A/N: Hey, guys! I know this book is on hiatus, but I wanted to release at least one more chapter since it's the holidays. Enjoy reading this chapter, there's a huge plot twist <3

Rhys Stiltskin's/The Weaver's POV

As the clock soon approached midnight, I knocked on Adelaide's door again. "Adelaide, it's me," I called out, seeing that the light was on under the door. "Open up!" Suddenly, her door swung open and I was met with Adelaide's tired face. "Oh shit, you look like crap."

"Shut up and come inside." She allowed me to come in, slamming the door. Her notebook was open on her bed, though pages were scattered across the dorm. Being disorganized was very unlike Adelaide Hearts. "I've been trying to figure out who's behind the three crimes, but it's all going to Hell!"

"Calm down," I told her, taking a seat on her chair. I held up an USB drive, a smirk growing on my face. "Guess who just uncoded three walls of complex code just for you. It's the day that Zulie dropped off the poison to kill Claudia on the 18th."

Her eyes grew wide. "Seriously?"

"Yup, am I the best or what? I didn't even watch the footage yet, I knew you'd want to do it with me." I plugged the USB into Adelaide's janky and old laptop, waiting for the video to load in. "I talked with Bianca today—she knows."

Adelaide narrowed her eyes. "About...?"

"Of course not, I'd never sell either of us like that." I had met Adelaide Hearts two years ago in our General Villainy class, which we both did fairly decently in. Adelaide was still fresh out of Wonderland, she needed someone who'd help her gain leverage and power. Like a game of cards, she explained. You never show them.

I had resources, she had the brains. We were each other's protection in this school, we would always be the villains. If anyone had a secret worth blackmailing or using to our upper hand, we'd do it. We were each other's ride or die. Of course, our lives were separate and Adelaide didn't want her friends to know. They would only see her as a ruthless queen if they knew they, she'd say.

"Bianca just knows about me being me."

"Clever wording, Rhys." She smacked the back of my head lightly as the video footage loaded. It was choppy and glitchy, but there was footage of Zulie carrying a package up to the entrance of EAH. Then Zulie checked her phone and left, just like she said she did. "Hhm, so Zulie was telling the truth. She didn't know that the drug she dropped off was going to be used for murder, she's cleared of our suspects."

"Wait..." I pointed at a shadowed figure on the screen. "Who's that?"

Adelaide's eyes widened. "That changes everything."

୨ৎ──♤♡♢♧──୨ৎ

Ruby Red's POV

Ruby couldn't sleep, she hadn't slept well in a while. Bea was out of the dorm, saying something about meeting Alex in the Student Lounge. Was it possible for someone to be so close and then immediately drift apart within the span of a few hours? Yeah, it seems like nothing ever went well for Ruby.

She rubbed her eyes raw and stood up, wandering to flip on the light-switch. Something didn't sit right with her, and she was determined to find out why. On Bea's desk, there was the Old Riddlish Dictionary that Alex was reading. No doubt that Bea had to pry it from Alex's hands to get it away from him. Ruby picked it up, flipping through the pages while seated on the floor. Claudia liked her Old Riddlish literature, though no one else in the Wonderlandian group appealed for it.

Ruby's fingers lingered on the pages with Alex's annotation, cross-referencing anything that he could have missed during Claudia's case. Each footnote was filled with Alex's scraggly handwriting, it almost felt like he was reading the dictionary with Ruby in the room.

As she went to the C section of the dictionary, Ruby paused. The Companion, she remembered. I wonder what the meaning is for it in the dictionary. She found the word, reading its definition. Suddenly, her heart dropped as she gasped. "Shit, shit," she muttered to herself, slamming the dictionary closed. She needed to tell someone. God, where was Alex when Ruby needed him?

Suddenly, Ruby had an idea.

୨ৎ──♤♡♢♧──୨ৎ

Adelaide's POV

Rhys and Adelaide ventured into the forest that was a part of Ever After High's campus. Rhys held a half-working flashlight while she followed the book map's directions to the Well of Wonders. "What makes you so sure that the Well is the answer for all of this?" Rhys asked.

"A gut feeling, don't question it."

"And are you sure that you shouldn't ask your friends for back-up?"

Adelaide averted her gaze, her lower lip trembling. "I don't need their help, they will only drag us down. They will only hurt themselves. It's better if they don't know anything else," she spoke gently. She didn't want to bother them, it was apparent they were dealing with a lot. "Normany is beyond destroyed that Hadie has died. Ruby and Alex have their own romantic problems to sort out. Camerlo's in jail and Jace has to help his boyfriend. Bianca is too feeble and nice for her own good. Matilda can't think properly, and she's still mourning Claudia's loss. AJ... He's been disappearing off to the hospital lately to visit Cressida. And Cadien, well, he'll always rely on himself only."

"So you're leaving them in the dark," Rhys said flatly.

"Don't say it like that," Adelaide mumbled, shaking her head. "I deal with my own shit. It's better to not get anyone else involved, this ends tonight." She glanced at Rhys, her gaze softening. "I shouldn't have let you come, this is going to be ugly."

"While I despise your guts," Rhys said simply, "you are also my only friend."

"So you're not going to leave me for dead?"

"You wish."

They arrived at the Well of Wonders, but there was a foul scent in the air. Adelaide closed the book map and took the flashlight from Rhys, shining it on the ground. Her face paled as she realized the grass was bloody. Fresh blood too. "Hold on, I think we've got another murder on our hands," she said, walking carefully. They approached the Well of Wonders, but there was a body slumped against the stone well.

Adelaide's throat caught. "It's Ruby." She stooped to the ground, viewing the girl's dead face. Pale, shell-shocked, and beady ghostly eyes. The Well was slick with Ruby's red blood, and her corpse was limp. She shone the light on Ruby's chest, spotting a bullet hole. "Ruby was shot with a gun."

Don't let your emotions cloud your judgement. Ruby's death meant nothing to her, Adelaide tried to convince herself, but it cut deep to her soul. More of her Wonderlandian friends were dying; Claudia, Hadie, and now Ruby. "We need to find the killer quickly, Rhys."

"Adelaide." Rhys' voice was hesitant. "There's another body."

"What?" She shone the flashlight in the other direction, another corpse not too far from where Ruby's body was. Adelaide and Rhys walked closer to investigate, only to stare at the back of Alex Liddell. There was a bloody bullet hole in Alex's head, it was likely the same gun that fired at Ruby was also his undoing. "Oh my Grimm, he's also dead...?"

"Double murders are common with lovers," Rhys replied, shaking his head.

"Ruby and Alex, both dead." Adelaide took a deep breath, grasping the flashlight. She remembered the time that she walked through the supposed murder with Cadien, and how they drew conclusions. "Let's pretend we're the killers who wanted Ruby and Alex dead, what's going on in our head?"

Rhys glanced back at Ruby. "Judging by the placement of the bullet, the killer planned to kill Ruby, but Alex was collateral damage. Maybe Ruby stumbled upon the wrong thing, so she went to confront the murderer. Wrong move, because the killer must have expected Ruby all along."

"So they shoot her, but plans change when Alex comes," Adelaide said, the perspective building up in her mind. "Alex sees the Companion committing the crime and tries to run away, so the culprit has no choice but to murder him too. That's why he was shot in the back of the head and we found him face-down—he was trying to escape." She swallowed hard, unable to bring herself to look at Alex's dead body. The pain of loss was too severe.

Suddenly, there was the sound of clapping behind them. A hollow laugh echoed in the foggy night, a gun emerging from the shadows. "I have to hand it to you, Addie, you did a pretty fucking good job at figuring it all out." A face revealed itself from the dark. "I can see why you're the next Queen of Hearts." The gun cocked and Adelaide glared.

"Put away the gun, Beatrice."