Chapter Text
The steady hums and chirps from woodland creatures that lurk in the pixie’s den reach Raven’s ears. She couldn’t see them, but their soft chirps and coos make her feel something akin to being genial, despite the steady rays of sunlight beaming down on her. As the rough brush of her hand connected with another log, the metals on her armor jingled with the strain. Raven let out a huff, as she placed the log on top of the others she’d already claimed. Even though Ashlynn and Lizzie were excellent designers, their armor did come with some difficulties, since it was made for dragon riding, not running away to trek through the forest, hinging on wild berries and fruits for survival, while also being a burden to Darling’s pixie.. Friends? The thought still confused Raven, Darling didn’t seem like the type to go frolicking around in the forest, that seemed like something Ashlynn would do.
Raven licked her lips as she hosted a particularly large log onto the pile. Although, she knew better than to judge someone by appearances. Clearly, a majority of the population in Ever After didn’t , which is what seemed to have gotten them in this whole situation in the first place. Even after all that they’d gone through, it wasn’t even the end of the school year yet–her peers still took things at face value. Sure, that would’ve been acceptable at the beginning of the year, where she ripped out her page in the Storybook of Legends and (accidently) started the Rebel political movement, which wasn’t even what she wanted to do in the first place!
Those months were pure hell , the bullying got ten times worse, before she was only talked about in fear, because she was meant to become the Evil Queen. Since uncertainty had plagued the air, after the aftermath of Legacy Day, apparently most of her peers had decided Raven would be the subject of her ridicule now, since she obviously thought she was better than all of them, and a coward, for not subjecting herself to the control of destiny. During Thronecoming, it was at least bearable–the Storybook of Legends was a fake, and the backlash was moved to Headmaster Grimm, since he was being so deceitful and irresponsible with their lives, with their legacy! Raven had gotten more respect, since some had concluded that she ‘wasn’t entirely to blame’, she was just misguided.
That wasn’t really the point she was trying to make, but at least it was something.
When she had gained the full power of her magic, she had finally begun to integrate herself into the daunting social hierarchy of Ever After, she was using her magic for good! And it was actually working , it didn’t backfire at all, despite the fact that it also helped others, Raven just felt more.. free, it felt great that people were seeing her true self, instead of just seeing the haunting shadow of something that she wouldn’t become in the future.
Then her mother broke out, and ruined everything.
It was like everyone had suddenly forgotten all the evil–no pun intended–and horrible atrocities that she committed! They had welcomed her in with open arms–giving her a pardon, practically showing her more acceptance and excitement that Raven had gotten, like ever.
This fact was immediately proven when many people claimed that she’d ‘burned the school down!’ Which wasn’t even true at all, Nevermore.. had just gotten some really, strange, spontaneous, dragon hiccups! It wasn’t her fault that she had allergies, and couldn’t help that she was basically a walking–flying, fire hazard when they did come into play. Just like that, Raven was back to Square One, being treated like she was inferior.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the firestarter !” Some random cotton-candy haired girl snarked. Raven had seen her around school before, and she was probably one of the many people in the Royal crowd.
“Just like her mother!” The girl next to her added on, she had brown hair, Raven clued her in as one of the many customers that often came to the Mad Hatter’s tea shop, which, wow. If you were going to hate someone, at least don’t go to their best friend’s tea shop.
They–no, the whole school had turned on her, just like that, in the blink of an eye. Like she didn’t have to work ten times as hard as a regular person would, just to earn a minuscule amount of respect. Maybe if she’d just given in, just accepted that she was meant to be the Evil Queen, let destiny unfold, then none of this wouldn’t have happened. They wouldn’t be hiding in the forest with pixies. Her mother wouldn’t be freed and wreak havoc on Ever After. Apple wouldn’t have–
Apple.
Somehow, it was always Apple.
Apple, who was always kind and friendly to everyone, even Raven, her supposed fairytale villian.
Apple, who wanted Raven to be the Evil Queen, but came to understand her opinion on the matter.
Apple, who always made Raven soup during the winter times, because she wouldn’t allow her roommate to get sick.
Apple, who freed her mother, and practically begged Raven for forgiveness, tears in her eyes as Raven walked away and left her in the stables–
We were supposed to be friends, forever after.
A strange feeling crawled up into Raven’s stomach, she squashed it down, moving to collect more logs for the fire. A large cloud of harsh, violet flames erupted from the logs she was going to gather, making Raven draw her hand back and let out a hiss of pain.
Hexcellent. I can’t even think to myself without something setting on fire. Even my own magic hates me. Raven thought to herself, as she looked at the small burn on her hand.
“Oh, here. I can help with that.” A clear, honeyed voice sounded from behind her. It was Darling, she emerged from the clearing, holding leaves, placing them on the burning logs, before scooping up a sizable amount of dirt, placing it on the logs before stamping it out with her heels–boots–wedges?
“Thanks.” Raven mumbled, before walking over to start carrying the logs that weren't burnt to ash.
“I think the pixies can tend to your burn.” Darling said, smiling softly, assisting Raven in carrying the logs, she was definitely carrying a lot more than Raven, anyway. Probably because of the whole White Knight thing. “They have magic.”
The two started walking in silence. Atleast Raven thought it was going to be silent, because she really didn’t feel like talking right now. There was nothing, but the sound of the logs the two carried thumping constantly against their armor.
Until Darling spoke up.
“..So,” Darling said, tentatively, eyeing Raven as if she had just lost a family member. “How are you feeling about.. Well, everything?”
That was a lot. Raven wished she had one of her purple sweaters with her, she could curl up in it and pretend like none of this was happening, unfortunately, packing bags was limited when you were running from a crazed, magic wielding mother.
“I..” Raven paused, pressing her lips together in a thin line. “I don’t know. I feel like it’s mostly my fault.”
“What?” Darling said, that was the most disbelief that Raven had ever heard in her voice. “How is your mother being evil– no offense.”
“None taken.”
“How is her being evil your fault? It’s not like you encouraged it.”
“It’s just.” Raven had stopped walking now, Darling paused, turning as her lips had fixed themselves into a frown, and her brows furrowed.
“If I’d just decided not to be selfish, and follow my destiny, none of this would’ve happened. I just.. didn’t want to play my part.” Raven chuckled, there was no real humor in it, her voice became croaky.
“Now look what happened, I dragged five of my friends out to a forest. And we don't know when–or even if we’ll get the chance to go back to Ever After High.”
There was a soft clatter, Raven peeked over to the left side of her logs. Darling had set her pile of logs down and was walking over to Raven with a determined look–as if she was going to slay a dragon. Darling took the logs from Raven and sat them down in the grass, before grasping Raven’s shoulders.
“Raven. You’re not selfish.” Darling smiled. “Far from it, actually. You started a whole Rebel political movement–”
“But I didn’t mean to.”
“It doesn’t matter what you meant to do, what matters is that you inspired others. You inspired Ashlynn and Hunter. You inspired Briar. And you inspired me .” Darling had a hard, steely look in her eyes.
“All my life, I was taught that I would be destined for a life of waiting. That’s all, I had to wait for a prince to come and save me, because that’s what a Charming princess is supposed to do. I had accepted it until Legacy Day, until you happened. You didn’t look afraid at all, you looked strong, and regal, like a Queen. That’s when I knew that I couldn’t sit idly by, waiting for a future I didn’t want to happen. I’d had to carve my own ending.”
Darling frowns, reaching in her bag and pulling out a tissue to wipe the tears streaming down Raven’s face.
Nevermind, apparently packing wasn’t as limited as Raven thought.
“So, I don’t want to ever hear you say that you’re selfish. You’re so much more than that.”
There is an awkward silence, which is reasonable. Raven doesn’t know exactly what to do after someone tells her that she’s basically a saint. Is there a handbook for that? So she settles for doing the thing she’s good at, distracting herself. She wipes away the tears with the tissue Darling gave her, even though they’ll probably seep into her face, and make small little dry patches later, before picking up the logs and staring at Darling.
“Thank you.” She clears her throat, because Raven’s not going to embarrass herself by crying infront of one of the strongest people she knows. “For, uh, saying that.”
Darling smiles again, but it’s brighter than any of her previous ones.
“No problem. I never pass up the opportunity to help out a friend.”
The two pick up their logs and head back to the main clearing.
The night dawns quickly, clashes of blues and indigos paint the sky, as the pixies chitter and chatter. Ashlynn, Darling, Holly, Maddie, and Poppy are sitting by the campfire, while Maddie, always the optimist, is telling grand stories about a Jabberwock. Raven listens intently while sorting wood into a pile, partially because Maddie is a really good storyteller, and it’ll distract her from. Thinking.
She doesn’t feel like doing that right now.
She continues sorting the wood, her burn from the mishap fading into obscurity. Sometimes, Raven wishes she had pixie magic.
“And then the narrator said, ‘Oh no! I’m spicy buttered noodles! I’m Lobster Sauce!’” Maddie giggled. “It wasn’t funny at the time, but the narrator sounded loopy!”
Was Maddie telling that story about the..jabberwock that apparently came into Ever After? And when she was a crow, and Apple was a literal apple? Raven was pretty sure she’d remember that, but who knows, maybe that was in another realm of possibilities.
The group erupted into a bunch of giggles, and Raven let out a laugh as well. She moved towards the campfire–
“Raven!”
Raven freezes, her arms tightening around the logs.
Apple .
What–what is she supposed to feel? Shocked? How did she even find the grove in the first place? Wasn’t it supposed to be a secret ? As Apple climbed down the make-shift rock stairs, there doesn’t seem to be a thing on her, it almost made Raven want to laugh, no blemishes on her skin, no scratches on her arms.
Even when trekking through the forest alone, Apple still managed to adhere to her perfect princess standards, always looking impeccable.
For Grimm’s sake.
Apple gets closer, to a point where Raven can see her bright blue eyes, from the flickering of the fire. She almost looks hesitant.
Good. A voice whispers. She should be. After everything she’s done to you.
Turning away from Apple, and towards the group, Raven drops the logs harshly with a clatter, glaring at nobody in particular.
“I thought you said this place was supposed to be a secret ?” Raven snarled, directing the question at Darling, who glanced around at the others, before shrugging.
Oh great–
“Raven.” Apple repeats, as she gets closer.
“Apple.” Raven says, still not facing her and crossing her arms.
“I’m sorry–I was selfish.”
What?
“Go on.” Raven says, still not turning around. Maybe she was lying, maybe she was just going to say she was selfish, and turn it on Raven in some sick, horrible, twisted way, saying that she freed her mother all because Raven didn’t want to follow her destiny.
Because that's what Apple always did, right?
“Your mom hasn’t changed.” Apple swallows, her voice cracks slightly, sounding as if she’s about to cry.
Raven’s breath hitches slightly.
Apple never cried, except on Legacy Day.
“I had.” Apple continues, her voice sounding more decisive. “And now I want to change for the better, for good. I know I can’t turn back the pages, but I believe, I believe we can all have our happily-ever-afters. But not until we stop your mom.”
Raven is fully turned around, staring at Apple. Apple had always been beautiful, she’d always woken up at five AM, (which in Raven’s opinion, was way too early, and inhumane for someone to wake up that early), and busy herself with working on her appearance. One time when Raven was particularly restless, and woken herself up to go listen to Tailor Quick until she fell asleep, Apple was doing her makeup at her vanity. Raven had never really found the time to do her makeup, she liked wearing it, but never wore it much. It wasn’t a necessity like it seemed to be for Apple.
Apple had hummed to herself, which was a vast improvement from her singing, as she applied her signature red lipstick. The sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating her pale skin, as she squinted slightly whenever the sun made its way in her line of sight. Raven flushed slightly. She’s just doing her makeup, it’s not a big deal . Raven had sat on her bed, waited until Apple had left with her bright, radiant smile. Then she grabbed a lavender pillow, and promptly screamed into it.
She had a crush on Apple, her roommate , her friend.
She was an idiot. Raven knew that Apple would never like her that way. Raven was still figuring herself out–she had gone on a date with Dexter, even though it turned out to be a complete disaster. After the supposed ‘date’ at the theater, seeing people kissing, looking at their significant other with hearts in their eyes–Cupid would’ve doubled over at the sight. The date .. didn’t really feel like a date, it just felt like two friends hanging out. She reached out to Dexter, and said that she felt they were better off as friends.
Surprisingly, he agreed! And even though the date didn’t go as planned, it was nice to hang out with someone who actually understood her.
Even in this moment, as the fire illuminated her face, which looked so sincere. Raven wanted to reach out to Apple and wipe the tears that were streaming down her face, she didn’t want her to cry.
Even when they were hiding in a forest, running from their lives, unsure of what their future would bring. She was finally being herself, not the perfect, prim, proper Snow White that she’d always pushed herself to be. She was here, and she was with Raven. That was all that mattered.
Apple was okay.
Raven took Apple’s hands in hers, Apple’s eyes widened and she left out a soft gasp.
“And we will, my friend.” Raven ignored the voice that was screaming, liar liar , in her head at ‘friend’, but she was not going to address that right now. Ignorance is bliss, and Raven wasn’t against being ignorant towards the fact that she had a major crush on Apple.
Raven’s breath hitched when Apple looked at their hands, silently running her fingertips along Raven’s knuckles, then let out a soft giggle.
“ Awwww. ” Darling, Holly, Maddie, and Poppy chorused from behind the two. Raven’s almost choked, turning to playfully glare at the group. You don’t just–do things like that, it wasn’t like a sappy romance novel!
The two went to go sit by the fire, Apple was still holding and caressing Raven’s hand. Raven didn’t say anything, even if her heart did feel like it was beating abnormally fast. One of the pixies–Featherly, if she remembered correctly, chatted something to Ashlynn, while carrying a basket of fruits.
“Why, thank you Featherly!” Ashlynn smiled at the pixie, taking a pear and an orange, handing the orange to Maddie who hastily bit into it with rapid hunger. “The pixies say that if we plan to face the Evil Queen, we’ll need to nourish ourselves.”
Apple frowned, relinquishing her hand from Raven’s as she began to do a recap of the situation.
“This is going to be fairy, fairy dangerous. The evil queen has turned half our friends, and all the staff into creatures! The place is like, a mile high off the ground, and surrounded by dark dragons!”
“Is Dexter okay? What about everyone else?” Raven interjected. The idea that her peers were floating in the sky, trapped by the very walls that they called home during the school year, made Raven feel very nauseous. As if she was six again, watching her mother turn her puppy into a bone-rat.
“I don’t know.” Apple said solemnly. “I didn’t really go out of my room much, during the whole ordeal. It was just.. A lot.”
“Oh.” A pit formed in Raven’s stomach.
Featherly had come over with the basket of fruits, standing between Raven and Apple with a gentle smile. Apple had reached out for the apple, scrunched her nose, hesitated, then grabbed the peach instead.
“What’s up with that?” Raven teased, nudging Apple with a raised eyebrow.
“I think I’ve had enough apples for today.”
“Suit yourself.” Raven shrugged, reaching for the apple. Apple stared at her for a moment, before bursting out into frantic giggles.
“..Why are you laughing?” Raven asked, still holding the apple in her hand.
“It’s just–” Apple gasped, wiping away a stray tear from her eye. “I’ve been focusing on the wrong things. I’ve been so focused on destiny, when I should’ve just been focused on my life, my friends.” She paused. “And you.”
At that moment, Ashlynn decides to look at Raven, who stares back, then stops, her eyes focused on the apple.
She doesn’t miss the slight upturn of Ashlynn’s lips.
Well. Wow. Okay. That’s. Raven was not going to look into the implications of that . Apple probably meant that she should’ve been focusing on developing her and Raven’s friendship, and not ushering her to become the Evil Queen! Yeah, that’s totally what she meant. No romantic feelings there, whatsoever. Raven’s not going to think about that, she laughed nervously, biting into the apple.
Abrupt, pure adulterated terror courses through her, when her teeth meet the apple, it’s cold, mushy, rotten , Raven isn’t an apple expert (atleast not in the fruit department), but she’s pretty sure that apples that look bright red, shiny, aren’t supposed to–
Mother.
Raven chokes, she feels something dark, malevolent, swirling in her eyes, encompassing her whole being as the apple travels down her throat and into her stomach. She slowly looks down, a muted cry escaping her when the apple turns black, black as ash. Raven coughs, standing as she reaches her throat–
She can’t–
She can’t breath–
Her throat is closing up–
“Raven..?”
“Are you okay..?”
“What’s–”
The world starts to blur, her vision becoming a blur of purples, oranges, and panicked looking figures. She feels her body starts to fall, like she isn’t in control anymore. Raven lands in the grass, not even being able to cry in pain from the impact, a small thud falling next to her.
Oh, probably the poisoned apple. Raven manages to think through the haze.
She doesn’t know what’s happening, can only see the world through distant shapes, as the realization hits her, slow and steady like the poison that’s in her veins.
Raven is falling.
Raven is dying.
Raven is–
“ Raven! ”
Holly O’Hair is a writer, well–a fledgling writer, she’s not like an actual author yet. So when Darling came up to her, knocking rapidly on her dorm room, and out of breath, telling her that Raven Queen was planning to run away into the Enchanted Forest–she was ecstatic . It sounded like a fairytale in the making, Raven Queen, once again defying the social norms and her mother!? She didn’t know Raven very well, but genuinely felt bad for her. Even though they may be on opposite sides of the whole Royal/Rebel debate, nobody deserved to be treated horribly, and ostracized.
So, when Raven suddenly collapsed, Holly felt extremely out of her depth. Of course, she thought this was going to be a troublesome adventure, they were literally going to face down the Evil Queen, but she didn’t expect anyone to get–
“Poisoned!” Apple shrieked, holding the apple and glaring at it, before throwing it aside, moving to lay Raven’s limp body on her lap. Madeline was sitting besides her, her feverish and buzzing personality gone, replaced with a solemn look as she stared at Raven.
“You–You better check if she’s breathing.” Darling whispered, she was behind Holly, observing the scene over her shoulder.
Apple pressed her head to Raven’s chest, then pulled back, a flicker of relief crossing her face.
“She’s breathing. I think she’s just in an enchanted sleep. I don’t know how this could happen!”
“..If it makes you feel better, it was supposed to be you , so I guess we’re both disappointed.” A raspy voice called out from behind the group. Faybelle Thorn was emerging from a bush–her wings fluttering as she approached the group warily, her feet scraping the grass.
“Faybelle? What are you–”
Unfortunately, Ashlynn didn’t get to finish her sentence, because in a state of fury, Darling had grabbed Faybelle by her shoulders and pushed her against a tree.
“What the fuck–” Faybelle snarled, thrashing in Darling’s seriously strong grip.
“Darling!”
“What did you do?” Darling started to hiss–but her voice was drowned out by a chorus of roaring that sounded suspiciously familiar to Holly’s dragon, Prince of Scales. The group turned around, Darling loosening her grip on Faybelle’s shoulders, the fairy rubbing them with a grunt, her normally pale blue skin blossoming into a mix of purple, red-ish hue where Darling had practically implanted her fingernails into the girl. The leaves above the clearing erupted in a bout of purple flames, as dragons–wait, dragons?
The (evil?) dragons soared towards the group side by side, one of them veering off course to where Apple and Maddie were hovering over Raven, diving towards them with a harsh roar. Apple let out a shriek, both her and Madeline each grabbing Raven's arm to hoist her, and run away from the crackling flames. The two other dragons were in a frenzy, shooting fire towards the trees, the pixie’s home, the smaller creatures squeaking and shrieking, and a streak of fire was even made its way towards Holly–
Holly was roughly grabbed by her shoulder, and pulled behind a tree, she breathed heavily, grasping at her stomach, looking at Darling, who's hand was still on her shoulder. With them were Faybelle and Ashlynn. On the other side of the clearing, behind two fallen trees, Holly could make out the hazy shapes of Apple, Madeline, who were holding Raven, and Poppy, through the smoke. The dragon was clawing through the trees with great fervor, the wood splintering from the brutishness of the strikes. The two dragons who were following Holly, Darling, Faybelle, and Ashlynn, had flown around the tree, and were circling the four.
“Can’t you talk to them? Or something? Work your woodland magic, Ella!” Faybelle snapped, her hands lighting up with blueish, dark, frantic, uncontrolled magic as she glared at the dragons.
“They’re dark dragons, Faybelle! I can’t get through to them.” Ashlynn replied, her eyes frantically darting around, landing on Apple, Madeline, and Poppy were .
Darling was searching desperately through her bag, then pulled out a sword–(which Holly silently thanked the Charmings for their amount of magical bags that could store an unreasonable amount of items), then looked between the three girls.
“We’ll have to fight.” Darling said, straightening her stance.
Wait. We?
“Hold on a minute–” Holly tries to interject, she doesn’t know how to fight! Unlike Darling, she isn’t used to the practice of sneaking out in the dead of night, sneaking around with a sword, forming calluses on her hands, her arms painted with muscles that aren’t considered appropriate for a princess, but Darling makes it seem natural.
“Faybelle, Ashlynn. You two deal with these dragons.” Darling commanded, which the two responded with a nod. Darling turned to Holly. “Holly, you and I will save the others.”
Save . Holly is supposed to be saved, she’s supposed to be locked in a tower, idling the hours, years away, by knitting, painting, writing. Pouring her soul into each of these hobbies before the moment finally comes , where she’s freed from her isolation, by her blind prince.
Holly is used to waiting, not saving.
Before she has the chance to convey these sentiments, that she really wouldn’t like to charge into the fiery jaws of dragons, and would very much like to stay alive, Darling charges, so do Faybelle and Ashlynn.
Holly stands there for a moment, before slumping in resignation, and runs haphazardly after Darling.
The dragon had finally clawed through the tree, advancing on the four girls. Poppy and Apple were scrambling backwards, Raven slowing down their otherwise hasty escape as she was carried by both girls. Madeline, following close behind them, suddenly paused, reaching in her pockets and suddenly brought out a scalding cup of tea, hurling it at the dragon with all her might. The dragon paused, the tea going up its snout, it let out a chorus of pitiful whines, then flared, letting out a harsh roar, its eyes narrowing as it snarled.
“Oh.” Madeline said absently, before resuming to run.
Darling ran behind the dragon, with Holly light, but clumsily, on her heels. Darling raises her sword, gripping it tightly with both hands, and slices the underbelly of the dragon. The dragon shrieks, turning from the four, and sets its gaze on Darling, the bloodshine on her blade shimmering in the moonshine, and unfortunately Holly. The dragon screeched, a stream of fire emitting from its mouth, Darling dodged, rolling to the left, while Holly copied her movements, landing on the right, with much more uneasiness, feeling a part of her hair being singed from the fire.
Darling, glared at the dragon, and charged straight forward, her blade swiping up and down, blocking the balls of fire, her body seemed to be almost moving in a graceful dance, like she’s battled a dragon numerous times before, dropping low and ducking once again, her silvery blue hair waving in with the action, as she attempts to once more, plunge the sword into the dragon’s underbelly for the killing blow.
The dragon sees this coming, and backpedals, diving straight towards Darling’s hands–Darling’s eyes widen in surprise, as she narrowly dodges the dragon’s attack, but–her sword falls to the ground, clattering away from her, and right in front of Holly.
Holly stands there, looking at the sword. She doesn’t know what to do–but the dragon is advancing towards Darling, who is breathing heavily, crawling backwards in the grass–
Holly undoes her hair, her fingers trembling, moving faster like they’ve never had before. Her hair is free from the braid, falling around her into long strands of ginger, she grasps the ends of it with both strands, and runs toward the dragon and Darling.
“Hey!” She yells at the dragon, “Over here!” Both the dragon and Darling’s gaze lock onto her.
“Holly, no–” Darling’s voice is cut off by the dragon’s consuming snarl, as it lunges towards Holly.
Holly grips the hair tightly, and throws it towards the dragon’s neck, her hair wraps around it, making the dragon come to a stop as it careens, its breath getting caught in its throat. She grips the hair tighter, tugging it, backing up, gritting her teeth roughly with the weight between the hair, and the monstrous beast that’s fighting back–pressing against her. Then, the struggling stops, Holly’s eyes waver down. Darling had plunged her sword into the dragon. It let out a shattering roar, convulsed, then fell to the ground with a large thud, taking a part of Holly’s hair under its body.
Darling walks towards her, her sword swaying at her side, arms glistening with sweat, she looks almost as tired as Holly feels, but still manages to look so effortlessly perfect.
“Are you alright?” Darling asks.
“Yes.” No. No, she’s not. She had to choke a dragon, with her hair.
Darling nods slowly, her hand landing on Holly’s hand, as she looks at her, inching closer to her face with every step.
Suddenly, Holly starts to feel very hot.
Darling’s blade cut through Holly’s hair, leaving her with a mid-length style.
“The rest of your hair was–with the dragon. It would hurt, erm, trying to drag it out.”
Holly lets out an awkward, way too high pitched laugh for her liking. Have Darling’s eyes always sparkled like that?
The sound of Faybelle cursing snaps both of them back to the moment, their eyes darting back to the sound. It seems like Faybelle and Ashlynn handled their dragons pretty well, Faybelle looked worse for wear, her normally abstract eye makeup was smeared around the edges, giving her the look as if she’d gone through a really bad break up. She was floating above the–the charred remains of a dragon, its bones reduced to grey and ash, the remnants of crazed, frenzied, fae magic lingering around it. Ashlynn was petting her respective dragon, where the evil one she had been battling appeared to be unconscious.
Apple and Madeline emerged from the rubble, holding Raven gently, Poppy following behind them. Holly felt relief course through her. She was okay. She raced towards Poppy, who let out a soft laugh as Holly crashed into her, wrapping her in a tight hug.
“..You smell like smoke.” Poppy whispered, her voice cracking slightly.
Holly couldn’t do anything but let out a laugh.
“ What exactly are you doing here ?” Apple snapped at Faybelle. Holly drew back from Poppy, but still held onto her sister.
“I was here to poison you, little Miss Goody–Goody. Or, wait. That name doesn’t quite fit you.” Faybelle sneered. “But Raven grabbed the apple instead of you.”
There was a tense silence, stretching through the forest. More pixies started to emerge from the trees, looking expectantly at Faybelle, who scoffed.
“Look–it wasn’t my idea! It was The Evil Queen–”
“Well, what are you going to tell her now!? What are you going to do now that you’ve poisoned her own daughter?” Apple said, her face getting even more pale with every word she spoke.
“I-I.. I don’t know! Alright?” Faybelle yelled, her eyes glimmering blue, Apple stumbling back a bit.
“She just wanted to jumpstart your story, get you out of the way. I.. I thought that if I did what she said, she would’ve, I don’t know , actually liked me. But she–” Faybelle drew in a sharp breath. “She doesn’t, she didn’t, she never will. And now–” Faybelle’s voice started to crack, her eyes watering as she swallowed roughly. “She’s gonna fucking kill me because I practically killed her daughter, and there’s no way to stop her, because she destroyed the booking glass–”
Darling stiffened before putting her sword back in her bag, and getting out a mirror, glancing at it before looking back at Faybelle.
“And I don’t know what to do–”
“You could come with us.” Madeline spoke up.
Faybelle stared at her.
“What?”
“You could come with us.” Madeline repeated. “I may hold a certain grudge towards you, but I do know Raven, and I know that she would want to give you a second chance.”
“Yeah, besides. You owe it to us, to our friends. For getting them into this mess.” Darling said. “You have an obligation to help us free them, free Dexter, free Daring–”
“Daring Charming, freed.” A feminine mechanical voice sounded from the mirror, in a flash of purple light, Daring erupted from the mirror, blinking rapidly, turning to Darling, staring at her, before engulfing her in a hug, sobbing into her shoulder.
“Daring?” Ashlynn said, wide-eyed. “You’ve been in.. in the mirror?”
Darling gripped Daring so tightly, it was as if she was afraid he’d disappear if she’d let him go.
“That’s it.” Apple said slowly in realization. “That’s it! That’s how we can capture Raven’s mother.”
“..But how?” Poppy supplied, her voice sounding from beside Holly. “There’s no way she’ll let any of us get close to her.”
“I’ll do it.” Faybelle said. “She.. maybe she still trusts me. I can take that dragon back.” She gestured towards the unconscious dark dragon. “And then, I’ll just tell her that I poisoned Apple, then trap her in the looking glass.”
“..You do realize you’re making this sound a lot easier than it is, right?” Ashlynn asked weakly.
Faybelle turned to Ashlynn, grinning, showcasing all of her sharp teeth.
“That’s my speciality.”
..Holly did not have a lot of faith in this plan just from those words.