Descendants: The rise of red

Where are you Red?

Chloe walked quickly, her heart in turmoil. She had not been able to find Red for days, and a growing sense of anxiety had crept in. Merlin Academy was a vast place, full of secrets and mysteries, and Red was not the type to disappear for days over a simple argument. Something was wrong, and Chloe needed to find out what.
As she crossed the courtyard, her gaze fell on Ella engaged in something strange. She was standing near the Academy's bar, carefully stirring a drink that sparkled with a faint pink light. Chloe paused for a moment, watching from a distance. She had always found it odd to see her mother, or rather, the teenage version of her, so different from the maternal figure she knew.
Approaching, Chloe cleared her throat. "Ella, can I talk to you for a moment?"
Ella did not look up, focused as she was on her work. "Not now, Chloe. I'm working on something delicate."
Chloe hesitated. "It's just that... Red has disappeared. I haven't seen her for days, and I have a bad feeling."
Ella sighed, visibly annoyed, but eventually looked up. "Red? She must be somewhere getting into trouble, probably with Bridgette. They seemed close the last time I saw them together. Don't worry."
Chloe clenched her fists, trying to stay calm. "No, this time it's different. I've searched everywhere and no one has seen her. I need your help."
Ella gave her a scornful look, then returned to stirring the drink. "Chloe, I understand you're worried, but I can't help you right now. I'm working on something really important. If I don't get it right, I might lose my only chance."
Chloe frowned, eyeing the glass Ella held. "What are you preparing?"
Ella hesitated for a moment, then shrugged casually. "Just a strawberry juice that might... improve a certain situation."
"What kind of situation?" Chloe insisted, increasingly confused.
"It doesn't matter," Ella replied coldly. "The point is I need to finish it before sunset, or it won't have its energizing effect."
Chloe looked at the glass, feeling increasingly uneasy. "Look, I understand it's important, but Red is missing. What if she's in danger? Please, I really need your help."
Ella huffed, clearly irritated by Chloe's insistence. "Chloe, I told you I can't..."
But before she could finish her sentence, Chloe, in her agitation, took a step back and accidentally bumped Ella's arm with her elbow. The pink liquid Ella was stirring spilled all over the ground, quickly absorbed by the earth.
Time seemed to stand still for a moment.
Ella stared at the disaster with wide eyes, unable to speak. Then, slowly, her expression changed from shock to fury.
"What have you done?!" she shouted, her voice trembling with anger.
Chloe stepped back, caught off guard. "I... I didn't mean to! It was an accident!"
"An accident? Again? I could forgive the vase you broke at my house, but this, no, you shouldn't have..." Ella repeated, staring at the empty cauldron. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to prepare that juice? How important it was?"
Chloe tried to apologize. "I'm really sorry, but I didn't mean to. It's just a juice, I'm so sorry, but right now I'm just... worried about Red."
"It doesn't matter! You've ruined everything!" Ella clenched her fists, trying to contain her anger. "I can't remake it in time. All that work... gone because of you!"
Chloe felt increasingly guilty, but there was something that didn't add up. Why was Ella so upset over a simple strawberry juice? And why was she being so vague about what it was? "Can't I help you remake it? Maybe we can recover..."
"No!" Ella cut her off sharply. "There's no way to remake it before sunset. It was the only right moment, and you destroyed it."
Chloe lowered her gaze, feeling trapped between guilt and her worry for Red. "I'm really sorry. But... can I ask you to help me anyway? If we find Red together, maybe I can make it up somehow."
Ella looked at her with eyes full of resentment. "You can't fix everything just because you're a spoiled princess, Chloe. Not this."
Chloe sighed, overwhelmed by the weight of the situation. But she knew that, no matter how serious Ella's anger was, finding Red was the priority. "I understand that you're angry, and I can't really apologize enough. But Red might be in danger. I need your help."
Ella looked at Chloe with pure disgust, then threw the empty glass aside with a sharp gesture. "No, Chloe. I won't help you. Not after what you've done." She turned sharply, her blonde hair swaying with her decisive movement, and walked away briskly, leaving Chloe alone in the courtyard.
Chloe stood still for a moment, her heart in turmoil. It was already hard enough being in a time that wasn't her own, without the possibility of revealing who she truly was. But seeing her mother, so different from the woman she knew, was even more painful. The young version of Cinderella lacked the sweetness and patience that Chloe remembered. She was impulsive, stubborn, and, above all, hated anything to do with royalty.
Shaking her head, Chloe tried to push aside her thoughts about her mother. There was a more urgent matter: Red. The anxiety tightened her stomach like a vice. She couldn't shake the feeling of imminent danger.
Walking quickly through the courtyard, she headed towards the grand hall of the library, hoping that someone there might have seen Red. The smell of parchment and old ink filled her nostrils. The massive dark wood shelves stretched up to the ceiling, and the books seemed almost to pulse with power, as if they held secrets waiting to be uncovered. Chloe approached one of the shelves dedicated to research magic, searching for a volume that might help her.
As she scanned the book titles, a familiar figure appeared next to her.
"Looking for something?"
Chloe turned sharply, finding herself face-to-face with Maleficent. Maleficent was one of the most skilled students at the academy, which was why Morgana had decided to recruit her for her crew. She had an air of mystery surrounding her, and there was something unsettling about her cold smile.
"I'm looking for Red," Chloe replied, trying to stay calm. "I haven't seen her for days. Do you know anything?"
Maleficent tilted her head, the smile widening just a bit. "Red? Oh, yes, I saw her a few days ago. She was... a bit strange, you know? She seemed worried about something. But I don't know where she is now."
Chloe looked at her, trying to decipher the enigmatic expression of the young sorceress. There was something odd about the way she spoke. "Worried about what?"
Maleficent shrugged casually. "I'm not exactly sure. We only talked briefly. But you know, Red sometimes gets into... complicated situations."
Chloe felt a shiver down her spine. Red did not like that girl; why would she be talking to her? "Complicated? What do you mean?"
"Oh, nothing you need to worry about," Maleficent replied, in a deliberately vague tone. "Red seems like a very... independent girl. I'm sure she'll be fine."
Chloe clenched her fists, feeling frustration rise within her. There was something Maleficent wasn't telling her, and Chloe knew it. "If you know something, you should tell me. She might be in danger."
Maleficent smiled again, that smile that never reached her eyes. "I just suggest you be careful, Chloe. Sometimes, people who search too intensely risk finding themselves in unpleasant situations." With those enigmatic words, she turned and walked away, leaving Chloe alone in the library.
Chloe stood still, her heart pounding. Maleficent's words troubled her. What was she trying to say? And, most importantly, where was Red? The sense of danger grew even more intense, almost suffocating.
Without wasting any more time, she grabbed a book that looked promising, "Tracking Magic: Finding What Is Lost," and quickly flipped through it, searching for a spell that could help her. The yellowed pages were filled with ancient words, but she eventually found a localization spell. It wasn't complex, but it required something belonging to the person being tracked.
Chloe frantically searched through her bag. Did she have anything of Red's? Perhaps an object she could use for the spell? Finally, she found a small red handkerchief that Red had lent her a few days before. It wasn't much, but she hoped it would be enough.
She placed the handkerchief on the open book and began reciting the spell. Chloe had never dealt with magic before.
As she spoke the final words, a small golden light began to emerge from the handkerchief, floating in the air like a tiny firefly. The light moved slowly, heading towards the library door.
Chloe followed it, her heart pounding in her chest. The light moved through the academy's corridors, guiding her through twists and turns, until it led her outside, towards the forest surrounding Merlin Academy. Chloe hesitated for a moment, looking at the dark shadows between the trees. The forest was a place full of dangers, especially at night, but she had no choice.
Taking a deep breath, she followed the golden light into the woods, not knowing that the path she was taking was the wrong one.