Hey, everyone! My time to write is limited and while this may be a little short, please know that I put my heart in soul into it. Once again, thanks for sticking with this story and enjoy!
"I can't just blame her for my addiction…" Apple looked down at the floor so she wouldn't have to look at the other patients in rehab with her, "My uh, sort of ex-girlfriend. We're not uh, not together but, we don't know where we're going…I was looking for a way out of my feelings for her, that's where my addiction came from. I was trying to, 'buy freedom' by way of the Dragon Dust if that makes sense."
"Thank you for sharing, Apple," The counselor of the group offered words of encouragement, "Would anyone else like to share?"
"Take the drugs over the heartache, honey. It'll kill ya' less fast," One of the other patients commented.
"Cora, that is very inappropriate!" The counselor scolded this patient, "How about we all break for lunch, okay? We'll reunite after and work on being much nicer to our fellow patients afterward. Sound good?"
Apple kept her gaze downward as she got up from her seat. This was going to be a long 90 days.
"Meeting is adjourned, keep up the good work, ladies! I'm off to Storybiza for my next concert, see you all next time," Briar was all smiles as she adjourned the council summit meeting.
The pink-clad princess made her exit promptly after and Faybelle flew out a window at full speed, leaving Raven and Lizzie. Raven was busy collecting up her belonging and notes.
"Come along now," Lizzie grabbed onto Raven's wrist and began pulling her forcibly.
"Wait, what're you…Lizzie, what the hell!?" Raven was annoyed, to say the least.
"You really think you're discreet, don't you?" Lizzie let go of Raven's wrist only to cross her arms.
"I'm not hiding any…" The violet-eyed princess started.
"Yes, you are. Apple is back in your life and if it's not permanent you'd like to go back there, wouldn't you?" Lizzie knew her stuff about love.
"Lizzie, it's really not that simple. You have no idea what she and I have been through and…" Raven raised her voice only for Lizzie to cut her off in an even louder tone.
"AND I DON'T CARE! YOU ARE NOT DOING HER ANY HELP BY CONTINUING TO MAKE HER DEPENDENT ON YOU." The glare in Lizzie's emerald eyes did not waver as she shouted.
After a solid minute of silence, Lizzie took a breath and returned to speaking at a normal volume, "You don't think Apple White entering rehab isn't all over the news? And, either way, I know Apple. She is much more stubborn than you and my Kitty, put together. She would never have entered rehab without you pushing her in some way."
"She wanted to go, I didn't make her," Raven shot a glare back at Lizzie.
"Not in so many words. She is going because she knows that would be exactly what you would want her to do with herself. If she's going to beat her addiction, whatever it may be, wonderful. But, she had to come to that decision on her own. You on the other hand…"
"What about me? Are you going to tell me that I need to explore my options or something?" Raven rolled her eyes at that.
Lizzie said nothing and placed a black envelope with a wax seal into Raven's hand, "Should you go to the address inside the envelope, ask for Maxwell. He's a friend of mine and Kitty's and can offer you some help."
Once Lizzie had left, Raven's curiosity got the better of her and she opened the envelope.
"The Black Mask Fortress?" The name of the location itself made Raven a bit uneasy.
What Raven didn't know was that The Black Mask Fortress was Wonderland's most notorious sex club.
Apple did not take well to group therapy so, now she was having a one on one therapy session with the counselor from before.
"You said that you began using Dragon Dust as a way to try and gain freedom from the feelings you still had towards your sort of ex-girlfriend. What is her name?" The counselor asked.
"Raven, her name is Raven," Apple looked down at her wrist.
Quickly, the counselor scribbled down a note about that and turned back to Apple, "Is that tattoo for her?"
"Yes, we have matching ones. I have this black bird for her and she has a dove for me. They're especially permanent because they were done with magic. They cannot be covered up or removed. Anyway, part of me still really does love Raven but, I…I just don't know if I can do this. All I want is another hit of Dragon Dust because then I don't have to remember how it's all my fault that the picture-perfect romance that we had fell apart all because…b-because…" Apple broke down in tears at that.
"Shhh, shh….It's okay. Let it all out and take your time," The counselor patted Apple's shoulder.
Raven walked up to The Black Mask Fortress. She knocked and received no response until a small slit opened up on the door. Steely yellow eyes looked back at Raven when a voice boomed.
"May I help you?" The voice, although loud, had a muffled quality to it.
"I was told to ask for Maxwell. Her majesty, Lizzie…" Raven began explaining herself only for a pitch black vine to slither forward and cover her mouth with a heart-shaped leaf that tasted like chocolate.
"Shh," The booming voice spoke again, "My name would've been enough."
Raven was about to speak again when she was teleported inside all while still 'gagged' by the chocolate-tasting leaf.
"Nice to meet you. It's Raven, right?" This was the voice from before, Maxwell.
He snapped his fingers and freed Raven from the restraint of the leaf and vine. With another snap of his fingers, the lights in the place flickered on.
Raven's eyes widened upon seeing Maxwell in full. The steely yellow eyes that had peeked out from before were his. He had a fish-like head, an arm made of metal and he hovered over; his deep blue skin only looked more ominous in the dim candlelight of the room.
"Y-yeah…I'm Raven." Was Raven could manage.
Maxwell smirked, showing off some very pointy teeth, "Don't be afraid now. My mum was a mermaid and my father was part Jabberwock. This, on the other hand, happened because I made a bad deal in a game of chess," Maxwell tapped on his metal arm, "Not to worry, though, love. I'm 'ere to help you with your little problem."
"I don't have a problem per say…" Raven started to protest.
"Yes, you do," Maxwell insisted, "Lizzie explained to me that you're stuck in a rut since your ex-girlfriend is still hung up on you and trying to get you back."
"Apple and I might be trying to figure ourselves out but, by no means am I in a rut and…" Raven tried to make her point again only for Maxwell to interrupt once more.
"Well, which is it? Are you two through or are you going to be together? You can't 'ave it both ways," Maxwell brought up a good point.
"I…" Raven didn't know what to say.
"Tell you what," Maxwell perked up, "From what Lizzie said, I get that you've got a thing for blondes. So, I'll lead you up to the dance floor with the open bar, you find yourself a pretty blonde, drinking a little this and that and once you're ready, go and request one of the sex rooms. It is said that the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else."
"Sex rooms?" Raven's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yes, sex rooms. Didn't Lizzie tell you that this is a sex club? Her majesty and her darling, Kitty, come here to dance a bit and then rent the Master Suite for themselves since they'd rather not make noise in the palace for their servants to hear." Maxwell chuckled.
Apple was the one to blame for her and Raven's life together falling apart. They had been dealing with being part of the Land's Ruling Council all while Apple wanted nothing more than to re-decorate their castle, get matching manicures, and maybe go shopping for specific outfits to really bring out their tattoos for one another…Really, Apple wanted to do anything but the actual work of ruling. Paperwork and meetings were boring and besides, she was too pretty to sit around inside all day, that was a fact.
One day, Raven had gotten sick and asked Apple to take her proposed plan for education across the land the Council Summit meeting since she wouldn't be able to go. Instead, Apple went out shopping for matching dresses for herself and Raven to wear to Daring and Cerise's charity gala which would be taking place later that month. Apple had eventually sent the education plan to Briar. Apple wasn't completely inept.
But, that had been the last straw for Raven.
"You do nothing but think of yourself. You have no idea how anyone outside of the perfectly privileged royal class lives, do you? Sure, I was technically born into royalty myself but, my father and I lived humbly and we didn't treat everyone else like they were beneath us. Maybe I was wrong about you, maybe you're still that old sour Apple that you were in high school and just got good at hiding. Maybe you even have me under some kind of enchantment, you did ace Home Evilnomics after all," Raven's voice had never sounded colder or more evil, "Since your mentality never left high school then, I'll stoop to your level. Maybe then you'll actually listen to what comes out of my mouth."
Rather than argue, Apple ran from then on. Of course, not before a shared exclamation between her and Raven…
"We yelled 'I never want to see you again' at each other before I really ran off. For a weeks, I tried to convince myself that Raven had been in the wrong, that she was an unappreciative and cold-hearted when, I'm the brat. I didn't want to help her do any of the hard work and, now? Now, I'm reduced to a drug addict all because I didn't want to admit that I was wrong…If I could go back and change everything, I would…Raven deserves so much better." Apple reached up and wiped her tears that continued to fall.
A/N: The person named 'Cora' in rehab with Apple is a shout out to the show Once Upon A Time. Now, Maxwell is an OC of mine and I will be drawing him and eventually getting him commissioned from someone who draws better. I thought it'd be cool to have someone who is a mashup of a creature and I figure in Wonderland, that would fly. And yes, just for funsies I gave him a British accent but, everything else aside, let's put focus back on Raven and Apple...guess we're finally getting to the bottom of things, huh? Well, this story sure isn't over and, I'm not necessarily sure of what direction I'll go but, I promise it will be anything but, boring! When I update eventually, I am still juggling 2 jobs and will be going back to school very soon and while I will no longer be working both of my jobs, I will be balancing one of my jobs and school so, please be patient. Again, begging and begging for updates is not the way to get them. Thanks, everyone!