IN THE FOREST PRIMEVAL
A SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL
TWO TOWERS LIKE TWIN HEADS
ONE FOR THE PURE
ONE FOR THE WICKED
TRY TO ESCAPE YOU'LL ALWAYS FAIL
THE ONLY WAY OUT IS THROUGH A FAIRY TALE
"Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil."
~ Marcus Aurelius
Once upon a time in a land close to home, a girl sat, watching the rain as it dribbled down the glass. Now, I know what you're thinking, but this is not the start to a chick flick movie, or any kind of movie for that matter.
Unless that movie is about a fairy tale.
Edlynne smiled, brushing a strand of brown hair away from her face, equally brown eyes struggling to see through the onslaught of water. She was nothing special, and if you asked her she would always say that she never would be.
Her brother, Edward, was outside, slashing in the mud with his friends, covering themselves in the substance so thoroughly that their mothers would be in a bad mood for the rest of the day. And if that wasn't enough, it was the looming threat of the School Master coming tonight that would cause the mothers gloom.
Edlynne had seen this night through before. She was a couple of months old, followed by being 4 years old , then 8, then she remembered fearing even the slightest noise just after her twelfth birthday. And now, here she was, 16 year old Edlynne Deauville, daughter of Elden and his late wife Anwen Deauville, the owner of the only storybook shop in the village of Gavaldon.
In all honestly, the only reason she wasn't muddying herself or doing bad deeds, was because she had accepted a fact the rest of the village was trying to ignore.
One day of the Good doing bad and Bad doing good wouldn't change anything. The School Master had already decided. Edlynne just had to take her chances and hope she'd be with her brother when he was 13 and waiting for his turn.
Edlynne stood, straightening her dress, before wandering down the stairs to the front door.
"Ed!" She shouted out of it, her voice struggling to overcome the rain pounding the pavement like a drum. "Ed!"
"Hey Lynne," he grinned as he appeared in front of his sister, knowing she hated the nickname.
"Come on, it's nearly sundown and we need to get you into dry clothes," Edlynne frowned at him, reminding him to remove his boots before he trod mud through the house.
Ink stained fingers tied her shoulder length hair into a messy bun, the colour being a trait she shared with both her father and brother. She firmly believed that, while it was nice to have long hair, it was impractical for work in her father's book store.
Have you ever tried to painstakingly copy out a story book with hair falling in front of your eyes? It's extremely annoying.
Finally, Edlynne descended the stairs to her father's shop, just in time to see the sign in the front of the shop change to closed.
"They all gone home?" Elden, her father, instantly knew who she was talking about.
"Yes, they've run out of study time," he chuckled, running a hand through his graying hair.
"Thought so. I've sent Ed up to get ready, would you like to play cards tonight?" She asked, helping to straighten the book shelves.
"Why not. We'll have distraught parents coming in the morning, wanting to know if we have news." Edlynne offered up a small smile, leading the way upstairs to the Deauville living room, where she got out the pack of cards. Edward bounded down the stairs, fresh from washing his face and changing clothes.
"Will you deal, Edlynne?" It was about an hour after sunset now, and everyone who was too old to be eligible now lined the city streets. The Deauvilles never took part in this, as they knew it was futile. That enlightenment didn't mean the other villagers liked them for it.
A few hours into their game, no screams had yet come from those being taken, and Edlynnes hands were shaking so violently she dropped the cards all over the table.
"I- I'm sorry," she stuttered, trying to scoop them all up and continue shuffling, before her little brother reached over and stilled her hand.
"We could just read aloud," he suggested, in such a calm tone that often caused Edlynne to forget that he was in fact only 9 years old.
She nodded, quickly tidying away the game, before going to the shelf and removing a red, leather bound book and replacing it with the cards.
Edlynne turned, about to ask Edward what story he would like to hear, before freezing at what she saw.
Standing in the doorway, with no possible cause of it, stood a shadow. She trembled, staring at where the eyes should be.
"Is it me?" She asked, trembling. Not waiting for an answer, the eldest Deauville child lunged towards her family for one last hug, not quite reaching them in time before the shadow grabbed her ankles, pulling her down the stairs and out the front door. She seemed to be floating a few inches off the ground, probably to make the kidnapping easier.
"No! No! Let me go, let me just say goodbye!" She screamed, struggling as she was pulled alongside another fighting figure, who also screamed and shouted for freedom.
The villagers chased them, flaming torches flickering in the gloom, momentarily illuminating the faces of those who chased the two children and the shadow to the edge of the woods. The fastest villager reached the trees, only to be forced backwards as the vines barred their way.
The inhabitants of Gavaldon cursed, as two brown haired bookmakers, a father and son, stared after their missing daughter.
I don't own the School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani. There is no set time for this, just know that Edward is the Mr Deauville in the book. I hope you enjoy, but be warned this has no beta, and this will be updated every other week, on a rota with my other story :)