Apple may had just had the worst day of her life ,but that wasn't going to stop her from getting up at 6:00 AM sharp, much to Raven's annoyance. After she got showered and dressed Apple went to shake Raven awake.
"Mmm? Five more minutes." Raven mumbled, burying herself under the covers.
Apple was taken aback.
"Five minutes? Raven how can you be asleep at a time like this?"
But Raven had already fell back to sleep. Honestly, she gave Briar a run for her money sometimes. Then again, it didn't really matter. The alert she got from her mirrorpad said that Duchess was the one moving in, which meant Apple would be moving into Ginger's room. This was supposed to be her punishment after all, so it made sense, but she knew next to nothing about Ginger.
With a sigh, Apple walked to her balcony and sung a short melody, trying her best to not wake up Raven. On queue, birds and other woodland creatures came to her aid, a quality of her "magic touch" that served her well in a pinch. Technically this power of hers was meant to be used for when she was in trouble, and she felt a little guilty for using it now, but she couldn't think of another way to get all of her things packed in time.
"Hello friends! Would you help a girl out?" Apple said sweetly, batting her eyes.
The animals were quick to oblige, happy to help her out even when she hadn't exactly been... herself lately. The squirrels and mice grabbed her dresses and skirts and folded them neatly, while the birds gathered her jewelry and placed it in a little gold and red jewelry box that her mom gave her.
As the rabbits took care of her shoes and socks, a tiny white head popped out of her closet.
"Gala! There you are, oh are you here to help me move you sweet angel?"
Gala, Apple's pet snow fox crept out her closet carrying her One Reflection poster in her mouth.
"Eeee! I almost forgot about that! Thank you!"
Gala jumped up and curled around Apple's neck in greeting. Apple snuggled her back. Then Gala leaped down and helped the rest of the animals with their tasks. Apple joined them, sweeping up any mess and making sure the everything could fit her many bags. Exhausted, she collapsed on her be d a nd check ed t he time .
"6:39, I cut it really close." She huffed. "Well, I could have done a lot worst with such short notice."
The birds twittered in sympathy.
"Thank you, you're all very-Ah right! I almost forgot!"
She opened up a dresser drawer and fished out bags of animal food. A good Queen always pays her workers after all, in whatever way she can.
As the animals lined up politely, taking food from Apple's hand one at a time they all became spooked by a loud knock at the door. Frantically apple just left the bags open on the ground for the animals to take. Hopefully they wouldn't make too much of a mess.
"I''ll be right there just give me a minute!" Apple called out as she made her way to Raven's bed, quickly ripping off her covers and opening the blinds.
"Ugh! Apple I said I'll be up in five!"
"That was half an hour ago! Get up!"
Raven groaned and rolled over, burying her face into the pillow.
"Raven!"
"Fine, fine, I'm up!"
Apple hurried over to the door and opened it up .
"Good morning Duchess! You're early!"
D espite not really being friends, Apple wanted to at least be on friendlier terms with Duchess now that she would be using her room.
Duchess just glared at her.
Or not.
"Your not usually this grumpy in the mornings Chess." Raven yaw ned as she finally got out of bed.
"Don't call me Chess, Raven," Duchess said coldly. "I just want to get my stuff unpacked and get to class, then-"
She stopped mid sentence.
"Apple why is my side of the bed infested with wild animals?"
"They were helping me pack my things!"
"You can't do that on your own? " Duchess asked. "And is that birdseed on the floor? Apple I'm not going to vacuum I just got here!"
Apple sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I fell asleep early last night, believe me I wanted to stay up! Especially since it was my last night as Raven 's ro ommate." She explained.
But Duchess looked even more displeased than before.
"You're upset because you have to split up with your roommate? I was perfectly fine rooming with Lizzie but thanks to you I don't even get to choose that part of my life either!"
"Eh, she did the same thing to me in second year, you get used to it." Raven shrugged.
Apple did feel bad though, Duchess was now another person who had to deal with Apple's poor choices. Duchess had every right to be mad at her.
"Hey uh, Duchess if you don't like me, that's okay, I know this is a big inconvenience to you but" Apple took a deep breath, as she could feel herself getting close to tears. "I just, I haven't really been myself lately and I know that's no excuse but-"
"Ok whoa, calm down it's not that big a deal." Duchess uncomfortably tried to reassure her. "I mean I'm just a little annoyed I'll get over it, uh." She awkwardly patted Apple's head. "There there?"
Apple laughed and batted away Duchess's hand.
"Thank you, but really I do feel bad for involving you in this."
"Don't mind Duchess, she's just mad that she doesn't get to share a room with Lizzie anymore." Raven laughed. She narrowly dodged a pillow from Duchess.
"Just because my arm's in a sling doesn't mean I can't kick your butt, R aven ! "
"You couldn't beat me with both hands free!"
"Ha! Anything you can do, I can do better!" Duchess boasted.
Despite a (really) rocky start to their relationship, it looked like Raven and Duchess would get along just fine. With one final wave to Raven, she headed out with the birds and squirrels carrying some bags along with her. It felt a bit anti-climatic, but she didn't want to drag it out.
In hindsight, Apple should have asked the staff to help her move instead of relying on birds, because Ginger's room was two floors below her. Now that s he th ought about it, almost every Rebel had a room on a lower floor, was that on purpose?
People in the halls saw her and whispered among each other, refusing to look her in the eye. It certainly didn't take long for word to get around, but she was always told to keep her head high in the face of rumours.
"I can't believe she punched her!" A student whispered. "I think she broke Faybelle's nose, I'm sure of it!"
Each whisper and judgmental glance sent shivers down her spine. Although Apple was often considered the school's golden child, Faybelle had amassed a large group of admirers herself. Student's who took pride in their villainous backgrounds were usually her biggest followers, and she recalled that they often scorned Raven rejecting her mother's legacy, accusing her of acting ashamed of her background (which, to their credit, Raven did come across that way at times). Not only had she destroyed her reputation by getting into a fight, but she struck Faybelle across the face!
"Whoo! Walk of shame!" A goth girl cheered as she passed.
She couldn't believe that most of these students would be in her classes today.
She was going to get eaten alive.
With one final shove, Apple got her last giant bag through the door , but ended up falling face first through the door, causing some of the students to burst out laughing. Embarrassed, Apple immediately slammed the door shut.
Honestly! Couldn't they be just a bit more sympathetic to her! She had just recovered earth shattering news about her heritage! All of her future plans had just gone up in…
Smoke?
The left side of t he room was completely engulfed in grey smoke.
"Fire... THERE'S A FIRE!" Apple shrieked as she ran to open the window.
She frantically fanned out the smoke as fast as she could, but stopped in her tracks as she heard a voice.
"Apple wait!"
It was Ginger's voice, and it was coming from inside the fire! Without hesitating Apple ripped the fire extinguisher off the wall but, as she was unable to make out the source of the fire, she spray ed it aimlessly throughout the entire area, in hopes of putting it out.
"Stop!"
Ginger stepped out of the smoke and was immediately blasted with the extinguisher foam.
" Stop! Apple there's no fire!"
"What?"
Ginger grabbed a nearby rag and wiped the foam off her hands before putting grabbing a tray that was mostly untouched by foam, likely from Ginger shielding it with her body.
"Well, I suppose there was a small fire…" Ginger said sheepishly. "The corner of the parchment paper caught fire, but I already put it out. Most of the smoke came from these!"
Ginger held out a tray of a dozen caramel apples, all perfectly made.
"I got the ingredients last night when I heard you were moving in. I hope you like them!" She said with a smile.
Apple nodded, taking the tray gingerly (no pun intended) to a non foam-covered surface . The smell of apple cinnamon wafted off of the candy, making Apple's mouth water , but as hungry as she was she didn't want to just sit and eat while Ginger cleaned up her mess in the kitchen.
"Thank you, I… I don't know what to say."
Ginger was already cleaning up the fire extinguisher spray, and Apple began helping her. Luckily, Ginger already had the necessary cleaning agents underneath.
"This isn't the first time that this has happened" Ginger hexplained. "Last year I had to get a stone wall put in that part of my room in order to get my mini kitchen approved, and even then false alarms have happened."
They finished and Ginger motioned for apple to sit at the coffee table as she brought plates with the treats.
Apple was so tempted to just take an Apple and start eating but she hesitated. Ginger saw the look on Apple's face and the smile disappeared from her face.
"Oh, I forgot." She trie d to force a sad smile. I understand if you're nervous to eat these, but I promise I'm not trying to poison you."
"No, no. It's not that I promise! It's just… I still feel bad about getting in trouble yesterday. These look very delicious, I just… I just feel like I'm intruding, and here you are being so nice to me!"
Ginger immediately brightened back up at Apple's words.
"It's no trouble for me at all! I just wanted to share some treats with you so we'd have something to do! I'm so bad at small talk, so I let baking do the talking.
Ginger grabbed an apple off of the tray and took a bite, reluctantly Apple did the same , immediately melting with enjoyment. The incredible smell wasn't deceiving, they were delectable!
"You know," Ginger said between bites, " Even though Headmaster Grimm told me that you were in trouble, he never said what for."
"What?" Apple exclaimed with some food in her mouth. She coughed on her meal, barely managing to stop herself from choking.
"Oh sorry… is it a private matter?"
Apple coughed a bit more before regaining her composure.
"No, you really need to know this but… well, I did something really bad."
Ginger looked unfazed.
"Apple this is you we're talking about, and Headmaster Grimm has always had high expectations of you, I'm sure it could have been that bad."
"I punched Faybelle in the fac e. " Apple confessed.
Ginger stared at her, stunned.
"Faybelle." Ginger whispered.
Apple nodded.
"Dark fairy, has a death posse, most powerful fairy in the world. That Faybelle?"
"I don't think I'd call it a death posse, but yes,…and I can explain!"
Ginger sighed, running a hand through her hair.
" Forget the treats, if you punched Faybelle you deserve an entire buffet."
As they went to leave for class they bumped into the students living across the hall from them.
"Dolores! And Odessa too, sorry I didn't see you there!" Ginger greeted them. "Are you off to class as well? I'm surprised you aren't at the castleteria."
Apple knew of Dolores through her destiny, how could she not? The Wizard of Oz was such a beloved story! As for Odessa, she had heard of what went down at thronecoming.
She glanced at Odessa's crutch for a moment before quickly looking away, it was rude to stare after all.
"We would be, but I can't stand all of the racket that's coming from there right now." She muttered, pinching her forehead.
Apple and Ginger looked at them with confusion.
"Racket?"
Dolores pulled out her mirrorpad and pressed play on a saved video.
"Is that… Blondie's Mirrorcast?" Ginger whispered. Odessa shushed her.
"Good morning Ever After High, and welcome to Just Right, the mirror cast that brings you the up-to-date news of everything Ever After High! Today we have epic update for the story on everyo ne ' s mind: Apple and Raven, the royal and rebel leaders switched at birth!"
The camera zoomed out to reveal hordes of students all grouped up with each other, all watching something on their mirrorpads and phones.
"After a weeks of absence follow the results of her DNA test, yesterday Apple White returned to school and was seen getting into a confrontation with Faybelle Thorne in the schoolyard. The incident attracted a large crowd and was subsequently filmed by many of the witnesses."
Apple could only watch in horror as the video of her and Faybelle was pulled on screen.
"As you can see here, the confrontation became physical, as seen here."
The video showed the exact moment that Faybelle was hit.
"Before Faybelle could strike back, they were stopped by Headmaster Grimm and Madame Yaga and most of the filming stopped.
The camera cut to Blondie at the school's entrance standing alongside Faybelle, who's nose was very bruised.
"Ms.Thorne, you admitted on camera that you were the one who leaked the news of t he switch to online sources, is this true?"
Faybelle rolled her eyes.
"Ms. Thorne? What am I some old crone? Just call me by my name. As for your question, yeah I did! What about it? We all deserved to know the truth!"
"An d your injuries? Is it true you have a broken nose?"
"Luckily for that rotten Apple, it's just a bruise, so my gorgeous face won't suffer any disfigurement." Faybelle tossed her hair. "But I was in so much pain! And for what? Because Apple doesn't get to pretend to be Snow White anymore? If anything, I did her a favour! We all saw her in that video, it's clear that she's way more of a villain than Raven ever was."
Apple couldn't believe what she was seeing. Faybelle got an interview but not her? People would only see one side of the story!
"For more perspectives on the incident, here's some responses from the student body. What's your take on what happened?"
Faybelle's fairy friends appeared on screen.
"Royally unfairest!" One squeaked. "Faybelle told us that she got punished for trying to use magic in a fight! Apple hit her first! She should have been hexpelled!"
"Yeah! Faybelle didn't do anything wrong!"
"We're team Faybelle!"
"Totally team Faybelle! *Gasp* O.M.G you guys! We should totally put that on a shirt!"
The camera jumped to the enchanted forest's entrance where Ashlynn was feeding some birds with Hunter.
"While I do believe it was taken too far, I don't think it's fair to say that Faybelle was innocent in this… I mean, Apple was about to walk away but Faybelle kept egging her on. I'm not saying it's right! I'm just saying it wasn't one sided."
Hunter shook his head.
"She's more than just a little bit at fault- I mean, think about what Apple must have been going through, and for Faybelle to just release that information? Maybe it was taken too far but Faybelle deserved some kind of comeuppance for that!"
"Hunter.."
"You guys were there in the General Villainy class! It was brutal-"
Blondie interrupted.
"General Villainy class? Is there some sort of behind the scenes context you'd like to share?"
"Oh crud… um, no comment?"
The next interview was at Sparrow's treehouse, which he and his merry men were using for band practice .
"I t was amazing! First those swan girls and now this? It's like an arena in here! Sparrow exclaimed, strumming on his guitar. "Just wish I could've been there to see it, but Tucker here saw the whole thing!"
Tucker adjusted his hat before turning to the camera.
"I couldn't believe what I was seeing! I mean- the student council president punching the Dark fairy's daughter in the face? Unreal! I just wish they actually got to fight before getting broken up."
Group started laughing.
"Yeah! Battle it out!"
The interviews continued around school with most students taking a side.
"I would have punched her too!" Cerise growled .
"It's not really fair est that Faybelle can't use magic in self defence." Mumbled Poppy.
"How has Faybelle not gotten hexpelled yet? This isn't exactly her first offence. I still haven't forgotten that time she got me trapped in a magic mirror!" Harrumphed Daring.
"All I'm saying is… there's no way I would have been able to get away with just switching rooms." Said Ramona.
The final interview was with Briar. Apple's best friend since forever after.
"Briar what do you-"
"Save it." Briar snapped, walking away.
Blondie stood there shocked before chasing after her.
"Briar wait! You really have nothing to say?"
"Apple is my friend! And your friend too! If we want to know what's going on we should ask her! Not interview random students and pick sides for some shallow tabloid!"
Blondie looked hurt, but she just sighed and turned to face the camera.
"Well… there you have it. For more Ever After tune in to next report: Wonderland Haberdashery & Tea Shoppe, new renovations just right, or totally mad? This is Blondie Lockes signing off."
Dolores turned off the tablet and put it back in her bag.
"I remembered that being… less harsh when I watched it the first time." She said guiltily.
Apple was frozen with fear, people were rallying for and against her? Again? What was it about her that made people so divided?
She tried to run back to her room but Ginger stopped her.
"Apple you've already been absent for the last week and a half, if you don't go now the rumours will only get worse!"
"But… there's going to be people who hate me waiting for me to come down!"
"Yeah, l being swarmed right now wouldn't make me feel any better either." Dolores said. "Unless…"
"No" Odessa cut her off.
"But Dessa I didn't even say anything!"
"You're thinking it! And the answer is no! That's for me and me only, I don't want the whole school to know!"
Dolores pouted.
"That won't work."
"Please?"
"No."
"Pleeease?"
"No! The answer is no! Stop giving me that ridiculous look! I want to have that spot for myself! I told you about it with the condition that you wouldn't spill!"
"You can have one piece of jewelry from the Emerald City."
…
Dolores pushed open the door to the floors common room, It had some old computers and coffee tables for studying as well as some dusty bookshelves that sat next to a golden bust of Mother Goose. The wall behind it looked tattered and scratched, it looked like it hadn't been renovated in some time.
Apple looked around the room confused, she glanced at Ginger who only shrugged in response.
"I had to dust in here as part of my punishment for my fight with Duchess." Odessa said making her way to the bust.
Without warning she took the head of mother goose and snapped its neck to the side.
Apple gasped at the violent maneuver, but to her surprise the tatter wall rumbled and opened to reveal a hidden fire escape.
"There's another official fire escape that will appear if there's ever an emergency, so I figured there's no harm in using this as a shortcut." Odessa explained. "But with my crutches I couldn't get down on my own so I asked Dolores for help. Just so we're clear- this is a one-time thing, so don't come looking for this again! Got it? "
The tr i o nodded.
"All right then, let's go, I don't want to be late."
They made their way to the stairs and began their descent.
"So how did you become friends with Odessa anyway?" Apple asked , carefully adjusting her grip so she wouldn't fall .
" A lot of people were too nervous to room with her because of the red diamond's ability." Dolores pointed to Odessa's necklace, which was tucked under her shirt to prevent it from activating . "It's kinda of scary to room with someone who can magically see who you have a crush on, but I don't really have that problem as of now so I figured, why not y'know?"
Ginger held Odessa's crutches as they got closer to the bottom.
"Anyways, it turns out Odessa's super into gemstones, and since I have so much experience in that's area with my occasional trips to the Emerald City it just kinda… worked out I guess."
They made it to the bottom, which was shielded from view by the low hanging ivy. Odessa kicked the bottom ladder with her non-broken leg and they watched as the ladder slowed travelled back up the wall.
"Okay, we're all set." Dolores said as she and Odessa walked to t he i r next class es.
" And remember!" Odessa called back, "This was-"
" A one time thing!" Ginger interrupted.
"Thank you for letting us use it, we won't tell anyone." Apple smiled.
"Good, I'm holding you to that, no snitching!"
They turned the corner and left and Apple and Ginger were alone again.
"We have 15 minutes before nine, so we should be there on time without having to rush, you ready?" Ginger asked.
Apple took a deep breath and perked up.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's do this."
The potions class was further away than Apple thought, but they made it with a minute to spare. They found seats near each other and waited patiently for the professor to arrive. Apple tried hard to look natural but she was so nervous after seeing Blondie's mirror cast that she couldn't find it in herself to relax.
After a minute or two of waiting, Madam Yaga came into the room on her magic pillow.
"Students." She began, "I have some urgent business to take care of outside of school at the moment that can't wait. So for the time being, I'm bringing in someone to substitute for today."
Seeing Apple's strained expression, Ginger scooted her seat towards her.
"Apple, listen. I know the students here can feel intimidating but you just need to show that you're unbothered by everything, and stand up for yourself once in a while. Before you know it, you'll fit right in!"
Apple bit her lip.
" I mean, look at me!" Ginger continued, gesturing at her bright pink and yellow outfit. "I stuck out like a sore thumb, still do, but eventually people just learned to deal with it."
She gave Apple a reassuring smile and Apple felt somewhat better.
" Listen, we might not have every class together, but here I'll stick by your side., promise." Ginger assured her.
" And so," Madame Yaga continued, " Todays lesson will be taught by professor Rumpelstiltskin."
Ginger stood up.
"I have to leave."
"WHAT?"
"Ms. Breadhouse sit down!" Baba Yaga commanded.
Ginger ignored her and stared fiercely at the exit .
"Apple do you think I could make it now if I ran?"
"What happened to "I'll stick by your side?" Apple asked.
Without answering Ginger made a mad dash to the exit before Madame Yaga caught her with levitation magic and dropped her back in her seat,
"That was a terrible escape plan Ms. Breadhouse! You should have waited until I left before running. Honestly, children these days don't know how to skip class!"
Ginger hung her head in defeat.
"Ginger what is going on? I know Rumpelstiltskin isn't the best teacher but you've been taught by him before." Apple asked.
" It 's not about his teaching ability."
"Then what is it?"
"I have arrived!" Professor Rumpelstiltskin announced, as he marched his way into the room."
"You're in a very… good mood professor."
"Thank you for noticing Apple White." He said with a toothy grin. "I would not miss the opportunity to teach my future daughter-in-law!"
Future what? She looked over at Ginger, who had her head hurried in her hands in embarrassment.
No way.
There was no way.
"He's dating your mom?" she asked.
"Yes." Ginger answered.
" But, he's so old! How did he even meet your mom?" She gasped. "Does that mean he…?"
"My mom didn't go to school here."
Oh thank fairy godmother.
Professor Rumpelstiltskin started pacing around the room.
"Today I shall teach you all about potions. Some for you to drink, some you make for enemy to drink. Today you make the first kind."
They each got their own mini cauldron.
"Measure exactly! No mistakes! Mistakes make explosions, mistakes make poisons, mistakes mean very expensive mess for me to clean! Measure exactly!"
He handed them each a sheet with step by step instructions on two different types of potion.
"Listen carefully! I will only say this once, ONCE! You can make potion to change your hair colour or you can change your eye colour. Do NOT mix up! Mix up means DETENTION! Choose ONE to make and either take it or give to other student, if it succeeds you get A, if not… fairy fail!"
He made is way over to a door and unlocked it to reveal a walk-in pantry of ingredients for them to use.
" Now go fetch what you need, if there's no more of what you want left, too bad! You will pick another recipe and start again. Now GO!"
The kids quickly rushed into the pantry, pushing and shoving one another out of the way to get what they want. S apple was surprised that this kind of competitiveness was allowed-and even more surprised that Ginger was joining in. The pink haired witch ran down to the back of the pantry and using her mini cauldron as a basket, swiftly threw everything she need inside before scurrying back to the front where most of the students were still fighting over ingredients.
" Let go!"
"Stop hogging all the rose petals!"
"Here! Here! I'll grab yours for you!
"Hey! Let go! I haven't grabbed any yet!"
Three similar looking witches wrestled ingredients from a girl dressed in a silky red waistcoat with a missing arm. Surprisingly, she was holding her own.
"If the three of you can take this from me you don't deserve it it the first place!" She shouted.
Ginger reached in and grabbed a small handful of the powder-like substance that they were fighting over.
"Hey!" They all protested.
But she had already left and was back at her seat. It was then that Apple realized that she was still empty-handed. She needed to start grabbing stuff now .
Apple joined the large group of fighting students and tried to get everything on the recipe to change her eye colour, since it required less supplies. But the three girls with the same idea took most of the ingredients first. It wasn't until she less done that she realized she had misread a vital step.
"This says citrus not cactus!"
But all the remaining citrus head already gone. Apple wanted to pull her hair out. Of all of the stupid things to do, she don't bring her glasses to a class that requires reading! What would she do now? It'd she put everything back and started looking again she wouldn't have time to finish.
Defeated, she made her way back to her seat, maybe Ginger knew a substitute for citrus? But Professor Rumpelstiltskin said to follow the recipe exactly.
She slumped in her seat.
"How do you do this stuff for fun?" She asked Ginger, who was hard at work making her potion.
"You just relax, make sure you measure everything carefully . It's tempting to rush and get things done as fast as possible but if you make a mistake you'll spend more time fixing it than if you had just taken your time."
"I wish I knew that before I messed it up."
She handed Ginger her checklist.
"I have everything but Citrus because I thought it said cactus, I mean how did I not realize that nobody else grabbed some?"
Ginger chuckled.
"Like this?"
She held up a half empty vial of lemon juice and handed it to Apple.
"I thought I'd grab some extra stuff since it's you r fi rst day, but I don't think I'll be able to do that again. I mean I could, but if I just gave you everything the other students probably won't like it."
Apple wrapped Ginger up in a tight hug.
"Woah you are a tight hugger!" Ginger laughed, "You're welcome, but you should hurry so you have time to clean up before your next class."
Apple quickly got to work, though she wasn't very confident in her abilities-cooking was probably the class she did the worst in. Was this like cooking or was it more like Chemythstry? Probably a bit of both. She took another look at the recipe, keeping in mind Ginger's advice from earlier.
Eye colour transfiguration potion:
•For blue eyes
•For brown eyes
•For green eyes
•For grey eyes
•For hazel eyes
•For purple eyes
•For red eyes
•For Yellow eyes
•For heterochromia (advanced)
All of the ingredients were the same for each colour, but the amounts and method of mixing them differed.
Red eyes sounded scary, heterochromia was probably too difficult for a beginner, she obviously didn't need blue eyes, and she wanted a natural colour, so maybe not purple.
She decided to choose brown eyes. It would probably be the one with the most noticeable difference, plus she was curious.
Fill mini cauldron with pure water and heat to a medium boil. Crush two garlic cloves with your mortar until reduced to a fine powder. Add in 1/2 half rose petal and combine until powder is a very light red. In a separate bowl crush the griffon eggshell with the hazelnut until there is only minimal clumping. Then add 3/4 tablespoons of citrus juice (use lemon for best results) until the juice is absorbed.
So it was like cooking! She would have to start bringing her glasses to class. She finished making the two powders and continued reading.
Take the citrus and eggshell mixture and slowly scrape it into your cauldron and stir for two minutes before mixing in your red powder mixture.
Once that was done the cauldron turned a very dusty red. Wasn't it supposed to be brown? She hoped she hadn't messed up somehow.
Mix counter-clockwise for 15 minutes. Let it cool for an addition two minutes and enjoy your life of deception and trickery!
That last part felt unnecessary, but nevertheless she followed the recipe to the letter.
"That looks royally good! Especially for a beginner!" Ginger
Professor Rumpelstiltskin made his way over to the girls and glanced at their work.
"Ginger! I see you have already finish stirring and are waiting for the potion to cool, very good! I hexpected nothing less from my future daughter-in-law!"
"You and my mom aren't engaged." Ginger said through gritted teeth.
"Haha! Not yet, but soon!"
He made his way over to look at Apple's cauldron.
"Hmmm, suppose it is acceptable… for a beginner. Is it true you were the last one to finish gathering ingredients?
She nodded. "Everyone was fighting over the ingredients and I didn't really have the chance to grab any . "
"BAH!" he cried "Didn't have the chance? This is a class for VILLAINS! Nothing is handed to you here! In the wild does the bee just give you honey? Does the deadly flower give you its petals? NO! You must learn to TAKE!"
The professor began to laugh maniacally.
Apple didn't agree with any of what the professor was saying, but she was too tired from stirring the pot to argue. She just nodded and continue d he r work.
After the potions were all done cooling the students lined up to take them.
The one handed girl went first and changed her eyes from brown to a heterochromic red and yellow.
"Hmm advanced… A-! Yellow is too greenish!"
The three witches from before all went together. They claimed that they would be turning their hair to match their outfits but ended up taking the wrong ones.
"Double-Double! That was my potion!"
"Don't look at me! You were th e o ne that mixed it up Toil!"
"Don't look at me! Trouble's the one that handed them out! "
"Enough! You all get a D! NEXT!"
I the rest of the students went, with varying degrees of success. Ginger got the highest mark, as black hair was apparently the hardest to get right. Apple had to admit it was a good look for her.
"Ms.White? You're turn!" Professor Rumpelstiltskin called.
With a nervous breath, she downed the potion. It tasted surprisingly not terrible.
"Did it work?" She asked.
"Hmm, it is… good. Next time do something harder! B!"
The bell rang and the students hurried out of class. It was only After she was almost at her next class that she realized she hadn't looked in the mirror to see her new eyes.
He r other classes were a lot to get use to. S he al ready took poison fruit theory as an elective to better understand her story, but the others required skills in magic that she just didn't have. What was the headmaster thinking assigning her to all these classes?
She looked at her schedule again, even though she already knew what it said. Her last General Villainy class was such a disaster, what if this time it somehow got worse?
But before she could reach the room she was intercepted by headmaster Grimm.
"Good afternoon Ms. White! I trust your first day has been going well?"
"It was fine, sir." She replied, trying to keep her voice calm.
"I've heard that you've gotten to all of your classes on time despite… distractions. I'm glad to hear it. Maybe this will allow you to piece together some of your damaged reputation. You are student council co-president after all."
Apple grimaced. She always liked the headmaster's traditional values but the way he would talk to her lately was starting to bother her. It was like every word was an insult in disguise.
"Thank you, Headmaster , I'll keep that in mind."She answered politely. "I'll just head down to class now if you don't mind-"
"I'm not done with you just yet."
He stepped in front of her.
"I have an appointment set up for you and it cannot wait, now come along ."
He motioned for her to follow him but she didn't budge.
"Headmaster, please, I really need to go to my next class. I s this really so important that it can't wait one period?"
"I assure you, Miss White, it is. Now come along."
She sighed. She had already miss ed s o much class alongside her student council duties. What if she fell behind?
But the headmaster had already made up his mind, so Apple followed him.
"You can't be serious!"
The headmaster pinched the bridge of his nose .
"I am very serious, Ms. White. You will be inheriting her kingdom, and you need to be prepared ."
"Right now?"
She watched him pull out a piece of paper and look it over.
"It says here that you have already passed a General Villainy class before. I see no reason why you need to take another now. After all, what Villainy training could beat a one on one class with the Evil Queen herself?"
" Is this a punishment for what happened yesterday?" She asked bluntly.
"I believe the proper term is 'educational opportunity'... but no. I want you to do this during school hours rather than on your own time, I want to be here in case the worst happens."
Apple wasn't entirely convinced, but our the Headmaster was that insistent…
"And Miss White? Stay away from the glass."
The room where the magic mirror was kept had revived a major upgrade. There was a metal bar preventing anyone from getting too close, a small table with an emergency booking class, and some candles surrounded by black peonies .
The last part didn't have anything to do with security but they were a very nice decoration.
"I was wondering when you were going to show up. I'm not getting any younger you know."
Apple nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of that all-to familiar voice.
"Well? Aren't you going to say anything? You know i t's rude to stare !" The Evil Queen said as she appeared in the mirror. "Didn't your mother teach you any manners? … Oh right."
"What do you want?" Apple said.
"Oh, I think you already know that." She smiled. "I wanted to see how my future heir is doing!"
Apple wouldn't make eye contact with her.
"Oh please, you're already here on the headmaster's demand, though why you follow that old fools command is beyond me ! "
" Headmaster Grimm isn't a fool, he's just… a bit strict is all."
"So strict he didn't even notice you changed your eye colour?"
She disappeared momentarily from the mirror to give Apple a good look. Her eyes were still brown from the effects of the potion, it really did look different.
"I think it looks wonderful," The Evil Queen said, reappearing. "Really does away with that 'sweet and innocent' look."
"I don't like it," Apple replied.
"Why would you care about something so trivial? "
"Didn't you try to kill someone over their beauty?"
"You're mistaking my values with my story my dear, but I'll admit there are perks that come from being 'fairest of them all' even temporarily. It's such a shame that I can't see my own reflection."
Apple was silent.
"Anyways, I hear you got yourself into a fight? That's wonderful! Really put those who defy you in their place!" You even have many loyal followers on your side who defended you, I'm impressed!"
"What was your real reason for bringing me here?" Apple finally said . " I know it wasn't just a checkup."
"Oh, I don't think I will ever stop checking up on you. You may have been raised by Snow , but I am still your mother , and you're my future Queen! I can't just hand that over to anyone now can I?" She grinned. "As for your question, yes this is a checkup! From now on, I want you to come to my mirror room and bring me one spell or potion from class for me to review, if you have none, just telling me of an Evil deed you did will suffice and I will give you my feedback."
"But I-"
"Wonderful! Glad you agree. Now, I've got to catch up on my beauty sleep." She said, disappearing from the mirror again.
"-Can't do spells. Ugh!"
She left in a huff.
"Long day?" Ginger asked.
Apple face planted onto her new bed and yelled into her pillow.
Ginger sat down on her bed next to Apple.
"So many classes in Evil are about casting spells, I can't do because I have no magic! Then the Evil Queen shows up and says I need to bring her a potion, spell or bad deed for her to grade. "
" Hey, for what it's worth you did a really good job on the potion today!"
Apple sat up.
"Thanks." She said timidly.
S he th ought for a moment before speaking again.
"Do you think you could at look at my work tomorrow before I bring it to the Evil Queen? I want to make sure I bring her something good. I might now be convinced about following in her footsteps when it comes to the fairy tale, but I still have to take over her kingdom."
"I can try, but I think she wants to see what you can do on your own first."
" You're probably right." She yawned. The day had left her exhausted.
The two of them said goodnight to each other before falling asleep.
Apple woke up in middle of the night to the sound of movement coming from Ginger's bed. Thinking nothing of it, she was about to go back to sleep when she heard the sound of her the forms door closing.
"What the…?"
Despite the door closing, she could see that Ginger was still under the covers. Godmother, had their been a break in?
Trembling, she crept over to Ginger's bed to shake her awake.
"Ginger… Ginger! Wake up I think someone was in our… huh?"
What she thought had been Ginger under the covers had actually been a bunch of strategically placed pillows. Now she was even more confused .
She went to take a peek out of the window and sure enough, Ginger had left the school and wandered into the forest.
Students weren't allowed to leave school grounds this late, so where could she be going?
Not knowing what else to do Apple went back to bed.
I wonder if she does this every night. She thought as she fell asleep.
Sure enough, days passed and every night Ginger would wait for Apple to fall asleep, then put pillows under her bed to make it look like she was still there and then left for the woods.
What should she do? The most obvious choice of action was to just ask her what was going on, but Ginger was going out of her way to hide it from her. If she told a teacher,Ginger would get in trouble for sneaking out. She could ask her friends, but most of them didn't know Ginger well enough to answer.
She was still ruminating on what to do as she entered the Evil Queen's mirror room. Then, an idea popped into her head.
No, I shouldn't, but then again it's just advice, I don't have to take it. Besides, who is she going to tell? It's not like most people would believe her.
"Follow her."
Well, that's probably the kind of advice she should have hexpected. She turned to leave.
"Is that really how you want to treat your own mother?"
Apple stopped in her tracks and whipped her head around.
"We might be related but you are not my mother!"
" If that's so then why did you come to seek my motherly advice?"
"I came to you as a last resort! Besides, I would hardly call encouraging me to stalk my friend advice!"
The Evil Queen scoffed.
"Well I don't know what you wanted me to say. You don't want to talk to her, you don't want to tell anyone and by the looks of it you don't want to leave it alone. So what does that leave?"
Apple opened her mouth to retaliate, but she couldn't think of anything to say.
"It leaves me with no options but to follow her." She said, defeated.
"Exactly! Now , you won't be able to do this without a disguise, you already have the hair dyeing potion you presented to me with you, so don't forget to take it."
She clapped her hands together.
"Oooh, this is going to be such fun!"
As soon as night fell, Apple waited for Ginger to leave and put her plan into action.
She looked in the mirror and drank the potion. Slowly but surely, her hair faded from a sunshine blonde to a dark grey. Not exactly the black hair she had been hoping for, but it would suffice.
She put on a night cloak and followed Ginger from a distance. To her surprise, she saw Ginger using Odessa's secret exit. She' d have to make sure Odessa never found out.
But instead of climbing down the ladder normally, Ginger took out a broom and started flying.
Apple stood there mouth agape. She could do that this whole time? Why didn't she use this ability regularly?
No! She needed to focus! This presented a new problem. At the speed she was going, Apple wouldn't catch up with her on time. At least, not without help.
Clearing her throat, she sung a small tune which alerted a nearby bird.
"Hello friend!" She smiled. "I need a bit of help. You see, I need to follow my friend, she's a witch with pink hair on a flying broomstick. Could you t use your wings to find her and lead me the way? I'll make sure to pay you in lots of birdseed!"
The bird, happy to oblige, nodded its head and took off after Ginger. Moments passed and it eventually made its way back to Apple and motioned for her to follow.
"Thanks!" She gave him a little pat before t he two took off.
The path the bird took seemed to be heading in the right direction, unfortunately the "right direction" led right into the dark forest. She seriously considered turning back, but then what about Ginger? Why was she here? What if she was in danger? Or being blackmailed? Surly it must be serious if she was going out of her way to hide it.
With a sigh, she pushed herself forward. The trees grew thicker and darker until they were completely enveloped in shadows.
"This isn't good…" She whispered to herself.
Luckily, she had the foresight to pack a lantern, but it still didn't do much. The little bird twittered with concern.
"It'll be ok," she assured him. "If anything goes wrong I can call for some animal friends to help."
She felt a bit guilty for always using them, but in this scenario she didn't have any other choice.
Sad she pressed forwards she heard the sound of nearby hooves. Was someone riding a horse through the forest?
Scared of being caught, Apple hid behind a nearby bush as the horse trotted past. It was too dark to make out the face, although they stranger was wearing a mask anyways. Apple tried to get a better look at the masked stranger but as she leaned forward she accidentally shook the bush. A loud rustling noise startled the horse, causing it to stop abruptly.
"Who's there?" A woman's voice called out as she quickly dismounted.
Apple tidied to escape without being noticed but it was too late.
"Wait!" She cried. Doing her best to disguise her voice. "I don't mean you any harm I just, needed to go meet my friend."
The woman gave her a suspicious look.
"What are you doing in the dark forest this late?"
"What are you doing in the dark forest?."
The woman looked her up and down before shaking her head.
" It's none of my business anyways… don't tell anyone I was here."
"I'll have to ask you the same thing." Apple replied.
The woman remounted and looked back at Apple.
"Be safe… whoever you are. "
She trodded off.
Apple looked back at her. Just how many strange people came here at night? This school really needed Better security.
Her feet were getting tired from all the walking, luckily her destination wasn't much farther away. She saw a light emanating from the distance.
"This is the place?" She asked .
The bird nodded.
She went to get closer before noticing something reflect in g the light of her lantern .
Some sort of… jewel?
She approached cautiously and picked it up. The small periwinkle gemstone was a park of an amulet that was laying o n the groun d. It was so beautiful…why would anyone throw this away?
Curiously, she tried it on and examined it. As she moved her finger along the the side, it hit a small spike that was sticking out of the side.
"Ow! Curses! Who would design something like this?"
As the blood from her finger dropped on to the amulet, it began to glow a brilliant light, practically illuminating that part of the forest. She was so mesmerized that she didn't even notice the large crowd approaching her. Not until it was too late.
"Thief! Stop right there, we have you surrounded! "