#tells me taht you should run from them as fast as possible an as far as possible

[c0rinarii]

anyone who hates reimu is always a red flag and that is fact

[blitzkingful]

Ever After High: A Twisted Plot Ep. 1 - Raven rebels for good

Raven was genuinely sure she could have turn the page this once too. After all, she shouldn’t have been too much surprised that Headmaster Grimm bowed his head to Snow White’s request (order) about ignoring her daughter’s big mistake (as well as the ones of Snow herself): in Ever After, biased treatments like that were everyday life stuff. Especially for those, like her, who went against traditions. And yet, while leaving her mother (who still lived in her own world, both metaphorically and literally) and heading towards the Dragon Games arena, the young Queen was far from being serene.

Raven surprised herself, when, in the arena, seeing Apple greeting her with a carefree smile, ended to think that the princess had really some nerve to act like everything was magically fixed again. What happened in the last week kept appearing in the witch’s mind, endlessly. A mood that didn’t help her performance in the game. Raven kept to make Nevermore flying around, unable to focus on a specific target. Her mind was clouded, and Apple’s team had the lead of the game, much to the public’s joy. But when Braebyrn fled right in front of her, having a glimpse of Apple, something snapped in the witch’s head and she urged her dragon to the chase. Thanks to the force of desperation, rather than actual skills, Raven managed to intercept the blonde princess, catching a handful of gems which was the original goal of her opponent. A series of boos erupted from the public: clearly they didn’t like that the villain dared to catch up. Audience’s hostility didn’t help Raven, who was going to abandon the game once again. But Darling Charming, member of her team, managed to pass the ball, waking up Raven from her confusion. For a moment. With the ball in her hands, riding Nevermore and with Apple right in front of her, Raven remembered when, during the opening match, Snow White’s daughter deliberately hurt Darling and then tried to provoke her so that Raven could snap into the villain of her tale. Suddenly feeling herself empty, Raven threw away the ball, catched by Lizzie Hearts, member of Apple’s team. They won in the end.

Raven didn’t stay for the awarding ceremony. At first, she had forced herself to not go away, in the name of sportivness, but when the Headmaster started to praise again and again White family, for the bright example they were for the good guys of the entire kingdom, something inside her just broke. A purple puff of magic and she was gone. Apple noticed,during the game, taht something was wrong, and she would have been happy to find the witch to see what was happening, but Blondie Lockes reached her asking for an interview. Stucked once again in her Royal PR duties, she forgot about her roommate.

Far far way from the school building, leaning on the banister of a bridge in Book End suburbs, Raven tried without succeeding to fight anger and bad thoughts which kept dominating her mind. It was weird, in the worst way possible: Raven never had been the type of person who holds a grudge, especially because she knew too well how it feels when the entire world is against you. This time, however, she couldn’t help to wish to worst for everyone at school. Ok, no one listened to her about letting her mother free, and even her friends helped her only when the damage was already done…  the Evil Queen was still completely crazy and, despite she continued to state otherwise, totally indifferent to her own daughter’s feelings… and, yes, she would have never expected Apple to act like that, and even the rest of the students, at the first sign of problems, returned to hate her pretty quickly… But, really, thinking about it, Raven dealt with this kind of experiences pratically since her birth! What was different, this time?

 “Excuse me” someone suddenly murmured behind the girl, “are you Raven Queen, by any chance?” Interrupted her thinking, Raven turned to see a boy,  apparently around her same age, with golden eyes and dark hair combed in a ponytail long enough to reach his waist. Judging by his clothing, it had to be a commoner, with a simple life and certainly without any Destiny or similar drags. “And you are…?” Raven asked, not too gently. Her mood persisted in to not getting better. 

“Oh! Yo-you’re right, sorry!...” the young boy stammered, embarassed, then he bowed slightly with his head “Hiram Patchfield, nice to meet you. I’m just a farmer who came here in Book End to buy some stuff, and, hum, I just wanted to take the chance to thank you.” Raven widened her eyes. The initial shock was replaced by a slight sense of satisfaction, since that someone for once approved her actions, but… “Thank me for… what, exactly?” “For all the Dragon Games matter. You know, going against the Evil Queen, imprisoning her in the mirror again… You saved everyone. Thank you.” He ended, solemnly. Raven blushed. She was very little used to positive feedback, especially when it was about her behaving good. Hiram frowned: “It must have been difficult. She was your mother, after all.” was his insecure comment. Raven smiled sadly “I gave up long time ago in having a decent relationship with that woman.” She explained. Then why I still go to talk to her?! Asked to herself. Before she could reason on that question Hiram returned to talk: “Sorry. I didn’t want to ruin your day, Raven… may I call you by name?...  Thanks.  I just wanted you to know how much it means for a humble subject that at least one who sit on a throne has a brain under the crown.” “What do you mean?” Raven asked, raising an eyebrow. Hiram leaned to the banister, tilting his head towards Raven “I mean, other people didn’t do exactly brilliant… Grimm, your teachers, your schoolmates… they even accused you for setting fire to the arena, totally randomly… They woke up just at the last moment. Tch! Even Snow White, our queen, the one who should protect every living being under her leadership…  just let your mom free for her own reason. And her daughter? She confessed she was the one who broke the mirror-prison. And in the end, both of them never payed for what happened. Heavens forbid if the fairest ones have to be called out.” Hiram Patchfield wasn’t wrong. Raven thought about it really much, right some moment ago. She would have wanted to defend Apple, but it was pointless. There were no justifications. Neither for Snow White, nor for Apple nor for anyone at Ever After High and surroundings.   All the pain caused by that story had messed up her heart and brain, but… now there was someone who shared her opinion, and by talking with him the young witch had been able to clear up her thoughts. And to voice them: “It’s ridiculous.” She murmured. Hiram kept watching her. “After everything I demonstrated, everything we’ve been through together… it still takes very little to return to page one.” “It’s hard to change your mind when you have the same ideas for generations, I guess” Hiram stated “It still does not justifies all the mess.” “You know” Raven commented “You clearly know a lot. Usually, commoners question traditions even less than the Royals. No offense…” “None taken,  it’s true.  I’m different because my parents were different. They must have found out something when they were younger, ‘cause they never bought the pretty maiden act. And about other fairytale characters? They didn’t have a better opinion. Hex, they didn’t even like to tell me those fables for my bedtime!” “Really?” Raven was surprised. “Yup. Mom always told that they weren’t able to teach anything anymore. And dad preferred to tell me different stories, written in distant lands, where, he said, they still had a sense.” A brief pause “I remember one, especially” the young countryman then said “The Kind Moose, or something like that.” “What was about?” Raven asked, interested“About a kind moose, obviously. Too much kind, I dare to say.” Raven was eager to listen that fairytale. Hiram was eager to tell it.

“It starts with a little bug who asks to the moose to ride on his antlers. The moose, gladly, grants the request, but the bug takes advantage of that and starts to invite other animals. Who invite other animals. Bigger and bigger ones, needless to say. The moose'd want to make them acknowledge that the situation is now very umcomfortable for him, that with all that load is difficult for him to even move, and that his “room mates” could be less loud, especially now that humans’ hunting season is about to begin. But those ungrateful twerps don’t listen to him and they even call him selfish for thinking to his own good, even if he has any right to do so.” Raven strangely felt like she already knew that tale. “Things go down quickly: human hunters appears and, seeing the moose, foretaste a brand new trophy. The poor animal runs as fast as he can, with that drag on the antlers, who even have the nerve of complaining because with all the bumps they can’t get comfy. But what the moose should do, stay still and being captured?” “Of course not!” Raven agreed. Hiram continued: “Somehow, the moose manages to escape and reaches a lake. It would take just crossing it and he would be outside the hunting zone! Buuut the idiots in the antlers forbid it, ‘cause they don’t want to get wet. On the other hand, the hunters approach.” Hiram did a dramatic pause “At this point, exasperated, the moose heavily shakes his head and the antlers, as long as the unpleasant guests,  detache. Unburdened, the moose cross the river and saves his life. Happy ending.”

“Wow.” Raven commented, impressed.  She had a doubt, though: “Wait, what about the animals on the antlers?” “Does it really matter?”Hiram answered back “They took advantage of the moose and it would have been the end for him. Why being worried about them?” finished, with a suddenly harsh tone.  “Anyway” he then announced, melanchonic “I must go now. Sorry if I disturbed you for so long. Goodbye.” “Goodbye.” Raven managed to say. The girl stayed on the bridge, staring at the horizon. Hiram Patchfield, far far away from Book End, took a look on his right hand. It was quickly coloring grey, and in the position of the veins, a pale green luminescence started to grow. “Just in time.” He commented, looking up and… “Cut to the next scene, now.” Uh… ok…

 B.P.: Eh?! Hiram can hear us?! Like Maddie and Kitty…! I thought he was from Snow White’s kingdom, not from Wonderland…

N.N.: Right… that’s weird… but interesting. See? It was worthwhile to explore this story deeper, wasn’t it?

F.N.: Are you realizing you two could have just made another mess?

M.N.: Too late anyway…

��Raven heard a sugarcoated voice calling her, and she turned to see Apple, still wearing her Dragon Games gears, running towards her. The bad mood of some time ago returned. “Apple.” She grumbled. 

“Raven! There you are! Is everything OK?” Raven nodded, apathetic. “You disappeared so suddenly after the match… I looked for you everywhere!” “Right after your exhibition in front of the camera, right?.” “Oh, hum, you know how it works…” “Yeah, I know it too much well.” “Come on, don’t be mad, you’ll be luckier next time...” “Hope that your fans don’t get mad, then.” “Raven, are you sure you’re OK?” “Like you’d care.” “What?” “Nothing.”

 B.P.: Now we have all the part with Crystal Winter…

N.N.: Don’t care. Keep the focus on Raven.

The so-called Epic Winter just made Raven’s mood even worse.  First, she had to bring her mother (inside the mirror)  to some conference… she didn’t even understand about what. Bring her, like it was nothing, like she was a totally normal parent and not a crazy criminal that not too much time ago threatened the entire realm and messed up her daughter’s life. For the nth time. Then, when the father of a certain Crystal Winter freezed the school, everyone demanded Nevermore’s fire to warm them. They thanked her, yes, but that didn’t hel a bit. You’re willing to believe I’m good, when you need something the young witch thought. 

Raven was ready to bet that, hadn’t the Snow King went mad in front of everyone, she would have took the blame for the magic blizzard. Actually, someone made similar comment once they found out that all the chaos was born due to the shards of the Evil Queen’s mirror prison. A mirror shattered by Apple White, but no one pointed that out. Of course. That didn’t make Raven too much willing to listen to Apple about not having anymore a prince for her fairytale. She let her talkig, without really listening, hoping that could finish quickly and asking to herself for how long could have still go on in that school.

Hadn’t Maddie and the others reminded it, Raven would have forgot to go to visit her mother. To think that, some time ago, she would have shivered at the idea... Entered in the Headmaster’s office, she went near the man to sign the register as usual. Milton Grimm, once again, was going to warn her not to touch the mirror. “It’s not to me you have to tell it.” Raven interrupted him, gritting her teeth. Even if he understood the allusion , the man preferred to act like nothing had happened. Looking away from the girl’s cold stare, he told her to hurry up and opened the secret door. Raven climbed the stairs for the basement with even less enthusiasm compared to past times. She knew exactly what would have been the topico f conversation with her mother, the same topic she always talked about, apparently the only one thing she cared about and that, in her delusional state, thought was interesting to her daughter too, no matter how many times Raven tried to make her understand it wasn’t. Arrived in the room, dusty and isolated from the rest of the building, she placed herself in front of the mirror, said a half-hearted greeting and magically on the glassy surface the image of the Evil Queen appeared. “Raven! My child!” the woman said, with sweet but malicious voice. “It’s been a while since your last visit!” “Hm-mmm.” Raven answered, without even trying. Her mother noticed the low interest: “What’s wrong, birdie?” “Take a wild guess.” The girl talked back, emotionless. She didn’t give any detail, she knew it would have been useless. It was always useless.   “It’s for the last match, huh? I know ‘good guys’ can be unsufferable…!” the Queen stated. Raven rolled her eyes. It had been months since that dragonsport match that, whenever someone noticed Raven’s bad mood, immediately connected it to her loss in the game. “Let me guess: you’re conjuring some absurd plot to hijack my opponents next time?” she asked then,interrupting her mother’s gloating. “Huh, well, I… why are you interested?!” the woman asked, surprised and creepily enthusiastic. “Gotta go.” Raven blurted, going backward and rapidly reaching the stairs. “He-hey! You’re just arrived…!” her mother stuttered, watching powerless the closing door. “Raven…?” was the insecure murmuring of the Evil Queen, in the silence of the room.

“Hey Mr. Narrator, lately Raven has been, well, way less wonderlandiful. She talks less and less with the others, especially with the Royals. And even to me, Cedar and Cerise, she says very little… I get that she didn’t like what happened when her mom escaped, but…” Look, Maddie, I’m sorry  but I’m afraid that this time the ending won’t be that simple… Raven’s issues have very deep and old roots, and what happened in the last period is just… oh, there she is. I’m really sorry, Madeline. Have faith. Believe me, you’ll need it. “G-got it…” Everyone was very surprised to see Raven getting out from the tower so soon. Usually, the meetings with her mother never lasted less than fifteen minutes. Raven ignored her peers’ stares. Blondie tried to intercept her, curious for the atypical attitude, for an interview. The only result she got was seeing her MagicPad incinerated by a purple lightning. This could have made the  others thinking she was going to become evil, but Raven didn’t care anymore. Right in that moment she cared only for going into her room and lay on the bed to take a nap.

Reached her destination, Raven grabbed the door’s knob, hoping that Apple wasn’t inside the room. She was. Opening the door, she heard Apple’s murmuring:: “…I dunno it that will be possible…” Raven, suspecting something, took a peek from behind the slightly opened door and saw her roommate talking at her magicphone.  Having an unpleasant dejavu. Apple kept talking: “I know very well what my dulie are, mom, I assure you…” At that point Raven loudly opened the door, announcing her presence. Apple turned hereslf, terrified, while Raven just go near her bed, with an empty stare. “R-Raven! Yo-you came back soon!… “ the blonde princess blabbered, brusquely hanging up. “Just in time, I’d say.” The young witch talked back, gathering something behind her bed “How’s Snow White?” she asked then, with a knowing tone. Apple looked away “Uh… she’s fine. She called me to…” “… suggest you a way to make me evil.” “Raven, I…” “That’s enough.” Raven cutted her off, her voice becoming more and more exasperated “Everytime we go back to the beginning. And I’m to tired to keep going on. With you, with my mother, with the headmaster… with everyone around here.” She got back up again, a bag on her shoulders. Apple was horrified: “Raven, wha…?!” “At this point, it’s clear that I won’t find my Happily Ever After, not here. And I’m going to find it, wheter allo f you like it or not.” Apple was devasted: “P-please, let’s talk about it…” “So that you can convince me I’m the one in the wrong? No, thanks.” Raven was about to exit from the room, but Snow White’s daughter ran in front of her: “Yo-you can’t go away like it was nothing!”she sobbed. Raven clenched her eyelids: “I can’t?” she growled, raising her voice “After everything everyone put me through, after that nothing of what we’ve experienced together was able to teach anything, after you backstabbed me, how do you think I could even just looking people here in the face?!” Apple widened her eyes: “R-Raven… I-I thought we’ve already resolved that matter…” “Sure you did. Very convenient for your coscience, isn’t it?” Apple busted into tears: “You are unfair! If I had been so angry about Legacy Day…” Raven didn’t let her finish. A wave of her hand and a purple cloud covered her, teleporting her to the nearest magic dwell. “I’ll always be the villain to them, in a way or another.” She thought, typing a message on her magicphone “In that case, I rather being that where I can live peacefully”.

Not too far from there, ridde among the woods, a strange figure watched Raven Queen entering in the dwell which would have magically transported somewhere else. A pleased grin appeared on his pale grey face, enlightened by a sinister green light from his eyes. “About time.” He murmured “The boys wouldn’t have waited any longer.”

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First chapter, hope you like it!