The Third Reader - The School for Good and Evil

9) One Neither

"The Trial by Tale."

Evelynn glanced up at Pollux.

"A battle in the woods, to see who is the true student worthy of a fairytale. Good and evil will be sent into the forest to battle, you will each have a white flag to drop on the floor if you face anything that might kill you, this will slowly eliminate students until there's only a few or one left. They will be declared the winner/winners."

Evelynn sighed, another one of the school's challenges that had the potential to kill its own students. She hadn't gotten over what had happened with Tedros and Sophie, what was still happening. Every time she saw the two her stomach churned and she forced herself to look away. She wished she had never been brought to the school in the first place, wondered why the school master had taken three instead of two. Were Sophie and Agatha not enough? Agatha that hid how good she really was, and Sophie that couldn't accept how evil she was?

"Evelynn." Pollux snapped, his pink nose in the air.

"Yes sir?"

"Can you pay attention please? Your talent won't save you in this trial, how is a purple me going to help you?" The dog sniggered.

Evelynn couldn't be bothered to explain it wasn't just the professor she could become, but anything. Her talent could actually help her win the tournament easily, "sorry."

"That reminds me," Pollux continued, "mogrifying is permitted, but from what I've heard from other teachers you, Lynn, are the only student that can't do it."

The class fell into complete silence at the professor's lack of knowledge.

"I haven't tried." Evelynn said, noticing Agatha watching her.

"And why not?"

"It's not just you I can replicate, I can become anything I visualise in my head, if it's an animal of course. So really, there's no need for me to mogrify because why should I lose my clothes when I don't need to?"

Pollux blinked, the class looked bored of hearing about Evelynn's talent yet again, some of them annoyed they didn't have one like it.

"For the experience?! Detention for cheek Lynn!"

Evelynn gaped at the mean dog, she had just explained to him why she had no need to mogrify and he gave her a detention?! She groaned and leaned back into her chair.

I wish I was never taken.

I wish I was never taken.

I wish I was never taken.

The chair felt as if it had turned to liquid, Evelynn snapped her eyes open, shocked.

The classroom was gone, and before her stood a hooded figure, grey robes sweeping on creaky floorboards.

The School Master.

"You wish you were never taken huh?"

It was the first time she had heard his voice, and it sounded younger than she had expected.

"W-What? How?" Evelynn stuttered, crawling backwards away from him.

"Agatha heard your wish darling, that's her talent, she grants wishes. Now you're back here."

He stepped closer to her, leaning down and cupping her face with white ice-cold hands. They looked strangely...

Young.

"You're a pretty little thing aren't you?"

Evelynn ripped her face from his grasp, but she could still feel where he had touched her, the cold prickling her skin. The confusion was over, the brother that had survived, was definitely evil.