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Cozca was not scared. Not at all.
She was 12 years old, and Sienna White had dared her to spend an entire evening in the enchanted forest. Cozca, being a very brave 12 year old, decided to take it. Kendra was begging her not to do it, but what would Kendra know, it wasn't like she was literally a bear!
It was a way to be accepted - after all, she was the new kid at Auradon, from a far away kingdom that wasn't even acknowledged on the map - King Beast would get around to it, she thought, he was probably just busy doing other king-y things. Sienna said that she would be friends with Cozca if she lasted the night.
So, Cozca did. She set up a makeshift blanket made out of leaves in the middle of the enchanted forest. She had no reason to think that the forest would change when she woke up. The pathways were even more maze-like than before - and to make things worse, she'd only brought a small amount of snacks for the night.
She was halfway through a collection of graham crackers, and her bottle of water was almost empty. She was alone, in the dark, wandering the enchanted forest. She could barely see in front of her face, let alone figure out the direction she was going in.
It didn't help that the pathways were becoming slightly fused together. Cozca swore that she had gone down this path once before. Or maybe twice. Three times if she was lucky. Goodness sakes, how hard was it to get back to Auradon Prep proper?
She puffed out her chest, she was brave, she was the daughter of an Emperor! And as most daughters of Emperors' do, she had an excellent sense of direction. Although, she was pretty sure she walked around that tree a third time as she thought that.
Well, now she was getting dizzy. She sighed. Just keep moving. You have to find your way back to Auradon. Even if it is to just wipe the smug look off Sienna's face. She'll prove how brave she is, and then Sienna would have to be friends with her! Who wouldn't want to be friends with her? Cozca was lovely. She knew she was lovely. Kendra thought she was lovely. Her parents thought she was lovely. Why didn't Sienna think she was lovely? Or Audrey or Chad?
At that point, it was almost like the truth of the situation was revealed to her. She was lost in the woods on a dare from a person who would never accept her as part of the group. She probably would never get out of here. Her father would never know what happened to her. She was going to die alone in the middle of nowhere.
That was when she started sprinting. She was trying to pretend that tears weren't welling in her eyes, that she wasn't hungry or thirsty, that she truly was brave and tough and strong enough to survive this. Unfortunately for her, the twig was a nice reminder of the truth. She was a 12 year old girl who'd never be accepted by the society she'd gotten forced into. She fell to the floor, and everything went black.
A few seconds - or was it minutes, or hours, or days, or weeks? - later, Cozca's eyes opened. She found herself not on the forest floor, but seated on a rock. She'd been moved, and she looked behind her to see the entrance to the Enchanted Forest. She blinked. She wasn't sure how she got back here. However, she was too distracted by something in the distance to ask.
She stood up, her knees grazed from her trip, and saw, in the distance, a small fox. She cocked her head. The fox cocked its head back, making a small, purring noise. Its eyes were glowing - that wasn't normal for a fox. However, before she could ask about the fox, a voice called out.
"Cozca? Are you there, sweetie?"
Fairy Godmother. Cozca turned around, tears still in her eyes and ran towards the older woman, who pulled her into a hug.
"Kendra told me what happened last night,"
"Am I going to be punished?"
"For going into the Enchanted Forest? I haven't decided yet," Fairy Godmother said, "however, I have put Sienna, Audrey and Chad on detention. It's just not in our nature to torture our fellow students like this!"
Cozca was certain what she said was a lie. In the woods, the strange fox transformed into a girl with dark hair and brown eyes, watching as Cozca left with the Fairy Godmother.
She knew she shouldn't interact with humans. However, she wouldn't dare see a child in danger because of a prank gone wrong. It just wasn't in her nature.