Chapter 20

A Rebel Revealed

During breakfast in the Castleteria the next morning, Sparrow Hood joined Duchess and Lizzie at their table. Lizzie had purposefully selected one in the center of the room so her brilliant Villainy thronework scheme could be witnessed by all.

Sparrow set his guitar on the table, then smiled mischievously at Duchess. “What’s up, Swan?” He grabbed a piece of toast from her plate. “Anything new?”

Duchess didn’t reply. She was staring at the nearest mirror. Photos of the six General Villainy students were posted on the screen, three with gold X’s over their faces.

Only Raven, Lizzie, and Duchess remained, and soon, it would be just her and Raven. During last night’s overheard conversation, Raven hadn’t seemed very enthusiastic about the General Villainy thronework, which was good news for Duchess. The A could still be hers to claim.

“Whoa!” Sparrow pushed his guitar aside, narrowly avoiding a splash of hot tea. The teacup in Lizzie’s hand was rattling on its saucer because she was trembling. “What’s your problem, Hearts?”

Lizzie had been a nervous wreck all morning. “Mind your own rabbit hole!”

“You’re in a rotten mood,” Sparrow said. “Hey, you’re not planning something rotten and nasty, are you? I heard you were going to quit.”

“That’s a big, fat fable.” Lizzie clenched her jaw. “I’m not telling you anything, and don’t bother talking to Duchess. She won’t tell you a thing, because roommates do not squeal on each other.” Lizzie set her cup on the table. “Now, I order you to go away. You’re blocking my view.”

“View of what?” He looked around. “Are you drooling over Charming like all the other girls?” Daring sat two tables away, surrounded by his groupies. “What about me? I’m drool-worthy.”

“I don’t care about Daring Charming.” She rolled up her sleeves, preparing for the big surprise. “Listen, stop bothering me. I have a lot on my mind, and I need to pay attention.”

Fortunately for Duchess, Lizzie had been in such a hurry that she’d grabbed the card deck and had shoved it into her pocket without looking inside. There was a very strong possibility that Duchess’s sabotage would work, and Lizzie would soon be out of the contest.

That realization made Duchess’s stomach clench. Did evil villains feel guilt? She doubted it.

Sparrow scooted closer to Duchess. “So, if your roommate is going to do something rotten and nasty, should I take cover?” He winked at Duchess. Fortunately, Lizzie did not notice the wink.

She was on the lookout for one person. “Oh, there she is,” Lizzie said with a gasp.

Blondie Lockes hurried into the Castleteria, MirrorPad in hand. She spun left, then right, always on the lookout for a scoop. Spying Lizzie, she headed straight for the table. “So, are you going to quit?” she asked. She didn’t even bother with a “good morning.”

“To quit or not to quit? That is the question,” Sparrow said, stealing another piece of Duchess’s toast.

Lizzie opened her mouth, but Blondie didn’t wait for the answer. “I conducted an official poll,” Blondie said. “Well, maybe not official. I asked a bunch of people, and most of them think you’re going to quit because there’s no way you can compete with Raven.” Blondie pressed the record button on her MirrorPad. “Are you going to quit?”

Lizzie growled. Then she leaped to her feet, almost knocking over her breakfast teapot. Duchess had seen Lizzie throw a fit before, but she’d never seen her like this. Her fists were clenched, and her face turned so red it looked as if it had been painted. “You want to know if I’m going to quit?” she asked as she climbed onto the table. “You want to know if I’m going to quit?”

The Castleteria went silent as everyone turned to watch the spectacle that was unfolding in the center of the room. Raven looked up from her book and raised her eyebrows. For a moment, the only sound was Lizzie’s crazed breathing. Lizzie reached into her pocket and pulled out the box of cards. This was it. Duchess felt a little queasy with anticipation. Blondie was being such a pain, and she totally deserved to be trapped in a card house for the whole day. In fact, she deserved way worse than that. But Lizzie’s revenge wouldn’t happen. The cards had no magic. This was going to be so embarrassing for Lizzie. Duchess wanted to run from the room. She couldn’t face what she’d done.

Lizzie opened the card box. “A Heart might twitter, a Heart might flitter, but the Princess of Hearts is never a quitter! Prepare yourself for something rotten and nasty.” She tossed her cards at Blondie. Everyone gasped.

The cards flew through the air. Lizzie beamed with happiness, believing her revenge to be close at hand. Duchess cringed.

The cards fell at Blondie’s feet. No one moved. Somewhere in the Castleteria, a cricket chirped.

Lizzie stood on the table, her mouth open with surprise. “Holy rabbit hole!” She pointed at the scattered cards. “Those aren’t mine.”

Mr. Badwolf strode over to the table. His coffee mug had the words WORLD’S BADDEST DAD printed on the side. “Throwing cards at someone is neither rotten nor nasty.” He looked up at her. “You didn’t even give your intended victim a paper cut. I’m very disappointed.” He waved his clipboard. “Fairy-fail for you, Ms. Hearts.”

Blondie typed something onto her MirrorPad, and a big gold X appeared over Lizzie’s photo on all the mirrors.

Lizzie jumped off the table and picked up one of the cards, staring at it with confusion. “How did these ordinary cards get into my Wonderland box? I demand an answer!”

Sparrow gave Duchess a conspiratorial look. Duchess stepped close to Lizzie and spoke quietly to her. “I wouldn’t worry about it,” she said. “What’s done is done. Now you can focus on the Princessology thronework. That’s more important to you, right?” Hopefully, Lizzie would see this as no big deal.

But that’s when Daring Charming stepped forward. With a grand sweep of his arm, he bowed before Lizzie. Then, standing as straight as a tree, he cleared his throat and said, “It is my duty, as the hero, to come to the damsel’s rescue.” He pointed at Duchess. “That girl took a deck of cards from the Common Room last night.”

That girl? Duchess grimaced. Would he ever remember her name? It was bad enough that he didn’t pay any attention to her and was crushing on someone else, but now he was ratting on her.

She was beginning to suspect that their love was not meant to be.

“Duchess?” Lizzie turned, her eyes wide with disbelief. “What’s he talking about?”

Duchess wasn’t sure what to do. Her instinct was to deny everything and try to save her friendship with Lizzie. So what if she took a deck of cards? That was circumstantial evidence, right? There were no eyewitnesses to the actual crime, except for a hedgehog, and she was sleeping back in the dorm room.

On the other hand, if Duchess denied doing the deed, then she wouldn’t get credit for it when Mr. Badwolf assigned the grade.

Dilemma drama.

“Did you switch my cards?” Lizzie asked, her voice cracking with emotion. “Did you ruin my thronework?”

Everyone was waiting for the answer. Everyone was staring at her, except for Sparrow, who already knew the answer. He was eating the last of her toast. Duchess stood so stiffly she felt like a statue. What should she say? She wanted to transform and fly away.

“Wait a sweet second,” Ginger Breadhouse said. She pushed her way between Daring and Lizzie. Her felt jacket was decorated with white swirls, like icing. “Now that I think about it, Duchess was in the Cooking Class-ic Room. I thought she was there because she’d smelled my delicious cinnamon trolls, but now I’m thinking she was there to mess up my plan.” Ginger put her hands on her hips. “That’s why my sandman powder didn’t work. She ruined it!”

Then Faybelle Thorn flew forward. “Someone ruined my fairy dust spell. But look what that someone left behind.” She held up a white feather.

Faybelle, Ginger, and Lizzie glared at Duchess. She took a long, deep breath, trying to keep herself calm. Her scheme wasn’t supposed to be revealed yet. She still had to learn what Raven was planning and ruin it. But now Raven would know what she was up to. “I… I…” Duchess swallowed hard. “I really don’t know what you’re all talking about.”

Mr. Badwolf set his coffee cup on the table and began to write on his clipboard. “Sabotaging your competitors, Ms. Swan? That is most promising. However, I must get one thing clear.” He pointed his red pen at her. “Were your intentions to eliminate the other students? In that case, I would be pleased. Or were your intentions to save the rest of the student body from the effects of rotten and nasty plans? In that case, I would be displeased.”

If she denied her intentions, he’d give her a fairy-fail. There was nothing she could do. “I wanted to win,” Duchess admitted.

Mr. Badwolf growled happily. Lizzie’s eyes filled with tears. “How could you? I thought you were my friend.” She grabbed her book bag and ran off.

“Lizzie, wait!” Duchess called. She wanted to explain. But Lizzie was gone, her sobs fading. An ache filled Duchess’s heart, but only for a moment. She held her head high. So what if she didn’t have a friend? She was a ballerina, and solitude was not her enemy.

Mr. Badwolf patted her on the shoulder. “Sabotaging your competitors was a good start, Ms. Swan. But double-crossing someone and making her cry is even better.” He tucked the clipboard under his arm. “I will wait to assign your grade until I’ve seen what Ms. Queen has up her wicked sleeves.”

“You don’t have to wait!” a voice announced.

It was Raven Queen, and she stood on a table on the far side of the Castleteria. Her arms were held wide. What was she doing? “Now it’s my turn!”

Some of the students screamed. Except for Apple White, who was bouncing on her toes. “I knew she’d do it. I knew she’d be bad!”

Students rushed toward the exits. The cooks hid behind their cauldrons. Those with fairy wings flew into the rafters. The daughter of the Evil Queen was about to unleash her thronework assignment!

Duchess should have been scared, but instead, she was frustrated. All her efforts were about to be ruined by Raven’s sorcery. Duchess would fail General Villainy. She’d fail at being a Rebel. And she’d lose her only friend in the process.

Raven raised her arms higher and higher, and a spell emerged from her mouth.