"Wait, what did you just say?" Daring nearly dropped his shovel onto the ground.

That day, Hunter and Daring were assigned clean up duty of the Enchanted Beast pens, something the whole school knew Daring loathed. Ever since he and the guys had stood up to Professor Arthur in class he had had it out for all of them. But, that wasn't the issue at the moment, the issue was what Hunter had just asked.

"I asked if you really love Apple."

There it was again. Daring tried hard not to roll his eyes, a prince never does such things. Just because he and Apple weren't dating didn't mean he was not in love with her…right?

Daring cleared his throat and put as much base in his voice as he could. "We will be wed and live Happily Ever After, just as the story instructs."

Hunter frowned and leaned against his shovel. "Yeah, but do you love Apple?" He said again, his voice low and quiet, as if he were sharing some secret shame. Love…what of love?

Daring closed his eyes. When he was a boy, his father told him the story of Snow White and the brave prince who rescued her from the curse of sleep. Only true love's kiss could break the spell, right?

"Hunter, why are you asking me this?"

Hunter took his shovel once again and scraped the last remaining pieces of waste from the stall. "It's just got me thinking is all. I mean, with Raven not wanting to fulfill her destiny, and Hopper singing to Briar…it's just-"

"It's just what?"

Hunter sighed and wiped the dirt from his cheeks. "You say you're going to get married to her, but are you doing it because you love her, or because that's just what expected of you?"

Did Hunter really just ask him that?

"Of course I love Apple!" Daring said, loud enough to scare the ogres out of their caves.

The stables echoed with Daring's voice. He declaration reverbing throughout stalls and against stacks of hay.

I love Apple.

I love Apple.

But was that really true?

It didn't take long for the boys to finish cleaning out the stables, they worked in silence for the rest of the day, and Daring came back to his dorm smelling like the rear end of a griffin.

"Hopper, I'm home." Daring said, his face smudge with what he hoped was dirt. He just wanted to go into their back room and take a nice private shower. Being a prince did have its advantages.

But still, he couldn't shake Hunter's words.

"Of course I love Apple. We're meant to be, just like in the story." When Daring was younger his father told him of his role in the story. He would fall in love and live happily ever after.

But…what exactly was love?

Daring slinked into the bathroom and threw his soaked jacket against the wall.

Daring took wooing classes. He knew all the lines. He knew all the songs, and the poetry, he knew what to say when he saw a beautiful maiden and he knew what to wear when he wanted to impress. He knew to bow when first meeting a girl, and he knew that when you kneel, you kneel with the left and when you kiss her hand, you kiss her right hand.

That was all basic stuff. That was love.

But Hunter…Hunter's idea of love was so so different. When he met his lady out in the fields, he always brought the wrong flowers. When he went out to have dinner with her, he wore the wrong thing. When he retold stories of their dates, he would always say the wrong thing. You compliment her eyes first, not her dress. You kiss her hand before you say goodnight, you don't kiss her cheek.

He always did the wrong thing.

How was that love?

Dexter was probably worse, because unlike Hunter, he knew what wooing was, and he practiced it in class, but he never applied it to anything he did, and even when he tried, it was a complete fairy-fail. His glasses slipped off his nose, his smile was always lopsided, his eyebrows were always too hairy.

He was a disaster.

But every day, when he spoke of the girl who held his heart, he smiled.

Hopper was willing to make a complete fool of himself for a girl. That's not how his story was supposed to go. If anyone was supposed to have the charm thing down it was him. But still, despite his own lack of grace, whenever Briar walked passed, Hopper turned into a puddle like the wicked witch.

That wasn't love.

So…why did they all seem so…satisfied. Whenever the guys talked of their loved ones, Hunter's secret girlfriend, Dexter's hidden secret, or Hopper's feelings for Briar, they all seemed so…content. They seemed as if they had found the ending to their stories. A happy ending that could never be taken away.

Why couldn't he have that?

He shook his head. No.

"I love Apple. It's in the story, so it has to be true."

I love Apple.

Daring washed the last remnants of dirt from his skin. A prince should always be clean. He wiped the water from his back and reached into his drawer to find something appropriate to wear. No sooner had he found something to throw on did Hopper walk in, his face broad and toothy.

"And where have you been?" Daring asked.

"Briar, she just wanted to thank me for the song." At the mere thought of Briar, Hopper's face began to turn red.

I love Apple…

"Sounds like you had a nice time."

Hopper shook his head. "Yeah. Thanks so much for all your help man."

It was like that all the time now. Hunter, Dexter, and Hopper, their faces a glow with a light that would never shine on Daring. Was that what love was?

Daring shook his head. He didn't need to complicate anything, not with Legacy Day around the corner. He simply needed to stick to his destiny and live Happily Ever After.

"I love Apple." He whispered to himself, but a small voice, in the very back of his mind, whispered back…

Is that really true?