Once We are Descendants

Chapter 45: Strange New Land

Carlos' eyes open as the morning light shines through the window. He blinks a few times and slowly sits up. His heart skips a beat once when he realizes he's in a strange place that is not his and Jay's Dorm. He looks around completely panicked and his mind begins to race.

Where are we? What happened to us? Are we crashing in the girls' dorm again? What place at Auradon looks like this? He wonders to himself as he sees the cheesy-looking wallpaper and floral printed bedspread he's sitting on.

Then everything from the previous day comes crashing down on him like a tonne of bricks. They weren't in Auradon. They were in Storybrooke, Maine... they were in another realm entirely. The battle with the War Frats, the portal, waking up in the hospital, Harry battling his father on a pirate ship, Jane holding a baby for the first time, the dinner at Granny's... It all felt like a dream; a very bad dream filled with unusual twists and turns, but with a few happy moments thrown in there.

He rubs his eyes and pushes a few long strands of his white hair from his face. He feels disgusting and notices that his clothes are wrinkled, meaning that he's slept in them. His feet are also stiff as he still had his shoes on. He looks around the room and realizes that both he and Jay must have been so tired last night that they didn't even both shutting the drapes or taking off their shoes. Knowing that there was no way he was going back to sleep, Carlos sits up slowly. There is a knitted quilt at his feet and he realizes that he'd pulled it up for warmth during the night.

Jay is still sound asleep on top of the bed next to him, his arms dangling over either side and his feet barely hovering above the floor. His knit cap is over his eyes, which likely prevented him from being woken up by the morning sun. It looked like Jay would probably sleep for hours, his best friend is known for that. If he didn't have to eat, bathe, or get an education, the son of Jafar would love to spend the rest of his life in bed.

Dude sleeps on the end of Carlos's bed, curled up in a ball. The son of Cruella is grateful that he hadn't woken his four-legged companion. It's too early to deal with the talking dog. He quietly gets up and closes the curtains to allow the rest of the room to sleep. He then quietly pads across the room, opens the door and exits into the hall.

It takes him a moment to remember which way led down into the diner. He tiptoes along the hall, hearing nothing from Mal and Evie's room, nor Ben and Doug's. He slowly makes his way down the stairs.

He walks into the main dining area and there are already sounds coming from the kitchen. The clanking of dishes and the smells of frying food.

"Come on, Floyd," the familiar, no-nonsense voice of Granny echoes in the back. "I'm sure we're going to have a ton of extra mouths to feed today. We're going to have to double everything. What am I doing, running a summer camp?"

Carlos's stomach growls hungrily and he immediately looks around for something to eat. He notices one of those trays that are covered with glass and often display different kinds of treats. He ducks down low to avoid being seen by the people in the kitchen. He comes to the tray and sees a display of what looks like freshly made doughnuts. He hesitates about taking even one, he'd put his stealing days behind him, but... why would they be on display if Granny didn't want people to take them? Ignoring his stomach gurgles, Carlos stealthily lifts the lid off the tray and takes two of the powdered pastries. He quietly puts the cover back on and heads towards the door. He pauses, remembering that the bell rang every time someone entered or exited the place. With slow, almost painful movements, the son of Cruella opens the door, trying to avoid the ringing and signalling the cooks to his presence. As soon as he pushes the door open with enough room for him to fit, he slips through and is out of the diner area like a rocket.

Immediately, he bites into the powdered pastries, not caring as the white sugar goes all over his face and even on the end of his nose. He sighs, happy that the doughnuts are still a bit warm. He licks his lips and finishes both the treats within a few minutes of him walking down Main Street of Storybrooke. And he thought candy had been the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted. Storybrooke may be small and weird, but damn could Granny bake good food.