As in the summery: this is Yuri! As in Girl X Girl! If you don't like that then why are you here?

I do not own EEH nor do I profit from this fanfiction.

The one with true love's kiss

XXX

"She should've been awake by now I swear!" Exclaimed Lizzy Hearts, making the room fall silent.

Raven, Cerise, Briar, Professor Baba Yaga, Cedar, and Daring looked up from the unconscious form of Apple White to the distressed future Queen of Hearts.

"Lizzy," Raven growled clutching her roommate's hand. "What. Did. You. Do?"

Lizzy stepped back, holding her hands up in a please-don't-kill-me gesture. Even though the former witch had sworn to never become the Evil Queen she could still be very scary when she wanted to be.

"I-I was trying to do something nice for Apple! She's been so down lately that I just wanted to make her day, so I gave her a poisoned apple to eat." The guilty girl defended.

A purple aura began to glow around Raven, her eyes flashed. "What? You tried to do what? What in the kingdom made you think that poisoning would make anybody happy?" The other occupants stepped back slightly as well and looked wearily between the two.

"W-Well its all your fault!" the girl of hearts accused, pointing accusatorily at the other. "It's because you won't accept your destiny as the Evil Queen that I had to do this! You've been nothing but nice to Apple and she has been getting so depressed because of it! You're supposed to be evil, and yet look at you! You even fed her chicken soup when she was sick two weeks ago and you didn't have the decency to poison it!"

Raven resisted the strong urge to roll her eyes; instead they narrowed to dangerous slits and the aura around her pulsed. Lizzy gulped knowing she had perhaps said too much.

"I will not harm the people I care about." Raven said her tone sounding dangerously level. She took the limp hand she grasped and held it closer to her. "Especially not Apple, not when I have to see her like…" The pale girl shuddered, blinking rapidly. "NOT like this. Never like this…"

The silence was thick as Raven took her vengeful gaze off of Lizzy and set a more heartbroken one to the unconscious girl lying in the infirmary bed.

Cerise glared in Raven's stead adding a low growl for good measure, Cedar hugged Raven's side and smiled slightly as she felt her friend relax a fraction, Briar situated herself on the other side of Raven and brushed some hair out of her BFFA's face.

Lizzy tried meeting Cerise's glare but was more preoccupied with trying to smother the feeling that she had just crossed some sort of unseen line.

Daring Charming, being perhaps the one male in the school that had at least an inkling about the ways of the confusing female, slowly took carful steps away from striking range.

Baba Yaga looked at them all, completely unimpressed. "Miss Hearts, perhaps you will want to give me that spell you used to create the poison." Her tone invited no arguments and the girl found herself producing a book titled Fairytale Poisons from one of the pockets in her skirt (wonderlandian tailors were geniuses with creating those types of pockets that seemed to fit everything without leaving a bulge).

She pointed to the spell she used. "It said that there was an antidote! I was planning on waking her up a few hours after and saying that Raven poisoned her, but didn't want to make a big fuss over it or have anyone else know. So that Apple would be in a good mood and keep quiet about it because she would think that that's what Raven wanted, and no one would be the wiser… but when I gave her the antidote it didn't work. And then Raven came in and started to freak out…" and now here we are, she was going to say but the professor looked at her and the words died on her tongue.

"Yes," Baba Yaga said slowly. "But it seems as though you have forgotten to read the fine print."

"The fine what?" Lizzy choked taking the offered book and just then noticing the little tiny writing on the bottom of the page. "Warning: if intended victim is already destined to be poisoned via apple then the antidote won't work."

There was a "whack" as Cerise smacked her forehead.

Lizzy continued. "In this event it is strongly recommended to counteract the effects using-"

"True love's kiss." Finished Raven. Without looking up from Apple the rebel girl barked; "Move it Charming!"

"Yes ma'am!" Daring prided himself on keeping his cool, and being quick on his feet while facing danger. So promptly moving to the medical bed under Raven and Cerise's intense stares didn't faze him. Much.

Striking a heroic pose (as was required in such a situation) Daring Charming bent down and placed a quick peck to Apple's red lips.

Nothing happened.

As was the same with the second, third, fourth… honestly Daring was getting a little uncomfortable doing so much kissing to an unconscious girl.

"It's not working." Cedar sounded almost just as uncomfortable as Daring was feeling.

"Well he must be doing it wrong!" Lizzy accused the lone male.

"There isn't much to be done wrong." The boy defended looking aghast.

"Maybe there was something not measured right or not added when you made the potion?" Briar looked to Lizzy, being the daughter of Sleeping Beauty Briar had an extensive knowledge of sleeping spells.

"If there was one thing not done right in a sleeping potion usually it can be undone with a few drops of trolls tears." The sleepy authority assured.

Everyone grimaced remembering the day Headmaster Grimm had been caught green-handed trying to make it seem as though all the Ever After High legends were true on Blondie Lockes's show… it had been a memorable episode involving an irate unicorn out for revenge and a vat full of trolls tears…

It took a week for the green boils to disappear, but the Headmaster now had to walk with a cane and wear orthopedic shoes.

Lizzy shook her head. "I made sure to do everything correctly, I even had Blondie do the measuring to make sure everything was just right." Now that made everyone frown, they all knew that the blonde blogger wouldn't stand for anything that wasn't "just right."

"It might be…" Baba Yaga began but stopped shaking her head. "No it's impossible."

"What is it?" Cedar pleaded, running soothing circles over Raven's back as she started to tear up. "Please Baba Yaga if it might be important then pretty please speak up!"

The elderly crone followed the girl's gaze to Raven and sighed. "It… might be that… mister Charming is not Miss White's… one true love." She finished gravely.

Their shocked uproar was cut shot by Raven's booming voice. "NO!" the girl cried, tears falling freely. "NO you have to be wrong! Because if your right and Daring isn't Apple's- then Apple won't- how is Apple supposed to- you're wrong…!" the distressed girl dissolved into crying.

The three Royals looked to the sobbing girl stunned, it didn't compute. Raven was supposed to be evil in their minds, and even though she had turned her back on her destiny she should not be this upset as far as they were concerned.

"Raven?" Briar asked looking alarmed as said girl collapsed to her knees, Cedar yelping as she was dragged down too.

"Please no… please, please no… Apple… wake up… p-please wake up…" she chanted, her magic pulsed around herself and around her and Apple's still joined hands, turning a paler, and paler purple as the seconds ticked by.

"What's wrong with her?" Lizzy gasped, growing alarmed.

Their teacher stared at her pupil with an expression of rarely seen surprise (or rarely seen until Raven and her band of rebels came along). "What? This can't be… that should be impossible."

"What?" but Lizzy got her answer as Raven, in her grieving worry, held Apple's hand to her lips and the once purple aura pulsed white and surrounded the two girls in a bright glow.

"What?" Raven croaked, twitching back in surprise.

Apple moaned but then fell silent again.

"What in the kingdom?" Briar whispered, feeling completely awake for the first time in a while.

Daring focused on what his gut was telling him to do and not to think about things too hard at the moment. "Raven, do that again."

"What?" Cerise didn't know whom to look at; the situation was just too bewildering to think clearly.

"Raven should kiss Apple." Raven sniffled but stared at the boy like he had grown another head.

"It's worth a shot if we want to save Apple." Daring reasoned, letting his gut do the talking while his inner self gaped at what it just heard himself say. Daring's inner voice's exclamation of; "WHAT?" echoed in his head.

Shakily Raven levered herself up, Cedar helping her until she could stand on her own.

She began shaking terribly as she pressed her lips to apple's chilled forehead. The light from before returned but with a stronger intensity, Apple groaned turning on her side to face Raven and stilled once more.

"Kiss her on the lips." Cedar suggested. Everyone stared at her. "What?" the wooden girl asked with an innocence that was achingly naïve.

Raven carefully turned Apple onto her back, gulping as she bent down to seal her black lips over Apple's red ones, which warmed on contact.

The light this time was blinding, from outside a column of light burst up from the school and a defining roar that followed as the light mushroomed across the sky, making it glow with an almost pink tint.

And then just as fast as it had begun it ended.

"GAH my eyes!" Cerise held her hands over the offended orbs.

"I'm blind! Can somebody please tell me where I am?"

"EEK!"

"Oops! Sorry Briar."

"Its fine Cedar, just please watch where you put your hands."

"I would if I could! Honestly!"

"I can't see my handsome face!"

"Who cares about your face! Show me where you are so that I can off with your head."

"Um what' going on guys?" the tentative new voice spoke up.

"APPLE!" everyone exclaimed blindly facing all different directions.

"Oh BFFA, I'm so happy you're alright… I would hug you but I have no clue where you are…"

Apple gently grasped her friend's hand and guided her to sit on the narrow bed before giving the blind girl a hug.

"Okay… did something happen that I should know about? The blonde asked.

"You were given a poisoned apple to eat." Raven's voice came from the other side of the bed making all the blind teens jump and sway disoriented.

Apple's voice was pleased. "Oh Raven I knew that you would come around eventually!"

"It was not me who poisoned you. Isn't that right Lizzy Hearts?" Now Raven's tone was borderline savage, making the mentioned girl flinch.

"Lizzy?" Apple asked confused.

"Ummm… off with your head!" the girl made a slicing motion with her hand, which was followed by an accompanying "clunk."

"That was the door handle Lizzy." Informed Raven's dry voice.

"I knew that!" Lizzy said feeling around. "Oh look the door is wide open. I'm just going to…" and with that the girl stumbled out.

Cerise who had been trying to feel around for something to hold onto came across something slimy. "What did I just touch?"

"Sorry Cerise." Came Apple's voice as she took away the slimy thing and wiped off the hooded girl's fingers on the bed sheet. "That was a bite of the apple I spat out when I woke up."

Cerise made a disgusted sound, rubbing her hand more harshly on the fabric.

"So… I was asleep?"

"Yes, Charming fixed the issue, he was very helpful. Weren't you Charming?"

"But I didn't-"

Raven clapped a hand to the startled boy's shoulder with a force that hurt. "Now, now, there's no need to be humble."

"Thank you Daring! You're just so charming… Raven? Why is everyone but you and Baba Yaga walking around like their blind?"

"Somebody must've been playing around with magic making a bright light which made everyone temporarily blind."

"Is that why I can hear everyone freaking out outside?"

"Yes."

"Why aren't you affected?"

"My eyes were closed."

"Why does it look like you've been crying?"

"Hay fever… maybe a cold."

"Oh dear! Well you better get yourself back to our room and take some medicine! I can't have my evil frienenemy get sick before you have a chance to poison me for real!"

There was a tense silence and a sniffling sound.

"Oh Raven look it's gotten worse! Wait here! I can get a nurse to look you over."

Before Raven could refuse alarms began to blare and the head master's panicked voice flooded the speakers. "Do I have the intercom on?"

"Yes sir." Came the bored reply.

"Right. Attention all students, stay calm. Until we can find out what that bright light was that blinded us-"

"I'm not blind."

"What do you mean you're not blind?"

"I mean that I'm not blind, I thought it was kind of obvious seeing as how I was the one to direct you to the intercom."

"Er… Right, thank you. Ahem. If the students who are not blind could please lead the ones who are safely to their rooms before heading to their own it would be greatly appreciated. And stay in your rooms until we've got it all figured out. Now how to I turn this thing o-"

"Alright." Said Apple determined. Standing up like she was on a mission. "First I'll grab some medicine for Raven and then-"

"I'll be taking the girls to Cerise and Cedar's room. You can guide Daring." Informed Raven, still wiping away tears but looking very determined.

"But Raven, you can't overstress yourself when you're sick."

"I'll be fine. Besides Cerise has some medicine I can use, and right now I'd feel better having all the girls together so that I can keep and eye on their blindness… I'll meet up with you in our- the room later."

Apple looked ready to protest but Raven was already lining the silent girls up in a Congo line, quickly speaking something in riddlish at Baba Yaga who nodded curtly.

"Alright." Raven sniffed, wiping her watery eyes. "I'm going to magic your shoes to fall into step with mine."

"Raven wait! You can't just-" Apple tried again, holding onto Daring's arm.

"Ready and right. Left. Right. Left." Raven called over her shrieking train, quickly leaving the room.

"What just happened?" asked one stunned narrator.

"You're asking me?" said a female voice.

XXX

"Sooo… that happened." Cerise spoke from her place on the bed, effectively breaking the heavy silence that had plagued the darkened room for the past ten minutes.

Raven whimpered she had replaced her normal school attire with a giant sleeping shirt that Cedar loaned her and curled up beneath one of Cerise's wool blankets.

Little had been spoken, save for Raven asking for more comfortable clothes and inquiring for the location of the first aid kit when there was a school wide message from one of the healers for all blinded students to wrap up their eyes so that they could heal better in complete darkness.

Being temporarily blind the three other girls in the room could do nothing but lounge on Cerise's large bed as they a waited for their vision to slowly come back.

Cedar patted around the bed. "Raven? Is there anything we can do? Do you want to talk about it? Do you want a hug? Or do you just want to be quiet for now?"

Raven peeked out from under the blanket. "You- you're not disgusted by me?" she asked tearfully.

"Of course not!" Cedar assured.

"Don't even think it!" Cerise stated, searching with her hand until she found her friend's shoulder and gave the prone girl a one-armed hug. "You're our friend Raven, part of our pack, and no one is allowed to tell you that you're disgusting."

"I second that." Briar added in, squeaking in surprise when a pair of arms encircled her waist.

"That's Briar Cedar." Pointed out Raven, chuckling wetly.

"Oops. Sorry Briar."

"It's alright, I appreciate the hug anyways."

There was a comfortable silence that descended upon the group for a while.

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this…" Raven spoke up. "I was supposed to find my own happiness and Apple was supposed to live hers with her Prince. I was… I just wanted to get over her without anybody ever finding out." She wavered and cracked towards the end.

"You… you've fallen for Apple?" Briar asks surprised.

"I didn't mean to." Raven defended brokenly. "It just… one day I just realized… I wasn't going to do anything about it, but then… I can't be… I can't be Apple's true love. She doesn't want me! She'd never be happy settling with… me."

Cerise hushed and soothed as the young witch's resolve finally disintegrated and she allowed her tears to shed without a fight.

"Why… why did I have to fall in love with- it hurts… it hurt so much t-to s-see her like that… it was almost as if she was- I never want to see her like that again!" The pale girl curled into her friend's embrace, burying her head into the other's lap.

"Shh, hush now, I know you don't like seeing her get poisoned, you are just too nice for that, it worked out in the end, it worked out in the end, it's all fixed now, shh, shh." Cerise comforted running her fingers through Raven's hair.

Briar had unconsciously tightened her hold on Cedar, her mind working furiously as she processed the words raven managed to hiccup out.

So… this was something more than Raven just turning her back on her destiny-

No, wait… if Raven is Apple's true love then… it wouldn't be raven turning her back on her destiny… it would be Raven embracing her destiny!

Daring couldn't wake Apple up. Daring wasn't Apple's true love. Raven gave Apple a true love's kiss and saved Apple. Raven is Apple's true love. But Apple…

Apple wanted to marry a prince. Wanted Raven to poison her. Wanted Raven to be the evil queen, to be the bad guy. Apple (bless her ignorance and nativity) never really understood what that would mean for Raven. Never took the time to listen…

Raven was nice; her true nature was that of a truly kind person. Raven cared about her friends. Raven cared about Apple. Raven wanted happiness, a good life. Raven was Apple's true love; she wanted Apple to be happy too. But if Raven were to make Apple happy by becoming the evil queen… it would- Raven would-

Briar's breath hitched and her heart fell to her stomach; if Raven is Apple's true love then that meant doing any harm to the girl she loved would- it might just kill Raven! It wouldn't matter if Raven had signed the Book of Legends or not; true love was true love and if the deed of poisoning, being hatefully denied by the one she loved, and imprisoned by that person, didn't break Raven's heart enough for it to stop then…

…Raven just might- Briar thought as bile rose in her throat- she just might beat them all to the punch and take away the threat posed to the one she loved… by taking out herself.

Usually Briar had no qualms about her rich imagination or the dreams that were produced by it, but at that moment the not-so-sleepy girl knew that the images of Raven tearfully watching Apple working on some chores at the dwarves' cabin, taking the poisoned apple and instead of walking over and getting Apple to eat it, putting the fruit to her own lips and taking one big bite-

Yep. She was going to have some nightmares for sure.

"I'll help you out any way I can." Briar almost jumped at the sound of her own voice.

"I'm surprised that you would offer." Cerise said coolly.

"Well she obviously can't poison Apple!" Briar pointed out. "True love's can't harm each other or else they'll… I really don't want to see- or in my case hear about years later- Raven get irrevocably hurt! I mean not even the Book of Legends has the power to dictate true love!"

Briar sighed as the only thing she could hear was Raven sniffling again. "Look, it's gotten kind of obvious now that Headmaster Grimm was lying about a lot of things… you not going poof, and that whole mirror incident being the proof."

Although only one of them could see it, nods went all around. Remembering the incident where the Headmaster had brought in a relic from one of Raven's ancestors, the mirror was said to show one's true potential as an evil queen.

It had backfired when all Raven saw was herself, only dressed as an ordinary but nice person, and smiling.

The Headmaster tried to quickly manipulate the image but as it turned out the mirror did not take kindly to being forced into a lie, and it told the Headmaster this… in a I've-just-set-you-on-fire sort of way.

He was so lucky that Raven was able to catch up to him running down the hallway and that she had mastered ice and water spells the previous week.

Not before half the student body had just witnessed their Headmaster as a flaming, screaming, inferno darting through the halls. Blondie broke a record on how many hits she got on her mirrorcast that week.

"I just want to let you know; however you decide to handle this, I will help you. Even if it means that I'll have to… evade certain questions from Apple." Briar concluded.

"I'll help too!" cried Cedar.

"We've all got your back Raven." Assured Cerise, finding Raven's hand to hold.

"Thank you, this… this means a lot to me guys." Said Raven, grateful.

"So she wasn't turning her back on her destiny?" Watching the scene from somewhere above a disembodied female voice spoke, although the only one that could hear her was the other disembodied person.

"Yes… and No… I think." Hummed the male narrator. Raven is refusing to go along with the destiny set out by the Book of Legends; but at the same time she is following the destiny laid out by her own heart. And her heart will not allow any harm to come to Apple, Raven's true love."

"This whole situation does not seem very fair." The female narrator sighed in frustration.

"For once I agree with you. It is not fair for Raven to have a true love that wants her to be the bad guy."

"It's not fair for Apple either. I mean if it is Raven and not Daring that has the ability to save her from poisoning then how is Apple supposed to get her prince? They can't just pretend can they?"

"…Pretend? You mean having Raven save Apple and then somehow making it seem like it was Daring all along?"

"Yes."

If the male narrator could, he'd be massaging his temples in order to try and quell his rising headache.

"No, even if Raven were to willingly do that it wouldn't work. You saw Briar's thought process! Raven cannot harm Apple, she is not physically or emotionally able to, and if she tried…"

The female narrator sighed peering down at Raven, who was trying to dry the tears that did not seem to want to stop falling.

"She does look awfully miserable." Female narrator reluctantly admitted.

Her male counterpart huffed in outrage. "She didn't even get a chance to even hope for something more with Apple, it was bad enough having to love from afar but now that she knows that it is a true love for Apple… well I guess her heart broke even more than it already was!"

The female narrator paused for a moment at the male's tone. "I suppose that we have no choice but to see how this story plays out, although if I were to guess; this will not be a tale about the rivalry between the Rebels and the Royals anymore."

"It will be a tale about an unexpected and difficult true love." Finished the male narrator. "Although with all these Rebel vs. Royal qualities it's impossible to say whether Raven and Apple will actually get together."

"A perplexing tale indeed." Spoke a whispered third voice.

"Wha- Kitty?" the narrators gasped.

For a brief second a Cheshire smile appeared near one of the rafters before disappearing again.

"Relax will you? I'm not going to lock those two into any closets until they stop being entertaining and need desperate help."

"Did you guys hear something?" asked Cerise.

"Oops. Gotta go." And without a sight nor sound Kitty was gone.

Raven sat up and looked around.

A bird in the windowsill tweeted sheepishly once the witch spied it.

"It's just one of Apple's birds." Raven informed holding out a finger for the bird to perch on. Gently caressing the creature's breast once it landed.

"Apple must be worried about you guys." The bird cooed happily under the girl's ministrations.

"She's worried about you too Raven." Briar pointed out. "She's probably wondering where you are right now."

Raven bit her lip, yes Apple would worry, that was the kind of girl she was, but it was nothing for her heart to skip a beat over, or for her to feel warm inside.

After all, aside from being the Evil Queen's daughter, Raven was nothing particularly special to Apple.

"Hey pretty bird, do you mind carrying a message back to your mistress for me?" Raven asked the bird.

The bird sat up to attention and nodded nobly, making Raven chuckle.

"Alright, just hang out for a minute while I jot down a note…" Raven stood from the bed, carefully placing the bird on a lampshade while she retrieved a piece of paper and pen.

When she made to fold her note up Raven got a serendipitous idea, so instead of folding the paper into a little square she used her magic to fold it into a paper rose.

The girl gasped in shock when instead of her normal purple colored magic, what came out of her pointed finger was magic the color of pure white snow.

"What in the kingdom?" Raven whispered shaken.

"Raven?" called Cerise from the bed. "What's wrong?"

"M-My magic… it's white!"

"White?" asked Cedar confused.

"It's normally dark purple! How can this be?" Raven flexed her hand in front of her face and like before a white aura surrounded the appendage.

"The color of your magic changed?" Briar snapped up from her dosing.

Before she could answer the bird, who had been appraising the folded paper rose and ignoring the silly humans, whistled appreciatively at Raven's handiwork.

For a moment Raven pushed down her rising panic and gave the bird a brave little smile.

"I guess some birds are colorblind. Thank-you, and thank-you again for taking this to Apple for me."

The bird whistled something merrily back before taking the stem of the paper in its beak and flying out the window.

"I better send a hext to BabaYaga about the change in my magic's color before completely freaking out." Raven muttered to the room, her hands shaking as she typed her message.

"You are staying here for the night?" Cerise asked.

Raven nodded as she sent her message, and then realized that her friends were blind so she spoke. "Y-yes, I was telling the truth about keeping an eye on your recovery… and to be honest I-I can't go back to- back to-"

"Go back to your dorm where Apple is waiting with a gazillion questions and armed with medicine for a sickness you don't have?" Cerise finished.

In response Raven curled back into the hooded girl's arms with a whimper.

"Try to get some sleep." Briar advised. "Plans and deep thoughts seem to always form best after a decent nap."

"I'll try, although I don't know if I'll be able to sleep after all that has happened." Admitted the witch.

"Here, lead my hands to the base of your neck." The sleepy teen instructed.

"Ok…" Raven did as asked looking at the girl in confusion from the corner of her eye, before gasping as she heard the other girl mutter something under her breath and felt tendrils of magic seep into the back of her mind.

"Don't fight it, just close your eyes and start counting back from ten." Briar instructed in a kind tone.

"Ten… Nine-" with a soft exhale of breath Raven was out.

Cerise hissed. "What was-?"

"The daughter of Sleeping Beauty, remember."

"That is one freaking terrifying skill you have! ... Can you teach me how to do that?" Cerise whispered.

"Later, for now lets try to get some rest too."

XXX

From another section of the girl's dorms two girls sat a spell in a room of a cat and Hatter for a taste of their homeland's staple tea.

"-And now here we are. Honestly Madeline there seems to be no method to this madness… and that is saying something."

Maddie hummed at the Queen-to-be, helping Lizzie Hearts take a sip of her tea through a silly straw.

"The heart rarely does business by a method when it comes to love, sometimes it can be downright sillier than a March Hare on Caterpillar Smoke." The Rebel Hatter pointed out.

Lizzie sighed putting a hand over her wrapped eyes. "And the Book does not dictate true love… but I thought that it… did it not seek out true love matches? I mean, of all the various, unrelated, Charming clans in existence only one family line was invited to this school to train to be the next Charming princes."

"Lies, lies, lies all abound. But is the fault of the Book or of the Headmaster I wonder…" A flash of a grin and Kitty appeared in the awaiting empty chair.

"You saw what our Queen had seen?" Maddie asked pouring the Cheshire and Earl Grey, her pet mouse, some tea.

"Not so much as seen what our Queen had seen, as… curiously observed why the not-so-Evil-Queen was leading a train of blind princess, doll, and wol-… red hood, while tears of woe streamed down her paled face." Kitty replied nonchalantly, biting her lip at the near slip of Cerise's true nature.

Maddie, who was more concerned about Raven than the odd slip, sat straighter, a frown marring her face.

"Yes… Raven's heart was already aching and now with this true love business with the Apple who is so very fare…" Maddie sighs in uncharacteristic worry.

The Mad girl turns to her feline countrywoman eyes bright and determined. "Is Raven well? Because is she is alone or with Apple then-"

"Calm Hatter, your companion is residing in the blinded doll and red hood's room with the addition of a blinded sleepy-princess."

Maddie sighs in relief.

"Although if it is a worry for your friend's heart and the unrequited love she has held so very long for our dear fairest Apple White, then I daresay that darling little Raven's feathers have been ruffled down to the bone."

Maddie narrows her eyes at Kitty. "I do not recall saying a letter of who holds Raven's heart."

"You did not have to, I overheard the girl herself admit about the fare-one holding that precious heart so carelessly- Now, now, Hatter no need for such a sourish look, as I have told the narrators, I will not interfere until it stops being amusing and those two's hearts are in desperate need… to be brought together… preferably in a locked closet."

Lizzie tilted her head in the Cheshire's direction. "You support this? But what of the Charming one, and of Apple's fairytale destiny?"

"Ah, but her majesty must also see, it is destiny that fare Apple White wants. Her and the Charming one are not even a couple, and the fare Apple has never once looked at her supposed beloved's flings in jealousy. Now does that sound like a girl in love to you?"

The future Queen of Hearts froze at the thought. No it really didn't seem like love to her, at least not a true one, it was more of an… arrangement of love. Apple did not even get jealous when she had spotted the charming one taking Lizzie herself out on a secret date. Of coarse Lizzie had put a stop to those little one-on-one outings partly because it just would not do for her reputation to be seen with any boy on a date, and partly because they weren't so much as dates as fun outings with a friend and that second part is exactly what she had told Daring Charming just so that he wasn't going to get any funny ideas.

The outings did not stop but Lizzie had made sure that Apple was invited as well, a good time amongst friends, something the girl of hearts was slowly learning how to do without causing mass fear of chopping off people's heads.

Maddie looked to Earl Grey, who squeaked around a mouthful of cookie. "Earl Grey has a point, Raven would not want Apple to end up with her because of destiny and obligation, she would want Apple to fall in love out of her own free will. And although I do agree with Kitty, Raven and Apple would indeed have the potential of making each other very happy; the cavity of this tooth is that they cannot forge their destiny unless Apple learns to let go of being the next fare Snow White and Raven learns that destiny is not always a bad thing and thus something that should not always be fought."

She raises her teacup to Lizzie. "Take our Queen for a look-see, the Book or not the Book, she is still our future Queen of Hearts and her majesty has found no reason to fight it. If Raven is shown that destiny can land her a life of freedom and happiness then perhaps she will stop quaking in fear at the very word."

Lizzie considers for a moment, reclining in a chair that looks more like a throne, deep in thought.

"Apple, just as our little Raven, will not be so easy to convince either. It would not be surprising for Apple to stubbornly cling to her envisioned ever after." Lizzie signaled for Maddie to help her take a long sip of tea.

"So my subjects, what are we to do?"

"Raven's happiness and the wellbeing of her heart are my only concern, but whether I will assist in her and the fare one becoming a true love couple remains solely on what time says and whether fare Apple might pose a threat to Raven's heart." Maddie informed her tone leaning more towards, but never quite fitting perfectly with sanity, just as it always does when dealing with something that might put that awful sad and heartbroken look upon her friend's face.

Kitty studied a cookie with mild interest. "I have already stated my intentions."

Lizzie huffed. "If we have the last resort, and the safe friendish actions, all lined up… then I suppose that would make me the risky front line." She lifts her hand in a royal fashion. "Cheers to this plan."

"Aye laced in catnip!"

"Cookies and Raven's happy heart!"

"Squeak!"

XXX

The hext had come early the next morning; all parties- except for Apple White- who had been present at the origin of yesterday's fiasco were excused from class and ordered to report to the headmaster's office where breakfast would be served.

Raven highly doubted that she would be very hungry, or even have the stomach to keep any food down.

"OK now open one eye slowly." Raven instructed Cedar as she held one hand over the other's left eye and held the bandages in the other.

Cedar did as told squinting and blinking before a big smile spread across her face.

"I can see!"

"Well that makes three for three and I gotta say I am so glad that I'm not blind anymore." A sunglasses wearing Cerise beamed handing Cedar her pair of revealer rays.

"Not only are these revealer rays hexelent for revealing stuff but their also hexelent sunglasses!" Cedar proclaimed proudly as the lenses darkened.

"You're sure that you're up for this Raven?" Briar asked placing a hand on said girl's shoulder.

"I don't think that I'll ever be up for it." Raven admitted truthfully. "But this talk needs to be done and things need to be sorted out."

The walk to Headmaster Grimm's office was done in silence; all around them the halls were abuzz with that mysterious column of light that had appeared the previous day. Theories were already being volleyed around each more outlandish then the last, however- Raven was thankful to note- non that she could hear had anything to do with true love.

A blindfolded Daring and Lizzie were already there along with Maddie and Giles Grimm. Someone had arranged a table filled with food several feet parallel to the Headmaster's desk with several winged back chairs arranged to face the Headmaster's chair behind his desk.

The Headmaster and Baba Yaga were not present in the darkened office but Raven could faintly hear the murmur of voices in the adjacent room.

"Raven!" Maddie rushed to envelope her friend into a hug. "Lizzie told me what happened when I helped her back to her room. I've got some tea that'll help with nerves."

Raven hugged back and gave Maddie a grateful smile. "Thanks Maddie, that sounds wonderful."

"Why are you two still blindfolded?" Briar asked taking off her sunshades.

"We no longer have to adorn the blindfolds?" Asked Lizzie sounding hopeful.

"As long as your vision is restored and you don't expose your eyeballs to any intense light." Briar replied. "Here let me help you."

While Briar set to work a plate full of food appeared in front of Raven. "Oh Maddie, thank-you but-"

"But nothing Raven I can hear your stomach calling for food from here." Her Hatter friend countered.

"Maddiline is right Raven, you may not feel hungry but your body is. When was the last that you ate anyways?" Giles Grimm asked in a grandfatherly sort of way.

Raven thought for a moment. "Breakfast… yesterday…" she had gone to fetch Apple to tell her that the cafeteria was serving apple cheesecake and would Apple like to join her; but then she was greeted with Apple White, laying so still, barely breathing, cold to the touch, as if she were dead.

Raven's stomach chose that moment to howl.

"Eat or off with your head!" An un-blindfolded Lizzie Hearts punctuated the statement by cleanly slicing the top of her soft-boiled egg and taking a tiny spoon to dig in.

Raven just nodded and took a bite from a deviled egg, making the table beam at her like she was five all over again, much to her embarrassment.

"My handsome face! Oh how I've missed you." Daring crooned at his reflection as he held his trusty mirror.

"I'm glad to see that you are all doing well." Commented Baba Yaga as she floated into the room.

Raven fidgeted eyes darting to the other room as she tried to distract herself by focusing on getting food into her mouth.

As if reading her thoughts Giles spoke up. "My brother will be out soon, he's just recently gained his sight back and is pouring over old texts to make heads out of tails of the situation. He's trying to keep everything under raps, the only faculty that know the whole story is myself, Miss Baba Yaga, and my brother; but I must say that bright light has caused quite a stir."

"I'll say." Cedar piped up. "The halls are filled with talk, most of it's people thinking that somebody just mixed the wrong magical vials in evil-nomics though."

Raven gulped down a bite of waffle. "Do you know how many people were blinded?" she asked concern and guilt lacing every word.

"Fortunately the only reported cases of blindness were from those in the room with Miss White and myself." Headmaster Grimm answered as he limped into the room, startling Raven.

Cerise wrinkled her nose. "'Bout that; something's been bugging me all night… if what you say is true then why wasn't Professor Baba Yaga or Raven blinded? And what about you Headmaster Grimm, you weren't even in the same room as us, why were you blinded?" the hooded girl asked pointing to the headmaster as if he had a hand in the whole mess.

"When working with the future evil fairytale characters, I have learned to keep up on certain protection spells." Baba Yaga answered with a smug little smirk.

Raven blushed bright red. "I- like I told A-Apple… myeyeswereclosed." The girl mumbled looking fascinated by a spot on the table.

Headmaster Grimm cleared his throat. "A certain magical mirror had reacted to the phenomenon caused by Miss Raven Queen's actions."

"Milton…" Giles warned. "Remember when we agreed to provide the students with all of the relevant information."

The Headmaster made a face, shooting his brother a withering look; but Giles firmly held his brother's gaze (almost as if saying; remember when you cursed me and locked me beneath the school? Yeah well I'm not putting up with that nonsense again) and within moments the Headmaster was sighing in defeat.

"The mirror imprisoning the Evil Queen illuminated while I was trying to get her to tell me where she hid the Fairytale Book of Legends." The table went from merely quiet to oh-curses-silent.

"My mother again?" Raven whispered horrified.

"We have also discovered," Giles gently started. "That our various instruments to find the future true love, or true love alternatives has been… tampered with."

The air almost sucks out of the room at the proclamation.

"Along with the events of yesterday and the discovery of the vandalism to mentioned instruments, two other alarming factors have arisen." Announces Baba Yaga looking pointedly to Raven.

"The first of which was Miss Queen discovering last night that the color of her magic has changed."

As if on cue Raven holds up her hand which glows with a white aura. As the Wonderlandians stare in shock and Charming nearly chokes on his food, the old crone takes Raven's glowing hand and inspects it.

"Speaking of; Miss Queen, sometime this afternoon or tomorrow I'd like you to report to my laboratory to get a better look at this."

Raven nodded to her teacher. "Yes Baba Yaga."

"The second strange factor is the sudden growth of this plant all over Bookends." As she says this, a potted plant floats to the center of the table. It looks a lot like a thick vine, or a very green, very tiny, trunked tree with delicate twiggy branches that at the very tips extend five long stems that end with flowers that look like purple bleeding hearts and two leaves that extend from where the stem meets the petals that look like little green wings.

"It looks like a bleeding Rebel heart!" Maddie squeals excited.

"Rebel heart?" Daring asks.

The mad girl nodded. "Earl Grey made the Rebels an icon." Said mouse appeared next to the plant with a drawing of a purple heart with white wings.

"Oh." Said the boy.

Raven and Cedar looked at the new plant in fascination. Cedar always loved plants; she felt that she had a… special connection to them.

Raven, who always had a head for magic-sciences, itched to learn the properties of this particular find.

"All over Bookends you say?" The young witch asked eagerly.

Baba Yaga looked at Raven knowingly. "There are plenty down by the girls dorms. Though might I remind you Miss Queen to conduct proper safety procedures and if needed, using the labs installed here, with permission from me mind. Please. Do not make Billy's mistake of converting your dorm into a laboratory?"

Daring shuttered at the memory.

Raven blinked innocently. The elder witch made a note to update those fireproof spells, and keeping in mind Billy's adventure, the spells dealing with enlarged dust mites.

"Right then. Back on track."

Giles looks to his grim brother with a pointed expression. To which Headmaster Grimm produced a golden framed empty piece of canvas; and a brass sundial-like instrument with complex gears at its center, and a rim fixed with a mirror that surrounded the center like a shiny donut, inlaid with copper wire designs that looked like vines had grown over the mirrored part.

"We do not know the full extent of the tampering, but we have fixed most of the bugs out of several instruments such as the compass of hearts and the canvas of Eros. We will begin re-administering tests as soon as possible, after all fairytale matches of love are not done lightly. Each paired couple must forge a relationship that can last the rest of their lives." The Headmaster explained.

Half the table pulled a face. Fancy words weren't enough to cover up the real meaning; arranged marriages.

"Unless it's a true love." Briar reminded. "Nothing, not even the Book can dictate a true love match."

The Headmaster nodded. "That is true Miss beauty, and that is exactly why we have so many sensitive instruments. True love, as our ancestors have recorded, is a very rare phenomenon that has the power to break any curse and even change the path of one's story."

He took the compass and motioned for Raven to move her almost fully eaten plate so that he could set it down in front of her.

"We will begin today by using the repaired instruments to discover what exactly we are dealing with. These tools in particular are extremely accurate the closer the fairytale character is to it."

"What do I need to do?" Raven looked at the device determined.

"Just sit still Raven." Giles instructed coming up on the other side of the table and placing the Canvas of Eros directly in front of both Raven and the compass.

A large copper sewing needle with a heart shape for the eye rose from the center of the gears, the mirror ring glowed beneath the copper wires, and without warning the eye of that needle shot a pink light right to the location of Raven's heart.

Raven gasped feeling something pulse through her entire self, from her bones to the core of her power with a force that felt like she was bracing the full force of a magical mountain that turned out to be a volcano.

A white aura surrounded the surprised girl and a strong concentrated beam of Raven's magic shot up the line of pink light, through the eye of the needle and collided into the canvas.

Those who were formerly blinded winced at the sudden onslaught of lights, their eyes aching and sending shoots of pain to the center of the brain, but many still tried to squint curiously as color started to bleed into the fabric of the canvas.

And then like someone had flipped a switch the lights shut off and the needle descended back into the compass.

"Raven!" Cerise called in concern as said girl collapsed in her seat like a puppet with cut strings. The hooded girl caught her friend, scootching her chair closer so that Raven didn't have to lean so far.

"Just as I, and Baba Yaga had predicted Milton." Giles informed his brother dryly. "The color is permanent on this canvas, not just a temporary projection, meaning a strong true love. And you know as well as I that the saying goes, "If it is a light upon the tread then a love that'll last until their dead. A stain into the thread then a truest love that will last beyond their time of being dead." Even rusted dowsing rods can detect a strong true love."

As the brothers began a silent argument involving pointed looks and odd faces, Raven shook wide eyed in Cerise's arms.

Upon the fabric of the canvas there was an image of Raven Queen and Apple White nearly embracing fully as lovers stained into the thread. They stood beneath an apple tree with fruit of green, yellow, and red. Growing around the trunk was some form of tiny vine-ish tree with purple flowers that looked a little like bleeding hearts.

Apple White wore a dress of reds, whites, and gold fit enough for an Empress. Hair all done up, make up carefully applied, a magnificent crown adorning her head and a scepter with an apple jewel on top carelessly held in the hand facing the viewer.

Raven Queen did not sport the macabre designs and high collar of an evil queen; instead her gown, and entire look was simpler, though no less stunning, she wore no make up, feet bare on the grassy ground, her simple sundress was of silver prints of apples here and there, light shades of lavender for the whole of the dress that clung to her upper body and gently flowed out around her at the waist, and bare traces of black trim. Her hair was down and swept to the side to expose the side of the girl's face to the viewer with no spikey crown or crown at all in sight.

Raven's breath caught somewhere near the hollow of her throat and she forgot the ability to breathe at the tiny figure resting securely in Raven's arms, swaddled in a little white blanket with tiny green apples printed onto the fabric. A tiny hand rose towards the smiling faces above.

Raven felt Maddie take her free hand the distraction allowing the shaken witch to tear her gaze away. The witch did not cry, but it was a near thing for all the hurt at seeing what could never be.

From his corner, Daring looked to the portrait with a soft look. Noting that he oddly felt no traces of jealousy, just the opposite, looking at that painting for some unexplainable reason made him feel… happy.

Not in a perverted way like that idiot Sparrow Hood would no doubt do. It was really hard to believe that boy would become the selfless Robin Hood one day.

No… the happy he felt was… well it was a lot like pointing at something obvious and exclaiming; "I knew it!"

Was this that "fangirling" thing that his sister had talked about?

Finally fed up with the two brothers Baba Yaga promptly wacked the two upside the head.

Rubbing the back of his skull Headmaster Grimm turned towards his students.

"Miss Queen, despite the current evidence presented I would like that this remained a secret from Miss Apple White."

Half the room bristled, ready to protest.

"I fully agree." Raven stated.

"I do not want to hear any arguments Miss- wait what?" The Headmaster, like the two diehard Royals looked at the witch in utter surprise.

"I am not the one that Apple wants." Raven's voice was low and shaken, yet very strong. "My principles stand for everyone to choose their destiny. Apple wants a prince charming and a fairytale happy ending. That is everything that I cannot give her. I couldn't stand it if Apple settled for me just because some compass and a pretty picture said so and not of her free will."

"But what about true love?" Both Daring and Lizzie exclaimed at once.

Raven gave them a resigned smile. "Just because neither Apple or I will end up with a true love ending does not mean that we can't find love and happiness with other people. Destiny may say that we are a good match but I have loved Apple far too long and far too much to let her settle for someone who she doesn't really want."

Daring huffs getting ready to argue but Raven is too quick.

"I am not feeling well. Can I go lay down in my dorm?" Even though Raven asks she is already out of her seat followed by Cerise.

Raven looks to Maddie, Briar, and Cedar. "I'm sure that you guys can keep me up to date with what the rest of the meeting was about?"

"I'm going with you." Cerise states and it is not a request.

"Raven! Wait a time!" Lizzie calls but the girls are already out the door.

"Oh! Off with her head!" The girl of hearts grumbles in a very put upon way.

XXX

Once outside the office Raven moved swiftly down the hall, picking up speed the further she went, Cerise kept pace beside her. The witch's head held down so the wolf child could not see the other's expression, but she could smell the shock and grief roll off of Raven and surround her form.

It was a good thing that there were very few students out in the halls at this hour, most were either in the cafeteria or in town grabbing breakfast. Even so Raven, in her haste, nearly plowed into Ashlynn Ella talking to Hunter Huntsman, and gave Tiny quite the fright, jumping out of nowhere in an improvised shortcut from one terrace to another, using her magic to achieve the great leaps.

Raven was panting harshly, leaning against her large dorm doors for support at the end of it all. Cerise, who hadn't broken a sweat, carried her exhausted friend inside, flopping her down on Raven's dark-themed bed and stripping off her black-heeled boots.

"That little run feel good did it?" Cerise asked.

"Yes…" Raven huffed, curling into a ball.

"Hey, don't get all comatose on me yet, we still have to get you into some more comfortable clothes." Cerise warned before attacking the black corset. "To be honest I'll never understand how you are able to wear such tight clothing all the time."

"Not… my idea… Apple bought me an entire… wardrobe when… we became roommates." Raven wheezed.

Cerise looked to the other girl with wide eyes. "She bought you a what?"

"Clothes really expensive… and they were from Apple… couldn't turn them down." Raven explained as if it would make any more sense.

"Well that would explain why you dress all dark and gloomy every day. Wait. How did she even know your measurements?"

"Apple can be very resourceful…" Raven paused, half naked now, looking over her half of the room. "She bought almost everything you see here. She said that she had found out that I had very little belongings of my own my first two years here so she decided that would not do for an Evil Queen… her heart was in the right place at least."

"… I suppose so." Cerise surmised that Raven must care for Apple a hex of a lot if she put up with creepy décor and Apple being… well Apple.

It wasn't that Cerise disliked Apple White; she just found the blonde annoying.

… Very, very annoying.

"Remind me to give you a couple of proper sleep-ware and lounging clothes the next gift giving holiday." Cerise grimaced as she held up some silky things and an old purple sleeping shirt that was on its last legs. "There is no way this stuff can last you through the winter."

"That blanket you gave me worked very well in keeping me warm." Raven walked, in her underwear, over to a giant dark wood chest sporting intricate designs of skulls and webs, and pulled out a thick purple plaid wool blanket and wrapped it around herself.

The same blanket Cerise had thought too simple for the witch but could not think of anything better to give to her, and the thing was on sale, and now here Raven was, standing barefoot and snuggled into something that had been seventy five percent off at some backwoods chain store, as if it were the most precious gift of all.

But then again that was Raven, Cerise had come to understand that the witch preferred the simple things over extravagance, she was great to shop with, Raven had a sixth sense on deals and sales.

It wasn't that the girl didn't have money; from barest hints here and there she knew that Raven's father was a noble of some sort, it was just that Raven had a bit of a craft witch in her, someone who made most of what she needed and only went out and bought the things that she could not make, any excess luxuries were gifts from others. Cerise had some of Raven's handmade shower jellies to prove it.

Cerise had a suspicion that Raven felt as if she didn't deserve luxuries or comfortable clothes.

That thought made the wolf child reach out and hug her best friend, because although she may not be able to make Raven's current situation all better, she could make Raven feel a little better.

Fairytale! Apple had to be some form of fool to let someone like Raven slip through her fingers, and then metaphorically kick the witch when she was down with all of that evil nonsense. Cerise mused to herself as her heart warmed when Raven all but melted into the hug.

Even before the door opened Cerise growled, pulling a startled witch beneath the girl's dark bed sheets as Apple's voice rang throughout the room. "Raven? Are you in here?"

Cerise let out a sigh of defeat. "She's in here." The hooded girl called out.

"Cerise?" Apple appeared around the corner, one look at Raven huddled in her bed and the princess raced to her roommate's side. "Oh Raven you look awful!"

"Gee thanks." Raven tried to sound sarcastic but instead her voice cracked and shook.

"No seriously you look worse off than yesterday!" The blonde turns towards Cerise. "Didn't she take any medicine last night?"

"Raven's had a… difficult morning." Cerise replied, hiding a rueful smile. As annoying as Apple could be one of her saving graces was helping others to the best of her abilities.

"I heard from Ashlynn that you were racing down the halls all upset. Did something happen Raven?" Apple reached down to feel the witch's forehead.

Raven blushed at the contact her magic flaring up and almost seeming to reach for the princess.

Apple gasped stepping back. "Raven?"

Cerise grappled for a decent excuse. "Ah well- Apple ya see Raven is… she's…"

"My magic's changed color." Raven's meek voice rang throughout the room like a gong.

"Changed- Raven that's terrible! No wonder everyone said that you looked so upset!" Apple moved closer to Raven. "Have you been to see the healers yet?"

"Professor Baba Yaga said to schedule an appointment with her this afternoon or tomorrow."

"And have you?"

Raven fidgeted. "No… I uh- I know I should see her as soon as possible… it's just that I don't know if I want-" she grimaces holding up a hand and eyeing the white glow. "I just don't know how to… deal with… this…"

Apple nodded expecting such a reaction. "Perfectly understandable. How about I schedule you an appointment with her for this afternoon and we can face this together. Ok?"

"'K." Raven blushed feeling warmth spread through her chest.

"First let's take this thing off…" Apple reached forward towards the crown still in Raven's hair, flinching back as the white glow reappeared.

"S-sorry!" Raven stuttered. "That's never happened to me before I swear!"

Apple takes a steadying breath, resuming her quest to take care of the spikey crown, this time she barely twitched when the glow curled around her gentle fingers. "Your magic is linked to your emotions right? So it's only hexpected for you to be upset enough for it to flare up like this."

The princess takes the crown and gently moves to place it on a regal mannequin head for safekeeping.

"Is there anything else that you need? The truth Raven, remember how your cold turned into strep throat because you refused to acknowledge that your body needed things. Like sleep and food." Apple's tone turns very dry.

Raven blushes looking sheepish at the reminder and Cerise raises both eyebrows.

"It was midterms! And besides the bella nightshade flower is the only flower that still grows in the winter around this area. I wanted to study it!"

"Outside? In the cold? At night? If memory serves me correctly we have several evil-labs that are indoors and built for the purpose of studying magic. Honestly Raven I can understand taking your craft seriously but there is a difference between harmless curiosity and having Hunter drag you back to our room at two a.m. in the middle of the night, coughing, high fever, and nearly frozen to death."

Raven pouted. "You're never going to let that one go are you."

"Two a.m. Raven. And do I have to add that you had gotten such a high fever that you were hallucinating? I may not know much riddleish but I'm pretty sure you mistook me for that flower you were so obsessed over."

Apple cleared her throat. "Little dittle, petals so fare, heady fragrance of blood do heat, forbidden temptation does pollen bring, may radiance caress me fully, little dittle, shall I dare?" The princess quoted misinterpreting Ravens full body blush for something else entirely.

Cerise perked her head in alert. Strange… for a second there she could've sworn she heard an aborted wolf whistle.

"And you kept making similar comments while grinning like a loon." Apple continued. "You don't remember this, but I'm sure Maddie has told you about the time she was over to see how you were, she told me that you were referring me to a pretty flower. Which is nice and all but from the look on her face you were saying weird things even compared to Wonderland standards."

Raven bit her lip remembering that little incident had clued her best friend into her true feelings for Apple. According to Maddie, Raven had quite the silver tongue.

Thank the ancestors that Apple could not understand a lick of it.

"But Apple," Raven blinked innocently, "you are comparable to a pretty flower."

"Nice try Raven, but flattery will not stop me from making sure you don't end up grinning at me and talking to the walls again." Apple pushed Raven to lie down on her bed and then snuggly tucked the witch in.

Raven sobered. "I'll be fine Apple, I just need some rest and to… make do of the situation."

"Good." Apple stated with feeling. "I'll see you at lunch to bring you food and to tell you when we are going to see professor Baba Yaga, and if anything is wrong, I don't care about how little it is, you hext me right away."

"Yes ma'am." Raven nodded."

"C'mon Cerise we'll be late for class." Apple motioned for the Hooded girl, who followed the blonde out of the room.

"I'll see you later Raven." The wolf child promised looking the witch in the eye before ducking out.

Once the door closed Raven groaned, hiding fully beneath the covers and tried to just forget the world.

XXX

Outside the dorm doors a bemused Cerise was witnessing yet another distraught girl.

Apple leaned against a pillar, holding her mirrorphone to her chest, her free hand covering her worried face.

"Cerise… please, will you tell me that Raven is going to be ok?"

Cerise blinked. "Raven is going to be ok." She said.

"Her magic's changed color." Apple said sliding to the ground.

"Yes, it has." Cerise did not know where this was going.

"This is really serious isn't it?"

Cerise hesitated.

Well yes it was serious, magic changing colors was probably not a simple thing.

"Yes it is." Cerise answered truthfully.

"Is that why you guys were all in Grimm's office?" Apple asked.

Cerise reeled gaping at the other for a while.

"You really are resourceful aren't you?" It wasn't a question.

"Yes, I am." Apple looked at her.

"… Yes." Cerise finally relented.

Apple looked at the ground, opening and closing her mouth as if she wanted to say something but didn't know if she wanted the answer.

"You won't know unless you ask." Cerise stated bluntly.

Apple looked at Cerise, her blue eyes intense.

"Will this affect our story?" there was a note of hysteria but that was beneath layers of scarily leveled control.

"Yes." Cerise confirmed without apology.

"Tell me what you know." Cerise bristled at the order but kept her composure even as her eyes flashed gold.

"I can't tell you every detail, we don't understand much of it ourselves."

"Then tell me the important parts of what you know." Apple countered.

Cerise glared, tilting her head in thought. The story of Snow White had been done with ages ago on Legacy Day, perhaps even when Raven was born if what Briar and the other Royals were hinting at was to be believed. Honestly it was astounding how easily Daring and Lizzie automatically seemed to accept the role change in characters, Royal upbringing indeed! Daring didn't even show a hint of jealousy! Sure him and Apple were, "arranged" to be married and all but the way he had just accepted the fact that he was not Apple's prince gave Cerise a case of mental whiplash.

Although it was a relief that no one who knew seemed inclined to force Raven to be the Evil Queen.

As far as Cerise was concerned Apple should understand that the whole Raven-not-becoming-the-Evil-Queen thing was a permanent fact. For not only Raven's sake but for Apple too, the princess had to come to terms with this.

"What's happened to Raven… it's permanent. For reasons that I can't tell you… she is very literally unable to become the Evil Queen you so desperately want her to be. It's not a choice for Raven either, even if she suddenly wanted to she… she can't Apple. I know that you might try to fix it by doing whatever to make her be the Evil Queen, but trust me-… Just don't ok?"

"But if Raven can't be the Evil Queen then her story will cease to exist!" Apple exclaimed horrified.

Oh for the love of the ancestor forest! Could this girl get anymore dense? Cerise internally bemoaned. Wasn't it obvious by now that that was all a lie created to scare people into their respective characters?

"Yeah well becoming the Evil Queen will end up killing her in a lot more crueler way then sticking to her Rebel cause will." The young wolf snapped, finally too fed up with the other to be all delicate and muck.

"What?" Apple breathed, her heart felt like a frozen block of ice.

"That's what we were in Grimm's office for; to confirm what a lot of people suspected after yesterday, if Raven became the Evil Queen…" Cerise shuddered remembering the stories her gran had told her as a little girl. Of the fairytales that almost were but never quite made it, almost all of them dealt with true love that had gone awry.

"She'll die Apple. The very nature of being evil would be excruciating for Raven. Throughout the whole story she would be in pain… until Raven's body gives out that is."

Cerise balled her hands up in anger ready for a fight, as if miss perfect goody two shoes could possibly get off her high horse long enough to understand anything but her own happy ending and how others viewed her.

That was the annoying thing about Apple as far as Cerise could see; she was the perfect angel for almost everyone but nothing but a bully to people like Raven who had to deal with people screaming that she was nothing but a monster even though she had done nothing to deserve such treatment.

And Apple just had to take things one step further, by trying to lead Raven on to the point where she hoped Raven would lose her cool and do something evil, and then parade Raven around as if she was some sort of circus animal.

At least she seemed to be concerned with whether or not Raven would actually disappear…

Or so Cerise hoped.

As the other girl's nearly shouted remark sunk in, Apple sucked in a breath as if pained, screwing her eyes up and tilting her head towards the high ceiling.

She breathed deeply for a while, resting so still that she looked one with the stone pillar.

Cerise fidgeted, preparing herself for what was next. Preparing to defend Raven's honor if necessary.

Finally the princess opened her eyes. She looked ahead of her with a clear gaze that almost burned.

"Raven's health comes first. I will not let her be hurt because of any changes to her tale."

Cerise blinked, stunned. She had been expecting a freak out, maybe even a tantrum because the princess couldn't deal with not getting her prince or her throne.

"You're… you're really that worried?" Cerise looked at the other curiously, searching for any falsities.

"Of coarse I'm worried!" Apple exploded. "If what your saying is true Raven can't save herself from disappearing by becoming the Evil Queen because she'll… she'll go away anyway because her magic will ki- k- hurt her until s-she can't…"

Apple breathes in deeply focusing her gaze intently on the other girl.

"Raven doesn't deserve that. Her story can't end that way. I won't let it end that way." She stated with such conviction that even Cerise had little doubt that were there an actual threat to Raven's life the blonde would look at whatever it was in the eye and snarl.

The princess stood up swiftly, dialing her mirrorphone, looking ready for battle.

"Hello? Professor Baba Yaga? It's Apple White. I have seen that the color Raven's magic has changed. What time should I take Raven to your office this afternoon?"

No, although Raven may long to write her own destiny despite the consequences, and although this mysterious change in her magic followed by the witch's inability to follow her destiny may be irreversible; she would not allow for Raven to disappear.

She would not stand for it.