Chapter Text
Darling sighed as she glanced out the door of her Princessology class, not paying attention to the endless high-pitched chirping of Mrs. Her Majesty, the White Queen (Darling felt the name was long and unnecessary, but who was she to speak against a Queen when she was only a princess?). Today marked the first day of “Parents Month,” a new event at Ever After High designed to allow parents to get more involved with their fairytale children while they were away at the boarding school. However, that didn’t fool Darling, or anyone for that matter. It was very obvious Headmaster Grimm believed that parents being at the school would stop the “rebels” that had refused to sign the Storybook of Legends, even though he had claimed that he finally accepted students not wanting to follow their destinies. All the parents would be arriving today at 5 o’clock, which meant Darling had only 2 more hours to mentally prepare herself for her parents.
“Miss Charming!” Mrs. Her Majesty, the White Queen said, snapping Darling out of her thoughts. Darling quickly sat straight up in her chair, becoming aware of how she was slouching. If her parents caught her doing anything that wasn’t deemed “princess-like,’ like slouching, the lectures that would follow would be endless.
“Sorry, Your Majesty. May you please repeat what you said?” Darling tried her best to look as polite as possible, but she couldn’t help rolling her eyes when the teacher’s back was turned. The constant formalities and expectations to be attentive and prim and proper all the time, especially in Mrs. Her Majesty, the White Queen’s presence, were exhausting and made Darling want to rip her hair out.
Mrs. Her Majesty, the White Queen huffed as the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. As the rest of the class began to file out of the room, the White Queen had to shout to be heard over the cacophony of noise. “Next time, you would do well to stay attentive during my class, Miss Charming. Especially with your parents coming. You’re lucky I wasn’t talking about something important.”
Darling nodded before dipping into a small curtsy. As she straightened, she grabbed her bag. “I’m sorry, my mind has just been somewhere else today. I won’t let it happen again.”
“You’ve said that the last three times I’ve called your lack of attention in my class, Miss Charming. I’m not sure what is on your mind lately, but you need to sort it out soon, before your parents arrive.” The White Queen shook her head with a sigh and dismissed Darling with a wave, and Darling slipped out of the room and up the stairs to the dorm rooms. She knew Her Majesty was right, but that didn’t mean she wanted to think about it right now. She’d worry about her zoning out problem and how to fix it when her parents were here.
She opened the door to her room, shared with Rosabella Beauty. She had been dating Darling’s brother, Daring, for a few months now, and she was absolutely ALL Daring would talk about. Darling was relieved that he now had something to talk about that wasn’t himself, and she was thankful for the ways Rosabella had changed her brother.
Rosabella was already sitting on her bed when Darling walked in, and she didn’t look up as Darling shut the door, like she usually does. Darling was quick to notice how Rosabella’s shoulders were rising up and down in quick, choppy motions.
“Rosa? Is something wrong?” Darling asked, gently sitting on the edge of the bed so as not to startle Rosabella. She simply shook her head and turned her body away from Darling, making it clear that she didn’t want to talk. “Just… Come to me whenever you’re ready, okay?”
A small nod from Rosabella sent Darling back to her side of the room, but as Darling sifted through the endless sea of dresses in her closet, she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something with Rosabella was really wrong. She twisted her head for a moment to see Rosabella digging through her trunk of dresses, and decided that if something were truly wrong, she would’ve been told by now. Rosabella doesn’t often keep secrets from Darling, or anyone, really. Whatever was bothering her must have not been a huge deal.
Darling pulled out a simple silver dress with a fitted bodice and wide skirt, and quickly changed. She slipped into a powdery blue leather jacket and pulled her hair into a half up, half down style. That would have to be enough “dressing-up” for her parents, she was far too exhausted to wear a heavy gown or so much makeup that she couldn’t feel her face. Not to mention, for the next month she wouldn’t be able to sneak out to the Enchanted Forest for her nightly runs, nor would she be able to mess around with Dexter’s knight-in-training armor like she’d been doing for awhile. She wasn’t even entirely sure how to explain to her parents that she wasn’t destined to be the little damsel in distress they thought she was either.
She wasn’t sure how to explain Apple to her parents, and she knew that would be the hardest thing to explain. Not only was she destined to be with Apple, but she genuinely loved and cared about her, and was looking forward to their future together, whether their destinies worked out as planned or not. How was she supposed to tell them all of that?
“Darling?” Rosabella’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and Darling cursed herself silently for getting lost in her thoughts for the second time that day. “I asked which dress you think would look best.” Darling tried to ignore how red Rosabella’s eyes were, and glanced over the two dresses she was holding up, a strappy fitted yellow dress, and a knee length strapless yellow dress.
“The fitted one. It’ll look amazing on you.” Darling’s phone chimed as she replied. “Oh, looks like my parents are here. I’ll see you at the parent’s ball tonight, Rosa.” With a wave, Darling walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. She set her shoulders back, stood up as straight as possible, and let herself simply glide, as her mother taught her to do so many years ago, through the hallway and down the stairs. She nearly lost her balance in the sea of parents and students chattering excitedly throughout the main hall, but she kept her chin up and continued moving to the door, not letting anything slow her down.
From this point forward, even one mistake could be crucial. She had to be absolutely perfect, for she knew even one misstep would be reported to her parents. They were second only to Snow White in terms of fame. Everyone wanted to be a Charming, and she knew that this next month would have her pelted with love proclamations and public displays of phony affection in an attempt to be able to marry into her family.
And at that moment, as if right on cue, Darling was stopped at the door of the school by a group of 5 boys. Behind them, she could see her parents' carriage, and her brothers helping the royal couple out.
“Oh, fairy godmother!” Darling muttered, as a boy shoved an envelope, messily sealed with a heart sticker, into her face.
“Darling, I love you! You must marry me!”
“With all respect, I’m not marrying anyone.” She replied, trying her best to keep her voice at a steady tone. “Not a single one of you, I’m sorry. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must meet my parents!” She gave the boys a small smile before gently pushing past them, gliding forward to her onlooking family.
“Ah, there you are! I was beginning to think you were choosing to be late!” Her mother exclaimed, pulling Darling into a gentle embrace, before placing her hands on Darling’s shoulders, and giving her cheeks a peck. “But of course, my beautiful girl was simply being held up by suitors.”
“Not a surprise. It should be time for you to find your destined prince anytime soon now, anyway.” Her father chimed in. Darling nearly physically cringed at his words, but she was able to keep her composure as she plastered a smile on her face. “Anyway! I heard the school was to be hosting a ball tonight! I am most excited to attend.”
Her mother nodded, and the two linked arms as they began their way into the school. Daring and Dexter both shot a glance at Darling, and Darling noticed then how off Daring looked. His eyes were red and puffy, and his hair didn’t have it’s usual Charming shine.
“Daring, are you oka-”
“Children! Are you not going to accompany us inside?” Her father’s booming voice cut her off, and Daring broke eye contact with Darling as they began walking, keeping his focus on the ground.
“Can I talk to you about something later, little sister?” He whispered.
“Of course,” Darling gave his shoulder a pat before picking up the pace to meet up with her parents. Dexter was already standing next to them as they spoke to some people in shining gold regalia, presumably some king and queen from a kingdom Darling couldn’t name. He gave her and Daring a quick glance, before all three Charming children’s attention was drawn to the tall figure on the top of the stairwell.
“Welcome, parents, to our first ever Parents' Month! We’re so hexcited to have you all here for the next month,” The school’s headmaster, Milton Grimm, boomed, extending his arm in a gesture at all the parents in the hall.
“We hope you’ll all join us tonight for the Parents’ Ball as well,” His shorter brother, Giles, added, appearing from behind Milton. The crowd of parents and students erupted into applause, though Darling wasn’t sure why. It isn’t like the ball was a big announcement. She clapped along to be polite, and was about to turn and begin walking to the quarters where the parents would be staying when Milton and Giles made their way over to her family.
“Ah, King and Queen Charming! And the ever lovely Charming children,” Milton began, stooping into a deep bow before straightening himself. Darling copied her mother and curtsied, even though it wasn’t necessary. Milton was a headmaster, not royalty, so bowing and curtsying to him wasn’t a requirement. Daring and Dexter adjusted their jackets after bowing, and as Darling reached over to fix Dexter’s tie that had gotten loose, her father directed his attention to them.
“You three shall go to our quarters. We have some private matters to discuss with Milt- er. Headmaster Grimm.” He instructed, leaving no room for argument. With that, her parents and Headmaster Grimm disappeared into his office, and Giles gave the three a knowing smile.
“Ah, I understand the annoyance of overly secretive parents. Do you all need a reminder of where the parents quarters will be, or will you all fare on your own?”
“We’ll be fine, Mr. Giles. Thank you,” Daring said, and Giles gave the trio a wave before leaving to talk to another set of parents across the hall. “So, I guess we don’t get to know about whatever they’re saying in there?”
“Speak for yourself.” Darling muttered, pressing her ear to the heavy oak door of Headmaster Grimm’s office. “You should head to their room, I’ll meet you down there in a minute.” Dexter opened his mouth to argue, but Daring just nodded, and pulled his brother along with him until they were unable to be seen in the sea of people. Darling ignored the feeling that was screaming “this is a bad idea” and tried her best to listen to her parents' hushed words over the cacophony of voices.
She wasn’t able to make out much, but what she was able to hear made her stomach churn.
Our castle staff have been disappearing. Their families don’t even know where they are. Weird things keep happening around the castle… A strange, faint, blue presence in the hallways.
And then their voices stopped. Darling was unable to jump back from the door in time as it opened, and the force knocked her to the ground.
“Eavesdropping, Miss Charming?” The sound of Headmaster Grimm’s voice seemed to command everyone in the hall to look at Darling, and her face flushed. Behind him, she could see her parents. Her father looked as though he’d just ate a lemon and a pepper at the same time, with how red and twisted his face was. Her mother only looked disappointed.
“If something is wrong at the-” She began.
“YOU will NOT speak about what you heard. Go to our quarters and stay there.” Her father hissed, pointing at the hallway. Darling scrambled to her feet and rushed down the hall, and she turned for only a second, watching as her parents’ eyes followed her. She could still feel her father's angry glare, even though she couldn’t make out his face from this distance. She didn’t hear the loud slam of the office door until she rounded the corner. Until they were sure she wouldn’t be coming back.