Chapter Text
Max Hatter was, perhaps unsurprisingly, a pessimist. If growing up on the Isle taught him anything, it was that good things aren’t served to you on a silver platter (unless you’re an HK), and if you wanted something, you had to prove you were good enough to have it.
The idea of soulmates had always felt silly to him, and, like most Isle residents, he’d spent most of his life questioning their existence and whether they were even real. In Auradon, you were practically guaranteed a happy ending with your soulmate from the moment you started dreaming. Even on the Isle, you’d heard the stories of how Queen Belle and King Beast met in their dreams when they were young and fell in love from the moment they first saw each other. Or how, when Aurora fell fast asleep, the only time she ever dreamed was when Prince Phillip was also asleep, and they could dream together.
Everyone knew that you couldn’t dream on the Isle, thanks to the barrier that blocked any type of magic, including soulmate magic. Your best hope was to find someone you could trust at least partially and expect them to betray you at any time. Max had Hazel Hook, but he would never say they were soulmates.
It wasn’t until the prince, now King, of Auradon decreed that some of the villain kids would be allowed to come to Auradon that anyone on the Isle really started to believe in magic dreams. The whispers of Mal and Ben sharing dreams spread like wildfire on the Isle, and a kind of hope that had never been present before in the depressing place spread even faster. Max still doubted it; it was hard to imagine that there was someone out there for him.
He wasn’t popular. Most of the Isle kids resented him for not being born there, for being from Wonderland. It was an adjustment, learning what was right and wrong in a culture entirely different from how he’d grown up. Even Hazel sometimes looked at him strangely when he said or did something weird, and she constantly made fun of his love for tea. He never really fit in anywhere; it was something he’d grown used to.
When the barrier fell, anyone who’d previously doubted the whole soulmate thing was immediately proven wrong. At Auradon Prep, especially, happily ever after became a normal thing for everyone, including VKs. It was disgustingly cute the way people walked around in pairs, orbiting around the one they’d been promised was made for them. It was truly a perfect fairytale ending.
For everyone except for Max.
Of course, his father forgot to mention that Wonderlandians only dream in Wonderland.
He leaned against his locker, staring blankly ahead as Hazel talked beside him about how excited she was to see Chloe again. As much as he loved his best friend, he was getting increasingly tired of hearing about the blue-haired soulmate of hers. It was the first day of school, at least for them, since they’d both skipped the Opening Ceremony with some of the other VKs, and he was already ready to head back to his dorm and sleep for the rest of the year.
He adjusted his hat as Hazel continued to ramble. When the barrier fell, Hazel, along with all the other VKs, began to have dreams. He hadn’t believed her at first when she told him that she was sharing dreams with Cinderella’s daughter, but she wasn’t the first VK to have an HK soulmate, and certainly wasn’t the last. It had taken time for them to connect, especially being from such different backgrounds, but by the end of their first year at Auradon Prep, Chloe had been fully adopted into their group of VKs, and Hazel always had a seat next to her at the HK tables.
Max had always tried to be supportive of their relationship, especially since they’d been dating for almost two years at this point, but he still felt the twist in his gut whenever he saw them hanging out. It wasn’t Hazel’s fault that the universe seemed to hate Max, or that she’d found love when it seemed like he’d always be unable to, nor was it Chloe’s fault for making his best friend happier than he ever could.
He felt something hit his head and snapped out of his daydream to turn and look at Hazel, who was sending him a very unimpressed look. She held a folder that was folded in a way to make it the perfect weapon to attack an unsuspecting Hatter.
“Are you even paying attention to me?” She asked, sighing when Max’s face cringed apologetically. “Look, I know you’re brooding for whatever reason today, but you could at least be even a little excited to see Chloe. You like Chloe.” She insisted.
It was true, despite everything, Max and Chloe had formed a surprisingly close bond in the last few years. He might skip half his classes and forget to turn in some assignments, but he was actually quite smart. Back on the Isle, he’d always made sure to steal a couple of books to keep himself occupied whenever his father locked himself in his study and didn’t come out for days, and he kept up with some of the more nerdy HKs at Auradon. His teachers constantly told him that he could be top of his class if he actually applied himself more, but he preferred not to draw attention to himself, so he continued putting in just enough effort to keep his grades good.
Chloe and his friendship started when they’d been paired together for a group project back before she and Hazel had started dating. He’d headed to the library where they had agreed to meet, expecting a stuck-up royal and surprised to find a still stuck-up friend. Their friendship was rocky at first, but she’d grown to be one of his closer friends, and usually the person he turned to first when he wanted to study or was working on a harder problem.
He sighed, pushing himself off his locker. “Fine, yeah, It’ll be nice to see Chloe again.”
Hazel rolled her eyes, partially satisfied. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a ping on her phone. As she checked it, her face lit up, and a soft smile grew on her lips.
“Chloe?” Max guessed.
Hazel blushed slightly. “Felix. He said Chloe just arrived and she’s walking in with some new girl right now.” She looked back up at him. “If you didn’t have your phone on silent all the time, you would’ve known that.”
He ignored her quip, checking his own phone to find that Felix had, in fact, texted their group chat together, sending a picture of Chloe with a winking emoji. Max looked back up as Hazel began to tug him to the main doors of the school. He groaned playfully but allowed her to lead him to the front courtyard.
When they reached outside, he felt Hazel’s grip on him loosen as an arm slid over his shoulder. Felix’s voice sounded out from right beside his ear, “Another year of having to hear the two of them be obsessed with each other.” He gestured beside them to Hazel and out on the lawn to Chloe, who was hesitantly making her way up the steps.
Max laughed as Hazel shot Felix a glare. They made their way down the stairs as Felix continued talking, moving his arm over to drape over her shoulder instead.
“I’ve heard that she’s like best friends with this new girl, Red or whatever. You might actually have some competition this time, Hazel.”
Hazel snorted, “Red? Like the color? Who names their kid Red?”
“The Queen of Hearts, apparently,” Felix explained as the two of them continued walking. “I’m pretty sure her sister is named Pink- Max? Are you coming?”
He and Hazel both turned around to see Max standing frozen a whole flight of stairs behind them, staring distantly out into the courtyard. At Felix’s words, he looked back at them and hurried to catch up when he noticed them staring.
“Yeah, sorry,” He muttered, avoiding their gazes. “C’mon, let’s just find Chloe and the Smees.”
He didn’t notice as the two exchanged a glance behind his back, their brows creased.
By the time the group of three reached the bottom of the stairs, the two girls had been joined by another girl, this one with bright pink hair, and two familiar faces.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Auradon’s dream boy,” Felix drawled, looking at Luis Madrigal and Robbie Hood with contempt. “And we can’t forget his friend, the two-faced fox.” He delivered the last line with a bit more bite than usual.
Everyone at Auradon had heard about when Felix and Robbie had broken up at the end of last year. It was the talk of every social group, considering how close the two soulmates had been. Felix had taken the brunt of the gossip, considering most of the school thought he must have done something to Robbie. It was classic Auradon, blaming the VK whenever something happened.
Max had been right there for his roommate when it had happened, letting Felix cry on his shoulder some nights in the privacy of their dorm, but even he didn’t know the full story. Hazel dealt with most of the bullies, doing a good job at making sure anyone who came up to Felix with bad intentions somehow ended up in the enchanted lake (Max still wasn’t entirely sure how she managed that, but he thinks it has something to do with the Smees). Both she and Max had agreed to not press Felix for details about what had happened, even though either of them would have gone after Robbie without so much as a word from Felix.
Robbie turned away from his conversation with Chloe and the others to glare back at Felix. “Wow, and here I thought you wouldn’t have the guts to show your face here again after all the rumours going on about you last year.” He called back.
Felix narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to talk, but Hazel stepped in front. “You mean the rumours about him cursing you? What, are you scared that he’ll predict your death this time? Careful, you might end up in the enchanted lake.” She warned.
Max smirked, glancing beside him to see that Felix’s face had stayed stoic, not even cracking a smile like he usually would at Hazel’s joke.
Robbie began to start up, heading over to Hazel with his face full of anger, but Luis placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “C’mon guys, let’s not fight on the first day. I’m sure whatever happened was all just a big misunderstanding.”
Luis Madrigal- now that was a face Max didn’t like very much. Always marching around with his hero complex, pretending he owned the place. Sometimes Max wondered if he had more strength or ego, and most of the time, he decided the winner would be ego.
Of course, all the HKs and royals loved him. It wasn’t a true day at Auradon if you didn’t hear at least one princess fawning over him and his muscles. Max generally tried to avoid him, but Luis had a nasty habit of always appearing where Max was, to the point where Max was extremely tired of his grating voice.
He hadn’t always hated Luis; in fact, they’d hung out a couple of times after Felix and Robbie found out they were soulmates, but it seemed all Luis could do was brag or try to show off his strength. Hazel used to say he was all muscle and no brain, which was a sentiment Max couldn’t agree more with. It didn’t help that whenever Luis was near, Max got this weird twisting feeling in his stomach. He took it as a sign that the boy couldn’t be trusted any more than Robbie could.
Max stepped forward as well, standing next to Hazel. “Easy for you to say, Madrigal. Last I checked, the school loved you. Let me guess, you get Hero points for whenever you tell a VK to shut up, right?”
Behind Luis and Robbie, Chloe stood with her arms crossed, watching the scene unfold with her brows furrowed. Beside her, the new girl, Red, he assumed, had her mouth open as if she wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure what.
His heart clenched as he studied her. A part of her was familiar, which he knew was because they had met before. He wondered if she remembered him, and the way that they would play together when they were younger, back when he had lived in Wonderland.
Before her mother sent him and his dad to the Isle.
Before her mother ruined his life.
He pulled his gaze away as a girl with bright pink hair and accessories moved to stand beside Luis. “Manners, Hatter,” she scolded, and Max had to bite his tongue to keep himself from laughing at the idea of her telling him off.
He remembered Pink less than Red, but he was sure that the girl standing in front of him was none other than Red’s younger sister. He doubted that she remembered him, but it was clear she already held the mindset of HKs being above a VK just because of who their parents were.
Luis sighed as he and Robbie turned away, leading Chloe and the two siblings away from the VK. Max watched as Hazel narrowed her eyes, her head tilting slightly as she watched Chloe go off with them without a word to her.
“What a bunch of nepo babies,” He muttered as they left. “Wonder why Chloe’s hanging out with Madrigal of all people.”
He walked back over to where Felix was absentmindedly twirling a card in his hands. “Or Robbie,” He spat out venomously. “I have a feeling this year's not going to be any easier for us. Especially if those two have got the princesses in their pocket.”
“When is the year ever easy for us?” Max asked, rolling his eyes. “I forgot Chloe was childhood friends with the Queen of Hearts’ daughter.”
Felix’s eyes turned sympathetic as he realized what Max was implying. He wrapped his arm around Max’s shoulder, clapping it twice. “Have you been back to Wonderland yet?” His tone was solemn for once.
Max shook his head. “I’ve been staying with you or Hazel during breaks.” He looked down, kicking a pebble on the floor. “I haven’t been able to go back to him.”
He knew the Queen of Hearts had offered him and his father their home in Wonderland back if they wanted it, but Max didn’t trust his dad not to try and continue his hunt for the supposed pocket watch. So while his father accepted, Max asked permission to stay with Hazel when he wasn’t at Auradon. His father agreed immediately, which should have made Max happy, but only caused the knot in his stomach to grow. He’d spent most of his life trying to get away from his dad, but to hear that he didn’t even want to see Max hurt.
Felix nodded, offering a small smile before looking up. He narrowed his eyes, and Max followed his gaze to Hazel, still staring at where Chloe had left them. They exchanged a glance, silently agreeing to walk up together.
Felix threw an arm over her shoulders while Max slipped an arm around her waist. He glanced at her face, surprised to see tears forming in her eyes.
“She was acting weird last night,” she whispered. “And now she didn’t even acknowledge me.”
“Hey,” He nudged her. “I’m sure she just wasn’t sure what to say. She’s showing Red around, then she’ll come and see us.”
Hazel nodded softly, trying to blink away the tears before they could fall. “Yeah, probably.” Max’s heart clenched at the wobble in her voice.
They were all silent for a moment, letting the noise of the courtyard fill the peaceful moment. Max saw Hazel still looking for her girlfriend’s blue hair, and tried to pull her away to face the other side. “We still have to find the Smees,” he reminded her.
She laughed quietly. “Before they get themselves into some mess they have to clean up.”
As if they were listening, two mops of blonde hair came rushing over to them.
“Hazel!” Squeaky called out.
“Smee!” Squirmy added.
“I think we found them,” Felix said dryly.
The twins made their way over, tripping over each other as they ran. Max covered his mouth with his hand as he laughed, and Hazel rolled her eyes.
“Do you have any snacks?” Squirmy asked as soon as they reached the other VKs. Hazel scoffed, but reached into her bag and pulled out some Pirate’s Booty as if she’d expected the question.
Felix turned to face Max as Hazel tended to the Smees' needs like the mother she was. “What we really need is something to start this school year off with a good start.”
“I mean Pirate’s Booty feels like a pretty nice thing to start the school year with,” Max joked.
“Ha ha, man.” Felix rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. A fun prank or something. Messing with the HKs is always fun.”
“What about them?” Hazel interrupted, coming into their conversation with a point of her hook. She gestured to a group of what appeared to be Freshman HKs. They were looking anxiously around the courtyard, flinching whenever they caught sight of a VK. “They look like they could be entertaining.”
Felix tossed one of the cards in his hand in the air, a bit of green magic trailing up behind it. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
“They look like they’ve got quite a bit of cash on them as well,” Max added approvingly. “I’ve been trying to save up for a new hat.”
Hazel scoffed and looked at him. “Like you’d ever take that one off.”
“I’ve seen him sleep with it on before,” Felix added teasingly.
“Very funny, guys.” Max scoffed, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Are we going or not?”
Hazel began to nod, but caught sight of Chloe walking around a corner of the building with the two girls from Wonderland, noticeably missing both Luis and Robbie. She looked hesitantly back at Max, who just rolled his eyes. She and Chloe clearly needed to talk, and he wasn’t about to stop his best friend from chasing after her girlfriend.
Felix sighed, watching Hazel’s eyes trace the path that Chloe was taking. “Max and I can handle ourselves with a bunch of newbies. Go ahead and find Chloe. You’ll be insufferable if you don’t.”
Max snorted, causing Hazel to send him a dirty look. “I wouldn’t be insufferable,” she argued, although her tone was quite lackluster. “But if you’re sure… I do want to talk to her.”
“We know,” Max teased, “might as well talk to her now before Madrigal and Hood try to steal her back again.”
Hazel didn’t waste another second, nodding and scrambling across the courtyard to reach her soulmate. “Keep the Smees out of trouble,” She yelled back at them. “If they get hurt, you’ll be answering to my hook.”
Max turned to look at the Smees who were currently throwing Pirate’s Booty at each other, watching as the little pieces bounced off each other and fell into the fountain they were sitting on the base of. “Yeah, I think they’ll be fine,” he drawled.
Felix rolled his eyes and dragged Max over to the group of unsuspecting victims, leaving the Smees to their own devices. “Let’s just go with the basic hat and card tricks for now,” he muttered to Max before raising his voice to address the group of HKs. “Now, I just couldn’t help but notice that you all seem to be quite bored. Perhaps I can interest you in a couple of card tricks?” To display what he meant, he spun a couple of cards in his hands, using a bit of green magic to keep them spinning even as he tossed them into the air.
The HKs seemed hesitant, eyeing them suspiciously, but the way Felix introduced himself with confidence made it almost impossible to resist a couple of fun tricks.
Max quickly buried himself in the crowd as Felix dazzled the HKs with special shuffles and tricks. He wrinkled his nose as the smell of powder and perfume filled his nose, holding back the urge to cough at the scent. He waited patiently for the hero kids to calm down slightly in the presence of Felix. As a couple of them began to laugh while Felix spun and contorted the cards in his hands as he had hundreds of times before, Max allowed his hand to wander, carefully grabbing anything that might have been of value and slipping it into his coat pocket.
He felt a pouch of coins and took his time pocketing it in order to not cause the coins to make any sound. Felix caught his eye and nodded, having run low on the flashy card tricks he was using to distract the HKs. Max took that as his cue to take over, speaking softly to the group surrounding him, “I’m going to show you a hat trick, and if you don’t like it, I’m going to be very upset, okay?” He joked, laughing as he took his hat off and twirled it. It was a dance he played very often, stealing what he needed to get school supplies or new clothes, just as Felix or Hazel did.
When you’re a villain kid, your parents don’t just buy things for you, unlike all the prim and proper princesses at Auradon. You either earn what you need for yourself, or you take it. Max tended to prefer the latter.
He let his eyes wander for a minute, his body going on autopilot, having performed the same tricks plenty of times before. He saw Hazel and Chloe standing in the distance and narrowed his eyes at Hazel’s clenched jaw and crossed arms. She looked like she was trying to hide as much of herself as possible, which was out of character for the usually confident pirate.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by a clearing of a throat, and he looked away from the couple to find none other than Luis Madrigal in front of him. His arms were crossed, and he wore a frown on his face. Max sighed, placing his hat back on his head and stuffing his hands in his pockets, where his spoils from the group lay.
Robbie stood on Luis’s right, and right behind the two of them, the Wonderlandian sisters watched, both with completely different faces. Red seemed to be almost conflicted, as if not sure what she was supposed to do or who she was supposed to help. Pink watched instead with an expression of wonder directed at the HKs, her wide eyes displaying a type of naivety only seen in princesses.
The group of HKs around him and Felix seemed to feel the disapproval radiating off of the Colombian boy in front of them, and quickly took the opportunity to leave.
“Stealing from the HKs now, are we?” Luis scoffed. “Can’t say I expected anything better from you, Max.”
Max dug in his pocket, pulling out the bag of coins he had swiped earlier and pulling one out. “Here,” he said, tossing one to Robbie, “for Sherwood’s collection box.”
“Drop the act, Max,” Luis groaned. “No one’s buying it, no matter how hard you pretend not to be your father.”
“Oh,” Max mocked, “finally using that brain of yours, aren’t you? You know at least I’m not Luisa Jr. How’s it feel to be the only one in that big family of yours without a unique gift?”
Luis’s lips pressed together in a thin line, and he narrowed his eyes.
“Ooo, hit a sore spot there, didn’t he?” Felix teased.
“How about you just keep it moving, huh, Hatter?” Luis scoffed, taking a step closer to Max. “Wouldn’t want to see you go mad like your father now, would you?”
His words stung more than Max wanted to admit, but he brushed them aside as he walked closer until they were only a couple of feet apart. “Wanna repeat that for me, Madrigal?”
“Vete de aquí.” Luis spat at him.
Felix leaned over Max’s shoulder, flipping the death card from his tarot deck around in his hand. “Allow me, Max. May I suggest a Facilier family specialty?”
Robbie walked closer as well, scoffing at Felix’s words. “How original. That’s just like you, Felix, threatening us with even more curses.” He raised an eyebrow, as if goading Felix into a fight, which only caused the VK to bristle with anger.
Max stared at Luis, carefully analyzing every crease and wrinkle in his face. His eyes were a deep chocolate brown, which Max considered ironic since the boy was anything but sweet. He had never understood the boy’s obsession with him, always trying to keep Max from doing the wrong thing. He used to wonder if Luis would ever give up on trying to get through to him, or if one day he’d recognize that the two had nothing in common and give up.
His gaze was torn away by the sound of something whizzing through the air and glass breaking. Around them, students shrieked, yelling out in alarm. Instinctively, he ducked down, feeling Felix and Luis do the same on either side of him. The only one who stayed standing was Red, who grabbed the foreign object out of the air.
Max caught sight of the red card glowing slightly in her hand, the magical red border making it seem as though glitter was coming off of it. Red looked at it, confused, as if trying to figure out what it meant.
“Maddox Hatter has captured the Queen!” The card’s voice rang out in the silent courtyard, and Max felt everyone’s eyes turn to him. He caught Felix’s eye, nodding towards the card just enough that only his friend noticed it. Felix acted immediately, snatching the card from Red’s unsuspecting hand and making it disappear with some flashy card tricks, laughing as he did. Max smiled, wanting to make it seem like he was enjoying his friend's antics, while trying to grab the card from Felix without Red or the HKs seeing it.
Luckily, he had the perfect distraction, with Chloe and Hazel, the Smees not far behind, quickly running up towards them, worry and stress etched into their faces. The arrival of Red’s friend diverted her attention away from the card for just a few seconds, enough time that Max could grab it and slink towards the edge of their ever-growing group.
He let the conversation in front of him drift to the edge of his focus, searching the card for any secrets it could have been hiding. It seemed normal, aside from it being from the Queen of Hearts’ deck. There was no sign of a tear or struggle, as if the Queen had been able to send it out without his father noticing.
Anger bubbled in the pit of his stomach at the thought of his father. He had hoped, perhaps naively, that the sinking feeling in his chest that his father would pull some stunt once again now that he was in Wonderland was just his anxiety and nothing more. Now, he wondered why he had ever been that optimistic. He scoffed; only his father, an entire kingdom away, would be able to ruin everything he had built at Auradon without a second thought.
“Max.” He looked up from the card, which he’d begun twirling absent-mindedly between his fingers, to find Red staring at him, biting her lower lip. “You can give it back now.”
He hesitated, unsure if he could trust the Princess, but recognized she’d probably need the reminder of her mother more than he did, and handed it to her. She smiled softly the moment the card was back in her hands.
Pink popped up right behind her, startling both of them. “Oh my hearts! Mom’s been captured!”
“You have to stop doing that.” Red placed a hand firmly on her sister’s shoulder.
Fairy Godmother’s voice rang through the courtyard, anxiously running down the stairs in her obnoxiously loud heels. “What the fluff! Have my pumpkins gone rogue again?”
Max moved closer to Hazel and Felix, leaning in towards them as he muttered, “We should go before someone gets the brilliant idea that I’m somehow assisting my father.”
Felix nodded, and Hazel gestured towards the Smees, who immediately began to follow her. Max expected Chloe to follow her as well, but it was clear the two girls hadn’t quite worked out whatever was going on, as Hazel only spared one glance back.
They made their way back to where he and Hazel had been before everything had seemed to go wrong, and Max leaned against his locker again, not caring when his head hit the metal too hard. He closed his eyes for a full minute, allowing the reality of what had just happened to hit him before groaning. “What was he thinking? Kidnapping the Queen?” He opened his eyes again, watching as Felix rested an arm against his own locker and Hazel spun one of her braids with her hook. The Smees, for once, had stopped messing around, recognizing the severity of the situation and sitting side by side against the lockers on the other side of the hall.
“At least no one can blame you. You haven’t even set foot in Wonderland since you were five,” Hazel offered, tapping her foot on the floor as she thought.
“They’ll blame him anyway,” Felix countered. “Let’s be real, when have we not been blamed for something our parents did?”
“I’m tied to him,” Max remarked dully. “It doesn’t matter where I am.”
Hazel rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and I’m upset because Chloe’s acting weird and won’t talk to me. You don’t see me standing around moping because I went and did something about it.”
Max’s eyes lit up, and he pushed off the locker. “You’re right,” He muttered, looking at Hazel and pointing at her. “You’re so right.”
She scoffed, “Of course I’m right.” Her face dropped as she realized what he meant. “No- that is not what I meant.”
Max ignored her, turning to face Felix and the Smees as well, a smile on his face.
“We’re going to Wonderland.”