Chapter 7 – Eleven Months Ago

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11 Months Ago

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"You know," Uma spoke up suddenly, sprawled across the bed that had somehow became theirs as she flipped through a magazine Queen Rapunzel had gotten her. "When we finally get this mess cleaned up, I'm gonna introduce you to my crew."

"You mean Harry and Gil?" Chad asked, perking up from his spot at the desk, finishing some last-minute bookwork. Just because he was busy trying to improve the united kingdoms didn't mean he could slack on his actual summer school work, much to Uma's protests. At least it seemed like something was paying off, because most of the test quizzes he'd gotten back from Ruby came back with perfect scores. He'd been afraid that they were too easy, but Queen Rapunzel had already assured him that they were adequately difficult, which meant he was getting smarter.

"And all the rest," Uma hummed, lazily flipping to the next page. "But yeah, mostly them."

"That'd be nice," Chad said, excited by the prospect of meeting the two individuals Uma spoke of most often. As far as Chad could tell, Harry and Gil were Uma's guiding lights when her own ambition wasn't quite enough to pull her through.

"The dumb thing is that you mean it," Uma scoffed, letting her head shift restlessly against the pillow.

"Of course I mean it," Chad said, frowning. "They're your most important people. I would be honored to meet them."

"And you mean that too," she groaned, looking up at the ceiling as though searching for patience. "How do you do it?" she asked, turning to give him a considering look. "How do you be so good all the time?"

"I don't," Chad replied honestly. "Most of the time, I'm not. I just… try."

It was all Chad could do, sometimes. It was what he had spent his life doing, and coming up short from.

"Such a princely response," Uma decided, the words leaving her in a sigh. "Could be worse, though. I could be stuck doing this with Mal."

"Mal's not so bad," Chad felt the need to defend, shoulders hunching as he thought of the awkward distance that seemed to linger between them ever since Chad 'broke up' with Jay.

"You say that," Uma began with a drawl. "But you don't know her."

"I know she was trying to do her best," Chad said, refusing to back down where he normally would. "I know how hard she worked to put on a good showing for the Isle kids, I know how much networking she did to put minds at ease. I know… I know that Ben failed her." The words hurt to say, but Chad couldn't deny them anymore. "He failed all of you. And that isn't fair, but we're going to fix it."

"So…" Uma narrowed her eyes in a considering look. "You friends with Mal, then?"

Only in his figurative dreams.

"No," Chad sighed. "We were associates, but not friends."

Chad didn't exactly have friends. Sometimes he wondered if Uma counted, but he never knew.

The captain hummed. "Hey, stop doing that boring stuff and come over here."

"Why?" Chad asked, but he put his book down anyway. Sometimes it was better to listen to Uma, and besides, he deserved the break.

"Because if we talk about Mal some more I'm going to barf," she declared as he crossed back towards the bed, grunting when she tugged him down beside her. They didn't touch, not really – Uma wasn't that type of person, but she did allow their arms to graze each other, and that alone was more than enough for Chad. "Besides, I wanna tell you more about my crew."

"I'd like that," Chad whispered, knowing that this was partially to help Uma deal with her homesickness but-

Well, she was still sharing, with him. And that combined with the shell necklace resting against his chest made the offer that much more poignant.

"Of course you would," Uma scoffed, but she was smiling, secretly pleased by the confirmation. "Now, first we've got Harry, and I'll be honest, the guy's probably going to be an asshole because that's just his nature, and then he'll be a flirt – but he's loyal to a fault, and clever and entirely fearless. He probably won't like you at first because he doesn't like anyone outside of the crew, but once he learns that you helped me, he'll come around. Or, I'll make him come around."

Chad shivered, grateful for the attention, and then Uma continued.

"Next is Gil," she said with a grin. "He's like – the opposite of Harry. Gilly is our sunshine and joy. Guy's always happy, even when everything is awful. He's not that smart, but he's loyal and strong and knows how to lift the crew's spirits when things get low. He'll like you because I like you, and that's enough for him."

"You like me?" Chad asked, almost overwhelmed by the possibility.

Uma let out a soft scoff. "Don't get a big head about it," she said. "You're the least awful person I've met here."

"Uh-huh." Chad allowed himself to grin. "I'm sure you don't like Queen Rapunzel or King Eugene at all."

"You would suppose correctly," Uma sniffed, but he could see her smiling, because the rulers of Corona had totally grown on Uma with their relentless care and support and easy offerings of respect. "Now quiet, I've got to make it through the rest of the crew before I tell you our greatest triumphs. It will get you brownie points if you know how appropriately ferocious they are."

"They're your crew," Chad pointed out. "That's how I know they're ferocious."

"See?" Uma grinned. "Keep saying shit like that and you'll be fine. Now, where was I?"

They spent the rest of the evening like that, eventually passing out between one story and the next. Still, it was a delightful rest, and Chad appreciated the easy comradery while it was given.

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Sometimes, when Chad was more whimsical, he'd imagine what it was like for Uma to be his queen.

It was stupid, obviously – Uma was a warrior and a captain, dedicated to her crew and meant for greater things than queendom, but her natural leadership and charisma made it impossible for him not to consider it. She wouldn't be like other queens, obviously. She'd be tough enough to hold her own, so much so that Chad would never have to worry about his kingdom falling into bad hands, because if he fell, Uma could take care of things.

She'd be blunt and cut straight to the point and wouldn't tolerate foolishness, and Chad could already see her sending councilmen scurrying with just one withering glare. She'd dress in bright turquoise and purples, like the ballgown he'd initially met her in, only these would be tailormade to her liking. Instead of jewels, he would cover her in shells, the prettiest he could find. He'd give her a whole crown of them, scouring the beaches for the prettiest blues and lilacs, until he could consider his queen satisfied.

It would never happen, of course. Chad had Audrey, who would eventually come to look at him with affection once more. And Uma had her crew, who came before anything else. She'd kidnapped and spelled a king for them, and when that didn't work, she'd swam the ocean, hashed deals with strangers, and worked on legislature all for them. Uma was too great to be tied down to just one person, and Chad would never do her the disservice of asking her to. Not when he respected her so much.

Still, it was a nice fantasy. A foolish one, but nice.

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Present Day

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Dinner was an unusual affair. Mostly because Ben wasn't present. It didn't seem to be a planned thing, if the odd looks Mal and Jay kept shooting each other were any indication, but they started the meal nonetheless, likely out of an obligation to maintain a set schedule.

Honestly, Chad liked group meal times. It was fun to see all of them talk to each other, to see them slowly grow out of their comfort zones so they could get to know each other in easy pairs. After the first few days they had started to change up their seating arrangement so they could bond with people they may have not gotten a chance to talk to yet, meaning Harry and Jay had to swallow their overprotective streaks and actually make nice, which was a lovely sight to behold.

Chad reveled in it all, in the easy jokes and light banter – in stories told and subsequently piled onto so someone else could tell them correctly, like friends did.

In his human form, it was something he would never be able to experience, which just proved the further wonder that was being a cat. He would take this over his anxiety of being a bad prince and continuous studying and persistent isolation any day. He was beginning to think that the Enchantress may have missed the point with her curse, but Chad was okay with that. And he sure as heck wasn't going to mention it to her on the offhand chance she did show up again. She was the one that didn't give a time limit.

About ten minutes into the meal, Ben finally showed up, though instead of his usual air of composure he just seemed… lost.

The change was immediately noticeable, and Mal didn't hesitate to get up from her seat, crossing to the king as he slowly approached the table. "What's wrong?"

"They…" Ben's gaze didn't seem to focus on any of them. "…they found Chad's bag hidden in the woods, just off the trail of the walking path to the castle."

"They… what?" Mal asked, seeming unable to process what he'd said.

"They said it was dragged," Ben continued. "From um- where they think he was taken. And the path is so muddled with foot traffic by this point that they don't even know if-" He cut himself off with a gasp, seeming to get worked up all over again.

It was sort of touching, to know that Ben cared that much. Genuinely cared that much. Not just for how Chad's disappearance would affect the kids of the Isle, but for Chad himself.

He supposed it shouldn't be a surprise, Ben was a good person. Just… seeing him this shaken up by this new information warmed Chad's tiny cat heart.

"The bag was hidden?" Uma asked, pulling away from the table herself. The others followed in suit, Gil scooping Chad up and cuddling him against his chest as they drew closer towards the king.

"Yeah." Ben nodded, leaning against Jay when the son of Jafar slid an arm around his shoulder. "The Inspectors Office has a hold of it for evidence collection right now, but they said they'd release the contents to me as soon as they'd gathered what they needed." Ben sniffed, rubbing a hand under his nose in a very un-kingly fashion. "They still haven't been able to contact King Christopher or Duke Francis."

"Because they're shitheads," Mal said, and for whatever reason no one protested, not even on principle. Chad thought Ben might have, but the king also seemed super overwhelmed, which could explain his silence.

"That doesn't make any sense," Uma cut in, her brows furrowed in thought. "Why would they leave the bag? Sure, they went through the trouble of hiding it, but if they wanted to completely erase any evidence, they would have taken the bag as well."

Jay got a considerate look. "Do you think… maybe they left it as a clue?" The more he kept talking, the more he seemed to round out his idea. "Maybe whoever had been charged with kidnapping Chad- maybe they hadn't wanted to do it, and this was their way of helping, to let us know where he'd been snatched up."

"Like Snow White's huntsman," Mal mused, curling against Ben's side. "It's plausible."

"It certainly makes more sense than someone entirely malicious hiding it just off the trail," Uma said. "Unless they wantedus to find it after the fact because they'd trapped it somehow."

"It's already been looked over for magic and practical traps," Ben said with a shake of his head. "It's been cleared."

"Then we'll go with Jay's theory," Uma decided. "Which means whoever did this – whoever employed a person of magic so talented as to leave no trace – they've got a lot of power."

"Great," Jay groaned, letting his head fall back with a sigh. "More conspiracy theories."

Or not. Because Chad had just been cursed. That was it. They were looking way too into this.

"Get used to it," Uma sighed. "Because it looks like we've found one mess of a spider's web to untangle."

Their efforts were useless, though touching. Chad considered feeling guilty, but he knew that eventually the Inspectors Office wouldn't find anything and he'd get labeled a cold case. Life would move on, and no one would be the worse for it, and Chad could spend the rest of his life as the small-but-capable Shadow.

And that would be that.

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"Tell me what you've got," Uma ordered as she stared down the laptop the Fitzherbert's had gotten her, King Eugene's expression worried on the other end of the video chat.

"Hello to you too," the king said, though his usual good cheer seemed to be replaced with exhaustion. "These must be Mr. Hook and Mr. LeGume, I presume?"

"Yes, yes – Harry, Gil – this is King Eugene," Uma introduced with a lazy wave of her hand. "King, you know who these guys are, now tell me what you've got."

"You're not going to like this," the king warned, his expression falling into an uncharacteristic look of seriousness. "But I've got a whole lot of nothing."

Uma tensed. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means," the king continued. "That I have checked in with every one of our allies and every one of the kingdoms Chad managed to win over – subtly, of course – and not a single one of them has so much as a hint as to where he could have gone, or who would have the means to pull this off. I even double checked the kingdoms with cultures that were more predominantly magical to see if someone was trying play us, but they're all clear."

"So we've got nothing?" Uma growled, her hands curling against her knees.

"Yes, and no," the king said. "What we've done is narrowed down the list of subjects to a handful of kingdoms."

"The opposition," Uma spat the words like a curse, and for her, they likely were.

"Got it in one."

"Why does it have to be a kingdom?" Harry pressed, leaning over Uma's shoulder. "Couldn't it be the act of some random nutjob?"

"Fair question," the king allowed. "But whoever did this covered up their trail too well to be working alone. The clues don't add up to a solo operator, which means whoever did this had power, and if they're not running a kingdom, they are at least high up in one."

Uma shifted in her seat. "If you've got it narrowed down-"

"I'm looking into it now," the king assured her. "But if it's who I think it is… this is going to get a whole lot more messy."

Uma tensed, ready to snap something out, and the king must have recognized this because he rushed to continue. "Don't do anything stupid," he warned. "The last thing we want to do is spook 'em. We're going to find Chad one way or another, don't worry about that."

"You'd better," Uma ordered, her voice unbearably hard. "Or there's going to be a lot of unhappy people."

Again, Chad felt another twinge of guilt for the Isle people who were likely under additional scrutiny because of his curse, but there wasn't much to be done for it. Even if he tried, it wasn't going to break. He could only hope that the Enchantress like, conjured a dead body matching his description or something. Then everyone could move on, and they could all be happy.

It was a useless hope. But still, it persisted.

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6 Months Ago

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"Enjoying the view?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Chad was beginning to realize how handy those were for starting conversations. Or, in Uma's case, for letting her know he was nearby. As was the purpose of this latest rhetorical question as Chad climbed up onto the roof of Corona Castle, into the private nook above his and Uma's guest suite to get a better view of the fireworks.

Uma, as was her way, offered the smallest smirk to express her appreciation, not one to fully explain her emotions for fear of such opinions being used against her, but Chad had learned to take comfort in her small responses and know that if she wasn't happy, she wouldn't be shy about telling him.

"It's alright, I suppose," she drawled, underselling the majestic view that was Corona's New Years' Eve celebration.

It had been a long seven months since he'd first met Uma, but he was pretty sure he could learn something new about her every day and forever be eager for more.

"I'll be sure to pass that on to King Eugene," Chad replied, handing over the travel cup of hot cocoa he had detoured to obtain on his trip to their suite. He paused when Uma shifted closer to him, almost losing his balance when she draped the blanket she had curled around her shoulders over his own, until they were sharing it to fight off the bitter early January chill.

Uma made a face. "Don't talk about that sap," she ordered, taking a sip of her drink to hide her smile. "You know he's going to make us redo the countdown once he and the blondies get to retire from that grand celebration in the ballroom."

"That doesn't seem so bad," Chad hummed. "Nigel said there will be confetti."

"You say that now, but when you've got a mountain of confetti in your hair, don't come complaining to me."

Chad would never dare, but he was almost certain that Uma would help him without asking as it was. She liked to be generous like that, as long as you didn't call her on it. Sort of like a cat. She was happy to coexist with you so long as you never drew attention to the arrangement, and Chad was more than fine with that. He liked cats. They seemed clever, and at the very least, comfortable and happy with who they were.

"I won't," Chad promised, taking a sip of his own drink as they watched the show unfold. This wasn't the first set of fireworks they'd watched together – that had been on United Auradon Day, back in July, which celebrated the establishment of the United States of Auradon, when all the kingdoms had gotten together to sign the treaty. This was, however, the first display they'd watched outside. Before, loud noises and bright flashes of light had set off Uma's self-preservation instincts until she was entirely on edge, at least until they'd retreated to the safety of their suite and Chad convinced her to cast a noise-blocking spell.

It had worked like, well, magic, and while Uma didn't necessarily understand the purpose of a fireworks display, she could appreciate their beauty. And with the earmuffs she had charmed to block out the sound of fireworks alone, they were able to enjoy the display from the roof of the castle, watching their breath fog up as soon as it left their mouths.

"I can't wait to show them this shit," Uma said, gaze fixed to the night sky. "Every dumb holiday. And the beds. And the food."

"You should add it to the list," Chad suggested, glad that the journal he had given her so very long ago had been put to such good use. They had a running tally of the things the Isle kids, and specifically her crew, needed to experience when they were finally freed. Ruby and her parents liked to contribute to it every so often, and Chad was pretty sure King Eugene and his band of reformed thugs had a room entirely dedicated to presents for them.

It had been a good year, Chad thought. His grades had been pretty good during the summer, and while that didn't carry over into his fall semester (something Queen Rapunzel found very interesting, and Chad didn't have the heart to explain to her that he was just dumb) it had been a nice boost to get him through the beginning legs of the 'Help the Isle' initiative. Starting with the kingdoms that were already onboard helped build Chad's confidence, and most of them offered constructive criticism to help hone his arguments. By the time he actually got to the kingdoms that were on the fence, Chad was able to articulate his points clearly, and believed in the proposals he was defending.

It had been slow, careful work, but with half of the school year gone, Chad had managed to talk to half of the maybe-kingdoms. It was definitely something worth celebrating, King Eugene had told him, as most of the kingdoms had appreciated his attention to detail (which was really Queen Rapunzel's and Uma's attention to detail) and forethought to have an actual plan in place to achieve his goals. He'd mostly gotten pledges of support with the help of Corona, and in the new year Chad was determined to get the other kingdoms on their side.

Chad didn't normally travel that much during the school year, but on top of his networking, the Fitzherberts had frequently invited him to Corona during the weekends. They'd let Chad celebrate All Hallow's Eve with them, as well as Yule, which Chad hadn't properly celebrated in he didn't know how long. His grandfather rarely allowed Chad to get presents, knowing full well he hadn't earned them, but the Fitzherberts had gotten Chad gifts despite his protests, had let him help decorate the Yule tree and sing carols and build snowmen and he'd gotten to help guide Uma through it all as well, the captain taking it all in with an air that was greatly put upon.

Still, he was pretty sure she'd liked it. She'd definitely liked the book he had written her, with hand drawn illustrations done by himself about the brave Captain Uma, who sailed the blue seas with her loyal crew, discovering new lands and righting wrongs wherever she went.

She never talked to him about the contents of the book, whether it was stupid or out of line or foolish, but he did catch her reading it a lot, which was more than enough for him.

"One step ahead of you," Uma said, knocking their shoulders together. "…hey, can I ask you something?"

Chad perked up. It wasn't often that Uma took the time to seek any type of permission. She generally just went for it in her direct, blunt way or said nothing at all. "Sure."

"You don't have to answer," Uma continued, another thing she rarely extended. "But why is your grandfather such a dick to you?"

For a moment, Chad said nothing, too stunned by the question.

Uma continued. "I mean, I know why people are assholes on the Isle. They're on the Isle. But Ruby's parents dote on her all the time. They always go to her art exhibitions and sports shit and whatever. Why doesn't your family do the same for you?"

It was a difficult question to answer, though it ultimately came down to one thing.

"Well." Chad swallowed, fingering the bottom of his cup. "I'm um… not a very good prince. So, until I become a better one, my grandpa's got to be tough on me."

"No he doesn't." Uma made a face. "You are a good prince. You're the one making a difference for the Isle kids, and Queen Rapunzel won't stop bragging about how hard you've been working."

Chad felt his cheeks flood with warmth. "Thank you, Captain. That means a lot. But my grandfather has very high standards, and until I meet them, he's not going to um… indulge me, I guess."

Though it was really nice to know that Queen Rapunzel thought so highly of him. It was also sort of embarrassing, but mostly nice.

"What about your dad?" Uma pressed. "You don't ever talk about him."

"There's not a lot to talk about," Chad said. "My dad's really busy running Sardinia. He doesn't have time to waste on me, so…" Chad shrugged. "But that's okay. I understand that duty comes first."

"Chad?" Uma said, a careful prompt to redraw the blond's focus.

"Yes, Uma?" Chad asked, perking up.

"Your dad and grandfather are stupid," she declared, the same way she dismissed high heels as impractical and would willingly fight anyone who didn't like pineapple on pizza. "And you're not."

"Thank you, Uma," Chad said, even though he didn't necessarily agree with her. "I really appreciate it."

"Don't get a big head about it," Uma warned him, one of her favorite phrases. "Now, let's finish up this cocoa and get back inside before his royal dumbness can climb up here looking for us and break his neck."

"He used to be a cat burglar," Chad reminded her, laughing into the lip of his cup. "You don't give him enough credit."

"Believe me, I give that fool far too much credit," Uma deadpanned, and just like every time her voice was dry enough to match the Agrabah dessert, Chad laughed helplessly.

"Happy new year, Uma," he said, taking in her muted look of delight.

"Happy new year, Chad," she replied, and he was beginning to think that might be true. And what an overwhelming thing that would be.

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Present Day

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Uma set off from the castle at a rapid pace, Harry and Gil dutifully trailing behind her. Chad had been as well, but the anxiety of not knowing Uma's plan had led to Gil scooping him up halfway through their march to the back woods, so Chad had curled up and enjoyed it, purring in a steady tempo to offer Gil some amount of comfort.

It didn't take long before they heard Mal and the others following after them.

"Uma!" Mal was the one who felt comfortable shouting, Ben and Jay trailing afterwards with concerned looks. "Uma, where are you going? We shouldn't split up right now."

As though on cue, Uma turned deftly on her heel, facing the others with a scowl. "Listen up, 'cuz I'm only going to say this once. If you wanna come, shut up – otherwise, fuck off."

Ben's expression fell. "There's no need for that, Uma-"

"They were simple orders, Benjamin," Uma interrupted with a hard look. "Now if you want to come with us, circle around. I was trying to get us safely removed from the castle grounds before doing this."

Realizing that Uma was not, in fact, joking, the rest of them quieted down, forming a circle as per her instructions. She cradled the seashell necklace between her hands, the shell resonating a familiar glow that warmed Chad down to his bones.

"Unlikely and unique greeting," she chanted in a low sort of caress. "Take us to our first meeting."

Because Chad had been teleported by Uma before, he was prepared for the following surge of energy that engulfed them, capturing the entire circle until the world flared out of existence in a shine of brilliant light. When that light faded, they were on a familiar stretch of beach – the private cove where Chad had met Uma all those months ago.

Mal looked around the secluded stretch of land in confusion. "Uma, where is this?"

It seemed like it was okay to ask questions again, because Uma didn't seem upset by Mal's query. "This is where I met Chad." She started walking down the beach, heading towards the line of water Chad had stumbled through to get to her. "After everything fell apart during Cotillion, I made a tactful retreat. I couldn't get back through the barrier so I tried to find an isolated area where I could gather my strength." She turned so that her back was to the ocean, her eyes searching the tree line. "I met the asshole as I was dragging myself out of the water. He charged in wearing this fancy suit – didn't care that he'd ruined it – and helped me out onto the shore."

"Wait," Ben spoke up, frowning. "Chad was here during Cotillion? I thought he'd gone to help Audrey in Sherwood Forest."

"Yeah, that definitely didn't happen," Uma said with a lazy wave of her hand. "Blondie was here crying his eyes out because that pink princess 'broke a commitment' to him. Which I guess means she wouldn't go with him to that dumb boat party."

"That bitch," Jay, of all people, hissed. "She bosses him around for fucking months-"

"We don't need to go over all the reasons why Audrey's a shithead," Uma interrupted, giving Jay a bored look. "Point is, Chad lied to you guys, then hid out here to save face." With one last look towards the ocean, she turned her attention wood-ward, walking up the sand in determined steps. "He had to get here, somehow. I want to know how he did it."

"Great." Mal's tone was clipped when she spoke up, though she still dutifully followed behind Uma. "I'd like to go back and review the part where you already knew Chad."

"What, like you're the only one that can befriend a prince?" Uma challenged with a quirk of her brow. "Blondie might have been a mess, but he also treated me like a person. I told him I was the daughter of Ursula and he was excited that Ben had gotten more VKs off the Isle. He was happy." She shook her head slowly. "I thought he was an idiot, but he was an earnest one. Even after I told him everything that happened – the kidnapping and the love spell – do you know what his response was?"

She aimed this at Harry, who motioned for her to continue.

"Yikes. He said 'yikes', and then he helped me come up with a plan to fix it all." She stopped as she made it to the tree line, staring through the underbrush. "He doubted himself more than he ever doubted me, and he helped because- because he thought I deserved the chance. That we all deserved it. I hated him for that, a lot." She turned back to Harry. "It was like some kind of fairytale bullshit – this perfect dumbass prince trying not to save the day, but to help me save it myself. He just wanted to give me the tools to make it happen."

He had, because Chad respected her. Because he looked at Uma and saw Mal's strength, looked at her and saw his own pain. He tried to do his best for her because she deserved it, and because she hadn't been given what she deserved for a very long time.

The rest of it was hard to process, so Chad didn't focus on it, instead wiggling from Gil's hold until the blond finally set him down. It was then that Chad started trotting through the overgrown wood, almost certain of Uma's desired destination. Chad had never been able to come back for his stashed bike – not after Uma had swam them away. He'd been too busy, and the beach was too remote for him to run to, even though he'd tried a couple of times.

"Shadow!" Gil trailed after him, movements substantially less graceful as he charged through branches. "Hey! Wait up, buddy!"

Chad was careful to stay in his line of sight, pausing to make a show of sniffing around before he kept walking, until he eventually led them to the cave entrance that was overrun by hanging moss. He meowed, batting at some of the mossy plant life until they were gathered around the cave. Then, he went in.

It was sort of a relief to see his bike still in one relative piece – though his hoody and cloak hadn't fared well in the year or so Chad had abandoned them to the wild.

The cave lit up in a yellow glow, Uma holding her necklace aloft as she peered inside before a smile spread across her face.

"Good boy," she said, drifting close to Chad before turning her attention to the bike. "This is what I was looking for."

"A bike?" Jay wandered towards the far side of Chad's light blue bicycle. "He rode here?"

"I think…" Uma began carefully, fingering the handle bar as the others came inside. "I think he might have ridden everywhere." She was frowning now, stooping low to pick up Chad's abandoned cape and hoody. "He said something about that once – about how his grandfather wouldn't let him take the driving test because he 'couldn't be trusted'." Uma scoffed. "His grandfather sounds like an overcontrolling douche to me. Chad couldn't even hire cars 'cuz his grandpa would just reroute them back to wherever he wanted." She stared at the bike again. "That must have been why he was on foot that evening. That was why he had taken the bus. His grandfather didn't want him to come."

"Why would his grandfather want him to turn down an invitation from the king?" Gil asked, sounding hopelessly lost. "Shouldn't that like, be an honor?"

"I dunno." Uma shook her head. "I'll be honest, I think Chad was afraid of him." She turned her gaze meaningfully to Ben. "The same way we were afraid of our parents."

Ben's throat caught. "You mean… do you think he's-?"

"Abusing the shit out of him?" Uma finished, making Chad flinch at the crassness, but luckily no one was focused on him now. "It seems likely."

"Before he broke up with me," Jay cut in, brows furrowing in concentration. "He was missing for a week. Fairy Godmother said he got pulled for a political retreat, but he looked…"

"Bad," Mal interrupted. "He looked bad when he came back, and then he wouldn't talk to Ben."

"Or he wasn't able to," Jay said.

"Guys." Ben seemed so very pained. "What are you saying?"

Mal's look was expressly serious. "I think grandpa dearest may have caught onto what was happening, and because it was… unconventional, he decided to do something about it." What did that mean? Unconventional? Did she mean the practicing thing? "We should have Carlos check to see if there are any digital trails linking Audrey to Duke Francis during the time of Chad's political retreat. Maybe he talked her into being interested in Chad just enough to get him to break up with Jay."

"And then she didn't even go to Cotillion with him," Jay growled, his fingers curling into tight fists against his sides.

Mal steadied a hand on his bicep. "She'll get her comeuppance later. Right now we need to focus on Chad."

No, they didn't. They didn't. Chad was dead, it was only Shadow now.

Chad trailed over to Mal, butting his head against her shin to try and get her to back out of the cave, and meowed when the lady thoughtlessly picked him up, scratching his ears.

"Good boy, Shadow," she said distractedly, mind likely muddled with the formulation of a dozen plans. "You did a good job today."

"Let's get this back to the castle," Ben said, taking Chad's bicycle into his hands. "And then maybe you can tell us a little more about you and Chad's friendship."

Uma rolled her eyes. "Green is not a good color on you, beastie boy."

That statement made no sense, Ben looked wonderful in green. Chad thought it was one of his better colors. It brought out his eyes.

"Yeah," Mal snorted. "Don't think you're getting out of this with a coy comment, Uma. We want deets."

Uma let her head fall back with a sigh. "Fine."

This just went to prove that Chad did not understand social situations well. He tried to hold onto that instead of the growing anxiety of his friends investigating the duke. Granted, they wouldn't find anything, but still. The Duke could be crafty, and mean.

Hopefully, they could be meaner.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Endnotes:

Come on, tell me Uma isn't the type of person who wouldn't throw down for her favorite pizza topping. You know she would ;D

Until next time :)