Chapter 11
Duchess’s Decision
Tuesday morning brought sunshine. It streamed in through the windows and reflected off the mirrors. It danced across Pirouette’s nest and fell upon Duchess’s desk, warming her as she sat with a quill in hand, staring at a page in her diary.
The rest of the page was blank.
She dipped her quill into the ink. Even though she’d been sitting at that desk since dawn, no wicked plan had emerged. What could she do? The only magic she possessed was to turn herself into a swan. But hissing at people didn’t seem very evil. And she didn’t want to give the other swans a bad reputation and risk having them evicted from school property.
She scratched her head. A little white feather fell from her hair and onto the desk. It was a leftover from last night’s transformation. Then she yawned. It had been a long, sleepless night. She’d stared, wide-eyed, at the wall, Headmaster Grimm’s voice repeating in her mind.
She will do whatever it takes to succeed. Even if that means becoming a villain.
Duchess Swan had never been faced with such a dilemma. Her good grades had never been based on doing anything that resembled rebellion, or anything that went against her family’s legacy. But now, if she got the best grade in General Villainy, she’d be sent to Advanced Villainy and she’d work her way up the ladder of evil.
What would happen if she decided to quit? What if she flunked this class? Her evil career would be over. Headmaster Grimm would remove her from the list of potential candidates to take Raven’s place. She’d never have to worry about villainy again. One fairy-fail grade on her transcript was not the end of the world, right?
But, by failing General Villainy, she would give up her opportunity to learn magic and change her fate. And she’d never get her Happily Ever After.
Oh feather duster! Talk about a lot to deal with. No wonder she was exhausted.
She turned back to the page in her diary, the one where she’d written…
“Lizzie?” she called.
Lizzie was still curled up in bed. “Hmmm?”
“Would you do anything for a Happily Ever After?” Duchess asked.
“Doing anything is much the same as doing everything or doing nothing, because they are all things.” She was clearly still half asleep, her thoughts thick with Riddlish.
“Lizzie, I’m serious.” Duchess turned and faced her roommate’s bed. “If someone gave you the chance to be the kind of queen you wanted to be, and to live in Wonderland again, but in order to get those things you had to risk your reputation and your family’s honor, would you take that chance?”
“Live in Wonderland again?” Lizzie bolted upright. Her hedgehog squeaked. “I would take that chance and every chance if it meant I could live happily in Wonderland.”
Duchess nodded, then turned back to her desk. She and Lizzie wanted the same thing—a chance at happiness. And Headmaster Grimm was handing Duchess her opportunity. All she had to do was take it. She squeezed the quill as she worked it out in her mind. Yes, this was what she’d prepared for. All those years of dedication and practice. She could do this. She would tell everyone that she was trying to keep her perfect grades. But secretly, she’d be on a new path, to a new destiny. She would never admit to anyone that she was being a Rebel.
The decision was made.
Plunk. An envelope landed on her desk. The fairy-godmother-in-training squeaked at her, then flew over to Lizzie’s bed and dropped an envelope on her head.
“It’s a delivery.” Duchess picked up her envelope. The initials HG had been pressed into the center of the wax seal. “It’s from Headmaster Grimm.”
“Is that the time?” Lizzie asked after reading the wall clock. “How dare it move so quickly! Can you read the letter out loud?” She scrambled out of bed and dove into her closet. Duchess unfolded the envelope and read.