Madison is the daughter of the Mad Hatter. Ironically, she is one of the most sane people you will ever meet. She is excited to start a new life in Auradon, until she learns Maleficent wants her and the four VKs to steal Fairy Godmother's wand and...
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I fold my arms, "I hate this."
Jane scoffs, "Oh, c'mon! Everyone's happy for you and you get gifts and free food! What's not to love?"
Jane and I stand on a gazebo near the Enchanted Lake. Above us, on the hill, dozens of students mill around, eating, talking, and laughing. A table is piled high with wrapped gifts of all sizes. The decorations- banners, streams, and balloons- are black and red, Mad Hatter colors.
My colors for my birthday party.
I shrug, "I've never had a birthday before, is all."
"Seriously?! Like, never?"
"Not like this. Oh sure, I had a cake but it had dirt and-" Seeing her face, I decide not to mention it also usually had flies, "-and other stuff. Plus, if I wanted a gift, myself, my friends, and my dad had to steal them. And the food sucked."
"Well, this is Auradon and we do birthdays right." She nudges my arm, "Maybe smiling might brighten your mood."
I start to smile but then Chad slides up to me. I drop my smile immediately, "Too late."
Chad sighs, "Ah. Looks like Carlos forgot your birthday, huh?"
I glare at him. Jane says defensively, "Well, maybe not, maybe he just took the wrong trail or something. Besides, Maddy was just telling me they don't really celebrate birthdays on the Isle, maybe it's like a cultural thing."
Chad nods slowly, "Oh. Yeah. Or maybe he just forgot. You never know."
I speak over him, extra sweetly, 'Hey, Chad, look!" I point to a group of kids far, far away from me, "There's people taking selfies."
His ego takes over and he runs towards them, "Selfies! Guys! Wait, wait, wait, wait! Wait for me! Wait for me!"
Jane laughs, "Nice."
I shrug and smile at her, "It's a gift."
She bites her lower lip, "He... didn't actually forget your birthday, right?"
"No," I shake my head, "The VKs never forget my birthday. Knowing them, they're just taking a little bit longer to get here." I look around, "Where's Nathaniel?"
"Probably stuffing himself with food. He better not spill on his clothes, they're brand new."
I laugh and she shushes me, "Shh. Do you hear that?"
Above us, the kids have settled into a low murmur. Someone asks, "Why is she here?"
And then, Audrey's voice, "Anybody save me any guacamole? No? Looks like someone forgot to invite me. Well, don't be expecting Mal, she's, uh... not feeling herself. Does that make you sad? Aw, does it just ruin everything? Mindless little drones! How could you forget what she did to us? How could you forget that I was supposed to be your queen?!"
Jane and I inch closer to the base of the hill. Chad yells, "Time out! Okay, time out. First off, great new look. I absolutely love the feathers. But before you do whatever you're gonna do, I was wondering if maybe you wanted a, uh, royal boyfriend by your side. Huh? Partner in crime? Sidekick? Or maybe just a lackey to, uh, do your bidding. Change tires? Smoothie runs? Huh? Please."
Audrey says thoughtfully, "You can be useful."
"Yeah?"
"Fine, stand behind me."
"Okay!"
"The little coward," I hiss under my breath.
Audrey says, "If Auradon likes to forget so much, they'll love this."
As she sings, a pink fog softly whips through the group, making them all fall to sleep:
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
♪ Happy birthday to Madison ♪
♪ Happy birthday to... you ♪
Jane grabs my arm, "What are we gonna do?"
I look around before it hits me, "The Enchanted Lake. C'mon."
We hop over rocks and slide into the lake, swimming as far away as possible until we're forced to go underwater. I hold my hand, lowering my fingers as I mentally count to five. When all my fingers are lowered, we emerge from the water, gasping and coughing. The pink fog is gone and thanks to the Enchanted Lake's water, we're unaffected. Can't say the same for everyone else.
We climb out of the lake and shake the water off our clothes and hair. Jane wipes her eyes, "I'm gonna call Ben. Let him know what happened."
"Good idea." I twist my hair to wring out the water then flip it back over my shoulders, "I'm gonna get a water gun."
"Umm... okay?"
"In case we run into Audrey again," I explain further.
"Oh. Right. Of course. I knew that."
I grin at her before I go searching for the toy. When I'm done, she calls Ben and puts him on speaker so I can hear, "Hey, Jane, I'm on my way to the party, the meetings ran long."
"No, no, stay where you are, Ben. Maddy's here with me. Audrey stole the scepter, and everyone's asleep. I'm gonna call Mom and tell her to get her wand."
Before she hangs up, I hear Ben ask, "Is Mal with you?"
I stop in my tracks, "Uh oh."
"What's wrong?"
"I think I figured out why Carlos and the others didn't show up. Think about it. Audrey has the scepter and she first uses it on us? No, she must've used it on someone else first. Someone she would want to suffer first. Ben didn't know she'd gone rogue."
Jane catches on, "She would have gone for Mal first."
"And the other VKs would no doubt have been there right alongside her."
We share a look before we take off running.
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A/N- I know it took me long enough but I have finally updated and no matter how long it takes, I will keep udating until I finish this story. Hope the two new chapters were worth the wait! 😊
