"Headmaster Aesop?"
Aesop looked up, jumping from his chair to hurry around the desk when he saw who had arrived in his office, "Alpha, Clawdeen and Prince Duncan," he hastily bowed, "To what do I owe the pleasure of such a visit?"
"You wrote Headmistress Bloodgood about needing help, she sent us," Clawdeen explained as she and Duncan sat, "I understand a werewolf attacked a fellow student?"
"It didn't get that far but he did scare her, I have sadly overestimated my school's abilites-"
"Do you think we can talk to either of them? I want to understand what happened," Clawdeen gently interrupted.
"Of course"
Only a few minutes later there was a soft knock at the door.
"Christina?" Duncan and Clawdeen gasped in unison.
"You know one another?"
"Hello," she wouldn't meet their gazes, her voice scantly a whisper, "You wanted to see me, Headmaster?" Her hands were trembling even hidden in her wolf's fur.
"Yes, You aren't in any trouble don't worry," Aesop recovered himself, waving Christina farther into the office to sit in the only vacant chair left, "I was hoping you could tell us what happened in the greenhouse last week?"
"Oh..." Christina settled into the chair, eyes downcast, "Um, I was trying to clean the greenhouse up and he..." she began to shake.
"It's okay, Christina," Clawdeen assured, lightly touching her arm, "Take your time"
"He burst in and kept asking what I was doing to him? I d-d-d-didin't d-d-do anything Jade and the others ju-jumped him and-and he-he hurt..."
"It's okay, we understand"
"Can I go?" tears were welling in her eyes.
"Yes, you're excused, Mary," Aesop called to the young maid cleaning just outside the office, "Will you walk Princess Christina back to her dorm and get her some hot tea please?"
"Of course, sir," Mary curtsied, copper curls wiggling under her cap, "Come with me, Your Highness"
Once, Christina was out of the office, safely in her dorm Aesop called for the other student. The snarling werewolf was escorted by no less than five teachers to keep him from fleeing.
with a growl, Shaggy sat in the chair offered, crossing his arms over his chest, "Like, what do you want now?"
He'd been kept in his dorm since the incident like a caged animal.
"Will you please tell us what happened in the greenhouse?"
"Christina was tormenting me, I wanted to know why"
"Tormenting you?" Clawdeen raised a skeptical eyebrow, "How?"
"She's like, trying to kill me!" Shaggy yelled.
"How?"
"WHO CARES ABOUT HOW?" Shaggy stood from the chair, overcome with rage again, "JUST GET RID OF HER! THE DARK, EVI..."
"Sit Down,"
Shaggy cowed doing so, much to his surprise.
"Now, tell me exactly how you think Christina's trying to kill you?"
...
Back in her dorm, Christina gulped down the last of her tea, watching the cup disappear from her hands as she stood from her chair. Stepping out of her shoes, she stumbled over to the bed, ripping the tiara from her head with a muffled groan, sending it back to its box on the vanity table.
"Christina-"
"No"
"You don't even know what I was going to say," Jade hopped onto the bed.
"I'm not okay and I don't want to talk about it"
"Okay, maybe you did," Jade pushed her head under Christina's arm, "It's okay, I'll be right here when you're ready to"
"That's not going to happen"
"Yet, it's not going to happen, yet"
Christina groaned, eyes closing she let sleep steal her away.
...
"So what is the best course of action?" Aesop wrung his hands after Shaggy was taken back to his dorm, "Can he be helped?"
"Yes, I think so," Clawdeen assured, "Given the situation I think it would be best if Duncan and I stuck around for a while, to observe and help"
"I'll get your schedules set up right away"
"I'll fly back and inform the headmistress," Duncan stood, extending his wings, "If you'll excuse me"
"I'm afraid I only have a few empty dorms left," Aesop sheepishly realized, "Certanily none that fit your station-"
"I'll be just fine whereever you place me but if I could make a request?"
"Of course"
"Is there a dorm near Christina? I've worried about her"
"You're in luck," the headmaster pulled the dorm assignments from his desk, "There's one three doors away, there's also an empty room beside Prince Shaggy's if you think Duncan would like that"
"That works out perfectly, thank you"
...
The sun was setting, casting her room in shadow when there was a knock at the door. Rubbing furiously at her red-rimmed eyes Christina dragged herself from the bed, tripping over Thunder as she headed to the door.
"Yes?" she whispered opening just a sliver, enough to see Clawdeen.
"Hi, Christina, may I come in?"
No.
But, having good manners drilled into her she opened the door, motioning the werewolf inside.
"How are you? I haven't seen you since-"
"The funeral service," Christina sat in her desk chair, "I'm...fine"
That was a complete lie but, Clawdeen didn't need to know the truth. She didn't need to know about the nightmares, the sleepless nights, and the endless, colorless, grief that consumed waking hours. Didn't need to know that Christina had thrown herself into her schoolwork, studying laws, fae tradition, trade, magic and potions, numbers, and maps until it felt like her brain would burst. Didn't need to know that she could effortlessly speak and translate five fae languages on top of, French, Latin, and Greek. No, none of that was relevant. None of it. Because it had all been a distraction, a means to forget, even for just a little while about the permanent mess her life was in.
"Your room is nice"
"Thank you"
"How do you like the school so far, er, not considering the incident?"
"It's fine, quiet"
"Duncan and I are going to stay a while, come find us if you want to fang out," Clawdeen stood with a weak smile, no doubt sensing how badly Christina wanted to be left alone.
"I will"
She wouldn't.
"Why did you chase her off?" Thunder asked.
"Enough, Thunder"
"Christina-"
"I said enough!"
Thunder hunkered down. Christina pulled the cord by the door, requesting dinner as she had for the last few days. Shaking with more emotions than she could place she ate the potato soup and buttered bread she was brought, eager for the day to be over.
...
Clawdeen looked around her new dorm room a few hours later. Her clothing had been delivered and now hung neatly within the wardrobe, her sewing supplies stored in the wooden trunk at the foot of the large, soft bed. Overhead a delicate chandelier glowed with candlelight. otherwise, the room was plain, not yet customized to her.
"Clawdeen?"
"Come in, Duncan"
Duncan stepped quietly into the room, shutting the door behind him as he looked around, "My room looks the same, I wish it was closer to you"
Clawdeen smiled, patting the spot beside her on the bed. Duncan happily took the invitation, smiling when Clawdeen snuggled into him, "I took this one because Christina's room is at the end of the hall and you know how worried Draculaura has been"
"Three years is a long time to go without seeing each other, did you get your schedule?"
"On the desk right there, it's the same as yours so we can shadow them together"
"Tomrrow ought to be interesting"
...
"Come on, Raggy," Scooby shoved his best friend toward the door with all his might, "Rime for breakfast"
"She'll be there," Shaggy growled defiantly.
"Rome ON!" Finally, Scooby shoved Shaggy through the door and into the hall, the other students scattering like scared mice at the sight of them, all except Duncan.
"Good, Morning" he greeted before heading down the hall.
But, it WASN'T a good morning. Tired and irritable from fitful Ivy filled sleep, Shaggy growled, the sound rumbling up from his chest, eyes narrowing as he thought. What if? What if Christina was working with Ivy? One to torture him at night and another during the day. Intent on killing him if he didn't accept the marriage demand. Without realizing it, he had found his way to the breakfast hall, slamming into his seat while Scooby retrieved breakfast for them both. Yes, yes, it made perfect sense. The two princesses were cut from the same evil cloth. Why wouldn't they work together? Even now, he could feel that forceful tugging in his chest.
Christina sat in the same shadowed corner, nibbling on a pastry a half-empty glass of milk beside her. She looked, for all the world, perfectly innocent, even sad, her trio of beasts surrounding her as she ate. Perfectly deceptive as all fae were.
"Don't even think about it!"
Startled, Shaggy watched Clawdeen sit on one side of him and Duncan on the other, obscuring his view of Christina.
Great, bodyguards! More like beast tamers, there to put him on a leash like a common animal!
"Leave me alone!"
"Sorry," Duncan shrugged with a stupidly charming half-smile, "Can't do that"
THIS WAS TORTURE! Why couldn't anyone else see that?
See that it was all Christina's fault.
...
He's watching me again! Christina thought, breath quickening as she shrunk in farther, trying her best to be as small as she possibly could. She didn't want to draw attention. She didn't want him to come after her again. His snarling face had already seared itself into her nightmares, turning them red with blood, soaking her as she mourned not only her parents but her beautiful pets as well until she woke screaming for her life.
"It's okay, Christina, it's okay," Thunder pressed his front paws into her chest, using gentle pressure to ground her in reality before she could lose herself to a flashback, "Just take a deep breath"
"Come on," Jade nudged her, "Lets walk to class, we can find a nice desk next to the back window"
On jelly limbs, Christina stood, using her wolves to keep herself upright. Numbly, she hurried from the hall, ducking her head to avoid the curious looks of the other students. Naturally, as gossip does, it hadn't taken long for the other students to learn of the incident, speculating what had happened and spinning rumors each more outlandish than the last.
She had been the one to curse him.
He was her servant gone rogue.
No, he was a familiar gone wild.
They'd been a couple and she broke up with him when he was cursed.
He had dumped her and she cursed him as revenge.
There were many, many, MANY more speculations but Christina shut them all out. She stayed as far in the shadows as she could where no one could bother her. She had already drafted a letter to her grandmother, begging to come home but couldn't bring herself to send it yet so it remained, carefully written on the very first page of her diary, waiting. Soon, she would send it soon. As soon as the dark dragon hatched. It was any day now, the egg would rock back and forth, shivering at her touch, signs that the babe was waking but not yet strong enough to break from the shell.
"Hi, Christy"
Startled from her thoughts, Christina saw that Clawdeen had taken the desk beside her. Fashionably dressed in deep shades of purple and orange, crescent moons hidden throughout her gown, her hair done in waves that shined in the sunlight.
"Hello," she whispered in response, suddenly conscious of how plain and out of place she must have looked next to the beauty. While Clawdeen wore a fashionable gown Christina's was a plain black cotton with sleeves down to her wrists, her hair tied in a bun behind her tiara.
"How's your morning going?"
"Okay"
"You sure?" Lowering her voice to a whisper she added, "I can tell you've been crying, What's the matter?"
"Nothing, Clawdeen, I'm okay"
If one could call waking in sobs every single morning for three years straight okay. Clawdeen opened her mouth to say something then thought better of it, changing the subject instead.
"What class do you like best?"
Christina shrugged. She didn't find joy in learning any longer, "I don't have a favorite"
Slowly, the rest of the class filed in. Even though Clawdeen was watching her, trying to engage in conversation, Christina shrunk in as he passed, his dog and Duncan behind him.
"It's okay," Clawdeen touched her arm lightly, "Duncan and I won't let anything happen to you"
"We'll always be here, Butterfly, right here, I promise"
"I love you, My Little shadow, I von't let anything happen to you"
"Excuse me," Christina stood hurriedly, "I don't feel well, I'm sorry"
A sob forced its way from her heart before she could leave the classroom, slamming the door behind her, almost on the wolves.
...
Ivy's summoned her, Shaggy decided bitterly. At least, that's what he was going to believe as he staunchly ignored the feeling of a rock settling in his gut. Oh, he could just picture it, the two laughing wickedly together in their colorless clothing as they plotted his demise. Why else would the reclusive princess suddenly decide she wanted to attend school with other students? What had Ivy promised her to get Christina to descend the mountain, casting her darkness wherever she stepped instead of keeping it to herself like a dragon hoarding gold.
If he could just ditch the bodyguards he did not ask for he could corner her again. Demand she stop. Demand she leave. Everyone would be better off if she did. Especially him. But, he was unsuccessful in all his attempts. Every time he tried he was quickly found. Every time he got angry, every time the red hot all consuming firey rage consumed him Clawdeen used her strange power to still him, make him quiet, and do his schoolwork. It was maddening. When at last the end of day chimes sounded he broke into a run, sprinting as fast as he could away from the duo to rip open Christina's door.
Instead of finding her conspiring with Ivy Christina was sobbing into her pillows. The sound was soul-shattering, enough to make him stop with confusion. Was this simply another act? Another ploy? Something to garner pity?
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Clawdeen thundered, yanking Shaggy away from the door with a strength she shouldn't have been capable of.
"Don't you see?" he decided to double down with a snarl, "Like, it's an act, she's conspiring with the witch who cursed me"
"YOU MORON!" Clawdeen smacked him, "CHRISTINA'S GRIEVING!" She hauled him to an empty room slamming the door, "Her parents were slain right in front of her on her BIRTHDAY! That crown she wears? It was the last gift she received from them. That's why she wears all black. That's why she's a recluse and you just have to traumatize her all over again! All because her grieving gowns look like witch attire? Because she's Maleficent's granddaughter? Because she's dark fae?"
"She's trying to kill me!"
"How?"
"SHE'S TRYING TO RIP MY HEART OUT!"
Clawdeen stepped back, gasping with shock, "You IMPRINTED on her!"