Stealing the Black Cauldron///A Descendants Applyfic///CLOSED

Chapter Eighteen: Seperation

The rest of the trip was made in silence, besides the sounds of fighting back at the bridge. After a bit, Hannah had asked Gracie about a "Gumbie."

"The hell is a 'Gumbie'?" Ray asked, looking at her. Hannah wrung her hands.

"He's my bat... My father hurt him, so I asked Gracie to take him somewhere safe." She explained.

Gracie stole a glance to Sahira and Embry, who perked up and rushed forward to catch up to Hannah. "She brought the bat to us." They said to Hannah. "He's doing well, very well. He started flying again the night after he came." They explained. "I left him in my do-"

A squeak was heard from above.

A blue of black fur darted down from the sky and settled into Hannah's hood. Startled, Hannah fumbled to get off her cloak and looked inside. Nestled in peacefully was Gumbie.

Hannah looked like she could cry, immediately stopping and cooing to the little bat like it was a child. CJ fell back as well to check up on Gumbie. Gently, she pleaded with the bat to go somewhere safer, but he refused and flew up to the rafters of a nearby house. Satisfied with at least that, she pulled back on her cloak and waved.

Gumbie gave her his little one-toothed smile right back.

When they got to the cottage, the Horned King was waiting for them in the kitchen. It seemed to confirm Gracie's theory that he never left there.

Sahira tried to hide her grimace, looking at the demon. It looked like he was rotting right in front of them, teeth yellow and black and skin a dark greenish-gray. His sunken red eyes glowed under the shadows of his sockets. His horns jaggedly stuck up, making him look even more like he was towering over them.

Ray did not try to hide his expression, visibly recoiling in disgust and wrinkling his nose. "Ew..." He whispered under his breath. Embry nodded in agreement, averting their gaze awkwardly.

The Horned King looked at him for a moment, like he was an irritating fly buzzing in his ear.

Then he looked back to his daughter, staring at him defiantly.

"You disobedient child..." He muttered, disgusted and annoyed. Hannah made no move, her eyes never leaving his. "I gave you a chance. You had a chance."

Hannah almost felt amused by the idea. "Now, don't lie. We both know I never did." She retorted. "I just stopped playing your game."

The King scoffed, shaking his head. "Well then... I have no use for you anymore, do I?"

Twyla's eyelights went to the ceiling, observing the wooden beams just ready to rot and fall. It was a risky gamble- a wrong move could tumble the whole cabin. That wouldn't be great. But if she could just get one room- weak enough to topple while the others would be strong enough to resist just that, she could trap the King somewhere while they got to the Cauldron.

She looked over to Sahira, trying to silently communicate to her. Sahira glanced over, then to the rafters that Twyla was looking up at. They caught on quickly, nodding at her. They turned to Embry.

"Find where the weakest room is, we'll trap him there." She whispered to them, and they nodded and bolted off. The King looked at the small, blue-and-white blur for a second, before scoffing. Embry clearly couldn't lift the Cauldron on their own, he decided. Besides, the Cauldron would consume them before they could make a move.

Not worth his time.

Embry ran about the house, their eyes flicking all about at an alacritous. They examined the rafters, the termites eating through the wood, the fungi and other things spreading about the insides, turning the dark wood light with mushrooms and mold.