When the group made it to the dining area, each girl was handed her breakfast. When it came her turn, however, somebody else recieved it. Jackson.
"Give me my food." She snapped, holding out her hand.
Instead of handing Ella her breakfast, he just smiled. Mistake number one.
"I said give me my food,"
He acted like he was going to hand it to her, but held it over her head. Mistake number two.
Ella's eyes burned gold, her fists clenched and she snarled, "Give. Me. My. Food."
Alas, he merely chuckled, "Or what?"
Mistake number three.
Ella's eyes went completely gold, startling Jackson. Suddenly she disappeared in a flash. A shadow moved along one of the walls, but now one seemed to notice. Stunned students frantically scanned the room for the missing princess. Jackson set down her plate of food and drew his sword. Ella burst from the wall in an explosion of light, on either side of her, a being of light flanked her.
She pointed her finger and the beasts surged forwards. At Jackson. Just as the monsters were about to sink their teeth into the unprepared prince, Professor Dovey cast a barrier between the beings and Jackson. The beasts divided in two and circled Ella, becoming her own barrier. She held up her hand and the 'things' stopped and scampered to the other side of the room. They then charged Ella and slammed into her, merging into her soul. Ella gasped and wavered on her feet.
Prof. Dovey strode to the troublemaking student and gave her a stern lecture on attacking students.
"I understand you have a newfound power, but that is no reason to go and show it off and use it any way you can. In fact if Evil new you had this power, they will create a villain to stop Good from winning the Circus of Talents. Especially don't let Lady Lesso see you, because if she does, she will try to tempt and corrupt you with no end."
Ella nodded, hiding the fact that she saw right through the Dean's warning. Something wasn't quite right the way the situation was dismissed and handled. It was as if Professor Dovey didn't want her to use her power. She was hiding something and Ella was going to figure it out.
She then sat gracefully into a beautifully carved wooden chair with white cushions, which was seated at long elaborate mahogany tables. After eating a perfect breakfast of strawberry topped waffles, over easy eggs, and a glass of milk, students followed schedules to classrooms. Ella walked into a pink taffy classroom with her friends soon afterwards. Professor Anemone walked in wearing the most absurd outfit. Without skipping a beat, the professor started her lesson on looks.
She taught them how to look warm and accepting, untouchable, vulnerable, and lost. While Ella didn't know why she needed any of these, except for accepting, the other girls nodded like sheep and practiced the looks.
"Ella, will you please come up and demonstrate lost?" the professor asked kindly.
She sighed and glided to the front of the room. Perfectly placing a forlorn expression on her face, Ella earned a 'good job' and sat down.
"Now, I want all of you to give me your most perfect princess smile," The professor said while demonstrating the most radiant smile.
Each girl lit up the room with her own smile as Professor Anemone critically walked around the room.
"Lower your chin dear, don't squint child, Now that's positively astounding!" the professor exclaimed when she got to Avery, who was showing off a shy-but-striking smile.
Ranks popped up over heads. Avery with a one, Ella a two, Lauren a three, and Skye a frustrating four.
When the fairies chimed the end of class, everyone got up to leave, but Ella was called to her professor's desk.
"I understand you have a newfound power, but that is no reason to go and show it off and use it any way you can. In fact if Evil new you had this power, they will create a villain to stop Good from winning the Circus of Talents. Especially don't let Lady Lesso see you, because if she does, she will try to tempt and corrupt you with no end."
But in the intense and seriousness of Professor Anemone's voice, a hint of secrecy and deceit lied between the lines of her little speech. Ella nodded ferociously and quickly walked out of the peppermint lined doorframe.
Ella surrendered to her friends grasps as they quickly walked to their next class: Animal Communication. The group of girls sat carefully on the pristine grass in front of a concentrating Princess Uma. The teacher had her hands clasped together, eyes squeezed shut, and her lips pursed. The princesses whispered impatiently. Finally, when Princess Uma did speak, her sentences were always interrupted by an animal's distant call. When she realized that the entire class was staring at her, she let out a tee-heed apology,
"Oopsies! I have too many friends!"
Ella, Lauren, and Avery shared a look, but shrugged the princesses nervous behavior off.
"Today we will start with the basics," Princess Uma started, standing and leading the girls to the lake.
She circled her finger in the lake and a thousand pure white fish surfaced.
"Wish fish!"
Ella cast a skeptical glance at the gaping mouths of the little fish.
"A wish fish reads your soul and reflects it onto themselves," The princess continued,
"Who wants to go first?"
Skye, not wanting a repeat of the last challenge, stepped forward. She stuck her finger into the water and the fish started to swirl and change colors. The final picture of fish turned out to be a white castle with fireworks, a pair of royalty holding hands in a balcony. The image zoomed in to the couple. It turned out to be Skye and Jackson, both in wedding attire. Skye pulled her finger out of the water and stepped back, blushing. Ella kept her mouth closed, trying not to throw up. Avery went next, her fish drawing hazel eyed, blonde haired, tall, Chase. Only, instead of just Chase, the boy was riding a horse through the forest. The image seemed to go on, but Avery drew her finger out of the water.
"I caught his rose at the Welcoming." she said nervously.
Lauren drew Zack and herself at their wedding, hers more spectacular than Skye's. Marilyn drew Adrian, Rae drew Drew, (snicker snicker) Olive drew Tristan, Isabelle drew Kyle, Hannah drew Jacob, and Michelle drew William. At first, Ella was going to draw Ian, but then she thought about it.
"What does my heart desire? What does my soul wish for?" she thought.
Deciding, she dipped her finger into the water. The tired fish swirled, and Ella closed her eyes. Suddenly, both Ella and the fish started to glow. Fish shattered into sunbeams, rising up out of the water into the sky in the shape of girls. The light-girls formed the shape of a word, 'freedom', then continued to soar into the sun.
Ella turned around to find a whole class of girls staring at her, open mouthed.
"What?" she asked, confused.
Princess Uma stepped forward.
"Well-" she started, but was interrupted by Skye.
"Can we have our ranks now?" she asked impatiently.
"Of course," Princess Uma said with a smile.
A one burst over Ella's head, two for Lauren, a three for Avery, and another four for Skye. Wolves howled the end of class and the girls swept off to their next class.
o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o
Girls tittered excitedly into Princess Etiquette. Pollux hobbled in on a goat's body to twenty patiently waiting girls. Without much explanation, he led the girls to the for Good staircases for their challenge. Once everyone was at the top, nymphs balanced nests filled with nightingale eggs atop the girls' heads. Pollux gave them strict instructions and told them to descend the flight of stairs without breaking any eggs.
Ella straightened her spine, set her shoulders and floated gracefully down the stairs. Afterwards, another 'one' exploded over Ella's head. With Skye glaring at the back of her head, Ella found it hard to concentrate.
When wolves howled the end of class, Skye brushed past her and said,
"Stay out of my way, Reader."
Ella shrugged off the insult and strode down the hall to Good Deeds. Arriving in Prof. Dovey's classroom, Ella sensed the tension between teacher and student. Once everyone had arrived, the professor took roll.
"Chase?"
"Here,"
"Rae?"
"Here,"
"Olive?"
"Here,"
"T-Jackson?"
"Here,"
After roll, Prof. Dovey strained the importance of Good Deeds.
"Good Deeds are not chores, the are a matter of life and death!" she exclaimed.
"If your soul is not pure, you fail. Simple as that,"
Ella shuddered in her candy chair. Banishing the thought of failing, she took out a piece of parchment and took notes.
Finally wolves howled and the girls went to lunch. Ella got in the Ever's line to receive her basket. This time, she got her basket and sat under the shade of a tree without any trouble from Jackson.
Lauren and Avery sat next to her, opening their baskets to smoked trout sandwiches, ceasar salad, strawberry soufflé, and a vial of sparkling lemon water.
"Do you guys want to go to Groom Rooms after this?" Ella asked, breaking the silence.
Avery swallowed, "Sure."
Soon thereafter, Everboys drifted into Evergirl territory. Ian and Zack aimlessly wandered over to where they were sitting. As did Chase and Jackson. The girls had finished eating, and were talking about their day so far.
"I thought my face was going to fall off during Beautification," Ella said.
"Who knew that smiling took so much effort? But Avery's smile is award winning!" Lauren finished for her.
Avery smiled in response. The boys told them about chivalry and grooming and swordplay. Suddenly, music played from nowhere. Ella looked at Lauren.
"No. You are not going to do-" Lauren barely said.
"Too late," Ella said with a smile.
She jumped up and started dancing. Not ballroom dancing, but hip-hop/ modern dancing. On a certain move she clapped her hands together and five light-duplicates appeared behind her in a pyramid shape. Lauren sighed, rolled her eyes, and got up and replaced one of the duplicates. Avery joined soon after. Soon, Ella had Lauren, Avery, Skye, Rae, and Olive dancing with her. Across the clearing, Blake stood up, faced Ella, and starting dancing as well. She stopped the group and watched the villain carefully. He finished a sequence of moves, then flipped her off. Students on both sides went ooooooh.
Ella faked hurt, stepping backwards into her group. They clustered around her, then she burst from the group in a front handspring. She stopped inches short of landing on Blake, then back walked over into the splits, pulled her legs together, backwards rolled, stood up, went into a deep stance, and whipped her hair in a circle. (The last move was a taunt) Blake pushed wolves aside and lunged at her. Ella sidestepped him and continued dancing. They danced in a deadly duet, simultaneously trying to injure the other with style.
Finally, wolves and fairies snapped out their trance and lashed the foes apart, and the music cut off. Ella sat back down underneath her tree and looked up to see stunned, open-mouthed Jackson and Ian staring at her.
"What? You act like you've never seen dancing before." she retorted to their flabbergasted gazes.
"Well-" Jackson started.
"Shut up Jackson," Ella said, silencing him.
"You know his name really isn't Jackson right?" Ian said, and Jackson put him in a headlock.
"Really?" Ella asked.
"Yep, his real name is Thomas." Ian rasped, fighting Jack- er...Thomas.
Wolves howled the end of lunch, and the students went to their next classes. Ella, Lauren, Avery, Thomas, Ian, and Chase went to the Theater of Tales for History of Heroism. Whilst the boys played handball against the flaming rose carved into the silver stone stage, the girls chatted.
"I wonder what this class's challenge is," Ella pondered aloud.
" I guess whatever Sader says we do," Avery replied.
"Professor Sader," a voice said.
Ella turned to see a man in a shamrock suit glide down the aisle between the two sides. His hazel eyes scanned the room and the boys returned to seats.
"As you know, I teach an alternating session between here and the Evil school. Since I cannot be in two places at once, former students will give you lessons on past mistakes. They will be responsible for you challenges, so give them the same respect you would give me." he explained.
"Since I will be terribly busy, I will not hold office hours, nor will I answer questions inside or outside of class."
Ella's pen slipped in surprise. She shook her head and continued writing.
(Later)
Ella stood under a navy blue three, examining her nails. Avery and Lauren were with her, soon joined by Skye, Thomas, Ian, Chase, and Zack. Skye angrily glared at Ella as she sidled up to Thomas. Their Nevers came shortly afterwards. Blake, Serenity, Bree, Wayne, Landon, Baefire, and Dustin (an unfortunate kid with long nails and a whip-like tail). Ella counted the total.
"Wait, there's only fifteen of us. Where's the sixteenth?" she questioned.
Baefire smiled darkly, then split into two. Whilst one was light skinned with dark hair, the other was the opposite, with darker skin and ghostly white hair. But both wore the same red jewel around their neck and had gray eyes.
"Oh," Ella replied, sounding sick.
Yuba the Gnome pulled himself out of his hole and scanned the cluster of students. He shrugged his tiny shoulders and led them into the blue forest. For a moment, everyone forgot about being Good or Evil and marveled at the blue wonderland around them. Every tree, flower, and blade of grass sparkled a different hue. As his students followed, Yuba rattled off the history of the Blue Forest in his clipped hoary voice.
Once upon a time, there had been no joint classes for the School for Good and the School for Evil students. Instead, children had graduated from their school's training into the Endless Woods. But before they could ever engage in battle, Good and Evil inevitably fell prey to hungry boars, scavenging imps, cranky spiders, and the occasional man-eating tulip.
"We had forsaken the obvious," said Yuba. "You cannot survive your fairy tale if you cannot survive the Woods."
So the school created the Blue Forest as a training ground. The signature blue foliage arose from protective enchantments that kept the intruders out, while reminding students it was just an imitation of the more treacherous Woods.
As to just how dangerous the real thing was, the students sensed firsthand as Yuba led them past the North Gates. The Woods repelled sunlight like a shield, the forest as dark as the night, every inch of green blackened by shadow. As eyes adjusted, students could see a puny dirt path lilting through the trees like the withering lifeline on an old man's palm. To both sides of the path, vines strangled trees into armored clumps, leaving no room for undergrowth on the forest floor. But something lurked between these armored clumps. Moans and growls echoed from the forest bowels, while low rasps and snarls added goulish harmony.
Then the children began to see what was making the sounds. Pairs of eyes watched them from the onyx depths- devilish red and yellow, flickering, vanishing, then reappearing closer than before. The terrible noises grew louder, the fiendish eyes multiplied , the undergrowth crackled with life, and just when the students saw skulking outlines rise from the mist-
"This way", Yuba called back.
Students fled from the gates without a single glance back.
Surviving Fairy Tales was like any other class, Yuba explained from a turquoise tree stump, with students ranked from 1 to 16 in each challenge. Only now there was something more at stake: twice a year, each of the fifteen groups would send its best Ever and Never to compete in the Trail by Tale. Yuba would say no more about this mysterious competition, except that the winner would get five first place ranks. The students in the group glanced at each other, thinking that whoever won the Trial by Tale would surely be Class Captain.
"Now, there are five rules that separate Good from Evil." the gnome said, writing these rules in the air with his smoking staff.
The Evil attack. The Good defend.
The Evil punish. The Good forgive.
The Evil hurt. The Good help
The Evil take. The Good give.
The Evil hate. The Good love.
"As long as you follow these rules, you have the best possible chance of surviving your fairy tale," Yuba said to the group gathered in the navy grass. "These rules should come with ease, of course. You have been chosen for your schools precisely because you show them at the highest level!"
Ella swallowed the bile rising in her throat. She had an uneasy feeling about being chosen for being the best at defending, forgiving, helping, giving, and loving.
"But first you must learn to recognise Good and Evil," said Yuba. "In the Woods, appearances are often deceiving. Snow White nearly perished because she thought an old woman kind. Red Riding Hood found herself in a wolf's stomach because she couldn't tell the difference between family and fiend. Even Beauty struggled between hideous beast and noble prince. All unnecessary suffering. For no matter how much Good and Evil are disguised, they can always be told apart. You must look closely. And you must remember the rules."
For the class challenge, Yuba announced, each student had to distinguish between a disguised Ever and Never by observing their behavior. Whoever correctly identified the Good student and the Evil student in the fastest time would receive first rank.
Blake went first, tying the blindfold over his eyes. As soon as they were covered, Yuba stabbed his staff at Dustin and Avery. The pair magically morphed into baby deer, and Yuba whipped off the blindfold. Wayne studied the fawns closely. He grabbed one by the throat. As it flailed, the other savagely kicked him. He set the deer down and pointed at the fiesty one.
"That one's Avery, and this one's Dustin." Wayne said smugly.
Fur melted to skin as the pair morphed back to humans.
"You are correct," said Yuba.
Bree went next, and Yuba disguised Thomas and Landon as wolves. Bree stared at the hounds for over twenty minutes. Finally she pointed to one and said that's Thomas, and that's Landon."
While fangs turned to normal teeth Yuba lectured her on how in the Woods she would not live long as long as she made decisions like that.
"Incorrect," Yuba moaned.
"Who would like to be disguised for Ella?" Yuba asked.
Hands shot into the air. Yuba picked Bae and Lauren. The two turned into rats. Ella crouched on one knee and held out a piece of bread between the two rodents. One instantly grabbed it and the other didn't seem to care.
"The one with bread is Bae and the other is Lauren." Ella said as she stood.
The girls returned to their normal selves with Bae still clutching the bread. Blake went next, with Yuba disguising Ella and Serenity. The girls morphed into grizzly bears, their furry bodies towering over the Neverboy. Ella let out a grunt of dismay. Serenity copied the grunt. Ella sat on her rear, and Serenity did the same. Ella rolled in the grass, and Serenity rolled as well. Blake closed his eyes and felt a pull towards one of the bears.
"This one's my love", he said taking Ella's paw, "and this one's the princess." he took Serenity's paw. "Right?"
"YOU RUINED MY LIFE" Serenity roared. All the students heard was bear sounds. But Ella understood perfectly.
"YOU LEFT ME TO DIE!"
Blake clubbed Serenity with his fist, "Leave her alone!" He raced to Ella, "I can't believe you ever knew her-" Ella swiped him into the rest of the group.
"YOU STOLE MY BOY!"
"YOU THINK I WANT HIM?!"
"YOU AND YOUR STUPID FRIENDS HAD TO WALTZ IN AND RUIN MY CHANCE AT BEING A PRINCESS!"
"THERE NEVER WAS A CHANCE!"
Serenity stopped mid-swipe. Snarling, she lunged for Ella with all the power she could muster.
"I WON'T LET YOU RUIN ANYTHING ELSE!"
Ella slammed Serenity into a tree. Serenity tackled Ella into a rosebush. Ella ripped at Serenity's hair. Back and forth the beasts fought, until Blake stepped between them.
"STOP!"
Both girls turned, facing him and standing on their hind legs. One stopped and turned sullenly towards Yuba, while the other stared him down, snarling. Bear melted to girl and Ella faced Blake, while Serenity was turned away. Yuba started to sarcastically applaud them.
"Ella Taylor, you will survive the Woods. That is if you can keep your temper under control!" Yuba criticized. "Serenity Brooks, you will not survive the Woods, because you don't abide by the rules. That is all for today" Yuba finished as ranks exploded over heads.
Ella with a one, Wayne a two, Dustin three, Lauren four, Avery five, and so on. The tired students trudged to their rooms, ending their first day as future Queens, Kings, Witches, Warlocks, and Teddy Bears.