Author's Notes: So, I gave Epic Winter a watch and really enjoyed it! However, this story was completely conceived before watching it. The only real effect Epic Winter has on my story involves Daring Charming, they went a completely different direction than I did! So keep that in mind as you're reading this! Also, for some odd reason I wasn't able to post Chapter two as one entire piece. I had to break off the final scene of the chapter and upload it into a different file. So, when you read this please know that you need to go on to the next chapter to read the end of chapter two. Thank you for the follows and kind reviews, it makes writing this a lot more fun when I hear from all of you! I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2 - A Fairy Tale, A Queen, and a Lonely Prince
High above Ever After High a lonely mountain tickles the clouds. Within the mountain is an old cave that Maid Marian uses for her Damsel-in-Distressing class. Raven makes her way up the mountain as fast as she can, but she has to stop for a breather every now and again. Unfortunately, class has already started by the time she arrives. She sneaks in as quietly as she can and stands next to Apple, who takes her hand and gives it a squeeze as a thank you for coming, which sends a spark through Raven's body. Again, this new feeling baffles Raven, but it is impossible to ignore. Her strange new feelings for Apple don't seem likely to go away. Maid Marian finishes her lecture and thanks Raven for coming.
"So class, please make sure to practice your fainting and, more importantly, your princessly trust. Today we have a special guest in class, Raven queen. Thank you so much for coming!" Maid Marian pauses for a moment to let every one clap a little. Cerise, Briar, and Ashlynn all smile and wave. "Now Apple, if you and Raven would come up here, we'll get started."
The two girls walk up to the front. Apple stands by Maid Marian proudly, like a child who is receiving special treatment for bringing something amazing to class for show and tell. Raven stands meekly, one arm crossed over her chest and holding on to her other arm, just above the elbow, a nervous tick of hers.
Maid Marian spends the next few minutes introducing the fairy tale and giving some personal insight into how the tale was performed with Apple and Raven's mothers so many years before, then, after a brief setup, Raven is doing the last thing she ever wanted to be doing: standing in front of Apple with a basket of apples under her arm.
"Now by this point the Evil Queen would have cast a spell on herself to look like an old woman. Are you advanced enough in your studies to demonstrate that for us?" Maid Marian looks at Raven sweetly.
"Umm, I think it would be better if I avoided casting any spells right now, my magic is a little… wonky sometimes."
"No problem dear. Class, just imagine that raven has transformed herself into an old woman. okay you two, go ahead." Maid Marian gives them the floor.
"Umm. Okay…" Raven looks around at all of her smiling friends faces, then over to Apple who is sitting on the stone slab just outside the caves mouth, pretending to pick flowers, takes a deep breath, and starts her lines. "Why hello little miss." Apple turns and a look of confusion crosses her face, as if she has no idea who is standing in front of her. Apple is good. After a pause Apple puts forth her best smile. the entire area seems to brighten. Maid Marian nods approvingly.
"Why hello! I'm sorry, you shocked me! I'm not used to visitors out here. What brings you this far into the forest?" Apple gives a languid blink after her lines, her long eyelashes tickling her cheeks.
"Not many people know this, but not far from here there is an old enchanted tree upon which only the choicest fruit grows. I am just returning with a basket full of delicious apples." Raven's lines come out flat. She is trying to match Apple's enthusiasm, but her heart isn't in it.
"Oh! I'm not familiar with this tree, but I do wish I was, I adore apples!" With this Apple leans forward, trying to get a better look at the fruit in Raven's basket. Raven holds up the basket and searches through it, pretending to look for the best Apple.
"Well, for a pretty little thing like you, I'm sure I can spare one, yes, here you are, a perfect red apple for the most beautiful girl in the land." Raven wants nothing more than to be somewhere else.
"Why thank you, kind old woman, but I have nothing to pay you with." Apple's eyes are ablaze with happiness, which somehow makes this idiotic role playing for a destiny Raven will never fulfill worth it.
"If I could stop you for just a moment. Class, notice that Apple is completely trusting of the stranger with the apples? It is our job as damsels to always be kind, even if we are unfamiliar with the person to whom we are speaking. great work you two, please continue."
"Well my pretty, for you they are free. For this apple so matches the color of your lips it is indeed yours already."
"Well in that case, thank you very much." Apple reaches out her hand and takes the Apple, lightly brushing Raven's fingers as she does. She flashes her perfect smile, rubs the fruit on her dress and looks up at Raven, obviously so immersed in the story that Raven is sure that Apple sees only an old woman. She slowly brings the apple up to her mouth as the entire audience, even Raven, watches intently. Nobody makes a sound or moves a muscle and the sound of Apple taking a bite from the apple is deafening. After her bite, she brings her hands up to her throat as if she were choking, then falls on to the stone slab dramatically. her butterfly eyes closing. after a few moments the class erupts into applause. Apple is a natural and for the first time Raven is a bit sad she's not going to be part of the fairy tale.
Raven walks over to her, gives her dress a flourish, and lets out the most pitiful excuse for an evil cackle ever after. She can see her friends wince at how bad at is.
"Perfect job Apple and Raven. Of course now would be the time that Apple's prince would come into the picture, but recent events have left us without a volunteer for princely duties."
A prince. Daring, no not Daring, Darling! Raven has thought about this a million times, but only now does this mystery start to make sense. Before she even realizes what she's doing, Raven speaks.
"If you'd like I think I could play that part as well. I've rehearsed this fairy tale a million times so I know all of the parts." Raven's statement is met with lots of whispers from her classmates and a raised eyebrow from Maid Marian.
"By all means! And thank you for being so accommodating."
Raven runs into the cave and grabs a sword, pauses for dramatic effect, then bursts forth as if she has just discovered a new place. This is a part she has always heard, but never acted out and for some odd reason it is highly enjoyable!
"What have we here, a fair maiden lying dead amongst the trees of this accursed forest?" She steps forward and leans in close to Apple. She can smell Apple's perfume and she finds herself a little weak in the knees. She takes a startled step back.
"Alas, not dead, but fallen into a sleep as cold as death. Breath still gathers firm within her delicate frame. A slight hint of cool air plays against her red lips. Lips as red as blood. Methinks I have never spied a maiden as beautiful as this, were she awake I would throw myself at her feet for I find myself beguiled by this forest beauty. My heart beats louder in my chest than ever it did in battle. Is this love?"
At first Raven delivers the monologue in a mock princely voice (using Daring as her reference) but as the monologue wears on, her voice drops, the words taking on a meaning to her she'd never considered. Where before the words were just trite (and ridiculous when you get right down to to it) now she feels that perhaps she understands them a little better. She gets down on her knees, her face close to Apple's and continues, as the class and all of her peers melt out of existence.
"Would that she could see me. That I could behold the color of these closed windows and see the soul that lies within. Would our souls speak the truth of true love? Methinks they will. Why? Why must it be you, you in cursed sleep. All that I can do is steal one kiss so that perhaps my soul can speak what words cannot, lest they fall on closed ears." Raven leans in. It is only her and Apple. All thoughts of this sudden change in her feelings slip away. All fear slips away as she brings her lips closer until they are sharing the same air.
"Was it always you?"
Apple's eyes pop open at Raven's departure from the script. Blue, blue, ocean blue. This is the closest Raven has ever been to her princess and she can read confusion, awe, and, perhaps, a touch of excitement? Raven knows she is going to kiss her, it's all she wants, and Apple doesn't seem to be stopping her, but before she closes the final inches to those red lips Maid Marian breaks the spell.
"Perfect job, Raven! I must say you give Daring a run for his money! Who knew you were such an outstanding actress!" As she speaks Maid Marian takes Raven by the shoulders and pulls her away from Apple, who sits up on the slab and watches Raven go. Is that sadness in her Princesses' eyes?
"She plays a better prince than a villain," Ashlynn states teary eyed. "That was beautiful. Her words, so complimentary, bring Raven back to the present and she realizes that her peers had just watched the most intimate moment she has ever experienced. With this realization Raven is flooded with embarrassment. She can feel the color rising in her cheeks, so she makes her way into the cave to return her sword, terrified by the prospect of having to return to class, having to speak with Apple.
So, she waits in the cave, fumbling around and acting like she doesn't know where to put the sword.
XXX
Cerise watches Apple hanging around the entrance of the cave quietly while all the other students are raving about Raven's performance as a prince. 'This isn't going to fix itself without a little intervention,' she thinks to herself as she heads over to Apple.
"Hey Apple, I just got a hext from Hunter that there is a deer caught in a fence and he can't calm it down enough to get it out."
Apple looks over to Cerise and bites at her bottom lip as she thinks. "I guess I should go help." She looks longingly at the cave, then turns around and starts heading down the mountain. "Tell Raven I'll see her tonight."
"Will do!" Cerise watches Apple get a ways down the mountain before shooting Hunter a hext telling him that Apple is looking for him and if she asks about a deer he should tell her he was able to get it loose from the fence. By the time she is through no one is in sight near the cave except Maid Marian who is busy packing up her things.
"They're all gone, Raven."
Raven lets out her breath. "Thanks, Cerise."
"You bet, everyone was talking about how wonderlandiful your acting was. Where did that come from?"
"Just really got into the part I guess!" Raven smiles awkwardly as her eyes beg Cerise not to push on this one.
"Well it was fantastic."
"Thanks! Listen, I've got to go see to Nevermore. I'll catch up with you later!" Raven waves as she backs out of the cave and starts her way down the mountain.
'hmmm,' Cerise thinks to herself, 'couldn't be… but maybe…' It looks like it's time to have that discussion with Maddie. She's been putting it off for way too long and it has been slowly eating away at her. Maddie is her friend. Raven is her friend. They know her family's secret and they still accept her. Now it is time they know her secret.
The Wonderland Haberdashery and Tea Shoppe is at it's busiest when Cerise enters and quietly heads to the back to find Maddie. A group of students from the school are freaking out because one of their friends walked into a room they thought was the bathroom, but turned out to be one of the shop's famous portals to another dimension. The students are trying to set up a chain to pull their poor friend out.
Cerise finally finds Maddie sitting at a back table talking to her Dormouse, Earl Gray. The Dormouse nods at Everything Maddie says.
"Hey Maddie." Cerise pulls up a chair and joins her friend.
"Oh ho! It's Cerise! How are you today, Cerise? Care for some tea?"
"Absolutely."
Maddie holds a cup upside down and over her head, then precedes to poor some tea up into the cup. Cerise accepts the cup gratefully, careful to turn the cup right side up as she accepts it. Once she held a cup offered upside down by Maddie for a little too long and the tea all dropped into her lap. It's easy to forget that it is Maddie that keeps things wonderlandiful, without her influence things have a tendency to go back to normal.
Cerise is suddenly incredibly nervous. She looks down into her tea, trying to figure out how to begin the conversation she's always known she'd have to have with her friend. She felt ready when she walked in the door, but now her bravery is leaving.
"Oh! Hey, did I tell you that I had an interesting experience with Kitty earlier?"
"Do tell!" Maddie leans forward and puts her elbows on the table."
"Well, you know how mad I was at her for trying to out my family's secret to the school?"
"Was?"
"Was? Oh! Yes, was, I'll get to that in a minute. Anyway, She's was skulking around Raven acting all… Kitty, so I confronted her. Well, we got a little riled and she tried to fade away so I grabbed onto her in order to keep her there."
Suddenly Maddie spits her tea out all over the table. Cerise isn't expecting it so she jumps to get out of the way.
"You did what?" Maddie almost screams.
"Yeah, I kinda… Her smile was the only thing left of her so I kinda… just… grabbed it." Cerise pulls on the front of her hood as she speaks. Maddie seems almost angry. Perhaps she broke some kind of Wonderlandian tradition.
"I'm sorry Maddie, I was just so angry."
Maddie suddenly jumps up, comes around the table, and starts to inspect Cerise, even going as far as sniffing her. Cerise pulls her cloak around her and tries to pull away from Maddie.
"Are you okay? Did you lose any limbs or digits? Let me see your toes." Maddie starts going for Cerise's feet, which are extremely ticklish. Cerise laughs as Maddie starts pulling off her shoes.
"Maddie… Maddie… MADDIE!" The Wonderlandian stops and looks up at Cerise.
"Yes?"
"Stop tickling me feet. Why this reaction? Did I break a cultural rule or something?" Cerise tries to pull her hood down, again. Maddie stares at her very seriously, so seriously that Cerise starts to get nervous. After a few moments Maddie bursts out laughing. Laughing so hard she ends up rolling on the floor. Cerise joins in with an uncomfortable and confused laugh.
"No silly! You didn't break a tradition or anything, you just almost got yourself killed!" Maddie continues to laugh hysterically.
"Wait, what? Killed?" Cerise is shocked. "How?"
"You are not used to, nor do you have the proper power, to travel as Kitty does. The fact that I'm sitting here talking to you is a miracle! I mean, what are the chances?" Maddie is finally sitting back in her chair, wiping her streaming eyes.
"The chances for what?"
"Oh, that is not for me to say, but…" A small chime comes from Maddie's wrist. "Switch!" Cerise get's up and moves to the Dormouse's place and Maddie moves into hers. This has become so normal to Cerise that it doesn't even phase her. She gets up, keeping Maddie intensely in her stare, and gets comfortable in her knew seat. Once everyone is settled Maddie continues as if she'd never stopped.
"…you should definitely speak with Kitty. If she wants to tell you about all the laws of her method of travel she can. She'd be much better at it."
"I see. I'll do that. Actually, Well, the thing is, I think I might have misread the situation with Kitty trying to out me. I think she was trying to tell me to be myself. I think I kinda… saw a different side to her, a side I really didn't hexpect!"
"Kitty is a mad little darling who loves to stir things up, but she is also one of the kindest people I know. The side you saw of her is her true self." Maddie actually seems a little sad as she speaks, which is new.
"yeah, I feel like a little bit of a fool." Cerise states as she stares down into her tea. She takes a deep breath and dives in. (To the conversation, not the tea silly) "Actually, that's not the reason I came to talk with you. There's something I've been wanting to tell you for awhile, but I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. Anyway, something happened with Raven and Apple today that made me realize that it is time." Cerise can't seem to crawl far enough back into her hood.
"Oooh, sounds serious! Let's hear it!"
"You and Raven are my best friends ever after and I want to be honest with you about everything, so… Um…"
Suddenly Maddie is raising her hand and bouncing up and down on her seat like she is trying to get the teacher's attention.
"Um… Maddie?"
"Yay! I love this game! I wanna finish the story! Ever since you were a little girl you've liked doing boy stuff and when other little girls were starting to notice boys you were noticing the girls and now you are one-hundred-percent sure that you are gay." Maddie puts her hand down, picks up her tea and takes a sip while doing a little victory dance.
"How did you know?"
"Duh! Raven and I both know! We love you and it's pretty dang obvious once someone gets to know you!"
"Raven knows!" Cerise's mouth drops open in shock.
"Um hmm! We were wondering when you were going to tell us. Nothing to fear my little wolf girl. All your secrets are safe with us!" And with that Maddie jumps up and gives Cerise a quick hug. "I must say, I am honored that you were finally able to trust me enough to tell me!"
"Wow! Um… Wow! I don't know what I did to get so lucky. You guys are the best friends a girl could wish for! I gotta go find Raven!"
"Go, she'll be happy you've taken this step!"
And Cerise left to find Raven. In her excitement she didn't notice that Maddie's face was strained and pale. She left so fast that she missed the dam breaking as she ran out the door. She missed Maddie covering her face with her hands and sobbing as if her very soul was broken.
