Waiting to Be Rewritten
Rifiuto: Non Miriena
Summary: She was the young, elusive Queen of Marberly, a kingdom to the south of Ever After. Her destiny had already been claimed. So how exactly did she end up attending Ever After High? And more importantly, what changes would her arrival bring? Raven/Dexter.
A/N: Written: 2014. Found: 2018. - Licia
The car came to a stop; a moment passed, before she leaned forward to look out the window. The castle that was the school of Ever After High towered overhead, and for the briefest of moments, she felt an overwhelming sense of fear, before it dissipated. "Do I really have to do this, Daddy?"
"You're only going to be here for a year, remember that."
"But why? I already graduated from Wanderley Prep, why do I have to attend Ever After High? I'm an adult-"
"By Marberly's standards, but by the rest of the world's standards, you're a seventeen-year-old girl, and seventeen-year-old girls need to be in school."
"But I don't plan on living anywhere but Marber-"
"It's only for a year, honey. Think of this as a learning experience. Here, you'll learn how not to follow destiny." He chuckled. "Besides, according to your mother, Ever After High has some magical courses you couldn't even get at Wanderley. Plus you'll make some new friends. This will be a good experience for you. And at the end of the year, you can come home to Marberly and you won't have to leave unless you want to."
She narrowed her gaze. "I only have to stay a year?"
He nodded. "One year."
The young woman seemed to consider the terms for a moment, before holding out a hand. "Fine, deal. But-" She held up a hand, ticking off her demands on each small finger. "We have regular chats when I'm not in class, you keep me abreast of everything going on, if I need to have a meeting with our advisers, you patch me in, and if it's urgent, I get to come home for it. I also get to come home for all the breaks, and even some weekends. And if there are dignitary visits, I get to come home for those too."
A soft chuckle, and he held out his hand, impressed and proud with her ability to lay out her list of demands before shaking on it. He'd raised a smart girl, that was for sure. "It's a deal." After a firm handshake, the door opened and he got out; a moment passed, before she gathered up her light jacket and clutch, and reached out to take his hand as he opened the door for her.
The castle was much bigger now that she stood staring up at it as opposed to just sitting behind the window of her limo. It rose upwards and out, slicing through the sky with its red brick turrets covered in climbing ivy. Students milled about; this being only the second week of the school year, the classes were mainly getting reacquainted with the schedules and the school in general. Several people gathered to whisper about her, having noticed the limousine pull up, but she paid them no mind. Instead, she turned to her companion, violet eyes wide. "I never knew it was this big."
Her father chuckled softly. "Wanderley still dwarfs it in comparison. But it does have some of the best magical courses in all of Ever After. Or so I've been told."
She nodded, thinking of her mother, who had once attended Ever After High when she was no older than her own daughter. From the stories, her mother had only attended Ever After High for a year before returning home and studying at one of the country's best preparatory schools. She turned back to the school, as a man she assumed was the headmaster made his way towards them.
Ever After High. The school where the students learned to take over their parents' destinies.
A shudder ran through her. She remembered the stories her mother used to tell her, about Ever After High and it's flaunting of sticking to the story written before, of it's Legacy Days and the signing of the Storybook of Legends. Destiny; she had already inherited her father's 'destiny', a much better fit. Personally, she was glad that she didn't have to inherit her mother's destiny. To be known as the Evil Queen...
It drove Mom to madness.
She swallowed, turning to glance at her father. One question tugged at her brain, and after a moment, she felt her teeth release her lower lip. "I... won't have to take part in Legacy Day, will I? I mean... my 'destiny' has already been decided. My reign started after you stepped down last year. So... essentially, I... I don't even have a destiny." She looked around, catching sight of some of the students. "Not like they do."
Her father pulled her into a hug. "No, blackbird. You won't have to. I've already spoken to Headmaster Grimm; you're exempt from Legacy Day. You may attend to watch, but you don't have to participate." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Remember, no matter what, I'm so very, very proud of you."
She sighed, wrapping her arms around her father and burying her face in his chest. "Thanks, Daddy."
"Ah, Your Majesties. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." She turned to find a man a little older than her father standing before them. Slightly overweight, with a black mustache, in a dark blue suit, he held out a hand. "I'm Headmaster Grimm. And you must be Raven." The older man turned to her; she held out a hand, as she'd been taught when meeting someone, and he accepted, brushing a soft kiss to her gloved knuckles with a slight bow. "Ever After High is thrilled to be hosting you this year, Your Majesty."
"I'm... thrilled to be attending, Headmaster." She replied softly, forcing the smile. The last thing she wanted to do was attend school, when she'd already graduated and was currently ruling her small homeland. Though Marberly was a fairly small principality by the rest of the world's standards, in actually, it was quite a good-sized country, with a thriving commerce in regards to trade.
"You will be rooming with another student in the girls' dormitory for the year. I hope that's all right, Your Majesty. Unfortunately, we do not have private rooms-"
"That's fine." She cut him off. "I roomed with another girl at Wanderley Prep, and we got along quite well."
The other man nodded. "Yes, well, when you're ready, I have your schedule and key." He then nodded slightly, moving away to give the father and daughter some space. She turned to him, wrapping arms around her father's neck.
"I'll miss you."
He kissed her temple before pulling away. "Marberly will always be there, you can always return. Remember your conditions."
She nodded, and he reached up, brushing a couple stray tears away she hadn't noticed until then. He pressed another firm kiss to her forehead, before finally pulling away and returning to the car. She watched as her father moved to get back in the car. "Daddy?" He stopped, turning back. "I love you."
A smile tugged at his lips, turning the ends of his beard up slightly. "I love you too, blackbird."
Once he was gone, she turned back to the school, taking a deep breath. Her few bags sat beside her, and after a moment, she flicked her wrist; the steamer chests levitated into the air, floating a couple feet off the ground, and once she was certain everything was in order, she made her way towards the headmaster. He held out her class schedule and room key, before leading her through the double doors. She followed the headmaster, leaving behind several students who, as soon as she was out of earshot, began to whisper and question exactly who the new girl was.
"Who is she?"
"I heard she's a queen! Like an actual queen!"
"I've never seen that type of magic before."
Eventually, the headmaster led her to the girls' dorm; they stood before a huge oak door. "Your father sent the rest of your things ahead of you; I hope you will find everything to your liking, Your Majesty." She nodded, turning to him.
"May I ask- who exactly is my roommate?"
The headmaster chuckled softly. "Of course. Apple White, the daughter of Snow White and the future queen of Ever After."
"Oh." A sense of unease shot through her. Coming from a land where destiny was just a word, it would take some time for her to get used to the idea of it being an actual thing. "That's... nice." She swallowed thickly, before,
"Thank you, Headmaster, for all your help today."
He nodded, bowing to her. "Of course. You're exempt from classes for the first couple of days, until you get settled. I've informed the professors of your arrival, and they will give you the assignments as they see fit; your schedule reflects what you should be studying. We've already taken the courses you took at your former school into consideration, so your schedule is a little lighter than everyone else's."
She quickly glanced at the schedule. "Muse-ic?"
"Ah, yes. Your father suggested a few of our courses for you; he said that you will most likely enjoy them more than Princessology or Damsel-in-Distress training."
This time, she took a closer look at the schedule.
Muse-ic. Hero Training. Good Kingdom Management. Her father certainly knew her well.
"If you need anything else, do not hesitate to get hold of one of the faculty or myself, Your Majesty. I'll leave you to get settled."
"Thank you."
And with another nod, he excused himself, leaving her alone. After several seconds, she slid the key into the lock, unlocking the door and pushing it open. Her things had indeed arrived, and were waiting for her to put them away. Her bed was closest to the window in their small turret dorm, and after slipping inside, she quickly shut the door, made her way to her side of the room, slipped out of her heels, and collapsed onto her bed. The mattress jostled slightly, and she let her gaze wander up to the canopy overhead as her brain struggled to take in the new scenery, surroundings and all the information she'd received since arriving. It was all going by so fast, she barely had time to allow her brain to process it..
It was going to be a long year.