Marigold Sun's POV

Marigold dabbed a bit of green onto her canvas, blending it with the other shades of emerald. The Emerald City had inspired her, overflowing with gorgeous variations of green, and she was just compelled to paint, draw, or do whatever! Everything was emerald, from the furniture to the building with tinted green glass panels. After arriving at the Capitol, Aurelio had hauled Emerick to the Royal Palace of Oz and found medical support. 

"Please don't tell me I need to cut off my leg to survive," Emerick said once he regained consciousness.

"Nah, they'll just cut off your arm instead," Scout teased.

"What?" Emerick was mortified. "I'm going to become Captain Hook?!"

Aurelio elbowed Scout. "He's still under the laughing gas."

Now that Marigold was alone up on the balcony, she uncapped another tube of green. Since Rapunzel was an artist, Marigold tended to see the world differently. She saw how objects faded into each other and cast shadow and light on each other.

There was a knock at the balcony door and Aurelio stepped out. "Hey, Mari, we're supposed to meet Scout and Emerick in the Grand Library. Apparently, we're meeting Emerick's dad." He paused, noticing the painting kit. "Seriously?"

"In my defense, I didn't pack it, I had to borrow it from the palace staff."

"Can't argue with that. Wait, did you actually paint that?" Aurelio squinted at her painting which made Marigold embarrassed slightly. She didn't like others seeing the unfinished product. "Damn, you're actually really talented. Is it an inherited skill...?"

"Well, that's like saying you just happened to inherit your father's science skills without doing any hard work," she said pointedly as they headed towards the Grand Library. Marigold was sure that she was going half-blind with seeing all the green. "I supposed you can't actually weave gold?"

Aurelio rolled his eyes and laughed. "Bane of my entire existence."

"Hey, look at who's doing better!" Marigold gestured to Emerick and Scout who were sitting on the floor. Emerick was rapidly yapping about robot mechanisms whilst Scout just nodded along. "The library here is so, well, grand." It was vast and shelves of books up to the ceiling. It was a fever dream for Bree Beast.

"Where's your dad, Diggs?" Aurelio questioned.

Emerick let out a sigh. "He likes to make a really dramatic entrance—"

Suddenly, a smoke machine went off and a middle-aged man stepped out from the shadows. He wore a green sweater and had a dignified expression on his face. "Welcome, my fellow visitors," he said as robots gathered, moving animatedly.

"Dad, you promised you wouldn't make a big deal out of this," Emerick groaned.

"You are so boring," Mr. Diggs said, walking up to them. "Ah, so these are your friends! Pleasure to meet you all. Now, now, I know you've travelled a long distance and are tired, so why did you request to meet me?"

Aurelio explained their situation and how they needed to find the lost Storybook of Legends pages. "Pages, you say?" Mr. Diggs stroked his rather long beard. "That's funny, because a bundle of pages appeared in this very library a few days ago!"

Marigold's eyes lit up. "Oh, well, that's perfect—"

"Unfortunately, I was reading my book at that moment and needed a bookmark. I used the pages to mark my book and later forgot about it. I can't quite recall what book it was..." Mr. Diggs shrugged, gesturing to the large library. "Welp, you're free to look for it here." He strolled away before any of them could pepper him.

Scout was horrified. "It's going to take forever after to look through this whole library!"

"Unless..." Emerick and Aurelio looked at each other. "Bro."

"Bro."

"Bro—"

Marigold threw up her hands in the air. "Love the Chem Bro energy we have going on here, but someone just explain what's the master plan for Grimm's sake!"

Aurelio explained, "In my father's class, he taught us a Chemythstry formula that was a lost-and-found spell. We can easily find the pages that way."

Ten minutes later, Marigold and Scout were hiding behind a writing desk while Aurelio and Emerick were conducting the formula. "C'mon, guys, I know I blow things up a lot, but it'll work this time!" Emerick shouted.

"We trust you, but, uhm, we're not risking it," Marigold said.

"Especially after what happened to the Lifairy, my sister almost died in that fire!"

Aurelio poured a vial into another. "Let's hope I remember this correctly..." What does he mean by hope— Suddenly, a giant smoke hand erupted from the vial and darted through the library. "Follow it!" They chased after the hand until it stopped, plucking a book from a shelf, and then vanishing.

The book dropped into Marigold's hands. She rapidly flipped through the pages until the Storybook of Legends' pages fell out. Picking them up, she was relieved to find that the pages were theirs and unharmed. "Our mission is over, the pages are safe!"

Scout laughed. "Yeah, we just almost got eaten by some weird tiger-bears to retrieve those pages."

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Emerick Diggs' POV:

Emerick insisted that he and Scout could clean up in the Grand Library so Aurelio and Marigold could go talk about art galleries, though Aurelio persisted he wasn't asking her out on a date (Emerick, you conceiving wingman). Scout was helpful, he mainly gathered materials quietly and nudged Emerick when he was done.

"It didn't blow up," Scout said once they were finished and walking in the hallway.

"I know, it's a new high for me!" Emerick was excited, basically bursting with joy.

Scout came to a halt, his arms hanging awkwardly by his side. "Uh, so I need to talk to you about something." Emerick was confused, but nodded. Ah, Emerick, you're so oblivious for a wingman... Scout's cheeks went red as he blurted, "I think I like you. Like, a lot." He was tripping over his words.

"Oh, well, I would like to say that many of my peers like me."

"No, I meant that I like-like you."

"Huh." HE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU, DUMBASS— "What?"

"I have a massive crush on you!" Scout shouted out, his voice echoing in the hall. Okay, Emerick understood that one loud and clear. Scout was entirely flustered, his face pink and flushed.

"So you're, like, gay?"

Scout looked as if he wanted to melt into the floor. "Yeah." Then Scout's face was replaced with dread. "Wait, do you just like girls...?"

"I mean, yeah, girls are nice," Emerick amended, "but I like guys too. I'm bisexual."

"Oh. Oh." Pause! Hi, it's Nadine again and I've been spying on this conversation for a while! I just had to point out the irony here—Scout kept thinking Emerick was straight and wouldn't be into him at all, but he hadn't considered that Emerick was bi. God, I just love the miscommunication trope, but only when it's funny!

Scout reddened. "So, uh, hi."

Cue awkward silence 2.0.

"Hi," Emerick laughed. He hadn't given it much thought then, but he did enjoy Scout's company. The Waverly twins would always ask Emerick to build their booby-traps for pranks and he realized it back then, but he always did smile at Scout's presence. "Well, I like you too, Scout. Like-like, not just like." He gave a peck on Scout's cheek. Short and sweet.

Well, Scout was as red as a tomato by then.

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???'s POV

Camille Red is not dead, much to my displeasure.

I didn't kill her, just injured her. Rocked the boat slightly. "I need to kill her," I said to myself, pacing around the room. I was tired and relentless, growing weaker and weaker. "I need those pages," I hissed. I summoned a visual spell, seeing the faces of Daphne Tremaine and Vanya Ella, plus the others who I couldn't remember. I was rather curious about the duo, they got along like oil and water.

"You're just scared," Daphne told Vanya.

"Professor Red almost died," she replied back flatly. I tsked in disappointment. The girl was so afraid of taking risks, it perfectly explained her love life too. "We're calling the whole thing off, I told you that already."

"Well, what do the others think?" Daphne turned to the others.

"Have to agree with Blondie," Holton said. "Nothing personal."

"Of course you do." Daphne was pacing around the Student Lounge, angered and lonely. I understood her all too well; the school couldn't comprehend my ambition! How I longed for someone to relate to... "I'm not backing down. Not now or ever."

"You'll end up dead," Vanya protested.

"Better dead than scared," Daphne shot back. My eyes lit up in delight. The Tremaine girl had so much potential, and she was wasting it in Ever After High. Yes, I just had to wait for the right opportunity to get her to join my side. "Are all Cinderellas a scardy-cat?"

Holton's gaze hardened. "Seriously, Tremaine, cool it."

"Shut the fairy-fuck up, Hook."

"Guys, stop arguing," Violet Bell said, her fairy wings giving a weak flutter. She was dying too, I observed, though I doubted Violet had the guts to tell anyone. "This isn't helping anyone, Daphne."

"No, we are not going back to square one!"

Frederick's knuckles whitened. "We're just thinking about it."

I zoomed in on the projection, my attention entirely on Daphne. Her eyes narrowed, rage flashing in her pupils. Yes, yes, this is great—

But then the anger flared down and Daphne merely left the door, not angry but just frustrated. "Drats," I muttered under my breath. I would have to get her alone and cut her off from everyone else, easier to work my magic on.

"She needs to calm the 'fairy-fuck' down," Holton snorted, making air quotes with his fingers. As the door slammed, he said, "Who wants to be the unlucky one to talk to her in the hall?"

Ali rose from his chair. "Because I am feeling so generous again, I shall do it."

"Sending you prayers," Frederick shrugged.

The projection suddenly failed, rendering me weak. I was left staring at the wall, mad at myself. I was so powerless, I needed to get that power back. I grabbed an empty glass bottle and threw it at the wall, shrieking. I flew into a rage, throwing a plate and bowl until they had shattered into pieces.

I needed power, I needed more.

A/N: Progressively, I've been realizing the quality of my writing is downgrading 💀 But on a positive note, Marigold and Aurelio actually give me such strong Rapunzel & Eugene vibes. The fact that Eugene was a thief and Rumpelstiltskin's legacy to steal firstborns. You can not tell me their fairytales are not similar.