Flame ▪ Harry Hook

III. 08

As Hayden followed after her two friends, she managed to stop the tears from flowing and she calmed herself down. Luckily, it didn't take her long to find the two pirates ahead of her.

"Guys, wait!" she called out to them as she jogged over. Uma offered her a sympathetic look while Harry raised his eyebrows at her skeptically. "You sure ya ain't gonna take her side again?" he asked, only half joking as he pointed back where she came from.

Hayden scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm finished with Mal" she stated honestly. Harry nodded slowly but Uma frowned with concern and took a step closer to her friend. "Hayden, are you sure?" she asked carefully.

"Uma you know better than anyone all I've done for her. She has never cared about me. Not even a little bit. She left me on the Isle to rot. She didn't even hesitate to pick someone else on VK day" Hayden began to rant.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Celia got to go instead of me, but Mal didn't think twice about me" she finished, looking at the ground sadly. Uma stared intently at her before taking her hand in her own.

"She's still your sister" she stated lolwy. Hayden's eyes widened slightly as she looked from Uma to Harry who was shocked into silence, his mouth slightly agape. "She never was" Hayden finally said before she began to walk once again.

The other two followed after her but Harry still seemed to be in a state of shock. "So that's why you helped them take Ben back?" he finally asked, looking at her intently. Hayden sighed and nodded.

"Please don't tell anyone" she begged as she looked up at him. Despite everything she may have said, Hayden still somehow felt the need to protect the girl that was supposed to be her sister. Harry stared back at her, studying her face  before he eventually nodded slightly.

The three continued to walk in silence as they crossed the grass in front of Auradon Prep. Everything felt so different to when they had been there last only hours before.

"Uma! Hayden!" Mal called out, running up behind the three friends. "Stop! Please, stop!" she begged, running in front of them before stopping. "I need your help. We have a chance if we do this together" she stated, holding her hands out to stop them from walking away.

"Your friends kick you to the curb?" Uma asked, taunting the girl in front of her. "Good" she said when Mal stared back at her speechless.

"Ben saw something in you and today, Uma, I saw it too! You care, Uma, you care about everybody. And Auradon is worth saving! Help us, please" Mal begged, gesturing to the school. Uma stared back at her but said nothing.

"You talk pretty but..." Harry began, looking between the two girls. "She's already made up her mind" he continued, sharing a look with Uma.

"You brought this on yourself Mal. You figure out how to fix it. Let's go" Hayden finally spoke up. The three friends dodged around the purple-haired girl, ignoring her as she stared after them.

They continued on in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Hayden frowned as she realised how much had changed in just one day. Strangely, she found herself wanting Harry to put his arm around her so she could lean into him for support.

The three hadn't gotten far when they heard the roar of a dragon from where they had come. Hayden's eyes widened as she looked between Harry and Uma. "Come on!" Uma exclaimed before turning and running back.

The other two followed her back to the front of the school, looking up into the sky for Mal. "Woah!" they all exclaimed once they saw her fly over their heads. Suddenly all of the anger and betrayal Hayden had felt had disappeared and was now replaced with fear and worry.

They watched as Mal tried to light the ember with her fire breath but it failed. "She doesn't stand a chance without the ember!" Hayden exclaimed, grabbing onto Harry's arm.

"Help me Mal!" they distantly heard Celia call form the roof of the school. Hayden's eyes widened as she realised that Celia was in danger and she almost screamed when Mal was hit by a beam of magic.

"Come on!" Uma exclaimed again. Hayden pushed away her fear as she chased after her friends, drawing closer to the front of the school where Mal was. As Uma's necklace began to glow, she held it out and looked up at the dragon.

"We're stronger together, we're stronger together! I'm right here Mal. Regain your might and ignite! I'm right here, girl, I'm right here. Regain your might and ignite!" Uma began to yell up.

When Mal held the ember out, Hayden grinned when it glowed once again, regaining all of its power. "Yes!"  Harry exclaimed as Uma began to laugh and Mal began to fly.

"Mal! Wait!" Hayden suddenly yelled out, rushing forward slightly. The dragon paused for a moment, looking down at her sister. "You know it will work better for me! Give me the ember!" the daughter of Hades continued to yell.

Mal visibly hesitated for a moment but eventually decided that she was right. Slowly, she dropped the ember onto the grass in front of Hayden. As the blue-haired girl went to pick up her father's gem, Hsrry stepped forward and grabbed her arm.

"Hayden, wait" he said, his eyes shining with concern. Hayden looked back at him and offered him a small smile. "Harry, I'll be okay" she reassured him before pulling out of his grasp.

When Hayden picked up the ember she felt a surge of power rush through her like when she had stepped out of the barrier. However, this time she was more prepared for it and found it easier to take control over.

Her eyes danced with blue flames as her hair began to light. She could hear it crackling with blue light behind her and a smirk graced her lips. "Woah" Uma and Harry said in sync, never having seen the girl at her full power.

"Hey! Sleeping Bitch!" Hayden called out as she looked to the tower where Audrey held Celia. After a moment, the girl's faced appeared over the edge with a questioning look. However, she held out Maleficient's sceptre without so much as a question.

Hayden quickly summoned all of the power she could into the ember, holding it up and releasing it at the same time as Audrey sent a beam of magic towards her. "Go Hayden!" she heard Harry yell although he sounded further away than he actually was.

"You got this, you got this girl!" Uma added, sounding equally as distant. Hayden felt as if all of her power and energy was being zapped into the beam but she held on, knowing she was their best chance.

Right as she felt as if the ember was about to give up, its magic pushed back Audrey's before hitting the girl, knocking her backwards. "Yeah! Come on!" Harry yelled excitedly while Mal flew up to Celia.

"Yes!" Uma exclaimed with a laugh as she hugged Harry. Their voices were becoming distant to Hayden as she took in shaky breaths. She thought they were calling out to her and running back over to her but she couldn't be sure.

Before she could say anything, the ember fell from her hand and she collapsed onto the grass as the world around her faded to black.