Chapter Twenty-Five: Afterwards...
For this chapter to make sense, I have to tell you that Daring and Darling know about Dexter and Raven's secret relationship. They told Cupid because they knew that a child of a love god or goddess would never expose them.
Also, I have an important announcement on the bottom author's note. PLEASE READ IT.
One week after the battle, Dexter and Raven were walking through the forest, talking, when they heard noises. Curious, the two of them hid behind some bushes and saw Cerise run out from behind some trees. This would be normal, except she was running after a wolf. The two of them reached the lake and the wolf put a paw in the water a second before Cerise touched it.
"You win," she said to the wolf. "Want another round?"
The wolf said something (in wolf language), and Cerise nodded. "He should be here soon."
A few minutes later, Daring peaked between two trees. Seeing only Cerise and Carmine, he walked out. Cerise, who was sitting with her boots off and her feet in the water, didn't see him.
Daring tapped her shoulder, and she jumped a bit before turning around.
"Hey!" she said cheerfully, standing up. She hugged him for a few seconds before giving him a brief kiss. Cerise looked like she was about to say something when Dexter gasped and he and Raven stood up.
Surprised to have been caught, the couple spun around.
"Uh-oh," Daring said softly.
"Hi guys..." Cerise said nervously. "What's up?"
"Is it just me, or did you two kiss?" Raven said.
"Er, well, why were you on a walk together?" Daring said nervously.
"You know Raven and I are together, and so does Cerise. Now, tell us what exactly led to this moment."
Cerise and Daring exchanged looks, and it seemed like they were having a silent conversation. A moment later, Daring turned to Raven and Dexter.
"We should probably explain..."
"At Thronecoming, Daring asked me to dance with him. That was where it started. Soon after, he asked me out, and we quickly became a secret couple. We always meet in the Enchanted Forest, because hardly anyone comes in this deep. A couple months ago, Daring found out about my...past. He promised not to tell anyone, and Ramona and Dad are the only ones that know," Cerise said quickly, as though the news wouldn't be as shocking to their best friends if they said it fast.
There was silence for a moment, then-
"Three months?!" Raven practically shouted. "This has been happening for THREE MONTHS?!"
"Shhh, not so loud," Cerise said softly, looking around as though someone might be watching.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Dexter asked.
"I don't know," Daring said. "I guess we were...afraid?"
"The great Daring Charming just admitted he's afraid? What has the world come to?" Cerise teased.
"Well, how about this?" Raven said. "Dex and I are planning to go public soon, since we don't have to worry about the whole destiny problem. How about the four of us do it together?"
"That sounds great, but won't people get suspicious if Daring has a new girlfriend a week after he and Apple break up?" Cerise pointed out.
"So we wait," Dex said. "We wait until after it all dies down a bit, and then we go public."
Daring and Cerise nodded, both relieved they wouldn't be doing this alone. Then, Dexter realized something.
"Wait a second...why would Ramona Badwolf know about you guys?"
(Well, onto how the others are dealing with what happened!)
Apple couldn't walk through the halls without people staring at her. She assumed it was the same for Darling, but couldn't be sure. Finally, she sent Darling a text that said, We need to talk. Meet me in my dorm room at 4
When Darling arrived, Apple was sitting on the bed.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" Darling asked, avoiding her gaze.
"The kiss."
"It wasn't a kiss," Darling protested. "It was CPR."
"Darling, it was the moment our lips touched that I woke up, and you know it. Why won't you admit it? I know you're a lesbian," Apple said.
Darling gave her a shocked look. "How did you find out?"
"A picture in your room I saw in our first year. You were kissing the cheek of another girl. There were a few other pictures of the two of you - holding hands, feeding each other, laughing. The next year, the pictures had disappeared. Who is she?"
"Olivia - my ex-girlfriend. Only Dex and Daring knew about her, since we figured Mom and Dad wouldn't approve. We broke up the summer before sophomore year," Darling explained.
Apple nodded. "Is she the reason you won't admit you woke me with True Love's Kiss?"
"No."
"Then why?"
"Because, you were forced into a relationship with Daring because of destiny, and I know you two were never really in love! If I'm with someone, I want to to be a person who's with me because of who I am, not because they have too!" Darling exclaimed, getting up.
"Darling-"
But Darling was shaking her head and stormed out of the room. Apple didn't know what to do, so she sat down on her bed and stared at the floor, a few tears trickling from her eyes.
Briar was sitting on the railing of the same balcony Zoe had fallen off of months ago. She was looking out at the sunset when she heard someone say, "Hi."
Briar might have fallen off the railing if she didn't recognize the voice. She turned and jumped off the rail with a smile.
"Hey."
"What are you doing out here?" Hopper asked.
"I come up here sometimes - the view is beautiful."
The two of them just stood there for a moment in comfortable silence. Finally, Briar spoke.
"You know, during the battle I was so afraid," she said, taking a small step forward.
"Well, we all were," he answered.
"No, I was afraid you would get hurt. When those dragons were chasing you guys I was terrified and can't stop thinking that if Darling hadn't swooped in..."
Hopper moved forward and took her hands in his. "Then someone else - maybe you and Ashlynn - would have," he said confidently.
"When did you become so confident?" Briar asked him, her voice soft so she wouldn't break the moment.
"I'm not always like this - only when I need to be," he answered.
"Hopper...I want to tell you something," she said. Hopper nodded. "Actually, I should show you."
Briar looked into his green eyes, nervousness filling her. What she was about to do was a bit risky, but wasn't riskiness her thing?
"Briar, wha-"
Hopper was cut off when - before she backed out - Briar kissed him. He seemed surprised, but his surprise quickly turned to happiness and he kissed her back. They stayed like that for over a minute, and when they broke apart, both of them were beaming.
"You like me too?" Briar asked.
"Ever since we were little kids."
"I never knew!" Briar said, a bit shocked.
Hopper grinned at her. "It doesn't matter since now we both know. And I think it's an incredible thing."
Briar smiled even wider. "Me too."
I did it! I wanted to get them together by the end of this story, and I did it before Epic Winter. Sorry if it feels rushed, but I couldn't think of another way to get them together before the...well, I'm not gonna spoil it.
IMPORTANT: So, I have some big news. I'm getting a puppy! This means the updates on this story will change, but I'm not sure how. Don't expect a new chapter Wednesday, since that's when we're getting the puppy. I might update on Sunday, but probably not. I'm also starting school soon, so I honestly don't know what'll happen. I might update in a week, or in a month. I don't know. So, please just bear with me until I figure it out.
-Creator of Magic