Phoenix looked left and right before hurrying to Agatha’s room and knocking on the door. Agatha opened it and looked surprised to see her. Phoenix held a finger to her lips and made words of fire appear in the air.
Dovey. Sewers. Now.
Agatha looked surprised. Phoenix peered past her to see the room void of Sophie. Seems the plan had already been set into motion. Phoenix hurried with Agatha down to the sewers where two shadowed figures met them.
“Faster than expected.” Lady Lesso whispered. “You can keep watch, Phoenix?”
“Yes.” Phoenix nodded and hurried off once more. Agatha’s eyes widened, remembering the phoenix feather all the way back when she and Sophie first arrived. Phoenix wasn’t just the witches’ spy, she was a spy for the former deans.
“Yuba has told us everything,” Professor Dovey said, huddling with Lady Lesso in the dark, misty sewer tunnels as water from the lake roared past, muffling her voice. “And we are appalled, revolted, and flabbergasted at the inanity of such a ridiculous plan—”
Agatha glued her eyes down, reddening.
“—but also quite impressed.”
Agatha gawked up at her smiling teachers. “What?”
“Anything that involves tormenting that flower-scented ninny earns a gold star in my book,” Lady Lesso drawled.
Professor Dovey ignored her colleague. “Agatha, you could have sacrificed your friend to stay here forever with your prince. You could have kissed Tedros and protected your own life. Instead, you chose to protect Sophie’s from him, even knowing her symptoms,” she said. “Only when you write ‘The End’ with Sophie will Tedros realize he should have trusted you.”
“The prince’s humbling lesson will spread far and wide,” Professor Dovey went on, “and Lady Lesso and I believe it a lesson powerful enough to bring Boys and Girls back together. The correct ending to your story, after all. And all we need is for Sophie to bring back that pen so you two can write it.”
Agatha quickly nodded relief—only to remember a bigger problem. “But how will we cover for her!”
“Yuba’s too good a teacher to leave that in doubt,” Professor Dovey said, glancing back down the tunnel. “Seeing your places are both guaranteed for the Trial team, he sent word to the Dean as Helga, asking to personally train you in the Blue Forest for the remaining three days, assuring her it will increase your chances of victory over the boys.”
Agatha’s eyes bulged. “And?”
“She’s rather surprisingly agreed, provided you’re both ready to compete on Trial eve. She thinks you’re both with Helga as of this morning.”
“That solves everything!” Agatha gushed with relief—
“Not quite,” Lady Lesso snapped, rushing sewer water flecking her gown. “There still remains the question of where Sophie’s symptoms have gone.”
“She said they were conjured by someone else—” Agatha defended.
“Indeed,” said Lady Lesso. “But a witch’s symptoms cannot be conjured, unless by magic far more formidable than ours. So there’re two possibilities. First, that Sophie is lying about forgiving your wish for Tedros, and you’ve, in fact, sent a deadly witch to your prince.”
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Fire Princess
FanfictionYears ago, once her fairytale had ended, Rapunzel married a prince who's entire family possessed the powers of phoenixes. That same power was passed onto her children. This is the story of her daughter, Phoenix of Firebirch, who attends the School f...
