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The two girls walked through the forested courtyard, chunky fluffy snow fell as their cozy boots crunched against the blanketed ground.

"You know, I've been thinking, since you said you liked someone else other than Filip..." Bella started, her eyes darting across the ground. In that moment it seemed that Bella was towering over Ivy, and Ivy was terrified of what the Princess could've possibly said next.

Ivy raised a brow, "Yes?"

Bella sighed, a puff of air leaving her mouth. "We're only working on me and Filip, and I think that's unfair to you. You're just on the sidelines helping when you should be playing, too. Get you set up with this mystery man!"

Ivy chuckled. Yeah, that's what she liked, men. "No, no, it's quite alright. He... I'm not his type."

"His type? What, is he a Charming or a God-student?"

Bella gasped in gossiping delight at Ivy's silence. "He is a Charming! Is it Chadwick? Arthur? Oh, Arthur is so sweet-"

Ivy stopped Bella in her rambling tracks, grabbing her by the wrists. "It's fine, Bella. Not like I can be with them, anyway. I'm a Godmother, and they have a story to fulfill."

Bella twisted her face, "I guess, it wouldn't be nice to take away a Happily Ever After from some Princess."

"Yes, and Arthur is sweet, but it's not Arthur. They're more... feminine." Ivy continued walking down the path, hands in the pocket of her thick-knit purple sweater.

The Princess chortled, "Feminine, how so?"

"Well, they don't do archery, and are more intellectual, I'd say."

"That doesn't mean he's more feminine, he's just more focused on his studies! Which is still cute, but I like more burly Charmings-ones who can protect me." Bella stated, a small smile played on her lips.

"And what about his archery skills?" Ivy inquired sarcastically.

Bella glanced in her direction, "We're not going to talk about that."

The two girls bursted out into fits of giggles and full laughter as they walked the last stretch of the courtyard.

"Hopefully my story doesn't have much violence, then." Bella chuckled, opening the door for Ivy.

Ivy nodded in thanks, purposely not adding to Bella's thoughts. Sometimes it had irked Ivy, that it almost seemed like her friend was trying to sneakily get any intel about Ivy's story, simply because of her hunch that Ivy was a part of her own story.

The girls walked up the steps and towards their first afternoon class of the day. They unknowingly had their last morning class with Madame Racida because of a boy who had messed up his mixing measurements greatly in the class before them, but the girls weren't complaining.

It was meant to be another identifying class, anyway, they would have been writing notes for the rest of the class because of their mediocrity.

They walked into Mr. Eugenie's class, both halted in shock at the sight of who was in the room instead.

"Dad?"

"Dean Therion?"

The Dean's gaze softened when he looked at his daughter, "Bella, glad you're punctual, just like I taught you."

Bella shook her head. "But-But why are you in here? Where is Mr. Eugenie?"

"I had him go and help Madame Racida with her mess. No other teacher was up for the task, my dear." He replied, amber eyes locked onto Ivy. Both her and Bella gulped. He must have heard about their escapade from a few nights ago!

This was one of their two classes that they had shared with Filip this semester, and clearly Dean Therion knew that. Why he didn't bother with Ms. Evelyn's class from this morning was the real question.

It didn't help that they had plans to have Bella actually ask Filip out this class, either.

Ivy examined the desks; each one was cluttered with papers and pens, and the desks seemed closer to each other than they normally were.

"Please, take a seat, girls. You wouldn't want to block the doorway for other students," The Dean advised.

Bella took Ivy by the wrist and dragged them towards desks closer to the back of the classroom. As soon as they sat down, Bella didn't bother speaking a word to Ivy until there were far more students in the room.

"He has to be here for some reason, there's no other possibility." She squeaked, chewing at hangnails and swiftly bouncing her leg.

Ivy bit her lip, "What if he heard of us-or even saw us-being at the bridge?"

"What? There's no way! He wouldn't risk having both Deans be almost off campus that late at night. I know my father," She scoffed.

"I don't doubt it," Ivy rose her hands in defeat, "but I think we shouldn't leave out the possibility. Why else would he be here in one of our only two classes that we share with Filip? He could've sent Ms. Evelyn to help Madame Racida, and I can assure you, a Godmother is far more capable of helping clean up some mess than a Genie who had sworn off using his powers years ago, once his story finished."

Bella rubbed her temples in annoyance, only to jump at the sound of her father's sudden booming voice.
"Filip! Great to see you're here! I was worried you weren't going to make it after twisting your ankle at archery last night." He exclaimed.

Ivy's eyes widened, "He was at Filip's archery practice yesterday?"

Bella's lips turned into a fine line. "No, I would have noticed. His office faces the arena, unfortunately for us. Now, if he has heard about our little thing at the bridge, his eyes are going to me on me and Filip for the remaining of the semester, probably."

It wasn't good that Dean Therion only had acknowledged Filip in such a way like that, too.

"Thanks for your worries, Dean Therion, but the infirmary helped greatly." Filip replied, showing off his foot, which had just a bit of bandages at the ankle peeking out from the top of his shoe.

"Good to know the people I hired are doing their job well," The Dean chuckled, earning a couple other chuckles from around the room as Filip lightly limped his way to the desk next to Bella.

Since the bridge, Filip hadn't paid any mind to Ivy. Ivy didn't really care, but she knew that Bella's plans would start working-now that he didn't have his mind elsewhere.

Dean Therion straightened his dark maroon tie that matched his suit. The man seemed to ooze power, but it was crazy for Ivy to think that their own teacher didn't faze Bella all that much only because of their relationship.

He grabbed a short stick of pasty white chalk and wrote in perfect cursive on the deep green board. "'Happily Ever After', what does that phrase sound like to you?"

There it was; he was trying to subtly pry.

A pale girl dressed in a pastel yellow Princess uniform raised her hand, eager to answer the Dean's question.

"Yes, Dorothy?" He called on her.

"It's the epitome of happiness to me. I don't know about anyone else, but-"

Dean Therion held his hand up, stopping the Princess. "While that is what we all want to think, what happens after the famous Ever After?"

This time, Filip raised his hand. "It's the start of what happens after the story."

Ivy's brows furrowed at the Charming's weirdly poetic answer, but Dean Therion's eyebrows raised in intrigue. "Elaborate for the rest of us, please, Filip."

Filip's light blue eyes blinked fast, gulping when he noticed that everyone else was watching. "Even... even though it is called a Happily Ever After, you're not guaranteed pure honeymoon bliss for the rest of your lives. It's a marriage, I'm certain everyone in this room has seen their parents argue or fight. That doesn't mean they're not happy." He continued,

"What you have said, Filip, is really, truly, powerful. More people-and students alike-need to realize their naiveté before they have their own Ever After." Dean Therion praised, glancing to Dorothy, who had turned small from embarrassment.

The Dean went back to his desk, sitting down in Mr. Eugenie's plump brown leather chair. "I want you guys to look through your literature textbooks, pages 349-356, look through what our past stories tell you about our beloved Happily Ever After, and extract and write what you believe applies to you."

"This is gross, I don't want to write about what I believe Happily Ever After means to me, to my own dad!" Bella whispered in Ivy's ear, trying her best to slightly lean over.

Ivy snickered. "That's exactly what he wants, though. He thinks you're trying to jumpstart your Ever After and try to prove to you how naïve it is to do that."

Her friend furrowed her brows, "You're saying it like you agree with him." Bella said, pulling out her textbook from her pink tote.

"Well..."

"You do!" She exclaimed louder than she meant to, her eyes wide.

Dean Therion perked up from his scrolls, "Is there something amiss back there, Bella?"

Bella shook her head, avoiding the glances that had been shot her way. She turned back to Ivy, "Don't be hypocritical, you said you liked someone else, too!" Bella silently seethed.

Ivy's eyes darted around the room, ensuring nobody was listening in. "Yeah, but you don't see me trying to pursue them! I don't know if you know this, but Godmothers don't get a Happily Ever After, they're just on the sidelines, hoping that one day they can find someone that even feels like an Ever After for them! I'd be lucky to find someone like that!"

"Can we not play the victim game? I'd rather not fight again, and we have to work on this assignment before it becomes homework."

"Fine," Ivy scoffed.

"Fine,"

"Fine."

~

"I can't believe she thinks that it's wrong of her own father to believe she's jumping the fence too early on trying to find someone to love." Ivy complained, head in her hands, the aromas of her too hot soup filled her nose, making her stomach grumble in anticipation.

"I can't believe you told a rebellious Princess that you agreed with her dad." Reign chuckled, digging into his salad.

Ivy stared into the inky night sky outside of the candlelit cafeteria. She pondered her thoughts, groaning in defeat. "You're right, I shouldn't have said it like that. She even called me out on my own crush on a 'Charming'. Ugh, I'm so embarrassed." Ivy whined, pushing her tray further down the table, resting her head in her arms.

Reign nodded, "See? Reign Lighton is always right. You might have to start calling me Leign Right-on,"

Ivy groaned once more in agony from her best friend's poor attempt of a joke. Her intestines, stomach, lungs-whatever vital organs that could even twist-had twisted in disgust. She felt embarrassed, angry, and disappointed in herself for even bothering to tell Bella that she was wrong.

Ivy didn't appreciate if Reign or her own parents said the opposite of what she felt was right. Bella was right, she was being hypocritical.

Ivy lifted her head in realization, "I-I have to tell her."

"What?" Reign asked, pausing his chewing of his leafy lettuce.

"Bella, I have to tell her that I like her."

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