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Both girls look at each other, a gentle smile on Chloe's face as she lets go of Red's hand. Eyes searching over the room, shoulders untensing when she spots what Red could on guess was her mother's blue hair.
The principal was giving her speech, everything was similar to before they had left. Ice running down her spine as she watched for a moment. Turning around to give Chloe a quick hug and rushing off, "thank you." It was whispered quickly, a soft 'you're welcome' following Red. There was something about her, Chloe had felt different. Turning around, making sure that the woman was still there before letting herself relax. The redhead couldn't put her finger on it, jumping down the stairs until she spotted an all too familiar Red dress.
There was something off with Chloe, something she would have to ask about after ensuring the coup never happened. Arms wrapping around her as mom smiled sweetly, "I was wondering where you wandered off too," the woman coos in her ear, Red felt every fear she'd had fall away.
Melting into the embrace, warmth surrounding her like she'd never known, mom's laughter in her ear making something in her ache lovingly. Red could have peace, a loving mom, a life without judgement and everything was fine.
The wonder could practically hear Chloe in her head laughing and telling her that it didn't matter how it had turned out. Saying they would have each other in a way that was just like her. Red was safe and Chloe got her mom back.
Every wrong she had done was fixed, the sound of heels clacking against the ground making the redhead lean back and out of the hug.
A soft voice speaking up behind her in a way that only made the wonder relax impossibly further," congratulations Bridget, your daughter looks so excited." Red swivels around, wide smile on her face, eyes flickering about expecting to see soft blue familiar curls standing beside the woman. Instead, all she saw was nothing, Ella was there in all her elegant gentleness but there wasn't a single trace of Chloe.
The girl wasn't there, all excited smiles and soft eyes. The blue-haired girl had looked so happy to see her mom, Red couldn't understand where she possibly could have gone. Honestly, the redhead had expected Chloe to be stuck by her mother's side. Silently shrugging it off, waiting for Ella to mention her daughter, to maybe talk about them becoming friends.
Warm arms wrap around her, perfume entering her nose as she tries to push down the thoughts of a young Ella or the original. Red perching on her tippy-toes trying to spot even a single blue-hair besides Ella's as the older woman just laughs kindly. "Excited, aren't you?" Letting the princess go, disappointment welling in the girl's stomach before she gives the queen an awkward smile.
Opening her mouth to speak before snapping it shut, realization rushing through her at the burn on the woman's hand. Timelines, fuck, they'd fucked with the timeline she needed to find Chloe, the grounding everything that had happened in the past it could have changed something and she needs to find Chloe. needs to be sure that the girl had just wandered of, that her friend was still here.
Head jerking about, scanning the crowd, dread began to set itself deeper in her stomach. You could change everything Red, Maddox's voice seemed to taunt her. A warning she'd ignored in favor of saving a realm, no it had been more selfish than that. Red had done this to save herself, Rushing to the side, startling some poor couple as she tries to see if maybe Chloe was just hiding in the crowd. "I'll be right back," haphazardly thrown back, hearing Bridget just sigh in this fond way that made her stomach curl even worse than before. Ella assuring her mother that she understood Red's excitement slowly fading as the wonder began rushing throughout the plaza.
Looking here and there, up and down, hoping, praying to whichever deity would listen that it wasn't what Red thought. Finding herself outside the pavilion as the panic froze settling into something she couldn't quite name, this couldn't be happening. Red couldn't- No she needed somebody here with her, she'd changed everything changed her home, her own mother. So much had changed and Chloe was the only other person who even remembered the old timeline.
Nausea quickly taking over, she realized there was nothing, no sign of Chloe. All that was left was her, all that was left was the mess up. The forgotten villain's child, not the villain because that's what she was not, she was a villain. It wasn't through her mother's actions but her own. Only a villain could kill her own best friend, no they hadn't even known each other that long.
It was almost worse that she had killed a practical stranger, could they be called strangers? Red didn't know, was unsure if it could have gone further as her head rammed forcefully against stone. Grounding, she needs to ground herself forcing a deep breathe into her lungs, Red knew she had to calmly assess the situation, just like Chloe would. The world seeming to taunt the redhead as she bashed her head against the stone once more in hopes her brain would work for once in her life. The sound of a clock tower brings the girl out of her pity party, the pocket watch.
Red needed the pocket watch, needed to fix this, whatever she had done didn't matter. Who cared about Auradon when Chloe wasn't here with her? Bile rising in her throat, Red swallows trying to keep it at bay the girl folds in on herself, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes as she rifles through her pockets. "Please, please," she begs false calmness slowly falling away as she found nothing but emptiness.
Monster, murderer, just like her mother. Words began swirling around in her head, branding her with what Reed knew had to be the truth, her hand resting on the stone wall as she puked into the grass. Tears falling, she tried to breath to do anything but think about her, but she can't.
Realization striking painfully as she opens her eyes to see a poor blue flower, blue just like- Her head hits the wall once more. Red could feel a throbbing in her head, but the girl didn't mind, knew that she deserved the wound throbbing painfully, a reminder of all the ways she was the perfect lil fuck up. Shaking her head once more Red forces herself back on track. Attempting to ignore the way that dread seemed to envelope her entire being as she remembered just where the watch was.
Chloe had the watch; it had been with the blue-haired girl. Red quickly tossing it to her as the wonder went to go make sure her mother hadn't stayed evil, had become similar to her oh so sweet younger self. Red winces once more at the thought, touching the wound on her forehead before deciding she needed to check the pavilion one last time. Hands tugging at her clothing, running to the bathroom in an attempt to look presentable the next time she runs about like a madman. Washing the remnants off her mouth as she tries not to think about the clock falling out of the other girl's hands.
Smashing against concrete, no longer useable. Who knew how long it would take Maddox to make a new one? years? Decades? Hands shaking, Red walks into the plaza, head lowered to the ground as she tried to find out exactly where the machine had ended up. Where Chloe had disappeared.
Mom makes a gesture at her, all soft edges that were too unfamiliar on such a familiar face. Smile so fucking gentle that it made Red's heart ache and long for it but she knew that she couldn't keep this. Didn't deserve this soft version of Bridget just for even thinking about what she knew had to be done. Eyes raking across the courtyard before a flash of gold made her stiffen, relief flooding through her veins as she spots it by the steps, almost as if the girl had known what was happening and set it down, not allowing it to break.
Almost as if she trusted Red to save her.
Chloe probably had known what was happening, there was something in her voice when she had rushed off, some strangeness to her that Red hadn't been able to put her finger on. Something she was going to ask about, the knowledge that she wouldn't be able to ask the other girl a question striking her harshly.
Red had nothing left but regret at her own actions, the emotion painfully rooting itself into the girl's mind as she thinks about what Chloe might have felt... The blue-haired girl must have been scared, must have needed someone to stay by her side while she faded out of the timeline and all Red had done as run off like a kid on Christmas.
Eyes falling shut Red closed her eyes, her mom's voice entering her ears once more, a memory she would have to cherish once everything was turned back to normal. Click, her thumb presses down on the knob and she can feel the world falling away. Bright flashes and twirling about before she's directly at the moment she needs to be, cookbook before her as if taunting the redhead that she was just like them.
A villain, someone to be hated and feared. This was her redemption, her mother's actions were what she deserved for ridding the world of Chloe Charming, the brightest light in Auradon's sky. It was all Red's fault, picking up the book, she knew what she had to do to fix it.