Hey folks, Aquila here, with chapter 5 for all of you. I'm really sorry if I upset any of you in my previous chapter, I really didn't mean to. A line in Blondie's narrative is really very important for one of my upcoming chapters, so I needed her to experience a minor breakdown. I felt really sorry for Blondie, so I made her fall for another fairytale character who is also experiencing the same type of feelings. And that person is... ok, I think I'm spilling all the juicy secrets of future chapters here. This chapter is entirely in Blondie's narrative for a change. It has been getting rather tiresome to write on and on in Apple's POV. In fact, all of my chapters have been in Apple's POV, except the prologue, which was in Raven's. So now' the time for a change! Read on to find out more, and don't forget to review!
Chapter 5
Blondie felt vulnerable.
That horrible, heart wrenching conversation with Apple definitely hadn't felt just right. More like just wrong!
She had revealed every single insecurity to her, and it left her feeling exposed, weak and susceptible.
She felt like she had been scrubbed to the bone, cleansed of all her dirty secrets. All of her walls had been broken down. All the deceptive smoke screens had been cleared away. She felt naked. Someone else now knew of her thoughts, crushed hopes and shattered dreams. It felt like she had been dragged over a rugged asphalt road, her skin torn and scraped and cut, bloody and raw.
Blondie was defenceless.
She couldn't pretend to smile, or swing her yellow locks and walk away with her heart breaking a bit more every time she saw Dexter and Cupid share a romantic moment, or make goo goo eyes at each other, or help each other with their homework while secretly sharing a few kisses behind their textbooks.
She was unguarded, unprotected – out in the wide open like a sitting duck.
"Hey."
Blondie looked up into glassy blue eyes.
"You blanked out for a while there, it kind of scared me."
Apple was gently shaking her shoulders, trying to pull her out of her crazy suicidal thoughts.
Blondie pasted on her best forced fake smile, she had mastered the art of doing that ever since Dexter and Cupid got together.
"I'm feeling fine now, c'mon, let's go get dinner. The sun will be setting soon."
Judging by the incredulous expression on Apple's face, she really didn't believe her.
"Really Blondie? I found you going through the major mental breakdown, then you poured out your heart to me about your love troubles and the fiasco that is your life, and then you put an obviously fake smile, and suddenly say that everything is good, and that you're feeling fine?"
"Everything is perfectly fine, Apple"
"Do you really expect me to believe that?"
Blondie looked her stubbornly in the eye.
"Come on, Blondie! Even the three blind mice would be able to see that you are most certainly not just right!"
Blondie grit her teeth.
"Just let it go, Apple. Forget about everything that I told you."
"WHAT!"
"You don't know how it feels Apple! You never will!"
"Well, your life isn't the only one that is peachy right now!"
"Well, what's worse than seeing the one that you love date someone else? What's worse than seeing the one that you love kissing someone that isn't you? What's worse than seeing the one you love hugging intimately person with a person that you dislike? What's worse than seeing the one that you love holding hands in public with person that you hate with a vengeance? YOU TELL ME APPLE !"
Blondie roared, her face twisted and contorted into a mask of fury.
She and Apple stared at each other for what felt like forever after.
Then, Apple spoke, her normally sweet syrupy voice strangled into a bare, hoarse whisper.
"No, there's nothing worse than that."
Apple shuddered.
"You're right, the sun's setting, and it's getting chilly. We should head back."
Blondie gazed at Apple with a puzzled look of confusion on her face. She thought that Apple would scream back at her and put up a better fight, not just give in suddenly without a word.
She shrugged it off as one of Apple's weird mannerisms. Maybe she didn't want to make a scene and lose her cool. She was meant to be princess after all.
Speaking of which - as of lately, Apple had not been acting like her usual self at all, and the way she ran off without giving a proper reply to Blondie's question of her feelings about Queen Charming for her special feature on everyone's reactions to the fairytale world's most spellebrated OTP was just plain befuddling.
But it had felt remarkably good to unload her huge burden of worries and insecurities and to finally talk about her problems to someone – even if that said person was a self centred little princess called Apple White.
Blondie sighed, and shuffled down the grassy path that led to the castleteria with heavy, leaden feet. All of that walking, tantrum throwing, talking, thinking, crying and screaming had taken up a lot of her energy.
And she was starving.
Blondie pushed open the oaken doors that led to the castleteria, wondering what was on the menu and guessing what would be just right to her Goldilocks sense.
She tapped her foot impatiently as the lunch ladies dished out dinner. Blondie winced when it landed with a splat on her plate. It certainly didn't look that appetising. Maybe she should air a special show on the benefits of delicious dinners or maybe write out a petition for allowing porridge of the exact temperature and amount of sugar and golden syrup as the little bear had in her story as one of the main items of the dinner menu. She could get everyone to sign it before presenting it to Headmaster Grimm. Then, they would have the luxury of eating heavenly porridge for dinner as well as breakfast, instead of the disgusting slimy specimens that they called 'food'.
She turned around and negotiated her way through the overcrowded castleteria.
Note to self – do a feature on the need of the hour for a more comfortable and roomy dining space.
Then, she caught sight of a particular table.
And she immediately wished that she hadn't.
