-xoxo-

Love in Bloom

-xoxo-

Dexter might have been born into the Charming family, but there was no questioning the fact that he had trouble living up to his name from time to time. Girls still threw themselves at him, but only because of his status, and he knew it. As a Prince, he should have been the type to walk with his head held high, instead, he often tripped over his shoelaces. His smile was supposed to make girls faint, but they often just giggled at his silly attempts to look bold. His expertise with weapons wasn't all that great either, seeing how he often ended up dropping the sword or crossbow. Yet despite it all, he liked to think of himself as a romantic sort of guy. He might have been klutzy and clumsy, far from the perfect Prince Charming he was supposed to be, but he was a gentlemen nonetheless.

Now… Raven was also someone who certainly didn't live up to her family name, nor did she want to try and do so. She liked every part of herself, but not in a egotistical way. She was confident without even trying, and talented and there was so much more about her than just being supposedly evil. She was a real girl, too. Down-to-earth, the type who actually thought about things. She made her own choices even before the Legacy Day fiasco and that was what made her who she was. But out of all the things she was, a hopeless romantic wasn't one of them.

She liked a good love story as much as any other female, but anything too sappy bored her to death. Perhaps that was another reason why she indulged in the idea of rewriting. She liked the idea of breaking what was written in stone.

And out of all the weird plot twists anyone could ever come across or write up, a light pink rose taped to her locker door was probably the strangest of them all.

Girls like her didn't receive roses. Princesses got them - Apple most of the time, Briar especially, even Ashlynn on occasion, or Holly and Poppy sometimes. But not Raven. At first, she seriously thought that the note before True Hearts' Day was a joke, now this?

It had to have been a prank, she thought. What else could it be? Who would want to try and woo the next Evil Queen?

She didn't pay too much mind to it, but Raven did appreciate the offer either way.

Just for decoration, she had woven the flower into the metal spiral of her notebook. It looked nice, against the purple plaid patterned cover. Plus, when she was bored out of her mind in class, looking at the rose lit up her spirits. Maybe she would never find out who gave it to her or what it meant, but it was still a very sweet gesture, she figured. Maybe it wasn't even meant for her, and it was placed on the wrong locker. It wasn't something she gave too much thought, though.

It was just a rose.

And yes, her friends had all teased her about it, but Raven usually waved it off with a smile and a laugh. A flower meant nothing…

...then again, the meaning behind it might.

Maid Marian's class of Environmental Magic went over many subjects with nature in the Enchanted Forest, and today's unit was plants and animals. It was a Show and Tell Day, and students had to display whatever kind of beauty they had recently found in the Forest. Of course, only Maid Marian would be kind enough to make that the only assignment for her students - so this class was more or less an easy A for everyone.

Most students had brought their pets - Briar's pet unicorn ended up eating a few of the tests left on the teacher's desk, Blondie's bear cub chewed up someone's shoe and Lizzie's hedgehog had somehow latched itself onto Maid Marian's cone hat - while others had literally made up stories about twigs. The whole lesson was a drag.

So when the time came for Raven to show and tell about her own Forest item, she was reluctant. To be fair, she didn't find it on her own, but bringing Nevermore to class obviously wouldn't be a good idea. This was the only option, more or less.

"Raven Queen, please give us your presentation," Maid Marian called.

Now or never, Raven realized as she gently took the rose out from her notebook and made her way to the front of the class. She felt anxious as she held it up, and she stammered as she tried to tell the fable behind it.

"Well," she said. "I found this on my locker, actually. But I know it's from the Enchanted Forest because I've seen ones like this there. I'm not a fan of roses but I still like this, because I know flowers mean things." Raven's nervousness melted away, and she genuinely smiled for the whole class to see. "They have stories, just like us. Some flowers are left to wilt because of bad weather or when people neglect to take care of them, while others bloom and survive, like this one." She didn't dare touch any of the petals, but she twirled it around between her fingers elegantly. "I don't know who gave it to me, or why, but I hope to someday find out the true fairytale."

Short, sweet, simple.

She had a small feeling that she would barely pass this assignment - her story wasn't nearly exciting as the one Sparrow told about the leaf that apparently functioned like a mood ring, yet only on a full moon - but it didn't matter too much.

Maid Marian softly clapped. "Very good, Raven," she praised. "You are right, flowers do have meanings, roses, especially. Do you know what light pink roses represent?"

Raven shook her head.

"Gentleness, joy, grace, harmony, warmth, and most importantly, admiration," the teacher explained.

"Admiration," Raven mused, with a small smile as she sat back in her seat.

She placed the flower back into her notebook and folded her hands as she returned her attention to the class. Then again, out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but notice Dexter, sitting nearby, looking awfully bashful.

Raven nearly blushed.

The possibility was there…

...and oh, how she hoped it was true.

author's note: Just a small mini-series I've decided to write for Dexen because they're freakin' adorable. This story will consist of thirteen more chapters, which will be fairly short, like this one. A meaning for each type of rose.

Why? BECAUSE I'M A HOPELESS ROMANTIC WHO LOVES THESE TWO MORE THAN I SHOULD.

So yeah. If you like what I have so far, please let me know what you think with a review :).