It's a crisp autumn day in the kingdom of Ever After. The sun's warm rays shine, and a cool breeze gently blows, wafting the sweet scent of cherry blossoms through the humid air. Sitting in the shade of a weeping willow tree sits Grace and her BFFA's (best friends forever after), Apple White and Raven Queen. The girls eat their lunches, casually chatting about the day's events. Apple smiles brightly as she excitedly recounts what happened in Damsel in Distress class.
"Raven and I got to act out our destiny!" she exclaims, her cerulean eyes shining. "I elegantly bit into the apple that Raven handed me, and then-" She pauses for effect. "I collapsed to the ground!" She sighs dreamily, her hand clasped dramatically to her chest. "Wasn't it so realistic, Raven?!"
She eagerly turns to the purple-haired girl, looking at her expectantly. Raven smiles kindly.
"Well, your acting was spelltacular, Apple."
Apple's hand moves to her mouth as she giggles, a faint rosy hue coloring her pale cheeks.
"Aww! Thank you, Raven!"
Raven's fair complexion also seems to have taken on a slightly pinker sheen.
"You're welcome." Her voice is an octave higher than usual, for some reason.
Grace looks confusedly between the two girls. What in the kingdom is going on? She opens her mouth to question the odd behavior, but the first syllable that leaves her mouth is sharply cut off by an earsplitting roar. The peaceful atmosphere shatters like broken glass. Grace covers her ears as the cacophony overwhelms her. Apple and Raven jump to their feet in alarm, huddling close as a horrible screech pierces the air. Grace quickly follows suit, looking up to see a large, dark outline against the clouds that seems to be coming closer and closer and...oh, hex, it's a dragon! As the magnificent beast just flies into view, it suddenly swoops down from the sky, its broad, leathery wings furiously flapping as it comes in for landing. Students scatter in a panic at the sight of the malicious creature, but Grace is rooted to the spot, her mouth hanging open. In fear or amazement, she isn't sure. The dragon is no doubt the most terrifying sight she's ever seen, but it's also one of the most beautiful. Its enormous body is a dazzling blend of color, colors that Grace imagines would be found beneath the ocean. Lustrous shades of blue and green swirling together amongst the inky depths. Iridescent scales reflect the sunlight, creating rainbows that rapidly flash in and out of Grace's vision. Midnight black spikes jut out from its spine like glossy spires of obsidian. Before Grace can finish admiring the stunning beauty before her eyes, the dragon rears its massive head, breathing a powerful jet of fire directly at the girls.
"Look out!" Raven yells.
She pulls her friends away just in time to avoid the searing blast of heat that crumbles the patch of grass they'd been standing on just seconds before to ashes. When the thick smoke slowly begins to clear, Grace dares herself to look. To her horror, her retainer that had been left lying on the ground has been completely incinerated. All that remains is a small heap of burnt black plastic. Grace's eyes water, partly from the acrid smoke that is permeating the surrounding air, but also because of the horrible fate that her poor little retainer has unfortunately endured. Just like Raven Queen, the kind, innocent girl that is expected to become the Evil Queen and poison her friend, not everything is destined to have a happy ending. Can destiny be changed, though? Maybe a retainer can't change its fate, but can a person? I certainly hope so. Nobody wants to end up as a smoking pile of rubble.