Half and Half

Chapter Forty Two

Abby sighed as she leaned over the railing of the Lost Revenge. Years had passed since her father had been sentenced to the Isle, since it had been decided that both she and her brother would spend six months in Auradon and on the Isle. She knew her brother had been looking forward to the days where she would be old enough to come to the Isle too, but...Abby wasn't thrilled to be there.

Oh don't get her wrong, she loved being able to see her dad in person rather than on a portal call. But...it felt weird being around Ben's friends. Back in Auradon, Abby had friends of her own and she could go wherever she wanted and no one batted an eye. On the Isle? Even if she had friends her own age, they were siblings of Ben's friends which only made her feel like the tagalong sister. That feeling was not aided by the fact that her father was always paranoid about where she went if she was by herself.

I mean...I know where he's coming from, Abby thought. While she'd been too young to know what had happened when Ben came home with a scar from a bullet graze, she'd later been informed what had happened.

Oh, her mom tried to keep it appropriate for young children—which was why Abby bribed Chip to give her the full story when she was around eight or nine. While Chip was like another older brother and she loved him dearly, Abby also knew that Chip was easily bribable. Oddly enough, it didn't take much this go-around. Just the mere promise of getting to be alone with his friend Lucas the next time they were all in Charmington was enough to get the now young adult to tell Abby the full story of how Ben had gotten hurt.

Boys are weird, Abby thought, shaking her head. I mean, if he wants to be alone with his friend why not say so? It's not like anyone's gonna think twice about it. They're both nineteen, it's not like they need babysitters. Speaking of being alone...think anyone would notice if I slipped away?

Ben likely would once he finished sparring with Mal, Henry Kersey keeping a watchful eye over the two of them though Abby knew he was probably just waiting to spar the winner of Mal and Ben's match. Uma was busy sparring with Harry, most of the LeGume girls were spending time with Gil while CJ, Brooke, Kristy, and Ryan had slipped away to do something 'under fifteen appropriate' as the older kids would say.

Never mind that Mal, Ben, Harry, Uma, and Jay were all under fifteen of course—Mal, Ben, Harry, and Uma all enjoying their first year of teenagdom while Jay got to lord it over them as a fourteen year old. He still had to abide by the rules for the under fifteens, but there was light at the end of the tunnel for him. Not so much for Abby, who still had five years to go!

Shaking her head, Abby packed up her book and walked down the gang plank. Lord Hades' restaurant usually was quiet this time of day, meaning it'd be a good place to get some reading done. Not to mention it was her father's shift, so even if the restaurant was packed with people, Abby would at least get to spend some one on one time with her dad.

I probably should have told someone where I was going...but I know my way around the Isle. Plus I'm just going to Lord Hades' restaurant, it's not like I'm going to go wage war in Shere Khan's territory, Abby thought as she made her way down the streets of the Isle. Plus knowing my luck, one of the LeGume girls would have been assigned to walk with me. Not that I don't mind spending time with them, Gia and Gillian are great sparring partners and Lacey's been great in helping me retain all the dance stuff I have to know back in Auradon when I have to be a princess...it's just...with dad and Gaston...

"Your highness?"

Abby paused as she heard a young voice call to her, pulling her out of her thoughts. Thankfully, she was close enough to Rat territory that she felt comfortable enough to not draw her flare gun to call for help. Though, she wouldn't lie, Abby was more than a little confused to see the Evil Queen's daughter making her way to her.