A/N: Sort of a breather chapter and most likely the next one too for the descendants in this series. Also, Willa, Wynter, and Wyatt are not my characters, they are from the Disney Channel movie franchise Z-O-M-B-I-E-S and I thought they would be perfect to include in this chapter which I consider another guilty pleasure of mine next to the main Descendants series as if you couldn't tell already.
It was just another day in The Enchanted Forest. The adults couldn't help but notice that the kids seemed bleak and bored with the world that they were adapting to that wasn't Storybrooke. Despite being the descendants of popular storybook characters, they missed the town that they were cursed to live in with their parents and weren't sure what to do about it since the adults were preoccupied with trying to destroy The Wicked Witch of the West before the opposite would happen. Soon, it was then decided by Aurora and Phillip that the adults of Misthaven should have a meeting once things were more settled and calmed down without attacks from the witch or Flying Monkeys and Red was left in charge of looking after the young ones, especially the one who was her little sister via adoption, Kiara. They were currently on the balcony of a castle as the sun was shining a bit through the snowy clouds of winter.
"Look, guys. Everything the light touches is our kingdom." Red told the young ones who surrounded her as she decided to give them all a field trip.
"Wow..." The kids whispered in amazement.
"Some of you will grow up to be crown kings or queens of the land, some of you will help out any future kings and queens, maybe some of you will grow up to be damsels in distress or knights in shining armor, we don't know," Red continued to tell them "You guys are free to go to wherever the light touches. Granny told me that too and she's important to Queen Snow White and King Charming."
"Everything the light touches," Kiara murmured as she looked around from their view before she looked into the distance. "What about that shadowy place?" she then asked as she looked back at Red questioningly.
"That's beyond our borders," Red explained to her little sister. "You must never go there, Kiki. Any of you." she then added as she looked at all of the other young ones.
"But I thought we could do whatever we wanted as the descendants of Misthaven?" Ben spoke up.
"Oh, there's more to being descendants than getting your way all the time." Red advised.
"There's more?" Audrey asked hopefully. "Do I get to inherit diamonds and rubies?"
"Diamonds and rubies that MY family toils in the mines for?" Doug added.
Red chuckled as she took them away from the balcony and continued to show them around while the adults had a meeting in the room they used to have meetings in before The Dark Curse. However, someone in the group seemed to wander away from the tour before she looked to the door and cracked it open a little just to see what was going on.
"So, this is all a meeting room for you guys?" Goldie asked as she took a look around.
"That's-a right, my dear," Geppetto nodded at her in response. "It seems like only-a yesterday we were trying to plan how to stop-a Queen Regina and her curse and how to save Emma when she was about to be born."
"Yeah, you used a tree to save her." Regina rolled her eyes slightly.
"Regina, you know that tree was used to be built into a wardrobe to send Emma away into A Land Without Magic." Snow reminded the other woman.
"I know, but it sounds ridiculous the more times I hear it." Regina replied.
"Well, excuse us if we planned on using the tree to build a wardrobe for her future bedroom when she would be born." David retorted.
"Whatever." Regina rolled her eyes.
"You mean you sent her through a wardrobe into a different world just like in Narnia?" Goldie asked.
The others then faced her with wide eyes of shock.
"...What?" Goldie muttered at their gazes.
"How did you know that's where the tree came from?" David asked Goldie. "You were taken away from The Enchanted Forest when you and Robin Hood were young."
"Oh, uh, that's a movie," Goldie explained and shrugged. "I once snuck into a theater when I was young to go and see it... I dunno why, it just felt right at the time, but it just made me miss my brother even more with the teamwork of those brothers and sisters to take down a great threat in a magical land together."
"Oh, Goldilocks..." Snow frowned softly.
"It's okay, but yeah, that's how I know about Narnia," Goldie replied. "Is that a real place around here too like Neverland or Oz?" she then asked.
"Exactly, but that'll be another story for another day," David replied. "Now I'm sure you've all noticed that our children have been feeling down in the dumps lately."
"Well, can you blame them?" Tinkerbell replied as Jiminy sat on her shoulder. "They were promised to grow up here and learn about their true stories after Regina cast the curse that sent away Emma and Henry only to be faced by The Wicked Witch of the West."
"Yeah," Jiminy chirped in agreement. "They don't get to have the chance to be normal kids like they were in Storybrooke before the curse broke."
"You all have a point," Granny agreed as she began to knit something like when she first knitted Emma's baby blanket. "What can we do though? There's a war around here against The Wicked Witch."
"It's even worse than The Ogres War." Phillip nodded.
"But what can we do to help cheer them up?" Aurora wondered. "Red Riding Hood can't guide them through The Enchanted Forest forever until they get settled and adjusted to their new lives that they were destined to."
"I think I know," Snow soon piped up with a small smile. "Maybe we can have a children's ball just for them."
"A children's ball?" Regina asked. "You mean like one of their school dances?"
"Yeah! Exactly!" Snow nodded. "We'll need a theme of course since that's usually how their school dances work." she then pondered.
"How can we be sure that The Wicked Witch won't strike during their celebration though?" Granny remarked.
"We don't, but we can just hope for the best and maybe get them out of the rut of being in terror of The Wicked Witch and being forced into a new world they aren't fully familiar with." Snow advised calmly.
"Then I guess that's it then," Tinkerbell nodded. "We'll have a secret and special dance for the kids to enjoy and take a break from this Wicked Witch madness."
"Well said, my dear Tinkerbell," Jiminy agreed as he chirped and fluttered in front of her as he left his shoulder. "Oh, I just wish you could be my size again or I could be your size~" he then said dreamily before pecking her cheeks.
"Jiminy, easy," Tinkerbell chuckled as she plucked him off her face and held him in her hands. "We're still in public~"
Jiminy chuckled and coughed nervously as he looked back at the rest of the crowd who just smirked at him playfully.
"Just remember not to tell anyone, it'll spoil the surprise." Snow advised.
Everyone else jeered in agreement as Amalie gasped from the door, having overheard the whole thing.
"Let's make it a make-up for their Valentine's Day dance," Regina suggested. "This should be interesting at least."
"Right," Snow nodded. "Now let's talk about chaperones..."
The adults then began to explain more to each other while Amalie snuck away before anyone could see her snooping around.
"Oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh~" Amalie gushed and beamed as she ran down the hallway with a spring in her step. "A secret Valentine's Day dance!"
"Amalie?" A voice suddenly called.
"Ah!" Amalie gasped as that startled her before she turned around to see a certain someone right behind her. "Oh. Hi, Gil. What're you doing here?" she then greeted bashfully.
"Red told me to come and find you," Gil explained. "She said you wandered away from the group and wanted to know why."
"Oh, well, I guess I found out something interesting... I'm not sure if I can say anything though." Amalie replied.
"Well, did you make a promise that you wouldn't tell anyone?" Gil asked her.
"Well, no..." Amalie admitted as she looked around. "I guess I can tell you."
"Yeah! You can trust me with anything," Gil reassured her with a smile. "I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid."
Amalie rolled her eyes with a small snort before she leaned in to whisper into his ear before they would go back to the group.
"A secret Valentine's Day dance?" Gil asked with wide eyes.
"Uh-huh!" Amalie nodded and beamed out loud. "This is gonna be great, Gil! We're gonna have a secret Valentine's Day dance!" she then announced.
Her voice soon echoed along the stone walls of the castle while Gil grinned nervously at the outburst.
"Um, you might not wanna shout that," Gil told her as he took her arm before they went to go back over and see Red and their tour group. "Being a secret and all."
"You're right. You're right." Amalie nodded at that.
The adults looked at each other as they thought they heard the echo before they smirked at each other before they continued to discuss the upcoming dance for their descendants.
After the tour ended, the kids began to play together outside while the adults did what they had to get done inside. Some kids complained about it being too cold, though other kids like Elwin were fine by it and as he put it, the cold never bothered him anyway. Kiara was currently tossing around a ball with Melody, Piper, and Zephyr. Creepy Claudine seemed to be watching and admiring Zephyr from afar, but did her best not to cast any attention to herself, especially given her dark and gloomy reputation.
"That's a nice necklace, Kiara," Melody commented. "Where did you get it?"
"I dunno, Mel," Kiara shrugged as she caught the ball before tossing it to Piper during their game. "I just woke up in The Enchanted Forest with Granny and Ruby and it was around my neck. Where'd you get your necklace?" she then asked in return.
"Mr. Gold's shop during my birthday before The Dark Curse broke," Melody replied as she caught the ball from Piper after he threw it at her. "I know Mr. Gold or Rumplestiltskin aren't around anymore, but maybe we can find out more about your own necklace."
"That's a good idea, Mel. What do you think, Zephyr?" Piper remarked and asked.
"Eh, I dunno," Zephyr shrugged. "I'm not really big on jewelry or any other kind of fashion even if my Birthright Jewel is an emerald like my eyes. I mean... what does it say about where I came from like everyone else?"
"You're a somebody to us though, Z." Melody reminded.
"Sure, that's easy for you to say," Zephyr shrugged at that. "I mean, we found out that Melody is the daughter of The Little Mermaid, Piper, you're the son of the original Pied Piper, and Kiara comes from some kinda tribe that worshiped lions and was raised by Red Riding Hood and her grandmother, but I don't really have a story for myself like you guys do."
"Well, maybe we can figure something out sooner or later," Melody replied. "We're all supposed to find out our true stories after all ever since we ended up here and the grown-ups were free from the curse." she then tossed the ball to Kiara next.
"I never get to do anything 'cuz of Granny and Ruby... I don't even know who I am inside sometimes." Kiara complained and then suddenly kicked the air in frustration and accidentally hit the ball, sending it flying. "Oops! Sorry, guys!" she then said nervously.
"That's okay, Kiara." Melody, Zephyr, and Piper reassured her.
The ball went flying and soon rolled through the bushes before going into a certain spot in the forest.
"Oh, man!" Kiara bit her lip.
"Well, go get it, Kiara." Zephyr suggested.
"I'm not getting it, you go get it!" Kiara retorted.
"Oh, no. You know the rules: the misser or in this case kicker always fetches the ball." Zephyr countered.
"Okay... I'm going..." Kiara sighed and rolled her eyes as she went to the shadowy spot, looking a little nervous since Red and Granny told her not to go anywhere near there. She did remember this before she shook her head at herself. "It's just one ball, it couldn't hurt to go in and go after it."
Zephyr, Melody, and Piper waited on the other side as Kiara looked back at them before she took a deep breath, then went to go into the forbidden zone, thinking that she would be fine if she went through there.
"So, you gonna go in and check it out or what?" A voice suddenly asked right behind Kiara.
Kiara gasped and turned around nervously to see a certain boy right behind her.
"What're you doing here, Red Hood Girl?" The boy demanded before approaching her.
Kiara didn't answer him right away and soon hopped out of the way, facing him at all times.
"Uh, what are you doing?" The boy asked out of confusion.
"I know who you are, you're one of those Lost Boys, and Granny told me to never turn my back on you guys after what you did with Peter Pan." Kiara replied firmly as she narrowed her eyes.
"You always do what Granny says?" The boy smirked at that.
"No!" Kiara glared at that.
"Bet ya do! Bet you're Granny's Little Helper~" The boy taunted and smirked before turning away from her, walking deeper into the forbidden zone. "A Lost Boy like me doesn't need anybody. I take care of myself!"
"Really? Cool!" Kiara replied in awe as she began to follow him before looking around for the ball. "Oh, I don't know if I can go any further in here."
"Because Granny said so?" The boy guessed with a teasing smirk.
"Oh, uh, I dunno... we're way beyond the boundary of Misthaven." Kiara replied nervously.
"Heh... Little Red Hood is scared~" The boy smirked at her.
"I have a name you know!" Kiara defended and glared before she pouted. "And right now, we are both in very real danger."
"Danger? Ha! I walk on the wild side... I laugh in the face of danger~" The boy taunted before he reared his head back dramatically. "Ha, ha, ha!"
From behind, there was suddenly a darker and more howl-like laugh heard. The boy's face suddenly turned into horror before he rushed back over beside Kiara before a trio of savage looking kids, even more savage than a typical Lost Boy or Girl would look, came to prowl toward the two other kids with one of them holding onto the lost ball. They also seemed to be wearing special necklaces a lot like Kiara's, but they were for something else of course.
"Well, well, well, Wyatt. What have we got here?" The girl up front taunted and smirked.
"Hmm. I don't know, Willa," The boy named Wyatt replied with a dark fanged smirk before looking back at the girl behind him who held onto the ball. "Uh, what do you think, Wynter?" he then asked her.
"I think we're all thinking the same thing," Wynter concluded with a dark grin as she held onto the ball in her hands. "A couple of trespassers!"
"We were just leaving actually," The boy beside Kiara said as strongly as he could. "This girl here got lost in the woods, but that's what she gets for being raised by Little Red Riding Hood, so if you don't mind, we'll be on our way."
"Wait! Wait, I know you..." Willa said as she put her hand on his shoulder and grinned. "You used to be The Hyena Prince."
"Hyena Prince?" Kiara murmured to herself at that reveal as it sounded familiar and important.
"I'm a Lost Boy now and I don't answer to anyone and that includes you," The boy replied firmly. "Now let me get this girl back home and she just wants her ball back."
"And that would make you...?" Wyatt soon asked Kiara.
"It doesn't matter who I am," Kiara defended. "Please give me that ball back to give to my friends."
"Look at this, guys," Wynter said as she suddenly pulled onto Kiara's necklace to take a look as it resembled a certain paw print. "This isn't just any ordinary girl raised by Red Riding Hood... she's The Lion Princess."
"Ya don't say..." Willa smirked. "Do you know what we do to princes and princesses who step out of their kingdom?"
"You can't do anything to us," Kiara glared and defended. "I'll tell Granny who will tell Queen Snow White and King David."
"Uh, technically, they can," The Lost Boy told Kiara. "We ARE on their land."
"And that means this ball belongs to us too," Wynter added as she showed the ball. "Anything that comes into our territory belongs to us."
"I might be a Lion Princess, but Granny and Ruby raised me and they're wolves, so you better watch out." Kiara warned.
"Whoa! You hear that, guys?" Willa asked Wyatt and Wynter. "Lion Princess here thinks we're afraid of The Big Bad Wolves!"
The three then laughed and mocked Kiara's claim to fame.
"Yeah, and they're gonna hurt you if you hurt me." Kiara then added, trying to sound brave and tough.
"You think we're afraid of a couple of traitors?" Wyatt taunted.
"Traitors? What are you talking about?" Kiara asked firmly.
"Wouldn't you like to know?~" Willa grinned.
"Poor baby lion cub doesn't know who she's messing with." Wynter added.
"How sad!" Wyatt laughed mockingly.
Kiara bit her lip and pouted at them.
"We're the remaining descendants of Anita Lucas' pack? Ever hear of her? We thought not," Willa scoffed and smirked. "I'm Willa and this is my brother, Wyatt. We're both the descendants of her son Quinn and I'm the leader of this pack."
"And I'm their friend Wynter," Wynter piped up. "You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us." she then challenged.
"Quinn?" Kiara wondered.
"You really don't know what's going on, do you?" Willa smirked. "Maybe we should let you get to know us better, Lion Princess."
The three bullies soon snarled as their eyes became golden slits and their fangs popped out of their mouths with their nails turning into dark claws to show that they were part wolf just like Granny and Ruby. Kiara yelped and looked afraid of these bullies since they were part wolf and her lion powers didn't seem to be helping her at all.
The Lost Boy wasn't sure, but he looked concerned about Kiara before he glared and decided to get the wolves' attention. "HEY!" he then called out.
The three wolf bullies soon faced him suddenly.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" The Lost Boy challenged firmly.
"Like... you?" Willa suggested.
"Oops." The Lost Boy muttered to himself.
Soon, the wolves went to go and chase after the boy suddenly, dropping the ball in the process. Kiara fell on the ground, holding herself out of fear and sadness until she spotted the ball. She decided to pick it up and was about to head out of the forbidden zone until she looked over her shoulder to see that The Lost Boy that helped keep the bullies away from her was now being chased. While she felt like she wanted to go on without him before she would get in trouble for being seen around here, she found herself conflicted on whether to stay and help him or go and ignore him.
The Lost Boy got away from the wolf bullies for the most part until he climbed a tree to try to get further away from them only for the branch he stood on to snap and break, causing him to tumble right on the ground.
"Here, Princey, Princey, Princey~" Wyatt taunted as he came toward The Lost Boy with Willa and Wynter at his sides.
The Lost Boy tried to be protective and brave for himself before he glared and tried to roar at them to scare them away. However, due to being young and not a mighty opponent, he came off as weak and defenseless, causing the wolf bullies to laugh.
"That was it?" Willa taunted as she laughed with Wyatt and Wynter. "Do it again. Come on."
The Lost Boy then tried to growl and roar again, sounding like a full-grown wolf and not a hyena for some reason, confusing the wolf bullies. However, a giant wolf jumped out, attacking the trio despite them being young children. The Lost Boy looked around and soon stepped out of the way before Kiara was shown and holding onto her ball protectively.
"Oh, please, please! Uncle! Uncle!" Willa cried out as she and the others were pinned down by this great wolf.
"Ow, ow, ow!" Wyatt added.
"SILENCE!" The wolf roared at them, causing them to flinch.
"Oh, come on, we're gonna shut up right now!" Wyatt said nervously.
"Calm down," Willa added. "We're really sorry."
"If you ever come near my little sister again..." The wolf snarled dangerously, revealing to be Red as she stared them down.
"Oh, this is... this is your sister?" Willa asked, acting like she didn't know.
"Oh, yours!" Wyatt added, pointing at Red and rubbed her head with one hand as if in mock realization.
"Did you know that?" Willa asked her brother.
"No! Me? I didn't know," Wyatt replied. "No! Did you?"
"No, of course not!"
"No."
"Guys, I thought we did know her and The Hyena Prince that came onto our turf?" Wynter spoke up out of confusion.
Red then let out a mighty and powerful growl and howl, scaring the younger wolves underneath her instantly.
"Toodles~" The three young wolves said in fear before they ran off, passing Kiara as they went to go back to where they came from.
Red breathed heavily before looking at Kiara before nodding her head at her.
Kiara looked around and came closer up to the wolf who had saved her. "Ruby?" she then asked.
"It's Red in The Enchanted Forest, Kiki," Red spoke to Kiara. "But yes, it's me. I told you not to come to this place, you could've gotten killed."
"I'm sorry, Rubes... Red... I was just trying to get our ball back." Kiara explained with a pout.
"Come on, let's get my hood back on and go home." Red told her as she walked ahead of Kiara, going through the bushes.
"Hey, uh, are you okay?" Kiara asked The Lost Boy as she came to pass him on her way out of the forbidden zone of The Enchanted Forest. "You... you were really brave!"
"Yeah... you were pretty brave too," The Lost Boy admitted before smiling at her. "My name's Kovu."
Kiara then giggled at him in a friendly way. "I'm Kiara."
"KIKI! LET'S GO!" Red called out firmly.
"I'm coming!" Kiara replied before she nodded her head at The Lost Boy. "See ya around, Kovu."
"Yeah, uh, see ya later, Lion Princess." Kovu replied as she took off suddenly.
Melody was holding onto Red's hood and once she saw the familiar wolf come back out of the bushes along with Kiara. Melody smiled once she saw that Kiara was okay and soon tossed the hood over Red, allowing the young woman to change back from a wolf into a human being. The two were about to go off innocently until Granny was shown to be looking very stern with Kiara right now.
"Granny, I-" Kiara spoke up softly.
"You deliberately disobeyed me." Granny interrupted sharply.
"Granny, I'm... I'm sorry." Kiara replied.
"Granny, don't be mad at her." Red spoke up.
"Red, don't interrupt," Granny warned her biological granddaughter. "I raised you better than that."
"Please Granny, let me speak," Red insisted to her grandmother as strongly as she could. "I saved Kiara before those wolves could get to her and that Hyena Prince was just trying to help."
"The Hyena Prince saved The Lion Princess?" Granny asked out of disbelief.
"I know it sounds unusual, but yes, he did save her," Red nodded before looking back at Kiara. "Isn't that right, Kiki?"
"Yeah, he did... He didn't have to, but he did." Kiara replied.
"Granny, we owe Kovu Kiara's life," Red then said to Granny. "We took her in like our own and we should listen to her like our own too."
"...Simba's law shall prevail before he had to lose Kiara," Granny replied before looking back at Kiara. "We'll see just who this boy is after a while, but next time you're told not to go somewhere, you don't do it and at the very least, ask an adult to help you. You got that, Little Missy?"
"Yes, ma'am." Kiara nodded.
"Good... now, I was hoping to surprise you with this later, but I guess you could use it now..." Granny said thoughtfully before she brought out a cloak that was a bit pink. "Ta-da."
"My own pink riding hood?" Kiara wondered as she took a look at it.
"I thought you'd like your own riding hood after Red got hers when she, more or less, became of age," Granny explained. "We don't know when the lion in you will be awake, but I suggest you wear this every full moon like I had Red here wear her hood to conceal her inner wolf."
"After all, you're apart of this family, Kiki." Red added kindly.
Kiara smiled emotionally at them and soon tried the hood on right away. "Thank you, Granny." she then said.
"You're welcome, dear," Granny nodded. "Now I think you have to wash the dishes after supper tonight."
"Aw, Granny~" Kiara pouted.
"I'm sorry, my dear, but you need penance after what you did today," Granny advised. "At least I'm not letting you clean the floor with your tongue."
"You would do that?" Kiara asked Granny with a gasp.
"Let's try not to test my patience, dear." Granny chuckled as she began to take Red and Kiara back home.
Kiara looked bashful before she looked over her shoulder to see Kovu one last time. "Bye." she then whispered to him.
"Bye." Kovu whispered back as he seemed to wander back into the shadows, but not in the forbidden zone of The Enchanted Forest.
After a while, Granny soon brought Kiara into her room and set the girl down on her bed. Kiara looked up at Granny with a nervous grin, but then frowned as the elderly woman harshly frowned at her to show that this was no laughing matter.
"Kiara, what did you think you were doing?" Granny asked with a weary sigh. "You could have been killed today."
"But Granny, I-I didn't mean to disobey-" Kiara frowned.
"I'm telling you this because I love you," Granny told the girl who was like her younger granddaghter. "I don't wanna lose you."
"I know..." Kiara nodded.
"If something happened to you, I don't know what I'd do," Granny said. "I always tell Red that she can't keep acting like some kid and that she has to grow up someday. I had to protect her from her mother, my daughter's pack to start a new story for her to share with you and I did the same for you when your parents Simba and Nala trusted me to bring you into my home."
"Yes, ma'am, I understand," Kiara replied softly. "But Kovu really did save me... even though I'm supposed to be a Lion Princess and he's a Hyena Prince."
"It's true, Granny," Red said as she came from the door. "I saw it with my own eyes even though I'm a bit mad that Kiara didn't listen to me either. Can you imagine how annoying or frustrating it can be having a kid around who doesn't always listen to what you say just because you wanna help them?" she then sighed and leaned against the door, crossing her arms.
"Try it for over 20 years and then we'll talk." Granny smirked at her grown biological granddaughter.
"Hey! You're talking about me, aren't you?" Red complained.
Both Granny and Kiara chuckled at that a little.
"That isn't funny, you guys!" Red pouted before she walked off, letting Granny and Kiara have some privacy with each other.
"I just don't know if I even wanna be a Lion Princess." Kiara then said to Granny with a pout.
"It's in your blood, but you don't need to be one since I'm taking care of you now," Granny advised warmly. "I may not be your natural grandmother and Red might not be your blood sister, but we're all a part of each other. We are one."
"Hmm... I guess so..." Kiara said softly.
"As long as you live here, it's who you are," Granny told Kiara before hugging the girl kindly and kissed her forehead. "You'll understand someday. And if you ever feel lost, just look up at the stars to see The Great Lion Kings and Queens of the past from your home tribe and there are also the constellations that your family believed in. Like Pumbaa the Good-Hearted, Timon the Attention Seeker, or Rafiki the Wise."
Kiara gave a small smile to Granny before the older woman stepped away. "Good night, Granny." she then said softly.
"Good night, Kiara." Granny replied as she decided to call it a night after that.
