Once the sun had set and the shadows, it was time for the Villain's Ball.

The students were amazed and alarmed at how the grand ballroom was transformed into a chilling room of fear and darkness.

Cobwebs riddled the chandeliers, skull decorations hung everywhere, wicked looking refreshments filled the buffet table. There was even a live ogre band playing haunting music. But the most imposing feature was the long tapestries of infamous villains hanging from the ceiling. There was one showing the Big Bad Wolf terrifying the Three Little Pigs, the Dark Fairy cursing Sleeping Beauty, The Candy Witch with the imprisoned Hansel and Gretel.

But the one that caught everyone's eye was the one showing the Evil Queen holding the poisoned apple.

It truly was a place to honor evil.

Wicca squealed with delight while her friends just stood in silence. "This is gonna be the best dance ever!" The young witch wore her black witch hat, black mini dress with a green skull belt, a black cape, black bangles, and red go-go boots to match her red lipstick.

The other students who weren't villains weren't exactly as thrilled as Wicca and the other villain students. They just stood around and whispered to themselves.

Wicca saw Raven looking at the tapestry of the Evil Queen. She went over to talk to her friend. "Hey, Raven. You okay?"

Raven was startled out of her thoughts. "I'm sorry. That tapestry really captures my mother's likeness. It's almost like she's staring right at me..."

Wicca could see the fear in Raven's eyes. "Are you afraid of your mom?"

"Sometimes. Like...when she's not in mirror prison where she belongs."

Wicca blinked twice. "Mirror prison?! I thought she was destroyed!"

Raven shook her head. "No, someone as powerful as my mother couldn't be destroyed. The headmasters and Madame Yaga were able to trap her within her own magic mirror before she could destroy Wonderland. And every year, I pay her a visit in the school attic."

"You mean...the Evil Queen, THE Evil Queen...has been living within this school all this time?!"

Raven sighed. "Yeah, surprise, surprise."

Wicca couldn't believe it. The Evil Queen was here in this school?! So, she could just sneak into the attic and talk to the Evil Queen and gain all of her secrets?! It was too good to be true! Wicca couldn't help but smile with ecstasy.

As if she could read minds, Raven gave her friend a look. "Don't even think about it, Wicca." she said seriously. "My mother is someone you do not want to get involved with. All she ever cares about is making me evil and take over the world. And she'll do anything and manipulate anyone in order to do it. Faybelle learned that lesson very well."

Wicca dropped her smile. "Faybelle?!"

Raven gave a nod. "Yep. The last time my mother tried to make me evil and take over Ever After, she escaped imprisonment and manipulated Faybelle into helping her little scheme by raising a horde of dark dragons and make me look evil in front of the entire school. But Faybelle finally realized she was only being used and in the end, helped stop my mother and put her back where she belongs."

Wicca was shocked to the core. Faybelle Thorn met with the Evil Queen and worked for her?! The witch was shocked and jealous! To think, her arch nemesis, involved with with the Evil Queen!

And would have thought? The Evil Queen was alive. The ultimate evil, the mistress of mayhem, the ringleader of riots...locked away in her magic mirror within the school attic.

"Hey, guys!" Rosabella waved as she approached Wicca. She was wearing a yellow dress with claw mark patterns, bringing out the beast in her outfit "You were right, Wicca! All I needed was to talk to Apple and the next thing you know, she and her animal friends decked this whole place out!"

Wicca shook her head in disbelief. "Wait. Apple White, Miss Sickly Sweet herself, decorated this place?!"

"You betcha!" Apple chirped as she skipped over to Wicca. She wore a puffy sleeved ball gown that was black at the top then comes down to the red skirt in an oozing pattern. Her golden hair had black streaks, she even wore black eyeshadow and had her upper lip black and her lower lip red.

She looked just like a poisoned apple.

"WHOA!" Raven took a step back. "Apple?! Is that you?!"

"It sure is! I'm embracing my dark side for the Villain's Ball!" The princess smiled her usual smile that made Wicca nauseous. "I was so hexcited that we were doing something completely different for a ball! Then when Rosabellas told me she needed help setting up, my creativity just took over and...ta-daaaa!"

"I gotta say, White, I'm impressed!" Wicca said. "Didn't know you had it in you."

"Anything to help! Besides, even villains need a little appreciation for what they do!"

Wicca threw her hands up. "Thank you!"

Apple looked around. "Say, where did Raven go?"

"Huh?! Raven?! RAVEN?!" Wicca called out. But Raven was nowhere to be found. "Where did she go?!" As if by magic, the daughter of the Evil Queen was gone.

"Maybe she went to freshen up." Apple guessed. "Or maybe clear her mind. I know these kind of dances aren't really her thing."

"Hey, you guys!"

Wicca waved to her roommate. "Coral! You finally made it!"

Coral was a vision of underwater beauty. Her black dress was decorated with fish skeleton prints. Her blue hair was long and wavy with a black tentacle headpiece.

"Wow, Coral! You look enchanting!" Apple said.

"Thanks, you too." Coral said, blushing. "Where's Raven?"

Before Wicca could answer, Cerise and the cheer squad went up to Wicca. Cerise wore a red hooded cape trimmed with grey and black fur. She wore a simple black dress and brown boots. "Hey, guys!"

"Oh, hey, Cerise." Wicca grinned. "How's cheerleading going for ya?"

"It's a real howl!" Cerise let out a big howl from her gut. "Okay, team. Go have some fun! I'm gonna chat with Wicca for a bit."

"Okay, Cerise!

"Later, Cerise!"

"Bye, Cerise!"

"Let's cut a rug!"

"Watch the dress!"

"Why don't you watch where you're going?!"

Cerise and Wicca walked over to the punch bowl so they can talk in private. "Wicca! This is amazing! I never knew cheerleading could be so much fun! Faybelle even made me vice captain!"

"Vice captain?!"

Cerise nodded. "Yeah! Faybelle told me she's been so busy with thronework and the Villain Club, she decided to out me in charge!"

"I'm happy for ya, Hood." Wicca said. "You even got those air-headed fairies wrapped around your finger. I'm impressed!"

"They're not so bad once you get to know them." Cerise said. She leaned in close. "And thanks again for that cream. That stuff really helps."

"No prob, Cerise. And who knows? Maybe someday, you won't have to use that cream anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that someday, you won't have to hide your secret and you can show who you really are to everyone! Because you're entitled to be yourself, no matter who you're related to!" Wicca declared, but not too loudly of course.

Cerise looked at Wicca, stunned. Then she smiled so wide, it even made Wicca feel warm.

"Thanks, Wicca. That means a lot. You sound just like Raven." Cerise said. "And you know, I-"

Alarms suddenly started blaring. The fire sprinklers from the ceiling started spraying wildly. Everyone panicked as they got soaked.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Wicca screamed in pain when the water touched her body. Her green skin fizzed and smiled like it was burning. She tried to run, but her legs gave out and she fell. The water kept falling on her, she tried to move but her legs were melting. She felt her body start to ooze.

"WICCA!"

With stinging eyes, Wicca managed to see Cerise and several other students grab her and carry her out of the ballroom.

"EEWWWW! I've got witch goo on my hands!" someone squealed. Wicca couldn't see anything. It was all blurry.

"WICCA! HANG IN THERE! STAY WITH US!" It was Cerise's voice. "SOMEONE GET MADAME YAGA!"

Everything was fading. The voices were becoming silent. Wicca felt her end coming. She couldn't move. Her body was slowly turning to mush.

"H-Help..." Wicca wheezed out. She wheezed again, trying to say more, but she couldn't.

Her world became dark.