Just to remind you, I'm deviating from Enchanting canon a bit with regards to how the poisoned apples work. (Actually, I'm not sure if this counts as deviating or not, considering that the way that the poisoned apples worked was a little inconsistent.) If you don't remember it, I suggest that you reread the short section at the end of chapter two where Sam and Blaine find a poisoned apple, or else this chapter may be a bit confusing.

Warning: cliffhanger.

Blaine was utterly fascinated by New York. Even after walking around the day before, and seeing all sorts of fantastical things in the movies that Sam had showed him, he felt as though he would never run out of things to discover. The time passed quickly as Blaine wandered the city, keeping an eye out in case he happened to run into his brother, but not really expecting to. He didn't see the point in searching too hard; after all, it was more than likely that they would be reunited at the ball, and the odds of them finding each other before then were incredibly low. Which was why it was such a surprise when he heard Edward calling, "Blaine! Blaine!"

Blaine stopped, and turned around, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw Edward and Giselle running toward him, particularly because Edward was wearing a green cap of his head that was shaped like the Statue of Liberty (Sam had explained what that was when it had shown up in one of the movies yesterday). Edward stopped and looked Blaine up and down, looking just as surprised by Blaine's appearance as Blaine was by Edward's. "Blaine! I almost didn't recognize you. What sort of peasant garments are you wearing?"

"These?" Blaine glanced down at himself, though he perfectly remembered what his outfit looked like. "I borrowed some clothes from a friend. I thought that they might make it easier to blend in with the locals." And it had worked. He had seen a significant decrease in the number of strange looks that people gave him. He turned to Giselle, smiling as he took her hand and kissed it. "It is lovely to see you again, my lady. I'm glad that my brother managed to find you so quickly, and in such good health."

"It's lovely to see you as well, Prince Blaine," Giselle said. She smiled, and her voice sounded genuine, but Blaine couldn't help but notice that she seemed worried about something. She kept glancing at Edward's face, then looking away quickly, biting her lip as she did.

Well, Blaine supposed that that was normal after spending a night – or possibly two nights – alone in a world such as this. She would recover once they had returned to Andalasia and held the wedding.

Blaine suddenly was the one who felt nervous, though he didn't exactly know why.

As if Edward had heard Blaine's thoughts about the wedding, he suddenly grinned even wider. "Well, now that we have found Blaine and completed our date, there is no reason for us to remain here!" He threw up one hand in a dramatic gesture, as if he were pretending to brandish his sword, and announced, "Let us be off to the wishing well!"

"Oh!" Giselle said at once, looking more nervous than before. "Are you sure? The date doesn't have to be over. I mean, it could last for however long we want it to."

"Wait," Blaine said, "what exactly is a date?" He'd heard the word yesterday, when Finn had mentioned that Blaine and Sam had been on a date. But Blaine hadn't asked what that word meant, though he had been curious.

"It is apparently some ritual that people in this world do as a prelude to marriage," Edward said, with a dismissive wave of his hand to show what he thought of the whole idea. "I don't quite understand it, but Giselle seems quite fond of the idea."

Blaine frowned. People took part in dates to prepare for marriage? Then why had Finn thought that Sam and Blaine had been on one?

Blaine's train of thought was cut off when Giselle continued, "There's still plenty of things that we could do before we return to Andalasia. We could go to the museum… walk in the park again…"

Blaine didn't fully understand what was going, but he got the impression that Giselle was trying to come up with an excuse to stay in this world longer. Which seemed odd to him, but even so, he decided to step forward and add, "There is a Kings and Queens Ball being held tonight."

Giselle instantly turned to Blaine, grinning and looking relieved. "The ball! Yes, the ball! That's perfect." She turned back to Edward. "We should attend the ball tonight."

Edward thought it over for a minute, then nodded, a smile appearing on his face. "If that is what my love desires, then that is what shall be done." After a second, though, his smile dropped slightly, and he added, "But then we return home to Andalasia?"

"I-" Giselle looked at the ground for just a moment, then met Edward's eyes again. "Yes, of course," she said, not sounding convinced.

Edward didn't seem to notice. "Ah, excellent!" he exclaimed. "Now, when exactly is this ball."

"It begins in about five hours," Blaine said, looking down at the watch that he had also borrowed from Sam. Sam had claimed that he didn't use this one too often, since he could get the time from his phone. Blaine didn't know what that meant, but he had been happy to borrow the watch. Having a portable clock to wear on your wrist was a highly convenient invention, and he hadn't wanted to risk arriving at the ball late. "So, what shall we do until then?" he asked, looking back at Giselle and Edward. "Would you like me to leave you two alone so that you can continue your date?"

"Actually, why don't you and Edward spend the day together?" Giselle said, almost too quickly. "I need to go prepare for the ball."

Edward laughed as he inclined his head. "Of course! Take all the time that you need, my love. Blaine and I will find some way to entertain ourselves until we meet again."

"Will you be alright wandering this world alone?" Blaine asked in concern.

Giselle nodded. "Oh, yes. I'll be fine." She smiled to the both of them and dipped into a small curtsy. Then she turned to go, but before she could, Edward grabbed her and gave her a quick hug, her feet leaving the ground as he swung her around. It was only after he had set her back on the ground that she could turn to go.

Blaine watched her walk away, wondering if he should say something to Edward, or possibly go after Giselle to ask her how she felt. Because he got the feeling that Giselle wasn't happy about returning to Andalasia for some moment.

"Come along, Blaine," Edward said, clasping Blaine on the shoulder and then pulling him in the opposite direction. He clearly didn't suspect that there was anything wrong.

Blaine decided not to say anything. After all, Edward surely understood his bride-to-be far better than Blaine ever could. It was likely that Blaine was overreacting, and mentioning his silly thoughts to Edward would only cause needless conflict. And anyway, it was highly unlikely that Edward wouldn't listen to anything that he said.

Blaine nodded to himself, then hurried to follow after his brother.

"Don't make me look too weird, okay," Sam said, squirming slightly as Kurt rubbed some gunk into his hair. It was about an hour before the ball started, and Sam was over at the Loft, getting ready with Kurt, Santana, and Rachel. "And don't use too much of that stuff," Sam added, making a vague gesture toward the goop that Kurt was still smearing in his hair. "It's a pain to wash out." He knew that for a fact, because he had let Kurt style his hair once before, and he had ended up deeply regretting it, even if it had looked pretty awesome.

Kurt rolled his eyes. Sam couldn't see it, since Kurt was standing behind his chair and Sam was facing away from the mirror, but Sam knew. "Do you want to impress your date or not?"

Sam squirmed a little more, then stopped when Kurt gave him a light smack on the shoulder and muttered, "Stay still!"

Well, yeah, Sam wanted to impress Blaine. Really, really wanted to impress him, even if he wasn't sure if it would end up mattering or not. Even if Blaine liked him back (and Sam was starting to hope that Blaine did), it still might be impossible to see each other once Blaine returned to Andalasia. Sam couldn't explain any of that, though, so all he did was mumble, "It's not a date."

"Really? You spent all afternoon together yesterday, he spent the night in your apartment-"

"He slept on the coach!" Sam protested quickly, before people started to get the wrong idea.

Kurt continued as if Sam hadn't even spoken. "-and you're going to a fancy ball tonight. I'm sorry, but how can you do all that and still not be dating?"

Sam just shrugged. "It's kind of complicated."

Nobody said anything for a moment, until Kurt said, "Well, if you two aren't an item already, then you will be once he sees you tonight. Take a look at this!" Kurt spun Sam's chair around and gestured dramatically toward the mirror.

Sam blinked, then leaned forward, squinting at the mirror to get a better look. Whatever Kurt had done to his hair, it was definitely different than how Sam normally wore it. Kurt had pulled it back somehow, and slicked it down so that it stayed in place. And even though there was no way that Sam would ever style his own hair like this (he didn't even know how to), at the same time, it still looked like him. Like Kurt had captured his personality somehow, or something. He looked like himself. Just, a Disney-prince version of himself.

Sam stared at his reflection for a couple more seconds, then grinned. "Thanks, dude. You made me look awesome."

Kurt smiled. "Happy to be of service," he said, pulling out his phone to check the time. "We'd better get going if we want to get to the ball on time."

Right on cue, Rachel stuck her head into the bathroom. "Santana and I are ready to go whenever- Wow, Sam, you look really nice."

"You, too," Sam said. She was wearing some fancy old-style dress with a giant skirt that kind of made him wonder how she could even walk, and her hair had been piled on her head in a way that was truly impressive. Secretly, Sam was wondering how long it would last before falling down. But still, for however long the look lasted, she was going to look amazing. "You're going to be the best looking girl at the ball," he added with a grin, only exaggerating a little.

"Not true," Santana called, and appeared in the doorway a moment later, elbowing Rachel out of the way. She casually leaned against the doorframe. "Take a good look at all of this," she said, gesturing down at her body (especially her chest), "because by the end of the night, you're gonna be wishing that you could get some of it."

"You look awesome, too," Sam added. For completely different reasons. She'd apparently decided not to dress like the time period, and instead was in a really long, really tight, really revealing dress. She'd probably stand out a lot at the dance, but then, Sam doubted that any of the guys at the ball would complain.

Plus, Sam was probably going to stand out a little, too. He didn't have many fancy outfits, so he just worse his one nice suit. Not exactly medieval, but Sam thought that he at least looked good enough.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Kurt asked. "Then come on, let's go. We're just on time to be fashionably late." He grabbed his giant coat and pulled it on over his costume, buttoning it tight. All day, Kurt had been worrying about somehow messing up his vintage prince costume (which, Sam had to admit, was pretty impressive) and the coat was apparently his way of protecting it.

It only took about ten minutes to get to the ball. Everyone inside was already dancing when they walked in, since Kurt had seriously insisted on the fashionably-late thing, insisting that nothing interesting ever happened in the first fifteen minutes.

The first thing that Sam noticed as he walked down the giant staircase and onto the dance floor was Blaine, standing over along the wall with Edward (so he had come here, after all!) Well, technically, Sam was pretty sure that he noticed the size of the ballroom first, followed by the fact that everyone else looked like they were dressed in really impressive costumes, way better than anything that Sam could put together. But Blaine was a very close third.

Blaine grinned as soon as he saw Sam, and immediately walked over to meet them at the bottom of the staircase. "I was beginning to wonder if you were truly coming or not," he said to Sam with a smile, then immediately turned to Santana and Rachel. "You two look absolutely marvelous," he said, taking both of their hands and kissing the backs of them, one after another.

Rachel grinned. From the looks of it, Blaine had already won her over completely. Santana made a face. "Okay, Sam's first ever boy toy is way too sickeningly-charming for my taste. I'm going to go find my girlfriend and see if we can scrounge up any drinks in this place."

"Santana!" Kurt called after her. "This is supposed to be a fancy ball. Don't cause any incidents!" Santana just grinned at him over her shoulder and didn't say anything.

Blaine frowned, and turned toward Sam, silently asking for an explanation about what that last exchange went. Sam just shook his head and mouthed, "Don't ask." He didn't think that someone who was literally from a fairy tale needed to know about the kind of things that Santana got up to when she was drunk.

Blaine nodded, accepting that. "You look wonderful as well, of course," he said. "I hope that you didn't feel left out when I was paying compliments to the ladies."

Sam shook his head. "'Course not," he said. "They look awesome. That deserves compliments." He glanced over at Rachel, but she had already found Finn and was practically yanking him toward the dance floor, even though he was eying the other dancers a little nervously. Kurt and Adam had also found each other, and were dancing already, doing the complicated waltz or whatever that was and making it look like it was the easiest thing ever. "You look good, too," Sam said, turning back to Blaine, then wondered why he'd said good. He should have at least said great, or something like that. Blaine was a lot better than him at picking adjectives.

Blaine glanced down at his outfit, which was the same prince costume that he'd worn yesterday (except Sam knew now that it wasn't a costume). "I had worried that it wouldn't be good enough for an occasion like this, but my clothing seems to be appropriate."

Edward interrupted before Sam got the chance to answer. "So, you're the boy who has befriended my brother," he said. He took Sam's hand and shook it, enthusiastically, hard enough that Sam felt like his shoulder was going to be jerked out of its socket. "Thank you for the aid that you have given Blaine in exploring this dangerous land. I know that he is old enough to embark on quests by himself, but still, he has always been quite poor at swordplay, and I worried about his ability to defend himself. Especially since he doesn't seem to understand the dangers of the steel dragons."

"You don't need to tell people about that," Blaine said, looking embarrassed and not all that princely at the moment, which was kind of endearing.

Sam grinned, partly at how uncomfortable Blaine looked, and partly because it was nice that Edward was worried about his little bro. "Don't worry, Blaine was safe with me," Sam said, then added, "And I made sure that Blaine didn't get carried away by any of the steel dragons. He would have walked right into their mouths if I hadn't been there to stop him."

"They aren't dangerous," Blaine protested. "You told me yourself, they're a mode of transportation, nothing more. They aren't even dragons."

Yeah, Sam had explained that yesterday. But Edward didn't know that.

Edward just shook his head, half fondly and half like he was being condescending. "It would be just like him to walk into the mouth of the beast," he said, then clasped Sam on the shoulder. "I owe you a debt for keeping my brother safe. You would be welcome to come to Andalasia to attend my wedding once my love and I are finally wed later this evening. It would be the least that I could do for Blaine's savior."

Sam's smile slipped a little. Edward was being really nice, offering that. But it was also another reminder that, oh yeah, Blaine was going to leave as soon as the ball was over.

"Thank you," Sam said, trying not to let any of his upset feelings show in his voice or on his face. "I'd love to come." That would give them a little more time together, at least.

Edward didn't look like he'd heard, though. He was staring toward the top of the staircase. Sam turned to see what was going on, and saw a girl in a purple dress coming down the stairs.

He leaned toward Blaine and whispered, "Is that Giselle?" Because Sam couldn't think of anyone else who would make Edward stare like that.

"Yes," Blaine whispered back.

Huh. Sam had expected her to look more like someone from a fairy tale.

Edward rushed forward to greet her. So did another guy, who Sam didn't recognize, but he was walking hand-in-hand with Shelby (Rachel's mom), so Sam kind of assumed that that was her boyfriend. Robert, Sam thought that his name was.

"Giselle," Robert said. He cleared his throat. "You look… lovely."

Giselle smiled, glancing down at her dress, then back up toward his face. "Thank you, Robert."

"Yes, your peasant friend is right. You look absolutely marvelous," Edward added, making Giselle turn her attention toward him. Sam couldn't help but notice that her smile fell slightly as she turned toward her fiancé.

Okay, there was clearly something going down over there. Sam didn't think that he should get involved, though, so he just turned and offered his hand to Blaine. "Would you care to dance?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound all fancy and proper, the way that he imagined that the noble people in Andalasia talked.

Sam couldn't tell if the voice had any effect or not, but Blaine nodded at once, so that was a success. "I would love to," he said. "Though I'll admit, I'm not sure how to dance the waltz with another boy. Typically, the male leads, and I don't know how to dance it any other way."

Sam shrugged. "Well, I'm probably going to mess up the steps no matter what we do, so you can just go ahead and lead."

Blaine smiled. "You'll do wonderfully," he promised as he led the way to the dance floor. "I'll help you."

It actually wasn't as hard as Sam had thought it would be. Mostly because Sam really didn't care about how he looked or whether he was doing it right. He was too busy just enjoying himself. And if he messed up the steps, Blaine didn't point it out to him.

"Don't believe what my brother said," Blaine suddenly said, after they'd been dancing in silence for maybe a minute or so. "I can more than take care of myself on quests."

Sam laughed, hard enough that he definitely messed up the moves and almost ended up hitting the couple next to them, who sent him a dirty look that Sam ignored. "You're really embarrassed about that, aren't you?"

"No, of course not," Blaine said quickly, which definitely meant that he was. "But I just wanted to make sure that you're aware that I can handle quests easily. It won't be an issue for me, I assure you."

"Oh, yeah?" Sam asked. "How many quests have you been on?" Because he didn't remember Blaine mentioning any of them yesterday.

Blaine glanced away. "This is my first."

"Ha!" Sam exclaimed. "And you couldn't have done this one without my help!"

"Yes, I could have," Blaine argued. Then, after a moment, he added, "I am just… very grateful that I didn't have to."

Neither of them said anything for a moment. Then Blaine cleared his throat, and when he spoke, he was obviously trying to sound lighthearted. "I suppose I'll have to get used to going on quests by myself, so we'll see whether I can do it or not," he said with a small grin. "I'll prove to you that I can manage it."

Sam tilted his head, trying to think if Blaine had told him about any plans for more quests, but coming up blank. "What are you talking about?" he finally asked.

Blaine gave a small shrug. "Well, I came on this quest to find my true love, and I am… reasonably certain that I won't find that person in this world." He frowned as he said that, not looking entirely convinced, but then he continued, "I haven't made any definite plans to set out on another quest, but I'm sure it will be shortly after Edward is wed."

Right. Because even though Sam kept thinking about how he wanted to date Blaine, he'd never actually said anything about that to Blaine. He'd just assumed – or, well, hoped – that Blaine would feel the same way. And apparently he'd been wrong about that.

It wasn't exactly rejection, since Blaine hadn't exactly turned him down. But it still felt that way.

The dance came to an end, and Sam dropped Blaine's hands, backing away quickly enough that it made Blaine frown. "Sam?" he asked, obvious concern written across his face. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sam said quickly. No reason to tell him that he'd been fantasizing about the two of them falling in love. That'd just make him look like an idiot.

Luckily, someone made an announcement right then, so Sam didn't have to think of anything else to say. "Well, folks, it's that time of night," the man said. "I'd like to ask each gentleman to invite a lady he did not accompany this evening to dance the Kings and Queens Waltz."

"Are you sure, Sam?" Blaine asked, not looking convinced. "Did I say something to upset you?"

"No, of course not," Sam lied, because it wasn't Blaine's fault or anything, so Sam wasn't about to blame him, or make him feel bad when Sam had been the one to get his hopes up.

Kurt came up behind Blaine, tapping him on the shoulder. "You're not exactly a lady, but would you like to dance the next one with me?" he asked.

Blaine opened his mouth, glancing at Sam and looking like he wanted to say no to Kurt so that he and Sam could keep talking. But then it looked like his manners won out, and he turned and offered Kurt a tight smile. "Yes, of course. I'm eager to learn more about Sam's close friends."

"I was thinking the same about you," Kurt said. He took Blaine's hand and led him to the center of the dance floor.

"So, you and me, Sam?" Adam asked with a grin, bowing dramatically and holding out his hand for Sam to take.

Normally, Sam would really like dancing with Adam, since he was a good friend. Plus, he was talented enough at dancing that he could keep Sam from looking like an idiot. But now, Sam shook his head. "Actually, I'm going to sit this one out," he said.

Adam frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sam said. He was starting to get kind of annoyed with that question, and he was sure that it showed in his voice. He shouldn't take it out on Adam, though, so he said, "Sorry. I'm just, I'm going to go find someplace to sit." Then he walked off, before Adam got the chance to ask him anything else.

( )

"So," Kurt said, about a minute into their dance. "You and Sam are having trouble?"

"What makes you think that?" Blaine asked, even though he was pretty sure that Kurt was right.

"I may have been spying on Sam to see how his date was going," Kurt said. "So I saw your faces suddenly change from blissed-out to upset. So, come on. What happened?"

There was that word again. Date. People kept using it to describe the things that Blaine and Sam did. Did that mean that everyone else thought that they were in love? Were they already expected to marry because they had gone on these dates, even though Blaine hadn't been aware of this ahead of time? Blaine wasn't entirely sure that he wanted that. But then again, he wasn't entirely sure that he didn't want it, either. And that was precisely the problem.

"I honestly don't know what went wrong," Blaine said. They'd been having a normal conversation, and then suddenly, Sam had just pulled away from him.

Kurt raised one eyebrow. "Really?" he asked, in a voice that implied that he didn't believe that for a moment. "You seriously have no idea? Not even a guess?"

Sam had pulled away when Blaine had mentioned that he still needed to go on a quest to find his true love. That had to be related, though Blaine wasn't entirely sure what the connection was.

Blaine had mentioned that he was reasonably certain that he wouldn't find his true love in this world. He'd said it because he wasn't sure of his own feelings, but the moment that the words had left his mouth, they had felt untrue. Perhaps Blaine should find Sam and tell him that. But, what would that do? What if Sam was upset about something else entirely, and didn't care about who Blaine's true love was?

Or worse. What if Sam did care, but Blaine was wrong? What if Blaine's feelings for Sam weren't genuine, and Sam was hurt as a result?

"Did you think of something?" Kurt asked.

Blaine turned his attention back to Kurt. He was confused about several things, but Kurt seemed confident, and he certainly knew Sam well. Perhaps he would be able to help.

Blaine thought about just asking about his feelings for Sam outright, but at the last second, he changed his question. Instead, he asked, "Do you believe that Adam is your one true love?"

Kurt started to answer, then stopped and thought about it for a moment. "Yes," he said after a few seconds, nodding to himself. "Yes, I'm sure that he is."

"But you had to think about it," Blaine pointed out. "Isn't that a bad sign? Shouldn't you just know, without needing to consider it?" Then he realized how that might sound, and quickly added, "I'm sorry, I didn't meant to imply that there's anything wrong with your relationship, I just-"

"No, it's okay," Kurt said quickly. "And I don't think so." He paused for another moment, thinking again, and then said, "You know, I felt that way in high school. I was dating this guy named Chandler. In hindsight, we only liked each other because we didn't have any other options, but you know what high school was like. Everything seemed so much more dramatic. I swear, if Chandler had asked me to marry him during our senior year, I would have said yes in a heartbeat. And it would have been a terrible decision."

Blaine frowned. "So, you were wrong about loving him?" That wasn't terribly reassuring. "Then how do you know that you're in love with Adam?"

"I think that I know that I love him because I took the time to think about it," Kurt said. "I felt like I was in love with Chandler. And of course I feel like I love Adam, too. But I've also taken the time to think about it, about the things about us that drive each other crazy, about how it's going to work if we decide to spend the rest of our lives together."

"I'd never thought of love being like that," Blaine admitted. "I've always thought that I would find my true love and… and there would be lights, and songs, and everything would just be perfect, forever."

Kurt cracked a smile. "I felt that way, too," he said. "Welcome to the real world."

Kurt was right. Clearly, love was more complicated than Blaine had thought.

"It doesn't make it any less wonderful, though," Kurt said. "That's the other thing that I've figured out."

Blaine nodded, glancing over his shoulder toward where Sam was standing along the wall, looking in the opposite direction and looking incredibly unhappy.

"You care about Sam, right?" Kurt asked.

"Of course," Blaine said at once. He still wasn't clear on the rest of his feelings, but he knew that he did care about Sam. That much was easy to understand.

"Then tell him," Kurt said. "As soon as this dance is over."

Blaine thought about it. Took a deep breath, tried to imagine how that conversation would go. He couldn't even think of the words to say, or come up with way to express his feelings.

But he nodded.

"Alright," he said, and his voice came out as a whisper. "I'll speak to him."

( )

In the end, Sam didn't find a place to sit, after all. Instead, he just stood near the wall, watching everyone dance.

Adam had partnered up with a random woman who looked like she was at least eighty. The two of them were in deep conversation as they danced, which made sense, because Adam made friends with everyone. Santana and Finn were dancing together, which looked like it wasn't going well for either of them, especially Finn. Rachel and Brittany were having a wonderful time, though. And Kurt and Blaine were getting kind of intense, which would make Sam jealous if he didn't know that Kurt was totally into Adam. Not that Sam had any right to get jealous.

Edward was dancing with Shelby, who looked like she was also enjoying herself. That was nice. Sam didn't know Rachel's mom that well, but he'd babysat for her a time or two since he moved to New York, and she was always nice to him.

Sam didn't see Giselle, though. He glanced around the ballroom, trying to find her, partly because he was curious, and partly because it was something that he could use to distract himself.

After maybe thirty seconds of searching, Sam spotted her. She was dancing with Robert, the two of them whirling around all of the other dancers, looking way too intense for a normal dance. Even as he watched, she suddenly broke away from him, running for the staircase. It looked like he wasn't the only one having romance problems tonight.

He quickly turned away, since neither of them really knew him, and he doubted that they'd want him to spy on whatever problems they were having.

Kurt and Blaine weren't talking anymore. Kurt was exchanging glances with Adam, who looked like he was torn between wanting to make love eyes at Kurt and genuinely wanting to hear what his dance partner was telling him. Blaine was just staring off into space over Kurt's shoulder, like he was thinking hard.

Sam made himself smile, and raised one hand to wave at him. Blaine didn't even seem to notice. Sam dropped his hand.

His eyes flickered toward the staircase, not for any particular reason, just because he was bored and didn't want to watch Kurt and Blaine anymore. He was ready to turn away, but then something caught his eye, and made him look again.

Giselle was at the top of the staircase, talking to an old woman who definitely wasn't dressed up for a fancy ball. That was odd enough that Sam frowned and took a few steps closer, trying to figure out what was going on.

Then the old woman pulled out an apple.

Shit! Sam realized what was going on a few seconds later, and immediately took off running. This old lady must be the person who had pushed Giselle down the well in the first place. Which meant that that apple was poisoned. Which meant that Sam had to get there before anything bad happened.

Giselle clearly didn't realize what was going on. She took the apple – of course it didn't burn her, since she was from Andalasia, and only stuff from Earth burned – and held it to her mouth, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Don't!" Sam shouted, loud enough to make people turn to look at him. He was at the bottom of the stairs, and he kept running, trying to get to her as fast as he could.

"Don't listen to him," the old woman said, her voice urgent and intense. "He's just trying to trick you. Trap you here, with all the pain, all the suffering, all the unrequited love."

"What? No, I'm not!" Sam said. He didn't even know what that meant.

"Bite it!" the old woman practically shouted.

Giselle opened her mouth, like she was actually going to listen.

So Sam did the only thing that he could think of. He reached forward and yanked the apple out of her hands before she got the chance to bite down.

A second later, he screamed as the palm of his hand began to burn.