Trouble

Lucy

The school was much further from the coast than the King's summer palace. But this time when the kids from the island got back in the limo, the prince, Annabelle and the Mother Guardian's daughter, Lucy, were traveling with them. It was supposed to help them get to know people at the school or something. Lucy stared at them uncomfortably for the entirety of the ride.

They made her so nervous. When her mother had suggested she ride to the school with them, she'd felt lightheaded. "It's a terrible idea mom!" She'd said, "They could kill me!" She'd been there when the power of the green eyed girl had filled the whole castle. The limo was lined with iron which repelled magic, but they all looked like they didn't need magic to kill you. What if they knocked out the four guards in the cabin?

Jamison smirked at her and she almost shrieked, scooching herself over in the seat nearer to Annabelle who rolled her eyes as Lucy squished her.

"Leave her alone," Emma whispered to Jamison who only laughed in return.

It worried her. These kids were raised by some of the worst villains in the history of any of the kingdoms. They lived on the island with people like Lady Tremaine, the one who abused the poor girl that Lucy's mother had saved. Her mother had disclosed some of the therapy and the troubles that the emotional abuse had caused Sierra.

Ron was snoring against one of the windows with a pillow. Son of a woman who killed dogs for their fur. Who was declared clinically insane. He'd been raised by an insane person. Someone who had no regard for the lives of animals. She wouldn't know how to raise a child. It was probably a miracle that he survived this far.

Jamison was already such a jerk. Raised by a man who doomed himself by amassing too much power. Inside the barrier he was only a man, his genie magic left behind, but if let out… any person could find him and destroy the world. An evil genie was not a good father figure. Jamison acted selfish too. And he kept staring at her, which made her nervous. Was he going to rob her? Kidnap her? Kill her? Her head pounded. Why had her mother agreed to this?

Prince Michael and Annabelle seemed fine, holding a constant conversation with Gisa at the moment. Why weren't they worried?

Gisa's eyes were still bright, something different about her, even when her magic was muffled by the iron. Her toned muscles were visible through her form fitting leggings. Were those bruises on her knuckles? She was terrifying. And her sister was different too. Something about her smile, the way she seductively bit her lip. How many guys had she seduced and killed?

Had any of them ever killed someone? Sons and daughters of villainous people… probably. Jamsion looked like he'd been in a fight recently. His knee was wrapped tightly, his bruises yellowing. Had he won? What did he do to his opponents?

"...no it's fine," Emma was saying, playing with her hair. "I would be interested in some of your chemistry classes though. Chemistry excites me. We didn't have labs to do any of the experiments in the textbooks back on the Island." Annabelle rolled her eyes for the millionth time this trip, but Michael began to explain the chemistry program eagerly.

That's what it must have been. Emma was a mad scientist. Lucy wanted to scream at them not to let her near a lab and chemicals. She'd build a bomb! Or worse! She was going to kill them all!

Gisa had been looking at her for almost a minute now, her head cocked to the side. "It's Lucy, right?"

Lucy's heart thundered. Could Gisa hear it? "Y— yes. That's right."

"Mother Guardian's daughter?"

Lucy only nodded, her chin length hair bobbing.

"Tell me, if she's a fairy, why doesn't she have wings?" Gisa rested her chin on her fist. "My mom is an enchantress because she doesn't have wings if I remember the terminology correctly. Though I'm sure she could summon them," Lucy's heart leapt.

"Well… well she does have them, she just, she doesn't use them. Keeps them hidden in the pocket realm." Lucy tried not to fiddle with her fingers as she spoke with the daughter of the most powerful enchantress to grace the earth.

"Why not? I feel like it would be so nice to have wings. I can't make them, it requires years of practice, which I have none of." She sighed exaggeratedly. "But your mom…"

"Well she doesn't use her magic anymore. She believes that it was something of the past, you know? It evens the playing field if magic is lessened." Lucy shrugged with a nod. "She only believes it should be used for healing. Anything besides that… should be left in the past."

"Ah, that's a shame." Gisa leaned closer. "So she doesn't keep that old wand or staff or whatever on her person anymore?"

Lucy swallowed once. "No, it's in the museum where all magic artifacts belong." The other three villain's kids almost imperceptibly shifted as if suddenly paying attention to their conversation.

"A museum? Who goes to those anymore?" Gisa's eyes met hers very alertly. "What about you? As her daughter, you inherited that magic, didn't you? I can't feel it now, thanks to the iron, but I did. It lives in you, channeled by that wand. If your mother hid that wand, would you ever get to feel that? To do good and wonderful deeds like your mother? You could build a name for yourself rather than just be the daughter of someone great…"

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. The thought often crossed her mind, but… "Well, it's just that if we really do want to keep magic in the past and promote equality, I have to give that up for the greater good." But Gisa was right, that longing was deep within her.

Gisa nodded, "I know I want to."

Lucy tensed, "Want to what?"

Gisa laughed, "I don't want to just be Audenzitios's daughter. I want to be Gisa, known for the things Gisa did, good or bad, as long as I controlled the actions." The scenery flew by, and Gisa relaxed against the side of the car. Conversation over then…

Annabelle was arguing in hushed tones about something with Michael who was pinching his brow in frustration. She could only hear half of what was being said. It was definitely going to be a long car ride.

She glanced over to where Emma had fallen asleep, her head on Gisa's shoulder. Ron was showing Jamison how to play a card game with a filthy deck of cards he'd probably had on the island but at least his snoring was over. And Gisa… her eyes were following the land that passed them, her mouth parted almost as if in awe. The car was driving over a sparkling cerulean blue lake where birds and fish of all kinds were mingling under the blue cloudless sky. She seemed to soak it all in as if she couldn't get enough. It was almost… touching to see—

Lucy stopped herself. No, these were killers. They were acting. Emma was probably watching her from lowered lids while Gisa pretended to be docile and misunderstood. The boys were probably speaking in code while plotting an assasination… She couldn't let her guard down. These kids were trouble, she knew it.