It took forever but here is chapter six!
True to her word, the next morning, a box arrived at Scarlett's door. Scarlett thanked the person that brought it to her, carrying it to her bed and pulling it open. Inside she found a red and white sundress. She glanced out the window at the bright sunny day and nodded, this would be just about perfect.
She pulled the dress out of the box and held it up to her body, moving so she could see herself in the mirror. She had no idea how they did it but it seemed to be exactly the right size. Maybe a tiny bit short, but that might have been on purpose. Scarlett carefully draped the dress back over the bed, she had a couple of hours before they were going to all meet down in the garden for the party. She headed for the shower, getting in under the spray of water.
Dinner the night before had been fine. Nothing that interesting had happened. Richard had talked about his day, obviously keeping an eye on Chad to make sure he was listening to him. It hadn't really hit Scarlett until that moment that eventually, Chad was going to be doing his dad's job. Eventually he would be in charge. She wasn't entirely sure how any of this worked but the royal families that weren't Ben's acted as governors of their lands. They got a say in how Auradon was run, though at the end of the day it was Ben's call.
It was all political and confusing and something Chad was going to have to start working on. Scarlett wasn't sure what she was going to be doing with herself. Chad and his mother both stressed to her that she didn't have to pay her way around there. She didn't need to worry about getting a job or anything but Scarlett didn't want to do that. She didn't want to get a hand out… she just had no idea what she could do.
That was a problem for another day, Scarlett reminded herself as she stepped out of the shower. Today she had something just as scary as an unknown future to worry about, royal women and their daughters.
She got herself cleaned up, she didn't look as good as she did when Audrey had fixed her up but this was about the best she could do for herself. She did some light make up then went to change into the dress. It did, in fact, fit perfectly, she checked herself out in the mirror, doing a full turn. She wasn't usually a dress person, but this looked good. She was starting to wonder if maybe she was a dress person. She found her one nice pair of shoes that, thankfully, were white so they went with the dress and with a noon-time garden party.
She finished getting ready and headed out of her room, she had been careful the day before to avoid getting lost and she found that embracing her wolf nature actually helped, because she could scent out Chad and Cinderella easily. Chad's grandfather too because he smelled like tobacco. She hadn't caught on to Richard's scent yet but she figured with time she'd get it. That method was ruined today, however, because there were too many people and too much food. When she thought she got a whiff of Cinderella it would turn into sour cream.
So she followed that. She figured the kitchens were as good a place as any to find someone to help her.
"Scarlett?" Cinderella called as Scarlett was making her way through the halls. She whirled, letting out a sigh of relief when she recognized the woman.
"This place-"
"Is huge. You get used to it. I like to use the pictures as landmarks. They don't change." Cinderella advised.
"Good to know." Scarlett let Cinderella lead her out to the back of the castle where the gardens were.
"Everyone's going to be here soon." Cinderella was saying. "They will be brought directly back here." She went to take a seat at one of the two tables. "I know you and Audrey are friends so I put her and her grandma here by you." That was when Scarlett noticed the name cards. There were a few tables set up, one was obviously for them to sit at to eat and the other was for the food.
"It's a buffet?" Scarlett asked.
"Yes, I know it's unconventional, but it's so much easier than remembering who doesn't like what and making sure the plates are perfect." Cinderella shrugged a single shoulder. "The waiters will come around and make sure everyone's glasses remain full. Next time I plan an event like this I'll have you help me. It's a good skill to have, party planning."
Oh. That was what the wives of the royals did. They planned parties. Scarlett felt her heart sink into her stomach. Nope, she was a terrible planner. She pushed that worry away like she had with all the others, it was something to think about later. First she had to get through this party then she could handle her other anxieties.
The first people to arrive were Rapunzel. She was alone.
"You didn't bring the twins?" Cinderella was asking.
"No, I figured you'd want your garden intact after the party. They're… destructive. They take after their father." Rapunzel grinned.
"Scarlett, this is Rapunzel. Rapunzel, this is Scarlett, she's Chad's girlfriend."
"Nice to meet you." Rapunzel held out her hand and Scarlett shook it. "Next time I'll be sure to bring the twins. That'll put any grandkids you might have had off for a few years." She teased Cinderella.
"Rapunzel has five year old twin boys." Cinderella explained.
"Wow." Rapunzel laughed at Scarlett's reaction and went to check out the food options. A moment later another couple of people came out of the castle, Almost as if they timed it, Merida and her son Mackenzie, Elsa, Anna and their kids and Alice with her kids came through, each of them arriving almost as soon as they'd finished greeting the one before them.
"Scarlett!" Audrey came rushing out and hugged her best friend.
"Wow- hey Audrey." Scarlett managed to avoid falling backwards.
"I realized last night this is the first time in months I haven't slept in the same room as you."
"I missed you too." Scarlett promised. "Hi." She glanced past Audrey to her Grandma.
"Hello Scarlett dear. Audrey has been rushing me all morning to get out here."
"I wanted to be early so you could show me your room." Audrey commented.
"I'll show you after lunch." Scarlett promised.
"Perfect."
"Cinderella, hi!" They all turned to see Snow White and her daughter Samantha walking out towards the group. Scarlett had seen Samantha around the school, she was a year younger than them, but did have math class together because Scarlett had done so poorly on the math tests.
"Snow." Cinderella went to hug her.
"I'll see you at the table." Scarlett hugged Audrey again and they headed to the table, leaving Snow and Samantha with Cinderella and Scarlett.
"You must be Scarlett." Snow looked her up and down.
"Yeah mom, I told you, we had math together." Samantha reminded her mother.
"We did." Scarlett confirmed.
"But weren't you a year ahead of her?" Snow asked. Scarlett quirked an eyebrow.
"I was, still am, I guess."
"But you were in the same math class, interesting." Snow looked thoughtful. "Well, I suppose you won't have a lot of math to do now. Cindy, did you cater from the same place you had before? They had the best macaroni." Scarlett stared at Snow White, her brain scrambling to figure out what had just happened. Finally they were all able to go serve themselves and take a seat.
Scarlett had honestly meant to keep her plate small but she'd missed breakfast and the food smelled so good, so instead she loaded her plate up like she usually would and when she sat down, quickly saw she was alone in that, except for Merida, who had close to the same amount, but not quite.
"Wow, hungry?" Snow asked. Scarlett picked up her fork.
"Always." She answered before starting to eat. Snow sniffed and started to eat.
Audrey sat next to Scarlett and began to eat her own food, letting her ankle bump against Scarlett's. Scarlett looked up and Audrey nodded towards Samantha and Snow, who were watching her. Scarlett paused, taking a moment to wipe her mouth.
"Yes?" She asked.
"Nothing." Snow smiled.
"Just waiting to see if you stop to take a breath." Samantha replied.
"Nope." Scarlett quipped before going back to eating. Audrey let out a laugh.
Soon enough everyone had finished eating and the plates were all taken away so everyone could sit around and talk.
"So, Audrey, Samantha tells me you're seeing… one of the VKs?" Snow White asked.
"Yes, I'm dating Jay."
"And his parents are?"
"His father is Jafar." Audrey picked up her cup of tea and took a sip. "Owns a shop on the Isle actually. Jay says his dad is proud of the full ride scholarship he got."
"That's nice. I suppose he would need one. I was always curious what Ben's plan was for the VKs when they finished school-"
"King Ben." Scarlett corrected.
"Excuse me?"
"King Ben. Ben is your king. One who's girlfriend is a VK. Of course he wouldn't send them back to the Isle after school." Scarlett shook her head.
"Of course not." Snow White agreed, sipping her own tea. Scarlett turned to look at Audrey, who was still holding her tea cup to her mouth.
"Of course not." Scarlett repeated, crossing her legs.
"Does he have any plans to bring more over?" Merida asked. Audrey nodded, putting the cup down.
"Yes, Jay says that Ben's plan is to start bringing more VKs over since they were such a success. I'm not sure how many or when, but that's the basics."
"Is your father on the Isle?" Samantha asked Scarlett.
"Excuse me?"
"The Big Bad Wolf, right? That's what everyone at school said."
"No. The Big Bad Wolf isn't my dad. My mom was like ten when all that happened." Scarlett shook her head. "She never saw the Big Bad Wolf again." She met a new big bad wolf, but no one here needed to know that.
"So who is?"
"Some guy named Tobias." Scarlett looked over at them. "He was dead before I was born." At least that's what Rose had told her. "My mother decided she couldn't raise a child on her own so she left me with my Grandmother."
"Oh? And where is your Grandmother? Or your mother for that matter?"
"My Grandmother is dead and my mother is minding her own business, a fantastic practice that I recommend." Scarlett stared Snow White down, Snow's cheeks turned pink at that.
"I was just curious."
"I see that." Scarlett nodded.
"Enough interrogation, Elsa, you said that your daughter was starting at Auradon soon?" Cinderella redirected the conversation.
Scarlett shook her head, looking out into the wood behind the castle. Yeah, this was annoying but Chad was worth it. Completely worth it.