For as long as she could remember, Apple always believed in destiny. To her, destiny was like the stars in the night sky, an illuminated pattern etched into the darkness. As a girl, she could lean over her balcony railing and follow it from one star to the next, trace it with her fingers until she had every aspect of her constellation memorized. She relied on it to tell her who she was and what step to take next in a universe of endless choice. It was comfort, but also restraint. Life, but not hers. And it was not always easy for her to find the line between Snow White and Apple White. Though as it turned out, her destiny was more unique than Apple ever could have imagined and had more in store for her than a lifetime in someone else's shadow. That much was true the moment she awoke to a pair of celeste eyes reflecting her own gaze back at her.
"Daring?" Apple uttered and then coughed, the magic of the sleeping curse leaving her throat in wisps.
The person before her drew back and, slowly, murky shapes took the form of a face. It was not the face of the prince she knew since childhood, features broad and strong, but it also was not quite so different. Still handsome, still the distinctive face of a Charming, only not the Charming that Apple expected.
For a moment, Apple thought she was dreaming, drifting somewhere in the world of the sleeping curse, and Darling was only a vision basked in a warm haze. She felt compelled to lean up from where she lay, needing to be closer, to touch and know the feeling of the armored princess against her skin. Unabashed, Apple raised a hand to meet Darling's cheek and traced the shape like she would have the stars. Darling didn't lean away as Apple drew nearer, but instead placed an adoring hand firmly over top the one that caressed her cheek. Darling squeezed her hand and, the next time Apple looked to her eyes, there were tears in them. It was in that instant that she knew she wasn't dreaming.
Apple fell back against something soft and pushed a palm to her temple, sorely confused by the dissipating fog in her thoughts. She could feel Darling's presence press forward and welcomed the steadying hand she placed on her shoulder before the storm of voices broke through to her.
"Apple! Are you okay?"
"We were so worried!"
"We didn't know what to do without you!"
Apple winced as a wave of noise and faces came down on her. One by one, she sorted through the voices and realized they belonged to her friends and she was lying somewhere in the forest, a bed of flowers beneath her. She wished the sound would stop, her friends, step away, but the assault on her senses continued until a commanding voice broke the din.
"Enough! Everyone, please, stand back. You mean well, but you're overwhelming her. Trust me, the best thing we can do for her right now is to give her space."
Apple could hear the sound of murmurs and shuffling feet when the air returned to her. Grateful, she leaned into the hand that touched her arm.
"But what are we going to do?" a mousy voice called from the back of the crowd. "We can't just wait around for the Evil Queen to attack!"
"We can't expect Apple to fix everything either," Darling returned, body and tone bracing. Apple watched her heave a calming breath, then fixed her eyes on a detail in the knight's armor. "She needs time to heal. That is not a question for debate."
"But Darling," someone else said, and this time Apple recognized the gentle voice as Ashlynn's. "What about Raven? We're worried about her. I'm sure she had the best intentions in going off alone, but her plan was a little, well…"
"Stupid?" Lizzie offered, examining her nails.
"Careless," Ashlynn corrected with pursed lips. Lizzie only shrugged. "We don't know what she's thinking anymore, and things aren't looking good. She could be in danger—"
"Raven?"
All eyes turned to Apple for her weak outburst, but Apple's eyes searched Darling's for an answer above all others.
"Raven is… in danger?" She clutched Darling's arm.
"Perhaps, but we will help her," Darling assured with tenderness.
Apple lifted herself from her bed of flowers. Her hand flew to the side of her head again when the world began to spin, but she brushed off Darling's help this time. "No," she said stiffly and Darling looked at her, resigned, as if she knew exactly what Apple's next words were going to be. "I've fulfilled my destiny and you know what? I'm done being Snow White. It's time to be Apple White. And it's my turn to do the rescuing, together," she said, turning to meet Darling's gaze. "Let's get Raven."