The School for Good and Evil Prequel The Never Prince (fanfic)

Chapter 6

    The next day classes started. Lilac was up early, which would have been nice if she had actually slept. Or if she was at home, getting ready to sneak away. She couldn't go back to sleep, so she decided to give herself a tour of the school. She got changed and glanced at the high heels she had tossed underneath her bed. Perhaps she could use a little practice.

    She put on the heels and stood up. She felt taller, about Garth's height. She took a few wobbly steps around the room, trying to keep the heels from clicking too loudly on the floor. Once she figured it out, she walked through the door and down the hall. The stairs were a little tricky, but Lilac made it without too many stumbles.

    She reached the bottom of the stairs and walked around. She stopped when she noticed a door with the words Gallery of Good over it. She opened the door without a creak and walked in. Display cases lined the walls and a giant beanstalk took up the center. A giant mural on the long wall caught her eye.

    The scene was of a wedding for a prince and princess. A golden castle sat behind the couple, spectators celebrating in front of them, and baby angels throwing rose petals above them. A golden sun sat in the corner, illuminating their magical kiss. Stretched across the top of the painting were the words,       "E V E R A F T E R."

    The thought of princes upset Lilac. Garth was sweet, brave, and kind. Handsome could be used to describe Stephan, but without knowing him, she couldn't judge anything else. She sighed sadly. Why did feelings have to be so complicated?

    Lilac turned to the displays, items of past princes and princesses that lived happily ever after. A cloak that once belonged to Cinderella's prince, Red Riding Hood's pillow, Pinocchio's pajamas. The fact they kept those gave Lilac chills. There was a special section for class captains, the top students in the school for Good. Their portraits hung on the wall beside the banner.

    Lilac looked away from the taxidermic animals who she believed were failed students. She didn't want to know if Vicky was one of them. She wanted to believe she was still alive as a beautiful deer or a magnificent peacock. For Victoria's sake. The little girl was so sweet, she had to have gotten it from her sister.

    Unsure of the time, Lilac decided to make her way back to her room. The heels were difficult to walk in all of a sudden. Her little rest was probably taking its toll. Or the thought of Vicky was weighing her down. But something else was nagging at her. Maybe Garth will know, she thought. But then she realized she wouldn't see him until lunch. Perfect.

                                                                            * * *

    Garth couldn't sleep that night because of the obnoxious snorting of a pig. It was like a thunderstorm had mysteriously made its way into their dorm. Kergy had been kept up also, trying to block out the snores with his pillow. The bags under his eyes were the results of his experiment. Garth decided if he couldn't sleep he could read the books he had been given by candlelight.

    He skipped the recipe book, not interested in becoming a cannibal. Best Villainous Monologues was ok, the best of villainous sayings wrapped up in just a few pages. Spells for Suffering, Year 1 was useless if he couldn't use magic, so he left that for last if Jerald's snores didn't stop. The Novice's Guide to Kidnapping and Murder was a little intense for a first semester read. He skipped every page that had a picture depicting a form of murder, especially if the victim was a princess.

Embracing Ugliness Inside & Out was a time waster. Not looking like a pretty boy prince was good, but the trick was not acting like one. Meaning no coming to Lilac's rescue or being her best buddy. Leaving the rescuing to a prince wouldn't be too tricky. Not being her friend would crush her like a grape. And probably break his own heart, after she had befriended him against everyone's wishes. Punching that pompous blondie in the face was definitely allowed though. An Evil action for sure.