Coronation Day: Part 1
Cora stood in her dressing room, arms held out to the side as two ladies in waiting helped her with the complicated gown. While Cora had gradually begun to wear more and more of the traditional layered attire as she spent more time in public, running her campaign to persuade Ben and the rest of Auradon to cede her queendom back to her, this gown might be the most complicated she would wear in her entire life. Consisting of thirty-five layers of silk and velvet, it was studded in rubies, garnets, diamonds, and onyxes, cloth of gold and silver creating vibrant embroidered symbols on the bodice. Some were characters in Wonderlandian, some were features of the Four Great Houses, but the largest was the emblem of the House of Hearts. While Wonderlandian fashion was always more eccentric than that worn in Auradon, this gown was extravagant, even by Wonderlandian standards. But that was fitting, as it had once belonged to Ilystrezana of Wonderland, first Queen of Hearts. Legend held that she had worn it to her coronation, and certainly, later portraits of the day supported that assumption, but archivists couldn't be sure. They had been able to date the gown to Ilystrezana's lifetime, but while it may not have been worn on the actual day of her coronation, it had become tradition for any female descendants to wear on it on the day of her own ascension. Now, startingly, it was Cora's turn. She gazed at herself in the mirror, trying to find the frightened, nervous princess who had first attended Auradon Prep so long ago. Instead of the brokenhearted and bitter girl who had felt betrayed both by her friends- for Mal, Jay, Carlos, and Evie had left the Isle and never looked back - and her health- for she could never control her slips -she saw a determined woman ready to give herself, body and soul, for her country. Cora had defied all odds.
For years, the Princess of Hearts had been the object of taunts in school, then later, a smear campaign (started by Audrey, she suspected), designed to present her as a crazed killer unworthy to be in Auradon itself, let alone worthy of the throne of Wonderland. She'd sat in her dorm, in disbelief as she scrolled through InstaRoyal, reading the hashtags and playing the reels, utterly despondent as she listened to the opinions of commentators on the news. Unsurprisingly, many supporters of Alice clung to Audrey's tale, and further conservative Auradonian nobility- those who had opposed the taking of Isle VKs to the mainland in the first place -ran with it. "How could we ever allow another Queen of Hearts?" Snow White had queried, "We've seen what the last one did. Sympathy for a child is one thing, but putting power back in the hands of that family- are we ready to risk that?" "How is this any different to bringing down the barrier?" Queen Leah had sniffed, "We may as well give the girl her daggers back and tell her ourselves to behead us! This is not a decision any of us can condone." Then there were the anonymous comments, supposedly from students: "I've seen her slips. Are we going to let a psycho be queen?" "How is she supposed to rule when she's falling to the floor all the time, seeing colors that aren't there? She calls it 'slipping off the edge of sanity,' but what happens to the rest of us when she's not sane?" Cora had hurled her phone at her vanity mirror at that jab, the silver shattering as she'd burst into tears. While it was true she'd cried that night, the next day she'd already realized she would have to continue. Since the reality of the situation didn't matter to these people, since everyone else's claim to their thrones- their royal blood -seemed to be irrelevant in her case, she would need to not only assert her birthright. She would have to assert herself.
~
Cora had started small, creating a Wonderland club at Auradon Prep. Ever the loyal best friend, Haylie had come with her, and Mason, ever the supportive boyfriend, had used his charm and wit to make the meetings the talk of the school until other students- some out of curiosity alone- started to show up. They studied Wonderlandian, played croquet, and prepared tea. Rarely, politics were discussed, with Cora adding insight she'd heard from her parents and Henry in order to counteract Auradon's propaganda in the textbooks, but also acknowledging the rationale of the Duchess of Spades, Kayla's mother (as for Kayla, she had an open invitation to the meetings, but Cora knew it would take time for her to feel comfortable attending given the girls' complicated friendship and feelings towards their heritage). Over time, she'd managed to get Chad to come, and Evie attended every once in a while. While Evie had never formally apologized for leaving her on the Isle, when the Evil Queen's daughter offered to help the club replicate some traditional Wonderlandian attire for their first visit to the realm, Cora knew it was her way of saying sorry. The club visited the queendom every few months (always under strict supervision from Fairy Godmother, for the land still had pockets of turmoil), but Cora snuck away far more often. The princess took care to speak to the Wonderlanders in their native tongue whenever possible, actually sang to the flowers, and went from village to village. She could not truly criticize her mother's actions while the Queen of Hearts still lived- and given the sophistication of Palaterra's old spy network along with the queen's post partum psychosis, Cora could somewhat understand Ardenzana's paranoia all those years ago -but the fact of the matter was, the average Wonderlander had suffered under the civil war. A true queen would try to alleviate their suffering. And so Cora tried, going from town to town, painstakingly rebuilding structures from rubble, taking most of her allowance (all the VKs had a meager allowance granted them by Auradon Prep, supposedly to help maintain their tuition) and giving it to the still-living families of soldiers (on both sides) who had fallen in Wonderland's civil war. Audrey had chattered this was nothing more than a PR exercise and bribery, but Cora honestly knew of no other way she could help as a student. The Princess of Hearts and the Princess of Auroria had nearly come to blows over the debate, but Audrey managed to refrain, citing etiquette, and Cora blinked as hard as she could, bidding the neon to recede from the corners of her eyes. When that didn't work, she ran into the corridors and hid until it was over. ~
Perhaps most shockingly, Cora then visited the homes of known Alicists and supporters of the White Queen. Cora did her wickedest to ignore the propaganda of her own childhood during these visits, because rebellions and wars did not flourish in a happy populace. If Ardenzana had- wittingly or unwittingly -created circumstances where war could break out, where her claim could be questioned, and where people could die like pawns on a chess board, Cora saw it as her duty to identify the circumstances and fix them. There was no other way to do this without speaking to them. "I don't like you going there alone, Angel," Mason had told her. Her boyfriend lounged behind her on his bed, one hand tugging at her curls as she leaned into his shoulder. "I know you don't, but some of them already think of me as a violent pretender. How do I get them to respect me if I see them with my mischievous, wizard boyfriend at my side, ready to turn into a dragon at the slightest hint of danger?" Mason raised an eyebrow, "There are many reasons they should respect you, and while yes, your taste in me as a boyfriend is definitely one, I worry you could be walking into a trap, Angel." "You don't think I can defend myself?" Cora asked, turning her head to face him in surprise. "I know you can," Mason reassured her, planting a kiss on her forehead, "but I don't think you should have to. Nor do I think you killing them would help you. Even if it were self-defense and you'd walked into an ambush, they'd be seen as martyrs, and that wouldn't help you in the end." Cora froze, "The end?" While she and Mason had been seeing each other for nearly a year now, the concept of having a partner to rely on was still new to her. She loved the light he brought into her life, the pranks, the playfulness, the kisses- God, his kisses -but the way he spoke was so...final. This wasn't about tests and studying anymore, or things she'd expect an "average" boyfriend to do, like helping her reputation around Auradon Prep. If she was understanding him correctly, this was about kings and queens on an international level. Which meant Mason appeared to want to stick around. And after everything that had happened with Raphael and Hakon, that was something she hadn't let herself dream about. Not truly. She'd always thought they could take on the world together, but she'd never thought he'd actually stay. Mason blinked, "You getting your throne back, of course," then, with a smirk, he added, "Plus, I am looking forward to a much larger bed in the palace." He'd kissed her as she gaped at his audacity. ~ Cora had ended up conceding the Mason could keep watch in the trees, though he was not to turn into a dragon unless things seemed truly dire. Mason insisted she ingest a potion that would depict a replica of the proceedings inside the cottage for him, and while it was not nearly as delicious as Mim's Mercury, Cora agreed. She'd downed the liquid as she sat atop Henry, slipping the vial into her pack. Her Bandersnatch friend had agreed to let her ride him to her appointment- she needed to simultaneously show that she was not to be trifled with, yet also had respect for Wonderland (with Wonderland showing her respect) -and she stroked his spotted coat once for wicked luck. Good luck, Henry had told her, but be prepared. You will hear things you may not like. Cora nodded, ruffling the fur behind his ears one more time. "Thank you," the princess whispered. "Corazana?" Cora turned to face the man exiting the cottage before her. Somehow, he managed to make her name sound like dirt. While nominally he had asked her a question, it was clearly a statement, and his opinion of her- and her family -could hardly be lower. His dark hair was flecked with streaks of gray, and his blue ears were hard as ice: "I thought we agreed there were to be no shows of force today." The princess swallowed, schooling her features into a smile as she slid off Henry, "We did-"
"Then why are you riding a Bandersnatch?" Cora blanched with surprise, "This is Henry. He's a friend. We met when I fell down a rabbit hole years ago. I asked him to give me a ride today because I didn't want to be late," regaining her composure, Cora nodded, "The distance from Auradon's major rabbit hole to your home is far, Elatus. I want to thank you for seeing me today. I meant no disrespect." Seeing Elatus was still clearly suspicious, Cora removed her daggers from her person, sliding them into a second pack Henry had obligingly worn around his neck. Cora's spine prickled with unease- it felt like she was removing some of her own limbs by taking off the daggers -and she knew it made her vulnerable. But Elatus had said he'd never meet with her if she wore her weapons, and Cora could only pray the Alicist leader was as honorable as he thought himself. Otherwise, she would end up dead. Cora spread her skirts, showing Elatus clearly there were no weapons hidden in the petticoats or pockets, then bid Henry to go wait with some of the singing flowers in the grove. "You'll forgive me if my trust in the House of Hearts is minimal," Elatus said. He reached for Cora's arm, yanking her forward and beginning to search her garments himself. Cora held her chin high as she submitted to the breach in protocol, just barely shaking her head at the tree where she knew Mason was hidden (and had to be fuming). The leaves in the tree had only barely stopped shuddering when Cora met Elatus' gaze with a curt: "I hope even if your trust in my House is minimal, your trust in me is at least somewhat wickeder?" Elatus conceded, "Not a chance, but I am glad you respected the agreement." He gestured for her to enter his cottage with an exaggerated courtly sweep of his arm, and while Cora's instincts screamed at her to search him in turn, she knew that if she sunk to his level, she would lose any chance of gaining Elatus' insight. Cora swept into the cottage. It was simple, by Wonderlandian standards, made mostly of stone with a thatched roof. There were few pictures on the walls- none of Elatus or his family -just a few photos of a blonde little girl Cora had been raised to hate and the Alicists saw as a hero. Idly, Cora mused they were likely both wrong- Alice, in the pictures, appeared to be an oblivious child. She was so...young, hardly either the dashing head of a Rebellion the Alicists saw her as, or the blatant lawbreaker the Queen of Hearts viewed her as. Shaking her head, Cora refocused on the situation at hand, raking her eyes over the rest of the interior. The chairs and seating were low to the floor in Wonderlandian style, and a tea set was laid out, smoke already curling from the liquid. Cora frowned. It would be rude of her to refuse him- and he was clearly hoping she would, so he could cite breach of tradition -but it was also possible he had poisoned it. She had no way of knowing, and comforted herself slightly with the thought that if it was poisoned, Mason was nearby (whether with potion or true love's kiss, she had no doubt he could revive her). Elatus shut the door behind her with a click, then took his seat at the head of his table. He stared at her, his gaze cutting. He was clearly doing his wickedest to irritate her, trying to trigger the famous Hearts temper. While Cora could not deny she was annoyed, she also wasn't going to fall into the trap so easily. Accordingly, she smiled, ignoring the breach of etiquette by him sitting down first, gracefully settling into a pillow. "I would say 'welcome,' but we both know that would be a lie," Elatus began. He gestured for Cora to pick up a teacup, and firmly reminding herself that if the former Alicist leader tried to poison her, Mason was nearby, Cora managed to still the shaking in her fingers as she picked up the cup and took a tiny sip. The liquid burned her throat- and goblins, how she hated the taste of tea -but now was not the time.
