Mess of a Fantasy (Darise Ever After High Fanfiction)

Chapter 20: Burnt Pizza, Sour Apple

Two whole days have passed since the party. I guess I didn't plan this out enough, as I'm running out of water, and I can't even locate a decent forest exit. I just keep moving. I can't afford to stop.

Though I can't say I doubt that my friends would make everything okay enough for me if I came back. The punishments might be harsh for what is revealed and what happened, but Ever After's future Prince would never let them hurt me.

It's so could out for spring. All I've got is this stupid dress, heels and hood, none of which are comfortable or warm. All I wanted was for Daring to wrap his arms around me and not let go until I was warm... If only that were an option right now.

{"Did you guys see this?" Darling said, almost tripping as she dashed into the huge, decked-out Charming family kitchen.

Her brothers and Raven Queen stood around the counter, applying toppings to the pizzas they were making for dinner. The preheated oven warmed the whole room and made the unusually chilly spring night not seem so unbearable.

Darling thrust a bright-screened mirrorpad toward them excitedly. On the screen was a MyChapter page entitled "Save Cerise". Four posts in a row displayed Daring, Raven, Dexter and Darling's school photos from this year along with a description of the rebellious stand they took in the recording the four of them had sent to every student in their grade days ago. Many Cerise pictures, collages and quotes littered the page. Photos of Cerise with her friends and from past school events like the Homecoming game in the fall and the second annual True Hearts Day Ball in the winter were all over, captioned with elaborate paragraphs in which friends and acquaintances wrote about how much they loved Cerise. Some even talked about how brave it was for the Charmings and Raven to be taking a stand against authority for the good of their friend.

"Wow," Raven gasped, touched by the amount of people who supported them and all the nice things people were saying. True Royal hearts such as Holly O'Hair and Duchess Swan even backed them up. The only person in the grade who's username you couldn't find anywhere on the page was Apple's. Neither Raven or the Charmings wondered why.

"I wish there was a way to show this to Cerise, but when I tried to call her earlier today it couldn't connect my call. She must be somewhere where cell service is bad..." Darling sighed.

There was a small silence before anyone decided to speak again. Daring put a pizza into the oven. Dexter spread the chef's homemade sauce onto the next rolled and ready crust dough. Raven opened a can of black olives. Darling turned off the mirrorpad and set it aside where it wouldn't be in the way.

"So has Headmaster Grimm called back about un-suspending us yet?" Dexter asked.

Raven shook her head, Daring sighed and Darling rolled her eyes.

"I can't believe he won't let us help look for Cerise. Nobody knows Cerise better than we do, and she isn't going to turn around and come home when just anyone finds her," Daring ranted, his voice still deep and smooth, but his obvious vulnerability, fatigue and regret was audible. He made a good point.

After getting to know a new side of Daring Charming they'd never seen before in the past few days, Darling and Dexter couldn't believe how much more real their brother was. He'd always seemed strong, brave and unbreakable, almost arrogant, like a character right off the page of a fairy tale. There was more depth to Daring Charming than had ever shone through before. It just needed the right-or wrong- push.

Raven was starting to think she'd even been wrong about him. The passionate and relatable Daring that had shown himself for the first time recently would make a wonderful King for Ever After.

The phone began to ring, startling the kids. Daring checked the caller ID and recognized the number.

"It's Headmaster Grimm," he announced to everyone before picking it up. Then he put the phone on speaker so everyone would hear. "Hello?"

"Daring Charming? Is that you?"

"Yes, and I'm with Dexter, Darling and Raven."

"Well I'm calling to tell you the search team found Cerise Hood." Grimm still sounded extremely annoyed from the last time the kids spoke to him.

Everyone exchanged an excited glance. They found Cerise! But why didn't the headmaster seem happy or at least relieved?

"However Miss Hood refuses to come home."

There it is.

"Oh," Daring said, but he knew his theory had been spot-on accurate.

"Would you mind convincing Miss Hood to come home?"

"I knew she'd never go with someone she didn't trust," was all Daring responded.

"Mister Charming, we would need you to come out of your house, where we'll have a hexicopter waiting for you. That will bring you to the nearest clearing to where Cerise was found, and you'll walk the rest of the way from there. It's much too far to walk right now from your backyard."

"We'll be there and ready." Daring declared, hanging up the phone on Headmaster Grimm. "It's go time, everyone."

Raven, Dexter, Darling and Daring marched to the front door where a hexicopter was just appearing in the distance. After a few moments of waiting, it landed and the four kids boarded inside and fastened their seat belts.

"I've never been in a hexicopter before, but I never imagined the first time I would be in one it would be bringing me to the location where they'd just found my runaway friend to convince her to come home," Raven admitted, staring out the window. Dexter, who sat next to her, found her hand and squeezed it.

The hexicopter ride was only a few minutes, but before they even landed, it became clear why Cerise had refused to come home. A figure with curly blond hair you'd recognize anywhere stood at the edge of the clearing with Headmaster Grimm.

No way was Cerise trusting Apple White.}