Chapter 3: The First Rebel

"Come on, come on! Hurry!"

Kelsey half dragged Isabella along as the two of them raced to where Legacy Day rehearsals were being held. They had accidentally slept in, and Isabella was already able to hear the scolding they were likely to get from the headmaster once they arrived...

Fortunately for them, it seemed Headmaster Grimm was too engrossed in giving instructions when they took up their places near their fellow students to have noticed their arrival. Both girls heaved relieved sighs, quietly catching their breaths so as not to give themselves away.

"Now, who would like to go first?" Headmaster Grimm asked after finishing his instructions.

"Oh, oh, oh! Me, me, me!" The most popular girl in the school piped up, raising her hand eagerly.

The headmaster stepped aside, gesturing to the podium in which a large book of school rules had been placed, it being a stand-in for the Storybook of Legends. The girl took the silent invitation, speaking to the non-existent crowd, "I am Apple White, and I pledge to follow my destiny as the next Snow White."

"Perfect." Headmaster Grimm praised her.

"Now go perfectly eat a poison apple and put us all out of our misery." Kelsey whispered in Isabella's ear, the two of them giggling at the joke. They agreed that Apple was nice enough, but they had quickly gotten tired of her perfectionism and her saying "my destiny" or something related to it every other sentence.

"Something you would like to share, Ms. Shield?"

Isabella and Kelsey immediately stopped laughing, looking at the headmaster upon him suddenly addressing Kelsey.

"Perhaps you would like to be next." Headmaster Grimm gestured to the podium.

"Perhaps I would." Kelsey said. She walked confidently up to the podium, doing as Apple had done and stating, "I am Kelsey Shield, and I pledge to one day join my parents as a knight of the Round Table.", then returned to her place next to Isabella.

"Ms. Gardens?"

Isabella tensed up.

"Y-Yes, Headmaster?" She replied.

"Come, give your pledge."

Isabella tugged at a lock of her hair, but quietly approached the podium without protest. She clutched the edges, at first staring down at the rule book before forcing herself to lift her head to look out at all the empty seats below the platform she stood on.

"I ... I am Isabella Gardens, daughter of Evalyn Chantress. I pledge to follow in my mom's footsteps as the next Enchantress that curses the Beast."

Her voice barely echoed across the vast space with how meek she sounded. She really wasn't one for public speaking, even if it was currently only to the headmaster and her peers. Yet the thought of doing it on Legacy Day, knowing it would be broadcast to all of Ever After, still caused her stress.

"Good job, but next time, a little louder, if you please." Headmaster Grimm told her as she was passing by him at a quicker pace than when she had walked up to the podium to begin with. "Who's next?"

Kelsey put her hands on Isabella's shoulders when she returned to stand with her, massaging them to get her to relax, giving her a smile of encouragement when she looked back over her shoulder at her.

"Are you really the next Enchantress?" The girl that stood in front of them suddenly asked, grabbing both of their attention. She looked friendly enough, with long brown hair with a few red streaks in it and kind eyes peering from behind the lenses of the glasses she wore.

Isabella managed a nod.

"And you're supposed to be...?" Kelsey asked the girl. She and Isabella had seen her around but had never really interacted with her until now.

The girl just held up a finger, volunteering to be the next one to approach the podium.

"I am Rosabella Beauty, and I pledge to be the next Beauty that tames the Beast." She announced.

"Well that answers my question." Kelsey remarked.

Isabella giggled.

"Nice to meet you, Rosabella." She whispered when Rosabella returned to where she had been standing.

"You as well." Rosabella whispered back, though the sound of Headmaster Grimm clearing his throat forced any further conversation to cease.

Several of their peers approached the podium, Isabella listening to each one with genuine curiosity. She remembered a few that did their pledges had introduced themselves to her during class or on the first day she had arrived in the Land of Ever After...

"I'm Raven Queen," A girl that Isabella had heard was the evilest student at the school was currently saying, "and I pledge to follow my destiny as ... um ... I have a question."

She turned to Headmaster Grimm as she spoke.

"What is it?" He asked, sounding rather annoyed.

"I was just wondering, I mean," Raven smiled nervously as she asked, "what if I don't want to take the pledge?"

Several gasps were emitted from everyone gathered, including that of Isabella and Kelsey's.

"What? It's just a question." Raven said.

"And here's your answer." Headmaster Grimm said, walking up to Raven and leaning forward slightly as if to intimidate her. "If you don't pledge your destiny, your story ceases to exist."

"Ceases to exist?" Raven repeated. "So, then, what happens to me?"

"You will cease to exist. Poof." Headmaster Grimm made a poofing gesture with his hand before standing up straight again. "Now, Raven. Continue."

"But Headmaster Grimm,"

"Poof, poof." Headmaster Grimm repeated the motion he made with his hand twice more in Raven's face.

"Um," Raven glanced over at Apple, and when Isabella followed her gaze, she found the next Snow White looking rather worried. "I have to go."

Another round of gasps were heard as Raven took off running.

"Well, that was anticlimactic." Kelsey remarked.

Isabella said nothing, watching until Raven was gone from sight, hardly paying attention to Apple White freaking out. Remembering the tale of Snow White, she could only imagine how Raven must feel, having a not-so-favorable destiny, suddenly getting the sense that something wasn't quite ... evil with her...

"Isabella?" She felt Kelsey shake her. "You alright?"

"Huh? Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Isabella replied, finally taking notice of the assembly dispersing. "What's going on?"

"Headmaster Grimm called the rest of rehearsals off. Weren't you listening?"

"Not really. Kind of spaced out for a moment." Isabella took another glance around. "So we're free to go?"

"Yup." Kelsey said.

Isabella debated for a moment on chasing after Raven, if only to just be nice and see if she was alright. Yet following a tug on her arm from Kelsey, she left the area in a direction other than the one in which the next Evil Queen had gone in.

Author's Note: That's right, Isabella's the next Enchantress. I know I stated last chapter that she's half fairy, but it is unknown whether or not the Disney version of the Enchantress is a fairy, sorceress ... what have you. And I really wanted to make my main character a fairy, so ... yeah.

Credits: Most of this chapter was written with dialogue and scenes from the episode "Raven's Tale: The Story of a Rebel".