#droo216

Chapter 2

That spoiled, self-righteous little prince, Nefaria thought. I should have taken his stupid rose petals.

Her horns and her senses were sharp, and she was ready to go to Auradon. Silently in her head she had been plotting constantly, ever since she first heard that they were going. She had watched the people of Auradon for years. They weren’t hard to grasp. She wasn’t as worried as Vladimir – they loved to forgive in Auradon. They loved feeling noble and merciful. Tricking the inhabitants wouldn’t be a problem.

But tricking Beau would. He was the only one there who had met her before. Nefaria had been too young to understand she couldn’t show her real self to him. And now he knew too much about her.

Nefaria felt more at ease when she thought about what her mother had said.

There’s always another plan: Do as much damage as you possibly can.

Of course, her mother was right. That was one of the first things Nefaria learned about the world. Building is the hard part. Destruction always finds a way.

At first, her mother had just told Nefaria, Rizal, Angelika, and Vladimir they were going to school in Auradon. It wasn’t until Nefaria had read the letter herself that she was informed about a “possible summit”, where ambassadors from all ten kingdoms would come together and negotiate the future of the Isle of the Lost. If the summit came to be, Nefaria, Rizal, Vladimir, and Angelika should be ready to play the part of the ambassadors from the isle. Until the summit potentially started, and if it did, while the negotiations were going on, they were supposed to study at the finest school in Rosencourt. There, they would educate themselves on topics of their choice, to be able to put their thoughts into words during the summit, bring forth their own arguments. That’s what the letter said.

Nefaria saw why her mother hadn’t mentioned it – it wasn’t important. It was nothing but empty words. Obviously, heirs from all the kingdoms of Auradon wouldn’t drop everything to come together just to make the lives of the inhabitants of the isle better. They didn’t care. They would come up with some excuse not to have one, and eventually, they would send Nefaria and her friends back to the isle. If they didn’t take matter into their own hands, that was…

If the Auradons wanted peace, they could forget it. In this story, the villains would win. They would take what they wanted, and they would take it the only way they could – not by following the rules, but by breaking them.

But her mother’s plan had seemed underwhelming to Nefaria. Nefaria had always been convinced their parents had a plan. That they had plotted for the last twenty years about how to get out of the Isle of the Lost, so that when the opportunity finally came, they would be ready. Maleficent, Jafar, Grimhilde, and Cruella had private meetings at least once a month. They had to have talked about escaping. A lot.

Maybe they’d never thought about an opportunity as good as this one.

When Nefaria thought about herself and her three closest friends, she realized something. Maybe their parents wanted to test them. Why would they give them more specific instructions? Why would they think they needed them? Nefaria had been able to transform into a dragon since the age of seven – for ten years – and she had flown over to Auradon regularly ever since. Angelika was a magical prodigy. Vladimir was almost as accomplished in making business as his mother, even though he was only seventeen. Rizal was brave, or foolish, enough to do just about anything.

They all had their strengths, and they were powerful. There were ways. They just had to be sly.

Especially if the Auradons were so stupid, they let them come there regardless of the risks.

She stopped herself. It wasn’t “the Auradons” who had decided that she and her friends came there.

It was Beau.

She had thought about their meeting many times, but somehow, she had never really thought about the last things he had said to her.

“When can we meet again?”

Impossible.

He couldn’t possibly be risking the safety of his entire kingdom just to be able to see her again.

Could he?

Of course he could.

Realizing this made her angry. She had always wanted herself and her friends out of the Isle of the Lost, but not like this. Not with his help.

  A brown carriage was carrying Nefaria, Angelika, Rizal, and Vladimir to Auradon. The journey went underwater, the walls strengthened with magic, the carriage pulled by brook horses, and steered by a coachwoman with gills. Angelika, Rizal, and Vladimir had never seen anything but the isle before, and Nefaria had never been under water. None of them could stop looking at the windows. Everything seemed tinted a greenish blue – the sunlight reached all the way to the sea floor – and the seaweed moved slowly, as if from a gentle breeze. They even saw some merfolk, who stopped to look at them and even giving them a smile, waving, unaware of who they were.

All of it reminded Nefaria of Tallulah. The two of them had used to say they fit so well together, complemented each other; fire and water, merfolk and fairy. Under the sea, up in the air – none of them were bound to stay on the ground. Or inside the barrier, for that matter. They could both get through it whenever they wanted.

It had been over a year since they’d last seen each other. Nefaria wondered where Tallulah could be. Probably out on the ocean somewhere, with a ship of her own. If Nefaria knew Tallulah well – and she knew she did – Tallulah wasn’t sailing around without direction. When Tallulah had told Nefaria she wanted them to leave the isle together, she’d had a plan. A plan for where she was going and why. She just never told Nefaria about it.

When Nefaria said she couldn’t come with, Tallulah had given her one last kiss, and left on her own.

The carriage went up a slope, that led them out of the water and onto the docks of Auradon. They hardly had time to look around before being guided into another carriage. To her three friends, Nefaria thought, the steps from the first carriage to the second one could have been nothing but a jumble of light and colors that they didn’t have time to take in.

The last carriage had been brown and plain, but the next one was made of gold and covered in ornaments. It was pulled by regular horses, white and unnaturally clean, and the coachman was human. Thick curtains covered the windows.

They were on land now, officially in Auradon. If they spoke low, they could be completely sure the coachman wouldn’t hear them.

”Now,” Nefaria said, lowering her voice, leaning forwards, closer to the others, “we plot.”

“No, we don’t,” Vladimir hissed, looking around the wagon, his eyes saying: We don’t know who might be listening.

“No one can hear us,” Nefaria whispered tiredly. “We’re in Auradon now. No magic is allowed here, as you might remember. If there had been any sort of magic near us, I would have felt it.”

Vladimir rolled his eyes.

“Whatever you say,” he said, leaning back against the cushions, blatantly ironic. “You’re in charge.”

Nefaria ignored him.

“This is our one chance to prove ourselves to our parents,” she said, turning to Rizal and Angelika. “Why do you think they gave us such vague instructions? We’re not little children anymore. We’re almost adults. We should be able to come up with something on our own.”

“So what is your big plan?” Vladimir said, and Nefaria looked at him again.

“To begin with,” she said, “we’re going to use that limp of yours.”

First, Vladimir looked like he was about to get angry. With controlled irritation, Angelika said:

“So that’s why you didn’t want me to heal that really nasty wound your mother gave him?”

Nefaria nodded. Vladimir nodded, too, snickering.

“I thought you were just in bad mood,” he said.

Nefaria frowned. “I’m not in a bad mood.”

“Yes, you are,” Rizal said. “You have been ever since you heard we were going here.”

“I have not. I’ve just been thinking a lot.” She didn’t like this, this sudden, intense need to defend herself.

So she changed the subject.

“The point is, they’ll like the vulnerability,” she said. “They’ll underestimate you, Vladimir. They won’t realize your best weapon is your brain.”

Vladimir’s facial expression softened a little.

“That does seem kind of reasonable, I guess,” he said.

“And the rest of us?” Rizal asked.

“We will use Angelika’s intelligence, and your bravery. Angelika will do extraordinarily well in school and make them think it’s thanks to them.” She turned from Angelika to Rizal. “We’ll find a scenario where Rizal can show his skills, maybe rescue one of the Auradons from some kind of dangerous situation.”

“What if we don’t find such a scenario?” Angelika asked.

“We’ll create one,” Nefaria replied, grinning. She hoped they wouldn’t find one. The second option was a lot more fun.

Vladimir scoffed. “And you? What will you contribute with?”

Hearing Vladimir saying that made her feel threatened in a way she wasn’t used to. On the isle, she was obviously the most powerful of the four, because she held the strongest magic in her. In Auradon, magic wasn’t allowed. Everyone who practiced magic must register and they were watched strictly. Her biggest strength – which she sometimes thought of as her sole strength – could only be used with extreme caution, if at all. She wondered if that thought had crossed Vladimir’s mind, or Angelika’s or Rizal’s, for that matter. Anger rose within her.

“I’m the one making the plans, as usual,” Nefaria said. “Since none of you seem to have one, as usual.”

As she spoke, she raised her hands and released her hair from the strict hairdo. Angelika looked at her in disbelief, unfolding her arms and gaping slightly.

“Why on earth did you do that? We spent two hours on your hair!”

“I know I’ve just wasted several hours of my life in order to look presentable to this pathetic boy king and his little royal friends,” Nefaria said. “But it doesn’t have to be that obvious.”

“Are you insane?” Angelika was almost yelling. Then she remembered the coachman and lowered her voice. “We are meant to play a part, remember? We’re supposed to trick them. We have to look the part. We have to look like we’re grateful to be here. Like we want to be here.”

“Well, I’m sorry I’m not a very good actor,” Nefaria replied, throwing her head forwards and back again, setting her hair completely free.

“And don’t fling your horns around like that, unless you want to take someone’s eye out!” Rizal said, trying to sound angry.

“I’m hoping on it,” Nefaria replied, sounding so solemn, Rizal couldn’t help but laugh.

Letting out a groan, Angelika gave up. “You’re both hopeless.”

“At least we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” Rizal said. “You should try it sometime. You might like it.”

“Maybe I will, but this is not the right time.” Angelika looked out the window, signaling that the conversation was over. For a moment, she looked like she could cry from frustration. The look on Vladimir’s face told them he agreed with her.

Nefaria almost felt bad, and she was worried, too. She could tell Angelika noticed she was acting strangely. They had all noticed.

You’ve been in a bad mood ever since you heard we were going here.

For some reason she hadn’t thought they knew her that well.

  When they stepped out of the darkness of the carriage, they were met with so much light and color, they could have stumbled backwards. Nefaria had never been to Auradon during midday before, and the other three had never been there at all.

Right in front of them was the Beast’s castle. Around them were crowds of people, countless faces staring at them. A crier presented them as they smiled uncomfortably. The only one who seemed to enjoy the spotlight was Vladimir, which came as no surprise to Nefaria.

Then, they started walking towards the gates of the castle.

“All the colors are so bright,” Vladimir whispered, making an effort to hardly move his lips at all. He was trying to sound irritated, but there was something resembling excitement in his voice as well. Leaning towards Rizal, squinting, subtly opening his coat wider, he continued: “They’re going to damage our eyesight.”

Rizal laughed discreetly. “Just as well. At least we won’t have to see all of this garbage.”

But she could tell they were fascinated. She was, too. Fascinated and equally disgusted. Angelika laid her fingers on Vladimir’s arm and whispered:

“It’s so warm, but without being sultry. It’s strange, isn’t it?”

Vladimir nodded, eyes forward, towards the gates at the end of the royal blue carpet, laid out in front of them like a trail to a new world.

None of the people facing them could hide their fear nor their interest. Nefaria was dressed in a long, white dress – her mother’s suggestion – and though she felt uncomfortable wearing anything that wasn’t black, she liked the feeling of being in disguise. Angelika’s dress was blue, flowing around her like water when she walked. It contrasted to Rizal’s red cloak, embroidered with patterns in yellow and orange, dancing in the wind like fire. Under his coat, golden for the occasion, Vladimir was wearing a dusty pink gala suit from the tenth kingdom. Nefaria had convinced Vladimir not to wear fur, and Rizal to shave his mustache, as she wanted them to look as different from their parents as possible. In a way, letting her hair down had been a wise decision. Maleficent never used to show hers.

The gates were opened in front of them and they stepped inside.

In the grand hall, they were met with the sight of two thrones, and two women and one young man standing in front of them. The women were the two most powerful people in Auradon –  Belle, the High Queen of Auradon, and the Fairy Godmother, the Arbiter of Justice.

It took Nefaria a moment to realize that the young man was prince Beau. Everything about him was sleek and shining – his hair, his clothes, his skin. He was dressed in a golden cloak and had a crown on his head. He was wholesome, handsome, smiling with empty eyes. Nothing like the shy, hunched young beast she had met four years ago.

He looked a lot more foreign to her like this.

She curtsied deeply, and raising up again, she said:

“Your highness. We are not worthy of the generosity that you’ve shown us. Without your honor and kind heart, we would still be on the isle with those… loathsome miscreants.”

Only her friends could spot the irony in her voice, and only she could make out the amusement on their faces when their smiles widened.

Beau smiled, too, and after welcoming them, he said:

“We are the ones who should thank you, for agreeing to this opportunity to negotiate the future of Auradon and the Isle of the Lost. We know how much talent, intelligence, and ambition the inhabitants of the isle possesses, and we hope that this will be the beginning of a process of sending even more of them over.”

Now that she was close to him, she could see his eyes. They were still the same. Realizing that soothed her. Big, dark blue eyes. Up close, his look didn’t seem empty anymore. It felt like he saw her. Then, she noticed his hands. They were trembling. She smirked. Maybe he hadn’t changed as much a she’d thought.

She realized what he had said. Could it be true? Could he actually be planning on letting more people out of the isle? She looked around. Everyone from the court, everyone who seemed to have power in Rosencourt or be close to the royal family, seemed to be gathered around them. Could he really be saying something like that so publicly if it was just empty words?

“It is my greatest pleasure to introduce four young ambassadors from the Isle of the Lost.” He took a step forward and presented them all, Nefaria first, then Rizal, then Vladimir, then Angelika. As he did, he made them sound like royalty.

  Afterwards, they found themselves at a welcoming ball. They had all known about it, but it still felt overwhelming, at least to Nefaria.

After watching the people around her for a while, she realized she had seen a lot of them before, on her flights over to Auradon. Knowing that she had the advantage of knowing them, even if it was just for a little, made her feel smug. Things were going well. Vladimir walking around, his limp just visible enough to gain attention, greeting everyone he met with the same graceful courtesy and responding to comments like “Oh, you poor thing! What happened to your leg?” with heroic answers like: “Don’t worry, it’s just a scratch.” Rizal subtly flirting with basically every person the same age as him at the ball, making one of them after the other laugh at his jokes. Angelika, wanting to take in every inch of the room, probably analyzing everything she set her eyes on, but never leaving Nefaria’s side.

Nefaria looked across the room, where Beau was talking to princess Lilith. The breathtakingly confident, well-educated, immensely wealthy, perfect daughter of Queen Aurora and King Philip. Ever since Nefaria first saw her, jealousy had been boiling in her stomach. Now, as she saw her talking and laughing with Beau, the jealousy boiled over to hate. Princess Lilith’s arrival had been more excessive and pretentious than Nefaria could have ever imagined. It had been a parade of horses, knights, servants carrying squirrels, rabbits, songbirds, and owls in gilded cages, a huge carriage lead by four black unicorns, and even more than that, that Nefaria didn’t even have the energy to remember.

In a way, it made her glad. Beau couldn’t possibly be impressed by someone who presented themselves like that. Or could he? He seemed to be having a good time with Lilith, at least from afar.

Nefaria had good reasons to have a chat with Lilith. Why not walk up to them and interrupt their little conversation?

Before she could take a step, Angelika had grabbed her arm.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Nefaria pulled her arm loose.

“Look at me,” Angelika said. Reluctantly, Nefaria did as she asked.

“Now is not the right time,” Angelika whispered. “I could tell how upset you were when you saw her. It’s understandable. You two will have your little talk about your parents and the past, but not right now. Right now, we need to be polite and charming and not take any risks.”

“I should at least get to introduce myself,” Nefaria growled.

Just as she said that, Lilith turned and looked straight at her. Then, she and Beau walked up to her and Angelika.

“Remember, stay calm,” Angelika whispered. “Please.”

Lilith was as tall as Nefaria, and so beautiful it would have frightened her, had she been someone who was frightened easily. There was something eerie, almost supernatural about Lilith’s beauty.

”Nefaria, Angelika,” Beau said. “I would like you to meet Crown Princess Lilith of Fairedge.” The princess curtsied, looking at Nefaria with a stare that was so intense, Nefaria for a moment almost was frightened. The look in Lilith’s eyes was the exact look that had drawn Nefaria to Tallulah – and pushed her away from her. A dangerous confidence, a beauty to be feared.

Lilith’s smirk widened. Ignoring Angelika, she stared Nefaria down, saying: “It Is truly lovely to finally meet you in person. Beau just told me the most wonderful things about you.”

Forcing a smile, Nefaria said: “Really? I’m delighted to hear that.”

“I think we will have lot to talk about,” Lilith said.

“I think we will,” Nefaria replied.

Nefaria thought she was handling the situation well, but suddenly, she noticed how Beau was looking at her. There wasn’t just suspicion in his eyes – it was like he knew exactly was she was thinking, could actually feel how much hate that was filling her.

Even though not even Lilith seemed to have caught up on it.

That must have been why Beau was so quick to lead Nefaria and Angelika away from Lilith, saying he wanted to introduce them to two of his closest friends.

“They’re the only ones except for Lilith and yourselves who are already here for the summit,” he said. “The others will arrive shortly.”

“You mean, the summit will actually happen?” Angelika couldn’t help but ask.

“Why, yes, of course,” Beau replied. Leaning closer to them, he whispered: “The only one really hard to get here was Lilith, and, as you can see, she is definitely here now.”

They were introduced to a young man and woman with long, brown hair and smiles like sunlight. Their hair was the exact same length, and their facial features were so similar, they had to be twins. The woman had her eyes closed and were being led around the ballroom by her brother.

“Viola and Sebastian, I would like you to meet Nefaria and Angelika, two of the ambassadors from the Isle of the Lost. Nefaria, Angelika – Viola and Sebastian of Corona.”

Talking to Viola and Sebastian seemed to melt away at least some of the cold feelings Lilith had made Nefaria feel. Both Viola and Sebastian had such a calmness and softness about them, and Nefaria quickly forgot Viola couldn’t see. Because she hadn’t felt so noticed in a long time. Viola seemed to understand her and Angelika, in a way that only someone who actively questions their own prejudices can. Nefaria felt like she could have talked to Viola and her brother for hours.

  After the ball and the following dinner, Nefaria, Angelika, Rizal, and Vladimir were led to their rooms. The room Nefaria and Angelika shared was pink and white all over, the bedsheets, canopies and tablecloths all decorated with lace.

Finally, they were alone. Finally, Nefaria could tell Angelika the one thing she had wanted to say for several hours.

“This won’t work. I can’t play a part – prince Beau will know if I do.”

Frustration and surprise were beaming out of Angelika. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I could just tell from the way he looked at me.”

Angelika folded her arms. “There is something you’re not telling me.”

Almost losing composure, Nefaria wondered what to say. She hadn’t expected Angelika to figure that out, at least not so quickly.

“No, it’s not,” Nefaria said. “Why would you think that?”

“You’re hiding something.”

“No.”

”What are you hiding?”

Nefaria sighed. Usually, Angelika wasn’t very stubborn. When she was, there was no use trying to argue with her.

”I’ve…” After a short hesitation, she continued. “I have met the prince before. Once. It was four years ago. He got to know me a little, I guess. We talked for a while.”

“Talked? About what? Why?”

“He told me he’d give me the petals of the enchanted rose if I talked to him, so I did. He saw me when I flew here to take them.”

Angelika snorted. “Why didn’t you take them, then?”

Nefaria had wondered that herself for a long time. Without understanding why, she hadn’t wanted him to think she had talked to him all night because she wanted the petals.

“I had to escape quickly,” Nefaria lied. “We heard someone coming. There was no time.”

Angelika thought about it for a moment before speaking again.

”I don’t see how this can be anything but a good thing, though,” she said. “If anyone can gain his trust, it’s you.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Do you have a better suggestion?”

“Of course I do. Did you see Vladimir limping, those faces of pain he made? He’s playing his part perfectly. Now we just need to let people see the wound and let them know my mother did it to him. Not only will they pity us, but they’ll be convinced we’re not on her side. As for Rizal – he is strong, he is brave –“

“You mean dumb?”

“I mean that it’s the same thing to these people. I’ve seen what the girls in Auradon act like. They think being a damsel in distress is the best way to find someone to fall in love with, and that’s what they all want, to fall in love. Rizal could win over one or more of the powerful young women around here easily. We will make sure he gets the chance to rescue a girl, which won’t be that hard, consider the girls around here seem to try to get themselves in trouble.”

Angelika squinted with her left eye. She always did that when she wasn’t buying something someone told her.

“That seems a bit like… simplifying things,” she said.

“No, it’s not,” Nefaria said. “Trust me.”

“The Auradons shouldn’t underestimate us,” Angelika said. “But we shouldn’t underestimate them, either.”

“I’m the one who has actually been here before!”

“And I’m the more intelligent one,” Angelika replied, smiling sweetly.

It annoyed Nefaria that Angelika wouldn’t listen to her. She wasn’t going to show it, though – it wasn’t the right approach.

“And what will I do, if doing well in school isn’t enough?” Angelika asked.

“You’ll come up with something,” Nefaria said. “You’re the best witch on the isle, and thereby in the entirety of the nine kingdoms.”

“You know flattery doesn’t work on me, Nefaria. Especially when you tell me things I already know.” Angelika folded her arms. “I still think you have to use your relationship with the prince. I’m beginning to think you’re the reason he brought us here in the first place.”

Nefaria shrugged and shook her head. That wasn’t something she wanted to talk about, not right now. Instead of answering, she looked past Angelika’s face, out the window. On the horizon, she saw a ship, and she thought about Tallulah again.

She missed her.

Someone knocked on the door. Nefaria turned her eyes to Angelika, who was smiling victoriously.

“It’s the prince,” she said. “I guarantee it.”

Nefaria shook her head. “No, it’s not. It’s probably Vladimir or Rizal. It’s not him.”

Angelika opened the door, and she was, as usual, completely unsurprised to discover she had been right.

It was Beau.