Oh my goodness… I have no words. I posted that message because I was concerned that people weren't reading the Author's notes I've left in previous chapters, and since then I've been flooded with both reviews and PMs of love and support from my readers. So many of you reached out to me in my time of need and I couldn't be more grateful. Not only that, but for the very first time, this fic has hit a total of over 100 favourites, putting it in the Top 10 of the entire archive. So to all of you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. And hey, we're here; this is the big one. Will Dexter's kiss work? *sing-song voice* Hope you bought your tickets for the feels train. (;

Ok, ok, you'll find out in a minute, but there are a few things we need to go over first. First off, my mum. As you would know from that message I posted, I make no secret to my readers that updates depend heavily on my mum's condition, which has grown significantly worse the last 6 months. She was recently admitted to hospital for a couple weeks, and we now know that on top of the Parkinson's, she also has severe shrinkage at the back of the brain. This will either stay the same or continue to get worse, but either way, it cannot be undone. We're currently waiting to see if our application to this new care-scheme in our area gets hexcepted, but for now, it's still up to us.

On a more positive note,

GUESS WHO'S NOW A UNI GIRL! :D

Boo-yah! That's right fairytales, I passed my bridging course! I am now officially a student at Curtin University, and am doing a double major in Creative Writing, and Professional Writing and Publishing. I'm so hexcited; one of my units for this semester even has a week about fanfiction. XD But yes, this will also keep me busy. Thankfully I'm a bit more organised this time.

Well, I think I've rambled long enough. Normally I do review replies here but that would take an entire page. So to everyone who commented, you're hat-tastic. :) On to the chapter!

WARNING: This chapter contains MAJOR FEELS! Even I cried in the process of writing this, and I know how it ends. If you came even close to tears during Chapters 4 or 5, keep tissues handy.

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Chapter 6 ~ Fate Be Changed

Everything vanished in that moment, grinding to a halt as he pulled away from her stone cold lips. Years could've passed and he wouldn't have noticed, his desperate heart failing to see the hands of time whirling by in the blink of an eye. Not that any of it mattered. She had been – and always would be – his forever after; a brilliant light that couldn't be snuffed out, no matter how the dark winds howled. Oblivious to the rest of the world, Dexter watched her face intensely as he waited for her eyes to open, revealing once more the perfect violet orbs he loved so much.

Finally, a broken, gut-wrenching sob pulled him back to his cruel reality, and he watched from the corner of his tear-filled eyes as Apple fell to her knees and wept, no longer able to bare the weight her own fractured heart. Many of their classmates looked between themselves, wearing their own looks of sorrow.

"I… I don't understand…" Daring muttered to himself. He, like everyone, had been certain Dexter's kiss would be Raven's saving grace. And if his kiss couldn't wake her, he didn't know what could…

"Oh Daring…" Darling gave a shaky sob, turning to her older brother. Taking her in his arms, he held her close as she cried, just barely restraining tears of his own.

His movements slow and tender, Dexter lightly took her limp hand and placed it on his chest, tears spilling down his face as his heart once again plunged into a state of inconsolable grief. After all, what else could it do? Though broken and bleeding, it still held gallons of unspent love meant for his dear one, and what is grief, if not love with nowhere else to go?

Somewhere inside, he knew Raven would want him to go on; find happiness some other way, and reclaim the happy ending her mother had stolen from them both. But he also knew that even while shattered beyond recognition, his heart would continue to beat the rhythm of her name. He'd do anything to bring her back, even if it meant seeing himself living out a random destiny, unhappily tied to some pre-determined princess as he watched Raven from afar, his heart pining to steal one last moment alone with her. Any fate – no matter how dark or how tragic – would be better than this happily never after…

And yet, in spite of the unrelenting agony, he could feel his faith in their love flickering in stubborn protest; like the flame of a candle that continued to glow even whilst drowning in its own wax, determined to fight until its dying breath.

"No… No, you can't- you can't leave me like this. Don't give up on me. On us… You're everything to me Raven; you've always been everything to me. You're everything I think, everything I feel… The moment we met, I knew you were the only one out there for me. I love you; I had so many chances to say it but I didn't, and I regret it more than anything ever after…"

By now, Dexter's whole body was shaking with emotion, the bottle that had so long beared the true hextent of his feelings finally cracking under the pressure. But what he and many others failed to notice, was the faint tremor of Raven's free hand as it lay weakly by her side, an unforeseen magic bubbling beneath the surface.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me. I promise, if you'd just wake up, I'd never ever after leave you alone again. Please Raven… please don't leave me…" Taking her in his arms, Dexter held her frail form as securely as possible, then leant down to her ear and whispered, "I need you, Raven Evie Queen…"

Oh, how bittersweet it felt, to say her complete name like that… He was the only one outside of her own parents that knew it to begin with; one perfect moment from the last date they went on, the last time he almost told her he loved her, the last time he chickened out…

"Tell me something you've never told anyone..."

Raven laughed a little at his request, giving his an amused smile, "Why?"

Mustering up his courage, he gently took her hand in his, shyly smiling back at her, "I want to know something about you no one else at school knows."

Raven blushed, turning away in thought. Then, after a minute, she heaved an uneasy sigh, "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

"I promise."

"Ok... My middle name, is Evie."

"Evie..." he smiled, testing the name on his lips. "It's beautiful. Why don't you use it?"

She blushed a little more, shrugging a shoulder, "Well, it's pretty obvious why Mum chose it. Raven Evie Queen. Evil Queen… I didn't need another reason to be labelled as her."

He nodded in response, "Well, Evie also means 'life', and you have more life than anyone I've ever known..."

Another blush. "Hey Dexter?"

"Yes?"

"I like hearing you say it..."

Dexter lingered by her cheek a moment longer, then gently pressed his lips to her pale face, a single tear falling on her cheek as he wept. But as he held her, a cold shiver trailed up his arms, then ran down his spine. Confused, he looked up, and found a sight that strangely filled him with both hope and despair. Dark magic seeped from her lifeless body, then rippled with surprising force across the clearing with a ghostly cry, like shadows scrambling from a newfound light. As the others took a moment to steady themselves, Dexter's eyes remained solely focused on his sweetheart's face, waiting for that last crucial sign. Only this time, he wasn't disappointed.

Raven's eyes burst open, her trembling form desperate for air. Cheers replaced the empty silence, but to Dexter, something still felt wrong. The curse may be broken, but the Raven he loved was somewhere far far away from the safe, secluded clearing. Irises still the same haunting shade of magenta, her eyes were wide with fear and they darted in all directions, as if searching for something that wasn't there. Apple briefly thought of something her mother said once – how accepting the poisoned fruit meant being dragged into a deep, troubled sleep filled only with one's worst fears – and shivered in regret. If that were true, it was little wonder what that meant for Raven.

As fate would have it, Apple wasn't far off, for Raven's cursed sleep came to pass in a world of fire, her hands powerless and chained to a prison floor, as she was force to watch through the eyes of her darkest self as she hurt and destroyed all that she loved. But now, through the sea of magenta flames, she could just make out a vivid royal blue, calling her back from the fiery abyss.

Raven blinked a few times, her eyes transitioning back to their usual amethyst colour as the haze that clouded her vision faded away, "Dex?"

Relief washed over him like a summer breeze, sweeping away the remnants of the storm that had passed. His eyes stung with tears – not of pain, but of the purest joy – as the shattered fragments that until now had pierced at his chest began to sew themselves back together, the mended jewel that was his heart glowing anew.

"Oh Raven…" Dexter drew her nearer to his chest, daring fate to even try a take her now. "I thought I'd never see you again…"

The ground beneath her seemed to shift, regardless to the fact she had yet to even attempt moving. "What… What happened…?"

"Faybelle," Apple interjected. "She tried to poison me to prove herself to your mother. Somehow you got caught in the crossfire."

Raven felt the world settle around her as clarity returned, brushing off her dusted memories, "The last thing I remember was biting that apple, then…"

She said nothing more, and they could see from the look on her face that she was putting the pieces together. Her confused hexpression slowly gave way to one of hopeful surprise, her lips stretching into a soft smile, "Dexter… It was you?"

Dexter didn't even try to hide his blush, too overcome with joyous relief to care, replying shyly, "Yeah… Yes, it was me who-"

Smiling tearfully, Raven grasped the collar of his jacket as tightly has her weakened body would allow and pulled herself up to kiss him, cutting him off mid-sentence. Dexter froze in momentary surprise, before melting into the kiss, ignoring the collective 'aww' of their friends. Once cold and distant, her raspberry lips were now warm and soft as rose petals, that spellbindingly familiar scent of cinnamon clove filling his senses. Despite being someone normally so awkward in public view, he pridelessly let the last of his tears roll down his cheek, strangely comfortable letting the world see the vast depths of his true emotions for the girl in his arms.

Darling wiped a tear from her cheek, gently squeezing her big brother's hand, "You were right. He found himself right when he needed to…"

"It's more than that," Daring smiled fondly, his eyes never leaving their brother (and future sister-in-law of course). "Rushing in and kissing her as she takes her final breath; that's so much something a Charming would do. Just being himself, and telling her how he truly feels… That's what brought her back."

Oblivious to the rest of the world, Raven reluctantly pulled back from their first actual kiss, blushing as she gazed past his wide rim glasses and deep into his charming blue eyes, getting lost in the process. That is, until one crucial concern entered her mind, "Wait, where is my mother?"

Dexter's and everyone else's hexpressions dropped upon hearing that question. No one wanted to be the one to answer it, but Dexter took it upon himself to do so. "She's still got control of the school. A few of us managed to escape last night, but everyone else is still trapped."

"No… I have to help them. I have to help our friends, and defeat my mother." Swinging her legs round, Raven leapt to her feet, but suddenly became aware of just how much of her strength had been drained. Coming over faint, she placed a hand on her forehead, before falling back once more.

Reflexes surprisingly sharp (for once), Dexter caught her as she fell, carefully scooping her into his arms, "Raven, there's no way you can face her like this. You don't have the strength."

"But-"

"Let us take care of your mother," he insisted, gently lying her back down on her coffin. "Right now, you need rest."

Raven groaned softly, fatigue finally taking over, "Dex? Will you stay with me?"

"Always…" he smiled, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

Smiling weakly in response, Raven allowed her eyes to shut, falling into a peaceful sleep.

Apple smiled for a moment, then turned to their fellow students, calm and collected as she called them to action. "We have to send the Evil Queen back to where she belongs for poisoning Raven. Please, help me fight back."

"But how?" Cedar asked, yet again the first to face the harsh truth. "I cannot tell a lie, and she totally has the advantage."

"We have dragons, we have the booking glass; we just need the passcode."

"But we don't know a passcode. Can't Raven do something?" Holly asked, Poppy adding, "Yeah, unlock it with magic!"

Dexter shook his head as he walked over to join them, "Raven just woke up from her sleeping curse; there's no way she'd have the energy for a spell like that."

"Even if she did, my mother once told me the booking glass is shielded by dark fairy magic. She can't crack it," Apple confirmed. "We'll have to find another way."

"Look Apple, no one wants to see the back of that women more than us." Darling gestured to herself and her brothers (though mostly to Dexter), holding the booking glass. "But it's not like we can just guess the combination. Daring just got lucky when he got captured."

"'Lucky'?" Daring, boastful as ever, gave an indifferent shrug, playing it off as if he knew what he was doing the entire time. "I wouldn't put it that way…"

"I would!"

A dark shadow swept the forest floor, timed perfectly with a familiar roar. Trees shook as Legend lowered herself to the ground, shedding their leaves under the tremendous might of her powerful wingbeats. Her talons sunk into the grass as she landed heavily, students gasping upon seeing Faybelle on her back.

As the dragon steadied herself, Faybelle watched the faces of her classmates shift from confusion to distrust. In spite of her previous cocky remark, she was genuinely nervous. After everything that had happened the past few hours, they had every right to throw her at the mercy of Raven's mother (not that she believed they actually would). Releasing the breath she hadn't realised she was holding, she flew down to meet the others.

"You've got some nerve showing your face around here after what you did," Dexter snarled, his siblings and a few of their friends shocked by the uncharacteristic aggression in his voice.

"Dexter's right. Raven almost died because of you," Apple continued as she crossed her arms, drawing even more surprised looks as she strode towards the fairy. "You better have a good reason for being here, Faybelle."

Faybelle could only look down in regret. Needless to say, she hadn't been hexpecting a warm welcome, but she hadn't predicted quite this much scorn. Raven's outright disregard for her destiny didn't seem quite so far-fetched anymore…

Feeling Legend give her a supportive nudge, the young fairy took a deep breath, then looked straight in the eyes of the prince and princess, "I came to apologise…"

Dexter's face softened, but Apple remained cynical. "Really? You, apologise? You can barely even say the word 'sorry'."

"I guess I was afraid people didn't take me seriously as a future villain, or maybe just jealous of all the attention Raven gets, and somehow thought helping the Evil Queen would get me bonus points. I should have known she was just using me to do her dirty work…" Faybelle confessed, rubbing her arm. "When Raven's mother told me to poison Apple, I didn't see the harm in it because everyone knew Apple wanted to follow her destiny and Raven didn't. I thought it was a win-win for everyone; I didn't mean for anyone to actually get hurt…"

Though most of the others remained cynical, Rosabella couldn't help but share a smile with Dexter. She'd known, all along, that a slither of good resided in Faybelle's heart, and now – if only for a moment – that goodness was finally shining through.

"I know I've given you no reason to trust me, but if you'll give me just one more chance, I promise I'll help you take her down. She won't be as tough without Faybelle in her corner…"

Darling, still slightly skeptical, cast a glance at Apple, who sighed and nodded in approval. In truth, both were silently praying they wouldn't come to regret this crazy trust exercise, but if Raven had taught them anything, it was that you can't judge a girl by her destiny. So, pushing her doubts aside, Darling handed the booking glass to Faybelle.

Faybelle – somewhat surprised they were actually giving her a second chance – offered her a rare genuine smile. Taking a couple steps back, she pushed herself off the ground, chanting a spell like a cheer-hexing routine, "One, two, three, four; that booking glass is locked no more!"

The booking glass was immediately encased in a flash of purple light, signalling Faybelle's success.

"What shall I capture?" the young fairy mused as she returned to the ground, eyes lighting with mischief upon landing on Sparrow. "Hmm, how 'bout… a sandwich."

Holding up the booking glass in his direction, she watched with a smirk as a beam of green light 'captured' the sandwich out of his hands just as he was about to eat it, earning her a sour look from the leather-clad Rebel. "Hey!"

Dexter and his brother shared a small laugh, before Daring gave him a light nudge, "I take it you're staying here?"

"Yeah. I need to be here when Raven wakes up."

"You look after your queen; we'll handle your future villain-in-law."

Dexter chuckled, punching his arm in a playful manner. It had been forever after since they were like this, yet surprisingly easy to slip back into. "Get out of here."

Daring clapped a brotherly hand to his shoulder, before jogging over to the others. Taking the booking glass back from Faybelle, Darling turned to their teenage resistance, "What are you waiting for people?"

"Dragon up!"

With that determined shout from Apple, everyone raced to where the dragons had been stabled. But before they were out of earshot, Dexter clearly heard Daring's voice echo through the crowd, shouting two words that – along with the spirited cheer the followed – filled him with more pride and joy than he'd ever known…

"For Raven!"

Dexter smiled as he knelt beside Raven's coffin, tucking a stray lock of violet hair behind her ear. After all this time, all the heartache and all the tears, she could finally reap the rewards of everything she'd fought for. The days of hexpectations and inescapable pre-written destinies were finally drawing to a close, welcoming in a new chapter for everyone's stories, and a brand new era in the history of Ever After High.

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See… I told you I could have been much meaner with last chapter's cliffhanger. Imagine how infuriating it would have been if I ended it with her not waking up. (; But yeah, it was pretty obvious Dexter would be the one to wake her up, so I had to give it something to add a little more suspense. Honestly, I'm not completely happy with how the 'Raven waking up' part turned out, but that's probably just my Creative Writing lessons making me overthink everything.

Anyway, that's the last of the feels for a little bit. Time to take back the school! I've made a start on Chapter 7, but again, no promises when I'll upload it.

As always, can't wait to see what you think; you guys are the greatest. See you over the page! :)