I do not own Kamen Rider Ryuki or Ever After High. They belong to their respective creators and not me. I am not writing this for profit, only for fun.

Knights of the Otherworld

By Ten-Faced Paladin

Chapter 23: The Generous Wolfe

A new day dawns for our heroes of Ever After High, where their days have been filled with adventure and romance.

However, they must not forget that it is not all fun and games. They do have an education.

And after Thronecoming they have to face their greatest enemy yet...MYTHTERMS!

Book End Library

With Giles Grimm's return, the mood in Ever After High seemed to have changed. With the Brothers Grimm now running the school together as Co-Headmasters, the pressure to live up to their pre-written destinies was lifted. The Destiny Conflict still existed, but the Royals and Rebels were allowed to forge their own paths. Milton even apologized to Raven for his deception, with his brother's urging, and returned the wand her mother had left for her.

Arthur kept the crown his grandfather had left him. He did not wear it like Dexter and Daring. He did not believe he was worthy enough for it and kept it in his trunk. He did, however, take a picture of him wearing it and hexted it to Raven.

After Thronecoming, now came a period everyone hated: midterms, known as 'mythterms' in Ever After.

"I wanna study with Holly!" Gabe whined.

"No, Gabriel. You cannot. You'll just end up distracting each other. Now, focus," Rex ordered. Gabe groaned but focused on his books again. It was not that Rex was unsympathetic. Godmother knows he wished he could study with his sweet candy princess Ginger, but they needed to buckle down. Mythterms were just around the corner.

"Hey, remember when we were supposed to be in summer camp?" Kyle reminded everyone. "Because I don't remember signing up to take midterms so soon."

"They're called 'mythterms' here," Max corrected.

"So what? It doesn't change that this whole thing sucks!"

"At least you don't have to study for Princessology," Gwen grumbled. Sure, she had improved with Darling's help but she still hated the subject, along with Damsel-in-Distressing. Thankfully, her role as a Princess Knight meant she could drop them and take new classes for the next semester.

The Knights of the Round Table sat around their Round Table with textbooks, notes, and study guides spread out in front of them. They had been in Ever After High for a few months now and while they had homework assignments and school projects to do, they also had adventures as they fought Mirror Monsters to protect their new home. Now, though, came one of the most difficult periods in a young teenage fairy tale's life: the mythterm hexams.

While students like Max, Harry and Rex actually studied during their time in Ever After High, the rest just spent their days having fun. Now, most of the knights were cramming and to help them all focus, Rex decided they should gather and work as a study group. Unfortunately, that meant they had to spend less time with their significant others.

Presently, they were studying for Prof. Rumpelstiltskin's Science and Sorcery mythterm. If they failed, he'd forced them to spin straw into gold just to pass his class. The more they spun, the better their grades, but it was a labor-intensive task which many could only take for so long. Even those who wanted to turn their low grades into an A+ could only take it for so long before they would take what they could get.

At least they had Spring Break to look forward to after mythterms, and the Spring Fairest near the end of spring. After that, final exams then summer vacation. It was weird since they were technically on summer vacation when Merlin brought them here and enrolled them in Ever After High. Merlin just waved it off as one of the differences between their worlds, so no one could really question it.

It still sucked they lost their summer vacation, even if they got to go on adventures now. At least the time spent in Ever After High had been magical, finding adventure and love in their time here.

"Seriously, how is Prof. Rumplestiltskin still even a teacher!?" Lance complained. "He gives out difficult homework, almost impossible tests, and now we have to study the whole textbook for midterms when we haven't even gotten halfway there yet!"

"This is why you should always read ahead," Harry advised. He and Briar always scored the highest in the gnome's classes because they were better prepared. It was fun to see how frustrated he got at his students escaping his ridiculous tests.

"Hey, little bro. Could you-"

"I'm not sharing my notes."

"Well, our General Villainy mythterm is a bit different," Max said. He was not telling but he planned to steal the answers without getting caught. That was not technically breaking the rules. In fact, that was part of the exam. Unfortunately, Mr. Badwolf was aware of Max's ability to use mirrors. He could use Ramona to help him but he did not like the idea of manipulating his girlfriend for his own ends. He might be in the villainy course, but he was a black knight. He had honor and standards.

What to do? What to do?

Well, there was nothing stopping him from asking Cerise for help. He just needed to bribe her and he knew how much she loved meat.

"Guys, come on," Arthur spoke. "I know how much this sucks but this is something we all have to do. So, how about we get through this together? Then, after mythterms are done, we can have a party to celebrate."

"And we have spring break!" Kevin was looking forward to it. Maybe take Faybelle to the beach and just relax.

"Is it just me or have we been having a hex of a lot of parties?" Darren wondered.

"Are you seriously complaining?" questioned Rob. "I mean, think about it. We're the most popular guys in school. Between school events and then being popular, we end up at all the parties."

"That's a new feeling for me," Ben admitted. He had not been popular before coming to EAH. Now he had a girlfriend and was at the top of the social food chain. It was definitely a reversal, but he liked it. Being with his new friends and Meeshell had also helped him to come out of his shell.

Ever After High - Halls

Cerise beamed as she chewed on a perfectly seasoned drumstick, making pleased yummy noises as she enjoyed the savory flavor of the perfectly cooked chicken. It was quickly becoming her favorite treat between classes. As she kept eating them though, the smell of the well done and seasoned meat wafted into the halls, bringing notice from Cerise's friends along with her eating habits.

"Um, Cerise, where do you keep getting those?" asked Raven. "Every time you open your locker, there's another one in there."

"Dunno. Someone keeps leaving them in here in a bag with my name on it. I figure it's my dad," Cerise mumbled, half-mesmerized by the delicious meat. "It's sooooo goooood!"

Maddie and Raven looked at each other and then to the bag in question which Cerise was pulling the drumsticks out of. Sure enough, it looked like a simple paper bag with a bucket of cooked chicken in it. Maddie hummed and reached inside before pulling out a blue envelope.

"Uhhh, Cerise? This one has a letter on it for you," Raven told her.

"There is?" Cerise asked, mouth half full of the meat she just bit off. Swallowing, she took out the letter and opened it. "Let's see...' Your lovely cloak is red, the new moon is blue, please accept my gift, to show my affection for you. Signed, Your Secret Admirer'?!"

"Oh wow, Cerise!" Raven gasped.

"Ooooh, someone has a crush on you!" Maddie sang with a giggle.

"Uh, um," Cerise blushed bright red. Someone had a crush on her? No one's ever had a crush on her before! She was always introverted and trying to hide her ears so no one ever got close enough to her to get a crush on her! "What do I do?!"

"What do you do?" Maddie blinked. "Isn't it obvious, silly? Find out who this poet is!"

"But, but, but I've never had a secret admirer before! I've barely danced with boys! I've never even been on a date!" Cerise panicked. She had danced with Daring at Thronecoming but that was about it. "What if I find this guy and he thinks I'm a total loser?"

"I doubt he thinks that if he took the time to cook your favorite food and write you a poem," Raven retorted. "And you're not a loser. Remember, you won us the Thronecoming game."

"But, well," Cerise grimaced before she pointed to the side of her head to remind Raven about her ears.

"Your hood?" Maddie asked, confused. "It looks fine."

"It's nothing," Raven quickly covered for Cerise. "What's the harm in just finding out? Maybe you might really like this guy. Didn't you once say you were getting jealous over all of us having boyfriends?"

"I told you that in confidence," Cerise huffed. She did mention that to Raven, but further mentioned that she was jealous that Rosabella had gotten Gawain to be her boyfriend first.

"Maybe, but my point stands," Raven insisted. "What's the harm in finding out who this secret admirer is? You don't have to jump into his arms. You can just meet him and see if you're interested."

"Mmnn," Cerise sighed, but looked to the drumstick in her hand. "Well, he can cook, at least. Might be worth at least one meeting."

"There you go! Something you two can talk about, your love for delicious meats!" Maddie beamed. "Hey, maybe if you're lucky, you can have a romantic picnic as your first date!"

Their conversation was cut off, telling them they had to get to class or else be late. Cerise finished off her drumstick and tossed the bone away. She said goodbye to her friends as she headed for her next class. As she went, she eyed the letter in her hand before she gave it a sniff to see if she could track a scent. What she got was a scent which made her nervous for two reasons.

The scent of a wolf.

Ever After High - Library

Gawain silently read through the textbook, reading up what he needed to know for his Beast Care class. A lot of it was hands-on learning, so he knew plenty from that, but there were other facts and figures, plus things the class only touched on that he needed to read about. He was confident in his practical care and medical treatment of a variety of animals though. Now he just needed to study up on the other topics of the class.

And then he had other classes to study for.

Gawain heaved a sigh, although quiet, so the Evil Librarians wouldn't hear him. The two were sticklers, but they almost seemed to like Gawain since he was so quiet. Well, in so much as the two bitter women could really like anyone.

A haughty sniff caught Gawain's attention and by reflex, he looked up to see what it was. Entering the library, and turning their noses up at anyone who walked past them were Prudence and Charlotte. According to the local gossip, the two were meant to be Ashlynn's evil stepsisters in her story and they certainly took to the role like ducks to water.

Prudence was tall, shorter than Ben by a few inches, and had long black hair with purple streaked in it. She was also quite skinny, almost bony, with an angular face. She sported a birthmark on her right cheek under her eye and painted her lips purple.

Charlotte was short and a little plumper compared to most girls, with long brown hair that had red streaks through it. She wore plenty of jewelry and styled her hair in a high bun, perhaps in an attempt to look taller, and used bright pink lipstick.

The two girls were always together and often acted very stuck-up and condescending. They also wore whatever top fashions they could get and lots of gold jewelry. Many assumed it was to try and close the gap between their own looks and those of Ashlynn's, but it ended up making them appear gaudy and flamboyant.

Gawain didn't interact with them much, even if he shared exactly one class with them. He did notice them spend a ridiculous amount of time prettying themselves up. Personally, he thought if Prudence would eat more than a few greens at lunch and Charlotte would reduce the amount of jewelry she wore, plus change their attitudes, they wouldn't have to worry so much about people comparing them to Ashlynn. Still, it wasn't his business so he wouldn't bother.

*Eeeeeeeeee!*

"AHHHHHH!"

Suddenly it became Gawain's business. Looking up, he saw a new Mirror Monster emerge from the polished stone pillar of the library to grab Prudence by the hair. She screamed in terror as it began pulling her towards its portal. Its body was mostly bronze with a white chest. It sported large shoulder pieces that looked kind of like insect wings and shield gauntlets styled after insect legs. Its head had a white mouthplate with large green cicada eyes on the top, hiding a slit-like visor where its eyes could be seen.

"Sonorabuma," Gawain frowned. He immediately leaped from the desk and ran to the struggling sisters, Charlotte swatting at the monster's arm to make it release her sister. Gawain came to the scene and jumped, landing a solid kick to the monster's chest. It didn't truly hurt it, but the sudden force made it lose its grip on Prudence. With an annoyed buzz, it slipped back into the Mirror World.

"Hurt?" Gawain asked, looking to the pair.

"Y-you saved me," Prudence gasped.

Gawain took that as a no and looked to the polished stone surface. Sometimes, he cursed the brownies of the school for polishing the surfaces so well they shone. He quickly removed his Tiger deck and held it out. His V-Buckle quickly manifested and he slipped the deck inside.

"Henshin!"

His armor manifested over him, turning him into Kamen Rider Tiger. Hefting his Dest Visor in his hand, he dove into the Mirror World, leaving the stunned sisters behind.

Mirror World - Library

Tiger emerged in the Mirror World, looking around for his target. It should not have gone far. Mirror Monsters never went very far from their intended prey.

All of a sudden, he heard a loud screech and he was blasted by a concussive force that slammed him into a bookshelf, spilling books with reversed writing on the pages. He groaned and looked up, spotting the Sonorabuma, hissing aggressively at him.

Shaking off the ringing in his ears, Tiger got up to his feet and roared, rushing at the Sonorabuma. It swung at him but he blocked with his axe before he slashed it across the chest, knocking it back. It tried to swing at him again, but he sent it backpedaling with a brutal slash. He then delivered a series of violent slashes then grabbed it and tossed it across the library.

The monster landed with its back on a table and then saw Tiger coming down at it with his Dest Visor to cleave it in half. It shrieked, hitting Tiger with another sonic blast and slamming him into the ceiling before it rolled off the table and let him fall, breaking the table in half.

"Tricky," Tiger grunted.

Getting up, Tiger looked to his surroundings before the Sonorabuma let loose another sonic blast. He quickly rolled out of the way, landing between the stacks of books. The monster snarled and jumped after him, looking to finish the fight.

Coming to the row of books, the Sonorabuma clicked in confusion as Tiger was nowhere to be seen. Slowly, it stalked between the rows of books, trying to find him. It reasoned in its own way that he couldn't have gotten far. Had he perhaps run back to the other world?

A sudden groan got its attention and it spun around before an avalanche of books crashed onto it, burying it in reversed literature. The shelf itself then crashed on top of the pile, effectively burying the Sonorabuma in a small mountain of books.

Tiger walked out, ignoring how the falling shelf caused a domino effect in the Mirror World library. It wasn't like he had to clean it up.

"I'm trickier," Tiger spoke, drawing the card he needed to finish it off.

A low rumble came before the pile effectively exploded, sending bits of wood and torn paper in all directions. In the middle, the Sonorabuma tore itself free, huffing and puffing from the exertion. Snarling, it bashed more books away as it got up, glaring at Gawain.

[Final Vent!]

Its anger was cut off when Destwilder pounced from behind with a roar. Its claws dug into the monster's back before the big cat began dragging the insect towards Tiger who had armed himself with his Dest Claws. The Sonorabuma shrieked, attempting to use a sonic blast, but the shots went wide, unable to strike Destwilder or somehow get the force to push it up.

Destwilder roared and threw the Sonorabuma at Tiger who swiped and impaled the monster on his claws. It shrieked a chittering cry before it froze over, shattering into pieces and leaving the life energy core behind. Tiger flicked his wrist, tossing the sphere to Destwilder, who purred as it was absorbed.

"Haaah," Tiger sighed. Walking to the pillar he used to enter the Mirror World, a loud ringing echoed through the empty school. It made him groan, realizing he had lost important study time. Jumping through the pillar, he came back out only to see two adoring faces.

"Our hero!" Prudence and Charlotte cheered.

Gawain sighed again. Today was just not going well.

Ever After High - Chemythtry

Cerise found it hard to concentrate on her classes. Fortunately, they weren't doing any experiments that day. Just review for the upcoming mythterms. She really should have been paying attention. Instead, she was focused on the bombshell which was dropped onto her.

While Cerise would admit she was like any girl and would giggle over boys, especially the 'Alpha' ones like Daring or the Knights of the Round Table, she really hadn't taken that leap to try and net one. With her secret though, she couldn't afford to just date willy nilly. If she tried, somehow, someway, her secret would come out and there would be some serious trouble not only for her, but for her entire family. Never mind what the school would think, if the people of Hood Hollow found out, it could be bad, like, really bad.

Only three people in the school knew her secret: Raven Queen, Maxwell Lefay and Kitty Cheshire. She trusted the first two to keep her secret but not Kitty. Fortunately, the daughter of the Cheshire Cat was not interested in revealing her secret. She would much rather pull a prank that would expose Cerise's true nature. Luckily, Kitty had not been able to get the drop on her.

Cerise never had a secret admirer before and it was a new experience for her. Compared to a beauty like Apple White and the dark allure of Raven Queen, Cerise Hood thought she was rather plain. If she was not so athletic, she would have blended into the crowd. She did manage to get one dance at Thronecoming with Daring. However, to be honest, she would have liked to dance with Gawain. Unfortunately for her, he was Rosabella's boyfriend and Cerise did not have the nerve to ask for one dance so she just watched. She could not help but feel jealous of her friend but Rosabella deserved a chance at happiness and finding her Prince Charming.

Maybe she should ask her sister or mom for advice. She could not ask her dad. He was super overprotective of her. After all, she was his little pup. Still, it was funny to watch him give Max the third degree. Boy, the Black Dragon Knight must be fearless to risk the wrath of the Big Bad Wolf by dating his daughter.

Taking out her phone, she sent a quick hext message to Ramona.

Ever After High - Empty Classroom

Ramona's MirrorPhone vibrated in her pocket and she took it out to scan the message.

"Hm, looks like Cerise needs some sisterly advice. We'll finish this later, stringbean."

She left the empty classroom, leaving Max alone with a lopsided grin, his glasses askew, and his hair messed up. He had so many love bites on his neck, left by Ramona.

He had come to try and study in private when she found him. She had his scent so it was child's play for her to track him down. She was also in the mood for some makeout time since he had been ignoring her in favor of focusing on his studying for mythterms.

She knew just how to take his breath away.

Ever After High - Empty Classroom

"What?! Some guy is sniffing around my little sister?" Ramona growled. She met Cerise in another classroom after she got her hext.

"Not so loud! Do you want Dad to know?" Cerise growled.

"Fine, fine," Ramona huffed. "So, this punk's been the one who's been leaving you those bags of the good stuff? I thought you said Dad was passing you snacks to keep your instincts down or something."

"I thought so too, but then I found a letter with the last one," Cerise lifted the letter. Ramona took the letter and scanned it over.

"Well, he's got good taste at least," Ramona huffed. She snagged one of those meaty treats from her sister once or twice. It was really good, easily some classy stuff. Obviously, this guy was paying attention to what her sister liked. Nice, but also something she didn't like. She didn't want some random punk stalking her baby sister. "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Cerise groaned. "I mean, I've never gotten close to a guy before. I only had my first dance with Daring at Thronecoming."

"Hm," Ramona frowned. She took a big sniff of the letter and her frown deepened. "Smells like another wolf too. Think he is one like Dad?"

"That's another can of worms," Cerise huffed.

"Forget Dad for the moment, do you even want to meet this guy?" Ramona pressed.

Cerise bit her lip for a moment, "Well, I guess, but...what about my ears?"

"Who said you had to show them off?" Ramona waved off her sister's concerns. "Just go meet the guy if you want. We can sniff him out and then you can have a picnic or something with him. With me watching of course."

"You're as bad as Dad sometimes," Cerise huffed.

"No, Dad would hunt this guy down and neuter him for breaking into your locker," Ramona snickered. "I'll just spy and make sure he doesn't get fresh with you."

Cerise sighed and rolled her eyes but she still appreciated her big sister's help. They might be fairy tale rivals but Cerise was glad she could rely on her big sis to help her. Ramona was always the more confident one, who always took what she wanted. That also extended to boys she took a liking to. Her antics with Max were proof of that, which cheesed off their dad something fierce.

"Okay, think you can track him?" asked Cerise, approaching to try and smell the letter again.

"Reeks of that really good chicken he gave you, but the wolf is still in there," Ramona answered, taking several long whiffs. "Once we find the trail I can sniff him out. Think you can keep up?"

"Oh just try not to eat my dust," Cerise flashed her canines.

"You're on, baby sis!" Ramona barked a laugh.

Ever After High - Halls

Prudence and Charlotte would not leave Gawain alone. They insisted on being around him. It seemed like they had become his new admirers. Unfortunately, he was not interested. It was not their looks that appalled him but their personality. Unfortunately, Gawain could not find it in himself to tell them off. They were irritating but they had not done anything to warrant him telling them to beat it.

It was making finding a spot to study more difficult since wherever he sat down, the sisters would sit by him and either admire him or try to talk to him. He tried to explain he wanted a bit of time to study, but they didn't seem to hear him. Granted, his limited speech may have worked against him, but the two seemed to think he had plenty of time to study after school.

Finally, he managed to slip away from them by going into the one place they could not follow, the men's bathroom. Once inside, he transformed, jumped into the mirror, and used the Mirror World to put some distance between them. Once he was far enough, he exited and removed his armor.

He spotted the youngest of the Three Little Pigs trying to reach his locker. Normally, he had his brothers to help since they were all assigned the shared locker and they would climb on each other's shoulders to reach it. This time, however, the youngest was alone.

Gawain went over and gently lifted the pig up so he could unlock the locker, open it, grab his books for his next class, then close it before Gawain gently put him down.

"Thanks again, Gawain!" the youngest pig waved as he trotted off for his next class.

"Anytime," Gawain waved back.

Feeling good for a good deed done, Gawain decided to try and spot in the courtyard spot he could read some of his textbooks and make a few notes before he had to get to his next class. Finding the doors there, he opened them and was nearly bowled over by a small flock of sheep bleating as they dashed down the hallways.

"My sheep! My sheep! Please, someone stop them or I'll lose them!" Lilly Bo-Peep cried as she tried to chase after the panicked sheep.

Gawain glanced to where the sheep were going and remembered the ways the halls went. The sheep weren't going to go up or down the stairs since the doors were in the way. He quickly dashed down the hall and quickly cut through some of them where he could get ahead of them. He had dealt with the sheep before, so he had a fair grasp of where they would run when they got panicked in a general section of the school.

Skidding to a halt at the four corners, Gawain saw the sheep coming, still panicked and running at top speed. Steeling himself, he stood in their path and made himself look non-threatening, but not someone they could ignore either. When the sheep saw him, they came to a stop, recognizing Gawain with his natural caretaker aura for animals. He kneeled down when they came to a stop in front of him, bleating from their sudden surge of panic. He gently petted the sheep on their heads to calm them down. Lilly soon caught up to them, panting.

"Thank you so much, Gawain," she huffed.

"What happened?" Gawain asked. Lilly's sheep liked to wander off, but that was in ones or twos. If all five were running away, something had to have happened.

"They got spooked by Mr. Badwolf while I was taking them to go grazing," Lilly said. "I hope they weren't too startled."

Gawain just kept petting the sheep as their bleats began to die down, "Sheep OK. Calm now. Avoid Mr. Badwolf."

Lily nodded, relieved, "Thank you so much. I'll try to keep them out of his way."

Gawain smiled warmly. Lilly was a classmate of his in Beast Training and Care class. She sometimes lost control of her sheep who often got lost. He would help her look for them. They seemed to like him too. Plus, he loved the chance to pet them. Lilly showed a lot of care to her precious sheep and it showed in how soft and fluffy they were.

Once Lilly had the sheep back under control, she began leading back down another hall and away from Mr. Badwolf. Gawain stood up and began to walk for the courtyard again…

*BRING!*

Gawain sighed as the bell rang again. So much for some study time.

Enchanted Forest

Ramona and Cerise set themselves on their quest to find Cerise's secret admirer. Human girls would have had limited options for such a thing, besides asking the people around their lockers to see if someone new had been hanging around. Cerise and Ramona, on the other hand, only needed to follow their noses. The scent on the letter, that of a wolf's, was unique and would stand out in a school full of humans and other creatures.

Ramona did want to help her little sister, but at the same time she was also looking out for her. There was some wolf-guy who kept breaking into Cerise's locker to leave her treats a carnivore would drool over. Maybe it was a secret admirer or some creep trying to take advantage of Cerise or someone messing with her little sister for kicks. If it was the former, Ramona would let him have a minute or two to make his case. If it was either of the latter then they were going to be kibble when she got through with them

Their tracking took them all over the school, finding somewhat fresh tracks. With so many people going through the school, it didn't lead to anything fresh and older tracks tended to just disappear. In a stroke of good luck, they managed to find a fresh set of tracks that took them outside. It went straight to the Enchanted Forest which made it blend in with the other natural scents.

"Figures he'd come out here if he's a wolf," Ramona frowned, trying to follow the scent. "You have anything?"

"Not much," Cerise sighed, trying to find the scent. "Hold on, maybe Carmine can help us."

Hefting up her basket, Cerise opened it before her pet direwolf pup, Carmine, popped out. He shook himself to get the stiffness out of his fur. Once that was done, he barked up to Cerise and Ramona, both kneeling down to give him pets.

"Okay, Carmine, we're looking for someone. We want you to help us, okay?" asked Cerise.

"Arf!"

"Good boy," Ramona smiled. She fished out the letter, carefully packed so its scent would not disappear just yet, and let Carmine sniff it. "Okay, you got the sniff, boy? Got the trail? Let's go!"

With a yip and a sniff, Carmine managed to find a scent and took off into the forest. Cerise and Ramona were close behind, keeping their own sniffers on the lookout for the elusive wolf scent.

Ever After High - Stables

Gawain finally had enough. With Prudence and Charlotte following him, or some animal-related emergency he just couldn't ignore, he didn't have any time to really concentrate on his notes and compile them into organized study sheets as he intended. In his classes, it was just lots of review he had to make more notes for. So it got to the point that Gawain was hiding in the hayloft for the stables to just get some time to himself and study. No distractions, no fangirls, just him and the peaceful animals with his notes.

Scribbling through his notes, making neater and more concise ones, he idly listened in case the horses or the unicorns needed anything. He idly heard some of the other attendants enter and deal with some chores. They were competent with the work and the animals weren't distressed, so Gawain continued to work on his notes.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard whispers and a giggle come from below. Gawain froze and dared to glance over the edge to see Hunter and Ashlynn entering the stables. The two were clearly having a moment together, either coming to see the horses or looking for a place to make out. Some students tried to use the loft for the same reasons since it was private and not many people thought to go there.

Sighing, Gawain closed his books and dropped them into his bag. He couldn't get out since that would interrupt Hunter and Ashlynn's moment. While some of his friends thought some hazing might be in order for Hunter, Gawain was not one of them and certainly not when he wanted some time alone with Ashlynn.

He approached a window which let light into the loft and lifted his Advent Deck, letting his V-Buckle appear again.

"Maybe forest," he sighed. "Henshin."

Enchanted Forest

The wolf sisters continued their hunt for their mysterious prey through the woods. The weird thing was that it would disappear someplace, like the owner of the scent just vanished. Then it would reappear again someplace else. It was more than a little infuriating for the girls since it just made their job that much harder.

Ramona frowned as she sniffed the air, smelling the trail disappear again. Something wasn't making sense and it was making her tense. Getting the trail back a short distance later, Ramona's ears twitched when she heard the sounds of someone throwing punches and kicks. They weren't hitting anything, but it seemed like they were attacking something just the same.

"Shh, We're close," Ramona warned her sister.

Cerise nodded and the pair crept closer to the source of the noise. As they got closer, Carmine sniffed the air before giving off a bark and dashed forward. Both girls hissed after their shared puppy and moved to the edge of the clearing to see what it was.

Cerise felt a sense of deja vu when she peeked around the tree trunk, only to find once again another knight in the forest. This time though, the knight was doing anything but fighting.

"Arf! Arf!" Carmine barked playfully.

"Ooooh, so scary! Gonna get me? Are you gonna get me?" the knight playfully growled back, jumping along with Carmine's playful bouncing.

Like nearly all of the other knights, he wore the same black under armor and had metal bracers with matching greaves. Around his waist was the same belt with a gray Advent Deck which sported a gold wolf face in the middle. His torso armor had a jagged silver streak in the middle and gray sides, molded tightly to emulate muscles. The collar was covered in silver fur and his shoulders were jagged, like patches of fur themselves. On his right thigh was a silver wolf head dirk sheathe with the dirk itself sheathed inside. His helmet was a silver-gray with wolf ears on the top and jagged fur-like decoration on the sides. The faceplate covered most of the face, but the slits dipped sharply in the middle, giving the optical illusion of a snout.

"Arf! Arf!" Carmine continued to play with the wolf knight, not showing any hint of hesitation. It gave Cerise some hope, since Carmine was usually a good judge of character.

"Carmine likes him. There's a point in his favor," Ramona reluctantly admitted

As he kept playing with Carmine, the wolf knight inhaled deeply before he looked up directly at Cerise. Her eyes widened, had he actually caught their scent? Through his suit? Ramona gritted her teeth and backed away into the underbrush as it seemed the knight hadn't noticed her. With Cerice's hood, she stood out like a bright red cherry.

"Hi," the wolf knight waved, standing up. "Is this pup yours?"

"Y-yes," Cerise nodded, cautiously approaching. She felt like she was in the territory of another wolf and it was making her tense. Even knowing her big sister was around didn't ease her concerns.

The wolf knight raised his hands, trying not to look threatening.

"Hope I didn't scare you."

"You didn't," Cerise replied, playing it cool. "So, I was wondering, have you been leaving gifts for me?"

"Uh, what makes you think it's me?" he asked.

"I smelled...uh, I mean, I asked around," Cerise replied.

The wolf knight seemed confused for a moment, but didn't question it. Instead, he seemed to be thinking to himself for a moment before he slowly nodded.

"Yes. Yes, I was. I heard you liked meat so...I didn't know what else to give you to get your attention so I tried that."

"It was delicious," Cerise grinned at the memory. She then remembered herself. "B-but most girls like candies, or frilly things like that. You just decided to pick meat?"

"Why not? It's healthy, it's tasty, I heard it's your favorite," the wolf knight shrugged. "I just don't get some of that human courtship stuff. Instead of weird and fancy things, just get a girl something useful or something she really likes. Simple."

"Human...so you're not one?" asked Cerise, although the scent she caught on the letter told her as much. Funny, she once heard her dad complain about the hoops he had to jump through to get her mom's attention and he said the same thing...

"Well, I am a wolf knight," the knight shrugged. "I...I know you probably don't have a good impression of wolves but...but I had to try."

Cerise nibbled on her lip.

"What's your name?"

"I'm-!"

*Eeeeeeeeeee!*

"Ack! My ears! Not again!" the wolf knight grimaced, clutching his head. He looked to Cerise who was doing the same for her ears, "Wait, you can hear it too?"

"Arf!" Carmine barked, growling at something in the underbrush.

"Stay back!" the wolf knight called to Cerise before he charged in the direction Carmine had pointed.

"Hey, wait!" Cerise called after him.

Enchanted Forest

"Can't study," Tiger growled as he swung his axe.

Tiger really thought he could get some peace and quiet in the Enchanted Forest so he could study. He had even found the perfect spot, some giant toadstool with some birds chirping nearby and a small brook for ambiance. He had his books down and his pencil in his hand when the sound of the Mirror World came up next to the cries of pain from a bear. He was up in a flash, transformed and charging into the fray to protect the bear, leaving his books behind.

Tiger huffed, swinging his Dest Visor and catching a Gigazelle across the chest. Three of the monsters and an Omegazelle, a large purple Zelle with thick armor, chest armor based off its face, and an ornate staff stood at the back, hooting orders at the other three. Behind Tiger, a bear lay wounded on the ground, attacked by the trio before Tiger managed to come to the rescue.

"Distracting," Tiger grunted, blocking one Gigazelle's weapon attack before kicking it in the chest and then slashing it where it stumbled back with its fellows.

"Wanna study," Tiger growled as the Gigazelles got up.

"AWOOOOOOO!" the grey wolf knight howled as he jumped into the fray, kicking a Gigazelle with both his feet, knocking it into the second.

Tiger looked at the wolf knight and tensed when he saw him stand, partially crouched, like a predator about to pounce.

"Rogue?"

"Not a Knight of the Round Table if that's what you mean," the new knight replied "Call me the Wild Knight. Need some help?"

"...Protect bear. Top priority," Tiger replied. "Crush all. Alone calls. Herd replies."

"Right, get the stragglers before they call the herd back," Wild Knight comprehended. He drew his dirk from his holster before drawing a card. It depicted a bronze saber with a gray hilt. He pressed it against the blade where it clipped into the hilt. He then sheathed his weapon back into his Wild Visor.

[Sword Vent!]

The same bronze sword came up from a nearby puddle, landing in Wild Knight's hands as he faced the recovering Zelles.

"Let's get wild!" Wild Knight howled as he lunged at the Zelles. He struck one across the chest and then spun around to land a slash across another before he pivoted on his heel to deliver a kick.

As both Wild Knight and Tiger fought the Zelles, Hunter arrived at the scene. He had been with Ashlynn when the call of the Mirror World entered his ears. It would take some time for him to get used to the ringing but he had to answer since he had taken the mantle of Kamen Rider Falco.

Contrary to popular belief, Hunter's love for animals didn't mean he wouldn't hunt one if he thought they were dangerous. Ones such as the Big Bad Wolf for example. He would just hesitate to hurt an animal unless he was sure he had to. It was why he froze slightly when Kevin yelled at him during the Shereghost Attack. Once he saw how dangerous, even malicious, Mirror Monsters were, and learned they were spawned like constructs instead of born like animals, his hesitation vanished.

Hunter took out his Advent Deck and found a puddle with a reflective surface. Going up to it, he held his deck to it. His reflection sent him his V-Buckle and he performed the transformation. His pose was pretty simple, thrusting his arm forward while pointing his index finger like a gun.

"Henshin!"

He slid the deck into V-Buckle's slot and transformed, becoming the Falcon Knight, Kamen Rider Falco. Leveling his Bow Visor at the Zelles, he fired arrows at them. He did not miss his mark as he struck each one, knocking them down.

"Hunter," Tiger acknowledged as he saw Falco.

"I heard the ringing, Gawain," Falco said as he joined them then regarded Wild Knight with some suspicion. "Who's this?"

"Wild Knight. Ally," Tiger answered. "Falco also ally."

"They call you 'Falco' now?" Wild Knight observed the former Rogue, even if his armor was worn by someone else then. "Hey, if I join the knights do I get to change my name?"

"Prove it. Show knighthood," Tiger replied.

"Ah, chivalry and all that," Wild Knight nodded. "I dunno. I'm more the lone wolf type."

"How about we finish this conversation after we deal with these things?" Falco asked.

Tiger responded by taking out his Final Vent and sliding it into his Visor before slamming it close.

[Final Vent!]

Destwilder roared as it pounced on one of the Gigazelles and dragged it across the ground toward Tiger who waited with his Dest Claws. Once Destwilder was close enough, it threw the Gigazelle to its master and Destwilver impaled it on his Dest Claws before raising it above his head where it froze and shattered.

[Final Vent!]

GuldWind flew into the forest and Falco leaped up to land on its back. As the flying monster took Falco high into the air, the Rider aimed his Bow Visor down at the Gigazelle and fired a salvo of energy arrows down at it to pin it in place before firing a killing shot which took it out with an explosion.

"Leave these to me," Wild Knight said as he drew his own Final Vent to take out the remaining Gigazelle and Omegazelle. Clipping it to his dirk, he slid it into his Wild Visor

[Final Vent!]

A howl echoed through the air before emerging from another puddle came the form of a silver wolf the size of a warhorse. Its body was armored, much like any of the large Mirror Monsters, with a tail and claw which looked like they were made of bronze.

The giant wolf ran behind Wild Knight who dipped to the side as it ran by, but then grabbed a section of its armor before swinging himself onto its back. Both charged at the Omegazelle and the last Gigazelle at a respectable speed. Coming closer to the pair, the wolf leaped up with Wild Knight drawing his dirk. At the apex of their jump, the knight and wolf began spinning, looking like a giant wheel before coming back down.

The Omegazelle shrieked and then jabbed its lesser in the back, making it stumble before jumping into the forest. The Gigazelle tried to stand, but too late as the Final Vent crushed it, causing an explosion.

Wild Knight jumped off, slightly dizzy as the three monsters gave pleased cries while snagging the life force of the three monsters.

"Did I get them?" he asked.

"Leader escaped," Tiger answered. He pointed to the clear trail the Omegazelle used to escape. "Hunter. Wild. Chase. Bear wounded. I tend."

"Right!" Falco nodded before he slapped the wolf knight on the shoulder. "Come on, new guy! We're not done yet!"

"Right," Wild Knight nodded, running in the direction the last monster went.

Enchanted Forest

"Bit of a fail there, little sister," Ramona snickered. "Couldn't even ask the guy his name before he had to dart off again."

"Oh shut up," Cerise growled. "Like I knew a Mirror Monster was going to show up right then."

"Ah, still, not bad. You got the attention of a knight," Ramona continued to tease. "Too bad he's probably part of the Order of Rogues. Those guys are all bad news."

"Yeah, but he seems like an okay guy," Cerise pouted, hoping the first time a guy showed interest in her wasn't doomed for utter disaster. "Think he might be a good one?"

"You mean after that dip Scout, the pinhead Perfect Knight, and then that psycho Calibur? Not likely," Ramona snorted. "Sorry to crush your hopes, but I don't think this guy's going to work out no matter how good the meat he passes you is."

"Nnn," Cerise huffed. So much for her potential first boyfri-!

*Drip!*

Cerise stopped when she felt a glob of something drip onto her shoulder. Touching it, she gagged when she realized that it was drool. Ramona snickered at her for a moment, seeing insult added to injury. That was, until both girls realized that for drool to land on Cerise, something had to be drooling above her. Both looked up, spying the armored form of the Omegazelle perched on a branch above.

"Woo woo whooo!" it shrieked, jumping down at them, claws outstretched.

Both girls were slammed to the ground as the Omegazelle landed on them. It snarled and quickly grabbed their throats, lifting them up into the air. Its red eyes gleamed as the girls struggled, their own eyes turning golden as they clawed at the monster's arms. Sadly, as the leader of the pack, the Omegazelle was made of tougher stuff than most Mirror Monsters so their claws were only leaving superficial scratches despite their magical pedigrees.

The Omegazelle snorted and its mouthplate retracted, revealing a drooling maw as it tried to decide which of the two girls to eat first.

[Shoot Vent!}

[Strike Vent!]

Several arrows struck the Omegazelle in the back, making it screech in pain and drop the wolf sisters. Spinning around, it snarled as Falco and Wild Knight emerged. Falco held his Guld Bow, taking aim for another shot. Wild Knight charged into the fray, his hands covered with armored knuckle dusters shaped like wolf paws with bronze claws.

"HURRAAH!" Wild Knight snarled, jumping at the Omegazelle. He swung hard and fast, catching the Omegazelle across the chest several times before it could properly defend itself. A nasty uppercut to the chin made it fall back, clutching its face. With a snarl, it manifested its staff and charged back at him, swinging wildly.

"Cerise! Ramona! Move!" Falco shouted, moving around the battle to try and get an opening for more shots.

"Ugh, stupid deer!" Ramona growled. Seeing the Omegazelle was only a few steps away from trampling them, Ramona grabbed her sister's arm and began to pull her away, "Come on! Let's go!"

"Y-yeah!" Cerise agreed, scrambling up in her sister's grip.

Wild Knight snarled, sounding feral as he lunged at the Omegazelle. The monsters swung its staff to fight him off but got peppered from the side by Falco. Wild Knight jumped back, dismissing his weapons. He then drew another card, this one depicting his Contract Monster howling in the light of the moon with its name, Silverclaw written across the top. Attaching it to his dirk, he sheathed his weapon.

[Advent!]

From the nearby brook, Silverclaw emerged once again, ramming into the Omegazelle and knocking it back. It snarled and lunged, but instead bit down on the Omegazelle's staff while it tried to defend itself. Silverclaw snarled before biting down hard, snapping it in half before bashing the Zelle away with a swipe of its paw.

"Wow. Talk about a big bad wolf," Ramona blinked.

"Talk about an Alpha," Cerise murmured, watching Wild Knight draw another card.

[Sword Vent!]

Summoning his sword again Wild Knight charged to fight beside his contract. Wild Knight would dip and weave around Silverclaw's attacks like they had been doing it for ages. It was clear they were packmates already and Silverclaw, despite its size and ferocity, was taking its lead from Wild Knight. It was an action that screamed 'Alpha' to Cerise's eyes and the top of her checklist for a potential partner.

"RAWR!" Wild Knight snarled, slashing the Omegazelle across the chest before Silverclaw gave it a backwards kick, knocking it onto its back. Huffing, Wild Knight tossed his sword aside before drawing his dirk and a new card, "Hey Falco, mind if I take this? I called dibs before."

"Your show," Falco nodded.

Wild Knight nodded and slotted his card before sheathing it inside his Wild Visor.

[Final Vent!]

For the second time, Silverclaw began to run, doing a circle to pick up speed before charging behind Wild Knight. He caught the wolf's side before hoisting himself up. Both jumped into the air before coming back down as a spinning wheel. The Omegazelle screeched as it was hit, before it exploded. Wild Knight and Silverclaw emerged from the fire. As the life force sphere appeared, Silverclaw pounced and gobbled it up.

"Whew," Wild Knight sighed and looked at the wolf girls, "You two okay?"

"Uh-huh!" Cerise rapidly nodded.

"Just fine," Ramona sighed. "I'm used to seeing this. My man's a knight too."

"Oh, that's good, I guess," Wild Knight nodded. He glanced over to Cerise and held her gaze for a moment before he turned away, "Well, guess I should be going now,"

"Wait!" Cerise stepped forward. "Can we at least get your name?"

Wild Knight stopped and turned around again. Thinking about it for a moment, he nodded and pulled his Advent Deck from his belt, letting his armor shatter away in shards of gray.

The young man underneath had gray hair which framed his face and was tied in a loose ponytail. His eyes were a deep green and his skin was naturally olive, although slightly darker from plenty of time spent outside in the sun. He was handsome, having a feral aura around him. It was also clear that he was very fit and athletic. He wore a simple white t-shirt with a green vest over it and jeans with red sneakers. His most noticeable feature though was the gray wolf ears he sported, similar to Ramona.

'Yummy, Cerise gulped in her thoughts.

Ramona raised a brow. If she wasn't hooked on Max then she would have given this guy wolf whistle or two. As it was, now she had a face to go for Cerise's mysterious admirer. Now she had a target in case he tried anything funny.

"My name's Deacon Wolfe, son of the gluttonous wolf," the boy answered. "Hope you liked my presents, Cerise."

"Y-yeah," Cerise blushed. "Ah-um."

"Calm down," Ramona muttered.

As Deacon waved and walked away from the area, Falco watched him go, not really sure what to do himself. Since the guy didn't seem like a bad Rogue, Falco didn't really think trying to stop him or fight him would be a knightly thing to do.

Rustling from nearby made everyone tense, but they relaxed when Tiger emerged from the brush.

"Monster gone?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Falco sighed. He removed his deck, dismissing his armor. "Is the bear okay?"

"Wounds treated. Scratches," Tiger answered, removing his own armor. "Wild Knight?"

"Said his name's Deacon Wolfe and he showed his face," Hunter admitted. "We'll be able to find him if he's causing trouble."

"Good," Gawain nodded.

"So, should we tell the others?" Hunter asked.

"After mythterms," Gawain answered.

Hunter grimaced. Mythterms were really right around the corner.

"Right, tell them after mythterms so they don't get distracted."

"Right," Gawain nodded. He turned and began heading back to where he left his bags, "Need quiet. Want to study."

"Hey, are you going to ignore us?" Ramona huffed. "We were the ones who got jumped!"

"She-wolf. Your turf," Gawain retorted. "Monster beat you?"

Ramona snorted, but she couldn't help but grin. Gawain seemed to get that she was no damsel in distress.

"C'mon Cerise. Let's blow this joint. We're digging into that chicken you still have leftover."

"R-right," Cerise mumbled.

"Sometimes I can't tell if those two are rivals or friends," Hunter shook his head.

Ever After High - Student Lounge (After Mythterms)

A group of exhausted knights sat in the student lounge, relieved that their mythterms were finally over. Now, they just had to wait for their results but until then, they could finally relax and blow off some steam. Hopefully, all that studying paid off.

"No more all-night cram sessions. I can finally sleep," Gabe sighed as he played a game on his MirrorPhone.

"Seriously, why did my Princessology mythterm have to be a practical exam?" Gwen complained. It was embarrassing but she had to grin and bear it as she demonstrated grace and poise. Thankfully, it was all over. At least Professor Piper's Muse-ic mythterm was enjoyable.

"Don't relax now. We still need to see our results," Rex told them and they all groaned. He was looking forward to his results for Cooking Class-ic. He wanted to know how much he had improved and hoped Professor Momma Bear enjoyed the muffins he had made. They came out slightly burned but still edible.

"Buzzkill," Kyle snarked. He did not want to worry about his grades, just enjoy the fact that mythterms were over.

Max said nothing. Once school let out, he was heading straight to the Red Shoes Dance Club to blow off some steam. For his General Villainy mythterm, he actually planned and executed a heist to steal the hexam answers without being caught. Mr. Badwolf knew he had done it but could not prove it. Max also shared the answers with his classmates, for a small fee, of course. He wasn't about to overcharge them so he just asked for a gold coin and a favor someday.

"Results can wait," Kevin rubbed the bridge of his now. "Gawain, another new Rogue appeared?"

Hunter and Gawain had decided to wait until after mythterms to tell them about Wild Knight. Rex wasn't pleased with that. Since Wild Knight seemingly was a good knight, even if he was a Rogue, Rex could forgive Gawain for holding the information back. He didn't want to distract them from their mythterm studies.

"Yes. Wild Knight," Gawain nodded. "Good. Saved bear. Hunter verifies."

"He's right," Hunter confirmed. "Wild Knight helped us out and then just went on his way. He didn't have a problem with us at all."

"I don't get it," Rob scratched his head. "I mean, half of these clowns we meet up with have some kind of vendetta, but then we get ones like Bog Knight and now this Wild Knight guy. Why are they a mixed bag of good guys and bad? Shouldn't whoever is making these decks want to give them to guys who have the same goal? So far it seems like they're getting pawned off to random kids at school."

"Maybe they're like beta testers," Gabe suggested. "You know, before a game is released, they get random people to play it, get feedback, and then revise the game before its official release."

Rex frowned in consideration, "You know...that might not be inaccurate. By handing them out at random, you will find people willing to use them for a number of different reasons and use them in different ways. It shows what the decks may be capable of, but also reveal possible flaws."

"But Merlin's said after studying Falco's deck that they're like copies of ours," Arthur spoke up.

"...when my Dad makes a new bow or a new tool, he usually copies the one he had before," Hunter suggested. "Then once he's done, he looks for ways to make them better. He remembers where the old one had a flaw and fixes it when he makes the new one."

"And the person making these new decks is trying to find the flaws to make them better than ours," Harry rubbed his face.

"And when that happens, that means we might be facing even more challengers," Rex worried.

"Hey, Gawain. You in here?" Charlotte asked as she came in with Prudence. As soon as he heard her voice, he leaped behind the sofa.

"Hide me," Gawain whispered frantically.

Wow, a new Rogue and a good one like Bog Knight. Cerise is a lucky girl.

Even so, Brooke, these new Rogues are flipping the script of Ever After.

It's giving some characters new destinies. What's wrong with that?

Speaking of new destinies, we're gonna see Darling step into Gwen's shoes.

Brooke, what did we say about spoilers?

It's not a spoiler, Dad. It's a teaser. There's a difference.

A/N: Deacon Wolfe is an OC I created, but he does have fable origins. His father is the wolf from The Wolf and the Fox and The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids. The wolf in those stories is deceitful and gluttonous, ending up getting punished severely for his laziness, greed, and deceit. Deacon is firmly in the Rebel camp, seeing what his father's conniving and gluttony brought to him. He keeps himself fit and has a personal sense of discipline. His contact, Silverclaw, is based on Gaowolf from Gaoranger.