The Prince and The Shadow's Daughter

CHAPTER THREE: WELCOME TO AURADON

While walking towards Bargain Castle, my mind is still battling over what I should do. Do I follow in whatever Maleficent has planned, do I find a way to rescue my father and sisters, or do I follow in my own footsteps? When I reach Bargain Castle, a limo is already there waiting to pick us up, but no one else is outside yet, so I hurry up and slide in, deciding to stay away from the view of everyone gathering around.

"Oh, hey, t/n," Evie says, being the first one to open the door. "Isn't this exciting?" She says before we hear Cruella yelling for Carlos to return to her, but he just jumps in and plops down to the left of me. Everyone else then climbs in, filling in the space, and is met with a wide selection of candy, which the boys start fighting over.

"You're looking a little washed out. Here, let me help you out." Evie states, pulling out some blush and trying to apply some to Mal.

"Ew, stop. I'm trying to plot."

"Well, it's not very attractive."

"Hey, E, you can apply some blush to me if you would like," I said, moving to sit in between her and Jay.

While Evie was applying blush to my face, Mal picked up a random remote and decided to push the button, which opened the window between us and the driver.

"IT'S A TRAP!" Carlos yells, seeing that the driver is heading toward the edge of the island. We all huddle together, screaming and waiting for the drop, but nothing of the sort happens. "What just happened?" Carlos asks, confused.

Looking through the window, we now see a fully formed bridge out of thin air.

"Hey," Mal exclaimed, trying to get the driver's attention. "Did this little button just open up the barrier?" She asked with the remote still in her hand.

"No. This one opens up the magic barrier." He said while holding up a golden remote. "That one opens my garage. And this button..." he started saying before the window between us rolled up once more.

We drove in mostly silence on the way to Auradon Prep, with Jay and Carlos fighting here and there over who could take what. As soon as we rolled up to the school, Carlos and Jay were playing some sort of tug-of-war with a piece of blue fabric. The driver then parked the limo and opened the door, which caused Carlos and Jay to tumble out. Evie, Mal, and I just climbed over them to get a view of everything and everyone.

"Why do you want whatever this is? You got everything else!"

"Cause you want it!" Jay said, still tugging at the mysterious piece of fabric.

"Guys, guys, guys," Mal said, trying to get their attention. When that did not work, I decided to kick both of them. "We have an audience."

"Just cleaning up," Jay said. "Get up," he whispered to Carlos, helping him stand properly.

"Leave it like you found it." Someone said in a sing-songy voice. "And by that, I mean just leave it." Once she said that Jay and Carlos threw everything they stole into the back of the limo. Once he stood back up, he saw someone in a pink and blue dress and decided to walk up and introduce himself. Hello, foxy. The name's Jay." At that, I looked at Mal and Evie, trying to stifle a laugh.

"Welcome to Auradon Prep." The woman interrupted. "I'm Fairy Godmother, headmistress."

"THE Fairy Godmother? As in 'Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo'?" Mal asked, trying and failing to act cool.

"Bibbidi-bobbidi. You know it." "Yeah, I always wondered what it felt like for Cinderella when you just appeared, out of nowhere, with that sparkly wand and warm smile. And that sparkly wand." Mal said. Nice, way to play it cool I thought.

"That was a long time ago. And as I always say, 'Don't focus on the past or you'll miss the future.'"

"It's so good to finally meet you all." A brown-haired boy said from behind Fairy Godmother. "I'm Ben."

"Prince Benjamin. Soon to be king." The girl Jay tried to flirt with said.

"And I'm Perseus." The other boy said before the girl interrupted again. "Prince Perseus, my brother"

Evie perked up at the two boys introducing themselves. "You had me at prince. My mom's a queen, which makes me a princess." She said, curtseying.

Once again, the girl said, "The Evil Queen has no royal status here and neither do you."

At this point, I have gotten fed up with her and decided to speak back. "Well, if Snow White has royal status, then Evie does too since her mom was Snow White's stepmom." That point made her turn to me with a bewildered look.

"This is Audrey," Ben tried to introduce her. Princess Audrey. His girlfriend. Right, Bennyboo?" she said in her high-pitched voice.

"Perseus, Ben, and Audrey are going to show you all around. The doors of wisdom are never shut. But the library hours are from eight to eleven. And as you may have heard, I have a thing about curfews." Fairy Godmother said before leaving all of us standing alone in front of the school.

"It is so, so, so good to finally meet you all." Ben started to say, walking up to Jay for a handshake; however, he misread the situation and punched Ben in the chest. "This is a momentous occasion, and one we hope will go down in history... chocolate?" He asked, shaking Evie's and then Carlos' hand. "As the day our two people began to heal." he continued, shaking Mal's hand.

"Or the day where you showed five people where the bathrooms are," I said, drawing attention to myself.

"A little over the top?" Ben asked.

"More than a little bit, mate," Philip said, patting him on the back and staring at Mal.

"Hey, you're Maleficent's daughter, aren't you?" Audrey started to say. "Yeah, you know what? I totally do not blame for your mom trying to kill our parents and stuff. Oh, our mom's Aurora. Sleeping..."

"Beauty! Yeah, I've heard the name. And I don't blame your grandparents for inviting everyone in the whole world but my mother to their stupid christening." "Water under the bridge." "Totes." Then, they both did an incredibly fake laugh.

"Okay! So how about a tour." Ben said, breaking the awkward silence. "Auradon Prep, originally built over 300 years ago and converted into a high school by my father when he became king." Walking around, he showed us the front of the campus before stopping in front of his dad's statue and clapping, transforming into the Beast, causing Carlos to scream. "Carlos, it's okay. My father wanted his statue to morph from beast to man to remind us that anything is possible."

"Does he shed much?" I asked sarcastically, briefly forgetting to filter my thoughts. "Yeah, mom won't let him on the couch." He replied.

"So you guys have a lot of magic here in Auradon? Like wands and things like that?" Mal asked Perseus while the tour continued inside.

"Yeah, it exists, of course, but it's pretty much retired. Most of us here are just ordinary mortals."

"Who just happens to be kings and queens."

"That's true. Our royal blood goes back hundreds of years." Audrey said, butting into the conversation.

"This is Doug. He's going to help you guys with your class schedules and show the boys to the dorms. If there's anything you need, just..." Perseus started to say. "Ask Doug." Audrey finished, kind of annoyed, before walking away.

"While Doug shows Jay and Carlos to their dorms if you guys follow Perseus and me, then we can show you three to your dorms," Ben said before leading them down a separate hallway. Here is your dorm, Mal and Evie. Perseus will explain your class schedules inside."

"So, do I just not get a dorm?" I asked Ben as we walked further down the hallway.

"Ha, no, we just don't have anyone for you to bunk with, so you can get your own dorm right here." He said before opening a door leading to a single-person room. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to come find me and ask."