Finally! Sorry this took so long, but hey, life gets in the way. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter.

Hope you all enjoy!

Therapy wasn't an easy process that had straightforward ups and downs. People could talk on and on about their problems whether it was talking to their therapist or someone they trusted or clam up and not mention anything for weeks on end. Carmine figured that whatever went on with the Ed's would end up involving an exceedingly long time in the process, especially if some of them kept stalling.

She was mostly talking about Eddy. As it turns out, he was a difficult patient.

She really shouldn't have been surprised.

"I really don't see the point in talking about the Kankers one bit, Sockhead. Haven't heard from them since we sent them to juvie." Eddy looked over his nails, having never looked directly at Carmine the entire time. At least he showed up. "If anything, we should celebrate that! I vote on getting some jawbreakers for our sake."

"We can celebrate later, but that doesn't exactly erase the fact they might've had a significant impact as well." Double D did want to get back onto their homelives, but then the Kankers were brought up by Ed, and it just got to this. "Though we should focus on our parents, which should be something we can keep on the table."

"I shouldn't have mentioned being afraid of lipstick for years, shouldn't I?" Ed tapped his fingers on the couch, clicking his tongue as he heard his friends argue. "Just felt like sharing since wasn't sure how to tell Ghoulia about that, but okay."

"It's alright, Ed. The purpose of this meeting is to share any issues you three might have collectively before getting more in depth." Carmine didn't know the word for fearing makeup existed before today. Apparently, it was called Maquillaphobia. "Though, Eddward is right Eddy. That does seem like a notable fear for you to have."

"Hey, Ed has it, not me. I only hid my mom's lipstick because it was getting in the way." Eddy didn't want to say what it was getting in the way of. Mostly because there wasn't anything it was blocking at the time. "I was afraid of Lee. I'll admit that. You know how she got."

Carmine sighed. She was able to tell a lot from this meeting, if only from some of their dynamics. Slight co-dependence, definitely good at avoiding their issues, and all somewhat manipulative in their own ways. Of course, that was only cursory observations and not something she could prove yet.

"I think we've gone off topic here." Carmine raised her voice to cut through the bickering authoritatively, the disruption forgotten. "I do believe we were talking about your family, Eddy. I've gotten a rundown from Double D and Ed, but I don't believe I've heard about yours."

"What else is there to say? My parents were fine, and my brother was an abusive jerk. And don't pretend you didn't know that already." Eddy pointed at her accusingly, a small scowl on his face. "The only things I can say that are out of the ordinary is that were poor for a good while, my parents were a little too religious for my standards, and my dad was afraid of me being a figure skater. I still don't know if he was being literal, or that just homophobic."

"Eddy, I will make sure to tell Raven you aren't taking this seriously." Double D rubbed his forehead. He was feeling a headache settle in. "We've held up our end of the deal so far. Do you have any idea how hard it is to make a simulated human body to test on? It's hard. It's really hard."

"Just try it. We're giving it a try." Ed elbowed Eddy, smiling a little. "Shouldn't you give it a try too?"

"Ugh, fine! I did agree to come to these, I guess." Eddy crossed his arms, leaning back into the chair while glaring at Carmine. Not like she wasn't used to it by now from other patients. "Is there anything you really want me to say, doc? Or are you just waiting for me to crack."

"I was hoping to talk about your childhood if your family is still a touchy issue. Mostly with other children." Need to work up to the main issue in order to get them to talk. That usually worked for her. "Were you popular with people back in your hometown?"

"No. At least not at first." Ed shrugged. It wasn't like they made it easier for themselves back then. "We weren't hated, but we usually pulled our scams whenever we could. Usually for jawbreakers, but sometimes for fun."

"It was just a thing we did. Nothing too dangerous, except for when the occasional scam went wrong." Double D figured occasional was correct. He at least considered some of them successful when nobody got injured. "We mostly stuck to ourselves because of it. Though we did get along with the other people in our neighborhood well enough after a few talks."

"Do you feel like you wanted more than that?" Carmine didn't get a reaction from that. Curious, though not unexpected. "Or did you prefer to just keep to yourselves, even after getting along with more people?"

"What's the point? We're all just fine when it comes to working together. There wasn't any point in dealing with anyone else." Eddy only wanted fame for the privileges and the money. Anything else was bonus. "We only made friends here because we needed to blend in as much as possible."

"I wouldn't say that was the only reason. Though, it did work towards our goals in the long run." Double D figured that wasn't a wonderful way to look at it. He hummed in thought. "I do suppose a mentality formed in us that it was us against the world at an early age, but we never considered it unhealthy."

"Maybe it wasn't in an environment that wasn't always friendly, but you do have more avenues here." Carmine wrote it down, frowning. Banding together was a good thing. Locking anyone else out wasn't. "I'm assuming that you're all trying to be more honest now with your friends?"

"I kinda have to. Dating Ghoulia means I have to open up more and I don't know what I'm willing to tell her just yet." Ed shrugged. He was playing it by ear at this point and figuring it out as he went along was how he did everything. "She's said I can set up boundaries and all, but I think I still need to make up for lying for a long time."

"I'm sure she doesn't hold any grudges against you for that." Double D patted him on the arm while Eddy rolled his eyes. "Just be careful and it'll be a thing of the past soon enough."

A timer went off after he said that, catching everyone's attention as Carmine shut it off. She frowned. It wasn't enough time in her opinion, but she couldn't keep them from any other activities they had. Group sessions were only once a week, though, so she still had plenty of chances in the future.

"Eddy, if you wouldn't mind, could you stay a minute?" He groaned, but he complied with Carmine's demands. She pulled out her schedule sheet, raising an eyebrow as Double D and Ed moved out the door. "I was wondering when you'd like to schedule your individual session. You haven't given any suggestions yet."

"Aren't you supposed to be the one that does that?" Eddy figured that she was the judge in figuring out how much therapy he needed. Which he figured was a relief. "I gave you my school schedule when I got in here."

"Yes, but I want to make sure you're mentally prepared enough between sessions. And, I suppose, you could call it a test." Carmine lazily threw it at him, letting him use his magic to grab it. "Therapy is pointless if you don't actually want to be here. And, as I recall, you need to show some initiative here for your deal."

She wasn't fully aware of the deal, but she knew that Eddy wanted to keep up with it. It took restraint to not ask her daughter about it, but she figured she'd know in good time.

"And I'm guessing you'll start talking if I don't choose a time either." Eddy stated. It looked like he had until the end of the week to figure it out. Great. "I'll call and tell you when, but don't hold your breath. Things can get hectic around here."

Eddy got up from the seat, moving towards the door. He waved it around, laughing lightly to himself. "You never know when the next disaster is going to come down on us."

As the door closed, Carmine had a feeling that was a challenge. For whom, she couldn't understand.

Eddy wasn't sure he liked therapy. He knew it wasn't just for crazy people and all that jazz, but it wasn't like he wanted to go either way. Even if it was required for him to go.

At the very least, things were easing back to normal. A new one, but something he could try and predict now.

"What exactly am I looking at?" Eddy squinted at the festivities going on, noting the large amount of ribbons in the area. It was distracting. "And why does it feel so hot right now. I'm pretty sure it should be colder."

"It's the Spring Fairest. Whenever the weather starts getting gloomy, the weather around here is enhanced to remember the more beautiful time of year." Raven waved a fan at her face, sighing as she felt herself sweat. "They dialed it up a little much around here, though. Makes me wish for snow even more."

"Time really has gone by around here. I blame all those adventures we seem to keep on having." Cleo didn't seem effected by the magically induced weather, but she had grown up in the desert before air conditioning had been invented. "Actually, that probably only started because of you. Yes, that's an easier thing to blame."

Eddy scoffed, looking around at the insanity. He could see Duchess tying Sparrow up in a tree with her own ribbon, and that nearly made him laugh. It did make him think of how long he'd been here.

He'd disappeared at the beginning of summer, and now it was well into the school year. How long did that make it? Certainly more than five months. Maybe even eight. That was almost frightening to consider, knowing how his parents had seen him leave-

No. Not the time to think about it. If he did, that means Carmine would win.

"Seems like an excuse to just let off some steam at this point." Eddy felt an idea stir in his head. Now that he looked around, some of the decorations didn't look all that ready yet. "Did someone start it early?"

"Indeed we did. Something had to distract everyone from what happened at Thronecoming."

Giles voice was stark, and the three felt it was strange hear him without the Riddlish effecting his speech. Still, it was easy to recognize him, still sporting the Einstein special that was his hair.

"It wasn't exactly time for this yet, but since everyone was so focused on the unpleasantness of the event, it was determined that a distraction was needed." Giles held onto some rolled up ribbons in his hand, smiling in a way a doting grandfather would. "Plus, it would help get students acclimated to me again by handing these out. All Nora's idea, might I add."

"Giles, it's good to see you! You're looking a lot better after getting some sunlight." Raven figured that made sense. She hoped he'd be able to help out around here, especially as a buffer against his brother. "I'm guessing your back to being assistant headmaster?"

"And also still sporting that hairdo as well." Cleo raised an eyebrow at the ensemble he was apparently attached to. "I would've thought you would at least change your clothes after the whole fiasco."

"…Nora did say some of you were blunt, but I think she didn't tell me how bad it was." Giles knew the girl wasn't serious. He was awfully familiar with how some teenagers could be. "I just wanted to check in. I know helping me get my bearings again happened to cost some of your emotional stability."

"You heard wrong, Einstein. I'm perfectly fine, as you can see." Eddy held his hands up, shaking them with a sarcastic smile. "I'd focus on yourself, but I have a feeling you're already doing that. I'm guessing you're the other person involved in Bloodgood's scheme?"

"You already knew that Eddy. And is it really just Nora and I's scheme with all of you being a part of it?" Giles hummed. He noticed the grimaces that his comment inspired, causing him back off. "Sorry about that. I've always been said to come off as sinister when I'm serious."

"We're just dealing with it all one day at a time, sir." Raven awkwardly chuckled, rubbing at an arm. It was still awkward to remember Eddy was human. And all the baggage that came with it. "That seems to be the motto around here lately."

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Uncertain times we live in." Giles stopped, looking over the fields of students hanging about before moving on. "I hope you all have a nice day. At some point, I would like to talk to you all in a more professional setting, but until then…"

Giles waved at them before approaching some other students. Despite his disheveled appearance, he seemed to be making good progress in talking with them.

"…So, I'm not the only one that as a little creeped out by that, right?" Eddy pointed at the old mana and himself, eyebrows raised. "Because that was weird. Still prefer him over his brother, though."

"Yes, quite. That does remind me of something." Cleo turned, crossing her arms as her face became stern. "You've been holding up on your end of the deal so far, but I haven't heard anything about you apologizing to Apple."

"She's still been pretty quiet ever since we got that contract hammered out." Raven wasn't sure how her roommate was taking everything. Apple had just become… closed off. "She hasn't said much to me either about destiny or anything."

"Oh, yeah. That." Eddy rubbed his arm too, feeling himself cringe. He actually had been trying on that end. "I have been looking to talk to her for several days now, but it hasn't worked out yet."

Cleo rolled her eyes, frowning. "And whys that?"

Eddy took a few seconds to answer before sighing in frustration.

"She's been avoiding me."

"Apple, is everything okay?"

Nothing was okay right now. Apple was ninety percent sure her destiny would never happen, her mother was going to be disappointed in her, and everyone had either lied to her or was happy in enabling in a lie. She wasn't sure whether anything was going to be okay again.

"I'm find, Ashlynn. Just feeling a little tired lately." Apple smiled, rubbing at one of her eyes. She gave an exaggerated yawn, leaning back into her chair. "Getting this extended Spring Fairest is exhausting. I get why they did it, but it all seems excessive."

"I think that since the headmaster is getting axed, they're just trying to keep our attention away while the deal with it quietly." Hunter helped make the decorations, chiming in with his own two cents. "I hope he gets kicked off soon. I still can't believe he locked up his own brother."

"I'm still reeling from that too. I knew he was extreme, but not to that extent." Ashlynn gave a light touch to Apple with her elbow, giving a nervous smile. "Sorry. Almost forgot you kind of discovered Assistant Headmaster Giles."

"It's alright. I'm glad we found him when we did." Apple wasn't sure if she was lying. If he hadn't revealed the truth about destiny, what would've happened at the Storybook? She didn't like thinking like that, though. "Maybe we were overdue for new leadership anyway. Though, not exactly an ideal form of succession."

"That's the truth." A ring came from the door to Ashlynn's shop, causing everyone to look up. Hunter briefly waved before getting back to work. "Good to see you, Briar. Everything going good on your end?"

"Hm? Ah, right, the festival." Briar put down the planners she had in her arms, more reserved than she usually was. "I was just checking in with Hopper and Cupid. Hopper's doing good at getting supplies and Cupid is making sure entertainment is good. She's busy at another thing at Monster High, though, so don't be surprised if I have to head out to finish up some details."

A beep came from the girl's phone, causing her to stop and groan. She almost reached for it before Ashlynn picked up hers and showed the same message she got.

"Me and Hunter can manage this if you want. We were looking to go out and see if some of the Monsters wanted to come along anyway." Ashlynn put her supplies down. They were already ahead on this part anyway. "Hunter, you want to join me?"

"Sure thing, babe."

The two girls rolled their eyes at the display, watching as Hunter caught up just to grab onto Ashlynn's hand. Briar rubbed at her eyes as she opened up another planner, starting to cross off things on the list.

"At least we won't have to deal with them flirting, right?" Apple noted the bags under Briar's eyes, raising an eyebrow. That wouldn't have been strange if it weren't for Briar's narcolepsy. "Are you okay? It looks like you haven't gotten any sleep lately."

"I'm fine. Just feeling a little under the weather." She replied. It sounded tired, though. Very unusual. Apple figured she must've been too wrapped up in her own issues to notice it before. "Just really need to get through the stuff today and maybe I'll take a nap."

There was quiet as the two worked on their own parts. The silence did weigh on the both of them, though it took a little bit for one of them to break it.

"Briar, we've been friends for a while, right?" Apple knew that their friendship was a byproduct of their mothers wanting to build a strong alliance, but they have known each other for long while. "You'd be honest with me if I asked you a hard question?"

"I- yeah, I would. I've had to stop you from doing a few blunders, right?" Briar laughed, but she felt a pit form in her stomach. Did she know about what happened or…? "I mean, you've done it ten times over for me, but still."

"…Am I a bad person?"

Briar blinked, not sure how to take that sudden twist. "What do you mean?"

"Am I bad person? This year really hasn't been great for everyone, and I've been trying to get our destinies on track, but I… I may be dealing with some hard truths here." Apple didn't know if anything Eddy said was true, but it wasn't like he pulled it out of nowhere. "I'm doing what I think is best. I'm not trying to hurt anyone."

"I don't think you are. You can be callous, but I know how you feel about destiny and everything." And Briar had still threw it all down a well. She still thought she was right, but she did mess this up big time. "Ashlynn and Hunter do understand where you're coming from."

That was what Briar thought she was thinking about. Most of the issues involving Apple and the couple had been dealt with, but there was the occasional awkward moment.

"It's not… I suppose you're right." Apple put on a fake smile then. Briar could tell it was just from how fast she tried to turn her mood around. "I'm just overthinking things. I need to focus on this anyway, so no matter."

Briar felt like she should say something right now, especially since Apple rarely lied like this. She felt her mouth open before a traitorous thought passed through.

If you say anything, you might let it all slip out.

…Briar kept her mouth shut. She'd probably regret it later, but she had to figure out if there was a way to fix her mistake first.

Besides, Apple was a big girl. She could deal with whatever's eating at her for a little longer, right?

Double D wasn't sure what he was looking at when he got to Clawdeen's workshop, but he figured it was something important. Or at least important to Draculaura.

"Do I want to know what your girlfriend is so excited about, or should I just step back?" Double D questioned Clawd, who just watched as the vampire talked with Cupid over preparations for something. "I don't really know what any of this is."

"Cupid wants to educate students more on the concept of love or something and Draculaura thinks an old Monster festival might be the way to do it." Clawd hadn't been sure of some of the terms, but he did recognize platonic and romantic words being thrown around. He noted the bag in Double D's hands, smelling something sweet from it. "I'm sure they'd appreciate the snacks you brought for everyone…"

"Yes, and I intend to make sure all of them get handed out before seconds are taken." Double D didn't look as he moved the bag away from one of Clawd's sneaking hands. Being around Ed had given him years of experience for that. "Your sister has told me enough about your family's infamous Pizza Part Fiasco."

"And I'm sure she'll thank you for your protection!" Maddie slipped between the two, grabbing the bag along the way. She tossed over some donuts for the boys as she took off with it to Cupid and Draculaura. "Are you almost done on your end, girls?"

"Just about. It won't be too hard to get people to come to this." Cupid went through her own notes, finding that what they could get from the faculty acceptable for this. "I just hope people aren't looking to make it a hook-up type event."

"We can work on that when it all starts out." Draculaura figured that would happen, but it wasn't like it wasn't a form of love on its own. As temporary as it could be. "Besides, it fits with that spring festival the Legends are doing, so I'm sure people will find it fitting."

"At least people might learn a thing or two." Double D muttered. It at least looked like Cupid was going through the entire spectrum. Unsurprisingly, a lot of Greek terms were being thrown around, but she is a demigod. "Where is Clawdeen? And Cerise for that matter."

"Getting Cerise ready for one Spring Fairest. She's one of the girls that are going to be in the parade, apparently." Maddie was a little excited. Cerise didn't exactly get dressed up as often as the other girls. "Clawdeen didn't design her outfit, but she's the only one Cerise trusts to get it done right."

It went unsaid that was mostly because her ears. Nobody else in the room needed to know that, though.

"Speaking of those two…" Draculaura practically zipped over, a manic look on her face. Something about it set off quite a bit of dread. "I've been wondering about setting her up with a little someone for a while now…"

"DL, please tell me you aren't still going with the speed dating idea." Clawd rightfully looked afraid of that prospect. He knew how setting his sister up would go. "Everyone knows you mean well, but maybe this is the one thing you back away from?"

"But she hasn't dated anyone since last year!"

"Because the dude was a creep."

"She'll have plenty of opportunities to meet someone at the festival." Cupid went through some of the forms that she had collected for this event, sighing. "There are too many things to sign. What happened to verbal agreements and all that stuff?"

"Should we tell them that Ed and Ghoulia got together and provide a distraction for Clawdeen?" Double D wasn't sure if he should, but he agreed with Clawd; terrible things would be on the horizon if he let this continue. "Not to shove them under the bus, of course."

"She already knows. It's too late." Maddie clucked her tongue. She was already planning the two's funeral. "Might be planning a double date as we speak."

"Tragic."

The two shook their heads. Clawd gave them a quick, confused glance before the hatter grabbed Double D's arm to pull him away.

"Speaking of more personal subjects." Maddie leaned into him, and Double D let her. Didn't want Clawd being able to overhear them. "How did therapy go today?"

"Eddy is resistant but playing along. Might be uncovering a few more trauma's as well." Double D shrugged at the concerned look he got from Maddie. "As it turns out, some girls stalking you and constantly assaulting you with unwanted affection can leave a mark."

"…You can give me names, you know."

"I'm afraid of what you'd do if I did."

Maddie shrugged, stopping in front of the dressing room. She knocked loudly, the sound of chatter cutting off from inside.

"Come on in! She's just about done." They heard Clawdeen say. There was a flurry of activity, most likely trying to hide Cerise's ears if necessary. "And you better have food, because I don't know if I'm able to wait much more."

"She's serious. She's been looking at me weird this entire time." Cerise shouted too. It, oddly, didn't sound like she was joking. "I know it's part of my story, but this is the wrong wolf."

The two rolled their eyes, opening up the door. At least this had gone back to normal.

"I really hope you're decent, otherwise I'm going to be really jealous you- woah." Maddie did a double take as she finally got a look at Cerise. "That- wow."

Double D stopped in his tracks as well, noting the girl's appearance. He knew she could dress up, but Clawdeen had outdone herself this time helping her prep. The girl looked ready to hide in her hood at some of the looks she was getting.

"You can stop staring. I already feel embarrassed enough I was asked to be in that parade thing." Cerise itched scratch at her face but didn't want to ruin the makeup. She didn't want to redo any of that mess. "I had to sit here while Clawdeen was hovering over me for an hour."

"Don't act like you didn't like having me close to you for an hour. I certainly didn't mind." Clawdeen looked tired too, but she moved to sit behind Cerise and pull her into her arms protectively. "At least you two seem to be enjoying the view."

"I- Well, in all fairness- you look good Cerise." Double D finally got the words out of his mouth, feeling his face heat up. It wasn't even Cerise's turn for the flirting game yet. "Can't wait to see you in the parade, honestly."

"Well, I wish it weren't the case. It doesn't seem like the best way to spend my time." Cerise didn't let her burning face be seen as she turned around to see herself in the mirror. "Sitting on my butt in the middle of the festival would be nice any other day, but not now."

"Speaking of which," Clawdeen let Maddie take over messing with Cerise, heading over to Double D to give him a quick hug. "Anything we're doing about that? You were pretty gung-ho about finding the book yourself."

"We all know I wasn't in my right mind when it came to that." Double D wondered if Draculaura would stop with the speed dating idea if she saw how they acted with each other. On the other hand, which would probably be even more disastrous. "As for the search for the book… we've got other people handling it."

"Hey, Ghoulia?" Ed looked at the stack of boxes in front of him, feeling a deep sense of dread as he realized just how deep the catacombs really were. "How many more rooms do we have to go through before we stop?"

"Not that much more, I assure you. I hope." Ghoulia moved the magic tracker over her own stack of boxes, frowning. "Though, I do honestly hope the book isn't here. I don't want to sort through all of these boxes."

The two were taking their shift for searching for the Book of Legends and spending it mostly within the caverns of Monster High. They did have a magical "scent" that had led them down here, but the mass amounts of traffic that resulted from the Well of Wonder being down here muddied it up. While not planning on spending the entire time down here, they figured it was worth a shot to get deep enough. If the Evil Queen had done it, so could they.

"I do have to say, if it turns out the book is a lot farther away than we thought, I won't know what I'll do." Ghoulia was frustrated. She did have to remember they were still just students and all, but they'd done more impossible things like it was child's play. "I could assassinate the Evil Queen, I suppose. Then again, that would Raven upset."

"I honestly hope it's down here too. It couldn't be at her castles at least." The two had searched the ruin in the forest first and the Good King was allowing authorities to search his property to find it there. Ed figured it should turn up soon. "Really wish it weren't just a book. Couldn't it be a spear of destiny or something? Like in video games?"

Ghoulia snorted. If only it could be. Glowing weapons were always what caught people's eyes first when heading into a dungeon. That was Game Design 101.

The two got into a comfortable silence afterward, sweeping the room as quickly and thoroughly as they could. The quiet did weigh on them, though, with the magic tracker didn't beep once. Ed eventually cleared his throat, wanting to talk about this subject anyway.

"So, uh. We're dating." Ed figured that wasn't a fantastic start, but he was able to say it, nonetheless. "What exactly do we do now?"

"What do you mean?" Ghoulia raised an eyebrow, still focusing on the task at hand. "That is true, but I don't think I understand the question."

"I mean, what do we for dates and stuff?" Ed shrugged, feeling anxious as he talked. It wasn't like had much experience in this before, especially with his own parents dissuading any want for a relationship for the longest time. "We've hung out a lot and know what we both like, but I don't know what 'dates' actually are."

…That was a fair question. The zombie really hadn't thought about that.

"I can't really give you an answer. I have dated a few people before, but it's been different every time." Ghoulia figured this was the most different, considering they were friends first and Ed had his baggage. The human thing was also something to consider. "It's not like we can't do those other things anymore, they just have a different context."

"That sounds right." Ed nodded along, absentmindedly moving toward another row of boxes. Seriously, what was the school storing in these things? "I just feel we need to do something different. Not pressuring us into anything, but I feel like I should be doing something."

"Neither of us have to do anything. We can figure out one day at a time, like a prolonged experiment." Science analogies weren't romantic, per se, but they worked for her when she couldn't explain something. "I suppose what we do for fun is good. Though, I guess the only thing that's different is the amount of physical affection-"

Ghoulia bumped into something on her left, nearly jumping out of her skin as she tipped to the side. A hand grabbed her and pulled her back up, and she found she was looking up at Ed. Her face burned as he looked down in concern and she realized that the boy really did feel strong.

The moment was broken when someone cleared their throat behind them.

"I hope I'm not interrupting something. Though, maybe I should be." Bloodgood said it in good humor, taking some amusement in the scene. "I can't have this be a new make out spot for some of the students."

"We weren't- I wasn't= We were just looking for the book." Ed realized how it must've looked, and he felt his face heat up immediately. "Still haven't found anything just yet though. We were taking a break!"

"I believe you." No she didn't. Bloodgood figured that he was speaking the truth, but only because they didn't get the chance to do anything. "I'm guessing the search is going dry?"

"Mostly. We're assuming that if the Evil Queen hid the book here, it can't be that deep." Ghoulia latched onto the change in subject immediately, adjusting her glasses. "If nothing turns up, we might search Ever After High's own catacombs before coming up with a different plan."

"That sounds good. Sorry that this is eating up some of your time." Bloodgood figured it was about time for them to take a break. "Maybe try and help with the festival upstairs. I think it'd be good to stop searching for today."

"You're probably right. If we get toot tired, we'll miss something." Ghoulia would've loved to continue, but it would be a good idea to back off. "Anything interesting we need to look out for?"

"We have a speaker planned. Apparently he was one of the key figures in getting Valentine's Day to become a popular holiday." Bloodgood had made sure to research that, even if she had some doubts about the person's boasting. She could see Ghoulia light up, though. "Good, that's got you interested. Better hurry, you might all be able to greet him."

"I'm guessing another vampire or something?" Ed got a nod and wasn't too surprised. They were usually the ones that helped keep history facts straight. "What's his name?"

"Kieran Valentine." Bloodgood smiled. "Appropriate name, isn't it?"

It certainly was.

Well, this arc is already shaping up to be exciting. At least it won't skimp out on fun. Yeah, it's going to be a hybrid arc, if only to save up on time and also up the ante for drama. I hope you guys like the idea.

Also, I got bored at some point and decided to do something interesting. If any of you are on tumblr, there was a thing for fandoms called "in universe memes" where memes were based off the stuff in a fic or show. I made some myself for this: post/681814142660853760/dont-ask-me-what-this-is-just-memes-about-my

Again, not entirely sure if it works, but hope you guys enjoy those. I'll see you all next chapter.