Malevolence (A School for Good and Evil Fanfic)

Chapter 7

The walk to the seamstress was long and awkward. Anadil didn't speak to her the entire way, and though she'd claimed that she wasn't irritated with Hester, she found that hard to believe given the way she was pointedly looking at the wall. Hester wanted to continue the conversation they'd started upstairs, to ask why exactly the baroness 'had it out for her,' if not for being rude and a filthy hooligan, as she was sure the baroness wouldn't hesitate to say. But it didn't seem safe to have that conversation in the middle of the hall, nor did Hester think that Anadil would be particularly open about answering.

The seamstress, it turned out, was an Evil fairy, not dissimilar to the fairies who used to haunt the School for Good. She was tiny and had sharp teeth, and her black eyes seemed to bore into Hester's as she and Anadil walked into the room.

"Kill me now," groaned Hester when she noticed that the fairy's hands were full of tiny pins. The baroness was already there too, clad in one of her impeccable gowns. She watched Anadil with an attempt at a motherly smile, then sized up Hester like a piece of raw meat. Hester squirmed under her gaze, which lasted several seconds too long, until she couldn't stand it anymore. "What are you looking at?" she snarled, moving as far away from the baroness as she could.

"Just trying to figure out how we should present you for the gala," the baroness replied in an infuriatingly calm voice. "Should we try to pass you off as harmless, as I'm sure you really are behind that forcibly tough exterior? Perhaps some layers of tulle, some light egg yellow to bring out those warm tones in your skin?"

"I am not wearing tulle," Hester snapped.

"Aw, the little puppy learned to bark," said the baroness mockingly. "I was only joking, anyhow." She stalked around Hester like a tiger, the fairy hovering by her shoulder in anticipation of instructions. "Though it would amuse me to present you as a hapless idiot, the truth is that many in the woods know of you from storybooks and have fallen for your nasty but fiercely loyal persona. They'll expect you to look sharp as a blade, like you could tear out their throats at any moment. I personally doubt you could tear anyone's throat out, but it's about aesthetics, isn't it?"

"Just try me," Hester muttered, then remembered Anadil's warning about the baroness wanting to off her and slammed her mouth shut. The baroness waved her hand at the fairy, who began swarming Hester while conjuring up different fabrics. It took every bit of Hester's willpower not to smack the fairy out of the sky, or, as her most sadistic thoughts whispered, grab it and strangle it to death. She was just about to give into these primal urges when she noticed Anadil's expression. She looked like she was fighting back a laugh, her pursed lips unable to hide the turned up corners of her mouth. Hester felt her own expression soften. She hadn't seen Anadil this content since before they'd gotten themselves into this mess. But before long, Anadil was swept into her mother's orbit, the baroness's voice moving fast as she talked about colors, fabrics, and 'making her mother proud.'

As Hester was distracted by the mother-daughter duo, the fairy stabbed her with a pin. She instinctively tried to hit it away, but it dodged her hand, shaking its tiny head.

Eventually, Dot and Agatha joined the fun. Dot, despite the fact that they were in the lair of an evil enchantress, seemed delighted to help design a look for the gala. However, the baroness didn't seem to care about her in the least, her usefulness apparently overshadowed by the asset of having a queen in the room. The fairy abandoned Hester, leaving her with a measuring tape pinned around her waist, and rushed over to Agatha, examining her up and down.

"A tad sallow," she jingled, her voice high and nasally. "Not much to work with, but I'm sure I can make you look like the queen that you are!" Agatha rolled her eyes. "Will you promise to recommend me to your benefactors and fellow princesses? I'll grab you my business card, your majesty!" The magnitude of Agatha's eyeroll increased exponentially as the fairy flew away.