Chapter 14 – Deleted Scenes

I don't tend to write a story totally in order, so below are the extra scenes I thought might make it into the final version of the story that ended up getting cut for one reason or another.

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Chapter 4 – Alternate ending to Mal/Ben helping 'practice'

Notes: I toyed with the idea of Chad's anti-Ben conditioning taking place before he and Jay start 'dating', but I ultimately decided having it occur because Chad was involved with Ben/Mal made more sense and allowed for more plot movement. Below is the very brief exert where Chad would have turned Mal and Ben's 'help' down.

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"No," he said on reflex, years of training and yelling and being locked in small boxes coming into play.

For whatever reason, this seemed to surprise Ben, who likely wasn't used to getting turned down.

"Not that it isn't a generous offer," Chad continued, trying to salvage the situation. He could do this; he could network appropriately. "Because it is, and I acknowledge that, but um… I'm gonna be on Ben's council one day, so maybe practice kissing is a thing we should not do."

That had to violate some rule of conduct. Granted, there was a significant chance Chad would never make it to the council level if he kept failing the tests his grandfather put out for him, but as long as he still had the chance, he was going to maintain a positive outlook. It was all he could do.

There was another odd moment where Ben realized Chad had actually argued a point that was valid.

Mal frowned. "You're not on his council now."

"But I will be," Chad pressed, trying to ignore the tiny curl of panic in his stomach before it could explode into a relentless cascade. "And because of that there is certain behavior that is expected for me to-"

"Do you want to kiss Ben or not?" Mal asked, fully annoyed now, and Chad had been conditioned on how to properly answer that question for years that the response came out on reflex, terror sinking its claws into him.

"No," he replied, dutifully, forcefully and was so horrified by the desperate basically-a-shout that he shoved both of his hands against his mouth, eyes going wide.

He said the right answer. He said the right answer so he shouldn't get in trouble, but he still might because he hadn't done it the right way, he had yelled, at the king, like a stupid little ruffian and he was going to go back inside the box, and Chad didn't want to go there even if he deserved it-

"Hey." Mal was in front of him, cupping his cheeks in a gentle movement that disconnected from everything Chad was doing. "Breathe with me, Chad. We need you to breathe-"

"I-" am breathing – Chad couldn't even manage to wheeze, everything coming too fast and too shallow for him to try and gather himself.

He'd said the right answer that time. He'd said the right answer, his grandfather shouldn't be mad.

Shouldn't, but he probably would be.

"Come on, Chad," she soothed, so very quiet. "Match me, please. Just match me."

It took forever for Chad to calm down again, for him to find his usual state of uselessness, terribly aware of the weight of their stares. It made him feel itchy in his skin, but mostly, he wanted to go outside, wanted to breathe fresh air and look at the sky and remind himself that in that moment, he was free.

When he came back to himself, Chad felt exhausted, and Mal was still touching him, still so very close.

"I um… I don't want to practice, anymore," Chad said, each word feeling like a trial. "…could we try this tomorrow?"

It was Mal that answered, likely because Jay and Ben were still too confused. "Okay, Chad," she allowed, finally letting him go. "Okay."

He left the room in clumsy steps, conscious not to look behind him.

That path only led to terror, and he had enough of that as it was.

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Chapter 6 – Chad's Shower

Notes: I toyed with the idea of Uma healing some of Chad's bruises before I remembered that Rapunzel's hair totally heals people and that she'd definitely used it on Chad to prove he hadn't been spelled, thus making the next four lines unnecessary.

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He'd just finished conditioning his hair in the glorious-glorious shower when Uma appeared next to the stall.

"Uma!" Chad jolted back against the wall, reaching down to cover his business while she just sort of stared. "Um… do you need-?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were bruised?" she asked, and then, without any kind of warning, she shrugged off her robe, dumping it on the edge of the tub while she slid back into the shower, her necklace cradled in one hand. "I can help with that, you know. I think."

She didn't wait for him to reply before reaching out and touching his chest – eyes narrowed in concentration…

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Chapter 8 – Chad/Uma Bonding

Notes: I knew I wanted to have some kind of ocean bonding moment between Chad and Uma where he appreciated her in her natural habitat, and this was the first take at it before I got struck with the whole Atlantica story arc. It was supposed to end with giggling laughter times, only you can see where I got inspired to veer off into a completely different direction.

Warning – the beginning to the scene features a depressed Uma.

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Uma was doing that thing where she was sprawled out on the window seat, glaring at the outside world because while they were making progress it was slow progress, progress that was achieved with books and patience instead of battles that ended with instant gratification. King Eugene had explained it to Chad once, about how this fight to help the kids from the Isle was different than any Uma must have known in her entire lifetime, and that was bound to make her frustrated, to make her feel useless because she wanted those kids to be safe so bad, and every day that she got to live out here in the life of relative luxury was a day one of the orphans of the Isle wound up dead.

It hurt, that there was little Chad could do in wake of those feelings of anger aside from be nearby, if Uma wanted him to, but it wasn't uncommon for her to stay there slumped for hours at a time, clenching and unclenching her hands and ignoring his pleas for her to eat something. One of the few times Chad instigated contact with her without her express approval was when she'd finally pass out at the end of the day, and Chad would carry the captain from the window seat to the bed. He knew this slump was a way of her punishing herself for not doing better, and while Chad admired her tenacity, he knew better than anyone else how little she actually deserved the infliction.

It was another one of those low days, Chad realized when he visited for the weekend, and part of him was disappointed but most of him was sad, sad for Uma and Gil and Harry and the rest of her crew. He wished he could win the kingdoms over sooner. He wished he could get them reunited faster. He wished…

But wishes were useless, so he could only work.

"Hey," Chad said quietly after a few hours of comfortable silence had passed. "Uma? Do you… could we go for a swim?"

It was a tactic Chad hadn't tried before, but he'd realized (finally) that Uma was a lot like him. She wanted to feel useful. And if she couldn't feel useful, then she felt sad. So Chad decided to give her an outlet by way of request, and he couldn't think of anything better than asking for one of Uma's favorite things.

For a moment, he thought the gamble wouldn't pay off, but then she slowly craned her head to look at him.

Chad leapt at the chance to speak while he had her attention. "It's been awhile since we've gone in the ocean," he explained, as though she were not painfully familiar with this fact. Queen Rapunzel said that Uma went on swims every day, but a lot of them were in the private saltwater lap pool for the sake of security. On occasion, Chad and Uma had gone to the beach on their own, but usually it was against the wishes of their host (at least on paper, in reality the king and queen seemed happy to turn a blind eye to their excursions).

"…you want to swim?" she said eventually, voice soft and gaze assessing – engaged. At least she wasn't glaring out the window anymore.

Chad offered his best smile. "Yeah. You should um- get a chance to stretch your tentacles."

Uma stared at him for a hard moment. "You want to see my tentacles?"

When she said it like that, it sounded weird, so Chad's responding flush was perfectly reasonable. "I want to see you at your um- freest," he settled on. "So, could we go swimming, please?"

Uma made a face, but at least she didn't outright deny him. "Fine, but only if you wear that swimsuit Ruby got you."

"But it's so tight." Chad flushed, thinking about the Corona-style swim trunks which were basically swim boxer-briefs that clung to um- everything.

"Yep." Uma grinned, which made the entire expedition worth it. "They make your butt look real good."

"Uma," Chad groaned to the sound of her cackle, deciding to beat a quick retreat so he could change into the appropriate swimwear.

He wore looser shorts over the swimsuit and a light short sleeved shirt to get them to the beach, taking advantage of the late afternoon rays to enjoy the sunshine.

"Alright," Uma said when they got to their private cove, slipping out of her fluttery sundress until she was left in a pretty teal one-piece. "Strip 'em."

"Let me get sun screen first," Chad murmured, even though he'd already applied some back at the castle. He'd intended to use the excuse as a stalling tactic but then Uma helped him reapply, so by the time it was just Chad in his tight light blue swim trunks he was very much ready to surrender himself to the water.

Pretty girls were his weakness. Well, pretty humans. Pretty anyone. He was so shallow.

"Come on," Uma laughed, tugging Chad into the water. "Let's go for a swim."

Whatever embarrassment Chad felt was totally worth it for Uma's smile, to get to see the tension ease from her shoulders the farther she swam into the clear Corona waters. It was always amazing to watch the waters around her swirl into a blinding blaze of light, and between one second and the next her legs were replaced with tentacles, all blue and shimmery and strong, and Chad eagerly surrendered himself to being wrapped in a few as Uma tugged them deeper into the water.

"Hold on," Uma said, her fingers curling around the necklace carefully resting against Chad's throat. She cast a familiar water-breathing spell on Chad, producing his own private bubble of oxygen for his head, and then she was dragging him into the deep, shooting off like a rocket while they investigated the ocean surrounding Corona Bay.

Exploring the deep with Uma was easily one of the most exhilarating things Chad had ever done. She cut through the water like a rocket, going speeds Chad would never be able to achieve on his own. Her spell protected him from the pressures that would otherwise harm him, allowed him to see through the darkness into the world through her eyes, and it was always beautiful, but more than that, watching Uma gaze upon their surroundings was even more beautiful. She looked upon everything with a reserved kind of awe. This area of the ocean was far enough from Atlantica and Atlantis that she could maneuver without fear of being spotted by any other seafolk…

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Chapter 8 – The Original Assault

Notes: So like, apparently Chad getting assaulted by mermaids was a thing that was always going to happen in this story. Originally, I had that planned to happen on the first day, with Chad and Uma parting ways when King Triton went to show her around the kingdom, but ultimately I decided that missed out on too many bonding opportunities, so this was scrapped for the scenes I eventually wrote.

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Uma considered his arm for a long moment, then looked at Chad.

Right.

"I can stay here," he said gently, giving her tentacle a squeeze. "It will be okay. I'll just um- show myself to the guest room I used last time?"

"That is acceptable," the king rumbled. "So long as it is good with Uma."

"Huh," Uma said, then finally took the king's arm. "Alright. I guess I should see the kingdom my mom used to go on about forever."

"It'd be my pleasure to show it to you," the king smiled, so genuine and kind it hurt Chad's chest a little. "Chadwick," he said, offering Chad a nod.

Chad did his best to bow, though with the water it was hard. "Your majesty."

"Be careful, blondie," Uma said, allowing a tentacle to pet the top of his head. "Pulse the shell if you need me, okay?"

"Yes, Captain," he said, giving her a slight bow as well.

It was sort of sad, to be detangled from her grasp, but Chad knew it was better. Felt better to see Uma swim arm-in-arm with her uncle, the captain sparing him one last look before they gracefully exited the palace. This was it. This was where she belonged.

He shouldn't feel awkward about that, even if a dumb part of him insisted on it.

Chad felt uneasy watching Uma swim away with King Triton, but most of that was due to his own latent anxiety. He trusted Uma, both her capabilities and her patience, her ability to be diplomatic and set aside her own personal aspersions in light of the bigger picture. He knew without him that she'd be fine, he just wished he didn't have to wait.

Well, he supposed he could swim to the quarters they'd been given. Without Uma, he'd be stuck floating listlessly, but his weight belt might be enough to let him cuddle in the kelp bed. At the very least, he'd be somewhere he could be easily found when Uma felt like regrouping. That was something.

"Oooh, there you are!"

Chad's plan was interrupted by the appearance of five pretty teenage mermaids, and based on their headpieces, he guessed these were the princesses Queen Rapunzel had briefed him on.

"Look, Aclina," one of them tittered, swimming close to Chad and looking him over. "It's the human prince."

"I never thought we'd get to see a human up close," one of the other girls chirped, her hair a vibrant green that curled in the water behind her. "Grandpa says we're too young to go up to the surface."

"I thought their feet were smaller," one with pink hair noted with a pout, poking at Chad's flipper.

"They are," Chad said, trying to be helpful and polite when he felt so very off-balance. Maybe not-introducing yourself was a mermaid thing. "These are shoes designed to help me swim faster. Look."

He pulled one of the flippers off, and then they immediately cooed.

At least, until the pink one started poking and prodding at his foot, stroking her hand across the arch and feeling at his toes. "Look at it," she urged, waving the green-haired one over. "They're so weird.'

"They're um- helpful for walking around on land," Chad said, feeling a bit defensive.

Over the course of that explanation, he lost his other shoe to the green-haired one, until both of his feet were being thoroughly inspected by the princesses.

"And these are legs?" a red haired one asked, circling both hands around Chad's ankle before stroking upwards. "It's like you have two fins. How could you possibly coordinate them?"

"It's- I don't know, second nature?" Chad said, flushing when she got up to his knee and just sort of kept going. "Hey um- usually we don't-"

"Your scales are all weird," another one pouted as she pinched the material of his wetsuit – this one with lilac curls. "They're all slick and soft-"

"Well, actually-"

"And what's with this?" the fifth one asked, flooding Chad with a terribly embarrassed heat because she was squeezing his butt. "It's all firm."

"Um-"

"We don't have this," the green haired one said, and then she was- she was touching Chad's groin, poking and prodding at it as the other two kept touching his legs. "What do you call that?"

"Please don't touch there," Chad said, but his voice must have been too quiet to carry through the air bubble, because they just sort of kept groping him.

"Hey!" the lilac haired on cheered, pinching at the waist of Chad's wetsuit pants. "These aren't scales after all!"

"No, um- they're clothes. Humans wear them to- please stop-" he gasped as she started edging them down, trying to get a peak at his skin, but it was five of them and one of him and they were all very interested in touching him and Chad still hadn't figured out how to get them to back off by the time the upper part of his butt was on display and one of them reached into his pants and-

"Wow," the red haired one cooed as she guided the tip of Chad's genitals out, and Chad was still kind of stuck on the fact that they were all touching him and she had, she'd just- "Look at this."

"What is it?" the green haired one breathed. "Is that like a merman's- you know?"

"It has to be," the pink haired one gasped, stroking the sensitive skin and making Chad shudder, and he couldn't touch them, wasn't supposed to initiate contact without permission and he hadn't been given permission so he just had to sort of float there while his chest squeezed tighter and tighter.

"Oh wow," the fifth one said. "Maybe um- you shouldn't mess with that-"

"I'm sure it's not exactly the same," the red haired one said, pushing Chad's wetsuit pants lower on his hips. "Those are only displayed on a merman when he's ready to – you know – and the prince obviously isn't having sex so this is probably something else."

Chad felt his cheeks heat with warmth. "It's- it's not, please stop-"

"It's so red," the lilac haired one said, teasing and stroking, and the fifth one behind him was feeling between his cheeks, the other still very much touching his legs. "Have you shown Uma this?"

"What?" Chad flailed, partially because they were touching him and partially because the one behind him had found his entrance and seemed determined to explore it with a swirl of her very slippery fingers. "No, of course not. And please, please stop touch-"

"What is this?" the fifth one asked, one of her sisters crowding beside her as she teased at him and it was so weird, he had only ever with Jay that one time and one time Audrey when she had felt really generous but that time had hurt way more but this was different because he wasn't dating them and why did they keep touching-

Chad's heart seemed to pinch when one of the mermaids reached into his pants and dived low, cupping his um- sack, squeezing and stroking and marveling its consistency and everything and-

"Please, please stop," he asked again. "Please. Humans, um- we don't touch like this-"

"Why not?" the one behind him asked, slipping a finger inside and it didn't hurt but Chad was definitely mortified. "We touch each other's fins all the time."

"Maybe humans are just repressed," the one with a hand in his pants said. "We could show him how nice it is! Maybe give him a nice bath-"

"That's a great idea, Adara," the red haired one said. "That will give us more time to get a better look-"

"Get off of him!"

It was Uma's voice – Uma's anger and Uma's rage and Chad should be worried for that, but mostly he felt relieved. He supposed he should be frightened at the way her voice seemed to bounce around the room until it reverberated into his bones, but it made the princesses scurry, gave him a chance to breathe again. It was only when Uma cut to his side, wrapping her tentacles loosely around him in a protective shield, that he registered the heat building behind his eyes. Oh no. Oh no.

"What is the meaning of this?" King Triton rumbled, Chad doing his best to set his wetsuit to rights but the king had already seen, probably thought Chad was a pervert and his throat felt tight.

"We were just curious, grandpa," the green haired one said. "We've never seen a human up close-"

"He's so squishy!" the pink haired one said. "Yet firm. And those aren't scales-"

"Enough," the king snapped, so fiercely that Chad's whole body seemed to tense, even in the protective hold of Uma's tentacles. "Uma, could you please escort Prince Chadwick to your quarters?"

"Sure, Uncle," Uma drawled, giving the princesses one last stink eye before she carried Chad away, through the twists and turns of the Atlantica palace.

It wasn't until she had them safely cuddled on the kelp bed that Chad allowed himself to let go, tears pouring down his cheeks as he shoved a hand against his mouth.

"Mother fuckers," Uma hissed, dragging Chad close in a hug she rarely offered on land. "What do you need?"

"I'm- I'm sorry," Chad gasped, bypassing the question because his needs were entirely irrelevant. "I'm so sorry. He's going to think I'm some pervert and he won't- he'll back out and then Westerly and Apheliotia and- and Agrabah will change their minds and we'll never get Atlantis and our entire proposal will fail. The kids will stay trapped on the Isle all because of me-"

"Hey," Uma's voice was firm when she cut through Chad's babbling diatribe. She cupped his face between her hands, gently wiping away his tears as she tilted their foreheads together. "What happened down there- that wasn't your fault. You were just following the mermaid social edicts, right?"

"Yeah," Chad said, voice shaking and throat thick. "But-"

"Do you trust me?" Uma asked, her tentacles curling around him closer, grounding him as much as they could underwater.

Chad shivered into the touch, but nodded. "Of course."

"Then trust that I know King Triton won't do that," she said. "He's still going to back us and you're not going to get in trouble, because you didn't do anything wrong."

Except get tainted. Oh no, he was tainted now, and granted, Audrey didn't know, but Chad was so dumb he'd gotten a little turned on by all the touching even though he didn't want it, and it was still there and he- he just wanted it to go away. He wanted to do better, for Uma.

"I… I trust you," Chad said, because he couldn't find it in himself to agree. "…but I'm still sorry, Captain."

"No apologies," Uma said, pulling him into her lap. It was nice, but also sort of embarrassing because she could see his predicament. "…want me to help with that?"

Chad was surprised by the immediate urge he had to say yes. And also sort of terrified.

He forced himself to shake his head. "I'm um- I'm not supposed to let other girls-"

"Right," Uma clipped, and Chad almost tensed again but she wrapped an arm around his waist, keeping him close and giving a light squeeze. "Do you want to take care of it? No touching from me involved."

"You, um-" Chad felt himself flush all the way down to his toes. "You want to watch-?"

"I'll protect you," Uma pledged, and then and there Chad knew the words would be forever true. "I'll keep you safe while you're vulnerable."

It was almost greater than any promise Audrey had ever given him, and though he knew it was because Chad was Uma's ally, he couldn't help but be touched by the gesture. It was almost like he was a part of her crew.

"Um." Chad swallowed, clearing his throat nervously. "L-let me know if I'm bothering you."

"You got it, slick," she said, giving his waist another squeeze. And then she waited.

Her gaze was locked on his up until the point he eased a hand into his lap, squeezing at himself tentatively to see if he could still be interested and realizing with a sort of shocked amazement that the mere idea of Uma's focus on him had him worked up to an unbelievable degree.

By the time he'd worked his wetsuit pants back down, he was flushed and shaky all over again, and that was just under the weight of Uma's stare.

Feeling her tentacles against his bare hips made him shudder, and it was almost like he'd entirely forgotten how to masturbate, he felt so clumsy, hand trembling as he pumped himself slowly up and down.

"That's it," Uma murmured into his ear, sounding so very approving. "Just like that, sweetheart. Do you feel good?"

"Y-yes, Uma," Chad gasped, hand stuttering when he lost focus before he managed to rediscover his rhythm. "Um. Do- do I look good?"

He regretted asking the question the moment it left his lips, and yet, Uma was humming, that thoughtful sort of sound that made Chad breathless with anticipation.

"Yeah, baby," Uma said, her fingers curling around Chad's bare hip. "You look very good. So good, I wanna put you on display."

"Uma." Chad flushed, would have tried to cover his face were he not so concerned with putting on a good performance for Uma.

"At least for my crew," Uma continued. "Or maybe just Harry and Gil. They'd appreciate it. Harry especially – he's got a thing for blonds."

"Oh," Chad gasped, feeling himself get close to the edge. "Oh- ah-"

"Like that?" Uma asked, nuzzling Chad's shoulder. "I'd spread you out in his bed, hold you just like this- maybe let Gil help out- he likes to help, like you-"

Chad's heart fluttered. "Uma-"

"And then all of Harry's favorite things would be in one place," the captain hummed. Chad had to remind himself that Harry's favorite things were Uma and Gil and not Chad, but it was hard when she was calling him pretty and nice and lovely, something he hadn't gotten since Jay and the others, because Audrey wasn't one for giving compliments so much as getting them. She also definitely never wanted to watch Chad masturbate. She didn't see a point to it.

"Uma," Chad whined, leaning into her shoulder for the sheer reason that he could. "I'm gonna- may I-?"

"Yes, sweetheart," she said, curling a hand through his hair. "Come for me. I wanna see you fall apart."

And. Well.

Chad did. To what was maybe the most receptive audience in his life.

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Chapter 9 – The Original Uma/Chad fight

Notes: This argument wasn't bad, per se, I just felt like it could be better, which was why I ended up rewriting it.

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"Why the fuck do you want to date this Audrey chick so badly anyway?" Uma asked one day, after Chad had given her an appropriate update on his kingdom-wooing efforts (he'd won over three more to their side this month alone) and had moved on to the King Eugene enforced 'small talk' portion of their conversation.

Chad and Uma had a tendency to get caught up in work, so for every hour of that they had to have at least fifteen minutes of bonding, which bothered Uma to no end until Chad made her realize that bonding could include painting their nails or redoing her braids or sneaking aboard the latest Corona speed yacht to get an up close look of their special features. Lord Frederic (Queen Rapunzel's dad) often despaired for their teamwork and propensity towards mischief, but Lady Arianna (Queen Rapunzel's mom) and King Edmund (King Eugene's dad) found it endearing and frequently encouraged their 'need to explore'.

Uma, by no means, required their approval for any of her actions, but Chad could tell she sort of preened at the positive attention, which she rightly deserved.

The question caught Chad off guard. He'd been wanting to date Audrey for so very long that it had mostly become second nature to him, engrained in his spirit, and he never thought he'd have to articulate this need beyond the one time Jay had asked him, and Chad knew how that had turned out.

"Well," Chad began carefully, wanting to do Audrey justice. "She's really strong and really pretty, and she told me if I behaved she might like me."

Uma made a face. "Why don't you try to date someone who already likes you?"

Because they did not exist, but Chad was sort of flattered that Uma thought that was a possibility for him. "Because I want to date Audrey," he reiterated. "She's the heir to three kingdoms."

Which meant she must be a really good princess, and Chad's grandfather was always going on about how important it was for Sardinia to have a good princess and if Chad couldn't get a good princess then maybe the king should be someone who could.

Uma froze, a sort of calculating look slipping onto her features as she considered him. "So what, you want to be king of four kingdoms?"

Chad flushed. "I'd only be king on a technicality, Audrey would still lead her three, it's just-"

"You'd have even more power this way," Uma said, sitting up. "Have more sway on the council, isn't that how it works? Even if you're only king on a 'technicality'?" She was openly frowning at him now. "Fuck, no wonder you let that chick boss you around so much, you don't actually give a shit if she likes you, you just want her kingdoms."

"What?" Chad struggled to follow Uma's logic, hurt that she would think such a thing of him when she knew he was a bad prince, he just wanted to give Sardinia a bright future and Audrey was his only option. "That's not it."

"Sure it is," Uma snarled, sliding to her feet to glare at him head on. "You play up this whole act about being earnest and good, about not being enough, but you've won over every kingdom you've talked to." By the skin of his teeth. "You're not some- wounded child, you're a calculating asshole, who did all this-" She motioned around him. "Just to get a handle on me."

"No, Uma." Panic spiked through Chad's chest. "No, I'm not- that isn't true-"

"Spare me the sad eyes, Blondie, I know your game," she spat prowling forward with angry steps. She stopped when she reached Chad, then in a brutally fast moment, ripped the shell necklace from his throat, clutching it to her chest. "Must have been real happy when Queenie down there wanted you to keep a hold of this, weren't you? Well, fuck you, Chad. Good luck winning over that princess that will never love you - hope you're real happy with your four kingdoms."

"Uma." Heat began to build behind Chad's eyes. "Please, that's not- I don't want Audrey's kingdoms-"

"Save it," Uma snapped, motioning towards the door. "Save your handmade books and your sad eyes and your bullshit. I knew you were too good to be real. Save it all and get the hell out of here. I'm willing to trust King and Queenie, but you-" She judged him with a sneer. "You're nothing. Get out."

It was amazing, how quickly Chad could make things fall apart. He didn't argue though, over the building tears his mind was ringing with how he should have known better. He didn't have friends. Uma wasn't his friend – she was too brave and strong and daring and she knew that, not him, but that, and maybe this was for the best. He'd only drag her down. He'd probably drag Audrey down too but-

He had to try.

He had so very little left, that much he had to try for.

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The Alternate Discovery

Notes: I had this vague idea for how they would discover Chad was Shadow where Chad was like, actually present for the discovery. It was an interesting concept, but one I ultimately cut because it depended on Belle already knowing Chad was a cat, which in hindsight, did not seem like something she would keep quiet about. This was also before the whole Uma/Chad bonding arc was written.

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Chad wasn't sure what had woken him up, though that didn't stop him from surrendering to the feeling. He had long since resigned himself to trusting his weird cat instincts, and if they said 'wake up' that was what he was going to do, and if they said 'move' then he was going to be in motion before he even processed it, batting open the door knob until he could slide out into the hallway, trying to find his quarry.

It didn't take him long to determine the disturbance in his cat force – Jay easing out of his own room and down the hall, dressed as though he was trying to go somewhere unobserved.

In his hand was a familiar pink stationary – Auroria pink, scented with Audrey's perfume, and Chad knew without question that something suspect was going on.

So he did what Cat Chad did to Jay best.

He was a proper nuisance.

Chad wasted no time bolting across the floor, wrapping himself around the teen's leg and digging his claws into the material of Jay's pants, careful not to get the skin below. As soon as that was settled he started wailing as loudly as possible, meowing up a furious storm that would at least wake Uma, who was a notoriously light sleeper.

"What the fuck?" Jay hissed as soon as he realized what was going on, staring down at his leg. "No- hey. Shut up, Shadow."

Chad yelled louder. Cat-yelled. It was still an impressive racket.

"Come on," Jay groaned, attempting to shake Chad off of his leg. Joke was on him, Cat Chad was only slightly less determined than real Chad, which meant he wasn't going to budge until someone showed up. "I have to go, you little shit-"

When he tried to reach a hand down to detangle Chad, the prince paused his wailing to nip at calloused fingers until Jay flinched away, and then it was back to meowing again, as loud as his dumb small lungs could manage.

Finally, Uma stumbled out into the hallway, a half-asleep Harry following behind her. "What the hell is going on?" she groused, though her grumpiness seemed to fade away as soon as she caught sight of Jay's stealth clothing, and the note clutched in his hand. "You got something you want to share with the class, Jadir?"

"I've got this, Uma," Jay snapped, shaking out his hand before trying to make a grab for Chad's scruff. That time, Chad may have broken skin in retaliation, and when Jay did manage to grab him, he sunk his claws deep into his pants. "It's something that needs to be taken care of quietly-"

"What the fuck?" Mal snarled, storming out of the king's quarters with Ben's robe draped around her shoulders and an exhausted king lingering behind her. "Is someone killing Shadow?" She paused when she caught sight of Jay, eyebrows rising steadily higher when Chad let out another vicious wail. "What the hell, Jay?"

The thief flushed. "It's nothing, Mal."

"Yeah, you going somewhere at ass o'clock in the morning is nothing," she snapped, and finally Gil stumbled out of his room, the last to join the party.

Immediately, Chad quieted down. He didn't actually want to wake the entire castle, just the few that could get Jay to fall in line.

He didn't let go though, not until Uma and Harry blocked off the exit behind Jay, leaving him buffered between two sets of deeply unimpressed people. It was only then that Chad released his hold, plodding across the floor until he could curl around Gil's ankles, the blond picking him up and cradling him against his chest seemingly on reflex.

Mal reached over without tearing her gaze off of Jay. "Good boy," she said, scratching behind Chad's ears. "Getting our attention like that."

"Is something happening?" Gil asked, rubbingly sleepily at his eyes. "Why are you all dressed, Jay?"

"That's something we'd all like to know," Mal drawled.

It was interesting to watch the tension fill Jay's body just as easily as it drifted away, the thief forcing himself to remain composed when everyone seemed against him.

Ben sighed. "Why don't we go back to our room?" he offered. "And hope we didn't wake up the rest of the castle."

"That Shadow didn't wake up the rest of the castle," Jay corrected, seemingly on principle.

Uma huffed. "Don't start that shit now."

It was in a haze of confusion, tension, and bitter defense that they trudged into Ben's sitting room, Jay carefully positioned between Mal and Harry while Uma, Ben, and Gil sat across from them, Chad curled up in the blond's lap.

Uma held out an impatient hand. "The note, Jay."

Jay seemed to clutch it close on reflex. "It's-"

Harry cut in with a cackle, seeming startlingly normal without his eyeliner. "It wasn't a request, Jadir."

Seeing he was outnumbered, Jay reluctantly handed the small piece of paper over to Ben, one last act of rebellion that Uma took with a roll of her eyes.

Ben stared at it with slow comprehension. "…this is from Audrey."

"Yep," Jay drawled with a forced sort of detachment, likely anticipating the way the others tensed. "She says she might have information on Chad's whereabouts."

It was then that Chad froze too, stilling under Gil's careful pets as a sort of white noise flooded his ears.

When he came back, Gil was curling him against his chest, letting Chad listen to the rhythmic beat of his heart. "It's okay," he was whispering, low enough that hopefully Uma alone would hear. "It's okay, I know you miss him too."

Sort of. Kind of. It was hard to explain, now. At least Shadow got love.

"Are ye fucking stupid?" Harry griped in the meantime. "It's obviously a trap. Why would she want to meet in the middle of the night?"

Jay tensed. "Her house arrest-"

"If you broke into her fucking house," Mal began with a low, threatening sort of drawl. "You know that would look bad on you, right? And if we wanted to keep that violation from reaching the light of day well, she could always agree to ignore it in turn for a diminished sentence-"

"What the hell else was I supposed to do?" Jay snapped, using far more ferocity than Chad ever would have expected. "If there is even the slightest chance she might be right, shouldn't I seek her out?"

"Without talking to us?" Uma pressed. "I'll admit, we don't know this guy as well as you do, but that doesn't mean we don't want to help."

"Why?" Jay was closing in on himself, putting up a wall of defensiveness and arrogance to keep his true reactions at bay, and it was strange that Chad could see that now, that he knew the thief well enough to see that was happening. "Why would you want to help us find Chad?"

"Because it's obvious you guys are all attached to him." Attached to him – more like felt guilty because of him. None of them were really his friends, not even Ben, who Chad had actually grown up with. "We're friends now, asshole-"

"Attached to him?" Jay snarled, rocking to his feet in a rough movement. Of all things, Chad would have expected him to object to the potential friendship, not to being accused of liking Chad. Though of course, that figured. It was like Mal telling Ben not to mourn him all over again. "We're not 'attached' to him, we love him!"

There were a few moments where Chad lost track of his surroundings, so overcome by a wave of shock, because Jay hadn't been lying. Jay had no reason to lie, he didn't know Chad was here. He didn't even like Chad as a cat, there was no point in putting on a show for five people he seemed to trust.

And what was worse was that Mal and Ben weren't even protesting, didn't even try to correct him or cut in – Ben going so far as to nod grimly, which meant that he agreed- that he loved Chad? How would the blond prince miss that? He'd always gone out of his way to know-

Everything was- too much. He could feel his body trembling uncontrollably but he couldn't grab a hold of himself. It was like he was having a stupid cat panic attack, water trailing from his eyes down into his fur, pained half-cries spilling from his mouth without his consent.

"Shadow?" Distantly, he heard Gil's panicked voice, the pirate holding him close. "Shadow, what's wrong?"

"Is he having a seizure?" Uma asked, leaning in close, and Chad fought to breathe, tried to catch his breath but those horrible sounds kept spilling from his throat. Like a reflexive sort of objection – he didn't understand.

"Shadow? Hey, it's okay." Gil sounded close to tears, and Chad hated that, hated that he couldn't help the blond that had offered him so much kindness. "I need you to breathe slower, okay? Slower kitty breaths."

"Why's he acting like that?" Harry asked while Chad tried and likely failed to follow Gil's instructions, coming closer to centered even though his body wouldn't stop shivering. "He was fine until Jay admitted to what we already knew."

"I mean…" Uma spoke up slowly, and Chad would pay more attention to that, but he had Gil- and Gil was the one that mattered. It was Gil's arms around him. "…maybe he didn't know that."

"What are you saying?" Jay sounded so lost. "He can't actually understand us."

"Sure he could," Uma countered. "If he was a human that got spelled."

The room seemed to tense, and Chad froze all over again.

It was Mal that hovered into his line of sight, gaze watery and filled with a sort of hope Chad would never be able to satisfy. "…Chad?"

Unbidden, he released that awful croon again, burying his face in Gil's chest because he didn't know what to do.

He heard Ben gasp. "Chad." Shuffling, and the king was likely moving closer, crouching next to Mal. "Chad, is that you?"

No, no, no, no, no. It wasn't Chad. Chad wasn't home, anymore. Chad was the guy you weren't supposed to mourn, the guy you didn't care about. Chad was gone and replaced and it didn't matter and Ben's stupid endearing smile didn't get to try and suck him back in.

Chad couldn't stop meowing; body so tense it felt like he was about to snap.

"Stop messing around, guys," Jay said, sounding- Chad didn't know how he sounded. "That's not Chad. Chad isn't a cat."

"Apparently, he is," Uma said, unapologetic.

"No," Jay insisted. "He's not. He's not Shadow. If he was Shadow, I never would have-"

"What?" Harry interrupted with a low drawl. "Ye would have treated him nicer?"

He wouldn't have. Jay didn't like him that much, no matter what he said. The proof was in his behavior.

"Chad?" Ben whispered. "Could you look at me please, sweetheart?"

Against his own will, Chad turned towards the king – Ben regal and composed and everything Chad would never be – human with a strong, brilliant partner helping him find his way, and now he was looking on his past friend who had gotten his dipshit self turned into a cat like he was something special.

"Chad." Ben's expression melted into one of open relief. "Sorry, bud. Sorry it took us so long, but we're here now."

"We've got you," Mal added, seeming painfully earnest.

Jay said nothing.

It probably shouldn't have been a surprise when Chad bolted, and yet he still heard reflexive sounds of shock when he darted out the bedroom door.

"Chad!" Ben was shouting behind him- all of them running, but Chad couldn't- didn't care, he couldn't be a cat while they were human, couldn't have them know what he'd been turned into.

He'd rather they think he was slutting around again. That was fine. He didn't mind being a whore, better that than a dipshit.

Chad didn't travel far, didn't have the heart or composure to do so. Instead, he fumbled with the handle to the Duke and Duchess's room before barging inside, crowing all the while. He could hear the sounds of movement by the time he reached their bedroom, Ben and Mal still hollering behind him.

"What is going on?" Duke Adam grumbled as he turned on the light, though his wife was much quicker to react, forcing herself out of bed the moment she heard Chad.

"Shadow?" she called, rising to her feet, concern leaking into her features when he cowered behind her. "What's going on, sweetheart?"

"Is it that cat?" Duke Adam said, which was the last question he got to ask before Mal, Ben, and Jay burst into the room.

"Mom!" Ben pressed when he didn't immediately see Chad, gaze darting around the room. "Did you see Shadow? It's um- it's really important that we- we've got to…"

"Get ahold of yourself, Ben," Duke Adam said, following his wife's lead and getting out of bed. "It couldn't possibly be that important for you to find a cat at-" He frowned at his clock. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Ben…" Duchess Belle's voice was carefully quiet when she spoke up, her billowy nightgown protecting Chad from immediate view. "Did you figure it out?"

"Figure what out?" Duke Adam asked. "Is anyone going to explain what's going on?"

"Chad's Shadow," Ben blurted out, his tone sounding… wrecked, maybe.

"Chad's…" Chad could hear the Duke frowning. "What, like Prince Chad? He's that- your cat?"

At this point, he likely turned to his wife to confirm this, and Duchess Belle was beautifully composed, if a little bit sad.

"How long did you know?" Ben asked.

"A couple weeks," the Duchess admitted. "It was a curse."

"Excuse me," the Duke cut in. "Are you saying someone cursed Prince Chad into a cat?" There was a wave of motion, likely towards his wife. "That cat?"

"That seems to be exactly what happened," Queen Belle said diplomatically. "I had hoped that the curse would be more easily broken if no one knew his true identity but… it seems like that's a moot point, now."

"Mom." Ben sounded so sad, like how he'd been when Mal told him not to cry for him. "Mom please, I just- we need to talk to him."

"You'll talk to him when he's ready," Duchess Belle said, so beautifully firm and composed, and Chad almost believed it. Believed he'd get a choice. "For now, you should go back to bed."

"But-"

"Go to bed, Ben," Duke Adam said, falling in line with his wife's wishes even if he didn't know what was going on. "He deserves not to feel cornered."

There was a painful pause.

"…okay," Ben said, the words barely audible. It was a few seconds more before Chad heard the door close, their footsteps retreating until the only sound he heard was that of the former king and queen's breathing. He hoped he hadn't upset Gil too much.

Distantly, he saw the duchess move, turning and crouching to face him, and Chad found himself darting under her large bed, himself up near the wall and curling into as small a circle as he could manage.

He heard the duchess sigh. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, Chad," she murmured, trying to keep her voice gentle. It was a familiar curl of warmth, one that came from Chad pretending to have a mother, but he didn't have a mother. She was dead, and she'd taken his father with her. He didn't have anyone, and now he never would again, because they knew he was dumb, useless Chad. "Sweetheart, this wasn't your fault."

"It's going to be okay." Chad was surprised when the former king chose to speak, kneeling beside his wife so they could form a united front. "It might not seem like it now, but I know from experience, it will be okay."

No, it wouldn't be. Duke Adam had been transformed into a beast, but he could still talk. He could still do things, and have hands. Chad was just a dumb cat. Easy to boss around, small. Hated by half of the population.

"We're here for you, Chad," Duchess Belle promised. "When you're ready to come out, we're here for you. And when you're ready to see them, you will, and not a moment before."

Chad tried to hold onto that, even though he knew it was a fleeting thing. He had gone into this thinking it was the worst thing that had ever happened to him, and now he was struck with the realization that it could have been the best if they'd never found out. He wasn't meant to be a prince. Acting as a lap cat was all he was good for. Gil had figured that out.

And now here he was, curled up in the darkness once more, waiting for a rescue that wouldn't come.

No one could save him from himself.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Endnotes:

At that was all she wrote :)

Until next time