Duchess isn't sure how it happened. She and Sparrow may not always see eye-to-eye but they are always there for each other. And now, as Duchess walks along the lake near Ever After High, during the last couple of summer, she reminisces on how her summer has been. She spent most of her time with Sparrow and while she did look forward to it (her heart beating rapidly as she thought about it during the last remaining weeks of school) all she and Sparrow did was argue.

He wanted to play his guitar and sing, she wanted him to play a gentle ballad so she could dance. He wanted them to go out with friends, she wanted to stay home and watch Fairy Idol (she just loves watching and criticizing the people auditioning and telling Sparrow that if he worked a bit harder he could be on the show one day, as a contestant or a judge. Him telling her that he can get to music fame without the show and she rolls her eyes).

But the fight that ruined it all. That ended their summer-and most likely their friendship-was when they started talking about their destinies one night. Duchess had confided that while she does want to play out her story with a happily ever after, not having that vow of ever lasting love breaking and her dying, she knew that it would never happen. Sparrow had joked that maybe their destinies would intertwine, she would be his Maid Marian while he was her prince who would break her curse. She knew it was a joke. But something in her snapped.

She told him that their stories don't work that way. That his King John was not going to her Rothbart. That some music playing thief is not going to break her curse, not when it's likely that he will eventually break the damn ever lasting love vow. That their friendship will not last long after school and they all go into their stories. That maybe his Maid Marian will eventually leave him for someone better.

Sparrow didn't like that. Not that he should have.

He retaliated by telling her that he will live happily ever after with his Maiden and his band of thieves while Duchess gets kidnapped and her prince doesn't even look for her. Doesn't bother trying to find a way to break her spell. Not bothering to love her and making the vow of ever lasting love. That she will probably die the same week she gets kidnapped because her prince won't love her and she will refuse to marry her Rothbart. That everyone but Duchess will live happy even after their stories are all said and done.

Duchess slapped him. She could feel the tears well in her eyes but she didn't let them show. Instead she angrily called him a self-absorbed, wannabe, washed-up, rock star thief who only thinks about himself more than Apple and herself combined. Then she ran back home. Her mom asked her what was wrong, but Duchess didn't answer, didn't want to. All she said was that she was going back to school early, wanted to take advantage of the quiet so she could practice.

It had been a lie.

She just didn't want to see Sparrow and have reality hit her sooner than later that their friendship is over.

The wind blows and Duchess grabs hold of her arms, shivering, wishing she had brought a jacket. Coming to a stop Duchess reaches the edge of the lake and stares at her reflection. She isn't wearing any make-up, she's in old dance clothes that she only wears when she can find an empty room and no commotion at school with the fear that people will walk in on her in it. The only thing that remains the same is how her hair is styled. As she continues to look at her reflection she notices her ear and is washed over with something because of how light they feel.

Over spring break, Maid Marian gave her earring that resemble the arrowhead that Sparrow has on his necklace. Duchess wore them ever since, but ever since her fight with Sparrow she couldn't bare to wear them. Remembering all of her time with Sparrow and what he might say if he sees her wearing them now that any sort of relationship they have is over. Instead, they are back in her dorm, in the box that Marian gave them to her in, in a place she is sure no one will look.

Stop staring at her reflection Duchess looks up at the night sky filled with stars and wonders what Sparrow is doing. Is he practicing with his band? Out with friends? Home with his parents? Out by himself? As she continues to stare at the stars she fails to hear the footsteps. Fail to turn and look and see if someone is with her. She doesn't know until it's too late. The person puts something over her mouth that makes her feel light headed and sleepy as they put their arms around her.

Duchess wakes up surrounded by stone and lying in water. Groaning, she opens her eyes. "Where am I?" She wonders aloud.

"Ah," a gruff male voice says. "You're awake."

Duchess looks up to see a man with wild fiery red hair looking down at her. "Who are you and why have you brought me here?"

"You needn't worry why you are here my dear, but I will give you my name. It's Rothurt Sorcerer, Rothbart's son."

Rothbart's son? If this is Duchess capture then why did he bring her here? Then it dawns on her as she looks around. A castle made of stone on a lake, Rothbart's son, and a young woman who turns into a swan. It's her destiny. She is captured and she can either marry this man (which she won't ever do, whether he is sane or not-but with the crazed look in his eyes he most likely isn't.)), or wait for her future prince to make his vow. Once her prince does that it all depends if he keeps it or not. It all depends on him if she dies or not.

"Wait. Our story isn't supposed to happen for another few years at least, why did you bring me here? Why now?"

Rothurt laughs. "Everyone for the Swan Lake has signed for it to happen. Let's see how this plays out. After all, your prince should receive notice any day now."

Any day? What in the name of Grimm? She is still in high school, so is her prince. They should be hanging out with people of different tales and doing stupid teenager things, not playing out their destinies. Not yet. Duchess has yet to see Sparrow, to apologize for how she reacted to his stupid little joke. How. . . . how she just wants him in her life. She is unsure if she just wants him around as a friend or possibly more, but the most she can hope for is his friendship. If he is willing to give it, that is.

Sighing heavily, Duchess turns into a swan and goes under the water. She sees little bars that the water flows through under the castle. Moving some with her beak she moves her way though them and when she gets through she moves upwards and transforms back. She sees a stone staircase opposite of the castle and she thinks about making a run for it. About finding where she is and trying to find her way back to Ever After and finding someone, anyone, to tell this horrid situation to. But her curse is in full force now. Swan by day, human by night. Just as long as she has the moon and a body of water, preferably a lake.

Besides who will believe her? She has pulled a lot of stuff since she started Ever After High, doing something like this, who would help her? She barely has any friends and the only people she actually considers friends aren't around. Faybelle is away with her mom, Lizzie is back in Wonderland, and she screwed things up with Sparrow. Making her way over to the steps, and for a moment, a brief moment, the thought of leaving runs through her mind before she rejects it. Instead she sits down on the cold stone and lays her arms over her knees as she hunches over.

Duchess doesn't know who her story tale prince is and she highly doubts he will come and rescue her. They barely know each other and he is probably caught up in his own stuff right now to be bothered with "fulfilling his destiny" because he will probably think that it is some sort of hoax. After all, who starts their story as a teenager? When there is still so much to learn, people from different stories that could become lifetime friends?

Looking back up at the sky, all Duchess can think is how her life sucks right now. Can't escape destiny, isn't that what they say? Sparrow may have met his Maid Marian these last few weeks and could be smitten with her, excited to start his destiny and save her from his King John and live happily ever after.

It's moonless the rest of the week and most of the next. Duchess can feel herself getting weaker by the day. She could hear the echo of her prince jokingly give his vow of ever lasting love. But tonight feels different. She somehow feels weaker than she has these last several days yet energized as well. She knows. Tonight is the night. The night that her prince could come and save her or give his love to someone else and Duchess will die. She doesn't have much hope for the former.

Duchess is on the stone pathway as she has been since her first night, but tonight she isn't on the steps. Tonight she just lies on the cold stone ground as she waits.

"Tonight you can change everything my dear," Rothurt says. "Marry me and we will King and Queen."

Duchess knows that marrying Rothurt is her last chance of survival. She could go back to school, be with her friends, and not have to worry about her story happening unlike the others. But it will also be painful. Over her time spent away from Sparrow she has come to realize that she cares for him as more than a friend. If she marries Rothurt and then goes back to school and sees him she has no idea what she'd do. Maybe they could still salvage their friendship? Maybe, Duchess somewhat hopes, he returns her feelings and will plaster on his stupid fake smile and pretend to be happy for her while he is hurting. Highly doubtful. But is she did agree to the marriage she knows she would be miserable and perchance confide how she really feels about her husband to him.

Still, she can't bring herself to do it, say yes to Rothurt. She can't stand the thought of being married to him, of going back to school and seeing the one person she has longed to see only to know that she can't have him the way she wants, not that she had much of a chance with Sparrow anyway. Even if she has lost Sparrow for good, she knows that being with Rothurt isn't the way to be.

"No." She says as stern as she can, turning her head to look at the lake.

She can hear him snicker then the crackle of his magic that she knows will allow her to hear her prince's voice. She can hear his voice now, in her head, telling the person that he is with that he is in love with them. As she can feel the tiredness take over her, she looks up from the lake up to the sky, her last thoughts of the only person she has loved that she has lost.

Sparrow grumbles as he makes his way back to Ever After High to start another school year. He has thought about nothing else but Duchess since their fight all those weeks ago. After she had run off he had been angry. Angry at Duchess for giving up on living happily ever after, for telling him that his own story will not be happy, most of all angry with himself for allowing her to run off. For joking that she won't end up happy when (despite her ending) she will. He knows it. He tried to reach her the rest of the summer, but her Mom said she left for alone time and then to hang out with Faybelle or Lizzie or both, and she has been ducking his messages and not returning them so he couldn't properly apologize.

He walks on campus, having arrived the day before and he already has his stuff put away, he has a boutique of Duchess's favorite flowers, water lilies, black roses, and lavender. He takes a breath trying to calm his nerves. He is Sparrow freaking Hood, nothing makes him nervous. Except Duchess, and apologizing only to find out that she doesn't care about him in any sort of way anymore and their friendship is over.

Just as he walking towards the steps at the front of the school as he sees fellow classmates catching up on their summers. "Hey, Sparrow." Hearing his name being called Sparrow turns his head to the left and sees Dexter Charming, who called his name, his girlfriend Raven Queen and Raven's roommate/story tale character, Apple White. Sparrow feels his gut twist but he walks over to them anyways. After all he has yet to see Faybelle or Lizzie so maybe Duchess isn't there yet.

"How was your summer?" Dexter asks.

"Good. Yours?" Sparrow really doesn't care for all this politeness but his mom is outside helping some of the students and he doesn't need to be grounded by his mom. At school. Again.

"G-good."

"Who are the flowers for?" Apple wonders.

"Yeah, they're beautiful." Raven comments.

"They're for Duchess, we got into an argument and I got these to make it up to her."

All three go into shock then worry. "Y-you don't know?" Apple says.

"Know what?" Sparrow questions.

Raven looks at them before looking at him. "Duchess died, last week."

"Wh-what?"

"The Rothbart of her story kidnapped her and forced their story to happen. Her prince received a note about it but didn't take it seriously and continued on with his life. Rothurt, her Rothbart, has been arrested and sent to jail because he forced their story early and it caused her death."

Sparrow hears Raven's words, but he can feel the blood rushing in his ears. "Ex-excuse me." With that Sparrow left the trio and dashed off to Duchess's room, or what used to be. He stops at the wooden door and knocks, Lizzie answers.

"Sparrow, how lovely to see you. Can I help you?"

"Y-yeah, my mom gave Duchess some earrings and she wants to make other matching jewelry, a necklace I think, do you know where she keeps them?"

"Of course, they're in a small safe under her bed." She lets him in and he looks under Duchess's bed and sees the safe and pulls the small cube out. "I don't know her pas-code, sorry."

"It's alright, I do." He starts punching the numbers in as he answers Lizzie. 8624593170. Or Duchess's way of doing four petals of a flower, the center, the remaining four petals and the stem. The safe opens and he see the blue box that the earrings are in. Hand shaking, he picks up an earring, the ones Duchess have always worn since his mom gave them to her. The ones that she put away in her safe. The ones he will never see her wear again.

He will never get to hear any of her schemes again, her sass, see her dance, see her as a swan. He won't get to apologize, won't be able to hear if she will take him back as a friend or if their friendship is completely over. Despite her destiny, Duchess has-had so much going for her. Now whatever happens out of all of this stupid destiny conflict, who plays their parts and who don't, she won't get to see. She was forced into her destiny too early and now she's. . . .

"I take it by the tears on your face you heard about Duchess?" Lizzie's voice is soft. He didn't even feel the tears until just now. Unable to find his voice, Sparrow nods. "She's in the forest of Ever After, not too far from the school. If you want to go see her."

"Thank you, Lizzie."

He closes the box that the earrings are in and places the box in his bag as he stands, dashing out of the dorm, out of the school and into the forest. He is sure that there is one place that Duchess would be, one place that she would be buried. He comes to the clearing near the lake of the school, next to it is a large golden table that has a glass casket with gold lining, much like the one Apple will have when the time comes for her to play out her role as the next Snow White.

In it is Duchess, she lies in the casket in her finest ballerina attire, the sun kissing her pale skin. Her hands are laced across her stomach. Opening the casket he lies the boutique he got for her in her hands, he takes out the earrings and places them in her ears. Even if he can't apologize to her in life, the least he can do is in death. The flowers for their stupid fight and the hope of saving their relationship, the earrings to show that she will always be a part of the Hood family, even if it is in a platonic way and not the romantic one Sparrow hoped for.

Closing the casket Sparrow drinks in the sight of her. They've all seen Apple in her long Snow White sleep already, and while she is supposed to be the most beautiful in the land, Sparrow can't help but feel that Duchess is the most beautiful. Even in death she out shines Apple with her beauty. Scratching the nape of his neck, Sparrow speaks.

"Hey, Duchess, I just found out about what happened. I-I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you. I'm sorry for the fight that caused to leave home early and come back to Ever After early. I know that Rothbarf," he laughs at the nickname they gave Rothbart and his son, despite not knowing his son. "May have tried to find you and force your destiny early even if you hadn't come back here, but I can't help but think that things would have played out differently if we hadn't fought and still remained friends, maybe you would still be alive."

He knows that it's stupid to blame himself for her death, but he can't help but do it anyway.

"I wanted to tell you this since out stupid fight and I wanted to apologize to you, but I love you." Sparrow chokes on the word 'love' every time he went over confessing his love to her, he could never get the word out and would always say that he deeply cared about her, as more than just a friend. "I know that you most likely don't reciprocate my feelings, but hey, a guy has to try right?" He nervously laughs. "I couldn't be there for you in your final moments alive, but I will be here for you in death, I will keep your memory alive and I'll come and visit to see you and keep you updated about what's going on at school."

Gently, Sparrow places a hand on the glass that's over her laced hands. He wishes that True Love's Kiss could fix this but it can't. One, because he doesn't know if she ever felt the same. Two, because her destiny is already played out. This isn't Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or any of the other fairy tales where True Love's Kiss is the answer. Duchess is dead and will be that way for eternity, or until someone can make a potion that brings her back so she can have the chance of having a family.

"Goodbye Duchess," He says letting the tears fall as his knees buckle and falls to the ground as tears pour down his face, his hand remaining on the glass over hers. Wishing that everything was different, that he gets to see her speak, dance, and so much more one last time. But he won't. He can feel his heart breaking at all of the good and bad memories they've had and a nonexistent future where they would be more than friends, or they would have kids with their respective story love interests and their children would be friends.

It wouldn't have mattered, just as long as he had Duchess in his life in one form or another.

Now it's gone.

So is she.

So is his heart.