Once Upon A Lie

Chapter Seven- Storybrooke, Maine

"Don't you think I feel bad enough already?"

***

"Do we really have to do this?" Audrey whines, trying to protect her nose from the stench. Strangely, the situation reminds her of a mock tea party she'd made with Chad, Ben, and Jane back when they were younger, around five or six. She'd dropped a scone on the ground, then picked it right up and shoved it into her mouth with a laugh at Ben and Jane's dramatically horrified expressions.

Her grandmother had quickly knocked that habit out of her.

"You said you were hungry," Iria replies, the irritated edge to their voice lacking any proper bite.

"For food!" Audrey retorts, "Not garbage!"

Iria looks up from trash-digging to glare at her, "Well, we don't know what currency they use in this world. And you said you didn't want to steal anything."

"That was before I knew you were going to dig through dumpsters!" She exclaims.

With a slight eye roll, Iria counters, "Well, do you want to steal food?"

Though Audrey blanches at the thought of stealing, she admits that if they can't find any people, their other options would amount to about the meager population of this supposed ghost town. Neither of them had eaten since yesterday, before Iria had transported them here.

After mulling it over for a few seconds, she suggests, "Listen, why don't we just try to find a place that's open? I mean, what's the worst that could happen if we give them Auradon currency?"

Iria sighs, "Fine. But only because you're complaining so much."

So, the two exit the back alley they had been holed up in as discreetly as possible, trying to make sure that no one is around. However, the small town they had found seems as empty during the day as it was at night.

"Where the heck is everyone?" Audrey wonders aloud as they walk down the street, "I mean, this seems like a small town, but there has to be someone who lives here."

Iria just nods as they continue to walk down the street. Audrey looks to her feet, discouraged at the continuing lack of answers. Connecting with the pirate has always been a struggle, but Audrey had come to accept that sometimes Iria just didn't have it in them to humor someone in a conversation. As someone who was raised to have and use power almost exclusively through words, Audrey still can't help but find it mildly disconcerting.

But she's trying.

It seems like everything that's happened in the last few years has been a calculated effort from the universe to make her as uncomfortable as possible. Before the VKs arrived, her comfort zone comprised emotional manipulation, makeup tips, fashion trends, counting calories, suppressing every single thing she felt that wasn't princess-like, and living every second of her life like there was a camera following her every move (because chances are, there was). Back when she was Ben's girlfriend, it felt like if she sneezed too loud, the press would know about it. But it wasn't a problem, of course, her royal upbringing had been preparing her for it since before she could walk.

Then Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos showed up and threw her (and most everyone else) for a loop. Ben's parents warned her about making sure his compassion didn't cloud his judgement as soon as he announced the decree. She'd wanted to support her boyfriend, but how could she be sure that he wasn't rushing into something he wasn't prepared for when his own parents didn't trust his decision? Closer to parents for Audrey than Aurora and Philip ever were, Belle and Beast had never led her wrong before; she tried her best to follow their advice and be the voice of reason, protect Ben from himself. Her grandmother told her that now more than ever she should secure her position and make sure that the newcomers knew how things worked in Auradon. That Audrey was the top dog, the Queen Bee. So Audrey did exactly as she was told and believed she was adapting well.