Ever After High: Thronecoming

Chapter 12: Think Charming Thoughts

    Cerise sat down at a table and sighed. She had always just thought of Daring as a vain show-off, who only concerned himself with his looks and girls. But after talking with him, and dancing with him, she learned that he was so much more than that.

    She found that he was a strong, kind, gentleman, who didn't care as much about his looks as he made everyone believe. She learned that most of his antics were because of his father, who thought that was the way he should act.

    The two of them hadn't spent much time together, but both of them felt as though they could be open and honest. There was just one secret that Cerise was not ready to tell him just yet. She needed to get to know him more and make sure he was as loyal as she thought he was.

    Raven, Maddie, and Cedar slid into the seats around her. Each of them looked at her with varying faces of curiosity.

    "So?" Maddie asked.

    "So what?" Cerise was confused.

    "Give us all the juicy details, girl!" Cedar said loudly with excitement. A few passersby's looked at her like she was missing a few hinges.

    "What juicy details?"

    "You just spent half the night leaning on Daring Charming's shoulder!" Raven prodded. "What was that all about."

    "Look, I don't have time to talk. Daring's gonna be back in a few moments with some refreshments." Cerise was still stuck smiling. "We can talk about this after the dance back at the dorms."

    "As long as Apple isn't there." Raven said with worry. "She currently thinks that Daring was just too exhausted from the big game to come. If she finds out that he was here dancing with someone else... we'd all be doomed."

    "Although... I wonder what Apple would look like as a villain. Do you think she would start wearing the skins of dogs, or just switch to a darker shade of red?" Maddie's eyes filled with tears as this came out of her mouth.

   "Way to be dark." Cedar said, wringing her hands. "Did you read One Hundred and One Dalmations again?"

    "It was for Language Arts."

    "Here he comes." Raven Interrupted. "We better get going so the two of you can be alone.

    "But I wanna stay for refreshments too." Raven and Cedar stared at Maddie. "What?"

    "Let's just go. We don't wanna end this love story before it begins." Raven and Cedar each grabbed one of Maddie's arms and pulled her away, Maddie squealing "Weeeeeee!" as they went.

    Daring sat down at the table with a plateful of desserts and two drinks. "I hope you like brownies." He said with a huge grin.

    Something about him was different. Somehow, over the course of that night he had changed. But not a bad sort of change. No, the kind of change that makes you know a character has grown, and makes you feel as though the story could not have gone much better. He was happier, and Cerise liked it.

    She would have said so too, but there was one problem. Raven was right, Apple would be hysterical if she found out Daring had spent the evening with another girl.

    "You alright?" Daring asked when he noticed her smile start to fade.

    "I'm fine." Cerise said blandly. "It's getting late, I'm gonna head back to my dorm."

    Daring paused for a moment, slightly disappointed. "Alright. Have a good night."

    "Thanks." Cerise got up and left the gymnasium. Sighing, she began the short walk back to her dorm room. "What were you thinking?" She said to herself putting her face in her hands. She may not have been close to Apple, but she still didn't want her to get hurt. In her room, Cerise flopped on her bed and scolded herself for even thinking that she could have something with Daring.

    "It was just a dance." She said nodding to herself. "There was nothing there, he just wanted to thank me for helping him today."

    She groaned and shoved her face in her pillow. Nothing was said, but she knew that it wasn't just any old dance. And somehow she knew that he felt the same. How could she have let this happen? She would just have to act like Thronecoming never happened...