Chapter Two

"No…you seriously…" Duchess murmured between brushes of Sparrow's pillowy lips against her own. "…seriously…"

"Seriously, seriously," Sparrow said in a teasing tone, drawing her closer to him with his strong arms. "You're always so serious, D."

As he gently pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth she was granted the chance to speak. "You seriously need to go before Lizzie gets back," she murmured, though she made no move to put any space between them.

Lizzie Hearts was her roommate and while Duchess was pretty sure the daughter of the Queen of Hearts knew something non-platonic was going on between her and Sparrow she was always in the midst of her own drama and never got too involved in Duchess' comings and goings.

"There's always plenty of warning before Hearts shows up," he pointed out.

He wasn't wrong…Lizzie was very loud, but she couldn't take any chances. "Fine," she relented. "Five more minutes."

"Oh, I can do a lot in five minutes," Sparrow said with a smile as his hand slowly slipped down her back and rested on the curve of her butt.

Duchess couldn't help but smile back as her lips found his again, her fingers slipping through his ginger hair. On the outside she was always perfectly coifed and put together. On the inside she was wound tighter then a drum. But when she was with Sparrow she felt alive. She was truly free. She was herself.

"Off with his head!" Lizzie cried out from the other side of the door.

Duchess groaned a little as Sparrow loosened his grip around her waist. "Guess you only get two minutes," she whispered.

"That girl seriously needs some help," Sparrow said as he sat up, tugging his shirt on. "And you need to invest in a single room next semester."

She leaned over the edge of the bed to retrieve her own clothes. "Less talking, more dressing," Duchess said and tossed his jeans square into his chest. As she got up to her feet and reached for her skirt she felt his hand on her butt again. "Less touching, more dressing," she amended.

"So serious," he repeated with a chuckle.

When Lizzie burst into the room the two were sitting innocently next to each other pouring over their astronomy notes.

"How does anyone get anything done around here?!" Lizzie demanded, flinging her heart shaped purse across the room, nearly hitting Pirouette, Duchess' pet. The trumpeter swan honked in displeasure. "In Wonderland I'd have a card army to take care of menial tasks like taking hexams."

Sparrow hid a laugh behind his hand while a honk accidently escaped from Duchess' nose as Lizzie yelled, "Off with her head!" to Pirouette.

"I think I need to be at practice. See you later, D," Sparrow said, subconsciously protecting his head by putting his hand on his neck. "Your highness," he added, bowing towards Lizzie as he left the room.

"At least someone knows how things are supposed to be," Lizzie said with a nod of her head. She walked over to Pirouette's nest to retrieve her purse.

"Lizzie…things aren't how they were supposed to be. No one is a prince or princess anymore," Duchess reminded her. Sometimes she wasn't sure if her roommate was just 'too Wonderland' or really that dense.

"I know that!" the ebony haired girl huffed. "But here is not Wonderland. There has not changed!"

Here is not there…there is not here. Even when Lizzie wasn't speaking in Riddlish she was still hard to follow.

"As much as I'd love to stay and finish this…chat. I have a chapter meeting to get to," Duchess said. She gathered a notebook and pen off her desk and deposited them into her book bag.

Lizzie let out a small humph! "And you say I'm the one who isn't aware things are different," she replied.

Duchess narrowed her eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked her.

"Apple White still holds all the power around here even though she's no longer destined to be Queen. You all still treat her like the Fairest of Them All," Lizzie pointed out.

While her roommate wasn't totally wrong she didn't have to rub Duchess' nose in it. She was probably just jealous she wasn't in the Enchanted Ever After Sorority. "Don't wait up," she said as she walked towards the door.

When Lizzie didn't respond Duchess peeked over her shoulder and saw her shuffling her deck of cards and blatantly ignoring her.

"Yay! You're here!" Apple White squealed. The daughter of Snow White always seemed so hexcited about everything. Duchess wondered if her mouth even knew how to frown.

"I'm not late, am I?" Duchess asked, as she leaned in to air kiss each of Apple's cheeks.

"Who's late?" Ashlynn Ella said as she walked in right behind Duchess. Cinderella's daughter looked down at her clothes. They were still fableous, not rags. "Nope…on time!" she said with a grin.

Apple giggled. "Come on…we're about to get started in the living room," she said, waving her hand to beckon them forward.

Duchess followed Apple and Ashlynn through the halls. No expensive had been spared when it came to decorating and furnishing the sorority house. It was all right out of Modern Castle Living. When Apple found out she was no longer destined to be Queen she did the next best thing and decided to study political science…that way she'd still get to be in charge. Her first step towards her goal of world domination began with becoming President of the Enchanted Ever After Sorority. And of course behind every great ruler is a great second in command…which is where Briar Beauty came in.

Membership into the sorority was very hexclusive. Each girl had to undergo a series of tests to prove her loyalty to the sisterhood. In the end twelve girls had made the cut. It had been one of the most hexciting days of Duchess' life when she received the red and gold envelope stating she had been accepted.

As the trio entered the living room Duchess smiled at Blondie, Holly O'Hair, Bunny Blanc, and the rest of her sisters. Never in forever after did she think she'd ever be included in such an elite group (well…she still wasn't sure how Bunny got in, but that was beside the point). It was such an honor.

Apple stood at the front of the room and tapped her little gavel on the dark oak podium. "I call this meeting of the Enchanted Ever After Sorority to order," she said in her usual sing song tone. "We have a lot to discuss today so let's get started."

It wasn't that Duchess wasn't interested in what Apple had to say…but the girl could be a little long winded. She found her thoughts drifting to things she needed to do that afternoon…a short story assignment for creative writing…picking up some snacks from the campus Castleteria…having her pointe shoes mended. When she ran out of items on her to do list a certain ginger haired boy entered the corner of her mind. She sighed inwardly. Why was it that she had finally found someone she liked (who liked her back) it still wasn't going to work out. It was like her life was destined to be a fairy fail no matter what.

Feather dusters!