You open your eyes, coughing from how musty the room is. Looking around, you see you're back in the dark room from your previous dream. You hear someone cackling and quickly dart behind the column. Peering around, you see the Fairest Queen, or what she became.
She dips an apple into the cauldron. "Dip an apple in this brew. Let the Sleeping Death steep through."
She pulls the apple out. It's covered in a gross, slimy liquid that drips back into the cauldron. It forms a grinning skull face on the apple.
"Now, turn red to tempt Snow White. Make her hunger for a bite."
The liquid soaks into the apple and it turns to a beautiful scarlet red. The witch holds out the apple to a nearby crow.
"Have a bite!" She laughs as the crow backs away. She looks to the book. "But wait, there may be an antidote. Nothing must be overlooked."
She scans the words on the page. "True love's first kiss?" She scoffs. "No fear of that. The dwarves will think she's dead! She'll be buried alive!"
You stifle a gasp. That's horrible...
The witch cackles as she places the apple into a basket and hobbles to a boat in the canal. She continues to cackle with glee.
"Buried alive."
Your vision fills with ripples and you feel yourself being pulled away. Everything fades to black and the last thing you hear is the cackling of the beautiful woman who turned herself hideous.
You open your eyes when you hear a knock on the door. Sitting up, you're greeted by Epel who smiles at you by the door.
"Good morning, Y/N. Grim."
Grim arches his back as he stretches. "Hey, Epel! Today's the big day!" Grim excitedly runs around in a circle. "It's the Song & Dance Championship! You'd better take home the gold, okay? My tuna bonanza is ridin' on it!"
"Absolutely! I'm ready to win this thing." Epel blushes as he runs the back of his neck, shyly smiling to you. "But... it's kinda sad to think that this will be the last day of our training camp. Thank you for accommodating us this long."
You smile at him in return. "Of course. It's been nice having other students here. It actually felt like a real dorm for a little while."
After getting ready for the day, you walk down to the lounge and meet the others. Kalim waves cheerfully and runs over to you when he sees you.
"Morning, Y/N! Did you sleep well? I didn't. I was too excited. Jamil even yelled at me to go to sleep!"
Jamil rolls his eyes. "Seriously. You're not a child on a field trip."
"Bonjour! Good morning to you all!" Rook smiles as he approaches. "I hope the day finds you well. Vil has some words for everyone before the show."
Looking to the stairs, you see Vil stepping down the stairs regally. "I see everyone's here. The time will be 3 p.m. The place will be the Purple Stage set up in the coliseum. Then and there, the Song & Dance Championship will finally kick off."
Vil waves a hand. "The competition will be streamed live worldwide. This is our moment to reap the beauteous seeds we've sown and take the entire world by storm! I trust all of you are ready?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Rehearsals start at noon. I expect each of you to be ready to take the stage before then."
"Oooh..." Grim bounces on his feet. "It's killin' me that all we can do is watch."
"Correct," Vil nods. "you and the manager will be of no use simply lurking around and twiddling your thumbs. Your fidgeting will only distract us. Go see the sights at the festival instead."
Vil hands you two passes attached to lanyards. "I'll give you a staff pass. Wear it when you go in. But I expect you to be present for rehearsal in the coliseum at noon. Is that clear?"
Ace's shoulders slump. "Aw, maaan. I wanna check out the festival!"
"Me too!" Kalim complains.
"Out of the question for you!" Vil places his hands on his hips. "Have you been listening to a word I've said? The festival lasts for two days, so you'll have your chance to cavort on day two. Today, you will focus strictly on the SDC show. Now, let's start our final checks!"
You walk down the row of stalls and vendors selling their products. Grim races back and forth between them.
"Ooh, ooh! Y/N! Look at all these food stalls!"
You nod as you look around. "Yeah, but I how about we go see the Purple Stage instead? I mean, I am the team manager so I should check out the stage."
"Booo! Why ya gotta start carin' about bein' a manager NOW, of all times?"
"Hey!" You fold your arms. "I have too cared about my duties as a manager."
Grim rolls his eyes and runs to a stall. "They got funnel cakes! Hot dogs! Corn dogs! You name it, they fry it and serve it!"
You laugh. "Yeah, yeah. Diabetes on a stick can wait."
You approach the school coliseum with is being used as a makeshift stage. Once inside, you see all the boys from the sports clubs working on the finishing touches on the stage. The stage is placed on the far side of the coliseum and has a large screen behind it so the audience can have a closer look at the performance.
"Whoa!" Grim runs around your feet excitedly. "It's the same ol' coliseum, but with a big stage set up."
"Keep going, keep going. Stop!"
You look to a corner of the stage and see Ruggie directing Jack on where to place a large column. Jack is using levitation magic to move the heavy structure.
"Okay, Jack, put the pole down right there."
"Got it." Jack wipes at his brow. "Precision control with levitation magic sure isn't easy."
"Hey!"
Turning around, you spot Leona shouting at some students.
"I told you to put colored labels on the affiliate seats! Get it done."
"Yes, sir!"
"Sorry, sir!"
Grim clambers to your shoulders for a better look. "Ain't that the Savanaclaw crew over there? Heyyy!"
The three Savanaclaw boys notice you and walk over to join you. Though Leona doesn't show it, he's actually happy to see you.
"Well, if it isn't the Ramshackle cubs. Here to chip in with setup?" Ruggie laughs.
Jack flicks an ear. "I thought you two were managers for Ace and Deuce's group."
"They're doin' their last big SDC push now, so they kicked us out before we could get underfoot." Grim gestures to the stage. "So, did you guys put this whole stage together?"
"Yeah." Leona shrugs and places a hand to his hip. "The arts clubs had to do all the maintenance and management work during the Spelldrive tournament. So now we're trading off. The sports clubs get all the grunt work this time around."
"The Track Club and Spelldrive Club are in charge of constructing the Purple Stage." Jack informs.
You look to the stage in new found awe. "So you built all of this? That's incredible!"
Jack immediately looks away with a blush on his cheeks, flattening his ears against his head. Ruggie sheepishly laughs while Leona folds his arms.
"You're way too easily impressed, little herbivore."
"No, no. Let the compliments keep coming." Ruggie grins.
You laugh. "Well I'm excited to see what the stage looks like when it's finished."
Grim tilts his head. "Why does the students have ta build the stage anyway?"
"It's a big event, but the culture fair is still a school function." Ruggie explains. "Some parts we do leave to professionals, but these things are meant to be put together by students. You can think of it as hands-on learning"
"Chatting on the clock?"
Jumping from the sudden appearance of this new voice, you whirl around and see Riddle approaching with Trey.
"You must be quite confident in your progress setting up." Riddle quirks an eye. "I trust work is proceeding on schedule?"
Leona smirks. "Well, well. A visit from the management committee chairman himself. Surprised you'd deign to roll around in the dirt with us peons."
"We know how hard you've been working all morning." Trey hands out cups to the three. "Here, have some warm drinks, courtesy of the committee."
"Ooh, you couldn't have timed that any better!" Ruggie grins as he accepts the drink. "Doing all this setup outdoors has me freezing from my head to the tip of my tail. I'll gladly take you up on that offer!"
Riddle turns to the lion. "Leona, how goes the construction?"
Leona holds up a hand to refuse the drink from Trey. "Right on schedule with nothing to report, as you can see. We'll run through some basic lighting and sound checks, then we'll be standing by for the noon rehearsal."
Riddle nods in satisfaction. "Excellent. The Purple Stage will be where the Song & Dance Championship takes place. The whole world will be watching it. I want a full final check with a thorough eye for detail. The safety of every entrant is paramount."
"Yeah, yeah. I hear ya." Leona rolls his eyes.
"For sure!" Ruggie adds. "We're gettin' easy marks, uh, I mean, guests from all over the world. Your committee better keep a close eye on things to make sure there's no trouble."
"You're one to speak of trouble." Riddle scoffs.
Jake flicks his ears to the stage. "I'm being very careful to make sure no backstage slip-ups cause any other problems."
Trey smiles. "Glad to hear it. I'm counting on you. That takes care of the last leg of our three-stage tour, right, Riddle?"
"Yes." Riddle nods. "All that's left is to check on the exhibit booths and break rooms. The festival will open to the general public at 11 a.m. I'll have to be on constant lookout for fights and rule violations."
Riddle looks to you with a smile. "Y/N, we're going to take a walk around the campus. If you're curious about the exhibits, you'd be welcome to join us."
Before you could answer, you feel a hand placed on your shoulder and pulls you back against a sturdy chest. You look up to see Leona holding you close.
"Or Y/N could stay here with us." The lion shrugs. "Just a thought."
Riddle narrows his eyes. "How about you let Y/N decide that for herself, Leona."
The two have an intense staring contest, neither of them backing down. You turn around and hold Leona's hand.
"I should go with them. I don't want to be in your way." You smile warmly. "And besides, I can hang out with you guys later."
Leona smirks. "I'll hold you to that, little herbivore."
Leona reluctantly lets you go and returns to his duties. Ruggie trails after him.
Jack looks to you with a hint of a smile on his lips. "Y/N. I'll see you around. Epel gave me a ticket to the SDC, so I'll be there today. Tell him he'd better not embarrass himself in front of me."
Grim salutes him. "Can do."