"What about peacock feathers?"
The girls stood in their dorm, finishing up their last round of customers for the day, Chad Charming and Doug Forest. Evie had taken the liberty of fitting her boyfriend, while Ryllian, much to her displeasure, had to deal with the overwhelming narcissism and self-absorbance of Cinderella's heir.
Ryllian sewed a faux fur lining into the bottom of his cape, which she could easily say was overdone already. She did her best to work fast, but her temper was on a short fuse, getting shorter.
"Yeah, I bet you nobody's gonna have those at Cotillion," Chad looked in the mirror, twisting around like a maniac. Ryllian grabbed the edge of his cape and gave it a sharp tug. He looked at her, aghast and mildly insulted, and she just glared.
She tied off the line of thread, and gave a chef's kiss to her work.
"How do I look, Princess? Eh?" Chad said, his eyes unmoving from his reflection, his hands running down the soft edge of the cape.
Ryllian plastered a sickly sweet smile to her lips, place her hands on the prince's shoulders, and said, "Chad, when I look at you all I can think of is... 'king.'" She over-exaggerated her hand gestures, easily convincing the prince that he looked fantastic.
Chad gasped in joy, his wide eyes looking down at her figure, who stood with her arms crossed and her hip jutting out.
"And the fake fur," Evie nodded in approval, looking up from Doug's suit. "Uh-huh. It says it all." She sent an unapologetic glance towards Ryllian.
"Loud and clear," Doug said dryly, making Evie and him chuckle. Ryllian subtly flipped them off before Chad turned his attention back to her.
Just as she was putting her pins away, Jay slammed the door open. She jumped, startling, and pricked her finger on one of the pins she was holding over her case.
"Gah!" she shouted, glaring at the grinning boy in the doorway. "Bloody fucks, Jay. Is it that much of a struggle to walk into a room without breaking the entryway?"
"Language, mini-Mer," he teased. His gaze shifted over to Chad, who looked him up and down slightly disapprovingly. "You. Amphitheater in five."
Chad looked at Ryllian who, without bothering to look at him, extended her hand for the cape. She twitched her fingers in a "hurry up" motion, and he begrudgingly handed it over to her.
"Why did the coach make him instead of me? I'm obviously better." he grumbled. But his face lit up when he saw the girls hanging up and labelling their new attire. "But King Chad, though. I do rather like that. You know who else would like that?"
Ryllian looked at Jay incredulously when the blonde boy answered his own question, "Audrey." His face fell, and he brought a fist to his mouth, seemingly not wanting to cry. Ryllian and Doug looked at each other, stifling a laugh.
Evie nodded convincingly, "She would."
Jay rolled his eyes, having enough, "Chaaaad. Amphitheater. Lets go. Now."
"I'm coming. Yeah," he said.
Jay clapped him on the back leading him out. As soon as the boys were gone, Doug and Evie looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Not a lot of there there."
Ryllian scoffed, "Aye, you don't say? He seems to be having a wee bit of trouble dealing with his breakup with the bitch-queen." She pinched her fingers mockingly.
Evie looked at her with raised eyebrows, and Doug hid a laugh with a hacking fit.
Ryllian looked between the couple and shrugged, "You can't tell me I'm wrong about her without lying, you know."
Evie giggled, and then sniffed loudly.
"You've got us there, Ryl." Doug said with a wide grin. Ryllian clapped him on the shoulder, and then walked across the room to seal up her sewing case. She gave Evie a quick hug, before beginning to head out of the dorm.
"I've got the day off, so I might go bug a few of the losers up in my neck of the woods. And by my neck of the woods I mean, quite literally, the woods," she hollered over her shoulder, but Evie called out to her, causing her to promptly spin on her heel and march right back to her blue-haired friend.
Evie chuckled at her wide-eyed impatient friend, "One, you forgot your bow. Two, if anyone heard you talking like that, they would think you were from the Isle."
Ryllian snorted loudly and slung her leather bag across her chest, "First off, I'm not training with the bow today, because if Fairy Godmother saw me carrying a weapon across campus, she would likely have my head, or worse, turn me into one of those bloody gerbils."
"You mean mice?" Doug corrected, raising an eyebrow.
"No," she said, walking out. "Gerbils."
Ryllian strode down the staircase and into the hallway, her eyes skipping over each student that passed by. Her expression fell into a comfortable frown, which suited her demeanor. She wasn't a super people-person. Sure, she was good with people, she just didn't like a lot of people.
Several people nodded, waved, or greeted her, and she would nod back. Ryllian wasn't one to be disrespectful, but she was in a sense, severe. She warmed up to only a select group of people, particularly the four newest arrivals from the Isle.
They didn't seem to like anyone, but her constant telling-off of Audrey and her lackeys, they warmed up to her. Ryllian also may or may not have unapologetically punched Jay square in the jaw when he tried hitting on her, which earned her their respect. She was the closest thing to their Isle roots that they had, and even then, her mischief never ran free without limits.
Ryllian finally reached the doorway to the castle, and she exited. She closed her eyes and inhaled the fresh air. She peered around the side of the castle before bolting into the woods.
She ran for awhile, her thoughts clear of everything except the wind through her hair and the crunching leaves beneath her shoes. Her jogging slowed after just a few minutes as she reached the hilltop where the meeting spot was. She sat down, looking down at the view of Auradon Prep, as well as beyond.
Her quiet thoughts were broken by two people who came charging at her, knocking her flat on her back.
"Dog-pile!" the girls voice shouted, laying on top of Ryllian. Shortly after, her male counterpart lay on top of them, causing Ryllian to grunt.
"Alright, then. You got me. Now get off or you'll be ducking for a smack. Both of ya."
The pair didn't hesitate to scramble off of her, and they sat down next to her, grinning. She looked first at the girl with the bushy red hair. "Erin, your sneak attack was fantastic, but the execution needs work," Ryllian teased, shoving her.
"And you," she pointed to the boy with his dark hair pulled pack into a small bun, "Evan, you're gonna turn into bloody Grandpa Fergus one of these days so please, for the love of God stop squashing me."
She noogied him right on the top of his head, causing him to try to throw her off. Every week, she and her cousins made an effort to see each other. This was a way of ensuring that they would remain close when their time came for governing each of the clans of DunBroch, with Evan and Erin as Lord and Lady, and Ryllian to take over as Queen of DunBroch when her mother stepped down.
Evan and Erin MacHarris were her closest family, and the children of her Uncle Harris. Evan took after their grandmother Elinor, both in demeanor and appearance, while Erin took after her father and Grandpa Fergus with her bushy hair and her constant tendency for causing a ruckus.
"Are the pair of you going to the Cotillion?" Ryllian questioned the pair, who nodded hesitantly. She chuckled at their nervous expressions. "At least you're not stiffs about it. If the pair of you want, I can introduce you guys to Evie and we can get your clothes fitted."
Evan nodded easily, and Erin groaned, "You're making me wear a dress?" Ryllian smacked her behind the head.
"I couldn't even if I wanted to. Evie will make you anything you so desire, although I doubt that she would make you a onesie." Erin chuckled and mocked disappointment.
"Darn. I was hoping I could show up to a royal event masquerading as a carrot," Erin chuckled, causing Evan to choke on air. Ryllian simply smiled, and watched as the pair enjoyed themselves.
Her eyes trailed slowly over the view from the hill, Auradon Prep, the Charming castle in the distance, and finally, across the bay.
Hey eyes lingered on the barrier over the Isle of the Lost, the pollution and the greenish glow of the magic wall making the island look sickly. She sighed and ran a hand over her face, pushing her hair away from her forehead. She couldn't help but feel regret for the innocents who were stuck on the island in such treacherous conditions.
"You okay, Ryl?" Evan nudged her, concerned. He knew his cousin almost better than anybody, and he knew that strong emotion hardly frequented her features. When it did, he knew it was something bothering her.
She snapped out of her daze and smiled, nodding. The twins extended their hands towards her, and she grabbed on, pulling herself up.
She draped her arms over their shoulders, and they marched off though the woods towards the school grounds. She cast one last glance towards the Isle, before shaking her head and chasing the twins across the campus, their laughter and her shouts echoing around the courtyard.