Mal jumped in next to Harry and Jay, who stood back to back, swerving and deflecting blows in a coordinated effort. Behind them, Carlos and Gil worked together, dashing and darting about, attempting to attack an indomitable knight from both sides.
Mal dueled with the lead knight, her bluish-purple hair flying behind her. Their swords collided midair with a shudder. The knight shifted his weight and gained advantage over Mal. Just in time, Uma yelped loudly and distracted the knight long enough for Mal to spin away. She turned and found herself standing face to face with yet another attacking knight. Mal groaned. The unyielding knights kept coming.
The unstoppable armor army was on its way to easily trouncing the band of VKs. Their swords moved so quickly they were a blur. Mal looked around the hall at her friends, who stumbled with exhaustion. They fought valiantly but were overwhelmed and overmatched. Mal’s eyes flashed green with focus. She pushed through the chaos, made her way back up to the platform, and stared at the doomed battle scene below. With a confident, clear voice, she incanted: “Suit of armor, strong and true, make this armor bust a move.” Then she raised her arms high and launched into a sick dance move. Having fallen under Mal’s spell, the knights raised their swords and duplicated Mal’s dance move, swaying their hips from side to side.
Catching on, Uma jumped onto the platform beside Mal. She popped it and pumped it, causing the seashells on her jacket to rattle. The knights repeated every one of her moves. Carlos, too, put the knights through a complex combination. Celia, not wanting to miss out on what now looked like fun, ran back into the hall and rejoined the others. The knights matched the teens’ hip-hop moves step for step, and one by one, the metal soldiers exhausted themselves and dropped to the floor with a clatter, collapsing into a large heap of metal. The lead knight, last to fall, toppled with a deafening crash.
Exhilarated by victory, Mal and Uma forgot themselves. They smiled at each other and high-fived. Behind them, Jay and Harry chest-bumped while Gil and Carlos shared congrats. The moment was sweet until the two sides remembered they were supposed to be sworn enemies. The teens separated quickly into their two distinct cliques, abandoning any sign of friendship that had been there just moments before. Mal, Jay, and Carlos stood to one side, while Uma, Gil, and Harry stood to the other.
Only Evie jumped forward. “No. Guys, come on,” she said. “This was so great. We were a team. We worked together. Come on, admit it.”
Everyone glared at Evie in silence, but she remained undeterred. They’d already done the hard part of coming together; now they just had to acknowledge it.
“You know what we should try? An icebreaker. You say something you really like about the other person. I’ll start.” Evie turned to Harry and thoughtfully considered her options. “Harry. Great accent,” she said. “Now you go.”
Uma rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated breath. “Is she always this perky?”
“Oh, it wasn’t your turn, but thank you,” Evie gushed.
Mal turned to Evie and took both of her hands in hers. “Evie, I love you.” Evie broke into a huge smile. “I love you, too.” Her icebreaker was working—or maybe it wasn’t.
Mal continued. “I love the energy, but we’re very short on time. Audrey clearly knows we’re here. And we need to get out of here ASAP.”
“All right, where does this cheerleader bunk down?” asked Uma. “If she’s not there, we might find some sort of clue.”
“Actually, she’s still in the dorm,” offered Evie.
“You’re right, because of summer school,” said Mal.
“Summer school,” Harry said, scrunching up his face in utter disgust. “No wonder she wants revenge.”
Mal pointed to Jay, Carlos, Dude, Harry, and Gil. “Okay, I need you guys to go find Ben. We will meet back at Evie’s place in two hours.”
“Sounds like we’re going with my plan,” boasted Uma. “Just sayin’.”
“It was kinda the obvious plan,” said Mal.
Gil piped up. “Uma said it first.”
“Right, so my plan,” Uma said, gratified. She high-fived Harry and Gil, proud of her small victory over Mal.
“Whatever!” Mal exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air as she headed out of the hall.
Every villain has her lair. If I were Sleeping Beauty’s daughter, where would I hide? And yes, I know my mother would know the answer to that question. That helps me how?
In Audrey’s dorm room, Uma stretched out on the lavish bed and flipped through Audrey’s journal. She leafed through the pages, reading the private thoughts Audrey had recorded in her loopy cursive handwriting. Ever since Mal arrived at Auradon Prep, Audrey had felt invisible at school. And at home, her family acted like she’d let them down. Uma scanned another page. Audrey was humiliated and heartbroken when Ben publicly declared his love for Mal. Uma had assumed Audrey was some privileged rich girl, but maybe it wasn’t that simple.
Uma was absorbed in Audrey’s journal when Mal and Evie ran into the room out of breath. “She’s nowhere on campus,” Evie panted. They’d checked the cafeteria, searched the tourney field, and even rummaged around in the library. Audrey had left a long trail of pink fog and sleeping students in her wake, but the sorceress herself had vanished.
“Found her diary,” said Uma. “And dang, did you ruin Audrey’s life.”
Mal was starting to feel kind of bad. “Okay, so did you find anything in there we don’t already know, or…”
“She hangs out at Fairy Cottage. You know, where Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather hid her mom from your mom,” Uma told Mal. The pirate leader rubbed her hands together and hooted with evil glee.
“Yes, ha ha ha, the irony is not lost on me,” said Mal.
Uma lifted her head from a poufy down pillow and ran her fingertips along the dreamy silk comforter. It was all so luxurious. “How could anyone with this bed ever be unhappy?” she wondered aloud. Kids on the Isle were lucky if they had a bale of hay to sleep on. Uma herself had spent many a night sleeping on the hard wood planks of her pirate ship.
Evie nodded silently and thought, Note to self: every VK gets a great new pillow and comforter. She added it to her long mental to-do list. Thanks to the future Queen Mal, Auradon would soon be home to every villain kid who wanted to live there. Evie smiled at the beautiful thought. Of course, there was so much to do to get ready for the new students to move into the dorms. Speaking of whom…
Celia had been busy pilfering through Audrey’s vanity, and she swiveled around, proud to model her new image. “Okay, how do I look?” she asked, striking a pose. She wore several gold bangles, three strands of pearls, and Audrey’s signature bluebird tiara. With Celia, more was more.
Evie looked her up and down. “Okay, the bling stays here,” instructed Evie.
“But she’s bad,” Celia said, pouting.
“And we’re not,” replied Evie.
Celia removed the tiara with a disappointed sigh.
Mentoring all the young VKs who’d be moving from the Isle wasn’t going to be easy, but there was nothing in the world Evie would rather do.
Meanwhile, Jay, Carlos, Harry, and Gil trudged down an overgrown path deep in the Auradon forest. They called out for Ben. Dude sniffed around the trees for any sign of the king. Gil, who was in his own little joy bubble, scarfed down tiny red berries directly off a bush. “These things grow everywhere,” he said with doltish wonder, popping another one into his mouth. “Hey, we should play that icebreaker. Um, Jay, I like the way that you can bounce around and jump off things,” he said with a mouthful of fruit and bright berry juice dripping down his chin.
After years of stealing rotting food from rickety stalls and foraging through dumpsters for dinner, Gil was in paradise. “This is free, right?” he asked, plucking off two more handfuls of berries.
Jay found Gil’s attitude refreshing and decided to play his game. “Yeah. I like how you get a kick out of a berry bush,” he told Gil.
Gil looked slightly embarrass
ed. “I guess you’ve probably seen everything by now, huh? Furry rocks, giant fish. You’re probably used to grabbing lunch off a bush.”
Now it was Jay’s turn to be a little embarrassed. “No—I mean, no, not really,” he said. “I mean, I mainly just use the vending machines at practice. You know, tourney kind of eats up most of my time.”
Harry snorted derisively. “Tourney? That’s a wee boy’s game.”
Jay ignored him.
“You know what would be fun?” Gil said, looking out over Auradon dreamily. “To go rafting down a jungle river,”
“Find a lost civilization,” said Jay, taking a shine to the idea. He’d been in Auradon a while but hadn’t seen much of the country. He let the thought rattle around in his head as he grabbed a mouthful of berries. They were delicious.
“Or maybe a penguin,” said Gil. He’d once seen a clip of the funny little birds while watching reruns on TV, and he liked how they wobbled.
“Well, you find those more on, like, icebergs,” remarked Jay. “But I’d love to see one of those.”
Harry found the cheery tone of their conversation sickening. He sauntered over and sneered. “You guys are killing me.” The swashbuckler glided up to the bush and slowly picked a single berry with his glinting hook. He put it in his mouth, in what seemed like slow motion, and smiled. Much to his annoyance, Jay and Gil were right. The fruit was delicious.
Hoping to save face, Harry pointed his hook down a dark, shadowy forest path. “And PS: the mutt went thataway.”
“Dude, what do you see?” shouted Carlos, running off. They had a king to find. Harry and Gil followed. But Jay hung back for a moment and returned to the simple berry bush. With a new sparkle in his eye, he picked one more. Something felt right about that small act of freedom.
Two hours later, Mal, Evie, and Uma hurried toward Evie’s starter castle, ready to reunite with the boys as planned. Celia raced ahead.
“I hope they found Ben,” said Mal, thinking of how happy she’d be to see him.
As they walked up the path, Uma eyed Evie’s picturesque castle. She was truly impressed. Evie hadn’t inherited the home like the other spoiled little Auradon princesses Uma loathed. Evie’s success was self-made, and Uma respected that. “Nice digs,” said Uma, and she meant it.
“I got a really good deal,” said Evie. She shrugged modestly and downplayed her good fortune for Uma’s benefit.
Celia reached the front door first, threw it open, and bounded into Evie’s living room. Her face fell when she spotted Squeaky and Squirmy tangled up in each other’s arms, deep asleep on a comfy gray couch. Their glasses sat askew on their sweet slumbering faces.
Mal, Evie, and Uma took in the tragic scene. Evie’s heart nearly broke when she saw innocent little Dizzy curled up on the other end of the couch. She was still dressed in her green-and-pink ruffled dress and vintage stone brooch, ready for a party she never got to attend. Instead, she tossed and turned from a bad dream.
Celia reached over and did her best to soothe her buddy. “Don’t worry, Dizzy. We can fix this.” She covered Dizzy with a soft red afghan. “And once we do, they’re going to let all the kids come from the Isle. So happy dreams, okay?”
Evie and Uma smiled at each other, their hearts warmed by hearing their shared VK goal mentioned aloud. Mal looked away, her face covered by a veil of guilt.
The tender moment was cut short by a booming snore that sounded from the next room. The noise startled the wits out of all four girls. Uma followed the thundering sound through the doorway and stepped into Evie’s glass work space, where she discovered Doug sprawled out on an imported area rug. “Who’s the dude?” asked Uma.
Evie ran to Doug and shook him. “Doug. Wake up, wake up.”
“He’s spelled,” said Uma. She turned to Mal, confused. “Is she not a fast learner?”
“She’s emotionally involved, okay?” said Mal.
“In that case, she should be able to wake him up. True Love’s Kiss? Works every time?” said Uma wryly. Her own plot to take over Auradon had been spoiled the past spring by one such kiss between Mal and Ben. The memory still smarted. Uma looked at Evie expectantly and braced herself for the mushy moment.
Evie diverted her eyes. “We haven’t actually used the L-word yet,” she confessed bashfully.
Uma raised her eyebrows. This was going to be good.
Evie looked at Doug adoringly. His head rested on a shagged pillow; his right arm was folded behind his head. She placed her hand affectionately on Doug’s forehead, as if ready to wake him with a kiss. Then she furrowed her brow in a self-conscious expression and straightened back up quickly.
“Can we be alone?”
Uma and Mal exchanged knowing looks, walked out, and shut the door behind them. Then they immediately popped their heads back around the carved-wood doorway to watch. As if they were about to miss the big kiss!
Evie looked at Doug in abject panic. She cared about Doug more than anything. He was kindhearted and funny, and his unwavering belief in Evie was something she’d never experienced before. For Evie, Doug was definitely the one. She thought they both felt the same, but she didn’t know for sure. They’d never actually talked about it. Does he love me, does he not? Do I love him? Is it strong enough? she thought.
What if she kissed him, a real True Love’s Kiss, and he didn’t wake up? She couldn’t bear the thought. But this was Doug and her, and they were perfect together. She stepped outside to think.
With a burst of realization, Evie flew back inside to Doug and kissed him on the lips. But Doug didn’t wake from the spell—or so it seemed. Behind his glasses, Doug opened one green eye, then shut it sneakily, in hopes of getting another kiss.
Evie caught him in the act and playfully swatted his knee. She tried to stay mad but couldn’t. The kiss settled it. What Doug and Evie shared was definitely true love.
Mal smiled at her two friends, super happy for them. Then she looked at the clock with concern. Jay and the guys should have been there by then. She frowned and hoped they hadn’t run into trouble.
Who knew my perfectly regal boyfriend had a wild side? I like it….
Jay, Carlos, Gil, Harry, and Dude walked through the woods in search of Ben.
“Ben,” shouted Carlos. His call echoed through the tall trees.
Dude heard a rustling sound coming from a patch of trees and paused. “Woo, boy, you’ve got to be smelling that, right?” He stuck his little wet nose in the air.
Without warning, a terrible beast with wild eyes, matted fur, and a booming roar burst out from behind the trees.
Each of the four boys raised his fists (or hook) in a defensive stance, ready to fight the brute. The beast lunged toward Harry, but Jay quickly pulled the pirate out of the way.
Harry studied the untamed creature that growled in front of him. Granted, he hadn’t been in Auradon very long, but he knew a king when he saw one—and this was not it. The pirate looked pointedly at Dude. “You need some serious nose adjustments,” he critiqued.
Carlos stepped forward tentatively to take a closer look at the feral creature. The beast had familiar eyes. “Ben?” Carlos asked.
The beast turned toward Carlos and nodded his enormous furry head.
“Huh, I thought I recognized those pants,” said Jay, noting the beast’s blue racing pants with yellow side stripes. The outfit looked familiar, with one notable difference: the pants now sported a large hole in back, through which the beast’s long bushy tail whipped around wildly.
The beast clawed his way up a dirt mound, clutched his large paw, and roared with monstrous pain.
“Aw, he’s got a boo-boo,” said Gil. “That’s why he’s so cranky. You know, my dad said his dad did not handle pain well. At all.”
Beast Ben let out a deafening and dangerous-sounding growl, drew back his massive arm, and took a savage swipe at Gil.
Jay looked at Carlos. “You’re good with animals. Do something.”
“What? Okay…”
Carlos took a deep calming breath and approached the untamed brute with cautious steps. “Hey, Ben. It’s me, Carlos, all right?”
The beast snarled, bared his teeth, and launched toward Carlos.
“Whoa, whoa, Ben, it’s me, Carlos. You know me.” Carlos reached for the beast’s injured paw. The creature snatched it back with a deep, intimidating howl.
“You helped me once. Remember, with Dude? Let me help you. Let me see your hand,” said Carlos tenderly.
The beast relaxed and reluctantly held out his paw. A large gnarly splinter was stuck in his palm, the flesh around it puckered angrily.
Carlos looked from the nasty wound to the beast’s pointy teeth and hesitated. Jay nodded at Carlos with confidence; he could do this.
“Let’s count. One, two, three.” Carlos gently grabbed the splinter with both hands, tugged, and removed the offending wood shaving from the beast’s palm. With the piercing pain gone, the beast released a deafening roar of relief.
“There it is. You did it!” said Carlos. It was unclear if he was talking to the beast or to himself.
Out of nowhere, a forceful stream of water blasted the terrifying beast in the chest. All heads turned to find Jane standing in the forest clearing, looking intrepid and no-nonsense. She aimed Chad’s water gun at the beast and squirted him with a rapid-fire stream of water from the Enchanted Lake.
Carlos and Jane locked eyes and wasted no time in sprinting toward each other. They hugged happily and talked over each other in excitement. “When you didn’t show up, I was sure she got you, too,” said Jane, taking Carlos’s hand.
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