unfairest_ofthemall | MESSAGE INBOX

But... No, it's...

[Apple is flummoxed, considering all her life, Snow's said the exact opposite of these things. She feels dizzy.]

I'm following your destiny! You had be poisoned so could get your happily ever after with the prince, and that's what I'll get too! I want Raven to poison me! That's her role! Every destiny needs heroes and villains, and she's supposed to be a villain! That's her destiny! She's supposed to do it, no matter what we feel about each other! She HAS to do it!

Apple... I'm... flattered you think so highly of me. But I don't want you to follow my destiny, dear, I want you to forge your own! You're a smart girl, far smarter than me, you're a kind girl, and a sweet one too! I don't want you to feel the pain I did and I most certainly don't want your friend Raven to live with that guilt on her shoulders of hurting a loved one.

[Not that her stepmother had any shred of guilt on the matter.]

Simply because someone is supposed to do it doesn't mean they should. She doesn't HAVE to hurt you if that is something she doesn't want to do. What does hurting you do? A happily ever after doesn't come simply because you follow someone else's actions. You must make your own happily ever after.

[A lot of this has already been told to her by other students at Ever After High. But hearing it from Snow, of all people? It's more than she can bear. Her fingers find her hair, twirling and pulling, and there's a hard crack in the wooden floor.]

You... you... you don't understand! You're the one who tells me how great this is! All my life, I've wanted to do what you did! Everyone wants me to! I'm - I'm Apple White! The daughter of Snow White, the one with the greatest destiny of all!

[That's right. It doesn't matter what Snow says now. She'll change her mind later. She just hasn't realized anything yet. That's all. It must be that.]

It's what I want... and it's what you want... you'll see. You will.

Apple... even if it's what you want, is it what Raven wants?

[There's a painful pause.]

She... she just needs some convincing.

No, Apple. [She spoke firmly.] Wanting to follow my footsteps is one thing, but trying to force Raven is another entirely.

She's your friend, and by the sounds of it, you care for each other very much. But by trying to force her to do this to you, you are making yourself out to be the villain here. Heroes do not force people to harm others for their own needs.

You just don't get it!

[She turns away, upset.]

If she doesn't poison me, I won't get my happily ever after. She knows how much this means to me! All the other villains in Ever After High want to do their duties, she shouldn't be any different! It's not force, it's what's supposed to happen!

[She sighed. This wasn't what she had intended at all. She folded her hands together and took a step back.]

Perhaps I don't. I know I don't. I never wanted my stepmother to kill me, I only ever wanted her to love me and to see me as a daughter.

But you are putting a harsh fate on someone, Apple. And I'm a bit disappointed to hear that you don't care about her feelings on the matter.

[She moves to stand.] I've upset you, and I'm very sorry for that. I wonder though, if you would say the same thing if someone tried to force you to kill another, insisting it was your destiny as well.

[She keeps her back to Snow, trembling.]

... It's... it's not like any of this matters. You're going to change your mind in your future, I'm proof of that! So whatever you feel about it doesn't mean a thing - because you YOURSELF tell me otherwise!

[She begins storming back to her room. but of course she has to add - ]

Thank you for the pie, it was very delicious!

[She's the one who tells Apple all this?

Her?

She can barely remain standing, she has to sit and she just looks at her hands.

No wonder Apple was so nervous, so high strung. Being told time and time again from her own mother to let your best friend and family poison you.

To allow yourself to be poisoned.

Worst of all, to not even try and forge your own path, but to merely repeat hers.

She felt silent tears fall and she wondered, not for the first time, what she happened to make her so vicious. She looked up and wiped her eyes when Apple came back, offering a smile, though it was a small one.]

Oh- yes you're welcome.

[She stood up and took a deep breath. There was no time for tears, no time to feel sorry for herself. She swallowed and knew she still had a list of things to do. So much for telling Apple she could be more of herself around her, to not worry so much. How badly had she just messed things up? How awful had she just made things? Should she give Apple space and time? Or should she go and try to fix this now?

She wasn't even sure who she could talk to about this matter.]

Well [She said softly.] I best leave. [If only to give them both some space to calm down but also because chores never did themselves.]

[The door to her room SLAMS HARD.

...

And then opens.]

That was very rude of me, and I'm sorry to anyone I disturbed.

[And this time she closes the door gently.]

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