Once Upon a Time: Ever After High (Book 13)

Ch.103 Home

Instead of finding herself laying down, Elena opened her eyes and noticed she was still standing, but she wasn't in Storybrooke anymore, she found herself in some place with nothing but light and fog. Having no idea where she was, she looked around hoping to find something, but nothing.

"Raven" a familiar male voice echoed in her ears as she froze, knowing that voice anywhere.

"Dad?" she gasped as she turned around.

And there, standing behind her dressed in his royalty clothes and crown on his head, was the one man who stood by her side the moment she was born. Elena could barely breathe, her words were stuck in her throat, she couldn't tell if she was dreaming or not, but she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Dad!"

As she burst into tears, she ran up to the man and embraced him in a hug as she felt his arms around her. As if it was yesterday, she could still remember the warm feeling whenever she would hug her dad, and boy did she missed it.

"Is it really you?" she gasped when she pulled away with tears in her eyes.

"It's me honey" he smiled.

"But, I don't understand, how am I talking to you? And where am I?"

Her eyes then widen "Am I...?"

"No, you're not dead. This is just a little reward for breaking the curse."

"What?" she gasped "We- we did it? We broke the curse?"

"You'll see your friends soon, I just wanted to see you again before you go off, and to congratulate you. Not only did you break the curse, but you've become a hero. I knew that from the moment I saw that there wasn't any evil in you, I knew that you would one day become a hero, and I was right."

Elena gave a smile while wiping a tear away.

"I am so proud of you Raven" he smiled "Never stop being who you are. I may be gone, but I'll be there to watch you graduate, and to watch that wedding yours."

She giggled when he added- "I love you with all of my heart, and I'll always miss you."

"I miss you too" she sniffed "And I love you too."

As they went into a hug, Elena never wanted to let go as she felt the presence around her fade away.

________

The sound of birds chirping was the first thing she heard, and the hard stone ground was the first thing she felt. When she began to open her eyes, the first thing she saw were the many stores that surrounded her, but as she examined them, she realized that they weren't just any stores, they were the stores in the Village of Book Ends. At that moment, Raven sprang up with a gasp, and that's when she noticed she was dressed in her signature Ever After style. And when she looked around, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Everyone was laying on the ground behind her dressed in their Ever After style, injuries healed, and behind them stood Ever After High, looking an enchanting as ever. They really did it, they broke the curse, and now they're home. At that moment, Raven heard a small moan as she turned to see Apple starting to wake up.

"Apple" she shook her with a smile.

"Raven?" she replied when she opened her eyes and noticed her image "What the?"

"We did it" Raven beamed "We broke the curse, we're home!"

"What?" Apple gasped when she spotted everyone and the school behind them.

Before she could even gasp, everyone else began to wake up. And when they all noticed what they were wearing and where they were, they all couldn't believe their eyes as they all got up.

"We're home" Briar gasped.

"Yes we are" Mira smiled.

At that moment, everyone began to embrace each other with smiles, feeling the biggest relief of finally being home.

"Wait a minute!" Lizzie suddenly shouted catching everyone's attention "We need to get our families! They need to know we're here!"

"Don't worry!" Blondie called out while pulling out her Mirror Phone she had in the purse that appeared on her "I've got it."

Just like that, she was able to send a message to all of the parents telling them that all of their children had come home.

"Wait a minute" Cedar suddenly spoke while examining her body "I'm- I'm still human."

Everyone turned to her and saw that she was, in fact, still human.

"How is this possible?" she gasped, "I thought I would become a wooden puppet again."

"Because you were ready for it" Destiny explained with a smile, "You thought you would become a real girl after living out your story. But you already did, and now you will remain a real girl."

Cedar was full of amazement as she stared down at her hands. Even though she's gotten used to her real body since the curse, she will always miss being a wooden puppet.

 And as everyone waited for their parents to arrive, not even 30 minutes later, all of the parents came rushing in towards the school. And as Raven and the others who already had their parents with them stepped to the side, they all watched as everyone was reunited with their families that were filled with tears, laughter, and many hugs. Everyone had tears in their eyes, and watching them made Raven's eyes water, seeing how happy they all were.

Seeing Apple with her parents and the Charmings' with theirs made her cry even more as Mira held onto her hand. Just then, she spotted Dexter calling her over, already knowing that he was going to introduce her to his parents as his girlfriend, she took a deep breath as she made her way to them.

"Mom, dad" he spoke, "You all know Raven."

"Hello" she waved with a shy smile, not wanting to appear nervous.

"She's one of the people who helped break this curse and brought us home."

His parents looked at her with amusement.

"Is that so?" King Charming remarked.

"Yes you're majesty" she nodded.

"And-" Dexter added, giving Raven the look as she motioned him to continue "She's also my girlfriend."

At that point, they froze, not knowing if it was a good sign or a bad one. They turned back to Raven who did her best to appear confident when Queen Charming suddenly held her hands out towards her. Surprised by her gesture, Raven had no choice but to take her hands, and she could have sworn she felt calluses.

"I always thought you were like your mother" she began "But seeing how you've brought my children back along with everyone else shows that I've misjudged you. Thank you so much for bringing back my family."

Raven gave her a smile as she felt Queen Charming put her hand against her cheek and stroked it with her thumb.

"Hey where did Darling go?" King Charming suddenly asked.

"Probably went to go get her boyfriend" Daring smirked.

"What boyfriend?" their father's eyes widen.

"Hey," Daring patted his shoulder "If we like him, then you should too."

"Who else is dating who?" Queen Charming questioned as Raven gave a small laugh.

"Do we have some stories for you guys" she smiled.