Vanya Ella's POV

Vanya dreaded getting out of bed the entire morning until she remembered that she was going to be late for her Chemythstry class and Professor Rumpelstiltskin was a strict teacher who hated tardiness. For crying aloud... She groaned, peeling the layers of blankets as she got dressed for the day. She took note of Dahlia's empty bed, the girl was always awake at the crack of dawn to take walks in the empty halls of EAH. How does she do it? Vanya had no idea.

It was awkward since she and Apple were still not on good terms, and Dahlia was Apple's best friend. Having Dahlia as a roommate did not help at all. Rapidly brushing her blond hair with one hand, Vanya checked the time on her watch. "Shit!" Why are all Cinderellas so bad with the concept of time? She dropped her brush on her foot, wincing before running out of her dorm and into the halls.

As Coach Gingerbreadman's star track runner, Vanya quickly arrived at class as Professor Rumpelstiltskin was handing back their graded exams. "Miss Ella," the little, yet incredibly menacingly, man snapped. "You are five minutes late! It doesn't matter, C+!"

C+? That had been the lowest grade Vanya ever received and Legacy Year only started two weeks ago. For Grimm's sake, she thought. I'll be spinning straw into gold forever after for extra credit. Finding an empty row of seats, she sat behind Daphne and Ana Tremaine. The Wicked Stepsisters of her story. The pair weren't actually sisters, but rather cousins, but they were as thick as thieves.

Vanya sighed at her luck. Daphne especially hated Vanya's guts for just simply existing, though she supposed Ana was nicer. Rumpelstiltskin handed back Daphne's test, actually giving a rare smile. "A+ as always, Miss Tremaine."

Daphne grinned, practically jumping with joy. The Chemythstry had some scheduling issues, so it was mixed with different student years, but from what Vanya heard, Daphne was regularly at the top of the class in their science subject. 

"You know, I have a few buddies who can support your science passion further when you graduate considering you're in your final year, Miss Tremaine. Ah, but of course, only if you wish to pursue chemythstry as a career," Rumpelstiltskin said quietly, but just loud enough for it not to escape Vanya's ears. From the corner of Vanya's eye, she saw Daphne beam just for her eyes to lock with Vanya's. Oh, hex—

Daphne's gaze sharpened, giving Vanya an intimidating glare. Vanya closed her eyes briefly, just knowing that Daphne was glaring daggers into the back of her head. She just wanted this bad day to end—

"Hey, is this seat taken?"

Holy hex. Vanya knew that voice by memory and her heart started to pound against her chest. Keep calm and don't fuck this up. "Uh, yeah." That sounded subtle, right? Why am I overthinking everything? Vanya thought, a blush creeping up her neck as Holton Hook slid into the seat next to hers. She had a tiny crush on him, but it wasn't that much of a big deal. It wasn't like she would spend hours writing poetry just about him or send love letters to him in secret. I definitely need mental help, she thought miserably. She couldn't get Holton out of her mind for Grimm's sake.

Sneaking a glance, she understood why people found appeal in Holton's appearances. From his sharp features, such as his jaw and Grecian nose, and his tufts of brown hair. But for Vanya, it was the way his eyes were as dark as ink. So mysterious—yes, she did understand that was a poor choice of words—and free to become anything. Or anyone. Vanya wished she had more freedom in her life.

He was flipping and catching a coin in his hands while Rumpelstiltskin blabbed about why wolfsbane was very important and other things. Vanya tried taking notes considering the professor was already failing everyone, but her mind was totally fried whenever Holton was around. "Miss Tremaine," Professor Rumpelstiltskin said, "would you care to add?"

As Daphne went into overdrive, Holton rolled his eyes and slightly smirked. "She sounds like the Mad Hatter but ten times worse," he mouthed to Vanya. She stifled a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. That was probably the first word he had ever spoken to her. "This is supposed to be your fairytale forever? Listening to the Wicked Stepsister yap?"

Not anymore, apparently. "Well—"

"No talking!" Professor Rumpelstiltskin shouted, putting the end to their conversation. Vanya sighed, twirling the beads on her bracelet with her fingers. Always the hopeless romantic, maybe Vanya should have known better than to have a crush on Holton Hook, a shadow-lurking manic blackmailer. Out of everyone in Ever After High, she chose to fall for him. She'd never hear the end of it from her friends if they knew... Perhaps that's why she stuck to exchanging love letters and would delay revealing her true identity to Holton; she was too afraid of breaking free.

Quietly tearing a page from her notebook and clicking her black-ink pen, she wrote I bet that Daphne and Rumpelstiltskin are yapper besties and slid the paper next to Holton. He let out a sly chuckle before grabbing a pencil and writing a reply. As if Daphne Tremaine is best friends with a professor—no, she's just the teacher's pet. For the rest of Chemythstry class, they passed notes back and forth until they were dismissed. Grabbing her items, she noticed that Holton was observing her, he had that kind of sharp gaze. "Need anything else?"

"No, thanks, I'm good." Without another word, he walked away and out of the door. Suddenly, the perfect image that she had was gone; her bubble burst. Vanya was left with the used paper and pens. She huffed, feeling a bit used herself. Just used for a good, quick chuckle, she thought sourly. Holton gave Vanya exhilaration, the taste of breaking the rules set for was tangible—but the post-euphoria clarity crashes were deadly. Holton Hook will be the death of me, she thought as she threw the crumpled pieces of paper in the trash.

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

Ladeline Laddin's POV

"So are you, like, a god or something? A magical genie?" Ladeline asked, holding an enchanted artifact in her hands. In fact, it looked like a regular ink bottle, but as the next Thief in Arabian Nights, she knew better than to assume nothing was magical with bottles. No, I am not a god, the voice answered. My name is Nadine Ink, I'm a Narrator...? "You sound unsure of yourself," Ladeline said.

You can not be talking when you're the one who is sitting on the bathroom floor talking to an ink bottle, Nadine replied sternly. Ladeline rolled her eyes, seated on the sink counter. Whatever a Narrator was, she just felt as if she wanted to play with someone that day. "Keep this Narrator act up and I'll just call you a genie." For Grimm's sake, Ladeline, you sound just like Aladdin... "How do you know my name?"

I'm a Narrator, Nadine said, sounding more annoyed than angry. Which you'd understand if you would listen perhaps? This Nadine girl sounds insane, Ladeline thought, laughing softly. How can you even interact with me? Oh... It's the enchanted object... Shit. "Hey, this is a PG-fairy-friendly school, motherfucker," Ladeline said sarcastically. Ugh, just go meet Blaise and Melina in the hallway now. "Blaise Blanc? Melina Ivory?" Ladeline asked, mildly confused. Weren't they the White chess pieces from the Wonderland transfer? She had never really encountered either of them before. Oh crap, I just spoiled the next scene—

Tired of fighting this Nadine person, Ladeline capped the ink bottle and suddenly, the strange voice disappeared. Huh, maybe I really am going mad, she thought as she pocketed the small ink bottle. Grabbing all her other stolen goods, she high-tailed out of the washroom and into the halls of EAH. Coincidentally, she spotted Blaise Blanc tapping on his MirrorPad, and just then did Ladeline remember that Blaise was on the yearbook committee so the year could be captured and planted at the Legacy Orchard. Huh, I guess I need to put down 'maybe an oracle' on the list of what Nadine is.

Soon enough, Ladeline found herself staring at Blaise for an extended period of time. She often observed areas before planning her entry point and exit route when putting off elaborate heists. Which is how she stole that magical artifact from Headmaster Grimm's office without anyone noticing. Blaise had a defined grumpy frown on his face, hunched over his MirrorPad, and squinting at the screen, mumbling under his breath. He raked his fingers through his brown hair, which featured white-coloured streaks, and Blaise's frown only deepened. Gosh, that guy looked really depressed... and also like a grumpy old man.

"Would you believe me if I said he was someone else entirely back in Wonderland?" a female voice asked from behind Ladeline. She spun around, surprised to come face-to-face with Melina Ivory. Maybe Nadine was some crazy voodoo oracle after all. Carrying all her books in one hand, Melina nodded towards Blaise. "He wasn't always like that."

"Like a brooding grump?" Ladeline offered.

Melina laughed a bit. "Well, he was quite the flirt and playboy back in Wonderland High. You would not believe the amount of girls he dated in a single week, he went through girlfriends like dust in a dustpan. Though, he always did get bad post-euphoria crashes..." After a pause, it finally occurred to Ladeline what Melina meant.

"Ohhh, you like Mr. Grump."

"Liked. Ex-hallway crush, everyone is guilty of them." Melina shrugged before saying, "Blaise was a different guy back then. Extraverted and a little egotistical, but he wasn't depressingly grumpy like he is now. I guess he just changed overnight when his father was left behind in..."

Wonderland. The Wonderland Curse cast by the Evil Queen was famous, it resulted in many Wonderland High students transferring to EAH. Some Wonderlandians were unable to escape before Headmaster Grimm sealed off all portals. "Damn, that's tough. What about his mom?"

"Never knew her. I guess it's no wonder that Blaise is, well, rather intolerable now." Melina sounded like an 1800s English professor with her prim and proper voice. "I'll introduce you, Laddy." Before Ladeline could protest, Melina grabbed her by the hand and dragged her over to Blaise's locker. "Hi, Blaise!"

Blaise's eyes brightened at the sight of Melina. "Oh, hey, Lily."

Lily? Ladeline arched her eyebrows at Melina and she went on to explain, "Blaise has a quirk of calling everyone in the school by a nickname he choses for them. It just sort of sticks, but he doesn't give an explanation for any of them. I still have no idea why I'm called Lily... but then again, he's from Wonderland."

"Oh? Then what's mine?" Ladeline asked Blaise.

He studied her for a few minutes, his gaze hardening before absently saying, "Eline." Then he went back to scrolling on his MirrorPad. Okay...? Peeking at the screen, Ladeline saw photos of Legacy Day and some after-parties. There were the Waverly twins—both dressed in earthy tones—and Niklaus Nikiforov standing awkwardly in a suit. Legacy Day had been fun, Ladeline was wearing a (stolen, actually) muted cyan dress with golden detailing. She spent the entire evening trying to spike all the drinks with a size-shrinking potion and dancing on tabletops.

Then a thought occurred. "Wait, Blaise, if you're on the Yearbook Committee, then shouldn't you have a partner—"

"Blaise!" For Grimm's sake. Ladeline unfortunately knew that snooty voice. It was Ali Nimer, her future prince that she'd have to marry. The boy dripped of Hans Christian Dior and that classic spoiled rich brat energy. Ali came up to them, his smile slightly dropping after spotting Ladeline, much to her annoyance, and then said, "Did you get photos for the yearbook?"

"Yes, because you were too busy making out with a billion girls last night," Blaise grumbled unhappily and Ladeline snickered under her breath. Something told her that Blaise wasn't completely happy that Ali was his partner.

"I'm going to become the Sultan one day, I need to have some experience throwing galas and whatnot, right?" Ali asked. Ha! As if he didn't completely fund last night's after-party and blow money on a freaking chocolate fountain. Ali Nimber's parties were infamous and he often landed himself in Headmaster Grimm's head office. With bronzed brown skin, he had smile (more like grin and smirk) lines and he always wore sunglasses to cover up the aftermath of his crazy blowouts.

Just then, Daphne Tremaine walked out of her Chemythstry, which was right next to Blaise's locker, holding her newly graded and aced exam. Ali winked at her. "Hey, Daph, how's your day? I bet it just got a whole lot better—"

"Never going to happen, Nimer," Daphne deadpanned, not even tossing him a single glance and continued walking away. Ladeline burst out laughing and a snort escaped from Blaise.

"I don't mind a challenge!" Ali shouted but the next Wicked Stepsister was already at the other end of the hall. Ali still grinned like a fool, crossing his arms. "Guys, I think she's really into me."

Blaise shook his head. "Keep on dreaming, Tiger."

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

Staring at the ink bottle, she decided to uncap it and hear what Nadine had to say. "Hey, Nadine," Ladeline said, tapping the bottle. Yeah, yeah, I can hear you, Ladeline. Or shall I say Eline? How does Nadine know? Ladeline wondered. Because I'm a Narrator. You really don't listen, do you? "Not really."

People in the Castleteria were starting to look at Ladeline strangely, probably wondering if she had gone mad for talking to no one. They can't hear Nadine, Ladeline thought, that's interesting. Ignoring the stares, she went on to ask, "What's a 'Narrator' anyways then?"

Well, it's someone who tells the story from a certain point of view, Nadine replied. And also— "Okay, okay, I don't need a goddamn English lecture," Ladeline said as she spotted Blaise Blanc looking for a table in the full Castleteria. Maybe there was a reason that I was supposed to see Blaise and Melina earlier today, she thought. Impulsive, she stood up and started waving her arms in the air like a maniac. Okay, now people were definitely staring. "Blaise, over here!"

Blaise gave her an annoyed glare, but walked up to her free table regardless. "Thanks, Eline," he said, placing his tray of food on the table and sat next to her. Ladeline wrinkled her nose at the sight of his meal.

"I didn't think anyone actually liked Hagatha's Stone Soup."

"I don't. The lunch lady just gave me it." Dipping his spoon into the soup, there was a sudden clink. He scooped back up pebbles. He shook his head and pushed the bowl of Stone Soup away as Ladeline laughed. "Even the vinegar-and-oyster surprise back at Wonderland High wasn't that bad," he grumbled.

"What is Wonderland like?" Ladeline asked as an icebreaker.

The grumpy expression plastered across Blaise's face vanished and was instead replaced with a wistful sort of remembrance. "Wonderland is wacky and weird, but also so creative in its own unique way. For me, it was the people who made Wonderland just so fun and exhilarating to be in. Every single day, I'd play a game of Un-Chess against Chase Redforth or maybe swim to class. It was... awesome." It was odd, Ladeline figured that Blaise was the quiet sort of kid who kept to himself, but he seemed quite passionate about his motherland. "I wanted to ask Headmaster Grimm if I could potentially travel back to Wonderland for the yearbook, it'd be so hexcellent, but alas, he said no. All portals are sealed off, there's no chance of returning." Then his prior demeanor returned and he poked at his Stone Soup.

Ladeline couldn't help but feel bad for him. "Well, it would have been spelltastic if you went back to Wonderland for the yearbook." Blaise smiled slightly. But then Nadine's voice entered Ladeline's mind. That's not the only reason Blaise wants to go back to Wonderland. What on earth are you yapping about now? Ladeline thought annoyingly.

He's hiding something. Something even I, the Narrator, can't figure out. Watch your back, Ladeline. Then Nadine Ink's voice disappeared, leaving Ladeline alone with her thoughts.

A/N: Blaise hiding a secret...? 👀 Also how the whole Narrator part works is that Nadine's dialogue will be bolded, to give it that EAH voiceover effect.