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Chloe Charming. Sure she was the daughter of Cinderella and Prince Charming, the perfect girl with the perfect life - that was how it had always been.
Until Red.
Red was like a force - a force that ruined her perfectly planned future.
The first time Chloe had seen Red, she felt… different. Not different in a bad way, but different in a way she had never felt with anyone before.
Before Chloe, Red had worn her heart on her sleeve, despite the way her mother treated her. Everyone could see that Red longed for someone like Chloe, whether it was the way she spoke, or the way she held herself. You might say Red was naive to the ways of the world, but Chloe noticed things about her that not even Red herself had noticed, like how carefully she watches the people she loves, as if she’s memorizing them in case the world tries to take them away, or how her eyes search for reassurance. There was a warmth about her, like scarlet roses blooming in early summer, delicate yet full of quiet confidence.
*
Red had never expected to meet Chloe, especially not the way she did at Auradon Prep opening ceremony.
She was immediately drawn in by the way the bluenettes' curls cascaded down her back. ‘You’re staring, Red,’ Luis said, shattering her thoughts about the princess. For once, Red offered no interjection. He was right, she was staring. How could she not when Chloe carries the kind of charm that feels like the last light of a crimson sunset - soft, glowing and impossible to ignore?
‘You wanna talk to her?’ He asked with a teasing tone.
‘Yes,’ Red replied bluntly, unable to draw her eyes away from Chloe.
‘Go on,’ he continued, ‘Red?’
‘Yeah?’
‘Don’t come on too strong,’ He said. Red scoffed, as if his suggestion was obvious. Yet she couldn’t help the words she blurted out.
‘Come home with me?’ she half asked, half stated.
‘Who are you..?’ Chloe replied, a nervous yet curious tone laced in her voice.
‘The girl who’s gonna marry you,’ Red stated proudly, moving closer to Chloe, ‘I’m Red,’ she continued. Chloe shifted away slightly, ‘is she always like this?’ she asked, turning to Luis, whose face bore an embarrassed blush.
‘Yes,’ He replied, smoothing his hair back with his palm. ‘I’m Chloe Charming…’ she said, her tone softer now. ‘Your name is like a melody,’ Red blurted out. The pair and Luis made their way from the entryway, towards the courtyard.
“I take it you’re not from around here?’ Chloe asked, following just behind the red head. ‘Wonderland,’ Red said, as if it should’ve been obvious. Chloe smiled knowingly. ‘I take it, you're from Cinderellasburg, princess?’ Red asked. ‘The one and only,’ Chloe laughed.
‘... And with that, welcome to Auradon Prep!’ Uma announced as they reached the courtyard.
‘I guess we’re roommates, princess,’ Red said, turning towards the younger girl.
*
The first few months at Auradon Prep were great. Chloe and Red’s relationship didn’t take long to blossom. But Chloe knew she was different from Red. She knew Red had had a difficult upbringing, they’d spoken about it many times (which often ended up with Red in Chloe’s arms), but at least Red was free. She didn’t have to live a lie like Chloe did.
Chloe knew that there was nothing wrong with her per se, but she knew that she didn’t want to marry whatever prince her parents had picked for her from some far off land, she wanted to be with Red. That seemed like it was the only thing she was certain of in her life.
Red was a troubled girl, but she had a gift to give. She could make you see how the world could be; in spite of the way that it is.
But Chloe had seen how the world was. When she fell, she fell in spite of herself, in love with Red.
‘Red,’ Chloe said, her voice stern, ‘I really need to talk to you,’ she continued, moving across the dorm and sitting on the edge of Red's bed. She could see the way Red looked at her with concern. Chloe didn’t wait for Red's reply before she spoke; ‘I have never truly felt able to be myself until I met you,’ she began, feeling the tears well in her eyes, ‘but you take me in your arms and suddenly there is sunlight all around me, and for a moment I forget just how dark and cold it gets. And I know thatI wanna hold you close and never have to let you go,’ she said, all in one breath.
Red’s hand raised and grazed Chloe’s cheek, ‘when I hold you, I feel like I’m holding the world in my arms,’ she stated.
Chloe eased under her touch, her body feeling instantly less tense. ‘Just say that you’ll hold me forever, and it will always be like this,’ Chloe asked. Red took the bluenettes hand in hers, and kissed her knuckles - a silent promise to the princess.
Unbeknownst to Chloe, the world would not remain as she wanted it.
She woke up panting in the night, feeling the blood rushing around her body. Something was wrong. She could feel it in her chest. She sat up, her eyes searching the room, landing on her lover next to her.
‘Red,’ she whispered, rocking the girl's shoulder slightly. The older girl stirred in her sleep, ‘hm are you okay princess?’ she asked, eyes still shut. ‘Something… Something’s wrong, I can feel it, I just don’t know what…’ Chloe said, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. ‘Go back to sleep Chlo…’ Red said, dozing off again.
But Chloe couldn’t sleep. She knew something was different. But it wasn’t the same different she’d felt her whole life. This was something else. The blue haired girl paced back and forth for so long, she was surprised she hadn’t burned holes in the floor. She knew she needed space, so she grabbed Tiago and headed for the training arena.
‘You think everything’s so easy, Charming? You’ve got another thing coming.’
The voice echoed in Chloe’s head. It wasn’t a voice that she’d heard before, but he must’ve known her, right? He called her ‘Charming.’ Chloe thought nothing of the voice, until it spoke again.
‘It’s not like anyone’s going to remember you, especially not the girl. It’ll be like you never existed.’
The voice spoke again. ‘Remember who?’ Chloe thought. And who was the ‘girl’? Was something going to happen to her? ‘No,’ She thought, ‘Red’s in trouble,’ She thought, her knightly instinct rushing in. She ran back to their dorm, sword still in hand, busting through the door as the sun was rising.
‘Chloe?’ Red asked quietly, the sun breaking through the curtains and illuminating her face. ‘You’re okay,’ Chloe panted, rushing over to the redhead, ‘thank the Gods you’re okay,’ she said, taking Red's face in her hands. Chloe kissed her with deep passion, as if Red's lips were the oxygen she needed to stay alive - as if pulling away would drain the life from her body. When she did pull away, she heaved a sigh of relief. ‘Okay seriously Chlo, what’s wrong?’ Red asked, not unhappy about the affection she’d just received, but concerned by the overwhelming emotions her girlfriend had exhibited.
‘He told me he was going to take you, and that no one would remember you,’ She said, ‘Not even me…’ she added, her voice barely above a whisper.
‘Who told you?’ Red asked, her voice laced with confusion. Chloe couldn’t answer. She didn’t know who the voice belonged to. ‘I.. I don’t know…’ Chloe said, sounding defeated, ‘he just spoke to me in the night?’
‘Tell me exactly what he said,’ Red said.
Chloe repeated the voice's words back to her, every curve of every syllable.
‘And you’re sure it was about me?’ Red asked. ‘Who else could it be about?’ Chloe replied. She was right, the only other important woman in her life was-
‘My Mom,’ Chloe realised.
She dialled the palace’s number. Ring… Ring…
‘Hi Chlo, is everything okay?’ Ella spoke, formally but softly. Chloe sighed in relief, ‘yeah, everything’s okay…’ she began, ‘just wanted to uh… see if you guys were still seeing Chad this weekend, or if you were coming to Auradon?’ she continued, saving herself quickly.
‘Who is Chad honey?’ Ella asked. And then it hit Chloe. ‘Charming’ wasn’t her. It was Chad. ‘Don’t worry about it Mom, I’ll see you soon,’ she said, hanging up.
Then the tears fell. Chad was gone, and Chloe was the only person who remembered him - for now, at least.
‘Where are you going?’ Chloe asked.
‘I have a plan,’ Red stated.
‘Finish it quick…’ Chloe said.
And just like that, Red was gone too.
‘Did you hear me, Red?’ She continued, ‘Red?’
Yet the blue haired girl was left in silence.
‘Okay, finish it,’ She said, quietly.
*
There was a change in Chloe from that point onwards. It wasn’t hard to notice. She never greeted people around campus anymore, never contributed in class, and rarely turned up to swords and shields practice - losing her captaincy.
‘Hey Charming,’ The voice spoke again, seemingly closer this time, as if speaking directly to her.
‘I can help you get your brother back,’ it continued, and no matter what Chloe did, she couldn’t shut the voice out.
‘The choice is yours if you’re willing to choose, seeing as you’ve got nothing to lose.’
He was right. She didn’t have anything to lose. The two people she wanted weren’t there. Red was too busy trying to think of a plan, and Chad? He only existed in her mind.
‘Okay…’ She thought, ‘it’s worth a shot.’
And so she took the chance. She followed the voice through Auradon, listening to its promises of a better life, a life where she still had her brother. That was all it took to convince her.
She reached the gates of the Rabbit Hole before she saw him.
He wasn’t someone she recognised but she already knew that the voice belonged to him. He didn’t speak. He stood there, composed but quiet, his presence drawing her in.
‘What is it?’ she asked, approaching cautiously.
‘Your ticket,’ he responded bluntly, ‘to see your brother again.’
Chloe couldn’t turn down an opportunity like that. Her love for her brother was devastatingly beautiful.
She spoke once more before following him into the cloud of purple that trailed behind him. ‘Red, my heart is yours,’ She began, ‘always was and will be. Oh my heart, it aches to stay, but I long for my brother.’
And just like that, she was gone.
Red could sense the change in the air, rushing out to the courtyard, spotting Luis Madrigal alone on a bench.
‘Luis!’ Red shouted after the Colombian boy.
‘Hey Red, aren’t you busy working on your “big plan”’ He asked, slight mockery in his voice.
‘Where’s Chloe?’ Red asked, concerned.
‘What do you care?’ He scoffed, turning to leave, ‘you’ll find another girl somewhere.’
‘Where is she?’ Red replied desperately.
‘And what if I said she’s down below?’ He asked rhetorically, ‘she called your name before she went, but I guess you weren’t listening.’
It hit Red like a freight train. Chloe was serious about that voice in her head. And she’d followed it. ‘No…’ Red let out a broken cry.
‘Look, there is a way to get to her, but… I'm not supposed to say..’ the boy spoke, noticing the despair in Red’s eyes, pleading for him to tell her. ‘Do you really want to go?’ he asked, leaving Red with a final escape route.
‘With all my heart,’ she said, firmly.
Luis knew there was no turning back now. He’d seen the lengths Red would go to for Chloe.
‘It’s not an easy path to walk Red,’ he began, ‘you’ve got to keep low and stay out of sight. Don’t give your name - you don’t have one - and don’t look anyone in the eye.’
Red knew the risk she was taking. She stepped beyond the veil of Auradon without hesitation, descending into the underworld where the air shimmered like dying embers, and shadows whispered her name. The gates groaned open as if they could sense her courage, but the path coiled ahead with trials meant to break the unworthy.
Was she unworthy? She thought. Get out of your head Red.
She carried no weapon, only the memory of Chloe echoing in her heart. She trudged through rivers of ash and fields of forgotten souls, knowing that mourning was useless. Every step tested her resolve. The ground trembled with distant roars, and half formed figures reached out as she passed, brushing her sleeves with cold, pleading hands. She didn’t recoil. She moved with purpose. Faint whispers drifted in the dark, some coaxing her to turn back, others mimicking Chloe’s voice in cruel imitation. The closer she got, the further away she felt. Was she sure this was a good idea?
At the same time, she knew she couldn’t turn back, not that her heart wanted to.
*
The underworld was not what Chloe had expected it to be. She’d expected complete darkness, not a bright landscape covered in mushrooms and a hazy violet glow - trapping the realm in a dusk like state.
‘There are papers to be signed,’ The voice spoke. So she stepped into his office, and he closed the doors behind them.
Now what Chloe didn’t know was that a lot can happen behind closed doors. She wasn’t a desperate young girl anymore, what she was instead was dead - an evil, corrupted version of her previous self - for she had signed her life away, giving up her future to that tainted voice. That damned voice.
‘You now belong to me,’ the voice said, ‘Property of Maddox Hatter.’
Chloe froze. The room seemed to shrink around her as the truth rearranged every memory she had trusted; the carefully timed rescue, the subtle steering of her choices? It had never been a coincidence. It had never been to help her. It had been to destroy the world as she knew it.
A slow, nauseating clarity settled in her chest as she realised that every step she had taken towards what she believed was an attempt to get her brother back, had in fact guided her here, to this inevitable edge. She didn’t even feel betrayed. She couldn’t feel betrayed. She had made the choice herself. She had carelessly signed the papers without reading them. In the silence that followed the revelation, she saw what was coming. Inescapable. Deliberate. Darkly patient. And for the first time, hope felt like a childish thing she had already outgrown.
Anger rose first, raw and hot, a sharp flame in her chest. Then came despair, slow and impossible to stop, curling around her like smoke. For the first time, she’d understood the true meaning of power, and the cost of underestimating it. The quiet unfolding of her fate was the most terrifying part. She looked in the mirror, hardly recognising herself. Her aegean curls had deepened to more of a lapis blue. Her previously muscular figure had faded to a shell of the person she once was. A cold sweat slicked her skin. Her once steady hands shook, as if they belonged to someone else. They didn’t feel like hers anymore.
‘Nothing’s going to wake you now Charming,’ Maddox spoke. Chloe felt a chill down her spine at the thought of knowing who that voice belonged to.
And there in front of her was her brother. Except it wasn’t. His lifeless eyes bore into her skull. That wasn’t Chad anymore. She felt the tears build in her eyes. All she’d wanted was to get Chad back, yet here she was in the depths of the underworld, trembling at the thought of her life. She could already feel her memories slipping away, although she could remember someone by her side.
'If you ever walk this way,' she thought, 'come and find me lying in the bed I made.'
As if by fate, the doors to Maddox’s office flew open.
‘Come home with me,’ the voice said - a voice she knew all too well.
‘It’s you?’ Chloe cried out.
‘It’s me!’ Red declared triumphantly.
‘Red…’ Chloe said, melting into the older girl's touch. ‘Chloe,’ Red said softly, embracing the blue haired girl, holding her as tight as she could - as if letting go would make Chloe disappear forever.
‘Whatever happened, I’m to blame,’ Red said in defeat, ‘you called my name.’
‘You came,’ Chloe replied, her voice lighter.
But their haven was cut short.
‘You’re not from around here,’ Maddox said, ‘I don’t know who the hell you are, but I can tell you don’t belong.’
‘I’m not going back alone, I came to take her home,' Red countered, standing defensively in front of Chloe.
‘Who the hell do you think you are?’ Maddox asked, ‘Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? She couldn’t go anywhere, even if she wanted to,’ he continued.
Red’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. ‘Oh,’ he said teasingly, ‘you didn’t know? She signed the deal herself… And now she belongs to me,’ he continued.
‘It isn’t true- What he said? Chloe?’ Red pleaded. ‘I did,’ Chloe replied, ‘I do.’
No matter where Red turned, she was surrounded on all sides, blocked by cold, empty eyes. ‘Is this how the world is?’ she shouted, her voice breaking on every word as she held back tears.
‘You can’t save her,’ Maddox mocked, ‘you know the only way to get her back is to give me the pocket watch, and go back to your timeline. And where does that leave you? Back with your mother, destined to become an evil queen just like her - but you get your Bluey back,’ he ridiculed. ‘Or she stays here, and you get your perfect life with a kind mother.’
Chloe didn’t know what he was talking about? Pocket watch? Their timeline?
‘Red,’ she spoke softly, ‘take me home with you,’ she continued. Red looked at the younger girl. Her eyes stung with tears.
‘I hope you know I have nothing to offer you,’ Red said softly, ‘no ring for your finger, whatever promises I made.’ Chloe nodded, a small laugh leaving her lips. ‘I don’t need gold or silver, just bread when I’m hungry, and fire when I’m cold,’ she began, ‘just walk beside me, love, any way the wind blows.’
‘What about him?’ Red asked, her gaze shifting away from the bluenette, towards Maddox. ‘He’ll let us go,’ Chloe said, ‘look at him, he can’t say no. Just give him the pocket watch, and we’ll be on our way,’ she continued.
‘I know the world won’t be perfect, but I’m willing to make everything work, if you are?’ Chloe asked, not a promise, but the truth. ‘I will,’ Red replied.
And so, Red turned to Maddox. ‘Can we go?’ She asked.
‘I don’t know,’ the boy replied. ‘Only one thing to be done,’ he thought, ‘let them leave, but under one condition. Red, shall not turn to look behind - Chloe will be out of sight, and Red will be out of her mind.’
‘What is it?’ Red asked.
‘The good news is, you can go,’ Maddox began, relief filling the girl's chests. ‘There is bad news though,’ he continued, ‘you, Red, have to walk in front, and Chloe has to walk in back. And if you turn around to make sure she’s coming too, she goes back to the underworld, and there is nothing you can do,’ he finished, his voice content.
‘It’s a trap,’ Red spoke. ‘It’s a trial,’ Maddox replied, ‘do you trust each other? Do you trust yourselves?’ He asked. ‘We do,’ the girls spoke in unison.
The girls turned to go. Red first, Chloe barely two steps behind. And they stepped onto the path out of the underworld.
Doubt crept in like a cold wind, brushing against Red’s resolve, and lingering around Chloe’s hope - or what she had left of it. Red hesitated every so slightly as she began her first few steps, the promise of the world above shimmering, yet uncertain. Even the air seemed heavy, pressing down on their shoulders, urging Red to check on Chloe. But she knew she couldn’t. She felt it tightening in her chest, yet even as the shadows lengthened, something stubborn flickered in them - a fragile defiance, a whisper of hope that refused to be silenced. Chloe was unsure how she felt about hope. It had led her here in the first place. But she knew that hope was keeping Red going.
They walked past the furnaces where fire clung stubbornly to blackened iron, past machines that groaned and hissed as if they were alive. This path looked nothing like the road Maddox had led Chloe down. The shadows of the workers moved in patterns that were almost human, cruel and twisted, every figure loomed larger, more menacing. The further away from the underworld they travelled, the more the path wound, like a serpent. It pulled at their memories; things that had once felt eternal now sounded fragile, as if a single wrong step could shatter the world. Except it could. One step out of line and Chloe would disappear forever.
‘Red, you are not alone, I am right here, and I will be to the end,’ Chloe spoke softly, ‘when the coldest night of the coldest year comes right before the spring,’ she finished. She knew Red couldn’t hear her, but the sentiment meant more than Red hearing those words. Meanwhile, Red’s mentality was hopeless. ‘Who am I against him?’ she asked, to whom she was unsure, ‘why would he let me win?’ she continued, pleading with the road ahead of her.
Red tried to hold onto hope with every step she took, the small promises that had kept her moving forward. But doubt was patient, and it did not leave. It whispered questions that had no answers, tugging at the corners of her mind, reminding her that nothing could ever truly be trusted - not the path she had chosen, not the people she had believed in, not even the steady beat of her own heart. She felt the weight of uncertainty pressed down, intimate and unrelenting, until it seemed that doubt was going to claim her entirely, as if it was sitting quietly in the chair across from her, smiling without malice, simply waiting. More questions plagued her mind. ‘Who am I to think that she would follow me into the cold and dark?’ she asked herself.
And finally, she could see the light. It was far, but it was there. She didn’t know how long they had been walking but she knew this nightmare was coming to a close. Every step she took, the light got brighter, burning deep into her soul. There was the exit, ten, maybe fifteen feet away.
Chloe started to speak again, ‘Red, you are not alone, I am right behind you, and I have been all along,’ she began, ‘when the darkest hour of the darkest night comes right before-’
No. They realised simultaneously.
Red had gotten carried away, her eagerness for freedom grasping her. Her pace had sped up.
She’d turned too soon.
‘It’s you…’ Red said, unusually soft spoken.
‘It’s me…’ Chloe replied, devastation spilling out with every word, ‘Red…’ she continued.
‘Chloe…’ Red’s voice broke. She ran towards the blue haired girl. But it was too late. One moment she was there, the next, Red was alone.
‘Red’ Luis spoke softly, seeing the girl's broken form on the ground. He’d seen it happen. He knew that this was how it would end. And there was nothing he could’ve done to stop it.
He never saw Red again after that. He often thought about her, wherever she was wandering alone upon the earth.
It’s an old tale.
It’s a tragedy.