The School for Good and Evil #2: A World without Princes (9 page)

“Witches and princesses are
friends
?” Sophie said in disbelief.

“No one thought it possible until your fairy tale,” said Professor Dovey. “And now it is men and women who are enemies.”

Agatha thought back to the Flowerground—the twittering women in groups, some pretty and cheerful, some homely and queer . . . the few scraggly, lonely males. . . .

“But we don't want the princes homeless!” Agatha cried. “We don't want them to be enemies!”

“We certainly don't want them to smell,” murmured Sophie.

“You made princes irrelevant,” Lady Lesso retorted. “You made them impotent. You made them
obsolete
. And now you've made them turn to a new leader for revenge.”

The girls followed her eyes to the sea of WANTED signs hoisted outside the gates, demanding Sophie's head at the orders of this leader.

“The School Master—” Sophie stammered. “We saw him—”

“Did you now?” Lady Lesso sneered.

“He's in the Evil castle! We have to kill him!” Sophie swiveled to Agatha. “Tell her!”

Agatha ignored the fluttering in her stomach. “But he
couldn't
have lived,” she said, almost to herself. She looked up. “You were there too, professors. All of us saw him die.”

“Indeed,” said Professor Dovey. “But that doesn't mean he isn't replaced.”

“Replaced?”
the girls blurted.

“Naturally Lady Lesso and I believed ourselves the best candidates,” Professor Dovey said, smoothing her gown's beetle wings. “Homeless and hated, the princes needed leaders they could trust. We assured them
The Tale of Sophie and Agatha
was closed forever. Under our protection, the Storian would restore men and women to balance, as it does Good and Evil. But just as we tried to bridge peace between boys and girls . . .” Her face dimmed. “Something odd happened.”

She thrust out the last page of their fairy tale and waited for the girls to say something.

“They drew Tedros taller than he is,” Sophie offered.

“Isn't something
missing
?” the Dean moaned.

Agatha remembered the storybook under her bed . . . the wedded princess and prince . . .

“‘The End,'” she said. “Why doesn't it say ‘The End'?”

Professor Dovey glared at her and slowly lifted the book to the light. Beneath the last line of their fairy tale, the two girls could see faded ink spelling those very two words . . .

Before they had been erased.

“What happened?” Sophie breathed.

“It seems your book has reopened,” Professor Dovey said, guiding their eyes to all the other versions of their story splayed across the desk. ‘The End' had disappeared off each of them too.

Sophie rifled through the pile. “But how can we lose a happy ending!”

“Because one of you wished for a
different
one,” Lady Lesso lashed, not looking at her. “One of you wanted a
new
Ever After. And now, one of you has put our school on the brink of
war
.”

“That's ludicrous,” Sophie huffed. “I know I wanted to be a princess—but I can't, can I? I saw what this place did to me and have no desire to spend more time in it, even if Gavaldon smells like horse bottom and has no endurable men. So if I didn't make the wish, then surely it's a mista—”

But now she saw who Lady Lesso was staring at, and her cheeks lost all blood.

Sophie slowly turned to her friend, shadowed in the corner. “Aggie, at the hollow, you said . . . you said you made a . . . That's not what you meant, right?”

Agatha couldn't look at her.

Sophie's hands were trembling. “Aggie, tell me it's not what you meant.”

Agatha tried to find words—something to redeem herself—

“All of this . . . ,” Sophie gasped. “Everything that happened . . . is because of
you
?”

Agatha burned scarlet. She spun to Lady Lesso. “How do I fix it? How do I get Sophie home safe?”

The Evil teacher let the question dangle while she inspected her sharp red nails.

“It's simple,” she said finally, lifting her eyes. “You must wish to end with each other at the same time. Wish for each other and only each other, and the Storian will write ‘The End' once more.”

“And we'll leave the Woods?” Agatha pressed.

“Never to be hunted again—as long as your wish is
true
.”

Agatha let out a rush of air. “We can fix it.” She turned to Sophie. “We can get our ending back! The village won't hurt us—”

Sophie backed away. “What ending did you want?”

“Don't do this,” Agatha said.

“What else could you possibly want?” Sophie demanded.

“It was a mistake, Sophie—”

“Answer me.”

“Sophie, please—”

Sophie locked her gaze. “What did you wish for?”

“We can fix this
now
,” Agatha begged.

“I'm afraid you can't.”

Both girls turned.

“The Storian must write ‘The End' to seal your wish,'” said Professor Dovey. “And at the moment, it is unable.”

“What do you mean?” Agatha flushed angrily. “Where is it?”

“Where it always is,” said Lady Lesso, scowling back. “With the
School Master
.”

“Huh?” Agatha said. “But you said he was replace—”

The flutter in her heart.

The face she couldn't see.

Agatha slowly looked up.

“Who
doesn't
want your ending sealed?” Lady Lesso purred. “Who wants a
new
ending to your fairy tale?”

She held up their story's last page . . . a boy walking into fog all alone . . .

“Who heard his princess's
wish
?”

Agatha whirled to the window. Lightning exploded over the School Master's tower across the bay with a whip crack of thunder, and she saw the silver-masked shadow in its flash—

Golden hair, a body of muscle, a glinting sword sheathed . . .

The sky went dark, and he was gone.

Agatha felt faint. All the attacks . . . all the destruction . . .

“Him,” Sophie whispered, crumpling against the wall. “You wished for . . .
him
.”

Agatha searched for something to say, but one look at Sophie, curled up in a grubby pink heap, and she knew. There was nothing to say.

“How?” Agatha whispered. “How could he hear it?”

“Because you
wanted
him to,” Lady Lesso slashed, prowling towards Agatha. “From the day you left, Tedros believed one day you'd call for him. From the day you left, he and his men hunted your village, trying to cross into Woods Beyond—until your wish finally opened the gates.”

Agatha paled, watching Lady Lesso circle her. “But your prince has to make sure his princess chooses
correctly
this time. He needs insurance you won't repeat your mistakes. So Tedros stole the Storian from under our noses, knowing the School Master's tower follows it wherever it goes. Now he'll stop the pen from writing ‘The End' to your story—until he has his
new
ending.”

Agatha's stomach went cold. “What's the new ending?” she rasped.

Lady Lesso stared through her. “Killing Sophie.”

Sophie slowly lifted her eyes, red and raw.

“Tedros believes killing Sophie will fix your fairy tale as it should have been,” said Professor Dovey. “The witch dies. The princess free to her prince. Your ending rewritten, just like Agatha wished.”

Agatha couldn't breathe under Sophie's scorching stare.

“Why don't you save Tedros the trouble?” Sophie hissed. “Kill this witch yourself.”

“That would solve everything,” sighed Professor Dovey.

Both girls turned.

“Oh dear,” said their teacher. “Did I say that out loud?”

“She'll die soon enough,” Lady Lesso snarled. “Tedros counted on Sophie coming here for protection. Now he and his army will come to kill her.”

“Army?” Agatha blanched. “He has an army?”

“You've forgotten about
his
school,” said Lady Lesso.

Agatha swung her head to the window. Through the sheets of rain, she could see the red hoods skulking around Evil's towers, in black leather uniforms crested with scarlet snakes and shiny black boots. Slowly she lowered her eyes to the gate on the castle shores, rusted iron words arched over it:

T
HE
S
CHOOL FOR
B
OY
V
ENGEANCE AND
R
ESTITUTION

“One wish has so many consequences, doesn't it?” Lady Lesso said, leering at Agatha. “Tedros has promised whoever kills Sophie half his father's treasure as a reward. Needless to say, both the Ever and Never boys took up the challenge.”

“As did all those princes outside,” Professor Dovey said, watching the filthy masses swarming the gates. “Tedros knows he can't attack us with just his school. Our teachers wouldn't give up Sophie without a fight.”

“So he's using the princes to force our hand,” Lady Lesso groused. “I cast a shield around the perimeter of both schools to keep them out. But if the princes get through, Tedros will have enough men to storm our castle and kill Sophie.”

Agatha stared out at the red fortress, still numb. “The Storian's in a
boys'
school
?”

“Either free it and get Sophie home alive . . . or kiss Tedros before he kills her.” Professor Dovey met Agatha's shocked eyes. “Kiss your prince and mean it, and you'll stay here with
him
Ever After. Sophie will be gone from your story forever . . . and vanish home alone.”

“Home
alone
?” Sophie gasped as if she'd been shot. “Gavaldon
alone
? While she gets . . .
him
?”

“These are the only two endings that can prevent war,” Professor Dovey said.

The only sound in the room was the echo of murderous princes.

Sophie gave Agatha a horrible look and curled back into her ball.

Tedros
, Agatha gritted. How could she wish for a boy who'd take love this far? How could she wish for a boy who'd kill her best friend? Her old witchy self would never have let this happen.

“Third option,” she said, storming to the door. “Tell Tedros he's a delusional ass.”

“No.”

Agatha turned.

“You wished for him,” Sophie spat, blotched with rage. “And you want me to trust you two
alone
?”

Agatha stepped back. Sophie looked even more a witch than she did in the graveyard.

“I won't intervene in your lovers' quarrel, but I suggest Agatha make her choice soon,” Lady Lesso snapped. “Once Tedros breaks the princes through my shield, all our lives will be in danger.”

“We'll hide you and Sophie in the Blue Forest until you have a plan,” Professor Dovey said to Agatha, pulling a ring of keys. “None of the girls can know you've come.”

Agatha looked up, dazed. “Why not?”

“Because unlike your two teachers, they think this is the best thing that's ever happened,” said a honey-smooth voice.

The two professors and two girls turned to see a tall, ravishing woman push through the door, milky smooth and full-bosomed in a teacher's electric-blue dress decorated with a pattern of butterflies. She had a waterfall of chestnut hair to her midback, forest-green eyes under thick dark brows, a luscious pink mouth, and a gap between her two shiny front teeth.

“My brother's office?” she said, biting her bee-stung lips. “I wasn't aware it was where we held secret meetings.”

“It's the only place we can't be overheard,” Lady Lesso returned, her voice oddly tentative.

“Well I do believe I should have been alerted to our honored guests,” the woman said breathily, turning to Sophie and Agatha. “After all, they are the reason this magnificent school exists.”

The two girls gawped at her.

“We've been meticulously preparing for your arrival,” said the stranger, knitting her arched brows. “And we nearly may have missed it.” She flashed a look at the two teachers.

Agatha shook her head. “But how did you know we were com—”

“Goodness, you two look frightful,” the woman said, magically restoring their faces and dresses with her finger. Only Sophie's dress magically lost its pink color too and drained blank white.

Sophie grabbed her hem. “What happened to my—”

“Come, girls.” The woman sashayed for the door. “We've put your books and schedules in your room.”

“Schedules!” Professor Dovey launched to her feet. “You're not thinking of them going to class, Evelyn!”

The woman twirled. “As long as they are at
my
school, they will attend class and abide by the rules. Which includes
staying
in their school at all times. Surely you don't object to the
rules
?”

Sophie and Agatha waited for the professors to indeed object, but Dovey and Lesso were curiously quiet, eyes on a pair of blue butterflies that had settled on the tips of their noses.

“I see our
former
deans neglected to inform you about the most important change at your
new
school,” the stranger said, smiling at the two girls. “Evelyn Sader. Dean of the School for Girls. Sorry for the hurry. I don't want to keep everyone waiting. Follow me, please.”

As she turned and swept through the door, Sophie saw the two butterflies land on her matching dress and vanish magically into its pattern. She let out a breath of surprise. “Keep who waiting?”

As more butterflies fell into her dress, the beautiful woman didn't look back.

“
Your
army,” she said, as if she'd just listened to their entire conversation.