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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟏
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐘 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄

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As soon as they arrived at one of the Isle's beaches, Uma stopped the bike and began digging through her small bag. Confusion flowed through the Fitzherbert girl's veins as she watched the daughter of Ursula. It wasn't long after that when the latter pulled out something that made Rylee's blood run cold. Mal's spellbook. The blonde girl couldn't help but watch in awe as Uma recited a spell from the pages. Once she was finished, the teal-haired girl shoved the book back into her back before she started driving toward the water. Rylee couldn't hold back her small scream as they approached the water before she tightly shut her eyes. She prepared herself for the upcoming splash, but it never came.

When she finally found the courage to open her eyes, the Fitzherbert girl found them riding on air as they soared across the water toward Auradon. It wasn't long after that when they made it to Rylee's home. The two girls continued to ride through the forest surrounding Auradon Prep until they were in a clearing right outside the school. As soon as they were close enough without being seen, Uma parked the bike before the two of them hopped off of the purple vehicle. Rylee released a shaky breath and silently thanked no one for helping them reach Auradon. It wasn't long after that when the blonde girl looked back towards Uma to find her making her way toward the building.

"What's your plan now? Waltz into the school and demand to be in charge?" Rylee called out to her, making the daughter of Ursula stop in her tracks before slowly turning around to face the princess, "if my memory serves me correctly, that usually doesn't work out well for people like you."

Before the Fitzherbert girl could even register what was happening, Uma walked towards her before grabbing her sleeve and pulling it straight down. She continued to do this until she heard a satisfying rip that caused Rylee to cringe. "What are you doing?"

"You need to look like you escaped," the pirate princess told her as she ripped her other sleeve clean off. Rylee just watched with wide eyes as Uma ripped a few holes in her pants before rubbing dirt all over the former's face. Once she was satisfied with her work, Uma used the sword on her belt to cut the ropes from the princess' wrists. The entire time the daughter of Ursula was working on the blonde girl's new look, Rylee just watched her in complete and utter confusion. It wasn't long after that when Uma looked back up at her with a small smirk on her face. "Now, you're gonna go back to your friends and act like everything's normal and you're not gonna tell anyone that I'm here."

"And why would I do that?" Rylee questioned after quirking an eyebrow at the teal-haired girl.

"Because if I get sent back before I finish my plans, your little pirate is gonna need more than a fake hook," the daughter of Ursula declared as the smirk on her face did nothing but grow.

The Fitzherbert girl's heart dropped while she kept an emotionless look on her face. It took her a moment to gather her courage before opening her mouth to speak. "Like I care about what happens to that coward anymore."

"Oh, I think you do," the teal-haired girl responded while keeping her eyes glued to the princess, loving how Rylee was trying not to squirm, "even if you won't admit it out loud, you still care about Harry despite him lying to you all this time and stabbing you in the back."

The two girls just stared at each other for a moment longer before Uma simply turned around and walked away. Rylee kept her eyes glued to the pirate princess until she was out of sight, leaving the mud-covered princess alone in the forest with destroyed clothing and utterly speechless.

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It wasn't long after that when Rylee found her way out of the forest and back to the school. The Fitzherbert girl was in a daze as she walked through the halls of Auradon Prep. She wasn't entirely sure where she was heading even though she'd attended that school for the past three years. The blonde girl felt like she was in a totally different world, completely oblivious to the confused looks she was receiving from her classmates.

When she ended up in the hallway that led to the girls' dorm, one of the doors unexpectedly opened. Rylee instantly jumped at the sound before her eyes landed on Evie and Doug walking out of her room with a trolley of dresses. Only a few seconds passed before their eyes locked and a relieved smile appeared on the blue-haired girl's face. The next thing Rylee knew, Evie was rushing towards her and pulling her into a tight hug.

"I thought I'd never see you again," the daughter of the Evil Queen whispered into her friend's ear before they ended their moment while Evie kept her hands on Rylee's shoulders, "Morgan is gonna be so happy to see you safe and sound."

"We'll let you get to that reunion," Doug said after he gently pulled the blue-haired girl away from the daughter of Rapunzel and Eugene.

"Thanks."

The three of them shared one last smile before Evie and Doug went back to pulling their trolley down the hall. As soon as they were out of sight, Rylee kept walking through the corridor until she reached the room she had called home for the last three years. The Fitzherbert girl hesitated for a long moment before she let out a sigh and opened the door. The first thing the blonde girl saw was Lonnie sitting on her bed with her back toward her while Morgan cried into her shoulder. Rylee just watched them for what felt like an eternity before a small smile slowly formed on her face. "Should I come back later?"

It wasn't long after she finished speaking when the Macintosh girl's crying stopped and Lonnie and Morgan's bodies became as still as stones. Neither of them moved for a long moment then both of them turned around to face Rylee. They simply stared at their blonde friend with shocked looks on their faces before the redhead jumped to her feet. Morgan didn't hesitate to race across the room before she engulfed her best friend in a bone-crushing bear hug.

"Is it really you?" Morgan whispered after ending their embrace to look Rylee in her eyes. The Macintosh girl watched as her blonde friend responded with a simple nod before she continued speaking. "How are you here? How did you get out?"

The Fitzherbert girl hesitated for a moment as she stared at Morgan and Lonnie before she let out a long sigh. "I fought them off. You know I'm good with a sword. Then I used Mal's bike to get off the Isle."

As soon as Rylee finished her story, Morgan quirked an eyebrow in her direction and watched her closely. Lonnie just stared at the blonde girl with an emotionless look on her face before she and Morgan exchanged an unconvinced look. The silence surrounded the three girls for a moment longer before the daughter of Mulan and Shang decided to break it.

"How did you really get out of there?" the brunette girl questioned while Rylee fought her body's urge to stiffen.

"I already told you. I fought them off then used Mal's scooter," the Fitzherbert girl responded then she let out a long silent sigh.

"You and I both know that pirate crew doesn't give in that easily," Morgan said, drawing Rylee's attention to her before she continued, "plus, Uma probably had the whole Isle looking for you."

"I'm here, aren't I?" the blonde girl retaliated, only for her two friends to continue to stare at her with uncertain expressions in their eyes, "come on! Let's get ready for cotillion."

"You sure you still wanna go?" the Macintosh girl questioned, earning a confused look from the Fitzherbert girl as the former resumed speaking, "I mean, you did just escape death, after all."

Rylee instantly rolled her eyes in response before letting out a quiet sigh and sending her friends a somewhat forced smile. "I'm going to get my dress from Evie and have her fix me up a bit. You two get ready for cotillion and I'll meet you back here an hour before. Okay?"

"Alright," Morgan hesitantly told her after sharing another look with Lonnie, "just tell us if you wanna leave early and we'll get you out of there. Deal?"

"Deal."

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