She picked up a frame and pulled a photo out and then did the same thing with another.

“Could you please give these to him?” she said, handing over the two photos. The first was of a family photo of Jasmine, Aladdin, Aziz, and a little girl.

“That’s our daughter, Dalia. She’s six,” Aladdin said.

The second photo was of a younger Aladdin and Jasmine. They were holding a squirming baby, laughing with pure bliss. Even the baby looked happy, like he could never question that he was adored.

Back in Carlos and Jay’s room, the five of them sat in a circle in front of the fireplace, except for Jay who broke formation to stare into the fire. Carlos watched him warily.

“So, Mal, how did it go?” Evie said.

“Good. I asked their expectations, and all they really want is to get to know Jay. The whole prince thing is optional. They’re willing to meet you where you’re at.”

“That’s good,” Carlos said. Jay stayed silent.

“So, what were they like as people?” Evie said.

“They’re very nice,” Mal said. Her eyes kept going to Jay, his kept going to the fire, “Jasmine is strong. She acts like a leader, in a good way. Aladdin is more laidback. Back at the dinner, we had to dance together, and he was making corny jokes to embarrass Aziz.”

“Dad jokes,” Ben said.

“They just seem to care about you a lot, Jay,” Mal said. Her voice broke a little when she said that. She didn’t have the right to be upset about this, but she was. Mal had never seen two parents adore their child like that, up close and with no wall up. The fact that that child was Jay, her Jay, and he’d been denied from even knowing that could exist. It was just so sad.

“They gave me pictures,” Mal said. She pulled them out of her backpack and handed them to Jay. He hesitated a second before taking them. While he looked at them, Mal could watch him work to wrest control of his face back from whatever emotion attempted to break through.

“Jay, you were the cutest baby I’ve ever seen!” Evie said, “Look at those cheeks!”

“That’s one good-looking family,” Carlos said, “You have a little sister.”

“What’s her name?” Jay said, his dark eyes turning on Mal, a little wet.

“Dalia,” she said. He gave a quick, jerky nod.

“They still might not be,” he said. He sounded like he would be let down if they were.

The next day, Aladdin texted Mal the address of a doctor who would swab Jay’s cheek and not ask questions. Evie walked with him to the office. They’d all agreed to keep an eye on Jay for a bit. Poor Carlos had gotten a stitch in his side from running with him this morning.

Evie was reminded of when Jay would walk her home to guard her from any lechers. That was how they first got to know each other. He would fill her in on the gang politics when she was a newbie, and she’d share gossip he heard in the market.

“Mal said it’s just a cheek swab, right?” Jay said.

“Yes,” Evie said, “It’s just as accurate as a blood test.”

“I don’t like needles.”

“I know. I remember getting vaccinated next to you.”

“Those annoying doctors were all like ‘babies get these and whine less.’ Like, you guys stick needles in babies, but the Isle is bad?” he said. Evie laughed.

 “How are you feeling about all this?” she said.

“Eves,” he said, “Are you really asking me that?”
“Babies do whine less than you. Yes, I’m really asking. I’m your concerned friend who loves you. Deal with it.”

“Can’t we have a good old-fashioned spar? If we’re feeling really upset, we’ll just add knives. Life used to be so much easier.”

“Not really,” Evie said. Then, everything was hidden beneath power games and shows of strength. For example, dating. If Evie liked someone, maybe she could get Mal to start a fight with their gang, so that Evie had a reason to see them and be on their turf without her mom finding out or Evil forbid, someone suspecting Evie of having an actual feeling. In Auradon, theoretically, Evie could just ask someone out. It was so easy, right?

“I just don’t know what to do if it’s real,” Jay said quietly, “It’s not like I really need any more family.”

“It could be nice though.”

“Or it could be a big disappointment,” he said, “Auradon people tended to come in meaning well and then fuck things up.”

“Maybe they’re two of the good ones. Like Ben. If they made you, they’re probably great.”

“How many parents do we know that can we say that for?”

“They’re different,” she said, “I texted Jasmine to introduce myself.”

“What did she say?”

“Nice to meet you, smiley face.”

“Woah, a smiley face? I’m totally on board now.”

“Even Mal approved of them.”

“Mal did approve,” he conceded, “But she’s such a softy these days.”

“I know we’ve all learned to survive without good, caring parents by now, but it still might be nice to know what that feels like,” Evie said.

“We’re here,” Jay said, stopping in front of a brick building. Evie saw the doctor’s name on a plaque next to the door.

“No one else should be in there but the doctor. It should only take a minute. We’ll know the results by tonight,” Evie said.

“I know,” he said.
“Right,” she said, “Do you want me to come in with you?”

“I got it. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” she said, “I’ll be here.”

Jay nodded and walked inside.

Now, alone with her thoughts, Evie found it hard not to think again of-

“Uma?” Evie’s eyes weren’t deceiving her. Uma was standing on the corner of the cross-street. Evie walked down so she was in her path.

“Hey,” Evie said.

“Princess,” Uma said, offering not even a taunting smile, “I thought you’d come say hello after your heist.”

“I wanted to,” Evie said, “Things got kind of crazy.”

“It’s whatever.”

 “What brings you into town?” Evie said, ignoring the brush-off.

“Work,” Uma said, “Waiting tables.”

“I didn’t know you had a job,” Evie said.

“Don’t laugh,” Uma said, “That school stipend barely covers shit, and not everyone can mooch off the king.”

“I wouldn’t laugh,” Evie said, “I wouldn’t be dressing this well if not for overcharging princesses for their clothing alterations.”

“We’re here, but we’re not really one of them,” Uma said, smiling humorlessly.

“No, we’re not,” Evie said. If they were really Auradon girls, they wouldn’t be sneaking around, talking without saying anything because Evie only ever learned how to be pursued and possessed and both were taught that feeling anything was a sign of weakness and weakness gets you killed.

“So…you doing anything tonight?” Uma said.

Evie’s heart soared then sunk, remembering Jay’s results would come back tonight.

“So that’s a no?” Uma said, reading the frown on Evie’s face.

“My friends have this thing,” Evie said, “I can’t really say. It’s a weird time.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Uma said, shrugging, “We’re just messing around.”

Evie couldn’t say how much that assessment disappointed her.

“Hey?” Evie turned and saw Jay had returned.

“I’ll be going,” Uma said.

“Later,” Evie said. Uma nodded, turned, and walked off. 

“What was she doing here?” Jay said suspicious, “Did she ask what we were doing?”

“Nope,” Evie said, “Everything good?”

Jay nodded and shrugged. Evie wound her arm through his.

“And now we wait,” Evie said.

They didn’t have to wait long. Jay assumed that a little royal privilege made the whole process faster, the same way Ben never had to wait in line at the coffee shop. It was weird for that kind of privilege to now be extended to Jay.

When his phone started ringing, he stepped into the bathroom. He hadn’t wanted to watch his friends watch him with those big concerned eyes. The doctor spoke neutrally and briskly, like he had a hundred more life-altering phone calls to make tonight.

He thought he’d feel different once the news was confirmed. Like, a stranger, or whatever. Or that he’d have a whole new perspective on the world and no longer feel like an intruder in his own bathroom because of its porcelain tub and golden faucets.

Even though he was very sure he had really heard the doctor say this was real, it still didn’t feel like anything had changed.

A soft knock came on the door, “Jay?”

Jay wasn’t going to hide in the bathroom. He opened the door and just nodded to his friends. They were mirroring him, accepting this information quietly instead of launching into group therapy. It was a relief.

“I guess they probably want to see me or something,” he said.

“Yeah, they already texted me,” Mal said, “What do you want to do?”

“I guess meet them?” he said, “I should be happier. I mean, Jafar’s not my dad anymore. Whoopee. This is a good thing, right?”

“Yeah,” Carlos said, “I mean, even before he was a kidnapper, he was a bastard. Now, he’s out of your life for good.”

“And you have a dad and a mom who really want to get to know you,” Evie said, “A brother and sister too. All really good things.”

“Right,” he said, “So, let’s do it.”

“I’ll tell them about your game this week,” Mal said, “That’s a public setting. Less pressure.”

“I mean, we’re going to be up against Arendelle so some pressure,” he said. Just a few days ago, that had been the most stressful thing on his horizon.

“Do you want me to suggest another time?” Mal said.

“No, that works,” he said. He didn’t want to have to come up with another venue. He couldn’t be alone with those looks again like they’d worn at the museum, so happy and terrified at the same time.

Jay sent the girls and Ben home. Really, he liked when they all shared a room, but if he said they should stay over again, they’d think something was wrong.

He regretted it a few hours later when he couldn’t sleep. Jay was a pro at sleeping. He could sleep outside, in the rain, with a growling stomach. He thought about running around for a while to wear himself out. He’d done that on a lot of nights since Ben’s coronation, when for the first time in his life he wasn’t constantly working so hard to survive all the time. His body just didn’t know how to rest.

He didn’t even bother with a shirt, just put on his sneakers and snuck quietly out the door.

It would have been a flawless escape if not for the person he tripped over in the hallway.

Intruder. A sneak attack. Jay brought up his fists and got ready to swing. He looked down at the threat.

And then he looked down some more because it was just a kid. A middle-schooler sitting in fancy silk pajamas. He had been sitting on the ground and was now looking up at Jay with wide eyes.

Jay lowered his fists.

“Uh, what’s up?” Jay said, keeping his voice low.

“I fell asleep,” the kid said.

“In front of my door?”
The kid stared at him before saying “Do you know who I am?”

“Lost?” Jay said.

“I’m Aziz,” he said, “And you’re Ali.”

“Oh, Evil,” Jay swore under his breath.

Jay had been at the same campus with his freaking brother for months and hadn’t even known. Mal said she’d put the truth together by how similar they looked yet Jay only saw differences. Aziz’s bones didn’t stick out of his skin. His hair was short and neatly cut. There was something guileless in his face that Jay lost at half his age, lest someone take advantage of it.

“Hey,” Jay said, “Nice to meet you, I guess?”

Aziz just stared at him.

 “I didn’t know if it was real at first,” Aziz said finally.

“Me neither,” Jay said, “Pretty crazy.”

“I wanted them to do the test too. I don’t trust most magical objects. You can’t see their brains.”

Jay snorted. He agreed but wouldn’t put it quite that way.

“I don’t like magic that much either,” Jay said.

“But it is really you,” Aziz said, “Mom and Dad thought you were dead. They said they would always hope, but they really thought you were gone.”

“Well. I’m not?” he said. What do you say to that? Sorry, man, I would have sent a postcard if I knew.

“I can’t believe you’re one of them,” he said, his noble nose scrunched in distaste.

Jay didn’t have to ask what them meant. It was students giving him a wide berth in the halls or when he laughed too loud and people flinched. It was the suspicious looks and overheard comments about sending those kids back to where they came from.

Aziz was young. Maybe he just repeated the shit he heard from his other royal pals.  But the old contempt stung in a new way coming from the mouth of your own flesh and blood.

“Believe it,” Jay said with a cruel smile he learned from Jafar. Aziz looked scared, his face probably a close match to Jay’s when Jafar wore this look.

“Go back to bed, kid,” he said in the same tone. Aziz froze for a second before he turned and ran down the hall.

Chapter Text

Imperfect was better than nothing.

That was a hard-won lesson for Evie. Perfection was the bar, in her courtesies and witchcraft lessons but mostly in her looks. Mother didn’t accept loose hairs and smudged lipstick. Mother said if she possessed enough beauty, she would not need personality or poisoned apples, so that was the side which could never be let down.

Perfection bored her. Evie was constantly seeking the next area of knowledge to conquer- building a garden, sewing, throwing knives, gang warfare. Against all of Mother’s training, Evie discovered she sort of liked when she didn’t do something right. Beauty had a ceiling. Challenge was exciting.

That mindset certainly explained her taste in women.

Evie crushed on Mal hard up until they came to Auradon. Hooking up with your fellow gang members was normal. They were teenagers with no supervision who lived together- do the math. Mal never let anyone in emotionally, but she enjoyed some messing-around, post-battle kissing. Every validating smile or word from Mal would be the sweetest part of any victory. Evie would constantly be conducting her own warfare, plotting stratagem for kisses and compliments, reeling from injury on days they didn’t come.

If Mother knew, Evie thought she would say that you could kiss all the girls she wanted as long as you married a prince.

Uma began in Literature class. They were partnered up for a presentation since none of the Auradon kids wanted to be with Uma, despite her incisive analysis in classroom debates.

It felt so natural to work together in class even though they disagreed on practically everything outside of it. Uma got under her skin, made her question all this Auradon goodness just when Evie was beginning to act like life had always been this way.

She was also a great kisser.

It’d been going on for almost a month now, and the whole time Evie could never be sure whether Uma was invested in its continuance. She thought for sure Uma would give up on her after Evie had blown her off twice, but the day after they ran into each other in the street, Evie got a text with a simple sushi emoji. After the final bell rang, found herself in the science corridor bathroom with the door locked.  

Mother would probably have a stroke if she knew her princess answered text message hook-up summons from a pirate girl. Uma did not have a castle to her name. She wouldn’t hold doors open for Evie like Doug or offer an arm to escort Evie home like Ben.

 “Your lipstick tastes like feet,” Uma said, wiping her mouth dramatically. Case in point.

“You didn’t seem to mind five seconds ago,” Evie said, relishing the bite in her voice. Here, ladies were expected to simper. Even Audrey hid her teeth behind flowery words. Uma spoke like a sword fight.

“What’s the flavor supposed to be?” Uma said, “Rotten eggs?”

“Screw you. I made it myself. It’s eucalyptus,” Evie said as she straightened her skirt. She looked herself over in the mirror again. Right back to perfect.
“It’s not my favorite.”

“Well, I’m still tweaking the recipe. What flavor would you prefer?”

“You’ll let me pick?” Uma said, more pleased by this than Evie would expect, “Let me think.”

They unlocked the door and stepped out. The halls were empty. They could walk together for a bit before anyone might see them. They headed towards the gardens in the direction of their dorm. The roses were in full bloom, and the cherry orchards had shed pink petals across the lawn.  

“Achoo!”

“Please tell me I didn’t just make out with a sick person,” Evie said.

“Shut up,” Uma said, sniffling, “It’s the stupid flowers.”

“Are you allergic?”

“I guess,” Uma said, “Never happened on the Isle.”

“The Isle only grew weeds,” Evie said. Except for her greenhouse in her mother’s castle. It was all dead plants and broken glass when Evie was little, but she and Carlos had cleared it away and planted any seeds they could get. Skullcap and scorpion weed for her mother’s potions and Evie’s remedies. Basil and mint to make rotten food somewhat flavorful.

Evie had asked her mother to water them when she left. They were probably dead now.

“You can get allergy medication from the nurse,” Evie said.

“Like I’m taking Auradon pills.”

Evie scoffed. Obviously, Auradon medicine was miles ahead of the Isle in the simple fact that it existed. But they were completely dismissive of magical methods, which could be just as effective. Evie was looking at pre-med college programs and hadn’t seen one that even included botany.

“I could put a potion together for you,” Evie said.

“You want to play doctor?”

“Shut up,” Evie said, elbowing her, “You know I’ve helped your crew in the past.” Many a fish dinner had come as payment for a pirate’s medicine.

“You’ve also poisoned my crew in the past.”

“Not when I was claiming to help them,” Evie said, “A fine moral line that I have always drawn. Witch doctor’s honor. I’ll shake up some Natrum Mur. Maybe some Euphrasia for those itchy eyes.”

“I’ll have to use a taste-tester.”

“I’ll do it myself. I’ll make that and what flavor lip gloss?”

“Do you know those little cinnamon candies you get when you’re leaving the dining hall?” Uma said.

“Yes.”

“Those,” Uma said, “I like those.”

“Done,” Evie said. They were approaching the lawn. Evie could hear voices, friends laughing at the picnic tables. It was time for them to go their separate ways.

Evie wouldn’t have cared being seen with a pirate, but Uma didn’t want to look friendly with a member of Mal’s gang.

Uma wouldn’t have cared being seen acting couple-y with another girl, but Evie deep down still wanted to be a real Auradon girl. And Auradon girls needed dashing princes to walk them to class and ask permission before holding her hand.

Carlos had his hands full.

Schoolwork, college applications, the half dozen experiments he’d started that weren’t even for school but captivated his attention even when he had a thousand other things going on.

Before Auradon, he’d always been busy. Surviving his mother was a full-time job. A part of his brain knew that even if he failed all his classes, no one would be able to lock him in a closet or burn cigarettes in his skin.

The other part of his brain said he should never feel so safe. Let your guard down once and you’re dead.

This week had just been too much so when Carlos finally got out of final period, he ran back to his room with the siren in his brain blaring trouble, trouble, trouble.

Even a big hug from Dude didn’t make it go away. He let the dog out to roam free. Mother would be furious if she saw how much animal fur was on this furniture.

Once he started, he couldn’t stop. Carlos made the beds, scrubbed the toilets, vacuumed the carpet. He was as meticulous and thorough as his mother’s gaze. Every footstep down the hall set off his fight or flight response as he awaited the moment she’d walk in and catch him unfinished.

He was going at an end table with wood polish when the door really did open.

Carlos jumped halfway out of his skin, but then looked up and only saw Jay, with Dude in his arms, gravely taking in the tightly tucked bedsheets and the smell of cleaning sprays.

“Hey, ‘Los,” Jay said very, very softly.

“Hey, I’m just…” Carlos put down the polish, now wanting to hide it because it made his friends so sad to see Carlos’ old habits. The anxious itch of big trouble was still there, just with a different face.

“It’s okay,” Jay said, “Can I help?”

“Mmm,” Carlos said. He could pretend it was fine while Jay went about his business, but he wouldn’t be able to really rest until the room was spotless. If Jay moved anything out of place, Carlos would have to start over.

“What’s left?” Jay said.

“Dust the lights?” Carlos said, and Jay nodded and quickly grabbed the feather duster from the caddy Carlos swiped from the janitor’s closet.

While he worked, Jay whistled the tune to a sea shanty. It helped. Instead of stressing out more, Carlos’ brain was busy automatically filling in the dirty lyrics that he and Jay had snickered over while doing recon down at the docks.

“How was your day?” Jay said when the song reached its end. Few people in Auradon would ever know that Jay could speak so gently. They wouldn’t believe he and proud Mal had scrubbed floors to spare Carlos from his mother.

“It was fine,” Carlos said, “It’s just a lot of pressure. Not bad pressure…just stressful. It’s weird. I know I’m not in actual danger, but my body doesn’t, sometimes. So, I do what used to protect me.”

“I get that,” Jay said, “Don’t tell the girls, but I still pickpocket sometimes. When I’m talking to someone or it starts to get late and I’m thinking about having to see my dad. They make it so easy here sometimes I don’t even realize that I’m doing it. I come home and take off my pants and I’m like ‘why do I have all this jewelry? I take it to the Lost and Found later. What a weird concept that is,” Jay said.

 “Very Auradon,” Carlos murmured.

“You lose something, and you expect someone to try to get it back to you,” Jay continued, “And you can just go to that box and say ‘Yeah, that’s my solid gold watch right there.’”

“Hmph,” Carlos said as he polished the chair legs.

 “You could tell the girls,” Carlos said, “They wouldn’t judge.”

“I know,” Jay said, “I just judge me.”

“Yeah. I judge me too.”

“We’ll always be there for you.”

“I know. I just…want to get to a point where I can just get over all that stuff. I shouldn’t need three whole humans holding me together every time someone raises their voice.”

“Someone yelled at you?” Jay said, looking fit for murder.

“Jay,” Carlos said, “No. Even if someone did, I shouldn’t need you guys to rush to my defense. I just want to get fixed and run normal.”

“You’re not one of your machines. Everyone needs help,” he said.

“But I always need it the most,” Carlos huffed, “I’ve always been the weak link.”

“Carlos, no. You survived Cruella. You’re gutsy as hell. You come up with stuff that sounds so stupidly reckless except then you’d have a full plan about how to actually do it and you pull it off. You’re the biggest badass I know.”

“I was afraid of puppies!”

“Because your mom told you they would eat you. But now you snuggle with them. Badass.” He smiled at him-a bonified, blinding Jay smile- and not for the first time, Carlos caught himself wanting Jay to wrap his arms around him so Carlos could bury his face in Jay’s neck and live there.

You know. As bros do.

“I just don’t want to be scared forever,” Carlos said instead. He sighed, stood up, and stretched. He wiggled his fingers, tense from holding the scrub brush so tightly. He placed the brush back into the caddy. Dude ran over and Carlos picked him up, breathing in his animal scent.

“We got a game,” Carlos said.

“We do,” Jay said. He took his cue to stop cleaning, put away the duster, and start getting dressed.
“Your parents are coming,” Carlos said, his anxiety climbing again, “Fuck. Sorry. I completely forgot. I was so wrapped up in my stupid stuff. Are you okay?”

“C, it’s fine,” Jay said, “Your stuff is important. I’m fine.”

“Okay,” Carlos said, still feeling guilty.

“It’s going to be a rough game though. Watch out for those forwards.”

“It’s not like I’m going to play.”

“You might! You were nailing the footwork drills this week. I told Coach you can only get better if you get game time.”

“Thanks, but I am very fine with not playing,” Carlos said. Especially today. He was on edge enough without having to add fear of being tackled to the list.

“If Chad gets playtime instead of you, it’s just because his mommy calls the school to complain when he’s benched,” Jay said, “Do you think I’d be an asshole if I grew up with my real parents? Like, a Chad asshole?”

“No, I think you’d be like a Jay asshole,” Carlos said.

“Screw you,” Jay said, “I think I would be. Maybe not Chad bad. But, like, sheltered and stuff.”

“It’s nature versus nurture,” Carlos said, “We are products of our environment.”

“I think my nature is an asshole anyway,” Jay said, “I’d probably be so polite though. Do you think we’d be friends?”

 Carlos didn’t want to give a dishonest answer. He wasn’t very chummy with most of the schools’ royals, and in this alternate reality, Jay would probably be one of them- walking around in expensive clothes and wincing when anyone said something too harsh.  

But this was also Jay who seconds ago saw Carlos spiraling and stopped to dust the chandelier because he knew it would help.

“Yeah?” Carlos said.

“I know you can lie better than that,” Jay said.

“Okay, it’s hard to say, but I think in any universe, even if we wouldn’t necessarily be friends at first, once we really got to know each other, we would be.”

“I’ll accept that,” Jay said, “Come on. Let’s go.”

Today was going to be a tight game which meant Carlos could do whatever he wanted because he certainly wasn’t going to play. He’d usually pull out his homework or go sit with Mal and Evie, but the firefight on the field was riveting enough to even hold Carlos’ attention. In the last quarter, the match was tied with Jay and Gil pretty much carrying their whole team.

Carlos looked around and couldn’t spot Mal or Evie though they said they were coming. He did see the Princess of Agrabah though, sitting all alone in the front row of the bleachers. Aladdin and a boy who must be Aziz had been with her before, but they’d gone somewhere.

Carlos wanted to introduce himself before, but he really still didn’t like talking to adults, especially in the plural. One on one was a lot less intimidating. He decided to seize on this opportunity. He got off the bench and moseyed over to the princess, who was watching the game in deep concentration. Carlos stopped and stood at enough distance that it didn’t look like they were together.

“Hello, your Majesty,” Carlos said quietly, leaning into her eyeline. The Princess still jumped a little at the sound.”

“Sorry. I move quietly. I wanted to say hi.”

She smiled politely, “It’s no problem. You don’t need to use titles. You’re Carlos, the roommate, correct?”

“That’s me,” he said.

“Shouldn’t you be waiting to play?” she said.

“Coach only puts me in if we’re winning by a lot, and he wants to show mercy. Jay has all the talent there.”

“He’s very good. I don’t know the game, but that’s clear. So…aggressive.”

“Coach likes it,” Carlos said, maybe a little defensively, “He tries to get the rest of the team to play more like Jay and Gil.”

“They’re the best players. That blonde boy flinches every time the other team comes near him.”

Carlos laughed, “Yeah, Chad’s a wimp.”

“Why did you join the team if you’re not…?”

“If I’m not good? You can say it,” Carlos said, laughing, “When we all first got here, we didn’t like to be split up. Jay made Coach put me on so we can watch each other’s backs.”

“Did you play sports before coming here?”

“There weren’t really any athletics at our old school,” Carlos said. Maybe if there had been, kids would have less energy to pick fights just for the hell of it. Then again, very few kids’ caloric intake could accommodate much physical recreation.

“It was very different there?” Jasmine said cautiously.

“It was…too different to really list the ways.”

Jasmine nodded tightly. Aladdin and Aziz returned then, carrying snacks.

“Hey, Carlos, right?” Aladdin said, extending a hand for him to shake.

“Nice to meet you, guys,” Carlos said.

“This is great. We have to get this to catch on in Agrabah,” Aladdin said. He had a different energy than Jasmine, less adult, like he was trying to be Carlos’ pal.  

“Aziz, do you have any interest?” Jasmine said, “Maybe Jay could give you some pointers.”

“I like football better,” Aziz mumbled.

“I know that one!” Carlos said, “We had a ball. Sometimes kids played it around our…” don’t say gang headquarters “clubhouse.”

“It’s the best sport in the world,” Aziz said.

“Don’t let Jay hear you say that,” Aladdin said.

“He wouldn’t care. If it involves any kind of competition, he’ll play it,” Carlos said.

“You know him well,” Aladdin said.

“Can I ask you something?” Jasmine said.

“Anything,” he said, wanting to be helpful.

“What does he like to eat?” Jasmine said. Thank Evil, an easy question.

“Coach got him obsessed with nutrition after we got here so all fruits and vegetables and proteins. He lectures the guys all the time about sugar intake and eating your colors and all that.”

“Really? I thought most teenage boys eat whatever’s in front of them,” Jasmine said.

“Yeah, I definitely do. He’d never turn down food, but he’s as conscientious as he can be. It’s sort of annoying, but it makes sense since he was trying to put on a lot of muscle mass after all that time of not eating enough.”

It wasn’t until after a few seconds of absolute silence that Carlos realized what he’d said. Shit, shit, shit.

They had to know children often went hungry where they were from, right? Mal was on TV every other day talking about the conditions, trying to make Auradon see their sins.

But Mal had also commanded verbatim, If they think we hate them, they’ll think we’re speaking for Jay so let’s ease them in slowly on our collective trauma.

“So, Jay drinks a gigantic kale smoothie every morning,” Carlos said quickly.  Suddenly, Evie was next to him. He suspected she’d been watching the whole interaction from afar, waiting to diffuse tension.

“Hey, guys,” Evie said. She had been texting Jasmine all week, joking that they were new best friends, “What a beautiful day for a game.”

“Evie, it’s nice to see you,” Jasmine said, recovering.

The ref blew final whistle. They’d won, four to three. It had been close, but Jay looked more excited by the challenge than frustrated. He had scored all four goals. He was supposed to not show-off so much anymore, but Carlos suspected he made an exception for today’s audience.

When Jay came running over to them, he was radiating confidence. On the Isle, seeing Jay like this usually meant you were about to lose your wallet.

“Hey!” he said, “Thanks for coming.”

“It was our pleasure,” Jasmine said.

“You were great out there,” Aladdin said.

“That was nothing,” Jay said with no detectable modesty. Maybe he was born to be a prince.

“You’re lucky I stayed on the bench. I let you have all the glory,” Carlos said. They all laughed, and Jay hit him in the shoulder.
“We were going to get lunch if you kids want to come,” Aladdin said.
“Sounds good to me. I’m starving,” Jay said. Carlos caught the discomfort on Aladdin and Jasmine’s faces at Jay’s word choice.

“I hate to say it, but maybe we should travel separately,” Evie said, “We’re already getting looks.”

“Right,” Jasmine said, “That’s smart. Do you guys have a favorite place?”

They did. It was called Pizza Pizza, and they sold pizza. Ben wrinkled his nose every time they took him there. He said it was too greasy, as if there was such a thing. They went on their first week off the Isle and it was very cheap, so they all had a soft spot for it.

They got their pizza, and things were going surprisingly well without any more hiccups. Mal joined them, and Carlos thought they were always more relaxed when the four of them were in one place.  Jay was certainly at ease, and his parents were clearly charmed by everything he said.

“You’re so handsome and the captain of the tourney team. You must have a girlfriend,” Jasmine teased. Jay beamed. It was all very wholesome and completely unlike any interaction Carlos had with any parent for the first fifteen years of his life. Actually, just make that any interaction.

“Not yet,” Jay said.

“Jay took Lonnie to cotillion,” Mal said.

“Aha!” Jasmine said.

“As friends!” Jay said. Mal was about to dispute when Aziz interrupted.

“Do you have a tattoo?” he said. Jay whipped his head around to see if his back was exposed, where he did have a large cobra tat courtesy of Mal. But Aziz was looking at Jay’s chest, where the low cut of his collar exposed a bit of Jafar’s ward.

“A tattoo?” Jasmine said. Carlos was pretty sure “your child got a tattoo” was the stuff of royal parents’ nightmares. 

“It’s not a tattoo,” Carlos said quickly, “Did Ben explain the ward Jafar cast?”

“Oh. Yes, a little,” Jasmine said, “He didn’t say it left a mark on your skin.”

“Yeah,” Jay said, “Apparently, it’s always been there hidden by the magic? I think it messed up how my chest hair grew in.” Jay laughed a little.

“It takes up your whole chest?” Aladdin said, his voice raising an octave. Carlos wasn’t sure how much Jay’s parents knew about magic but probably enough to start doing the math of skin mark = blood magic and blood magic = very painful and dangerous.

“Yeah, but it’s fine. Doesn’t hurt or anything,” Jay said. He pulled up his collar higher.

“Fairy Godmother said it could fade with time since the magic’s been used up,” Mal said. The possibility seemed to soothe them a degree. Carlos only heard the unlikely could in that sentence. Carlos knew better than anyone: the marks your parents give you are for life.

The Isle had robbers and murderers and all sorts of evil Mal had to face. But Auradon? Auradon had in-laws.

Not yet, of course. Ben had to wait until they were out of high school at least. This wasn’t the middle ages. FG had mentioned waiting for a sensible twenty-one, so as not to put off the more modern-leaning constituency. There was an inevitability to it though everyone was pretty much decided on.

Except, of course, the prospective in-laws.

Belle had definitely warmed up to Mal. She had taken her under her wing for lessons in etiquette and royal customs. She was a kind teacher, and she seemed to appreciate how Mal read every book she gave her (as quickly as possible too, taking precedence over all homework. High school was temporary. In-laws were forever).  Yet, Belle also liked to bring up how Audrey really took so quickly to waltzing and histories and just about everything Mal struggled with. Sure, it must be annoying to have lost a decade of investment into training your successor, but you really shouldn’t pick your kids’ wives at age six.  

Beast was colder. He seemed to blame Mal for Ben’s new habit for disagreeing with his father all the time, as if that hadn’t started with Ben choosing to bring them over. Ben had his own brain, and thankfully for the whole kingdom, it was a lot smarter and kinder than his father’s. While Mal would freely volunteer her thoughts on any political matter, she made a rule to never say a word against Ben’s parents in front of him.

Even when they made it really, really hard.

Like, tonight, there was a private dinner hosted by Ben and his parents for Aladdin and Jasmine and some other notable Agrabah figures who’d travelled with the royals or were based in the capital. Beast was already in a surly mood because Jasmine kind of hated him. Mal still wasn’t really sure why, but she knew it went back to the kingdom unification. Beast was double-annoyed because Jasmine, for no reason he was aware of, seemed to really like Mal.

During cocktail hour, Mal had been trying to get to know everyone in the room, but the princess and her husband kept drifting towards her and, of course, their retinue followed their lead.

“You will have to visit us at home, dear,” Jasmine said.

“Ben and I would love to,” Mal said.

“Perhaps over the summer?” Aladdin said. Mal had no delusions of flattery here. Their niceness to her was definitely mostly about Jay. She was his best friend and had literally presented herself as the key to accessing him.

But Beast didn’t know that. All he saw was his son’s girlfriend that he didn’t like happily ingratiated with the political rivals he didn’t like. Although he was too polite to say anything, Mal imagined his anger following her around the room, hotly breathing down her neck.

She didn’t want to be rude to Jasmine and Aladdin though. They really were nice, and it was nice for once to be at one of these things and be treated with some goodwill.

“It’s time to proceed into the dining room,” Belle said. Mal exhaled in relief. At least at dinner, they would all be sitting at the same table. No one could blame her for playing favorites.

Mal was seated between Ben and Aladdin at dinner. The table was round and painted with birds from each kingdom. Ben actually called it the Unity Table, and the cute dorkiness of that made Mal feel at ease there.

Aladdin was doing the same routine he’d done during their dance, treating Mal like a friend with little in-jokes. He described each of the traditional Agrabah foods to her as they were served, half of them with an adage about the best place to authentically get it at home.

“This woman Alma sells these wrapped in newspaper on this corner in the shadiest street in the city, but no creep will ever mess her because then they’d lose the best lamb they’ll ever taste,” he said.  Mal snickered.

“What foods remind you of home?” he said unexpectedly.

“No food at all,” she’d say, if they were really friends. Someone from home would get that was a joke, but she and Aladdin weren’t like that.

“Evie used to make bread, if she had enough flour. She’d put in whatever she had lying around. Sometimes sweet, sometimes savory,” Mal said.

“There are few finer joys in life than a fresh loaf of bread,” Aladdin mused, his mouth full of food. Jasmine said something fond to him in Arabic which Mal thinks boiled down to “chew”. Their retinue laughed at it.

Mal shot a look to Beast. There was a firm set in his mouth every time someone spoke the language he didn’t know.

“You are such a fine young man, Ben,” Jasmine said. Ben preened adorably under the compliment.

“Thank you, your grace,” he said.

“A fine young king,” Beast corrected.

“Very young. In Agrabah, the heir must be twenty-one to inherit, and even at that advanced age, my father barely relinquished the power to hold the giant scissors at hospital wing openings,” Jasmine said.

“I like to think my youth gives me a unique perspective on the future,” Ben said.

“Well said,” Jasmine said.

“Agrabah’s political situation has been quite the cyclone,” Beast said, and with his entry into conversation, Mal’s gut twisted. The claws were out tonight.

“We’ve had no national security emergencies in over a decade. I should know, I write the reports,” Aladdin said.

“During unification, it was peace all over, except in your neck of the woods. Political upheaval, class turmoil, magical invaders. Every week, a distressing new story in your corner of the newspaper.”

“Our country took a long time to sort out who we wanted to be and how to best use our many gifts to build a lasting future. We are now the leader of technical innovation in the kingdom and quickly on track to universal top-tier education. Our people enjoy more freedoms than in our brother kingdoms as well, including the free use of magic.”

“A recipe for chaos,” Beast said.

“We would be asking a major sect of our population to deny their very selves if we banned it,” one of the counsellors scoffed. Mal believed she was half-djinn. She could feel the magic buzzing in her blood.

“Unhappy people create chaos. Sometimes the more complex solutions take time, but I for one, am happy with the road my country travels on,” Jasmine said.

“Hear, hear!” a woman said, raising her glass. All of the Agrabah contingency did the same.

“I did not mean to create a stir,” Beast said. Bullshit.

“Not at all. I think everyone at this table enjoys a healthy political discussion. I prefer friends and counsellors who need no invitation to speak their mind,” Jasmine said, “I imagine our king does as well, as he’s chosen such an astute young woman for a partner.”

“You are too kind,” Mal said, in Arabic.

“That accent isn’t half-bad, my lady!” a transportation secretary possibly named Riz said.

“Mal has a gift for languages,” Ben said, “She also knows French, Latin, and High Goblin.”

“One positive about where I grew up- it’s very cosmopolitan,” Mal said. Only Aladdin snickered at that.

“I know very little about the Isle of the Lost. In Agrabah, it is rarely spoken of. I understand here people are more- what’s the word? - preoccupied by it,” a woman who introduced herself earlier as Safaa said.

“I consider it one of the most urgent questions my generation faces,” Ben said.

“It’s a prison colony, plain and simple. It’s not just the inherited imprisonment of the children that’s deplorable. There’s no parole, no trials, no oversight!” a younger man said. He was somebody notable’s son or maybe Jasmine’s third cousin?

“It must be completely overhauled. The education initiatives are only the beginning,” Jasmine said, sipping her wine.

“I don’t remember you being so against it when you needed Jafar off your hands,” Beast said.

“A decision I will regret forever,” she said coldly. Only Mal and Ben knew how well she meant it.

He scoffed, “He could have murdered countless of your people over the years if he wasn’t locked up. You came begging for Fairy Godmother to take him down.”

“I traded a quick solution for hundreds of children’s suffering. I at least have the decency to regret it,” she said tersely. Beast looked at Mal then, glaring.

“So, you’ve spoken with my son’s little provocateur, then?” he said, smiling humorlessly. Mal opened her mouth to defend herself, but Jasmine spoke first.

“I can come to my own conclusions, thank you. I do not deflect my failings onto teenage girls either,” Jasmine said, venom dripping off every syllable.

“The princess is right. Mal does not belong to me, and she is not the reason people see the Isle as a failure. They feel that way because it is,” Ben said. It was so terrifying to watch Ben challenge his father, like watching a man swallow a flaming sword. Mal wondered how you could survive it as much as she wondered how you could try it without fear of harm.

“Son, you wear the crown, but you have not been challenged the way we were before unification, when the world was ruled by villains and madmen,” Beast said.

“Lucky he has me to tell him exactly what living in that world is like,” Mal said. She exposed herself to the direct glare of Beast- she wondered if he knew that was what she called him in her head. She let the hate wash over, like a wave against a sturdy seawall, and although she didn’t dare enough to flash her eyes green, she felt pretty close to how she did in that last confrontation with Mother.

Jasmine laughed, and her entourage laughed with her. Thanks to pure numbers, the tension left as quickly as it arrived. The rest of the night passed uneventfully. Only at the end did something odd happen.

When Mal joined the hosts in giving their formal goodbyes, Jasmine kissed both her cheeks and pulled her into a hug. Aladdin smiled at her too and winked. They did these things so casually, like old friends.

Like parents.

Mal asked Ben to escort her back to the dorm. She felt sort of unsettled by the whole night. Ben picked up on it too. He parked in front of her dorm but took her hand before she got out.

“I’m sorry about my father. I will talk to him. Again,” Ben said.

“It’s fine,” Mal said.

“I can tell he bothered you.”

“It’s not that,” she said, and it was true, but she wished she hadn’t said it.

“What’s wrong then?” Ben said.

“Nothing.”

“Mal.”

“It doesn’t make sense.”

“Feelings don’t have to make sense.”

“It was just weird being around Jasmine and Aladdin.”

“You seemed to be getting along so well?”

“Yeah, I know. I mean, it’s obviously all because of Jay. They want me to like them so he will.”

“The princess is very shrewd. Your instincts are probably right, but I’m sure they think you’re great too. Because you are.”

“Thanks,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“So, it bothered you that they were somewhat faking their interest in you?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“Spit it out, Mal.”

“You’re going to think I’m the worst friend in the world,” she said very quietly.

“Never,” Ben swore.
“I’m jealous,” she said.

“Of who?” Ben said.

“Of Jay!” she said, and once it was out, she couldn’t stop, “It’s just, if I could suddenly stop being Maleficent’s daughter, I’d be fucking ecstatic. It’d be the best news ever. Everyone here who hates me would lose their reason. And Jays’ parents are freaking perfect, political and smart but not stuck-up. They wouldn’t even have to be royalty. Just nice normal people to pick me up for holiday break or come to my school stuff or stand up for me so I could stop fighting my own battles for once!”

Ben was silent. She couldn’t even look at him. He must be so disgusted with her.

 “Say it,” she said, “I feel jealous that my friend was kidnapped and found out he actually has super nice parents. Tell me I’m the worst person to ever live.”

“Mal, I’m not thinking that at all. You’re a great friend and a good person.”

“No, I’m not. I suck and I’m evil,” she said.

“I don’t know how you have the strength. The distance would be one thing, but your mom- “

“Yes, my mom’s a lizard,” she said, “She is literally a lizard because she doesn’t love me enough.”

 “I didn’t know this was weighing on you so heavily.”

“It wasn’t. It’s just all this Jay stuff brings it up. I mean we really got screwed, the four of us. Not every parent on the Isle was a huge piece of shit.  Even Gaston stuck around, which is more than I can say for my dad. Shit, that’s not fair. Gaston sucks a lot. I’m not saying that’s better.”

“I’ve never heard you mention your father,” Ben said, “I wasn’t sure you knew who he was.”
“In the early days of the Isle, there was a lot of bored unprotected sex happening so a lot of us can’t be sure. But my mother was pretty selective, so yeah, I know who he is. He walked out when I was a baby.”

“Have you ever met?”

“I’d see him once in a while in the streets. It wasn’t something I was encouraged to be open about. Mother was embarrassed she made a halfling.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Ben said, “Is there any part of you that wants to have a relationship with him?”

“He’s a villain, Ben. Not a petty one either. You know his name.”

“Of course, I don’t want you to force yourself to be around someone who might pose harm you.”

“Well,” she said, “I don’t think he’d do that.” He’d sort of winked at her once in the markets, like they shared a secret. He mostly kept to himself and stayed in that mine shaft, but once or twice, they’d crossed paths, and Mal thought she might have felt some understanding pass between them. An acknowledgement.

“So, would you want to reach out?” Ben said, “Maybe that could, I don’t know, ease that absence you’re feeling?”

“Slow down,” Mal said, “Maybe I’ll think about it, but. He still ran out on me. Also, very evil.”

“Okay. Just say the word when you’re ready,” Ben said, “I’m sorry…I want my parents to feel like family to you. I’ve tried to get them to feel that way. Mom at least makes an effort, but my father is so stubborn. In time, I hope.”

“You don’t have to apologize for him,” she said. Mal scooted towards him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

“I used to think he was perfect. Now I constantly wish he was different,” Ben sighed.

Beast was pretty annoying, and he was the main architect of basically all the suffering in Mal’s life. But she brought to the in-law table the most infamous fae of all time, the god of the dead, a witch, a thief, and, well, Carlos.

It was sort of even.

Even Jay had to admit this tourney practice was pretty difficult.

On the hundredth lap up and down the bleachers, his thighs were starting to cry out. At this point, most of the guys were passed out on the grass below. He assumed no one would appreciate a long talk about the magic of chia seeds for endurance.  

He could also share his other great fitness tip which is cut your sleep time in half and spend those restless hours breaking into the training facility for a little nighttime work out. But Jay wasn’t telling anybody about, even if he didn’t really think it was a big deal. The season officially started this week, so it wasn’t weird to ramp up the intensity right now. Jay just wanted to start strong. Nothing else.

Coach blew his whistle, and Jay and the other couple of survivors huddled around him on the grass.

“I want to see rested, ready to perform players tomorrow. Sleep well. Eat a healthy breakfast You’re free to go,” Coach said, “Jay. Let’s have a chat.”

In his cramped little office, Coach gestured for Jay to sit on the folding chair in front of his desk.

“What’s up, Coach?” Jay said between chugs of water. He was already itching to get back on the field. A few more drills couldn’t hurt.

 “As you know, formal tourney recruitment period started this morning. I’ve already had five coaches call me about you joining their team after graduation. Two were pro teams,” Coach said. He smiled, waiting for Jay to join his excitement. Up until last week, this news would have made Jay’s life pretty much perfect.

“That’s great,” Jay said, half-heartedly. Coach studied him.

“Everything okay, Jay?” he said, “I noticed you’ve been a little off this week.”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Jay said.

“There will be more scouts showing up to our upcoming games. I noticed some equipment’s been taken out after hours. If you need to let something out with a little exercise, be my guest. But you could let it out by telling someone about it too,” Coach said, and he put his hand on Jay’s shoulder. Jay tensed up a little, but he didn’t shrug it off like he did the first few times Coach got all familiar.

“Really, I’m fine,” Jay said.

“Alright. Back to business then. These scouts will want to talk to you. They’ll be competing to win you over, throwing around big numbers and flashy perks. Since you’re underage, they can make contact by talking to you or to your parent or guardian.”

“What?” Jay said, a chill going through him.

“Because your father is on the Isle, your legal guardianship reverts to the school. It’s in my name, actually.”

“I didn’t know that,” Jay said.

“It would only come up in an emergency,” Coach said, “I take the boys. Godmother gets the girls.”

“Huh.”

“Usually, Coaches would be barred from talking to me as your coach, but we got an exception from the leagues for your special circumstance. Rest assured, I won’t make any decisions for you and will be completely transparent.”

Crap. Would Jay be messing up his whole tourney career if he withheld the fact that his real parents were actually in Auradon? Auradon’s laws were so weird. He didn’t want to fuck up his future on a technicality.

He and his real parents had agreed on secrecy, but that was mostly for Jay’s sake. He did trust Coach as much as he could ever trust an adult in Auradon. 

Right after he joined the team, Jay would train alone for hours too. There was so much energy leftover when he didn’t have to steal and fight to eat. There was anger too at all the shitty things that happened on the Isle and the stupid rules Auradon had. Coach found him one night running around the dark field all alone. He told Jay that he was a good kid. Jay didn’t know any details about Coach’s past, but there was something there that meant Coach got the Isle kids in a way most adults here didn’t.

Sometimes, Jay asked himself if he just swapped out Jafar for Coach, another man to follow orders from and try to impress. Except if Jafar was putting a hand on him, it wasn’t to tell him everything was alright.

“That whole parent thing might get a little complicated,” Jay said slowly.  

Coach raised an eyebrow, and Jay told him the whole story.

“I thought it was strange they came to the game,” was all he said at the end of it.

“So, does it mess up everything with the recruiters?” Jay said.

“I don’t think this situation has ever happened in the history of professional tourney recruitment,” Coach said, “I’ll have to look into it. Normally, when I guide my players through this process, it is me, the player, and the parents working together. Do you want them involved?”

“I don’t…my dad- Jafar- I wouldn’t want him involved in anything, and he wouldn’t want to be. I don’t know if they care. I mean, they probably care more than him, but I barely know them. They’re busy people.”

“I deal with royals a lot. They map out their kids’ futures very closely. It’s part of the job.”

“They just met me,” Jay said, “I haven’t even talked to them about all the royal stuff yet.”

“Fair enough. I am not a lawyer, but I think that with them in the picture, the school’s guardianship is voided. I should probably at least have a conversation with them before agents approach you.”

“Okay…” Jay said, “I guess I could call them.”

“How are you doing with all this? I doubt the guidance counselor has a brochure for this sort of situation.”

Jay shrugged, “I mean, it’s weird, but. It’s not like I’m going to turn into a whole different person.”

“Are they treating you right?” he said, “The other day…”

“They said they’re really sorry about that whole thing,” Jay said.

“Well, that’s only right,” Coach said, “If you need to talk to someone, you got me.”

“Thanks, Coach,” he said.

With the game tomorrow, Jay didn’t have the time to put off making the call. On the walk back from the locker room, he scrolled through his contacts and found Aladdin’s. He wasn’t an actual head of state so he would probably mind slightly less getting bugged about this than Jasmine.

He picked up at the first ring.

“Hey, Jay. What’s up? Everything okay?” he said. He didn’t sound annoyed at all.

“Hi. Uh, it’s all good,” Jay said, “I just have a weird thing to ask you about.”

“Anything! Please, ask away.”

“Okay,” Jay said, “So my tourney coach has been talking to recruiters. College and pro. They’ll be coming to my games, but they can’t talk to me without a parent signing off. Since Jafar was on the Isle, the school was my guardian, but we don’t know what happens now and don’t want to mess anything up legally, so I told my coach about the whole situation, and he wants talk to you.”

“You told your coach?”

“He’s really cool. He won’t tell anyone.”

“Okay. It’s your decision. Wow. That’s great that these other teams are interested. That doesn’t happen unless you’re really good, right?”

“Well. it doesn’t happen if you’re bad,” Jay said. Aladdin laughed.

“So, this is something you want to do?” he said, “The coach isn’t pressuring you, right?”

“No, I want to,” Jay said, “I like tourney. Way worse ways to make a living.”

“I mean, if there’s a financial concern, you have us.”

“It’s fine,” Jay said automatically. He didn’t trust charity, even if every instinct in his body told him he was an idiot for turning down free money.    

“Would you be able to just talk to my coach?” Jay said, “I think you can sign something, so we don’t blow the whole secret thing.”

“Of course, whatever you need,” he said, “Could you and your coach come by the embassy tomorrow? Or I could come by the school?”

“No, we’ll come to you,” Jay said. Less conspicuous that way.

“I’ll send you the address and tell security you’re coming,” he said, “It’ll be good to see you.”

“You too,” Jay said, “So…thanks. Catch you later.”

Coach Jenkins drove Jay over the next day. It was again weird being off campus in a teacher’s personal car, but that weird was dwarfed by the weird of going to his birth parents’ house for the first time.

It shouldn’t feel weird. It wasn’t his first time meeting them. Pizza had gone great. They’d gotten along so well. Except, Jay had had the buffer of his friends and hadn’t been asking them for something.

Coach turned on to Unity Row, the line of streets where each kingdom’s leaders and diplomats resided when in the city. They were all matching white stone townhouses with the respective kingdom’s flags hanging above the doors in a perfect line. A guard stood at the end of the block, and Jay gave him a hard stare as they drove past. Guards in Auradon were always watching Isle kids, but their eyes usually went to Jay first. His muscles and height and leather screamed dangerous. Jay was the brawn who drew fire to protect his friends. Right now, the hairs were standing up on the back of his neck like they did right before the other guy threw the first punch.

Coach parked the car, but he didn’t get out.

“I bet they’re really nice folks,” Coach said, “I hope they are. They’re also royalty. They’re used to deciding what’s best for everyone else. But only you know what’s best for you, Jay. Does that make sense?”

Jay nodded, although he wished Coach would be more direct. If he was trying to give Jay a play, just say it.

“I won’t hold the other day against them if you don’t,” he said.

“It’s really not a big deal- “

“I know, I know. It’s just been on my mind,” he said, “Well, we shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

They walked up the front steps and a man in a soldier’s uniform opened the door before they could knock. Jay almost turned and ran then, but the man bowed and spoke with a polite smile.

“Prince Ali and Mr. Jenkins, welcome to the Agrabah embassy.”

“You can just call me Coach,” Coach said.

“And I’m Jay,” Jay said. He had mostly forgotten that he had a whole other name. It was bizarre to be addressed with it.

“Right this way,” the soldier said.

After taking a couple steps inside, Jay was disoriented on account that the inside was so much bigger than the townhouse’s exterior made it look like it would be. It was making it hard for Jay to track the exits and escape routes. That and how freaking fancy this whole place was raised Jay’s anxiety which was so dumb. He was literally in his parents’ house. He should be relaxed.

Jay hated that he had to ask something of them though, especially so soon after meeting them. He wished that he’d told Aladdin to come to Coach’s messy little office so at least Jay knew the terrain.

Jay was a people person. He had convinced old ladies to give him their last nice brooch and made the hardest men think they’d lose a fight with a kid. Trying to convince his literal parents who had already offered him a hundred favors, to sign some stupid piece of paper should be an easy task.

They walked into a fancy parlor room, decorated with paintings of battle scenes. Jay idly wondered if they brought foreign diplomats here to scare them.

“Jay, welcome. it’s so good to see you again.” Jay turned to see both his parents walking in, dressed in “business-casual”, as Evie would put it.

“Hey,” Jay said, “I didn’t know you’d both be here. I mean, it’s great to see you. I just know you’re busy and stuff.”

“We are never too busy for family,” Jasmine said, “Please sit. You must be Coach Jenkins. Would you like something to drink? Tea or coffee?”

“Tea would be great,” Coach said. He didn’t bow or use any titles. Coach wasn’t really the type for that. He’d even worn his trademark cargo shorts and team windbreaker.

“I would take water. Please,” Jay said.

“Is this building magically expanded?” Coach said.

“Just a little djinn home renovation,” Aladdin said.

“Bigger on the inside. Like a lamp,” Jay said. His dad had said once that in a lamp, you could add a hundred rooms, just not an exit.

“Exactly,” Aladdin said, “Don’t tell Fairy Godmother.”  

Jay laughed at that. Hey, they had something in common- breaking FG’s rules.

“So, I hear you are looking at colleges,” Jasmine said, crossing her legs and sipping from a porcelain teacup. 

“More like they’re looking at him,” Coach said, “Jay is one of the top recruits for high school tourney in the country. He’ll also likely receive offers from some pro teams.”

“How exciting,” Jasmine said, “I have been researching the sport a bit. What schools are you expecting to hear from?”

Coach pulled out his brochures from the binder he’d brought. There was Aurora, Sherwood, Pendragon. Jay honestly had trouble telling them all apart. All their campuses had the same shady trees and brick buildings in their photos. He almost wished he had the nerdy binder Evie made for college research. He hadn’t told her he was coming here. He hadn’t told any of his friends. Thankfully, Coach gave some details on the coaches and stats which jogged Jay’s memory.

“Which do you like, Jay?” Aladdin said.

“Sherwood is ranked first so if they want me, I’d feel pretty set,” Jay said.

“They’ll require some impressing, but their current point forward is graduating next spring,” Coach said, “I bet they’re also talking to that Gawain kid from Camelot Prep.”

“Well, they’ll forget him once they see me,” Jay said.

“I see Corona College in here,” Jasmine, “A friend of ours went there. She speaks very highly of the education she received.”

“Yeah, that one has the really good engineering program,” Jay said.

“I didn’t know you were interested in engineering. That’s wonderful,” Jasmine said.

“I’m not. Carlos is,” Jay said. His parents shared a look.

“What should matter most though is if the school is right for you,” Jasmine said, “It’s a big decision. Do you have a course of study in mind?”

“Not yet,” Jay said, “I mean, most people go in undecided, right?”

“That is true,” Jasmine said.

“My biggest priority is whether I can get a scholarship,” Jay said, “Carlos and Evie are the smart ones.”

“You’re smart too,” Aladdin said.

“Are all of you planning to go to the same college?” Jasmine said.

“I mean. We’re not gonna let anyone go alone,” he said. They’d talked about it at the beginning of the semester when all the juniors were researching and applying. Carlos needed science programs with well-funded labs. Evie had a list ten miles long of prospective majors, but she preferred to be near a city. Mal and Ben would be attending part-time at U of Auradon City with private tutors covering royal shit on the side, but Mal wanted at least one of them near enough to visit.  

“It’s not always smart to make college decisions based on where your high school friends go,” Jasmine said.
“Mal, Carlos, and Evie aren’t my ‘high school friends,’” he snapped which he immediately regretted.

“Sorry, I mean, they’re just important,” he said.

“You have to think about yourself sometimes,” Aladdin said. He had this too-soft way of talking to Jay that was actually pretty annoying.

They didn’t get it. Being part of the gang was the only thing that had made Jay’s life bearable. If they didn’t look out for each other, they’d end up dead or dead inside like all the adults they knew. What if Carlos went to school alone and got a roommate who would see him freaking out and wouldn’t know what to do?

This was getting too heavy. He was losing his audience. Jay put on a smile like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“I’m low maintenance,” he said, “I just need a field to play on, and I’ll be set.”

“Corona is going to need a forward after Espinosa goes pro. I know De Vil is looking there already for their science department,” Coach said, “Excellent tourney program. I know the coaching staff are a good lot.”

“Sounds great,” Jay said, happy to be back on track.

“You know, Agrabah has some wonderful universities, especially in the capital,” Jasmine said, effectively blowing up the track.

“I could look at those,” Jay said, not wanting to lose his cool again.

“Agrabah doesn’t have any college tourney teams,” Coach said.

“Right,” Jay said, nodding.

“Jay’s a talented athlete. He could excel at any sport,” Jasmine said.

“Sure,” Jay said.

“But we’re here to talk about tourney scholarships,” Coach said, his voice rising just a bit. It put Jay on edge, bringing him back to losing games, making him feel like he needs to do better or everyone’s fucked, and it’ll be all his fault.

“Agrabah schools have free tuition for all our citizens,” Aladdin said, “You could pick any school. They’d be falling over themselves to accept you.”

“It would be seen as a slight for our son to attend university outside of our kingdom,” Jasmine said, “Not that that should affect your decision.”

“Oh, okay,” Jay said. Cool. He had come here wanting to play tourney and now he was hated by an entire kingdom he’d never been to.

“We would love to have you close by,” Jasmine said, and she looked at him with big puppy dog eyes like Carlos’ except ten times worse because it was coming from the person who literally gave birth to him and deep down, yeah, Jay always wanted to meet his mom and all she was asking was to be in the same kingdom as her son and wow, he was going to have to tell the gang to brush up on their Arabic because they’re all moving to Agrabah!

“That could be cool,” Jay said quietly. Coach looked at him again and Jay knew what his gaze meant this time. Fumble. He couldn’t please one side without disappointing the other, and Jay couldn’t stand to have anyone mad at him.

“For now, though, we should really just discuss the practical matter of tourney recruitment,” Coach said, “Are you alright with coaches approaching Jay?”

“Jay, is that what you want?” Aladdin said, and he had dropped the softness just enough to make Jay sit up straight and say-

“Yes, sir,” Jay said. The three adults stared at him. Coach pressed his lips together. Aladdin looked like he’d been struck.

Jay hadn’t meant to. It was an old reflex, from a different father.

“You don’t have to call me that,” Aladdin said quietly.

“Right,” Jay said, “Sorry.”

“No, don’t be…” Aladdin said, again talking to Jay like he was Dude in a thunderstorm, “Okay, so the recruiters are okay to talk to Jay. Is there anything for us to sign?”

“Fairy Godmother actually did have a form for this,” Coach said, laughing a little, trying to break the tension. Jay could still feel his heart beating in his ears. He wasn’t sure what they’d just talked about or how they’d finally gotten what they came here for.

He did gather that Coach is closing his binder, standing up, and shaking hands. Jay gave a smile and nod and probably said thanks too. He followed the back of Coach’s bald head out of the dizzyingly expanded halls until they were back on the street where at least the dimensions make sense.

Chapter Text

It just wasn’t adding up. Carlos had scheduled and rescheduled, but something had to give, or else Carlos was going to keep having breakdowns. Time to work on his inventions and being a full-time dog dad were necessary, so tourney went to the chopping block.  Just the idea of losing the daily hour of tackling- not to mention the time lost travelling to away games he barely played in- only filled him with relief. The only downside was the guilt over abandoning Jay, but Carlos thought he would understand. His friends were always saying Carlos had permission to take care of himself every once in a while, and not just when it came to survival.

Even believing this, Carlos decided to tell Coach first. That way, he couldn’t change his mind when he had to tell Jay.  

“Coach, I think I should quit the team,” Carlos said after practice. His voice hadn’t even quivered, even though he was talking with an adult man he’d never been alone with before.

“Well, De Vil, I’m sorry to hear that,” Coach said, “May I ask why?”

“I just need more time for homework and college prep. This just isn’t really my thing.”

“I understand. You have a lot of potential as an athlete. I’ll be coaching cross country next fall if you’re interested.”

“Oh, okay? I’ll think about it.”

“So, would you want today to be your last practice?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Right. You can keep the jersey, if you want. And you can always stop by if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” Carlos said. Coach gave him a half smile. Carlos had half-expected a lecture on giving up or something, but Jenkins was pretty cool. Carlos could sort of see why Jay worshipped the ground he walked on.

After that, Carlos walked back to the dorm, and surprisingly, it wasn’t empty.  

“Hey, man,” he said.

“Hey!” Jay said, “I thought you would have beat me back. I made some of the guys go over the Sword play one more time with me after practice.”

“Yeah, I noticed you’ve been barely leaving that field lately.”

“I mean, the season starts this week, man. We’ve got a real chance at inter-kingdom champions. You know, they fly us all out to Neverland, like on a plane, and we get to stay in a fancy hotel with all the cheerleaders and then play on TV.”

“That all sounds so wicked, but I actually just talked to Jenkins and…I quit the team,” Carlos said.

“What are you talking about?” Jay said.

“I quit tourney,” Carlos said.

“No, you didn’t. You can’t quit!”

“I already did it.”

“I can get you more playing time. Coach has been leaning towards those more aggressive plays in our strategy right now, but after the Atlantis game, he’s going to switch it up so you’re back in.”

“It’s not like that. I just needed to free up my schedule, so I have more time for homework and working on my stuff for college. I wasn’t mad or anything.”

“But…we’re a team!” Jay said. Carlos had never been through a break-up, but he kind of felt like it would feel like this.

“Bro, we’re still a team! It really wasn’t easy. I love hanging out with you,” he said. Carlos had really had to weigh the scales of being tackled to the ground versus getting to see Jay sweaty and shirtless in a venue where he could watch without it being weird.

“Who’s going to watch my back? I’ve got to do all those practices and games alone?” Jay said.

“Coach is basically your second best friend- “

“-that’s NOT true- “

“-And you also have Gil and Seth and even Chad. All the guys like you now. You’ll be fine. I’m still going to come to your games. I’ll even watch practices and heckle like I usually do. Bro, I’ve just been getting pretty stressed, and I needed more time, so I don’t keep having freak-outs.”

“That’s really why?”

“And…”

“What?”

“I basically survived by safety in numbers for so long that I don’t think I know how to be on my own. It’s been all about what I bring to the gang and my mom, but things are different now and I need to figure out how to just be my own man. Does that make sense?”

 “Yeah. I guess,” Jay mumbled.

“I really am sorry to ditch you, man,” Carlos said, even though it undermined that speech just a bit.

“it’s fine. Don’t be weird about it. I’m going for a run,” Jay said. He headed out the door.

Carlos let him go. Sometimes Jay got pissed and you just had to wait him out.

As a show of good faith, Carlos did attend practice the other day to watch from the bleachers. When they first joined, Mal and Evie always showed up to keep an eye on them (and piss off the cheerleaders with their presence). They were busy today, as they were most afternoons now, so Carlos was here alone. It felt freeing to be here by choice, not obligation.

Maybe cause he wanted to make it up to him, Carlos spent the time researching Jay’s brand. They knew most of Jafar’s why but still not the how. Carlos took out an old academic journal he’d requested from the library, which featured an article about remote castings Jafar wrote when he was just a sorcerer’s apprentice. It was weird to think of Jafar as a young man, only a few years older than they were now. He probably wouldn’t have been so bitter back then or consumed by power. He would have been smart. Ambitious. Maybe he would have had friends. You don’t get close to a king unless you’re good at making friends.

Carlos looked up from his reading to watch Jay doing passing drills. For just a second, he thought about reneging and asking to get back on the team. Maybe some more reading time wasn’t worth losing that chance to sync with his best friend for a few hours a week. Chances for that were in limited supply and not just because of heredity and homework. Against all odds, it seemed like the four of them would survive to adulthood. They had already become such different people in a few months. It only stood to reason they’d change even more once they were pushed out of this place. The future called.  

Mal picked up the phone from Fairy Godmother’s office on a Tuesday. The story she told FG was an Isle kid asked for this line to be set up but wanted to stay anonymous. Apparently, it’d taken some work to get the phone’s mate into the right hands because it was a couple weeks before Mal was notified that the package had been delivered.

The phones were Evie’s idea. When they were planning for more kids to leave the Isle, they had to consider the ones whose parents actually gave a shit and would want to keep in touch. Carlos specially designed them to accommodate the lack of cellular towers on the Isle and made them one-way so they would be less susceptible to thievery.

Evie also had the idea to make it so calls could only go in one direction, if the student chose. Evie and Jay both set theirs to strictly outgoing, so they could check up if they really wanted to but not expose themselves to their parents’ unwanted vitriol. 

Mal had not opted for that with this phone. It didn’t seem necessary. The man hadn’t reached out even when they lived on the same tiny rock.

She turned on the phone. It had one number programmed into it. She hit dial. After a couple of rings, a man answered.

“Hey there.”

“Hi, Dad,” she said. Show no fear, said her brain. But why should be afraid? He was a thousand miles away.

“I was surprised to get one of these. I’m even more surprised you actually used it,” he said.

“Really? But you’ve always been such an active paternal presence,” she said.

“There it is,” he said, “That good old resentment. I knew it was coming but let me just say you seemed to have turned out just fine without me. You were better off, probably, without me around screwing you up.”

“Fine is an interesting word,” she said, keeping the anger out of the timber of her voice, “I didn’t feel fine when I was growing up in a garbage disposal with the mother of nightmares and you, nowhere to be found.”

“Well, my father devoured me at birth. Grass is always greener, kiddo.”

“You’re not going to get any points for leaving. I turned out how I turned out only because myself, my friends, and Ben.”

“I’ve heard about your lover-boy. Will I be invited to the wedding?”

She scoffed, “You and Mom gotta walk me down the aisle.”

“How is your mother?”

“She’s really into eating crickets lately.”

“Preying on the weak? That’s not new. You kept her, though, right? Didn’t release her into the wild?”

“No. I gotta keep an eye on her.”

“Smart. I chose the opposite strategy myself, but at the time, she could, you know, talk so it made her presence much harder to tolerate.”

“Yeah, well, if I had the option to leave it sooner, I would have too.”

 “Okay, okay, enough of the drama. What else is up?”

“I don’t know,” she said, “Steal any souls lately?”

“I got a twelve-year-old to sell me his for a buck fifty, but it wasn’t really official.” He said. Mal snorted.

“No, really, I know you didn’t call for the small talk. What is it?” he said.

“What do you mean?” she said.

“What do you want? To drop someone? Commune with the dead? I know you kids today are always getting your deities crossed, but I’m not actually the guy to call for golden fiddles. Terrible deals I can strike though.”

“I’m not calling for a favor,” she said.

“Then why all this trouble?”
“I just wanted to talk to you!”

“But about what?”

“I don’t know! Whatever fathers talk about with daughters.”

There were a few seconds of silence and then a laugh.

“Oh, Mally, are you sure you’re mine?” he said, mocking. She’d been mocked by her mother before, but at least then she always knew it was coming. This new flavor of insult made her burn too, but these flames left her as cold as the grave.

“Fuck you,” she said before she hung up.

Mal was hung up doing something this afternoon, so Uma received a come hither text. After final bell, Evie sped back to the dorm. She made the bed and touched up her make-up until she heard Uma’s signature knock on her door.

They were practiced at this by now. Uma straddled Evie’s hips and laced her hands through her hair, leaning in to touch lips to lips. Her tongue was restless, but her thumbs were gently stroking the thin skin of Evie’s cheeks. Uma’s hands were so much rougher in comparison, from years of tightly wielding sword hilts and pulling the ropes of sails. One hand unbuttoned Evie’s shirt, and Uma’s mouth travelled to Evie’s collarbone to-

“Hey, Eves, I- AAH!"

In an instant, Uma rolled off of Evie, who sat up to face their intruder, feeling all the blood that had rushed to her head pulsating under her skin.  

“Carlos! Don’t you knock?” she snapped.

“Never have before,” he said, smirking at them, “Uma, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Shut the door you idiot!” Uma said. He obeyed. Evie fixed her shirt and pressed her comparatively cooler hands to her cheeks.

“So…this is a thing?” Carlos said.

“Sort of,” Evie said at the same time Uma said “No.” Ouch.

“This doesn’t leave this room, understood?” Uma said.

“Does that mean Mal knows?” Carlos said.

“No!” they said together.

“No one knows,” Evie said, “We’d like to keep it that way.” As she spoke, she watched Uma’s face to gauge whether Evie was correctly honoring their agreement. She wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed or relieved that Uma had no objections.

“I can keep a secret,” Carlos said, “I really am sorry about barging in. I just came to ask about Jay.”’

“Boyfriend troubles?” Uma said.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Carlos said, scowling.

“Honest mistake,” Uma said, holding up her hands. Evie had to hold in a laugh.

“I gotta go anyway,” Uma said.

“Are you doing anything later?” Evie said, lowering her voice.

“I have this meeting thing but then nothing. I’m running for class president.”

“Really?” Evie said, “What’s your platform?”

“Eat the rich,” Uma said. Evie laughed.

“You have my vote,” she said.

“I’ll get you a button, princess,” Uma said, “Later.”

Uma grabbed her backpack and walked towards, checking Carlos’ shoulder as she left because she was her. She poked her head in the hall and checked whether the coast was clear before ducking out.

“Evie likes a pirate!” Carlos sang.

“Shut up! I will poison you, don’t think I’m past it.”

“But she’s getting you a button.”

“Stop talking or it’s arsenic,” Evie said, “Please, not a word to anyone. Being with a merchant kid would ruin Uma’s rep with the pirates.”

“Do you really care about markets versus docks beef anymore?”

“No, but she does,” she said, “And I…I don’t know. I think some of our friends from here would be surprised to see me with someone so Isle.”

“But you’re from the Isle.”

“I don’t have to wear it on my sleeve! I don’t think Uma wants Mal to know either. They had their little thing freshman year.”

“Do you want Mal to know?” Carlos said.

 “She’s my best friend. I’d tell her anything,” Evie said.

“So, you do want to tell her?”

“No, but…this is nothing! Like, it’s so nothing telling Mal would be overkill. Uma and I are both just getting something out of our system. Pure exercise and stress relief.”

If it was nothing, then it wasn’t a betrayal to hide it. Evie was absolved of sharing because this was so inconsequential, not because of the fact that if Mal knew something, it was then subject to her two discerning eyes and her blunt mouth. If Mal didn’t know, Mal couldn’t tell Evie that she wasn’t kidding anyone or that coming for Mal’s seconds or a pirate girl was making her look desperate.

Mal would tell Evie if Uma could never like her. Now, she’d be kind about it, but she’d still tell her the truth, and then Evie would have to ask herself why she sent these texts anyway.

But it was all nothing. So, who cares?

“What’s your problem with Jay?” Evie said. Surely, this would be simpler.

Carlos sighed, “I told him I’m quitting tourney.”

“That bad?”

“Yeah. I went to his practice today too, and he pretended like he didn’t even see me. He’ll usually forgive or forget 75% of stuff in 12 hours. I’ve timed it. I haven’t dealt with an ongoing grudge since I fucked up him stealing that fancy pocket-watch.”

“I will remind you now that you told me not to let Jay guilt you into rejoining. You had to quit. You’ve been stretched so thin. You don’t even like tourney.”

“I know, but Old Me was maybe an asshole! A tired asshole but still. It’s not like Jay’s always asking a lot of favors from me. This was my one thing in return.”

“Carlos. You do a lot for Jay because you’re a good friend. He will get over this. It’s Jay. He always does. He’s just kind of fragile right now, but you shouldn’t subject yourself to the sport you hate because of it.”

“Okay, okay, you’re right. I don’t think he’s even that mad at me. He’s just stretched thin too right now. I just worry- what if he does something stupid?”

This was a stupid idea. Jay wasn’t stupid enough that he didn’t know that. But it was ten at night, he’d run fifty suicides in the empty gym, and he knew he wouldn’t be sleeping until he knew why all this had happened.   

The phone rang once. Jay wondered if he should just hang up. It rang twice.

 “I almost sold this phone for scraps,” Jafar said. It stung to hear. He isn’t even your real father. Of course, he doesn’t care if you call.

“Auradon-made. Brand new. It would fetch a good price if you can find someone to reprogram it,” Jay said.

“Yes, the rare phone calls from my brat would diminish the value,” Jafar said, “If only the De Vil boy remained here to do such work. It’s not like you ever send me anything else to stock my shelves. I could be starving here, and you wouldn’t lift a finger to help.”

“The Isle has plenty of pickpockets. You just actually have to pay them.”

“You gallivant with a king while your own father has to sell garbage to eat. Now why do you pester me with a phone call so late at night? I actually have to work in the morning.”

“Don’t you miss me?” Jay said.

“Complete ineptitude and lack of respect is not in low supply here, so I have little reason to. Has that place softened you? Would you like a pat on the head?”

“Because you’re so good for those.”

“There’s that familiar arrogance. A wonder they have not sent you back here yet. Only a matter of time.”

“Shut up,” Jay said.

“How dare you speak to me with such disrespect.”

Jay took a deep breath. He wasn’t a coward. Time to stop playing around.

“I know, Jafar,” he said, “I know what you did to me.”

There was a moment of a silence and then a familiar creaking laugh.

“It took you long enough. My smarts never did rub off. There’s too much of your father in you,” Jafar said, “I wish I’d been there. Tell me about the look on Jasmine’s face when she saw her heir was a dirty little thief.”

“How did you do it? Why did you do it? I get the revenge, but where was the gain? You didn’t even demand a ransom.”

“Being your father was its own reward.”

“And then you let me come here! It doesn’t make sense. Isn’t the first rule of kidnapping that you don’t let the person go?”

“I’ve been watching the news ever since you left, just waiting for the announcement. Odd, it hasn’t come yet. I suppose since they learned it is you, they’re trying to keep it all hush-hush?”

“You can’t get to me anymore,” Jay said, “Just answer my fucking questions!”

“It made the news when they had their other spawn. Your replacements. They were probably grateful they have those proper heirs now that they’ve seen how you’ve been ruined.”

“Tell me why you did it,” Jay growled into the phone.

“It probably horrifies them to see how much you take after me. My pride and joy.”

“I’m not like you.”

“You are though. More than you know- “

 “You’re going to die on that Isle, and I’m going to have the crown you always wanted. Your scheme failed,” Jay said. Surely that would get to him, the one thing he’d always coveted now being in Jay’s grasp.

But Jafar just laughed, “Don’t be so sure, boy. I will always be with you.”

The line went dead.

Jay threw the phone against the wall, but the sound of it breaking into a hundred different pieces brought no satisfaction.  

He wished he hadn’t made the call. He’d itched for it though, for weeks needing to hear his voice and bring him this final find for evaluation. Jafar was right. His influence was too firmly molded into Jay to ever go away.

He was too soft for the Isle now but too corrupted for the shiny world his parents inhabited. The few times he’d seen them since the college talk disaster, Jay felt like he had no idea how to even talk to them. His reality hurt them, but he couldn’t fake goodness well enough either.

The only place he’d ever felt at home here was on the tourney field, and even there, he was fenced in by red cards and soft teammates. His friends didn’t struggle anymore like he did. Even Carlos abandoned him so he could do more fucking homework. He was too disgusted to watch Jay’s violent displays anymore. He’d figured out that Jay would never hack it as anything but a brute, and Carlos was too good for that.

Jay wanted to get out of the gym but couldn’t go to bed. His friends would be there, and they’d look at his face and just know he fucked up. 

Maybe he’ll go for a run in the woods. There’d be just enough danger in that to make him feel normal.  

He walked out of the gym. The campus at night was completely, unnervingly silent. He started his jog in the direction of the tree line, enjoying only the sound of his breathing and sneakers hitting brick and-

“Shut up!” someone hissed. Jay stopped and turned towards the noise. The campus was well-lit at night so he could easily see three bodies walking along the wall of an equipment shed he’d just jogged past.

They could definitely see him too. Their faces were shrouded, but only so many people in Auradon owned tricorn hats.

“What are you guys doing here?” Jay called out.

Uma stood up straight and stepped into the glow of a streetlamp. Her boys backed her up, sending Jay matching glares.

“We could be asking you the same thing, Jay!” Harry said.

“I was working out,” Jay said, gesturing at the exercise clothes he wore.

“He had a much quicker answer than I thought he would,” Harry said.

“You better get home,” Uma said, “It’s getting past your bedtime.”

Jay snorted and rolled his eyes, “You don’t scare me, Uma. You better not be following me.”

“As if we have nothing better to do than watch you throw balls to the wall.”

“So, what are you doing?”

“None of your business.”

“Come on, just tell me, I really don’t care if you’re breaking some rules.”

“Is underground fight club against the rules?” Gil said. Uma punched him in the chest.

“Did you say fight club?” Jay said.

“No,” Harry and Uma said at the same time Gil said “Yeah!”

“You have to take me there,” Jay said.

“Fat chance,” Harry said, “You’ll squeal.”

“I’m not a rat!” Jay said.

“You’re too close to Mal,” Uma said, “You all clearly drank the sweet, pure Auradonian punch and lost your touch.”

“That’s bullshit! I’m still badder than anyone on the Isle.”

“Really? Because I heard the weirdest rumor about you. Something about you acting really friendly with some royalty,” Uma said.

Jay kept his face blank, but panic rushed through him. Had the rumors already begun? They’d been so careful, yet Jay had been waiting for the other shoe to drop, where he went from being the big, bad prince of thieves to poor, stolen prince Ali. His whole life Jay never wanted to be anyone’s victim. He wasn’t ready to let that go.

So, he flashed his best smile, “Whatever you heard was bullshit. I could beat everyone in your fight club. I bet that’s why you didn’t want me to come. I get it. I’m out of your weight class.”

Harry swore and pulled his fists up, but Uma just laughed.

“Alright, tough guy, I guess you can come,” she said, “Follow us.”

They didn’t have far to go. Jay followed the three into the athletic equipment shed they’d been walking past. Of course, this being Auradon, the shed was bigger than Jafar’s entire store.

Uma opened the door, and Jay’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. The space had been transformed into a pretty sweet clubhouse. The center of the room was cleared for a fighting ring with its boundaries marked with red spray-paint. In the back, a stack of gym mats served as a bar. Freddie Facilier was pouring out drinks. Loud screeching guitars played from a boom box. Pretty much every Villain Kid at Auradon Prep was there, the notable exception being Jay’s friends.

“Woah,” Jay said, “This is sick.”

“It’s the one place where we can be ourselves,” Uma said.

“It’s not just your gang either,” he said, noting other merchant kids like him and some whose families who lived way out by the forests.

“Look, if we go back to the Isle, we’re sworn enemies. But here, we all have more in common with each other than with any of the mainlanders.”

“So, when do we fight?” Jay said.

“After we drink,” Hook said. He threw a chummy arm around Jay and led him to the back. Usually, Jay would never let one of Uma’s lay a hand on him in public, but hey, it a was a different world, and it wasn’t like Harry hadn’t laid hands on him (and most of the Isle) already.

“Jay!” Freddie said, “We’ve got a contender now, ladies and gentlemen.”

“Get me a drink,” he said. Freddie smiled as she poured something pink into a paper cup. Jay threw it back and savored the burn of Isle wine. It tasted better than he remembered. The fruit in this batch probably didn’t start out rotted. Not that you drank it for the taste.

“My own recipe,” Freddie said. Jay knew it well. On Saturday nights, a coin or a trade got you into the Facilier’s market, where the merchandise was stowed away, and people danced among the stalls. Jay would come to steal from the drunk and stay to dance, sometimes with his gang, sometimes looking for a stranger’s company. It was easy for him. All he had to do was smile, and people came to him. Girls, guys. You could only touch people without appearing weak if you were fighting or in the same gang or in places like that, where the booze and the dark offered a little grace.

“We’re up first,” Gil said, smiling with lips pink from the wine. Jay had found Gil at Facilier’s many times before and led him behind the stalls. This wine must be going to his head if he was remembering that.

“Let’s go,” Jay said.

“Okay, the rules are no weapons. Try not to go for the face. First one knocked outside the ring loses. Winner takes the next contestant,” Freddie said.

Jay had never felt so ready. He had been holding back his strength for months. It was a waste to have put on all this muscle yet only get to hit bags. It wasn’t just that Jay was strong. He had speed and real moves, picked up from the Isle’s best assassins who would teach you how to really fight if you didn’t mind learning the hard way. The only way to improve was to fight someone better than you so Jay let those guys beat him into the dirt until he could give it right back because Jay wanted to be the best.

Gil was easy. He and his brothers all fought the same, preferring brute strength over the strategy. Gil and Jay were each the muscle of their respective groups. They traded some punches and each dodged or deflected. Gil landed a solid one to his side, and the pain felt like an old friend. Jay got low and punched his side before dancing to the left. He dropped to the ground and kicked Gil’s feet out from under him while he tried to turn. Another punch, and Gil was on his back, one hand lying outside of the ring. 

The crowd surrounding their circle whooped. The audience’s energy nourished his.

“Who’s next?” Jay said.

“Aye,” Harry said, shrugging off his jacket. Jay had usually faced Harry with hook or sword in hand. He wasn’t strong as Jay or Gil, but he was strong enough and light on his feet. Without his hook, he knew his best strategy was to be quick and evasive, tiring Jay out before he tried to attack.

Harry wasn’t the sharpest though. Jay psyched him out with a kick, Harry swerved out of the way, and Jay spun around to land another kick square in Harry’s ribs. He stumbled backwards.

“Oh, that’s how we’re playing,” Harry said as he regained his footing. He was still smiling.

“Less talking, more fighting,” Jay said. Harry came running at him, and Jay dropped, pushing at Harry’s legs so he went flying. Harry rolled into the fall and sprung back up, his back heel just inside the ring. Jay pushed towards him, letting his punches fly.

Harry stumbled and fell to the ground but still in the circle. Jay kicked him in the ribs, and the crowd went “oooh”.

“Hey, get off!” Uma said from the sidelines.

“Come on, Uma, you gone soft?” he taunted, “I don’t mind two on one.”

“Make it three,” Gil said, cracking his knuckles. Jay only laughed. He dodged Uma’s lunge at him, kicking her side. Uma was crafty as hell and solid with a sword, but her hand-to-hand combat had room for improvement.

Gil came at him next, and Jay threw a punch, making easy contact with his chin. Uma jumped on his back, but he ducked and flipped her over. Then Harry was up again, laughing as he encircled Jay’s arms so Gil could land a solid punch to the gut.

Jay kicked his legs up, knocking Gil in the face with his boot and putting enough of his weight on Harry to break the hold. Harry stumbled to the ground again, Jay falling on top of him but rolling out. This time Harry was out of bounds, and he stayed out.

Next Gil came at Jay while Uma skulked the perimeter of the ring.

“Left!” Uma would say, and Gil could follow her quicker than he could respond to Jay’s moves on his own. Usually, Jay would try to be more tactical and evasive, but tonight, he just really wanted to hit stuff, so he kept raining punches on Gil until finally enough landed that the guy was knocked off his balance again and kicked out of the ring.

Now, only Uma remained, and she wasn’t going to cry uncle. She knew her best bet was to stay out of reach and tire him out chasing her. When he did get close, she fought back dirty, scratching, grabbing, pulling his hair. It was pretty fucking annoying and threw him off his rhythm. He was swinging harder and harder, desperate to make some kind of contact.

Uma came at him from the side, nails out, and he kicked her in the gut as hard as he could. She landed on her back with a hard smack. The sound made him snap out of his battle instincts and the whole room go quiet.

Fuck. He should have held back more. He was fighting like someone might actually try to kill him. Stupid, stupid, evil and stupid.

He leaned over her still form. Her eyes still closed. What if she had a concussion or a head wound?

“Uma?” Jay said, “Are you okay? Fuck, Uma, I’m so- “

That’s when Uma kicked him right in the balls.

Jay swore and stumbled into a sitting position, right on the edge of the ring. Uma sat up and laughed.

“Uncle?” she said.

“Uncle,” he said, “Asshole.”

“Don’t take my invite and then act like an asshole, asshole. Also, I know you were not about to apologize in a room full of Isle kids.”

“Never,” he said, “Next round is on me?”

Uma smiled, “Freddie! Prepare the drinks!”

Other people continued to fight, but the four of them switched to competing in the form of drinking each other under the table. No easy feat when your opponents are three pirates. Jay’s high-protein, low-sugar diet had turned him into a bit of a lightweight, but they didn’t need to know that.  

The drinks and the music and the adrenaline still pumping through him made Jay feel more relaxed than he had in a long time. Maybe since he came to Auradon. The pirates sitting next to him might slit his throat, but he knew the rules of engagement. The danger felt like a comfort.

Uma and Gil went closer to watch the next few matches. Jay and Harry hung back, shitting on a stack of mats by the bar.  

“I’ll bet you another shot that Zevon wins,” Jay said.

“No, let’s make it interesting,” Harry said, “If I win, I get a kiss.” Jay snorted. Classic Harry.

“Been a minute. That was you, right?”
“As if anyone has ever kissed me and forgotten about it,” Harry said.

After a few more minutes of struggle, Zevon fell to Celia’s killer roundhouse kick.

 “Guess you won,” Jay said. He leaned over to press his lips to Harry’s. He didn’t care who saw. No one could call him weak and walk away from it.

Harry wasn’t satisfied with a peck. He put his hand on the back of Jay’s head and pushed his tongue into his mouth. Gods, it had been ages since he’d done this, but it felt as natural as stepping back into that ring earlier.

Harry put a hand on his thigh and pulled his mouth away. He got up and walked away, telling Jay to follow with a look.

They went behind a tall, rolled up cheerleading mat and continued making out. Again, this was easy. Just heat and friction, two bodies and wanting touches, so much simpler than the real world.

“Just like old times,” Harry said in that annoying accent. It didn’t kill the attraction though. Jay moved his lips to Harry’s neck, biting and kissing the rough skin.

“Lucky me, getting you for free,” Harry said, chuckling under his breath. 

“What?” Jay said, freezing and pulling back. He couldn’t be talking about that. Jay had pushed that to the back of his mind, there was no place for it here.

“What the fuck do you mean by that?” Jay said.

“I’ve heard the rumors,” Harry said.

Jay shut his eyes, trying not to remember the dark room that smelled like dead flowers and empty stomachs. It was easier than breaking into a house or beating someone up, wasn’t it? Jay was good with people, but it didn’t take much skill to be used.

“Oh, they’ve made you ashamed?” Harry said, clucking his tongue, “I’ve noticed Auradon loves its shame.”

“It wasn’t…they aren’t wrong,” Jay mumbled. His head was cloudy from the drinks, he couldn’t snap out of it.
“They’re the guilty ones, darling.”

“I’m not your darling,” Jay said, “I should go.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean anything. It was just a joke. Come on, we were having a good time, weren’t we?”

Jay huffed. He pushed Harry up against the wall, picking up where they’d left off. Jay wasn’t ready to leave this place yet. He’d rather relive the past with all its problems than reenter the present.

Chapter Text

“Jay, could we speak for a moment?” Fairy Godmother said at the end of Sorcery class, while Jay was packing up his stuff and getting to ready to head out with his crew.

A stone dropped into Jay’s stomach. This must be about breaking into the gym to work out. Or breaking into the shed to be in that fight club. Or breaking into the library to hook up with Harry. Twice.

Look, he’s been really stressed.

His friends stopped too and looked at him. He shrugged. Mal was the first to turn back and walk out the door, Carlos and Evie following. It kind of annoyed him how now they so readily just left him alone with a teacher.

He opened his mouth to start explaining how that could have been anyone in Periodicals, but she spoke first.

“I wanted to talk to you about your schedule for next semester,” she said.

“Oh,” he said, “Really?”

“Is there something else you want to talk about?” she said.

“No! I mean, yes, let’s talk about classes. I signed up for all the ones I need to graduate, right?”

“Yes, and I know that it’s a little tight fitting in all your required credits, since you have to make up for…”

“For being a flunky at Evil School?”

“Your nontraditional education,” she said, “I wanted to make you aware of an alternative course selection, from a catalog only offered to select students.”

“What kind of students?” he said. Was this a cushy way of telling him he was too dumb for the general offerings?

“Students of noble heritage,” she said, lowering her voice.
“Like…royals?” he said, matching her quiet tone. He looked over his shoulder to check that the halls were clear.

“Yes, although we try not to use labels such as that. There is no hierarchy within the classroom,” she said.

“Except for when you’re in a classroom that only royal kids get access too,” he mumbled. FG pretended not to hear him.  

“Part of Auradon Prep’s founding vision was to be a place for young rulers to meet in their youth and share ideas while also receiving formal training for the positions that they would one day inherit. Students who pursue this course of study learn about diplomacy, governing styles, the minutiae of etiquette, and receive individual counselling as well.” FG handed him a packet. He thumbed it open to a list of courses, scanning the names.

“Building a Court: From Viziers to Footmen, Genealogy and Titles 101, Curtseys, Bows, and Handshakes?” he read aloud.

“That last one is a lot more interesting than it sounds,” FG said.

“Thanks for giving me this, but I don’t really think this is right for me.”

“Jay,” she said, “You were informed that I was informed, correct?”

“I know,” he said, looking over his shoulder again for eavesdroppers.

“I think it would be prudent to take advantage of these tools while you can. The greatest resource for understanding your new role can be your peers, who have years of experience in preparing to inherit.”

“I’m not inheriting anything,” he whispered, “I mean, we don’t know. Everything’s still up in the air. Besides, if I take those classes, the secret will be out so…”

“Do you expect this to still be confidential by next year?”

“Kind of. Probably. I think?”

“Of course, it is entirely your business. I just got the impression from your mother that the timeline was more expedient. My mistake.”

“You talked to my mother?”

“She asked for a review of your education and grades, as a parent has the right to request. I told her you were a very hard worker.”

“Did she say I should be taking these classes?” he said.

“She did inquire about them in regard to you, since Prince Aziz is on this course of study. As your educator, I would be remiss not to present every available opportunity to you.”

Well, that changed things. If this was coming from Jasmine, he couldn’t just say no outright. He didn’t want to offend her or make things difficult.

“Can I think about it?” he said.

“Of course,” she said, “If you need more time, we can delay your registration period as well. Whatever is best for you, dear.”

“Okay. Uh. Thanks for this,” he said, holding up the packet. He stuffed it in his backpack and hustled out the door.

In the privacy of his room, Jay scanned the list of courses with dread. It wasn’t even that the subjects themselves sounded boring. It was the thought of who else would be taking him. Bad enough Jay would already be completely clueless on all this royal stuff, but he’d have Audrey and Chad and their whole crowd watching him fuck it all up five days week. They’d probably laugh at him and make snooty comments about how he can’t tell his forks apart. Or worse, Jay would turn into one of them, another royal snob who cared about manners than anything real.

The thought made him shudder. He wanted to give FG back her packet and laugh in her face. But his mom was definitely going to ask about it. Obviously, she wanted her kid to know these kinds of things. In her world, this stuff mattered. He should make an effort, for her. She’d been through enough disappointment

It’s not like Jay was really excited about any of the classes he had already signed up for. It would be a pretty small sacrifice, in the scheme of things.

The secret was the issue though. He kind of was hoping they could wait until after graduation next year before telling anybody. That would be a clean break. He could start over at college, and the whole story would probably follow, but people would just have to accept it all at once. That didn’t bother him as much. He just didn’t like watching the change in people’s eyes

He needed a run. He’d run all the way to the lake and back and maybe come up with some answers. It hadn’t worked yet, but the woods did calm him. He liked being surrounded by nothing but trees, their pine smell, the birds calling. Jay didn’t even change out of his class clothes. He was fine if he had sneakers on. He used to run in boots missing soles and laces.  

Jay could almost hear his own thoughts again when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He hated the cell phones. They would have been useful on the Isle, but here all they were good for was letting people bother him even when he was alone.

It was his mom. Evil, what if she asked about the royal classes? She seemed to always want to know everything he was doing or planning to do. Their meetings sometimes felt like interrogations. Or like she was speaking a language he barely knew. He just tried to nod and get by on the pidgin he could manage.

“Hey…!” he said. Neither Jasmine nor Mom felt right so he just sort of called her nothing.

“Hello,” she said, “Is now a good time? You sound tired.”

“Just catching my breath. I was on a run,” he said, “What’s up?”

“We’re in between meetings right now. They’re going well. A bit boring. I wanted to let you know we’re scheduled to return home to Agrabah next week.”

“Oh,” he said. Part of him felt a little relieved, another part hurt that they wanted to leave so soon.

“I know it’s barely been any time at all. We pushed two weeks, but Dalia is only six, and she’s never had us gone for so long. Neither my father nor our other close family members know either. They’re asking for explanations we can’t give over the phone. If we could stay longer, we would, but we’ll be back before you know it.”

“I get it. You guys are kind of important people,” he said. She chuckled.

“Before we go, we would like to have you around for dinner this Saturday,” she said, “To celebrate your birthday.”

“That’s this Saturday? Wow, I didn’t even know.”

“It’ll be our first together in 17 years.”

“Woah. Wait, does that make me about to be 18?” he said, “That’s a year older than I thought I was.”

“Oh, yes, I thought you’d realized,” Jasmine said.

“No. That’s so weird.”

“Even more reason to celebrate,” she said, “We’ll have a lovely party. You should invite your friends.”

“They’ll be down,” he said, “It sounds like fun.” He’d never had a birthday party, but they were supposed to be fun, right?
“Is there anything special you want to eat? I know you are pretty health-conscious, but would a cake be okay?”

“Cake is good,” he said, “I’ll eat anything.”

“Perfect. 6 o’clock then. I need to head back into this meeting, but I’ll send you the details.”
“Can’t wait,” he said, “Thank you, again.”

“It’s my pleasure. I’ll see you then.”

The next day, the mailroom told him he had received his first piece of mail ever. He opened it up to find underneath some black tissue paper a folded white dress shirt. A notecard inside the box read:

An early birthday gift. See you Saturday. Love, Mom

Alone in his room, he tried on the shirt. It wasn’t flashy, but it was fancy. The white was so white it shined, and there was embroidery on the high collar in gold thread.

It really wasn’t like anything else he owned. These days Jay wore his tourney warm-up suit everywhere, but even his nicest outfit, a formal shirt and jacket Evie made for him, was cobbled together from cheaper fabrics. He’d been planning to wear that on Saturday, but the note made it pretty clear his mom sent this shirt for that night. Apparently, this event would be a step up nicer from Pizza Pizza. 

It would offend her if he didn’t wear it. Jay’s basic knowledge of manners covered that. So, on Saturday, he pulled the shirt back out of its box.

“Shit, is this wrinkled?” Jay said to Carlos. He tried to tuck it into his pants to pull the fabric tighter, but he was really more of an untucked shirt guy. It didn’t even work. He looked like a wrinkly nerd.  

Carlos walked over and whistled, “Fancy shirt.”

 “My mom sent it,” he said, “I think I fucked it up. It’s all messy.”

“We have an iron,” Carlos said.

“We do? Why?”

“The room came with one. Princes wear a lot of fancy shirts.”

“Apparently. Do you know how to use it?”

Carlos rolled his eyes, “Give me it.”

Jay unbuttoned it and threw it at Carlos who had procured the iron from his closet. He set down a clean towel on the coffee table and spread the shirt out over it. Jay watched him run the hot iron over the fabric, leaving it smooth and wrinkle-free.

“Are you guys ready?” Jay turned to see Mal climbing in through the window. She usually insisted on entering this way as a means of “keeping her skills sharp”. Following was Evie, gracefully, and Ben, less so.

“Happy birthday, Jay!” Evie said.

“Aw, guys, you look so domestic,” Mal said.

“Shut up,” Carlos said. He held up the shirt for a last inspection and then handed it back to Jay to put on.

“Happy birthday, man,” Ben said. He waited until Jay’s torso was covered before going for a bro-hug. 
“Thanks, man,” he said, “I mean, it’s whatever. We don’t have to treat it like a big deal or anything. It’s pretty stupid to celebrate someone just for being born. Total Auradon thing.”

“People had birthdays on the Isle?” Evie said, “I did.”

“I did too. Fae are big on numbers. Mother drew me a weird ritual bath on my sixteenth. There was pig’s blood,” Mal said.

“Remember when Anthony Tremaine threw that great party for his sixteenth?” Evie said.

“No? I wasn’t invited to that,” Jay said.

“Yeah, you used to throw him into dumpsters,” Mal said.

“On your behalf! Were you invited?”

“Obviously or he’d have been banished.”

“I wasn’t invited either,” Carlos said.

“Yeah, but you weren’t cool,” Jay said.

“Jay, this shirt is gorgeous,” Evie said, delicately touching the fabric with her finger.

“My mom, uh, sent it. As a gift,” he said.

“Ooh, Jay’s mommy picks out his clothes,” Mal mocked.

“Ooh, you’re hilarious,” he said back.

“It’s okay. My mom picks out my clothes too,” Ben said.

“Jasmine has excellent taste. She could pick out anything she wants for me,” Evie said.

“It’s just the one shirt,” Jay said. He grabbed his leather jacket to throw on and added his old, reliable fingerless gloves. There, now the whole ensemble was a lot less stuffy.

“Is everyone ready to go?” Ben said, “I’m driving.”

“Woah, where’s the chauffer?” Carlos said.

“Let Ben drive. He never gets to,” Mal said.

“I’ve gotten used to a certain lifestyle of luxury,” Carlos grumbled. They left through the window and walked over to Ben’s SUV, parked right outside the dorm. Mal let Jay have shotgun since it was his birthday, but she retained the right to music control.

“Okay, guys, seatbelts on,” Ben said.

“A seatbelt will wrinkle this fabric,” Evie said.

“Seatbelts are for weenies,” Carlos said.

“Guys, click it or ticket,” Ben said.

“Yes, guys, let’s all entertain the idea that the king gets traffic tickets,” Mal said.

“If I was driving a group of unbelted passengers, I would ASK for one. It would only be fair,” Ben said.

“Sometimes, Ben says stuff so corny, I have to wonder if he’s just fucking with us,” Carlos said. They all laughed, and that sound with Mal’s loud rock music and the sweet winter air coming in through the cracked window, sated something Jay hadn’t realized he’d been craving.

“Is it just me or we have not all been in the same place together for a while?” Jay said.

“You’re right. This is nice, guys,” Evie said, “Where have you all been?”

“Where have you been?” Mal said, “You’re never even in the room. Your sewing machine told me it’s lonely.”

“I mean, you’re the one always off on diplomacy things.”

“I’ve barely seen Jay either. Whatever he’s training for, I’m afraid to know. He’s always working out,” Carlos said.

“It’s just tourney,” Jay said, “You’d see me more if you stayed on the team.”

“If tourney practice is now ten hours a day, I’m not having any regrets,” Carlos said.

“It’s not easy to look this good,” he said.

“That’s sad you have to work at it. I wouldn’t know,” Carlos said. Jay grabbed the closest projectile he could find- a breath mint in a cupholder and flicked it at Carlos’ head. This set off Mal complaining because it hit her instead, Ben threatening to turn the car around, and Evie throwing back bobby pins in Carlos’ defense.  

Jay was almost sad when they pulled up in front of the embassy. Not sad to see his parents, just to be losing another minute just the five of them.

Jay led them to the right townhouse, and the door opened before he could knock. A different soldier from last time bowed to him before stepping aside so they could enter.

“Uh, thanks…” he mumbled to the soldier. His friends followed him in and gaped at the bigger-on-the-inside-ness. Jay again got that itchy feeling on the back of his neck whenever he saw a wall that should not be so far away.

 “Welcome!” Jasmine said, walking down a grand staircase with husband, son, and servant on her heels. She looked really nice, in a dark purple dress with large gold earrings hanging from each ear. Jay suddenly felt underdressed, even though he was wearing what she picked out.

“Happy birthday,” Jasmine said, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek.

“Happy birthday,” Aladdin said, beaming at him. He sort of opened his arms like he was going for a hug but then reached out to shake Jay’s hand instead. Next to him, Aziz echoed the birthday wishes and didn’t try to initiate any sort of physical contact. Jay remembered with a shameful swoop in his stomach how he’d scared the kid that night outside his room.

“Let us take your coats,” Jasmine said. The servant held out his arms for them to hand them to.

“Do you need a new winter coat? This is so light,” Jasmine said as Jay passed his leather jacket over.

“It’s warm enough. Evie made it,” he said. 

“Evie is very talented, and it’s very stylish,” Jasmine said, winking at Evie, “It just gets so cold in the capital. Also, your gloves are fingerless.”

“Better for climbing,” Jay said.

“We are from the desert, dear. We’re not used to it dipping below 75,” Aladdin said.

“Touché,” she said, “Please join us in the state room for pre-dinner refreshments.

“Thank you for having us,” Ben said, as they walked down a long hall, “I’ve never been to the Agrabah embassy before. This magical architecture is astounding.”

“It’s amazing,” Mal said, reverently. 

“Could you do this sort of expansion spell on our closet, Mal?” Evie said.

“Expansion’s hard. Shrinking’s easier. I could shrink all your clothes,” Mal said.

“Pass. That could ruin my tailoring.”

“I heard you guys have pet tigers. Are they here?” Carlos said. Jay told him he didn’t think so, but Carlos had left Dude in Jane’s care tonight just in case there were any apex predators afoot.

“Unfortunately, no, they reside at the palace,” Jasmine said, “Also, they’re more family than pets.”

They walked into a different room than the one where Jay and Coach met. This one’s walls were covered in a mosaic of brightly colored tiles. The space was large enough that it could have entertained five times their number. Above their heads was a high, glass-domed ceiling which showed a sky full of stars.

“Wow,” Mal breathed.  Jay and the rest were too stunned to speak. How could a person live in something this beautiful?

Once they recovered from the awe, Carlos and Jay made a beeline to a large table laid out with food. Their friends hung back to ask Jasmine questions about the building.

“I feel underdressed,” Carlos said in a lowered voice before stuffing his mouth with a flaky crusted something. Jay grabbed one too. It was filled with meat. He wasn’t sure what kind. Whatever it was really good.

“Thank Evil, I thought it was just me,” Jay whispered back between chews.

“You look fine. I’m wearing shorts,” Carlos said.

“The shorts are classic though. You look good,” he said.

“Your house, your rules,” Carlos said, winking at him, “I wish I could watch my exits though.” Jay laughed. He wanted to say he did too, but his dad had drifted into earshot. Jay also wanted to throw an arm around Carlos, but that would be dumb. That was something he did when he wanted to protect him, and they weren’t in any danger.

“So, how do you guys not get lost in here?” Carlos said to Jay’s dad, who looked grateful to have been invited into the conversation.

“It’s pretty neat, actually. Our friend, Genie, keyed our blood into the wards so we can navigate it. It also has some security features. Anyone who enters the house with ill will towards the family gets trapped, that sort of thing.”

“That is so wicked,” Carlos said, “I’m studying wards for our big Intermediate Sorcery project. If it’s a blood ward, would Jay be able to key into it?”

“Yes, you should,” Aladdin said.

“I don’t know. I keep getting kind of dizzy if I look at the walls too long,” Jay said.
“I did too, at first. That’s because it’s djinn magic. It clicked better when I forgot to think about it,” Aladdin said, “You both are taking a sorcery class?”

“Yeah, it’s awesome!” Carlos said.

“It’s okay. We mostly watch Mal do the fun stuff or pretend to work on our final paper,” Jay said.

“That’s great though. I didn’t get very far in school, but education is so important,” Aladdin said.

“Uh, yeah,” Jay said. Okay, did his dad think he sounded ungrateful for being bored in class? Jay felt almost competitive, like did this guy think Jay had it so easy?

Carlos launched into talking about his final project because he’d talk about it to any willing ear. Aziz even looked up from his plate of snacks to listen, nodding like he understood Carlos’ complicated theory or at least like he wanted them to think he did. Jay had heard it all before. He was trying to listen in on the Agrabah history lesson Jasmine was giving across the room. He’d tried to look up information about the place, but he’d start, and then the sheer size of his ignorance overwhelmed him, and he’d give up. It’d be weird if he walked over there and interrupted though right now.

“So, then that all goes back to the Russo Principle which basically posits a motherboard run on magic,” Carlos finished. 

“I don’t think I’d even know half of those words in Arabic,” Aladdin said, “Aziz, can you dumb that down for me?”

“It would take all night,” Aziz said dryly. Aladdin threw back his head and laughed, and Aziz’s straight face broke into a smile. That was their little thing. The doofus and the brain routine. It was cute, if you thought that kind of thing was funny.

“What’s your project on?” Aziz said to Jay.

“Uh…crystal balls?” he said.

“Interesting,” Aziz said.

Before Jay could make it any clearer that he was going to fail this class, a waiter came over with a tray of glass flutes, filled with something bubbly.

“Is this champagne?” Carlos said.

“It is sparkling cider, sir,” the waiter said.

“At home, you’d be old enough for a glass at dinner on a special occasion, but we played it safe since we’re in the capital,” Aladdin said, “The king seems a little…”

“Goodie-goodie?” Jay said, before he could stop himself.  Aladdin laughed.  

“Yeah, good call,” Jay said. On a camping trip, they’d actually convinced Ben to have some vodka Jay had swiped. Ben had gotten really giggly and then puked in a bush. He would definitely be too scandalized to drink it in front of someone’s parents.

Jasmine cleared her throat, and Aladdin walked over to stand with his arm around her waist, like they’d rehearsed this. They raised their glasses and looked to Jay. The eyes of the rest of the room followed them.  

“To our Ali,” Jasmine said, “Finally at home again for his first birthday in seventeen years. And to the wonderful young man that he’s become. We love you more than words.”

Jay’s face was hot. His friends were all smiling so sweetly, and he wished they’d never graduated from punching each other to show affection. Worse was his parents who really did look at him like he solved every problem they’d ever had, like the brightest, most interesting, best eighteen-year-old in the world. They had no idea.

“Thanks,” he squeaked, like a little mouse though he used to be a cobra.

“Before we eat, we also have a small something for you,” Jasmine said. She walked over to an end-table and opened a drawer, procuring a square golden box.

“Happy birthday, love,” she said, handing it to him.

“You can open it now, if you like,” Aladdin said. It didn’t really feel like a suggestion.

Jay pulled carefully on the thick golden paper and tried not to think of how lucky he’d feel if he just found this paper among the garbage on the barge, nevermind what was wrapped in it.

Inside was a velvet box. Jay flipped open its top to reveal a golden watch.

It looked like gold. No, it must be real. He almost reached out a finger to scratch it, but that would look like he doubted it or like he was trying to see how much it was worth. This was from royalty. It had to be real.

Which meant that Jay had just been given a golden watch. To keep.

“Woah,” he said. You could never accuse Jay of not knowing the value of this gift. Jafar wouldn’t even know how to sell something like this because there would be nothing of equal worth it could be bought with, but he’d be pleased, even if he tried to pretend that he wasn’t. Jay wanted to stuff it in his pocket because no one would be foolish enough to actually wear this where another thief could slip it off like that.

Unless, of course, you lived here.

“Woah,” he repeated.

“It’s traditional for a young man to receive a watch when he comes of age,” his mother said.

“Right,” he said, as if this isn’t his first proper birthday gift ever, and he actually knew to expect this sort of treasure just for making it to eighteen.

“It’s beautiful,” Evie said.

“Yeah,” Jay said. It was so shiny he could see his own reflection.

“I hope it fits,” Jasmine said, “I didn’t know your size.”

“I don’t know my wrist size either,” he said, laughing. He didn’t know some people knew their wrist sizes. He didn’t know who his own parents were until a month ago so go figure.

“Well, try it on and see,” she said. Again, it didn’t feel like an option. Jay had taken a lot of watches off but never put one on that was his. It was really heavy. The links of the gold band felt cold on his wrist.

“It fits,” he said. He moved his hand a little. The weight surprised him.

“Wonderful,” Jasmine said.

“Looks good,” Aladdin said.

“Yeah,” Carlos said, “It’s nice.”

“Yeah,” Jay said, “Sorry, I’m just, uh, kind of speechless.”

“As every good hostess knows, once the people have run out of things to say, it’s time to eat,” Jasmine said, “Let’s head into the dining room.”

The dining room was also the most insanely beautiful room Jay had ever been inside. Could you put real gold into paint? Apparently! Also, into tablecloths and candlesticks and, ironically, silverware.

They were being served one course at a time, and the chef came out with each one to describe what was in it. That was pretty helpful since Jay had never eaten most foods not intended for pigs and flies.

“Wow, I’ve never had lamb, and I think I love it,” Carlos said, “I mean, I’m kind of thinking of cute baby lambs, but it’s too delicious for me to really care.”

“Are any of you vegetarians? I should have asked before,” Jasmine said.

“No. I’ve thought about it, but it feels weird to ever rule out meat entirely,” Carlos said.

“It’d be hard for you. You need to up your protein intake enough as is,” Jay said.

“Yes, thank you, you remind me every day,” Carlos said.

“Dude gets more protein than you do,” Jay said.

“I don’t think I could ever go vegetarian either. Squirrel soup used to be my favorite dish,” Evie said, “Apparently, people don’t eat it that much here.”

“Yeah, I had to have a long conversation with Gil about not hunting any of the squirrels or raccoons wandering around campus,” Mal said.  

“Raccoons, really?” Ben said, wrinkling his nose.

“They’re a delicacy,” Evie said, “Or they were, at home.”

Carlos elbowed Jay’s side, “You hear how these rich kids were eating gourmet raccoons?”

It was an old joke. Jay, townie rat to his bones, liked to mock his friends’ castle up-bringing’s. He wasn’t laughing now. He wanted to scream.

Why were they being so frank about Isle talk in front of his parents? He thought they were taking it slow! Did they think he’s told them every awful little detail after a few…well, it has been some time now. Maybe it was weird that Jay hadn’t told them more.

Another course arrived. The conversation moved on to politics. Unfortunately, though, it circled from tax breaks to Mal losing her mind.

“Our next pilot program is focused on reforming the schools on the Isle for the kids who can’t or won’t leave. I’ll be overseeing it myself this summer,” Mal said.

“Wait, you’re going back there?” Jay said. He hadn’t spoken in like twenty minutes. Everyone looked at him in surprise.  

“Yeah? I thought you knew,” Mal said.

“I mean, yeah, but not like hard plans. When are you going?”

“I’ll be going back and forth a few times. Our first survey is in June.”

“What are you doing? Who’s turf? Who’s going to watch your back?”

“Walking around Dragon Hall, nobody’s now, and me, myself and I.”

“You’re going alone?”

“Hawkins is coming,” Mal said, referring to her and Ben’s usual bodyguard.

“Hawkins? Has Hawkins ever been in a fight outside of a training gym?” he said.

“I’ll be going too,” Ben said.

“Oh, great, so when someone comes after you, Hawkins won’t even be focused on Mal.”

“Calm down, it will be fine. I’m learning how to use my magic under the barrier. Everyone’s still really afraid of me since I defeated my mom. I’ve got plenty of allies. It’s not the same place as it used to be. Uma even said it’s kind of boring.”

“When did you ask Uma?” Evie said.

“The other day. I’m going to ask for her to help. She’s still Shrimpy, but she’s got good ideas,” Mal said.

“Take me with you too,” Jay said.

“Yeah, you can come. I’d love the help.”

“You want to go back there?” Jasmine said.

“I mean, no,” he said, “But someone’s gotta watch Mal.”

“No, someone does not,” Mal said, “Don’t go if that’s why you’re going.”

“Don’t go at all! It’s dangerous. Jafar is still there.”

“I can handle him,” Jay said. Jasmine scoffed.

“You won’t be setting foot on that Isle,” she said.

“I go where I want,” he said.

“He could hurt you. He will try to hurt you!”

“He can’t do anything he hasn’t already done,” Jay said. Jasmine gasped.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” he said, “I didn’t mean that. I mean it’s fine. It wasn’t, it wasn’t as bad as you think. I know it sounds all bad, but. I’m not afraid of him. He never did anything more awful than-I’m trying to say I didn’t even have it so hard. He wasn’t that bad.”  

“How could he not be?” Jasmine said. She was offended, as if Jay had he wanted to go back and live with Jafar. Shit.  

“I just mean, it wasn’t, I didn’t have anything to compare it to. That’s just how parents were. I thought,” Jay said, “I mean, it wasn’t like…” Jay gestured weakly at his friends, horrified by the shipwreck that was Jay trying to use his words.

“Compared to other people, I always felt like he wasn’t that bad,” Jay said finally.

“Isle standards of child-rearing are very different,” Mal said slowly.

“I suppose it’s a relief to hear you weren’t mistreated,” Aladdin said.

“Well,” Jay said, “I mean, it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Just don’t worry about it.”

“I cannot stop worrying about it! It was our job to protect you, and we failed!” Jasmine said.

“But it doesn’t matter! Even if that bad shit- sorry, stuff- happened, I’m here now. I don’t even care anymore. I turned out alright. So, we can all just move on, okay?”

“Jay, you don’t have to pretend. We can talk about it if you want to,” Evie said, the whites of her worried eyes contrasting with her thick black mascara.

“We didn’t grow up in perfect circumstances either,” Aladdin said, “We can handle it.”

“How do you know you can handle it if you don’t know what it is?” Jay snapped.

“Because we’re your parents, and we’ll take care of you no matter what,” he said.

“I don’t need to be taken care of!”

“They’re just trying to help,” Carlos said.

“I don’t need help! I have been looking out for myself my whole life. I’m not a little kid anymore, and I don’t need parents to take care of me.”

Jay stood up too quickly and jostled the table. Jasmine flinched at the sound of the dishes clattering.

“Jay, it’s alright,” Mal said.

That was a lie. This was ruined from the start. Jay felt too small for his skin, fit to burst.

“I think it’s too late for us. You guys don’t want me for a prince. I’m spoiled goods and I’m too old to change. Getting to know me would just be a waste of time because…you’re not going to like what you find.”

Once again, Jay took the coward’s way out and ran for the exit.

But because the house was built all magic and wrong, he just kept going forward down looping hallways and ended up in a back garden that shouldn’t exist. The fresh air felt real enough though. It might have felt too cold if he wasn’t all hot and sweaty and nauseous. Jay walked straight to a planter and puke up his dinner into it.

That happened a lot when he got stressed or just when he ate too much. His body wasn’t used to having so much food. Weak stomachs. They all had them.

He wanted to run back to his dorm room or anywhere, but he didn’t know how to get to the front without crossing through the house, and he didn’t want to run into anybody.

He saw a rain gutter though and shimmied up the side of the building on it. The burn in his arms and core felt good.

On the roof, the magic went away. There was no garden below anymore, just the neighboring embassies and beyond that, the lights of the city.

The giant golden watch felt like a manacle. He unlatched it and pulled it off his wrist. He thought about dramatically chucking it off the side of the building, but he was still him, so he pocketed it instead.

It was over now. His parents saw how fucked up he was, and they would go away for good. Too much time had passed. He might have been born a good apple, but he was all rotted now.

That should be a relief, but instead, it just made him sad. It made him want to go back down and beg forgiveness and ask to try again.

Except, Jay really had been trying and trying, and he never got the goal. He just got tired.

He turned at the edge of the roof to pace again and almost lost balance when a blur of purple suddenly flew at him.

Oh, Evil, it was the freaking flying carpet. In passing, his parents had just called it Carpet, proper noun, like it was an old friend. It whirled around him, sort of like Dude sniffing a visitor.

“Hey, get lost!” Jay said.

The carpet instead whirled over to him and stopped, bent over in the middle like it was sitting in a chair.

“I said get lost!” Jay said, trying to sound as threatening as he could.  But how do you threaten a carpet? Say you’re gonna beat it?

He should have just gotten to the street and ran home. Now he was spotted. Even if the rug didn’t have eyes, Jay figured it could still see him. 

The carpet pivoted, as if called, and then flew off the roof.

“Jay?” 

Jay cursed under his breath. The carpet returned, now carrying his dad on it. He stepped off the carpet and smiled at Jay, looking relieved.

“Did you climb up here?” he said.

“Didn’t fly,” Jay said, looking at the ground.

“Three flights, impressive,” he said, “I used to jump rooftops. Too old now. I’ll pull something.”

Jay just stared. Was he seriously making a joke right now?

Aladdin dropped his smile and huffed.

“This shouldn’t be so hard,” he said, “I am a fun guy. People like me. My kids like me. But you look at me like that and you flinch when I talk and I want to go to that cursed rock and just-” Aladdin cut himself off and turned away to walk towards the edge, his fists clenched.

“Yeah?” Jay said.

 “I was so scared to become a father, but also so excited. We were supposed to be best friends who went on crazy adventures that we don’t tell your mom about.”

“Is that what you and your dad did?”

“No, my dad ran off when I was a kid. I never thought I could be as bad as him and yet.”

“It’s not your fault,” Jay said, “I’m just screwed up.”

“But you’re screwed up because I screwed up. Not that you are screwed up. I just mean- I lost you. I wasn’t able to protect you. Everything that happened to you goes back to that.”

“I’m not some helpless victim!” Jay exploded, “I was there too. I can’t be…I’ve done bad shit! Not because anyone made me. Sometimes I didn’t even think about it that much. Usually I liked it.”

Aladdin was quiet for a bit, and this time, when he spoke, he sounded a lot surer of himself.

“When you only have bad options, you take the good where you can,” Aladdin said, “A full stomach feels good, no matter how the food got there.”

He didn’t seem to be talking in the way other Auradonians did, like they’re doing their very best to imagine something awful but can’t quite picture it. Aladdin spoke from experience.

But then Jay looked his fancy clothes over again and remembered the man was still royalty. it’d been a long time since he had to worry about filling his stomach. Jasmine was a full princess who grew up in a palace and there was something absolutely wrong about a guy like Jay in a world like that.

“Stop doing that,” his dad said.

“What?”

“Shutting down. Or laughing it off. We can’t keep going on where both of us act like the last sixteen years didn’t happen. But you need to stop treating us with kid gloves- “

“-I’m not- “

“-You are. We’re doing the same with you, and then everything gets lost in translation.”

He may have had a point. Jay was treating them like Ben’s parents or a teacher- Auradon adults he didn’t despise but couldn’t necessarily trust either. He definitely didn’t treat them like Mal, Evie, or Carlos.

“Maybe,” Jay said.

 “Yes. We need to try something different, if we want this to work. Do you want this to work?”

“I don’t know,” Jay said, “If I’m being honest. It’s just been hard. I feel bad for you guys. I don’t know if that’s enough of a reason.”

“Okay,” he said, “I…it hurts to hear that. I can’t lie. I want to know everything about you.”

Jay snorted, “No, you don’t.”

“Oh, yeah? Try me.”

“Like what?” Jay said.

“Tell me something,” Aladdin said, “Something you’re afraid to say. Something from your past, maybe. Tell me something that should drive me away. Try it.”

Jay could never refuse a challenge. Where to start? It was cold on the roof. It got colder at home. The spray from the ocean froze on his face. The winter a terrible rattle moved into Carlos’ chest. Gods, when it snowed, Jafar could do whatever he wanted, and Jay would be begging to sleep on his piece of floor. People who slept outside got frostbite, lost the tips of their noses and fingers. Try being a pickpocket with no fingers.

But that kind of thing would inspire more pity and blame. Jay wanted a story where he acted. He could think of one.  

“What if I tell you the worst thing I ever did?” Jay said, “Something only…something only family knows.”

Aladdin looked wary, but he nodded.

“I was fourteen.  We were sort of part of a gang. Not sort of. We led the gang. The gang had control of all the downtown territory. We made our headquarters in this warehouse that used to be a neutral place for kids to sleep with nowhere else to go. I used to sleep there. It was a shitty thing to do. When kids with no other option came, we could now expect things of them in exchange.”

“Is that the thing?” Aladdin said. Jay shook his head. If only.

“I was sleeping next to Mal. I always do. I was like her bodyguard. I heard something and woke up, and I saw a guy’s hand reaching under her blanket. I didn’t hesitate. I jumped on him, and I just laid into him. Automatically. Even though I was twice his size. I couldn’t even see his face in the dark. I knew how to fight by then. It wasn’t even a fight. I knocked out his teeth, and he just took it.

“Mal woke up then and pulled me off, and I finally took a good look. It was just a little kid. He was whimpering and crying and saying sorry over and over, which isn’t what you’re supposed to do. Todd. His name was Todd.”

They sat quietly for a long time. There were things Jay didn’t say. How the kid looked so much like Carlos, curling inward to block any more pain from coming. How he looked like Mal. The first time she’d been kicked out as a punishment, nine years old and so tiny, Mal had found Jay’s old spot, on a rooftop with makeshift tarps. Jay knew her from school and the markets. Everyone did. She said she’d figured it was time they officially joined up and swiped his blanket like she was doing him a favor. It wasn’t until later he found out Mal had nowhere else to go that night and figured the pickpocket that she traded with sometimes was her best chance. She’d always slept close to him, so Jay’s bigger body formed a protective wall, hiding her from any intruders.

“What happened after that?” Aladdin said.

Jay sighed, “Mal told me I fucked up. She told me to take him to this witch healer. I dropped his body there and ran.

“His brothers found out. They went after Carlos and beat him up as bad as I beat Todd. Figured that was fair, blood for blood. Then they dumped Carlos at Jafar’s door. I had to explain the whole situation to him, and I thought he’d call me an idiot, but Jafar said he was proud. He didn’t think I had it in me.

“I found out later Todd had never slept on the streets before that night. He was going over to Mal to ask permission to stay there. He didn’t know how it worked. Stupid kid.”

Aladdin was silent for one agonizing minute. 

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Jay said.

“You said that was the worst thing you ever did. You obviously regret it. You’re not a bad person.”

“Don’t say that,” Jay said.

“Why not?”

“Don’t let me off easy!” Jay said, “I didn’t even stick around to make sure I didn’t kill the kid! I didn’t even think before I started wailing on him. I beat up plenty of kids before and after him. Chad said I enjoy hurting people, and he was right! Don’t tell me you want a kid like that!”

Jay was now screaming in Aladdin’s face. He stepped back and covered his eyes with the heels of his hands. He was not going to fucking cry. He’d beat himself up if he shed a tear. Maybe he should go punch someone. He could punch Chad in public in front of a TV camera and then Aladdin and Jasmine would never talk to him again and-

“I still steal,” Aladdin said.

Jay lowered his hands. Aladdin was standing there, looking at Jay like he was a wild animal about to bolt.

“Why?”

“Because old habits die hard. Because it’s still fun. Because having a little bit of wealth in my hand makes me feel safe. It gives me power when I feel powerless. I need that. Especially on hard days like when I’m way out of my depth at ruling or when I think my son is out in the world, alone and scared and sleeping on the ground.”

“It wasn’t always the ground,” Jay said quietly.

“I don’t care if you take the title or the responsibilities. Your mother doesn’t care. We just want you to be happy.” Jay sighed.

“When I was six or seven, Jafar told me I had to work for my keep. If I didn’t steal enough, he kicked me out. I was good at it though, eventually. I made allies. The other street rats followed me. I could have made it on my own. But I kept going back to Jafar. Not for food or a place to sleep. I just wanted to make him happy. I hate that about myself the most. Maybe I could have gotten away earlier, and I didn’t.”

“You can’t blame yourself for that. You were trying to survive. He plays games with people to get them to do what he wants.”

Something in Jay’s chest loosened at hearing another person talk about Jafar like they knew. Jay had been holding his parents so far apart from himself, but they’d been in his place once. Their experience felt so small compared to seventeen years, but once, they’d been that helpless too.

“I could never think you’re a bad person, Jay. My father’s criminal record could fill a library, but he’s one of the most caring people I’ve ever met. On the streets and in this job, I’ve met some real evil people, but mostly, I see people who have violence in them because someone else put it there.”

Jay’s hand went to an old scar on his elbow from when Jafar had pushed him. His arm had sliced open on the store counter. It was still bumpy because he hadn’t known how to do stitches yet and because he picked at it too much. He still did.

“I’m not scared off, Jay. You could scream at us and hate us, and I’d still want to be your dad. You don’t have to try. So, maybe, could give it another go?”

Maybe it would be exhausting. But Jay had done harder. He nodded.

“I think we got off on the wrong foot,” Aladdin said. He held out a hand, “Hi. Nice to meet you. I’m your dad.”

Jay laughed and shook his hand, “Ya know, you looked kind of familiar.”

His dad smiled back, “We should probably get back inside. I’m afraid of what your friends will do to this house until they find you.”

“They’ll be fine to wait a couple of minutes,” Jay said. He just needed a few more breaths before he faced all of them.

“Well, if they’re okay…do you want some fresh air?”

“Yeah. I’m sort of getting it now?” Jay said.

“I’m talking a different kind,” he said. He whistled, and in seconds, the carpet returned from where it’d been flying above them. It stopped short and floated flat a foot above the rooftop.

“Uh…are you serious?” Jay said, laughing nervously. He’d heard the stories, but this rug surely could not hold two grown men.

“What about one quick little crazy adventure with your old man?” he said, smiling roguishly. For the first time, Jay saw the person of his father, his dad, not just an alternative to Jafar or a bar of expectations Jay would never rise to.

“Yeah, I’m in,” Jay said.

After Jay took off, Aladdin stood up next, a shadow over his expression. He said something in Arabic to his wife. Mal picked up on the words “kill” “Jafar” and “now.”

Jasmine said something back, an order. He blinked, nodded, and ran off after Jay. Aziz was staring at his parents like he barely knew them.

Mal stood up to follow Aladdin with a tracking spell on her lips. Jasmine turned to her. 

“Perhaps, you kids should go home,” Jasmine said, her voice cool as a cucumber, “We can have someone drive you back.”

“Is the dinner over?” Aziz said.

“Yes, dear, go to your room,” Jasmine said. He backed up his seat and scurried away. Mal wondered if that was the kind of easy results she expected from Jay.

“I can have a car brought around,” Jasmine said. She spoke in that tone FG used before Mal called her out on it that said you’re being handled. Classic Auradon strategy: sweep under the rug and smile as if nothing happened.

“We should make sure Jay’s okay first,” Mal said.

“We will look after him,” she said, “Clearly, we have some matters to discuss.”

“Yeah, I’d say so,” Mal said, “I’ll feel better if I get to see him.”

“I think we’re all very tired- “

“-Princess, you are not going to get rid of us that easily,” Mal said. The courtesies vanished. She was not going to be dismissed, not with Jay left behind. It was the kind of betrayal they did not do.

The way Jay had said spoiled goods made Mal want to burn this big beautiful house down. He’d been left alone with these people- people that Mal had vouched for- and this was how they made him feel? Meanwhile Mal was off on the fool’s errand of trying to get her father to want her. Now she just wanted to get hers and get the fuck out of here, slamming the door on these assholes forever.

“I am not getting rid of you, dear,” Jasmine said, saying dear with the same insolence Mal had said Princess. Mal could taste blood now.

“So, we’ll stay,” Mal said, “Let’s split up.” Carlos and Evie stood up. Ben followed a second later, looking between Mal and Jasmine with wide, but not panicked eyes. Even the king knew to defer when it came to Mal’s family.

“Aladdin can talk to him,” Jasmine said.

“Forgive me if I lack confidence,” Mal said. Carlos and Evie shared a look.

“I am his mother- “

“Evie nursed him when he was sick. Carlos double-checks all his homework. I sang to him when he couldn’t sleep. Isn’t that what mothers do?” Mal said.

Jasmine’s steeliness cracked, and horror of horrors, she began to cry.

“Mal,” Evie scolded. She broke rank to put a comforting hand on the princess’ back.

“I would have done all that if I could,” Jasmine said coldly, “I am a good mother. He would have had a better life.”

“He would have. We should have,” Mal said. She’s so tired of thinking about the should, “But we did what we could for each other. I have put all I got into keeping these three alive. Show some respect to that. “

“I can’t believe I waited seventeen years to see my son again, and now I have to go through the whims of a teenage girl,” Jasmine said.

“Pardon?” Evie said, retracting her kind hand, “We have only helped you! Jay never wanted to talk to you people again. We told him he could give you a shot.”

“Rethinking it as we speak,” Mal said.

“It makes me feel completely inadequate to be treated with such suspicion by three children.”

“I think my suspicion is entirely warranted. What was all that he said about spoiled goods? He doesn’t talk that way to us. I swear to all evil, did you tell him he isn’t good enough for your stupid throne?”

“No!” Jasmine said.

“Did you make comments? About his clothes, the way he talks, any of it? Are you trying to change him?”

“It’s my job to look out for him. He has spent most of his life in one awful place so yes, maybe I am trying to show him something different from what he’s known. If trying to give your child a better education and future is a crime, yes, I am guilty.”

“I heard about the meeting with Coach,” Carlos said, “You want Jay far away from us, right in your pocket.”

“Agrabah is his home! It was only a suggestion.”

“You don’t even know the first thing about him though or where he’s coming from. Like tonight with the fucking watch. Come on, Princess, you could have asked me first for a list of reasons why that was a terrible idea.”

“What was wrong with it?”

“It was too much! That would have meant food for a year. He would have gotten himself killed trying to steal something like that, and you just handed it to him.”

“But he said he liked it!”

“He would never tell you if he didn’t,” Evie said.

“Jay lived for Jafar’s approval. You have to understand that,” Carlos said, “He will never say no to you guys, no matter how much it’s killing him. We know that you are different people. Obviously. But it’s hard for us to watch him fall back into old patterns.”

Jasmine didn’t say a rebuttal this time. She’d stopped crying too. She tugged the chain of her ruby necklace and stared at the table.

“Oh,” she said. For another minute, she was quiet.

“I did not realize he would be associating us at all with that man. He made a comment that one day to Al, but I didn’t think. It’s actually so obvious.”

“We know you don’t mean to,” Evie said, “Jay hardly seems to realize it.”

“That does make a lot of sense,” she said, putting the heels of her hands to her eyes, “Fuck, I’ve really made a mess of this, haven’t I?”

“Wow. I didn’t know princesses could swear,” Carlos said.

“I have a terrible temperament for a princess. Always have. I’m rash and when I make a mistake or feel I’m losing control, I double down. My position and my missing child made it so very few people would ever dare to tell me when I’m wrong. So, I needed to hear that. Thank you. I just hope I’m not too late to fix things.”

“That’s up to Jay,” Mal said, “Let’s split up and look for him.” Mal started moving her hands in the motions she and Jane had practiced. She could feel her own power bristle against the cloy of the wards’. Before she could begin speaking the incantation, Jay and Aladdin walked into the room.

“Hey,” Jay said. Mal scanned him over. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up, and his hair had fallen out of its bun, but he didn’t seem to be injured.

He was smiling a little too. Thankfully, it wasn’t the fake smile he’d been wearing for his parents all evening, that alternated between so tight it looked pained or so wide it became theatrics. Mal exhaled in relief.

“Hey,” she said. She inclined her head to say are you okay?

“I’m good. Sorry about before. All these changes have been kind of…a lot.”

Mal snorted, “You keep us waiting her for the big revelation that this has been ‘a lot?’”

“Okay, it’s been a lot and stressful and weird.  But we talked, and I think we’re cool now?”

“Cool?” Jasmine said, like she didn’t know the word.

“Cool,” Aladdin said. He was beaming. Mal looked at the two of them and their tousled clothes and hair. What the hell had they been doing?

Jasmine asked something in Arabic. Aladdin and Jay nodded, and Jay said something back. Jasmine laughed and said something else, softer. Jay said yes and then turned to them.

“Uh, we’ll be right back. You guys could go, if you’re tired,” Jay said. Mal shook her head.

“Or eat cake?” Aladdin said.

“Cake and stay,” Mal said. She wasn’t giving the princess that much credit yet, even if the vibe now felt significantly improved.

“Okay, I’ll grab the cake,” Aladdin said. Jasmine led Jay out of the dining room. He looked back and mouthed “it’s okay.”

Jay had just literally flown. The adrenaline of that still coursing through his body was maybe the only reason he wasn’t afraid to face his friends or to accept his mom’s request for a moment alone.

She pulled her jacket and his out of a closet and led him outside to the front steps of the embassy. Apparently, his parents both shared a preference for having emotionally loaded conversations outside. The street was quiet. She leaned on the bannister and pulled her coat tight around here.

“I like it out here,” she said, “I like the sound of the traffic.”

“It’s nice,” he said.  

“I think I owe you a lot of apologies,” she said, “I know you don’t want to hear them, but maybe I can get them all out tonight and then just move on?”

“Okay,” he said, “That’s kind of what me and Aladdin just did.”

“Okay. First is a blanket one. I’ve been making a lot of missteps since you came back.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. There’s no playbook,” he said. She held up a hand.

“I feel so much guilt for how you were lost and all the little things I didn’t get to do. I just sort of kept having ideas about nice things to do for you, and you never said anything, so I didn’t stop. The colleges, the shirt, even your jacket tonight.”

“You’re right. It really isn’t warm enough. I just like it because Evie made it for me. It’s actually, it was made out of different wallets I stole.”

She looked closer and then laughed, a genuine laugh, coarser than he’d expect. She ran her finger over the thick seams that held the different leather pieces together.
“That’s hilarious,” she said, “I should have one made for your father.”

“Carlos helped get enough wallets. Mal painted the back too. It was a gift. I never got a lot of gifts,” he said.

“That’s so sweet. I didn’t know. I will stop suggesting replacing your clothes,” she said.

“I mean, I could use some new sneakers. Don’t go crazy,” he said. She laughed. It really was a nice sound.

“I also feel like I should apologize for move-in day,” she said.

“We don’t have to rehash it. You didn’t know.”

“I was so jealous,” she said, “Jafar had this healthy, perfect son, and my boy was dead. If I’d only thought about the coincidence of Jafar having a son that age for two more seconds before leaping to resentment. I was always too hot-headed for my own good.”

“I am too,” he said.  She smiled for a second and then looked at him straight on.

“He hit you,” she said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yeah,” he said, “It sort of stopped when I got bigger. I made it stop.”

Jay remembered the day he had grabbed Jafar’s hand as it came flying towards his face. Jafar looked at him, now nearly eye level. From then on, it would rarely be fists, just threats and insults.

Jay knew that Jafar knew that Jay could physically overpower him if it really came down to it, but Jay would still flinch and go yessir if Jafar spoke with enough bite. No matter how tough his rep was in the Isle streets, he was always little in his father’s house. He thought that was what family meant.

“When you went missing…I didn’t know I could feel pain like that,” she said, “You were my first. My heir, who I was going to share everything with. It was like my heart had been expanded only to be crushed. Then there was the searching, the false leads and disappointments. After a year…you were just a baby. The chances of survival were so slim.

“And now…I can’t stop thinking about you with Jafar in that terrible place. All my awful scenarios happened, and I wasn’t there to protect you. Despite everything, you grew up into this confident, brave person, and I missed it. I keep trying to make up for lost time, like if I can do all the normal mother things now, it means I got some part of the last sixteen years back. But you are your own person, with your own experiences.”

“I really do want to know you guys,” Jay said, “I just need to take it slow. I’m not ready to move to Agrabah and play prince, okay?”

She nodded, “Okay. But may I ask one thing of you?”

“Sure?” he said.

“Never again think you are not good enough for this family or for your home. You never have to do a thing to earn our love, and nothing you’ve ever done could take it away.”

“Okay,” he said, and Evil, he felt the tears coming back again. He took a deep breath.

“One last thing, and then we can eat some of your birthday cake,” she said, “I’m sorry about the watch. Your friends explained how it must have been overwhelming.”

“It’s okay,” he said, “It really is nice.”
“You don’t have to accept it. It’s just that I didn’t show you its best feature. May I see it?” Jay pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to her. She turned the rim of the face, and a golden arrow appeared, pointing to his left.

“Woah,” he said.

“It’s enchanted to point to the palace so no matter where you are, you can find your way home,” she said.

Maybe it’d just been a long night, but the tender way she said home twisted something in Jay’s throat. It didn’t matter if it was a palace he didn’t remember. It was a building where people who really cared about him could be found. It was a roof you could always sleep under. It was a place where you weren’t left in the cold. Jay knew the worth of that.

Chapter Text

Carlos had been learning a lot about himself lately. It turns out when you weren’t concentrating on finding food and avoiding your crazy mom and trying not to die-but-not-die, you had a lot of time to just think.

First, he learned he wasn’t that shy, his predominant trait for so long. When he could finally relax enough to be reasonably confident that no one had any hidden weapons or that his mom wasn’t lurking around a corner, he could even be sort of outgoing. He got on with the Robotics Club like gangbusters. It was sort of like being popular, except it wasn’t just happening because people were scared of him or his friends.

He had so much more to learn. He was tearing through all his classes, even the college-level ones. His body was used to staying up late to run through the streets or finish Mother’s chores. His classmates here seemed so lazy, taking naps in the common rooms and lying on the grass, without even a book in hand. Carlos kept moving at the same speed he always did, just without the threats that made him unable to stop. There was an Auradonian nudge in the back of his head that thought this wasn’t particularly healthy, but if he wasn’t getting hurt and if he liked the work, he didn’t care to stop.

Sometimes, he still had nightmares though. He’d be back in Hell Hall, and he hadn’t finished his chores. The front door slammed. Mother was home. He could smell her cigarettes. She was always lucid in his dreams, able to singularly focus on her anger at him. His face was wet with tears.

“Mother,” he’d plead, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Carlos.”

He opened his eyes. It was dark, and he was in his bed. In Auradon. His heart was still racing from fear. His face was wet, with some tears but mostly from dog drool where Dude had licked them away.

He put his arms around the dog lying next to him. His animal smell and the texture of his fur rooted Carlos back to reality.

“You okay, ‘Los?”

Carlos turned his attention to the one who’d woken him up. Jay was sitting on the edge of his bed, wearing just the basketball shorts he slept in.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice thick from sleep, “Thanks, Jay.”

“Bad dream?” Jay said.

“Yeah. You woke me before it got worse,” he said. He could feel his heart rate was almost normal again.

“Good,” Jay said. Then, for some reason, instead of going back to his own bed, Jay laid down next to Carlos. Carlos scooted over a bit to give him room, but Dude was sitting on his right. Jay didn’t seem to mind the fact that their sides had to be pressed against each other.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jay said.

“Not much to talk about,” Carlos said.

“Okay,” Jay said.

“Did I wake you?”

“No, I was up.”

The ceiling fan whirred above them. It was still muggy in the room though. The weather had been getting warmer. Carlos’ forehead was a little sweaty.

“Why were you up?” Carlos said.

“Just thinking,” Jay said.

“Woah, special occasion?” Carlos said. Jay elbowed his side.

“Shut up,” he said, “It’s so quiet here. I thought I’d get used to it by now.”

“Yeah.”

Jay wanted to talk about something. He’d go in circles until he figured out how to come out with it. Carlos relaxed into the mattress and waited.

“In town, everyone was so on top of each other. The walls were thin. People’d scream at each other, babies cried, radios going all night. But the quiet is creepy.”

“Sometimes, yeah,” Carlos said.

“Was it quiet at your house?”

“Not really,” Carlos said. Or quiet but not calm. But Carlos didn’t want to go into the specifics of the place he’d just had a nightmare about. Jay didn’t either. Carlos waited.

“There’s this trip. Auroria U wants me to do a campus visit. They’re a Division 1 team.” There it was.

“Okay,” Carlos said, “So…you want to go?”

“It’s far,” Jay said, “I’d have to stay overnight. They told me I could stay in a dorm with a tourney guy, but…I don’t like the odds of one Isle guy surrounded by a hundred Auroria dudes. That’s where Audrey’s from.”

“You’re afraid of Audrey?”

“Uh, if there was a hundred of her and they had access to tourney sticks- yeah, a little,” he said, “But I don’t have hotel money, and Jenkins doesn’t want me staying off-campus unsupervised.”

“Why can’t he take you?” Carlos said.

“He’s got a thing that weekend. Very annoying of him to have a life outside of making my tourney dreams come true.”

“Would I count as an adult chaperone?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Damn. Well. I do know two adults who are kind of obsessed with you.”

“Yeah,” Jay said, “I know.”

“Do you not trust them yet?” Carlos said. He moved his head a little so he could look at Jay’s face. He was staring at the ceiling.

“I think I kind of do,” he said, “This is just a big thing. Do you trust them?”

“They’re not my parents,” Carlos said.

“I think I need to take this to the group,” Jay said, “Because I know the girls will have opinions.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty reliable for those.”

Jay sat up, and Carlos could see the curved vertebrae sticking out of his back. A part of him wanted to reach out a finger and trace it all the way down.

Jay looked over his shoulder to look at Carlos. Maybe it was thickness of the humid air, but Carlos could feel something waiting to be asked in the silence.

“Wanna run with me tomorrow?”

Yeah, that wasn’t what Carlos had in mind.

“You’ve gotten way faster than me,” Carlos said, “You’ll leave my scrawny butt in your dust.”

“We’ll keep pace. You’re just out of practice,” Jay said, “And you’re not scrawny.”

Carlos snorted. Dude raised his head and looked at him.

“You’re full of shit,” Carlos said, “Flattery gets you nowhere.”

“No, you’re full of shit,” Jay said, “You’ve grown at least two inches since we got here. And you’ve gotten, like, broader.”

To prove his point, Jay put his hands on Carlos’ shoulders and pushed lightly on them.

Carlos’ heart rate sped right back up. In his own bed in the dead of night, Jay was leaning over him, shirtless, and touching him. His face hung over Carlos, his teasing smile like a cradle’s mobile. His teeth so improbably white- the Isle didn’t have dentistry, how were they so white? Objectively, it looked like Carlos was about to be kissed.

But the moment passed. Jay removed his hands and got up off the bed, as if time hadn’t stopped for him.

“Night, ‘Los,” he said, as he got into his own bed.

“Night,” Carlos squeaked. He buried a sweaty hand in Dude’s fur again. The room felt even warmer than before. Carlos wanted to throw open a window, get some air.

Jay had always been a place Carlos’ mind wandered to. A thing he noticed. Sometimes, even, a fantasy, considered in the rare moments there was the luxury of indulging such distractions.

There was never the time or the energy or the boldness to relegate those thoughts to anything but a passing whim.

Yet now, Carlos had all this time to think. And he was doing a lot more than noticing. He couldn’t move on so quickly, especially when Jay could be so touchy and so caring.

Jay saw Carlos as just a friend. Well, more than a friend, but in the same way he treated the girls. Jane had told him once that when they first got there, people debated over whether Mal or Evie was Jay’s girlfriend since he was always putting arms around them and whispering in their ears. Nobody ever wondered about Jay and Carlos.

Almost nobody.

He knew Jay liked guys. Carlos tried to avoid the crowded, shady clubs of the Isle for obvious reasons, but he’d been dragged there by his friends more than once. He’d seen the kinds of guys Jay danced with. They were tall and strong like Jay himself. They easily fell for his smiles and didn’t flinch when someone tried to touch them.

They weren’t like Carlos.

Carlos threw an arm over his eyes and tried to hold in a groan of despair. He almost wished to have another nightmare. At least then his thoughts would have somewhere else to go.

j: gang meeting 8 pm, the roof of the dorm

c: copy that

m: suuuure

e: why the roof?

j: ur all out of practice with climbing

j: and it’s cool

“It’s not cool. It’s freezing,” Evie said.

“Here,” Mal said. She took Evie’s hands and cupped them together in hers. Then she blew into them. A bit of smoke came out, and Evie relaxed considerably.

“Well, that’s handy,” Evie said.

“It’s a dragon fae thing,” Mal said, “I’m a portable heater.”

“Do me,” Carlos said, holding out his hands.

“You guys are babies,” Jay said, “It’s fine up here.”

“It’s windy,” Carlos whined.

“Just a nice, bracing breeze,” Jay said.

“Why did you call us here?” Mal said.

“Auroria University might be recruiting me,” he said.

“Jay, that’s great!” Evie said, “That’s a very prestigious school. I wish I had my binder with me.”

“Their tourney team’s pretty good. The coach has a good record, and Jenkins thinks they’re set up to be a contender in the next few years. Their last few starting forwards all got drafted to play pro.”

“Sounds good,” Mal said, biting her nail, “You are in Audrey’s homeland so I likely would not be visiting, being persona non grata there.”

“It is definitely a school for the upper crust,” Evie said, “They have a preparatory school attached. Remember Audrey had some friends who went there visit?”

 “Were those the ones who annoyed Lonnie so much she basically moved into our room for a week?” Mal said. Evie nodded. Jay remembered Lonnie complaining about that during B.E.A.S.T. practice.

“There’s good and bad people everywhere though,” Carlos said.

“True,” Jay said, “I didn’t really want you guys here to talk about that though. The school told Jenkins they want me to visit. They said I could even go the weekend after next. They’ll put me up and everything.”

“It’s pretty far,” Evie said.

“Decent three hours away. Foreign, possibly hostile territory. If anything happened…” Mal said.

“I know,” he said, “Jenkins can’t take me. I was going to ask my parents. Things have been going good with them, but there were those issues before. You guys were my family first, and I got all twisted up because I wasn’t consulting you so…do you guys trust them? Is this a good idea?”

“Hmm,” Evie said, “I don’t want to trust too easily again. But you did say things have been better, right? No more pressuring?”

“No. They relaxed, definitely. I’ve been less nervous when I’m with them. That’s how it’s supposed to be, right?”

“Yes, let’s ask this panel of experts on normal parental relationships,” Carlos said.

“I felt awful when you ran out of dinner that night, Jay,” Mal said, “I’m supposed to take care of you, and the people I vouched for hurt you. In our rules, I’d be an idiot to trust them twice.”

“Mal, I don’t blame you for that. You always watch my back.”

“I should have watched closer, clearly,” she said.

“I was the one hiding stuff! You’re not all-knowing! And it’s not like this is some random trying to stab us in the markets. No one was trying to hurt anyone. They’re not evil. They just made mistakes. They might hurt me again, but I don’t think it’ll ever be on purpose which is saying a lot.”

“It sounds like you’ve made up your mind,” Mal said, “If you think that, then I trust your judgment. And you’re actually being honest right now. I really should have known you were upset before but just because you’re a shit liar.”

Jay scoffed, “I’m a better liar than you.”

“You couldn’t even make that sound believable,” Evie said.

“It’s that honest face,” Carlos said, reaching out to pinch Jay’s cheek. He swatted him away.

“Fuck you guys,” Jay said.

“You talk to your mother with that mouth?” Evie said.

“I’m telling on you,” Carlos said, “Tsk-tsk. Not very princely at all.”

“The only thing is…we were supposed to go to the Isle this weekend,” Mal said.

“Oh, Evil, sorry, Mal, I forgot,” he said, “I don’t have to go to this.”

“No, you should,” she said, “These kinds of opportunities aren’t just popping up for kids like us. I didn’t need you to come anyway.”

“But I want to.”

“Then come on the next one,” Mal said.

“But who will watch your back?”

“Again, me. And Hawkins. And Uma.”

“You trust Uma on that turf? She was there more recently than you,” he said.

“She’s smart enough to know any power grabs on the Isle are worthless compared to what she could do here,” Mal said, “Maybe I could ask her to bring her muscle. Harry or Gil.”

“Better ask Harry. Gil talks to his family and might tip them off. You need someone who can keep their head, if things go south. Harry’s adequate in a fight and has gotten a lot tamer since coming here and getting away from his dad.”

Jay wondered if that was letting on too much, but Mal took it in with a nod. He was usually the intel guy in the group, so his friends thankfully didn’t ask how he was so up to date on the pirates’ inner dynamics.

“I’ll ask for Harry then,” Mal said, “I’m not too concerned on that front. I’ll have magic on my side.”

“Wouldn’t that make you more of a target? Someone like Ursula can smell magic,” Carlos said.

“It’s untraceable. It isn’t even called into existence unless my life is threatened,” Mal said, “It’s neat as hell.”

Carlos opened his mouth to ask another or another thousand questions, but Evie spoke first.

“Can we go indoors now?” Evie said, “Jay, is your matter settled?”

“Yes. Meeting disbanded,” Jay said, like how they used to. Back then they’d slink off to their respective corners of the Isle, walking backwards in case an ally turned foe and stabbed you in the back. Tonight, they moved as one back to the same room.

Mal: i’m short on time. want to just meet in my room?

Shrimpy: yea omw

Mal: ok I’m 3B

Shrimpy: yeah ik

Mal: ?

Evie was a woman of science. When presented with research-based, objective evidence, she took the data and stated her conclusion with clear-eyed reason.

Her original hypothesis stated that Evie could enjoy a purely physical relationship with Uma.

Her conclusion stated that that hypothesis was incorrect.

Her data included the fact that a couple of times they’d met up but hadn’t even hooked up. They’d just get talking and hours passed like no time at all. Then they’d only stop because someone needed them or curfew. Otherwise, Evie thought she could have just kept going.

Even when Evie was alone, she found herself imagining things she wanted to say to Uma. She’d pull up her contact to text her, but it felt like breaking their rules. Evie would erase the message every time.

With herself, Evie had to be honest about her findings. She had feelings for Uma. Beyond friendship or attraction. She liked her, more than she’d liked any crush before. Hell, more than she liked Mal. That was a younger girl’s fancy. This went deeper.

If Evie told Uma this, she’d surely chase her away. Uma didn’t want a girlfriend, especially not one as soft as Evie. Then her own weak spots would be on display for the whole world to see.

Evie would have to learn to settle for silent pining. It was still a lot. Since things cooled down with Jay, they were seeing each other almost every day. Yet when she was gone, Evie missed her. She wondered if this ache would get worse over time. Evie could barely handle it as is. She was constantly afraid that one day in the middle of bickering she would just blurt out how she felt and the whole thing would fall apart.

This is why she had a new system that when these feelings arose, Evie would go somewhere and cool off. She’d sew until her fingers cramped and then answer Uma’s texts only after she’d gotten her most intense feelings out of her system.

Under this system, Evie had made two shirts, a knit sweater, and an intricately embroidered ballgown.

After romantic daydreams consumed all her headspace in class, Evie turned to her dorm, thinking of a dress she’d promised to make Dizzy Tremaine for Parent’s Day. 

She opened the door, and either her daydreams were getting really out of control or Uma was in her room, sitting on her bed.   

“Uhhhh,” Evie said, her mind going blank. Gods, this was Chad all over again. Evie feels some feelings and immediately loses the ability to put two thoughts together.

Uma had turned to look at her, smirking adorably. Mal also turned to her, from where she was sitting on her own bed. Okay, this was definitely not the daydream come to life if Mal was also featured (unless her fourteen-year-old brain was co-authoring).

“Hey,” Mal said nonchalantly.

“Hey,” Uma said, just as casually. She looked really cute today. Her hair was pulled back with a bandana, and she was wearing that puffy-sleeved blouse that left her shoulders bare. Don’t stare so long, Evie.

“Hey…” Evie said, “What’s going on?”

“Uma’s helping me with the Isle stuff,” Mal said, “We can go if you need the room.”

“I’m fine,” Evie said, “I just didn’t expect to see her here.”

“I should go anyway,” Uma said, “I have a thing.”

“Okay. We’re meeting next week to go over logistics and the agenda.”

“Yeah, yeah, text me the details,” Uma said, sliding off Evie’s bed, “Let me know if you desperately need my help remembering lowly commoner’s names or what it’s like to not have servants to floss your teeth.”

Mal snorted, “I’m impressed you know what flossing is, tartar-sauce-breath.”

They grinned at each other, with barely any malice.

The gang rivalry’s root cause had been their earthshaking, middle-school break-up. Now all that petty heartache was gone, replaced by a chumminess that undersold the barbs they were trading. That made a possessive part of Evie that she didn’t know she had snarl.  

If someone wanted Mal but couldn’t have her, you would literally be the second in line, said a voice that sounded a lot like Mother.

Uma walked out with barely a glance at Evie on the way. She might as well be furniture.

“What was that?” Mal said when she’d left.

“What?” Evie said.

“The room dropped ten degrees when you walked in and saw Uma.”

“I…just didn’t know she would be here,” Evie said.

“Was it because she sat on your bed?” Mal said.

“No,” Evie choked out. If she only knew.

“I know we still keep the face up, but I don’t actually hate the pirate kids anymore,” Mal said, “It’s a bit juvenile.”

“Neither do I!” Evie said.

“Okay,” Mal said, “I just got a weird vibe. I kind of need Uma on my side for this school stuff. She totally made up a fake excuse to leave.”

“It wasn’t fake,” Evie said automatically.

“How do you know?” Mal said.

Because it’s Wednesday, and Uma has her waitressing shift with Annoying Jared Who Tells Boring Stories but also there’s the old ladies who have book club and will leave her big tips and ask her what the young people like to get up to these days. And I know all this because we’ve been hooking up for months but also she became one of the people I talk to the most and I haven’t told you and now I have feelings I cannot express properly.

“Uma’s not that sensitive,” Evie said instead.

“She does have feelings,” Mal said.

“I know that!” Evie said, “Look, I didn’t mean for it to be a thing? If you want, I’ll chase down Uma right now and apologize.”

“You don’t have to go that far,” Mal said.

“I’m doing it!” Evie said, turning on her heel and walking out the room.

She didn’t have to walk far. Just a few steps away, Uma was standing there, waiting with a wide grin on her face.

Evie barely looked over her shoulder for passerby before striding forward to push Uma up against the wall and plant a kiss on her, cupping the other girl’s jaw just tightly enough for emphasis. 

“Don’t leave me like that again.”

<1 Missed Call (3:14 PM)>

<1 Missed Call (11:15 AM)>

<1 Missed Call (6:44 PM)>

Mal had been in a meeting with two early childhood education experts discussing elementary school curriculums when someone’s phone rudely buzzed.

One buzz and a quick shut-off she should forgive. But then it buzzed a second and a third time. Evil, if anyone had ever shown such insolence in her presence before, they would have swiftly lost their fingers. Nevermind the fact that she was attending this after a full day of school and another meeting on school lunches and another night where she spent more time tossing and turning than sleeping.

“Who’s phone is that?” she snapped, trying to rein the angry green crowding her vision.

“I think it’s yours, ma’am,” Ben’s loaned secretary, Penny, whispered to her.

“No, it isn’t,” Mal said, looking at her still, purple-cased phone on the table next to her. Everyone made a show of checking their pockets. Mal looked down and realized the buzzing was coming from beneath the table where her leather satchel sat on the floor.

“Excuse me,” Mal mumbled. She bent over to open the flap and saw the light coming from the burner phone. There was only one person it could be.

She reached down and pressed the side button to end the call.

“My apologies,” Mal said, “Where were we?”

The meeting ended without any more interruptions, but on her ride back to campus, the phone buzzed again. She declined the call again.  

She had tried with her father once already. There was no use in prolonging the unpleasantness. It was better to pretend it never happened, while neither side had much skin in the game.

Look at Evie, who forced herself to check in on her mother’s well-being once a month, despite the fact that she’ll always need a day to recover from the witch’s mind-games.

Mother told her once that every person you loved was another opening for vulnerability. Mal had enough openings. Her friends. Ben. Her work. Herself. She was going to be queen maybe one day. She would not lower herself to a deadbeat father’s need for twisting the knife. 

Mal wanted peace and quiet in her bedroom. Instead, she found Jay watching soap operas.

“What are you doing here?” she snapped. He was sitting on her bed, with a textbook open in his hands while The Countess of Camelot played on the TV at full volume.

“Carlos has the Robotics Club in ours,” he said, “Evie said I could chill here.”

“You’re on my bed,” Mal said. She took the remote and turned off the TV.

“Woah, that’s the new episode! They just found out Sir Ethan’s father survived the cruise accident!”

“Who cares!” she snapped.

“What’s up your butt?”

“I’ve just had a long day,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Come over here. You look tired,” he said, putting his textbook to the side and opening up his arms. Mal was too tired to fight it. She dropped her bag on the ground and climbed on the bed, crawling on top of Jay to lay her head on his chest. She closed her eyes, feeling her weariness abate as she listened to his steady heartbeat.

“It’s been a while since we’ve done this,” she murmured into Jay’s shirt after a minute or two. All four of them had been mostly sticking to their own beds. During their first months here, they always slept in one room, scheming until they were too tired and then switching off guard duty while the others slept.  

“I know,” he said, “You have Ben now. I didn’t want to…”

“Right, if we snuggled too much, Ben might fight you for my honor.”

“And then I’ll have to kick Ben’s butt, and I’ll go to jail for treason, and it’ll be a whole thing,” he said.

“It’s not the same. We’re family,” Mal said, “I will not be deprived of cuddling due to backwards heteronormative trappings.”

“Gods, I get it, you’ve been reading a lot. Stop showing off,” he groaned. She smiled.

“Long day?” he said.

“They just get longer and longer,” she said, “I don’t want to talk about it. Tell me about your world. How are the parentals?”

“They’re good. We’ve been video-calling. Sometimes texting. It’s a lot more relaxed. The distance might kind of help. They told the rest of their- our- family.”

“How’s Dalia? Besides, really cute,” she said. Jay had sent pictures to the groupchat of them meeting over video-call.

“Still pretty cute. She has, like, this snooty voice she does as a joke. She told my dad his shoes looked like soup. It was-” Jay cut himself off, smiling so wide his face might crack in two “Like, yes, she’s six, but she’s as funny as an adult is.”

“I want to meet her,” Mal said.

“She’s coming with us to Auroria,” he said, beaming, “You can see us off.”

“I’d like that,” she said. She liked the cool big brother thing for Jay. There was such a sweetness in him these days. Mal could almost feel it was in her too. Almost.

“So how does it…how does it feel?” she said. She couldn’t look him in the eyes. Instead, she stared at a hair-thin line on his neck. She’d put it there herself. He’d been hurt, and she didn’t want the pain to be drawn out.

“What do you mean?” he said.

“To have parents,” she said quietly, “Who care.”

Jay put a hand on her head before he spoke, “It’s nice. It’s weird. Sometimes, it feels overbearing just how much they’re paying attention. The stuff they remember. Maybe if I was younger when I found them, it would have changed things more, but it’s still nice. Like having two more people watching my six.”

“Safe?” she said.
“Yeah. Safe,” he said.

“I talked to my dad,” she said.

Jay started to sit up in surprise and then froze and laid back down, staring at her with big eyes.

“You did?” he said. She nodded.

“How?” he said.

“I got one of the cellphones to him. We’ve never talked before. I thought it could be…I don’t know.”

“Was it bad?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. He made this joke, and I just…I couldn’t take it being hard. After convincing myself my mom loved me when she didn’t. I can’t do that twice,” she said. She huffed and sparks came out of her mouth.

“Ah!” Jay said, angling his face away from the fire and sitting up.

“Sorry. On top of this, I also have delayed dragon-fae puberty to deal with,” she joked weakly.

“He doesn’t get to treat you like that. I should go down into his stupid mine shaft and- “

“Wait. You know who he is?”

“Uh, yeah. I think so,” he said, “I mean, it is Hades, right? I know you never said so, but I heard talk.”

“I thought my mom and I had kept it a big secret. I’ve only told Evie,” Mal said.

“Jafar said something to me once about it. And Hades had asked about you before so it lined up.”

“What? When did you guys ever talk?”

“Since he’s kind of a recluse, he’d paid kids to get stuff from my dad’s shop for him or buy him groceries. I skimmed off the top once, so after that, he asked other kids. The Facilier’s did it. Maybe it was just because he lived near town, but it was always people that we knew. He’d ask for news too, gossip around town, and he asked about you.”

“About me specifically?”

“Yeah. He thought it was funny when I’d brag about how badass we were. I didn’t think it was that notable then. Lots of people were curious about you and your mom. He was…I don’t know.”

“No, say it.”

“Obviously if he’s been not right to you, that means more than whatever I’m remembering. He just gave off a different vibe than other adults. He didn’t enjoy having any power over kids. I mean, he really did pay me, for one. He could have easily just threatened me. His rep’s scary enough. But he’d make these wry little jokes, give me my coin, and tell me to get lost. Sort of gruff but not mean.”

“Why did you never tell me about this?”

“I didn’t want anyone else to know about the good gig,” he said, “I didn’t know he was your dad, back when I was doing it. And later…”

“I would have probably thrown a brick at your head if you brought him up.”

“Yeah,” he said, “I’m sorry it didn’t work out how you wanted.”

“I don’t know what I wanted. It’s confusing. I just want to put it behind me except now he keeps calling me,” she said.

“Woah,” he said, “What did he say?”

“I don’t know. I’m not picking up.”

“Oh,” he said, “Uh. I mean.”

“What?”

“Throw a brick at me if you want, but when our roles were reversed like five minutes ago…”

“This is entirely different!”

“Yeah, obviously, it’s just. I didn’t want to give someone a second chance because I felt hurt. But I did. And it sort of worked out.”

“That doesn’t mean it will for me. Your parents are nice. He’s the god of the dead.”

“Why did you want to call him in the first place? Did you guys ever talk before?”

“No. It was kind of Ben’s idea. I maybe was kind of jealous about your parents.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” she said, “I just don’t get why he keeps calling me. If he doesn’t care, just go back to ignoring me. Maybe to twist the knife?”

“I mean, if you’re not picking up, and you could always just destroy the phone, that’s not how knife-twisting really works?” Jay said, “Maybe it’s something else?”

“Yeah, but what?” Mal said. She groaned and rolled over off Jay’s chest and on to her back. Jay reached out and grasped he hand.

“Hey,” he said, “If it ever gets too much, my offer stands. I’ll take you back. Or anywhere. We’ll run away. Just say the word.”

She felt the corners of her mouth turn up. It wouldn’t happen. Mal had responsibilities, kids whose futures would be ashes if she didn’t fight for them. There wasn’t room to be selfish. Jay had a future here too and two nice people who’d be heartbroken if he ran off. Yet despite the impossibility, she still felt like Jay meant it.

“Yeah, maybe,” she said.

c: room is empty

j: does the smell of nerd linger

c: no but the stench of that dead joke does

j is typing…

j is typing…

j is typing…

c: do u need my big nerd brain to think of a comeback for you

j: im throwing ur robot off the roof

j: let’s see if that comes back

Chapter Text

Keeping It Casual: A Neurological Study of The Effects of One-Sided Sentimental Attachment

Conducted by Genevieve Grimhilde, Future PhD candidate

Hypothesis: Subject will successfully maintain casual hook-up agreement without revealing recently developed feelings of the emotionally intimate nature.

Materials:

• 1 Princess/Fashion Designer/Witch Doctor who has developed a hopeless crush
• 1 Pirate Queen and former nemesis who is likely indifferent
• A multitude of beds, restrooms, storage closets, and dark corners

Procedure:

Uma pulled Evie’s shirt over her head, exposing her royal blue bra. She threw it to the floor and covered Evie’s mouth with hers before Evie could protest that that shirt was silk.

Evie was lying in Uma’s bed, with the other girl straddling her waist. She liked this position, trusting Uma to take control and make her feel good.  It made her feel pleasantly pliant and adored.

Uma brought her kisses down Evie’s neck to her collarbone to the top of her breasts but then paused at her stomach. She traced a finger over the jagged line of skin there.

“What’s this from?” she murmured before bending down to press her lips to the scar.

“You don’t remember?” Evie said, running her hands up and down Uma’s thighs. Uma shook her head and went back to tease Evie’s neck with biting kisses. As Evie spoke, she was sure Uma could feel the vibration of Evie’s vocal chords against her mouth.

“Mal and I broke into your ship to steal a telescope at night. Not one of our brighter plans. You came out in your pajamas, sword in hand. You got me across the stomach.”

“I did do that,” Uma said. She paused in her kisses and looked Evie in the face, “Ouch.”

“Ouch,” Evie said, “Mal dragged me back to base, but I lost too much blood on the way. It was a deep cut. I died. I came back.”

Uma wasn’t looking at Evie anymore, but at the pillow next to her head.

“Ouch,” Uma said again, lifting her chin and freezing her face. Except her mouth wobbled just a bit.

“It’s fine,” Evie said lightly, “It’s happened to all of us. No harm done. Hey, the fact that I died made the barrier magic heal the scar way better than Mal’s terrible stitches would have so thanks for that.”

“It’s not funny,” Uma said.

“No, I guess not,” Evie said. It had been her first and only death. She had been shaken up for weeks, filled with a coldness neither blankets or radiators could solve. When she’d woken up, the first thing she saw was Mal’s guilty, crying face. Just because the barrier magic brought you back didn’t mean it wasn’t awful to die.

“I’m not mad at you,” Evie said softly. This was turning into kind of an emotionally loaded conversation to have while being straddled, but Uma had frozen rigidly in place and Evie had no idea how to bring them back to normal.  

“You can’t blame me. You broke into my ship,” Uma said.

“And I’m sure we’ve given just as bad back to you and your crew,” Evie said.

“Worse. Remember you guys usually beat us,” Uma said.

“It’s over now,” Evie said, putting her hands on Uma’s hips. Uma lifted her right leg and un-straddled, sitting crisscross on the bed next to Evie instead.

They’d had plenty of disagreements, but they’d never broached a topic personal enough that Evie couldn’t figure out what to say next. Should Evie leave? What if Uma never texted her again? No, she couldn’t go on this note.

“I remember that night,” Uma said, “My crew was still finding its feet. I was still sore about Mal.  Then she showed up with you.”

Evie didn’t know what to say. Her and Carlos’ joining of the gang came a while after Uma’s departure. At the time, there’d been plenty of gossip about it around school, and Jay had told her some context, later. She’d heard Mal’s version too, but the narrative changed based on how she was feeling about it. When she wanted to seem over it, she said she’d kicked Uma out because Uma wanted to be on top. When Mal was upset, the story was that Uma left. She’d abandoned Mal and tried to steal Jay too, to leave Mal all alone. With all the intense. juvenile emotions attached, Evie did not think an objective version of the events could ever exist.

“You were my replacement,” Uma said before laughing hatefully.

The word “replacement” set Evie’s guts on fire, like Uma had run a blade through them all over again and then twisted.

She got off the bed and picked up her now wrinkled shirt, putting it back on.

“You’re leaving?” Uma said. Evie just scoffed and looked for where she’d dropped her purse.

The pieces came together. Uma could have picked anyone at school if she wanted a simple hook-up. Evie thought she chose her because they had actual chemistry, but this was all about Mal. Evie would never be someone’s first choice, not even a stupid pirate Isle girl’s.

No, she’d learned her lesson from Chad. Evie deserved better than this. It hurt, but she would have a good cry, fix her make-up, and remember who she was and what she was worth.

“You just ruined a pretty good thing. I hope you know that,” Evie said. She threw her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door with all the dignity she could muster.

“Fine, you were just using me anyway,” Uma said, with a hurt that matched Evie’s own.

Evie paused in her storm-off and turned around.

“What does that mean?” Evie said.

“You were my replacement for Mal. In every way. But she moved on to the prince boy as soon as she could.  So, you found me, cut from the same cloth as your ex. I’m obviously an upgrade, but the point still stands.”

“You’re not like Mal at all,” Evie said, and she laughed for emphasis.

“Yeah, tell yourself that,” Uma said.

“I wouldn’t want to date Mal. I got over that crush a long time ago. You’re the one who’s been using me because you never got over Mal.”

“What? I got over that years ago!”

“Then why did you just bring her up while we were hooking up?” Evie said.
“Because I felt guilty that I murdered you for stealing my middle school girlfriend! And dumb that I’d been so jealous. And because I hurt you.”

“I told you I wasn’t mad about it,” Evie said.
“Then you’re an idiot,” Uma said.

“I’m not! We were all just trying to survive.”

“I didn’t even do it out of self-defense. I just wanted to get back at Mal. It was childish.”

“Okay, whatever your reasons. You were a kid. I still live and breathe. It was scary and it hurt, but it’s in the past with the hundreds of other terrible things we all did to each other on a daily basis.”

“So you can really look me in the eye and tell me you could ever care about someone who did that to you?”

Evie looked her in the eye, swallowed her pride, and said, “I know I could.”

Uma wasn’t great at hiding her feelings. It was a large contributing factor to the schism between her and Mal. When she disagreed with how things were being done or Mal lashed out to pull rank, Uma couldn’t just bite her tongue and pretend it didn’t bother her. She’d gotten better at it since she was twelve, but if you knew her well enough, you could read her clear as day.

So, right now, when naked hope flashed across Uma’s face, Evie let herself be carried away by it.

“I like you, Uma,” Evie said. The hope didn’t go away, and Evie let all the feelings she’d dammed now flow forth.

“I like you because you never tried to fit in here and you make me wonder why I do,” Evie said, “I like you because you play with the ends of your braids when you’re bored in class. I like you because you show up to Gil’s games and told off Harry’s teacher when he wasn’t grading him fairly. I like you a little bit more every time you roll your eyes at me. A lot of people have called me ‘Princess’, but you have your own way that I like the best.”

“Yeah?” Uma said. She was biting her lip in a way that suggested she was trying very hard not to have a big, fearless grin.

“Yeah,” Evie said. She was shaking. She tried to hold her own hand to make them stop, but then Uma stepped forward and took them in hers. She held them up, as if for inspection, before she spoke.

“I like that you take care of people, even when they’re saying they don’t want you to,” Uma said in a low, thick voice, “I like…your neat handwriting. I like how everything you do has intention. I like that prissy little act you put on because I know how you are when it’s just you and me.”

“I like Uma,” Evie said, “Just Uma. Not in place of or seconding anyone else.”

“And I like Princess Genevieve of whatever your castle’s called-“

“-Ariel Hall Dormitory Number 3B-“

“-Right,” Uma said, “And no one else. And I don’t care who knows it.” 

Evie let go of Uma’s hands and grabbed her face to pull her mouth to hers. She had stuff to prove in this kiss, and it wasn’t her most elegant work, but her points were definitely made, with great fervor and passion. Uma providing a compelling rebuttal as well, never one to passively receive fate. Only when she needed to catch her breath did Evie break apart and wind her arms around Uma’s neck, steadying her weight against Uma, who wrapped her arms securely around Evie’s middle.
“I have something to ask you,” Uma said, still breathing heavily.

“Yes?” Evie said, in her best coquettish tone. She felt like a heroine in one of her mother’s romance novels.

“I want you to be my running mate for student government,” Uma said.

“Are you kidding?” Evie said. She stepped back out of Uma’s arms, threw her head back, and laughed.

“That’s the only question you’re asking in this moment?” Evie said incredulously.

“No! I just had two things to ask you, and I was waiting until I had the guts to do one to do the other,” Uma said, “I think you’d be really good at it, and you’ll help me secure the preppy demographic.”

“I can’t believe you have seduced me for political capital,” Evie said.

“So…yes?”

“Ask me the other thing first. Woo me. Try to inject some ardor back into this moment.”

“Okay, just because I’m going to ask this doesn’t mean we have to be all Auradon and gross and sappy about it okay? We’ll do it like some tough Isle women.”

“I’m waiting.”

“Evie, of all aforementioned titles, will you be my girlfriend?”

“Yes, I will,” Evie said. She felt like she was made of marshmallows. She wondered how one could feel this happy. She thought of all the little synapses in her brain firing off serotonin, pumping her with this brilliant joy. 

All those years of pining over princes had led Evie to expect that finally entering a relationship should feel like emerging from a chrysalis, as if all life would go from static to effervescent beauty once some man finally chose her to love. Evie didn’t feel transformed by Uma. In fact, when she was around, she felt more herself than ever.

Conclusion: The hypothesis of this experiment proved completely false. The Subject couldn’t be happier.

u: pls come visit me at work

u: it’s dead here and im stuck with jared

e: noooo not jared

u: ive now heard about his exercise regimen TWICE

e: lol u really want me to come?

u: yes I bet cook will even make us free burgers

e: its pretty close to campus. someone might see us

u: its ok with me if its okay with u

e: its ok with me

u: ok

u: so…

e: i want my burger with cheese

u: :p

Magic Bean Coffee Shop Mobile Order App

Auradon City Unity Row Location

Mobile Order: 7:05 AM

1 x Kale Ginger Energy Boost Juice

1 x Cold Brew Red Eye

1 x Turmeric Latte (with Oat Milk)

1 x Hot Chocolate

“Can I have another sip of yours?” Mal said.

“No, your last sip was huge,” Carlos said, holding his hot chocolate out of her reach.

“You can get your own on the way back,” Evie said.

“But by then, all this caffeine will be running through my system, and the extra sugar will just make me nauseous,” Mal said, “Use your heads, people.”

“Do you want some of my juice?” Jay said. Mal glared back.

“I don’t know how you are even standing upright and caffeine free,” she said, “It’s so early.”

“My run really woke me up,” Jay said. That and his nerves for this weekend. He could have sprinted the rest of the way to the embassy. 

“A whole weekend without hearing sentences like that is starting to sound nice,” Carlos said. Jay punched him in the shoulder.

“You’re going to miss me,” Jay said, “Unless you’re having a big party in the room without me. Let me guess- the whole Robotics Club? Tons of chicks?”

Evie flicked the back of his head, “Chicks? Really?”

“Sorry. Carlos, will you be hosting lovely, smart young women of class and refined taste?” Jay said.

“Oh, yeah. Tons,” Carlos said.

At the embassy, the front door was open. Servants were carrying out suitcase after suitcase to load in the back of a tinted-window SUV. Overseeing this was a familiar six-year-old girl with long, black pigtails and a lavender dress.

“Dalia?” Jay said.  The girl turned around.

“Ali!” she yelled as she ran down the sidewalk to him. She stopped short a few feet in front of him so she could stare at Jay like he was an exotic bird.

“Hey, I’m Jay,” he said, switching into Arabic since his sister spoke that mostly, “Nice to meet you.”

“Princess Dalia of Agrabah the first,” she said, dropping into a wobbly curtsy, “Pleased to make your ‘quaintance. I said I wanted a new brother, but I thought you’d be a baby. I like your long hair. Could I braid it? I just learned how. Who are your friends?”

“This is Evie, Carlos, and Mal,” he said.

“She’s from TV,” Dalia said, pointing at Mal with wide eyes, “She’s a princess too.”

“Sort of,” Mal said. 

“Her hair looks like grapes. I want it,” Dalia said, “All my friends are tigers. Will you give me a piggyback ride?”

“Uh, sure,” Jay said. Carlos offered to hold his juice. Jay crouched down, and Dalia threw her arms around his neck. He stood up, holding tight to her. Probably wouldn’t be a good first impression if he dropped her on the sidewalk.

“You must be super strong. Papa said I’m reaaaally heavy.”

“It’s true. I am really strong,” Jay said.

“This is so cute. You guys have the same face!” Evie said, pulling out her phone for a picture.

“Jay could really rock these pigtails,” Carlos said.

“Dalia?” Jay’s mom walked out of the house.

“OVER HERE!” Dalia screamed next to Jay’s ear.

“Great, you’re here,” Jasmine said, “Good morning, kids. I see you’ve met Dalia. Dalia, don’t make Jay carry you around.”

“I didn’t!” Dalia said at the same time Jay said, “She didn’t.”

“We’re just finishing up loading the car,” Jasmine said, gesturing where somehow even more suitcases were still being brought to the car.

“This is a lot of stuff for one night,” Jay said.

“We may have overdone it, haven’t we?” she said, “Well, better over-prepared than under.”

“Princess, I love this casual look,” Evie said. Jasmine was wearing actual denim jeans and a big teal sweatshirt. It was an odd sight. 

“Thank you,” Jasmine said, “We are going incognito.”

“Hey, kids!” Jay’s dad said, as he walked outside. Aziz was following close behind him, “Woah, Jay, how are you holding that girl? She must weigh a thousand pounds.”

“I DO NOT!” Dalia screamed. She patted on Jay’s shoulder and said, “Put me down.” Jay gently lowered her to the ground, and she ran to their dad.

“Pick me up! I’m not that heavy!” she yelled at him. Aladdin put his hands under her armpits and contorted his face like he was using all his strength.

“Yeah, can’t do it,” he said.

“I could pick you up,” Aziz said.

“Only for five seconds,” Dalia said, accentuating ‘five’ like it was the worst burn in the world. Jay snickered.

“I think we’re ready to go,” Jasmine said, “Aziz, if you changed your mind and want to tag along, we can swing by the dorms and pack a bag.”

“I’ve got a lot of homework,” he mumbled.

“Okay,” she said, “Dalia, get in the car seat.”

“So, I’ll see you guys tomorrow night?” Jay said to his friends. He looked to Mal, “Be careful today. Bad luck.”

“Bad luck to you too,” she said, “Don’t do anything stupid. Watch your back.”

“Take pictures and notes,” Evie said, “Please bring back some reading materials.”

“Don’t die,” Carlos said. 

Jay scoffs, but it’s half-hearted. This was the longest time the four of them would be separated since the Isle, and there, the knowledge that someone was with their parents wasn’t reassuring.

“I won’t forget to text this time,” he said, thinking of his last college visit with Coach, before everything changed.

Jay got in the backseat next to Dalia. Their dad was actually behind the wheel, gleeful at the rare opportunity to drive himself (the compromise was an SUV full of security guards following behind).

Dalia chattered constantly for the first half hour, mostly to Jay, asking him questions and pointing out the passing scenery. He felt out of practice, but he usually knew how to handle kids. At least he knew how to handle the flinty ragamuffins that hung around the warehouse. They could tell he wasn’t sincere when he told them to fuck off, in a way that they knew Mal very much was. Jay taught some of them how to pickpocket in exchange for a cut. He showed them knife tricks too, and he was cooler about it than the sketchy guys who had taught him.

Dalia seemed a little young for knife tricks. She probably wouldn’t understand she could actually get hurt. This morning she’d just ran over to him and asked her to pick him up like he wasn’t practically a stranger. The possibility of danger wouldn’t feel real yet to her. He was told that was how kids were supposed to be.

c: hey guys anyone wanna go on a 10 mile run right now

e: yeah and then we can try out my new juicer

m: yeah and I was thinking after that we do like a beanie fashion show thing

j: im blocking all ur numbers

Harry Hook was doing a very good impression of a jungle gym right now.

Of course, for Dragon Hall had no playground. Just an empty lot where the youngest students ran around. Right now, the kids were playing a game where they saw how many of them could hang off of Harry Hook’s arms and legs until he fell to the ground.

Mal and Uma stood off to the side and watched. The kids were giving them a wide berth, and Mal could guess who the reason for it was. She had never mastered that approachable toughness thing Uma and Jay had down. She wasn’t trying to reform it now. She’d donned her old leathers again for this, and she kept that aloof look on her face she had perfected. If people thought she’d gotten soft, they wouldn’t respect her attempts to help them. It helped that her hometown was still wary of her for taking down her mother. No one had given them any trouble today. Hell, if these kids acted out, their parents probably told them Mal was going to get them.

All Mal really wanted to get them was an education. On that front, things were going well. Professionally trained teachers would be coming to work here next year, paired with the existing staff who had to up their standards to state-level if they wanted to keep their jobs and earn the real teaching salary. The logistics of that, providing free meals, and a thousand other things kept Mal’s head spinning.

“Perhaps our liege could provide the funding for some sort of physical recreation so the children don’t have to resort to piling on each other like dogs fighting for a bone,” Lady Tremaine said. She walked over to Mal and Uma and lit the pipe that sat on her desk for all the years she taught Mal. Jay had once tried to swipe it, and she’d boxed his ears.

“I’ll add it to the list,” Mal said, “Maybe this lot could be turned into a sports field.”

“You’d need turf. Nothing’s growing in this soil,” Uma said.

“Eliza, put that back where you find it, you insolent girl!” Lady Tremaine barked at a girl who had been slipping Harry’s wallet out of his pocket. Harry snatched it back with a teasing smile. He shook off the hangers-on and came back over to where they stood.

“Good catch,” Mal said to Lady Tremaine.

“Children need a close eye. Gods know their parents haven’t taught them how to behave.”

“Hey, I taught her that myself,” Uma said, smirking.

“If I remember correctly, stealing and lying was usually encouraged at school,” Mal said.

“There’s a difference between a healthy knowledge of scheming and resorting to the barbaric,” she said, “If I didn’t care for them to learn anything, I would not have wasted my valuable time at this dungeon for so long.”

Mal did have to give her that. Tremaine, Facilier, Yen Sid, and the others who formed the teaching staff had also taken the rare initiative towards communal benefit where most only looked out for themselves. Mal’s gang had been its own form of infrastructure, and she could appreciate the effort it took to keep something afloat on no resources. Mal had at least profited off the gang. Her teachers surely sunk more costs than they gained.

And all that time, a blank check from the mainland could have alleviated all that burden so teaching itself could be their primary focus. Mal’s math at a sixth-grade level when she left here. She knew kids who couldn’t even read.

She looked at the kids around the lot. Not that many, less than a hundred. She could manage that many. She could do that.

This survey had reminded Mal that she wasn’t doing this alone, no matter how much her time in the world of Auradon politics made her feel alienated. Uma and Harry would be here every week if they could. These teachers had started the work long before there was a king who took an interest in helping. Despite Tremaine’s comments about these kid’s rearing, there were parents who cared. A few had ambushed Mal’s tour to demand answers on what she was going to do for their children and how she better not just be snatching all their children for the mainland. It had taken Mal aback to remember that not everyone here was as selfish as Maleficent had been.

It shouldn’t have. She said that sort of thing all the time to the press and really anyone who gave her a chance.

Selfish as Mal was, the interaction also made her stomach twist with jealousy. It was one thing to envy Jay’s situation, but now she was green over any parent who wasn’t indifferent?

There was one solution. Or, a chance at one. Mal knew the risks, but it seemed worth it. If it went poorly, she’d have closure. If it went well…

“Hey, Uma,” Mal said, lowering her voice, “Do you think I could spare half an hour to take care of some business?”

Uma raised an eyebrow, “You want to go wandering around the Isle alone?”

“I know a back way in. I’ll be fine. But come after me if I haven’t returned by two,” Mal said.

“What the hell are ya getting up to?” Harry said, “Come after me, she says. Like we’re her little lackies.”

“It’s family business,” Mal said, giving a hard look. Family mattered to Uma. She’d left Mal just so she could adopt every wharf rat underfoot. 

“Be back,” Uma said, “I doubt your body man is letting us leave without you, and I’m not looking in every gutter for your corpse.”

“I can protect myself,” Mal said, patting the sheath on her thigh where her dagger was, “I’ll be back.”

Uma nodded and turned her attention back to the kids. Hawkins was standing in a corner, looking for people entering, not leaving. Mal carefully slipped into a nearby alley, trying to blend into the shadows in the old way. For good measure, she put a hood up to cover her distinctive hair.

The mines were right off town center, but this was her territory. She navigated the alleys, fences, and hidden crannies easily. When finding cover was impossible, she moved quick and quietly. People were less likely to mess with you if you walked with purpose, eyes forward, threatening to be more trouble than anything in your pockets was worth.

She ducked into the mine shaft. She’d never been here before, but she’d been told about the carts that took you deep into the earth. She pedaled on one, checking the time on the small wristwatch Ben gave her.

As she got closer, she heard loud guitars wailing and the sound of a dog barking. There were rumors too of the three-headed beast that her father kept. Fairy Godmother had given her a talisman that would allow her to call upon her magic in an emergency, but Mal hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

She dismounted the minecar-bike and when she saw blue, artificial light up ahead. The guitars and dogs still blared, but the music was also joined by a voice, singing along to the violent lyrics of the rock song.

Mal stepped into the cavern, turned into a living space. There were piles of records and scattered furniture and the tall speakers blaring both music and the barks.

When she talked to her father on her phone, she imagined him as tall as King Beast, towering over her with flaming blue hair and a mean sneer. He’d be wearing the spiky black leathers she saw him wear in the streets, with large platform boots making him even taller and more intimidating.

Instead, she found a man of average stature, dancing around his living room in a bathrobe, singing into a hairbrush.

Mal watched in shock as the oblivious god of the underworld bounced and twisted, his wet blue hair sending droplets around the room.

“Hello?” she said.

The god broke out of his routine with a start. He stared at her, and his features turned furious. Mal thought she saw a flash of blue fire flash at the ends of his hair.

“What the me are you doing here?” he roared.

“Interrupting the ballet, apparently,” she said. Mal had been carrying around this belief that this man could crush her in the palm of his hand. She started laughing so hard sparks came out of her mouth, tickling her tongue and making her laugh even harder. 

“This is my home! You are trespassing! I’ll call upon Cerberus and all the forces of the Underworld to remove you, little girl!” he yelled indignantly over her laughs.

“Forces of the Underworld? Does that include the little ghosties on your bathrobe?” she said. She just could not be afraid of him anymore. She stood up straight, throwing her shoulders back and putting her hands on her hips, like the queen of the Isle she was. 

“Alright, laugh it up. I’ll remember this on your Judgement Day, child,” he said. He lowered his haunches a bit and turned off his music.

“What are you really doing here?” he said,

“I thought it would be easier to talk to you in person than over the phone,” she said, choosing honesty.

“I don’t get it. Do you need something?”

“What could you give me?”

“A whole lot of coal?”

“I guess I should ask what you would give me,” she said, “But I know the answer as you’ve never given me anything.”

“More of this. I called you back, you know. You could have yelled at me over the phone plenty of times. I don’t know why you had to drag your cookies all the way here to do it,” he said, “Have you ever considered the greatest gift I could have given you is my distance?”

“Sounds like an excuse,” she said.

“You turned out great! You’re going to be queen! You’re tough! I am the stealer of souls and god of death. I would have given you nothing but nightmares, child.”

“You don’t seem so scary to me,” she said.

“You don’t understand. You’re mortal. I’m a god. I’m not supposed to come to your soccer games and read you bedtime stories. You would have been killed.”

“What do you mean? I did get killed, plenty of times on the Isle. I could get killed all the time, still. Chances of being killed have never been in short supply,” she said.

“Yeah, but that’s the same for anybody. You haven’t had a god come after you. You’re not my only kid. I’ve had- well, not as many as my brother, but it’s a high number. Since us gods are not vulnerable ourselves, we release our spite by threatening each other’s mortal children. Paying attention to you would just make you target practice for my brothers or my wife. Shrubbery can be put to terrifying uses. The few times I’ve tried to be around for my children’s mortal lives, it just landed them in Tartarus before they were old enough to fight back.”

“Huh,” Mal said. She had considered little about what a godly heritage actually meant. It was one of those large magical forces Auradon didn’t like to admit governed their lives. She read legends in class, but the practical dimension of it never figured.

“My children are always safer if I keep my distance,” he said.

“Which you did as best you could,” she said, “Staying underground and out of a sight. You did a pretty impressive job evading me for so long while we were trapped on the same tiny rock.”

“Thanks. I think so too. I mean, I could have left the Isle a long time ago so some of the challenge should be redacted as self-imposed,” he said.

“Is that another weird joke?” she said. He snorted and shook his head.

“My brother put me there for petty revenge, but a wave of a wand wasn’t actually powerful enough to keep me there. God trumps fae, any day. Don’t tell your mother I said that.”

“Then why would you stay there?”

“Well, I had to wait out my brother’s grudge for a bit or he’d just come up with something worse. I met your mom, and that was definitely interesting for a while. There was also my own spite. I was pretty pissed about all the resurrection magic that Beast asshole used to populate this place. Those were my souls to torture for all eternity, and he just took them back for his sick sense of justice? I decided that if he had his little cage, at least no one was going to die on it.”

Hades walked over to a makeshift kitchen and took a kettle off a stove. He pulled out a mug and poured water into it. He seemed to consider offering her a mug but didn’t.

“Do you mean…I thought the barrier kept people alive? It was part of the punishment that the villains had to live with their mistakes,” Mal said.

“Nope. Every time someone died, I slapped that soul back like a tennis ball. It was exhausting, especially when you lot got big enough to stab.”

“But why?”

“We gods are very petty, Mal. I’m also going to spit in Beast’s drink at your wedding. Really, are there no other boys in Auradon?”

“I get being petty but spending almost twenty years on that Isle would not be worth it just for that,” Mal said.

“Well. It had one other really good thing going for it.”

“What’s that?”

“Mal,” he said, turning his dark eyes on her, “Don’t embarrass me.”

This time she recognized the joke as a joke. Not a mockery, just how he talked. Once you knew him, you got used to it. He was hiding the feeling behind it.

Her father didn’t hate her. He didn’t know her, but he’d tried to keep her safe. He’d stayed on a hunk of floating garbage and protected her how he could. Every time she’d gasped back to life or held a friend while they did the same, it was her father’s breath in their lungs.

Safe, Jay had said of how his parents made him feel. Mal would have never labelled her childhood as safe, but there was that one notable way it could have been much more dangerous.

A few months ago, Mal had bargained away her whole self, scrubbing away her identity to be more palatable, to try and get her adopted kingdom to give a shit about the kids she’d left behind. Mal had to show them that her mother could be purged from her like an infection. It’d felt noble to sacrifice herself for the children, for her friends, for Ben.

But it wasn’t any way to live. She’d told Ben that if he couldn’t accept her whole fae self, he’d need a new girlfriend. She’d washed out the hair dye and made time for her friends again. But there was still a nagging question of how anyone could love the real her.

When looking at her father, who could glare and hide his feelings and made sparks fly off him just like she could, Mal felt something settle that she hadn’t realized was in suspense.

“I have to go,” she said, “But I don’t want to.”

“Yes, you do,” he said, “You’ve got a good life that you’ve built, kid.”

“I’ll be back,” she said, “At the end of term. I’ll come back. If you want.”

“I’ll be here,” he said, shrugging, as if he didn’t care.

But she knew better.

m: Sent a Picture

m: hook is like a kid magnet

e: awwww

c: wow who knew harry was such a softie

j: im printing this out and taping it to his locker

c: r u not hanging out with a 6 year old rn

j: Sent a Picture

j: yeah but harry doesn’t know that

Auroria University was obnoxiously green and clean and pristine. Every grey-bricked, ivy-covered academic hall defined refined. The shrubberies were perfectly pruned. The cafeteria was filled with organic food options. The tourney team performed their drills with an almost rehearsed rhythm, all of them looking uniform in their maroon practice wear and similarly muscled builds.

His parents certainly seemed impressed, enthusiastically going “ooh” and “aah” over every feature. You would think they were the ones recruiting Jay for this place.

“This stadium looks brand new,” his mother commented as Coach Marigold led them on a tour after practice. Jay let out of a low whistle of appreciation. It was even bigger than Auradon U’s.

“It seats sixty-thousand,” Coach Marigold said, “Construction was completed four years ago. It is completely state-of-the-art.”

“There is really nothing like seeing it packed on game day,” Austin said, a junior and defender on the team. He had a neat sheen of post-practice sweat on his dark skin.

“But does the school put all its funding into athletics?” Jasmine said.

“Of course not,” Marigold said, “Auroria’s students are achievers in all areas, and the school is invested in research, the arts, and a world-class staff of professors. Rest assured, I do not run the kind of program where student athletes can get automatic A’s.”

“We would expect nothing less,” his dad said.

“What subjects do you teach?” Coach Marigold said. Their cover was that his parents were Jay’s teachers who had kindly volunteered their weekend to escort the school’s ward.

“Oh, I teach…art?” his dad said. Jay almost facepalmed. He didn’t know how his dad survived on the streets if he was this bad at little white lies.

“I teach history,” Jasmine said, much more convincing.

“My sister actually goes to Auradon Prep,” Austin said, “Do you know her? Her name’s Audrey.”

Jay broke into a violent coughing fit.

“It’s not ringing a bell,” his dad said, “Big school.” It really wasn’t. Thankfully, Coach moved on to talking about the university’s other amazing qualities. Jay could feel this was about to wrap up.

Dalia tugged at Jay’s hand, “I want to play with the sticks.”

Jay grinned, “I could show you some moves.”

He turned to Austin and pointed at an equipment rack nearby, “Would you mind if I showed Dalia those?”

“Go for it,” Austin said. He smiled at Dalia. She shyly stepped behind Jay.

“Let’s take a look,” he said to her. Jay grabbed a stick and a ball. He held it low so Dalia could see and gave the ball a toss.

“You wanna try?” he said. She nodded and put her hands on it, giving a toss. Her balance was off, since the stick was big for her.

“Put your hands higher up on it. Then you have more control,” he said, moving them for her, “Okay, now try to throw it as far as you can.”

Dalia’s face broke into a big smile as she hurled the stick, the ball landing a couple feet away.

“Nice,” he said, offering a high-five.

“You’re going to get recruited too,” Aladdin said, walking over to them. He picked up a tourney stick too.

“Let me pass to you!” Dalia said. She picked up the ball off the ground and put it on her stick, tossing it to their dad. It went straight into the grass.  

“You can try overhand. You just got to make sure it doesn’t fall off,” Jay said, guiding her arms in position and holding the ball in place, “Okay, now.”

Dalia catapulted the ball, and it went far enough that their dad could catch it. 

“That was awesome,” Jasmine said, walking over. Jay turned to see Coach and Austin walking off the field.

“We’ll catch up with them tomorrow,” she said.

Those guys were nice and everything, but Jay felt him and his family relax once the strangers were gone. It was nice not to be doing the cover story. Dalia’s energy came right back, and she ran on to the field.

“Let’s play!” she said.

“How about street rats vs. princesses?” Aladdin said. Jay snickered.

“You’re going down,” Jasmine said, picking up a tourney stick.

You really couldn’t play a four man game of tourney, but they sure did try. His mom kept the stick low, dribbling it with grace. She was a good teammate, passing it to Dalia despite the fact that the girl almost always knocked it in the wrong direction, more focused on whacking the ball as hard as she could than aiming it.

Jay was impressed by his dad’s hand-eye coordination. They passed back and forth easily, and his dad scored their first goal. After that, Dalia changed strategies. She dropped her stick and grabbed the ball in her hands, making a mad dash to the goal.

“Cheater!” Aladdin yelled.

Jay retaliated by picking up Dalia and running across the field all the way into the opposite goal.

“TWO-NOTHING!” he yelled, holding up Dalia, who held up the ball. His parents had both stopped playing and were laughing hysterically.

The rest of the day was spent exploring the campus. Although their cover stories needed work, his parents were enthusiastically playing the role of tourists. His mom stopped to read every placard and sign. His dad grabbed a random student to ask for a picture of them all in front of the school’s sign, which was only a little mortifying.

No one recognized his parents or looked at them twice. They were like a regular family, from somewhere boring but nice. The only reminder of the outside world came later. His parents and Dalia were poking around the gift shop while Jay waited outside on a bench. He shot Mal a text for updates on her trip to the Isle. She should be back by now.

Because of that, when he saw him, Jay thought he was just making an association that wasn’t there. But no, that was 100% Anthony Tremaine out of the market streets and on this sunny quad, walking only a few yards away from him.

Jay stood up and took a step forward to get a better look.

“Tremaine?” Jay said.

The boy’s head whipped around, and for a second, he looked afraid. Evie and Mal had a soft spot for the Tremaine’s, but they weren’t blood. For example, they couldn’t get away with not paying protection, and if they tried, Jay was sent to shake them down. In a moment, he schooled his features into a blank mask, hiding any fear or shock at seeing Jay here so far from home. Unconsciously, Jay stuck his hands in his pockets and tilted his head, like an animal appraising a threat.

“If you are looking for valuables, surely you could find an easier target,” Anthony said. Fear was quickly replaced by snobbery, that aristocratic nose perfectly upturned.

Jay rolled his eyes, “You go here?”

“They do not allow ventures off the Isle of the Lost for weekend trips, do they?” he said.

“Not yet,” Jay said, “I didn’t know you were doing the program.”

 “Yes, the Isle’s power vacuum had become rather tedious.”

“Any gossip?” Jay said. It was impersonal enough a question, and one Anthony had always been reliable to answer.

“It’s been quiet. Maddy continues to assert dominance. Few buy it. She has shacked up with Gaston Deux. It’s touching to see two people with such mutual affection for bloodshed find each other.”

“Gross,” Jay said.

“Your father has had a string of good business deals. Grandmother is furious,” he said. Jafar and Lady Tremaine’s neighborly resentments had been building up for nearly two decades. If Jay brought something to Jafar stolen from a Tremaine, he got a hot meal and a sip of whatever Jafar was drinking as a reward.

“I’m sure you hear all about it,” Anthony said.

“I don’t talk to Jafar,” Jay said, sharper than he meant to let on. The idea of even Anthony associating Jay with Jafar was just so gross.

“Oh?” Anthony said, “How is the capital then and all our old chums?”

“Fine,” Jay said, “Dizzy is Evie’s shadow.”

“Yes, she keeps me abreast of all the details of Genevieve’s life. Did you know she switched shampoos?”

“Did they make you come here?” Jay said, “I know the powers that be have been splitting up family. Mal doesn’t like it. The Hook’s all got different placements too.”

“I took what I was offered,” he said, “I don’t mind not having to wipe a bunch of brats’ noses for once.” Anthony sounded almost disdainful enough to be believed. He wouldn’t trust Jay in a million years to share his affection for his little sisters and cousins, but Dizzy talked about Anthony like he hung the stars.

“Well, she’s doing well,” Jay said. He dropped his shoulders and flicked up a corner of his mouth. The relaxed gesture only seemed to make Anthony more suspicious. He opened his mouth to reply but then caught sight of something behind Jay.

“Don’t look now, but there is a very attractive family walking towards us,” Anthony said. Jay turned and saw his family coming over.

“Yeah, they’re with me,” Jay said, “It’s kind of a long story.”

“Please don’t bore me with the details,” Anthony said, “I should be off.” He turned and walked away a little too quickly to be casual.

“New friend?” his dad said.

“A guy I knew from the Isle,” he said.

“Oh,” his mom said, “Should we invite him to dinner?”

“We’re not really friends,” Jay said. He put on a smile and turned to Dalia, “What’d you get?”

“A wolverine,” she said, holding up the stuffed animal. It was the school mascot, wearing a little hoodie with the logo on it.

“Woah, that’s really scary,” Jay said.

“I know!” she said, her grin nearly matching the doll’s fangs.

Jay had worried that by the time they got to dinner, they’d have slid into awkward silence, but the conversation was easy. His dad told tales of magic and adventure. In Arabic, his dad’s words flowed more naturally, and Jay could distinguish the difference between his accent and Jasmine’s. Jay didn’t know these syllables could sound so soft. 

Very few Isle residents came by way of Agrabah. Jafar spoke a few different languages, but one of the only people who knew his mother tongue was Jay. Sometimes, Jay had to translate for him in the shop. He hated the fact that he had to rely on Jay and that Jay could know something better than he did. He’d blow up after the customer left, telling him he was stupid in both languages and how Jay must be a real idiot to spend all his time around the great Jafar and not have inherited a scrap of brains.

Even outside of working hours, Jafar just treated Jay like a particularly dumb employee. But sometimes Jay would be stocking the shelves while Jafar did the books, and his father would just start talking- about Agrabah, about the sorcerer who mentored him, about magic. He wasn’t speaking to Jay exactly, but Jay was there. When that would happen, he always thought that was how his father in his own way said he loved him, that he was glad to have someone to pass this down to.

It was never easy though. A good mood with Jafar was always haunted by the possibilities of a mood swing. It was never like tonight. It’d taken work for Jay to convince himself then that his father even wanted him around.

Jay had asked his parents to fly across the country to take him somewhere, and they just showed up. Even if they had nothing to say to each other right now, they still would have showed up. 

For just a second, Jay let himself feel wistful about this. While he was fighting pirates over garbage, he could have had eighteen years of eating delicious fries and talking sports. If Jay tried to really mourn that life lost, he’d be sad forever.

He really didn’t want to keep meeting people and seeing them look for Jafar in him. He’d always be from the Isle. and he wasn’t ashamed of that. But he didn’t want to lie about his family. He wanted the world to see them together.

Once he knew that, he didn’t see the point in waiting.

“I think I’m ready for people to know,” Jay said, “About us.”

His parents shared a surprised look.

“We do not to have rush into anything,” his dad said.

“We really can wait. The press doesn’t suspect a thing,” his mom said.

“The press will be annoying for a bit, but I can deal. I think it’ll be worth it,” Jay said, “I don’t want to have to hide every time we get a slice of pizza. We can go to stuff like this, and actually go together. Is that okay with you guys?”

“Of course!” Aladdin said, “I mean, I have to stop myself from bragging about you all the time.”

“It would be wonderful, especially if it meant we could see you more,” his mom said, “I can ask our team to begin drafting the announcement. You’ll have final approval over everything.”

“I don’t know yet about the whole prince thing. I guess people will ask,” Jay said.

“And we’ll say that is a matter for a day far in the future,” she said, “Even if you decided today to take the mantle, your duties would be merely ceremonial at this age. There is truly no rush and no pressure.”

“Okay,” he said, “I figured. I, uh, have been reading up on Agrabah and stuff.”

“You have?” she said, “That’s wonderful.”

“If you need any recs, I have a whole pile of books from my crash course in princely duties,” his dad said, “I should write my own book. I could offer my street smarts and of course, my legendary humor.”

Jay laughed, and the conversation moved on. All the crushing atmosphere that an announcement like that would have incurred a month ago did not arrive. Jay could relax. He could hear his mother speak his mother tongue. There was a future.

From the Office of Her Royal Highness, Princess Jasmine of Agrabah, Heir Apparent to the Throne, Descendant of the First Sultan, Lady of the Seven Deserts, and His Royal Highness, Aladdin, Prince Consort, Lord of Mount Sesame

The Princess Jasmine and Prince Aladdin are grateful to announce the return of their eldest son, His Royal Highness Prince Ali, Descendant of the First Sultan, Lord of the Black Sand. Seventeen years after his abduction, Prince Ali was discovered safe and well in Auradon City.  The family is overwhelmed with joy to be reunited. They appreciate a respect for privacy during this emotional time as they welcome Prince Ali home.

Chapter Text

Audrey’s mother had been blessed with beauty, song, and life-saving narcolepsy. When Audrey was born, the same fairies put their heads together to see how from the get, this princess would be prepared for whatever life threw at her. At her christening, their darling grand-niece received the gifts of ambition, perseverance, and foresight.

What a joke.

To be fair, Audrey had correctly foreseen that her boyfriend’s idea to bring four Isle children over would end in disaster. She just didn’t know that people were okay with disaster if it was attached to pretty fae girls. If only she’d had the prescience to tell Ben to bring over the ugly kids first.

Audrey’s father had slain a dragon once. He still had the sword sitting above his mantle in his solar. If she and Austin begged properly, he would take it down and tell the story, winking at their mother across the room when it came time to kiss the sleeping beauty. Audrey remembered staring at her own reflection in the steel blade, wanting to be the slayer and the kissed in equal measure.

Her father had been barely older than she was now, and he had the bravery to do something like that. Audrey couldn’t even handle a proper revenge plot. She spread rumors, made bitchy remarks, and in one juvenile attempt, put hair removal cream in Mal’s shampoo. None of it shook Mal (and Audrey never saw a bald spot).

When an actual dragon showed up, Mal had defeated it while Audrey stared helplessly. Screw perseverance, she’d thought, why hadn’t the fairies given her a sword? Even Dad admitted a begrudging respect for Mal after that. Shame roiled in Audrey’s stomach every time she remembered it.   

After Mal started opening up about the Isle to the press, Audrey realized that the worst revenge she could think of was completely meaningless to this girl. She silently called a draw. Not that Mal ever even apologized, but Audrey had heard something somewhere about being the bigger person.

Mom was always going on about transforming suffering into enlightenment. She got all this crap from her yoga retreats, one of which she forced Audrey to attend “to heal the fractures of your broken heart”. Audrey had been leaning towards a spa weekend with her fairy aunties for that purpose, but Mom insisted.  

While doing sun salutations on a white-sanded beach, Audrey did have a bit of a revelation. For the first time in her life, she had suffered. This persistent ache wasn’t teenage heartbreak but grief. She had to mourn the life she had expected to live and the years already invested in building that future. The hours of tutelage, getting to know her future in-laws, and fiendishly protecting her image so it could one day adorn currency and oil portraits. Suddenly, Audrey’s entire life’s work had been thrown away, like a tourney jersey into a crowd, and that pain was as legitimate as anyone’s. Sure, she wasn’t forced to leave her family or touch a poisoned spindle, but hey, her story did have an evil fae!

Audrey returned to school with her head high (and spine very, very straight). She set her sights on college. She’d go to Auroria U, like her brother and her childhood friends. If she ever doubted herself there, she just had to turn her head and see her family name on a building to remind her who she was. Plenty of highborn men would be attending. She had been trained to be a queen and had insider knowledge of the throne’s inner workings. There, Audrey would find a suitable partner whose priorities matched her own, and in ten years, if there was a coup, that was just the wheels of fate. 

Audrey was ready to put the Prep behind her until the gods dropped a golden opportunity in her lap.

Gideon, her family publicist, texted her a piece of information that was circulating among his professional contacts. The Long Lost Prince of Agrabah had been found. Alive. A statement would be released within the next few days, with more details to come over the next few weeks.

Audrey had an inappropriate affection for tabloids. There was an embarrassing shoebox under her bed filled with carefully clipped-out photos of her, usually with Ben. Audrey could devour even the most tawdry of rags. Her favorite, Tiara Weekly, leaned toward sob stories. Every year, they would rehash the missing prince saga and provide new developments of false leads and the bittersweet arrivals of the younger Royal children. When she was a little girl, Audrey imagined herself playing detective to track down Prince Ali. He’d be lost and scared in a back alley somewhere, just as it began to rain. She’d offer him an umbrella and lead him home. After that, they’d obviously fall in love and get married.

As Audrey got older, she looked back on this with guilt. The prince’s disappearance was a tragedy. Audrey had met Princess Jasmine at a political summit once. She was a smart, classy woman and not a projection screen for Audrey’s heroic fantasies. Still, she always maintained a purely journalistic curiosity about the tale.

If Gideon’s tip was correct, this news would be everywhere for the next two months, minimum, depending on how much dirt the paparazzi could dig up on this boy. Audrey felt a twinge of sympathy for her old crush. He was probably just a normal guy, and now, he’d be living under a microscope, with all his personal triumphs and failings ripe for public consumption.

Gideon had no more information to offer her. Audrey desperately wanted to talk to somebody about this, but at the same time, she liked being one of the few in on a sensitive secret. It was like a responsibility. Given their history, she even felt some loyalty towards Ali.

Bright and early on a Saturday morning, Audrey checked her phone and saw ten unread messages. She didn’t even have to see the previews. She could feel the momentum of a really big story in action, and she knew this was about her Ali.

Gideon: Wow. Do you know who it is?

Gideon: Press will be all over campus. Call me if you’re going to make a comment.

Gideon: Off the record, please tell me there’s some juicy school gossip about him

Above all these texts was The Auradon Times article link with the headline Missing Agrabah Prince Found as Isle of the Lost Exchange Student.

Audrey’s jaw dropped. She put her phone down and ran over to her dorm room door, to grab her morning newspaper waiting outside. Reading this in print felt more fitting for the drama of the moment.

Audrey scanned through the PR-fed lines to the actual facts. Ali was found a few months ago. He was raised on the Isle of the Lost and now attended Auradon Prep. He’s happy to be back with his real family. His abduction is under investigation. How an Auradon-born child ended up there was still unclear.

They didn’t give his name. Audrey went through the sixteen Isle kids at school. There were four boys old enough to fit the bill. Only one bore even a passing resemblance to the Agrabah royal family.

Audrey jumped on to Lonnie’s bed and shook her roommate awake. Lonnie had grown up on military bases, and yet somehow, she detested being up before oh-nine-hundred. Audrey didn’t care.

“What?” Lonnie said, “Audrey, what the hell?”

“Lonnie, your beanie-clad-bruiser-best-boy-friend is a prince!” Audrey said. Her heart was pumping so hard you would think this actually involved her. But beside her heads-up, she had once again missed a real-life fairy tale happening in front of her! There was Audrey, existing right outside of the frame, getting no part of the action!

Lonnie took the paper and read the article Audrey pointed to. The story had made the front page, with a baby photo of Ali and his parents beside the text.

“What does this mean?” Lonnie said.

“Jay! Son of Jafar! It has to be him,” Audrey said.

Lonnie snorted, “No way.”

“Who else could it be?” Audrey said, “No, it’s Jay. I saw Princess Jasmine and her husband at a tourney game with her son- the other son- and I should have put it together then. I thought they were doing some sort of reconciliation thing. If only I’d snooped a little!”

“Woah,” Lonnie said. She took the paper and read it again, “Attends Auradon Prep. I mean, I guess it has to be if he’s our age?”

“He actually must be older,” Audrey said. It had been a hitch in her fantasies, when Ali’s eight sounded so much more mature than her seven.

Ugh, all those years ago, she’d had a crush on Jay? He wore hats indoors and ate without utensils. Audrey didn’t know much else about him, despite the now-considerable time they’d spent on the same athletic field. He was just another Isle kid for her to avoid but not one with any discernible individual traits. When he became tourney captain, she tried to set up a time to discuss the cheerleaders’ locker decoration tradition, and he flaked.

Her phone buzzed again.

Gideon: Have you figured out who he is yet? My money says the internet will know by 10 AM.

“Oh my,” Audrey said, “They’ve really bungled this. They should not have left this anonymous.”

“What do you mean?” Lonnie said.

“Now the press will be left to their own devices. There will be cash prizes for his photo. I mean, that would happen anyway, but at least a few details and a headshot might have calmed the sharks.”

“Journalists aren’t allowed on campus,” Lonnie said. Audrey laughed.

“Yeah, no pap has ever crossed the front gates. Get real, Lonnie. As if our classmates are above selling stories to the press.”

Lonnie’s tooth worried on her bottom lip. She was probably thinking of the numerous things Jay had done in his first month here that would now be front-page worthy.

Didn’t Jasmine’s PR team know this? A memory tickled at the back of her brain about the Agrabah royal family’s unique attitude towards their own press. They gave as little information out as possible and ignored any rumors, always claiming to be too far above them to acknowledge.

Audrey had a PhD in rumors, and the laissez-faire policy stopped working if your dirt was interesting enough that people would read about it even if it was happening to someone common and ugly. This was. Jay was a hothead. The moment he fed a photographer something as simple as a dirty look, their entire strategy would be up in smokes, and Jay would never be left alone.

He’d need training. Preparation. A hand to hold through the rituals and mores of his station. Audrey’s queen skills had atrophied from disuse, but here was a chance to build a Royal from scratch, as she had been.

“I have to intervene,” Audrey said. She ran over to her dresser and threw something on. She pulled her hair back and grabbed a large pair of sunglasses. The story had been up since 5 AM. She guessed Gideon’s assumption was correct that the internet would guess Jay’s identity by 10. Maybe sooner. There was definitely a good number of journalists who had long ago made a note of all of Mal’s Isle cronies and would be working through them now.

“What are you going to do?” Lonnie said.

“I’m going to go help him,” Audrey said.

“But you hate Jay?” Lonnie said.

“I do not,” she said. Her yoga instructor told her to relinquish her grudges, like footprints in the sand or the tide or whatever.

“He hates you. He won’t accept your help,” Lonnie said.

“You might be right there,” Audrey said, “I’ll appeal to one of his savvier compatriots. Evie is a smart girl.”

“Audrey, this really doesn’t involve you,” Lonnie said, “It seems private.”

“So, I’m supposed to let a prince be chased around like an animal? He’s clearly out of his depth,” Audrey said.

“But you never care about the VKs,” Lonnie said.

“He’s royalty now,” Audrey said, “As a snob, it’s my duty to protect him.”

“I’ll remember this conversation when the revolution comes,” Lonnie mumbled. She gave up her protests, laid her head back on her pillow and pulled up the covers.

Audrey speed-walked down the quiet hall of the dorm. She sent a text to her girls’ groupchat. They needed to know the agenda.

Audrey: Good morning :) Just a reminder that people who leak stories about their classmates to the press for attention are the scum of the earth and do not deserve the title of lady :) Say “no comment” and keep it moving :)

Three smiley faces were an implicit threat. Samantha White might still need her own singling out to drive the point home. Her mother had that morning show. Snow is nobility- why did she stoop to the entertainment business? Ugh.

Outside the door of Evie and Mal’s bedroom, Ariana and her little sidekick Mia waited.

Audrey narrowed her eyes at her cousin. Ariana Rose, from a cadet branch on Mom’s side, was always too big for her britches. Her parents argued the throne should have passed to them when Mom had to go into hiding. History books were filled with their inter-familial squabbles that always ended with Audrey’s line on top. Ariana had been following Audrey in everything since they were little, just waiting for the chance to pull Audrey down.

“What are you doing lurking here?” Audrey said, crossing her arms.

Ariana smiled at her, as sharp as thorns, “Haven’t you heard?”

“I heard weeks ago,” Audrey said, inspecting her manicure, “Did you just find out this morning?”

Ariana’s face froze. She had probably thought she was so clever, to be the first one at Mal’s door.

“I just won’t believe it until Mal says it’s true. Who would think Jay’s blood ran blue?” she said.

“We don’t know that it’s Jay for sure,” Mia said. Ariana glared at her for speaking out of turn.

“It’s true, but it’s beneath you to stand here waiting around like a groupie. You see princes every day. Act like it,” Audrey said.

“What were you doing here then?” Ariana said.

Audrey rolled her eyes like answering the question was beneath her, “Retrieving the other half of my Literature project. Now, scatter.”

The girls did as bid, Audrey shooting a dirty look over she shoulder as she went.  

Audrey rapped on the door of Evie and Mal’s bedroom until she heard footsteps approach.

“Who is it?” a wary voice said. Evie.

“Uma,” Audrey said. She had it on good authority that the two girls were in the midst of a blue-haired love affair.

The door opened a crack. Audrey pushed it open the rest of the way and walked past Evie into the bedroom.

“Audrey!” Evie said.

“Wow, I can’t believe you fell for that. Haven’t you warded the door with an identification charm? Mal, I expected more from you,” Audrey said. Mal looked surprised into silence. She was still in her pajamas and sitting on her bed, half under the covers, with the school dog in her lap.

“Actually, I rescind my disbelief because you four are clearly idiots. How did I not figure out the evil scheme thing when you four are this slow?” Audrey said. Her lowered opinion was due to the fact that both Carlos and Jay were also sitting on Mal’s bed, also in sleeping clothes. This was so much dumber than Jay hanging around his own room.

“What the hell, Audrey?” Jay said, glaring with surprising vehemence. Perhaps he really did hate her.

“Your highness,” she said, dropping into a curtsy, “Welcome back to the upper crust.”

“You know?” he said, looking genuinely shocked.

“Of course, I know,” she said, “I actually had an inkling a few days ago. Your mother’s publicity team has not impressed me. I have references if she’s looking for replacements.”

“Someone told you?” Mal said, “Who?”

“I only heard the prince had been found. I figured out it was you because it was obvious. I’ve attended murder mystery parties more challenging.”

“You’ve been to a murder party?” Carlos said. Audrey ignored him.

“I was coming to warn you of the naiveté shown on your part for thinking you could retain anonymity. Now that the scent of blood is in the air, you will be pursued and mounted on the fireplace. That’s a hunting metaphor. Did you hunt on the Isle?”

“Uh…”

“My family loves the sport,” Audrey said, “You might want to brush up, for diplomacy reasons. Your mother is quite the conservationist though, isn’t she? Perhaps not, then. Anyway, you have gravely misjudged this, but, do not worry, I am here to provide guidance on your royal debut.”

“Get out!” Jay said.

“Oh, right, I’ll walk right out. Then, eventually, you and Carlos will also leave the girls’ dormitory on a Saturday morning and walk right into 500 vulturous students with camera phones. Since there’s a thousand more waiting outside the boys’ dorm right now, everyone will know you spent the night here. Your first day as a prince, and you’re in a sex scandal.”

The four of them were quiet.

“How do they know we’re not locked in our rooms?” Carlos said.

“Did you close the blinds before you left?” she said. Carlos’ face blanched.

“How could you help us?” Mal said.

“Evie, you read the tabloids,” Audrey said.

“Sometimes…” Evie said sheepishly.

“I know you watch Snow White at least. Mal steals my boyfriend. In the next week or in any ensuing weeks, did you see a single celebrity journalist defame me for it, in the way women’s suffering is so often touted by that press? Were there not numerous photos of me going on tropical vacations, being escorted by handsome men, and having the time of my damn life?”

“I may have seen some of that nature,” Evie said.

“You can make them not publish articles?” Mal said.

“You can’t. I can. I killed every piece that could possibly make me victim. I bribed, I cajoled, I offered substitutes. Now, Ali, I am here to offer myself as your humble guide through this wonderful system called aristocracy.”

“Oh, Hades, no,” he said.

“Oh, yes,” she said, “Let’s cut down the swearing when talking to ladies, shall we?”

“I knew people would be weird, but I wasn’t ready for this level of weird,” he said. She rolled her eyes.

“Has no one primed you? Honestly. You could have asked me on Monday what the top three news stories will be of the next century, and right behind Ben’s wedding is Long Lost Prince of Agrabah is Found. Dead would obviously be tragic but alive? Alive, young, handsome, and single? The world will be obsessed. Every time you go to the grocery store, the press will be there to document it. Plus, there’s this whole Isle angle. There’s going to be a movie made about this within the next year, I guarantee.”

“Can you stop smiling like this is the best day ever?” Evie said, “It’s very stressful for Jay.”

“I should have stayed at the embassy,” he groaned, “We’re supposed to go there now.”

Audrey checked her phone to see how her friends were reacting. Their general response was that of course, they would never talk to some common paps, but oh my gods, could you believe Jay was a prince?

“Samantha White, the lowest common denominator, has figured it out. The secret is officially blown,” Audrey said, “We should retreat to the embassy, but you’ve got to get through the country’s most eligible bachelorettes first. I’ve cowed most of them into silence, but if they suspect you are leaving from a tryst, they will betray us. Seriously, I don’t think you realize how the tectonic plates of the gentility match game just shifted this morning.”

“I’ll climb out the window,” Jay said. Evie went to the windows and peaked through the blinds.

“There’s some people standing nearby…” she said.

“A picture of you climbing out the window of your lover’s room is so much worse than leaving through the front door,” Audrey said, “And with the king’s girlfriend? There won’t be enough paper to print.”

“We are not lovers! Any of us!” Jay said.

“That’s not what the papers will say,” Audrey said.

“How do we know this isn’t a trick?” Mal said, “You’re taking advantage of our lack of knowledge to humiliate Jay and lead us into a trap.”

“I have no ill will towards Jay. He didn’t manipulate my boyfriend into dumping me. You did that. Despite the absence of any apology or remorse, I did actually forgive you for it,” Audrey said, “I have always felt for the missing prince. My own mother was raised under duress and false pretenses, away from her home and family, have you forgotten?”

And if this resulted in a powerful match, that was just gravy, baby. Ali was the heir to the throne of a wealthy kingdom, rich in history and ever rising as a global power. Aligning with an old-money, well-connected lady like herself could lend him legitimacy on the national stage. Sure, he wasn’t king of the whole country like Ben, but that just meant there were less people to be angry at him. He was interesting too, a symbol of the new Auradon-Isle generation. Not to mention that sans-beanie, Ali really was handsome.  

That was for later though. She had to see how people responded to today’s news first and see how much of Ali was diamond and how much was rough.

Someone knocked on the door. The four sat up straight and stared at the sound with much alert. 

“Mal, are you up?” a girl’s voice said. Jay swore under his breath.

“I know a covert way out of the dorms. Get what you need and follow me,” Audrey whispered.

They looked at each other doubtfully.

“We can probably sneak out on our own,” Jay said to his friends.

“How? The roof?” Carlos said.

“In broad daylight? No,” Mal said.

“We can’t trust her,” Jay said.

“But Audrey does care a lot about monarchy,” Evie said, “And she probably wouldn’t be that good at entrapping us so we could escape if she betrayed us.”

“Good point, Evie,” Audrey said, “My way out is your best option.”

There was another knock.

“What about them?” Carlos said.

“I can handle it. Stay out of sight,” Audrey said. The four went to a corner of the room where they wouldn’t be seen. Audrey scooped Dude off the bed and opened the door a crack. On the other side was Jane, flanked by Ellie and Tara. She can guess who came out of genuine concern and who was there for the spectacle.

“Yes?” Audrey said with great annoyance.

“Why are you in Mal’s room?” Jane said, narrowing her eyes. She’d grown an annoying backbone since befriending the VKs.

“Evie asked me to take the dog out,” Audrey said in an irritated voice.

“Why would she ask you?” Jane said.

“She got stuck somewhere- on an important hair-dye emergency, I imagine- and forgot about poor little Dude. He made a mess on the rug that I will be leaving as a reminder to be better animal-minders. I’m the floor emergency captain so these fun little tasks come along with keys to everyone’s room.”

“Right,” Jane said, “She probably got caught up with the whole Jay situation.”

“Have you heard?” Ellie said.

“Of course, I’ve heard,” Audrey said, “You’re not even the first bottom-feeder I’ve found loitering outside this door. Spread the word, ladies. Women of Auradon Prep will not be turning this into more of a circus than the media will make it. We are above such rabble.”

“I was just coming to check on them,” Jane said, “We’re actually friends.”

“I know that, Janie,” Audrey said, “And I think as a friend, it would be kind of you to circulate that message.”

Jane nodded. She was still pretty good at following orders. Ellie and Tara hurried away.

Audrey turned back around. The four were dressed conspicuously, with nothing too hideously leather.

“I do not dye my hair,” Evie whispered.

“And I take good care of Dude,” Carlos said, taking the dog back.

“Your welcome. All clear, let’s go,” Audrey said, leading them back to her own room.

“Why are we stopping here?” Mal hissed at Audrey.

“Oh, hey guys,” Lonnie said, still under the covers, “Uh, congrats on the prince thing?”

“Not really a congrats kind of thing,” Jay said. Audrey disagreed, but she supposed he did have the right to his own feelings. Or maybe he didn’t want to make the lower-born among them feel bad.

“Have you ever been on a plane?” Audrey said.
“What do you think?” Jay said.

“Right. I ask because if this dorm was a plane, our bedroom would be the designated emergency exit row,” Audrey said. She walked over to the large, unlit fireplace. There were two roaring lions carved on each end of the mantle. Audrey stuck her pointer and middle fingers into the left lion’s eye sockets. The back wall of the fireplace slid to the side, and a tunnel appeared.

“Cool,” Evie said.

“Do all the dorms have this?” Carlos said.

“Do girls use this to bring in guys?” Jay said.

“No!” Audrey said. Although, she had been asked before.

“It’s not like it’s difficult to sneak into the dorms without it,” Mal said. Had she and Ben been making social calls past sundown? Audrey put away the thought for later.  

“The tunnel is for students whose unique backgrounds might warrant discrete escapes,” Audrey said.

“So, basically, when the school gets invaded, all the important people have a place to hide,” Carlos said snidely to Evie.

“We don’t have time to discuss semantics,” Audrey said, “Jay, let’s go.”

“We are not separating,” Mal said, stepping forward to shield the much taller boy.

“Five people are very noticeable,” Audrey said, “Two can slip past unnoticed.” The four’s faces remained unchanged.  

“She’s right. The tunnel lets out in the city. It’s secluded, but there are pedestrians around,” Lonnie said. Audrey gestured a wordless see? If this was a scheme, Lonnie would never aid and abet.

“The embassy is probably going to be surrounded by press. Two people will be less suspicious,” Jay said.

“You want to split up? Really?” Mal said.

“It’s not like Audrey’s a threat to me,” Jay said. Audrey bristled but didn’t object.

“Why does she even have to go?” Mal said.

“My tunnel, my terms!” Audrey said.

“The tunnel’s also keyed into her,” Lonnie said, “As dorm emergency captain.”

“I’ll meet you guys at the embassy. It’ll be fine,” Jay said. He crossed his arms and grinned confidently, “This is nothing.”

“Alright,” Mal said. She turned to Audrey, smiling sweetly while her eyes flashed green, “Don’t give me a new reason to hate you.”

Audrey rolled her eyes, “I’m so scared.” Mal was completely neutralized as at threat. If the brand-new moral compass didn’t stop her, the political ramifications would.

“Shall we?” Audrey said. Jay followed her through the fireplace and down the stone steps. Pink, magic orbs of lights were suspended above them. At the bottom of the steps, there was a long tunnel stretched before them, just wide enough for two people to pass through side by side. It smelled a bit damp.

“It’s so dark. We better hold on to each other,” she said, snaking an arm through his.

“I can see fine,” he said, shrugging her off. It made her think of Ben. 

“Okay,” she said, “It’s a couple of miles. We’ll come out in the oldest section of the city, not far from Unity Row.” Jay didn’t respond.

She assessed his profile under the purple lights. The looks weren’t the problem. He did have the sharp cheekbone look of nobility, and the hair, while eccentric, would be accepted as an attractive distinction from the crewcut masses.

But he slouched and walked with his hands in his pockets. His resting face was hostile. 

He caught her watching and turned to glare, “What?”

“Your default look is a glare. Do you know that?”

“It’s just the company, believe me,” he said.

“You have to get used to being watched,” she said, “A glare, a camera, and a newspaper has a story about how your life is falling apart.”

He didn’t respond.

“So when did you find out about everything?” Audrey said.

“Couple months ago,” he mumbled.   

“I imagine it’s been a very disorienting experience for you,” she said. Audrey was probably the first person to engage Jay in small talk on this topic. A pioneer.

“You could say that,” he said. Belle once told her that the art of conversation should be performed like a waltz, with two dancers both in perfect step. Most VKs’ conversational skills were square-dancing, at best. In this way too, Audrey was just going to have to feel her way through the dark.

“I would say you could reach out to my mother about it, but she would just go on and on about yoga and essential oils,” she said. There, a commonality and a joke. Belle would be proud, if she still paid attention to Audrey.  

“I don’t know what those are,” Jay said.

“How have your parents been?” she said, “I’ve met your mother before. She’s an impressive woman.”

“They’re good,” he said. It was his first response that didn’t sound surly.

“That’s good,” she said, “My grandparents really struggled when my mother returned. My mom didn’t know how to dress or speak. She had been running around the woods her whole life.”

“Your mom and I aren’t the same person,” he said.

“Of course not,” Audrey said. Jay didn’t have that vacant look in his eyes that she got, like she was still waking up from her very long nap. Instead, Jay was too sharp. His eyes kept shifting, looking for pursuers in the shadows.

Her mother really shouldn’t be the example Audrey was setting. Aurora had no love for her duty and absconded from it whenever possible. If Audrey was going to create a prince, he would be in her own image.

“When’s the coronation?” she said.

“Dunno.”

“It’s not scheduled yet? How old is the age of ascent in Agrabah? 21?”

“I don’t know if I’m doing that whole thing,” he said.

Audrey stopped short. Doing? That? Whole? Thing? Did this Isle boy think a thousand-year-old bloodline was like getting a side of fries?

“It’s your birthright!” Audrey said, “It is not an option.”

“Not everyone wants to be one of you, you know,” he said. She scoffed.

“They can’t!” she said.

“This isn’t any of your-“

“-You have a duty to your family. We are the living embodiments of our kingdoms’ history. Now more than ever, the world needs people who can look past the present day’s limited context to see one tradition.”

“There’s no reason that person has to be me,” he said.

“The reason is destiny!” she said, her screams echoing down the tunnel.

“I was also kidnapped for seventeen years so destiny is not exactly my friend,” he said.

“And your parents are just okay with this?”

“Yes,” he said, “They said it’s totally up to me.”

“I’ve never known noble parents to treat it as an option,” she said, “No one’s ever asked me if I wanted to be a princess.”

“Shouldn’t they? I can’t think of anything worse than being trapped somewhere with no way out,” he said.

“Do not compare my life to the Isle,” she said, “My life is amazing.”

“I guess being the second kid seems like the better deal. All the privilege, none of the responsibility.”

“There’s still responsibility!” she said, “Everything I do reflects on my kingdom and my family. The fact that I’m a woman makes my behavior even more scrutinized. I’m not allowed to wear pants with an elastic band in public. When I was ten, my report card was published in a newspaper.”

“Who would read that?” he said.

“Thankfully, I had all A’s, or they would have broken up Ben and I,” she said, “Ten years old, and I knew if I didn’t do my part, there would be consequences.”

“Wait, were you and Ben set up? Like an arranged marriage?” he said.

“You say it like it’s a dirty word. They still happen all the time, even if it’s frowned upon in more progressive circles,” she said.

“Ew, gross. How old were you?”

“It was in the works before I was born. Do you think King Adam won his crown on charm alone? It’s not like I would have arranged any differently. Marrying the king is the greatest service I could do for my family. I loved Ben. And Ben loved…doing the right thing.”

“So Mal’s the wrong thing?” he said, temper flaring.

“Obviously!” she shot back, “He had an easy out on account of the illegal love potion, but he still chose to throw away a finely crafted political alliance for love. It makes me sick.”

“Aren’t you people supposed to love big, romantic sacrifices?”

“I liked them fine before I was the thing sacrificed,” she said.

“I probably would have run for the hills if my parents had opened with ‘Surprise, you’re our kid. By the way, you’re also engaged to someone you’ve never met.’”

“My parents had technically met before,” she said, her haunches rising.

“Err, I didn’t mean to bring them into- I didn’t know that,” he said, and it did sound genuine, “I mean, it works out sometimes so...”

“Sometimes,” she said.

“What do you do if it doesn’t? I guess you could kill them, but that’s frowned upon.”

“Suffer in silence. It builds character,” she said. Jay snorted. She looked at him, surprised.

“I know how that goes,” he said.

She felt the corners of her mouth lift into a bitter smile, “When I was six, my grandmother told me Mommy was going to live in a different castle now and that I could never tell anyone.”

“What?” Jay said, with a couple sputtering laughs. 

“She tried silence and then she ran for the hills,” Audrey said, “I don’t think she got over the hiding. Or the lying. First, she checked out of the princess thing, then the wife thing, then the mom thing.” 

Her grandparents did most of the work of raising her and Austin, even before Mom took off. They reveled in it, since they never had the chance to be parents. Dad was around, but he was less hands-on with any emotional stuff. He took them on hunting trips. There was story-time, with the sword. He had winked at Mom, and she pretended she hadn’t heard him.

Audrey had never told anyone about this. Ben and Jane knew a little, but Audrey shut down any of their attempts to learn more. Her tongue clearly forgot this was not actually her imaginary friend Ali but a real boy who really didn’t like her much.

“Don’t tell anyone I said that,” she said.

“I won’t,” Jay said. He probably would. It didn’t matter that much. Her parents kept up appearances, but the rumors were there. It’s why they needed such expensive publicists.

They walked in silence after that. After about ten minutes, Audrey could hear the beeps of a reversing truck and the chatter of distant people, “I think we’re almost at the end.”

It wasn’t long until they were met with the ladder at the end of the tunnel.

“Do you know how to go from there? Have you used this before?” Jay said.

“Once or twice,” she said. After Ben broke up with her, she hadn’t wanted anybody to see her. Audrey headed up the ladder first and pushed on the doors at the top. From the outside, they looked like a normal cellar entrance. She opened it a crack and looked for any people nearby. After a man carrying bags of groceries passed, it was all clear.

Audrey got out and dusted herself off. Jay climbed out as gracefully as a cat after her. She gave him a once-over.

“Put your hair up,” she said, handing him the hair elastic that lived on her wrist, “At least that hideous beanie serves a purpose.”

“Do not disrespect the beanie,” he said, but he did as he was bid. Audrey pulled out her sunglasses.

“Walk with purpose, but don’t rush,” she said. She started heading down the sidewalk. Unity Row was a few blocks northwest of here. It was still early. The streets were quiet, but it always got more crowded near the embassies, where tourists flocked to the historic buildings.

“I know what to do,” he said, falling into step with her. She grabbed his hand.

“What are you doing?” he said, pulling it away.

“If we’re holding hands, people won’t question what we’re doing together,” she said, grabbing it again.

“Ugh, fine,” he said, “Do not tell my friends about this.”

“As long as you don’t tell mine,” she said.

“Does this have to do with you calling me handsome before?” he said. He was smirking at her.

“Spare me,” she said. His hand felt very hot in hers, “You’re absolutely sure you haven’t been engaged since birth, right? If so, I’ll have to pick up a condolences card for the poor girl.”

“Yeah, none of my exes would disagree with that,” he said in a self-deprecating way, as he rubbed the thumb of his free hand along his jaw. She wondered how many Isle girls would have stories to sell. It wouldn’t matter if they were true or not.

To get to Unity Row, there was one block they had to cut through that had a lot of shops and restaurants. The heart of their battlefield.

They walked briskly, maneuvering around the early-morning pedestrians like proper city folk. Eyes forward, destination certain, and-

“Prince Ali!”

They did not freeze or react. They kept walking, but the gaggle of girls had spotted them, eight in number. Audrey could see them crossing the street from the corner of her eye. Their cheap clothes and large bags tipped them off as suburbanites in for a day trip. Unfortunately, there were several phone camera lenses pointed at them.

“Are you Prince Ali?” the boldest among them said as she stepped in front of Jay. Audrey hated her messy eyeliner and guileless face on principle.

Jay froze. Behind his sunglasses, Audrey could see the whites of his eyes.

“We saw on Auragram that you live here! Can we get a picture?” another girl said.

“Will you sign my newspaper?” one girl said, reaching into a bag.

“Leave me and my brother alone!” Audrey snapped, in a thick French accent, “Did you take photos of us?”

“We, uh, we thought- “the leader stammered.

“Are you, how-you-say, perverts? Taking photos of strangers on their way to work?” Audrey said. before launching into a stream of French curses.

“Cheese, blood, mother, I don’t know French,” Jay said in French, with a convincing accent though.

“But you look like-“

“Becca, let’s just go,” a girl said, tugging on her friend’s sleeve.

“Delete those photos or I call the police!” Audrey said, getting close to the girls’ face, “Delete, delete, bitch!”

“Okay! Okay!” the girl said. She made a big show of opening her camera library to delete the most recent photos. They were blurry enough that even if she dug them out of the Recently Deleted folder, Jay wouldn’t be completely compromised.

“It was an accident,” the girl said, defensively, “You look a lot like the Lost Prince, you know?”

“Who the hell is that?” Audrey said. She grabbed Jay’s arm and pulled him past the girls. She cast a dirty look over her shoulder. The girl averted her eyes, and no one had their phones up.

They walked quickly down the block. Audrey turned a couple more times to get away from that street. When they found a quiet side street, she finally slowed down a step.

“That was a close one,” she said. Jay paused in his walking.

“Jay?” she said.

“I…I don’t like this,” he said. He pulled down his glasses to look around wildly over his shoulder. He was taking very quick and shallow breaths. A passerby gave them a weird look.

 “What’s wrong?” she said.

“I don’t…I can’t…” he said.

“We need to move,” she said, trying to grab his hand again, but he yanked it back.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” he said.

Audrey’s first reaction was anger. How dare he! But Jay was clearly not in the right headspace. If she lost her temper on him, he’d only get worse.

“What are you even doing here, Audrey?” he snapped, saying her name like something ugly.  

“Take a big breath,” she said firmly, “One breath in, one breath out, belly-button to spine.”

“What?” he said.

“Just breathe,” she said. She looked him in the eye and breathed in. He mirrored her. They both exhaled. She did it again and again. Finally, his eyes stilled, resting on her.

“Uh,” he said, “I just…I need to be able to hide. Blend in. I don’t…”

“Did those girls scare you?”

“No!” he said, “I could have taken them. Not that I’m going to fight a bunch of girls. But…I’m used to danger looking like danger. Not like that. Not where I can’t fight it out. And all my instincts just disappeared which can never happen because that is how you get killed.”

“It is scary,” Audrey said. She didn’t know how to relate to anything he said except for that, “To just have strangers coming up to you, acting like they know you. Some people have no respect.”

“I said I wanted to do this. I knew this part would be bad. I was supposed to be ready,” he said, rubbing a hand over his face hard enough to leave it red.

“I’m sorry if I scared you before about all the attention. It will die down,” she said.

“I’m not scared,” he said. 

“Okay,” she said.

“This is stupid. I’ve seen worse than some losers who want pictures,” he said, “It’s just a lot of change at once. I don’t want to be like- “he cut himself off, but he was looking at her with disdain.

“Like me?” she said, her stomach roiling with heat.

“I mean…you’re not exactly the queen of nice,” he said. If she had a nickel.

“Talk to me when you’ve had seventeen years at court, and we’ll see how nice you are,” she said.

“You hated me and my friends from day one. That’s different.”

“I was suspicious of you, and then we later learned you were actively plotting to do exactly what I was suspicious of. You also made my boyfriend dump me in front of the entire school. My apologies, sir!” she said. Her voice rose at the end. It wasn’t her fault. He was picking at fresh wounds.

“Okay, yeah, but-!” he said, “I mean, it’s not like we actually hurt you. Where we’re from, we would have just hurt you. But I guess that was kind of a shitty thing to do.”

“Kind of,” she scoffed, “My grandmother doesn’t even look at me the same anymore. I failed the family.”

“That is fucked up,” he said, “You didn’t do anything! Why do you want to be someone else’s pawn?”

“You sound like my mother,” she said. Aurora with her frustrating platitudes. The granola friends she preferred over her own blood. Beauty hidden under threadbare, baggy clothes. She said she was so free now, but she didn’t seem to care that Audrey had to pick up all the burdens she shed.

“We don’t have time for this,” she said, using her breathing to snuff the anger in her stomach down to a manageable smolder, “Can you keep going?”

“Of course, I can,” he said, puffing up his chest.

“Okay then,” she said. They started moving again, no longer holding hands. Audrey tried to orient where she was in the city.

“We’re not far from the embassy, but I’m not sure how we’re going to get in unnoticed from here,” Audrey said, “You could ask your parents to send a car.”

“I actually think I know a way,” he said, “Turn here.”

Jay now led her on to a side-street where one large ivy-colored wall took up the whole block. Unity Row was just around the corner. She could see the back of their distinctive white eaves from here.

Jay stopped in front of a black iron gate. He reached into his leather jacket and pulled out his keys.

“A back entrance?” she said.

“Sorta,” he said. Instead of selecting one of the actual keys, he held up two small metal instruments from the keyring.

“Watch my back,” he told her. He crouched down and stuck the instruments in the door’s lock, picking it like a master thief. Audrey thought people only did this on TV. She barely watched the street because her attention was monopolized by Jay’s quick hands. She wanted to ask if he would teach her, but her pride forbade it.

Something clicked, and Jay pushed open the gate with a creak. Inside was a slim alley. Audrey guessed this was a back passage for servants and deliveries. Jay walked down ahead of her, dragging his right hand along the wall.

“It’s odd your parents stay at their own embassy,” she said, “All the other monarchs’ families keep more spacious residencies elsewhere in the city.”

Jay snorted, “It’s big enough.” 

Jay suddenly stopped and looked at the blank wall, “We’re here.”

“Are you lost?” Audrey said, “Or can you pick your way through solid concrete?”

“Just watch,” he said, winking arrogantly. He put his palms flat against the wall. Slowly, a bright red door materialized into existence.

“It’s warded,” Audrey said, her mouth breaking into a grin, “My castle is too. Magic in an embassy though…your parents are quite the libertines.”

“Stay close to me. If you’re not blood-related, it’s kind of disorienting.”

“Mm, I’d expect so,” she said. It was the same for the oldest wings of her castle which had been warded by fae millennia ago.  Audrey had no gift for wielding magic, but her great-aunties taught her to recognize it. At home, it smelt like freshly bloomed roses, and even indoors, your skin felt like sunlight was shining on it.

Her family supported Beast’s magic restrictions but maintained a healthy respect for their significant fae populace, who still practiced spellwork in private. Ben had visited her once and asked if they were ever going to purge their castle of its magic. Auntie Flora laughed at him and said he was welcome to try. The magic was older than her and could withstand the castings of five-hundred fae.

The red door opened into a luscious garden that must have been magically added, unless Audrey had somehow missed palm trees growing on this street. She did feel dizzy as she looked around, like staring at an optical illusion.

“I’m supposed to be able to navigate the house with my thoughts, but I’m new at it,” he said. He led her through the garden into a library. The walls and floor kept moving. Audrey reached out to Jay’s shoulder to steady herself, and he took her hand again to keep them moving. They passed through another door into a bathroom and another into a walk-in closet.

“Crap,” Jay said, “Uh. Hello? Anyone home?”

“Jay?” someone called back. Jay walked through another door, and they were deposited into a marble-tiled hallway.

“Okay, this looks familiar,” he said. He turned left and walked into a large sitting room. A muted TV was playing the news. On one couch, Audrey recognized Princess Jasmine and her husband. Two kids were sitting by them, a little girl and a pre-teen boy. Dalia and Aziz, she remembered. Scattered around the room were various adults that Audrey guessed were aides from their business attire.

“Jay!” Aladdin said, “We were about to send out the search party. It’s a zoo outside.”

“Audrey and I found a back way in,” Jay said.
“A pleasure to meet you again,” Audrey said. She let go of Jay’s hand and dropped into a curtsy. Her front leg wobbled under her. She was still light-headed from the magic and walking a few miles on an empty stomach.

“Steady,” Aladdin said, “Come sit. Could we get a glass of water?” Audrey sat on a cream couch, and someone did bring her water. After a big gulp, she felt better.

“You’re Aurora’s girl,” Jasmine said, “We met when you were-how old? Thirteen?”

Audrey nodded, “The Women’s Diplomatic Leadership Summit. You gave a wonderful talk on providing modernized obstetric care.”

“I’m flattered you remember,” Jasmine said. She was still gorgeous. Audrey had once ripped an article about her skincare routine out of a magazine and taped it to the inside of her medicine cabinet.  

“I didn’t know you two were friends,” Jasmine said to Jay. She looked pleased by the development. Audrey wondered what she thought of Jay’s Isle pals. Even Ben might not be such a welcome presence. Jasmine and King Adam were politically adversarial. Grandmother mentioned it, after she saw the magazine page in her bathroom, and Audrey threw it away.

“We’re not,” Jay said. His mom gave him a specific side-eye that all royal matriarchs had down for when their kin needed to be put in place. It said don’t be rude.

“I mean, we’re new friends,” Jay said, surprisingly chagrined. Saying the word “friends” seemed to cause him physical discomfort, but they satisfied Jasmine.

“I thought Jay would need help getting out of school,” Audrey said, “The story spread very fast, and I was concerned our peers would not heed the request for privacy.”

“That was very kind of you, Audrey. Thank you so much,” Aladdin said.

“If I may, I recently went through the PR crucible myself, and I think I could assist you. My people have relationships with the major editors. I find that if you give enough for their readers to chew on, you can bend them to your will.”

“I think we have it under control,” a woman with a sleek bob answered. Audrey narrowed her eyes at her before pulling out her phone and reading aloud.

“First new picture of Ali going for half a mil, 10k as the staring rate for other candid shots, up to a quarter mil depending on content,” Audrey said, “That’s from Gideon Thropp, the best publicist money can buy. I would suggest you release an official portrait hastily so the safari gets called off. Jay, how many students do you think still have Parents’ Day photos on their phones?”

“Please don’t bring up Parents’ Day,” Jay said, pinching the bridge of his nose. His parents exchanged concerned looks.

“I have spread the word of a moratorium on selling photos among our student body, and I have plenty of retribution blackmail stock-piled. I would suggest to Fairy Godmother to release an official directive, and maybe Mal could put her glares to good use to support the effort.”

“I feel like we should be paying you,” Jasmine said dryly while looking at her now-panicked publicist.

“I do it out of the goodness in my heart,” Audrey said, “I think people will fall in line. Jay’s well-liked.”

“Of course, he is,” Aladdin said, beaming at his son.

“I think sharing a simple photo is a good idea. Only if you’re comfortable with that, Jay,” Jasmine said.

“I mean, if it cuts down a little on the people being weird, I’m for it. Audrey and Mal can’t yell at every person with a camera phone in the world,” he said.

“Perhaps your school yearbook photo?” the publicist said.

“What’s that?” Jay said.

“They were in the fall. I assume you skipped them,” Audrey said.

“Yeah, probably,” he said, “My friends probably have photos of me?”

“It should be a professional quality,” Audrey said.

“We can get a photographer here,” Jasmine said, “The sooner the better.”

“Zayd is in town. I’ll reach out about this afternoon,” the publicist offered. Jasmine nodded.

“Well, now that that’s settled, Audrey, you should probably get going,” Jay said.

“Jay, the poor girl walked you all the way here. We will at least give her breakfast and a chance to get off her feet,” Jasmine said.

“I have nothing on my docket today. I would love to offer any assistance I can on the photo shoot,” Audrey said.

“That won’t be necessary,” Jay said, “It’s one photo. I think we got it.”

“I think Jay doesn’t want us to embarrass him in front of his girlfriend,” Aladdin stage-whispered to his daughter.

“She is not my girlfriend!” Jay said. The absolute horror on his face would be insulting if it wasn’t so entertaining. Audrey’s laughs became too loud for lady-like, but she couldn’t stop.

“You walked in holding hands,” Aladdin said. Jay groaned.

“Oh, Jay does that with all the cheerleaders,” Audrey said. Jasmine gasped.

“I knew you had a girlfriend!” she said.

“I’m getting something to eat,” Jay said, turning to walk out.

“Wait, Jay, show me the way or I’ll be lost,” she said, grabbing his hand. He snatched it away, and his family laughed behind them. 

Over breakfast, Audrey tried to get a read on campus. Jane and Ruby were spreading the word on the consequences of breaking the paparazzi gag rule. On social media, some images circulated, but they were old. Tourney game photos and a couple zoomed in shots where Mal or Ben had originally been the focus.

After they ate, they were shown to a bedroom which had been prepared for Jay. It had a fully stocked closet of brand-new clothing that Jay clearly had not been the one to buy, since he objected to every piece she suggested he wear in his photo.

“I don’t want to wear anything weird,” Jay said.

“What is weird about this?” Audrey putting away the thousandth shirt.

“It has a weird collar,” he said, “Black t-shirt is fine. Classic.”

“Hello world, meet Prince Ali of Agrabah, he’s a stagehand,” Audrey said. She shared an eyeroll with Princess Dalia, who was making an excellent wardrobe assistant, offering color commentary as she worked through a coloring book.

“I wish Evie was here,” Jay grumbled.

“You’re such a diva,” Audrey said, “Your personal stylist is unavailable, boohoo.”

“I have more shirts,” Jasmine said. Audrey took them from her, inspecting each.

“Purple is not his color. Red is a color of conflict. Blue is Ben’s,” Audrey said. She pulled out a white collarless cotton shirt. It was casual but expensive. She’d seen people wearing this style in Agrabah fashion magazines.

“White will provide a nice contrast with your skin. It’s also the color of rebirth. Having a clean white shirt is a luxury. It tells people you are careful enough to avoid stains and wrinkles, but you could replace the shirt if one arose,” she said.

“The shirt said all that?” Jay said.

“Subconsciously,” she said, “Try it on.”

Jay rolled his eyes. Audrey and Jasmine turned their backs while he changed.

“Okay,” he said. Audrey turned and appraised him.

“It looks good,” Audrey said. She stepped forward to unbutton the top so he looked less uptight.

“I don’t think we can do more than one,” he said. Audrey was about to shoot back another complaint at Jay’s diva-ness, but then she looked down. There was something carved into the boy’s skin.

Audrey’s first instinct was horror. Her second was that maybe he’d done it to himself in an Isle tough-guy ritual. Her gut felt the former was correct though. She made a note to lower the bar going forward whenever she tried to imagine how bad that island was.

“Right,” Audrey said, keeping her voice bright. She stepped back.

“It looks good,” she said, “Except…”

“No, we’re done,” Jay said.

“I think you need a family photo too,” Audrey said, “People need to see you in that context. Not alone. If anything unflattering comes out later, people will still remember their first impression of you as part of one, strong unit.”

“It’s a nice idea,” Jasmine said.

“We could use the one from the college tour,” Jay said.

“Aziz isn’t in that one,” Jasmine said, “I don’t think we have one of all five of us yet. We would have to take it today?”

She said it very carefully, to Jay, like she was trying not to betray how much she wanted it. Audrey hadn’t meant to step in an emotional territory with the suggestion. Ben’s chastising “you must be more sensitive” echoed in her head.

“Yeah, we can take one,” Jay said, shyly tucking a piece of hair behind his head.

“It will be casual, like the birthday portraits we release,” Jasmine said, “We can take it in the back garden.”

Audrey nodded. Caption: The Royal family, relaxed at their home in Auradon City.  

After that significant contribution, Audrey’s help was no longer needed in preparations. She and Jay moved back to the kitchen island, while the tornado of publicists blew around them. Jay’s dad chatted them for a while. He and Jay had an easy rapport. It reminded her of Dad and Austin.

Audrey and Jay continued to bicker over anything they could think of, but they toned it down when Dalia and Aziz joined them.

“Uh, sorry, you have to get all dressed up for this,” Jay said to his brother. The younger prince had just been released from a fitting.

“We do this kind of thing all the time,” Aziz said, a little pointed on the we.

Interesting. Audrey wondered if she should commiserate with the fellow second-born on the inferiority complexes that came with their position, but the boy looked terrified whenever she talked to him directly. 

Dalia was much warmer. She was delighted to have another princess around. She even knew of Audrey already, from her Crown Crackerjack trading card.

“Princess Audrey of Auroria,” Jay read aloud from the card, “Sixteen years old. 5’4”. Favorite color: pink and blue. Favorite snack: tea sandwiches- really? Celebrity Crush: Prince- ah.”

“Outdated,” Audrey said, “I also grew an inch.”

“Can I please have the purple?” Dalia said. Audrey passed the crayon. The younger princess had generously given Audrey and Jay their own pages to color in. Audrey was working on a scene of three kittens having a tea party.

“These are kind of creepy,” Jay said, returning the card to Dalia. He grabbed a baby carrot from the snack spread and bit into it.

“Very creepy,” Audrey said, “I tried to sue their company for unlawful use of image. I lost.”

“It’s weird how- oh, I love this show,” Jay said. He reached for the remote to turn up the small TV in the corner of the kitchen. A game show had ended, and now, Audrey saw the familiar opening credits of The Countess of Camelot. The notes of the theme song automatically put a smile on her face.

“You watch this show too?” Audrey said.

“Isn’t this show for old people?” Aziz said. They both shushed him as the opening scene played out.

“Ah, it’s a rerun,” Audrey said. 

“I hated this Summer plotline. She just left her own twin to rot in jail! How can I still root for her to be with Ethan?” Jay said.

“I know!” Audrey said, “And then Penelope is the bad guy for wanting out? I’d be pissed too!”

“When Penelope switched identities and married Ethan instead, I said ‘good for her,’” he said.

“I can’t believe you like soap operas too,” Audrey said, “Lonnie makes fun of me for it.”

“We had terrible TV reception on the Isle, and this was the only Auradon show where anything cool happened. Lady Rowena is a total bad-ah, I mean cool person,” Jay said, remembering his sister. 

Audrey nodded in agreement. Lady Rowena was a personal hero to her- smart, cunning, and always glamorous. It was weird to think that while Audrey and Grandmother enjoyed new episodes over tea, Jay was watching the same broadcasts somewhere on the Isle. It didn’t fit with what she thought of the place that in between all the hardscrabble violence, a boy would be worrying over whether Ethan and Summer finally got to be together.

“Is Rowena the woman who just poisoned someone?” Aziz said.

“Her step-daughter, Veronica. She survives though,” Audrey said.

“Why do you like her?” Aziz said.

“She has the funniest lines,” Jay said.

“She’s the schemer. Without her to spice things up, this show would just be boring, hot people kissing,” Audrey said.

“But she’s the villain,” Aziz said, like he was making an accusation. The corner of Jay’s smile froze.

“Well, they’re fun if they’re on TV,” he said tightly. Under the counter, the hand resting on his thigh clenched.

“Rowena is the hero of the show!” Audrey said, surprising herself with the passion, “Her first husband tossed her aside, and she always has to fight for her title, her kids, everything! The world has been unkind to her more than she ever has to it!”

The full force of Audrey’s indignation made Aziz’s eyes grow wide as saucers and mouth clamp shut. Audrey sat back, feeling her cheeks prickle from the heat that rushed to her face when her voice raised. Jay’s hand returned to coloring, and he gave her a look that she couldn’t nail down.   

“Oh, great, Jay’s watching his stories.”

Behind them, Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Ben were standing in the entrance to the kitchen. Audrey straightened her spine and uncrossed her legs.

“Finally,” Jay said.

The posse positioned themselves around the remaining real estate of the granite island. Mal commanded the center of the counter, across from the space between Audrey and Jay. She leaned forward on her elbows. Ben slouched like a right parenthesis around her. He smiled at Audrey, and she nodded her head as little as decorum would allow before returning to her coloring.

“Not this show,” Carlos groaned, looking at the TV.

“It’s a rerun,” Jay said, his voice sounding several degrees lighter than before, “Audrey likes it too.”

A pathetic rush of gratitude came with being acknowledged. She thought Jay would ignore her once his real friends arrived.

The four recounted their journey to the embassy. Evie spoke mostly, with Carlos adding punchlines and descriptors. Audrey had never heard him speak this much before. Mal only jumped in to give details on the disillusionment charm that got them past the paparazzi. Audrey stole a look at Ben then, looking for some disapproval, but his face gave away nothing.

“So how did you guys sneak in?” Evie said.

“It was pretty straightforward,” Audrey said, “Tunnel. Empty streets. A back door.”

“It was more exciting than that!” Jay said, “We had magic too, and Audrey- “

“It was nothing,” Audrey said.
“What does that mean?” Carlos said, “Did you guys make friends? Do you guys have best friend secrets?”

“No!” they both said together.

“Gross, ‘Los,” Jay said.

“What happens in the tunnel stays in the tunnel,” Audrey said. She thought that would resolve it, but instead, they all started laughing and teasing them more.

Jay didn’t seem to actually be bothered by it though. He kept slipping innuendos into all his sentences. Audrey should really be scandalized by him implicating her in his jokes, but this was definitely preferable to the disdain from earlier.

The VKs’ dynamic was peculiar. They insulted each other, but not as a form of maintaining power rankings. Even Mal got teased and took it with good humor. Audrey was a trained socialite, but she had never been taught to relax around her peers. She only found that sort of comfort among her great-aunties, and while they were a laugh riot for seven-hundred-year-old fairies, Audrey’s ease among them was made possible under the conditions of their familial loyalty to her.

Audrey stayed quiet, laughing at jokes, but not daring to make her own. Their previous tensions never felt forgotten enough for Audrey to lower her haunches entirely. When it came time for them to move to the garden for the photo, Audrey was grateful to be back in an environment she understood.

“Just look relaxed,” Audrey said to Jay, picking a miniscule piece of lint off of his sleeve.

“I am relaxed,” Jay said, “Smiling and looking handsome comes very naturally to me.”

Audrey watched the monitors as the photographer clicked away. Jay was enough of a ham that he didn’t have to be put at ease once the camera started flashing. When it was time for the family to come in, they required little blocking. Aladdin put a paternal hand around Jay’s shoulder, son only a couple inches shorter than father. Jasmine was in the center, on a bench next to Dalia, who gave a wide smile with one missing tooth. Audrey was surprised how well Aziz could switch on a more jovial air, leaning in naturally under his father’s other arm. He had been the presumed heir for his whole life, she reminded herself, he must know the song and dance.

Tomorrow, these photos would be circulated in newspapers and magazines across the country. It was the sort of historic moment Audrey always wanted to be part of. Once again, she was out of frame, except this time she had a part in the picture.

Why do you want to be someone else’s pawn? Jay had asked her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ben step closer to her.

“It was kind of you to help Jay,” he said.

“You sound surprised,” she said.

“I’m not,” he said, but Ben was too honest to lie convincingly.

“It’s not unreasonable that you are,” she said, “But I think you always expect the worst of me, Ben.”

Ben opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He looked a little queasy whenever he spoke to her, like he did when Dad took him hunting for future-son-in-law bonding. Ben had thrown up on his shoes before the crossbow was even loaded.  

Maybe she wasn’t being fair. Audrey had certainly met his low expectations plenty of times. But before that, when Ben first started to resent the world his parents created, Audrey was the first person he pushed back against, his foisted-upon-him, frivolous, needy girlfriend. He probably didn’t even know he was doing it, as he didn’t seem to realize that the stakes of keeping their coupling were higher for her than him.

“I’m sorry if I made you feel that way,” Ben said, “I wasn’t a very good boyfriend.”

“We were a bad match,” she said, “Personality-wise, I mean. The political brokering remains my grandmother’s magnum opus.”

“How is your grandmother?”

“Likely burning your effigy as we speak,” Audrey said.

“Right,” he said, “And…how are you?”

“Better,” she said. Better than the last time they spoke, certainly, when she’d cried and begged him to take her back. Pawns aren’t supposed to whine when they got taken off the board.

Ben nodded and stepped back, submitting again to the gravity of Mal that he looked so comfortable under.

Dalia was getting fussy, and the crew seemed pleased with their photos, so they called wrap. Audrey caught Jay looking at her. Instead of averting his gaze, he came right over.

“How’d it look?” he said.

“Perfect,” she said, “No notes.”

“None? I’m shocked.”

“I directed so wonderfully that you were set up for perfection,” she said.

“You’re still annoying,” he said, “And a snob. But I yelled at you before when you were trying to help me. I don’t understand the how’s and why’s of everything you were doing. Or understand half of what you say. Or agree with everything when I do.”

“Is this a thank you?”

“No because I’m sure you got something out of this, even if I’m not sure what.”

“What a shrewd political mind you’re developing.”

“Yeah, I haven’t taken any of the secret royal classes, but I’m not so stupid.”

“I don’t go to those. Those are for amateurs,” she said.

“What? You’re not in them?”

“No, we on the top shelf have private tutors.”

“I literally didn’t want to take them because I didn’t want to have to hang out with you.”

“Ouch,” she said, slapping his arm with the back of her hand. A dignified slap, like one given after a competitive polo match.

“You were nice to my sister. My mom likes you. You did get me here unscathed, and you get Lady Rowena,” he said, “So maybe you could keep giving me your input. Once in a while. Not like a tutor. Just an ally.”

“Definitely not friends,” she said.

“Definitely not,” he said.

“I can offer my advice, although I will not pretend that I am waiting for your solicitation,” she said.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t expect you to,” he said. He held out a hand. Audrey gripped his forearm, an Old World gesture of trust.

Audrey looked him over again. In these new clothes, he did look closer to the prince he was supposed to be. He carried himself with enough confidence, and that was half the battle. The sharpness never left his eyes, but maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. Naiveté would not serve him well.

Two Isle kids now in the next generation of their country’s leaders. Audrey had never seen that coming. But maybe she would have if she took control rather than wait for her commands. Maybe foresight worked best when you were shaping your own story.

Chapter Text

Every morning, Uma jumped off a cliff.  

Once, mornings meant being smacked awake by Mom’s tentacle or a baby wharf rat looking for breakfast. Now, Uma could not face the day until she’d felt the wind rush past her face and the welcome embrace of saltwater below.

There was no need for a swimsuit or to strip down. Even her braids would be completely unaffected by the water. Magic, that sweet nectar Uma had been told about her whole life but only just learned the taste of, made the impossible possible.

In the water off the Isle, the barrier made pollution accumulate, the currents rough, and the natural ecosystems distorted. Clouds got stuck in the barrier’s atmosphere too, so the waves never sparkled like they did here.

It isn’t fair, she thought even as she enjoyed it. Her mother deserved to taste fresh water again too. Uma should not have had to wait seventeen years to know this.

The moment she crossed the barrier for the first time, Uma felt like a ten-ton killer whale had been dropped on her body. Like a thousand leeches were pulling all her strength out of her skin through their sharp-toothed mouths. Like an electric eel struck her, forcing her body to jerk and convulse as immense power surged into it.

Mom had said it would hurt, but the forewarning didn’t cushion her. Uma had been so out of it that she couldn’t even object when the driver took her right to a hospital, and doctors laid their hands on her and stuck her full of somethings.

The first face she saw when she woke up was Mal, her old rival. She was in a lavender tweed suit, sitting on a chair next to the bed Uma was lying in. The room they were in was beige and sterile. Uma had seen enough TV to guess it was a hospital.

“Did I die and go to hell?” Uma said.

“I bet myself ten bucks your first words would be an insult,” Mal said, “How do you feel?”

“What am I doing here?” Uma said. She sat up. She didn’t feel that bad anymore. There was just a dull thudding at the back of her skull. 

“You’re in a hospital close to the school campus. The Magical Injury Ward. You experienced Sudden Onslaught Magic Overexposure. It’s a largely unstudied phenomenon, as it only happens in the rare case where a person of magical heritage has been deprived of magic.”

“I knew about all that,” Uma said, “But thanks for the encyclopedia entry.”

Mal shrugged, “No one told me before I came. I mostly had vertigo. It helped when I did spells, and I did a lot of those from the get. Your body will adapt.”

“So, I can leave?” Uma said.

Mal nodded, “Soon, probably. They made these pills for you to take. They help your body adjust.”

“I am not taking Auradon pills,” Uma said, “I have a home remedy.”

“Okay,” Mal said, shrugging.

“Why are you here? Strike when I’m down?”

Mal laughed, tipping her head back to share her humor with the ceiling, “I really did miss this. I came to bring you to campus. I’m on the welcome committee.”

“Where’s my crew?”

“In the waiting room right outside. They refused to go ahead without you.”

“Of course not. They’re loyal,” Uma said.

Mal leaned forward and grinned at Uma with a conspiratorial air.

“You feel better, right?” Mal said, “Like…you’ve been hungry for days and finally got a full stomach?”

Uma nodded. It was like she was awake for the first time. Now she understood why her mother looked so haggard all the time. Magic stemmed from your very life force. It was unnatural for beings like them to be deprived of it.

Since that day, Uma had been learning how to control the new power surging through her veins. It now felt wrong to ever be out of the water and walking on two legs. The sea was where she belonged. To cope, she’d started these morning swims.

While the magical aspects of the outside world felt so right, its people lived completely upside down. Mal’s little squad acted like the only way to survive was to stand on your head accordingly. Uma did respect that they’d had to make it here first, but she liked how she saw just fine. Uma took this education because it was what she was owed, and she did not have to kiss the ass that fed her.

Today, Uma swam out towards the Isle, getting as close as the barrier allowed. She could feel its power reverbing against her own. She surfaced her head to peek at the Jolly Roger. A little girl was up in the sails, mending a tear. Uma watched her work through it. She’d been taught well.

There were some days Uma splashed for attention and tried to yell across the distance. Today, she just headed back.

Uma had been assigned a dorm room with Freddie Facilier. Besides the constant smell of burnt offerings to Hecate, it was going okay. She’d worried their merchant/pirate leanings would be an issue, but both were too practical to shit where they ate. Their dorm even acted as common room for all the new Isle kids which is why it wasn’t a shock today when she came back to find it filled with all twelve of the Prep’s newest transfers.

Freddie and Celia Facilier were sitting close together on Freddie’s bed, with Dizzy Tremaine’s head in Celia’s lap. On the floor, the Shmee twins played a video game De Vil gave them. Uma’s crew members were hogging her bed. The others spread out around the floor and the plushy armchairs.

“It’s just screwed up how- hey Uma,” Big Murph said. He gave her a familiar smile when his one un-eye-patched eye noticed that she had walked in.

“What’s up?” she said to the room.

“Did you know?” Harry said.

“Know what?” she said.

“Jay’s a prince,” Freddie said, “I swiped this from the hall.” She handed Uma a crinkled newspaper that had clearly passed through twelve hands already. Uma didn’t need to read it.

“Did Evie tell you?” Harry said.

“Yeah, she did,” Uma said neutrally. She gave Harry a warning look. Evie had yet to tell her little gang about them, as she was waiting for things to settle around this, and Uma was trying to keep a lid on it out of respect.

Uma knew she should care a little more about this whole thing since Jay was family to Evie, but Uma hardly knew the guy. They hadn’t been close when they were both in Mal’s gang. He had hung around the docks a lot for a townie, but he was usually stealing, gathering intel, or distracting Harry and Gil from business they should’ve been doing for her. Uma knew he had been acting weird though, and that weirdness had impeded on her and Evie’s alone time.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Gil said, more confused than offended, as was his way.

“She only told me last night,” Uma said, “I knew something was off with that boy before that. Didn’t I call it when those royals came to the game?”

“You did,” Harry said.

“Jay should have told us!” Freddie said, “We were the last to know. I had to hear it from that annoying Ariana girl.”

“It’s not really our business,” Dizzy Tremaine said, twisting the skirt of her dress.

“It involves us!” Freddie said, “I’ve had twelve rando’s text me today asking if I knew. If it involves one VK, we’re all involved.”

“Maybe this will make them let everyone off the Isle for good, if they think some of their own might be stuck there too,” Uma said. She pushed Gil aside so she could stretch out on her own bed. Her legs always felt tingly and sore after a swim.

“I’d put money on the opposite,” Celia said, “Jay’s not as tame as the other three. They’ll turn on him and say we’re all too feral for proper society.”

“Are you trying to say the good people of Auradon don’t like us?” Uma said, with a gasp, “Why would you say such a thing?” They all laughed with varying degrees of bitterness.

“I think you’ve got it, Celia,” Zevon said, “My mom says every good leader has their attack dog. The guy everyone’s afraid of, but the leader keeps around to warn people what can happen to them. Jay was Mal’s.”

“He’s not that scary,” Desiree said. But Desiree’s tolerance for violence was higher than anyone Uma knew, and that was saying something. Right now, she was picking dirt out of her fingernails with a dagger.

“Remember how he snapped at Fight Night?” Zevon said.

“I remember kicking him in the balls,” Uma said, smiling at the memory.

“Do you guys know Toothless Todd? That was Jay,” Claudine said in her hushed little voice.

“Really?” Dizzy said.

“He used to hang out with Sketchy Kevin and the other mercenaries. Everyone’s afraid of those guys,” Big Murph said, “And that was when he was like, ten.”

“Anthony always told me to hide when Jay had to come collect,” Dizzy said. Uma looked at Harry. He enjoyed scaring the people who paid them off too.

“Jay’s not any worse than any of us,” Uma said, “When did you all get soft?”

“Yeah, Jay taught me how to throw my first knife. I’ve followed him into fights,” Celia said.

“Jay and I used to trade stuff we stole all the time,” Freddie said, “He’s alright and was a good second to Mal.”

“We like Jay, don’t we?” Gil said to Uma, “He got me on the team.”

“I didn’t say I hate him!” Dizzy said, “He’s Evie’s friend. And he’s different here.”

“Jafar’s a bastard,” Reza said. He was a smart kid, who didn’t talk much, “My dad got sent to the Isle for helping his coup, and he never repaid him for his loyalty. I’m not surprised he did something like this.”

“He’s a supreme dickhead,” Desiree said, nodding. There were a few noises of agreement. The room seemed back on Jay’s side. Even the worst VKs became digestible once you held them up next to the person who raised them.  

Uma wasn’t naïve enough to ever doubt the cruelty of a parent. Harry and Gil and Mal had made Uma realize that her mom was only tough because the world was tougher. Ursula was strict and annoying and always talking Uma’s ears off about something, but she’d never let Uma go hungry when she could help it, and she didn’t let Uma stay out all night, sleeping Neptune knows where. Although she still rolled her eyes at Mom’s advice, Uma could begrudgingly admit she was pretty much always right in the end.

“Uma, did Evie say anything else?” Dizzy said. Uma was impressed the girl was brave enough to speak directly to her now. She’d grown up a lot the past few months.

“Not much that isn’t in this article,” Uma said. Just some stuff about Jay’s feelings which Uma couldn’t care less about. Still, Uma almost smiled remembering the cute face Evie made when she worried.

“I think Jay should have told all of us,” Freddie said. Next to her, her sister nodded, “What makes you so special?”

“Evie and Uma are girlfriends,” Gil said. Uma and Harry punched his arms at the exact same time.

“You told us that?” Gil said, betrayed.

“That was a secret. Remember our rules about secrets?” Uma said tersely. Gil had trouble with subtleties like that, so she didn’t want to confuse him by denying it.

“Girlfriends?” Dizzy squeaked.

“Oh, that’s rich, Captain,” Desiree said before cackling.

“A pirate and a castle kid? We are in a brave new world now,” Celia said.

“Shut up,” Uma said. Gods, if only magic could make her cheeks stop burning.

“I knew you had someone, since you were always leaving that bandana on the doorknob. Glad it’s one of ours,” Freddie said. A few kids hooted.

“This doesn’t leave this room. Her friends don’t know yet,” Uma said.

“Serves them right. Now we’re even over Jay,” Celia said.

“How is that making things even?” Zevon said.

“I can’t believe we know something about one of her own that Big Bad Mal doesn’t,” Desiree said, “Ugh, you know the rules say she’s crew now, right?”

“What rules?” Harry said.

“Pirate code,” Desiree said, “Blackbeard, am I the only one who honors the code?”

“No code for where we sail now,” Uma said.

“Woah, I got another text,” Freddie said, sitting up with a jolt that made her sister curse, “Ariana Rose said people would pay ten-thousand bucks for stories about Jay.”

“Ten-thousand?” Celia said.

“What do you mean stories?” Dizzy said.

“Like, for newspapers. Dramatic, embarrassing shit I assume,” Freddie said. Uma could see a sheen in her eyes. Freddie waitressed at the same greasy spoon as Uma, and the Facilier sisters had several gigs on the side. Their parents had taught them all to work hard and always keep hustling because nothing came for free. The little they’d been given here didn’t match the wealth their classmates flaunted around even though it was built on their parents’ downfall. That same wealth that one of their own had stumbled upon without a nod to the people he’d come from.

Uma chewed on what to say next.

So, what happened next after your close friend comes out as a Missing Prince?

First, you answer a hundred texts with the most diplomatic forms of “fuck off” you can think of (“I am deleting them,” Mal said, “You’re too polite.”)

Next, you hide out at his parents’ embassy all weekend, flushed in snacks and secret rooms to explore (“No, seriously, when can we leave?” Audrey said, “None of these have my custom-made shampoo.”)

After that, you return to school because you have to and deal with your lovable ham as he enjoys being the center of attention (“I’ve been proposed to five times. And Mr. Lilly said if I was too traumatized, I didn’t have to take the midterm. This freaking rules.”)

And after a few days, when the hype has plateaued if not died down, you make a plan for how to reveal the second hugest secret weighing on your mind.

Because, yes, Evie had said to Uma she was ready to declare their love from the rooftops (Okay, not yet Love. She would declare Strong Like). But then Jay came back from his college trip saying he was ready to tell the world about his secret identity. Evie wanted to be sensitive with her friends’ emotional bandwidths so that they could support Jay during this time. As they all emailed Jasmine’s PR team with thoughts on the release, Evie wondered how she would break her own news in the most sensitive of ways. She’d said her intentions into her mirror every night and rewritten her wording in the back of her notebooks before it felt right.

“I’m ready to tell everyone about Uma,” Evie said to Carlos at her locker.

“Okay, cool,” Carlos said, barely looking up from his book.

“Wow, that’s all I get?” Evie said.

“Sorry,” Carlos said, closing the book but keeping a finger in between the pages for easy access, “Woo!”

“Rude.”

“It’s just been sooo long, E,” he said, “I forgot it was a big secret.”

“Well, it is to Jay and Mal. I kind of need to tell them soon because Uma told Gil, and he let it slip to all the VKs. I don’t want them to hear from anyone else.”

“Yeah, Mal wouldn’t like that,” Carlos said.

“I was worried about Mal knowing the most, but she gave me that whole speech about getting along with the pirates! So, I think it will all be smooth sailing. Ha, I can’t stop making nautical puns lately.”

“When’s it happening?” he said.

“I thought Uma could join us for lunch,” Evie said, “Hey!”

Evie waved at Uma from down the hall. Uma came over, a crooked grin on her face.

“You ready?” Uma said.

“Yeah,” Carlos said, “Real big stuff. I am suitably amped.”

“It’s going to be so great. Now we can all hang out!” Evie said.

“Yeah, that’s been top of my list,” Uma said. Evie gave her a look.

“Sorry, Princess. Your friends are almost as snooty as the Auradon’s. And not in your endearing, charming way.”

“We are not,” Evie said. 

“You proclaimed yourself rulers of the Isle,” Uma said, “Snoot. Snoot. Snoot.”

“It’s a compliment, E. We’re still the baddest. People are jealous,” Carlos said. He opened his book up again to read as they walked.

“What are you reading that’s so interesting?” Evie said.

He held up the book. It was called “Surviving Cruelty”. On the cover was an older couple surrounded by somewhere in the neighborhood of one-hundred-and-one dalmatians.  

“Why are you reading that?” Evie said.

“Know thy enemy?” he said. She raised an eyebrow.

“Jane leant it to me. The Radcliffe’s e-mailed FG asking if we could meet sometime,” he said. He started running his fingernails over the edges of the closed book.

“Gross,” Uma said. Maybe Evie shouldn’t have broached the topic with Uma around. Carlos didn’t know her so well, and Evie’s girlfriend could be less than sensitive at times.

“It could be nice. Snow White took me to lunch once, and it was okay,” Evie said. After it had been terrifying and awkward as hell.

“I see Melody when I’m swimming sometimes. We don’t even make eye contact,” Uma said, “I like it that way. I have no interest in meeting her parents.”

“Then you should probably skip Parents’ Day this weekend,” Evie said, “Last semester, there was this whole thing with Mal and Queen Leah…it was bad.”

“Yeah, we’ve all gotten the heads-up about that. A polite yes-you’re-invited-but-also-please-fuck-off.”

“You’re not missing much,” Carlos said, “Finger sandwiches, mean old people, and lawn games. It’s boring as hell.”

“It’s fucked up we’re the only kids who can’t see their parents. They set up these video calls, but it’s not the same.”

“Oh, gods, last term, they set that up for us as a surprise, and I basically told my mom to fuck off. Great times,” Carlos said.

“I am not letting Mom have visual capabilities. She’s critical enough just hearing my voice,” Evie said, “Dizzy’s so excited though. Did you hear Anthony’s coming?”

“Did I? The munchkin has gotten it into her head that we’re friends now, and she’s talked my frigging ear off about him. I miss when she was terrified of me,” Uma said, “We’re planning this Anti-Parents-Day party at the dorm. I’m thinking up games. Five finger fillet, pin the dagger on the teacher. Bring your own picture.”

“We have to go to the normal one for Jay,” Evie said, “But we’ll sneak out early. Sounds like fun.”

“I’m relieved the Radcliffe’s don’t have any kids,” Carlos said, “Even if they’re good people, I wouldn’t want to worry about running into them all the time.”

“If they helped invent the Human Rights Abuse Factory down the block, they’re not good people,” Uma said, “I bet their dogs eat better than you did for most of your life.”

“They do,” Carlos said, “I get their dog food for Dude. It’s organic.”

“They were friends with your mom, once,” Evie said.

“Yeah,” Carlos said, “It’s all in this book. Mom’s basically the main character. It’s weird that someone else knows what it’s like to know her. How she can be. The good and bad.”

“Good?” Evie said doubtfully.

“I don’t know. This lady describes it well. Mom’s like a sun. She’ll burn you up, but sometimes you gotta stare at her anyway. She also talks about how even when Mom turned abusive, she stuck around because she still saw the good. I think that’s why Jasper and Horace stay. They remember her from before, and they can’t see her clearly now.”

“So…do you want to meet them?” Evie said.

“I don’t know,” Carlos said, “I don’t like strangers. Worse when they’re older. Worse worse if they bring up Mom.”

Evie slipped her hand into Carlos’ and squeezed. She knew the intimacies of Cruella as well as anyone.

“They might just want to use you to offload their guilt,” Uma said.

“Maybe I could get free dog food out of it,” Carlos said.

“If we were back on the Isle, and it was a week until the next barge, and you’re out of everything but dog food, do you eat it?” Uma said.

“Oh, yeah,” Carlos said, and the easy surety in his voice made Evie laugh. The tension in her stomach released. Carlos had a twisted sense of humor, like Uma’s, and he wasn’t the shaky kid he used to be. And Evie could trust Uma too not to be too harsh to someone vulnerable. She knew her better now.

“Maybe dog food is only bad because it’s not, like, seasoned. I mean, still meat, right? Dude’s even has gravy.”

“Carlos, gross!” Evie said.

“You’re a weirdo,” Uma said, “I bet you’ve already eaten it.”

“You asked! Would you not?”

“I mean, maybe if all the fish guts were gone,” Uma said.

“Wait, you eat fish even though you are half fish?” Carlos said.

“Huh, I’ve never thought about it like that,” Uma said, “Maybe my mom’s more twisted than I realized.”

They stepped into the lunchroom and scoped out where Mal, Jay, and Ben occupied their usual table.

“You ready?” Evie said.

“Yeah. Are you?” Uma said.

“Of course,” Evie said. She set her shoulders back and walked forward.

Evie watched the confusion arise on her friends’ faces as they approached. They were probably wondering why Uma would come without her usual back-up. Mal would be asking herself if they’d scheduled an Isle meeting.

“Hey,” Evie said, “Mind if we join?”

“Never,” Mal said. They took their seats. Uma sat between Evie and an empty chair.

“Uma,” Jay said. He was smiling, “What’s up?”

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you guys about,” Evie said, “It’s been going on for a little while now, but with all the craziness of the past few weeks, I didn’t feel like I had a good moment to raise it.”

“What’s up, E?” Mal said, a dip in her tone betraying worry. Evie felt a rush of affection for her friend.

“Uma and I are dating,” Evie said. Despite the nerves, the sentence made her smile. She looked at Uma, who was tamping down her own grin.

“That’s great, Evie,” Carlos said first.

“I’m so glad you’ve found someone, Evie,” Ben said, radiating sincerity with every pore.

“No way,” Jay said, but he hadn’t stopped smiling either. He wiggled his brows at Uma which made her roll her eyes.

Mal was the only one who seemed genuinely shocked. Evie looked at her directly, silently trying to prompt some response.

“That is great,” Mal said, “I mean. I’m surprised. She’s my- whatever. We’re not on the Isle anymore. This is great.”

“Great,” Evie said.

“Just...”

“What?”

“Look, if I wanted to get back at someone, I wouldn’t go after them. I’d go after the person they care about the most,” Mal said.

Uma snorted, “Wow, Mally, I thought we were all pals?”

“Didn’t you just give me a whole spiel about how things were different now?” Evie said. She found her hand reaching for Uma’s under the table.

“I meant for working together. This is personal,” Mal said.

“What we have is its own special thing and has absolutely nothing to do with our former gang blood feud. I mean, don’t you trust me to tell the difference?”

“Of course, I do!” Mal said, “Old habits die hard. And sometimes…”

“What?” Evie said.

“I mean, in the past, you have lost your head when you have a crush,” Mal said.

“Screw you for bringing that up,” Evie said, “Do you really think I’m that stupid to fall for that again? And that was- that was my mom’s thinking. This is entirely different.”

“If Uma’s got a plot, I couldn’t even figure it out, and we all know Uma is not subtle. She’d have already demanded ransom with a billboard if she was up to something,” Carlos said.

“You knew and you didn’t tell me?” Jay said.

“Evie swore me to secrecy,” Carlos said.

“How long has this been going on?” Mal said.

“We’ve only been officially dating for two weeks,” Evie said.

“How long unofficially?” Mal said.

“The whole semester,” Uma said, “I really liked the inside of your sock drawer, by the way. Sick knife collection.”

“Evie!” Mal said, “How did you- when were you in our room?”

“You’re not exactly a homebody, Mal,” Evie said.

“You could have told me,” Mal said.

“Because you’re taking it so well,” Uma said under her breath.

“Maybe I should have told you,” Evie said, “I didn’t like keeping it secret. But we both agreed there was less drama that way. And when I discovered I had feelings…I didn’t want people to know if I was rejected.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t see how obvious I was being. I mean, I took your fashion advice,” Uma said.

“That just means you have a brain,” Evie said, but her stomach got butterflies.

“I’m sorry for my reaction,” Mal said, “I mean, it’s weird, but you guys are right. We’re different people here now. I should be more…trusting.” The word sounded physically painful for Mal to utter, so opposite of everything they’d ever been taught, but Evie felt warm hearing it.

“Thank you,” Evie said, reaching out a hand to put over Mal’s. She put her other over Evie’s. It would be a huge relief not to hide this from her best friend.

“I still want to give Uma a shovel talk though,” Jay said, “It’s you, Eves, how could I not? Also, the one we gave to Ben was so unsatisfying.”

“Ben practically begged us to kill him in the event he hurt Mal. I had to comfort him,” Carlos said. Ben grimaced and nodded.

“Yeah, I’ve got some ideas,” Mal said, her eyes flashing green.

“Don’t go overboard,” Evie said, “Pun not intended. But you all know I can handle myself.”

“I’d be offended if you held back at all. Please, townies, impress me,” Uma said.

“Harry and Gil actually gave me the talk already. It was terribly sweet,” Evie said. Harry had spent half the time explaining the concept to Gil. He had almost sliced his nose off when he tried to smack his forehead in frustration while wearing his hook.

“Ours is going to be ten times better than theirs,” Jay said, “I’m going to come up with threats no one’s ever even thought of. You’re not even ready.”

“Can you even go around threatening people anymore?” Uma said, “Isn’t that bad for the royal reputation?”

If Uma had sounded all-the-way joking, they would have laughed. If she’d truly meant to insult, Jay would have shot right back. But something in the tenor of the question sounded like genuine concern.

“I just have to save it for special occasions,” Jay said, with a half-hearted laugh.

“I’m honored, Duke of the Sleeveless,” Uma said. There, they all laughed, and just like before, Evie told herself she had no reason to worry.

They all just had to get used to each other.

It took Carlos a while to get used to people.

He’d actually only gotten used to three. As in truly comfortable at any point in time. Even Ben was still in the waiting room of yet-to-be-used-to. It wasn’t an insult or even a lack of affection. It was Carlos’ problem, and obviously, a side effect from so long being surrounded exclusively by terrible, terrible people. Distrust was how Carlos survived. He hung back, kept his mouth shut, and watched. If things got heated, he bolted because he knew he was small and frail and given to paralyzing waves of panic, thanks to his nerve-frying mother.  Carlos often thanked whoever was listening that he had found three people who looked out for his bony butt despite all the reasons it could get them killed. He’d worked every day to be bad enough to be in their gang. Some days, he even believed it.

None of that helped here though. People again seemed to sense he was the weak link, but this time, that was endearing. Sometimes, it bothered him, but Carlos’ ruthless practicality saw the benefits of being underestimated. Yet, it was weird when the guy slowest to trust people was the first one that strangers picked out as approachable.

This is all to say that for the first time since he was thirteen, Carlos was making new friends, and he had no idea how to act. Like, the Robotics Club ruled. Carlos could talk robots all freaking day. They were robots. Carlos had dreamed of building something this sophisticated out of broken TV remotes and discarded milk jugs, but now, he was getting free tech just for fun. He didn’t like to brag, but Carlos’ hands-on experience and knack for picking up strange operating systems made him hot shit in this crowd. The praise was especially nice coming from people who appreciated the details of Carlos’ genius.

But when the robots were gone, the club just wanted to keep…hanging out? That, Carlos couldn’t figure. He’d had several conversations where he asked Ben to parcel out why someone wanted to get pizza with Carlos but then also said they wouldn’t care if Carlos wasn’t hungry? What was the point if there was no meal? And if there was a meal, was this free (which was a trap) or were they asking Carlos for the pizza (which he didn’t even know the worth of for a barter)?

All the VKs were pretty bad at this, to be fair, but Carlos felt especially slow. Once he realized the dearth of social rules that he was ignorant of, he started watching the Auradon kids like hawks to try and figure them out fast.

If he was clueless enough about the friendly stuff, Carlos was completely ignorant of the arts of Auradon romance. All romance was foreign to him. Evie was his first and closest friend. On the Isle, no one dated in the same way, and even if they did, no one would ever think that someone as beautiful as Evie was going out with a dork like Carlos. There was no implication when they spent time together.

So, yeah, sue Carlos for being blind-sided when Jane asked him out.

“Carlos?” Jane said. Robotics Club had just ended, and Jane had stuck around in his dorm after to talk.

“Yeah?” he said. He was still fiddling with the battery cover of their robot for a big competition next week. They were trying to get the most power from as sleek a design as possible. Carlos got to buy all new screwdrivers with the club’s budget which had made his whole month.

“Uh…have you thought about meeting the Radcliffe’s?” she said.

“Yeah, a little,” he said, “I think it’s a no.”

“Oh, why?” she said.

“I just don’t want to. I mean, I’m not scared or anything. I just don’t feel like it, and I think I got to get better at saying no to people.”

“That’s valid,” she said, “I had to learn that too.”

“Yeah, it’s hard,” he said.

“Uh…Carlos?” Jane said.

“Yeah?”

“Would you want to hang out sometime?”

“Like…now?”

“No, I mean,” she said, “Would you like to hang out in a planned way…like a date?”

Carlos almost dropped his screwdriver.

His mind did a quick analysis of Jane. She was nice. Shy. Not stuck-up. She had nice skin and bright eyes. If you got past the differences of where they came from, they did make sense together, two quiet kids who liked the same stuff. But he didn’t think he liked her. Carlos had noticed so few people in that way. Jane had never made his heart race, or his hands go all sweaty. Maybe he should go on the date anyway? Just so he didn’t embarrass her. But he didn’t want her to think he pitied her. He would be more mortified by that than outright rejection.

“Um, Jane, I- “

“WHAT’S UP?”

The door swung open, and Jay walked in. He was wearing his muddied tourney uniform and holding a towel up to his forehead.

Carlos jumped about a foot in the air. Jane startled too, looking at Jay like he’d walked in with glowing green skin. Dude jumped out of his bed to greet Jay with happy yips.

“Sorry, ‘Los, didn’t mean to spook you,” Jay said quickly, “Hey, Jane. Hey, Dude!” Jay leaned down to grab the dog with one hand, the other still holding the towel.

“Hi,” Jane squeaked.

“We’re going to play-offs!” Jay yelled, “It was a BATTLE. A firefight. We snatched victory from the jaws of- “

“Your idiot friend got a head wound,” Audrey said. She had walked in behind Jay, wearing her cheerleading uniform.

“What?” Carlos said. He got into Jay’s space and took Dude, putting him on the floor.

“I’ll live,” Jay said. Carlos put his hand over Jay’s so he could remove the towel. The right corner of his forehead was a bloody, scraped up mess, with grass and dirt mixed in.

“What happened?” Carlos said.

“He got hit by a flying disc, got knocked on his rear, but then got back up and went on running,” Audrey said with a bored tone, like she had to deal with this all the time. The girl had been hanging out here so much that Carlos no longer questioned her presence. Jay and Audrey squabbled constantly, but their secret tunnel bonding day had created an odd chumminess. Jay was easy to get along with and had always been picking up hangers-on back home. That was how he’d survived.

“It was the LAST PLAY! The WINNING SHOT! I can’t wait for the game tapes!” Jay said.

“Coach let you off without going to the nurse?” Carlos said.

“We dumped water on him after we won,” Jay said, “He was a little distracted.”

“I said we should go to the nurse,” Audrey said. 

“I said Carlos will do it better without making it a big deal. It’s not that bad. There’s only all this blood because it’s my head. You know how it goes,” Jay said. He smiled down at Carlos, clearly drunk off his victory.

“I know how it goes,” Carlos said, “Let me clean it out at least and see what it needs.”

“It’s a lot of blood,” Jane said. Her voice sounded oddly loopy.

“Jane, look away. You’re going to pass out,” Audrey said. She steered the other girl on to Carlos’ bed, angled away from them.

“She got the same way when we did blood type testing in Biology,” Audrey stage-whispered to them.

“Uh, just breathe?” Carlos said. He was better suited to patching up Jay than consoling her. The sight and handling of blood were just facts to Carlos. He understood disgust but outright fear of it seemed hopelessly impractical.

Carlos went into the bathroom to grab the first aid kit. Jay sat on the desk chair so that Carlos could inspect the wound properly. It made Carlos feel weirdly powerful to be looking down at Jay for once. He stepped in between Jay’s legs so he could get in close. It was mostly a scrape, but one spot was deep enough to be concerning. It must have been where the disc hit.

Carlos dampened a square of cotton with disinfectant. The clean alcohol smell was weirdly comforting to Carlos. There was something luxurious about its sterility.

He pushed Jay’s long, messy hair back off his face, and it was damp enough to stay put. Then Carlos raised the square to the wound while he used his other hand to hold Jay’s face still, cupping the bottom half of it. The skin of Jay’s jaw was smooth and warm under Carlos’ palm. There wasn’t even a prickle of stubble.

Carlos looked into the bloody mess, but Jay’s eyes stayed on Carlos’ face. His victory grin was still present. When he smiled, the corner of his lips traveled under Carlos’ hand. The only sign of his discomfort was a slight twinge of his eyelids when Carlos pressed the disinfectant into the opened skin.

“I think you have bits of turf in here,” Carlos said. Jay breathed a laugh. Carlos felt the air from it on his hand.

“I went down hard,” Jay said, “But I recovered. You should have seen it.”

“I’ve seen you eat shit plenty of times,” Carlos said.

“They had it out for me after I gave their receiver a fat lip,” Jay said gleefully.

Carlos put down the now red square and wetted another. When he stuck it to Jay’s forehead, his friend grabbed his wrist and a hiss escaped from behind his teeth.

“Pussy,” Carlos said. He tried not to think about how Jay’s big hand felt wrapped around Carlos’ bony wrist. Carlos instead tightened his own left hand’s grip on Jay’s chin.  

“Asshole,” Jay said. He let go of Carlos’ wrist.

“I think it needs a couple stitches,” Carlos said.

“So, should we call a doctor?” Audrey said. She walked over and scrutinized Jay’s forehead herself. Carlos got to work sterilizing the needles. Early on in their time here, he and Evie had raided a pharmacy to stock up for worse injuries than tourney mishaps.

“Carlos does ‘em just fine,” Jay said, his dark eyes twinkling a bit before he winked at Carlos.

Carlos breathed in deep. He had to focus. Thankfully, even when his heart was beating out of his chest, his hands remained steady.

“Carlos is going to put in stitches?” Jane said dubiously. She still had not turned around.

“You’ve done this before, right?” Audrey said, more sensitively.

“I’ve had lots of practice,” Carlos said, “This is an easy one.”

“Just be quick. We’re having a victory party,” Jay said.

“Audrey, will you hold his head still?” Carlos said. Usually, he could trust Jay not to be annoying about a little pain, but he wouldn’t stop talking.

Audrey put both her hands on the sides of Jay’s face. Her pale pink nail polish made a funny contrast against Jay’s skin.

Carlos readied the needle and medical thread and got to work. This was easy. There was only a little blood, Jay was lucid, they weren’t in a wet alleyway with enemies just around the corner.  Easy.

Jay didn’t make a sound as the needle went in. The corner of his eyes just crinkled again. He honestly seemed to preen under all the attention.

“I learned how to do stitches in a first aid class. It was on a banana though,” Audrey said.

“I learned on myself,” Carlos said quietly. Jay’s hand moved to touch Carlos’ side and then fell away.

“Okay,” Carlos said, after he’d knotted the second stitch to satisfaction, “Not bad. Let me add a band-aid, and you’re ready to party.”

“But what will you do about the brain damage?” Audrey said. She removed her hands from Jay’s face as he broke into a howling laugh. Carlos snickered too as he cleaned up.

“I’ve actually had this terrible migraine since the day we met,” Jay said to Audrey. She stuck her tongue out at him.

Audrey was a really pretty girl. One of the prettiest in the grade, though Carlos felt shallow for thinking it. She could be funny too, now that she didn’t hate them so much. Jay had a type with the girls he went for as much as he did with the guys- high maintenance, girly girls. Carlos always chalked that up to how much stealable jewelry that type wore, but maybe not. Jay was talking to Audrey with as little contempt as he’d ever had. They were both really good-looking. A striking couple, the tourney captain and the cheerleader. They were even in matching uniforms.

“What brought you here, Jane?” Audrey said. The other girl cautiously turned around.

“Robotics Club,” Jane said quietly.

“I didn’t know you were into that kind of thing. You always hated science class,” Audrey said.

“Really?” Carlos said, “What made you join Robotics then?”

Jane didn’t answer. Carlos suddenly remembered what they’d been in the middle of a few minutes before. Unfortunately, Audrey seemed to pick it up too.

“Oh, that’s adorable,” she said. Jane’s big eyes went even wider.

“Oooh,” Jay said, laughing.

“We’re just friends,” Carlos said quickly. He’d been trying to save Jane embarrassment, but her face just fell in disappointment.

“I should go,” she said, quickly grabbing her backpack and walking out of the room. Carlos sighed. He’d have to apologize later. For what little he knew of Auradon love, he knew he’d fucked up.

“De Vil the heartbreaker. Who knew?” Audrey said.

“Lots of people,” Jay said, “Yeesh. I feel bad. I didn’t know she’d do that.”

“We are just friends,” Carlos said.

“Jane’s a nice girl though,” Audrey said, “You’d be cute together. Don’t you think, Jay?”

“I mean, uh,” Jay said, “Come on. She almost fainted back there. Carlos should be with someone more…”

“More?” Carlos said quietly. Jay’s eyes turned to his, wide, like he’d been caught in something wrong. But then he laughed.

“I don’t know,” Jay said, “Scrappy.”

“Scrappy?” Audrey said, “We’re talking girls, not used cars.”

“I don’t know. I hate this mushy stuff,” Jay said, “Come on. Let’s go party.”

Jay took off his bloody jersey and started working on removing the padding underneath. Audrey automatically went to help him with the back straps, and Carlos’ stomach went red hot.

“You coming, C?” Jay said. He was peeling off the tight exercise shirt he wore under the pads, slowly revealing the muscled torso underneath.

“Uh, yeah, maybe for a bit,” Carlos said, suddenly crouching down next to his forgotten robot, his face looking down, “But I should clean this up and follow you.”

“We can wait?” Jay said. He was rustling around his dresser, taking so, so long to find a shirt.

“No, it’s okay,” Carlos said, his voice cracking a bit on the last syllable.

“Okay,” Jay said. He walked past Carlos, brushing against Carlos’ ass on his way out. 

Yeah, Carlos was definitely going to need a minute alone.

Jay rarely found himself alone these days. In fact, he’d never been more popular.

After the story broke, all the royal kids started waving at him in the halls and high-fiving him for no reason. It was just like the day after a big win. Which was weird because he hadn’t done anything to earn this, but whatever.

And then they made play-offs! Which was freaking sick. His parents couldn’t go, but they’d watched it on TV. His mom only asked about his head after, but his dad sent lengthy reactions and questions about the different plays. He was really getting into the sport. They’d talk more about it tomorrow, when his parents came back to town for Parents’ Day.

At the after-party, Jay snapped a picture of him and Gil holding up their division-champ medals to send to his dad, angled to keep their beer cans hidden behind their back. They were on the balcony of Seth White’s mom’s apartment, and you could see all of Auradon City behind them. Jay thought that the neighbors across the hall would be facing the Isle. He wondered what they thought when they saw that cloudy blur in their beautiful view.

“I’ve never been this far above ground!” Gil said, “It’s weird!”

“Yeah!” Jay said. He looked around the apartment. All the fancy furniture and trinkets just out on display. He tried to ignore it and took a long pull from his beer. No one else was worried. Chad and Zack kept pushing at each other and were standing so close to a porcelain statue of a bird. You know who the parents will be first to blame if it breaks.

Not you, not anymore.

“I love winning,” Gil said out of nowhere. Jay threw his head back and laughed.

“Yeah, me too.”

“Hey, Harry! Uma!” Gil yelled. Jay saw the two of them walking in the door, and thankfully, Evie was on Uma’s arm. Their arrival more than doubled the amount of VKs at this party. That filled Jay with a sense of relief, but at the same time, the rest of the room seemed to get a little tenser when they walked in. Or maybe that was just him.

“Congrats to my two favorite meatheads,” Uma said. She affectionately punched Gil’s arm, and he pulled her into a bearhug.

“Great game, guys,” Evie said.

“Yes, go team,” Harry said. He was wearing a half-unbuttoned leather vest which left most of his torso unexposed. Jay’s eyes lingered on a homemade tattoo on his right pec.

“See something you like?” Harry said.

“Dude, that octopus looks like pile of dog crap,” Jay said. Evie, Uma, and Gil burst out laughing.

“Does not!” Harry said, “Screw you, Uma, I got it for you!”

“And I’m very honored,” Uma said, “But I also know this is from Peg Leg Pete’s earliest work, and there was room for improvement.”

“Fuck me, no one’s ever said a thing,” Harry said, and he laughed too, loud and barking. Automatically, Jay scanned the room for any negative attention their volume attracted, but luckily, the rich kids’ third beers were hitting them, and the party was picking up. In the kitchen, the guys were doing some sort of drinking game Jay would undoubtedly get pulled into.

“I’m bored,” Audrey said, stepping on to the balcony right next to Jay. She stuck her bottom lip into a pout.

“Keep drinking,” Jay said. He grabbed a beer from a nearby box and handed it to her.

“I hate these parties,” she said, “And I hate beer. Why does no one ever dance at tourney parties? It’s just drinking games, boys punching dry-wall, and people hooking up in someone’s parents’ room.”

“I like to dance,” Harry said, “Hi, Harry Hook.” He held out a hand for Audrey to take.

“I know who you are,” Audrey said, accepting the hand, “I heard about the knife thing.”

“Misunderstanding,” Harry said.

“So, Jay, when you became a prince, did you get a princess with the deal like a side of fries?” Uma said.

“I am not an accessory!” Audrey said.

“Audrey has a little Isle in her blood, I swear,” Jay said, smirking. He pulled her in and gave her a noogie.

“Fuck you,” she said. She yanked hard at a lock of his hair.

“When Audrey hangs out with me, the other girls leave me alone,” Jay explained, “Devil you know, you know?”

“Since when are you scared of female attention?” Evie said.

“It’s just too complicated. Everyone here just speaks a different language when it comes to that shit. I don’t want to get in that kind of trouble,” Jay said.

“How did you tell someone you were interested where you’re from?” Audrey said, swirling her drink.

“Punch them.”

“Join their gang.”

“Or fight their gang,” Jay said, “But you never used your words because feelings were embarrassing.”

“Still are,” Uma said. Evie elbowed her and laughed.  

“You all are sad. I am a romantic, and I am not ashamed,” Harry said, “Princess, don’t listen to them. Our Isle was smelly and crowded and underfed, but on a hot summer night, if we stopped killing each other for five minutes, we cleared a floor, found our soulmates for one night, and we danced.”

Jay had to smile. When he wasn’t trying to fuck with you or throwing around his stupid hook, Harry had a sweet side. He really was a good guy, under all that asshole.

“He’s right. All Isle kids are fantastic dancers,” Jay said.

“See!” Harry said, “Watch this.”

Uma groaned as Harry crossed the room towards a record player in the corner. He pulled out a vinyl and dropped it on the player. He turned up the volume all the way as a spirited guitar began to play, drowning out the bland pop that Seth had going on his speaker.

“As if we didn’t stick out enough in this crowd,” Uma said.

“Not always a bad thing,” Evie said, and she pulled Uma towards the music. Audrey grinned and dragged Jay over. They pushed the couch back to make more space. Jay expected Audrey to try and waltz, but she instead was jumping and waving her arms with the beat of the song. Jay was too proud to let anyone think he didn’t have moves. He ignored the tourney team’s stares and pulled his best, spinning Audrey and then Evie and then finding Harry inches from him.

“Here we are again,” Harry said into his ear, and Jay grinned. It was familiar as it had been the first hundred times. Harry’s hand planted on the back of his neck, Jay’s going towards his hips.

No one knew you those first hundred times.

Jay took Harry’s hand down. They didn’t dance like that here.

“Later,” Jay said. Harry raised an eyebrow. Jay smiled at him.

“Later,” Jay said, and he made it sound like a promise, not a stipulation.

Jay walked off the floor to grab another drink and got roped into a chugging contest. He won and returned to the dancefloor drunker and without as many qualms. The Isle kids were minding their own territory, keeping a tight circle at the center. Mal had shockingly showed up, wearing a ripped tank she’d owned for years but hadn’t worn in months. Even Carlos came and was revealing his dancing prowess.

When he could feel the night coming to a close, Jay’s blood was still hot, and he got that urge to hold someone close and he returned to Harry. Jay snuck up behind, pulling at his belt loops to draw the other boy’s back into Jay’s chest.

“Now you’re ready, my lord?” Harry said, looking over his shoulder to give him a glare under all that eyeliner.

“Don’t be a brat,” Jay said, spinning him around to face him.  

“Where we going? Going to kick poor De Vil and his doggy out on the streets?” Harry said, looping his arms around Jay’s neck.

“I wasn’t going back to the dorms tonight,” Jay said, “I was going to my parents’ place.”

“Oh, the palace?”

“Their place here. They’re not there, and it’s a few minutes away,” Jay said.

“Say there’s satin sheets, and I’m yours,” Harry said. Jay laughed and led him towards the door.

On the walk there, Harry kept pushing Jay up against walls to kiss him like it was the last time he could.

“Hey, hey, we got a destination,” Jay said into Harry’s mouth.

“Just restless tonight,” Harry said.

“We can be plenty restless in a bed,” Jay said, and he was able to pull him along.

Jay went around the back just so he could watch Harry’s face when the door appeared from magic. His jaw fell too when Jay showed him his bedroom, with a king-sized bed, the softest sheets you’d ever felt, and enough space to fit twenty people. One wall had floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out on the moonlit deserts of Agrabah, thousands of miles away.

“How the other half lives,” Harry said with a low whistle.

“Never had my own room before,” Jay mumbled. It was still an overwhelming luxury.

“Let’s break it in,” Harry said, and that broke the spell of weird. Harry jumped on to the bed, and Jay followed after him, climbing on top of the other boy. Harry curled his legs around Jay’s waist and pulled off his t-shirt and pulled their mouths together.  They were both physical guys, had been the kind of boys who never sat still. There was always a sense of play to this, a rare fun that Jay had always needed. Their hands and mouths had their familiar avenues, but Harry liked his surprises too, soft when you thought he’d be rough, fierce where you expected tender.

After, Harry leaned against the headboard, making himself at home under the covers. Jay laid next to him, resting on his elbow, turned towards the other boy. Harry kept running his hands through the ends of his hair, a little too tender for their usual vibe.

“I didn’t think we’d ever do this again,” Harry said.

“I was just thinking how many times we have,” Jay said, grinning, “You were the first boy I ever messed around with. When we used to go under the pier. Did I ever tell you that?”’

“I could tell,” Harry said, “You were clueless.” Jay snorted.

“Rather be eaten by a crocodile than seen by my dad,” Harry continued. Jay dropped his smile. He’d been afraid of Jafar knowing too, because if Jafar knew Jay liked anything, he’d find a way to take it away. Old man Hook was a cruel man too.

“You got out though. Screw him,” Jay said.

“My mum and my little sister are still stuck with the bastard,” Harry said, “If Harriet gets to leave, then Mum’s all alone.”

“Sorry,” Jay mumbled.

“Not your fault,” Harry said, shrugging. He picked up a lock of Jay’s hair and twisted the end.

Jay and Harry had chased after each other as kids before the gangs drew lines in the sand. Even when they were enemies, it still felt safe to hook up because Jay knew exactly how Harry ticked. Only now could Jay admit to himself that there had been a relationship all this time. Not as clean as friend or boyfriend but a bond all the same.

“I thought you were dating that princess,” Harry said, “That was what made me think you’d really changed.”

“Audrey? Nah, it’s not like that,” Jay said.

“I mean, you stopped stooping to hit me up when your whole prince thing started,” Harry said.

“I actually found out way before we started again,” Jay said, “I was trying to…I don’t know, go back to old times.”

“That’s all I am, right? An old habit. Like biting your nails,” Harry said.

“I mean, what else?” Jay said, laughing, but then he looked at Harry’s face.

“Fuck, man, I’m- “Harry clamped a hand over Jay’s mouth.

“Don’t apologize,” he said, with one of his crazy grins Jay knew was just what he thought looked tough, “It’s too embarrassing.”

“I didn’t know,” Jay said, “I thought it went the same both ways.” Just messing around, like a game that boys played.

Harry shrugged, “Don’t flatter yourself thinking I’m heartbroken. I figured it out a long time ago. Back on the Isle. I mean, watching you and De Vil.”

“What- Carlos?” Jay said, “I could never. I mean, he’s- Carlos is way too good for me.”

“Huh,” Harry said, “Always thought it was the other way around. At least, in your head.”

“He’s a genius, and I’m an asshole. I could barely read when we met. I almost got him killed once. More than once. He’s gonna find someone so much better than me,” Jay said.

“So, will I,” Harry said. Jay felt so bad. He had no idea he’d hurt Harry’s feelings. That had never been something you ever admitted to. Yet, now Jay had the crushing realization that he’d been the jerk, so intimate with Harry over and over yet completely blind to what was going on on his end. He felt dirty, like he’d used him the way Jay had been used. The beer made him fuzzy, and the finality made him sentimental. Jay sat up and held Harry’s face in his hands. 

“I’m- it's not like this hasn't meant something. Especially when things were bad. You weren’t just some guy I hit up. Maybe if we’d never ended up on opposite sides or came here earlier- “

“Stop your blubbering, I’m not mad at you,” Harry said, laughing softly, “We did have some good times, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Jay said. He dropped his hands. It had been a long day, and his eyes felt heavy.

“Let’s go to sleep,” Harry said, “Yeah?”

Harry laid down and turned over. Jay followed his lead. Harry turned to guide Jay’s arm over Harry’s torso, encircling the other. They’d never done that before. Jay always had to run, back to his dad or his friends. He drifted off thinking that was a shame.

When Jay woke up, he felt a little sad.

Also, a headache, made worse by the bright sunlight coming in through his window. Jay swore under his breath and looked for his phone.

9 AM. His parents got in at…

“Wake up, wake up, wake up,” Jay said as he shook the pirate in his bed. What the hell had he been thinking? Bringing Harry of all people to his parents’ house? What would be his excuse? Sorry, Mom and Dad, I just got really drunk and horny?

“Hmm?” Harry said.

“You gotta go,” Jay said.

Harry’s brain worked fast, “I gotta go.”

Harry rolled out of bed and reached for that skimpy leather vest.

“Wait,” Jay said. He went over to a chest and pulled out a clean t-shirt. Harry didn’t even fight it. He threw it on right over the vest and pulled on his boots. Jay threw on some clean clothes too because last night’s reeked.

“Come on,” Jay said. He looked up and down the hall and pulled Harry out when he saw the coast was clear.

Okay, look, weird blood ward magic, as the rightful future sultan, I am asking you to please, please, please get me to the door as quick as possible, so my parents don’t see my ex-nemesis-with-benefits, Jay thought to the walls.

The house did him a solid. A red door appeared, and when Jay opened it, he found the back alley.

“Sorry, about the hasty exit. So, uh, I’ll see you around?” Jay said.

Harry laughed and pulled him into a kiss, “Fare thee well, my prince,” he said in his most dramatic, annoying Harry tone of voice.

“Yeah, fuck off to you too, Hook,” Jay said fondly.

“I’m keeping this shirt,” Harry said, and he turned down the alley.

Jay laughed and went back inside. Thanks, house, I’ll never even redecorate you.

In his room, he showered. He knew there was staff walking around somewhere, but he felt like he was all alone in the cavernous suite. He checked his phone, scrolling through photos from the party last night. His friends had texted him when he left, but he never answered. Evie had texted him individually though.

E: guess I’m not the only one going home with a pirate tonight ;)

Jay groaned and shot back a blushing emoji. He’d definitely pay for that later.

His parents arrived just a few minutes later. They were as usual overwhelmingly, embarrassingly overjoyed just to see his face. Over breakfast, Jay ducked his head as his dad recounted what he saw of the game to Ali and Dalia.

“When I saw you drop, I said it was over. You ate dirt. I bet you can still taste it. I thought you were out. But then you spring up, get the ball back, and score!” his dad said, gesturing each point emphatically with his spoon.

“I’ve got a really hard head,” Jay said to Dalia. She laughed into her cereal.

“You had it looked at, right?” his mom said.

“Yeah, it looked worse than it was,” Jay said. His mom looked doubtful.

“He’s tough,” his dad said. He winked at Jay.

“So, you all celebrated after?” Jasmine said.

“Yeah, just a little thing,” Jay said, even though his hangover was currently saying otherwise. He was having coffee and bacon with his spinach omelet.

“And then you had a guest here?” his mom said.

Fuuuuuuuuuuck.

Jay thought he was a good liar. He didn’t like to lie, but he could do it. Smoothly. Convincingly. Without even flinching. He’d learned from the best.

Except apparently, Jay could not lie to his mom.

This was the worst possible moment to figure that out.

 “Uh, how did you…” he stammered out. All the blood had drained from his face, and his tongue tied itself into a knot.

“Magic house,” she said, “It’s okay, love. You can always bring friends here. They could have joined us for breakfast.”

“It was just late last night, and, he, uh…” Jay said. Gods, Jay, think of something! Where’s the guy who hid his feelings for months? Where’s the guy who stole candy from babies?

“Was it Carlos?” his dad said.

“No, it was another guy…”

“From the team?”

“No. He’s from, uh, his name’s Harry.”

“Harry Hook?” Aziz said. His parents’ heads snapped to look at Aziz, who hadn’t spoken all morning and sounded extremely judgmental.

“Yeah,” Jay said, “He’s an old friend.”

“He got caught having knives on him in class!” Aziz said.

“That was a misunderstanding,” Jay said defensively. It’s not like anyone told Harry you couldn’t have those here. Hell, Jay had a pen knife in his pants pocket on the floor of his room.

“I’m sure he’s a wonderful boy,” Mom said firmly.

“But- “Aziz started, and Jasmine gave him a look, and he shut his mouth. Jay suddenly made it his life’s mission to never get that look aimed at him.

“He’s really not a bad guy,” Jay said, “I’ve known him since we were kids.”

“Did you make up a guest room?” his mom said.

“No,” Jay said automatically, and he immediately regretted it. Why couldn’t he lie to his mother? Was it some kind of weird biological instinct? Surely, there could be an exception for this moment, right?

“We, uh, I mean, my room is so big,” Jay said.

“I see. Well, we’d definitely love to meet him,” his mom said.

“Uh, maybe, sometime,” Jay said. He could feel his face going hot. That could never happen. There was a fine line between defending Harry and wanting someone with that much power to embarrass Jay around his parents.

Except, Jay was pretty sure he had already reached the floor of embarrassment when his parents cornered him later, right before they were supposed to head out to Parents’ Day.

“Dear, you can tell us anything,” his mom said. Jay looked up from his phone. This could not be good. His dad wasn’t looking him in the eye, but his mom had a determined look on her face. Jay kind of felt like he was about to jumped.

“…Thanks?” Jay said.

“I know we’ve made jokes in the past, but really, if you have a special person in your life, there is nothing to be embarrassed about. We just want to know so if they stay the night…just so we know it’s different from when a friend does that.”

Jay looked at his dad, who was staring resolutely at the sconce next to him. Useless.

“Harry isn’t…” Why was his throat so dry? “Really, he’s just a guy I’ve known forever. I mean, even if…” how could his throat be this dry and his face be so sweaty “If there was anything, it ended last night.”

“Oh,” his mom said, “I’m sorry to hear that. How are you feeling?”

“…I did the ending.”

“I see. Poor boy,” she said. And he thought this was over but then-

“The other thing is if you are sexually active, you have to be safe,” his mom said. Oh no, this is where he wanted to die.

“I know,” Jay mumbled. He begged the house to open up a giant hole beneath his feet so he could plunge into the underworld.

“Has anyone talked to you before about how to be safe?” his mom said.

“We had a class,” Jay said. He threw his hands over his eyes. He couldn’t even watch this happen.

“Thank the sands,” his dad said, “That school is good for something.”

“But you can ask your father any questions at all,” his mom said, “There is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s perfectly natural.”

His dad gave him a look that said, “please do not ask me a single question”.

“Okay,” Jay said, and he gave Dad a look back that said, “never in a million years”.

“Okay, great,” Mom said, “Let’s head out in a few.”

She walked away, clearly thinking mission accomplished.

The entire ride there, Jay couldn’t look anywhere but out the window. When they got to the school, he immediately ran and found his friends hanging out by the snack table in the banquet hall where Parents’ Day was being held.

“My parents talked to me about sex,” he said before anyone could even say hello. They all started cackling. Traitors.

“It’s not funny!” he said loudly. Someone’s mom turned to look at them.

“It’s SO funny,” Mal said, “How the hell did that come up?”

“I brought someone back to my house last night,” he said, looking at the floor.

“AH! To the embassy?” Mal said, “Did you have a hook-up that could only take place in a neutral diplomatic zone?”

“I wasn’t thinking!” Jay said.

“How bad was that head injury?” Mal said to Carlos.

“Bad,” he said quietly.

“Who was it?” Mal said, “Come on, tell us. Unless it’s Audrey. Then, I know you’re braindead, and it stops being funny.”

“It was Harry,” Jay said.

“Aw, we could double date,” Evie said.

“Harry Hook?! Really? Of all people?” Carlos said.

 “Shut up,” Jay said, “Why is everyone so anti-Harry? We’ve done it before.”

“Like, since coming here?” Mal said, “How little do I know about you three? Carlos, are you and Gil shacked up too?”

“Not often!” Jay said, “Just, like, a few or five times. Also, I apparently lost any ability to lie to my mom, and the magic house snitched, and it all just came out. And then my mom asked if I was being safe! I don't even know how she figured it out!”

"She might have noticed the giant hickey on your neck," Evie said.

“What a venue we’re having this conversation in,” Mal said, smiling wickedly at all the rich old people walking around them.

“You are being safe, right?” Evie said.

“E!”

“It’s a fair question! Condoms were obviously a luxury at home, but we can get them here and should use them,” Evie said.

“I know!” he said, “Obviously, I know. Jafar would have murdered me if I got someone pregnant.”
“But you can’t get Harry pregnant. You know that, right? Maybe this sex talk was way overdue,” Mal said.

“I want to find a deep, deep canyon and drive a car into it,” Jay groaned.

“I think it’s sort of sweet. Hey, at least, they’re not like weird abstinence people, like a lot of the royals are,” Mal said, “Also, they sound cool with it being a guy. It could have gone a lot worse.”

“I know, but- “Jay said, “It’s so embarrassing.”

“People caring about you is absolutely humiliating sometimes,” Evie said, patting his arm in comfort.

“Yeah, imagine any of our parents worrying about this. Actually, my mom did give me a sex talk, but she mostly focused on how to kill your lover after,” Mal said, popping a grape into her mouth.

“What are we talking about?” Ben said, walking over to join them.

Mal smiled wickedly, “Jay’s parents found out he’s had sex.”

“Oh, buddy,” Ben said sympathetically.

“I’m going to tell them you need a talk too if you don’t stop,” Jay said to Mal.

“That could get awkward, given the history,” Mal said, winking at him. Ben coughed and looked down at the finger sandwiches. Jay and Mal had been each other’s first times, mostly spurred by curiosity and a lack of other trustworthy options. Ben hadn’t looked Jay in the eye for a week after Mal told him. Apparently, that was a big deal here.

Thankfully, when his parents showed up, no one brought up anything. It was actually turning out to be a nice day. There were games set up, and Dalia dragged Jay to every single one. Audrey joined them, complaining that her mother was embarrassing her. Thankfully, her grandparents hadn’t shown up, which upset Audrey but reassured Jay. Unlike last year, everyone was being really nice. When Jay was helping Dalia with a game, he noticed these random moms just smiling over at him. His mom and dad were never left alone either, even though they admitted they didn’t know most of the other parents at the school.

Dalia got preoccupied with a bounce house, and Dad said Jay could take a break and find his friends. Jay really loved hanging out with his sister, but he appreciated a chance to wander off to the dessert table. Surely, a little sugar wouldn’t be a huge setback to his regimen. He wondered where his friends had wandered off to.

While Jay inspected a fruit tart, he noticed the room was suddenly very quiet.  The music had stopped, and the chatter did too. Way too quickly.

“Oh, dear,” a woman said next to him.

Jay turned around. Everyone’s attention was on the TV screens around the room. A few minutes before, they’d been displaying slideshows of smiling students in classrooms and playing sports. But now, there was some kind of video on all of them.

“So violent,” one man said as a boy onscreen roundhouse-kicked another boy.

He knew those boys.

“Those are the Villain Kids.”

“That’s the Agrabah prince.”

“-Ursula’s child.”

“Jay,” Audrey said, appearing next to him, “Is that you?”

“What is this?” he said.

“I don’t know,” she said, “It’s all over social media too.”

“How is it on the TVs?” he said. He looked around for his friends or his parents.

“I don’t know,” she said. The crowd reacted with “ooh’s” as the Jay onscreen kicked Harry.

It was that night from Fight Club. After he’d called Jafar. He’d been drunk and angry and then he hurt Uma and danced with Harry and…

In the video, Uma fell to the ground, and Jay knew he had to run.

“Jay!” Audrey said, as he took off out the door and into the blinding sun.

When he remembered that night, the fights and the dancing were all eclipsed by one specific memory. Harry, talking into his ear, and a shame so intense it made him nauseous. He’d lain in Harry’s bed that night and tried to forget that he’d ever remembered that.

They’re gonna know, his thoughts blared now, they’re gonna see the guilt on your face, and they’re gonna know.

On the Isle, every day was its own battle. There was no real routine or valleys, but Jay had his usual strategies. Don’t piss off Jafar because that meant losing shelter and food. If he did piss him off, there were hidey-holes to sleep in, his fellow street rats, and his gang to rely on. He could steal food, or an ally would split it if Jay could offer something else. But there were times, if the barges ran late or just came half-full, where almost no one was eating. When Mal was locked up with her mom or Jay had to lie low because he’d pissed off the wrong person.

When your stomach has been empty for days, you don’t act like you. There were always the powerful people who had something in their cupboards. Being young and good-looking was sometimes the only thing left to trade.

A lot of people did it. A lot of people did it and never felt bad about it. It was certainly more honorable than stabbing someone in the back or robbing someone while they slept.

Except Jay never liked to lie, and he liked people, but he didn’t like feeling small. He always heard his father’s words in his ears, and Jay would remember how he himself had come from this kind of transaction. Some nights, he had looked around that sad bar and wondered if his mother was among the women standing around trying to work. Jay didn’t even feel that bad about it until Jafar learned about it. He made jokes for weeks about how Jay was the cheapest thing in the store.

Jay sunk down against a wall and felt as low as he’d ever felt. The shutters were pulled open on that memory, and the people from his new life would finally see how fucking depraved Jay was. This wasn't the kind of thing Jay could twist into proof of his own strength. This was all too heavy. He couldn’t believe he was fine just a few minutes ago, that he could ever forget when this was still part of him.

He heard footsteps on pavement and could feel people come up close to him, but he couldn’t lift his head from where it was buried in his arms.

“Jay! Come on, talk to me,” someone said. He could feel hands on his forearms, pulling them away from his wet face.

“Jay,” Mal’s voice said, leaning in close, her forehead against his, “What’s going on? What was that video?”

He thought of Move-In Day. He’d run away then too, back to his room, which was idiotic because it was the first place that they would find him. Any moment, the door would be knocked down so they could drag him back to the Isle. He should have on the run already, but he couldn’t go anywhere except the same circle he’d worn into his carpet by pacing back and forth.

Mal had climbed in through the window, her little purple skirt now ridden up around her waist. He remembered nonsensically thinking what a shame it would be wrinkled.

“I’m sorry, Mal,” he said.

“I’m not mad,” she said, “Are you okay?”

“You should be mad. I-fuck, Mal, I messed up bad. I lost my temper. What’s gonna happen to me?”

“Hey,” Mal said, “Look at me.” She came in close, stood on her toes, and put her hand on the back of his head, so their foreheads could press together, like she was doing now. Like she’d done before, in the moments they let themselves admit they needed to draw strength from someone else. 

“What’s done to you is done to me,” she said, “And nothing is going to happen to us. I’m going to fix it.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, again, quieter.

“Nothing to be sorry for. She helped build the Isle, yeah? We’re not shedding any tears for her hurt feelings.”

“I’m not crying,” he said then. He’d been close though, damn it.

“I’m not crying,” he said today. But it was a lie. He’d really gone soft.   

“What’s wrong?” Mal said. Jay bit his lip. He didn’t know where to start.

“It’s just a childish prank,” his mother said. Jay couldn’t even look at her, but he knew her voice now, pulled taut with worry.

“I know it’s embarrassing, but it’s going to be okay,” Mal said, “Jay, you have to say something. You’re scaring me.”

“What did you see?” Jay said, watching her face.

“You were fighting Gil and Harry and Uma. Uma went down. But then she kicked you back,” Mal said.

“And after that?” Jay said.

“It just cuts out,” Carlos said.  

Jay’s whole body sagged in relief. Thank every stupid god out there.

“What else would there be?” his mom said.

“I-” he remembered how he couldn't lie to her. He didn’t want to lie.

“Something else happened that night,” Jay said quietly, “Harry and I were talking, and he brought up something from the past. That I used to do. I try to forget about it. If it got out…I just can’t deal with that. I can’t.”

“You can tell us anything,” his mom said, and he remembered this morning. They thought Jay might be naïve. Left innocent in one single remaining way.

“But you don't have to,” his dad said, “It’s okay if you don't want to. Whatever it is, it’s not going to make a difference to us. Whatever it is, we promise, we won’t be angry.”

Jay looked up at his dad, and he nodded. Dad had seen things. He must have secrets too, things better left dead and unspoken of. Jay wouldn’t judge him for leaving them that way.

“I don’t think you’d be angry,” Jay said, “Just sad.”

“Oh,” his dad said.

“No one is going to find out,” Mal said. She took his hand and held it. He wasn’t sure if she’d figured out what he could be worried about, “We’ll get whoever leaked this and make them beg for mercy.”

“I just want to make sure there’s no more footage,” Jay said, feeling so tired.

“We can do that,” his mom said, “We will talk to Fairy Godmother and get every piece of security footage destroyed. We will investigate this entire thing. That is something we can do.”

“It’s really going to be okay,” Carlos said. Carlos had been through hell, and he still got up and faced the world every day. For some reason, he still thought Jay was worth being around. Jay could tough this shit out, for him.

“I’m sorry, I just,” Jay said, “I just freaked out.” He felt some of the panic ebb. He ran his hands over his face, wiping away the stupid tears.

“It’s okay,” his dad said.

“Where’s Dalia?” Jay said. Gods, he hoped she was still in the bounce house when the TVs came on.

“Aziz has got her,” Mom said.

“Can we ask why you guys were fighting?” Evie said, “When was that?”

“Uh, it was like a month or two ago,” Jay said, “There’s this secret VK fight club.”

“What?” Mal said, “And no one invited me?”

“So, you weren’t really fighting the pirates?” Carlos said.

“No, it was just a game. For fun. You know, like, what Kevin and those guys used to do at the Pit?”

“Sketchy Kevin?” Carlos said.

“He hates that name, but yeah,” Jay said.

"I'm so glad I don't have to fight you for beating up my girlfriend," Evie said.

“I was in a bad place and just blowing off some steam. I never told you guys this, but I called Jafar that night.”

“What?”

“Why would you do that?” his mom said. Jay ducked his head again, ashamed.

“I still had that phone. I just needed answers. About why he did it. How he did it,” he said. He started fiddling with the watch on his wrist. He’d worn it today, since it was a special occasion.

“No, it makes sense,” his dad said.

“Really?” Jay said.

“Yeah. It scares me to death that you did it, but I understand why,” his dad said.

“What did he say?” Evie said.

Jay shrugged, “He owned up to doing it, and then he just said his normal manipulative stuff. Then, I was mad, so I went and acted like a huge dick to Uma and Gil and gods, Harry, and the whole world is going to see it.”

“Someone probably posted that video to make the VKs look bad,” Evie said, “I thought we were past this kind of thing.”

“This was so long ago. Someone must have sat on this footage until the news about me came out.”

“Who, though?” Carlos said.

“It’s probably some loser who wants their fifteen minutes in the sun,” Dad said, “I’m really sorry. This sort of thing happens to people in our position. When I married your mother, they found every person I’d ever pissed off and put them on Good Morning Agrabah.”

“Whoever it is is going to be sorry,” Jay said, clenching his fists.

“If you stoop to every asshole’s level, you’ll never stop fighting,” Dad said, “There’s probably going to be more embarrassing moments like this, unfortunately.”

“I’m sorry I ruined our first Parent’s Day,” Jay said.

“It’s not your fault,” Mom said.

“I mean, I did get into that fight,” Jay said.

“From what we saw in the video, you clearly paid for that enough,” Dad said. Jay cracked a smile, and after they saw, his friends laughed a little. Better laughing than crying.

“Maybe next year, we’ll get through the whole Parents’ Day,” Carlos said.

“What happened last time?” Mom said warily.

“Actually, that was better. I only almost punched someone,” Jay said.

Jay’s parents didn’t want to go back to the party, but they insisted on walking him back to the dorms. As they approached, they saw the VK’s shindig happening on the quad outside of them. The other Isle transfers were spread out on bedsheets, drinking sodas, and enjoying the sun.

Jay had to smile. This looked so normal. So nice. He sort of wished the four of them had thought to just keep their own company last semester, instead of forcing themselves to try and fit in. They had had more to prove though. Maybe they’d made this possible, in a way.

“Hey!” Evie said. She ran over to her girlfriend and pulled her into a hug. Right there in front of everybody. Uma didn’t push her off either, even as Big Murphy and Desiree started to whistle at them.

“Woah, who’s the old people?” Uma said. The group fell quiet and twenty-four untrusting eyes fell on Jay’s parents standing behind him.

“Uh, these are my, you know,” Jay said. The room stayed silent, “Hey, relax, they’re fine. What, would you rather I brought Jafar?”

“You’re twisted, mate,” Harry said, barking a laugh. The group unclenched a little, and most of the kids went back to what they were doing before.

“Princess, I know I said bring your friends, but a heads up would’ve been nice,” Uma said.

“You’ve got some nerve showing up here, Jay,” Freddie said, walking up to them too, “You didn’t tell us you were nobility. We had to hear from these rando’s who don’t even know you!”

Jay blanched. It hadn’t occurred to him he owed his former neighbors a heads up.

“Uh, it’s been kind of crazy?” Jay said. He wasn’t going to apologize. These were still Isle people, and they’d laugh him. Freddie was glaring at him, and he felt like an asshole.

“I mean, if it happens again, I’ll give you guys notice,” Jay said. Freddie’s scowl broke, and she laughed at that.

“You’re crazy,” she said before walking back to her little sister.

“We got talk to you guys. Something happened at Parents’ Day,” Evie said, “It involves you, Gil, and Harry.”

Uma gave a look to her boys, who were already watching them warily. They came right over.

“Remember the night I ran into you guys and we went to the fight club in the shed? Someone leaked the video of us. It’s online and someone put it on all the TVs at the thing today.”

“Fishsticks,” Uma said, “What parts?”

“Jay fighting Gil, then Harry, then you. Then all of you. Then it ends with you kicking Jay in the…” Mal stopped and looked at Jay’s parents.

“Barnacles?” Uma said.

“So clearly the person who did this hates him specifically,” Harry said.

“This isn’t something you get sent back for, is it?” Gil said.

“No!” Mal said, “Never. I mean, we’ve done way worse. You might get detention though.”

“Can you see anyone else in the video?” Uma said.

“It’s too dark and blurry to make out any of the people on the edges,” Carlos said.

“Good,” Uma said, “Okay. So, it’s embarrassing. Least so for me, since I won.”

“The other thing is…” Jay lowered his voice, “We don’t know who leaked it. The only people there that night were VKs, and I know they’re offering up a lot of money for stuff like this. Could be someone with a grudge against you guys too.”

“It wasn’t one of us,” Uma said.

“But- “

“It. Wasn’t,” Uma said.

“How do you know?” he said.

“Because no one who wants to keep their tongue would lie to me, and we all swore we wouldn’t go blabbing anything about you to the press. No Isle gossip. No personal stories. Nothing. Not even for cash.”

“Why? A lot of them probably have more than enough reason to hold a grudge against me,” Jay said. He looked around the space. The pirates he’d fought, the classmates he’d stolen from, and what the hell was Anthony Tremaine doing here?

“This isn’t the Isle. Auradon is still the enemy to most of us,” Uma said, “By selling stories about things you did, we’d be selling all of us out. They’d try to paint all that as something you did by choice, and that doesn’t sit right with us.”

“You rag on Mal for being almost royalty. Shouldn’t you hate me more?” Jay said.

Uma rolled her eyes, “Mal acted like royalty her entire life, and no matter how much evil she did or how bad her mom was, she always had a castle to go back to.”

Mal opened her mouth to defend herself, but Uma cut her off.

“Yeah, save it, I’m sure Maleficent was a raging bitch to live with, but we both know a lot of kids who hate anyone who ever had their own bed. Jay’s different. You didn’t sleep outside or steal just to make a point to your dad about how bad you were. We’ve all met Jafar and heard stuff about, well, you know it already, and it’s stuff that a kid doesn’t do unless they really need to eat. No one here is going to sell you out just because you got lucky once after seventeen shitty years.”

Jay looked around again. To survive, Jay had kept only three as close as blood, but there were dozens of kids whose lives had interwoven with his, who had stepped further into his heart than Jay would ever admit. He’d bandaged them up, traded stolen spoils with them, noticed when they came to school with black eyes.

“You asked them to swear?” Jay said, “And they did it?”

“All of them. With blood,” Uma said.

“That’s so sweet,” Evie said.

“Not- did you hear anything I just said? It’s not like we’re friends!” Uma said.

“Of course not,” Jay said, finally letting himself relax a bit, “Just a sweet thing to do for your not-friend.”

“Fuck you. I wish I had leaked it. Let the whole world see me kick you where you deserved.”

“And if we ever meet up on the Isle, I’ll kick your whole crew’s ass again,” Jay said.

“And then I’ll throw you to the sharks,” Uma said, “Ugh, I’ve got hives. Your rich parents want to order us a pizza or something? Dining hall’s closed.”

“We would love to do that,” his dad said, “Or we can break into the kitchen and take what we want?”

Uma grinned, and Jay turned to all the kids assembled. They’d need a team for this one.

Chapter Text

“I’m too old to climb two roofs in one day,” Aladdin told the stars. He was exhausted and jetlagged. His knees ached terribly. They needed to be iced, but the night wasn’t over yet.

His son had been lying down on the roof, but at the sound of another voice, he jolted to attention.  

“How did you….” Jay began, but then they said in unison, “Magic house.”

“Room for one more?” he said. Jay gestured at the plentiful open space. Aladdin found a raised bit of eave to sit on. Better for the joints, and this way, he could face his son directly.

“I have to confess something,” Aladdin said.

“Yeah?” he said nervously.

“I was trying to look cool in front of your friends, and I think I pulled something,” Aladdin said. Jay barked out a laugh. It was a welcome sound.   

“I could tell you were showing off. That kitchen has a door, you know.”

“Less impressive. I’m not a great lock-picker. I can, in a pinch, but you’re much faster.”

“I can do safes too.”

Aladdin let out a low whistle of appreciation.

“Easier than chipping them,” Jay added, faking modesty. His smug grin made him look so much like Jazz.

“How’d you learn that?” Aladdin said, but then realized, as he often did with his son, that he might not like the answer, “Was it…?”

“No. He definitely thinks I’m too stupid for that. I never even told him. He’d think I learned just so I could steal from his.”

“Who taught you then?” Aladdin said, not wanting to derail the conversation to protest the way Jay had said stupid like it was a fact. His boy didn’t seem to realize how smart he was. Smarter than his old man, certainly. He was going to finish high school, for one, and he also learned to read in two languages and pulled out all these little skills picked up along the way.

“I learned from these old guys who lived on my block. They were, uh, everyone said they used to be mercenaries,” Jay said, looking to him to gauge his reaction. Aladdin tried to keep his face blank. He had learned that after big emotional outbursts, Jay would continue to leak confessions, as if he had horded up all his thoughts until the rare opportunity presented itself to release them. It was a privilege to hear them.

“They were scary, but they weren’t pervy or anything,” Jay said quickly, as if that was reassuring, “Compared to, like, the celebrities, the later arrivals to the Isle were usually just mortal guys who got cleaned out of old prisons or slipped up and got caught on the lam. These dudes used to play cards on my corner. They taught me safe-breaking and knife tricks. Stuff like that.”

“They just took a shine to you?”

“I mean, nothing came for free. They did a lot of business with Jafar, and I think wrongly assumed being cool to me carried some weight with him. I ran messages and errands for them too. Rolled their cigarettes, I was really good at that. I think they got a kick out of having a kid around to listen to their stories. Old men like to talk about stuff they were good at.”

“Mm. We could bottle your grandfathers’ stories and sell it as a sleeping aid,” he said. Jay didn’t respond. Aladdin filed that away for later. He could tell the prospect of meeting the entire extended family was still daunting to him. The old sultan was chomping at the bit to see his heir’s heir again. Aladdin wondered if his own father would see how much he paralleled his grandson- a gravitational charisma, keeping secrets close to their chests, and how their eyes quickly shifted from mirth to solemnity. Those looks always left Aladdin wondering what memories were behind them.

Both father and son who left me for so long, leading other lives that I’ll never understand in the meantime. There’s that too, Aladdin’s brain reminded him, rudely.

“You scared us today,” Aladdin said softly.

“I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“People don’t fight here. Ever. I’ve been told before.”

“If they don’t understand why someone would have to fight, they shouldn't get a say.”

“I was also drinking and breaking into a school building. And I got drunk last night and had someone over without permission. Aren’t you mad at that?” Jay said with a defiant look. Aladdin had to fight a laugh. He didn’t want Jay to think he was being mocked, but his angle was just so obvious. At least, it was to Aladdin, because here was something he had passed on. Looks-wise, all of the kids took after their mother, with the sharp cheekbones and the bright brown eyes. Thankfully, he joked every time someone commented on it, though he really feared that the kid who looked like their up-jumped, street rat father would be distrusted. The irony was not lost on him that Jafar had recreated in Jay the conditions of Aladdin’s own youth, so he now looked at his lost son with sick recognition. Is that petty joke why Jafar insisted Jay steal for his supper? Or maybe Jay was just born with the same skill set that had passed from father to father to son. That patrilineal line was really something- dimples, sticky fingers, and a real talent for blaming yourself for things you can’t control.

“I’m not mad at you,” Aladdin said, “You’re a young man who had some well-deserved fun.”

“You just feel bad for me because of earlier,” he said, dissatisfied.

“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. I just mean that I can tell.”

Aladdin sighed and said, “I do feel bad for everything you’ve been through. I’m really trying not to let it cloud how I treat you because I know that doesn't feel good. Objectively though, two big nights really isn’t so concerning. I hear college students get up to far worse. So, if you’re looking for a punishment, you’re not getting it from me.”

“I’m not.  That would be dumb,” Jay said, but he didn’t argue further.

“It’ll feel far away one day,” Aladdin said, “It really will. You won’t even have to wait until you’re old like me. Your life will be so different that most of the time, it’ll feel like it happened to someone else. You won’t believe how much.”

“I used to be proud of it all, but now, I’m just tired,” Jay said, sounding so much older than he should.

“Can I show you something?” Aladdin said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Between the leather creases was an old photograph. Jay came closer to look. It was a press photo. At its center was Jasmine shaking hands with Secretary Cogsworth, who had met them on the rainy tarmac. The two were surrounded by their respective staff, assistants, and security guards, who held umbrellas that blocked out most of the grey sky. Jasmine had gone down the line to be personally welcomed to Auradon City by each of the king’s underlings. Behind her, Aladdin struggled to accept their same courtesies while simultaneously trying to soothe the screaming baby in his arms.

“That’s us,” Aladdin said.

“Oh,” Ali said. He looked closer, but his face showed no emotional connection to the wailing child who was living out a day he wouldn’t remember.

“We lost you the next night,” he said softly.

“Shit,” Ali said, “Really?”

“Our first state visit as a family. We had refused to leave you with a nanny. Hence, me letting you scream in that dignitary’s face.” Jasmine ran the kingdom, and Aladdin raised the kids. It is an arrangement he has loved. The most fulfilling life he never thought he’d have. He had a knack for it too, the same talent his mother used to calm strangers’ babes in the bazaar. He always strived to emulate her, endlessly patient and devoted to her family until her last breath. That first year with Ali has been exhausting yet often much more fun than he’d expected. He and Genie had just played with babies in the palace all day long.

Aladdin looked back down at the picture. He used to carry it everywhere. He’d finally put it away when all the ends were dead and when even if his boy was alive, he bore little resemblance to this baby. Also, Aladdin was so jealous of the man in that photo, who was ignorant of all the misery that awaited him, arms not yet aching with terrible emptiness.

“Why am I dressed like a girl?” Ali said, breaking Aladdin out of his thoughts.

“What do you mean? That’s just what babies wear?” He looked closer. The white romper did have some ruffles on the sleeves. There was also the bonnet, but it was a sunny day.

“I’m also kind of fat. Please don’t ever show my friends this photo.” Aladdin had to laugh. Leave it to a teenager to step all over a sappy moment.

“You’re perfect,” he said so sincerely that it made Ali clamp up. He’d understand one day, if he had his own kids. The idea made Aladdin giddy. He raised the prospect of a fourth a couple years ago, but Jasmine said they were too old, so he’d have to wait for grandchildren. Beyond the excitement of new babies, he also wanted for his son to have what he had- to retire to a place where stomachs were always full, and the largest questions of the day were how you could spend it with those you love, giving them a life better than your own. His future was worthier of inheritance than his past.

Aziz was born missing Ali. Even before that- his mother passed it on in the womb. Kids here spoke with reverent distance of the suffering which earned their parents the status of heroes. Aziz always felt different. As long as Ali was gone, his family was still in the middle of their ordeal.

They didn’t know who took Ali. It had been an unstable time in their kingdom, and the crown had a lot of enemies. But it was a villain. First, Aziz knew that. Second, he knew undoubtedly where said villain would go if caught.  

Aziz used to have nightmares that someone would come to take him too. He’d wake up, heart racing, seeing shadows in every corner of his cavernous room. When they did public appearances, he got so sweaty and shaky beforehand, and then he’d spent the whole time scanning for bogeyman to jump out of the shadows. His mother fretted over how nervous he looked in pictures, so he practiced his smiling in the mirror.

The palace was haunted. Aziz and Dalia’s portraits were all over the family suites. but Ali’s infant face was shown sparingly, in small frames, a passing visage glimpsed in the corner of your eye. His parents never spoke of him, but if there was a lead, Dad disappeared for weeks too. On Ali’s birthday, a baby-sitter came so his parents could stay in their rooms all day. He had gone through a phase of asking questions, and he quickly learned that to speak the phantom’s name only bore ill. Ali was the only thing that could make Aziz feel far away from his parents. He grew to accept it. The ghost had arrived first, after all.

Aziz swore to himself that he’d always be an obedient child, as if a perfect son could make up for a missing one. He never pushed their buttons, like his friends did to their parents just for fun. Aziz had felt duty-bound to attend the Prep so that Agrabah would be seen as equal to the other kingdoms, but he called home all the time to check on Mom and Dad. The idea of inheriting filled him with more anxiety than anything, but at least then, he thought, his parents would finally get the rest they deserved. 

When Prince Ben announced that he was bringing Isle kids over, Aziz almost told his mom that he’d be just fine going to school in Agrabah next semester. But then he would have to admit he was scared. His parents were always brave, and he was supposed to be their heir. He’d just have to grin and bear it, which also looked like ducking his head if he happened to be in the same hallway the VKs strutted down. Obviously, Mom said to steer clear of Jafar’s son after their run-in. Aziz was baffled over how quickly most of the school forgot who he was just because he was a good athlete. Whenever Aziz saw him from afar at a pep rally, he looked so full of himself. If Aziz was living with his parents’ hurt every day, how could this boy walk around without his father’s guilt?

Boarding school was hard. He’d never had to make new friends; all of his best friends at home were kids he’d grown up with. The only thing the other guys here cared about was if you were good at tourney. Aziz didn’t even know the rules and was one of the smallest guys in the grade. Also, apparently, his accent was much thicker than he thought it was, and people were always asking him to repeat his words or laughing at how he said things. Having few friends meant he had plenty of time to study but knowing all the answers in class wasn’t cool here. Maybe it hadn’t been that cool at home either, but no one said anything because he was going to be sultan one day. Dad always said you should want people to like you for you, not your titles, but Aziz found he wasn’t liked for either. Half of the Prep was heir to something, and Agrabah was a small kingdom a thousand miles away that no one could pronounce correctly. It had taken weeks before he had anyone to sit with at lunch. He was so lonely that he didn’t even care when his new friend Julie brought around the VK girls in their grade. Dizzy was shy but nice, and Celia told jokes that made everyone crack up. Hardly the stuff of nightmares.

When his parents wouldn’t tell him why the state dinner ended so early, Aziz just knew it was related to Ali. He thought they’d finally gotten confirmation that he was dead. Everyone always had said that was most likely the case.

“What happens if it really is him?” Aziz said when they told him.

“He might not want anything to do with us,” Mom said, and she brushed away a tear. Aziz knew it was wrong, but right then, he hated Ali for making his mother cry.

Aziz was not an impulsive person, but something made him to go to Ali’s room the night the DNA test came back. What a disaster. He did something to make Ali hate him immediately and then ran away like a coward. Every time that he saw Jay after that, Aziz couldn’t help but stammer or put his foot in his mouth. Afterwards, he’d cringe at the things he said but also wonder at what the right words could have been. At this point, Aziz was pretty sure his brother didn’t like him, and that made Aziz not like him right back. It wasn’t just the VK thing, although he was baffled at how proud Jay was about that. Ali was everything Aziz wasn’t. Athletic. Popular. So tall. Aziz used to think life would be perfect if Ali had never gone missing, but now he realized that he probably would have hated having him as an older brother either way. Their parents had started comparing them immediately. Aziz, why don’t you play a sport too? Jay had the funniest joke the other day. Those evening phone calls that had been Aziz’s only salvation from homesickness now became long one-sided talks all about Jay. Aziz was pressed for information- did you see him today? Who was he with? Could you go to his game? Have you seen his room?

Aziz had always felt like a second son, in truth. But competing with the lost infant versus the fully-grown miracle child were two very different things. Despite the urging of her councilors, Mom had never formally revoked Ali’s inheritance. In the palace, his empty bedroom always had fresh sheets. Mom and Dad had never really given up hope, and recently, Aziz started to wonder if it was because they were unhappy with their runner-up.

Except, even if Aziz was a mediocre heir, sometimes he genuinely wondered if they had they lost their minds. Jay told them he didn’t care about being a prince, yet Mom tried to force him into the same royalty classes as Aziz. Mom and Dad acted like strangers whenever he was around. When he screamed and cursed at them on his birthday, they just took it. Did Jay not realize how fragile they were? He knew just how to make them wince, twisting the knife of his disappearance, always creating new hushed conversations for Aziz to overhear afterwards.

Aziz was trying to just suck it up and hope things got better. Ali had instantly liked Dalia, which stung, even though Dalia was a baby and pretty hard not to like. Maybe we’ll grow on each other, he told himself. But then on his walk back from class, he’d found Dizzy Tremaine hiding behind a bush, crouched between the shrubbery and the Mathematics building.

“Uh, Dizzy?” he said, “What are you doing?”

Dizzy was sitting in the dirt, with her forehead pressed against her kneecaps. When she looked up at Aziz, her eyes were wet and shiny behind her glasses.

“Are you okay?” he said. She didn’t answer, just stared at him like she couldn’t find the words. So, he pushed the bush the branches aside and knelt in the dirt next to her.

“What’s wrong?” he said. Now that he was closer, he could hear her taking short, sharp breaths.

“Dizzy, breathe,” he said. He tried to touch her hand, but it flinched away from him.

“Sorry,” he said, “But you should take a deep breath. Look at me.” He looked her in the eyes and inhaled slowly, counting to three-Agrabah in his head. Automatically, she seemed to respond, just like Aziz used to when his dad showed him this. They breathed together for a bit, until Dizzy found her words.

“Woah,” she said, “Thanks.”

“My dad taught me that. I used to get really nervous around crowds,” he said.

“I do too,” she said. She smiled, but it looked shaky.

“What happened?”

“I got scared so I hid in a bush. Pretty dumb of me.”

“No, it’s not,” he said quickly, although it was a little babyish, “What scared you?”

“It’s really stupid.”

“No, it isn’t,” Aziz said. He didn’t know what else to say. He just didn’t think Dizzy should put herself down so easily.

“I shouldn’t care anymore. We’re in Auradon, and everything’s great here, really. I shouldn’t complain. I just saw…you know that one kid, Jay?”

Aziz’s mouth went dry “Uh, yeah?”

“Oh, Evil, of course you do, sorry,” she said, “His dad and your parents are like nemeses.”

“Yeah,” Aziz said. The fact that Jay was his brother was still a secret, “What about him?”

“He just was coming down the hall, and I got scared, and I hid.”’

“What did he do?”

“Nothing today. But he used to, back home, he used to scare me.”

“Like…as a prank?”

“No. It’s hard to explain.”

“Try me,” he said.

“Well…Mal was in charge of everybody in town, so we all had to pay her money for protection. Sort of like taxes? And my family got behind on our payments a lot. Grandmother isn’t very- whatever. First, Mal would send Evie to collect, and we could get by with trading information or a ring or something. But if we got really behind, she sent Jay.”

“Did he hurt you?” Aziz said. He found himself clutching the dirt in his hands.

“Not me,” she said quietly, “My big cousin always took it. When we saw him coming down the street, Anthony told me and my little sisters to hide. Jay would drag him outside so people saw it. It got worse when Harry Hook took over.”

A chill went down Aziz’s spine. He had seen the pirate boy. He’d apparently had five knives confiscated off of him in the middle of class. Was that the kind of guy Jay had been? Aziz could sort of see it. Jay had scared him with just a smile and a few words. Aziz always felt stupid remembering that, but maybe he was right to feel like that. The look in Dizzy’s eyes looked so much like his parents’ whenever they saw Jay.

“This is so embarrassing,” Dizzy said, wiping away the tears on her face.

“Can I…can I walk you back to class?”

“You’re sweet,” Dizzy said, “You remind me of…nevermind. I should go find a bathroom.” She stood up and dusted herself off. Aziz was relieved she didn’t seem to need him because he was freaking out himself. He had to figure out what to do. If he told his parents about this, would they believe him? Would they care? No, they only see poor, lost Ali. But he wasn’t some injured lamb. He hung around with dangerous people, and he was taking everything Aziz had ever tried to protect.

Aziz wasn’t proud of it, but he was kind of an eavesdropper. Sometimes it was the only way to ever know what was going on in this family. So, after Parents’ Day, Aziz concentrated on how much he needed to know what his parents were feeling, and the embassy provided a nice little crawlspace that shared a wall with his parents’ room. When he heard his dad leave Jay’s bedroom, Aziz went in there and waited. Finally, he heard a door shut, and his parents’ voices started.  

“He’s down,” Dad said.

“That sounds like you’re talking about a baby,” Mom replied.

“Heh.”

“Did he…”

“No. I mean, he told me about other things, but he wouldn’t open up about earlier.”

“Damn it. The look on his face today. Who put that there? And what that Uma girl said about what a kid will do to eat. What is that supposed to mean? I need to know!”

“I don’t. I feel like I’ve got enough to lose sleep over. What he said about it just making us sad. I felt like my heart would split in half.”

“I want Jafar dead. Screw the treaties.” Aziz’s hand flew to his mouth. He’d never heard his mom speak like that. Her philosophy was always talk things out. But Dad had said something else like that at Jay’s birthday. His eyes had been all bugged out, and he said that he was going to kill Jafar right now.

“Jazz, how would that help? That man haunts him enough. If he was dead at our hands, it would not be good for his head.”

“He’s never seeing him again! That’s another thing. I appreciate what these kids want to do, but he will not step foot on that island.”

“We can’t stop him. He’s an adult.”

“Jafar kept him alive for a reason. He lied for a reason. Now that the jig is up, he has nothing to lose, and we don’t know his scheme!”

“I know, I know. We have to make him understand.”

“It’s not a conversation!” Mom said, her voice almost shrieking, “He’s still a kid, and if I get to do one thing as his mother, it is protecting him from that monster. Don’t you dare stand in my way!”

“I’m not in your way!” Dad yelled back.

Aziz’s stomach twisted, and he felt heat in the corners of his eyes. When he was little, his parents used to fight with each other all the time, especially when news about Ali sprung up. Sometimes he marveled at how they were still married.

They didn’t even care about the video at all. All they did was worry about Ali, as if he was the one who got beaten up. If that didn’t work, what would make them see sense? Were they just going to be miserable forever, fretting over poor Ali?

“What did they do to our son?” Mom said, and Aziz just knew she was crying. He should probably go. Dad started saying something too quiet to hear. Aziz crawled out of the space and ended up right back in his room.

He got into bed and under the covers. This bedroom looked almost exactly like his one at the palace, but off. The books on the bookshelf were different, and the contents of the desk. This one was bigger too, and the changed dimensions made every walk to the light switch feel oddly long.

There was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Aziz said. His dad opened the door. He didn’t look upset or anything, just tired.

“Still up?” Dad said, “It’s been a long one.” Aziz shrugged. Dad came over and sat at the edge of the bed with a bit of a groan.

“Ah, I’ve got old man knees,” Dad complained, “Are you okay, tiger?”

“Yeah,” Aziz said, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“We lost track of you after…Thank you, bud, for stepping up to watch Dalia.”

“She was fine,” he said, shrugging.

“I know, just, very mature of you. I wish I got to see you more.”

“Me too,” Aziz said.

“We missed you today. We had a lot of fun with Ali’s friends. You should’ve joined us.”

“I, uh, Dalia didn’t want to leave the games. She didn’t really, uh…”

“Babysitting Dalia is not for wimps,” Dad said, with a sanguine smile. Aziz exhaled. He couldn’t say how he’d ignored their texts because he didn’t want to hang out with Ali’s VK friends, especially not Dizzy. They hadn’t talked since people found out Ali was Jay. But Aziz didn’t see any of the aftermath of this afternoon, except that his family had been subdued on the ride home, and Dad went to talk to Ali for a long time.

“So…what about the video?” Aziz said cautiously.

“The video? Ah, yes, that. Are your friends talking about it?”

“I mean, people were at school. Is Jay in trouble?”

“The embarrassment is punishment enough. Besides, I know about worse things Jay’s done than a stupid game.”

“What do you mean a game?”

“They were just sparring for fun, and it got a little carried away. Stupid kid stuff. We met the other kids, and no one had hard feelings.”

“What- how is that fun? People got hurt.”

“Not seriously. They’re all friends. One of them was even his…Nevermind,” Dad said, “Why are you so hung up on this?”

“It just doesn’t seem fair,” Aziz said, unable to think of anything else. He sounded petulant, like Dalia protesting bedtime, “Just, what if I did something like that?”

“Joined a fight club?” Dad said, laughing a little which made Aziz a different kind of angry.

“Sorry,” Dad said, “You’re right. I do have different expectations for you and Jay, but after everything he’s been through, isn’t that fair?”

“Fair is when everyone plays by the same rules.”

“Aziz,” Dad sighed, in his disappointed voice, “Outside of the castle and school you grew up in, it’s not all black and white. You’re a smart kid. You know things don’t always work out so straightforwardly. The things I try to teach you and your sister- the importance of consequences and responsibility- Jay doesn’t need to learn that. He never got to be a kid. He had to figure everything out on his own. I can’t tell him how to live his life because I’m still struggling to understand it. It’s a privilege that he’s let us be in it at all.”

“But we’re family. He can’t…he can’t not be in the family,” Aziz said. His mom had said something before, but the idea that missing Ali would come back and not want to be there made no sense.

“He’s an adult. In his mind, we’re just two strangers who showed up and made his life more complicated. He can cut us off tomorrow, and we won’t have a say,” his dad said, “He almost did, but somehow, he’s forgiven us.”

“For…not finding him?” Aziz said. He couldn’t look at his dad. He was digging his fingernails so hard into his hands that he knew it would leave a mark.

“That. And the fact that everything he’s gone through was because your mother and I helped build that Isle. We left children to fend for themselves. I don’t understand how the other people we worked with aren’t more ashamed. They will blame these poor kids for not finding good in a place like that.”

I thought there was always a good option.”

“I know we say that, but…son, I don’t know how I can make this feel real to you. It takes away all your options when you can’t even get enough to eat. If years ago, we’d just stopped to ask how to make things better there, Jay might have come back to us a very different boy. Sometimes I wonder if there’s some sort of cosmic penance we had to pay, but that wouldn’t be fair. Most of the suffering fell on the kids, who were just born unlucky.”

Aziz felt like his world had flipped upside down. His dad was talking like he and Mom were the bad guys, not the heroes. Their suffering was the fact of life for Aziz. He was their consolation prize, and he saw whatever consolation he could offer as an honorable duty. Bad people didn’t deserve that kind of love. He didn’t know how to hold their sadness and their guilt in the same brain.

“What…what happens there?” Aziz said. Everyone referenced it, but no one explained. Jay had come close on his birthday, but Aziz didn’t really understand. He hated not understanding something, being spoken to like an empty-headed little kid.

“That’s Jay’s business. It’s a little like how I grew up. I was on my own though, after your grandmother died. I think being alone is preferable to being trapped in a house with Jafar.”

Aziz got goosebumps. He hadn’t thought of it that way. On his first day, an older boy had pulled Aziz aside to warn him about the son of Jafar. That guy’s not going to let you come for his dad, and you’re half his size. But once Jay was that size too and there was a villain in his house. Aziz remembered other stuff, through different eyes. Carlos saying Jay had gained a lot of weight. The spell carved into his skin. Jay had said it didn’t hurt. Aziz had been sitting right across from him. It was carved skin, of course it hurt. Aziz lied all the time to spare Mom’s feelings- how could he not recognize a brother doing the same?

“You should talk to him yourself,” Dad said, “I feel like you guys haven’t clicked. Do you ever talk at school?”

“Not really,” Aziz got out, though his mouth tasted like copper, was that the taste of shame? Real shame, not bad grades and broken vases. Shame that came with real victims. In truth, the flavor had been there all day, even as he’d done the act, but he’d followed through with it anyway.

“I think I know what’s going on,” Dad said. Aziz got ready to scramble, apologize, weep, and beg.

“The same thing happened when Dalia was born.”

Aziz shut his mouth and stared in confusion

“You just did not want a new baby. You used to glare daggers at her crib. But then after she was here, you came around. You just didn’t want to share us. I know it’s been non-stop with Ali, but we’re always here for you, bud.” Dad was smiling at Aziz like he was still little enough to love that easily. He had no idea.

“Dad…what happened after the video was on the screens? What happened with Ali?”

His dad’s eyes looked down, and Aziz thought he was going to throw up. When he spoke, it was with that soft rage he used for Jafar’s name, “It brought up something very hard for him to talk about. He got panicky, kind of like you used to, when you had stage fright. There’s nothing worse than seeing your child like that.”

“I’m sorry,” Aziz said, but it wasn’t enough.

“We’ll find who did it,” Dad said with determination.

All night, Aziz lied awake, trying to figure out what to do. Every few seconds, he had the urge to bolt- that same impulsivity that took him to Ali’s door that first night- yet he stayed put. What had he become? He was afraid to be living in the same body as this stranger who did such cruel things to his own kin. He thought about running away. That would be sort of noble, stepping aside to let Ali enjoy his family. He’d leave a note to his brother apologizing for everything. Most of his plans involved making it all up to Ali without ever having to face him.

At school on Monday, Aziz didn’t hear anything about the video until third period. There had been a stern email sent around that asserted the video was an act of anti-VK prejudice and no further expressions of that would be tolerated. Their teachers didn’t raise the issue but seemed to be paying more attention than usual to homeroom small talk.

“It’s not fair they didn’t even get a detention,” Joshua said in the boys’ locker room before PE. There was no question what he was talking about. It made sense Joshua had waited until they were here, where there were no teachers and no VKs. He was just talking to his friends, but his voice was pretty loud, and Aziz was only a few feet away. 

“It’s messed up. He punched a girl. He’s punched other kids before. It’s like they have no self-control,” Joshua continued. He said it in a sort of rote manner, as if he was repeating someone else’s words.

“Heather paused the video and pointed out someone holding a cup. I bet it had alcohol. Like, the VKs are allowed to get drunk and fight whenever they want?” Percy said.

“They have no self-control,” Joshua agreed,

“My dad says it’s going to be like this forever,” Sean W. said, “School stuff colleges, jobs. People will automatically give the VKs what they want because they don’t want to seem insensitive or whatever.”

Aziz wasn’t sure how that was even going to work. There were only, like, thirty VKs maximum off the Isle to compete with. Also, Sean was a prince so what kind of job was he worried about not getting?

“Do princes not get special treatment ever?” Wan said. His parents had no titles, but he was funny and good at tourney so he usually fit right in with the heir crowd. None of his friends laughed now, but Aziz let out an involuntary “heh”. He hadn’t meant to be heard.

“Forgot you were there, Aziz,” Joshua said. A few boys snickered. Aziz’ tongue was frozen as he tried to figure out a way to save face. At the same time, he realized that this probably wasn’t the first time that these guys he kind of thought could be his friends laughed at him.

“It was just a game,” Aziz mumbled, his accent sticking out.

“Right, the star of the video is your big bro. What’s that like? Ever use you for practice?”

Aziz’s eyes widened, and that metallic shame taste came back. How could he ever think Ali was dangerous? He’d never even come close, not really. Aziz kept thinking of how silly he’d looked when Mom found out he had a boyfriend, like a toddler caught breaking into a cookie jar. Who could be scared of that guy?

“You don’t know him,” Aziz said, “And I bet you’ve never even been in a fight.”

A bunch of the boys went “oooh”. Where the sands had that come from? Aziz suddenly remembered that he was one of the smallest boys in the grade.

“Is that a challenge?” Joshua said, raising his voice. The boys “ooh”-ed again, louder.

“I’m not scared of you!” Aziz said, squeaking like a mouse. He pushed at the taller boy’s chest. Why did he do that! Who was he?

Aziz thought, later, that he’d like to ask Jay what went through his head when someone was about to hit him. Also, if it was normal for your hand to hurt so much when you punched someone, or if that was just because Aziz stupidly aimed for the chin. Also, if Jay’s fights also felt completely uncool while they were happening or if that was only how inexperienced sixth graders fought? There was way more slapping and shoving than the almost choreographed kicks Ali could do.

Joshua’s friends backed him up, an imbalance which was completely dishonorable. Someone punched Aziz in the stomach, and he ended up curled into a ball on the dirty locker room tiles. Eventually, the blows ended, and he could kind of feel someone helping him stand up and leading him down the hall. In the nurses’ office, when the vice principal tried to ask what happened, Aziz was crying so hard he couldn’t speak. He was somehow in even worse trouble than before, except now he would certainly get detention, and his parents would completely disown him. The panic and the same had completely overwhelmed his brain, causing it to fire off commands for his tear ducts and nostrils to spout uncontrollably. Since his parents were back at home, a different family member was procured to address this.

“Uh, I came for my brother?” Ali said as he walked into Nurse Golding’s office. Aziz cussed under his breath. Wow, now he was a fighter and a swearer. The well of shame dug deeper.

“What was that?” Nurse Golding said. She clearly didn’t know Arabic, but her eyes narrowed like she had a good guess.

“Just a nickname,” Ali lied smoothly, stepping into the office, “What happened?” 

“He and Joshua Crowley got into a fight,” Nurse Golding said.

“I’m assuming Joshua won,” Ali muttered. It was kind of funny, but Aziz just sobbed again in response.

“He won’t even hold the icepack up to his eye,” the nurse complained.

“Hey, Aziz, you gotta get a grip,” Ali said. Aziz felt the cold pack leave his hand and be held against the center of his facial throbbing, “It’s all okay.”

“Don’t be- hiccup- nice to me,” Aziz said, recoiling from the cold.

“What? Nice is my middle name,” Ali said. Aziz didn’t say anything.

“Could we maybe get a minute?” Ali said. Through teary eyes, he watched the nurse throw up her hands and leave.

“Bro, you’re freaking me out. What hurts?” he said, switching to Arabic. It was comforting to hear.

“You’re going to hate me,” Aziz said quietly.

“Swear on my life I won’t. How did the fight start?”

“Josh was being a jerk,” Aziz said quietly.

“Did he make fun of you?”

“It was about you,” Aziz said.

“Oh,” he said, “Ah. Well. Huh. That’s kind of sweet. Didn’t take you for one to settle something with your fists.”

“It’s all my fault,” Aziz said before breaking into blubbering sobs again. He felt two hands on his arms, holding his shaky body still until he could breathe again.

“How could it be your fault?”

“I sent the video,” Aziz said, quiet as a mouse, but there it was, the horrible truth, hanging in the rubbing-alcohol-scented air.

Ali sucked in a short breath. His hands fell away. He stared at Aziz’s shirt, but his eyes looked a hundred miles away. Aziz felt like the whole world’s gravity went away then, and he was just floating in space while waiting for his brother to speak.

“Why?” Ali said, more businesslike than anything. The explanations flew out of Aziz quickly, without any thought at all.

“It was wrong! I knew it was wrong. I’m so sorry, Ali! I’m so stupid! I found this video and I knew you hung out with Harry, and that you had scared the other VKs, well, at least Dizzy, and you beat up her cousin, and you scared me and you made Mom and Dad cry all the time, and I thought it was on purpose but I realized it wasn’t. And I-I fucked up!”

“Woah, okay, slow down,” Ali said, “Where did you find that video?”

“Don’t be mad at her. It’s not her fault. It was on Dizzy Tremaine’s phone. She didn’t know, I sent it to myself and deleted it!”
“Is this about being the heir?” he said, “Look, I’m not an idiot, Aziz. I know you’ve been told that’s like your birthright or whatever, and people would kill for that shit.”

“I don’t even care about that! I never wanted to be sultan! Honest!” Aziz said.

“Then why?”

“Mom and Dad talk about you like you came down from the sky. They don’t let me ask about the Isle or your friends or anything that happened. They took you on that trip without me. Royal families always have a second kid in case the first one dies. The back-up. I always knew I was the spare heir, people said it all the time, and I should’ve just been happy you were alive, but I didn’t want to be forgotten either.”

“Oh, Evil. Who would say that to a kid? Look, Mom and Dad are really good people. And good parents. I’ve met lots of bad ones, trust me. They’re not going to forget you.”

“But it’s like…they’ve been sad my whole life. They never made a rule or anything, but we didn’t talk about you at all because it made everyone too upset. But when you came back, they were still sad and wouldn’t explain it.”
“I’ve never said sorry about that first night. You hurt my feelings, and I wasn’t ready to deal with any of that family stuff. You just, kind of, said ‘one of them’, and I got so mad.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Aziz said quickly. But that was a lie.

“I did mean it like that,” Aziz said, “I was scared of you before. I used to have these nightmares that I’d get taken too, and…It’s stupid, saying it now.”

“It hurt,” he said, “So, I tried to scare you. Which wasn’t very mature. Then after, I didn’t know if you hated me because of the VK thing or just because I’d been a dick that night. And you’re right. Mom and Dad would let anything I do slide. Dalia’s too little to know different. I could’ve come in with the worst intentions and probably gotten away with it. Why should you trust me?”

“I’m sorry. I do- “

“Hey, it’s a compliment. You saw this stranger coming into your family. You just wanted to protect them. I’d do the exact same thing.”

“I didn’t understand why they were always upset. I thought you were doing it on purpose. it wasn’t until last night Dad said it’s because they didn’t find you and because they built the Isle. It’s not anything you do on purpose.”

“Ah,” he said, “Yeah. I…I can’t make them feel not bad about that. I think they should, honestly, even though they kind of paid for it with me. They’re trying to fix things too, which is good. Dad told every VK the other day that they could live at the palace if they wanted.” Ali had a crooked smile, “He might regret that.”

“I’m so sorry I brought all that bad stuff up,” Aziz said again. All of his bruises were starting to feel really sore. He put the ice back to his face, where it was the worst. 

Ali sighed, “You defended me and got your ass kicked for it, and I don’t think I can make you feel possibly any sorrier. So, we’re even. I’m sure that me coming back from the dead has been weird as fuck for you. I should have made more of an effort to change that.”

“Stop being nice,” Aziz whimpered.

“Nice is my middle name,” Ali said again, “Do you need a hug or something?”

Aziz didn’t answer, which Ali took as a yes. It was a good hug too. Ali’s arms wrapped around him, and Aziz thought the tears finally stopped. Unfortunately, his wet face still left a huge mess on Ali’s hoodie.

“Let me see your hand,” Ali said. Aziz held out the throbbing left one, and Ali touched it very, very gently. Ali clucked his tongue in disapproval.

“You punched with your thumb on inside, didn’t you? And it really, really hurt?”

“Uh…”

“Your eye will heal. This might need to be looked at by a real doctor though. Mom will not settle for a witch with a homemade splint.”

“What?”

Ali took Aziz’s right hand and made his fingers curl. Then he took Aziz’ thumb and placed it outside the fist.

“You have to punch like this. Because you probably broke your thumb doing it wrong.”

“Oh…okay. Thanks,” Aziz said, staring at the fist. Even in correct form, it looked pathetically little next to Ali’s bigger one.

“You’re left-handed?” Ali said.

“I’m ambidextrous.”

“I can use both too,” he said with a smile, “But I favor my left. Mal told me it’s the eviler side once.”

Aziz nodded, “In Latin, left and sinister are the same word.”

“Huh, the more you know. I’m going to tell the nurse to come in and look at your hand,” Ali said, “I’m not going to leave though, okay?”

Aziz nodded. He was relieved to hear it.

Jasmine feared she’d been moved from untrusted stranger to unwelcome interloper to, for lack of a better term, the uncool parent. The burden of motherhood, truly. Though with Ali, it was more complicated than that.

Ali didn’t like to talk about his past to her. Not entirely unwarranted. She rarely held her tongue, and she’d watched him shut down over the wrong word or inflection. He opened up to Aladdin now but made him swear secrecy, which Aladdin honored (even though Aladdin had also sworn some sacred vows to her). Jasmine took some offense over this. She could handle shit too.

So, she turned to other teachers on how to understand her son. Mal was some help. In her few months in Auradon, she had spoken at length about Isle conditions, but she avoided personal anecdotes. The girl was a born politician, and like any good politician, she had gotten her team on board with her strategic messaging, so Carlos and Evie watched their tongues around Jasmine too. But Jasmine was a capable sultana-to-be so learning foreign cultures was in her skill set. On the Isle, rank was important. Ali sometimes waited for Mal to speak instead of using his own words. Another rule was never show weakness. Ali spoke mostly in jokes and brags. Most importantly, never trust anyone. Four suspicious sets of eyes watched Jasmine when she met her son again. It had offended her at the time, but now, she understood. In their experience, there was no such thing as a well-intentioned stranger.

Jasmine also noticed that in contrast to their peers, Ali and his friends were very touchy. Most of the Southern court frowned upon any PDA past handholding. Even their own PR warned her and Aladdin to tone down their amorous habits when staying in the capital. If Ali’s friends noticed how it stood out, they clearly didn’t care. He’d throw a possessive arm around Evie or Carlos in public, and they clung to it like a life preserver. Theirs was the kind of pact forged under fire. Carlos had said they didn’t split up so they could watch each other’s back. Out in public, Ali magnetically followed Mal’s path, keeping an eye on anyone who came too close, just like Jasmine’s own sworn shields.

See, she understood all this, but she still hadn’t been able to turn this into a breakthrough. She was just waiting for the moment when they’d create their own inside joke or have a heart to heart. Except still, he worried her so much she had no idea how to truly relax in his presence, and that subconsciously must be keeping him on guard. After Parents’ Day, she wanted nothing more than to be the one to console him, but Aladdin’s gentle savvy was what he needed so she let him go to Ali alone.

“Your grace? Fairy Godmother is on line one,” her secretary, Ayesha, said, breaking Jasmine out of her thoughts. Oh, sands, what was wrong now?

“Put her through,” Jasmine said, steeling herself for the worst. She hated leaving her boys halfway across the country so soon after everything. More and more, she understood her father’s inclination to hide his child someplace safe and throw away the key.

“Hello, Fairy Godmother, is everything alright?” she said. Her eldest’s face was at the forefront of her mind. Couldn’t Ali just catch a break?

“Unfortunately, I’m calling to inform you that your son was in a fight today,” Fairy Godmother said.

 “Ali has had a very trying week- “

“No, no, Princess. I am speaking of your younger son. Aziz.”

“Aziz? Aziz in…in the sixth grade? Are you sure?”

“Yes. There were a few other boys involved.”

“Is he hurt?”

“He may have broken a thumb, and he has a black eye.”

“Broken a-Aziz has never been in a fight before! Are you sure it wasn’t, err, one-sided?” Unfortunately, being picked on felt like a more likely scenario for her middle child. He’d had such great friends at home, boys he’d known since birth. Since starting at Auradon Prep, he sounded so miserable in his phone calls home, as much as he tried to keep a stiff upper lip. She had been waiting until the semester ended to tell him, you gave it a shot, now transfer to a school at home, and nevermind those snobs.

“I am told Aziz started the fight, but yes, he is the worst off. The broken thumb seems to be from his own punch. We are asking students to see if there’s been a pattern of bullying.”

“Do you know the reason for the fight today? You must know this is completely out of character for Aziz.”

“I agree. I’ve talked with the other student involved, Joshua, and the rest of the boys who were present. It seems the topic arose of Ali’s own incident this weekend, and Aziz was sticking up for him.”

Jasmine felt a rush of pride go through her heart. She didn’t think the boys were even getting along that well. Aziz must care for his brother more than she knew. He could be so shy about voicing his thoughts, especially when he had to stand up to someone, and yet. Of course, she would never suggest her children settle an issue with violence…but issues of familial pride were very serious and warranted exceptions.

“Oh, I see,” Jasmine said, trying to rack her brain for any book or video game Aziz had mentioned desiring lately.

“Aziz was very upset after the teacher broke it up. He was crying and wouldn’t talk to the nurse, so we feared he was more hurt than he looked. While we tried to reach you and your husband, we asked Ali to come in. He was able to console him, and Coach Jenkins volunteered to give them a ride to a doctor.”

Jasmine had a mental image of her two boys with their arms around each other. Her eyes were welling up. They were so lucky to have Ali back.

“I’m glad they’re together,” she said, “I will talk to Aziz about the importance of settling arguments with his words in the future.”

“It does seem the fighting will be an isolated incident for him. I will recommend two after-school detentions for all the boys involved and each write a paper reflecting on the futility of violence. I also want you to know that it will be stressed to all our sixth-graders that any unkind behavior towards our transfer students will not be tolerated.”

“Yes, thank you. I hope that goes the same for every child from the Isle who’s being mistreated. I’m sure that if they’re saying things about Ali in front of his own brother, they’ll be even bolder with what they say about the other kids,” Jasmine said. Now, she knew all their faces and most of their names, all so unfathomably young, even the unnaturally serious ones, from the big to the concerningly small. She’d asked Mal if there was a nutritionist at the school aware of special dietary needs for the chronically underfed, and they were now twenty missives deep in an email thread. Jasmine loved a crusade

“It is our upmost priority, your grace.”

“I’m sure,” Jasmine said. This school was not prepared to deal with a dozen kids of various traumas. It felt like the administrators were mostly winging it, and Mal said some teachers had been outrightly prejudiced. There needed to be a team of caretakers or something, keeping an eye on all the transfers, something more than one scarily determined eleventh grader. 

Jasmine settled back in her chair. She was worried for Aziz, of course, but she was proud too. It took guts to stand up for someone, especially in a room of people you wanted to like you.

She started texting her husband to come over and hear all about this when her cellphone started ringing. The name Ali/Jay appeared on the screen.

“Hello?” she said, trying to tamp down her smile.

“Hey,” Ali said, “Uh, have you heard about Aziz?”

“Yes,” she said, “Fairy Godmother told me you’re looking after him. How is he?”

“He’s okay. Coach is helping too. The doctor’s putting his thumb in a splint, but that’s the worst of it. He’s got some bruises and a shiner, but, uh, it makes him look tough?” She chuckled a little.

“A fight, I couldn’t believe it. Aziz is not…”

“Yeah, I know.”

“What did he say happened? I heard the other boys were talking about you?”

“Yeah. But there’s something else I need to tell you. I’m not trying to snitch, Aziz told me it was okay. Aziz said he was the one who leaked the fight club video.”

Jasmine almost dropped her phone. She gripped the edge of her desk in one hand to stop the room from spinning. All the pride she’d felt withered and rotted in her throat. No parent wanted to hear that their child could do something cruel. To his own blood. Because that act truly was cruel. The reaction it brought out of Ali, the prejudices it made surface, how could her Aziz do such a thing?

“Look, I know it sounds bad, but don’t be too hard on him,” Ali said.

“How could he do this? I can’t even speak, I’m so disappointed. Jay, I am so sorry.” All her good feelings imagining their earlier union now felt twisted inside out. She was never really angry with her children; not like she was now. Aziz was old enough to know better. She had brought him up to know better.

“Yes, it was messed up, but I get it. I don’t think he realized what he was doing. I mean, his whole life, it was like, dead brother, don’t mention it, but then I just show up. And Aziz feels totally forgotten. I know you guys don’t mean to do that, but he seemed genuinely convinced he was getting sidelined.”

Jasmine felt a rush of pride for Ali, alongside her disappointment in Aziz. It took a truly pure-hearted person to defend someone who hurt them. So many years in that place, and he still was so good.

Jasmine couldn’t be so shocked about what he was saying about Aziz. Of course, he felt sidelined. She’d seen it but kept filing it away for a day when she could handle it. It was just that everything with Ali was so overwhelming and emotional. Then most of her leftover energy went to Dalia who was right in front of her and too little to be left alone. Aziz had gotten the shock of a lifetime in the middle of a huge transition, and she had not been paying proper due to that. He always bottled up his feelings, about foods he didn’t like and kids he didn’t want to play with. My easy child, she’d joked, but really, had she been sending the message that she didn’t want to share in his difficulties?

“I know it isn’t easy,” Ali continued, “When he was talking, I kept thinking of my friend Audrey and how her parents make her keep their secrets for them, since she was just a little kid. Not that you guys are that way, I mean, it’s just a lot of pressure to be under so I think he didn’t know how to say what he was feeling.”

“He hasn’t had very good role models in that,” she said, “I know we’re always telling you that you can open to us, but we’re pretty bad at following our own advice.”

“He feels really bad. Like, he physically couldn’t stop crying. And he literally got beaten up. So…he’s kind of been punished already?”

“I have to talk it over with your father. I want him to know he has to make it right, as much as he can.”

“I have an idea, if that’s okay with you?”

“Whatever you think is best. It’s you he owes the biggest apology to.”

“I mean, literally defending my honor to a kid twice his size was pretty nice. I did way stupider stuff when I was eleven. I also haven’t been a great brother to him since this whole thing began. I definitely made him feel worse.”

“You don’t have to- “

“No, I mean, if I’m going to be part of this family, I should be accountable, right? Like, this doesn’t work if I get a free pass on everything because of, like, trauma.”

She had no idea how to respond to that, “Ali, Jay, I- “

“It’s okay. The doctor’s waving at me. I’ll write down everything he says. There’s these forms too so I might call back with questions.”

“Okay,” she said, and the line went silent. Jasmine sat back in her chair, struggling to process all the disappointment and pride and worry and love that phone call inspired. Not for the first time, she thought to herself that Ali wore responsibility well. He’d wear a crown well too.

Chapter Text

Maybe Jay was evil for this. His brother was shaking like a leaf, yet Jay pushed him ahead anyway, steering him through the dining hall towards the table where Uma, Harry, and Gil sat.

When he spotted them, Gil looked just as afraid as Aziz was. He started pulling his bandana down to cover his face.

“Gil?” Jay said.

“Merde,” Gil swore, “Jay, please, it’s just one dinner, and then I’ll go right back to practice.”

“I’m not here to drag you to practice,” Jay said, “But seriously, be at sunset runs up and down the bleachers or you’re dead.”

“He just came from a four-hour practice!” Harry said. Jay scoffed.

“He’s starting against the best team in the kingdoms in six days. Warriors do not whine! Also, you should have way more protein on your plate!” Jay said. Gil’s eyes widened, and he stole the chicken off of Harry’s plate and stuffed it into his mouth.

“You’ll thank me when we win,” Jay said. He ran his hand through his hair. Practicing nonstop and telling himself that were the only things that kept him from freaking out over Saturday’s looming Auradon National Championships game.

“What have we done then to earn the honor of two princes in our company?” Uma said, “Should we bow or genuflect?”

Jay turned his attention back to the eleven-year-old vibrating with nerves, “This is my brother, Aziz. He has something he wants to say to you.”

Uma looked amused by Aziz’s quivering. Harry held up his butter knife threateningly, because he’s a dick.

“I leaked the video of you guys fighting. I’m really sorry,” Aziz said.

“Why you little- “Harry started before Jay cut him off with a glare. Uma raised one unimpressed eyebrow.  

“Pretty cold to do that to your own brother,” Uma said, “You don’t like him getting between you and the throne?”

“No!” Aziz said, looking up to reassure Jay with some frantic headshaking. Jay nodded his reassurance.

“It’s been a pretty shite week for us because of that video. Even the wee ones think I’m soft now,” Harry said.

“It was very wrong. I didn’t understand how much at the moment, but now I do. I’m really sorry,” Aziz said.

“We don’t do apologies where we’re from,” Uma said. She turned to Jay, “Did you tell him that?”

“I said keep expectations low,” Jay said.

“I understand if you can’t accept it. But anything I can do to help fix my mistake, I will,” Aziz said, without any stuttering. Jay felt a twinge of pride.

 “I don’t appreciate the anti-VK sentiment it was inspired by. You really owe an apology to every one of us. Not to mention the setback you made for my presidential campaign,” Uma said, “On the other fin though, it’s pretty great the whole country saw me kick Jay in the conch shells.”

“Yeah, I’d appreciate a little editing next time, bro,” Jay said.

“There’s not going to be a next time!” Aziz said, all earnestly.

“It’s okay, little man,” Gil said, holding out a fist to bump. Aziz timidly returned it.

“Deux and Trois once threw me in the pig pen with the slop, and a hog tried to eat my face for breakfast,” Gil said, “Brothers, right?”

“Can you inform the press that if I had a hook or sword, that fight would have been very different?” Harry said. 

“You can barely tell yourself that, Hook,” Jay said. Uma and Gil snickered.

“I would also appreciate if you used any sway you have to secure me the sixth-grade vote in the upcoming student body elections,” Uma said, “Also, could you leak any dirt on my opponent, Ariana?”

“I don’t think that would be wise,” Aziz said grimly.

“You can go to Audrey for that,” Jay said. She’d elected herself Evie and Uma’s campaign manager the moment her cousin announced her opposing candidacy. 

“And she has delivered. You know we expect tourney team reporting a hundred percent,” Uma said.

“I can do you better than that. This whole school will worship the ground I walk on after Saturday.”

“What’s Saturday again?” Uma said.

“It’s the biggest night of your life,” Coach said to the players huddled around him, “But I’m sure you already know that.”

“YES, SIR!” they yelled back. Jay was shoulder to shoulder between Gil and Chad. Both enemies once, but now after months of training together, Jay could play in perfect sync with them, anticipating their moves near unconsciously.

“You know these plays. Your muscles know them even better than your minds. It’s been an honor to watch every man here commit himself to growing into the best possible player he can be. But they are going to give you everything they’ve got. Can you answer that challenge?”

“YES, SIR!” Jay grinned at their volume, knowing the other team could hear it through the walls of the locker room.

“You’ve got the whole school watching. Friends. Families. Monarchy. Girlfriends. Boyfriends. People you’d like to be either. College coaches and recruiters who could change your lives forever. Not to mention anyone with a TV set. But I want you to get that all out of your heads because we’re not playing for any of them. We play for ourselves and for our team.”

“YES, SIR!”

“Captain?” Coach said, looking to Jay, followed by every other eye in the room. Jay knew this duty well, to take command in the moments before battle, with a hunger to win previously much more literal.

“We’re a championship team. We play like one. I know that,” Jay said before smirking, “But I’d like everyone else to know it too.”

“YES, CAPTAIN!” his friends yelled back. His teammates’ shoulder pads bumped his.

“LET’S TAKE IT!” Coach yelled. The team yelled as they raised their helmets and sticks and ran out of the locker room, slapping Beast’s growling face above the exit as they went. Jay heard the crowd outside cheer at the first glimpse of players.

As always, Jay hung back to leave last and for one final conference coach-to-captain. As the penultimate man’s back departed, Coach clapped a hand on Jay’s shoulder.

“How’s Aziz’s shiner?” Coach said. The din outside was growing- the cheers, the marching band, the cheerleaders, but Coach’s tone was leisurely.

“He’s doing good,” Jay said.

“Good,” Coach said. He wasn’t smiling, but he had that gleam in his eyes. Jay randomly remembered their secret field trip to Auradon U, the moment before everything changed, and also the time Coach took him to his parents’ embassy, how he’d led them out when Jay couldn’t find his way. And way at the beginning, when Coach was the first person here to see Jay wasn’t okay but still tell him he was good.

“Thanks for taking my brother to the hospital. And for everything else. If you hadn’t put me on the team, I probably would not have lasted here,” Jay said.

“Players like you make my job easy,” he said, “You’ve had a hell of a season, and I’m not just talking on the field. How are you feeling?”

“I feel like...we’re about to kick some ass,” Jay said. Coach laughed and held out his arm to say. prove it.

After, when Jay was holding the championship trophy above his head, confetti and sparkling cider in his hair, he felt like he was outside of his body, looking down on the field, flying without a carpet. There was him, illuminated under the bright floodlights, letting the whole world see him smile and hug and maybe tear up just a bit because holy shit they actually did it.  He was not supposed to be here. He was being held up by kids he’d wrestled with for scraps and princes whose parents put them in that pit. They all wore the same azure, and from the sky, you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. He was not supposed to be here. Here was and two parents who thought they’d seen their son for the last time seventeen years ago and three friends exhilarated by a kids’ game of all things, stakes so blissfully reduced to this. Behind them were grown men fighting through the well-wishers to court the kid who couldn’t earn a place on his father’s floor. He was not supposed to be here.

Even on Monday, when, yeah, literally, the entire school was lined up to kiss his ass, Jay still felt like he was living in a dream. He had spent the weekend hearing recruiters promise him shiny new training facilities, teams molded around his talent, and jerseys with his name on them worn by every kid in a kingdom. As each one made their pitch, Coach and Mom made an unexpectedly terrifying tag team of negotiation.

Summer was close. At the start of this school year, Jay was showing up to Dragon Hall solely to rob his classmates’ lockers. Dad said you can get used to whole new worlds, but Jay still stood up too straight for every coach near Jafar in age and woke up at night reaching for a switchblade that now lived in a drawer.

He took it out sometimes. The cycle of little catastrophes that was living with Jafar taught him to never get comfortable. Never feel safe. Then there was always the guilt that suffocated him right after the joy. Who was Jay to make it out? He was nothing, he’d hurt so many people, it was all going to fall on his head eventually. Jafar had killed the part of him that could have been good. He’d had Jay for sixteen years and never found anything worth loving- how would anyone? 

Nah, that’s what the broken parts of you want you to think, said Dad’s calming voice, they’ll never really shut up, but tell them to anyway.

Yet the knife went from drawer to pillow. Or snuggled between sock and boot when the mornings were filled with dread.

Shut up, he said as he walked to class with the stiff steel against his ankle, won’t you ever shut up?

Does he ever shut up? Carlos thought bitterly to himself.

A large group had just burst into laughter at something Harry Hook said. Jay was among them, covering his face with one hand and squeezing Harry’s shoulder with the other. It was another party for the tourney team, yet somehow, Harry Hook commanded half the room. He and Jay had been tag-teaming on telling some stupid story for a while now.

Carlos’ whole face burned in envy. Stupid, tall, sculpted, fucking twinkly eyed Harry. When you were bold enough to act like everything in every room belonged to you, Carlos found, things usually worked out just like that.

The irony was Carlos devoted this whole semester to figuring out what he really wanted now that he’d he crawled out from his mother’s grip. But the answer was the same as it had always been.

Because Carlos had always been right there. He’d been the one huddling for warmth with Jay in their cold little loft all those winters and watching his back every night. He knew Jay loved him, but that was so different than wanting him. Carlos had never thought about his looks so much, but lately he could stare at his reflection for hours, analyzing his still stubbornly scrawny form, his abundance of freckles, trying to figure out what made him so overlookable.  

Carlos’ working hypothesis was less shallow. Simply, Jay had slotted him into the family category long ago, alongside the girls. You never got involved like that with family. It mixed up loyalties.

Carlos’ anger turned back to sadness then self-pity, a volley he’d been living in for the last few weeks. Their destinies were written. Carlos just needed to move on. There must be other boys like Jay. He just hadn’t found any yet.

“C, you’re staring,” Mal said. Carlos startled at her voice. She swirled her cup with a flick of her wrist and smirked at him.

“Just spaced,” he said.

“Mmhmm,” she said, “You’re looking a little green too.”
“Shut up,” he said.

“And now you’re red,” Mal said, cackling, “It’s okay. I won’t tell Evie you hate one of her precious pirates.”

“Now who sounds jealous?” he said, though he knew that wasn’t what it was about for Mal.

She glared at him, “I’ll show you another shade of green if you don’t stop, pup. I stand by what I said. I’ll let down my guard if or when I feel ready. I don’t care if it’s their fucking wedding day.”

Carlos laughed, “Didn’t you all get manicures last week?”

Mal shrugged, “It doesn’t mean I hate Uma. It’s not even personal. I’d do the same for anybody you all brought home.”

“Hmph,” Carlos said, heart twisting again. He didn’t want to bring anybody else, and sooner or later he’d be watching Jay do it.

“They’re not together, C,” Mal said.

“Who?”

“Don’t play dumb. If Jay actually liked Harry, he’d be completely ignoring him. They’re only getting on because that’s been ruled out.”

“That makes no sense,” Carlos said.

“Jay can be a little oblivious. I mean, he could change. I wasn’t built for storybook romance, and voila.”

“You changed because you met the right person,” Carlos said. It was too late for Jay to meet him.

“Yeah, I did,” Mal said, fondly, “Ugh, where is King Sunshine? I want to stick my tongue down his throat.”

Mal walked off, Jay laughed again, and Carlos decided he couldn’t stay at the party another minute. Without goodbyes, he headed for the door and started the walk back to campus. The dorms were a ghost town. Everyone had plans that night, the last hurrah before finals kicked into high gear. At least Dude was there. Carlos sunk his face into his fur and wanted to confess every embarrassing detail of his unrequited love, but he couldn’t even bear to confess it to his dog. He struggled to sleep. He would drift off for a bit, then wake up once again, stewing a little more, trying to make his brain go blank.

Maybe hours later, the door opened, right when Carlos was between awake and asleep. He heard someone poking around, and the cadence of the footfall had already told him it was Jay. Carlos kept his eyes shut, not trying to confirm, even as those footsteps walked rights towards his bed.
“Los? Looooos, you up?” Jay said.

“Yeah?” Carlos said, opening his eyes.

Jay jumped on the bed. He snuggled right up to Carlos, hooking an arm and leg around him like a koala on a tree. A very stiff, panicked tree. Jay had discarded the jeans and t-shirt he’d worn to the party that Carlos thought actually belonged to him. It had been pornographically tight.

“Why ya always leaving parties early, Los?” Jay said into his ear. Carlos felt his whole body turn into one giant goosebump.

“I don’t know,” Carlos squeaked. He noticed you left, his thoughts squealed.

“Playing hard to get,” Jay said, before giggling to himself. He brushed some curls out of Carlos’ face. His long fingers rested in Carlos’ hair, cupping his temple. He then nuzzled his face into Carlos’ neck, his lips dragging against sweaty skin, pressing once, just barely.  

He’s drunk, he’s only doing this because he’s drunk. Because he’d done this before, when the intoxicating substance was shitty Isle moonshine or the rush of a brush with Mad Maddy. Carlos often forgot that their lips had touched before, more than once. It hurt too much to remember, how close and how far away a person could be at the same time. Carlos had been better at responding to Jay’s advances back then. He’d had nothing to lose, since there was no future to be gained between a burglar and a nutcase. Carlos loved the attention too, he’d play coy and apathetic, make Jay work for it.

So tonight, he felt pathetic settling for a cuddle that neither would acknowledge in the morning. Beggars can’t be choosers, he sneered to himself. That phrase might as well go on his tombstone.

Jay’s hooked leg retracted, and his hand travelled down from Carlos’ chest to his thigh, resting on the skin below where his boxers ended.

“You’re fuzzy,” Jay said, tracing a finger through Carlos’ thigh hair. The leg muscle twitched in response to the sensation. Carlos was half-hard already, Jay would probably notice, oh, gods, the Isle was better than this agony, send me back now, he thought while Jay kept making shapes in his leg hair.

“I love your legs,” Jay whispered, “So long and so…fuzzy.”

“No one has hair like you,” Jay said. He wasn’t even looking at Carlos, just talking to himself.

“Good night,” Jay said, resting again on Carlos’ chest, his bigger body overwhelming Carlos’ smaller frame. It was all overwhelming- the heat, Jay’s hair in Carlos’ face, the way his heart was thudding right onto Jay’s cheek like a kiss a second.

Carlos squirmed, trying to get comfortable, even though he was not even a back sleeper. Jay had drifted off quickly, and Carlos let his one indulgence be to take his hand and run it through Jay’s hair, smoothing away the stray strands that kept tickling his chin but also just enjoying the silken feel of it on his fingers.

The position actually didn’t hinder his sleep for long, and he didn’t have any nightmares that night. When he woke, Jay wasn’t there, but the shower was running, which meant he must have slept through Jay leaving for his morning run and coming back. Carlos never slept in.

He got up and checked on Dude. Jay had fed him, and likely took him out too, since the dog wasn’t whining. He put some clothes on, shorts and a t-shirt. The weather had turned for the warmer. Ben had been talking of the upcoming summer days with reverence. Ninety days of perfect sunshine- who could complain? On the Isle, summer meant a more cloying humidity that irritated people into being more murderous than usual.

“Wanna get bagels?” Carlos turned to see Jay strolling out of the bathroom with just a towel around his waist. One day, Carlos would strangle him.

“I always want to carb-load after drinking. But hey, the season’s over- why not?” Jay continued.

Carlos didn’t even know what to say. He felt crazy. Last night had happened, right? Carlos hadn’t been drunk or dreaming. He was going to actually lose his mind if Jay thought they could be bros by day, snuggle buddies by night, and never acknowledge it.

“No,” Carlos said slowly, “I don’t want bagels.”

 “Waffles?”

“I- “Carlos didn’t know what to do next. His tongue never seemed to work as well as his brain, but the latter was drawing blanks right now too.

“I think you should go get bagels with someone else,” Carlos said.

“C, what’s your problem? Woke up on the right side of the bed?” Jay said, still smiling and dripping wet and only wearing that damn towel.

“Stop it!” Carlos hissed, “Go…go…go find Harry!”

“Hook?” Jay said, now completely confused.

“You’ve been pretty obvious about it,” Carlos scoffed, “You’ve been hanging out all year apparently. I mean, Evil, you told your parents about him. So, if you need someone to get bagels with, you should be going to him for that.”

“You’re being weird, man,” Jay said, “Am I forgetting something Harry did to you? I mean, the guy gutted me like a fish once, and we got past it, but I can talk to him, if you want me to. He’s not that bad when you get to know him one on one.”

Carlos’ stomach twisted. He fought to keep his voice from breaking when he said, “You would know best.”

“Dude, what’s your problem?”

“I don’t have one!” Carlos said, because, courage had never come easy for him.

“It’s not like he came out of nowhere, especially with Evie and Uma. I’ve known Harry even longer than I’ve known you.”
Carlos was not going to cry. He wasn’t.

The thing was he knew Jay didn’t know how Carlos felt. Jay had every right to like whoever he wanted. But Jay should also stop snuggling guys he clearly had no interest in.

“You shouldn’t get bagels with someone if you’re not interested in getting them cream cheese too,” Carlos said.

“What?”

“I have to take Dude out.”

“I already did!”

“I don’t care!” Carlos said. He grabbed his dog and left, feeling uniquely idiotic.

He walked into the late spring sunshine, setting Dude down when they reached the grass so he could roll and sniff to his heart’s desire.

Maybe he should head for the girls’ dorms. But Mal would see right through him. She’d tell him how he felt and then ask him what he planned to do about it. On the other hand, Evie would coddle him. She’d go “oh, pup” and tell him someday his prince would come and all that. Both sounded mortifying.

He could actually get breakfast. He needed a reason to stay away from his room until Jay cleared out, and he’d left his bookbag behind, so it didn’t make sense to go to the library. He looked around to collect Dude and realized with a panic he had wandered off.

“Carlos!” he turned. There was Dude, receiving an ear-scratching from Jane. Jane and Carlos’ friendship had definitely been icy since the day with the stitches. Carlos came over, much too on edge.

“I saw you start to wonder where he was,” Jane said.

“Thanks,” he said, “How are you?”

“Good,” she said, “And you?”

“Good.”

“How’s Jay?”

“Why do you say that?”

“I mean, is he walking on air or just burnt toast?” she said, “From the party last night?”

“Oh,” Carlos said, catching himself, “He’s fine. You went? Did you have fun?”

“Yeah,” Jane said, “It was nice. It was good to relax a bit, with finals coming up and then, wow, senior year.”

“Wow. Right. It’s really….” He trailed, not even able to come up with better small talk.

“Yeah?” she said, “Everything alright?”

He opened his mouth to answer, to lie, but stopped when he saw Jane’s big eyes staring so earnestly at him. Her eyes were very pretty, it occurred to him.

“Could we go talk somewhere?” Carlos said.

“Of course,” Jane said because even if he’d embarrassed her and she had better things to do that morning, Jane would always say yes to a friend who looked as desperate as Carlos did.

So, over hot chocolates and croissants, Carlos finally said the words he’d never said even to himself: “I’m in love with Jay. Really, deeply in love. It fucking sucks.”

“Oh, dear,” Jane said, patting his hand. If only his heart could have been swayed in her gentler direction, but well, the day he’d watched Jay throw one of his bullies into a wall, he knew the way his tastes ran.

Carlos started laughing. It was all so ridiculous, but it felt good to say it out loud.

“I’m such an asshole, coming to you for this,” Carlos said.

“I wouldn’t say I was in love with you,” Jane said, smiling.

“Of course not! Ah! I mean- I’d be lucky if you were. I don’t deserve that.”

“Don’t say it like that,” she said, “You deserve a lot. Now how are we going to get the most eligible bachelor in Auradon’s head out of his ass?”

Carlos colored, “I don’t, I mean, it’s hopeless.”

“Hopeless? Do you know whose daughter I am? We just need to figure out your version of glass slippers and a pumpkin coach. Jay isn’t quite Prince Charming, but he has way better hair- don’t tell Chad I said that.”

Mal had washed the blonde hair dye out a long time ago, but now she felt like was going to go prematurely gray. Why was she wired like this? Shouldn’t the point of being in charge be so you can sit your ass on a throne while everyone else does the hard work? Yet Mal always sought out more responsibility.  Her counsellor was always talking about setting time for herself, running hot baths and quiet places to sit, so she didn’t snap.

Mal’s version of that had been her visits to her hot-headed father, ironically. Every visit to the Isle took so much planning that once her official duties were commenced, her little decompression ritual was now to go to his mine shaft, drink his terrible coffee, and talk.

So, after a packed day of going over meal delivery plans with Dr. Facilier and Uma, Mal winked to her security detail and headed for the mine shaft. She was walking the long way around to avoid the bazaar when she felt a touch in her side. On instinct, her hand reached out to snatch, and she twisted the bony wrist she caught until it was about to snap. She hadn’t been away long enough to be easy prey, even if she had been occupied thinking about her date night with Ben later.

“Aaaah,” the thief said. It was a little girl. Mal glared at her, and she stared defiantly back, even if her eyes were about to tear up in pain. She had bright blue hair and wore an oversized flannel as a dress. She couldn’t have been more than eight. Mal loosened her grip just a bit.

“Little thief,” Mal said, “You should be more careful when you choose your marks.”

“I wasn’t stealing,” the girl said, revealing a missing tooth when she spoke.

“Not fooling me,” Mal said. She dropped the wrist.

“Hadie!” The little girl’s head turned towards a woman walking briskly towards them.

“I swear to Olympus, girl,” she said. She was an older woman, maybe forty, wearing a leather jacket and a faded housedress. When she was in reach, she pulled the little girl into her side and held her shoulder with a claw-like grip.

“What did she do now?” the woman said to Mal, with a glare of steel.

“No harm done,” Mal said. The woman’s eyes went to the purple braid poking out from Mal’s hood.

“She didn’t mean any disrespect. She’s just a stupid girl who doesn’t know who she’s taking from. She’ll lose a hand for it one day.” The mother said this last part while shaking the girl’s shoulder, but that didn’t wipe the defiant glare off of the kid’s face.

Mal snorted, “What’s your name, kid?”

“Hadie,” the girl said with a cocky smile, “After my daddy.”

“Don’t get smart with people,” the mother said, “And don’t say that if that means a thing.”  

Mal looked at the kid closely. That shade of blue was certainly distinctive, and it was definitely growing out of her head. How many bastards did the bastard have running around this rock?

“You might want to consider a nickname,” Mal said to the mother, “It’s not safe to be one of his.”

Mal walked past them, hastening her pace towards the shaft.  

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she yelled into the cavern.

“Don’t come in here with a pun,” her dad said. He was lying back in his favorite chair, reading the newspaper he’d requested she bring him last time.

“One damned demigod wasn’t enough? How many of us are there here?” Mal said.

“You met the girl,” he said flatly.

“She has a name!” Mal said.

“I know, I know,” he said, “I told her mother that was ill-advised, but she’s a piece of work. Half gorgon, did some great work for me in the past, so I had to welcome her to the neighborhood.”

“Ew,” Mal said, “How many others are on this Isle?”

“Just her! I think…”

“Just when I think you’re not such a bad guy…”

“Well, that’s on you.”

“Fuck you,” she said, “I’m done.”

“Hey, come on, Mally. I told you how it is. I acknowledge her, and she’s lightning bolt target practice.”

“Still…” Mal said, “She knows who you are, but also probably thinks you don’t care that she exists. It’s fucked up! Can’t you do something?”

He sighed, “Keep her alive and then guide her to Tartarus after. That’s my domain. That’s the best gift I can give her.” Mal glared green at him, and he raised an eyebrow at her.

“It’s not like I’m the only family she has,” he said.

“Nice, pass the buck to me.”

“You’re all about saving the kids. This one’s blood. How’d you even meet her?”

“She tried to pickpocket me,” Mal said.

Her father laughed, “Delightful. Maybe you teach her how to do it without getting caught. Build a bridge.”

I could do more than that, Mal thought to herself. She could boot Hadie to the top of the get-the-fuck-off-the-Isle waitlist. Though Hadie’s mom seemed to give at least half a shit about her daughter, from the protective way she’d been looking at Mal.

“Hey, Mally, one more lesson for today,” he said.

“A magic trick to fix this shitty situation?” she said, but the bite had gone out. This wasn’t the worst thing her father could do, really. He still wasn’t a lizard, and that’s why she came.”

“Heh, no, but maybe it’ll fix another one one day,” he said, “A lesson. This goes back to your fundamentals. Magic as energy, that can flow, be transformed, passed on. In the spirit, I’ll even throw in a gift.”

Out of thin air, a glowing blue ember appeared in his hand. Mal couldn’t hide her awe. She’d heard of them, of course, she’d been reading up on her myth. She reached out to touch it, but it disappeared.

“You need it, it’ll be there,” he said.

“How does that work?” she said.

“Let me tell you,” he said, grinning. He liked to explain things, she’d learned. Mom used to have her lessons, and Mal could never say that passed on expertise was useless. But Mother had been testing Mal, always, forcing her to commit to memory, while lording over her ignorance and how she, a half-fae, would never know true power.  Mom never showed any joy like Dad’s smile when Mal blew blue flames. How he explained technique with barely contained excitement. The pleased way he said her name when she made the ember appear in her palm then in his again.

By the time she left, she wasn’t even mad at him anymore. She just didn’t want to share him.

Sharing Uma with the entire school would be agony.

Not that Evie wanted to lose the election. Her pride would not allow it, and she knew the school would be lucky to have a leader who cared as much as her girlfriend did. Uma had been securing votes left and right anyway, treating this student government election with the gravity of gang wars.

Uma’s first priority was the VKs, each of whom she paid close individual attention to. When a girl told Claudine that her long skirts were ugly, Uma hunted her down and told her to shut her face. When Big Murph gets detention, Uma goes to keep him company. Evie wasn’t sure if she’d ever met someone with a bigger heart, or one that grew so easily. While campaigning, she’d heard out the Auradon students’ problems too. The scholarship kids, the magical kids, everyone without a crown- they all knew what it was like to be treated like an afterthought, and Uma felt for anyone subject to injustice.

“Did you know Helena in sophomore year is half-siren, and they told her she can’t join the choir?” Uma said. They were sprawled out on Uma’s bed. Uma was working on her speech for the assembly while Evie’s textbook was open, but her mind was elsewhere.

“Like, then get someone to teach her how to control her powers if you’re so scared! They call this the best school in the country, but if you want any sort of magical education, you’re screwed,” Uma said.

“It’s so backwards,” Evie said.

“That Lonnie girl also told me that all the single dorm rooms go to nobility first.”

“Uma?”

“She was talking about the grade-hiking they all get too, but I’m not sure how to ban that in concrete policy terms.”

“Uma?”

“The off-campus privileges- we’re not babies! Even if it is dead easy to sneak out of here, it’s the principle of-.”

“Can we talk about something else for a second?” Evie said.

“My bad,” Uma said, with half a smile, “What’s up, babe?”

Evie took a deep breath, “I just wanted to talk because I know we’ve got to get through the election and finals, but then it’s summer, and- well, what are we going to do?”

“Going home. Working with Mom. Working with Mal. You know.”

“I mean with us,” Evie said.

“Oh,” Uma said, “Auradon people seeing us is one thing, but the Isle. I haven’t thought about that. The territories. The reactions. We might be more than the rock is ready for.”

“My mother is who I’m most worried about in that regard,” Evie said, “I’m going to go see her, stay at home for a bit. If she found out I have a girlfriend and it’s you…”

“She wouldn’t approve?” Uma said, with a smirk.

“She’d poison your soup,” Evie said, “I wish I was joking.”

“Damn,” Uma said, “You know you could stay with me, or with Mal.”

“Mama will know if I’m on the Isle and avoiding her. I do want to check in on her, the castle, make sure she hasn’t gone through one of her spells and forgotten to feed herself. I have set things up too, for next year and whatever comes after, since I never got to. She’s my mother, and she does care about me, in her own way.”

Uma was silent.

“I know that’s a lot of people’s lines, but it’s not the same. She isn’t a monster. She’s not Maleficent. We got along most of the time. I do miss her.”

“Evie,” Uma said softly, taking her hand, “I’m not judging you. She’s your mom. If you need her in your life, I understand.”
“Really?” Evie said.

“Yeah. I just…I’m going to miss you. But I get it.”

“Oh, Uma,” Evie said, and she couldn’t help but throw her arms around her girlfriend, “Thank you for understanding. I’m going to miss you too, but we’ll figure out ways to talk and see each other.”

“It’s smart for both of us,” Uma said slowly, “I’ll spread the word for the VKs to keep it low. I’m sure they will. We all have stuff we do here that people at home wouldn’t like. The pirates are especially fickle. The older ones are loyal to Hook, and he doesn’t like anyone, especially not castle kids.”

“Right,” Evie said. Her heart sunk a little, even though this was what she had just asked for. She hated the thought of not holding Uma’s hand for three months, even worse now having tasted freedom and going back to living in fear.

It’s just survival, she told herself, but that didn’t do the trick like it used to.

Chapter Text

10 Days Until the Last Day of School

17 Days Until the Return to the Isle

Jay should have known taking an advanced class would somehow screw up his entire life. He just expected it less so screwed up in the form of a royal identity crisis and more so in the form playing out right now, in the third-floor northwest wing of the Auradon Prep library.

“Fuck my life. I’m going to fail out,” he whispered to his friends.

“If you don’t shut up, I’m kicking you out of our table,” Mal muttered, holding her mechanical pencil like a shiv. She had been furiously typing for an hour straight. They’d all holed up here together to knock out their Intermediate Sorcery final papers, and almost every chair in the library was occupied by similarly stress-ridden students. Mal had scared some freshman to get a coveted table together.

“I don’t even have one page,” he groaned, staring at his school-issued laptop, where the blank white document mocked him.

“Maybe you should have picked a subject more interesting than crystal balls,” Evie said, leaning over to tut at his empty screen.

“I just won this school its first championship title in five years. I deserve a free pass.”

“Well, there’s two sentences written,” Carlos muttered under his breath. Jay glared at him. They’d barely spoken since Sunday. Jay was shocked he showed up tonight, since he’d been staying out of their room and avoiding group meals. This was extra annoying because at the beginning of the semester, Carlos had offered to write this stupid paper for him. Jay had a feeling that offer was not on the table right now.

“I don’t think we ever had to write more than one page at Dragon Hall. I’m transferring back,” Jay said.

“No, you’re fucking not,” Mal said sharply. Students at other tables looked over at her raised voice. He opened his mouth to say that was obviously a joke, but it wasn’t worth starting a fight.

“No, I’m not,” he muttered. He tried to type for five more minutes, mostly rewording sentences from the textbook. Plagiarism was such an uncool form of stealing that it offended him how uptight the teachers here were about it.

What was he even doing this for? All those college coaches seemed pretty keen on him whether or not he could explain the difference between a charm and a conjuring. He flipped to the back of his notebook and looked at the pro/con lists he’d written out, a classic DeVil strategy for making big decisions. Jay added two more points under the heading “GO PRO RIGHT NOW.”

Pro: I can drop out and never write this essay.

Con: Parents want graduation pictures.

It’s probably a bad look for his mom if her heir can’t pass high school. Also, Dad made a couple comments about how it’s really great his kids get to go to school. So, Jay turned back to his essay. FG did say they could write whatever they wanted. There must be something sorcery-related he could bullshit off the top of his head. Maybe he could just write twenty pages about his weird new friendship with a carpet?

“Incoming,” Carlos whispered. They followed his eyes to see little Dizzy Tremaine, clutching her notebooks to her chest, eyes down but walking directly towards them.

“No distractions,” Mal growled, steam coming out of her nostrils.

“Put it on ice, M,” Evie said. She waved at Dizzy, who lifted one hand in response. 

“Hey, Dizzy, is everything okay?” Evie said softly.

“Sorry to bother you guys. I just heard something from my mom that I think you should know,” Dizzy whispered.

“Let’s take a walk,” Evie said, standing up.

“Um, actually, uh,” Dizzy said, “I think this is mostly for Jay.” Jay’s head snapped towards the girl. Her nervous eyes flitted to him then back to Evie.

“Should we go outside?” Evie said, “So we can speak freely?” Dizzy nodded.

“Stairwell right over there,” Carlos said. He always minded their exits.

What’s this?  Mal asked Jay with a raised brow. He shrugged. All four of them got up and went into the stairwell. Mal took a seat on the top of the landing, having gone from cramming student to presiding gang leader. Jay sat a step below her, so he could be level with Dizzy.

“What’s up?” he said, as gently as he could.

“Someone beat up Jafar,” Dizzy said, her words coming out in a rush, “They walked into his shop in the middle of the day and beat him up. They broke some stuff too. Then they started a fire, but the fish stand guys helped put it out before much was burnt.”

“Who was it?” Jay said.

“My aunt didn’t see, sorry.”

“Were they robbing him?” Carlos said.

“No, the guys just walked away. But my aunt says lots of people went in and took stuff while he was down.” Jay’s throat tightened at the last word.

“How bad was he hurt?” Jay sad.

“Not that bad. He’s opened the shop again,” Dizzy said. Of course. It didn’t close when someone got slashed walking out the door, and Jay had to scrub blood off the floor. It didn’t close during vicious turf wars where most people shuttered their windows and stayed home. Jafar’s never closed.

“Shame,” Evie muttered.  

“Do you know anything else?” Mal said. Dizzy thought for a second then shook her head.

“Thank you for telling us this, Dizzy. Let us know if you hear more,” Evie said. She gave her a little hug and the girl left the stairwell. 

“What do you think it means?” Evie said.

“Jafar makes a new enemy every day,” Carlos said, “It’s almost June. People always get pissed off easier in the heat.”

“Maybe it’s good?” Evie said, “News of what he did must have reached the Isle by now. Maybe someone’s doing it on Jay’s behalf?”

“I don’t remember leaving behind a fan club,” Jay said.

“Could be trying to curry favor with you then?” Carlos said.

“People were really scared of Jafar because of the genie thing and having Jay as security. It’s probably a good sign of the Isle mood if someone took him down a peg. It makes it safer for Jay,” Evie said.

“I’m thinking a different angle,” Mal said, “Because if it were me, I’d want to know how Jafar did it and got away with it. Especially if there’s magic involved. Jafar’s tight-lipped so the guy knocks him around. Actually, this sounds like a fun plan for our summer vacay.”

This was the most they’ve spoken of Jafar in a long time. Sometimes, it was easy to forget he was still on that Isle, puttering around the shop- no, lying in wait, like a snake in the grass. He must know the VKs planned to return when the school year ended, and Jay’s never far from his friends. He’ll be expecting them, and he’s never liked to be kept waiting.

“…a more permanent solution,” Evie said. Jay had zoned out and missed the rest of what she’d said.

“I know a girl with a boat. The waters south of the Isle aren’t subject to Auradon legality,” she continued. 

“Might not even need to leave the rock. I’ve got a little loophole on the barrier. God of death owes me a lot of child support,” Mal said.

“We won’t have the element of surprise. It’ll be hard to draw him out of the shop, but that’s right in the middle of town so there could be witnesses if we do it there,” Carlos said.

“He doesn’t know we have new allies now.”

“It doesn’t feel right to bring anyone outside into this. My dad’s fine, maybe Uma, but this has to be tight. Jafar is respected by his generation, and that set will not take his absence well,” Mal said, “It’ll have to look like an accident, even if only the stupid would believe it is.”

Jay opened his mouth, but nothing came out. His friends were suddenly plotting murder in the same tone with which they’d all outlined their History presentation yesterday.

He remembered the last time he was in the shop. Jafar had led him back to the apartment, made him go over the plan for the wand again and again, and given him a suitcase. Jay was stunned by a gift so freely given. There’d been dinner too- spicy noodles from that shop down the street and a sip of his rum. When Dad retired, Jay walked around the shop, saying silent goodbyes to every ware, before sleeping under his father’s roof for the first time in weeks. 

“I’ll make you proud, Dad,” Jay promised before he left, with a bravado he rarely displayed in his father’s presence, clutching his new old bag.

“Just get that wand and a lamp, boy,” he’d grumbled. Jay nodded like a good little soldier. Dad was under a lot of pressure, Jay had to do right by him, this was their one chance.

Jay had said he would go back to the Isle. He’d said he wanted his chance for payback with Jafar. So why did he feel nauseous listening to this? Since when did he have such a weak stomach?

Since you got here and tasted real food.

“Does anyone want dinner?” Mal said, “Jay? Hello? Jay? Are you in?”

“Yeah, I’m in,” he said in a daze. For the meal or the patricide?

“Jay, you don’t have to be there for it,” Evie said, with an awful pity.

“Why wouldn’t I be there? He’s my- “ Hadn’t he wanted Jafar dead the whole time? He was always pushing him around, threatening him, kicked him out when he was just a little kid. He let him call him “Dad” as a twisted fucking joke. He stole his whole life from him.

What kind of person can kill their own father?

“He’s not my father anymore,” Jay said, “It’s not…it’s justice, right?”

“Right,” Mal said, “But you don’t have to deliver it yourself. If you don’t want to.”

“I do. I always did,” Jay said.

“Okay. So, after finals, there’s some time everyone goes back to plot this out. When we get to the Isle, we’ll have to act quickly, but there’ll be so much to settle with the kids, reclaiming my castle. It’ll have to be planned out to the letter and stealthy. No one can know what we’re up to- not Jay’s parents, not Ben. We have reps to protect now,” Mal said.

“Funny, if we were still at Dragon Hall, we’d be studying Plots and Schemes right now,” Carlos said, “Think this counts as an independent study?”

“I’ll take any extra credit I can get,” Jay said weakly, and his friends laughed. If he had trouble concentrating on his finals before, now it would be impossible.

8 Days Until the Last Day of School

Carlos didn’t want to brag, but his finals week was pretty easy. The professors from his college classes were way chiller than the Prep’s teachers. Intro to Engineering and Robotics Lab weren’t even giving him real exams, and their project deadlines were last week so he’d gotten them out of the way. He was sad to see the classes end, actually. All of the college kids knew he was in high school, and they were are really nice to him, like he was the class little brother or something. They even invited him to get pizza after the last day of class (One guy also invited Carlos to a party that weekend but going to a college party alone was way more intimidating than going to college classes alone).

For his Prep course load, Carlos just had to polish his Intermediate Sorcery paper, go over History, and maybe take a look at his Calculus notes. He was keeping this free schedule on the down low, so his friends didn’t get jealous. That and…he didn’t want Jay to know why he kept being so dodgy. Saying he was busy studying was an easy excuse.

He would make up with Jay eventually. He’d already decided that- Jay was in his life forever, feelings or no feelings. But events as embarrassing as that bagel outburst required a recovery of the ego.  At least it had made Jane laugh. She was taking her Fairy Godmother duties seriously, taking him shopping and somehow convincing him to submit to a haircut.

“Please don’t make me regret letting you point magic at my head,” Carlos said, “I really, really like my head. Brain, eyes, breathing passageways- they’re all very dear to me.”

“Carlos, I have come a really long way in my magical training,” Jane said firmly, “I would not want to do this unless I knew I could do it. So, sit back and shut up,” she said. He tried to relax in the desk chair they had wheeled into Jane’s bathroom.  Jane picked up the magazine off the bathroom counter and studied the model in the cologne ad Carlos had selected as their guide. He had ginger hair but tight curls that parted on one side which Carlos liked.

“How did you even get let it get this long?” Jane said, pulling at the curl which was reaching his cheekbone. He shrugged.

“I don’t pay attention to it. Evie usually just tells me I need one and cuts it.”

“I thought the Tremaine’s had a salon?” Jane said curiously. He was impressed she wasn’t scared to bring them up, even though “Aunt Cindy” was her godmother.

“They do. I couldn’t be bothered though,” he said. He’d often kept watch outside when Mal went, wondering how hair could take hours and hours.

“Okay, so all the magazines say even if you’re styling with magic, washing by hand will still get best results,” Jane said, “One sec.” She flicked her hand, and her normal bathroom sink turned into one of the deep ones Carlos saw at the Tremaine’s. Carlos gave of low whistle of appreciation.

“The plumbing adds extra difficulty,” Jane said smugly, “Transfiguration is my family’s specialty. Lie back.” Jane put a towel around his neck and ran the faucet. Carlos tried to relax, even though it felt weird being touched on his head, with his throat so exposed and someone standing over him. It’s Jane, Jane couldn’t hurt a fly.

“How’s the temperature?” she said.

“Good. So, your mom’s been chill about you embracing the magic?” Carlos said, trying to look at her.

Jane grimaced, “It’s still a fight. She’s such a hypocrite. It’s not like she doesn’t use it. She teaches Mal because she knows she can’t actually stop Mal. She thinks I’ll always just do what I’m told.”

“That’s annoying,” Carlos said. What happens when you don’t do what you’re told? he wanted to ask, but Jane didn’t sound afraid. Auradon moms weren’t like that.

Jane started working in some shampoo that smelled amazing, and he unclenched a little.

“I looked up the right product for your hair texture. I’ll give you the bottle.”

“Thanks,” he said, “I can pay you.”

“It’s a gift.”

“A gift from a fae? Don’t those always have strings attached?”

Jane laughed, “Obviously. The string is you have to use this sexy new haircut to seduce your prince.”

“Ugh, Jane,” he groaned, and she giggled.

“So, did Evie dye your hair for you too?” she said.

“What? No.”

“You dye it yourself?”

“Jane, this is how my hair grows.”

Jane stopped shampooing and stared at him, “You’re joking.”

Carlos laughed, “You think I’ve been dying it?”

“How does it- how?”

Carlos shrugged, “Genetics?”

“Wow,” she said, “I was worrying it would turn green when we go to the pool. I spend the whole summer at the school pool. It’s great when no one else is around. We can swim and then lay out and do our summer reading.”

“I can’t swim,” Carlos said.

“I can teach you!” Jane said, “You should learn. Especially for when we go to the beach. You’ll love the town. It has a pier with a rollercoaster.”

“Do you think they’ll let me look at the gears?” he said. It was nice listening to Jane talk about the future. A welcome contrast to his other summer plans, namely those set on the Isle.

“Maybe,” Jane said, “Okay, you’re done.” Jane touched his shoulder, and he sat up. She scrunched his wet hair with a towel.

“What now?”

“Magic,” she said. She flipped through their magazine again and started to laugh, “Look at this.”

Staring up at him from the page was Jay, dressed in his tourney uniform, flashing those perfect white teeth. It was captioned, In our online poll, 80% of readers voted Prince Ali as their celebrity crush!

Jane was still laughing, “80%? What kind of sample size was this? This is statistically impossible.”

“How many people read these?”

“Carlos. It’s not like it’s real.”

“It’s bad enough I have to compete with the school. I forgot Jay’s in demand with the entire country,” Carlos said.

“That’s why we’re doing this. Here we go. Okay, sit back, and don’t move a muscle.”

She hummed a few bars, waved her hands, and Carlos felt like a whoosh of wind go through his scalp.

Jane started smiling, which was good, but then laughing, which was bad.

“What?” he said, whipping his head around to look into the mirror, “Jane!”

“I was concentrating too much on the picture! I can fix it, unless you think Jay likes redheads?”

Carlos scowled at the traffic cone orange shade of his hair and yelled, “Fix it!”

“Rid Carlos this shade of red, back to what came out his head,” she sang with a jaunty rhythm. Carlos watched his black and white color return. He ran a hand through it. His normal texture had returned too but in the new style. It looked good. More mature.

Carlos walked around the rest of the day with a new confidence. He was used to feeling pride over his grades or inventions but feeling this good about a haircut was new. He found himself wishing he had some sort of plans, somewhere to show off. Alas, his only date was with Mal’s dad. Rather, with books about him. Carlos knew precious little about godly magic, besides what Mal could tell him. If Hades was along for their upcoming mission to kill Jafar, Carlos had to understand his powers.  

Carlos had had a weird dream about this whole thing, actually. In it, Carlos was in the junk shop, dressed in a suit of armor, and he slayed Jafar with a silver, ruby-encrusted sword through the heart. Then Jay called him a hero, and they made out until Carlos woke up, ashamed and, unfortunately, turned on.

His crush on Jay hadn’t abated at all with the distance he’d been keeping. He tried to avoid the room as much as possible. The library was a go-to until it closed at midnight. After that, he headed to the Arts building with the faulty backdoor lock or the girls’ dormitory kitchen to snack and read (The boys’ was always a mess, and then Carlos couldn’t resist cleaning it). Carlos knew this sneaking around was ridiculous. He needed to have just one normal conversation with Jay, and things could go back to the way things were. Tomorrow, he resolved, or maybe tonight after he’d gotten his midnight snack.

As he approached the kitchen, he heard voices from the other side of the door, and he almost turned around. But then he recognized them, and his stomach was growling at the smell of the chocolate chip cookies baking inside.

“Do you have any cookies to spare?” he said, walking in. Ben jumped at his entrance, Mal didn’t. They were sitting on the kitchen counter, eating cookie dough out of a bowl.

“Los, it’s date night,” Mal said.

“It’s a communal space,” he said.

“For a dorm you don’t live in.”

“Please, a cookie, and I’ll go,” he said, turning on his puppy dog eyes.

“Ugh, fine,” Mal said, but he could tell she wasn’t actually annoyed.

“Good to see you,” Ben said, “How are finals?”

“Not bad,” Carlos said, “Do you even have finals?”

“Afraid not,” Ben said sheepishly.

“Lucky bastard,” Mal said

“I’m making Mal take a break,” Ben said, “She works too hard.”

“Says the kettle to the pot. You were in meetings for eight straight hours. I told Cogsworth I’d turn him back into a clock because he needed to relearn time management.”

“And I love it when you threaten, dear.” Carlos turned away while Ben went in for a kiss, snatching the cookie dough bowl out of Mal’s distracted hands.

“Did you get a haircut?” Mal said when she was no longer occupied.

“Yes, I did,” Carlos said, pleased it was noticed.

“It looks good,” Ben said.

“Suits you,” Mal said, “Did Tremaine do it?”

“No, Jane did. With magic.”

“I’m impressed. She’s really got those cosmetic spells down. You’re going to be the fanciest boy on the Isle,” she said.

“Thanks for taking that pressure off of me,” Ben said, which made them laugh. It was good to laugh about it although Carlos’ dread wasn’t as bad as it could have been. A few months ago, he would have been catatonic thinking about returning there, but right now, he actually held a grim self-confidence. He knew he could survive it. It would just be incredibly unpleasant.

A timer dinged, and Mal went to the oven. He wondered what she was like on her visits back, what it was like to act like the old her while knowing that there was another girl in there who baked midnight cookies with her boyfriend in purple pajamas.

“Did you just come here for snacks? Or could you not sleep?” Mal said.

“I also came to read,” he said, holding up a book he’d gotten on sailing. This was his for-fun read, as a break from his school reading and murder-plotting reading.

“Ugh, do you people not remember we have a curfew?” they all turned toward the door. Audrey had entered, wearing a fluffy pink bathrobe and a matching silk bonnet on her head.

“Hi, Audrey,” Ben said awkwardly.

“Don’t mind me, just getting some tea,” Audrey said, going to the hot water dispenser, “Two of you are not residents of this dorm so if there is an after-hours kitchen fire, I have no duty as emergency captain to rescue you.”

“Good leaders lead. Great leaders deny culpability,” Mal said. She and Audrey flashed fake smiles at each other.

“Would you like a cookie?” Ben said. Audrey just looked at the chocolate chip cookies and laughed. She grabbed a packet of tea and then started laughing again as she headed towards the door.

“Huh,” Ben said, “There goes my theory.”

“About what?” Carlos said.

“Why you’re avoiding your room at night,” he said. Mal slapped him in the chest.

“Don’t give Los any more stress,” she said, “Jay would never.”

“Never?” Ben said, “I see how she looks at him. I know those looks well.”

“No, you don’t. Audrey only liked you because her grandmother told her to,” Mal said.
“Ouch.”

“Truth,” Mal said, looking at Carlos directly, “They’re just friends. Weird, twisted friends.”

“Right,” Carlos said, “Obviously. I know that.” But part of him wanted to chase down Audrey and make her swear that though. Then do the same with every girl, guy, and everyone else Jay could possibly be attracted to. He would walk into the next national council meeting and force them to declare a law against anyone else having feelings for Jay until Carlos had finally sorted the guts or the haircut that would make Jay stop seeing him as a friend.

Tonight, he took his cookie and left. Jay should be asleep by now. Carlos would wake up before him, go to class, and hide out in Jane’s until he found his courage.

7 Days Until the Last Day of School

Evie vowed to get through the next two weeks with a brave face. There was no time for cowardice, not with so many papers to write and her quest to become the first VK VP of Auradon Prep.

It was a good thing the adoring couple thing played well to their voters because Evie couldn’t stand a moment away from Uma, not when she knew how few moments they had left. They practiced their debate points tangled up in each other and almost burned their tabling cupcakes while making out in the kitchen.

We’ll sneak around, we’ll find a place, that won’t be our last kiss, she told herself every time they had to part. But so many things were up in the air. Mal pulled them away from campaigning to talk how Uma would retake the docks and Mal the markets, how they could get kids fed, set up neutral places to sleep, and avoid getting knifed in the back for crossing the bridge. The added danger of secret liaisons felt foolishly risky, but Evie’s good sense tended to exit when her sea-witch was involved. The three of them were spending a lot of time together these days, with Evie back in place as Mal’s trusted lieutenant but also just as committed to Uma and her crews’ welfare. Mal seemed to be getting used to them together too, though sometimes Evie would catch her staring when Uma laid her head on Evie’s shoulder in strategy meetings. Evie sometimes felt like their third wheel too though. They’d worked together so much this year that they sometimes finished each other’s sentences.

Tonight, Uma was studying for her math exam tomorrow, so it was just Mal and Evie making plans. Mal clacked away on her computer, filling in her spreadsheets she kept of every Isle kid, not just the ones who went to school here. Mal kept notes on all their risk factors, their parenthood, their proximity to allies, whether they’d accepted the king’s free meals. She’d intimidated Lady Tremaine and Yen Sid into taking their own notes, including on who could be coaxed into coming to school here and who should be helped even if they wouldn’t.

“Between now and the return, we’re meeting with every program kid to get their safety plan,” Mal had explained to Evie when she came onboard, “Where they go if they need help, how they’ll check in with us. If I can secure Bargain Castle, it’ll be huge. One big impenetrable safehouse. Then there’s Ursula’s ship for shoreline kids. It’s the kids way out by the woods I worry about.”

That last group had become Evie’s domain. She, Carlos, the Gaston clan were the major presences on that side of the Isle. Evie and Carlos were obviously more aligned with the townies, but she was at least a familiar face out there. If you’d claimed a plot way out in the woods though, it was usually because you liked to keep to yourself. Evie had midwifed a couple of her neighbors’ births, so she knew some kids. Some didn’t even go to school. Mother would never allow Evie to use the castle as a safehouse, but the greenhouse was at the edge of their property. This was the plan she presented to Mal.

“Hmm,” Mal said, “Not bad. I have some concerns about one VK’s family that will give us trouble.” Mal gave her a knowing look, but Evie wasn’t sure what she was implying.

 “Carlos?” Evie said.

“No, Carlos is taking summer classes here. When he visits, he knows he’s not leaving my side,” Mal said, “Evie, I’m talking about you.”

“What about me?” Evie said.

“Well, E, what’s your safety plan?” Mal said.

“I’m not a child- “

“Everyone gets a safety plan. Me and Uma even approved each other’s. You have a three-ring binder for how to wash your face. What’s your safety plan?”

“Did Uma put you up to this?” Evie said.

Mal cocked her head, “Why do you say that?”

“She did!”

“She possibly mentioned a situation in which a best friend’s experience needed to be weighed in on. I’ve watched how you are when you’re living in that castle. So, Evie, first question, do you trust the adult in your house?”

Evie harrumphed, “Obviously not. But I trust I can handle her.”

“Do you know how you will eat?”

In complete secret once Mama sees I’ve put on weight. Evie just knew that would be the first comment. Then more about her hair, her outfit, her makeup, her inability to have wedded a prince after months of ample opportunity.

“I’m not going to let her keep me from food. I’m not going to starve myself to make her happy,” Evie said, “I’ll tell her so if she has a problem.”

 “Question number three, where will you go if you need help?”

“To my needlessly worrisome girlfriend or best friend.”

“I’m a shorter walk so…”

“I’m going to be okay,” Evie said, “Really, Mom’s the one who needs taking care of. She lives in a delusion. It’s not like anyone else cares what happens to her.”

“You’re a good person,” Mal said, looking in the direction of Maleficent’s tank, “Does she deserve it?”

“She’s my mother, Mal.”

“That’s not a yes,” Mal said, “Evie, I know she didn’t hurt you like Cruella, but how she treats you is just as wrong.”

“Don’t patronize me, Mal,” Evie said, “I’m not the helpless castle kid you took in anymore.”

“I know that!” Mal said, “Well, let’s have a look at your plan. Your mother never allowed guests, but you’ve proposed making your house a way station.”

“Just the greenhouse,” Evie said, sitting up straight, “It’s at the edge of the property, where Mother rarely goes. Kids can sneak in the hole in the gate. It’s familiar, since I sold my potions out of there. You know I have my little workroom in it. I can set up a mattress there, and there’s nearby access to the cellar for food.”

“Hmm,” Mal said.

“It’s the best option in the area,” Evie said, “Obviously, no one’s going to Hell Hall or Gaston’s. Yen Sid is the only other ally out there, but his cave is treacherous to get to, and most kids don’t trust him.”

“Okay. It’s not a bad plan given what we’re working with. But you’ll have to be there a lot. I didn’t think you planned to stay on the Isle so much. Even I won’t be there that much.”

“You’re right. I’ll need to keep an eye on Mother, make sure she’s not on to me, manage her…tempers. My garden’s probably a graveyard so I’ll have to tend to it to get the food stores back up, especially if I’ve got extra mouths. But Uma’s committed to staying the whole time, and I want to do my part for the VKs too.”

“Uma’s ship literally couldn’t be farther from the castle. If I’m not on the Isle, we’re short on allies you could get to quickly.”

“The castle is impenetrable,” Evie said. Its many twisting secret passages had protected her mother’s ex-husband’s ancestors for centuries.

“And the danger from inside the castle?”

“Is not the type that sends me running,” Evie said, “I withstood it for seventeen years, Mal. I’ll make it three months.”

“But if I pick you up in September with ribs showing and a full face of make-up, it’ll be its own loss. Please, Evie, just promise you’ll look after yourself.” Mal said.

“Oh, Mal,” Evie said, pulling her in, “You have nothing to worry about. I swear.”

“Well, anyway, I’ve assigned Counsellor Mal for your weekly check-ins,” she said in a thick voice.

“Not her, she’s a bitch,” Evie said, and Mal gave her a watery smile.

“I am a bit encouraged you and Uma get along enough to scheme behind my back,” Evie said softly.

“Just remember I love you more,” Mal said, serious again.

“Let’s move on. Which little ones are assigned to me? I want to make us matching outfits.”

“Lists are TBD,” Mal said, “It’s proving thorny. Lady Tremaine got me her list, and I’m not sure who requested me because they want to suck up to me or because they want to kill me. Or someone else is putting them up to it. And I have one girl who won’t even sign up, even though I know the list was in her hands.”

“Hadie?” Evie said. Mal nodded.

“I don’t even want to braid her hair or whatever, but my stupid Dad got in my head, making me think I owe it to her. Don’t tell Uma I admitted she’s better at me than something, but I do not have her touch with kids. I liked how ours were afraid of me.”

“Tough love can work wonders,” Evie said.

“I didn’t even love them! It was tough-well-you’re-here-and-I’d-rather-not-watch-you-starve-so-have-a-rotten-apple.”

“You liked some of them! Carlos, Celia- “

“Took care of themselves and didn’t need a damn thing from me.”

“What does this Hadie girl need? You said her mom seemed alright.”

“She needs…I think she needs a sign our dad gives a fuck. That she’s not being ignored, because then she’ll think there’s something wrong with her.”

Evie tucked a piece of hair behind Mal’s ear, “She needs a sister. Which you’re already very good at being.”

“Thanks,” Mal said, with a small smile.

“And lucky for her, she’ll be getting two,” Evie said, covering Mal’s hand with hers.

5 Days Until the Last Day of School

Completely out of ideas about what to write on his topic, Jay went to go see Fairy Godmother and asked to borrow one of her crystal balls.

“Yes, that should be alright. For academic purposes, of course, not for unsupervised magic,” she said, with a stern warning look.

“Of course. I just had an idea to add a section to my essay. We can go over twenty pages, right?”

“Of course!” she said, “I’m so pleased to see you’ve taken such an interest. Let me take a look.” FG went over to a large cabinet next to her desk and pulled one out.

“Oh,” she said, “I only have this one.” She held it up. Familiar red shapes of light were swirling inside of it.

“I thought you sent that to get looked at?” he said.

“I did. This is a copy. My contacts from the Warlock Symposium were very baffled by it. They believe Jafar invented his own language of sigils- incredibly difficult conjuring! I’ve heard of a skilled sorcerer writing one or two, but this appears to be its own alphabet. The work of someone very paranoid about someone finding out what they’re up to. I’ve sent the original off to some linguists to take a crack at it.”

“So, they had no leads on what it means?”

“Their theories were ours. He created the spell so he could take you and make it so no one could find you.”

“Right,” Jay said, “And that’s…it?”

“As far as they could tell,” she said, “Morgana willing.”

“Can I still borrow the ball?” he said.

“Of course,” she said, “Please be careful. It was a tricky copy to make.”

“Right,” he said, taking the ball into his hands. He felt the energy trapped inside it. It almost felt like his hands were responding with their own. Maybe the curse recognized the feel of his skin, its home for seventeen years.

Jay took to carrying the ball around with him everywhere. It replaced the weight of his tourney gear in his backpack. His pro-con lists hadn’t yielded any results there. Coach had told him that an athlete as sought-after as Jay usually held a whole press conference to announce his school choice- as if there wasn’t enough pressure- and that these usually happened before the end of junior year. So, on top of trying to not flunk out and, oh yeah, plotting out how to kill Jafar, the week was going to be really fun for Jay.

Tonight, he was focused on the flunking thing. He had to go over his math notes for his last in-person test and then stare at this stupid ball until he thought of something to write.

He plopped his stuff down in one of the free desks. The library had cleared up a bit. Most people had only one or two exams left. Jay had never done this much studying in his life. He’d never done any studying at all. He knew Carlos and Evie would choke if anyone told them they couldn’t compete with Auradon kids, but it wasn’t really fair for the Isle kids to have just been plopped right into this school, with no one even asking them what they knew already or where they were at.

The only time he’d really felt that hunger for knowledge that keeps Carlos up with a book was when he started reading up on Agrabah. That was different though. It was about him. But it also wasn’t. There were things, a whole culture, that people there shared but Jay had so little knowledge of. He wanted to know everything he’d missed.

He looked to see if anyone was around and pulled out his backpack, unzipping it to look at the ball inside.  He poked it, and some runes swirled toward him. He used his fingers to keep them still and stared at the shape. Jafar’s paranoia was how he survived on the Isle. Even his ledgers were written in his own secret code. Jay knew a little of it, worked backwards from his awareness of the shop’s business. How many secrets would be dying with Jafar?

Someone laughed nearby, and Jay quickly zipped and stashed his backpack. He got up to go look for an even more secluded spot. As he walked, he spotted a familiar white curly head. Carlos had been MIA all week- overwhelmed with work, he said- but he looked pretty relaxed from the way he was smiling and chatting with someone sitting in one of the corrals. Carlos was holding two coffee cups in his hands and wearing a loose maroon cardigan Jay hadn’t seen before. It looked nice.

The person in the desk stood up, took a coffee, and went in for a lingering hug. Carlos started to laugh before cutting himself off, remembering where he was. The hug broke off, and he and the girl he was hugging kept whispering to each other. It was Jane.

Carlos hadn’t hung out with Jane in a minute, but he was bringing her coffee? Jay thought things were too awkward after Los turned her down. Carlos looked good too. He’d definitely gotten a haircut. It was like he was trying to impress someone.

Carlos started to turn his head, and Jay hid behind the shelves. He walked in the other direction, his mind now completely preoccupied about that hug. He was angry about it. No, he was angry about Carlos keeping secrets. It had nothing to do with him hugging and giggling and whispering with Jane.

Jay didn’t have a problem with Jane. He didn’t particularly like her or respect how easy she’d been to manipulate. Several times, he had thought to himself how she wouldn’t have lasted where he came from, but he was trying not to think of that as an insult anymore. He just couldn’t see a temperament as gentle as Jane’s being able to handle the weight of Carlos- his prickly wryness, his thinking ten steps ahead of you, the ways his mother’s damage had shaped him. He thought of how Fairy Godmother couldn’t help making that tittering sound when someone said something too real.  

Mal had found a partner in Ben, but the king had more backbone than you’d expect along with his gentle nature, and Mal’s will was so strong that Ben and his world couldn’t ever truly threaten her sense of self. His softness was a comfort, not a compromise.

Evie too, had found a balance with Uma, even though no one would have ever thought it possible. Uma challenged Evie and had the strength to pull her back from the tendencies Grimhilde had drilled into her. Evie had a compassion that matched Uma’s and the cunning that could protect the pirate who led with her heart. It would be completely mismatched if say, Evie went with Ben, and Mal with Uma. Unbalanced. Jane could be sweet to Carlos, but he needed someone to make him explain how his brain worked, fight with the bad thoughts Cruella left behind, coax him out of his treehouse when he holed up in there with his inventions and force him to eat and rest.  

Or at least, that’s what Jay thought. But it wasn’t really up to Jay. And if Jane made him happy, Jay had never been able to deny Carlos any form contentment. Jane had a soft smile and clean hands. He saw the appeal. If she was smart enough to like Carlos, Jay should give her credit for that.

But why wouldn’t Carlos tell him? Jay had fifteen pages to write, seven formulas to memorize, six coaches to give an answer to, two summer months to plan out, and one former father to murder, but that night the only thing on his mind was the empty bed beside him.

3 Days Until the Last Day of School

War Council. Roof @ midnight, the text read. Jay remembered when the same messages came on scraps of paper left in his locker or, if coming from a pirate, chalked on a brick and thrown through their headquarters’ window. It had the same effect. A sudden unpleasant surprise followed by hours of dread. He still arrived late, though he’d only come from pacing up and down his room.

“Tardy,” Mal said, face grave.

Jay put on a smile, “Hey, who died?”

“Take a seat,” she said, gesturing to the empty spot on the roof around spread out maps and notes. He noted Evie and Carlos’ neat handwriting.

“So,” Mal said, “It’s been busy, but we’ve got some form of a plan.”

“Looks…formed,” Jay said, trying to read the words in the dark.

“Well, it’s only a week away, and most of us have finished all our other assignments,” Mal said, “Dad’s been briefed on the basics. He’s in.”

“And we can trust him?” Carlos said. She held his look and nodded. Last month, Jay had encouraged Mal to get to know her father better. Look where it had led.

“He’ll enter Jafar’s at 11. He’ll say he’s there to make a sale and make sure the blinds on the front window are closed.”

“Jafar will be tipped off Hades has left his cave at all,” Jay said, “What if he doesn’t let him in?”

“I’m sure my dad can manage. While he’s doing that, the four of us will sneak in the back door.”

“Won’t he hear us? There’s nine locks on it.” Jay said.

“Thought I was bringing the Isle’s best lock-picker?” Mal said, annoyed.

“Right,” Jay said.

“So, we’ll sneak in, help Hades subdue Jafar, and then interrogate him. After we get some answers, we’ll do the deed and make it look like an accident, bringing down the big shelf on top of him.”

“And how will we do the deed?” Jay said, feeling that queasiness again.

“I’ve got a brew ready,” Evie said, “Ironically, involving lots of snake venom. Very painful.”

“I don’t know, Jafar’s always done- what’s it called? When you give yourself a little poison every day for immunity?”

“Seriously? What kind of poison?”

“Definitely snake venom. Mixes it into his porridge,” Jay said, “So how do we kill him otherwise?”

“We’ll hold him down. You’ll slit his throat,” Mal said.

“Me?”

“You wanted the honors, did you not?”

“Of course,” he said. Mal pulled a dagger out of her jacket. It was one of her favorites, a gift from Maleficent.  

“For good luck,” she said. Jay took the knife, studied the runes carved into the steel, the dragon-headed hilt. More elegant than the glass shards and razor blades he’d wielded.

“Won’t people notice his throat’s been slit?” Jay said.

“We’ll have to stage it, make him such a state you can’t tell what did it,” Mal said.

“And he won’t get revived?” Jay said. He thought about sneaking in through the back door after Jafar had locked the front, ready for all hell to rain down, just to find his dad passed out from drinking, looking dead to the world until he started snoring.

“That’s why my dad’s there,” Mal said.

Jay gripped the hilt of the dagger tighter and then ran one finger down the blade. Been a long time since he used one. Mal had always been more into blades. Jay liked swords or throwing knives, but two fists were always his preference.

This is what you’re going to use to kill Jafar. End him. Wipe him off the face of the earth. Take his voice, his sneer, his twisted mind. The world will be better off. Jay will never have anything to fear from him again. Take his snakelike eyes, his pride, and do it all in the shop he’d hardly left in nearly twenty years. Where the once-vizier haggled over garbage with a gleam in his eye, a little kingdom where all others answered to him, where sometimes he got so excited explaining what an object was that he forgot he despised his son.

Mal returned to the beginning of the plan, their first hours on the Isle planned down to the minute- meeting their allies, seeing the other kids got home okay, and taking back Bargain Castle. Uma’s intel said everyone was too afraid to break in, but winds changed all the time.

Mal had already posted old gang members to watch Jafar, with nothing to report so far. They talked over Evie’s poisons and Carlos’ research on Hades and interrogation tactics and questions and Jay wanted to puke again.

“Are we done?” he said, standing up, “We got it down. I have to write my paper.”

“Yeah, we’re done,” Mal said, giving him a steely look.

He nodded and took off, scaling the building and sliding into his bedroom window. Except he couldn’t stay here. It was tense enough with Carlos, and Jay couldn’t be seen like this. He left the room and walked until he found a trusty janitor’s closet. He locked the door and pulled his phone from his pocket.

“Hi, dear, is everything okay? I hope you’re not still up studying,” Mom said, and a little of the fear went away.

“I need to ask a favor,” he said.

“Anything.”

“Tell me I can’t go to the Isle,” he said, “Command me, pull rank, put me on house arrest.”

“Jay, what’s going on?” she said.

“Please,” he said.

“Your dad and I have talked about this at length. You know how I feel, but I cannot force you to not go.”

“No.”

“No?”

“I want to be…I can’t go back. I mean, I can, but I really, really don’t want to. I don’t want to see him because he’s going to get into my head, and I’ll…I’ll be a helpless kid again. I won’t be able to do it. Or I’ll do something stupid, and I…”

“You do not have to go. No can make you,” Mom said.

“But my friends are going. It’ll be awful enough for all of them, and why should I get the free pass? They’ll need me. They could get hurt without me.”

“Those three can take care of themselves, and they’d never want to see you hurt. What does Mal think?”
“Mal thinks…Mal thinks I want to go. I told her.”
“Then you’ll have to be honest with her.”
“No, but…she’ll think I’m weak. She won’t say it, but she will.”

“Do you think you’re weak for not wanting to walk into a trap? For not wanting to see someone who hurt you? Because I think you’re smart.”

“But if Mal goes- “

“We’re not talking about Mal. Mal didn’t go through the same things you did with Jafar.”

He wanted to do what he did on his birthday, say it’s not that bad, but he’s seconds away from crying to his mommy in a janitor’s closet so it wouldn’t be convincing.

Maybe I should have called Dad.  But Aladdin wouldn’t have been able to tell him no. He treated Jay as a man, an equal. Jay wouldn’t have been able to lose face in front of him. No, Jay had called the person who would take care of him.

“I can’t do it,” he admitted quietly, “I can’t see him again.” He was so ashamed. His parents had faced Jafar, Mal faced Maleficent, but Jay was too weak to go up against an old man with no magic. He still a little boy who checked for full pockets and had to remind himself he didn’t have to earn his food. He was a coward who wanted to hide behind his mother’s skirt while his friends did his dirty work.

“This doesn’t make you a coward,” Mom said, as if she’d heard his thoughts, “You’re a survivor, and you’re stronger than anyone I know.”

“You have to say that, you’re my mom,” he said.

“Your friends think the same. I know they do,” she said, “If it helps, you can say you’re not going on my behalf. Because I’m so relieved. I just know he has a scheme up his sleeve, and he’s probably waiting for you to walk right into a trap. You don’t do that, and you take away the power.”

That makes him feel a bit better. How many times had he watched Jafar outfox someone on the Isle? His plots could stew for weeks, even months. There was a reason he was still feared without his powers. Jay had never been good at his games anyway. Maybe there was a better revenge in not letting Jafar finish this round, flipping the board, leaving him unsatisfied, to sit with the insult that Jay didn’t even bother to get payback himself. His pride could accept that. Mal might think he was weak, but she wouldn’t say so. Evie would understand, and no matter their rift, Carlos wouldn’t fault him for this.

“Thanks,” he said, “This helped. I didn’t know who else to go to.”

“I can’t say how much that means,” she said, “I feel so selfish admitting this, and I’m so glad you and Aladdin have connected, I’m just a bit envious about how it’s been slower for us.”

“Oh,” he said. He hadn’t been thinking of their relationship like that at all, “You think?” 

“I should expect it. You have your similar histories.”

“Yeah,” he said, “That helps. There’s also…”

“What?”

“It’s new for me to have a mom,” he said, “I had a dad, before. A bad one, obviously, but I don’t know. Moms always felt different. I was never really jealous of my friends since their moms all sucked.”

Except for Mrs. Hook, who used to wipe the dirt off his face when he ran in with Harry. That was maybe the first time he realized he was missing out on things because he didn’t have a mom, because Marina Hook’s kids feared her wooden spoon but still stuck their fingers in her fish stew. He had hung around Harry’s father enough to understand why a mom would leave. He’d been around Marina Hook enough to wish they didn’t. 

“I always wanted to know who mine was, more than I would ever admit,” he said, “I didn’t care if she was…the bad things Jafar said. I even used to go looking. It was a small Isle. I thought I’d catch her looking at me, and I would sort of know.” His mom didn’t say anything. He really hoped this wasn’t too sad.

“So, I’m glad I know,” he said, “And that it’s you. It’s more than I thought I’d get.”

“Ali,” his mom said, her voice breaking, “Do you see why I can’t lose you, my son?”

Jay’s heart felt like it was being wrung out. The thing is, if she had asked him to stay behind just for her, he’d probably say yes.

2 Days Until the Last Day of School

“Vote for Uma!” Carlos said, handing out another button to a student who barely made eye contact. He drifted back to the table in the main entryway where Evie and Uma set up. It was the last day students could turn in their ballots.

“Can I have a-“ Uma slapped his hand away from the cupcakes.

“Cupcakes are for prospective voters,” she said.

“Actually, I’ve had some doubts-“ and for that, he got a button thrown at his head.

“Uma, let’s avoid scenes of us attacking future constituents,” Evie said.

“That’s why I need you,” Uma said, throwing Evie a lovey look. Barf.

“Carlos, there you are!” Carlos turned to see his worst nightmare of the past few weeks- Jay walking right to him.

“I gotta go,” Carlos said, turning to speed-walk down the hall.

“No! You’re not getting away!” Carlos turned and saw Jay picking up speed. Carlos ran too, dodging students, barely sure where he was going. He found a fire exit and pushed open the door, almost knocking over two freshman girls. Carlos darted out to the empty tourney field.

“LOS!” Jay said, not far behind him. Maybe because of the setting or because he was a dick, Jay tackled Carlos and brought them both the ground.

“What the hell!” Carlos yelled from underneath him. Oh, fuck, he was underneath Jay. Carlos twisted his body and rolled them over, putting himself on top.

“Oww,” Jay said, “Crystal ball to my tailbone.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Carlos said, giving Jay’s shoulders a shove before getting off of him.

“Why did you run from me?” Jay said, looking up at Carlos with a hurt expression.

“Because-“ Carlos didn’t have a good answer. It was an immature, rude thing to do.

“You’ve been running from me all week,” Jay said, “But not anymore. I need to talk to you. And I need you to talk to me too. Really talk to me, and I’ll pin you down if I have to.”

Why did he say things like that?

“Okay, talk to me,” Carlos said. He crossed his legs and tried to look unafraid of what Jay had to say next.

“Do you think I should I go to the Isle?” Jay said.

“Like in general or like…”

“Like go do the thing.”

“I…it’s your decision.”

“But you think it’s a dumb idea.”

“I think you’d be safer here. You don’t seem like you really want to do it, and this is too serious to go into without your mind made up.”

“I really don’t want to go,” Jay said, “Does that make me a coward?”

“No!” Carlos said, “You’re the bravest person I know. You’re using your head. Jafar definitely expects you to come for him, and you shouldn’t play into his hand. It’s the braver choice to sit it out, this time. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, C,” he said, blushing, “I’d probably ruin the plan anyway. Get too angry or freeze up.”

“No,” Carlos said, though half of his, Evie, and Mal’s planning sessions were about how to work around the understandably volatile emotional state Jay would be in. Carlos had taken the lead. He always was the best at understanding Jay’s brain.

“He always had a power over me. He said jump, and I’d say how high.”

“That wouldn’t happen anymore,” Carlos said, “We’re different people now.”

“I needed to hear you say all this before I could be really sure,” Jay said, “I need you, Carlos. When I tell people you’re my brain, I mean it. I feel like I’m walking around all hollow when we haven’t talked in, like, half a day. And I know you don’t need an empty head like I need a brain, but I’m selfish enough to ask.”

“I do need you too. And you’re not just an empty head,” Carlos said.

“I don’t know what I did to make you mad. If I hurt you, I’ll do anything to make it right. But I need to know what I did so I never do it again.”

“Jay,” Carlos said, unable to look straight at his earnest, pleading face, “It’s…” He couldn’t convincingly say it wasn’t Jay, “I know you never would try to hurt me.”

“But that doesn’t mean I didn’t,” Jay said.

“I’m not hurt,” Carlos said.

“The only thing I can think of…I know we used to do that on the Isle. But now it means something different. I should have figured,” Jay said. Carlos swallowed. This is everything they needed to say, had probably needed to say for months now, happening right here in broad daylight.

“Yeah…” Carlos said, “I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”

 “I want you to be with whoever you want,” Jay said softly, “You’re my best friend. Somehow, you’re still my friend. Even though I did this and even though I used to make you wrestle me all the time when you didn’t like it and even though I almost got you killed.”

“What?” Carlos said, confused.

“You know. That kid Todd and his brothers,” Jay said, giving Carlos a meaningful look.

“When were like thirteen?” Carlos said. He dimly remembered some misunderstanding, and being ambushed on his way home from school, “I forgot about that. I mean, I used to get beat up all the time.”

“Los! Don’t say that. I told my dad that was the worst thing I’d ever done.”

“Worst? You didn’t even do it? What makes it the worst?”

“Because it was you,” Jay said, “You have no idea how many times I’ve closed my eyes and saw that moment when I came home, and you were like that and worse, left in Jafar’s hands. Helpless.”

“I’m never helpless.”

“I meant me,” Jay said, laughing, “After you and Evie joined us, when we all became blood, I wanted to look out for you, and then I put you in danger.”

Carlos didn’t know what to say. The fact that Jay’s lowest moment was wrapped up in Carlos was sort of its own twisted declaration of love. Did it even matter, the difference between platonic and romantic, when they both cared for each other so strongly?

“You always make me feel helpless, ‘Los,” Jay said, ducking his head, and Carlos forgot to breathe. It was so bright on this field, and they were so exposed.

“I’m about to ask you something,” Jay said.

“What?” Carlos said, feeling like putty in his hands.

“Will you stay with me when the VKs go back to the Isle? At least through the thing with Jafar? I know it’s selfish and needy. But if I have to worry about the plan and about you being there without me and near your mother, I’ll just lose my mind from the waiting.”

“Okay,” Carlos said, “I mean, I have to talk about Mal and Evie about the plan, but I’ll stay.”

“Thank you,” Jay said, “There was a more macho way I was going to ask that, but…fuck it.”

Carlos snorted, “Fuck it.”

“So…are we cool again?” Jay said.

“Yeah,” Carlos said, “We’ll always be cool, man.”

Jay tackled him again, but this time into a hug. When he pulled away, they both sat back on the field. Carlos stared at the turf, avoiding the glare of the sun and of Jay’s thrilled grin.

“Jay?” Carlos said.

“Yeah?”

“Did you say you have a crystal ball in your backpack?”

“Yeah. It just gave me a crystal ball sized bruise on my butt bone.”

Carlos grabbed the bag and pulled it out. The sunlight made it reflect a dazzling shine. Inside Carlos could see the familiar runes from Jafar’s ward. Carlos had notes and notes in his backpack about this ward.

“This for your project?” Carlos said.

“Yeah. I feel like an idiot for picking this topic. How do you write about a ball of nothing for twenty pages?”

“Wanna find out?” Carlos said, giving him a wink. Jay’s smile somehow got even wider.

“I love you, Los,” Jay said.

“Yeah, I know.”

2 Days Until the Last Day of School

Mal was sick of talking politics. She was sick of the studies and the bills and the meetings. She was young, with a very cute boyfriend, and all they did was talk about strangers’ happiness.

“I’m done for tonight,” Mal said. She shut her laptop, walked around Ben’s desk, and climbed into his lap. He made a noise of surprise, and she felt his desk chair swivel under them as he repositioned himself. She kissed him deeply. She ran her hands through his hair, and he ran his cautious hands up her back, under her thick cable knit sweater. She took it off, already too hot and started to work to undo his too-tight tie.

“Mal…” he said.

“Shhh,” she said, “Not a word.” She didn’t want to talk. She just wanted to be as close to him as possible tonight.

“Mal, can we-“ she cut him off with a kiss, and he pulled his mouth away.

“Mal!” he said, and he took her wrists, forcing her to look him in the eye. His cheeks were very pink.

“What’s wrong?” she said.

“I don’t mind, really,” he said, “Just…could we take it slower?”

“Of course,” she said, “Sorry, I just…”

“Do you want to talk about something?”

She wanted to laugh, “I wanted to stop talking, actually.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m just really going to miss you when I have to go,” she said. Her mother had raised her to never rely on anyone, and now she was about to start blubbering because she wouldn’t see her boyfriend for a couple weeks.

“Mal, I’ll never leave your side if you need me there,” he said, his eyes boring into hers with earnest hazel affection.  

“You know that’s impossible. I have to win back my markets and establish lines and…” There was a lot of dirty details in between it all that Ben could never know about. But what if he arrived to her Isle and saw her, dirt under her fingernails and bruised up from fighting. She would greet him, and he’d only hear the dialect of threats she called her mother tongue.

Mal laughed a bit shrilly, “Your grace, before I entertain company, you’ll have to allow me to tidy up the place.”

“I’m not afraid of- “

“I know, but you go in with your big white knight attitude, you’ll get eaten alive. I need to clean out the cobwebs. Check the thermostat. Not sure if you’re following my metaphors but I’m trying not to prevent your being assassinated until you’ve written me into that line of succession, understand?”

“Mal, don’t tell me you’re going to be even near assassins, I’ll be worried as it is.”

“The assassins taught me my ABCs,” she said. She’d be joining their ranks soon enough. Mal would have her first real death on her hands by the time she welcomed her king. One that would stick, one she’d plotted out. It wasn’t even self-defense, not really. Ben could never know she did that, even if it was to a lowlife like Jafar. She wasn’t dreading the act itself as much as the years of secret-keeping and she wasn’t dreading the secrets as much as the paradigm shift of how she viewed herself. Her streak of goodness that started at coronation would now always have this asterisk exception.

But it’s for Jay, my Jay, and I’ll kill the bastard a thousand times if it means he doesn’t know what it’s like to render the person who raised you helpless. It was a gift to know they couldn’t hurt you, but a terrible thing to do it yourself, she’d thought to herself as she fed her mother breakfast. These are things she wished she could say to Jay.

“You’re going to see a different me when we’re there,” she said, “I won’t be able to touch you like this. I’ll be mean to people, and it won’t be clear why. Not to you, at least. But you have to trust me to do what’s- the right thing,” she said, “My right thing just doesn’t look like yours all the time. It’s not nice or pretty.”

“I understand,” Ben said, eyes getting bigger, “I don’t…I try not to judge the unfamiliar anymore.”

“I know,” she said, “You’re allowed to judge. Maybe I need to be judged so I don’t slide back into how I used to be. Just promise you won’t stop loving me.”

“Mal, I will always love you,” he swore. She pressed her forehead against his and took a deep breath.

“I love you too,” she said. It’d taken her so long to say it back to him.

“Mal, you’re scaring me. You’re acting like you’re going off to war.”

“I sort of am. But I’m not scared for myself. It’s my friends…they’re all so ready to follow me into battle, but I just want to keep them here. Evie’s playing house in the lion’s den. Carlos is going to tear himself apart pretending he’s not scared. And Jay- what the hell is he even thinking? But I don’t want to go in alone. They have as much right to go back as I do.”

“You’re not alone though. You can talk to me. You have more than the four of you against the world this time. Uma, the Facilier’s’, all the program kids, even your father.”

“Yeah,” Mal said. Love wasn’t a contest where you only handed out medals to the victors. Maybe it was time she opened her heart beyond her three best friends. It went against everything she’d been raised to think, to love people and expect something from them for nothing.

Dad’s cave could be where Evie runs to. The Tremaine’s would step in if asked, even if it’s just sending little Dizzy over to remind Evie what she’s worth. Gil too, he’s not bright but he’s strong and loyal. Fairy Godmother will respond in a snap if Carlos needs to get out, she leant you her magic for a reason.

Mal exhaled. She let Ben drive her scooter back to the dorms, enjoying the cool summer breeze on her face. Right when she was about to turn in, she got a knock on the door. She opened it to find Jay.

“Hey. Can we talk?” Jay said.

“Of course,” she said, letting him in, “Did you finish your essay?”

“Course not,” he said, smiling, “But I’m going to make it. This isn’t about that. It’s about the other thing.”

Mal straightened up, rearing for a fight. She was just going to tell him. Fuck his ego, she was not going to let him walk into that shop ever again.

“Mal, I’m not going to kill Jafar.”

Mal blinked in surprise.

“I’m sorry,” Jay said, “I’m a terrible second if I can’t even watch your back for this. But I’ve made up my mind. I shouldn’t go.”

“Don’t you dare apologize. I don’t want you within a mile of that fucker either. I was trying to figure out how to tell you without hurting your pride,” she said, putting a hand on his shoulder, “It’s your revenge, you have every right to it, but I agree it’s best if you don’t go. I wouldn’t have you as my second if you didn’t have common sense.”

“What do you think if I tell you I can’t go back to the Isle at all? At least, not while he’s there. Maybe when he’s gone, but…maybe not. But I don’t want the others to think less of me. Like I don’t want to help or that I’m pretending I’m not from there.”

“None of them are gonna blame you for steering clear of Jafar. That’s just smart,” Mal said, “It’s a prison. No one wants to be there. Not even all the kids this time are going back.”

“There’s another thing. I asked Carlos to hang back with me.”

“Oh, thank the gods,” she said, “I mean, he’s free to do what he wants, but I’ve been so worried having him close to that bitch.”

“Same,” he said.

“So, I take it you two made up?”

“Yeah, I think so. He’s helping me finish my project.”

“Homework is his love language,” Mal said.

“So, what about the plan? For Jafar?”

“Evie and I are more than deadly enough,” Mal said, “Plus my dad. We’ll handle it.”

“It’s sort of, what do you call it, poetic? Bonding with your dad by killing mine?”

“I don’t have to kill him even,” Mal said softly, “I think I could figure out another way to work around the barrier and use my magic to neutralize him. Like I did for my mom.”

Jay didn’t say anything for a while, “Does he deserve that mercy?”

“No. But you do,” she said, looking him in the eye, “I feel enough guilt as it is.”

“I’m not going to ask you to kill someone for me either,” Jay said, “It’s not a fair thing to ask. I’ll leave it to you.”

He pulled out the borrowed dagger and handed it back to Mal, “For good luck.”

The Last Day of School

When they announced the results the morning of the last day of classes, Evie kissed her girlfriend for the whole school to see. President Uma. It sounded so sweet. Her victory speech was brilliant, and Evie was the first on her feet when she earned a school-wide standing ovation.

This gives us something to come back for, she thought, one good thing to think about this summer when everything’s hard and hopeless.

After the final bell rang, Uma threw a victory party in her room. All the VKs were there, and each seemed equally excited by the election. It was a win for all of them.

There were a lot of reasons to celebrate. Jay came straight from finally turning in his Intermediate Sorcery class paper, and he picked up Carlos and spun him around, yelling “BOY GENIUS!” All the VKs had survived their first year of legit education. There wasn’t one who wasn’t improved by three square meals, warm beds, and the chance to just be normal kids. Some were even excited to go home though.

On the carpet, there was a poker game going, an Isle favorite, with a pool made of objects that may or may not have been stolen. Evie and Uma had played their own game where they kissed and did a shot every time someone yelled, “Madame President” so that by midnight, they were now on the verge of passing out in Uma’s bed. At this late hour, the room was just the VKs and few select Auradonians. Basically, all the people Evie held dear.

“We should kick all these people out,” Uma murmured, “I want you to myself.”

“People, the President demands my undivided attention,” Evie announced to the room.

“Grooooss,” Mal heckled from where she and Ben were sharing a cushy armchair.

“Hey, before we head out, I wanted to ask the room something,” Jay said. He and Carlos had been with the group over by the fireplace, keeping each other’s company. Evie was going to have to get an update from C on that.

“So, I’ve got nothing to do this summer, and you guys don’t go back to the Isle for a bit. I was talking to my mom about it, and who wants to go to Agrabah?” Jay said.

“About fucking time that you invited us to your palace!” Mal said, “Hell yeah!”

“I mean, better than staying in the dorms, right?” Jay said.

“I’m in. I plan to freeload off of you forever, by the way,” Carlos said.

“I’m so excited!” Evie squealed, “I need a whole new wardrobe. We all do! Gods, I’ve been meaning to make time to improve my Arabic. Wait, Jay, wait, don’t tell me there’s going to be the traditional homecoming ball.”

“There is sort of a ball, yeah,” he said.

“This is the social event of the century and you’re giving us a weeks’ notice?” Audrey said.

“I NEED TO START SEWING!” Evie screamed. Uma covered her ears.

“Your mom must be thrilled…” Carlos said cautiously. Evie’s smile shrunk a bit, and she looked to Jay’s face. This was a huge step for her friend.

“She is. It was my idea though. All of it. There was no pressure,” he said, “I mean, it’s just a party, right?”

“Right. Then I will happily take a week off my busy schedule to watch a kingdom full of people kiss Jay’s ass. That’s unmissable entertainment for me,” Mal said.

“I would love to attend,” Ben said.

“Your dad’s going to hate that,” Mal muttered.

“Probably,” he said cheerfully, and Mal laughed.

“Uma, will you take me to the ball?” Evie said, taking her hand. The rest of the VKs had been very quiet at Jay’s invitation.

Uma rolled her eyes and nodded, “There are very few people I’d travel to an arid ecosystem for, but you’re one of them, Princess.”

That gave the others permission to accept.

“Just don’t count the silverware until after I’m long gone,” Harry said.

“Can we sail there?” Gil said.

“It’s in the middle of a desert, mate,” Harry said.

“I want all of you guys there,” Jay said, looking towards the other kids.

Uma and Mal looked at each other and groaned at the same time, “Logistics”

“We’ll have to ask the parents- “

“-Except for the parents we never listen to- “

“-And get rides and outfits and- “

“-I swear to Neptune, I’m not teaching anyone table manners,” Uma said.

“What great problems for tomorrow,” Evie said.

“It’s my party, and it’s going to be fun. Good music, a dancefloor, and absolutely no table manners,” Jay said, “Just maybe no fighting. At least not until my sister goes to bed.”

“Can we take a plane? I really want to see a plane,” Carlos said.

“I do not,” Uma said, “Metal box that flies? Are you crazy?”

“The national trainline goes to Agrabah. I bet the royal family has private cars,” Ben said.

“There we go!” Jay said, “Pack your bags, kids, we’re going to Agrabah!”

Chapter Text

“I will TURN THIS TRAIN AROUND if you all don’t SIT DOWN!” the conductor yelled to the laughter of almost twenty VKs. The man gave up and slammed the door to his compartment.

Jay had to smile at the riffraff. The Shmee twins hung from the luggage racks, and Zevon and Freddie were sending giant spitballs out the windows. Mom had come through, renting two private carriages for this motley crew to get to Agrabah. They had all the Auradon Prep transfers and some from other schools. Anthony Tremaine and Dizzy were conscripted into Evie’s mission to dress as many people as she could. Mom had even seen to it that they could set up their sewing machines on the carriage. Harry’s sister CJ and the pirates had all been catching up for hours, as CJ filled them in on her semester at Charmington High.

They were less than an hour out from Agrabah. The landscape outside had fewer and fewer trees as they progressed into the desert. Jay had hardly sat the whole trip. He went from group to group, feeling a lot of responsibility as the host. The pirates were very antsy about being landlocked. Reza, usually a very stoic guy, had given Jay an emotional thanks for bringing him back to his parents’ home, and they’d talked for a while about Agrabah things their parents had told them about that they’d never seen.

As they approached the city, the conductor’s wish came through. Everyone in the car pressed their nose to a window, taking in the sights with quiet awe. Any love for Auradon City’s grassy parks and stately townhomes shifted to second place in Jay’s heart. Agrabah was a wonder. The perfect mix of palm trees and sandy streets, the skyline of marble temples contrasted with glass skyscrapers. Everywhere he saw people, his people, speaking his language, dressed in loose linens and bright colors, as they hurried to a hundred different destinations.

As the train progressed towards its final destination, one building grew larger and larger until it dominated their whole sightline. There was no mistaking the royal palace. It was breathtaking with its gold domes and white stone walls which beamed under the sun.

The train pulled to a stop around a mile away from the mammoth construction. They’d departed from the busy hub Auradon City Station, but they had landed at a single outdoor platform, only used for palace visitors and supplies. The kids scrambled to pack up their stuff and searched for all the belongings which had been scattered in the six-hour journey. 

An older man stepped on to the train in military dress, and the chaos immediately paused, as eighteen VKs took in the stranger.

“Hey, Khalil,” Jay said, breaking the tension. The man bent into a deep bow.

“Welcome back to Agrabah, your grace,” he said. Jay made his way to the end of the carriage and dapped fists with him. Khalil was the royal Captain of the Guard and like family to his parents, so Jay had gotten used to his reserved but steady presence, often just a step behind Dad. Jay was glad his parents sent a familiar face.

“I’m the first person who gets to say that,” Khalil said with a satisfied smile.

“Check under the seats, grab all of your shit, let’s move,” Mal yelled to the group, “You are standing between me and a bubble bath.” She had donned her purple leather jacket (“I don’t care if it’s a hundred degrees, I’m packing the leather”) and joined Jay at the front so all the other kids could play follow the leader.

When everyone was ready, Khalil escorted them off the train. The first thing that struck Jay was the full force of the afternoon sun, so much hotter than the breezy summer day they’d left behind this morning. The second thing was the small army of journalists, pressed against the parking lot fence and screaming and snapping photos the moment they saw Jay. Khalil led Jay at a brisk pace to second of a fleet of SUVs. Evie, Carlos, and Mal followed closely behind him, the latter directing the kids behind her. Bag handlers and drivers and many security guards populated the parking lot.

“Miss, I can take that-“ one guy said, reaching for Freddie’s backpack.

“No way!” Freddie said, clutching it to her chest.

“Leave be anyone who wants to hold on to their bags. We’re touchy about personal property,” Jay said to one of the handlers in Arabic. He said “yes, your grace” and repeated it to the other guys.

Mal took three headcounts and made every kid swear they hadn’t lost anything, before everyone was ready to head out. Jay sat with his three in the back of one car, and it sunk in that he was really here. In the short ride to the palace, the streets were filled with people watching and waving and calling out his name. Some even had pictures of his face or flowers that they threw into the street. He knew the car windows were tinted, but everyone seemed to be taking photos with their phones anyway. Jay tried to look beyond the crowds to read the storefront signs and street names and memorize every inch of his new old home.

“This is only going to get weirder, right?” Jay said.

“Definitely,” Evie said.

The cars drove through the high walls of the palace down a long driveway, bordered by palm trees and bright purple banners. Finally, they stopped at the main entryway where Jay saw the familiar faces of his family, as well as thirty soldiers and staff, lined outside doors so tall an elephant could walk through them. When Jay stepped out of the car, everyone except his family went to one knee. Being a prince is actually pretty embarrassing, Jay thought to himself, as he waited for the moment to pass.

“Weirder,” Carlos whispered, and Jay tried not to laugh. He walked straight to his parents who were smiling from ear to ear.

“Welcome home,” his mom said, voice thick with emotion. Jay had been picturing this homecoming for a week, but his parents had waited for seventeen years. He let them pull him into a hug and could hear a snapping camera nearby.

“Hey guys,” Jay said, exchanging fist bumps with Aziz and Dalia.

“What do you think?” Mom said.

“It’s all so…,” Jay didn’t really know what to say.

“Let’s get you settled,” his dad said. The other VKs spilled out of the SUVs, yelling commentary.

“People LIVE here?” Big Murph said.

“I need a map. And a compass. Throw in an astrolabe too,” CJ said.

“Hi, Jay’s mom, I mean, Princess, I mean,” Dizzy squeaked.

“Welcome,” Mom said, “We’re so happy to have you here as our honored guests on this special occasion. We can show you all to your rooms. Everyone here is on hand to provide you with whatever you desire.”

“Ooh, that’s a dangerous promise to make,” Uma said.

“This is the palace steward, Hadi,” Mom said, gesturing to a woman around ten years older than her standing nearby, who wore half-moon glasses and a no-nonsense bun.

Their entourage entered the grand hall, which was yeah, pretty grand. The moment he’d stepped inside, Jay felt a tickle of magic on the back of his neck. Like at the embassy, but different. It was relaxing, like the urge to curl up in bed after a hearty meal. His capital-g Guard felt like it could finally come down.

The tour was quick but overwhelming. The palace contained gardens, pools, ballrooms, game rooms, a gym, offices, art galleries, a menagerie. There were so many people too, guards and maids and staff who’d each stop, bow, and briskly continue on. Sometimes his parents greeted them by name. Jay wondered if it was always this busy or just because of the ball. The walls were decorated with portraits of Agrabah history and so many ancestors. Mom and Hadi traded off naming the figures in them.

They lost tour members along the way, as most of the VKs wanted to stay in their beautiful rooms, stocked with games and snacks. They headed to the family wing, which felt far less ornate and more like someone’s home. Rugs covered the tiled floors. Oil portraits were swapped out for casual family photographs. Jay spotted recent ones that included him. There was a little bit of mess- letters left on end tables and Dalia’s toys scattered about, which she kept spotting and picking up.

“This is my room!” Dalia said, dragging him towards a wooden door whose intricate carvings were complimented by a lot of sparkly stickers. She pushed it open. At the sight of what was inside, Jay tried to grab his sister, but she slipped through his fingers and ran right towards the terrors. Four fully grown tigers were lazing around the girly pink room. One was curled up on the flowery sheets, and one had made its bed on a pile of stuffed animals in the corner. The other two were spread out on the floor, taking up so much of it that you couldn’t enter without coming too close. Dalia ran right to the one on the stuffed animals and gave it a kiss on the head, adding the toys she’d collected in the halls to its bed. Jay had to take a moment to swallow his fright. He knew his family kept tigers but hearing that and seeing them with their giant teeth and claws was a whole other thing.

“Far cry from your alley-cats, ‘Los,” Jay said.

“Yeah, a lot better fed, clearly,” Carlos said, “Good thing I didn’t bring Dude.”

“Oh, great, you’ve met the kitties,” Mom said. She went over to pet the dozing tiger.

One of the ones on the rug stood up, stretching with its back arched just like the skinny strays that hung around the fish stand by Jafar’s shop. Jay stood frozen as the beast came over and sniffed him before rubbing itself against his right side.

“Aw, she likes you,” Mom said.

“So, I won’t be lunch?” Jay said. His family laughed.

“They’re harmless. Until they’re not…” Dad said.

“Your family is more hardcore than I gave them credit for,” Mal whispered.

“We should continue with the tour,” Mom said, leading them out of Dalia’s room. The tiger who greeted Jay followed behind, reminding him of Dude trotting at his heels.  They saw his friends’ lodgings, all fit for royalty. Finally, there was Jay’s room, which was actually many rooms. Two bedrooms, a dressing room, an office, a living area, and a bathroom with a tub you could swim laps in. Jay had been overwhelmed by the luxury of his dorm. This apartment was the size of half the block Jafar’s shop sat on.

“The royal apartments of the crown prince,” his mother said, “This is the traditional lodging of the successor to the throne once he outgrows the nursery. I never occupied them, as it took Dad so long to accept that I would be inheriting so they have sat empty for decades.”

Jay almost asked something about when Aziz had expected to move in, but he figured that would be a sore spot. Jay would have to be really nice about sharing, if Aziz was missing out on these nice rooms for the brother who might not even take the throne.

“It never ends!” Evie exclaimed.

“A crown prince may reside here through adulthood while waiting to inherit,” Hadi said, “Of course, they have room to accommodate a princess as well.”

“Or a prince!” Dad said quickly.

“The crown prince’s true seat is an estate in the Black Sands. These rooms are only for when he is at court,” Hadi said.

“Wait, so Jay has a whole castle somewhere?” Carlos said.

“A small one, yes,” Hadi said. Carlos mouthed the word “small” to Jay in disbelief.

“We should let you decompress,” Mom said, “So, we set up a pizza party for the kids for tonight, and we have a small family dinner where you’ll meet Dad and Genie and the rest. Mal, Evie, and Carlos, do you need something to wear?”

“For a pizza party? I’m sure we’re covered,” Mal said.

“No, for family dinner,” Mom said.

Yeah, that does it, I’m officially gone soft. Because hearing his mom say that made Jay feel like pure mushy marshmallow inside.

“I’m sure we can find something,” Mal said, catching Jay’s eye and giving the tiniest nod. If this was a test, his mom had passed.

“We should leave you kids to it,” Mom said.

“Let’s play hide and seek,” Dalia said.

“Not you, kid,” Dad said, scooping her up and carrying her out. Jay mouthed a “later” at her.

“I’m gonna go make sure Dizzy’s settled in,” Aziz said.

“Oh, you do that, bro,” Jay winked. He was like 50% sure Aziz had a crush on her, and the look on his brother’s face moved it up to 75.

When it was just the four of them, Mal broke first by jumping up and down and yelling, “This is insane!”

“It’s so insane!” Jay yelled back. He was sort of giddy, sort of shitting his pants.

“What are we doing here?” Evie said.

“No, dude, it’s like yours,” Carlos said, “Like we go to Ben’s, and it’s his, but this is YOURS.”

“I KNOW,” Jay said, “What the sands?’

“Ooh, he’s talking like a local now,” Mal teased.

“Hell yeah- my bedroom has got its own zip code!” Jay said.

“Screw Ben, I’m marrying you,” Mal said, cackling.

“Not if I do first,” Evie said, “Maybe Mother was on to something.”

“Or a prince,” Jay said, mimicking his dad’s awkwardly hasty tone from earlier.

“Aw, that was sweet,” Evie said.

“I can’t believe this is your life,” Mal said, “How did this even happen?”

“You can’t believe it?”

“This is why the Auradon kids are so stuck-up. I get it now,” Carlos said, “Because this is where they sleep.”

“Not all of them. Jay got the super special firstborn son future sultan room,” Evie pointed out.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to ruin the moment, but I have not accepted any thrones without telling you guys so…what?” Jay said.

“This does make a very pretty bribe,” Mal said.

“Bribe’s an ugly word. It’s an encouragement,” Evie said.

“The rooms are an encouragement. The whole other castle is the bribe,” Carlos said.

“Pfft, do I look like I can be bought?” Jay said, which made his friends laugh. Okay, he’d walked into that one.

They spent the rest of the afternoon exploring (“I found three escape routes and the armory,” Uma informed them, “Ya never know.”) and checking in on the VKs. The pirates had gone to the pool immediately. While Mal made work calls in her room, Jay and Carlos sat in Evie’s and watched her try to embroider a suit jacket, curl her hair, and pick out everyone’s dinner outfits all at the same time.

Jay was way more nervous about tonight than the whole ball. He had to meet his grandfather, head of the family and the whole kingdom. Then on top of that were a bunch of relatives and family friends, all the people his parents loved most and should love him but not as much as his parents so therefore they’d be way harsher judges. Jay would be the center of attention tonight, the bug under the microscope.

“We kept it small but not that small,” Mom said, brushing some lint off Jay’s shoulder before they went in. Her worry lines were showing, “Dad hates excluding a single relative, but that just means less new names to learn on Friday. They can all be overwhelming on a normal day, but they all already love you. They’re family.”

“Everyone tells me I married up, but they never met these in-laws,” Dad said to Jay in a lowered voice, “The cousins are all crazy and all wish they were a little more royal than they are, but your grandfather thinks they’re all special gumdrops because they kiss his ass. I promise when you meet my side, we’re just grabbing shawarma and maybe robbing a jewelry store.”

“That sounds way easier,” Jay said.

“You can color with me if you want,” Dalia said.

“Thanks,” Jay said.

At least no one bowed when he walked into the dining room. There was a moment of silence before Jay was surrounded by people, talking at him, going in for hugs and some cheek-pinching from an older lady.

“Jasmine, he’s so handsome- “

“-the image of Uncle Jabril- “

“-Uncle Jabril was bald, he looks like his grandmother- “

“-you remember me, don’t you, Ali? I’m your Aunt- “

“-second cousin, thrice removed- “

“-from the branch that split off 400 years ago- “

“-no, he looks like that portrait of the sultan in the east wing, but without the eyepatch.”

“It’s nice to see you all,” Jay said, with his best smile. This was when one of the cheek-pinchers burst into tears.

“Aunt Anbar, don’t cry,” Mom said, going over to her.

“He talks just like my Yahya!” she said.

“Yahya married in?” one guy said, “They’re not even blood-related?”

“Son, I want you to meet my best friend in the world,” Dad said, pulling him away from the cousins over to a large, blue man, “Genie.”

“A thrill to see you again kid, it’s been a terrible time without you, I remember when you were the size of a loaf of bread,” Genie said, while turning into a panda bear, a circus clown, and a loaf of bread. Jay kept his hand out even when Genie stopped having hands, dumbfounded by the magic and the fact that he was really meeting him, the omnipotent, all-powerful star of Jafar’s ravings. Jay tried not to stare too long.

“And this is my better half, Eden, and our best half-and-half, Jordan,” Genie said, gesturing to his wife and a gorgeous girl with a long black hair with pink streaks running through it.

“You guys were the best of friends when you were little. There were matching outfits,” Genie said.

“Oh, yeah,” Jordan said, “We used to get up to some crazy stuff. Eating mashed peas, learning monosyllabic words.”

“Oh, that was you?” Jay said. She laughed.

“You’re Ben’s girlfriend, right? We used to take jousting lessons when we were four,” Jordan said to Mal, “He was awful.”

“Jousting? Like running at people with giant swords?” Jay said, “I wanna try that so bad.”

“They taught us with pool noodles, but same concept,” Jordan said.

“You want to play the sport more dangerous than the one with shooting cannons?” Carlos said, “I don’t know why I’m surprised.”

“I follow your Auragram,” Mal said to Jordan, in an unusually fawning tone, “Your magic is insane.”

“Please, I smelled the power on you the moment you walked in,” Jordan said.

A hush fell over the room, and Jay turned to look at the door opening. His stomach clenched up. There was only one guest left to arrive. Mom stepped forward and ushered a short, round man in.  Everyone in the room bowed, and Jay followed, a beat behind.

“Where is my grandson?” he said, scanning the room with two eyes, sticking out from in-between equally large turban and beard. Jay felt a nudge behind him, and he stepped forward. The sultan approach, and when he was right in front of Jay, he only came up to Jay’s chest.

“My boy!” he yelled, pulling Jay in and furiously patting him on the back, “A miracle! A miracle you’ve been returned to us!”

“Hi, grandfather,” Jay squeaked out. The old man had a shockingly strong grip.

“Let’s eat! Come sit next to me, my boy,” he said. Everyone went to their places. Jay was seated at his grandfather’s right hand, with his mom at his left. His friends were further down the table, but Jay couldn’t say he missed their company because his grandfather talked nonstop. Through seven courses, Jay just nodded along as he leapt from tangent to tangent- a recap of a war 200 years prior, anecdotes about childhood, the current state of the kingdom’s camel market.

After desert, the family moved to the “game room” where his grandfather moved on to other ears. Jay found himself passed from relative to relative. It was pretty cool that he was now tied to everyone in this room, that he’d always been and always would be. Jay certainly wasn’t bored, as he took in each individual’s personality and dynamic. Finally, he found himself in one corner with just an older man called Omair, who was Jay’s grandfather’s first cousin. He and Jay had been silently listening to two cousins talk, but then they left to join a card game, so it was just them and an awkward silence.

“I knew Jafar well,” Omair said. That was the opposite of an icebreaker. Jay appraised the old man. He seemed to be doing the same to Jay, analyzing him as he nursed a glass of something brown and neat.

“Oh, yeah?” Jay said.

“Of course. We were all in the sultan’s inner circle of counsellors. After the sultan’s brother died, Jafar’s influence grew even more. I always thought he was pretentious, with his sorcery and that stupid parrot. He never met an opportunity he couldn’t exploit. And he raised you. It’s interesting.”

“He didn’t do much raising,” Jay said tersely.

“I’m not insulting you, my boy. I bear a familial feeling towards your ordeal and poor Jasmine’s anguish. But I love my country, and my duty to see it passed on to the right hands supersedes those emotions. I can see this matter more objectively than your mother.”

Jay’s jaw clenched.  He could not cause a scene. Not here, not now.

“People will be keeping a very close eye on you. You don’t seem to have much of the vizier in you. But you weren’t raised here. You don’t know our people, our values. It’s the hardest job there is. The person has to be absolutely right.”

“So, you took one look at me and think I’m wrong? Story of my life,” Jay said.

“Ali, my boy, join us out here,” the sultan called. Jay left Omair with a fake smile and walked over to join his grandfather on a balcony overlooking the courtyard. The night was warm, and the fresh air was a relief.

“Dad, stop making Ali listen to all your old stories,” Mom said. She’d relaxed considerably. Dalia was asleep in her lap.

“But they’re all new to him!” the sultan said.

“I like them,” Jay said, and his grandfather slapped him on the back again.

“I was trying to save you,” Mom teased, “You and Aziz are so patient.”

“You’ve been keeping him from me for months now, I need to catch up. I’m sure he has stories of his own, a young man in his prime, probably gets into plenty of trouble, eh?”

“Oh, here and there,” Jay said, which made his grandfather laugh.

“Very good! As it should be. Sow your wild oats while you can,” he said, winking at Jay. The sultan was scooping tobacco into a pipe of some kind. He procured a lighter and lit the end, “I remember when I was your age…”

He launched into a story about stealing camels or goats or something. Jay was having trouble focusing. He kept running his hands over the sides of his pants but then realizing he had no pockets. Then he’d try listen, but no, wait, where’s what he’s looking for, what’s wrong with his pockets?

His mother’s hand touched his, stopping its search. She gave a questioning look. Jay smiled and folded his hands together in his lap.

“Then my buddy said to the shepherd…” Jay tried to listen again. He wasn’t sure why he’d been doing that. He took a deep breath, and-

Oh, that’s why. He stared at his grandfather’s pipe and remembered Jafar, sitting in the shop, blowing smoke in Jay’s face as he stammered through the presentation of his haul. Jay took another breath. He’s not here, you’re not there, it’s just a smell, breath through your mouth. He watched his grandfather’s mouth blow smoke and laughed when he was supposed to, listening for the cadence in his words, unable to retain the meaning.

The party ended, and Jay’s friends all claimed exhaustion, leaving Jay alone in his big, big room, unable to sleep. His talk with Omair played on repeat, the man more judgmental and sneering on each remembrance.

Jay imagined he was a surgeon, operating on his own brain, cutting away all the memories of Jafar. The things he’d taught Jay. The reactions he’d drilled into him. When Jay sewed his skull skin back on, he left a boy a little naïve but a lot less troubled. An Ali, who walked into giant palaces and felt like he owned the place. He’d be a good ruler one day, he knew. He believed the best in people. He wasn’t afraid of anything.

The next morning, Jay arrived at breakfast groggy and on edge. The dining room was set up with a bunch of small tables to hold his immediate family and all the VKs. Jay said good morning to his parents and saw a floor cushion saved for him next to his friends.

“This is late for you,” Evie said, “Are you coming from a sunrise run?”
“Is there coffee?” Jay said, “I didn’t sleep much.”

“Yeah, the time difference kicked my butt too,” Carlos said. Jay poured his coffee into a porcelain teacup, not wanting to agree out loud. This was supposed to be his natural time zone, wasn’t it?

“You and your gramps seemed to hit it off,” Mal said.

“Mmhmm,” Jay said, mouth already full of toast.

“We were just going over today’s itinerary,” Evie said, “There’s a private tour of the Agrabah History Museum.”

“Who put all these museums on the sched?” Harry called from another table, “We’re off our leashes for once. Let’s find a club.”

“It’s 9 AM,” Carlos said.

“And we have a bunch of middle schoolers,” Evie said.

“They can practice their pick-pocketing there, right, Jay?”

“You’re dreaming,” Jay said, “But seriously, six hours of museums, E?”

“They’re world-renowned!” she said, “And there’s so much to learn about your family history.”

Jay felt a headache starting between his eyes. He looked to his parents eating at the next table and reading their morning newspapers. They seemed happy last night. He wanted to ask if he’d passed the family’s tests or if they were currently checking the classifieds for new princes.

“I present Princess Audrey of Auroria,” a butler said.

“I’ve arrived!” Audrey said. She was dressed for the climate in a pink linen jumpsuit. She curtseyed to Jay’s mom and walked over to exchange courtesies.

“Joy, she’s early,” Mal muttered. But to Jay, the sight of Audrey was a gift from the universe.

“Did you miss the train, princess?” Uma said. Audrey narrowed her eyes.

“I only fly private,” Audrey said.

“Audrey, I need you. Come with me,” Jay said. He stood and grabbed her elbow, steering her toward the door.

“Please, I haven’t even taken off my travel shawl yet,” she said, removing her elbow from his grasp but following anyway.

“What was that?” Jay heard Evie say behind him as he left the room.

 “I was just going to send a note. This is not my entire day, you know,” Audrey said, “Are you even going to give me a tour? Or slow down?”

“I need your evil genius,” he said stopping in front of his bedroom.

“Is this your room?” she said, “Are you trying to embroil me in a scandal?”

“Yup,” he said, closing the door behind them.

“Are these the crown prince apartments? Very interesting,” she said, “I’d redecorate, obviously.”

“Audrey, just sit and listen,” he said, and he told her the whole story of last night and his conversation with Omair.

“I need your monarchy-obsessed brain. What did he even mean by all that?” he said. Audrey was weirdly quiet. She had folded her fingers together, tapping her pointers.

“So, now, you want the throne?” she said seriously.

“I definitely don’t want it taken from me,” he said, “I mean- unfit? After all the shit I’ve been through, I’m gonna be punished for it? My mom’s gonna be punished?” 

“No,” Audrey said, “It’s not fair. But given that, and I recognize I am saying this as someone who’s had a very comfortable life to someone who has not, being sultan is not something to take lightly. Every day, the stakes are life or death.”

“I get that,” Jay said, “Maybe I’d get that more than anyone else.”

Audrey smiled, “Then, let’s fight.

Jay grinned back at her. Was a little competition all it took to get him interested in his inheritance?

“What do we do?” he said, “Should I schmooze, smear, scheme? Blackmail my cousin into silence?”

“I was thinking a different direction,” she said, “Be. Yourself.”

“Be my…Audrey, I’m asking for your killer instinct,” he said, “Where’s ‘send those kids back and let them rot’ Audrey?”

“Okay, you’re misquoting me there,” she said, “But this strategy is designed for you, not me.”

“You’re saying that I can’t do what needs to be done?” he said.

“Okay,” she said, “I have one idea.”

“Tell me.”

“Marry me.”

“What?” Jay said, staring dumbly, wondering if he heard her right.

“Come on, down on one knee, chop, chop.”

“That’s not what I…”

“Exactly,” she said, “You can’t do it with me. You won’t do it with to the random Agrabah lord or lady who would actually help your case. Because it would require you to deny your desires for your entire life, and you are simply not built for that.”

She was right. Jay had been trapped for so long. There was absolutely nothing he’d give up his freedom for again.

“What’s more, you’d be proving them right,” Audrey said.

“How so?” Jay said.

“What’s the first thing Jafar would do if he came into your position?”

Jay’s stomach turned to ice just thinking of Jafar that close to the throne. It wasn’t hard to picture, “Come up with some twenty-step plan to coerce people into giving him even more power. Hurt them if it doesn’t work. Reign of terror.”

“Sounds right,” Audrey said gently, “Honestly, the best thing you have going for you is that once people get to know you, they’ll see you as the least likely person on earth to have twenty insidious conspiracies up your sleeve.”

“Are you calling me stupid? I got a B in Plots and Schemes. I almost overthrew Ben. I’m a thief and a cheater and-” he said.

“-And actually, quite gallant on occasion,” she said.

“I spent my whole life trying and failing to be more like Jafar,” he said, mostly to himself, “If I lose this because of him…he’ll still have won.”

Audrey wasn’t the type for hand-holding, but she did scoot a little closer, “Don’t do or not do this because of him. When you’re happy, that’s him losing.”

Jay looked up to her and remembered a couple months ago when she yelled at him for being so cavalier about his birthright, “You’ve really loosened up, you know?”

“Ugh, don’t say that,” Audrey said, “That’s my stupid mother getting in my head.”

“I like laidback Audrey.”
“Of course, you do,” Audrey said, “I just don’t want to make you sultan then have to listen to you whining to me about how annoying it is.”

“You make me sultan? That’s how that works? There’s a hallway outside with a thousand dead ancestors on it, and they’re all rolling their eyes.”

“For the record, I don’t think Omair’s concerns are unreasonable,” Audrey said, switching back to business, “He’s probably been sizing up Aziz’s strengths and weaknesses since he came out of the womb. Or maybe he wants to put his own name forward. You’re the first son but the dark horse.”

“So, how do I take the lead?” Jay said.

“Make some friends,” she said, “Some who actually live here.”

“I can make friends,” he said, “I was the gang’s best recruiter.” He’d brought in the pickpockets, the bazaar kids, even some of the woodsies.

“Do the royal version of that. Act like every old man is the most interesting person you’ve ever met, dance with their daughters, engage in some manly bonding with their sons. You need to show them who you are. Unintentionally, bringing all the VKs was a good move, as long as people don’t assume that they’re your minions in an evil takeover- “

“-Audrey- “

“-I am planning for cynics here too. But no, your parents have done a good job reminding people that VKs should be treated as children in need, not criminals-to-be. Inviting them shows you’re generous and unpretentious. Even if most royals will be turning their noses up at them, the move will draw favorable comparisons to your dad. So…just be yourself. But like, the Agrabah version of yourself. All you can do is try to make up for lost time there.”

“Does this mean I have to go to a museum today?” Jay said.

Audrey rolled her eyes and stood up, “I’m an advisor, not a calendar. Now, if I don’t go get my post-flight mud bath, I will be ashy at the ball, then your kingdom will have an actual succession crisis because I will have murdered you.”

“She proposes marriage one minute then threatens to kill me the next. A guy starts to wonder,” Jay said, opening his bedroom door.

“She did what?” Mal said. She and his friends had been waiting outside.

“And thus, my revenge plot began,” Audrey said, with a pretty good cackle and a kiss on Jay’s cheek, “Ta-ta, VKs.” Audrey breezed down the hall, leaving the scent of roses behind her.

“You were not blessed with the gift of attraction to literally everyone on earth just so you could marry my sworn nemesis,” Mal said.

“I’ve been unseated by some princess?” Uma said, “Take it back.”

“What was that all about?” Evie said.

“Just, uh, royal stuff,” Jay said.

“Douche,” Uma coughed, “Just say you’re fucking.” Jay swung at her, but she jumped out of the way with a hoot, standing behind her girlfriend.

“When do the rest of the Preppies come in?” Evie said, “Who did you even invite?”

“The whole tourney and B.E.A.S.T. teams. My mom’s advisors had a list of people it would cause a war with if we didn’t invite. Then the regulars- Lonnie, Doug, you know. Uh, Los, when’s Jane getting in?” Jay had very nobly made sure an invite was sent her way.

“She’s not coming,” Carlos said, “It’s the annual Charming ski trip. She couldn’t get out of it.”

“Oh,” Jay said, “Sorry, man.”

“It’s cool?” Carlos said, “Not like I’m wanting for company.”

“Right,” Jay said, finding himself in much better spirits all of a sudden.

“Did Audrey leave already?” his dad said, coming down the hall, “We’ve got some culture to enjoy.”

“You’re coming?” Jay said.

“I’m playing hooky from party planning,” he said, “Mind if I crash?”

“Course not,” Jay said.

The cultural enrichment was a little more fun than expected. His dad had rented a “party bus” and elected himself tour guide, standing at the front with a microphone and pointing out his own personal landmarks (“I used to rob that fruit stand a lot so I’m going to crouch down right now”). Aziz was so embarrassed by all the jokes he was turning purple, but Jay was enjoying the VKs’ heckling so much that he had tears in his eyes.

At the museum, Jay and his dad hung back while everyone went through the ticket line. When everyone but them were through, his dad grabbed his sleeve.

“Wanna split?” Dad said.

“What?”

“Let me show you my city.”

“But, uh, what about my friends?” Jay said. He looked ahead and saw Mal looking back at him. She winked.

“What about Aziz?” Jay said.

“We talked. He’ll be fine,” Dad said.

“Alright, what did you have in mind?” Jay said. His dad grinned and led him to the crowded sidewalk outside. No one even looked at them twice. Jay really loved places where strangers abhorred eye contact. His dad swiped him through the turnstiles of the elevated trains that slinked around the city, and his dad explained the neighborhoods they were passing through at each stop.

“This one’s for the artists, this one’s for rich douchebags who think they’re artists, this one used to just be sheep as far as the eye could see.”

“It’s crazy how in one generation, everything could change so much,” Jay said.

“Not everything,” he said, “This is our stop.”

When they got down the stairs, the neighborhood below was a lot more like the Agrabah Jay had grown up hearing about. Short mud brick buildings, laundry drying overhead, more families and older folks, dressed in more traditional clothes. Besides the elevated track and the cars, you’d never have noticed the past twenty-five years. His dad stopped them in front of a building under construction- a modern, steel condominium that stood out from the rest of the block.

“I used to live here,” Dad said, “Rather, I squatted here. You had to risk your life to get to my spot, but before the trains and the skyscrapers went up, you’d have a perfect view of the palace.”

“I don’t like the makeover,” Jay said, “It doesn’t go with the rest of the street.”

“I never thought even my neighborhood could change. My old friends are getting older, my mothers’ friends have moved on. I get homesick for a place that doesn’t exist anymore. It wasn’t a happy place to grow up, and I miss it anyway.  I try to come back as much as I can. I bring Aziz because I want him to see these are his people too. I never wanted my kids’ lives to be completely alien from my own.”

“Careful what you wish for,” Jay said.

“It’s your home too,” he said, “Even if you don’t feel like it is.”

“I don’t know what I feel,” Jay said, “I think I want it to be home, but it still feels so strange to be here. Everything is so different.”

“It’s okay if you’re ever homesick for the Isle too,” Dad said.

“I am, sometimes,” Jay said honestly, “Not really for anything specific. It’s not like I miss the food. But I used to never ask whether I belonged where I was.”

“Well, that doesn’t come from a place,” Dad said.

That night, after the VKs headed to their beds, tired from another amazing dinner that put the Prep cafeteria to shame, Jay followed his friends through the family wing. Uma and Evie split off, then Mal who was already on the phone with Ben, so Jay grabbed on to Carlos’ sleeve, pinching the fabric in between his fingers.

 “Hey,” Jay said.

“Hey?” Carlos said.

“I couldn’t really sleep last night. It’s hard in a new place. On my own.”

“Yeah?” Carlos said.

“Would you wanna…I mean my room is really big. But I get it if you want to enjoy your own,” Jay said.

The corner of Carlos’s lips quirked up, “You wanna have a sleepover, bro?”

“Okay, don’t make it sound like that- “

“-Yeah, we can have a sleepover,” Carlos said, “I’ll get my stuff.”

“Okay, cool,” Jay said, “Uh, it’s just down the hall.” That was dumb to say, Carlos knew that.

“It’s pretty hard to miss,” Carlos said. Jay grinned sheepishly and went ahead to his room. He took off the sweatshirt he was wearing and put on a ribbed tank and athletic shorts that he liked to sleep in. Then he started taking off some of the hundreds of pillows off the bed. But then he put a few back because he wasn’t sure if Carlos would want some.

“JAY?” Carlos yelled.

“Back here!”

“You could get lost,” Carlos said. He came in and jumped on the bed, sending pillows flying. Jay took a seat near his feet.

“Princes have slept in these apartments for a thousand years,” Jay said, repeating what his mom said on the tour.

 “So, your grandfather probably jerked off in this bed?” Carlos said.

“Shut the fuck up,” Jay said, but he still laughed, “You’re messed up for that.”

Carlos got up and started looking around the room, “It kind of looks like our room?” He went over to the writing desk and fiddled with its drawers.

“Yeah, I think that’s on purpose,” Jay said. He was sure that was his mom’s insight. She probably wanted him to feel at home.

“Is this your paper?” Carlos said, picking up the Intermediate Sorcery essay from where it lay on top of the desk. Jay started to make a joke about getting a boy in his bedroom and him wanting to look at homework, but then stopped. He needed to be more sensitive about that kind of stuff.

“Yeah, Aziz wanted to read it,” Jay said, “I warned him it was written in one night by two very over-caffeinated brains.”

“You added stuff. I don’t remember this part,” Carlos said. Jay went to look over his shoulder to see what page he was on.

“You gave me the idea to do a case study, so I kept going in that direction,” Jay said.

“You translated Jafar’s runes,” Carlos said.

“Only a couple,” Jay said, “I didn’t want to write down anything I wasn’t sure about, though FG said it was all gibberish to her translators so I could have told her it said whatever, I guess.”

“How did you know what it said?”
“Jafar’s notes from the library helped a lot. He used to write his records for the shop in a similar code, the paranoid bastard. It isn’t that different. You put the words in a mirror and then you twist around some of the dots and bits and it makes sense.”

“Jay, you’re a freaking genius,” Carlos said.

“I mean, I just know it from growing up with him,” Jay said, “I still don’t even know what most of the spell means. Half of it is about a boat.”

“Hmm, a boat or a vessel?” Carlos said, “In runes, those usually go together.”

“Yeah, that could be it,” Jay said, “There’s a lot about a doorway too.”

“It must have been about how to smuggle you on the Isle,” Carlos said, “Or to keep you from being returned with a spell.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Jay said, scratching at the ward on his chest.

“Does it itch?” Carlos said, watching Jay’s fingers.

“No,” Jay said, dropping his hand, “Mental thing, I guess.”

Carlos stepped closer and looked at the ward, tracing it with his own, long fingers. Goosebumps sprung up on Jay’s chest.

“So fucked up,” Carlos said in a breathy voice, “Looks cool though.”

Jay huffed a laugh, “Ya think?”

“Oh, yeah,” Carlos said, “Really tough.” The way he said that made Jay’s face go hot. He laughed again, high-pitched. Jay started babbling.

“Thanks for coming to this. For the whole year, really. Do you remember the museum? I was out of my mind, but when I ran, I heard you right behind me. And I knew it was you. I know how you walk, or run, and I just knew you’d run first. I didn’t have to turn around to know.” Jay wasn’t sure why he was saying this right now. His life was just only going to be full of more things foreign and new and Jay didn’t want to be a stranger to his old self. His real self. And if anyone knew the real him, it was Carlos.

Don’t go, Jay wanted to say, please don’t ever go away.

“You’ve turned into such a marshmallow, you know that, right?” Carlos said.

Jay threw his head back and laughed. It was true, but he’d still pay for it. He got his arm around Carlos and pulled him for a noogie. But Carlos slipped out, jumping on the bed, and grabbing a pillow to smack Jay in the face with. Jay grabbed his ankle and pulled it out from underneath him. Carlos landed on his back, and Jay climbed on to the mattress on top of him, holding a pillow to his neck like a weapon.

“Say uncle,” Jay said.
“Uncle, my ass,” Carlos said, using one leg to flip them both over. Jay landed on his back, out of breath, Carlos now smirking gloriously over him.

Uncle, Jay thought, not sure what he was surrendering to.

Chapter Text

“We’re all going to die,” Carlos said, “Today is the day we die.”

“We won’t die. Don't be dramatic,” Mal said.

“We’ll at least drown. Maybe someone will save us, but we’re going to drown.”

“The water is fine,” Ben said, splashing at them. All of them flinched, even though they were standing so far from the edge of the pool the splash didn’t even reach. Stupid Ben had stupidly insisted the first thing he wanted to do upon his arrival was take a dip in the pool. Jay wondered if he had the authority yet to declare war on him.

“I'll teach you how to swim, Princess,” Uma said to Evie. She’d barely even come up for air since they got here, although she hadn’t let her tentacles out yet. Harry ran past them yelling “CANNONBALL!” before jumping in with a big splash. Stupid, evil Ben had suggested swimming in front of the pirates, who then said the inland kids were too scared to even go near a pool, which was how they had gotten so far as putting borrowed swimsuits on and standing on the side of the water.

“I thought you said no one on the Isle swam?” Audrey said to Jay. She was lying back on a floatie.

“They’re just cowardly land lovers,” Harry said.

“I think crocodiles and syphilis are really reasonable fears actually, and that's what was in that water,” Carlos said.

“There’s no crocodiles here, right?” Claudine said, chewing on the end of her blonde hair.

“No,” Mal said, “Fuck it, I’m not scared.” She ran and jumped straight into the deep end. When she disappeared underwater, Jay’s heart stopped, but quickly her purple head resurfaced, and she stuck her tongue out at Ben.

“You’re next,” Uma said.

“Okay, but no games,” Evie said. She walked over to the stairs and stepped in, holding on to Uma’s outstretched hands. Dad walked over, wearing swim trunks with little monkeys them.

“I couldn't swim until I was twenty-one, and you can stand up in most of the pool,” Dad said.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jay said. His dad clapped him on the back and slid into the water, swimming over to join his wife and kids. The whole family had taken the afternoon off to join in the swimming, even though the ball was tomorrow and there was still a lot to do.

Jay had taken a ride on a flying carpet. He wasn’t scared of pools. It was just if he went in, it’d be weird to keep his shirt on, and the shirt covered a lot- the carved ward, a nasty patch of scarring from Jafar’s staff, a crookedly tattooed cobra, a jagged slice in his back that had only healed because of the barrier, more stick-and-pokes of a dragon, an apple, and a little screwdriver near his heart.

But Jay looked around the pool. His three had seen him bare all. All the Isle kids were putting their own galleries on display, even Carlos with his constellations of circular burns. Ben and Audrey had a good track record of taking these things in stride. Then there were his parents, leaning against one wall of the pool, watching Aziz and Dalia try to coax a tiger in.

He had a vision of how it would go. They would stare and then try to pretend they hadn’t. Maybe Mom would grimace. Later, he might get a little aside about how much they love him and if he ever wants to talk and maybe Jay would even offer some explanations, if he wanted to, not because he had to. Then they’d move on.

“I’ll go in if you go in,” Carlos said, with a little smile.

“Really?” Jay said.

“Yeah, I mean if I drown, at least it’s in a palace?”

“Don’t even joke,” Jay said, but really, there was no one Jay would rather drown with.

He pulled off his shirt. Carlos’ eyes did something, but it wasn’t disgust or concern. It almost looked like he was checking him out. Jay felt the familiar smugness then a fear, unfamiliar. He’d always thought…but then he hadn’t brought Jane or any other plus-one. But they had had that fight, which Jay thought was about Carlos not wanting to do stuff with him anymore, but maybe, just maybe, could have actually been about Carlos thinking Jay didn’t want to. All that stuff about Harry- had that been jealousy?  Jay always put Carlos on this pedestal. He was unobtainable, incorruptible. Jay had been the one who started it and who always needed it more.

If there was really something here, Jay had to go about it the right way. This was Carlos, not some rando on a dancefloor. He felt honest-to-gods butterflies in his stomach and tried to think of what to do next. Flirting, right? He was usually pretty good at that.

Jay put a hand on Carlos’ shoulder, leaned in close to his ear, and felt the other boy shiver when Jay whispered, “Last one in’s a rotten apple.”

He pulled away to watch how Carlos reacted. If you didn’t know him, you wouldn’t notice, but his pupils dilated just a degree. Satisfied, Jay took off and jumped right into the deep end. A second later, he heard the splash of someone landing next to him. Jay turned and, through the bubbles, saw Carlos’ awed expression as his hands moved through the water. Their heads surfaced. Jay started moving his limbs in an approximation of the treading he saw his friends do, so he could return to the wall. He held out a hand to help Carlos make it there too. They gripped the edge and caught their breath.

“It feels weird,” Carlos said, kicking his legs, “Like there’s no gravity.”

“You should move your legs like you’re riding a bike,” Audrey said, coming closer to demonstrate.

“I had a bike for seven minutes once,” Jay said, still clutching the wall, “Then someone stole it from under me. Fair enough, I’d snatched it from, hmm, Ham Hock, I think?”

Carlos nodded sagely, “The single working Isle bicycle, I know her well. They say every Isle kid rode it once.”

Jay looked at him for a second before they burst out laughing, and a dangerous hope spread through Jay’s chest. He’d gotten so many things that he’d never wanted but never anything that he really, really did.

On the night before his homecoming ball, Jay had expected to go to bed early and stare at the ceiling while he thought through every possible disaster, but obviously, the VKs were up to something. When he heard a noise coming from the walk-in closet, he thought it was Carlos, coming to stay in his room again, but instead, he found Harry Hook popping out of a hole in the wall, looking extremely pleased with himself.

“Were you hoping for this?” Harry said. He then winced and yelled “Ow!” at someone over his shoulder.

“Move,” Mal said, pushing him on to the floor of the closet. She stepped over him. Her hair was dyed black, and she was wearing a short skintight dress akin to one she used to wear to the Queen of Hearts’ club.

 “What’s going on?” Jay said.

“We’re sneaking out,” Harry said, “It’s the party before the party.”

“For real?” Jay asked Mal.

“He was not to be deterred,” Mal said, “And we all wanted to have some fun.”

“The ball’s tomorrow…” Jay said.

“Hours and hours away from now. An eternity, really,” Harry said.

“You don’t have to go,” Mal said, “It’s going to be a really big day. But I knew you’d never forgive me if I didn’t offer.”

“Who’s in on this?” Jay said.

“Everyone who’s a sophomore or older,” Mal said, “Claudine has been bribed into baby-sitting. Ben and Audrey are coming too.”

“Won’t we be recognized?” Jay said.

“I’ve got some cosmetic charms, and Evie has her make-up kit,” Mal said, “I think if I cut your hair and add a beard, you’ll be safe.” Jay’s hand flew to his head.

“I can grow it back, obviously,” Mal said.

“And like…security?” Jay said. It felt very odd to be the cautious one here, but he did have the most to lose.

“Benny-boy lost his baby-sitters,” Harry said, “We found these tunnels so we can lose yours. We’ve been extremely chaperoned this week- this whole year, actually. It’s nice to be waited on but being one of the goodies is exhausting. This group desperately needs to blow off steam. Don’t you want to see your hometown with its clothes off?”

Jay thought for a minute before saying, “You rehearse that, Hook?” Harry whooped and started digging in Jay’s drawers, throwing black jeans and a red t-shirt at him. Mal flicked her fingers, and the hair on his head receded at the same time his smooth cheeks became covered in stubble. They then led him into the passage in his closet and down some stairs. Jay knew there had to be secret tunnels in a castle this big, and he committed himself to learning each and every one.

“It lets out right outside the walls,” Mal said, “Zevon found it.”

The long walk did give Jay time to reconsider. He definitely didn’t want to end up in a tabloid or anything but staying in bed while his friends- while Ben, even Ben- was letting loose on the town was unbearable. He sent a text to his dad.

J: hey jsyk im sneaking out rn with my friends

Aladdin/Father: …

Aladdin/Father: …

Aladdin/Father: I know you’re new at this, but teenagers don’t usually tell their parents before sneaking out.

J: it feels weird not telling u

Aladdin/Father: You found the secret tunnels?

J: yes

Aladdin/Father: Classic

Aladdin/Father: Call me if you need anything?

Aladdin/Father: If your mother finds out, I knew nothing

Jay grinned at his phone and felt that almost familiar now warmth in his chest. Normally any sort of emotion was met with the instinct to bury that shit but in the dark of the tunnel, Jay could beam from ear to ear.

The tunnel let out at the back of a shop, selling hats of all things. When the three of them entered, they were met with cheers from the crowd who’d been waiting among the racks. Carlos came up to him and punched his arm, saying, “I told them you’d come.”

“Do I ever turn down a party?” Jay said, “What’s the plan?”

“There is not a VIP section in the world that I cannot guarantee entry into,” Audrey said. She was wearing a bubblegum pink wig and a lot of glitter on her face.

“I’m the one who found this place,” Jordan said, flipping her ponytail.

“You were in on this too?” Jay said, surprised but pleased.

“I’m flattered this lot thought I was up for it,” Jordan said, “Alright, kiddo’s, we’re riding in style.”

“Magic carpet?” Carlos said.

“Limousine?” Audrey said.

“The night bus,” Jordan said, “Don’t give me those faces. We’re blending in, right?”

“This is so exciting,” Ben said, “I’ve never ridden public transit.” Mal had done the most work on him. He had a mop of black hair long enough to cover half his face and two full sleeves of tattoos. Mal always had a thing for the goth ones.  

Mal spelled open the lock on the shop door, and their group moved to the bus stop down the block. When the double-decker pulled in front of them, Jordan dumped a sock full of tokens into the slot by the driver while they all ran up the stairs to the empty top deck.  

Agrabah was even more amazing at night. As they went deeper into the heart of the city, the buildings were covered in neon lights. The area they got off in was busy, and it was easy enough to blend in with the other young people in search of fun and booze. The only thing that made their group stand out was that they were clearly tourists. Jay wondered whether if any of the local pickpockets were sizing them up as easy targets right now.

“I bought us tables, but it’s a good bar, a cool bar,” Jordan said, “Only the best for you, little cuz.”

“I’ll start the tab!” Audrey said, “My homecoming gift to you.”

“Jeers, Audrey,” Jay said.

“I think you mean ‘cheers,’” she said.

“I should start the tab,” Ben said, “It’s only fair. It’s going to be a lot.”

“Are you trying to imply the Princess of Auroria has a credit limit?” Audrey said.

“Please don’t make this into a castle-measuring contest,” Mal said.

“Mine is technically bigger,” Audrey sniffed.

“Only if you count the grounds,” Ben said.

Jordan led them past the line of people outside the door. The inside was much less seedy than any place Jay had ever patroned, but there was still the loud music, the smell of drinks, and the wading through a sea of moving bodies.

“Now, THIS is what I’m talking about,” Desiree yelled. She was wearing an actual dress, not marked by blood or saltwater or nothing. She grabbed Big Murph and they disappeared into the crowd.

“Tables are this way,” Jordan said, leading them up some stairs to a loft overlooking the dancefloor. She sat down in a booth, and almost immediately, a waitress was setting down shots in front of them all.

“To Prince Ali!” Jordan said, raising her shot glass, “Fabulous he! Ali of…I forget the rest.” Jay threw one back, feeling the familiar burn down his throat.

“Okay, and one more because I told this cute girl from my Anthro class to meet me here,” Jordan said, “Excuse me.” She slid out of the booth and disappeared into the crowd below.

“It’s weird hearing people call you Ali,” Mal said, “Do you want us to correct them?”

“I mean,” Jay said, throwing back his second shot, “I don’t really mind. It’s not great carrying the name Jafar gave me. But you guys can call me whatever.”

“Okay,” Mal said, “Ben, I have exactly one flaw. I’m a terrible dancer. But I want to dance with you.”

“Oh, Mal,” Ben said, his dopey smile contrasting with his goth look, “I have two left feet. We were made for each other.” He took her hand and led her down the stairs.

Jay looked around. Reza and Zevon were whispering to each other. Gil had found a dude already, and Evie was so tightly pressed against Uma that Jay had to look away.

“You hate clubs,” Jay said to the boy next to him.

“I do, don’t I?” Carlos said. He had a cool leather jacket on, and that new haircut, “I’ve never told you that.”

“It’s pretty obvious,” Jay said. The sensory overload, people acting like drunk idiots, it was never his scene.

“I never wanted to be a buzzkill,” Carlos said.

“You weren’t,” Jay said. They had a lot less consideration for each other’s feelings back then so even if Carlos was clearly grumpy on nights, the rest of the gang never held back on his account.  

“I’m more comfortable at my workbench,” Carlos said, “But I’m a different guy this year. Or I’ve been trying to be. Trying new things, changing my spots.”

“Yeah,” Jay said, “We all are.”

Carlos stood up and faced Jay, hands on his hips.

“New Carlos DeVil knows he’s a fucking fantastic dancer,” Carlos said, “And he is not afraid to show it.”
Jay stood up too, “Oh, yeah?”

“Oh, yeah,” Carlos said, starting to dance backward down the stairs. Jay followed him, waiting until they were safely consumed by the crowd to really dance with him.  Carlos did have moves, and the crowd seemed to gravitate towards him. Evie whistle, and Jordan yelled, “Damn, DeVil!” Carlos’ old shyness was nowhere to be found. The brilliant, surprising boy who used to only exist in their little loft on rare good nights now got to be out in the open, for the whole world to see.

Except for later, when Carlos came to Jay’s room, and it was just them, talking into the night, about their friends, about the sweet cocktail Jordan made them all try, about the insanely tasty fries they’d had before catching the bus back. Carlos could have the whole world, but he only wanted to end his night with Jay.

Later that night, Jay walked into his father’s shop for the first time in almost a year. The tinny little bell rang above his head. Jafar installed it not because he was eager to provide customer service, but so he could track everyone who came in that he thought likely to steal (which on the Isle meant everybody). When he heard the sound, Jay’s stomach instinctively twisted. He was empty-handed. He never came home empty-handed. He went to pat his pockets, but he was wearing these weird linen pants that had none. 

“Jay?” his father called from the back.

“I-I need to head back out, I stashed my score, but I’ve got something good- “

The back door of the store opened. It led to the tiny apartment where Jafar slept, worked, and ate. His father looked at him with a…smile. Not one of his threatening smiles either. He truly looked relaxed. It took years off his face.

“Nonsense. Come sit down and eat,” he said. Jay stayed frozen in the entryway. The apartment was always a tense territory, in which Jay’s presence had to be carefully negotiated. There were nights when he got a really good haul, and his dad let him join him for a meal at the little card table. More often Jay slipped in before dawn to steal some food while his dad slept. In the winter, Jay dragged his little pile of rugs to the door, just to get a bit of the warmth from the wood-burning stove inside.

“Come,” Dad said, smiling, but speaking more forcefully. Jay followed him in, waiting for the moment where his mood flipped.

There was a large pot cooking on the stove. His dad motioned for Jay to sit at the card-table, which was set with plates and silverware Jay didn’t know they owned. There was even a basket of flatbread in the middle. His father spooned a heavenly-smelling stew into a bowl and placed it in front of Jay.

“A hearty stew is good for a growing boy,” he said. Jafar took a seat next to Jay and started eating.

“It smells good,” Jay said. He cautiously picked up a spoon, waiting for Jafar to swat it out of his hand.

“Eat, eat, before it gets cold,” he said instead. Jay took a first bite. It was so good, spicy and warm with little cubes of meat.

“Where did you get this?” Jay said, “It’s delicious.”

“Old family recipe,” Jafar said.

“I mean, the ingredients. Is the meat from Gaston? The spices alone must have cost a fortune,” Jay said.

“You’re a clever boy, aren’t you?” Jafar said. Jay grinned. His dad gave compliments so sparingly.

“Thanks,” Jay said. Jafar offered the basket of flatbread, and Jay took a piece. It was still warm and soft.

“You spilled some stew,” Jafar said, pointing at Jay with his knife. Jay looked down. Bright crimson was soaking through his white shirt.

“Dad, what’s going on?” he said, panicked. It hurt, the pain growing as the red did. It wasn’t just a stain- the blood was forming a galaxy of spiraled shapes across his chest.

“Here, let me,” Jafar said. He took the knife and sliced through shirt and skin, following the trail of red.

Jay gasped and sat up. The dream had felt so real, he could still feel the spot where the knife sunk in. His heart was beating so fast, with fear and adrenaline racing through him.

“Jay? Are you okay?” Carlos said, looking up at Jay from beneath sleep-hooded lids. They were in his new room, in the palace. Jay squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. It was just a dream. A weird fucking dream. It wasn’t real, even if he could feel exactly where the knife had sliced, following the shape of the little rune right below his left clavicle. It was all in his head.

“Bad dream,” Jay said, laying back down, though he still felt like he was on high alert.

“What about?” Carlos said.

“It was Jafar. He was being nice. Until he wasn’t,” Jay said.

“He’s not here,” Carlos said, and a hand crawled like a snake up Jay’s forearm. He used to like snakes.

“Thanks for coming, C. It’d be a lot to be here alone,” Jay said, turning onto his side to face the other boy. He was close enough to count every freckle on Los’ face.

“I’ve followed you into way worse,” he said, yawning so big his whole face scrunched up, “Wish I kept the nightmares away.”

“Just good you’re here,” Jay said. Carlos yawned again and shut his eyes. Jay would rather he be the one getting nightmares, if one of them had to. Jay eventually fell back asleep. The next time he opened his eyes, it was morning, and he found Carlos’ hand, intertwined with his.

Jay grinned at it. He tried to separate them without waking him up. This realization- well, realization wasn’t really the right word because Jay didn’t have any proof. This hunch about the way things were between him and C lately, it had mostly been going on inside Jay’s head.

You’d think with a big ball and adjacent duties, Jay would have less time to go moony over his best bro, but all day, thoughts of Carlos kept distracting him from his last-minute princely prep.

There were hairdressers and party planners and advisors, none more terrifying than Aziz with his Agrabah nobility flashcards. Jay had signed up for all of this, and it wasn’t like he wanted to go in unprepared, but when he heard the word “ball,” he thought of a huge party, not homework. After a quick lunch, he was whisked back to his room where a whole team of people were there to help him get into his ceremonial outfit and make last minute adjustments. It did get on his nerves, being prodded and looked at, but he tried to be a good sport, making jokes about the oddity of the whole situation.

Then finally, all the people melted away, and he was standing in front of his mirror, all alone, dressed to the nines. The traditional Agrabah robes were a blinding white. They had never been worn before, made only for him, for this one night. There was bright golden stitching around the collar and down the sides. A gold sash went around the middle, secured with a bronze clasp. He wore fancy new boots, without scuff or dirt on them. The outfit also came with a hat, with a big peacock feather sticking out of it. He had put it on and then taken it off, smoothing his hair back into place. He was wearing it down tonight, and the hairdresser had made it shiny and smooth.

The fabric was so fragile. Not sturdy at all. But it was pretty comfortable in the heat. He looked broader too. He looked really hot, actually. He’d worried it would feel like a ridiculous costume, but the absence of sleeves and the sturdy boots made it feel like a really elevated version of his usual outfit.  

Carlos walked into the mirror reflection, and Jay turned to face him. He looked fancy too- he wasn’t even wearing shorts. He had black trousers with a white stripe down the side, and a long white shirt, with red beads sewn in around his chest.

“Woah,” Carlos said.

“Is it too much?” Jay said.

“No,” Carlos said, “I mean, different, yeah, but it looks good. It looks like you.”

“Good. I mean, I thought I looked hot, but I wanted to be sure,” Jay said. Carlos looked away, and Jay started to remember a bunch of different times he’d done this same reaction to something Jay said. When C first joined the gang, Jay’s crush had been hopeless. Mal gave him shit for it constantly, but all of Jay’s lines never got any more reaction than an eyeroll (which made it worse, because eye-rolling was an art form with eyes like that). It had never seemed fair to him for Jay to pursue anything further. On top of Cruella, the poor guy hardly needed a slutty kleptomaniac with a sadistic father in his life.

But then there was the hand-holding last night, and the checking out, and how mad Carlos got about Harry. Maybe it was the fact that everyone had been talking about miracles all day, but Jay dared to shoot his shot at his.

“I’ve been thinking,” Jay said, “Evie’s got a date. Mal’s got a date. It is my ball. I kind of think I should have a date.”

“Oh, yeah?” Carlos said, his eyes darting back then looking away.

“Yeah. Would you want to go to the ball with me?” Jay said. Carlos started to laugh, but when he saw Jay wasn’t joking, he stopped.

“What did you say?” Carlos said. Jay’s stomach dropped. Oh, gods, he didn’t know a damn thing. Who did he think he was?

“Don’t joke about that,” Carlos said, He sounded angry. Carlos usually gave Jay too much leeway. He never got mad at him, even when Jay was being a little shit. 

“I’m sorry,” Jay said, “I wasn’t, I’m sorry, I didn’t call it, I thought you felt…”

“What?” Carlos said, but his tone wasn’t sharp, “Wait, did you…?”

“Did I…” Jay said dumbly. 

Carlos stared at him for a second, before stepping forward, grabbing the front of his robes and pulling Jay towards him until their mouths met.

I am kissing Carlos DeVil, Jay’s brain repeated over and over again. Which, yeah, he’d done before, but never in daylight hours and never stone cold sober. Jay wrapped his arms around him, and Carlos was holding on to Jays’ face for dear life as the kiss deepened.

“Evil deeds,” Carlos swore, breaking apart to take a breath.

“Carlos,” Jay said. No nicknames or pet names. Just, “Carlos?”

“I’ve been wanting to do that,” Carlos said, “Was that…okay?”

“Yeah. That was…better than words.”

“How long…when?” Carlos said. he started to step back, but he was still in Jay’s arms. Jay tightened his hold on his middle, so Carlos stayed put, clasping his hands behind Jay’s neck.

“When what?” Jay said, staring at Carlos’ now bright pink lips.

“When did you…start wanting me to kiss you?”

That was a harder question than expected. Because there was the first time Mal brought him around, and Jay got a good look at the black and white blur he’d seen weaving through the markets. A strange mix of timid and tough, bony but pretty as hell. A shy little smile Jay would run through fire to make come out. Then there were more little moments where Carlos blew him away and Jay wondered how he could have found something this valuable and not lost it yet. But then they became more than allies and Jay told himself to keep that shit on a shelf because Carlos had enough going on and Mal wouldn’t like her seconds showing weakness. But they still lived together, and Jay wasn’t blind, so there were plenty of times, passing thoughts while they changed, less passing urges Jay had to resist.

“I don’t know,” Jay said, “A little bit. All the time. Since the start.”

Carlos looked at him in disbelief, “Me?”

“Yes, you. I mean, it’s you, what else is there to say?”

“A lot,” Carlos said, “But I can’t think of anything now.” He tilted his head up, and Jay bent down to kiss him again. Carlos started giggling then.

“What? Am I a bad kisser?” Jay teased.

“No, it’s just…” Carlos said, “Jane’s been calling me Cinderella, and now, well, prince, ball.”

Jay threw his head back and laughed, “That story’s lame. Ours is way better.”

They walked to the ballroom hand in hand. Jay almost wanted to run through the empty halls, he felt like he had electricity running through him, but he also wanted to savor the last few moments alone. As they got closer, the din of the crowded ballroom made his nerves return, and he squeezed Carlos’ hand. His parents, siblings, Evie, Mal, and Ben waited outside the ballroom’s entrance.  

“We thought you’d made a run for it,” Mal said. Her gown was black and purple, and an elaborate onyx headpiece rested on the crown of her head.

“No, we didn’t,” Evie said, a beauty in midnight blue.

“I look too good for no one to see me,” Jay said, sounding more confident than the butterflies in his stomach suggested.

“You look perfect,” Mom said, “Oh, dear, don’t cry.”

“I can’t stop,” Dad said, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe his wet eyes.

“You promised you’d make it to the toast,” she teased, “Now, you’ll have me starting.”

“No tears tonight,” Jay said.

“Are you ready to go in?” she said.  

“As I’ll ever be,” Jay said, “Are you ready?”

“Oh, I’ve been ready for seventeen years,” Mom said, “They’ll announce King Ben and Mal first, then us, then you.”

“So, we should go inside now,” Evie said to Carlos.

Carlos raised their joined hands to kiss Jay’s knuckles. He said with a glint in his hazel eyes, “Don’t fall down the stairs.”

“Los,” Jay said, “I’ll look for you at the bottom.”

“I’ll be there,” he said, and he and Evie walked away. Jay watched him go, until a punch to his arm pulled his attention back.

“What?” he said to the assailant- Mal, obviously.

“Finally,” she said, smiling wickedly, “I’ve only been waiting since we were twelve, and you pick tonight to finally get together?”

“It’s great!” Ben said.

“He’s a very nice boy,” his mom said, raising her eyebrows.

“We’ll have to embarrass you later. I think it’s time,” Dad said.  

Jay had never thought of himself as someone afraid of the spotlight, but this was what he expected to be the worst part of the night. The ballroom was two levels, and they would all descend the grand staircase into the room below. Ben and Mal went first, both completely practiced at entering rooms while everyone bowed to them. Then went his siblings, also impossibly poised. When his parents stepped up, his dad looked over his shoulder one last time with a wink before they stepped down.

Then, Jay could tangibly feel every single eyeball in the room on his body. When the last of his many, many titles had been read, there was a roar of applause. Jay felt himself smile and laugh a little, feeling embarrassed and overwhelmed at the positive reaction. The hardest thing to do was take that first step. The room was packed with faces, mostly strangers. Finally, he looked down to where his parents and friends were waiting. When he caught Carlos’ eye, he felt himself speed up just a little to get to the bottom. Then, it was over.

“Wonderful job,” his mom said.  

“Thanks. Uh, let’s party?” he said. The music came back on, but Jay was led away to meet approximately a thousand people, including the Prime Minister. Everyone wanted to shake his hand, say “welcome back,” pay him some compliment.

Finally, though, he was out of people to meet, and he could meet Carlos on the dance floor. He did feel people staring at them when they joined hands, and Jay resolved to worry about what it all meant tomorrow. If Audrey hadn’t freaked out on him yet for not pre-calculating this decision, it couldn’t be too bad.

If someone does have a problem with it, they should be ready to fight, he thought. He’d like to see a person try and take on the two of them.

When his grandfather entered, the whole room bent the knee and found their seats for dinner. Jay and his family were on a high table. A flute of champagne was placed in front of every person (Almost every- Aziz and Dalia were raising sparkling ciders).

His mom stood, and the whole room fell silent, “I want to thank every friend, family member, visitor, and countryman who has joined us here tonight to share in our joy. Some of you were there eighteen years ago when we held a similar ball to celebrate Ali’s birth. Many of you were there seventeen years ago to lend your support when Aladdin and I were drowning in grief. You held us up as we tried to continue on, heartbroken but never entirely giving up on the hope that we would see our son again.  

“As painful as our separation was, it has been the honor of my life to get to know such a brilliant, bold, caring young man and be given a place in his life. When we are all together, when I see what a lovely son and brother he is, it’s hard to believe that he’s only been home for a few months. I can no longer imagine our lives without him. Or without the wonderful additions of Mal, Evie, Carlos, and the friends who have protected him and been his family. I look forward to sharing with my country the great gift of getting to know my son, your prince, Ali.”

Jay looked around at the absolute miracle of this gathering, and there was an unstoppable optimism in his chest and a hot stinging at the corner of his eyes. He’d heard a person could cry tears of joy, but he’d never done it before.

“To Ali, our son, home at last,” Mom said. Jay raised his glass back and stood up to hug her.

That was when his chest caught on fire.

Jay screamed. Agony, burning agony overwhelmed. It felt like he was being carved into with a hot knife-no, like he was being branded with a hot iron. He dropped his glass and heard it shatter. It might have sliced his hand, but he barely felt it because nothing existed right now but this one terrible pain.

“Ali!”

“Jay!”

“Help!” he choked out. He really was crying now from the pain. It was a heart attack. It was a bomb going off in his chest.

He felt Mal’s hands reach for the collar of his fancy shirt and rip it open. He looked down and was blinded by a bright red light emanating from his chest.

Then Jay heard the laugh he never thought he’d hear again.

Chapter Text

When the familiar cackling began, the fire in his chest went out, leaving behind a prickling pain and the scent of singed flesh. Jay followed the laughter to the top of the grand staircase where Jafar now stood, presiding over them all. The ball guests were frozen with disbelief at the materialization of Agrabah’s former conqueror, identity unmistakable due to the cobra staff in his hands. He waved it, and suddenly, a sandstorm whirled around the ballroom, sending grains of sand into Jay’s eyes and mouth. People screamed as the winds picked up speed, dirtying the fine china and everyone’s new silks.

Jay’s instincts moved quicker than his questions. He’d run through hurricanes before, and he ran now through the gusts and guests to get to the other side of the ballroom. He made it halfway up the staircase before it disappeared beneath his feet. His stomach swooped, but he never fell. It felt like an invisible giant had snatched him by the collar of his shirt. He helplessly kicked and thrashed in the air, desperate for the feeling of solid ground again. The giant only lifted him higher, to bring him level to Jafar.

“Hello, my boy. New clothes?” Jafar sneered. The usual manic look in his eyes was multiplied tenfold now, matching the intense red glow of the cobra staff’s ruby eyes.

Magic, magic, shit, he has magic, Jay thought in panic. Crimson cracklings sporadically emitted from his body- the power always threatened but unseen until now. He waved his staff, and red lightning shot at something below and behind Jay. He couldn’t turn his head to look, but he could hear an explosion and the ensuing screams of terror. He shifted his eyes down and saw his boots and people running for the exits. He looked up at Jafar again. He may be holding Jay in the air like a ragdoll, but Jay would still glare and thrash and spit while there was air in his lungs. The distraction might be able to give more people a chance to escape.

“Fuck you! How did you do this?” Jay said, all bombast. Jafar didn’t even look at him. He was still sending zaps of magic and laughing, that awful laughing, that harbinger of doom.

“LOOK AT ME!” Jay yelled, like he was five, but he wasn’t five. He’s a man, these were his people, and this was personal. Jay no longer doubted whether he could kill.  

“LET HIM GO! IT’S ME YOU WANT!” someone yelled from the floor. Mom? Why wasn’t she running away?

“Good to see you again, Princess,” Jafar said, “What do you think of our boy here? You made a thief a prince, so I made your prince a thief. It was such a delight being his father, watching him grow up to be a liar, a pickpocket, a brute. He fit in so well on that Isle. It’s a pity he won’t be returning.”

“SHUT- “Jay’s next word was cut off because someone was strangling him. His hands flew to his neck but could not feel the hands choking the life out of him.

“For so long, I awaited this day,” Jafar said, “When I carved that spell into you seventeen years ago, I dreamt of the sweet satisfaction of forcing your whore mother and vermin father to watch you die.”

Black spots were crowding his vision. He gasped, someone screamed. It was almost over. He’d done this before, he knew how it felt, but no barrier would be bringing him back this time.

“I hope you enjoy disappointment!” someone yelled. Blue lightning flashed in front of him, and the grip on Jay’s throat broke. He took in one big breath as he dropped to the floor. His instincts told him to tuck and roll, but it was sloppy. His right ankle took the brunt of the impact, and he hissed in pain.

“Jay!” Ben and Carlos were there. Each grabbed one of his armpits and dragged him towards the wall, where Mal and Evie were huddled in an alcove. When they got close, Mal erected a bubble of purple magic around them all.

“Breathe, Jay, breathe,” Carlos said, running his hands over Jay with practiced moves to check his vitals, “Are you okay? What hurts?”

“Where’s my family?” he croaked, wincing at the pain in his throat. He sat up to look around the transformed ballroom. Chairs and tables were scattered, chunks of the walls had been blown off, and dust covered everything. Clouds of sand and dust hung in the air. Eight-foot-high dunes blocked the main entrances. Jay saw some people taking cover behind tables to avoid the crossfire of Jafar and Genie. Genie’s right arm hung limp at his side, half red, contrasting with the blue bursts of power he was lopping at Jafar. One of Jafar’s red bolts came at his head, and Genie ducked behind a pillar, only missing it by a second.

Despite his throbbing ankle, Jay got to his knees so he could look to the other end of the ballroom. He saw five figures- his parents, grandfather, and siblings. The high table was gone, but they remained in the same places, golden shackles chaining them to the ground. Aziz was pulling at them with all his might. His dad was crouched down, speaking to Dalia. Red fury clouded Jay’s vision.

“We need to help them!” Jay said. He started to move, pain shooting from his ankle, but Carlos grabbed his arm and held him in place.

“We need a plan,” Carlos said, “The moment we run, Jafar will pick us off like bugs.”

“Jafar’s too powerful for Genie to take alone. I have an idea. It’s crazy, but it’s all we’ve got,” Mal said. She pulled up the skirt of her dress. Strapped to her thigh was a dagger and a pouch. From the pouch, she pulled out a glowing blue stone.

“Is that…?” Evie said.

“The power of a god,” Mal said, “I can use this to spread my magic among the five of us, making us all stronger. We’ll only have half an hour though, tops, before we all collapse.”

“We can do it,” Jay said, “Let’s get this bastard.” His friends nodded in agreement. Ben shed his blazer, and Carlos shed his long dress shirt, leaving on only his undertank. The girls started ripping off the bottom halves of their gowns. Evie offered Jay a hair tie and helped him pull his hair back into a bun.

When they were ready for battle, Mal put the blue stone to her lips and whispered a few words to it. The stone turned into a blue flame, which Mal split, holding one in each palm. She then took Ben and Jay’s hands. It didn’t burn at all. Jay grabbed Carlos’ while Ben took Evie’s, linking them all.

“Magic mine be spread apart, among those dearest in my heart,” Mal said. Jay could tell from his friend’s faces that they felt the same rush he did. So, this was the magic he’d hoped to find in Fairy Godmother’s classroom. The pain in his throat and foot evaporated. His heart raced, and his blood pumped in a battle cry.

“Woah,” Carlos said. Jay could feel his whirring mind, taking this new feeling apart and putting it back together. There was Ben’s granite determination and dogged optimism. Evie was steeling her nerves, ensuring they’d all have grace under fire. Then Mal, turning all doubts to ash. They were one body with their instincts, strengths, and minds fully in sync.

“Evie, you free the family. Unlocking spell, you know it. Carlos and Ben, give her cover, then get the family and anyone else out of here. I’ll go for Jafar, and- “

“-I’m with you. Jafar is mine,” Jay said. Mal nodded.

And they were off. Evie, Ben, and Carlos started running along the perimeter of the room, sticking close to the wall for cover. Once he caught sight of them, Jafar created a new torrent of wind, except this one made piles of sand start to stand up and take form. Six-foot-tall sand monsters started coming at them, speedy despite their stature. Jay and Mal ran out to face them, while keeping one eye out for a new way up to the balcony now that the stairwell was gone.

Jay had never fought sandy monsters before, but he’d fought basically everything else. The adrenaline cleared his mind, and he could take in the whole battlefield in slow motion. He worked his way around the sand people and the scattered furniture, too quick to be caught, too strong to be stopped. He picked up a splintered table leg off the ground for a weapon. Under the magic, his friends felt like five parts of one body. Jay didn’t have to turn away from his targets to check on his family- he could feel Evie working on the shackles, Carlos experimentally hurling magic at the monsters, and Ben roaring with beastly power.

A sand monster formed next to him that was too tall to get around. Two big fists came down to crack his skull, but Jay jumped back just in time. Mal’s magic turned his table leg into a sword and even gave him a shield to match. He slashed through the monster’s torso, but the thing was made of sand- the blade went straight through and it didn’t even blink its eyeholes. A big sandy arm clubbed Jay from the right, but he didn’t get his shield up in time. The monster knocked him to the floor, leaving a wicked burn on his arm.

No swords, Jay thought, getting back on his feet. The sandmonster lumbered towards him.

How about this? Mal thought back, and his sword turned to a tourney stick, with a bigger head. Jay grinned. He leapt and lopped the tourney stick at the sand monster’s head. It went flying across the ballroom like the ball to the goal. Jay did his victory roar- force of habit.

Table at your ten, Carlos thought in his head, and there it was, his way up. Jay used it as a jumping off point so he could grab hold of a tattered purple banner hanging off the balcony. He threw the stick up on to the balcony and climbed up the banner like a rope, his core not even straining from the effort. He pulled himself on to the balcony, scrambling to his feet.

“Welcome back, my boy!” Jafar called. He sent a beam of magic at Jay. Jay ducked and rolled out of the way. The magic shot straight through the stone railing and left the wall behind it scorched.

“Hey, Jafar!” Mal’s voice rang out. Jay looked down and saw her standing on top of a table. She was giving Jay cover. He got low and moved quickly in the direction of Jafar.

“What do you think of becoming a garden snake?” Mal yelled before breathing green fire at him. Jafar threw up a shield of sand to absorb the flames but cried out when one licked his sleeve.

“My mother has plenty of room in her tank!” Mal said. Jafar sent another ray of magic. Mal leapt out of the way right on time, so light on her feet, a move that they’d taught themselves jumping off rooftops.

“He prefers a nice lamp!” Genie yelled. Jafar sent a zap. Genie wasn’t as quick as Mal. He fell with a hard thud.

“Uncle Genie!” Aziz cried. Jay stopped to look at him. They were all free now but little Dalia. Aladdin had joined Carlos and Ben, wielding his own table leg to guard the family.

“You’re not getting away so easy again, Jasmine,” Jafar said. With a flick of his wrist, new chains trapped his mother, grandfather, Aziz, and now Evie too. Jay could feel the pain of cold metal digging into wrists as Evie’s magic struggled against the enchanted shackles.

Evie, you don’t need magic, he thought. Then it was like Jay’s own nimble fingers replaced Evie’s, sharing his master lock-picking skills.   

There was a huge crashing sound beneath him. Jay looked over the railing to see a tidal wave flood the room, having broken through the doors and dunes. The sand monsters roared as the water washed over them, immobilizing their legs. Behind the floodwaters came dozens of people.

“COWABUNGA, MOTHERFUCKERS! THE CAVALRY HAS ARRIVED!” Uma yelled, leading the charge with a sword in hand. Evie’s heart soared in their chests at the sight. With her were the pirates in their evening wear and some soldiers in uniform. Jay spotted Lonnie, wielding two swords against a sandman twice her size, and Audrey running around with a massive crossbow. Jafar fired quicker and quicker rays, and two sandmen now formed for each one struck down.

Mal appeared beside him. Since when could she teleport?

“Since just now,” she said, “Watch out!”

Jay turned and swung at the sandman running at him. A whole line of men marched towards them, originating from where his father- no, damn it- from where Jafar stood.

The only way was through. Jay dodged, he kicked, he lopped off more heads. Every inch was a battle. Behind him, Mal created fireball after fireball, raining them down at the sandmen below and giving his tourney stick missiles to throw.  

“ALI!” Dalia yelled. Jay turned to see Evie finish up re-freeing his family. They were frozen in place, watching him.

“Run! Get out of here!” he yelled. He saw Evie scoop up Dalia and run for the doors, just as the floor beneath him was blown up for the second time that night. He was launched off his feet and there was no longer any floor there for him to land him. His hands grabbed empty air and air and then a broken ledge, right before it was too late. He hissed at the strain on his arms, holding on for dear life. He could feel a throbbing in the back of his head too, but it was Mal’s pain. She’d landed hard on a still intact piece of balcony. A sand monster walked over to where Jay’s fingers were desperately gripped and stared down at him with its empty holes for eyes. It lifted one big foot and Jay was just about to let go when a green fireball knocked it back. Mal leapt over the missing piece of balcony and started to help Jay climb back up.

 “Leave him alone!” Jay turned and saw Aladdin had gotten to the balcony too, on the opposite side of the room. Mal helped him to his feet, and they continued pushing forward towards Jafar. Mal was now ahead of him, sending quick bursts of flame at each oncoming monster.

“I’ve had enough of you, dragon spawn!” Jafar growled. He sent a spell her way that turned the floor beneath her into quicksand. Jay tried to pull her out, but in seconds, she had already sunk through the balcony, landing on the floor below with a thud.

I’m fine, keep moving! Mal ordered in his head, though he could feel more pain in their ribs and ankle.

Jay leapt over the quicksand pit and continued hacking at the sandmen, sliding through their legs, hopping up on the balcony railings. Across the room, his father was making the same journey, if half as quick.

“Did I hit my head?” Jafar said, “I’m seeing double! Prince Ali and Prince Ali!” He waved his scepter, and it hit Aladdin. Instead of knocking him out, it transformed his formal clothes to ragged canvas pants and a simple purple vest. A second shot hit Jay. He looked down and saw his ceremonial robes replaced by the leathers he’d worn every day on the Isle. Jay rolled his eyes at the dramatics.

He could feel their time running short, all five of theirs’ battle wounds beginning to throb and burn. Evie was searching for an escape route for his family. Ben and Gil were working together to get the last trapped partygoers out of the room. Mal had to take cover behind Audrey, pride and body both wounded. Carlos was quicksilver, leading the sandmen on endless chases, turning their empty heads against them. But they kept reforming and would keep doing so as long as their master’s power held. Jay needed to end this, now. Summoning as much magic as he could, Jay sent a huge burst of flame through the last of the sandmen, rounding the corner and coming at Jafar from the side. He raised his tourney stick up, preparing to bring it down on Jafar’s head.

“My boy,” Jafar said calmly, turning to him with a smile. He pointed his scepter, and the ruby eyes looked right into Jay’s.

The whole world turned red, and Jay felt light as air. All of his troubles melted away. How could he have any troubles at all when his father was here, smiling at him so warmly?

“Dad,” he said. It felt so good to see him again.

“Drop your weapon and shield,” Father said. Jay did so immediately. He’d forgotten why he was holding them in the first place. What would he need it for? Father always kept him safe.

The world was red, and all its sounds were mumbles compared to the clarity of Father’s voice. One of the mumbles sounded like a scream though. Jay turned his head to look at it, but his father clucked his tongue, and that made Jay turn right back to him.

“Come closer, son. Watch me work. I want you to see. Don’t look at anyone else,” he said. That was an easy request. Jay stepped closer, while his father sent beams of light down below. Jay couldn’t say where they ended up, he just kept his eyes on his father’s relaxed smile, his powerful hands.

“Finally, you have learned obedience,” Jafar said. Jay smiled, and a tickly warmth spread throughout his whole body. He was happy. Jafar was pleased with him. Jay would do anything to keep his father so happy.

But there were others in his head, muffled but insistent, like someone talking underwater. The voices weren’t happy. They sounded sort of familiar.

Jay, break free!

Jafar doesn’t care about you. No, that couldn’t be right. Jafar loved him. That’s why Jay felt so happy.

You’re under a spell, Jay. Come on, you’re scaring me. Jay felt afraid too then. But why should he be afraid? Dad would keep him safe.

Snap out of it. That’s an order. Jay squeezed his eyes shut. He always listened to that voice. Why did he do that?

“Son.”

Jay looked back at Jafar, but he hadn’t spoken. Behind him was another man, trying to use the balcony railing to pull himself up, despite the deep pain etched into the lines of his face. That’s Aladdin, your father. No, Jafar was his father. How could both be true? Someone must be lying.

You’re doing it. What was he doing? Just waiting for Jafar to speak, for a new way to make him proud. His world began and ended with his father’s pride.

Fight back. Jay looked at his father. He didn’t tell Jay to fight. He was smiling, but he wasn’t looking at Jay. Jay wanted his father to look at him, that’s what he’s always wanted.

Your brain is locked inside a room. I know you can pick a lock.

Where there was a lock, there was a way out, but how could a brain be locked? All Jay felt was peace, yet the voices said that was a lie, an illusion, like the giddy feeling that came with strong Isle wine. The Isle. His home, his home with Dad, why weren’t they at home?

“Son,” the man pleaded again.

“Look at me, son,” Jafar said, and Jay obeyed, his eyes finding his father’s smile again, like magnets. Jafar was sharp, the rest of the world was a blur.

“Jay, throw this man off the balcony,” Jafar said, jerking his head at the pleading man behind him. Jay looked at the man then back to Jafar, Jafar hadn’t said to look away yet, but he said to throw the man. Sometimes Dad did that, he made you guess what to do, Jay guessed wrong a lot.

“Go,” Jafar said, an edge in his voice. Terror sliced through him, the edge meant pain, it meant you’d disappointed Dad, you loved him, he loved you, but when he talks like that, you should feel afraid.

Jay stepped around his father, to go to the man. He was in pain. When Jay grabbed him, he cried out, but then said, “It’s okay, son. It’s okay.”

Don’t do it, Jay! The voice from before, about the locks. Jay could pick locks. Cabinets, closets, in and out of his house. When would he get to go home? Dad was home, but when Dad’s not happy, Jay can’t go home. Jay seized the man tighter and held him over the edge of the balcony. He just had to let go.

“Ali, it’s okay,” the man said. Your name, your name, your name.

“Don’t make me ask again, boy,” Jafar said. Worthless boy, stupid boy, nothing boy. Your name, your name, your name.

“Who said that?” Jay said. There were too many voices talking together. His head was swimming. Like it felt when you drank too much wine. Trading swigs from a stolen bottle with your friends. Jay had stolen it. He was good at stealing. He had to steal or else he’d sleep on the streets, no dinner, if you want to eat, you have to earn it, get out of my house, you little rat.

Who said that?

Oh, right.

Jay pulled the man back over the railing and let him go. He turned around to look directly into the eyes of the snake. The snake looked back and saw five pairs of eyes, grey and green and brown. Jay seized the rod of the staff and wrenched it from Jafar’s hands.

“Impossible!” Jafar said. With the strength of five, Jay snapped the staff in two and felt the magic inside of it go dead.

“I’ve always wanted to do that,” Jay said, his confidence returning to him. Down below and in his head, his friends cheered.

Jafar started conjuring red magic with his hands. Jay could have called on Mal’s power, but he’d never needed magic for strength before. He punched his former father in the face, and Jafar dropped.

Jay got on top of him before he could recover, punching him over and over again. At first, he grunted and cursed but another good hit finally shut him up. One punch for the lies. One for his anger. One for his hunger. One for his real parents. One for the childhood he lost. One for all the shit he got instead. Jay’s knuckles were covered in blood, but he didn’t stop. Jafar’s face was more blood than skin but he didn’t stop. No one would be safe if he stopped, he didn’t want to stop, this was the moment of his dreams, he didn’t know how to stop.

“Son.”

Jay paused mid-punch. He looked up. His dad was watching him, his face crinkled with pain and concern.

 “It’s over,” Aladdin said.

Jay looked down and waited for Jafar to spring back up and hurl magic or fists at him. But his body was still. He looked smaller, now, lying there like this. Powerless.

“It’s over,” Jay repeated. He unclenched his first. Aladdin helped him stand and step over Jafar’s unconscious body. Jay looked at his dad, his real dad, and collapsed in his arms. He didn’t even care if someone saw him crying.

Because it would never really be over. For the rest of Jay’s life, he and his family would have to reckon with that long absence. The Isle’s teachings would never be forgotten. But he had so many things in his life worthier to hold onto than anger. Friends who loved him as a street rat and a prince. A home he’d never be kicked out of. A brother and sister. Real parents. A mother who’d tell a whole country that she was proud of him. A father who saw his son crying and pulled him close to comfort him.

Chapter Text

Evie had forgotten about the humidity. How could she possibly have forgotten about the battle to keep her hair unfrizzed that she’d waged her whole life? It was the humidity and the smell that struck her immediately when she stepped on to Isle soil for the first time in nearly a year.

Bringing everyone home on a big yellow school bus was Ben’s half-serious idea, but Mal had liked it. It was so hilariously cheerful that it seemed to throw off the Isle residents who had gathered in the main square by the bridge. Evie was surprised how many people were here, and pleasantly surprised no one had tried to attack them yet. It’d only been three minutes, but still.

We will be okay. We will have peace. Those phrases usually made their way into her morning offerings. It had been hard to say them with conviction after Jafar’s night of terror, but Evie thought optimism in the face of horror was her strength, not her weakness.

It was weird to be facing the island from this perspective, with her back to Auradon. She’d rarely walked this far out from home in general. It meant passing all the way through town and ending up only a breath away from Maleficent’s, about as far from home as Evie could get.

Only Mal, Evie, Uma, and Harry had stepped off the bus, leaving the other VKs on-board. Mal leapt onto the roof of it to address the gathered crowd. Some gasped at how easily Mal jumped up there, the dragon fae coming out. Evie and Uma stood in front of the hood, and Evie tried not to sneak any sideways glances.

“LISTEN UP!” Mal said, and the crowd was quiet.

“I know news from the outside travels slow here, but I bet you’ve all heard that our former neighbor Jafar flew the coop. Like my dear mother, he tried to come for us VKs, and he got his ass kicked. Jay struck the final blow himself.”

“Bull. How’d some kid take down the all-powerful Jafar?” a man yelled from the back of the crowd.

“With a mean right hook,” Mal said, with a cackle.

“We all took down Jafar,” Uma said, “Even got this fancy bling to prove it.” She flashed the bronze medal pinned to her lapel- the Agrabah Badge of Service, First Class. Jay’s mom had said they should wait to hold a proper ceremony for all those who fought Jafar, but VKs heard something shiny was involved and demanded payment up front.

“The important thing is all the VKs made it out in one piece,” Mal said, stomping her boot on the roof, “Now they’re going to get off this bus one-by-one, nice and civilized-like.”

Evie kept an eye on her assigned kids as they went back to her families. She had ones she wasn’t actually worried about, like the Tremaine’s. Anthony looked after his little cousins better than she ever could. But Zevon already had that angry look back on his face as he stalked back home alone. He’d told Mal that he would not return to Auradon in the fall without his sister.

They had some problems with Frollo, since Claudine was staying in Auradon this summer- without his permission, obviously. A flash of Mal’s green eyes had him spitting about demons but ultimately retreating back to his cell. The Hooks left last, palpably tense.

Mal, Evie, and Uma went to reconquer Bargain Castle, which involved very little conquering. People had even been too afraid to loot it. It was eerily untouched; the dust on every surface made Uma sniffle.

“I guess I have a castle now,” Mal said thoughtfully, “Should I redecorate?”

“That’s not an option,” Evie said, turning up her nose at the torture devices being used as wall art.

“This place is fucking massive,” Uma said, “You’re going to stay here alone?”

“Well,” Mal said, “I thought it could be a sort of neutral place, like the warehouse used to be. But kids might be too scared to come.”

“They’ll come if we tell them their parents will be even more scared to go in after them,” Evie said.

Mal walked back to the heavy oak front door and opened it. She pulled out a spray-can and painted a massive M in her signature purple.

“Looks better already,” Evie said.

“Mom told me I couldn’t draw on the walls,” Mal said, smirking, “But now her whole castle is my canvas.”

After they’d made sure the castle was safe, Uma headed to the docks to make her presence known. Mal said she was going to go set up her mother’s terrarium, to give them some space.

Evie took Uma’s hands and pressed her forehead to hers, “It won’t be long.”

“We’ll figure it out, Princess,” Uma said, her voice low, “It’ll be like the beginning, right? Sneaking around?”

“Broom closets and dark corners.”

“Don’t say I never took you anywhere nice,” Uma said, “It’s romantic.”

“Not even three months,” Evie said.

“First sign of crazy, you hightail it to my ship or come here,” Uma said.

“Don’t worry about me,” Evie said.

“I’d rather not,” Uma said, sucking her teeth.

It was hard to pull away. Evie just wanted to drown in her, relinquish all choice and duty and let herself be carried away by Uma’s wake. She wanted to look like Jay and Carlos did when they’d left- stupidly smitten, still in that bubble where nothing else gets through but each other. She and Uma never really had that phase, they’d wasted time with the secret-keeping and the concealed feelings. Evie rued that now.

Before she went up to Mal’s room, she took a second to smooth her hair and clothes, noting that, for maybe the last time for a while, grooming was something done to avoid Mal’s teasing, not Mom’s chagrin.

They called the boys on their newly modified cellphone and gave them the rundown. Jay sounded regretful not to be there, Carlos relieved.  As happy as she was that he was far, far away from Hell Hall, Evie would miss him terribly. She couldn’t imagine being home without the knowledge he was right next door. He’d been as worried as anyone over Evie’s plans, if not more. Carlos had protected her during their childhoods as much as she had him.

Evie and Mal curled up in her bed, running through the different kids’ situations and commiserating over missing their partners. They decided to sleep in shifts. Towards the end of Evie’s watch, she heard a knock from downstairs. She shook Mal awake to go inspect, a dagger up each their sleeves.

It was Zevon, with his sister Yzla under his arm. The younger girl was shivering, despite the warm night. They each had a bag slung over their shoulders.

“We’re not staying there,” he said flatly.

“Come in,” Mal said.

Evie made them tea and toasted some bread. They didn’t want to talk about what happened, but Yzla kept thanking them. She was too skinny, and she had a washed-out pallor to her skin. They made up the couches with moth-eaten sheets, and Mal and Evie went back upstairs.

“I could fit a lot of people here. I just need to convert some of the torture chambers into bedrooms,” Mal said, yawning, “I’d squeeze them all in if I could.”

Evie nodded, too sleepy to talk. The Isle was like a dead garden, overrun with weeds and withered plants. They’d have to pull out what they couldn’t save, but you could bring brown, dry leaves back to life. As long as you were stubborn enough. They’d turn this house of horrors into a refuge and spread it outwards from there.

Assess, conquer, hold. They’d done it before, when all they had was shards of glass and nerve.

At first light, Mal woke Evie. They dressed and ate their oatmeal in focused silence. Outside the castle, the town was quiet. The sky was a light gray, which counted as a nice day here. From Mal’s front door, you had a clear view of the mainland, and Evie looked in longing for a second at the peeks of blue sky and sunlight beyond the Isle’s clouds.

They heard the sound of quick footsteps at the same time. Both Mal and Evie braced themselves and turned towards the direction of the sound.

Gil and Uma came running around the corner. Curse her transparency, Uma had a big grin on her face when she looked at Evie.

“I thought we’d miss you,” Uma said, catching her breath.

“What are you doing here?” Evie said.

“Gil’s walking your way,” Uma said.

“I don’t need- “

“You’re going the same way,” Uma said, raising her chin.

“Hardly,” Evie said, “Gil, you don’t have to.”

“Yes, he does,” Uma said, “There’s a target on the back of everyone who crossed over. Smarter to go in pairs.”

“Fine,” Evie said, “How chivalrous of you. My own knight in shining armor.”

“This is leather?” Gil said.

“So…if people see them together, is the story that my lot and your lot just don’t hate each other anymore?” Mal said.

“Ugh,” Uma said, “Okay, walk a foot apart.”

“I am not doing that,” Evie said, looping her arm through Gil’s, “If anyone asks, I’ll them we’ve all made peace through the power of friendship, and we’re going to show the whole Isle how to do it.” Mal and Uma’s exaggerated retching sounds echoed throughout the empty square.

“We should get going though,” Evie said.

“Wait one second,” Uma said. She put a hand on Evie’s back to steer her away. It was such a brazen move in broad daylight, in such a public place. Evie stepped away from her touch and looked over her shoulder for observers.

“My bad,” Uma mumbled, “Just…I wanted to tell you something.” She spoke just above a whisper. Mal and Gil gave them another half-step of distance.

“Yes?” Evie said.

“I told my mom about you. We were just talking, and she could tell I was keeping something.”

“How’d she take it?” Evie said, worry flooding her brain.

“Good, I think,” Uma said, “She, uh, told me about a mermaid she knew back in the day, and we sort of bonded. It was weird…but not bad weird. She likes that you’re witchy. And she wants to meet you.”

“Oh, wow,” Evie said, her voice going high. Ursula was a decent mom, but a terrifying woman.

“I’ll hold her off,” Uma said.

“I’m glad it went well though,” Evie said. It was sort of moving, to see the good side of someone the world feared.

“I just wanted to tell you,” Uma said.

Evie gave her a small smile, hoping it conveyed everything she wanted to say.

The walk home was oddly nostalgic for Evie. She passed gang headquarters and the high school, and from there, it was the exact same route home that she’d taken all the time. Usually it was Jay or Carlos in step with her. They’d flash glares at anyone who crossed their paths and confide in each other when no one was around.

She showed Gil where he could come to meet her, the dent in the iron-wrought fence through which he or a kid in need could slip through. Then Evie went through the front gates alone, towards the chunk of white-stone castle that had been transported to the Isle. Evie remembered a girlhood promise to herself that if she ever got to Auradon, she would find out if the rest of the castle was still standing somewhere, missing the turrets and chambers it lost.

She saw a light on in her mother’s tower. The castle was empty but better cared for than Mal’s. Mom’s henchmen were good for something, at least. She left her bags in the foyer and made the walk up the tower stairs carrying only the glass pie dish in her hands.

When she thought of her mother, she pictured her like this- sitting in front of the vanity, wearing her high-collared cape over her nightgown, rubbing serums and oils and lotions over her face for all the morning hours.

“Mother,” Evie said, “I’m home from school.”

The Queen turned slowly, with a thin smile and her drawn-on right eyebrow raised. Evie could tell from the look in her eyes this was one of her more lucid mornings.

“Darling,” she said, “It’s so good to see you.”

She walked over and raised a hand to touch Evie’s face- to hold it up to the light for inspection- but Evie shoved the pie in her hands first.

“Apple, your favorite,” Evie said, “I baked it for you before I left.”

“Sweet girl,” she said, putting the pie on her dresser, “I’m sure it was your first in a long time. I doubt anyone over there would trust an apple pie made from your hand.” Evie almost laughed. A joke, Mother was really with it today.

“At first, no. But I’ve made many new friends there since,” Evie said, “I can heat it up in the kitchen, and we can enjoy breakfast.”

“Pie for breakfast? The calories,” Mother said, but she did follow Evie down the stairs.

“It’s a special occasion,” Evie said tightly.

“You have been gone so long,” Mother said, “What happened with the wand again, darling? Did you get it?”

“Only for a short time, you remember. Then the Dark Fae failed,” Evie said.

“Of course,” she said, “You’ve grown. Your legs are so long. You’re tall, like me, but don’t grow any taller. You’ll only be able to be with the tallest men, though that isn’t such a bad thing, is it?” Mother’s laugh echoed through the stone stairwell.

The kitchen was in okay shape as well. No mice in the cupboards. Evie had paid off the man who brought them firewood to bring cooked meals from the market. Mom didn’t seem to be wasting away. That assuaged Evie’s guilt about leaving again.

Gods, sometimes she wished she was colder, Evie thought to herself as the pie warmed up. Mom had certainly given her enough grief to warrant Evie packing up and leaving for good. Yet Evie played the loving daughter, if a more reserved one than in the past. Maybe she should just lay down the law, tell Mom things weren’t going to be like they were. But Mom might forget it by tomorrow. Or pretend she hadn’t heard, more likely. Or get so angry she’d try to send Evie to her room.

Evie thought she’d feel these emotions in stages- anger, resentment, bitter acceptance- but she seemed to feel them all at once. She was long past treating Mom’s word as golden but still somehow freshly outraged at each new instance of the same old behavior. How her mother was was how she’d always be. There was no intervention or heel-turns coming. She’d only grow more the same in old age. She’d never be the type of mom Evie could confide in, like Uma and Ursula, but she had once been, almost, a friend. Making clothes and talking about princes used to be something fun they did together, but Mom’s poison seeped into even the most innocent gestures. It could all be so good, if Mom could just let it be. She was the one missing out on a doting, wonderful daughter.

After breakfast, Evie straightened up the kitchen and went to go see her greenhouse. Surprisingly, Mom followed behind.

“Did you make this?” Mother said, reaching out to pinch the fabric of Evie’s midnight blue skirt. It was edged in lace, a detail Evie was rather proud of.

“Yes,” Evie said, “I’ve started quite the business selling my designs. Some noblewomen have even worn them.”

“We are noblewomen, not common seamstresses,” Mother said, “And you shouldn’t wear so much leather. You’re not a stablehand either.”

Evie huffed. It was barely midday, but she was already eager to shake Mom and enjoy some solitude. It would take hours to even get started on her garden. She’d have to clear away the dead, pull weeds, and prepare a sleeping area for any stray kids. It would be good to work with her hands, get them nice and dirty, feel a little burn in her arms. It’d give her mind somewhere else to go too.

There was a bailey between the kitchen and the greenhouse, with an animal pen and a dry well. The greenhouse wasn’t so big, the size of a small cottage, but it fed them in the months when barges were late and grew plants that staved off infections and illness. It took hours of work a week to keep it up, plus the time that went into procuring seeds and good soil. Evie hadn’t bothered paying off the henchmen to take care of it, not wanting the brutes in her space and knowing they didn’t have the expertise she did.

Evie opened the door to the greenhouse, steeling herself for the heartbreak of seeing all those dead things. But all she saw was green. Lush, living green, broken up only by bright flowers and fruits.

“It’s alive,” Evie said, “All of it-alive!”

“What did you expect?” Mom said. Evie turned to her.

“Mom,” Evie said, “You took care of it?”

“I’m more than capable of watering some plants,” she said, waving her hand.

But it was more than that. The ones that could only be watered once a month were just as alive as the ones that needed daily doses. The winter stock had survived and been moved into the shade. Repotting, with all the dirty mess of it, must have transpired. Tomatoes were picked and replaced by half-green descendants.  Specified, nurturing attention had gone into this. The kind Evie only thought she had to give in this dynamic.

She didn’t know what to do with this. How to hold it. This love peeking out from behind the vanity and cruelties.

She wanted to turn it back on her- for once, you actually did something right– but it would spoil the moment. There’d be nothing gained, no lesson learned.

“It was something to do, with the castle so empty,” Mom said, “I need to finish my beauty routines. You interrupted me.”

“Of course,” Evie said, taking steps into the house, tears dropping onto the foxglove.

Carlos said screw the Isle.

He let Jay do a little moaning and groaning about missing the VK homecoming and being stuck on bedrest, but Carlos was 100% Team Auradon. Auradon had antiseptic. Auradon had chocolate milkshakes. Auradon had Jay, moaning and groaning for entirely positive reasons.

I can’t believe this actually happened, Carlos thought to himself every morning when he woke up, and Jay was still there, looking so damn happy to see him, even though he’d been the last face he saw when we went to bed. You’d think he’d be sick of him by now, but he wasn’t.

“Morning,” Jay said, voice scratchy. The injuries to his throat had largely healed, but he was still hoarse in the mornings. Carlos squinted at the yellow bruises on his neck, which had almost faded.

“What’re you thinking about?” Jay said.

“That I’m the world’s best nurse,” Carlos said, “I’m actually giving you an exam right now.”

“How am I doing?” Jay said. Carlos leaned in and kissed him and frowned.

“Mmm, morning breath,” Carlos said.

“Do I have it now?” Jay said, kissing him again.

“Yeah,” Carlos said, “I diagnose you with eating too many cheese doodles.”

“No,” Jay said, “Try again.” Carlos did.

The last few weeks had just been this. Laying in bed, kissing, playing video games, having snacks brought to them upon request. Just being together, with no school and little obligations except to not re-break Jay’s ankle. Evie called it a honeymoon phase.

Carlos couldn’t help but feel like the other shoe was about to drop. Besides the shoe that was Jafar attacking them the night they first kissed. That was pretty bad. That shoe had sand monsters and a nasty curse in it. But it’d been so quiet and perfect since then that Carlos anticipated a second, somehow worse, shoe.

“Good morning,” a soft voice said from the front of the apartment.

Is that it? Carlos thought, climbing off of Jay and scrambling out of the massive bed. He quickly but quietly ran into the apartment’s second bedroom (the room meant for Jay’s wife, he remembered with fresh mortification). He jumped into his neatly made bed and got under the covers for good measure.

He heard the door to Jay’s bedroom open and exhaled when it was clear he hadn’t been caught. He laid back in bed, listening to the sound of the nurse’s perky questions, Jay’s groggy answers, and Jasmine’s smooth voice interjecting. He could hear some shuffling around while they helped Jay get ready, drawers being opened and shut, the clacking of the crutches on the tiles.

Carlos decided to get ready himself, still quietly. He had flashbacks of sneaking around Evie’s room hoping not to be found by her mother. By the time he’d dressed and brushed his teeth, it felt late enough in the morning that he could intrude.

Jay was again abed but in fresh clothes and brushing out his hair. Jasmine sat with one leg pulled up under her on the other end of the bed. They were speaking quietly. Carlos couldn’t see her face or understand what she was saying, but her cheer was palpable. Jay had now been here almost three weeks longer than he was supposed to be, and even though they seemed a bit guilty about it, his parents were clearly thrilled to have him stuck at home.

“Oh, good morning, ‘Los,” Jay said when he spotted Carlos, his eyes flashing mischief.

“Good morning,” Carlos said, ignoring it, “How’d you sleep?”

“Good,” Jay said, “Didn’t even miss the meds. How’d you sleep?”

“Good,” Carlos said, “Did the nurse leave?”

“Yup. For the very last time,” Jay said, “Told her I’d really miss her.”

His mom laughed and turned to Carlos, “She said he was an excellent patient. I told her she has great bedside manner, but she doesn’t have to lie outright.”

“I’m not proud of the person I am when I first wake up,” Jay said, “You can attest.” Carlos blushed, even though they were roommates, so there were entirely innocent reasons for such a comment.

“I’ll see you at breakfast,” Jasmine said, and Carlos couldn’t help but feel he’d made her leave, even as she smiled politely at him as she passed. When she shut the door, Carlos jumped back into the bed, shoving Jay’s good leg over so he could reclaim more space.

“The nurse won’t be coming anymore so you can retire the act,” Jay said.

“What about anyone else?” Carlos said.

“The plaster’s coming off today. No more wake-up calls,” Jay said, “If I need help brushing my teeth, everyone knows I’ve got my best bro in the adjacent room.”

“It’s called propriety,” Carlos said.

“I’m eighteen. My parents know we’re together, and it’s fine. We’re not fooling anybody.”

“But we’re under their roof,” Carlos said, “And-” Carlos cut himself off because he didn’t want to get into it. And I’m freeloading off of them. And I’m stealing family time from them. And generosity is leverage and I don’t know what I’ll need to pay back one day.

“Bye plaster, I never liked you,” Carlos said, bending down to talk directly to the hot pink cast on Jay’s leg (everyone was being so serious in the hospital, so Jay picked the color for a laugh).

“The doctor told me people keep them as souvenirs after they get sawed off,” Jay said, “Mal did draw a pretty impressive likeness of Harry being eaten by a dragon.”

“Well, she had to cover up all the dicks Harry drew when you were asleep,” Carlos said, “You should keep it. We can put it on the mantle.”

“My battle prize,” Jay said.

“What will we do with all that mobility?” Carlos said, “We might actually leave this room.”

“Or just means we can have more fun in this room,” Jay said, tugging on Carlos’ shirt. Carlos swatted him away.

“We’re late for breakfast,” Carlos said. He pointed at himself, “Polite.”

Carlos sat up and Jay pulled him back down, entrapping him in his arms and kissing his cheek and neck. Carlos put up half a fight.

“We gotta go!” Carlos said.

“Thank you for staying,” Jay said into his neck. Carlos turned around to look at his face.

“What?” Carlos said.

“Thank you for staying,” Jay said. His face was naked, stripped bare, and there was all this warm, sticky love oozing out of it. The thief was a creature of the shadows, flash and bravado and masks. When had Jay learned how to stop hiding?

“I couldn’t be anywhere else,” Carlos said, ducking his eyes, the intensity of Jay’s gaze too much. It’d been scary after Jafar. The execution of the ward on his chest had left Jay with all these side effects, and there were two really scary days before the doctors got it under control. Carlos felt crazed by the distance every time he had to step into the hospital hallway, like if he didn’t have his eyes on Jay, he would lose him. Once they went back here though, they were constantly in each other’s space. Jay was cranky from all the fussing over him, so Carlos tried to fuss without being obvious, telling Jay to suck it up while also monitoring him for signs of pain he definitely wouldn’t share willingly. Even though he was the hurt one, Jay seemed to think about Carlos in equal measure- Are you bored? Did you get enough to eat? Are you happy here?

Evie and Mal could never hear he had complaints about living in a palace. It’s just that Carlos could count on one hand the places he felt completely safe. His mother’s house was a prison; even working himself to the bone didn’t mean he was safe there. Their headquarters had been the best he’d known then, though the stress of holding on to that turf was omnipresent. When Carlos thought of home, he pictured their dorm room at school. It smelled like the sunlight that streamed through the big bay windows, mixed with the familiar stink of dog and tourney socks. He missed it terribly.

In the few hours where Jay’s doctors’ appointments kept them apart, Carlos walked around the palace feeling like a stray dog who’d slipped through the open door. He had absolutely nothing to offer here so he tried to just keep his impact contained. He only asked for the same things Jay did. He cleaned up after the both of them, but there was an army of staff usually beating him to it (Carlos tried to pick up a mop once and join them, but that seemed to make everyone feel weird).

Thankfully, the palace, like school, had a library for him to hide away in. Oh, gods, it was a beauty. It was a lot more ornately decorated than the one at school yet also very homey, since it was meant for the royal family’s private use. The English-language section alone could keep him entertained for a year. Carlos started with the first book on that shelf and sat on a window bench in the sun. That became his spot every day. Once, he was so content that he didn’t even notice he was being watched until he’d shut the book.

“Your eyes looked like tennis balls, moving back and forth so quickly across the page,” Jay’s mom said. Carlos couldn’t help but jump a little. He hadn’t seen her, though she was standing only a few feet away.

“Sorry,” she said, “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“Of course not,” Carlos said, “When I get sucked into a book, I lose touch with reality.”

“I love that feeling,” she said, “I’m glad to see the library getting some use.”

“It’s amazing,” Carlos said, standing up.

“What title is that?”

“Oh, it’s about Sultan Abaar IV. I started alphabetically.”

“I remember him from my studies. He’s the one who went mad and had fingernails down to his toes, right?”

Carlos held up the book’s front cover which had a fairly gruesome illustration of such a man. Jasmine laughed.

“Thankfully, he is not an ancestor of mine. His line died out a couple centuries ago,” she said.

“It was a good read,” Carlos said, going to return to book to its shelf.

“If you’re done, I was wondering if I could interest you in a game. Ali will be a while yet,” she said, “Do you know chess?”

“I know of it, but I’ve never played,” Carlos said.

“I think you’d like it,” she said, “It’s a mental game.”

It wasn’t like Carlos could say no. She led him to a table with a board carved into it. Jasmine explained what each piece did, and they began. Carlos lost the first two games, but he felt he understood it by the third. Midway, they got interrupted by one of Jasmine’s counsellors, and she apologized profusely for having to leave him to go run the kingdom.

Two days later, she arrived at the library the same time as him and asked for another game. Then it happened again. Carlos liked chess a lot. It was the kind of challenge he could sucked into. It seemed to make Jasmine happy to have someone to play with, and he wanted to be a good guest. It made Carlos nervous to be alone with her, but not in a bad way. He could tell she was actively trying to be less intimidating. He also knew he had the strength to say no, even to her, if he really wanted to.

“Carlos, I wanted to talk to you about something,” she said suddenly during one of their games. Most of their conversation was limited to books he’d read and the gentlest of smack talk. Her tone was more serious now, and Carlos braced himself. He’d been getting way too comfortable here. This must be the very polite and noble kicking out. He’d over-stayed his welcome, and they wanted their prince to themselves for once, minus his strays.

“I thought these games would be a good way to get to know you better,” she said, “I can tell you’re not quite at ease here.”

“No!” he said. He must have done something rude or appeared ungrateful, “It’s been great. You guys have been so-“

“-We know,” she said, “You seem to be under the false impression you are a guest, and we are your hosts. I’m sure Ali would be mortified I’m even talking to you about this. His dad and I just think you’re a really nice young man.”

“Thanks…” Carlos said, unsure where this is going.

“I know it’s new, but being such good friends and roommates before, your relationship seems pretty serious already,” she said, “And I know you and your mother aren’t close.”

“That’s an understatement,” Carlos said, curling his fists in his lap.

“Our sentiments about all of Ali’s friends having a home here are genuinely meant. Even if you and Ali were to break up, you would still be welcome. And if you need anything that a parent would provide…I hope I’m not over-stepping. Actually, I know I am, but I’ll keep going anyway because it just breaks my heart to see you all being on your own so young.”

“You guys have been really good to me, putting me up,” Carlos said.

“We’re not ‘putting you up’ though” she said, moving her knight, “Unfortunately, you’re stuck with us. When you want someone there to teach you how to drive or to go to whatever your version of a tourney game is, we’re there.”

“That’s really appreciated,” Carlos said, cutting himself off before he could get to the but because her face held the same clear-cut fondness Jay offered. Oh, this was it, the Auradon treatment, the pure, unconditional care so antithetical to all he’d known. That bare affection Jay could give now- here was where he must have learned it. Carlos was last to the party, the most distrustful of his friends, but he could see now how they’d all been roped in.

“You’ve had me for two turns now, but I suspect you were going to let me win,” she said. She took his queen and knocked out her own knight and king, “Checkmate, Carlos.”

After Carlos left the library, he walked into one of the small courtyards a little farther away from the family wing. It was closer to the staff offices. There were often people taking their lunch breaks out here, sitting on the edges of the shallow pools. It was a peaceful spot, except for what was going on in the right corner pool, on this particular afternoon.

Most of the splashing came from the tiger rolling around in the water, but it was amply helped by the six-year-old girl trying her best to drown her brothers.

Jay was kneeling on the tiled edge, but Aziz had gone fully into the water. They were sending big waves to douse a happily shrieking Dalia. Jay was yelling, the same affable taunting Carlos knew from the tourney field and before that, teaching younger kids how to fight.

Carlos ran towards them, stopping only to remove his socks and sneakers before stepping into the water. He sent a big wave right to Jay’s face. Dalia laughed and came over to give him a high five.

“He’s on my team!” she said.

“Oh, you’re dead, DeVil!” Jay said. He quickly got off his medical boot (only Jay would risk re-breaking an ankle to win a splashing contest) and waded in, sending a splash to Carlos. Carlos dodged and ran around, putting the tiger between the brothers and him and Dalia.

Dalia went after Aziz, and Carlos had lost sight of Jay for only half a second when his ankles were pulled out from under in.

“Ah!” Carlos yelped as he was scooped up in Jay’s arms. He threw his arms around his neck, having to grip him tight giving how wet they both were. The water fight continued around them, though Carlos found it hard to look away from Jay.

“You’re really testing that ankle,” Carlos said, but it did fill him with a relief to see Jay back at his usual strength. The smiling and laughing from Dalia and Aziz too. This was the most fun he’d seen them have all summer. Aziz yelled something at Jay in Arabic, and Jay shot something back, laughing.

“What?” Carlos said.

“He said I’m cavorting with the enemy,” Jay said, “But, I said, no, you’re my captive.” Carlos shivered, but not because of the cold water.

“That’s how this works?” Carlos said, “Keeping me locked in your castle all summer?”

“I thought so,” Jay said, “But I think you know you’ve got all the power over me.”

Carlos couldn’t think of any comeback, but it didn’t matter because Jay had leaned down to kiss him so hard his head spun. All he could think was I don’t deserve this.

But he had it, right now, so what was he going to do? Hide from it? Maybe another day, but now, the sun was shining, it was a good day, and Carlos didn’t care what he deserved. He cared about what he had.

It was a different Isle. Even Mal had to admit it. It had its dangers, new and old. But it just felt different. Maybe it was the fact that everyone was actually eating. Or the glimmer of hope that even if you weren’t getting out of here, your kids were.

Even if that process was moving at a painfully slow pace. Being here made Mal feel like she had to double down on every effort. Especially since she was being petitioned in-person almost everywhere that she went. It was so different to actually be where the problems were happening right in front of her, where they weren’t just a bad memory that slipped inside Auradon’s bubble of perfection.

Mal had developed a loose routine. Morning walks around the markets and checking in on families she’d taken an interest in. Meeting with the henchmen she’d inherited from Mom. Phone calls with Ben and other officials. Breakfast with Dad on Sundays. Then almost every night, she hung out with a rotating group of older kids. They’d shoot the shit, report on the kids under their protection, and discuss the future of their little island’s political situation.

“It’s called asylum,” Uma said. Tonight, their little group was sitting around a table at Ursula’s. Evie, Freddie, and CJ Hook had joined to sip on the shack’s signature grog and talk politics.

“We stuff the bus with as many as we can then tell the kids to declare it once they’re in Auradon. It’s not like they don’t fit the criteria of endangerment. Look, we know that Ben won’t have the heart to send back needy kids if we’ve already done the work of getting them off.”

“But then they can never come back,” Mal said, “And I don’t know where I’ll put them once they’re there. They can’t all sleep in my dorm room.” Not to mention her boyfriend would be pissed at her for pulling this stunt.

“Our lot knows how to make the most of scraps,” Freddie said. Among the townies, Freddie had stepped up to take on the lieutenant role Jay once had. But she and Uma had become close while rooming together, and Facilier usually agreed with her politics.

“I don’t know if a complete severing from what they know is necessarily a better situation,” Evie said, “If they do this, they’ll be in the care of the Auradon government, not us. We’re spread thin as it is. I think we need to deputize someone to oversee a sanctuary here and give them the resources to keep it.”

“And to keep out the people who’d come for it,” Mal said, “It’d be a huge undertaking.”

“Not necessarily. We’ve already started something like this with our little refuges. You have the castle and the muscle,” Evie said, “And you’re near shore so a separate barge could go right to it.”

“But who do we trust that won’t be gone by September?” Mal said.

“Maybe…some things are more important than a senior year at the Prep,” Uma said.

“Uma, no!” Evie said, “You need to finish school.”

“I could get my diploma by correspondence,” Uma said.

“What about college? Law school?” Evie said. Mal bit her lip. She wasn’t about to surrender her whole life in Auradon to be stuck here all alone.

“We’ll find someone,” Mal said, “Yen Sid, maybe? A Tremaine?”

“Anthony got into Auroria U,” Evie said, “His mother and aunt aren’t strong enough. And the Lady is…terrifying.”

“They’re too shady anyway and have too many grudges,” Uma said.

“Your dad, Freddie?” Evie said.

“Hmm, maybe he’d be into it,” Freddie said, “But he runs the school, you know? He represents authority. I think we need someone of our generation involved.”

“We’ll have to think on it,” Mal said, “But I like the idea. I mean, the castle’s a fortress.”

“A great thing to talk about tomorrow,” Uma said, “Because I’ve got an empty ship, no more shifts, and a girlfriend who I know isn’t looking so hot tonight for you hags.”

“Get home safe, ladies,” Evie said, following Uma out. Mal was happy to see it, oddly enough. She and Uma had been tag-teaming checking in on Eves. There was no one else Mal could trust, with Jay and Carlos gone (Evil, she wanted them here. even though Jay had been in no shape to go anywhere when they left, and she’d never drag Carlos back here or away from Jay. It just felt so wrong without them, like she was doing everything with one arm tied behind her back). Mal and Evie had only left the Isle a handful of times this summer, way less than they’d expected, and even when it was just for a few hours, the sunshine and distance did them good. There was a tired look in Evie’s eyes that make-up wasn’t hiding. They were getting great work done, they just all felt like crap.

“I should walk Celia home,” Freddie said, looking to where her little sister was cleaning up at dagger-darts, “I hope no one whose money she took comes following us.”

“With aim that good, they’d be fools to,” CJ Hook said. She turned to Mal, “Stay behind for a nightcap, fairy queen?”

“Sure thing, pirate princess,” Mal said, dead-tired but too intrigued to say no. Mal knew relatively little about CJ, couldn’t remember ever talking one-on-one with her. She knew that Hooks were a little mad, with the sea running through their veins, and all that crap. Yet CJ had ceded the title of captain to Uma without much bloodshed and done her senior year in Charmington without any trouble. Jay had once confessed to her CJ was his first crush, back in his prepubescent, pirate days, because apparently, she wrestled crocodiles. CJ’s mane of blonde curls meant Jay could hardly be alone in his admiration, unless people were scared off by the long scar going from her jawline to her cheekbone.

“You know, we had your face in the middle of that dartboard for ages,” CJ said.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Mal said, “Or more. Pretty unoriginal.”

“The wee’uns put it up,” CJ said, “Speaking of, I wanted to talk to you about this little runt who says she wants to be a pirate. I’ve got an inkling that says she’s half your sister.”

Mal narrowed her eyes, “Who says?”

“The rumor mill says you’ve got god on your paternal side. This girl’s not making a secret of her parenthood. Now, normally, I’d tell this girl to beat it, but I didn’t want to show any disrespect to you.”

“She’s not my sister,” Mal said, before lowering her voice, “I mean, she is by blood, but I don’t know her. I think her mother wants her to stay far away from me.”

CJ clucked her tongue, “You were an only child. You don’t get how this works.”

“How what works?” Mal said.

“This place is real different when you’re just you. Funny, I never put it together, but your whole little gang is all only children. That makes sense. You all needed someone watching your back.”

Mal crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, waiting for CJ to continue.

“It’s different when you’ve got little ones you have to look out for or an older sister looking out for you. Sometimes easier, sometimes a lot harder. You don’t know how guilty I felt leaving Harriet here last year. I thought I’d come back and she’d have a beauty mark just like mine.” CJ’s finger traced her scar. It had been done by something sharp. Mal had a short list of guesses what.

“But my mom told me to go, get at least a few months off of this rock while I could,” CJ said, “Now, Harriet’s got her chance, and somehow, Harry hasn’t been expelled yet. So, I’m staying behind not because anyone ever asks me whether I want to take responsibility for Mom and the ship and the gators but because it’s my lot in life.”

“Spare me the lecture. I tried. I made Lady Tremaine try to sign her up for our thing, and she said no. I see her in the markets, and she runs the other way.”

“Wow, you’re really walking on coals,” CJ said, “Look, it’s not any of my business. But I don’t think this townie kid’s sudden interest in piracy has so much to do with the cool outfits.”

“Do you think…she’s seeking me out?” Mal said.

“You’re here a lot,” CJ said.

“So…tell her if she really wants to be a pirate, she should meet you here,” Mal said.

“You sure? This isn’t some henchman you can drop when they get annoying. Sisters are permanent,” CJ said. There was a protective edge in her eye, even though CJ didn’t know Hadie from any other ragamuffin off the street.

“I know plenty about family,” Mal said, “I’ve wanted to do this. Me and my dad have been keeping an eye on her. I just haven’t known how to start.”

“Guess I can’t fault you for that,” CJ said, “Most of us start at birth.”

“CJ,” Mal said, “You’re staying here next year. Why didn’t you speak up about taking charge?”

CJ gave her a flat look, “Who said I liked your plan? Uma’s seems a lot more direct.”

“Even if we went ahead with Uma’s- which we’re not- there’ll still be kids here that need an eye on them.”

“I’m really selfish, keep in mind. Only ever claimed to care about my own blood.”

 “Seems like you’ll be in need of some people to big sister though,” Mal said, “And hey, it comes with keys to the castle.”

“I’d rather have my ship.”

“Is a ship a ship if it doesn’t sail anywhere?” Mal said, “Just think about it.”

CJ smiled, looking not unlike a crocodile baring its teeth.

The next night, Mal was there again, drinking alone in the back room. She kept it dark, with only a few candles lit on the table, and she sat with her back to the entry. There was a knock on the door- Big Murph, keeping watch. Mal grunted assent. She heard the door opening and the sound of two small feet trying to be stealthy.

“Captain,” the girl said, attempting to sound bold.

“Sit,” Mal said. She’d kept a hood up. If the girl was smart, she should have been tipped off it’s not a bandana or a tricorn hat. But she’s not that smart, or she’s just a kid, or she’s nervous and not thinking because she doesn’t realize it’s Mal until she’s about to take the seat across from her.

“You,” Hadie said, “I’m not supposed to go near you.”
“I bet you’re not supposed to patron pirate’s bars either,” Mal said, “Sit.”

She did, but she didn’t look happy about it. Despite her diminutive size, the girl had a hell of a glare. That must be the gorgon side. Mal dropped her hood. She almost smiled but then thought better of it. Her “sweet” smiles usually end up looking pretty scary

“So,” Mal said, “You know why we can’t see each other?”

“No.”

“What’d your mom tell you?”

“Nothing.”

“Your mom said to avoid me, and you just asked no questions?” Mal said.

“She just said you weren’t someone to mess with,” Hadie said, “And I shouldn’t have tried to steal from you.”

“Right on two counts,” Mal said, “But I think the main reason why your mom wants you staying away from me because we have the same dad.”

Hadie’s mouth opened and closed, like a fish, as this information rocked her kiddy brain.

“What?” she said, “We do?”

“We do,” Mal said, “And before we go any farther, I need you to swear to me, as a sister, to keep that a secret. I don’t want to scare you, but it’s dangerous to be one of his kids. He has a lot of enemies.”

“I swear. Is that why he never visits?” Hadie said. The glare had been replaced by a sadness Mal knew well.

“Yeah,” Mal said, “He wishes he could, he told me. But then his enemies would go after you, and he doesn’t want that. But he’s a god. Gods watch over you, even when you can’t see them.”

“Like, even right now?” she said.

“Yeah,” Mal said, “I’ll tell you a secret no one but my best friends know. Dad helped me beat Jafar. He gave me some of his magic.”

Hadie’s eyes were big as saucers, and she seemed to hang off Mal’s every word. She was only about two years older than Jay’s sister. Maybe you could add a year for street smarts, but that was still little. The ordeal with Jafar had scared Dalia so badly that she cried whenever her parents weren’t with her.

Maybe this was a mistake. Dad had a point about the safety of distance. Mal’s enemies weren’t gods but they were plenty dangerous. Or maybe the approach was all wrong. Mal was making up this rosy story, but one day Hadie would meet the real Dad, and he’d be, well, himself. But maybe having something good to believe in would help her survive. Either way, Mal felt she might never know if she was doing this right. She just had to keep going and feel her way through.

Mal asked her about her mom and didn’t hear any red flags. It seemed Mal’s first impression of the woman was correct- scary on the outside, but not an uncaring parent. It was a relief. If Hadie had talked about her mom the way Mal talked about Maleficent or Evie about Grimhilde, Mal would have probably picked her up and made for the mainland.

She’d also told Mal that she planned to rule the Isle one day, in a way that was painfully familiar. It was like looking in a mirror, though Mal would have the chance to make sure the worst resemblances never came to fruition.

Mal could offer some protections, but Hadie didn’t need saving. It felt more like Mal was saving the girl that had been her.

Prince Ali left his homecoming ball on a gurney. He had a broken ankle, two broken fingers, three bruised ribs, and a whole lot of residual dark magic that had to be purged out of his pores. That was a side effect of having your pectorals used as a private jet, and the only cure was to have an old woman chant over your shirtless body every morning for a week to summon black goo out of your skin.

Jay was a terrible patient. While hospitals would have been dandy to have on the Isle, Jay had decided that he hated them immensely. He repeatedly asked for whatever got Mal walking around after a couple days and was repeatedly told that magical cures on non-magical people was an emergencies-only sitch so he’d have to stick with Mother Nature and a morphine drip. He had so many bones healed wrong from past injuries that the orthopedic surgeon wanted to basically rebreak everything and start over, but Jay said hell no. Tourney camp started in July.

When he got out of the hospital, he couldn’t go an hour without a staff member or nurse or his family coming into his bedroom to bring him smoothies or fluff his pillows. It was terrible. The only tolerable person was Carlos, who ate Jay’s dessert every night and told him to stop whining over the horror of people being nice to him.

He’d had to just resign himself to taking it slow. It wasn’t all bad. The palace had started to feel like a home. He’d gotten to just be with Carlos for the whole summer. But now it was time to go back to the real world. They had only a few weeks before senior year. Jay had to get back in shape for tourney season, now that his ankle was almost healed. There was also this very important stop.

Jay walked into his father’s shop for the first time in almost a year. The tinny little bell rang above his head, but the sound barely registered given the noise of the morning behind him and the sad scene inside. For the first time in its history, Jafar’s Junk Shop had been sacked. With every step Jay took, pieces of ceramic and glass crunched under his feet. The front window had been broken, exposing the usually dark shop to an unforgiving sunlight, showcasing all the dust and mess. Most of the shelves were barren, but clearly there’d been some fighting for the best stuff, given the mess. Every staticky radio, rusty spoon, saltwater-drowned book, all gone. The merchants must have had a good week and the thieves an even better. It had taken a couple days for news to reach the Isle that Jafar was truly gone and another to hear he’d had his ass soundly whooped. That was when the neighbors got together to bust down the doors and loot the man who’d been selling their stolen property for years. Jay hoped it felt good. He hoped they laughed while they did it and no one got too hurt in the fray.

That night would have been a lot noisier than the unnatural peace of this morning. Mal had scared off everyone nasty in a block radius for Jay’s return, since he was bringing along two first-timers for a tour. But the Isle still looked much the same. Mal wanted his parents to see it in its ususal shady and beat-up glory, even on this almost pleasant, quiet summer morning.

Jay’s ankle was bothering him, and he was trying not to grimace when he put weight on it. He’d fought with his parents over leaving the bulky medical boot behind. The danger of distressing the healing ankle was far less daunting than that of Isle residents seeing a sign of weakness. People had to see he defeated Jafar and didn’t have a scratch on him.

The shop felt very small with this many bodies in it- Mal, Ben, Evie, Carlos, Mom and Dad and a bodyguard apiece. The layout of the whole place was wrong too, with the big jewelry case missing and that tall shelf knocked over and all the ceiling-high junk piles gone. The change was weird to see. He couldn’t say he missed anything about the shop, except, it felt wrong to anyone to tear this place apart but him.

“We won’t be long here,” Jay said, mostly to his parents. They were probably wondering why Jay included this stop at all, given that Mal had told him how it looked. They were probably wondering about a lot of things.

“I never realized how much stuff was in here. He was more of a hoarder than a salesman,” Evie said, “Were the shelves ever empty?”

“They were,” Jay said. And it was Jay’s job to fill them.

“I’m surprised people left the nails in the floorboards,” Carlos said, which made him smile.

Jay stepped behind the main counter and laid his palms flat on it. Standing here reminded him of the few times Jafar left him in charge. The cash register was gone, but Iago’s perch remained. Jay idly wondered what had happened to the old bird.

Jay squatted down behind the counter. There used to be a small pile of rugs here. One was left, a dusty, threadbare thing. It was hard to believe he’d ever been small enough to sleep on this narrow patch of floor. As he grew, he’d had to curl tighter and tighter to fit. The televisions were displayed behind the counter, and on many nights, he’d worried that those rickety shelves would finally collapse on top of him.

“What’s back here?” his dad murmured. Jay looked up. His dad had followed him to this spot, while his mom and Mal were talking about something across the room.

“This is where I slept,” Jay said.

“Oh,” Dad said, covering his mouth with his hand.

“Cheap security system,” Jay joked. It wasn’t really funny. He opened up the counter’s cabinets. They were empty, of course. Jay frowned. He’d definitely left a pillow and a pair of socks in there. Karma sucks.

Jay peeled the rug back and then lifted the loose floorboard underneath.  No one had found the safe hidden there. Jafar changed the combination once a week and never told Jay what it was. If Jay didn’t know, he couldn’t give it up to protect himself if thieves broke in. Also, of course, Jafar didn’t trust Jay not to steal from it. But Jay had advanced from lock-picking to safe-breaking at age twelve. Jafar definitely thought he was too stupid to learn, even when Jay brought him loot stolen right from other families’ safes. Jay put a hand in the crack between the counter and the wall where he kept an old stethoscope. He’d bought it off Dr. Facilier (a personal rule of his was do not steal from guys who talk to demons). Jay listened for the familiar clicks as he worked the lock. It only took a few minutes before the safe was open.

“I’m impressed,” his dad said. He’d bent down to Jay’s level to watch, which was better than being loomed over.

“It’s nothing,” Jay said. He hung the stethoscope around his neck.

Inside was the cashbox, the books, and some journals. Jay parsed through the journals first. They seemed to be notes on spells and magic, similar to the library scrolls. He opened the ledgers which recorded every transaction from the shop- what was sold, who it was sold to, how much paid for pawns, who had pawned what. Every few lines, a single “J” would show up with a “golden necklace, broken” or “copper coil, TV part”. J always had a blank square where a payment should go, but nevertheless, he always came back.

Jay sighed and pulled more stuff out- a couple of broken gems, a spyglass, a fancy set of quills. Finally, tucked into the back, was a tightly wrapped cream bundle. Unraveled, the finely woven blanket was small enough that only an infant could be fully wrapped up in it.

It might not be that.

But why lock a blanket in a safe if it isn’t?

Jay hadn’t touched the blanket or any of Jafar’s personal effects when he played with the safe in the past. He skimmed a few coins here and there when he needed to, but this wasn’t something he could fiddle around with at leisure. Safe-breaking practice had to be saved for middle of the night or when Jafar was out on buying trips around the Isle.

Even if Jay had found it before, he would have just thought it odd and moved on. He wouldn’t have deduced the truth from a blanket. Every extra minute he spent as Jafar’s son feels like a loss. But it’s a loss he’ll have to live with.

He left the blanket inside but took the journals, the ledgers, and the spyglass. He didn’t bother to close the safe door either- let the scavengers take what they wanted.

“Whatcha got?” Carlos said.

“Want this?” Jay said, tossing the spyglass at him. He passed Mal and Evie the journals. He kept the ledger. Maybe he’d thumb through them later, see if there was anything that he’d stolen that would have really been missed. Maybe he could find a way to return things to their rightful owners.

They look around the back apartment, which had also been picked bare. Even the bedframe was gone, though the large cabinet hutch was still screwed into the wall. Its shelves and drawers were empty. Someone would be claiming this real estate after today, when it’s clear that Jay’s not ever moving back in. Two rooms, a central location in town, the working kitchen. It’d be a fight. Once, this would have been the sum of his inheritance.

Everyone started drifting back to the front, until it was just Carlos and Jay.

“Can you feel nostalgic about a place where you weren’t happy?” Jay said.

“It was home,” Carlos said simply, because he would get it too.

It was kind of depressing seeing the place reduced to this. It was the only childhood home he was ever going to get. Sometimes this place had been safer than the world outside. Sometimes a source of pride, a museum of Jay’s successful steals, the domain of the formerly all-powerful. And sometimes it was just where he dusted shelves and watched TV and took icy showers. 

 “One thing before we go,” Jay said, “Do you have your screwdriver?”

“Always,” Carlos said, unzipping his pants pocket. He handed it to Jay. Jay opened the cabinet door and unscrewed the lock on it, removing the whole thing. He stuck it in his pocket.

“Okay. Let’s go,” Jay said.