What Comes Next?

Chapter 27: Information Unload

Evie's PoV:
     Annalise and I had returned to Auradon several days ago and I had yet to have a chance to share our findings with the group. Jane and Carlos were wrapped up with work and baby stuff, which I think only I knew about still. But, I couldn't be too sure, I felt so out of the loop...
Audrey and Harry were finalizing wedding plans while Lonnie and Jay were just beginning the planning of their wedding. All the while,  Harley was occupying all of Ben's time, probably trying to make sure nothing went wrong with her plan.
She'd been occupying my best friend's spot on the throne and impersonating her for long enough and I was sick of it. The fact that we also didn't know the extent of her plans drove me mad, and I don't mean mad like the Mad Hatter and his daughter!
      My friends and I had all come too far to let this petty little bitch rip it apart.
I sat in Daniel's room, with my sweet baby on the floor. I watched in awe as he crawled and tried to pull himself up. All I wanted in that moment was for my best friend to be sitting in my rocking chair, holding her baby belly, while she watched in awe as well. Being her best friend and all, and as smart as I was, I knew her due date should be getting close.
      She and Ben should be experiencing the joy of building the nursery and all of the furniture! They should be picking out baby names together and preparing! None of this was fair for either of them. I still remembered that for the majority of my pregnancy, how I had no memories and when I finally did, I felt somewhat robbed. Sometimes I still did. If I had my memories Doug and I would have been doing more of that stuff together. We would have enjoyed every moment. Just as they should be...
       Standing up, I picked up my sweet baby boy in my arms. "Alright handsome. Daddy's at school. You and I are going to find uncle Ben. And you can't understand me yet... but that's okay." I spoke to my child like a crazy person as I readied both of us to head to the castle. Hopefully he wasn't too occupied and I could at least talk to our King for the time being. Would I have preferred to share my findings with everyone all at once? Well of course. But, that wasn't always an option.
As Daniel and I rode in the back seat of our car, I was consumed by my thoughts. It was a silent ride, not even a little small talk between my driver and I. What would I tell Ben first? That everything on the Isle seemed a little strange, more so than usual? That Maleficent was more crazy than normal? Or would I explain to him my theory about my best friend being held in Hell Hall? Would he believe my theory if I did?
When we pulled up to the castle I got my son out of his car seat and got out of the car. I nodded politely to the man who opened my door and made my way up the stairs. Nodding again at the guards who opened the main doors for me, I made my way inside. I shouldn't be as nervous as I felt. But, I was worried. I had a tendency to go overboard and to make things seem way more dramatic than needed and I couldn't do that this time.
       For the sake of my family, my friends, and my mental health I had to stay as calm as possible. I sat in the same dining room where we had held many meetings before, in the chair to the left of the chair where the Queen of Auradon would sit. Waiting patiently I watched my son play on the floor with his toys. I tried my hardest to focus on only him as I waited for the others to join.
       They should be quite receptive to my 911 message. At least I would hope they would be... As that thought crossed my mind my friends began to file in, two by two, except for Ben who entered last. He took his seat at the head of the table, glancing sadly at the chair where Mal should be. As the sad best friend I was, I placed my hand gently over his.
        "Can we get this going, I have a wedding planner coming to our place in two hours to finish things?" Audrey blurted out. I know she didn't mean to sound so rude, it's just who she was, which is why I didn't respond to her outburst. I watched as Harry shushed her sweetly and took her hand in his.
       "Yes of course. Annalise and I gained some very, potentially, valuable information back on the Isle." I stated outright, turning my glance to our newest addition to the group. She sat nervously beside Chad, almost if she felt out of place.
      I knew she was the new comer, and although I had never been in her shoes I did my best to sympathize with her. We all did, as we waited patiently. After all, her mother was a Grand Duchess, technically our ranking everyone and their parents, other than Ben and Mal. She was more a part of our world than she realized.
        I watched her swallow, hard. "Yes, of course. So, first off... ummm..." she paused, but continued quickly as she straightened herself in her chair. "We did not get to speak to Uma unfortunately, she had been busy. But, we did get word to her of our search. Ummm... we did have a good chat with Maleficent, other than a bit of rage." She looked at me and we shared a small laugh.
"She is very much so in a daze of confusion. I noticed a lot of similarities between her situation and the one my mother has told me tales of. Enough to know that she is indeed under a memory loss spell or curse." She looked back to me, as if she was unsure of what to say next.
"And so, we didn't share too much with her, because one, we knew she wouldn't remember. Also, on the off chance that she did, we didn't want our knowledge to fall into the wrong hands." Everyone was silent. They all knew who's hands I meant.
          "But, we did alsooo make a trip to Hell Hall, the old stomping grounds of Cruella." I glanced at Carlos who looked down as I continued. "She obviously no longer lives there. But, it does not stand empty. Mother Gothel and her daughter Gabriella reside there." As a brief pause came about, unintentionally, I listened as the lot of the group let out a gasp.
"We got in to the building, but were let no further than the entrance area. And that was already pretty suspicious... There were cracks and patches of mold everywhere. But, what really got me were the noises I heard from upstairs. And the fact that they wouldn't let us up there..." I prayed so strongly that at least one of my friends would get what I was hinting at. And, I was in luck.
"THEY HAVE HER!" Jay jumped to his feet, yelling out as he slammed both of his hands on the table. "Let's go get our sister, our queen, our friend and family back right now! What are we waiting for?!" At least someone was really listening... "Well, Jay, it's not like we can just show up on Mother Gothel's door step and demand to search her home..." Ben spoke for the first time. We looked to the head of the table where he sat with both of his hands covering his face. He was frustrated, and he had every right to be.
"But, actually we could..." We all turned to Carlos. "I mean why not? Just hear me out... First of all, Ben, you're the King of both Auradon and the Isle, especially with the barrier down. Second of all, I'm sure if we explained this to Uma, she would help enforce the search. And lastly, it wasn't really Mother Gothel's house to begin with. It was my mother's." We we're all silent. The only sound was Daniel's giggling from behind me. Carlos made many excellent points.
          "So we're all clear on what needs to be done then?" Jay asked the dead quiet room. "Yep, back to the Isle I go..." Ben spoke letting out a sigh after.