Beauty that lies Within

Chapter 8 - The School for Good

"Hurry Agatha, hurry!" Kiko shouted excitedly, tugging Agatha forward as she practically sprinted to the gates. Agatha laughed, the girls' two arms still linked meaning Kiko was unable to get that far ahead of her. Still nonetheless, Agatha quickened her pace - Kiko slowed down her's - so they matched the same pace as the other. They strolled happily up to the School for Good, the Gates tantalisingly close within reach.

Kiko and Agatha gasped in awe (for Kiko, it was a lot ooooooohing and ahhhhhhhing much to Agatha's amusement) at the sight before them.

Mirrored in an arch, the Golden Gates read:

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD ENLIGHTENMENT AND ENCHANTMENT.

Kiko squealed, "Look! We're really here, Aggie - the School for Good! Ahhhhh!!" Agatha almost visibly flinched. Aggie. Somebody that wasn't Sophie had called her that. It almost sounded... wrong.

That was when Agatha knew that she needed to make the switch to the other school with Sophie immediately - before she got attached and wanted to stay. Because that was Evil, right? To steal someone else's happiness for your own selfish needs and wants. No, she couldn't get attached.

And the first step to that was physically unattaching herself from Kiko, who's arm was still linked with hers.

With a breaking heart, Agatha realised that this meant she couldn't be friends with Kiko, the sweetest girl she had ever met that made her laugh the most she had in under a matter of minutes. She had to unattach herself from everything.

Tears slipped out of Agatha's eyes and she bowed her head, hiding behind her raven black hair.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kiko said, noticing immediately that something was wrong with the person she was linked arms with. Agatha choked out a sob, Kiko's kind, sweet, Good concern making this all the worse. At least Kiko deserved to be here. She drew out a quiet, shaky but firm sigh.

"I'm so sorry, Kiko." Agatha said quietly, eyes filling with tears. "But I can't be friends with you. I can't get attached to this place - or anyone here." Then, Agatha sobbed, unlinking arms with Kiko before she could protest or realise what was going on and ran ahead, into the School for Good.

It broke Agatha's heart to do this but she had to - for Sophie. 

Moving forward, Agatha glanced up at the frosted castle double doors, emblazoned with two white swans, one on each side. But as the doors opened and fairies herded the girls into a tight, mirrored corridor, the line came to a halt and a group of girls circled Agatha like sharks.

They stared at her for a moment, as if expecting her to whip off a disguise and reveal a princess underneath. Agatha tried to meet their stares but then paused at her reflection in the thousands of mirrors all around the walls. She could see why they would stare: her clothes were good enough reason to. Ripped and torn beyond repair, face slightly grubby she looked more like a maid who walked through the Woods and got preyed on by wolves - or her clothes did anyways. 

Agatha didn't feel confident - it had always been Sophie doing the talking, Sophie who stepped forward first, Sophie who started the conversation, Sophie who had been the natural at socialising. Sophie, Sophie, Sophie. Agatha's heart quickened. Stick to the plan. Agatha thought, eyes darting to the floor and glueing themselves there. Get Sophie here, ASAP - because Agatha couldn't do this at all.

A few fairies buzzed to get the mass moving, but most just perched on the girls' shoulders and watched. However, Agatha's own team of fairies came to her unsaid defence, laying on her shoulders. Agatha's eyes almost filled with tears again. At least I have some fairies on my side. The boy fairy flew just in front of Agatha and stood on on her arm near the crook of her elbow and pulled faces at the others.