Apple sobbed into her hands, her mother and King Charming by her side, along with "Dexter" who held her, comforting her.

Daring was gone, and Apple felt so horrible about the way she had treated him the last time they saw each other. She crumpled against Dexter and her delicate heart felt as though it could take no more. It crumbled and ached and fell away into tiny specks of fairy dust as her fairy tale came to a crashing, flaming, devastating end.

She drew back a deep breath, hiccuping as she recalled the way he'd stood up for her, and how he'd said he still cared for her. She had been so selfish to just shut him down and run off the way she had.

There was still hope, but now it was gone...gone like everything else.

The prince upon whom she cried, rested his head against hers and embraced her firmly, rubbing her back soothingly as she continued to sob. She quivered and shook in his arms like a rabbit, as she nuzzled her face into his jacket.

"I know...I know..." He whispered when she uttered something unintelligible to him between sobs.

She turned her head to look up at him, and she lifted a hand to brush away his own tears, matching hers if not for the lack of a black tint as her makeup ran, surely u attractively down her cheeks.

She gasped and tore herself away, having ruined his clothing, trying to wipe it off, but he took her hands and kissed them, softly,

"It's alright, I don't care." He said, and what remained of her heart stopped, and lurched forward as he took off his glasses, which were tear stained and hard to see through now.

He looked deeply into her eyes, and he leaned forward, "I'm still here. And I promise, no matter what silly mistakes I've made, that hurt you, I'll never leave you to suffer." He whispered, planting a burning kiss on her forehead.

Snow White lifted a hand to her lips, and he glanced at the king beside her, and they both shared a knowing look as their children began to bond in their grief. He nodded to her, and she sobbed a little, but held it together as a good queen should. They both got up to discuss this somewhere else to allow their precious prince and princess to be alone together.

The king stole a glance at his "son" with mixed feelings, but then put his qualms to rest. This was the right thing to do, he had convinced himself.

Apple gazed up at Dexter, suddenly discovering those fabled eyes of his for the first time, as he whispered words of kindness and comfort to her, stroking her hair, and holding her hand.

She burned with something in her chest that she had never experienced so heavily before, like a last opportunity...a second chance... Something that would slip away from her and be lost forever if she didn't grab it and never let it go, like his hand, that she tightened around, or his chin as she pulled it down, or his lips as she pressed hers against his in a sudden act of despair and desperation.

Loves first kiss? Maybe not. Daring was her first love, so what did it matter now? He was gone, but here before her was someone who cared for her too, and who was suffering the same loss and pain.

Judging from the way he kissed her back, taking her bottom lip and prying her mouth open to extend their sudden passionate sin to another level, he needed this as much as she did.

He ran his fingers through her satin, flawless golden hair and pulled her face as close to his as possible, and she wrapped her arms around him, humming in shameful pleasure as he ravished her.

She drew back for a breath, finally, and he pulled her onto his lap, breathing heavily, and planting a soft kiss on her again, and again... and then horrific realisation struck her as she held a hand to his lips...

"...Raven...?!" She squeaked as she felt her newly patched up heart explode into smithereens again.

But "Dexter" only looked at her for a moment or two with a serious and remorseful look in his eye and he said, "That was a mistake. She doesn't need me the way you do. It was temptation, but in you I see what I really wanted."

For the third time, her heart reconstructed itself, and for a moment she began to cry again. She leaned against his body, and her embraced her once more, as she let it all out. Soon his father would be done with making rearrangements regarding their fate together, and they'd have to separate in order to appear orderly and responsible, but the only thing he knew was his duty was to make Apple happy for the rest of his life and that was all he intended to do.

It was all he knew.

XxXxXxX

Snow White stared out the window, overlooking the woods in which she once stayed as a young princess, waiting in the cottage of the dwarves for her future husband to whisk her away to her happily ever after.

Things had never been so complicated for fairy tales until this ridiculous rebellion had begun. In her day, it was all laid out for you, and you never had to worry about a thing. Your life was planned and good things came to those who deserved them, didn't they?

Snow White, like many fairy tales who have story legacies going back centuries and centuries ago, had no idea of any sort of life outside what destiny tells them to do, and to hear of what horrific consequences their children were facing made her ache in her heart.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" She asked, "Dexter has his own life ahead of him, as the beast..." She said, having known her good friends' intentions for their younger son since his birth.

The king sighed heavily, and replied with a heavy heart, "A prince of the Charming name isn't always destined to something at birth. Sometimes they go for years without a set path until one day they come to rescue a maiden in need, and suddenly it all falls into place."

He strolled over to her silently, and placed a great hand on her shoulder, the younger monarch looking up to him, "Apple is the maiden that Dexter has found, and I believe his potential involvement with your daughter could save him from a nasty, ill fate as the husband of that wretched Raven Queen. I want this for Apple, and for my Dexter." He explained.

Slowly nodding, she began to see his point, but she couldn't help but be overwhelmed at the sadness that hung in her heart. Daring was all her daughter ever asked for, after all, but the fairy tale must go on.

"I will consider it, but I will only consent to this arrangement if my daughter deems it acceptable." She said. So much for destiny.

King Charming grinned from behind her, as she looked away, and he replied, "Then let us hope for the best."

XxXxXxX

Authors Note: don't you just love how Dexter's body is cheating on Raven without his consent? Ahhh... And Apple just did a oopsie-no-no kiss with him too! Ooooohhh... Dramaaaa

Apologies guys for how long it has been taking me to finish my latest chapters. I had a WHOLE entire funny chapter half written about Sirena trying to teach Dexter how to fly but then my freaking iPad died and it was all lost...QAQ

forgive me! I mightn't be able to do that chapter in so much detail now... GRRR...