Heart of Glass

IV

Chloe simply stands on the picnic blanket that she had set up at the Enchanted Lake, watching Red run away in shock. After gathering her things, she runs after Red, stopping by their dorm to drop off the picnic basket, then she asks around to see if anyone knew where Red may have gone. Unfortunately, no one saw which way Red ran, so Chloe was back to square one.

Red, meanwhile, returns to Wonderland to talk to her mother, deciding to explain to her what she and Chloe had done with Maddox Hatter's pocket watch time machine. "Mom, do you have a few minutes to talk?" She asks nervously. "Of course I do, dear. What's going on?" Bridget asks. "Well, Chloe and I used a time machine that was invented by Maddox Hatter, and we went back in time to change the future," Red says. "Oh, I remember. I thought you seemed a little out of place," Bridget says, surprising Red. "Wait. You remember?" Red asks in surprise. "Of course. It's not easy to forget someone who called you mom, even if it was an accident," Bridget says, then asks about the version of her that Red had grown up with. Once Red finishes explaining a bit about her personality in her timeline, Bridget simply nods, trying to process what Red has told her about the version of her that she grew up with. "So you're afraid of the love you feel because the me that you grew up with told you that love leads to weakness?" She asks, and Red nods. "Well, from my perspective, love makes you stronger, and it can be scary sometimes, but it's definitely worth exploring," Bridget says. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try," Red replies thoughtfully. "Oh, before I forget, I have something for you," Bridget says, starting to look for something in her desk. When she pulls out her deck of cards, Red's eyes widen. "I think it's time for me to pass these down to you. This may sound strange to you coming from me, but I trust you to use them for good," she says, and Red's eyes grow wider as her mother places the deck of cards in her hand. "I... Thank you, Mom," she says, placing the cards in her pocket next to the watch. "You might want to give Maddox his pocket watch back, by the way," Bridget mentions. "I'll do that now," Red says, saying goodbye to her mom and heading to Maddox's room to give the pocket watch back. 

When he opens his door and sees her waiting, he grins and lets her into his room, which is just how Red remembers. "What brings you here, Red?" He asks. "I wanted to give this back to you," she says, pulling the pocket watch out of her pocket and holding it out to him. "I'm not even going to bother asking how you got this. I probably wouldn't understand it, anyway," he says, putting the pocket watch on his already cluttered desk. "Well, I guess I should be getting back to Auradon," Red says. "Come back soon, if you can!" Maddox says as he waves. "I will," she says before leaving. On her way back to the castle entrance, she nearly collides with Bridget, who's heading the other way. "Whoops! Sorry mom, I didn't notice you coming," she says. "That's fine, Rose. Oh, and I want to show you something you can do with the cards!" Bridget replies. Red hands her a card, and Bridget leads her to a doorway. "Now, all you have to do is picture the doorway in front of you, and the doorway of the place you want to go. Then throw the card into the doorway. For example, say you want to go to your room from your dorm at Auradon Prep. Just picture the doorway of your dorm and the doorway of your room, throw a card at the doorway, and you'll have a portal. Once you close the door on either side, the card returns to the deck, removing the portal as well," Bridget explains, then hands the card back to Red, who does as her mom told her, throwing the card at the doorway in front of her, causing the door to transform into a card. She opens the door to reveal her dorm. "See? It's pretty simple magic. I'll see you on parent's day," Bridget says. "Yeah, see you then, Mom," Red says, stepping through the portal and into the dorm she shares with Chloe, closing the door behind her. The next thing she knows, a blue blur has tackled her to the floor. "Red, I was so worried about you! Where did you go?" Chloe asks her. "Let me get up from the floor, and I'll tell you all about it," Red says. "Oh! Sorry, I was just happy to see you, that's all," Chloe replies sheepishly, getting up before helping Red to her feet.

Chloe listens to Red as she explains where she went and why she ran away in the first place. "Look, if you're not ready to be in a relationship yet, it's okay with me," Chloe says afterwards. "That's not what I'm trying to say, Blue. I'm trying to say that I want to try out being in a relationship with you. I know that love can be scary sometimes, but that's a chance I'm willing to take to be with you," Red says with a grin. "Glad to hear it, princess," Chloe replies. "What did I tell you about calling me princess?" Red asks. "Uh, not to?" Chloe asks uncertainly. "Yeah. But I actually like it when you call me that, so I'll let you," Red says. "Okay," Chloe says simply. Red sits down on her bed, looking at Chloe with a smile. "You're adorable, you know?" Red asks. "Uh, I guess I do now," Chloe replies with a shrug. "Oh, come on. I imagine that you've been told that before," Red says. "Not really, believe it or not. My parents have, yeah, but you're the first person aside from them to call me adorable," Chloe says, sitting down on her bed. "Well, just remember that it's true, okay?" Red asks, and Chloe nods. Red covers her mouth with her hand as she tries to stifle a yawn. "Sounds like you should get ready for bed, princess," Chloe says. "Fine. I'm gonna take a shower and brush my teeth," Red replies, grabbing a towel and her pajamas and heading to the bathroom. While she waits, Chloe changes into her pajamas, which consist of a pair of shorts with a different shade of blue for each leg, and a simple blue tank top. When Red exits the bathroom, Chloe drinks in her girlfriend's body with her eyes. "Please stop staring," Red says, and Chloe immediately looks away. "Sorry," she says quietly. "It's okay. I'm just not really used to being the center of attention," Red replies. "I guess most of the attention was on your mom when you were little," Chloe says. "Pretty much until we went back in time, actually," Red clarifies. "The Queen of Hearts did seem to have a flair for the dramatic, attention-getting moments," Chloe says. "You have no idea," Red says. They both get into their beds and turn off the lights. "Good night, blue," Red says. "Good night, princess," Chloe replies, and they soon fall asleep.

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Here's a meme that I made after watching Rise of Red, based on a lyric from "Love Ain't It":

Until next time!