i see right through me

         FLUSTERED HEAD SHAKE taken aback, once more, she furiously tried to play down. modesty one might call it. it wouldn’t be good if everyone was like her, melody thought, not at all. ( of course , melody realises that’s not entirely what imogen meant, but it didn’t stop her easily overwhelmed mind from excessive imagination. )

❝ that’s perhaps the only trait they’d want from me. ❞ melody replied, reactionary pulling her left leg behind her right to the fourth ballet position , to hide the mechanical contraption behind her own flesh and blood.    ❝ auradon’s not really … that bad – some people are a bit much, but my parents have this inn overlooking the sea on a cliff …  it’s nice.   are you at least liking it here, besides the whole – y’know ? ❞

          CELESTIA HATED FEELING indebted to people, but she did to ben to a certain extent, if only because it wasn’t his fault that they were over there in the first place. that was the older generation’s crime. why had it taken one of their children to finally give them what they deserved ?? ❝ please, as if death would ever stop you. ❞ it hadn’t stopped most of the dead people she knew, anyway. ❝ because they were all in positions of power and people were already scared enough of our parents as it was. i’m sure it wasn’t that difficult. ❞

          DESPITE BEING TOLD the other wasn’t going to hold it against her, she still felt bad, and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she tried to think of what to do next. ❝ we could – we could always go wash it off !! or i’ll wash it for you !! it’s the type of paint that washes off really easily, i promise !! ❞ her own clothes were proof of that. they’d been covered in paint and subsequently washed so many times, she was sure if those clothes could talk they’d yell at her. ❝ but !! i think yellow is also a really pretty colour for you !! ❞ she said with a smile.

“You don’t ask for handouts, but you’ll take my hard-earned money, okay, I see how it is. Do you know how hard it is to get people to see you when you’re trying to give out stuff? I haven’t caught someone’s eye in thirty minutes!”

Giona tightened the baseball cap around her head, spinning it so it was backwards. “Listen, you’re not scaring anyone. How ‘bout I keep my money, and you get out of my hair anyway? It’s almost four, you’ll be late for tea with the queen. Shoo.” 

She threw another pamphlet, this time harder and aiming straight for their face. 

“Yeah, I don’t consider it a handout if all of your money you got because of a scam,” Imogen said, putting emphasis on the last word. She had seen the information booth a few blocks back and put the pieces together.

If this were the Isle, Imogen would have likely pulled some sort of weapon. Instead, she just dug her hand her pocket and looked for a weapon that wasn’t there. The emptiness reminded her that she was supposed to be doing good now, that picking fights and trying to scam a scammer might not be the best way to go about things. God, she really was going soft. “Look, just stop trying to sell these pamphlets okay?” Imogen asked.

She would have likely left quietly if another pamphlet had not hit her in the face. It was personal, now. “I’m not gonna ask you again.” 

“Ooh, Mother Gothel, what are you gonna do ? Kidnap me for my hair ?” A voice in her head, sounding eerily like her mother’s, told her to fight and for once she actually wanted to listen. But so far, she still had to get used to her magic, and she still had to find her friends. Wherever the hell they were. So she was alone.  

“Why don’t you lick your royal friends’ boots some more, maybe they’ll get you a new jacket.” Giona tossed one pamphlet at the girl, either to hit her face or to make the girl catch it or just to plain annoy her. 

Imogen scoffed. She knew that it was arrogant to think like that, but did this VK seriously not know who she was? Gothel’s girl, the kid who grew up with a knife in her hand and nothing in her stomach? The girl who came of age trying to learn how to make poisons and smoke bombs out of nothing?

And that was when Tamu had to frown a little. That word ‘reign’. “Kings are outdated. I think I’d believe in him a little more if he’d been chosen by the people, and not just have the crown passed on because he’s the son. Will he really change Auradon? Who knows. Tune in next week, when something else gets stolen from the museum. Just don’t … put all your eggs in one basket, Imogen. ” 

Imogen noticed Tamu’s crown. “I agree one-hundred percent. I think Ben’s great, but I don’t want to imagine what Auradon would be like if he wasn’t,” she said. She shrugged. “I don’t know. I wish things could be different, but I don’t think it can be in our lifetime, so I’m hoping that maybe he’ll steer us down the right path, or maybe one of us can steer him down the right path.” She knew that Tamu was right, but her pride prevented her from saying it.

“Well, good morning to you too –” Giona cut herself off, the bright, salesman grin dropping as soon as the hand was outstretched. “I’m sorry, who are you? Get your own job, leech.” She closed her jacket around her, the beltbag of her money ( just $60 so far ) strapped around her chest, hidden under the jersey.

Ever since the whole museum ordeal, Imogen had been stepping on eggshells around and nearly avoiding most of the royals she knew, especially the ones that she wasn’t particularly close with. One of these royals was Ophelia, whose family Imogen was especially scared of getting on the wrong side of, thanks to the whole ‘my adoptive mom imprisoned your mom in a tower’ thing. Spotting Ophelia in café that she was already in, Imogen walked over and sat at the princess’s table.

               EMBARRASSMENT IN BLUE EYES / genuine remorse hidden behind the usually collected exterior.  they began to rub their own hands together, as discreetly as they could, behind their own back - ; an attempt to downplay what the other witnessed.

                     ❝ no, no – ❞  eira muttered, trying to hold a hand out to placate the stranger, ❝ it’s nothing you should be sorry for, it’s just – ❞ a second pause as she continued to try and collect herself to a presentable level   ❝ – there’s a lot going on right now.  you shouldn’t of had to seen that …❞

Imogen softened her stance when she saw the remorse and anxiousness in the other’s eyes. There was no malice behind the magic, and maybe Imogen could get behind that. “It’s okay,” she said. “D-do you want to talk about it?” Imogen wasn’t the best person to come to for any sort of emotional situation, but she didn’t know what else to say.

       she makes a face at the mention of   REMEDIAL GOODNESS,  probably the new  bane   of her existence —  or at least her friday mornings.   she was more than happy to start her school day at noon every day, but her remedial goodness class every friday just  had  to ruin it.      “     PLEASE,  my powers don’t  need  a spellbook.     ”    she does, however, leave out the part where her powers  still  haven’t showed up, despite her being in auradon for a good couple of days now.

“Ooh, I’m terrified. Positively shaking at the idea of my wishes coming true,” he played along, clearly more joking than serious. Wishes were for children – or, just for people who could afford to believe in them. Tamu’s eyebrows rose slowly, nodding as she spoke – while he was past believing in some sort of perfect goodness, he remembered the feeling well. “Then either His Highness is a true diamond among us lowly coal, or he’s the best liar of our generation. He will mess up, one of these days. I’ll be sorry for him when he does,” he said with a short shrug.

          ❝ THEY DO, BUT i doubt they’re going to give it to us. they wouldn’t have even let us over here if ben hadn’t said anything. we would’ve been held captive over there our entire lives and rotted away. i don’t think we’re getting that apology anytime soon. ❞ even though they deserved it. ❝ the way we lived on the isle had to be breaking some human rights violations. ❞

7. already answered! 

         ❝ I MEAN , other than the fact that it seems like a set-up ?? Not really. ❞ He shook his head , leg bouncing anxiously up and down before he found himself caving to fish out his poppy seed cigs. An ignited fingertip lit the end , a shrug to accompany it. ❝ I’m not the biggest theory person out here ; just been trying to avoid making ASSUMPTIONS about this whole thing like the fucking plague. Think it’s turning more into gossip than an actual crisis at this point. ❞