Maddie was siting on the stairs with a rather determined look on her face when she felt a gentle hand touch her shoulder. She turned around to see Briar and Ashlynn standing behind her.

"Hey Maddie," Briar said as she sat down next to her. Maddie gave her a spiteful glare. She hadn't forgotten yesterday and she had a feeling that that was why Ashlynn and Briar were here. They didn't talk to her normally. "I want to talk to you about yesterday." Bingo. She was right.

"What about yesterday?" Maddie demanded, loosing her patience.

"Oh I don't know maybe how you yelled at Apple and said she was a threat!?" Briar who was also starting to loose her patience.

"Apple deserved what she got. She's nothing but trouble!" Maddie declared and turned her back on the two girls. Ashlynn looked back and forth at both of them. She wasn't one for confrontation and she certainly didn't want two of her friends fighting.

"Listen guys, there's no need to fight. Maybe if we just," She tried to reason with Maddie and Briar, to try and smooth things over but she just got cut off by Briar.

"Apple's trouble!? What about Raven? She brought the whole school to chaos when she didn't sign the storybook!" Briar yelled. She couldn't believe it. No one in the entire school had made as much trouble as Raven. Everyone knew it but here Maddie was denying it, as if it had never happened.

"That might have happened but it's in the past and maybe" Ashlynn tried again but was swamped by Maddie's growing anger.

"Yeah, the storybook that happened to be fake! If Raven hadn't signed the book, we never would have found out!" Maddie argued back. She had stood up at this point with her hands clenched, towering over Briar. Ashlynn had never seen her so angry and actually feared that she was going to pounce on Briar.

"If you hadn't gone looking for the book then Raven wouldn't had gotten poisoned and we wouldn't be in this position in the first place! We all would have just done as we were told."

"So your saying that it would've been better? You sounded like you really didn't want that to happen when we were back in the dressing room. Your situation is exactly the same as Raven's yet you call her out on it!" Maddie knew that she had struck a nerve and that Briar had no way of retaliating based on her current expression. Briar's face had contorted into a scowl and both girls looked like they were about to spit fire.

"Briar!" Ashlynn's scream made both girls stop and look at her. "I think we should get going." She warningly suggested. Briar sighed and joined her friend as they left the room.

"Can you believe it?!" Briar paced around Apple's dorm room. "They just don't understand that this effects you too Apple." After talking to Maddie, Briar and Ashlynn had made their way to Apple's room with the intent of comforting her or giving her advice but Briar had just ended up going on a long rant. Apple and Ashlynn had no real choice but to listen along.

"I know, but my life isn't at stake. What if they're right?" Apple sighed. Briar's rant wasn't exactly helping her current stress or state of mind.

"Well I can understand their point of view, but they need to let Apple decide for herself." Ashlynn argued. Like always she tried to ease up the situation by taking the middle road between the two arguments. After her comment there was an awkwardly long pause of silence. Apple buried her head back in her bed but no more sobs came. Instead her thoughts were whirling.

"They actually came up to you and said that?" Cedar exclaimed.

"Yep, they were rude about it too." Maddie said. She was currently very agitated. After Briar and Ashlynn had left she had quickly found her friends and didn't hold back in recounting the whole event.

"I don't think that they're taking this seriously. I mean Raven could die!" Cerise was obviously just as furious as Maddie, if not more so. She had never really liked the Royals and this was just the last of a long line of reasons why Cerise was growing more and more unpleasant towards them.

"Apple's just being selfish. She won't give up her happily ever after for Raven. She's just trouble." Maddie stated decidedly. No one else said anything. Perhaps because Maddie's tone sounded so decided that they knew there was nothing they could say to change or add to her mind.

"Where's Dexter?" Cupid asked, breaking the ice. She always noticed when Dexter wasn't there.

"He's with Raven." Cerise replied. No one was really surprised. It was kinda obvious how he felt about her.

"Oh," Cupid sighed. She knew that she should be happy for them, but she couldn't help but feel jealous of Raven and the attention she was receiving from Dexter. Even though every bit of her logic was screaming against the idea, her body seemed to have a mind of its own as she somehow found herself outside the infirmary. Cupid silently entered the infirmary. She could see Dexter next to Raven's bed, holding her stone cold hand.

"Hey, Dex," she greeted him. Dexter jumped and turned around.

"Oh hey Cupid, I um didn't see you there." He said awkwardly.

"How long have you been in here?" Cupid asked.

"Well, um not that long."

"You're really worried aren't you." Cupid could clearly see a strong longing in his eyes, it was something that she just couldn't ignore.

"Yeah, well maybe a little." Dexter answered. Cupid shot him an unimpressed, knowing look as if she knew better. "Oh fine! Maybe a lot. I just don't want her to go without knowing, you know, how I feel about her."

"I understand." And the truth was that she truly did. She had first hand experience of people who regretted not expressing their feelings. She had decided a long time ago that no one should have to go through the pain that she had seen happen to others because of this problem. Right now Cupid definitely had the feeling that she had interrupted some moment and perhaps Dexter felt it to because he suggested

"Why don't we head back to the Castleteria. I haven't had any dinner yet."

"Yeah, sure." Cupid agreed and they left the infirmary.

Cupid and Dexter were on one of the corridors just outside the Castleteria when they heard a number of voices yelling from inside it.

"What do you thinks going on?" Cupid asked Dexter as they approached the sound.

"Not sure, but I hope it's nothing bad." Dexter hoped, but they turned the corner to find he was wrong. On one side stood Maddie, Cedar, Cerise and Poppy. On the other side Apple, Briar, Ashlynn, Blondie and Holly stood.

"Apple needs time to make up her own mind! Her destiny depends on this too you know!" Briar yelled.

"That's all that's at stake for Apple. Raven's life is at stake!" Cerise growled back.

"You can't force Apple to do something that she doesn't think is just right!" Blondie said.

"Now Apple knows how Raven felt when this was her destiny. Not so willing once you have to are you Apple." Argued Poppy.

"I know this is a delicate situation but we really don't have to" Ashlynn whispered but everyone ignored her.

"When the King flies, you will all sigh!" Maddie warned.

"See Maddie doesn't know what she's saying! She's well... mad!" Holly shrieked.

"EVERYBODY QUIET!" Dexter screamed on the top of his lungs to be heard over the noise. It was clear that h wasn't happy with anyone in the situation. "Is it really worth fighting over this? It isn't helping Raven or Apple."

"No it isn't" Apple agreed, as if she had been trying to convince the others of this all along.

"I'm going to dinner. Anyone else joining me?" Cedar asked the rebels. They followed her to the Castleteria.

"Ooh, you handled that sooooo well Dex." Cupid squealed as the Royals walked away. She was very impressed with his skills to control the situation. It was a side that she had never really seen as he was often awkward and shy.

"I can't believe they were fighting over it." Dexter said.

"Hey don't worry about it. It'll figure it's self out. Why don't we get some dinner." Cupid suggested.

"Yeah, okay." Dexter followed her. He wasn't feeling so positive to the situation as the Royals and Rebels were divided.