Hunter built a podium out of a tree trunk. Raven stood behind it, facing her friends. “We’re here today to honor and spellebrate Apple White.” Raven was so choked up she could barely speak. “She was a Royal. She was my roommate. And she was my friend. She was kind—she was loving—and she deserved her Happily Ever After.”
Maddie reached into her hat and pulled out a hanky—actually a long strand of hankies tied together—then she wiped away a tear.
Raven continued. “I wish I were as powerful as my mother—that I had the kind of magic that could take me back to when all this started. If I could go back, I’d tell Apple that she has a choice. We all do. We all have the power to choose our stories. And if your choice is to follow your predetermined destiny—you have to trust that it will happen in its own time. And you don’t have to make a deal with evil.” Suddenly Raven had an idea. “Make a deal with evil…” she repeated.
Raven looked down at the podium—the Booking Glass was lying there, faceup. She gently touched it. “I—I have to go,” she said at last.
Darling ran after Raven.
“Raven! Raven, stop!” Darling hurried to catch up with Raven. “Where are you going?”
“To make sure the rest of my friends don’t end up like Apple,” Raven told her.
Darling said, “You’re going to see your mother, aren’t you? Raven, you can’t!”
“It’s the only way.” She handed Darling the Booking Glass. “I know what I’m doing. Here. You’re going to need this.”
“The Booking Glass? But we don’t know how to—”
“Trust me. Somebody is about to have a change of heart.” Raven closed her eyes for a moment. Then, without another word, she hurried away.
Confused, Darling watched Raven go.
Nevermore and Raven soared high above the Enchanted Forest. The two of them were headed back to Ever After High.
CHAPTER 20
Attention, subjects! Your attention please!” The Evil Queen’s voice boomed through the forest clearing.
Justine Dancer, daughter of the twelfth dancing princess, took out her MirrorPhone. The Evil Queen’s face was on the screen. “Oh my fairy godmother, the Evil Queen is on my MirrorPhone.”
Farrah Goodfairy, daughter of a fairy godmother, looked at her MirrorPhone. “Mine too!”
In fact, the Evil Queen was MirrorCasting to everyone.
“Just thought you’d be hexcited to know that I am leaving Ever After High, and this kingdom forever after,” she announced. She paused for effect, then said, “That’s right, your cursed little lives have all been spared because—well, let’s just say Mother’s Day came early this year.” She laughed, giddy with joy.
“My daughter, Raven Queen, has agreed to join me by my side.” Raven stood next to her mother in the frame. She was now dressed in an evil-looking black dress. “To become evil and take over other lands with me—on the condition that I leave this kingdom and never return.”
The students, at the school and in the forest, all reacted with horror.
“Raven, no!”
“Raven’s going to be evil?”
“Raven joined the Evil Queen?”
Everyone was speaking at once.
On the screen, the Evil Queen put her arm around her daughter. “I tell you, the girl drives a hard bargain. But then again, I think we all know where she gets that from.”
Darling looked at her MirrorPhone. She glanced from the phone in one hand to the Booking Glass in the other. “What are you up to, Raven Queen?”
Raven stood with her mother in what used to be her school. She glanced over at Faybelle, who was sitting in the corner. The floating castle was nothing like its former self. The halls were dark, and menacing black dragons swooped the grounds on guard duty.
The queen looked at a map of all the fairytale lands. “Let’s see here… what land shall we take over first?” She cackled. “We could take another crack at Wonderland—that’s an old favorite. Ooh, ooh, or we could conquer and rule over Gingerbread Land. That could be sweet. Or—or—hear me out now—the Land of the Giants!”
Raven was anxious. “Those all sound great, Mom. I’ll go anywhere you want. As long as it’s not here.”
“Ah! I’m too excited to pick. My wicked little blackbird has flown home. Mother-daughter evil selfie!” The Evil Queen cast a spell and pulled Raven across the room and into her arms. She tugged her close with one arm, reaching out the other with a MirrorPhone and snapping a picture.
Faybelle rolled her eyes. “Oh my fairy godmother!”
“Is there a problem, Faybelle?” The queen turned.
Faybelle marched across the room with heavy steps. “I’ve spent all this time fluttering around, doing your evil bidding without so much as a ‘Hey, thanks, Faybelle. Hex of a job.’”
The Evil Queen arched an eyebrow.
“And now little Miss…” Faybelle mocked Raven. “I’m gonna choose my own destiny comes waltzing in, and you actually believe she’s going to be evil!”
The Evil Queen said to Raven, “Will you excuse us for one moment?” Snapping her fingers, a soundproof glass box appeared around her and Faybelle.
Inside the box, the queen shouted, “That is my daughter you’re talking about!”
“Whatever after. I’m telling you”—Faybelle glanced through the glass—“she is up to something. You don’t honestly think she’s evil now.”
“Maybe not now, but she will learn. The important thing is that she’s here. With me. Where she belongs.” The queen began shouting as the argument grew more heated. “She’s going to be just like me because I gave her no choice! All my plotting and planning has finally gotten me what I want! Don’t you understand? I won!”
“All this was about Raven?” Faybelle looked outside the box at Raven. Then back to the Evil Queen. “But—what about me?”
“What about you?” The queen’s voice was high and fierce.
Faybelle turned away. She was hurt. Sometimes it seemed like feeling left out was part of her destiny.
The Evil Queen snapped her fingers and the soundproof box disappeared.
Faybelle stared at Raven and the Evil Queen standing together. Her face flickered from hurt to angry, and, with a final realization that she had been used, Faybelle stormed out of the office.
From the corner of her eye, Raven saw the change in Faybelle.
“Hey, what the hex?” Daring exclaimed as Darling pulled him to his feet and dragged him along with her. “Can’t you see I’m trying to wallow?”
Darling wasn’t going to let him sit around all day. “All this pouting—not a good look on you. It’s time to turn the page, brother.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Daring told her. “Don’t you understand? I just lost my destiny. I’m not Apple’s Prince Charming!”
Darling said, “And I’m not a damsel in distress! Some of us aren’t going to follow our original destinies.”
“Raven did,” Daring said. “Nobody ever thought she would, but look what happened.”
Darling shook her head. Her brother was so dense sometimes. “Raven did what she had to do to save her friends. She had a choice to make. And so do you.”
Daring looked completely defeated. “I was so sure I was Apple’s Prince Charming. If my kiss can’t wake her, then I don’t know what can.”
At that moment, Apple shot up and opened her eyes. Then she immediately collapsed. Darling rushed over to her side. She tried to listen to her heartbeat.
Suddenly Darling had an idea. Clasping her hands together, she placed them on Apple’s chest and began to press hard, in perfect medical form.
“Darling? What are you—” Briar started.
Darling explained, “The poisoned apple. It’s still in her throat!”
“Come on. Come on!” Darling chanted as she worked. One final compression and the piece of apple was forced out of Apple’s mouth—it vaporized instantly in a wisp of purple magic.
Darling bent down and put her c
heek next to Apple’s mouth. “Breathe, Apple!”
Apple started coughing, then… she sat up! Her dragon let out a blast of celebration ice! It sparkled white and cold.
“What happened? Did—did Daring wake me up?” Apple asked, confused.
Daring shook his head. “No,” he said, and blushed awkwardly.
It was then that Apple looked around at all the welcoming faces and realized someone was missing. “Wait,” she said. “Where’s Raven?”
CHAPTER 21
Apple was pacing the forest clearing. “Un-hexceptable! The Evil Queen cannot be allowed to win like this. We have to do something.”
Ashlynn said, “I’m sorry, Apple—but I think we’re too late.”
“You don’t understand,” Apple cried. “This is all my fault. I set the Evil Queen free.” This was surprising news to her friends. “I thought keeping her secret was going to be good for Ever After High. Good for all of us.” She went on, “But look at all the trouble it led to. And Raven joining sides with her mother? That’s not the Happily Ever After she wanted.”
Apple begged her friends, “Please. Help me fight back and save Raven. We have dragons! We have the Booking Glass. We just need the passcode.”
“We’ve tried, Apple,” Darling told her. “But we can’t guess the combination. Daring just got lucky when he got captured.”
Daring was offended. “I wouldn’t put it that way.”
From the side of the clearing, the dragons began to roar as a shadow approached.
It was Faybelle riding a dark dragon. She descended and landed with a dramatic thud. Faybelle leaped to the ground. With a flick of her wrists, her dragon companion was dismissed and flew away. “Let me guess. Can’t figure out how to use the Booking Glass?”
Everyone watched as she went to take the Booking Glass from Darling. Darling gripped the mirror for a beat, unsure if she should trust Faybelle. Finally, she let go, and Faybelle took the mirror. She twirled it in her hands and chanted, “Ready? Okay! One, two, three, four—the Booking Glass is locked no more!”
The magic mirror glowed.
“What shall I capture?” Faybelle looked around and saw Sparrow holding a sandwich. Faybelle aimed the mirror to reflect it in the glass, then pressed the jewel sequence.
“Dootle-doot,” Mirrie said, turning on. “Beep. Beep. Capturing sandwich.” Magic energy shot out of the mirror at the sandwich, grabbed it, and pulled it back into the mirror. A moment later, it was gone.
With a satisfied smile, Faybelle gave the mirror back to Darling.
Darling asked, “I don’t understand. Why are you switching sides?”
“You’re not going to be evil anymore?” Apple didn’t trust her.
“Psh—oh, I’m still waaay evil.…” Faybelle said with a laugh. “This dark fairy is just out for revenge. I worked my wings off for that ungrateful queen. Let’s see how well her wicked plans go without Faybelle in her corner.” No one moved. “Well, what are you waiting for, people? Do I have to do everything for you? Dragon up!”
As everybody scrambled to mount their dragons, Apple noticed Darling at the edge of the clearing, studying the Booking Glass. Apple went to her.
“Somebody is going to have a change of heart,” Darling said softly. “That’s what Raven told me before she left.”
“What does that mean?” Apple asked.
Neither of them had a clue. But Briar Beauty understood. “It means that she knew Faybelle was going to get angry at the Evil Queen and switch sides.”
Ashlynn smiled. “This was part of her plan all along. She’s playing her mother.”
“And she knows that we’re coming with the Booking Glass.” Darling hurried to her dragon.
At Ever After High, Raven stared out the window, searching the horizon. There was nothing to be seen. Not yet.
She turned to see her mother packing her spell ingredients, moving them from a big cabinet and into a small suitcase. In the corner of her eye, she saw that Raven was staring again out the window. “Why do you keep doing that?”
“Huh? Doing… what?” Raven asked.
“Looking out the window. What are you looking for?” The Evil Queen stepped over to scan the skies.
“I—nothing.” Raven tore her eyes back to her mom. “I’m just… really hexcited about being evil and conquering the world… and stuff.”
The Evil Queen looked suspiciously at Raven. “Prove it,” she told her daughter. With a tip of her staff, a swirling black portal appeared on the floor.
“What do you mean?” Raven asked.
“You’re on the path to become evil now, dear,” the Evil Queen said. “Toss Snow White and those amphibious teachers into that void.”
Raven was scared. A quick glance out the window told her no one was coming. With great uncertainty, she stepped to the terrarium. The creature teachers looked up at her, and Raven shook her head. She wouldn’t hurt them.
Thinking fast, she tossed magic at the Evil Queen, but her mother was faster. The queen blasted Raven with her own spell, freezing her in place. Raven couldn’t move.
“I know you’re just doing all this to save your little friends out there,” the queen hissed. “You may not be evil now, Raven Queen, but mark my words—I am much more powerful than you—and you will learn!”
A dragon screeched outside the castle.
The Evil Queen swung around, her cloak billowing. “What was that?” To take a closer look, the queen created bubble binoculars. It was the Ever After High students on dragonback, led by Apple White.
“Apple. Apple’s awake!” Raven breathed with relief.
Through the bubbles, the queen could see that Apple was gripping the Booking Glass. It had been activated and was shimmering with magic. The queen also saw Faybelle sporting an evil grin on her dark dragon.
“Yes… and it seems somebody showed her how to use the Booking Glass.” The queen was furious. She yelled at Raven, “You! You were behind this! You played on Faybelle’s jealousies and tricked her into joining your friends.” Raven winced in fear as her mother got very close and breathed, “That—makes—me—so proud of you!”
Raven blinked hard. “Huh?”
The queen clapped her hands. “You manipulative little chip off the old glass slipper! It takes a truly wicked mind to concoct a scheme like that. Oh! You have so much potential!” She gave her daughter’s cheeks a little pinch. “It’s too bad I have to go destroy your friends now,” she said, and with a flick of her wrist, the whole wall of the headmaster’s office tore away from the building, leaving a huge, gaping hole to the outside. A cold wind blew through the building.
The queen cackled, her evil voice echoing, “Spell you later.” She leaped through the hole, landing on a dark dragon. Two other dark dragons moved in to flank her like fighter pilots.
Raven was still frozen by magic. Her eyes darted over to the creature teachers in the terrarium. She felt the need to explain. “Our relationship is… complicated.”
CHAPTER 22
The students rode their dragons in formation: five light dragons, Legend, and the three dark dragons who were under Faybelle’s control. The students had doubled up for the ride back to school.
Apple brought her dragon up next to Faybelle’s and asked, “How close do I have to be for the Booking Glass to work?”
“Fairy close!” Faybelle called back.
“All right, everyone—hang on to your crowns!” Darling whipped her reins, and her dragon lurched forward with more speed. The other students did the same, and their dragons flapped their wings—everyone was prepared to take on the queen.
“Ready? Fire!” Darling commanded.
Some dragons let out blasts of fire. Others shot ice. The battle for the school had begun.
The Evil Queen held out her hand and captured the fire and ice blasts.
She laughed at the attacking force, saying, “It’s so cute you think you can take on the greatest dragon rider in the history of Ever After High! Good luck wit
h that!” Then, “Fire!”
Her dark dragons unleashed their power at the Ever After High dragons.
“Spread out!” Darling ordered her troops.
The students scattered as they pulled their dragons left, right, and into nosedives, narrowly missing the explosive blasts!
The Evil Queen’s dragons picked up speed as they each turned off to pursue individual dragons in one-on-one fights.
Raven was watching the battle from the massive hole in the side of the school. She struggled to move, but she was completely frozen with magic. Blasts of fire and ice flickered amid the chaotic aerial skirmish.
She closed her eyes and concentrated. It was difficult, painful.… Raven gritted her teeth—and suddenly a wisp of purple magic smoked from her fingers. Beads of sweat dripped from her brow as she fought harder, and then… her mother’s freeze magic shattered!
Snake Snow White and the other creature teachers leaped, crawled, and slithered with joy.
Raven whistled for Nevermore. A moment later, she was off into the sky, joining her friends in battle.
It was chaos in the skies. Apple was trying to get close enough to the Evil Queen to use the Booking Glass. “Capture the Evil Queen!” Apple shouted against the wind.
“Beep. Beep,” Mirrie said. “Capture Beagle Spleen. Beep. Beep. I don’t know what that is.”
The Evil Queen laughed maniacally.
The queen sent her dragon into a spiraling tailspin to try to outmaneuver Apple’s dragon—but Apple mimicked the move and stuck close on her tail. As they spiraled down, explosions of fire and ice blasted around them.
“Come on! I thought we were BFFAs! Remember the good times, Apple?” The queen loved the chase.
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