From the Ashes (A School for Good and Evil Fanfic)

Part 18

(Origin Chapter)

She woke up in the dark. She couldn't see a thing, not even a speck of light could reach her eyes. But worse than the dark was the silence. It was suffocating, and seemed to have a heaviness that she couldn't begin to describe.

A loud creak broke the silence and allowed a crevice of light to enter her vision, growing larger and larger. It was blocked by a hooded figure, its tall, thin form lurking ominously in the supposed doorway.

"Rise and shine, my sweet," a voice said. "We have work to do."

Her eyes adjusted to the light as he drew closer, and it became clear that this was the man who had taken her here. His purple eyes flashed with malice and his thin lips were stretched into a cruel smile.

"Now tell me," he said, his tone pleasant, but with a dangerous edge. "Why you?"

"Why me?" Hester repeated, trying to match his tone. "I'm quite sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Your mother didn't tell you why you were born?" the man pressed, his smile turning amused.

"It was a mistake," Hester spat.

"Was it?" he whispered. "Or was there a reason for her, an illustrious Never, to bring a child into the world? A reason, perhaps, that has something to do with that."

A cold finger pressed the tattoo inked onto her neck. Hester batted his hand away.

"The wizard gave that to me," she growled, but there was a slight squeak in her voice. "It wasn't my mother."

"Oh, we know all about Zephyr Killoran," he said. "We work closely with him, actually. Your 'rescue' was all just part of our plot. That tattoo is a weapon developed by the wizard himself. But, when the tattoo is infused with magic, the host is killed. It's quite tragic, actually. The children of so many famous fairy tale villains, a few heroes as well, lost to the wizard's experiment. That is, all except for you."

"Why?" Hester asked. "Why me?"

"And around it goes again," the man muttered. "Because your mother was in possession of a powerful magical object," he continued, louder. "A weapon called the Dark Crystal. Heroes and villains alike had searched for it for years, only for your mother to turn up at school with the most powerful object in the Endless Woods hanging around her neck. And the wizard believes that, before she died, she infused its powers into you."

"W-what?" Hester stammered, failing to keep her composure. "Why would she do that? And why do you care?"

"Questions, questions," the man hissed. He stayed silent for a moment, circling around her. "Why she did it, we can only guess. And as for why we care, well, we need you."

"Need me?"

"To take over the Woods, of course," he said, as if it were obvious. "With a creature who possesses the power of the dark crystal, a creature with a deadly demon for a soul, we can bend kingdoms to our will."

"I am not a creature," Hester retorted. "And I refuse to be your puppet."

"Very well then," he said quietly, drawing a curved, rusted dagger from his robes. "You'll learn."

Hester felt a stab of fear slice through her. She tried to meet the man's eerie violet eyes with defiance, but she found herself glancing away, close to begging for mercy.

"Silly, silly girl," he whispered, even softer. "Don't you know what makes a villain stronger."

Hester stiffened, not willing herself to speak. The man chuckled, turning his knife between his fingers.

"You don't know? Well, let me give you the answer." He looked straight into her eyes, his grin even wider than before. "Pain."