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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟗
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐀𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄

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"Glad you decided to choose the right side," Mal smirked as the princesses and their crew walked past her to stand with the rest of the group.

"We thought you needed the extra help," Morgan responded before letting out a small laugh.

The smile that appeared on Rylee's face quickly disappeared at the sight of Harry continuing to tease Ben on the plank. While the Fitzherbert girl kept her eyes glued to the son of Captain Hook, Morgan's attention moved to Gil. The LeGume boy was staring back at her with an emotionless look on his face, unsure of what to make of the current situation. It wasn't long before the Hook boy turned his gaze toward the bridge and made eye contact with Rylee. The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment before Harry looked away from her.

Rylee's attention was soon drawn back to the situation at hand when Mal began walking toward Uma. A wave of confusion washed over as she watched the daughter of Maleficent try to hand the daughter of Ursula Fairy Godmother's wand. The teal-haired girl just stared at it for a long moment before saying something inaudible to the girl standing in front of her.

"Why is Mal giving Uma the wand?" Rylee whispered to Evie, who looked over at the blonde girl with a small smile on her face.

"It's not the real wand," the daughter of the Evil Queen responded, forcing the princess to suppress her laughter as she turned her attention back to the bridge.

A very skeptical-looking Uma just stared at the wand for a moment before refusing to take it. A smug smirk soon appeared on her lips as she turned her attention away from the magical object and back to Mal. "Why don't you give it a little test drive? We wanna see it work."

"You always were quite the drama queen," Mal mocked with an unamused look on her face.

"And nothing too big or else Ben is fish bait," Uma announced, causing her crew to laugh while Harry held Ben over the sea with nothing but his hook.

"We're dead," Carlos muttered before Evie whispered something into the De Vil boy's ears that made his eyes widen.

When Mal looked back at her friends with a concerned look on his face, the white-haired boy gestured toward Dude as he sat on a nearby dock. It only took the purple-haired girl a second to realize what he was telling her to do. After sending a smug smirk in Uma's direction, Mal turned toward Dude with a smirk on her face. Rylee instantly exchanged a confused look with Morgan, Skyler, Holly, and Gabby before they turned their attention back to the situation at hand.

"Although it seems absurd, turn your bark into a word," Mal recited as she waved the wand around in the air then pointed it at Dude. The tan dog just sat there for a long moment before the purple-haired girl shouted, "talk, dog!"

"Does this vest make me look fat?" Dude asked, causing Rylee and Morgan's eyes to widen while Uma's crew started laughing uncontrollably, "hey, does anyone have some bacon? Cookies?"

"Oh my gosh," Holly gasped as a smirk appeared on Jay's face at the sight of their shocked faces.

"Dogs can talk in Auradon," Gabby said before a large smile appeared on her face, "that's so cool!"

"No, Gabs, she used the magic wand to make him talk," Skyler corrected as she gestured towards Mal, "we just saw her do it."

"Oh, right."

After seeing that the wand "made" Dude speak, Uma turns to face Mal with the most serious look I've ever seen on her face. "Give me the wand!"

"Give me Ben!" Mal screamed as the two of them had another staredown. The silence that followed lasted for a long moment before a forced smile appeared on her face. It wasn't long after that when she turned her full attention toward Harry. The son of Captain Hook just stared at his captain before bringing Ben over with an unamused look on his face.

Everyone watched as the King of Auradon was escorted across the ship and forced to his knees in front of Mal. Harry glared at Mal before his attention fell on Rylee. As soon as he made eye contact with her, his anger instantly faded away and was replaced with what appeared to be sorrow. The two of them continued to stare at each other until their trance was broken by Uma shouting his name. Rylee and Harry instantly looked over at the daughter of Ursula to find her staring at her first mate with an annoyed look on her face.

"Cut him loose, you idiot!" Uma screamed, causing a wave of anger to wash over the blonde girl. Her instincts took over before she could even think as she took a step forward, only for Jay to pull her back. That caused a smile to appear on Uma's face. "Aw, don't like the way I talk to your pirate? Thought you didn't care about him anymore."

"I'm gonna-"

Rylee's threat was interrupted by Jay placing a hand over her mouth. An annoyed sigh escaped through her nose as she glared at the son of Jafar, only for him to shake his head in response. The Fitzherbert girl simply rolled her eyes at him before looking back just in time to see Harry cut the ropes that bound Ben. Mal instantly took the King's hand while Uma took the wand into hers. The purple-haired girl didn't hesitate to pull Ben to his feet before quickly ushering everyone back.

While Jay and Carlos started pushing them toward the exit, Rylee kept her eyes glued to Uma as she ran back to the center of her ship. After laughing along with her followers, she raised the wand as high as she could into the air with a smile on her face.

"By the power of the sea, tear it down and set us free," she recited as her crew waited in anticipation, only for nothing to happen.

"We have to go," Carlos told them as soon as he realized the daughter of Ursula discovered that they did.

"No!" Uma screamed before snapping the fake wand in half over her knee, "you do not get to win every time!"

Uma's shouts continued to fill the air while Jay handed swords over to Rylee, Morgan, Holly, Skyler, and Gabby. As they continued to prepare for the unavoidable battle, Carlos shot smoke bombs onto the deck of the ship to distract the pirates. When the smoke finally cleared, Uma's crew rushed at the teens from Auradon, who fought off as many pirates as possible. After she threw a boy overboard, Rylee turned to face Morgan with a concerned look on her face.

"We need to make sure Holly, Gabby, and Skyler get out," the Fitzherbert girl told her after gesturing toward their three friends they met during their new lives, "we can't leave them behind after this."

Morgan immediately nodded in response before the two princesses sprinted in opposite directions. Rylee instantly spotted Carlos and Evie fighting off a pair of pirates while Lonnie fought two of Uma's men. To her right, the Fitzherbert girl saw Mal locked in a battle as Morgan tried to get Skyler, Holly, Gabby, and Ben to safety.

A small smile appeared on her face when the four girls and the King managed to evade a few pirates. But all her joy soon faded when she saw what was happening on a dock nearby. Rylee couldn't fight the dread flowing through her veins when she saw Jay locked in an intense battle with Harry. The Fitzherbert girl just stood there for a long moment before leaping over some barrels to join the fight. As soon as she landed near them, the son of Jafar tripped over a lifted plank and fell on his back. Rylee's heart sank when she saw Harry lift his sword to land the final blow. Luckily, she managed to block it just inches away from Jay's face.

"Ryls, so nice to see you," Harry smiled after the blonde girl pushed him away from her and managed to help Jay to his feet, "you failed miserably, by the way."

All the irritation Rylee was feeling faded away and was replaced by confusion as she stared at the son of Captain Hook. "Failed at what, exactly?"

"A test, princess," the raven-haired boy said in a tone that made the Fitzherbert girl's blood run cold, "I wanted to see who you were truly loyal to. You can't have it both ways."

"I can if you come with me!" Rylee shouted with a hint of irritation in her voice before Harry pushed his sword against her so hard that he sent her falling to the floor. When the blonde girl looked back up, she found the Hook boy looming over her with no emotion on his face. "I want to give you a better life!"

"I'm living my best life right here. I just wish you saw it the same way."

Rylee's eyes instantly widened when she saw the wicked grin appear on Harry's face. Just as she thought it was over, the blonde girl caught Jay taking the hook off of the raven-haired boy's belt. The son of Jafar taunted the pirate in red as Rylee got to her feet before she watched Jay dangle the hook over the water. Harry instantly tossed his sword aside before holding his hand out for his prized possession. But instead of giving it back to the son of Captain Hook, Jay just threw it into the water before Harry jumped in after it without an ounce of hesitation.

"Let's go," Jay said as he placed an arm around Rylee's shoulders and ushered her back toward their group.

After letting Jay go ahead of her, the Fitzherbert girl went to Morgan, Skyler, Holly, and Gabby. Rylee fought off a few more pirates before finding the four girls standing in a group on one of the docks after dealing with their own pirates.

"We gotta go guys!" Rylee shouted to them from the top of the wooden staircase, drawing their attention to her before she gestured toward their exit.

The four of them didn't hesitate to sprint toward her before Rylee stepped aside to let Gabby, Skyler, and Holly pass. The Fitzherbert girl was about to follow them when Morgan stopped next to her. The blonde girl hesitated for a moment then looked up into the sad eyes of her best friend. "Harry and Gil?"

The only response Rylee was able to give was a simple shake of her head. The princesses just stood there for a moment before they went to follow Skyler, Gabby, and Holly toward the tunnel. When she looked back to see what was left of the fighting on the docks, Rylee's eyes landed on Harry cornering Ben.

"Get the three of them across the tunnel and to the limo. I'm gonna go help him," the blonde girl told Morgan, only for the latter to send her friend a skeptical look, "Mac, you need to get them out!"

Despite wanting nothing more than to go with the Fitzherbert girl, the Macintosh girl sent her a small nod before following after their friends. A small sigh passed over Rylee's lips as she sprinted toward Harry and Ben. As soon as she reached them, the blonde girl used her sword to block Harry's swing and pushed him away from the King of Auradon. Rylee then gestured for Ben to head for the tunnel while Mal and Carlos started throwing smoke bombs. Once Ben was gone, the princess turned her attention back to the pirate to find him smirking at her. "You just can't keep your hands off of me can you?"

"It's pretty easy knowing how much of a snake you are."

"Why, thank you."

Rylee instantly rolled her eyes in response before shoving Harry into the railing behind him. After watching him stumble, the Fitzherbert girl rushed toward the tunnel. But just as she had one foot on the bridge that would take her to safety, she saw Mal's eyes widen to the size of small planets. "Behind you!"

Before she had a chance to react, someone grabbed Rylee's hair and pulled her back. An arm instantly wrapped around her waist and kept her secured against her captor before a sword was placed at her neck.

"The fun is only beginning, Ryls," Harry whispered into her ear before he let out a small chuckle.

Rylee let out a shaky breath in order to calm her nerves before making eye contact with Mal. The two of them just stared at each other until the Fitzherbert girl sent her a small nod. Mal hesitated for a moment then let out a long sigh as she kicked down the bridge that led to the tunnel. The purple-haired girl sent her friend one last look before sprinting down the tunnel after their group. The last thing Rylee heard from the tunnel was Morgan screaming her name.

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