Rise Up
Title: Rise Up
Author: Katya Starling
Fandom: Disney
Characters/Pairing: Disney Princess Ensemble
Rating: PG/K+
Challenge: whatif-au 25: party
Warnings: Crossover, Real!Disney AU
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners.
The children giggled as they peered through the castle’s high window, poking and prodding each other in their attempts to get better views. They all believed they were not being watched, not knowing, or ever being able to guess, that their every movement was underneath strict supervision. Bluebirds dipped through the room, calling and bringing their mistress’ attention to them, while mice ran to the mightiest Queen in the room, or the whole kingdom for that matter.
The girls could hear the birds, but they couldn’t see the scampering rodents for the three Princesses whose backs were to them. “Well?” Tiana pressed eagerly as Rapunzel and Aurora carefully nibbled on the chef’s newest cupcakes.
“They’re delicious!” Aurora exclaimed eagerly, her mouth full as that of the bird who sat on her children. Rapunzel bobbed her head rapidly in eager agreement and gave Pascal a tiny nibble. It was the best, moistest, and sweetest cake either Princess had ever had!
“Wonderful!” Tiana clapped her hands together in glee and rocked back and forth. A frog hopped from underneath her skirts.
The sole tiger in the palace bedroom prowled, his striped tail swishing fiercely from side to side. “It’s okay, Rajah,” Jasmine clucked to her pet. She leaned forward, wrapped her arms around his massive throat, and brought him closer into a hug. “Everything’s going to be fine,” she whispered, her voice muffled by his soft, striped fur. He looked far from convinced but did sit and let her love on him.
The bluebirds, meanwhile, swooped down to sing to Snow White. She turned from one to the other, looking at first puzzled and then ever more worried. “Cindy?” she called, looking to their Queen. She was the eldest by a few years, but she still gave Queen Cinderella her just due and respect. It was Cindy who led them, Cindy who had always led them, and Cindy who would lead them out of this mess too.
Cinderella had been listening to the chattering mice as they jumped up and down, desperately seeking her attention. “It’s fine, absolutely fine,” she said, almost laughing as she smiled pleasantly. “They’re just children. They’re as eager and curious as we all were once upon a time.” She sighed, her expression suddenly growing both solemn and wistful. Now there were loaded words: once upon a time.
Once upon a time, she hadn’t been Queen. She’d only been a peasant without a soul to look at her except for animals. Now she was expected to run an entire kingdom, and with the villains trying to take over . . . She sighed again and rubbed her temples, suddenly feeling tired.
“You know,” Rapunzel spoke eagerly from around a mouthful of cupcake, “we could use Tiana’s food! We could poison -- “
“Hush!” Cinderella instructed sharply, looking at the youngster. “We are Disney Princesses! We are heroines! We do not poison anyone! If, and when, we win, it will be through noble methods and never deceit! Those who do wrong are never rewarded for doing wrong! We will do right,” she cried, punctuating her words by pumping a gloved fist in the air, “and we will win by doing right!”
One girl stepped on another, and the children screamed as they tumbled from the window. Carpet whipped out from beside Jasmine and sailed out of the room after the kids. “TAKE THEM FOR A FREE MIDNIGHT FLIGHT,” Cinderella called after the magic carpet, “BUT DO NOT RETURN THEM TO THIS PALACE! THEY DO NOT NEED TO KNOW WHAT WE ARE TRULY DOING!”
“Having a slumber party, right?” Aurora asked, her blue eyes popping back open. She’d dozed off but now reached for another cupcake.
“Some slumber party,” Belle muttered, turning a page in the thickest and oldest book she’d ever read.
“Give me one of those,” Rapunzel said, plopping down between Belle and Anna and reaching for the next book in the stack.
Anna sighed as she finished hers and reached for another. “One of them has to have the answer,” she murmured.
“Books always have the answer,” Belle remarked.
“Do they really?” Ariel asked, sitting up. “If I’d known that -- “ she started.
“Not always.” Pocahontas stamped the end of her staff against the table, making a resounding thud that almost seemed to agree with the knowledge she was about to impart to her adopted sisters. “Sometimes you must rely on strength rather than intellect.”
“We’ll get ‘em back,” Merida muttered from where she sat, cross-legged, on the floor and worked on stringing together new arrows. “We’ll get ‘em all back.”
“Yes,” Mulan vowed, shoving a stone hard against her blade, “we will.”
“We will not rest until they are all returned,” Else added. She’d risen and walked over to look out at the night.
“Come away,” Cinderella commanded. “They may see you. We do not need the enemy to realize where we are.”
“It’s not like we made a secret of it,” Ariel commented from where she was watching their warriors working on their weapons.
“No, but they will think it is all an act, that it is the actresses staging something to excite the children. They will never guess that we are in fact working on our strategies and weapons from the very chamber where we are only supposed to be playing games and -- “ She paused, searching for the word.
“Partying?” Ariel suggested.
“Yes, exactly,” Cinderella agreed.
“I still don’t see why we can’t use these things,” Ariel remarked, picking up a fork from her polished dinner plate. She jabbed at the air with the fork’s prongs. “They do have sharp ends.”
“They may have sharp ends,” Elsa said, walking back into the gathering, “but they are useless when it comes to battle. They are not long enough to be a helpful weapon. Anna,” she called to her sister, “pass the book to Tiana. It is time we resume training.”
Ariel and Aurora instantly stood, although Aurora wavered. “AURORA,” Cinderella snapped, “WAKE UP! WE HAVE NO TIME TO WASTE SLEEPING!”
“S-Sorry,” Sleeping Beauty responded, yawning behind her hand. “I can not seem to help it.”
“You will help it,” Cinderella remarked, sounding sterner than she intended, “when the Fairy Godmother returns with further assistance for us. Until then, we can not waste a single moment dallying! Research, training, and weapon building is a must!”
“Yes, ma’am.” Aurora started to curtsy but was stopped by Anna’s staff plowing into her stomach. “Hey!” she cried out, wrapping her arms around her stomach and almost falling onto the floor.
“Our enemies will not wait,” Elsa spoke, “until we are ready. Cinderella is right: we must not waste a second second!”
Cinderella stood as her girls resumed their training. She glanced at the readers who were buried in their research and Pocahontas, Mulan, and Merida as they continued building and sharpening weapons. Meeko chittered to her from Pocahontas’ shoulder as she passed. She paused to pet him, then continued forward. She stopped far enough away from the window that she could not be seen but that she could see the stars.
Throughout all the ages, leaders, wisemen, and warriors had turned to the stars for guidance, wisdom, and hoped. They sparkled and twinkled and seemed to speak to her, as they had to those who had walked her pathway before her, of hope that never died and would never die as long as there were people willing to do what was right. She was, and not only was she but so, too, were her people. They would succeed in their mission. They would bring their men and their families back. They would make their kingdom whole again and better than ever, and they would send villains back into the darkness where they belonged. They would win: right and love would triumph again, as they always had and always would for all eternity.
The End
Author: Katya Starling
Fandom: Disney
Characters/Pairing: Disney Princess Ensemble
Rating: PG/K+
Challenge: whatif-au 25: party
Warnings: Crossover, Real!Disney AU
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners.
The children giggled as they peered through the castle’s high window, poking and prodding each other in their attempts to get better views. They all believed they were not being watched, not knowing, or ever being able to guess, that their every movement was underneath strict supervision. Bluebirds dipped through the room, calling and bringing their mistress’ attention to them, while mice ran to the mightiest Queen in the room, or the whole kingdom for that matter.
The girls could hear the birds, but they couldn’t see the scampering rodents for the three Princesses whose backs were to them. “Well?” Tiana pressed eagerly as Rapunzel and Aurora carefully nibbled on the chef’s newest cupcakes.
“They’re delicious!” Aurora exclaimed eagerly, her mouth full as that of the bird who sat on her children. Rapunzel bobbed her head rapidly in eager agreement and gave Pascal a tiny nibble. It was the best, moistest, and sweetest cake either Princess had ever had!
“Wonderful!” Tiana clapped her hands together in glee and rocked back and forth. A frog hopped from underneath her skirts.
The sole tiger in the palace bedroom prowled, his striped tail swishing fiercely from side to side. “It’s okay, Rajah,” Jasmine clucked to her pet. She leaned forward, wrapped her arms around his massive throat, and brought him closer into a hug. “Everything’s going to be fine,” she whispered, her voice muffled by his soft, striped fur. He looked far from convinced but did sit and let her love on him.
The bluebirds, meanwhile, swooped down to sing to Snow White. She turned from one to the other, looking at first puzzled and then ever more worried. “Cindy?” she called, looking to their Queen. She was the eldest by a few years, but she still gave Queen Cinderella her just due and respect. It was Cindy who led them, Cindy who had always led them, and Cindy who would lead them out of this mess too.
Cinderella had been listening to the chattering mice as they jumped up and down, desperately seeking her attention. “It’s fine, absolutely fine,” she said, almost laughing as she smiled pleasantly. “They’re just children. They’re as eager and curious as we all were once upon a time.” She sighed, her expression suddenly growing both solemn and wistful. Now there were loaded words: once upon a time.
Once upon a time, she hadn’t been Queen. She’d only been a peasant without a soul to look at her except for animals. Now she was expected to run an entire kingdom, and with the villains trying to take over . . . She sighed again and rubbed her temples, suddenly feeling tired.
“You know,” Rapunzel spoke eagerly from around a mouthful of cupcake, “we could use Tiana’s food! We could poison -- “
“Hush!” Cinderella instructed sharply, looking at the youngster. “We are Disney Princesses! We are heroines! We do not poison anyone! If, and when, we win, it will be through noble methods and never deceit! Those who do wrong are never rewarded for doing wrong! We will do right,” she cried, punctuating her words by pumping a gloved fist in the air, “and we will win by doing right!”
One girl stepped on another, and the children screamed as they tumbled from the window. Carpet whipped out from beside Jasmine and sailed out of the room after the kids. “TAKE THEM FOR A FREE MIDNIGHT FLIGHT,” Cinderella called after the magic carpet, “BUT DO NOT RETURN THEM TO THIS PALACE! THEY DO NOT NEED TO KNOW WHAT WE ARE TRULY DOING!”
“Having a slumber party, right?” Aurora asked, her blue eyes popping back open. She’d dozed off but now reached for another cupcake.
“Some slumber party,” Belle muttered, turning a page in the thickest and oldest book she’d ever read.
“Give me one of those,” Rapunzel said, plopping down between Belle and Anna and reaching for the next book in the stack.
Anna sighed as she finished hers and reached for another. “One of them has to have the answer,” she murmured.
“Books always have the answer,” Belle remarked.
“Do they really?” Ariel asked, sitting up. “If I’d known that -- “ she started.
“Not always.” Pocahontas stamped the end of her staff against the table, making a resounding thud that almost seemed to agree with the knowledge she was about to impart to her adopted sisters. “Sometimes you must rely on strength rather than intellect.”
“We’ll get ‘em back,” Merida muttered from where she sat, cross-legged, on the floor and worked on stringing together new arrows. “We’ll get ‘em all back.”
“Yes,” Mulan vowed, shoving a stone hard against her blade, “we will.”
“We will not rest until they are all returned,” Else added. She’d risen and walked over to look out at the night.
“Come away,” Cinderella commanded. “They may see you. We do not need the enemy to realize where we are.”
“It’s not like we made a secret of it,” Ariel commented from where she was watching their warriors working on their weapons.
“No, but they will think it is all an act, that it is the actresses staging something to excite the children. They will never guess that we are in fact working on our strategies and weapons from the very chamber where we are only supposed to be playing games and -- “ She paused, searching for the word.
“Partying?” Ariel suggested.
“Yes, exactly,” Cinderella agreed.
“I still don’t see why we can’t use these things,” Ariel remarked, picking up a fork from her polished dinner plate. She jabbed at the air with the fork’s prongs. “They do have sharp ends.”
“They may have sharp ends,” Elsa said, walking back into the gathering, “but they are useless when it comes to battle. They are not long enough to be a helpful weapon. Anna,” she called to her sister, “pass the book to Tiana. It is time we resume training.”
Ariel and Aurora instantly stood, although Aurora wavered. “AURORA,” Cinderella snapped, “WAKE UP! WE HAVE NO TIME TO WASTE SLEEPING!”
“S-Sorry,” Sleeping Beauty responded, yawning behind her hand. “I can not seem to help it.”
“You will help it,” Cinderella remarked, sounding sterner than she intended, “when the Fairy Godmother returns with further assistance for us. Until then, we can not waste a single moment dallying! Research, training, and weapon building is a must!”
“Yes, ma’am.” Aurora started to curtsy but was stopped by Anna’s staff plowing into her stomach. “Hey!” she cried out, wrapping her arms around her stomach and almost falling onto the floor.
“Our enemies will not wait,” Elsa spoke, “until we are ready. Cinderella is right: we must not waste a second second!”
Cinderella stood as her girls resumed their training. She glanced at the readers who were buried in their research and Pocahontas, Mulan, and Merida as they continued building and sharpening weapons. Meeko chittered to her from Pocahontas’ shoulder as she passed. She paused to pet him, then continued forward. She stopped far enough away from the window that she could not be seen but that she could see the stars.
Throughout all the ages, leaders, wisemen, and warriors had turned to the stars for guidance, wisdom, and hoped. They sparkled and twinkled and seemed to speak to her, as they had to those who had walked her pathway before her, of hope that never died and would never die as long as there were people willing to do what was right. She was, and not only was she but so, too, were her people. They would succeed in their mission. They would bring their men and their families back. They would make their kingdom whole again and better than ever, and they would send villains back into the darkness where they belonged. They would win: right and love would triumph again, as they always had and always would for all eternity.
The End