The Violet Witch - The School for Good and Evil

10) Apprehensive

The next day, Evelynn walked across the school grounds, lost in her thoughts. She fiddled with her long sleeves as she walked, imagining how mortifying it would be if the Boys won the trial and she'd have to watch Tedros kill Sophie and Agatha.

Tedros, killing.

Agatha and Sophie, dead.

Evelynn's hands curled into fists, her brow tightening. She couldn't let this happen, she had to take part in the trial, at least then she wouldn't be stuck in the castle unknowing which side was winning.

She watched her feet treading through the grass on the outskirts of the blue forest, then glanced up suddenly at the sound of a voice.

A voice that sounded like a particular former witch.

Sophie.

Evelynn's brow furrowed and she followed the sound, walking between tree trunks further into the forest.

Eventually, she reached the small clearing in which Helga lived - the gnome that had replaced Yuba after girls and boys were split.

Evelynn's frown deepened as she approached the small, moss coated door, pushing it open gently with her hand.

All crammed inside Helga's cosy cave, she was surprised to see Agatha, Sophie, the coven and..."Yuba?!"

Sat in Helga's clothes and little heels, was none other than Yuba the gnome, the professor that had never favoured her in his Surviving Fairytales lessons.

"How did you know we were here?" Agatha questioned, incredulous.

"How is Yuba here!?"

Hester sighed and pulled the confused Evelynn into the cave by her wrist, using her finger glow to close the door behind her. "Yuba has been disguising himself as a woman to keep teaching here, he was just explaining Gnome peace."

Evelynn stared speechless at Yuba's wrinkled face. "Wha-"

Hester yanked her down to sit. "Just listen."

"Gnomes are born with the ability to change sex." Yuba began, Evelynn slowly raised her hand.

"What? Lynn!?"

"Are you Helga?"

"Take a guess!" Yuba snapped, "Now, the changes are temporary of course, until the girl or boy becomes of age, and they revert back into the sex they were born as."

Evelynn questioned why she was there, and why Yuba was telling her friends about Gnome biology.

"Merlin, the greatest student to ever attend the School for Good and Evil was fascinated by this ability, and studied Gnome biology in his free time."

Evelynn had heard about Merlin, he was the most powerful Wizard in the fairytale world, and Tedros told her he looked after him as a kid because he worked for his father.

"But why would Merlin care about Gnomes changing sexes?" Agatha asked.

"He believed Gnome's peaceful nature and the ability to change sex were mixed. He thought if he granted the ability to mankind war and conflict would be over, and humanity would be saved."

Evelynn leaned forward. "So you helped him make a sex changing spell?"

"Yes, a spell for any species, but he needed my supervision to do it."

"Did it work?" Dot whispered, as if apprehensive to know the answer.

"It did, we worked on it long after Merlin left the school, and I tested it on myself until the spell was perfected, it's why I still have the recipe now, it's how I'm hiding here. However, when it got out into the world, it was used for the wrong reasons, by King Arthur. The potion only caused more trickery and hate. The word was spread that the spell was a curse that could bring down mankind for all time; Merlin was hunted down by the armies, he fled before they could reach him, but they incinerated the lifetime of work he left behind. Without his advisor and wife, Arthur succumbed to drunkenness and heartbreak."