XJ → Harry Hook [1]✔

Home Sweet Home

Harry and the others all agreed that it would be safer to go the Isle at night when nobody could be able to see them. Well, the others agreed and Harry was forced into it. He wanted to leave immediately, but it wasn't safe for Ben and Jane to be in the Isle's public eye, even in the leather studded outfits that Evie had made them to help them blend in.

However, once the sun had set, the group wasted no time piling into a sleek SUV at the front of Auradon Prep's courtyard, which was around five minutes away from the bridge leading to the Isle.

"You know, it would be harder for villain kids to run away if the school wasn't built so close to the Isle." Jay commented from the backseat.

Ben replied as he drove down the quiet path with trees lined alongside it, "It was easier for my dad to keep tabs on the Isle and for Fairy Godmother to sense if there was anything wrong with the barrier around it too."

Carlos frowned, "How does that work?"

Jane - who was sitting next to Carlos, replied promptly, "If the barrier broke or malfunctioned, then Fairy Godmother would feel the magical tremor and fix it in time before some villains managed to jump through and escape here in Auradon."

Harry snorted from the passenger's seat, "You didn't have to have gone to all of that trouble. Nothing worked - not even Maleficent's attempt that I heard about when she first got rounded up there. Apparently, she passed out for three days."

Mal said as she looked out the window at the blur of barely visible greenery, "I heard about that. Everyone thought Mom was dead."

"My mom was terrified," Evie added. "She told me that she would never admit it to your mom, but my mom was so worried that she got sick."

Carlos laughed, "My mom was getting ready to bury Maleficent. She was so sure that she was dead."

Evie giggled, "It scared all of them so much when your mom sprang up all of a sudden, wide-eyed and asking around if the spell worked."

Harry suddenly roared with laughter, startling Ben. He explained quickly after with a wide grin on his face, "Father tried to offer her a pint when she found out that she was still on the Isle. She smacked it straight out of his hand and asked him to ram his ship against the side of the barrier. Dad asked her if she was insane and she stole his hook. He got it back when he chipped the side of her staff and they signed a truce."

Mal chuckled and Evie giggled while Jay and Carlos burst out laughing.

Ben smiled slightly and asked once all of the laughter had died down, "Do you miss your parents?"

Carlos shook his head, "Not really. Mom fed me lies. She said it was to protect me, but she really wanted me to stick around so she could have someone to boss around."

"Dad just wanted a genie," Jay said casually, "I'm pretty sure he would've wished himself out of the Isle and left me there without a second thought had he actually found one."

Evie sighed, "Mom taught me the wrong things. I thought she didn't know better when I was still on the Isle, but now that I'm here in Auradon, I can connect all the dots and pick up on the hints that she was only trying to get me to marry a prince so she could enjoy a life of luxury, since she was too old to marry into a royal family. I was a tool to her and she pretended to love me. Evil stepmothers are all the same."

Mal shrugged, "Mom loved me, in her own weird way. She wanted me to achieve world domination so bad, partly because she wanted to share the glory and partly because she wanted to tell people 'That's my daughter!'." Mal laughed softly. "But I don't miss her, not as much as a daughter should at least."