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“Maleficent almost roasted us all alive,” Carlos reminded them.
“And who knows what my mom, Jafar, and Cruella have in store for us,” said Evie. “I’m not sure I really want to find out.”
“Come on, guys. We can handle anything. We can handle Maleficent,” Jay said staunchly. “Right, Mal?” He elbowed their fearless leader.
Mal elbowed Jay back, almost a shove. She was clearly just as terrified as the rest of them, but she had decided, like Jay, to keep it under control. “Yes, of course, Jay’s right. We can handle this. We will handle this.” She took a deep breath and stuck out her hand, motioning to the others to do the same. One by one they each put a hand on top of hers.
“For Auradon,” she said.
“For Auradon,” said Jay, slapping his hand down.
“For Auradon,” whispered Evie, adding hers gently.
They all turned to Carlos, waiting.
“For Auradon,” he said finally, and very reluctantly put his hand on top.
It was done. They were afraid of their parents, but they would move forward regardless. Mal always pulled them together, and Jay could feel the relief that now filled the room.
Jay’s plan for getting them transportation back to the island was simple. They would leave Auradon as they entered it, in the royal limousine, which also held the remote control that opened the invisible dome and let down the connecting bridge with a click of a button.
But if the four villain kids were going to leave Auradon Prep without being noticed, then they couldn’t leave looking like themselves; that much was clear. They didn’t have family or friends in the other kingdoms, so there was no reason for them to leave school before winter break. They would have to be creative. Thankfully, being creative was not a problem for Evie.
“Leave that to me,” she’d told the team the night before. “I’ve got this handled. If you get the wheels, Jay, I’ll make sure no one knows it’s us in the royal limousine.”
But for now, she still had time for regular life. After class, Evie headed to the grand ballroom, where tomorrow’s Castlecoming dance would be held, for the last planning meeting. The annual tourney game and dance was a traditional affair, celebrating school alumni returning to their old stomping grounds, when good ol’ princes and princesses regaled everyone with tales of the pranks pulled back in their day—stealing the Auradon mascot, for instance, or the time they glued the classroom furniture to the ceiling, causing Fairy Godmother to exclaim something a little more colorful than “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!”
Evie said hello to the fellow members of the dance committee and the meeting began. Since the dance was so close, almost all the details had already been agreed upon. The menu had been approved, and Mr. and Mrs. Darling had volunteered to chaperone along with Roger and Anita Radcliffe. Lonnie was going to be the DJ, and would be bringing her own equipment. All that was left was to decide on a theme for the decorations.
“We could do an imperial banquet?” suggested Lonnie.
“How about a sultan’s feast?” asked Jordan. “We could tent the whole area!”
No one seemed to like any of those ideas, least of all Evie, who argued that since it was Castlecoming, the theme of the decorations should reflect the school colors—royal blue and gold.
“Yes, you have a point there,” said Audrey. “But don’t you think pale pink and baby blue are so much prettier?”
“It’s not a baby shower,” Evie mumbled under her breath.
“I’m sorry, did you say something?” asked Audrey, pretending not to have heard.
“I agree with Evie,” said Allie. “But can we do something more psychedelic maybe? In Wonderland, we have the most amazing flowers of so many different hues.”
“Mmm,” said Evie, looking around at the lush, cream-colored carpet and exquisite Auradon Prep tapestries already hung on the ballroom’s walls. “Both sound lovely, but I do think blue and gold would be best. It fits the existing color scheme in the room.”
“If you say so.” Allie sighed. “I suppose that is traditional.”
“So we’ll go with a gold balloon banner? And blue velvet ribbons around all the columns?” said Evie, pen poised at the ready.
“Maybe we can have bunches of violets in gold vases?” said Allie. “Violets are actually blue.”
“Perfect!” She smiled at Allie.
“And we can trim the tables with gold leaf,” said Lonnie helpfully.
Audrey frowned. “If you guys really think that’s best.”
Evie smiled. She knew when she had won, and she could be gracious in victory. “Audrey, Lonnie, do you want to come over and try on your ball gowns?” she asked. “I’m pretty much done with them.”
