IT IS OFFICIALLY THE TENTH CHAPTER OF MEETING THE OTHERS! *We are the Champions plays*
Okay, this chapter is actually two things.
1. An admittedly big author tract.
2. The beginning of an actual story arc! WHOOT! Yes, Meeting the Others is going to have plotlines!
Thanks to all my lovely loyal readers, who have given me the most reviews I've ever gotten! I love to hear y'alls feedback!
And to reply to one of the reviewers, in the first movie, it was pretty obvious Jasmine and Aladdin got married in the end. It was the sequels and TV show that retconned them into being only engaged.
And sorry to my dear readers…I don't know how this story got labeled as "Complete," 'cause I didn't do it. Maybe it was my sister or something, I dunno. All I know is that I'm not done writing it!
Arc 1: Saving the Others
Episode 1
Tiana sat with the newer princesses, as per usual. In fact, little had actually happened in the last few weeks. Sometimes they read a particularly good fanfiction one of them had found; sometimes they discussed their villains and allies. As the meetings went by, though, Tiana started to notice they were becoming quite repetitive. It was not that she didn't like to socialize with her friends, but they simply weren't having the adventures they had in the past.
Tiana mind had started to often wander during meetings, back to her restaurant, back to Naveen and what he was doing during the day, something that had never happened before.
That is, until one of the servants made a mistake.
It was a young girl named Sarah, newly kicked out of her unloving father's home to find work. Cinderella had taken the poor girl in, hiring her as a servant and personal assistant. However, Sarah, a nervous and shy girl, was not at all confident in her new job. Unfortunately, that only made her worse. When her shaking hands opened the latch to Lucifer's cage, the sly ball of fur slipped out from between her legs. With a grin on his face, he raced off into the hallway, heading straight for the Princess's room.
"So Ariel, how was your visit to Atlantic—Oh my goodness!" Lucifer exploded into the room, leaping on furniture and tearing at it with his sharp claws. Squeals of surprise rang out, until Tiana saw Cinderella do quite possibly the least expected thing.
The girl swiped up a wooden chair, holding it firmly, and began swinging it at the cat.
"Out, Lucifer! You darn cat!" She held it up above her head, ready to fling it down. Lucifer, seeing the opportunity, used this time to take a slash at her arm, leaving a small trail of blood. Cinderella didn't seem to care, though, and jutted the chair out one more time until the cat finally cowered back out of the room and was taken away by servants. "Oh, goodness…" She frowned at the bleeding scratch on her elbow. Picking up a napkin, she quickly tied it around her arm and then let it be.
"Good job, Cindy!" Mulan called from across the room. Cinderella gave a small smile.
"Oh, it was nothing. It's just sometimes I don't know why I even keep that cat around."
"I don't think I've ever seen you that angry." Tiana said. "Or bleed."
"Oh, I used to do that all time." Cinderella replied, calmly sitting down. "It's just these days the servants usually have him under control."
"I'm surprised." Tiana shrugged, "I mean, since I'm the only one who had to work her entire life to get what I—what?" Tia looked around. A good amount of the princesses where looking at her in offense, their eyebrows slightly furrowed and mouths slightly open.
"You most definitely are not." Ariel said, in a tone that was unusually harsh for her.
"Girls, its okay." Cinderella stated, but Tiana could tell it really wasn't. "Oh, look at the mess the cat made. Why don't we call it a day?"
The princesses left without a word to Tiana, most not even looking at her. She began to really regret that comment, but she didn't really know why they made such a big deal out of it. She headed over to Tiana's Palace to distract her mind with work, as she always did when troubled.
She was working on the menu, developing a particularly difficult recipe. No matter what she tried, she never seemed to perfect it. Stirring the fruit into the sauce, she just couldn't find just the right balance of sweet that would make it tangy, but not too much of a dessert type sauce to put on fish. It needed to be just right.
Growling in frustration, she was about to put down the grape she was holding when the kitchen door opening. To her surprise, Tiana looked up to see Snow White enter the kitchen.
"Look, if you're here to talk about what I said, then—"
"I just wanted to explain why everyone got upset."
Tiana sighed, putting down her spoon. "Shoot."
"Put in brown sugar."
"…What?" Tiana said.
"Put brown sugar," Snow White repeated, sitting down in front of her, "into the recipe. Its sweet, like sugar, but not too sweet. It has a different taste too it."
"That's…" Tiana mumbled, reaching toward her cabinet, "not a bad idea."
"I've been cooking since childhood." Snow stated.
Tiana looked up at her, eyes open. "You have?"
"Yes." Snow twiddled with her hair for a bit. "It's the only reason I was allowed to live with the dwarfs, really."
"Wow…I had no idea." Tiana proceeded to scoop a spoonful of brown sugar into the sauce. Picking up another spoon to taste it with, her eyes lit up. "This is great! We should cook together more often."
"I'd like that." Snow White giggled, but then frowned. "Tiana…" she gave a deep sigh, rubbing the back of her neck with her dainty hand. "Cinderella had been working all her life. Cooking, cleaning, everything, she did it for her step family. Also, she was never paid…nor did she ever have much of a chance to escape that life like you did, at least not until the ball."
Tiana paused, her hand resting on the wooden spoon she was stirring with. "I never thought about it like that."
"She's stronger than the rest of us older princesses, and we all look up to her." Snow White took the bowl from Tiana, stirring. She didn't look at the other princess, her gaze focusing on the sauce. "She's taken years of hardships, but still keeps a smile on her face. Also, she's very spirited, more than others seem to say."
"I myself grew up as a servant rather than a princess. Aurora grew up in the woods. We have all endured hardships. Now, I know you're still very special…I would have never imagined opening up a restaurant or the idea of being treated badly because of my skin color."
Tiana's eyes dropped. She tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to break their way through.
Snow White gave a small gasp, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I probably shouldn't have brought that up…"
"It's okay." Tiana took the bowl from Snow, dipping her finger in to get a small taste. She grinned. "Mmm…this seems just about perfect!"
Snow White gave a small clap. 'Oh, how lovely!"
"Thanks for the tip, hun." Tiana said, pouring the thick liquid over the warm fish. "Y'all should come over here tomorrow; Saturday's a busy night, and I could use your expert help."
"Oh, I shall!" Snow gave her hair a quick bob before rushing out the door, her long yellow skirt flowing behind her.
That night, Tiana headed over to Cinderella's Castle. She cautiously knocked on the door, waiting for the servants to answer and lead her back to the room.
"Princess Cinderella," The butler said, nose high as always, "Princess Tiana is here to see you."
As Tiana stepped into the door, she almost gasped. There was a sight she had never seen before.
It was Cinderella, a plain working dress hanging off her body, adored only by a stained white apron. Her usually perfectly done hair was tangled and messy, tied back by a simple head band.
"H-Hello Tiana." Cindy said, rubbing her hands on her apron. "H-how are you tonight?"
"Cindy, I'm so sorry!" Tiana lunged at the girl with a hug, not caring that her dirty dress was probably getting her own messy.
"Tia, I don't care." Cinderella smiled, pushing Tiana back. "I'm fine, really. It's not a problem in the slightest."
"No its not!" Tiana cried, sighing. "I—"
"Tiana," Cinderella rested her hands on the girl's shoulders. "If I really cared, I would have said something."
"O-ok." The young princess took a deep breath.
"Sometimes I do tire of people saying I did nothing in my life, admittedly." Cinderella got back down on the floor, wetting a sponge before rubbing it on the marble. "But what must I expect when I'm trying to live up to those like you?"
Tiana tried to suppress her smile. "I'm not usually the one to be modest, but—"
"No, you're not." Cinderella stated. Tiana let it slide.
"I worked very, very hard throughout my life. But so did you. We both deserve credit."
"We all do."
"Yeah." Tiana sighed, gripping her hands together. "I actually have Snow to thank for me coming here. She's the one who talked to me about you guys. She even helped me with a recipe."
"Did she really?" Cinderella said from the floor. "That must of lit up her day. You know she thinks you are just the most amazing thing."
Tiana's eyes shot open in surprise. "She does?"
"Oh yes. She thinks you are just the greatest."
"Oh." Tiana smiled to herself. Who would have thought she would be a role model to another Disney princess…albeit a very young one.
Cinderella stood again, hugging Tiana again. "See you at the meeting next week?"
"Of course, girl!"
They laughed, saying their goodbyes.
Tiana entered the next meeting with a smile on her face. She sat down with her friends, jumping into conversation.
"Apparently the servants haven't found Lucifer yet." Pocahontas laughed, flipping back her hair. "He's still somewhere in the castle."
"Crazy!" Mulan grinned, shaking her head.
"I wonder when they'll finally find him. " Belle looked out the window. "He's just a cat, how far can he go?"
Suddenly, they got their answer.
As if on cue, Lucifer raced into the room. He leaped on Aurora's lap, scratching and ripping at her dress. Before she could swat him, however, he jumped away, this time to get buried in Ariel's hair.
The room was in chaos. Tiana looked towards Cinderella, ready to help in her action. But…she wasn't even moving. Her hand was on her mouth, shocked, cooing about what a large shame this was. Plus, there was something odd in the look of her…she looked flatter, less defined.
Finally, Mulan scooped up a broken table leg and swatted the cat out of the room. The entire room took a deep breath of relief.
"What happened?" Tiana asked Cinderella once she was able to talk again.
"What do you mean?" Cinderella stared at her with huge, innocent eyes. "Poor thing just hasn't found the right dream to lead him on a better path."
Tiana raised an eyebrow. "…Come again?"
"Well, I better alert the servants!" Cinderella rose, dancing off and humming a peppy tune.
Snow White and Tiana glanced at each other, obviously having the same thought.
This cannot be good.