Chapter Text
Evie is five when she meets Uma, her sister hesitant to have the two of them in the same room. She is told it’s because the other girl is quite reckless, and she is only five so of course she believes their words. So, naturally, the little girl is quite nervous to meet the other princess, and barely says a word on the way to the palace. She spends most of that time reminding herself of protocols that have been ingrained in her brain. The rest of that time is child-like curiosity, and that simply won’t do.
Snow tells her all about how pretty and kind Ariel and her family are. And how Evie mustn’t worry, because everything will turn out fine. And of course, Evie believes her, because she’s five. Besides, the pretty newly blossomed trees outside the window of the limo that are speeding by are much more interesting to her.
It doesn’t take long to get to Atlantica, not at all. But it seems like a million years to Evie, and her sister has scolded her to stop kicking her legs against the seat far too many times. So many times that Queen Snow has stopped talking entirely, muttering something under her breath that makes Evie giggle. And then the queen can’t stay cross with the charming little girl for long, of course.
Evie hummed a little song she remembered from somewhere unfamiliar as they walked in. Normally, she hated to hum because it was incredibly distracting from one’s lessons. But today, it distracted her from the scary guards around the palace. Why were there so many? She had been told everybody scary and mean had been locked up far away, weren’t they safe here?
She pretends not to notice how they look at her, but even as a child Evie has been so very attentive, and her heart squeezes in her chest and she walks a little closer to her sister. Snow tuts but gladly guides her slightly in front of her as to comfort the little girl. It works and soon Evie is back to gushing about how beautiful she thinks the crown molding is.
They come to a large and intricately decorated door, Evie assumes it leads to a parlor of sorts, because it does the same in her castle. As two of the butlers (one of them looks oddly like a crab in a way she can’t quite place) open the door with a bow, she sees that the inside of the room was just as beautiful with sea foam colored couches and lovely gold detailing against pristine white walls.
What unnerves her slightly is the pinched face of a rather pretty little girl, who is a fair bit shorter than she is with darker hair and skin. She’s pretty in a way Evie hadn’t thought of before, because she looks strong and intimidating whereas Evie had been taught to be delicate. The girl scowls and turns to the red-haired woman next to her, tugging on her skirt. “Mama, I wanna go play . I don’t wanna talk to her, she’s boring .” Evie crosses her arms, and sticks her nose up in the air.
Ariel crouches down to the girl’s level, something Evie’s sister would never do. “Uma, be kind.” The girl, Uma , screwed up her face and crossed her arms, mimicking Evie’s stance as she turned back to face her.
Snow managed a smile from next to her, but Evie knew she was a tad bit upset with Uma’s behavior. “Your Majesty, I believe we have some things to discuss?” Her tone sounds forced, Evie almost corrects her right there. King Eric nods from next to his wife and daughter, and the queen stands up to follow his movements.
The butler from earlier comes from behind them with an accent that normally makes Evie giggle, but today she is too angry with Uma to even think about laughing. Her sister and her husband are led away along with the king and queen of Atlantica. The maids seem to share worried looks as they glance between the two girls whose faces are unwavering.
Evie takes a step closer, still trying to be as intimidating as a five-year-old little girl could be. “Your castle is nice.” She compliments, but it does not sound like one on purpose. Her gaze is icy as she looks Uma up and down, taking note of the generous amount of sparkles and general glitz that is upon her dress. “So is your dress.”
Uma tilts her head up, “ Thanks , so is yours.” Evie suspects she isn’t really thankful. Uma flips one of her dark braids behind her shoulder, turning her head back to Evie with a sneer. “But blue is my color.”
Evie scoffed and let out a laugh, “ Please , blue is my color. It’s regal and beautiful.” She puts a hand upon her chest as if it meant something. “Just. Like. Me .” Evie made a face, “ Besides , your dress isn’t blue , it’s the color of mold .” She wrinkled her nose and cocked one hip to the side.
Uma fisted her hands and stepped closer to her, “As if, Apple Girl.” Evie huffed at the silly little nickname. “Your dress is the color of squished blueberries, what are you on about?” Uma put on a devious little smirk that suited her all too well for a princess. “My dress is the color of the prettiest water in all of Auradon. The seamstresses told me so.” Evie tried to talk but Uma continued. “Oh right, little birds sew your clothes.” She pouts mockingly. “I hope they didn’t get crap all over it.”
A maid gasped at Uma’s crudeness, but Evie stood her ground. “At least I don’t smell like fish all of the time. And besides, those birds are very talented.” She twirled around to prove how it sparkled. “And I bet I could sew better than those grannies do.”
Uma laughed right in her face, “Sure, and I’ll have you know those grannies are the best seamstresses in all of Auradon.” Evie sniffed and crossed her arms. “And who’s castle are you staying at again, Apple Girl?”
Evie stomped her foot and stepped closer to Uma, “My name is Evie. And Snow’s my sister, not my mom.” Uma rolls her eyes and so she continues. “I’m only here because they made me, if I knew I would have to hang out with a fishy princess, I never would have came.”
Uma scoffed with a half-smirk. “Good riddance, Apple Girl. It’s not like I want you here either.” Evie pouted and fisted her tiny fingers into her palms. “Just for the record, Ariel’s not my mom, not my real one anyways.” Uma crosses her arms. “You tell anyone that and I’ll drown you, I swear.” That certainly got a maid running away.
Evie’s demeanor fell and her hands dropped down, soft to her sides. “Huh?” It was so surprising because Evie herself didn’t know who her mother was. She assumed it was the same person Snow’s was, because they were sisters. But, it wasn’t like she’d actually seen pictures. In fact, when people asked who her mother was normally she got a squeal from the poor librarian or occasional maid and Snow sheepishly leading her away. “I don’t know who my mom is either.” She says, looking down at her feet, because she’d never said it out loud before.
Uma tilted her head to the side, “I thought you were Queen Snow’s sister, isn’t your mom a queen, then?”
Evie shrugged, “Possibly, but every time I asked they acted so scared.” She purses her lips in thought, “Snow always told me that it didn’t matter.”
Uma’s little smirk came back, “I think your sister is hiding something from you, Apple Girl. Evie makes a noise of protest but Uma shuts her down. “And I think we should find out what it is.”
Evie blinked, “We?”
“Yeah, I need to find out who my mom is.” She wiggles her fingers like she was casting a spell. “To see if I have any cool powers.” Uma shrugged and looked Evie up and down. “Maybe you have some too, it wouldn’t surprise me.”
Evie mock-gasped and brought her hands to her cheeks dramatically. “Was that a compliment I heard?”
Uma crossed her arms and cocked one hip to the side, “Maybe, but your brain is still rotten out, Apple Girl.”
Evie scowled and Uma raises one eyebrow. The maids still in the room were on the edge of their seats thinking surely these girls were going to tear each other apart. But to their surprise, and relief, after a few moments both girls burst out laughing.
Uma took the other princess’ hand and lead her to the door, “C’mon, I wanna show you the beach.”
It didn’t take long for Uma and Evie to become friends. In fact, they decided they wanted to share the color blue. (That decision wasn’t without the prompting for both respective guardians, of course.) Uma taught Evie how to braid, and now the taller girl wears a different braided hairstyle almost everyday. Most of them are done by Uma, because Evie just isn’t as good as she is yet.
Evie taught Uma how to sing. And she had nearly cried when she heard the other girl for the first time, because she wanted Evie to teach her when Uma herself sounded so much better. But, of course, Evie taught her how to sing, read music, apply makeup, and any other thing Uma was curious about.
And, in turn, Uma also taught Evie how to sword fight.
Well, King Eric taught her how, and Uma laughed at Evie when she tripped in her shoes. Now, more often than not both princesses ran around barefoot, even though Evie adores her shoes just as much.
Evie traded out her mary-janes for ballet flats just the smallest of heels. And at the same time, Uma traded out her sandals for little ankle boots. They had both grown taller, not by much but Uma was catching up to Evie very slowly. One night, when she was just shy of seven, the taller girl had asked Uma about a boy.
They were having a sleepover, the first one of that month. And Evie had nearly swooned seeing a particularly handsome stable boy earlier in the afternoon. “Oh but it was so chivalrous of him to take our horses after we went for a ride by the sea, don’t you think?” She collapsed on Uma’s bed with a dreamy sigh. “I think I’m in love, Uma. He had that windswept hair that Snow always talks about. Oh, I just have to marry him.”
Uma shakes her head and ran her fingers through the small braid she had created within Evie’s hair. “Mama says he’s thirteen. So, he’s, like, an adult. That’s way too old for you.” She sat Evie up so she could do her hair for real. “Besides, he’s not even that good-looking, totally not worth your swooning. You could do so much better, Apple Girl.”
Evie huffed, “He is so good-looking. It’s a shame he isn’t a prince.” She turned to look at Uma. “I thought I told you to stop calling me that.”
Uma swatted her arm and Evie turned back around to face the window. “You did, but I don’t know if you noticed that I don’t listen to a thing you say.”
Evie smirked although Uma couldn’t see it. “You listened to me when I told you not to wear a vest.”
Uma scoffed and tugged at Evie’s hair, causing her to yelp. “‘Cause that vest was disgusting.”
Evie rolled her eyes and let out a laugh. She looked outside the window, to the dome sitting in the middle of the ocean. “Do you ever wonder what it’s like over there?” Uma let out a confused noise. “On the Isle?”
Uma let out a laugh, “I wish I could tell you I don’t. But I do, All of the time.” She sighs and lets her nimble fingers tighten the braid to a close. “Like, what if I’m from there. What made me so special to not be sitting there to rot in that island of filth. Or what if you and Queen Snow are from there? Maybe that’s why people never talk about your mom.”
Evie nods, slowly as to not disrupt Uma’s work. “I get what you mean, but it’s not like we can do anything about it. I mean, we’re just little girls.”
”No,” Uma corrects her. “We’re just kids, being girls isn’t the problem. Or at least it shouldn’t be.”
Evie is seven when she meets Audrey. And it’s the first time her and Uma are introduced to another child of Auradonian royalty. She considers it a blessing, Uma does not.
It’s a birthday party, one for the young princess of Auroria. Queen Ariel had to fight Uma to go, and Evie wouldn’t say anything but she could tell how tired the young queen was when the three of them arrived in their shared carriage. Evie would have comforted her, only she was too busy gushing over how lovely Uma’s dress was, and how great she looked in the color.
“I just don’t understand how you can fight your father and still look like you came right out of a magazine.” Evie was busy fixing Uma’s hair while she talked, since the girl had managed to mess that up but not the dress. There had been sea shells and adorable little shiny things tied in with the curled strands that Evie was just obsessed with. Uma huffed, obviously still upset she had to go to this. “It’ll be good for our families, maybe we’ll even get to marry princes. Won’t that be so romantic?”
Uma shook her head, “If I have to marry a prince, I’ll kill him and then myself.” King Eric goes to scold her but Queen Ariel silently tells him to leave it, too exhausted to deal with their daughter’s antics right this moment.
Evie giggles and took some of the lip gloss she had out of her purse, Snow had told her that she was too young for makeup, but Evie was rather stealthy when it came to something she wanted. “You’re silly, if a prince wanted to marry me, I’d let him do it a million times! Not that I’d need to.” She perfected her lips in the little compact mirror she brought. “I mean, I’m practically the fairest of them all.”
Snow laughed and lightly shoved Evie’s shoulder, “Keep dreaming.”
The rest of the ride was the same, Evie discussing everything possible thing they could do while at the party, and Uma bringing her back to reality. When they arrived, Evie nearly squealed and Uma rolled her eyes, but she peered out the window curiously anyways.
The whole thing looks very extravagant, even from inside the carriage. It looks like a dream come true for the perfect pink princess. And if the decorations were any clue to the princess celebrating this wondrous day, she definitely was perfect and very pink.
The gift that Snow had for the princess, Evie had picked out herself, and was very proud of it. It was a dress, very glamorous and chic and it made Evie feel all sorts of happy that she was the one who designed it just for the birthday girl.
”I bet she’s spoiled.” commented Uma. This earned a noise of protest from a less exhausted Ariel. “Don’t worry, I won’t say it to her face.” She narrowed her eyes. “But just know, I will be thinking it.”
Their presence is announced and met with cheerful applause, which calms Evie’s nerves more than she likes to admit. She was worried that they would hate her, or that she would do something wrong. However, it seemed she couldn’t be more incorrect as many of the families their curtseyed and bowed politely, making her heart flutter in her chest out of pride. Uma appears to be smiling, but Evie can tell she really just doesn’t want to be there.
The two of them curtesy in turn to those of royalty. And when Evie had told Uma that in the carriage she had replied with, “So everybody, then.” And it wasn’t like Uma was wrong, because it was a princess’ party after all. It was unlikely there would be any common folk there at all.
Everyone was dressed so lovely that Evie could hardly believe it. Mentally, she was taking note of every detail from a single sparkle to a layer of ruffles. And, she supposed, it wasn’t just in her head that she did that. She also complimented every outfit that she liked, which made many of the older adults fall in love with her charms so easily. Uma was listening to her mother in that she as being polite and getting with the older royals in a way Evie wasn’t. Politics.
Uma would politely enter conversations and offer her well thought out opinion in ways Evie had taught her. In many ways, she was proud of Uma for actually trying. Even though she had to guide her away before things got too heated, still, it was progress.
Evie and Uma continued on their way, to where the children were playing. There were of all ages, but they were all rich, just as Uma had suspected. The girls had dainty feminine colors dresses, the boys in suits of pale blue and green. In fact, Uma and Evie seemed to be the only girls in blue. Uma scoffed under her breath, Evie swatted at her arm. Nobody noticed their arrival, all of the children too busy with whatever party game they were playing.
“Let’s find the birthday princess, and then I wanna win a game of capture the flag.” Evie nodded and they both split up to look for the princess. Evie figures she’d be easy to spot, with the prettiest dress and the most sparkly crown. She got a bit deterred from her mission as a few princes caught her eye.
They smiled at her, and she smiled back with a little wave, if they really liked her they’d follow her. And Evie knew she was pretty, she was Snow White’s sister after all. Lucky for her, one of them did follow her.
”Hey!” He got up from where he was seated next to the other princes. He couldn’t be older than her, he had blonde curly hair and was taller than her, but not by much. “What’s your name?”
She turned around with a smile, “I’m Princess Evie of Charmington, who are you?” He wasn’t ugly so that was something. In fact, he was sort of handsome. Maybe he would make a good husband, if she was lucky.
He dipped into a bow, “I’m Prince Chad, of Cinderellasburg. It’s nice to meet you, Your Highness.”
She smiles at Chad and curtseys in response. “It’s nice to meet you as well.” Evie tilted her head, “Son of Cinderella, right?”
He nodded with a prideful sort of air about it. “Yup, that’s me. I bet you’re Snow White’s sister than.” Evie nodded and smiled. “Audrey’s been wanting to meet you.” She tilted her head to the side in confusion.
”Audrey? Who’s Audrey?”
“Princess Audrey.” He corrects, with pride. Evie falters a bit, maybe they were already married. “She’s my best friend, well one of them. The other one is Prince Ben of Auradon, Queen Belle’s son.” Her eyes light up with recognition. “The three of us have known each other longer than we could talk.”
She sighed in relief, so they weren’t married. Evie couldn’t help but be curious. “Princess Audrey of what?”
Chad blinks, confused. “Princess Audrey of Auroria, duh.” Evie perked up, Aurora’s daughter was his friend. It would be so easy to get in her good graces via Chad. And that way hopefully she and Uma would be invited to more birthday parties.
“Do you think you could take me to her? I just want to wish her a happy birthday.” She batted her eyelashes as pretty as she could.
He nodded with a smile, “Of course, Audrey will love you.” Evie smiles and hopes it’s a compliment. It has to be considering how lovely the party is. He ushers her forward and grins. “Follow me.”
It doesn’t take them long to find her, because she was sitting on a picnic blanket with a boy wearing around the same shade of blue as Evie. She had decided that Chad was okay because his outfit was a much paler blue. And while the boy next to Audrey was good-looking, he was wearing her signature color. If he wanted to marry Evie he’d have to change his color.
Audrey herself was pretty, practically a spitting image of her mother. Every once of the princess title she so rightfully deserves that it made Evie feel a little self conscious. The other princess’ name was called by Chad, and the birthday girl turned her head away from the boy next to her and onto the pair headed towards her, smiling daintily.
”Hi Chad! Who is she?” Audrey tilted her head to the side and purses her lips confused. And Evie had been right from earlier, her dress was the prettiest out of everybody, and the pink suites her so well.
Chad gestures to her, “This is Princess Evie of Charmington, Queen Snow’s sister.” Evie waved shyly and Audrey waves back.
”Well, don’t just stand there, come sit.” She moves over towards the boy next to bed and patted the space. Evie assumed it must be for her since Chad was going to sit by the other boy. “This is Prince Ben of Auradon.” Ben waves, and Evie finds that she doesn’t mind the two of the wearing the same color.
She smiles politely and shakes her head, “I’m sorry, I have to go get my friend. We were both looking for you to wish the birthday princess a happy birthday.” Audrey giggles and it sounds like bells.
”Well, then go look for her. I think we should be friends. Princesses stick together after all.” Audrey smiles and turns to Ben, laughing at something he said.
Evie tilted her head to the side, “How did you know she was a princess?”
Audrey giggled like it was obvious, “All princesses are friends with princesses, silly. Now go on, I want to meet her.“
Evie turned and obeyed Audrey, it was her birthday after all.
It didn’t take long to find Uma, because she was yelling at some group of boys for trying to protect her from a bunny rabbit. To be fair, it did take Evie a minute to tear her away, but it wasn’t that hard because Uma just wanted to say hi to Audrey and then leave.
They found the princess again in the garden still with Chad and Ben, and Evie cleared her throat to attract attention. Audrey turn her head, curls bouncing. “This is Princess Uma of Atlantica, Ariel’s daughter.” Uma mumbles something under her breath on how they shouldn’t have to announce their titles like a beauty pageant. However, Evie disagreed.
“That’s a pretty name,“ Audrey hummed softly in thought. “I love your dress, Uma. You’ll have to remind me, did a shark make it?” Her tone is warm but her words wash over Evie ice cold.
Uma laughed, it’s fake and forced. “I heard your mom isn’t good with a needle. Is that why your dress is so pink?”
Evie feels the need to intervene, but doesn’t because Uma doesn’t like to be rescued. “I always wondered what it would be like to smell like fish all day, would you please tell me? I’m oh so curious.” Audrey’s smile is starting to look more like a smirk, and the princes beside her seems more and more worried. Ben grabbed her wrist to keep her from continuing and Evie lightly brushed Uma’s shoulder with her hand.
Uma shrugs her off, but when Audrey beckons them to sit with her, Uma doesn’t say a word. The five of them talk about the flavors of cake and very mundane things for a while, before Uma let’s something slip about annoying princes.
Audrey’s gaze hardens, “Which princes would these be?” Uma pointed in the directions of where they sat, still talking to a poor girl who Evie could tell wanted to get away very badly. “One moment, please.” And then she’s off, Evie looks to Uma and shrugs.
All four of the children’s gazes followed Audrey as she went over to the princes, seemingly fuming. They couldn’t hear what she as saying, but she sounded angry and the princes seemed scared. Evie caught Uma smirking a bit as the boys practically ran away from Audrey with their tails between their legs.
When the princess came back, she had a smile on her face like nothing had happened, and Chad and Ben moved over for her to sit back down like it was nothing. “They won’t be bothering you again, Uma.” She brushed off her skirt and offered a hand to her. Uma took it and she stood up, and Audrey did the same to Evie. And so of course she took the outstretched hand.
“I want you to meet my mother.” Evie looks to Uma and nearly squealed. Aurora was blessed with beauty, grace, and the loveliest voice she had ever heard. Also, in Evie’s opinion, she had the prettiest prince. It was probably why Audrey turned out so beautiful.
And then the five of them are off, nearly inseparable on the way to find Queen Aurora. Audrey makes offhand comments about how she dislikes some of the people at her party, mostly women who are just there for her father. And Uma adds on to her about people she doesn’t like. Evie and Chad offer little additions about their outfits, Audrey and Uma agree with them. Ben looks lost, but he makes little noises of agreements some times.
She knows Uma will never admit it, but she gets along with Audrey oddly well for somebody who said they hated her right before they met her. Evie finds Chad less and less of a husband the more she talks to him and more of a close friend, he remind her of herself in ways. Which is strange, because he’s a boy.
Once they make their way to the large gazebo where the tables and chairs are set up, Audrey’s name is called and she drags them with her to see who it was. Evie is stunned, Aurora is even more beautiful in person. She thinks it’s everything she’d have wanted in a mother.
She shares Audrey’s caramel brown curls and honey colored eyes. Evie thinks it’s impossible to look so sweet and welcoming as the queen does. Snow was her guardian, that much was true. But that wasn’t saying that Evie missed having a real mother just as much. “Audrey, my rose, who are your friends?”
The little princess in the pink dress comes forward, two boys clad in shades of blue within her grasp. Before she looks at her mother, she turns to the two girls she has with her. “Evie, Uma, these are my very best friends in the whole wide world.” She turns to her mother. “This is Evie and Uma, they’re princesses, just like me.” She took the shorter boy’s hand and gave it to Uma, the taller’s to Evie. “We’re all going to be best friends for the rest of our lives, okay?” She’s saying it to them, but she’s also asking her mother in a way that Evie wishes she could.
Aurora lets out a laugh, charmed by her daughter’s antics. “Of course, darling. Shall you show Evie and Uma your garden?” Uma mouths something to Evie. ‘No titles?’ She shakes her head in response because of course Queen Aurora wouldn’t care about titles, she resided in the forest, kept in a quaint little cottage for the first sixteen years of her life. Royalty means nothing to her. Uma grins from beside Audrey.
That was the last time they saw Queen Aurora.
She had gotten sick after the party, it wasn’t contagious, and even if it was, the doctors didn’t say what it was. But now she’s gone, dead. And suddenly Evie feels a pit in her stomach that she’s not the only motherless princess out there.
Children don’t go to funerals, it’s an unwritten rule to save their sensitive innocence and happiness. But Evie goes, for Audrey. And so Uma goes, for Evie. “At least you have someone,” She reminds Uma, and herself. “Audrey doesn’t.”
Uma considers, “I don’t think it’s hit me yet, but now we have something in common.” Evie agrees silently. The two of them are dressed in black. It’s unusual for royal children to feel sorrow and yet here they are. “I think it’s important for us to go, because I don’t think Chad or Ben can either.” Evie nods, because it makes sense. Both mothers of the boys had lost their mothers when they were young. It was okay if they didn’t want to subject their children to the same pain. But someone had to be there for Audrey, so Evie and Uma would go.
The ride there was quiet, silent, even. Evie can’t stop thinking of Audrey even as Snow reaches to squeeze her knee in comfort. She looked up at Uma’s face and they shared the same sorrowful gaze. It wasn’t fair for Audrey, for her to have to go through with this. Even if she was a little mean from time to time, so were Uma, Evie, and Chad. Why did she deserve this? Why did Queen Aurora deserve this?
Their arrival is not announced, there is no plethora of people waiting for them. Evie’s heart squeezed. The ceremony is held in the garden, Audrey’s garden. Evie doesn’t let herself cry.
The two of them leave their respective guardians in search of Audrey fairly quickly after their seats are found. They seem to be the only people younger than sixteen here, it scares Evie, because she has never been to a funeral. Uma hasn’t either, but she leads Evie in their search for Audrey.
When they find her, she is alone. Evie doesn’t think she doesn’t know they are even there yet. “Audrey,” Evie calls, soft as she can. “Are you okay?”
Audrey’s head snaps up, she looks like she’s been trying not to cry. Her face comforts into frustration and her eyebrows furrow. “Do I look like I’m okay?” Audrey was trying to scare them away, but Uma takes a step forward. Evie looks at her uneasily. “Just leave me alone!” She buries herself back in her arms.
Uma takes another step. “Audrey, we’re here for you. You don’t have to be alone.” Uma says exactly what Evie is thinking, but Evie can’t open her mouth. She has never seen Audrey like this, so empty and angry. Normally, she’s passionate, and doesn’t back down. This time, she just seems weak, which is okay.
”You don’t want to be friends with me, I don’t even have a mom anymore.” Her eyes harden, and she is so on edge Evie almost tells Uma to leave it be.
”Ariel isn’t my real mom.” Uma shrugs. “I mean, I still have something, but that doesn’t make me miss her, wherever she is, any less.”
Evie clears her throat in an attempt to regain herself. “I don’t have a mom either, Snow’s my sister but nobody talks about my real mom.”
Audrey looks up, eyes watery. “They- they couldn’t save her.” She takes a shaky breath. “The fairies, they couldn’t save her.” She rubs at glassy honey orbs with her fists. “What’s the point of magic if you can’t even save people?” She laughs, but it sounds more like a sob.
Evie reaches out to her, tentative. “We’re here for you, okay?” Audrey nods and moves closer to them. Evie is the first to wrap her arms around her, Uma follows, but it’s more not wanting to be left out than anything. Audrey returns the hug after a few minutes, and Evie can tell it’s going to be a long day.