Chapter four:
After Raven had got up from bed and made herself ready for the day ahead, Raven picked up her phone and settled down at her desk. Raven started to write a hext to Maddie about what was happening to her.
Not long after Raven sent the hext, Maddie answered her, the hext was full of joy and asked a few questions about the floral wooing Raven was experiencing.
Raven doesn't hesitate to answer all of the questions Maddie had asked her and when she was done with this Raven told Maddie that she would tell her more about what had been happening to her as soon as they got to see each other at breakfast. Maddie agreed to wait to talk until they met at breakfast to talk about the flower messages.
Before Raven left to get breakfast with Maddie she spoke to Apple. "I thought I should tell you that I hexted Maddie about what is happening to me and we plan to discuss it at breakfast."
Apple nodded to Raven, she understood why Raven would want to tell her best friend forever after about her admirer, but Apple couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that this was no longer just a secret between Raven and herself. "Okay Raven. I hope I can still help you with trying to discover who this is."
"Of course you can. I'll ask Maddie to just keep the secret and explain you and I are working on it together." Raven explained to Apple.
Hearing this made Apple feel a lot more better about the situation and so she said to Raven in a chipper voice. "Okay. Thanks for trusting me to assist you Raven."
Nodding to Apple, Raven set off to have breakfast with Maddie and bring her best friend up to speed on what had been happening to her.
Raven was just settling down at one of the lecture benched in her Thursday science and sorcery class when she spotted Nina sitting in the row in front of her. At first nothing seemed too far out of the ordinary with this, until Raven noticed that Nina was sitting next to Thomas Thumb and was not as was usual fighting with him.
As Raven looked closer at the two of them sitting together quietly for a few moments before she noticed something else about these two classmates, this was that Nina and Thomas were in fact secretively holding hands under the long desk.
The moment she became aware of this fact both of Raven's eyebrows went up a little with surprise. She felt sure that many others would have the same reaction as she had to this couple as usually the two of them fought like cats and dogs. If she was honest Raven couldn't help but think that arguing nearly all the time in front of all the other students was rather a clever way to hide from the whole school and your ever disagreeing parents, that you were in fact dating each other.
This new knowledge made Raven feel a happy warmth bubble up inside her, as it meant that there was now another person to nock of the list of suspects as her floral admirer.
As Raven looked at the unsuspecting couple in front of her smiling slightly to herself, she decided that in a form of repayment for helping her with her quest that she wouldn't tell anyone about the fact that Nina and Thomas were dating, she was after all very good at keeping the secrets of others.
When Raven returned to the dorm room after her lessons, she was as was normal on Thursday the first one of them to arrive back. As soon as Raven made her way inside the room, she looked across the room towards the window and noticed that sure enough a new bunch of flowers were waiting for her on floor.
Quickly Raven brought her magic forwards she used it to carefully lift them, once more she undid the white ribbon binding them together and slipped the flowers into the water beside the others from the day before.
As Raven looked at all of the flowers which she had received from her admirer, Raven realised that for the first time in her life there were so many of them now that she would need another vase soon. For a few moments Raven allowed herself to really feel the pleasure which she felt at her current situation, before turning her mind to more practical matters.
She quickly decided that the best course of action would be to ask Apple for another vase for the future flowers when she returned from her lessons. At the same time Raven looked for a new space to start putting her flowers so that she would still be able to use her desk to study at.
After looking around the room for a few moments Raven's eyes fell on the table which had atop it the head with the evil crown on it. "Perfect." Raven said to herself, she made her way over to the table, took off the head and crown, then put them both in the wardrobe.
If Raven was perfectly honest, she had been looking for an excuse to dispose of these two items for a while, but she hadn't wanted to hurt Apple's feelings by just giving them away, however Raven now had the perfect reason to 'put them away for now' only to forget what she had done with them later on.
With this new space ready for the next vase and flowers Raven turned her attention back to her lasts bouquet of flowers. Carefully Raven used her magic to lift the note from amongst the blooms, she was really anxious to know what her floral admirer had to say to her today, but Raven felt that since Apple was helping her try to work out who was sending her these floral messages, that Apple would like to hear the it at the same time as she read it and so Raven very reluctantly she decided to wait for her to return to their room before reading this latest note.
Raven put the note on one end of her desk, she got out her thronework, Raven then sat down at the desk and tried to get on with it in order to make time past and to distract her from the temptation of looking at the note.
For Raven the next hour was torture, she hardly got work done, as all she did was look across the desk at note waiting to be read. Raven was not at all sure how she managed not to open it until Apple arrived in their room what felt like hours later.
"Thank goodness you're here." Raven said relived at the sight of her roommate, before then saying to the puzzled looking Apple. "I've been dying to open the latest note from my admirer, but I felt it would be unfair if I didn't wait for you to get back to read it with me."
As soon as Raven explained this to Apple, an expression of understanding came onto her face, she then smiled widely at Raven and said to her in a delighted voice. "Thank you for waiting for me! I can tell that wasn't easy for you at all."
Apple put her bags down on the bed, she then walks over to Raven's side and sat down on her bed. "Shall I read it out now?" Raven asked her excitedly.
Apple nodded to her. "Yes, I am just as eager as you to her what the floral admirer has to say to you this time."
Without hesitating Raven listed up the note, she walked over to the bed, sat next to Apple, she then opened the card and quickly set about reading the contents of it to Apple. "Bay branches represent unchanging affection, Queen Anne's Lace mean joy, Canna Lily's meaning is you rise above all others, Phlox means two hearts beating as one, Valotta stands for beauty and Poplar branches represent steadfastness. I shall dare to call you my Raven from now on and hope this does not offend you. This my Raven is my message to you this time. To me you rise above all others in beauty. I wish to assure you of my unchanging affection for you and I promise that I shall stand steadfastly beside you. I feels to as though our two hearts are beating as one and this is a thought, I find great joy in. From your floral admirer."
Raven sighed in pleasure and then said to Apple. "That was so beautiful."
"It sounds to me like whoever this person is they want to assure you that their feelings towards you are not going to change and that they are going to stand beside you always…Looks like whoever this is, they are not afraid of your mother or the reputation she has." Apple told Raven in a soft happy voice.
"Yes…So they do…" Raven says thoughtfully. "Wait weren't we talking about that yesterday?"
"Yes, we were, but considering you're the way you mother is, and the worries you have over the way people view you because of her, your admirer would have to take the time to address any concerns you might have about their love and willingness to be with you because of her at some point or another. I am sure that this the fact they have chosen to say something about it this time is just a coincidence." Apple assured her in a kind but firm voice.
Raven narrowed her eyes at Apple for a moment. For the very first time Raven really began to think that maybe Apple might be the one who was sending her these flowers, however this thought only lasted for a few moments, because Raven felt sure that she would have noticed if Apple were somehow the one behind this.
"You're probably right…Everyone knows how badly what my mother did to Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty has affected the way in which I am viewed as her daughter…I'm nothing like her and I don't want to become like her…Yet so many here think that is exactly who I should aim to be…How can anyone desire for me to do the things she did? They say be evil, but don't be that evil…Were is the line between those two evils?" Raven Asked Apple in a sad and hopeless voice.
Apple had never heard Raven talk like this to her before, it made tears well up in her eyes and pain ripple through her being. How could anyone live with such pain and how could she have ever thought that it was right to make someone so kind and with such a deep understanding of wrong and right become evil. "I think a lot of people here are starting to realise you are nothing like your mother and are in fact your own person…I want you to know that group of people also includes me. I may desire my fairy tale very badly, but I am starting to see that you cannot give me what I desire most and stay yourself…If I am honest and I am trying to be more so with you in this moment and going forwards, I would rather you remained as you are now than become something and someone you are not."
These words made Raven look at Apple in surprise. Seeing this expression on her face Apple slowly put an arm around Raven's shoulder, before saying to her. "I have come to like you just as you are Raven, I don't want you to change…I saw what your mother did to Wonderland and what happened to you when her power almost took you over…I was so sacred…So very scared. I'll admit for a few horrible moments there, I really thought we'd lost you to that dark power and we might never get you back again."
"But you didn't lose me." Raven reminded her in a gentle voice, she placed her head on Apple's shoulder. "In fact, you were the one to bring me back from where that dark power had imprisoned me and I will always be grateful for that fact."
"It imprisoned you? You were aware of what the evil version of yourself was doing in the battle?" Apple asked her aghast with horror.
Slowly Raven nodded to her. "Yes, I was completely aware of what was going on, but I didn't have enough strength to fight what was happening to me until you call out to me…I can't even begin to tell you how very grateful that you did that."
Apple gave Raven a gentle squeeze around the shoulders and Raven shot her an appreciative smile, before asking her. "Oh before I forget to ask do you have another vase I can borrow? I'm running out of room in the ones I currently have."
Quickly Apple nodded to her. "Yes I have another vase which I am more than happy to let you borrow. I'll get one out in a little while and bring it over to you. Is that alright?"
"That's fine Apple." Raven assured her before saying to her with laughter in her voice. "Who would have thought that out of the two of us I would be the one needing the vases because I have so many flowers?"
"It is quite unexpected, however I think it's great!" Apple told Raven enthusiastically.
Raven smiled at her and then suddenly recalled what she had seen in class earlier in that day and said cheerfully to Apple. "Oh yes before I forget we can take Nina off of our list!"
"We can?" Apple asked curiously.
Smiling slightly at her Raven nodded to her roommate. "Yep, she is dating someone and no I can't tell you who."
"Aw." Apple said disappointedly and giving Raven a playful pout.
A chuckle left Raven, she stood up from the bed, walked over to the desk, found the list and put a line through Nina. Once she had done this Raven put the list to one side she turned to look back at Apple and asked her curiously. "Do you have much planned for the weekend?"
"Not this time, why do you ask?" Apple enquired of her curiously.
"Well, I was hoping that maybe we could put our heads together after tomorrow's lessons and try to work out who is sending these flowers." Raven said to Apple hopefully.
Apple thought about the few plans she did have and then said to Raven. "Well I have most of Sunday free, so we could spend some time doing that then."
Raven smiled happily at Apple. "Great! Thanks for the help Apple. Since you are clearly going to be occupied Saturday, I'll see if I can spend some time with Maddie once I finish my thronework. It would be good to practice my Riddlish if we feel like it or I can talk to her some more about my floral admirer and see if maybe she can help with my quest to find out who it is. Maybe we could also go into Book End do some shopping and end the day by having a tea at the mad hatter's tea shop and haberdashery."
As Raven started to hext Maddie to see if she was free on Saturday, she didn't notice that Apple was watching her with an envious expression on her face.
To hide her reaction to Raven wanting to spend time with her best friend and talking some more with Maddie about the floral admirer, Apple quickly made her way over to her book bag, she pulled out what she had inside and started packing into it whatever she would need for tomorrow. When Apple had finished doing this she went through her books from the day and put onto her desk any thronework she needed to get done.
Raven mean while had sat down at her desk and was already working on her throne work, while she waited for an answer to her hext. When her phone chimed a moment later Raven picked it up, read the message and smiled to herself, glad to see that Maddie had liked her idea.
Carefully and slowly dainty pail hands turned the pages of the leather bound book, the hands would stop turning the pages every so often, lift a quill and then would list flowers and their meanings neatly onto a nearby piece of paper.
After a few moments of doing this they closed the book, they slowly ran the tip of their quill along the list and started to write further down the sheet of paper. As this person worked, they would slowly cross of flowers they would not need to use to send their message to Raven this time.
After working on the message for sometime, the person put the white quill down, they lifted the paper and scrutinized their note, before placing it down and making a few more changes. Once they were happy with this note, the person nodded to themselves, she pulled out of a draw on her desk one of the cards she had already made ready for her note to Raven out of the draw.
Wanting to make sure that her message would be perfect for the one she loved, the lady wrote their message onto the card before them with slow deliberation. When she was finished, she ran critical eyes over her work and then nodded to herself in satisfaction, it was perfect.
As she sat back in the chair, she couldn't help but wonder if Raven was enjoying her messages and if she would return her feelings for her once Raven knew who she was. It had been this near constant thought which had caused her to make a request of Raven in this next note. She was concerned as to how Raven would respond to this request, after all it had the power to make her the happiest person at the school or the most despairing. All she could do now was hope that she received a positive answer and not a negative.
