Apple's eyes fluttered open. She slowly woke up and stretched with a yawn. "Must have dozed off...I think." Once her eyes adjusted, Apple was shocked to find herself not in her room, but a room she's never seen before!

"What the-?! Where am I?!" Apple shot out of bed and her head traveled everywhere. "This isn't my room! What is happening?!"

Apple rushed to the barred window and felt a surge of dread fill her when she saw the Dark Forest outside. She was in the last place she ever wanted to be. "The Dark Forest?!"

But no one came to her rescue. Apple started to panic. "Oh, no! What am I going to do?!" Apple managed to calm down and thought back to Damsel-in-Distressing class. Her teacher, Maid Marian, had instructed that when one is trapped and have no way out, the only thing to do is summon assistance, which is a more signified way of saying, 'yell for help.'

It was time for Apple to put her teachings out in the field. She put her face between the bars and inhaled. "HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP! HELP ME! HEEEEEEELP!" Her calls for help echoed. Apple waited several minutes but no one came.

Maid Marian also instructed to let your throat rest once you've called for help so another round can be shouted out. Once her throat was rested, Apple let out more calls for help.

But to her dismay, no one came. Realizing she was trapped and no one was coming to rescue her, Apple sighed and sat on the bed. "Oh, what am I going to do?! If I'm not at the cake baking contest, everyone will be so disappointed!" Her head had a sudden pain. "Ohhh, I have such a headache. What was in that apple juice?"

Apple gasped. "It must have been poisoned! Did Raven...?!" She blinked. "No! What am I saying?! Raven would never have done something this evil! I've been begging her all year to be evil and she still wants to be good!" Apple tapped her chin. "But if she didn't poison me, then who? Maybe it was Duchess. She is hexcited to take Raven's place. But...I wonder if I'll still have my Happily Ever After? Sure, I have an Evil Queen. But what about a huntsman? And a Prince Charming?"

But Apple knew this wasn't a time to dwell on that. "No, Apple! Focus on the present! Not the future!" The princess decided to call for help one more time. She went to the window. "HEEEEEEELP! HELP ME-"

ROOOOOOOOOOOAR!

A thunderous roar boomed from outside. Apple shot back from the window as two large, furry hands grabbed the window bars and bent them all the way open, the window crumbled from the brute strength of whatever creature this was.

Pressed against the wall, Apple froze with fear when the creature ripped the window apart and lunged into the room.

It was a lion. Huge and powerful, with a wild mane of red hair and light yellow fur. His large, brown eyes peered at Apple carefully as he snarled from the back of his throat. The princess saw the sharp, pointed fangs in the animal's open maw.

Apple let out a shriek of pure terror. Putting a hand to her forehead, she fainted and slumped onto the floor.

The lion blinked, surprised by the girl's reaction. Regret came upon his fuzzy face. "Uh-oh." said the lion. He stretched back, lifting his rear in the air. The lion slowly transformed into a teenage boy. A boy with a mop of spiky red hair and had the same brown eyes. He wore a yellow tank top with a paw-like symbol on it, black shorts and matching tennis shoes.

The boy rushed to Apple to help her. "Hey, chick! You alright?" But once he got a good look at her, the boy's breath was taken away. "Whoa..."

In the boy's mind, he thought he was looking at an angel. Red lips like two rose petals, flowing blonde hair like golden stardust, and skin so white like the most brilliant pearl.

The boy's mind was dazed by Apple's beauty. Momentarily, of course. He shook his head to regain his senses, his cheeks were a flustered shade of pink. He gently picked her up and shook her a little. "Hey, you alright? Wake up!"

Apple's eyes popped right opened. "Oh, my!"

The princess took one look at the muscular young man holding her and was in awe. "Oh...my." Her face became flushed as the boy's.

"Uh, h-hi." The boy greeted, lost in Apple's beautiful blue eyes.

"Hi." said Apple.

The two stared at each other. Trying to find the right words to say. For what seemed like forever, the boy had the first word. "Are you okay?"

"I-I think so." Apple said softly. She suddenly gasped. "Wait a minute! Where's the lion?!" She stood up and looked around nervously.

The boy sighed. "It's okay. You don't have to worry about him."

"Why? Did-" Apple gasped. "Did you defeat the lion to save me?" she asked in a lovesick voice.

"What?! No!" The boy shook his head. "That lion was me!"

Apple blinked, unsure of what he just said. "Excuse me?"

The boy sighed. "I'm the lion." He closed his eyes and morphed into his lion form. Apple jumped back as the boy turned lion let out a roar. "See?"

"Oh, my!" Apple put a hand to her chest.

The lion chuckled. "Yeah, I get that a lot." He returned to his human form. "I'm Leo Lion, son of King Lion from Oz."

"Wait! You mean the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz?! asked Apple, excitement raising up.

"It's just lion now." Leo corrected. "He's not a coward anymore. And you are?"

Apple smiled and did a princess perfect curtsey. "I'm Apple White, daughter of Snow White."

"Whoa! You're THE Apple White?! No way!" said Leo. "I should have known! Good looks obviously run in the family!"

Apple couldn't help but blush from Leo's kind words. "Thank you. So, Leo, what are you doing here in Ever After?"

"I'm here because a crazy bad witch has taken over Oz! She's blocked out all the good magic and took over Oz as quick as she arrived! So, my friends and I came here for magical backup!"

"A crazy bad witch?!" Apple feared the worst. Could it be the Evil Queen?! Has she come back for revenge?! Apple thought the Evil Queen and her power was absorbed by Ascalon, a powerful weapon from Ben Tennyson's dimension. The Evil Queen wasn't seen nor heard ever again.

"What kind of witch would be powerful enough to take over Oz?!" asked Apple.

Lea shook his head. "I don't know. All I know is she wore a dark cloak to hide her face and uses powerful dark magic. So we're gonna need someone with some wicked dark magic chops."

"Well, you're in luck! My roomie Raven Queen is hexcellent with dark magic!" Apple said. "And I'll be more than happy to help too!"

"Sounds like a plan." Leo looked around. "But first thing's first. We got to find my friends before we do anything else."

A howling noise echoing through the woods made Apple whimper a little and hug herself. "Y-Yeah, we should get out of here."

Leo saw how scared Apple was. "Oh, yeah. We're in the Dark Forest. It's part of your story, isn't it?" He saw Apple shivering profusely. "Hey, are you alright?" Leo put a hand on her shoulder.

"I-I should be. I mean..." Apple moved closer to Leo as she timidly looked around. "When I was little, every night before I went to bed, my mom would tell me her story so I would know it by heart when it was my turn to be the next Snow White. I shouldn't be afraid of the Dark Forest, but..."

Suddenly, a flock of black birds flew wildly through the trees. Apple squealed and held onto Leo. Leo immediately responded by putting his arms arouns Apple to comfort her. "Hey, hey, hey. Easy, babe." he said with a gentle voice. "It's alright. It was just a bunch of crows." He gasped. "Wait a minute. Crows! That's it!" He released Apple and backed away, transforming into his lion form.

"Leo?! What's wrong?!" asked Apple.

"Get on my back! We gotta catch those birds!" Leo got down on all fours. "HURRY!"

Apple just stood there, a bit surprised. "But...I never rode on a lion before-AAAH!" The lion grabbed her arm and put her on his back.

"It's like horseback riding without the saddle! NOW HANG ON!" Leo said before dashing off.

Apple screamed as she held onto Leo's mane for dear life. She had no idea why following those crows were so important, but it beats being alone in the Dark Forest.