chapter four: a sunny picnic

"I'D LIKE A TRIP SET UP TO VISIT THE ENCHANTED LAKE." Ben reads out a letter he received from Eryk early this morning, filled with a bunch of 'requests' from the castle's guests.
"Who does this guy think he is?" Mal comments, lounging on a sofa in the large office.
Whitney sits in a comfortable chair, Ben perched on the armrest. "The leader of the second largest nation, that's who." She shoots, rolling her eyes.
   "Me, Elena, and Carlos can handle the enchanted lake trip! I can quickly whip up some food." Ciana offers, resting a reassuring hand on Whitney's shoulder.
   "Yeah! I'm sure Carlos and I can scrounge around some picnic stuff, there must be something in the storage room." Elena agrees, nudging Carlos to get his attention.
Carlos snaps into the conversation blinking at Elena in confusion for a second. "Oh, yeah. Of course. We got it." He nods, looking at Elena for reassurance. She gives him a look. "I-I also think Mal can help cook some food, she's good at it." He says, gesturing awkwardly with his hands.
    Mal raises an eyebrow at Carlos, opening her mouth to respond. Ciana cuts her off, grabbing her hand. "That is perfect! Come on!" She drags her out of the room, quickly followed by Elena and Carlos.

     "That was weird, right?" Ben asks, looking down at Whitney. The two were now left alone in the large office, all of their friends vacating the area.
"That's just normal Elena." She avoids his eye contact, busying herself with organizing his desk. "Did you ever finish filling out those requests I made to hire the caterers?" She changes the subject, briefly glancing over at Ben.
     "Ah, dang it. I completely forgot." Ben sighs, starting his own search through the mess on his desk for the papers.
     Whitney scoffs, standing up and moving to the other side of the desk. "You really need to get your priorities sorted, you are about to become the king!" She slams her hand down, getting his full attention.
     "Whit, you sound like my father." Ben chuckles. She frowns at his lack of seriousness, dropping her hands to her sides.
     "Probably for a reason! You are about to be the leader of an entire country and you have no ability to stay organized, no time management, you can't plan anything on your own, and you'd rather run around with some  villain kid than do your duties! You are oblivious to everyone's feelings and can't read a room to save your life." Whitney rants, her voice growing louder.
Ben just stands there, confused and slightly hurt. He opens his mouth but is quickly cut off by Whitney continuing. "It's hard not to compare you to Eryk. He's younger than you but is twenty-no fifty-times more mature than you are. He was more prepared to be king at age ten then you are now!"
"Whit this isn't funny-"
"Cause it's not a joke! There's a reason he is so respected, he would never let someone speak to him the way I am now." Whitney ends with a huff, pushing her hair out of her face. Ben's brows are furrowed in hurt, his mouth opening once more before pressing shut.
She waits expectantly, but after a moment it's obvious that Ben doesn't know what to say. She shakes her head and grabs her jacket, leaving the office in a hurry with watery eyes.

     Chester impatiently taps his foot, he's been in line at this coffee shop forever and has barely moved. He wasn't expecting the morning rush to be quick, but was hoping he could be back in time for his morning study session.
After a twenty minute wait, he finally reached the cashier and got his order in. He patted his pockets, groaning heavily as realization dawns on him. "Ugh, cancel the order, I forgot my wallet. Sorry." He sighs, apologizing to the poor worker.
"Here, I'll pay for it." A shiver runs down his spine as Eryk leans around him, setting cash down on the counter.
He freezes for a second, registering what was happening. "No, no, it's okay. You don't have to Your . . . Highness?" He grabs the money, pushing it back into Eryk's hand.
"Just take the money, a six dollar coffee isn't going to break my bank." Eryk rolls his eyes, handing the money to the cashier instead. "I've seen you lingering around. Well, I've seen your smile around."
Chester avoids Eryk's eye contact, his cheeks flushing. He wasn't used to strangers noticing him. Eryk quickly orders after him, paying for his drink as well before they sat down at a table together.
"I'm Chester, son of the Cheshire Cat." He sticks his hand out for a handshake.
Eryk shakes it, his hands worryingly cold. He notices the slight flinch from Chester when they made contact. He pulls his hand back, slipping his white glove on. "Sorry, I forget how cold my hands are. Ice powers and all that." Eryk seems slightly embarrassed, placing his hands firmly in his lap.
"It's okay, I just was surprised." Their conversation is cut off suddenly by their coffee orders being called, both saying a brief goodbye and heading separate ways.

     Ciana whips through the kitchen hurriedly tossing all types of ingredients onto the counter. "I'm thinking we makes some finger sandwiches, salad, and some kind of desert." She claps her hands, turning to a bored Mal. "Can you make some chocolate chip cookies." Ciana asks. "Like non-spelled ones."
     Mal rolls her eyes, hopping off the counter. "Yeah, sure." She silently gathers the needed items and starts working on it.

     Elena and Carlos soon join them in the kitchen, a checkered blanket and large basket in Elena's arms. Carlos carries a large umbrella over his shoulder, leaning it up against the wall with a groan. "What can we help with?"
     "Elena can you help me with sandwiches? Carlos go help Mal make the cookies, please." Ciana gestures to the other side of the kitchen where Mal is working.

     "I haven't heard anything from Whitney, she hasn't texted me back." Elena lowers her voice, laying out some slices of bread. "I assumed she was gonna come help cook."
     Ciana raises an eyebrow, moving on to cut some strawberries. "That's weird, she is a compulsive text-checker."
     "I know, which is why I'm kind of worried." Elena places cheese on each sandwich. "She's probably just with Millie, I'm probably just overthinking this."

     The door opens once more as Charlene enters with Lonnie, grocery bags in their arms. "We got the goods, Ciana!" Char says, unloading the lemonade and pie in her bag. Lonnie places yogurt and chips on the counter.
"Thank you guys! Do you wanna stick around to help us carry everything?" Ciana asks, dumping all of the fruit she cut into a bowl.
"Of course, I'll start packing stuff up." Charlene says, slipping made sandwiches into a container. 

     "It is too hot outside." Eryk groans. A servant follows behind him, holding an umbrella to keep him out of the sun.
Travis just laughs, relishing in the sunlight. "Enjoy it, cuz, we don't get sun like this back home." Lynn says, adjusting her large sun hat. Eryk grumbles as his friends run across the bridge, taking in the gorgeous views around them.

     Ciana, Elena, Carlos, and Charlene wait for them at the entrance of the pavilion. They wave at the group, a large picnic set up behind them. Lynn rushes ahead, greeting each of the Auradonians with brief hugs. "This is beautiful! Thank you so much." She grabs Ciana's hands, squeezing them with appreciation.
"Oh it was no problem." Ciana says, her cheeks tinted pink at the sudden physical contact. The rest of the group catches up, whispers of awe sounding out between the royals. Everyone settles in on the blanket laid out, immediately digging into the food.

"Carlos, correct?" Eryk turns to the boy next to him. He takes a bite of the sandwich in his hand, humming in approval.
     "Ah. Uh, yes, I am." Carlos responds, caught off guard.
     Eryk smiles, a glint in his eyes. "I am friends with the Radcliffes, wonderful people they are."
     Lynn smacks his arm, a slightly stern look on her face. "Eryk, don't bring up the poor boy's family drama." She sighs, shooting an apologetic wince at Carlos.
     "No, it's okay, it's cool to think about how I'm technically from Arendelle. I hope to visit one day!" Carlos laughs it off, shoving a cookie in his mouth.

Travis sighs, taking a bite out of a sandwich. "I remember learning about Auradon in school when I was little. There is so much history, those tests were awful." Manus hums in agreement, on his third slice of pie.
"That's interesting, we never learned much about Arendelle in school." Charlene's brow furrows, thinking back on their history classes. "Like of course it was mentioned, but nothing really about the formation of the country or anything."
     Eryk's mouth presses into a line, obviously wanting to say something. Lynn sends him a warning look, her eyes threatening him not to start. "I can give a little history lesson, if you'd like." He ignores the eye roll from his cousin, a smile appearing on his face.
     Elena claps her hands, readjusting how she's sitting  on the blanket. "Please do!"

     Eryk gets comfortable. "It happened around the same time Auradon was formed, 20 years ago. My mother and Princess Anna were attending the wedding of the Former King Beast and Queen Belle. There they announced their plan to unite all of the kingdoms. Of course there was opposition, especially from Agrabah and Dunbroch, who wished to uphold their legacies and culture." Manus has a proud look on his face. "Initially Arendelle was fine with the plan, we were far enough from the central city of Auradon so we could continue to really do what we wanted."
     Lynn interjects with clarification. "King Beast promised autonomy, just using Auradon Central as a capital."
      "Yes, thank you Lynn. Where was I?" He pauses.
     "Why did Arendelle not go through with it?" Ciana leans forward, invested in the story.
     "Ah, yes. It was once some kingdoms noticed their villains disappearing. The Southern Isles contacted Arendelle to report Prince Hans as missing. When questioned about it, King Beast quickly announced the plan for the Isle of the Lost. My mother has experience with being isolated and thought of as a monster, she thought the idea horrible and inhumane, especially when it came to resurrecting the dead. So Arendelle gave a proposal: Either stop the plan for the Isle of the Lost or let kingdoms go peacefully. When Beast chose neither, Arendelle seceded with four other kingdoms and Neverland."
     Travis swallows the food in his mouth. "It was a mixed bag of not believing the villains deserved it and not wanting the villains to be resurrected. Maldonia did not want Facilier to be revived, he was a dangerous man with uncontrollable powers."
     "Luckily Auradon didn't put up a fight, especially with Dunbroch soldiers still stationed in the capital." Manus laughs, clapping a hand on his knee.
     Eryk nods. "Yes, not everyone who seceded had the same motivations, but Arendelle eventually united all of them and now we're here."

     All of the Auradonians in the group are quiet, not knowing what to say. Lynn tries to fill the silence, "This has been a wonderful picnic! The lake is beautiful." She glances around, an awkward smile on her face. She begs Travis for help with her eyes.
     He stretches, looking out at the water. "I think I'm ready to enjoy the sun and swim." Travis stands, offering a hand to Lynn to help her up.
     "I want to jump off that rock!" Manus hops up, holding a similar hand out to Eryk. They all peel off their clothes into their swimsuits, Eryk going to lather on sunscreen at the shore and the others rushing to the cold water.

     They leave behind the silent Auradon kids, all just looking at each other with nothing to say.

a/n  Love you guys!! <3 I hope you enjoyed.