31 | THE OATH

   THE romance between Sonny and Gil ended as soon as the trip to the mall was over. Both of them were beside themselves, but they exchanged phone numbers and promised to chat on the phone every day. Sonny had even said that she would try to convince her parents to allow her to transfer back to Auradon Prep, but then again, Sonny had also said she would miss her friends at Dynasty Academy.

Though, seeing as her parents lived nearer to Auradon, Sonny would be visiting as much as she could. While Winter, Mal, Ben, Harry, Uma, and Gil all rode back together, Sonny was left to wait at the front of the mall for the group of friends she had come with.

Sonny and they had a long drive back to Dynasty Academy, after all. However, with the new roadway that was built—it should only take them around seven hours to get back. Yeah, they had left extremely early that morning and would not get back until way late.

Though, seven hours was much shorter than what the trip used to be. Sixteen hours was what the drive had been before the new roadway was built three years ago.

Before Gil had left, she kissed him on the cheek making the poor boy blush the whole ride home. Despite this, he was blabbering on about Sonny the entire ride back to the school. While it was cute at first, by the end of it Uma, Harry, and Mal wanted to throw themselves out of the car.

Winter, Mal, and Ben helped the Sea Three get their bags to their room. Gil was more than happy with his new stuff, immediately finding a place for it all. Uma and Harry were equally as happy, though neither would admit it. While Winter was nearly tossed in the air from Gil's gratitude, she merely got a grumbled "thank you" from Harry and Uma. Winter was not complaining though, because she could see deep down just how grateful they were.

It was late enough when they got back that Winter saw it as her time to start getting ready for bed. Harry was, of course, keen on trying to come with her, but Winter was able to distract him by pointing out that Gil was beating his high score on one of the video games.

Harry did not take too kindly to that and quickly grabbed a controller before screwing Gil up on his quest to beating Harry's score. It was just enough of a distraction that Winter was able to slip from the room with a simple "goodnight" to Uma.

The rest of October passed by in a blur with not anything more exciting than Winter managing to teach Harry how to count to ten in their tutoring sessions. Harry was still adamant in his advances toward her, but the Swords and Shields team practices began to take up much of his time as Jay and Lonnie were preparing for the first match.

The first match was just around the corner and the two captains were trying to go undefeated for the season. Harry and Uma were the best on the teams other than Jay and Lonnie themselves, and Uma was even co-captain of the girl's team. Jay had been considering making Harry co-captain of the boy's team for the simple fact that Harry was already used to correcting and teaching people.

Being Uma's first mate, Harry had been in charge of the entire Lost Revenge crew's training. And it showed in the way Harry interacted with everyone at practice, most of the other guys on the team now went to Harry when they needed help with something and surprisingly, Harry was always more than willing to help out.

Jay had taken advantage of this, discussing with Harry the different tactics he intended to use against other teams. Harry gave his two cents, explaining and suggesting different ways as well.

As much as Harry did not want to admit it, being on the Swords and Shields team was actually quite fun. Not all of the members were as bad as he thought they would be—well... everyone except Chad Charming that was. Chad still sucked in Harry's opinion, the prince was far too whiny for Harry's taste.

Though, the pirate would say that (very rarely!) Chad made some funny comments.

The guy who Harry found really hilarious was Emmett, son of Esméralda and Phoebus. Harry was not too shocked to learn that Emmett was also Jonah's roommate as he had certain personality quirks that seemed to mirror that of the Jonah Flynn. Emmett was on the tourney team too; however, tourney season did not start until after the Swords and Shield season ended. Therefore, all that tourney had at the moment was practice one day a week, though Jay made sure to assure Gil that practices would be hardcore amped up once the Swords and Shields season ended.

The reason for this was that many guys on the Swords and Shields team crossed over to tourney as well, so having too many practices for both teams would only burn the guys out.

Winter noticed the subtle changes that spending time with the Swords and Shields team had been having on Harry. Uma, Mal, and the other VKs who were close to him did as well. Winter thought that it was great because while Harry was still a wild soul (he would always be) he seemed almost calmer.

No longer was Harry a ticking time-bomb with a short fuse, but rather he was relaxed. Now that was not to say that he was in any way peaceful or gentle—Harry Hook still had an anger that resembled fire—but he was no longer threatening to hook people at the first chance he got.

Winter, Ben, Mal, and Sonny's words from the mall had an effect on him. It had an effect on Uma too. The two of them were survivors, they adapted and adjusted as they needed to get by. Auradon may have had vastly different standards than the Isle, but if the way to survive on this pretty pink land was to resort to... calmer measures then you could bet Harry and Uma would do it.

Especially Uma seeing as she was to be officially sworn in as an advisor to Ben and his court. In fact, that was what was happening right at that moment.

Winter smiled from her spot at the large round table, watching as people flitted around the official meeting room of Ben's castle in a frenzy.

Winter was an official member of the King's Council and the Royal Court with her status as royalty, so were the other royal children. Chad, Audrey—who both attended Auradon Prep—and Sonny who was currently at Dynasty Academy were all in the King's personal council, something separate from the Royal Court.

Soren and Sitara were a part of the Royal Court along with the others in her family; however, there was never a big enough issue where they all had been required to come to a meeting.

It was a rather long trip from Arendelle to Auradon, after all.

A meeting that gargantuan—where all the royals and their children attended—had not taken place for almost nine years.

Not since Wenlock was defeated and lost to the woods.

Winter shivered at the notion of Wenlock, but her attention was diverted from thoughts of the evil wizard by Chad who was shamelessly wooing Audrey from next to her.

Audrey had certainly become more humble since this summer, it was a nice look on the girl. However, Winter had to admit that Audrey and Chad had the weirdest relationship. They sort of completed each other but at the same time they just... didn't.

Now that Audrey had finally got over Ben though, it seemed she was really trying to give things with Chad a chance.

"It's so funny that this is happening on Halloween," Evie whispered from her place next to Winter.

It was true, it was the last day of October—Halloween. While it had always been a big holiday on Auradon, the people of the Isle apparently celebrated it on a whole different level. For them, this was basically their Easter and Christmas in one as they did not celebrate either holiday.

Christmas on the Isle was nothing less than a joke. The gift of giving? It had been a bunch of baloney to them!

There was meant to be a school party that night in the gym, a Halloween party that had been put together by Jane, Evie, and Mal. The two Isle girls were determined to make this party a real rager as they wanted to impress the other kids from the Isle and make them feel as they used to at the Halloween night Isle parties.

As Winter had heard, Mal and Uma worked together in using their magic for the decorations with Evie's direction.

"Yeah, I'm sure Uma loves it though," Winter nodded back at Evie who snickered.

"Of course she does, she loves Halloween," the blue-haired girl explained, "she and the other two can't wait for the party tonight," by the other two, Evie meant Harry and Gil.

Winter nodded, she personally had no intention of taking a step even near the party that night. For one, partying was not really her scene, and two, Halloween had always slightly spooked her. She was not a fan of scary things, mostly from the trauma of an evil wizard back when she was a kid.

"Mmm," Winter hummed.

The only people missing from the table was Ben, Mal, and Uma. In a few minutes, the three were supposed to make the traditional grand entrance that would symbolize the start to the initiation of the council.

"That reminds me, what are you going to be for the party tonight? I'm going as Carlos's mom—"

"Cruella de Vil?" Winter rose a brow while Evie nodded eagerly and snickered.

"Yeah, Carlos's face will be priceless!" She laughed. "Mal is going as a witch—big whoop, I know, and Ben will be going as a cop I think," Evie said thoughtfully, "I'm forcing Doug to go as a puppy though, he is going to be so adorable!"

Winter wanted to laugh at the thought of Evie forcing her boyfriend to go dressed as a puppy.

"That's great, Evie..." Winter smiled, hoping that Evie forgot about asking her what she was going to be.

Winter knew that if Evie found out she was not planning on showing up the girl would smack her into next year.

"Well, what are you going to be? And don't tell me you're not dressing up—"

"Actually," Winter fiddled with the red tie around her neck, "I'm not going, I have a lot of—"

"Hell no!" Evie practically screamed causing many eyes to fall on her, but Evie did not care. Winter blushed, shrinking in her seat as Evie started scolding her. "You can't miss this! You literally miss every single dance or party, you didn't go to the cotillion last year or the—"

"Exactly, so it should not be that surprising—" Winter tried only for Evie to cut her off.

"And, I just cannot believe this, you need to go—" Evie was not able to say anything more, for a trumpet that signified the entrance of the King sounded. Evie stopped herself, scowling and pointing a digit at Winter before whispering, "I will talk to you about this later!" 

The group sitting at the table consisted of Winter, Evie, Chad, Audrey, Fairy Godmother, Jane, King Adam, Belle, Lonnie, Emmett, Ally Liddell, Maddix Hatter, and the oldest son of Hercules—Therimachus. These were currently the people who made up the King's personal council. A small amount, especially compared to the number of people that made up the entire Royal Court.

There were over 85 people on the Royal Court, all of which had some sort of importance or legacy.

Jay and Carlos were considered assistants to Evie which was the reason they often got to sit in on the council meetings. Uma would be bringing Gil and Harry as her assistants once she was sworn in—allowing them to sit in on the meetings as well.

However, none of them were allowed to sit in on Uma's coronation as it was not technically a meeting. It was considered an initiation that was to be within the privacy of the official council members.

The King's Council only met once a month and most of the things that were spoken about were superficial. However, there was an idea brought upon by Mal about getting Uma potentially placed on the Royal Court as the official spokesperson for the Isle.

A lot of that issue was still up in the air and Winter did not feel like dealing with it. Politics often gave her a headache. Then again, this was nothing like the Council of Legendary Figures that her parents were both on.

Winter had only ever gone to one of those meetings with them, back when she was thirteen, and for most of the meeting they were simply squabbling or at each other's throats. Her father, Jack Frost, really liked to go back and forth with either the Easter Bunny or Santa's head elf, Bernard. With how much her father fought with the Easter Bunny, Winter was honestly surprised that she was left an Easter basket when she was a child.

To be fair, the Easter Bunny actually liked Winter and her mother, Elsa. The same went for Bernard, it was only Jack Frost that the two had a problem with.

The double doors opened revealing a man wearing an expensive-looking suit.

"His royal majesty, King Ben!"

The man wearing the suit stepped to the side as Ben was revealed in the doorway. Everyone stood up as they knew to—a showcase of respect. Fairy Godmother smiled as Mal and Uma suddenly came on either side of Ben.

Both were wearing nice clothing, Mal tight skirt and blouse while Uma wore a pencil dress. Their clothing choices, while they looked nice, were rather boring colors—white, black, and grey to be exact. However, it was perfect choices for this event as this was meant to be a rather serious affair.

Winter noticed that the dress Uma was wearing was something that she had picked out for her when they were at the mall. It came from Laurencroft Co. if Winter remembered correctly.

Uma, while she held her head up high, also looked nervous. Her dark eyes gleamed anxiously, her full lips drew into a frown. Uma had a face full of natural-looking makeup, her teal hair jelled back in a formal bun.

Harry and Gil had been speechless when she walked out of the bathroom that morning looking like the Goddess she was. Harry and Gil had always worshipped the ground their best friend walked on and seeing her dressed like the true member of the council she deserved to be brought many emotions to the trio.

Harry threatened to hook both of them if they spoke a word about him shedding tears and clinging to Uma for dear life.

After more of the heartfelt conversation between the three best friends, one that none of them (well, maybe Gil) would ever admit happened, Uma left to ride in the limo with Mal and Ben. Harry and Gil would be helping Jay, Carlos, and Jonah with setting up some Halloween pranks around campus.

Harry, Gil, Jonah, and Jay were quite keen on taking advantage of Fairy Godmother's absence and super gluing her desk shut. Carlos was more hesitant as he had been getting closer with his girlfriend's mother in recent weeks, so he really did not want to do anything that would screw that up.

Plus, the assistant principal was not someone anyone wanted to deal with. Assistant Principal, Philoctetes—A.K.A Phil—was a crotchety old satyr who served as the trainer of Hercules once upon a time. The only students who Phil really liked were the three sons of Hercules: Therimachus, Deicoon, and Creontiades.

Fairy Godmother was not nearly as bad in her favoritism as Phil. While she did have her favorites (Chad being included as despite his sometimes questionable behavior, he was still Cinderella's son), Fairy Godmother still made it a point to be fair and kind to all.

Phil, on the other hand, did not. He would hand out detention for someone just looking at him wrong.

Alas, even with Carlos's warning of Phil catching them (because he was left in charge in Fairy Godmother's absence) the five still went along with the prank. While it was an incredibly close call, they were (thankfully!) not caught.

Even if Phil was short and stumpy, they had no doubt the satyr could kick their asses if he really wanted to.

Back at the council meeting, Ben walked forward with Uma and Mal on his heels. Mal delivered a reassuring wink to the sea witch, sensing her nerves despite the strong front she put up.

Behind the group, a man wearing a long golden robe with a tall hat followed. Mal and Ben stepped to the side, allowing the bishop to take his place next to Uma.

"We are gathered here today to witness the coronation of Uma Triskelion into the Council of King Benjamin." Everyone was respectfully silent as the Bishop continued. "First and foremost, King Benjamin, do you accept Uma a full-fledged member and representative of the Isle of the Lost into your personal council?"

"I do," Ben stated firmly, Winter watching the encounter with a small smile.

She remembered when she was sworn into the council, back in her first at year at Auradon Prep. As Ben was in her year, he had just been setting up his personal council, and Winter was one of the first to get an invite and be sworn in. All of the Big Five were at the time.

Her, Audrey, Chad, and Sonny—linked together by their parentage and the first in Ben's council. They were even before the Fairy Godmother or Ben's own parents. Ben had wanted to start the council on his own will, make his own decision before he had the adults butting in.

"Very well," the bishop nodded, turning his head back to Uma, "Uma, please repeat after me."

Uma nodded in response. Her fingers twitched and she basked in the fact that she was actually getting sworn in on Halloween—just as she wanted.

"I, Uma of the Isle, do solemnly swear,"

"I, Uma of the Isle, do solemnly swear," Uma repeated, her tone firm and confident.

"that I will defend Auradon and its people,"

"that I will defend Auradon and its people,"

"and continuously stand behind the King Benjamin and the vast majority of different Kings and Queens of their respective kingdoms,"

"and continuously stand behind King Benjamin and the vast majority of different Kings and Queens of their respective kingdoms," Uma repeated that phrase in a slightly shakier tone but did it nonetheless.

"I will well and faithfully discharge,"

"I will well and faithfully discharge,"

"the duties of the role I am about to fulfill,"

"the duties of the role I am about to fulfill," Uma ended firmly, her voice full of promise and truth.

Immediately, applause broke out amongst the group as the bishop shook Uma's hand. Mal clapped along with everyone else while Ben stepped forward after the bishop was finished shaking Uma's hand and placed his own palm on her shoulder.

"Welcome to the Council of the King, council-member Uma," his eyes gleamed while Uma smiled excitedly.

Everything had finally fallen into place for her. Her plan was fulfilled.

Winter clapped loudly along with everyone, a wide smile stretched over her face at the pure happiness erupting from Uma. This had started off proving to be a rather interesting Halloween after all.