All she had ever wanted was her own Happily Ever After. If she had just been given a chance, a choice, another path- maybe none of this would have ever happened. No one would have gotten hurt. Duchess Swann, the daughter of the Swan Princess, looked away from the ruins of what had once been her school, Ever After High. No tears fell from her eyes, for those had dried long ago when she had chosen her path. She turned away to pursue the rest of the kingdoms, and the new Greatest Evil Ever Known walked toward the on-waiting carnage.

#

One Year Before- Cards were flying past her head... again. Duchess skillfully twisted away from another card thrown at her, but it gently grazed her cheek, leaving a small red line.

"I demand to know why you sabotaged me!" Lizzie, the Princess of Hearts, screamed at the small ballerina. Tears filled the angry princess's eyes and smeared the fake red heart on her face. "I thought that we were friends! Room Mates! I trusted you!"

Another card flew by Duchess's face and stuck in the wall like a throwing knife. Duchess knew that Lizzie would be angry about her sabotaging her room mate's General Villiany thronework, but she never knew it would be like this. She didn't do it to hurt Lizzie, she just needed the best grade. Didn't she understand such a concept?

Duchess stepped further back from Lizzie, feeling the wall behind her. She had no where to go, and if someone didn't get Headmaster Grimm soon, she would be swan chow!

"I,... I just wanted a good grade. I didn't think you'd try to attack Blondie with your cards in front of the entire school!" Duchess cried. She could feel the heat radiating off of Lizzie's red face. If she didn't diffuse the situation fast, there was no telling what would happen.

Lizzie finally threw her cards on the bed. "I didn't get to use MY cards! Because YOU stole them! I don't care about the grade, really. You could have just come to me and told me what was going on, but instead you stab everyone in the back and lie. I can't trust you. No wonder that no one can stand being near you!"

The Princess of Hearts began to walk to the door. "And by the way," Lizzie looked at Duchess. "I want a new room mate." With that she slammed the door shut, knocking off one of Duchess's prized glass ballerinas from her shelf. Duchess slid to the floor, her hands shakily picking up the broken ballerina. Tears began to fall down her face, burning her eyes. Through her tears, she held the tiny broken remainder of the figure her mother had left to her. "It looks like we are both broken..." she whispered to the shards.

#

All of Lizzie's belongings were removed that same day, leaving a very hollow room that echoed any small noise. She thought that this was what she had wanted all along, that maybe this was a blessing in disguise, but now the permanence of it settled in. She held back the sobs that tried to push through. "No" she whispered. "Maybe another day I will cry, but not today. I have responsibilities. I have to withhold my family's honor, make my dear grandmother proud..."

She tried to look away from the imprint that Lizzie's bed had made, but no matter where she looked, the emptiness resided. Just when she thought that she was on the brink of a breakdown, a small knock came from the door.

Fear clung to her. "Who is it?". She tried to mask her sorrow in a snotty voice, but she wasn't sure anyone would fall for it.

"Just me" a soft voice came out. It was Raven. "Um,... can I come in? I need to talk to you."

"Just a second" Duchess jumped up and looked at her reflection. Her eyes were still a little swollen, but maybe she could pull this off. And her curiosity was increasing, Raven had NEVER came to her room before. What did she want?

She brushed the wrinkles out of her dress and squared her shoulders. "Come in".

The tall, imposing girl that walked in was very well-known in Ever After High. Raven Queen was the daughter of the notorious Evil Queen who poisoned Snow White, but she made her own fame when she refused to sign the Storybook Of Legends. To Duchess, that seemed more evil than anything. What was this girl hiding?

Raven sat at the end of her bed. "Listen, I heard what happened between you and Lizzie." She rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably and glanced at the emptiness of the other side of the room. "I know you two were friends, and friends fight. But what you did was really mean."

Duchess felt the sob rise up in her throat again. She stood up defiantly. "If you are here to make me feel bad, you can go ahead and leave. I don't need your charitable advice. As far as I am concerned, you are no different from the other princesses!"

Raven winced. "Okay, ouch. But I didn't come here to make you feel bad or give advice. I just knew that this was unlike you. I wanted to see what was REALLY wrong."

Duchess looked away. "How do YOU, or any of the other princesses, for that matter, know anything about who I REALLY am?" She stepped away from the bed and walked toward the open window. If this conversation became any more uncomfortable, she could simply transform herself into a swan and reach the lake in less that 10 seconds. Raven shifted behind her.

"I'm not saying that we are close or anything. But you are still my friend, and I don't like to see friends hurt."

Duchess spun around. "You think that I am hurt? I got what I wanted, a room by myself. It isn't ME that's hurting. If you want to bathe someone in sympathy, go knock on Lizzie's door." The small cut on her cheek stung.

Raven threw her hands up. "All I am saying is that there is something wrong. I can feel it. You're not weak for opening up, Duchess."

Finally she couldn't take it anymore. Time for plan B. In one swift movement, she jumped out the window and transformed into a swan, gliding down to the other swans of the lake. She could hear yelling in the background, but she only caught Raven's last words.

"...the next Evil Queen!"

#

She bristled her feathers. How could she have known! Duchess shook her beak. No, she must have heard her incorrectly. There was no possible way that Raven could have known that she caught Headmaster Grimm and Mr. Badwolf's secret conversation. It was actually right here that she transformed into a swan and found their secret meeting. It was here that she found out that because Raven refused to be the Evil Queen, they had to find someone to fill in her shoes. And that someone was Duchess.

"Ms. Swann has been placed in your class for a reason, Mr. Badwolf. Take her under your wing, or paw, and show her the side of evil. We all believe that she has a black swan side that would make her a prime candidate for the new Evil Queen, since Raven refuses to follow in her mother's steps. And this way, we will be able to control her and not worry about her taking over Ever After, as the last Evil Queen did. Who knows, she may even be able to return Wonderland to the way it was before the magic was poisoned. Not only will Ms. Swann be able to lift her curse, but she will have saved all of us from the end as we know it and not spend the rest of her days as a swan. Why wouldn't she want to take this opportunity?"

She was astounded. Could it be possible that she didn't have to be cursed and that another destiny awaited her? But to do that, she would have to give everything up and turn evil. She shook her head, she would have to give everything up ANYWAY when she became a swan permanently. So did it really matter if she had to do horrible things to those that she held dear? Would her "friends" even care about her anymore when the curse finally took her and made her a swan for the rest of her days? She knew the answer to that. They would be off living their happily ever afters with their princes and continuing THEIR story while she was left in solitude. She breathed in deeply. She did the right thing, she reassured herself. Even if that meant having to sabotage Lizzie's thronework so that she could get the best grade in General Villiany. If she didn't excel in the dark arts, she would lose everything...

#

When Duchess returned to her room, she noticed that there was a book left on the bed. She walked over to it and picked it up, immediately stunned by the purple glow that began to radiate around it. The energy pulsated into her fingers and up her arms, climbing up her veins like roots. She threw the book down, backing herself against the wall.

"What is that?" she uttered.

"It's what you wanted." a smooth voice came from behind the door. Duchess turned to see Raven leaning against the wall, arms crossed. "It's a present, from me to you. It's what you wanted." Raven smiled.

Duchess stepped toward the leather bound book, trying to examine the title. The Consumption of Evil. "I never asked for that!"

Raven lifted herself from the wall, walking around to the other side of it. "Don't lie to me, Duchess. This is what you wanted. This is your chance to choose your destiny. I know what you heard. I knew all along what they were doing by putting you in that class. But it is YOUR CHOICE. If you want to take my place, by all means, this is your chance. Just don't do it because anyone is pressuring you into doing it."

Duchess stared at the book. "What IS it?" she asked breathlessly, her eyes unable to stop staring at the book. In her head, the book called to her, crying out for her.

Swan...

She began to reach for it when Raven stepped in her path.

"This book was given to me by my mother. This book is Evil in all of its essence, consuming the person in possession of it whenever their skin touches the leather. It is how all of the past Evil Queens became skillful in the dark arts and mad with power and jealousy. They want you to think that it is inherent to all of the Queen girl's, but its not. Its a rite of passage that I will never take. It is your chance at a new life. If you want to become the new Evil Queen, take the book and let it devour you. But I warn you, there is no going back..." Raven stepped away from it, and the book began to call for her again.

Duchess. The Black Swan. The Black Swan Queen.

The Black Swan Queen? What did that mean? Was that what she would become when she came into contact with this book and let it consume her? If she let it consume her, would she break the curse? Could she live a free life? Have a happily ever after?

No. If she became the Evil Queen, she wouldn't be free. She would be evil. She wouldn't be herself. She would be trading a her curse for another curse, another prison. But at least this prison wouldn't be in the form of a swan.

Raven smiled at her. "I can see that you are really thinking this through, and I am so happy for that. I am happy you are now considering taking your own destiny. Until then..." She threw her thick velvet cape over the book, "this will control the power of the book until you decide. Don't touch it until you are ready for the transformation."

Raven picked up the little black bundle and set it on Duchess's bedside table. She turned and looked at Duchess, cocking her head to the side. "Are you okay?"

The power was just leaving Duchess's fingertips, leaving her cold all over. "Um, yeah. I'm okay. I just have to think for a little while."

Raven nodded. "Okay, I will leave you to it. If you need anything, I am just down the hall. And Duchess?"

Duchess turned, seeing her own reflection in Raven's deep black eyes. Raven smiled again. "I am really proud of you for thinking for yourself and following your heart. You may be thinking of turning into a villain, but you're a hero in my book any day!"

Raven closed the door and the sound of footsteps became silent in the hall.

Duchess forced herself to take in a deep breath, and then returned her gaze to the black bundle beside her bed.

#

All night, the book called out for her, haunting her dreams.

Come to me, Duchess. The Black Swan. The Black Swan Queen.

Duchess tossed and turned, putting the pillow on top of her head to get rid of the taunting.

Take me in your hands. Let me show you the way. The Black Swan Queen will reign over Ever After. Just touch the leather...

"Leave me alone!" she cried out, sitting up to look at the book. Yet the black bundle was right where Raven had set it before, silent and still.

She shook her head, becoming irritated at the constant harassment of the this book. She really wished she knew what to do about it. She couldn't just turn it back over to Raven, deep down inside she knew that this was her chance. But was it the right choice? Oh, she wished she could speak to Lizzie. Lizzie was choosing to follow her mother's footsteps as another villainous queen, The Queen of Hearts of Wonderland. She would understand how she felt.

Duchess...

My Queen...

"No!" she cried to the book. "Just leave me be!"

Duchess moved away from the book carefully, then leaped across the floor and out the door in one fluent movement. She closed the latch of the door silently so it wouldn't wake any of the other girls. She leaned against her door, breathing a sigh of relief. Finally, silence.

Duchess followed the figure as it left the girl's dormitory and into the main corridor. The figure hurried past the pictures of former Queens and Kings and to a stone stair case. The caped figurer stopped, as if it was aware that someone was watching it. With a quick gesture, the figure took off the hood of the cape to reveal red and black hair. Duchess covered her mouth to stop from crying out in surprise. The hooded figure was Lizzie.

Lizzie looked around both ways, not seeing Duchess in the shadows. Content that no one was following her, Lizzie took down the stone staircase. When she was out of sight, Duchess hurried to the staircase. The sign on the wall read "Dungeon". What was Lizzie doing?

Duchess followed the soft steps ahead of her on the winding staircase, careful to avoid the slimy moss-ridden stone wall. She tried to think of a reasonable explanation to why Lizzie would come here in the middle of night. Their class, General Villainy, was in the Cauldron Room of the Dungeon, so could she be going to the class for some reason. No, that was highly unlikely, as Lizzie hated class with a passion. She also hated getting up in the morning to go to class, and would often stroll into class late, still half asleep. Duchess had always thought that it was because her room mate was a bit of a night owl, unlike herself who prided herself to be up with the sun. When you have so much to do, how could you sleep in like that?

Could it be that she was trying to get into the class for another reason? She had already failed the homework assignment, thanks to Duchess trading out her magical deck of cards with a normal pair from the student game center. Daring Charming had found out and told Lizzie what had happened, and that was when Lizzie moved out of their dorm.

One of the worst parts that had backfired on her was her secret crush on Daring. She had cried many times on Lizzie's lap about how he had no idea who she was, how he would walk right past her and not see her, how she would talk to him and he would ignore her. She had spent many a page of her diary sharing her feelings of adoration of Daring, how she wished that he would become her Prince Charming. But no, her life was destined to be lived alone without ever knowing the warmth of another's love. Her story was one of solitude and pain.

The stairs came to an end and she seen the end of Lizzie's cape whip around the far corner. Duchess tried to tip toe as quietly and quickly as possible, chasing the shadow to the last room down the lowest corridor. Stagnant air filled the musky room, and Duchess could see a small torch lit in the corner of the room. Two figures stood in front of the torch, and soon she could make out Lizzie's voice.

"I don't care how it needs to be done, I command you! Or do you not love me?"

The breath caught in Duchess's throat. Who was she speaking to? Duchess leaned her head around the corner, curious.

A voice mumbled, ineligibly, and sent Lizzie into another rampage.

"I tire of your excuses. If we were in Wonderland, your head would be off!" Lizzie chopped her hand in the air to show what she meant. Then she smiled sweetly. "But that's okay, I will give you one more chance. If you love me, you will kill Apple White."

Duchess was mortified, unable to move. Kill Apple White? The beloved daughter of Snow White who was destined to rule over all as Queen? Who could do such a thing? And why? Apple was so nice and kind and, well, …fairest of them all. She cringed when she thought of that cliché of Apple, but it was true.

She must find out who is behind this so she could warn Apple. If she was to become the Evil Queen, a lot depended on her story merging with Apple's. She had to protect her, …for now.

The other caped figure immediately kneeled on one knee, removing the hood to reveal golden blonde locks. Duchess's knees shook, quivered, then she finally collapsed. It was Daring.