"What is Madam Maid Marian doing here?" Duchess whispered to Lizzie. Lizzie looked bewildered.

"I have zero idea." Lizzie replied. They curiously watched the rebel teacher. All Marian did was walk in exactly like Mr. Badwolf did, go over to the blackboard exactly like Mr. Badwolf did, and pick up a piece of chalk, exactly like Mr. Badwolf. She cleared her throat loudly, although each student was already stunned silent.

"Well, it seems my appearance was unexpected. I'm your substitute teacher for the week, since Mr. Badwolf is sick. The other subs cancelled at last minute, so Grimm could only get me. Any questions?" Marian asked. The students just looked at her with wide eyes. Duchess pursed her lips. Why would the Headmaster choose a damsel for the General Villainy class teacher?

"This is crazy. It's more sideways than Wonderland!" Lizzie muttered under her breath. Duchess glanced around. Faybelle looked like someone had stolen her puppy, Sparrow seemed to be sleeping, Ginger looked excited and Raven seemed unconcerned. Lizzie just shook her head at the craziness of it all.

"UH." Faybelle cleared her throat. "Will we still be learning villainous stuff?" she questioned. Madam Maid Marian nodded.

"I have a schedule from Mr. Badwolf. Now, if there are no more questions, we will begin." Marian replied readily. She reached over to touch the wall. A grinding noise was heard, and a door opened. "Today's lesson is about sneaking and spying. A good villain must be prepared for anything." Madam Maid Marian read off a paper. The students peered down the door opening. A dimly lit tunnel led off into the gloom. Marian walked in, gesturing for them to follow. They walked single file after her, kicking at the dust on the passageway's floor. Marian seemed to be using her chalk to mark the way, because a long white line stretched along the wall.

"A good villain is always prepared." Duchess muttered. It might be a test. But she wasn't prepared when a rat ran in front of her. She squealed, and backed up. Only Lizzie was behind her, and the two girls backed up nervously. The rat glanced at them with red eyes before scampering off. They quickly rejoined the group, which had walked a little further ahead. The tunnel opened wider, and they all gathered around Marian when she stopped.

"Okay, next, you need to follow me, one by one." Marian instructed. She pointed out an order. "You first, then you, then you. You three go last. Got it? Good. Then let's go." Marian jumped into the gloom off the hall just in front of them and disappeared. The other students quickly followed. Duchess was last, and she closed her eyes before jumping. She expected to hit hard ground, but instead, she found herself falling. She wrenched open her eyes to see a dark stone wall flying past her. She fell through the hole for a few more seconds before landing. A sponge was the landing pad, and it sucked her through it, through the floor and into a white, well lit room where all the other students waited.

"Good job, everyone! Okay, now we have entered the room of listening. In this room, there are stations where you can listen in on any conversation in the school. Your assignment is to find something interesting that you can blackmail people with." Marian spoke loudly. They dispersed to the strange stations.

"Well, let's see what we can find." muttered Duchess.


Duchess wandered through the gardens, looking for Pirouette. The pet competition was coming soon, and she wanted to prove Pirouette was the best pet around. Duchess was confident her swan could win, because what could best a dancing swan?

Duchess put her face to the sun. The warm rays felt so much nicer than the cold dust of the secret tunnel. She gazed at the clouds, which were sparse. The sky's blue wonder was unblocked for miles. She wanted to go flying, but she had to find Pirouette. The swan needed to practice at least a little bit if they wanted to win. She wanted to win something after her dismal failure earlier that day. No one in the class had found any interesting conversations, and Madam Maid Marian was not impressed. But it didn't help that most students were in class, talking about boring things.

A while later, in the dance studio, Duchess and Pirouette practiced. They leapt and spun, twirled and stepped. They practiced for an hour before the supper bell rang. Duchess undid her hair and took off her shoes. Pirouette was wearing a bow, but refused to let Duchess take it off. When Duchess was ready, the swan and princess went their separate ways as they headed off to eat.

At Duchess's table, she found a frantic Apple.

"Duchess! I think someone was in your locker! It was empty and hanging open!" Apple cried. Duchess jumped and ran out of the Castleteria. She dashed down the halls, going as fast as she could. She quickly reached her locker, and Apple was right about it being open. Her school supplies were still there, though, and so was her backpack. But what really worried her was that Pirouette's training schedule and book were gone.

Yay, I updated. I was a little tired, and I might have messed up. I hope not. Thanks for the reviews! It's nice to get them! Sorry that this chapter is shorter, I hope that's fine. Thanks,

Winter Kitty