True Love's Kiss
BeccaTurner1892 (also KingdomHearts1892 on Quotev)
Author's Note: I do not own The School for Good and Evil. All rights to the film belong to Netflix and the book belongs to Soman Chainani. The only things that I own are this story and my OCs. Additionally, I will be posting chapters on Quotev first and the first few chapters include images of what I think that the characters should look like.
3
Purity Tower 51
Somehow, Agatha and I end up in the only room with four; however, the party of four quickly turns into a party of two when the other princesses-in-training decide that vacating the premises is the best call. The other girls just couldn't handle how awesome Agatha and I can be when we put our minds to it.
No. In all honesty, Millicent and Reena didn't stay long. Reena, with her hair as dark as the night sky and pert little upturned nose, dragged in her gigantic trunks full of clothes and beauty products (seriously, who needs four trunks of clothes when there's a uniform?), proceeded to give me a smile as well as an indecipherable look in Agatha's direction, and carted all of her belongings out.
"They just don't belong here," all of us ladies overhear in the awkward silence that erupts after Reena's departure. "The one looks so evil and the other has such a distant gaze. I don't want to die!"
Reena must move in with someone else, because the fairies remove a bed, dresser, and vanity from the previously cramped space. Then, Millicent followed shortly thereafter by pretending she's afraid of heights when she had previously been admiring the view and admitting that she felt like Rapunzel or Merida with her jade green eyes, which clashed horrendously with the baby pink of our uniforms. Millicent gives me a grin as she leaves and scoots out of the room like there's a dragon breathing down her heels. And so, Agatha and I were left alone to our own devices, which gave us time to bond and feel right at home while the fairies took Millicent's belongings and sent me unnecessary pitiful glances on their ways out.
The room made me uncomfortably anxious due to the decor that the school found fit to install. Massive mirrors showcased both of the pale complexions that adorned myself and Agatha as well as the coppery brown of my own long hair clashing with the choppy midnight bob that Agatha sports. There were additionally some lifelike murals of princesses kissing dashing princes that I swear followed me throughout the room. Canopy beds dawn each side of the room, reminding me that the people in this hallucination are not modern so it might get cold during the winter due to the lack of central heating. Creepy cupids line the ceiling with their arrows trained exactly where I stand that are more noticeable now that the room is emptier. The eerie aura that envelops the once sweet-seeming cherubim like a bad odor forces a hasty treat into a reading nook that Agatha soon occupies with me.
Despite the uneasy feeling preoccupying the room, my emerald-green eyes are drawn towards the bridge where Agatha and I encountered Sophie. Millicent and Reena, upon asking prior to their hasty retreats, divulged that the bridge is called "Halfway Bay" and that the only way across was if no other student was on the other side and you answered a riddle about your nature. I also discovered- once Agatha returned from her minor life-threatening adventure- that there was a massive forest that stretched as far as the eye could see as well as something else. Something I knew existed, but I was surprised to learn more about- the School Master's tower.
According to Agatha, wolves with crossbows guard the School Master's tower as well as a plethora of fairies, which makes me ponder how the girls and I are expected to encounter the School Master. From Agatha's warning, the guards aren't even the worst part. The worst part is that the shadow who kidnapped Agatha and Sophie was at the top of the tower. Rather heroically, Agatha claims that we ought to demand that whoever brought us here could fix their mistake and send us all home if we go up to the tower and demand it. Unfortunately, I came through different means, but I didn't have the heart to tell Agatha that.
"Let's get this plan started by rescuing Sophie," Agatha claims firmly.
"Right!"
A few minutes later, Agatha and I find ourselves dressed in Satan's uniform trying to navigate through the pink sea. The sleeveless, pink monstrosity itches like crazy; yet it also makes my green eyes pop. A lace collar adorns the uniform, and the fact that the carnations are fake is the only thing keeping my allergies from flaring up and one of the few saving graces from my new outfit. The skirts are poofy and have way too many layers so it's difficult to navigate through the crowds without the fabric snagging on someone else's. Altogether, these next few months are going to be the longest of my life if I don't figure out how to get home along with Agatha and Sophie.
I brace myself to continue going, but a soft, cool hand stops me in my tracks. Agatha's buggy brown eyes stare back into mine and she drags me back into our room, much to my relief. Maybe I can become besties with Agatha after all?
Then, Agatha starts ripping off bits and pieces of her uniform and muttering, "Get me out of here" and I know that we have a long way to go. A slightly dislodged, smiling cupid catches my attention and gives me bad vibes, but Agatha also spots it, and she exclaims, "Lucy, I have an idea! Why don't we see where the vents lead and escape from there?"
"Sure, we can try that route, but can't we get in trouble that way? We don't even know what happens to students who get into trouble around here," I reason in a vain attempt to deter Agatha from coercing me to get into the vents with her.
Of course, Agatha is not so easily dissuaded, and I end up following her through the dark, dusty vents. Once we get to a certain passageway, there is a narrow pathway that takes us through a bumpy rollercoaster ride called the ventilation system and pipes. We're only saved from becoming pancakes on the ground by sliding down a beanstalk into an area that I overheard about called "The Gallery of Good".
Agatha's black clumps and my heels click-clack across the floor until we encounter a giant mural of Ever After that doesn't look so happy. Then, Agatha and I observe the memorabilia of students who've graduated from the School of Good, including questionable artifacts such as dorm pillows and diaries. Of course, this was the light part of the museum filled with star pupils. Come to find out, there's a ton of weird memorabilia in here like dead animals that were, according to the plaques, students at one point.
So, yeah. Turns out that not only could we get turned into the black bony birds like Gregor in the movie, but whoever designed this messed up place could turn us into animals in stories if we don't pass. Each preserved animal was obviously a student at one point (still trying to get that fact to set in) that transformed once they were proven to be mediocre and unworthy of their own tale. And, for the grand finale to this tale full of terror, it turns out that we can be turned into stuff like the beanstalk that we slid down.
'I'm so sorry that we caught a ride on you, Holden of Rainbow Gale,' I think to myself gently patting my hand against the cool stalk, unaware that as I passed the transformed stalk began to glow. Then, I come to a halt as a depressing thought comes to mind, 'I'm never getting out of here, am I? Sophie and Agatha have each other, but me?'
"I've got no one," I mutter to myself or, at least, I think I do.
"You've got me and Sophie. We're in this together now," Agatha claims bravely.
With that, I come to the realization that every single one of us needs to stick together to end this curse, or else there are going to be quite a number of students that will end up fossilized at one point or another. Hopefully, I can get all of the students to band together and get rid of this cruelty towards the struggling masses.
Then, I find myself drawn towards a corner of the gallery that's filled to the brim with paintings. Paintings depicting scenes that I'd witnessed in a dream once or twice with kids running around a village and reading. To me, the images are unclear like it's shrouded in fog, which is not how Agatha sees it if the horrified look on her face is indicative of anything. Most of the paintings depict the children reading around hills and lakes. Hell, there's even one of a few children reading in a graveyard with a crooked clock tower in the background. Much to my personal horror, there's a painting depicting children reading fairy tales in church while the priest is attempting to catch the children's attention. Something about the painting doesn't sit right to me and I spend longer than I had at any of the other paintings staring at the parents, who didn't look the slightest embarrassed about their children reading during church services. Even the last painting of the children burning the books doesn't bother me as much as the one of the children sitting in the pews reading while the priest is giving a homily.
Voices catch my attention and I hastily draw Agatha behind a giant pumpkin carriage with a plaque that reads Heinrich of Netherwood. I silently apologize to Heinrich and thank him for protecting us right as the two voices grow closer.
Two teachers enter the gallery and only one do I recognize on sight. Fiery red, curly hair and dramatic makeup emphasize her angular face and crystal blue eyes marking the Dean for the School for Evil known as Lady Leonara Lesso (though most only know her as Lady Lesso). Lady Lesso's collared shirt with a black tie and a black swan emblazed on her tie along with her long trench coat and cane are the main aspects that I can see clearly. Meanwhile, the other woman has a yellow-green high-neck gown, green beetle wings, white beehive-style hair, and rich, chocolate brown irises.
"Alright princess, what's so important that we had to trek all the way up here? I'm in heels you know," I hear Lady Lesso grouch.
"I have two Readers who are insisting that they are not where they belong," Professor Dovey, I presume, admits.
"Ugh, well at least it's not just me," Lady Lesso jokes.
"Listen to me, something about one of mine does feel wrong," Professor Dovey admits making me and Agatha look at each other.
"No, wrong is the School Master's decision to bring them here in the first place," Lady Lesso emphasizes, which I personally agree with.
"A School Master must protect the balance," Professor Dovey reminds Lady Lesso. "He sees Readers as part of that balance. Even if you and I cannot understand."
"Balance!" scoffs Lady Lesso, "Then, why hasn't Evil won a tale since he took over? Why hasn't Evil defeated good in two hundred years?"
"I do not know!" Professor Dovey admits, "But what I do know is that it's our responsibility to teach these children. You know what will happen otherwise."
Lady Lesso scoffs and walks closer to me and Agatha as well as the last painting before she says, "I see you've welcomed another of Professor Sader's delusions."
"It is his part of the gallery," Professor Dovey sighs with exhaustion dripping from every word.
Lady Lesso's eyes flash and the painting magically tears off of the wall landing centimeters from my head.
"Maybe your new Reader will prove you wrong," I hear Professor Dovey say after a bit of playful squabbling, admittedly not something that I would've figured between the Deans for Good and Evil.
"I hear she likes the color pink," Lady Lesso snorts from a much safer distance.
With that out of the way, Agatha and I listen to the duo exit the gallery and walk together in the same direction. I relax since Rafal doesn't appear to threaten us like he originally did in the movie. Then, I see the girls lining up outside, grab Agatha's hand, and dart out of the door with Agatha in tow. That was the moment that I think Agatha and I truly became more than just roommates- rather, I felt like it was the start of our blooming friendship. For I didn't know it yet, but I made Agatha feel something that she hasn't with anyone besides Sophie: I made her feel normal. And this made the other girls look at us less distastefully too, because how can someone who's truly Evil befriend others and not attempt to take advantage of the other?
Of course, Agatha stopped just outside of the door after looking back at the gallery, but when I turned around to look, I didn't see anything unusual, so I shrugged it off. Then, I looked at Agatha again and it seemed like whatever had spooked her mustn't have been too bad since she was back to normal. Maybe a little paler than before but nothing too concerning to me.
What I wasn't aware of was that Agatha did see Rafal just like in the movie, but not until I turned around, and he spoke to her in her mind, "Stay away from Sophie and Lucy, little witch. They have a destiny to fulfill, and they both belong to me now. One will be my queen, the other shall become my queen's lady-in-waiting. After all, the Storian's chosen has already shown her true power and it is magnificent. Come back to the gallery later if you don't believe me."