Old Habits

The Sights of the Isle

When we wake up, those of us from Auradon seem tired and sore. "Who's ready for breakfast?" I ask. I set out the small plates of what Jay found over the past two days. "We're lucky. This food it barely stale!"

"Stale?" Audrey asks. "Have anything fresh?"

"This is the Isle of the Lost. You're lucky it's barely. We've gone days without. Of course, if you'd rather not eats breakfast, I can take that bowl outside and get dozens of offers for half of that bowl."

"I'm fine," Audrey replies. Jay pours half his milk into her bowl to try and make it better for her. It doesn't do much.

"Time to get going," I say when everyone's done. "We're spending the day with our parents. Jafar and Cruella are meeting us at Evil Queen's Castle."

I can see Doug's hesitance and Evie turns to him. "Don't worry. She's mostly given up her quarrel with the dwarves."

"Mostly?" he asks.

Evie nods. "It isn't as bad as Maleficent's grudge."

"My mother is the master of grudge holding," I cut it.

I hear a snort and see Gaston Junior at the window. "Don't I know it. She once tried to banish my entire family because Mal got hurt and I helped her up."

Gus swings in with everything in a perfect position. "Those were darker days."

"Don't I know it," Gus mumbles. "Evie, your mother hasn't changed much since you left. You may want to- you know." He gestures in a circle around his face and Evie gasps, pulling out her mirror.

"Thanks Gus!" she replies. "Mal, can I use your mirror?"

"Yeah, same place as before." Evie takes Doug's hand and leads him upstairs. After a couple minutes, they come back. "Who's ready for a day of exploring."

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We walk through the streets and I smile to everyone. They smile back but when they see Ben and the others from Auradon, they give them strange looks and go about their business. "Why is everyone so cold to us?" Lonnie says.

"You have to earn their respect," I reply. "I told them to treat you as if you were normal people so you could get a true understanding of life here on the Isle."

"But, we're royalty," Audrey says. "We should be treated as such."

"What is it you said to Evie when we first arrived?" I remember. Audrey looks shocked for a moment. "Queen Aurora has no royal status here. And neither do you. You'll live as normal people for the next week. Earn the people's respect and their trust, and you might be treated as what you see yourself as."

"You guys should have expected to be treated as normal people here. Now, come on. We should go," Evie says. "My mother's not a barrel of laughs when we're late."

"Your mother's never a barrel of laughs. She's terrified of the thought of a wrinkle," Carlos interjects.

Evie, Jay and I laugh with Carlos, remembering the past. "Let's go!" I instruct we make it to the door and see everyone waiting outside. "This is not going to be easy."

"We could take the high route?" Jay suggests.

Evie hits Jay lightly and shakes her head. "Are you nuts?! Only you and Mal do that. The rest of us are normal people. Normal people don't jump across rooftops on a daily basis."

"Anyway," I interrupt. "We shouldn't keep them waiting, now should we?"

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