The next day after making their plans, Gabriel and Eva's research had stalled. Mainly due to Gabriel being the only one actually doing the research, and unhelped by the library's lack of assistance. His IMirror couldn't access information outside of the school, either, so he was forced to actually ask people for help.

Who to ask was where he was stumped. Eva had said someone needed to break the ice, but Gabriel wasn't good at that.

He was, once again, in the library, but he wasn't having as much fun as usual. Since discovering how much information it lacked, he hadn't taken as much joy out of the books and it drove him crazy. Regardless, he had a hefty stack in one hand, and his mirror in the other, scanning messages and frowning. Maybe he had been too distracted to enjoy books the way he was used to, as that would explain how he ran clean into another person at full speed and dropped his entire load.

Reaching down to pick them up, however, his hand connected to another's and he finally looked up at who he'd hit.

"Gabe! Uh, hi." Drago pulled his hand away quickly.

"Drago! Hey!" Gabriel adjusted his glasses and wondered if he had always called him Gabe and why he hadn't noticed until now.

His stomach dropped when he followed the other boy's eyes down to the top of the fallen book pile, which had flipped open on the exact page that bore a very big, very dark drawing of Maleficent. Just his luck, now he looked incredibly suspicious and Drago was probably embarrassed. It was already bad enough hearing about Gaston in his stupid history class, he couldn't imagine how annoying it was for the son of one of Historia's most famous villains.

Maleficent was also one of the very few big villains not locked away in the mirror realm, though. She'd supposedly vanished into thin air following the conclusion of Sleeping Beauty. Maybe she had spoken to her son about the story. Maybe he would be open for an interview...

"Homework?" Drago asked.

"Huh?" He looked down at the open books and back to Drago, "Oh! The books, um, yeah, a research project."

He nodded, "Interesting. Here, let me help-" He said, gathering the books together and putting them down on one of the tables.

Gabriel, in turn, picked up the books Drago had dropped, "Huh, Advanced Light Magic?"

Green cheeks turned blue, "Um yeah, I just finished the beginners edition."

"What about the spell lock?"

"I can take it to the forest when I want to practice."

"That's so cool! I'd love to come and see sometime." Gabriel said, feeling his face warm as he sat down at the table.

"Sure." He shrugged.

"Um... Would you like to study together?" He offered the chair beside him, chest fluttering from nerves. He needed to broach the topic of the interviews somehow, and asking awkward questions made anybody nervous. There probably wasn't another reason.

Drago accepted the seat and repeated, "Sure."

Gabriel didn't want to just... blurt out the whole plan, that could be rude. The last thing he wanted was to insult any of the interviewees by being overeager to know their personal business. He flipped open the book again and sighed, Maleficent's drawing burning a hole into his mind. As expected, it had nothing about her prior to the start of the story, and none of her actions included any positive justification for her actions.

He closed it and finally turned to Drago, bracing himself. "Can I ask you something kind of... personal?"

Slitted eyes looked back at him, uncertain. "I guess... It depends on the question." He hadn't done more than scan his own book's table of contents.

Part of Gabriel wanted to back out and come up with a new topic, keep his friendship with Drago and ditch anything that could risk getting himself expelled. But his quest and its potential burned in his gut. They needed the truth, the stories needed to change, and the world needed the correct history written for the next generation. He leaned closer and whispered. "How much do you know about um... your mom and the sleeping beauty story?" His eyes darted around the library, but nobody was watching.

"Uh, most of the details, I guess."

"What about her specifically? Like... Do you know why she did what she did?"

"Yeah." Drago sort of grimaced. "Is she what your research project is about?"

"Well, kind of. I... I can't really talk too much about it here, but let's just say it's not exactly sanctioned by the school." He hoped his eyes conveyed his meaning.

"What do you want to know about her?"

"Uh," He gestured for him to lower his voice. "Whatever you're comfortable sharing? I promise anything you tell me won't go anywhere you don't want it to, and you definitely don't have to tell me anything you don't want."

Drago raised an eyebrow, then glanced back down at the book of magic. "I, uh, I was gonna go practice these in the forest, off campus, because of the spell lock. You could come see now... if you want." Though his words could be neutral, Gabriel knew they actually meant 'let's get away from possible prying eyes and ears'.

"Really?"

"Yeah... Let me just check this out and we can go."

—-------

Eva floated up and around the castle's turrets like a leaf on the wind, lazily making her way around the school before landing on a ledge with familiar white roses in a large flower pot. She knocked on the glass, alerting the resident of the dorm room to her presence.

Inside the room, Myra looked up from where she was previously hunched over a notebook. She quickly got up to open the window, seemingly forgetting that Eva could simply go through it.

"I was just about to message you, you missed Caspian showing off for Archie yesterday evening. Where did you end up?"

Eva sank onto her friend's bed and stretched luxuriously. "The principal's office." She said, casually.

Myra didn't appear surprised, but cocked her head curiously. "Oh? And whatever were you doing there?" She returned to her desk and picked up her notebook again.

"The taller Gaston boy has taken it upon himself to rewrite this entire world's history by learning the facts of it via interviewing villains. I said I'd help him talk to folks, but the Fairy Godmother blocked the project completely." She spoke like she was discussing the weather, and not a severe warning for punishment. "We got in serious trouble." She yawned wide and pressed her hands into the comforter, shifting its shape and kneading it into a suitable pillow.

The White Princess was, admittedly, not expecting that. "Well that's quite interesting, isn't it, Eva?" She said, sitting down on the bed next to her friend, "Why would she have such a problem with it?"

Eva shrugged and crawled half into Myra's lap, "She's so weird. This world is so weird. I think she just wants to keep the people she doesn't like locked away or something." She sighed happily when her friend began petting her head.

Myra furrowed her eyebrows, gently scratching behind fuzzy cat ears. "Hmm, quite peculiar. If I didn't know any better, I would think she's trying to hide something. Perhaps I don't know better... What could the villains have to say that she doesn't want said? Quite curious..."

Eva sat up and tilted her head, grinning. "You think she's got... secrets?"

"Everyone does, Eva. But hers could be especially volatile, seeing as she's so important to this world. Think about it," She flipped through her notebook and showed her a page with the Godmother's wand sketched in the center. Beside it were several paragraphs of scribbled notes and other drawings. "She's entrusted with one of the most powerful artifacts in existence, very few things match up to the magic at her fingertips. Because of this, she's also responsible for hundreds of other important beings, both us in school and the villains in the mirror realm. She's got a lot of power over a lot of people."

Big cat eyes narrowed on the notebook. "You have a lot of notes on that wand..." she leaned into her princess's face, smiling wide. "What are you thinking, Myra?"

She shrugged coyly. "Oh... nothing big, I've only been curious. Ever since I saw her use the wand at the mixer I've wondered about it. I would simply like to... get my hands on it for just a moment."

"For mischief?" Eva grinned.

"No- for science!" Myra insisted, "I want to study it, understand it, it would be such an interesting experiment."

"Then why don't you take it?"

She blinked. "...Take it?"

"Yeah, take it." Eva said, crossing her legs, "I'd help you. I mean, we need to get through to the mirror realm to talk to the villains, and you want to study it- it can't be that hard. Once we've got the wand you can find out how it works and we can use it for the history rewriting thing."

Myra pursed her lips, "I suppose... The Fairy Godmother can't need it all the time...."

"Exactly!"

"And it would be for scientific efforts...."

"Of course."

Myra pouted slightly, fully scheming now. "The question now is... How do we get it?"

Eva's smile stretched ear to ear, delighted by how much mischief her little research project with Gabriel was shaping up to cause. "I'm sure we can come up with something."

-----

Drago led the way down the hill and into the forest, subtly avoiding some of the places he knew his spells had left a mark already. He didn't want to freak Gabe out practicing new spells in the middle of his failures, and if he really wanted to know more about Maleficent, then, well, a visual reminder of he and his mother's similar danger was probably not going to give him much favor.

It was odd, having friends like Gabe and Gavin. Drago had grown up separate from human society and had been excessively warned that he wouldn't fit in when he did eventually join it, so people like the Gaston boys confused him. Precious hadn't been afraid of him when they first met, but her family was. Plenty of students avoided him in the hallways and the administration hadn't exactly been favorable, but other villain kids almost seemed to gravitate towards him. He wasn't sure how he felt about it yet.

He found them a clearing that wasn't a result of his explosive spell failures and propped his book of light spells against a tree branch to read it while practicing.

"So..." Gabe started, "I'm uh, I guess I should explain what's going on." He fidgeted with his bag before finally pulling out a notebook. "The uh, the history books in our school are really biased." He kept looking back at Drago, clearly very nervous and keeping an eye out for a reaction.

"Ok..." He kept his face neutral, waiting for the rest.

"And, ah, well, I noticed it's because they're all written by bystanders or by the heroes themselves. There's no other perspectives or additional facts about the villains."

"Right." He nodded. It wasn't exactly a revelation to learn that their history books were written by heroes.

"Which means there's a high likelihood that the stories are wrong, or missing information that could change them dramatically." Gabe flipped open the notebook to the third or fourth page. It must be a pretty new notebook. "So I thought... Maybe I could help people, y'know other kids of villains, and maybe kids of heroes that know the truth. I thought maybe I could help them by collecting the true stories. Since nobody else has recorded the villains' side, maybe having it could... change the next version of the story."

Drago blinked slowly, translating his nervous ramblings in his head. "How is collecting that information going to help people? What are you going to do with it?"

"Well, I hadn't decided on the entire plan, but I thought maybe I could send the research to someone working for the Magic High Council."

That got his attention, yellow eyes lighting up with interest. "What would the Council do?"

"I'm not sure, maybe rewrite the stories or, I dunno, let us change the next ones or something? Just... prove that the stories aren't as perfect as they're written and maybe they could stand to be written differently."

"How would you reach out to them?"

"I hadn't gotten that far, I was going to focus on the research first." Gabe held up his notebook. "I've already written down mine and my brother's testimonies, and Eva Catra also wrote down her own helpful perspective. I want to try and prioritize firsthand accounts of villains from their children, if I can."

"I might be the wrong person to interview, then. Maleficent didn't exactly raise me." Drago confessed.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't know."

"It's fine. I grew up with... well, I called them my aunts but they were more like old family friends." He shrugged. He hoped his voice was light enough to convey that his upbringing wasn't a bad one.

"How so?" Gabe asked, then backpedaled. "Sorry- you don't have to answer any questions you don't want to- I should have asked first if you even wanted to give an interview."

"Don't worry about it." Drago shrugged. "It's not a secret, just... most people don't ask." He also wasn't ashamed of his family, chosen though they may be. "They're faeries from the Fae Wilds, like my mother."

He almost dropped his notebook. "Your mother's a faerie?!"

Did people not know that? Maybe the history books were lacking more than he thought. "... yeah? So am I, technically."

"That's... I never would have guessed. You don't look... like a traditional faerie, I guess." Gabe shook his head, then blushed. "Sorry, is that rude? I don't mean that in a rude way- you look great, I mean you look good- er- you look cool. I just-"

Drago snorted into his hand, stifling a laugh as he floundered.

"Anyway-" He shook his head, face a very handsome shade of red. "Even if she wasn't present during your upbringing, Maleficent is one of the big bad guys of history, and the only big one that isn't in the mirror realm." He managed to get back on topic. "If you're comfortable sharing, I think your testimony would be very valuable."

He didn't answer for a moment, instead scanning the first page of his spellbook for the general summary of the previous edition. "I... I guess I do know more about her than most people, and not just because we're... physically similar."

"Do you know why she... hm... do you know anything about her motivations for... what she did to Queen Aurora?" Gabe asked, opening a fresh page in his notebook.

"She had a grudge against King Stephan." Drago said hesitantly.

"Some versions did mention that." He nodded. "Do you know why?"

"My Aunts did tell me... I guess... you swear this won't become public information?"

"I swear. Cross my heart." Gabe said. "If telling me... pinches some nerves you don't have to, though. I won't be upset."

"I know." It was so... strange, Drago didn't have many people he was comfortable talking to at all. His aunts and Precious were the only ones, really. But Gabe made him feel... relaxed and safe. It settled his ever-present nerves that hummed at his fingertips and made his magic always feel one wrong move away from losing control.

He reread the spell from the first chapter and held out his hands. "So... Maleficent met Stephan when they were both pretty young, either children or teenagers, I don't know." Drago took a deep breath, and began to cast. "At the time, she was the closest thing to royalty that Faeries have. She didn't necessarily have governing power like people do, but she protected the Fae Wilds and the other faeries trusted her to guide them."

As he spoke, a soft green light gathered between his hands and took shape, solidifying into a figure not unlike himself. Though she was somewhat younger, the horns and leathery wings matched. He had only seen his mother a handful of times in his life, but he figured the little projection was probably close enough, based on how often his aunts said he resembled her.

"Wow..." Gabe looked to have forgotten his notebook in favor of staring at the image in awe.

"Stephan was just a farm boy when they met." Drago decided upon a levitation spell next, collecting a handful of leaves off the ground and using his magic to shape it into a simple person-shape. Once it looked half-decent, he let it float up to join his mother, holding hands. "At the edge of the wilds, where human and faerie land connected, they fell in love."

He expanded the light show to display a vague, but bright castle, smaller to imply it was far away. "Maleficent would have made him ruler of her home, but he wanted to be king of men, not creatures." The Stephan figure let go of her hands and turned to the far away kingdom. "So, when the old king offered his daughter's hand in exchange for the Queen of Faeries' head..."

One of the leaves folded itself into a sword that Stephan picked up. He crept up behind Maleficent and raised it high. "He couldn't kill her." When she turned around, he hid the sword behind his back, and opened his arm out to embrace her.

Drago watched his own display of magic, voice distant and stomach curdling with disgust. "Instead, he did something much worse." Still being held by her supposed true love, large wings unfolded from Maleficent's back. Stephan pulled the sword from behind himself. "He took her wings."

He shuddered where he stood casting the spell, and the magic shapes shimmered out of sight for a moment. When they returned, Maleficent was kneeling in visible agony, while Stephan fled, wings in hand. They were no longer made of light, but a black smoke that trailed behind him as he disappeared inside the castle.

Gabe was still watching in stunned silence, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. "He was so greedy..." he whispered.

"I don't know what kind of person she was before, but my aunts tell me she was kind. After losing her wings, however..." The Maleficent figure's light changed from a soft earthy green, to something vibrant and sickly, angry flames swirling around her as she used a staff to pick herself up. "Everything about her changed. Her magic changed, too. She couldn't perform light magic anymore." Drago's hands shook from the effort of maintaining the spell. It was harder to display the angry colors. "I don't think she wanted to."

The projection of the castle lit up with many colors from flags and banners, implying a familiar celebration. "She kept her head low, kept her suffering quiet from the other Faeries, and waited for a day she knew the human castle's defenses would be low." The Maleficent figure approached, and eventually disappeared inside the castle. "I think that... she wanted to hurt Stephan in a way he didn't expect, the same way he hurt her. She placed a curse on his daughter that she believed could never be broken, as she no longer believed in true love."

A distant boom came from somewhere on the other side of the school, and Drago hissed as the spell lost its stability, causing a vibrant green fire to consume the castle. He stopped maintaining it in time, and the ashes of the leaf-Stephan fell to the ground in a smoking crumble.

Gabe blinked as the light show ended, then started scribbling furiously in his notebook, "I can't believe it! How is none of this in the history books? This information would let people know she was justified!"

"I dunno, she cursed innocent children as revenge." He sat down on the ground, pulling his spellbook off the tree branch and flipping to the next page.

He paused what he was writing, staring at Drago, before nodding. "I guess you're right. Can I ask, are faeries born with their power?"

"Yeah." Taking a breath, he conjured up the silent sparks from the second page. It wasn't as hard as he had expected, maybe warming up with the light show had helped.

"Are the two of you a different race than on record?"

"Sort of. We're uh, unique to ourselves. I don't really know how to explain it but..." Drago gestured uselessly and the sparks bounced around in response. "There's only ever two of us alive at any time in history." There were no communities of faeries like him. Only two. Parent and child.

"Just two of you? That's... amazing. I assume you always look like your parents?"

"We look like what our parents did at the time of our birth. I imagine I reflect a less happy Maleficent." He glanced down at the claws on his hand and wondered if his mother had them when she was young.

"How do, uh," Gabe flushed, then tried again, speaking carefully. "If there's only two of your species alive at a time, do you only need one parent to be born?"

Drago's sparks fizzled out. "I'm... honestly not sure. I'll have to ask my aunts when I see them again. I kind of doubt my mother ever met another man, and I don't really know enough about her personally to know if she would willingly want a child enough to have one on her own." His eyebrows furrowed. He didn't often wish his mother was an active presence in his life- he knew it was better for both their sakes that she wasn't- but he was curious about her sometimes.

"Do you know how old she is? Maybe it's an age thing." He suggested.

"A few hundred, at least. I'm pretty sure she's played out the Sleeping Beauty story more than once."

"Precious did say dragons live a long time."

"Centuries, but we're actually... functionally immortal. After reaching maturity, we only age again after having a kid."

Gabe stared at Drago, pity in his eyes for a moment before he shook his head to dispel it. He knew his life was considered sad to some, but his family was big and loved him, even if it wasn't traditional in a human sense. Plus, he had Precious now and... Gabe too? They were friends, right?

"It's crazy how much we don't know." Gabe said, looking at his notebook. He had filled at least three pages since he had started the story.

"Most people don't ask and others prefer privacy." He shrugged.

"That's exactly why I want to hold these interviews. I want to be the one who asks, because people need to know." He said, then ducked his head sheepishly. "Sorry about the privacy thing, though."

"It's alright. Lucked out that Maleficent had a kid at all, might as well take advantage of it. Especially since I won't be playing out the fairytale this time."

"You won't?" Gabe blinked owlishly. "I mean, that's good, I'm not either, but it's cool that I'm not the only one."

"Yeah, guess Precious turned me into a bit of an anarchist." Drago laughed. If someone like her could swear off her story with such dedication, the least he could do is promise to not curse someone.

Gabe glanced away, biting his lip. "Her parents must be strict huh? Being royalty and all. Have you... met them?"

"Oh I've met them alright." There was both amusement and annoyance in his voice. "They're... well, I don't think her father hates me. Her mother on the other hand... pretty sure she almost passed out when Precious introduced me."

Gabe laughed uncertainly, and Drago wondered if he had made things awkward by answering so honestly. They weren't hostile towards him, and King Charming had even been friendly the last few weeks he had stayed with them.

"I'm guessing she had a bit of prejudice to work through. Oh, hey that's another good question- what struggles have you faced because of your parentage?" He looked back down at his notebook.

"Until I enrolled here, nobody knew I existed at all. Except the creatures that helped raise me, of course." Drago admitted. "So, outside of school and Precious's parents, not too much."

"Were you only raised by faeries or did you have other foster families?"

"I lived with a colony of dragons for a few years, but that was more like... a welcoming but rude village than it was a family."

"Oh wow... that's amazing!" He said again. "What are dragon communities like?"

"I don't really have much to compare it to." Drago's eyebrows furrowed. "Quieter, I guess. And simpler since they didn't eat very often. We mostly just... slept and flew around above the cloud layer. Some dragons liked digging out more of the caverns we lived in and some made jewelry."

"Do you ever miss them?" Gabe asked.

"Yeah," He sighed. "I know I can always go back, though. Sometimes things here are so... complicated."

"When you lived with faeries, er, your aunts... did you ever hear stories of your mom that weren't true?"

"Faeries don't lie the same way people do, so I highly doubt it."

"What about here in school, have any teachers or other students given you a hard time?" Was he asking about teachers other than the Godmother?

"Nothing hostile. Most folks avoid me, but I'm not the most... socially talented, so I don't mind."

Gabe scribbled down the quote. "I've always hated the expectations I get from being a Gaston kid... sometimes it's hard to tune it out. I'm sorry people avoid you."

"It's nobody's fault. I mean, I don't exactly look like the least threatening figure." Drago gestured to his horns. "And if I make one wrong move, my magic could destroy the castle. I get why people are wary."

He tilted his head and frowned in such a way that he looked like a large, cute dog. "I like your horns, though. They're really cool. Your wings too- and your magic is just... amazing I-" he trailed off and blushed again. Did he ever stop blushing? It was really cute.

Oh, he was waiting for Drago to say something- "You should see me in my full dragon form." Was that bragging? Eh, nah Precious said the dragon thing was cool. "I tower over trees."

Gabe's face went from pink, to a messy red. "Oh, gee, that's gotta be... a sight to see, huh?" Did people like bragging or something? Was being a giant reptile attractive? Did Gabe think he was attractive?

Mouth dry, Drago looked away. He felt too warm, but not in a 'uncomfortable and people are staring at me because they hate me' kind of way. "I- uh, maybe sometime this weekend we could go down to the village. I'm not allowed to be in that form on school grounds, obviously, and I don't want to get in trouble being too close."

"You'd really show me? That sounds fantastic!" He said, his eyes shining brightly.

"I mean, I'm not really shy about it. I don't have many opportunities to stretch out like that, or, any, really." He focused his eyes on his spellbook, hoping he didn't sound too dumb.

"What happens to your clothes when you grow that big? Do they turn into scales like your wings turn into your cloak?"

"No they tear, I-" Drago cut himself off. "I usually don't... uh, they don't transform with my body." Why would he say that?! Even if it was true, it was embarrassing and he didn't want to make Gabe uncomfortable!

When he peeked up from his book, sure enough, Gabe's blush had gone past his cheeks to his ears. "Y-yeah we can t-totally g-go out and... do that..." he stammered. Way to go, he was definitely uncomfortable now.

He tried to salvage things. "Eventually I'll be able to use magic and transform my clothes with me." He said, as if that changed anything about the present predicament. His book was very interesting, he didn't need to make eye contact. "Right now I can only really disguise my wings as my cloak."

"Are you alright? You're... a little bluer than normal...." Gabe asked tentatively. Crap- did he know that's what it looked like when he blushed? Green skin did weird things and looked weird all the time.

"Yeah, that's normal, my face does that." Drago managed.

"Ok." They were awkwardly quiet for a long moment, before Gabe closed his notebook and stood up. "Well, I think I got everything I need. I guess it'd be nice to talk to some of the others involved in the Sleeping Beauty story, but if most people didn't know you existed, then..."

He stared at him, an odd thought coming to mind. "You have no proof of anything I've said, y'know."

"Huh?"

"What if I was lying?"

He blinked. "Were you?"

"Well, no, but you don't really have anything beyond my word. What if someone does lie?" Drago pointed to the notebook. "Villains aren't exactly known for compassion and honesty."

Gabe frowned. "The Fairy Godmother said something like that too." He held it closer to himself as if the information needed protecting. "I guess I can't afford to think about it too much."

"Well... I hope nobody lies to you. Seems like you're trying to do a good thing. I'll uh, see ya later then." Drago awkwardly picked up his own book and began heading in a random direction, which happened to be deeper into the forest. That worked he needed to practice these spells right? Right.

Gabriel watched Drago walk off for a moment before heading back towards the school. One interview done, thousands to go.

-----

Glass clinked against metal and big slitted eyes squinted through strange liquids. The room looked wonderfully distorted through the different shaped containers.

"Why are we playing with your chemistry set again?" Eva asked, handing Myra a test tube and floating upside down so she could look around the rest of the science lab. It was so plain and barren, since they never used it for classes.

"Because I need to think of a way to get more information about the wand's location from The Fairy Godmother. Science always helps me think." Myra placed the test tube over the bunsen burner and started crushing up rose petals with a mortar and pestle.

"I already told you I saw it on her desk in a little glass holder thing." She rolled over in the air and pawed at a glass vial at the corner of the table.

"Yes, but she's not just going to let me borrow it..." the white princess sighed, "I need to find a way to sneak in and-"

"Steal it?" Eva grinned.

"Not steal... commandeer for science!" She punctuated her euphemism with a dainty hand gesture.

"And to get the villain interviews."

"Exactly. Now I just need a way to sneak into the principal's office long enough to explore a little bit, find out when and where I can sneak in- hand me that vial will you?" Myra said, not looking up from her work.

Not knowing which of the many vials she wanted, Eva shrugged and passed Myra the one she had been poking, who took it and poured it into the tube without looking. A few seconds passed and they watched as the liquid began to bubble, then simmer, then smoke.

"Wait- did you hand me the- oh my." Myra backed away from the burner, slowly sinking down and pulling Eva under the desk by her tail, "I suppose it's time to take cover." She said, all too calm. Her experiments had exploded before, after all. She was familiar with getting out of the way of shrapnel when-

BOOM

Just above their heads the explosion cracked the desk and blinded them beneath it. Well, that was a bit larger than she had expected; good thing they had gotten down in time. She waited for the dust to settle before she deemed it safe and the pair rose back up to their feet, scanning the lab now covered in scorch marks and bright blue foam.

"Oh my... I should make note of this...." Myra happily dug her notebook out of the foam and began flipping through the pages.

Before she could write anything down, however, a voice rang out over the loudspeakers above them, "Miss Myra of Underland please report to the principal's office immediately. And janitors please head to classroom 2-A." The Fairy Godmother's voice rang out.

Eva floated up into the air above Myra's head, "Well, you did it, you're getting into the principal's office, just remember to look around while you're in there."

"The Godmother must have a way to see into the classrooms- wait, oh, Eva, that was your plan all along? You're a genius!" Myra said, giving her friend a tight hug before rushing out of the lab, happily humming down the halls.

Eva shrugged, humbly taking credit for a plan she definitely didn't make before vanishing in a puff of smoke, not eager to be at the scene of the mess when the janitor arrived.

-----

"Precious, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Precious closed her eyes and tried very hard not to groan. She managed to school her face into her usual smooth neutrality before setting her embroidery down on the blanket she was sitting on. It was such a beautiful day, and she had been trying to enjoy the weather. Poor sleep didn't mean she couldn't take her lunch outside and attempt to recover her energy via the fresh air.

"Thorne, good to see you." She lied, turning around and smiling. Were it anybody else she might have invited them to sit beside her. "How are you?"

"I'm excellent, now that I've found you!" Standing behind her, Thorne had a basket in one hand as well as another blanket, but seemed unsure of what to do with them now.

"That's nice. Can I help you with anything?" She really didn't like him standing over her, but didn't want to expend the effort of cleaning up when she had just gotten all of her embroidery materials laid out.

"Well, I was going to invite you to a picnic for lunch, but I see you beat me to the idea!" He laughed awkwardly.

"Ahaha, yes, I often eat outside on nice days. My brother made me a very nice quiche as thanks for dinner yesterday, but I'm afraid it's all gone now." Just keep providing pleasant small talk and perhaps he will go away, she told herself.

"Oh, ah, I didn't know Auden cooked!"

"His Home Economics class made a lot of them for an event coming up, I believe."

"I see. Was there... something in particular that gave you the idea to come out here today? The courtyard would surely be more comfortable than the edge of the forest." Thorne tilted his head and... something about his eyes were far too bright, too interested. It put her on edge, feeling like he knew more than she did.

Regardless, she answered honestly. "I had a dream last night about having a picnic."

"Oh? Really now? How did that go?" He pressed her for details very quickly. Did he... somehow know he was in her dream?

"Not well, I'm afraid. It was a terrible nightmare, actually." Precious said, turning away and picking up her embroidery circle again.

"What?" He had no way of affecting her dreams, so it concerned her that he sounded... irritated.

"Yes." Deciding she couldn't divulge the actual details of what made the dream upsetting, she quickly made something up. "It was pouring down rain, and all of my sandwiches were completely soaked! For some reason I couldn't simply go inside, and I ate them all soggy and horrible." She added a shudder for believability. "I don't think I'll be able to eat sandwiches again for some time."

"My, that's... very tragic. I hope the awake experience was more pleasant."

Well, it had been. "It was, thanks." She pulled the needle through, but didn't get more than two stitches done before he spoke again.

"Well, if you'd like to make it better, perhaps I could join you for dessert?" He stepped around and back in front of her, holding out his basket. "I brought parfaits from the lunch room!"

For the love of god, why couldn't he take a hint? Precious had made a point of bringing her things as far away from the school as she could comfortably get without risking being late for her next class and even set out a quiet craft to focus on. What part of her situation could possibly insinuate she wanted company?

"Oh, I appreciate it, Thorne, but I'm trying to eat healthier this month." She lied again.

"I got the low fat kind! Though, if you're concerned about your figure, the Fairy Godmother would certainly be glad to help! I've, ah, I've heard she has spells that can alter one's appearance permanently without problem!" Well, that confirmed her suspicion that their dear godmother had helped him cheat to get those muscles and that height. It didn't sit right with her that he so quickly assumed she was bothered by her body, however. Anybody that knew even the slightest thing about her, knew full well she didn't give a rat's behind about her weight. "You are her favorite, after all!"

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true. She loves all her students equally." Precious focused on her fabric, forcing her hands to remain gentle and relaxed so they didn't shake too much and ruin the delicate leaves she was stitching.

"Of course, but the Cinderella story is the one she gets to participate in directly, so she wouldn't mind offering a bit more cosmetic assistance." Thorne didn't lay out his blanket, but he did kneel down so he was eye level. At least he wasn't hovering over her shoulder anymore, not that it made her want him gone any less.

"My beauty is entirely natural, just how I like it. I can maintain my appearance perfectly well, thank you." Did she sound conceited? She certainly wasn't shy, she knew she looked good. It took a lot of work, and she didn't do it for just anybody's standards. She did it for her own.

"Of course! I agree 100%!" He attempted to salvage the conversation. "I was just letting you know, you shouldn't have to avoid the things you enjoy just for a certain figure! The Fairy Godmother could make it so you never have to worry about calories or makeup or exercise!"

"Thorne." Precious finally put her embroidery back down and met his eyes. "I understand you mean well, but I do not need Godmother's magic advertised to me. I enjoy doing my makeup and staying active. I like brushing my hair, even when it's tangled, and I like eating healthy, because it makes me feel good." He opened his mouth to speak but she held up a hand so she could finish. "Just because I want to practice good habits, does not mean I am trying to reach some goal. I have no problem with my body, and anybody that does, can kindly keep it to themselves." Across campus, something boomed like a canon and they both glanced away in surprise. The sound echoed off the trees and faded away slowly.

She had very nearly dared him to say what he really meant, that he thought something less favorable about her body.

"I'm sorry, I didn't intend to offend you, Princess." Thorne bowed his head, but his irritation bled into his voice, as did the insincerity of his apology. No, she shouldn't assume that. Perhaps he simply didn't like being talked down to, he was royal himself, after all. Either way, he had better take the lesson to heart, even if he was irritated.

"Thank you for the apology." Precious was good at reading people, but she forced herself to give him the benefit of the doubt. He wasn't the most intelligent of men, he likely didn't understand his blunder.

"Perhaps I can make it up to you. Coffee or dinner after classes, perhaps?" Good lord. Was he allergic to reading the damn room or something?

"That's not necessary, darling." His eyes flashed when she called him that and she quickly resolved to never do so again. "I would simply rather be left alone right now. I was hoping to get this piece finished before my lunch hour was over, and I work best in the quiet." His interruption had ensured she wouldn't have the time anyway, but the sooner he left, the better.

"Right, I understand. I hope you have a lovely rest of your day." Thorne stood back up. She listened for the sound of his footsteps as he hiked back up the hill to the school, and didn't return to her embroidery until it was once again silent save for the rustling of the trees.

—---

Myra made her way to the office at a brisk, but not hurried, pace. She was sure that once she explained she intended to clean up the foamy classroom, everything would be smoothed over with the Godmother. Really, she had nothing to be concerned about, but she was grateful for the chance to investigate her office.

She was quite calm as she knocked on her headmistress's door. "Miss Fairy Godmother?"

The door swung open on its own, revealing the Fairy Godmother directing it with her wand. Myra was immediately taking in the details of the room. She sat behind a large oak desk and there were small, but lovely trinkets and treasures on shelves and in cases around the sides of the room. She didn't even notice the frown on the godmother's face as she said, "Come in, Myra. Sit."

She took a seat in front of the desk "Yes of course... um, pardon, but do you have the time?" She tried not to stare, but she couldn't keep her eyes from darting down to the wand, right there, so close.

"Myra-" The Godmother started to say, then looked confused, "The time? It's two o'clock." She shook her head to get back in the mind, "Myra do you know why you've been called here?"

"Well, good two o'clock" She smiled, then jumped right into blathering "I believe I do. See I had a... mishap with a potion in 2-A, I added a bit too much Bitter-root, I think it was bitter-root. When what I should've added was worm peels, but I couldn't find any no matter how much I dug in the Rose beds..."

"Myra-"

She was very good at rambling, and she needed to keep talking in order to buy herself enough time to examine the room. "So I tried to use a replacement, but sour-root doesn't have the same potency, so I needed to adjust the rest of the formula in order to accommodate."

"Myra-"

"However, I had already merged the other ingredients so there wasn't time to do so, and as a result, my potion had a very unfavorable effect. Not an irreversible one, but unfavorable nonetheless-"

"Myra!" After two failed attempts at speaking, the Godmother finally slammed a hand down on her desk. "I do not care about your silly little experiments! You completely destroyed one of our classrooms! You are acting like a selfish, foolish child, not a Queen!" She said, voice raised. "You Underlandians will be the end of me, I swear." She shook her head, frustrated, or perhaps disappointed. It wasn't quite clear to Myra. "You have detention for... two weeks. I will send you a message on your mirror when and where you are to go. Today's detention will be served by you going back to the lab immediately to help clean."

Myra stared in surprise. She was more startled by having been yelled at than the detention sentence. "I- Fairy Godmother, I have no problem cleaning up my own mess. You needn't make it out to be worse than it is. I didn't damage any property except for perhaps the desk I used, and the mess is largely superficial! Some talcum powder will easily take the foam away."

"Do not talk back to me, young lady!"

"I wasn't talking back, I was simply stating that you are upset over almost nothing. And seeing as I am not a queen nor a child, but a Princess, I should be referred to as-"

"That's enough out of you! You are being entirely disrespectful!" The Fairy Godmother snapped. "You performed an unsanctioned experiment on school property resulting in a large mess and a dangerous explosion. You need to learn that there are consequences for your actions!"

"How can I get permission for experiments when we still lack a science teacher?"

"One more piece of back-talk, young lady, and you'll have detention for a month. You cannot simply go about and do whatever you want and destroy whatever you want!"

Myra felt herself recoil. She didn't think she could do whatever she wanted, did she? She already planned to clean the classroom, after all. "I understand, godmother. I won't make the same mistake with my experiments again, I promise. And I look forward to my detention!" She smiled brightly, hoping her chipper perspective might diffuse the headmistress's anger. "I was actually quite curious as to what that was like, so thank you for granting me a reason to not have to sneak in."

The Fairy Godmother didn't diffuse, and instead looked as though she was close to bursting a vein. "You are the most foolish, childish, insolent little girl I've ever had the misfortune of knowing!" She stood up from the desk and hovered over Myra. "How would your mother feel to know you lack even the most basic concept of respect? I expect much more out of a princess. Your etiquette is nonexistent, you only know how to talk nonsense to others and you only think of yourself! Perhaps things are different in Underland, but here in Historia, explosions get people hurt, and disrespect starts wars." She waved her wand and summoned forth a bucket of soapy water, a mop popping into existence beside it. "I have tried to be understanding of your ways, but you Underlandians refuse to adapt to our world and our customs, and I can no longer accommodate you. As such, I will be forced to teach you instead. You will never be a good queen if you refuse to relate to your subjects."

She blinked at the bucket, her throat tight, before accepting it and tilting her head. "Ooh, thank you very much. Am I to drink this?" She asked, despite knowing full well what it was for. Somewhere in the midst of the godmother's speech, she had quieted her own mind, putting on a blank smile and deciding she didn't want to give her the satisfaction of a reaction.

"Do not insult me, Myra. Once more wise crack like that and I will be extending your punishment. You will learn some humility like Cinderella, by scrubbing floors. I will also be implementing remedial classes for all of you Underlandians until I can trust you again to have free reign of this school."

"What!? That's ridiculous! My friends have nothing to do with my experiment!" Myra stood up as well. "Punishing them for merely being from my same homeland is completely unjust!"

"You, as their future queen, are responsible for them, are you not? You seem quite unbothered by your own punishment, so I must make an example of you. Perhaps their anger will get through to your head." She stepped around the desk and opened her door. "What is ridiculous is you think that you have any power here. This is my school and you will learn respect, one way or another."

Myra thought hard. She wanted to upturn the bucket of water over the desk and the stupid fairy and everything shiny in the office, but that would do nothing but simply upset her further. She couldn't guarantee such an outburst wouldn't result in her expulsion. Though they missed home, they didn't have an extravagant school like this back in Underland, and her friends would surely be just as angry to know she had been kicked out for retaliating over detention.

And... perhaps such a tantrum would be childish. Not that she agreed with any of the barely-curbed insults the godmother had said so far, but she didn't necessarily want to prove them right either.

So she accepted the bucket and stepped into the doorway. "I hope this isn't how you treat all your students. I understand that I've angered you. I will go, then." She paused, "Oh, how Underlandish of me, I nearly forgot the mop-" Myra made to turn back, but suddenly found herself holding both objects and standing in the hallway, the headmistress's door shut firmly.

She hadn't even seen the Fairy Godmother retrieve her wand, yet the spell that sent her out of the office was so smooth and pristine, she didn't realize it had been cast until after she'd been teleported.

"Well. That's just a waste of magic." She huffed. "I can think of ten better uses for such a power before breakfast." Myra giggled as she walked down the hall, and mumbled under her breath, "Now I really can't wait to borrow her wand."

Adding a skip to her step, she waved the mop at her friend, Cotton, as she passed her and a pair of old people she'd never seen.

—---

Sitting back down at her desk, the Fairy Godmother took several deep breaths to calm herself. She had well and truly had enough of those damn Underlandian students. For generations her school ran perfectly fine, educating nobles and royals without issue and everything was perfect! Even the first year they had had villain students was easier than this. Something about those from outside of Historia had completely overturned the delicate balance she had implemented, as if she didn't already have enough on her plate keeping track of her students' destinies, all while short staffed.

Sighing, she reached into her desk for a folder of papers for some work that didn't give her a migraine. Thorne had requested to stop by later to talk about his story again. He was dreadfully nervous about taking Precious out, and wanted to make sure he looked his best.

He, of course, already looked his best. His physical appearance was some of his Godmother's finest work. From his thick blond hair to his muscular frame, he would have a hard time finding any issues with his looks at all.

Not like Precious. Fairy Godmother loved her dearly, as she had from the moment she was born, but she had never once asked for so much as a ribbon or charm. She knew Precious loved the finer things, from clothes, to furniture, to shoes, to jewelry, and yet she seemed to take no issue with her appearance at all. At least, no issue that she brought up to her dear Godmother.

Face-wise, Precious was, well, perfection. Rosy cheeks and cute dimples alongside vibrant brown eyes and soft pink lips drew in anybody who looked at her. She could blink her long eyelashes and any man would fall for her in an instant.

If only she weren't so short and stout. A princess shouldn't be so muscular and rounded. Her weight might make it hard to be rescued by her prince!

Ah, but the Fairy Godmother was worried for nothing. Precious still had plenty of time to trim down, especially since track was having regular meetings, according to Thorne. Whatever size she didn't achieve from the exercise she knew she was more than welcome to ask for some magical aid with.

She wrote a few notes down in Thorne and Precious's file. Details like his magical cosmetics weren't necessary for their story, but him going to his dear fairy godmother for luck in love would make for a very relatable protagonist one day.

She was just tucking the folder back in her desk when a timid knock sounded from her door.

"Come in, Thorne!" But Thorne did not, in fact, come in. The door was instead opened by a girl with long rabbit ears- the Underlandian bunny, Cotton. Just what she needed, more Underlandians.

"Excuse me, Fairy-est of Godmothers, you have a visitor!" She said rather nervously.

The Fairy Godmother rubbed her temple, but kept her voice calm. Nobody else knew of Myra's punishment, so she couldn't be openly hostile to her friends just yet. "Yes I can see that, Cotton. What do you need?"

"Hm? Oh! Ahaha, not me." Cotton giggled and shook her head. "I understand the confusion, I am confused most of the time as well. No, he is your visitor." She opened the door further and stepped aside for-

"Wanda! So very good to see you!" His floor-length, vibrant blue robe was unmistakable, as was the pointed hat and long, white beard, both of which he wore loosely and comfortably, so he could throw his arms out wide to greet her happily.

"M-Merlin!" The Fairy Godmother was on her feet in an instant, entire body going rigid. "I- welcome!"

"You've got such wonderfully helpful students here, y'know! Miss Cotton found us wandering about like chickens without heads!" He put a friendly hand on Cotton's shoulder, smiling wide. "It's been far too long since I've been here, I got us quite lost, you see."

"Ah, yes, we've had some of the towers renovated since last year."

"Well, I'm glad, because without that we never would have run into this lovely bunny!" Merlin praised and Cotton blushed under his flood of kind words.

The Fairy Godmother smiled politely, then noticed the door left open. "You ah, you keep saying 'we' and 'us', is someone else here?"

"Oh! Yes, of course! My mind is so full of everything I'm losing it already! Cotton, thank you again." He nodded for her to leave and she did so with a pleased skip. "My reason for visiting is... I've brought you a present!" He waved to the open door and a new person stepped into her office.

"Wanda- er, Fairy Godmother," Merlin said, gesturing to the new... individual, "May I introduce you to my dear colleague, Professor Laurine Aquana."

They were tall, taller than Godmother even if they weren't wearing heels and sturdy enough to be a physical threat just when standing. Dressed in a deep crimson pantsuit, their long, black hair was pinned atop their head in a strict updo. Their eyes were cruel and harsh behind glasses, and their fingernails were long, making their hands look like spiders when they reached forward to shake the Fairy Godmother's. "It is an honor to meet you, your work is... legend." They said, voice smooth and low.

"I... Thank you. And likewise." She couldn't take her eyes off them, positive she recognized them from somewhere but unable to place where, and unwilling to let her guard down until she remembered.

"You spoke with me a few months back about lacking a science teacher, did you not?" Merlin happily patted Laurine's shoulder, though they towered over him.

"I... our math teachers have been filling the role exceptionally, but I'm sure they will greatly appreciate their extra class time back!" The Fairy Godmother's eyes darted between the two, mind reeling.

"Laurine, here, is the top of their field! Vouched for and trained by best scholars, they are the newest leading expert in both magical, and non magical, humanoid biology! They've been studying for nearly twenty years and were quite excited when I offered them the opportunity!"

"Yes, of course, ah... forgive me for asking, but you look quite familiar, have we met before?" She asked tactfully.

"Not in person, however you are probably familiar with my many published works as well as my family. My second-cousin is the current King Triton of Atlantica," They said, smiling serenely.

Oh? Strange that they hadn't been mentioned to her before. "I see. You are a mermaid, then!"

"Well, not exactly." Laurine made eye contact with Merlin, who snickered, before they took a step further away from the desk and touched something on their chest.

Before her very eyes, their legs blurred and shifted, splitting apart, and going from dry fabric, to long, slick tentacles. Six in total, and just as vibrant a red as their suit jacket. The Fairy Godmother gasped and forced herself not to step farther away.

"My second cousin is Triton, though I share more physical resemblance with my first cousin, Ursula." Laurine shifted their tendrils back to legs and dusted them off as if demonstrating the transformation had dirtied them somehow. "Unlike her, however, I have no magical prowess. My affinity is for science and the natural world, and I've studied a long time to know all there is to know about it."

"Yes I... I understand, you clearly worked very hard to gain Merlin's favor." She wanted to scream. What was with this sudden obsession with villains?! First that Gaston boy wants to go parading about spouting good things about evil, now this! Laurine was far too closely related to Ursula, they would surely make the students uncomfortable!

"They reached out to me about fifteen years ago, following the conclusion of the most recent cycle of The Little Mermaid, and I was astonished! Such a smart creature but bound to the ocean! The universe can be so unfair." Merlin shook his head. "I helped them immediately, of course, and it brings me great joy to see their dreams realized!" He recounted happily, and clearly oblivious to the Godmother's discomfort.

"He offered me a spell that allows me to travel between the land and sea at will, so that I might expand my knowledge to that beyond aquatic beings." They reached into the neck of their shirt and produced a small golden amulet shaped like a sand dollar. That would explain their transformation and contradictory assurance that they had no magic of their own.

"That's a truly powerful spell he cast for you... The cost must have been great." To those without a relic, like herself, transformation magic required an equal payment in order to cast.

"It was." Laurine nodded solemnly. "I traded my entire sense of smell, as well as a portion of my eyesight." They adjusted their glasses. "I do not regret it in the slightest. Being able to freely walk between land and water has opened doors for me I previously could never have imagined." They glanced to the side and smiled, a motion that made their face look truly devious, in the Godmother's opinion. "And surprisingly, I've never really missed the fishy smells around the coast."

"Ohohoho! Laurine, you naughty squid, you!" Merlin laughed so hard he had to hold their shoulder for balance, his deceptively frail-looking body shaking. The Fairy Godmother forced herself to laugh as well. "Hoo, we mustn't fall out of touch. I can't be without your humor for long." He patted the shoulder again before letting go and straightening his silly star-patterned robe. "Well, I shall let you two get acquainted, I'm sure you're eager to learn all you can about your new teacher!"

"Would you like help finding the exit? I'd be glad to guide you." She quickly offered, not eager to be left alone with the professor.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly steal any more of your time, I can find my way. If not, I'll simply seek out the aid of another one of your lovely students." He made his way to the door again, "Failing that, a true tragedy it will be, that I'm stuck within the walls of such a marvelous school!" He chuckled again and left before either of them could say a word.

There was a moment of silence between the two, before Laurine smiled again. "He is a marvel of a man. I envy his limitless energy." They then turned their eyes on her. "I look forward to working with you-"

"Do not play dumb to me, Professor." The Fairy Godmother spat, thoroughly at her wits end for the day. "I know what you are here for, don't try and deny it. Why is my school under investigation by the Magic High Council?" She demanded, all politeness gone with Merlin.

They blinked at her, and she seethed at how calm they appeared.

"Why do you think the school is under investigation?" They finally asked.

"My students may be unruly at times, but I have never been unable to handle them. I keep their destinies on track and oversee their education personally. Perhaps the council doesn't trust me with villains this year, or they take umbrage with my decision to extend entry to the Underlandian students." She slowly walked around her desk, but refused to fly and risk giving Laurine the impression she didn't like being shorter than them. "Whatever their reason, appointing you to investigate was foolish, as I have everything under control."

Again, Laurine remained infuriatingly calm, and simply watched her approach them with relaxed eyes and posture.

"Have you anything to say?"

"I am simply... intrigued by your defensiveness."

"I am not defensive. I am protective. I care more about my students than anything else in the world, and if their destinies are threatened by anyone or anything, including the council, I will personally see to their safety by any means necessary." The Fairy Godmother stopped directly in front of them, eyes narrowed and jaw set.

They contemplated her for a long moment. "Interesting... I'm glad you said that to me, Headmistress." Laurine finally nodded, breaking eye contact. "It's reassuring, to say the least." They stepped around her and made their way to the door in no hurry. "They are the next generation of our world and our stories, leaving them to someone that doesn't care would be irresponsible, so your resolve reflects well upon the school." They put a hand on the doorknob but didn't twist it just yet, turning back to Wanda. "But you are wrong. I am not here to investigate the school."

"Then why are you here? Someone of your... expertise should be teaching at a specialty university. You could have your own school if you wished." With Merlin's obvious favor and their supposed renown, it wouldn't be hard to find students.

"I am here to investigate you, Headmistress. Not your school." Their eyes narrowed in and pinned her to the spot. "You have been in possession of your wand for a long time, and have had complete control over hundreds of heroes and dozens of stories. That amount of power and responsibility is a dangerous thing."

"How dare you accuse me of misusing-"

"I have accused you of nothing. I've simply revealed to you my assignment, in addition to teaching here, of course." They finally pulled the door open. "What I've seen so far is promising, Headmistress. I'm sure that if you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear." And left before Wanda could say another word.