Yay! It's finally finished! I present to you the promised:

Ducharrow One-shot!

So now I can finally go back to What Duchess Wanted with which I have a terrible writer's block currently. If you've never read it then you should, especially Swan Thief shippers.

Have fun!

"Hey Duchess! Wait up!" Duchess turned slightly to see Sparrow panting to catch up with her as she walked down the path to Book End. It was the first day of Spring. Students were abuzz with the news of the Thronecoming dance just next month. Apparently the table lists had already been put up and everything was being planned well in advance for fear of the train smash of last year's dance. Apparently they had failed to plan well enough and went with lights or refreshments. She knew Briar would never stand for that kind of party and she was currently phoning every DJ she knew to ask them about working the party. Duchess stopped and crossed her arms, allowing the red-head to catch up with her. He stopped and placed his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He looked up at her with a smile, "You are so fast! Where are you going in such a hurry?" Duchess scoffed.

"Maybe it would be easier to run if you weren't wearing all that heavy clothing," He stood up then smirked and Duchess immediately realised her mistake.

"Well, I'd gladly wear less clothing for you princess," She pushed him on the shoulder and continued to walk.

"Get your mind out of the gutter Hood," He chuckled and stuffed his hands in his pocket before starting to follow her.

"Now are you going to answer my original question?"

"I'm going to get a mask for Thronecoming," She was trying to walk faster but her kept slowing her down.

"What is it with boys? It's like you're going nowhere slowly," She tried to get him to move along but he didn't seem to move any speed other than 'wander'.

"I;m tired okay? I was out... doing something with the Merry Men," He left out a key piece of information. She furrowed her brows but knew she would never get it out of him.

"Fine, but if they run out of feathery masks I'm blaming you," He nodded. Duchess slumped her shoulders. This boy was going to be the death of her.

"What about this one?" Duchess posed with a bright white feather mask with silver detail held in front of her face. Sparrow looked up from his mirrorpad and looked at her. That had to be the 30th mask she'd tried on so far. He was enthusiastic at first but after the first 15 he gave up.

"What do you think?"

"You're right, it doesn't really suit me," She put it back and realised she had tried just about all the feathery masks now. What if she couldn't find one? They wouldn't let you in if you didn't have have a mask. She looked around and spotted a shop clerk busy trying to deal with a sorrowful Apple White at the counter.

"Sorry mam but we didn't receive any shipments of Thronecoming masks from Mrs Snow White. Maybe you can take a look at the ones we have on display.

"No! That's not possible! My mother promised that she would send it over today at the very latest. There's no way she could have lied to me," Apple looked ready to cry and her lip quivered. Duchess almost felt like laughing. It was just a mask. It wouldn't make or break her life. Then Duchess remembered that she was in a similar position just a few minutes ago.

"Hey Sparrow, look at Apple," She nudged him in the shoulder and pointed to the bouncy blonde at the counter. Apple now leaned over the counter as if trying to see if the clerk was hiding her package. Sparrow looked up with an annoyed expression on his face. He had been in the middle of a game of Geometry Dash. He turned to see where Duchess was pointing only to see Apple nearly off the ground. The perturbed clerk had already taken a step back as the rowdy customer attempted to climb over the counter.

"I just have to check, maybe you just couldn't read the label. Or though I couldn't understand why, my mother has impeccable hand-writing," Apple leaned just a splinter to far and her shocked face went with her pouffe skirt over the counter top and onto the floor. Sparrow laughed loudly and Duchess cracked up at the sight of the crazy girl. Apple popped up with her curls everywhere. She had a triumphant smile on her face and she held up a carefully wrapped package in the air. The clerk did a face-palm and started to massage his temples

"I knew it was here! My mother is never late with anything!" Duchess just shook her head. Sparrow got up.

"Come on, let's get out of here," He grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the dim shop and into the afternoon sunlight, "Let's get some ice-cream."

"Okay, what flavour do you want?" Duchess pondered as she stared at the board of flavours. They had just about everything here.

"Hmm, what's the least fattening and preservative-less ice-cream you have?" The girl looked a her blankly. Duchess sighed and Sparrow chuckled.

"Godmother Duchess, have a treat once in a while. It's Ice-Cream!" Duchess gave in and decided that if you were going to break your diet you might as well do it with gusto.

"Fine, I'll get a Choc-Chip Cookie Dough with hot fudge sauce please. In a cone," Sparrow looked at her incredulously. He had never seen her eat anything for calorific than a brownie and here she was getting cookie dough and fudge ice-cream.

"Great choice, I'll have a fudge brownie with fudge sauce please," Duchess scoffed. She bet if it were up to him Sparrow would live off brownies for the rest of his life. They got their ice-creams and Sparrow offered to pay for hers but Duchess refused.

"How do I know you didn't swipe that money off me earlier in any case?" Sparrow looked offended.

"Of course I didn't! I took it from Humphrey, err, I mean he lent it to me."

"Why would Humphrey lend you money?" The clerk just sat there patiently while the two of them argued. She had been witness to this kind of thing many before.

"Why wouldn't he lend me money?"

"Just let your boyfriend pay for you, you're making a line," Duchess blushed at the girl's words.

"He's not my boyfriend," The girl sighed.

"Whatever after, just pay and leave please," Sparrow dug out of his pocket and slammed the money on the counter. He walked and Duchess followed, upset.

"Did you really just pay with Humphrey's money?"

"Nope, I payed with my money thank you very much. Unlike my dad was I'm not actually that poor," Duchess let out a breath of relief.

"Good, so where to now?" He had led her down an unfamiliar path and towards what sounded like running water.

"We're visiting my favourite place in the whole of Book End," Duchess looked around at the unfamiliar storefronts. She had always used one street in the village for her necessities. An old couple sat at a newspaper cafe drinking coffee. There was a bright pet shop full to the brim with all sorts of odd animals. She could have sworn she saw a dragon in there somewhere. He pulled her through an archway of trees and to an old bench next to a lake. She gasped. It was so similar to her home. He sat and patted the spot next to him and she joined him. The bench felt sturdy. The lake was still. White waterlilies sat on it's surface. Cat tails surrounded it in clumps. There was a cherry-wood bridge across it's crystal clear waters.

"How did you find this place?" Sparrow leaned hi head back. He had already finished his ice-cream while Duchess had barely touched her's. He sighed, closing his eyes.

"It was Freedom year, you when nobody really cared who you were. It didn't really matter then. I didn't have any friends at first. I was just walking through Book End when I took a wrong turn and ended up here. I spent the rest of my day here, exploring. Down there," He pointed to the left side of the lake, "A stream leads back out into open woods. And up there on the other side there's this really amazing waterfall. I'll show you one day," He turned to her and put his hand on her's, the one holding her ice-cream.

"Sparrow?"

"Duchess, I have something very important to ask you," Duchess's heart started to race. Sparrow leaned closer.

"Will you be my Thronecoming date?" He then took a long lick of her ice-cream and jumped up with a satisfied smirk on his face. Duchess just stared at her ice-cream in bewilderment. She was completely and utterly lost.

"W-what?" Sparrow pushed her arms playfully.

"I asked if you would be my Thronecoming date, duh!" He shrugged. Duchess processed this thought. Her go to Thronecoming with Sparrow? She shook her head.

"Wait, just let me get this straight. You aren't just doing this to get a date before everyone else right?" She stood up and looked him in the eye.

"Nope! I genuinely want to go with you. And I also needed to distract you so I could have some of your ice-cream. Great choice by the way," She looked at the half-eaten ice-cream and shoved it towards him.

"Here, you can have it." She didn't know what to say. Sparrow shrugged again and took the ice-cream.

"Okay, but on three conditions," Sparrow nodded, "One, is that your wear some real clothes for a change. Like a tie and a dress shirt or something. Two, is that you don't disappear halfway through the dance to go and sweet talk some other girl. Seriously, it's embarrassing. And three is that you dance with me at least once. Deal or no deal?" She held out her hand to shake his. He considered it for a while and then shook her hand.

"Deal."

So she had a date. Albeit with Sparrow. She had a date. And he wasn't that bad looking either.

"Thank you milady," He leaned over and kissed her forehead. She blushed and elbowed him the ribs. Hopefully her hadn't seen her blush. He faked pain and she laughed softly. Maybe Thronecoming wouldn't be as bad as she had expected.