A/N: Special thanks to LovelyLyrics297 for coming up with this chapter's event!
As it turned out, repairing the library ended up taking a full two weeks longer than Headmaster Grimm had predicted. The beauty pageant fell into the backseat of students' minds as other exciting developments - school projects, MyChapter gossip, DJ N-chant's new best-selling album - occupied the forefront. Thus, it was with a certain degree of surprise that the remaining contestants found themselves summoned to fashion designing class at 8:30 PM for a thirty-minute crash course on sewing. They were instructed to return by noon the following day.
Raven arrived three hours earlier than necessary and was now flipping through a school-edition manual on sewing patterns. She had a nagging suspicion that the next event would involve fashion designing in some way (and by nagging suspicion, she meant it was totally obvious) and wanted to get in as much review as she could before the contest began. It seemed she wasn't alone in this sentiment, either: Cerise and Cupid both came into the room not long after herself and were now reading manuals of their own (Cerise was pouring over cloak designs in various magazines, and Cupid could be seen practicing the motions of using a sewing machine). By ten o'clock Duchess had slumped into the room as well, carrying a half-finished sewing project and looking as though she hadn't slept the entire night.
An hour elapsed in silence, and Raven's eyes began to glaze over the text. She finally put the manual down and decided to take a quick walk after reading the same line three times in a row.
Cerise smiled at her as she passed her table, and Raven waved back. Nobody seemed to feel like chatting, though, so she turned her attentions to the furniture around her.
For a fashion designing classroom, the inside of the room was decidedly bland. The walls were white and plain, and on one side of the room there was a row of equally-plain, undecorated steel windows. Seating was limited to one of the two long tables and the several wooden stools that clustered around them. Raven glanced at the sewing machines and doll forms that they had practiced with yesterday and noticed that they were now lined up against the wall; a single gray cabinet in the corner held the class's scissors, measuring equipment, pins and needles, and a rainbow of spools that constituted the only splash of color in the otherwise monotone room. In the center of the room was a single large industrial waste bin, now empty. There wasn't a single scrap of fabric in sight.
Maybe it's more fashion-y when class is in session? Raven thought as she paced the room. Maybe they just cleaned it out for us? Because if this was the normal state of the classroom, then she couldn't imagine any place more uninspirational for fashion designing in her entire life.
Raven got back to her seat and sighed. She really didn't want to keep reading about sewing-patterns, but there seemed to be no better way to prepare, so she propped her chin on her hand and read… and read… and read.
Damn, when did her head get so heavy? Raven shifted her arm and laid her head down, holding up the pages so that she could read it sideways. Yawn. Wait, how was she going to flip the page if her head was laying on top of half the book? Then again, it was getting harder and harder to finish this page in front of her…
And inevitably, before she knew it, Raven had slumped over her chair and dozed off to sleep.
"Psst! Raven, wake up!"
"Hellooooo? Is anybody in there?"
Raven stirred, groaning, just as something jabbed her sharply in the back. She opened her eyes to find Cerise and Maddie (who was poking her with her finger) hovering around her, along with all the other contestants… and Headmaster Grimm. And Dexter.
"Gah - !" Raven jumped up in her seat, fully alert now. "Holy… th-thanks guys. What's going on? Have we already started?"
Cerise shook her head. "Not yet. Grimm just came in and handed us these bags. This one's for you."
"I thought maybe you were in a magical trance, so we didn't want to wake you," added Maddie.
Raven gratefully accepted the brown sack from Cerise's outstretched palm. It felt unusually heavy; looking around, she saw that every girl had one, but nobody had dared to open theirs. Just as Raven was about to raise her hand to ask, Headmaster Grimm stood up and began his speech.
"I see that many of you are wearing custom-tailored skirts today. I hope that just as many of you are good tailors in your own right, because today your title as prospective Miss Ever Afters depends on it." Grimm folded his arms behind his back; he clearly had prepared some sort of important, moralizing speech for the occasion. None of the girls looked eager to hear it. "Although many of you fairy tale princesses and heroines are accustomed to living a life of nice clothing and endless wealth, a true Miss Ever After contender should know how to put herself in the shoes of the less fortunate. Today's event, the Sewing-and-Budgeting Contest, will test your ability to make your own outfits from scratch while using a modest allowance. There are a number of very important rules to consider during this event, so listen very careful as I dictate them to you now.
"Your task is to create an outfit by the end of the afternoon. Everything you need is already in this room, including your fabrics." He paused and looked backward at Dexter, who hastily held up a cardboard cut-out sign reading Fur o'Cloqué. "Your shopkeeper here, Mister Charming, will be tending the fabric stand for this event. Would you mind showing the ladies your inventory?"
"Oh - yeah, um…" Dexter fumbled with the lock on the chest for several seconds. When he finally managed to open it, the girls gasped: magical handles suddenly bloomed forward, each bearing tons of fabric in every type and color. Dexter lifted a sheet of paper and began reading off of it. "Yeah, um. Ahem. So, we've got cotton, linen, denim, uh... silk, satin, chiffon, flannel, knit, gauze, double gauze - "
"Yes, yes, very good," Headmaster Grimm cut in. "If you have any questions about the fabric material, you may ask Mister Charming later. You will find him a good expert on such matters." (Dexter looked horrified.) "Now does everybody have a sack yet? Good."
Grimm stopped and pulled a single lime-green coin out of his pocket. He held it up against the light for the contestants to see. "For the purpose of this event, Fur o'Cloqué - that is, your fabric shop - will accept only these green coins as payment for the cloths, trims, and any other materials you will need to construct your outfit. Each green coin is equivalent to one gold piece, and you will each have fifty coins to start with. You are not permitted to use any other material purchased outside of this event. Mister Charming will be providing the judges receipts on all your purchases; if they find something in your outfit that was not purchased from the event, you will immediately receive zero points for the project." He looked pointedly at Duchess, who grimaced and shoved her half-finished project under the table. "Equipment and machinery such as scissors, needles, magical sewing machines, etcetera are already provided to you in the fashion designing classroom. I trust you all know how to use the equipment since yesterday's course."
He paused, allowing the information to sink in (not that it mattered, as most of the contestants were too absorbed watching Dexter's impromptu wrestling match against a tangled piece of chiffon to notice). "Finally, the criteria. Three judges will review your final products on stage later in the evening. Your outfit will be judged by its design, technique, and to a smaller extent, thriftiness - any excess green coins can be returned for bonus under-budgeting points. Are you listening?" The girls snapped back their attentions and nodded. "Excellent. I will arrive again at 6:00 to give you your one-hour-remaining warning, but until then, you are free to sew however you chose. Does anybody have any questions before I leave?"
The contestants glanced at one another, uncertain; only Ashlynn raised her hand. "Yes, Headmaster. When you say 'outfit', do you mean…?"
"Whatever you can finish," Grimm clarified. He scratched his chin a little uncomfortably. "Yes, we, erm, do realize how unusual it may be to expect a full outfit from you in just half a day… but do your best. Your project will be judged with the time limit kept in mind. Any other questions?"
There were no other questions, so the Headmaster dipped his head and left. There was silence.
"So, um… did anybody catch all of that?" Cedar asked.
[12:05 PM]
At first there was some confusion as to what to do first, but eventually the girls decided that it would be prominent to first design their outfits before sewing them. Most of the contestants were sitting at one of the two tables and busily sketching their ideas down, while a few with more experience (or maybe they just had no idea what they were doing) skipped straight to buying cloth. Maddie… was decidedly part of the latter.
"Ooh! How much for this lacy thing?" Maddie asked, spinning a string of intricate lace trimming between her fingers. She was indiscriminately picking out whatever interested her at the moment. "Or this fuzzy bobble? What about this tea-riffic tea cloth?"
"Uh, hold on. That's… the scalloped lace, I think?" Dexter was frantically flipping through his booklet of materials and prices. "It's 22 coins for the yard. Okay, that one… is the… oh, you want the cloth now, okay - no? H-hold on, could you please slow down?"
"How about 20? Yes? Well, 50 is my highest offer!"
"Maddie, you can't bargain - "
"What about the color? Do you think the mushroom should be red or green?"
"...I have no idea what you're saying anymore..."
"Hold on!" Maddie suddenly pointed at him. Her eyes were wide. "Do you sell googly eyes?"
Dexter gave up. It was safe to say that for him, today was going to be a long, long day.
[12:30 PM]
"Hey, Cedar. You want to buy all of those?" Dexter, who had just finished ringing up a certain hatter for three yards of felt and a set of googly eyes, was now rubbing his eyes and looking exhausted but relieved.
Cedar grinned and handed him her six-piece stack of fabric, one for each color of the rainbow, and a small bottle of white fabric paint. "Yup! Um, how much for one yard of each? They're cotton, I think."
"Okay… right here, solid broadcloth, 4 coins each. And the paint is 5." Cedar carefully counted out twenty-nine coins and dropped them in Dexter's outstretched hand. He rolled out the sheets of fabric and began to cut out square yards. "So, what're you making?"
"Oh! Um, I'm thinking of making a rainbow skirt. I've been meaning to add some more color in my wardrobe, so depending on how this turns out, I might keep it!" She was actually very excited about this event. Fashion designing wasn't normally covered in Arts & Crafts, and her sewing skills weren't nearly at what we would call "Ashlynn-level", but Cedar had picked up yesterday's crash course quite well. The prospect of channeling her artistic skills into clothing designs was a new and exciting one. "What about you, Dexter? Can you sew?"
"Er…" Dexter said as the scissor glided off course over the cherry-red fabric he was supposed to be cutting, "...no. So much for 'Dextrous' Dexter Charming, huh?" He sighed and started a new cut further down the sheet. "Give me a minute, sorry. I'll have this finished in a spell."
"Or, maybe I could help with that?" someone said from behind them. Raven stepped forward and pointed a finger at the cloth; the scissors glowed purple and began snipping in a straight line. "I used to sew when I was younger, so having that little trick came in handy," she explained. She slid forth a roll of purple and silver swirling-patterned linen. "So, Dex. Can I get four yards of this afterward?"
"Uh - yeah, of course!" Dexter flushed bright red and began flipping through his pricing chart in haste. "H-hold on, let me find it now…"
"Thanks, Raven!" Cedar added as she skipped off with her newly-trimmed fabrics. Raven just smiled and waved.
"That's, uh, 10 coins per yard. That is, 40 in total," Dexter stammered. He took her payment and began working on her fabric. "Thanks for saving me there. They really shouldn't have gotten me to do this job, I guess."
"Don't worry about it," said Raven. "Some fabrics can be really tough to cut through. Hey, it's why I learned that spell in the first place. Anyway, what've you been up to?"
"Nothing much, really," he replied. He folded up the four yards of cloth and handed it back to her, grinning sheepishly. "I've been watching you compete in the contest. Um, if you don't mind the compliment, I thought you looked positively g-gort - I mean, gorgeous - in the Evening Dress event."
"Aww, thanks," Raven beamed. She looked down at her linen and sighed. "Let's just hope this dress turns out half as good. I'd better get working now, so… see you around?"
"Yeah! I mean, ahem, of course - see you around." Dexter waved, grinning ear-to-ear.
[3:00 PM]
Cupid was still struggling to piece together her cardigan. Somehow the sleeves didn't look like they were in the right position (they were around waist level) even though she had followed the book's instructions to the T. She sighed and pulled out the seams - an entire hour's worth of work - and tried again.
Maybe it would help to see what other people are doing? she thought. Cupid tempted another glance at Ashlynn's handiwork, but the young Cinderella was still simply too advanced to follow: right now she was practically throwing fabric through the sewing machine. On the other side of the room, Cedar was sewing her layers together by hand and not following any particular set of instructions, while Raven was busy scaffolding her dress on those mannequin-things that Cupid forgot the name for. Nobody knew what Maddie was doing in her little corner.
Cupid decided to copy what Raven was doing and slid her sad, sleeveless excuse for a cardigan over the doll form. It… looked like a piece of fabric with holes cut out at the sides. Which, to be fair, was precisely what it was. She grimaced and decided to redo the collar.
All these exact measurements and complicated diagrams were confusing her - Cupid was admittedly terrible at geometry, and Crownculus was her least favorite class - but she tried to copy the shape in front of her the best she could. She snipped at the fabric a little… okay, that was barely anything. She snipped again and, this time, lopped off half the entire area. Then she panicked and snipped again, trying to save the shape… and whoops, looks like there was no collar left to work with!
Cupid facepalmed. She reached over to grab some leftover cloth - only to realize that there was none left. Cupid double-facepalmed and grabbed her coin sack instead. Looks like it's time to pay Dexter a third visit…
[4:30 PM]
One more stitch, it'll be finished… there.
Cerise stepped back to admire her handiwork: a shimmering green velvet short cloak and hood, fastened together with a single black button. It was hands-down her finest creation yet - she knew a little bit about sewing prior to the event, but even then it was only so she could occasionally patch up her worn-out shoes instead of buying new ones (her wolf genes combined with her love for running ensured that she would always be in want of new running shoes). This was her first time attempting something from scratch.
Now for the final touch. Cerise pressed a strip of faux-fur fabric against the edges of her finished emerald hood, trying to imagine how it would look attached. She decided she would sew it on by hand; there was still two and a half hours left, and it would be easier to control what she was doing this way.
Stifling a yawn, Cerise picked up a needle and went back to work. The faux-fur was even softer than the velvet, caramel-colored and fuzzy to the touch. It practically melted in her hands as she sewed. She smiled, savoring the comforting feeling between her fingers; it reminded her of Carmine's thick winter coat and the times they would snuggle together in front of the fire during particularly chilly days - ouch!
Cerise growled and jerked back her hand. A small bead of crimson was forming at the tip of her index finger where she had accidentally pricked herself.
Must've lost track of where I was sewing, Cerise thought warily. She sucked her finger until it stopped bleeding and continued her work, more carefully this time. Where did I leave off again? Damn it, I can't see anything underneath this fur.
She picked a spot and hoped it was where she had left off. A few stitches later, Cerise noticed that the long strings of fur were getting caught in her sewing. She sighed and began picking them out, until she noticed that it caused the fur to bend at awkward angles. Getting more and more frustrated, she grabbed the fur and attempted to re-straighten it by pulling it outward; instead, the hairs ripped off.
"Damn it!" Cerise muttered, earning her a few surprised side-glances from the girls working nearby. She looked away and hastily sewed.
The fur was proving to be really annoying, and her initial fondness for it was quickly evaporating. As she made the turn around her hood, it began to bunch up in different places.
Cerise frowned. She picked up another needle and thread, brought it to the bunched-up areas, tried to sew on top of them… and then pricked herself again. "Damn it!"
[6:00 PM]
On her left was an immaculate sketch of a black and lavender two-toned, two-fabric halter top gown, glittering with white sequins at the top and adorned with deep purple tulle at the bottom. There were details for a pair of laced, fingerless long gloves, as well as a matching feathered headpiece dressed with pearls and lace roses.
On her right was the real dress: an uneven halter top with awkwardly spaced and half-finished sequins sewn on top, and a dress portion that was still held up with pins and waiting to be stitched in place. The headpiece was reduced to a single large plastic feather, and the gloves were abandoned altogether. A stretch of tulle netting was sitting on the side, completely untouched.
Okay. Okay. So maybe Duchess had been a little too ambitious in her design. But it was nothing she couldn't handle, right? She would just have to cut a few corners on the sewing, that's all. And maybe she would have to sacrifice some of the superfluous details, but that wasn't a big issue, right? It would still look great. There was still plenty of time, right? Right?
"Ahem!" It was Headmaster Grimm's voice. He peeked his head in from the door frame. "A reminder that it is now 6:00. You all have one hour left to finish your project."
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK -
Throwing all caution into the wind, Duchess pricked herself three times consecutively before she gave up threading the sequins entirely and broke out the hot glue gun. The judges wouldn't be able to tell if she used a little glue. Hell, what's stopping her from gluing the dress together?
Nothing, she told herself. Because she was Duchess freaking Swan and Duchess freaking Swan said fuck everything.
[6:55 PM]
Ashlynn just finished attaching the last button to her camouflage-patterned pair of pants. She wiped her brow and lifted her ensemble into the light: shirt, vest, and pants, all in various earthy tones and colors. Just his style, she thought. Hunter was going to love it.
Ashlynn folded her newly-created masterpieces and started to clean her area. Grimm walked into the room with a large cardboard box while she was halfway through collecting her pins.
"Ahem! Time is up!" he announced, dropping the box. Several girls froze, and others frantically rushed to complete the last finishing touches on their work, but Ashlynn remained calm. "Please put down all your materials. You won't have much time until the second part of the event."
Grimm waited until the last girl put down her project before opening the box. Ashlynn peered inside from her tip-toes and saw that they were… black spandex bodysuits?
"Yes, the second part of the event will begin shortly," the headmaster continued. "And for that reason, I must ask Mister Charming to leave the room, if you will."
Dexter looked confused, but he hastily shuffled out of the room. The door swung shut behind him.
"The judges will evaluate your outfits on stage," Grimm explained after he left. "You will wear whatever you have completed and walk on the stage for the… the fashion show. As for these - " (he picked up a single bodysuit from the box) " - they are for you to wear under your outfit if your ensemble is incomplete or otherwise indecent on its own. You are not allowed to wear anything else for judging."
He cleared his throat. "I will leave for ten minutes to give you time to change. Report outside as soon as you're done changing." Grimm then promptly exited the room, giving the competitors no time to complain or ask questions.
Amid the chatter and rustling that started among the girls, Ashlynn stood horror-struck. *I* have to wear this outfit?
"Good evening, Ever After High - and welcome to today's Miss Ever After pageant event!" Blondie boomed into the microphone from the corner of the Charmitorium. The stage now had a runway installed and was dancing with lights. "Brace yourselves for a fableous treat, ladies and gentlemen, because soon you're going to see a special Miss Ever After Fashion Show! But before we begin, let's introduce our judges. Judges, please introduce yourself!"
The lights swerved and stopped at the judges panel: occupying the seats were Apple White, Lizzie Hearts, and Humphrey Dumpty. They each stood up and waved at the cheering crowd.
"Welcome back, Ever After High! I am Apple White, and I am ever so grateful to be participating as one of today's judges for the fashion show," said Apple. She was beaming confidently; it seemed that she had taken Raven's encouragement to heart and was finally letting go of her faux pas.
"Apple will be using her royal fashion sense to judge the contestant's outfits!" Blondie added excitedly. "Will the girls' fashion sense be enough to pass her discerning eye? Or will they be cut down by our next sewing-expert judge: Lizzie Hearts!"
"Hello, everyone," Lizzie took a small bow and waved at the audience. "Sewing is an intricate art that many people don't understand. It takes a lot of skill to put together an outfit. If I find any of the contestants cutting corners with their stitching, it'll be off with their head!"
"Don't we all feel that way, Lizzie?" Blondie agreed. "Let's hurry this up so we can get started! So, last but not least, here's our randomly-chosen audience guest judge - Humphrey Dumpty!"
"I have no idea what I'm doing up here," Humphrey said.
"To keep track of the coins left over!" whispered Blondie.
"...Okay. I guess I'm here to keep track of the coins left over."
"That's just right! Now who wants to get this show started?" The audience clapped and yelled their answer. Blondie grinned and hit the lights; the spotlights swerved and stopped at the back curtains. "Alright-y, then! Let's begin!"
"First up tonight - Raven Queen!"
Raven walked out from the curtains wearing her swirl-patterned, silver-purple maxi dress. The dress had a very simple design, but it was for the most part well-sewn; the fabric hugged her body frame quite cozily and sashayed behind her. She walked to the front of the stage and stopped before the judges, posing.
"Hmm. It's a little simple, but it's not bad," Apple said. (Judges were allowed to comment on the outfits, but their number scores had to be saved until the end of the event.)
"I like it," Lizzie declared. "Very lovely stitching there. See how it follows when she bends at the hips?"
"Uh…" Humphrey wasn't even looking at the stage; his nose was buried in his MirrorPhone, which contained Dexter's purchase files. "It… says here that there was 10 coins leftover. Is that good?"
When the judges finished writing down their scores, Raven disappeared back into the curtain amid the crowd's cheering.
"Next - Cedar Wood!"
Cedar emerged from from the curtain. She stumbled forward wearing her rainbow-cascading skirt with tiny white polka dots and a matching scarf; since she didn't make a top, Cedar was wearing the black spandex bodysuit. She held her hands behind her back and walked the runway nervously.
"Cute design!" Apple mused. Without glasses, she had to squint to make out the ruffles on the skirt. "I've never seen something like that in Bookend Boutique."
"Very unique, yes," Lizzie agreed. "Is that fabric paint you used for the polka dots? That must've been very time-consuming. And not really the choice for professional wear… but it does add something of an artistic touch."
"What polka dots?" Apple asked, confused.
"21 coins leftover," Humphrey announced. "Hey, that's higher than Raven's! That means it's better, right?" His question went unanswered as the two other judges argued about whether or not there were polka dots on the outfit.
"Next - Ashlynn Ella!"
Cedar skittered off stage and was replaced by Ashlynn. She was wearing a complete outfit: a beige shirt, a brown collared vest, and camo-patterned slacks with several deep pockets and buttons. Everything looked expertly sewn, but it was strangely a few sizes too large for Ashlynn. She appeared uncomfortable as she made her way to the front of the stage.
"Um…" Apple was at loss for words. "It looks… practical?"
"It's a few sizes too big for her," Lizzie commented, "but otherwise the outfit looks perfectly made! By chance, did you sew this for someone else?"
"16 coins leftover," said Humphrey approvingly. "Not bad for a complete wardrobe."
Ashlynn carefully held her pants up as she left the spotlight.
"Next - Cerise Hood!"
Cerise walked carefully onto the stage, tugging her hood firmly over her head. Her green velvet cloak shimmered in the light, rimmed with tan-colored faux fur (the fur was slightly bunched up in different areas, but it wasn't very noticeable with all her movements). Cerise turned around a few times to show her back, letting the cloak fan out.
"Royally gorgeous!" Apple gushed, clapping her hands together. "I've never seen Cerise wear anything green before, but it really works!"
"Hmm…" Lizzie leaned in to look more closely. Cerise gulped visibly when she began silently writing on her paper, but then she looked up and smiled.
"10 coins leftover," said Humphrey. Cerise quickly paced back through the curtains once the judges were done.
"Next - Duchess Swan!"
Duchess strutted through the curtains with all the confidence of a model who no longer gave two cents about what she was wearing. Her dress looked a little bit stiff, and she had thrown every bit of unused material into her hair: feather, sequins - even the unused tulle was converted into a veil. She stopped at the judges and struck a ballet pose.
"Wow! This is different," said Apple, tilting her head and squinting. "It looks like one of those artistic, high-end royal fashion dresses. And - um, is her hair glittering?"
Lizzie just stared - a deep furrow was settling into her brow as her eyes fell on the various glued areas.
"Only 2 coins left on this one," Humphrey announced.
"Next - C. A. Cupid!"
Duchess waltzed off the stage as Cupid shyly poked her head out from the curtains. She took a deep breath and emerged wearing a cream cardigan with holes in that back for her wings and a matching cloth belt. Like Cedar, she was wearing the black bodysuit underneath. Her sewing was decidedly amateur, but the cardigan looked nice on her all the same.
"How charming," Apple said kindly. "I'm sure there's not a lot of clothes out there that are tailored for wings, huh?"
"The seams need work," Lizzie commented, scribbling on her paper. She continued to write and said nothing else.
"Only 8 coins leftover… just for a jacket?" said Humphrey. Cupid giggled sheepishly and inched back toward the curtains.
"Finally, our last contestant - Madeline Hatter!"
Maddie bounced into the spotlight, wearing… something on her head. It resembled a large mushroom, lime-green with big white spots, except that it had two googly-eyes stuck on the base - the eyes swerved around in circles as she walked. Maddie stopped in front of the judge panel and waved, causing the eyes to swirl upward.
"Um…" Apple opened and closed her mouth several times, but she couldn't seem to form a statement. "…Uhm…"
"Did you use yarn for the threading?" Lizzie interjected, saving her judging partner from any further um-ing's. "What an interesting effect. The stitching looks very old-fashioned and classical for such an… unique garment."
"41 coins left - that's the highest number we've had! Although, er, it was kind of just for a hat."
When the judges finished grading Maddie, all seven contestants reappeared for a line-up on the stage with their outfits. Blondie walked out from the wings and clapped.
"Great job, girls!" she said cheerfully. She turned back toward the crowd with her microphone. "C'mon, guys, let's give them a hand!"
There was another roar of applause, this time including Apple, Lizzie, and Humphrey, who all stood up to join the ovation. After two minutes the cheering had settled down to a comfortable din, and the judges faced one another to compile the scores; another three minutes passed, this time with tense anticipation, as they worked in hushed whispers. Half of the contestants looked hopeful; the other half looked fearful.
When Apple raised her hand to give Blondie the final judgement, the entire room held its breath. The announcer took the paper and read it silently as she walked back to the microphone.
"Alright, the judges have come to a conclusion," Blondie's voiced echoed through the Charmitorium. "I sadly announce that the next contestant to leave Miss Ever After is…"
[VOTING PERIOD IS OVER FOR THIS CHAPTER]
Please do not submit any more votes for this section! I will post the results in the next chapter. Once again, if you enjoyed this chapter, please give your kudos to LovelyLyrics297 for coming up with the event! :D Otherwise, see you soon~!
other notes: Holy crap why are there so many new characters!? Like damn, I started this thing in the middle of the True Hearts Day saga! Anyways, I'll try to incorporate as many of these new additions into background roles in the following chapters.