“I think we need to start,” said Lumiere. They were already running half an hour late, and the guests were getting restless. “I will bring her up when she arrives.”
Ben agreed, taking the scissors and standing in front of the big yellow ribbon that was draped behind him in front of an open doorway. He looked out at the expectant faces gathered around, as well as the television cameras and phones that were held up to record his every word.
“It’s a real treat to be here today at the opening of the royal wing of the Auradon Library. As you know, my mother is an avid reader and believes books are passports to a deeper knowledge and understanding of the world,” he said, giving a speech he’d performed so often he could recite it in his sleep. (There were many royal library wings in Auradon.)
After the speech, Ben shook hands and made polite conversation with the dignitaries, keeping one eye on the entrance, looking for Mal. They hadn’t seen each other since Fairy Godmother destroyed the talismans yesterday, and he wanted to make sure she was all right. She’d seemed a little green around the edges after the spell had cleared. He hadn’t had any time to text her that day yet; his royal schedule was so packed between classes and royal duties that he hadn’t even had a second to himself, so he’d been looking forward to seeing her at the library at least.
Ben wondered what was keeping her as he walked over to the buffet table, perusing the hot hors d’oeuvres, pie, and pudding flambé. All his favorite foods. He picked up a cup of the flaming pudding and spooned a bite. Ben had learned to take every opportunity to eat at these royal events; he’d been to a reception in Agrabah once where he had passed on food offered at the pre-ceremony, not knowing about the traditional six hours of speechifying that would follow. By the time they finally served dinner at midnight, he thought he’d pass out.
Ben was also looking forward to seeing Mal so he could ask her to be his lady and have her official debut at Cotillion, an Auradon tradition that was coming up in a month or so. He was a little nervous about it, but it wasn’t like he was asking her to publicly declare her love for him in front of the entire kingdom. Except, well, he was. Maybe that meant he should make his Cotillion proposal a little more special? But before he could think more on it, he was pulled aside by some older ladies from the Aurora Priory who wanted to have a word.
“How is your dear mother?” asked a duchess, who counted herself among Belle’s closest friends and was something of an aunt to Ben.
“She’s very well, thank you,” said Ben. “I think she’s looking forward to coming home; she said she’s been a bit seasick on the last leg of their cruise.”
“I’m so glad,” said a countess, who was another of his mother’s close friends. “The kingdom has missed them.”
“I’ve missed them,” said Ben, feeling a bit homesick for his parents. He was proud they trusted him enough to leave the entire kingdom in his hands, but once in a while, he did miss having his family around.
“Oh, sweetheart!” chorused the ladies, who immediately took to comforting him like their own child.
Ben was assuring them he was quite all right when he felt another tap on his shoulder and turned to see Lonnie. “Ben, can I have a word?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said, relieved to have an excuse to bid goodbye to the well-meaning mother hens. “What’s wrong?”
“I just got a message from the Imperial Palace. There’s some trouble in Northern Wei’s Stone City, near the Great Wall: a border dispute with Agrabah.”
Ben frowned. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not. The Emperor doesn’t want to insult the Sultan, and they’re both asking if you can help them come to an agreement,” said Lonnie. “The villagers on both sides will listen to you as King of Auradon, without anyone from the Imperial Palace or the Sultan’s family losing face.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Ben.
“Will you come now?” she pleaded. “The Emperor is worried the situation might escalate. So far everyone is being polite, but he thinks it’ll be more than that if people don’t calm down soon.”
“Yes, of course.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin and set down the pudding, following Lonnie out the door just as Mal rushed in with that determined look in her eye that he loved.
“Ben!” she cried when she spotted him. She looked as if she’d just been running.
“Mal!” he said, happy to finally see her.
They hugged.
“Am I that late? Are you leaving already?” she said, stricken. “I’m so sorry! I thought it was at the main library, not the school library. I went to the wrong place!”
“No, it’s okay. Don’t worry. The event isn’t over, but I do have to go,” he said, motioning to Lonnie.
“Oh, hi, Lonnie,” said Mal.
“Hi, Mal,” said Lonnie, fidgeting anxiously with the sword on her hip.
“What’s wrong?” Mal asked.
“Trouble between Agrabah and Northern Wei. I’ve got to broker a peace deal between them and the empire,” said Ben.
“We have to leave immediately,” said Lonnie.
“How long will you be gone?” asked Mal, just as her phone burst into a devilish laugh. MUAHAHAHAHA. MUAHAHAHAHA.
“Interesting choice for a text alert,” teased Ben.
“Yeah, I’m not so into the standard chirping bird,” said Mal, looking down at her phone. “Huh, Evie just emergency-texted me. I should go too.”
“Let me know if you need anything,” said Ben. “I don’t know when we’ll get back yet, so keep in touch.”
“I will, don’t worry,” Mal promised, looking up at him with her sparkling emerald eyes. “And good luck.”
They hugged again, and Ben kissed her forehead. “By the way, remind me, I have to ask you something when I get back.”
“Okay. Why so mysterious?” asked Mal. “Just ask me now.”
“I want to make it special,” said Ben with a smile.
“Ben, we should really go,” said Lonnie anxiously.
“Go,” said Mal. “You’re needed.”
Ben nodded and gave her a final squeeze, then ran off to follow Lonnie out the door to make the necessary arrangements with Lumiere.
“Coming through, coming through,” Harry Hook called, flying down the banister to his next class at Serpent Prep, the tails of his red waistcoat flapping as aspiring henchmen and teenage toughs scurried out of the way, lest they be unfortunate enough to have a chance encounter with Harry and his hook.
The Serpent Preparatory School for the Education of Miscreants, as it was appropriately named, had many terrible students—a host of evil, wicked, scheming, rotten little villains, who were just like their parents. But in all of Serpent Prep, there was only one Harry Hook.
Harry laughed his maniacal laugh and waved his hook merrily, slashing at the air, as a little first-year tripped trying to get out of his way. Harry himself landed on his feet, and with a flourish, tipped his black tricorn hat and bowed to a group of young witches who tittered at the sight of him. “Hiiiii, Harry,” they chorused in a melodic singsong.
“Ladies.” He winked, his smirk making them swoon. Dark-haired, with a wicked gleam in his dark eyes that were roguishly lined with guyliner, Harry had all the swagger and swashbuckling charm of a real devil-may-care buccaneer. He was the only boy in the Hook family—right between his older sister, sassy and mean-spirited Harriet, and his younger sister, CJ (short for Calista Jane—the baby—who was always off having grand adventures of her own). Harry prided himself on being wild and unpredictable, off-kilter and a little mad, his one disappointment being that he hadn’t come by his hook naturally—he had to suffer the injustice of having to carry a hook in either hand.
He’d tried to entice Tick-Tock to take a bite of him once, hanging off the dock and dipping a hand in the water, but the lazy crocodile just opened one eye and went back to sleep.
Entering the classroom, Harry slid into his seat next to Uma, who was already in her usual place in
the back of the room. “Well, helloooo,” he drawled.
“Arr,” she grunted, looking irritated.
Harry wondered what was wrong. Uma was his oldest friend on the Isle. She’d sort of decided to order him around when they were kids, and he sort of fell into the habit of following her orders. They had a lot in common: cruel intentions, awesome pirate outfits, and well-muscled arms. Plus, they were always up for mischief and adventure.
This was their favorite class, Accelerated Piracy: Hostage Taking and Threatening. But today’s lesson was all about different pirate flags, which could honestly put any swashbuckler to sleep.
Uma could usually be counted on to cause a little trouble and a little excitement, and Harry wished she would shake herself out of this dark mood she was in. There were goblins to torment, rigging to swing around in, and victims to rough up out there. He couldn’t do it alone.
“Want to go see if we can find some first-years to walk the plank?” he asked. “Or raid Jafar’s Junk Shop?”
Uma shook her head. “Not today. Today I need a ship.”
“A ship! What do you need a ship for?” he asked.
“We’re pirates, Harry. What kind of pirates don’t have a pirate ship?” she said.
Uma had a point. A pirate’s life on the Isle of the Lost was a bit limited. There were no rich galleons loaded with gold to attack, no merchant ships to hold hostage, no ports to raid. If they had a ship, their pirating would still be restricted, true, but the invisible dome that kept the island apart from the mainland fell a little beyond the immediate shores, which meant a ship could still sail from one end of the island to the other, maybe even to the Isle of the Doomed, the haunted island that nobody visited.
“Think of all the awful things we could do if we had a set of sails,” said Uma. “Especially if we ever got out of the Isle of the Lost. We’d have the freedom to do bad deeds everywhere!”
That did sound promising, thought Harry. Freedom to rampage and adventure—explore the world and steal its finest treasures. “All right, we need a ship, but where would we get—?” he said, just as he remembered a flyer he’d ripped from the school bulletin board earlier that morning. He unfurled it from his pocket, studying it carefully. “Look at this,” he said, nudging Uma.
It was a ship, or more accurately, a drawing of a ship. A pirate ship with black sails, flying the Jolly Roger and everything. A real beauty.
“The Lost Revenge,” read Uma.
“Good name for a pirate ship,” said Harry approvingly.
They read the rest of the text together.
PIRATE RACE
FIRST MAN TO REACH DEAD MAN’S COVE FROM THE GOBLIN WHARF WINS THE LOST REVENGE FROM THE ONE AND ONLY CAPTAIN HOOK
IF IT FLOATS, USE IT AS A BOAT!
TO ENTER: BRING TREASURE!
“This is it!” said Uma, eyes alight. “I’m winning that ship!”
“You?!” said Harry, almost choking on the word and falling off his chair. “This is a ship from my dad’s fleet! That ship should be mine!” Of course his father couldn’t just give him the ship, could he? Instead Captain Hook was using it to amass more bounty. “And you’ll need a crew to sail that thing!”
“I’ll get a crew!” howled Uma, slamming her palm on his desk. “Isle of the Lost? This is more like Isle of the Lemmings! Everyone here is just looking for someone to follow, someone to look up to, someone to fear! Now that Maleficent’s a lizard, there’s no one in charge! Why not me? I’ll have a crew faster than you can say octopus!”
“But you don’t even know how to sail!” Harry protested.
“And you do?” sneered Uma.
“Of course I do!” yelled Harry. “I’m a pirate! You’re just a sea witch!”
“I don’t care! That ship is mine!” said Uma.
“No, it’s mine!” said Harry, as they each took hold of the paper’s edge and pulled it toward him- or herself.
Uma let go of the flyer, taking Harry by surprise, and he lost hold of his hook, which rolled to the floor. Quick as Lucifer, Uma pounced on it and held it high. “It’s mine!” she said triumphantly.
“Give it back,” growled Harry, seething.
“Oh, I’ll give it back…if.” Uma said, a dangerous smile creeping on her face. She looked so much like her mother at the moment that it gave Harry chills.
“If?” he squeaked.
“If you or I win this pirate race, I’ll give you your hook back,” said Uma.
“And if we don’t?”
“If neither of us win, your hook is gone forever. I’ll throw it in the ocean. And if I win, you work for me as first mate. I can’t sail a ship, but you can,” said Uma.
Harry considered the offer. “So if you win or I win, I get my hook back,” he said. “And if you win I have to work for you.”
“Uh-huh,” said Uma with a salty smile. “Like I said, you’ll be the first mate on my crew.”
“If you win,” reminded Harry. “If I win, you’ll be my first mate.”
“You’re not going to win,” said Uma smugly, crossing her arms. “I always beat you.”
“I might,” said Harry. “I’m fast.”
“Slippery, more like.”
“Slippery is still fast,” Harry said with a winning smile.
“So it’s a deal?” said Uma, keeping Harry’s hook behind her back while she held out her hand.
“Deal,” said Harry, shaking it. “Now tell me why you really need that ship.” He knew Uma well enough to know she wasn’t telling him the whole story. They’d been pirating all their rotten lives, and she’d never been interested in a pirate ship until today.
Uma leaned in and told him an unbelievable story about a missing golden trident and how they could bargain their way off the island with it.
Harry listened attentively without yawning or interrupting. But at the end of her story he did have one question. “Okay, say we do get that ship. How are we going to find that thing in the water?”
She waved her hand dismissively like Ursula did whenever she had to cast away any doubts in her victims’ minds. “I’ll figure it out later.”
“You really think we’ll get off this island?”
“If we play our cards right,” said Uma. “Negotiation is my specialty.”
Harry scratched his cheek with a fingernail, thinking it over. He wasn’t sure exactly what he’d agreed to, but however it turned out, he’d probably get his hook back, and he already missed it. “All right, let’s go put some rafts together then,” said Harry, studying the flyer again. “The race is this afternoon.”
A merman in a gold scale-patterned uniform came flying at him, sending the ball toward the goal, but Carlos blocked it quickly, throwing it back into the melee. Jay caught the ball with his paddle and ran down the field, jumping on shields, dodging every defenseman and cannonball shot in his path, until he successfully sent the ball whizzing into the Seaside goal. Yes!
But the Seaside team quickly recovered. Carlos was still celebrating Jay’s score when another merman came barreling toward him, almost certain to score. The ball shot toward the very edge of the goal, and right when it seemed all was lost, Carlos flew up and slammed it away from the net, just as the whistle blew to end the game.
Auradon Fighting Knights 3, Seaside Mermen 2.
It was the final game of the season, and they had just won the championship against the number one seed. Carlos cheered, jumping up in the air and waving his paddle. He pointed at Jay. “You!”
“You!” cheered Jay, removing his helmet and rushing across the field to thump Carlos in the chest. They laughed and joined their team in a group hug, a sweaty huddle of excitement and adrenaline.
Then, like the good sports they’d learned to be, they joined their teammates in consoling their opponents, who were congratulating them. “Good game, good game,” Carlos said, high-fiving the defeated mermen as they streamed by the Auradon Fighting Knights.
“Yo! Bomb Goalie!” yelled Herky, a rather large teammate
.
“Huh? What did you call me?” asked Carlos.
“Bomb Goalie! You’re the goalie, and you’re the bomb!”
“Ha! Nice one, thanks,” said Carlos, pounding his teammate’s outstretched fist. Herky enthusiastically tapped him back, sending Carlos flying right into the path of the Auradon mascot.
“Oof!” said a distinctly feminine voice from inside the Fighting Knight costume.
Jane! Carlos thought, rushing to see if she was all right. “I’m so sorry!” he said, helping her stand back up. Jane removed her costume helmet and shook out her hair.
“Are you okay?” asked Carlos.
“I’m fine,” Jane said with a laugh. “Risks of being the mascot.” Her dark hair was plastered to her cheeks and neck and she was all sweaty, but Carlos thought she looked sweet.
“Okay, good.” Carlos smiled. When she turned the other way, he surreptitiously smoothed down his shock of white hair. He was wearing it combed to the side these days, hoping it made him look older, more serious, and less like a computer geek.
They fell in step together off the field, Jane carrying the helmet under her arm. “Good game,” she said. “Poor mermen. They haven’t been having the best week.”
“Did you get caught in the rain too?” asked Carlos.
“Yeah, I went with Lonnie. We got drenched,” said Jane. “It’s my favorite of the Auradon celebrations too.”
They passed Audrey and the cheerleaders, who were squealing and holding their pom-poms while congratulating the team. Jane twirled a lock of her hair around her finger and glanced wistfully at them. “I was thinking of trying out for cheer,” she said. “But that seems silly, right?”
“Why would that be silly?” asked Carlos. “You should try out if you want to.”
“But I’m just the mascot,” said Jane. “Mascots aren’t cheerleader material.”
“That’s not true. Look at me, I never thought I’d make the tourney team,” he told her, swinging his paddle absently.
“Really?” asked Jane. “I thought you and Jay were recruited the minute you got here.”