Ink & Chocolate
Chapter Two
Fortunately, Irene didn't have to say much of anything as Prince Ben led them into the castle, stopping only to activate the magical transformation of his father's statue to remind them all that anything is possible. Although the show of magic caused the white haired boy, Carlos, to leap spectacularly into his friend's arms with a sharp shriek of surprise. The tall boy, Jay, dropped him to his feet just as easily as he caught him, which could have been a testament to how often the boy was startled to such a degree. When Ben started to lead the procession again, Carlos tried to mimic the prince and clapped his hands, warily observing the statue.
Nothing happened.
"I'm afraid it's a family trick," she spoke up, accidentally causing him to flinch again. Well, it wasn't the first time she had startled someone after being relatively quiet. She tended to have the effect, she supposed. She quickly held her hands up in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "S-sorry! It's just that, only Ben and members of the royal family can activate the Beast's statue magic. Wouldn't really want everyone to have the ability to transfigure the Beast, i-it might exhaust the magic…"
"O-oh," was all he said, glancing back at the intimidating figure. She silently gestured to the group moving further away and they quickened their pace to catch up.
Once inside, she was relieved to see Doug making his way downstairs with a clipboard and Ben seemed just as relieved, quickly moving toward him.
"This is Doug!" introduced Ben, putting his arm around the shorter boy's shoulders. "He'll be helping you with your class schedules and show you the rest of the dorms with Irene."
The two familiar students shared a look of relief, each one mildly apprehensive about being left with the children from the Isle. Ben walked back to Audrey's side, the princess watching Mal, the girl with the purple hair, very closely.
"I'll see you later, okay?" said Ben, making direct eye contact with Maleficent's daughter. She simply stared at him in return. "And if there's anything you need, feel free to—"
"—Ask Doug!" chimed Audrey, taking the prince's hand as she politely interrupted him once again.
There was an odd strand of strained laughter among Ben, Audrey, and Mal. Sleeping Beauty's daughter wasted no time in leading Ben away from the group by the hand, nearly causing him to stumble with her speed. All heads turned to watch the pair leave, Irene wondering just what had happened with the three to already cause tension. Audrey wanted Ben away from the newcomers as quickly as possible. She was always clingy, or a tad possessive, of Ben but this was downright odd.
"Hi guys," spoke up Doug, giving a small wave as his band hat was still tucked under his arm while he was still in uniform. "I'm Dopey's son. As in, Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy…"
It was fairly standard for a student to introduce themselves and then mention their parent, or their title. Somehow, in some way, there were ties to some important figure somewhere in Auradon. Connections were especially important and could be very influential depending on the person. As she wasn't any form of royalty or status, Irene simply refrained from announcing her parentage every time she met someone new.
She frowned slightly as the boy stumbled over reciting the last of his uncles. The last one was Sneezy, she recalled, wondering why he was stumbling over the introductory spiel that she knew for a fact that he had memorized.
"Heigh ho…" he whispered.
The gorgeous girl in blue moved toward him, her hands on her hips.
"Evie. Evil Queen's daughter," she informed him silkily, looking him right in the eye. He was rendered speechless as he could only stare, transfixed.
Irene gave a sharp cough and he sputtered, snapping out of the daze. Oh she was sure to tease him about it later, the ginger haired girl smiled to herself.
"So –I, uh, put in the requirements already," he began, quickly looking down at the clipboard he was carrying. "History with Pirates, Safety Rules for the Internet, and, uh," he cleared his throat as Mal looked over his shoulder to see the schedule for herself. His voice cracked guiltily. "Remedial Goodness 101...?"
"Let me guess," said Mal, conjuring a treat from her jacket's pocket. Irene could hear the wrapper crinkle as the treat was smoothly removed from its golden confines. "New class?"
Doug could only nod. She dropped the paper, letting the shiny wrapping flutter to the ground without concern as she turned toward her friends.
"C'mon guys. Let's go find our dorms."
The purple haired deviant headed toward the right hand staircase while Irene stepped toward the left, stopping in confusion at their opposite directions. She looked back to see Doug's gaze following Evie as she passed him, hardly aware of his surroundings. With a short sigh, she gave a short whistle and that seemed to snap him out of it. He looked at her in confusion and she gestured toward her staircase, her own uncertainty obvious.
"I thought it was going to be this way?" she half stage whispered. "The new open rooms start over on this side don't they?"
"Oh!" He quickly looked up to see the four nearly to the first landing of the staircase. "Oh, yeah, your dorms are this way, guys."
Looking from Doug to Irene, she gave a small wave from the opposite staircase, still apprehensive about the new game of Follow the Leader. Without a word, they turned around and Mal brought the group to her shortly. With a quick breath, she turned and led them up the flight of stairs.
"At Auradon Prep, the dormitories go every-other floor. Which means that girls will be here on the first level while boys will be on the second, and so on and so forth. There are a total of six floors dedicated for dormitories since there are only two students assigned to each room and there's not an overwhelming quantity of students…"
"And why's that?" asked Evie. "Are only royalty allowed?"
"Well," she paused for a moment. "It's a very pretentious school, so only those with high academics or high-income families typically can foot the bill to be here, really. It's very difficult to even get in otherwise."
"So which are you?" asked Mal, still snacking on her candy. Irene paled a bit.
"Ex-excuse me?"
"Which are you, brainy or rich?" she asked again, using blunt words to clarify her meaning.
"Oh, um, I'm here on scholarship," she answered, her face daring to color from being slightly flustered. Her heart leapt at the sight of the first door that held a white sign bearing a beautiful script of "Evie & Mal" to declare their room.
"Here we are, first room!" she announced, thrilled to have a new topic to discuss. "Mal, Evie, this will be yours. The keys should be on the nightstands by your beds, if not, you can come to me or Doug and we'll get it sorted for you. If you're interested in a tour of the grounds—"
"We're not," clipped Mal. She opened the door and the two stepped inside without looking at her twice, the door closing behind them.
"…A-alrighty then…"
With the girls in their room, she tentatively looked back at the two boys who were watching her carefully. Jay with his arms folded over his chest and Carlos with his hands in his pockets, both studying her which was slightly disconcerting.
"Well, on to your rooms then…?" she said, doing her best to sound confident. That didn't stop her voice from lifting as if it was a question. It was just odd to have the focus specifically on her. She was used to being a part of a group or in the background, not so much under a person's scrutiny. Jay unfolded one well-defined arm to gesture to the rest of the hallway.
"After you."
Much to her relief, it was a quick moment to the second floor where she immediately spotted the sign hanging from the door that said "Jay & Carlos" and she was quick to present the room to them.
"Last but not least, your room!" she chirped, so relieved. Stepping to the side, she watched the boys open the door to their new living space. Since they weren't as abrupt as the girls, she got to see their reactions. Their eyes widened at the sight, their heads moving from one side to the other to take in the size. There was a large circle desk for homework, a fireplace for when winter would arrive, a large flat screen television set up above the fireplace's mantle so to watch shows or play video games, and then there were the two large four-posters—
"A real bed…" awed Carlos, his voice barely a whisper.
She knew that he probably didn't mean for her to hear him, but her heart couldn't help but break at his words. Why was he so shocked? Was life really so terrible on the Isle that he couldn't even have a proper bed? Everyone deserved a bed. When he glanced her way, she clapped her hands together to break her stare and cleared her throat.
"Well, that's that. If you have any questions or need help with anything, my room is number 101 and Doug's is—"
"What about the tour?" asked Jay, turning back to face her.
"I'm-sorry?" she stumbled over her words, glancing between the two. "Do you honestly want a tour? You don't have to if you don't want to. It won't hurt my feelings any, I promise."
"Yeah, I'd like to look around. Get a feel of the layout and everything," added Carlos.
She couldn't stop herself from giving a bright smile. Even if the task was randomly thrown upon her, they honestly wanted a tour and by gosh was she going to help them. She was more than happy to help them become comfortable at Auradon Prep.
"Of course! Let's go then!"
It was sundown by the time the three returned to the dormitories. She collapsed onto her bed with aching feet but she was immensely pleased with how the tour went that afternoon. Once they were outside she felt more comfortable and lost some of her awkward stammer as she went into the descriptions and definitions of the different structures and places. The more she talked, the easier it became to interact with them. They actually asked questions as well, such as the property boundaries and curfew. She was more than happy to explain how strict Fairy Godmother was about curfews since she was rather renowned for it. Not that there weren't a few loopholes that could be exploited but she didn't disclose that type of information. If they found the loopholes themselves then no one would be incriminated for giving out intel that could be misused.
She was also able to show them the tourney field where practice was happening but neither seemed especially interested so she went ahead and led them to the library. One of her favorite places to be, the grandiose building with its shelves nearly bowing with the weight of its books. Jay seemed to appreciate the grandeur but that was about it. It was Carlos's eyes that lit up at the sight of all of the amassed knowledge. She took the time to explain the check-out procedures and where the study nooks were before Jay was obviously bored. Afterwards, she was sure to lead them to the dining hall where all the meals were served and both of them perked up at the mention of food.
Somehow along the tour she had managed to lose her watch. Again. She had trouble fastening it tight enough and it wasn't the first time it had slipped off. Hopefully it would turn up somewhere.
"I still think those kids are going to be trouble," grumbled Audrey. She was sitting at her vanity and brushing her hair with deliberate care in front of the large mirror.
"I think they'll do just fine," Irene spoke up, properly acknowledging the princess's complaint for the first time since the proclamation. Audrey turned on her stool to give her a long look. Irene sat up and began to mess with her own hair, not bothering to look in a mirror. She set her clip on the nightstand and let the heavy hair fall down her back as she set to work untying the halo braid that kept the rest from her face. She had inherited her mother's hair color and brown eyes, but outside of that, she was most certainly her father's daughter and had his penchant for music.
"You spent all day with them then?" asked Audrey with a sniff of disapproval.
She ruffled her hair, relishing the relaxing feeling of loose hair. "Yes, I suppose I did. Ben asked me to give them a tour, remember?"
Audrey simply gave a huff before returning to her hair.
"I still say they're bad news. Especially Maleficent's daughter."
"I think it'll be fun," Irene said with a shrug.
On that note, their conversation ended and the ginger slipped under the covers and curled up for the night. She glanced at the small frame on her nightstand, depicting the image of her parents and herself with dozens of spotted puppies, laughing with the joy of the moment. Reaching up, she shut off her light with a smile.
For some reason, she was excited for class and she quietly hoped that she would have at least one class with the children from the Isle of the Lost.
REVIEW! Your thoughts would be loved as always! And congrats to those who guessed correctly! Irene is the daughter of Roger and Anita Radcliffe from the 101 Dalmatians story! Good work at spotting the clues! (Pun intended lol) And I bet you all can guess what really happened to Irene's watch lol
Next time, classes start and real interactions begin!
Hope you enjoyed!