A/n: Sorry about taking so long to update this but at a certain point about a month or two back I had ran into some… let's just say it was a very trying time attempting to work with some very annoying people who had such limited world views to the subject matter that I had difficulties with gritting my teeth into a resemblance of a smile and just simply bearing with it. I did not mean to but my irritation over my professional life bled over into taking out most of my frustrations into my fanfictions in an attempt to keep the creative juices flowing in my brain long enough to see my professional projects to the end.

I am still trying to get my creative groove back but it has been difficult, the stress of having all of my ideas simultaneously brushed off as being childish and the instructions for what I was supposed to do were unhelpfully vague even when I asked for clarification over a dozen times. I grew increasingly worried for one person who was in charge because I kept being lectured about either expressing my "dark and tragic past" (I don't have one btw) or sticking it to the man and how I should focus my efforts with taking to the streets (after I ceased acting like a child and did some extreme modifications to the project that would fit into their ideals) and proceed to flip everybody off. After a while (aka after I asked how I was supposed to get the money to support myself if I took off suddenly and started acting like such a self-centered jerk they stated that if I was truly committed to "The Cause" (whatever the hell that means) in the right way I wouldn't be caring about money or, you know, food because I would be fighting for The Cause, the Revolution and I would be true to myself by doing all of this exactly as they say, etc. etc.) I suddenly realized that this person was talking about things and events that had been done in the late 1960's, things that proven to be highly ineffective save for the ones who had "sold out" and had made obscene amounts of money in being rebels to the mentioned dreaded man (aka the rich people they were selling stuff- like posters and music that had REVELUTION written in them- to).

To say the least I am still highly confused as to how this related to the projects that we were doing (this is why I like to work alone).

The whole situation was both so frustrating and ridiculous that it feels like ideas of where to go next in my professional work are reluctant to show themselves in my brain and for a while I was grasping at straws for ideas for this fic because so much of my frustration had been poured into a few of these chapters that I had to think of other ways to get to the ending I want.

I will finish this fic, but with the way it is I'm going to have to defeat the bad guys here and deal with all these personal things from the other characters in a string of sequels, or drabbles, or something, which I am perfectly fine with doing.

Another reason why I haven't updated lately is because I needed to coax my sense of humor back from it's hiding place and rediscover why I did certain things in this fic in the first place (namely I forgot why I was working towards a Faybelle/Raven/Apple threesome and then I remembered that I had initially found the idea so hilarious that I laughed out loud and made it so), so I will finish this… but seeing as how I had unintentionally stunted myself it may take a while…

Maybe I could try to write a humorous little thing about my experiences with working with people who come from a completely different mindset and refuse to budge or make compromises in order to not only get the project done in time but to also accept that everybody has a different opinion than them.

Relevancy and respecting others is also important like the time a certain someone tried to convince me to clamor atop a steep roof five stories off the ground, stark naked btw, and shout "down with the institution!" and "REVOLUTION!", without knowing exactly what we were rebelling against.

On a lighter note I do hope that everybody is having a nice summer without any… non-fun odd situations running around, sorry if this is a bit long but I really had to get this off my chest.

XXX

"Did you remember to draw power from the heart of your core and not the outside girl?" A strict voice barked through the mirror. "Remember what I have always taught you about how to use your surroundings to your advantage in a battle situation!"

"What?" The Headmaster squinted at the wispy humanoid face of the magic mirror, as if what he had just heard was an illusion and soon the object would begin speaking in more appropriate hysterical tones of a worried parent with an injured child.

"Sir, yes sir! I utilized all of my training to the best of my abilities sir!" Mira smartly saluted the mirror before her, the girl standing at full attention. "However the enemy's abilities outmatched mine in both experience and trained magical output. I was unable to keep up long enough to defeat the enemy and I accept all responsibility for my failure sir!"

"It's good that you feel that way girl, although I raised and trained you better you should know by now that any hesitation to protect the heirs to the crown and land will be met with harsh repercussions and extra training, no exceptions! Even for my own daughter." The mirror's voice warned sternly.

"Understood sir!" Mira kept her eyes focused in front of her, the perfect picture of a proper soldier, bandaged injuries, lacy dress, and all.

"Hold on now!" The Headmaster interrupted with an edge to his voice. "I called you so that we could rationally discuss the situation of your daughter becoming injured because she up and traveled to danger-filled Wonderland and ended up getting into a scrap with a dangerous criminal!"

"And to ensure that my daughter has a better chance at being victorious in future battles I expect you to help ensure that she is encouraged to place herself into more classes that involve the subjects of battle preparation and magical defense." The mirror instructed as if such a thing should have been obvious.

Milton stared at the mirror in horror for a moment before shaking his head and moving protectively behind his student. "Pardon me but am I to understand that you are not concerned with the fact that Miss Shards could have been injured far worse than she currently is for going forth with this outrageous stunt?"

"We have been teetering on the edge of war for many years Headmaster." The mirror spoke coldly. "The needs of the many and the stability of the state outweigh the lives of the few, you may think such a concept to be cruel however if a day comes where my daughter must sacrifice herself for the sake of the survival and future happiness for all of witch-kind then there is no helping the situation. Even as her parent, who has raised her and loved her to the fullest of my capacities, and although my personal feelings would wish nothing more than to see her live a long happy life, the harsh reality is that currently there can be no greater honor than my daughter doing everything in her power to ensure the future survival of her kin and beloved homeland. It is this ideal and the looming threat to our existence that has forced myself and many others like me, to have been training our children to become our lands top defense, even if it means that they must lay down their lives in the process."

Clawstorm fought the urge to squint at the mirror in suspicion; this was a bit of a strange twist from the original plan of make-the-Headmaster-sputter-indignantly-and-comically-as-he-was-thrown-for-a-loop-by-the-crazy-parent. What was her friend getting up to now?

"This is insanity!" The Headmaster accused. "You can't teach your daughter to become a soldier for a war that has not happened and may never transpire! …And just how long have you been "training" her may I ask?"

The ghostly white face gave an impression of raising one thoroughly unimpressed eyebrow. "Not that it is your business but the girl has been gently brought into her training and teachings since I had adopted her at the age of three."

"Three-…" The Headmaster sounded like his breath had been kicked out of his lungs.

"What I have done is hardly all that different from your job of conditioning and breeding a strain of fairytale youth to conform to their ancestor's personalities, habits and appearances." The mirror scolded the man who had gently taken a startled Mira (Clawstorm) by her thin shoulders and loomed protectively over the small witch, as if his scowl alone could scare the mirror away.

"It is not and you know it!" He hissed. "You are speaking about a little girl's life as if it were expendable! I may not be perfect, I'll be the first to admit that, but never in my reign as Headmaster had a single one of my students have to worry about giving up their lives for the story! Not while I still live or have a lingering say in things would I ever let that happen to one of my students! If you still do not trust in that then at least think of your beloved Queen and her family, for I know for a fact that they would never condone this- …this recruitment of children to be used as war fodder!"

"It is true that the rulers to our homeland love their people dearly and would do whatever they could, even risking their own lives and reputations for the sake of their people." The mirror conceded. "However this too puts our lands in danger, for their relationship to this land is symbiotic, if they are all sacrificed for the safety of their people then a vacuum will form in the way of things, and we all know how much nature hates a vacuum." The mirror's tone was grave.

Clawstorm blinked, the words spoken had not been anything that Clawstorm had not heard before, nor anything she had not fretted over verbally in the company of her closest friends and allies, it was however a very well kept secret amongst the Queen family that the land and their bloodline were so tightly connected to each other. Traditionally Queen witches (not warlocks or any other male relative since this was something that stayed in the strictly female side of the line and oh did the land love it's maternal ties), were informed of their bond to the land in private by their closest female relatives when they turned the witching age of thirteen.

No one outside of the family was supposed to know about this bond for the safety of the royal family (a rule that Clawstorm had broken because her daughter had nearly been killed and she was begging her horrified friends for help and it all sort of slipped out on accident), if it became known that killing off the three most recent generations to the throne would snap the land into such a shock that it would accept forming a new bond with the closest female witch of royal blood, or one strong enough to take the awesome power of the land into their body-

Kline-bastard had a little sister…

And maternal lines were oh so adored in witch communities.

Damnit! Would she be strong enough? Did Kline's family think so? Did they believe in her enough to risk the possible consequences if the girl- or more accurately woman now surely- wasn't?

"There is not going to be a war." The Headmaster barked bringing Clawstorm out of her terrifying revelation with a sharp stab through her veins as she shifted focus. "Not while I still have a say in things!"

"Whatever comforts you Headmaster Grimm. I still expect you to encourage placement into the classes I requested for my child. Good day." And with that the mirror hung up.

"Three!" The man muttered in disgust, squeezing her shoulders slightly before turning the witch around so that she could face him, concern rolling off of his larger mass in waves. "Listen to me Miss Shards, from now on you do not have to risk your life in the name of anything or take any classes that you do not want to. I have the power to grant refugee and asylum status to any student under my care. I know how much your country and the ruling family means to you but I think that even Rav- Miss Queen would agree with me in that should you choose to, you do not have to sacrifice yourself to make a difference in this conflict okay? We won't let war happen and you do not have to go out and risk your life for anything." The Headmaster's voice was gentle and comforting.

Clawstorm blinked Mira's eyelids several times this was a far different Headmaster than what she was used to dealing with. "Er… P-pardon my question Lord Headmaster Grimm but… why would you offer such a thing? It is not required of you to do so. I understand that I broke school rules and I accept responsibility for my actions… but um… again forgive me but why do you care so much what happens to me? I am technically not a fairytale character."

"But you are my student and therefore professionally I have an obligation to see after your wellbeing, and personally I do not want to see anybody as young and as bright as you be used as a mere expendable pawn in somebody else's war." He tells her truthfully. "In the end I do recognize that this is ultimately your choice as to whether you end up going off to join the witch army in combat but for now I just want you to know that you have options and that you have people here who do care about you and want to see you safe."

Mira's expression of puzzlement made the older man sigh. "Just think about it alright? Now do you have somebody you know who can redress those bandages or should you go see the nurse?"

"How did you know that I haven't redressed my wounds yet Lord Headmaster?" The witch eyed Milton with wary suspicion, but kept her tone polite and kind.

"Your arm is bleeding through." Milton pointed out dryly.

Clawstorm made a tiny hiss when she caught sight of her arm. "I knew I should have redid that ripped stitch before I came here."

"You should have redid?" The Headmaster eyed the girl critically. "As in you were going to stitch yourself up? …Miss Shards did you not go to the nurse's office at all after you got hurt the first time?"

"Of course I visited the nurse's office, Miss Blondie made certain to ensure that I did… despite my polite protests, but I tripped and fell earlier today and planned to redo this one measly stitch after we were finished." Mira blinked innocently, Clawstorm mentally kicking herself for such a rookie slip-up. Clawstorm had been determined to not let a few scrapes get in the way of going back to her normal life, and admittedly climbing that tree was probably not the best of ideas but she had been asked to go visit the Headmaster's office after lunch and she needed to clear her mind (and avoid a certain love-struck blond spectacle wearing boy who had been hovering over her for the past week, offering to do everything for her and making her feel like a pedophile because he was her daughter's age good gods! And…she really hated trips to the doctor okay?). "The mirror always stressed the importance of a warrior's ability to patch up minor wounds so that they could go back to battle and properly fight beside their comrades for the honor of victory or a honorable death of fighting to the last pulse of the heart."

"…Go see the nurse Miss Shards- and don't think that I won't check to make sure that you do go- after that you are excused for the rest of the day to get some sleep and then I need you to make twenty examples of those knot charms you've been known to make in class to turn into Queen Charming by sometime next week." The Headmaster scrunched his face up as if pained, the thought of the girl threading a needle and string through her own arm made him cringe on the inside.

"Knot charms sir?" Mira asked in confusion. That didn't sound much like a punishment.

"You heard right Miss Shards." The man walked away to retrieve a paper off of his desk before returning to hand the list to the witch. "These types of charms if you can, I was going to discuss this punishment option to your parent as a part of your punishment, however I can now see that I will have to take the elective responsibility of such by myself, given your physical condition and your parent's… interesting child-rearing practices… I cannot in good conscious order you to complete the normal routes of detention so you will be doing this and tasks like this instead for the next month and a half. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir?" Mira stared down at the list for a moment (charm to promote healing, charm to promote good night's sleep, charm for warmth during winter… all of these Clawstorm could do with her eyes closed and sound asleep after a night of heavy drinking) before wandering out the door.

Well that was weird.

Clawstorm stopped a few feet into the hallway, suddenly realizing why her friend had decided to go the whole I-am-crazy-parent-who-adopted-a-kid-soley-to-turn-her-into-a-witch-soldier route.

She was going to have some stern words with her scheming band of friends about their sudden attempts to adore her father to the Mira Shards persona. Really she knew that their hearts were in the right place but she had no desire to suddenly acquire a father figure in her life. Ever. Thank-you-very-much-but-hell-no-thank-you!

XXX

"Three!" The Headmaster grumbled distastefully at the closed door as he settled down at his desk. He was certain that when Clawstorm had sacrificed her name and freedom to ensure the safety of her kingdom it was to prevent the need for her people to prepare their children for war.

He may not have been the best father in the world to the woman, not by a long shot, but blood relation or no he owed to help the woman with her cause when she was currently unable to. And it was his responsibility as a Grimm to ensure peace continue on and that witches like Mira Shards never have to worry about seeing combat so young into their lives.

The man inhaled deeply, a pang of worry snaking it's way inside his gut when he thought about his estranged daughter and how worried it made him that he had not a clue as to where she was or if she was safe. He had seen with his own eyes how bad of a beating she had taken when she had battled with ex-new guy, and he did not think that being the dreaded Evil Queen, poisoner of worlds, would not have left her with very many allies that would be willing to take her in to heal if she would have stayed in this dimension instead of going back to the monster realm.

Which is what he instinctively knew what she would have done, that she would have found a way to stay here where she could keep an eye on matters… it would be what he would do in her situation and despite not liking him very much at all Elenore had wistfully confessed that he shared more personality traits with their daughter than what Clawstorm was ever going to be comfortable with.

He would have been worried for her even if they were not related, he knew this, not that Clawstorm would ever believe him of course, however even he could not deny the clawing intensity at his chest that continued to remind him that it was his flesh and blood that was out in who knows where injured and frightened and that he had missed out on so much while she had been growing up. He felt the loss of his chance at being a father and being happy with Elenore as his wife keenly, the distinct and worrying possibility that one wrong turn could end up with him losing Clawstorm completely to the dangers that were surrounding her in this world made his worry worse.

With another deep breath he picked up the copy of his daughter's published thesis and chuckled soberly.

His little girl was a genius along with being a wily little thing, managing to scare away the bad guys by convincing everyone that she was the scariest creature in existence? It was foolish but she had done it so well! He had trouble understanding half the things that she had wrote about, it all going completely over his head, but he understood enough to know that she was accomplished despite all the obstacles thrown at her and that just made him insanely proud in a way that he had long thought that he had missed his chance to be proud of his child's achievements. He had the ridiculous urge to brag about it to anybody that would listen…

But of course he couldn't, it would hinder more than it would help to let everybody know that Clawstorm had been leading a double life as a champion of doing good let alone have everybody know that he was her father (as much as it pained him to admit, she was a grown woman who had expressed intense disapproval of him being related to her at all and thrice curse the damn enemy for making it too risky to simply announce that Raven Queen was his granddaughter and blood heir…).

…But maybe it wouldn't hurt so much to acknowledge Clawstorm's accomplishments in her attempts to protect her kingdom…

With a contemplative hum Milton put down his daughter's thesis and surveyed the monetary accounts that Raven had forwarded to him, and the official (and some unofficial) papers on the charities that she had been donating funds to, making a note to himself to speak with Miss White as soon as possible to both establish her motives to go to Wonderland last week and to figure out just what sort of "issues" that she had been getting from home that would warrant her questioning her destiny.

XXX

"Her body's been preserved in there? For all of these centuries?" Kline asked wide-eyed at the sight before him, the shock of what he was seeing was enough to distract him from the pain of his injuries and this strange, insistent sharp prickling feeling in his veins that felt almost at though his very blood were trying to burrow outwards towards the surface of his skin.

Kline was confined to a wheelchair as Tomak dotingly pushed his son around a large sterile empty room with sturdy metal walls, large computer consoles, and other such delicate instruments surrounded a platform which held what looked like some sort of tree that had been artificially mutated to where it's white trunk had separated to create an intricate weave of barky vines, the bared roots of the tree were oddly burnt and dead which made the existence of the large brightly glowing leaves of the top parts of the vine-branches all the odder.

Nestled in the heart of the trunk lay a man-sized glowing amber gem, the vines that used to hide the jewel being held back with sturdy metal cables strapped around the trunk of the tree until the treasure inside was laid out in the open, the purple glow from the leaves and the warm amber glow from the gem cast interesting plays of light and shadows around the space.

It was an odd sight to be seen in such an industrial environment to be sure, and it would have been a rather pretty sight to behold… save for one tiny detail…

"Her body and her power have been preserved into the amber." Tomak explained. "When she had tried to break up the original Snow White's wedding party the dwarves managed to capture her long enough to strap magical hot iron shoes to her feet and had attempted to force her to dance as entertainment for the newlywed couple, the shoes were supposed to have both contained her power and burned her from the marrow out for a slow and fantastic spectacle of an execution. However, and we are still unsure as to how she was able to do this, she had been able to overcome the pain and the iron's power to the point where the magic spells had somehow twisted into something different. This is the end result."

The two men grew respectfully silent for a few brief moments, gazing pityingly at the body preserved inside the amber rock, the woman's corpse forever frozen in time, back arched, head thrown back, mouth open wide enough to see the sharp fangs some witches were still born with in an eternal scream of agony, her legs contorted as if trying to escape her own burnt feet which were still entrapped in the long cooled iron shoes, her once beautiful clothing ripped and shredded to the point where it was just a few scraps of rags clinging to her thin frame.

"A true example of the power of the Queen clan." Kline murmured in awe and sorrow. "How the mighty do fall…"

"It is only the weak that fall my boy." Tomak spoke gravely. "You can have all the power in the world but without the resolve and the will to back that power all of it will be for naught. Take her fate as a warning my boy, she had everything within her grasp and yet all it took was an obsession over a pathetic little maiden and look at where that has brought her. In order for a new change to arrive to this world and for our family to remain at the top when the dust settles you must keep your faith and never let it waiver."

"All the glory for my dear family and my beloved fair little sister, Clementine." Kline whispered in reverence.

"I shall never forget nor stray from that." The younger man promised, just as he had sworn his loyalty many times before, beginning on the day of his sister's birth, and how he would continue to breath his undying loyalty until his last gasping breaths.

XXX

Several weeks later…

Raven was having the time of her life.

Yes the change in scenery was something to get used to, yes the classes were demanding, and yes being one of the youngest brides in the school did offer her some raised brows and wide-eyed looks but it was still… oh she felt a little guilty for thinking it but she felt far more at home here than she had ever been back in Ever After High.

It felt so freeing to be amongst her own kind and to be so openly witchy without fear of being singled out completely for her heritage and race, she had so many cousins here that even if somebody did say something there was always a cousin or someone sympathetic to Raven's plight to actually stand up for her, it was no longer just Raven, basically alone to stand up to the bullies and the cruel whispers (sure the Rebels did follow her example but very few actually verbally stood up for her personally when the chips were down), and even though the classes were challenging it was a fun sort of challenging that left her wanting to learn more, and things were so much better now that she was known as Faybelle's wife and the granddaughter to one of the most favored professors on campus because new people would want to include her for study groups and they were usually all so friendly in ways that was completely new to Raven and she could even bring Nevermore to a few of her classes that were familiar friendly!

Raven still missed her old school, she really did, but she could not help but reluctantly admit that this was better for her. More healthy in ways that made her wonder what it would have been like if her family had stayed intact and the heavy weight of people's expectations for her to be the manifestation of an non-existent ideal, if this witch hunting terrorist group never existed. She still could not fathom what it would have been like if her grandmother and the Headmaster (who was her grandfather, good gods…) had worked things out long before her mother was born but… having her mother there, in her life, going out of her way to prove just how ludicrous all of those hurtful expectations of what an Evil Queen should be were just sooo over rated and outdated… that… that might have helped with a lot of things… Raven would've been happier at the very least.

Apple had seemed to sense this too, that Raven was far more comfortable and happy here than back at Ever After, by the look on Apple's face this fact did sting the princess quite a bit, mostly because, as Faybelle had revealed, Apple now understood why Raven acted so rebellious and why being classified as evil's spawn had hurt so much, Apple felt incredibly guilty for helping to make what was supposed to be a fairytale school experience into more of a political chore that had ultimately driven Raven away.

But Raven was happy now and that in turn seemed to soften the blows to Apple's conscience, which was good because Apple really needed to start finding things to be more happy about and draw her focus away from the whole mess at hand with her parents, Raven's mother, and the political climate.

Oddly enough both Faybelle and Apple were… almost getting along these days.

Which was weird.

And highly disturbing especially when the two of them decided to ban together and essentially flirt shamelessly at her whenever the three of them were alone, which was interesting… but Raven didn't exactly have the luxury right now to figure out her feelings about it.

Maddie and Kitty just howled in laughter last time they visited (which was more often than when Apple and Faybelle were able to visit because Wonderland only had school for one day in a year) and Raven had voiced he bemusement over it all. And Charlotte (who she had bonded with rather quickly) just made snarky jokes over Raven having to deal with a wife and a concubine, and how nice it was that they were all one big happy family.

And Raven was still unsure whether or not they would stay "a big happy family" once everything was said and done, despite the Evil Fairy's not-so-subtle-hints towards birthing heirs, or how she felt about the possibility. There was simply not enough time to dedicate the brainpower towards such a thing!

But life was slowly improving from what it had been a little while ago, she was being treated like an actual person and not a thing that should be put down or used to her own personal disadvantage, she and Apple were on better ground now that the princess was not attempting to force her to become the Evil Queen, Raven and Faybelle were getting along rather well in their marriage, Maddie was able to go back home to Wonderland and formally announce that she and Kitty were engaged, her mother was not actually evil, she now knew who her grandfather was, and she was now able to focus her studies onto topics that actually interested her.

So win-win for the most part! …Now if only they could find a way to eliminate the threat across the border to her homelands and save the lives of a whole bunch of trapped citizens and witches alike that would be fabulous. Peachy even. Raven never would have suspected that she would ever get a shot at having some semblance of a truly happy home life, or a happy life for that matter, ever again, even though she fought for it, dreamed of it, she always kept in mind of all the complications that she'd have to sort out and of all the people who genuinely went out of their way to try to make her unhappy and just planned on fighting as much as she could until she just needed to hide away, the last of the Queen line mysteriously disappearing into the night, never to be seen or heard from ever again. No one suspecting that the strange blonde woman, cousin to the great Good King, was more familiar than anybody would have even hoped to realize.

Things were scary right now, but they were obscenely brighter than what they could have been.

At the very least she got to keep her identity and her family, which was more than she ever could hope for in the past.