Chapter 9 – Three Months Ago – Part 2

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Three Months Ago

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Later, Chad was asked a variety of questions – questions about if he wanted to press charges, if Sardinia required reparations, if a formal notice needed to be lodged with Central Auradon. Despite Uma's glower, Chad had said no to all of these things – no, no, and no, please. He'd begged it off as a cultural difference and merely asked that updated human cultural information be available to merchildren to better round out their educations.

Uma thought her distant cousins were being let off too easily, but Chad just wanted the whole mess to be left behind him.

"If you think for a second I am not telling Blondie and her boy toy, you are wrong," Uma growled when they began swimming back towards the surface.

"Uma." Chad tensed. "Please, don't- don't do that. You're making a big deal of nothing."

"They made you cry," she snarled, and that was apparently that.

Despite the fact that ocean travel wasn't really down to a specific science, both Queen Rapunzel and King Eugene were waiting for them in the private cove when Uma breached the surface, the sorceress speeding them towards the beach faster than she normally would have as she rushed to undo the water breathing spell and her tentacle transformation.

"I would ask how it went, but your expression doesn't say good things," King Eugene noted when they drew close enough. "What went wrong?"

"Nothing," Chad interrupted before Uma got the chance to, graciously accepting the fluffy bathrobe Queen Rapunzel offered him. "Uma really hit it off with King Triton, and we were able to win over most of the public interest to her side-"

"My dipshit cousins tried to rape Chad," Uma snapped, the words echoed with an angry pulse of water that rippled out from her feet almost reflexively. "And he let them get away with it."

"They weren't- that wasn't what they were trying to do," Chad pressed, feeling flustered and stupid. "They were trying to help me get ready for the ball, but they didn't really understand human biology-"

"I think they understand human biology just fine," Uma growled. "They'd been eyeing you for days, the lousy fucks."

"Uma," Chad groaned, trailing helplessly after her. "It wasn't that bad."

"They tied you up so you couldn't fight back," Uma snapped. "That's bad. I know bad, I was raised by villains!"

The words hung in the air, angry and unrepentant, and Chad didn't know what to say, because the only thing he had to offer Uma was an apology, and he knew she didn't want it.

"Okay," King Eugene said, finally cutting in. "We're going to take a step back now. Captain, you're with me. Blondie-"

"I've got Chad," Queen Rapunzel said, hooking her arm through Chad's own, despite the fact that she had just listened to Uma explain that he'd been dumb enough to be molested by mermaids. That was a new personal record.

"Whatever," Uma snarled, and then she was marching back up the cove, King Eugene trailing dutifully after her.

Queen Rapunzel hummed. "Why don't we take the scenic route?"

"…okay," Chad said, wishing his actions hadn't ruined Uma's triumphant homecoming. They should be having a celebratory picnic right now, except instead Uma was going to spend the afternoon lashing out at a fencing dummy while King Eugene heckled her, and Chad couldn't even be nearby to support her because his presence made things worse.

"Chad," Queen Rapunzel spoke up after a few minutes. "Uma isn't mad at you." Chad felt himself tense, was ready to object, but then the queen kept talking. "She's mad about what happened," she explained. "She's mad because she couldn't protect you. She's frustrated because she cares about you, but she is not mad at you."

If Queen Rapunzel was taking the time to spell this out to Chad, then it was probably true. In the time they'd been together, he hadn't really known her to lie.

"…she's mad I won't press charges," Chad whispered, not daring to raise his voice higher. "But I don't see how that will help."

If anything, it would make what had happened to him be made more public, and then Audrey wouldn't want anything to do with him. At least this way it got swept under the rug.

"You have to do what's best for you, Chad," the queen said eventually. "I have no doubt that King Triton is seeing that those girls get some kind of punishment or other. But if you don't want what happened to be a matter of public record, that's your choice. Though please know this doesn't make you less."

Chad didn't see how it possibly couldn't.

Thankfully, Queen Rapunzel kept talking before he could stumble through a way to explain that. "How do you feel about what happened, Chad?" she asked. "You can be honest with me."

It wasn't an order, more along the lines of a request, because she respected him. It was weird, to have an ally inquire into his wellbeing, but Chad supposed it came with the territory.

"…I feel stupid," he admitted. "I just- I tried to ask them to stop, and I could have shouted for help at any time. I guess, I just- I wanted to get out of the situation diplomatically. I didn't- I didn't want to make a scene."

"Chad," Queen Rapunzel squeezed his arm, her gaze seeming very firm. "No matter who they were or what they were doing, as seemingly innocent as it may be, the moment that you asked them to stop, they should have stopped. That's not a cultural misunderstanding, that is a basic decency all living beings are due." She slid her hand into his, as though she wasn't afraid to touch him, as though he wasn't tainted. "It sounds me like they took advantage of you – they took advantage of your kind nature and your desire to maintain good relations with Atlantica. They were counting on you to be the generous, gentle prince that Uma had been bragging about."

"Uma brags about me?" Chad asked, his mind choosing to focus on that while the rest of Queen Rapunzel's words danced in his mind.

The queen offered him a soft grin. "All the time," she said. "Not that she'll own up to it. You have left quite an impression on her."

Chad felt himself blushing, but this, at least, was from a sort of happy place, instead of the usual humiliation that seemed to follow him around.

"Chad," Queen Rapunzel began quietly. "What happened to you- what they did- that was a very bad thing. Uma was right about that. So I want you to know that you are allowed to feel bad about it. You don't have to try and shove it away or pretend it didn't happen, because it did happen. It shouldn't have happened, but it did, and most importantly, it was not your fault. It was those princesses' faults, and they will be the ones taking the blame for it, no one else."

"I…" Chad didn't know what to say. The Queen had already covered his biggest concerns, about being less or being a baby because he couldn't move on. He'd known what they did was wrong, but hearing it from her – well, it was sort of validating. Like he couldn't trust his own judgment, but a queen's – it seemed more substantial.

"I was thinking," Queen Rapunzel said when it became obvious Chad couldn't continue. "I would like you to see a counselor."

"I'm not crazy," Chad said, feeling a spike of panic as he relived echoes of his grandfather's snarling voice echoing through the halls of the castle, how his son didn't need a therapist, and he wasn't crazy and the rest of them were just weak and wrong.

The queen paused, giving him a concerned look. "I never said you were."

"Therapists are for crazy people."

"Who told you that?" the queen asked while Chad tried to steady his pulse.

He wasn't really successful. "…my grandfather."

For a moment, the queen didn't say anything, and then she was tugging him forward. "Your grandfather was misinformed," she said simply. "In Corona, there's a lot of different reasons to see a therapist. A lot of times its beneficial to have a neutral third party help you manage coping mechanisms while you work through traumatic events. Or any kind of event, really," she said, just when he was about to protest. "I think it could be very helpful to you, but if you don't want anyone to know about it, it would be our little secret."

"But… King Eugene."

The queen smiled. "I can keep secrets from him, when it really matters," she said offhandedly, like Chad was a thing that really mattered.

Maybe he did.

Chad swallowed. "I'll um… if you think- if you think that's a good idea, I'll give it a try," he said. "In the meantime, though, could you- what should I do with Uma?"

"Give her space," the queen advised, giving him a bright smile. "She'll come back to you when she's ready."

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As it turned out, Queen Rapunzel was right.

Uma stumbled home – back into their guest bedroom – sometime after midnight smelling like sweat and sea. She didn't even change, simply chucked her sword and boots aside and crawled underneath the covers so she could wrap herself around Chad, burying her nose in his hair.

"You didn't do anything wrong," was the first thing she said. "I'm not actually mad at you, and there's a list of other shit I'm supposed to say, but the bottom line is I'm sorry I couldn't help you better and um, you're…" She trailed off with a sigh. "Whatever. I'm gonna cast a spell on you that will let me know when you're in danger more expeditiously, so… just be comfortable with that."

It was a very generous offer, and somehow, Chad managed to hear all the things she didn't say.

"Thank you, Captain," he said quietly, leaning into her hold.

Uma scoffed. "Don't mention it, blondie," she said, relaxing like things were back to normal. "Seriously."

"I won't," Chad promised.

He would never be foolish enough to do such a thing. Audrey had trained him better than that.

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Present Day

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"Do you want the bad news, or the good news that is actually more bad news?" Carlos asked from where he'd set up in Ben's lounge, gaze split between two different laptops and his phone.

"The better news," Mal said with an unimpressed glare.

Carlos sighed. "I was able to track down a call initiated by Duke Francis to Audrey during the time of Chad's political retreat. There are no accessible recordings of the conversation, but I do have a record of Duke Francis driving to the Auradon National Park the same day as Audrey. Unfortunately there's no cameras in that area, which they were likely banking on. We can only speculate that they may have met, which won't help us in a court of law."

"So if we're guessing anyway," Uma spoke up. "We could probably also say that the Duke was convincing Audrey to show an interest in Chad."

"Not that we can prove it," Carlos said, his fingers trailing across his keyboard in a rapid flutter. "But I do have footage of Audrey making a lot of expensive cash purchases after that point, though her account showed no cash withdrawals."

"Which is also conjecture," Ben said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And please don't tell me how you got that information."

Carlos shot off a distracted finger gun at him. "You got it, boss." He was careful to tilt his laptop away from Ben so Mal and Uma could see what he was talking about. "Now, onto the even less good news."

"There's more?" Jay asked, pacing a furious line behind them.

Carlos, having more experience with anxious Jay than the rest of them, dutifully ignored him. "Fairy Godmother said Chad was pulled for a political retreat. There's a call from Duke Francis to the school to support that. But." He tapped the laptop screen a few times. "I have no record of Chad ever leaving the campus. At first I thought I was missing something, and then I realized in my second go through that there's about an hour of security footage missing. An hour where he could have and probably did leave campus." He typed a few more things into the laptop. "I started scanning bus footage and traffic cams for any sign of Chad, and when that failed, I looked for any Sardinian cars that may have entered Auradon City in that timeframe. I got one hit."

He pulled up a picture of a nondescript car, the windows tinted dark. "This bad boy meets the qualifications, and in addition to that, drives straight to Sardinia." He gestured towards the screen again. "So I ran the license plate number, and do you know what I found?"

"More civil violations?" Ben wondered, likely despairing at Carlos' fragrant disregard of digital boundaries.

"I mean." Carlos shrugged. "Sort of. The license is unlisted."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Mal snapped, folding her arms across her chest.

"It means that someone went through a lot of trouble making sure this car couldn't be tracked," Carlos explained. "Now, Chad was brought back from Sardinia in a different car, but they took the same route. Clearly that could be labeled as a coincidence instead of habit, but it leaves us with a whole lot of questions. Like, they didn't care if we found where Chad came from, because he was supposed to be at a retreat in Sardinia anyway. But getting him there – the day before the Duke called, that was what they chose to keep off the beaten track. Meaning that whatever was done to him happened in the Sardinian Castle."

"This just keeps getting worse," Ben sighed, reaching out desperately until he had a hand on Mal's shoulder, until he could curl around her. "If we're going off these facts, Chad's grandfather kidnapped him – did something to him for a week before shipping him back to school like nothing had happened at all, except he looked exhausted and thin and can't- couldn't stay in the same room as me anymore."

A heavy silence fell over them, Chad doing his best to keep still where he was huddled by Gil and Harry's feet. The pirates had decided to stay out of the way this time, letting the more determined energies lead the way, and while that worked for Chad, it was easy to see that they were hurting too. Perhaps they were more empathetic than he'd known.

"…and we can't prove any of it," Mal whispered, hand tensing into such a furious fist that it trembled against her side. "That fuck could be holding Chad hostage right now, doing who knows what and we can't do a damn thing about it!"

"Not with that attitude," Uma cut in, her gaze hard and unrelenting. "What happened to Mal, the unstoppable daughter of Maleficent? Don't tell me love made you soft."

"There's rules here, Uma!" Mal snapped, and yet despite her anger, she held Ben close, Jay moving to curl against the king's back until he was cradled between them. "We can't just storm that castle without knowing if Chad is actually there. It could start a war!"

"Which might be just what he wants," Harry drawled, speaking up for the first time. It was one surefire way to get everyone's attention. "Old guy doesn't like Ben because he 'tainted' Chad, right? But what if it's more than that? I mean-" He leaned forward slowly, as though building toward a dramatic climax. "Mal and Jay touched him too. Hell, he dated Jay, but blondie didn't come back terrified of them, did he? It was just Ben. Which begs the question, why?"

"He wanted to keep him away from me," Ben murmured.

"And what does he gain from that?" Harry asked. "What tactical advantage does having the future king of Sardinia being afraid of the current king of Auradon offer him?"

"It… could make Ben look bad?" Carlos offered. "Make people talk, if Chad reacted violently to him."

"Except Chad wouldn't," Uma said, brows furrowed in thought. "If his grandpa said to jump, he wouldn't even ask how high, he'd just do it. Same goes for avoiding Ben."

"Right," Harry agreed with a nod of his head. "Which means that the duke was hoping that Ben would seek him out, eventually."

There was a moment of silence while the words soaked in, not that Chad understood them, because why would Ben seek him out?

"He wasn't worried about Mal or Jay, they're Isle kids," Harry dismissed with a wave of his hand. "The only power they have is what Ben has given them. It's Ben that's a threat. Because if Ben likes Chad, wants to do…" He made a loose gesture between Mal, Jay, and Ben. "-You know, then that gives Chad power. It gives him validation from a reigning king."

"Which… the Duke doesn't want," Uma declared suddenly, eyes going wide. "The entire time I knew him, Chad put himself down. Said he was too dumb, too stupid, wasn't good at talking to people – I just thought he had impossible standards, but what if that's all shit Duke Francis has been telling him?" She nodded slowly, as though content in her assessment, even though she was wrong. Chad knew he was dumb, he had proof. "If Chad dies, who's next in line for the Sardinian throne?"

Carlos typed something into his computer, and a few clicks later, he had an answer. "Some distant nephew."

"And has that nephew been getting a lot of publicity?" Uma pressed. "Let's say over the last few years. Has he attended royal functions? Been seen in the eyes of the press?"

Carlos did some more searching, then nodded. "Yeah, he has."

"What are you saying, Uma?" Ben asked, voice barely a whisper.

"I'm saying that Duke Francis has been prepping a replacement for years now. As far as I can tell, Chad's father isn't even in the picture-"

Ben spoke up. "After Queen Ella died-"

"Right." Uma nodded. "Exactly. Now my question is, how did she die?"

There was a tense pause, and then Carlos cleared his throat. "…it looks like it was an automobile accident," he murmured, staring at his laptop screen. "Chad was supposed to be in the car with her, but there was a last-minute schedule change that left him with his dad."

"This shit is bigger than some unconventional relationship," Uma drawled, folding her arms across her chest. "This is treason in the highest degree. Duke Francis didn't like a commoner muddying the waters of his precious family line, so he did away with her, tried to do away with the kid, and when that failed, spent the rest of Chad's life trying to break him down so he'd surrender the throne willingly."

That was- that wasn't true. That couldn't be true – Chad's mom had died in an accident. It was just a misfortunate thing, and Chad would have been with her but a thunderstorm had started up and he'd gotten scared, so he'd spent his dad's council meeting sitting on the floor at the king's feet, making crayon drawings-

"You know," Mal's gaze seemed to be fixed to the distance, as though she was lost in thought. "I was always confused about how he could have such low grades but still seem to know so much. Could you…" She turned to Carlos. "Could you review his schoolwork for inconsistencies?"

"I can." Carlos nodded. "It will take some time, though. What am I looking for?"

"Right answers marked wrong," she said, slowly growing into the idea. "Deductions made on technicalities that didn't apply to anyone else." She paused, then. "Start with the homework Evie did for him. That should be a perfect grade. If it's not…"

"He must have paid off Chad's teachers," Carlos deduced. "To make him think he was dumber than he was."

"And then he let him hang out with Audrey who did nothing but take advantage of him," Uma finished with a low growl.

That was- none of that was right. Chad was just dumb. They thought too highly of him, and Audrey never took advantage-

"How could someone hate their family this much?" Ben whispered, pressing a hand to his mouth. He seemed so genuinely wrecked by the prospect of it, eyes shining with unshed tears. It was an effort Chad didn't deserve, especially when he was fine, his grandfather wasn't that bad he just- Chad had just gotten himself turned into a dumb cat. They needed to stop panicking.

The others' expressions went stony, even Gil, who'd spent most of the conversation fretting with his hands.

It was Uma that eventually spoke up. "…you'd be surprised."

They didn't say anything for a few moments, likely dwelling on that one unfortunate fact of life until Carlos cleared his throat.

"I'll try and gather more information for you," he whispered, turning back to his laptops. "In the meantime, don't do anything stupid. He's likely counting on that."

"Fuck," Jay hissed under his breath. "Damn, shit- fuck this fucking shit."

Mal sighed. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

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Two Months Ago

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Things seemed… different, after the events of Atlantica.

Uma slept closer to him for one, always seemed to curl around his back like some sort of protective shield. Chad reveled in the comfort, a sort of affection he had never received before, though he had the feeling Uma was just being practical. Trying to hold Chad together when it was obvious he could fall apart easily. He was the face of her operation, and she needed him in good shape. If a few cuddles helped achieve this then, well, more power to her.

Still, it was nice. At least… until Chad's body started getting the wrong idea.

Intellectually, he knew his responses were a natural part of biology, because he wasn't used to having someone so close by and that someone was Uma, who was very pretty and strong and made Chad feel especially safe. Chad's admiration probably bled into his subconscious, which was likely why he found himself waking up with a distinct hardness between his legs almost every morning.

Part of this terrified him, because he thought back to Atlantica and how being aroused was just- the last thing he wanted, but then Uma had- and that had been nice.

He tried to ignore it, hoping the problem would go away, but of course it didn't. He spent a lot of time attempting to meditate his predicament away, already knowing from experience that there was no way to sneak out of Uma's hold without waking her, and Chad didn't want that either.

He'd never thought about um- relieving the pressure himself. Mostly because Uma was right there and it seemed to be a violation of her privacy, so Chad just suffered. Or, not really suffered. It wasn't that bad.

At least, not until the day Uma realized what was going on.

She must have woken up before him, nuzzling against his shoulder while he was still half asleep and readjusting her grip on his waist to hold him closer, which on one hand was great but on the other she might have brushed against something, and instead of a disgusted scoff, she seemed to chuckle, her hand moving to cup the bulge between Chad's legs more deliberately.

By the time Chad was coherent, she had a hand snuck down the front of his pants and was fondling him through the thin material of his underwear, the fabric stained with his growing excitement.

"Uma," Chad moaned, his hand scrambling for his wrist. "S-Stop, please."

It was an immense relief that she listened to immediately, stilling her hand and removing it from his clothes altogether while Chad tried to catch his breath. That had been- yes, that was good, that was Uma and he could trust Uma-

"Shit," the captain hissed, pulling away from Chad. "I wasn't even thinking. Sorry-"

"N-No, don't apologize," Chad said, rushing to turn onto his back, needing to face her. "You were trying to help. I know you were trying to help, and you listened-"

"Still," she shook her head. "You just went through something like that-"

"It's okay," Chad rushed to assure her. "That um- that wasn't why I stopped you anyway."

Uma paused her quest to beat herself up to shoot him a considering glance. "It wasn't?"

"No." Chad shook his head, pooling the blanket in his lap to hide his affected state. "I um- I greatly appreciate it a lot, Uma. I appreciate everything you do for me, but um- I have to- I'm dedicated to Audrey, so I have to be good for her." After a beat, he added. "She trusts me."

Uma just stared at him, the silence becoming so tense that Chad thought he might shake from it.

"Audrey?" Uma echoed. "You mean that princess that stood you up all those months ago?"

"Because I messed up," Chad said. "I allowed myself to be tainted-"

"So you think," Uma began, her tone a low growl. "That I would taint you?"

"N-No, Uma," Chad said, his heart racing in his chest. "No, that wasn't what I meant at all. I mean- she trusts me, like I trust you, and I need to- to do right by that trust-"

"That wasn't what you were saying when I pulled those sponges out of your ass," Uma snapped, sliding out of the bed so she could pace around the room. "That wasn't what you said when I let you fuck me."

"Uma." Oh, oh wow, Chad hadn't realized- "I'm so sorry."

"You're sorry," Uma spat, arms folding across her chest. "What the hell am I to you, some kind of passing fancy? Something to hold your interest until your precious Audrey feels like giving you the time of day?"

"Of course not." Chad decided to get out of the bed too, the argument and growing panic having done away with his morning predicament so he could face Uma head on, at the same level. "You're Captain Uma, we're allies-"

"Allies?" Uma snarled, her chest heaving. "No, we're not allies. See, I get it now." She leveled a finger at him, eyes narrowing in thought. "You've been trying to get a handle on me since the beginning – playing the earnest, pitiful prince card. You put me in a position of power so I could feel in control, but you're the one that's been calling the shots the entire time. I even gave you my damn necklace!" With that, she stormed across the room, charging into Chad's space so she could reclaim her shell token in one vicious movement. "Bet you felt real proud of that, didn't you, Chadwick? Fuck, I bet you even knew those princesses wanted to feel you up, bet you let them, just to get me under your thumb."

"N-No." Chad felt a terrible heat begin to build behind his eyes. "No, Uma. I didn't- I didn't know and I didn't want-"

"I'm not falling for your tears this time!" Uma snarled, forcing herself across the room to get some distance from Chad. "What the fuck was I thinking? You've already managed to talk over most of the kingdoms to our side – that couldn't have been done by someone who wasn'tclever. You always knew what you were doing, and you worked with me so that when this was all over, you could be the big hero of Auradon, since it seems like no one will give a shit about you otherwise. Hell," she turned away with a scoff. "Maybe you've been doing this so your precious Audrey will love you. She's probably the only one that would."

"Uma," Chad gasped, pressing a hand against his chest. It hurt, so much, and he didn't know how to fix what he'd broken, wondered if Uma had these horrible suspicions about him the entire time. "No, that's not true. I helped because it was right-"

"Save it!" Uma snapped, snatching up her purple bath robe and shoving herself into it. "You aren't worth my time. Now, I'll trust blondie and the king, but you-" She threw a glare over her shoulder. "You're a piece of shit, and I'm never talking to you again if I can help it."

"Uma, no- please-" Chad breathed, but she was already leaving, already walking out the door with her head held high, moving away just like everyone else.

It hurt. Wow, did it hurt, to the point where Chad's legs could no longer hold him up, the useless limbs collapsing underneath him while he cried pitiful tears, just as useless as Uma said he was.

Chad really was a piece of shit. Even Uma had seen that, in the end.

She was better off without him, he knew that, but-

It still hurt.

It always did.

-:-:-:-:-:-

"Run that by me again?" King Eugene said, looking up from his desk and giving Chad his full attention the way few rarely did, but Chad had to remind himself it was because they were allies, because Chad could do something that he couldn't and maybe Uma had been wrong about Chad 'getting a handle' on her, but maybe all the holidays and weekend visits and extra mail the Fitzherberts sent him because they couldn't talk to him in public were their way of handling Chad.

And Chad had allowed it, because he was greedy, because he hadn't known better, but now he did and he had to have some self-respect or else Sardinia would forever look weak in the eyes of Corona.

"I think it would be better if I kept my status updates to web calls," Chad repeated. "These weekend trips-"

"Are good for you," the king cut in. "And good for Uma – she really looks forward to them."

Chad winced, because she definitely wouldn't be looking forward to them anymore. "My grandfather's beginning to notice," Chad didn't necessarily lie. Chad's grandfather did notice, but he was actually okay with Chad visiting Corona. Something about keeping him 'out of the way'.

Sometimes, Chad really wished he could do something right.

"I don't have that many kingdoms left to visit," Chad continued. "Three more and then at the grand council meeting you can launch the proposal. At the very least, you can get four more kids off while the kingdoms get the framework structure in place-"

"Of course," the king said, because he already knew the plan as well as Chad did, because he'd helped make it. "We wouldn't want to draw anyone's suspicion. But Chad, if you ever have any problems with your grandfather-"

"We'll be okay," Chad definitely did lie. He never knew where he stood with the duke. "We might not agree on everything, but my grandfather loves me."

He was pretty sure. Grandparents were supposed to love their grandchildren, but Chad made himself so very hard to love. The duke had said that once. Chad was pretty sure that was why his father didn't talk to him anymore.

"…If you're sure," the king said, and it was likely Chad's imagination, but he looked a little bit sad. "You have our number if you need anything."

"I won't," Chad promised, knowing there was a line between friends and allies and family and associates, and of course he'd managed to forget that. Chad forgot everything.

But the Isle issues, Chad could fix. Or help pave the way to them being fixed. And then at least he'd have one thing he did right. That mattered. That mattered a lot.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Present Day

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"Tell me," Uma said later, when she was having another intense stare down with her laptop, Queen Rapunzel and King Eugene looking openly sympathetic on the other side of the screen. "How much did he hurt him?"

The king and queen shared a look that made Uma tense, made both of her boys slide closer to her, Gil adjusting his grip on Chad so that he was cradled closer to his chest.

"From what we've been able to dig up?" the king said eventually. "A heck of a lot."

"He won't get away with it," Queen Rapunzel assured her, but Uma was already hunching over, a stream of curses spilling from her mouth as she slammed the laptop shut.

Chad was surprised when she pressed her hands against her face, when a mournful sort of growl echoed from her throat as her shoulders shook with what he guessed was frustration – maybe at herself. They hadn't parted on the best terms, but Chad never held that against her. Uma was made for great things, and Chad wasn't one of them.

"Fuck," Uma hissed as Harry wrapped an arm around her. "Fuck, fuck, fuck this."

"We'll get 'em," Harry promised, even though he couldn't know who they were going after, and Gil just seemed pained.

So Chad did something he could never do as his human self and climbed into Uma's lap, curling close to her so she would know it was okay, that he wasn't mad. It didn't seem to make her less tense, but she did draw him closer, a wet cheek rubbing against the top of his head.

"…when we find him," Uma began, voice thick with emotion. "We're gonna introduce you to him, Shadow. And he's gonna love the shit out of you, because he loved the shit out of everything."

"Loves," Harry corrected. "He's not gone yet, Captain."

"He'd better not be," Uma pledged.

It was nice to know that even though they weren't friends, Uma was still willing to honor their associate status. It meant a lot to Chad, more than she could ever know.

-:-:-:-:-:-

According to Ben – according to Carlos and Jane and Evie and Doug, who were all in honors classes – the work Chad had been turning into all of his classes did not match the grades he had received for them. Meaning that every worksheet, every essay and quiz and test – all of those had been purposefully underscored. And if those had been underscored, it stood to reason that the work he'd been given from his private tutors had also been underscored.

It changed everything Chad seemed to know about his life. Every basic understanding he had of himself. And it- it made him want to cry, made him want to shake and yell, but-

But.

He realized it was all a test. It had to be.

Sure, his grandfather was hard on him, was insanely strict with everything he said and did, but it was that structure and oppressive force that made Chad work so hard in the first place. If Chad hadn't thought he was so terribly dumb, he wouldn't have worked as hard to fix that problem, wouldn't have continued to work that hard, and maybe his grandfather was counting on that. Maybe the Duke wanted Chad to be the best king he could, so he made him work for it, had him suffer hardships much like his mother had and yeah, there was always the lingering threat of being replaced, but that was to push him too, wasn't it? As was Chad's distant cousin being shown off to the public – that was a threat. It had always been a threat, and a successful one because it pushed Chad.

The others couldn't see, didn't have a frame of reference but- if Chad had known he was smart, maybe he would have gotten lazy. That was why his grandfather had pushed him so hard. And he'd even tried to convince Audrey to date Chad again, because he cared about Chad's future.

And sure, the box thing- that wasn't great. It wasn't. But the Duke had been concerned, and that was the best way he could think to act upon that concern. He knew Chad would grow out of his fear in time. The Duke probably expected Chad's father to be king for at least another decade, which would give Chad plenty of time to overcome his trepidation, and in the meantime he wouldn't taint himself, or get led astray by raging hormones.

If he thought about it, his grandfather must be going out of his mind with worry right about now. All that time and work invested into Chad and what, Chad had thrown it away to be a cat? Because things had gotten a little bit hard? It was ridiculous.

He had run away from his problems instead of owning up to them, instead of facing them head on like his grandfather had told him to do. He'd battled through so many tests to almost trip and fall at the finish line.

It made Chad realize something.

He had to go home. He had to get to Sardinia.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Endnotes:

Bum Bum BUMMMM.

Thanks everyone for the reviews! Also, for whatever reason, Fanfiction dot net had issues displaying chapters 7 and 8. Like, they showed as uploaded on my end, but were not always seen on the actual site. I sent in an email to the support team, but if any of that stuff ever happens again and you don't see my usual updates up here, go ahead and look for them on Archive of Our Own. I post them over there as well under the same name.

Story notes:

Yes, Chad's grandfather is the worst. There are no questions there.

Also, to be clear, Triton's granddaughters will be punished – just in a mer-way, off of Auradon's records to respect Chad's privacy.

Until next time :)