The School for Good and Evil: One Last Tale

12 - Into The Woods

A/N Before I start this chapter, I just want to thank all of you for your support on this. Yes, I know I haven't updated for four months but I have been slowly working on it as well as all my other writing. I promise you, that I am always working on this fic, even if I'm not posting. Since my last update, this fic has been read over 1k times (currently 1.24k) which is crazy to think about. Thank you so much for enjoying this fic, it truly means a lot <3

Sophia

As I start to smell smoke, a smile spreads across my face. I had tried to sleep but the excitement and worry over the plan had resulted in restlessness. Hopefully, those feelings will carry me through until we have reached somewhere safe in the woods.

"Sophia, darling, wake up," I open my eyes after feigning sleep at the sound of my mum trying to wake me. Panic is on her face like I knew it would be.

"Mum, what's wrong?" I say slowly, trying to play the part I need to. If I had any doubts about travelling into the woods, then there is no going back now.

She passes me the clothes I strategically placed nearby. "There's a fire at the barn, your dad has already left but we need to go too." I nod my head as my mum leaves the room. So far everything is going to plan. I breathe a sigh of relief, trying to ease away the uneasiness I feel about deceiving my parents. This might be the moment I've been planning for but it doesn't ease how terrible I feel. However, it's not like after this, I'll see my parents again. In my mind, I can think that they are actually happy that I'm following my heart and destiny to enter the Woods. I can't decide whether that thought eases how I feel.

The village is a brush with panic. People are scared, running out of their houses to a safer spot. I see some of the men running towards the barn with buckets of water hoping to quench the fire. There's a pang of guilt in my chest, knowing that I am part of the cause behind the unrest. What if someone actually gets hurt? No, it's too late for those thoughts; Sebastian must already be waiting for me.

My mum is walking in front of me, her focus completely on the crowd around us. If I don't want to get caught, this is the moment that I have to run. "I love you mum," I whisper, tears springing to my eyes.

Before my emotions consume me, I diverge from the crowd, making my way towards the meeting spot. It goes against everything my heart is feeling but this is the plan. The aching will stop once I get to the Woods. Once I'm there, everything will make sense. The hole I've been feeling will be filled and my life will be complete. I worry that now I'm creating a different hole that will never be whole once more.

I spot Sebastian as soon as our meeting spot is insight. The anxiety I suspected to melt when I saw him persists. Perhaps it will clear once we clear the sight of the village. I smile at him through the darkness but it's not mirrored. Instead, he rushes forward and grabs my hand, pulling me towards the barrier. Even though it is the wrong time in this situation, my cheeks can't help but grow warm.

"Are you sure you managed to shake off your parents?" Sebastian asks.

I nod my head. "My dad is helping to put out the fire and I slipped away from the mum in the crowd."

"Well then, it's now or never," he says and smiles which soothes a little of my anxiety. Sebastian wouldn't be smiling at me like this if he didn't have a solid plan for breaking through the barrier.

Sebastian starts pulling me towards the barrier with purpose. I can feel his step getting quicker, his eyes locked on the barrier as I try to keep up to his pace. Any moment now we're going to stop and Sebastian will stop and explain the plan. I'm suspecting that something magical will be involved but I'm not sure. Whatever the means, I'm sure that Sebastian will have tried and tested the method out first.

So why does it look like his plan is to run through the barrier?

I stop suddenly, pushing my feet into the ground so I don't tumble over whilst I keep ahold of Sebastian's hand. He in turn nearly stumbles, only barely keeping standing. There's anger in his eyes as he faces me, overtaking the ice that is normally there. "What are you doing?"

"Is your plan to run into the barrier and hope it works?" I ask.

Sebastian stands upright, regaining his composure. "I stumbled through the barrier," he admits. "There isn't any spell if that's what you're thinking."

Now it's my turn to spot red. "All this time I thought you actually had a plan but you're telling me you crossed over by accident?"

Sebastian lets go of my hand. "I didn't tell you how I crossed the barrier, you assumed it involved magic."

"How do you even know it works if it happened by accident? What happens if we can't cross over?"

"Then we both get found out for starting a fire," he answers, staring straight into my eyes. There's no warmth in his voice. It feels like daggers, ready to pierce my skin if I make one wrong move. I've fallen too deeply into this to back out now. What am I supposed to do? Do I have to have faith and trust that it'll work again?

I watch the warmth slowly return to Sebastian's face as he reaches out a hand for me to take. If I take that hand and I manage to cross the barrier then all my dreams will come true. I can rectify that mistake years ago when I should have been taken instead of Agatha to The School for Good.

I close my eyes, mustering strength and resolve to reach out my hand. "Okay, let's do this," I say as Sebastian places his hand in mine. Except something doesn't feel right; it's too warm.

Quickly I open my eyes and gasp in horror. I am met with the sight of wild fiery hair as rain starts to slowly fall from the sky, leaving kisses on my cheeks. "What are you doing?" Radley shouts, his hand is gripping mine so strongly that it feels like it could burst.

I don't know what to say, the words drying up in my mouth. In all my planning, I didn't expect Radley to find us. To be honest, I don't know what I'm doing. All the courage I've had disappears into the rain. What am I doing?

"Sophia, the rain is going to put out the fire. If we don't go now, they'll find out we started it and then who knows what they'll do." Sebastian is now gripping my other hand, even tighter than Radley. Everything is starting to unravel. What should I do? If I stay I could be trapped here forever. I'll have to stay in this village and I imagine they will punish Sebastian severely.

What happens if I leave? The world of my dreams is mere steps away. If I fail then at least I've tried. At least then I'll know that I tried everything.

"Radley, let go," I say. He looks into my eyes that aren't wet because of the rain. He wants to hold on. I shake my head.

My hand feels cold by itself but I turn away as Sebastian runs towards the barrier. This is it, I finally get my fairytale. My heart beats to each step, the pace increasing as we make contact with the barrier.

As I tumble through, both my hands feel warm with hope. I've finally made it into the woods.