Chapter Text
“Darling! Sit down! You’re going to spill the -”
The stick whipped through the air with a whistle as Darling lunged forward. Apple shrieked and ducked her head under the assault, though the stick came nowhere near to actually hitting her.
“Darling, I’m serious! Save the roughhousing for the boys!”
“Release the damsel, vile hag!”
The teacup and its contents fell victim to Darling’s attack when her foot connected with it, clattering along the saucer and splashing tea over the rim. Apple reached for it as quickly as she could, fumbling with the glass and swiping it out of the way before Darling could fully crush it.
“Please! My mom will be so mad if we break her good china!”
Darling stopped dead in her tracks.
Mom. Mad.
Those words together were as familiar to her as the back of her hand. And the shock of cold fear that they set off in her gut was even more familiar.
She tossed the stick she was using as her sword aside and dropped to her knees beside Apple. Her eyes flitted over the teacup in the other girl’s hands, frantically searching for any signs of damage.
“Is it okay? We can fix it, I promise.”
She kept talking, faster and faster, an edge of panic creeping into her soft-spoken words as she offered alternating apologies and reassurances. One image flared to life inside of Darling’s mind - that of Apple cowering before her angry mother with the shards of china at her feet. Tears dropped from her cheeks to mingle with the glass, soaking up the chalky dust on the edges of the pieces, falling heavier with every sharp reprimand from Snow White’s mouth. It fueled Darling’s panic. Apple deserved to have her tears caught by something better than broken glass.
Her small hands enveloped Apple’s, and she slowly pried the girl’s pale fingers away from the teacup. Her body slumped in total relief at what she saw. The china was still intact, splattered with tea but still all in one piece. She hadn’t managed to chip it.
“It’s fine, Darling.” Apple said slowly after awhile.
Darling raised her eyes to Apple’s, finding them wide and impossibly blue and watching her in a way they hadn’t ever quite watched her before. It hit Darling like a pail of ice water when she realized. Apple watched her with concern and confusion, and a little hint of suspicion in the pinch between her eyebrows.
Darling snatched her hands back immediately and folded them in her lap. She itched with the urge to fidget; twist her fingers or mess with the fabric of her clothes. She kept herself collected, however, thanks to a lifetime of practice. She’d had eleven years to perfect her facade, and she couldn’t believe she had allowed it to slip in front of Apple.
“I’m glad I didn’t break it. Sorry for getting so carried away.”
Apple didn’t answer but continued to stare at her, and Darling stared right back. It lasted less than a minute, but to Darling, it felt like forever. Apple pursed her lips and looked away, back to the teacup she still cradled, and went about cleaning the spilled tea from the glass as well as her fingers. Darling watched on in silence, maintaining her stoic demeanor, but her heart beat hard in her chest.
She imagined her little outburst looked very odd to Apple. The two of them had known each other for years, nearly their entire lives, and there was no doubt in Darling’s mind that they cared deeply for one another, but that didn’t mean Apple knew everything about her. And Darling wanted it that way. Her mother would want it that way as well. So it had to stay that way.
Darling startled a bit when Apple sighed. She settled the teacup - now clean of splatters and newly refilled - in front of Darling on the blanket and gestured to her clothes.
“You’re a mess,” She scolded lightly, once again returned to her usual self. “You’re like no princess I’ve ever met.”
Darling looked down at herself, instantly zeroing in on the dirt staining her clothes - dark patches on the knees of her stockings and several patches along her skirt. She grit her teeth behind the smile she tossed Apple’s way. There was no way she would be able to hide the evidence of how rough she had played today. She was in for another scolding from her mother when she got home.
“Maybe I’m not a princess. Maybe I’m a hero.”
Apple tutted. “You mean heroine. And that’s not possible. You aren’t like your brother, you know.”
Darling felt her lip trying to pull back in a grimace, but she schooled it at the last second and allowed herself an eye roll instead. She most certainly wasn’t like her brother, because if she was, then she would be able to join in on the fencing lessons every afternoon. If she was like her brother, she wouldn’t be reprimanded for a bit of dirt on her clothes. If she was like her brother, her mother wouldn’t have any reason to be ashamed of her.
“I bet I could save a damsel just as good as Daring could.” Darling pouted.
Her facade was slipping again, but she didn’t care this time. She wanted Apple to see her in the same light that she saw Daring. It was an odd feeling.
“Sure. But you don’t have to. I mean, you aren’t supposed to.”
Apple raised her teacup to her lips to take a sip. The action was so dainty and delicate, her small fingers placed just so around the handle, her lips barely touching the rim of the cup so Darling wasn’t even sure if she was able to take a proper sip. It was so painfully familiar to Darling, and she was sure it had been drilled into Apple the same way it had been drilled into her. Etiquette was everything for a princess, or so she had always been told.
“Says who?” Darling suddenly asked.
Apple nearly choked on her tea as she let out an incredulous scoff. She took a moment to set her teacup down before addressing Darling with a petulant frown.
“Everyone? And everything? You’re a girl! A princess. Who’s ever heard of a princess rescuing damsels?”
“I could be the first.”
Apple gave her a funny look, her lips parted like she wanted to argue further. Darling simply waited. She had heard this argument before, many different times and in many different ways. Apple didn’t say it in the same degrading, cruel way that Darling’s mother did, but her point was the same.
Apple’s expression smoothed out into bewildered affection for her friend, half a smile making its way across her face. She shook her head amiably.
“You are so adorably weird, Darling. Your stubbornness isn’t quite so adorable though. But if you manage to save any damsels, let me know, okay?”
Darling narrowed her eyes in playful challenge. Apple watched her over the rim of her teacup as she took another imperceptible sip.
“Maybe I’ll save you someday, Apple.”
Apple laughed, a light bubbling sound that reminded Darling of the sugarcubes in her tea. She tossed her blonde curls over her shoulder before regarding Darling with a teasing look of her own.
“Maybe,” She sing-songed. “Just don’t expect me to hold my breath.”