For a brief moment between sleep and consciousness, Rose thought she was back home.

But then the sheets, though clean and thick, were too smooth to be her patched up one. The room smelled not of cedar and pine, but of. . .perfume*? When she opened her eyes, she saw a white ceiling with swirled gold designs, nothing at all like the high thatched roof she was used too.

She felt oddly cold despite the blanket. Stiff and numb too. . .like a corpse. Rose pushed the morbid thought aside and pushed the covers off. She managed to bring her feet to the side of the bed, but made the mistake trying to stand.

"Oomph!"

Rose didn't feel pain when she collapsed. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing. Fortunately, the lady in the room came rushing through the curtained area she was in as soon as she heard her fall and helped lift her back to the bed. Well, Rose thought it was a lady at first. But then she realized that the being before her was very, very tall, and had violet skin, and bright blue hair, and was floating above the ground

"Are. . .are you some kind of angel?" she muttered, leaning backwards. "Am I dead?" Am I dead?

A sense of deja vu struck her. Hadn't she said that earlier? But she had just woken up. There was no earlier.

Rose clutched her head in her hands, and grunted a little. It hurt, but only for a moment. When she opened her eyes, the floating lady was peering at her face in concern. Like Frost always did.

Frost. . .Frost! She nearly jumped out of bed. "Frost, my brother! Have you seen him? Is he alright? Where is he?"

The being made gestures for her to calm down and stay put, then disappeared through the curtains again.

"Frost. . ." Frost was okay. He was always okay. If he wasn't, wouldn't he be in this sick room with her?

Slowly, her thoughts drifted back to the odd feeling she had earlier.

Am I dead?
No. You're sleeping, more likely.

A boy. . .a boy had said that to her, right? While she was dreaming?

"Rose!" The curtains were swept aside and she came face-to-face with her ecstatic brother. He immediately wrapped his arms around her. "You're awake. . .you're finally awake. . ." He suddenly let go, nearly pushing her away with the force. "Is it cold?" he asked suddenly, looking at her arms. "Do you feel any ice? Are you hurting anywhere? Are you-"

He was cut off by Rose's soft laughter. "I'm okay Frost. Where are we? And what are you wearing?"

"Oh this?" he asked, gesturing to his uniform. "Well, as much as I hate to say it, you were right. The School for Good and Evil is real. . .and we're in it."

"Real? But why. . .what. . .how did we even get here?"

Frost's face turned somber, his voice cautious. "Rose, what is the last thing you remember before waking up?"

"I. . .um. . ." she frowned. Swirls of dreams still flitted about her mind. A forest, a boy, a monster, story books. She thought past that. "We were running. . .we were running from the town. Because. . .because they. . ." Her eyes widened. ". . .oh."

Frost held her hand and felt her leaning against him. He leaned back. "Yeah. . .Mom and Dad are. . . . .We passed out at some point while they were chasing us. Then we were taken here."

"How long was I out?" she asked, wanting to change the subject.

"A little over two weeks."  Frost felt her grip tighten.

Two weeks? She hadn't been hurt that badly, had she? And that dream. . .it couldn't have lasted more than a few hours. . .but then there was some sort of empty darkness when she left through the portal. . . When her head began to ache, Rose chose to ignore those thoughts as well. "So, are we students?"

"Yep."

"Which one are you in? You look like a prince, so you're in Good, right?"

"Nah, we're complicated. I'm. . .not that good at explaining it. But let's see. . ."

"That won't be necessary, Frost."

A lady -an actual lady who's feet seemed planted on the ground- was at the doorway. She glided toward them, closing the door with a flick of her hand.

"Rose, this is Professor Cygnelle, the dean of the School for Good."

"Dean?"

"It means something like the leader of a school," he explained. "Like the mayor is the leader of a town."

"Indeed, and you're Rose?"

The girl nodded shyly, seeming to hide behind her brother.

She smiled patiently at Rose. "I see you're awake. Are you feeling well?"

Another nod.

"That's good to know. Now, I know you must be confused, but I'd just like to take you somewhere to check something. Can you walk?"

She frowned. "I. . .um. . ."

Rose pushed herself off the bed once more. Her feet barely touched the ground before her knees buckled. Again. Her brother quickly caught her and hooked an arm around her waist to keep her standing.

"I'll take that as a no. Stay here for a moment, I'll tell the nymphs to prepare a wheelchair."

". . .can you feel the floor?" Frost asked when the dean stepped out.

"I. . ." Rose closed her eyes, the distraught look on her face fading just a bit. "Yeah, I think so." She winced. "I think the blood's going back in. It's all pins and needles in my feet."

"That's good. It means that you can walk. . .eventually. You're just weak from staying in bed for so long."

The nymph came in, pushing a wheelchair along. Frost helped Rose settle into it. "I'll handle it," he told the nymph as he pushed his sister out the door.

~ ~ ~

Cygnelle knew that a smile could change the way you'd see a person. She just never realized how true it was until she saw Frost smile at his sister.

For the sixteen days Frost had been at the Schools, he did actually smile. But when he did, they were unsettlingly calm ones, given to whoever insulted or tried harassing him as they did so. The staff told her they'd see him wear the same smile when the students found themselves slipping down icy steps or spitting frozen shards mingled with blood after it scratched their throats. These instances, along with his overall cold, callous demeanor, resulted in nobody daring to approach him save for Reed and a handful of others (teachers, mostly). Evers eyed him the way the would a dangerous beast and the Nevers warily watched him with just the tiniest bit of admiration.

But now he beamed at his sister and she found it hard to see any trace of the student that she had been seeing. Frost's eyes were bright and clear, he spoke more in five minutes than he had for a week, and he actually laughed now and then when Rose would make an amusing comment about his strange experiences. When they had to go down a flight of stairs, he froze part of it to make a ramp, then dashed down it as fast as he could, getting s surprised sound from his sister that was something like between a scream and a giggle. The dean berated him for it of course, since she could have simply cast a spell to levitate the wheelchair, but even as Frost made it disappear with an apology, his eyes sparkled with mischief. She caught him at the corner of her eye - his back comically straight and nose turned up as he wagged his finger and strutted by Rose, mouthing, Frost Gracehill, don't ice the steps! in a facsimile of her actions- before she glanced back to see him behind the wheelchair and smiling innocently while Rose tried to stifle her laughter. For the first time, he looked happy and alive.

Rose herself seemed happy to see her brother, if a little confused and disoriented by their surroundings. The pleasant, princess-like smile on her face didn't fade until they reached the archway leading to the other castle.

"Halfway Bridge," Frost announced.

Rose squinted, seeing an outline through fog. "And that's the other School right? That black castle over the bridge is Evil's?"

"It is." The dean answered. "Now, we're going to do a simple test just to make something certain. You just have to be able to pass half the bridge."

"And that will tell me what School I'm in?"

"In a sense. You see, we want to test the alignment of your soul. Under most circumstances, being in this school should be more than enough to prove that you belong here. But only the School for Good holds a proper infirmary, and Nevers are allowed to enter if they have sustained serious injuries, so there is a chance that you were simply considered an exception and actually really belong in the other school. Halfway Bridge will test you soul, and if you belong in this school, a force should block you halfway through. If you are a Never it will fling- ah set you in your proper castle the moment you step foot on it. But if neither occurs then it means that your soul is can stay in either side-"

"Like me," Frost finished. He pushed her towards the bridge only for wheelchair's become stuck as if glued to the carpet. "What on earth?"

"Ah yes," Cygnelle pinched the bridge of her nose. "I er, forgot that we had placed an enchantment on these so they couldn't be taken out of the School for Good."

"Why would you do that?" Rose frowned.

She sighed. "There was an incident a few years back that involved Evil students stealing them for pranks. I believed it involved replacing a teacher's with it and making the seat emit fart sounds every five seconds. Wait a moment and I'll undo the spell."

Frost snorted at the mention of the incident while Rose stared at the bridge thoughtfully. "Can I. . .can I walk?"

She pursed her lips. "My dear, you couldn't even stand by yourself in the infirmary-"

"I feel better now." she insisted.

"You've been sitting the whole time. It's impossible for you to suddenly be able to-"

"Please, I want to do this on my own. This is supposed to tell me which school I belong in-"

"-or if not at all-" Frost said.

"-or not at all," she continued, "This is. . .it feels important, and I want to be on my own two feet when I know."

"And I'll stay beside her every step of the way." Her brother added, placing his hand Rose's shoulder. "There's no harm in trying, is there?"

There is harm, further injury, the dean wanted to say. But the girl's eyes held a look that told her her that she wasn't going to accept no for an answer. Cygnelle yielded. "Alright, but you are not walking on such rough stone barefoot."

She whipped out her wand and shot a spell at the girl's feet that encased them in glass slippers. The flat kind with no heels to avoid tripping.

Rose stared at them in surprise. "Just like Cinderella. . .are you a fairy godmother?"

Cygnelle chuckled. "No, my aunt was one though. I am a blue fairy**. Now go on before I listen to my better judgement."

With that, Rose shuffled onto the bridge.

"Well, you're not a Never," Cygnelle noted at the lack of surprised screams.

Rose smiled a little at that. She'd rather be Good than Evil. She continued moving forward, the pain lessening with each step. Frost encouraged her all the while.

"You're doing great, sis," he told her. "We're almost at the middle."

By the time they were about to pass into Evil's half of the bridge, Rose was finally able to stand by herself. She stared at the barrier that shimmered between schools, her reflection staring back. She couldn't help but notice how Frost's was nowhere to be seen.

"Hello," it said to her in her own voice. "So I'm finally awake."

"I guess. . .Are you me?" she asked.

The reflection pouted. "I'm not going to be tricked again." The her on the barrier cleared her throat. "I know you as much as you do, but you are not me so I won't you through."

Rose cracked a smile. "Was that some kind of quote?"

Her reflection blushed. "Doesn't matter. I'm not passing through."

"Just ignore it and keep walking," Frost advised. "I think it's just irritated because I've gotten through it so many times."

Fake Rose puffed her left cheek and crossed her arms. "I can't help it if there were never guardians before," it mumbled. "It's like I'm breaking the rules every time you run past me!"

"Do I really look like that when I get upset?" Rose wondered aloud.

Frost grinned. "Especially when I mess up your hair." Then he ruffled her hair to prove his point.

"Frost!" both Roses whined. Now they both had a puffed cheek as they got to finger combing their hair back in place.

Frost chuckled. "See?"

"Meanie," the Roses said. The original turned back to the barrier and stepped forward. Her reflection faithfully copied her.

"Am I sure I really want to do this?" it asked. "Wouldn't it be better to just be Good?"

"You aren't really me any more than I am you," Rose decided, "because I do want to know."

Her reflection gave a small, bitter smile before disappearing. "So I say."

The barrier turned silent, and Rose could see the black castle on the other side. Evil's castle. Wouldn't it be better to just be Good? Maybe, she thought, but then Frost would be alone, wouldn't he?

She took a step forward and felt her clothes changing they glowed. The plain white dress she wore darkened to an almost charcoal-colored gray and changed from being silk-like to aged cotton, though it still looked respectable enough to head into a town in. Her long, black hair became braided with dark ribbon, and the glass slippers turned turned into leather boots, and fingerless gloves appeared on her hands.**

Rose glanced at her hands, then at Frost. He was positively beaming with joy and. . . relief. She found herself not minding how she wasn't Good as much as she expected.

"I guess I am like you," she smiled.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*I don't think Rose would know what alcohol or antiseptic is, so she'd assume it was some form of perfume.
**Cygnelle is the daughter of The Blue Fairy from Pinocchio. I assume fairies in the SGE universe have longer lifespans that that of humans. Also, I like thinking that the teachers of the Schools have some sort of life-extending magic  in general so that the need to replace them would be lessened. That means Elaine Cygnelle ages slower than even the staff members.
And about the uniforms. Just assume Frost's morphed into a silver one when it was being given to him and he thought that was normal. Rose on the other hand, she was never given a uniform to begin with since she's been in the infirmary until now. The white dress that turned into a uniform was basically a fancy hospital gown.