Chapter twenty five:

The light slowly faded from Raven, she let out a soft sigh, her eyes flickered then opened, as they focused on Darling Raven smiled up at her and said to her lovingly. "I knew you would find me and set me free of what my mother had done to me."

"I am thrilled to know that you have that much faith in me." Darling told her, as she gently took one of Raven's hands into hers and squeezed it softly, but firmly.

Raven returned this gesture, before smiling up at her, before saying to Darling in a soft loving voice. "I heard what you were saying to me and I would be honoured to meet your family. I would also love for you to meet my father. I know that he is already very happy that you have helped me to achieve my dream of being good."

Hearing Raven's voice caused all those in the room to sigh in relief and uncover their eyes. Maddie quickly crossed the room to where Darling was still knelt on the floor holding Raven close, she knelt down on the other side of Raven and took her other hand into hers. "I am more pleased than punch to see you are with us whole and without the deep darkness hunting you out for destruction anymore."

"I am relieved to know that this is all over, but what would stop my mother from trying this again should she escape once more?" Raven asked in a scared and venerable voice.

All eyes in the room went from the witch to Giles and Milton, they made their way over to them and once they were in Raven's line of sight Milton addressed her in a reassuring voice. "I am deeply sorry that this happened to you Raven. We will make sure that the new mirror prison, your mother is put into will be much stronger than this one. The glass will be much thicker than before, the spells on it will be even stronger and more complex than the old ones. I will have the room around the mirror prison enchanted so that the Evil Queen cannot appear in any mirror other than the one she is currently in, she cannot escape the room she is in and an alert will be sent right away should she somehow breakout of her new mirror prison."

"Hearing all of that makes me feel some what better, however I believe it might be wise to chain the mirror too and store it in a safer location…I know I said I wanted to be able to see my mother…But after today…" Raven's words petered out, no one had any trouble knowing what she wanted to say to him but could not.

They were well aware that Raven cared for her mother in some small way, but what had happened to her today had scared the witch a great deal and revealed to Raven that her mother did not care for her while Raven was a good person rather that a bad person.

"After today no one will make you go to visit her ever again if you have no wish to. As we have kept your visits to your mother mostly secret no one would even have to know that you have stopped visiting her." Giles assured Raven, giving her an understanding smile.

Raven gave him a grateful and relieved smile. "Thank you…I feel strangely weak…"

"Considering what happened to you today I am not surprised." Darling told her sympathetically.

"If you'd like I can cast a few diagnostic spells on you to check everything is alright and that there is nothing left from what your mother tried to do to you." Giles offered to Raven kindly.

Raven nodded to him. "Yes, please. I think I'd feel less on edge to know I feel this way just from the battle I and Darling had to fight with my mother rather than anything that might have somehow been left in me. I hope you don't think I doubt the power of your love for me our bond my Charming lady knight?"

Quickly Darling shook her head and squeezed Raven's hand. "Of course not. I completely understand that you want to make sure that you are absolutely safe from what your mother tried to do to you. I would not wish for something to have been left behind to cause you trouble or pain in the future."

Giles spoke a few words, it caused a green aura to appear around Raven, Giles peered at it in silence for a few moments before announcing. "I am pleased to report that there is nothing dark or evil left behind inside you Raven."

A sigh of relief left both Darling and Raven, before they could say anything Giles addressed them again. "I suggest that Raven rest with Darling for the next few days, it will be good for her to be close to her true love at this time. We will have some take away food sent to Darling's room every day Raven spends with her recovering from all of this. We expect to be updated daily as to how Raven is feeling and we will also send homework along to you both."

Milton nods in agreement to his brother's words and says himself. "That all sounds like an excellent idea brother."

"I am more than happy to spending time alone with my soulmate and lady princess, but what should we tell Rosabella and Apple about our situation? I assume you will want to keep the Evil Queen's escape quiet." Darling asked him.

"Soulmate!" Dexter squawked out in disbelief.

Darling and Raven both nodded to him in conformation. "Yes." Darling confessed to her brother, smiling at him in a shy, but endearing way.

There was a disbelieving silence which hung over the room for a few moments before Giles pulled himself together and broke the quiet by suggesting too Darling. "I recommend that my brother and I will send them both m-mails that we have given you both permission to spend the next few days and night together. If either of them asked why we did this, Milton and I will inform them we suggested this to you both because you are both true loves and soulmates and we believe that the two of you spending some time being together so closely will be good for your bonds… We will also explain to them that Raven is weaker than Darling because she is the princess of the story. I also think it is very important for your newly completed story that you both to acknowledged these bonds to anyone who asks you both about it."

"So, this is a new and now complete story?" Raven asked Giles with undisguised hope and joy in her voice.

Giles nodded to her. "Yes…Though usually the story ends at the wedding, but as you are both young, I feel safe enough saying that this story is finished."

Darling looked over at Giles, then back to Raven. "I can tell you with all honesty that I plan to marry no one but Raven, and if it will help stabilize our story, then I would be more than happy to enter into a formal betrothal with Raven."

The moment Darling suggested that Raven blushed and stuttered out. "You don't…Need to do that…Darling."

Darling smiled at Raven and then told her in a firm, but gentle voice. "No, I don't need to, but I want to. I want the whole fairy tale world to know you are mine and I am yours. I wish for them all to know I am loyal to you, that I will stand beside you no matter what, I am only in love with you and will marry no one but you my lady princess."

The flush on Raven's face, became slightly brighter, but she smiled brilliantly up at Darling. "I am so glad to hear that you feel this way about me…But are you absolutely sure you want to want to enter into a formal betrothal with me?"

"Raven my lady princess, not only am I sure, but if it would not cause a scandal, I would marry you right this moment." Darling declared to her passionately.

Raven wasn't sure that she could blush any more than she had been, but Raven felt that after hearing this, that she was probably glowing red. Raven looked up at her with loving eyes and murmured too Darling tenderly. "I would love that Darling."

A wide smile spread over Darling's face. "It's great to know we are on the same page. Still, I would feel better if we were formally betrothed?"

"Oh, why is that?" Raven asked her curiously.

"Because if I am reading this situation correctly, a formal betrothal would help to stabilise our story and the power of our happy ending would help to keep your mother contained. A happy ending precludes anything bad from being allowed to happen to the couple who have been happily united. I'm right, aren't I?" Darling asked looking up and over at the Grim brothers, as she asked them this question to them curiously.

Giles and Milton were utterly shocked to hear that Darling had managed to work this out. They looked at each other, nodded to her and Giles answered her. "Yes, that is correct Darling."

Darling looked back down at Raven and said to her. "So not only would our betrothal confirm our true love, but bring our story to a happy end, which would prevent your mother from being able to cause us any more trouble or do anything dark towards us or our family."

As Darling told Raven this, her eyes grew wider and wider and when Darling finished explaining this Raven whispered to her in an awed voice. "My mother wouldn't be able to hurt us or our future family."

"Exactly." Darling confirmed, while she nodded her head.

It was at the moment that a thought came to Raven, the thought caused her to smiled slowly and then said to Darling in a mischievous voice. "You know, in my home kingdom the age that people can get married at is sixteen…"

This time Darling's eyes went wide and she said in disbelief. "You…We…Really?"

Raven could help but chuckle at her clear surprise. "Yes, my Charming lady knight really."

Smiling brilliantly Darling swept in and kiss Raven joyfully. Raven didn't hesitate to return the kiss, humming in delight and feeling full of warmth and joy.

When they broke the kiss, the couple shared a smile full of the love they felt for each other. "So how long would it take to get to your home kingdom and plan a wedding?" Darling asked her with a cheeky smile.

Raven hummed thoughtfully, before answering the question. "Oh, I'd say for a simple wedding maybe two months in total…Maybe less than that…"

Shock travelled through Darling as she realised that Raven had just answered her question. "You're serious about that aren't you?"

"I am." Raven assured her.

Darling looked back to the brothers. "If we made the betrothal now and then were married in a souple of months would that work well for the completion of the story?"

Giles and Milton, looked at each other, then nodded to her and Milton then addressed Darling. "Yes, it would, but…But are you both sure that you want to…To do that…Your both so young."

Much to the surprise of most of those in the room it was Raven who spoke to him in a powerful and sure voice. "Yes, we are young that is true, but we know our bonds to each other, we know our feelings for each other and we know nothing is ever going to change them."

Without a moment's hesitation Darling nodded her head in agreement, while she said at the same time. "Raven is right."

"Very well. In that case I'll contact the Good King and inform him of what has happened today and your plans." Milton told them, smiling slightly at the couple as he spoke.

"Thank you sir. I believe everything is now settled so if no one has anything else they want to add, or questions they wish to ask I will take Raven back to my room." Darling said to them all.

Most in the room shook their heads, but Maddie did ask something. "May I come to pass some moments in visit with Raven at odd hours of the clock?"

Darling looked at Maddie for a moment trying to work out what she had just asked and then Kitty said to her. "She would like to be able to come to visit Raven some times."

A look of understanding crossed Darling's face. "Oh! I see. Yes of course you can come to visit. Just send a text first so I can let you know if it is a good time or not. Is that okay?"

"As right as rain!" Maddie declared happily.

Darling carefully lifted Raven up into her arms, once Raven had settled there and given Darling a nod of permission Darling then made her way out of the tower room making her way to her dorm room.

Milton mean while turned to Maddie and said to her in voice filled with authority. "If you would kindly hand the bag of holding to me Miss Hatter, I will make sure that it is kept somewhere safe until we have the Evil Queen's new prison ready for her."

Maddie looked the headmaster up and down in a way which suggested that after the Evil Queen's latest escape and attempt on Raven that she was not at all convinced that he could prevent another break out from the Evil Queen.

The way in which Maddie was eyeing him, was making Milton feel very uneasy, he understood why she would be reluctant to trust him right now, but it would be far safer for him to secure the bag. "I can understand your reluctance to give me the bag…Would it help if I showed you where I plan to keep it until the new prison is ready?"

Maddie nodded in agreement. "Yes, I thinky dink that might aid in dispelling the heebie-jeebies which are infesting me."

"Do the rest of you also want to see where I plan to put the Evil Queen for now?" Milton enquired of the others in the room. They all nodded to him, seeing this the headmaster made his way over to the door of the tower room and signalled for them to follow him.

Giles, Kitty, Maddie, Cerise, Daring and Dexter all quickly followed him out of the room and back to the headmaster's office. Milton crossed the room, he opened a cupboard in one corner of the room and drew out of it a ebony wood box, it was etched on each side, the base and the lid with silver magical runes and the box was secured shut with silver lock, which also had a magical rune on it.

Carefully the headmaster placed the box onto his desk, he turned to the others present in the room and addressed them all. "I was thinking of putting the bag into this box. As you can see it is covered with magical runes, the lock is also runed. These runes prevent anyone from breaking into the box and they prevent damage to the box with any element or magic."

Maddie walked over to the desk, she inspected the box closely and after scrutinising it closely for some time she nodded with satisfaction. "Looks like a most tricky chest to escape like a Bandersnatch's bite."

Carefully Milton opened the box for Maddie and said to her. "Please place the bag of holding inside."

With a nod to him, Maddie carefully put the bag into the box. When she stepped back the headmaster quickly closed the lid and locked it. "There we go, she will be safe in there."

Maddie beamed at him in a crazy way as she declared in a chipper voice. "As safe as aces!"

"Now that the Evil Queen is delt with you may all have the rest of the day to yourselves. I shall call everyone back to the school now and then I will send messages to all of your teachers to tell them that you assisted me with a task today and that I have given you all permission to take the rest of the day off." Milton told them, smiling around at his students, he spoke to them again. "I want to say I am very proud of you all. You planned well, left nothing to chance and dealt with the Evil Queen in a way which left her with no room to escape or cause any more trouble."

"Thank you sir, we did our best." Daring assured him.

The other's nodded their agreement to Daring's words, before starting to file back out of the headmaster's office and make their way back to their dorm rooms.

At the same time Milton carefully put the box containing the bag of holding away in a safe which was concealed in one of the walls of the office, before turning to his brother and saying in a serious voice. "Let's get to work on that more secure prison for the Evil Queen. I plan to keep my word to Darling and Raven and make sure that she can never escape again."

Giles nodded, he walked over to his brother's side, Milton drew some paper out of one of the draws of his desks, grabbed two quills, handed one to Giles and together they started making plans for the Evil Queen's imprisonment.