{The Realm of Ever After, Past}

Apple was fueled with rage and resentment as she stormed into her palace. Though one wouldn't call it palace now, as it was in ruins and falling apart constantly. It had been abandoned for years and once belonged to the Evil Queen. Now it belonged to Apple White.

"Would you like something to drink? Or perhaps a snack?" Her loyal black knight approached her without fear, even though she looked as if she was on a warpath.

"I'm fine! I don't need anything!"

"I'm just trying to help." The black knight gently held her hand, "I know how much this hurts you."

"Now that was quite the spectacle." Blondie Lockes sat on one of the only furnished seats, her golden hair no longer shined like it once did when she was younger, instead it looked darker and artificial. "Threatening the newly wedded rulers of the kingdom during their wedding? Destroying their happiness? How do you plan to accomplish that?"

"You don't need to answer any of her questions. I'll handle her." The black knight whispered to her, before they turned their attention to Blondie. "How did you get in here? Who let you in?"

"No one did, any good reporter knows their way into any building."

"You mean a tabloid writer. You've fallen from your days at Ever After High, ms. Just Right."

"Enough!" Apple slammed her fist on the table, "You wish to how I plan to do it? Fine!" Her eyes burned red with fury. "I will use the dark curse."

Both Blondie and the black knight went silent. They both knew the dark curse only by reputation, it was a curse powerful enough to strip an entire land of its identity and its residents of their purpose.

"But- but you said you would never use it." Blondie stuttered, her cheerful person fallen for one of fear.

"You had to make a deal with him." The black knight said with disdain and hate. "And then you traded it away, remember?"

"Of course, which is why I'll be making a visit to an old friend." Apple smiled, "I trust you'll keep this quiet, won't you, Blondie?"

"O-of course, why wouldn't I?"

"Well, when I rule this land, I'll need someone on my side." Her expression turned threatening, "Someone who knows what's just right."

Apple motioned for the black knight to follow her, leaving Blondie alone.

"Neither of them will be happy to see you." The black knight advised, "You know that, right?"

"Since when have I cared about anyone's happiness but my own?" Apple smirked, "Now prepare the carriage, we're going to the Moors."


Ding! The small bell that resided over the diner's door gave away Cole's entrance. The couple of early morning customers turned their heads to see who was at the door, only to be surprised by a new face. Cole scuffled into the nearest booth and waited for the waitress to come around. The diner was cute, it looked like a candy house, even the air smelled like gingerbread?

"Welcome to the Gingerbread House Diner, what can I-hey it's you!" Cole looked to see the girl from the inn last night. Though today she was wearing an apron and had her brown hair in a ponytail.

"You work at the Inn and the diner?"

"The Inn's the family business, the diner is more of a part time job. I'm Sienna Lupo, by the way." She explained while pulling out a pen and notepad, 'So what can I get you?"

"Just a latte and some french toast."

"Ah, coffee. A man after my own heart." She swooned dramatically.

"I'm afraid to burst your bubble, but I'm gay."

"No way, me too!" Both teenagers chuckled, before the girl walked back into the kitchen to complete more orders.

"I knew it!" Cole groaned, he knew that voice, it was way too early for Darlene's antics. The blonde haired girl rushed into his booth and sat down across from him.

"It's 8 in the morning. Don't you have school?"

"Yes, but I saw you in the window and had to meet you for…" She dramatically waved her hands around for effect, "Operation Blue Jay!"

"Operation Blue Jay?"

She nodded, "Whenever we want to talk about anything curse related, we use the code name: Operation Blue Jay!"

"Why the bird?"

"I like blue jays." The blonde haired girl shrugged, "Anyway, my mom took away my book."

"The same book you've been talking about since I met you?"

"Yes, but…" She took out several pages from her backpack, "I was able to take these from it. I made sure to take out the ending, my mom doesn't know who you are." She pointed to the infant coddled in a blanket. "Your parents are Raven Queen and Dexter Charming."

Cole sighed, "Look, kid, I'm not…"

"In the books, the hero isn't supposed to believe at first, after all it wouldn't make for a good story." She pushed the pages onto him, "If you need proof, just look through these. But don't let my mom see them. She can't know who you really are."

He took the pages and shoved them into his pocket, "Fine, I won't show these to her."

As Darlene excitedly skipped out of the diner, Sienna came to his booth with his order.

"So you're friends with Darlene?"

"More like she dragged me here kicking and screaming." This earned a laugh from Sienna, "You know her?"

"Everyone does." She put down the cup of coffee, "Poor kid, caught between the iron fisted mayor and the righteous sheriff. It's no wonder she's in therapy."

"Do you know where I can find her office?" Cole was curious about something and he knew the only one who could possibly shed a light on the whole family situation was Cedar Woodworth.


The moors were once a dreary place, but the kingdom had blossomed under rule of its two queens. The dark fairies naturally respected High Fairy Queen Faybelle, but they had also grown to love their other ruler, Queen Consort Briar Beauty of House Beauregard.

"Are you sure you will be okay to travel?" Faybelle caressed her wife's face gently, "With Apple's threat at the wedding and your…delicate state."

"You're speaking to the daredevil party princess sleeping beauty, I've faced worse than a pregnancy."

"Well, sorry for being worried about my wife and child's safety when a threat looms over our heads." She snorted.

Briar kissed her softly, "We'll be okay, dear. It's just a few days then I'll be back in your arms."

"Alright. See you soon." Faybelle watched as her lover faded from view. Then she turned towards the shadows. "I know you're there, you can't hide from me."

Apple White appeared out of red smoke, "I wasn't trying to, I need to talk to you."

"If it's about seeing Briar, you can forget it."

"No, She burned that friendship when she married you." Her words held spite and disgust. She was still fuming over their relationship even decades after the years at Ever After High. How could a princess marry their villain? Especially since Faybelle was meant to be the one to enact the sleeping curse on Briar?

"What is it you want then?"

"I want my curse back."

"It's not yours anymore." Faybelle glared at Apple, "We traded it when I gave you my sleeping curse.

"Yes, that curse that was undone by that failure of a prince!" She snapped, "Perhaps I should've just used the original Evil Queen's curse, but I chose to use yours, because I believed it was more effective. Clearly it wasn't, now give me what is mine."

"No, I won't. I've hidden it somewhere you wouldn't be able to find."

Apple thought for a moment then smirked, "It's with Briar, isn't it? She knows and yet you're still together?"

"Love is complicated, not as simple as the stories tell, a lesson you desperately need to learn." Faybelle remarked, "I should warn you the Dark Curse isn't as straightforward as it appears. Whoever created it, whoever you got it from originally. They make us look sweet in comparison."

"That is none of your concern, give it back or I will be forced to get my hands dirty."

"If you want it, you'll have to go through me." Faybelle's wings spread out, encompassing the room. Faybelle was no longer the unruly teenager who caused trouble for the sake of her destiny. She now was a queen, a full fledged fairy with a full arsenal of dark magic inside of her.

Apple smirked, her eyes turning crimson red and her hands pulsated with the same kind of glow, "Happy to oblige."


"Ms or rather Dr. Woodworth?" Cole knocked apprehensively on Cedar's office door.

"Please, Cedar is just fine." The woman stood from her desk, paperwork scattered throughout the place, "You're Cole, right? Let me guess, you need help with your mood disorder?" Okay, she wasn't just a quack, she was good. "Don't worry, the first one's free."

"Actually, I wanted to talk about Darlene. I heard she was going to you for her fairytale crap."

"We call those compulsions and I shouldn't talk about my patients with others. Doctor-patient confidentiality."

"Yeah, I thought so." He sighed, "How long has she been going to you?"

"That I can answer; she's been coming to me since her parents separated. Her mother's various attempts to make her open up have ended in failure, so she sent her to me."

That made sense to Cole. Divorce often affected not only the parents, but also the kid as well. It was bound to create some issues. So when did the fairy tale crap come from? Why was he even asking? They weren't family, he wasn't even sure they were friends. No matter what Darelene said, he didn't believe a single word. So why? Why was there this tug in his chest? To stay? To protect? To

"I can tell you that the 'fairy tale crap' as you call: it is her language. It's how she communicates, how she opens up to people." Cedar rummaged around in her cabinet, "And now you've been made a part of it."

"So I just let her keep doing it?" He questioned, "She thinks I'm her cousin."

"Maybe she just needed an older role model to communicate with and she found you." Cedar pulled out a file, "I usually don't do this, but I think this will help you more than my words can provide."

"What happened to doctor-patient confidentiality?"

'I'm a good judge of character and you don't seem like the kind of person to abuse this kind of info. Also Darlene talks about you alot, you've made her smile in a way I hadn't seen before."

"Thanks, I owe you one.

"Just make sure you get it back, okay?"

As soon as the door closed behind Cole, Cedar's smile faded. She nearly jumped when she felt her phone vibrate.

"Was he there?" Abigail's voice was on the other end.

"Yes, h-how did you know?"

"I have my ways, did he take it?"

"Yes, he did."

"Good and keep me informed about my daughter."


Apple was sent flying into the wall of the castle by one of Faybelle's spells. Both combatants were bruised and bloody.

"Surrender, Apple. You can't win against me."

"Oh but I can, just not on my own." She snapped her fingers and in a puff of red smoke, the black knight appeared. They were holding Briar down with a blade to her neck.

"Get away from her!" Faybelle charged toward the knight only to be shackled by scalding hot chains. They glowed red with Apple's magic.

"There is a lesson I have learned though: Love is a weakness." Apple walked over Briar as Faybelle continued to howl and scream. She yanked off the necklace the sleeping beauty wore and smashed it to the ground.

"Release her." She ordered the black knight, "I wouldn't dare harm a dear friend."

Briar ran to Faybelle as the chain retreated from the dark fairy while Apple examined the broken pieces until she found a small white scroll and picked it up.

"You don't know what you will unleash, Apple!" The blonde haired villainess heard as she and her knight vanished out of sight, "This curse will leave a hole in your heart, a void that you will never be able to fill!"

If that's what it took to gain her happily ever after, so be it.


"Finally. All of my dreams will come true." She gazed into the fire that glowed with an eerie blood red color. "My happily ever after, the one I should've gotten, will finally be achieved by my hand."

"First, lockes of hair from the greatest villains of Ever After." There was another reason she had visited the moors. She needed the hair of the Dark Fairy herself. "All that is left is the final ingredient…" She pulled out a wooden box, "the heart of the thing I love the most, my dear Gala, my precious fox. May her heart bring about my victory!"

She pulled out a heart and threw it into the fire. The fire roared as the heart and the other ingredients burned within the flame. Dark smoke formed only for a few seconds later to dissipate into nothing.

Apple and the black knight watch in silence as the fire dies. The former future snow white fell to her knees, tears started to fall from her face.

"No, no, no! This should've worked! It had to work!"

"Apple…"

"Raven took everything from me!" Apple continued to scream, "I could've had it all, but now I have nothing!"

"Perhaps this is for the best." The black knight gently helped her to stand, "We were about to conjure dark forces unlike anything we could imagine."

"So we're just supposed to give up?! Some knight you are." Apple tsked.

"I'm only trying to help you."

"I know, you're the only one left who does." Apple sighed, placing a tender hand on her knight's helmet, "So help me understand what went wrong."

"I can't help you with that. You should go to the person you got the curse from originally." The black knight advised, "Just promise you won't let your hatred poison your heart."


A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been busy this year and I fell out of writing this in favor of other stories. But now I am back and will try to update more consistently!...hopefully!

As always reviews, favs, and follows are appreciated!

Until next time,

FallenFairy20