Purely Wicked (discontinued)

Chapter 09|| Wish Fish

An hour before, Tedros had decided on a swim. By now, the ranks for the first two classes were up on the Groom Room doors, with the prince and Sophie tied for first. Inside, the girls' Groom Room resembled a medieval spa, with three aromatic bath pools ("Hot," "Cold," and "Just Right"), a Little Match Girl sauna, three Rose Red makeup stations, a Cinderella-themed pedicure corner, and a waterfall shower built into a Little Mermaid lagoon. The boys' Groom Rooms focused more on fitness, with a Midas Gold sweat lodge, a peasant-themed tanning room, and a gymnasium with Norse hammers, mud wrestling pit, saltwater lap pool, and full array of Turkish baths.

After Chivalry and Grooming, Tedros took advantage of the break before Swordplay to test out the pool. But just as he swam his last lap, he noticed Sophie—and the seven girls who now followed her incessantly—chastising the girls and trying to get them to move along.

Tedros grinned to himself. Here was a girl who saw more than his looks. Who saw more than King Arthur's son. Who cared about his thoughts, his hopes, his fears. One night and he had already shared so much with his dream girl than anyone in his entire life.

With another dimpled smile, he threw open the door to greet Sophie and her followers, breeches dripping, swan glittering on bare chest.

"Hello Tedros. Did you enjoy your little swim?" Sophie questioned, mischief painted across her lovely face.

Tedros ran his fingers through his hair and water droplets bounced off into his shoulders causing a few of the girls to softly swoon before he replied.

"It was indeed invigorating to say the least."

"Well I'm sure you'll recover shortly." Sophie said, a smile gracing her soft features.

"I'm sure I will." Tedros uttered before leaning down close to Sophie, his golden hair brushing her forehead. He softly kissed Sophie's forehead and grinned just before a buzzing was heard and the fairy patrol burst in, hurrying the girls on, squinting their eyes at Tedros judgementally, the boy clinging to his towel tightly.

The prince caught the eye of Sophie as she was hussled forward to her next class and she blew him a kiss, which he pretended to catch in his fist which made her giggle.

💘

Animal Communication, taught by Princess Uma, took place on the lakeside banks of Halfway Bay. For the third time that day, Sophie arrived to find a class was Girls Only. Surely the School for Evil didn't see the need to decide what was a "Boy" skill or "Girl" skill. But here in the Good Towers, the boys went off to fight with swords while girls had to learn dog barks and owl hoots. No wonder princesses were so impotent in fairy tales, she thought. If all they could do was smile, stand straight, and speak to squirrels, then what choice did they have but to wait for a boy to rescue them?

Princess Uma looked far too young to be a teacher. Nestled in prim grass, backlit by lake shimmer, she sat very still, hands folded in her pink dress, with black hair to her waist, olive skin, almond-shaped eyes, and crimson lips pursed in a tight O. When she did speak, it was in a giggly whisper, but she couldn't make it through a full sentence. Every few words, she's stop to listen to a distant fox or dove and respond with her own giddy howl or chirp. When she realised she had a whole class staring at her, she cupped her hands over her face.

"Oops!" she tee-heed. "I have too many friends!"

Sophie couldn't tell if she was nervous or giddy.

"Evil has many weapons on its side," said Princess Uma, finally settling down. "Poisons, plagues, curses, hexes, henchmen, and black, black magic. But you have animals!"

Sophie raised an eyebrow. When faced with an axe-wielding henchmen, she would be sure to bring a butterfly. Judging by the others' faces, she wasn't the only one unconvinced. Princess Uma noticed. The teacher unleashed a piercing whistle and a barrage of barks, bays, neighs, and roars blasted from the Woods Beyond the schools. The girls plugged their ears in shock.