Chapter Text
MEADOWS STRETCH BEYOND THE HORIZON, The tranquility of the morning gaze, of an orange hue and the songs of birds. There laid somewhere deep within the meadow— a girl with a curios mind and a wicked tongue, silenced with a quill and paper.
Her hand was furiously scribbling the epilogue of a mystery of a murdered husband, leaving millions in fortune to his dear-young- wife. Once finish, a smile enrich with purity of bliss came to view. Holding up the parchment within grasp, she rose. Folding the paper with a satisfied curl.
Agatha and Sophie would love this. They always did. Embodied with a fanatical mind, the two friends had always loved to hear whatever she had in store.
Stories was an escape for her treacherous life. To be gone of such dreadful fate even for just an afternoon, to feel the flourishing freedom stories of heroes and villains entails. The three girls— Agatha, Sophie and Evangeline mourned their awful life with stories they knew all too well to be fiction. For maybe it brings the strength to live through it all, and give them the window to live a thousand lives.
Over the years, her vocabulary and idealistic fantasy had expand quite somewhat astronomically. An accomplish she would take pride on with a smug smirk. Her stories would branch from one genre to another. Woven with love, mystery and hatred together for that perfect story for a classic remembrance.
The three girls always set to walk together towards the town, ending up together by the bookstore— Deauville's to search for more stories to spend time on. Alas, she was once again lost in words of folklore, time had lost sense as she laid by the flowers. Tickled by the fresh scent of nature, she was in dazed.
It was without doubt they would've continued they're journey just fine without her, at the end of the day—their rendezvous point had always been the Deauville's. A home for witches some would say.
Set foot with the ink and quill packed in her bag, off she went down from the hill of meadow towards the dull village of Gavaldon, where apparently hygiene wasn't a necessity to be viewed presentable.
Soon, ducking away from a rather distasteful group of teens, she had scurried inside the crooked building and into a place of old books and stories hidden to find. The store was afloat with vast arrays of tales. Long overdue for her eyes to read and her mind to imagine. A smile of pure merriment began to rise. Mrs. Deauville's hadn't troubled herself with a pursuit of decorations. No one really entered if not for a single book to search for their work or their masters needs, It seems only them could take time to stop and entertain themselves with the classics.
"I sure do hope you have a story with you. You're late. Again." Mrs. Deauville spoke with a slight scold but it all withered by that smile of mischief that seemed to always entail something rather surprising and enticing. Working with her always was an escape, who wouldn't want to get lost in the webs of stories and folklores?
"Sorry, got caught up—but I've finished the epilogue Mrs. Deauville." Evangeline smiled cheekily. Lifting the board she entered through the counter. Placing her bag delicately on the screw on the wall, she smiled as she turned facing her friends.
"As i was saying, we've got a big delivery last night." Mrs. Deauville's said, busying herself by the cashier.
There laid with books mounted inside the crate, toppled with tittles of interesting stories. Sophie's and Agatha's face eagerly awaited for the permission to busy themselves with the books.
"Did you?" Agatha whispered without missing a beat once Evangeline was within reach. The dark haired sent a raised brow, with an all too well look.
Evangeline smiled sweetly and whispered "this time, yes. Actually." She flicked her hair back, gracefully. Before being scolded for having hitting Mrs. Deauville's cat in the face. The ginger creature hissed before licking its nose and doze off to slumber once again.
"Hmm, first time for everything." Sophie remarked, nodding her head and pulled her lips down, tilting her head wondrously "not bad."
"Oh hush." Evangeline shot with a feign irked sigh. Sticking out her tongue before being hurriedly ushered by Mrs. Deauville's to rearrange a stack of books.
"Any ghost stories?" Agatha asked, picking up a worn out book with the textile 'the Blood of the Homunculus' before setting it back down with a disgruntled scrunch of her nose.
"Yes, a few interesting-looking ones." Mrs. Deauville's spoke excitedly, hands folded by her waist, with an adoring gaze at the three girls.
"Any new fairy tales?" Sophie asked, resting her face on the knuckles of her hands, gazing wondrously at the old lady, whom have been kind enough to loan books for them whenever needed. Mrs. Deauville was everything you would've expected with long braided hair, moon spectacles and a scarf she adorned whenever she possibly could, —kind hearted yet stern, like a mother figure for their lost one.
"Nothing you haven't read a thousand times before, Sophie." Evangeline snickered from across the counter. Stacking books on one another with a laugh.
Mrs. Deauville's gave the brunette a half hearted look of humour, "But— I did happen to spot some very interesting older editions in there, —you can come check them later Evangeline. Once you have finished with that pile." Mrs. Deauville's said, pointing a finger at the Evangeline before she could walk across and dive in for god knows how long.
With a feign groan, Evangeline was set again at work. "Alright, alright."
"You two however, can look and dig around." The woman gave permission before scurrying behind the store for her late morning tea.
Eyes roaming for the sight of the old lady, once undetected of her presence— Evangeline scurried towards the pair with an excited smile as her eyes roam the syllabus decorated the various books. "My oh my— do you think with this much books we would already have more than a dozen case of plagiarism?" She laughed.
"ooh, speaking of plagiarism, this is gonna sound crazy— but think about branching out of your comfort zone? Maybe like stop reading little kids' books?" Agatha remarked towards the blonde, a sheepish curl sent a knowing gaze at Evangeline. Sophie grew up with these fantasies. princes and princess, maidens and fairy godmothers and a happy ever after. It was what she crave for an idealistic life, an escape, freedom and above all-- happiness.
"that has nothing to do with plagiarism." Sophie bit back.
proving her point, the blonde flipped her hair back, taking the book once within the dark haired grasp and turned it around, "the blood of the homunculus?" she asked sarcastically.
"very on the nose," Evangeline remarked.
"I'm good thanks." Sophie muttered, setting the book back where it belong in the pit of endless horror genre. "give me cinderella any day." Sophie gushed, opening the grand book within her grasp, viewing the lavish ink and font, drawings of rich pearls and gowns overflowing the frame. "just look at these dresses in here."
Appearing out of the blue, Mrs. Deauville had a fond smile as her hands rested on Evangeline's shoulder. "books, now." the woman stated simply.
tutting a restless breath, Evangeline limply walked back towards her work, "I'm back on the battlefield once again," feign a wounded look, a crestfallen frown as she retreated not before sending a flash wink at the two friends.
"ah, you found it." Mrs. Deauville suddenly spoke, an awestruck gaze with a rattling crinkle of the eye.
"she found what now?" Evangeline called from behind.
tutting, the woman beckoned the young girl over, "come, just this once. Here — just look at the embossing." Mrs. Deauville pointed towards an embossing of gold, two swans resembling of two sides, with the letters 'S.G.E' marked right beneath the grand creatures of the lake.
"I've stumbled upon many books, and I have never seen 'S.G.E' before in my entire existence."Evangeline vocalised dramatically. a look of distrust and curiosity danced within her eyes, a stack of books held within her grasp in the midst of toppling after one another.
"yeah, who's S.G.E?" Sophie articulated.
"Not who, what."
"right, like that make total sense." Agatha deduced with humour. an incredulous look as she rolled her eyes.
"The School for Good and Evil it is." Curious, Evangeline shared a look with Agatha, perplexed towards the school mentioned. For not only have they never heard of such thing, but the name sounded so hilarious it was astronomical If such school even dared existed.
Sophie shook her head in rresponse towards the retaliation of the old woman, "don't tell me all of you haven't heard it?" Mrs. Deauville inferred, shock plastered. For teens who had nothing better to waste their time and for some who had entail their days with books and doze their heads with fairytales, the school to bypass their knowledge had been a shock.
"where is it?"
"no one knows. Another time, another world." Evangeline all but believed anything Mrs. Deauville might just say, "—but, legend has it is where the true story behind every great fairytales begins." Mrs. Deauville fantasies, "the school for Good trains the heroes. The School for Evil, the villains.—or so they say."
"The people in insane asylums, you mean." Agatha remarked.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that."
"Why so," Evangeline queried, resting her face on her knuckles— gazing curiously at the woman. Brushing a strand of hair back with a puff.
"Twenty years ago, a girl named Leonora was taken from our village, under a blood-red sky. Many believed the school wanted her for some reason." Mrs. Deauville phrased her fanatical tale— supposedly told to be true and of real events.
"What happened to her then?" Evangeline asked.
"No one knows. She was never heard or seen from again." Mrs. Deauville ended forbiddingly, she had a disgruntled look of unease, the old lady shook her head before presuming her latest task. Thankfully neglected Evangeline negligence towards her own task.
"That'd be one way to get out of this town." Sophie spouted mournfully. There was yearn that pulled the blonde's heart, a calling that felt so lost and the piece found would only be at that legendary school.
"Do you think they're accepting new students as of late?" Evangeline chuckled, tapping her fingers on the counter before returning to her shelve of unorganised crates of books.
"You're joking right," Agatha laughed with mirth.
"Does my face looks like a jester to you?" Evangeline remarked forward. Sending a cheeky wink as another book toppled and fell ungratefully on her head.
"No, but— do they though?" Sophie asked with a face void of the merriment the other two had plastered.
"Again, your joking right." Agatha asserted, "right?" She retaliated with uncertainty.
Sensing her wrong doing of vocalising her idealistic wishes, Sophie readjusted her posture before nodding her head with false,— "yeah, yeah. Of course."
Kindled with a new found yearn, Sophie was left unturned as her minds hang by the vines of the school, grasping to hold one, wanting to be where she felt like where she needed to be.