The School for Good and Evil: One Last Tale

9 - Checking The Barrier

Agatha

"Are you sure that this is the right place?" Hester huffs from behind me.

"I would know how to find Gavaldon with my eyes closed. This is definitely the right place," I reply looking at the trees in front of me as I trudge down the path. After I saw what was being recorded by the Storian I knew I had to go and check the barrier between Gavaldon and the rest of the woods. Only those who have attended The School for Good and Evil can find themselves in a fairytale which means that someone from the woods has managed to cross into Gavaldon.

In all my time as Queen, I never stopped to question whether Gavaldon would be safe. Although my mother is now gone, my father still lives there, even if it's still a strange concept to me. I had thought that after we had defeated Rafal when the barrier had nearly broken that it would remain strong but perhaps that was not the case anymore. Since then, the world has been threatened so many times that the barrier could have been growing weaker without anyone's notice. All I can do is hope that my feelings are wrong.

Then I notice something beyond the trees which fills me with hope. I run forward, despite the protests from Anadil and Hester to slow down.

I stop when I reach the familiar sight of Gavaldon. Looking at it from here, it didn't look like anyone had broken in. Carefully I reach out my hand towards the village. My hand is stopped, the contact with the barrier causing it to ripple with magic. I allow myself to breathe with relief; Gavaldon is okay.

"It's okay, the barrier is still here," I turn around to see Hester and Anadil finally reaching up to me, hand in hand. Anadil smiles but Hester doesn't match her happiness.

"So this was all a waste of time?" Hester asks, obviously annoyed. I can't say that I blame her, especially as it turns out that the barrier between Gavaldon and the forest is perfectly okay. The thing is, I know that I'll never stop thinking about the possibility that something sinister is afoot until I check personally. It might not be the same for Hester or Andil as they're Nevers but I know from my own fairytale that sometimes things aren't always as they appear.

I place a hand on Hester's shoulder, feeling her body tense slightly from the physical contact. "Even though it was a waste of time, thank you for coming with me," I say as I remove my hand and start to walk back into the woods. What am I going to tell Sophie when she asks me where I've been? Tedros knew that I was checking up on the Storian so I won't have to lie to him but I'm not sure it's wise to tell Sophie. The Storian has already shaken up her life so much I can't bear to watch it do so again. The truth is, there's probably nothing sinister going on. It might be the first time that there's been a fairytale about a reader but that doesn't automatically mean that it's wrong. I need to remind myself that I'm perfectly safe and that whatever this new story might be, it doesn't impact me. My life can exist without being flung into a fairytale.

"Aggie!" I stop in my tracks, whirling around to look at the voice. Sophie is walking towards us or at least trying to. She's wearing boots with a huge heel that seems to plunge into the ground but refuses to come back out.

I feel Hester move close to me as she hisses into my ear, "What is she doing here?"

"I don't know," I whisper back. "She must have followed me out of Camelot."

Sophie eventually reaches the three of us, letting down the hem of her dress that she'd been holding to avoid it getting dirty. "Here I was thinking I was going to catch up with Aggie but instead I've also managed to meet two of my favourite classmates!" I've always been unsure about Sophie's relationship with the Coven she met when she first arrived at school. At some moments they seem so close and then the next they become mortal enemies. However, judging from Hester's reaction, I think that it's still not been repaired.

"Sophie," I say her name, faking a huge smile on my face. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help of course!" Sophie replied like I feared she would. "Oh Aggie, you looked so dreadful after you received that note that I just had to make sure you were okay. Especially after you used that terrible excuse that you were ill which was obviously untrue." I should have known better than to use a sickness excuse on Sophie but at the time, it was the only thing I could think of. "But it seems like I shouldn't have been worried at all. It's lovely to see you again Hester."

Hester's face remained neutral, trying to fight away the annoyance that I could see slipping beneath her surface. "I thought you were busy in Camelot," she replied, curtly.

"I do have some more things to plan for the wedding but after the wedding rehearsal was postponed, I have plenty of time for something like this," Sophie continued. Despite there being no physical evidence, there was definitely a war brewing between my two friends. Unlike Hester, Sophie fights her battles as sweetly as possible. "Speaking of my wedding, I haven't given you your invitation yet."

I notice Hester's jaw tighten as Sophie takes out a card, handing it to her. "I'll have to see if I'm busy that day."

"You're invited too Anadil, even your rats can come." Anadil smiles at Sophie but she and Hester have their eyes locked on each other. I really didn't realise that their relationship with one another had turned so sour.

Deciding that I don't want there to be a fight between the two of them, especially so close to the barrier, I step in between the two of them. "Sophie, we really should be heading back to Camelot now."

"But I was just-"

"I finally found the pattern for Guvinere's wedding dress that I knew you wanted and I'm so desperate to show you," I interrupt, hoping that Sophie will be taken in by my finding. Luckily, Sophie's face lights up, forgetting all about her disagreement with Hester.

"Well then we must head back at once," Sophie says, turning to walk back towards Camelot where I imagine she's left a carriage. Ordinarily, I would have thought it rude for her to leave without saying goodbye but I imagine I've come off lucky.

Before I leave myself, Hester moves towards me, "I'll let you know if anything happens with the Storian." I give her a nod and a smile prior to walking through the mass of trees after my best friend. Even though I would have loved to stay longer to inspect the barrier, keeping Sophie safe is more important. To my eyes, it seems the barrier is fine and I completely trust Hester to let me know if anything changes. Even though I've been in a fairytale for nearly five years, that doesn't mean that I'm entering one again. As Tedros said, I'm now in my happy ending which is going to feel different to a story. Nothing is going to happen to the barrier. For whatever reason, the Storian has decided to start telling the story of a reader and although it hasn't occurred before, it doesn't mean it's impossible.

So why do I have this awful feeling that this will all end in disaster?