Archive of Our Own

There was a time in Red’s life where she had believed she’d never escape…

Her greatest fear—since before she could even remember was turning out to be like her mother. Trapped in Wonderland with no way out, she despised everything about her home world.

No friends, complete isolation from the entire population bar the Castle staff and guards. Wonderland wasn’t her home…it was her prison, and there had been no escape, not while her mother held the throne.

Maddox used to describe wonderland as a living, breathing entity, so vastly different to the outside realm. That’s why everything to the teacups, to the plants and even the animals were alive and talking. Wonderland was made of magic, and so was Red.

Her mentor had tried his best to teach Red how to channel her power—he had been the one to make her the deck of cards that now resides along her belt after all, for her mother never would’ve given her them on her own.

He had tried, but most of what Red had learned was from trial and error on her own.

Unfortunately, that had led to her emotions surging after their little mission in Wonderland—everything leading up to it, all the pain she had tried to suppress…it had bubbled up and she had snapped.

Looking back, days after the whole fiasco she could feel the embarrassment and shame coloring her cheeks. She had NEVER lost control like that before, never allowed her emotions to get the better of her—her mother would’ve killed her if she had back in the old timeline.

But when it came to Chloe…her emotions never listened to her…

Ever since Chloe had pressed her sword against Red’s throat, the redhead had been completely obsessed with the girl. She knew it probably wasn’t normal but she couldn’t help it, no one had ever treated Red that way before.

It had, weirdly invigorated her—made Red drawn to the blue haired girl.

Back in Wonderland, everyone feared her mother, and they knew the Princess was off limits to everyone BESIDES the Queen. If anyone was caught looking at her the wrong way it was off with their heads.

But Chloe?

She had been the first person to treat her like a normal girl…like, there was nothing special about her and still to this day, Red was forever grateful to her best friend for that reason alone.

Well, they weren’t JUST Best friends now, we’re they?…

Red shook those thoughts away and forced those feelings down, ignoring her fluttering heart and warm cheeks for the moment. She could deal with all of that after she met back up with Chloe, for they still had a lot to talk about.

Until then though, she forced herself to stay on topic.

And ignore her racing heart…

Even days after her little…vacation playing the villain, Red could still feel the itch underneath her skin. Her power seeping into her very bones, coursing through her veins. It wanted out. It wanted to be unleashed, to escape its confinement that Red had locked down ages ago—for fear of being like her mother.

It was the one reason she didn’t like to use it, because it reminded her too much of the woman who she feared to become.

But that didn’t matter anymore, for Max Hatter had saw that, and used it to his advantage.

Years of denial, years of pushing back the urges she had to snap like her mother, to yell, to scream to shout at anything that pissed her off too bad…years of suppressing her powers all gone, because she had changed time, and destroyed Max’s life…

She couldn’t blame him, if she was being honest she probably would’ve done something far worse if she was in his shoes. The fact that he had shown so much restraint is somewhat surprising.

But still…Red definitely didn’t appreciate having her worst fear come true…

In front of Chloe no less.

And there she was, back to her roommate…

She couldn’t help it! Chloe was, well…everything. She was Red’s anchor, her rock that made the rebel want to be good. She wanted Chloe’s love directed at her, and her alone. She wanted her happy but Red wanted to be the one to MAKE her happy.

The feelings hadn’t gone away since their trip through time, in the months following they only intensified. Chloe had been the only one from their time she could anchor to in the past, and for the three weeks they had stayed at Merlin Academy…it was just them.

Them against the world, together.

And Red, Red had gotten used to that.

Which was why she had…reacted, the way she did.

Her old insecurities bubbling up to the surface, the way her mother’s voice would whisper in her ear…she had watched Chloe suddenly talking with other people, other people who weren’t her and that had irked her to no end.

Was she leaving her? Was she speaking with other HK’s now that their team up was done because she was sick of her? Would she leave Red behind for them? For a Hero? Was she not good enough for the Princess anymore?

Questions upon questions circling in her head the week leading up to her mother’s capture. Swords and shields had started up, and her roommate was now speaking with all these random people who were looking at her and touching her and laughing—like it hadn’t taken Red almost a full week to get Blue to laugh with her while in the past.

The sight had just ignited Red’s frustration. Her anger…struck with a sudden possessiveness that had shocked the redhead.

These people had just walked up to her and made Chloe laugh like it was nothing, and she gave them that without any strings attached. That, Red realized…had been the first nail in the coffin so to say, just a week before her mother had been captured by Maddox.

And then, while in wonderland those feelings grew stronger and stronger as she watched her best friend ignore her in favor of the others—VK’s and HK’s alike.

It had gotten to the point where the voice in her head—that sounded like her mother—had grown too strong for Red to stomp down like she usually did.

And she snapped.

And Max Hatter, had found her.

In truth, Red was scared. She’d never admit it it aloud—her pride wouldn’t allow that, but she was. After spending the weekend being coddled by the woman who looked like her evil mother but wasn’t…she was most afraid of returning to Auradon.

Because that’s where Chloe was waiting for her…

At least, she hoped the blue haired teen was waiting.

What if nothing changed? What if Chloe kept ignoring her? Would she survive that same heartbreak she had felt at the White Rabbit’s cabin? Would her heart—or what was left of it—finally break and leave nothing but emptiness in its wake?

She loved Chloe—clocks she loved that girl with every fiber of her beating heart! She loved her so much it HURT to love her. Red had never wanted anything more than she wanted Chloe but when the rebel had tried to tell her that, when she tried to form the words after their kiss the words got stuck in her throat.

Even after months away from her mother…she still couldn’t even say the words, which was pathetic. She WANTED Chloe to know but her stupid brain would not listen to her heart.

But, technically Chloe was already hers, wasn’t she? Even without hearing the words?

They had kissed—spades, that kiss! It was everything Red had imagined it would be. She could still feel the phantom sensation tingling across her lips if she closed her eyes and went back to that moment. Could stil feel the gentle way Chloe held her as if she was something important—as if she was worth holding.

The way Chloe had pushed her fingers through her hair and gently pressed them together with the other hand across her hip.

As the two of them had sat in her room in Wonderland and kissed, it had been perfect…but after a few days apart, would Chloe change her mind? Would she still want her? What if—

“Red!”

The heir of Wonderland blinked and shook her head of those thoughts before glancing over to her left where she could see the concerned expression plastered across her sister’s face.

Even though she was trying to be subtle, Red also saw the way her mother briefly glanced at her through the mirror before focusing back on the road before them.

Even though Red tried to brush it off, embarrassment and shame burned deep in her veins. Looking at the emotions behind her mother’s and sister’s eyes, all she could think about what how they had to deal with her…episodes these last two days.

She hated those looks.

But at the same time her body yearned for them—their care, their attention…their love. She craved it like she would die without it, especially after her mother had found her yesterday.

They had stayed there, under that bed all day…and her mother hadn’t once complained.

Red felt Conflicting emotions surface due to that fact, but she pushed them to the side for now to deal with later, right now she had to get her concerned sister off her back.

Offering the younger girl a small smile, one that didn’t truly reach her eyes, Red hummed back as she fiddled with her studded gloves, fingers tracing the gemstones interwoven with the leather. “Yeah Pink?”

If at all possible, her sister’s face grew even more concerned. “I said we’re gonna be at Auradon Prep soon…You, sure you’re okay?”

Red’s lips twitched up into a lazy grin, some light returning to her eyes as she gazed at her sister with a small mischievous twinkle. “Please, I’m fine Sis. Auradon Prep is the one who isn’t ready for me.” She smirked, while ignoring the little twinge in her heart as she spoke.

Pink’s eyes flashed with amusement, and a more genuine smile appeared across her face as she huffed but it seemed as if her mother wasn’t at all convinced. Red watched as Bridget bit her bottom lip and concern flashed over her expression before she buried the emotions and turned back to the road.

Red sighed to herself. She didn’t think her mother was going to believe her about being alright anytime soon, and in reality…she wouldn’t believe her either. Especially after yesterday.

Looking out to her right over the Auradon landscape as they drove towards the school, Red tried to distract herself from all her raging thoughts and couldn’t help it as she absentmindedly ran her hands along her new outfit while her mind wandered.

The leather jacket fit like a glove, and the sleeves went down her arms and pooled around her gloved hands, bringing her a form of comfort that she’d never willingly admit out loud. Her pants were the same, pooling around her booted feet and the entire ensemble was a mix of both red and black leather fading between the two colors, as her own Royal sigil was stitched into her pant legs.

She had a bejeweled belt around her waist, her standard combat boots adorned on her feet and her black fingerless gloves with a heart shaped hole facing the back of her hand.

The part about this new look Red was still iffy about though, was her hair…

It was straight at the moment, her wild curls tamed down for the time being and that was for one reason and one reason only, to hide the strands of her hair that had turned pitch black.

After turning Evil, her powers had reacted badly to that cursed tiara and for whatever reason, her hair had turned colors. Her mother believed it would fade with time, but Red hated seeing the pitch black strands in the mirror, she hated everything they represented.

So with a little magic help from her mother, they had managed to hide the black strands into her straight hair. Interwoven between her normal red hair to look like little black hearts going down the right side of her head.

She didn’t mind the new look…but she HATED the straight hair—hated the fact she was forced to look like her old mother to hide her moment of weakness.

It didn’t take them much longer to reach the school, although Red was stuck in her head for the rest of the journey so she wasn’t really present for it. She did all this while ignoring the looks her mother and sister kept shooting her. Before long, Bridget was pulling up before the school and Red was stepping out of the car and heading to the truck to grab her bags—bags filled with a whole new wardrobe of leather.

The minute she opened the trunk and shouldered both bags though, Red froze as a soft, hesitant hand landed on her bicep.

“Why don’t you go on ahead Pink. I want to talk with your sister before I leave.”

The words made the area around them fall silent, like how her mother used to deliver sentences to their people. At her words barely anyone would inhale for fear that the Queen’s ire would turn to them.

This—while different—had that same affect on Red.

Pink grabbed her book bag and glanced from her mother to her sister with furrowed brows. After the two seemed to have some sort of silent conversation, Pink nodded hesitantly and turned to look Red directly in her eyes.

“I’ll be waiting at the entrance okay? We can head back to the dorms together.” She said softly, offering the elder a small smile but it was clouded with sadness and caused Red’s already frayed nerves to spike, her heart fluttering anxiously while her powers rippled just under her skin in anticipation.

She threw a helpless look at her sister—begging the younger to save her from this conversation but Pink merely smiled softly at the teen before turning to walk towards the entrance doors after throwing one last goodbye towards their mother.

Traitor…

Scowling at the retreating form of her sister—a sister who had just betrayed her, might she add—Red jumped when she felt her mother’s hand gently squeeze her arm, causing the teen to swallow thickly and finally glance over at her mother for the first time since getting in the car.

Bridget was already staring at her with an unbelievably soft expression across her face, making Red’s heart thump repeatedly against her rib cage—as if it was trying to claw its way out of her very chest. She hated what that look did to her, hated how she longed for it, wished she could see it directed at her more and more.

The concern, the warmth…the love.

God she was so pathetic…

“I wanted to give you this, before you left.” The Queen finally started to speak, staring at her eldest with the utmost care but there was also something serious in her gaze as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a heart shaped mirror.

One, that Red recognized and instantly made her tense…

The looking glass.

Red’s eyes snapped up to her mother’s and there was shock coloring her brown eyes as she looked from the woman to the object resting carefully in her hands. “You…want ME, to have that?” Even as she spoke, Red could hear the disbelief and shock coloring her voice but she didn’t much care for masking her emotions, not right now.

Her old mother…she would’ve NEVER given her the looking glass—show it to her, yes. But to keep?

Never.

Bridget smiled softly at the teen and offered the mirror to her again, causing Red to hesitantly reach out and take it, cradling it against her chest as if it was precious once it was in her hands. “Yes. I believe it’ll serve you better than I at the moment, it’s just collecting dust in Wonderland. But you? You can use it whenever you wish.”

Red looked up and this time there was skepticism within her eyes as she glanced from the mirror to her mother. “I can?”

Bridget hummed and lifted her hand from her daughter’s arm to gently brush her fingers through Red’s straight hair, causing the teen to subtly lean into the warmth of her mother’s palm. The Queen didn’t say anything about it though, and Red wasn’t sure she even noticed until she watched both love and sorrow flash behind her mother’s expression.

She didn’t bring it up though, which Red appreciated nonetheless.

“Yes. If at any point in time…you’re unsure of the future, unsure of…someone’s intentions towards you…take a look, and see what the future holds.” Bridget tsked and moved her hand down to stroke her daughter’s cheek with her thumb. “If you don’t trust someone’s actions…if, you just need to be sure that what you’re doing is the right course of action, use it. And see where this path takes us.”

Red, despite how much she’s already cried these last few days felt her walls start to crumble again as tears collected in her eyes. Her mother…she had just given her one of the most powerful relics in Wonderland, an object that looks into the future itself…just to ensure Red felt safe.

The rebel felt her heart constrict painfully in her chest, as the first tear fell from her eyes.

The teen could read between the lines of what her mother was saying, the real reason she was offering the mirror wasn’t just to see if Red could trust anyone.

It was because of her—Bridget. Her mother had seen the conflicting emotions swirling inside of her and had decided to give her daughter an object to basically fact check every one of her mother’s actions…

All because RED didn’t feel safe around her.

Bridget gasped in shock as Red suddenly threw herself around the older woman, circling her arms around the Queen’s waist and burying her face into the woman’s dress. Bridget expression softened and she wrapped her own arms around her daughter and squeezed as gently as she could, feeling her own tears well up behind her eyes.

“Thank you.” Red murmured, voice thick with emotions as tears began to soak through the Queen’s dress but the other woman didn’t care even in the slightest.

She’d let Red soak through all of her dresses with tears if it meant she was healing.

Bridget sighed and leaned down to press a lingering kiss to her daughter’s head, soaking in the fact her heavily traumatized daughter had just initiated contact with the source of said trauma. “You’re welcome, My Rose.” She whispered back, causing Red to shudder at the nickname.

“…I like that one.” The redhead murmured bashfully, so unlike her usual persona that it brought a small smile to Bridget’s lips.

Laughing softly under her breath—although the action was tinged with sorrow—the Queen squeezed her daughter once more and pressed another kiss to her forehead before pulling away. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Once her daughter had stepped out of her arms and began wiping her face with her sleeve, Bridget spoke up again, her voice much more hesitant than previously though as she looked at her daughter and wondered how she’d take this next part. “Red…before I leave, I need to speak with Fairy Godmother and Principal Uma—on your behalf.”

Red instantly froze at her mother’s words and her eyes snapped up to look at the Queen with an intensity that would’ve shocked the woman a few days ago had she not known what this version of her daughter had went through.

“No.” Red shook her head, narrowing her eyes at her mother with barely contained disgust behind her gaze, though her cheeks also warmed in what the older woman could only describe as shame. “No, that’s—those are my…problems. Mine! I don’t want or need them paraded around the school for everyone to know about!”

Bridget’s eyes softened, “Red…No one is going to think any less of you for what you went through.” She said, causing the teen to wince at her words. “They can help you while I’m not around. What happens if…if you have an episode during class?” Bridget asked gently, “If something like that happens, they need to know so they can help you.”

Red laughed wetly, without any real humor in her tone as she spoke. “Yeah, if it wasn’t bad enough before, now the clueless, mad Princess from Wonderland will be the traumatized, clueless, mad Princess. Great.”

Bridget froze and it took a moment for the words to register but when they did, her eyes narrowed. “What? Who’s been calling you that?” There was a firmness to her tone that made Red flinch back so the Queen took a second to calm her racing thoughts before glancing down at her daughter again.

“Red…”

The Princess bit her lip and stared over Bridget’s shoulder, not once making direct eye contact. “I told you…I was completely isolated from the world moth—mom.” Red corrected with a small wince. “The only things I was taught were what Maddox knew since he was my mentor. If he didn’t know it.” Red trailed off, scoffing. “It didn’t matter. He was locked in Wonderland just like me. We were all cut off. But here? Pink knows more about this stuff than I ever will.” The redhead admitted softly as she gestured to the school around them. “To them…we got here and Pink knew everything there was to know, she was caught up and knowledgeable but me?”

Red exhaled shakily and shook her head. “I was just…the wild Princess. Didn’t listen, didn’t know how to open a fucking locker because it couldn’t talk back to me. This world…it was so unlike mine that I didn’t know what to do. If Chloe hadn’t been by my side helping…” Red shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable with the way her mom was now looking at her.

Bridget’s eyes flashed with determination as she gazed down at her daughter. Vowing that the teen would not have to deal with any of this, any longer. At least not alone. “I’ll speak with Fairy Godmother—and Uma when she gets back. We’ll figure something out.”

“Mom…” Red trailed off hesitantly, that stubborn fire no where in her eyes at the moment, leaving just wariness and a bone deep tiredness behind her eyes that made Bridget’s heart clench.

“No.” The Queen whispered harshly, taking a step forward to curl her arms protectively around her daughter’s frame. It took the teen a moment to relax, but when she did, Red pressed her face into the crook of Bridget’s neck as the Queen continued speaking, without a shred of doubt in her tone.

“You are MY daughter. And I can’t stand the way you are hurting, my Rose…One day, when you have children of your own you’ll understand this pain I feel. When your babies are in pain, YOU’RE in pain, and as your mother there is absolutely nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for you.”

Bridget swallowed, “I would be no better than HER if I didn’t help you through this Red. So yes, I NEED to speak with Fay and Uma. I need to make sure you’ll be safe here when I’m not around. It’s my job—as your mother to make that happen, to make that reality.”

“And I do so…without hesitation, and without any doubt clouding my mind because I love you. I love you and your sister because you two are my whole world. If anything happens to either of you…I wouldn’t be able to survive that pain Red. Knowing that I could do something and didn’t.”

Red’s arms tightened around the Queen’s waist and Bridget didn’t mind in the slightest, not at all. The woman merely kept holding onto her eldest for dear life, as if the teen would disappear if she didn’t.

Red glanced up at her mother and Bridget watched as her mouth tried to form words…but nothing came out, causing the teen to glare and scowl, as if personally affronted her own body wasn’t doing what she wanted it to.

Bridget had a good idea what words she were trying to form.

“It’s okay Red.” The Queen smiled softly down at the teen. “You don’t have to say it—not until you’re ready, okay? I understand why you can’t…it hurts, knowing that you’ve had to live like that, I won’t lie. But…I understand.” She whispered, causing Red to deflate and sag against the older woman.

With a pout across her lips that Bridget would never admit to seeing, for fear of her daughter’s own wrath.

After standing there in silence for a few minutes, Red finally spoke up. Voice full of hesitation and embarrassment that she tried to mask with indifference and anger.

“Fine. But if Fairy Godmother or Uma start looking at me like some kicked puppy, I’m going to vandalize their offices—fair warning.”

Bridget laughed, genuine amusement coloring her tone as she leaned down to press a kiss to the top of Red’s head. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, My Rose.” She whispered fondly, causing Red to glow in what Bridget could only describe as pride once she realized her mother wasn’t going to scold her for doing such a thing.

…When was the last time someone had given her daughter an offhand compliment like that? For her to beam like such…from such a simple set of words spoken fondly from the heart…

Gods, she wanted to strangle the other her.

Smiling softly, Bridget watched as her daughter pulled away and gave her one last long look before nodding her head and turning to go join Pink who had been trying hard not to seem like she was watching their every move.

The Queen waited until her girls were out of sight before turning on her heel to head towards the Principal’s office tucked away in the side building. It didn’t take her long to reach her destination, and when she did she raised her had and knocked firmly on the door three times.

“Come in!”

The voice of Fay echoed behind the doorway so without much fanfare the Queen opened the door and came face to face with her old friend, along with the other person she needed to speak with.

“Bridget! What a wonderful surprise! Are you okay? Ella said you were but if you or your daughters need anything—” Usually Bridget didn’t mind her friend’s rants but when it came to her daughter, she couldn’t be bothered with Fay’s exuberance at the moment.

“That’s what I’ve come to talk about—with both of you actually.” Bridget said, glancing from Fairy Godmother to the pirate lounging back against her desk as if she belonged there.

Uma rose a single eyebrow at the Queen, eyes catching the slight tension in the woman’s frame and the look in her eyes. “Queen Bridget. I’m guessing this has to do with your eldest?” She asked and only continued when the woman gave a slow nod.

“Cinderella wasn’t real forthcoming with what actually went down.” The pirate said firmly, causing Bridget to hum. Uma furrowed her brows and pursed her lips as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Do I need to call in the council? Because I can—but I’d rather not deal with those politicians if I can help it.” She said bluntly, causing Bridget to huff.

“No, this stays between the three of us. Promise me, what I’m about to say…no one can know, not even the King or Queen.”

Fairy Godmother and Uma paused. They glanced at one another with concern bleeding from the fairy and intrigue from the pirate. It was the new Principal of Auradon Prep though that spoke up first. “No? Why’s that?”

“Because it involves MY daughter. I don’t want Red’s…problems paraded around for others to hear about.” Bridget said firmly, the word problems practically tasting like ash in her mouth.

She didn’t like to think of this as Red having problems, she just…needed a little extra help.

That’s all…

After a silent conversation. Fay and Uma both nodded their heads in acceptance as they moved towards the couch to get comfy. “Alright Queenie, you’ve peaked our interest. What’s this about?” Uma asked as she flopped down onto the armchair with the grace of a pirate.

Bridget sighed as she too took a seat beside her old friend. “You’re going to want to sit back for this…” She said warily, rubbing her hand against her forehead soothingly before beginning to explain the situation.

All of it.

“Are you SURE you’re okay?”

Red rolled her eyes fondly as she walked down the hallway beside her sister. “I’m fine Pink.” The Princess snorted as she glanced over and saw her sister’s deadpanned expression. “Really, I am. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Pink frowned and looked at her older sister with gentle eyes. “Of course I do. You’ve looked out for me my whole life, it’s the least I can do—return the favor.”

Red huffed and leaned over to brush their shoulders together while they walked. “And I appreciate that.” The teen’s voice softened, eyes flashing with a warmth that Red wouldn’t be caught dead with back in the old timeline. “But I’m a big girl Pink, I’ve been dealing with…this, my whole life. I’ll be fine.” She said, gesturing to herself and ignoring the way her heart sped up, causing Pink to frown.

“Maybe…but it IS okay to not be alright, you know that right?”

Red’s expression faltered for half a second before her mask was back in place. Walls reconstructed, fortified and unwavering once again. She grinned at her sister, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes as she spoke. “What are you, my shrink?” Red joked before moving on, changing the subject quickly before her sister could continue asking questions. “I’m fine, now can we please move on from this conversation before I gag myself? We’re still meeting at lunch tomorrow, yeah?”

Pink huffed, but allowed her sister to steer the conversation away, knowing that they’d be more opportunities to speak to her privately if she needed. “Yeah, we are.” She said before hesitating a moment, making Red tilt her head in confusion. “Do…do you want to just sit with me or, with the others too? Is it, too early?”

Red paused for a second before she resumed to walk, but Pink caught her slip up all the same. Red tried to hide it, she did but her sister saw the hesitation in her eyes, the mix of emotions that had bubbled up from the last few days.

Pink KNEW Red didn’t really want to sit with the others…but she also knew that Red didn’t actually hate them. She was just…hurt, and that hurt had to go somewhere.

And unfortunately it was directed at the other teen’s who had went to wonderland with them. Although she knew what was bound to happen if Red saw them too early. When her sister didn’t want to deal with her emotions, she channeled it all into anger and snapped at anyone who dared step foot in her radius.

With only like, two exceptions.

Red shrugged, breaking Pink from those thoughts as her sister replied back nonchalantly. “It’s fine. Can’t avoid them forever sis.” She said offhandedly, but Pink could tell how much she was dreading seeing the others again—especially now that they knew her secret.

How she was actually a VK from another timeline.

“Hey.” Pink whispered, coming to a stop in the middle of the hallway and grabbing her sister’s shoulders to turn and face her. She saw Red tense and glance at her warily—like how a stray cat would look at incoming comfort—but Pink paid that no mind and smiled softly at the other teen.

“I don’t care what they think or want. I’m asking what YOU need Red. If you’re not ready to see them, you’re not ready.” Pink shrugged like it was no big deal. “I’ll smuggle you into my room for the rest of the year if that’s what is best.” Pink smiled, causing Red to snort under her breath in amusement. “So, I’ll ask again…what do YOU need?”

Red’s eyes grew misty—though she’d deny it until her dying breath. No one had ever truly asked that of her before. And yet here was her sister, staring at her with nothing but concern and love behind her eyes, asking what she needed like her opinion—her feelings actually mattered. “I need Chloe.” She whispered, “I need to see Chloe.”

Pink smiled sadly at her sister before rushing forward and wrapping her arms around Red in the biggest hug she could muster. “Okay. Then that’s what we’ll do first. One step at a time.” Pink said, while trying to ignore the way her body began to heat up in anger at the mention of the blue haired teen.

She still hasn’t truly forgiven the other girl for the part she played in hurting her sister, and she doesn’t think those feelings would be fading until she saw some serious change.

Or an apology…

But that was fine, Red had already forgiven Chloe so if her sister wouldn’t hold this over the other teen then Pink sure as hell would for however long she could!

No one hurt her sister and got away scot-free!

No one.

After they pulled apart—and Pink looked away so Red could wipe the tears from her eyes, they continued their trek towards Red and Chloe’s dorm room. After another minute or so, they finally reached the student hallway and much too soon for Red’s liking, they were standing before the door.

Red swallowed thickly before turning back to look at her sister. “Can, you give us a few minutes? I think this conversation should…just be the two of us.” Red said softly, causing Pink to nod her head understandingly.

“Of course! I’ll drop my stuff in my room and come get you two when it’s time for lunch.” Pink said, placing her hand on Red’s shoulder and squeezing.

The redhead gazed at her sister with thankful eyes and she nodded back. “Thanks Pink.” She said, watching as her sister turned on her heel and started to skip down the hall towards her room, making Red huff in amusement.

With a sigh, she turned back to her door when Pink was out of sight. She glanced from the handle to the plaque centered in the middle of the door with furrowed brows—a plaque that Red had made herself when they had gotten their room.

Nothing special, it was just their names but Red’s eyes traced the shape of her roommate’s name while biting her lip as her mind wandered.

No more stalling, she just had to…get it over with, pull the bandage off as fast as she could and pray Chloe still—

Before Red could even blink though, the door in front of her was pulled open from within and she froze at the sight that stood before her.

So did the person just past the threshold…

Chloe had been just about ready to leave and meet with one of her sword and shield teammates, to go over some drills for the next practice next Tuesday when she heard the voices outside the door.

She knew Red had been scheduled to come back today, but she hadn’t known WHEN, so when she opened the door and saw her roommate Chloe froze and her eyes widened as they eagerly drank in the sight of the other teen for the first time in days.

Red was back in her classic leather, but unlike normally, her hair was straight. Chloe could just make out the heart shaped designs in her hair as well, using the black strands that had shown up after the redhead’s…transformation to do so.

She had a bag slung over her right shoulder and her eyes would not leave Chloe’s as she stood there, just as frozen as the blue haired teen.

It was Chloe who shook herself from her funk first, blinking and shaking her head before her brown eyes softened, and a warm smile spread across her lips as any thought that wasn’t about her roommate instantly vanished.

“Red.” She whispered softly, causing the other teen to shudder as she heard Chloe’s voice for the first time in days—the first time since their kiss.

Clocks—that kiss…

Hoping Chloe didn’t notice her rosy cheeks, Red’s felt her body relax and her heart melted as she stared into the warm eyes of her roommate. “Hey Boo.” She said just as softly before reaching up with a teasing grin across her face and cupping the blue haired teen’s chin in her palm. “Miss me?”

Chloe laughed as she leaned into The Princess’s gentle touch and closed her eyes, not seeing the way Red’s eyes softened even more as she watched Chloe do so. “Always. It hasn’t been the same without you around.” She admitted.

Red’s smile widened at the sound and Chloe opened her eyes just in time to see something fond sparkle in the redhead’s mischievous eyes as they both gazed at one another with barely concealed adoration.

The room was bathed in comfortable silence before Chloe decided to lean her head to the side and press a gentle kiss to the inside of Red’s wrist from where it was still gripping her chin, making the red haired Princess flush. “Are you okay?” She asked, causing Red to tense.

Because it was Chloe though, the other teen didn’t automatically shut down like she would’ve a few months back. She considered Chloe’s question for a second because she deserved the truth, especially after Red had kept her true feelings from her for days before Max had given her that cursed tiara and forced her hand.

Biting her lip, Red hummed under her breath as she raised her hand to tuck an unruly strand of blue hair behind Chloe’s ear. “I’m…dealing with it the best I can.” Red admitted hesitantly before continuing, doing so when Chloe’s only response was to stare at her with an open, earnest expression…waiting for Red and not pushing unlike her sister.

Red felt her heart melt, knowing that Chloe wasn’t pushing her…and simply letting her explain at her own pace.

Fuck did she love this girl.

If only she could actually get herself to say the words…

“My mom is still heartbroken, Pink is being a bit TOO over protective and I’m just…existing. They’re both so, hurt about the truth—hurt on my behalf but I can see their sorrow when they look at me as well. Sometimes…” Red swallowed thickly and trailed off.

Chloe tilted her head and hummed under her breath as she moved her hands to cup Red’s. “Sometimes what?” She asked patiently.

Red huffed softly and shook her head, squeezing Chloe’s palm in silent thanks. “Sometimes they sneak glances at me…and I can feel the pity. Their eyes—I can see it when they stare at me for too long and think about what I went through.”

“I don’t need their pity—I don’t want it! It makes me feel…feel.” Red shook her head, as if the words wouldn’t physically leave her mouth but Chloe understood and her eyes softened even more as she gazed at her roommate.

“Broken?” The blue haired teen asked softly, causing Red to flinch but nod nonetheless.

“Oh baby.” Chloe murmured softly under her breath, causing Red to let loose a full body shudder as she stared at the other teen with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. “You are not broken. You’re a survivor, there’s a difference Rebel. Everything you went through, it made you who you are today.” Chloe smiled, reaching up and resting her palm against Red’s rosy cheeks. She could feel the heat radiating from under her palm but she only allowed her lips to twitch up fondly for a split second before she continued speaking.

“That old timeline may be gone, but that doesn’t mean that what you went though didn’t happen. You remember. I remember…and, I am SO sorry for the part I played these last few days in making you relive and remember all that horrible stuff.” Chloe said guiltily, frowning in contempt of her past self for being so stupid.

Red cleared her throat and shook her head. “Chloe—no! You’ve already apologized, I already forgave you. It was my fault as well, I could’ve told you—”

“True.” Chloe said softly, putting an end to Red’s rant as she smiled sadly at the other teen. “But I should’ve noticed my best friend was drowning.” She said gently. “I shouldn’t have left you behind and for that, I’ll always be sorry.”

Red took a moment to collect her thoughts and try and slow down her rapidly beating heart but as she was doing so, an idea came to mind. Her lips pulled back teasingly and her eyes flashed with mischief as she gazed at her best friend from behind her fluttering eyelashes.

“You know, there is ONE way you could make it up to me~” Red cooed, gazing down at Chloe’s lips pointedly before pouting.

Chloe’s eyes instantly zeroed in on the redhead’s puckered lips with a blush along her face, causing Red to smirk at the obvious affect she had on the other girl.

“Oh yeah? And what is that?” Chloe asked after swallowing thickly and Red had to give the girl credit, there wasn’t even a tremble in her voice as she bravely kept eye contact with Red while ignoring the rebel’s cherry colored lips.

Red allowed her bag to drop to the floor as she raised her arms to wrap around Chloe’s neck to pull her closer. The blue haired teen was so in tuned to Red and her needs, she instantly wrapped her own arms around the taller girl’s waist until there was essentially no space between them.

Red’s lips ghosted over Chloe’s until they both could feel the warm air exhaled between them. Red glanced up through her lashes at Chloe and smirked. “I could be, persuaded to forgive you—for a small price that is.” She whispered.

Chloe, unable help herself laughed breathlessly as she bumped their noses together and gazed at her roommate with fond amusement. “Oh is that right? And what would this…price be?” She asked, fingers absently sneaking under her leather jacket until they reached Red’s mesh shirt, where the blue haired teen then began to trace patterns into the light fabric.

Red shuddered at the feel but kept up her appearance as she laughed softly. “Oh you’ll love it I’m sure. You see, all you have to do is agree to one simple action.”

“And what is this action?”

Red hummed and exhaled into the crook of Chloe’s neck, drawing a shudder from Chloe this time and a laugh from the Princess of Wonderland. “You let me kiss you.” She whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to just below Chloe’s ear. “Today. Tomorrow…Forever.” The redhead laughed against Chloe’s skin as the other teen groaned.

“Red.” Chloe whined breathlessly, making Red let out an honest to god giggle that made Chloe’s brain short circuit.

She had never, heard Red giggle before.

Never…

“Calm down Bluey.” Red said jokingly as her head rested against Chloe’s shoulder. “Like I said, all will be forgiven…IF, you allow me the pleasure of calling myself your…girlfriend?”

Chloe’s froze and she pulled away as fast as she could to look down at Red’s frame. Her words were confident and filled with mischief but Chloe could hear the underlying fear in her words—could see just how scared she was of Chloe rejecting her.

As if Chloe could EVER reject her after their first kiss back in Wonderland…

The blue haired teen beamed at her roommate turned best friend turned—now—Girlfriend and couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up from her throat. “Yes. Of course Red, a thousand times yes!” She exclaimed breathlessly before reaching up to cup the Princess’s face with both her hands.

Chloe slowly pulled Red towards her, giving her ample time to push out of her hold but when the rebel merely leaned into her touch, Chloe’s expression melted and with one last smile sent her way…the blue haired teen brought their lips together for the second time.

They both groaned the second their lips touched, causing their eyes to flutter shut as they tightened their hands around the other—with Red squeezing Chloe’s shoulders and Chloe squeezing Red’s hip with one hand while the other cupped her face.

Their lips glided together as if they belonged. Red was hesitant at first, as if she couldn’t believe this was happening—didn’t trust the gentle movements of their lips but after a few seconds Red melted into the embrace and tilted her head to the side for a better angle.

Chloe hummed into the kiss and slowly backed Red up against the doorway, causing the red haired teen to gasp the moment her back hit the wooden wall and giving Chloe a perfect opportunity to deepen the kiss as she boxed her girlfriend in.

Unfortunately, their moment couldn’t last…

Just as things were starting to heat up, with Red hooking one of her legs around Chloe’s waist and the blue haired teen pushing their chests together a voice broke them out of their embrace.

“Hey Red, Chloe! They’re serving lunch early so I thought.” Pink looked up from where she was going through her purse and the moment she did, her skipping faltered and her eyes widened in disgust as she tried to keep her balance on her own two feet. “OH MY GOD—GET A ROOM YOU TWO! UGH!!” Pink gagged and quickly averted her eyes. “I’M SCARRED FOR LIFE!” She exclaimed dramatically.

The two teen’s instantly pulled apart, gasping and panting for air as their cheeks burned. “Pink.” Red growled, being the first to collect her thoughts as she glared at her sister while trying to ignore the way her and Chloe had just been caught. “This IS our room!”

“No it is NOT!” Pink exclaimed, wincing as she stared at the both of them with horror behind her eyes. She gestured to the hallway and then their doorframe. “This is an open corridor where anyone can see you! If you want to do…THAT, then go inside your room!” She said with a mortified expression across her face.

While Chloe blushed, Red merely rolled her eyes at her sister’s dramatics—although her lips twitched up amusedly at her sister’s expression. “You’re fine.”

Pink gasped and placed a hand over her chest in mock outrage. “I am NOT! I will never be able to look at either of you again. My eyes will forever be burned with the sight of my sister and her best friend swapping spit! Oh no!!” Pink moaned in distress, “I did not need that image!!” She whined. “Do you think mom will be okay if I gouge my eyes out with a spoon?”

Chloe snorted meanwhile Red barked out a sudden, surprised laugh that made both Chloe and Pink blink at the redhead in shock. “Something tells me the answer is no sis.” Red said teasingly, still laughing under her breath but that soon tapered off when she saw both Chloe and her sister beam at her, drawing another blush from her cheeks. “What?”

Chloe smiled and grabbed Red’s hand. “Nothing. Let’s go grab something to eat yeah? Preferably before Pink drops dead from disgust.” The blue haired teen joked, making Red laugh while Pink scoffed.

Although at the sound of her sister’s laugh, Pink’s expression softened. Sure, would she rather not have seen Red and Chloe swapping spit? Of course, but as she listened to her sister’s laughter—as she saw the light return to Red’s eyes, eyes that had been so dull and lifeless these last few days…she couldn’t find it in herself to care too much about what she had saw.

If being mortified by watching Red and Chloe kiss was the price to pay for her sister’s happiness…then she would gladly pay it.

Just, hopefully she wouldn’t have to pay it too often.

She liked her eyes where they were, thank you very much!

Chloe’s eyes fluttered open the moment the small gust of wind hit her body…

She sighed as her blurry eyes took note of the dark room around her but quickly closed them again and burrowed her face back into the cool side of her pillow once she realized it was still the middle of the night.

She was just about to fall back asleep when her mind caught up to the situation, and she began to take note of what had actually caused her to wake.

The room was cold—colder than it usually was, especially for it being the end of October. Chloe could feel the breeze wash over her body even from where she was snuggled into her comforter. The air whipping across her face and cooling her skin down even from below the blanket.

Then, she heard the rustling of paper, and the soft scratch of a pencil, and her eyes snapped open…

Turning in her bed so she was facing Red’s side of the room, she looked towards the window seat over in the corner and saw her roommate sitting along the edge with her knees propped up towards her chest. Red’s sketch book was resting against them and the window beside the Princess was completely opened and letting the cold air in as the rebel kept her eyes firmly on the pages in front of her.

Not seeming to have noticed how Chloe was now awake…

The blue haired teen took that time to stare at her girlfriend. She could see her loosely braided hair was flung over her right shoulder as it usually was when the teen went to sleep. Red was still in her pajamas—an oversized shirt that hung down her left shoulder and soft cotton pants that pooled around her ankles. Chloe took all of that in but there was one aspect that made alarm bells ring in Chloe’s head.

Her eyes, they were bloodshot and the blue haired teen was pretty sure she saw the moonlight reflect off a single tear that dripped down the other girl’s face…

“Red?” She murmured questioningly, voice low and groggy from just waking up but Red heard it all the same. Chloe watched as she tensed in the spot she was sitting in before looking over towards the bed with wide eyes.

“Chlo.” Red whispered back, reaching up and wiping the lone tear from her cheek before carefully making sure her expression gave nothing away, but that was kind of hard to do with bags beneath her bloodshot eyes. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

The blue haired teen frowned and shook her head, wrapping her blanket around her shoulders as she sat back against her headboard. “It’s fine. What’re you doing up at—gosh, 2 in the morning Red?” She asked, glancing at her nightstand to see the time before looking back at her guilty roommate.

Chloe watched as Red averted her gaze and muttered under her breath, but it wasn’t until she saw the blush across her cheeks that Chloe began to put the dots together.

Staring at her girlfriend, her eyes softened as she stared at Red and tried to catch her eye. “Nightmare?” She asked, causing the redhead to flinch and bite her lip. After a second of hesitation though, the girl sitting by the window nodded her head, once.

“Oh Rebel.” Chloe murmured under her breath but Red still heard the words as she looked over with soft eyes at the sound of that nickname. Laying back down on her bed and opening up the blankets, Chloe smiled at her girlfriend and gestured down to the bed. “Come here.”

Chloe watched as her girlfriend’s lips trembled before she placed her sketchbook along the windowsill and practically threw herself across the room and under the covers.

The blue haired teen laughed as the redhead snuggled against her chest, holding on as if her life depended on it. Smiling softly, Chloe wrapped the blankets around their bodies and relaxed against the pillows as Red kept a tight hold over her stomach and buried her face into the crook of her neck.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Chloe asked softly, hands coming around to trace patterns across Red’s back.

The rebel was silent for a moment as she collected her thoughts before letting out a self deprecating scoff under her breath. “It’s stupid.” She grumbled, inhaling Chloe’s scent as if it was the only thing grounding her to the present. “Just, more of the same.”

The blue haired teen hummed questioningly. “More of the same?”

Red sighed, “Yeah.” She whispered, glancing up at Chloe from where she was resting her head over the other teen’s heart. “You know, evil mom, tortured childhood…same old same old.” Red tried to joke but her voice came out flat.

Chloe though clicked her tongue, not at all tricked by her girlfriend’s attempt to steer the conversation away. “Of course.” She said, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to the top of Red’s head. “And I’m sure it has nothing to do with what happened the last few days.” She said pointedly, but her tone was soft, knowing Red would respond better to that then outright accusing her of lying.

Sure enough, Red flinched at her words but didn’t pull away. If anything she leaned further into Chloe’s embrace but before the redhead could speak up, the blue haired teen beat her to the punch.

“Red, it’s okay if you’re not fine.” She admitted softly, smiling sadly down at her girlfriend. “No one expects you to be after what you’ve been through. You don’t even have to tell me about what woke you up, if you don’t want to.”

Red blinked up at Chloe in shock. “What?”

Chloe hummed. “I’m not going to force you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with Rebel—none of us are. This…this happens however fast YOU want it to go.  So if you’re not ready to speak about it…that’s fine, we’ll go at your pace. Just…I want you to know that I’m here for you, whenever you are ready.”

The blue haired teen reached down and cupped Red’s jaw and tilted her face up so they were looking at one another. “I’m not going anywhere baby. And I’ll spend however long it takes to prove that to you. Whatever you need from me, I am here. Okay?”

Red swallowed thickly, “Anything?” She asked, voice full of emotion that was threatening to spill out at the very seems as a blush spread across her cheeks at the nickname.

She liked when her mother called her that, all soft and caring, as if she was still a child who needed to be comforted by hugs and sweets but when Chloe called her baby…

She REALLY liked it.

Chloe smiled, “Anything.”

The Princess of Wonderland’s eyes softened and something vulnerable appeared in her gaze as she looked up at Chloe with adoration and a yearning that took the other girl’s breath away. “All I want…all I need, is you.” She whispered brokenly before laying her head back down into the crook of Chloe’s shoulder and pressing small kisses against the skin of her throat.

Chloe felt her heart melt at those words and sighed as the sensations washed over her body. She tightened her arms around Red and fully relaxed into her bed, eyes finally catching up to her and blinking closed as exhaustion began to creep up and settle across her chest.

Before she fell asleep though, she had one last coherent thought that would not leave her, and just as she was about to fall asleep, she murmured those three little words that she had tried to keep under wraps for months.

“I love you.”

The minute the words left her mouth, Chloe was back asleep so she didn’t feel the way Red tensed and looked up at her with shock across her face. Nor did she see the moment those words registered to her and her eyes began to water again as she stared at her Girlfriend with a softness that Red had never been known for before.

She couldn’t say the words back—she tried to but they wouldn’t leave her mouth and seeing how Chloe was already asleep, Red did the next best thing.

She laughed, breathlessly with both disbelief and fondness mixing together in her tone as if hearing those words again—but this time from Chloe—made all of her troubles disappear.

She sighed quietly under her breath before laying her head down on Chloe’s chest to listen to her heartbeat. Red glanced up one last time at the other girl’s peaceful face though and smiled, leaning up to press one last kiss to the corner of her mouth before laying back down and closing her eyes.

“One day, I’ll say it back. I promise.” She whispered into their silent room before shutting her eyes with a content sigh.

“One day.”

After only a few minutes, Red was fast asleep and there was a small smile across her slumbering face from where she was resting against her girlfriend.

And in the morning, when Red woke up…she realized it was the best sleep she could ever remember having, in her entire life…

Chloe knew her girlfriend better than she sometimes knew herself.

The Red she saw daily was different to the one others saw. Even Pink, Red’s own sister wasn’t privy to a lot of Red’s “softer” moments. It’s really only been these last few days did others get to see a whole side of Red that they didn’t even knew existed.

So Chloe wasn’t at all surprised when they went back to classes, the “old” Red returned.

Her confidence seemed to come back over night, the way she held herself up with her back straight, yet always seemed to make it look like she was relaxed and didn’t care to be there. Her deadpanned and mischievous eyes sparkled in the light and if Chloe didn’t know her any better, she would’ve assumed Red was okay.

But she saw the small things that Red couldn’t hide from her.

The way she would flinch at loud noises, how her fingers would drum against her thighs in class, how the Rebel would puff up and scowl at anyone who dared look at her the wrong way or the way her foot would sometimes tap anxiously against the ground while sitting.

And that wasn’t all, those were just the obvious signs.

Chloe could see them all. The way her eye would twitch when someone got too close to either of them. The way Red’s stance was always pointed at the nearest exit as if waiting to bolt. She could see the way Red glared at anyone besides Pink but it was her eyes that gave her away, like always.

There was something…hallow to them, as if she was just going through the motions. She had seen that look last night before Red has crawled into her bed, seen the way the past was physically haunting her girlfriend’s mind.

But in public, Red put that mask back on, and Chloe could do nothing about it except silently support her in whatever way she could.

Unfortunately, those options were limited to hand holding and pointed looks from across the room.

She could tell the day was starting to take its toll on Red, so she shouldn’t have really been surprised when at lunch Red’s facade had cracked.

They had been doing a good job at avoiding any VK or HK that had been in Wonderland for Red’s…transformation, but unfortunately that all had ended at lunch.

The moment Chloe, Pink and Red had walked into the cafeteria, the redhead had clenched her sketch book close to her chest, took one glance at the long line and winced. “I’ll go save our table.” She muttered before turning on her heel and walking towards the corner table that they had commandeered as their own.

Both Pink and Chloe watched her go with sad looks behind their eyes, but they both knew how Red got, so they simply turned back towards the lunch line and waited.

Giving both of them more than enough time to speak, alone…

They were silent for the first minute or so before Chloe couldn’t stand the awkward and heavy silence between them anymore. Sighing under her breath, the blue haired teen looked over at Pink and saw the younger princess forcefully trying to ignore her. “I’m sorry.” She said.

Pink blinked at the sudden apology and turned to look at Chloe with a raised eyebrow. Her usual bubbly and shining personality dimmed at the moment as she stared at Chloe with furrowed brows. “Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry.” Chloe repeated earnestly, eyes open and wide as she stared at her girlfriend’s sister. “I know how I treated Red, I know I messed up and I apologized to her already—but I owe you one as well.”

“I never meant to hurt her, I know those words probably  mean nothing to you now—especially after the fact, but they’re the truth. Your sister, is everything to me and I hate myself for what I made her feel this past week.” Chloe sighed, “I don’t expect you to forgive me yet for the way I treated her, but I just wanted you to know that I will spend the rest of my life making up for that one mistake if I have to…because Red deserves as much.”

After Chloe’s speech, Pink seemed to be frozen for a moment before she shook herself off her shock and gazed at the other teen thoughtfully, with a small frown across her face. “You really hurt her Chloe”. Pink said with a protective sheen to her usually warm eyes.

Chloe winced but kept eye contact with the younger girl. “I know.”

“Seeing my sister like that—the person whom I’ve looked up to my whole life…” Pink sighed and shook her head, eyes full of sorrow and concern for Red as she continued to speak. “It shook me, Chloe. Right down to my core. Scared me in a way I’ve never been scared before.”

“She’s always been this…larger than life presence by my side. Confident and brave and rebellious where I wasn’t. She’s,” Pink laughed wetly. “She’s everything I ever wanted to be growing up. And seeing her like that, seeing her break down in tears for the first time ever—in a small part thanks to YOU…”

“Yes, I’m angry at the way you treated her. But I’m not stupid, I know it wasn’t just your fault.” Pink said with a sigh. “The way Red was treated growing up in the old timeline…you were the only one who knew of it—and she hid all of those signs from you from the very beginning. None of us could’ve predicted that’s how Red would’ve reacted to, everything. And even if we—you—did notice, Red would’ve denied it to her dying breath.”

Chloe laughed softly at Pink’s statement. “Yeah, yeah she would’ve.” The teen said half fondly and half exasperated, making Pink’s lips twitch up as she saw the obvious love Chloe held for her sister across her face.

And that fact alone, solidified her decision.

Reaching over and placing her hand on Chloe’s shoulder, Pink offered the other girl a small smile. “I forgive you, but I won’t forget. If you ever hurt my sister again, I’ll poison your cupcakes.” She said, narrowing her eyes jokingly at the other teen, but Chloe could see the truth to her words all the same.

The blue haired teen chuckled, “Deal.”

They swiftly made their way through the line after their little conversation. Pink grabbing her food while Chloe placed both hers and Red’s on a single tray to make it easier.

Ever since coming to Auradon, Chloe had gotten familiar with her best friend’s taste in food. She rarely ate a lot—and Chloe now knew that was thanks to the way she grew up—but when she did she was very particular with WHAT she ate.

She wouldn’t touch anything with meat in it—neither would Pink so in the months they they have known each other, Chloe’s discovered that Red is an absolute fiend for pasta whenever it was being served.

Luckily for them, it just so happened to be Alfredo for lunch today.

Scooping two servings onto the tray, she then made sure to grab a few fruits she knew Red enjoyed before walking over to their corner table with Pink skipping beside her.

When she got to the table, she saw Red sitting in her usual spot with her back to the wall, knees bent and sketching in her book, having the entire cafeteria in front of her like normally.

She hadn’t put much thought into why she did so before but now…now she wished she could forget.

Forget the way her mother used to treat her. The punishments, the abuse…the execution.

It was seared into Chloe’s brain and it wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Shaking those thoughts from her head though, Chloe moved over to sit right beside her roommate. Red glanced up at her approach and Chloe watched the frown across her face disappear while her eyes softened for a fraction of a second when she caught sight of her sister and Girlfriend.

The rebel quickly masked her emotions again, but the blue haired teen could see the affection behind her eyes as she looked at the two of them. Red quickly threw her legs under the table and placed her sketch book by the wall, still open as she allowed Chloe to slide in right beside her.

The three of them fell into comfortable conversation for a while as they ate. Pink and Chloe kept talking and Red would butt in when necessary but the two girls didn’t mind, they didn’t want to push the Princess if she wasn’t feeling up to talking yet.

Although every time Red did speak, her voice full of dry amusement and fond exasperation Chloe’s heart would flutter and she’d practically beam at her girlfriend which whenever Red caught her looking, never failed to make the other teen blush.

But of course it couldn’t last…

Chloe knew something was wrong the moment she saw Red’s pencil freeze over her sketchbook and the other hand that was reaching up to throw some blueberries in her mouth paused their ascent.

She watched in real-time as Red’s face closed up as she looked past Pink, eyes hardened and jaw clenching as she quickly forced her eyes back down to her sketchbook and refused to look up from her aggressive drawing.

Chloe got her answer though when she looked up past Pink, and saw the two boys who were slowly making their way towards their table with trepidation behind their eyes.

Robbie and Luis…

Pink too looked over her shoulder and winced sympathetically at the sight of them, staring back at her sister with soft eyes. “I can make them go if you want.” She whispered so that only the three of them could hear.

Red gritted her teeth and exhaled sharply through her nose before responding. “It’s…fine. I can’t avoid them forever.” She said though the words tasted bitter in her mouth, and the other two teens could tell right away as their eyes seemingly bore into Red’s skull, able to read the Princess far better than anyone else could.

Before Chloe could say something though, the boys arrived at their table…

Robbie was the first to say something, smiling at both Pink and Chloe before his gaze traveled to Red and his eyes softened. “Hey girls. You doing okay? We…never got to ask before we were swept back to Auradon.” He said earnestly while offering them a smile. “It’s been a pretty wild week.” He joked, making Pink huff softly under her breath while Chloe laughed politely.

Red, she grunted and sent a scathing glare at the boy…

Pink, seeing the look on her sister’s face sighed and turned back to look at Robbie while her foot gently bumped Red’s under the table. “That’s one way of putting it. Thanks for checking in, that was very thoughtful.” She replied back.

“Of course.” Robbie said back before turning his attention to Red, making the Princess’s hackles rise as she rose an eyebrow at the boy with a flat expression across her face. “But…we also both came, to apologize.”

That, stopped Red right in her tracks…

Her expression faltered and she stared at the two of them with disbelief, eyes mixed with distrust as she gazed at the boys from her spot besides Chloe. “Apologize?” Red asked with a deadpanned expression, though everyone could hear the confusion in her tone as she spoke.

Luis decided to take over for Robbie, although he still looked pretty nervous as he gazed at Red. “Yes. Apologize. We had no idea what you went though, and that’s none of our business, we know…but, we’re sorry if we added any unwanted stress to your shoulders during the journey.”

Luis swallowed thickly and glanced from Chloe to Red with a small, awkward smile. “And, I’M sorry. I never wanted to make it seem like I was, taking Chloe away from you.” Luis shrugged and rubbed a hand along the back of his neck, “I just got, so excited that someone else knew what I was going through that I just…acted without thinking. I didn’t mean to make you feel left out. Trust me, we’ve all known since day one that you and Chloe are inseparable.” He chuckled softly.

Something in Red’s chest loosened at Luis’s apology. Something that had been sitting behind her chest for days, festering and burning behind all the pain, sorrow and anger that coursed through her veins. She hadn’t even known THIS, was affecting her so much.

Sure she knew she was angry—jealous even, of the times Luis would drag her best friend away but she didn’t know how much she had been waiting for this apology until just now.

And the boy in front of her was sincere. Red had been manipulated, lied to and gaslit her whole life, she knew what all that looked like but staring up at the other teen before her…she knew he meant what he said.

Red’s shoulders relaxed and let out just a portion of all that pent up tension in her frame. The hardened expression across her face softened to a slightly annoyed scowl that was mostly just a show for the others. “Yeah well, thanks I guess.” She muttered softly before looking up and scoffing at the relived and happy smile that spread across Luis’s face at her words. “Calm it down there muscles, before you pull something.” She said with a roll to her eyes. “Honestly…HK’s; Why does everything have to be a chick-flick with you guys? I’m gonna barf.” She gagged, causing the others around the table to laugh.

“They’re just being nice.” Chloe chuckled.

“It’s revolting.”

“Suck it up sis, cause you’re technically one of us now.” Pink teased, causing Red to actually let out a full body shudder.

“Kill me now.” She deadpanned, but her lips twitched up fondly for a split second when her sister snorted at the look across her face.

Chloe caught it too, but she was nice enough to not say anything as she reached to her left and held Red’s hand, making the redhead blink and stare down at their entwined fingers with wonder in her eyes, as if she couldn’t actually believe Chloe would willingly hold her hand.

The Princess looked up and rose an eyebrow at Chloe and stared at her with affectionate eyes, which was as close to a smile as she would get while around others in public so Chloe took it as a win and moved on.

The boys joined them for lunch after that, grabbing their trays and sitting down beside Chloe and Pink. Red was still up against the wall with Chloe beside her but Pink decided to slid into the seat in front of Red so the other teen didn’t get uncomfortable around the boys.

Red was…content with allowing the others to talk amongst themselves as she continued to sketch while Chloe occasionally bumped their shoulders together to remind the Princess of Wonderland to eat. She had managed to eat a quarter of the pasta before Luis spoke directly to her from his place beside Pink, looking over at her sketchbook with wide eyes.

“You’re pretty good at that.” He said, gesturing to the image that was slowly coming together—a sketch of her old castle in the first timeline, the one that she saw whenever she closed her eyes.

Red hummed and didn’t even look up from her drawing as she responded while shading the bricks of the castle walls. “I know.” She said nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders. “I’ve been doing it since I’ve been a child. When one does something for over half their life they tend to get real good at it.” She said sarcastically, causing Chloe to click her tongue and gently elbow the redhead’s stomach.

“Red.”

Luis though waved his hand, completely ignoring the other teen’s tone as he continued to speak. “With skills like that you should join the Art club. I know Miss Arthur is always looking for new talent, she’d be overjoyed to have another student.”

Red rose an eyebrow at the teen, expression full of doubt and disbelief. “Art Club?” She asked dryly. “If you knew anything about me, you’d know that I don’t do clubs.”

Luis merely smiled back and shrugged. “It was just a suggestion. You’re really good, that’s all I’m saying.” He said, raising his hands in surrender before backing off and drawing Pink into a conversation, leaving Red’s mind to wander about what he said—much to her own dismay.

Lunch passed quickly after that, and before long the bell was ringing signaling the next class of the day. Sighing under her breath, she pocketed her sketchbook and was about to reach for the tray she and Chloe had shared but the blue haired teen merely smiled at her and kissed her cheek with a soft, ‘I got it’ before walking off.

Red’s heart fluttered and she felt her cheeks heat up. Hearing a muffled laugh, she turned and glared at her sister who was standing up and looking at the other teen with a mischievous smile across her face while the boys pretended to not have noticed.

Scowling at her sister, she raised a finger and narrowed her eyes at Pink. “Not a word.” She said softly, and if it was anyone else they might’ve been intimidated by her voice.

But not Pink.

Her sister merely smiled back innocently. “I didn’t say anything.” She said all too cheerfully, making Red grumble under her breath.

“That goes for you peeping Tom’s as well.” Red said warningly, narrowing her eyes at the two boys who had the decency to at least look sheepish, unlike her own sister. “If a single word gets back to me about this…I’ll know who to smother in their sleep.” She threatened.

Before the boys could respond, Chloe came back and the group of five started to make their way out of the cafeteria to their classes. They decided to take a shortcut through the courtyard to get to their lockers quicker but the moment they stepped out into the yard, Red froze…making the others stop as well.

Because standing before them, still eating their lunch was the VK’s huddled around a lone picnic table.

A very specific group of VK’s…

The twins were shoving each other and trying to grab ahold of the other’s food while Hazel scolded the two of them. Felix was shuffling his deck of cards while leaning back against the table but it was the last member of the group that Red’s eyes zeroed in on.

Max.

Staring at the other teen, everything she had tried to keep under lock and key for the entire day started to seep through the cracks. Staring at the boy who had made her worst nightmare a reality made her mind go back to that moment, the moment she had felt the magic inside of her react to that cursed tiara.

She hasn’t told anyone this…but when she had turned evil, it was as if she was locked out of her own body. She could see what she was doing, hear what she was saying but it was as if she was watching from an outside perspective.

Red had no control over herself, that tiara had made her emotions go haywire and push all her rational thinking to the side.

She was there, in her own mind trapped and unable to say anything as her body and emotions took control—could do nothing as a part of herself that she had hoped no one would ever see was brought forth to the light of day for all to see.

It was…it was horrible, like she was a child again, locked in the dungeon. Enclosed in a small room with no escape—no way out and all alone.

Until Pink had gave her the strength to push past her Evil self and take back control.

But the reason for all of that—the reason she had a whole new plethora of nightmares was standing before her, smiling and laughing with his friends like nothing had even happened…

“Weak.” Red flinched at the sudden voice in her head and swallowed thickly while trying to ignore the sound of her own voice—the voice that sounded like her evil self had. Cold, malicious and angry. Disappointed.

“Useless.”

“Pathetic.”

“Waste of air.”

Red closed her eyes and tried to ignore her own vicious voice but it was no use. At every word she heard, every biting comment or mocking laugh, Red’s stomach twisted and churned, feeling the bile start to rise up her throat.

But the voice in her head didn’t care, and kept going…

“Look at him, smiling. Without a care in the world while you…you’re crying like a child.”

“You’re a disappointment”

“A Mockery of the Hearts name.”

“You. Are. Nothing.”

Max and the other VK’s finally turned to look at their group and when they did, they all froze as well but Red didn’t notice it, too far stuck in her head to realize what was happening. It took everything in her power to not keel over and empty what little was in her stomach at the mere sight of Max.

Chloe and the others though—seeing Red’s still frozen posture—created a barrier around her as if protecting her from the others. Robbie and Luis took point while Pink and Chloe stayed right beside the redhead with the blue haired teen grasping her hand and Pink bumping shoulders with her sister in silent support.

Where Felix and the twins all paled when they laid eyes on Red, Hazel was much more composed. Her shoulders tensed and her lips thinned but the pirate did a good job at acting nonchalantly as she twirled her hook in her hand and rose a single eyebrow at the group. “Fancy seeing you all here.” She drawled, before making eye contact with Red and something akin to understanding crossed through her expression as she gave the redhead a single nod.

“Princess.” She said, but Hazel’s usual mockery around the word was gone and now in its place a grudging respect for the other teen.

But Red didn’t hear any of that…

Her eyes were locked on Max.

The other teen was looking back at her. Red could see the anger and betrayal still behind his eyes, but they had dimmed since the last time she saw him and there was also now a hint of guilt—of shame as he gazed at her with a small frown.

The Princess of Wonderland didn’t care about that though, all she could focus on was the betrayal—the rage in his eyes and think back to what he had done, what he had made her into.

Just as Max was about to open his mouth Red turned on her heel and stalked away from the group, ripping her hand away from Chloe—not realizing it was her girlfriend who was holding her hand and just tried to escape.

She had to get away, she couldn’t look at him anymore. The voice in her head was already getting louder and louder as the seconds ticked by, she had to get away before she made a fool of herself.

She ignored the calls of her name behind her and simply walked back into the school with no destination in mind. Her eyes were blank and the look on her face must’ve scared off any other students because they all parted for her when they saw her stalk down the hall.

She only made it so far though before the bile began to climb up her throat again, and this time she couldn’t hold it in. As fast as she could, she found the nearest bathroom and slammed the door open before rushing towards the nearest stall and falling to her knees.

The redhead retched the moment she tilted her head over the toilet. She began to empty her stomach contents into the bowl, grimacing after the first wave of nausea passed and she saw both her breakfast and lunch mixing together.

Looking at it though was a terrible idea.

She started to vomit again, closing her eyes as tears began to streak down her face and bile burned the back of her throat. Just as she was finishing heaving up her stomach she felt cool, gentle hands pull her hair back away from her mouth and trace soothing patterns at the base of her neck.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you.” Chloe murmured softly, making Red moan pitifully, a sound she would deny ever having made after this was over.

“Chlo…” She whimpered, tears burning her eyes while spit and bile dripped down her front. The voice in her head whispering harsh words in her head but the moment her girlfriend collected her in her arms and started to rock her back and forth, that voice all but vanished.

“I’m here.” Chloe swallowed thickly and brought Red’s head to her chest and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re okay baby. You’re okay.” She cooed, causing Red to shiver.

The Princess was practically sitting in Chloe’s lap as she cuddled against her and panted, trying to settle both her stomach and breathing. Her heart was beating erratically from emptying her stomach and her eyes were closed but Red tried to focus on not vomiting on her girlfriend as she continued to rock her back and forth.

The bell had already wrung, signaling the start of 7th period but Chloe ignored it and focused on Red who was much more important than class.

Despite it being History.

Chloe couldn’t tell you how long they sat on the bathroom floor, but eventually she pulled away for a second to grab some toilet paper to clean off Red’s mouth. Once she was done with that, she threw it in the bowl and flushed before turning her full attention back to Red.

Her girlfriend was still shaking, head to toe. Her face was buried in Chloe’s neck and she was still panting as if she couldn’t get enough air in her lungs. Seeing Red like this, ignited a deep seated rage within her blood.

Clenching her jaw, Chloe shook her head and tightened her hold around her girlfriend as she spoke. “I hate him.” She admitted, causing Red to tilt her head in Chloe’s direction as she started to speak. “I hate what he did to you—how he used your fear against you like this. Say the word, anytime, anywhere and I will put him in his place. See how well he fares against my sword.” She grumbled.

Much to her shock though, Red shook her head and whispered so softly against the teen’s dress that Chloe had trouble hearing her. “No. I don’t want that. Everyone’s already been through enough without me swearing bloody revenge on…Max.”

Chloe stared down at Red in shock. “You don’t hate him?”

The Princess pursed her lips and shrugged, playing with a free strand of Chloe’s blue curls as she replied back. “No? I mean I get it…I ruined his life. He had to grow up with a villain version of his father who didn’t love him. And that’s because WE messed with time. He used to be happy…him and Maddox. And I took that from them the moment I activated that Pocket Watch.”

Red swallowed thickly and exhaled shakily. “I understand the anger—the betrayal he feels. I do…If it was me, if someone had done that to me and I hadn’t gone through what I have…I’d have done something FAR worse.”

“I just…I can’t stand to LOOK at him.” Red laughed without any real humor in her voice. “Every time I do, all I can see is that evil version of myself smirking back. Hear her voice in my head along with my mother’s.” She whimpered, raising her hands to cup her ears protectively.

“I just want them to stop.”

Chloe felt her own tears begin to fall from her face as she tightened her hold around her girlfriend again and leaned back against the bathroom stall. She didn’t care if she or Red would be in trouble, right now her girlfriend needed her—needed to calm down and Chloe would be a terrible human being if she just left the other girl like this.

So, she leaned back and cradled Red against her chest as if her life depended on it.

They stayed in there for over an hour, but once she was calmed down and Red had cleaned herself up, once they walked out hand in hand on the way to their 8th period that had already started…

Chloe couldn’t find an ounce of her body that cared for the missed class. Not even when her History teacher looked at her with disappointment the next day.

Because Red? Red was way more important than material Chloe already knew.

Red crept through the empty hallway of Auradon Prep like it was second nature. Years and years of sneaking around her own home, making sure she was never caught by her mother’s Card Soldiers coming in handy at a time like this.

She couldn’t sleep.

She had tried, really she did but the last thing she wanted to do was mess up her girlfriend’s sleep schedule too so once she was certain Chloe was fast asleep, Red changed into her leather stealth jacket and  grabbed her bag before sneaking out of their room.

Was she running from her demons?

Yes. Yes she was.

But at the moment she didn’t even care, every time she closed her eyes she saw her old mother and her evil self, side by side sitting atop the throne.

Just like her mother had always wanted.

Red shook those thoughts from her mind and focused on her goal. Making sure her bag was secure along her shoulder, she snuck out of the dorm building and walked towards the courtyard.

There was no security at the school, which was a fact she learned the first night here. There was a few security cameras scattered around, but they were few and easy to avoid so Red was free to explore the campus late at night with no one the wiser.

Free to escape her own mind…

It only took Red a few moments to reach her destination and when she did, she lowered her bag to the ground and pushed her hood down, letting the wind sweep up her curls as she stared at the wall before her with pursed lips.

It would do.

Letting a tired smirk spread across her face, Red reached down and grabbed the first spray paint can from her bag and shook it. She then grabbed her deck of cards and flung a few of them at the wall to make a temporary staircase so she could reach as high as she needed.

Then she got to work.

Underneath the moonlight, Red finally allowed her body to relax, the stress of the last few days bleeding from her frame as if it had never even been there. She put her headphones over her ears and let her imagination go wild. Outlining and painting her creation without a care in the world as she hummed her favorite songs just under her breath.

This was what she had been missing—freedom. Her trip to Wonderland had dredged up all of the trauma she’d rather forget about, Red had forgotten what true freedom had felt like these last few days.

But this? Not caring about the rules, breaking at least a dozen school safety regulations, heading out past curfew—rebelling!

This, was what Red lived for.

The chilly nighttime breeze blowing her curls around her face, making her cheeks slightly rosy as she painted and painted and painted. The image taking shape as the hours ticked on by.

She didn’t care how this was technically vandalism. She didn’t care how she’d no doubt get detention for defacing school property. She didn’t care about anything in this moment except her music, her painting and the utter freedom this one action gave to her.

She doesn’t know how long she stayed out for exactly. All she knew was the moon was starting to lower closer and closer to the horizon when her little bubble of serenity popped.

“You know…there are other places for you to showcase your art kid.”

The Princess of Wonderland jumped from her place on the top of the card staircase she had built, swiftly turning around and looking down from where the voice had originated from. The moment she laid eyes on who it was though, Red winced.

Principle Uma was leaning against the brick wall opposite Red, gazing up at her with dry amusement across her face, raising a single eyebrow at the wide eyed teen staring down at her.

“Not that it isn’t great.” Uma shrugged nonchalantly, gesturing towards the mural Red had made in just a few short hours. “Hell I’ve only ever known one other person who can paint like that. But still, I’m sure you could’ve used paper like normal people and not my school wall.” She drawled, kicking off the wall and stepping closer to Red’s mural with an appreciation in her gaze that Red internally preened at catching.

She had always been proud of her art, so to know that Uma found it more than acceptable was definitely a confidence boost.

Not that she needed one.

Red quickly regained her composure and shrugged from her place on the top step of her card staircase, propping her hand along her hip and smirking in delight. “Being normal is overrated, I prefer to stand out from the crowd, not blend in.” She said, causing Uma to let out a surprised bark of laughter.

“I can tell.” She said dryly, staring up at the mural with an appreciative nod. “Looks good kid, I wonder what your inspiration was.” Uma smirked knowingly, causing Red to scoff, even as a blush colored her already rosy cheeks.

Glancing over at the brick wall, Red took in her work of art with a proud grin across her face. In the center of the wall, her Royal sigil sat, the heart with the black and white lightning bolt going down the middle. Around her sigil was the night sky of Wonderland—how she remembered it.

Purples and blues and subtle greens, mixing in the sky to create a perfect symphony of color that was both mysterious and unique in its very own way. The Tulgey woods surrounded her sigil, with branches and foliage draped over the heart—as if nature had reclaimed it.

But just below the sigil, stabbed into the ground was a lone sword.

The sword though was much like Chloe’s. Same blade and same shape but the hilt and pommel were different. The pommel itself was a glass heart, shining ruby red and glinting off the lights painted above it. The handle was wrapped in a sapphire blue cloth made of silk and where the pommel met the handle, a ribbon was painted blowing in the breeze.

And on that ribbon, Chloe’s own sigil was painted proudly. The glass crown and two swords behind it just as detailed as Red’s own.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Red said, rolling her eyes and using her cards to get back onto the ground before calling said cards back to her deck, knowing that she’d most likely not be able to finish the finishing touches on her mural now that she was caught.

At least not tonight…

“Right.” Uma flatly, staring at the mural again pointedly before deciding to move on. “So what’s the deal with this midnight therapy paint session? You should be asleep in your bed right now kid—hell when I was your age I’d kill for an extra few hours of shuteye.”

Red hummed and decided to pick up her paint cans as she responded back, giving herself something to do to distract her from the way anxiety began to pool in her gut. “Wanted to paint, so here I am!” She exclaimed with a shit eating grin across her face as she gestured to the mural. “Plus, I could ask the same of you. What’s our esteemed principal doing up this late at night?”

Uma scoffed and raised an eyebrow at the teen. “Kid, it’s 4:30 in the morning.” She deadpanned, “I have to get up because school starts in a few hours—which is what you should be doing.” The principal said before her expression smoothed out and she gazed at the redhead with furrowed brows and a slightly worried expression.

She took in Red’s eyes, the bags beneath them, the way they were bloodshot and Uma couldn’t stop the concern from spiking within her.

She had been informed of the situation from Red’s mom.

She knew that she wasn’t looking at another spoiled Princess…

She was looking at a survivor.

“How’re you really doing kid?” Uma asked softly, letting the wind carry her words towards the teen as she stood there and waited for the redhead to see how she responded back.

It could go one of two ways.

She would either explode in anger, or close up and retreat. Knowing Red though, it would most likely be the former.

Much to Uma’s shock though, Red held her tongue—even though she could tell the teen wanted to say something else. All the Princess did was scoff as she shouldered her bag and stared at the sea witch with a flat expression along her face. “Fine.” She said.

Just because her mother had told Uma about…what really happened, it doesn’t mean she had to confide in the woman. Sure, she was also a VK but Red didn’t know her—didn’t trust her. The only person who she trusted one hundred percent fully was Chloe and maybe Pink, depending on her mood.

“Really?” Uma asked before her voice took on a more conspicuous tone as she stared at the teen. “Cause rumor had it that you and Charming were missing from 7th period, some of 8th too. The reason you’re out here has nothing to do with that now, does it?”

Red glared, “No.”

Uma hummed and after a moment of consideration, she nodded. “You know, If you ever need someone to talk to or…need someone to listen to you, my office will always be open kid.” She said with a nonchalant shrug to her shoulders. “Just to let you know.”

Red ignored the way her heart gave an anxious flutter and instead feigned disinterest. “Great.” Red said sarcastically. “So can I go now or…are we just gonna stand here and keep talking about shit neither of us want to talk about?”

Uma, despite herself smirked at the kid’s mouth. “Alright.” She said my raising her hands in surrender. “You can head back to your room—get what little shuteye you can before classes in a few hours.”

Red huffed and with permission now granted, she quickly walked off in the direction of the dormitory but before she could get far, Uma called back out to her.

“Oh I almost forgot, detention for the rest of the week Hearts! For defacing school property.”

Red rolled her eyes and growled under her breath, just as she was about to be out of sight of Uma though she also raised her hand and flipped her principal off. Delighting in the bark of laughter she heard in response just as she turned the corner to head back to her room.

Now was the week long detention worth her midnight painting adventure?

Red thought so, especially when Chloe saw the mural the next morning. The Princess watched her girlfriend’s eyes go wide with nothing but pure affection as they stepped out into the Courtyard. Despite the exasperation across Chloe’s face, Red could tell the blue haired teen loved the painting.

So yeah, totally worth the detention.

Red growled as she threw her phone on her bed, annoyance flaring through her body as she glared at the offending piece of technology. She could hear her girlfriend and sister laughing at her dramatics, but she couldn’t care less at the moment as she threw herself face down on her bed and groaned into her pillow.

“Oh come on Red! It isn’t that bad!” Pink giggled, making the heir of Wonderland lift her head to glare at her sister.

“Smart phones are the worst invention I’ve ever come across—and I’ve seen some pretty wild things Mads used to make.” Red grumbled as she sat up and tucked her legs underneath herself, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting as stared at the phone still face down on her mattress with narrowed eyes. “Why do you need so many apps? It’s a phone! It’s meant to call people—that’s it!”

Pink sobered up at the mention of Maddox, still not used to Red’s version of the man she was so fond of but Chloe picked up Pink’s slack by rolling her eyes fondly at her roommate and walking over to sit on the edge of the bed with her.

Picking up the redhead’s phone, Chloe gently placed it back on her nightstand before turning and making eye contact with her. “You know, it would be much easier if you didn’t spend the whole time arguing with the phone AI.” She said, amusement coloring her voice as she stared at her adorable, pouting girlfriend.

Red huffed, “Then she shouldn’t be such a bitch.” She grumbled. “What’s the point of having that stupid AI if whenever you talk to it, it gets literally every single word you spoke to it wrong!”

“And don’t even get me started on the autocorrect! I typed what I meant to type! Stop autocorrecting every single word I try and send!”

Chloe rolled her eyes and gently flicked Red’s ear, “Well maybe if you didn’t type swear words, it wouldn’t try to correct you.”

Red gasped in mock outrage, staring at Chloe as if she had just betrayed her. But the mischievous sparkle in her eyes told the blue haired girl that her best friend was just joking around with her. “Chloe Grace Charming! How dare you accuse me of such a thing! I’ll have you know, I don’t JUST type swear words—I type all sorts of different words! But that bitch of an AI doesn’t discriminate! She corrects them ALL!” The Princess sighed in mock sorrow, “I think my Phone is just out to get me, I guess I’ll have to spend the rest of my life without it—whatever will I do?” She said flatly, causing Pink to laugh.

Chloe scoffed, but her lips twitched up fondly. “Nice try Red of Hearts.” She deadpanned, reaching over to grab her girlfriend’s hand and tracing small patterns through the leather of her gloves. “You’re not getting out of learning how to use that phone.” She said, causing Red to drop the act and groan, flopping back on her bed dramatically even as her hand remained in Chloe’s palm.

Pink hummed while gazing at her sister fondly, “Yeah Red, ever since you told mom that you don’t like your phone, she’s been calling and texting ME to make sure you’re okay.” The young princess said. “I love her—I love you, but if I have to answer the same question five times a day any longer, I’m going to pull my hair out.”

“As if you’re not just as protective.” Red grumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes at her sister even as her heart fluttered at the sound of those three little words again and something warm and soft coursed through her body.

She hated how much she craved to hear those three little words…

Pink rose an unamused eyebrow at her sister, hands on her hips and lips thinned dramatically. “What was that?”

“Nothing!” Red exclaimed, although the shit eating grin that spread across her face gave her away. Pink rolled her eyes and threw one of Chloe’s pillows at the older teen, causing Red to let out an indignant shriek as it hit her square in the face.

Chloe watched the siblings play fight from her place on the mattress with a small smile. Watching her girl relax and just, find the time to be a normal kid made the blue haired teen so happy. She felt her heart melt at the sight of Red getting up and narrowing her eyes at her sister, felt her heart skip a beat when that mischievous smile slid across her face and couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of her throat as she watched her girlfriend throw all of her pillows at Pink as the youngest ducked behind cover.

When all was said and done, both siblings were on the floor panting for air. Pillows and blankets surrounded them and Chloe’s eyes scanned it all amusedly before walking over to them. When she got right before them, she crossed her arms over her chest, cocked her hip to the side and stared down at them with a raised brow.

“Are you both done making a mess of my room?” She asked, dry affection in her tone as she stared at her girlfriend.

Red huffed from her place on the floor, “YOUR room? Last I checked, I owned half of all this.” She said, gesturing to the room with a wild hand wave and narrowed eyes.

Chloe hummed, eyes full warmth as she reached down and offered her hand for Red to pull herself up with. “Let’s be honest, the only part of this room that’s yours are your clothes—and even then, you steal mine!” She said, gesturing to the baby blue sweater that was currently wrapped around Red’s torso like a belt, just below her mesh long sleeved shirt. “You sleep in my bed, you’ve commandeered my dresser and you sit at my desk because—and I quote—it’s too far away from you Chloe.” The blue haired girl smirked as she watched her girlfriend blush.

Pink laughed, clutching her stomach from where she was still laying down beside Red on the ground and turned to her sister with a smirk that could rival her own. “Is that so?”

The Princess of Wonderland scoffed and ignored the warmth to her face as she accepted her girlfriend’s hand up with as much dignity as she could muster. She then—after sending a playful glare at Chloe—turned around and offered her hand to Pink. “That’s none of your business.” She said, causing Pink to giggle.

Once her sister grabbed ahold of her hand though, and Red pulled her back up to her feet the Heir of Wonderland let a devious smirk spread across her face. Pink saw it too late, and before she could muster a word, the eldest pushed Pink backwards and she fell onto Chloe’s bed with a small eep.

Red then threw the pillows and blankets that were on the ground right on top of her and the redhead watched with amusement in her eyes as Pink tried to struggle out of the mound of soft fabric.

“Red.” Chloe said while looking at her girlfriend in fond exasperation.

Red shrugged, the smirk still across her face as she gazed at Chloe. “What? She had it coming to her.”

Pink gasped as she finally threw the pillows and blankets off of herself. She looked up and glared at her sister. “Not cool!” She grumbled, making Red chuckle.

“You started it.”

Pink gasped, “I did NOT! I was being a kind, supportive sister—”

“By laughing at me.” Red deadpanned.

“—and you just, threw me down and tried to smother me! I could’ve died!”

“You’re fine.”

“And you have no remorse! No remorse for almost killing me!” Pink huffed arrogantly and turned her nose up as she stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re no longer my favorite sister!”

“I’m your ONLY sister.”

“Yeah—and least favorite now!”

“Oh my clocks, you’re so dramatic.”

“Dramatic?! Have you met yourself?!”

“Pretty sure I have.” Red rolled her eyes dryly. “I’ve had to live with myself for sixteen years.” She deadpanned.

As the siblings continued to bicker back and forth, Chloe stood back and watched with a small smile across her face, warmth spreading through her body as she watched her girlfriend relax with her sister.

She’s so happy that Red had managed to have a relationship like this—like Chloe herself had with her own brother, Chad. Red deserved all the happiness she could get, and watching it play out so plainly before her made the blue haired teen’s heart melt.

If anyone had asked her six months ago, she would’ve never imagined this is what her life looked like at Auradon Prep. She would’ve scoffed at the mere notion that one day she’d be so lax with enforcing the rules but yet…here she was, with probably the biggest rule breaker in Auradon history as her girlfriend.

Chloe had changed so much—for the better in her opinion and staring at Red as she let loose just a fraction of the pent up tension in her frame…made everything they had gone through worth it.

For she’d do it all again, the time travel, the fear of not knowing if her mother was dead…she’d do it all if it meant she ended up right here, at this moment watching her girlfriend just enjoy life with her sister.

She’d do it all, with no hesitation.

“See you tomorrow Rya!” Chloe smiled at her friend and waved goodbye as she shouldered her Sword’s and Shields bag.

Rya, youngest daughter of Rapunzel waved back from where she stood by her gym locker and smiled at her oldest friend. “Later Chlo!” She said while putting her brown hair up into a loose ponytail.

The blue haired girl scoffed, “Don’t call me that.” She replied back automatically, causing Rya to turn and smirk at the other girl teasingly.

“Why not?” She asked with a mischievous grin along her face. Her lips only widened when she caught wind of her friend’s blush. “Oh, I get it. Your girlfriend can give you cute nicknames but your oldest friend—whom you’ve known since elementary can’t! You wound me Chloe, you wound me!”

Chloe rolled her eyes and shook her head, “Night Rya.” She said forcefully as she walked out of the locker room, ignoring the way the other girl laughed at her departure.

Sighing as she made it out into the hall, the blue haired teen grabbed her scrunchie that was wrapped around her wrist and pulled her curls into a bun before walking towards her dorm room.

It didn’t take her long to reach the room. The moment she arrived, she quickly opened the door and shut it behind her, sighing in relief once she stepped foot into her and Red’s space. Just as she was about to call out to her girl though, her lips froze and she stared over at her desk with gentle eyes.

Sitting in her chair was Red, now fast asleep atop a pile of homework that was probably weeks overdue. Her crimson curls hung over her face and framed her high cheekbones perfectly, giving Chloe a perfect few of the peaceful expression across her face.

Despite the adorable scene, Chloe felt a flicker of concern as she stared at the redhead. Every night for the last week since coming back to school, Red had been awoken by nightmares. It was starting to take its toll on the teen and this, this was the outcome of that.

Ever since Red had been caught painting that mural at night, she had tried to use school work as a way to distract her mind from what had occurred but while it was a useful strategy, it always ended up making her girlfriend fall asleep at her desk.

Which then, would lead to her waking up violently from a nightmare.

Sighing, Chloe quietly placed her bag down at the foot of her bed and walked over to the desk. On her way, she took note of the way Red’s headphones hung off her head at a weird angle and the way her magic deck was scattered below her homework as if she had been shuffling them at some point to distract herself.

Then, her eyes caught sight of something else.

The Looking Glass…

The last time she had seen the object, it was back in the past in Bridget’s possession but now…now it was here, in their room.

And it was open.

Slowly, Chloe made her way over to the desk and she was about to reach over and shut the object—she was! But the moment she got within looking distance, the magic mirror began to ripple with magic.

And the image that appeared before Chloe, stopped her dead in her tracks…

It was her, older than she was now. If Chloe had to guess, she had to be at least in her mid-twenties. She had what looked to be a baby blue, form fitting romper that hugged her curves in all the right places. Over said romper was a dark blue and gold leather jacket that went down to just above where her bellybutton would be, with her sigil stitched into the shoulder.

But there was another sigil etched into the leather, right above her right breast.

Red’s heart sigil stood proudly against the blue jacket, and at the sight of it the present Chloe blushed pleasantly.

Her hair was up in a bun, with a few curls escaping to frame her face and she had blue and black eyeshadow around her eyes with heart earrings hanging from each ear. Her right hand was covered in a white silk glove with gold patterns along the back and in that hand, she held a sword.

The blade of said sword was golden colored, along with the guard. Curving slight upward to give her hand more room for maneuverability in battle. The hilt was wrapped in blue silk but it was the pommel that caught Chloe’s attention, and made her breath stutter.

The pommel, was a glass heart…just like in the mural Red had made last week.

Looking at the image of her, her eyes traveled over to her own left hand and she did a double take at what she saw. For her left hand was completely uncovered by a silk glove. Instead there was a golden bracelet along her wrist…

And a golden wedding band around her ring finger.

Chloe felt her eyes widen as her heart gave a small flutter at the sight. Staring at her future self, the sigil, the sword…that could mean only one thing.

Sure enough, just as the thought entered her mind and her cheeks burned hotter…SHE walked into frame.

And Chloe forgot how to breath…

She had cut her hair, was Chloe’s first thought as she laid eyes on future Red. The strands went down to just above her shoulders from what she could tell, because most of her hair was up in a high bun that was held together by a red and black scrunchie.

The other thing she noticed, was Red’s hair had lost most of its color…

She felt a small amount of grief at the sight. Her girlfriend’s black roots had spread further down her head, giving her hair a more blended look. The top part black until it faded down into her normal red coloring. But even then, it looked as if the red had been significantly dimmed. The very ends of her hair were the only bright spots Chloe could find across the image.

Going down, Red’s warm brown eyes were completely different—but not in a bad way. They sparkled and shinned the moment future Red appeared on the looking glass. There was no sight of the hidden weight she carried, the trauma, the baggage…there was just, a weightless quality to the future Red’s expression that Chloe had never seen before—but now desperately wanted to.

Her lips were painted with a faint shade of red, large heart earrings hung from her ears, with the heart colored obsidian black with a gold outline around its perimeter. Her choker was different, but she still had one wrapped around her throat.

It was made to look like rose thorns, wrapped around her neck three times over and on the left side hung a pendant of Red’s Royal sigil.

Her outfit was so Red, yet so different to what Chloe was used to it made her eyes go wide. It was made of leather, because of course it was but it was designed in a way to make it look patch-worked. A strip of leather here, another zigzag piece of fabric there…

It was one big homage to Red’s personal sigil—the heart with the light bolt through the middle—that Chloe could not stop her fond smile as she took in her girlfriend’s attire.

Her shoulders had pads on them that were slightly puffed out and colored crimson, interwoven beautifully with the leather going down her arms. Along her chest sat three golden heart like buttons that seemed to keep the crop top in place—because Chloe realized with a jolt that it WAS some sort of crop.

There was also a small, silk cape that hooked onto her right shoulder that went down to the middle of her back and Chloe realized that Red must’ve taken the crown from her mother in the future she was witnessing.

She was the Queen of Wonderland now.

Her belt was decorated with little white and black lightning bolts going across in a pattern until they hit another of Red’s Royal sigils. Her skirt was completely black with straps and buckles hanging from it that went down to about mid thigh.

The pants she was wearing were more like leggings that hugged her thighs perfectly. They weren’t just one color either, they had a pattern that was alternating between red and black stripes that went vertically across the fabric.

She wore shining black combat boots that had red straps wrapped around the ankle and lower calf part of the shoe. The elevated part of said boot was also colored cherry red.

But all of THAT…paled into comparison to what she saw after doing another once over Red’s frame.

She didn’t know how she missed it, but just below where the long sleeved, leather crop top ended…Red’s stomach was covered by a stretchy red fabric.

And that fabric WAS stretched out. Her stomach extending and forming a small bump around her navel.

The moment Chloe’s brain caught up to what she was seeing, her eyes could not—would not leave the sight of Red’s distended stomach. She felt her face heat up even more and If she were to look in the mirror, her cheeks would no doubt match Red’s namesakes

The Looking Glass was showing her the future, at a time where she and Red were married.

When Red was pregnant…

With THEIR child.

Chloe felt her heart flutter as she watched the future version of themselves turn and greet one another with soft, warm smiles. Red wrapped her arms around her neck while she pulled the redhead by her waist into her chest.

With Red’s baby bump cradled protectively between them.

Feeling so many emotions clog her airway, Chloe swiftly reached over and picked up the looking glass with shaking hands. She stared at the sight, engraving the image into her mind so she never forgot it before softly, with a loving smile gently shut the mirror with a soft click.

The final image Chloe saw, being her and Red wrapped in each others arms with lovesick smiles across their faces as new life grew within her girlfriend…

Swallowing thickly and trying to push back the happy tears that wanted to fall from her face, she silently vowed to herself that she and Red WOULD reach that future, Chloe would make it certain. Seeing how happy they were, seeing the weight lifted off Red’s shoulders and her being actually comfortable in her own skin…Chloe wanted nothing more for that future to be a reality.

Determination flooded her system as she placed the mirror back on the desk. No matter what she had to do, she’d make sure that happened. Chloe would spend every sleepless night comforting her girl, would hold her and whisper sweet nothings into Red’s ear for the next decade until Red finally found peace if she had to.

She’d prove to her girlfriend that she could be trusted with her heart, that she would never again take her presence for granted.

All so Chloe could see themselves in that moment, years down the line…

Smiling, the blue haired teen took a step closer to her sleeping girlfriend and gently picked her up bridal style to bring her over to their bed.

Red murmured softly under her breath as she cuddled into Chloe’s warm embrace. The blue haired girl smiled as she watched Red burrow up against her chest. She then walked over and laid her down before moving down the bed to pull the rebel’s boots off.

Chloe then pulled the blankets around Red and watched with warm eyes as the other teen relaxed as she was surrounded by blankets that smelt like Chloe. Reaching up, the blue haired girl brushed a stray curl from out of Red’s face and smiled as she watched the Princess lean into her touch.

“Love you Boo.”

Chloe froze the minute those whispered, slurred words reached her own ears. She stared down at her girlfriend with wide eyes and realized that she was still asleep, but in her slumber…Red had finally said the words that while fully awake, she had been trying to say for weeks.

Tears began to leak from her eyes, no part in thanks to all the emotions she’s been experiencing since the moment she walked into their dorm. Leaning down, Chloe brushed her lips against Red’s forehead and pressed a soft kiss to her exposed skin, causing the Heir of Wonderland to sigh in contentment in her sleep.

“I love you too Rebel, so so much.” Chloe whispered, voice breaking as she stared down at her sleeping girlfriend with thoughts swirling about their supposed future together.

She couldn’t wait to see what the future held for them.

But right now— these moments with Red? They meant everything to Chloe so she’d focus on the present for the time being, and let that glimpse into the future warm her thoughts whenever she needed it.

They’d get there, one day.

Chloe was sure of it.