A/N:

Hello all!
My name is Blair, and this is my first attempt at fanfiction. I've also picked a crossover, so I'm not sure how well this will go.
Please bear with me, and let me know if I can improve anything!
Without further ado, I give you... With Love

Chapter One
The Assignment

Ever After High

Milton Grimm hesitantly picked up his phone, and pushed each button slowly, as if any of them might be some kind of trigger for a horrific explosion. Finally, he ran out of numbers (thankfully with no explosions of any kind), and he began to rap his fingers on the fine wooden desk as it dialled.

'Hello?'

'Ah, yes, this is Milton Grimm, the Headmaster of Ever After High?'

'Milton Grimm? There's a name I haven't heard for a few decades. To what do I owe the pleasure, Headmaster?'

'I have a proposition for you, educator to educator…' Milton began. He heard the woman's voice on the other end of the line chuckle.

'I'm listening…'

. . .

Cerise was flying through the trees, much faster than she had ever dared to go. But tonight was a special night. The moon illuminated everything, casting a milky glow on the forest and the dark shadows that Ever After High cast on her surroundings. Her hood completely forgotten, Cerise felt free and happy enough to let out a loud whoop.

She skidded to a halt, trying to catch her breath. She ran her fingers through her hair, and brushed over the soft fur of her ears – something that made her who she was, and yet such a big secret.

So many secrets.

'Cerise?'

Her heart stopped. She couldn't have been followed. She was listening for anyone tailing her. Cerise spun around, looking for the source of the voice.

'Cerise? We're gonna be late…'

Cerise Hood woke in her dorm room, with an anxious Cedar poised over her.

'What?'

'We're gonna be really late, there's that seminar thing today, remember?' Cedar reminded her, and Cerise sat up, taking special care that her hood remained up.

'Sorry…' she mumbled.

'You really take your destiny seriously, don't you Cerise?'

'How do you mean?'

'Well… you never take that hood off. You must really look forward to signing the Storybook of Legends, huh?'

Cerise hated lying to Cedar - probably because she was so honest and sweet. Of course, she was cursed that way, but that wasn't the point. Cedar was a good friend of hers.

'Yeah, so excited,' Cerise replied. Cedar left to give her some privacy, and Cerise fought the urge to go back to sleep.

Cerise found a seat between Raven and Cedar, and pulled out her notebook. She wasn't in a good mood, after her hexcellent dream being interrupted. Professor Nimble stood before the class, a big glass bowl in his hands. There were small, neatly folded pieces of paper inside the bowl, which put Cerise's mind into curiosity mode.

'Maybe we need partners?' Cedar offered, and Cerise merely shrugged in reply.

'Settle down, everyone. Settle, please. I'm sure you're all wondering why we've brought you all here this morning instead of your usual classes? Well, Headmaster Grimm and myself have decided that you need to be able to interact with people other than the students here at Ever After High-'

'Are we taking an excursion to the Human World?' asked Briar excitedly.

'Of course not, Miss Beauty, that would be disastrous. You are, however, going to be corresponding with a pen pal for the remainder of the year.'

Excited chatter broke out amongst the students, and Cerise felt her heart drop. She wasn't overly good at making friends in person, never mind on paper.

'So, as I call your names, I would like for you to come and pull a name from this bowl, and that will be the name of your new pen pal. You will have the rest of this session to draft your first letter to your pen pal, and from then on you will correspond every week, with the last half hour of your literature class with myself dedicated to these letters.'

'Is this compulsory?' Cerise asked, flicking her hand in the air. Professor Nimble nodded.

'Yes it is, sorry Cerise. Anyone who has not drafted a proper letter before the send off date will receive a detention and will be required to write an apology letter in addition to the usual one. Now, can I get you all lined up in an orderly fashion, and we'll start pulling these names!'

Cerise felt more and more uncomfortable the closer she got to that awful glass bowl. Finally it was her turn, and she stuck her hand in, swirling it around for good measure. She plucked a single card out of the bowl, and opened it up.

Clawdeen Wolf.

Oh, the irony, she thought as she handed it to Professor Nimble so he could write it down. She moved over to her friends with a heavy feeling in her stomach.

'Who did you get, Cerise?'

'Oh, um, Clawdeen… weird name,' she replied, tucking the paper in her pocket.

'I got Abbey Bominable,' Cedar said, a wide grin on her face.

'Frankie,' Raven said, examining her page. 'D'you reckon that's a girl or a boy?'

'I have Ghoulia!' Maddie chirped, ignoring Raven's question. 'Oh, this is going to be hat-tastic! Do you think she knows Riddlish?'

Cerise let them continue their conversation without her. She felt sorry for this Clawdeen Wolf. She was going to be so disappointed when she realised that Cerise wasn't a very good penpal.

'Miss Hood, I have yet to receive your penpal letter. Everyone else is long finished…' Professor Nimble said with a warm smile. Cerise looked around to see all of her classmates packing up their things. She stared down at her blank page with a frown.

'I don't think this is really my thing, Professor…' she confessed.

'Just write down a little about yourself. The first step is always the hardest, Cerise. I'm expecting that letter by three this afternoon, okay?'

She nodded, grateful for the small extension, and scooped up her things.

At lunch, she barely touched her food, and although they tried to help her, none of her friends gave her any really good ideas for what to write. In the end, she scribbled out something that she knew Professor Nimble wouldn't be too proud of, and dropped it on his desk.

~
Monster High

'Are they here yet?' Frankie asked, sparking with anticipation. When they'd been told that they would be receiving pen pal letters, the whole class had been dying to receive them. They hadn't been told anything about where they came from, only that they weren't Normies, and that they were sort of like a sister school.

'I think so! Look!' Draculaura pointed to the small box that Professor Rotter carried.

'When I call your name, come and collect your letters, please. Clawdeen Wolf?'

Clawdeen grinned a toothy grin at being the first to receive her letter. She didn't even wait to get back to her seat before tearing it open. The letter itself wasn't long, but she noted the handwriting was very neat, even if it did look like it was written in a hurry.

To Clawdeen,
Firstly, I apologise. I'm really bad at this sorta stuff, and I'm not really sure what to write to you, or even what the purpose of this pen pal thing is. Not that I don't want a penpal, it's just that I'm really very plain, and I'm sure you'd much rather write to someone more exciting after reading a few of my letters.
I'd totally understand. I'm so sorry I can't think of anything else.
from Cerise.

Clawdeen read it through a few times. It was so short, it didn't take long for her to memorise it.

'Professor Rotter?' she called.

'Yes?'

'When do we need to have written a reply?'

'They will be sent away this time next week…'

Clawdeen read her letter through one more time, then picked up her pen.

'Dear… Cerise…'