Stella, good girl Stella, was illicitly sneaking out after curfew.

She carefully slipped out from under her silk sheets when the bedside clock ticked to exactly midnight. Careful not to wake her roommates, she pushed the door open slightly and slipped through, fastening her cloak over her shoulders as she moved. Indigo was already waiting for her.

"Ready?" Indigo asked breathlessly.

"Totally."

"Remember, I'm only showing you the Halfway Bridge so you know how to get past it, but we're not going through it today," Indigo said as she led the way, Stella trailing her.

Indigo turned a sharp corner and hurried up a flight of stairs, then turned again. Stella followed until Indigo stopped abruptly before a gold door.

"Here it is," Indigo murmured, turning the diamond doorknob. They both entered, finding themselves in a dim, dark room.

As Stella's eyes adjusted, she could see gold-framed murals and paintings hanging on the walls. Near the ceiling, words in glass read: THE GALLERY OF GOOD.

"Gallery of Good?" Stella asked quietly. "How have I never heard of it before?"

"I'm not sure students are allowed here. I'm positive the professors wouldn't tell us about this place if we're barred from it," Indigo said. "I personally did some exploring when I first got here, and I found this place. I'm big on exploring, and I discovered a lot of things about this school."

The Gallery of Good was exactly what it sounded like. The paintings all seemed hand-drawn, each depicting a happy scene with princes and princesses and animals. Above all the murals, large gold-plated words read: EVER AFTER. Ever After. Paradise together. A paradise for accomplished Evers to live happily for the rest of their lives. Evil had something similar. Nevermore. Paradise alone. A place for accomplished Nevers to spend the rest of their time alone.

Then Stella noticed something disturbing. Dead animals that were once alive lined some rows of shelves. Each stuffed and sewn and stitched together. There were also names of students from the past—names of the failed students. The students who didn't make it or weren't good enough to become heroes or heroines or even sidekicks, so they became enchanted plants and animals.

Stella eyed the last painting mounted on the wall. The caption underneath read: GAVALDON, THE WOODS BEYOND, HOME OF THE READERS. The painting depicted a picturesque little town with children running and mothers hanging clothes on clotheslines, fathers working in the shops and chopping wood, and pigs running wild.

"That's the Woods Beyond. Gavaldon, they call it," Indigo said, noticing Stella's close examination. "It's where the Readers came from before they were taken here. The School Master took them away from their families so they could come here. Against their will, I might add."

"Who painted all of this?" Stella gestured at the paintings. "They're beautiful."

"Professor Sader," Indigo answered automatically (Indigo knew so much, and Stella was slightly wary of that).

"But isn't he blind?" Stella asked. "How does he know what everything looks like? What Gavaldon looks like?"

Indigo shrugged. "You're not the first to wonder that." Then Indigo and Stella walked through a set of double doors, which led them to a now-empty faculty lounge. The pair headed up the Honor's staircase to the classrooms made completely out of candy. They continued past the plaque that read: TEMPTATION IS THE PATH TO EVIL and into the rooftop topiary garden, named Merlin's Menagerie. After some twists and turns, Indigo finally paused before a clear, crystal lake.

"Then we jump in," Indigo said as Stella peered curiously.

"And we won't get wet?"

"Nope." Indigo smiled. Then she jumped, and Stella followed.

Apparently, the lake was a secret portal. When Stella's feet landed on firm ground, she was completely dry, and also in a completely different place.

They had arrived at the Halfway Bridge.

Indigo and Stella continued on towards the center, which was thickly obscured by fog. As they approached, Indigo held out her hand in a cautioned manner.

"Hold on," Indigo said. "There should be a barrier…here." Indigo pressed her palm against the flat surface of the barrier. Then their reflections came into view. Stella's reflection was prettier and meaner-looking than her actual self, and Indigo's reflection was shabbier than her actual self.

"Oh, wow," Stella gasped.

"When you reach the midpoint, be careful not to run into the barrier. And these guys"—Indigo nodded at the two reflections. Indigo's reflection didn't mirror the action—"Aren't real. They're just here to warn us. Just ask to politely go through and they'll recite a lovely poem for you." Indigo turned to the reflections. "Let us through, ladies," she said sweetly.

"Good with Good, Evil with Evil. Back to your tower before there's upheaval," the reflections sang out in unison.

Stella giggled.

"The trick to get past your stubborn reflection is to talk your way through. Find a weakness and pry at it," Indigo said with a sly smile. "Now come, I have something to show you."

Stella eagerly followed Indigo as she led the way back. This time, Indigo took Stella to a spot she was familiar with: the Library of Virtue. Nevers also had a library, but it was called the Library of Vice.

"Why are we here?" Stella whispered as she carefully felt her way around. The library was thick with darkness.

"Remember how I said I liked to explore this school? Well, I found something rather shocking," Indigo said. She reached over to a lit candle, using it like a torch. Then Indigo reached up to one of the shelves and tugged a book by its spine. There was a loud click before a luminous glow brightened the entire room. Stella shielded her eyes instinctively before peering through her fingers.

There, something that wasn't there before, was a large gold scale, taller than Stella and Indigo stacked on top of each other. The scale wasn't balanced—one side was tipped while the other flailed in the air. The flailing side held a white swirling mass of magic, and the heavier side held a black swirling mass of magic.

White and black.

Good and Evil.

Stella gaped at the floating scale, at the uneven sides. Evil was much heavier, and it weighed down its side of the scale. Good was helplessly swinging in the air.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stella asked, though she could easily guess.

"Evil is dominating," Indigo said, a look of disgust clear on her illuminated face. "It's growing too powerful. Evil magic is getting too heavy, too strong. And Good, Good is weak. We're nowhere as strong as Evil is now."

"I don't understand," Stella uttered softly. "This…"

"It means Evil is stronger than Good. It means there's a chance Evil might win for the first time in decades. The balance has shifted, and the power is with Evil now."

"Why is this happening?" Stella asked, horrified.

"The students. There's something off, but I can't quite put my finger to it," Indigo muttered, more to herself than to her companion. "I've been trying to figure it out—why has Evil suddenly earned its strength?"

"When did you find out about this?" Stella questioned.

"Before Cairo's death," Indigo said. "But nothing has changed since Cairo died. The scale is still as unbalanced as ever, with the odds against us."

Stella stared at the swirling masses. Evil seemed to be thriving, too thriving, while Good seemed to be growing weaker and weaker. The masses swirled on, casting ominous shadows around them. Then Indigo snapped the book back in its place, and the scale was gone.

Days morphed into weeks, and yet, Stella still hadn't tried using the Halfway Bridge. She had been meaning to use it to get into the School for Evil, but ever since Indigo showed her the scale, she hadn't been feeling up for it.

It wouldn't matter, anyway, because as time passed, the students' homework piles grew as the teachers assigned more and more. Then, the teachers of Henchmen Training from the School for Evil and Animal Communication from the School for Good decided to host a weeklong challenge where they assigned each student an animal sidekick.

The animals proved to be a challenge, as students would find out. Yuba the Gnome had students picking up where they left off with their reenactments, and the students had to work on their projects while keeping an eye on their animal sidekicks.

"Scarlet, that's your cue!" Huntley yelled.

Scarlet turned away from her baby alligator. "Huh?"

"You were supposed to curse the baby!"

"Oh," Scarlet said distastefully, glaring at the ugly stuffed doll baby. "I would gladly curse that thing."

"Then do it!"

"Your wish is my command, princeling," Scarlet said sarcastically. Then she turned to the doll. "Bippity boppity boo, may you die."

"Then the Evil Thirteenth Fairy left, leaving the baby princess's parents in anguish," Harvey said glumly. He was appointed the narrator.

"I think I might be able to help," Indigo said. She was one of the fairies.

"Then the Twelfth Fairy stepped forward. She hadn't had her chance to bless the baby yet, since the Evil Thirteenth Fairy barged in as she was about to. But that was a good thing, so the Twelfth Fairy cast a blessing on the baby, lessening the curse," Harvey said through mumbled narration.

"Bippity boppity boo, instead of dying you will sleep for one hundred years, along with everyone else in the castle. Then, a handsome prince will come and kiss you, waking you up from eternal sleep. And not just any handsome prince—only your true love can wake you," Indigo said.

Scarlet snickered loudly, and all the Evers glared at her.

"What?" she protested. "I'm sorry, but all that sappy 'true love' stuff is actually giving me a headache. There is no such thing as true love! Last time I loved a boy, he disappeared under mysterious circumstances, though I'm sure my mother was responsible for that."

"I didn't know Nevers could love," Stella murmured under her breath.

"Don't be ridiculous, Ever," Scarlet scoffed. "We, Nevers, all loved once in our lifetime. But sooner or later, we'd learn love isn't worth the trouble."

There was a shrill bird call, and the group turned towards the noise. Scarlet's baby alligator had Stella's hummingbird half poking out of its mouth.

"Astrid!" Stella gasped. "Scarlet! Do something!"

Scarlet only watched in amazement.

"I'll do something!" Huntley declared, walking bravely up to the baby alligator.

Vesper groaned. "Stop trying so hard to be heroic," he grumbled.

Huntley grabbed a stick and poked the alligator. The alligator released the hummingbird from its jaws and snapped its teeth at Huntley instead.

"See?" Huntley said. "All finished."

"Um," Harvey said, pointing. "I think the alligator's hungry."

Huntley turned, and the baby alligator lunged. Except, it was only a baby alligator, so Huntley sidestepped in time for the baby alligator to clamp its teeth around the doll baby.

Everyone stared as the stuffing leaked from the doll baby and fluttered in the wind. The baby alligator seemed to realize the doll baby wasn't Huntley, so it released the doll and grudgingly trudged back.

Everyone gathered around the ruined prop. The doll baby's torn body lay dejectedly on the ground, slash and teeth marks puncturing its stomach.