𝕾omewhere deep in the woods, Audrey took Rilynn and Chad as far away from Auradon. A turned-evil princess and her henchman, hiding from the VKs, stowing away their leverage.

It was the perfect place to watch the Isle kids scurry around Audrey's maze-like mice, searching for the cheese at the end of the maze. That's what it was to Audrey; it was all a game. She enjoyed watching Mal and her friend running around Auradon, desperately looking for their friends and trying to find Audrey to end this.

It's amusing.

However, it wasn't amusing for Rilynn; she was shoved into the pantry room after she was brought here. Chad had locked her in after Audrey magically pushed her inside after binding her to a chair. Rilynn had tried shouting for Audrey to let her go, but her screams were muffled behind the tape.

Rilynn looked around, looking for something to cut her loose, but there was mostly bread and food here. It wasn't like Rilynn could use anything in here.

Something bangs loudly against the door, shattering from the force; Rilynn screamed from behind the tape. She flinched and ducked as best as she could, afraid that whatever that was broke inside the pantry. Rilynn glanced up, heaving slightly but thankful that whatever that was didn't come inside. So, Audrey wasn't aiming at her to intimidate her.

"Wait, wait!" Chad cried out.

"Come clean, Chad!" Audrey hissed. "Where did they go?"

"I don't know!" He pleads like a scared cat. "I don't know, okay? I can go check for you. How about that?"

"Stay," Chad freezes at Audrey's sharp order. "It's about to get a little ugly."

Rilynn stared at the door worriedly when the two grew silent; she hoped Audrey wouldn't do anything she'd regret. But then the door swung open with a loud bang, and Rilynn flinched in surprise.

The chair squeaked, and Rilynn lurched forward when she felt the chair slide out of the pantry, she squealed. Rilynn's eyes widened in shock, but she froze when she found Audrey eye-to-eye with her. Audrey stared at Rilynn with a wild expression; her mouth pulled in a wicked smile.

"Had a nice nap, Lynnie? Dreamt your little thief would save you?"

"Mm!"

"I saw your little boyfriend and his friends. I have the perfect treat just for them. Don't worry, this time, you get to watch."

Audrey pointed the scepter in Rilynn's face; the princess shut her eyes and braced for whatever spell she would use. However, the tape in her mouth disappeared.

Rilynn stayed quiet for a moment, battling with her inner turmoil.

"Why are you doing this?" Rilynn finally asked. "This isn't you."

"Oh, this is very much me, Lynnie. I grew up. I realized that if I wanted something, I had to take it. I'm better than I ever was," Audrey heaves a sigh. She looked too happy for someone who just cursed all of Auradon. "For once, I'm the powerful one."

"Is that what you wanted? Power?"

"Yes," Audrey said sharply, turning toward Rilynn with a dark look. "I want it all. I want to be the most powerful queen Auradon has ever seen."

"What the point of being queen when you've cursed the entire kingdom?" Rilynn retorted. Audrey's eye twitched irritably, and the princess shifted uncomfortably. "I-I'm just saying. You turned your power against the very kingdom you desperately want to rule. What if no one wants to obey you after what you've done?"

Audrey laughs under her breath, kneeling before Rilynn. "They have no choice," the scepter was suddenly pressed against Rilynn's cheek; the princess tensed under the pressure, biting her cheek anxiously. "You either bow down to me or stay cursed forever."

Rilynn moved her head to brush the scepter off her, which worked. The princess turned back to Audrey, narrowing her eyes at her.

"They'll stop you before you even get the chance. You underestimate them."

Audrey clicks her tongue. "Oh, Lynnie," she coos like she pitied Rilynn. "Stuck in the middle. You're just as guilty as the rest of them."

Rilynn frowned. "Guilty? How am I guilty?"

"Because you chose them! You chose Mal over me!" Audrey exclaimed angrily. Her eyes widened with a fire burning in them, baring her teeth spitefully. "I was supposed to be your Queen! I was the one you wanted to be friends with so badly! But then you had to go and play nice and associated yourself with a . . . villain."

Well, when you say it like that, I sound pretty pathetic. To think, Rilynn had tried so hard to be friends with Audrey just for her to throw it back in her face. Was this Audrey's way of making fun of Rilynn? If so, she did pretty good at it.

"And we can still be friends," Rilynn was lost. "I do wanna be your friend. But you never let me in." She watched Audrey move away from her like she needed to put space between them. Maybe I shouldn't make her any more angrier with the scepter in her hand. "A-And Jay and I just happened. I can't help who I ended up liking."

"No, but you could've prevented it had you and Ben not agreed to help them," Audrey rolls her eyes. "Besides, I'm way past wanting friends, Lynnie. Especially from you."

"You don't mean that," Rilynn's eyes shifted to the scepter humming in Audrey's grasp. "The scepter; it's manipulating your--"

"Enough!" Audrey snapped. She was starting to lose her patience. "While you're too tied up to do anything, your friends and boyfriend are out there. You think your boyfriend even cares that you're missing?" Audrey laughs manically. She was losing it. "Some boyfriend he is! They don't care about you, Lynnie. You're second compared to Ben."

Don't take it to the heart. She's just trying to break me.

"He is King, after all," Rilynn says calmly, sitting back in the chair. Calm and collected.

Audrey hums in amusement; she swirls the scepter around until it glows, and suddenly, Jay's face appears in the stone. Rilynn couldn't help but look at the stone, looking at Jay as he and the group were heading toward the castle. They didn't know Rilynn was far from the castle, but she couldn't blame them.

It wasn't their job to rescue her. Rilynn doesn't need them to save her. If Audrey wanted to hurt her, she would've; however, she hasn't. That has to mean something, surely.

"Poor Lynnie," Audrey pouts in mockery. "Jay must not love you at all."

"Sorry, Audrey, but I'm not as easily bendable as Chad."

Audrey's face hardened, and she glared at Rilynn, growing frustrated that she didn't get what she wanted, which was to break Rilynn's heart. Audrey wanted Rilynn to see that those villains weren't to be trusted. Audrey wanted Rilynn to turn on the villains and see her point of view. Audrey should've seen this coming.

Rilynn eyed her carefully, not trusting the girl who could easily curse her whenever she wanted. Audrey paced the room angrily, and her eyes fell onto the scepter, watching the villains storm into the castle.

A wicked smile cracked on Audrey's face. "Why don't we visit your little friends, shall we, Lynnie?"

☼☼☼

"Ben!"

Dude's little paws padded down the hallway of the royal castle, leading the group behind him. "This way," he pointed his nose back to the ground, following Ben's scent.

"Ben could be asleep anywhere!"

"Or turned to stone," Celia adds.

Evie clamped her hand over Celia's mouth, forcing her to stop talking. Things were already tense, and they didn't need Mal freaking out over what could've happened to Ben.

"Ben!"

"I got a scent. Very pungent cologne. Easy to track," Dude mentions, turning the corner. "Follow me, people."

"That's great, Dude."

"FYI, I give great cuddles, too."

Gil perked up curiously. "Really? I never had a pet growing up," he pondered the idea, rambling nonsense that no one seemed to be paying attention to.

"Hold up," Uma pointed to the wall art where there were large claw marks. "What's this?"

Quinn examined the picture; it was quickly torn in half, and the bottom half was discarded on the floor. The cuts were deep, engraved in the wood of the walls.

"Any chances this was always there and nobody ever noticed?" Quinn wondered, hopefully. She glanced over her shoulder, hoping someone would amuse her, but they remained silent. Quinn pursed her lips, nodding. "Awesome. That's just great. Now we're probably chasing the thing that probably took Mal's boyfriend."

"Quinn!" Evie exclaimed in horror.

"What? Who knows what this Audrey girl did while you guys were on Isle," Quinn huffed. She stomped past Evie and the others. "He's probably being held captive somewhere in this stupid castle."

"Aaand follow me," Doug says, turning and leading them down the hall.

"Ben!" Mal kept calling desperately. Quinn was practically fuming; you could probably see the smoke pouring from her ears. "Ben!"

"Would you stop yelling already? He's not gonna magically appear when you yell like that," Quinn blew up like a ticking bomb. She was over Mal crying out for her boyfriend like a pathetic little girl. "He's probably held captive, turned into stone, or asleep!"

The VKs stared at Quinn like they wanted to argue but opted not to. It felt like a win in Quinn's mind because she was tired of Mal's crying in her ear. She was giving her a headache.

Uma snorts, nodding at Quinn while giving her a fist bump. "Good one."

"Okay, let's all calm down," Evie tried again, not wanting another fight. She shot Quinn and Uma a warning glare.

Quinn rolls her eyes, crossing her arms and pouting like she was grounded. "Oh, please. As if I'm the only one thinking it."

The group somehow managed to walk down the hall peacefully when they followed Dude in one of the rooms. It was partially empty, mostly filled with decorated knights along the wall. Still, Quinn couldn't understand how that dog led them to a room where Ben wasn't even in. What kind of dog is he?

Quinn wanders inside the room, looking at the knights before trailing her gaze toward the ceiling. Beautiful architecture was engraved on the top, dips higher than most of the ceiling. The room has high ceiling windowpanes and weird designs decorating them. Quinn had never seen something so incredible; it was incomparable to the castle she lives in now.

"I bet you lost some sleep thinking about me on the loose," Uma teases.

Mal planted her hands on her hips. "No. Dragons don't really lose sleep," she suddenly gasps. "I wonder what fried octopus tastes like."

Evie steps between them. "Okay. How about we not do this?"

"We're celebrating our difference."

Quinn snickers, catching a whiff of their bantering. "That is what you wanted, is it not?"

Uma steps beside Quinn, narrowing her eyes at Mal challengingly. "Let's split up and look for Audrey."

"That makes absolutely no sense. Unless you give me my ember, she's just going to spell you."

"I'm pretty sure Audrey doesn't have beef with us."

"She--"

"Girls!" Harry screamed over their ridiculous arguing, earning their attention eventually. They turned toward him as if ready to shout at him but froze when they noticed the empty knight suits standing. "We have a situation here."

"Any chance there's someone inside those suits?"

Mal shook her head. "They're just decorations."

"Do you like a prince, Mal?" Audrey's voice came from the knight as pink smoke poured from the holes. "How about a knight in shining armor? Or knights."

"What did you do to Ben?" Mal glared at the knight. She noticed more movement from her side peripheral vision.

"He's . . . unavailable at the moment," Audrey giggled at the memory. "I would worry about saving yourselves."

Quinn felt everyone coming together as more knights surrounded them. They were trapped and likely just pawns in Audrey's little chess game. Quinn looked down at the touch on her elbow; she met Gil's gaze; they nodded at each other knowingly.

The VKs dashed for the exit, their first option to get out of there, but two knights kept post there. They had to fight their way out of here.

"Pirates! It's our time to shine."

Quinn and Uma shot each other looks before the princess followed the boys to where there were swords; she pulled them from their place, moving away from one of the knights. Quinn dodged one of the knight's swords as it swung at her, but she swiftly turned her sword.

"Quinn, on my right. Harry, Gil, you two got our backs?"

"Aye, Captain!" Harry and Gil held their swords up, ready to defend.

As Quinn got ready to fight, she felt someone shove her aside. She scoffed and found Mal trying to take up leadership, which didn't end well with Uma.

"Carlos, Jay, you guys get the left. Evie, you're with me on the right," Mal caught the sword as Jay tossed it; she glanced at Quinn and the pirates. "The rest of you can follow us."

"Uh-uh. This is my crew."

Mal stood chest to chest with Uma, resting the sea witch. "Well, this is my squad and my turf, so if anything, you guys listen to me."

Quinn jumped out of the way when a knight charged at her, swinging its sword too good for an empty piece of armor. Quinn spun the handle swiftly between her fingers, twirling on her feet and swiping her sword at the knight. It blocked and dodged her hits but didn't expect Quinn to duck and turn, completely breaking the knight apart.

"Oh, my gosh! Look, guys, we got bigger things to worry about than your petty arguing," Evie finally cracked, and it was funny to witness. Quinn would've laughed and agreed with Evie if she wasn't too busy fighting knights. "For once, can you both put your differences aside? Right now, we're on the same side whether you like it or not!"

And they finally did. Everyone worked together to fight the knights. One by one, the knights crumbled into pieces.

"Watch out!" Quinn rushed toward Carlos, who ducked just in time as the knight in front of him attacked. Quinn jumped on the podium, swinging her sword at the knight, but it blocked her with its own.

"You go up, and I'll go low," Carlos suggested, earning a nod from Quinn. "Go!"

Quinn and Carlos rushed forward, going high and low, attacking the knight at once. The knight managed to block Quinn, but it couldn't block Carlos. His sword swiped through the belly of the knight, forcing it backward.

Quinn landed behind the empty knight, spinning in her heels and knocking off the helmet. It scrambled without its helmet, but Carlos managed to dismantle it when he knocked the knight off its feet. Quinn returned to her feet and met Carlos's gaze, and he nodded briefly before they separated.

The princess of hearts attacked another empty suit but felt something crash into her side. Quinn grunted from the hard impact in her side, crashing to the floor--she was definitely going to get a mark from that. Quinn rolled away just as one of the knights brought its sword down onto her.

"Red, on your left!" Someone shouted.

Quinn didn't hesitate to jump out of the way, taking whoever's warning without hesitation. The princess gasped when a heavy boot slammed beside her; she kept jumping out of the way.

Jay jumped over and body-slammed the knight, breaking the suit's pieces apart. That was another knight they managed to break. Quinn didn't bother thanking Jay as she jumped on the back of another knight, sending it running out pathetically.

"This is way better than I thought it would be!" Quinn laughed hysterically, jutting the butt of the sword into the side of the knight's helmet.

It didn't take long for them to destroy all the knights, helping each other without a second thought. Maybe it was the adrenaline pumping in their veins or the thrill of fighting like they used to, but it was the best feeling they could have.

They erupt in a sudden wave of triumph. They won against Audrey's possessed knights. Who wouldn't celebrate?

Quinn found herself cheering along with Jay and Carlos, but then realization crossed their faces when they realized they'd been hugging. How gross. Quinn grimaced and pulled away from the VKs, going to celebrate with her crew. Now, this was natural for her.

Gil pulled Quinn for a hug, earning a stifled laugh from the princess, though she accepted his hug willingly. Quinn could never pass up a hug with Gil. When Quinn turned to Harry, grinning like champions, they clapped their hands into a handshake, but Quinn surprisingly pulled him in for a hug.

"Can't escape me now, Harold."

Harry pretended to be annoyed but grinned. "Whatever, Heart."

Evie heaved a sigh and was the only one seemingly upset. "Guys, come on! This was so great. We worked great together," Evie tapped Mal's hand, but the girl recoiled. "Come on." She tries with Uma, who shoots her a displeased look, grunting.

"Well, isn't this just the most precious moment?" Quinn clapped her hands, smiling in mockery of Evie's enthusiasm to make a friendship out of them. Quinn jumped on her feet and pretended to be full of sunshine and rainbows, earning laughs from the pirates. "Yes, yes. Friendships and teamwork. Awesome. Can we go now?"

Now, that's something they can agree on.

But Evie has another thing up her sleeve.

"You know what we should try? An icebreaker. You say what you really like about the other person, okay? I'll start," Quinn sighed, muttering something under her breath, dropping her head on Gil's shoulder. Evie found her target. "Harry. Great accent. Now, you go."

Harry looked a little spooked to be called out first, but that didn't compare to how uncomfortable he looked at Evie's compliment. Harry swallowed awkwardly, uncertain if he had to say a compliment because if he did, Harry might throw up.

"Is she always this perky?"

Quinn leaned in. "Oh, yeah."

Evie clasps her fingers together, flashing the girls a smile. "Oh, it really wasn't your turn, but thank you."

Uma cocked a brow. "Wasn't a compliment."

"Okay, Evie," Mal stepped forward, talking Evie out of her silly plan to make them all friends, which would never happen.

"Alright. Where does this cheerleader bunk down?" Uma interrupts impatiently. They were wasting time on Evie's fantasy. "Even if she's not there, we might find some sort of clue."

"Actually, she's still in the dorm."

"You're right. Because of summer school."

Harry lets out a loud cackle. "What? Summer school?" He slapped his knee, loving this news. "Summer school!"

Quinn snorts. "No wonder she wants revenge."

Mal rolls her eyes at them. "Let's just go."

Harry and Quinn giggled to themselves, cracking jokes about Audrey having to go to summer school while following the group out of the room.