Everly Academy

by V. B. Marlowe

  The girls took their seats. They always sat in the same spots. Allison was seated to Lily’s right. To Lily’s left was Gretchen, and on the other side of Gretchen was Jolie.

  There was a bumping sound from the other side of the door. The other girls froze, listening to see what it was. The door opened and closed. The girls shared frantic glances. Who had discovered their secret meeting place? Was it Ms. Halifax? Isleen?

  The beam from a flashlight danced on the walls, and Dru emerged from the darkness.

  “Dru?” Gretchen said. “What are you doing here?”

  Dru was quiet for a minute, then she sighed. “I want to be a part of the Midnight Society. It’s not fair that I have to be lumped in with her just because I’m a princess. Lily isn’t.”

  Lily thought that was a fair statement.

  Jolie narrowed her eyes at Dru. “But you willingly chose that side, Dru. How do we know Izzy didn’t send you as a double agent?”

  “Oh, come on,” Gretchen said. “This is Dru we’re talking about. She has the right to change her mind. I think she would make a great addition to our alliance.”

  “I agree,” Lily said. “Dru doesn’t have a dishonest bone in her body—but, if you were to join our alliance, Dru, it would be great if you could tell us what’s going on from the other side.”

  Dru lowered herself into an empty seat. “Sure. I can do that.”

  No one said anything else, so Lily held out her hands and the girls took their cue. They joined hands. Allison had to be prodded but she did it, and they made their sacred oath.

  “To my sisters I pledge my all.

  All secrets stay within these walls.

  My promises I vow to keep,

  All secrets will stay buried deep.”

  It was something each of them took seriously. They needed to be able to trust and depend on each other.

  “What did you guys think about yesterday?” Lily asked.

  “I thought it was great,” Jolie answered. “I think Ms. Dillinger needed to see what we’re capable of. Maybe she’ll have more faith in us and Ms. Bea’s magic.”

  “What about Dr. Meyer?” Dru asked. “That was pretty intense.”

  Gretchen pinched off a piece of the brownie she was eating and popped it into her mouth. “I found it quite satisfying. There’s nothing better than seeing someone get a taste of their own medicine. Right, Allison?”

  Allison nodded slightly.

  “We need to focus,” Jolie said. “Let’s get thinking about the location of the first pen. We need to find it before they do.”

  “Yeah,” Dru said. “This is where Izzy has an advantage. She knows every secret realm there is to know about and how to get there, and we all know she won’t be sharing that information with us. Not even us in the alliance. She hasn’t quite put her finger on where the Big Bad Wolf might be, but she thinks she’s close.”

  “Then we’d better work fast,” Gretchen said.

  The girls reached for the pile of books that sat at the center of the table and began flipping through them. The books were atlases, history books about places all over the world, and copies of Alice in Wonderland. The room was quiet except for the flipping of pages. After a few minutes, Dru sighed. “I can’t wait until Allison has her full mind back and she’s able to tell us everything she can about Wonderland. Until then, it’s really a mystery to us.”

  “She will be soon,” Lily assured her. She squeezed Allison’s hand and was suddenly overwhelmed with anger. Who knew how far they may have gotten to breaking the curses if Dr. Meyer hadn’t been keeping Allison ill all this time? She was happy that he had been punished, but she felt he deserved more of a consequence.

  The girls continued to read and jot down notes. Lily noted a few places in Wonderland that stood out to her.

  Gretchen groaned, closing the last book she had been looking at. “What are we going to do once we find the location?”

  No one said anything for a long time. Gretchen grasped her belly and lay her head on the table. Lily felt terrible for her, and she wished there was something she could do to take the pain away.

  “Well,” Dru said finally. “I imagine we’re going to have to tell Ms. Bea, and then she’ll tell the others. She won’t keep it a secret. I wouldn’t want to keep it a secret from the other girls either.”

  “Neither would I.” Lily added, “I think we all should have a shot at it. But we all know that if Izzy were to find out the location first, she would never want to willingly share with us.”

  Jolie ran her finger across the page of a book. “Good thing she has to tell Ms. Bea because no one can leave this place without her magic.”

  The girls silently agreed with Jolie and went back to their studies.

  Once their time was up, they silently crept back to their rooms. Lily was last since she had stopped by Allison’s room to tuck her in. By the time Lily reached her own room, all the other bedroom doors were closed, and a dark figure stood at the end of the hallway. Lily’s heart jumped for a second when she thought the figure was Izzy. All she wanted to do was go to bed, and the last thing she needed was to have an argument with Izzy right then. She relaxed when she realized it was Ms. Dillinger.

  “Oh, hi, Ms. Dillinger. I was just . . .” Lily was bad at lying and she wasn’t sure what she should say, but Ms. Dillinger finished her sentence for her.

  “You were just coming from a meeting with the Midnight Society.”

  Lily’s jaw dropped. “How do you know about that? Who told you? The girls are sworn to secrecy.”

  Molly held her hands up. “It’s okay. Nobody told me anything, and I’m not mad that you guys sneak out of your rooms at night. I understand.”

  An awkward silence hung between them. “Is something wrong?” Molly asked. She thought it was a silly question considering the circumstances, but Lily wasn’t her usual self.

  “I’m scared. I mean really scared. The time for the next blood moon is drawing closer and closer, and people will really show their true colors. By people, I mostly mean Izzy.”

  “I know she’s tough, but is she really something to be afraid of?”

  Lily nodded. “More than you know. She never sleeps. While the rest of us are, she’s up all night figuring out ways to get what she wants. She doesn’t care about us or even her own alliance. Only herself. I’m afraid that she’ll start to rub off on people. Although nights around here are restless, most of us can get our sleep in during the daytime. Of course, Izzy can’t do that. Do you know what happens to the mind of a person who doesn’t sleep? They start to go mad. Not in the way Allison was, though. In a scarier way that you can’t see so much from the outside. She can be very persuasive. Tress will do whatever she tells her to, and she has Marina on her side. I love Marina, but she wants to get home to her family. She’s the only one of us who has family that’s still alive, and she’ll do anything to get back to them. I don’t blame her. I’m just afraid that as much as we love each other, as much as we consider ourselves sisters, things are going to get very cutthroat around here, and even Ms. Bea won’t be able to stop it.”

  Molly wasn’t sure what to do with that information, but she understood why Lily felt the way she did.

  Lily headed for her bedroom and paused. “Ms. Dillinger, trust me. You’ve only seen a tenth of how terrible Izzy can be.”

  The next day Molly and the girls gathered in the great study. Everyone was present except for Isleen.

  Dru slipped her flip-flops off and curled herself into a ball on one of the couches. “Not that I miss her, Tress, but where’s Izzy?”

  Molly was curious also especially since Isleen hadn’t shown up for breakfast.

  Tress, fiddling with the end of her long braid, looked up, slightly surprised. “Izzy? Oh, that’s right. She told me to tell you that she may or may not have found the location of the first pen. Me, personally, I think she has. She should be down soon.”

  Oriana exchanged annoyed glances with Scarlett. “Of course, she
has to be all dramatic about it.”

  As if on cue, the doors to the great study swung open and Isleen waltzed in wearing an emerald-green ball gown. “Good morning, everyone. How’s it going?”

  “Good morning, Isleen,” Molly said. “Tress tells us that you may have found the first location.”

  Isleen took a seat beside her friend before answering. “Possibly.”

  Gretchen snorted. “Come on, Izzy. Out with it. We don’t have time for your mind games.”

  “Yeah,” Scarlett agreed. “Have you found it or not?”

  Isleen stretched her arms across the back of the couch, the look of pure satisfaction on her face. “Of course, I have. It’s what I do. The question is, now that I have this very valuable yet priceless piece of information, what should I do with it? Sure, I could share it with all of you, but why would I do that? I could simply take my fellow princesses and go.”

  Lily rose to her feet. “It doesn’t work that way, and you know it. Bea didn’t give you that gift to use it against us. She gave it to you to benefit us just like you benefit from our talents.”

  Isleen didn’t look so sure of herself anymore as she stared Lily down. But in a flash, any insecurity she had disappeared as her eyes narrowed to slits. “Please, Lil. I have yet to benefit from your incredible talent of being able to hold a conversation with a blade of grass.”

  “Lily’s right,” Marina said. “We can’t get there without Bea. Do you think she’s just going to send us without giving the others a chance? She’d never do that.”

  “Hey!” Isleen shouted. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

  Marina shook her head. “But why?” she asked softly. “Why does there have to be sides? We can work together and save everyone.”

  Isleen’s body stiffened in the face of what she thought to be betrayal, and Molly was starting to think that Isleen was the only one who really believed in the princess alliance. Tress placed her hand on Isleen’s shoulder. “Please. Let’s do this together. Tell us the location so we can tell Ms. Bea and get this thing over with.”

  Isleen looked as if she were going to dish out a nasty retort to Tress, but she stopped and looked down at her hands. “The Black Forest in Germany. You’ve all heard of it, right?”

  “Yes,” Molly replied. “It’s an eerie place in Germany that’s said to be the inspiration behind the Grimms’ stories. The trees are so tall that they block out all the light. That’s how the forest got its name. There’s also castles and villages—the place is like a real-life fairy tale. It’s a popular tourist attraction.” Molly furrowed her brow, trying to see the connection. That totally sounded like a place she wanted to visit but not anywhere a magical pen would be hidden. “So that’s where we’ll find the Big Bad Wolf?”

  “No,” Isleen replied. “We’ll find him in the Black Forest’s alter-realm, the Dead Forest.”

  Molly rubbed her forehead, trying to take it all in. “What does that mean?”

  Dru held up a pillow from the sofa and placed her hand on top of it. “Say this is the Black Forest.” She flipped the pillow upside down. “This would be its alter-realm. It’s underneath it and can only be accessed through magic. We have to tell Ms. Bea right away.”

  “Are you absolutely sure, Izzy?” Lily asked. “We don’t have time to waste by going to the wrong location.”

  Isleen’s upper lip curled. “Of course, I’m sure. There are only three alter-realms where a wolf can survive, and I’m one hundred percent sure its sworn enemies live in the other two. They are very territorial. They would never dwell in the same realm.”

  Isleen turned to Molly. “You can deliver that news to the headmistress. I know she doesn’t want to hear it from me.”

  Molly was sure that Isleen was right about that.

  Bea and Ms. Halifax were in her office speaking in hushed tones. Molly stood in the doorway. “May I come in?”

  “Of course,” Bea said, waving her in. Molly took a seat before Bea’s desk right beside Ms. Halifax.

  “Isleen has found the first location. She says we can find the Big Bad Wolf underneath the Black Forest.”

  Bea and Ms. Halifax exchanged glances. “Is she sure?” Bea asked. “You can never tell with that one.”

  “Yes. I think she’s telling the truth.”

  Molly could tell that something was wrong. “Is everything okay?”

  The two women looked at each other. Bea took a deep breath and wrung her hands together. “No.”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I don’t know if my magic is strong enough to create a travel portal. It’s one of the things that takes the most magic. Even if I had enough magic to get the girls there, I don’t know that I’ll have enough to bring them back.”

  “Oh.” That was a problem. A problem Molly had no idea how to solve. “What can we do?”

  “If I can get just a little bit of magic from somewhere else, I can be sure we have enough.”

  “Where can you get magic from?” As far as Molly knew, no one had magic around there except for Ms. Bea.

  Ms. Halifax cleared her throat. “There is one place. It’s not ideal, but it can definitely be done.”

  Everyone settled around the fire that night. It was unusually quiet. Most of the noise came from Allison, who was slowly but surely coming out of her trance. She sat next to Lily humming softly. The peaceful moment was disrupted by a loud whooshing sound coming from the fireplace. The flames of the dragon’s mouth swirled, forming an oval shape. Soon the oval took the familiar shape of the Cheshire cat. Everyone groaned as Allison sat on the edge of the couch, staring into the fire. Lily and Scarlet put their arms around her. “It’s okay,” Lily said softly.

  The cat grinned teasingly and flipped upside down. “Your time is coming to a close, my dears. Soon your curses will be yours permanently and my witches will be able to kill you if they like. Whatever will you do?”

  Molly peered into the fireplace and leaned forward. She thought about the cat and how he appeared and disappeared whenever he wanted. Magically. He was the only magical thing Molly had seen that wasn’t a result of Bea’s magic. She placed her hand on Bea’s arm. Bea looked at her. “Why not take his magic?” Molly asked her. “God knows he isn’t making any beneficial use of it. Would it be enough?”

  Bea narrowed her eyes at the cat. She squared her shoulders and held her hand out to the fire.

  Molly’s eyes widened just as the cat’s did. He might have sensed something was wrong already. Bea made a weaving motion with her hand, and the cat floated away from the fireplace. With its chubby paws, it tried its best to stay in its place, but it was of no use. The cat drew nearer to Bea, meowing in terror. He’d gone from being a troublesome bully to a terrified little pussycat. The girls sat silently, watching. Allison had an unusual gleam in her eye.

  The cat seemed to unravel like a ball of yarn. Orange, fiery strings disappeared into Bea’s finger. His shrieks grew louder as his body shrank down to nothing. Once the cat was gone, Bea gasped and bent over. “Ms. Dillinger. Ms. Halifax. I’d like to have a word with you privately.”

  Leaving the girls alone, the two women followed Bea into her study. There they both took seats in front of her desk. “I will only allow this to happen under a couple of conditions.”

  “What would those be?” Molly asked. Ms. Halifax twisted her hands together like she didn’t want to know.

  “One, I cannot leave the girls alone, unguarded. The only time I’ve left Everly for an extended period was when I had to come and get you. Even then I tried to make sure the trip was as quick and succinct as possible.”

  Molly sank into her seat. “But you have to go. You have magic. What if something happens? What if they need your magic to survive?”

  Bea took a deep breath. “I thought about that, but there’s no possible way I can leave this estate for that long. The girls will just have to rely on each other and the tools I’ve given them.”

  Molly still felt uneasy about that
, but she could tell that Bea had her mind made up about staying back at the house. “What’s the other condition?” Ms. Halifax asked.

  “All the girls will not go. I will allow half of them, but not all.”

  It was Ms. Halifax’s turn to protest. “Why? You know they’re all going to want to go. How is this going to work?”

  Bea looked more pale than usual. “This is a great risk—me letting them go at all. I’m not sure I still even want to. If something happens . . . I can’t . . . I can’t lose all of them. Losing one girl would kill me, but I can’t even fathom losing them all.”

  Molly understood even though the phrase “There’s strength in numbers” was running through her mind.

  “I know,” Bea continued, “that there will be a great argument as they all want to go, but this is really the way it has to be. Do you all understand why I need to have these conditions?”

  Molly and Ms. Halifax looked at each other and nodded. That was probably the only time they had mutually agreed on anything.

  Bea shook her head. “Obviously one of you will have to travel with them.”

  Ms. Halifax straightened her shoulders. The woman had to be in her seventies, and Molly wondered if it were even a question. She couldn’t imagine herself going through some magic portal to travel to some forest and fight a big, bad wolf, but before she could stop herself she had blurted out, “I’ll go.”

  Bea took a good hard look at her. “Do you understand what you’re volunteering for?”