Escape from the Isle of the Lost

by Melissa de la Cruz

  “Next time,” Carlos promised, as they fell into step together.

  “But do you have time now?” asked Evie. “I’m actually going this way.” She motioned back to the main castle.

  “Now?” he asked, following her lead.

  “Yeah, I was about to go and find Mal and Ben to talk about the VK program—you know, the initiative to bring more villain kids to Auradon?” she asked, as she opened the doors and they stepped through.

  Carlos nodded. It sounded vaguely familiar, although he hadn’t been paying much attention. Mostly he’d been wrapped up in his new relationship with Jane. “Uh-huh?”

  Evie led the way to Ben’s private wing of the palace. “I was thinking maybe we should go back to the Isle of the Lost and get more kids interested in applying!”

  “We should?” he asked, paling to the roots of his black-and-white hair. Even though they’d returned to the Isle of the Lost before, it always felt like a dicey proposition. In the back of his mind he was always a little worried he’d end up stuck there again, and he really didn’t want to be trapped in his dingy room in Hell Hall.

  “Yeah, we should!” said Evie, who seemed very intent on this idea. “That way, they can see Auradon is a great place, even for villain kids. Don’t you think? Because, so far, no one’s applied to the program except for Dizzy.”

  “Oh.” That did seem odd. Carlos would have guessed there would be more kids who might want to escape the island. For starters, he remembered the kids from the Anti-Heroes club were pretty keen on Auradon.

  “Yeah.” Evie shrugged. “Doug thinks that maybe they’re scared or intimidated somehow. Or maybe they think it’s some kind of trap. You know how it was, back on the Isle. There’s always some kind of angle.”

  He certainly did. Carlos drummed his fingers on his chin. He was warming up to the idea. “You know what would help? If we brought peanut butter!”

  Evie laughed. “Um, okay. I was thinking we should meet with the kids personally to talk about Auradon. But that works too!”

  “Perfect. Let’s find Jay and Mal first, then go talk to Ben,” said Carlos. He always found safety in numbers.

  en bent over the paper on his desk, his brow creased as he read the latest safety report from Genie, who kept an eye on all the kingdoms. The news was the same—no sign of Uma or her tentacles. Ben was writing a note advising Genie to keep an eye on the oceans, when the door to his study burst open. He was surprised but happy to find Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos talking excitedly to each other as they made their way to the front of his desk.

  “We could tell them about tourney!” said Jay.

  “And chocolate chip cookies!” said Carlos. “Oh, and hot showers!”

  “We could stress how good the classes are. Pun definitely intended,” said Mal with a droll smile.

  “And how nobody locks you up in a tower if you forget your homework!” said Evie.

  “Ben! Wait till you hear this idea!” said Mal, coming to perch on the side of his desk.

  “What is it?” asked Ben, grinning and leaning back on his chair, glad to have a distraction. It was his duty as king to read every document presented to him and make certain he was prepared for meetings. He liked to be just as informed as his councillors, if not more so. But sometimes, even kings needed a break. “What’s the big idea?”

  “You know the VK program?” Evie asked. “The one that’s going to bring over some more villain kids to study at Auradon Prep? Well, I was looking at the applications we’ve received, and aside from Dizzy, there aren’t any.”

  Ben raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t heard that it was quite that big a failure. “Really?”

  “Yeah, really,” said Carlos, taking an empty seat across from Ben’s desk. Jay took a place by the windowsill, and Evie sat on a chair near to Mal.

  “Isn’t that awful?” said Mal. “I think they’re scared to apply.”

  “Or maybe they don’t know about it,” said Jay. “The Isle is a little…isolated.”

  “So we need to drum up more interest,” said Evie. “I was thinking I could take some photos of us, and we could use them to make posters and put them all over the island. Kind of aspirational! Like, ‘You too could grow up to be Mal!’”

  Ben smiled. He was pretty sure Mal was one of a kind, but he understood where Evie was going. “Okay, posters. I like it! Maybe we could put them up all around the mainland too, prove to people that anyone can be a great student here.”

  Mal nodded. “We need to show them that everyone can come to Auradon Prep,” she said meaningfully.

  “Everyone?” asked Ben.

  “Well, yeah,” said Mal. “Right, Evie?”

  “Right,” said Evie.

  “We’ll definitely give everyone a chance to apply,” Ben said. “But we can’t take everyone from the Isle of the Lost. Where would they live? And who would mentor them? We need to figure out exactly how many kids we can bring over. There’s a lot to plan before this happens.”

  “But we can’t waste another day,” said Evie.

  “I agree,” said Ben. “We’ll get to work on those posters as soon as possible.”

  Carlos leaned over. “That’s a good start”—he turned to Evie—“but didn’t you say you wanted to meet with kids to talk about the program? That the four of us should go to the Isle of the Lost?” His tone was hesitant.

  “Well, yes, as long as Ben thinks it’s all right,” said Evie hopefully. “I just think if we could tell them exactly how wonderful it is here, and answer their questions, we’ll be able to get a lot more of them interested in applying.”

  “The four of you? Back to the Isle?” Ben pondered the idea. The last time they had gone back to the Isle, things hadn’t gone so well. As in, getting kidnapped by Uma, and then being tied to the mast of a pirate ship and menaced by some pirate holding a hook in his hand. Ben had sympathy for the kids on the Isle, but he wasn’t sure he really wanted his friends to go back there. Wasn’t it too dangerous?

  He said as much.

  “Dangerous? Not to us,” scoffed Jay. “We know every trick in the book.”

  “Because we wrote it,” said Mal.

  “Danger is my middle name,” said Carlos. “I’m serious. Ask my mom. Or Dude. Or neither. Neither might be preferable.”

  “We can handle it,” said Evie. “Nothing will happen.”

  But there was also Fairy Godmother to think about. “Auradon Prep discourages student travel during the school year,” said Ben.

  “But not if it’s part of my diplomatic visits…” mused Mal. “That’s it! My diplomatic visits!” She turned to Ben, her eyes sparkling. “We both agreed that the Isle of the Lost should be included on my official itinerary. And if I’m using my visit to promote the VK program at the same time, Fairy Godmother won’t be able to say no. It’s the perfect opportunity!”

  “And we’ll all come too!” said Evie.

  “Definitely,” said Jay. “You’ll need all the help you can get.”

  “Yeah,” said Carlos. “I don’t want to see my mother. But I guess I’m in.”

  “Good,” said Mal, who smiled at Evie.

  Ben finally nodded. “It does make sense. We’ll present it at the next council meeting!”

  ma seethed as she swam under the waves, thinking about all the ways she had been wronged. For a brief moment, back at the Auradon Cotillion, she had been a princess; she had stood on the deck of a magnificent ship, and Ben was hers. He had looked in her eyes with love—sure, he had been spelled, but who really cared? Except in the end, that’s all it was—a brief moment. As always, Mal had messed things up for her, and Uma was left floundering in the waves, alone.

  What was it Ben had said to her that night? I know you want what’s best for the Isle. Help me make a difference. He had offered his hand, but she hadn’t taken it. Instead, she had returned his ring and swum away. But her rage had not diminished.

  Mal! Daughter of Maleficent. Meddlesome, annoying, heroic Mal.

  I
t was always Mal.

  Still, Uma had to admit, it wasn’t all that bad spending this much time in the ocean. At least, not at first. She’d never had the chance before when she was trapped on the island, behind that invisible barrier. Now the world was hers to explore—the undersea world, that is. She had ventured to the deepest depths, seen ancient creatures of incredible size, swum with fish so big that she spent days lounging on their backs, feeling the sun in her hair and the salt spray on her cheeks. But eventually she’d grown listless and bored.

  After all, how many coconuts can one person eat?

  (Five hundred and twenty-seven. She had counted.)

  Uma missed her pirates, she missed their camaraderie, she missed Harry’s smart mouth and his sly banter, she missed Gil’s goofy appetites. She had been alone too long, under the sea, in the water, with only sharks for company. And sharks were only entertaining for so long.

  She could go anywhere she wanted on Auradon, but Uma found herself drawn back to the Isle of the Lost. She didn’t belong among the fresh-faced, good-hearted residents of the mainland. She wanted to be back at Ursula’s Fish and Chips Shoppe, making jokes with her crew and scheming to free everyone from the island once and for all. And maybe, just maybe, she wanted to go home. Home was a place where when you showed up, they had to take you in, right? She’d seen something like that embroidered on a random pillow in Auradon, so it had to be true.

  Uma spent many days swimming around the waters surrounding the Isle, searching for a hole in the invisible barrier. Days turned into weeks, until she lost count. But Fairy Godmother’s spell was too strong. Still, there had to be a way to break it, didn’t there? Uma was a witch; she had her mother’s seashell necklace and the powers of the sea in her blood.

  She drew herself up to her greatest height, transforming into a giant octopus with eight arms, and tried to cast her spells. “BREAK BEFORE ME!” she screamed. She felt the magic pulse in her throat and in her veins. The very skies above the island cracked with lightning and thunder.

  “I COMMAND YOU TO BREAK!” she raged.

  Nothing happened.

  The barrier around the Isle of the Lost stood firm. The villains, including her pirate crew, would be trapped behind that dome forever. There was no way out or in.

  Uma returned to her human form and swam away.

  Once in a while she glimpsed a few pirates at the coastline and tried to call to them. One afternoon she even spied Harry, stealing another fisherman’s catch.

  “Harry!” she called. “HARRY!”

  But he didn’t notice. He just unhooked that unfortunate soul’s line and stole away with the bounty.

  Another day there was Gil, skipping stones on the beach.

  “GIL! I’M RIGHT HERE! GIL!” she yelled.

  Gil looked into the distance. “Uma?” he asked. He looked down and found a large seashell. He put the conch to his ear.

  “YES! I’M RIGHT HERE!”

  But he didn’t seem to hear her. Eventually he set the conch down.

  The next time she saw the boys on the deck of her ship, she didn’t even bother to call out to them. There was no use. It was as if she were as invisible to them as the barrier.

  Uma dived down into the depths again. Maybe if she swam deep enough, she would find a place where the barrier ended.

  It felt like she had been swimming forever, down and down, cutting across currents and into the dark deep below. And still the barrier held. There was truly no way through the spell.

  Except…

  What was that?

  That sound…

  Was she dreaming, or was it…rock music? Coming from the depths below?

  t had been a few days since Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay had approached Ben to discuss the VK program, and Mal was starting to feel a little impatient. Every moment on the Isle of the Lost meant neglect, filth, and abandonment for the kids who lived there. The sooner they got more kids to apply to Auradon Prep, and the sooner they got them off the Isle, the better those kids’ lives would be. Evie had brought it up again the other night, and Mal had promised she would ask Ben about it today.

  They were at their ballroom dancing practice. And even though Mal wished they were training with swords and shields instead, she kept it to herself. Since she had been announced as the future Lady Mal, she and Ben were expected to lead many dances in countless royal balls around Auradon. There were so many styles to learn—the fox-trot, the waltz, the Viennese waltz (who knew there were two kinds of waltzes?) the quickstep, the mambo, the cha-cha.

  Ben was already in the palace ballroom with Merryweather, their instructor. The good fairy was wearing her usual blue gown, blue hat, and blue cape. She eyed Mal’s purple dress and smiled.

  “Good morning, good morning, King Ben, Mal,” she said. “Are we ready for our lesson?”

  “We sure are,” said Ben heartily. Kingly duties took up so much of his schedule, and Mal knew he was glad for any excuse to spend more time together. Even if that meant learning complicated formal dances. “Shall we?” he asked, offering Mal his hand.

  “We shall,” she said, her eyes sparkling as she took it.

  He swept her into his arms, and they began counting the steps to the waltz.

  Ben was concentrating hard on his footwork, and Mal had to make sure she kept in time with the beat. So it was only when Ben swung her around and dipped her that she was able to catch his attention.

  “Pardon?” he asked, as Merryweather tapped her wand and music filled the room.

  “I was saying—about the VK program—I was thinking we should bring as many kids as possible to Auradon Prep,” she told him.

  “Wouldn’t that be too many?” said Ben, spinning her around.

  “What’s too many?” she asked, trying not to feel dizzy.

  Ben shrugged as his hands drifted back to her waist for the next step. “It’s a delicate situation. We need to handle it correctly.”

  Merryweather tapped them with her wand. “Ben, chin up! Mal, please don’t hold your skirt that way.”

  They adjusted accordingly. “I just wish we could bring them all over,” said Mal, as they picked up the dance again.

  “I know. I do too,” said Ben. “Honestly, I didn’t realize the impact of my decision on the kids who weren’t originally chosen. I didn’t know they took it so personally—like Uma.”

  Mal made a face. “There’s only one Uma,” she said.

  “I don’t think Auradon can handle more than one,” he said mildly.

  “I agree,” said Mal, as Ben twirled her around. “So, how many, then? How many kids will be accepted into the program?”

  Ben whispered, “Name a number.”

  “Ten!”

  “Two,” he replied teasingly.

  She snorted. “Six.”

  “Three.”

  “Four,” said Mal as she curtsied to him at the end of the waltz.

  “Done,” said Ben, bowing low with a smile.

  “Exactly!” said Merryweather as the music ended with a flourish.

  Four more villain kids. It was hardly everyone, but it was a start. She smiled at Ben. “Perfect.”

  “Oh!” Merryweather clasped her hands together. “You are both lovely dancers!”

  ay knew that graduating from Auradon Preparatory School was no small feat. And over the years he’d discovered the school offered an array of traditions for its graduating seniors to celebrate the achievement. There was the Senior Tea, presided over by a beaming Mrs. Potts. There was the Senior Ball, rivaling official royal balls in pomp and majesty. There was the Senior Crown Ceremony, where first-years placed golden crowns on the seniors’ heads. There was Senior Ditch Day, when everyone left class and spent a day at the water park in Triton’s Bay. (Jay had practically stuffed himself full of Scuttle’s churros!) There was even an upcoming class trip to the Enchanted Wood and a fancy Senior Dinner two weeks before the last day of school.

  No one ever made a big deal of anything back on the Isle of
the Lost. Once you graduated from Dragon Hall, they kicked you out the door. (Literally.) In comparison, senior year at Auradon Prep seemed like one big celebration. The school did its best to make everyone’s last year special and more memorable, and Jay found he was enjoying every minute of it.

  But there was one tradition that had absolutely nothing to do with the administration, and if Fairy Godmother ever caught wind of it, she might wave her wand in annoyance and end the entire practice. So every senior kept quiet about it.

  This tradition was called the Senior Quest. (Also known as the Senior Scavenger Hunt, but traditionalists liked to call it by its formal name.)

  Ben had spent one afternoon at tourney practice filling Jay in on all the details. All participating seniors met at the tourney field at twilight to get the list of objects and tasks. Whoever completed the quest first would go down in Auradon Prep history—and win a trophy, along with a hundred-dollar gift certificate for a meal at Ariel’s Grotto.

  The Senior Quest was famous for its daring triumphs over the years: Genie had been made to grant three wishes; the statue of King Beast had been stolen from the commons and placed on the roof; the sword had been pulled from the stone. Even more shrouded in legend were its winners: Prince Charming was said to have charmed his way through it. Prince Philip had slain a dragon (an illusion crafted by Merlin, of course). Princess Merida had shot the highest arrow up in the sky. A student named Wendy was famous for bringing back pixie dust from Never Land. But one thing was certain: Only the best of the best were named champions.

  Once Jay had heard about the quest, he couldn’t wait. He wanted his name in the history books. As well as that gift certificate—all the fish fingers he could eat!

  When he arrived at the tourney field right at sunset—on his motorbike, no less—all the teams were already gathering. Aziz was at the wheel of his Magic Carpet, a tricked-out car with a superfast engine. Chad was on a white horse, alone. Evie and Doug were hanging out with six of Doug’s cousins, waiting for the game to start. Doug’s cousins were a fun bunch: Cheerful, Shy, Crabby, Snoozy, Doc the Second, and Gesundheit, who was called Gus for short. Crabby was annoyed he had to be on a team with Gus, who was always blowing his nose, but then, Crabby always lived up to his name. Evie was wishing them all good luck.