Cerise's PoV
Cerise sits down in front of her mirror with a yawn. It is time to put on make-up. She takes a look at her reflection and narrows her eyes. Something is different about her. Her eyes aren't as bright and the colour to her face is missing. She sighs and decides to hocus focus on the make-up products all lined up by the mirror. There aren't that many, as she doesn't wear much of it, not even the base foundation. Just lip-gloss in a natural shade, a bit of eyeliner and mascara.
"Today is a great day!~" Cedar says happily as she rises from her bed, (almost like a vampire in a coffin) and yawns from her side of the dorm room. She stretches her arms up high above her head, her joints cracking. "Don't you agree, Cerise?~" she smiles at her roommate, jumping out of bed.
Cerise shrugs and begins with putting on the black eyeliner to her left eye. "I'm not much of a morning person, but today I feel really off the page."
Cedar begins to make her bed and then takes out some clothes for the day. She puts on a dress and skips over to where Cerise sits. "Can you zip me up, please?"
Cerise sighs and puts the eyeliner-pen between her teeth, pulling up the zipper on the dress.
"Thank you.~" Cedar sits down beside her and takes out her own beauty-products, in this case a hairbrush. She brushes through her hair and then puts on a diadem. "Well, I better get going."
"Huh? Where?" Cerise looks at Cedar.
Cedar giggles. "To the Castleteria, of-course."
"Can't you..wait for me? Please?" Cerise begs.
Cedar shakes her head and gets up from the chair. "It's top-secret and I really have to go now before I-!" She covers her mouth with both her hands and skips over to the door whilst mumbling on.
Cerise tilts her head to the side as she watches her friend preventing herself from spelling out a secret. "Okay, I guess I'll see you later then?"
Cedar nods and does something with her hand that is suppose to look like a wave, but it just looks weird. Then she opens the door and drags herself out and closes the door. Cerise slowly shakes her head at her best friend forever after. Cedar is the most honest person Cerise knows and she knows how hard it is for her to keep a secret. Hex, Cerise knows how hard it is to keep a secret! Yet Cedar handled it very well, although she looked very funny while doing it.
Cerise returns to hocus-focus on her make-up. Eyeliner is set, so what's next? Her mind wanders as she puts on lip-gloss. What is so great about today? What is the secret that Cedar must keep hidden? And how can it be that Cedar is so... so upbeat? She herself has an hextreme headache, in fact she has an hextreme ache in her whole body.
What did I do yesterday that makes me feel so hexhausted? What the hex is this kind of pain? Cerise looks at herself in the mirror, closes her eyes and hocus-focuses to remember. The only things that comes to mind is really loud music, a room full of people spinning around before her eyes. No use... I think I had fun though? Oh gord, I really hope I didn't make a fool out of myself.
A loud grumble from her stomach calls her back to the present moment. She grimaces to her reflection in the mirror. Better go downstairs and dig my teeth in some breakfast.
While walking through the hallways to get to the Castleteria she can't help but notice that the students that she walks past are looking at her, right at her. Cerise pulls the front of her hood to cover her face. She dares not to look at anyone and yet she kind of wants to because wherever she goes the students starts to whisper when she comes near them. She wants to confront them and tell them all to stop, to shut up, because they are talking about her. She it certain of it.
Cerise hates to be in the spotlight and being watched like this makes her feel as if the walls are closing in on her. Her heart beats rapidly and hard in her chest. She looks down at her feet instead of confronting anyone, pretending that she is invisible and that she can't be seen, not noticing that someone is standing in the way before her.
"Woop! Cerise, there you are!" clings the bubble voice of Madeline Hatter, followed by her even bubblier laughter.
Cerise looks up, confused and a little scared. Like a wolf being spotted by the huntsman whilst being on the run for its life.
"And you're just on time too! Come on!~" Maddie grabs her by the arm and pulls her with her to the entrance of the Castleteria.
"Cerise! Over here!" Hunter calls out, waving at Cerise and Maddie. He smiles happily.
Cerise feels her heart drop because it's not only Hunter that looks at her, every fairytale in the Castleteria looks at her. She whimpers like a scared puppy and wiggles a little to get loose from Maddie's grip.
Hunter stands up from the table and walks up to her, and thankfully everyone else looks away, pretending to not pay attention to them. His happy smile turns to a concerned look once he stands before her.
"Are you okay? You look a bit... pale." He gently strokes her cheek with his finger.
"She looks a bit green to me," says Maddie and tilts her head. "Cerise, are you feeling hat-tastic or have your insides gone all topsy-turvy?" She lets go of Cerise and looks at her from toe to hood.
"I think I'm gonna be sick.." Cerise says, softly like a whisper.
She backs away from Maddie and Hunter and runs away. She rushes as quick as her legs can bare her. Through the hallway, she pushes students to off to both sides to make her way through.
"Cerise?" Daring looks after her when he gets pushed into the lockers behind him. "I've got to go and help her."
"Awh Daring, it's probably nothing. Cerise always runs in the corridors." Apple says, waving her arms up above her head to show that Cerise is a minor thing to be concerned about.
Daring looks at her trough Briar's sunglasses that Apple now wears. She's been wearing them all morning.
"She never pushes people." he says and turns to jog after Cerise.
"She's not even a real damsel!" Apple growls inwardly and stomps with her foot.
Cerise continues to run although her legs weakens and her head is spinning. She doesn't stop until she reaches the toilets and locks herself in.
Quickly bending over the loo.
Throwing up.
The other girls in the Girl's Room squeal in disgust and leaves as fast as they can.
Cerise cries between her coughs, the tears running down her cheek.
I have never felt so humiliated before in my life...
She wipes her cheeks and blows her blocked nose with toilet paper.
"Cerise? Are you in here?"
"I-I'm here..." Her voice barely bares. She makes an effort to stand up and pushes the button to flush.
There's a knock on the door to the toilet booth she's in. She wipes her cheeks again before opening the door.
"How are you feeling? Are you sick?"
She steps out and goes to the sink. She doesn't even want to look at herself in the mirror.
"You look terrible. I mean- you don't look so good, right now."
She fills her hands with cold water and splashes it to her face. With her eyes closed she grabs a towel and pats her face dry. She sighs and meets her reflection.
"It's probably the alcohol, you had plenty to drink. Maybe a little too much, I think."
Alcohol?
She turns around and peers up at him. He gently takes her hand and pulls her in for a hug.
No wonder why I don't remember anything!
"It will be okay." He looks down at her and fires off a little smile. "You'll feel better in no-time."
"What hexactly happened...last night?"
He begins to answer, when the door suddenly opens.
"Cerise!"
The door closes behind Daring.
Cerise quickly lets go of Hunter.
"D-daring!" She blushes madly of embarrassment from having Daring see her like this, all green and terrible.
"Are you alright?" He walks up to her, looking at her. Cerise feels her heart slowly beginning to beat faster.
"She is fine, Daring. I've got her." Hunter says, firmly putting his arm around her, holding her to him. As if she needed protection, or to show Daring something.
"Fine is not good enough." Daring replies without looking away from her. Cerise feels her cheeks burning again and she is slowly dying on the inside when she imagines how that red looks with the green in her face.
I must look like a clown, or a freak... Oh gord, what is he doing?
She finds herself being softly pulled away from Hunter.
"I think you need some air. And water. You don't mind, do you?" Daring gives Hunter a serious look before he helps Cerise out of the Girl's Room.
Apple's PoV
I can't believe him! He actually ran after her! What a Royal fairyfail!
Apple angrily stomps away from her locker. She had just been stood up by Daring, her own fairytale prince. How very royally charming is it to run after a simple girl like Cerise Hood? Not so royally charming at all, if Apple gets to decide.
A small boy-goat clears his throat, tugging at her skirt as she walks by. She quickly spins around and looks down at him.
"For you, maaah~fair princess.~" He gives her a little flower and smiles, happily wagging his tiny little tail.
"Aaaaawwww thank you!~" Apple smiles happily and takes the flower.
She pats his head and then walks away. Her happy smile quickly turns into a unhappy frown. She growls inwardly.
"Uh-oh, fairyfail alert!" She hears Briar saying from somewhere in the hallway. Somewhere close. Close as behind her-close.
Briar puts her hand on Apple's shoulder, stopping her. Apple spins around and faces bet best friend forever after, and when Briar meets her eyes she doesn't need Apple to tell her that something is wrong because her whole aura is beaming with it.
"How about a field-trip to the Hocus Latte?"
Hunter's PoV
Great. Just perfect.
Hunter is in the Enchanted Forest, throwing rocks into the pond. The birds aren't singing, there is no wind playing through the trees. Everything is quiet, hexcept for Hunter.
After Daring came in and totally ruined his moment with Cerise and then took her away as if he owned her, Hunter left the school grounds and went to the Enchanted Forest in a very bad mood. He didn't want to talk with anyone, not even Pesky. Nor the birds or any other creature in the forest.
At first they had been singing to him, greeting him ever so happily but he had told them off very quickly. He had come to sort out his anger and jealousy, not to chit-chat.
And so, Hunter now throws stones and rocks into the pond, pretending that they are Daring Charming.
"She part of my story!" He throws a average sized rock.
"She is my damsel!" He throws a bigger rock into the pond.
"It was me she kissed! It was me she agreed to be in a relationship with! You're just a greedy stuck-up self-centred stupid hexcuse for a prince!" He yells and throws a huge rock, using both his arms to throw it into the pond.
The water splashes everywhere. Hunter's rapid breathing slowly comes at an ease as he watches the rings on the water slowly dying out. He sits down on the sand-beach with a sigh.
Pesky swiftly runs to him and places his tiny paw on his leg, peering up at him. Hunter looks down at the little squirrel, strokes his tiny head with a finger and carefully picks him up.
Pesky squeaks and points with his whole arm towards something behind him.
"Huh?" Hunter turns to look behind him. He raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Ashlynn?"
"Hi Hunter," Ashlynn Ella smiles a little and waves with her hand from where she stands by the trees.
"What are you doing here?" He turns around with his whole body to face her, still sitting down.
Ashlynn takes a step forward. "You pet- Pesky, he told me that you were upset and that you needed someone to talk to."
Hunter peers at Pesky. "Seriously?"
Pesky nods, crossing his arms across his chest.
Hunter looks up at Ashlynn. She blushes slightly and sits down beside him.
"So... What is troubling you so much?"
Hunter sighs softly.
"Is it...girl-problems?"
Hunter nods. "Yep."
Ashlynn wraps her arms around her legs, peering down at her high-heels of glass. "Oh..."
"She is destined to be mine, according to the story, aaand Daring took her away."
"Maybe...they're just friends?" Ashlynn suggests.
Hunter shrugs. "I've never seen them together before. You royals don't usually hang out with us rebels," he looks at her and she smiles a little. A smile that he doesn't know how to read. She looks so sad. "Why are you smiling?"
Ashlynn looks away, gazing out at the pond. "If she is your destined one then why did you let her go away? You are a Huntsman, Hunter. You hunt your prey and you don't stop until you catch it."
"Are you saying that Cerise is my prey?" He laughs a little.
"Yes." She looks at him, he smiles. "What's so funny?"
"I'm sorry, I just never looked at it that way. So what do you suggest I'd do? I mean I've hunted before but not... Not like this."
He looks at her and their eyes meet. He smiles a little when he sees her cheeks blushing softly with a light shade of pink.
"You could take her on a date, do something you both like or-"
"Like a picnic?"
"Oh I love picnics.~" Ashlynn sighs happily and smiles, her green eyes sparkling. "I-I mean picnics are good, that's a good idea. Take her to a picnic."
Hunter peers at her with a raised eyebrow and smiles. He chuckles. "Okay. What else can I do?"
"You can express yourself and tell her how you feel."
"But she knows. I told her."
"Ah but when did you tell her? At the party when you most certainly were completely wasted and cried when you s- I mean, when you were completely wasted?" Ashlynn clears her throat.
Hunter's eyes widens. She blushes madly, thinking that he figured out what she almost spelled out.
"Ooooh..." He says slowly, snapping with his fingers. "She doesn't know! She has no idea that she's my girlfriend!"
Pesky facepalms himself.
Ashlynn sighs. "She obviously doesn't."
"Then I must tell her!" He exclaims hexcitedly.
Ashlynn smiles at his hexcitement, but her eyes aren't happy. Pesky is the only one who sees this. Hunter is too busy planning what he will say to Cerise and how he will swoon her on a date.
"Do you think she likes me back?" He suddenly asks. "I mean, if she agreed to be in a relationship with me when we were drunk...maybe she doesn't really like me?"
"How could she not like you? I mean... You are heroic, caring and smart and very handsome..." Ashlynn says and blushes.
"Really? I'm handsome and heroic?" Hunter sits a bit straighter up.
Ashlynn nods. "Very.."
Hunter looks proud. "Well then I'd better get to it." He leans in and gives her a peck on her cheek and then stands up.
"Thank you Ashlynn.~" he winks at her and smiles before wandering off.
Ashlynn Ella holds her hand to the place where he had kissed her. Her whole body tingles, her insides are squealing of joy.
She looks down at the little squirrel.
"H-how did I do?" She asks happily.
Pesky gives her a thumbs up and a thumbs down. His facial expression is grumpy, as if he's not pleased with how their meeting went.
"He kissed me," she giggles and sighs happily. "That must mean something."
Brooke, gasping hexcitedly: "Is there a love triangle coming up?"
Female narrator: "Brooke, what have we said about spoilers!"
Brooke: "It wasn't a spoiler! I was just guessing!"
Male narrator, quickly interrupting before his wife can respond to Brooke: "I think we should call it a day for now."
Female narrator, squinting her eyes at her husband and sighing: "Fine."
The end is just the beginning...
