"Hey Raven, are you going to say goodbye to your old girlfriend from grades eight and nine?" Cedar asked nonchalantly, not even looking up from her painting even as the witch in question startled and fumbled with the wooden practice sword she was posing with.

"P-pardon?" Raven asked.

"You remember Cupid, you and she dated at summer camp those two years near that place in Salem Oregon- by the way could you tilt that whatshisname up and to the left a bit? Anyway she's transferring to a new school and she'll be stopping by Boo York because your mom has a close "in" with the Wonderlandians and Cupid will have to go through Wonderland in order to get to her new school like ten times faster than any other way." Cedar paused mid brushstroke. "You do still keep in touch with her right?"

"Well yes." Raven shook her head. "And I am going to meet up with her, mom's letting her stay at the apartment for the two nights that it'll take to make all of the arrangements to get her safe passage through the place, but I'm more concerned with how you know about all of this before I told you about it, I personally just found out this morning that Chariclo was going to be staying here! Oh, and by the way; this "whatshername" is known as a pole arm, or a naginata, my grandmother has one or two real ones in her collection down at the dojo." Raven explained her mind flashing images of the collection that her grandmother and several well-to-do independent older women maintained at their dojo in the city with the goal of teaching young girls the sometimes essential necessity of defending oneself through magic, weapons, and martial arts until the attacker was on the ground pleading for you to cease whacking him over the head with his own kidneys.

"Oh she and I keep in touch on SkullBook and we E-gore each other every once in a while." Cedar admitted as if it was nothing. "Why do you refer to her by her first name by the way?"

"Who taught you how to use social media?" Raven demanded while avoiding the last question, because Cedar and social media made just about as much sense as fish and rock climbing.

"Briar said that every aspiring artist has to learn how to get her name out there through places like SkullBook and shrieker." Cedar blinked innocently.

"…Of course she did." Raven sighed. "Are all the rest of you acquainted with all of my ex-dalliances as well?"

"Ye- you've had more than one?" Cedar redirected, while Cedar was more wood elemental than magic-golem-doll now due to a healthy helping of mad science and spell-object-material-manipulation to somewhat free her from any fairytale obligation by simply turning her into a common mild mannered monster Cedar still found it difficult to lie, though whether she just didn't want to based solely on her moral stance in life or she simply couldn't it was difficult to tell, however she was able to lie by omission or redirect the question asked of her with a question of her own (if Cedar hadn't been so inherently nice Raven often wondered if she would have become one of those intrusive mentalist or hypnotist types like what she often saw on TV, the girl was just that good at getting people to… well stop asking questions).

No one within their little group of fairytale refugees quite understood why the late Pinocchio had gone to such great lengths to find out where everyone had run off to and plead with the other refugees to help him and his wooden daughter move to Boo York and once he discovered that the runaway Evil Queen was a mad scientist who worked on things for the betterment of the world, have Raven's mother do what she could to save Cedar from her curse. The man never citing exactly why he wanted this so badly for his daughter when a fairytale could have done much better in making her into a real human girl, he just adamantly claimed that it was for the best that Cedar be given a different destiny altogether.

Raven blushed at Cedar's question. "I've had a few crushes since the eighth and ninth grades." The witch grumbled.

"But no dates." Cedar translated.

"I have tried asking some people out… they just didn't think that it would work out is all." Raven mumbled.

At that Cedar stopped painting. "Um, what? But I've seen you get like a dozen love letters a month ever since you started your band and you've always been considered one of the prettiest girls in school. If you don't mind me asking; why are you-?"

"I'm really picky? I'm attracted to people who don't like me back or where it just can't work? I really don't know aside from the fact that most of the people giving me those love letters either just want to date me because I'm in a school band or because my mom is sort of famous in the mad scientist world and I really just would like somebody who liked me for me and that I knew a little better than a first time meeting." Raven shook her head. "Chariclo says that it's good that I just don't go after the first attractive person I see and that it's probably a good thing that some of my previous crushes didn't work out into dates since I've got plenty of time to find the right person to be with and that it really isn't something I should despair over."

"Whom did you ask out?" Cedar blinked in confusion, because Raven rarely kept these kinds of secrets from her since Raven's mother had other ways of finding out about her daughter's personal life and aside from the big fairytale conspiracy Raven was pretty much an open book with very little secrets to share.

"Samantha Cromwell." Raven sighed.

Cedar's wooden eyes practically bugged out of her skull in shock. "You're band's rival, who really isn't your rival since you don't see her band as the enemy and that you tend to play different venues from her and always bribe Briar to not book you guys in a competition with them no matter how revved up things could get if it were known that your two bands would be battling and Briar's personal vendetta against her but Samantha still hasn't gotten it into her head that you guys- aside from Briar- really aren't enemies? That Samantha Cromwell?"

"I thought that she was flirting!" Raven almost threw her hands up, but then remembered the sword and took the time to set it down before resuming the gesture. "She always sounded flirtatious when she'd needle me, I kind of figured that she flirted the same way Faybelle flirts, and I only make it a point to not play in any competitions with her band and share as little venues as possible because I actually like her stuff and I respect her work to the point where I want to see her succeed! Singing and playing guitar in a high school band is my hobby and we get spare cash from all of our performances or the money goes to charities, I'm not going to stick with it after I graduate, but Samantha does want to become a professional singer, it's only right that I don't try to outshine a professional in the making!"

"…Did you tell her this? When did you tell her this?" Cedar's voice was strained, trying to imagine the look on the other witch's face when all this went down.

Raven hung her head. "Last month. And yes, everything. From me saying that I always enjoyed her "aggressive flirting" to how I understood that being in a competition with her would boost sales but since I'm not interested in preforming as a career I never really saw the benefit of doing one of those battle-of-the-bands competitions… and that I was always her biggest fan and loved her music ever since she started singing and playing keyboard in elementary school."

"Ooh." Cedar winced. "Did she yell at you? Because if she hurt you we should call up Cerise and Ramona and they'll-"

"She didn't yell. Or hurt me in anyway aside from rejecting me." Raven quickly assured. "…She just got reeeally quiet and blushed so red I- She believed me at least, didn't do her normal paranoid spiel like what she always does with Briar whenever Briar lands us a wickedly sick place. And told me that she was not flirting, that she had no idea that I was not aiming to become a professional at this, that she had absolutely no idea that I was flirting with her, …and after a very long awkward silence she gave me free front row tickets to see her next show and told me that even though she doesn't see me the same way, that her beef was always with Briar anyway and that she'd like to avoid making enemies with me too since trying to become a professional in the music business is wicked harsh."

"…That was surprisingly nice of her." Cedar blinked.

"She's really not that bad of a person as long as you aren't standing in the way of her dreams." Raven confirmed. "It's just that she and Briar have always gotten off on the wrong note and she admits in the wake of my very embarrassing confession that she let her assumptions about me and the guys get the better of her to the point where she started to turn that paranoid attention at me and completely missed the way I was actually flirting with her and not… pretending to be both polite and passive aggressive."

"Does Briar know?" Cedar asked.

"I told her about my crush, and she and the band at least could tell that I was flirting outrageously with Samantha the whole time… I just haven't gathered up the courage to say to her that I ignored her warnings and tried to ask Samantha out. I mean she nearly blew a gasket when I asked Desentrious RockCracker out-"

"Wait! You used to like Desentrious?" Cedar just barely choked on air.

"He's cute, and I am entitled to my own version of what I find attractive." Raven sniffed in defense for her romantic feelings towards the large troll/rock giant elemental half-breed.

"He turned you down?" Cedar gaped, because Desentrious had always been tripping over his sandals after the prettiest popular mean girls crowd at school… and Raven was often argued to be one of the most beautiful creatures in school and she was way nicer than the girls that Desentrious usually went for.

"He said that he was flattered and that I made his entire week but I was far too delicate and proper for someone like him who prefers his women who have the ability to hit him so hard he sees pretty stars behinds his eyes and enough harsh sass to send his hearts all the flutter, he said that someone like me deserved to be with someone far better than him, like a troll king who owned a mountain and not one who lived in a communal quarry outside the city." Raven heaved a sigh. "We're still friends though, and he's been suggesting lately that I should go with my grandmother to Young Delta Birk's society introduction party next month, you know, that rock elemental whose father owns half of the marble mining industries in the country? Desentrious thinks that I have a real shot with him since I'm the proper kind of almost royal lady for a fancy rock troll like Young Delta."

"If only he knew that you aren't so much an almost royal as much as an actual royal." Cedar mused faintly suddenly very suspicious towards Desentrious's preferences in females.

"Grandmother has joked that the Birk Company would become some of the richest creatures in this realm if they managed to get mining and other trade goods rights by having the CEO's son marry me." Raven commented bleakly. "At the very least with their security I'd never have to worry about being dragged off to Ever After High to become the next Evil Queen, over there I could be known as Raven the troll's bride and pose picturesquely in a flowing gown whilst sitting in the palm of my husband's very large stone hand in all of the royal portraits. My father's great hall is certainly big enough to be a throne room for Young Delta and the rest of his family."

"Please tell me that you aren't seriously considering that." Cedar tried to shake off the mental image.

"Of course not. My mom and her friends did everything they could to free themselves from being chained to obligations like that; I'm certainly not going to go back as some trophy wife! Besides, can you just imagine how the other royalty would react to the long lost daughter of the runaway Evil Queen coming back upon the shoulder of her husband who is not only six times her size but also a completely different species? Knowing how they do things over there they just might come at us with swords drawn!" Raven predicted knowingly. "And as for the other guy I tried to ask out on a date-"

"You know what? I can see why you never mentioned your past crushes! You don't have to list them all out." Cedar quickly halted the witch.

"You know the rest of our friends save for Faybelle and Briar said the same thing." Raven narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Even the ones from Wonderland, are my romantic interests really that strange?"

"…Faybelle and Briar know all about this?" Cedar redirected the question innocently.

"Well I told Briar about all the rest of my own free will, Faybelle ended up accidently walking in on over half of my attempts at convincing someone into a romantic relationship…" Raven trailed off tiredly. "And since she and Briar share practically everything since their, y'know, "bonded by destiny" or something like that."

"Uh huh." Cedar blinked, going back to her painting. "You do realize that if she hears about the Samantha thing from anybody else you are so undead right?" Cedar reminded.

"Ugh don't remind me…" Raven groaned because when your second best friend is also your overprotective big sister there is literally no escape. Ever.

"I'm sure that Cupid will be happy to give you some advice while she's here." Cedar assured closing the topic.

XXX

Like many generations before them the time after graduation and shortly after the fairytales there was of course the pressing issue of producing (or secretly adopting) heirs for the next generation, for the most part pregnancies of each graduating class and the children produced from them tended to happen all around the same time with an average two to three year gap at the most between them, there were exceptions of course however the pressure to produce heirs was so great that sooner or later a child would appear and would then be registered in the Book of Legends until the new generation's time came to sign it.

Well that was how it was supposed to be for all fairytale characters, however there was one exception for those select few whose destinies ran far deeper than any normal fairytale family's.

Clawstorm Queen glared spitefully down at the Book laid out on her work table, the real copy, not the fake one held up on display in a certain school's head office, she honestly didn't know why she didn't just destroy the damn thing years ago, couldn't understand why she still couldn't bring herself to do it now.

Well maybe she had an idea of why she didn't but seriously she should really be over this whole thing about family history, she hadn't been a proper royal for years, it had been her choice to turn her back on it all in the first place.

So why wasn't she burning the thrice-damned thing?

"Um… Dr. Grimmbook?" A soft hesitant voice spoke from the arched double doors of the room. "I don't mean to disturb but… could you help me find a cup for a bit of water?"

Immediately the witch relaxed, turning to the teenaged girl with a kind smile. "Of course Miss Cupid, it's no trouble at all."

"Thank you, I guess I'm just a little nervous about moving so far away from home." Cupid sighed. "Thank you for helping me."

"Of course! My colleagues from Wonderland agree with your father, times are changing over there and they need a kind face to help them. You'll be fine, I've been told that they adore those who look- I mean who fight for love and happiness, I'm just as certain as my daughters that you'll thrive over there." Clawstorm internally winced, she had almost said something along the lines of Cupid looking the part of a harmless maiden and therefore if she looked it then they'd all accept her as long as she did not breath a word about being different than the other maidens. No need to scare the girl, and also Clawstorm knew that Cupid already knew how to act just fine without having some bitter old witch making her even more nervy.

"You really think so?" The girl visibly straightened up in hope.

"I know so." Clawstorm assured, knowing better than anyone else that family breeding carried so much weight that even the cruelest of students would always be looked upon favorably by others as long as they were from the right family… and really you couldn't beat being the child of a god.

However, this was her life now, the witch reminded herself sternly as she got up and led the winged girl to the kitchen, it was the combined roles of a good mother, a good friend, and someone who worked to do good in the world around her, this life fit her, it was right for her.

All the hurt and frustration of the past, the expectations both unfair and impossible to meet without driving her to insanity and ruin were far long gone, she was now a mere mild mannered witch who had found her thread of academic and personal pursuits to lead her to a life of success, respect, family, and happiness, there was protection and light freedom in becoming something that fit better into one's own skin than the ill-fitted contours and weight of other people's expectations and demands, ever since Clawstorm had ran away she could even look herself in the eye in the mirror and think; yes, yes this is me, this fits me like a glove, what a wonderful feeling this is!

She was getting better at getting over the past, time healing all wounds and sane relief pouring back into her headspace every time she looked around her and saw that she had moved on to the point where they could not touch her.

She'd burn that blasted Book of Legends sooner or later, be rid of the last tie to her past, there was nothing that she really wanted to keep from back then after all...

…She really would… eventually…

She certainly didn't feel as though she held any lingering obligations to the hidden illegitimate side of her heritage…

…Or at least she was getting over that feeling enough to move on… right?

Right… and maybe she could go back in time and clock the original Evil Queen into next week and save a little pale girl with black hair and an excessive amount of lipstick the trouble of being poisoned while she was still trying to convince herself that she didn't really care anymore even though she really truly was ridiculously happy with her life and how it had all turned out despite her royal blood bemoaning the fact that she and her daughter had been pushed out of their own homeland and rightful inheritance due to other people's idiocy.

Not that there would be anyone over there who cared enough to really have much to do with her if she had stayed, and even if she was never really declared dead what were they planning on doing to her? Scold her? Imprison her for not being evil? They couldn't do a thing to change how things were! And Raven was born in Boo York, she was a citizen, if they tried anything with her kid she could easily bring the authorities with their more advanced technologies and bury the lot of them in political accusations as kidnappers, a cult of evil witch hunters, and who knows what else that would hopefully include the kitchen sink as well.

At least she could accuse them of being the evil ones, after all the only people who really cared about her personal wellbeing were either here or were in on all of this, certainly no one… no one in particular would give a damn if she wound up dead in a ditch…

He'd probably consider it a good riddance if they ever declared her dead and gone, a mistake and a disappointment all tied up and somewhere far away where it couldn't come back to ruin his perfect reputation, because propriety was more important than some trouble making little girl-…

"Dr. Grimmbook are you alright?" Cupid asked the spaced out woman in concern.

Clawstorm nearly jumped when she realized that she had been standing with the tap overflowing in the cup she held under the faucet.

"Oh hex, sorry about that kid, my mind was just… lost with the fairies, you know how that goes; it's late at night, deadlines are approaching and your mind just wanders on you." The witch chuckled in embarrassment as she turned off the tap and reached for a towel decorated with pumpkins (her mother and both daughters were really too charmed with the whole Halloween business).

"You looked pretty sad." The girl observed. "Almost… heartbroken if you don't mind me saying so."

The witch huffed a sober chuckle. "Yeah, I guess a being who is training in the ways of the heart would see that more clearly than most… though at least it's almost heartbroken and not completely heartbroken, I'd like to keep some dignity with my own self…"

"Something's been bothering you since I've come here." The winged girl stated making the witch internally flinch at how the kid was able to hit the problem right on the nose.

"I was just… I just get a little bit jittery when it comes to topic involving places like Ever After." Clawstorm, who knew that lying to a curious creature that could read hearts was probably not the smartest avenue to take, so she opted for a vague admission through truth to hide the full scope of things. "My birth father was from there you see and-… well let's just say that when he found out that he had fathered a witch he was… not happy. For the most part I'm over it but it still irks me that he just… threw me away over what I am… It's not your fault I'm feeling a little down, okay? So don't feel bad about being here, I respect your father greatly and I am happy that you are such good friends with my daughters but I will admit that I do get a little melancholy now and again when I'm reminded… of that place."

"I kinda know how you feel." Cupid admitted. "I was found on my dad's doorstep as a little baby, and when no one stepped forward as my parents the Cupids adopted me. I'm happy with them I really am, and I do feel like I am apart of their family but just knowing that somebody who had helped create me just dropped me off at some random doorstep without knowing what might happen to me or if I'd be safe is just-…"

"Like somebody kicked you in the stomach and then went on to slap you across the face when you lift your head up to ask them why they just did that?" Clawstorm said knowingly, Cupid nodded. "Yeah well at least I don't have to worry about my girls feeling the same way, their papa and I may not be married or in love but we get along like a band of thieves in a thicket and he adores the both of them to itty bitty pieces and they both have a truckload of grandmothers, and honorary aunties and uncles that are looking out for 'em, and you by the way have parents that I know adore you and you also have friends here so if anything happens, or you just want to talk just give us a call alright?"

Cupid beamed. "Thanks Dr. G."

"Anytime kid." Clawstorm smiled kindly as she handed the girl her water.

Welp, even if she couldn't bring herself to destroy it, at least the Book of Legends did make for a rather pretty piece of bookshelf decoration, at least there was something classy looking to glare out the scientific texts and trashy sci-fi novels…

XXX

A large figure hunched over his desk, scouring page after page.

This did not make sense.

He knows that the Evil Fairy had registered her daughter as the next Evil Fairy, Evil Queen, and Cannibal Witch, but he knows that he had made absolutely sure that she'd only be known in the Book as the next Evil Fairy and yet…

Legacy Day had come and gone and somehow, impossibly, the girl had been cast for all three villain roles! It was as if the other two families never existed! It was almost as if this was an indicator that-

No! He was almost certain that she- that they were all still alive! It just would not do to give up hope and start thinking that this was how it had to be!

Fairytale characters just didn't vanish! He knew that they didn't!

…Even though he had to say that they did. For the sake of tradition and keeping destinies where they belonged, he had to say it.

Even though he secretly did not want to believe that for once it had actually all been true.

XXX

"And like I said before, it's a good thing that you go for personality slightly more than looks, it just means that you are ready for a more personally rewarding long-term relationship, just be sure to take thing slow so that you'll be less likely to get in over your head, you've got centuries of a lifetime to find someone who makes you happy, there is really no need to rush." Cupid assured while zipping up her overnight bag.

"See baby sis even the love expert agrees with me." Briar stated smugly from her bed.

"Is my love life, or lack of one really that interesting of a topic?" Raven asked the others warily.

"We discuss only because we care lil' bird." Briar grinned at the grumbling witch. "Besides the longer I can put off havin' 't put the fear of big sistah inta some undeserving dalliance who just wants some booty an' not-"

"Hoookay! Not gonna go there with my big sister!" Raven held her hand to her ears even as Cupid started giggling incessantly.

"I'm just bein' realistic." Briar pointed out. "It's rare these days to come across a decent creature our age who not only knows what they're doin' in matters of the heart but is also looking for investin' in a special kind of long-term thang that requires a slow buildup, an' let's face it baby sis the only kind of slow build up most hormonal peeps are lookin' for is-"

"GAH! I get it no more!" Raven pled. "At least Cupid will be seeing more innocent romances; I hear that they still practice Victorian style courting practices and most marriages are arranged beforehand over there."

"Dear ghosts Cupid! You're goin' t' be bored to an early undeath!" Briar mock despaired. "It's going t' be like one of Ray-ven's proper little old-fashioned novels where the ladies have to use fans to signal their interest and the men all have to stand up when a female enters the room!"

"That sounds more complicated than boring." Cupid pointed out. "But however the situation is over there the fact still remains that things are changing dramatically and tradition is being laid aside, they need someone who knows what's what and I'm up for the challenge."

"Well don't forget to send letters to tell us how it goes." Raven requested. "I'm certain that it'll get very interesting once the predicted tides of change start rolling, I certainly know that I'd love to someday visit Ever After sometime in the next three centuries if it ever becomes more ghoul friendly, and I'd like to brag that I knew someone who helped that change along!"

"I will do my very best to see to it that you get that chance." Cupid promised as she shouldered her bag and went to hug Raven and Briar goodbye.

Cupid was grateful for the Grimmbooks to allow her to stay with them while her travel arrangements were being made, seeing such familiarly welcome faces did help a lot with her anxiety with moving so far away for school.

And Raven was such a sweet ghoul it was sad that they couldn't have worked out as lovers, but alas that old saying about long distance relationships, especially ones made in high school were all too true for them. Still, Cupid felt that the witch would indeed one day find the right creature to give her heart to sooner or later given some time and patience.

However whether they'd survive Briar's overprotective scrutiny was a whole other issue to be sure.

"Right." Cupid said to herself a few hours later as she looked around her new school's campus. "I wonder if Blondie will be able to-"

"Cupid!" A voice cheered in the distance before the winged girl was nearly run over by an enthusiastic blonde girl sweeping her up into a hug.

I guess she could pick me out after all, must be the wings. Cupid mused to herself just as she was being dragged away for an impromptu tour.