Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Listen, it’s not like Epel had been planning to be sucked into another dimension, okay? If he had been, he would’ve at least worn his dorm uniform, or at least his standard NRC uniform, to make a good impression. But no, he’d been heading back from the school greenhouse, wearing his favorite overalls - the ones with an apple embroidered on the front pocket, courtesy of his ma, and several purple patches Vil had helped him sew onto the legs after he’d taken a nasty spill off of Deuce’s magi-wheel - and a pair of mud-encrusted work boots, when the mirror to the Pomefiore dorm suddenly decided to malfunction on him.

Epel had been planning to sneak back into the dorms as best he could, to wash off the dirt and muck from a day tending to the lanternblossoms he was growing for Professor Crewel - the fertilizer he’d been working on was maturing nicely, and he still had two weeks left to collect all the nectar he needed - but as Epel stepped through the rippling mirror, there was an odd swooping sensation in his gut, like he was being twisted and pulled a long distance, and suddenly he was standing in front of a castle.

Now, normally, this would be a good thing, since the Pomefiore dorms were designed to resemble a castle - specifically, the Beautiful Queen’s castle - but this castle was clearly not the dormitory. It was tall and towering, spires and balconies jutting out every which way, and it did not look stable at all. 

Epel looked up at the haphazard building from under the wide brim of his straw hat, suddenly very glad he was wearing it. The sun was so… bright, here, and there seemed to be a hundred reflective surfaces all over the castle determined to shine the light right back into his eyes. He peered around, looking for someone to ask where he was, before a severe-looking man in a full suit of armor, riding atop an equally intimidating horse, trotted up to him.

“WHO DARES TRESPASS UPON SCHOOL GROUNDS!?” The man demanded, pointing a spear in Epel’s face.

“I- Uh- Wha!?” Epel yelped, throwing up his hands in front of him in an attempt to appear non-threatening. “I’m- I’m sorry sir, I think I might be lost? See, I was tryin’ to get to my school dorm, but the mirror-”

“SILENCE!” The man thundered, before reaching down and picking up a petrified Epel by the scruff of his neck and plopping him onto his horse behind him. “TRESPASSERS MUST BE TAKEN TO THE HEADMASTER AT ONCE!”

Epel almost protested, but… if this was a school, then the headmaster would certainly be the best person to help him, right? So, he kept quiet and let the armored guard(?) take him into the castle. He assumed that the guard would dismount from his horse once they entered the building, but to Epel’s confusion, he rode it right through the front doors and into the halls inside. 

Once they entered, it was clear that this was actually a school, with lockers and classrooms lining the walls and even a few students still wandering the halls. Several of them gave Epel pitying looks as he was taken past them, and he tried not to make eye contact with them for too long.

From what he could tell, the students at this school seemed to be a rather colorful bunch, with more hair colors than he thought possible and some truly ridiculous outfits - either there wasn’t a uniform here, or they had changed out of it after the school day ended, since it was long past class hours. Maybe it was a boarding school, like NRC? There were certainly sections of the mess Epel had seen from outside that could have been dormitories.

Before long, they reached what he assumed to be their destination, an ornate wooden door with a gilded plaque that read “Headmaster Grimm” beside it.

“GO ON IN.” The guard demanded, and Epel dismounted from the horse nervously, approaching the door. It was slightly ajar, and when he reached out to grab the doorknob, he heard the sound of hooves as the guard rode away, leaving him alone.

It’s fine. Epel tried to reassure himself. If anythin’, this guy can’t be as bad as Headmage Crowley, right?

Carefully, Epel slipped into the office, which was lavishly decorated with gold-framed mirrors and portraits, and behind a carved oaken desk sat the headmaster himself. He was a portly man, with graying hair and a fancy-looking blue and gold suit.

“Ah, you must be the ‘trespasser’. Come in, come in!” He gestured to a plush armchair in front of his desk, and Epel nervously sat down on the edge of it. There was a pause, before Epel realized that the headmaster was waiting for him to speak.

“Uh, Mister- uh…” he glanced to the plaque on the headmaster’s desk before continuing, “...Grimm, sir, I’m really sorry for trespassing, but I promise I didn’t mean ta come here, see, I was at school, goin’ to my dorms, when the mirror, it-”

“The mirror?” Headmaster Grimm interrupted him. “Where did you say you were from?”

“Night Raven College, sir…”

Epel expected… well, he expected the headmaster to know what he was talking about, since NRC was arguably one of the most famous magical academies around, and definitely one of the best-known, but all he got was a blank stare.

“Where… where is this school?” he asked finally, when it seemed like Grimm had gotten well and truly lost in his thoughts. Thankfully, this seemed to snap him out of it, as he suddenly launched into a speech.

“‘This school’, young lady-”

“Not a lady.” Epel gritted out, his respect for the man dropping severely.

“Right, young man, this school is none other than Ever After High! Why, it is but the most famous, most sophisticated, most prestigious school in all of Ever After!” With this, the headmaster removed a heavy, leather-bound book from a case behind him and began flipping through the pages. “This school is where the descendants of fairytales learn to continue their legacies!”

On the pages of the book, Epel saw stylized pictures of princesses, knights, and witches, among many others. A few he almost recognized, but they still looked strange. He was more occupied by trying to decipher all the names and strange terminology the man was listing in his speech.

From what he could tell, this was a place where these… “fairytale descendants” were trained to repeat the stories - and mistakes - of their ancestors, though he had no idea why anyone would want to follow in the shoes of disgraced Princess Ella, a gold-digger who turned to dark magics to get her way and nearly ruined the lives of her kindly sisters and an honest prince, or the vain Snow White, who tried to kill her stepmother - the Beautiful Queen - because she feared she was “upstaging her” at her wedding?

But more concerningly, Epel didn’t recognize the names of any of the places Grimm was mentioning, and he was beginning to get a sinking feeling in his gut. It’s possible this’s just a very far away kingdom or somethin’, but… He recalled what Yuu had told him once, about their homeland, and the differences it had from NRC - how the other student believed they’d originally come from another dimension…

Right, what was that quote Yuu liked to say? “I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore?”

“Sir, I… I don’t think I’m exactly from aroun’ here, uhh…” Epel interrupted the headmaster’s animated speech, and the man froze mid-gesture. “...D’ya have any idea how I could get home? I, uh, wouldn’t wanna miss too much of term…” Maybe if I appeal to his academic sensibilities…

“Ah, of course! I am very well-versed in magic, if I do say so myself, so I’m sure we can figure something out… But in the meantime, perhaps we can enroll you here, at Ever After High? You wouldn’t miss out on any work, that way!”

Epel… didn’t really want to enroll in this strange, destiny-obsessed school, but unfortunately, it seemed like the only way to get home, so he nodded. (He was seeing more and more similarities between himself and Yuu at the moment, and he wasn’t sure he liked it.)

Headmaster Grimm quickly pulled out a quill pen - who even still used those? - and a stack of papers from his desk, and began to write.

“Hexcellent! We’ll have you home in no time, not to worry, mister…?”

Right. He never did tell the headmaster his name. “Epel Felmier, sir.”

“Epel?” Grimm squinted at him. “Any relation to Apple? Apple White? Who are your parents?”

What an odd question.

“Well, uh, my family owns an apple orchard, sir…?”

“Ah, of course!” Headmaster Grimm snapped his fingers. “You must be our poison apple!”

That sounded oddly like some of the nicknames Rook would call him, and Epel was pretty sure that wasn’t a good thing.

“ ’scuse me?” He asked, but the headmaster ignored him, once again scribbling rapidly on the piece of paper while muttering to himself.

“- of course he’ll need to take - maybe room with - poison or - ?” Epel could barely make out the words as Grimm filled out what looked like a school schedule.

“Do… do you have any ideas on how I can get back?” he asked cautiously once the headmaster was done, rising to his feet and handing a slip of parchment-like paper over to Epel.

“Of course! But first, we should get you to your room! You look like you need a good night’s sleep!” Headmaster Grimm winked at him as he held the door of his office open. (Epel did not wink back.)

“Who knows,” Grimm continued cheerfully, oblivious to Epel’s growing discomfort, “Maybe once you spend some time here, you’ll grow to love this school more than your old one! Ever after all, it is the most prestigious school around, and the Storybook of Legends must have brought you here for a reason!”

Oh, fuck, Epel realized, listening to the headmaster’s increasingly delusional ramblings, he’s not as bad as Crowley. He’s worse.

Chapter Text

According to the headmaster, not only was Epel going to have to room with other students at the school, but because of his “circumstances”, he was going to be moving into a room with two other students, both of them girls. He wasn’t sure whether it was just because this was a co-op school, or if the headmaster still didn’t believe him when he told him he wasn’t a girl.

Either way, Epel was entirely subject to the whims of this man at the moment, and he wasn’t in a hurry to upset possibly his only way home. His patience was growing pretty thin, though, as Headmaster Grimm led him through countless winding hallways and spiral staircases, still prattling on about “destiny” and other nonsense.

Epel almost audibly sighed in relief when they finally stopped in front of a dorm, the door decorated with several glittery stickers and, strangely, a large scorch mark near the doorknob. The headmaster knocked on the door, and it swung open almost immediately.

“Oh! Headmaster Grimm!” The girl who stood in the doorway was smiling almost unnaturally, and her grin only grew wider when she spotted Epel. “And you must be our new roomie! I’m Apple White, descendant of Snow White! Spelltastic to meet you!”

Apple White looked every bit like the princess she was supposed to be, dressed in glittering golds and deep, royal reds, with perfect blonde curls and an open, kind face. (Which oddly reminded Epel of… Niege LeBlanche?)

“Epel Felmier.” He replied, shaking her outstretched hand. Apple then turned back to the room, cupping both hands over her mouth before shouting, “Hey! Raven! The new girl’s here!”

“I. Am. A boy.” Epel grumbled, mood souring again. Honestly! What is with these people? 

“Oh! Sorry!” Apple gasped before turning away again to yell. “RA-VEN! The new boy’s here! Come introduce yourself!”

“Well, I’m leaving Mr. Felmier here in your capable hands, Ms. White.” The headmaster clapped Epel on the back, causing him to stumble forward, and Apple grabbed his hand and pulled him inside the dorm room.

Epel’s first impression of the room was that it was… sparkly. On one side - probably Apple’s - it seemed like everything was glittery red or gold, and the walls were covered in more mirrors than really seemed necessary. The other side of the dorm was far darker than Apple’s, but no less shiny, and every piece of furniture was covered in gleaming purple jewels and intricate silver detailing.

Sitting on the plush four-poster bed on that side of the room was Epel’s other new roommate. Like Apple, she was dressed to match her room decor, from her purple-streaked hair and silver jewelry down to her spiky dark boots. She had sharp features and narrow purple eyes that also reminded him of something he couldn’t quite place, but the slightly shaky smile on her face was genuine, and Epel decided he liked her better than Apple already.

The two halves of the dorm were split by a simpler bed that he guessed was for him, and Epel walked over to sit on it opposite the purple-haired girl - her name is… Raven? Between them, Apple stood awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot and fidgeting with the frills of her dress.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Epel offered, after the silence started to become painful. “My name’s Epel.”

“I’m… ah… RavenQueencharmedtomeetyou!” Raven rushed out abruptly, and in a way that made Epel think he was supposed to recognize her name. He didn’t, though, so the three of them just sat in awkward silence until Apple plopped herself down on the bed next to Raven with a beatific smile.

“Raven here is the descendant of the Evil Queen!” She offered, looking far happier about the idea than Raven did. 

I’ve never heard of an “Evil Queen,” but in this weird school everythin’ is backward anyway, so could she be…? Snow White, and a queen who could be called “evil” from another perspective - suddenly, Epel knew why Raven looked so familiar: he’d seen her features in hundreds of portraits and statues around his school.

“You’re descended from th’ Beautiful Queen!?” Epel definitely did not shriek, because that would be undignified - but! He didn’t even know the Beautiful Queen had descendants! And there was one in front of him! It’s a good thing Vil ‘n Rook ain’t here… They’d totally flip out. (He was not flipping out, shut up!)

“The… Beautiful Queen?” Raven asked, pulling him from his internal freak-out over what etiquette was supposed to be proper when meeting someone related to one of the Great Seven (!!!)

“Sorry, that’s… ah, just what they call her where I’m from, Miss Queen,” Epel explained, mentally patting himself on the back for tamping down on his accent - Forget about freakin’ out, If Vil finds out I met someone related to the Beautiful Queen (!!) and wasn’t absolutely perfect ta her, he’ll skin me alive!

“Oh! There’s no need for - Just call me Raven, please,” she stammered, suddenly flustered. Apple frowned, the expression odd on her almost doll-like face.

“Why do you call her that? Everyone and their Fairy Godmother knows the Evil Queen was the second fairest.”

Epel’s blood boiled. She said it so calmly, almost matter-of-factly, but it was rude, untrue, and basically blasphemous! Honestly, he wanted nothing more than to punch her, but - I can’t let my temper get th’ better of me… n’ besides, who knows what Mr. Grimm would do if I punched one’a his favorite students… He shouldn’t do anything to risk his best chance of getting home.

Still, if all the students at this school had opinions like Apple’s… Epel had a feeling it was going to be hard to stay calm.

Great Seven, give me patience!

Chapter Text

It was only until later that night, while he was (unsuccessfully) trying to get comfortable and fall asleep, that Epel remembered that he had his phone with him when he got pulled through the mirror. Stumbling out of bed, he fumbled through the pockets of his overalls from where he’d draped it over a chair. 

Frantically, he powered it on, only to find his hopes immediately crushed: he had no connection. He tried to message Vil, Rook, or even Yuu, but it was to no avail. It feels like the “error” message is tauntin’ me!

Epel tossed his phone back onto the desk, grumbling profanities under his breath, but it suddenly lit up and started ringing. Startled, he fumbled for the answer call button, hoping his ringtone wasn’t loud enough to wake either of his new roommates up. The ID said the video-call was from Yuu, which was helpful since when he answered, the image on the screen was a grainy blur of grey and blue pixels.

“Epel? Is that - fzzt - you? Thank goodness!” The voice echoing from Epel’s phone was tinny and faded in and out of white noise, but it was undeniably Yuu’s, and Epel felt his stress dissipating at the sound.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he whispered in reply, “D’you know what happened? ‘Cause I sure don’t.”

“Ah… I was hoping - fzzt - you knew,” Yuu frowned. “We’re” - fzzt - working on reverse-engineering whatever - fzzt - happened to the mirror, but -”

This time, what cut Yuu off wasn’t the glitching call, but a loud wailing(?) sort of noise coming from somewhere off-camera.

“Uhh… what was that?”

At Epel’s question, Yuu only sighed, before tilting their camera so it was angled behind them, at a dark purplish blob of pixels slumped over what was probably a desk.

“I’m a faaaaailureeeee! What kind of a - fzzt - teacher aaaaam I!?” The blob sobbed loudly. Ah. That’s Headmage Crowley, ain’t it? “I’m - fzzt - gonna get suuueeed! They’ll shut the - fzzt - school doooownnnnnn!!”

“He’s real torn up - fzzt - about it,” Grim (or rather, a bluish-grey blob that Epel was pretty sure was Grim) snickered from his perch on Yuu’s shoulder.

“Do you - fzzt - have any idea where you are?” Yuu asked, angling the camera back towards themself. Epel, realizing that he could finally complain about his situation to someone who would understand, began ranting about everything that had happened so far, with probably more swearing than was strictly necessary. He was really upset, okay?

“ - an’ it ain’t even been a day yet! Please tell me you’ve heard’a ‘Ever After High’ before, I don’t think I can fuckin’ handle much longer here!” he finally finished, throat a little sore from talking so much.

“I’ll have to check the - fzzt - library, but knowing your location - fzzt - should make this a lot easier,” Yuu assured him, “Just stay where you - fzzt - are for now… and try to stay out of trouble?”

“I think you should just burn - fzzt - the whole place down!” Grim cheered, and Yuu smacked him softly.

“I’ll lay low for now,” Epel laughed, making Grim sigh loudly before the connection suddenly cut and the call ended. Ugh, really?

He tried to call Yuu again, but it wouldn’t go through, so he gave up, figuring they would call him again if they figured out how. Epel crawled back into bed, a little annoyed, but feeling much better than he had before. In no time at all, he was sleeping peacefully.

Chapter Text

Throne-room was probably Cerise Hood’s second favorite class of the day, after Grimmnastics. Not that Throne-room was much of a class - it was more of an announcement period before first period - but it was the only class Cerise had where her dad was the teacher, so she certainly liked it more than most other students. Usually, nothing really happened in Throne-room, unless there was a school-wide event coming up like a bookball game or a dance, but today was different.

There was a transfer student in class today. Cerise hadn’t been one of the people to see them when they first arrived the day before, but gossip at Ever After High spread like fairy-fire, so she hadn’t been too surprised when the new kid had been brought into their classroom to introduce themself.

“Everyone, we will be having a new student joining us today,” her dad introduced, gesturing to the new kid next to him. “Please be good to Mister…”

“Epel Felmier, nice to meet you all.”

Epel, the new student, seemed polite and soft-spoken, though his voice carried a hint of an accent that he was probably trying to hide. He had short purple hair and wide blue eyes, and Cerise’s first guess was that he was probably some minor royal - honestly, if it weren’t for his introduction, she might have even guessed he was a princess. 

Cerise subtly sniffed the air, trying to get a further read on him. He smelled almost overwhelmingly earthy, with an undercurrent of a crisp apple scent much fresher than Apple White’s favored perfume, and a hint of something bitter she couldn’t quite discern. She revised her first impression of him a bit - he didn’t seem the pampered royal type - and tried to rack her brain for any fairytales he could fit.

Meanwhile, Epel took a seat near the back of the classroom, probably trying to avoid attention, and coincidentally sat down next to Cerise. His efforts were in vain, though, as the other students in the class quickly surrounded him and began to bombard him with questions.

Blondie Lockes shoved her way to the front of the crowd, pushing her microphone into Epel’s face. The other students cleared the way, not wanting to get on her bad side, as she gestured to Humphrey to start recording.

“Hello, Ever After High! This is yours truly, the intrepid Blondie Lockes, checking in with a new scoop that’s just right for y’all! I’m here with our new student, Epel Falmer -” “Felmier” Epel corrected, “Right, well, I know everyone and their Fairy Godmother has been wondering about the new student rumored to be transferring in, so I’ve secured a hexclusive interview for my dear viewers!”

Epel was sinking further into his seat the longer Blondie talked, fear clear in his eyes. Cerise pitied him, but there was no escaping from Blondie once she smelled a scoop - she was like a wolf with a bone.

“Now, for the burning question on all of our minds! Epel, can you tell us what fairytale you are?”

“Uh…” Epel glanced around the room, clearly overwhelmed by Blondie’s… Blondie-ness. “Headmaster Grimm said I was supposed to be a… poison apple?” He seemed unsure, reinforcing one of Cerise’s theories that he might’ve just been picked out of a random school to fulfill some role Grimm probably made up. And, more importantly, his fairytale almost confirmed it.

The poison apple… a crucial part of Raven and Apple’s stories, to the point that there was an entire class based almost entirely around it. It wasn’t a role that necessitated a person, so Epel’s job would probably just be to be Raven’s “henchman”, or maybe he was supposed to be the one who brewed the poison that put Apple to sleep? It was a little vague, which, again, made Cerise almost certain that he was a pawn Grimm was using to try to convince Raven to sign the Storybook.

She felt a little bad for him, likely pulled out of a village school or wherever after he was from and suddenly thrown right into the fray of the Rebel-Royal conflict. The rest of the class didn’t seem to feel the same; several students gasped loudly, and a few lesser tales were suddenly much less eager to be crowding around Epel, as if simply standing near him would poison them.

“Wow! And there you have it, dearest viewers!” Blondie declared, unflappable as always, “Our mysterious new student is none other than the infamous poison apple from Snow White! Is he just as evil -”

“Blondie, that’s enough now.” Cerise’s dad interrupted, “Please give Mr. Felmier some space.”

Blondie groaned loudly, but didn’t argue with the teacher. She gave the mirrorcam a final sign-off before gesturing for Humphrey to cut the feed. The crowd around Epel dispersed, students moving away to chat quietly amongst themselves (mostly about him).

“Fuckin’ vultures…” He muttered under his breath, quietly enough that Cerise wouldn’t have been able to hear it if not for her wolfish senses.

“Sorry about Blondie,” she offered softly, “If it’s any consolation, she’s like this with everyone.”

“‘S fine, that’s not even close to the worst experience I’ve had with reporters…” Epel trailed off. Cerise could tell there was a story there, but she didn’t press for details.

“Well, it’s fairy nice to meet you, Epel,” she said instead, “I’m Cerise Hood.”

She expected to see recognition in his eyes - her last name and choice of clothing weren’t particularly subtle - but there was none.

“You too,” was his only response, and he offered her a slightly nervous smile.

The bell rang before Cerise could say anything else, but as she packed up her bookbag, she came to a decision.

“If you need somebody to sit with at lunch, my table’s open.” 

Maddie and Cedar wouldn’t mind Epel, she was sure, so she could only hope Raven wouldn’t dislike him for the role Headmaster Grimm wanted him to play. He seemed like a nice kid, and Cerise would hate to see him torn apart by the constant infighting or forced to be something he didn’t want to be.