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Bella: I do, and I try to use it to my full advantage ☺️

Bella: Aw, you really are the best little sister ever. And the cutest! I'm so lucky to have you.

Betsy: Well, it's always good for a lady to know what tools she has available to her at all times.

Bella: Aw, that's the sweetest darn thing ever. I'll be sure to bake more than one batch of strawberry tarts

Bella: I was so shy back then! I wanted nothing more than to go home and play with Maggie. I don't think I understood at the time that Maggie had school too haha. I think I may have pouted the entire day.

Betsy: You're an angel ❤️

Dante: Oh. I was actually teasing you, B. Good to know. I know, but I also know that she has the competition coming up and I know that she has been busy with that. Oh really? Is it just because they're spooky or did you have a bad experience with them?

Dante: ehhhhh, only because you've met me after I arrived here but I'll take it.

Dante: Im pretty sure Im not rotten inside, sure my heart might have some bruises because of how I was raised but its not completely bruised.

Betsy: Has she? Why, it seems so silly to train so hard for something that's just for fun like that! No, no, not a bad experience at all, libraries just hold so many memories inside of them, what with all those stories they have to tell inside of the books.

Betsy: Well, who you used to be doesn't matter so much if you are now is the you that you want to be.

Looking at the statue currently resting in his hands and then back at the girl, he smiled. “Oh ehm it’s okay. Just not used to people wanting to watch me do these” he explained and sighed softly. “I am making an angel. I have always believed in the afterlife. I don’t like thinking that after our time on earth is over, there is just nothing. I also strongly believe that angels watched over my father when he was young. So I am making this one to him” he mused and nodded. 

Betsy felt her eyes misting up as the boy explained what he was doing. How simply beautiful, what a marvelous way to be spending his time. “I always feel like the angels are real every time we sing to them at church,” she agreed, offering him a warm smile. “When do you feel like the angels are watching over you?”

“I try to stay hydrated all the time, especially in the summer. Its good for the skin,” Audrey said, although she suspected the younger girl knew that from her face, still smooth and clear. “But I may have been remiss? I can’t think of another explanation, and I refuse to. Thinking unpretty thoughts leads to unpretty realties.” She took the bottle daintily and smiled at the girl, grateful for the kindness. “Oh no, I’m quite alright. Thank you, Betsy, dear,” she said, taking a few sips happily. Then she became acutely aware that she was still holding onto Betsy’s arm and felt a mass amount of guilt. Imagine feeling obligated by manners to stand alongside the woman that your man preferred. It must have been heart-breaking. “I’m sorry, am I interrupting your turn up at karaoke perhaps?” she tried, not quite wanting to lose company but not wanting to force the girl to stay around her either. She wouldn’t want to have to hang out with Mal, for example.

Why, I can’t sleep without them, as a matter of fact!

This might be just a little bit selfish on my part, but well, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed spending my day with @crazyyoungmaurice. Now that he doesn’t have a girlfriend anymore, it wouldn’t make me a monster to say it’s not hard to imagine things being just a little bit more like that without a spell involved, does it? He’s really been the only person who’s known how to make me smile the past couple of months, even when I’m not so very sure he’s even trying. 

Why, thank you for giving me the chance to talk about three individuals that I don’t get asked about all too often.

Bed: @skylarkbell, as he’s got quite the reputation for knowing how to treat a lady with respect.

Wed: @crazyyoungmaurice, as he’s the only one who really knows how to make this girl happy as can be, even when it feels like there’s nothing to be happy about ever again.

Behead: @gastonthejr, who seems to be lacking a bit in manners. 

In all her concern’s about not looking weak in front of Betsy, Audrey hadn’t really considered if Betsy liked her or not. The idea of someone not liking Audrey felt ridiculous, even if she knew to some extent that some people did. It must have been jealously and poor Betsy was surely entitled to her share of jealousy, but the strangeness in her voice at the word ‘sugar’ didn’t matter as much as the fact that she was being helpful.

“You’re too kind,” she let out as they made their way to the water stand, slowly but surely. Audrey was grateful for the pace, as her head was still spinning. She pursed her lips at the question, not having considered it herself until now. “No, actually. It’s a bit peculiar. I’ve always romanticized the idea of swooning, but having it actually almost happen is something else. You don’t think I’m sick, do you?” she asked, suddenly horrified at the idea.

Audrey felt light in her head and heavy on her feet as she looked up at her saviour with the most charming, apologetic smile that she could. It froze on her face a little at the sight of who it was, but that was unfair. Betsy was a nice girl - cultured, polite, very nearly a princess. It wasn’t her fault she possessed the good taste to have been interested in Chad, or that Audrey had rejected his advances. Right now, all she wanted to do was just make sure she didn’t faint in front of this girl. How embarrassing that would be! 

Though at least she appreciated that Betsy recognized her star power. She nodded at the idea that glasses of water were likely coming her way - that gave her a little bit of strength. “I could certainly,” she said with as much power in her voice as she could muster, though it sounded quieter than usual. “Perhaps with some assistance, if you wouldn’t mind. Forgive me, I don’t feel quite myself.”

Betsy could feel the tension in the air as Audrey recognized her face, though she couldn’t for the life of her understand why. Had Chad instructed everyone he was close to to hate Betsy, purely because she had the misfortune of being his ex-girlfriend? She’d tried so hard to make sure everyone appreciated Chad for his own merits and didn’t judge them on their failed relationship, but the way Audrey looked at her, Betsy felt like perhaps he hadn’t extended her the same courtesy in return.

Audrey held out the last note of Total Eclipse of the Heart as long as she could, and by the time she was done and the music had ended, she couldn’t help but smile. She’d always had an excellent voice, she knew, but it took exceptional talent to excel at such a classic, and she hurried off the stage after a little curtsy, letting the applause wash over her. Westerly karaoke was definitely an event.

On her way down from the stage, she found herself panting, which was odd. Then again, she had just sang and performed her way through a really laborious number, and it was incredibly hot outside. She almost swooned, grabbing the arm of the person nearest to her without looking. “I’m so sorry,” Audrey mumbled, not her usual articulate self. “Do you think you could, um, bring me water please? I feel like I’m about to swoon. I guess I really must have left my all on that stage. Did you see me?” she asked, weak but excited. 

Although the months since the wedding had helped Betsy to forget why she’d ever been so enamored with Chad Charming, one thing was much harder to forget -- that she simply couldn’t compete with Audrey Rose. Though she hated to pit herself against other women, it was hard not to wonder what it was that she was missing, what it was that was so terrible about Betsy that she was so unloveable in comparison to the girl she’d just watched on stage. But her presence, her beauty, her grace... Betsy supposed she could understand. And she supposed she could allow herself to be envious of another woman, just this one time. Just until she found a way to appreciate all the things she herself had to offer again someday.