Days later, Headmaster Grimm and Professor Poppa Bear were escorting the students to the Enchanted Forest to summon their personal animal companions. Professor Poppa Bear explained the spell poppers; magical devices that looked like colorfully wrapped candies with ribbons on each end. The process was simple. You declare your name and pull the ribbon, causing a bright light to launch into the sky and summon your animal companion from the Enhanted Forest.
As the future king and queen of Ever After, Apple and Daring went first together. They declared their names, pulled the ribbons, and their pets emerged from the forest's shadows and went right up to them. Many students fawned and adored Apple's new snow fox and Daring's new peacock as they emerged from the forest's shadows, but Ian was the only one who scoffed.
Ian rolled his eyes. "Oh, great. Apple and Daring have a dog rat and an overgrown chicken."
Daring, who can hear Ian, shot a glare at the Crywolf. "At least our pets are safe with us, Ian." the prince said smugly. "Whatever you get with just get eaten like your sheep."
Ian scoffed. "Whatever-after."
"I hope I get a dragon!" Amber said. Her wings fluttered with anticipation.
"A dragon?" said Bentley. "Those are a lot of work, y'know."
"Yeah, but whatever my pet will be, I'm sure they'll be the best!" said Greenly. "I'm totally good with any animal!"
As other students began summoning their pets, Greenly finally was able to summon her own. "I am Greenly Pea!" She pulled the ends of her popper and a tiny ball of light rocketed ino the sky and burst into a green star.
Moments later, a large, four-legged creature came galloping out of the forest and tackled Greenly to the ground. She laughed as a wet tongue licked her face. She looked and saw a green spotted dalmatian smiling at her. "Awesome!" Greenly hugged her new friend. The dog wagged his tail in happiness. "Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" Greenly cooed as she rubbed the dog's belly.
"This is so cool!" Amber said. She whizzed around the air with her new pet bat.
Bentley laughed as he and his new parrot told jokes to one another.
Greenly looked over and saw Ian, still looking at the spell popper in his hand. She got up and walked over to her friend. "Hey, if you're still upset about what Daring said, don't let it get to you." She nudged him. "The only thing Daring is good at taking care of is himelf. I'll bet that peacock with be a withered old turkey by the end of the week."
Ian chuckled. "Yeah, you're probably right." He decided to do it. "I am Ian Crywolf." He pulled the ribbons and a black firework exploded in the sky.
There was a moment of silence.
Rustling was suddenly heard from the bushes and a fluffy ball of orange fur came out.
"It's a fox." said Greenly.
It was indeed a fox. Unlike the other animals, this fox was calm and composed. Ian stared as the fox strolled right up to his feet and looked up at him with it's big brown eyes. Ian sat down cross-legged and patted his knee, giving his pet permission to sit. The fox jumped into Ian's lap, snuggling into it.
Greenly smiled. "I think he likes you." She sat down and let her new dog lay his head in her lap.
"She." said Ian.
"She? How'd you know it's a girl?"
Ian stroked the fox's back. "Men's intuition, I guess."
"So, what are you going to name her?" Greenly asked as she played with her dog's solid green ears.
Ian looked at the fox. "Name her?"
The fox sat up and looked directly at Ian, eager to hear her given name.
It only took Ian a moment to think of a name. "Trixie."
Greenly blinked, caught off guard by such a name. "T-Trixie?"
"She looks like a Trixie, right?" asked Ian. "I mean, foxes are known to be smart in all kinds of ways. Like finding food, survival, outwitting predators, and protecting their young. Basically, it knows many tricks of the trade."
"Oh! Well, when you put it that way, Trixie's perfect!" Greenly petted the fox's head. "It's nice to meet you, Trixie."
Trixie smiled as she allowed Greenly to touch her.
The Fairytale Four gathered in a circle to show each other their pets, but it wasn't just them. Animal lover Ashlynn Ella was with them as well with her new phoenix, Sandella. "Your pets are all so fableous!" said Ashlynn.
Amber's black bat perched itself on the fairy's hand. "Luna is just right for me! I've always wanted a bat!" Luna affectionately cuddled against Amber's cheek.
Bentley's blue parrot flew up to Sandella. He squawked. "Come here often, angel wings?" he purred and gave Sandella a wink.
Everyone just laughed as did their pets.
"Look how Plucky is going for Sandella!" Bentley grinned. "Oh, yeah! We're gonna make a great team!"
Greenly looked above her friends heads and saw Raven with her purple dragon. "I'm going to talk to Raven." She and her dog got up and walked over to Raven. As they got closer, the dalmatian started to whimper a little and hunker down. Raven had told Greenly about this. With Legacy Day approaching, Raven's abnormal ability to instill fear will grow. People running in fear of her. Animals cowering in her presence. Raven can even cause plants to wither and die.
"Hey, it's okay, buddy." Greenly said soothingly as she petted her dog. "She's a good girl. Trust me."
Having faith in his owner's words, the dog picked himself up and moved forward. Raven spotted Greenly and her pet. "Oh! Hey, guys!" she smiled.
"Cool dragon, Raven!" said Greenly, sitting next to her schoolmate.
"Thanks. Her name is Nevermore." Raven looked at the shy dalmatian. "Your dog sure is cute! What did you name him?"
Greenly frowned. "That's just it! I don't know what to name him! Sweet Pea, Green Bean, Freddie Freckles, I just can't decide which name to use!"
Raven laughed from all those silly names. "Well, they're certainly interesting."
Despite her laughter, Greenly saw Raven frown a little. "What's wrong?"
"Well, it's just..." Raven swallowed a little. "when I was little, I had a puppy named Prince. And I loved that puppy more than anything ever after. I couldn't ask for a better pet." Her smile fell deeper. "But my mom turned him into a bone rat."
Greenly gasped. "What?! Why would she do that to you?! Did you make her mad?"
Raven shook her head. "No, she just thought a puppy wasn't an evil enough pet. So, she changed him."
"That's just...unbelievable!" Greenly was gutted to hear such a thing. How can the Evil Queen to that to her own daughter?! You'd think even the Evil Queen was at least merciful to her daughter.
Sighing, Raven petted Nevermore's back. "I know. Ever since that day, I decided I didn't want to be like my mom."
Seeing Raven so glum, Greenly's dog came over and softly licked Raven on the cheek. A bit surprised, Raven turned to the canine and smiled at him. "Thank you."
The green-spotted dog smiled, his tail wagging happily. He gave Raven another lick. It warmed Greenly's heart to see two friends getting along so well. "Y'know, I think I got the perfect name for this dog."
"What?" asked Raven. Greenly's answer was quite a surprise for Raven.
"Prince."
Hearing his new name, Prince's ears perked up and his tail wagged like crazy. He started barking and jumping around with joy.
Greenly and Raven laughed. "I think he likes it!" said Raven.
"How about that?" Greenly had the perfect name for her perfect pet.
Just then, loud screaming cut through the tranquil bliss. Raven and Greenly spun around and spotted Ashlynn being chased by two large poodles. One had purple fur and the other had red fur. The snarling dogs chased Ashlynn up a tree. Ashlynn was horrified as she sat on a sturdy branch as the vicious poodles barked and growled at her. The owners of the mad dogs laughed as they were enjoying the whole thing. It was Ashlynn's stepsisters, Prudence and Charlotte.
"Ladies! Call off your dogs at once!" Headmaster Grimm ordered.
"Oh, cool it, Headmaster Grimm." Charlotte said in her nasal voice. "We're just having a little fun."
"Yeah, our babies were just playing tag with Ashlynn." said Prudence in her deep, crackly voice. She chuckled with a snort. "With their teeth!"
Raven groaned as the wicked step-sisters laughed like true villains. "I hate those girls!"
"Well, no kidding. Everyone does." said Greenly. "I wouldn't be surprised if those poodles were half-wolf!"
After Headmaster Grimm finally convinced Prudence and Charlotte to call off their dogs, all that was left was to save Ashlynn who was still stuck in the tree. The princess was visibly shaken from the poodle attack. Daring posed in a triumphant way. "Fear not, Ashlynn! I, Prince Daring Charming, will-"
Daring was suddenly knocked over by Hunter Huntsman, who rushed to the tree like his life depended on it. He held his arms out. "It's okay, Ashlynn. I'll catch you." he said in the most sincere voice.
Still shaken, but undettered, Ashlynn leaped off the branch and landed in Hunter's strong arms. Hunter could feel Ashlynn trembling. "Are you okay?" asked Hunter.
Greenly and Prince popped up beside Hunter. "Yeah, are you okay, Ash?"
Prince whimpered in concern.
"I...I'm sorry." Ashlynn said softly as Hunter set her down. "That's never happened before."
"What? An animal being mean to you?" asked Greenly.
Ashlynn sadly nodded. "Yeah, those dogs really wanted to hurt me. You don't even want to know the horrible things they said to me!" Her eyes started to water.
"Oh, right. I keep forgetting that you can understand animals." Greenly patted Ashlynn's shoulder. "Don't feel bad, Ash. You can't expect every animal to fall in love with you at first sight. Just like how some people can't get along with others. I'd say your step-sisters are pretty standard."
"Yeah, you're right." Ashlynn said.
"Nice going, Hunter!" Daring huffed as he marched up to Hunter. "You ruined my rescue!"
"Oh, bug off, Daring!" Greenly snipped. She and Prince decided to walk away before she got too wound up with Daring. Greenly decided to visit Dexter, who was sitting on the grass with his pet jackalope. She smiled. "Hi, Dexter."
Dexter adjusted his glasses. "Oh, hi, Greenly. Cool dog!"
"Thanks! His name is Prince." Greenly and Prince sat with the young Charming. "What's your pet's name?"
"Cottonhorn." Dexter answered, stroking the animal.
"Aw! That's perfect." Greenly paused for a few moments. "By the way, Dexter. Thank you so much for my card!"
"Really? You got my card?!" Dexter said, surprised. "Great!"
'YES! He did send it!' Greenly squealed inside her head. Dexter was the one who left her the card in her dorm! "I loved it Dexter! It was so beautiful!"
Dexter smiled. "Oh, it was nothing, really." He rubbed the back of his head.
Now that she knew who the card was from, Greenly decided to make her move. "So, Dex. Do you want to-"
Several screaming students interrupted Greenly. Dexter turned around and looked into the snarling face of a white tiger! "AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Dexter screamed and scrambled away from the striped beast. Cottonhorn squealed and jumped into Dexter's arms. The prince and his pet hid behind Greenly as the tiger growled.
Greenly felt herself frozen with fear as the huge animal stared at her with it's blue eyes. Standing next to the tiger was the owner; Raoul Sapphire, looking stoic and more scary than ever. This time, he had grown a thick goatee. The students have been saying all over the school that Raoul's beard growing in was a sign of the inevitable, that he was going to become the cold-blooded killer like his father was.
Greenly scowled. Dexter gulped.
"Uh, h-hi, Raoul." Dexter waved nervously. "That's a very...impressive tiger. What's his name?"
The tiger sat up like an obedient dog to let Raoul scratch the feline's ears. "Her name." Raoul corrected. "It's Jewel." His voice
"You must be very proud." Greenly said as she stood up, picking up Dexter. "Come on, Dex." The princess and prince quickly walked away from Raoul with their pets. Even though Raoul wasn't responsible for Greenly's illness, that didn't mean she trusted Raoul.
Dexter could hear snickering from the other students, followed by the sound of Faybelle Thorn's wicked laugh. "Hey, Dexter! I thought the prince was suppose to save the damsel. Not the other way around!" She and Duchess laughed. Dexter felt lower than a troll under a bridge.
"Don't listen to them." said Greenly as she kept walking with Dexter. "You shouldn't care what other people think about you anyway. Especially jerks like them."
"I know, but it's not as easy as you make it sound." said Dexter.
"Well, maybe we can talk about it over some tea and crumpets at the Mad Hatter's Shop." Greenly suggested with a friendly smile.
Dexter began to smile again. "Sounds good to me."