Duchess Swan stands up and dusts herself off. She sneezes, and it comes out more like a honk, as she stirs the dust back up. She’s in a small, dusty room that doesn’t look like any she had ever seen in Ever After High. She had fallen into her story for her midterm hexam, except it wasn’t her story.
So far, every student who finished their hexams had ended up in a fairytale completely different than their own. When the first group of students came back with the tales of their hexam, a lot of the school had grown nervous. Even Duchess’s roommate, Lizzie Hearts, had hit the books, looking into a myriad of fairytales. When the second group came back, also spouting tales with twists no one had heard before, she began to hope.
Duchess’s story ended in tragedy, and it was no secret at Ever After that she hadn’t been looking forward to the hexams. Having to go through her story and find out what life would be like as a swan? Duchess wanted to put that experience off forever after. When she had heard about the story mix-up, she wondered, she hoped, that this was her chance to get her happily ever after. Even if it was only a fairytale.
Alright, Duchess, first order of business is to find out what story I’m in.
The room she is in doesn’t have a lot, just a bed, and window, and...is that hair? Covering almost every available surface is hair, making a thick sea of lavender, white, and black. Duchess lets out a groan. Of course she had to fall into the story of Rapunzel.
She wades through the hair and plops down onto the bed. It isn’t very ladylike, but who cared how she acted until her prince got here. She throws her head back, a little to harshly, and bangs it against the wall. She cries out as she rubs the tender spot.
She sighs and gets comfortable. She knows this part of the story well: waiting. It is a crucial skill for damsels, but one that Duchess hadn’t bothered to learn. Why learn to be the perfect damsel-in-distress when no one would come to save her? She blows a long strand of hair out of her face.
She looks around for something to do while she waits for her prince. There is a suspiciously large lump on the other side of the room. It could just be hair stacked on top of hair stacked on top of hair. But it could also be...something. With nothing better to do, Duchess makes her way back across the sea of hair and starts moving it out of her way.
She uncovers a vanity. It shows signs of wear, but it is fairy beautiful. She opens one of the drawers and finds it fully outfitted with makeup. Makeup that matches her perfectly.
She sits down and starts applying it. There’s no reason not to look hextra charming for her prince. She finishes her look quickly and laments her beauty for a moment. If she wasn’t already so stunning, she might have had more to do.
She is broken from her thoughts by the sound of a twig snapping. And another. And another. Is that her prince? She rushes to the window, nearly tripping over all of the hair. She can’t see anyone out there, but she can still hear the sounds of someone in the forest. She takes in a deep breath and screams.
“HELP! Someone save me! I’m trapped in the tower!”
She pauses to listen for a response. There is none.
“Hello? Is someone out there? I’m in the tower! I need rescuing! Help me! Pretty maiden in tower! Damsel in distress here!”
She takes in another deep breath. Still, no one calls back to her. In fact, she can’t hear any noise coming from the forest. Not even the sounds of birds chirping.
Her face falls. She backs away from the window and falls onto the bed. No one is coming for her. No one is looking for her.
Even in a different story, there is no one to save Duchess.
