Darling Charming squints against the harsh sunlight. She feels the warm breeze on her skin and watches the grass sway with the shadows of the trees as she collects her thoughts. She doesn't remember going outside. In fact, the last thing she remembers is preparing for her midterm hexams. Oh. She had just entered her storybook.
She takes a cursory glance around. The forest setting is pretty, but it doesn't provide much help in figuring out what story she tumbled into. A lot of fairytales involve a forest. She could just as easily be in the role of Snow White as she could Goldilocks. She knows which one she would prefer. She stops that thought before it can go too far.
Think, Darling. How can you figure this out?
She isn't in a dark and spooky forest. Nothing about it seems particularly enchanting, either. As she looks around, Darling doesn't notice anything that sticks out at her. She walks a little circle, but the forest was just the same plants and trees and the same shades of green everywhere. She sighs and slumps against a tree, though she knows it is bad for her posture. Her eyes slip closed and that is when she is struck with an idea. Perhaps the forest isn't fairy important at all.
She has to bring a hand up to shield her eyes as she looks up, trying to see past the forest. Through the tops of the trees, Darling spots a tower. Those tended to be important, or hold something important, at least. Why else make a tower in the first place? Perhaps she was supposed to be in the tower, waiting for a prince to rescue her. Darling can't stop herself from frowning. She tries to smooth out her face quickly, though. Frown lines are unbecoming for princesses. She pushes herself off of the ground and heads toward it. It'll be better to get this over with quickly.
Her short walk is uneventful. Secretly, she had been wishing for a dragon to swoop down from the sky and carry her away. At least that would be more entertaining. But, there's no use in wishing. She circles the tower's base. There are no doors, which isn't that surprising of a feature. If there was a door, a distressed damsel could walk down and save herself.
She goes around again, stopping when she spots a window at the top of the tower. She smiles to herself. It's not her fault the story dropped her in the wrong spot, and she has to get into the tower somehow, right? The only way up is up.
There are no ivy vines, ropes, nor jutting bricks or other such fixtures to aid her. In fact, the smoothness of the wall was fairy impressive. Darling scowls at it. She takes a minute to breathe and smooth out her forehead. The tower can't be impossible to climb if she is meant to be up there. She just needs to stay calm and look for something to aid her. She pats down her pockets, not expecting to find anything helpful. She looks down in shock.
She's not wearing any of her dresses, but rather her silver workout gear. And her feet lack the typical high heels. Instead, she is wearing boots, hiking boots, that she has never seen before. Is she not the princess of this story?
Could she be...the hero?
She finds daggers fastened to her legs. She takes a minute to process the information and calm down the giddy feeling it brings. She's been walking around with daggers, her own daggers. The daggers aren't ideal, but she thinks she could climb up using them. She stabs one into the grout and hoists herself up with a smile. This is going to be fun.
Halfway up and Darling can feel the burn in her muscles. A tower of this height is usually a breeze for her to scale, but having to pull the daggers out of the wall and slam them back in is taking its toll. As she gets closer to the top, she hears a sound coming from the tower.
Someone is crying. There is already a damsel in this tower in need of rescuing. With renewed strength, Darling pushes onward. She makes it to the top of the tower. She grabs the ledge of the window and pulls herself up, flying into the room gracelessly.
It occurs to Darling, then, that she does not know who was crying. She curses her need to be a hero. What if she was in the presence of a Royal? What if her secret wasn't so secret anymore? All because she'd heard crying and lost all of her senses. That was her brother Daring's thing, except that he was actually good at this!
Her landing is surprisingly soft, the thud of her body hitting the ground muffled by whatever she had landed on. Darling slowly picks herself up and sits. All she sees when she opens her eyes is purple and black and white.
"Darling? Where did you come from? And what in Ever After are you wearing?"
Darling knows that voice. She doesn't know who it is at the moment. Hexes, her head's landing may not have been quite as soft as she thought.
"Darling? Did you just fall into the story?"
"I came in through the window." The words are flying out of her mouth before she can stop them.
"What?" the familiarly unfamiliar voice asks, high and panicky. Darling looks up, and it's Duchess. She looks enchanting.
The makeup on her face accentuates her features and her skin glows. Her eyes, a purple so deep they're nearly brown, shine. Her lips look soft, plump, kissable. She is every bit the princess that Darling could never be. And Darling wants to jump out of that window with her right now. And Darling can never admit to that out loud.
"I came in through the window. I just fell into the story and I," she peters off with a chuckle. "I did not stick the landing."
Duchess's concerned expression hardens. Her perfect makeup looks a little smudged around her eyes.
She sneers. "Ha, ha. Now get away from the window, I'm getting rescued first."
Darling stares at her. Duchess glares at her, gesturing for her to move. She stands up and trips over the purple and black and white. Everywhere she looks, that is all she sees. She wonders for a second what it could be when it hits her.
Duchess's hair is purple and black and white.
She looks at Duchess. She looks at her hair, and it doesn't end where it usually does. It flows off of the bed. All of the purple and black and white around Darling is Duchess's hair.
"Why are there two princesses in this story anyway? Did the storybook mess up or something? There's only supposed to be-"
Darling cuts her off accidentally, so caught up in her revelation she didn't notice. "You're Rapunzel."
"Gee, thanks. I hadn't noticed." Duchess spits the words out. "Now leave me alone."
Shame creeps into Darling. Had hitting her head made her forget all of her etiquette training? It's no excuse for how she has acted since she made it into the tower. She opens her mouth to apologize, but Duchess turns away from her. She clearly doesn't want to continue the conversation.
Darling watches Duchess stare out the window, a wistful expression on her face. She realizes that Duchess is still waiting for her prince, a prince that didn't exist.
How am I supposed to save her and act like a princess, too?