Disclaimer: I do not own the movie(s) Descendants or any related media, any associated characters, settings, or events; all rights belong to their respective creators.
Cover art by Phoebe594, who is absolutely amazing, you guys!
My Descendants world is mainly based off of movie canon, but pulls a little from the books (where they do not contradict the movie, because Disney is bad at continuity), my own extrapolations/headcanons of events (because Disney seriously sugar-coats or ignores all the deeper issues), and various other Disney movies (because this world is only barely sketched out and there's a lot of room to play and I can do what I want).
This particular one-shot is set at dinnertime, the first day the VKs arrive at Auradon Prep.
It is part of a series called "The Sins of the Father," the first of which is "Waves in the Moonlight."
"Do you think they'll have more of that stuff from the car?" one of the villain kids whispers behind Ben as he leads them to the dining hall. He doesn't know which one—they've only been here a couple of hours and Audrey dragged him away pretty quickly—and he doesn't dare look back and find out. They've been hostile and wary so far, and he doesn't think they'll react well to his interference at this point.
"Which stuff?" another one asks, a little less quietly. This voice is a little deeper than the first, definitely male—the older boy, if Ben had to guess, Jay, he's pretty sure his name is.
"The—the brown stuff," someone answers, presumably the first kid, still in a whisper, hesitating a bit in uncertainty. The voice rises a little in frustration, then, and Ben guesses it's the other boy—Carlos, right?—as he continues, "You know, the sweet that was with the salty."
Ben has no idea what they're talking about, but finds himself engrossed in their conversation anyway as they lag further and further behind him, probably to hide their conversation.
"The stuff that was the same color as your eyes?" a third voice asks. Ben's pretty sure it's one of the girls, probably the smiley one—Evie?—rather than the sarcastic, frowny one.
"How should I know?" the first voice retorts.
"Aww," the voice that Ben thinks is Jay taunts, "you mean you don't always compare food to your eye color before shoving it in your mouth?" Ben finds himself impressed with the taunt despite himself, admiring the skill the other boy shows in insulting both the other parties in the same sentence.
It definitely gets a reaction. There's no sound behind him, except the barely-there footfalls of his four companions, but there's a heat to the silence, as if he can tangibly feel the force of the glares behind him. He's really tempted to turn around at this point, but he's worried that if he does they'll stop talking; the conversation is weird, but it's entertaining and he's curious as to what they're trying to describe.
"Could I use your mirror to see?" Carlos (?) asks. Judging by the tone, those glares must have been truly fearsome to behold. There's rustling noises, a pause, and then, "Yeah, same color."
There was a feminine hum, acknowledgment, maybe, or interest, Ben's not sure. The same girl, Evie (?), says, "Ben said it was called chocolate, I think."
Ben's steps hesitate, shock arresting his motion and stealing his coordination at the same time and causing him to stumble a bit. He almost turns around, stopping the procession where they stand to ask something, demand something, his brain clamoring for understanding of this hole in their knowledge. He can't find any words, though, doesn't even know where to begin. He keeps walking, but he's no longer paying attention to their words, lost in his own thoughts.
They don't know what chocolate is? Or they didn't know before today, and even now they're not sure. Ben tries to think of a time when he didn't know what chocolate was and spends a moment floundering before deciding that it's not going to come. He can't remember a time when he didn't know what chocolate was, can't remember the first time he ever had chocolate, can't even remember a time when it hasn't been readily available. Chocolate is such a part of everyday life that it's a color. Chocolate is comfort and Mom and winding down from a stressful day and sharing a casual snack with friends; he can't imagine his life without it, even now that he's actually trying to, but somehow these four kids have lived their entire lives without seeing or tasting it, or even hearing about it.
When he'd made his proclamation to bring these kids over from the Isle, it had been a noble bid at redemption. He'd wanted to save them from becoming as evil as their parents—something internal. It hadn't actually occurred to him that their lives could be all that different from his own, but now that it had occurred to him, he couldn't help but wonder just how different. He couldn't help but wonder if chocolate was just the beginning, if there was something external that they'd needed saving from, if there might be deeper problems with the Isle than he had imagined.
Stop, he told himself. One problem at a time.
I've got some kids to introduce to the many wonders of chocolate.
(By the next morning, he'd left baskets for each of them on their doorsteps, filled to overflowing with a variety of chocolates. Nobody said anything for the longest time, so he wasn't sure at first how the gifts had been received; it was ages and ages later when he found out that they all really liked all kinds of chocolates, and that they had discovered their favorites from those baskets. Mal liked dark chocolate, "dark as her soul," she'd joke, and "bitter as her mother;" Evie liked chocolates with smooth, decadent fillings, caramel especially, but truffles and creams as well; Jay liked his chocolate spicy, or crunchy if there wasn't any spicy; Carlos liked milk chocolate, "the color of his eyes," Jay teased, though Evie said "as sweet as he is," and he said he also liked a combination of white chocolate and dark chocolate eaten together, but Ben was never sure if he was joking with that one.)
Have a deliciously evil day!
M1ssUnd3rst4nd1ng