HOOKED ↝ DESCENDANTS

[7]

"Ben!" Carlos shouted as Rosalie and the boys trekked through the forest surrounding Auradon Prep, the young princess analyzing every small footprint and every broken twig to be sure they were going the right way after the King of Auradon, Dude trotting along beside her following his scent.

"Ben!" Jay called out as they continued to walk, bringing up the rear of the group as Carlos and Gil hung out near the middle, with Harry weaving his way through the trees.

Rosalie knelt down, studying a footprint she knew to be from the tennis shoes Ben typically wore on his days off, and she smiled thoughtfully, relieved that they were heading in the right direction. While she might not have known where the Beast was lumbering off to, she knew that, no matter what, she wouldn't stop until they found him. The boys seized the opportunity of her studying the footprint to take a short break, Gil wandering over to a berry bush between a couple of trees while Carlos took a seat atop a fallen log.

"These things just grow everywhere," Gil said in awe, reaching forward and plucking one from the leaves. He popped the berry into his mouth, a surprised smile crossing his face at the tart taste as he reached back for another one. "Hey," he said, turning back to the group. "We should play that ice breaker. Jay, I like the way that you can bounce around and jump off things." he looked back at the berry in his hand. "These are free, right?"

"Yeah," Jay confirmed, smiling in amusement as he walked up to Gil and the bush. "Um," he chuckled, "I like how you get a kick out of a berry bush."

Gil smiled softly, though it soon faded. "I guess you've probably seen everything by now, huh? Furry rocks, giant fish. You're probably used to grabbing lunch off a bush."

As he spoke, Rosalie felt her heart lurch softly, though she never took her eyes off the ground, searching for Ben's next footprint. She'd lived her entire life in Auradon, and the things she knew to be completely mundane, Gil thought to be completely magical, as he'd lived his entire life not knowing they existed. She'd heard stories about how hard the VKs had it growing up on the Isle, even visited the place herself, though she'd never known just how different their upbringings had been. Gil seemed to be nice enough, despite his upbringing on the Isle of the Lost with his father Gaston and his loyalty to Uma and the rest of the Pirates.

"No, I mean, no, not really," Jay assured him, plucking a berry from the bush and popping it into his mouth. "I mainly just use the vending machines at practice. You know, tourney, kind of eats up most of my time, so..." he trailed off as Harry burst into laughter, leaning against a tree for support.

"Tourney?" Harry asked in disbelief, "That's a wee boy's game."

"You should try the ice breaker, too." Gil said to Harry, searching around until his eyes landed on Rosalie. "You say something nice about Rosalie, and Rosalie, then you say something nice about Harry."

"I'm not doing a bloody ice breaker," Harry shook his head, leaning back against the tree as Rosalie rose back to her feet, dusting the dirt from the forest floor off of her pants.

"Oh come on, it's fun," Gil assured him. "All you have to do is say something you like about her."

Harry sighed, "Whatever, whatever," his eyes found their way back to Rosalie, studying the girl before his eyes moved to the object in her hand. "Rosalie, I like that you can fight your battles with something as silly as a frying pan."

Rosalie glanced down briefly at the cast iron frying pan before looking back up at him. "Thanks," she said, "I like your..." she trailed off, wracking her brain for something to say when she caught sight of his vest. "I think you have a great sense of style."

Gil smiled at their exchange, pleased with himself that he'd gotten the two others to join in on the ice breaker game. "Hey, you know what would be fun?" he asked, turning back to Jay. To go rafting down a jungle river."

"Find a lost civilization," Jay added, causing Rosalie and Harry to glance back at each other briefly before watching the exchange between the two boys.

"Oh, or maybe a penguin." Gil suggested. 

"Oh, well, you'd find those more in like, icebergs, but I'd love to see one of those."

"You guys are killing me," Harry sighed, crossing from the tree over to the berry bush to stand in between Jay and Gil. He reached forward, using the hook to spear a berry from the bush and bringing it up to his mouth. "Mmm," he mused, before his eyes found Carlos. "PS, your mutt went that way." he said, gesturing off in the direction Ben's footprints had led.

"Carlos!" Dude exclaimed, and Rosalie and Carlos rushed off to follow after the dog, the rest of the boys following behind them.

"Dude, what do you see?" Carlos asked.

"This way!" Dude shouted, following Ben's scent, and Rosalie noticed a pattern of broken twigs and crushed leaves in their path, alerting her that something large had passed through before them.

"You think he went this way?" Carlos asked Rosalie as they followed after Dude, and she nodded.

"He had to," Rosalie said. "His tracks led this way, and look at the path of destruction he left behind. We have to be getting close."

Carlos nodded, and Rosalie noticed his tight-lipped smile as he checked his phone, only to shove it back into his pocket with a frustrated sigh as a silence grew between the two of them.

"I can't get a hold of Jane." Carlos said after a moment, breaking the silence. "She didn't answer her phone when I tried to call earlier, and now I can't get any service. You're sure she's okay?"

"She's okay." Rosalie assured him. "When I left the Enchanted Lake to go look for Ben, she was with the twins, and they were completely fine."

"Okay," he said with a relieved smile. "Thanks, Rosie."

"Of course," she said, "Now come on, we've got a king to find."