Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Enjoy this long awaited chapter! No flames please!

So, after the True Hearts dance, things started to change, especially for me and the gang. Raoul and I are still secretly dating. And we've been hanging out a lot with Raven, Prudence, and Charlotte. Amber has been spending a lot of time wih Rosabella, Ashlynn and Farrah. Bentley, well, he was still being pals with Faybelle. I guess Bentley really is a friend to all women, even loud and proud dark fairies. I mean, don't get me wrong, after spending some time with Faybelle at the True Hearts dance, I will admit she is kind of cool. But I was still wary.

As for Ian, well...he's been kind of a loner lately. He hardly says a word to anyone, like something was on his mind. I told him that he can always talk to us when he feels like it. So, right now, we're just waiting for him to talk it out. So, despite our different friend groups, we still talk to each other now and then. Ever since Raven's Legacy Day stunt, things were really changing around school. Well, at least for me and my friends. Everything was easy-peasy.

That is, until Headmaster Grimm called me to his office.

And that's when the mother of all bombspells was dropped on me.

In the castleteria, Greenly was laying her head on the table, her body appeared lifeless. Raoul, sitting next to her, rubbed her back. "Chocolate milk, babe?" he offered.

"Make it a double." Greenly groaned, her head still planted to the table.

Raoul nodded and went to get his girlfriend's beverage. Soon as he left, Raven sat across from Greenly. "Hey, Greenly. What's wrong?"

Greenly managed to look up, showing the sullen look on her face. "Do me a favor."

"What?" asked Raven.

"Blast me with an evil spell and put me out of my misery."

Raven held her hand up. "Whoa! Whatever's going on, you shouldn't take it that far!" Raven said seriously. "What is up with you?"

Greenly sighed. "Well, it all started when the headmaster called me to his office. He told me that he had enrolled Holly's sister, Poppy, into Ever After High."

"What?!" said Raven.

"Yeah, I don't know why, but he did." Greenly shrugged. "I know Holly has always wanted Poppy to come here, but why would Holly punish her own sister like this?"

"Punish? What do you mean punish?" asked Raven.

Greenly gave her friend a look. "Raven, this school is terrible. Most of our classmates are ignorant stooges while Headmaster Grimm and the teachers are trying to brainwash us into following our 'destinies.'" She made air quotation marks with her fingers. "But it turns out, 'destiny' is really just a crooked system focused into scaring us into making choices we don't want to make. Remember?"

Raven blinked. "Okaaay..." She was caught offguard by Greenly's response. "So, does that mean you're a rebel?"

"Raven, I don't take sides. I only do what I want. And all I want to survive high school so that I can follow my story and become a queen. I worked my butt off to follow my story and I'm not going to throw it all away. But Poppy's arrival isn't what's got me down. See, Holly asked Headmaster Grimm if Poppy can bunk with her and he agreed, but there's a catch."

"Isn't there always?" Raven pointed out.

"Yeah, the headmaster said that in order for Poppy to move in, I have to move to another dorm!"

"What?!" Raven smacked her hands on the table. "What is Headmaster Grimm thinking?! He can't do that!"

"Raven! He's the headmaster! Of couse he can do that!" Greenly retorted.

"But can't you just share a room with the O'Hairs?" asked Raven.

"Tha's what I asked the headmaster. But he said that he's worried about me." Greenly rolled her eyes. "He said I need to work on my people skills. So, what's his big idea? Have me move into the lair, I mean, dorm, of our own social butterfly; Briar Beauty!"

Raven's jaw dropped. She knew all too well that of all the royals Greenly hated, Briar was on the top of that list. Greenly never told her why, but she told Raven that it's personal. Thankfully, Raven was the kind of girl who respected a friend's privacy.

Suddenly, the intercom turned on:

Raven Queen, please report to Headmaster Grimm's office immediately. Raven Queen, to Headmaster Grimm's office. NOW.

"Oh, great." Raven groaned. "Now what?" She stood up and shuffled her feet to the headmaster's office, feeling the heavy stares of onlooking students.

"Oooh! Busted!" Sparrow Hood taunted as Raven walked past him and Duchess Swan.

"So, Raven Queen is going bad after all!" Duchess teased. "Why am I not surprised?"

Raven tightened her fists in anger until she heard a couple of screams, causing her to turn and saw Duchess covered in chocolate milk and Sparrow receiving an atomic wedgie by Raoul.

"GREENLY!" Duchess shrieked, her angry eyes glaring at Greenly, who was smiling and holding an empty carton of double chocolate milk.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Duchess. It was an accident." Greenly said with feigned innocence. "Y'know, you should update your look. White can stain very easily."

Duchess growled as she stomped in anger to clean herself up.

Raven couldn't help but smile a little.

Meanwhile, Ian was in the hallway going to his locker. He opened it and inside was his pet fox, Trixie. Ian learned that Trixie was a loner too. So, most of the time, she relaxes in Ian's locker or frolics in the Enchanted Forest. She had everything she needed in Ian's locker. A dog bed, food and water bowls, and a mirrorpad to keep herself entertained.

"Hey, girl." Ian petted his loyal pet. "Score anything?"

Trixie smiled and lifted he padding of her dog bed, revealing several diamond rings and a gold bracelet. She also likes to swipe things from royals too, just like her master.

"Good girl." Ian took the pilfered jewlery and hid them in his orange hoodie. Ian loved a nice, quick score. But he wasn't sure what to spend the money on. The only friends he could trust were busy with their own lives. Greenly and Raoul were dating, Amber is trying to find her own destiny, and Bentley is with Faybelle. Ian didn't mind being alone...sometimes.

Just then Ian, heard a thump. He looked to his side and saw Cedar Wood walking away from a notebook. Ian walked over to the notebook and saw Cedar's name writen on the cover. He picked up the notebook and called out to Cedar. "Hey, Cedar!"

Cedar turned. But when she saw Ian, an alarmed look came upon her face and she dashed off!

"What the hex?" Confused, but undeterred, Ian took off after the living puppet. "Cedar! Wait!"

But Cedar wasn't stopping. She kept running and running until she tripped over her own feet and stumbled down a flight of stairs. Ian panicked as Cedar fell, her body twisting as she banged her head on every step. Despite her falls making pleasant clattering sounds, Ian feared the absolute worst. When Cedar finally arrived at the bottom of the stairs, Ian rushed down the steps to help the fallen wooden girl. "CEDAR! Are you okay?!"

To Ian's shock, Cedar simply got up with no signs of harmful distress. "Yeah, I'm okay." she answered.

"What?! What are you taking about?! You just fell down those stairs! You could be seriously hurt!" Ian protested.

Cedar shook her head. "I don't get hurt, Ian. I'm made of wood. So, I don't feel pain."

Ian blinked. "Oh..."

Cedar looked at Ian in a thoughtful way. "Were you...really worried about me?"

"Well, yeah! You fell down those stairs like a ragdoll! I thought you twisted something!" Ian sighed. "Anyway, why were you running away from me like that? I was only trying to give you back your notebook!" He handed Cedar said notebook.

Cedar's eyes nervously darted around, but her truth curse forced her to blurt out her reason. "Because I was afraid that you would use my curse against me to find out all my deepest, darkest secrets!"

"What?" Ian shook his head. "Cedar, I would never do that."

"Y-You wouldn't? But-"

Ian pointed a finger at Cedar. "Look, just because I'm labled as a villain and a pathological liar, doesn't mean I'm a jerk. I mean, yeah, I don't care for most people, but at least I'm honest about it. I just avoid them. I don't have to prove my point by poisoning or cursing people or come up with evil plans to take over the world. So, you've got nothing to fear from me. Okay?"

"Uh, okay." Cedar was not expecting that at all. "I'm sorry I thought you were, you know, bad and stuff."

"It's cool. Happens all the time." Ian shrugged it off.

Trixie growled softly as she rubbed against Cedar's wooden leg. This surprised Ian. "Huh. Trixie really likes you."

Cedar smiled. "Really?" She petted the woodland creature.

Just then, a princess approached them. She had long wavy, dark-brown hair, dark skin, red lips, and vibrant blue eyes. She wore a long-sleeved golden-yellow dress, silver shoes and a silver tiara. However, she didn't have a blinding smile to match her wardrobe. It was Justine Dancer, daughter of the twelveth dancing princess. "Hey, Cedar." Justine groaned out. "I'm doing this play and I need a good painter to do the scenery."

"Sure, I can help, Justine. But...you don't seem hexcited about this play." Cedar pointed out. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, Headmaster Grimm wants me do to a play about the story of Snow White and he wants me to cast Apple as Snow White and Raven as the Evil Queen! And if I want to keep my grades up, I have to do it!"

"WHAT?!" Ian and Cedar shouted together.