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Last chapter had been a strange one for all. What with the Evil Queen and the curse on the Snow King and Queen, Apple White barely had the time to sit down and think. And now that she did have time, she didn’t know what to think.
Her destined prince was not her own, Daring belonged to another story. And she did not know who her prince really was.
She was happy for Daring and Rosabella, really. But she also felt… jealous. Daring had lost his destiny as much as Apple had when he failed to wake her, but he found his true destiny just as fast. And Apple, well, she did not even know who woke her up.
Everyone she asked refused to answer, but she needed to know. Only a True Love’s Kiss could wake her from enchanted sleep, a kiss from her destined prince, and yet no one would tell her who he was.
(A part of her wondered if it even was a he, or if that was why everyone hesitated to tell her, that it was not a he, but a she. But that could not be, right? If it was, she was not sure what to do with herself… and what would she tell her mother?)
She’d ask Daring, but she did not want to make anything… awkward. Not to mention, he had apparently found his own destiny, his real destiny, with Rosabella.
Whoever would have thought? Surely not her, she figured when she overheard him and Rosabella talking during the snow day Princess Crystal had prepared.
She did have to admit the two were cute together. Rosabella managed to bring out a completely new side of the prince, one that Apple herself had almost never seen. And if they did share a story, in fact, essentially completed it, why would they choose something else?
Their story was beautiful. And it was fitting. It was fitting to them, so while Apple was sad to see Daring go, she was also relieved in a way. She was happy for them. Truly.
And it made her all the more wanting to find her own prince. Rosabella and Daring had found each other, it meant Daring didn’t wake her. Daring wasn’t her destiny, but someone was. Someone had woken her, someone was her destiny.
Her mind flickered to the Storybook of Legends. They’d shelved it, everyone could choose for themselves now. And yet, there was a certain safety in knowing there was someone out there for her, someone that was destined just for her. It was a safety in knowing she had a future, knowing there was something out there for her. That she just wouldn’t end up alone, not knowing what to do or who to be.
And what would her mother say?
“You’re thinking an awful lot, aren’t ya?” someone said behind her. “Would you want to talk about it?”
Apple almost jumped at the surprise arrival, sure her crown would have fallen off had she not managed to stay on the ground.
“Darling!” Apple exclaimed as she turned around, trying to maintain her composure, and likely failing as she was cornered by the silver haired girl.
“Apple,” she answered, the embodiment of calm as she so often was. “Wait, are you spying on my brother?”
Apple couldn’t do anything as Darling looked over Apple’s shoulder, seeing the couple on the bench.
“I was not! I simply-”
Apple was quick to defend herself, but, unlike usual, words did not seem to come to her, resulting in an awkward pause where Darling’s eyes and a quirked brow ended up locking in on her again.
“Of course not,” she simply said, before smiling slyly. “Come on, join me, and you can talk about whatever’s on your mind”
That was all the warning Apple got before Darling reached for her hand, entwining their fingers and leading Apple out of the castleteria.
Apple had to fight the blush rising to her cheeks as she let herself be led by the slightly taller girl, eyes locked on the mesmerizing way silver and light blue locks flowed down Darling’s back.
Apple allowed herself to grip the other’s hand a little tighter. Allowed herself to be led through corridors, up stairs, allowed herself to be led by this princess. This wonderful princess.
They entered the small library, the one where Apple and her friends had traveled to wonderland from. Darling too, Apple had later learned.
The room still held warmth. Princess Crystal had avoided letting snow and ice in here, protecting the books.
Darling let go of her hand to close the door. (Apple wanted to take it again.)
Darling offered to take her cape, seeing as it was not needed in the warm room. (Apple’s skin burned where Darling’s fingers brushed it.)
Darling led her to the bay window alcove, a cozy little nook where Darling clearly had spent much time.
“How cozy,” Apple mentioned, adjusting herself to a comfortable, yet still regal, position.
“You can relax, Apple,” Darling mentioned, smiling warmly. “There is no one here, except you and me. So you don’t have to try to be, just be”
Apple blinked at her, words sinking slowly in. And strangely, she found herself relaxing. Strangely, she found herself untying her shoes as Darling had done, and tucked her legs under herself, like Darling had done.
She was comfortable.
“There you go,” Darling said, yet again smiling warmer than the sun. “Better, isn’t it?”
“You really are a gentlewoman, aren’t you?” Apple smiles, small, soft, real.
“I try my best,” Darling claims with a wink.
They both giggle.
Then they just sit there, resting against the few pillows that line the alcove. Their feet meet in between them, and Apple tries to ignore it. She looks outside, at students having fun. On the way the light from the sun dances over ice and makes rainbows in the air. And her eyes flicker ever so often to Darling Charming in the alcove with her.
“You wonder about who woke you, don’t you?” Darling then says, her voice sudden in the lengthy quiet.
Apple blinks at her surprisedly. “I guess word got around, then”
“Of course it did, it’s you after all,” Darling says. She does not look at Apple. “You do know what it means, don’t you? That my brother couldn’t because he is a part of another destiny? That even if we get to choose our own, there are still circumstances that maintain what was written in the Storybook of Legends? That whoever woke you up, will… is…”
“My prince of destiny, I know,” Apple mutters, looking down at her hands. “Of course I know. I just don’t know who”
“Destiny isn’t always what we imagine, Apple. Just remember that”
“What?”
Darling still kept her eyes away from the blonde, and Apple was not sure how to interpret the almost melancholic expression donning Darling’s face.
“We never got to read the actual Storybook, but a part of me feels what was written there once. I’m sure we could also get Farrah’s help to check the old library, they’re sure to have a copy there. If you’d like to double check after this, that is”
“What are you talking about?”
Darling finally looks at Apple, and her smile was so small she might’ve not been smiling at all.
“I know who it is”
“There’s more than just you,” Apple said, and it was true. Everyone, few as they were, that had managed to escape school back during the Evil Queen’s attempted takeover had held a funeral for her. They’d be bound to know who it was. And Darling was so close when Apple awoke, there was no way Darling did not know.
“I just… I don’t want you to be disappointed. I know I am not, but you…” Darling sighed, and what did she mean by that? “You believe in your destiny so much, but you also have a set view of it. It was always going to be Daring, you expected it. It was always going to be a prince, even if it wasn’t him. But if it isn’t, I… I’m not sure how you would react. No one is, so they’d rather I tell you”
“Why you?”
Darling remained silent for a long time, gaze locking onto something outside once again.
An idea, an understanding, had started to form in Apple’s mind, one she’d barely touched upon earlier. And… it didn’t sound too bad, if she was being honest.
“It’s not a prince, Apple,” Darling said, and the puzzle in Apple’s mind was one step closer to completion. “They are still royal, though, so that part is still right”
“It’s you, isn’t it?”
Darling froze, her eyes widened. She looked almost… scared? But that did not make sense in Apple’s mind, because Darling was never scared. Then again, Apple was not perfect either.
“I thought…” Darling started again, pausing, then looking up at Apple. “Daring’s kiss did not work, so obviously he wasn’t the right prince. But how would we find the right one? Would we ever? And then we had the ‘funeral’ not funeral, and…”
Darling had started twirling her fingers, as if she was too nervous to sit still. But it made sense. Darling was always moving, the exception being when she was reading or five minutes ago when they just allowed themselves to breathe.
Darling sighed. “You choked. You stopped breathing. And it was so scary. No one moved, but I had to. I had to make sure you were going to be okay. And then I thought, maybe she’s just choking. And I was panicking, so it’s no way I did CPR even remotely right, but it was the only thing I could think of”
Tears. Tears were streaming down Darling’s face. Apple hated it. Hated having scared her friend so much that she cried.
(Not friend. Something so much more.)
“And then you woke up,” Darling finished, and even though she was crying, she was smiling. Smiling so brightly. “No one was sure how to react when you immediately asked if it was Daring, though, no matter how understandable it was that you thought it was. Because how was anyone supposed to look you in the eyes and say that, no, it was never the one you both thought it was, but rather his sister?”
“And that’s why they wanted you to tell me,” Apple whispered. The puzzle pieces all had their place. And Apple thought she rather liked the picture they formed.
“Better if it comes from your Princess of Destiny, right?”
“I’m glad you told me,” Apple said, reaching for Darling’s hand. Darling looked at where Apple intertwined their fingers, flickering to Apple’s other hand that reached up to wipe the silver-haired’s tears. “I’m glad it’s you”
“W-what?”
“I’m glad it’s you. I’m glad you’re my Princess”
Apple smiled as brightly as she could, reassuring, happy, and maybe just a little teary.
Darling chuckled wetly, eyes closed, before looking up at Apple again. “You really don’t mind?”
Apple shook her head, gently. “I guess I had a feeling that it was never a guy that was meant for me, but I did not know how to accept it. I still don’t know if my mother will. But I like you, Darling. I really do, so why would I mind?”
“You like me?”
“More than I realized, I suppose. I’ve always liked you, I just did not know it was a different type of like than the one I feel for everyone else, until now”
“I’ve always known,” Darling said then, her voice soft. And Apple’s heart fluttered, and she was sure her face was red.
Apple couldn’t help it. She could not help it at all. She started laughing. Darling joined in after blinking the surprise out of her face. They moved closer as they laughed, legs fully intertwined, dangling over the side of the seat, foreheads resting against each other’s, Apple’s hand still resting against Darling’s cheek.
“It took me a while, huh? I don’t think I’ve ever been so slow,” Apple muttered.
Darling shushed her. “Don’t be mean to my girlfriend, alright?”
Apple stopped laughing. Darling did too.
“So that’s what we are?” Apple asked, uncertain, wanting confirmation.
“If you’d like to?” Darling said, eyes closed.
Apple’s eyes fell shut as well, then…
“I’d love to”