60 | THE ROYAL COURT
THE dress was entirely green. A beautiful green that looked as though it had been woven with emeralds. It was expensive as well, but money was not an issue. Winter admittedly felt bad, she had wanted her dress for the Royal Court meeting to be made by Evie.
Alas, princes and princesses were expected to have their gowns and suits handmade by the royal seamstress. Or in Winter's case, crested by herself.
This dress was straight from the seamstress though.
It was long, falling past her feet with gracefully with equally as green heels. She had done her makeup to perfection, making sure to keep it light. Her long hair was brushed in straight locks that fell down her back.
Only a single ring adorned her middle finger, a large silver ring with her family insignia on it. A spiked snowflake with the four elements cased inside each spike. Her mother once told her their family insignia was created from the first time she ever stepped foot onto Ahtohallan when she learned about her past and to save Arendelle.
It was the symbol of the spirits of the Enchanted Forest.
She sighed while placing her hands behind her back, checking to make sure that everything was perfectly in place on her. Not a hair out of sight.
The dress was strappy but still conservative, her shoulders were revealed but the rest of her body was covered. Although the dress was tight and did not flare at the bottom. Winter could appreciate this because it made her body look quite good.
Nodding her head, she turned from the mirror and left her room. Her thoughts were a whirlwind, the Royal Court meeting was about to happen. Shit was probably going to hit the fan, she could only hope that it was not too bad.
Her fingers were crossed hoping someone from her family would show up so she was not forced to sit in. No other prince or princess had ever had to sit in for their family, and Winter did not feel like sitting as the youngest one at the table.
It would be hard to get them to respect her word. Also because it was obvious that Ben was planning on speaking of Wenlock's return, Winter had to back him up. She felt guilty, she was not supposed to know of Wenlock's return in the first place, but it was her duty as an advisor on Ben's council and as the official communicator between the capital and her homeland to keep everyone in the loop as possible.
Hiding Wenlock's return is dangerous.
She understood where her parents were coming from in hiding it to a degree. For them, they had no knowledge of what Wenlock had been doing to Winter — to them they did not want to cause her distress.
There was also the problem of the Isle, which was a discussion that Winter was truly not excited about. Especially considering most of her VK friends would be in the crowd watching.
The Fairy Godmother had arranged for limousines to take the students from the school to Ben's home castle where the court meeting would be taking place. Students were not required to attend; however, if they did then it was one of the limos to take.
Winterfell, on the other hand, did not get to ride with the rest of the student population. She would be separated from Harry and Jonah and everyone else from the moment they left the school.
Royal children: princes and princesses rode together away from everyone else. They also sat together at the very front of the court on their own bench to watch the court meeting. Mal would be joining the princes and princesses as she was Queen-to-be.
So while she did not get a place at court yet (that was saved until after marriage and she was officially Queen) she still had the benefit of sitting with the royal children to watch and learn as they all did.
After all, one day it would be all of them up there.
As Winterfell turned away from her door, she was met with the sight of Harry, Uma, and Gil coming out of their room. Uma wore a short blue dress with a corset, tall brown with a heel that made her taller than usual.
Harry, on the other hand, now his attire made her breath catch in his throat. It was still very Isle-like, his trousers adorned many belts and were rolled at the bottoms. Short black boots. His top was a red leather vest of sorts and fancy white frills were tucked into the neck at the front.
Oh yeah, and it was sleeveless — Winter just about melted into a puddle at the sight of his arms.
By the Gods, what is wrong with her? She seemed to have managed to become even more infatuated with Harry Hook upon kissing him for the first time.
She supposed it made sense, she had read up about soulmates and true love. After true love's kiss, the effects of essential "love sickness" toward your partner got worse.
Great, now Winterfell had to admit that she was lovesick for this flirtatious pirate.
The way his black hair was messy yet still combed to the side had butterflies erupting in her stomach. He still adorned that dark eyeliner that made his eyes resemble a stormy sea.
Harry closed their nodding toward Uma who breathed deeply. They all knew that shit was very much about to go down, it was why all VKs banded together to dress Isle-fancy, not the prissy Auradon shit.
Uma and Gil started down the corridor and as Harry were about to follow he allowed himself to look back. They made eye contact and it was as though Harry's world as froze. She was devastatingly beautiful.
And for a second, while he was admiring her, Harry's insecurities began to buzz at the back of his mind. Looking at Winter dressed up as such (she literally looks like a princess now) made him think about all the stuff that he would never be able to be for her.
He was no prince, he could not offer her diamonds and gold and only the best luxuries in life. He did not have kingdoms bowing down to him and he would never hold the title of King by birthright.
He could not offer her the protection of entire militaries and empires — he could only offer the protection of himself. Harry could only offer her himself and the five-dollar bill that he had found on the ground earlier that day sitting in his pocket.
His heart clenched at the thought — he wanted to offer her so much more. He would give her his heart: he'd give her the world if he could.
And perhaps he could, he would offer her the adventure of the world. He would take her with him on his grand pirate exploration, sailing the oceans with freedom in their hearts. They would have the ship, they could live in the spaces between the walls.
Truly, it was a beautiful dream.
"Princess," Harry spoke, finding the words had gotten caught in his throat.
Winter blushed at yet another new nickname, but this did not sound like his normal nickname did. This one sounded as though he was addressing her by her title — she did not like it.
"Yer so beautiful..." he finally managed, and it was as though he could not move fast enough.
Winter was surprised when Harry quickly walked to her and gently placed a hand on her cheek. She nuzzled into it, staring up into his gaze. He was looking at her with something akin to wonder, touching her as though she was the most breakable object on Earth.
As much as Winter loved this, she also hated it. She wanted to feel that wildness from Harry that she had become so accustomed to. She wanted him to move his head down and kiss passionately, to not care about messing up anything about this appearance she had taken on.
But Winter knew how bad that would be, she could not show up looking anything less than perfect.
"And you are so handsome," she mumbled, her cheeks going red as she returned the compliment.
She diverted her gaze nervously. Winterfell was trying to work through her nerves, she just had to do it. Just ask Harry Hook on a date — a movie night. It was easy enough and they could order sushi from Mushu's.
A hand found its way below her chin and her head was guided upward until she was once again locked in a battle of brown vs. blue with Harry Hook.
Easier said than done.
"Somethin' on yer mind beautiful," he asked, giving her that look that he knew something was up.
How did she explain wanting to go on a date with him? She knew from Mal and Evie that on the Isle dating was practically non-existent. To Harry, this unspoken relationship of sorts could be more than enough for him.
"Uhm, I just wanted to ask..." she trailed off, Harry raised a brow at her tone, "...I just wanted to ask if you were excited to watch the court meeting..." she said at the end sadly.
Harry furrowed his brows, "Aye, it'll be interesting enough I suppose — based on what yeh 'ave told me, doesn't sound like it'll be boring..." he said before raising a suspicious brow, "are you sure that we all yeh wanted to ask me?"
Winter did not respond, rather she grabbed his hand and tugged him in the direction of the outside world. "Come along, Harry, we should be going now,"
They only got a few steps before Harry (albeit smoothly) spun around Winter so he was standing in front of her. Winter came to a sudden stop, looking up at Harry in surprise.
He only leaned down with a smirk and her breath caught in her throat as he was centimeters from her face. She did not miss the way his eyes flickered down to her lips painted red, and she was unable to stop her own gaze from gaze drifting toward his lips.
She cleared her throat taking a step back from the pirate. As much as she would not mind a makeout session here in the hallway, she was not about to have her makeup and hair ruined. Especially with the chance of her filling in for both Arendelle and the North.
"Ya ain't answer me question," Harry finally said, "is that really what ya wanted to ask me? And don't lie, I knew when yeh are..." he warned.
Winter smiled in response, a feeling of mischief working its way through her bones. Dramatically looking side-to-side to see if anyone was around she motioned for Harry to come closer. Harry, in confusion, leaned in close once more, this time bringing his ear close to her mouth.
"You should probably fix your fly before proceeding anywhere else," she whispered almost seductively in his ear.
Slapping his thigh, Winter easily glided around him with a hum striding off to the doors. Harry looked as though he had been slapped in the face, the pirate quickly reaching down and zipping his up his pants before spinning and rushing to Winter.
She had already made it out the doors of the dormitory hall, her dress billowing behind her. The snow moved out of Winter's way as she walked, her heels clicking on the concrete as she made her way to the front of the school where she knew the limos to be.
Harry wasted no time in finding her and linked her arm with his own before the two walked.
"Got quite a tongue on ya, princess," Harry grunted and Winter only shrugged in response.
"I only spoke the truth, or would you rather me have let you wander around with your balls practically hanging out?"
Harry growled. "Me balls were certainly not hanging out of nowhere..." he said before turning thoughtful, "but I bet yeh wouldn't 'ave minded if they were..."
Winter sucked in a breath at his words, her cheeks turning a rosy red. Harry grinned wider than the Cheshire cat in response. They rounded the corner coming upon many students dressed in fancy attire speaking with each other.
Uma was talking with Evie and Jonah.
Winter disconnected their linked arms, spinning around to face Harry. Her blush was gone and in its place a smirk that reflected that of the Winter King himself.
"If you must know — I would rather not your smelly balls hanging out of your pants in public," she smiled at her date to the Winter Solstice Ball before turning away and walking into the front limo that was dedicated to princes and princesses.
Harry growled but did not follow after her, rather he raised a fist in the air shouting for everyone to hear, "Me balls ain't smelly!"
He paused for a moment, "and they ain't be small neither!"
Winter threw her head back laughing in response to this before she got into the limo. Students turned in a confused and disgusted manner to the pirate. Harry glared at those staring at him, stocking off to Uma, Evie, and Jonah.
All of them were looking at him with raised brows. Well, Jonah and Evie were — Uma was standing with her hand on her hip and an unimpressed look in her eye.
"Really, Hook?" She asked her first mate when he was close enough.
"Smart-ass, Princess," was all he grumbled in response, shaking his head at the thought of his soulmate.
————————
The ride from Auradon Prep to the castle of King Ben and his family was easy enough. It was not far, but it was past downtown and located in the central part of the capital. It stood tall and proud, with many different towers and roofs that were colored a bright yellow.
Flags of Auradon waved proudly in the wind and a clock that chimed the noon hour was placed in the center of the castle. It was bigger than even Auradon Prep, but that was to make sense. After all, King Beast — when he transformed his old castle into the school it now is — did not plan to downgrade in size.
The gates opened slowly allowing the limousines full of students and teachers inside. Guard stood as still as stone but their attention never wavered at every inch of the castle, especially on the outside.
The limo holding the students of royalty was the first to enter the grand gates. Winterfell sat next to Mal with Audrey and Chad across from them. Ben had arrived way earlier than say.
The limo ride was silent and slightly awkward. No one felt like speaking — even though Mal and Audrey had made up and now respected each other they were still far from friends.
And Chad — well, Prince Chadwick Jr. was the exact same as he had been when Mal first arrived to Auradon almost two years. He turned his nose up at her and did not believe her to be right for the throne.
Mal's eyes lit up upon the familiar sight of Ben's castle, the place which she had stayed at the majority of the summer as well as the summer before that. The place was light and airy — it was always buzzing with workers and different people, and there was never a dull moment.
And it certainly was beautiful.
Winterfell, on the other hand, tilted her head at the familiar castle. She could not remember the last time that she had been there, probably a few months ago. Occasionally, Ben would hold his personal council meetings there.
The castle had no effect on her. There was no denying that it was certainly a beautiful piece of architecture, but she adorned an inclination toward the castles in her homeland. Arendelle's castle which had stood for centuries was breathtaking.
However, it was the castle in Ahtohallan that truly was the apple of her eye. It was a castle that only the winter nymphs and her immediate family had ever seen. Not even her aunt, uncle, or cousins.
It was simply too dangerous for them to go over. Even though her mother had closely bonded with the water spirit that guarded those waters — she still did not want to chance something happening when trying to cross the dark sea.
The frozen castle on the island of ice was simply something mystical and wonderful. Her home is otherwordly.
She only became saddened by those thoughts, she missed her family dearly. And last she had seen of Sitara, she did not leave on the best of terms with her, but that was okay. She and her cousin often would butt heads, it never lessened their bond with one another.
Winterfell missed celebrating her birthday with her family, but they would celebrate it when she returned in a few weeks for the Christmas break.
"How nervous should I be?" Mal asked, her voice portraying the anxiety she felt.
Winter's heart reached for her, and the girl placed a hand on Mal's arm.
Mal was wearing a short purple dress with matching heels. Her short hair came down to her shoulders in tight ringlets, and her eyes practically glowing green today.
Winterfell did not want to worsen her fears, but she knew the truth. There was a good chance that the council was going to throw Ben a new one, and to do this they no doubt chew Mal and the rest of VK's up before spitting them out.
"Just stay strong," was Winter's answer, the girl smiling to try and lessen Mal's worries.
But that made Mal even more anxious, the girl leaning back in her seat with a desperate breath.
Chad smirked and snorted from where he sat before trying to cover it up by looking to the side. Audrey shoved him lightly while shaking her head. It truly was a wonder how Chad could hate Mal and the other VKs so much even though they had done nothing but save Auradon meanwhile his girlfriend tried to take over the kingdom and held him hostage while doing it.
The wonders of Chadwick Charming Jr.
Winter and Mal stayed close upon entering the castle, the four of them all escorted by a royal guard to the courtroom.
The Auradon castle was huge, and Mal had not even explored all of it. She usually stayed on the West Wing which is where the royal family lived. It is where the bedrooms were, the kitchens and family dining halls, the library, est.
The South Wind, on the other hand, it where more official matters were held. Different meeting rooms, operations, and of course, the royal courtroom.
Mal's eyes were wide as they stepped through the enormous doors of the courtroom. Many long benches led up to an enormous stage where a very large stone round table sat.
"Holy shit," Mal had mumbled, whirling around to get a better look at the place.
Winter smiled at her friend nodding her head, "I know," sometimes she forgot just how magnificent this place was seeing as she had been raised around places such as this.
Audrey and Chad scurried off toward the front, Winter following their figures. She held her breath and was not surprised when she saw many of the other princes and princesses standing around the front right bench.
At the front was a red velvet rope blocking off access to the very front right bench, a royal guard stood at attention as this is where the royal children sat.
Winterfell could see Aziz talking in an animated manner to Prince Thomas otherwise known as Tommy. He is Naveen and Tiana's son. His sister, Laveena, stood by them as well.
Audrey was hugging Princess Melody, the daughter of the Little Mermaid speaking with her old friend happily. Chad's little sister, Cindy was talking to Zellie and Sonny. Alaric stood by himself, his younger siblings Marcellus and Marissa nowhere to be found.
Chad had pulled Cindy away from her conversation suddenly and into a hug. It was no secret that Cindy Charming has chosen to go to Dynasty Academy for the simple reason of wanting to be further away from her family.
Many other princes and princesses were not here, but there was at least one from each royal family in attendance.
"C'mon, Mal," Winter smiled leading Mal to the area they were meant to sit in.
The guard said nothing, only lifting the rope and allowing the two. Immediately upon entering, the royals went quiet all their attention turned to Mal. Out of all of them only Sonny White, Chad, and Audrey had met Mal.
Also Aziz but that was back when Mal and Ben had visited his parents.
Mal swallowed nervously at the newfound attention clutching onto Winter higher. Winter was also uncomfortable with the stares, but her emotionless royal look had been practiced for long that she was practically untouchable.
Sonny trotted over easily pulling both the girls in a hug.
"Mal, Winter — how are you two?" She asked happily, and slowly the others fell back into their previous conversations.
Mal released a breath of relief.
"Oh, you know..." Mal said nervously and Sonny gave her an understanding look.
"Don't you worry, we'll get through this. All our parents just need a few hours to argue and then they'll have got their rocks off..." Sonny said with a casual wave.
Both Winter and Mal snorted at her choice of words. Mal smiled releasing an easy breath and feeling slightly better, she could do this.
"Winterfell!"
Winter's eyes widened at the sound of her full name being used by a familiar high-pitched voice. Mal's brows furrowed as she turned to look at her friend.
"Winterfell?" Mal had asked and Winter shrugged it off.
However, her cheeks went pink. Jonah must have not mentioned that her full name was actually Winterfell, it made sense as if Harry had known she figured the pirate would have brought it up and teased her about it by now.
"Uhm, it's my full name," she explained and Mal nodded slowly.
She supposed it was not uncommon as many people in Auradon went by nicknames, but she wondered why it had never come up before. Mal knew that was simply another thing that Winter had tried to conceal about herself.
Suddenly, Winter was tackled in a tight hug — her sight blocked by luscious golden hair. Winter grunted but hugged the familiar person back. After a second, Zellie pulled away slightly staring at Winter with crystalline eyes.
Her skin was perfectly tanned, golden blonde falling just past her shoulders in thick curls. She gave a bright smile, her cousin having aged since the last time Winter had seen her. Her figure was shorter than Winterfell's and yet much more curvaceous. Zellie's hips had become much fuller — the girl now adoring the perfect hourglass figure.
Anxelin was as beautiful as a flower with a smile brighter than the sun itself. She looked exactly as her mother did except she had dreamy blue eyes rather than green and golden hair made of curls.
She wore a long pink dress that billowed into a skirt at the bottom. Freckles dotted her sunkissed face.
"Cousin!" Zellie breathed, her plump lips drawing into a bright smile.
"Hey cousin," Winter smiled at her distant cousin.
"You look absolutely divine as usual, Winterfell," Anxelin said and Winter nodded.
It was quite interesting to see them standing side by side. One girl who is considered a child of the sun and the other a child of the moon. Winter looked nothing like her distant cousin other than perhaps the both of them adorning big round eyes.
Winterfell was taller by a few inches and her hair was much longer with not a curl in sight. While her mother adorned that same curvaceous feminine hourglass figure, Winter was built more like a model.
She was actually a bit taller than her mother now with legs for days.
"As do you Zellie, I swear you have a brighter smile every time I see you," Winter said genuinely.
Zellie blushed at the compliment tucking a stray piece of golden curls behind her ear.
"Cousin?" Mal once again questioned.
She realized that Wenlock was only the tip of the iceberg with Winterfell, there was so much about the girl that she nor any of her other friends knew about.
"Oh yes," Winter turned to Mal, "Mal, please meet my cousin Anxelin — Anxelin this is Mal..."
Zellie smiled eagerly pulling Mal into a tight hug causing Mal to let out a yelp of surprise. "It is an honor to meet you, Mal! You can call me Zellie for short!" She pulled away from the hug.
Mal smiled back at her, she was still getting used to all the hugging that went around Auradon.
"Let us sit," Sonny smiled, the four girls sitting next to each other on the outside of the bench.
At that moment, the doors opened up and more familiar students arrived. It was the other students from Auradon along with the VKs. Nearly all the royal students turned to look, all eyeing the VKs in amazement.
Winter forgot that other than Sonny, Chad, and Audrey no other royal student had actually seen a VK in the flesh.
Murmurs went around.
"Look it's the Evil Queen's daughter..."
"Ursula's daughter!"
"Cruella De Vil's son!"
"I think that's Captain Hook's boy..." Winter tensed at that comment turning a glare to whoever had said that.
Mal was especially tense but Sonny already had a comforting hand on her arm.
"Don't take it to heart, the others are only curious. They have not had the pleasure to meet you guys, after all," Sonny said.
"Yes, Mal — Dynasty Academy has been quite boring compared to Auradon the last few years," Zellie tried to explain the behavior of the others.
Winter's eyes locked with Harry's as he sat down next to Uma and Evie. She smiled at the pirate, and the pirate easily returned it.
However, her attention was knocked away by someone suddenly approaching her.
"Princess Winterfell," it was a royal spokesman.
Winter broke her gaze with Harry and turned to the man with furrowed brows.
"Yes, sir," she addressed appropriately.
He shuffled before sighing, "you are requested to speak on the behalf of Arendelle and the North as no other family member has arrived..."
Just fucking great — the least her family could have done was sent a letter back letting her know that she would be filling in. She took a deep breath before standing, making sure to keep her head held high.
As much as she wanted to curl in on herself and allow her anxiety to overtake her, Winter knew that she could not. As of now, she was the mouth for Arendelle and the North. She would not let her people down.
She ignored the gazes that everyone had been throwing her, simply following the man to a small door to the side of the court. This would lead her to the back of the stage where the Kings and Queens stayed before the meeting began.
It was where they could get ready and plan.
Turning her head, the princess made eye contact with Harry Hook. He was gazing at her in worry, and he had already stood attempting to follow but Uma held him back. He turned back to his best friend with a glare, and Uma returned it with a serious look drawn upon her face.
The daughter of Ursula shook her head.
Harry had turned and met Winter's gaze for a second more before she disappeared through the side door, the royal spokesman holding it open for her. Slipping into the dark corridor, she waited for the spokesman to close the door after her.
Following him, it was not long until they made it from the secret side corridor to a grand room behind the stage.
Winterfell has actually never been in this area. She always sat with the other princes and princesses during court meetings. She did her best to ignore the pounding of her heart and anxiety eating her alive.
Her family needed her — her people needed her. She had to put her best foot forward, Winterfell was smart and she watched many court meetings, she could do this. She just needed to pull her mother up in her, her mother was always the best with political stuff like this.
It was no secret that she was the true voice of the North. And Arendelle, to a degree, Queen Anna had never been quite as good with her sister as far as speaking politics and debating went.
She was met with chaos.
Ben was toward the front with Belle and Beast nit-picking at him. Ben cried in disdain, swatting as his mother was trying to fix his hair. Belle already adorned her beautiful big yellow dress. Beast seemed to be giving him some sort of lecture.
The former King Adam and Queen Belle would remain attending events such as this with Ben until Mal officially married him and became Queen of Auradon. Then they would take the last few steps back and allow their son and daughter-in-law to blossom into the rulers they were meant to be.
Other Kings and Queens were still being fitted for the last of their outfits, many speaking to each other or going through notes.
King Charming was expressing his passionate disdain over the current state of things with King Philip. King Eric spoke animatedly with Aladdin.
Queen Ariel was speaking in an excited manner with Cinderella, and there was so much more chaos going on that Winter could not even keep track of it.
"Princess, Winterfell, come along we don't have much more time for your fitting,"
"My fitting?" Winter was barely able to mutter before she was dragged off to a divider and pulled behind it.
She squeaked in surprise when about 5 or so royal tailors got to work taking off her dress. Despite her surprise, she still allowed them to do so. She supposed the look of a princess was not enough to be sitting in the royal court.
They lifted her feet for her one at a time to take off her green heels. Her previous makeup was being wiped off at the same time, and she squinted her eyes against the hard wipes.
"What do we want to do with her look, Arista?" One of the maidens who was scrambling around taking her previous clothing away questioned.
Winterfell now stood in only her corset and undergarments. Her hair fell down her shoulders in long tresses, her face now void of any previous makeup.
The apparent tailor in charge sighed, "traditional Norwegian look! All royalty is to be treated in wearing the finest of fabrics from their home region..." she explained to everyone before rushing them along, "now come along, we only have a short while before the meeting is meant to start!"
Unsurprisingly, Winterfell's hair was beginning to be knotted back into various Norwegian-style braids by two different maidens. She could tell based on the path that her hands traveled that the braids would wind from the front of her head down the sides and to the back.
But the back was left out and perfectly straight. Her bangs were pinned back as well.
Another woman came over and started on makeup, it was dark blues and purples from what she could tell. Much darker than the original light makeup she was adorning. She attempted to keep her eyes open to the best of her ability upon the maiden taking out a mascara stick.
"May you please put your arms out, your highness?" A maiden questioned meekly.
Winterfell nodded and did as told, sighing when tight fabric was placed over her corset. A very dark blue, almost green in color. Her sleeves came next as they did not connect to the bodice, completely black.
The slim fitted bodice was then topped off by a long skirt that connected, a skirt in the same color and with Norwegian symbols at the bottom. Golden trim lined the bodice and her connecting skirt. Overall, it was a beautiful two-piece dress in its own traditional right.
It was then that Winter realized this dress looked extremely similar to her mother's coronation dress. She had seen portraits of her mother's coronation as the Queen of Arendelle. Her mother's face looked nervous as she held the orb and scepter.
Her feet were once again lifted one at a time as they placed dark flats on her feet.
Soon they were done and there were only a few minutes left until the meeting started.
"His royal majesty — King Ben of Auradon!"
It boomed and Ben was the first to walk on stage as roaring thunder applauded the King. Thankfully, Winter was the last of everyone to be announced so she still had a minute or two.
The maidens cursed, each working quicker in their last-minute touches.
"Quickly — the tiara!"
"She does not have one!"
"What do you mean?"
Winterfell turned with a smile. "It is quite alright — my tiara is always with me..." and with those words, a magnificent tiara of ice formed on her head.
It sparked and was designed of many snowflakes with shimmering jewels. The tiara could only be called upon and formed when Winter wanted it.
"Magnificient, Princess," they bowed before hurrying away and guiding her toward the line of royals.
She stood behind King Eugene and Queen Rapunzel — they were whispering to each other neither of them noticing the distant family member now standing behind them.
"The Sultans of Agrabah — Jasmine, and Aladdin!"
The line moved forward a step and there was more roaring applause. The lights flashed through the shine of the curtains. Winterfell found herself trembling ever-so-slightly. She could do this.
And yet, she could not help but be upset that no one from her family showed up or even thought to tell her. Even if Soren had shown to represent Arendelle, she could have represented the North by his side.
She would not be forced to that round table meeting by herself. Let alone it also being her first time. Her parents had promised her that when the time came they would be right by her side. But she supposed she was not a child anymore, this was her duty as the princess.
Oh yeah, and they would announce her by her full name and title. She forgot that only Jonah was aware of it. However, Harry Hook knowing her full name was the least of her concerns at the moment, simply a fleeting thought.
"Their Royal Majesties — King Valaric and Queen Merida of the Stone Hedge Kingdom!"
Thundering applause, another shine of the spotlight through the curtains.
She was getting closer, only her relatives in front of her, and then ... she swallowed looking behind her. All that met her sight was the royal workers running around trying to clean up the mess that was made getting so many important people ready at once.
"Their Royal Majesties — King Eugene and Queen Rapunzel of the Kingdom Corona!"
With that, Winter watched as Eugene who once went by the name Flynn Rider and Rapunzel waved while walking out. Queen Rapunzel still adorned short brown hair that fell to her shoulders.
After being kidnapped because of her hair and never allowed to cut it, the Queen of Corona never again allowed her hair to be any longer than her shoulders.
Rapunzel's pink gown gleamed as she walked out, the curtain being held open for them before closing.
Winter's heart was pounding as she stepped up to the curtain. The thundering applause met her ear and she shook. Her eyes were wide, but she had to keep herself together. Emotionless — be an emotionless Queen.
If she was to be up there with all Kings and Queens then she best act like one herself.
Her fingers fidgeted at her sides before she shook her head and brought them up to hold in front of herself at her waist. Her fingers intertwined with each other and she took deep calming breaths.
"Her Royal Highness..."
The crown is a heavy burden.
"Princess Winterfell Iduna Frost of Arendelle and the North!"
Ice was in her heart, the look in her nothing but downright frosty.
With that, the curtain opened and Winterfell stepped out into the spotlight. She was blinded at first by how bright it was, but she could hear the roaring applause.
Stay calm — she reminded herself this. Stay emotionless. Her people need a powerful person to speak on their behalf.
The light died down and Winterfell was met with the sight of a large crowd. She turned sharply briskly walking to where she knew her spot to be at the round table. Or rather, her mother's place.
She did not dare try to spot Harry through the crowd, any distraction was enough to take waver her focus.
The light hit Winterfell's white head harshly, the strands nearly glowing in it. However, she stayed sharp and focused — her gaze cold and calculating. The other Kings and Queens would walk all over her if she allowed it.
As she sat down on the large wooden chair engraved with patterns in Norwegian, she slid her gaze around. She and King Ben were no doubt the youngest at the table — and he was already looking at her with worry.
She simply nodded in his direction, she would be fine.
He got the message nodding back before turning to the crowd. Again, Winterfell dared not look into the crowd. That was rule number one, never look at the crowd of spectators unless directly addressing them — for they are the subjects.
"Welcome to the 20th Royal Court Meeting! Today we will be speaking on the happenings of the kingdoms within Auradon — a way to unite all of the various people within our large country! We will be addressing any issues that any kingdom is facing and bringing solutions to the table! We ask that the bystanding audience remain quiet throughout the duration of the meeting!" Ben announced loudly, his eyes widened.
Winter was suddenly aware that she was not quite alone. This is Ben's first time in a Royal Court Meeting as well, and he was leading it. However, his parents still sat on either side of him — just as much a part of the debate as anyone else.
Winter could not help but look to the empty Arendelle seat as well as the empty seat next to her.
Really — not even a response from them...?
She could not be that upset, after all, up until a week or two ago she never wanted her family to visit Auradon while she was in school. This was apparently her punishment for those thoughts.
"We are joined by the leaders of all the kingdoms that make up Auradon!" Applause rang out at this. "Princess Winterfell of Ahtohallan, Arendelle, Ice, and the entirety of the North will be sitting in today for the kingdom of Arendelle, the frozen island of Ahtohallan, and the North. For the remainder of this meeting, the princess shall be recognized and respected as the leader and official spokesperson of these particular districts!"
Winterfell did not allow her gaze to waver at Ben's words, and as many of the Kings and Queens were staring at the princess, the question in all their eyes became apparent.
'Where the hell were her parents — her aunt and uncle? The actual rulers of these kingdoms?'
"Now, let us begin!" King Ben finished, sitting in his own seat.
His crown sat atop his head proudly, just as the other crowns of the Kings and Queens did.
"I believe that we should start this meeting with the first issue..." Ben explained, "the recent destruction to the barrier of the Isle of the Lost..."
It was not long, seconds maybe before King Chadwick Charming had something to say about that. And it was not pretty.
"How dare you?"
Silence.
Everyone turned to look at the King of Charmington and the Summerlands in shock — well, that was a way to start this off. His words were filled with malice and meant to cut sharply.
"How dare I what exactly?" Ben raised a brow, remaining calm at the immediate accusation.
He knew his job at the moment — defend the VKs, stand up for them. Stand up for his fiancé and those who did not deserve to be on the Isle.
"How dare you think yourself so high above this council that you have the right to destroy such an important magical force. How dare you decide, on your own, to destroy something like that. To release prisoners that were serving life sentences...!?"
"The children are innocent—!" Ben did not waste any time in defending his actions.
"There is no more prison system now!" King Charming exclaimed looking at Ben as though he were crazy. "We have nothing to hold people who cannot be held in a simple cell! You have released people who have committed countless crimes — countless murders! And you want to continue to call Auradon safe?!"
Ben was unable to open his mouth to retaliate before Queen Tiana piped up. "There were other ways to go about this. You cannot just choose to do something like that without even corresponding with the court, this council was established for a reason..." the dark-skinned woman said in a serious manner.
"I agree," King Eric added, "there were many other ways to go about this. An immigration system even — allow those who truly are innocent off and keep those who pose a danger and have committed unspeakable acts inside. Destroying the barrier so suddenly was selfish..." King Eric said, his voice was even — not angry like King Charming's but worried, "and it was childish, what were you thinking?"
Now Ben actually looked offended.
He had been having enough trouble in establishing respect from the other Kings and Queens because of his young age. The others called his parents insane for allowing the crown to pass to Ben while he was still so young.
Winterfell stayed quiet, she did not want to be part of this conversation. Because on one hand, the points the others were making are more than valid. But on the other hand, most of her friends were VKs, and none of them deserved to stay on the Isle a second longer than they had.
Setting up an immigration system such as the one Eric suggested would take years at best. Years innocents were wasting their lives away imprisoned.
King Ben took a deep breath, "the people of the Isle are as much a part of this country as anyone else. Keeping them imprisoned was a cruel—"
"And whose," King Charming interrupted Ben easily with a raised brow, "idea was it originally to destroy the barrier so suddenly..." he spoke slowly.
Ben closed his eyes and took a deep breath. No one on the council would like his answer.
Winterfell's eyes shifted nervously —if Ben gave the honest answer to that then all hell would break loose.
Finally, she could not take it any longer and allowed herself a quick peek into the crowd. Mal looked pale and she looked incredibly worried for Ben. Sonny was clutching her arm tightly.
Evie sat in the crowd with her hands to her mouth and her eyes wide. It was obvious that she was not expecting anything like this. Uma and Harry wore similar expressions, both looking more than a little worried.
Because they all knew the truth. It was not Ben who broke the barrier.
"King Ben — answer this council honestly, you have sworn to it. Who used Fairy Godmother's wand and destroyed the barrier?" His voice was tight, an eery calm that was about to break.
Winterfell looked to Ben who swallowed before turning a stony gaze to Charming. Beast and Belle looked ready to defend their son.
"With my explicit permission..." Ben started making sure to say that part loudly, "my fiancé, the future Queen of Auradon used Fairy Godmother's wand because only she possessed magic strong enough to wield it and broke the barrier for the good of the people." And it was a classic politician answer, truly, a sugarcoating.
Winterfell watched with wide eyes.
Silence.
One — two — three...
And all hell broke loose.
"Treason!"
"TREASON OF THE HIGHEST ORDER!"
"You allowed the daughter of one of the most infamous criminals to break the barrier?!"
"You are NO King of Auradon!"
"This is NOT for the good of the people!"
"He must be under a curse — no King in their right mind would EVER allow for something like this to happen!"
"Perhaps he has gone mad! We have a mad King sitting on the throne!"
"Do these pants make me look fat?"
"Eugene!"
Winter turned to look at Rapunzel who was giving the chuckling Eugene a small shoulder slap. It was obvious he was having way more fun than he should be at the moment. He caught her gaze giving her a cheeky wink and Rapunzel only shook her head at him.
"ENOUGH!"
It was the former King Beast who stood up with a roar, his palms flat against the round table. He was breathing heavily and Belle quickly put a hand on his shoulder before her husband could loose his temper any further.
Ben had been sitting there taking it with an emotionless facade.
King Charming stood as well, his own temper getting the best of him.
"He had no right to allow something like that! This is what happens when a child sits the throne!"
Beast took a deep breath before seating himself again. King Charming did the same as another silence settled over them before he began to speak.
"I know that you all question my decision in handing my crown to my son so early. But the crown is not a static thing..." Beast spoke calmly, allowing his gaze to pass over everyone, "it does not rest forever on one head. It is moving and it represents the changing face of changing times — our time on the throne is coming to an end,"
Another silence settled as they considered his wise words.
"Your words are wise, Adam," it was King Florian who spoke, the King of Camelot Heights, husband to Snow White, "and you are correct. Our children will at some point take over our stead and represent our peoples. However, that does not harbor the flagrant disregard of disrespect for this council, and by doing so disrespecting every kingdom which makes up Auradon..."
Ben finally took a breath and spoke out loud. "The Isle is located in Auradon Central — the kingdom which directly falls under my reign. It was within my right to choose to break the barrier if I so wished without consolidation of the council."
His words were sharp, but they were true. Before the council was created, the lands that King Adam had prevailed over was the capital of Auradon.
"That is not an excuse..." King Eric shook his head in disappointment.
"Atlantica is incredibly upset," Ariel said, she was sitting in for Atlantica as she normally did, it was rare that Triton would come on land to represent the underwater kingdom, "my father — King Triton — used an immense amount of power to help create the barrier..."
"What would you have me do then?" Ben leaned back in his chair throwing his arms in the air. "Perhaps you are all correct, it was a spur of the moment decision that I should have considered more. I should have coincided with the council, but what is done is done. Would you have me put the barrier back up?!"
Winterfell could practically hear the people of the Isle holding their breaths at that. Now, to do that — give a few months of freedom and then send them back is just cruel.
Queen Jasmine scoffed, "that is not even possible. The entire reason the barrier worked before was because we were able to round up the criminals and take them by surprise. Do you truly think that we would be able to force them back in?! Not to mention it would simply be cruel."
"The problem," Rapunzel started, her voice much gentler than everyone else's and all eyes were on her, "is not what you did. I understand that this came from a place of kindness — freedom is a right to all people," she said knowingly having been imprisoned in a tower for the first eighteen years of her life, "but it is how you went about it..."
King Charming motioned to her, "thank you!" He called loudly. "And Fairy Godmother should have been the one to do it — not an evil witch!"
Ben stood up, his eyes furious as the disrespect in the King's tone. "Don't you dare speak of my fiancé like that—"
"What fiancé? The witch who poisoned you—?!"
"She is the future Queen of Auradon, your future Que—!"
"Do not finish that sentence, she will never be any Queen of mine! And you certainly are not my King!"
"My fiancé will be the best Queen to ever—"
"YOU ALREADY HAD A QUEEN!"
Silence one again took over and Ben look as though he had been struck. The crowd began murmuring before it was shushed by the royal officials. But the whispers were about Princess Audrey, Ben's ex-girlfriend.
Ben glared. "Who? Princess Audrey?" He had questioned. "Must I remind you that King Philip..." he motioned to Philip and Aurora who had been exceptionally quiet this meeting.
They were shamed, the evil Audrey thing was still a big thing.
Charming only held up a hand and shook his head. "No, I do not speak about Princess Audrey. Although I do think the fact that your so-called fiancé manipulating the princess to do her evil bidding—"
"Mal, did no such thing! She saved this kingdom—!"
"What? With that sea-witch and the gang of pirates? Yes, I've heard," he drawled and it was apparent that he did not believe it in the slightest.
Audrey had shrank in her chair, the girl biting her lip. Her eyes turned glassy and Melody placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Mal sat with her arms crossed over her chest as though some sort of protection. She was a tough girl, but to watch Ben getting ripped apart by the council because of her. To hear her name slandered in such a way.
It reminded her of how she felt when Uma walked out with Ben at the cotillion.
Sonny and Zellie were doing their best to comfort her, but Mal was not close with Sonny at all and she literally just met Zellie.
"I'm sorry," Mal mumbled before standing up and walking past the red velvet rope.
Many eyes in the crowd followed her, some people pointing to the daughter of Maleficient. The royals were far too heated and focused on their own debate to notice such a thing.
"Come here, it's okay, M," Evie said as Mal approached her best friend, pulling her down to sit beside her.
Mal fell into Evie's side with glassy eyes, Evie held her friend tightly. Harry placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before switching places with Uma. The sea-witch immediately started rubbing Mal's arm as well.
This was hard for all of them to listen to.
"We shouldn't have come," Carlos mumbled and Jay nodded in reponse.
Jonah bit his lip looking to his friends in a guilty manner. Admittedly, this was his first time attending one of these piss-meetings as well.
They all knew that Winter and the others had been telling them that it would be bad, but this is far worse than they were expecting. Apparently, not everyone in Auradon was as friendly as they thought.
"Enough about this! If you are not talking about Princess Audrey then who the hell do you think could have even been my so-called fiancé..." Ben growled.
"Not fiancé..." Charming muttered, "Queen — that throne belongs to Princess Winterfell..."
Winterfell's heart stopped.
Her mind raced back to a few days ago. Chad's voice spoke to her.
"The throne is rightfully yours, always has been. The true Queen of Auradon. What a shame — I'd like to see you sit the throne rather than a villain..."
Of course he had to get those words from somewhere.
She froze as suddenly gaze upon gaze fell on her. Her eyes went wide, her emotionless facade cracking as shock became apparent over her face.
What. The. Fuck?
Ben laughed as though that was the most pepostrous thing he had ever heard.
"What?" He barked with his head throne back. "Are you serious right now? Is this a real accusation?"
The former Queen Belle cut in calmly, "King Chadwick — that was a long time ago, it never made it past the planning stages..." she said firmly, "you cannot force love..."
The council knew what she was speaking of.
When they approached Jack Frost and Elsa all those years ago on behalf of a marriage between Benjamin and Winterfell.
Winter did not dare look into the crowd, she did not want to see the heartbreak that was no doubt on Mal's face. She was not even sure that should could bare to look at Harry.
"You didn't even try..." Charming hissed to Ben, "to unite the North to Auradon officially..."
"Love cannot be forced!" Ben snapped. "I do not love Winterfell, and she does not love me. We would have a loveless marriage for the sake of power! That is absurd!"
"She would have made a great Queen! Your parents set it up perfectly for you — they set you on a path to make Auradon stronger than ever. Instead you turn your nose up at it, again, you disregard that aspect entirely and choose to marry the opposite. You choose a villain to sit the throne!"
"MAL IS NOT A VILLAIN!" Ben raged. "You do not get to categorize people based on who they were born to!"
"When it comes to the throne you most certainly can!" Charming suddenly motioned to Winter. "The path was paved perfectly for you and you choose to fall down a hole instead!"
"My son will not—" The former King Beast started but he was cut off.
Winterfell spoke up, her voice hard and colder than ice. She ignored her pounding heart, reminding herself to stay strong.
"I do not wish to be Queen of Auradon..."
Silence.
And once again, all eyes are on her.
"Pardon?" King Charming asked as though he did not hear.
"I do not wish to be Queen of Auradon," she said firmly, "you speak of my marriage as though it is the choice of anyone but my own. I will do my duty to my throne — for my people, and this Auradon alliance will stand..."
"Exactly my point," Charming said, clenching his fists while trying to get his point across, "a marriage between you two would make a far stronger alliance between the North and the rest of Auradon. We NEED that, the North is the biggest protection Auradon has against threats, it is the biggest military force..."
Because there were more people in the North, so many places with people willing to fight and protect. Most kingdoms in Auradon were not like that, the people were civilians — nobody wanted to be the ones who fought and protected.
Winter opened her mouth but Charming was still speaking.
"Not to mention you have been schooled for this! You understand politics, you understand statistics and numbers and logic! You do not need to be taught—"
"I am no leader, your majesty!" Winterfell cut him off, her eyes wide and face showing her bewilderment at his words.
She truly does not know how she came to have such a respectable title. Actually, scratch that, because she does. The little girl who survived Wenlock, the intelligent princess, the princess who was holding some of the highest grades at Auradon Prep, the little girl who had came from the legacy of two great parents.
Two great Queens. Her mother and her aunt.
"You are strong," it was Jasmine who spoke and everyone looked to her, "you have qualities — I think many of us..." she trailed off in thought, "Queens," she said the the word sharply and all the women at the table nodded, "see ourselves in you..."
Winterfell's jaw clenched. The words were meant as a compliment because these women around the table had no doubt faced some of the hardest trials ever. They had broken many rules and traditions in forming the land that they lived in today.
However, Winterfell knew that she was only being told this because she was perhaps the only princess who had been faced with hard times such as that.
Out of all the current princesses she was strong but gentle. Respected and feared — she would be loved. In many of their minds it is what Auradon needed, the Ice Queen sitting the throne. Protector of the Realm.
But Mal ... she was more than Winterfell could ever be. Mal was the one this kingdom needed because she truly knew what it is like being at the bottom. She understood what this kingdom needed, and she cared.
This was Mal that they were describing.
Winterfell swallowed because she knew her next words were about to send another wave of hell to the council. But looking up and catching sight of Mal who looked traumatized, her face showing just how hurt and broken she was is enough for her.
Evie was doing her best to comfort her, but she appeared shook as well. Uma stayed strong, a glare on her face as she watched the happenings. Harry sat next to her with a similar expression, the pirate's face nothing but a deadly glare.
His eyes continuously shifted back and forth from Mal to the round table. They may have not been close, but the VKs had to stick together, especially if this is what the world thought of them. So closed off that they rejected the idea of having a VK on the throne.
Winterfell nearly jumped when she made eye contact with Harry and immediately she turned away. She was embarrassed at this turn of events.
It is why her next words came so easily despite the weight they held.
"I believe you just described Mal," she said honestly and the entirety of the court stared at her in silenceq.
Even Ben looked shock. He did not thing that Winterfell would stand up for Mal and the VKs so openly, especially seeing as she was just sitting in and this was her first meeting.
"That child has done nothing but play mind games with the King — she has none of those qualities! And it matters not — the duty of the crown is bigger than love, it is your duties to unite the Northern kingdoms and Auradon!" King Charming hollered and Winter's face went red in with frustration.
"You keep speaking as though the North has not united with Auradon: the North is already a part of the country—!" Winterfell expressed with indignation and the fiery King only pointed an accusing finger at her.
"You know the truth, Princess — we all do! The North is barely a part of Auradon, always hanging on by a thread, it is more trading partners than anything!" He turned away from the princess, upset and ready to blame Ben. "And you blew any chance that we had at correcting this problem by instead causing a whole new series of issues! That is NOT a King!"
Ben slammed his hands down on the table, "I will not sit here and be treated with such—"
He was cut off, Ben did not get to finish his sentence for a very loud boom echoed around the court room. Everyone's head snapped to where the sound orignated from, the crowd turning as murmured gasps and whispers reverberated around.
The two ginormous entrance doors had been thrown open by two guards on either side. Two very distinct guards — two guards of Arendelle. The royal guard, dressed in a long green coat with Norwegian symbols written all over.
White gloves and tall hats with mean scowls written across their faces.
They stood at attention, standing on either side of the door.
Winter's eyes widened at this as the drums started playing. The drums that had played earlier when the other Kings and Queens had been announced.
Winterfell eyes were wide as were the rest of the everyone's at the round table.
"Her Royal Majesty — The Snow Queen Elsa of Arendelle, and the Northern Kingdoms of Ahtohallan, Winterfell, Berk, Aerys, Vallard, Tröllabundin, Burgess, and Avalon. Protector of the Enchanted Forest and the Northern Realm!"
Winterfell's heart stopped at the announcement, it had been a while since all the kingdoms of the North had been listed. And they were not small kingdoms either.
Her mother's face was just as Winter remembered, except now Queen Elsa had her game face on.
She walked in with a stern expression, her cold eyes holding no nonsense to them. Queen Elsa had always been warm, but when she was in "Queen mode" especially when visiting other kingdoms, she turned into a true woman of ice.
The Snow Queen walked in wearing all white. Her dress was long and slim-fitted with two slashs that started just above her knees and ended at her ankles. Her sleeves were long and the cuffs were wide. A white capulet dragged behind her adorning Northuldra and Norwegian symbls.
A white fur coat that clipped at her neck lay across her shoulders.
Her forever youthful and beautiful face was framed by white hair that was just the slightest bit darker than Winterfell's. Many braids zig-zagged throughout the long tresses with the bottom being left loose and falling down her back.
The never-aging Queen Elsa looked as though she could be Winterfell's sister rather than her mother.
Forever stuck at the ripe age of 21.
Despite her forever young appearance, her eyes told of many years, much experience and much wisdom. She had been around and she been through it all.
Everyone stood up at she passed by them. Queen Elsa was good at not allowing even a flicker of her attention to go into the crowds around, simply passing by with a hard expression focused on the round table meeting.
"Uhm, is that who I think it is?" Uma had asked Mal who was too stunned to speak.
Harry's eyes were wide as a woman who was similar to his Winnie in looks passed by them. However, he could tell by this woman's demeanor alone that she was far from his ducklin. He had a feeling that if he even dared to call this woman such a name she might freeze him to death on the spot with just one look.
"Holy shit," Jonah said, and that was answer for them enough.
Definitely Winter's mother.
"That is one long capulet," Carlos muttered to Jay who nodded, both of the watching the long article of clothing drag.
Winterfell herself stood in shock along with the rest of the council.
She had come. Her mother had come. Of course her family would not leave her alone to fend for herself with no warning.
Relief immediately spread throughout her body just at the glorious sight of her mother. Her fear and anxiety washed away because her mother was here. She came as beautiful and powerful as ever.