In Briar's dorm room, Briar, Cupid, Bentley, and Hopper Croakington II, son of the Frog Prince, had gathered all the party supplies needed for the True Hearts dance. Luckily, they convinced Headmaster Grimm that the supplies was for a play titled, 'The Play That Almost Was, and Then Wasn't, but Then Was'.
It was the dumbest excuse in the book, but the headmaster fell for it.
Briar clapped her hands together. "Okay, people! I have the party location all set and I got Melody Piper to be the DJ! Cupid, you're in charge of decorating. Hopper, you're in charge of setting up the food." She started to frown. "And Bentley,"
Bentley looked up with a somber look on his face. "Huh?"
"Oh! Hey, Bentley! I didn't notice you!" Cupid said, surprised.
Bentley glared at the young cherub. "Really, Cupid? I was standing right next to you the whole time." the boy blue said with a hint of irritation. He just found out that his crush, Cupid, really doesn't care about him to the point where she doesn't even acknowledge him. And it broke his heart into nothingness.
Briar sighed. "Listen, Bentley, I still don't trust you, but Hopper insisted that you're a really reliable guy and we need all the help we can get. Now, pay attention." She handed Bentley a piece of paper. "Here's the list of who's invited and who's not." The princess also handed him a brown messenger bag. "And these are the invitations that reveal the exact location for the party and no one gets in without an invite. So, just follow the list and give them to everyone's who's invited." She narrowed her eyes. "Don't blow it."
"Whatever." Bentley scoffed. He looked at the list. His eyes went straight to the non-invited section. The name at the top of the non-invited caught Bentley off guard. "Duchess Swan? How come she's not invited?"
"Because Duchess is the first person to ruin the dance!" said Briar. "She's the ulimate tattle-tale! If she finds out where the dance is, she'll tell Headmaster Grimm and it's The End for all of us!"
"Alright." Bentley looked at the list again and saw two more names on the non-invited section. "Sparrow Hood and Cedar Wood?"
"Yeah, Sparrow is Duchess' flunky and since this a secret dance that certain people can't know about, Cedar is, well..." Cupid tried to find the right word.
"A liability because of her 'forced to tell the truth' curse?" Bentley said bluntly.
Cupid blinked. "Uh, pretty much. Yeah."
Bentley put the list in the messenger bag. "Alright. I'll get to it." But before he could reach for the doorknob,
"And remember! Don't mess anything up!" Briar said sharply.
Bentley shot the princess a glare. "And you better not fall asleep on the job. After all, you're cursed to!" he snipped before opening the door and slamming it shut, leaving the others visibly stunned.
"That was cold." said Hopper. "That doesn't sound like my fellow ladies' man, Bentley."
"I wonder what's bothering him?" Cupid said.
"Who cares? Let's just get to work." replied a deeply offended Briar.
Bentley sighed as he trudged through the hallway. "This is such a drag." he groaned. Once he found out how much Cupid doesn't care about him, Bentley just didn't believe in love anymore. "Maybe I should just forget about going to the stupid dance..."
As Bentley turned around a corner, he bumped into something and fell on his behind.
"HEY! Watch it, loser!"
Actually, someone.
Bentley looked up and saw Faybelle Thorn glaring daggers at him. "What's the matter, blue boy? Forget your glasses at home?" the dark fairy snipped.
Normally, Bentley avoided Faybelle at all costs due to her being a dedicated villain and definitely not looking for a boyfriend. But Bentley was so depressed, he wasn't even fazed that he just bumped into an evil fairy that could put a curse on him! "Sorry, Faybelle."
Faybelle raised an eyebrow at his despondent apology. "What's with you, blue boy? You look downright miserable." She spotted an invitation had fallen out of Bentley's bulky bag. "And what's this?" Using her magic, she lifted it off the ground and brought it to her hand. The dark fairy read the invitation and she smiled with devious glee. "Well, well, well. A secret True Hearts Day dance?" She tapped her chin. "Hmm, if I recall correctly, my mom told me it was spellebrated a long time ago. But Headmaster Grimm was against it because it would cause the students to follow their hearts and rebel or whatever."
With dramatic flair, Faybelle fluttered her iridescent wings and lifted herself off the ground. "And thanks to you, I know where the party is!" She pointed at the stolen invitation. "I sooo can't wait to crash this party!"
"Alright." A hardly fazed Bentley replied.
Faybelle paused. She looked at Bentley's dull expression. There wasn't the slightest hint of fear or panic in his eyes. "Uh, hello?" She lowered herself to the floor. "Did you hear what I just said? I know the secret location to your secret party!"
"I know." Bentley said, cool as a cucumber.
"Aren't you even a least bit concerned?" Faybelle didn't understand why Bentley wasn't worried like most people should be. She had to get a rise out of him somehow. "I could go straight to Headmaster Grimm right now and blow the whistle on this whole thing and ruin the party!"
"But if you did that, you'd be doing a good deed."
His calm reply caught Faybelle off-guard. "What do you mean by that?" she asked incredulously.
"Well, you and I both know that Headmaster Grimm is against True Hearts Day. So, tattling about the dance will make you look like a hero instead of a villain."
Faybelle's wings shuddered. "Ugh! Are you trying to give me nightmares?! I am NO hero!"
"I know that. So, wouldn't be better to just go to the dance and have fun? Because going to a forbidden dance right under the headmaster's nose and getting away with it? It's the perfect crime. And isn't the best crime always the one you get away with?"
Faybelle blinked. "Huh. Good point." She looked at the invitation for a moment, then smiled. "You're right. I could have missed out on having fun at a real party! Thanks, Blue."
"Yeah." Bentley smiled a little. At least someone's appreciative.
"But...I'm not sure about spellebrating True Hearts Day." Faybelle said with uncertainty. "I mean, all this stuff about following your heart and true love." She stuck out her tongue. "What kind of dark fairy spellebrates that mushy junk?"
"You don't have to spellebrate that junk." Bentley assured her. "The whole point of a dance is to have fun. You can go there and watch all those lovesick dorks humiliate each other so you can make fun of them."
Now Faybelle was really surprised. "Okay, Blue. What's your deal? Last time I checked, you were all about love."
Bentley frowned. "Not anymore. I just found out that the love of my life, that I've worked and slaved for, doesn't care about me at all. She's ruined me for other girls!"
"Oh, please." Faybelle rolled her eyes. "It's not like you're missing out or anything. I mean, excluding me, all the other girls at this school seem like total morons! Or maybe it's because they are total morons." She chuckled at her clever little quip. "I say we share our black hearts with everyone and have a good time. Maybe liven things up a bit." A wicked smile cut across Faybelle's face. "What do you say, Blue?"
Now Bentley grew a full smile. "I'm in."
In another hallway, Ian was leaning against his locker, thinking about True Hearts Day. He wondered if his could be his time, to tell Cerise Hood how he really feels about her? His train of thought was interrupted however when Amber showed up. "Hey, Ian! Any chance you can find me some slug slime for this potion I'm working on? I tried calling Dave but he's not answering me!"
Ian shrugged. "Beats me. I think he's silently dumped you."
Amber's jaw dropped. "Dumped me?!"
"Yeah, rumor has it that he and Maddie are quite the little couple now."
"WHAT?!" Amber roared. "How could my flunkie leave me for that, that, that head case?!"
"I don't know. Maybe he's caught on that you were just using him and never really cared for him?" Ian hinted.
Before Amber could reply, Greenly came rushing towards them. The princess bent over, trying to catch her breath. "You guys...are NOT...going to believe this!" Greenly panted out.
"What? Gus and Helga Crumb tried to eat Coach Gingerbreadman again?" Ian joked.
Greenly was about to tell them the major bombspell that Ashlynn and Hunter were dating, but she noticed some nearby students looking at her. She needed to take her friends somewhere private. But then, she realized something. What if this was something she should keep to herself? What if it was too dangerous to tell her friends about Ashlynn and Hunter's secret love life? After all, she knew Amber and Ian were not above giving in to their evil tendencies. Amber was a loud and proud dark fairy and Ian was a scheming and resourceful trickster. What if they tried to blackmail Ashlynn or Hunter just like Duchess was doing?
As she pondered this, she felt seeds of panic settle in her stomach. What was she to do?! A princess mean girl was going to take away the happily ever after of an innocent person! Duchess had to be stopped. But Greenly can't stop her alone! But how?! She clearly can't go to Headmaster Grimm or any of the teachers!
"Hey!" Amber snapped her fingers in Greenly's face. "Come in, Greenly!"
"Huh?!" Greenly was pulled out of her thoughts.
"What's going on? What did you want to tell us?" asked the dark fairy.
Greenly hesitated, but she knew what had to be done. She felt bad about lying to her best friends, but she didn't want to put Ashlynn and Hunter at more risk than they already are. Just then, all the students around her gasped. Amber and Ian gasped as well. Greenly spun around and saw Ashlynn and Hunter, smiling and holding hands!
Completely stunned, Greenly clutched her head. "Oh, my fairy godmother!"
They did it. They actually let out their own secret! Now EVERYBODY knows!
"No! They can't own it!" said Duchess' voice. Greenly looked to her left and saw Duchess with Blondie! Of course, Duchess would do to Blondie Big-mouth to expose Ashlynn's secret. "Now I'll never get my Happily Ever After!" Defeated, Duchess hid her face in her hands.
Ashlynn smiled in triumph at the swan princess. "Oh! Hey, Duchess!" she giggled and showed her and Hunter's joined hands. Anger filled Duchess' glare as he couple walked right past her.
Greenly sighed in relief. Guess Ashlynn and Hunter were safe after all. But just then, Apple approached Ashlynn, causing her to gasp.
"Ashlynn. You and Hunter are-are dating? B-but, you're a Royal! And he's a Rebel!"
'Oh, no.' Greenly thought. If anyone was going to cause unnecessary royal/rebel drama, it was definitely going to be Apple White.
Later that day, Blondie's Mirrorcast show, 'Just Right', announced Ashlynn and Hunter's not-so-secret romance. Not surprisingly, there were mixed reactions to the people that were interviewed. But none stood out more than Raven's interview. Raven, being the understanding person that she is, was cool with it. But Apple was sobbing in the background like she just lost her best friend.
Finally, when Apple was interviewed, these were her exact words. "I'm worried about Ashlynn and Hunter. If they don't follow their destinies, their books could close. Forever."
In Princessology, Greenly looked across the classroom and saw Apple still looking depressed. Mrs. Her Majesty the White Queen handed out papers to her students."Remember our quiz tomorrow on tiara size and future neck problems!" Greenly took her papers and sighed as she left the classroom.
In Book End, Greenly was aimlessly walking around as she thought about Apple and her prejudice of rebel behavior. She thought about Legacy Day and how she reacted badly to Raven rejecting her evil destiny. Raven would tell Greenly how Apple would always pester her into changing her mind. So, what if Apple started pestering Ashlynn the way she pestered Raven? Greenly looked up and saw the sign to the Tower Hair Salon. "Maybe I should talk to Poppy." Greenly thought out loud. "She doesn't have to worry about destiny. So, she might be reasonable enough to me to vent to."
As Greenly walked to the salon, she spotted Duchess walking up to Ashlynn. Uh-oh! What if Duchess was going to confront Ashlynn with another evil plot to victimize her?! Thinking fast, Greenly took out her phone and snuck quietly towards the two princesses. She turned on her camera and started filming.
"Hi, Ashlynn." said Duchess.
"Duchess. What do you want?" asked Ashlynn, clearly annoyed by Duchess' presence.
"What do I want? My own Happily Ever After, of course! And now that everyone knows that you're dating a Rebel, it looks like there's one available. No glass slipper for you! Hm!" Duchess taunted.
Greenly gripped her phone in anger. She just wanted to punch Duchess in the mouth for being such a jerk. But violence was not the answer in this case.
"So you're happy about Hunter and I dating while my best friends aren't? Maybe I did make a mistake!" Distraught, Ashlynn runs away.
"What? No! You're totally doing the right thing. Follow your heart and all that sappy stuff." Duchess could not be more callous with her words.
Greenly stopped filming and took off before Duchess noticed her. Once she was out of sight, she looked at her phone. "I think I know what to do now."
And so, Greenly returned to her dorm room and spotted something that looked like an invitation on her bed. She picked it up and opened it. It was an invite to the True Hearts Day dance. A knock came her door. "Door's open!" Greenly called out.
The door opened and in walked her secret boyfriend, Raoul. "Hey, babe." He shut the door and locked it.
"Is locking really necessary?" asked Greenly.
Raoul shrugged. "Hey, you can't be too careful with forbidden romances these days."
"Amen to that." Greenly smiled and hugged Raoul, sharing a deep kiss. "So, what brings you here?"
"I finally got that little accessory for the big night." Raoul smiled wih a hint of devilry.
Greenly's smile matched his. "Let's see it!"
Raoul reached into his backpack and pulled out a blue dog collar with silver spikes. The couple looked at it and burst out laughing.
"Everyone is gonna freak!" Greenly laughed.
"Oh, yeah! This is gonna get 'em good!" Raoul laughed back.
Greenly's phone started to ring. She saw it was Amber calling and answered. "Hey, what's up?"
Raoul saw Greenly's face start to fall. Her look of happiness was now a look of anger. "Yeah, bummer. That is a tough break. Okay, see you at the dance. Bye." She hung up.
"What's wrong?" asked Raoul.
"Well, Amber heard from Raven that Ashlynn broke up wih Hunter because Apple made her feel guilty." Greenly sighed. "Honey, I have to take care of something. I'll be right back."