#she’s radiant no wonder Benny thinks she’s the sun

[latibvles]

THIS IS POST-WAR SALON OWNER MOTHER OF 3 JUNE ZOFIA DEMARCO NÉE CIELINSKI. TO ME.

[greathammerhead]

summary: She ended every letter with a heart; she was still debating if distance really made the heart grow fonder. pairings: Harry Hook x Evie, Ben x Mal; slight Carlos x Jane, Carlos x Jay, Carlos x Chad style: Multi-chapter — somewhat sequel to this; canon divergence notes: I don’t mean any ill-will towards any of the Auradon Kids, and of course the perception of them will change as the story goes on. Also, I wasn’t going to write so much on their arrival, but it ended up going in a different direction than I was expecting, so I hope it’s not boring or too repetitive to read! rated: T; will feature strong language, minor violence, and sexual themes other locations: ao3 | ffnet unrelated note: With my internet STILL being out until maybe Wednesday (now my company wants two months of pay and I’m not about it) I wanted to post this as soon as possible.

All My Love, Evie — Chapter 2 (previous chapter)

Even though she had no desire to be there, Evie bristled when Jay and Carlos came tumbling out of the limo, and with their vacancy Evie could see a slew of Auradon students watching them, greeting them with streamers and their very own welcome party.

She exited quickly, trying to look as prim and proper as possible, smoothing out her skirt and giving a radiant smile.

It took a little too long for the boys to realize they had an audience to their fight, and Mal nearly kicked them in the side.

The marching band opened up, and the three that approached them truly did look like they came straight from the fairy tales. The woman even half-sang as she spoke, hoping to break up the wrestling teenagers. It did halt them, mostly from the shock of suddenly being face-to-face with the “prissy people” as Jay had described earlier.

Jay reluctantly threw the stolen goods back in the limo — of course, only his fellow VKs noticed him slip a few of the smaller items into his clothing in the same motion; he’d taken most of the candy already out of habit of never knowing when he’d see food again, and just hadn’t yet taken a few of the other items until it was too late — and tried to look as innocent as he could manage.

Which, of course, lasted only seconds as he began to try and flirt with the teen girl of the trio.

Unlike the girls on the Isle, this one looked more disturbed than flattered, immediately looking down on Jay while giving him the fakest smile Evie had ever seen.

“Welcome to Auradon Prep! I’m Fairy Godmother, Headmistress.” The woman spoke.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Mal perk up. Having had no chance to divulge the plan in the limo — lest the limo driver hear — Evie could only assume the good fairy would play some part in the plan, otherwise Mal wouldn’t have cared.

While Mal conversed with the woman, Evie couldn’t help but tune out, taking in her surroundings.

The sun was definitely brighter here, without both the barrier and the thick layer of smog that coated the Isle’s sky, and her leather felt hot on her skin.

She took note of everyone’s attire: it was mostly softer fabrics, more suited for the sunnier skies, but also in bright colors that Evie didn’t hate, but she could only look at them for so long.

She didn’t realize the world could be so vibrant.

She tuned back in when Fairy Godmother waved her hands about. Evie bit down on her lip, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous she looked while doing so.

The two teens then introduced themselves, one of them being Ben, Prince of Auradon, and the other-

“Princess Audrey, his girlfriend!” She then grabbed his arm like a reflex and turned to him, eyes wide. “Right, Benny-boo?”

Carlos actually snorted, and the rest of them tried to keep their cool.

Evie wished Harry was there, if only for that moment to witness with her the awkwardness that followed Audrey’s declaration.

Ben good naturedly clasped his hand over Audrey’s and gave her a smile, but not nearly as genuine as it should have been. His actions were more rigid than anything, and for a brief moment Evie wondered if they were together because they were both royalty, or if they truly did have feelings for another.

She saw herself in another life where she followed her mother’s wishes and went for a prince, giving him affectionate nicknames in public that made him embarrassed but he was too nice to say anything, and she looked as exhausting to be around as Audrey did in that moment.

It became an item on an ever-growing list of reasons why she was glad to be an Isle girl.

- - -

She normally wasn’t supposed to get a break, but Uma took one anyway, tossing her apron to the side upon seeing Gil walk into the shop without his usual carefree grin. And she knew exactly what was up.

Gil stayed by the sword check, not even bothering to add his as he waited for his captain.

“Just so we’re on the same page,” Uma began, retrieving her own sword out of habit, “what kind of reaction are we talking about? Grumpy silence? Anger he’s taking out on some unfortunate soul? …Tears?”

Gil couldn’t help but chuckle. “I don’t think even he would know how to handle his own tears. I’d say it’s more of a grumpy silence. Throwin’ rocks at everything, though.”

“Good. We can handle this.”

- - -

Being with the royal couple became much more exhausting than Evie imagined. As it turned out, Audrey was Sleeping Beauty’s daughter, and she and Mal were at each other’s throats before Evie could even blink.

It was entertaining to watch.

Ben was being a complete sport, ignoring the arguing and instead trying to make them feel comfortable. It was easy to see he was being genuine, especially against Audrey who was being everything but.

He was also matching Mal’s banter with ease, and even Mal was surprised, as she’d meant for them to only be snide comments to go over the prince’s head.

Audrey became even more attached to Ben’s side, more akin to a leech than a girlfriend, making sure to bring Ben’s arm around her shoulder while staring Mal right in the eyes while talking about their glorious royal bloodlines.

“I may not like the guy,” Jay stood next to her, voice low as he nicked an item off a table, “but have I ever told you how glad I am you two aren’t like…this?”

“You could stand to mention it more.” She gently elbowed him. “Else we’ll start doing it only around you.”

“This is Doug. He’s gonna help you with your class schedules and show you the rest of your dorms.” Ben introduced one of the marching band members as he came down the stairs. Soon after, Audrey nearly dragged Ben away from them, leaving the bespectacled boy alone.

“Hi guys, I’m Dopey’s son, as in-” He began listing off most of the dwarves, but Evie stopped paying attention. While he was no son of Snow White, he was still related to someone that helped end her mother, and it put Evie on alert.

He froze when he finally looked at her. “Heigh ho…”

Knowing Harry would understand — hell, as soon as she’d tell him, they’d be laughing about it together — she did what she had been taught to do.

She put her hands on her waist, curled her lips up, and slowly made her way to him, giving him ample time to gawk.

“Evie, Evil Queen’s daughter.”

As soon as he heard that, he diverted his attention as quickly as possible, diving right into what their classes would be.

Evie wanted to laugh.

As he rambled on, she innocently twirled a ringlet between her fingers, pretending to be wholly interested in what he was saying.

“-History of Woodsmen and Pirates-” She paused for just a few seconds, looking forward to the class to see just what they taught about pirates here as opposed to what she knew about them, before bringing back her interested façade.

With Doug distracted, Mal snuck up behind him just for the silent laughter of listening to his voice crack upon noticing her behind him.

If everyone else was as jumpy as him, it was surely going to be great fun for the VKs.

- - -

Goblin Wharf was one of the closest points to Auradon, and Harry sat on the pier. Sure, he was surrounded by the smell of the sea, but his comfort was diluted by the land mass across from him.

As a pirate, he was used to a certain degree of uncertainty, of chaos, but his mates were the one stability. Uma, Gil, the Lost Revenge and her crew, and Evie.

He couldn’t help but feel like he lost part of her.

He picked up another rock and threw it at the goblin that was walking too close for comfort, and the thing only growled at him before recoiling.

The VKs were barely gone a few hours but the pirate crew were already taking up the old territories, enjoying the benefits that followed the control and fear.

“Rocks? I expected your sword, Hook.”

Harry didn’t turn around, just continued to weigh the rock in his hand, giving him something to distract himself.

Uma watched him with steady eyes. He was waging war against himself, and he’d be the only casualty.

Sometimes, Uma would let him work his problems out for himself, but this was too severe, too pressing to let it fester. It would rot him from the inside out, and she needed to end it.

“Evie.” The name made him freeze, but he didn’t immediately lash out, so Uma continued, sitting down beside her first mate. “You know, when you first told me you were trying to recruit the daughter of the Evil Queen, I thought nothing of it. That young, we only had our parent’s rep, so I thought you were recruiting her based on that. But when you were still chatty when she was a VK, I didn’t like it.”

Uma tapped the hilt of her sword. “For the longest time, I just really wanted to make her cry.”

Gil bit his knuckles in an attempt to prevent any sound from escaping his throat when Harry whipped his head around.

“…Are ye sure ye want to be sayin’ this to me right now, Captain?”

“Yes. I’m trying to make a point. Shut up and listen.” Harry narrowed his eyes and looked away. “I didn’t like her. After all, she threw her lot in with Mal, and you were still chummy with her. It was that simple. I nearly sent you to the plank once you told me you two were dating. But that was before I met her, before I saw just how well you two got on, and now I’d gladly trust that VK with my life.”

Harry turned back to her, jaw taut but his eyes scanned his Captain’s, trying to take her words in. Words he never thought he’d hear her speak.

Uma bared her teeth in a grin. “Hear that, Harry? I’d trust Mal’s best friend with my life. She’s always welcome here because she’s earned it. Someone of that caliber wouldn’t abandon her mates.”

Gil gave his own smile, patting Harry gently on the back. “It’s temporary. Even at worse, where they can’t get us all out, they’ll just return. Evie will return.”

“And really, I’m kind of hoping for that. That means Mal would’ve lost and, really, it’ll be hilarious to witness. But if they do win, you’ll get both your blue-hued loves, her and the sea.”

Harry sat still, fingers tracing the rock still clutched in his hand. His muscles were more relaxed, and if one looked close enough, there were the beginnings of a soft smile on his lips.

“…That was actually helpful.”

Uma ruffled his already messy hair. “Good. Now you get to take my night shift.”

She and Gil ran off, hoping to avoid being the target of that rock, heads thrown back in laughter.

Harry shook his head, trying to ignore how one of his best friends just swindled him, as he cast one last look to Auradon, renewed by the thought that life might be different the next time he was able to have her in his arms.