And thus, like that, as once two figures stood, one falls. The last one standing goes to the victor. The Evil Queen was no more. Good has won.
To believe it was just mere minutes ago that the evil queen had set out to destroy this world. But there she was, slain on the ground. Yet, despite all that, it was as if she was sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face. It was as if she okay with this outcome.
This day was supposed to be a tremendous victor for our hero. But yet the sky continued to cry tears of rain.
Our Hero dare not move. The adrenaline pumping through her veins she dare not turn her gaze away from the form on the ground. She dared not look away from the sleeping face that once belonged to her best friend forever after. It paralyzed her.
"Please…"
But as the saying goes "The show must go on…" and as with every ending, there will always be a new beginning. As the waves of emotion that flowed through our hero, so must our hero herself m-
"Please…stop…"
Our physical pain may heal, but true pain will take time. Time is what was to come next as the great evil that threatened Ever After was finally put to rest.
"Narrator…please stop…"
And as we move into the future, and even though it is with a heavy heart, our story must cont-
"Stop it, I beg you…"
Our story must con-
"Just…shut up…"
…
"Stop talking!"
I'm…I'm sorry Madeline. I know how much she meant to you. I know you loved her very much.
But yet Madeline didn't speak. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Raven's body. It was as i-
"…"
My apologies.
"She…she didn't deserve this."
…
"All Raven ever wanted was to live her life the way she wanted. She never asked for any of this."
…
"How could she do this to Raven?" there was no words to describe the tears that filled Madeline's eyes.
Raven…Raven was a great person. It was just…It was her destiny that's all. It held her in its grasp.
Madeline fell to her knees, "she didn't deserve any of this. She should be here, right now, with me!"
I'm so sorry, Madeline. I know how much you loved her.
But yet, despite my, the narrator's, voice being all present, I knew I could never reach her. She continued to cry and mourn for her friend, and yet all I could do was watch onward.
This was the ending that Raven Queen asked for. She was overcome by her destiny and tried to rule the world, she didn't want to hurt anyone, and Madeline knew this. Raven knew exactly what she had to do. She knew she could only trust Madeline Hatter to do the one thing no one else would. And because of that she was able to pass on with a smile in her heart.
"…"
…
"Narrator?"
What is it Madeline?
"Can I ask you a question?" There was a sudden change in tone in the young girl's voice.
What is it?
"Despite everything that happened. Despite what I did…what I did to Raven. Can I still narrate?"
I'm afraid I don't unders-
"Can I still narrate? Can I still use my voice to narrate this story? Or has my position been revoked?"
I'm not foll-
"Answer my question!" She shouted, this was nothing like the Madeline that I knew.
No, no your position as a narrator hasn't been revoked. This…this ordeal with…Raven…this was all scripted. Everything that had transpired happened because it was meant to. It was destiny.
"So, I can still narrate?"
…Yes…
"…"
Madeline?
"…"
What are you thinking?
"I'm thinking of doing something…stupid…"
What are you going to do?
"I'm going to bring it back. I'm going to bring it all back…"
Madeline…
"I'm going to bring her back!"
No, Madeline. Don't do this. It's-
"Mad? No, it's not mad. It's like I said, it's stupid." This tone in her voice, it wasn't the Madeline I once knew. This time, she was much colder. "Don't you think I'm aware of that?"
Madeline, don't! I know how much Raven meant to you, but this? What you are suggesting is something that could unravel the entirety of the world!
"So what? Without Raven, I don't have a world."
…
"Haven't you ever stopped to think about it? What it would be like to go back?"
…
"About how simple it is just to restart from the beginning, to rewrite everything?"
…Only my entire life…
"Then don't you understand?"
…
"Narrator!"
…
I'm tired…
"…"
I'm tired of all of this…
"Narrator?"
Goodbye, Maddie…
"Narrator?"
…
"Narrator?"
…
But there was no one there. There was no one else's voicing echoing in my head other than my own. I was truly alone, for now and forever after. "Goodbye, Narrator…" I whispered, full aware that there was no one to hear me. I was alone.
Realizing I was now alone, I became more aware of my surrounding situation. There I was standing in the middle of a battle field. Destroyed homes. Broken trees. Remains of a place that was what I called 'home.' Despite standing in this place, my one true world laid broken next to me.
"Raven," I felt myself gravitating to what remained of my friend. Her once warm body lay cold on the broken ground. I have heard some make the comparison before, but I had never thought about myself, but she really looked like she was sleeping.
I knelt down, getting a bit closer to my friend, "Raven," I gentle whispered as I pushed back the hair that had fallen over her beautiful. Even now, she still had the smile that I only ever dreamt of waking up to every morning. I smiled back, wishing she would just open her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Raven." I said while stroking her cheek with my hand, half hoping that this would wake her up from her eternal slumber. It wasn't that I expected her to ever like me back, but I was "mad" for a reason after all. I was fine from watching from afar, observing her. I felt like as long as Raven was happy, I was happy.
Perhaps that was why I gravitated to the narrator's words. Perhaps I was adjusted to just observing Raven that I became in tune with those that observed us. I will never really know why I was gifted with these powers…No. I knew now why I was given them. It was for this very moment.
"Don't worry, Raven." I whispered to her once more. "We'll be together again!" I said with a final smile.
Kneeling down on the broken debris, I closed my eyes and clasped my hands together as if I was in prayer. This power I had now possessed, it was near god-like. It was appropriate, I suppose.
It happened once before as far as to my knowledge. It was the time when we fought Jabberwocky. I saw my dad get hurt and I remembered that I had gotten so mad that my very voice ripped away at the walls of our world and into another, not wonderland but somewhere different.
I remembered how angry I was, how boiling I felt my blood rise. Yet now, I feel more angry than I was then, yet I have never felt as calm as I did right now. If there was a moment that I could do what I had planned to do, now would be the time.
I took a deep breath. I knew what I had to do was going to take complete concentration. I was going to have to break character just to maintain what I had planned. But I, at this moment, had the resolve. I was okay with only observing.
And I opened my mouth and began to speak…
"Once upon a time, in the land of Ever After…
It was the year of Legacy Day. It was a momentous event, where children of Fairy tales pledged to take the same paths as their parents. For some it was a joyous occasion. For others…
"I just don't know Maddie, I just don't want others to think of me like my mother, I'm not evil like her…" …R-Raven Queen, the enchanting daughter of the Evil Queen, was one of the many students that attended Ever After high that was unsure of what their destiny had instore. "Maddie? Are you okay?" …
"Is it just me or is the narrator off today?" Maddie Hatter piped up as if believing someone was going to give her a clear answer.
"Um…yes? No?" Raven eyed her best friend forever after, worried about her sanity despite the fact that she was already mad.
"Oh, I'm sorry Raven." Maddie apologized, "What were we talking about?"
And the two talked. They talked the rest of the day away. It didn't matter what it was they talked about. Who knew what the future had for them. What was important was the here and now. And no one was going to take that away from Madeline.
Ever After High Ending #2: The Reset Button