ᴛʜᴜʀsᴅᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ 24ᴛʜ
ᴏғ ᴍᴀᴅʀᴇ 1219ᴀᴄ
1 ᴀᴍ

          EVIE WAS TIRED OF THIS PLACE ALREADY. The boy's dorms were vastly different than the girls'. Wooden, leather, dark. Much more elegant and to their style than pink puffs and flower embroidery. Evie immediately wanted to speak to the Fairy Godmother about unfair housing. Why should the boy's dorms actually look cool and theirs look like an eighty-three-year-old grandmother designed it? (She did in fact ask her this later, to which the Fairy Godmother stated that she actually designed it. Suffice it to say that Mal and Evie weren't getting an upgrade on their room any time soon.)

          Evie had slept through most of the day, having been up the entire night before filled with hunting parties and pretty boy's faces being rewritten. Mal woke up faster than she did, she always does, even out of the four of them. And then decided to find the guys.

          Evie and Mal made their way to the other side of the building with all the boys' dorms, they were surprised to find people still awake and about in the hallways and lobbies. And the guys that saw them were even more surprised, often making double takes to confirm there actually were girls in the same hallway as them. Back in the girls' dorm, there wasn't one girl spotted when they left. But it stood to reason that the boys get looked over whilst the girls get a hundred eyes on them to make sure they're behaving. Yep, Evie was already tired of this place.

          The girls entered, finding Jay standing on his hands in the corner right and Carlos playing darts.

          "Is he training already?" Mal asked the dyed blond boy.

          Carlos held his arm in the air, and shot at the dartboard, "He walked in, chose his bed." He picked up another dart to shoot, his voice was bored. "Took a nap. Woke up. Did a hundred sit-ups," He shot at the dartboard again. "then, a hundred push-ups," Another dart. "and now he's been in that position for three minutes." Another shot. "I suspect the blood rushing to his brain is preventing him from thinking about how he could pass out if he doesn't stop." Carlos finished monotonously which made Jay carefully lower himself down. Carlos hated whenever Jay did his workouts, he was no fun and wouldn't speak a word until he was done. The last time Carlos was in the same room as Jay when he was training he kept throwing rocks at him to see how long until he'd fall. Jay broke two of the boy's fingers afterward and Carlos never bothered him again. It was the funniest week of Evie's life. The girls looked back at the dartboard with no surprise to see all the thrown darts land in the red center.

          "Have you seen that green-haired kid in the outer lobby?" Evie crossed the room to walk toward Carlos. "He has two different colored eyes!" She squealed. "I never thought I'd live the day to find someone with heterochromia. Do you know how rare that is?"

          Carlos tilted his head, "Interesting, anything different beyond in the optic nerves? Do they see better or worse? Anything different from regular eyes that we don't know already?"

          "I read in that old Yen Sid's books that they were mainly ignored, some changed because of eye disease but that was before magic came into common documentation. Turns out, they don't just have worse or better sight, they actually have the Sight. They can see magic and auras in all sorts of different ways." She kept on going about her many theories as Carlos listened. "Imagine what else they're able to see." Evie got that look in her once more, the bright, excited, intense look that always made people uneasy. Because the thing about Evie was that she didn't know when to stop.

          Mal looked at Jay while the other two talked, "Do you think they just ignore us or completely forget we're in the room?"

          Jay shrugged, "Honestly, it could go both ways."

          Mal nodded, "Alright, hey!" she snapped her fingers, "Hey! Guys, come on we got a job to do. You can go back to fantasizing about scooping eyeballs out later." Mal had them gather at the round table in the center of the room. Even the boys had a more impressive table. "Evie, if you please?" The purple-haired girl motioned for her.

          Evie pulled out her scratched-up magic mirror. Her mother would keep it hidden in her night drawer, hoping and praying for it to speak to her again. The first time Evie saw it she was thirteen and starting her first semester at Dragon Hall. She wanted it and her mom said no. So, Evie burned her room and most of the hallway that same night whilst she stood outside of it, mirror in hand. Her mother never said 'no' ever again, especially since she was asleep in the room when Evie lit it aflame.

          "Mirror, mirror in my hand, where does the Fairy Godmother's wand stand?" She spoke softly to it, there was a trick to using it that she read about. Mirrors are all about vanity and selfishness, so it didn't like revealing things that were selfless and had to do with other people. But Evie's studied it long enough to know.

          "There it is!" Jay shouted at the picture of the wand appearing in Evie's hand.

          "Where the hell is that?" Mal asked.

          Once Evie got it to pull out a bit they saw the wand in a spotless glass shield on a pedestal standing in an office. It looked elegant but antique, and it had a small window garden by the balcony. "Look at the name on the desk." She pointed. "It's the Fairy Godmother's office."

         "Of course, it is," Mal muttered.

          No one moved, some still had their eyes on the mirror picturing the headmistress's office. That was until Carlos spoke, "Well? Aren't we going to go get it?"

          "We don't know what kind of defenses is guarding it." Mal reasoned. "We don't even know if the office is guarded just as well. And we have been here for one day, if we make even one move it and fail it will have been for nothing."

          "And if we sit here and do nothing, what changes?" Carlos raised his shoulders, "All we need is that damn wand and we're done. We know where it is and we know she isn't there. I say, take the risk."

          "Please," Mal enunciated dramatically, "The only reason you want to do it right now is so the chaos starts and you get to go back home to mommy dearest and tell her all about your new adventures." She had rounded the table only to stop in front of him, her voice no longer amused but low and angry. "Stop being so reckless. It's cliche at this point."

          Her words seemed to have struck a nerve, but what surprised everyone was how instead of fighting with Mal, he silently just went back to his bed. He may have been retreating but his eyes were still just as angry as hers.

          "I get why we're playing it slow and steady but I'd like to know the room more from the inside. Maybe get an idea about what guards the wand." Evie speaks up once the silence was gone. She knew if they got a better lay of the land they could gather intel and do it perfectly. Her mirror was good but it seemed fairy magic in the room was blocking some parts.

          Mal then looked to Jay, waiting to see what he had to say. He took his time but eventually, "It's better to know what we're walking into." As soon as he said those words Mal would groan out loud, he spoke even louder, "The longer we're here the more eyes we'll have on us and the more suspicion will grow if we don't mix into the community soon. We're not taking it tonight, but we will if we can. For now, we look around and we get out. Okay?" While Evie and the boys nodded, Mal remained silent causing them all to wait for her response. It was one of her rules to be unanimous.

          She groaned loudly again, "Fine." She agreed sharply. "But if we get caught I swear on my own grave that you will all live to regret it."

          Evie believed her with all she had. Mal wasn't someone you wanted as an enemy, and sometimes she wasn't someone you wanted as a friend. But, if you wanted to win that was another story. Evie herself was quite adept at getting what she wanted, why should this time be any different?

          With that, they all nodded once more and went out the door, Evie in the lead with her mirror in hand to show them where to go.

☠︎ ☠︎ ☠︎ ☠︎

          They had to leave the dormitories to get to the main offices and it just so happened the Fairy Godmother's was on the third floor. All the lights were off in the lobby, and getting in wasn't that hard as Evie picked the lock open. She hadn't done a proper break-in in years. After the lobby, they went up to the headmistress's office, and while Mal made sure there wasn't any fairy-like protection spell against it, Evie noticed her mirror got even wonkier by the door. She wondered if it was the fairy magic but Mal's presence never made it act like that before when she was testing it. Once everything was deemed safe, Evie picked the lock and the Rotten were on their way in.

          The office had an old oak desk and designs that gave it an elegant rustic feel. The chandelier above them sparkled in small portions, giving them the illusion of stars. The balcony was closed but the moonlight coming from it gave them a good amount of light in the room. And then there was the wand. To the left of the office, it was encased in a glass dome on a high pedestal. Mal made her way there first to inspect it and see what kind of defenses might be keeping it. Carlos was looking through the shelves around the room and Jay was checking out the old fairy's desk. Meanwhile, Evie kept an eye out the window to make sure no one was coming. When she walked to the balcony, she passed multiple pictures next to the bookshelves. One in particular where the fairy's daughter was wearing an awful red and green sweater at some holiday party, a large picture of the older fairy at Cinderella's wedding blessing the couple with the same wand they were trying to steal, most of just her daughter. And the rest were a collection of yearly group staff photos.

          "Anything?" Evie asked their leader.

          She had her hand over the casing as though she were scanning it. "I know there's a different energy here other than the wand. But I can't make out what'll happen if we try to touch it, let alone lift it." Mal said, finally lowering her arm. "Best to leave it until we know more."

          "Hey," Jay called out to them, "this one drawer is locked, like seriously locked. I can't even pick it." He stood up from crouching next to it.

          Evie went over to where he was. It was the bottom drawer on the right side of the desk, larger than all the others with an intricate lock with pretty flower designs around it. She could have sworn it was shimmering a bit. But she also couldn't pick it, it was like there was nothing to pick, the lock wasn't really there.

          When Mal went to check it out, her hand went to the knob and almost immediately the drawer opened for her. "Huh." She said. "Didn't expect that." She started it, almost expecting it to blow up somehow.

          "You think it's because you're part fairy?" Evie questioned.

          "Probably," Mal shrugged as Jay investigated the contents.

          He pulled out a few notebooks, some old leather books, and some small boxes that looked like they were for jewelry. But when he pulled out an elegant glass decanter filled with golden brown liquid he smiled brightly at them all, "Oh, I am starting to like this lady." he grinned. "Who wants some?" He grabbed matching tumbler glasses from the same drawer.

          Mal was checking out the liquid while Jay was getting ready to pour it down his throat. She opened it up again and sniffed it. As fast as she could she grabbed the glass before he could bring it to his mouth, "Wait!" She pulled it back, "I know what this is. Péché de fée." She sneered at it. "Drink this and you'll never crave human drinks again, the same with any food you might've found. Humans that ended up eating or drinking some of it never got access to it again and starved to death." She dumped the drink back in the decanter and shoved it back into its drawer.

          "Is it weird I'm liking her even more now?" Jay laughed.

          Evie started to nod her head, understanding more now, "That's why it opened for Mal, no humans are allowed in." She then did a slow head turn to the encased wand behind them. "I wonder..." She trailed off, "Mal, try to touch it. See what happens." She pointed.

          Evie won't get into the details of what happened after that. Long story short, Mal went to touch the glass case, but a force field didn't let her get through and it even pushed her several feet away after she kept pounding at it to open. The half-fairy spent the walk back to the dorms muttering about 'blood magic' and how if 'good' faeries were now using it then it was totally hypocritical of judging past fey for using it themselves. Evie didn't ask questions, she knew it didn't work and from Mal's ranting it turned out they would need the Fairy Godmother herself to open it.

          They got to bed late despite knowing they'd have morning classes. Ugh. Evie hadn't taken morning classes in seven years. This was no fun.

☠︎ ☠︎ ☠︎ ☠︎

ᴛʜᴜʀsᴅᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ 24ᴛʜ
ᴏғ ᴍᴀᴅʀᴇ 1219ᴀᴄ
9 ᴀᴍ

          The remedial classes meant to cure them of their wicked ways and bring about their humanity were probably the most boring classes Auradon could ever think of.

          "If someone hands you a crying baby, do you, A, curse it? B, lock it in a tower? C, give it a bottle? Or D, carve out its heart? Evie." She pointed toward the witch who had her hand up.

          She pretended to think for a second, "I'll go with D." She grinned which earned a laugh from Carlos beside her.

          Fairy Godmother's eyes widened at that but acted like it didn't happen, "Oh, okay. Anyone else? Mal?"

          "C, give it a bottle," Mal answered quickly and didn't even look up, she still sketching her ideas for world domination. Or whatever she did in her spare time. Evie always told her to get a hobby, and it seemed like her friend was sticking with art. Evie found it a bit boring.

          "Correct. Again." The older fairy smiled brightly at her, proud that at least one of them was learning.

          "You're taking all the fun out of it," Carlos whispered to her.

          "Or I'm just making sure they think I'm learning to gain some damn trust rather than scare them every five minutes," Mal gave her friends a sarcastic smile.

          "Ah," Jay understood.

          Evie nodded, "That makes sense."

          "Still not as fun," Carlos repeated with a scowl.

          Some time passed before a mousy young girl, maybe a year younger than them, quickly hurried in to meet with the older fairy. Mal's head lifted at the presence of the girl.

          Fairy Godmother greeted her, "Oh. Hello, dear one. You need to sign off on early dismissal for the coronation? Everyone here remembers my daughter, Jane?" She re-introduced her to everyone, knowing they saw her in the morning assembly meant to introduce the new students. Honestly, Dragon Hall never even had assemblies but these people have mandatory ones in college?

          Jane, however, did not like being brought up one bit. She was clearly frightened of them, "Mom, no!" She objected.

          "It's okay. Jane, this is everyone." Her mother didn't seem to care and still made her greet them.

          Her eyes somehow got bigger with the attention now on her, and Mal felt something familiar about the girl. Mal just couldn't place her finger on it. "Hi. That's okay, don't mind me. As you were." The young fairy sheepishly departed as though her rear were in flames and practically ran out the door. Yep, definitely something familiar about her.

          The Fairy Godmother called their attention back to the lesson, "Ahem. Let's continue. You find a vial of poison. Do you, A, put it in the king's wine? B, paint it on an apple? Or C, turn it over to the proper authorities?"

          "Oh!" Carlos raised his hand, and they all knew he'd say something creepy like how he'd rather paint it on a blade and plunge it at the king's heart. Jay, though, knowing he'd bring more unsettling energy to the class fought to answer as he pushed Carlos onto the table and kept him in a headlock. "Oh, get off!"

          She chose Jay to answer.

          "You turn it over to the proper authorities." He said, releasing his hold on the boy.

          "You're no fun anymore," Carlos muttered.

         "You know boys, you should really take that energy on the tourney field."

          "Oh, no. That's okay. Whatever that is, We'll... We'll pass." But Carlos's words were for not, as Jay had already been staring out the window to the field.

          But Mal paid no attention to that, for her thoughts were on the young fairy girl that left the room. The second she stepped foot in it, Mal could feel her energy, her power, her magic. She'd been out of the Isle for no more than twenty-four hours and she only felt magic like that around herself. It was funny, the girl didn't match her energy, she was small and meek. Mousy and big-eyed like a deer caught in headlights. It took Mal a while but she finally realized why the young fairy was slightly familiar to her. She reminded Mal of Sophie Page once upon a time ago, Yen Sid's ever so loyal assistant and ward— well, not anymore.

          What Mal was wondering was, if she felt this kind of magic coming off of young Jane then how come there was nothing coming from the Fairy Godmother?

☠︎ ☠︎ ☠︎ ☠︎

ᴛʜᴜʀsᴅᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ 24ᴛʜ
ᴏғ ᴍᴀᴅʀᴇ 1219ᴀᴄ
2 ᴘᴍ

          Jay quite enjoyed the feeling of an adrenaline rush of energy coursing through his veins. Whether it be running and jumping throughout the Isle or pushing someone past the brink of death until they eventually spill whatever information they had. And then slice their throats to keep them from blabbing even more. (He didn't like snitches.)

          So, it didn't come as a surprise that he was interested in whatever tourney was. And it was by far cleaner than chasing down his enemies throughout damp and cold streets at night.

          "Jay, Chad, offense. Ben, you're defense. Taylor, you're the shooter." The coach yelled at them from the front of the stands. Coach Jenkins saw Carlos wandering about without a uniform and called out to him, "Hey. Hey! Hey, you. Lost boy! Put a helmet on or get out of the kill zone! Come on!" He was clearly in no mood to deal with people.

          Carlos was annoyed at being told what to do but the words 'kill zone' sounded interesting. He could work that into something. The coach whistled one more time before Carlos jogged to the stands once more to watch the blood ruler play some trivial game.

          The coach yelled some more at Jay, telling him what to do. "Pick it up. Put it up! Two hands!"

          Jay gave out an angry war cry as he charged at his opponent. It seemed like no one in the history of tourney had done it before because the other player was already running from him until he tripped and hid underneath his shield. The same shield that Jay used to push himself off the ground to successfully make the shot through the net on the other side of the field.

          Jay pulled off his gloves as he screamed, "Ahh! Oh, yeah! Come on, let's go! Oh! Whoo!" He boasted, laughing loudly and catching people's eyes.

          Some people took notice of his clear cutthroat attitude, completely barging in headstrong. They were always so used to friendly competition, they didn't know they had invited one of the most scorned and competitive people in all the realm. "What just happened? Who is this guy?" Some people asked allowed.

          Coach Jenkins called him over once again, "You! Get over here! What do you call that? I call that raw talent." He gave a huge happy smile, finally finding a player worth a damn. He talked some more about meeting up with Jay later to bring him on the team. A while later he called to the rest of the team for a different setup.

          Most of the guys boasted in unison, celebrating a new teammate. All but one. The blonde prince, son of Cinderella who was meant to be the one scoring. Jay knew Chad never once gave a single thought about villain kids being brought to Auradon other than disapproval and it seemed like Jay gathering everyone's interest wasn't going to help their case.

          It'd be an hour and most of the other players went inside to take showers, eat something, or leave to go home. But Jay wasn't done yet, he still had plenty of energy to burn off, and the new food in this place definitely helped in creating it. Jay was doing pull-ups outside using the bleacher handles away from the others since they never stopped talking.

          But, that didn't stop the blonde prince from marching his way like he owned the place (and his family probably owned some portion of it). "Saw you out there today." Jay didn't miss the way he flinched when Jay pulled himself up and almost hit the blonde with his suddenness. Chad drew in a sharp breath before approaching once more after Jay kept lifting himself, "I bet you think you're all that. Big guy, works out, MVP in minutes." Chad listed off his envy in a mocking tone. "But, I know what you are. Son of a bastard son."

          That was when Jay let go and landed with a thump in front of him. Chad shut his mouth at the sight of Jay's eerily calm exterior. Son of a bastard son. Jay hated the title because it was true. But it wasn't the only truth to it. And it was clear he didn't like it being brought up. As for Chad, it didn't help his confidence that the young villain was a foot taller than him. Chad was sure this wasn't going to end pretty, but what came next definitely surprised him. "So, you've been watching me, huh?"

          Chad took a second before sputtering out a confused, "What?"

         "'Big guy, works out, MVP in minutes.' Isn't that what you said?" Jay mimicked him in a throaty voice and he just kept getting closer to the blonde, "You were watching me, right?" He made sure it was obvious that he kept looking at him up and down.

          "I-I-" Chad kept searching for words but Jay interrupted him before any defense or excuse could be formed.

          "I mean, who could blame you?" He licked his lips before scoffing, "I bet all the guys around here are the same clean, vanilla, boring subjects you're surrounded by constantly. No wonder you were eyeing up a new flavor."

          "F-Flavor? Wh-What does that even mean?" Through his sputtering, they both knew he was lying, and his eyes shifting from side to side told Jay he was afraid of the public view but calmed just a bit when he noticed there was no one around.

          Jay leaned down closer to him and whispered softly in his ear, "It means you've been checking out Ben's ass since we arrived on the field, and ever since you saw me make that goal, you've been checking out mine."

          "That's total bullshit." His voice was defensive but also emotionless. He was holding back, Jay could tell.

          "Ooh, such dirty words out of a clean little mouth," Jay's smile twitched a bit upwards, "I wonder if I can make it dirtier."

          Jay only kept smiling as he watched Chad huff and scoff before turning away and marching off to the dorms. Auradon could be worse, was what he thought as he grinned staring at Chad's behind walking away.

☠︎ ☠︎ ☠︎ ☠︎

ᴛʜᴜʀsᴅᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ 24ᴛʜ
ᴏꜰ ᴍᴀᴅʀᴇ 1219ᴀᴄ
6 ᴘᴍ

          Today had been one of the most boring days that Carlos has ever lived. Evie was working on a mixture with some new chemicals she took from the chemistry lab. Mal was on her bed flipping through her mother's old spell book which she's since then claimed as her own. And as for the de Vil boy, he was sitting on the floor of Mal and Evie's dorm flicking his knife open and closed repeatedly in thought. He heard Mal take a breath —probably to tell him to stop it— when through the door came Jay with no warning.

          He was wearing a blue and gold jersey, showing it off for everyone as Evie clapped in excitement and whistled a bit.

          "Lookin' good," Carlos commented.

         "Thank you, thank you, I know." Jay did a turn and dropped his stuff on the floor to walk toward the chemist. "E, what are you up to, and will it end up exploding for the eighth time?"

          "The first time was accidental, the other seven were on purpose." Evie smiled, "I got poppy flowers from Oz out of the chemistry lab they have. They are stocked on so many magical elements but they don't even know how to mix them —let alone label them properly! I'm embarrassed for them, it's so disappointing for this place."

          "What do you expect? Most of the people in charge are humans with magic trauma. No wonder they voted to get rid of it." Mal spoke up, her eyes not lifting from the book.

          "What do poppy flowers do exactly?" Carlos asked the blue-haired witch.

         "They're great to render people unconscious instantly when ground to dust. But, mixed with Cobra Moon venom? It's a powerful hypnotic. Unfortunately, you need a lot of poppy flower dust and they're super hard to come by. I've got enough for one dose. As for the venom, I think I can stretch what I have left for one more if I get more poppy flowers."

          "Can't you steal more?" Mal asked.

          "The venom's from the Isle, I got a good portion of it but I use it in other stuff too. As for the poppies, I stole half of what they had and still only had enough for one dose." Evie lifted her head from her work table to show her comrades the finished result. Clasp in her hands was a plugged glass test tube with a shiny pastel red liquid in the bottom. The liquid was barely taller than a penny.

          "One dose, huh?" Mal said.

          Evie understood the way Mal phrased it. They had one shot at taking control of one person until Evie had a way to get more without drawing suspicion. It was a break-glass-incase-of-emergency type of thing.

         "And may I remind you, I'm the only one who knows how to activate it. It's not something you drink, so think twice before going through my stuff and going against the plan." Evie looked at everyone when saying that. Carlos may have been the most reckless of them all, but there were plenty of times when Mal's emotions got the better of her and left her impulsive.

         "Don't worry, Evie, I'm sure everyone will control themselves." Carlos had a smile on his face that none of them could really place. As he walked back to his original seat on the floor, he almost looked happy, and that was enough to put anyone on edge.

         "Because that wasn't concerning at all." Mal clicked her tongue in thought before looking at Jay, "Keep an eye on him, would you?" She said, not caring that Carlos clearly heard her.

          "I'll make sure he doesn't do anything to expose us."  Was all he said in reply.

         "What about you, Dragona?" Evie asked, using her nickname for Mal. "You memorized that book months ago, why go through it now? Feeling nostalgic or something?" She teased.

          Mal scoffed ignoring her, "You remember Fairy Godmother's kid? Blue eyes, super shy?"

         "Jane," Jay said, as remembered her name.

          "Jane," Mal repeated, getting a sense of the fairy's name. "There's something off about her. And I'm going to find out."

☠︎ ☠︎ ☠︎ ☠︎

enjoy this Jay moodboard:

this took so long to write, is it even good idk anymore

i also spent six hours making that Isle of the Lost map that was published at the same time as this one, i hope you like it

as for this story

- Evie calls Mal 'Dragona' it's Spanish for dragon, Sofia Carson is Latina (part Columbian to be exact) so yes, Evie says it in a Spanish accent

- the wand isn't in the museum, whaaat? did ya'll like that change? i plan on changing every single direction basically

- Péché de fée, the drink Mal was talking about is French for 'Fairy Sin'

- Mal mentioned Sophie Page, remember her

- Mal has given herself a mission to find out more about Jane (no, it isn't romantic, don't ask if it is)

- Jay meets Chad and teases the living daylights out of him, thoughts?

- why the hell has Carlos been so obedient, it's even scaring me, I wasn't even aware I was doing that until I read the whole thing together

no mundanes allowed