Never After (School for Good and Evil x Reader)

Chapter 15

"For the rest of the week, all classes will be dedicated to preparing these 15 Evers and 15 Nevers for their night in the Blue Forest," the dog continued, as students twittered over who these would be. "In-class challenges will be restricted to these competitors only. Those with the worst scores for the week will enter the Trial first, while those with the best will enter significantly later. This is, of course, a tremendous advantage. The less time you spend in a Trial by Tale, the more chance you come out alive."

Students stopped talking.

Pollux realized what he said and forced a laugh. "It's a figure of speech. No student dies in a Trial. How ludicrous."

Castor coughed. "But what about—"

"The competition is completely safe," Pollux said, smiling down at the children. "You will each have a flag of surrender. If you find yourself in mortal danger, drop it to the ground and you will be rescued unharmed from the Blue Forest. You will learn more about the rules in your various classes."

Tedros and Sophie were chosen to represent our group, of course.

But I was determined to take Sophie's place. Without Agatha helping her and me losing on purpose, I was sure to have it back by the end of the week.

***

In Uglification, Manley asked the competing 15 Nevers to conjure a disguise that would scare off an Ever "at first sight." Hester's potion made her whole body explode with spikes. Anadil's turned her skin so thin all her blood vessels shined through. Meanwhile, Sophie bashed tadpoles to give herself shingles again, but somehow gave herself a spiral horn and glittered horsetail instead.

"Because what's scarier to a princess than a unicorn?" snarled Manley.

My potion had me breathing fire, which scorched half of the already-scorched classroom. To top things off, I made my eyes glow bright green.

A "1" exploded over my head. Jett roared in encouragement from where he sat on my shoulder.

In Henchmen, the Trial Nevers had to tame a Fire Giant, a nine-foot hunk of hot orange skin and flaming hair. Sophie unknowingly insulted the giant so bad that Castor had to intervene before it ate her.

My conversation went swimmingly, and it even ended with me making the giant laugh, letting me receive another first place title.

Then Lady Lesso asked the Trial Nevers to name a "spell that can only be undone by the one who casts it."

"Answers?"

Shivering, the Nevers held up carved ice tablets:

ME: Petrification

HESTER: Petrification

ANADIL: Petrification

SOPHIE: Special Spell

"If only love was the answer to everything," said Lady Lesso, handing Sophie another "15" out of 15.

The second day went as well as the first, with Sophie earning three more last places, the third of which came in Henchmen when she couldn't make her finger glow in time to disarm a stink-troll.

The next day, the challengers spent their first two sessions being fitted for their Trial uniforms: dark blue tunics of silky iron mesh, and matching hooded wool cloaks lined with red brocade. With thirty students in the same cloaks, it would be impossible to tell Evers from Nevers, even if one could see blue cloaks in a Blue Forest.

Lady Lesso's class was next.

"A villain kills for one purpose: to destroy his Nemesis. The one who grows stronger as you grow weaker. Only when your Nemesis is dead will you feel quenched," said the tight-skinned teacher, clacking through the aisle. "Of course, since only the best Nevers will have Nemesis Dreams, most of you will venture your whole life without taking another's life. Consider yourself lucky. Killing requires the purest Evil. None of you are pure enough to kill yet."