A/N: Hey this is AK! I have put up the first part of this thing for your reading pleasure. Tell me what you think about it, Aquila! (I have quite a bit more ready, but I thought it might be a good idea to stop it here, for now.)
Character: Maddie (at least as a side character)(you regret asking me to do this, don't you?)
Pairing: Cerise Hood/Rosabella Beauty (or as I like to call it, Wild Rose)
Prompt: Rosebella and Daring get together! But Cerise is jealous of- what? No, not Rosie, she's jealous of Daring! But the rest of EAH think that it's the vice versa for some reason. (I ran away with this.)
My one request: Raven tries to create a romantic setup so that Cerise and Daring can get together. It ends in disaster. (And this too. Disaster is the least of it)
Bonus: People are watching in the bushes. (I've taken artistic liberty with this)
Now, without further Ado, I present to You, The True Happily Ever After.
The True Happily Ever After
by AK
It was autumn.
The leaves colored red and gold were ready to fall at a moment's notice.
The trees were laden with fruit ready for picking.
It was in this place that he had met his heart's true love, so many years ago.
And now, in the midst of this scene of bounty, Daring was down on one knee with a bouquet of roses in one hand and the other over his heart.
"Won't you be my date to the Ball?" he asked, as charming as his namesake.
The stage was set, the scene was idyllic and all that was required to make it perfect was a 'yes'.
Alas, fate was not so kind…
"Oh Daring," said the object of his desire, biting their lip, "I'm so, so sorry."
Daring startled, "But why-?"
"I have to go."
"Wait!"
It was to no avail.
The smattering of footsteps and the prince was left alone with a bouquet of drooping flowers.
Time passed smoothly like fine sand through the neck of an hourglass.
It was now winter at its coldest.
However, the whole school was abuzz.
"Have you heard?" was on the tip of the tongue of every person who liked to gossip.
"Who hasn't?" was the immediate reply of every person who didn't.
Daring Charming, the dream guy of the entire female population, had been cursed into a beast!
And Rosabella Beauty had broken that curse with a kiss!
And now, after a few months of dancing around each other, Daring Charming was dating Rosabella Beauty!
It was quite the story.
The fairy tale that had reached its happily ever after way too early.
But was it so?
Rosabella Beauty was a bit of a strange one.
She buried her nose into books and talked to animals more than people.
But strange is the norm in Ever After High, and it just added to her charm.
While she was no Apple White, she did have many admirers.
And no one could deny that she was, well, simply beautiful.
Her modest clothing highlighted her willowy figure. Her rimmed glasses brought out the sweep of her eyelashes and the regal curve of her nose. Simplicity was her middle name and petty trinkets rarely adorned her neck and wrists.
The only reason why she didn't have to keep boys away with a stick was her fairy tale.
Being cursed to a beast did tend to put a damper on things.
But there were a few on whom it didn't… a few like, let us say, a certain Cerise Hood.
Cerise was a girl who liked simple things and liked to keep things simple.
When Daring announced that he was dating Rosabella in front of the whole school, things had gotten complicated.
And she did not like it one bit.
Rosabella was a simple girl.
Rosabella was a kind girl.
Above all, Rosabella was a royal.
Which is why, when chanced upon a prince with a freshly broken heart, she offered to help him.
Though, when she had offered her services, this wasn't exactly what she had in mind…
Oh well, she thought while brushing away red hoods and quirked lips from her mind, maybe it's for the best.
And Daring really did make a good boyfriend.
It was surprising.
For someone who had spent most of his time staring at his reflection, he was a perfect gentleman.
He paid the proper amount of attention to her- not too much, nor too little, he knew when to cajole her and when to give her space, he could talk to her on any subject yet knew when to stay silent…
And he hadn't taken out his mirror even once.
Really, he was the Prince Charming every girl dreams of.
It almost made her sorry that it wouldn't last.
She glanced up at cold blue eyes that looked at her but didn't see her.
And withheld a shiver.
Almost.
Daring sighed.
It was going well.
Too well.
If Murphy was to be believed...
His eyes caught sight of his reflection on the window pane.
His reflection gazed back at him.
I really like your eyes~
Daring shook that stray thought away.
He glanced at Rosabella who sat nestled against him.
She was so absorbed in her book that she didn't notice.
Even so, she shifted along with him as he moved, close and dear.
She really was too good to him, wasn't she?
Even after what had happened, even after she had seen that monstrous side of him, she did not spurn him.
No, she helped him pick up the pieces with gentle hands and loving words.
And she had done it once again when he had been cursed by the Frost King.
Daring shuddered at the memory of hard eyes, sharp words and a cold, cold gust of wind.
It had been horrible.
External appearances kept aside, and admittedly that was a lot to keep aside, his heart had been frozen solid.
And Rosie had been there.
She had been there like a little burning flame, fighting away the cold and fear and darkness.
She still was.
But he wasn't sure if it was enough.
His heart still wasn't healed completely.
It felt cold and frost-bitten.
And anything he felt burned like embers on ice.
Happiness sent sharp spikes of pain, not unlike the ones he felt when he felt fear. Nowadays, it was difficult to feel one without the other.
Sadness burnt like a cold hearth fire, chilling him slowly by ever-so-surely.
He rarely felt angry, but when he did, it felt like little sparklers set alight in his chest.
Hope, hope hurt too much to even think of.
But the worst of all was hate.
Not because it hurt the most.
It was the only thing that didn't.
Daring wondered if it would ever thaw completely…
A cold wind blew against his back.
It seemed to mock him.
He closed his eyes as a ward against tears.
But Daring was mistaken.
The Frost King's curse hadn't frozen his heart.
The thing that happened just before… that was what had truly covered it with frost.
Maddie took a sip of her tea with a sigh.
"This is going to be a lot of unnecessary trouble, isn't it?"
Earl Grey squeaked wisely in response.
Kitty just laughed, hugging her around the shoulders.
They looked upon their friends fondly.
"A visitor for Daring Charming," called a Billy goat.
"Ah, for me?" asked Daring with his megawatt smile.
He tapped on Rosabella's shoulder once and Rosie looked up at him before untangling herself from his side.
"I'll be back before you know it," said Daring softly, kissing the top of her head before moving away.
"Don't be late," murmured Rosabella before diving back into her book.
All those who were in the vicinity sighed at the lovey-dovey couple.
The girls converged on Rosabella, some congratulating her on her new relationship and some making snide remarks about how she stole Daring from them.
Rosabella looked startled, trying to hide behind her book, armed with single syllable answers.
But the rabid crowd of girls was insatiable.
"Isn't it wonderful?"
"You're with our dream guy, y'know?"
"Aw, c'mon that's just mean."
"Congratulations! Your relationship is going really well isn't it?"
"Still in the honeymoon phase, eh…"
"Don't listen to them Rosie, they're just jealous."
"Speaking of which, how far did you go?"
"Did you kiss?"
"Is he a good kisser?"
"Ooh, the nerve of you…"
"He is, isn't he? I'm sure he is."
"He certainly has had practice, hasn't he?" someone giggled.
"Come now, don't be stingy with the details!"
"Really now, I don't think-" started Rosabella, overwhelmed.
She was cut off by a sharp push.
In the few seconds before she fell, she thought she saw- wait, what?
Rosabella was sent flying over the balcony rail and right into the arms of Daring who looked as startled as she was.
"Hello, love," he offered with his signature smile, "Missed me that much?"
She crumpled in his arms, sobbing with relief.
Up on the balcony, all eyes were on Cerise who still had her hand outstretched in shock.
A/N: So that's that! To quote a good friend of mine (a.k.a you, Aquila), 'a penny for your thoughts'?