This has got to be the first new fandom I've written for in two years. But after I tuned in to the Ever After High TV special two weeks ago, I knew I had to write something for this series. I just HAD TO. I wanted to go more in-depth with the idea of fairy tale characters questioning their destinies leading up to and after Legacy Day, and thus this baby was born.
Hope you enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I, japaneserockergirl, do not own any aspect of the Ever After High franchise, which includes, but isn't limited to: the dolls, the webisodes, the television special(s), and the novels. Those belong to Mattel and Shannon Hale, respectively. However, I do own Sean Oceanus, Dylan Tempest, Anansi the Spider the 2,257th, Marionette Carver, and Nerissa Marin.
NOTE: Cedar Wood and Raven Queen won't appear until Chapter 3, just so you know...
000000000000
The Seeds of Rebellion
Chapter 1: First Day Fears
"We've arrived, Master Sean," the driver in front stated as the carriage rumbled to a stop at the cobblestone bridge.
Sean Oceanus, son of the Little Mermaid, rested against the cushioned seats, his green eyes tearing themselves from the window to look at the driver. "Thanks, Irving," he said as he exited the carriage.
The elderly driver removed Sean's trunk from the top of the carriage and handed it to the red-head. "Have a pleasant year, young master."
"Irving, we've been over this: it's just 'Sean'."
"Okay, 'just Sean'," the man teased.
Sean smirked. "Well, it's a start. Tell mom and dad thanks for breakfast and the ride, okay?"
"Will do!" Irving entered the carriage, snapping the harnesses to make the horses turn around.
Sean waited for it to leave his range of sight before making his way up the bridge, trying to ignore the stares. It wasn't like he wanted to show off; his parents had insisted on giving him a ride, and since he didn't see them often, the red-head couldn't muster the courage to refuse.
Around the middle of the bridge, Sean stepped to the side—just past where the troll was being scolded by the goat—plopping his trunk on the ground and pulling a conch shell from his pocket. He peeled back the exterior, revealing a number pad and a small screen.
0000000000000
In the confines of a cave deep in the Atlantis Sea, Dylan Tempest, son of the Sea Witch, pored over the books in his bookshelves, searching for reading material to take with him to campus. The cry of a dolphin made the white-haired male flinch, his tentacles dropping the books they held. He whirled towards the table, where a purple oyster vibrated and cried. There was only one person who knew he had this oyster, only one person who called it.
Nervously, Dylan swam towards his SeaPhone, opening it up to find the image of his best—and only—friend.
"Hey, Sean," he greeted.
"Where are you, merman? I thought we were going to meet up at the troll bridge."
"Oh, sorry about that. I've been looking for books to take with me and must've lost track of time."
Sean shook his head. "You and books…just hex me when you get on campus, all right?"
"Sure. I'll see you there." Dylan pressed a button on the oyster's tongue, ending the call.
He had only been telling half of the truth: yes, he was looking for books, but Dylan was also trying to avoid Sean as much as possible. After all, this would be their sophomore year at Ever After High, the year when they would pledge their destinies. It just wouldn't be wise to continue their friendship.
A loud banging startled Dylan out of his thoughts.
"Oi! Hurry it up in there!"
"Coming!" Dylan tossed the four books he had been holding last, along with his SeaPhone and MirrorPad, into his trunk. After wrapping netting around said trunk, he hoisted it over his shoulder and swam towards the front boulder. Immediately, a golden net of magic flashed before him. "I'm ready!"
In all honesty, Dylan could—and in many cases, had—broken the enchantments placed on this boulder, but they couldn't know that. So, he simply waited as the guard broke it for him, the boulder rolling away once the merman was done.
The guard was accompanied by three others, all of them decked in the royal blue sashes of Atlantis and ready to escort Dylan to the surface.
The king couldn't have him running away, after all.
000000000000000
It had been much harder to get through the mirror than Anansi had thought.
Granted, it probably hadn't helped that he had fought the damn thing the whole trip. But could you blame him? The mirror had gotten rid of four of his six arms!
So with great annoyance, Anansi the Spider the 2,257th stepped into the hallway of Ever After High, startling a few passing students with his sudden appearance. He must've stood out in his bright, multi-colored kente cloth and golden slippers, but he didn't care. He just wanted to get this whole 'destiny' thing over with.
After asking around, he found himself knocking on Headmaster Grimm's door.
"Come in."
The headmaster's office was wide, with red carpet beneath two large bookshelves on each side of the room. They led to a mahogany desk, where the man in question sat, his back to the curtained windows. Headmaster Grimm looked up from his desk.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Spider. Your father told me you would be attending this year. It seems you weren't pulling enough pranks at your last school."
Anansi bit back a snort; he had pulled pranks at Mythology High every day, but if it were up to his old man, he'd probably be pulling them every minute. "That's true, Headmaster. I…had trouble finding inspiration back at MytH, so my father suggested that I come here to fulfill my destiny."
More like he shoved me through that accursed mirror the minute I started to complain, he thought.
"Well, hopefully you'll find Ever After High to be more inspirational," the headmaster explained, making his way to Anansi, "I wouldn't want to fail our allies in the other realms."
Putting a hand on the dark-skinned boy's shoulder—a gesture Anansi didn't appreciate, but didn't shrug off—Headmaster Grimm steered him into the hallway, giving the new student a brief tour of the classrooms, offices, and other features of the school that Anansi didn't really care to learn about—
"…your roommate is Dylan Tempest, son of the Sea Witch from…"
Anansi's eyes flicked to the headmaster. "A sea witch?"
"Yes. He's one of our more…troublesome students, but he shouldn't give you a hard time."
"Interesting…" Maybe this 'Dylan' can give me some ideas…
Dylan stepped through the doors of Ever After High. Upon reaching the surface, his lower half had transformed into two human legs, which were dressed in black jeans. Said jeans were accompanied by a purple shirt and a waist-length black jacket with wave-like tears on the ends and sleeves. But this transformation didn't deter the usual—
"Ahh! It's Dylan Tempest!"
"Son of the Sea Witch!"
"Sweet fairy godmother..."
-which was followed by people and animals fleeing the halls. Dylan sighed.
Anansi whistled. This guy must be bad news…mythtastic!
"Ah, Mr. Tempest! Perfect timing," Headmaster Grimm greeted, "Your new roommate has just arrived."
Oh, yeah; from this year on, Dylan had the wonderlandiful privilege of living with someone who'd probably cast enchantments on himself before bed every night. Great. Dylan walked towards the two, preparing a list of reassurances to say.
"This is Anansi the Spider Junior," the headmaster continued, "He came from his home realm to become a Trickster like his father."
Dylan's eyes widened. "'Home realm'?" He turned to Anansi. "What was the inter-dimensional transfer process like? Did you maintain your original appearance? Or were there changes? I've heard rumors—"
The headmaster cleared his throat. Dylan flushed. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have flung all those questions on you—"
"Mr. Tempest, we've been over this. You're not to apologize for your wrongdoings."
Dylan's face scrunched up in confusion, jostling his glasses. "I'm not sorry?"
"Much better. Now, please escort Mr. Spider to your room. I'm sure the two of you would like to get acquainted."
00000000000000
Sean made his way through the bushes of the Enchanted Forest, where Dylan had hexed to meet him. Why did they need to meet there when they could just hang out in one of their rooms? The red-head shook his head. It probably didn't mean anything; Dylan could've just wanted to hang out in the sun after a summer spent (mostly) underwater. Sean knew he did.
The forest was vast, with sturdy trees boasting green leaves, thorny shrubs, and plenty of magical quirks, but it was relatively easy to navigate once you visited a couple of times, especially during the day. Before long, Sean could see Dylan leaning against a tree, book in hand.
"Hey, Dylan!"
The other boy flinched, almost dropping his book as he shut it. "Hey, Sean."
The red-head frowned. "What's up?"
Dylan took a deep breath, trying to slow his heartbeat. He had been preparing for this conversation for half of the summer; he couldn't back down now. "Sean…I don't think we should be friends anymore."
"What? Why?"
"Because this is our sophomore year, Sean. After Legacy Day, we're going to become enemies in order to fulfill our destinies—"
"You think I don't know that?" Sean snapped, "My 'destiny' has been drilled into my skull since my parents sent me into the ocean when I was five, Dylan. You don't need to repeat it to me—"
"Yes, I do," Dylan retorted, "because you don't seem to understand. If we continue being friends, you're going to get too attached—"
"You saved my life, okay? Of course I'm 'attached'." Sean sighed. "Listen, I know that my destiny is to kill you in order to get my Happily Ever After, but I want us to stay friends anyway. So that when you're gone, I'll have these memories of us hanging out, having fun. I'll know that you didn't want to do the things you're going to do..."
Dylan stared at Sean, not sure what to say. This was why they needed to call things off now: whether Sean held back or not, he'd feel miserable after Dylan was gone, no matter how happy his Happily Ever After was.
But that look in his eyes—he…he meant all of what he said, and that…
…that meant a lot to Dylan. It really did.
The bespectacled male looked down, eyes burning as he fought a smile. The son of the Sea Witch had no business getting all sentimental, after all. He took a few deep yet soft breaths, looking up when his composure returned.
"Very well, then," Dylan said, crossing his arms, "But don't say that I didn't warn you." He smirked.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now come on. I need your help unpacking."
"Oh, is that all I'm good for?"
The two boys laughed as they walked back to campus.
000000000000000000
Author's Notes: As per the usual tradition of EAH characters, each one of my OCs has a meaning to their name:
Sean Oceanus—Sean should be self-explanatory; Oceanus means 'the world sea'.
Dylan Tempest—Dylan means 'son of the sea'; Tempest should be self-explanatory.
Anansi the Spider—Anansi is the name of a spider that likes playing tricks on people in Ghanaian mythology; unfortunately, due to the lack of info on Africa available on the internet and in books, I don't know much about him. In the few stories/TV clips I've read/seen, he's portrayed as either a real spider or a man with six arms and two legs (or was it four of each?). The 2,257th I threw in because I don't know how long the myth has existed and that number kept on nagging me the entire time I wrote this.
And as a bonus, I had one of Sean's parents' servants be named Irving, which means 'green water'. XD
Thanks for reading! Constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!
japaneserockergirl
12/26/13