First Impression

The nerves didn't hit him until he was standing out on the grassy courtyard waiting for the limo to arrive. This had been his idea, something he was sure he'd thought through completely. This was what was best, was best for the school, the kingdom, and certainly best for his peers he was bringing off the Isle of the Lost.

He'd fought for this and he wasn't about to back down now.

It had been almost a month, twenty-two days, since the proclamation that brought them here, since he'd been allowed (forced) to announce his intentions to the school. Not that he minded, yelling down stuck up princes was one of the few pleasures his position allowed him to enjoy. And after his parents… Well, the students would always be the easier option.

"Dad, their children are innocent. Don't you think they deserve a shot at a normal life?" He'd practiced it in the mirror, every reason, every rebuttal they might come up with. He'd prepared for this. "Dad?"

"Ben, what if they're not…" His father's lips pressed into a tight line and he shot a look at his wife that made Ben's stomach flop.

"Human?" He's asked, eyes narrowing. So he should have expected that question but not really, he hadn't thought they'd go for that low a blow. "If that's your only reason for not having them then I'll go pack my bags. Maybe it was foolish of me to think I could go to a real school." He shook his foot from the tailor's grip and moved to storm past them only to be jerked back by his father's grip on his arm.

"Benjamin!" There was a growl to his father's words, one that pulled a snarl from him before he could even decide to react. "Don't you walk away from us. They're not going to be like you."

"There's no magic on the island Ben, nothing to prepare them for what it will be like surrounded by it or how it could affect them." His mother took her husband's arm, one hand sliding down his wrist to soothe him, and she set her other hand on her son's shoulder. "If they are… what you suspect, who knows how they will react?"

"They deserve a chance," Ben said firmly, meeting her eyes instead of his father's. "And if they do have magic they deserve a chance to know who they are. Not locked away under a barrier for crimes that happened long before they were born. No one should live like that." She flinched and he almost felt badly except it made her turn to look at his father with a look at would have been pleading if he hadn't known better; if he hadn't known that it was as calculated as his words had been and it made his father relent, just enough.

"I suppose their children are innocent."

The limo slid to a halt in front of him, breaking him from his thoughts. He smoothed his hands down the front of his suit and took a deep breath; the air smelled of tension, from himself, from those behind him, and even from the outwardly calm limo driver who was making his way around to the passenger side door. And under that, under the smell of sun warmed grass, the sour of the limo's exhaust, and the humans packed around him, was something else. Something sharp and wonderful and distinctly other.

They're here.

That's what settles it, the nervous fluttering in his stomach. All the scents, jumbled over each other and impossible to pin point to one person or another as the four teens pile out the back. And pile is more literal than anything, everyone seemed to want to be the first one out of the limo, even to the point of knocking the youngest flat on his back outside the door. He saw Fairy Godmother wince from the corner of his eye just before she stepped forward to begin her welcome speech.

"And as I always say, 'don't focus on the past or you'll miss the future'," she was saying when he finally tuned into her words, just as she turned to him, arm outstretched towards him. He stepped away from Audrey to stand beside Fairy Godmother, his smile far less forced than hers.

"It's so good to finally meet you all. I'm Ben."

"Prince Benjamin. Soon to be king." Everyone turned towards Audrey, her arm slipped around his and he was suddenly overwhelmed by the scent of her perfume. The chemical smell of fake flowers and lavender oil that was all at once both nauseating and overpowering and he had to resist the urge to wrinkle his nose against it.

Instead he stepped forward again and the girl in blue met him halfway.

"You had me at prince," she said, dropping into a shallow curtsey and he caught her hand to press it against his lips. A scent wafting off her skin undercut Audrey's perfume; the smell of earth and tree and, most of all, apples. "My mom's a queen, which makes me a princess."

"The Evil Queen has no royal status here and neither do you." He didn't quite wince at Audrey's tone but he did step away from the girl when Audrey pulled at the back of his jacket, despite the way Evie's smile fell at her words.

"This is Audrey," Ben said, attempting at a diplomatic tone, even as Audrey latched onto his hand again.

"Princess Audrey. His girlfriend. Right Bennyboo?" There was something wrong about being relieved when Fairy Godmother pushed between him and Audrey, something he didn't want to think about too hard, not right now.

The wind changed, shifted direction just enough, and there it was, the smell of rain and magic, something that he recognised from Fairy Godmother but… darker, layered with ash and- It had to be her, could only be her, Maleficent's daughter Mal. A faerie just like her mother and a stupid, out of control smile curled his lips.

"It is so good to finally meet you," he said as soon as Fairy Godmother left them alone and stepped away from Audrey to approach Jafar's son; taking in his defensive posture and the muted undertones of scent coming off of him. Sand, smoke, softer than Mal's ash but there all the same, and under that the sting of brass. His eyes flicked down, just for a moment, and caught sight of a scratched up lamp strapped to the boy's hip. Without magic on the island, Jay might not have even known why it was so important for him to bring it with him.

"This is a momentous occasion." Jay had avoided his offer of a handshake but Mal didn't, taking his hand in a grip a little too hard to be friendly, even as her lips twisted into a soft smile. She was all sharp green eyes and raw magic, magic she probably hasn't even realized yet.

"And one that I hope will go down in history." He stepped in front of the last boy, Cruella de Vil's son, their eyes met, he extended his hand and- His heart nearly stopped.

Another wolf.

Ben took a deep breath, then another one. His heart raced in his ears and he swallowed hard, attempting to make some sort of coherent sound; anything at all really, anything that wasn't him staring dumbfounded at the other boy. But it was hard to think, to process anything outside of wolf and pack and just like me.

He was saved by Mal, of all people, pointedly clearing her throat in a way that drew everyone's attention back to her.

"As the day our two peoples began to heal," he said, almost too quickly, and cleared his throat as discreetly as possible.

"Or the day that you showed four people where the bathrooms are," Mal said with a sharp edge to her voice and she stepped between them, forcing Ben back a few steps.

"A little bit over the top?" He didn't miss the protective hand she laid on her friend's arm, the way the three of them closed ranks around him. He took another step back and lowered his hands to his sides.

"A little more than a little bit." If he'd thought he'd imagined her tone before it was unmistakeable now. Meaning, back off or else.

"Well, so much for my first impression."

After the meeting it wasn't until late that night that he was able to get a moment alone; between Audrey, Fairy Godmother, and an impromptu meeting with his parents it was after curfew when he ended up sneaking his way up to his dorm. One of the 'perks' of the royal suite being right next to the headmistress's room.

A better one was the balcony.

It was getting to that time of year where the nights were just starting to get cool and the stone railing was cold under his hands. The moon was out, high over the academy walls, far from full but beautiful all the same. It made the courtyard fountain silver, glinted off the statue of his father at the entrance, and bathed the whole school in a ghostly, pale light.

He turned around to place his back against the railing, leaning back against it, and let his head fall back to stare at the sky. He took a deep breath; after being surrounded by Audrey's perfume all day it was too good to finally get some fresh air. The night was quiet, peaceful.

His eyes slipped shut and a howl tore from his throat.

Tonight wasn't a night for peace and quiet, it was a night for celebration. Even if he was the only one to celebrate.

"Benjamin!" His howl trailed off into laughter, despite the sharp knocking on his door a moment later. His head spun and he sighed before walking back over to his door.

"Fairy Godmother, did you need something?" He pulled his best press conference smile as he swung open the doors. She wasn't smiling, or maybe she thought she was but the expression was pulled so tight it couldn't really be called one. Her hand was still raised to knock again.

"It is well past curfew, young man. You should be in bed, not-" She paused and he knew she wouldn't say it, no one ever did. No one, ever, wanted to admit that their crown prince liked to howl at the moon. "Causing such a ruckus."

"I'm just excited, I'm not causing a-" The words caught in his throat, his heart pounded in his chest, and he watched the colour drain from Fairy Godmother's face.

There was another howl, from the courtyard door. A little softer, more hesitant, but absolutely still there. He all but ran to the balcony door, hand scraping against the glass. The call was short, over almost before he could really enjoy listening to it, and he heard the quick snap of a window being shut a moment later. His knees were shaking, almost too much to turn back around, his cheeks hurt from how much he was smiling, and-

Fairy Godmother looked furious.

"Lights out, Highness. It's time for bed."