HOOKED ↝ DESCENDANTS

[1]

Six Months Later

Rosalie wandered through the halls of the Auradon Prep dormitories, each room buzzing with excitement as students packed up for their summer vacations, some claiming to see their friends next year while others exchanged heartfelt goodbyes after having graduated in the days prior, such as Rosalie herself.

While Rosalie would usually be among those packing to head home, she, along with her cousins, Krissy and Ansel, would be staying a couple weeks into the summer holiday in order to help throw a birthday party for their friend, Jane. Jane's mother, the Fairy Godmother and headmistress at Auradon Prep, had been more than happy to extend the invitation to her daughter's friends, knowing both the kingdoms of Corona and Arendelle to be quite a long journey to travel for the occasion, the former at the most southern point of the kingdom and the latter very north.

Rosalie entered her dormitory through the already open door, seeing Krissy sprawled out on her bed next to Evie and Carlos, a piece of paper laid out in front of them detailing all of the plans for Jane's birthday party. The three looked up as Rosalie entered the room, Evie's face lighting up as she waved the girl over to join them.

"Rosalie!" she called out, pulling herself up into a sitting position and patting one of the few empty spaces on Krissy's bed, gesturing for the young princess to join them. Rosalie smirked, setting down her bag on her own bed before crossing the room to join her friends, perching herself on the edge of the cream colored comforter. "Just the girl I was looking for. We have some news for you."

"Okay," Rosalie said, nodding. "I'm listening."

"So I trust you've heard that Ben is allowing more students from the Isle to come to Auradon, correct?" Evie asked, and Rosalie nodded again. "Well, we wanted you to know before it becomes public knowledge tomorrow, but there are four new VKs coming over. Tomorrow me, Mal, Jay and Carlos are going back to the Isle to get the applications and pick the kids, and they'll be here next week. So my question for you is... well, you've seen what the Isle is like. I was wondering if maybe you'd consider staying a little longer and helping them with their transition into life here in Auradon."

"Wow," Rosalie said, her breath hitching in her throat as she thought back to all those months ago, in their battle to save Ben against Uma and her Pirates.

Though Uma hadn't been seen since the night after the battle on the Isle, when she'd snuck into Auradon and spelled Ben to take her to cotillion and bring down the barrier separating the two regions, fear still echoed through the people of Auradon, wondering when, and if, she would strike again. Not even a whisper of her whereabouts or her latest actions could be heard, and Rosalie knew it was slowly getting to Mal, who had cancelled her tour of the courts of the surrounding kingdoms to Auradon City in her efforts to remain on her guard at all times. The people of Auradon hadn't been this scared in years, when even the lingering memories of the villains trapped on the Isle was the biggest threat they had to face, especially that of Mal's mother, Maleficent.

Even Rosalie's parents feared for their daughter's safety, wishing she would return to Corona immediately following graduation in the event that Uma were to exact her revenge on Auradon City, though both Rapunzel and Eugene Fitzherbert trusted in the care of the Fairy Godmother, knowing that their daughter was in the best hands the kingdom could offer when with her. 

Besides, if Uma and her Pirates did strike again, then nowhere in Auradon would be safe from her reach.

"They're not like the Pirates." Evie assured Rosalie, noticing the girl had started to go a little green in the face, and Carlos nodded in agreement.

"Look, the Pirates are..." Carlos trailed off. "The worst that the Isle has to offer. They'll stay where they belong."

"But there's so many kids out there who are serving a punishment that their parents were dealt years before they were even born." Evie continued. "Kids who deserve a chance to prove that they're not the same. Kids like us." she said, nudging Carlos, who had pulled himself up into a sitting position next to her. "Take little Dizzy, for example. She's so sweet you'd never even know that's where she came from. There are good kids over there who haven't had the same opportunities we have. Those are the kids we want to bring here. We really think we can make a difference in their lives, if they were just given a chance to prove themselves."

"I mean, we turned out pretty okay, right?" Carlos asked with a smirk.

Rosalie shrugged, a smile finally fighting its way onto the corners of her mouth as she re-met Evie's eyes, the blue haired girl giving her a hopeful grin. For as long as Rosalie had known Evie, the daughter of the Evil Queen wanted nothing more than to give the kids suffering on the Isle of the Lost a chance at a better life. For as long as she'd known Ben, it had been the young king's dream, too. And if there was a chance Rosalie could help both of them achieve what they'd been fighting for for so long, then she knew she couldn't stand in her way.

"Alright," Rosalie said. "I'll do it. These kids deserve a chance, and I want to help them see their full potential. I mean, you guys did only try to destroy the kingdom once, so it could have been much worse."

"Yeah," Carlos laughed. "I mean, we could have been Harry Hook, for one thing."

Rosalie's face fell again at the boy's jab, and Carlos gave her an apologetic glance, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She hadn't forgotten the horror that was Harry Hook, and she doubted she ever would.

"Hey," Carlos said. "You don't have to worry about Harry ever again. He's still on the Isle, and he'll stay exactly where he belongs. I promise."