Tonight was the night; the True Hearts dance. It was sundown and everyone was preparing to look their fairest for the big event. In Apple and Raven's dorm, the two roommates were ready for the dance.
As Apple hummed a cheery tune, she noticed Raven applying her mascara with a rather sullen look on her face. The daugher of the Evil Queen sighed in a wistful way, and Apple noticed. "You okay, Raven?"
"It's just..." Raven put down her mascara. "I can't stop thinking about Ashlynn. I can't believe she broke up witth Hunter just as their relationship was really taking off! They're perfect for each other."
Apple frowned. "No, they're not." She looked at Raven square in the eye. "Raven, Ashlynn did the right thing. She knew that dating Hunter was wrong because she was endangering both her destiny and Hunter's. And a true royal always does the right thing, even though it's hard. In fact, you should follow Ashlynn's example. It's not too late for you to undo your mistake."
Raven glared angrily at her roomie. "Apple..."
Before things escalated, a knock came to the door. "Hello?"
Recognizing Greenly's voice. Raven went to the door and opened it. "Greenly? What's up?"
"Hey, Rav. Can I come in?" asked Greenly. "I need to talk to Apple."
"Uh, sure." Usually, Greenly talks to Raven. But not Apple. Nonetheless, Raven welcomed her friend in.
"Hey, Apple." Greenly greeted her classmate. "I need to talk to you. It's about Ashlynn."
Feeling that Apple was about to repeat the same argument she had with Raven, Apple raised her hand to stop Greenly. "I don't want to hear it, Greenly. Ashlynn realized her mistake of dating Hunter and she made things right." She crossed her arms. "And there's no reason for you to doubt her decision. Because of what she did, she and Hunter's futures are secure now."
Raven worried what Greenly's reaction would be. She knew Greenly wasn't like the other royals and secretly supported the rebels. She also knew Greenly would sometimes snap at the drop of a dime. One time she got detention for giving Daring a bloody nose when he flashed his blinding smile directly in her face.
However, Greenly's response was a calm one. "I understand, Apple. But right now, there's a royal plotting to steal a destiny from someone else."
Both Apple and Raven gasped. "What?! Who could do such a thing?!" asked Apple.
Greenly took out her phone, pulled up her videos of Duchess, and pressed play.
There it was. All of it. Apple and Raven saw the ugly truth and no royal or rebel conflict could cover it up. It was the footage of Duchess trying to blackmail Ashlynn into surrendering her Happily Ever After to the ballerina and then her taunting Ashlynn that she'll still be able to steal Ashlynn's destiny after all.
Apple and Raven were shocked. What they saw was so mind-blowing, that they were at loss for words.
When the footage stopped, Greenly put her phone away. "A royal dating a rebel is one thing. But stealing a destiny from someone else is a whole new level of wrong." She looked into Apple's stunned blue eyes. "So, are Ashlynn and Hunter really the bad guys here?"
Finally, Apple managed to speak. "I...I just can't believe it!" she breathed. "How could Duchess be so...so..."
"Evil?" Raven finished.
"Yes!" Apple replied quickly.
Greenly rolled her eyes. "Because, it's Duchess. But that's not the point, Apple. The point is, all this royal pressure you're puting on Ashlynn is doing more harm than good. I saw her while on the way here and she didn't even look like the same person! Her spark was just...gone! There was no glow in her face and her eyes looked like a dead fish! She's completely destroyed because she can't be with the boy she loves! Do you want Ashlynn to keep torturing herself like this forever?"
"No! Of course not!" Apple exclaimed. "But what am I suppose to do?!"
"What you need to do is give Ashlynn a break." Greenly said calmly. "Even with our pre-determined destinies, life is still unpredictable. And even though we're fairy tales, we're just teenagers. And we still need to learn and experience as much as we can so we can be ready for the future. Especially when it comes to love. Apple, Ashlynn dating Hunter may seem wrong to you. But at least she's with a guy who treats her well. I mean, she could be dating a total scumbag who treats her like garbage. And that's not who Hunter is."
Apple nodded mutely.
"But most of all, they're just two innocent people who love each other and they're not trying to hurt anyone. Unlike Duchess, who doesn't even bat an eyelash when it comes to victimizing people. Right?"
Apple nodded again.
"So, all I'm saying is, just give Ashlynn and Hunter a break." Greenly put a hand on Apple's back. "That's all you have to do. Okay?"
Apple looked at the floor, then back at Greenly. "Okay, I will."
Sensing no falsehood with her magic touch, Greenly nodded. "Good." And the red-haired princess gave Apple a pat and walked out. "See you at the dance." She walked down the hallway and saw Raoul around the corner.
"How'd it go, babe?" asked Raoul.
"I'd say pretty good." Greenly answered. "So, you got the stuff?" she grinned.
Raoul grinned back. "Oh, yeah."
Faybelle checked herself in the mirror, making sure she looked nice. She couldn't care less about a stupid, mushy-gushy True Hearts dance, but she did care about her apperance. She heard a knock on the door and cast a spell to open it. In walked Bentley, but he looked very different. His neatly combed hair was just plain shaggy and all he wore was an untucked grey t-shirt, baggy blue jeans, and black shoes.
"Bentley?" Faybelle almost didn't recognize the teenage Boy Blue. "Wow, you actually look normal. Is this a trick?" she snarked.
The new Bentley just shrugged. "I figured since I'm done with love, I might as well forget looking nice for the ladies."
"Good call." said Faybelle. "So, I guess the whole, 'dressing like a dweeb' thing was just a way to impress the ladies?"
"Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking." Bentley saw the long way down from his dorm window. "So...are you sure you can carry me to the dance?"
The dark fairy scoffed. "Please, I deal with wingless teammates on my cheer squad. Carrying dead weight is what I do best." She grabbed Bentley's arms and flew right out the window.
Bentley was actually enoying the ride. The view was pretty awesome.
"So, did you bring me any flowers?" Faybelle joked.
"I thought about it. But I'd figure they would just die in your presence." said Bentley.
"I wish they would." Faybelle replied. "But they do die whenever Raven's around! So unfair! Why does she get all the evil breaks when she doesn't even have the guts to be evil?!"
Bentley looked down and spotted Sparrow Hood sitting at the fountain, softly strumming his guitar. He also noticed a swan behind him and it transformed into Duchess. "Hey! I see Duchess and Sparrow down there!"
Faybelle looked down and saw them too. "Yeah, but those two will just spoil our fun. So, it's their loss." She flapped her wings harder and flew faster. The duo arrived at the Red Shoes Dance Club. It was the secret location for the dance. Bentley knocked on the door and and a small doorway slid open, behind it was the watchful eyes of a guard troll. Bentley showed the troll the invitation handout and the door opened for them. The duo ventured into the back of the studio and there was the dance in full swing. Thumping pop music was blaring. Lit up heart decorations were everywhere. And everyone was already dancing and having fun.
"Well, here we are." Bentley said, looking around.
"Only it looks like a card factory threw up in here." Faybelle scoffed. "It's all hearts, hearts, and oh, yeah, more hearts!" The dark fairy gagged. "It's nothing but wall to wall grossness! How's a villain suppose to have fun here?!"
"What in the kingdom?!" A sudden voice caught Faybelle's attention. She looked and saw her best frenemy Briar walking toward her. "Faybelle?! You're here?! How?!"
Seeing the look of shock on Briar's face, Faybelle was starting to feel the party spirit. "Oh, please, Briar. As a pro-party crasher, I have my ways." She smirked with evil glee.
"Well, you better not cause any trouble or I'm kicking you out!" Briar warned.
"That threat seems doubtful. But fine, I won't ruin anything. This party of yours is already stinking on ice." Faybelle let out a fake yawn and sauntered away.
Frowning, Briar turned to Bentley, who raised in hands in defense. "Hey, don't look at me. I didn't invite her." Bentle proclaimed. "And don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her." He quickly followed Faybelle and once he was out of Briar's earshot, he sighed. "Is she always a royal snob?"
Faybelle shrugged. "All royals are snobs to me. So, what's the difference?."
"What up, Ever After?" Melody Piper, daughter of the Piped Piper and popular DJ announced. "Ready for me to drop some True Hearts tunes? Then follow me!"
The music played and everyone danced along. Even Faybelle started to dance. But she noticed Bentley not moving an inch. "What's with you?"
"I'm not a very good dancer." Bentley admitted, looking sheepish.
Faybelle laughed, but in a friendly way than an evil way, which was rare for her. "Dancing's easy."
Bentley shook his head. "Not for me. Watch." He started dancing, but his moves were all forced out. Each time he moved, he struck a different, off-putting pose. It's like he was dancing in sections.
"Ooookay...you need a lot of help." Faybelle put her hands on Bentley's shoulders to make him stop. "Look, you're trying too hard. Dancing's suppose to be fun. So, don't force it. Feel it!" The fairy swayed her hips and let her dance moves flow out. "Let the music flow through you and take over!"
Taking her advice, Bentley closed his eyes and abandoned all thought, letting the music move his body. Before he knew it, Bentley was dancing perfect freestyle!
As some students danced, others were enjoying refreshments or chit-chatting. But then, when a very odd couple walked in, most of them gasped in utter shock. It was Raoul Sapphire and Greenly Pea, but what made everyone's eyes grow with horror was that Greenly was wearing a spiked dog collar attached to a leash Raoul was holding!
Raoul gently tugged his leash. "Let's go, my pet." he chuckled evilly. As they walked in, Greenly saw the shocked looks on everyone's faces and she tried so hard not to burst with laughter.
'This is too perfect!' Greenly thought. She nor Raoul cared about True Hearts Day or what it's all about. They just saw this dance as an opportunity to mess with everyone's heads and watch other students humiliate each other with dumb love stuff.
Just then, Hunter stepped in Raoul's path. "You fiend!" He pointed at the unfazed Raoul. "I order you to release that helpless damsel at once!"
Spectators gasped as Raoul and Hunter glared at each other while Greenly just rolled her eyes. Raoul was not only taller than Hunter, but stronger. Last week, Raoul fought off a stray dragon that had invaded the school during arts and class. Raoul was working on a painting and the dragon burned it to ashes with it's fire breath. Raoul was so mad, he used the magic key he wore around his neck. With that key, not only can he "lock" the abilities of someone, rendering them powerless, he can transform it into any weapon.
So, when Raoul transformed his key into a magic sword, he used his immense strength to cut off the dragon's head like it was nothing. Then he started to work on a new painting.
Of course, Raoul would never waste his strength on a weakling like Hunter. So, instead of grabbing the huntsman and throwing him aside like a ragdoll, Raoul pointed to Ashlynn. "Isn't that your ex-girlfriend over there?"
Hunter spun around and saw Ashlynn in the crowd. His eyes saddened. So did Ashlynn's. With Hunter's spirit succession crushed, Raoul and Greenly slipped away and took a seat together. "Nice save, honey." said Greenly.
"I'll say!" Ian said. He, Bentley, and Faybelle joined the couple. "You destroyed Hunter without even touching him!"
"Well, it's like my Dad always said, 'You don't need the darkest magic to pull out a weed.'" Raoul replied.
Everyone just stared.
"It means, you don't need to go all out on something so insignificant." Raoul said. "Y'know, less is more."
"Ohhhh!" everyone said in unison. They noticed the odd stares people were giving Greenly. Some were even getting pictures on their phones.
"Looks like my accessory is a big hit." Greenly grinned.
Faybelle smiled. "I'll say." She looked over to the dance floor. "Y'know, we should say something about that punch I spilled on the floor."
"Yeah, someone could fall and break an ankle." Bentley said.
"Yeah, we really should." said Ian.
"Mm-hmm." Greenly hummed.
Raoul nodded.
"So, have you guys heard about the new movie coming up, Sleepless in Seapple?" asked Greenly.
"With Charming Tutan and Raven McAbracadabrams? Hex yeah!" Bentley answered.
The music ended and Cupid walked ont the stage. "Give it up for Melody Piper!" Cupid cheered as Melody left the stage. Now, since True Hearts Day hasn't been spellebrated in such a long time, I wanted to tell everyone what it's all about. Once upon a time, there grew a very special tree: the Heart Tree." Using her MirrorPad, Blondie broadcasts the page in Cupid's book abut True Hearts Day. "And even if the winter was harsh, and the other trees failed to bloom, the Heart Tree blossomed no matter what. And so, our fairytale ancestors gave the blossoms to each other on True Hearts Day to show that even though it's not always easy, true love will always find a way. And so, to encourage all of us to follow our true heart..." Cupid lets out a whistle and a swarm of pixies arrive with Heart Tree blossoms and start handing them to the audience. "Make sure to give yours to someone special to you!"
Greenly, Raoul, Ian, Bentley, and Faybelle looked at their heart blossoms with blank faces.
"I wonder if I can sell this?" Ian wondered out loud.
Suddenly, Ashlynn steps onto the stage. "Can I?" She spotted Hunter in the crowd. "Hunter, when I listen to my true heart, it tells me that you're my prince charming."
"Aww." Hunter fawned until Blondie pushed him aside.
"But how can you be a Royal, and date Hunter?" Blondie questioned.
"I don't know. But, if writing our own Happily Ever After means I can't be a Royal, then call me Ashlynn Ella, the Rebel!" The crowd cheered as Ashlynn made her way to her no-longer-ex-boyfriend. She handed Hunter her heart blossom. "I'd like to give this to you, Hunter, if you'll have it."
"Of course!" Hunter gladly acceped it and embraced Ashlynn in a hug.
Bentley rolled his eyes. "Anyone up for a True Hearts Day puking outside?"
Faybelle nudged him. "Hold on!" She pointed to Apple White, who was marching towards the couple. "Here come Miss Drama Queen, ready to ruin everything!" Faybelle said excitedly.
Ashlynn turned to her friend. "Apple! I'm so sorry. I just had to do what—" But Apple handed her a heart blossom, catching Ashlynn completely off-guard. "Why are you giving this to me?
"I might be worried about you, and I might think you're doing the wrong thing, but I want you to know that we'll always be friends, no matter what. That's what's in my true heart."
Faybelle frowned. "Never mind." She sat up, holding her heart blossom. "Come on, Bentley. Let's take these dumb blossoms and throw them at the nearest dumpster."
"I'm in." Bentley said as he stood up and left with Faybelle.
Greenly sighed with relief, glad that she managed to get through to Apple. 'Well, there's hope for her yet...' Greenly thought. She noticed Ian staring at his heart blossom. "You going to give that to Cerise?" asked Greenly.
Sighing, Ian shook his head. "No, I'm not ready yet."
"Sheesh. When are you going to make a move already?" Raoul complained. "If you don't, Cerise will already be taken."
"No, she won't." Ian retorted. "She is a lone wolf, after all. She probably doesn't need a man in her life." He got up and walked away.
"Man, I just don't understand it. Why won't Ian make his move?" Greenly said.
Raoul just shrugged. "He's just got a bad case of the nerves. He'll get over it eventually."
Greenly felt doubtful, but perhaps even Ian had a sensitive side. Still though, she couldn't help but feel something was up. But she put it aside for now.