Chapter Text
Raven stood in front of her mirror. It was almost as big as Apple’s, and it scared her more than she wanted to admit. It looked so similar to her mother’s mirror. How Apple found one like that, she didn’t know.
Every time she looked at herself, a sense of dread crept at the base of her skull. She didn’t want to become her mother. She remembered, as a child, before her mother was imprisoned, that the Evil Queen spent hours looking at herself in the mirror, primping and admiring herself.
And the thing is, Raven liked looking in the mirror. She liked looking at herself, and that terrified her more than the mirror itself.
“Raven,” Apple said, coming over to Raven’s side of the room, “Are you okay?”
Raven forced her gaze away from the mirror, “Yeah. I think so. Maybe. I… no.”
“What’s wrong?” Apple asked, concerned. Because of course she would be.
“I know you don’t understand, but whenever I look in the mirror… I get stuck. I like looking at it. Uh, myself,” Raven said. She risked a glance at Apple, “I’m afraid of being like my mom. No, no! Please don’t tell me that being like my mom is a good thing, okay?”
Apple swallowed, “Okay. Okay, I won’t say that. But, um…. Maybe you are subconsciously preparing for…?”
Raven dipped her head. Suddenly, her nails were very interesting.
“Right, sorry,” Apple said. She exhaled and looked at Raven with a new determination, “I know we want different things. I want to follow the path set for me. You don’t. And by all logic and reason, we should hate each other.”
Raven did something that sounded like a mix between a laugh and a huff.
“I don’t hate you,” Apple continued, her voice ridiculously soft and melodic, “You’re my friend, and I love you. I want what’s best for you, even if it directly contrasts with what I want.”
Raven looked up, meeting Apple’s eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Cover the mirror,” Apple’s eyes brimmed with tears and she swiped at them furiously, “Sorry. This isn’t about me. I can still have my destiny, right? Cover the mirror. And—And when you’re ready, display the mirror again. When you’re sure that you won’t become your mother.”
“Apple, I…”
“You won’t become your mom,” Apple said. She smiled, “You’re too nice. Also, I’m pretty sure that if you’re worried about being evil, you’re not. Evil people don’t worry about being evil.”
“Thanks, Apple. That makes me feel better,” Raven said, “And you’ll, uh, you’ll be just like your mom. That’s what you want, right?”
Apple forced a smile and a giggle, “Yeah. That’s what I want.”
Apple went back to her side of the room. Raven stared at the mirror a moment more. Was that… laughing? Cackling? A cold feeling washed over her. She forced herself to breathe. Her mother was not in her mirror. Her mother was trapped inside mirror prison, not her mirror.
For the second time that day, she forced her eyes away from the mirror. She had to find a sheet to cover that mirror.