Everly Academy

by V. B. Marlowe

  Dru hurried over and dug her sword into the wolf’s abdomen, slicing downward. The cavern rattled with the wolf’s howl as its guts and innards slid out onto the floor.

  Molly covered her mouth, trying not to vomit. It was like watching a horror movie. After a few seconds, the wolf quieted, lying there motionless.

  Scarlett raced over to the wolf’s guts and began to paw through them.

  “Gross,” Jolie said. “Scarlett, don’t.”

  “No, look,” Lily said, pointing. Scarlett removed a bloody sack from the wolf’s insides and laid it at Molly’s feet.

  Molly wanted to know what was inside the bag, but she was reluctant to touch something covered in blood.

  “I’ll do it,” Dru offered. She knelt and opened the moist sack. She removed a golden pen that was about ten inches long. “Look. W.G. and J.G. are engraved on the side. It’s their initials.” Dru stuck her hand farther into the sack. “There’s a note,” she said, retrieving a bloody piece of paper. “It says to present the pen to Beatrix and she will receive an elixir.”

  Dru handed the pen to Molly, who tucked it away in her sack. “Good work, girls,” Molly said. “We’d better hurry and get back to the portal.”

  The walk back seemed much longer since they were exhausted. Lily downed the last of her water. “I can’t believe we have to do this several more times. And I’m sure it will be a lot harder than the Big Bad Wolf.”

  “If we can,” Dru said.

  “What do you mean?” Molly asked.

  “Ms. Bea may not have the strength to keep sending us through portals.”

  Molly noted the worry in Dru’s voice. So the girls had noticed Bea’s waning powers also. “What do you think is causing her to become weaker?” Molly asked.

  Lily sighed. “Us.”

  That answer surprised Molly. “What do you mean, you?”

  “To give us the gifts, she had to give each of us a piece of her magic. Fairies are not supposed to do that, but she did just because she wants to keep us safe.”

  “Wow,” Molly said to herself. After learning that, watching Bea’s powers lessen was even more sad.

  “That’s why,” Lily said. “We’re going to find all the pens and break these curses. We’re not going to let what she did for us be in vain.”

  The girls walked the rest of the way in silence, lost in their thoughts. Molly was relieved to see the spinning portal waiting for them at the same place they had entered. She wasn’t looking forward to going through another one any time soon.

  Molly held the tiny green bottle in her hand. It was made of glass and capped with a stopper shaped like a diamond. It was hard to believe they had gone through all that trouble for such a small thing, but that tiny bottle held the power to set one of them free.

  After a brief celebration of the group’s return, it was time to have the hard discussion. “So, who gets it?” Isleen asked, not wasting any time. “I nominate myself.”

  “Why should it be you?” Scarlett demanded. “You didn’t even go.”

  “Hey, that wasn’t by choice. I would have gone if they had let me.” She shot Bea and Molly eye daggers.

  To Molly’s surprise, Bea took her hand and squeezed it tight around the elixir. “I cannot possibly make this decision. Ms. Dillinger, I’m going to leave it up to you.”

  Molly took a step back. “What? If you can’t do it, what makes you think I can?”

  Bea shook her head. “I’m sorry. Someone has to decide, and it can’t be me.”

  Molly realized that for Bea, it must have been like trying to decide which one of your children should live or die. It was probably the hardest decision she would have to make, but Molly would do it. Somehow.

  “Okay.” Molly turned to the girls. “This is what we’ll do. Today I want you to get your arguments together. I want each of you to tell me why I should give the elixir to you over the others. I’ll make my decision based on that. I need to hear something more than you deserve it because you’re a princess.”

  Isleen tugged at the sleeves of her dress. “Well, I’m sure as hell not getting it,” she huffed as she stormed off to her room.

  Sore and tired, all Molly wanted was to take a long, hot soak in a tub and crawl into her bed.

  In her bathroom, she let herself sink into the large tub. It was her first time using it because she mostly took showers. As she lay her head against the rim of the tub, she found herself thinking of Owen. She’d rather think about the homemade candlelit dinner he had promised her than the heart-breaking decision she was going to have to make the following day. How was she ever going to be able to look into the faces of those girls and tell them that she was setting one of them free and leaving the rest doomed? She hoped their speeches would help her decide. After a while Molly’s body went limp, and she could no longer keep her eyes open. Although she tried to fight it, sleep took over her body before she could make it to her bed.

  The following day, Molly and the girls gathered in the great study. Molly wasn’t any more prepared to make a choice than she had been the day before. Both Bea and Ms. Halifax had been absent from breakfast that morning, and Molly wasn’t sure what to make of that.

  The girls sat quietly as Molly walked in and took her seat before them. She cleared her throat and clasped her hands on her lap. “Before we begin, I just want to say that I don’t want to make this decision, but it has to be made. It also doesn’t mean that I care for one of you any more than the others. Even though I have only been here a very short time, I care for you all the same.” She was reminded of how her mother used to say that when Molly and her brother asked who her favorite was. Carlton had clearly been her mother’s favorite, but Molly honestly had no favorites when it came to the girls. “That being said . . . who would like to go first?”

  There was silence Molly wasn’t expecting. The girls were either looking at their hands or at the ground. Even Allison, who was usually making some sort of noise, didn’t make a sound.

  Finally, Gretchen spoke. “I would like to take my name out of consideration. You can give it to someone else. That’s fine with me.”

  That response surprised Molly, but it would make her decision just a tad easier. She would only have to choose between nine instead of ten. “Are you sure, Gretchen?”

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  “Okay, so it comes down to the nine of you.” Clearly Molly was going to have to call on someone to get them to speak, but she’d anticipated this being a tough conversation. “Oriana, how about you? Why do you think you should receive the elixir?”

  “I don’t.” She shook her head sending her blond curls flying. “Like Gretchen said, you can take my name out of consideration too.”

  This reaction was the exact opposite of the one Molly had expected. She thought they would be screaming over each other to plead their cases, but now they seemed to all be falling back. Even Isleen didn’t have that selfish glint in her eye. What had they done all this for if they didn’t really want to leave Everly?

  Gretchen turned to Isleen. “I think Izzy should get it. She’s always talking about how she’s the most deserving. Why don’t you just take it?”

  Anyone who was expecting Isleen to accept the offer would have been in shock. Instead, she looked offended. “Wow. Really? You guys just want to get rid of me. Anyways, I don’t want it.”

  “Why not?” Marina asked. “You’re always going on and on about how much you hate this place and how you can’t wait to leave.”

  “What’s going on here?” Molly asked. “When I first arrived, I was hearing all about how you have been trapped here for two hundred years and how you wanted desperately to get out. We spent so much time and effort finding out how to break the curses, and when we finally get an elixir, none of you wants it? Someone better start explaining.”

  “That’s just it,” Tress said. “We’ve been here for two hundred years. Except for Marina, our families and everyone we once knew are long gone. No one wants to be out there a
lone in a world we don’t understand anymore.”

  Molly got it. It would be like throwing a baby animal out into the wild on its own without teaching it how to fend for itself. How would these girls live? How would they survive on their own?

  “Why didn’t you say anything about this before?” Molly asked. She couldn’t understand why this was the first time she was hearing of it.

  Most of the girls shrugged, but Jolie spoke for them. “We never thought we would actually find an elixir. Until you came, we had totally given up on ever getting out of here alive, so it was never an issue. We studied the fairy tales for clues mostly to pass the time in class. We didn’t think anything would ever come of it.”

  “Yeah,” Lily agreed. “And we were kind of hoping to find a way to break the curses all at once and then we’d all be free. The world outside of here wouldn’t be as scary if we were facing it together.”

  “That’s still possible,” Molly replied. She knew Bea loved the girls and she had done her best by them, but not equipping them for the modern world all this time was a huge mistake. Molly wondered if Bea had ever anticipated the girls getting out of here or if she was planning on keeping them hidden away forever.

  “Okay,” Molly said, “putting all your fears aside, if you were to walk out of this place today, what would you do?”

  A silence fell over the room that made Molly sad. “Scarlett? Gretchen? Anyone?”

  Lily shrugged. “I never really thought about it. I don’t know.”

  Dru raised her hand sheepishly. “I’ve thought about it . . . I mean, a little bit.”

  “Well?” Isleen asked. “What would you do?”

  “I’d go to school to become a surgeon or a chemist. Then I’d find the cure for cancer or some other terrible disease.”

  Molly beamed. “There’s no doubt in my mind that you’re smart enough to do that, Dru.” Molly thought about her mentor, Denise.

  “Dru, what if I said I knew someone outside of here who could help you if that’s what you wanted? She could get you set up in a school and everything.” Molly knew she shouldn’t be making that kind of statement without speaking to Denise about it first. It was a big ask, but Molly couldn’t imagine her saying no. “I just have to make a phone call.” Molly surveyed each of the girls. “Would you all be okay with Dru taking the elixir?”

  The girls nodded simultaneously, except for Gretchen. She laid her hand on top of Dru’s. “Wait . . . Dru, you’re ready to leave us just like that? I mean, if you leave that’ll be it forever, and we’ve been together forever it seems like.”

  Isleen played with a thread on her dress. “That’s how it goes, Gretchen. We’re not going to stay together for the rest of our lives. We’re either going to die with these stupid curses or break them and go our separate ways.”

  Now that Isleen had settled a dark cloud over the room, Molly realized the girls would have a hard time saying goodbye to Dru and each other eventually. After all, they had been practically sisters for the past two centuries. They were family. “I’m going to leave you girls to talk while I go find Ms. Bea and Ms. Halifax. I’ll be back shortly.” The girls were quiet, but as soon as the door closed behind Molly, the room broke out into excited conversation.

  Molly hurried to Bea’s office. She found her and Ms. Halifax speaking in hushed voices beside the window. “I need a phone. I know you must have one around here or you can magic one up, but I need a phone.”

  “What for?” Ms. Halifax asked.

  “It was unanimously decided that Dru will take the elixir. I want to set her up with a mentor of mine. She can help set Dru up in school, with a dorm room, and make sure that she adjusts to the world like she needs to.”

  Bea turned pale. “Dru has decided to go.” She held her hand over her mouth. “Ms. Dillinger, Dru is a smart girl, brilliant, but I just can’t send her out there alone to some stranger. I’ve never even met this woman.”

  Even though she hadn’t been asked to have a seat, she settled herself into the cushiony chair that sat before Bea’s desk. “Bea, really, what choice do you have? You knew they were going to have to leave at some point when the curses were broken. Isn’t that why you brought me here?”

  Bea closed her eyes for a few seconds. “Yes. Yes. Of course. But this seems to be happening so suddenly. So Dru wants the elixir, and the other girls are okay with it?”

  “Yes.”

  Bea turned to Ms. Halifax, whose face had remained emotionless the entire time.

  “Okay. Okay,” Bea said. “Well, we must get Dru prepared, and we’ll have a great big going-away party for her before she leaves. And please, tell your friend that money is no object. We can give her everything she needs to make sure Dru is safe and taken care of.”

  “Okay. A phone please.”

  Bea paused before opening a desk drawer. She reached inside and retrieved a smart phone enclosed in a purple jeweled case. “I’d like to speak to her too, once you’re done.”

  “Of course,” Molly said. Then she wondered how she could ever explain this situation to Denise. Bea handed Molly the phone. “You can make the call here.”

  “What? You don’t trust me. I promise I will make one phone call to Denise. It should only take me a few minutes, and then I’ll bring the phone right back. I won’t attempt to call anyone else.” Molly added an additional, “I promise.”

  Bea and Ms. Halifax exchanged glances. Ms. Halifax shook her head, but Bea made up her own mind. “Okay.” Reluctantly, she handed Molly the phone.

  Grateful, Molly took the phone and hurried to her room. Closing the door behind her, she sat on her bed. She took a deep breath and then realized she didn’t know Denise’s number by heart. She had to check the contents of her own phone for the number. Denise was usually good about answering her calls, and Molly prayed that this was one time she would pick up.

  Denise answered on the third ring. Molly almost cried from the familiarity of the voice on the other end. “Hello?” Denise said.

  Molly’s lips moved to answer, but no sound came out. “Hello?” Denise called again.

  “Hi.” Molly said. She sounded like she had a frog in her throat. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Hi, Denise.”

  Denise gasped. “Molly? I’ve been waiting for you to give me a call. I told you to give me a ring once you settled in, but I can imagine how busy you’ve been. I still remember my first year of teaching. I barely had time to breathe. So, tell me everything. How is the school? What are the girls like? Are you homesick?”

  Molly smiled, remembering how Denise had the tendency to talk on and on without stopping to take a breath or to let a person answer the question she had asked. “Everything is going very well,” Molly said, but then she realized that if she wanted Denise’s help she was going to have to be honest—or somewhat honest. “I’m sorry I haven’t called, but I have been terribly busy. As far as your other questions, I can’t really answer them right now. I apologize in advance because I know this is going to be a bit confusing, but I called to ask you a favor, a huge favor.”

  Denise was silent for a few seconds, which made Molly’s heart race. Finally, she said. “Are you okay, Molly? What do you need?”

  Molly felt guilty about the worry in her voice. “I’m fine, but there’s a girl here. Her name is Drusilla. We call her Dru. She’s brilliant. Simply brilliant. Anyway, I was wondering if you could help her. We want to get her enrolled in school. She’s interested in becoming a doctor. She’s been studying for . . . a really, really long time.”

  “Okay. That shouldn’t be a problem. We just have to get her applications for the schools she wants to attend. I’ll need her high school diploma and her transcripts.”

  Molly believed that Bea would be able to conjure all that up. That wasn’t going to be the hardest part.

  “Denise, there’s something else I have to tell you. This part is going to require a lot of work on your behalf. If you say no, I’ll understand, but please, please, please, don’t
say no.”

  “Molly, what is it?”

  Molly stared through the window at the crisp blue sky outside. It was a beautiful day. She wanted more than anything to be out running just then, but she had to get this all sorted out. Focus, Molly, she told herself.

  “Dru is very sheltered. Very, very sheltered, and she’s going to need a lot of supervision and guidance as far as how the world works. I can’t tell you why, but you’re going to have to explain and guide her through everything as if she were a child.”

  “Molly, I don’t understand. Is something wrong with her, like developmentally?”

  “No, no, nothing like that. She’s kind of been homeschooled.” That wasn’t exactly a lie. “I can’t tell you much more than that, but she hasn’t been a part of the real world for a long time.” Molly knew she wasn’t making this sound like an interesting offer at all. Taking care of Dru was going to require a lot of time and patience, and that was a lot to ask of a person who was a complete stranger to her. “Like I said, she’s brilliant. She’ll catch on very quickly. She just needs a little starting help. The headmistress of the academy is willing to compensate you handsomely for your time and trouble. She said that money is no object. Dru’s a good girl, and she won’t cause you any trouble.”

  Denise was quiet again. Molly prepared herself for a big fat no. “Of course, I would love to help her. If her grades are good enough, she can apply for a scholarship. I can find a place for her to stay until she’s admitted into a school and can live in the dorms. If not, she can stay with me for the time being.”

  Molly didn’t know what to say just then. Not many people would be so generous. “Thank you so much, Denise. I promise one day I will be able to explain this all to you.” Denise asked questions about the academy, and Molly made up answers to make the school seem normal.

  “Denise, can you do me another favor?” Molly asked.

  “What?”