narutogirl103 - he was bound to have a good day eventually right?!

FlatFox - glad you like it! I wonder if he'll ever have a need for that escape route...

Mirami02 - Mal and Ben are certainly not the perfect do-no-wrong teens in this story. They're gonna do stupid stuff. Did you have a favorite chapter?

The next day Carlos was surprised to find Anita and Roger already up. Cruella had always been a late sleeper and Jay was anything but an early bird, Carlos wasn't used to having people be up and moving around in the morning before him, let alone down right chipper the way Anita was. He made his way to the kitchen where Anita offered him some breakfast.

"What are your plans for the day?" she asked him.

Carlos shrugged, he hadn't even thought about it.

"I don't want you playing on your laptop all day long while you're here, how about you and Dude go out and explore the property." she suggested "We own most of the land on this side of the street for miles. Just be home by 6."

Carlos thought it over. "Ok" he said, once he cleared up his breakfast he and Dude headed out. The orchards had peach and apple trees, there was a small vegetable garden he hadn't seen last night as well, he walked through until he got to a wooded area and decided to explore. The isle barely had any trees on the side that was inhabited, and the far side wasn't anyplace you went exploring. In Auradon, school had kept him too busy to go out into the woods very often and ever since his little experiment he hadn't been allowed to go off on his own anyway.

Carlos and Dude spent the day exploring and only when his stomach grumbled loudly did the boy stop to figure out what time it was. He looked at his watch and saw it was already 5, he'd have to hurry back.

"Dude, you're a mess." Carlos groaned looking down at his little companion who was completely covered in mud, the dog looked back at him as if to say "your not so clean yourself."

Carlos hadn't realized how far he had gone, and soon realized he wouldn't be home by 6 when he was supposed to be. I'm so dead. He thought as 7pm approached. Carlos began to get anxious when he realized he still wasn't near the house by 8pm. If there was one thing that was the same in Auradon and the isle it was that when an adult tells you to do something, you do it, or else. Carlos was practically shaking from fear by the time he got back to the house, he expected some kind of punishment, but how much would it hurt. He knew what to expect if he were back on the isle... lots of pain. But in Auradon he never knew what to expect, every adult handled things differently, and the anxiety of not knowing made him want to be sick. The boy opened the door and before he could stop him, Dude ran into the house, right through the kitchen and into the living room, hopping up on the sofa and lay his muddy paws and chin on Roger who was sitting there on his cell phone; a trail of muddy paw prints and splashes of mud was left in the dogs wake.

"Dude no! Come back!" Carlos called from the doorway, not daring to follow and make a bigger mess.

"Carlos!" Anita cried. "Roger he's back." Anita came over to Carlos, and stopped just short of giving him a hug, partly because he flinched back in fear of being hit (a reflex he hadn't quite lost yet from the isle) and partly because he was absolutely filthy. Anita was not one to mind dirt, she expected it and was one of those adults that thinks kids need to be outside getting dirty, she did not, however, expect Carlos and Dude to come home quite this dirty and over 2 hours late.

Carlos bit his lip as he watched Anita's expression change from worry to relief to disappointment. They were gonna call Fairy Godmother and tell her they didn't want him anymore and then what would happen to him. And if he had made a fraction of the mess at Hell Hall that Dude just made, he shuddered to think of the cruel punishment his mother would have handed out.

"Thank you officer, he just came home. He's ok." Roger said and hug up the phone, he picked up Dude and brought the muddy dog back to the kitchen and placed him in Carlos's arms, "go put Dude out in the yard with the others, he needs a bath before he's allowed in here."

Carlos brought Dude out back and cuddled him "It was nice knowing you buddy." Carlos reluctantly put Dude in the dog area and turned to face his doom. He sheepishly walked back into the house where Anita and Rogers initial expressions of worry and relief were replaced by disappointment and anger.

"6 o'clock, Carlos. 6! Not 8:30! We've been worried sick about you, we didn't know if you got hurt or lost. We even called the police."

"I… I didn't realize I went so far and it took longer to get back than I thought." Carlos explained. "I'm sorry." he added after the Radcliffes didn't say anything for a bit.

"Go shower and come down for some dinner." Anita told him and Carlos hurried off to do as he was told.

"If it were up to me he'd go to bed without dinner." muttered Roger.

"But Fairy Godmother said they.."

" 'food issues' yeah, yeah, I know." Roger interrupted "I'm going to get Dude and clean him up. He's too small to be outside all night and I'm not letting him back in here that filthy, I think he rolled in something." the man said as he headed outside.

It didn't take long before Carlos came back down after his shower, he wisely brought his dirty clothes along to throw in the wash. Anita set a warmed up plate of food down at the small table in the kitchen and Carlos sat silently to eat. Roger and a now clean Dude came in midway through his second plate. Carlos felt his anxiety rising at Roger's presence they fed him at least, but now what? He flinched every time Roger or Anita came closer expecting at the minimum a smack.

"Carlos…?" Anita sat down across from him concerned.

"Am… am I … I in tr-trouble?" Carlos asked nervously as Dude jumped up into his arms.

Anita sighed, "Well, its only your first day here, so no, not this time. But we really need you to understand that if we say be back by a certain time that's when you need to be back, no matter what. If you're not we'll think something bad happened. You need to pay more attention to how far you go and what time it is so that you can get back on time. Do you understand?"

Carlos nodded and then yawned.

"I think its bedtime." Anita said looking at the clock, "I'll come up in a bit to say good night."

"To tuck me in?" Carlos asked, still not sure how that whole thing worked and why Anita wanted to do it, but he liked it and found himself hoping she would.

She nodded "Yeah."

Carlos smiled.

/

It wasn't long after Carlos left Auradon Prep that Snow White came up to Evie to let her know it was also time to head out. Evie gave Mal and Jay hugs and followed Snow to the car. Like Carlos she was in awe of the little villages and countryside. She glanced at the shop windows longing to be able to go in and try on clothes, everything she owned had either been salvaged from the barges or she made herself.

"Evie, I hope you don't mind but Dopey will be driving you back next weekend. His son, Doug, also goes to Auradon Prep, and it seemed silly for both of us to make the trip back."

Evie was surprised, "Oh thats ok, Doug and I are friends. I didn't know they lived near you."

Snow nodded, "Right down the street. The whole family does."

Evie smiled, she was glad that she would at least know someone nearby. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Did you ever marry your prince?"

Snow chuckled and shook her head, "No. We dated for a couple years. But I was only 14 when we met."

Evie's jaw dropped, she had always assumed that Snow White married her Prince, afterall thats what you did in fairy tales.

Snow smiled at how shocked Evie looked. "I was young and naive, once I was about your age I realized that I didn't need a prince, or anyone else, to make me happy. And if you think about it, a guy that climbs over walls to spy on girls and kisses girls he thinks are dead… that's creepy."

Evie laughed "I never thought of it that way."

" I had dreams; getting married and running a kingdom wasn't part of it. I'm not cut out for all the politics and King Beast wanted to unite the provinces so it made sense for me to step down and do what I love: Running the Inn. Eventually I bought it myself and changed it to a B&B and I couldn't be happier."

After what felt like forever, Snow White pulled into a parking space cleverly hidden in between some trees. Evie stepped out of the car and her jaw dropped as she saw the little inn where she would be staying. "Its so cute!" she squealed.

Snow laughed and a few birds flew near, she put out her finger and a small one landed on it. Some of her other woodland creature friends came over to say hello and meet their mistress' friend. Evie desperately wanted to reach a hand out to pet some of the animals but worried she would scare them. Snow lead the girl into the inn, she had to duck to get into the door, it was as if it was made for dwarfs. "We have 7 rooms upstairs for guests, each is themed after the 7 dwarfs. The parlor is to the left and dining room is on the right, the kitchen connects to it."

"Where will I sleep?" Evie asked wondering which dwarf room she would be in.

Snow smiled. "I have a little space off of the parlor, it has a small private living room, two small bedrooms, and a bathroom. Come follow me and you can get settled in."

Snow lead Evie into the space she had just described, it was small, there was a TV and a couple armchairs and a few nick nacks but nothing substantial. It was just a quiet place to be alone. Evies room had a bed and small dresser and mirror. It was much smaller than she had expected, smaller even than her room in the isle, but it was big enough. After she unpacked the outfits she brought for the week, noting that she would have to bring hangers next time and find a way to hang up her dresses on the pegs on the wall, she came out to find Snow waiting for her.

"Let's have some dinner." Snow lead Evie into the kitchen where she was able to whip up one of her specialty pot pies in no time and popped it in the oven. Evie couldn't wait to try it the smells coming from the oven made her mouth water. Evie and Snow continued to talk, Snow wasn't much older than Evie, only 34 so they got along quite well and had many similar interests and compared stories about Grimhilde. Evie learned that the Inn was actually the cottage Snow had found in the woods and had been remodeled to add the extra rooms and all 7 of the dwarfs and their families lived down the road, they all had homes of their own … right next door to each other. Evie and Snow chuckled at how close the brothers still were. Finally the pie was ready to eat and Snow served up a large slice for Evie. She bit into the flakey crust and couldn't believe the explosion of savory flavors in her mouth. Evie normally watched what she ate very very carefully, but this was too good to be fussy over. It was starting to get late so after washing up Snow and Evie both agreed to call it a night.

Evie awoke the next morning bright and early as she always did. She planned in plenty of time for her morning routine which usually started 2 hours before Mal would even stir. So she was surprised to see Snow up and about already.

"Oh Evie you're up, can you come help me in the kitchen please." Snow asked.

"But I haven't even done my make up yet." Evie couldn't believe anyone would expect her to do anything without make up on.

Snow white smiled gently "You're beautiful already."

Reluctantly Evie agreed thankful that she had at least done her hair and brushed her teeth, before going to help Snow with breakfast. Apparently they had a full house of guests that would be waking up soon. Snow had Evie so busy helping with breakfast that the girl somehow managed to forget she didn't have her makeup on.

"You look amazing this morning." a voice said and Evie jumped and looked up to see Doug standing there mesmerized by her.

Evie blushed,"Doug" she said breathless, "what are you doing here?"

"I work here on school breaks. Fixing things, or carrying bags for guests, whatever Snow needs help with."

"Oh, so I guess I'll see you more often then." Evie said shyly

"Yeah." said Doug softly, looking into Evie's eyes.

"Doug! Quit your lollygagging we have work to do." a gruff voice called from the other room that broke Doug out of his trance, he cleared his throat and shook his head to focus.

"I'm coming, Uncle Grumpy." he called back. Then looked back at Evie "I have to go… see you later?"

Evie smiled and nodded "I'd like that."

The morning flew by, after making breakfast and serving it and cleaning up, checking guests out, making up the rooms and checking new guests in, Evie had no idea how Snow did all this alone every day. Evie had always prided herself in her homemaking skills but even she couldn't keep up with Snow.

"Here's your key, you'll be in the Sleepy room." Evie said as she checked in a middle aged couple. The woman studied her for a long time and made Evie feel uncomfortable. "Can I help you with anything else?" she finally asked.

"I haven't seen you before." the woman said curtly. Evie felt like shrinking away as if these two were judging her for some reason, instead she pushed her shoulders back and held her head high.

"I'm new here." she answered hoping the couple would leave.

"So I see, and where did you come from?"

"I go to Auradon Prep."

"That's not what I asked." she snapped and Evie took a step back surprised by the harsh tone. She just blinked a few times in response not knowing how to handle the hostility she felt. Snow was quick to notice a problem and ushered the couple away to their room.

As soon as they were out of sight Evie ran out of the little cottage and into the forest where she eventually collapsed to the ground and sobbed. Snow White saw Evie run out of the door and gave a quick whistle to one of her little bird friends at the window. "Go keep an eye on her." Snow whispered and the bird whistled back and flew off to watch Evie.

Evie let herself cry for once, with no makeup on to worry about messing up (truely a first) she didn't feel bad about just letting everything out that she didn't realize she was holding on to. Being packed up and shipped off to a brand new place with totally different rules and expectations, where the only other people that understood you were also just teenagers and emotionally damaged themselves. A place where everyone thought you were less, just because of who you are and where you were born; the constant need to show them that you are more. It was a burden she didn't realize she had carried for so long. Evie wasn't sure how long she was out there before Snow came out.

Snow gently touched the girls shoulder and Evie looked up and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry." She sniffed, "I'm not usually like this."

"It's ok." Snow said before pulling Evie into a hug. "We all need a good cry from time to time."

Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you thought!