Crossover IV Poison Apple (Part I)

Chapter 5 The Fairest

Chapter 5

The Fairest

Snow White's party took place during the day just outside the castle. The cloudless sky was a crystal blue and the sun looked like a shimmering diamond placed in it. Off to the side, there were tables aligned containing various flavored cakes, all decorated to look like castles. The front court had a band of musicians that played surprisingly upbeat music, fun to dance to. Aria and her friends enjoyed themselves, even know they all knew the evil queen was among them.

Aria noticed the queen's hair was a sheer blonde, similar to how Kendal used to have hers. She recalled at Snow White's tea party last spring, the queen had brown hair. Adora informed her that like girls in the modern world, they enjoyed changing their hair color here too.

"I'm so glad you and your friends could make it, Princess Aria!" Snow White greeted enthusiastically, giving her a grand embrace.

"Thanks for inviting us," Aria replied, returning the hug, "and happy birthday!"

"Thank you!" Snow White beamed brightly, taking Aria's hands. "One of the next songs will be pairings, so you and your true love should dance together."

Aria smiled. It still sounded strange to hear about her 'true love' as she was still in high school. However, it sounded less strange here.

"Tell your friends also," Snow White continued, looking past Aria and then frowned for a moment. "I thought your friend, Lady Kendal, had someone."

"Oh right," Aria said, briefly glancing back towards that friend. "Uh... he couldn't make it."

"That's too bad," Snow sympathized but then smiled. "Well, she can dance with one of my suitors. My stepmother, the queen, has summoned several princes here, seeking my hand in marriage. Since I cannot dance with all of them at once, it would be nice for them to have someone to dance with. Besides, I've noticed they seem to be looking at her more than me. Your friend is very pretty."

Aria did not even notice until this moment, but Snow's observation proved accurate. The princes that came all seemed to have their eyes on Kendal.

Despite her instincts, Aria nodded and said, "That's a good idea. I think she'll like that."

"Great!" Snow White then went over to Kendal and took her arm. She pulled her towards one of the princes to introduce them.

"What's going on?" Derek asked from behind Aria.

Aria offered a small smile before explaining, "Snow's just finding someone for Kendal to dance with since Ian's not here. That's all."

"Oh... kay." Derek looked over towards Kendal and Snow, a bit apprehensive. "Are you sure that's a good idea. This won't cause any drama, will it?"

"It's just dancing. No big deal," Aria defended and then muttered, "Besides, if Ian actually came, this wouldn't be an issue."

"What was that?" Derek asked her.

Aria sighed and said, "I don't know, Derek. Maybe sometime next week, you can talk to Ian and try to figure out what's going on."

"What exactly do you think is going on?" Derek asked, glancing between Aria and Kendal. "Do you think their relationship is in trouble?"

"Well, Vanessa did... and now I'm starting to agree with her," Aria admitted. "It seems lately, Ian just hasn't been interested in doing anything with Kendal. Today just proves it."