The Evil Queen took the podium. “In this time of trouble, a strong leader is needed. I humbly request the keys to power, temporarily, so I can restore order to this chaos and bring whoever else is responsible for these crimes to justice. Even if it is my own daughter.” She eyed the crowd. “Do you accept?”
“Yyyyyyuuuuurrrrp.” The fake Milton Grimm handed the Evil Queen the big ceremonial keys to the school.
Book End breaking news! Blondie Lockes, reporting live at what’s left of the new Dragon Games Center, ever after a devastating blaze! Headmaster Grimm just handed the Evil Queen the keys to the school! She vows to catch whoever started the fire, even if that’s her own daughter, Raven! The question remains: Will this new headmistress restore order to Ever After High, her being the Evil Queen and all? Let’s cut to the arena for her statement.…”
The Evil Queen stood on a platform, front and center with the fake Milton Grimm before the rowdy arena crowd. “Students, don’t get over-hexcited! I am but a temporary substitute. Milton Grimm will resume leadership as headmaster as soon as this crisis is over.…”
“Ribbit,” Milton Grimm agreed.
The queen grinned. “He has a frog in his throat.”
As the students debated this turn of events, a crazed dark dragon broke free and charged the crowd like a bull. The group panicked and started to scatter. The Evil Queen shot a lasso of light that whirled around the dragon, calming it.
“Dark dragon, heel! Stay calm!” She told the crowd, “See? Trust Headmistress Queenie. Everything’s under control. Citizens, students—as you were! Nothing to see here!”
Everyone began to leave the arena. Darling found Daring’s mirror and backpack on the bleachers. She slipped the mirror into her brother’s pack and took it with her.
“Daring forgot his stuff. That’s odd. He never goes anywhere without a mirror.” She didn’t notice that Daring was trapped in the glass.
Raven took Nevermore back into the dragon stalls, which had also been singed. She said, “It’s okay, Nevermore. I know you didn’t mean to start that fire. You’re another victim of my mom’s evil magic.”
Apple entered with her dragon and saw Raven there. “They’re saying you set the fire—on purpose.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Raven protested. “My dragon got spontaneous fire hiccups? This has Evil Queen written all over it!”
“Well, don’t worry,” Apple assured her. “Your mom has promised to restore order. And she’s so powerful—I know she can.”
Raven rolled her eyes. “Come on! Do you really believe she would? I mean… really? Really?”
Apple said, “You should give your mom another chance! You’re all about changing your story, Raven.” She looked seriously at Raven. “Your mom broke out of that mirror prison and literally walked over broken glass, just to be with you!”
Raven squinted. “How could you know that?”
She stared at Apple. “It was you? You released my mother?”
Apple sniffed. “She promised me my Happily Ever After. Not just for me, but for you, too. For all of us! You’ve got to admit, she has been a great Dragon Games coach. And she fixed the fire damage.… She’s changed, Raven!”
Raven couldn’t believe it. “No, Apple. You’ve changed. We are so not on the same page anymore.… In fact, I don’t even think we’re in the same fairytale. I hope you find your Happily Ever After, Apple. I really do. But first you’d better find a new roommate.” Raven turned to leave.
Apple caught her arm. “But we were supposed to be friends forever after!”
“That’s not how the story goes, Apple. Not this chapter, anyway. You can’t be on both sides. Good or evil: Pick one.” Raven pulled back.
Without saying anything else, Raven stormed off.
Apple was heartbroken. She took out her MirrorPhone and dialed her mom.
“This is Snow White.…” the machine answered. “I’m out of the castle, but I’ll get back to you as soon as I’m free.”
The Evil Queen had Snow White trapped in ropelike beams of purple light.
When Apple called, Snow strained against her binds. “Let me free! Let me speak to my daughter!”
“You’ve said plenty, Snowball,” the queen said, turning off the phone. She imitated Snow: “Lock up the Evil Queen, let the Evil Queen be on probation.” She snorted. “It’s always your way.” She imitated her again. “Oh, I’m Snow White, I’m the Fairest One of All!” The queen was sick of Snow. “Ha! More like un-fairest.”
“The magical binding is a bit overkill. Even for you.” Snow surveyed the fake teachers, who were all standing behind the queen. “And what you’ve done to the staff is unforgivable! Switching their minds with creatures’—it’s… beastly!”
“Would you be more comfortable in mirror prison, Your Majesty? Let me tell you from experience: You would not! Years of solitude—watching the world go by through a one-way mirrored glass. Watching your own daughter grow up without you. Or perhaps you’d rather join your beloved school staff in here?” She dipped her hand into a terrarium where she’d stashed the faculty amphibians, Salamander Giles Grimm, Blue Frog Milton Grimm, Mouse Baba Yaga, Frog Rumpelstiltskin, and the Snail Evil Step-Librarians.
The Evil Queen laughed. “This is my school now.” She moved close to Snow. “I know your game. Bringing back the Dragon Games Center… You were going to wait till I made the slightest misstep, then lock me up again to remind everyone you’re such a perfect queen. Well, you’ll have to think quick, Slow White, because I have the upper hand now.”
Snow stared deep into those evil eyes. “Release me. My subjects won’t rest until they find their true queen.”
“Not if no one knows you’re gone.” The Evil Queen pulled a white snake from her pocket. “Snow of white, snake of pale! Reverse two minds, from head to tail!” With a finger flick sparking purple vapor, the Evil Queen magically traded Snow White’s mind with the mind of the snake.
“You’ll never get away with hiss!” Snow struggled as the Evil Queen set her into the terrarium with the others.
Just then, the big office double doors swung open, and Raven marched into the room.
“Raven, my daughter! How do I look in my new, high-powered office? Room for one more—what do you say? Partner? Rule the school with me!” The queen sat on an impressive black throne.
“You want me to rule Ever After High with you? Why? So I can watch you cast evil spells on my friends as soon as you’re in a bad mood? No thanks!” Raven said, glancing around.
“Friends.” The queen mocked her. “Ha! Let’s not forget who they blamed for that fire: you.”
“They made a mistake,” Raven said.
“Nonsense. Like it or not, birdy, your royal bloodline creates evil expectations. I say rise to the occasion! Be an evil queen like mummy fearest. It’ll be more fun than shopping together.…” The Evil Queen unrolled a map and took out a quill to mark it.
Raven groaned. Her mother’s plans were nothing new.
From the terrarium, voices shouted, “Raven! Run, child, get help!”
Grimm croaked, “It is us, your beloved teachers!”
Raven noticed the cage, and when her mother turned away, she winked at the creature teachers. She then changed her approach. “Mother, you’ve swapped the staff with creatures? How… clever.”
The queen was surprised. “Yes, well—wait, what? A compliment?”
Raven went on. “Well, this is impressive. You never cease to amaze me with your powers. Our powers! I mean, look at them—helpless, puny. Caged. Who could stand in your way now?” She gave a small, forced grin. “You’re right, Mother. You’ve been right all along. We both know what I need to do. Evil.”
The queen was so proud. “Oh! I have dreamed of the day you’d see the dark! Like mother, like daughter. I’m so proud of you! Get your things. Let’s set you up in here at my side.” She whipped up a spell. “Eye of frog and hair of otter, make a throne fit for my daughter.”
A
small matching black throne appeared next to the larger one.
Later, after listening to her mom rant on and on about taking over the world, Raven got a chance to go to her locker. There were things she needed.…
Darling, limping from her dragon-riding accident, came over to her. “Raven, have you seen my brother lately? Daring, not Dexter. I haven’t seen him since the whole Dragon Games Center craziness.”
Raven thought. “Hmm, I haven’t, actually. And he’s hard to miss. He’s probably just getting his teeth whitened or something.” As cryptically as she could, Raven asked, “Hey, Darling, let’s say a particular student needed to hide out for a while. Where would she go?”
“If that particular student wanted to find a place where, let’s say, the Evil Queen couldn’t reach them? I know a perfect secret place in the Enchanted Forest.…” She winked. “We are talking about you, right?”
Raven slowly nodded.
“Totally. I knew that. I’ll take you there on one condition: Count me in on whatever you’re up to.”
“Deal,” Raven said. “Meet me in the stables after school. Come alone.”
A couple of lockers down, Faybelle Thorn was spying on Raven and Darling. “So Raven is trying to go rogue?” she said to herself. “If I catch her trying to bail, the Evil Queen will have to take me seriously as Future Villain. Oh, Her Evilness will be ever after so impressed! Mwa-ha-ha!”
CHAPTER 16
Looks like it’s just us, Nevermore,” Raven said sadly while she put a harness on her dragon.
A noise by the door made her turn.
Darling had arrived, and with her were Ashlynn, Holly, Poppy, and Maddie.
“What part of ‘come alone’ didn’t you get?” Raven asked, but she was glad they were all there. “I guess some backup isn’t a bad idea. Thanks, you guys.”
“Danger is my middle name!” Maddie said. “Well, actually, it’s Xylophone. Well, actually, I have forty-two middle names, but it’s in there somewhere!”
Together, they walked their dragons out of the stables.
The dark dragons roared as they passed, slamming their tails into the sides of the stable.
“Um, you guys?” Ashlynn tipped her head. “These dragons are pretty angry. We’d better move.…”
Poppy and Holly had an idea. They hoisted up a huge bag of dragon treats and dumped it into the pen. The dark dragons tore off the wrapping to get to the food.
“They’re Candy Witch–brand Dragon Treats,” Holly said. “Irresistibly sweeeet!”
Raven and her friends took off on dragonback, flying over the back walls and turrets of the school.
Fast as her wings could carry her, Faybelle rushed back to find the Evil Queen.
“Faybelle. What have you to report?” she asked.
“She ran away.”
“She did WHAT?” The queen got up and crossed the room in big steps. “I’ve restrained myself because my daughter goes to this school of fools. But if she’s playing hooky, I’m not playing nice anymore! Get me my staff!”
Faybelle asked, “Like, from the terrarium, or… ?”
The queen stomped her foot. “No, my staff staff.”
Faybelle bowed her head. “Yes, Your Evilness!”
The Evil Queen waited for Faybelle to fetch her staff, then looked at the map of Ever After on her desk. She swept the staff over it, a light glowing as she slowly traced the area around the school. When the light crossed the Enchanted Forest section, the bright purple turned blood-red.
“She’s in the Enchanted Forest?” the queen asked Faybelle.
“Oh yeah,” Faybelle said. “I could have told you that.”
“My magic cannot permeate the Enchanted Forest! It’s too… enchanted!” The queen bit her bottom lip and frowned.
Faybelle raised a hand as if in class.
The queen called on her. “Yes, Faybelle?”
“Fairy magic works in the Enchanted Forest. That’s my hood. I can find them and tell you where they are!”
“Now, that is how to be an evil henchman. I’m sorry—henchfairy.” The queen was pleased. Raising her staff, the queen said, “If Raven is gone, I declare school is out… for evil!” She cast a spell.
“Powers of darkness and doom,
Thunder with a sonic boom.
Turn these halls of education
Into a castle rock formation!”
Purple lightning shot from her staff, and magic washed over the buildings and grounds, transforming Ever After High and filling it with evil! The roots of trees grew like snaking, witchy fingers—wrapping around the buildings and barring doors and windows.
“Attention, staff and students!” The Evil Queen’s voice boomed over the PA system. “I have heard that Raven has abandoned Ever After High. I don’t see the point in continuing this charade.…”
The school was vibrating, so the students grabbed on to whatever they could, terrified by the darkness that was engulfing them.
“All this goodness!” the queen’s voice blared. “Ugh, this place was dripping with it. I’ve decided to make a few changes around here. Starting now…”
Suddenly a spark of purple light swept from the tree branches, turning the faculty and staff who were not yet animals into pets. Cerise Hood watched in horror as Professor Pied Piper turned into a rat. Mr. Badwolf became a wolf cub. No one was safe!
The school lifted off the ground and rose higher and higher. The queen, out on the balcony, twirled and laughed as she got closer and closer to the domination she’d planned.
The students gathered at the windows, staring down together as the Evil Queen’s voice boomed again over the PA system. “Due to our recent remodel, all classes will be canceled and replaced with evil servitude.”
Faybelle was thrilled. “Wow. That was a lot of pent-up evil power,” she told the queen. “I’m sorry! I didn’t expect Raven to saddle up and fly the dragon coop with her friends.”
“Stop flapping your lips and start flapping your wings,” the queen told her. “I will prepare my dark dragons for the hunt!”
CHAPTER 17
Flying above a clearing in the Enchanted Forest, Raven, Darling, and their friends landed their dragons. Darling climbed down and plucked a flower from a flowery shrub.
“This is no time to stop and smell the flowers, Darling,” Raven told her. “I thought you knew a secret spot where we could hide?”
“I don’t.…” Darling said. “But she does.” The bush shook as a pixie emerged.
“A woodland pixie!” Ashlynn exclaimed. “How hexciting! I’ve never seen one in person. Or, in pixie, I guess. How do you do?”
The little pixie twittered to Ashlynn, and she introduced them. “She says her name is Featherly. And that’s… Deerla.” There was a third fairy named Harelow. “The pixies protect the Enchanted Forest. They’re very magical.” She told Darling that the pixies wanted to help her.
Deerla picked a few leaves from the bush and rubbed them on Darling’s ankle.
“Deerla says that should heal you!” Ashlynn said.
Darling was better! She played a game of hop with the pixies until Raven stepped into the sunlight. “Please help us, Pixies. We need a place to hide from my mother, the Evil Queen.”
“Till we can figure out how to get her back into the mirror prison,” Poppy added.
That reminded Darling, who asked, “Speaking of mirrors, has anyone seen my brother Daring lately?”
“I saw him at school lots of times. And at the Dragon Center, and once in a dream but he was a goat…” Maddie began.
Holly asked, “Why, Darling? Are you worried?”
“I don’t like it. It’s not like him to misplace his hand mirror.” Darling took out Daring’s mirror but couldn’t see that Daring was screaming at her from behind the glass.
The Evil Queen marched down the hallway toward the dorms. Students leaped out of her way. Faybelle, however, was on her heels, behaving like an overenthusiastic personal assistant. “I need you to pl
ace dark dragons to guard every possible escape! Nobody leaves!” The queen sent her away, saying, “Then come back to me.… Well? Flap off!”
“Yes, Your Horribleness!” Faybelle agreed.
Faybelle took her task seriously. She caught Jillian Beanstalk, the adventurous daughter of Jack, tossing beans out a window, but before Jillian and Humphrey Dumpty could escape down the magic beanstalk, Faybelle’s dragon puffed a flame at them. They quickly climbed back up and in through the window.
The Evil Queen entered Apple’s room without knocking. “Why the waterworks? Upset my Raven flew the coop? We’ll get her back.”
“Everything went wrong!” Apple wept. “This is not how I thought high school would be!”
The Evil Queen lifted Apple’s face to look in her eyes. “Chin up, Applecheeks. Any idea where your roomie, my birdy, went?”
“I wish!” Apple said. “If I knew, I would tell her she was right about you and beg her to forgive me. You’ve ruined everything! I was a fool to believe you’d changed, or that you care about anybody’s Happily Ever After but your own! Now the future of Ever After High is literally up in the air, and it’s all my fault!”
The Evil Queen pulled a black apple from her pocket—a single bright green worm wriggled around it like a tiny snake. “Poor, pathetic Apple White. I think our deal is done. Tell you what, since you helped me so very much, here’s an apple from the teacher. One bite out of this, and you’ll enter the next phase of your fairytale. Come on, Apple. Live the dream.”
“Gross! I’m not touching that! It looks—poisoned!” Apple shook her head.
“Of course it’s poisoned!” the queen said. “With the finest of sleeping potions, fit for the Fairest One of All. Oh, here—”
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