*A/N: Hello again! This chapter introduces the start of a small conflict that will ultimately resolve…but a bigger conflict will form. I'm so sorry for breaking nice things, but just remember what is broken will get fixed…

XX - Mastermind (Chloe's POV)

Swords and Shields training was rather uneventful. I mean, it was fun, but there wasn't any drama past that first day with Aria asking too many questions. Marina had become a good friend of mine, though. In fact, I was pretty sure she would become a long-distance friend. Hyllus did become kind of an asshole, though, when he realized that I was chosen to be captain and he wasn't.

The first couple nights were rough, but eventually Red and I were able to get a full night's sleep without needing to be on the phone. As proud as I was that she was overcoming her nightmares, part of me felt sad that she didn't need me for that anymore.

I was still in Auradon at the moment, but it wouldn't be for long. There was one thing I wanted to get accomplished today, and that was going to require the assistance of King Ben.

Usually the king didn't deal with people directly, but my parents had been good friends and supporters of his parents, so that put me in a good position with him. That and the fact that I was so different from my brother. Naturally that turned out to work in my favor, especially for what I was about to ask of the king.

I knocked on the door to his office, and I heard a faint order to come in. The office was decorated in blue and yellow, and the king sat at his large wooden desk in the center. "Please, sit," he said, smiling at me. I did as ordered, and hopefully this would work in my favor.

"So, what is it that you'd like to talk to me directly about?" he questioned, and I took a deep breath.

"I want to invite more Wonderland kids into Auradon," I said, trying to sound braver than I felt.

"Oh," he cleared his throat as he thought over the idea. "And how do you propose we start that project?" Maybe that was a good sign? Maybe my words actually had some weight to them…

I perked up, "Well, uhm, I was thinking that maybe we start with maybe two more students, preferably the ones that need it the most. And then maybe we could extend that invitation to the regular citizens of Wonderland? I mean think about it, Auradon has so much opportunity, so much goodness, that could benefit those kids. Besides, Red has adapted well to Auradon, her grades are good and she's not gotten into any fights in a long time."

"Princess Chloe," Ben started. "This is a big ask of me. I'll have to talk to my wife, and Evie, of course. I'm sure you know she oversees all the transfer students. I'll have to get Uma's ideas on this. I'm not going to promise that this will happen, it definitely won't happen overnight. Then I'll have to talk with Bridget and get her thoughts on the students you want to come here. I shouldn't be telling you this, but we've been thinking of bringing over more Wonderland kids, and maybe this is the push that we need. Who do you propose we bring over?"

"Chester, son of the Cheshire Cat. And Ace, son of one of the soldier cards," I said, trying to keep my voice firm.

Ben pondered this for a moment, "I'll need to speak with the council about this. I want to tell you that this will work, but there's a lot of details that need to be worked out first. Would you be comfortable talking with my council about this?"

"Yes!" I shouted, but quickly regained my composure. "I mean, I would be honored to, Your Majesty."

Ben chuckles quietly at me, "Okay, then it's set. I meet again with them this Thursday at six, and I trust you'll be there? Especially since the school year is about to start and you'll be back in the dorms by this weekend, I understand."

"Yes, Red and I were actually planning to move back in on Thursday, so that worked out perfectly," I said, trying to seem regal. "Thank you, Your Majesty, you won't regret this."

"I hope so, Princess. I'll see you Thursday," Ben said, and I left his office. After I closed his door I had to fight the urge to jump up and down. Not only had he listened to my proposal but he wanted it to happen! Red could have her friends in her life again. One way or another I would make Red's birthday wish come true.

Thursday

Red and I had spent almost the entire day moving back into our dorms. Granted, not much was taken with us when we left, but we both cycled out some of our clothes and replaced them with newer ones. And I did steal back half of my wardrobe that had ended up on Red's side of the closet.

I hadn't told her about my plan to bring Ace and Chester to Auradon. I didn't want to really even tell her that they would hopefully be coming. I wanted to one day just show her that they were here. I knew if I told her about my plan she'd just tell me no, that it was all fine and I didn't need to do that for her. She'd tell me it was too big of an ask. But I was doing it anyway. Later tonight I would meet with King Ben, Queen Mal, Principal Uma, and Evie. Just the thought itself gave me anxiety, but I had to be perfect if I wanted to sell them on my idea. I didn't know if Bridget would be there or not. Eventually we'd have to talk to her, but I doubted it would be this early on in the process.

It was weird being this distant with Red. Normally I told her everything, but this was the one thing she could know about. We headed to dinner and ate in the cafeteria. I watched as she picked at her food and did more talking than eating. She told me all the stories she had about Jabberwock while I was at camp and all the things her mother tried to teach her in that timeframe. I tried to focus on her words, but my mind was wandering elsewhere.

"Chloe," Red said, but I didn't answer her. "Chloe!" she shouted a second time, making me look up at her from where I stared down at my soup.

"Yeah, baby?" I asked, inconspicuously.

"What's the matter with you? You've been acting weird all day," Red said, her eyes scanning my face to see if anything was wrong.

"Sorry, love. I've just…I've got a lot on my mind right now," I said. It wasn't technically a lie, so I didn't feel too bad for not telling her the truth.

"I'm your girlfriend, talk to me. Tell me what's going on," Red said, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. I give her a soft smile, hoping she buys it.

"I have a meeting with Coach Jenkins later," I lied. "He wants to talk about pre-season strategy. I'll be home in a little bit, okay?"

I can visibly see her heart sink. Her face drops before she plasters on a smile for me, trying to be strong for me, "Okay, I'll see you later then. I love you."

"I love you more," I said, getting up and kissing the top of her head before dumping my tray and making my way to King Ben's office. God I hated lying to her. It was wrong, I knew it was wrong. But what she didn't know won't hurt her, right? Red was my girlfriend, and the only reason people lied to their girlfriends was when they were cheating.

Once I reached Ben's office, his guards opened the doors for me, and everyone was sat around a large, circular table. My mouth went dry at the sight of all these people watching me as I spoke. I was the last one to arrive even though I was five minutes early. One of the guards pulled out my chair for me, and I sat at my place.

Ben cleared his throat before he spoke, "I want to thank you all for coming to this emergency meeting, but there was a concern that made itself known to me and I felt it best to be handled as quickly as possible. I'm sure you'll all notice an extra body with us tonight, Princess Chloe Charming of Cinderellasburg is here to speak to us about an issue she brought to my attention. We will give her our utmost respect and treat her with as much dignity as we would any other guest."
I felt my face flush as each pair of eyes glanced over at me. Ben continued talking, "As everyone here already knows, my wife and I are huge advocates for integrating children from the Isle of the Lost into Auradon, and Uma has become an advocate for those children that were left behind in Wonderland. I previously thought that by inviting Princess Red of Hearts to Auradon, that we had met our goal of giving all kids hope for a better future. Princess Chloe has brought forth the proposition that we bring over two more students from Wonderland."

"Who are they?" Queen Mal asked, her voice hard and firm. Ben nodded to me, allowing me to begin my campaign.

"Chester, the son of the Cheshire Cat, and Ace, the son of a soldier card," I said, trying to sound less like a child and more like a respected adult.

"And why should we bring over more chaos from Wonderland?" Mal asked. "When Red was first introduced to Auradon she was a live wire. She was unpredictable. Do you really think we can handle two more?"

"Actually, I think it's a great idea," Evie said from the other end of the table. "Think about it Mal, it would show Bridget that we trust Wonderland, there could be more trade opportunities, this could be the beginning of an alliance between Wonderland and Auradon."

"The children wouldn't be an issue," Uma added. "I could put them in a dorm together close to Chloe and Red to cut down on any…misbehavior. And I could meet with them once or twice a week to see how they're adjusting. As principal, I'm happy to say that Red hasn't caused any major problems for me since the beginning. I think this is a great idea. Every child should have the ability to come to Auradon if they want to."

Mal surveyed everyone's faces, eventually landing on mine, "Chloe, why do you want this? Your family has never struck me to be people to advocate for others."

Ouch, but she was right. She went to high school with Chad, and he was very open about his distaste for villain kids being in Auradon. I cleared my throat before I started talking again, "I think Auradon would be able to offer these Wonderland kids some stability. I sincerely apologize for the way my brother treated you in high school, that isn't how we were raised. Wonderland has been neglected for decades, this could be a way to mend the bond between two kingdoms."

Mal looked over at Ben, silently asking him what he thought of this idea. "Honey, we wanted all kids to have the chance to come here. Wonderland is included in that. That's our dream, remember?"

Mal lets out a defeated sigh, "Okay, we can bring them over to Auradon, but only if the Queen of Hearts allows it. We can't make her do anything she doesn't want to do. Are we all in agreement?"

A chorus of yeses erupts from the table, and my heart starts pounding in my chest. They were actually going to do it. The King and Queen were actually going to bring over more Wonderland kids, and Red would have her friends again. My plan would work. I had to try my hardest to not smile like an idiot.

"I will draft a letter to the Queen of Hearts about the proposal tonight and send it in the morning. As soon as I get a response I'll let you know," Uma said.

"Thank you," Ben said. "Meeting adjourned."

By the time I'd made it back to my dorm it was dark outside. I quietly snuck back into the dorm, hoping Red was asleep, but to my surprise, she was lounging on my bed, drawing in one of her notebooks.

"That was a pretty long meeting," Red said, yawning. "What took you so long?"
"Oh, I ran into a friend when I left," I said, internally kicking myself for lying to her twice in a twelve-hour period. "They wanted to get coffee and catch up." Mentally I facepalmed. Hard. Who gets coffee at nearly nine o'clock at night? If I was going to lie it had to be believable, and this was far from it.

"Huh, well that's weird, even for Auradon's standards. In Wonderland we usually have a late-night tea time but I guess here they like coffee more," Red rambled, and I was grateful she bought my lie, though her sleepiness is probably what helped my case.

I wasn't a liar. I wasn't. I was just withholding information from Red, my girlfriend. The guilt was eating me alive, but I had to keep going with this. It would all be worth it in the end when she was happy.

"Come cuddle me," Red said, setting her sketchbook on the nightstand and reaching out for me to join her. And just like that, the guilt came back. It felt wrong, lying to her and having her still reach out for me, to have her still want me after lying.

I let out a quiet laugh, "I'll be there in a minute, love. Let me get ready for bed." I grabbed my pajamas and headed to the bathroom. As it turns out, the guilt wasn't just an emotional feeling. No sooner than I shut the door I was kneeling in front of the toilet, hurling up all the food I'd eaten today. I wanted to say throwing up made me feel better, but it didn't. I quickly brushed my teeth, hoping Red wouldn't be suspicious.

When I came out of the bathroom my girlfriend was almost completely passed out. I slid into bed, wrapping my arms around her and trying to push away the glaring feeling of wrongness.

"Are you okay?" Red asked sleepily. "You seemed off today."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, "Just tired. Go to sleep my love." No sooner than the words left my mouth she was snoring in my arms.

The next morning I woke to my phone buzzing on the nightstand. When I reached over to grab it I read the screen. A phone call from the King. I answered the call, not even bothering to look at the time. I hurriedly slipped out of the dorm room and into the hallway. Red couldn't hear this. Not yet anyway. She was a heavy sleeper, but I didn't want to risk it.

"Hello?" I said into my phone.

"Is this Chloe Charming?" Ben's voice asked on the other end.

"This is her," I answered.

"I'm so sorry to wake you this early—I know you're still on summer break and everything, but your proposal went over well. Bridget agreed. She's sending Chester and Ace over to Auradon later today. Would you be available to help show them around the school?"

"Yes," I practically shouted before regaining my composure. "I'm ready as soon as you need me. Do you know when they'll be here?"

"Probably around noon," Ben said. "But I'd like to meet with you sooner so we can go over the details together."

"I'll be there as soon as possible," I said before hanging up the phone. I quietly went back into the dorm, throwing on what I hoped was an appropriate outfit for today. I made sure to grab my phone, locking the door behind me.

It wasn't until after I'd finished giving Chester and Ace the tour of AP that I'd gotten to check my phone. I'd shoved it in my back pocket and completely forgotten about it. When I turned on the screen it was flooded with notifications. Six missed calls from Red, five voicemails, and God knows how many text messages. I read through them all, and they eventually progressed from frantic and worried to almost apathetic. A lump rose in my throat. I had to fix this, somehow. I politely excused myself after showing them to their dorm and settling them in for the next few days before slipping across the hallway into own. The second Red heard the door open her gaze shifted to me, and I could tell just by her eyes alone how pissed she was.

"Where the fuck were you all day?" she asked cooly. The fact that she wasn't screaming at me scared me even more than if she were. I felt my stomach drop to my feet, bracing myself for impact. "I called you, I texted you, and did you answer? No. What could possibly be taking up so much of your attention that you couldn't be bothered to talk to your girlfriend? After waking up, leaving, and not even telling me where you were going."

This looked bad, really bad. I tried to come up with a believable lie on the spot, "I went out for a run this morning, and I had some club meetings after." As much as I hated lying, it felt like once I started I just couldn't stop.

"Bullshit," she said, and I winced. "You wouldn't go out for a run in those clothes. And you definitely wouldn't not come back and take a shower. Why are you lying to me?"

She stood in front of me now, arms crossed and a look of pure rage on her face. I knew she loved me, yet I couldn't help but feel small underneath her burning gaze. My silence doesn't help the situation, in fact it only makes it worse. "Answer me, Chloe," she bites out.

"I can't tell you," I said, quietly accepting my defeat. "It's just…it's something you can't know about. Not yet anyway."

Red scoffs at me, and I feel like I'm burning beneath her gaze, "First you're lying to me, and now you're keeping secrets? What's happening to us, Chloe? You never lie; you hate lying just as much as I do, if not more. Secrets? Really? What are we, thirteen?"

I let out a sigh, dropping my eyes to the floor, "Red, do you trust me?" This takes her aback for a second but she quickly regains her composure.

"Of course I do," she said. "But what does that have to do with this conversation?"

"It's just…there's a lot going on right now. Between senior year about to start, all my extracurriculars. I'm just a little overwhelmed, that's all."

Red cocks her head to one side, almost like she's daring me to say more, "Well, the least you could do when you're gone is answer my texts."

"I will," I said quickly. "I'll do better, my love. Am I forgiven?" I put a soft smile of hope on my face, and she softens just a little.

"A little bit," she bit out. "You'll be required to make up for lost time. Waking up without you doesn't feel good."

"Done," I said. "Whatever you want, I'm yours."

"Good, because you're spending the rest of the day in bed cuddling with me," she smirked. If that was all she wanted, I could do that for her. I'd give her as many cuddles as she wanted to keep her happy.

She slipped into her bed, waiting for me to change from my outside clothes to my pajamas, and I joined her. No sooner than I was right beside her she rested her head on my chest, right over my heart, and I couldn't help but melt at the smile that formed on her lips as she closed her eyes. I stroked her hair while we laid there together, just savoring the moment.

That was until my phone buzzed on the nightstand.

Red instinctively reached for it, but I grabbed it first, trying not to look suspicious. I had given Chester and Ace my number in case they needed it and to arrange to show them other parts of Auradon. Red gives me a puzzled look. This kind of behavior was new for me, but she didn't dwell on it long, and soon enough her head was back on my chest, content again.

"Who's that?" she asked, and I could hear her getting sleepy.

"Just one of my Swords and Shields teammates," I lied, it was Chester and Ace both sending me text messages. I didn't bother to save their numbers, I didn't really talk to them much anyway. Instead I went into my settings and changed the pin on my phone. If I wanted this to be a surprise for her I couldn't risk her seeing something she shouldn't. Normally we knew each other's phone passwords, but this would have to be different for once. I hated doing it. It felt wrong, like I was hiding something.

To be fair, I was hiding something. But it wasn't a bad something I was hiding, and that in itself should be some sort of redemption for every lie I had told her in the past forty-eight hours. She was sleeping now, snoring softly and I felt her body get heavier as she relaxed her full weight onto me. Of course she wasn't heavy, but it was a nice comfort to be able to see and feel her be so relaxed. When she slept on top of me like this it was like having my own personal weighted and heated blanket all wrapped in one. I pressed a soft kiss to her hair before settling myself in and taking a small cat nap myself, not caring about anything else I might have wanted to accomplish in the rest of the day.