"Don't you think I feel bad enough already?"

***

"Do we really have to do this?" Audrey whines, trying to protect her nose from the stench. Strangely, the situation reminds her of a mock tea party she'd made with Chad, Ben, and Jane back when they were younger, around five or six. She'd dropped a scone on the ground, then picked it right up and shoved it into her mouth with a laugh at Ben and Jane's dramatically horrified expressions.

Her grandmother had quickly knocked that habit out of her.

"You said you were hungry," Iria replies, the irritated edge to their voice lacking any proper bite.

"For food!" Audrey retorts, "Not garbage!"

Iria looks up from trash-digging to glare at her, "Well, we don't know what currency they use in this world. And you said you didn't want to steal anything."

"That was before I knew you were going to dig through dumpsters!" She exclaims.

With a slight eye roll, Iria counters, "Well, do you want to steal food?"

Though Audrey blanches at the thought of stealing, she admits that if they can't find any people, their other options would amount to about the meager population of this supposed ghost town. Neither of them had eaten since yesterday, before Iria had transported them here.

After mulling it over for a few seconds, she suggests, "Listen, why don't we just try to find a place that's open? I mean, what's the worst that could happen if we give them Auradon currency?"

Iria sighs, "Fine. But only because you're complaining so much."

So, the two exit the back alley they had been holed up in as discreetly as possible, trying to make sure that no one is around. However, the small town they had found seems as empty during the day as it was at night.

"Where the heck is everyone?" Audrey wonders aloud as they walk down the street, "I mean, this seems like a small town, but there has to be someone who lives here."

Iria just nods as they continue to walk down the street. Audrey looks to her feet, discouraged at the continuing lack of answers. Connecting with the pirate has always been a struggle, but Audrey had come to accept that sometimes Iria just didn't have it in them to humor someone in a conversation. As someone who was raised to have and use power almost exclusively through words, Audrey still can't help but find it mildly disconcerting.

But she's trying.

It seems like everything that's happened in the last few years has been a calculated effort from the universe to make her as uncomfortable as possible. Before the VKs arrived, her comfort zone comprised emotional manipulation, makeup tips, fashion trends, counting calories, suppressing every single thing she felt that wasn't princess-like, and living every second of her life like there was a camera following her every move (because chances are, there was). Back when she was Ben's girlfriend, it felt like if she sneezed too loud, the press would know about it. But it wasn't a problem, of course, her royal upbringing had been preparing her for it since before she could walk.

Then Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos showed up and threw her (and most everyone else) for a loop. Ben's parents warned her about making sure his compassion didn't cloud his judgement as soon as he announced the decree. She'd wanted to support her boyfriend, but how could she be sure that he wasn't rushing into something he wasn't prepared for when his own parents didn't trust his decision? Closer to parents for Audrey than Aurora and Philip ever were, Belle and Beast had never led her wrong before; she tried her best to follow their advice and be the voice of reason, protect Ben from himself. Her grandmother told her that now more than ever she should secure her position and make sure that the newcomers knew how things worked in Auradon. That Audrey was the top dog, the Queen Bee. So Audrey did exactly as she was told and believed she was adapting well.

She was wrong. Suddenly, she was "too judgemental." Suddenly, she was "too clingy." Suddenly, she was "too harsh and narrow-minded." Suddenly, she "had an attitude." And the worst of all of it was that she didn't know where any of it was coming from. She'd done exactly what everyone told her to do. She'd done everything right, everything that had gotten her this far in life. Only for it all to come crashing down.

She found out Ben had been cheating on her. Well, now she knows it was a love spell, but it had certainly seemed like he was cheating on her. What else was she supposed to think when her boyfriend suddenly confessed his undying love for the new purple-haired girl he'd been making eyes at, right before the picnic date they'd planned for after the game? It had felt like a punch in the gut; she'd never been so shocked or hurt in her entire life.

So she grabbed her second-oldest-friend and planted a kiss on his lips in front of everyone. Because she would not be cast aside and stomped on like a rag doll. Not after everything she'd done. Not after scrubbing everything she loved about herself away with a sander, leaving only what everyone else said made her valuable. She did it all for Ben. All to be the perfect queen.

Ultimately, all for nothing.

The worst part was that no one cared. No one cared how she was feeling. Ben was completely enamored with his new girlfriend. So was Jane, honestly; she thought Mal was her very own fairy godmother. Audrey had pushed Lonnie and Doug away a while ago by being "too hostile" to the VKs. Her family hated her for losing their legacy. Chad was the only person- the only thing- she had left.

So Audrey gave up. She slacked off during class, lashed out at everyone before they could insult (or even worse, pity) her, and spent most of her afternoons locked in her bedroom crying. Then the coronation came around, and Mal saved the day.

Audrey smiled while she felt every piece of hope she'd held on to shatter to bits. Every hope that someone would come to their senses and see that what Mal had done was wrong. Every hope that the friends she'd known since she was in diapers would take her side over the side of the girl they'd just met.

The truth hit Audrey like a ton of bricks: no one cared about her.

No longer angry, just crushed, she tried to make things up in school. She really did. But it was  hard enough to even get out of bed in the morning, let alone do well in classes. She tried to apologize to her friends, but she wasn't able to convince them she actually meant it. Doug said her "dead eyes" gave her away. Jane said she sounded like a zombie. They all thought she was just trying to get them to pity her. After those failures, there was no way she could work up the courage to talk to Ben again.

Soon after, her grandmother pulled her out of school despite her protests for a "spa week." She was already on the brink of failing classes, and skipping any amount of school was not going to help. And as much as she needed a break, a "spa week" with Queen Leah means a week of her subtly probing into the darkest corners of your emotions and picking out every little insecurity until it feels like she's scraped out all your insides.

It was exactly as tortuous as it sounded. By the time Audrey got back to Auradon Prep, she was failing multiple classes. They kicked her out of all the clubs she used to do, including cheerleading, forced her to drop all her electives so she could "catch up" in her academics, then told her she'd have to do summer school, and she was at the breaking point by the time Ben proposed to Mal. It felt like they were rubbing their happiness in her face.

Long story short, she went a little crazy, broke into the museum, and got possessed by Maleficent's scepter.

People still haven't stopped pointing out the "irony" in the fact that she became what she feared the most. A villain.

She never has it in her to argue that it's not the villains she was afraid of. It's what they were going to do, the effects they were going to have. On Auradon, on her friends, on the boy she was in love with.

Well, the boy she thought she was in love with at the time, at least.

She's not trying to excuse her actions. She did terrible things.

But she thinks it might be time for the universe to cut her a fucking break already.

She's made up almost all her school work, but no extracurriculars will allow her anymore. No colleges will accept her, no one wants to talk to her, and everyone either laughs at her or is afraid of her.

At least Lonnie, Doug, and Ben are talking to her again. And she has become friends with the VKs.

Small victories.

But now she's trapped in a different dimension with no way home, no way of finding her friends, and a sea witch who's magic is apparently still not working.

This might be just the vacation she needs.

"I think I might have found out where everyone is," Iria points to what looks like a city hall packed to the brim with people.

"So?" Audrey asks, "Can we please just find a place to eat?"

"Everywhere's closed," Iria replies, already grabbing onto Audrey's hand and walking towards the building, "And besides, this looks more fun."

Audrey struggles to stand her ground as her friend tries to drag her away, "But we still need to find the others. Just because your magic is on the fritz doesn't mean we should just give up!"

"I'm not giving up!" They protest, "If they showed up around this town, then someone in there probably knows about it."

Audrey pauses, still uncertain about the idea, but aware that Iria made some good points. Begrudgingly, she agrees, "Fine."

***

"Really, thank you so much for finding us a place to stay," Lonnie says.

Mr. Gold smiles, "Oh, it's no problem at all. Stay as long as you like. And it's probably best if you don't go into town for a while. Us locals are a little skittish around newcomers. Anyway, I should be back before you know it."

Lonnie smiles as Mr. Gold closes the door before turning back to Ben and Gil with a serious expression.

"We're not going to stay in the house, are we?" Ben asks.

Lonnie grins, "Nope."

"Why not?" Gil asks, "Mr. Gold has been really nice to us."

"Yes, he has been nice, but we still need to find our friends. Not to mention that we don't know where Iria and Audrey are," Lonnie frowns, "Besides, no matter how nice he is, there's something off about that guy..."

***

"But how did they get here?" Leroy asks, voicing the question everyone is thinking. Unfortunately, no one knows the answer.

"We're... Still trying to figure that out," Regina replies, glancing towards the children in question, "But for now, they need a place to stay. Granny has graciously offered her Bed and Breakfast for a while until we can figure out a solution to getting them back home. Until then, I want you all to be welcoming."

Leroy grunts at the look the mayor sends him before she continues, "They are guests in our town, and they are to be treated with respect." Regina pauses before adding, "Try not to scare them."

A few chuckles rise from the audience as everyone prepares to leave, assuming the meeting to be over. However, they're quick to pause in confusion as the town's resident pawn broker strides into the hall, "Not so quick there, dearies. One more thing we have yet to discuss, I'm afraid."