𝑨 𝑫𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑴 𝑰𝑺 𝑨 𝑾𝑰𝑺𝑯 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑻 𝑴𝑨𝑲𝑬𝑺

𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑳𝑶𝑮𝑼𝑬

Twelve-year-old Delphina Tremaine scrambled into Lady Tremaine's Curl Up & Dye, slamming the door behind her and dropping her backpack at her feet. The angry shouts of the goblins were muffled as she quickly locked the door, panting heavily.

She had barely made it out of the Slop Shop alive once they realized she was stealing from them. Goblin's didn't take thievery lightly. Actually, no one on the Isle took thievery lightly. It was avery cruel and selfish act. But you had to be cruel and selfish, or you wouldn't survive. It was a dog-eat-dog world on the island to everyone else. But not to Delphina. It couldn't be.

The small patter of footsteps made Delphina look up and smile softly. Her younger sister, Dizzy and her cousin, Annabelle, were running towards her, beaming. "Della! You're back!" Delphina didn't have time to collect herself before the ten-year-olds tackled her in a hug. She grunted in surprise, stumbling a bit before laughing.

"Yeah, I'm back. None of my regulars came knocking, did they?" Dizzy and Annabelle both shook their heads and Delphina sighed in relief. She was the only Tremaine child that was allowed to actually style someone's hair. It was her only source of income and her grandmother made it clear that if even one customer was dissatisfied, she was done for. She'd accumulated a small handful of regular customers that often showed up at the salon early, demanding that Delphina take them during the day. After all, a hair salon that didn't open until midnight wasn't the most convenient place on the Isle.

"Alright, come on." She murmured, nudging Annabelle and Dizzy. She made sure her mother, aunt, and grandmother were all upstairs before pulling the two kids downstairs into their shared bedroom in the basement. Their mothers and grandmother all made it very clear that they were the only ones deserving of an actual bed and bedroom, so once their children were born, they tossed them down into the basement.

Delphina and Anthony shared a mattress, as did Annabelle and Dizzy. It was hard to steal mattresses on the Isle, so the Tremaine kids took what they could get. Delphina and Anthony had better luck with the blankets, though. They had snagged a few thick blankets, which they needed almost year round. It was cold enough on the Isle with all the clouds over the barrier blocking out the sun, and it got even worse in the winter, so the Tremaine kids took luck whenever they could get it.

"Hey, Anthony," Her cousin, who was a few months younger than her, was laying on their shared mattress, flicking through a book Delphina had managed to steal from the Dragon Hall library. He looked up at the sound of his name and grinned when Delphina held up her backpack.

"Get anything good?" Annabelle and Dizzy looked at Delphina eagerly as she smiled, setting the bag down on the ratty old mattress and flipping it open.

"Frollo's Creperie and the Slop Shop vault. Take your pick." Dizzy and Annabelle eagerly ran over to the bag and began digging through the assortment while Anthony gaped at his cousin as she began to tie her dark auburn hair into a chaotic bun.

"How did you get into the Slop Shop vault?" Anthony demanded. Everyone on the Isle knew about the Slop Shop vault. It was where the Goblins hid and hoarded the freshest foods that were delivered to the Isle. There was minimal mold on them, which was always easy to carve off. The vault was always heavily guarded in the very back of the Slop Shop, so planning out the theft took months.

Delphina memorized the layout of the small coffee shop, made sure to watch the hours carefully, and knew which goblins were guarding it and which ones went on break. When the lazy goblins were on duty, Delphina finally struck. It was almost a whole three to five minutes before one of the goblins came back and realized they were being robbed. Luckily for Delphina, she was fast on her feet.

She grinned at her cousin and shrugged. "It's all just a matter of patience. Thank you for covering for me while I was out, Ant. How bad were they?" Delphina asked softly as Annabelle and Dizzy began bartering over snacks. Anthony shrugged lightly.