Chapter Text
Torture it was. Absolute torture. I wanted to hate Uma so much because of how easily she teased and flustered me. She knew it too, that smug brat. Her Mal-esque smirk haunted my dreams. But… I just couldn’t... hate her, that is. There was just something about her that was just impossible not to like.
In fact, recently, I had a dream that was especially chilling. I didn’t have horns or anything, and nothing was in flames and no one was dead or dying, but I was all dressed up like the Queen of Mean and I held the staff of Maleficent. I stood on the parapet of one of the towers or Auradon castle.
I expected Mal to come as a dragon and to try and roast me alive. This was not the case. A massive tsunami rushed towards the castle, effectively flooding the whole area. From the water, erupted a large head and shoulders with a familiar, curvy torso covered only with the thinnest of black tunics. From beneath the tunic, eight, long tentacles whirled around in a strong, violent movement.
The giantess, Uma, in this case, looked at my comparatively tiny body with her glowing, teal eyes and laughed. That laugh sent electrical waves through my body, causing me to let out a small gasp and lose my grip on the scepter which fell from the tower into the flood down below.
Defenseless, I tried to summon the magic back, but it was gone. Uma continued laughing. Her tentacles wrapped around me, holding me tightly. I couldn’t do a thing. She then shrunk down to normal size, retaining the tentacles, wrapped tightly around my body, squeezing and roaming. Part of me wanted to escape and for it to end, another part of me relished in the feeling of being completely and utterly under someone else’s power.
Face to face, Uma smiled in a way that sent chills through my body.
“My, my Princess…” she began, “You’ve been downright wicked. Time to bite the apple, eh?”
Her eyelids fluttered shut and I couldn’t move as she lowered her lips to my neck. Her hot breath sent shivers through me and when her teeth sunk into the supple skin, I woke up with a start.
My sheets were twisted around my body and I was completely drenched from head to toe in a cold sweat. Some of the wetness may have been something warmer and more pungent than sweat, but I will neither confirm nor deny that! I was breathing in shallow gasps and my skin was red with a deep flush. I did not enjoy that dream. Nothing about it was good, or fun, or desirable. At. All.
It was divine intervention when my phone lit up on my bedside table. I picked it up to find out that it was 3 AM. Jane, of all people was messaging me.
<<Hey Audrey. U up?>
<<Yeah. What’s up>>
<<I got your letter weeks ago. I forgive you.>>
Fairy Godmother and Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather asked me to write a few letters to people I had especially hurt during my meltdown. So, I did. Mal, Ben, Chad, and Jane were some of the hardest ones to write. The letters were apologies, but no expectations for anything else. I had accepted that Jane was gone and we’d never talk again. I deserved it after all. I did ruin her birthday party and turned her mom to stone, after all.
<<You don’t have to>> I replied quickly
<<Yeah I do. I’m scared.>>
<<Of what?>>
I waited for her response for what felt like an eternity. What was she scared of? Her mom was… well, we all know who and what her mom was.
<<I think I have magic.>>
<<You mean, you got ahold of your mom’s wand?>>
<<NO! I’ve been feeling buzzing and shocking sensations in my hands and arms. I swear they were just glowing!>>
Buzzing and shocking sensations in her hands and arms? I’ve felt similar things before. It couldn’t be magic. All of Maleficent’s magic is out of me. Sure, because she was half fairy, Jane could have magic. Both of my parents were human, so I was without magic. I was certain of it.
<<Should I come over?>>
<<Would you?>>
***
Long story short, Jane had magic and she asked me if I could help her with it. Me? Nope. I couldn’t tell her the first thing about any of that. So, I did what was right and pawned her off on Mal. Mal is the only one of us that actually studied from a spellbook. I just channeled my feelings through the scepter.
But yeah, I guess that Jane and I were friends again. Only friends would text and call you in the middle of the night, after all.
So, as Juniors at Auradon Prep, we had a yearly ski trip to Arendelle which always happened the second week of November. Because Ben, Mal, Uma, I, and others were juniors, it was our turn to go. I hadn’t been able to go to Arendelle in several years due to how busy my family and I became, so it was welcome news when information was posted on the school’s social media.
The seniors also get a trip, but in the spring and over in the Kingdom of Tirulia, of King Eric and Queen Ariel. It’s a weekend of beach fun in cabins, but for us Juniors, it was winter cabins in Arendelle. Both were wonderful rites of passage, for sure.
So, I found myself getting on one of the buses that were to shuttle us up to Arendelle. It would take about 12 hours to get to where we’re going. To give you an idea of what our digs were like, we were royalty, so of course they weren’t regular old school buses. They were double decker, extra wide (an aisle wide enough for two people to stand side by side without touching) with a bathroom and a kitchenette and a personal chef on the second floor. With all that said, we never would need to stop, we could just go directly to Olaf Resort.
Getting on the bus was pretty daunting, to be frank. Ben and Mal were at the front with Carlos and Jane, and Jay and Gil. Lonnie still wasn’t talking to me and Ruby’s hair was taking up most of her seat. Soon enough, I was face to face with Harry.
“Your royal highness.” He said in the flirtiest way possible whilst grabbing my hand and laying a gentle kiss thereon. “I knew Pan had lost boys, but not lost girls.”
“I was just –”
“Looking for the captain? Oh, tell us, what do you want with the captain? What are your intentions?”
I was flustered and didn’t know what to say. Harry was the most effortless flirt I had ever met. He flirted with everyone, Uma, me, Mal, even Ben. I never questioned it, it’s just how he was. Uma took pity on me in this situation, though.
“Harry, chill. Let the girl breathe.”
Behind his perfectly sculpted arms, Uma was. She was wearing a cozy sweater in her classic black and teal theme. She was smiling. I smiled in response, in spite of myself.
“Are you gonna sit by me, Princess, or just stand there looking lost?”
I sat down by her and bit back a retort. I was trying to be better and fighting with Uma would really be counterintuitive in that regard.
At some point, Harry started singing sea shanties. Pretty soon, other VKs joined in and even I joined, once I gained a basic idea of how it sounded. What? I have a beautiful voice and I was not about to be sung to when I could also be doing the singing. There was one about a drunk pirate that was quite funny, another about an idiot thrown overboard, and another about a lady captain who beat every other pirate captain in swordplay until her father appeared and beat her at her own game.
The food from the kitchenette was wonderful as well with steak sandwiches and fresh fruit salads all around. I also ended up with a virgin Shirley Temple, because of course I did.
We ended up arriving at the resort right as the sun was setting, so the orange glow of the sun made the whole snowy terrain appear to be on fire. I mean, not in the terrifying nightmare way, but in the beautiful, you want to paint it sort of way.
When we disembarked, we were greeted by Astrid and the sentient snowman Olaf. It was his resort, after all. The young girl was bundled up and looked so much smaller inside of her thick coat. She was excited to see us, though.
“Oh hello!” Olaf began, waving his stick arms around. “My name is Olaf and I like warm hugs! But I will not be soliciting hugs today, there is still far too much to do!”
Astrid then gave the snowman a firm hug which made a number of us, including me laugh out loud.
“Okay. I guess all the time is a good time for an Astrid hug. Come now, everyone. Follow me for a short tour before dinner! Oh and you can leave your things. They’ll be brought to your cabins for you.”
The snowman stopped and looked around at us.
“I do see several kids from the Isle of the Lost here. I heard you were coming.” He grinned before continuing, “All good things, all good things!”
We followed him shortly after and he began showing us around. We entered the resort’s town square and showed us a few small shops to buy souvenirs, a main building where food was served and live performances were held. There was a small park with a frozen lake off in the distance where a few people were ice skating. Then, on the side of the mountain, alongside Elsa’s ice castle were the slopes.
I had been to the resort before, of course. Since I had been there, some much needed renovations have been accomplished. It looked like new and that ice skating rink was new and I was dying to do some skating. I was decent, in my opinion.
At the end of the day, when I went to my assigned cabin, I found that I was sharing it with Ruby and with Ginny Gothel. No, I wasn’t put out that the arrangements weren’t slightly different. No I didn’t double check my assignment, hoping that perhaps I was put in the wrong cabin. I was fine with the way things were, with both Rapunzel’s young adoptive sister and her daughter. (Yeah, it was weird that they were the same age, but I try not to think too hard about it.) There was no one else that I would have rather had there sleeping with me– with us, I mean.
That evening, after dinner, I headed out to the ice skating rink. The frozen lake, I mean. There really wasn’t anyone else there, just a few couples who were skating together, hands clasped.
As I skated across the thick ice, I let out a sigh. It was snowing slightly and Elsa’s ice castle on the side of the mountain was giving off a warm, pink glow. I knew that the castle had neither fire nor electricity inside, so the glow could only be magic, or possibly the refraction of what little light it could pick up.
I didn’t know enough about either subject to be able to really speak to it. It was pretty, though. I kind of wanted one. An ice castle. I mean, how cool is that? Plus, I was a princess, one day queen of my region. An ice castle wouldn’t be too much, would it? Well, I am extra.
“Hey Audrey.” Came Jane’s voice from behind me.
Turning around, I saw the girl, wearing a dress and a coat that were lined with fake fur. She looked like a porcelain doll. I smiled.
“Hey Jane. What’s up?”
“I just wanted to skate. It’s been a while.”
For several moments, we skated together. She spun around quickly and when she did, a baby bluish wave of energy came off of her. It was beautiful. Fairy magic and all that.
“Where’s Carlos?” I asked.
“He’s back at the main cabin with other VKs. He was kinda nervous about ice skating and I didn’t want to force him.”
“You guys are cute. You’re good for each other.” I said, doing a little spin myself.
Jane’s face was flushed from the cold, but in that moment, her eyes lit up.
“Thanks. He’s the best. He’s so sweet and so cute.”
Oh to have someone look at me the way she and Carlos looked at each other! To be clear, I wasn’t jealous of them. I don’t do jealous. I was just fantasizing about the future.
“What about you?” Jane asked, trying to do a leg lift, but she ended up chickening out at the end.
“What do you mean?” I followed, as I glided casually beside her.
“Have you found someone?” her question was effortless and easy.
“No. Not at all.” I answered just a little too quickly.
The snow began to fall thicker and faster, the ambient noise of the resort getting absorbed by the billions of flakes swirling around us. Maybe it was Elsa, maybe it was natural. I didn’t know, I didn’t care.
“Come on Audrey,” Jane teased, “there's gotta be someone. You've been blushing a lot lately.”
Was I? Not that it matters. It was none of her business if I had feelings for someone. Not that I did, because I didn't. Obviously… shut up.
“No. There's no one.” I answered again.
“Audrey… be honest with me.”
We went back and forth with this exchange for several minutes. Jane got gradually more and more amused and I just got more flustered. Why couldn't she just DROP IT? I just kept getting angrier and angrier. She was making fun of me. She had someone and she knew no one wanted me like Carlos wanted her.
At some point, I felt cornered. Yeah, I could have escaped from the situation, but I didn't see it that way at the moment. Jane just kept pestering me and pestering me. She wanted me to spill my guts and to tell her the name of whoever I was crushing on. I wasn't crushing on anyone and certainly no one was crushing on me.
“Jane!” I ultimately yelled, “Drop it.”
As I spoke those words, a blast of energy the color of Evie’s hair or Hades’ eyes propelled from my chest. At the last moment, Jane put her arms up, making a weak magical barrier that protected her, but still pushed her back on her skates several meters. It was a good thing too that she had been practicing her magic.
“Audrey.” She asked, lowering her arms.
Immediately, I left the lake, not even stopping to remove my skates as I went straight back to my cabin, where Ginny and Ruby were braiding each other's hair. They didn’t ask what was going on and I didn’t stop to talk, I just went straight to the bedroom, stripped out of everything and hid beneath my blanket. Not only evil fairies can be a nuisance, I guess. The good ones can too.
***
The following day started out pretty good, to be honest. I refused to believe that I had used magic against Jane the previous night. All of Maleficent’s magic was out of my system, Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, AND Fairy Godmother all confirmed it. It was some freak thing. It was the result of some troll magic we came across accidentally. That’s it! It wasn’t me. It was the dirty, savage trolls.
Sure, was it inappropriate and immature to totally ice-out Jane? Maybe. Maybe not. But I didn’t really care about that. She was prying into my personal life. Did I have a crush on anyone? It didn’t matter. It’s not like anyone else would consider the psycho witch princess as someone worth dating, after all. They can’t see that I’m worth more than that. Putting any emotion into that sort of exercise was just setting myself up for heartbreak and I don’t play that way.
Anyway, I ate breakfast with Ruby and Ginny, a blossoming friendship that didn’t make sense on paper, but really did in reality. I didn’t feel out of place or like a freakshow or anything with them. Ruby’s mom was all about second chances, as King Eugene was wanted for crimes against the crown before they got together and Ginny’s mom was a beauty-obsessed witch. So, I guess that landed me somewhere in the middle.
I carb-loaded because we were going to be on the slopes all day. The lift would take us up to Elsa’s ice palace and then we’d be able to head down. Some people will only go part way up and others won’t even leave the cabins, cowards. I would be going all the way to the top with the other people with a backbone.
Making our way to the lifts, Ruby and I jumped on. I was a skier but Ruby was a snowboarder. How she fit her wild hair beneath her helmet was a mystery to me.
The lift took us high up the mountains as the sun started to rise, casting beautiful orange light over all of the snow and ice. Not for the first time, I imagined orange creamsicle ice cream. I shook my head of all of the weirdness I had been carrying with me. This will be a good day free of drama, I just knew it.
Or so I thought.
Right when we arrived at the top, I saw Jay, which wasn’t a surprise. He and Gil had traveled around the United States of Auradon during this previous summer and I heard that they had done plenty of wild things like surfing, snowboarding, and hot air ballooning… so, yeah, Gil was with him, so was Harry and…
Uma.
The moment Ruby and I disembarked from our lift, Uma and I locked eyes and she smirked at me. My blood began to boil, but I breathed deeply to try and keep my cool. I don’t know what it was about that girl, but she just knew exactly what buttons to push and how.
“Hey Princess.” She said, “You’ve been a stranger.”
“Not really, Uma.” I replied. “Are you going to go all the way down?”
“You bet, I have a connection to the water, how much different is snow and ice?”
She had a point. Elsa, whose magic was snow and ice based, had some hold on the water, after all. Naturally, someone like Uma would be able to do similarly the other way.
“Are we going to keep on chittering away, or will we be going down, Captain?” Guard Dog asked, his thick accent briefly causing a break in the eye contact I was sharing with the Brat.
“We will, Harry. What do you say, Princess, shall we make it interesting?” Uma asked.
My stomach twisted in knots and my throat constricted in the way Uma spoke. She was using magic on me. No, her necklace wasn’t glowing like it did when she used magic, but she was. That was the only probable explanation for the sudden hold her voice had on me.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Last one down between the two of us owes a no-questions-asked favor to the other, Princess. What do you say?”
She was challenging me. She wanted to see weakness. She wanted to win. She would not. I was going to beat her. I needed to beat her. Plus, the way she was looking at me, whatever favor she spoke of was probably going to be something that I didn’t like. Ohhh, the audacity of this bi—
“You’re on.” I replied, taking my place at her side on the slope.
The game was on. In moments, Uma, Harry, Jay, Gil, Ruby, and I were flying down the slopes at impossible speeds. I was in the zone. I was the strongest skier in the group and I was going to win, there was no doubt about it.
To the right, Gil and Jay weaved in and out of each other’s paths on their snowboards. It was impressive, but I didn’t take too much time to admire it, because it was a distraction at best and I couldn’t be distracted. Distractions meant slowing down.
Ice and snow was crushed beneath us and tossed high in the air behind us. Sharp, cutting air weaved around my helmet and tried in vain to enter my coat. It was one of my articles of clothing that was made by my fairy godmothers, so the wind didn’t have a prayer in penetrating it.
A thicket of trees appeared in our path, so I brought my feet closer together and crouched down, going between two trees that were almost dangerously close together. Yeah, it was a risk and if I miscalculated, I could have broken several bones, but what can I say? I play to win. Sure, Mal beat me, but Uma… she will not.
Soon enough, the Brat in question was at my side again. I could see her eyes through her helmet, I didn’t need to see her mouth to know that she was smirking. Something primal in me screamed out. Because we were going so fast, I couldn’t hear the scream, but I felt it when it came out.
Uma came down close to me. She was close enough to touch. Suddenly, something came over me the moment she reached out to grab my arm. Who did she think she was? She was a girl of the isle, a liar and a dirty cheat! I shoved her away from me. She started to tumble, but when her necklace glowed, she was up again, moving even faster. I doubled down, skiing right into her as we both hit the bottom of the mountain together.
We tumbled about for several meters there at the bottom of the massive slope, all four of our skis popping off as we did so. I pulled off her helmet and she pulled off mine. Her eyes were aflame and her necklace was glowing brightly.
“You dirty, cheating island rat!” I yelled, as I got on top of her.
“I play to win, Princess Pain!” She replied, a biting tone in her voice, flipping me painfully upon my back.
“I told you not to call me that!” I yelled, returning the favor.
“This isn’t about a stupid race, is it? Tell me what you really feel!” her voice was commanding and mesmerizing with the power of her necklace. I resisted the necklace’s magic.
“You want me to spill my guts to you? What do you even know about feelings? Your own mother thought you were a waste of space, you Shrimpy Octopus Brat!”
Her face went from smug and calm to hurt in an instant. At the moment, I didn’t care. Where did she get off, in trying to get me to talk about my feelings? She was neither my therapist, nor my fairy godmother. It was none of Jane’s and definitely none of her business! I heard several people slide within throwing distance of us and a pair of delicate shoes as well. I didn’t look up. The Brat had my full attention.
“You’re right. She did.” She said quietly, her eyes slightly watery all of the sudden. “You can trust me, Audrey. Talk to me.”
“NO!” I yelled, as I pushed her down again with both hands.
As I did this, a large bolt of royal blue energy came out from my hands and threw us apart. For a few moments, my head was spinning and the wind was knocked out of me. A gentle, slender hand helped me to my feet. Looking up, I realized it was the Ice Queen Elsa. She was wearing a silvery dress with studded flats. Her long, blonde hair was braided down her back and her blue eyes were more serious than I had ever seen them.
She led me over to where the prone body of Uma lay. She was surrounded by her crew, Ruby, Jay, and Olaf. What happened?
“What happened?” I asked.
“You tried to kill our captain, you strumpetous wench!” came Harry’s cutting voice, standing and trying to hook me where I stood.
Elsa deflected his attack and gave him a single look, which made him all but shrivel and return to Uma’s side.
”Give her a chance.” Olaf said, placing his wooden hand on Harry’s shoulder.
“Were you born with your magic or cursed with it?” Elsa asked, her melodious voice even.
“Magic? I don’t know. I thought Maleficent’s magic was gone!” I cried, tears starting to fall.
“This is not her magic. This is yours.” A gruff voice said from below. It was a troll, small and ugly with skin looking like stone.
I had magic? That couldn’t be! Mom wasn’t magical, neither was dad. Sure, mom was blessed by all three of our shared fairy godmothers and was then cursed by Maleficent before I was born. All of the dark magic was destroyed by my dad’s true love’s kiss. I was also blessed by the fairies and then used Maleficent’s scepter, but it was all out of me! I had no magic! Yet… I somehow did.
“It looks like when you shoved her, your magic went directly into her heart.” Elsa said, kneeling over Uma.
“What does that mean?” I begged, my makeup doubtlessly ugly and smeared from my crying.
“The head can be easily persuaded, but —“ Elsa began.
“—only an act of true love can fix a broken heart.” The troll interjected.
“So, you’re saying…” I answered.
”If her heart doesn’t get fixed, this may be her final resting place.” The troll replied, confirming my worst fears.
“I’m so sorry Uma!” I cried, kneeling over her, cradling her head in my lap. “I didn’t mean it, any of it!”
I know that I was being watched. The pirates, the snowman, the troll, the Ice Queen, and even Evie appeared. I didn’t care that I was making a scene. I needed her back. I needed everything to be alright and back to the way it was.
“Uma. Please! Come back to me! I’ll do anything, ANYTHING! Come back and tease me, magic me if you want. Just—”
“Honey. Do you really mean anything?” Evie asked, kneeling at my side.
“Of course I do! I… I really care about her.” I admitted for the first time.
“An act of true love…” she began.
“Like true love’s kiss.” Elsa finished.
Suddenly, my stomach dropped. I cared about her, but she didn’t feel the same. How could she? An act of true love can heal a broken heart, but it can only be true love if both people feel it. Time was of the essence and if I kissed her and nothing happened, she could die leaving me not only utterly humiliated, but also a killer, the monster I had been afraid of for so long.
“But…” I stammered.
“Get on with it, lass.” Harry grumbled at my side. “You got us into this mess, ya oughta get us out of it.”
I nodded and then looked down at Uma’s face, the most relaxed I had ever seen it. She was beautiful, for sure and I wished that I had been able to be honest with her under better circumstances. I reached down to her chest and put my hand over her heart, it was beating too slowly. I let out a sob at this. Her natural and intoxicating summer beach scent was also faint, nearly replaced with a heavy ozone stink. I missed her smell. I missed her. Here we go…
My eyelids fluttered shut, my heart raced like a fairy’s wings, and everything and everyone around us went still and silent as I leaned down over her face and finally and totally closed the excruciating distance between us.