Found

While Raven and Rotbart were desperately searching for Apple, Apple was feeling pretty desperate herself. When she heard that Sparrow had given away her only shot at being human again, she reached a whole new level of panic. She was so flooded with fear that she couldn't think straight and all she wanted to do was escape the room of the guy that had done this to her. And since Raven, Sparrow, and Rotbart were all blocking the door, the open window was the next best option.

Of course, the minute Apple ran through the window, she realized just how far away the ground was. Luckily, instinct took over and she managed to pull up, right before concluding her swan dive with a swan-smashing splat.

And she just kept flying. And when she found herself in the school courtyard she starting begging anyone, and everyone, to save her. But of course, no one understood, and just thought they were being attacked. And it was just bad luck that the wind had blown Holly's hair in Apple's path at the worst possible moment.

Once she had escaped from Holly's surprisingly precarious mane, Apple had flown into the school, desperate to find help. But no one stepped up. Instead, everyone ducked and screamed. Apple felt like screaming too.

Exactly what had happened in the castleteria was all a blur now to Apple. And she couldn't remember precisely what happened when she flew into the Hero Training course. Except that she knew she HAD to defend herself against that awful dragon. And she wondered if she had...relieved herself during her struggle to preserve herself, but she immediately dismissed that thought; even in the most dire of circumstances, the fairest-of-them-all wouldn't do anything as undignified as THAT.

And now she was all alone. She knew that one day her story would require her to be all alone in the woods due to her villain's nefarious actions. But that was supposed happen after high school! And she wasn't supposed to be a swan!

And Grimm dang it, that nasty Rotbart isn't supposed to be in my story at all! Apple thought. She vowed that she'd find away to make that jerk sorry! When she was queen, she'd lock him in the dungeon for life.

Suddenly, Apple heard voices. And one of them sounded very familiar.

"Oh Hunter!" Someone sighed.

That sounds like Ashlynn! Apple thought. But what would she be doing with Hunter Hunstman all the way out here? That seemed weird. Still, Apple quickly waddled towards the sound of her friend's voice.

Apple found Ashlynn and Hunter having a picnic in a sunny clearing. And if Apple didn't know better, she could have sworn it was a romantic picnic. But Apple didn't take time to ponder that just now.

"Ashlynn! ASHLYNN!" She honked. Ashlynn tore her eyes away from Hunter and turned towards Apple.

"APPLE?!" She shouted in disbelief. "Is that you?!"

"Yes! It's me!" Apple honked. She was overjoyed to finally have someone recognize her. It was a very good thing that she had run into Ashlynn; although most fairytale princesses were very good with woodland creatures, the daughter of Cinderella was one of the few princesses that could actually talk to animals.

"Wait, that's Apple?!" Hunter said in confusion. "What happened?!"

"Yes, what happened?!" Ashlynn repeated.

"Rotbart happened." Apple hissed darkly.

Ashlynn's eyes widened. "Rotbart? Your new villain?" She asked.

"He's not my villain!" Apple honked. "He's the bane of my life!"

"Uh, isn't that the same thing?" Ashlynn said.

"No!" Apple hissed. "That big meanie turned me into a swan!"

"But why?" Ashlynn pressed.

Suddenly, Rotbart burst into the clearing. His eyes lit up when he saw Apple and he broke into a relieved smile. "Hey, I found her!" He yelled to Raven. He turned back to Apple and knelt down. "Thank godmother we found you. What were you thinking by running away like that?!"

"I was thinking that I wanted to get away from YOU!" Apple hissed. And she ran and hid behind Ashlynn and Hunter's legs.

Rotbart frowned as he stood back up. All his happiness at finding Apple quickly evaporated. "What a charming damsel in distress." He dryly remarked to Ashlynn and Hunter.

Hunter glared at him. "What did you do to her, you creep!" He demanded. He was going into full hero mode right now.

Rotbart raised a single eyebrow. "I turned her into a swan." He said. "Any other questions, Captain Obvious?"

Hunter flushed a little bit. So much for looking heroic in front of his lady. He quickly recovered: "Yeah...well, WHY did you do that to her, you creep?!"

"Because he threw a hissy-fit like a little baby when she tortured him with her singing, lost control of his powers, and accidentally zapped her, that's why!" Raven interjected as she came into the clearing.

"RAVEN!" Rotbart and Apple shouted (and honked) in indignation.

"Well, it's true. I told you two this prank war would get out of hand. And now you're in danger of getting expelled and you're in danger of being stuck like this forever." Raven said to Rotbart and Apple. "I want to fix this mess, and I need you to stop antagonizing people and I need you to stay put! You got that?!"

"Fine." Rotbart said sullenly.

"If he tries anything again, I WILL run." Apple honked.

"Uh, she agrees." Ashlynn fibbed.

"Good." Raven said. "Now all we've got to do is find Sparrow and see if he got Duchess to give that charm back."

"As if!" Duchess's voice suddenly said.