A Fifth Descendant

Chapter 3

Hayden drops his bags in the trunk of the limo sent by Auradon, rolling his eyes as he does so. Was a limo necessary? Did they really have to emphasize the difference in life on the Isle and in Auradon so clearly?

He opens the door to climb in, ignoring the sounds of the others coming outside. Hayden pauses with one hand on the door, looking out over the Isle one last time before he leaves. As he does, he sees a distant figure standing on a roof top, looking right at him.

Bright golden eyes meet kohl-lined blue. Harry pulls his hat off and holds it against his chest, giving Hayden a mocking bow. Hayden smirks back and offers a sloppy two-fingered salute before climbing into the car.

He takes the seat in the corner, doing his best to find a decent shadow, and cocks an eyebrow as Jay climbs in next. The thief is holding his beanie in his hands and pulls what looks like the golden hood ornament out of it before pulling it back over his hair.

"New toy?" Hayden asks mildly. Jay shoots him an innocent look that wouldn't fool even a Gaston.

"I paid for it," he says. They manage to keep their faces straight for all of about three seconds before they both start to laugh. Their laughter trails off as Carlos literally dives into the car, clearly avoiding his mother, followed by Evie and finally by Mal.

"The jackals have landed," he hears the driver say before the vehicle starts moving.

It's then that they all seem to notice the candy set out before them. Well, Hayden had noticed almost as soon as he sat down, he was just trying to avoid looking at the brightly colored monstrosities.

Jay and Carlos immediately start to fight over the sweets while Evie grabs a simple piece of blue, of course, candy on a stick. As Mal starts to fiddle with an odd little remote she found, Evie notices that Hayden hasn't grabbed anything.

She turns back to where she got her piece and hands him what looks like the exact same type of candy, only in black. He smiles a little as he takes it.

"Cheers," he tells her, sticking the candy in his mouth. He crinkles his nose slightly at the almost too-sweet flavor, but ultimately decides it's not that bad.

Evie smiles back at him before turning to Mal. "You're looking a little washed out," she tells her as she holds out a makeup brush. "Let me help you out."

Mal gives her a disgusted look and pushes away the brush. "Ew, stop. I'm plotting," she says.

"Well, it's not very attractive," Evie says simply. "And you," she adds turning towards Hayden, "I know that tall, dark, and handsome is a thing for a reason, but a little color never hurt." 

Hayden looks at her blankly.

"Sometimes I wear gray," he deadpans. Evie gives him an exasperated look and takes a bite of her candy. Hayden ignores Jay and Carlos talking about the candy from beside him and looks over at Mal just as she presses a button on her little remote.

Evidently, the button causes the divider between the back of the limo and the driver's seat to go down. Hayden slouches a little more in his seat, trying to avoid the additional sunlight now shining into the back. Evie, however, turns to look out the front window.

"Look!" she cries in alarm. They all turn and see that the limo is driving straight for the barrier, headed straight for open water.

"It's a trap!" Carlos screams as they all begin to panic. Hayden finds himself unwillingly squished in the center as Jay reaches behind him to pull Evie closer and the princess curls into his side, Mal doing the same to her while Carlos leans into Jay. He sits there, expression completely bored, as a glowing bridge extends between the Isle and Auradon and the others slowly realize that they haven't plummeted to their deaths.