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“Uh-huh,” said Ben.
“Some of the olives fall over on our side then,” said Charlie. “So we use them. But our neighbors over there say that the olives are theirs, if not for the wall blocking their ability to harvest them. They want their olives back, and, well, we don’t want to give them back. They’re on our side of the wall, fair and square. Plus, the carpets are a nuisance—a huge headache. We’re sick of it. We’ve asked them to ground the carpets, but they refuse.”
Lonnie raised her eyebrows and looked to Ben, who scrunched his forehead and chewed a bubble of tapioca before answering. “Why do they need carpets? They never use them anywhere else in Auradon,” said Ben.
“Because of the wall over here. The carpets are the only way to get over it without having to go all the way around.”
“I see. And you guys eat a lot of olives?”
“Enough,” said Charlie. “My villagers are doubly annoyed because the branches and leaves of the olive trees shed in the winter, and who has to clean up all the mess? We do, because they fall on our side of the wall. The Sultan’s people don’t offer to clean it up, do they? No, they just want to fly their carpets and eat their olives without any of the work.”
Ben leaned forward. “And what are you guys doing about it?”
“So far, nothing yet. Just shouting from opposite sides of the wall. But we’re prepared to do more. We’ve stationed archers on the wall,” said Charlie defensively.
A servant placed a tray of food in front of them. There was olive bread, olive oil, and a fragrant, olive-scented roast beef. Ben reached for a hunk of bread, tearing the loaf, and bit into a piece, just as the entire room began to shake with a boom from a flying carpet. “This is delicious,” he said. “And I can see why you find the carpets aggravating.”
Charlie relaxed slightly. “I’m glad you understand the situation. I was a bit worried about the response from Auradon. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to see the king.”
“Lonnie asked me to take cha
rge personally,” Ben explained.
“Then we have you to thank,” said Charlie to Lonnie, who bowed and smiled.
“Ben will do right by us,” said Lonnie. “Won’t you, Ben?”
Ben wiped the crumbs from his hands with a napkin and rose from the table, grunting a little from the exertion of having to stand from the floor. He was careful not to promise anything without meeting with the other side first. If this issue was going to be resolved, he needed to figure out a fair way to appease both sides.
“Thanks much for your hospitality,” he said, shaking Charlie’s hand. “I’m meeting with the Agrabah delegation next, and then I’ll get back to you guys.”
“Great. We look forward to settling this issue once and for all,” said Charlie. “We know you’ll do your best.”
Ben nodded. He meant to be a king for all his subjects, which meant keeping the interests of the villagers from Stone City in mind as well as the grievances of the people of Agrabah when he made his final decision. He hoped they would abide by it.
“We need to steal a boat from the dock,” said Jay. “How else are we going to get out into the ocean?”
“Steal? No way!” said Mal, who was leery of embarking on a plan that might get them in trouble, especially while Ben was away. They’d been in Auradon for a few months now, and no one looked at them as villains anymore. They were just regular students like everybody else. She hoped they could solve this the Auradon way and not resort to tactics they’d learned on the Isle of the Lost.
“We’ll just borrow one,” suggested Evie. “Right?”
“But who do we know that owns a boat?” said Jay.
“Um, Ben does,” said Carlos. “He has the royal fleet at his command.”
“And we only need one boat,” said Evie.
“Okay, let me try him,” said Mal, taking out her phone. Borrowing a boat sounded like an excellent, Auradon-approved idea. Ben would surely allow them the use of one of his boats, and, as Evie pointed out, they only needed one. Mal dialed his number, but instead of ringing, the line gave her a busy signal. She typed a text instead. But it bounced back as well. “Hmmm. I can’t get through. He’s over at a village near the Great Wall,” she said.
“Yeah, they don’t have good signal in the outer provinces of Northern Wei,” said Carlos. “I doubt you’ll be able to get ahold of him in time.”
“Like I said, we’ll just steal one, and once we’re done with it, we’ll bring it right back,” Jay insisted. “There’s no other way.”
Mal crossed her arms and put away her phone, frowning. “I guess not.” She still didn’t like the sound of it, but there didn’t seem to be another alternative. Goodness is as goodness does, Fairy Godmother liked to say, and Mal thought that if their intentions were good, that counted for something. Right?
“There really isn’t any other way for us to get out there,” Evie said reluctantly.
“Not unless we turn into mermaids,” said Carlos, shrugging.
