The School for Good and Evil: Another Story

8~Field Trip

After Professor Dovey's lecture on the three keys of Good Deeds all of the students headed out towards the Blue Forest. Group 5 congregated around Charlotte who looked down upon her sixteen students with arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

"Today we'll be taking the Flowergrounds," she held up seventeen Flowerground tickets. "Follow me."

The students followed her to a blue pumpkin patch and she handed out the tickets to her students who one by one disappeared into the pumpkins. Rose took his ticket and kneeled down beside a pumpkin and pulled the top off. A caterpillar popped out and spilled his memorized lines before Rose was yanked into it.

The sixteen students and the centaur were carried along the HIBISCUS LINE while little adorable bluebirds flew about offering corn muffins and raspberry punch, which the students eagerly accepted.

Rose felt his body lifted and then he bloomed out of the cold ground with the rest of the students and Charlotte. They gathered around the centaur (shivering) who began teaching, "Welcome to the Garden of Good and Evil," she lit a few fires around the students as they huddled together. "Here is where everyone ends up, good or evil." Everyone glanced at the hooded figure finishing a hole in the hard ground. He grabbed an iron coffin built from swords and placed it into the hole. "In there is Jeffry, the Iron Prince. Wretchedly spoiled and could hardly survive without his mother. Honestly, it reminds me a tad bit of Aric.

"Now, for today's challenge we will be working with survival. Since you haven't been unlocked for magic we shall be working on surviving without it. Today, top marks will go to those who catch and eat the most meerworms. You'll will be working in teams of two. Pick your partner and dig in. Literally."

All of the Evers gagged at the thought. The Nevers grinned, quickly divided into their teams of two, and began digging. The Evers realized they were going to fall behind and on a competitive impulse began forming teams. Richard and Peter joined forces. Lily asked Cedric if he would partner with her, who accepted. Mia snagged Julie. Rose looked around, frantic to find a partner. He whirled around and came face-to-face with Raven.

"Most already have a partner. Would you mind being a team with me? You will help eat the worms, right?"

Rose nodded, "Let's get a bit dirty, shall we?"

Raven led Rose to a grave site and the two started digging. With so much digging, with so many holes, Rose thought there should have been more. But to the boys' disappointment they had only snagged and gagged down four worms (two each) after digging twenty-two holes.

Raven started to dig franticly when Rose grabbed him and led him to a willow tree at the edge of the garden. Rose knelt down and the ground beneath began to wriggle and worms started to squirm out of the ground. Raven watched in wonder as Rose started grabbing at them and shoving them in his mouth.

Mouth still full, he covered over it with his hand and asked, "Care to help?"

Raven's gaping mouth clamped shut on a handful of worms he scooped up.

Time ticked by and the students shoved dirty worms into their faces until Charlotte called everyone back. Gathered around her, still huddled in teams, Charlotte waved a hand over the students and numbers appeared over their heads depicting the number of worms each one had consumed. Over Hawthorn a crisp number fifty-seven and over her partner, Corrin, a number forty-nine. Mia had the lowest number, an eleven, but Julie helped make up for some difference with her fifty-six, though Julie looked like she might throw up her worms at any moment. Cedric and Lily held one hundred and nine between them. Then Charlotte got to Rose and Raven with a firm number seventy-two over Rose and a sixty-five over Raven. They had easily won the challenge, to the Nevers' dismay and Evers' intrigue. Mia commented, "Of course they did fine. They're boys. They eat everything."

Charlotte led them back to the Flowergrounds and they bounced back to the Blue Forest. Upon blooming back in the forest, Lily, Mia and Julie raced back to the castle. Raven slowed to walk with Rose, and urged Rose to stay behind a little, who impatiently did. Rose worried about being late for his session with Professor Espada.

"Rose, how did you get those worms out of the ground? Our magic won't be unlocked until next week."

Rose stopped and Raven stopped with him. He reached up towards a dogwood tree and the branches bent towards him and the leaves wrapped around his fingers and blossoms fell in a shower over him, "I've always had a way with plants. The willow back at the Garden just wanted to help. Its roots scared up the worms for us." The tree bent over and hugged Rose towards its trunk and Rose hugged it back.

Raven gaped up at the tree that was embracing Rose. Rose let go, leaving a hand on the trunk. Looking up he said, "I love it when the plants are happy."

"Happy?"

Rose looked at Raven, "A lot of these plants are Morgrifs; past students of the school." He let out a sigh, "I wish I could make wishes true. Diane is happy here, but William, the willow at the Garden, is miserable. He feels like a failure since the students he graduated with are dead."

"You talked to the willow?"

"Not exactly. It's more like feeling what they need to say."

Raven looked up at the tree again, "And William feels like a failure? Why?"

"His side lost. He graduated with Cinderella's mother. A witch poisoned all of the water around their cottage and her mother fell ill from it. William did his best to dry up the poison, but it was too late to save Cinderella's mother, but her father and Cinderella herself were safe. William watched over Cinderella with the absence of her mother. Cinderella used to kneel by him at times for comfort; it's where Cinderella met her Fairy Godmother.

"Once Cinderella was in her own fairy tale and her wicked stepmother was defeated she had William moved to the Garden to watch over her stepsisters. He's been there since just standing there over their graves and it saddens him to know that Cinderella is awaiting her burial."

Rose stroked the tree Diane. Raven spoke, "Well, it was certainly a pleasure working with you, Rose. Well, eating the worms wasn't incredibly fun, but thanks for working with me."

Rose nodded, "Of course." Raven held out a hand to shake Rose's hand, which Rose took. The boys smiled at each other, then paused and looked at their hands. They were both their left hand. Rose and Raven gaped at each other, "You're left-handed?" They both nodded.

Worry filled Rose's face as he remembered where he was supposed to be right now, "I need to go!" He ripped his hand away from Raven's and ran for the castle. "I'm late! I'm sorry!"

Raven watched as the strange boy ran for the castle then headed there himself. What could Rose be late for? Dinner? Was he that excited to eat?

Rose ran into the sparing room and found Professor Espada glowering at him, "You are late."

"I know. I am sorry. And I really do appreciate these lessons, honest."

"If you appreciate them, you would be on time." He pulled a face, "Ugh, field trip day? Your breath smells like meerworms. Never mind, grab a sword."

Rose bit his bottom lip and hesitantly took a thin sword with his left hand.

"Great, another one. Use your right hand, please. We'll train them both, but knowing how to use your right hand will be critical and since it won't be used to the work, we'll work with it more."

Rose put the sword unsteadily into his right hand and lessons began.