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I. Sophie
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[I wish]
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[“When is a monster not a monster?”]
As the months go by, Sophie tries to convince herself she’s not a terrible person.
She knows that’s not accurate, but no need to lose any beauty sleep over it, okay?
[After all, if you say it enough, you’ll start believing it, right?]
In the end, everyone got what they wanted. Everyone got what they needed, didn’t they?
[Not quite, darling.]
Sophie wakes up, gets her routine done, and heads to Agatha’s house, by the graveyard, alone, just like she always did.
Only, now, Agatha opens the door without much convincing.
Sophie knows things are not the same as they used to be, but she ignores most of the differences in order to keep her happy ending happy. Like the fact that Agatha now looks just like she did that fateful night, in the circus.
[Her friend looks gorgeous, just breathtaking.]
Yet, something about her feels just the same as it always did. Oily hair, big brown eyes, pale skin, dressed in black rags, barefoot. Same old Agatha.
The girl smiled at Sophie, and she put aside any thoughts that were plaguing her head.
[“When someone loves it.”]
… -- . --- . -- …
They never talk about the school.
Not the true story, anyway.
Any thoughts on that subject can't ever be voiced out loud.
[Sophie couldn’t sleep, too memories are keeping her awake.]
[She never told anyone, but she knew that sometimes Agatha cried herself to sleep.]
[“The witch is gone.”]
Thanks to Agatha, Sophie was just as pretty as she has always been. What Agatha didn’t need to know was that, inside, Sophie still was just as ugly as she has always been. No matter how good she pretended to be.
[Sometimes, Sophie wondered if Agatha already knew.]
… -- . --- . -- …
She won.
[But there’s only so much pretending a girl could do before the outside revels just exactly what has been rotting inside.]
She had won, honestly.
Tedros would live to regret not loving her. She did a favor to Agatha, really. He wasn’t good enough for her. For them.
She made things right by having Agatha kiss her and leave Tedros there, before he could say goodbye, before he could ask her to stay.
[Oh, poor Teddy, she never knew, that must tear you apart inside, hm?]
Sophie got her revenge in the end. She wasn’t alone. Mother must be proud.
She got what she wanted, didn't she?
[Sophie pretends that this was enough.]
… -- . --- . -- …
Agatha wasn’t happy. Sophie could tell.
That was okay. Sophie wasn’t happy either.
But beggars can’t be choosers, so Sophie was willing to take what she could get. After all, that was the only ending left.
Sophie waited her whole life to be kidnaped. She was a master at make-believe.
[Or so she liked to pretend.]
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II. Hester
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[I wish]
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[I'm the evilest of them all.]
Hester misses them. Sort of.
More Agatha than Sophie, which makes no sense because Agatha was Good, but she supposed both girls crawled their way into her stone cold heart, somehow.
It was a new feeling and Hester wasn’t sure if she liked it.
[Friendship was one nasty little thing]
[And not in a good bad way]
… -- . --- . -- …
I'm the evilest.
[No, not really.]
[If anything she was the most confused.]
She was Evil, sure, but there were the teachers.
And then, there was also Sophie, who was 100% Evil tied together with blond soft hair and pretty green eyes.
[Just because she wasn’t around didn’t mean she didn’t exist.]
And now, there was also Aric, who was just, ugh.
[Why would Tedros let that rabid dog out of its leash?]
And even so, there was Evelyn Sader.
[Bitch.]
Thanks to the new story on the Storian, it didn’t really matter anymore who was okay, who was a goody-two-shoes or who was Satan’s-child-on-Earth. Ever or Never. Oh, no.
Are you a boy or a girl?
[Where’s Agatha when you need her?]
… -- . --- . -- …
These people don’t understand.
Evil, they say.
[Haha, as if.]
“This is not Evil,” she wants to scream, “this is just meanless destruction.”
… -- . --- . -- …
Hester hates boys.
[Aric and Tedros mostly, but boys in general.]
… -- . --- . -- …
She was free from Sophie, at last.
[Isn’t this what you wanted?]
Gone was Sophie, but she took Agatha and the rest of the world as she knew it, with her.
[She didn’t like them.]
[Yet, somehow she did.]
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III. Stefan
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[I wish]
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[I have a very Good daughter.]
Stefan tried to believe he had been a good father for Sophie. Because he did try.
He truly, truly did.
But the relief that came with her disappearance was there, even if he hid it very, very well.
[There also was the disappointment of her coming back home.]
[But that’s a completely different story.]
Don’t get him wrong. He loved Sophie. His daughter was one of his treasures.
But, must she be so much like Vanessa?
… -- . --- . -- …
Maybe, if he had digged a little deeper, Stefan might have known he actually had a daughter who was 100% Good, tied together with grumpy grunts and sarcastic comments.
[I have a very Good daughter.]
He just happened to have an Evil one too.
He blamed Vanessa. Not Sophie. Never Sophie.
He also blamed himself.
[Part of him blamed Callis too, but he supposed that woman had enough to worry about already.]
This story about Sophie going to the School of Good…
Stefan wanted to believe it.
He truly did.
But he took one look at Agatha’s face and he knew that this child wouldn’t hurt a fly. Agatha was a fairytale princess. Sophie wasn’t.
Callis’ daughter looked at him in the eyes, ones that were so, so brown, so clever and deep, he just wanted to adopt her.
She said nothing. Stefan didn’t either.
… -- . --- . -- …
[Daughter.]
As Sophie usually lashed out at him, he doesn’t really count her as one, most of the time.
However, no matter how much of Vanessa’s soul has plagued into Sophie’s, she was still his daughter in all things that mattered.
[He never told anyone, but deep down he had another one, a very Good one.]
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IV. Tedros
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[I wish]
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[Most princes just can’t deal with strong women, you know.]
After his father’s tragic death, Tedros promised to himself he would never, ever drink.
Yet, here they are, the prince and the last bottle of wine.
[So much for promises.]
“Mother would be proud,” he mumbles bitterly, the alcohol burning his young throat.
[Has he mentioned he hates wine? It tastes horrible.]
He should have trusted Agatha.
Agatha, please, come back, please, be here, please.
[That’s why I like her so much.]
If he can’t have her, he might as well forget all about her.
… -- . --- . -- …
It’s silly, but he keeps drinking, because sometimes he can hear her voice.
[She’s saying he’s an idiot, and it's so much like her to say that to his face. It's raw, ans it's her and she uses lots of words he doesn’t understand.]
… -- . --- . -- …
He did it.
He forgot everything.
[Now he ran out of wine.]
[God, he hated wine.]
He forgot. Forgot all about his kingdom, all about his friends and all about his pride.
Sometimes he forgets his own name.
But not her. Not Agatha. Never Agatha.
[Princess, not even the darkest of spells could make me forget about you.]
I love you. I love you. I love you.
… -- . --- . -- …
… He needed more drinks.
[Wait, he didn’t have any wine left.]
… -- . --- . -- …
Her eyes were brown.
A brown so deep, so human, so warm.
She had black hair. Ebony colored hair, wild and untamable, just like her.
Tedros should get a dog. One that would never leave his side. With brown eyes and black fur.
[He was a dog person, you know.]
[Agatha was a cat person.]
Things wouldn’t have worked out for them anyway. But he would name the puppy after her. Agatha means good, you see.
It would have made her roll her eyes and smile.
…Yeah. Dog. No cats. Get more wine. Great plan.
… -- . --- . -- …
He doesn’t even know where he is.
[What’s his name again?]
But he should find Agatha. She could set things right again. Make all this longing go away. Agatha is his happy ending.
[And he still had no wine, damn it.]
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V. Hort
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[I wish]
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[I want for Sophie to hurt.]
He doesn’t love her.
He’s a never. Nevers can’t love. It’s unnatural, simply didn't happen.
“But if I could love someone, I would love you.”
[He doesn’t mean it.]
[He just doesn’t.]
[He can’t mean it.]
Sophie needs to die. She messed up the balance of their universe.
[At least she rocked his.]
… -- . --- . -- …
Weird how some people can break our hearts in a million pieces and still make us love them with every single one of them.
… -- . --- . -- …
Hort doesn’t really care much about Agatha.
He doesn’t hate her, like Aric and some other boys do.
He doesn’t love her, like Tedros.
He doesn’t adore her, like the girls.
But Hort respects Agatha, somehow, kind of, anyway. There’s something about her that simply radiates loyalty and cleverness.
[He never tells anyone, but he thinks she might have been a wonderful queen for Tedros.]
The only thing that Hort will never forgive Agatha for it’s for saving Sophie.
[I want for Sophie to hurt.]
… -- . --- . -- …
Why couldn’t she just love him back?
He could be a prince charming. He could be Tedros. Hell, he could be anything she wanted him to be.
He’s Evil, but he could be good, for her.
[I want for Sophie to love me.]
[Love me, love me until your heart bleeds all over me.]
[Love me, love me until your soul is leaks of my name.]
Please, hurt, just like I did.
[Like I do.]
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VI. Agatha
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[I wish]
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[Home, at last.]
Most days were fine.
Sophie would come over, and they walked, talked and hung out in general.
Some days were not.
On those, she couldn’t look at Sophie in the eyes. She would try, try and try again to fight it, she had do something to put herself back together.
[Agatha didn’t use to lie.]
[Now, her days involve an awful lot of lying, to lots of different people, but mostly to herself.]
She would sneak out of the house, Reaper hot on her heels and sit by the lake, lighting up matches, just to throw them in the lake, eventually stroking the cat’s fur.
He meows quietly, as if asking the question that Agatha dreaded most.
[“I’m fine,” she answers, softly lying while scratching behind his ears.]
… -- . --- . -- …
There are nights when Callis wakes up and Agatha is groaning in her sleep.
It’s a boy’s name.
“Tedros,” the girl repeats over and over again.
Callis wakes her daughter up, and asks her about it.
“He’s no one, mother.”
[Stop lying, Agatha.]
… -- . --- . -- …
Agatha does not miss her prince.
He is not her anything, really.
She was happy.
She was home.
She was safe.
She does not fear Sophie.
Tedros does not mean anything to her.
Home. That’s where she was.
… -- . --- . -- …
She should be happy.
[Why isn’t she?]
She’s back home in one piece, with Sophie, her mother, her cat, her rags and everything she wanted.
Home sweet home.
[But now she knows there are much better places than home.]
This used to be enough. Why is it not enough?
Have the roles reversed? Is she now the one daydreaming of a long lost prince?
[If you don’t succeed, lie, lie, and lie again.]
… -- . --- . -- …
All these truths hurt, but all these lies heal.
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VII. Aric
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[I wish]
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[Mother needs to pay.]
To Aric, women were a plague. Manipulative bitches with black ice for a heart, if there was any heart there at all.
[That sounds a lot like him, actually.]
[He’s one bitter bastard after all.]
… -- . --- . -- …
He sometimes wondered about his father.
If it would take much to murder him, just like it would take long to get rid of his mother.
[Aric probably wouldn’t murder him, though, not because he had any affection for the man, of course.]
[He wouldn’t, just because his mother wanted to.]
… -- . --- . -- …
They were terrible. All of them.
Sophie fucked up the whole land just because some prince didn’t want to take her to the ball.
Agatha couldn’t even kiss the right person.
Hester was a traitorous bitch.
His mother left him in cave. All alone. In the woods. For no reason.
[He was just a kid, damn it.]
[He once asked her if she regretted it.]
[She didn’t even bother to answer.]
… -- . --- . -- …
Stop ignoring me.
Love me, hate me, bite my fucking face off, just do something.
… -- . --- . -- …
In a cave.
The heartless bitch didn’t even bother to say goodbye. To leave him a note. To leave him anything.
[She had to pay.]
[And Aric would make sure it was a very high price.]
Mother would regret forgetting about him. He wasn’t one to be forgotten.
Not again. Not ever again.
… -- . --- . -- …
[Why didn’t you love me, mother? Why didn’t you hate me enough to get rid of me?]
Why couldn’t she have had mercy to kill him in his sleep, let him go peacefully?
Why must she be so selfish to keep him alive, just to ignore him?
Oh no, it was too late for explanations now.
She doesn’t care? Nice, Aric doesn’t give a shit either.
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VIII. Beatrix
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[I wish]
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[Perfect.]
She was the most talented. The most intelligent. The kindest. The fairest of them all.
[No, she wasn’t.]
[But then again, it didn’t really matter who was what anymore.]
… -- . --- . -- …
This is the end of an era.
Let it burn. Let it all burn.
The hours in vain. The stupid worries. The need to please men. Let it all burn. Let a new era be reborn from it’s ashes.
No more perfect little wife.
She was free. Free, free, free.
[She thinks she will like this, that’s it, if it doesn’t kill them all apart first.]
The first thing she does, it’s say thanks. Her hair is heavy and useless, so she shaves it and burns it as a thank you.
Thanks to Agatha, for showing her just how blind she has been about everything.
Thanks to Sophie, for showing her just how free she could be.
[But she kinda misses her hair, a bit.]
… -- . --- . -- …
[A world without princes, they say.]
She kind of misses Chaddick too, but he doesn’t belong in her life anymore.
He’s a boy.
He’s perfect for her.
And she’s so tired of perfect.
… -- . --- . -- …
War is about to break out, but she’s free, and Beatrix won’t let them take this from her.
Oh, no, she spent way too long in the darkness, now it was finally her time to see the light.
Ladies is time to awake. Fight for what’s yours.
[Believe her, she will.]
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IX. Dot
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[I wish]
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[Pretty like an evergirl.]
The first thing Dot noticed about being an ever was that she was hungry.
Dot was just so goddamn hungry all the time.
It was hard.
Hester and Anadil didn’t help either. They made fun of her when she was ugly and they were still making fun of her now that she was pretty.
[Aren’t they her friends?]
[They were a coven, for crying out loud.]
… -- . --- . -- …
She’s pretty.
And hungry, and lonely, and miserable.
… -- . --- . -- …
Where are her friends?
Agatha would have understood. Hadn’t she been ugly too, once? She was Good. She was actually the best person Dot knew.
Sophie was mean, and Dot was probably better off without her, but she couldn’t help but miss her sometimes.
Anadil was violent, but she had liked Dot.
Hester used to be like her older sister, whom she looked up to.
Now she was pretty and they were all gone.
… -- . --- . -- …
If this is how pretty people feel, Dot hates it.
She didn’t really understand uglification class until now.
She misses her friends. Her bed. Her coven. Her chocolate.
[But hey, at least she’s pretty now, right?]
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“What we want, what we need... It's all the same thing, yes?”