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Chapter Text

Daring Charming’s life had been decided for him since he was 5 years old.

He was to be the next King White, consort of the next Queen White, ruler of Ever After. It was a great honor, his parents told him. Of course, it also meant that he had to change everything he was.

As a child, he was too messy, too loud, too wild. His behavior was not befitting of the next King White. His hair was too light, his eyes were too pale, his smile too crooked. So he changed himself, he dyed his hair religiously, wore blue contacts, practiced his smile in the mirror. He was always perfect. He had to be.

That all changed the day Raven renounced her destiny.

At that moment, even among the horror dawning on the faces of his fellow royals, a tiny part of him was exhilarated. The chance for him to be free from this life danced in front of him. He knew it was wrong of course, especially since his destiny was far cushier than most of his fellow royals. Hell, all he had to do was be Apple’s husband. All he had to do was smile and wave next to her during important events. Sure, he may want to do more, but no one gets everything they want in life. Besides, he already signed the storybook of legends, there was no backing out of it now.

Daring ignored his stomach churning. A life of nothing but empty press conferences, political meetings where he had no say, and paperwork flashed before his eyes. He choked down the revulsion that rose in him. He was being ungrateful, It’ll be fine. It’ll all be fine.

Flash forward to now, and all was not fine. Daring was confirmed to not be the prince of Apple’s story, his relationship with Lizzie fell apart after he went on that stupid, stupid, date with Kitty, and he had no idea what to do with Rosabella, sure they were technically a fated couple, but after few subpar dates, they called it quits.

He went up to the mirror in his room, carefully looking at his reflection, a practice he had since he was 8 and Snow White discreetly pulled him aside during an event to scold him for having food stuck in his teeth. She had also apparently informed his father of this misdeed, who decided that the only way of correcting him was to put a match out on his face.

He wore makeup for days after that, and King Charming got him a state of the art scar vanishing cream. It was hexcellent of course, no one but him and his dad ever knew it existed. His fingers lingered on the place the scar should’ve been if it wasn’t removed.

For just a moment, he felt a pang of jealousy at Dexter, how he never had to act perfect. He felt ashamed at himself for thinking that, sure Dexter never had to be perfect, but he was neglected. Their father barely noticed his existence. And yet, there was still a persistent voice at the back of his head insisting that while Dexter would never have any attention on him, he was freer for it. Daring bit his lip, the jealousy surging through him once more. Free, something he would never be.

Unless, a thought sprung to the forefront of his mind, wild and unruly, his first thought was to cut it down before it did any damage to his perfect reputation. He cringed inwards, his reputation was already in tatters, his fangirl group had drastically reduced after it was discovered that he wasn’t Apple’s Prince Charming. He already knew most of the girls only hovered around him because of his popularity, but to see it confirmed crushed what little pride he had left.

He made up his mind, he was going to drop out of Ever After High. It had nothing more to offer him. The only reason he even attended the prestigious high school in the first place was because of his parents' insistence. “You will make strong connections with the other families there.” They said; He scoffed at the memory.

If anything, his relationship with the other story characters had worsened. Not to mention that his studies as the Royal Consort far outstripped anything taught at this elite boarding school. Before coming to Ever After High, he knew what was expected of him, and how to accomplish his goals, but now, every ideal he held dear was lost in a sea of uncertainty. But maybe, just maybe, this was the out he’d been desperately searching for in the deep recesses of his mind.

He could just take up a remote post in the United Charming Kingdom and eventually be forgotten. Sure, there will be a lot of questions asked about how the Charming golden child fell this far, but he could live with them. He could not, however, continue living a lie. The silence was stifling as he packed his bags.

The mirrors should stay behind, he decided. He wanted a clean start and all mirrors did was bring up bad memories of being trapped in the mirror dimension. (And of failing his destiny.) A dark part of his mind whispered.

Headmaster Grimm, put up surprisingly little resistance to his decision. The man must have realized by now that arguing with his students was a losing battle.

Grimm frowned, he had never seen Daring quite look like this before. He usually had a vapid bright grin on his face, alongside an air of suave charm. The boy, no, man, in front of him had none of those qualities. His face was one of steadfast resolve, and maybe it was just him, but even some of his physical attributes seem to have been changed. His eyes and hair seemed a touch too pale, and his canines seemed longer somehow.

Grimm sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. The stress of this job was taking its toll on him. He got his first gray hair when he had the Evil Queen as his student, and despite her daughter Raven’s insistence on not being like her mother, she still made everyone else’s lives harder all the same.

Daring got the first train back to Charming Castle.

His reception back went as expected. King Charming’s icy glare seemed to have permeated the entire palace. The Queen’s attempts at lightening the mood failed as he reciprocated his father’s tone, bluntly answering his questions and adding nothing to the conversation. In any case, the real talk between the two would have to be done behind closed doors, away from his mother’s prying ears. There was no point in worrying her.

As the servants cleared away the plates, Queen Charming watched as her son and husband retired to a private office, most likely to discuss him dropping out of Ever After High. She was worried. Out of all of her children, Daring was the one she had the least stress over, and yet here he was going against his father for the first time since he was a child. She’d never had trouble reading him before, he was a sweet, if somewhat naive, happy-go-lucky kid. She had a gut feeling that something was going to go very, very badly.

Inside King Charming private quarters the two men stared at each, not knowing what to do.

Daring broke the silence, “I’ve dropped out of school.” King Charming paused, choosing his words carefully, “I’m aware. I want to know why you did that.” Daring sighed, here goes nothing, “There weren’t any benefits to being at the school. Any previous connections I made I’ve lost after it came to light that I wasn’t Apple’s Prince Charming.” He watched as King Charming’s temper rose, “And you really couldn’t have found a way to stop that information from leaking?” Daring’s temper rose too as he listened to his father speak, but he bit his tongue as he knew that talking back won’t serve any of his goals. “Blondie was reporting live to everyone in the school, including Snow White, there wasn’t much to do there.” “Wasn’t much to do there? Wasn’t much to do there? You should’ve figured something out! And now we need to figure out a way to save at least Darling’s reputation since yours has been shot to hell!” King Charming fumed.

Daring swallowed a lump of red hot anger, of course he didn’t do enough, he did everything his father asked of him to do and somehow it’s still not enough. It never is. Before he could think his words through, he snapped back, “Then maybe I should just leave!” He registered his words too late, King Charming was already out of his and was fisting his son's collar. “You don’t speak to me like that Ever After! Do you hear me! You don’t speak to the man who raised you like that!”

The fury in his father’s voice should have shocked him, but it didn’t. He was only disappointed in himself for not being careful with his words. The situation needed to be fixed and fast, before his mother came to investigate.

He switched his tone to a more deferent one “I didn’t mean any disrespect to your highness! I was only offering a solution to the problem we face at hand!” The King’s eyes narrowed, silently searching for any lie, he then released Daring’s collar, and waved his hand to continue. Daring spoke quickly, “I believe that I should be given a governorship to a remote principality in our Kingdom and stay out of the public eye for a while. In time, people will begin to forget this situation entirely.”

King Charming scratched his chin as he thought. The boy wasn’t wrong, it would lessen the damage to their family’s reputation. That being said, he might have caught some of the more radical ideas espoused by a certain Raven Queen at the school. He might try to change some of the more traditional aspects of how the Kingdom was run. He needed to put Daring away where he would do minimum harm. King Charming’s eyes spotted a map of the Charming Kingdom. The Kingdom was separated into 10 separate principalities.

The 3 southwestern principalities of the Mercantile Charmings, Romantic Charmings, and themselves, the Royal Charmings, who ruled over everyone else, were the most densely populated, along with being the seat of power. This made it unsuitable for Daring as he would constantly be in his way. The 3 southwestern principalities were more rural, consisting of bustling towns and small villages scattered across the map. They were important to the Kingdom because of the crops they produce, making them the breadbasket of the country. He then remembered that he was destined to be the beast to Rosabella Beauty, a very opinionated princess, not traditional at all, much to his annoyance.

The King frowned, “Aren’t you with Rosabella Beauty right now?” Daring cleared his throat, “We’re actually split up, she’s a rebel and doesn’t believe that we should be married just for a story’s sake.” King Charming snorted. How typical of his son to not manage to convince a princess to follow the path laid out for her. He always was soft with women. That being said, not having to deal with a whiny daughter in law might just be for the best. The Southwestern principalities would be out then, he didn’t want Daring trying to meddle with the farmland with those radical pesticide free nonsense Rosabella Beauty was spouting. Honestly, the beauties needed to control their women, Briar Beauty was out making a fool of herself at every major royal gathering he had been to.

Daring was getting nervous, usually his punishments just involved running laps, or being abandoned in the woods and made to find his way back, or brutal sparring with his father. Maybe he pushed it with his ideas. While all this was going through his head, King Charming was still musing. He could drop him off in the 3 Northeastern principalities, but he was already unpopular with families in charge of those territories; he didn’t need his idiot son giving them more ammunition. His eyes flitted to the final principality.

Well, it was only a principality in name as no Charming family wanted the burden of taking care of the land. It was supposed to be ruled by the Wild Charmings, but they died out years ago for whatever reason. The land was the single largest territory in the Kingdom, easily making up more than a quarter of the landmass. However, none of the resources could be mined out because of the large beast population in the area scuttling any plan to civilize it. Yes, it would be the perfect place to stash his failure of a son until this whole problem blows over, then maybe he can maybe marry him off to one of the northeastern principalities’ families as a peace offering.

Chapter Text

Daring didn’t like the glint in his father’s eye, it never was a good sign of things to come. “Son, I’m going to give you the principality of Dragon’s head. Pack your things.”

That was how he found himself on a train to the wildest and most remote Charming principality. Part of him was glad for it, it meant that he wouldn’t have to face his relatives, some of which will be disappointed, and others who will revel gleefully at his loss as the Charming Golden child. He was actually glad that for once in his life, a plan of his actually worked. All he had to do was finish up some paperwork and keep his head down, and after everything that had happened, he would be more than happy to do that.

Of course, heaven forbid his life ever be that easy. The Castle he was sent to didn’t have any servants, or any running water or electricity for that matter. He groaned, how could it have slipped his mind that his exile was meant to be a punishment. Thank the throne that he had some wilderness knowledge.

He cracked his knuckles and got to work. Having clean water was his first priority, he set out to create a makeshift water purifier and started a fire to get the somewhat clean water boiling. While that was getting started, he went up the castle to find the boiler room. It is summer right now, so the weather outside should be fine, but who knows how long his exile will be for? If it carries on into the autumn and winter months, it could get chilly fast, especially this far north.

As a prince, he wasn’t trained in plumbing or electrical work, but there should be a user manual somewhere around here. He spotted a dusty old book beneath some cobwebs in the corner of the room. Once cleaned, the cover read, dummies guide to basic plumbing. The rest of the afternoon was spent following the guide and fixing as much of the castle’s plumbing as he could. Some of the machines were just too old, so he would have to spend some of his stipend on ordering new ones. That was a pity, he was hoping to save some of it in an account his father wouldn’t have any control over. Looks like that plan would have to wait.

He saved the clean water in a secure container and went up to the castle’s living room, if it could even be called that at this point. The furniture was old and dusty, and the carpet had mold growing on it. He would need to call a furniture restorer, but as he went to look them up, his phone showed that it had no signal.

Daring wanted to bang his head against the wall, of course it wasn’t going to be that easy. As he scanned the room for anything that could help him he saw an old phonebook on an old coffee table. Flipping through the pages, he came across the number for a business that installed cable. By the end of the call, Daring was certain that he was being overcharged, but he had acquiesced as the day had been exhausting and he just wanted to go to sleep.

The next week or so went in much of the same way. Wake up, fix as much as he could by following what he now realized was a very outdated manual, and argue about the cost of fixing the many broken appliances and systems in his home for the near future. By the time the weekend rolled around, and he was finally able to take a breath, he had come to two startling conclusions.

The first was that most of the people at Dragon’s Head didn’t seem to like the Charming family. This was a drastic change from how people usually treated him when they found out that he’s a Charming. The fawning, the fake plastered on smiles the transactional relationships, along with the immense pressure to maintain all those connections. There was none of that here. People seemed to eye him warily, the half troll plumber who came to fix his water issue seemed genuinely surprised that he not only attempted to fix his plumbing issue by himself before calling anyone else, but also that the attempt was not half bad. There were other examples that were not as flattering. He remembered fixing a fence by a dirt road, and the couple walking by saw him out and about and turned around and left immediately. Their body language went from open and cheerful to closed off and fearful, as if he was going to order them to kneel before him out of the blue.

The other fact he noticed was that Dragon’s Head had a large beast population. Nearly everyone he met had some beast ancestry, from trolls to goblins, the odd giant, and even a dragonborn. A dragonborn. Everyone in his family believed that they went extinct a long time ago, and yet here they were, right in front of him. If nothing else, it gave him the courage to explore his beast side. A side Daring had been suppressing for so long, he didn’t even know it existed for most of his life.

That Saturday night he looked out into the vast wild forest and felt something stir in him. He wanted to tear his princely skin to shreds and jump into the wild and never come back. With all the work he had to complete upon his arrival, he’d never really had the time to look around at the splendor of nature that sat right outside his house.

Icy gray mountain peaks topped with millennia old glaciers, dark green trees that towered over him, and crystal clear lakes untouched in eons lay before him. Before he realized what he was doing, he had already leapt out the windows of his chambers and landed in the soft knee length grass outside. Unbeknownst to him, his body had already begun to change into a beast as long snow white hair sprouted from his skin and his nails turned to claws. His perfectly whitened teeth sharpened, glinting in the moonlit night. As if possessed by a primal urge, he took off, running deep into the wilderness. Daring had never felt this alive in his life.

This body of his never seemed to tire. In fact, if he thought about it, it had been this way since he was a child. While the other children tired themselves from a few hours of practice, he could continue for the whole day if need be. It hadn’t made him very popular with the other boys back then. They always scowled at him since they were constantly getting compared to Daring by their teachers, coaches, and even their own parents at times. In hindsight, it was a very obvious example of the beast's blood in him.

He supposed it was overlooked since he seemed to embody the ideal Prince Charming from fairytales. People envied his relentlessness until the root cause of it was revealed. No point in dwelling on that nonsense now, no one here cared about him being a beast, no one here cared about Daring Charming.

Who was Daring Charming anyway? Was he that golden haired, bright smiled, flirtatious himbo that everyone from Apple White, to his own mother thought of him as? Or was he emotionally fragile and narcissistic, which was how most of his detractors including Darling, his own sister, and formerly, Rosabella Beauty thought of him. As he looked at his reflection in a stream of glacial water, he wondered if he was the powerful, terrifying beast that everyone, including himself was disappointed in?

Was he disappointed in being a beast? Or was he just (rightfully) scared of the negative reaction from his family? He stared at his reflection some more, watching it change from beast back to a prince.

His clothes were in tatters, the roots of his hair reverting to its traditional silvery white, and his eyes retaining their slight violet hue. Daring had seen his reflection many times.

Hell, it was practically what he was known for back in Ever After High. However, this felt different. He usually checked for imperfections, a stray hair, food stuck in his teeth, or god forbid, a pimple. This time he was looking at himself, as just him. The old Daring would have been mortified in fear of being caught looking like a beast. But there was no one around to see him, that pressure, for once in his life, wasn't present. Now he was free to complain about anything about his appearance that displeased him.

Surprisingly, nothing came to mind. The white hair and violet eyes suited his pale skin better than the blonde haired blue eyed princes of the past he had originally modeled himself after. Maybe he really was always meant to be a beast. Drained from chaotic thoughts swarming his mind, he laid down on the cool grass. Looking up at the ink black sky with a splash of the brightest stars Daring had ever seen in his life, he felt at peace. Who cared what he was, here he could finally rest. Maybe being forgotten has its benefits after all. He closed his eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Text

Darling could hardly believe what she was hearing. Her older brother, the Daring Charming, the one who got everything he wanted, the one who was everyone’s favorite, had dropped out of school. Dexter was so shocked when he found out, that he tripped over his school bag and fell on his back. 

She didn’t blame him, this was hextremely unprecedented. Daring never did anything against their parents’ wishes. In contrast Dexter was always honest about who he is, even if it disappointed their father. It had always been what she loved and respected her twin for. She herself has a tendency to go off gallivanting through wonderland as the White Knight. 

When she was younger, she remembers snooping in on Daring. He had to have some type of chink in his armor, something that would end up disappointing their father like her and Dexter. But no, everything he did was flawless, she wanted so badly to hate him but she couldn’t. Not just because he’s her brother, but because he kept her secrets. When he caught her practicing with his sword, he just told her to use one that was her size and corrected her stance. He never called Dexter weak or worthless for not being as coordinated as him, hell he even nicknamed him as the Brainiac of the family.

Daring was the epitome of the ideal big brother. So what on earth was going on for him to take such a drastic step? Especially without informing her or Dexter?

As she made her way to her next class, she could see the looks sent to her by the other students. After Daring’s kiss failed to wake Apple up, while Darling’s attempt at saving her did, people began to wonder if it was Darling who was Apple’s princess Charming. She blushed at the thought. All she did was some common sense first aid to save someone from choking, it wasn’t some sort of magical kiss. Not that being Apple’s destined would be a bad thing, she was smart, sweet, loyal, and gorgeous to top it all off. She doubted her parents would be happy with that outcome though.

She sighed, as she unpacked her books and prepared to be bored out of her mind, stuck in a tower for hours. 

Apple was back in her dorm wondering about the past. She was so convinced that Daring was the one for her, he was supposed to be her destiny, right? She groaned as she flopped onto her bed. 

She thought back to Darling. She was tall, beautiful, and extremely gallant, if only she had been a boy. ‘ But why ?” A voice in the back of her head nagged, ‘ Just so you can lose interest in him ?’

Apple pulled her blankets over her head and buried her face. She had nothing against men, and she truly did love Daring, just, not as a boyfriend. Darling on the other hand…

She began to reminisce about the first time she met her. She was tall even at that age, but then again, all the members of the Charming family were. She had been brought to the Charming castle for a playdate with Daring, although this was the first time she ever saw his home, seeing as most playdates were held at White Palace. 

Daring had gone to his room to get some toys, when out of the corner of the eye, she could see a tomboyish figure barreling towards where she was standing. Her eyes widened at the sight. Just as the figure was about to crash into her, Daring swooped in and pulled her back. 

This would be the sort of thing that other princesses would gush about when talking about their betrothed. She could already hear their voices, “Oh he saved me from getting pushed over when we were still children! That was how I knew that he was the one for me.”

In spite of this, the interaction only made her more interested in the ball of energy rather than the boy who had dutifully defended her honor.

She felt bad for even thinking this, but she found Daring boring. He was what was expected of her, Darling was everything she actually wanted. Besides a lot of her interactions with Daring felt more sibling like than anything romantic, he was like a brother to her. She closed her eyes, the weight of the thoughts exhausting her, maybe a little nap won’t hurt. 

Darling nervously made her way to Apple and Raven’s shared dorm. She just had a few questions about her job at the wonderland club, it was nothing to be nervous about.

As she opened the door, the scene that lay before her took her breath away. Apple, asleep on her bed, her crown askew, her blonde hair around her head like a halo. The red and gold details of the room beautifully accenting the warm glow of the sunset. The entire picture seemed to be straight out of a fairytale. In that moment, Darling understood how the knights of old managed to fall in love at first sight. 

Darling stared open mouthed then blushed. She had the odd craving to kiss her again. “NO. No, the previous time she locked lips with Apple was not a kiss, it was merely an attempt to remove a choking hazard.” She closed the door as gently as she could, and ran as fast as her feet would carry her back to her own shared dorm room, startling Rosabella as she entered.

Rosabella, having gotten used to Darling’s mood swings as of late, simply sighed and went back to her book. It was all due to Daring suddenly dropping out and dropping off the face of the earth. It was odd not having him around. She was conflicted, logically she knew that a relationship with him wasn’t great. While there had been some chemistry between the two at the start, it kind of petered out as Daring kept putting on the heroic persona, not letting her into his heart. 

She felt hurt when he did that. Hadn’t she proved herself during their trip to the top of the world? Why did he continue to shut her out? Their breakup was mutual, yet it left her unsatisfied. Instead of moving on like any healthy person, she still lingered on him, it was as though he both wanted to show his true self to her, while also hiding it in fear of her leaving him.

That was the part that confused her the most, she had accepted him as a beast, hadn’t she? What else was there that he thought was so bad that he felt the need to continue to mask?

She had known that there was something off about him from the first time she saw him. It was at a ball held by Briar’s family. She was still a wallflower, and was hiding behind her parents. Their families weren’t very close, in large part because of how Briar’s family treated her Dad. 

Unlike most Beasts, her father had chosen to remain as one after being freed from the curse of not being able to leave his house. It was largely due to medical reasons as he was physically weak and sickly from a chronic illness in his human form and being a beast allowed him to actually experience life. This had apparently offended the sensibilities of high society, so in spite of being members of an important story, they were treated as social pariahs.

And yet, her father had stood strong in spite of all the ridicule and contempt. Her mother too was an inspiration. She had heard from her aunt, in between insults to her father, that her mother had once been as open and bubbly as Briar is today. It must have hurt her especially to have been outcasted by her own family when she chose to remain with him even after his decision

She scoffed to herself. By the throne, storybook society certainly was hypocritical. All that preaching about how following your story would lead to the love of your life, and yet, immediately shunning them because the story didn’t lead to their preferred ending. The Beast doesn’t stay a beast by the end of the story! That isn’t how it's supposed to go!

The Beauty family wanted them to divorce after she was born, because apparently her mother had done her duty of producing an heir, and now that there was no reason for her to be married to him any longer, she should leave and take Rosabella with her. Leaving him alone in his misery with no contact to his love, or his child. That cruel fate was what they wanted for her father.

Her eyes began to brim with tears. Carefully maneuvering herself away from Darling’s sight, she removed her glasses and wiped away the tears that had formed. It was fine, things were better now, they have little to no contact with that side of her family, and even Briar agrees that the way their family treated her Dad was wrong. Although she still tries to make excuses for their behavior at times. But overall, progress was being made. Now where was she?

Ah, yes, Daring at the ball held by the Beauty family. Not many people came by to the small corner her family had secluded themselves in, only a few nobles popping their head in once or twice to talk to their mother about some trade deals. Her father may as well have been invisible. 

It was during this time that a young Daring had trotted on up to him and boldly introduced himself. “Hi, my name is Daring! Nice to meet you!” She could see everything around them come to a halt. Despite it being very obvious to anyone with half a brain that a serious faux pas was committed, Daring simply smiled that blinding smile, and stretched out his hand for a handshake.

After that shocking display of common courtesy, Rosabella’s interest was piqued. Who was this boy? She followed him around as he was promptly scolded for introducing himself to a beast, “He was to only introduce himself to important and influential people, not those beneath him.” his father spoke, annoyed. Then as photos were being taken of him next to Apple, and finally as he hung around his father as guests made small talk, asking him about his trophies and such. It was when she finally got bored and returned back to her family’s little secluded spot that she saw him again. 

He quietly pulled on her father’s large paw and apologized for how he was being treated. Then as though he had done nothing of note, promptly skipped off to grab a drink and return to his parents’ side.

That was why she couldn’t shake her thoughts of him. Her abilities to see how people truly were, was stumped by him. Usually people wore a mask around others, it was how they wanted to be perceived as opposed to who they actually were. Some people were bold enough to not hide who they truly were, while others hid their true selves behind the many layers of their intricately crafted persona.

It was the difference between Darling Charming, Raven Queen, and Apple White. She believed that Daring was like the latter, and tried to help him come to terms with his beast identity. It was when she took a closer look, that she realized the full extent of the damage that had been done to his soul. 

His heart was cloudy, and when they first began to date, some of the cloud had dissipated, leading her to believe that the problem would solve itself in time, but eventually it started to get worse, especially by the end of their relationship. No one else had managed to confuse her as much as Daring, it was as if he himself didn’t know who he was. She sighed again and laid down on her bed. 

Her phone pinged, and she jolted out of bed.

Chapter Text

Daring’s nightly tramps continued. It was blissfully freeing, a balm on his imprisoned soul. He didn’t know why he didn’t try rebelling earlier, the lack of pressure, the lack of attention from Father, not to mention seeing what your body is truly capable of when it isn’t in disgustingly tight, princely clothes. 

Raven was right. It was time to write their own stories. 

The castle was mostly fixed, and was finally habitable. Now, all he had to do was focus on the overdue paperwork. As expected, it was overwhelming. Administrative duties in the region had been neglected for decades with requests for basic infrastructure repairs such as fixing broken roads and building a school having gone unnoticed. 

As he got to work, he became more and more worried at the extent of neglect. If his calculations were correct, not even the bare minimum was done. No wonder the people here hated the Charmings. At the same time, he had a hard time believing that this level of bureaucratic mishandling could go unreported for so long. Someone high up must be covering things up. This certainly complicated things. He put down his pen and rubbed his face. Deciding that for now, he should focus on approving what he could and look into the rest later.

As the papers were completed and sent to the capital, Daring found himself lounging in his chair, pondering about the inhabitants of the principality once more, could the problem be that they were being ignored because they were beasts? He sat up straight, an uncomfortable heaviness weighing on his chest. That couldn’t be right, he knew of many beasts in the capital working and living normal lives without having to face prejudice. 

At least he assumes that’s the case. He cringed as he thought back to his own family’s reaction after it was found out that he was a beast. His father silently furious, Dexter stammering out how this could technically be a good thing for his athleticism, Darling silently resigned and bored, and his mother looking on in quiet sadness. The only good that came from it was that his appreciation for his brother had grown. Sweet, loyal, Dexter, he was the best brother anyone could ask for. If only he would at least pretend to be someone else around father, then he wouldn’t have to protect him so much. 

Daring sighed, he was going to have to look into this further, and he had the perfect idea how.

He walked into the bathroom and looked into the mirror, his hair had grown out and his silver roots were obvious now, and he hadn’t worn his colored contacts since his arrival to the castle. All he needed was a haircut and some new clothes and no one would be any wiser to his actual identity. 

This was easy enough to do, he’d been doing his own hair since he was 13, at this point he probably knew as much about hair as the O’Hair twins. One quick hair cut later, he no longer looked like the Daring Charming of old. In large part because he had gone for a wilder look with messily ruffled hair with no blonde in sight. He had also managed to give himself an ear piercing following instructions on the internet. That was both thrilling, and stomach churning. On the one hand, it was his way of saying goodbye to the strict protocols of Royal life, but also terrifying because his father may actually disown him for this. If asked about the piercing, his reply would be that it was necessary to go undercover to research why the province was being neglected. Yeah, that’s it.

He also switched out his usually princely clothes for some jeans and flannel, really channeling his inner lumberjack. Finally happy with himself, he looked at himself in satisfaction in the mirror.

Next thing on the list was to make up an alias for himself, he decided to just keep it simple and go by his middle name, Wilder. 

It was a compromise made by his parents back in the day, His father would choose his first name and his mother would choose his middle name. King Charming had hated Daring’s middle name from the first moment he had heard of it, but a promise was a promise, and his mother had insisted that it was appropriate since it was a family name, one that was held by her great grandfather. It’s on his official birth certificate, but that was about it. It wasn’t well known beyond his family, hell, he doubted that even Darling and Dexter knew of his middle name. Most people just assumed he didn’t have one.

Daring tamped down the secret thrill running down his spine, he had never done something like this before. Sure his excuse was to gather information on the region, but previously, he would have dispatched some of his servants on had someone else do the dirty work for him, now, he was going to go out in the field himself. With one final check in the mirror, he stepped outside.

The first stop was the Beastly Tavern, a local restaurant and pub sort of joint. It was also a meeting spot for all members of the village. Before he entered, he checked his reflection in the window, he was certain no one would recognize him now.

He took a seat in an inconspicuous corner of the bar. It gave him a good view of the entrance and of the other patrons, and his enhanced hearing allowed him to eavesdrop on the conversations around him. Daring ordered himself a beer and listened to the voices mingle around him. Most were insignificant, simple conversations of ribbing, flirting, and laughter. As shallow as they were, they brought him a sense of comfort, of what he might have one day. A smile appeared on his face, only to soon disappear as he caught wind of someone talking of his family, the Charmings. He tilted his head, wanting to hear more. 

“Bloody Charmings, still haven’t approved the new schoolhouse. Why do we need their permission to build one anyways?” An ogre in a red shirt grumbled. The goatman next to him simply sighed “Because if we don’t get their permission, they’ll simply tear down the building for violating the ‘building codes’ even if we made damn sure that we followed every single one of them.”

The one in the red shirt slammed his large fist on the table, breaking it in half, much to the displeasure of the barkeep who gave the man a dirty look. Daring assumed that this sort of thing had happened before for him to be so nonchalant about it. “How long are our young meant to learn on the dirt floor, or once the colder months arrive, alone in their own homes, taught not by their teachers, but by parents who are already struggling to find work to put food on the table?”

Daring stilled when he heard that. He’d seen the papers, he theoretically knew about the extent of neglect in the region, but to hear it put so plainly gave him a better understanding of what was happening. 

He got up and cleared his throat, “Excuse me, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. Can you explain the situation in more detail.” Immediately, the entire bar went silent. Internally, Daring wanted the earth to swallow him whole. Clearly he misjudged how open the people here would be to newcomers. 

The ogre in the red shirt was openly glaring at him, clearly not happy at being eavesdropped, soft murmurs began to spread throughout the establishment as all eyes were on him. The goatman cleared his throat, “Can I ask why you would want to know about such things? You don’t seem to be from around here. 

Daring looked around him and sighed. The charade was up then. “I’m Wilder, and I work in the Charming palace.” It wasn’t exactly a full truth, but it wasn’t a lie either. The room seemed to become colder. The ogre got up to his full height, “And why are you here? Them Charmings intend to come back here and start dictating how to live our lives again?” The people in the pub stirred, the conviction in his voice increasing the tension. 

Daring had to act fast before the rising suspicion destroys his plans. “Listen, I don’t know much about any plans the Charmings have for this area, I just work to keep the castle running.” Another half truth, he genuinely didn't know why his father had sent him here, his job was to not let the castle decay too much, fix up some boring administrative work, and keep his head down. This seemed to quell the tension somewhat, as the murmurs reduced back down to whispers. 

The goatman, noticing the change, waved him forward. Not wanting to lose this opportunity, Daring followed. The man started, “If you really want to know what happened, meet me tomorrow at the library. We have records of all the amenities that we asked for, but were denied. The others may not be happy with me revealing this to you, but the more people who know the truth, the better.” A part of him wanted to blush in happiness that someone was finally trusting him, but he pushed that aside for now. Now, he had work to do.

Chapter Text

He returned to the castle tired but happy that his plan had worked, although he did file away that he needed to work on integrating into the society more as he still stuck out like a sore thumb. 

Daring sat down in the living room and went over all that needed to be done. He’s going to need to meet up with the nice goatman to get a better insight on the situation on the ground. Afterwards, he needs to see why the development of the region is being stalled, and solve that problem. And only once all of that is done, can he actually begin the actual process of developing the area. And all that’s assuming that his plan doesn’t run into any bumps along the way. He sighs and leans back into the couch. Not skimping out on furniture restoration was a great idea.

Just as he closed his eyes, he heard the doorbell. Grumbling to himself, he got up to see what was going on. There seemed to be a young woman in a hooded cloak at the door. Daring’s confusion turned to surprise as the young lady before him raised her hood. 

“Rosabella? What are you doing here?” Daring opened the door wider to get a good look at her.

“I’m so sorry to intrude sir- wait how do you know my name?” Rosabella took a step back, surprised.

Daring looked at her in confusion, “It’s me? Daring?”

“Daring?” she looked closer at his features which confirmed it. Same eye shape, same nose, same mannerisms, and yet so different.

Aside from his lighter hair and eyes, his features such as jawline, cheekbones, and canines were sharper, he seemed as a whole leaner, taller, wilder .

Even his voice seemed more gravelly.

Daring was the first to get his bearings, “You should come in, it gets freezing at night this far up north.”

Once they were settled in, each with a steaming mug of tea, they stared at each other. It was always awkward to come across your ex, especially when you didn’t plan on seeing each other again, ever.

Daring cleared his throat, “Right, so what brings you Dragon’s head anyway?”

Rosabella sat up straighter, contemplating whether or not she should let him in on the truth, it was a rather private family matter after all. She checked his heart just in case, which was the third surprise for the evening. His heart was surprisingly clear, open, and curious. Nothing like the cloudy, closed off psyche he had back in Ever After. 

She looked into his eyes and knew that he wouldn't say anything to her “family”. Well, at least the ones on her mother’s side, her immediate family will always support her, but they’re also the ones in danger right now. Her mind went back to her father’s suffering, and it sealed the deal, she would tell Daring everything. 

Rosabella looked him dead in the eye, “I need help.”

It all began when she got that dreaded text from her mother. 

> Call me.

Two simple words that damn near shattered her world.

She looked over at Darling with her face buried in her pillow, she wouldn’t really notice if she snuck off right about now.

Rosabella left to go to an isolated balcony on their floor that seemed to only be there for aesthetics. In any case, she won’t be interrupted here. With trembling hands, she dialed her mother’s number. 

*Click*

“Rosa?” Her mother’s faint voice could be heard on the other side of the line. “Mama? Is everything okay? Is dad okay?”

A pause, "Sweetheart, dad’s condition got worse.” 

Rosabella stilled, “What?” She gathers herself together, “How did this happen?”

“He was fine a few days ago, but then apparently his condition got worse, the chronic pain got so bad that he had to be on bedrest.” Rosabella could hear the exhaustion in her mother’s voice.

She steeled herself, she can’t put any more burdens on her mother, she needs to get it together, “What do you need me to do?”

A noise of surprise came from the other side of the line, “Rosa, you don’t have to do anything, this is my respons-”

Rosabella cut her off, “Mama, I want to help, let me help. You can’t just take responsibility for everything that goes wrong in our life.”

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, her mother has always done this. Always taking on every burden, whether it be socially, financially, or emotionally. Her father tried to help however he could, but between his illness and being a social pariah, most of the work fell on her mother’s shoulders. 

“I- There’s a cure,” Her mother began, Rosabella’s heart soared. This could change all of their lives for the better. “However,” There it was, the catch, there was always a catch. “It’s very rare, and can only be found in the isolated region of Dragon’s head in the Charming kingdom.”

Rosabella let out a breath she wasn’t aware that she was holding. That didn’t seem so bad, “I can do that.”

Her mother’s answer was simple, “No. This is going to take time, time that you’ll not be spending on your education.”

This argument again. Rosabella rolled her eyes, content in knowing that her mother couldn’t see her through the screen and chide her. 

She already gets good grades, she’s one of the best students in Ever After. But because of her background of being homeschooled, her parents still insist on her staying. She’s pretty sure she knows more about running a kingdom from actually learning in the field with her parents than sitting around in a tower waiting to be rescued. (It is wild that that is still a class offered by Ever After High, it’s not remotely useful to a modern princess and only rewards being victims without taking initiative. She and Darling routinely rant about its existence- but she was getting off track.)

“Mama, I’m one of the best students here, I’ll be fine.” 

The rebuttal was immediate, “Your academic work isn’t the issue here and you know that. You need to make more friends your age, it’s a shame that you don’t have more friends your age. You even managed to get a boyfriend while you were here!”

Rosabella sighed, then got an idea, “Mama, what if I told you that I could complete my education and find the cure for Dad’s disorder?”

A pause from the other side of the line, “Go on.” 

Rosa spoke hurriedly, “There’s a rule in our school that says that if you complete most of the credits required, you can get the remaining credits by doing a major project, and this major project can be me finding the cure.”

She could hear a thoughtful hum from the other side, but could tell that she wasn’t fully convinced, “Mama, I’ll keep in touch with the friends I’ve made here, you don’t need to worry.”

That convinced her. With the green light being given now, all she had to do was get headmaster Grimm on board.

That was surprisingly easier than originally thought, it was most likely due to her reputation as being both willful and a good student, there was nothing to be gained by arguing with her.

Once that was done, everything else was fairly straightforward. She made arrangements to go to her family home to visit her parents one last time before heading north to Dragon’s head.

She could see Daring processing the story before he nodded. “I know that we aren’t together anymore, but I would still like to help you in whatever way I can. You’re free to stay in the castle with me while you try to find the cure.”

“I- thank you.” Rosabella had to remove her glasses to wipe away the tears that threatened to spill over. All of a sudden, she could remember why she fell for him in the first place, and that she was still very much not over their breakup, however mutual it may have been.

She hugs him as Daring lets out a soft huff of laughter before pulling her into his arms. She hides her blush in his chest and hopes he doesn’t notice.

Daring just holds her and breathes in the warm scent of roses and rain, with a hint of old books. He tries to push away the warm feeling in his chest, the voice telling him that he messed up by letting go of her.

He can argue with the voices in his head later. Right now, he had Rosabella in his arms, a castle of his own, and beautiful land to rule over. Everything else can come later.

Chapter Text

Daring found himself staring at Rosabella as they waited outside the library for the nice goatman, she was as beautiful as ever, with only the worry lines on her face and bags under her eyes marring her features. The thought of her suffering quietly made him unhappy, and he willed the man to arrive sooner so that they can get to the bottom of their problems.

Their host arrived slightly out of breath, “Apologies for my tardiness, an urgent situation had arisen just now that I had to take care of.”

Daring wondered what that might be as he eased the man’s worries, “It’s alright sir, me and Princess Rosabella Beauty-Beast have only just arrived ourselves.” He reminded himself to not forget the ‘Beast’ part of Rosabella’s name.

The man stopped and looked up at their guest as Rosabella awkwardly waved at him, he quickly composed himself, “I was not expecting you to bring guests Mr. Wilder.” Daring thankfully had an explanation ready, “She arrived at the castle last night seeking a cure for her father.”

He didn’t need to elaborate further as Rosabella took it from there. “Please sir, my father is gravely ill, and according to our research, the cure is said to be found here in Dragon’s Head.”

The man cleared his throat, “Oh I see, my name is Hermann Schwartz, a school teacher and librarian here at Dragon’s head. Pleased to make your acquaintance my lady.”

A glimmer of recognition could be seen in Rosabella’s eyes. “Are you the Hermann Schwartz? Professor of mystical ailments at the Charming Royal Academy of Medicine?”

Dr. Schwartz laughed, pleased at having been recognized, “Former professor my lady, but yes, I was employed there.”

“Oh that’s wonderful! My father has numerous books by you in our library! It seems that I got lucky in my search!” Rosabella beamed.

The two started up a conversation on various ailments and cures and left Daring to watch on with a tinge of envy. He never did understand how Rosabella managed to get people to open up to her so easily.

He’s seen it before a few times, mostly when it came to the beast population back at Ever After High. She always connected easily with anyone she wanted to. The catch was that she usually wasn’t all that interested in her fellow students or any of the staff. She had a select few people she opened up to and that was it for her.

It was a steep contrast from Daring and his immense drive to remain popular. He would study people and actively try his best to ingratiate himself with them, and that still didn’t let him have the deep connection he always craved with others.

Not that any of it mattered now. He trailed behind them and observed them chatting for a while longer and waited for a break in the conversation to bring up the children’s school.

The two had just finished discussing potential solutions to Rosabella’s father’s ailment when Daring caught their attention. “Not to intrude professor, but I was wondering about the education system here at Dragon’s head.”

The professor jumped, embarrassed at becoming engrossed at the new matter at hand. “I’m so sorry Wilder, the matter completely slipped my mind while I was conversing with Ms. Beauty-Beast here.”

Daring laughed, “It’s quite alright sir, I know that most people get carried away in a conversation with Ms. Rosabella.” It was true, no one could quite carry a conversation like she could, of course.

“The education system here is in a very bad state, I'm sorry to say.” The professor replied, disappointment evident in his voice. Rosabella looked over at the two, surprised at the new information.

Daring pressed further, “Can you give me specific examples?”

The professor took a moment to think, “The worst of it is the lack of infrastructure, we frequently have students missing classes due to difficulties in making it to school. There are also issues in procuring stationery and textbooks for the school, the latest history textbooks date back at least 30 years, and that’s not even touching on the large number of students who skip classes…”

Daring’s face darkened as he heard each problem listed, he had a lot of work cut out for him here. Rosabella heard it too, she was disappointed but not surprised, treatment of beasts is unfortunately common in many kingdoms, although she is surprised at the extent of it, especially since the Charming Kingdom had always prided itself as one of the more forward thinking nations.

Daring was lost in thought at all the things he had to do. He would have to clear away as much of the paperwork as possible, then investigate the cause behind the lack of amenities, if there was corruption he had a duty to clear them, his people deserved better. He shook himself out of his reverie, there was work to be done.

He wondered about the building they were currently using as a makeshift schoolhouse, “Can you show me the school building professor, it would be a good idea to start our changes from there.”

The professor began to move to a staircase near the entrance, “Of course, the school room is the library’s basement.”

The duo followed professor Schwartz down to the basement. It was a large room filled with numerous chairs and seemed to have been roughly split down the middle, with the furniture on the right being larger than the ones on the left. Daring deduced that one side must be used for the older children and the other for younger ones. The wall paper seemed to be peeling and the blackboards seemed worn, however, other than the signs of the usual wear and tear, the room was well maintained and cozy.

The trio then went back up to the library, the professor and Rosabella having resumed their conversation about various cures for her father’s ailment.

Daring trailed behind them, deep in thought. He could pull some strings to get the building permit for the school, but what about the rest of the infrastructure? He was going to need to meet with his extended family and ask for favors.

He caught up to the professor, “Professor, do you mind if I borrow some books on the history of Dragon's Head?”

Professor Schwartz seemed surprised, “Oh, I wasn’t aware that you had an interest in history!”

Daring sheepishly scratched his neck, “Yeah, I’ve always loved history, politics, and anything of the sort.”

Rosabella raised an eyebrow at the news, for as long as she knew him, he never seemed to be interested in any of those things. As far as she knew, his hobbies only included sports, popularity, and his looks. She peeked into his soul to see if he was lying, she may have agreed to keep quiet about whatever goals he had, but she wasn’t going to aid him in misleading a perfectly nice man!

It surprised her to see that his soul was perfectly clear, no hint of guilt or glee at misleading someone. It only showed genuine curiosity of the subject, along with a determination that she had never seen in him before.

His lack of any agency in his own life was one of the things that had pushed them apart while they were dating. She assumed that they were merely incompatible, with different values and meant to lead separate lives.

As they made their way back home, Rosabella couldn't help but feel more and more confused. She had dated him, yes, but how much did she really know of him? A golden opportunity to truly understand Daring had just fallen in her lap, and she would be a fool to pass it up. She made up her mind, she was going to learn about all the different facets of him while she was here in Dragon’s head.

Back at ever after, the twins sat before their father, King Charming.

Dexter was fidgeting in his seat, wondering if he had done something wrong. In contrast to him, Darling sat still and poised, she had been trained from birth to do so after all. Both were nervous as nothing good comes from a private meeting with their father.

Bad memories of being screamed at by him for making him look bad in front of others as a child emerged in Darling’s mind.

She remembered coming back home one day from playing outside, all muddied up and smiling. Her father had been meeting with some important people in the living room that day. She remembered being thirsty and wanting a glass of water, and the only way to enter the kitchen was to pass through the kitchen. She saw her father with his colleagues and her stupid child mind didn’t understand what would happen if she walked by them in such a state. She doesn’t remember much of what happened afterwards, the only details coming to mind were that her father was very, very, angry, despite his colleagues mostly being charmed by her messiness. She thinks Daring was there too? It all just seemed fuzzy after the guests left and only family remained at the palace.

Dexter’s situation was similar, yet different. For one, he can’t even remember the scant details that Darling remembers from her encounters. He did have a vague feeling of Daring being present somewhere, but maybe he was just misremembering things. He did have a very active imagination, and considering how close he is to Darling, there is a good chance that he just assumed that some of her memories were his as well.

King Charming cleared his throat. “It seems that our family has been facing a series of unfortunate events as of late, what with Daring failing to be Apple’s Prince Charming and the storybook of legends making such an odd substitution in his place.” He said with a quick glance in Darling's direction.

Darling looked away in embarrassment for a moment, before composing herself, she had no reason to be embarrassed, she did what she could to save another person’s life! She should be proud if anything!

Her father continued, “This, along with the disgrace your brother brought our family when he dropped out of Ever After made me realize that I must take action to prevent further threats to our family name.”

The twins looked at each other, this was extremely out of character for him. He only ever cared about Daring, he left most of Darling’s upbringing to her mother and usually forgot about Dexter’s existence.

Darling spoke up, “Father, where is Daring right now? Is he home with mother?”

In listening to his daughter’s questions, he let out an irritated huff, “He’s making himself useful around the Kingdom. But that’s not what we’re here to discuss. I have conversed with Queen White about the current situation regarding the storybook of legends and we have come to a conclusion. There will be a meeting between you, Apple White, and Queen White herself.”

Seeing the shock in his children’s faces, he continued, “It will take place tomorrow at 6pm sharp in her castle, I’ve already made all the necessary preparations, you will pack your things once the meeting is over, there’s a carriage waiting for you outside.”

Darling was left reeling. What current situation? What meeting? What was he talking about? Where’s Daring in all of this? She wasn’t given adequate time to prepare for any of this.

While Darling was still attempting to figure out what was going on, Dexter meekly raised his hand, then noticing his father’s glare, quickly dropped it, “I, uh, was just wondering, why did you um, also call me here?”

King Charming sent an unamused stare towards his younger son, he had much work to do with that one, “You are going to meet with me and headmaster Grimm tomorrow to discuss changes to your curriculum. Seeing the way your brother turned out made me realize that I have been too lenient with you children.”

He got up from the table and dusted off his coat, “That will be all for today, you may retire to your rooms.”

As the door clicked shut the Charming twins stared at each other, not knowing what to make of this situation. They may have resented their father’s preference for their older brother, but that didn’t mean that they wanted to catch his attention themselves.

They each went back to their dorms to prepare for the long day ahead tomorrow.

Chapter Text

As Darling gazed out the chariot window, she could see White castle coming into view. She checked herself on her hand mirror to see that she was perfectly presentable. She internally chided herself for acting like Daring. It’s fine, I’m only doing this out of necessity, not because I’m vain. She thought to herself. 

The carriage rolled to a stop, and the door was opened by a sharp looking dwarf. She uttered out a polite “thank you.” and followed them to the Queen’s office. Snow White’s office was exactly as she thought it would be. The floor was made of blond wood, and the furniture from dark oak. Small accents of red and gold were found throughout the room. The only photo in the entire room was that of Snow White with a toddler Apple in her lap. It seemed like the two were genuinely happy. Their smiles seemed real rather than the practiced media smile she frequently saw on Apple’s face. She must really love her daughter, Darling thought.

All thoughts promptly vanished when the door opened to reveal Apple's beautiful face. 

As the two made eye contact, her face broke out into a radiant smile, “Darling! You agreed to it?” 

At that statement, the young Charming princess' thoughts were promptly pulled back to reality. “Wait, what did I agree to?”

“Oh, your father didn't tell you, did he?” Apple’s face fell in disappointment, only for her practiced mask to slip back into place. It was very brief, yet noticeable enough for Darling to notice.

She stepped towards her crush and placed her hand on her shoulder, “Hey, anything I agreed to with you is bound to be great.”

Apple merely blushed. The moment ended when a familiar authoritative voice was heard,

“Ah, I see you girls have met already. Discussing the current situation?” Before either girl was able to answer, Snow White continued, “While the choice made by the storybook of legends was definitely a surprise, I can understand why. As our people progress, it makes sense that our story should change to reflect that.”

Darling nodded, it made sense, the values of people have changed, maybe it was time to turn the page. It would also make sense why Apple didn’t seem like your standard Snow White. 

Traditionally, the Snow White story describes the princess as someone with hair as black as ebony, lips as red as blood, and skin as white as snow. Apple is very fair, but that’s where the similarities end. The previous description of Snow White always gave Darling the creeps. It seemed like the story was describing a vampire rather than the fairest princess in all the land.

Apple meanwhile wasn’t the cold and distant type of beauty, she was radiant . Her blonde hair, sky blue eyes, her lips with a slightly pinkish hue, even her skin, for all its fairness glowed in the sun. She was much more approachable than her forbearers.

“I’m sure you won’t mind, right Darling?”

Apple glanced over at her soon to be fiance, it was almost too good to be true. Her mother always knew that she preferred women, but she was always told to keep it quiet, ‘For the good of the kingdom.’ she had said. But now, she got to marry the girl she’d always had a crush on, with her mother’s approval! She was practically giddy with excitement.

Darling snapped back into reality, she had been so far gone daydreaming about Apple that she had completely dissociated from the conversation.

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

The room’s temperature seemed to drop by several degrees as Snow White gave her a look that was both professional and furious, as though she was ripping through her very soul. Even worse than that, she could see Apple’s face fall before answering,

“My mother asked if you’d be okay with marrying me.” She replied quietly.

Darling felt as though she was about to have a stroke. Her crush had just proposed to her! Well, technically her mother had, and she, like a dumbass asked for fucking clarification.

Before any incorrect conclusions could be drawn from the prolonged silence, Darling gathered her wits about her and slipping into perfect princess mode, and made her answer, 

“Yes! I mean yes, I would love to marry your daughter, your majesty. I was merely surprised that you would consider me worthy enough to marry your daughter.”

Snow White sat back. ‘Good, the girl knows how blessed she is to marry my little Apple Pie.’ she thought to herself. The two princesses were dismissed and the door was shut behind them.

The Queen removed her crown and took the moment to reminisce about the day her darling daughter was born.

Traditionally, children who follow their family’s tale were usually born in late winter or early spring. Apple, however, had been born later than usual at the start of summer. A bit odd, but something that could be overlooked so long as everything else was in order. Alas, that was not to be. Her daughter had been born with skin as pure as light, lips as pink as a baby’s blush, and hair as golden as the sun. She was perfect. But not everyone saw it that way.

Even her skin and lips could be forgiven, but her hair worried everyone. Her parents fretted, how would the kingdom react to a Snow White with blonde hair? 

As soon as her photos were released to the public, the press pounced on her. “SHOCK OVER NEXT SNOW WHITE’S BLONDE HAIR!” Headlines read. Vapid celebrities and scheming social climbers simply had to comment on the young princess’s hair, “Oh, I can’t imagine having a child with traits that clashed with my story. It must be really hard on you!” and all Snow could do despite being the de facto ruler of Ever After was bite her tongue and give a vague non answer, knowing full well that her daughter was right next to her and listening in on the conversation.

As Apple grew up, her detractors seemed to point out even more flaws. She isn’t as tall as Snow White should be, her face was too round, are you sure she’s not packing on too much weight?

And every time Snow had to maintain a queenly demeanor despite the constant stream of atrocious comments about her child. She sometimes cried herself to sleep knowing that she wasn’t doing enough to protect her daughter from people like them.

The only thing she could do, was make sure that her daughter was perfect in every other way, that there was no choice but for the dissenters to take back their words. Sure she may not look like your typical Snow White, but she certainly acts like one. Her presentation was impeccable, and even her most ardent detractors had to agree that she was well qualified to rule.

Snow remembered the day her little girl came up to her, nervous and on the verge of tears. She told her that she felt no attraction to Daring, and that she liked girls instead. Seeing her daughter that scared of her broke her heart, but she also knew that if anyone else caught wind of this, it could ruin Apple’s life. So she may not have handled it the best. She cringed at the memory.

Now that the storybook of legends has backed a female partner for her daughter, that problem is solved.

She sighed and massaged her temples, at least the new girl seemed to be more soft spoken and demure. There were benefits to having her daughter marry a woman it seems. The boy was too stubborn at times. He always seemed to want a reason before doing as he was told. Of course, that behavior improved over the years but it was grating at first, especially since she never had to go through such things with her Apple. 

Although from what she’s heard from the other nobles, Daring was apparently acting out and had dropped out of Ever After High. Ah well, he wasn’t her problem anymore, so long as his nonsense didn't hurt her apple pie, she didn’t care what he did.

A knock was heard on the door, and Snow placed the crown back on her head and composed herself, “Enter!” A dwarf carrying a stack of papers walked into the room and placed it on her desk, “Your paperwork for the day ma’am.”

The Queen put her glasses on and focused on the papers before her, “Thank you Perfectionist.” The dwarf merely nodded and shut the door behind him.

Apple blushed as she looked over at Darling. She still couldn’t believe it, her mother agreed to let her marry a woman, and it was Darling! Never in her entire life would she have seen this coming, especially after how her mother reacted to her coming out as a lesbian. They hadn’t spoken for days after that incident. 

Her mother’s words still rang in her ears, “Apple, I know that this might be hard to hear, but you’re to be the next Queen of the White Kingdom, we can’t afford to let you be seen with a woman. People will talk.” No amount of discussion could change her mother’s mind, it seemed that they were just talking past each other. She wished she could tell her mother that people had changed, and while some people wouldn’t agree to it, most people would be more than okay with her having a female co ruler. It was shortly before the events of the Dragon Games back at Ever After which settled that argument once and for all.

“Apple?” Darling’s voice cut through the chaos of her mind and she lifted her head to see her partner look at her with worry, “are you alright?” 

She blushed as she realized that the two of them were standing in front her room without even opening the door, she spoke up, “I’m fine Darling.” Then mustering up all her courage, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed her on the cheek.

“You should probably head back to your carriage, it’s a long trip after all!”, saying so, Apple closed the door to her room.

Darling stood dumbstruck outside as her hand went up to her cheek. She turned and walked back down to the carriage waiting outside for her, all the while blushing terribly. Maybe she didn’t have to worry about this meeting after all… The young Charming thought to herself.

Back in Dragon’s head, Rosabella continued to ponder the mystery that was Daring. As the two cohabited in the castle, she learned more about the traits he had hidden away. Like how he was prone to talking to himself when alone, or about his interest in politics and statesmanship.

The days seemed to blend together as Daring worked on his own project and Rosabella focused on looking for a cure for her father with Dr. Schwartz. She spent most afternoons in the library assisting the Dr. and helping out with the schoolchildren, then would return home and make dinner. Daring would usually make lunch since he was usually at the castle at that time, having spent the mornings talking to the residents of Dragon’s head about various amenities that they were missing. He would then return to the castle and fill out paperwork until dinner’s ready, then the two converse and eat. Afterwards Rosabella would complete her schoolwork, while Daring went out to “run some errands”.

Daring for his part was thrilled at the arrangement, having Rosabella around meant that some of the chores could be split between him and her rather than just having to shoulder all of it by himself. In some of his less guarded moments, he could see himself married to Rosabella and living in the castle, they already split chores and other duties evenly, and seeing her interact with the kids at the school stirred some feelings within him that he immediately buried. She was his ex! He shouldn’t be day dreaming about starting a family with her, especially since he had more important things to do!

As for the princess herself, the last part of Daring’s itinerary piqued her interest as she couldn’t think of a single activity that needs to be done in the dead of night, especially since he frequently doesn’t return until midnight, which is when she usually hears him stomping back into his room.

So one night, after he left the castle, she slipped in her cloak and followed him from a distance. He was heading towards a lake, and as she hid behind a tree, she could see him strip off his clothes, Rosabella blushed as her mind went places that her body dared not follow. She breathed a sigh of relief while simultaneously muffling a slight pang of disappointment as he kept his underwear on. 

Daring meanwhile, was just glad to be out of the house. The castle was too cramped for him to walk around in his beast form, and ever since his destiny as a beast was revealed, his skin seemed to itch if he didn’t transform at least once a day. Along with this, he discovered that he genuinely preferred his beast form in some ways to his human form. While he was always stronger and faster than average, his beast form took it to another level. He could move and climb, and run better than he ever could. His senses seemed to be dialled to 10, as he could see further, hear the softest sounds and smell things with an accuracy he never before had.

However, there were also drawbacks, for one, his beast form was 7’0” tall. Much too tall to get into most rooms, and those same enhanced senses had the drawback of making him too overstimulated to work.

As he experimented with his new abilities, he noticed that he could control which parts of his body transform, and to what extent. This meant that he managed to find a middle ground between his human form and beast form that suited him the best. 

It was this beta form that he took during his nightly outings. It just felt like him . The best of both worlds. His father would be outraged to find him embracing his beast side, but that just added to the thrill, and in anycase, his father wasn’t here. It was just him.

Or so he thought, until he caught a whiff of a very familiar scent. One of roses and springtime. Rosabella was somewhere close by. Daring’s eyes darted around the clusters of trees to find a petite cloaked figure turning and running. 

He was much faster than Rosabella even in his human form, so it was no surprise that he caught her quickly. As the two tumbled to the ground, Daring was the first to compose himself.

“Rosabella? Are you following me?”

“I, um, yes? I mean, I was just wondering where you were going every night.”

“Oh, uh, I usually go outside to stretch my muscles and not bother anyone.”

Rosabella frowned,

“You’re hiding the fact that you’re a beast.”

Daring looked away, unable to meet her eyes.

“Not quite. I’m still coming to terms with being a beast and what that means for me you know? Also the night is just peaceful, it’s nice to have some time to just think .”

Rosabella sat up and looked at him, really looked at him. His soul was clear, his words were genuine. She could feel herself falling for him again. The real him, not the princely persona he usually puts up.

Daring was worried, Rosabella has every right to be disappointed in him for hiding himself, that’s sort of her deal with being the next beauty in the story beauty and the beast.

Instead she surprised him.

“When did you learn to do that?”

“Excuse me?”

“You know, the half beast form.”

“Oh, I call it my beta form, since it’s between being a human and a beast. I just think it’s useful y’know?”

“Can you show me?”

“Oh, sure.”

Daring could feel her eyes on him as he transformed, now keenly aware that he was only in his underwear. 

Rosabella watched mesmerized as his strong hands became longer, and were tipped with claws. They were similar to her father’s paws, but with the distinct dexterity unique to humans. The rest of him seemed to become broader, and taller. 

This form was a far cry from the polished prince of Ever After High. 

Her heart thundered as she saw his crooked smile and self-conscious look in his eyes. That spark that drew her to him in the first place. She was so disappointed when Daring reverted back to his old self after their group trip to the top of the world.

Daring for his part, stood there anxiously. Since when did he, THE prince Charming get anxious? Over a girl’s opinion of him no less? When that girl is Rosabella Beauty-Beast. His mind easily supplied.

 “I think it really suits you.” She said with a smile, as she placed a hand on his chest.

“Thanks, give me a minute, I’ll change back into my clothes and carry you back to the castle.’

“Oh! Right!” Rosabella quickly turned around, thankful that Daring couldn’t see her beet red face in the dark.

Daring for his part simply cursed his alabaster pale skin as it gave away his flustered demeanor. He quickly busied himself with his pants, knowing that a certain Beauty-Beast princess was going to be the death of him.