A/N: Just a piece that wouldn't leave my mind. Know that Rosabella will be out soon and probably make this legit uncanon but thought I would use the piece for practice in between writing. This fic will be a couple of chapters long – three to four maximum. Obsessed with Ever After High, so definitely plan to post some pieces once in a while. And I realize that Gaston was only in the Disney version and 99.9% unlikely to appear in the show. But he and some other OCs in my head canon are just too fun not to work with.
Disclaimer: I do not own Ever After High and am in no way affiliated with the franchise nor Mattel.
"Oh curses."
Darling's head shot up. Rosabella bit her lip, squinting at the book in her hands through the sparse sunlight dotting in from above them.
The two were in for a long wait in Damsel-in-Distressing 101. To prepare for their futures in awaiting their respective princes, the princesses were training to wait for long stretches of time in isolation. At least they had. This being this longest waiting period of the semester, Her Majesty the White Queen paired the princesses in order to alleviate their boredom. They were also to report as groups on their experiences and ways to improve their waiting.
While Darling did not revel in her role as a princess, she found herself easily accepted among the other girls in the class. She'd known Apple since childhood, been to party after party thrown by Briar, and regularly went to Holly for hairstyling tips. But Rosabella Beauty alone sat silent through the years in Darling's memory. It wasn't that she disliked the girl – she could remember several occasions where Rosabella had been part of her class or plastered to the wall at a party. But the other princess had a reputation of being….well…odd.
"It's really not her fairy fault," said Apple once, peeking around a handheld mirror to spot Rosabella seated at lunch with only five books for company. "She's destined to be a little strange."
Darling had made every effort to include Rosabella in activities afterward with fairy little luck. When Rosabella wasn't ignoring Darling like the plague, she was stuck with single-worded responses.
"Rosabella! Has Briar told you about the party this weekend?"
"No," said Rosabella softly, eyes shifting to the floor.
"Well…she's having one. In the common room. Would you like to come? It starts a-"
"No," she said, shutting her locker door and frowning when it refused to close. She opened it again, plucked a book from the stack in her locker and rearranged it with its spine facing her and tried again. The locker closed cleanly.
"Oh. Okay. No problem. Hey, have you started that diary for Mr. Nimble's class? I'm kind of stuck on how to start mine."
Rosabella had turned, eyeing Darling skeptically. "Yes."
"Oh! Fableous!" Darling said, being sure to smile a little more charmingly than normal. "Perhaps you could give me some tips? What is your tale about? I was thinking of writing on-"
The bell rung and princes and witches scattered left and right. Rosabella nudged her glasses back up her nose with the joint of her pointer finger. Her eyes never met Darling's. "Class," she said simply. And then off she walked as if cursed with a speed spell.
Darling could never be quite sure of her interest in the silent princess. Maybe it was because she wasn't like the others prattling on about their destines all day. Maybe it was the likeness to Darling's awkward twin.
Or maybe it was said twin's refusal to speak about his one and only visit to the Beast and Beauty castle several years prior. The twins held no secrets. Dexter knew Darling's desire to be the one to save another, her practice with a sword and her abhorrence of being labeled a damsel. Just as Darling knew of his insecurities of living in Daring's shadows and his secret crush on the one and only Raven Queen. And yet when Rosabella's name was dropped near him, he withdrew.
As much as Darling may or may not wish to drop the issue, she longed to know. And so when Rosabella was announced as her partner for the Damsel assignment, Darling could not help but flash a glowing smile in the princess's direction.
Rosabella was sunk in her desk as if transformed into seaweed by the Sea Witch.
So hearing Rosabella speak more than a word had Darling's hopes soaring.
"What's the matter? Do you need some light? I'm sure we can get some more in here by kicking out the ceiling." The two were practically on top of one another in a rickety closet once used to keep roof-cleaning materials. The musk in the small space assaulted Darling's throat and she coughed prettily, looking to spot a small book-shaped bag smuggled in between Rosabella's legs just below her skirt and just above her tall boots.
"No," said Rosabella. For a moment, Darling wanted to scream. No! Yes! Class! Could she say no more? But then the other princess continued, albeit somewhat hesitantly. "I picked up the third book in the series instead of the second," she explained. Her voice was still as soft as swan's feathers. "I can't read this one without spoiling the book before it." She held the book and frowned deeply. "What a fairy fail."
Darling laughed lightly. "It's okay. Don't you have another one? We can read it together…if that's okay with you. To make the time pass more quickly."
Rosabella turned to her. "Oh, I wouldn't mind that. Only this is the only book that I brought. I um…I don't have a good concept of time sometimes…I thought that one book would be enough for this class."
"But we're in here until sundown. I've seen you devour larger books than that from morning to lunch," said Darling.
Turning back to face the closet door, Rosabella sighed. "I don't have a good concept of time sometimes," she said again.
Darling opened her mouth to retort when she remembered what would cause Rosabella such irritation. Her mother and her mother's mother before her had stayed home too long and nearly caused her father and her father's father to die. Closing her mouth, Darling wracked her brain to think of something to say. Rosabella interrupted her thoughts with a hand thumping against the closet door. Darling squinted to see Rosabella leaned forward and inspecting the door's lock.
"Do you have a hair pin?" Rosabella asked. Though still soft, her voice held a desperation. "Perhaps we could sneak out…I'm sure you have better things to do."
She was infinitely thankful for the darkness. Rosabella would have thought her rather odd for smiling like a maniac. No self-respecting princess would shrug damsel training if she wished to truly follow her destiny. Beauty, by her story's definition, sought out adventure and was cursed with a curious nature. Darling's smile could have put Kitty's to shame. She knew there was a reason she was drawn to the princess. Besides Darling's need to know what Dexter was keeping from her, of course.
Being sure to quell the excitement in her voice, Darling said, "No. I'm afraid I don't." Rosabella pulled back, freezing as if caught doing something absolutely grim. "Sorry. I know you must be dying to get to the library. For the book…right?" Darling added.
"Yes, yes," said Rosabella rather quickly. "For the book." She quietly leaned her head against her side of the closet and sighed. Her left foot, smashed against Darling's, bounced up and down rapidly.
"It's probably for the best," said Darling. "I'm sure Her Majesty the White Queen will be by to check on us regularly. We could fail if we weren't here. Although I would love to be out…maybe fight a dragon or two."
She added the last bit slowly, testing. Rosabella did not react, merely speeding her foot tapping.
"So…" Darling began. "We could talk…to pass the time, you know."
"We could," Rosabella agreed bluntly.
"Who is your roommate?"
"Lizzie Hearts," said Rosabella rapidly.
Darling started. "The daughter of the Queen of Hearts? The whole…"
"Off with my head," said Rosabella weakly. Her foot popped on and off of the floor with such a fury that Darling feared she would drive a hole through the roof of the school.
"Youch." Darling smiled. "I can one up you, though."
"Oh?" said Rosabella, distracted.
Darling nodded although she felt silly for it afterward. Rosabella's head was still turned in the direction of the wall, quite unable to see her nod. "Duchess Swan," said Darling.
Rosabella's foot fell still and she turned to Darling. Her glasses reflected the dim light and her eyes glowed. "Duchess?"
"Yes!" Darling said with a bit of a laugh. "The Swan Queen's daughter. She's so spiteful and wicked and-"
"Oh, but she can't be all that bad," said Rosabella.
"She's awful, Rosabella!"
"How would you feel if you had her destiny?" asked Rosabella. "She could act less wicked, yes. But…I…well…I feel rather badly for her. But that's just me," she added lightly.
Darling forgot her need to pull information from Rosabella, quite nearly incensed. "I wouldn't know how to feel if I had her destiny. I don't have one of my own. But she's horrible. She wakes me every morning with her bird and her rants about her Happily Ever After. I'm sorry, but I don't have much sympathy for someone who makes themselves miserable." She paused. Something told her not to continue, yet she did. "Some fairytales are just set out to make themselves unhappy. I mean, do you feel so bad for Gaston?"
It was scary how automatically she regretted her words. Rosabella said nothing. She simply turned to stare at the wall and let the tension in the closet choke Darling.
"I'm sorry," said Darling. "I shouldn't have gone that far. I was acting off script. I feel bad for Duchess too…I just…" She stopped. It was one thing to lightly indicate dragon fighting. It was completely another to entrust Rosabella with her deepest worries. Her whole life through, she depended upon Dexter alone. She swallowed, not ready to make another mistake. "I don't understand why someone's destiny should make them so bitter so soon. Maybe because I don't have a destiny to follow…or if I do, I don't know it yet."
Rosabella simply breathed. Her chest rose and fell in a rhythm, as if hearing its own muse-ic.
Biting her tongue, Darling continued, feeling enchanted to speak. "I shouldn't have brought…him up. I know how dearly his father harmed your family."
"I do feel bad for him," said Rosabella suddenly.
Darling's light eyebrows shot up. "You do?"
Rosabella nodded, her thick hair tickling Darling's cheek. "Brought into the world unwanted...following a destiny that I'm not sure if he even wants to follow despite his bravado…"
The princess fell quiet yet Darling said nothing. She felt there was more and when Rosabella sighed and shifted ever so lightly, she knew herself to be right.
"I…can you please keep a secret?"
"Of course," said Darling immediately.
Waiting a moment, Rosabella huffed, as if throwing off a weight. "He doesn't know. About his father…about his true destiny. About him dying."
"What?" said Darling. "How could he not know?"
Again Rosabella's eyes seemed to glow. "Because my family decreed it so. No one is allowed to mention Gaston…Gaston's father…I mean…"
"I understand," Darling cut in. The only boy in Ever After High that competed with her older brother for narcissism was Gaston, who, upon asked about his name, would exclaim that there was no name like Gaston. Apparently every Gaston from the very beginning of fairytales had been given the name related with machoism.
With another nod, Rosabella continued. "No one told him. He thinks he was killed in a hunting accident. That his tale ends when I…" She inhaled. "That his tale just…dissipates into hunting into old age."
Darling shook her head. "Why? Why would your parents decree such a thing?"
"Because he wouldn't stop," said Rosabella. "None of them would. Not until they got what they wanted. Who they wanted. They will go after the Beast until one of them is dead. As despicable as Gaston can be, as irritating and downright piggish as he can be…I don't want anyone to die."
Brows clenching, Darling frowned. "You don't want? Do you mean to say that you had the decree passed?"
Rosabella's mouth opened to respond. Her entire face fisted when a loud knock shook the closet.
"Is the rose in a pose and the deer without fear?" said Her Majesty the White Queen sweetly.
"We're still here, Ms. Majesty White Queen," said Darling.
"Yes," said Rosabella quietly.
"Very good," said Her Majesty the White Queen. The two princesses remained silent as they listened to their teacher's heels click and clack against the roof's tiles.
Once their teacher's heels' clacking had faded into nothingness, Darling turned to Rosabella. "You were saying?"
What little light poured through showed the uncertainty on Rosabella's face. Darling smiled encouragingly.
"Would it make you feel better if I told you a secret?" asked Darling.
Rosabella's eyes fell. "I couldn't ask that of you."
Darling smiled. "Which is just the reason that I am going to tell it to you anyway. I wasn't kidding earlier when I mentioned the dragon slaying."
The other princess's eyes bulged. "You mentioned dragon slaying!?"
Laughing, Darling nodded. "I did. You were a little too busy drilling a hole into the roof with your boot."
"Sorry," Rosabella squeaked.
"Don't be. I've been practicing with my brothers' swords since I was four. I'd much rather have them in this closet and me saving them."
Although she sounded as calm as the Enchanted Lake, Darling's heart pounded in her chest. If word got out of how she felt, her parents would be humiliated. She would no longer be allowed those precious few moments to herself to fence with Dexter or explore the woods near her castle.
But Rosabella was a quiet girl. And her responding smile warmed Darling's heart.
"Oh that sounds fun!" she exclaimed. "Have you ever battled a dragon for fiction?"
"For fiction," said Darling rather proudly. "Daring was distracted by his reflection in a lake once and I had to save his crown from being eaten by one."
Rosabella laughed, genuinely and lightly laughed. It was a sweet sound, a sound that Darling felt like she had heard her whole life and should continue hearing.
"Oh! I would love to fight a dragon! Daddy would never allow me anywhere near a sword! You are so lucky to have brothers."
Darling shrugged, feeling somewhat comforted by the weight of Rosabella's own shoulders brushing into her own. "I wouldn't think it would be fairy hard for you to talk your mom into getting a sword. She's all about adventure, isn't she? Presuming from the…story…"
Her voice faded as her newfound friend went even more quiet than usual, if that was possible. The glow in her eyes had faded, her body slumping as if her very story had been erased.
"My mother is dead," said Rosabella.
"What!?" Darling exclaimed. "Oh, Rosabella, I had no idea!"
Rosabella shook her head. "Not many do. She disappeared years ago."
"Disappeared? Did…"
"They never found her," Rosabella finished.
Darling smiled, hopeful. "Well then you cannot be certain that she is-"
"She is," said Rosabella definitely.
Letting the subject go, Darling placed a hand on the princess's knee. "I'm really sorry to hear that, Rosabella. I can't imagine how hard that must be."
Seemingly shocked, Rosabella smiled sweetly. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome." She frowned, her mind working back to an earlier, nagging thought. "If you don't mind…could I ask…how are you going to handle Legacy Day next year? With Gaston, I mean."
Rosabella shrugged. "I'm not so sure. I'm…kind of hoping that not telling him will sway his destiny somehow. Dad says that I'm mad for thinking it."
"Maybe not…but what if you're wrong? He'll be furious. He'll be more determined than ever to kill the Beast."
"Well who even knows if there is a Beast out there," said Rosabella. "Have you ever wondered what would happen then? Maybe he's just not there…maybe all of our little changes to the story change more than we think. There are a lot of maybes," she said with a sigh, "but I can't believe that saddling someone with the knowledge that their whole life revolves around dying for someone else to be happy is the right thing to do. If that makes me wrong and Gaston hates me for it…it's on my shoulders alone. I just…won't marry the Beast. I won't marry anyone. I…I mean…"
She had been speaking so furiously that Darling quite forgot who she was speaking to. Chest heaving, cheeks flaming, Rosabella bumped her forehead against the closet wall, her glasses making a gentle tapping noise.
Darling breathed in and out deeply, trying to formulate her thoughts.
"What if," said Darling, "those choices make you poof? Make the Beast poof?"
She waited for a response for a long moment. Rosabella sat silent as death.
"You can't just make those decisions without knowing. You know…we both know…our parents think that Dexter is the Beast."
"I know," Rosabella admitted. She said it so lightly that it took several angry seconds for Darling to catch what she had said.
"You would have my brother poof on a hunch?" she bit out.
Rosabella turned to face her. Her face was straight, her chin up. "You know. We both know. Dexter's heart lies elsewhere." She stopped. "You would have me tie him down to a destiny that would make him unhappy? Both of us unhappy? How is that better than poofing?"
Darling flinched as if burned. "You-"
"I'll tell you," she said, voice rising, calm slipping, "it isn't. I've lived it and it isn't any better."
She turned her head away, clearly done. Darling's mind whirled. Had the Beauty and her Beast been unhappy? Had that been why Beauty had disappeared? Did Rosabella know…
"What happened?" Darling asked, feeling rather irritated at the softness in her own voice. "When Dexter visited you? He would never tell me."
Rosabella swallowed. "I'm sorry that I distressed you, Darling. But I'm very much done talking for today."
"We have hours left, Rosabella."
"And I won't have anyone but candlesticks and clocks to talk to when I'm locked away," said Rosabella. "You are neither. So I might as well get used to being alone."
It was the sadness that quieted Darling. Though the hours went by and the girls indeed did not speak, Darling's mind ran wild and her heart bled deep. Only once did Rosabella break her silence, not long after the two had stopped speaking, to stifle a sob. It occurred to Darling that she must have started crying in silence not long after her speech and only coughed through weeping when her body could no longer contain itself. Without words, Darling settled on action, placing her hand back on Rosabella's knee and squeezing. Not too hard and yet not to be ignored.
Rosabella's hand found its way on top of Darling's. Cold and motionless, yet there.
Her Majesty the White Queen visited them several times and only Darling responded. When the sun's rays had gone, Her Majesty the White Queen opened the door, smiling brightly.
"Wonderful, girls! A's to the both of you!"
Off Her Majesty the White Queen went and out went the two princesses. Darling could barely stand, her legs straining with pain and ache from misuse. She placed a hand to the back of her knee and hissed.
"Darling," said Rosabella.
"Yeah," said Darling, shooting upright.
Rosabella frowned, eyes no longer able to meet Darling's. "I just wanted to let you know that what was said between us would not leave the closet. I didn't want you to worry."
"Rosabella, I –"
"I have to go," said Rosabella quickly. "The Step-Librarians will be closing the library soon and I need to get the right book. I'll see you around."
While not Daring, Darling considered herself quite fast. Yet by the time she reached out to grab Rosabella's arm, the Beastly princess had slid down the roof to a balcony below. She was gone in a flash of gold skirts and tall boots.
If it was not for the strain in her legs, Darling's insistent mind would have sent her rushing after the girl. Instead, she stood and breathed in the darkening day's air.
Were Rosabella's choices any worse than her own wishes to be the savior instead of the saved? Was she not shirking some prince's destiny herself? Darling could not be sure. She still felt the red anger build in her belly at the thought of Dexter disappearing. And yet Rosabella was right. Her brother would no sooner marry a woman he did not love than leave one that he did. It was still too soon to worry about this…at least for now. Legacy Day was a whole year away for them all. While her parents had always instilled in them – mostly Daring, for sure, but to all three Charmings to a measure – the belief that their destiny would come faster than they thought, Darling assured herself that now was not the time to pressure Rosabella into choosing.
Despite their fairy fallout, Darling could appreciate the kindness in Rosabella, the gentleness and the intelligence hiding behind the quiet demeanor. There was a fierceness there too, plus the desire for something more. She was just like her…only a bit more quiet on the outside than in.
And to be sure far more easily broken about Dexter than Dexter himself.
A charming smile pressed itself over Darling's sweet face. Whipping out her MirrorPhone, she glided down the roof while opening the appointment app for Headmaster Grimm.
"Time to flip the script," said Darling, typing in her message. "I'll see you around, roomie."