A/n: New word I found in the dictionary: Lustrate: to purify through ceremony.

I have a head-cannon that Briar and her mother don't really see eye to eye, I don't know why but I keep getting the impression that Sleeping Beauty sees her first born daughter as a kind of sacrificial figurehead (I mean in thronecomming I get that the parents needed to give their kids something useful but to me a comfortable sleeping pillow for Briar to use for her story sounds more like Sleeping Beauty is saying; "don't forget that this is the only thing your good for as far as I'm concerned", because what mother eagerly gives a gift like that to a child that they are giving up for a hundred years? Wouldn't an emergency survival kit or maybe a time capsule for Briar to put all of her treasured things in be more… appropriate?).

Maybe it's just me (and the fact that I would have personally slain anybody who dared say that my child had to sleep for a hundred years only to be married off to a complete stranger, if I were in Sleeping Beauty's place) and maybe I'm thinking too much about it, but it does create good conflict in my stories.

I also have it in my head that Snow White is repressed as hell, living contently in her pretty family castle and trying not to think about how her happily ever after never really seemed to have come yet… part of her just wanting her only daughter to live happily but that side being overruled by a sense of duty so strict that the doctor prescribed her some tranquilizers to help her feel better about it all…

Fun fact from the past; I was one of the few (there were two of us) kids in grade school who wasn't very impressed by fairytales, and often got into trouble with the other kids because I constantly poked holes into all the traditional stories. The girls especially didn't like the fact that I kept calling Snow White's prince charming a necrophiliac (he kissed what he thought was a corpse, on the mouth, and I was an immature nine-year-old, do I have to say more?). So maybe this is where I'm basing these character's personalities on.

Ooh weird thought… what do you guys say to Daring eventually forming a crush on Raven's grandmother Elenore? I think that it would be funny; do you think that it would be funny?

XXX

The dorm room door slamming open early Monday morning startled Apple from a fitful sleep, bolting to a sitting position the princess swore she felt her nerves begin to fray as Maddie marched in as if she owned the room and everything and everyone in it.

"Cheery sun fair one!" The intruding girl greeted Apple distractedly over her shoulder as she made her way to Raven's bed.

"Raven~." Maddie called with false cheer.

"Five more m'nutes…" Raven grumbled into her pillow, burrowing further into her comforter.

"Raven Queen~…" The hatter girl's voice had a slight edge to it.

"Mmmmph." Raven grumped turning her back to her friend with a content sleepy sigh.

"Kitty, get the bath ready." Maddie commanded the air.

With a delighted wide grin Kitty Cheshire appeared beside her fellow countryman. "As you desire my love." The cat-girl saluted, sauntering away to the bathroom.

"It's time to wake up!" Maddie crowed grabbing Raven's blankets with a great yank and attempting to shake out a now wide-eyed Raven from them.

"Eeek! Maddie!" Raven squawked as she held onto her warm blankets for dear life.

Apple opened her mouth to demand what was going on but between the sight of Raven hanging so stubbornly to the shaking sheets and the fact that the witch's shirt was riding up, exposing the girl's scarred back made Apple at a complete loss for words.

Eventually Kitty skipped back out of the bathroom and between the two of them, both her and Maddie were able to extract Raven from her sheets and drag her wriggling form into the bathroom, Raven protesting loudly all the way.

"Let go- do you have any idea what time it is? Where do you think your taking- EEEP! Don't strip me! What has gotten into- Maddie put that down! Don't come near me with that! I am not going in there until somebody tells me what- COLD! GAH! WHY DID YOU MAKE IT SO COLD? I CAN WASH MYSELF! I CAN WASH MYSELF! GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALOOONE! I CAN WASH MYSELF!"

"Apple! What's going on in here?" Briar demanded brandishing an umbrella as a weapon as she and Ashlynn rushed in, Apple idly noted that since she hadn't heard the door slam open a second time that Maddie must have left it open.

"Well-" Apple began but was interrupted by two more people charging in.

"Daring let me go! It's none of our business!" Sparrow Hood hissed as he was dragged along behind by the Charming boy, both wearing their bookball practice uniforms.

"Fear not fair maidens, for it is I- and my less charming (human shield) sidekick- who have heard your calls for help as we were heading for bookball practice and so we jumped through the windows between our dorms to stage a daring rescue!" Daring declared as he struck a heroic pose.

"I think I just heard Daring- Kitty please give me back my clothes- what if he bursts in- ACK! Why does it have to be so cold? Turn up the heat! Turn up the heat! Please just let me bathe myself I'll do whatever you want if you just let me bathe myself!" Raven could be heard screeching from the bathroom.

"See, I told you it was none of our business." Sparrow told Daring as he gestured to the bathroom. "Can we go now?"

"Hmm." Daring scratched his chin in thought. "I do suppose a man gallantly running in to a girl's bathroom to save the day would be an ethical grey area… However!" The boy took his workout headband and covered his eyes with it. "A Charming prince can take down the enemy and rescue the damsel- or in this case Raven, with just his handsome smile! Sight is not a requirement! …Now which way was the powder room again?"

"She's not in any danger charming one, little Raven has a healer's appointment and if we don't escort her there she'll put it off, she really dislikes going to the healers you see." Kitty said as she popped out of the bathroom, raising an unimpressed brow at the room's reaction to her state of dress… or lack of dress.

"Oh my…" Ashlynn yelped utterly mortified to see the cat-girl walking around completely naked and without a care as to who saw her.

"I could have gone my entire life without seeing that." Sparrow hissed covering his eyes. "Kitty put on some damn clothes would you? Your making my eyes burn!"

"Sparrow that is no way to talk to a lady. Heroes don't complain about a lady's state of dress." Daring admonished, still wearing his headband over his eyes.

"Gay ones do." Kitty pointed out while she was rummaging around in Raven's closet.

"And gay ones are allowed to be horrified by sudden appearances of crazy naked women! Seriously Kitty, have you no shame?" Sparrow griped turning away in order to try to scrub at his eyes.

Daring froze. "Gay?" He asked bewildered.

"Relax Charming you aren't my type." Sparrow spat, not really caring much at all what the other boy thought of him, it wasn't like they were friends or anything, the most important people in his life already knew and either accepted him for what he was (his band, Duchess, and his mom) or just didn't care (Faybelle, Kitty, and his cousin Cerise).

"What do you mean I'm not your type? I'm everybody's type!" Daring gasped sounding hurt.

Kitty rolled her eyes as she took a bundle of clothing back into the ruckus in the bathroom and closed the door.

Sparrow cast Daring a pained look before shaking his head. "I am not going to be pulled into that kind of argument, sorry ladies but you will have to deal with whatever is going on in here alone, I am leaving."

Daring pulled off his headband and hastily followed Sparrow out the door. "Now listen Sparrow I have nothing against fellas who like other fellas, and even though I'm a maiden's man I would not count it against you I you found me attractive. I'm a Charming prince it's bound to happen! Sparrow?"

"Oh dear kingdoms leave it alone!" Sparrow's retreating voice pled desperately.

"Um." Ashlynn looked around the room awkwardly. "Maybe now would be the best time to ask Apple what's going on? With Raven not…" She gestured to the door where the two boys had left.

Briar jabbed the tip of her umbrella down onto the floor. "Yes, Apple why is Raven making so much noise so early in the morning and why is it that Kitty and Maddie seem to be in the middle of all of it? And Why does Raven need to go to the healers? Is it something serious?"

Apple, feeling tired and a little terrorized, looked between her friends and the bathroom door, things had quieted down by then, the only thing that could be heard were the quiet undistinguishable tones of voices as Raven conversed with her friends.

XXX

"Warm." Raven sighed happily as she basked in the warm spray of the shower.

"See I told you that a warm shower would feel good after you woke up from a cold bath." Maddie nodded confidently. "It helps clear the mind, aids in making certain that there is a method to certain mad decisions."

Raven sighed. "Guys it's just a token marriage, and my dad had his own solicitors look everything over, it's all legit."

"It's not the token marriage that we're worried about." Kitty grumbled, hugging a naked Maddie from behind.

"It's that grumpy fairy Faybelle." Maddie elaborated bluntly. "How do we know she won't leave you after she's taken the title?"

Raven hummed in acknowledgement to her friends' concerns. "Well first, after my title is stripped, and if the Thorn clan did try to turn their backs on me apparently I can complete the marriage ritual with just about anybody from an honorable family and of my choosing, but it would be more beneficial for Faybelle to marry me seeing as leaving me at the alter would be considered a dishonorable act that could be counted against both her and her family. So she's pretty much stuck with me until her stories are finished."

The two Wonderlandians exchanged looks. "Are you sure about this Raven?" Maddie asked, looking concerned. "It is awfully sudden. And if you wanted to you could just wait it out until graduation, rebel against becoming the Evil Queen."

"I could do that." Raven admitted with a brave smile. "But this solution is both more permanent and it will ensure that Apple gets her fairytale, …and I can finally be completely free from my mother. That is all that matters to me."

Kitty looked to Maddie who sighed.

"Alright… as long as you know what you're getting into…" The girl relented.

Raven smiled, relaxing visibly. "Thanks guys, that means a lot to me. Now why don't you guys tell me about your weekend?"

XXX

Apple shrugged helplessly. "They were there when I woke up I don't… Raven never told me that she needed to go to the healers…"

Briar sighed rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Right, I'm going in there to see what's going on."

Apple found herself nodding before she remembered why she felt so tired, of how she couldn't get the sight of Raven's scars out of her mind."

"Wait!" Apple cried, leaping out of bed and grabbing Briar's arm.

"Apple what-?"

"Raven is really sensitive about letting people see her naked." Apple explained hurriedly.

Ashlynn pointed to the bathroom. "But Maddie and Kitty-"

"She trusts Maddie and Kitty to see her." Apple burst out almost angrily.

The blonde princess swallowed at the wide-eyed looks she received, releasing her tight grip on Briar and looked down almost apologetically.

"She… trusts them more than she trusts me, but I'm her roommate so sometimes I see… just… trust me on this; Raven doesn't like it when people she doesn't know all that well see her without her clothes on."

"She doesn't trust you?" Briar said slowly raising a brow. "But I've heard her call you one of the people she cares the most about. Regularly practically."

Apple shrugged looking ashamed. "Recent events have shown that I've… not been the best listener when it's come to my rebellious friends… I… I'm afraid that I've let my fear of not getting my fairytale cloud over other, more important issues that would affect Raven's life if she were to accept her destiny."

"Does it have anything to do with why Raven needs to see a healer?" Ashlynn asked worriedly.

"I…" Apple bit her lip and shook her head. "I don't know, maybe, Raven hasn't told me… I-I don't know if she will tell me… I…" The princess felt lost, for the second time in her life the future and everything she knew about the world had been turned on it's head.

Raven had an apparent knack for doing that to her just by existing.

Existing… Apple wondered… what if Raven had gotten those scars because someone didn't want the witch to exist at all… there was obviously more to this whole dishonor thing that Raven had talked about but… could part of it be that…

Apple inhaled shakily.

"Apple, what's wrong? Did you and Raven have a fight?" Ashlynn asked worried.

"No!" Apple shook her head. "No, we just talked and I… she told me some of the reasons why she doesn't want to sign the Book… I, ah, um… apparently there is this… villain honor code that her mother had broken, Raven said that the Evil Queen had disgraced their name which has caused some pretty serious issues for Raven, not for the Evil Queen since she's disappeared, just Raven…" The princess looked off to the side, lost in thought.

Apple still wanted her fairytale to have Raven in it but the idea that Raven might have to suffer for ensuring Apple's happily ever after… was guaranteed to suffer, the princess corrected herself, she and Raven had argued often on the issue of what would happen to Raven if she were to follow destiny, Apple's argument had always been that each new generation of the story varied and that Raven shouldn't have to worry about anything until it happened.

But now Apple saw just how dismissive and hypocritical she must have sounded to the witch, because for one it didn't matter how well she played her part because if she became the Evil Queen she would still be ostracized by those around her, and while Apple herself went on and on about Raven and herself being different from their moms, Apple would then turn around and go on about how she needed to be a perfect princess, a carbon copy of a Snow White, and how Raven needed to start acting evil just like her mother…

Raven's mother, who had done terrible things and left Raven to bear the ridicule of the woman's crimes, Raven who had hidden her scars and whatever awful things that had happened to her in the past behind a stubborn nature and a hope for a future where she could finally escape fairytales altogether.

Apple wondered if Raven would have ever gotten fed up with her enough to just show her those scars, just to get the princess to shut up for once. It would have worked; Apple certainly wasn't going to press Raven to act like a villain now, even if Raven did need to become the Evil Queen to avoid disappearing; Apple was fine with having a lovable antagonist for her story. Maybe Raven can play the part of the meddling matchmaker looking for a noble handsome prince for her friend to marry, or maybe Raven could be a… an enchantress or a brewing master who got her shipping orders for some poisoned apples and some decorative shiny apples mixed up and realizing the mistake, sought out a handsome prince to help her save the fallen princess… It could work, both were viable alternatives (it was a stretch sure but still a viable alternative), especially the last one since Raven already liked to spend her free time brewing things, or making things by hand, and she could be adorably clumsy at times when it came to magic so really that roll would fit her to a T.

For someone who was already a queen by title, and had a kingdom of her own… if you took away the fancy clothes (mostly bought and supplied by Apple after the princess had taken one look at the witch's horrifyingly minuscule, and mostly unbefitting wardrobe when the other had first moved in) Raven always kind of seemed… more like the kind of witch you'd find happily living alone in the middle nowhere and surviving solely off the land…

If that was Raven's plan, to up and disappear from everything and living out of reach in the wild, Apple was not going to let that stand, Raven was a queen in title and she had a kingdom to run (even though the neighboring kingdom's monarch had kindly assumed current responsibility and aid in running the place until Raven was old enough to take over) and Apple was not about to let her friend be forced to give up her birthright! If it came down to it Raven could seek refuge in one of the White family's private estates and conduct her business from there!

If only Raven had told Apple about the scars and her situation from the very beginning!

But… then again those scars were private, apparently only people that Raven had been friends with for a long time or people she trusted knew…

And Raven didn't trust Apple enough to tell her about them. Not that Apple blamed Raven for that… since Apple really hadn't been particularly… willing to listen or try to see things from Raven's perspective like fully-grown queen would have… or a half decent friend…

Oh Ancestors, what if Raven thought that Apple was just going to turn her back on the witch after she got her happily ever after? Could Raven really believe that Apple would just… throw her away like some sort of spent tool? Was that why she was keeping so many secrets from Apple?

"Right." Briar rolled her head to pop out a kink in it before turning and knocking on the bathroom door. She wanted answers, now, and Apple's sudden indecisive mood was not helping the sudden overwhelming feelings of irritation she had acquired since yesterday evening.

"Briar!" Apple admonished making to stop her friend.

Briar ignored her. "Raven? We heard that you had to go into the healers today, is everything alright?"

"Briar?" Raven's muffled voice came through the door. "Just one second, let me put something on!"

"Raven, you don't have to tell us anything if you don't want to!" Apple called once she reached the door. The uncharacteristic words making both Ashlynn and Briar raise their eyebrows, usually Apple wanted to know everything about her friends.

"It's fine?" Raven sounded confused too. "I forgot to tell you about it last night so it'd be best if I told you before I leave!"

Apple seemed to relax for some reason. "Ok, take your time! No matter what is going on I'll be supporting you all the way!" The princess assured.

"Thanks?" Came Raven's confused reply.

"What has gotten into her?" Briar hissed to Ashlynn out of the corner of her mouth. The two brunettes watched uneasily as their blonde friend seemed to be practically embracing the bathroom door. "I've got nuthin' on possible explanations, how 'bout you?"

"Maybe she thinks Raven's pregnant?" Ashlynn shrugged.

Briar gave her friend an odd look. "What?"

"You said to guess." Ashlynn defended.

"Raven is as gay as they come, you remember; I had told you about how I overheard Raven tellin' Dexter that she was flattered by his love letter but she wasn't capable of reciprocating, and then Dexter admitting that he thought that he was the only gay person at this school and how he wrote Raven the letter because he admired her and hoped that he could make himself normal if he tried, and then the two of them had a gay bonding moment." The princess whispered furiously to the other.

"Yes, but does Apple know all that?" Ashlynn countered.

The two watched as Raven exited the bathroom not adorning any makeup, or her usual crown, and wearing one of her non-corseted black dresses and a jacket, Apple was practically on top of her in a heartbeat.

Raven stiffened and gave the blonde princess an odd look. "Hey Apple… is something wrong?"

"That's what I want to know from you." Apple said placing a hand on Raven's stomach, over one of the scars that she knew was hidden beneath the fabric, making Raven wince ever so slightly. "You're not sick are you, or… anything worse?

Raven grimaced guiltily and peered at the other with a sidelong glance. "I'm sorry if I had worried you, but um… you see the reason why I'm going to the healers… well it has to do with my magic, and how it's been acting up whenever I try to do something non-evil with it."

Apple furrowed her brow. "But that should be a normal thing for you…"

"Apparently not." Raven shook her head, politely cutting Apple off before destinies and fairytales could be mentioned. "I've had a chat with a few magic-users who were raised by witches and fairies, and a brief talk with the head Healer here early yesterday morning, according to them it's very unusual for my magic to be behaving the way it has, regardless of my heritage. Healer Phalange, She's the head healer here, wants to run me through a whole bunch of tests because of the fact that I've been living with this for years and she's… concerned about the potential long-term damage it might've caused me."

Apple raised both eyebrows. "If this is so concerning then why hasn't anybody tried to fix it before?" She asked suspiciously, knowing that the only magic user the witch had been in contact with recently had been Faybelle, and with Faybelle it was always best to be suspicious.

"I was raised entirely by humans." Raven informed neutrally. "They had done their best in raising me to become a capable witch, don't get me wrong, but there were a few things that… well that they were unable to explain and…" The witch casts Briar and Ashlynn a nervous glance. "That thing I told you about last night… for my own... safety I couldn't be looked over by any outside healer that the family who raised me didn't trust, and their healers were trained in solely the human physical, not a witch's magical wellbeing."

"So everyone just assumed that your magic going off kilter was normal." Apple concluded stiffly, not sounding very pleased.

"They did their best." Raven stressed, now letting some emotion escape into her tone. "And hey, I turned out alright, maybe not Evil Queen material, but still… they did raise me the best way they knew how, and I think that they did a good job."

Apple sighed; letting the turmoil she felt churning inside settle for a moment as she tried to focus. "When is your appointment?"

"Right before breakfast." Maddie piped up. "The lady healer wanted to see Raven as soon as possible."

Apple looked at the clock hanging over her desk, classes wouldn't begin for another three hours. "Right then, let's get going." The princess stated serenely, beginning to pull Raven towards the door.

"Apple… you're still in your pajamas." Raven coughed, putting her heels down to keep Apple from marching out into the hallway.

"Oh!" Apple looked down in surprise. "I forgot…"

"Get some sleep." Raven advised quickly as she wriggled free of the other's grip and started to walk away. "You don't have to be up for a while yet, I'll let you know the prognosis later."

"You'd better." Apple swore determinately before shifting uncertainly. "See you later?"

"'Course." Raven nodded quickly with an awkward smile. "I live here too you know." The witch pointed out almost fondly as she and the two Wonderlandians stepped out of the dorm.

At the sound of the front door finally closing Apple leaned heavily against a wall.

Was it just her or did Raven seem… more distant than usual?

XXX

"Are you sure that it'll be okay for you to disappear for a lunch?" Cerise asked looking behind her uneasily as she guided Briar through the dark forest, half expecting one of Briar's friends to have followed them.

"I told Blondie that I was off to take a nap over by the training grounds used for general villainy, none of the other maidens or princes will go near there for their reputation's sake, well except for Tiffany Muffet, but she's a Rebel and she doesn't care at all what her peers think of her, and I highly doubt that anyone has managed to follow us with the way you were running us all over the edges of the campus's grounds like you were."

"If your sure…" Cerise turned her attention back to the winding trail in front of them. "The sisters had said that they'd like it if the Headmaster does not find out about where they are, in case he tries to nab them and make them sign the Book."

Briar furrowed her brows. "I don't think that the Headmaster is the type of person to do something that extreme." The princess looked over to Cerise. "Is he?"

"According to the sisters he was a lot more strict and demanding while they were going to school, he used to be called the scowling Headmaster because he never really seemed to want to enjoy life in general and aside from a few extreme incidences he seemed to seclude himself into his office and actively avoided students at all cost for a while." Cerise made a face. "Compared to the version of the Headmaster that the sisters used to know, our Headmaster is… well almost bearable."

"I wonder why he used to act like that?" Briar mused trying to mentally compare the same man she had seen practically light up in glee when Ginger presented him with a bag of cookies she kept set aside for him just incase everything else she had made for one of the fundraising events had sold out before he could get there, with the man that Cerise had described. Sure the Headmaster was strict, and he wasn't a lot of Rebels favorite person but he stayed fairly patient towards Raven, constantly trying to encourage her to be mischievous and conduct school approved evil deeds. It never really worked of course; the most he ever got out of Raven was when she got particularly irritated with him (she once turned him into a chicken in a fit of outrage over his antics) or if she felt guilty enough over his desperate expression to grant him at least a minor mischievous act (magically coloring a plate of ham and egg sandwiches green), just enough to keep his hopes up.

"You can ask the sisters if they know why." Cerise looked around, taking out her mirror-phone. "I think that this spot is secluded enough."

The two set up their picnic lunch on a large, flat boulder that was warmed by a particularly large ray of sunlight that had managed to find a gap in the trees, once everything had been set out Cerise dialed her phone.

"Hey Cerise! How's you rebellious life going? Is that pretty girl sitting next to you that special someone you were talking about the other day?" A happy mature woman's voice asked through the phone screen.

Cerise smiled back her fangs peeking over her bottom lip cutely. "Yep, I'd like you guys to meet Briar Beauty, I hope you don't mind but she's got some questions to ask you."