Lyric Seabrooke's POV

Standing outside of EAH, Lyric looked up at the moon. It was distorted, covered by the inky black sky that Nik had described. "How in the world are we going to get to the Top of the World?" she asked Winter before remembering he was mute. "Never mind."

He pointed at a location on the map that Raven held in her hands. "I think he's trying to say that near this location is where it's cold enough for that blizzard that Winter mentioned," Raven translated. "Then it's smooth sailing to the Snow Queen's palace. Well, hopefully."

"How will we get to that location though?" Luka asked, squinting at the map. Lyric disliked Luka, he was just so... bleh. Constantly getting into his mischievous pranks and cheating on exams—which Lyric considered an academic crime—was enough for Lyric to hate him. Plus, who the hex starts a riot in the boys washroom? Lyric had a whole string of last year's tales that involved Luka. What happens in Ever After High stays in Ever After High.

Just above them were two ravens fittingly enough, perched on a streetlamp. Luka rolled his eyes, jerking a thumb towards the birds. "I don't suppose you can pull a Cinderella and turn those birds into a carriage, huh?"

Raven gasped. "Luka, you're a genius!" Stretching out her hand, she muttered enchantments under her breath, and the ravens started to grow in size. Lyric's jaw dropped as the ravens flew to the ground, the size of a car.

Furthermore, they started to talk....?

"Corbin, you're finally taller than ya cousin," the first bird spoke teasingly, flapping its black-feathered wings. Lyric and Luka exchanged glances of disbelief. So Raven really did pull a Cinderella... Well, more like Fairy Godmother, but same thing.

"Aye, shut up, Crowley," the other raven, Corbin, replied. "This is why I'm mum's fav."

"Oh, you little son of a bird—"

"Ahem, excuse me," Raven piped up, gaining both of the ravens' attention. Raven clasped her hands awkwardly, clearing her throat. "My friends and I are in need of a ride to this area." She stepped forward and pointed at the blizzard location on the worn map. "Do you think you could assist us?"

"What's in it for us?" Corbin asked suspiciously.

"You don't get to be a bastard, that's one," Luka snorted.

"Hey! Watch your mouth, buddy," the bird barked back. "You don't seem like a saint either."

I can't believe Luka's actually fighting with a freaking bird, Lyric thought as if it was above her. Lyric stepped between them before either of them could slit each others' throats. "Look, we don't mean any trouble. Here's a deal, if you fly us to wherever we want, then Raven can keep you in your current state. I mean, don't you want to be taller than your cousin?" she asked pointedly.

Crowley laughed. "She got you there."

Cobin scowled. "Fine, hop on, kids." Winter and Raven climbed onto Cobin's back while Lyric looked uncertainly at Crowley. Finally, she relented and climbed onto Crowley, nested on her feathery back whilst Luka joined her. How do you drive a bird? That was a question that Lyric thought she'd have to ask herself. Without warning, Crowley took off, making Lyric lurch forward. She was fish out of the water; not out of the sky for Grimm's sake. The sudden change of air pressure squeezed Lyric's lunges as they soared higher and higher. "Maybe you should slow down!" she shouted.

"What?" Crowley's voice echoed. "I can't hear you—"

"Slow down!"

"You don't have to scream so loudly, you know?" Luka said from behind her, annoyed.

Lyric whipped her head around, glaring. "Say that again and let's see if a piece of wood can survive a fall from this height."

"Let's see if a fish can do the same," he shot back.

"I will personally throw you off right now."

"Not if I do it first—"

"Shut up!" Raven's voice called out. Lyric and Luka glared at each other with something that said 'This isn't over' hanging between them. She rolled her eyes and turned around, facing the sky. After reaching a mid-high altitude, Crowley cruised alongside Cobin at a steady pace. Passing through the clouds, she finally realized how awful it was. There was black ink everywhere in the sky, looking like a leakage as this Nadine the Narrator person had described.

"Nadine said she had to change the story, didn't she?" Lyric asked.

"Yeah, but I don't see how this will help us," Raven said.

Luka snorted. "Can we really trust Nadine? I can't tell if she's screwing with us or not with the whole Narrator shit. She literally told us—well, told Ladeline, more correctly—that she spilled ink on this 'book' or 'our world' and caused this big mess by mistake. If her intentions aren't evil, then they're clumsy."

"Well, we'll have to trust her word," Raven said, "it's our only choice."

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Jameson Hood's POV

"What do you mean we're lost?! You're Jameson fucking 'Red Cap' Hood!" Essie said.

James was a bit embarrassed himself, actually. "It's been a while since I explored the Dark Forest and visited my grandmother," he allowed. Holding a map, he looked around for any landmarks, but to no avail. "I don't understand! We're on the right path, how can we not be at Hood Hollow yet?"

"Hex, you're the next Red Riding Hood, isn't it your job?" Essie asked.

James' cheeks reddened. "Respectfully; shut up, Essie."

"Could we ask for directions?" Joy questioned.

Ana laughed mirthlessly. "In the Dark Forest? Joy, we're going to get eaten alive if we ask for directions. By the way, who would we ask?" With those fruitless attempts, James furled up the map and stuffed it in his pockets. He trekked a bit further, before spotting a woman behind some bushes.

Being too naive, James hesitated before ultimately asking the lady for help. "Excuse me, miss, but my friends and I are lost," he said, smiling curiously at the old woman.

She was short and chubby, squinting her eyes at James. She straightened, smiling serenely, as everyone joined James. "Aren't you a sweet boy?" the old woman crooned.

Essie nudged James. "Uhm, strange danger?" she hissed in his ear.

"Well, where are you going?" the woman asked loudly, interrupting Essie.

"To Hood Hollow," James replied positively. He could hear his teammates groan and curse his name. What? James thought. This stranger is being so kind to us... "What's your name, miss?"

The old woman was amused. "You can call me Madam Witch. If it's Hood Hollow you seek then you should follow me. I was just going to pay a visit there," she said gleefully. A sweetheart, James thought as Madam Witch latched onto his arm. "Let's go."

"Excuse me," Nik said politely, a strained smile on his face. "We're okay, we don't need help."

"We were just on our way," Joy added. James looked at him oddly, wondering why they were being so strange in front of Madam Witch. What are you doing, Joy mouthed to James, eyes wide.

"We should go. Definitely, like, right now," Ana said pointedly.

"I insist," Madam Witch cackled.

"So do we," Essie said, glaring at Madam Witch. Stepping in front of everyone, she crossed her arms across her chest. She shot a nasty look at James that told him to keep his mouth shut. "Look, Madam Witch, we mean no harm, but there's no way we can tell if you have good or bad intentions with us. So, we best be on our way."

Madam Witch's steel gaze landed on Essie. "And what will you do about it," she asked icily.

"Oh, you don't want to know what I'll do to hurt you," Essie laughed coldly. "And I insist."

James' heart skipped a beat as silence confounded them. Suddenly, a grin spread across Madam Witch's face as she slowly clapped. "Congrats," the old lady said, "you passed my test." What test? James thought as the others mumbled in confusion. "Oh my Grimm, young lady, you should be the next Gretel.

"Hold on," Ana said, widening her eyes, "who are you really?"

"Candice Witch. Also known as the..."

"Candy Witch," Joy gasped, horror-struck.

"Oh, don't worry, I don't actually boil and then eat children! That was just a prank I love pulling on Dark Forest tourists!" the Candy Witch crackled with a laughter similar to Essie's. Placing her wrinkled hands on her hips, she smiled brightly at the five. "I like playing pranks on strangers, to test if they know what strange danger is after the situation with Hansel and Gretel. If they fail, I just yell at them for a bit and teach them how to actually avoid stranger danger."

Niki raised up his hand. "So no cannibalism?"

"No cannibalism," the Candy Witch affirmed. "If you'd like, I can still accompany you to Hood Hollow, no pranks this time though. I'm visiting the ruler of Hood Hollow, we're going on a knitting marathon! Us old ladies need to catch up once in a while."

James' jaw dropped. "You know my grandmother?"

"You're Jameson, her grandson? Of course we know each other, we used to be roommates back when we attended Ever After High," Candice Witch laughed as the others did too, all the prior tension gone. "Is Milton still there?"

James found it funny that she called Headmaster Grimm by his first name. "Yup."

"Still cranky?"

"Definitely," Essie snorted.

The Candy Witch smiled. "And what about Giles?"

Giles? Who in the world was that? "I don't know anything about a certain Giles, who is he?" James asked.

"Why, Giles is Milton Grimm's brother."

What?

A/N: The chapters are slowly getting shorter as I'm losing my sanity while writing lmao. I would imagine the Candy Witch and James' great-grandma being friends in EAH in the prior years. Also according to the wiki, it's canon that Rumpelstiltskin and Candy Witch dated in their school years; perhaps Aurelio's long-lost mom lol? (Jk)