The Archer's Legacy

★彡02|26 - "Speaking of the barrier, how'd you get in?"彡★

The group, now consisting of six people (again), moved down a wider street, with Ben at the front, Jay and Evie following, then Carlos and Y/n with Asher bringing up the rear. The white-haired boy kept throwing worried glances at the girl. She was shivering a lot more than she had before the whole ordeal and she kept closing and then quickly blinking her eyes every once in a while.

Despite knowing that Asher knew what he was feeling, Carlos couldn't bring himself to question Y/n's situation. He knew the girl well enough to know that she'd deny anything ever being wrong with her until the point she collapsed so he decided not to ask anything, instead keeping a constant eye on the girl's wellbeing.

Asher behind the two was in a similar situation. He didn't want to tear Y/n away from her Auradon friends and back to her duties as princess but at the same time he felt a responsibility to her, the North and Queen Merida. He could also see how much the others — especially Carlos — cared for her and, despite not acting like it, the thought of ruining their friendships for the sake of a country hurt him. But, again, on the other hand, it was a whole country they were talking about. Not just six people's feelings.

He sighed quietly, checking over his shoulder to make sure the alley was empty. He wouldn't say anything, not until it was his time to.

At the front, Ben bumped into someone.

"Hey, man! Hey!" the someone cheerily greeted as the other five surrounded Ben, also taking in the appearance of the muscular and yet childishly happy teen in front of them. "Hey, I know you!"

"Uh, no, don't know you either, man," Ben disagreed, keeping his posture sloppy and tone undeterred.

"Uh, yeah, you do," the blond boy couldn't take the hint. "Come on, man. Really? Huh?"

Y/n raised her brows, making eye contact with Asher over her shoulder. The boy shrugged but kept a hand on the hilt of his sword under his leather jacket.

"Dude, I'll give you a hint," the boy went on. "My dad is quick, slick, and his neck..." He very animatedly pointed to his neck with a smile. "Is incredibly thick! Come on, man, I..." He trailed off again, spotting a Ben and Mal poster behind the group. "Huh? Huh..."

Asher, noticing what was going on, tore the paper from the wall in one quick, clean motion.

Still, the boy with the dad who had an incredibly thick neck gasped. "Oh, you're King Ben!"

"Okay, let's go," Evie decided and dragged Ben on, the rest of the group immediately moving, too. Y/n, now conscious of what she looked like (and hoping it wasn't recognisable) adjusted her hair so the blood on her neck couldn't be seen much and pocketed her hands. At the same time, the boy they'd just met realised that he actually knew Evie, Jay and Carlos, too.

The group kept walking down the alley, coming to a stop when Jay, who was now in the lead, picked up a rock and, ironically, threw it at a DANGER: FLYING ROCKS sign. It opened a doorway to a staircase and Ben stepped on it a bit hesitantly as everyone else circled around the entrance.

"Wish me luck," the king said, biting the inside of his cheek uncertainly.

"All the way up," Jay said, pointing to the staircase.

Ben nodded and got going, Evie's good luck being the last he heard.

Y/n heaved a breath, sitting on the ground while Asher remained standing slightly to her left. "Can't believe you guys grew up like this..."

"The Isle is a tough place with the barrier and all," Jay agreed with the princess before frowning. "Speaking of the barrier, how'd you get in?"

Asher raised his eyebrows, looking at the group. "Who, me? I won't tell you."

Y/n raised a brow at him. "Really? This is what we're doing now?"

Asher shrugged. "The thing we should be discussing is how to keep the guy who attacked you on the Isle."

Carlos looked at Y/n worriedly. He had assumed she'd been attacked but hearing it said out loud made him even more worried.

"I guess it would solve our problems," the princess agreed thoughtfully. "He did say he was the last spy the Red Queen still had. The others have been compromised or whatever."

It was Asher's turn to raise a brow at the girl. "You're absolutely certain of that?"

"Absolutely," Y/n nodded. "I mean, not that we can take his word as the absolute truth but that's what he said, at the very least."

Silence took ground for a moment. "One of us could come after the car and make sure he doesn't get through with us," Jay spoke up.

Asher nodded. "I'll do it." I can check the hole then, too. I'll also have to tell Fairy Godmother about it.

Y/n let out a hm, tracing the bruises on her hands thoughtfully. Could it be that everything would actually be alright? That it would be safe?

Carlos stared at the girl silently, ignoring Asher's watchful gaze as he decided to speak up. "Do they hurt?"

Y/n smiled at the question and shook her head. "Not really, no."

Carlos let out a somewhat relieved breath, accompanied by a small smile. "That's good, then."

Evie raised her brows, making eye contact with Jay. The boy responded with a shrug. He couldn't start teasing Carlos about it because Y/n was there and that would just straight up expose him and he couldn't say anything to Evie either because Asher was observing them very keenly, as if to make sure they didn't pose a threat to his country's future queen.

In the midst of all that, Y/n relaxed her muscles, which were a bit sore from the previous fighting and the stress, and leaned back against a street pole with a sigh. Asher, who'd stood up straight until then, leaned against the pole, too, and Evie, Jay and Carlos got into more comfortable positions where they were, forcing themselves to be calm in the midst of worrying about Mal.

And that's when the waiting began.