Stella had arranged for everyone to meet in the Theater of Tales to work on their reenactment project at exactly five-thirty. The Nevers gained special entrance to the School for Good for this reason only. But when the clock hit five-thirty, Stella only counted five people, including herself.
"Where's Indigo?" she asked, frowning. Stella turned to Huntley. "Do you know where she is?"
Huntley shrugged, an indignant look on his face. "I would've thought she was with you," he muttered.
Stella pursed her lips for a moment. "Well, can't you go get her?"
Huntley sighed but obliged.
"Welp, that's that," Scarlet said after Huntley was gone. "We can do this again tomorrow, but I'm getting outta here."
Scarlet stood up, ready to leave, but Stella quickly stepped into her path.
"Don't leave yet," Stella insisted. "We're behind on our project, and—"
"That's not my problem," Scarlet sneered. "Now move, Ever."
Stella reluctantly stepped aside as Scarlet marched towards the exit. Then she turned to the other two; Vesper looked bored while Harvey seemed slightly uncomfortable. And when Huntley wasn't back after ten minutes, the group began to grow restless.
"Should I leave?" Harvey asked. Stella found it rather odd he asked her, as if waiting for permission. It was strangely polite for a Never, even if he was equally Evil and Good.
"I guess there's no point in waiting any longer," Stella sighed. "We should all just leave." As Stella watched Harvey gather his books, something Indigo had said to her drifted into Stella's mind.
"That's the Woods Beyond. Gavaldon, they call it," Indigo had said. "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."
"Harvey," Stella said abruptly.
Harvey turned, puzzled. Stella had never addressed him like this before—like he was someone she could trust.
"Have—" Stella swallowed. "Do you ever miss your family? Or Gavaldon?"
Harvey's face remained void of any emotion. "I thought I'd get used to this place, and the homesickness would slowly go away," he said. "I was wrong."
Stella nodded sympathetically. "Readers get used to being here eventually," she said. "They all do."
"I'm not making that mistake," Harvey said. "After I'm done with this place, I'm leaving. I'm finally going back home."
"That won't happen," Vesper blurted out. Harvey and Stella glanced at him in surprise.
"What do you mean?" Harvey asked.
Stella smiled sadly. "You have to get used to being here," she explained. "Harvey, there's no way back. You're stuck here until you die."
Harvey stared at the ground. "No," he said hollowly. "No, that's…"
"Unfair, I know," Stella said gently.
"No." Harvey looked up, his gray eyes boring into Stella's blue ones. "I'm going back, no matter what you say," he said stubbornly.
"It's not what we say," Vesper said wearily. "It's what the School Master says. He makes the rules."
"I—" Harvey glanced desperately at Stella. "I need to go," he finally finished.
Stella and Vesper watched Harvey hurriedly exit through the Evil doors.
"Oh my," Stella said dejectedly. "He really does believe he can."
"He's just lying to himself," Vesper said. "As if that will do anything. No one can outdo the School Master."
Stella leaned closer to Vesper, yearning for his comfort—for him to wrap his arm around her shoulders like he did when they were younger.
Scarlet traveled agilely through the halls. Dinner was at seven-fifteen, so she still had about an hour to finish her homework. Scarlet had to work hard to maintain her first rank, otherwise Astrophel might overtake her.
Scarlet slowed her pace as she approached the corner. Then a cacophonous noise—like fingernails scraping against chalkboard—emitted from somewhere behind her. Scarlet cocked her head and turned, unafraid.
A stymph stood before her, its massive, feathered wings flapping slowly. The stymph's haunting eyes stared at Scarlet, who stared back.
"What in the…" Scarlet uttered as the grotesque creature crept forward.
"Caw," the stymph said, startling Scarlet.
"You talk," Scarlet said cautiously. "Why are you here? Revenge?"
"Caw," the stymph cawed.
"Well, you came to the wrong person," Scarlet said, backing away slowly. Fear was almost overtaking her senses, and that itself scared Scarlet more than the stymph.
"Caw," the stymph said, bored. Then it lunged.
A scream bubbled up in Scarlet's throat, but no sound came out. Instead, she mustered up all her emotions (mostly just fear, but also a bit of anger) and allowed her finger to glow scarlet. Then she ducked and rolled expertly to the side as the stymph came barreling forward.
There was a loud crash, but Scarlet didn't spare a glance at the stymph. Instead, she ran. The stymph chased after her, catching up to her in a matter of milliseconds. Scarlet aimed for the stymph's head but missed. Running while aiming isn't easy.
Angered, the stymph poked at her, but Scarlet conjured up a shield just as the beak came crashing down. The shield immediately shattered from the impact of the beak.
Scarlet raced for a door, wrenched it open, and slammed the door shut behind her. The stymph let out a shrill, eerie scream from behind the walls, and Scarlet shuddered. Her fingerglow slowly faded as Scarlet shakily took in her surroundings. She was in the boys' bathroom, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that she was safe, safe for now.
The wall behind her shook violently. Scarlet staggered back as the entire bathroom began to tremble. Why was the stymph still here?
The bathroom door burst off its hinges and the stymph squeezed through, its feathers sticking at odd angles. The stymph looked extremely angered, and it indeed looked as if it wanted revenge.
"No! Please!" Scarlet begged, forgetting her dignity and her pride. Dignity and pride won't help her when she's dead.
But stymphs only obeyed Evers, and Scarlet helplessly backed into the wall when the stymph stabbed its beak at her. This time, it met its mark, and Scarlet let out her first scream as the beak punctured her arm. Hot blood spread through her sleeves as the stymph reared back, steadying itself for another attack.
"Scarlet?"
The stymph paused, turning to the source of the voice. Scarlet turned too, gasping as her arm burned with pain.
It was the Reader—Harvey. He took one look at the stymph, then at Scarlet's injured arm, and took a step back.
"Harvey," Scarlet choked out.
The stymph let out another loud wail and lunged again.
"Stop!" Harvey screamed as Scarlet prepared for her end. "Don't you dare touch her!"
The stymph angled its beak in time to stop it from impaling Scarlet's chest. Then it turned to Harvey and cawed innocently.
"Get out," Harvey said. "Out, you dumb bird."
The stymph cawed again, its movements now careful and peaceful. Nevertheless, it obeyed Harvey as it pushed past him and took flight down the hallway.
Scarlet pushed herself to her feet as Harvey walked slowly toward her.
"Are you okay?" he asked kindly. A bit too kindly, and Scarlet didn't like it one bit.
"What does it look like?" Scarlet snapped angrily. She knew she should be thankful, but being thankful wasn't one of her strongest attributes.
Luckily, Harvey seemed to expect this behavior. "We should get you cleaned up," he said. "Is there a nurse here?"
"I don't know," Scarlet mustered through gritted teeth.
"We can go to Lady Lesso," Harvey suggested. "She'll do something." Harvey observed Scarlet's injury. "Do you need help…?"
"I can walk on my own," Scarlet spat. "You can lead the way." The thought of a boy carrying her—or even merely touching her—horrified Scarlet to the point where she couldn't feel the pain in her arm. She couldn't imagine being an Ever. Scarlet had seen how the Evergirls would take one look at something nasty like a tiny spider or a pool of vomit, and faint—into a random Everboy's arms. Ew.
Refusing Harvey's help, Scarlet wrapped her arm up, stifling the blood flow. Then she followed Harvey out of the now-ruined bathroom, bravely gritting her teeth when every jostled movement sent stabs of pain through her arm.
"For once, it's actually a blessing to be equally Evil and Good," Harvey said as they walked. "If I weren't, the stymph wouldn't have mistaken me for an Ever, and we'd both be doomed."
"Hmph," Scarlet said.
"I wonder if that was the same stymph that killed Cairo," Harvey continued. "Except, Cairo wasn't so lucky."
There was a moment of awkward silence before Harvey spoke up again.
"Do you think the stymph was sent after you deliberately? Like murder?" Harvey asked.
"What else?" Scarlet said irritably. "Stymphs don't usually go after Nevers because they're bored. It was another jealous Ever trying to get revenge."
"I thought Evers were Good," Harvey said.
"No, dummy," Scarlet scoffed, letting out a humorless laugh. "Evers don't care about being Good anymore. Maybe back then. Maybe some of the famous Evers from history were truly good. But Cinderella, the Little Mermaid, and other famous Evers care only about beauty and love. I don't even think pure goodness is a thing anymore. Now, all Evers care about are looks."
"That's not true," Harvey said. "Some Evers are still truly Good."
"Reader, think about your favorite fairy tales. Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty. Little Red was foolish enough to endanger her grandma and herself. That wolf didn't deserve to die! But he was brutally murdered just because some dumb little girl didn't heed her mother's warning. And Jack—please. He greedily robbed the giant of his well-earned riches. Then Sleeping Beauty's ego was so big it obscured her vision, and that's why Sleeping Beauty blindly ventured into the tower where the spindle was and pricked her finger. These Evers brought disaster upon themselves."
This kept Harvey quiet long enough for them to reach Lady Lesso's office. Then Harvey stepped aside and opened the door for Scarlet.
"Chivalry should be dead," Scarlet growled at him.
Harvey nodded and released the door on her.