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It was Apple White's wedding day. The day she had always dreamed of. It was supposed to be perfect. And it was. All the decorations were picked out by her and Daring from the finest shops in the country. The food was made by the best chefs in all of Ever After. And Apple's dress was the most perfect piece of clothing she'd ever seen. Tailored specifically for her, white with little accents of her favorite red and of course little apple broaches that were made out of rubies and shined when the sunlight hit them.
But something felt wrong. Apple was supposed to be happy. And she was, in a way. But it felt like something was missing. Like she'd made some kind of mistake.
She looked down to her hands. On her left hand stood her golden wedding ring that Daring had proposed with. It was beautiful and flawless just like she'd always imagined. And on her right hand pinkie was the silver opal ring that Darling had exchanged with her. Daring had asked her if she was going to be wearing it to the wedding, and Apple had told him that she would never wear a different ring other than the one he'd given her.
Now, however, she couldn't bring herself to remove it. It had been weeks since Darling had her had last spoken. Apple had waited until the last moment to tell Darling about the wedding. Darling had of course congratulated her, but Apple saw the hurt in her eyes. And Apple hurt too. She loved Daring, she really did. But with Darling, she felt free. Like she could be herself and not be judged when she didn't act like the most perfect version of herself. Her few months with Darling before the engagement had been short, but it'd been the happiest Apple had ever been.
"Apple? Are you ready?" Briar's voice pulled Apple back into the present, in her room, willing herself to remove the silver ring on her pinkie. She didn't even like silver. Gold had always been her favorite precious metal. But this ring was from Darling. It once lay on her finger instead of Apple's.
"Y-yes, I'm just about done." Apple turned to look at Briar who'd entered the room now. She looked stunning in her bridesmaid dress and somehow more put together than Apple felt.
"How do you feel? Ready to take on your Happily Ever After? How does it feel to be Queen Apple Charming?" Briar asked with a laugh. Apple giggled
"Well, technically, I'm not Queen Charming just yet." She said.
"Well you're about to be, in—" Briar glanced at the clock on the wall "twenty minutes." She announced.
"Twenty?" Apple choked. She'd apparently been getting ready for longer than she though.
"Yes. You know it's getting hard for me and Ashlyn to keep Daring away from here. He wants to see you, but tradition says the groom must not see the bride before the ceremony" Briar sighed as she began to play with one of the white roses in the vase left on Apple's vanity table. Apple hated them. Only Darling knew that her favorite flowers were never white roses, but instead gardenias. Only Darling–
"H-he wants to see me?" Apple stuttered out. 'Stop.' She told herself. 'Stop thinking about her.'
"Well of course he does Apple! In a way it's really romantic, you know?" Briar smiled. "I wish my future husband is like this on our wedding day."
Apple managed a weak smile and took a deep breath, preparing to stand.
"Well in that case, shall we go?" She asked.
"Oh, yes, of course. Come on we'll just have to get your bouquet and then it's ceremony time" Briar sung out, leaving the room. Apple was about to follow her when she remembered the ring. Right. She was supposed to remove it. Apple stood still for a second in the now empty room. Then she made a quick decision, slipping of necklace and putting the chain through the loop of the ring then putting the necklace back around her neck. After a moment of adjusting she slipped out after Briar.
Apple felt a hot wave wash over her when she entered the wedding hall, hand in hand with her father. There Daring stood, blonde hair, blinding smile, suit matching her dress. He was perfect. They'd be perfect together.
As Apple started to make her way down the isle, the bouquet of sentless white roses in her hands, she noted the knights that stood on both sides of the hall, behind the guests. Right. This was a royal ceremony after all. Apple let her eyes wander around the knights, hoping to find the familiar white and blue locks of a certain darling knight.
And. There she was. A few meters away from the altar she stood. Her helmet was on, so Apple couldn't see her face properly, but the hair coming from under it was no doubt Darling Charming's. Apple felt her eyes beging to water and she looked away. 'Why? Why is she affecting you so much'. Her gaze found Daring and she faked a smile. 'You need to stop thinking about her'.
The walk down the alter went down quicker than she wanted to. Before she knew it she was in front of Daring, and the officiant was speaking. Apple couldn't focus on his words. Only on the image of Darling's face that was seemingly always stuck in her mind.
"–And do you, Apple White, take Daring Charming as a lawful husband, in sickness and in health and till death do you part?" Apple blinked back to the face of Daring who was looking at her with such hope, such love in his eyes. How could she ever deny him?
"I do" She breathed out.
"Then you may kiss the bride."
Apple's lips touched Daring's in slow motion. It wasn't like they hadn't kissed before, but this time she could only focus on Darling's figure turning around and making her way out of the crowd when she said 'I do'. Apple felt a tear roll down her cheek. When they broke apart, she'd tell Daring it was because she was so happy they were finally married, but deep down she knew it was from the pain of seeing Darling turn away from her.
"So, my beloved wife, how do you feel on our first night as a married couple?" Daring cooed from where he sat on the edge of the bed in their new bedroom. Apple herself was in the other corner of the room, on the table where a part of their wedding gifts were placed. She'd wanted to look at them sooner rather than later. Her love for new, expensive things never died.
"I feel wonderful, my beloved husband" She said in a high-pitched tone. She was trying to bury all of her bad feelings and thoughts about Darling deep inside of her, and so far it was working well. Apple wanted to keep it that way.
She was just unpacking another expensive white-gold purse when she noticed a bouquet of flowers behind it. And they weren't just any flowers. They were beautiful gardenia flowers. Apple reached over and brought the bouquet up to her nose. Immediately the intoxicating, sweet smell made its way up her nose.
There was only one person who could have brought them here. Apple looked around for a note or something, until she finally found a piece of paper folded between the petals of the flowers. She gently removed it, and opened it. Inside, the inimitable handwriting of Darling Charming met her.
"Happy wedding day, my dearest Apple. I wish you much love and happiness"
On the last word, the ink had been smudged as if something wet had fallen on the page. Apple stood breathless, staring at the words, reading them over and over again.
"Aghem, beloved?" Daring's voice came from what felt like impossibly far way. "What do you think?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, what?" Apple turned to face him, having completely missed what he'd said.
"I was saying that, as you know, on the first night of marriage, the couple is supposed to, umm, lay with each other." He winced at the last part.
"Oh, of course!" Apple jumped from the chair. How could she be so stupid? Her mind had been so wrapped up by Darling, that she'd totally forgotten about the proper wedding traditions "I'll immediately go get ready. Forgive me for my negligence, my beloved"
She scrambled out of the room before Daring could say anything else.
Apple lay wide open in bed, the moonlight shining through the window. Daring had long since fallen asleep, but Apple was just so restless. She wanted—needed— to see Darling.
Quietly, almost too quietly she slipped out out of bed and put on a nightgown. Then she tip-toed out of the room, never waking Daring. Once in the empty hallway she sighed. She really shouldn't be doing this. But she had to. Those weeks in which she hadn't heard Darling's voice almost felt like torture. Swiftly, Apple made her way to where she knew Darling's chambers were. Of course she knew where they were. She'd spent countless nights in them.
As she opened the door to the room, Apple was met with earie silence. She looked around. The bed was made and the curtains hadn't been drawn for bed. It was as if Darling hadn't even came back to her room tonight. But, Apple knew where she was. She knew Darling like the back of her hand, maybe even better than she knew herself. So she shut the door and ran down the hallways until she reached the dragons' stables just outside the castle.
As she entered, Apple saw her. Sat down, still in her ceremonial armour, her dragon companion, Herowing's head in her lap.
"Darling?" Apple whispered, her lip quivering. Darling's head shot up. Her eyes where glossy and a little red, and it looked like she was about to cry.
"A-apple? What are you doing here?" She stood up. "I thought…" She trailed off.
"I. I needed to see you, Darling." Apple breathed out, her own eyes watering. "I-I think I made a mistake. I don't know what to do."
Darling's hands were on her arms immediately. Her gloves had been removed and Apple could see the golden ring with a red garnet that she'd given her, sat on her right pinkie.
"It's okay, Apple. I'm here for you, no matter what it is." Her voice was soft and quiet, the tone she only used when they were alone. Apple wanted to embrace her, to feel like they were one in the same, to fuse their souls together so they'd never be apart.
"Oh Darling. I know." She said, tears falling down her cheeks. "I know you'll be here for me. I want you. It was never supposed to be Daring. I know it was supposed to be you."
Ever since Darling's kiss had woken her up instead of Daring's she'd known. But she pretended it not to be that way. That Daring was her Prince Charming. Lately though, she couldn't keep her feelings in any longer. She felt like she'd suffocate in them.
The woman in front of her stood frozen, mouth agape. Her hands were shaking where they were gripping Apple. There were tears in her own eyes.
"Is… Is this true, Apple? Please dont tell me you're playing some joke on me." Her grip tightened, but only slightly, not in a way that would hurt Apple. She was nothing like Daring.
"It's true." Apple hiccuped. "It's always been true. I was just too much of a fool to recognise it."
Darling took a deep breath.
"I want to know. Are you saying you love me, Apple?"
"Yes" Apple whispered "Yes I do love you."
"Then, I must confess too. I also love you" Darling said, matching her tone.
For a moment they said and did nothing. Then slowly, they both leaned for each other. When their lips met, Apple felt like her knees were about to give out. She'd always imagined this feeling while kissing Daring, but with Darling, it was real. She felt real.
When they broke apart they were both breathless. Darling's hand found its way to Apple's cheek. She smiled softly.
"If you want to leave, ever, I can take us to a place where nobody will find us, my dearest" She said in a low murmur.
Apple tried to imagine it. Living somewhere far away from Ever After, away from her friends and her destiny. If it was someone else she wouldn't have ever considered it. But with Darling… She felt like she could spend eternity only with Darling.
"I want to" She whispered "to be somewhere far away with you" Darling's smile widened.
"Tell me when you want to leave" She said before leaning to kiss her again