The Lady's Secret (School for Good and Evil)

Merlin

Agatha ran through the halls of Purity Tower, thinking over what just happened.

Merlin.

He was gone.

And he expected her and Tedros to still get married? The best day of their lives, turned the worst. Merlin's words resounded in her brain over and over again. She couldn't escape them.

The work is done.

The work is done.

The work is done.

She felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks and she wiped her eyes. The almost-queen stopped in the middle of the hallway, her eyesight blurry from crying, and took a deep breath. She heard footsteps and scrambled into her room. Agatha lunged for the tissue box, but someone was already turning the knob on the door.

She whirled around to face Sophie. They stood in silence as Agatha studied her best friend's face; her eyes were swollen and red, her cheeks streaked with tear stains. She looked up and locked eyes with her best friend, neither of them said anything.

Sophie stood awkwardly in the corner while Agatha sat quietly on her old bed in Purity 51, which hadn't changed since their first year, although the room now belonged to new Evergirls. The walls were still pink with murals of princes and princesses sharing true loves kiss, the bed still golden with its white silk canopy, and the desk still in the corner stacked with books for the Beautification class.

"I don't know why I didn't expect it," Sophie said finally, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"I just mean... Merlin. I don't know why I didn't expect it. All the adults die in our fairytale, Aggie," Sophie replied, softly. She wiped her nose, still sniffling.

Agatha thought about all the adults who didn't make it out of their story alive. Lancelot, Guinevere, Professor Dovey, Callis, Lady Lesso, and so many more. Now Merlin was added to this tragic list. Agatha couldn't hold it back as she ran to her best friend and wrapped her arms around her. They stayed that way for a long time, only breaking apart when they heard yet another pair of footsteps.

The blonde boy didn't say anything as he walked through the door to Purity 51. He moved quickly, but to Agatha it was slow motion. Tedros sat down on the bed across from them and stared at her. Just like she had assessed Sophie, Agatha looked at her prince. He wasn't crying, but seemed almost numb to emotion. His face was completely blank, like there were no thoughts behind his big blue eyes. Only when Agatha looked closer could she see a single tear fall down Tedros's face. He sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands, pulling his knees to his chest.

Sophie moved to sit next to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Oh, Teddy..." she trailed off. Sophie patted her hand down next to her on the bed and Agatha crossed the room to sit.

After a moment, she broke the silence, "Tedros... What about today?" Agatha asked delicately, like she didn't want to push the subject.

"What do you mean?" he replied. His voice was rough like he had been crying. Tedros cleared his throat. "You mean the wedding?"

"Yes."

"Camelot still needs a King, and probably needs a Queen even more. The wedding will go on," he vowed. The boy paused, taking a deep breath before going on, "It's what Merlin would have wanted," he assured, quietly.

The King looked around like he was trying to make a decision. He closed his worried, perplexed eyes and opened them again, this time clear and precise. "Maybe we could postpone it to tomorrow?" he asked quietly. Tedros's eyes met Agatha's, full of relief.

"That's a good idea," she breathed, tears welling in her eyes. Agatha let out a deep breath that she didn't even know she was holding, and let the tears fall down her cheeks.

She leaned forward and buried her head in Tedros's chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I just can't believe... he's gone..." she sniffled.

"Me either," Tedros said, voice shaking.

Agatha looked up at him, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her dress. In that moment Agatha forgot everything that had happened as she locked eyes with her true love. But she couldn't forget one thing.

Her eyes moved to Sophie, sitting awkwardly on the bed behind them. Her face lit up when she saw Agatha looking at her.

She hopped up from the bed, already heading to the door, "So.. um.. should I tell everyone to stop setting up? You know... cause the wedding isn't happening today?" Sophie suggested timidly. Her eyes frantically searched the room, trying to look at anything except Tedros and Agatha.

The blonde girl reached for the door knob when a voice stopped her.

"No, I can tell them," Tedros offered. "I was going back down there anyway," he added, trying to make his case more convincing.

Sophie looked at him, knowing that he didn't have anything to do downstairs, but she stood aside as he was trying to be useful.

"Alright," she said as the boy reached for the handle. The King left the room swiftly, as Agatha got up and closed the door behind him.

Now it was just her and Sophie in the room. Once upon a time, that's all she had ever wanted.

Her and Sophie.

But now she was about to be the Queen of Camelot, and Sophie had fallen in love with Hort. Their lives were going in different directions and Agatha almost wished it could go back to how it used to be: she and Sophie, together in Gavaldon, no princes, no kingdoms to rule, and no magic.

"What are we going to do, Sophie?" Agatha found herself asking. She turned around to face her best friend.

"Well..." Sophie said vaguely in a quiet voice.

Agatha stared at her friend, waiting for her to elaborate. Instead, Sophie stole a tissue off the nightstand and wiped away the smeared mascara under her eyes.

"Well, what?" Agatha blurted when Sophie didn't explain. The blonde girl hurried towards her, seemingly pulling an eyelash curler out of nowhere.

"Well," she said impatiently. "It's what Merlin would have wanted, that's what Teddy said," Sophie coaxed, now putting a coat of mascara on her curled lashes.

"What would Merlin have wanted?" Agatha croaked, becoming very impatient with her.

"This," Sophie held up something. "To destroy it."

Agatha stared at the object in Sophie's hands and upon realizing what it was, took a step back.

"Why do you have that?" she spluttered as she reached her bony fingers for the item. But Sophie snatched it back before Agatha could grab it.

"I think I'll keep it until it's needed."

And with that, Sophie turned on her heel and out the door, leaving Agatha standing in the middle of the room, gaping.