This story is dedicated to a wonderful friend of mine who shared this theory with me a while back. You know who you are. Merry Christmas.

This story is a ONE SHOT. The ending is not necessarily 100% conclusive but I will not be updating it. I have not had a lot of time for fanfiction recently and I doubt that I will miraculously have more in the future. If you want to continue it yourself, feel free. This fandom could always use more fanfiction.

Anyways, I hope that you enjoy this story and I would love to hear what you think (as long as it's not "UPDAAAAAATE" or something along those lines).

Meg

No one saw except for the midwife.

Sabrina Hood stood at the foot of the queen's bed, commanding her to push. Snow White's knuckles turned white as she clutched the bedpost. Her pale face was red, her hair plastered to her head from sweat.

"Just a few more," Sabrina reassured the distraught queen, "She almost out."

Snow White's yell echoed through the room, carrying through the empty corridors and into the king's chambers. Had the king been there, he would have rushed to his wife's bedside, but he was away on diplomatic business, leaving only Sabrina and a handful of servants to look after the queen.

Sabrina turned to the nearest maid. "Get washcloths," she ordered, "And lots of extra water. Not too hot." This was going to be messy, Sabrina thought to herself as the maid raced out of the room, leaving Sabrina by herself.

The queen's chilling blue eyes held Sabrina's brown, which caused the girl to hesitate. Here she was, a Hood girl of only five and twenty winters about to deliver the heir to the destiny of Snow White. She prayed to every god that she could think of that the baby came healthy and beautiful.

"Are you ready?" Sabrina asked. The queen nodded. "Okay. On the count of three, I need you to push. One. Two. Three."

The queen fainted the moment that the babe left her womb. As Sabrina stared down at the child in her hands, she smiled. Snow White's daughter was the spitting image of her, with skin as pale as snow and hair as black as coal. With her eyes shut tight, the child wailed into the night, showing off her impressive lung capacity.

Glancing at the sleeping queen, Sabrina handed the heir to the queen's lady-in-waiting, Lucille. "I'll be back," Sabrina promised. She pushed out of the room, untying the dirty apron from around her waist and wiping the sweat off of her brow. She leaned against the wall, releasing a sigh of relief.

"Did I miss it?"

Sabrina glanced up to find King Jasper standing before her, still dressed in his riding clothes. His cheeks were flushed from having sprinted up the stairs. Not for the first time, Sabrina was amazed at how handsome the king was. With pale blonde hair and chiseled cheekbones, he looked like he belonged to the Charming bloodline, but it was his eyes that set him apart. Those bright violet eyes could only belong to a Fyre prince.

They said that the Fyre house had dragon blood flowing through their veins. Most people believed it to be false, but Sabrina had seen the patch of deep purple dragon scales on the king's left forearm. The Fyre line had dragon blood and magic flowing through their veins.

"No, your majesty," answered Sabrina.

King Jasper grinned and pushed inside the queen's bedchambers. Sabrina remained leaning against the wall, content to give the royal couple their privacy for the time being. Lucille emerged from the room. She smiled.

"I think they're in love with her," said the lady.

"As they should be," agreed Sabrina, "That princess is going to do great things."

"You have no idea."

Too exhausted to think, Sabrina pushed away from the wall. She stumbled through the corridors, leaving the delighted king and queen behind her. At that moment, she was sure that the future Snow White was going to change the world one day. With the appearance of her mother and the magic of her father, the girl had a powerful destiny resting on her shoulders.

The next time that Sabrina saw the princess, she was a small girl traveling through the lower ward in her carriage. Her eyes ahead and her back straight, the princess never glanced Sabrina's way. She never saw the woman who had helped to bring her into the world, but Sabrina saw her.

Sabrina saw a princess with fair skin, sparkling blue eyes, and beautiful blonde curls cascading down her back, but she did not see the princess she delivered. That princess was many, many leagues to the south, hidden away in a dark castle where no one would even guess that she was the true heir to Snow White.

Raven Queen stared at her back, her eyes wide with shock and horrification. This was not happening. This was not possible. This had to be impossible, and yet the evidence stared back at her as if it were taunting her.

You'll never escape her, the patch of lilac scales covering her right shoulder blade seemed to say. She may be defeated, but the Evil Queen left you one last curse.

That is what it had to be-a curse. There was no other explanation that Raven could think of. People did not suddenly wake up on their eleventh name day and discover that their skin had shed and been replaced by dragon scales. It wasn't something that happened. At least, Raven didn't think it happened. It wasn't as if she could ask anyone.

"Raven."

Raven jumped as her father tentatively knocked on the door to her chambers. Hurriedly, she grabbed a lavender robe from her bathroom vanity and tied it around her waist, covering the horrifying scales. "Come in," she answered.

King Lukas opened the door and shuffled inside. He smiled, his dull blue eyes lighting up when he noticed Raven. He offered Raven a rectangular package wrapped in black paper. "Happy name day," he said, "I can't believe that it's been eleven years."

"Neither can I," Raven agreed as she accepted the package from her father. Gently, she tore the paper away to reveal a book. Raven mustered up a smile. "A chemistry book. Thanks."

"You're welcome." The delight in King Lukas's voice was clear. He reached to pull Raven into a hug, his hand brushing against Raven's shoulderblade, causing her to recoil. When she stepped back, hurt shone in her father's eyes.

"I'm sorry," she apologized quickly, "It's just that I'm not looking forward to school today."

It was a reasonable excuse. Her father understood how much she hated school. She was never picked in any of the games. She hadn't been allowed to participate in the school musical. Even though she was a better singer, the lead was given to Apple White. Like everything else was. At school, Raven was an outsider - a loner. She didn't fit in with the villain kids like Faybelle Thorn and the royal kids wouldn't even talk to her.

School was in every way a living hell.

King Lukas placed a comforting hand on Raven's left shoulder. He stared into Raven's violet eyes and smiled. "One day, everyone else will see what a great kid you are, Raven. Trust me. When I was your age, I was bullied all of the time because I was smarter than the rest of the kids in my grade. Your mother was a very bad woman, but she accepted my intelligence and the quirks that came with it. One day, you will find someone who accepts you for who you are."

Raven blinked. Her father never talked about her mother. Never. He especially didn't talk about her as if she were anything other than a horrible monster who destroyed Wonderland.

"Thanks again for the book," Raven said. She may have wanted a guitar for her birthday, but her father was trying to relate to her the only way that he knew how: through science.

"You'll prove them wrong." King Lukas grinned. "Trust me. Just wait until science fair. We'll show them who's the smartest in your grade."

Raven didn't have the heart to tell her father that Apple White was and always would be the smartest in their grade.

"Yeah," she said, "We'll show them."

Raven Queen was already hesitant about her second year at Ever After High, but the moment that she strolled into her room to discover Apple White unpacking with the help of a few songbirds, she made up her mind. This year would be horrible. There was no other way to describe rooming with Apple White for a year. Completely and utterly horrible.

Maybe I should transfer schools, Raven thought to herself. It would definitely solve her Apple White problem.

"I'm so happy that we're roommates," Apple gushed as she pranced across the room, attempting to hug Raven. Thankfully, Raven quickly dodged Apple's hug, transforming it into an awkward pat on the shoulder. "We only have two and a half more years until our destinies begin. Can you believe that?"

"No," Raven answered truthfully. Unlike Apple, Raven didn't want high school to end. She didn't want to spend years as an abusive step-queen before she killed Apple White as her mother had to Snow White. It didn't feel right.

"I can't wait for you to poison me." No one in the history of Ever After had wanted to be poisoned as much as Apple White wanted to be poisoned. Personally, Raven would have placed a sleeping curse Apple right then and there if it got her to shut up.

"Yeah," Raven muttered, "Sure." She started unpacking, but no matter what she did, she could not get rid of the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was not right.

Days later, when Raven stood before the student body with a pen in her hand, the feeling only intensified. Something was not right. In that moment, as Raven stared at her mother's legacy and her future, she was sure of one thing: she was not destined to poison Apple White. It simply wasn't right.

She never could have guessed the chaos that would follow. Raven had no idea that by refusing to sign the Storybook of Legends she was tearing the school in half. She did not know that there were other kids like her who did not want to follow in their parents' footsteps. All that she knew was that she was not destined to poison Apple White. Maybe it was destined to happen, but she was not going to be the next Evil Queen.

Not if she had a say in the matter.

Headmaster Grimm kept coming up with new and creative was to punish Raven in a vain attempt to convince her to sign the Storybook of Legends. The most recent of which was not allowing her to see her father on parent's day and instead forcing her to spend the day with Apple White and her parents. He seemed to believe that Snow White would be able to succeed where he failed. Raven snorted at his reasoning.

Apple had been rambling about her parents all week-as much as Apple White could ramble, that was. According to her, they were the best people on the planet. Apple admired her mother so much, longing to be exactly like her. Her father, she did not seem to understand. Raven almost chuckled when Apple declared that. Apparently, they had more in common than either girl would have liked to acknowledge.

Raven surveyed the castleteria full of kids whose parents had taken the weekend to visit them. Cerise Hood sat across from her mother. Cedar Wood chatted with her father, her face brightening as he said something. Maddie had gone into the town for the day, visiting her father's tea shop. Even the charming siblings had left late last night for their parents' castle.

Only Raven was left alone. Well, Raven and Apple.

"They'll be here," Apple reassured Raven. "They'd never miss this. Not for the world."

"Sure," Raven muttered, leaning against the balcony railing. She was all too familiar with the feeling of being let down by a loved one. Her father was a genius, but he often forgot important dates like her birthday. Her mother never cared in the first place.

"They'll be here," Apple repeated. "They will."

As if having heard her, the doors swung open and a tall, slim man with hair so blonde that it was almost white strolled inside the room. Apple perked up immediately as she met her father's violet gaze. He smiled in response and the two raced to embrace each other. Raven stayed back, sticking to the shadows as she watched Apple and her father reunite.

"How's my beautiful daughter?" King Jasper asked.

"I'm doing well," Apple answered. She peered behind the king, searching for someone. "Where's Mother?"

"She's sorry, but she couldn't make it. Urgent kingdom business."

"Of course." Apple nodded and grinned, but Raven could tell that it was forced. She had put on enough fake smiles in her time to be able to identify Apple's. Grin and bear it.

"Father, this is Raven Queen, my roommate."

Raven emerged from the shadows as Apple introduced her and stared at the king. Should she curtsy? Did people even do that anymore?

King Jasper seemed to read her hesitation as he offered his hand. "I've heard so much about you."

"All good, I hope," Raven said, clapping King Jasper's hand and shaking it. When she glanced down at their conjoined hands, she froze.

Peeking out from beneath the long sleeves of King Jasper's shirt was a line of dark purple scales. They were rigid and large, meaning that they could only be one thing-dragon scales. Like on Raven's back. But how?

"Don't stare," Apple hissed in Raven's ear.

Quickly, Raven snatched her hand away from the king's, as if it had been burned.

King Jasper chuckled. "There's nothing to be scared of, Raven." Slowly, he unbuttoned his shirt sleeve and started rolling it back to display his forearm, which was covered in purple scales. "These dragon scales a Fyre family trait, I'm afraid. They used to provide protection-like armor-in the days when kings went off to war. Now, they're just a part of who I am."

Raven felt the blood drain from her face, making her paler than she already was. A knot of dread settled in the bottom of her stomach. A family trait.

But they weren't family. Apple was King Jasper's family. Did she have scales to match his?

"I just thankful that I don't have any scales," Apple said, "Imagine how horrible they'd look with a dress."

Raven didn't have to imagine. There was a reason that all of her dresses had high collars and never displayed her shoulder blades. Scales. Big, lilac scales that covered her entire shoulder. Scales that she'd thought were a curse from the Evil Queen, but now she wasn't so sure.

Only one person in the entire world would have answers.

"It's been nice meeting you, King Jasper," Raven heard herself say, "But I've got a lot of homework. You should probably spend your time catching up with Apple." Without waiting to be excused, she fled the room.

The climb to the attic where her mother was kept seemed to take forever. The feeling of dread in stomach grew with each step until she was standing outside the door. She felt like she should knock. When she was young, her mother had very strict rules against disturbing her. Even though she knew that it would do nothing, Raven raised her hand and knocked. Old habits…

Slowly, the door creaked open. Raven shuffled inside, her sneakers the only sound in the otherwise quiet room. Soon, she was standing before her mother's mirror. Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Tell me the truth, I demand it all.

"I didn't expect to find you here," the Evil Queen's chilling voice seeps through the floorboards, assaulting Raven from all sides. Moments later, she appeared in the glass. Her cold, violet eyes studied Raven. "Then again, I suppose it is parent's day. I have to admit, Raven, I never imagined that we'd have much of a mother-daughter bond."

Raven gulped. Steeling herself, she crossed her arms and stepped closer to the mirror until she was eye to eye with the Evil Queen. "Am I your daughter?"

The Evil Queen's eyes widened for a split second before she started laughing. The horrible sound filled the room, echoing off of the walls around Raven. Abruptly, she stopped laughing. A chill ran up Raven's spine. Had the room grown colder?

"I bet you think you're really clever," the Evil Queen spat, "It is true that I am not your mother and that idiot Lukas is not your father, but you are my daughter in all of the ways that matter."

Raven paled. So it was true. She was not the Evil Queen's daughter. She was Snow White's. Snow White and Jasper Fyre. The dragon scales on her back proved that.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that if you were to run to Headmaster Grimm's office and tell him the truth, he would never believe you." The Evil Queen grinned wickedly. "In fact, no one would ever believe you-not even as you bear the evidence on your skin."

"Why not?"

"You, my darling, are cursed. I cursed you-my final curse. One final way to get revenge upon Snow White. She is raising my daughter as her own and she does not even realize it. It may not be justice, but it is what she deserves."

Raven felt bile in her throat. She was going to vomit all over the floor, before the woman who is not her mother-the woman who cursed her so that she can never share the truth. No, Raven thought. She cannot show weakness before the Evil Queen. She cannot.

"Every curse can be broken," Raven said.

"Oh, there is a way. It's fairly simple too." There was a maniacal gleam in the Evil Queen's eyes. "I tied this curse to the life of my daughter-of Apple White. The only way that people will believe you is if Apple dies." The queen pauses as if in thought. "And you, my dear, are not evil enough to kill her for your own personal gain."

She's right, Raven realized. She was not selfish enough to destroy Apple for her own gain. She was not a murderer.

"You, Raven, will be my daughter from now until the rest of eternity." The Evil Queen grinned. "You were destined to become the next Snow White, but that will never happen. My daughter-my blood-will sit on the throne. She will be the one who lives happily ever after."

Raven opened her mouth to respond. Surely there has to be another way. Surely. Suddenly, she snapped it shut. This is what the Evil Queen wanted, she realized. She wanted to torture Raven because by doing so she would be torturing Snow White. I won't let her, Raven decided. She was going to beat the Evil Queen at her own game. She was going to break the curse.

Whirling on her heel, Raven left the cackling queen behind her. She did not know where her feet were leading her until she found herself before Headmaster Grimm's office. Without hesitation, she threw open the doors.

Headmaster Grimm jumped out of his chair. "Miss Queen, what are you-"

"I'll do it," Raven interrupted him, "I will sign the Storybook of Legends."

She would sign the Storybook of Legends, she would become the next Evil Queen, and she would beat the Evil Queen at her own game.

Raven would win. She had no other choice.