Xavier's room was the next place on Ember's investigation. Well, Rowan's old room was what she needed.

Right now, however, it was vacated. Well, not entirely. Xavier was in the shower after a run, but Ember only needed ten minutes to search the place.

So, as she stepped into the room with Thing, seconds after the bathroom door had closed, she wasted no time.

"That purple book has got to be around here somewhere," she said to Thing they came in. "Start investigating."

So, as Thing searched all the books, Ember looked around the room at other clues which would help her investigation. She eventually honed in on Xavier's sketchbook, flipping through it...

Birds... gargoyles... spiders... her.

Ember almost stopped breathing as she turned to a page with a sketch that pictured, undoubtedly, her.

He had captured her plaits, her red uniform, her dark eyes, her sarcastic look, her emotionless face... but why had he drawn it?

Ember didn't spend much time sweating it, grabbing her UV torch out her pocket, she turned the lights out, scanning Rowan's old bed with it, as well as his drawers, furniture and walls. As well as under the bed-

Where she saw finger prints.

And a loose floorboard.

Without hesitation, Ember lunged towards it, taking the floorboard up to find stuff hidden underneath it. One thing amongst it was a mask. It looked like one from a masquerade ball. It was made of pitch black feathers with a sharp nose...

"Rowan's full of surprises," Ember said analytically, studying the mask with her torch-

Just then, a few things happened. The first of which was a knock on the door. The second was Ember diving under Xavier's bed. The third was Xavier, out of the bathroom, switching on the lights and heading towards his door.

As the door opened, Ember rolled on her stomach, able now to see Xavier, and Bianca, who was at his door.

"You're not supposed to be up here," Xavier said, though he pulled her in, shutting the door firmly behind them.

"Good to see you too!" Bianca said, slightly surprised if Ember could tell right.

"How'd you get past the Housemaster? Use your siren powers?" Xavier wasn't having this, Ember could tell. She remembered what Enid told her about these two dating.

"Would it kill you to not think the worst of me, for once?" She asked him.

"What do you want, Bianca?" Xavier asked, irritated.

"To see how you're doing," Bianca replied.

As Xavier sat on the bed above Ember, Bianca stayed standing. "I'm sorry about Rowan. I know you guys used to be close."

"Since when did you give a damn about Rowan?" Xavier questioned. Ember still didn't like him. But she was happy someone else was standing up to Bianca.

"Well, you're the one that was afraid he was going to do something to Ember," Bianca said. Ember payed attention tenfold now her name was getting mentioned. "Isn't that why you've been following her around like an eager eyed puppy? Or is there something more?"

Xavier got up from the bed. Ember's eyes followed his every move. She noticed him get up and look at his sketchbook, opened on the picture of her. He then closed it immediately.

"Seriously, what do you see in her?" Bianca asked again. "You suddenly have a thing for tragic goth girls who dress like they've been bathing in blood?"

"Maybe it's because she hasn't tried to manipulate me," Xavier said irritably, giving Ember a slight insight into why the two before her broke up.

"I make one mistake and you can't forgive me," Bianca said, clearly having done this 'manipulating' for she wasn't denying it. "She treats you like crap and you can't get enough!"

"Okay, why are you so fixated on Ember?" Xavier snapped.

"Because she thinks she's better than everyone else!" Bianca shouted desperately. "Yet you seem to love that about her!"

"I don't love anything about Ember!" Xavier shot back, leaning against his drawers.

Bianca scoffed. "If only you could see it..."

This had Ember Addams more confused than she had ever been.

"I can't wait to crush Ophelia Hall tomorrow, and watch her werewolf roommate crumble," Bianca said, standing next to Xavier against the drawers. "It's gonna be a Pie Cup finale to remember."

"Yeah, I hate to think what you've got planned," Xavier obviously knew what Bianca did to win the cup.

"My game's already started," Bianca said, making Ember and Thing turn their eyes (fingers, in Thing's case) to each other and back again. "I like to win. Is that so wrong?"

Xavier was silent for a second. "Yeah, and you wonder why I broke up with you."

"You used to love my killer instinct," Bianca pointed out. She took his hand. "We were good together, Xavier."

"Were we?" Xavier asked,.shaking his hand out of hers. "Or is that just how you wanted me to feel?"

Ember watched Bianca's face change. "Trust me, Ember Addams is not the girl of your dreams. She's the stuff of your nightmares."

Ember shrugged from under the bed. Thanks, Bianca. First compliment you've ever given me.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

In years to come, Ember would never quite remember how she managed to get out of Xavier's room undetected. But she did, and when she got back to her own room, climbing in the window to avoid Ms Thornhill, she found Enid on her bed, sobbing into her arms.

"Where've you been?!" She got off her bed and yelled at Ember as the latter climbed in. "I'm literally having a heart attack right now! Yoko's in the infirmary!"

"What happened?" Ember asked, already knowing it was Bianca.

"Garlic bread incident at dinner," Enid answered, pacing. "She had a major allergic reaction, which means she's outta the Poe Cup and I don't have a co-pilot!"

"That wasn't an accident, Bianca's behind it," Ember said back. Of course the siren had put garlic in a vampire's dinner.

"How do you know?" Enid asked.

"Doesn't matter," Ember avoided answering. "You and I are going to take her down tomorrow."

She didn't know why she was doing this. Well, she did. It was mainly because of Bianca. But there was also a part of her who thought that she might be doing it to prove a point to herself as well.

"Wait. You're joining the Black Cats?" Enid asked, face shining with tears but no longer crying. She took a step forward and Ember one back. "You're willing to do that? For me?"

Ember considered. "I want to humiliate Bianca so badly that she's wishing she was me by the end of the day tomorrow."

"B-but mostly you're doing it because we're friends, right?" Enid asked.

Ember turned round, not answering. "Tell me how she keeps winning."

"It's a real brain cramp," Enid sighed. "The past two years, no other boat has made it across the lake and back without sinking."

"Sounds like sabotage," Ember read between the lines.

"Well, there are no rules in the Poe Cup and she is a siren, which makes her master of the water," Enid debated.

Ember turned round. "Then we just need to give her a dose of her own medicine."

❣︎❣︎❣︎

Ember and Thing had been up all night, learning the basics of the Poe Cup, and how they were going to beat Bianca. This also involved making some improvements to the boat. And talking to Enid about the race's premises.

Basically, they had to row across to Raven Island, which was just a hundred metres from the school bay. Then they had to run and get a flag from Crackstone's Crypt, which was a building made out of stone on the island, supposedly where Joseph Crackstone, a normie Ember didn't know much about, was buried. Then, after that, with the flag, they had to row back. It was that time when Bianca had chosen to sabotage the boats, apparently.

But not this time.

As Ember passed Bianca in the quad that day, the latter had a smirk on her face. But Ember wasn't fooled. She was going to win.

She just knew it.

She caught up with Enid on the outside the school, half an hour from the start of the race.

"We're all set," Enid informed her, standing up as soon as she arrived.

"Good. Thing's in position," Ember told her.

"You wanna tell me what you two were up to all night?" Enid asked.

"And spoil the surprise?" Ember asked dryly.

"Speaking of surprises," Enid's face changed in a second. "You're costume's in the tent!"

Ember turned to her. "Costume?" She asked, having never worn such a thing in her life.

The 'costume' turned out of be a cat one. It was a black, all in one bodysuit, with ears on top.

"OMG, you look purr-fect!" Enid said, as Ember burst out of the tent ten minutes later. They were now down beside the water, everyone milking about until the race began.

Enid was wearing the same thing, for once toning down the colour, but she also had whiskers and a little pink nose painted on her face.

"Just one thing, where are your whiskers?" She enquired why these weren't on Ember's face a second later.

"Ask again and you'll be down to seven lives," Ember replied. "You're already losing one from making me wear these."

She gestured to the hair band with ears on on top of head head.

Enid looked slightly scared, but quite happy that her roommate was finally embracing the school spirit.

Anyway, ten minutes later, four identical boats (with different paint jobs) were in four different 'lanes' a wooden dock on either side of them.

The four teams were all determined to win. The house from which Ember knew no one was the furthest right, all wearing purple capes. Xavier and Ajax's team were next. They were all Jokers, with white faces, red lips and colourful hats.

The Black Cats were docked between them and Bianca's team, the Gold Bugs. They had bright yellow costumes and Bianca herself was even wearing exaggerated golden eyeshadow with black liner over the top of it.

Anyway, as the four teams waited, oars in hand, the crowd gathering behind them, complete with Weems, who had a microphone and a set of binoculars.

Ember noticed Enid waving at Ajax and smiling. She needs to focus, Ember thought, annoyed. Though, in her heart, she knew Enid was in fact very focused on winning this thing. Perhaps more than her.

Well, maybe not.

Nevertheless, Ember said. "Focus."

Enid's attention snapped straight back right away.

But soon, Ember had a distraction of her own. Xavier Thorpe was looking at her from across the dock. She was glad Enid was sat in front of her.

But then Bianca's voice cut through the moment. "What do we have here? The runt of the litter."

Ember didn't even talk about that. "For the record, I don't believe I'm better than everyone else. Just that I'm better than you."

Bianca didn't have a chance to retort back, for Weems started to introduce the event just then. But just before Ember tuned in, she noticed Xavier smiling at her. She didn't return it.

"I want to welcome you all to the Edgar Allan Poe Cup!" Weems said into the microphone. "This is one of Nevermore's proudest annual traditions, dating back one hundred and twenty five years!"

Bianca stared at Ember, smirking. The girl turned and focused on her own game. The game she was going to beat Bianca at.

"Each team must row across to Raven Island, pull a flag from Crackstone's Crypt, and hustle back without sinking or being sunk," Weems briefly explained the race. "The first team to cross the finish line with their flag wins the cup, and bragging rights for a year, as well as some special privileges!"

As this was said, Ember looked down to see Thing, in the boat, ready.

Weems raised her starting gun. "Let the Poe Cup begin!"

As soon as the gun was fired, Ember got to work, her and her team rowing as fast as they could, trying to get a lead on Bianca.

Whilst the crowd's roars or their fellow teammates motivated some of the teams, Ember rowed on the fuel of beating Bianca, and wanting to win.

"Oh, excuse us!" The Jokers yelled sarcastically at the Black Cats as their boats came close to each other and the colour prevailed.

Just you wait, Ember thought with a smirk, paddling hard. It wasn't just Bianca the cats were taking out. They had plans for all the teams. Well, hopefully Bianca would take out one or two.

As the team in purple cloaks came up beside them, Ember noticed two axes on the side of their boat, and with one flick of a lever, it moved up so it was horizontal, then flicked round, only avoiding the black team because they ducked. It came back a second time, too. But you couldn't catch a cat out.

However, the purple cloak team wasn't what they needed to be worried about, because their boat was suddenly moved swiftly to the side, getting shoved out of the race by, Ember didn't doubt, one of Bianca's siren mates.

"Turn! Turn! Turn!" She heard them shout, but it was too late. They were getting shoved into a stationary buoy, boat splitting and evicting its passengers as it hit it. All four team members yelled and Ember noticed Bianca and the rest of her team laughing.

She had already known it was her.

And now there were only two more teams to beat.

"Faster!" Enid soon yelled, but Ember had noticed something, and instead put down her oar, picking up her pocket telescope instead.

"Thing," she said, calling the hand to action as she saw a mermaid tail flicking in the water. Clearly the siren was coming back to finish them off.

Except they wouldn't be so easy.

Thing knew what Ember was insinuating by calling him, and flicked one of the two levers him and Ember had added last night. That one would fire a net, trapping the mermaid so he couldn't mess with them again.

And sure enough, the team felt no pushing sensation in the next minute.

Ember nodded at Thing, satisfied with his work.

The Jokers ended up reaching Raven Island first, followed by the Black Cats, then the Gold Bugs.

So, as Ember docked, she said to Enid in a low voice. "Stay here and make sure Bianca can't sabotage our boat. Try to take out the Jokers too, whilst you're at it."

Enid nodded, then Ember was off, running into the woods of the small island.

She got to Crackstone's Crypt just behind Xavier and Ajax, running up the small path to the big building with two statues of people in hoods on the outside of it. Four flags also lay there. Only three of which would be collected.

Ember sprinted to catch up with Xavier and Ajax, catching up with them and overtaking them just before she got to the crypt.

But as she got to the black flag, the one clearly for her, she touched the edge of the crypt-

"Ember!"

Next thing she knew, her head was getting wrenched upwards, and she was falling into Xavier Thorpe's arms.

A vision.

She was in the same woods she had been when she fell... Crackstone's Crypt in front of her... but-

In front of her was a girl.

She looked exactly the same as Ember, except her plaits were blonde, and she had an old dress on...

She was holding a book.

She stared dead at Ember. "You are the key."

That's all she said, before she vanished, and-

"Taking a catnap?"

Ember's eyes shot open as Bianca and her friend got their flag, running away quickly. Xavier, who Ember remembered clearly had caught her, was nowhere to be seen.

But her flag was still beside her.

With a scared look back at the crypt, and the Jᴏᴇsᴇᴘʜ Cʀᴀᴄᴋsᴛᴏɴᴇ carved over the top of the door, Ember picked the flag and herself up then ran away from the place, back to the boat.

Both the Jokers and the Gold Bugs were back on the water when she returned. "Hurry up, we have to go!" Enid yelled at her, as she jumped into the boat with the flag.

As the Black Cats got back out, Ember noticed the Jokers having a struggle. They were stranded. Ember presumed Enid had used her claws to slash the bottom of the wait.

"Yo, what's going on?!" Ajax and Xavier yelled as the Back Cats passed them.

Enid crowed. "Whoo! See ya, Jokers!"

As her attention turned back to the battle in front of them, she told the girl behind her that was determinedly rowing. "I just asked myself, WWED. What would Ember do?" She grinned round at her co-pilot.

"Imaginative," Ember replied, though Enid could tell she was proud.

So, with the Jokers out, it was just the Black Cats and the Gold Bugs. Enid and her vow to scratch her eyes out. Do or die. Ember and Bianca.

The cats were just behind the bugs going into the final straight. Just behind. And Ember knew they could beat them.

Ember pulled the second lever herself, releasing arrows on the side of the boat. If the bugs were stupid enough to get close, they would pay the price. And that's exactly what the cats tried to do, as they rowed closer and closer, the arrows an inch away-

Suddenly, the black boat was rocked from side to side as a commotion was caused. Oh no, Ember thought. Looked like the next hadn't properly held the mermaid.

But I'm not giving up yet.

"Argh!" Enid grunted, as the cats got pushed further and further towards the stationary buoy that the purple cloak team had been smashed against. They tried to row against it but it was no use, the mermaid was too strong-

Just then, the commotion stopped. Ember looked around, and saw Thing was no longer at her feet.

He had gotten rid of the mermaid, alright.

"Come on! If we can just get close enough to spear their boat!" Ember commanded, rowing so hard her arms ached.

To say Bianca was surprised when the Black Cats appeared behind her, not shipwrecked or capsized, was an understatement. In fact, she was so shocked, Ember was able to steer close enough.

And get one of the arrows to cut into their boat.

"Urgh!" Bianca and the rest of the team grunted as their boat swayed from side to side, no longer moving.

The Black Cats, meanwhile, lived to see another day, and rowed in to victory, Enid beaming.

She even let Ember share the victory. As the boat docked, she grabbed the flag in one had and Ember in the other, planting her hand on the pole as well. Then, the two pilots and the rest of their crew ran up the wooden dock and onto land, crossing the finish together.

Enid grinned as they crossed. Even Ember managed a smirk, seeing Thing come up onto the dock and shake himself of water. She gave him a snide nod.

"OMG Ember, we did it!" Enid squealed, holding Ember's shoulder and jumping up and down. "This is the greatest moment of my entire life!"

She shook Ember a bit, turning her round to face her. "Admit it, you kinda got into the whole school spirit thing!"

Ember thought about it as she saw Bianca and the rest of her team climb up onto the dock from the water, giving the Black Cats a look that could murder. "You didn't tell me it was a dark and vengeful spirit."

❣︎❣︎❣︎

To be honest, Ember went back to hating the school spirit as she, Enid and the other two teammates of the Black Cats stood up, behind the headteacher, listening to Weems' pre-trophy speech.

"The first Poe Cup took place in eighteen ninety seven, as a way to not only honour Nevermore's most famous alumni, but to celebrate those values that all outcasts share. Community, perseverance, and determination. And we certainly saw those values on display today!"

She finished her speech with verve, going and picking up the trophy and handing it to Enid.

"WHOOOO!" She screamed, jumping up and down and holding it in the air. The crowd were clapping, too. Enid tried to get Ember to join in, but the girl was about the only one (Wednesday too, and Bianca) not joining in.

"Congratulations to Ophelia Hall!" Weems tried to say over the noise. "As a former resident, I will be happy to see the cup back on the mantle after all these years!"

Ember, meanwhile, had already left the proceedings. She had gone to sit under the Edgar Allan Poe statue in the hall, taking a deep breath. The joy and happiness around her was all very draining.

But then, suddenly, as she raised her eyes upwards, she saw something.

The Edgar Allan Poe statue portrayed the man with a book in one hand, and a raven on the other. But, as Ember was sitting underneath the statue, she could see the cover of the book. And on that cover, was the Nightshades watermark that had been on the purple book.

Rowan had been in a round library... one very unlike the library at Nevermore...

"Ember?"

Ember jumped slightly as she heard Xavier's voice.

"What are you doing down here?" He asked her, appearing before her in the dark corridor. Ember wasn't glad to him.

Nevertheless she said. "Hiding," Ember answered him, not looking at him, as he sat down on the other side of the Poe statue. "People keep randomly smiling at me, it's strange."

Xavier smiled. "Well, I'm guessing it was you who took down Bianca, so... I'd say you deserve it."

"It was a team effort," Ember answered flatly. She still didn't like this guy. "I'm just glad she got a dose of her own medicine."

Xavier grinned. "It was kinda nice to see someone that wasn't Bianca win for once."

"Even if it wasn't you?" Ember asked, still not looking at him.

X

avier considered. "Well-"

"Ember?" Enid's voice suddenly loomed. "What are you doing- oh."

She stopped as she saw Ember and Xavier sitting under the Poe statue. "Come on, I need you out there!" She finally said, walking towards Ember and grabbing her arm.

"I can't stand the noise, and the clapping," Ember said, as Enid pulled her away and back to the quad.

"It's called having your moment!" She said, grinning. "You took down Bianca Barclay, try to enjoy it!"

As she led her outside, another voice joined the conversation.

"It's good to see you fitting in," Weems said to Ember, as Enid moved away to go celebrate with other members of Ophelia Hall. "Just like your mother."

Ember thought about this. "My mother died young. I don't intend to."

This made it very clear to Weems that Ember didn't think she was like her mother, but the headteacher decided to say. "The last time Ophelia Hall won the Poe Cup, your mother captained the team. I was her co-pilot."

Ember would be lying if she said she wasn't shocked. But that didn't mean she let it show on her face.

"Maybe you two are more alike than you think," Weems suggested.

Ember thought about it, puzzled. Maybe she was right.

But she wasn't going to admit it.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

That night, as Enid went to sleep hugging her trophy, Ember remained awake, pushing keys on the typewriter for more than an hour.

Nevermore continues to be an enigma. A place where the questions far outweigh the answers.

But sometimes...

Ember stopped pushing keys and picked up the picture again, looking at the watermark.

The answer is staring you right in the face.

Ember knew what she had to do.

Packing a bag with Thing, her penknife, her small notebook, and a torch, then putting the picture in her pocket, she headed down to the quad, which was darkened, and only lit by the moonlight. Then, she headed down the alley to where the Poe statue was. She stood face to face with it.

Don't worry, Edgar Allan. I see your sanctimonious smirk. But I will get the last laugh.

Ember stood up on the statue, looking at the book Poe was holding.

Your penchant for riddles was legendary. And this might be your cleverest one yet.

She found the book to have nine riddles, carved into the stone of the open pages.

Because it's not just a single riddle. Rather, each line is its own separate one.

Ember got out her notebook with pen attached to it, looking at the first riddle.

"The opposite of moon." Sun.

She wrote it down on her book.

"A world between ours." Nether.

"Two months before June." April.

"A self seeding flower." Pansy

"One more than one." Two.

"It's leaves weep to the ground." Willow.

"It melts in the sun." Ice.

"It's beginning and end never found." Circle.

"Every rule has one." Exception.

Ember finished the list with verve, circling the beginning letter of each of the answers in her book:

Ⓢ︎ᴜɴ
Ⓝ︎ᴇᴛʜᴇʀ
Ⓐ︎ᴘʀɪʟ
Ⓟ︎ᴀɴsʏ
Ⓣ︎ᴡᴏ
Ⓦ︎ɪʟʟᴏᴡ
Ⓘ︎ᴄᴇ
Ⓒ︎ɪʀᴄʟᴇ
Ⓔ︎xᴄᴇᴘᴛɪᴏɴ

The answer will give a sharp cracking sound.

Snap twice. Ember knew exactly what to do now, as she stepped off the statue and clicked her fingers once.

Then twice.

And what do you know? The raven's wing's 'flew' up, then down, then the whole statue moved backwards, allowing Ember in to this secret library where, she guessed, the old student society the Nightshades used to meet.

As she walked down the small staircase she had found, she saw thousands of old portraits on the wall. Then she landed right where she had wanted to be.

The round library she had seen Rowan in in a vision.

And on the floor in the centre of the room, was a huge version of the watermark. The one with the skull on it.

This was where the purple book was.

Secret societies... hidden libraries...

And then, as Ember walked across the room, she saw more recent photos.

One of which was undeniably her mother. Ophelia.

My mother staring at me in a judgemental way.

Ember looked around warily, finding another two she recognised. This time Gomez and Morticia.

These are all things I've come to expect.

Now it was purple book time.

As Ember walked towards a bookshelf with the majority of purple, she inspected the dust on the edge of the shelf. There was a line of no dust just in front of one book.

And it was purple.

Ember grabbed it off the shelf and flicked through it, finally finding the page Rowan had ripped.

The other half of the picture showed a silhouette of a man in a hat, wearing a huge cloak and pointing a staff at Ember. The girl didn't hesitate to put the book in her bag.

But the minute I inch towards the truth-

Suddenly, someone jumped out from the shadows, engulfing Ember's head in a black bag, making the girl lose balance and spin, lost in the bag-

Luckily, I'm not afraid of the dark.