Timeless Decisions

snake

A few hours later, Red and Chloe were tucked away in a quiet corner of the library, surrounded by stacks of history books. The silence was heavy, filled only with the faint rustle of pages being turned. Chloe, engrossed in a thick, leather-bound volume, suddenly stopped, her eyes widening as she scanned the text.

"Red, look here," Chloe called out softly, her voice tinged with urgency.

Red quickly walked over, curiosity piqued. She leaned over Chloe's shoulder, reading aloud the passage that had caught Chloe's attention:

"Blanc was a notorious villain who tried to manipulate Adam into making her queen and almost succeeded if it weren't for Belle. Not to forget her close friendship with Maleficent and Hades. With their help, she was someone everyone feared. She had two husbands, James Hook and Morgie la Fay. She stole the wand of Madam Mim and committed numerous evil deeds with it until Adam and Belle decided to lock up all villains. Blanc was one of the last ones standing, fighting against Merlin but was overpowered when her husbands were caught."

Red's voice faltered as she reached the end, her eyes wide with shock. She turned to Chloe, her mind racing. "I had no idea... Blanc was involved in all of this."

"Obviously, it all happened after we left her behind," Chloe said, her voice tinged with sadness. "Who would have thought that such a nice princess would become one of the worst villains?"

Red nodded in agreement, picking up another book from the pile. As she flipped through the pages, something else caught her eye. "Wait, look at this," she said, reading aloud once more. "Elina, the daughter of Blanc, is now the Queen of Auradon, standing proudly next to King Ben, with second-in-command Maddox!"

Red's eyes widened further as she processed the words. "Maddox?" she echoed, her thoughts racing to the same Maddox who had given her the time travel watch in the other timeline.

Chloe took the book from Red's hands, continuing where she had left off. "She married both of them and appointed Mal as the royal advisor. Lady Mal was the fiancée of Harry and Uma. Harry, also known as Elina's older brother."

Chloe looked up, her expression mirroring Red's shock and confusion. Red stood up abruptly, beginning to pace around the small space, ruffling her hair in frustration. "Wait, does that mean Blanc is a villain, her daughter is the Queen, and her youngest son is Morgian—who I seem to know?"

Chloe nodded slowly, the weight of their discoveries settling heavily between them. "It seems like everything is connected, more than we ever realized. And now, we've got to figure out what that means for us—and what we do next."

Red stopped pacing, her mind whirling with the implications. "We thought we were fixing things by going back in time, but it looks like we've only made things more complicated. And if Morgian is connected to all of this, we're going to have to be careful."

Chloe sighed, closing the book and setting it aside. "We need to be prepared for whatever's coming. This isn't the same world we left, and we can't afford to make any more mistakes."

Red nodded, determination hardening her resolve. "We'll figure this out, Chloe. We have to."

But as they sat back down and began pouring over the books again, the sense of foreboding only grew. They were on the cusp of something much larger than they had anticipated, and the choices they made from here on out would shape the fate of everyone they cared about.

A few hours later, Red and Chloe sat in the cafeteria, their trays untouched as they both sighed in unison. They were mentally exhausted from hours of reading, but they had finally learned everything they could about what had changed. The weight of the information they had uncovered still hung over them, but there was a sense of relief too.