Descendants: The rise of red

The right direction

Chloe retreated to her room expecting to find Red, but she was nowhere to be found. The room was desolate, the beds were untouched, so no one had set foot in there yet. Chloe was at a loss, not knowing what to do; they hadn't parted on the best of terms. On one hand, her conscience urged her to look for Red, imagining possible scenarios; on the other hand, her mind told her to stay put and wait. What could she do? She leaned towards a mirror and looked at herself as if seeing herself for the first time, trying to interpret what her eyes were telling her.
Meanwhile, under her window were Hades and Maleficent, sent by Morgana to plant false evidence. "Tonight I'm sleeping over at Bridgette's; she needs me for the big ball. There, that should do it. That rainbow vomit has been practicing those stupid dance steps all day," said Maleficent while writing a note. She crumpled the paper and handed it to Hades. "You are so ruthless, flamme qui allume mon coeur." Hades took the ball of paper and, before throwing it, kissed Maleficent on the lips. "Stay focused, you know how much I hate hearing Morgana complain." Hades obeyed and with a precise and decisive throw, launched the message into Chloe's room. "Can we go steal the freshmen's homework now?" he asked, taking her hand. "Oh, you know how much I love hearing them whine," she said, giving Hades another kiss, causing his hair to burst into flames.
Chloe headed toward the bed to lie down and stare at the ceiling, lost in her thoughts, and saw the crumpled paper on the floor. Curious, she bent down to pick it up and once she opened it, read the message. "Red, how selfish can you be..." she said, throwing herself onto the bed with her face buried in the pillow to muffle the nervous scream she was about to make. There was a knock on the already open door. "Hey, sorry, can I come in?" Hearing that small voice, Chloe stopped her scream, turning towards the door and noticing Fay making a paper float in the air with her wand. "I've gotten better, don't you think?" she said, making the paper gracefully float onto Chloe's bed. "My uncle Merlin asked me to bring you this; it's the weekly class schedule."
Fay noticed Chloe's flushed face and decided to approach her. "And you? Are you okay?"
Chloe sighed deeply, trying to mask her discomfort. "Yes, all good," she lied, trying to smile. Fay looked at her with concern, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "If something's wrong, you can talk to me," she said softly. Chloe bit her lower lip, undecided whether to open up or not.
"It's just that... today Red won't be sleeping in the room with me," Chloe finally confessed, lowering her gaze. "We didn't part on good terms, and now I feel guilty."
Fay nodded understandingly. "I see. But you know, friendships go through ups and downs. For now, rest. Tomorrow you'll have plenty of time to sort things out. There's no point in being down about these things, and that's coming from someone who cries over every single spell that doesn't work out. But today, thanks to Bridgette's treats, I found some strength, and well, you saw..." admitted the aspiring fairy, giggling. Chloe looked up, surprised and relieved by Fay's words. "Really? You found strength in some simple treats?"
"It wasn't the cupcakes themselves, but the kindness and love with which Bridgette looked at me while offering one," Fay replied with an encouraging smile. "But anyway, now I have to go. My uncle wants me to give him the day's report."
Chloe nodded, feeling slightly better. "Thank you, Fay. I don't know what I would have done without you." Fay smiled again, her wand shimmering slightly in her hands. "You can consider me a friend from now on, and that's what we do. Now, get some rest." Fay left the room, closing the door behind her.
New thoughts now filled Chloe's mind: what if Fay was right and Bridgette wasn't as hypocritical as she thought? After all, it was her father who invited her to the ball, and she only said she would think about it out of politeness, not because she was actually considering going.
With these myriad thoughts swirling in her mind, Chloe fell asleep, tired and exhausted.