Classes were cancelled the next day too, stranding Vivi in her room with a pail full of gruel and pig feet she was expected to eat, two murderous roommates and a third she'd branded as her saviour from both said gruel and murderous roommates.
Right now, she was sitting cross-legged on her bed, munching on a handful of greasy chicken after having dumped the contents of her pail out the window. She'd heard a disgusted shriek below but hadn't had the space of mind to feel guilty.
She'd been staring out across the bay at the obscured Good towers in a daze all day, wondering what exactly could have happened. She'd pressed Chloe and Duet relentlessly about their involvement but eventually realised that if they indeed had managed to wreak havoc on Good, Chloe would already be rubbing her face in it as revenge for insulting her motivation on the first day. On the contrary, Chloe had been sulking in the corner since they were sent to their rooms, glaring daggers at Vivi from beneath her hood.
Feeling those eyes on her now, Vivi turned around with a huff. "What."
"The Goose," Chloe said, voice a low growl. "How did you do it."
"For the last time Chloe, I don't know," Vivi frowned. "It promised to help me switch schools but obviously it lied. Probably broke after laying so many eggs. Anyone would lose their minds after being cooped up in this school for so long."
"You talked to it?" Duet blurted, with more expression than she'd ever seen on them. Chloe shot them a scowl.
Vivi sighed heavily. "I told you, didn't I? I belong over there." She pointed out the window at the school across the bay. "Princesses can actually talk to animals."
"But it never said a word," Chloe said, still frowning.
"Did you guys speak tepelathicalogically?" Rooster mumbled through a mouthful of chicken.
"It's telepathically, you idiot," Chloe hissed.
"Yeah?" Vivi looked between them. "Why?"
Chloe and Duet gaped at her. Vivi threw her hands up. "Good souls can talk to animals!"
"But not hear their thoughts," Rooster munched. "For that, your soul has to be one hundred percent pure."
"See?" Vivi said, relieved. "Proof I'm 100% Good!"
"Or 100% Evil," Duet corrected. "The Goose didn't help you. It gave up its powers."
"NOT MY FAULT THE BIRD LOST IT," Vivi blared, spilling over.
"Look," Chloe seethed, words dripping venom. "You can lie all you want but you can't fool me. Everyone else might think you're weak and pathetic but I know you're just a snake in sheep's clothing."
"Oh my god," Vivi groaned, rolling her eyes.
"This is my school," Chloe lashed.
"KEEP YOUR CRUMMY SCHOOL!" Vivi yelled.
"And I'm Class Captain. And I'm not gonna let a prissy, lying witch get in my way!"
"YOU KEEP SAYING THAT, BUT I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU WIN ONE CHALLENGE WITHOUT YOUR LAPDOG HOVERING OVER YOUR SHOULDER," Vivi roared, pointing at Duet.
Duet's eye twitched. "Lapdog."
"IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT I'M GOOD AT EVERYTHING AND I MAKE ALL OF YOU THAT ARE ACTUALLY TRYING LOOK PATHETIC!" Vivi bellowed, unable to stop herself.
With a searing hiss, Chloe flung her bucket at Vivi's head. She ducked just in time, the bucket hitting the wall behind her with a loud thunk!, splattering her hair with gruel. When she turned, she found the rim of the metal bucket buried in the flaking wall, cut right through the plaster. Paling, Vivi raised a hand subconsciously to her head and turned.
Chloe and Duet were glaring at her from across the room with equally black scowls, Chloe's usually pale face scarlet with anger, Duet's thick knuckles white with barely-concealed rage around the pendant hanging from their neck. Without a word, they stood and strode from the room, slamming the door behind them so hard the walls shook. Chloe shot Vivi one last searing look before she too rose and slunk from the room.
Speechless, Vivi's eyes drifted to Rooster, seemingly unfazed as he sat on his bed, munching away.
"Ohhh, you've done it now," he teased, but even his lazy grin couldn't quell the sudden cold fear spiking in her stomach.
༻·𖥸·༺
Arthur had woken up the day after the incident to find himself in his own room, mind a blurry haze. He tried to lift a hand to rub his eyes but found his left arm too stiff to move—rolling his head over, he found it swaddled in a thick layer of bandages and plaster.
"You're awake," came a voice, and he turned towards it blearily. Red eyes met his from across the room.
"How are you feeling," Matoko said, more a statement than a question.
Arthur grumbled, trying clumsily to manoeuvre his arm over from behind him. His roommate chuckled. "Better than you expected, I'll take it."
"Expected?" Arthur murmured, rubbing his eye with his right hand and squinting into the light. "Wha d'you mean?"
"Still fuzzy, I see—that would be the magic. You set a tower on fire yesterday and almost got your arm cut off in the process," Matoko said casually, as if discussing the weather.
"Mhm," Arthur said, sinking back into his pillow . . . and then jolted upright. "WHAT?!"
"Well, from what I heard, it wasn't your fault, exactly," Matoko replied, checking his nails as Arthur shivered above the covers without a shirt. "Apparently a sentry gargoyle from Evil noticed your stampede and followed."
Arthur sat blinking dumbly for a moment before his brain caught up and he gasped. "That little boy . . ."
"You're pretty lucky, actually," Matoko resumed, completely unfazed. "If your friend's sword had gone an inch deeper, it would have cut a central tendon in your arm."
Arthur stared at him. "How do you know all this?"
"I heard it from the healer nymphs," his roommate returned. "They've been in and out since yesterday, pouring magic into that arm of yours. They seem to think you've been healing pretty quickly, given your non-magical constitution."
Arthur slowly looked down at his plastered arm, foggily recalling yesterday's events. Despite what Matoko had described, he felt just fine. He noticed a crack in the plaster and dug his fingers into it, prying the alabaster shell open and unwrapping the bandages. Running his fingers up his bare arm, he felt no abnormalities, and craned his neck to get a better look. His skin was completely smooth but for a few spattered freckles and the faintest white line across his upper arm. He brushed his fingers over it gingerly.
Matoko whistled from across the room, and Arthur startled, burning scarlet as he fumbled to cover himself up.
"That is impressive," his roommate said, eyes trained on his arm. Arthur relaxed. "I've never seen someone heal so fast, even with the use of magic."
"How deep was it?" Arthur asked, staring at the faded line.
"Almost to the bone," Matoko replied. There was a murmuring outside and he immediately stood, striding to the ensuite and slipping inside. No sooner had he pulled the door shut behind him that a trio of nymphs bustled in from the corridor, muttering between themselves. They stopped when they raised their heads to find Arthur sitting up in bed.
"He's awake," the pink-haired one smiled, floating forward and checking his arm. "And completely healed."
The one with neon green hair drifted up to the bedside, checking his temperature and pulse. "No fever, heartbeat stable."
The third with azure curls bustled forward next, deftly gathering the remains of his cast and bandages into her arms and seemingly magicking away the plaster dust. "I'll take these."
Arthur flushed, unused to and uncomfortable with being fussed over, and glanced over to the bathroom door. What the hell was Matoko doing in there, anyway?
Pink Hair noticed the look, glancing over her shoulder and then back to Arthur. "Do you wish to be alone?"
"Uh," Arthur said eloquently, eyes drifting to the door again.
"Do you need help?" Green Hair asked, eyes fixed on him intently.
"Ah—no!" Arthur yelped, shrinking back against the headboard. The nymphs seemed to get the picture and hung back, waiting expectantly for him to speak again. He gulped, opening his mouth to explain, but something stopped him. He shook his head. "No—nevermind."
"Well, you seem to be faring much better. We'll notify the Dean while you get dressed. You will be escorted to his office shortly," said Blue Hair, and turned and floated back to the hallway door, other nymphs following in suit.
"Wait—Escorted?" Arthur yelped. "Am I in trouble?" No sooner had the words left his mouth that Arthur felt his stomach plummet. Of course he was—he'd led an animal stampede and left the rooftop menagerie in ashes. "Am I going to be . . . expelled?" Or worse?
The nymphs didn't answer, slipping silently out into the hallway and shutting the door behind them, Arthur gaping after them.
He had barely finished strapping on his boots when his door was unceremoniously flung open, almost whacking him in the face and revealing a wolf he recognised from the Welcoming—one with white fur and rippling muscles, standing at least a foot taller than the others. The wolf grabbed him by the arm, claws digging into his singed sleeve, and yanked him down the corridor past scowling students and teachers that couldn't meet his eyes. Arthur hung his head in shame. He hadn't even lasted a day in the virtuous, chivalrous, pure school for Good. Who had he been kidding, trying to cheat the odds? If he couldn't last here, then maybe Vivi had been right. Maybe he was Evil.
He suddenly jerked to attention when he noticed the glass stairs beneath his feet were no longer blue, but pink. He peered up at the wolf in confusion. "Aren't we going to the Dean's office?"
"Lucky for you, he's busy right now," the wolf growled, hauling him up the last of the stairs and into Charity Tower.
Arthur trembled. "Am I going to see . . . the School Master?"
His only response to that was a snort before they pulled up at the door at end of the hall, the wolf rapping strong knuckles against the white wood.
"Come in," came a gentle voice from within.
Head racing with thoughts of Vivi and home, Arthur looked up at the wolf with wide eyes. "I don't want to die."
For the first time, its sneer softened.
"I didn't either," it said, and then opened the door and pushed him through.
༻·𖥸·༺
It seemed the fire had been brought under control because after lunch on the second day Vivi found herself sitting in a dank, mouldy classroom for Special Talents, Chloe and Duet still glaring at her from across the room. Everyone was already seated when Vivi caught a flash of red in her periphery and turned to see the boy from the shoreline—Matoko—saunter in late and plop carelessly into a seat at the back. Vivi gaped.
"I appreciate it's early days, but I'd rather you be on time from now on, Matoko," their teacher lectured in a surprisingly gentle voice. Special Talents was taught by Professor Declan Corvus, a tall, cloaked man with pale skin and ginger hair. "Every villain has a talent," he continued, and Vivi forced her eyes back to the front to watch him. "In this class, I'll help all of you find yours. Furthermore, I'll be honing and refining your skills as villains to give you the best possible chance in the Woods and—more importantly—the Circus of Talents!"
He spread his arms wide in a dramatic flourish and Vivi almost rolled her eyes. This guy acted like he came straight from theatre school. "Not all of you deserve to be here," he continued woefully, "As we will no doubt come to find with the arrival of the Circus and the Evers' Snow Ball. But for the rest of you, just listen to me, my dears, and we will turn your bush into a tree!"
For the day's challenge, each Never had to show off a unique talent to the class. The more potent the talent, the higher the student's rank. But the first five kids failed to produce anything, with Vex whining he didn't even know his talent.
"Poor dear shrub," Corvus sighed. "Still so green. Still so young. No matter. When you sprout we will prune your leaves into something of consequence! Who's next?"
The woeful displays continued. Green-skinned Mona made her lips glow red ("Festive, but could do with some fine-tuning," Corvus mused), Chloe made her bats grow an inch, Arachne popped her one eye, Ravan burped smoke. Even their ever-optimistic professor was starting to look a little unnerved until, still sitting in the back, Matoko flexed his fingers and sprouted claws, mouth opening to sharpened teeth, face narrowing and furrying. It was by no means an incredible transformation, and Matoko himself looked noticeably disappointed, until Corvus clapped his hands from the front. "Very impressive, my boy! I can see you on stage yet!" The class turned to their teacher and he grinned heartily. "See that, my Nevers? Biological transformation takes incredible focus and discipline. You're all to be unlocked and learn Mogrification in time, but it looks like Matoko here is racing ahead!"
Next, he turned to Rooster, who touched his desk and turned it into fried chicken.
"Mystery solved!" Vivi giggled, despite herself. Rooster grinned over at her. She felt eyes burning into her neck and turned to find Duet sitting in the last row, scowling.
"Duet, show us what you've got!" Professor Corvus called from the front.
Their scowl slipped into a leer as they gripped the edge of the desk with one hand and raised the other to clench around the amulet that hung around their neck. Dark eyes fixed on her, they gripped tighter and tighter, knuckles whitening.
Nothing happened. Vivi raised an eyebrow.
Then, there was a short, sharp flash of blue light from their amulet, rays peeking through the gaps in their fingers. Then it pulsed again, so bright it shone through the skin of their hand, and with a dangerous grin, Duet opened their hand.
A flood of light burst forth from the amulet, whipping up localised winds as it funnelled into a tendril that rose up and grew thicker, thicker, expanding and then shaping until a humanoid form, swathed in rags, floated in the air above them, head drooping. As it solidified, Vivi noticed bones and skin forming beneath the tattered robes, converging into a zombie-like creature, skin stretched too taut over bones, or simply hanging from them, giving it a horrific skeletal appearance. The thing raised its head straight towards Vivi, locking onto her, grinning without any lips, and two piercing eyes flashed into existence.
The class froze.
With a distant roar, the creature raised its bony hands and tore towards Vivi at her desk. She yelled in shock, falling backwards in her chair and then scrambling across the floor to get away. The thing swooped, just missing her as she ducked, tearing a new hole into her robes, and she shrieked, vaulting forward and ducked behind a bookcase against the wall for protection.
"Use your talent to defend yourself!" Professor Corvus encouraged from the front of the room.
Duet circled their deathly spirit for a second attack, and it shot towards her. Vivi shoved the bookcase over in panic and it tumbled over, trapping the writhing spirit beneath it. Books fell and scattered across the floor. Vivi spun around to get away, glimpsing a fallen book and scooping it up just before she dove behind the teacher's desk.
Peeking around it to keep an eye on the spirit across the classroom, Vivi opened the Encyclopedia of Villains to the contents and scanned the list of names. Banshee, Beanighe, Berserker . . .
"Vivi, hurry!" Rooster screeched. Vivi whipped her head up to see the spirit shove the bookcase off and spring into the air, turning to face her. She ducked down to continue scanning. Crypt Bat, Cyclops, Demon—is that thing even a demon?—Dhampir, Diao Si Gui, Dip . . .
Vivi looked up again to see the thing tearing towards her, no less than five feet away.
"Any time now!" Corvus warned.
Vivi flung the book, knocking it back, and darted around the room to the door, yanking on the handle. The spirit reoriented itself surprisingly quickly and locked onto her, lurching forward—Professor Corvus lunged forward to intervene but Chloe stuck out a leg and tripped him—
The door was locked. Vivi wheeled to the creature, halfway to her by now, and picked up a chair and hurled it—the chair missed and the creature opened its maw wide and raised its clawlike hands—
Having exhausted every other avenue, Vivi could think of only one other option. She brought her fingers to her mouth and let out a piercing whistle, hoping against hope for the first time in her life that gender stereotypes would pull through, and a kind, noble animal like in the fairytales would come to save her life—
Black wasps smashed through the window and swarmed the spirit on cue.
Duet jolted back, as if they'd been stabbed.
Vivi's eyes bulged in horror. She whistled again—but now bats stormed in through the broken glass, sinking teeth into the corporeal spirit as the wasps continued to sting. The spirit crumpled to the floor with a howl, and in their seat, Duet's skin went deathly pale as they gasped for breath.
Panicking, Vivi whistled louder, higher, but then came a cloud of bees, hornets, and locusts, besieging the thrashing creature as Duet convulsed in their seat.
Vivi stood paralysed in front of the locked door as screaming villains batted them away from the spirit with books and chairs, but the swarm had no mercy, savaging it until Duet's eyes glazed over.
Vivi launched herself at the spirit and threw herself over it, screaming at the swarm—
"STOP!"
The swarm went dead still. Like scolded children, they whimpered obediently and fled out the window in a dark cloud.
Gurgling, the spirit clawed its way out from under Vivi and back to Duet, dissolving into light and draining back into their amulet. Duet choked and hacked, heaving in a huge gulp of air, and then gaped at Vivi, flooding with fear.
Vivi scrambled to her feet and rushed to help them. "I didn't mean to—I thought a bird or something would—" Duet recoiled from her.
"I thought because I'm a princess—I—" Vivi's mind raced with panic. "I'm Good! You have to believe me!"
"Well done, Vivienne!"
Vivi whirled.
"What a fantastic talent! I never saw it coming!" Professor Corvus declared, sweeping forward. He knelt by Duet, checking them over, but motored on. "Mark my words, everyone! This one will win the Circus Crown!" He looked up at her and beamed.
For the second time in two challenges, Vivi looked up at the top rank, spewing red smoke above her head.
Panicked, she whipped to her schoolmates to explain, but stopped when she saw the expressions on their faces.
Respect.
Her place as #1 Villain was getting surer by the minute.
༻·𖥸·༺
Arthur had barely caught the golden nameplate on the door before he was shut in, trapped in Professor Pippin Deoír's office. Slowly, he turned to face his executioner.
His eyes fell on a young woman sitting behind a mahogany desk across the room, shuffling papers under a crystal moth paperweight. She looked up at him and met him with soft grey eyes.
It was the teacher who had smiled at him in the foyer. He shrunk back a little in surprise.
She wasn't smiling now. With a heavy sigh, she gestured for him to come forward and stand before the desk. Though she looked young and meek, those grey eyes betrayed something brooding and powerful, so Arthur obeyed.
When he reached the desk, the teacher sighed again. "I hate handling these things. I'd much rather the School Master handle situations like this, but I'm afraid he has a rather strict policy on privacy."
Arthur remained silent. When he didn't reply, her eyes narrowed.
"Arthur Kingsmen." He bristled in fear. "Right now we have a days' worth of classes to make up, two doors and a staircase that need renovating or replacing, a treasured menagerie burned to ashes, a school full of terrified students, and five hundred animals whose memories need erasing. Can you tell me why this is?"
Arthur opened his mouth but found the words stuck in his throat.
"This is all because you skipped class and disobeyed Pollux's simple order, leading an animal rampage through the castle, and nearly cost lives in the process." She gazed at him with baleful eyes. "Namely yours."
Arthur couldn't meet her gaze and looked away, out the window where he could see Good students sitting and chatting in groups in the sun, finishing lunches of roast chicken dolloped with mustard, spinach and Gruyère crepes, and flutes of apple cider—except for one lone student in the shade of the trees, sitting by himself and picking at his lunch basket. It was Lewis.
Arthur tore his eyes away and looked back to his teacher. "Can I . . . say bye to my friend first? Before you. . ." He swallowed. ". . . . Please?"
"That won't be necessary."
"But she won't know what happened to me!"
Professor Deoír shot him a strange look. "I'm sure she can wait until you tell her in your next class."
Arthur caught his breath. "You're not going to . . . . kill me?"
Deoír looked at him in horror. "Why on earth would we do that?"
"Because I— I—"
She gazed at him for a moment, examining him, before she let out a breath. "Arthur . . . What you did today was something incredible."
Arthur gaped at her. ". . . What?"
"You do realise what you did with those creatures, don't you?" She eyed him cautiously, waiting for a response, and when she got none, continued. "Arthur, you granted their wish. You turned them human again. Do you have any idea the amount of power and pure of will that takes?"
He didn't move.
"Furthermore, you risked your life on the rooftop to rescue a gargoyle, of all things. You almost had your arm cut off as a result." Her gaze drifted to his right arm, skin hidden beneath the sleeve of his uniform, and Arthur clasped it with his right hand unconsciously. When he looked back up at her, he found her smiling warmly at him once again, eyes glistening. "I knew there was something special about you. In all my years at this school, and of all the fairytales I've mentored, I don't think I've ever seen such a pure display of Goodness."
The swan on her dress twinkled, as if winking at him. Arthur could only stare at her in astonishment.
Still smiling, Deoír ducked her head shyly, fingering the papers on her desk. "Sometimes the best things come in the most unassuming packages . . . . all we need to do is believe we are worth something."
She remained in silence for a few moments, contemplating, before seemingly composing herself and meeting his eyes again. "Now that's over," she said, with noticeable relief in her voice, "I can assume you'll be on your best behaviour from now on. And resuming classes again, of course, since you seem to have healed quite well. Please remember to attend Surviving Fairy Tales this afternoon, Arthur, won't you? I can't have another unexplained absence on your record or Eider will be on my case again."
Arthur blinked, still reeling from the earlier revelation. "Uh. Sorry?"
Deoír cleared her throat. "Întuneric. Professor Întuneric. So you'll be going back to classes, yes?"
Arthur nodded dumbly, and received a beaming smile for his efforts. "Wonderful. Off you go then, and take care of yourself."
Arthur nodded and turned to leave, but before taking his first step he glanced out the window again, to the lonely spot in the shade, but Lewis had disappeared. The only hint he had ever been there was the slight compression in the grass where he had sat.
Sorry guys, slow going with university and. . . other issues! Hope you enjoyed this surprise chapter! :]
