happy ever after ☆ mevie

our once upon a time

Mal -

After we officially bought the cottage, it was time to move in. We hardly had any belongings, since all the furniture in our dorm belonged to the school, and we were running low on funds after buying the house. Luckily, since everyone had so much free time thanks to summer break, lots of people were having yard sales to sell their no-longer-needed furniture for cheap.

So, Evie and I spent the week shopping for furniture at yard sales in Auradon. It was fun to see more of the less fancy neighborhoods in Auradon, since we had mostly just seen the forests and castles inhabited by the royal heroes within them. The cobblestone streets of Auradon city are lined with colorful, Victorian style homes built right next to each other, shoulder to shoulder. Citizens of Auradon set up mini yard sales on their porches, or, if their home had a small grass front yard, on their grass.

On the first day of searching, we found a dining table and chairs set with only a couple scratches, with charming vintage details that Evie loved, as well as an adorable floral china set, which included plates, bowls, and teacups. On the second day we found a wooden sewing desk for Evie, complete with drawers for her fabrics and spools, as well as a matching chair. On the third day they found a set of green velvet armchairs perfect for the living room, as well as a big, almost new mattress that we got for a bargain. On the fourth day we found a white dresser that would fit all of Evie's clothes (I would store mine in my duffel bag for the first few weeks).

We decided, after days of shopping, that we  would wait until we could save more money and Evie could sell more dresses to buy a sofa and bed frame, since those were the most expensive things we need. On Friday, we went out to Auradon Square to buy some groceries and sundries, as well as to buy some bedding from Sleeping Beauties, a store started by Flora, Fauna and Merrywhether that sold bed frames, pillows, sheets, comforters, and blankets (many of their designs featured their favorite colors, blue and pink). We tried to avoid the notice of the fairies who were flying around helping customers when we first walked in, since they were not too fond of me since they still despise my mother. Thankfully, the only person working there who we had to speak to was the man working at the register, who didn't seem to notice who we were. After browsing the options, we picked a pair of pillows from the clearance bins, a cheap but comfortable duvet, and a set of simple white sheets. Evie found two accent pillows also in the clearance bins, one of which a circular, velvet pillow in her signature blue color, and the other was a square one with tassels in my signature electric purple.

"Perfect, just like you," I whispered as she placed the pillows in our cart. She giggled and wrapped her arm around me, wrapping me in one of her warm hugs.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you," I whispered back.

We checked out at Sleeping Beauties and headed to Chip's Groceries to buy some basic groceries we'd need for the week. It was weird to buy normal stuff like milk, butter, eggs, or a loaf of bread since we'd never done so before. On the Isle we'd just eat whatever leftovers the boats brought in or whatever we could find in our parent's decrepit fridges, and at Auradon Prep our food was provided by the cafeteria.

Since we were still attending Auradon Prep for senior year next year, we could still get meals there, but we needed food for the summer and also for breakfast and dinner once school started again. We filled our cart to the brim with food, a weird feeling since not long ago we wouldn't have been able to afford half of this food. We checked out and lugged the paper bags to my motorcycle, and Evie somehow managed to hold all the bags while sitting behind me as I drove us to the cottage.

Evie -

As we drove to the cottage, I struggled to keep all the bags from falling onto the road, but managed to hold them all. We arrived at the cottage, unpacked the food in the adorable old-fashioned, white kitchen. I organized everything into the fridge, and Mal put everything in the cupboards, including the china set we found. Right as we were finishing up, we heard a knock at the door.

"They're here!" I said, grabbing Mal's hand and running to the door. I opened it and Carlos and Jay greeted us.

"Hey!" Jay greeted us.

"This house is so adorable!" Carlos said, wrapping all three of us in a big group hug.

"I can't believe how far we've come," I say when the hug ends.

"Yeah, it's wild," Jay says as the boys come inside. We give them a quick tour of our half-furnished house. The armchairs are in the living room, along with the dining table and chairs, and the unmade bed fits perfectly in our new bedroom. My new sewing desk looks perfect in my studio, which Carlos deems 'the cutest room he's ever seen.'

After the tour, we all get in the very small, rented moving truck (slightly awkwardly from one of Doug's uncle's moving businesses) that the boys brought to pack up our stuff from the dorm, as well as a couple of things our friends' old things that they had given to us. We drove back to Auradon Prep, and met up with Lonnie and Ben at our dorm. Ben had brought us a bouquet of blue and purple flowers in a pretty white vase, and Lonnie had brought us some lovely blankets that her family never used.

"Thank you so much, guys," Mal said, giving them each a hug.

"I'm so happy for you two," Ben said, genuinely. I could tell he was still getting over the shock of the breakup, but he really genuinely happy for us.

"It's our pleasure!" Lonnie said, giving us each a hug.

Ben and Lonnie left and the boys helped Mal and I pack our bags of clothes into the truck. We drove back together and while I unpacked, the boys and Mal put a frozen pizza in the oven for us to share.

I unpacked all my clothes, organizing them meticulously in my new dresser, and placed my circular table mirror from my dorm room on top of it. I stared into the mirror for a moment, and it reminded me of my mother. I bought this mirror because it reminded me of my mother's Magic Mirror before it was shattered. I had many reasons to resent my mother, but really I still loved her and felt pity for her. She was always so insecure and would go to any lengths to feel more worthy of love, when really that just hurt herself and those around her. I find myself staring into space, looking at my reflection. Before I realize it, I'm tearing up a little. She deserves to know that she is enough, even though she's a villain. I wipe a tear from my cheek that escapes, trying to prevent it from messing up my makeup. What would mom think of Mal and I being together? I wish I could say she'd just want me to be happy, but honestly she would probably be disappointed. I took a deep breath, and Mal came into the room.

"Hey! Dinner's almost-wait, are you okay?" she says, noticing my mood. She immediately comes to my side and takes my hand. "You're amazing," she tells me, thinking I'm upset because of how I look, which is usually why I'm crying at a mirror.

"I know. It's just... my mother," I mumble, and I know she understands. She hugs me and I hug her back. "I just wish that things were different," I say.

"Me too," Mal says. "But we have each other."

"Yes, and I love you," I tell her.

"I love you," she says. We tell each other this so many times a day, but every time it still fills my heart with comfort. We're quiet for a bit in our embrace, and then our eyes meet. Our faces are so close they're almost touching. I catch myself staring at her lips, and then I look back into her eyes. Is this the moment? I think. Please let this be the moment. But when she doesn't kiss me, I think no, maybe I don't deserve her, or this. But then...

"Can I kiss you?" Mal asks. I nod, smiling. And then she leans in and kisses me. It's like nothing I've ever felt before. It's pure joy and comfort and love. It's like a fairytale. And after what feels like forever and not long enough at all, she pulls away and hugs me. We're silent, likely in shock of how much we love each other.

After a while, I whisper "I just wish that everyone else on the Isle had the opportunity we had. To feel happy. To be safe."

"Yeah," Mal says. "All the kids deserve that."