The School for Good and Evil Prequel The Never Prince (fanfic)

Chapter 9

It was days of silence between the two. Garth's nightmares continued, growing more erratic and more involved. He would watch Lilac scream as Marcus asked that obvious question. "Are you one of us, or one of them?" He would shout, he would answer, he would toss his knife at Marcus, but the guy didn't die. However, Lilac did. He would wake up in a sweat, just to find his roommates sleeping happily. He completed his challenges flawlessly, but he broke as soon as he saw Lilac at lunch.

Lilac was slowly dying, unable to handle the depressing looks Garth gave her. He wouldn't speak to her, wouldn't even look at her. She started to falter in her challenges, but she wasn't completely failing. Stephan spoke to her often, Isabella was becoming attached to Richard, Amanda was trying to get noticed. The world went by in a blur, Lilac's only focus on Garth and his pain.

Day seven of silence was coming to a close, Surviving Fairy Tales the only thing left. Garth kept his distance, not wanting another episode. Lilac stayed away, knowing he didn't want to talk. Evers and Nevers seemed to split up along this line, the atmosphere filled with uncertainty. They stood for a while, watching as Yuba poked an innocent blue pumpkin. He grumbled at it and hit it with his staff even harder.

"What's he trying to do? Get a magical carriage to pop up?" Garth asked. Pert, the kid with the eye-patch, laughed.

"I bet a couple of these sissy princesses would like that. But no. This is the Flowerground entrance. Personally, I think it's a waste of time. We're not even allowed to actually enjoy the place." Garth smirked, but it vanished as Lilac started walking over to him. He could almost see Marcus jumping out of the trees, a bloody knife in his hands. Garth walked away, trying to make the sense of doom disappear.

"All aboard!" Yuba cried. Garth turned to the pumpkin and Yuba, handing out golden tickets. A student would take a ticket, the pumpkin would open up, and they would disappear inside. Garth got in line after Lilac went in. Yuba handed him a ticket and the pumpkin opened up. A caterpillar in a violet tuxedo and top hat popped up.

"No spitting, sneezing, singing, sniffling, swinging, swearing, slapping, sleeping, or urinating in the Flowerground. Violations will result in the removal of your clothes. All aboard!" the critter rattled angrily.

"Yes, conductor," Garth answered without thinking. The conductor's hard gaze softened slightly. He turned to Yuba who just shrugged. A vine came out of the pumpkin and dragged Garth in. Multiple colors flashed before his eyes and more vines wrapped themselves around him, securing him into whatever they were. He was dragged and his harness was secured to a track of some kind. It pulled his emotionless body along as his nightmare did as all nightmares do. It haunted him.

A gasp of awe caught his attention and he noticed the Flowerground for what it really was. An underground transport system. Plants crisscrossed each other in different intersections, each glowing a different color. The system seemed to extend for miles, right below the Endless Woods. Each line had a name and its own corresponding color. The ROSALINDA LINE was bright red, carting around a few dwarves. The ARBOREA LINE sparkled neon green, towing even more passengers. Each line also had a band of lizards, playing music for the riders. The TANGERINE LINE had a bouncy banjo tune, the VIOLET LINE enjoyed sultry sitars, and the HIBISCUS LINE, which he was riding on at the moment, had piccolo playing lizards.

Garth gently took a blue-corn muffin from a bluebird with a thank you. The bird twittered happily and flew away as he took a bite. It was in that moment he realized he hadn't eaten for days. He almost fell asleep at the taste of it, but was wide awake when the sight of Marcus haunted him. He took another bite. The muffin tasted watered down, inedible and unpleasing. Great. Marcus haunted his nights and sucked the light out of his day.