There were many things that Darling had been called over the course of her lifetime, many of which were very complementary, but the one thing that Darling Charming had been most often called was pretty.

Pretty. Darling had come to despise that word over the years. At first, she had been rather proud that she was pretty, after all, there were worse things that one could be called, but then she began to notice that pretty as the only thing that people ever called her. Her brothers were called dashing, handsome, strong, brave, and a variety of other masculine adjectives. People would marvel at their accomplishments and compliment them, and, when they found the time to talk to Darling, they would compliment her looks. They would call her pretty.

Darling had consulted the dictionary again and again, but the definition of pretty remained the same; an attractive thing, typically a pleasing but unnecessary accessory. And that was how people saw Darling. She wasn't necessary to the world, she was an accessory-a fragile little jewel to be petted and cooed over. Darling had decided that she was going to change that.

She had taken up fencing, and was very good at it. She had a rigorous workout routine that she enjoyed and put both of her brothers' workout routines to same. Still, people only seemed to notice one thing about her. Yes, Darling Charming was an excellent athlete, no one would dare argue otherwise, but what was really amazing was how pretty she was.

Darling had had enough of it. She was sick and tired of everyone overlooking who she really was. She had tried to show them her other talents, but it was hopeless. No one cared. All that anyone seemed to care about was how pretty she was. She was going to do something about it. She was going to get out of here as soon as she could and show the world the real Darling Charming.

"Mother, Father," Darling said, getting her parents' attention, as well as her brothers'. "As you both know, school is almost over, and soon it will be summer." Darling took a deep breath. She could do this. She was Darling freaking Charming for Pete's sake. "And, usually, we go to one of the summer houses, but I was wondering if this year I could stay home instead."

The gasp that came from the room was rather dramatic. Dexter's spoon clattered in to his porridge, splattering oatmeal all over Daring's shirt.

"Why on earth would you want to do that?" her father asked, appalled.

"It's just, I thought that, maybe, I could have some time to decide who I want to be and what I want to do with my life."

"Why would you-"

"I think it's a wonderful idea," Mrs. Charming cut her husband off, "Every girl needs some time to discover who they are and a vacation is just the thing you need."

A vacation?

"Why when I was your age," her mother continued, "I toured Europe with some friends. My parents covered the costs, and I got a great deal out of it. What do you say, Charles? Doesn't Darling touring Europe sound like a wonderful plan?"

"I'm not sure that it's such a good idea," Darling's father said.

"You're right, as usual," Mrs. Charming said, making Darling's heart sink and Dr. Charming's chest puff out a little more. "Europe is too expensive. Darling can tour the United States. I think it's a marvelous idea, don't you?"

"I-"

"It's settled, then," Mrs. Charming said, turning to face Darling, "A tour across America it is. Why don't you come in to my office later, so that we can talk about it, Darling?"

"Yes, mother," Darling said, staring at her mother in shock as she returned to eating her omelet, ignoring the looks her husband kept sending her, electing to read the newspaper instead.

"Very good, Darling, very good."

Darling stared at the door of her mother's study. Her ready acceptance of Darling's plans this morning had surprised Darling, to say the least. She had always know that her mother was the real mind behind the Charming empire, but she'd never had her mother take her side on anything. Mrs. Charming always seemed to support Dr. Charming on every matter under the sun. Why had she all of a sudden changed?

Darling took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in," Mrs. Charming said from inside the study.

Darling pushed open the door and walked inside. She had been in her mother's study a multitude of times, but somehow she was always amazed when she entered. The study was smaller than her father's, but it was still a grand room. Bay windows covered one of the walls with two doors that opened out on to the balcony. A bookcase rested against one of the walls covered in law books of every sort. The thing that always fascinated Darling, however, was her mother's extensive sword collection. Darling had never seen more swords in her life, not even in a museum.

"Take a seat," her mother said, gesturing to the seat across from hers. Darling sat down, and smiled nervously. Her mother was an imposing figure. It was no surprise, seeing as Mrs. Charming was a lawyer. Her mother's beauty was commanding. Darling's beauty, on the other hand, was soft. "I've been thinking about what I said this morning," her mother began, "about taking a tour, and I've decided that a tour isn't really your style. You've always been more interested in seeing nature than seeing the world. So what do you think of taking a road trip?"

Darling blinked. A road trip? Was this really her mother speaking, or had some strange being possessed her body? Darling had heard of road trips before, but she'd never taken one. She'd most certainly never heard of a Charming taking one.

"A road trip sounds great," Darling said and her mother smiled.

"That's just wonderful," Mrs. Charming said, "Now there's another issue that we need to address. Obviously, we can't have you wandering around the country on your own. You'll need a chaperon, and, since kids your age usually go on road trips with their friends, it should probably be someone around your own age. I was thinking about Apple White-"

Darling gulped. Apple White was Daring's almost-girlfriend and one of the most stuck-up snobs that Darling knew. Apple White was everything that people wanted Darling to be and more. Darling could not go on a road trip with Apple White.

"but then I remembered that she's hosting a charity event in the middle of the summer," Darling's mother reached into her desk and pulled out a folder full of papers. "So I've been looking at you your classmates, and I think that I found the perfect one."

She places a sheet of paper in front of Darling. Darling looked down at it. On the piece of paper was a boy that looked somewhat familiar. He had black hair, blue eyes, and reasonably tan skin. He was wearing a Grimm prep uniform, but Darling couldn't name who he was.

"This is Chase Redford," Mrs. Charming said, "He's on the fencing team."

Darling nodded. That would explain it. Headmaster Grimm didn't allow girls on the fencing team, so Darling tended to just ignore them. Still, she had gone to a match or two. He was quite good, though not a good as herself, if Darling was remembering correctly.

"His parents aren't wealthy, or even famous. He's a scholarship student."

Scholarship student? Darling raised an eyebrow. If her father knew, he'd freak out. Charmings didn't associate themselves with the commoners. They were to be talked to only during voting season, and, even then, they should be kept at an arms length.

"I would rather you not tell your father about your companion," her mother said, "Let me take care of him."

"Yes, mother," Darling nodded. She wasn't too happy about having to take a companion, but at least it wasn't Apple White.

"You're taking a road trip?" Darling's twin brother, Dexter, asked from the edge of her bed. She smiled at the shocked expression on his face. It seemed like their mother's sudden decision surprised him as much as it did her.

"Yes," Darling said, "and before you say anything, it was Mother's idea. I had nothing to do with it."

"For some reason, I don't quite believe you," Dexter said.

"Well, you should, because I'm telling the truth."

"Okay," Dexter said, "Suppose you're telling the truth, there's no way Mother would let you go by yourself. Father would have a cow."

Darling sighed. "I'm not going by myself," she said.

Dexter raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then who are you going with? Is it Apple?"

"Thank goodness, no," Darling said, "It's some scholarship kid that Mother probably thinks will be a good influence on me."

"Scholarship kid?"

"Yeah," Darling said, "His name's Chase Redford. Do you know him?"

"No," Dexter said, and Darling couldn't help but be a little disappointed. The more she knew about this boy before she met him, the better. She was becoming less and less fond of the idea of a babysitter by the minute. "I think Raven does, though."

"Raven knows everybody," Darling said, and Dexter shrugged.

Raven Queen was Dexter's secret girlfriend, as well at the daughter of Ms. Queen, the other senator. The democratic senator. While Dr. Charming could stand Ms. Queen and her daughter at annual dinner parties, he would freak out if he knew that something was going on between Dexter and Raven. That was why they were in a secret relationship, one that only Darling knew about.

"So, what are you planning on doing over the summer?" Darling asked.

"Tech camp," Dexter said plainly."But there happens to be a music camp just a little down the road. So, it's not all bad."

Darling smiled. "Is Raven going to said music camp?"

Dexter shrugged. "If she is, I had nothing to do with it," he said, making Darling laugh.

The end of school could not come fast enough. Darling found herself counting down the hours in every class. She was ready for school to be over, and for her life to begin.

Much to her surprise, Darling started to notice things as school came to a close, mostly the fact that she shared a class with the pride of Grimm Preparatory's fencing team, Chase Redford. She didn't know why she'd never noticed him before. He was relatively good looking, and, despite being smart and an excellent athlete, Darling still was a girl.

Darling caught herself watching him whenever he spoke up in class. This she dismissed as being curious about the boy that she was going to be shackled to for the summer. She liked the idea of her freedom, but she didn't like the idea of Chase Redford, even if he was nice to look at. Plus, she didn't know much about him, and she didn't know anyone else that did either.

"Hey," a voice said, pulling Darling out of her thoughts. Darling looked up to find Briar Beauty sitting in front of her. Briar was the one and only child of the worlds most successful business woman and her trophy husband. At least, that's how Darling saw it. Briar's mother owned a cosmetics company, several airlines, and a small country. Her mother encouraged Briar's social life, meaning that Briar's parties were always the best and they were always funded by her mother. "I just thought you should know that the hottie over there is looking at you," Briar said, pointing over her shoulder.

Darling peeked around Briar to find Chase Redford studying his textbook intently. "Oh," Darling muttered.

"Is there something going on between the two of you?" Briar asked, "Not that I need to know, I was just wondering."

Darling almost laughed at that. The only person that was more of a gossip mill than Briar was Blondie, and she literally ran a gossip website for the school.

"No," she said, "He's probably just fascinated by my hair."

"Probably," Briar agreed, "I was just like...Chase's cute and all, but he's a scholarship student, and you're a Charming. That'd be weird. It'd be like your brother dating Raven Queen or something. No offense."

"None taken," Darling said, not letting Briar know how close she really was to the truth.

"Anyways," Briar said sliding up from the seat, "I'm going to get going. I promised Apple that I'd meet her for lunch. She's trying to convince me to throw a fundraiser."

"And will you?"

Briar laughed. "Of course, it's an excuse to party, but Apple has to buy me lunch first."

Darling laughed and watched as the school's party girl left. Briar was nice. A bit crazy? Definitely. But she was nice. Darling glanced around the library, her eyes coming to a stop on Chase Redford. She was going to have to talk to him sooner or later, and, while she preferred later, it was just going to make an awkward road trip even more awkward.

Darling picked up her books and took a seat at Chase's table without bothering to ask. The boy looked up as she did so, a slightly pissed expression on his face.

"Hi," Darling said, sticking out her hand, "I'm Darling Charming."

"I know who you are," Chase said, not bothering to shake her hand.

"Well, I just thought I should introduce myself since we're going to be seeing each other a lot soon."

Chase rolled his eyes at that. "Look," he said, looking Darling in the eye, "I know who you are and I know what we're doing this summer. The fact is, I don't care. I wouldn't be going with you if your mother hadn't offered to pay me, okay? We're not friends. We are just two people that are going on a road trip together, got it?"

Darling stared at Chase. She hadn't thought that he would be so angry. She felt herself getting madder at him by the minute, though she tried to keep her features composed. Darling was an excellent liar, and she wasn't about to let this selfish scholarship student know that he had gotten to her. She was better than that. She was Darling freaking Charming!

"I understand," Darling said with a smile that would appear real to anyone that didn't know her. "I'll make sure not to bother you again." She stood up and shouldered her bag, her smile staying on the entire time. "I'll see you on Monday," she said.

Darling turned around and walked out of the library. She heard Chase mutter something to himself as she did so, and had to resist the urge to beat him to a pulp.

This boy didn't know what he was dealing with. Like every other person in Darling's life, he had assumed that she was just another pretty face, and he was going to regret it. Chase Redford had just made an enemy out of Darling Charming, and now he would spend an entire summer with her. Darling smiled to herself as she walked down the hallway. She was going to make Chase Redford regret underestimating her if it was the last thing she did.

Suddenly, her summer was looking a lot brighter.