Page 5: Royal Dragoon

It sounded like the griffin crowing for the sunrise was right outside their window. Halfway through its second crow, there was a loud THUMP and a screech; it seemed someone had lobbed something at it in protest.

Taylor Valiant had stirred from sleep when he heard the first one, as he had the last few mornings. His roommate was sure it was "combat instincts" Taylor was starting to develop, but Taylor himself was hoping otherwise.

He didn't want his freshman year to be defined by battles.

At least, ones that weren't good for his grades.

Opening his eyes, he wished he hadn't. The bright colors of the video game Pyotr had been playing when Taylor fell asleep were the first thing his vulnerable eyes met. Trying it with his eyes still closed, Taylor rolled out of bed and stumbled over to the other where he shook Pyotr's shoulder. "Get up, man. It's time for school," Taylor half-said, half-yawned.

Surprisingly, it worked, with Pyotr groaning and rolling out of bed – literally. There was a thump that sounded almost exactly like the one of something landing on the roof, and Taylor risked opening his eyes to make sure his roommate was alright. Fortunately, Pyotr sat up and rubbed the back of his head with a yawn of his own.

Pyotr got up, muttering, "I had this weird dream I was in Wonderland, and I stopped by this wabe and watched these slithy toves gyre and gimble in it."

"That's weird," Taylor agreed. "You ever seen Wonderland?"

Pyotr shook his head, and said around a yawn, "Just pictures, bro. Unless somebody broke the curse in the middle of the night, and people can go there now?"

"Think we would've heard that."

"You mean, hear it on the news, or hear the sound effect of it happening?"

Taylor laughed but it faded into a yawn too. "Second version actually makes sense too."

"I hear if you're trying to make sense of Wonderland, you're doing it wrong," Pyotr laughed, then it turned into a yawn.

That discussion didn't last long, with them joining the crush of other boys as the school came to life for another day. In the castleteria for breakfast, the two of them were a little surprised to see Raven Queen waving them over to their usual table.

"Hi, Ray," Taylor greeted her. "You're up kind of early, aren't you? Usually we don't see you till lunch."

The dark princess groaned, "Can't help it, Apple gets up at the crack of dawn every day. She always throws the curtains open and starts singing about what a glorious day it is. Every. Single. Hexing. Morning."

Leaning back in his chair, Pyotr glanced around the castleteria. He observed, "She's not here, though."

Raven nodded limply in reply. "Uh-huh. She takes forever to get ready in the morning. I always leave while she's still doing her hair. Guys have it soooooo easy."

Pyotr and Taylor side-eyed each other.

"…what?" Raven asked, sure she was about to hear about something unpleasant.

"Is Headmaster Grimm threatening to make everyone in your dorm do clean-up to teach them a lesson, if the person who's been spilling mud on the floor in the middle of the night isn't identified?" Pyotr asked her.

"What we're hoping is mud," Taylor reminded him.

"Seriously, T, shut up."

Taylor shrugged and dug into his breakfast. There wasn't much time to focus on something as mundane as breakfast. An entire day of academic challenges was awaiting them, and a cold prickle at the bottom of his neck made him worry that wouldn't be the worst of it.

As the day wore on, Apple White found Raven in the hallways. Everyone else stared as the blonde princess stopped in front of her costar. "Hey, Raven!" Apple smiled, almost gushed. "How's Princessology?"

"Oh, I dropped that class," Raven replied, not even looking past Apple. The only student in the hall who didn't. "All the smiling made my cheeks hurt."

"What!? That's not fair! They already assigned me this evil plant I have to raise for the next project in Home Evil-nomics!" Apple exclaimed, pointing with her arms at the giant purple-blossomed gormitius chompiti on the weapon behind her. The one licking its lips while her back was turned.

"…Apple, you're the one who decided to take Home Evil-nomics to get back at me for taking Princessology," Raven replied, but there was an unmistakable tone of annoyance that made the students who could hear her jump out of her way.

Apple puffed out her cheeks indignantly, and students started gathering around to see what was going on. Even though Raven and Apple's plant being there kept them at a safe distance. "It's not right! Villains aren't supposed to study how to be princesses!"

Raven angrily stuck out her bottom lip, and the students near her retreated even further. The smartest headed away from the brewing confrontation as fast as they could. Some, because the two most powerful girls in school were facing off.

Some, because two girls were facing off.

"This is why I didn't even want to talk to you before," Raven said, flickers of dark flame dancing around her eyes. "You've already made up your mind about everything."

"Because we're here to learn how to uphold great traditions," Apple said, calmly but also a little forcefully. "Aren't you proud of all the amazing stories we're learning to portray here?"

Raven scowled even harder, and more sparks of dark magic were forming around her. "I'm not proud of my mom," she said. "You can't have your story without me acting like her, can you?"

"You're acting a little too much like your mom if you ask me, Ray. Take a breath, okay? Please?"

The dark princess's eyes went wide with surprise, and the dark power around her dispersed when she realized the voice hadn't been Apple's. Standing beside her was Taylor Valiant, a slightly apprehensive look on his face. "You okay?" he asked, noticing but ignoring the slightly annoyed look and crossed arms Apple White was aiming at him.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. Just, a little stressed," she said, shooting an accusing look over her shoulder at Apple. "Let's get out of here, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed.

As the unusual pairing left, Apple saw a telltale case hanging off Taylor's belt, and started thinking.

Taylor trailed near the end of the mass of students slipping into the hall after the final bell rang for the day. It seemed like he was bringing back more thronework every day, but he reminded himself that getting educated was why they were all at Ever After High.

Still, it did seem pointless compared to the Dark Mirrors and everything those monters already tried. When would they show up again, and would he be ready for whatever they had planned next?

"Hi!" a beautiful princess, grinning from ear to ear, said as she suddenly stepped in front of him.

He jumped back in surprise and grunted, "Anna, I thought we promised—" Stopping himself in mid-sentenced when he realized this wasn't the beautiful princess he'd thought it was. No, it was a beautiful princess he knew about, but had never met.

Apple White herself.

"Uh, hello? I don't believe I've had the pleasure?" he said, and held out his hand for a handshake, not sure what else to do.

She giggled. "Usually I hold out my hand when I meet someone new, but sure!" Apple said, gave it a vigorous shake. Immediately, she looked him straight in the eye and asked, "You're friends with Raven Queen, right?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

"And you can sew, right?"

"…excuse me?"

"Let's go somewhere private and talk, okay?" Apple asked, gripping his wrist with surprising force.

This wasn't the disaster he'd felt coming, was it?

The assembly area where the headmaster had addressed the school on the first day was as pretty as it had been then, but the folding chairs had been cleared and café tables and chairs had been set up in the scenic location instead. A few other students were sitting around, and a few of them looked up as they recognized Apple White leading him to a table out near the edge. Taylor wondered just what they were thinking about him following the High Queen's daughter around.

Once they were seated, Taylor looked around, expecting a maid to show up with a porcelain tea set for Apple. None appeared, so Taylor just sat in his seat, waiting for Apple to make the first move. Did she know about the Dark Mirrors, or think Raven was up to something weird? And did she think that because Taylor was friends with Raven, he had to be in on it?

"You're Taylor Valiant, right?" she asked him.

"Didn't know I was that famous," he said dubiously.

Apple shrugged, but smiled. "There's only a couple boys at this school who could sew. I asked the office who the next star of The Brave Litte Tailor would be. You still looking for a club to join?"

"I had something in mind already, actually. I haven't got a lot of time to spare—"

"What about the fashion club?"

He leaned back in astonishment at her directness, and Apple looked quite amused at Taylor's reaction. "Just because I can sew?" he asked when he managed to recover his voice.

Apple giggled at the question. "No, not just because you can sew, silly! Just think about it: we're going to have a bunch of big fashion shows across the year. When we tell everyone who all made the outfits, that'd give your story lots of exposure!"

"Thanks, but I'm not really into fashion design. I just…make outfits. Mend outfits. Behind the scenes stuff, I guess. Don't think that would really get my name out there."

"Oh, come on!" Apple giggled again as if she didn't believe he meant it. "You think I don't make sure I acknowledge the people who help me get something done? Every role's important in any story."

Taylor shook his head, not sure what else to do. Apple was the High Queen's daughter, but this was still just school. It wasn't like she could order him around, and he had to obey.

Could she?

She sighed and looked away, then. "That's too bad. Raven Queen applied to this club, after every other one turned her down because she's the Evil Queen's daughter. If she was accepted, she wouldn't have anyone she knew there with her. That'd be really rough, for someone with a mom like Raven's."

"Alright, I'll take a look," Taylor agreed. "For Raven's sake."

"Great! She's so lucky to have a loyal friend like you," Apple beamed, the air around her seeming to glow golden from her excitement.

She stood up and started heading back toward the school, but Taylor stopped when they heard the buzz of the school's PA system coming to life. "The school's griffin is traumatized after what happened this morning," announced the voice of Headmaster Grimm. "Until further notice, all students are on their own for wake-up calls, and any tardiness will be punished with straw-spinning detention to be administered by Professor Rumpelstiltskin. As for whoever threw three pairs of bookball shoes onto the roof this morning…consider them confiscated!"

A pained scream of "WHAAAAT!?" could be heard all the way from the grimmnasium.

Apple placed both ands over her heart and sighed. "What a way to start the year," she murmured. "I'm going to talk to the headmaster, see if he'll relinquish those shoes."

"That's really nice of you, Apple," Taylor said, and smiled.

"As soon as I show you the fashion club!"

Looks like Apple's up to something. I wonder why.

Most good stories are about the main character wanting something very much, Brooke. It wouldn't be very interesting if they just hung around at home for an entire book, would it?

That's not really what I meant, mom.

Oh? What did you mean?

I meant…well, I meant Apple's acting kind of sneaky to get Taylor to join her club. I thought since she's Snow White's daughter, she's supposed to be nice.

That's another thing about characters going about their goals: there are actions they have to take, compromises they need to make.

Is being sneaky one of them, when you're supposed to be kind?

Maybe Apple's willing to consider it, Brooke. She's one of the students most dedicated to her destiny, after all.

Hey, mom?

Yes, dear?

Does dad get to narrate with us again, soon?

We'll see, honey. We'll see.

Inside, the fashion club looked much as Taylor had been expecting. Sewing machines. Dress forms. Bolts of cloth. And a membership made up exclusively of girls and princesses, including one he recognized this time.

Who clearly also recognized him.

"Taylor! You're joining too?" squealed Anna Weaver, who grinned from ear to ear, obviously excited to see her True Love in the same activity.

"Hi, Anna," Taylor said, but with some reservation. "Apple said it'd make someone else feel better about joining if I did…Speaking of, where is Raven?"

"Wait, you're friends with Raven Queen?"

Apple held up her hands. "Oh, she'll be here soon! I just have to go tell her the good news!" the princess of princesses assured him, then slipped out of the room. Taylor scratched his head and found an empty stool next to one of the tables. All the girls ignored him and settled in to talking amongst themselves, or scrolling Fablebook on their mirrorphones. He saw Daring Charming's unmistakable visage linger on a few screens, but his own attention was snatched up by Anna Weaver taking a seat on the stool next to him.

"I'm a little surprised to see a guy interested in joining this club," she admitted, then realized what she'd said and held up a hand. "Not that I mind! In fact, I'm really glad we'll be in the same club, actually. I bet I'm the only girl in school who's in the same club as her True Love!"

"Yeah, I bet none of Daring Charming's fans are in any of the same things he is. Unless you count the cheerhexers," Taylor replied.

She slid her hand across the table, and pressed it down daintily on top of his. Taylor looked over at it, then up at her. "Hey, do you want to go into town, and hang out for a while after this?" Anna asked, eyes twinkling.

"I wish I could, but I've already got a whole forest of thronework," Taylor replied.

"Maybe later?"

"Definitely, later."

Anna clenched her hands in front of her and just barely managed to hold in a squeal. Everyone looked up as they heard the door open, and Apple White entered, leading a dark figure behind her. Most of the girls gasped and a few tried to hide behind something. Sheepishly, Raven raised her wand and waved to everyone. "Uh, hi, everyone! I'm Raven…looks like most of you knew that already. Oh, hey, Taylor!"

"Hi, Ray!" he waved her over, and Raven sat down on another stool on Taylor's other side. Anna leaned over and scrutinized her fellow princess, while Apple launched into a rousing mission statement of what the club represented to the school's rich history and her goals for the upcoming year.

Ignoring it completely, Anna Weaver leaned back, and coughed demurely to get Raven's attention. "You're friends with Taylor?" Anna asked, a little incredulously.

"Huh? Yeah, we're friends," Raven said. "I don't believe we've met?"

"Um, Raven, this is Anna Weaver. She's the princess I'm going to—" Taylor started to explain, but suddenly cut him off.

"—win over through his many daring exploits," she finished for him, smiling proudly over at him.

"I can believe that," Raven said, and Taylor whipped around to face her, a finger against his lips. Anna raised an eyebrow, fixing Raven with a curious look.

She asked, "What do you mean?"

Raven shrugged. "I meant, I got in some trouble before school started. Taylor helped me out."

"…what kind of trouble?"

"I went for a walk in the forest, I didn't look where I was going and I fell down a ravine," Raven explained. Her eyes darted to meet Taylor's for a second, but then quickly back to meet Anna's.

"So that's how you guys became friends," Anna said, but her earlier enthusiasm was gone.

By then, Apple had finished her pep talk to the club, and the members started to file out of the room. Apple smiled and thanked everyone for coming, her eyes positively shining as Raven walked past her. Once they were in the hall, Anna took Taylor by the hand before he could walk off, and led him down another hallway. She stopped when they were halfway down, and no other students were around.

"Taylor, please be honest with me," sighed Anna. "Was that story Raven told true?"

"About helping her before school started? Yeah, it's true."

Tension drained from her face, and she sighed again, but this one sounded relieved. "Okay."

"Why? What were you worried about?" Taylor pressed her.

"…Taylor, with how weird things were when we finally met, do you understand how maybe I might've just thought it was because you already liked another girl? And that she's Raven Queen?"

He shrugged. "Why shouldn't I hang out with Raven Queen? She's nice. Besides, I don't like her. Not the way you mean."

Anna shifted her feet and looked away, seeming to search for something to say, and not quite finding it. Almost just to break the uncomfortable silence, she asked, "Don't you think it's kind of weird? A guy being friends with girls?"

Taylor shrugged again. "I mean, not really. Not after all the times I had to chaperone my kid sisters on birthday parties and the playdates with their little friends. Do whatever goofy thing they thought was fun with them. Guess I'm kind of desensitized to it by now."

Very slowly, she nodded and let go of his arm. "Okay. I'll see you soon, right?"

"Right," he said with a smile, and she smiled too.

"Is a little goodbye kiss too much to hope for?"

He came over and kissed her gently on the forehead, and she let out an irritated little squeal that made him chuckle. Taylor stepped back, and told her, "See you around, Anna."

Taylor Valiant was far from the only student with a pile of thronework awaiting them. Raven and Apple sat down at their desks to get started as soon as they made it back to their room. A little peace and quiet to get some assignments done was what Raven had been hoping for all day.

Of course, it was the one thing she wouldn't get.

"Hey," said Apple, in a tone that made Raven sure beyond a shadow of a doubt she was already grinning. "You thinking about joining fashion club full-time?"

"I guess so. All the other ones I signed up for turned me down. Didn't want the Evil Queen's daughter around, she might sneeze and curse everything, or something," Raven said, letting out a sigh. "It's not really my first choice, though."

"Maybe not, but your friend's a member. That helps, right?" Apple pressed her.

Raven had to nod thoughtfully, but she was grinding the tip of her pen into her paper. "It's nice Taylor's there. I don't have too many other friends."

"So, great, right?" Apple giggled.

"Mmmm, maybe," Raven answered non-commitally, and immediately Apple's stomach clenched like a fist. "I don't know if that's a good reason to join something all by itself, though," she went on.

"Well, why not? You two could bring a really unique perspective!" a faint edge of desperation creeping into her voice.

Raven made a thoughtful noise, and tapped the end of her pen repeatedly against her desk. "Yeah, maybe," she said. "We'll see." Then the dark princess settled into her thronework.

On the other side of the room, Apple held in a scream.

And on the other side of the school, someone very interested in Apple White's destiny was at work.

Energy played over another Ride Book, finishing carving out a title: Frivolous Hopper. Its creator watched impatiently as more began to take shape. Perhaps with more repetition, it would take less time to form these tokens of power.

With how that Mendyr kept appearing and upsetting the balance, he was beginning to worry that a faster way to produce its agents would be needed.

Mendyr seemed determined to undermine the protection of Destiny. It was unfathomable to him, but Mendyr clearly represented a threat.

And threats in all the great stories were eventually dealt with. Early setbacks always translated to satisfying payoffs.

It was the way of the world.

XXX

All the next day, Apple White was on autopilot. She answered every question asked of her purely on rote memory, and paid no attention to the rest of the class's admiration. It was what she heard everywhere she went, after all.

Why was her destiny so determined not to go the way it was supposed to? Apple's mother had told her endlessly that being a proper fairytale heroine was more worked than it sounded like. That had certainly been true; there'd been lessons on everything, from mastering her walk in high heels, to looking beautiful while swooning dramatically. That was just as important to being a proper princess as being able to inspire others and charm woodland creatures.

If Apple was putting in this much effort, why wasn't her costar?

Didn't Raven care about tradition? About living up to the legacies they'd been given? Since she could walk, Apple had been taught how to be the right princess for her role. Raven was the daughter of the greatest villain of them all; she had to have been brought up to follow in the Evil Queen's footsteps. Why did Raven seem like she had no interest in her role, at all?

When the day ended and Apple showed up another session at the fashion club, she was even more disappointed. Raven sat by herself, idly sketching a few outfits with a pencil. Taylor Valiant looked her way every once in a while, and asked if she was doing okay once or twice that Apple managed to hear. Mostly his attention was hogged by a beautiful redhead who kept showing Taylor designs she'd brought, in between feeding him from a basket of cookies and wiping crumbs off his chin.

After the meeting broke up, Apple went over to the girl and gently pulled her aside.

"Hi there," Apple said, her most appealing smile on her rosy lips. "I notice you've been acting really nice to Taylor Valiant the last couple days. That's great, but I kind of invited him to join because he's friends with Raven Queen, and I was hoping she'd feel more welcome in the club if they got to hang out while they're here."

"Well of course I'm hanging out with Taylor," the princess smiled back. "We're destined for each other."

"That's great, but me and Raven are kind of destined for each other too?" Apple said, getting a dubious eyebrow raise from her conversation partner. Undaunted, Apple went on. "So, it'd really be fableous if you could give Taylor a little space so he could spend some time here with Raven, and she could start feeling like she belongs," Apple asked.

"Eeeh, alright," she said, and Apple beamed. "But I'm not going to completely stop paying attention to him, or anything. Destiny says we're going to be together, you know."

Apple nodded vigorously. "I totally get that! That's why I'm asking to help Raven enjoy herself more. I need her."

"Uh, right," the princess replied. "Sure thing, Apple."

She hurried out of the club room to try to catch up with Taylor.

You see, Brooke? There's a princess who understands the importance of consistency in a story.

…

Don't just sit there, not saying anything, young lady.

I'm getting a little worried about Apple, honestly, mom. She's obsessed with bonding with Raven.

She's the High Queen's daughter, and she'll be the star of the biggest story in the kingdom. That's a lot to live up to, and Legacy Day's right around the corner. I don't blame her for wanting to make sure things go just right.

Isn't that a different story, mom? One about bears?

That night wasn't much different than the one before. Raven focused on her thronework, and politely dismissed attempts at conversation with needing to get her work done. Apple finished hers efficiently, then turned in for the night while Raven was still up reading. Beautiful princesses needed another 25% beauty sleep, Apple had always been taught.

Her unease over the last couple days seeped into her dreams, however. Apple saw herself on the podium about to sign her name for her great destiny, but as she reached out with her pen, the book suddenly slammed shut, just barely missing her fingers.

Apple let out a horrified gasp and recoiled, suddenly noticing the sky had filled with thick black storm clouds. Bolts of lightning started to lance into the turrets of the school, setting the roofs and walls ablaze. Standing there staring up at the devastated school was Raven Queen.

"Raven!" Apple screamed.

Raven turned around and locked eyes with Apple, her face completely emotionless. Then the next instant she was gone in a puff of smoke.

"Oh no…! Nooooo…nonononononono!" Apple moaned. She looked around frantically, watching other students poof out of sight. There was Briar Beauty, one of her first friends at her new school. Poof, gone. Cedar Wood, the living marionette who Apple had really wanted to meet. Poof, gone. Ashylnn Ella, the princess who'd given her that super-cute pair of heels she still hadn't worn. Poof, gone.

Daring Charming stood there, looking at her with a blinding but vacuous smile, then before Apple could even reach out to him, he was gone too. Even her prince had been powerless against the threat to their school.

As soon as the students were gone, the entire school vanished in one huge, choking poof. Apple coughed and desperately waved her hand to try to clear it away from her face.

After what seemed like forever, it did clear, and Apple was standing in an empty black space, but she wasn't alone. Standing over her was a regal woman in a gown of white satin, a simple golden crown atop her dark hair.

Snow White herself.

Apple's mother.

"Mom! No, please!" Apple pleaded. "Not you too!" She rushed over to try to grab the impassive-faced queen, hoping against hope that might keep Snow White from disappearing too. Unfortunately, despite years of learning poise, Apple was too slow in her six-inch heels. Another poof, and even Snow White was gone.

She was all alone. The only person in the entire kingdom who hadn't gone poof, all because she'd failed to secure her destiny.

"Truly an ignominious end, for the light of the first among princesses to go out," said a soft voice behind her, sounding as if Apple weren't even there. She looked around, and saw a person in a ragged cloak walking by, carrying a lantern of buzzing fireflies in one hand.

"Who…who are you?"

"I am the Keeper," he replied, still sounding as if he was talking about her, instead of to her. "The one who respects Destiny. The one who feels it starting to crumble as the new generation comes of age."

"Well, hey! I care about Destiny!" Apple called out to him. The Keeper just kept walking along, into the distance, so she got up and ran after him. After she caught up, Apple asked, "What's wrong? What do we have to do to fix Destiny?"

For a while he kept walking without saying anything, and Apple was starting to feel even more stressed. The entire kingdom had just disappeared, and he said he cared about it, so why wouldn't he say anything! Just when she was about to grab him by the shoulders, he spoke up.

"Is that not obvious, your highness?" he said, his tone slightly mocking. "You need to embrace Destiny. Convince everyone of the dangers of letting it waste away!"

Then the next thing Apple knew, she was laying in her bed, everything still black of her 100% silk sleep mask. With trembling fingers she pried it away from her eyes, and was relieved to see everything was still there. Their beds, their desks, the town in the distance outside their windows. Even Raven was still there, sleeping peacefully.

Apple shivered, got out of bed and put on her slippers. She padded quietly to the communal bathroom, passing another girl coming and one going on the same trip. Once there, she splashed warm water on her face, trying to clear her head.

"It's not that bad," she whispered to her reflection. "Everyone's not going to disappear. The school's not going to disappear. Mom's not going to disappear."

An urge to call home and get her mother's advice occurred to Apple, but just as quickly she pushed it away. Among the many things her mother had taught her was that a monarch needed to be self-sufficient. How could Apple say she was living up to that, when she'd barely been at school a week, and was already so worked up she was having nightmares about everything disappearing because of her failure?

"Apple…" a distant voice called her name.

"Who's there?" Apple asked.

"You talking to me?" the other girl asked from inside a toilet stall.

It came again. "Apple…"

She hurried out of the bathroom and down the hall, in the direction she was sure it had come. Well-cultivated instincts compelled her to follow as it came a third time. "Apple…"

Down a staircase, Apple looked into the shadows, trying to spot her mother. Apple whispered, "Mom? Is that you? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

The only answer she got was the call coming again, slightly louder this time. "Apple…come, honey…help me…help me…"

Apple, frantic then, got to the bottom and looked for a door outside. The first one she saw was a fire door, and not even thinking about the alarm she was about to set it off, Apple threw it open and charged through.

What she saw on the other side caught the princess completely by surprise.

Of course, she wasn't the only one surprised.

Bells started ringing in every hall of Ever After High. Students jumped, rolled and fell out of bed in surprise at the onslaught of noise. Within seconds the halls were full of teenagers of every alignment, many still too groggy to realize those sounds that woke them up meant they were supposed to be evacuating the building.

"What's going on?" one of them asked Pyotr Lupus.

"I'd say it's the fire alarm, but you wouldn't believe me," he said around a yawn.

"Pyotr, please don't joke," Taylor grumbled, clutching at his heart.

"How was I joking? That's the real fire alarm!" he sighed. "Let's go."

"Yeah, let's," Taylor sighed, as if he was in pain. Pyotr gave him a look, but they both followed the blob of students flowing out of the school and only stopping when they were on the front drive.

When the students saw it was clear the school wasn't on fire, they started finding their friends and talking about what was going on, or a million other things Pyotr and Taylor couldn't hear. A few went off on their own and started scrolling the mirrorphones they'd grabbed before thinking of their safety. One student, though, was running around as if looking for someone. She was a little hard to recognize without makeup, but Pyotr and Taylor stopped and waited when they recognized Raven Queen coming over to them. Panic was written all across her features.

"Have you guys seen Apple?" she exclaimed.

"No. We're not allowed on that side of the building," Pyotr pointed out, but shut up when Raven gave him a pointed look.

Taylor tried to defuse the situation, saying, "Seriously, Raven. We wouldn't joke about something like that." Still, he was clutching his heart and grimacing in pain. Raven was just about to ask if he was okay when Taylor held out his hand, and a transparent golden arrow had formed in the air just above his palm.

"T, that ever happen before?" Pyotr asked his roommate.

"No," Taylor replied, with much relief. "But if Apple's missing, I think I can tell where."

Amazingly, Apple could see them at that very moment.

At least, she could see the student body of Ever After High congregated outside the main stairs, waiting for the alarms to be shut off so they could go back to bed.

She stood atop a tower on the side of the mountain the school was perched on, which Apple had certainly never noticed before that moment. The princess wasn't alone, and to her disappointment if not surprise, her company wasn't her mother.

Standing on top of the trapdoor that appeared to be the only safe way down was a woman in a purple dress with spikes on the belt and shoulder pads. Her hair was more like a mane, standing up in a web of red-tinted spikes. At first Apple had thought it was Raven mother, except for the fact that the Witch's skin was a shiny black.

"What's it to be, your highness?" she asked. Her voice had a sneer, but it was hard to notice with how when she talked, there was a high-pitched sound like two panes of glass scraping against each other.

"If you think you can scare me into jumping, you're out of your mind. Snow White raised her daughter better than that," Apple declared as haughtily as she'd learned, hoping it wasn't lessened too much by the fact that she was in a nightgown, curlers and fuzzy slippers.

"I don't intend for you to jump," the Witch sneered again, and Apple resisted an urge to put her hands over her ears, to make sure she could hear the villain's terms. "If you give up your story, I'll step off this door. You can walk down, go back into school and go back to sleep. Life will go on."

Apple looked away. "Why are you asking for something like that? If you know me at all, you know I'd never give that up."

The Witch gave off a shrill laugh, and this time Apple couldn't stop herself from jamming her hands down over her ears and flinching. Finally the Witch stopped, and waited for Apple to very hesitantly lower her hands before speaking again: "That's what you were taught to say, princess. Even royalty can change their mind when enough pressure's applied…" For emphasis, she ground her thumb and fingertip together, making that hideous glass scraping sound, even louder than when she talked.

Apple gulped.

Nobody seemed to notice the trio slipping away from everyone else and down the road. None of them said anything about Taylor's odd new trick, but after a few minutes of walking, Pyotr pointed to the tip of a tower sitting on the side of the mountain.

Getting closer, they could make out the silhouettes of a pair of people standing atop it: one who looked a lot like Apple White with curlers in her hair, and another with a wreath of spiked hair who had one hand held upright. A small object floated up from their palm and zipped away.

"Either of you remember a tower on the side of the mountain before?" Taylor asked his friends.

Both of them shook their heads.

"Looks like the Dark Mirrors are back," Taylor sighed, and held his hand up over his heart. The arrow flashed and transformed into a sword, and the belt formed above his pajamas. "Turn the page!"

Raven and Pyotr looked away as Taylor transformed, their eyes still used to the dark. When they looked back he'd become the armored warrior Mendyr once again, astride his Charge Unicorn mount. "I'll be back soon. With Apple," he promised. "Head back to school where it's safe." With that, he rode off, Charge Unicorn jumping the safety railing on the side of the rode as they headed toward the castle.

Waiting just until Mendyr was out of earshot, Pyotr asked, "Ready to head in there?"

"Definitely," Raven agreed.

Charge Unicorn skimmed down the mountainside and came to a stop on the plateau where the dark tower was perched. It rode up to the massive front door, and Mendyr dismounted and tried to wrench it open. The door creaked but held tight, even against Mendyr's strength in this form. He stepped away from it and faced Charge Unicorn.

"See if you can blow it open," he said, but noticed its horn already glowing with gathering energy. As if it could sense what he was thinking. A spiraling beam ripped from the tip of its horn that smashed in the door.

And as if in reply, a dark form launched itself out of the opening, right into Charge Unicorn, and knocking the metallic beast off the side of the plateau.

Mendyr gasped in surprise and drew his thin blade while the attacker turned around to face him. Less quickly than it had launched its attack on the unicorn, seeming to savor the fear it'd created with its sudden attack.

The creature was tall and spindly, and its long legs bent the wrong way. Its arms were skinny but also seemed sharp in the moonlight. Atop its shoulders was a round head with huge, opaque eyes, above a mouth with insectile jaws. All of it shiny and black, like the enemies Mendyr had fought before.

But engraved into this one's chest were a series of rough letters, glowing faintly green: H-O-P-P-E-R.

Suddenly the Hopper launched itself into the air, easily clearing the roof of the tower. When he came back down, it was with his feet aimed at Mendyr's face.

"Time to write a new chapter," Mendyr said as he entered battle.

Apple gasped when the Hopper zoomed up past her, then came back down toward her would-be rescuer like a bolt of avenging lightning. "What is that thing?" she asked with no small amount of disgust.

"It wears the shape of a creature who played when he should have prepared," answered the Witch. "Now his energies have been focused toward defeating Mendyr, the one who challenges the course of Destiny."

"Why would someone seriously try to do that?" Apple blurted out before she realized she'd said anything. The Witch grinned, the white of her teeth standing out eerily against the blackness of the rest of her body.

"Why, indeed," the Witch mused. "Destiny is the basis of everything. Wouldn't someone fighting Destiny, be fighting the basis of our entire world?"

The princess didn't respond, just peering over the side of the tower and watching as Mendyr dodged Hopper's jump kick at the last second, leaving a crater in the ground that Mendyr dangled off the edge. He heaved himself over the rim and back onto level ground, just in time for Hopper to launch another jump kick at his exposed side. He rolled across the ground before managing to get his feet under him and shakily get up to face Hopper again.

"This is the only rescue you're likely to get, your highness," the Witch spoke. "Are you sure you want it?"

Apple kept staring down at the unfolding battle in silence.

Gathering his power, Mendyr swung Sevener in front of himself and created a wall of blinding light that lasted just a second. After it cleared, Mendyr went into a fencer's stance, ready for his enemy's next attack.

But Hopper clicked its mouth and the huge faceted eye mounted on the left side of his head shimmered for a second. Over there, another Mendyr was charging in, sword held out to launch a sneak attack. Hopper ignored the first and launched himself instead at the one rushing in from his side.

At the last second Mendyr ducked, and tried to stab Sevener upward, but the tip skidded uselessly against Hopper's exoskeleton. Instead, Mendyr stood up and threw his sword, trailing the thread tied to his arm. His hope was to tie Hopper long enough to notice some kind of weakness, and as it had in his older battles, Sevener dutifully curled through the air around the Dark Mirror's body.

"Please work…please work!" Mendyr breathed.

He was doomed to disappointment. Hopper leaned down and bit through the thread. Sevener lodged itself into the side of the mountain, leaving Mendyr unarmed. Desperate now, he ran at Hopper and launched a jump kick of his own at the insect's back, hoping turning Hopper's own attack against him might yield results.

Again, Mendyr was doomed to disappointment. Hopper jumped to the top of the tower again, but his speed magically increased on the way down. A slim foot smashed down between Mendyr's shoulders and drove him into the ground.

"What am I doing wrong?" Mendyr gasped, and just barely managed to roll onto his back. He saw Hopper raise a foot and stomp down right on top of his face. All Mendyr could see were stars, and they hadn't even cleared when he felt the foot crash down on his mask again. For a second everything went black, and he forgot to breathe.

Above him, Hopper was lifting his foot for another stomp. Before he could, a voice rang out, "Hold it right there! You're surrounded!"

Hopper did indeed stop, planting his foot on the ground and looking all around with his enormous eyes. There behind a triangular rock was a teenager with spiked blond hair. Ignoring his injured opponent, Hopper covered the distance between them in one jump. Before Pyotr even realized the Dark Mirror was right in front of him, Hopper grabbed the boy and hoisted him overhead.

"No…! Pyotr!" Mendyr gasped, just barely having enough of a grasp on his senses to realize what he was seeing. He covered the same distance in two jumps and pounded his fists into the Dark Mirror's back. Mighty echoes traveled across the plateau, but despite his thin frame, Hopper didn't even budge.

Mendyr felt as if he might as well have been trying to punch his way through the entire mountain.

And if he didn't come up with a better idea fast, Pyotr was going to be thrown off that mountain!

Above, Apple looked on in horror.

"Is that your idea of preserving Destiny?" she demanded of the Witch.

"What is yours, Apple White?" the White replied with a disturbing calm. "You believe getting your Happily Ever After is more important than anything in the world. Yet here you are, on the verge of panic after a little initial resistance."

Apple scrunched her mouth together, in a practiced resting witch face. She hardly ever used it, being a consummate princess of kindness, but Snow White had made sure she knew how in case she needed it. "It's not worth sacrificing lives!" she snapped.

"Isn't it?" the Witch asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Apple demanded.

"There are winners and losers in every story, your highness. Do you care what happens to the loser, as long as you win?"

That was when all of Apple's stress and frustration of the last several days came boiling out. Staring her in the eye, Apple declared, a finger pointed defiantly toward the sky, "Madame, one day I'll be the one on Snow White's throne! It'll be my royal duty to think about the good of everyone in the kingdom! If you think you can get me to give up on that just because I'm dealing with some problems right now, I swear on my legacy, I'll prove you wrong!"

A strange thing happened from Apple's statement: a golden light started to throb near her heart, and traveled up her arm to the hand with her upraised finger. It solidified into a Ride Book with a red frame, an image of a red apple with a soften golden glow on the cover, underneath the title Apple of Passion.

Without warning, the trapdoor the Witch had been standing on flipped up violently and she was flung right over the wall. Sticking her out of the trapdoor was Raven Queen. "Apple! Are you okay!?"

"Um, yeah…I'm okay, I think," Apple replied. She looked down at the object that'd formed in her hand. "What's this?"

"Oh, I think I know!" Raven replied with a smile.

To Apple's immense surprise, Raven grabbed the Ride Book out of her hand and threw it over the side.

Mendyr reached out and grabbed Hopper, his mind running on pure desperation by that point. This awkward maneuver forced Hopper to drop Pyotr, who hit the ground with an "oof!", and got up and stumbled his way to a safe distance.

Unfortunately, Hopper was still free to rear back one powerful leg and smash his foot into Mendyr's side. The armored warrior was knocked flying into the wall of the tower, and fell to his knees, gasping for breath after the awesome impact left his body numb and the air squeezed from his lungs.

He looked up as he heard a mad chirping sound, Hopper grinding his legs together as he readied to jump for another kick surely meant to finish Mendyr off.

"This isn't how this story ends," Mendyr whispered, getting to his feet and readying himself as best he still could.

Just before something fell into his open hand. A Ride Book he hadn't seen before.

But like anyone training to be a fairytale hero, he'd been taught early not to question good luck.

"Catch!" Pyotr yelled, and threw Mendyr his sword.

"Thanks!" Mendyr yelled back, and replaced Needle Sharp Hero with this new book. Thrusting his sword into his belt, he called out, "Turn the page!"

"When the royal dedication is focused, an immovable pillar is formed!"

It flipped open, showing a flail on its unfolded pages. A wave of scarlet power raced up Mendyr's body, coloring the white of his armor. The eyes in his mask changed to a vibrant green. Heavy boots and gauntlets of a brighter silver formed over hands and feet, and the emblem on his chest changed to a golden apple.

Finally, a flail with a spiked ball, colored apple red, and a looped chain formed hanging from his belt. Etched into the grip was another name: Apfel.

Mendyr unwound it from his belt just when Hopper took a running start and launched into a jump kick aimed at his torso. It hit Mendyr with enough force that the shockwave knocked Pyotr off his feet and shook bricks loose from the side of the tower.

But incredibly, Mendyr stayed on his feet.

Hopper bounced back, landing on his spindly feet, and Mendyr went on the attack. He whirled Apfel's ball above his head and smashed it into Hopper's side, sending sharp flecks of black armor flying. He let out a high-pitched shriek of pain, but Mendyr pressed his attack.

Again he swung the flail over his head, but brought it down on top of Hopper with a satisfying crunch. "Like my cousin Tommy used to say, now the shoe's on the other foot!" Mendyr growled. He grabbed the Dark Mirror by the neck, and threw Hopper against the side of the tower toward the side of the mountain as hard as he could. The thin body of the Dark Mirror deformed the rock as it made contact.

"Fox," Pyotr breathed at his friend's display of raw strength.

"And that's not all!" Mendyr laughed softly with a nod in Pyotr's direction. He charged across the plateau, lowering his shoulder and delivering a check to Hopper's midriff that would've made a professional bookball player green with envy.

The Dark Mirror monster screeched with, pried himself off Mendyr's shoulder armor and quickly gathered himself for a long jump to escape while he still could. He arced clear over Mendyr's head, but the warrior launched his next attack.

Gathering all of his even greater strength, Mendyr swung Apfel, and the chain glowed with red light. Before the onlookers' eyes it stretched to an impossible length and crashed into Hopper in mid-air, knocking him out of the sky. Before Hopper landed, Mendyr was reeling in the chain, getting ready to attack one last time.

"Ultimate Fruit of Passion!"

Mendyr let the weapon fly once more. It arced through the air, spiked ball growing until it was twice its size. It came down on top of Hopper, cracks spreading out in every direction from the point of impact.

They didn't stop spreading. Next the cracks spread under Mendyr and Pyotr's feet, then up the side of the tower.

Just like they were afraid, the plateau started crumbling.

Raven and Apple dashed out the tower door and ran after Pyotr and Mendyr, back to the road up to the school as fast as their slippered feet could carry them. After jumped they extremely awkwardly over the safety railing to the road, Raven turned and held out her hand to grab Apple's, pulling her off the plateau just before it finished disintegrating behind her.

With one last glance back to be sure the girls were safe, Pyotr and Mendyr vanished into the darkness.

Neither princess said a word as they trudged up the road leading back to Ever After High.

Raven, for her part, was quietly seething that while she was completely covered in dirt and dust, Apple was spotless except for a dried leaf stuck in her hair. All the same, there was an uncharacteristically serious look on Apple's face.

When the school came into view, Apple grabbed Raven's sleeve and held on. "You knew what was going on," the blonde princess said quietly.

"What?" Raven asked in soft surprise.

"You knew what that thing in my hand was, and to give it to that…knight, I guess," Apple replied, still quiet.

"I saw him fight before," Raven admitted. "Seven dwarves attacked me in the woods, and he came and saved me."

"What's his name?" Apple asked.

"Mendyr."

Apple shook her head and sighed. "That's not what I mean, and you know it."

Like she was expecting, though, Raven shook her head. "I don't know, and even if I did, it's not my secret to share."

Sighing again, but still holding onto Raven's sleeve, Apple asked, "Do you know what's going on? Who those black-colored people were?"

"No, not really," Raven answered. "I call them 'Dark Mirrors' because they seem to be evil reflections of people from stories, but I don't know what they come from or why they're doing the things they are."

Slowly, very slowly, Apple nodded. "Can I ask one last thing? Why did you never tell me before?"

Raven pointed behind them. "Apple, look back there. There's nothing left of that tower, or even the ledge it was on. What would I tell you, or anybody? And who'd believe me? I'm the Evil Queen's daughter!"

After a long time, Apple nodded, slowly. "I'm sorry."

Raven turned away. "Let's go to sleep."

"Okay," was all Apple said.

Wow, that was intense!...But that was pretty cool, when Apple stood up to that Witch!

Just because someone is kind doesn't mean they can't also be strong, honey.

Or maybe just because someone's expected to act a certain way, doesn't mean they can't learn something new about themselves.

…Oh, hello, dear. We've had a productive chapter, today.

Looks like it! I found the key behind the silverware and oiled the lock, though, honey. Be more careful with it from now on, okay?

…Of course, love.

Hey, dad! A lot of things happened this chapter! Bet there's gonna be a lot of big changes coming.

Well, isn't that exciting! Looking forward to seeing them?

Back at Ever After High, Pyotr and Taylor made their way back to their room. The halls were empty, and it seemed everyone else had already gone back to bed after the alarm was called off. Both of them crawled into their beds.

"Some night, huh?" Pyotr muttered.

"Yeah," Taylor answered. "Look, I'm grateful for the help. There was a reason I said go back to the school, though."

Pyotr yawned and rolled to face away. "You're not my parents, T. Plus, maybe you got that suit, but who says that makes you the most important person in this story?"

Taylor shut up. He was tired. No sooner had he shut his eyes than he realized Pyotr asked him something.

"Hmm?"

"I said, who's your cousin?"

"What?"

"You said some quote from your cousin. Who is he?"

"…oh. Tommy Shoemaker. You know 'The Elves and the Cobbler'? About the guy who gets sick and can't make shoes, but he left food out for some birds, and they turn out to be elves? So, they make a bunch of shoes for him, and his house gets saved."

"Yeah, I heard that one, I think. He's your cousin, huh? He cool?"

"Nah, he's a prick. Like, bigger than the one that knocks out Sleeping Beauty."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Taylor replied. "Always gave me a hard time. He was so pixied off that he'd get money for selling shoes, but I'd get to beat giants and marry a princess."

Pyotr snickered. "Bet he'll be even worse about it when he sees Anna."

"Maybe. But I'm gonna worry about that later. I'm tired."

"Night, T."

"Night, man."

To the entire student body's dismay, they were all called to a surprise assembly as soon as classes were over. It was on the same picturesque platform where Headmaster Grimm had addressed them all on the first day, but this time he wasn't even pretending to smile when he took the podium and waited for everyone to sit down.

"Everyone, a student has come forward and admitted to last night's fire alarm. They will not be named, but for the sake of everyone's safety, the story they told me will be relayed to the rest of you as well.

"This student claims they were lured outside by the call of a witch, and then confronted by creatures they dubbed 'Dark Mirrors' because they resembled well-known story characters. Now, the safety of the school is impregnable. If, however, any other student sees something amiss, alert the faculty immediately. Any attempts to do so that are not serious will be dealt with harshly."

Headmaster Grim cast a warning in the seating area with most of the kids from the villain curriculum when he said that.

While he did, Apple White sat, surrounded by her admirers, but hearing nothing they said.

Wondering only what she would do to achieve her destiny now.

Raven Queen had come to rescue, which only seemed to push the success of Apple's story even farther away.

Of course, who were those strange people, those "Dark Mirrors"? Had the Witch meant what she'd said?

And how much was going on that neither of them knew about?

Well, Apple White had come to Ever After High to secure her destiny, and that was what she was going to do.

Another attempt, another disruption.

And against what had seemed to be an extremely receptive student. His attempt to test Apple White's dedication to her story had been interrupted.

Worse, Mendyr had come through their confrontation more powerful than ever, thanks to the student they'd been trying to target.

Obviously, it wasn't good enough to gently nudge things back into place.

It was time to act more directly.

To make sure the importance of its mission was lost on no-one.

To keep the course of Destiny, and the safety of the kingdom, in place.