After the third time the Underlandians had been shushed, Myra had gone to the librarian and asked if it was alright that she host a meeting there. It seemed that as long as they kept from being too disruptive and asked permission, they didn't mind a bit of noise. She spent a long time trying to come up with a way to explain what had happened with the Fairy Godmother, but thankfully her friends were well-versed in translating her long ramblings and understanding what she meant. She had wanted to tell them all sooner, but with the new teacher and their busy schedules, they'd been forced to wait until the end of the week to actually get together in one place.

"So... yeah. She said we don't make sense and wants us to take 'Historia Etiquette and Expectations' lessons. I'm not going to lie to you all and say I'm not... terribly upset about this whole situation. She's not given me an exact time or place to be for these lessons, but she apparently has the class planned out." She folded her hands upon the table and sighed, recounting everything that was in the imirror message she had received that morning.

Her subjects (plus Caspian) stared at her, stunned to silence for a moment, before Archie spoke up. "I'm not saying the punishment is justified but... I won't lie, having not been born in Underland does make it hard to understand you all, sometimes."

Myra gasped, "Archie, you don't mean that!"

"It's true the other way around, too." Eva said, crossing her arms. "Just being in this school makes me feel like the odd cat out. Nobody really gets us but us." She still showed her teeth, but her lips didn't curl up at the ends as much as normal. "Well, most of us."

"Speak for yourself." Damien rolled his eyes, "I can barely make sense of you and your little experiments, and you're my cousin, Myra."

Myra looked down, sadly reaching for the teacup before her, "I... I see...." was all she could muster.

"But it didn't matter back home. We didn't need to understand everybody there." He continued. "We could be bizarre and different and nobody cared, unless they bothered me, at which point I would decapitate them and the problem would be solved."

Cotton nodded, floppy bunny ears bouncing. "I miss the way we did things at home, before this stupid school decided we were all weirdos."

"We had fun pranking Caspian, though, right?" Myra attempted a smile. "Why don't we just... stick together and keep doing things like that? You know... keep doing things our way and have fun no matter what anybody thinks!"

The other Underlandians looked away uncomfortably, some even shaking their heads.

"Myra, you don't get it," Archie said, "That stunt just put targets on our backs, made us bigger outcasts. Sure, we all had fun, and Caspian is our friend now, but-"

"But I can't control the collateral of that. I didn't even go telling people what happened and it felt like everyone in the entire castle knew before the week was out." Caspian blurted out. "I wish I could do something about it... but you've gotta admit it was a bit much for the first week."

"Maybe we should just lay low for a little while? Go along with the rules and pretend we're the right kind of normal until things settle down." Cotton suggested, ducking her head slightly.

"I won't be doing anything of the sort. I dare that powdery pixie to try and make me subservient to this world's laws." Damien glared at her until she sank out of her seat and halfway below the table.

"The people here will always see us as freaks. No amount of rule-following is going to change that any time soon." Eva's ears turned back with displeasure and the rest of their table nodded.

Myra was shocked. Was it all true? Did the other students here really think so little of her and her friends? Did she really not understand the pain her subjects were going through? Was... was the Fairy Godmother right? Was she really going to make a poor queen? Oh spades... had she been failing her subjects at the very first test of leadership?

She shook her head to pull herself out of the spiral of self pity. No, worrying wouldn't do any good and she couldn't just give up and take the punishment lying down. She needed to step up and do something about their predicament. She needed to do something to protect, no, defend her Underlandians.

Myra took a steadying breath. "Ok, I hear your concerns, and I'm going to do something about all of this. I won't let the Fairy Godmother go through with these remedial classes, I promise. For the next week, if you're given a hard time by any other student, come to me. I will take care of the situation, I promise." She tipped her teacup back and drained it in one gulp. Ahh, she already felt more energized.

They glanced at each other, shocked by her abrupt change of attitude.

"Uhm, how?" Archie, the son of Alice Liddel herself, and therefore the bravest, asked.

"Don't worry about it."

"I am a bit worried about it."

"I have a plan, er, an idea in motion to fix this. Since we aren't going to adapt to this world, I'm going to make the world adapt to us." Myra grinned.

"Again I ask, how?"

"Just leave everything to me. Supper is starting soon, we should hurry, I can't let my subjects go hungry." She hopped up and ushered the rest of them out of the library as well. Though she could tell they wanted to ask more questions, they respected her orders (Except for Damien, who pointedly told her, "Don't order me around. I am going to dinner because I am hungry, not because you said so.") and made their way out of the library.

Myra gently tapped Eva's shoulder before she could float away after their friends and she nodded for her to hang back a moment. "Come talk to me tomorrow morning? I'd like to discuss... our ideas."

The Cheshire Cat's eyes lit up, and her signature grin returned, before she nodded and vanished.

—------

Evora sat opposite Auden in the hallway outside of their headmistress's office, glaring him down with unbridled malice, barely blinking (or so he assumed). He didn't meet her eyes, uncomfortably looking at the floor, walls, ceiling, anything but her save for a few anxious glances. She didn't care how uncomfortable she made him. This was all his fault, after all.

While they had been walking to the Headmaster's tower, the final bell had rung. She'd ended up missing the last few minutes of her new science class because of this nonsense. If she hadn't gotten busted for fighting him already, she'd be itching to beat him up again.

They listened to the muffled sounds of Professor Aquana talking to the Fairy Godmother, probably downplaying the royal brat's part in the scuffle so Evora would have to take most of the punishment.

After what felt like thirty damn years, the heavy wooden door finally opened.

The first thing Evora noticed was how irritated the Fairy Godmother looked, the second was that the irritation in question wasn't directed at herself, but Aquana. The third thing she noticed was that fucking wand.

Before she could protest, the headmistress had flicked it at both students. With a pop her nose was set and healed save for the tell-tale discomfort of a black eye. Auden's mouth twisted as he ran his tongue over the repaired tooth and lip.

"After some deliberation with our esteemed new teacher, we have decided you will both have detention for a week." The old lady said, voice clipped.

Shit, she was going to miss her dad's training. "I didn't do anything!" Evora protested.

"This school's policy on fighting is very clear in its parameters. Sparring is one thing but breaking noses and teeth is not what we teach in our combat classes." She tucked her wand back into her sleeve and straightened her gown. "Auden, your parents have also been called, I'm sure once you let them know it was all a big misunderstanding-"

Professor Aquana cleared their throat very deliberately.

"Once you... talk to them and set their concerns at ease and, of course, apologize, I am sure they will understand and... look forward to you doing better." The Fairy Godmother grit her teeth and had to force the words out, clearly undermined.

Evora almost forgot to be mad, completely entranced by... whatever was going on between her two teachers. There was no way anyone, especially a villain, had some kind of power over their omnipotent headmistress, was there?

They had definitely twisted the old lady's arm somehow to get her to actually punish Auden.

"Evora-"

"He started it!"

"Do not interrupt me, young lady!" Ah, that sounded like the fairy she knew. Just as entitled as always. "You are not being punished for starting the fight. Your detention is to be set by Professor Aquana for skipping class." Of course, nothing had really changed. She was going to give that royal brat a slap on the wrist the moment Aquana turned their back.

"I believe I can oversee both their detentions, Headmistress. I don't mind." Aquana said. Hm, or maybe not. What was with this fish?

"I'm sure you have plenty on your plate with your many classes, Professor. You needn't worry about this too."

"On the contrary, I believe I can utilize their detentions to lessen my workload significantly." They glanced at the two of them over their glasses, but their face never betrayed whatever they were thinking. "I am going to need extra hands this week to prepare for some of my anatomy lessons."

Against the wall, Auden paled and Evora bit her lip to keep from grinning.

"I shudder to think what that entails." The Fairy Godmother visibly recoiled from the mere thought. "Very well then, since you seem to have it handled. I must return to my work. Please escort them to the cafeteria for dinner to ensure they don't have any more... altercations."

"Of course, Headmistress." Aquana bowed their head respectfully as she flitted back through the door and closed it behind her, though not before briefly placing her hand on Auden's shoulder (For Grimm's sake, could she not show obvious favoritism every goddamn second?). "You both heard her." Their teacher gestured with the hand that didn't hold their cane. "To the cafeteria."

They repeated their funeral procession, though this time Aquana chatted with them most of the walk. They gave both students a choice between serving their detention the hour before classes started, or the hour afterwards. They selected opposite times to avoid each other. Though they might be preparing specimens for use in class, they wouldn't be cutting into, or otherwise, damaging said specimens. Auden still looked sick at the idea, but he relaxed after being told he would most likely just be carrying big, frozen boxes ("You look very physically capable, and they tend to be heavier when freshly frozen.")

Evora was just glad she could ensure the detention wouldn't get in the way of her training sessions with her dad. Track meetings she could skip, no problem (Hell, the less of that princess the better), but she couldn't miss her dad.

If she were a better person, she might have tried to thank Aquana for making sure they were treated fairly. Unfortunately, she was still just annoyed enough that she had to deal with this in the first place.

Maybe she could pick their brain during detention to see what their actual angle was. Nobody followed rules that well, especially not someone related to a villain.

—---

Myra waited in her dorm early the next morning, having been awake even earlier, worried for her people. She hadn't been sleepless over worry before, it worried her further. She couldn't afford to be worried right now, though, as she had to focus on her current mission. Her mission would dismiss the worry warts! She just needed it to succeed, but that, unfortunately, just made for another worry.

She needed someone to help her with the scientific outlet of her mind, the opposite of the worried side. She needed research and information, she needed a kindred spirit for science. She needed someone with something to gain from her plan that she could utilize in return.

Professor Aquana was busy, so she had to reach out to her backup person.

Finally, it seemed students were waking up for their off-day. The sounds of carefree weekend plans beginning echoed beneath her door. He would be awake any minute, check his imirror, then see her message and probably be a good few hours while he collected what she needed-

Two knocks on the door, "Myra? It's Gabriel, are you in there?" Myra checked her Historian clock, just after 9 am. Wow, he must be an early riser indeed! She skipped over to the door and pulled him in happily.

"Gabriel! Excellent! I am so happy to see you! The great scholar of the Gastons, here to help little old me!" She squeezed his arm and clumsily tried to peek into his bag, which he handed over with an awkward chuckle.

"Don't tell my father I'm called that. I got the books you requested, every edition that mentions the Godmother's wand." He pointed to the three sizable history books Myra had pulled from the bag as well as the six or seven medium-sized books that tumbled out as well. "I take it you're doing... a history project?"

Myra bit her lip, "I think it would be better explained as a science experiment. I hope these have what I need."

"Those are just from my private collection, there might be more in the library." Together they laid the books out on her bed and opened them to the relevant pages. "What are you looking for, I can direct you to a passage that answers."

"My, you sure love to read!" She wasn't stalling, just making conversation.

"I only memorize the important stuff." Gabriel said, humbly, or perhaps bashfully. "If we could hurry this along, though, that'd be great."

"I'll let you get back to studying soon enough, my friend."

"Right, studying."

"As for what I am looking for..." She hummed, trying to think of a discreet and unassuming way to say what was on her mind. Myra sat down and scanned the books "Why have these on hand? Does it have something to do with your story? I apologize I'm so unfamiliar." She was aiming to keep him talking while she thought over her ideas. They weren't plans, not yet, just... ideas and possible actions to take.

"Not really, I just like to have a personal collection when I can." Gabriel pulled another, smaller book out of the bag that she had missed. "Gaston and the other villagers didn't like that Belle read instead of doing quote unquote 'womanly' things. Very misogynistic, my dad isn't the brightest, and nowadays he has a bit of a vendetta against books." He said it all casually, as if it wasn't one of the most bizarre stories she had heard. And she was from Underland!

"You don't seem like your father, I don't like him very much. But you seem like... Belle. Are you sure Gaston is your parent?" Myra picked up a random book not really looking at the title.

He chuckled, examining the table of contents. "Yes, I'm sure. Belle never had kids." He said, handing two books over, "These have a history of magic users and the fairy godmother's parts in her story."

She flipped through the books she was given, scanning, not really reading "If your father is so.." She posed with her arms flexed for imaginary muscles, much like Gaston and Gavin had done during the mixer, "Then why are you so.." she gestured around to the large amount of books, "You certainly know a lot about others' stories."

Gabriel laughed hard at the tiny girl's impression of his brother and father. When he could catch his breath, he shrugged, "I'm not exactly sure... I guess even though my father did everything he could to make me just like him, I kept seeking a way of... escape? I escaped into other peoples stories, through reading."

Myra grabbed another book without looking and opened it, pleased to see it was her own story (or Alice's story, specifically, but her mother was in it, so it counted), she gave a little smile at the thought that people enjoyed it, "Escaped through others stories? Like going into the book? Some books in Underland are carnivores, is that what you're referring to?" She asked.

He shook his head slowly, confused, "It's just an expression. Books here aren't like that."

She looked down, "Oh...." Flushing, she quickly tried to change the subject, flipping through the pages of one of the bigger books. "Is this Fairy Godmother's story?"

Gabriel looked at the girl curiously, then chuckled a little, "You should take the history of fairytales class, it will make things easier to understand." He said before sitting down next to her, "Yes that's The Fairy Godmother. She's not the main character in her story, but she uses her wand to grant Cinderella's wishes." He pointed to the page, "The phrase she uses casts the spell, 'bippity boppity boo'."

"'Bippity boppity boo' grants wishes? Is that all she says then? That's what causes the magic?" Her eyes weren't on the pages anymore, but glued to Gabriel's.

"I'm sure there's more to it, wand motions, what's she's focusing on, but yes, that's the part that does it."

After flipping through the rest of the book Myra looked at Gabriel "You said someone else took hold of the wand once, but I don't see that here?"

"Oh here let me grab that one-" he said, standing up and grabbing another book off of the pile on the floor. "This one tells the story of when Cinderella's evil stepmother and stepsisters took the wand." He said, handing her an older one bound in cloth.

Myra took the book and flipped through some pages, but she didn't bother trying to read it. He seemed like he could tell her just as quickly. "What happens when they take it?"

Gabriel pointed to the illustration on the page she had opened to. "It's very interesting actually. Anastasia, Cinderella's stepsister, took the wand and realized its power. Giving it to her mother, she used it to go back in time and undo Cinderella's happily ever after. They use it so Anastasia fits the slipper instead of Cinderella, and hypnotize the Prince. The fact that the prince truly loved Cinderella was the only thing to save the day. But all the time the stepmother had the wand, the magic was... tainted in a way. It's like it matched her personality, mean and evil, so the magic made chaotic evil things."

Myra furrowed her eyebrows, voice distant. It... it would match her somehow? "What do you think would happen if... if someone like myself took the wand? Do you think it might turn evil then?"

"You're going to take the wand?!" Gabriel lurched away, but she covered his mouth with her hand.

"I don't want to cast any spells with it! I just want to study it, and see what makes it work, and-"

"Myra-" He pushed her hands away from his mouth, not trying to shout anymore. "The Fairy Godmother will expel you for sure! Heck, if you get caught, you'd get banished or something."

"I promised I would help you and Eva with your interview project!" She reminded him insistently.

"That doesn't mean you can just borrow the most magical object in history!"

"I'll give it right back! I just need a day or two to examine it, then you and Eva can have it for your interviews, and we sneak it back!" She said, like a little kid asking to stay up late. "The Godmother is keeping secrets from us, we need to uncover what she's hiding!"

"Myra I want to know what she's hiding as much as you do, but something like this could be disastrous!"

"It could, but it also couldn't! It could be wondrous!" How could he not see the literally infinite possibility before them?

"You just don't understand the dangers, Myra! You could really damage the balance of this world if you aren't careful."

She balled her fingers into fists, hearing that word, understand, again. "How can we understand anything if we don't study it?"

Gabriel opened his mouth to argue further, when a slight chirp sounded from his pocket and he quickly fished out his imirror to check it. "You know what? Go for it. I don't have time to argue with you any more, but if the Magic High Commission comes for you," He scooped up the books into his bag again, shaking it twice to settle them in neatly, "I'm not a part of any of it.

"What's your hurry? Do you have a prior engagement for the day?" Myra finally asked. His eagerness to leave couldn't possibly just be his excitement for studying.

"As a matter of fact, I do. You can borrow whatever books you want, just as long as you don't damage them."

"Oooh? Are you late for a very important date?" She grinned as wide as Eva, pleased when he flushed as red as Damian.

Gabriel awkwardly rubbed his neck. "I... I don't know if it's technically a date, but I don't want to miss it."

"What kind of date starts so early on a Saturday?"

"Well, I, uh, we're going to be walking kind of far to- Wait, I don't have to tell you! I don't know if... the other person wants people to know." He waved his hands about. "Not that I assume this outing means something, of course. He could just... well it doesn't- we're just friends. Y'know guy friends going out and doing friend things."

She giggled. "Friend things like dating?"

"Ok, have fun with your research, Myra." Gabriel tossed his bag back over his shoulder, leaving before the blush on his cheeks could creep down his neck.

Myra knew when to butt out of a situation, and simply wished him well. "Good luck on your friend things!" Once he was gone and she was left with the two books she'd held onto, she sighed. Time to get to work.

-----

Eva floated through the halls of the castle aimlessly, uninterested in the goings on around her and only vaguely scanning the rooms she passed through, a destination in her path for a change.

She was frustrated, the previous night's meeting still lingering in her mind. She didn't want to just lay low and let her frustrations slide. She wasn't a freak and she was not about to stand (or in her case, float) for that stupid fairy's actions. When she got irritated she made mischief; she was sorely pressed for an outlet, and very annoyed.

Luckily, her esteemed princess had given her a very important job for their current... er... series of ideas. She was hesitant to call it a plan just yet, seeing as none of the specifics were hammered out. At the moment, she was to scout the school and find a way into the Fairy Godmother's office.

Second to that, and assigned by herself, was stage two of their not-plan. She needed to come up with a clever distraction for the headmistress that wouldn't warrant her bringing her wand.

Eva had already determined that the Fairy Godmother couldn't track her throughout the school. She probably had cameras and moles keeping an eye on the happenings around the building, but when the Cheshire Cat herself went invisible, nothing short of a magical probe could locate her. Thus, she was able to snoop around and check where the wand was kept when not in use, and also confirm that it was left behind when the headmistress went to and from the staff cafeteria.

She needed to be quick, breakfast wouldn't go on forever. Seemed the fairy liked to sleep in on Saturdays, though, so Eva had time to map out and memorize not just the Headmistress's office, but almost the entire layout of the south tower.

The entire tower was deemed important, as there was only one door to the office room.

One door, and a small vent shaft that led to a maintenance room below. The vent was wide enough to fit someone not teleporting, and the maintenance room wasn't locked (anymore). She used her mirror to text the location of the room and nothing else. She didn't want anybody tracking their messages, and she needed to get on part two.

At the base of the tower was a small amount of activity, namely Auden Charming lugging sizable boxes through the hallway to get to one of the labs. Eva followed him for several minutes, confirming that the lab was too far away to utilize again. The Fairy might just grab her wand and use magic to blink to it.

She might just have to wing it on the second phase of the operation.

She checked the time again (It was so hard to keep track of time in this world, she felt like she needed to check it constantly), then darted to a window to confirm, yes, the Fairy Godmother had sat down to breakfast.

Myra messaged her, confirming through a secret code (the code being two little drawings of cards which made no sense to anybody except for the two girls when and only when they were using said code) that she was in place and ready for her distraction.

Distraction... hm, let's see...

Auden grunted as he lifted another box out of the carriage, crying out when it slipped between his fingers and spilled several dead, frozen frogs out onto the ground.

"Ahhh, yuck." He groaned and tipped the box over to begin picking them up with one hand, clearly trying to avoid touching them as much as possible.

Hmm, frozen frogs were pretty funny. Luckily Eva wasn't squeamish. She didn't have time to find a new one and sent a confirmation signal to Myra, before tucking her own mirror away and scooping up two handfuls of frogs from the open box. Oh, these would make a fantastically nasty sound when thrown.

She whispered an apology to Auden that he couldn't hear, and began distracting.

-----

"This should be far enough." Drago finally stopped at a clearing, halfway around the side of the mountainous formation that stood between the school and the town. It rose high into the sky and would be sheltered well from either settlement's point of view.

"Do you want to eat first, or uh, stretch out first?" Gabriel asked, holding out the basket of sandwiches that Precious had (very insistently) sent them out the door with.

"I don't want to jostle a full stomach. You're positive you won't be... freaked out by anything?" He'd already asked twice, probably a bit antsy about sharing the more obviously dangerous side of himself.

"Are you kidding me?! You're about to turn into a dragon, that's like, the coolest thing literally imaginable!" He'd been thinking about it since he had brought it up during the interview, secret sketches in his notebook comparing what he imagined his dragon form looked like compared to drawings of Maleficent in books. Gabriel hadn't wanted to seem too irritating by immediately asking about it again, but thankfully, Drago had invited him out to the empty mountains on their next day off.

"Ok, ok, take a few steps back. I don't wanna smush you." He said, walking out into the middle of the clearing and rolling his shoulders.

Gabriel scurried over to an overturned tree and sat down, quickly pulling out his notebook. "And how big can you grow again?"

Drago turned around so the back of his cloak was all that was visible of his body. "I've never measured myself, but I'm fully grown now, so I'm taller than these trees, but not taller than the mountain I- just wait! Give me a minute and you can see for yourself!" He waved a shirt over his head, though nothing was visible beyond the disguised wings.

He still made sure to look very much away while he finished undressing.

The sounds of shifting fabric stopped, and he listened to him take a deep breath. There was a moment of silence long enough that Gabriel caved and snuck a peek. Nothing looked different, he still stood facing away with his cloak gently brushing the ground.

Then, Drago's horns dipped down, like he had crouched, his shoulders seemed to rise, before the lines of metacarpal bones split the cloak's fabric, and it took on a more leather-like texture. His tail swept across the grass like it had always been just out of sight, and Gabriel watched, stunned to silence, as it grew longer before his very eyes.

His wings finally unfurled, spreading out and flapping once with a low whoosh of air. Drago had crouched, though likely to account for how long his arms and torso had grown. He tried not to blink, not wanting to miss a moment of the transformation, but the wind kicked up by his wings forced him to shield his face, and when Gabriel looked again... wow.

"Wow..." There was nothing else he could think to say.

His feet and hands had grown and split into four sets of talons, each the size of an average human's torso. His skin was no longer a soft green, but instead rich, black scales layered over every inch of his body. His midsection had reshaped itself into something both serpentine and reptilian, sharp spines trailed down the very center of his back, to the arrowhead point of his tail, and his neck was long and tapered elegantly up to his head.

He hadn't been lying when he said he towered over trees, so much so that when he straightened his body out, birds in the nearby evergreens fluttered up from the highest branches. He couldn't see his face in detail from so far away, but he could make out the unchanged shape of Drago's horns and a long, angular snout.

Gabriel could barely breathe, wanting to write down what he was looking at but also not wanting to look away.

There was a moment after he finished transforming where he moved like he was testing out old clothes, flexing his arms and rolling his shoulders again. He spread his wings wide, and they easily overtook the limits of their clearing. With a sound similar to that of a tree falling, the wings came down, throwing the wind around Gabriel and further disturbing the birds as Drago took off into the sky.

He had seen him fly before, but he hadn't been prepared for the same speed to carry over to the larger size. It was... incredible. Were it not for the affected breeze and hole in the clouds above, he might not have believed a full sized dragon had just been standing there! He moved so fast!

He must have been eager for a chance to fly like this.

Drago's sleek body could be caught in snippets as he dove through the clouds above and circled the mountain in lightning-fast circles. He never flew so low that he wasn't somewhat protected by the cloud layer, however. Even though they were fairly distanced from civilization, they couldn't be sure nobody from town or school would notice the dragon in the sky.

Gabriel took a break from craning his neck back to try and sketch what he could remember before he'd taken off. Maleficent had more purple on her body, according to the drawings in her story. She also had shorter wings and thicker scales. Drago's body was a bit more aerodynamic, likely built more for speed than fighting. How fascinating... he wondered if his other parent (assuming they existed at all) had contributed to his appearance any.

Drago was like a book to him. Nothing about his appearance suggested the personality beyond, and every new thing Gabriel learned just made him want to know more. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of reading this.

Maybe it wasn't a date, but it was still pretty good so far as a platonic outing.

—--

Auden finished repacking the box of gross frozen frogs and sighed. He just needed to finish unloading the carriage and his detention would be served for the day, but now that he'd seen and, even worse, touched the contents of the boxes, he was hesitant to continue. He rubbed his hands against his sides to warm them and stood back up.

Smack-! Startled, he dropped the box again. Something hard had hit him square in the back- what-

Smack, smack! Two more things flew down on him from above, one hitting his arm as he used it to shield himself, the other, shattering on the ground. Shattering...

Backing away, Auden swallowed down the bile that crept up his throat. No, no no no, this couldn't be happening- he just wanted to finish his detention and go lay down. Why was something pelting him with the very frozen frogs he had been carrying?!

He watched with horror as the top of the box flipped back open and more frogs rose out of it as if on invisible strings.

Auden needed no further encouragement to turn and run for his life.

Frogs came raining down on his left, so he swerved right. The South tower was open and he tried to hide just inside, hoping whatever was chasing him would stop.

It didn't, the box itself now floating into the tower after him.

Heart hammering in his throat, he scampered up the stairs. He wanted to scream, but couldn't make a sound. Was it a ghost? Was the school haunted or was it some kind of invisible monster?

Splat!

Ew.. the frogs were starting to thaw. He really hadn't planned to start his weekend like this. He hoped he didn't throw up on the Fairy Godmother.

—---

Myra had to admit, Eva was a genius. She'd make a killing doing espionage- oh, perhaps they should found an espionage committee for the White Court. No- wait- stay focused. Time sensitive operation. She could think about that later.

The maintenance closet was small, cramped, even, with so many janitorial supplies and spare desks cluttering the space. She had to scooch some buckets aside to find the vent and stack some chairs to reach it, but once inside, it was nearly a straight crawl to the Fairy Godmother's office. Her dress offered a bit of a struggle, but a few tears in the fabric was a small price to pay. She found the correct room by following her nose, of all things. The smell of strong (and improperly steeped) jasmine tea marked the correct exit.

Carefully and quietly, Myra carefully wiggled the vent's cover off and set it just inside the ceiling. She stuck her head upside-down out of the opening, fluffy white hair falling over her face, and confirmed the empty office. Everything looked the same, from the plush chairs to the wide desk to the shelf where- there!

The wand wasn't even hidden, simply placed upon a little pink pillow inside a delicate glass case, exactly where she remembered.

She pulled her head back in and, after kicking off her shoes, lowered her body down, feet first. The office was so clean and organized, she had plenty of room to land upon the headmistress's desk before reaching the ground.

Mouth dry, Myra slowly approached the shelf that housed the wand's case. Her fingers twitched at her sides but she kept them still. She remembered Gabriel's words about how the wand likely responded to intent and personalities. She... she was too nervous. She couldn't just touch it bare-handed and risk a nervous spell happening.

Gathering her skirts in one hand, she used it like a glove to carefully open the case and lift out the thin, silvery stick.

She paused, able to see it up close for the first time and rather taken by its appearance. It looked so delicate, yet there was a faint shimmer to it that-

"...ust one moment, Hansel, I left my spectacles in my office." The Fairy Godmother's voice was muffled by the door, her footsteps not heard thanks to her stinking wings and- she was right outside! The door was locked, but she had a key, of course she had a key! Oh cards, she didn't have time to climb back out!

Myra froze as the handle turned. Time seemed to slow down as light from the hallway flooded the room, the door half opened. She was going to be expelled and banished and her subjects imprisoned and her crown stripped away and everything would be awful forever and ever and-

Rapid approaching boots skidded to a halt. "Godmother! F- Fairy Godmother there's- the frogs, they-"

"Auden, good heavens, are you alright, dear?" Myra remained still as a statue, watching the shadows of Auden clinging to the Godmother's sleeve.

"I don't know! There's something- something-" Splat! "That!"

"What in Grimm's name?!" Another splat and the door was slammed closed, quickly protecting her office from further slimy projectiles. "Ohh, not in my school!"

Myra shoved the wand into her pocket, moving like a speeding arrow back onto the desk. She was glad she'd taken her shoes off, as no smudges were left behind from her socks in the thirty or so seconds it took for her to leave the way she'd come.

Vent replaced, she began the crawl back, the wand's shape almost like a pencil in her pocket, but so, so much more important.

—-

Gabriel smiled, pleased by the sketch so far, though it lacked detail in Drago's face. He tried to hold his notebook up against the shadow above himself, but his draconic friend was moving a bit too fast to get a good look.

Maybe Drago could see him from way up high, or maybe he just finished stretching, because he cut a new hole through the clouds above and dove back towards their clearing, catching himself with his wings just before hitting the ground. Grass and leaves flew around him, kicked up by the air it took to slow down such a massive beast.

Gabriel was immediately running closer, eyes bright with excitement. He wasn't sure what to say other than, "You're incredible!" Well, that's not entirely true, he had thousands of questions, but he didn't think he could answer in this form.

"Can you talk when shifted?" He shook his snout in response. "Ah, I guess that makes sense. You've got more of a beak than a mouth right now. Do dragons have their own verbal language with the sounds you can make or is their language more physical?"

Drago blinked, then inhaled and exhaled soft green smoke from his nose.

"I don't know what that means, sorry." Gabriel shrugged, "You'll just have to tell me later, I guess. Do you want to keep flying or go ahead and eat?"

He certainly didn't want to shift back, based on the sideways look he cast. He was surprisingly expressive in this form. From this distance he could see Drago's eyes were nearly the same as his normal form, vibrant yellow irises with a slitted pupil. His long snout had thinner scales on it than his body, and every one of the reflected sunlight like they were made of pure onyx.

"I get it, go for another spin, then. I'll be down here until you're ready." He made a low snarling sound deep within his chest and, despite it being a rather unsettling sound, Gabriel smiled again. "I don't mind, we came all this way, you should enjoy it."

Drago shook his head, and crouched down, lowering himself to the ground so he was eye-level. Finally close up, he could see the many shades of gold and orange that reflected back and seemed to glow faintly. When he opened his mouth to make that sound again, he could see the dark purple shade of his gums and just a flash of white fangs, each the size of Gabriel's hand.

Drago was so dangerous, from the huge teeth to the sickly smoke, everything about him was designed to be a monster... he should be terrifying. But all Gabriel could think was how beautiful he was.

"What... uh, don't you want to keep flying?"

His eyes squinted in such a way that reminded him of the way one's cheeks did when smiling, then moved from him, to the sky, then back to him.

"Huh?" The dragon-shifter did it again. "You... you want to... take me... up there?"

He nodded.

"I, uh, I've never done anything like that. I- I mean, I'm not afraid of heights, even though I've never tested it, but I mean... I..." Gabriel collected himself, forcing away the nerves that threatened to keep him grounded and pulled off his glasses to tuck securely into his shirt pocket. "Where should I hold on?"

Drago angled his head so the space between where his horns ended and the spikes began was offered. At the thinnest point, his neck was probably more than a yard in diameter, but the rounded surface meant a passenger could sit comfortably.

Gabriel hesitantly used his horn as an anchor to hoist himself on, settling against the first spike comfortably. "Ok, should I tie myself on or hold your horns or..."

He didn't answer, nor did he give him time to decide for himself, as his wings spread out again. From the new angle, he could see they were wider than his old house and covered in long, gray scars. How did those get there? What would-

WHOOSH

Gabriel's stomach dropped and he clung to the horns for dear life as the ground fell away so suddenly, he thought the world had turned upside down and he was falling. His ears popped and he gasped for breath, the intense cold air sending shivers down his arms. When had they gotten so high?! Was this what it was like to fly all the time?!

The clearing got smaller and smaller beneath them, until they cut through the cloud layer and the ground was no longer visible at all. He had no idea which way was up or down, and he clung to Drago's horns tighter. Maybe he should have gotten some rope to tie himself on or gotten a horse's saddle to borrow just for security... or...

Wow...

The initial shock passed, and Gabriel began to understand why someone would want to live like this. The clouds rolled about beside them, silently curling and crashing against each other like giant waves in an endless ocean. The sun crept through in gorgeous shades of pink and orange, setting the world around them on fire in sharp beams.

Some of the birds they'd bothered in the trees fluttered past, and he reached out to feel a passing cloud that looked thick enough to touch. It wasn't, and simply dissolved, his hand returning to its hold dripping wet. Wow...

Whatever tricks and tumbles Drago had been doing before, he wasn't doing now, thankfully. His massive form cut through the bright sky, and he would have been worried about them being seen if he hadn't already watched him disappear from the ground.

Instead they soared in a wide circle (though, again, it was near impossible for the passenger to know which way they were oriented), wings not even flapping but simply accepting the wind's hold from below and using it to glide like a ship's sails.

The air in their faces was loud, but Gabriel tried to speak anyway. "I don't know if you can hear me... but this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen or done." He leaned forward so he was laying flat between his horns, head pillowed on his own arms. As smooth as they were flying, he didn't really need to hold on. "Thank you..."

He hoped their sandwiches didn't get stale, because he had no plans to land any time soon.

Best date ever, hands down.

—--

The Fairy Godmother was livid. Something or someone was making a mockery of her hallways and she was going to get to the bottom of it. She had already had an awful week, but it ended here. She hadn't even gotten to finish her breakfast!

Auden kept safely behind her while the two of them followed the trail of frogs, scanning the hallways and jumping at every little sound. He already looked pale enough just having to see the dead frogs, poor dear probably nearly fainted when they were first thrown at him.

Maybe he should return to his squireship. His feeble constitution wouldn't take him far when his story began. She could use magic to toughen him up physically, but mentally, well, she didn't want to change his entire personality with just a spell. That would be abusing her power.

They followed the trail all the way down the stairs, and back outside of the tower, when it went cold. No frogs, nor the box they'd previously been in, were in sight. Only the carriage with other, still frozen, boxes. Damn.

Her blood was so warm, fired up for some kind of punishment, but they had no culprit, and she couldn't accuse poor Auden.

"Headmistress? Have you seen-"

"What?" The Fairy Godmother snapped, then sucked in a breath as Professor Aquana paused where they had approached. "Ah, forgive me, professor."

"It's quite alright, I was simply asking if you'd seen Auden. He was bringing supply boxes to my lab but didn't return for several minutes."

"Yes, he came to me for help there was... an altercation." She sighed, the fight draining out of her body.

"Another one?"

"Something possessed your supplies and turned them upon him. I watched it happen, though we couldn't keep up with whatever or whoever it was."

"What do you mean, possessed?"

"They just... started floating and flying all over the place!" Auden found his voice again, though it was rather hoarse. "They were like- pchew! Like someone was throwing them!" He waved his arms around, trying to replicate the motion of the flying frogs.

She took a deep breath and decided to use her head, not her emotions. "I believe it was someone playing a trick on you with magic. But they messed up, because there are spell traps all over the school." The Fairy Godmother rubbed his shoulder reassuringly. "Especially around my tower. I just need to trace the magical signature and..." She reached into her sleeve and felt... fabric. Fabric and her own arm. What? "What?"

She rapidly patted her entire sleeve, trying to make sure the transport spell hadn't gotten stuck somewhere. Nothing... there was nothing there.

Her wand, she... she couldn't reach her wand.

"Is there an issue tracing the spell, Headmistress?" Aquana asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No!" Ah, that was twice she had yelled at the new teacher without meaning to. "I-I mean, there is no issue at all. I'll clean up the frogs in the tower, why don't you and Auden go finish detention. It's Saturday, after all, I'm sure he's eager to enjoy his day off."

They squinted at her through their glasses for a moment, then shrugged. "Go on, grab that last box, then."

The Fairy Godmother waited an appropriate amount of time, she couldn't risk giving away how completely panicked she was. How could her transport spell fail? It never failed. It was always in its case or in her hand. Unless... unless it wasn't in its case.

Swallowing, she turned and flew up the stairs so fast, she barely noticed when she bumped shoulders with another student. It didn't matter, nothing mattered except ensuring her wand was ok. It had to have just... fallen out of its case. Something it had never done but isn't impossible. It was ok. It had to be ok.

The fate of their entire world sat inside that case.

Or didn't.

Gasping with exertion and dismay, Wanda fell to her knees in the doorway to her office.

—--

Myra made it to her dorm in record time, slamming the door shut and sliding down to the ground as soon as she was hidden, panting. Everything had almost gone up in smoke, running into the fairy while making her escape.

Blessedly, the Headmistress hadn't even looked at her, and she'd made it back to her own room safe and sound. Eva's distraction, whatever it had been, had worked perfectly. More than perfectly, it saved the operation entirely.

She took only a few seconds to catch her breath, stomach grumbling with expected lunch. She could eat later, she had things to attend to.

She got up and dug into her desk, first finding a pair of protective gloves, then collecting just about everything else and arranging it on the (already cluttered) surface of the desk. She grabbed test tubes, pliers, empty potion bottles, a miniature cauldron, stir sticks, a magnifying glass, and her notebook.

The last thing, Myra retrieved from her shelf against the wall. Though she adored her prized mini-model of the Vorpal Blade, she needed its stand to hold a new prize.

Wearing the gloves, she carefully extracted the wand from her pocket and laid it into the hooks of the stand. A perfect fit.

She finally sat down, fighting off giddy laughter like a child that had just gotten the best unbirthday present.

"I did it... I did it!" She squeaked to herself, delighted, then steeled her face. Ok, science to be done. She needed to be serious.

First she took a long look at every millimeter through the magnifying glass. From afar, the wand looked like it was pure silver, but up close, it actually consisted of an ever-shifting, shimmering substance, like glowing, liquid bismuth. She wrote that down in her notes. She went to dust off eraser shavings, then realized she hadn't erased anything. Looking back up (and through the magnifying glass again) she noticed the faintest trickling of silvery dust that appeared and fell from the tapered end of the wand.

Wow... even without a wielder, it spilled magic constantly.

Holding her hand underneath the tip, she let the dust gather in her palm, then bottled it and set it aside. That would warrant further testing for sure.

Myra took her gloves off so she'd have the dexterity to sketch the wand up close, eager to attempt to record its odd material. She scribbled any relevant observations, such as its length and width, where she thought one was supposed to hold it, and a handful of theories as to where its magic originated.

Oh, she should probably write down the magic words, too. "Bippity boppity boo." She giggled as she said them. They were such odd words, if someone had told her they came from Underland, she'd believe it.

When she looked back up, the wand hadn't changed. Guess the words only worked when you held the wand...

Hm. She hadn't even touched it yet.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she couldn't get it out. She hadn't even touched it...

Myra's eyes went glassy, and her hand moved on its own, slowly creeping towards the tip. The dust that dripped out gave no sensation when it rained over her finger, but she didn't even notice.

Like Aurora reaching for the spindle, she tentatively placed a single finger on the tip.

Her eyes cleared just in time for the world to go completely white.

—--

Drago and Gabriel took their time returning to school. The sun was just creeping past noon when they finally landed and ate lunch. Though they both were more than eager to fly again, Gabe had another interview planned for the afternoon and Drago wanted to practice his spells more. Plus, his thighs had started to chafe after riding bareback on something scaled for so long.

They still talked while making their way up the hill, a gravel path leading them back to the castle. Drago could have flown them, but he wasn't really in a hurry to end the outing.

"So, how do dragons talk to each other?" Gabe asked, gently nudging his shoulder. "I forgot to ask when we landed."

"It's kind of weird. It's technically magic but our mouths are the conduits instead of my hands, if that makes sense."

"It doesn't."

Drago hummed, trying to think of how to explain it. He had talked to Precious about dragon society and culture before, but nobody had ever taken an interest in the specifics like Gabe. "So, every dragon has magic, a lot, even; it's the source of our fire. We summon our fire from our throats, and can also use that to send out the words and images we want to communicate to other dragons."

"Woah... so like... telepathy?"

"Kind of. I can't read anyone else's mind, but I could share with you what I'm thinking."

"That's incredible! Why didn't you do that while we were flying?"

"I didn't ask before and I didn't want to freak you out." He scratched his neck awkwardly. Plus... the quiet was relaxing, though he didn't say that out loud.

"Is it a hard spell to learn?"

"Not really, no harder than learning to talk normally. It's just something I kind of... figured out as a little kid. I didn't realize what it was until I sought out other dragons, of course." He chuckled. "It used to piss off my aunts when I'd use it to ask for things they'd already told me no about."

Gabe snorted. "What, like, 'I want a cookie'?"

"Yeah, and they couldn't tune me out even through doors." They both laughed at the mental image of a tiny, bratty little Drago demanding snacks of his faerie family.

"I didn't know all dragons had magic."

"Oh yeah, they-er, we've got a ton. Dragons are some of the oldest things in our world, we live for centuries." Once again, he surprised himself with how easy it was to talk to him. "There's legends that say their fire was what brought the land to life and some that are still imprisoned for the sheer destruction they're responsible for." Neverland had one and he thought there was a similar book about Underland also having one, but he couldn't remember for sure. "Most dragons today can't conjure things like countries and forests, though. Only the ancients and shifters like myself know other ways to use their magic."

"Ancients? That sounds neat, what's-"

Drago threw an arm out to block Gabe as a bright white shape exploded out of the school, surrounding the entire campus like a massive, glowing bubble. The ground beneath them shuddered and bucked, but they kept their footing, frozen in shock at the huge glare that covered the castle. He prepared to flee as it crept closer, but the light stopped a few yards away from them, trapped by the limits of the school's property.

"What the hell?" He had never heard Gabe swear before, but he couldn't argue that it was appropriate at that moment.

"Don't touch that." Yellow eyes stared intently at the strange light, waiting for it to creep further.

"What is it?"

"Magic." Drago said, the hair on his neck and arms standing on end. "A lot of it."

—--

It was so bright, thought Myra. She couldn't see a thing, even when she tried to shield her eyes. Had she been teleported somewhere? She couldn't feel her desk chair beneath her, in fact, she couldn't really feel anything. Was she floating? What was going on? There was some kind of rushing sound in her ears, but no wind to accompany it.

How curious....

"What is your wish, child?" The voice startled her, echoing from everywhere but also nowhere at the same time. She couldn't discern if it was from within her own head or another person. She still saw nothing, no other soul, just white.

"I don't understand!" She called out, pleased to hear she had her own voice. "Who's there?"

"Do you wish to understand?"

Did she? "I... I don't know. I... I want everyone to understand! Or at least my friends, no- the whole school! Nobody understands us, so... so we don't understand either." Even Eva, who saw everything and could learn anything without anybody stopping her, didn't understand this world. Myra wished she could utilize such an ability to learn like that.

"For all in your school to understand... a noble desire, child. You shall have your wish."

Though it seemed impossible, the light grew brighter and brighter, until Myra had to squeeze her eyes shut tight. It swelled until it peaked, bursting in a shower of sparkles, leaving only inky darkness behind.

—-

As soon as the light burst, Drago spread his wings again. He didn't fully shift, instead scooping Gabe up underneath his arms so they could move faster and find out, as Gabe had put it, what the hell that had been. It didn't appear as though it had left anything behind, but that didn't mean there weren't effects.

He carried them high enough to see the sports fields as they approached, wings pushing against the air to keep them elevated.

"Down there! I see Gavin!" Gabe pointed to the field where the wrestling team had been practicing. From their angle, it looked like the entire team had collapsed to the ground. Did the spell hurt them all, or just the students that hadn't taken cover in time? Track was meeting today, was Precious ok?

He angled his tail and they quickly dropped altitude, stumbling a bit in his haste, but otherwise landing in one piece.

"Gavin! Gav, hey!" Gabe slid into a kneeling position, immediately at his brother's side and shaking his shoulders. "What happened, are you ok?!"

Gavin groaned, eyebrows pinching, and Drago let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He was alive, at least.

"Hey, say something, bro."

"Rghhh.... Off... wh-ugh... " He mumbled, slurring like a drunkard.

"You want me off?" Gabe leaned away, not wanting to hurt him.

"Off..." Gavin finally opened his eyes, a flash of crimson blearily squinting at the two people crouched over him. "Off with... your head."

That... was probably the farthest thing from what they expected to come out of his mouth. "What?"

"Did I stutter? Off with your head!" He seemed to have found his voice, except... it wasn't Gavin's voice. "How dare you touch a prince without permission! Do you think just because I had a short dizzy spell you can just grab me?!" Fiery red eyes glared between the two of them. "Hello? Is anybody listening to me?"

"Gavin? What are you talking about?" Something wasn't right... he couldn't remember his brother's eye color, but Gabe's were definitely brown (a very nice, warm chocolatey color, to be exact, with just a hint of blue flecks in them, they were very nice to look at in fact-).

"Oh, definitely off with your head. Can't you recognize royalty? You're the brute that's always clinging to Precious's arm, right?"

Realization hit Drago like a brick to the head. "Damian?!"

"Prince Damian of Hearts," he corrected, "You seemed so interested in my well being a moment ago, isn't anybody going to help me up?"

"But you... what happened to Gavin?" Gabe looked close to tears and Drago didn't blame him. They saw a giant explosion cover the school and he thought he'd found his brother safe and sound, not... this.

"Do I look like an expert on neanderthals?!"

"Damian, where were you five minutes ago?" Drago asked, keeping his voice calm despite the confusion and panic threatening to overwhelm him.

"You two are worse than the damn Hatter with your questions. In the cafeteria, that's..." Damian finally realized he was not, in fact, still sitting in the cafeteria. "How did I get out here? Did you morons kidnap me?!"

"What are you wearing?"

"My... ew! Where did my clothes go?! Who's sweaty, nasty shirt is this?! What did you do to my body?! Answer or it's off with your heads!" He was practically shrieking, having a royal meltdown by the time he gave up and stormed off.

What on earth had that magic done? And why?