Red School Redux

Prologue

Iris Cygnet had no time to be idle. As the new queen of Norta, her top priority was wrangling the king to behavior, a task he took great joy in thwarting. Her stomach still heaved at the building he burned, the home of his obsession and the woman he wished she were.

Mare Barrow. The name held no rage, no terror, no jealous nibbling for a man she'd rather dig the grave of. She was an obstacle, true, but a curious one.

Perhaps that is what drew her to the pond. A corner of peace, ripples lapping at the edge like a child in the waves. Mud squelched between her toes, and she laughed. Oh, to be a child again! A princess unbound by the demands of the throne.

What is it you search for?

She jolted, chafing at a voice which did not exist outside her own head. Had Maven poisoned her drink?

We are no poison, Princess.

We. The voice had friends now. Friends which saw fit to disrespect her title. "I am a queen."

Not by choice.

"Who are you?" No body appeared, no shadow in the bushes. Perhaps a Merandus saw fit to meddle in her mind. "Where are you?"

At your feet, Princess.

She almost corrected them again, only to realize she'd waded into the water. Fish swirled at her ankles, marble white and shimmering. Their mouths opened and closed as one, tails moving in tandem, colors pulsing as the voice spoke once more. We await your command.

No.

Your wish.

Iris laughed. An army of fish, little more than two dozen. All without teeth, without fang, without venom an Animos might make use of. They couldn't conquer this pond for her, let alone all of Norta. But it was sweet of them to offer.

We can conquer him. An image draped itself over the pond, a swarm of fish charging into battle and sweeping Maven away. Her fingers stretched in the corner, a crown dangling betwixt them. You will be safe from him, should you only wish.

Her throat bobbed. To see Mother again, to go home, to rid herself of a man fast growing to a terror. An offer too tempting to resist.

The pond bubbled, mud creeping from her toes to the skin above them. Fish writhed beneath her, a rumble of pebbles and liquid. Iris flailed, but the mud held fast. She was definitely seeing things. And those things sought to kill her.

Be still, Princess.

Iris Cygnet had only been commanded by a handful of people in her life, and she was not about to let a school of fish be one of them. Nor did she intend to die before dragging Maven to an early grave. She reached for a vine, teeth grit.

No.

Let us help you.

A fish leaped from the water, attaching to her leg, sucking deeper as she tried to swat it away. Another clung to her arm, another to her back. They had no teeth, no venom, no pain to force her to do their bidding. Yet they weighed her down, an endless mass of fins and fury, whispering that this was her wish, their blessing, a gift sent by the gods she ought not to scorn.

Liars, all of them. She drew upon the water to save her, to tear them away and leave nothing but blood and scales. But the water refused to listen as she buckled under their weight.

Sleep, Princess.

Her eyes fluttered shut, no matter how she tried to pry them open. Water rushed in her ears, drowning out the fish as they chorused in triumph. We will save you from your fate.

She tried to scream.

There were only bubbles.

On the other side of the pond, Agatha sighed. The sanctuary of Merlin's hat had begun to feel more like a prison, however fragrant the meadows and verdant the trees. It didn't matter how sweet they seemed: they would whither to thorns if the outside world fell. An inevitability, if Sophie didn't destroy the ring.

She stretched a finger in the water, fins swirling in her wake. Colors shimmered atop like oil-streaked rain, a hallucination by any other name. Agatha knew better. Wish Fish were readers of the soul, reflections of desires too strong to contain. They spoke in images, shapes and color, language lost in pursuit of a deeper strain of magic.

"Do you remember," she murmured. "What it was to be human?"

The fish paused. Bubbles rose the surface, leaving ripples and the faint sheen of something more. That more stirred, clouding the water and the tails wagging beneath it. She held her breath.

Her first day of school had been a Wish Fish lesson, one which ended in her setting the fish free. The bottom third of students were assigned animal forms for life. Perhaps this girl could have a second chance.

The water stilled. Murky. Confused.

"It's been too long." Her shoulders sagged. "You can't go back."

What she wouldn't give to have held a girl in her arms, freed of the fins which marked her a failure. To deal with someone else's problems instead of her own.

Is that your wish, Princess?

She looked down, startled. The fish spoke as one, the light cheer of a girl long lost. There was no sadness, no resignation. Only acceptance.

We can bring one to you. Fish jumped from the water, wiggling at her feet. A problem to solve.

Agatha hesitated. "A quick one?"

One within your power. The water rippled, colors sliding into focus. Upon it stood a girl no older than nineteen, a vision of bronze skin and black hair as she glared at the boy beside her. A problem of another realm, far from this one's troubles.

One word, and you may grant her wish.

"That boy." She poked the image, and he snarled. "Does he hold her captive?"

They are married, but not happy. The image shifted to another girl, brown as the last, but with hair the color of cinnamon. The boy longs for another, and the girl longs for home.

"So he should marry another, she should leave, and I want to get out of here." Agatha flicked a hand in the water, only to yelp. "Did you just shock me?"

The girl smirked before disappearing. The Wish Fish stirred in contemplation, pulsing as footsteps echoed in the clearing. A hand settled on her shoulder, Tedros peering over it. "Have you seen Sophie?"

"Still asleep, I imagine." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Doesn't like having dark circles."

He frowned. "I checked. She isn't there."

Agatha lurched to her feet, scanning the clearing and finding no answer. "Do you think she–"

He nodded.

"Then we have to save her." She grabbed his hand. "If the School Master–"

Tedros soured. "I doubt that's necessary."

"What do you–" Her stomach turned. "You think she left."

"She wouldn't destroy the ring."

The ring which kept their story open, which made every day darker as the sun lost its shine. A winter eternal, until it set for good. Agatha still had trouble processing it. "She wants her happy ending."

Agatha waited for Tedros to argue, to insist Sophie's ending lay with them, but his eyes only widened. He grabbed her and threw her to the ground, protests muffled by his body pressed against hers. "What are you–"

Then she heard it. Water rushing like a hurricane, wrapping around her feet and pulling her to its depths. Tedros held her hand, pulling, but his feet were not enough to anchor him to the ground. She tried to scream.

There was only darkness.