Chapter 2 - Part of Your World
Auradon was nothing like the Isle of the Lost. The sky was blue, the grass was green, there were happy little animals everywhere, and everyone seemed to dress exclusively in preppy, primary colors. It was enough to make a villain sick.
Ben and his fellow royals stood at the steps of Auradon Prep, waiting for the arrival of their new classmates. Many of them were nervous, having only just learned that the VKs existed. But they all trusted Ben... well, most of them did.
The limo pulled up in front of the welcoming committee, and a guard opened the door. Dante immediately fell out, running around and yelling "My head is on fire!" This was followed by Quinn struggling to hold an armful of candy, while Uma and Harry simply stepped out. "You'll have to excuse them, they're idiots." She sighed.
Harry pulled Dante off the ground and shook him. "Nothing's burning, mate, just get over it." He said. The blue haired boy ran his fingers through his new flaming locks, realizing that the handsome pirate was right.
"Alright, let's get the introductions out of the way!" A plump, older woman in a faded blue dress walked up to the new students, a friendly smile on her face. "Hello, children, I'm Headmistress Stella, but you might know me better as Cinderella's fairy godmother. Welcome to Auradon Prep!"
"The Fairy Godmother?" Uma asked, trying not to be intimidating for once in her life. She smiled, which made the other VKs step back in fright. "It's an honor to meet you, ma'am. I always wondered what it was like for Cinderella when you just appeared out of nowhere, with that sparkly wand and warm smile... And sparkly wand."
"I'm flattered!" Fairy Godmother said, ignoring Uma's attempt to steer the conversation. "But we don't really use magic in Auradon very much these days. We're trying to update to the modern day and all that." She waved her hands, her smile faltering a little. It was clear that she wasn't happy with that change.
"It's good to meet you all!" Ben stepped forward, changing the subject. He smiled his heart melting smile, and offered his hand to Uma, thinking that she looked like she was in need of a friend. "My name's Ben."
"Prince Benjamin." A tan-skinned girl in a bright pink dress giggled, popping up behind Ben. "He's going to be king one day!" She wrapped her arms around the prince and smiled at the VKs. Her smile was genuine, but she didn't seem all that bright.
"You had me at prince!" Quinn pushed Harry aside and curtsied. "I'm Quinn Heart, the Princess of Wonderland." She winked at Ben, who looked around nervously.
"We don't recognize the Queen of Hearts' authority here." A tall, redheaded girl in a seafoam colored outfit spoke up, standing next to Ben. She had a mean expression on her otherwise pretty face.
"Well I don't recognize your face." Quinn spat, glaring at her new rival. The two girls snarled at each other until Ben pushed them apart, laughing awkwardly.
"This is Audrey," He introduced the dark skinned girl, who waved politely. "And Ariana." The redhead huffed, rolling her eyes.
"Aurora's daughter." Audrey added, humming a few bars of her mother's favorite song, Once Upon A Dream. "I'm Bennyboo's girlfriend!" She giggled again, hugging the prince tightly. Dante made a gagging noise, and Uma elbowed him.
"I'm Ariel's daughter." Ariana said, crossing her arms. "And I have my own kingdom I'm going to run one day."
"If you're Ariel's daughter, why aren't you a mermaid?" Quinn asked.
"Oh my gods, Quinn, you can't just ask people why they aren't mermaids." Dante shoved her.
"Ahem." Fairy Godmother fake-coughed loudly, getting everyone's attention. "Ben and Audrey are going to show you all around, and I'll see you tomorrow. You're free to look around after that, but be in bed by 11. I have a thing about curfews." She turned around and headed for her office, needing a coffee.
"It's so, so, so good to finally meet you all." Ben said, again trying to shake hands. Uma put on a fake smile and offered hers, surprising Ben with the strength of her grip. "This is a momentous occasion, and one day I hope it will go down in history as the day our two peoples began to heal!"
"You practice that speech or did you just make it up?" Harry asked, unimpressed. He was used to hearing long, drawn out speeches, it was inescapable when you were surrounded by villains.
"A little bit over the top?" Ben rubbed his neck nervously. He suddenly wished he had a magic wand to wave and restart the whole conversation.
"A little more than a little bit." Uma snarked. She had to admit, Ben was cute, but she wasn't a fan of cute.
"You're Ursula's daughter, aren't you?" Ariana spoke up, walking closer to the VKs. She looked Uma over, her aqua blue eyes staring into Uma's dark brown ones. "Ben told me about you in advance. You don't really look like her." Ben nudged Ariana, reminding her to be polite. "Oh, and I guess I should say I don't blame you for your mother trying to murder my parents and stealing my grandfather's trident."
"Yeah, and I don't blame you for your grandpa throwing my mom out of Atlantica just because she wanted the throne." Uma replied. The tension between the two girls felt like it would explode at any moment. It was like two natural enemies confronting each other for the first time.
"Hey, wait a second, aren't you two related?" Dante brought up. "Ursula is Triton's sister, which makes her Ariel's aunt... And they're both children of Poseidon, who's my uncle..." He stopped for a second. "Oh no, I'm related to Uma!"
Harry fell over laughing as Uma turned around to smack Dante. Family trees got messy on the Isle, and it was best just not to bring them up. But Ben, having been prepared for something like this, stepped inbetween them. "So, who wants a tour?" He smiled at Uma, his warm hazel eyes and pearly white teeth shining. "Yeah? Okay then!"
The prince led the new students around campus, pointing out various students and buildings. "Auradon Prep was built over 300 years ago, and converted into a high school when my father became king." He stopped and pointed at a huge marble statue of King Adam. It suddenly morphed into one of his former, beastly appearance, startling Quinn. The ex-princess hopped into Harry's arms, only for him to drop her a second later.
"Don't worry, it's meant to do that." Ben assured them. "Dad wanted his statute to change from beast to man, like he did, to remind us that anything is possible." He looked at the VKs. "And that there's some good in everyone, no matter how they seem at first."
Uma felt something like a smile creep across her face. Maybe even a warm, fuzzy feeling. But she quickly squashed it, reminding herself that there was no good in her. She was rotten, rotten to the core, and that's the way she always would be. They stepped into the student living area, which was bigger than Uma's house and Ursula's shop put together. Two enormous spiral staircases circled around the center, looking more than a little impractical.
"So, you have a lot of magic in Auradon." The blue haired girl brought up, trying to get back to the plan. "All these fairies and genies running around..." The other VKs nodded, standing close to their leader.
"Well, it exists, but we try not to use it very much." Ben explained. "We're trying to adapt to the modern day. Most of us are just regular mortals, after all."
"Who happen to be kings and queens." Audrey added, popping up behind her boyfriend.
"That's true, our royal blood goes back hundreds of years." A new student chimed in, descending the staircase. He was a handsome, dark skinned boy, probably only a year or two older than Ben, with lustrous black hair and a friendly face. His clothes were simple, just a purple t-shirt and white pants. "Are these the new kids, Benny-boy?" The new boy hopped onto the banister and slid down to meet his classmates.
"This is Aziz, you guys!" Ben introduced his friend, not so subtly nudging him forward. "He's going to help you with your class schedules and show you your dorms. I'll see you later, I've got royal duties to attend to." He excused himself, Ariana and Audrey following him out of the building.
"So you're the VKs! I've been looking forward to meeting you guys." Aziz grinned, looking them over. "I'm Aziz, Aladdin and Jasmine's son. I've got a sister who goes to school here too, you might meet her later. Hey, what's it like where you come from?"
Quinn was about to say something, when Dante shoved her out of the way. He shook the muscular prince's hand, his fiery hair changing from blue to bright red. "Dante Olympios, son of Hades. How ya doin, handsome?" Aziz blushed and stammered for a bit, which only encouraged Dante.
"Get a room, you two." Uma rolled her eyes, not wanting to watch this romantic nonsense for any longer than she had to.
"Right, um, Fairy Godmother already decided all your classes." Aziz said, remembering what he was there to do. "There's math, science, history... and remedial goodness." He handed them their schedules, his tone making them think the last one was a joke.
"New class, huh?" Harry asked. Aziz nodded, and the four headed off to their dorms.
0-0-0
Quinn squeed excitedly and hopped onto the enormous canopy bed in her and Uma's shared dorm room. "I love it I love it I love it!" She rolled around, making a mess out of the sheets. Uma rolled her eyes at this unvillainly behavior and sat on her bed, taking in the surroundings. The room was big enough for four girls, at least, and had all sorts of luxuries. Two wardrobes, a television, plush chairs, a full-body mirror and a huge window with equally huge curtains, almost all of it in flower print.
"Well, I guess we could tear up the curtains and paint some stuff blue..." Quinn sat up, fixing her hair. She realized that Uma wasn't impressed, and really didn't want to get on the sea witch's bad side. Quinn didn't know much about Uma, other than her being the queen bee and scariest girl on the Isle. "You know, I always wanted a sister. And having a roommate is kind of the same thing! We could braid each other's hair, and talk about boys... Or girls... Whatever." She started stammering nervously.
"I haven't seen my sister in years." Uma said, taking off her hat and flipping through her mother's spellbook. She wished that she had been allowed to bring her swords to Auradon, it felt wrong not having them with her. "Never bothered me." Truth be told, she had never given it much thought. Ursula didn't like talking about Uma's father, and it had been so long since the two split up, she barely remembered the man.
"Alrighty then." Quinn flopped back down on the bed, officially giving up on making friends with Uma. "I can't wait until I've found my prince. It'll be just like in the stories my mom used to tell me. We'll play croquet, take carriage rides through the kingdom, attend public executions together..." She sighed happily. "I've got Home Ec on my schedule, so that's an easy A!"
"Don't you ever think about anything other than boys?" Ursula's daughter scoffed, not amused. "We're not here to date or to have fun. We're here to steal the wand and free our parents." Romance wasn't Uma's thing, and neither were princes. No matter how charming, or nice, or bright eyed... She shook her head, as if that would get Ben out of her thoughts.
0-0-0
Meanwhile, the boys were getting along just as well. Dante was lying on his bed, strumming his guitar. "Κάτσε στο πρόσωπο μου," He sang lines from a song he was writing Aziz, before crumpling up the paper and throwing it away.
"I don't know why you're so hung up on him, dude." Harry sighed, throwing around a basketball. The boys' dorm was just as big and overly decorated as the girls', just without the flower print. "I finally get a guy for a roommate, and you're just as boy crazy as my sisters!" He sat down and started emptying his pockets of stolen goods. Fruit, junk food, watches, hats, anything he could get his hands on.
"What is it with you and stealing?" Dante put away his guitar, turning his attention towards the Scottish pirate. "Students get free food, and Ben gave us some money to buy clothes and stuff." His younger brother, Hadie, had always been in charge of stealing things to sell at their father's antique store, but Dante never bothered to try. He built his guitar out of spare parts, and while it wasn't in very good condition, and didn't sound good either, it was his and his alone.
"It's like buying whatever I want, except it's free." Harry explained, polishing his hook with a handkerchief he snatched from some girl with incredibly long hair. He had insisted on bringing it to Auradon. CJ and Harriet, his sisters, both had actual hook hands, so Harry had always felt left out. He often tried to get Tik Tok the croc to bite off one of his hands, but it never worked. He figured this was why his father always seemed disappointed in him, he hadn't "earned" his status as a pirate yet.
"So what's up with you and Uma?" Dante asked, prying. He had always been a little jealous of how close the pirates seemed to be with each other. He had Hadie, sure, but a sibling wasn't the same as a friend. And not nearly as good as a boyfriend. "You're always following her around like a lost puppy."
"I'm her first mate!" Harry said, as if that explained everything. "I'm loyal to my captain, that's all there is to it." He stopped for a minute, smiling wickedly. "Why, are you jealous?"
"As if!" Dante objected, his hair burning brighter. "I don't date boys who are smaller than me, and especially not ones who wear as much makeup as my mother!"
Before the two boys could fight, the door burst off its hinges. Uma and Quinn walked in, Uma holding her mother's spellbook in one hand. "Boys, stop whatever stupid thing you're doing, we're stealing the wand tonight!"
"Do it yourself, μάγισσα, you're not the boss of me." Dante replied, strumming his guitar again. Uma did not like this. The sea witch gave him a death glare, the kind that would send most Serpent Hall students running in fear.
"Yeah, why are you in charge?" Quinn interrupted, adjusting her tiara. "I'm a princess, I should be the leader!"
"I've got the spellbook, the pirate crew, and the magic powers." Uma reminded her.
"I'm a god, I outrank all of you." Dante pointed out.
Uma grabbed them both by the collar and stared them in the eye. "Follow my lead. No questions."
"Yes ma'am." They answered in unison.
"We leave at midnight."