From the moment that Apple White watched The Princess Diaries at the age of nine, she hated it. It was unreasonable. How could anyone secretly be a princess and never know it? It didn't matter to her that it was just a movie, it was illogical. Besides, it wasn't as if princesses really existed. Give her a movie about strong, independent female scientists any day.

Unfortunately, for Apple, there were no such movies. None that she could find, at least. Which is how she found herself sitting in front of the television of her small apartment, a bag of popcorn in her lap, as Raven Queen turned to the volume to The Princess Diaries 2.

"I hate you," Apple muttered as she stuffed a hand full of popcorn into her mouth.

Her best friend smiled. "No, you don't."

Apple huffed. "You're right. I don't hate you. I utterly despise your choice in movies for our annual film night."

"Practicing your SAT words?" Raven asked.

"Just because you seem to believe that becoming a singer is a legitimate career path, doesn't mean that the rest of us do."

"You're just jealous," Raven said, trying to steal the bag of popcorn from Apple.

"Of you?" Apple laughed, keeping the popcorn away from her friend.

Raven rolled her eyes, and accepted her popcornless fate. "Just shut up, and watch the movie. It has Chris Pine and Anne Hathaway."

"I did enjoy Chris Pine in Star Trek, but nothing can compare to William Shatner."

"Nerd," Raven muttered, and she turned her attention to the screen. Apple followed suit.

The two of them were an odd pair. Raven was about as right brained as possible, while Apple saw the world through the left side. Raven was artistic, while Apple was analytical. No one could quite say what drew the two girls together in the first place. Apple believed it was because of their similar backgrounds.

Neither of the girls had a mother. Raven's mother was behind bars for trying to take over the local government and killing several people in the process. Raven never spoke of her mother, and Apple was one of the only people who understood that. After all, at least Raven's mother still loved her in her own sick, twisted way, Apple's mother abandoned her and her dad when she was three. Her father never talked about her, Apple didn't even know her name.

"You know," Apple commented, "It's totally ridiculous that Gimli wants to be able to control the throne. Doesn't he realize that the queen is barely more than a figurehead?"

"But figureheads have power," Raven replied, "Wait a sec, did you just call him Gimli?"

Apple shrugged. "He was in Lord of the Rings."

"I thought that you didn't like those movies."

"You still made me watch them," Apple said.

"And you made me watch all of the original Star Trek series, and the movies, and all of classic Doctor Who, and you made me read those Isaac Asimov books, so I think that we're fair."

"I suppose we are." Apple returned to eating her popcorn, not protesting when Raven grabbed a handful. This was how things were between the two of them. Things were comfortable.

It was hard to believe that they hated each other when they first met.

"Hey, girls." Apple turned around as her father entered their cramped living room.

Berhnard White was a biology professor at the local college, who was obviously handsome in his youth, but raising a daughter by himself had taken its toll on him. He had a chiseled jaw, but mostly grey hair, and bags under his eyes that were hidden by his large, round glasses.

"Hey, Mr. W."

"Hey, Dad," Apple said, taking notice that the bags under her dad's eyes were darker than they usually were, "How was work?"

Her dad shrugged. "Have fun. Don't stay up too late," he said, before disappearing into his bedroom.

Raven glanced at Apple. "Did he just give us permission to have a sleepover?"

"We have his standing permission to have a sleepover," Apple sighed. She loved her father dearly, but she knew that life had not been kind to him. The bookish professor knew nothing about raising a child, but he had done his best. He even put off dating to focus on Apple.

Apple couldn't ask for a better dad.

She glanced at Raven, who was now lying on her stomach staring dreamily at young Chris Pine. Apple couldn't ask for a better best friend. Sure, they had their differences, but they were still like sisters.

Apple couldn't have asked for a better life. It may not have been perfect, but it was hers, and she loved every detail of it. She loved her dad, and her best friend, and her small apartment, and her honors classes. She loved every last bit of it. She could go as far as to say that she would be happy just sitting there with Raven for the rest of eternity.

Especially if they changed the movie to something about strong, independent female scientists.

There was a noise coming from the door, an annoying pounding that yanked Apple out of her peaceful sleep to find Raven drooling beside her. Apple sighed and rolled over on the floor. Somewhere around midnight the two girls had changed into their pajamas, but they'd continued to watch movies into the early hours of the morning. Hence the 'falling asleep on the floor' thing.

Apple pushed herself off the ground and headed towards the door. She squinted at the clock hanging against the wall. It was nine o'clock on a Saturday morning. Why would anyone be visiting at this hour?

She stopped at the door and looked through the peephole. Standing on the other side of the door was perhaps the tallest man that Apple had ever seen. He was wearing a black suit and a pair of sunglasses that made him look like a secret service agent. Apple didn't recognize him.

"Who is it?" Apple turned around to find her dad standing behind her, his robe tied haphazardly and his glasses crooked.

"I don't know," Apple said, "Some guy."

"Let me see." Apple stepped aside so that her dad could peep through the door. She watched his jaw tighten and the blood drain from his face.

"What-"

"Take Raven and go to your room," her dad's voice was dangerously low.

Apple gulped and retreated into the living room where Raven was sitting up, rubbing her eyes. "What was that?" she asked.

"I don't know," Apple murmured, "Some guy is at the door, and my dad wants us to go to my room."

Suddenly wide awake, Raven jumped up. "Where are they?"

"I think that they're in the study." Raven headed in the direction of Apple's dad's room. "What are you doing?" Apple asked.

Raven sighed. "You aren't honestly going to go to your room are you? Don't you want to know who the man is?"

"I..." Apple trailed off. She did want to know who the man was. She closed her mouth and followed after Raven. She followed Raven to the closet that her father called a study. The door was closed. Berhnard White almost never closed his study door, insisting that since it was just the two of them that they should be open with each other.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Apple wondered.

"Let's find out," Raven whispered. She eased the door open a crack so that they could hear the conversation going on in the other room.

"Why are you here?" her dad was asking.

"I'm here for Gertrude," the tall man said, his voice gruff, "She wants to get to know Apple."

"If she wanted to know Apple, then she would have been involved in helping me raise her," her dad snapped, causing Apple to draw back. Her dad never spoke that harshly. What was going on? "Why are you really here?"

The man sighed. "I am here for Gertrude. She does want to get to know Apple. Surely you knew that since Snow's death you couldn't ignore Apple's legacy."

"I can ignore it all I please," her dad said, "Snow made it very clear that she wanted nothing to do with me or Apple."

"That is not true," the man said, "The princess had other duties to attend to."

Apple glanced at Raven as she mouthed the word, "Princess?". Apple shook her head, she had no idea what either of them were talking about.

"She had duties here too," her father said quietly. Apple heard as pause as he sat down in his old-yet-comfortable office chair. "Do you think that it was easy raising a child on my own? I know nothing about kids."

"Princess Snow didn't either."

"But we were supposed to do it together," her dad's voice was barely audible. He cleared his throat and returned to talking normally, "What does Gertrude want?"

"She wants Apple to live with her for a few years, long enough to get to know Datriyton."

Apple's jaw dropped. Who was Gertrude that she wanted Apple to live with her for a few years? Who was she to make such a demand? Raven pulled out her phone and started typing something. A second later she held up the phone for Apple to see.

"Datriyton is a small European country," she whispered, "Their queen is named Gertrude, and a couple other things."

Apple shook her head. This wasn't happening. This was the plot of one of those horrible romance novels that she occasionally indulged in. It was not something that happened in real life, because that would mean...

"She's not going."

"I'm afraid that you don't have much of a choice on the matter, Berhnard," the man said.

"Of course I do. I'm her father!"

"Think about what Snow would have wanted," the man said, "She loved Datriyton more than anything. Apple is her only heir. If Apple doesn't accept her role, then the Justices' will take her spot. Would Snow want that? Do you want that?"

"No." There was a note of defeat in her father's voice.

No? But that would mean that Apple was leaving. She didn't want to leave. She had a life. She had school. She had friends. She couldn't leave. She didn't want to leave.

"Apple?" Apple was pulled out of her thoughts by Raven, who was standing over her, offering Apple her hand. Apple took it, and the two girls left to Apple's room before they could be caught.

"What are you going to do?" Raven asked, taking a seat on Apple's bed. Apple sat down beside her and stared at her hands.

What should she do? What was she supposed to do? She had just found out that she was the heir to a small European country that she hadn't even known existed. What was one supposed to do when they discovered these kinds of things? What would Raven do? Probably whatever she wanted to, Apple thought. Raven didn't let other people boss her around, but Apple wasn't like Raven. She wasn't good at standing up for herself.

"I don't know," Apple said.

"Do you realize what this means?" Raven asked.

"I'm going to miss the rest of the school year?"

"No," Raven said, "Well, I mean yes, but besides that. You're a princess. You hate princesses."

"Ironic, isn't it?" Apple asked.

Raven shrugged. "If you do end up leaving, can I come visit you in your palace?"

Apple laughed. Of course Raven would want to go to some random European country just to visit Apple. "Sure, Raven. You can come visit me at my palace."

"Good."

Raven stayed until five o'clock when she had to go home because her father wanted her home for dinner. The two of them talked, about nothing and everything, the way that best friends do. Apple didn't speak to her dad until he showed up with takeout, which they ate together in partial silence.

"Your grandmother called," her dad spoke up, "She wants to get to know you, so you're going to go visit her next week."

That was it. He didn't say that she was a queen, or that her mother that he never talked about was a princess, or that the scary man at the door had been a messenger for said grandmother. He just said that she was going to visit, like it wasn't for more than a week.

"What about school?" Apple asked, keeping her attention on her fried rice.

"She said not to worry about that. She has it taken care of."

Apple nodded, and picked up a carrot between her chopsticks. "Cool," she said.

That was all. Just 'cool'. She probably should have argued, shown the facts to her father, told him that her chances of getting into MIT decreased if she moved to a small country in Europe that no one had ever heard of, but she didn't. She just said 'cool'.

Apple ate the carrot as the two of them returned to eating in silence.

Author's Note

I don't always portray Apple in the best light, and I wanted to try writing her as something other than an obnoxious know it all who thinks that she knows what is best for everyone. I decided to focus on her insecurities as well as the scientific side that is present throughout the Shannon Hale books.

For those of you who are fans of the other characters, never fear, many other characters will be showing up including Cerise, Blondie, Briar, and the Charmings. There will also be several original characters in this AU.

I would love to know what you all think of the idea. Thank you for reading.

Meg.