A/N: Happy Thanksgiving 2016! I was going to make this chapter long, but me, my brothers, and dad are about to take a two-hour drive to the clan's family Thanksgiving gathering down in the country, so I had to make it short.


The Evil Queen watched with anticipation as Apple White slowly approached her magic mirror, oblivious to the fact the most evil queen in Ever After history was watching her from behind its glass.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall. Why is love so unfairest after all?" asked Apple sadly, placing her hand against the glass.

The Evil Queen's lips curled up into a smile. This was her chance. All the right words—the wrong ones in this case—had been said and that damage done. Apple White was now unsure about her life, meaning it was time for the Evil Queen to put the next parts of her plain in play. "I spy doubt," she chuckled to herself, "and doubt makes room for the worm to get into the apple." She held out her hands and conjured a magic apple that was floating in fiery dark magic. With this, she would lure Apple into her trap. Yes, in just a few minutes she would be rid of this place…


Apple stared at her reflection. What she saw was no longer the confident, cheery Apple White she used to be. Now, her eyes were filled to the brim with doubt and her used-to-be ever present smile was gone. "Oh, magic mirror. I don't know what I'm supposed to do," she whispered, fingering the frame of her special mirror. "My life's so twisted right now. I don't know-" She stopped and gasped when an apple appeared on the other side of her mirror. It was on fire with purple essence. "Wh-what?" stammered Apple, backing away as it passed through the glass and into her bedroom.

"Follow me; follow me," it beckoned in an eerie voice, floating past Apple.

Curious, Apple followed. Maybe this was her mirror's doing. Maybe it was trying to tell her something. Feeling hopeful, Apple followed behind the apple as it floated towards a tree growing into the foundation at the end of the room. On the other half of the dorm, Raven was snoring softly, unaware of what was happening. The tree's trunk split in half, revealing a spiraling purple portal. The apple flew through the opening, and Apple too stepped into it. She saw a flash of light and stepped out of the portal, now inside a circular room. There was no furniture in it beside a single mirror in the center of the floor.

The apple had stopped in front of the mirror, floating quietly in once place. While it was immobile, Apple grabbed it and it immediately lost its magical glow. "That's weird," she murmured to herself, "why did it bring me here?" When she looked up, she gasped to see smoke spiraling within the mirror.

She took a step back as a tall, imposing figure appeared on the other side of the glass. "You poor thing. Tell me your troubles," she said in the same eerie voice the apple had spoken in. Apple studied her closely. Her dark hair was swept up into an elaborate updo and her dress was made of dark fabrics. Her face was pale and her eyes…Apple had seen those eyes somewhere. That's when Apple noticed she was trembling. Just the sight of the mysterious woman made her fearful. Like, there was something odd about her.

Apple gasped, freezing with realization. "Y-you're the Evil Queen," she managed to squeak, her body locking up on her. "I-I can't talk to you," she stammered, inching back. It all made sense why those eyes had haunted Apple. They were exactly like Raven's.

"Oh, Apple. We have so much more in common than you know," said the Evil Queen, coming closer.

"H-how do you know my name?" trembled Apple.

"Oh, I've been…observing you for some time now," replied the Evil Queen calmly, "I know about everything you're going through."

That made Apple even more scared. "Wh-what do you want?" she asked, slowly realizing she was having a conversation with the most hated, feared person in all of Ever After.

"The same thing you want- I could help you, you know. I can restore things to the good old ways, steer Raven on her course of evil, so you get your Happily Ever After," said the Evil Queen, "but, I can't do it from inside the mirror." To be the Most Hated of Them All, the Evil Queen was being awful patient with Apple. Something wasn't right.

"Even if I trusted you, I can't let you out of the mirror. That would be wrong!" said Apple, turning her back to the mirror.

"Oh I'm sorry, I thought maybe you were like your mother," countered the Evil Queen in a less tolerant tone. "When her time came, your mother embraced her fairytale destiny! She did whatever it took!"

"I am not afraid!" shouted Apple angrily, whirling back around. "I will do whatever it takes! And I am like my mother!" she went on furiously. Overtaken with anger, she raised the apple, aiming it at the mirror. "And my destiny is mine!" Without thinking things through, Apple hurled the piece of fruit at the mirror. She regretted doing so the second the apple left her grasp, because the red orb crashed into the mirror, completely shattering it. The Evil Queen proudly stepped out of the broken mirror, towering over Apple. Apple, who was shaking in awe of what she'd just done, could just stare at her with horror.

The Evil let out a loud cackle that shook the entire room. "At long last! I'm finally free!" she triumphed joyously, paying Apple no attention. She looked down at the rigid pieces of glass at her feet. "Years in a mirror prison without a single reflective surface to gaze at myself upon. Now that's torture," she said coldly, narrowing her eyes. She picked up the apple, which had a piece of glass wedged into it.

"I'm sorry, I need to go," spoke up Apple awkwardly, "I-I⎯you're good, right? Bad? I-I can't help you."

"Too late," chuckled the Evil Queen right as Apple turned around in attempt to escape. "You want your friends or your mother to know you released the Evil Queen?" Apple gasped, just thinking of how that would ruin her family's reputation. "But don't you worry about blond little head," continued the Evil Queen, apparently noticing how madly Apple was quivering. "I told you I'd help you and I will."

"You can't just walk into school and talk to Raven!" pointed out Apple, her mind racing and her heart pounding madly. "What happens when somebody recognizes you? You'll get in trouble, and-"

"Trouble? Hardly," interrupted the Evil Queen, "have you forgotten I'm the most powerful queen ever after? No one can harm me." She pulled the mirror shard out of the apple and it fell to the ground, shattering. "But I will need to disguise myself in order for this plan to work. I'll need to reinvent my look to blend in with today's teens." Then in a whisper, she said, "Let's make some magic." Apple backed away as the Evil Queen firmly grasped the apple in her hands. She then started to drain the life and magic out of it, causing the fruit to shrivel. "From old to young, a journey back to fit in would be prudent," she chanted, dark magic swirling around her. "Erase what time's cruel hands have done, make me a high school student!

When the dark magic settled, Apple gasped with shock. The imposing lady that had once stood before her was no longer there. Instead, a tall teenage girl was standing proudly where the Evil Queen had been. She had raspberry-colored hair with light-purple streaks and a widow's peak hairline. Though her appearance was different, Apple knew this girl was still the Evil Queen—they had the same striking purple eyes.

"I'll need a name," said the teenage girl in a new, teenager-y voice. "How about Mira? Mira Shards."

Apple was speechless. "You're…you're younger."

The Evil Queen—Mira wrapped an arm around Apple's shoulder and hugged her close. "Ready, my new best friend forever after?" she asked confidently, "time to go back to high school. Let's do this!"

Apple bit her lip. She'd really screwed up. And this time, there was no way out of her predicament. The Evil Queen was free and Apple had no choice but to play along with her.


When Duchess woke up, she felt refreshed as hex.

"Good morning, Duchess," waved Lizzie from her side of the room, "as the window makes haste, the shrine makes tomato paste!"

Duchess ignored the Wonderlandian's Riddlish and swung her feet over her bed, resting them on the cold stone floor. There were a few birds perched on the windowsill, chirping one of their morning songs.

Usually, Apple's White annoying voice would be echoing through the halls, but Duchess heard nothing but the other girls' cheery chatter coming from the hallway outside. Duchess smirked. The princess had probably came to her senses and found it pointless to go on with her stupid future-Snow-White routine since that story was now Duchess's.

And speaking of Snow White, perhaps it was best for Duchess to start practicing for her future role as the next perfect queen. The swan princess cleared her throat as she neared the window and birds. People loved it when Snow White sang (Duchess had watched her concert on TV back when she was a baby swan), meaning they would hexpect Duchess to sing when she got her happily ever after.

"La la la la la la laaaaa," she sang, her high note sounding more like a strangled swan. At the sound of her choppy unmelodic voice, the birds chirped in distress and flew away in panic.

"Tch, whatever after," said Duchess, rolling her eyes. There was more to her new story than birds and singing anyway. It wasn't that silly stuff that mattered. New dreams and fantasies of her new happily ever after settled into her mind as the swan princess performed a pirouette around her side of the room.

She was imaging Daring dancing with her in a grand ballroom, adorned with gold detailing, shiny marble floors, and high crystal chandeliers. All the other guests were watching them with admiration as the perfect couple lovingly and happily slow-danced around the elegant ballroom. It wouldn't be long now. Eventually, Duchess's fantasy would become a reality.

Soon, she and Daring would get together and they'd live happily ever after for the rest of their lives. Duchess would become queen and live in comfort surrounded by wealth, love, and eternal happiness. No dark wizards, no black swans, no poisoned princes. Just fame, money, more fame, and Daring. She wouldn't be living like a queen—she'd be living like a goddess. And people would treat her like one just like they were supposed to.

And speaking of queens, Duchess needed to study up on her princessology and good kingdom management. If she was going to be the next Snow White, she wanted to at least live up to the legacy. Humming to herself, Duchess collected her hygiene products into her arms as dreamy Daring danced with her in her mind.

"You're uncharacteristically happy these days," noted Lizzie as Duchess did an assemblé towards the door. "You must be going mad." She gave Duchess a thumbs-up. "As Crowned Princess of Wonderland, I approve your maddening-ing. About time you came to your unsenses."

Duchess ignored the princess and performed a brisé into the crowded corridor. While girls gossiped and talked about the latest news on spellebrities and their love interests, the swan princess gracefully made her way into one of the bathrooms. Her mood immediately soured when she saw Briar at one of the sinks brushing her teeth. And considering the only unoccupied sink was the one beside Briar's, Duchess was going to have to near her new enemy.

Holding her head high, Duchess went over to the sink and began applying facial cream to her face. As a princess, she needed to keep her face radiant and blemish-free, so she had a very special routine she followed every morning. Upon rising up from rinsing her face, her eyes accidentally locked with Briar's reflection's eyes in the next mirror.

"Briar," Duchess aggressively growled her hostile greeting.

"Duchess," returned Briar in a snort.

Duchess sneered. "I'm not used to seeing you up so early. Usually, you're passed out somewhere like some deadbeat." The swan princess got an adrenaline rush when the other girls stopped talking to listen to see if an argument would brew. Duchess loved it when people paid attention to her, because it didn't really happen often.

Briar narrowed her eyes, setting her phone down on the sink. The other girls gasped. Briar never put down her Mirrorphone, meaning something gossip-worthy was about to go down. "Well, I'm not surprise to see you," countered the Beauty princess, turning to face Duchess. "Considering that you're always on the prowl for someone to insult."

Duchess's right eye twitched in annoyance. "Not true!" she protested, "I don't know about you, but I'm better than that."

Briar made a oh-please look. "Hence the reason why you did that," she snapped, referring to Duchess's swiping of Apple's story. The other girls, who didn't know about what happened between Duchess and Apple and Briar, all gasped and all start whispering about what 'that' could possibly be or mean.

It was Duchess's turn to smirk. "You know I did it fairly. She had something to hide, so I gave her a choice," she said thinly, "you're acting like I snatched it from her lifeless hands or something."

"You might as well have!" hissed Briar.

Duchess rolled her eyes. "Please, Beauty. Like I need someone like you lecturing me about this kind of stuff. You wouldn't know a thing about destiny considering you're too busy wasting time with that irreverent, 'fun' crap to even think about your story."

Twin fires blazed in Briar's mouth. "For the record, I do think about my story! And maybe if your brain ran as far as your mouth, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Ooh," gasped the other girls.

There was silence for a moment as Duchess and Briar had a stare-off. A toilet flushed and Blondie then emerged from a stall with her Mirrorpad in hand. "Well folks, I guess there's never a quiet moment here at Ever After High," she announced, aiming the camera at the two princesses. "There's drama around every corner and this time, it's between Briar Beauty, daughter of Sleeping Beauty, and Duchess Swan, daughter of…uh…"

"The Swan Queen!" snapped Duchess, irritated.

"Right!" Blondie nodded gratefully. "But the only question is: why are these two fairytale princesses going at each other's throats? Could it be the both of them are crushing on the same prince? Or what if one of them owes the other money? Or how about-"

"Ha, I know you're not talking about someone being stupid," seethed Duchess, ignoring Blondie as she went on and on. "You literally sleep through every class, so you probably don't even know anything. But what else would be hexpect from such a…low-cut princess like you?"

"At least people know who I am," bickered Briar, looking defensive.

"Oh, trust me honey. When everything goes as planned, you'll be living in my shadow." Duchess put her hands on her hips. "If you even manage to get that lucky."

"Haha, fairy funny. But we both know that's not happening," insisted Briar harshly, "regardless of what fantasy you're living in, that legacy isn't yours and never will be."

"It appears that Swan and Beauty are bickering over destiny," Blondie accurately assumed, "but whose? And why?"

"You know, Duchess, I'm with Briar on this once," announced a voice. Everyone turned to see a pajama-clad Raven side leaning on the doorway. "You're not going to get away with this."

"Raven Queen has just joined the scene!" reported Blondie excitedly, "and it sounds like she's in on Briar's and Duchess's drama. What's her opinion in all of this? Let's listen and found out!"

"Queen, you shouldn't even be involved," yawned Duchess rudely, "considering that you just threw away your destiny and persuaded half the school to do the same with theirs."

"You know it wasn't like that, Duchess." Raven frowned. "I just didn't want to be evil, because I'm not. Just like you don't wanna…be trapped in a swan's body forever after." Duchess bit her lip, knowing the reason behind Raven's hesitation. She didn't want to be harsh and point out that there was a possibility Duchess was going to die in her story. And the dark princess's pity and consideration only made Duchess even angrier.

"Don't bring my choices into this. You wrongly dishonored our tradition and rebelled against everything that makes the Fairytale World like you think you're better than us," she said matter-of-factly, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"No, I don't think I'm better than you all. I just didn't want to be trapped in a life I didn't want to live," clarified Raven, proceeding into the bathroom. "And for the record, D, you're the one who feels like she's better than the rest of us."

"No, that's Apple," countered Duchess, "she's always going around boasting about her story and earning everyone's unrelenting favor like she's an angel. She's always rubbing her good fortune in everyone's faces and it's royally annoying."

"You know what, Duchess? You're just outright jealous," observed Raven calmly, "that's what this is all about. You're growing hatred for Apple. And just so you know, Apple's not like that. But I think you already know that. You just want to start some crap for no reason."

Duchess gasped. "Why you…" she growled, "I don't wanna start crap about anyone! I'm just plaining stating the facts. That Apple White is a witch and that's all there is to it." Raven clenched a fist and growled. "And you know I'm right," insisted Duchess, "that's why no one's doing or saying anything about it."

"Oh, I thought about slapping you," assured Briar coldly, "but that would be animal abuse, wouldn't it Swan?"

Oh, that was it! Duchess threw herself at Briar, ready to pull her hair straight out of her scalp, but Cerise got in between them. "That's enough," she growled lightly from underneath her hood. "This is getting out of hand."

Ramona, who'd been watching from the sidelines, snorted. "Just what I'd hexpect from a Hood," she said, exiting the bathroom.

"This isn't over, Beauty," assured Duchess as the other girls started to clear out of the bathroom.

"Then we both agree on something for once," countered Briar as Raven and Cerise pulled her away.

Duchess smirked and went back to getting ready for her morning. Life at Ever After High from now on would be interesting.