Rise of the Isle of the Lost

by Melissa de la Cruz

  “It is—trust me,” said Uma. “With that trident, we can buy our ticket out of here.”

  Harry shrugged. “I hope so. We’re all counting on it.”

  “You think this will work?” asked Lonnie, as she and Ben watched a group of strongmen from Agrabah take sledgehammers to the Great Wall. The stone crumbled underneath their blows, and soon enough, there was a hole big enough to see through to the other side, where a similar group of imperial soldiers was doing the same thing.

  “I hope so,” said Ben, waving to Charlie, who waved back from his part of the wall.

  When the hole was big enough to walk through, Ben crossed from the desert kingdom into Northern Wei’s territory, the Grand Vizier by his side.

  “Welcome to Stone City,” said Charlie, bowing to the Grand Vizier.

  “It is an honor to be here,” said the Grand Vizier, bowing low as well. The two shook hands, and Charlie motioned for the group to take a seat on his porch, where they could watch the construction from a safe distance.

  Ben had sent a pigeon to carry a message over the wall after he had convinced the Grand Vizier of his plan. Charlie then forwarded the message to the Emperor for approval. The Imperial City had sent its response—a white dove that meant the plan was approved.

  And so, for the first time in the history of the Great Wall, there was going to be a door to Stone City on the other side. The people of Agrabah would no longer need to fly their carpets over the wall in order to get access, and the people of Stone City would no longer be aggravated by the noise from the pesky things.

  “After all, we are not enemies,” said Charlie. “We are neighbors and friends, and have been for thousands of years. The wall was built for one purpose, but now must serve another.”

  “Not enemies at all,” agreed the Grand Vizier, slurping his bubble tea and chewing noisily on the tapioca balls. “What is this amazing concoction?”

  Charlie explained the provenance and the ingredients that went into the making of bubble tea, and the Grand Vizier declared he would press the Sultan to serve it during their festival, which was coming up in a month or so.

  Ben laughed, glad to see that the dispute had been resolved amicably.

  The two kingdoms also agreed that the olive trade would be overseen by foremen from both sides of the wall, and that the Stone City and Agrabah would both take care of harvesting the olives and pruning the trees. The desert farmers even offered to teach the villagers how to nurture and care for the trees, and in turn the villagers offered to trade recipes and other spices. A few Stone City farmers even suggested planting olive trees on their side of the wall, although the Grand Vizier told Ben in confidence that he wasn’t sure that was a feasible idea, since the climates of the two kingdoms differed greatly. Olive trees were a desert fruit, and the Stone City’s mountainous terrain would not be conducive to its flowering. But who knew? Ben reminded them they lived in Auradon after all, where the impossible had a way of becoming possible: where street rats married Sultans’ daughters, and awkward girls grew up to be great warriors.

  Ben and Lonnie bade their goodbyes to Charlie and the Grand Vizier. “You must come visit us again, especially during harvest season,” said Charlie.

  “I will.”

  “See you at the Agrabah Festival,” said the Grand Vizier.

  “I look forward to it.”

  “And thank you again, young lady, for being brave enough to change an old man’s mind,” said the Grand Vizier to Lonnie.

  Lonnie bowed low in appreciation.

  “They’re bringing your horses now,” said Charlie. “Safe journey back.”

  Ben thanked them again, and watched as Charlie and the villagers retired to their side of the wall and the Grand Vizier and his entourage exited to their side. But a few workers from both cities stayed at the site, finishing up the construction of the Great Wall’s first Great Door.

  “Where did you get the idea to apologize like that?” Ben asked Lonnie, when their new friends were out of earshot.

  “From my mother,” said Lonnie. “I realized not every dispute has to be resolved with a sword. She said that sometimes a good apology can also do the trick. Mushu is always apologizing, by the way.”

  “Of course he is,” said Ben, chuckling.

  They headed toward the royal jet, when all of a sudden a strange whirlwind surrounded Ben.

  “Don’t be afraid!” a voice boomed. “Just stay still.”

  “Ben?” Lonnie called fearfully. “What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know,” he replied, as the whirlwind around him twirled faster and faster. “But I think it’s okay.” He recognized that voice, so he remained still and wondered where this next journey would take him.

  “Foggy,” said Harry, as he steered the ship away from the Isle of the Lost and toward the Isle of the Doomed, where the treasure chest containing Ursula’s necklace was supposed to be buried. “I don’t recall ever seeing this much fog in the bay.”

  “Do you think it’s a bad sign?” asked Uma, who was still perched against the rail, gazing out at the bowsprit. A gorgeously carved mermaid adorned the long wooden pole. Sculpted with almost lifelike detail, it was painted in shades of teal and coral, the colors of the sea.

  “I don’t think it’s any sign at all. Sometimes a fog is just a fog.” Harry shrugged.

  “I’m sure you’re right, but it still gives me the chills. I know there’s no magic here, but it’s not much of a start. How we will navigate through all this fog?” Uma asked. They had sailed into a dense patch of gray. It was all around them, on their arms and in their noses. It left a cool, damp feeling on her face, like cold perspiration.

  “I don’t mind, and there are many ways to sail in the fog. Leave the navigation to me,” Harry continued. “There are far worse things in the sea than a gray sky. Try sailing through ten-foot waves or one-hundred-mile-an-hour winds.”

  “I see your point.”

  Harry was trying to sound optimistic. He was the one with the sea legs. He wasn’t supposed to be afraid, not out here. But it wasn’t the sea that bothered him. Their destination was another matter. The Isle of the Doomed wasn’t exactly a paradise. That was probably why Yen Sid had hidden the broken necklace in a treasure chest on the smaller island in the first place. No one from the Isle of the Lost ever visited the Isle of the Doomed—not if they could help it. It was rumored to be haunted, and Maleficent’s fortress loomed, tall and forbidding, over its desolate landscape. The island’s only inhabitants were the descendants of goblins loyal to the evil fairy. There must be some reason they call it the Isle of the Doomed, Harry thought. But he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out what it was—or if the rumors he heard about it were true.

  Even with the fog, they sailed smoothly. The winds were light, but the ship moved at a respectable clip, cutting through the waves, edging ever closer to the shore.

  “I wish the fog weren’t so dense. I’d like to get a better sense of the beach before we set anchor. There could be rocks or…” said Harry. Then he stopped.

  “What?” asked Uma.

  “I don’t know. This is a forbidden place. There could be anything hiding in those waters, and this fog isn’t helping. There could be spikes—iron ones, submerged below the waterline—obstacles to keep boats from landing on the island. This might not be as easy as we expect, Uma.”

  Harry thought about what else could be out there. Goblins swarming over that beach, or traps, or who knows what. Anything could be hiding in a fog this thick.

  “Let’s stop here,” Harry announced. “We’ll drop anchor and row out in small boats. We’ll make a smaller target, harder to spy on, and if there’s anything in the water we’ll be able to see it more easily.”

  Uma protested at first. She didn’t like his suggestion. It would only slow things down. She was ready to be bold and take chances, and she told him so. But she went along with Harry, for now. “Fine,” she said at last. “We’ll do it your way.”

  So
they rowed out with the crew in small wooden boats, hugging the sea, creeping toward the dark beach, their hulls grinding against the sand as they made shore. Uma was the first out of the boat, her feet falling into the cold water. It drenched her up to the knees. The sand here was gray, like the sky and the fog that still choked the air. Goblin Beach was dark and deserted, ghostly under the moonlight.

  “At least it’s empty. No goblins,” said Uma.

  “Not yet,” Harry said.

  “All right, Sophie said Yen Sid left some sort of clue, a trail,” said Uma.

  “Like a path?” asked Harry.

  “Maybe, but I don’t think it’s anything that obvious,” said Uma. “I’m certain it’s as hidden as the chest itself.” She eyed the distant fortress, tall and dark, its black stones wreathed in angry thorns. And she swore it glowed a strange color—something like purple, but at times it shifted, turning to shades of green, like the photos Uma had seen of the aurora borealis. But the colors were gone as soon as she glanced at it, vanishing as if they had never been there at all. “Let’s head toward the castle.”

  “Are you sure?” said Harry. “That place is filled with goblins. We don’t want those little guys to find out we’re looking for something valuable, or they’re bound to try and steal it.”

  “We’re only heading toward it, dummy. I didn’t say anything about crossing the moat.”

  “Good, as I’m more of a seafaring adventurer, less of an evil-castle explorer.”

  “We all are,” mumbled Gil.

  The pale sand of the fog-shrouded beach gave way to a forest of gray thorn-infested trees. Their trunks wound every which way, growing in seemingly unnatural patterns, curling in upon themselves or twisting into odd spirals, as if some mad gardener had tortured them, forcing their limbs to twist into tangled bunches. It made for slow going, and more than once Harry was forced to draw his cutlass and hack through the thorns and the trees. Even the ferns were dense, and he hacked at those as well.

  “At least there’s no goblins,” he said as he slashed at a thorn tree, slicing clear through its base, sending it tumbling to the side. The dense forest at the shoreline thinned as they drove deeper into it. It soon cleared, and they were walking around in low grass. Harry sheathed his blade.

  “Now that Harry has graciously led us through the thorns, I think we can spread out,” said Uma.

  “What do we do if we find anything?” asked Harry.

  “Just yell,” said Uma, brazen as ever.

  “But that might draw the attention of you-know-what.” He eyed the imposing fortress.

  “Live a little,” said Uma. “And quit your worrying. “We’ve come this far, haven’t we?”

  Gil humphed, and Harry rolled his eyes.

  The crew dispersed, fanning out in all directions—eager to search for treasure, but always aware of the fortress, which seemed to watch over them, its tower looming in the distance.

  Harry went toward what looked like a jungle. Desiree lingered at the thorny grove, while Uma and Gil headed toward the castle’s base, where smaller trees grew amidst tumbled stones.

  Harry hacked his way into the jungle. They were looking for a trail. Most of those were on the ground, he thought, but the earth here was covered in a thick layer of underbrush, and the trees grew so closely together he had to press each branch aside with his shoulders while he hacked at the ferns with his cutlass, his hook gathering up what was shorn and tossing it aside. Each time he cleared a patch of ferns or some other jungle plant, there was nothing resting beneath it—nothing that looked like a path, at least.

  He turned to see if Uma and Gil had made any progress, but they had disappeared into the rocks. He wiped the sweat from his brow and wondered if this was all just a waste of time. The jungle was too dense; they’d never find a trail here. Maybe they needed a new strategy. He turned, following the path that he had already cut through the forest, hoping to find Uma and the others.

  On his way back, he hacked at a particularly old and tangled branch, one he had pushed aside when he’d first come through. The branch fell, leaving a slender stump dangling from the face of the tree. There was a cut below the stump, and at first Harry mistook it for the stroke of his own blade. But he had been making slender cuts that went from side to side. This was something altogether different. It was a carving. When the clouds cleared and a bit of light shone through the canopy, he noticed that it formed a distinct pattern.

  “I’ve found something!” he called out, loudly but not too loudly, still concerned he might draw the goblins’ attention. A moment passed. He glanced up at Maleficent’s fortress, wondering if hundreds of the crafty little creatures were watching him.

  Mal shifted her weight from foot to foot as the four of them stood on the rug in Fairy Godmother’s office, where just yesterday they had surrendered their evil talismans. They definitely weren’t those heroes anymore. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach. This was the exact opposite of what she had intended to happen when she’d taken on Arabella’s problem. She’d only meant to help a friend, but she’d gotten them all in trouble in the process.

  “I’m sorry, guys,” Mal whispered.

  Evie put an arm around Mal. “It’s okay.”

  “We’re all in this together,” said Jay. “We go down as one.”

  “I just hope we’re not really going down,” said Carlos.

  Fairy Godmother finished locking the door and stood in front of the group. She stared at each of them in turn with a frosty glare. “What is the meaning of this? Outside of school property and past the security gate down at Belle’s Harbor! The rules are there to keep you kids safe, you know.”

  Mal grimaced as Evie and Carlos looked chagrined, but Jay tried for a winning smile. “You see, Fairy G, we were—”

  “Hush!” said Fairy Godmother, putting up her palm.

  “We were just—” said Mal softly.

  “Hush!” said Fairy Godmother again.

  They all began to talk all at once. “We were night-swimming!” said Jay.

  “We saw in the magic mirror that…” said Evie.

  “Auradon is in danger,” said Carlos.

  “Uma can’t win!” cried Mal.

  “One at a time!” said Fairy Godmother.

  Once again, they all started to speak at the same time.

  “You go ahead,” said Mal to Evie.

  “No, you go,” said Evie to Carlos.

  “You explain,” said Carlos to Jay.

  “I will,” said Jay. “Well, you see, Fairy G, it’s like this…” he began.

  “Stop,” said Mal. “I know what you’re about to say.” Jay was an experienced and practiced liar, and no doubt he’d already come up with a good story and was fabricating some details in his mind.

  “You do?” asked Jay.

  “Whatever it is, it’s not the truth. And I think we need to tell the truth tonight,” said Mal, sticking her hands into her jacket pockets, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

  “Are you sure?” said Jay.

  “I would prefer the truth,” said Fairy Godmother, sounding amused for the first time that evening.

  “I’m sure,” said Mal.

  Fairy Godmother nodded. “Also, I must inform you that this is a very serious offense indeed. Stealing something that doesn’t belong to you goes against every rule we have in Auradon. I’m afraid if you are found guilty of such a crime, you will all be expelled from Auradon Prep and sent back to the Isle of the Lost.”

  “Sent back!” cried Evie.

  Carlos went pale.

  Jay gulped.

  Mal balled her hands into fists, frustrated. They were only trying to help. Uma was out there, and the trident was within her reach—not to mention that of all the other villains who were searching for it.

  “So, yes, I dearly hope you have a good explanation for this.” Fairy Godmother crossed her arms, still holding her wand like a weapon.

  Maybe it was time to come clean, and confess all—Arabell
a’s mischief, the missing trident, and their plan to recover it.

  “You see, Fairy Godmother…” said Mal. She was just about to admit everything, when who should burst into the office but the King of Auradon himself.

  Ben entered the room wearing a dusty regiment uniform, Jane at his heels. Before Mal could say anything more, Ben held up his hand. “What’s going on here?” he asked. “Mal? What happened?”

  “Oh! Ben,” said Fairy Godmother. “I’m so glad you’re here! We have a situation.”

  “I can see that,” said Ben mildly. “Someone care to tell me what it is?”

  “Fairy Godmother caught us in a restricted area by Belle’s Harbor,” said Mal. “On the royal speedboat.”

  “I see,” said Ben, frowning.

  “They were in the middle of stealing it,” said Fairy Godmother, her voice rising an octave. “This is exactly what we feared when we let villains into Auradon.”

  I can explain, Mal mouthed when the headmistress wasn’t looking.

  Ben held his elbow with one hand and scratched his chin with the other. “Actually, Fairy Godmother, they were doing nothing of the sort. They weren’t breaking any rules. They were down at the harbor because I sent them there.”

  “Right, we’ll put them on the first boat back to the Isle of the Lost….Wait, what?” said Fairy Godmother. “Excuse me? What did you say?”

  “They weren’t doing anything wrong. Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos were on a secret mission for me, which is why they were on the royal speedboat. Because I told them to take it,” said Ben firmly. “And that’s why they couldn’t explain what they were up to: because they knew it was confidential.”

  “They were on a secret mission for you? Did I hear that correctly?” Fairy Godmother cupped an ear.

  Ben yelled into it. “Yes!” He exchanged a meaningful look with Mal.

  “Ben, you don’t have to do this,” she whispered.