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kindofchaoticgood · 7 years

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Til the Storm Comes and the World is Quiet - Chapter 5

Ariel, Queen of Seaside, former princess of Atlantica, is curled up on a couch and reading a story to her children before she receives the call.

Callie and Storm are sandwiching her, their heads pillowed on her sides. Storm is trying valiantly not to fall asleep, but he keeps nodding off, and then awakening with a start. Callie is also fighting a losing battle with sleep; her sandy eyelashes are fluttering over her cheeks.

Melody is pretending not to listen, but Ariel can clearly see that her phone screen has long gone blank. Moana is making no such pretensions; the girl from Motunui is listening with an enraptured expression. She has never heard the mainland fairy tales, and treasures each story that she hears each night. Once, when Melody had tried to pull her away to go watch a movie, Moana had waved her off and insisted, “Melody, these stories are wonderful! I don't care if they're for little kids, I’m staying!”

Melody had protested, but Moana refused to budge, and Melody had at first gone off on her own, but eventually came back, setting herself down on a chair with a sulky scowl. Callie had flung herself into her older sister’s lap while Moana and Ariel exchanged amused glances.

Eric is usually there for story time as well, but tonight is his meeting with the leaders from Maldonia and Dunbroch. Technically, this is his night to read to the children, but she's happy to take over for him. King Fergus is notoriously heavy-handed with the ale, and Naveen and Eric get along like a house on fire, so it's going to be the early hours of dawn before her husband makes his way home.

The room is quiet, save for the sound of Flounder’s aquarium buzzing in the corner and Ariel's voice, until her phone starts playing the theme from Hamilton.

Storm mumbles a complaint against her side, and she pats him absently on the head as she reaches for her phone and checks the number on sees Jasmine’s name flit across the screen. She wouldn’t call this late unless it was important, Ariel thinks, sliding the Call button. “Hello?”

“Turn on the television,” Jasmine’s voice is tense. “And after you’re done, come to Agrabah. We’re convening an emergency meeting of the Council.”

“Jaz,” Ariel says, alarmed. “What’s going—”

“Watch first,” Jasmine orders, then hangs up.

“Mom?” Melody is standing now, and Moana has half-risen out of her chair as well, a worried look on her face. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not really sure,” Ariel confesses, reaching for the remote on the coffee table and switching the television on. Snow White’s face fills the screen for a moment right before a video starts to play.

As the video goes on, Melody flinches when the guards and the children start to fight, and Moana looks horror-stricken when the Auradonians point their guns at the two boys. Ariel only stares at the screen, but her hands are covering the eyes of her children, who are starting to squirm around in complaint.

When the video ends and the news feed comes back on, Moana blinks hard, and tears fall down her cheeks. “What was that—” she begins, but her voice breaks halfway through.

Ariel is already on her feet, and her mind is racing a thousand miles. Part of her wants nothing more than to bundle up all of her children and stash them away from the world forever, but the bigger part is telling her to keep it together, because she has two very young children in the room and one very traumatized girl to take care of. “Mel, I need you to take Callie and Storm to your room. Try to get them to sleep, but if they don’t, then just have Carlotta look after them. I need you and Moana to try and find Eric right now, he’s probably already heard about this, and we need to figure out what our statement is going to be. Take Sebastian with you, he’ll have some input in this as well—”

“Don’t I need to attend the Council meeting as well?” Moana asks thickly, wiping her eyes. “As the representative of the Islands—”

“No,” Ariel says firmly, walking over to her as Melody starts to lead Callie and Storm out of the room. “You need to have Carlotta make you a hot chocolate and cuddle with your pig for a while. I’m not going to let you go to the meeting when you’ve just seen - that.”

“I’m fine,” Moana protests. “I - I was just shocked, that's all. I'm fine now-”

“No, you're not,” Ariel counters. “You just saw a room full of children being threatened with guns. No one is fine.”

Moana’s eyes, usually so bright and full of life, look absolutely shattered, and Ariel hates that, hates how the girl’s worldview has just been shattered by that act of cruelty. She wraps her arms around her, and feels Moana's frame shake under her. It saddens her, but mostly enrages her, because how dare Adam and Belle let this happen in their kingdom?

“Listen to me,” Ariel says quietly, pulling back slightly to look Moana in the eye. “Your parents appointed me your guardian while you tour the Realms, and as your guardian, I’m telling you to stay here until we figure out what's going on in Auradon.”

I refuse to put her in danger.

Moana sighs shakily and disentangles herself from Ariel. “Do you think there's any chance that it could be a mistake?”

Once upon a time, Ariel would have said yes without hesitation. She would have defended Belle and insisted that she would never let something like this happen. But she hasn’t spoken to Belle in two years, and she is no longer the naive little mermaid who believed the best in people.

“Absolutely not.”

*****

When the car screeches to a halt, Uma is up and out of the car before Marya and Gonzo even have a chance to process that the car has stopped moving.

I cannot believe that I cried like a little dick in front of them. What the hell is wrong with me?

Her skin feels itchy and too hot for her body; she isn't entirely sure if those Auradon bastards poisoned her or not with that stupid milkshake, but she wouldn’t put it past them. She's sure Ben has had an entire team of lawyers interrogate him about the exact wording of his vow to find all the loopholes. After all, if she is poisoned, it wouldn't have been Ben harming her, it would have been Melendez.

Uma grits her teeth and storms through the doors to the Chip Shoppe, Marya and Gonzo lugging the limo’s entire supply of food behind her. (Note to self, she is a dick for not helping.)

As soon as she steps through the doors though, an eggplant-colored tentacle wraps around her throat and lifts her into the air, cutting off her air supply.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Ursula snarls from the floor, taking a swig out of her ever-present cough syrup bottle. Her other tentacles are writhing dangerously and her eyes promise absolute murder.

But Uma just rolls her eyes, and pries a few suckers from her throat so she can talk. “Hello, Mother.”

“Don’t fucking try to change the subject with me, you little slut,” Her mother slurs the last three words, so they come out more like yalitleschlut. “I asked you a fucking question. Where have you been?”

Instead of answering, Uma casts her eyes around the room. Her mother must have opened up anyways, despite the fact that she sent Cook home today and had the closed sign up. Luckily, there aren't many people, only a few people at the tables and one over at the bar/counter area.

Thankfully the kids seem to be gone; Desiree and Murph must have taken them outside once her mother made an appearance. Ursula isn't exactly above strangling a child who isn't quick enough to get out of her way, and she especially hates her nieces, who make up the bulk of the children that hang around the Chip Shoppe at any given time.

Her crew is scattered around the room; Ashe and Claudine are in the middle of serving customers, all of whom look terrified, which means that Ashe must have shouted them into submission. Jonas and Reggie - what the fuck is Reggie doing here? She told him to go home and look after his brothers - are behind the counter, pretending that they know how to cook. Sierra is casually covering the sword check with her body while Gil and Bonnie are sweeping up the floor. Bonnie is handling the broom while Gil tries to sweep up the dust, but he keeps on sneezing and scattering dust everywhere again. Marya and Gonzo are quietly edging along the wall, trying not to draw attention to them or the large amount of food that they're carrying. Everyone is studiously avoiding looking at her or her mother.

Except for Harry, who is outright glaring at Ursula, despite the purple-black bruises forming on the left side of his face. And from her current position in the air, she can clearly see bright red sucker marks around his throat.

Blood roars in Uma's ears, but she forces herself to remain calm, because losing her temper will just make things worse, and she really doesn't have the fucking time to get into a screaming match with her mother right now, she needs to turn on the television and see if her plan is working. At the same time though, part of her is screaming for her to grab the knife in her boot and fillet the bitch. (She's never claimed to be rational when it comes to Harry.)

“School,” Uma lies coolly, making sure not to move too much. Her mother's grip is tight, but Uma knows that Ursula doesn't give a damn about dropping her.

“School,” Ursula repeats, sarcasm dripping from her tone. “That's interesting, considering today is Sunday.”

Fuck, the one time she looks at a goddamn calendar!

“Is it?” Uma asks, trying to keep her tone bored. “Well then, I guess that's why it was closed.”

“Maddy Mim mentioned that she saw you over by Yen Sid’s house,” her mother accuses, cinching her tentacles tighter in an unspoken threat.

From the corner of her eye, Uma catches a glimpse of purple hair and sees Morwenna Mim curled under a table. She jerks her foot discreetly and the younger girl looks up at her, revealing a cut lip, which stretches out as she grimaces at Uma. Uma closes her eyes, irritated beyond all belief because fucking Maddy Mim just doesn't know when to stop, does she?

She’s let Maddy live for this long because her grandmother is still a scary motherfucker, despite being a thousand years old, but Maddy just keeps on coming back like a V.D. Claudine and Morwenna still haven't given her permission to kill Maddy yet, and while Uma respects Claudine's views and the fact that Maddy is Morwenna’s sister, she's just going to have to kill her at this point. Not just for Claudine's sake, but for Morwenna's. Every time the younger girl comes back with a new scrape or bruise, Uma has to restrain herself from telling Harry to bring her Maddy's head.

“Come on Mama,” she croaks out instead, letting a smirk drift across her face. “Are you seriously gonna listen to a Mim instead of your own daughter?”

There is dead silence in the Chip Shoppe as Ursula’s bloodshot eyes run over her, and Uma can practically see her mother weighing whether it’s worth it to press this further. Her mother doesn’t have a particularly long attention span, and she knows for a fact that that tent dress she’s wearing is new, so Ursula probably doesn’t want to wash blood out of it just yet. She meets her mother’s gaze evenly, willing her body to exude indifference.

After what seems like an age, Ursula unwinds her tentacles from around Uma’s body and unceremoniously dumps her on the floor. But Uma has had a lot of practice falling by now, so she mostly manages to take the brunt of the impact on her side before rolling up and drawling, “Thanks.”

“Get to work,” her mother commands, tone surly as she heads towards the door. “I don’t want to see your face again until morning. Do not even think about closing up, I will find out and I promise you, you will regret it.”

With that lovely parting remark, Ursula slithers outside and Uma lets out a heavy sigh, briefly putting her head down to try and control her expression before standing up and yelling.

“Alright, bitches, show’s over! Get out now, and I’ll let you keep your wallets.”

“But your mom said you couldn’t close!” Kellan Stabbington protests, his red-haired cohorts grunting in agreement.

Uma rolls her eyes and pulls her pistol out of her left boot, firing two shots into the wall behind Kellan’s head. “Do I look like I care?”

Luckily, the other customers quickly take the hint and exit quickly, but Kellan still looks like he wants to say something stupid. After a dark look from Harry, he realizes that he’s severely outnumbered and strides out of the Chip Shoppe huffily, not noticing Morwenna quietly snatch his wallet.

Uma stashes the pistol back in her boot. “I told you to stay home,” she snaps at Reggie, who has the gall to look unashamed.

“Jonas told me your plan,” he says, grin crinkling the freckles on his face. “Are we really going to Auradon, boss?”

“If we get our shit together, yeah,” Uma mutters, then says loudly. “Move your asses, people! Jonas, stop cooking and go get Desiree and the kids back. Reggie, Sierra, I need you to make a list of kids on the Isle including our crew. Marya and Gonzo can split the food up among all of you. Gil, turn on television and start taking notes on what's happening. I want a full report by the time I get back.”

“Where’re you going?” Gil asks, already looking alarmed at the prospect of responsibility.

“To set myself on fire,” Uma growls. Now that her mother's gone, she can acutely feel where the sweat has dried on her clothes and she's either about to cry again or scream if she stays here any longer. “I smell like a do-gooder.” She starts to head up the stairs to the flat above the Chip Shoppe, then pauses to yell over her shoulder as she catches sight of Harry helping Morwenna up from under the table. “And can someone get those two some medical attention?!”

Harry makes a move to follow Uma as she storms away, but Marya blocks his path. “I wouldn't do that right now,” the fire-haired girl warns. “She's been in a mood since Auradon.”

“She's always in a mood,” Harry retorts, trying to push Marya aside, as Bonnie grabs his arm and forces him into a chair.

“This time it's different,” Marya replies uneasily. “She . . . Threw up on the way back.”

Harry's gaze snaps up to hers. “Was it on . . . ?”

“I don't think it was on purpose,” Marya says quickly, and Harry looks like a giant weight has been lifted off his shoulders. “She mentioned the other day that she was seven months without an incident and seemed really proud. I don't think if she was that happy about it she would you know . . . Fuck it up.”

Harry considers all of this as Bonnie shows up with an ice pack and presses it firmly to his face. “Motherfucker,” he finally mutters, glaring at the floor.

“Did she eat anything?” Bonnie asks, handing the ice pack to Harry and starting to examine Morwenna's face.

A look of panic came over Marya's face. “I can't actually remember,” she confesses sheepishly.

Harry groans and Morwenna rolls her eyes. “Some help you are,” the younger girl snipes.

“She may have had a fight with Evie or something,” Gonzo says, walking over and handing Morwenna a large bag of gummy worms, which she tears into instantly. “When I came in to get her, the windows were shattered.”

“What the fuck?” Bonnie twists her head to stare at Gonzo, still trying to force a struggling Morwenna to stay still.

“Yeah, but here's the thing: Uma's hands weren't bloody and neither were Evie's. So I have no idea what the fuck happened-”

“Gil, stop flirting with Claudine and turn on the goddamn TV when I tell you to!” Uma descends down the steps like a storm, already having changed into an oversized flannel shirt that clearly belongs to Harry and leggings. Her hair is pulled up, and there is a thunderous scowl on her face.

Claudine blushes furiously and starts playing with her hair, while Gil turns bright red and mumbles something about how he wasn't flirting, Uma, God, and goes over to the television to turn it on.

The dim clamor in the room slowly stops as an image of Jonas with his hands up fills the screen.

*****

Ariel manages to catch a last-minute portal to Agrabah after sending a series of quick texts to Eric to warn him about Melody and Co. 's impending arrival as well as an explanation about where she's going. As she steps through the portal door, her heart is hammering wildly in her chest and her skin feels feverish. Portal traveling is the absolute worst generally, but after what she's just seen? So much worse.

The Portal opens out to an ornately decorated hallway and Ariel has to blink a few times to adjust her eyes to the sheen of the gold surrounding her. Jasmine obviously sent a servant to go get her, because there is a young woman in front of her with an earpiece and a harried expression.

“Queen Ariel?” She asks desperately, fiddling with the stack of bracelets on her arm.

“That's me,” Ariel replies politely, trying not to make any sudden movements. The woman seems like she might burst into tears at any moment, and Ariel doesn't want to startle her.

“Right this way,” the woman takes off at a clip down the hallway, and Ariel hurries after her, silently cursing herself for not changing out of her heels earlier.

“They're in here,” the woman points at the door and Ariel walks in, bracing herself for anything.

There are several televisions clustered on one wall, all blaring at full volume but broadcasting different channels. Unlike the gold splendor of the hallway, the walls in here are painted a simple cucumber color, with comfortable armchairs and a sofa scattered on top of a creamy carpet. A white desk with two large computer monitors crouching on it and two matching cabinets next to it are facing the same wall as the televisions, along with a high-backed chair. There is a hallway leading out to a small kitchenette, and through it, Ariel can see Tiana furiously slamming dough on a board, flour sticking to her curls.

Jasmine is pacing around the room, her cerulean hijab whirling wildly. She's muttering angrily under her breath in Persian, arms gesturing wildly in a silent argument with an invisible foe. Ella is leaning against a wall, focusing intently in the centermost television, face drawn. Pocahontas is sitting next to Aurora, one hand resting protectively on her bump while the other holds Aurora close to her. There are tear tracks down Aurora’s face and her phone is clenched in a white-knuckle grip in her hands.

“Welcome to hell!” Jasmine exclaims once she catches sight of Ariel. “Don't linger in the doorway, come in and suffer with the rest of us!”

“What's going on?” Ariel asks cautiously, entering the room and sitting on an armchair.

“Adam and Belle arrived in Auradon just now, but my father still refuses to let me give a statement to the press until 'we have all the facts’. What the hell is that supposed to mean? There’s a video, we know what happened,” Jasmine’s voice is rising and she looks about ready to kill someone. “Al’s on the phone with the Prime Minister right now, they’re trying to convince my dad to let me give a statement. I had to leave the room, I was about to start throwing things if I heard Dad say ‘give them a chance to explain’ one more time.”

Ariel winces. “I’m sorry, Jaz.”

“Whatever, I’m over it,” Jasmine strides over to the desk and presses a side button, making a vanity mirror rise up from the middle, along with a selection of makeup. She unscrews a bottle of eyeliner and continues. “I’m going to give the statement even if Al and the PM can’t convince him. It’s just a matter of how angry he’ll be at this point.” Her hand moves the brush steadily across her eyelids, movements precise even though she is clearly agitated.

Ella sighs. “At least you can do something. My father-in-law and Rory’s parents are refusing to do anything.”

“What?” Ariel turns, horror stricken, towards Aurora, who lets out a sob against Pocahontas’s shoulder. “Why?”

“Because he’s an awful human being who cares more about keeping the trade agreement between Montcavrel and Auradon alive than about children almost getting shot,” Ella snaps out, fingers fiddling with the large diamond solitaire on her ring finger. “Kit got into a shouting match with him, and they were still arguing when I left. Meanwhile, Rory’s parents are insisting that everything is fine and that this is all propaganda.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense!” Pocahontas calls out grumpily, still stroking Rory’s hair.

“Believe me, I know,” Ella sighs, sharing a commiserating look with Ariel.

Rory looks up, eyes full of tears. “Those kids are so young, and they look so scared . . . and I know it’s stupid, but every time I see them, I just think that it could have been Audrey being shot at . . .”

“No one would dare lay a finger on Audrey, Rory,” Jasmine says quietly, turning around in her chair to face the room. “She’s royalty.”

“I know, Jaz, but I’ve been calling her nonstop and she isn’t picking up her phone. Her phone is practically attached to her hand, why isn’t she answering?” Rory asks, tears starting to slip into her voice again.

Jasmine has nothing to say to that and an uneasy silence falls over the room for a few minutes until Tiana appears from the kitchenette, two plates of beignets in her hands.

“You know,” she says quietly, eyes fixed on the screen. “I can't help thinking that this is our fault,”

“We couldn't have known that this was going to happen,” Ella protests, but her tone is half-hearted.

“Didn’t we though?” Tiana asks, her voice distant. “After what happened with Ursula, we knew that they were capable of sentencing innocent children to die.”

She looks away from the televisions, tears falling down her face.

“Face it,” Tiana murmurs bitterly. “We knew that this was coming, but instead of doing anything about it, we just sat by and pretended that nothing was wrong.” Her voice is breaking, but her tone is freezing. “And now, because we did nothing, children are getting shot at.”

Abruptly, she places the plates on a coffee table and heads back to the kitchenette, the door slamming shut behind her.

*****

In a rare stroke of luck, Uma's mother hasn't come back and fucked up all of her schemes, so she and the rest of the crew are able to work, undisturbed. Reggie, Gonzo, and Murph are talking in low voices in a corner, drawing a crude map of the Isle in preparation to leave once Claudine finishes the list of people to come to Auradon.

“Damn Auradonians,” Ashe grumbles, scowling as she examines the smears of ink across her left hand. “We’re doing their job and they don't even give a damn about us.”

“I can't believe they didn't know that the kids were dead,” Sierra whispers, glancing around to make sure that her sister and Uma's cousins aren't paying attention to her. “I knew they didn't care about us but - goddamn.”

Uma shrugs, shifting Lala (one of the aforementioned cousins, currently playing with a tattered stuffed animal) in her lap. “When she told me she didn't know, I honestly didn't know if it was better or worse.”

“Worse,” Ashe and Harry say in unison, Jonas nodding in agreement.

“There's no use in cursing them out now,” Claudine studies the list on top of the table, absently doodling on a corner. “We just need to focus on getting as many people out as possible.”

There is a murmur of agreement about the table, but Harry still looks like he wants to argue with someone, so Uma quickly yells over to Gil, “What's happening in Auradon?”

“They aren't letting the press in,” he calls back, stuffing his face with fried rice and eggs. “Also, they mentioned something about the King not giving a statement yet,”

“Fu- I mean, figures,” Uma manages to catch herself after Lala looks up at her curiously. “They're probably still trying to figure out a way to play this off.”

“Bitches,” Ashe mutters, then lets out a startled yell when Jonas jabs an elbow into her side. “What fucking gives?”

“Ashe said a swear word! She owes us candy!” Lala announces to her two-year old sister, Talea, who glances up for a moment, before continuing to play with the buttons on Harry’s jacket.

“What have I told you about swearing in front of my sisters?” Jonas hisses at Ashe, who scowls at him unrepentantly.

“By that age, kids have seen orgies—”

“Screw you—”

“Can we please focus?” Sierra cuts in, but then Desiree appears at the table, holding a wailing baby and looking harried beyond all belief.

“It's your turn to take Poppy,” she shoves the baby unceremoniously into Jonas's arms as he lets out a noise of protest.

“I'm busy!”

“I don't care! We agreed this morning, I would take her during the day, and you take her at night. And wow, look at that, IT'S NIGHT. So you will take your baby sister Jonas, because I am going to make up for all the sleep I wasn't able to get last night.” With that, Desiree storms upstairs, the stairs creaking in displeasure.

“So who has suggestions for names to add to the list?” Claudine asks, raising her voice to be heard over Poppy's crying.

“Rick Ratcliffe,” Jonas suggests, standing up from the table and starting to walk around, pillowing Poppy's head on his shoulder.

Uma wrinkles her nose. “Isn't his dad a racist?”

“Yeah, but I don't think he's about that ‘whiter than thou’ stuff that his dad's always going on about. I mean, he looked embarrassed when his dad accused me of being a drug-selling negro trying to corrupt his son,” Jonas says nonchalantly, whispering something soothing to Poppy.

“Jesus,” Harry says disgustedly.

“To be fair though, I was in the middle of selling him some weed, so I see where he was coming from.”

Claudine carefully pens in Rick Ratcliffe's name. “Anyone else?”

“That we don't hate and isn't already either related to us or in the crew already?” Sierra asks sardonically, then turns serious. “I think we got everyone. I mean, we even asked the kids for names, and they listed out everyone they had ever met.”

At that moment, Jia, Sierra's little sister, chose that moment to wander up to the table and pout at her sister. “Si-Si, I’m hungry.”

“Go ask Bonnie or Marya for more food.”

“They already gave it to people.”

“Then that's tough, little sister,”

“You can have my food,” Uma offers, pushing her bowl of broth towards Jia.

“No,” Harry says instantly while Ashe shoves Uma's bowl back towards her and Claudine shoots her a quelling look.

“That won't be necessary,” Sierra says quickly. “Jia, we don't have any food. Just go steal Talon’s food or something.”

As soon as Jia heads over to her brother, Harry rounds on Uma. “Stop doing that,” he accuses, somehow managing to look intimidating, even with a two year old on his lap.

Uma looks immensely frustrated. “Come on, there is no way that I am going to be able to eat all of this—”

“I don't care,” Harry cuts her off. “Stop trying to get rid of your food.”

“And stop trying to pawn it off on the kids,” Sierra adds, scowling at Uma.

“Are you saying that they don't need to eat?”

“I'm saying that you need to eat, because we need you alive, Uma Triskelion, so pick up the damn spoon and eat your broth.”

There's a dark look on Uma's face, the one she gets right before she verbally destroys someone, so Claudine intervenes. “Just a few more spoonfuls, that's all we’re asking.”

For a few seconds it seems like Uma isn't going to do anything, but then she reluctantly sips a spoonful of broth, making a face at all of them. “Happy?”

“Ecstatic,” Ashe says dryly. “Girl, you can't be mad at us for wanting you to eat—”

“Holy shit - Uma!” Gil vaults over the table and starts frantically turning up the volume on the television. “The press just broke through the gates!”

****

The text messages from her mother and father say basically the same thing. Stay put. Comply with everything they tell you to do. We're handling this.

Lonnie has never been one for just sitting down and letting things just happen without her say. When Ben had been kidnapped, she had insisted on going with Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos to rescue him, and when it seemed like Agrabah and China were about to come to blows over their trading outposts, she had been the one to initiate diplomacy.

But she has no idea how to even begin handling this.

King Adam and Queen Belle - sorry, former King and Queen - had showed up, stone faced, to Auradon an hour ago. Fairy Godmother had rushed up and the three of them had had a hushed discussion before Adam had thrown up his hands and yelled, “I don't care, Verity! Just handle it!” He had then stormed off in the direction of the Royal Offices, but not before curtly ordering Lumiere that nobody was to disturb them. When Evie had tried to follow them, Belle had gently told her to go stay with the students, before following her husband, skirt swishing on the floor.

Fairy Godmother had stared after them for a few minutes, before visibly gaining her composure and announcing gravely that all students were to go inside the common rooms and wait inside until further notice. She suggested that they all text their parents that they were safe, but that they wouldn't be able to contact them anytime soon because effective immediately, Auradon Prep was on lockdown.

This had drawn gasps and people had started demanding answers, but they received none. Instead, all of the students had been ushered into common rooms by grade, and the doors had been locked securely behind them.

After the doors had been closed behind them, Jay instantly tried to open them again, and then cursed when they didn't budge. He had been dragged over to a couch to sit down by Carlos and the two of them and Evie had entered into a hissed conversation, occasionally gesturing at the doors. Jane sat by them, listening and occasionally whispering something as well.

Strangely enough, only a few other people seemed to find the lockdown odd. In a corner, Audrey, Jordan, Ally, and a group of other girls were painting their nails and gossiping about the new coach of the swim team - “He’s so dreamy!” “I know!” - while Chad was telling anyone who would listen that this way, they were guaranteed a night off from homework. All around Lonnie, people were pulling out decks of cards or just leaning against the walls and chatting. No one seemed the least bit concerned.

But all of that had changed once Mal walked through the doors, looking absolutely shell-shocked.

“M?” Evie stood up and rushed towards her best friend. “What’s going on?”

The purple-haired girl seemed to be in a bit of a trance though. It took Evie repeating her name three times for Mal’s eyes to focus on the room, and Lonnie noticed that there was nervous, prickly energy all around her.

“I - it’s bad, E,” Mal said haltingly, eyes darting around at everyone. “It’s really bad, and I don’t think anyone knows what to do—”

“What’s bad?” Jay was standing now, and Carlos was half-risen from his seat as well. “What’s going on, Mal?”

“Turn on the TV,” Mal said faintly, sinking into a chair. “It doesn’t matter what channel - the video is everywhere at this point.”

Carlos had switched on the television, and nothing had been the same after that.

No one is playing cards anymore; the cards are lying abandoned on the floor, while the participants, stare at the TV, their faces pale. Chad is no longer laughing; he had actually snapped at someone to shut up when they had dared to suggest that they turn the television off and do something else. Carlos looks sick to his stomach, and Jay looks queasy as well. Evie and Mal are having a whisper-fight in the corner of the couch, and Mal is shaking her head obstinately at what Evie is saying. Ally and Jordan are having a hushed conversation that Lonnie can only hear snatches of, (she heard the words ‘highly illegal’ and ‘racial profiling’ being used by Jordan though,) and Doug is furiously scribbling notes on what the news reporters were saying. Audrey is staring at a wall, her face utterly blank. When she had tried to answer her mother’s calls, her cell signal had failed, and that was when they had all realized that all communications in and out of the castle were blocked until the lockdown was over.

“We can see what’s happening, but we can’t send or do anything,” Doug muses grimly, flinching when the camera zooms in on the children being backed to the wall by guns.

“They can’t just keep us in here,” Lonnie declares, because, well, they can’t, right?

Doug looks unconvinced. “I have a feeling that they would disagree.”

“My mom’s not answering any of my texts,” Jane says worriedly, holding up her phone. “I have no idea when we’re going to be let out of lockdown.”

“That’s just—” Jay begins, but they don’t get to find out what it is, because someone says, “Hey Lonnie, isn’t that your mom up there?”

Lonnie whips her head so fast towards the television that her neck cracks uncomfortably, but sure enough, it’s her mother onscreen, looking utterly cool and collected in her black suit and her jet-colored hair in a high ponytail.

“When did they let the press in?” Chad demands, looking furious. “They’re keeping us prisoner in here while the paparazzi fawns over them?”

“I wouldn’t say they’re fawning over them, Chad,” Jane says slowly as reporters rush up to Mulan, who is currently walking down a hallway.

“Fa Mulan! Fa Mulan! Can we get a comment on the shocking video that was just released?” One lady asks, thrusting her microphone into Mulan’s face and nearly smearing her red lipstick everywhere.

“Some people are calling this a racial matter. Do you think that’s true, or does this purely have to do with them being villains?”

“What do the king have to say about this, and as Consul General, how does that affect your point of view on the matter?”

Lonnie watches, as her mother leans into the microphone, her voice calm and reasonable. “I think the video was appalling. No child deserves to have a gun pointed at them, whether or not their parents are villains.”

“People are saying that the children refused to comply—?”

“Even if the children didn’t comply, those guards still had a choice of whether or not to use violence to deal with the situation. The guards are adults, and they should have known better than to ever point a loaded firearm at children who can barely walk. I think that the bigger picture is that we have guards that have no qualms about shooting children due to who their parents are, but at the same time, I do think that race has a factor in all of this, and that is a very troubling thought for me, especially since I have two kids of my own.”

Lonnie feels her mouth quirk up, and her mother continues. “As for how the king’s opinion on the matter and how that affects my opinion as Consul General . . . well, as of five minutes ago, I just resigned from my position, and therefore, the king’s opinion has no bearing on my own.”

Mulan gives the press a tight smile and says, “No further comment,” before continuing to walk down the hallway, the reporters chasing after her and demanding for clarifications on her resignation.

Evie's mouth is in a perfect 'O’, Jay is staring between her and the TV,between her and the TV, dark hair whipping back and forth, and Jane’s eyes are the size of dinner plates. Audrey has stopped staring at the wall, Chad is gaping at her, and Mal looks frustrated beyond all possible belief.

Lonnie smiles uncomfortably at all of them, not used to being the least surprised person in the room. “Does anyone want to play poker?”

*****

“Oh my God,” Claudine whispers. “Did that really just . . .?”

“It did,” Gonzo confirms, though he looks like he can’t quite believe it.

“What an icon,” Ashe says, her eyes wide.

“Sierra? Are you okay?”

Uma glances over. Sierra is staring at the television, hazel eyes unfocused. She’s muttering something under her breath and her face is unreadable.

“Sierra?” Bonnie repeats, her tone starting to get concerned.

Sierra lets out a long groan. “How the fuck am I supposed to live up to that?”

“ . . . What?”

“Come on! Fa Mulan just gave up her job for us! All of my life, my father has told me; ‘Remember, Shaoyen, it is no use being like me. I was defeated. Instead, be like the girl who outsmarted me. If you can be like her, then I can die a happy man’. Well, I can’t be like Fa Mulan, because she is too much of a damn legend. Do you see my problem?”

“No, not really.”

“Sierra, none of us speak to our parents anymore,” Harry reminds her, rolling his eyes.

“Shut the fuck up, my life is over,” Sierra moans, collapsing on a chair and burying her head in her hands.

Gil and Ashe shrug at each other, bewildered, but go back to paying attention to the television.

Uma leans back in her throne and surveys the room. The Chip Shoppe is filled to the brim with people now, some of them sitting at tables, some leaning against the wall, and the little kids are running around gleefully. Gonzo is teaching Morwenna how to clean her blade properly, while Murph is chasing his son around, trying to convince him to go to bed. Her cousin Piper is comparing knife sizes with Sierra's brother Talon, (ha, that's gay) and Bonnie and Desiree are fussing over Jonas's hair. Meanwhile, Harry has his makeshift tattoo parlor set up on the longest table, and is carefully tattooing anchors on their brand-new crew members. Rick Ratcliffe has challenged Nia to an armwrestling contest, but judging by Nia’s sneer and the amount of sweat pouring off his face, he’s regretting this decision. However, Nia’s sister Allegra is eyeing Rick with great interest, so maybe the night won't turn out so bad for Rick after all.

She herself is on Poppy duty; the baby is finally asleep, no thanks to Jonas, who kept yelling at his other sisters and waking up an increasingly cranky Poppy. Finally, Jonas had passed Poppy onto her, and after a few minutes on her shoulder and no yelling, the baby had fallen asleep.

Harry finishes up a tattoo on La Foux Deux, and the smaller boy thanks him before scampering off to try and flirt with an uninterested Ashe.

Uma carefully makes her way over to him, careful not to jostle Poppy too much. The bruising on his face has gone down, but his face is an interesting mix of purple and green. His jacket is off, revealing bandages on his right arm. When she had demanded to know what had happened, he simply told her that he had gotten a tattoo sleeve, nothing to freak out about. She believes him, but she knows exactly what happened to his face.

“You have to stop doing this,” she orders, sitting down across from him.

Harry gives her an innocent look. “I don't know what you mean, darling.”

“I thought I told you to stay out of my mother's way. She already hates your guts, and seeing you just makes her even more pissed off.”

He gives her an unimpressed look. “I'm not staying away from you just because your mum has anger issues.”

Uma scowls at him. “It also doesn't help that you keep on antagonizing her every time you see her,” she gestures to his face.

“Alright, this time it wasn't my fault. She was the one who threw me into a wall first.”

“I don't care,” Uma snaps. “I can't worry about you getting hurt by my mother. There's too much at stake here for me to get distracted.”

A slow grin plays across his face. “If I didn't know any better, I would say that you cared what happened to me,”

“I'm serious.” The lack of mirth in her tone makes the smile tilt off his face. “We have a real shot at getting into Auradon. For the first time, the cards are in our favor. And I need all hands on deck, especially you. I can't always be here, so I need you to look after them.”

Harry nods, eyes fixed on her. “I know, love. I won't let you down.” The conviction in his voice is real, and she feels calmer as she reaches across the table to take his hand.

“Good.”

*****

“I do not care if they are villain children, they have rights, same as every other citizen of Auradon,” Jasmine hisses at King Hubert, fighting to keep her voice level. On his other side, Snow White is fighting a smile and the Auradon News Network anchors are exchanging baffled glances, wondering how the conversation got so off the rails.

“Go off, Jasmine,” Pocahontas beams at the television, taking a delicate bite of her beignet. Next to her, Tiana just smiles and shakes her head. Her eyes are still red, but after composing a succinct, but brutal condemnation of Auradon that Maldonia had released as its official stance on the video, she seems to be less furious. Mulan’s public resignation had helped to improve the mood of the room as well, and they are all getting a lot of joy out of watching Jasmine debate King Hubert, who has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about. Ariel catches Tiana’s eye, and they both grin at each other before turning their attention back to the television, where the aforementioned King’s face is growing steadily redder.

“Now see here young lady-” King Hubert blusters, but Jasmine corrects him, tone icy.

“Sultana.”

“What?”

“Oh, you poor fool,” Rory sighs, watching her father-in-law resignedly.

“I am the Sultana of Agrabah, your Majesty, and you would do well to address me by my proper title.”

“I’m sure his Majesty didn't mean to give offense, Sultana,” one of the news anchors interjects, and Ariel can clearly hear Ella wince from the other side of the room, and she wants to bang her head against the wall, because that is not how you pronounce 'Sultana’. “Besides, can we really claim that the villain children are entitled to the same rights as us? After all, that girl did initiate the fighting.”

“Yes, because the guard refused to take his hands off of her, even when she asked,” Snow retorts, then claps a hand over her mouth, blushing crimson as everyone stares at her in disbelief.

“You know you're a bad person when you get Snow White, the nicest person in the Realms, to tell you you're wrong,” Pocahontas declares, fingers flying across her phone.

“What are you doing?” Ariel asks, eyeing her phone suspiciously.

“Posting that to my StoryTime followers,” Pocahontas replies breezily, just as a swoosh noise echoes through the room, signalling that the upload has been successful.

“To add on to what Snow said,” Jasmine says on-screen, casting a smile at her friend, whose face is still bright red, “I don't know about all of you, but I’ve told my children many times that they are never to go anywhere with someone they don't know. It doesn't surprise me that the girl punched him in the nose, I’m rather surprised she didn't punch him earlier.”

“Are you seriously trying to play this off as a case of Stranger Danger? I think that shows a severe oversimplification of what happened-”

“Of course it's not Stranger Danger, but still, her actions are understandable for someone in her position-”

“There they go again,” Rory says wearily as King Hubert starts arguing with Jasmine again, with the two news anchors desperately trying to stop them. Next to her, her phone is vibrating so violently that it's threatening to fall off the table, but she ignores it.

“Aren't you going to get that?” Tiana asks, casting a wary glance at the phone.

“Absolutely not,” Rory scowls at the phone, which looks strange on her normally cheerful face. “It's my mother again. I'm not picking up until Audrey calls me.”

Ariel frowns. “She still hasn't called you back?”

“No, and logically, I know she's okay, but I cannot keep listening to my mother insist that everything is fine, when clearly, it isn't!” Rory's tone is bordering on hysterical, and inwardly, Ariel thanks the gods that she and Eric refused to let Melody attend Auradon Prep.

“It’ll be okay, Rory,” she says outwardly, trying to inject a soothing tone into her voice. “Whatever I may think of Auradon, they’d never lay a finger on Audrey. Like Jaz said, she's royalty. She has nothing to do with this. As for your mother-” she pauses because Queen Leah is a menace at best, and at her worst – well, that's too scary to think about. “Actually, I can’t really give you any advice on that front—”

“Oh, I know,” Rory sighs miserably, wiping her eyes. “I was just about to tell her about my conversion to Buddhism before I got the call, and the first thing she said when she saw me was; ‘where’s that lovely diamond cross your father and I gave you’?”

“Rory!” Ariel stares at her friend in horror, who winces and cringes back. “You’ve been a Buddhist for six months now! Are you seriously telling me that you haven’t told your mother yet?”

“I know!” Rory wails. “I’m a schmuck, I admit it, but you know my mother Ariel! She’s insane!”

“True story,” Pocahontas calls over, balancing the plate of beignets precariously on top of her bump. “No offense, Rory.”

“None taken,” Rory says sadly as Ella gives her a sympathetic smile.

“Chad isn't texting me back either,” she says quietly, then groans. “Dear God - now I'm saying it too.”

“It's a very catchy nickname,” Tiana suggests tactfully.

“Oh, don't give me that! He has a perfectly lovely name, why would he want to be called a name associated with a drunken frat boy?”

“You're asking the wrong people,” Pocahontas shrugs. “Personally, I like the name Chance. It's poetic!”

“Exactly! And he used to think so as well!” Ella's face hardens. “This is my father-in-law's doing, I just know it. He’s always hated Chance’s name, something about it not being 'masculine’ enough. And now, thanks to him, my son sounds like a drunken jackass you avoid at parties!”

“Wasn't he the one who suggested that you send him to Auradon Prep?” Ariel asks.

Ella rolls her eyes. “Yes. And now because of 'diplomacy’ and 'strengthening the bond between our kingdoms’; I can't speak to my son!” She leans back in her chair, looking exhausted. “Thank God we sent Adele, Dexter, and Lainey to different schools.”

“Agreed,” Ariel and Tiana murmur.

Pocahontas strokes her belly. “All of this has just confirmed my initial inclination not to send little Minnow to Auradon Prep, no matter how much King James pesters me.”

Tiana side-eyes her in horror. “Are you seriously naming the baby Minnow?!”

“No! Give me some credit, T, I don't want the kid to grow up to be some sad emo child in a corner-”

They're all laughing when the news anchor announces, “This just in - we are about to go live to Auradon, where King Ben will be making an official statement on the video-”

That brings their laughter to an immediate halt. Ella straightens up, Rory and Tiana already have their eyes glued to the screen, and Pocahontas is already switching off her phone, in order to have no distractions. Ariel just turns her phone on silent though, because she has a feeling that even with the insurmountable evidence, Auradon will never admit anything they did was wrong.

For them, those children are just collateral damage.

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