Chapter 15: Take Two
A few days later, Ralph, dressed in his usual t-shirts and overalls, sat alone in the Ink and Paint Club's backroom, the table and chairs arranged in their usual formation. Staring at his hands forlornly, Ralph sighed as the door opened and Loki entered. For a quiet moment, Loki did nothing but study Ralph as the wrecker raised his head to look at the villain.
"Good day, Ralph," Loki greeted as he gave the wrecker a small smirk and sat down in the chair directly across from him, "How have you been the last few days?"
"Alright," Ralph replied with a shrug, "You?"
"Can't complain," Loki answered, before a sly grin spread across his face, "So, I was actually in the Club this past weekend and I couldn't help but notice a new face among the performers."
"You saw that, huh?" Ralph questioned with a chuckle.
"It was hard to miss," Loki replied, "You put on quite the show."
"I did alright," Ralph said with a dismissive shrug.
"Humility doesn't suit you," Loki commented with a snort, "I couldn't help but notice that you were there with a certain Snow Queen as well."
At this, all traces of a smile vanished from Ralph's features.
"Yeah, she was there," Ralph answered neutrally.
"Were the two of you on a date?" Loki questioned.
"I don't know what it was, man," Ralph replied, his tone becoming irritated as he glared at Loki, "What do you care anyway?"
"I'm just trying to make conversation, Ralph," Loki answered hesitantly.
"Yeah, well, how about you save it for the meeting, huh?" Ralph said before pointedly looking away from Loki, failing to notice the troubled expression that flashed across the villain's features.
Thankfully, the two were saved from having to sit in uncomfortable silence for long by the sound of Hades' loud, boisterous voice coming down the hall towards the room. A moment later, the doors slammed open and Hades and Turbo stepped in, followed by, to Ralph's shock, a pack of other villains.
"And here we are!" Hades declared as he gestured to the room, "Coffee and snacks are on the table, so grab yourselves something then snag a seat."
As Hades finished speaking, he walked by the refreshment table and snatched a cookie before walking over to Ralph who was rising to his feet with a shocked expression.
"Uh, Hades?" Ralph questioned, his eyes darting between the god and the other villains, who were in the process of examining the snack table, grabbing seats or generally milling about, "What's going on?"
"Hey, Ralph!" Hades greeted with a laugh as he stuffed the cookie into his mouth before looping his arm around the wrecker's broad shoulders, "Look, word's been getting around about our little meetings and a couple of my pals were interested. I mean, the more the merrier, right?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess so," Ralph replied, chuckling as he looked around in amazement, "Thanks, Hades."
"Hey, don't thank me, pal," Hades said with a grin, "It's you who've been catching people's attention. Especially after that little show you put on at the open mic night."
At the mention of the event, Ralph's smile slid off his face.
"Say, how did your date go with Little Miss Ice Queen anyway?" Hades questioned, ignorant of Ralph's change in demeanor.
"I don't want to talk about it," Ralph replied as he ducked out from under Hades' arm.
"Oof, that bad, huh?" Hades asked sympathetically before shrugging, "Eh, dames. Who needs them, am I right?"
"Aren't you married?" Ralph questioned in confusion as he lowered himself into his chair.
"Look, Ralph, I'm trying to commiserate with you here," Hades replied, sitting next to Ralph with a frustrated sigh, "Whatever. Forget about Frostylocks. There are plenty of fish in the sea, and before you know it, someone new will walk through the door and into your life."
At that moment, Elsa opened the door and stepped into the room, catching both Ralph and Hades' attention as she glanced around nervously.
"Or, you know, the same exact person will," Hades commented with a shrug.
His eyes going wide with shock, Ralph watched Elsa as she looked around before her gaze fell on him and she blushed. She was currently dressed in a white blouse and blue skirt, with white flats on her feet. As she looked at Ralph she began playing with the end of her hair, which was still done in the same loose ponytail it had been in the last time he saw her. After a moment of staring at Elsa, some instinct fired in the back of Ralph's brain and he shot to his feet, causing his chair to topple over behind him and catching the attention of everyone else in the room. Glancing around, Hades quietly bent down and righted the chair before watching the scene unfold along with everyone else.
"Elsa," Ralph finally managed to choke out.
"Hello, Ralph," Elsa replied as she gave him an awkward smile, "I, uh, hope I'm not interrupting."
"No!" Ralph exclaimed before coughing and covering his mouth as he flushed with embarrassment, "I mean no, we uh, we haven't started yet."
"Oh, uh, good," Elsa said as she glanced away and continued nervously playing with the end of her ponytail, "I was actually, um, hoping to join you. If you don't mind, that is."
It was at this point that not only did Ralph notice that all the eyes of the gathered villains were on him, but had actually been bouncing back and forth between Elsa for the whole conversation, as if they were watching an invisible game of tennis. Taking a calming breath, Ralph turned his attention back towards Elsa, who was awaiting his answer anxiously.
"That would be fine by me," Ralph said, a smirk tugging at the side of his lips as he saw Elsa smile at the answer.
"Wait a minute," Regina spoke up, flinching slightly as everyone's gazes whipped towards her, "Isn't this a meeting for villains?"
"Man, we had this discussion last time when her sister showed up," Turbo replied with a sigh as he took a seat, "I think she's fine."
"Besides, was the Snow Queen not the villain of the story, originally?" Loki added with a smirk.
"Fine, fine," Regina said, holding up her hands in surrender as she grabbed a seat and eyed Ralph, "If it's alright with the gorilla here then I guess it's alright with me."
The glare that Ralph shot towards Regina was interrupted when he noticed Elsa making her way over to him.
"Is this seat taken?" Elsa asked, gesturing to the seat next to Ralph.
"Oh, uh, no, it isn't," Ralph mumbled nervously.
"Great," Elsa replied with a smile as she took the seat with rosy cheeks.
Lowering himself into his own seat, Ralph looked around at the gathered villains, quickly spotting Regina, Ursula, Jafar, Captain Hook, and Mr. Gold among the new faces that Hades had brought in. Once everyone had settled into their seats, Ralph cleared his throat in order to catch their attention.
"So, it looks like we have a lot of new faces here today," Ralph said as he looked around at the gathered villains, "So, let me be the first to welcome you to your first meeting of Bad Guys Anonymous."
Ralph paused for a moment to let his words sink in before rising to his feet.
"So, the first thing we usually do at these things is to start off with the Bad Guy Affirmation," Ralph explained, "So why don't you all stand up and hold hands with the people next to you."
"Seriously?" Ursula questioned with a snort of contempt.
"Come now, my dear," Loki said, flashing a charming smile at Ursula as he rose to his feet and offered her his hand, "I promise I don't bite."
Ursula rolled her eyes at this but stood up nonetheless and took Loki's offered hand, prompting the other villains to do the same. Ralph smiled at the sight before he felt a cool hand slide into his own. Looking down, Ralph found Elsa looking back at him, a small, nervous smile on her face. For a moment, Ralph could do nothing except stare down at Elsa in surprise.
"Hey, uh, Ralph?" Hades muttered from the wrecker's other side, "You gonna do the affirmation thing or what?"
Blinking in surprise, Ralph turned his attention towards the other villains, who were all looking at him expectantly.
"Right, I suppose I should start," Ralph said quickly as his face flushed with embarrassment. Lowering his head, Ralph began the Bad Guy Affirmation, prompting Hades, Turbo and Loki to join in. Once he was finished, everyone retook their seats.
"Alright, that was….fine, I suppose," Gold said as he looked at Ralph expectantly, "Now what?"
"Now we get to the part where we share our feelings," Hades replied with a broad grin.
"Excuse me?" Jafar questioned with a disgusted look.
"What Hades means is this is the part where we talk," Ralph explained, "Tell our stories. Talk about how being a villain, a bad guy, has affected your life. That kind of thing."
"And if this is your first time here, you have to talk," Hades said, pointing an accusatory finger around at his friends, "Those are the rules."
As the others groaned at the idea, Captain Hook surprised them by rising to his feet, a smirk on his face.
"Well, I suppose I'll start us off," Hook said as he bowed dramatically, "My name is Captain James Hook, and I am a bad guy."
With that Hook went into the tale of being born into an English noble family, attending Eton and Balliol College before joining the Royal Navy. Working his way up through the ranks, he served in the Caribean during Queen Anne's War, where he ended up crossing blades with the legendary Blackbeard.
"There was something about old Edward Teach that caught my eye," Hook explained with an almost wistful smile, "He just had a charisma to him that was…..magnetic."
"Is he why you became a pirate?" Turbo questioned curiously.
"I suppose that's obvious," Hook replied with a smirk, "Though it wasn't a simple a thing as I talked to him and became a pirate the next day."
"So what was it that changed you?" Elsa questioned.
"While we were fighting, Blackbeard mentioned something he had found," Hook explained, "He called it the greatest treasure."
"What was it?" Ralph asked.
"Eternal life," Hook answered, "He said he had found Fiddler's Green."
"Fiddler's Green?" Regina questioned with a quirked eyebrow.
"It's like the sailor's afterlife," Hook explained, "Blackbeard claimed that he found a way to get there without dying, and if you're already in the land of the dead, then you can never die."
"Wait, wait, wait, I think I know where this is going," Hades said with a grin, "This Fiddler's Green place, it's Neverland, isn't it?"
"Very astute of you, Hades," Hook replied as he pointed a finger at the god.
"Neverland?" Elsa questioned as he brow knitted together in confusion.
"That's right, you're a new one around here," Hook observed as he grinned at Elsa, "You don't know all the ins and outs yet. Well, to answer your question, Neverland is a magical island, but in many ways, it's another world. A world where time stands still, where no one ever ages. A land of magic and fairies."
Hook paused before chuckling.
"A lot like around here, if we're being honest," he admitted with a shrug, earning chuckles from the other villains.
"Alfheim," Elsa mused with wide eyes, "You're talking about Alfheim. Or at least, that's what my people would call it."
"I suppose I am," Hook agreed with a nod.
"So, that was it?" Regina questioned in amusement, "Blackbeard says he found Fairyland, and you just said, "Oh wow, where do I sign up?""
"Of course not," Hook replied with a roll of his eyes, "When I first heard it, I thought the great Blackbeard had spent too much time at sea and went off the deep end."
"What changed your mind?" Ralph questioned.
"I was there when old Blackbeard met his end," Hook explained, "I was one of the lucky lads who stormed the Queen Anne's Revenge. And what I found is what made it all click."
"What did you find?" Elsa asked.
"Fairies," Hook answered, a note of wonder in his voice, "Bottles holding fairies. It was then that I realized that Blackbeard had been telling the truth. He had found Fiddler's Green."
"What did you do then?" Ralph prompted.
"Well, I wasn't the only one who saw the fairies, and word started to spread around amongst the crew," Hook explained, "It quickly became apparent that I seemed to have an idea about what Blackbeard had been up to, so they started coming to me looking for guidance. It was then that I decided that maybe I could get something more out of life than just serving in His Majesty's Navy."
"So….mutiny?" Hades ventured with a grin.
"Indeed," Hook replied with a smile of his own, "My men and I seized one of the Navy's ships, along with Blackbeard's fairies and effects, renamed the ship the Jolly Roger, and set sail to Fiddler's Green."
"So, was Neverland everything you hoped it be?" Regina questioned.
"Well, it was the land that old age could not touch," Hook answered with a nod before his expression turned annoyed, "But it was also full of killer mermaids, giant crocodiles and Pan."
Hook sighed as a small grin crossed his face.
"And the rest, they say, is history," Hook finished, holding up his hook hand and shaking it for emphasis, earning a round of chuckles from the rest of the villains.
"Thanks for sharing that with us, Captain Hook," Ralph said with a nod.
"Though I was wondering something," Elsa spoke up, bringing Hook's attention to her, "How did you lose your hand? If you don't mind me asking, that is."
"No trouble at all, Your Majesty," Hook replied with a gracious nod, "After all, most know the tale already. It's hardly a secret. You see, a young boy by the name of Peter Pan cut my hand off and fed it to a crocodile."
"That's….awful," Elsa said, a look of shock on her face.
"In his defense, I was trying to capture all the fairies in Neverland," Hook explained with a shrug, "I was working under Blackbeard's mistaken impression that it was the fairies that made one immortal, when it was Neverland itself. By the time I realized his error, revenge had become the principal of the matter."
"Eh, if you ask me, that Pan kid is a brat anyway," Hades observed with a grin.
From there, the rest of the group went went around and gave their own stories. Regina told them about growing up in a small village where she learned magic from a local hedge witch, who helped her catch the eye of the king. Jafar explained how he crawled his way up from being a street rat in the back alleys of Agrabah to becoming the sultan's vizier. Ursala talked about how she grew up being judged by the people of Atlantica for her appearance, her anger over which eventually brought her into conflict with her brother, King Triton, leading to her expulsion from the underwater kingdom. Mr. Gold spoke of how he was abandoned by his parents, and how his own cowardice and desire to protect his son led to him taking on the power of the Dark One, which cost him more than he bargained for.
As Gold retook his seat, Ralph cleared his voice and smiled at the group.
"Thanks for sharing, Mr. Gold," Ralph said as he nodded towards the villain, "Really, I have to thank all of you for coming and sharing your stories. I have to admit, when I first started this group, I don't think I ever imagined I'd have this many of you here."
"Trust me, Ralph," Regina said with a smirk, "I'm just as surprised to be here as you are."
"Still, this has been pretty interesting," Hades commented, "I don't think I've ever heard half of those stories."
"You haven't?" Elsa asked in surprise, "Aren't you all friends?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we talk about this kind of stuff," Ursala replied with a dismissive snort.
"Speaking of which," Loki said with a grin as he pointed at Elsa, "Isn't it your turn to share?"
"Oh, right," Elsa replied as her expression turned anxious, "I….I suppose it is."
Quietly, Elsa rose to her feet and looked around at the villains as she nervously rubbed her hands together until her gaze fell on Ralph. Ralph looked back at Elsa's pleading gaze for a moment before a small smile spread across his face.
"It's okay," Ralph said quietly, "Just like you told me, remember?"
Thinking about what Ralph had said, Elsa nodded and gave him a small smile before she took a calming breath and turned her attention back to the gathered villains.
"My name is Queen Elsa of Arendelle," Elsa said, "And I suppose in a lot of ways, I'm a bad guy too."
From there, Elsa retold the story of her childhood and the events leading up to her coronation and the fallout of everything that happened afterwards. When she was done, Elsa looked around at the gathered villains and was surprised to find that she had their rapt attention.
"Wait, wait, wait, hold on," Turbo spoke up, a confused look on his face, "I've heard this story twice now and I feel like we skipped a part of the story."
"Why is that?" Elsa asked, her brow furrowed.
"Because you left out how, exactly, you got your powers in the first place," Turbo explained.
"Oh, I see," Elsa replied with an embarrassed smile, "The truth is that I don't know. As far as I can tell, I've always had my powers. I think I might have been born with them."
"So wait, you've always had these powers?" Turbo observed, "And your parents made you repress them?"
"My powers were dangerous," Elsa replied, clearly surprised by the question, "I needed to protect people, especially my sister, from them."
"Your powers were only dangerous because you didn't know how to use them," Regina countered, "Your parents telling you not to use them almost sent your whole country into a new Ice Age."
"If the people knew what I could do, they would have been afraid of me," Elsa argued, the line sounding like something she had rehearsed more than something she actually believed.
"You mean the same people who embraced you when you figured out how to get your powers under control?" Loki observed with a smirk.
"I….I don't know what you're all trying to say," Elsa said, her expression stricken, "My parents loved me."
"Oh, honey, no," Ursula replied with a sad shake of her head and a knowing look, "Your parents loved parts of you. Trust me, I know. I've been there."
The statement seemed to strike Elsa like a physical blow and she rocked back on her heels before slowly sinking back into her seat.
"Alright, I think that's enough for today," Ralph spoke up, looking at Elsa with clear concern as he held up a hand to get the others to stop.
"Ralph's right," Hades agreed as he rose to his feet with a look of chagrin on his face, "I think we should all get out of here before we break the new girl."
With that, the other villains also rose to their feet and began making their way out of the room, a few of them glancing at Elsa with concern as she sat with a lost look on her face. Loki in particular lingered at the door for a moment, glancing between Ralph and Elsa for a moment before leaving. Once the villains had left, Ralph turned to look at Elsa with a concerned expression.
"Are you….okay?" Ralph asked hesitantly.
"I…." Elsa began to reply before pausing to blink a few times and sigh, "I think so. I've just been given a great deal to think about."
"Sorry about that," Ralph replied as he scratched the back of his head, "I didn't think they'd, you know, say stuff like that."
"They didn't do anything wrong, Ralph," Elsa assured him with a small smile, "They were honest in their opinions. I can't fault them for that."
"Still, I'm sure that's not what you were expecting when you came here today," Ralph replied with a small chuckle.
"No," Elsa agreed as her expression turning nervous as she placed her other concerns aside, and began worrying her bottom lip, "I came here for a completely different reason, in all honesty."
"What reason is that?" Ralph questioned with a quirked eyebrow.
"I owe you an apology, Ralph," Elsa said as she rose to her feet.
"An apology for what?" Ralph asked in confusion.
"For the way I treated you the other night," Elsa explained, looking away from Ralph as she wrapped her arms around herself, "I wasn't….I wasn't honest with you."
"How weren't you honest with me?" Ralph questioned, a feeling of trepidation building in his chest.
"When we…." Elsa began, before her voice faded away and a look of frustration formed on her features, "What I mean is…."
Groaning, Elsa buried her face in her hands.
"Hey, Elsa," Ralph said with concern as he took a step towards the queen, "It's alright."
"No, it's not," Elsa replied with a bitter laugh as she lowered her hands, "I'm a full-grown woman and a queen on top of that. I should be able to talk about my feelings in front of people without turning into a sputtering schoolgirl."
"Well, just remember you're not in front of people," Ralph replied as he gestured at the mostly empty room, "It's just me here."
"But that's the problem," Elsa replied before sighing, "And it also isn't."
"What do you mean?" Ralph asked in confusion.
"In the little time I've spent time with you, I've felt like I can….I don't know, be myself," Elsa explained as she rested her hands on the back of her neck, "Not the Snow Queen, or the ruler of Arendelle, but me. Elsa. That's something I've only ever felt with my sister."
"Wow," Ralph said, blinking in surprise, "I, uh, I don't know what to say."
"Then just let me keep talking before I lose my nerve," Elsa replied with a friendly smile, "Because though I acted otherwise, I know what you actually wanted to tell me the other night."
"I don't-" Ralph began to say, a feeling of dread constricting his heart.
"You were going to tell me you like me," Elsa pressed, cutting Ralph off, "Romantically."
Ralph went stock still at this, his eyes going wide as Elsa lowered her hands and cupped them behind her back.
"Elsa, I'm sorry," Ralph sputtered, his large hands fidgeting, "I can-"
"I like you too," Elsa interrupted, her cheeks red but her gaze locked with Ralph's, an earnest expression on her face, "Romantically, that is."
Ralph seemed to have trouble processing what Elsa had just said to him, and blinked owlishly at her.
"You….You do?" Ralph asked after he had taken a moment to process everything.
"Yes," Elsa replied as she bashfully turned her gaze towards her feet, "I think you're funny, and sweet, and braver than I could ever hope to be."
Raising her gaze, Elsa's face turned almost entirely red as she smiled at Ralph.
"And on top of all that, you're quite handsome," Elsa continued.
This statement seemed to strike Ralph dumb and he merely stared at Elsa for a few moments.
"But I understand if you don't feel the same anymore," Elsa went on, her expression turning sad as she dropped her gaze again, "After how I acted, I'm sure-"
"I absolutely, positively still like you," Ralph quickly interrupted.
It was now Elsa's turn to stare at Ralph in surprise.
"Romantically," Ralph added as he stared back at Elsa.
"Oh," Elsa finally said as she reached up and began playing with her ponytail, "That's….good."
Another quiet moment passed as the two stared at each other. Then, all of sudden, Ralph let out a snort that quickly devolved into laughter, which in turn sent Elsa into a fit of giggles which she tried to suppress with her hand, all the previous tension leaving their bodies.
"This is weird, isn't it?" Ralph asked once he managed to catch his breath, "Having this all out in the open, I mean."
"Yes, it's….it's weird," Elsa agreed as she regained her composure, "I've spent so long worrying about this that to have it all come out and everything be fine is….strange."
"So, what do we do now?" Ralph asked as he scratched the back of his head.
"Well, I suppose we endeavor to spend more time together," Elsa replied with a shrug, "Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"
"Absolutely," Ralph replied with a broad grin before he glanced around and grimaced, "I have to clean this room up first, though."
"I'll help you!" Elsa quickly volunteered as she made her way over to the snack table, "That way, we'll be done in no time."
Nodding his head in agreement, Ralph went to work collecting the folding chairs while Elsa began clearing off the snack table. As Ralph brought the folding chairs over to a stack in the corner, he glanced over his shoulder at Elsa, who just so happened to glance over at him.
Their gazes met, and they smiled.
A/N: Finally got around to writing the next chapter! Definitely had fun writing the character interactions in this one. Hope you all liked it! As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!