A/N: I'm so sorry everyone! I know I should have updated yesterday but the power was out after a harsh storm and I had no internet until this morning. Here is a nice long update to make up for it. From this point on things may deviate from the original Ever After High plot but it's currently not enough to call it an AU. I'll update the synopsis when that does happen though.
Now Reviews!
Story Lover : Well I'm updating the synopsis to kind of give hints to the story but I'd much rather keep things mysterious in the long run. Thanks for the review! YOU are awesomesauce.
Anime Pop Circle : Dexter is just such a nice person. I really don't understand how he's a royal though, he should so be a rebel.
Latrans Blue : I think the variation thing goes with all the fairy tales. Most of the originals are far too dark for a kids cartoon series. I think you're right though, the make Duchess not so likeable in the webisodes.
Chapter 11 - Mysteries
Headmaster Grimm was driving himself over the edge. She could see it on his weathered face. He watched the 'Rebels' of her year carefully. Raven was constantly being watched by one or more of the teachers. Duchess was interested in the whole Royal/Rebel debacle for the first time since it started. Apple's reactions were the most interesting. Apple seemed very determined to make Raven jealous by trying to do some of the same classes as the witch. She laughed at Raven's indifference towards the not-so-bouncy-anymore blonde.
Meanwhile Duchess was still looking for answers about what really happened at Legacy Day. Surely something went wrong. Raven had managed not to sign and yet Duchess was forced to by that weird magic. She really didn't understand it at all. She had tried the library but she couldn't find anything. All the books there were extremely vague and gave absolutely no hints as to the magic in signing other than the standard 'Once you sign you are bound to your story' nonsense. That was how she found herself taking the rusty key out of her powder box and unlocking that door. She knew that the school catacombs were dangerous. There was always the chance that she would go down and never come back up again. She said the spell again and the corridor lit. She didn't know what to hexpect today. It could take her just about anywhere in the whole school but there was one place she was looking for in particular. If she could get to the Vault of Lost Tales then she knew she could find something to help her.
She walked the tunnels cautiously, remembering the first time she had disappeared down there. She had only just started at Ever After High and was checking out her dressing room.
Duchess looked around the room. It was comfy, small but usable. There was already an old powder box sitting on the dressing table and the mirror had clearly been recently cleaned. She wondered about the powder box though. It looked ancient, definitely mahogany. She opened it and was assaulted with a puff of stale rouge powder in the face. After coughing and clearing the air she looked into the box. In it sat a rusty silver key. It was inscribed with runes but she couldn't read them at all. It looked very fragile but when she picked it up she felt the magic of it. When you were born a fairy tale legacy you had magic instilled in your veins. How much magic depended on whose child you were. Raven, for instance, probably had the most magic in her with Faybelle a very close second. People such as Ashlynn or Maddie had magic relating to their stories. Duchess wasn't supposed to have as much magic as she did. Her magic was more of an awareness than anything else and it had strengthened since she had gotten to the school. She stared at the key and then looked around the room. There were no doors other than the one she had come in through. The wall looked flat but it couldn't hurt to check. She ran her hand along it at keyhole height and held her breath when she felt a catch.
She almost took a step back. What was she doing? Already her first day and trying to get herself in trouble. She would just look, nothing more. Maybe it was just a stash of ballet shoes. She kept her finger on the catch and tried the key. It disappeared and turned, a door built into the wall swung open. She looked into the darkness but couldn't see a thing. As much as she wanted to know what was down there she wasn't going to take any chances in the dark. She lit a magic candle (one used in witchcraft, don't ask how she had it) and descended. The door slammed shut behind her and she nearly screamed in fright. The tunnel never seemed to end. She couldn't go backwards so she just hoped she would eventually reach the end. She still had the key in her hand. It felt warm in the darkness and she held it up to the light. It looked less old down here and she could make out faint words inscribed on it's handle.
"Lux et via, invenire semitam..." She gasped as the tunnel lit up. She had to squint in the darkness. Her candle sputtered and gave out. A warm breeze blew through the corridor. It carried the scent of cinnamon and caramel sugar. She suddenly felt like she knew exactly where she was. She walked forwards and felt along the wall, inserting the key into the catch she found. She came up in the oldest part of the school library. She was confused. Surely she had walked farther than this. The Charmitorium was just next door and yet here she stood 1 hour later. She climbed up and the book shelf slid back into place behind her. No-one was around so she just walked right through the library and out into the corridor where she was herded by Miss Yaga into the Castleteria for early lunch.
She would never forget it. She used it again just a week later and found herself in the middle of her own Damsel-in-Distressing class. It was lucky since no-one had seen her come through the door and everyone put in down to Miss White Queen missing her at register. She got used to traversing it though there had been some close-calls when she had dropped the key and nearly killed herself with worry that she was never going to get out of there.
Now she descended with purpose, hoping that the spell would take her to where she needed to go. The magic worked in strange ways. Sometimes it took her to where it believed she needed to go and sometimes it felt like making her walk around in circles. She just hoped that today was not one of those days. She walked barely two steps when the oddest thing happened. The lights changed direction. It was as if someone was purposely leading her a different way. She could always go back. The door was just behind her. She took an insane leap of faith and continued. The tunnel kept winding and she knew she was going deeper and deeper underground. Eventually she came to the catch in the wall and inserted the key. It stubbornly refused to turn though, as if this door hadn't been used for far to long. She put all her strength into it and it turned, the door didn't open smoothly like all the others had. It needed a push. The room illuminated itself. She didn't recognise it as any part of the school or Book End. The room looked like a hideout. Pillows littered the floor. There was a stand in the corner of the room with sheet music sitting on it. A grand piano sat to the stand's right and a small table and chair sat in the opposite corner. On the table sat what looked like an old diary. The ink pot had long dried up and the quill looked ragged. She picked up the diary and tried to read the name.
"E-, Evie Queen!" The first daughter of the original evil queen. Everyone knew her story. She had not been evil in the least. She would have made the most perfect Snow White. She looked exactly like the Snow White of that year except for a crescent moon shaped birthmark under her eye. She had been the first to hate her destiny. Back then it had been even more of a shock. She had tried very hard to not sign but had done so anyway and in the end became so overcome with jealousy she had tried to kill Snow White completely, not just put her to sleep. The kind of death that no True-Love's kiss could have fixed. Everyone was told that story in Nursery-Rhyme School. It was usually to dissuade any thoughts of changing your destiny. The Queen family was notorious for this now. First was Evie, then there was a period of unrest among fairy tales. Then Vera came and topped Evie dramatically with her stealing of the Evil Fairy part in Sleeping Beauty and invasion of Wonderland. Finally was Raven who managed to fulfill Evie's wishes of a different destiny as she led the Rebels. Duchess noticed the diary was locked. Of course it was. Evie was probably like any other girl. She didn't want anyone to read her innermost thoughts. Duchess took out the key. It was far to big for the tiny lock of the diary. The key had to be somewhere in the room. She dropped the diary and looked in the most obvious places. It wasn't on the music stand nor on the piano. It hadn't been dropped on the pillows. She thought about the current situation. If she was the Evil Queen's daughter where would she hide the key? With magic protection of some sort. She looked at the key to the catacombs again. It had led her here. Why would it show her the diary if it gave her no means with which to open it? The key looked even younger in this room than in the tunnels. She could make out more writing now but it was too faint to properly read. She needed to clean the key somehow. She looked around didn't see anything that she could use. In the end she just decided to use the edge of her skirt. The rust became softer here and it just chipped off. She could read it now.
"Sanguinem tuum capere amet si habet clavem," She unfortunately understood those words and knew what she needed to do. The edge of the key was unnaturally sharp. Blood is the key if the key is yours to hold. She pricked her finger and instantly felt like some sort of Sleeping Beauty. The scarlet drop hit the book and the lock clicked. She picked it up and opened it. There was curly writing in the front.
I Belong to Evie Queen.
No-one may lay their eyes upon the pages of this book unless
the key is in their possession.
This confused her even more. Why would the book open for her? Raven for sure but why her? Well, it was open now so why not try it out. She didn't know how long she sat in that room that didn't exist reading Evie's diary. It was rather sad really. So far it was exactly as what the teacher's had told but with a few extra details. She had loved Snow White's Prince Charming and he loved her too. She wrote of how they met in secret for the fairy-tale world was not ready for such a proclamation as their love. She told of how often she and Ivory were confused for each other. Sometimes Evie dreamed that she was Snow White instead of Ivory but she could never wish her fate on anyone else. Eventually she and Dashing Charming broke up as the pressures of Legacies became too much. She leaned heavily on her best friend, Alouetta Swan. She understood now why the diary had opened for her. Evie must have given the key to Alouetta all those years ago and it still recognised her blood. It was extremely depressing. According to Evie there really wasn't a way to avoid signing the book. She and Alouetta had spent many a day and night in the library looking for answers until Legacy Day.
She stopped reading when she got to the diary entry after Legacy Day. The writing was illegible. She had obviously been crying because the ink had run. Duchess didn't know how long she had been missing. It might've been hours or even days, there was no way of telling down there. She needed to go. But what if she never found this place again? It was up to the magic of the catacombs if she got back here or not. She decided that she would simply have to take that chance. She grabbed the key and layed the diary back down where it had been. The lock clicked back into place. The door opened to the turn of the key and the lights dimmed again as Duchess went back up into the living world once again. It didn't take long for her to reach the door leading through the girl's bathrooms and as she came up she realised how long she had been gone. It was pitch black. The teachers had finished their rounds and had switch off all the lights already. She crept quietly back up to the dorms and slid into the room. Lizzie was fast asleep and Duchess felt weary. It was as if she had lived through all of Evie's emotion in a day and it made her yearn for the comforts of her bed. She took off her shoes and unzipped her dress. Her hair tumbled from it's headpiece and she climbed under the bed covers. She closed her eyes and Evie's diary ran through her mind. She had to find it again. She knew that if she looked she could find out what really happened to make turn Evie around.
It didn't make any sense at all. And she knew it had something to do with what happened to her at Legacy Day. There were always connections between everything in the fairy tale world.
And she was going to figure it out.
Duchess spent the next week or so reading Evie's diary and trying to look up the books she and Duchess's ancestor had read in their search for a way to avoid signing. Apparently there was one book they never found. It was said to contain such ancient secrets that it came before the time of the Storybook of Legends. When fairy tales were just thoughts in the heads of the authors. It was called In Scriptus et Carminimbus, The Magic in Writing. It sounded so simple. It was what the Storybook of legends had come from in the first place. Surely it must know of the magic laced within the book, the magic Raven was able to overcome. Duchess considered going to Raven about the problem but she had a feeling that she wouldn't understand and would demand Evie's diary, something Duchess couldn't afford to lose.
Evie was fine at first, after signing the book her powers strengthened but otherwise she was the same person. Then Dashing started to fall for Ivory and Evie felt heartbroken. Her diary pages were stained with tears. Ivory grew more and more beautiful. Evie started using her magic to annoy Ivory or ruin her dates with Dashing. She couldn't help it. The first seeds of jealousy had been planted her beautiful garden and the weeds started to choke the flowers. Duchess became a bit of a recluse and she hadn't had a decent conversation with Lizzie or Sparrow in ages. One day she decided to do some exploring in the forest. The forest had been there long before the school so if there was a secret hiding spot for an ancient book it would be there. She walked off the path halfway in and logged just about everything. She had a map. Apparently there were some caves just half a mile off the path and that sounded like the perfect place to hide a book that had been missing for centuries. She turned and stared at the map.
"Wow, you look like a tourist," Duchess nearly fell over. Sparrow was looking over her shoulder. She whipped her head around and scowled at him.
"What the hell Sparrow? Seriously? If you haven't noticed I'm looking for something!"
"Sorry, don't freak out now. I just haven't seen you in forever after. You kind of disappeared for a while," Duchess crossed her arms. She was still not happy with him. He had his guitar strapped to his back and his hands in his pockets.
"Well I've been busy okay? I have stuff to do," Sparrow scoffed.
"What stuff could you possibly have to do that is better than hanging out with me?" Duchess raised an eyebrow, her original mission temporarily forgotten.
"A lot of stuff actually. Although I wonder what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into in the meantime."
"Eh, not much. I just set Headmaster Grimm on fire and stole Apple White's tiara. How much do you think it'll be worth on E-bay?" Duchess laughed at the thought of Sparrow plucking the tiara from the brats head. Then she registered the Headmaster Grimm part.
"Wait, you set Grimm on fire? How?!"
"Funny story actually. So we, as in Tucker and I, were playing Hex-Box in our dorm right when Grimm came in for room inspection. Well he tried to come in. Apparently Tucker had set up a prank on the door and as soon as Grimm walked through he was doused in magic fire. You know the kind that doesn't burn but feels like it does. He was running around screaming. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen," Duchess could imagine it. Grimm was very panicky when it came to fire, she's seen that first hand at the big Legacy Day bonfire last year. He had stayed as far from the fire as possible without seeming like he was crazy.
"How much trouble did you get in?"
"Just three weeks detention since I had no idea the door was rigged. It was actually Tucker. He got detention till the end of the year."
"Wow, I guess he regretted it then."
"Not really, I think he's more happy that he hasn't gone bald yet," Duchess laughed again and picked up her map. She had completely forgotten about the caves she was supposed to be finding.
"So, when's your guys' next gig? I might be interested in watching," Sparrow grinned his famous lop-sided smile.
"I'll tell you if you beat me to the tree. And no flying!" Duchess grinned. Just because she wore heels didn't mean she couldn't run.
"I'll beat you even if I don't cheat."
"I still think you cheated."
Duchess had beat him easily. Probably because she could fit under branches and through smaller spaces easily. Sparrow was such a sore loser especially when it came to being beaten by Duchess. Duchess smiled and put her hands under her head.
"I did not, you are just really slow."
They lay exhausted under the willow tree. Sparrow's guitar was on the other side of Duchess so he couldn't spontaneously riff like he loved to do. He had reluctantly admitted that he was playing a party that evening. It was a wonderlandian bash being held by Maddie. Apparently she and Briar had co-planned it but the party was being held at the Tea Shoppe. Somehow Duchess failed to see how you could hold a party in a Tea Shoppe. She had almost forgotten about the crazy invitation she had received, courtesy of Raven. Probably as a thank you for getting her away from Apple that one time. She had to wear a hat, that was the only requirement.
"So are you gonna come?"
"Of course I am, I know this means a lot to you," She closed her eyes and tried to picture Sparrow playing at a tea party. Somehow his punk rock theme didn't match up with teapots and biscuits.
"I can barely believe I'm playing tonight, It's just three songs but still, Briar is extremely picky about her music," He was right. Briar always demanded the best when it came to music, bad music meant a bad party. Duchess knew Sparrow played really well though and his Merry Men were sure to make the party interesting.
"So Sparrow, have you found your 'Maid Marian' yet?" She didn't know where the question had come from. It just kind of popped out.
"Well, not really. At least not the one from my actual story."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, never mind. It's hard to explain," Duchess didn't get it but she understood the subject was closed for now.
She stared up into the canopy. The leaves had started to fall, littering the ground in bright reds, oranges and browns. Halloween would be soon and Winter was coming. Somehow she knew that this winter was going to be a lot harsher than any other she had ever experienced.
In more ways than one.
