Immediately after receiving her acceptance letter, Lilith's aunt Synthia insisted on taking her to get her supplies. Synthia was one of her more involved aunts and took "looking the part" of a siren very seriously. She regularly would use glamor spells to enhance her already beautiful features: make her blond hair shine like gold, her eyes glow with the amber light of the sun, her strawberry red lips full, and her sun-kissed skin soft and youthful. All of her aunts and uncles were beautiful, but her aunt Synthia was radiant. If it was anyone who knew how to make an impact, it was her.
Their first stop was to get everything on her school supply list. It was simple since there was a store that had just about everything she needed, but aunt Synthia had her own list of things Lilith would need.
"Aunt Sythina, please tell me this isn't going to be one of your beauty pageants. I swear you are more concerned about appearance than Dean Sophie."
"If you want to make a good first impression, you must show that you are not afraid to flaunt the beauty you were blessed with! As Dean Sophie stated, Evil does not equal foul and filthy!" Synthia declared in her most chipper voice.
Lilith shook her head, amused at her aunt's words. While that may have been true, there was still an Uglification class she had to take. It was probably best if her aunt did not know this fact.
Still, they dressed in breezy sun dresses, Synthia in sea-foam green and Lilith in Evil's token black, and departed for S.G.E's Sea-Side Supply Shop. A lovely old woman greeted them warmly, but her face dropped when she saw Lilith's dress.
Trying to keep a pleasant demeanor, the old woman asked if there was anything she could do to help.
"Yes, get my niece here an Ooty-Kingdom black coral trunk and emblazon the initials L.A. into it if you please," Synthia commanded
"R-right away madam," the woman stuttered at Synthia's command but remembered that the only ones who were buying that trunk were students at the School for Evil and that they would be paying a lot for these supplies. She went to the back to get Lilith's trunk while Lilith and Synthia filled a basket with birch bark scrolls, raven-feather quills, a piranha-jaw quill sharpener, and a few bottles of shark-blood ink. Synthia grabbed another basket and filled that one with honeycream pouches, hollyoak serum pouches, seashell hair decorations, BeachyWaves hair serum, Sunny's SunnySkin, mother-of pearl powder, Soothing-Voice tea, and many other beauty products.
"Aunt Synthia," Lilith facepalmed, "Do I really need all of this?"
"Yes! I will not have my beautiful niece return home pale and covered in warts!" she said with a dramatic flourish.
Just as Synthia fit the last box of tea into the basket, the woman returned from the back with an ornate black trunk.
"I believe this is what you need?" she asked as she set the trunk down. Two initials glittered from the lid:
L.A.
"Yes!" Synthia gleefully pulled the trunk closer to her and set the two baskets onto the counter. The woman's eyes widened as she tallied up the final price of everything, packed everything into baskets, and sent the two sirens on their way.
After a quick stop at the Salty Saloon for a bite to eat (oysters for Synthia and grilled salmon for Lilith) Synthia grabbed her niece by the arm and they walked into the Sirens Silks shop to pick out some new outfits for Lilith. Since she would mostly be wearing her school uniform, Sylvia treated her to a few comfortable sleeping gowns, loose fitting silk shirts and harem pants, swimsuits, and a custom outfit for the No Ball.
Once the shopping was completed, Lilith and Synthia returned to the cove to pack for school. While they walked, Lilith received stares from young Evers, some of wonder, others of envy. One Ever girl, a willowy blonde with shimmering gray eyes and peach-colored skin, sashayed towards her.
"It's a bit bold to be wearing black, don't you think?" she remarked in a pleasant voice.
"I beg your pardon?" Lilith replied.
"Well, Evers don't wear black. At least, not that I've seen!" she giggled at her own remark.
Lilith quirked an eyebrow and smirked. So, this princess thinks I'm an Ever?
"I assume you've been accepted into the School for Good?" She asked.
"Naturally!" she exclaimed, "Third generation of the Cinderella royal line!"
"Ah! I see! And your name is?"
"Jezebella of Maidenvale, at your service!" she held an open hand out as she curtsied, "And you?"
Lilith grinned as she placed her hand in Jezebella's and curtsied, "Lilith Aquania of Soul Cove at yours."
Jezebella went white as she stuttered, "'Aquania?' You mean.. You-?" She backed away slowly.
"-Have fooled you into believing I am an Ever and I will not stop there, dearie. I'd keep your princes close."
Lilith gave a sinister smile and strutted away, humming to herself.
"Making friends?" her aunt asked.
"You could say that," Lilith smirked as she took her arm again.
Kurtis finished packing his things into his black coral trunk, slamming the lid shut and flopping onto his bed. He missed his mate, even though it had been less than a day since he's seen her. Every time he's away from her, her scent, her smile, her voice, he feels an emptiness in his chest that his father claims is him going soft.
"We'll have to toughen you up before you leave!" he jested as he slapped his son on the back. However, he knew that getting his son involved with love would cause this, and while he wished it didn't, having someone as an ally to him will keep him out of the bottom ranks. He was proud of how his son turned out, stronger than him, more savage in nature, and more protective over his mate. Kurtis's father knew the feeling all too well, but sadly lost his mate due to the nature of Evil.
He hoped that Kurtis and Lilith would not turn out that way.
Kurtis looked up at the moon from outside his window and his mouth watered. He hadn't hunted in a while and missed the thrill, a thrill he would not have while at school. His brothers told him they're taking him on one final hunt before he left, as well as regularly send him meat since the meal plan for the School for Evil was not entirely Man-wolf friendly. Perhaps he'd be able to convince the Dean to let him have some for dietary needs? Probably not.
Branches cracked under heavy paws as the Lupin brothers sprinted through the woods near Bloodbrook, chasing their prey. Kurtis and his brothers Jester, Lucian, and Mori caught the scent of four deer, one for each of them. Kurtis huffed, the cold autumn air made his breath turn to fog, but the thrill of the hunt made his blood boil. It pumped through him, fuling his wild instincts. He wasn't going to lose that deer. The animal stumbled and Kurtis took his chance, pouncing and ripping the deer's throat out. Blood pooled on the forest floor as the light left the poor creature's eyes.
The brothers growled and tore into their deer, eating their fill and stuffing the rest into a bag for their father.
Jester, the oldest, huffed at Kurtis, "I haven't seen you hunt like this in a long while, brother. Feel the need to prove something?"
Kurtis wiped blood from his maw, "who's the one who got accepted?"
"Ah, I wouldn't go to that school even if Father told me too. Far to… strict."
"It's the only way for me to get into a fairy tale."
Mori chimed in, "Yes, but you still may not get into one!"
Lucian intervened before Kurtis could snap at Mori, "Indeed, but graduating from there will show he is more of a villain than all of those weaklings in Bloodbrook. Especially with his mate by his side."
"My mate is going to be the best. I'm just along for the ride," Kurtis remarked, heaving the bag of meat over his shoulder.
"Spoken like a true guard dog," Jester teased.
Kurtis growled at his brother, bearing bloodied teeth. "Guard dog" he says? What guard dog gets invited to attend a school that taught the most Evil of them all? Not him. He'll show him.
Kurtis stomped into the den and dropped the bag of deer meat on the floor before retreating to his room. His bed consisted of many animal pelts over an old mattress and was the only thing in his room other than a hole in one of the walls he used as a window. Truthfully, he preferred it that way. Less to worry about.
He flopped less than gracefully onto his bed in a puff of smoke and let out a low growl. Jester always did try to find ways to get under his skin. Even when they were pups, it was constant teasing and bullying. Jester claimed it was to "toughen him up" and in a way, it did. He found himself fighting back on those who dared to challenge his strength and savagery. He tore entire villages worth of people apart without hesitation, and yet, his brother, his damned older brother still sent him back to the days of when he would just wallow in anger and annoyance rather than fight back.
A soft melody caught his attention, pulling him out of his enraged thoughts,
There once was a wolf who went to sea
He met a young girl, the siren Lily
They danced in the dark
In love they fell
And soon their love will bring hell
Soon may these children come
To snuff out the light of the morning sun
One day Nevermore will say
"Your love has destroyed all"
Kurtis could not help but smile. His mate's voice, that song. The song she wrote when they were so young. The song that served as their anthem. The song that reminds him of why their love exists. Yes, Kurtis loves his mate and his mate loves him, but their love is meant to shatter the meaning of Evil. Bring hell to the world of Good.
He's no prince, but he will be a king for his queen of darkness