Gabriel's day had been one of the most frustrating he could remember. Growing up with his father he was used to being told 'no' and that his opinions of things were the wrong kind. He knew his father wasn't a reliable source of perspective, however, and so he could move on from that. He didn't take it personally anymore.

Knowing that he was factually correct when someone insisted he wasn't, was incredibly frustrating.

He was in his history class, specifically the storybook segment, and their teacher was going through some of the lesser known fairy tales. Gabriel had mostly tuned out the part about his father. He'd grown up knowing that story.

Until it became apparent that his teacher, a very portly man with a long mustache that had lived out his story in his youth, had it wrong.

"Excuse me, Professor Hansel?" Gabriel raised his hand to interrupt their teacher. "I think your lesson is outdated, sir. King Adam never killed Gaston, and the townsfolk weren't bested by his castle."

"Excuse me?" Hansel raised a bushy eyebrow.

"My father fell from the tower on his own, and survived by landing in the river below." Gabriel explained, "It also doesn't mention that he was a former general in the king's army. With the king and his court erased from the town's memory, Gaston took to protecting it alone."

"What does that matter to the story? Gaston laid siege to the castle due to his jealousy and cruelty." He must have forgotten who he was talking to, or else he might have hesitated to use such directly insulting words to Gabe's face.

"I just think our official history books should probably mention details like that. Really, it was the enchantress that cursed the prince who is to blame, but she's barely a footnote. You'd think the motivations of the story's primary antagonist are important." He certainly wouldn't say he agreed with his father's actions, but he had grown up with a caring set of parents and a comfortable home. Reading that his dad simply hated everyone and cared only about himself and died at the end of the story was... uncomfortable.

"His motivations do not matter, nor does what happens to him at the end." Hansel waved a hand dismissively.

"Um, seriously?" Gabriel finally gestured to himself, irritated. "I think it matters to me."

"Villains are evil, it is in their nature to bring about our stories and our history. Please do not interrupt my lesson again."

He hadn't even answered Gabriel's question, and speaking up had only made the other students stare at him. He was no stranger to being treated a bit differently as a villain's son, but having his teacher dismiss him completely left a gross pit in his stomach.

He wondered if bigger and more well-known villains got the same treatment.

Drago certainly parted crowds when he walked through them.

After classes concluded for the day and Precious awkwardly (yet still tactfully, she was so smooth and confident) rescheduled their dance lesson due to a track meeting, Gabriel found himself in the library. It was usually his favorite place, surrounded by infinite shelves and information. Today it was a source of a frustrating obsession.

Between two stacks as tall as himself, he had laid out several notebooks to write in, scribbling down the consistent and repeated information he was researching. He was scanning different versions and different variations of their stories, making note of every plot hole and missing detail. None of the books were written with any favor to the villains.

Sometimes they would list reasons for the bad guys' cruelty, such as jealousy or desperation, but all came from a place of self-absorption or entitlement.

He would have missed his visitor even if he wasn't engrossed in the books. Invisible, the shuffling of clothes and gentle purring went over his head, until the tickle of fur irritated his nose and he sneezed.

The librarian shushed him as he nearly tumbled out of his chair in shock as Eva Catra ghosted into sight, perched atop his stack of books with her tail draped down and in his face.

"Jeez! Was that really necessary?" Gabriel whisper-shouted.

"Whatever do you mean?" She grinned and cocked her head farther sideways than normal people could bend. "I've been sitting quietly."

He frowned and wondered how long she had been watching him for. Gavin had once told him he made weird faces when reading and he didn't need to be made fun of today. "Well, I need the book you're sitting on, so if you could pull up a chair instead?" He gestured to the seat beside him.

Eva lifted her body from the stack and plucked the book he wanted off the top. "This one? Apologies, but it made quite the comfy spot." She passed it down to him and reseated herself atop the other stack. "The view is much nicer up here, as well. You should try it."

"I'll pass, thanks." Gabriel took the book and opened it up, adjusting his glasses as he flipped the pages, "What exactly are you viewing, anyway?"

"The books. I don't know much about fairytale history outside of Underland, and you seemed to be making yourself quite the expert."

He raised an eyebrow, unsure if she was being genuine or joking again. "You're welcome to look through my selection. I've almost finished with them." He had already finished scanning the one she had given him and went to add it to his discard pile. "Looking to read anything specific?"

"I don't do much reading myself per se... I've just been... picking up on things as I see them... or hear them... I guess I have an interest in the magic here... Or in the stories I guess, both those active and future." Eva lifted a book in two fingers as if it was a poisonous rodent.

"That's what you'll find at a school for fairytales," he waved his hands with sarcastic enthusiasm, "Lots of magic." He looked back at his notes and frowned, remembering poor Drago's spell lock. "I haven't found a single point of view from a villain in any of these books."

"Maybe it's because the villains don't write the stories. The winners get to call themselves the hero. I suppose that's what makes them the villain. In their mind they are the hero, but we don't read their stories..." She trailed off.

"You're right... but that means our entire written history is completely biased." Gabriel tossed his pen down and threw his notebook closed. "I just don't understand how this doesn't bother anybody. Half of the people in these stories are either dead or imprisoned and nobody seems to care!"

"Of course nobody cares. Why should they? Those that matter get their happy ending. The rest either disappear or get sent to the mirror realm. How do you speak up around all of that?"

Gabriel furrowed his eyebrows, "That's even more frustrating. I just think people should know the truth and the other side of the story. I mean- we have magic, we can use it to know their stories... I guess the heroes just don't want that to happen."

"Your world is odd. You define good and bad so... purposefully, no in between. In Underland there are the Red and White queens, and each commands her chaos as she chooses, but nobody has to follow either. I get to do what I want." She draped her back over and down the tower of books so her eyes were almost level with Gabriel's. "If you could do what you wanted, what would it be?"

He frowned, "I guess... I'd research and learn what these books are missing. Try and tell other people what I knew." then shook his head. "But it's not exactly like I can go interviewing the villains. They're all in some kind of exile, and school trips for villain interviews haven't started." the last bit was muttered sarcastically. He should stop hanging out with Gavin so much.

"Are all of you this small-minded?" Eva cackled and threw her arms out, knocking the pile of books over. "You have an encyclopedia of their children at your fingertips! Do you really think none of them know their parents' side? I'll bet if you asked, even some of the 'good' kids disagree with their predecessors." Across the room, the librarian shushed them again.

Gabriel stared at her with wide eyes and slowly nodded. "That's... that's a good idea... maybe I could, I dunno, start an interview chain, or something. We could compile the information and tell the administration and maybe change the direction of the school. It's possible right?"

"It's possible in Underland. My good friend Cotton once started an entire religion in two days!" Eva said proudly.

Her wild tale went over his head. "Well then." He shut his book, "I guess I need to get to work. Set up an interview system, maybe get permission from the principal to interview teachers who had first hand experiences..." He started to write all of these things down on a checklist.

"Seems like a lot of steps. Would you perchance want a partner in this? You may find my specific skill set to be... quite useful" Eva said cheekily.

Gabriel frowned at her curiously, "You want to help me? With this? It's not going to be very um, well it will be fun for me." Gabriel chuckled. They could help so many people with this information.

"What better way to learn about this world and it's magic than firsthand, non-biased stories?" She slid off the back of the book tower and vanished into thin air, "I would do it for the potential gossip and minor havoc alone."

He followed the sound of her voice with his head, smiling. Not that he planned to fight anyone, but the project ahead of him made him feel almost like... a hero for the first time in his life. "Well then, that sounds awesome!" He said, his smile growing, he held out his hand, "Partners?" He asked.

A disembodied paw appeared first to accept the shake, followed by the rest of Eva's body and finishing at her wide smile. "Partners."

Gabriel nodded and pulled out his iMirror, "Maybe we should make an ad in the school news? Get some interviews lined up, maybe some teachers will give us extra credit for doing this..."

"Sounds like a brilliant idea." She said, tapping her chin and peering over his shoulder. "I could definitely use it"

"Alright, let's think of a good ad to put in the school news, and message the teachers..." he said, opening the news line.

"Tell the truth. An informative study trying to find the unbiased truth behind our history. Looking to understand both heroic and villainous sides. Taking interviews from all students and faculty." Though she spoke as if mocking someone with a proper accent, what she said was perfect.

"Alright... let's see..." he wrote it down, nodding along with Eva, "There! How's that look?" He asked, showing the floating cat girl.

"Looks good to me!"

Gabriel nodded, "And there we go! Posted- wait, what?" His eyebrows furrowed and he adjusted his glasses to look at the mirror clearly, as if he somehow mistook what he was seeing. "Eva look, our post was blocked!" He frowned, but didn't have time to ponder as to why, before his mirror, along with Eva's, dinged with some kind of notification. His stomach sank with dread. "Did... did the principal just message you too?"

Eva's ears turned towards the noise before she produced her Imirror as well. "Yeah... how peculiar..."

He scanned the message and went pale. "She wants to see us in her office immediately."

"You don't know if it's bad. Perhaps she wants to make the study more official?"

Gabriel nodded, "Let's hope so." He said, though his mind was racing, why would she block the message if she wanted to make it an official project? He had a bad feeling about things.

"We should probably go find out." She floated down until she was eye level, her smile neutral for a change.

He nodded, collected his notes in his bag, and apologized to the librarian for leaving such a mess. They didn't seem to mind, however, distracted by a handful of other students arguing amongst themselves.

Across the room, out of sight of where Gabriel had been studying, was a lounge area. It had been laid out for more comfortable reading and consisted of a ring of very plush armchairs and a coffee table. It was perfectly positioned in the back corner, right beneath two large windows in the very cozy, warm sunlight. Combined with the pleasant smell and peaceful quiet, such a setup would make anybody sleepy, and Sandy was no exception.

How long she had been there was unclear, though the red mark on her cheek suggested some time. A stack of dream requests were scattered between the table and her lap and she had curled up in the chair with her notebook cuddled up between her shoulder and her head, like a pillow.

"Psst. Hey." One of the students previously shushed by the librarian prodded her in the cheek with a pencil.

"Mmm... Just five minutes...." She mumbled, curling up tighter.

Auden didn't even notice them, browsing the shelves just behind the lounge area and pulling out anything relating to nightmares. Maybe one of them might have something on how to end bad dreams. He and Sandy had spoken further about his sleep issues since making plans to get a night light, but he didn't want to just rely on her for his problem. He had been relying on other people for it for way too long, he really wanted to get it under control before his grades suffered.

He had just pulled out a promising guide to lucid dreaming, when someone bumped into him.

"Excuse me, uh..." Auden started to apologize until he realized why the room was suddenly so crowded.

No less than seven students were hovering over a sleeping Sandy's shoulders, whispering between themselves.

"Why won't she wake up?"

"Come on Dream Girl, I need to place an order!"

"Should we shake her harder?"

"Poke her again."

He frowned, taking in their impatient words and Sandy's cozy position, before approaching them and waving to get their attention. He recognized most of them, two more royal children and a handful of other nobles. He used to go to finishing school with some, while others were old family friends that stopped talking to him shortly after his mental health got worse.

"Hey, what's going on over here?" Auden whispered, not eager to receive an angry shush from the librarian.

Ronan Hairington, the son of Rapunzel, whipped his head around and scowled at him, clearly very irritated. "Well, we're trying to get our dream requests in for the next week, but Dream Girl is asleep! We've been trying to wake her up for ages!"

Stepping closer, he frowned. "Give her some space or you'll scatter her paper." He waved them a few steps away from her chair. "It looks like she's already working on dream requests, so you'll just have to wait." Many pairs of eyes turned on him, all unhappy.

"She's not working on dreams, she's doing all the dreaming herself!" Sunny Light, daughter to Snow White, insisted, as if it was some kind of personal offense.

There were so many people looking at him. Auden felt like his chest was full of live rats, scampering around and chewing on his ribs, but he grit his teeth. "It sounds like she needs the sleep, then. Since she takes care of everyone all the time, you should probably just leave her alone."

"Or what?" Ronan smirked.

"Um, did you even hear us?" A tall girl with long, silver hair, sneered down her nose at him. "We have dreams we need, too. She's supposed to be doing a job here."

He swallowed, took a step between the crowd and Sandy, and folded his arms.

"Your dreams can wait. You won't be going to bed for hours anyway. Leave her alone."

Ronan laughed at him, insulting and cruel. Where were the librarians? Shouldn't they put a stop to this? "I have sparring club later, I can't wait. She needs to wake up and do her job."

He reached for the armchair, but Auden was faster, grabbing his arm and holding it in place. The rats in his chest had become something else, something big and angry, but suddenly still. His resolve felt like ice in his veins.

"Let. Her. Sleep." Auden's eyes narrowed, and when Ronan tugged against his hand, he realized it wasn't very hard to hold him still. Auden was stronger than the other prince. Huh, when did that happen?

Ronan seemed completely blindsided by his resolve, blinking back at him with wide eyes.

The crowd had gone silent, watching the two boys stare each other down for several seconds, before a newcomer spoke.

"Ronan? Laila? What are you guys doing?" Thorne Rose approached the crowd with a raised eyebrow, his important stature and presence breaking the tension immediately.

Ronan squinted, thinking, before yanking his arm free and turning away. "Just trying to get my dream requests to Sandra, but Prince Auden has decided we're not allowed to wake her up." Whatever the resolved anger was before, shriveled away under the mocking tone and half-concealed snickers of the other students. Auden wanted to bury himself in the ground.

Thorne's face stayed neutral, panning over the students and assessing the situation. "You all want to make requests?" They nodded. "Well, if Auden says she needs her rest, it won't do anybody any good to argue, right? She's gotta sleep at some point or else she couldn't be up at night to make our dreams! Why don't you all just... write down your requests on a piece of paper, and leave it for when she wakes up?" He smiled diplomatically. "Everybody's happy, right?"

The crowd averted their eyes, and an ashamed mumble passed through them as they agreed with the compromise.

"Good idea, Thorne." The girl with silver hair smiled and batted her eyelashes. "You're such a good problem-solver."

He chuckled humbly and reached into his bag for a sheet of loose notebook paper.

"'To Our Favorite Dream Girl, you looked so cozy we simply couldn't disturb you. Below are our names and dreams we'd like this week. Thanks so much!'" Thorne said aloud as he wrote the short message at the top of the paper before offering it to the rest of his friends.

Auden wanted to scream. He knew Thorne was just helping his friends, but the friendly courtesy was fake! All of them wanted to wake her up. He hated that they were just going to lie and act otherwise.

He still wanted to leave, to hide and have a meltdown somewhere else and let the anxiety pass him over, but the anger was curling in his chest again and he caught Thorne's eye.

Only once his clique seemed satisfied and were writing their requests down did Thorne gently guide Auden a few steps away with a hand on his shoulder. The rats gnawed on his ribs and he looked back, but the other students were keeping their word and hadn't bothered Sandy.

Thorne was so much bigger, taller and stronger than Auden, not shrimpy and overcompensating like Ronan. From his broad shoulders to his sharp, square jaw, Thorne was everything a hero and a prince that Auden wasn't. He opened his mouth, eyes serious, and Auden felt his entire body tense in anticipation. "You did the right thing, defending Sandra." Huh?

"Huh?"

"I know Ronan can be kind of... insistent, but you stood your ground. I'm impressed." Thorne smiled, a symmetrical, pristine grin.

"You, uh... you are?" Auden managed to say, still reeling.

"Yeah! You're Auden Charming, right? Precious's older brother?"

"Yeah?"

"Thought so. You've been so... quiet and flighty since you got here. I was a bit worried before, but you proved me wrong!" He patted his shoulder with a chuckle. "Dream girl is lucky to have a friend like you."

He flushed pink and smiled. He hadn't realized they were friends, but it made him happy to think so. "I'm the lucky one."

"You'll make a good king someday."

Auden went from pink to red, though this time half from discomfort. "You really think so?" He raised an eyebrow. Standing up for someone once didn't mean he was any more suited to being a leader. Besides, Precious was more than capable, she stood up for herself and others all the time.

"Absolutely! Someone's gotta do it, and now I know you're growing into it. By the time you get your story, it'll be nothing."

He laughed awkwardly, not wanting to argue and squander Thorne's high opinion of him. "Well, I'll... do my best. I'll stick to being Sandy's friend for now, though. Y'know... gotta start small before working my way up to being k-uh, king."

"That's the spirit!" Thorne grinned again and finally took his hand off Auden's shoulder. He felt his body untense immediately. "They look like they're almost done, so I think I'm gonna squeeze in one tiny request before we head out. Don't want to disturb anybody else in the library, y'know?"

"Right. Yeah." Auden nodded, and didn't question when the other prince pulled out a fresh sheet of paper to write his own request on or when he discreetly tucked it underneath the other.

"See you later. Tell your sister I said hey."

"Sure."

Still reeling from the emotional rollercoaster he'd just ridden, Auden slowly sat down in the armchair beside Sandy and looked down at the book he'd been holding the entire time. He didn't even read the words, brain spinning like a top while processing what had happened. The students trickled away one at a time until it was just the two of them left, one snoozing, one pretending to read.

Nobody else approached and nothing else disturbed the quiet of the library. After several minutes, he gave up on his book and instead stared out the window. It was a beautiful day outside, and if he squinted, he could see all the way to the athletics field where the track team was running.

He picked his sister out of the group, but couldn't distinguish anyone else.

He glanced over at Sandy, still clutching her notebook like it was a teddy bear, and smiled. In the setting orange sun, her hair looked like liquid gold, shifting and drifting on an invisible wind.

-----

Gabriel and Eva made their way up the stairs, down the hall, and across the campus until they reached the headmistress's office. He had worked himself into almost a complete panic by the time they got there, and his legs felt like jelly. The door was the same simple wooden as always, but was somehow bigger and more foreboding than he had ever seen it. Nobody had tried to stop them on their way there, but he desperately wished he had an excuse to leave.

"I'm terrified. Please don't make me knock." Gabriel whispered.

Eva shook her head, "No way, you're the glorious leader of this project, you knock." She still smiled, but hovered behind him. Seems her indifference only went as far as her safety.

"Ugh, ok." He took a deep breath and slowly brought up his hand to knock twice.

A moment later, the door opened on its own.

"Gabriel, Eva, nice of you to drop by!" The Fairy Godmother smiled from her desk and waved them both in with one hand. The other held her wand, which she used to gently close the door behind them as they hesitantly walked (or in Eva's case, floated) inside. "Come in, come in, please take a seat." She invited them to the two chairs in front of her desk. "Hot cocoa?" She didn't wait for an answer before swirling her wand and making two steaming pink mugs appear before them.

Eva sat down cross legged in a chair and frowned, "Chocolate doesn't really... sit well with me." She said, flicking her ears.

The Fairy Godmother nodded, "Of course, my mistake," she waved again and the dark liquid lightened to a simple cup of milk. She then gently placed the wand in an intricate glass case atop her desk, and folded her hands. "Now, down to business." She said, "I understand that you two wish to interview students and staff, to get um, how did you put it- 'both heroic and villainous sides'?"

Gabriel nodded, "Yes ma'am. I was in the library and realized that none of the stories are from the villain's perspective, which makes it impossible for us to see the entire picture-"

"Oh Gabriel, don't you see?" The Godmother interrupted, smiling like she pitied him, "There's a reason the stories are written that way, we like how the stories turned out, they gave us our happily ever after and the peace between kingdoms for hundreds of years! That's why I will not allow your interviews."

"We don't just wanna interview villains, that would get so boring. We want to interview everyone, y'know, scientific method and research and stuff." Eva said, waving a hand. Science and brainy stuff was really Myra's department. "If you like the stories so much, why not learn more about them. Write them again!" She tilted the cup of milk towards herself before scooting it away.

The Godmother tutted and shook her head. "The stories have already been written just fine. We've been using these history books for centuries. Changing them now would just confuse everyone, and everyone already likes the stories, the way they are."

Gabriel frowned. "Not everyone. What happens if the designated heroes of the stories aren't actually heroes? What happens if villains are kind and choose not to cause harm?"

She giggled, a sound wholly unbefitting a woman of her age. "Heroes are always good. They will always learn what is right and earn their happy ending. Villains are never kind by the time they reach their stories, and those that claim to be are simply pretending." She was treating them like small children, innocently asking an obvious question, as if she was not the one spouting the most naive rhetoric imaginable. "Our teachers are too busy covering the vacant science classes or I would happily let you interview our resident heroes, but I cannot allow you to speak with any villains, locked away or otherwise. You may also not use any magic to speak to them." She picked up her own mug and took a sip.

"I'm from Wonderland, the world of nonsense, and you still sound ridiculous." Eva was, for the first time that Gabriel had ever seen, not smiling. Her eyes were instead wide with disbelief.

The Fairy Godmother's cheerful demeanor finally sank, and she frowned. "Now Eva, we believe in the things that are good. Things that bring about happy endings for the majority, not the villains' solo tales. Is it not enough that we accept and care for their children when they're young?"

Gabriel grit his teeth, "So you pity the children of villains, but no one is allowed to hear our stories? You just want us to grow up miserable and cruel like our parents? What kind of logic is that?!"

"That is enough! No interviews will be conducted under any circumstances, and that is final. If you are found out conducting these interviews I will personally take over the issue of your punishment. Good day." She opened the wand case again and waved the door open.

Eva stared at her for a long moment, not arguing, but with fire. Finally, she stood up on her two feet and curtsied, smirking. "Understood. Please excuse our rude language, madam. Let's go, Gabriel."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at her, unsure why she didn't seem more bothered. If anything, she looked almost excited, which went directly against how he felt. Either way, he sighed and followed her out, shutting the door behind him.

"Well that was disheartening." He said while they made their way back down the hall and away from the office.

"Meet me by the forest after the sun sets. I want to show you something cool." Eva said quietly before floating sideways through the wall.

Before he could say anything, she was gone. The bell for dinner rang, and he had to hurry back across the campus.

-----

Sandy woke up slowly and groggily, unsure of what time it was but not caring for several minutes. She hadn't slept that well or that long in a while. It muddled her brain to be so well-rested, not that she minded. She could sleep longer if she wanted, right? Who cared, she was still tired, and the library was so cozy and quiet...

The library. She was still in the library!

Bolting upright, papers scattered to the ground as Sandy remembered what she was doing. She was supposed to be working on dream requests! How long had she been asleep? When did she fall asleep? What time was it? What day was it?

Looking behind her, the sun was almost completely hidden behind the forest, still an hour or so until dark, but definitely later in the evening. How on earth had she slept so long?! She must have missed half her classes! Why hadn't anyone woken her up? People never seemed to have a hard time bothering her every other time of the day.

Maybe they couldn't find her? Or maybe they weren't allowed to be loud in the library so she slept through it? Maybe-

A soft snore reached her ears and she finally looked to her left.

Auden seemed to have also fallen under the comfortable spell of the library's armchairs, and was dozed off on one hand with a book in his lap. Sandy giggled to herself. Had he sat down beside her to read or was he the one keeping folks from bothering her? It didn't really matter, especially since he was awfully cute while sleeping.

It wasn't really fair, but the library probably closed soon, so she reached out and gently shook his shoulder.

"Auden? Hey, it's time to wake up."

"Mmh." He mumbled something indiscernible, and his head slid off his hand and flopped lifelessly to the side, still snoring.

Sandy had to cover her mouth to not laugh loud enough to get them caught.

"Audeeeen, heeey, what'cha dreamin' about?" She sat back down so she could poke his cheek, smiling like a goofy kid.

Auden's eyebrows furrowed, and his shoulders shifted so he was curled half on his side. Still asleep, he held up an arm to protect his cheek from further pokes.

"Auden? Hey, we might get kicked out soon, y'know." Something didn't sit right with how he was sleeping suddenly. Before he had been peaceful and comfortable, now he looked... cold. His arms and legs were pulled in close like he wasn't able to keep warm. As she continued to watch, he began shivering.

It was a perfectly cozy temperature in the library, especially under the window.

Before she could try and fill in why he looked so cold, footsteps on carpet alerted her to someone approaching.

"He's still here? Jeez, what a doofus." Sandy opened her mouth to tell the girl off for being rude, but stopped when she recognized Auden's sister, Precious. She smiled at Sandy and stepped closer with an affectionate shake of her head. "I found him after track earlier, but he said he wanted to finish his book." She held up a bag from the cafeteria. "I was going to bring him dinner but..."

Sandy shrugged sheepishly. "I just woke up, how uh... how long has he been here?"

"Not sure, long enough to drool up a puddle, though." Precious stuck her tongue out. "Gross."

She laughed. "Lots of people drool in their sleep."

"Gross people." She insisted. "I'm kidding." Then set the food down on the table and stretched her arms up. "Guess I've gotta carry him to bed, as usual. I don't know why they bothered giving us dorms separately at this point. We may as well be back home."

She reached down to pick him up, but as soon as her hands brushed his back, Auden jerked away, entire body tense.

"Wait- he's-" Sandy reached out to stop her, but Precious had backed off immediately. He was no longer sleeping peacefully, entire body shaking like a leaf in the wind and breathing labored and desperate. He had both arms wrapped around his head in a vice-grip and his mumbles had taken on a note of urgency.

"Oh bother, Auden..." Precious frowned. "Wake up, dear. You're dreaming."

He couldn't hear her, shaking his head side to side. "No... no... please don't..." It broke Sandy's heart to see him like this. He had told her about his nightmares but she didn't realize they were this bad. He looked miserable, a far cry from the shy but sweet boy he was when awake.

"I hate having to wake him up when he's like this. I hope the librarian won't be angry if he yells."

"Wait!" Sandy stopped her before she could shake him harder. "I can... let me help." She knew he didn't want to take the easy way out of his nightmares, but he wouldn't mind just this once... right?

Holding out her hands, she didn't think about what she conjured, only that she wanted to ease his burden. She produced a swirl of golden sand that swirled between her fingers for a moment, before taking the shape of the deer he had helped her with the other day. They galloped in a circle for a moment, then took flight, spiraling around Auden's head like birds.

The two girls watched as Auden's dream took shape before them, black dust forming from nothing and solidifying into himself with an oversized king's crown atop his head. Disembodied hands held him down while figures reached into his body and ripped things out. A figure passed by with a girl struggling and screaming, dragged away from Auden by her hair. Precious gasped, but didn't break the silence, as the flying deer quickly closed in, stampeding through the black dusty people and scaring away the figures that held down and hurt dream-Auden.

One of the deer nuzzled his face until he looked at it, then helped him stand back up. The mini dream-Auden looked around at the other deer, confused, as they trotted in happy circles, trying to ease the black fear still permeating his body. The girl previously being dragged didn't hesitate to climb onto the back of one before it took flight, soaring in smooth figure-eights above his head. She looked over its back and waved for dream-Auden to join them.

It took him a moment of petting the deer beside him before he relaxed and climbed aboard as well. The moment its hooves left the invisible ground, his body shifted from black dust to gold, joining the rest of the happy dream.

"There you go..." Sandy smiled. She didn't often watch her dreams take root, so seeing Auden's body relax back into the chair and his face slacken again was... something else. She gave people dreams all day every day but this felt different. It felt important. She felt like some kind of guardian, sending out her dreams to keep him safe where nobody else could.

"Oh Auden... why on earth won't you talk to someone about this?" Precious whispered, then shook her head. "Sorry, ah, thank you."

"Just doing my job." She shrugged bashfully.

"Your job is taken advantage of far too often." Instead of immediately scooping up her brother, she turned to help gather up the papers laid out on the table.

"Oh, you don't need to-" Sandy quickly went to collect them as well.

"Nonsense, it's the least I can do to help after that." Precious tapped her stack on the table to straighten them out. "Your gift is unlike anything else. It's a shame others treat it like such a commodity." She raised an eyebrow at the rough description of a dream someone had requested.

"Even if people don't appreciate it as much as you, I still enjoy doing it. Helping people makes me feel... useful." She frowned at a paper that didn't match the notebook lines of the rest and quickly scanned it to see that someone had left it for her while she slept. Huh. She should have people write down their dreams for her more often. At least then they couldn't blame her if she got them wrong.

"You shouldn't have to be useful. But what do I know? My goal in life is to be pretty and in charge." Precious batted her eyelashes and giggled.

Sandy would have laughed, too, if she wasn't momentarily distracted by the next paper she saw. Also from a different notebook, and looking to hail from Thorne Rose.

To Sandra,

I'd greatly appreciate you sending another dream to Precious Charming for me. She has still yet to show any sign of caring at all about my existence, so I'd like the dream this time to be a bit more specific if you can.

I'm going to ask her to join me for a picnic tomorrow, so tonight I would like for her to dream about that- the two of us on a romantic picnic.

I'll update you with the results ;)

Thanks, Thorne Rose

Grimacing, she tucked the paper out of sight before Precious could spot it. Thorne would probably get angry at her if she spoiled the surprise by accident.

Together they gathered up the last of her dream request papers and Sandy tucked them all into her bag. The sky was beginning to darken as they finished, going from deep red and pink to gray as the sun disappeared further and further behind the forest.

Precious tucked Auden's dinner into his bag and set the book he'd been reading down on the table, before scooping him up in her arms as if he weighed little more than a doll. The deer continued their happy flight around his head, gliding in lazy figure-eights.

"Wow. You're strong." Sandy blurted out without thinking.

"Thank you, dear. I suppose we should be going. Hope he won't mind checking out that book tomorrow. That's assuming he was actually here for the book." She winked and Sandy blushed. "Feel free to reach out to me sometime. I don't need any dreams, I can make my own, but if you ever just need someone to vent to, I do love drama."

She giggled. "I'll keep that in mind. Have a good night!"

"You as well, darling!" As Precious left, Sandy thought again about the letter Thorne had given her. She wasn't sure what good dreaming about a date would do, but Precious was very kind to her. She deserved to be doted on by someone who cared about her, and Thorne certainly seemed to.

She resolved to put extra effort into the dream date as soon as she got back to her dorm that night.

... Though she might want to grab dinner first, as her stomach reminded her she missed lunch. Wouldn't do well to try and make dreams on an empty stomach.

—-----------------

The last of the sun was creeping through the trees, casting spooky shadows on the grassy hill beside the castle and making Gabriel trip once or twice on his way down to the edge of school grounds. He hadn't eaten much at dinner, still on edge from speaking to the Fairy Godmother. He felt like she was somehow watching his every move since he'd left her office, and hadn't been able to shake the heebie-jeebies even as he skidded down the hill.

Reaching the tree line, a sense of calm reached him alongside the knowledge he was outside of school property.

"Eva? Are you here?"

"Gabriel!" Eva whisper-shouted from a tree branch above his head. "Glad you made it! Come on, let's get further away!" she floated down and grabbed his wrist, pulling him deeper into the woods.

He frowned but followed anyway. "What's this about? If this is a prank I'm not in the mood." He kept looking around himself; the forest was thoroughly creepy at night.

"I'm more than just a prank machine, you know this by now." She let him go a few yards in and came to a stop in a weird-shaped clearing. "We're gonna do it, right?"

"Do what?"

"The study! Screw your stupid godmother! This is so much more interesting! I want the real story, the true story of this world!" Her grin was back to stretching from ear to ear, teeth white in the growing moonlight.

"I-I, we can't!" Gabriel stammered, surprised, "W-we could get in serious trouble, it c-could be a disaster!"

"We could. Could is the key word. That doesn't mean we will. We just have to be smart, y'know keep the whole thing quiet!" Eva didn't seem to care about the danger to their position at school, excitedly floating around his head and waving her arms as she spoke. "We could hold the interviews in secret, all the while pretending to give up! Once we've got something good, we could reach out to someone outside of the school! Someone above the godmother!" She didn't seem to care about their precarious standing at the school.

Gabriel bit his lip, thoroughly tempted by her schemes. He knew it was the right thing to do, but he also knew he would die of shame and embarrassment if he were to be sent home.

"The kids of villains only know so much, even if we did uncover some information, what proof do we have that the rest of the magic council isn't also on her same side? What if they also only want the stories as they're written?"

"Then we change their minds too." She got very close to his face, still grinning wildly. "Our stories aren't written yet, this could be your only chance to do something different! You could be way more than just one of Gaston's kids."

Gabriel blinked, his jaw dropping ever so slightly as he thought. He knew he didn't want to just... relive out the Beauty and the Beast story, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn't want it to just play out the same way again either. If he didn't... he or his brother would end up the next Gaston no matter what. "Ok... ok let's do this."

"Yes!" Eva did a flip in the air, "You and I are going to make such a mess together, Gabriel! We're gonna go down in fairytale history!"

Gabriel chuckled, "But where do we start? We don't exactly know which kids here aren't tattletales, and magic is a whole other problem. I have no idea how to get a message out to the high council."

"Do what I do! Watch and observe. Learn who talks to who and about what, build trust and ask questions. I can be a fly on the wall. I can learn just about whatever I want without anybody being any the wiser." She sank lower to speak quieter. "We can start with my Underland crew. We love to talk and tell stories. Once someone breaks the ice people will show up."

"I believe you." He nodded, "This is going to take a lot of work... If you get the Underlandians on board we can start interviews and check if they know anything about other students. Then we go from there."

Eva nodded with a smile. "I suggest doing interviews out here... or in the village if you can. It will definitely be safer than in school." She looked around herself at the clearing they had found. The ground beneath their feet was little more than dust, and the edges of the trees facing them were charred black. He thought back to the other day when that rude girl had described Drago's spells in the woods and wondered if this was one of those spots.

"We'll switch between both, at random intervals. If anyone suspects something we'll keep them on their toes." Gabriel said.

"Perfect." Eva grinned.

"Great. Okay, get your crew on board, I'll keep my eyes and ears peeled for any promising leads. I suppose we should also keep an eye out for some way to contact the magic council." He looked back to the school as the clock rang out, signaling the end of dinner. "We should get back before we look suspicious. If anyone asks we were... hmm."

"You were teaching me about the local plants and animals and stuff. The difference between this world and wonderland creatures"

Gabriel snapped his fingers, "Perfect. I'll see you later, then!" He said.

Eva nodded and gave Gabriel a grin before vanishing into thin air.

The plan was in motion.