Shattered-Season 4 of Regal Academy

Something We Don't Know

Rose

"Hawk, I'm sorry, but I can't let you throw away everything you love for me!" Hawk sighed. "Rose, I love you. I've been to alternate universes with you. I watched you die, and it broke me. I can't lose you again." He paused, looking at the horizon. Pinks and oranges snaked through one another, painting a beautiful sunset. The peaks of the tallest mountain ranges and the crystal-like surfaces of the deepest lagoons were clear as day from this ledge. I watched as the view flickered and wobbled on the surface of the largest lagoon when Hawk snaked his arm around me. 

"Rose, I know things aren't.... picture perfect right now. We don't know what the future will be like, do we?" I looked into Hawk's deep blue eyes. "I know, but, well, we need to make decisions that will shape the future. Like whether or not we stay in the fairy tale world." He nodded, sighing. "Yeah, I guess we do have to decide." He turned back to me, a certain ferocity in his gaze. "It doesn't matter whether we're on Earth or in the fairy tale land. It's Happily Ever After as long as you're with me." I smiled, putting my head on Hawk's shoulder.

"It's beautiful here, isn't it?" I asked as I looked out at the sky. "It really is." Hawk sat up abruptly. "Is it beautiful in Earth too?" I smiled. "You know what, how about we go see?" I quickly opened up a portal with my compact, taking us to the Grand Canyon. One enlargement spell and we were through to the Grand Canyon. I quickly shrunk the mirror, snapping my compact shut. Hawk stood at the edge of the canyon, gazing at the sky above him. "Wow... it's even more beautiful." It really was. 

The clay-coloured canyons brought out the blood-red of the evening sky, the sun illuminating the sky as it sunk into the canyons itself. It was unreal, standing here with Hawk, admiring the sunset together. "It can;t get more beautiful then this." I smiled. "That's where you're wrong." Hawk arched his brows. "Really?" I nodded, smiling. "Lets get something to eat first-I know just the place."

I opened up the portal, taking us through to my own town.

.....

"What is this place?" Hawk asked, looking up at the big M. "This is a McDonald's. They sell really good food here-burgers, fries, sodas..." Hawk frowned. "What is a soda?" I laughed. "You'll see, Hawk. You'll see." 

We entered the McDonald's, the familiar hubbub of families talking over cheeseburgers and the warm, slightly greasy scent of fried food in the air welcoming me to heaven. Hawk wrinkled his nose. "Well, your choice of food has me worried, Rose." I rolled my eyes. "Jeez, you haven't even tried anything." Hawk grumbled about the smell, taking a seat across from me. "Okay, will a butler come and ask us what we want to eat?" I laughed. "No, Hawk. We're going to walk up to the counter and order off the menu."

Hawk looked perplexed. "Menu?" I rolled my eyes at him. "It's a list of things a restaurant sells." Hawk frowned, still confused. "What do you mean, list? Can't I just tell them what I fancy eating?" I shook my head. "That's not how Earth works, Hawk. Every restaurant sells a certain type of food. McDonald's sells burgers, fries and sodas. There's other stuff, of course, but those are its main categroies of food." Hawk nodded uncertainly. "Well, I suppose you can... order for me, then." I nodded, leaving my seat to get to the counter. 

I tried to ignore the stares I was receiving, the whispers about what school's uniform I was wearing giving me a slight headache. I walked up to the front desk, smiling. "What's your order?" asked the attendant, smiling. "I'll get two small cheeseburger meals-a Diet Coke for both-and two soft serves." I paused. "And an apple pie." The attendant nodded. "Is that all?" I nodded, smiling. "Well, here's your number." The cashier handed me my receipt, accepting my cash and giving back my change. 

I went over to wait for my order, collecting it before making my way back to Hawk. 

"Where's the knife and fork?" That was Hawk's first reaction to the delicious meal I had just put down in front of him. "You use your hands to eat these," I explained, biting into my own cheeseburger. Juicy, cheesy and a little greasy-just how I liked them. Hawk wrinkled up his nose, copying my actions exactly. I watched, amused, as his nose slowly 'unwrinkled'. Hawk went in for another bite, then another and another, until he'd devoured the entire burger. "Well, that was fast," I laughed, handing Hawk a napkin to wipe the ketchup off his face. 

"That was the best food I have ever eaten," remarked Hawk. "The only thing that could beat it would be..." I smirked, unveiling my secret weapon. "APPLE PIE!" Hawk's starstruck expression was the funniest thing. He opened the cardboard casing, stuffing his face with the pie. He didn't even surface for air. "Oh. My. God. It was amazing!" Hawk beamed. "I knew you'd like it," I gushed. 

Hawk reached across the table, taking his hand in mine. "Look, Rose, even before you brought me to Earth, I knew I would go with you. Even if you chose to live in a cold dungeon, I would go with you." My heart skipped a beat, Hawk's familiar smile making me melt. How was it that I had found someone who was so completely and totally in love with me? How had I gotten so lucky? Hawk was a blessing. The biggest blessing I would ever be given. Honestly, I would be an idiot to let someone like him go.

"Hey, Hawk?" His dark blue eyes met mine, full of compassion and adoration. For, I realised, me. "I would've stayed with you if you decided not to leave." He smiled. "I know, Rose. I know. But you wouldn't have been happy, and it would've killed me." He took my other hand. "I guess I just care about you that much." 

I smiled. "So, you ready to go?" I asked. Hawk nodded. 

We walked out of the McDonald's, hand in hand,  tucking ourselves into a secluded corner. 

I raised my wand, flicking it once. "Take us-" There was no sparkle, no tinkle, no nothing. "Take us-" I gently tapped it against my hand. What was wrong with it? Hawk pulled out his own wand. "Mirror Magic!" Once again, the wand was unresponsive. "They won't work-don't bother trying." 

Her once-curly blonde hair was now straighter than a ruler. She'd started wearing contacts, tinting her eyes to an icy blue. Her once healthy, muscled figure had been replaced with a stick-thin one, evident through her black leather dress. She looked, in every way, like a haute couture model. It scared me to see her looking like this. Looking like more of a villain than before.  

"Vicky?"