The Morning After
The next morning Apple White woke up much later than usual.
Wow, I really slept in! Apple thought when she got a look at her clock. She normally woke up at around 7:00 (7:30 on the weekends, and 8:00 if she really wanted to indulge herself). But sleeping in until 10:00 was way out of the norm for her.
But that wasn't all that was weird. Apple discovered that she had fallen asleep wearing her clothes. Or really, Ashlynn's clothes, which had returned to their stylish, princess-wear glory during the night.
As Apple got fairest and tried to remember why she didn't bother taking off Ashlynn's clothes last night, she realized that she didn't remember all that much about last night, period.
She remembered going there; flying with Rotbart, him teasing her by dropping her, and nearly getting blasted by fireworks. She remembered the secret entrance to Twisted Kelly's, the strange password, and the bar itself. She remembered Mike and Kevin Kelly and the fact that fried green beans were actually pretty good.
But that was it. The rest of the evening was just a blur. Like a dream she couldn't quite remember after she woke up. All she retained was a feeling that it had not been a bad evening. In fact, if her gut could be trusted, she had had a rather good evening. Which was weird given who she had spent with.
But then again, Apple had to admit Rotbart wasn't actually bad company for a bad guy. At least when he wasn't TRYING to be an unrepentant asshole. He actually had some pretty admirable qualities; his sense of honor, his deeply hidden romantic streak, his sharp mind...
His great kissing skills. Apple thought to herself. The she frowned. Where did THAT come from?! She thought.
But she didn't dwell on that. At that minute Apple received a text from her BFFA, saying that the Royal Croquet team needed to elect a new captain today now that Lizzie had been banned from the team.
Apple quickly responded and assured Briar that she'd meet the team at the indoor croquet course at noon. She then sent another text message to Rotbart and went about her merry princess business, as if she hadn't made out with her future villain the night before.
Rotbart felt his pants vibrate and felt dread fill his soul. Hardly anyone texted him and he knew all too well who would after yesterday. He reached for his phone and prepared himself for a very probing and possibly VERY pissed off message from Apple White.
But all he read was:
Thanks for last night. And bringing me home!
Rotbart heaved a huge sigh of relief. Mag's potion had worked! If Apple had remembered anything important about last night, he would have definitely heard about it. And for once, her natural princess naivety was a good thing! As long as she didn't ask questions, he wouldn't have to answer them. And he could forget that that whole cursed night at Kelly's had ever happened.
But little did Rotbart know that there were a lot more memories with Apple White yet to come.