Summary: Naomi seeks Mateo out during the afterparty of Princess Elena's first day of rule, and finally gets to meet the real him, taking a step she's been avoiding for nearly a year.

A/N: Well, I can mark off "delayed chapter posting due to medical reasons" on my fanfic author bingo card. Caught norovirus while at the doctor's office to treat an infected finger, and spent this week *wiped out*. Go figure. Anyway, thank you for your patience 3

Barely a month had passed since Shuriki had been overthrown, but Naomi could already tell that Princess Elena was going to be a far better ruler than the old queen ever was. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed parties. Every day after Shuriki's defeat had brought a new one, each grander than the last: more color, more music, more food, and Elena's ascension was pulling out all the stops.

Brightly colored banners hung from the ceiling, with paper chains and streamers strung up between them, and each lit lamp glittered on the tile. The band jumped straight from one lively tune to another, and the gowns of the partygoers spun in extravagant patterns as they danced to each one. Several sprawling buffet tables lined the furthest wall, covered in every manner of Avaloran delicacy and filling the room with mouth-watering, savory scents. Most importantly, an entire table was dedicated to desserts, with tiered platters overflowing with chocolates as the centerpieces. She had to stop by that later.

For now though, Princess Elena herself had her hooked by her arm, talking a mile a minute with the same boundless enthusiasm Naomi had seen from her all day. "So, we'll have our first Grand Council meeting tomorrow morning to start discussing the future of Avalor," she was saying. "How does nine sound? Does that give you enough time to get in from the harbor?"

"Sure does!" Naomi responded. With how excited she was for the position, she would've dragged herself into the palace at five if that's when the Grand Council decided to meet.

Elena beamed. "Perfect! I have to go attend to the other guests now, but I just want to say that I'm really looking forward to getting to know you better." She squeezed Naomi's shoulders, and then practically twirled her way back toward the center of the reception.

Naomi could get used to this. If this was what just naming Elena the Crown Princess was like, then she couldn't wait to see her coronation. And she would get to be there, if her new title meant anything. Grand Councilor Naomi. It didn't even feel real yet. None of the day had, between the princess showing up at the harbor, the jaquin ride across the city, the fight with the noblins, Mateo being a wizard…

Well, no, she already knew that last bit.

Curious where he'd wandered off to after the ceremony, Naomi scanned the crowd and spotted him at the edge of the ballroom, drum-wand tucked under one arm and a plate of food in his other hand, engaged in a spirited conversation with the princess. She was speaking animatedly, and Mateo was nodding along with just as much enthusiasm. Their discussion lasted only a moment longer, and then she gave Mateo's arm a quick squeeze and took off back toward another group of party-goers, waving to him as she went. Mateo lifted his arm to wave back, but dropped his wand out from under it in the process, and it fell to the ground with a clatter before he could catch it. Wincing, he stooped to pick it back up, glancing around to check if anyone had seen, and when he made eye contact with Naomi, his face promptly shifted to an expression of embarrassment. He sheepishly waved at her with the wand.

Naomi took that as her cue to join him. "Relax," she said as she approached, laughing. "I don't think anyone else saw, and I've seen you do way more embarrassing stuff."

"Thanks," he said, a wry smile on his face.

She stepped up beside him, back to the same column. In the center of the ballroom, Princess Elena was dancing with her little sister, spinning the girl back and forth between her and her grandfather. "The princess seems pretty nice," she remarked, and Mateo's smile turned warm.

"Yeah, Elena's great," he said. "She's stopped by my house a couple times to ask about magic stuff, and she's really easy to talk to."

No title. Interesting.

Granted, he had never used one for Shuriki either, but that had seemed more like a deliberate act of disrespect, where he spoke Elena's name with a sort of fond familiarity. Sure, some of Elena's first words to Naomi after her appointment were that she didn't need to call her "Princess" or "Your Highness" or anything like that, so it made sense that she would've said something similar to Mateo. But while Naomi wasn't one for formality, Mateo tended to err on the side of politeness, and yet he seemed to be well past the mental reminders stage that Naomi found herself in.

"How do you two know each other, anyway?" She'd been so wrapped up with the noblin situation earlier that she hadn't thought to ask that afternoon. In hindsight, it seemed funny that Mateo and Naomi already knowing each other struck Elena as more unusual than the fact that she knew them both.

"Huh? Oh, well, you know. I helped out a little bit during the revolution, and she ended up at my house before the march on the palace."

That seemed like far too big a deal to be announced so casually. Elena was much more personable than Shuriki (though that bar was admittedly low), enough so that Naomi could force advice on her earlier that day consequence-free. But still, there was a difference between encountering the princess on the job and helping get the princess on the throne. It must have been something big, for them to be so casual with one another already, like they were old friends.

Naomi hadn't even been in town that day.

She'd been out sailing with her dad, and had come back to different flags flying and people dancing in the streets. She hadn't even been sure at first that they'd come back to the right country. One confused interrogation of their neighbors later had only raised more questions than answers.

Princess Elena had returned, after forty one years. She was barely older than Naomi. She'd blasted Shuriki with her own magic. No, no, she'd thrown the witch off a bridge. She'd ridden a jaquin into battle. That was ridiculous, people didn't ride jaquins! And on and on it went, a hundred different thoughts and stories, none of them lining up in a way that made any sense. The only consistent throughlines, the only points she could use as an anchor, were the facts: when she'd left that morning, they had Queen Shuriki, and when she'd returned that evening, they had Princess Elena.

She may as well have moved again. The entire world had shifted around her, and she'd missed it.

"What was it like?" she asked, her voice more urgent than she expected. "Did you see them fight? What did you do?"

"I… didn't really do that much, honestly. It was mostly Elena. But…" his expression turned awed at the memory, "I did have a front row seat to her breaking Shuriki's wand."

Something tasted bitter in Naomi's mouth. So he really had gotten to be there, to be a part of it. The feeling didn't linger too strongly though, fading as Mateo scratched at his neck and immediately fumbled his wand again. He swatted at it, sending it spinning in the air like a juggling act several times over before finally catching it with a too-loud, victorious whoop. He was still Mateo, after all.

"Aha! Okay, I have got to get a better way to carry this." He tucked it briefly under his plate arm before removing it, and made like he was going to slide the handle up his sleeve before thinking better of it, just letting it dangle in his hand.

"I'll hold something for you," Naomi offered, "if you… let me eat one of your desserts." She pointed at his chocolate-laden plate. "No one needs that many sweets anyway."

Mateo gave a surprised laugh, like he'd forgotten what food he'd grabbed in the first place. It was possible—he hadn't even touched it since Naomi had arrived. "Honestly, you can take the whole thing," he said, holding it out. "My mom doesn't really keep sweets at home, so I guess I got a little carried away."

"Ooh, don't mind if I do!"

Mateo snagged one last chocolate from the plate as he handed it over, and Naomi didn't waste any time popping one of the candies into her mouth, letting it melt on her tongue. Definitely the best chocolate of anywhere she'd lived. The two stood in silence for a moment, enjoying their treats and watching other party guests twirling themselves around, before Mateo spoke up again.

"So… Grand Council, huh? That's big."

Naomi beamed. "I know, I can hardly believe it! Me! On the Grand Council!" She leaned back against the column, looking up at the ceiling with a sigh. "I'm not even sure I know what that means for me yet."

"Doesn't it mean you'll be voting on any laws Elena wants to make?"

"Well, yeah, I knew that part. I mean more," she waved a hand around, "what kinds of laws will we be voting on? What kinds of people am I gonna get to meet? What kinds of things am I gonna get to see? That kind of thing."

Her Council position granted her a new foothold in the community, a chance to participate in a way she'd never gotten to before. The country may have turned itself around without her input, but she wouldn't have to miss a day like that again. And if anyone thought she didn't belong, well, they'd have the Crown Princess to answer to.

"Oh, well…" Mateo leaned in like he was about to tell her a secret. "Elena told me that the first thing she was going to bring up was formally removing all of Shuriki's old bans. Technically, all of this is still illegal," he said, gesturing toward the party. "So, uh," he pressed his palms together, his wand sandwiched between them, "please don't vote against lifting the magic ban."

Naomi gave him a reassuring smile. "Relax. I wasn't planning on it."

He let out a soft 'whew', and Naomi tried not to snicker, her eyes trailing over the drum-wand.

"So, wizard, huh?" she asked. "That's… something. You've got a real wand and everything."

Something brightened behind Mateo's eyes, and he immediately perked up. "It's called a tamborita! It's a traditional type of wand used by the Maruvians back before they disappeared, and modern Avalorans—well, not modern modern, because of Shuriki—adapted it for their own use. Well, they didn't really adapt it either; the design is pretty much the same as a traditional one…"

And he just kept going.

Naomi stared, dumbfounded, with a forgotten chocolate loose in her fingers as he plowed ahead, rattling off a lengthy explanation so littered with magical jargon she wasn't sure she could've followed it even if he was actually pausing for breath. She'd never heard him say so much at once before, let alone with so much enthusiasm, but there he was, enthusiastic. His eyes were alight with happiness and crinkled by a genuine smile, and his words tumbled out and jumped around, like his mouth physically couldn't keep up with what he was thinking. A tremor ran through his whole body, like he was holding back the urge to jump for joy, like there was too much energy in his skinny frame with nowhere else to go but out. His elbows stuck out at his sides as he turned the wand—the tamborita—over in his hands, describing the different parts of it. How was this the same anxious, anti-social recluse from her class?

"—and you technically don't have to hit exactly in the middle of the drum," he was saying, "but it helps for spell power. Although I've read that there's ways to manipulate the effects of a spell by hitting in specific spots—I mean, that's still way above my level, but it's an option if you—if you…" Trailing off, he looked back at Naomi for the first time since he started rambling. His eyes searched her stunned face, the light fading from them and the corners of his mouth slowly dropping. He let out an uncomfortable laugh. "You… don't actually care, do you?"

"Wh—" The question hit like an arrow, heartbreaking, and Naomi shook her head, blinking rapidly and trying to catch her brain up with everything she'd just heard. "No, no, by all means, explain away." She gave a bewildered chuckle, still not sure what to think. "You just kinda surprised me, that's all."

Mateo's shoulders sagged with relief and a shaky exhale. "Oh, good. Yeah, I guess the whole 'wizard' thing was a bit out of nowhere today, huh?"

"Hm? Oh, no, I've known that for months."

He jerked back. "Months?"

"You fixed my window," she reminded him. "What was I supposed to think other than 'magic'?"

"You've known for months," he repeated, staring wide-eyed at nothing. "You knew, my mom knew… What's next? Is Doña Paloma going to reveal she knew all along, too?"

"You're not very subtle."

He shook his head, like he still couldn't believe it. "I guess I can get carried away sometimes…"

That was an understatement. "I don't think I've ever seen you this excited before."

Mateo huffed out a laugh, his smile looking faraway. "I'm not sure I've ever been this excited before. At least not since I found my abuelo's things in the first place." He turned the wand over in his hands again, something fond and warm in his eyes. She could almost imagine it: Mateo, smaller but still all limbs and loose curls, bounding around his basement with that same giddy, unrestrained joy so strong it made him shake. She thought of all the times he'd stopped himself mid-sentence, or avoided questions about his interests, his passions either guillotined or jailed to keep from subjecting himself to the same.

Naomi hadn't given much thought to Shuriki and her laws before. The woman was a mediocre ruler, at best, and seemed to have her fingers in a lot of business that wasn't hers to meddle in. Seeing the nonstop celebration in the wake of her defeat, though, and the way Mateo had come alive for the first time since she'd met him, opened her eyes to just how soul-crushing her rule had really been. Any remaining jealousy of Mateo slid into righteous anger on his behalf, and she felt glad not just that Shuriki was ousted, but that she was dead. Good riddance.

"So, um…" Mateo was looking at her again, not quite meeting her eyes, twirling his wand in his fingers. "You knew? And you never…"

"What, told anyone?"

"Told me."

She'd considered it. When they'd first gone back to school after the fateful night of the storm, she'd paid closer attention to the ins and outs of his behavior, trying to catch him in some kind of act, searching for any kind of duplicity that would justify her continued wariness. But his oddities remained benignly awkward, all easily explainable as signs of fear and stress from keeping his secret alone. There was nothing to suggest he was an evil sort of wizard. There was barely anything to suggest he was any sort of wizard at all—if Naomi hadn't had her dad to confirm the state of the window, she might have thought she'd dreamed the whole incident up.

He'd wanted her to know, she'd told herself. He'd been about to tell her. If she told him she was in on it, it wouldn't have been his secret; it would've been their secret, something to move them past the polite distance they'd maintained since that night. Courteous, but never close.

But if she was wrong on any account… He'd walked back his confession attempt, and he hadn't broached the subject again. Maybe he didn't want her to know, and bringing it up would just send them back to not talking at all. Maybe he really was nothing but a malefactor, and bringing it up would put her in danger. Maybe he wasn't even a wizard, and bringing it up would just be embarrassing.

By the time she felt ready to make a decision, the school year had ended, and Mateo disappeared from her life until the moment she and Elena had turned up on his doorstep that morning. In hindsight, she'd only sabotaged herself with her dithering.

"I didn't want to freak you out," she finally settled with. "I wasn't sure if it was really my business, and I didn't want to get you in trouble. But… I actually kinda wish I'd said something, or that I could've known sooner," she admitted. "It's nice seeing you happy for once. All this magic stuff sounds pretty cool."

His apprehension disappeared behind the brilliant, delighted smile stretching across his face. "You really think so?"

"Sure. I think it would've been interesting to hear about." She looked down at her plate, idly spinning one of the chocolates, regret settling into her chest. "We probably could've been friends."

Beside her, Mateo rocked forward on his feet. "Well… there's no reason we can't be now, right?"

He was biting his lip, watching her with a hopeful expression, and Naomi felt something shift again. It wasn't just the Grand Council giving her a place in Avalor. She might not have been there when it counted, for the country or for Mateo, but she could make sure she was going forward.

"There really isn't." She stuck her hand out. "Good to meetcha," she said. "For real this time."

Mateo looked at her extended hand like she'd promised him everything, and with a deep breath, he clapped his hand firmly into hers. "Yeah. For real."

And we finally catch up with the start of the series! I've got a lot of commentary on this one so bear with me for a minute.

Firstly, timeline stuff. We're never really given a time frame between Secret of Avalor and First Day of Rule, but I figured it probably wasn't the *very next day* since they would've needed time to get rid of all of Shuriki's guards, train the new ones, send the Enchancian royals home, for Esteban to look up the laws, etc. etc. A month seemed like a natural length to both be long enough for some of the bureaucratic stuff to get done, while short enough to feel like "whoa, where did the time go?"

On the topic of Secret of Avalor, I know the scene with Naomi is largely just a framing device that was added because of air order issues, and since the original episode included the "march on the palace" scenes, they were included in the "story" Elena was telling. But in-universe, it does kinda imply that Naomi wasn't there for the march, and needed to be told about it secondhand. Otherwise, why would Elena have needed to include that part?

Which brings us to character notes. First, Mateo: he's been holding in the mother of all infodumps and by God, *someone's* gonna listen to him. I deliberately wanted him to feel a little "off" for the first few chapters, to highlight how badly the constant secrecy was affecting him.

Second, Naomi: where her defining strength is her observational skills, I stand by her defining flaw being indecision. Elena holds her up in the series as being very direct and persistent, but in practice, she's honestly a bit of a flake. Sure, she "tells Elena how to do her job" in episode 1, but then she immediately balks at the idea of being expected to help. She gets put on the Grand Council, but contributes very little to it - she tends to vote with the majority, and is never once the deciding vote. There's never a point where it's just her, defending her position against the rest of the Council. She doubles back on her vote multiple times, such as in All Heated Up where she votes with the majority, and then decides to help Elena anyway, or played for laughs in Scepter of Night, where she jumps between "Gabe is right, you should stay" and "Mateo is right, you should go" in record time. And then most famously, there's her "leaving Avalor" arc in season 3. I could go on - seriously, I have a whole essay on this I've been working on on-and-off - but the point is that when she wants things she can't reconcile (in this case, both being Mateo's friend and not risking discomfort), she tends to waffle, even if it means setting her beliefs aside.

(I could do a whole separate essay on how Elena seems to have an inflated opinion of all those close to her and how that feeds into her strong reactions to betrayal and her struggles with forgiveness, but that's getting a bit off-topic.)

On that note: Elena! She's here now! She's so much fun to write! I know she doesn't do a lot in this chapter but she is a recurring character after this point.

Chapters are gonna be a bit more variable in length from now on, too - since we're in the main series now, I don't have as much scene-setting to do, so it's a bit easier to get to the point. I'm assuming everyone here's seen the show, yeah? If not (hey, it's happened - technically I started reading EoA fic before I saw the show), then oh my god go watch Elena of Avalor. It's so good.