Chapter six:
Once she has finished her throne work Raven hexts Maddie to see if she is ready for her to come over to her room yet. It doesn't take Maddie long to answer that she is happy for Raven to come to her room now.
So, with this assurance given to her, Raven makes her way from her dorm room to Maddie's, there is a slight spring in her step and a relaxed happy smile on Raven's face both of which only tends to appear on her face when she is going to spend time with her best friend forever after.
When she reached the door of Maddie and Kitty's room, she politely knocked on the door and waited for an answer.
The door opened a few moments later to reveal Kitty. "Hey Raven!" She greeted cheerfully.
"Hi Kitty." Raven said as she entered the room.
Kitty closed the door behind Raven and followed her back inside. As soon as Maddie spotted Raven she bounced over and said joyfully. "Raven you're here! Yay!"
The two shared a hug, before Raven settled down on one of the chairs in the room. "How was your week, Maddie?"
"It's was wonderful madness." Maddie told her with a grin.
Raven smiled back at her friend. "I am glad you had a good week."
"What of your week? Was the rest of it full of flower notes as it had been at the beginning?" Maddie inquired of Raven in soft voice.
As Maddie said this she blushed, and shot a nervous glace towards Kitty, who was looking at her with an impish grin on her face. "Do not worry Raven I won't be telling anything which goes on here, Maddie would never forgive me if I did and I have no desire to upset my dearest hatter. I'm going to go now and find a good napping spot so the two of you might gossip like old wives in freedom and try to decipher who is wooing our fair Raven."
After she said this Kitty vanished from the room and turned a wide eyed gaze onto Maddie, she shrugged and said apologetically. "Kitty knew I was keeping a secret from her and if I had not told her what it was, she would have investigated by herself…So I told Kitty what was happening in order to prevent her ruining this without meaning to. I am sorry Raven."
Raven sighed and then she gave Maddie a look of understanding. "It's alright, I understand…Keeping a secret from Kitty is hard, especially when the two of you are dating. I'm also well aware of what Kitty can be like if she starts to investigate something and I would rather not risk her doing or saying something which might scare my floral admirer away."
"I was hoping you would feel that way." Maddie told her in a clearly relieved voice, before sitting down in a chair beside her and saying to Raven in a more serious tone. "Now then, let's discuss this admirer of yours. Two heads are better than one or so they say!"
Raven chuckled softly. "Well hopefully we can think of anyone who might need to be add to the list or people we can take off of the list. Though honestly I am hoping there is no one to add, I'd really like to be close to discovering who my floral admirer is."
"Well I had a good thinky-dink about anyone else who might be wooing you, but I honestly couldn't think of anyone else." Maddie assured Raven, then before she could say anything to her Maddie addressed Raven again. "I can also tell you in honesty that it is none of the residents of Wonderland…If it had been one of us, you would have known quiet easily as our wooing is a lot more…Wonderous."
"By which you mean odd to those of us not from Wonderland." Raven said with a smile and a chuckle for her friend, who nodded in response to this.
Once Raven had stopped chuckling Maddie asked Raven in a gentle voice. "Is the one dearest to your heart still amongst those left?"
Rave nodded as she said in confirmation. "She is."
Maddie smiled widely at her friend and inquired. "Does this mean that you will tell me who she is at last? I know we have spoken of her often, but you have never given me a name and I would dearly love to know who has captured your heart so completely."
Calling up all of her bravery to make this confession to her friend Raven nodded to Maddie and then said to her in a clear but shy voice. "The one I have my heart set on is Darling charming, the white knight of Wonderland."
Maddie's eyes widened with surprise and she admitted to Raven in an awed voice. "I had no idea that you had romantic feelings towards Darling."
"I know…I have been extremely carefully about hiding my feelings from everyone." Raven admitted her voice tinged with sadness.
"Why have you been hiding it Raven?" Maddie asked her as kindly as possible.
A deep sigh leaves Raven, before she explains her actions to her friend. "Part of it has been to do with who my mother is and what she might do to someone I care about. Another part is Darling is so beautiful and has so many suitors, I doubt she would ever notice me, besides that Darling has never shown any inclination towards dating anyone…Also I know from her discussions when around other rebels that Darling wants to go on adventures and not have to live the life of a Charming princess. How could I deprive her of the adventures she desires so much by telling her that I love her?"
This question caused both Maddie and Raven to laps into a thoughtful silence. After some time, Maddie finally spoke to Raven in a thoughtful voice. "I believe that if Darling is behind this, and you accept her wooing you would by tradition become her lady and princess…If you are Darling's lady princess Raven, then I don't see how you would be able to become the Evil Queen…As you would no longer be able to do anything which might cause her harm or shame her. So if Darling is doing this, I doubt she would do so, without feeling love towards you or without the knowledge you would become her lady and princess."
Raven looked at Maddie with wide eyes. "Could it be that the answer of not fulfilling my destiny could be so simple? All I would need to do is become Darling's princess…"
Maddie nodded to Raven. "I believe so."
Pleasure and hope bloomed inside Raven, this possibility had not even entered her mind, for a few moments Raven allowed herself to dream of what it might be like to be Darling's Lady princess. A slow but very happy smile spread over her face, a warm feeling raced through Raven and she felt as though her heart was so full of hope, love and joy it would burst.
Then Raven brought herself back down to earth by reminding herself that there were still two other people who could be behind these floral messages. Still that tiny ember of hope burned in her heart and stubbornly refused to be put out as it usually was.
Maddie could see the soft expression on Raven's face and said softly. "I can see that you like the idea of becoming Darlings."
"Yes…Yes I like it a lot." Raven admitted in a shy voice.
"You said that the floral admirer has asked you to leave them a sign of your acceptance of their wooing, did you leave one?" Maddie asked Raven curiously.
"Yes I did." Raven confirmed.
"Maybe in that case you should see to getting your own text on the language of flowers and start to leave them messages upon your windowsill." Maddie suggested to Raven.
Raven turned the idea over in her head for a few moments before nodding to Maddie. "That is an excellent idea. I can look for one when we head into Book End."
Maddie bounced up onto her feet saying as she did so. "Why not go now?! We have discussed the floral one as you wish to after all!"
"That is a good point." Raven conceded standing up as she spoke.
Together they left the dorms, made their way through the school and walked side by side into Book End. "Which book shop do you think we should try first?" Raven asked Maddie conversationally.
"How about good yarns?" Maddie suggested.
Raven nodded and they made their way to the shop, they went inside and Raven made her way over to the shop assistant. "Excuse me. Do you have a book on the language of flowers?"
The assistant shook her head. "Sorry no."
"Okay thank you!" Raven said cheerfully.
Together Raven and Maddie left the store and Maddie said. "Shall we try Gilded Words?"
Raven nodded, they walked to the store, made their way inside, Raven went over to one of the staff of this larger shop and asked. "I'm sorry to trouble you, but do you have a book on the language of flowers?"
"I'm sorry we don't. It's not a subject many are interested in now a days, however Pages of Wonder might have a book like that." The member of staff suggested helpfully to Raven.
Raven shot him a grateful smile as she said. "Thank you for the help."
Once Maddie and Raven exited Gilded Words they made their way to Pages of wonder, this second hand books shop was one of those shops that looks tiny at the front, but somehow seems to go on forever once you are inside of it and each and every nook and cranny is filled with books.
Raven made her way to the counter at the front of the shop, she smiled at the elderly lady settled behind the counter and addressed her. "Hello there. I am looking for a book on the language of flowers, one of the assistants at Pages of Wonder thought you might have a book on the subject."
"Oh, yes deary, I have just the book for you. Come with me I'll show you the way." The elderly lady got up from behind the counter, she led Maddie and Raven through the shop, she stopped at a set of shelves which looked to them just like all the other shelves, reached out and carefully withdrew a book from amongst the others.
"Here you do deary." The lady said handing the book to Raven.
Raven looked at the cover, which read, 'The langue of flowers, it's uses, a history and the meanings of flowers and plants.' Raven looked up from the book, she smiled widely at the lady and hugged the book to her chest. "This is perfect thank you!"
"You're welcome deary." She said to Raven before guiding Maddie and Raven back to the front of the store.
"Is that everything for you today deary?" The old woman asked as she settled down back behind the counter.
"Yes, it is thank you." Raven assured her with a happy smile on her face.
Smiling at her, the old lady rang up Raven's purchase, Raven paid for the book which the old woman kindly put into a paper bag for her. She picked the book up, tucked it under her arm and still smiling widely Raven left the shop with Maddie.
"I can't believe we found the book!" Raven said excitedly to Maddie.
"It was clearly meant to be, just like tea!" Maddie declared happy for her friend.
"Now what shall we do?" Raven asked her friend curiously.
Maddie thought for a moment before she said with excitement. "I saw a dress that I thought would look fabulous on you! Would you like to come and see it?"
Raven nodded to Maddie, who smiled in response to this, then together they set off once more through the people of Book End, heading to the shop were Maddie had seen the dress in question.