𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬

FIVE.

"Yeah, yeah. Just a minute." Came Evie's muffled response. Ruby rolled her eyes and fell back onto her bed next to where Carlos was sitting. She could see that Jay was talking to Mal about the spellbook. She shifted her gaze over to Carlos and gave him a tight-lipped smile.

"You're in a worse mood than normal mornings." 

"What did you expect? I woke up to light coming through the windows and we're about to get our faces shoved into the fact that we don't belong here and are expected to change. Honestly, we better get that wand soon."

"Well, it's got its perks too, you know."

"Like?"

"Like I doubt that the food here sucks as much as on the Isle. No flies surrounding it, no mold and what not. And the beds are way more comfortable." Ruby pursed her lips in thought at that.

"Well, true, but once we take over this place, we'll still have all that minus all those positive good things. I still want that wand as quick as possible." Carlos nodded in agreement. Before their conversation could continue, Evie made her way out of the bathroom with a bright smile. She twirled around.

"Well? How do I look?" She asked.

"Perfect as always. Let's go. I'm starving," Ruby said. She got off of her bed and made a b-line for the door. She heard some chuckles behind her before the other four followed her to the cafeteria.

Like Carlos had said, the food was way better than it was on the Isle. They had way more choice and none of it was anything other than fresh and delicious. Ruby wasn't quick to like things, but the comfort that Auradon provided was certainly something she liked. It also made her hate Auradon all the more though. Growing up, Ruby had close to nothing, despite being a princess. Food was hardly worthy of being called food, beds were old mattresses with flees and holes, and clothes had to be made from old rags and left-over pieces of fabric. Most fabric on the Isle was made out of leather coming from old couches and other furniture. Auradon had everything, while they left the Isle with nothing. Like, yeah, they were the supposed villains, but they still deserved human rights like the right to a proper meal that wasn't fished out of the container.

All morning these things had caught Ruby's eye, making her hate Auradon and all it stood for even more. Auradon pretended to be this amazing place filled with goodness, while in reality it left everyone unfitting to their norm to rot in the dirt. The Isle was filled with criminals, Ruby wouldn't deny that, but still they deserved better than what they got. Ruby was a crazy villain kid with no understanding of anything involving emotions, but even she understood that what was happening to the Isle was nothing short of unjust.

All the things she learned about in Auradon, all its luxurious and self-indulgent ways only fuelled her will and determination to take over the place and bring justice to all the villains trapped on the Isle. No Goodness class would change those views, despite Fairy Godmother's courageous attempts to do so.

Once the villain children entered the formerly unused classroom they were welcomed by a smiling Fairy Godmother. The older woman greeted them brightly and seemed enthusiastic about teaching her new students about being good. None of the five villain kids responded with the same enthusiasm. Mal made an attempt to greet Fairy Godmother happily, she even nudged Evie to do the same, but none of them came off as being genuinely happy to be there.

Ruby took a seat behind the boys, while Evie and Mal sat down on the other side of the isle next to the boys. Ruby sat in her seat properly, like her mother had taught her, but that didn't mean she was actually planning on participating in the class properly. She was going to make it even harder for Fairy Godmother if she got the chance.

Fairy Godmother started the class off with talking about the purpose of her class. That being to teach the villain children—Fairy Godmother refused to call them that though—how to act good. To teach them right from wrong. Ruby honestly doubted that the class would be effective. There was no way that the class would be able to cover every subject. It wasn't possible for the class to teach them how to act.

"If someone hands you a crying baby, do you, A, curse it? B, lock it in a tower? C, give it a bottle? Or D, carve out its heart? Evie." Fairy Godmother said. She had a hopeful smile on her face when Evie raised her hand.

"What was the second one?" Evie asked. Her question caused Fairy Godmother's smile to drop. Ruby smirked once she noticed this.

"Oh, okay. Anyone else? Ruby?" She tried. Ruby smirked. Wrong choice of VK, dearie.

"What was the last one? That one sounded pretty good. I'd prefer beheadings though. Stops them from crying quickly too."

"Okay, never mind," She said, smiling tightly. Ruby mocked a confused faced at Fairy Godmother's dismissal.

"Mal?" The older woman tried. Mal glanced up from her drawing for a second before answering,

"C, give it a bottle."

"You're on fire, girl," Carlos said.

"Just pick the one that doesn't sound like something Ruby would do," Mal said. Ruby tilted her head back to the board before nodding in agreement with Mal. Carlos and Jay turned around to face her before sharing a look and nodding. That sounded about right.

"That makes sense," Evie whispered. Mal made a 'duh' face and Ruby's smirk grew. She turned her head towards the windows once Fairy Godmother continued the lesson. She was silently judging the people outside on the lawn, making it a contest who she thought deserved beheading most. It was a silly little game she liked to play when she was bored. She only glanced back towards the front of the room when Fairy Godmother introduced her daughter Jane, but wasn't interested enough to pay attention and went back to her game.

Only once Jay and Carlos started fighting each other on top of their desk did she become fully interested again. Jay had quickly pinned Carlos down. Carlos struggled and tried to put up a fight, but it was common knowledge that Jay was the stronger one between the two.

"You go, Jay! Off with his head! There you go!" Ruby cheered. She laughed loudly at the offended face Carlos pulled.

"Ruby!"

"What? I'm just cheering on the winning team here. You want me to cheer for you, you gotta kick Jay's ass. So, until then: go Jay!" Carlos groaned while Jay smirked and continued teasing Carlos. Ruby didn't stop cheering and laughing along with Jay at Carlos' expense. Evie and Mal weren't all that bothered by their behaviour and continued doing their own things.

Fairy Godmother, on the other hand, was most definitely bothered. She continuously tapped her pointer against the bench, trying to gain the three villain children's attention, but to no avail. Ruby only laughed louder and the boys continued their banter like before.

"Boys. Boys! Ruby!" She raised her voice, finally gaining the trio's attention. "Boys, I'm going to encourage you to use that energy on the tourney field." Jay let go of Carlos and they sat back down again, Carlos while shaking his head.

"Oh, no. That's okay. Whatever that is, we'll—we'll pass." He said. But Fairy Godmother's look showed that she wasn't actually suggesting it, more like commanding it. Ruby barked a laugh at the face both boys made. Fairy Godmother cleared her throat.

"As for you, Ruby, I'll be signing you up for the cheerleading team. I'm sure you'll fit in perfectly." Ruby's smile dropped instantly.

"What?!" She hissed, but went ignored when Fairy Godmother turned back to the blackboard. Carlos and Jay burst out laughing, while both Mal and Evie were suppressing chuckles of their own at the mere thought of Ruby Hearts, Daughter of the Queen of Hearts, becoming a preppy cheerleader. Ruby was the most ruthless VK on the Isle, she was the Ruby Princess for crying out loud. The Ruby Princess did not do cheerleading. That was like asking Hades to watch over baby Hercules to keep him safe. It was bound to go wrong. Ruby hated the thought of joining the preppy princesses in cheering on their princes.

And with that, Ruby's hatred for Auradon only continued to grow.