Ever since she had been old enough to comprehend her mother's might, Jana had desired nothing more than to be like her. She had a way with words, making them sound soft like snow, concealing the coldness under the veneer of kindness. She was intelligent, able to think of contingencies that others could only dream of. She truly was the ultimate villain in Jana's mind, without a single flaw to boast of.
Well, almost no flaws.
Jana gritted her teeth as Jane blathered on. She had long since stopped paying attention to the bumbling idiot, choosing instead to stretch out on the unbelievably soft mattress and stare at the ceiling, wondering what in the name of Narnia she did to deserve this punishment. She hadn't done anything yet, that was all her mother! Yet she was the one being punished? Totally fair.
"Dinner will be served soon, and I assume you will want to go and see your friends — not that I don't want to hang out with you! That's not it at all!" She gushed, her eyes becoming comically wide as she waved her hands around like some idiotic Narnian. "I totally want to hang out with you! I love being your roommate and—"
"Relax, I know what you meant." she drawled, barely able to keep the irritation out of my voice.
"Oh, well, that's good then!" She chirped, before trailing off. Jana rolled over and internally rolled her eyes as Jane fidgeted with the skirt in her lap. "Are you wanting to eat with me or?"
If she wasn't that stupid fairy's daughter, I would be out of here. She thought.
"Yea sure, just let me freshen up first." She said, trying to keep her annoyance hidden.
She just wanted to chill with Nadine and Evie, not this bimbo.
"Oh yes of course! The bathroom is—"
"The only other door in this room? Yea, I figured that." Jana snapped, unable to stop herself.
She turned her head to hide the smirk when she saw the overly chipper girls face fall. Mum would be so proud.
Jane got up and sauntered to the bathroom, feeling Jane's eyes on her as she strolled. Adding a slight sway to her hips she grinned, reveling in the attention. Jane may not be anything compared to Nadine, Delara—The daughter of the Queen of Hearts— and Freddie Facilier, but hey, a girl can appreciate attention.
Pausing at the door, Jana turned around to look at her, letting her light hair sway down my back. "See you soon," she said, winking before striding in, leaving the girl blushing on the bed.
Point one for Jana.
The walk to the cafeteria was mostly silent, with only Gil and Samson really talking. Evie was up front with Doug, delighting in all the ways she could make him blush. Mal and Uma stuck close to their boyfriends, muttering occasionally, with Carlos's walking with Gil and Samson, adding to the conversation occasionally.
"Hey Evie," Gil called out, visibly gulping when the bluenette beauty turned around and began walking backwards so she could face him, a teasing smile on her lips.
"Yes, Gil?" She asked innocently, her eyes sparkling.
"Where's Kyra and Tynan? I was just telling Samson here about them." Gil said, jamming a thumb in his friends' direction.
"Yea, not everyday you meet a chick who hangs out with big cats for fun." Samson grinned back, his hair flopping into his eyes.
"Ky wanted to rest, she was tired and wasn't in the mood to deal with people gawking at her." She paused, a small smile settling on her lips before she began to talk again. "Though she made me promise to reach out to her if I needed her. Tynan is still flying around last I checked, he is enjoying the lack of smog."
With that she smiled sweetly before turning around, her skirt and hair billowing around her.
"There you go, maybe you can meet them later." Gil said, smiling happily.
"I'd like that, I have a thing for big cats." Samson replied, a knowing gleam in his eyes.
Carlos looked at him like he had just told him that the sky was made of cheese. How could anyone like animals? They were vicious and horrible and made the best coats. Helping his mother sew the furs together from the animals she caught on the island was one of his few favourite pastimes. He managed to hide the natural shudder that slithered down his body at the thought of their beady eyes. Yea… animals can never be trusted.
"Alright everyone, we are here. Now, we will need to be in a single line and—"
"Yea, yea Doug, move aside." Uma sighed, strutting through the group and striding through the doors, giving anyone who dared to look at her a shark-like smirk.
Oh, she was going to enjoy this.
"Ye heard teh lass, move aside lad," Harry said, pushing his way forward, his usual devil-may-care grin on his face, a tinge of insanity seeping through the expression.
Sighing, Doug gave up as the group lined up. The boys, including Mal and Uma threw themselves into the food with gusto; filling their plates up so much the food wobbled precariously as they walked. Jay and Harry, unbeknownst to anyone else, had slipped extras into their pockets, for safe keeping.
Luckily for them, their host families had already informed them on how this all went, so with their plates full that turned around and scoured the cafeteria, giving smirks at any Auradonian's who looked at their direction.
Evie however slowly picked up a bowl, her hands shaking as she carefully half-filled it was salad. Her mind was screaming at her, jeering at her, yelling the number of calories she was going to be putting into her body. It overwhelmed her, her entire body tensing as it reacted to the plethora of food in front of her. How could people eat that much? There were so many calories there! 45 in the apple alone, not to mention at least a hundred in her own bowl. Her breath was coming out in jagged pants, and she had retreated so far into her own head that she flinched when warmth leeched into her bare arm from the hand resting on it.
"Hey, Evie, just letting you know we have found a table." Carlos said gently, his brown eyes allowing the startled girl a glimpse of his concern. "You, okay?" He asked, feeling like he was hacking up a brick as he fought to get the words out.
Evie blinked before straightening up, flicking her hair behind her with her trademark teasing grin. "Of course! Just got lost in thought in all, there are so many interesting fashions here!" She said, slipping into the role of bubbly airhead as easily as she slipped into any other role her mother instilled in her.
Carlos raised a brow but nodded, not really caring enough to push it. Sure, the girl had given him his first pillow and had been respectful to him, but he didn't owe her anymore than he already gave. Hell, on the Isle that would have been enough to get him shanked.
Or at least ridiculed.
"Okay, sure. Let's go." He said, walking over to the table.
Evie took a deep breath and ensured her fake smile was stable before following him. Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed Jana come in with a brunette who was blathering on. Evie paused and raised a brow at her friend when she glanced in her direction, wordlessly asking if she needed help. Jana imperceptibly shook her head, before once again pretending to listen to the other girl.
"Took you long enough, was starting to wonder if you didn't have enough braincells to find your way over here," Uma sneered as Evie walked over, taking a seat between Carlos and a guy she didn't recognise.
"You been working on that one since the Isle?" Evie snipped back, raising a delicate eyebrow at Ursula's scion.
"Oh, I'll show you what I've been working on you—"
"Anyway, I'll introduce you guys to everyone now that Evie is here." Samson interrupted smoothly, allowing Harry a chance to wrap an arm around his girlfriend and whisper to her in a bid to calm her down.
"This is Jalen and Paytah Smith, twin sons of John Smith and Pocahontas and their younger sister is Pahukumaa Rolfe, daughter of John Rolfe and Pocahontas, who I'm sure you'll see around." Samson said, about to continue.
"Wait, I thought she ended up with the second John?" Gil asked, his eyebrows knitting together.
"Mum had two soul etches, soul marks showing her soul mates in layman's terms." Paytah said, brushing a hand through his straight dark brown hair.
"Yea so mum is with both of them. Had us first then Kuma." Jalen explained, his brown hair the exact same shade as his twins, just cropped a bit shorter in a more European style.
"Like Eric and Ariel?" Harry asked, ignoring the eye raises.
"Yup, exactly like them." Paytah replied, grinning at the pirate.
"This is Henry Turner, son of Elizabeth Swan and Will Turner."
The guy gave a small nod with a whisper of a smile, before tucking back into his meal.
"And last but not least is Makai, son of one of Moana's cousins." The guy looked up and waved, his hair closely cropped.
"Are ye all lads of the sea?" Harry asked, excitement glittering in his eyes. "Ye parents all were."
"Yea, we are all sailors. Often go sailing on the weekend." Henry explained, canting his head slightly. "Are you a sailor?"
Harry brightened, launching into an epic tale about his father and his adventures. By the end of the tale, most of the table had gone quiet, the boys exchanging uneasy looks as the scion of Captain James Hook, one of the most infamous pirate jabbered on about the exploits of his father.
"Da an Barbossa—"
"Okay I think that is enough story time, why don't you guys tell us how you are enjoying our beloved school?" Samson suggested, a slight twinge of sarcasm coating the word beloved.
The others devolved into conversation, but Evie stayed silent. She nodded and smiled when needed, even chuckled a couple times. Her attention however stayed firmly on the bowl of salad in front of her, the vegetables taunting her as she shifted them around with her fork. Every now and then she would make the dreaded journey of sparing a piece of lettuce or cucumber—vegetables with the least calories— and bring them to her mouth, trying hard to not wince as she took each bite, before swallowing what felt like lead.
"So, Evie—"
"You!" A person screamed, the tone sounding akin to a barrel full of broken glass.
All eyes turned as Audrey stormed through the cafeteria, making a beeline for the bluenette who just watched her calmly. Her expression didn't change even as Aubrey stood in her space, her arms crossed and her foot tapping, a look of pure thunder on her face.
"Yes, Aubrey?" Evie asked politely, deliberately messing up the princess's name.
Aubrey growled, her hands falling to her sides and swiftly bawled. "It is Princess Audrey, peasant, not Aubrey." She snapped, her temper wiping away any niceness she usually had.
"Oh, my mistake. What can I do for you?" Evie asked, canting her head to the side with a sweet smile on her face.
"I want to know why your things are in my room. My parents gave the school very clear instructions and will not be happy to hear they have deviated." Audrey said, her tone going back to being saccharinely sweet.
Evie just smiled, making sure her expression looked innocent. In truth, she wasn't exactly thrilled with her rooming situation, but if it annoyed this brat of a girl, well, who was she too to question the good fortune?
Before she could reply, the headmistresses buzzed over, her high-pitched voice trilling around the room like bird song. Mal made no effort to hide her eyeroll at the woman's ridiculously high-pitched voice and stared out with disinterest as she sidled up to the pair.
"Now, now, what is the matter? Nothing a bibbity bobbity boo cannot fix, I'm sure." She said, giggling at the end of her sentence.
By this point Jana had made her way over, standing behind Evie with her arms crossed.
"Audrey apparently just found out our rooming arrangement and is less than impressed." Evie said, her tone almost bored.
"Headmistress, my parents are willing to let them use our cottage for their magic training, but they specifically requested that I room alone." She paused, sending the group a scathing glare. "And they especially did not want me sharing a room with and Isler."
The boys and Uma growled at her comment, not appreciating the condescension in her tone.
"Audrey can't you just—"
"What's going on here? Is everything okay?" Prince Ben asked, striding through the circle of students to get to his girlfriend's side.
His gaze travelled from Audrey to the blue haired spitfire, lingering a moment before glancing at Mal, the girl gnashing her teeth in reply.
"Audrey has discovered that Evie is her roommate, and she is not exactly…" Samson paused. "Thrilled." He finished, deadpan.
"Understatement of the year," Uma muttered, getting a chuckle from the others.
"Audrey, unfortunately there is not much we can do, there isn't anymore rooms free." The headmistress apologised, hiding her discomfort as she gazed between the scion of two royals and the daughter of one of the evilest villains on the Isle. "I suppose if someone wished to switch…"
"I can switch with her, and Jana and Evie can room together if you like, mum." Jane offered, biting her lower lip as she glanced between her mother and Jana, her gaze lingering on the latter.
"Thank you my dear, that may—"
"No!" Mal snapped, standing up and slamming her hands on the table. All eyes turned to her, and she bit her lip, inwardly cursing Audrey's entire heritage as she tried to work a way out of this.
"What she means to say is that it is likely best for Jana to stay with such a nice girl, it will be the best for her rehabilitation." Evie said, shooting Mal a scathing look.
"Yea, sure, that's what I meant." Mal muttered, rolling her eyes as Jay gently guided her back to her seat.
"Dre, I know It's not ideal, but can you maybe stick it out? Please?" Ben asked, resting his hand on his girlfriend's waist.
Audrey looked up at him, her careful mask cracking at the beseeching expression filling her boyfriend's eyes. Sure, she hated this witch and wanted nothing to do with her, but if she didn't at least try, how could she call herself his girlfriend? Much less a future queen.
Sighing, she gave him a small nod. "Okay, but only if you promise to look into another solution." She compromised, making a relieved grin cross Ben's face.
He leaned down and pecked her forehead, whispering a small "thank you," into her hair.
"Are there any single rooms available? Even something that is small and boring. As long as I can have my familiars, I don't mind." Evie said, playing the part of the helpful princess.
An indistinguishable expression crossed the headmistress's face before she wiped it off. "I shall look into it, though I can't promise it will be anything grand. Though I suppose we can do it up." She paused, tapping a finger on her chin. "I will contract your guardian and make a plan, though the arrangements will take a while."
Evie just smiled, making the headmistress smile softly back. "It's okay, take as much time as you need." She paused, shooting Audrey a mischievous look. "In the meantime, me and my roomie will just have to get to know each other better, now, won't we?"
Audrey shot her a scathing look but didn't comment, knowing this was the best she could hope for.
With that settled, Ben gently led Audrey away, casting an apologetic look back at Evie and Mal. Evie smirked and Mal rolled her eyes, scoffing at the prince. The crowd thinned and everyone returned to their tables, Evie following their example and taking her seat.
"You okay, E?" Jana asked, resting her hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Yea, I'm fine. I'll come and see you later." Evie said, and Jana nodded, saying goodbye before striding off.
There was an awkward silence amongst the table, with only the scrape of cutlery on plates breaking it.
"So…" Jay trailed off, drawing all eyes to him. "Dinner and a show? Very classy. You Auradon people go all out."
His words cut through the silence, causing everyone to chuckle. Gradually conversation started up, and Evie returned to picking at her food, and ignoring the glower that pierced through her back for the rest of dinner.
Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long, had a few personal things come up. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I had fun writing it. I'm not sure when I'll update again but will try too soon.