The School For Good And Evil: The Gates Reopened

Chapter 7- New Faces

IRIS

Iris awoke in soft grass, surrounded by delicate flowers, each of them gently caressing her skin. The sun shone bright, the night cleared. She groaned and sat up slowly, hand to her head to settle the expected pain that wasn't there. She looked around and saw Amelia sitting beside her, flower petals laying in her hair. She looked like she'd just gotten up herself, based on the confusion, position she was in and the look on her face.

"If Belle was here, she'd be snickering at me for wearing black camo pj's in a pastel environment." Iris remarked, needy of something to talk about.

Hearing her friends' voice, Amelia snapped to attention and looked at her friend.

They sat in silence for a moment, then Amelia said; "Can you say something else like that? It helps me focus sometimes."

"Okay... ummm.... let me think.... Ooo, I know, those clouds last night were disgusting, I had cotton candy for dessert, too much of that makes me sick. Also that castle straight ahead looks like Barbie and the Queen's palace had a child."

Amelia giggled, too tired to let out a full laugh.

Iris looked around, and saw that the flowers were all beautiful shades of pastel, except for one small patch of them, that were a glorious, bright red. But these flowers weren't still, swaying in the wind like the others - they were leaning over, facing each other, the leaves on their stems like hands, reaching to cover the tip of their petals as if they were whispering.

Iris looked at a couple of them that were glancing at her clothes, but when they saw her looking they turned away as if they'd never glanced in her direction.

"Those flowers are weirdos" Iris said, still stretching and fully waking up. Amelia glanced at her oddly, as if confused by such a statement, but then she saw the whispering flowers too (some of them observing her bed hair), and shrugged, subtly agreeing.

She smiled, but then, just like Belle's in the bird's claws, that smile faded.

"But...what are we doing here? This is...the...School for Good...and we're...here?"

"Well, yeah. Where did you think we were, the back of a dump truck?" Iris said, sarcastically.

"You're beginning to sound like Ms. Angevin." Amelia chuckled

"Is that really a bad thing?" Iris asked. "Anyway, I'm sarcastic, she is just Ms. Angevin." Iris added.

"Fair point...but come on, Iris! We're laying in a field of talking flowers, surrounded by a moat with no way home, and sitting in front of the School for Good while Belle and Beatrix were just dropped into EVIL! Come ON! Show a little seriousness? Any at all?"

Iris shrugged. "That, too, is a fair point. Fine, what should we do next?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe address the freaking glowing flowers behind you?" Amelia suggested.

Iris turned and saw massive tulips as tall as her with missing stems, each their own pastel colour, glowing brightly, their buds closed.

"Ummm... maybe that's a good idea?" Iris stated, an almost questioning tone to her words, but before she could properly think about what she was seeing, the flowers' closed buds opened, revealing each flower to have a beautiful girl inside. The petals formed flat stairs, curved as if it were a slide for a newborn, and the girl inside each flower stepped onto the ground from their on-the-ground petals.

Iris immediately noticed something about these girls; they look unreal.

They had slim waists, delicate but beautiful bodies, luscious hair - long or short it looked perfect - and their faces were so beautiful, so animated, so...perfect, that Iris couldn't help but stare. Each of them looked more delicate than the soft flowers they'd emerged from, as beautiful as the school ahead of them, and more perfect than even Beatrix. They each wore a beautiful, pastel dress, and had a little crown above their head. As well as this, they each dragged out of their flower a lovely little suitcase, a box that looked so lovely that it would have been made by magic for it to have been possible. On each of these cases, on the very front the girls' name was carved into a golden plaque; Lily, Jessica, Reyna, Anna, Ruby... all of the names seemed so delicate and sweet that Iris thought they must have all been named by the same person, or at least families with similar attitudes to one another. As much as she hated to admit it, she did gag a little tiny, teensy weensy, small bit at just how sweet everything was. Like the inside of a unicorn's stomach after it went to a candy store (her words were more harsh than that, but you don't want the image inside your head).