The fairycherry soda was refreshing, and it helped calm her nerves. She’d never felt this anxious, not even before stepping onstage to do a solo performance. This was a big decision. This would change her life. It would change the way people looked at her. It would change her place in the universe.
“Raven is our competition because she has evil in her blood. The only thing I do well is ballet and turning myself into a swan.” She took another drink. “Oh, and I know that Ginger is going to put sandman powder into the cinnamon trolls tomorrow morning.”
“How do you know this?”
“I heard her talking.”
“Did she see you?”
“No, I was swimming with the other swans.”
He smiled. “So that’s your advantage. You can turn into a swan and eavesdrop because no one knows it’s you. Then you can find out what everyone is planning and sabotage it.”
“And what’s your advantage?” she asked.
“My laziness. I’m going to help you by not doing anything.” He moved to a beanbag chair and stretched across it. “I don’t care if I fairy-fail, and sabotage sounds like way too much work.”
“But…” She set her soda on the crate. “I don’t understand. I thought you wanted to work together on this.”
“Relax. We will be working together. I won’t do the thronework. That way, you only have four other students to compete with. I’m increasing your chance of success by… by…” He scratched his head.
“One-fifth.”
“Right. And then, when you win, my little reward will be the treasure vault.”
She held up a hand. “Hold on a minute. This isn’t really a partnership. You weren’t going to do the thronework anyway.”
“It’s a partnership because you didn’t have a plan, and now you do, thanks to moi.” He beat his hands on the beanbag chair as if it were a drum.
She narrowed her eyes. “So let me get this straight. My rotten and nasty plan is to ruin everyone else’s rotten and nasty plans.”
“Exactamundo. You’re as sharp as an arrow.”
“But do you think ruining other plans is enough?”
“Eavesdropping and sabotage are totally evil,” he said with a smirk. “And don’t forget, you’ll have to double-cross a friend.”
“A friend?” She inhaled sharply. In addition to Raven’s, Ginger’s, and Faybelle’s plans, Duchess would have to sabotage Lizzie’s as well. She clenched her jaw. Lizzie would never forgive her. And then Duchess would probably lose the only friend she had at Ever After High. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
He took another sip. “Hey, you know my dad’s motto, ‘Rob from the rich and give to the poor’? Well, in your case, it would be ‘Rob from the other students and give to yourself.’” He snorted. “Oh, awesome. Did you see that? Soda just came out of my nose.”
But Duchess wasn’t looking at Sparrow’s nose. She was looking at her future—one with two human legs.
Chapter 15
Sweet Sabotage
It was early Wednesday morning when Duchess slipped out of bed. Without lighting a candle or a lamp, she dressed quickly, choosing a pair of ballet slippers so there’d be no loud footsteps. Her legs felt wobbly, but whether it was due to nervousness or hexcitement, she wasn’t sure. Lizzie and her hedgehog were still snoring as Duchess tied a cape around her neck. She pulled the hood over her head, then tucked a stray lavender lock inside. After silently opening the window for Pirouette, she sneaked out of the room and down the hall. The girls’ dormitory was silent. Even the trees seemed asleep. At some point the night before, Blondie had strung another banner from wall to wall.
WHO WILL WIN THE NEXT TOP VILLAIN?
WATCH JUST RIGHT FOR THE LATEST SCOOP.
Duchess rolled her eyes. Who would have thought a thronework assignment would get so much attention?
Quietly, she opened the dormitory’s front door and slipped outside. A few lingering stars twinkled, waiting for dawn to erase them from the cloudless sky. As she hurried toward one of the classroom buildings, the dewy ground soaked into her shoes, and a morning chill cut through her cape. She shivered, pulling it tighter. No one was out and about. The groundskeepers hadn’t yet arrived, nor had any of the delivery vans. Students weren’t supposed to leave the dorm from midnight to 6:00 AM. Maybe Mr. Badwolf would give her hextra credit for breaking a rule.
She shivered again. You can do this, she told herself. Don’t be scared.
When she reached the building’s entrance, she glanced around to make sure she’d gone unnoticed. A cat watched from an upstairs window, its eyes half closed in a lazy way. But the other windows were dark and empty. The coast appeared clear, so, with a gentle push, Duchess opened the door and entered the building. She crept down the hall until she reached the classroom she’d been seeking. The sign read: COOKING CLASS-IC.
Thanks to her Spells Kitchen show, everyone at Ever After High knew that Ginger Breadhouse liked to cook. At first, many felt suspicious of her. After all, her mother was the Candy Witch, who used her sweets for wicked purposes. But it hadn’t taken long for Ginger to make her mark as an extraordinary baker and candy-maker. Ginger’s magic touch was the ability to turn anything into something delicious. Duchess knew that if Ginger was creating goodies for her General Villainy thronework assignment, this classroom was where she’d make them.
Once inside, Duchess took a long, deep breath, filling her nostrils with the heavenly aroma. The shelves were lined with clear glass jars, each one filled with yummy things such as gumdrops, peppermint sticks, and candy buttons. The spice rack sat next to the sprinkle rack, which sat next to the frosting rack and the apron rack. Baking pots and pans hung from the ceiling, and cookie cutters were strewn everywhere. The scent of sweetness was so thick that Duchess imagined she could eat the air. Her stomach growled.
She walked to the center of the room, where a dozen rows of cinnamon trolls were lying on a long oak table. Ginger must have baked late into the night.
And there it was. A tiny bottle labeled: SANDMAN POWDER. The seal had not yet been broken. Duchess grabbed it, uncorked the lid, and shook the sand into a sink as quickly as she could, careful not to inhale any of the grains or get them on her skin. She rinsed it all carefully down the drain. She had to hurry. Dawn was beginning to tickle the windows, and Ginger might arrive at any moment. What could she use to refill the bottle? Flour didn’t seem right, and all the candy sprinkles were tinted. She found a canister of sugar. That should do it. Just as she finished refilling the bottle, a creak startled her. She whipped around.
Ginger was walking through the door. Duchess gasped, but it came out as a honk.
“Duchess, is that you?” Ginger stepped inside. “What a sweet surprise. What are you doing here?”
“Uh…” Duchess tucked her hand behind her back, the little bottle in her clutches.
Ginger smiled. Then she pushed her pink glasses up her nose. “I bet you came in because you smelled the cinnamon trolls.”
She was so nice she didn’t suspect a thing. How can she be related to the Candy Witch? Duchess wondered. Maybe she was adopted.
“Yep,” Duchess said. “That’s why I’m here. They smell great.”
Ginger tied a pink polka-dot apron around her waist. “You want one? Help yourself. But just to warn you”—she grabbed a wooden spoon—“they don’t have the cinnamon icing yet. I was going to make it this morning. When I’m finished, I’m going to take these to the Castleteria and hand them out. Can you help me?”
“I guess so.” Duchess looked around. Where was that tiny cork for the bottle?
Ginger opened a tub of white frosting. “But after I ice them, don’t eat any until we get to the Castleteria. I don’t want you to fall asleep.” She bit her lower lip. “Oops. I didn’t mean that. Because why would someone fall asleep after eating one of my trolls? Unless they went into a sugar stupor.” She giggled nervously.
Duchess pretended not to notice Ginger’s discomfort. She spo
tted the cork sitting by the sink and took a few steps backward, reaching carefully so Ginger wouldn’t see.
When Ginger turned to grab a tin from the spice rack, Duchess quickly corked the bottle, now filled with sugar, and set it on the table.
“Here’s the cinnamon,” Ginger said, opening the tin. As she shook the spice into the frosting bowl, a cloud of cinnamon rose and drifted overhead. “And then I add my super-secret ingredient.” She looked around. “There it is.” While humming the sleepy lullaby “Rock-a-Bye Baby,” she uncorked the tiny bottle and dumped it into the frosting. Then she stirred with the wooden spoon, a big smile on her face.
It was a little eerie.
After frosting each troll, Duchess and Ginger carried the trays from the classroom. Ginger stopped at the teachers’ lounge and knocked on the door. “Is Mr. Badwolf here?” she asked when Professor Poppa Bear, the Beast Training and Care teacher, stuck out his head.
“Yum. Are those trolls for me?” He reached out a big, furry paw, but Ginger stepped away. “No, they’re definitely not for the teachers. I need to talk to Mr. Badwolf.” Duchess stood across the hall, watching.
“Hey, Badwolf! You got a visitor!”
“Hello, Ms. Breadhouse,” Mr. Badwolf said. He moved his carved smoking pipe to the side of his mouth. “What do you want?”
“Could you come to the Castleteria?” she asked. “I’m going to do my thronework assignment for General Villainy, and I wanted you to see it.”
He reached out to grab a troll, but she pulled away. “Oh no, Mr. Badwolf, don’t eat one of those. I…” She glanced over her shoulder, then whispered, “I used a different recipe.”
Mr. Badwolf smiled wickedly, showing off his razor-sharp canines. “It appears to me, Ms. Breadhouse, that you are using your cooking skills in this assignment. How very promising. Yes, I shall accompany you in order to witness the results of your thronework.” He tucked his pipe into his vest pocket, then closed the teachers’ lounge door behind him. “Ms. Swan,” he said as he looked across the hallway, “are you part of this evilness?”
“No,” Duchess replied. “I’m just helping Ginger carry these trays.”
He growled. “How very disappointing. Being helpful is not villainous.”
That’s what you think.
Students were streaming into the Castleteria. The morning Mirrornews was under way. “Good morning, Ever After High students. Today’s weather forecast is sunny-ever-after, with a one hundred percent possibility of rainbows. The Castleteria breakfast special is a choice of porridge, gruel, or bran flakes.”
Most of the students grumbled with disappointment. Porridge and gruel were the traditional way to begin the fairytale day, but the only student who seemed to like the stuff was Blondie Lockes.
“I brought cinnamon trolls!” Ginger announced.
Just like the swans in the pond who’d raced to eat Ginger’s crumbs, the students went berserk, pushing and shoving to get to the trays. It was a feeding frenzy! In the wink of an eye, the trays were emptied and everyone in the vicinity, except for Duchess, Ginger, and Mr. Badwolf, had sticky fingers. “Watch what happens,” Ginger told Mr. Badwolf with a nudge. “It’s going to get me an A for sure.”
Pastries were consumed. Fingers were licked clean. Tea was poured, and the Castleteria was once again filled with conversation and activity.
Mr. Badwolf tapped his shoe, then checked his wristwatch. “Is something going to happen, Ms. Breadhouse?”
Ginger cupped her hands and hollered, “Doesn’t anyone feel sleepy?”
“I always feel sleepy,” Briar said as she walked past. “But that cinnamon troll gave me a sugar rush. I’m ready to party.”
Mr. Badwolf’s hair bristled. “Is this your idea of rotten and nasty?” he asked Ginger. “Giving everyone a sugar rush?”
“No,” Ginger said frantically. “I put sandman powder in the icing. Everyone is supposed to fall asleep and miss class.”
“Supposed to does not count,” he said as he whipped out his clipboard. “You earn a fairy-fail, Ms. Breadhouse. I only hope my other students don’t disappoint me as much as you have.”
Faybelle swooped over, landing right next to Mr. Badwolf, her little silver wings flapping in double time thanks to her sugar rush. “I won’t disappoint you,” she said with a confident smile. “I’ve got my plan, and it’ll be stupendously rotten. Give me an R. Give me an O. Give me a T. Give me another T. Give—”
“I look forward to it,” Mr. Badwolf interrupted. Then he strode back to the teachers’ lounge.
Duchess knew Ginger had worked hard, and she felt a little bad about the sabotage. But Ginger didn’t seem too unhappy. She just shrugged and said, “Oh well. At least everyone likes my baking.”
One down, Duchess thought as Ginger skipped away. And it hadn’t been too hard to accomplish. Hopefully, the others would be as easy.
Her stomach growled. Who knew that sneaking out before dawn and upsetting someone else’s thronework would work up such an appetite? But as she grabbed a double helping of porridge, Blondie’s face filled the mirrors.
“Hello, fellow fairytales. Don’t rush off to class just yet, because I’ve got the latest scoop for you.” The theme muse-ic for Just Right blasted from the speakers. Blondie demanded attention, and she always got it. “I know everyone is talking about the Next Top Villain. After all, I’m the one who came up with that catchy little title. And look, people, Sparrow Hood wrote a theme song.”
Sparrow appeared on the mirror, and everyone stuck their fingers in their ears as his guitar blasted from the speakers. “They’re so evil,” he sang. “They’re so awful. They’re so rotten they’re unlawful. Can’t wait to see, who will be, Next Top Villain! The NEXT”—scream—“TOP”—scream—“VILLAIN!”
The camera cut back to Blondie, who was holding a sheet of paper in her hand. “This just in: Two of the contestants have been eliminated.”
Two? Duchess thought.
“Ginger’s attempt to cast an evil spell on the students of Ever After High went horribly wrong this morning. Looks like Ginger’s a big fairy-fail. And I’ve got the exclusive on Sparrow Hood. He told me that he’s not going to bother with the thronework. So that’s an automatic fairy-fail.”
Six photos appeared on the screen, one of each General Villainy student. Ginger’s face had a gold X over it. So did Sparrow’s.
“That leaves four students still in the running. But three of them—Lizzie, Raven, and Duchess—have double thronework. Will one of them quit under the pressure? Will it be… Lizzie? Stay tuned. And remember, if it’s not too hot or too cold, it must be Just Right.” Then the mirrors went dark.
Duchess dumped some fairyberries onto her porridge. Sparrow had kept his end of the agreement, and she was keeping hers. She smiled to herself as she ate. Success actually made the porridge taste better. Maybe this whole villain thing wouldn’t be so difficult after all. Maybe this was the beginning of a new The End.
A sharp breeze blew through Duchess’s hair as Faybelle flew past. The cheerhexer had a sneaky look on her face.
Duchess scrambled off the bench and followed. Two down, three more to go.
Chapter 16
Fairy Dust Feast
The Ever After High cheerhexing squad, composed mostly of fairies, had gathered near the croquet field, since the athletic field was still covered by the Princessology obstacle course. The cheerhexers wore matching Ever After High uniforms and carried pom-poms. As quickly as possible, Duchess ducked behind one of the equipment sheds and transformed. Then she flew over a fence and landed in the middle of the flamingo pen.
The flamingos belonged to Lizzie. As captain of Ever After High’s croquet team, Lizzie insisted on playing the Wonderland version of the game. This meant that ordinary wooden mallets were replaced by flamingos, and traditional croquet balls were replaced by rolled-up hedgehogs. No one got hurt in the process. The critters seemed to love the game as much as Lizzie.
Because it was napt
ime, each of the flamingos stood perched on one leg, beak tucked beneath wing. There was no way for Duchess to blend in. She was as white as snow, while the flamingos were as pink as cotton candy. Also, Duchess’s swan legs weren’t as long as the flamingos’, but her ballet training helped her to hold passé as long as she needed. None of the cheerhexers noticed the out-of-place swan. But they probably wouldn’t have noticed a dragon, either, because they were too busy arguing.
“Why do I always have to be in the back row?”
“Stop stepping on my feet!”
“How come her pom-poms are bigger than my pom-poms?”
“Why do I have to be stuck next to her?”
“Listen up!” Faybelle stepped onto a bench and stood with her hands on her hips. “As head cheerhexer, I’m calling an emergency meeting.”
“Emergency?” The girls dropped their pom-poms.
Duchess cocked her head, trying to catch every word, but the closest flamingo had started snoring. As gracefully as possible, so as not to attract attention, Duchess moved to a spot next to a different flamingo. The cheerhexers remained focused on their leader.
“Did you see that pathetic display in the Castleteria?” Faybelle asked. Her wings twitched. “I’m the only student in General Villainy who deserves the A grade and the title of Next Top Villain. Sparrow doesn’t care. Ginger’s too sugary sweet. Lizzie can’t even fake a temper tantrum. Duchess doesn’t have a single drop of evil in her bloodline, and Raven…” She paused. Then her face flushed red, and her wings stiffened. “Raven Queen is single-handedly ruining the reputations of evildoers everywhere! What’s her problem? Who wouldn’t want to be evil? Who?”
One of the cheerhexers started to raise her hand, but after a sharp glance from Faybelle, she dropped her arm to her side and stepped to the back of the group.
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