Fragile; Princess Snowdrop White

She's perfect. She was always perfect. Hair of ebony, skin of snow, lips of rose. Always friendly, laughing, smiling. Kind to animals and even to the huntsman who was going to kill her. She loved fruit and flowers and her castle was filled with sweet smells and good spirits and she prided herself on her kind hand when ruling. Under her rule, her kingdom flourished. One of the first to unite in Auradon, with a lucrative produce trade and good medicine.

Snowdrop could never compare.

From birth, she was soft and small, physically identical to her mother but oh so different. Where Snow White excelled in singing, Snowdrop sang too shrill and found her true talents lay in playing the flute. Where Snow White was kind to everyone, Snowdrop shied away at all social contact, preferring to stay in her room reading. Her only true friend was Evie, a strange relation, but the girls had much in common. She also had the children of the dwarves, Doug and Cheerful were the nicest to her, but even they were too much for her at times.

People took notice. They saw her pale face, her stiff waves, her awkward speech, and all whispered it.

She's so fragile. She's too delicate. How can she compare to her mother? Oh, did you see her crying? Laughing? Going to town on that pie? That citizen she walked past? How can she truly be the heiress? Daughter of Snow White? She's not perfect at all.

Snowdrop still has the dress she wore when she lost her mind once at eleven, vomiting on herself and the dress in a crowd. She was trying to open up a new school and someone laughed at how a strand of her hair was out and it all came out. Snow White and her prince, now her king, took her to Auradon City immediately to be tested and found out she was neurotic with an anxiety disorder. Snowdrop felt her entire world crumble at that revelation. Not only was she the exact opposite of Snow White, but it was confirmed she was fragile and helpless. She had no chance.

She kept her diagnosis secret from everyone, except Evie, who held her all through the night after she got her results, crying. Most of all she never told her 'friends', Ben, Audrey, and Chad. Oh, there was nothing wrong with them, except the fact they were perfect. Everything Snowdrop could never be. Everyone loved them, nobody loved her. They'd never understand. Just like how nobody understood how she felt when she had to speak to strangers, play nice with negotiations, stay on top of her studies, the sick feeling in her stomach that welled up into her throat, her shaking palms, the sweat dripping down her back, her shoes suddenly too tight on her feet and pinching her, her teary eyes, the fact she had to swallow and smile and be nice because she had to be perfect just like Snow White.

Even at Auradon, she never received peace. Mocked for her closeness to Evie, mocked for her nature, mocked because most from foreign countries believed the slander the Evil Queen spread about her mother, that she was a weak child unfit to rule. They never knew she cried sometimes, how rambunctious she got around the dwarves, how stern she was with her and Evie. They couldn't know, because Snow White was meant to be perfect.

And Snowdrop was just a fragile imitation. One light breeze and she'd break apart completely.

Betrayal; Prince Chad Charming

Chad grew up hearing stories of how kind and selfless his mother Cinderella was. Everyone in the kingdom knew them by heart. A lesser noble returned to her proper place of a throne, carrying herself with queenly grace yet never looking down on the townspeople. Cinderella spent her mornings walking through the marketplace and greeting everyone, smiling merrily. She even let her reformed stepsister Anastasia move in with her husband and together they helped make baked goods for the royal family. He was the oldest and raised in a home of love, in a castle that became the symbol for Auradon itself with its simple design.

He knew his behavior was a betrayal to everything he was taught.

Chad knew he was different from other kids, he was slower in school, but told princes didn't need to study, so he stopped. He had issues controlling his anger, like every lost game of ball or fencing ended with Chad beating up the winner in a fit of rage, or every person who snubbed him usually ended up shoved and with a string of harsh words flung into their face. Wasn't that how it was meant to be though? When he managed to get friends, outside of teammates, they coaxed him to be princely, to take what was his. Chad wanted friends, so he did it.

Be tougher, be rougher, be meaner. Sign up for all the sports. Stop being a vegetarian and instead chow down on meat constantly. The first time he tried, he started hyperventilating and spent the night in the dark, hugging a bucket and trying to not cry. That was another thing princes didn't do, they didn't cry. That was for the princesses they rescued. Oh, and princes could also cheat. It was absolutely allowed. Chad liked doing that more than he'd admit.

Snowdrop and Audrey were his favorites to bounce between, because they were sweet and innocent and silent and never complained or really talked at all, but once he dated a twin of Rapunzel and a mermaid chick. Didn't remember their names, didn't work out. The mermaid was clingy in a bad way and the twin was wild and not ladylike at all!

Audrey. She was beautiful. He wanted her, sincerely. She was sweet and did a great job with the cheerleader squad and loved the simple things in life. He fell hard for her before he fully realized what had happened. When she said they could date regularly, his heart soared. Who cared if it was only for the cameras?! He'd be with his beloved! He was truly a proper prince, now.

Who cared about the fact meat and dairy made him ill and his grades were abysmal and he couldn't really tell apart his own teammates in Tourney and most girls didn't like him and his first reaction to everything was violence and his parents regarded him with disappointment everytime he ordered someone to work for him?

He was a true prince!

It was the only thing that shut up his inner voice these days.

Fine; Princess Audrey Rose

Everything was fine. Audrey was fine. Her parents were fine. Her friends were fine. Her life was perfectly fine.

Yeah right.

She had early memories of playing with Malevolent, the daughter of that fairy who shan't be named and was thankfully rotting away in the dungeon filled with iron. Very early, as most childhood memories were of the two girls fighting and bugging the other over nonsensical stuff. Audrey was the perfect princess, Malevolent was the evil fairy. Forget the fact that when dressed alike, both radiated fiery passion from their eyes and smirked with a telltale singular expression. Aurora and Phillip ruled their small yet joined kingdoms well, so that was fine. Audrey fell into a group of more traditional royals like herself, that was also fine. Chad wanted to date her. That was less fine. She wasn't into the stereotypical prince image he had, but it would be fine for a fling or two.

Her parents spoiled her and never let her want. That was also not fine. Despite a rustic upbringing, Audrey never wanted for new dresses or art supplies, so she grew into a spoiled brat. Yeah, she wasn't naive. She knew what her peers whispered about her in the halls of Auradon Prep. How could she not? That was the nicest thing they said about her.

And okay, maybe she kinda deserved it. But she wasn't all mean! It was sensible for her to worry about villains attending with them, it was reasonable for her to be concerned about commoners who had other resources than just this school, it was perfectly fine for her to be thinking of other people! That's what she had always done.

…..Yeah right. Maybe the others were right. At home, people only danced with her during festivals because it was embarrassing to leave the princess sitting alone by herself. At school, the princesses all stuck together because they were princesses and it was what they always did.

Her parents were clueless about royal stuff, so that fell to her grandmother, a shrewd and demanding woman who could destroy someone with her words only. Audrey liked Grandma Leah. Grandma Leah drilled her extensively in etiquette and royal duties, rewarding her with gossip she heard from around the various royal realms.

"Did you know there's some princesses born of a non-noble? Now Audrey, promise me you won't be friends with them."

She set down her teacup, all dainty. "But Grandma," she began, all fresh-faced and eight. "Mom and Dad wanted to marry, I mean, Dad was going to marry Mom and give up royal life for just a peasant girl, I might've been-"

"That's different! My daughter was forced into that life. Royalty was in her blood and where she belongs. I'm talking about princesses who knowingly marry poor men! Like Rapunzel. Married a thief!" Her tongue clicked in disappointment.

Another similar talk at fourteen.

"Have you seen the daughter of Ariel lately? Heard she makes friends with commoners. Don't do that, alright? You are so much better than them."

Audrey set down her sampler, gracefully. "But Grandma, Mom and Dad are very good to the local village, and a princess is supposed to help the population. She's-"

"Yes, for charity. You take pity on those people, but you must never treat them as anything more. Do you understand me?"

None of that was fine.

What had Audrey done?

Curiosity; Princess Melody

Her room was filled with treasures and trinkets from everywhere in the world. Benefits of having a mermaid for a mother and a sailor for a father, she supposed. When she swam, she gathered seashells, pearls, and coral. When she helped sail, she gathered nautical tools, foreign currency, and twigs, because for some reason every realm had sticks that looked different and Melody loved it.

Her birth united the land and sea once and for all, and to boost better relations, King Triton and his heir, the current Queen Aquata, used their magic to turn mermaids human temporarily and vice versa for comfort and interest. Melody got to spend her days in her beloved ocean at last, with no shame or judgment. Nothing beat an early morning swim in her mind, popping out of the water to take a deep breath and inhaling the salt smell and bathing in the light oranges and pinks of the sunrise that dipped into the ocean. Her cousins all spoke of her kindness, well all except Arianna, but Arianna was a brat and mean and nobody liked her. Even in town, people knew her name and face and greeted her as she walked past, and she'd happily wave and try her best to curtsy back.

Starting at Auradon Prep, though, was rough. She began at thirteen in the middle school portion, and found some fast friends, but she struggled. No matter how hard she tried, suddenly she stuck out in all the wrong ways there. It was like they had never seen a mermaid before!

"Did you know she has magic? Oh! I bet she's just like that terrible sea witch!"

"She stinks like fish and salt."

"She doesn't walk right or wear her dresses properly."

"I saw seaweed on her in Princessology. Can you believe?!"

"And she's friends with commoners."

"Is it just me, or is she getting fat? A fat mermaid! Imagine that!"

Everytime, Melody bit her tongue and clenched her fists, telling herself it was pointless. Words couldn't actually hurt her, and all that nonsense.

Then, they went after her mother.

"She sold her soul for a man!"

"She gave up everything to be with a man she didn't know. Do they even love each other?"

"How much you wanna bet Melody is just a trap to keep them together?"

"Oooh, yeah, especially because she looks so much more like her dad!"

She never understood why, but those comments actually did hurt her. Never once did they bring up how spirited and fearless her mother was, how much she risked and how much she missed her home, even now, and most of all they never brought up her curiosity.

Curiosity was behind everything her mother did. Curiosity was what led her to explore shipwrecks and collect things, seek out humans to begin with, to make a contract in the hope things could change, to be absolutely enthralled by everything she saw on land, to the point she was still learning about things, fourteen years later. Nobody ever mentioned that, or the fact that Melody got that very same twinkle in her eyes when she studied maps or polished pearls. She was a failure daughter of a stupid woman who shouldn't be ruler.

And if she was fat, well so be it. She had been eating a lot more recently, and why stop? She could burn it off later.

Wishes; Crown Prince Benjamin Florian

Ben was always a big dreamer. Ever since he could walk, he'd pull himself over to the tall window in his bedroom to gaze up at the stars, his favorite one being a large sparkly one that constantly twinkled. His mother told him it was a Wishing Star, any wish made on it was bound to come true. So, Ben wished that he would be a good ruler one day. He told his mom the next morning and she laughed and gave him a hug, saying she knew he would be.

Over the years, he'd sit in the window and gaze up at the Wishing Star, feeling like that some days, it was the only thing that understood him.

"Wishing Star, Grandpa can't find a new gear for the clock he's trying to make. I wish he could find the most perfect one!"

"Wishing Star, Chad stole a pastry from another kid during athletic practice today. I wish he would apologize."

"Wishing Star, I saw a girl my age in the village who was coughing badly and ignored by others. When I tried to give her money, someone saw and kicked her can aside, spilling her money everywhere. I wish there weren't such nasty people still in existence. It's not fair that I get nice things but there's still others who struggle."

"Wishing Star, I feel bad for Lucille. The Gaston twins bully her brother badly and I don't know what to do. Fighting isn't in my nature, but I don't want the bullying to escalate. I wish I knew what to do."

"Wishing Star, I'm starting at Auradon Preparatory in a few months. My parents told me the most exciting news. This year, the school is opening their doors to commoners and villains! Isn't that great? Everyone deserves the best education available and I think this is a step in the right direction. I can't wait to meet everyone! I wish to make the best impression that I can!"

"Wishing Star. I wish Chad and Audrey would wake up and see how they're hurting others. They weren't always like this."

No matter what he wished for, the star twinkled on in silence, never speaking, never moving, always still.

One day, he'd be brave enough to wish and dream that every wish was answered in all of Auradon, that dreams all came true swiftly, and everyone would be as happy as their rulers always were in the famous stories.

Risk; Prince Aziz of Agrabah

A prince with sticky fingers was trouble. The first time he stole, it was an earring from his mother's dresser, something he knew she wouldn't miss. He was the only child in the harem, him and Jay, and Jay was a loner, so Aziz entertained himself by stealing. Jasmine noticed immediately and scolded him, and that night her and Aladdin had a serious talk. He couldn't hear, he just knew it was serious because she came back into the room with a dark expression. It was the same one she would get whenever Jay was older and started questioning who his mother was.

"A member of his harem. I'm sure that man has lots of children he's forgotten about." Jasmine would scoff and change the subject every single time.

Aziz never stopped stealing, graduating from stuff on Jasmine's dresser to jewels the guests wore, and one party he stole a shoe and was instantly caught by his dad.

"Son, you need to stop this. You're not a kleptomaniac." Aladdin said sternly when they sat together after the party.

"But I have the urge anyway! I can't stop!" Aziz cried.

"Try. A prince who steals is a risk to the well-being of the nation."

"You used to steal."

"Yeah,"

Aziz hated the look his dad gave him at that moment, and he'd never forget it. He tried to stop, but when Jay started and was even encouraged to, it was even harder. He was moved out of the harem and got to meet other people, namely Jordan, who became one of his best friends, who practiced her magic on him. He also later got two rambunctious siblings and counted his blessings. Siblings were rare for royal families, and he wouldn't trade Jamal and Anara for anything.

Jordan was just as much a thrill-seeker as him. Not only did he start stealing more around her, but they also jumped from windows, flew across the entire Auradonian content on just a flying carpet, transformed unsuspecting animals, and threw wild parties.

"What would life be without you?" Jordan laughed at the end of every adventure.

"Extremely boring." Aziz laughed back, and they'd both just laugh even harder.

Now, he was at Auradon Prep, as one of their older students. He could work with that. After all, Jay was coming too, and he needed someone to keep his stealing habit in check, and Jordan was there too, his favorite partner-in-crime. When he started didn't really matter to him.

What sort of risky business would they get up into that semester? Aziz couldn't wait to find out.

Basket; James Smith of the Powhatan Tribe

When James was stressed, he'd stop whatever he was doing and go weave a basket. It was something Pocahontas taught him at a young age and he practiced until he got it perfect. Her baskets were very simple, made of sturdy sticks and roots, and thus they lasted for a very long time. James was very much the same way. Very sturdy, featureless baskets, that kept his hands busy and his mind distracted. He was glad for that, because if he was idle, that's when the fuzz in his head came and his hands jittered and couldn't be still.

He lived a simple life. His mother was the leader of their specific tribe, as she was a woman she didn't get the same far-reaching rule her father before her did, but she still ruled with the same wisdom and grace he did. And Pocahontas, now officially going by Matoaka, did everything she could for her people. James' education back home involved being close to nature, rowing, harvesting, dancing, and weaving. As well as hunting with his fellow tribesmen, but he did that far less, as Matoaka wished him to stay in the village and do work there. He never minded. The people were a bit kinder, saying he had a restless spirit and that's why he could never focus. When he wore the skins of his people and had his hair down, really there was no difference between them.

The issues only came when he visited his father's home in London, or attending school, even a place as inclusive as Auradon Prep. That's when his lack of focus was an issue and meant constant scoldings, when even though he tied his hair back and wore the same rich blue as John Smith, all the others ever saw was that he was an other. Not one of them. A child with half-blood, half-native, half-savage, never truly English. His parents protected him the best he could, saying he was a sign that the two worlds could come together in agreement, but the two worlds seemed to disagree on that actually. Even the natives, though they were more welcoming, still had their respective issues with his family. He didn't like dressing or eating like them and was forgetting his language, mainly only knowing English. That drove a wedge between them.

Being one of the oldest students at the school, James kept his head down and maintained a reputation of being the strong, silent type. He supposed he was, in a way. He didn't like to speak much, a trait Matoaka gave him. It contrasted with his overactive mind and body, but whatever. He couldn't make friends because his birth was too unique, too odd, too different. Matoaka, commonly still remembered by her nickname of Pocahontas, might've been one of the famous great leaders who ruled her people wisely, but her story was still too strange for Janes to be accepted comfortably. What princess married a man from a completely different world as her, making a mixed child? It just didn't happen!

James couldn't wait to graduate and go home. Not to Matoaka's land, but rather to London, back with John Smith. Despite everything, he couldn't help but feel as though that was the place he truly belonged.

Volume; Herkie and Megan

Thebes is a loud place. Chaotically loud. Loud enough you have to shout for the person next to you to hear your conversation. Loud enough that even the weekly monster attacks or cart accidents can get drowned out. Herkie and Megan don't mind the shouting or the noise. Megan could sing as loud as she wanted when she's there, jumping up and down and yelling her lyrics to her gospel songs, making sure everything sounded right. Herkie could work out and punch walls all he wanted and yell if equipment fell with nobody being upset at him. They were polite for their grandparents, but otherwise made a lot of noise when they were visiting, finally free of expectations and quietness and being expected to be good. Especially to villains. A tall order to ask of kids who are constantly reminded who their mom spent a chunk of her life working for.

Mount Olympus is a loud place. Chaotically loud. You don't need to shout to be heard, nobody there actually cares what you have to say. Hercules was granted an honorary spot at that table thanks to Zeus and Hera, but Herkie and Megan found out the hard way that the invitation did not extend to the rest of the family, not even Meg. So when family reunions happened, the trio awkwardly stood at the gates, unable to actually get in, only hear what was going on.

It bothered Meg. She acted like it didn't, looking prim and proper with her circlet and layered robes, but it did. It infuriated her. Those were her in-laws and she wasn't even able to see them. Hera and Zeus were kind people, to be sure, but they weren't mortal. Herkie and Megan were, and that was the problem.

Even Hades, who wasn't really punished, having an actual job to do in comparison to other villains, whispered the word to them when they were close enough to the gates to hear, reminding them of what they were, what Hercules didn't really have to give up in actuality.

"Leave us alone." Meg would snap every time, pulling the siblings closer to her.

"Doesn't it just infuriate you? The fact that you had a role to play in the story, you married a god, essentially, and yet you're left out in the cold? Had you stuck with me, this wouldn't have happened." The words were slightly different, but the tone was the same, always spoken in the same level, quiet volume.

It was no wonder the four of them all preferred Thebes at the end of the day. Hercules, because he got to feel like a regular person. Herkie and Megan, because they could be as loud as they wished. Meg, because she wasn't judged for her choices anymore. Hercules' human parents would just spoil their grandkids and brag about how gorgeous Hercules and Meg still looked in comparison to their peers, 'truly a gift of Hebe, she's quite generous' and everyone would feel normal again.

Safe; Fa Lonnie

Her parents fought in one of the most major wars their country had ever seen. It would be selfish to expect them to be normal after that experience. Lonnie is that for them, she's the calm for their storms, the lifeboat for their waves, the glue that sticks them together. She's the one who keeps up the act that everything is alright, that she's a noble girl, that nothing is going on at home. How else is she meant to act? The other royal kids don't understand her struggles, and don't have parents like hers. While yes, many such as Queen Cinderella are famous for their stories of abuse, Queen Rapunzel famously struggles with anxiety, and Queen Anna and her sister Elsa still have issues with depression and isolation, they're all still different. Chad never had to remove any loud noises from the house, such as pots that could fall and bells that could clang, Anxelin and Ruby didn't wake up in the middle of the night to see their parents deep in a flashback, violently trembling in a corner, Anya and Alec weren't unable to partake in important festivals because there was a risk the fireworks would set them off even though they said it would be okay.

Lonnie wasn't bitter. Just sad this was the state of her life. The others wouldn't understand.

When Lonnie was younger, now this is something nobody else knows, she was actually pretty girly. She was just as feminine as her princess-y peers and her beloved 'cousins', the actual princesses Yu-min, Shu-mu, and Li-wei. She'd sit for hours, getting her makeup and hair done, her hanfu and robe tied perfectly, her sleeves trailing behind her like a cloud. She embroidered and swept like every princess did, making Mulan smile and say that's why she fought, to protect what was dear to her. She had no interest in being just like her parents, a rarity in Auradon. Everyone else tended to be just like their parents, and Lonnie was proud to be different. She even took Mulan's last name to honor the sacrifices that woman made.

Then, things went south. Her parents were revered as a prince and princess, for no reason. They were soldiers! Mulan was a simple farmer's daughter and returned to that lifestyle after marriage, moving in with her family, as Shang notably had nobody left to return to. Her best friends were forgotten, and Lonnie became the image of China, a perfect porcelain doll, with such untypical parents.

Lonnie wasn't sure what happened. She just knows she one day cut her hair into a shapely bob, ripped up a lot of her gowns, took up swordfighting, and refused to speak about her parents at school. Auradon Prep should've been a dream come true, but she only felt normal when her best friends were accepted as well, her own lifeline.

Even now, nothing has changed. She's tried so hard to be normal, to be different, to keep it together.

She just wants to feel safe.

No, she wants that for her parents.

She wants to have a somewhat normal life, where she can be herself and nobody questions why she's so different from her peers.

They'll never begin to understand.

Picture; Princess Marianne Gildamekah Thatch

The moment she turned eighteen, Dad was insistent on getting a photograph of her. A camera was one of the few things from Outside, as the Atlantians learned to call it, that he brought with him, but it went unused and collected dust for ages. There wasn't much use for it, and Marianne didn't really understand what it was anyway. But then she turned eighteen and suddenly he brought the camera out and tried to pose her on a chair.

"Back home, a girl turning eighteen was a huge deal. It was called her debutante and she'd go to a fancy ball and dance all dressed in white, and even meet the King! Well, if you lived in England, because they have a king. Do they still have one? Ah, it's been so long since I've heard anything of the world above. But anyway, wouldn't that be something? Oh, you have something white, so-"

Dad kept talking. Marianne let him. Nothing could stop him when he got like that. He was a very talkative person, she learned. Best to just let him go until he grew tired.

"Oh, you have a white ribbon, let's tie it up in your hair-"

Mom stood there and watched, not interfering. Marianne shot her a confused look, and Mom smiled a bit.

"Alright, now smile! You're our true woman!" Dad squeezed the shutter and the bulb exploded, filling the room with a flash and smoke. Marianne coughed, waving her hands around her face.

Weeks later, the picture was developed, and Dad showed her. She looked formal, her hands folded up in her lap, a white ribbon falling from her tight bun, her boots softly peeking out from under her skirt, now ankle-length like a woman's, and a frown on her face. She wasn't sure what to think of the sepia, which made her appear darker than normal.

Marianne never spoke of it, but she was in fact bothered by the fact she was the only Atlantian without white hair. Mom said it was because she was mixed, and perhaps the genes of non-Atlantians were just simply stronger. Definitely something to research further, but there wasn't really any way to. There didn't seem to be any records of it because she was such an enigma. Outsiders didn't mix with Atlantians, even now. Dad was unique.

And maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she had any friends, but her own people treated her like she was as delicate as the crystals around all their necks, like the crystals that would crave royal blood if disaster ever struck again. Marianne only had Mom and Dad as a result, who showered her with academic and linguistic knowledge. She was already speaking three languages at the age of five, and looking for more to speak.

Mom was proud of her for getting accepted into Auradon Prep, saying it was a shock because everyone forgot about her royal status.

But why, you are a queen. I am a princess.

People still don't really acknowledge Atlantis. We have a lot of work to do.

Marianne hated that answer, but still nodded. Maybe this was her calling, introducing her peers to Atlantis at school. She was already so old, she only had a year to do so. That's why her dad was a teacher there, to try help spreading the word.

She was given Mom and Dad's journal of cultural tidbits and sent off and decided Auradon City was just as bad as Atlantis. The ship ride made her extremely seasick. Nobody at school dressed like her, in her practical blouses with a high neck and ankle-length skirts, all in bland colors of blue, grey, and white. She was made to eat a lot of vegetables because the school believed her diet in Atlantis was lacking, okay she didn't hate vegetables, but carrots?! Disgusting. Her dormmate, the one close in age to her, was her complete opposite in every way and she disliked her attitude.

Worst was the realization Atlantis was a world stuck in-between. Suddenly, she had to attend school with people who either came from purely magic realms or strictly technological ones and the thought of both coexisting was silly. Most of her peers refused to believe science and magic could exist, she tried to explain it, but the only person who seemed to understand was Jennifer, her annoying dormmate, and maybe she was petty but she did not wish to entertain anything with that girl.

Auradon Prep took a picture of her for their records shortly after she arrived, still queasy and confused. She was standing that time, in full digital color, still wearing a white dress with her crystal around her neck, the journal tightly clutched to her chest and most of her face hidden under her big white flowery hat.

Would Dad like that photo? She looked weird. She felt weird.

Candy; Prince Louis of Maldonia

Louis loved maple syrup. That's it, end of story. More specifically, he loved the maple candy his uncle made, discovering a love of cooking as he grew older and was surrounded by great chefs. Uncle Ralphie was known throughout New Orleans for making huge batches of maple bark and tossing out a whole platter of it into schoolyards, watching the kids stop what they were doing and run to him, eagerly clamoring for their pieces. Louis also loved the maple put on his pancakes, eaten with a side of grits during breakfast.

While the rest of his family were chefs, Uncle Ralphie even teaching the class at Auradon Prep, Louis was more of a baker. Sweet treats were his specialty. Tiana and Naveen enjoyed that, fostering his talent and talking to him about making a serious career out of it when he was older. Louis just knew he liked sweets. His favorite dessert was the King Cake, served every year at Mardi Gras, and he hoped to one day make one himself despite the skill required.

Two people who weren't into any sort of cooking or baking were the Facilier sisters. Freddie and Cecilia. Well, everyone called them that, but Louis knew they were really named Felicity and Frederique. Instead of cooking, they were more into the occult, standing at the side of the street and suckering people into reading Tarot. Doctor Facilier was banished, leaving the city to instead deal with their mother, a mysterious Cajun woman who never went anywhere without her trusty crystal ball.

Freddie was the same age as Louis so they actually ended up in the same classes at their African-American high school, something he thought was rather rare for AKs and VKs. Once, he tried to melt her by offering her a slice of pecan pie. She laughed.

"Why're you givin' me this?"

"Don't know. Guess I'm just weak for any cute girl," He shrugged.

Freddie laughed more. "Ya just like your daddy. Ya really think we can be something?"

"Maybe not romantically, but…we could be friends." Louis said. He kept offering the slice to her. She finally took it, ate two bites, and tossed the rest behind her, hitting it on the wall and making it splat. She laughed. Louis just stood there, undeterred.

"You're weird. I'm thinkin' I like that," She punched his chest. "Guess I won't curse ya,"

That night, he found a small pecan cookie on a plate left out on his balcony.

And thus started their secret communications with desserts every week. He'd bake something and leave it outside her math class, she'd buy something and leave it out on his balcony. It was just a little thing, but it meant more to Louis than anyone could understand. Freddie was paying attention to him. She cared enough about him to do that, despite what she said.

Their last Mardi Gras together before departing for Auradon Prep that spring, she cried in surprise and spat out her cake slice. "It's hard!"

"What's wrong?" Tiana asked bravely. Freddie looked at her hand and showed off a tiny plastic baby piece in it, making everyone gasp.

"It's the Baby Jesus!" Uncle Ralphie said. "Congrats darlin', you get a year of good luck! Make the most of it!"

After the celebrations, she slipped the doll into Louis' hands.

"Ya deserve the luck more than me. Ya a decent person." She whispered.

Louis kept the baby, hiding it in his drawer at school. So far, he didn't really feel lucky, but maybe that could change.

After all, luck was an odd and fickle thing.

Horse; Princess Anxelin Fitzherbert of Corona

Lace; Princess Ruby Fitzherbert of Corona

Anxelin only ever felt like herself when she was out riding and racing.

Ruby only ever felt like herself when she was sewing and embroidering inside.

Ruby was the perfect princess, Anxelin was the tomboy. Somehow, that led to judgment. Anxelin was scolded, told to be more girly, often callously speculated to actually be a man. Every time, she'd roll her eyes and ignore the naysayers, deep in a ride or burping contest with her dad. How were her people so forgetful? Rapunzel's wedding was attended by her thug besties. She was nothing like a conventional princess.

Well, that didn't matter. Another way Anxelin differed was her blunt nature and difficulty with math and science, unusual when both Ruby and Rapunzel were so bright. Getting diagnosed in Auradon City showed she was emotionally delayed, and got put in Resource alongside a student she only saw infrequently, James Smith. That was fine. Anxelin was great at adapting.

Ruby was the one who tried to reach out to Ginny. Anxelin avoided the gloomy girl, thinking she was a lost cause, but Ruby actively invited her to everything they did. For Ginny's thirteenth birthday, Ruby surprised her with a new dress she sewed entirely herself, a dark red but with a style that matched the fashion of Corona better, stitched with golden lanterns and lace on the sleeves and collar. Ginny thanked her coldly and threw the gown out of her window several days later, all cut up. Ruby cried for ages.

"She's meant to be good! That's what we're taught, that everyone deserves a second chance and the VKs want to change-!" She cried as Anxelin held her close.

"Not all of them." Ginny gave her bad vibes, but she saw how happy the thought of redemption made Ruby that she never said anything. And after all, wasn't there truth to that? They were proof of redemption, their dad being who he was. Maybe Ginny was a tough nut to crack.

When she literally jumped out of the carriage taking them to Auradon Prep, though?

Anxelin should've trusted her gut better.

Ruby wished she saw the signs sooner.

Anxelin tried to be normal by dating, but Chad was self-absorbed and it didn't last for too long because he wanted a 'proper' girlfriend.

Ruby felt there were way too many princes to date, how could she choose just one?!

Anxelin missed being able to go out riding whenever things went wrong.

Ruby was grateful she still had her sewing kit to turn to in times of distress.

Pond; Prince and Princess Alec and Anya of Arendelle

Nobody except the royal family knew about the tiny pool of water just outside the back of the palace. Not the fountain in the square, everyone knew that, especially because once a year Elsa descended from the mountains and threw a wintery party, freezing the water and turning it into a huge play area. No, there was a small pond seemingly untouched by the elements just under the study window, and Alec and Anya were as drawn to it as they were to each other, loving their reflections.

Everyone told them they were different. One was a boy, the other was a girl. One was older, the other younger. They said that as if the twins themselves never noticed. They were perfectly aware of their differences and owned them. Their differences made them special and they were cherished.

Both were rambunctious and loved the outdoors, but Anya was softer, gentler, more content to play softly and enjoy cute animals. Alec was loud and chaotic, never taking a bath or calming down. Similar to their beloved mother and aunt, who were very different and made those differences their strengths.

And of course, the thing about the magic.

Auradon wasn't a place that banned magic. The citizens were just…untrusting towards it, after all the stories they've heard. The ones about good magic got waved away or dismissed, excused as something else. Elsa, the Fifth Spirit, was an enigma to them. Her whole being was strange. How could the hero have magic and the villain be a regular person? It was mind-boggling. Their behavior didn't help either, how they were more content to run around in the wild being messy than sitting down for proper royal stuff. Their age was no longer an excuse. Kids who were thirteen, in Auradon Preparatory's middle school division, didn't act that way. Even though a lot of them totally still did.

Then there was the thing about their villain. Princess Hannah. Never known to them except in letters that came from somewhere far away, because her father was banned from setting foot in Arendelle ever again. It was obvious who the inspiration behind her namesake was. They didn't want to think about her though, not the fact she snorted when she laughed and drank chocolate fondue and could walk on her hands. Not the fact that no matter how hard they tried to include her, she was closed-off and rude. She was just two years older yet acted like she knew everything about the world.

And yet, she liked the water too. She talked when she was beside the river, saying back home, her mother kept a huge pond full of the most beautiful koi fish you had ever seen, and Anya and Alec listened carefully, happy she was being open. Happy they had something in common. Anna would see them out there sometimes, bonding, and reminded them that the water remembered everything, and that's why they were lulled by it.

"Water has memory." She'd repeat.

"It remembers our good times," Anya and Alec would say after her.

Water had memory.

No wonder they loved their tiny little pond.

It was the only thing in their lives that made them feel constant.

Hey. So, uh, been a while. Long story short, I lost motivation for my main Descendants fanfic, then when I tried to get back on it, I realized I lost my ideas and the story notes weren't helpful. Still, I love my universe and badly want to keep writing stuff for it, so here's one of my works. All written using one word as the prompt, which the full lists I used will be linked in the last chapter. I also have a Halloween oneshot planned because who does Halloween better than Disney?

First up, the kids of the official Disney Princesses! Meg and Kida are here due to recent marketing treating them as such. Meg even has a brand new doll alongside the 'canon' ladies. Hopefully a sign of things to come!

Did you catch the order I put them in? ;)