Hellfire | Isle of the Lost

THIRTEEN: A Suspicious Mission

For the next several hours, Mal, Jay, Helena, and Evie helped Carlos with the painstaking task of finishing his mother's laundry. Or, to be more specific, Helena, Jay and Evie helped Carlos, while Mal "supervised."

For a woman who lived on a semi-deserted island full of ex-villains, Cruella sure had an elaborate wardrobe, Mal thought. There were fringed scarves and silky black gloves, fishnet stockings and slinky black dresses, chubby wraps and whisper-knit cardigans, bulky coats and frilly corsets. Cruella De Vil might be exiled, but that didn't mean her clothes were going to be anything less than stunning.

Mal looked around at Evie, who was humming as she folded black-and-white towels. The blue-haired princess had been relatively easy to sway, which boded well for when they actually found the scepter. Mal would make sure Evie would be the first one to touch it, absorbing the curse and falling asleep for a thousand years. It was the evil scheme to end all evil schemes, and Mal was looking forward to sweet revenge, as well as picking up straight E's for the semester.

Meanwhile, Jay was up to his elbows in suds washing a number of black-and-white sweatshirts. Helena was standing in the corner, carefully ironing some of Cruella's finest dresses before putting them on their designated hanger. 

"Isn't this a lot of work?" Mal asked, feeling exhausted just from watching everyone.

Carlos nodded, his mouth full of safety pins.

Helena scoffed, "You say that like you've actually been doing anything."

"Hello, I'm supervising," replied the daughter of Maleficent, gesturing to her seat on the couch that allowed her to view the work of the others. Helena only rolled her eyes, deciding to ignore Mal and focus on the task at hand. 

"And you do it all?" Mal then asked Carlos, directing her attention to him. Her mother might ignore her and resent her and scold her, but at least she wasn't Maleficent's virtual slave.

Carlos nodded again. He pulled the safety pins out of his mouth and explained that he was pinning a bustier on a hanger just the way Cruella's old favorite dry cleaner in London had. "Yes. But you get used to it, I guess. Don't worry, we're almost all done."

"Thank goblins," said Mal, putting her feet up on a nearby ottoman.

But just as they were putting the finishing touches on the last batch of black-and-white clothing and linens, they heard the roar of a car engine. It screeched to a stop in front of Hell Hall.

Carlos began to shake. "It's her...Mother...she's back...she wasn't supposed to be back for a few more hours. Lunch must have ended early."

"Oh, I definitely cannot be here," muttered Helena, who began to head to the nearest exit. 

Mal instantly jumped up from the couch and blocked the Greek girl's path, "Why not? Don't want to see your favorite person?" 

"I don't have time to play this game with you, Mal," the daughter of Hades replied, moving around the dark fairy. 

But the daughter of Maleficent grabbed onto Helena's arm tightly before the Underworld princess could make a run for it, "Why don't you stick around? We all know how much Cruella loves your company." 

"She does?" Evie questioned, who instantly looked away at the glare that Helena sent her. 

"You scared, Helena?" Mal whispered with a grin on her face, her grip on Helena's arm growing tighter with each attempt the girl made to escape.

"Shut up, Mal."

Helena's eyes then landed on the frantic Carlos, and she felt her heart drop. To be honest, the daughter of Hades was scared, not for herself but for Carlos. After what happened earlier today, if Cruella caught the Underworld princess with her son and in Hell Hall, against her expressed wishes, Carlos was going to be in some serious trouble. And Helena couldn't stomach the thought of him suffering because of her.