âCâmere, lass...our captain is going to be quite glad to see ya...â How...how did pirates manage to find their way to Auradon? Adult pirates? She had been walking alone back to campus from the stables, having stayed late to finish polishing all of the tack, when she had been cornered by two hulking forms. Her anxiety bubbled to the surface as she glanced around quickly for a way out of the current situation. They moved towards her, eyes glinting as dangerously as the daggers in their hands.Â
âStay back,â she warned, trying to find joy inside of her to activate the pixie dust in her blood. If any time was the right time to fly, it was that moment. She had no weapons with her, nothing to protect her but her fists. She did not believe such things were necessary anymore with the new boundaries and rules between Auradon and the Isle. One of them reached for her and grabbed a lock of her hair, yanking her closer as she cried out in pain, tears welling up in her eyes. âGet...off of me! Let me...go!âÂ
âI bet sheâll get a nice...warm...welcome...wonât she?â
âOh, I do believe it be a reunion neither o' them will forget. 'eâs been waitin' to see 'er again...â Stella threw out her hands and legs and struggled against his hold as best as possible, even trying to bite at him. Anything to throw him off, get him to release her. Mace...she had mace in her bag in case there were wild animals...as they laughed and began to drag her back away from campus and towards wherever theyâd come from, she quickly rummaged through the bag across her body and found the can. Gripping it tight, she fished it out and sprayed it into her kidnapperâs face, hearing his howl of pain as he hurled her aside rather roughly and held his face.Â
Her body rolled until it slammed into the base of a tree, and she cried out, knowing that at the very least she now had several bruised ribs. She did not sit around and wait for them to come for her, however, as she grudgingly proceeded to army crawl her way into the bushes. This worked to her advantage, as she knew these woods much better than they did, and hopefully, she would be able to lose them.Â
âFind âer! If we donât bring âer back, Capâll âave our heads!âÂ
ââe didnât say we had to bring the Darling girl back conscious...or unharmed...â The voices drew closer, and as much as Stella wished to scream for help, she knew it would only notify them of her location. She crawled for what seemed like hours until their voices seemed to pass her and fade out of earshot. She waited for a moment before stumbling to her feet and forcing herself to retrace herself back to the school. She had only gotten halfway before exhaustion and pain overwhelmed her, and the young brunette collapsed.Â
âWha-?â She did not know long it had been, but she awoke in someoneâs arms. Her first thought was that it was one of those pirates, and theyâd found her, so she instantly began to struggle, trying to get free as she moaned in pain from the movement. âN-No! Please...please donât...donât take me there! Put me down!âÂ