Chapter One

If Duchess Swan didn't have bad luck she was certain she'd have no luck at all.

Destined (ie: cursed) to live her life as a swan with no Prince Charming in sight was a definite fairy fail. What good was being a Royal if you were going to end up with no Happily Ever After?

But Duchess would never speak these thoughts out loud. It had been instilled within her since Nursery Rhyme School to always be the best. Anything less was unacceptable. That meant extra hours in the ballet studio making sure each and every movement was perfect. It meant time spent in the library to ensure there wasn't a single mistake in her thronework. If she was to be the next Swan Queen then she was going to make sure she was the best Swan Queen there had ever been.

Everything had been going just as it should until the script was flipped on Ever After High's Graduation Day. A commotion interrupted the ceremony…all of the princesses, princes, sidekicks, and villains who were not content to let their futures be dictated rose up and fought against their predetermined fates. The Great War lasted for two years and in the end everyone in the land was able to write their own stories.

Duchess had never had a chance at a Happily Ever After before, but now the possibilities were endless. And as hexciting as it was…it was also overwhelming. She'd never had to think off script before and it was harder than it seemed.

A few former administrators from Ever After High realized the citizens of the land might need a little help transitioning to this new world and Ever After University and Career Center was founded.

Now Ginger Breadhouse could be a famous chef! Briar Beauty could stay awake! Raven Queen could be nice! And Duchess could be…

What could she be?

Everyone now had the chance to try their hand at new things or explore things that had always interested them but had forbidden under the old ways. Though Duchess was trained in ballet she wasn't sure if that's what she wanted to do forever after.

Her counselor, Maid Marian, told her that there was no rush. She could take classes in a variety of areas. She could join different clubs and make new friends.

Duchess heeded her advice and did just that. She signed up for courses in astronomy, creative writing, and architecture. She became a member of the Enchanted Ever After Sorority (founded by Apple White and Briar Beauty, of course). And she befriended people she'd never much cared for before…like Sparrow Hood.

Okay, maybe she had cared for him before…they had been friends of…some sort. But this was different.

Several chapters of her high school journal were devoted to Daring Charming. His smile. His hair. His eyes. She had been crushing on him since forever after.

But he had always been out of her league and after the Great War she thought maybe she finally had a chance. But sometimes the more things changed the more they stayed the same. It didn't matter that titles were eradicated and people were free to do as they pleased…boys like Daring only went for girls like Apple. The End.

Enter Sparrow Hood.

He came in late the first day of astronomy, taking the last seat right next to Duchess. As (her ever after lasting bad) luck would have it the professor started class by announcing that whoever was sitting to your right was your partner for the semester. Suddenly her former life as a swan was starting to sound more appealing.

But much to Duchess' surprise Sparrow wasn't actually as irritating as she remembered. Okay, he had a cocky attitude (and he always seemed to whistling), but he had some good qualities as well. Sparrow was passionate about things (when he actually put his mind to it). He was funny…able to make her laugh despite the serious airs she always gave off. And he had a really cute habit of writing down bits of song inspiration on whatever he could find handy…a napkin, a leaf, his arm.

It began innocently enough. Sparrow kept nagging her to attend the open mic night where he and the Merry Men would be performing. Even though things were different in the land it was still taboo for someone like Duchess to be seen in some dive bar. Finally (just to get him to stop bugging her) she told him if he got an A on his midterm she'd be there in the front row cheering her heart out. She figured the chances of that happening were about as likely as Hopper Croakington being able to talk to Briar without turning into a frog.

She was wrong. When he waved the test paper right in front of her nose the big fat red A nearly jumped off the page.

The night of the show…it was like she was seeing Sparrow for the first time. Duchess knew he could scribble down lyrics and strum his guitar, but watching him come alive in front of the crowd was like nothing she had ever seen. Suddenly she realized why he fought so hard against his destiny. Sparrow was meant to shine.

Duchess left before the show ended. She knew she should stay and congratulate him, but she couldn't. Despite her best efforts to keep Sparrow at arm's length he had somehow wormed his way into her heart and she wasn't ready to deal with that just yet.

Duchess might not have been ready, but Sparrow was. He snuck into her dorm room that night (he was even better with locks than Blondie Locks) to ask her why she had run out of the bar. She thought about hedging around the subject…making up an excuse or something. But Sparrow was hexcellent at challenging her…forcing her to be honest with both him and herself.

And that's when Duchess Swan…the princess destined to have no prince…got her first kiss.

From there things escalated rather quickly. The two spent all their spare time together. Sometimes talking…other times their mouths were busy doing other things.

Duchess knew if Apple or any of the other girls found out she was seeing Sparrow she'd be done for. So when she told him they'd have to keep their relationship (is that what it was?) quiet for now Sparrow didn't make a fuss. It took a lot to ruffle his feathers.

The saying goes: old habits die hard. The saying was true. Even though Duchess no longer had a destiny to fulfill she still didn't want to let anyone down. She worked hard in all of her classes so her GPA wouldn't slip. She spent hours in the studio…dancing until her feet felt as if they were going to fall off. She made sure to fulfill all her social obligations with the grace that was expected of a princess. She had finally made friends with the Royal Elite and she wasn't about to lose that status.

It was the happiest Duchess had ever been in her whole life.

So, of course, it couldn't last.