Apples and Pomegranates

The Demigod

"Not even a week and already someone's declaring war."

Evie shook her head, assessing Mal's vandalised artwork. It was the image of Maleficent with her back turned and arms outstretched, her long, purple sleeves draping from her arms like wings. It was one of Mal's favourite tags and this particular one marked the start of their territory on the west side of the town. Someone had spray painted it, leaving a crudely drawn skull over it.

"It has to be Uma and her crew," Dizzy muttered, placing her hands on her hips. "They like using skulls for their tags."

"True," Evie mumbled, "but I don't think so. I've never seen them use a skull like this before."

Whereas the pirates used small skulls that they decorated with bandanas, eye patches and swords in their mouths, this one was simple and elongated, made with dark grey paint. It didn't have the same level of detail Uma and her crew favoured and the art style wasn't like any of theirs.

"Then who else could it be?" Dizzy asked with a frown. "If anyone was going to start up hassle this early with the other VKs gone I was sure it'd be Uma. That girl has a major grudge against Mal."

"To be honest I'm surprised she hasn't tried anything yet," Evie sighed, running a hand through her hair. "But no, I'm not convinced this is her doing."

"Then who?" Dizzy asked.

Evie smiled at Dizzy over her shoulder. "That's what we're gonna find out."

***

Dizzy wasn't officially a VK but she was Evie's friend and had agreed to give the older girl a hand while doing the routine checks over the VK's territory, the least dangerous of all her tasks. Acquiring territory was difficult and even more difficult was keeping it under your control. The different factions on the Isle tended to use graffiti as a way of staking their claim on different streets, alleys and zones. When one group wanted to challenge another group for a piece of land, they made it known by attacking these markers. It was a warning shot.

What Evie needed to do now was investigate who this skull mark belonged to before whoever it was decided to bloody the waters and make an outright attack on the VKs. If she could figure out who it was then the VKs could get to them before they got to the VKs. If it was just a random kid trying to act tough then a few poisoned words should be enough to get them to back off. At a push, she could get one of the other honorary VKs to rough him up a bit. If it was a villainous faction trying to take over the VK's territory then things could get messier.

"Maybe it's a different pirate group?" Dizzy suggested as she slurped her milkshake.

The pair were sitting on the balcony terrace of Frollo's Creperie, mulling over potential intruders on the VK's territory. From up there, they had a clear view of the busy main street, Auradon visible across the glittering waters. It was their weekly tradition to stop by Frollo's, though usually they weren't burdened with official VK business.

"It could be Harriet? She was in the Curl up and Dye last week, kept going on about how she was making her own crew since her father wouldn't stop nagging her about it." Dizzy tapped her fingers against her chin. "Plus there's that whole skull island thing on Neverland. Everyone knows how much she obsesses over going there."

"There's also Captain Silver's son," Evie mentioned, scribbling down her thoughts on a notepad. "He always had a fondness for skulls. But I don't see why either of them would want to take over the west side of town. It's so far away from the water and most of the pirates prefer staying near the sea. The only reason Uma's been after the inland territory is because it's Mal's."